had grown up. Upon hearing that Father De Smet was coming his way he hastened home to make ready for the baptism of his wife and children. When the priest arrived, "the august sacrifice of the mass was offered and Morigeau devoutly approached the holy table. At the foot of the humble altar he received the nuptial benediction; and the mother, surrounded by her children and six little Indians, was regenerated in the holy waters of baptism."
The presence of this Canadian family in such a place, cut off from all the world, appealed to the romantic side of Father De Smet's nature and he thus unburdened himself in their regard: "The Canadian! Into what part of the desert has he not penetrated? The monarch who rules at the source of the Columbia is an honest emigrant from St. Martin in the district of Montreal, who has resided for twenty-six years in this wilderness. The skins of the rein and moose deer are the materials of which his portable palace is composed; and to use his own expressions, he `embarks' on horseback with his wife and seven children, and `lands' wherever he pleases. Here no one disputes his right, and Polk and Peel, who are now contending for the possession of his dominions, are as unknown to him as the two greatest powers of the moon. His sceptre is a beaver trap, his law a carbine; and with the one on his back, the other on his arm, he reviews his numerous furry subjects - the beaver, otter, muskrat, marten, fox, bear, wolf, sheep and white goat of the mountains, * * * some of which respect his sceptre and others submit to his law. He exacts and receives from them the tribute of flesh and skins. Encircled by so much grandeur, undisturbed proprietor of all these skyward palaces and strongholds, the very last refuge which Nature has reared to preserve alive liberty on earth - solitary lord of these majestic mountains that elevate their icy summits to the clouds, - Morigeau (our Canadian) does not forget his duty as a Christian. Each day, morn-