Mountains. Pray, and have many prayers offered for me, and for the success of this important mission. In my leisure moments I am working at my long letter for the Reverend Father Terwecoren; he will get it soon, I hope. Meanwhile assure the good Father that my legs are still in good order, ready to perform a few more little errands of a few thousand miles or so, Deo dante. I stagger and fall sometimes on our slippery sidewalks, but I have always managed to pick myself up safe and sound and with nothing broken; you may add that I have not been threatened with burning alive by the Rebels. I do not think they will ever hate me as bad as that.
St. Louis University, March 15, 1862.
Very Reverend Father-General:l°
I have had the honor and happiness of receiving your Paternity's kind letter of the 14th of December and ant very grateful for it. The Very Reverend Father Visitor and Vice Provincial do not seem opposed at present, if circumstances permit, to my going to spend the summer months in missionary work among the numerous pagan tribes of the great plains east of the Rocky Mountains, in accordance with the desires expressed in your letter. Whenever I have passed them these poor, unhappy people have always been very respectful and attentive to me, and each spring they look with eager longing for the Black-robe to come and confer baptism on their little ones. A very great number of little Indians and many adults owe their salvation, after God, to your Paternity, for I suppose that threefourths of them die before they reach the age of reason.
is From the French.