me. I shall immediately make ready to repair to the headquarters of General Smith, as directed in your letter.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
P. J. DE SMET, S. J. Honorable JOHN B. FLOYD, Secretary o f War, Washington City, D. C.
Reverend and Dear Father:
In accordance with your request, I proceed with great pleasure to give you some details of my recent journey. On the 20th of May, 1858, I set out from St. Louis for the western portion of North America, and after an absence of about sixteen months, I returned to the point whence I set out. During this interval, I had accompanied, as chaplain, an army sent out by the United States against the
Mormons and the savages. I propose to give you some de
tails of this double expedition. Not to fatigue you, I will endeavor to be brief. At best, however, my narrative will
fill some pages, as my recent voyage has been very long. It exceeded 15,ooo English miles, or 5,000 leagues. I propose then to give you some details in regard to the different countries I have traversed, and the seas I have crossed, and of my visit to the savage tribes, my dear spiritual children of the Rocky Mountains, the Cceur d'Alenes, Kalispels, Pend d'Oreilles, Flatheads and Kootenais, of my stay among the different tribes of the Great Plains of the Upper Missouri, and of the manner in which my time was spent in the army of the United States in quality of chaplain, and envoy extraordinary of that Government. These details, I venture to hope, will not be without interest for you, and they will form the subject of my little sketch.
Several years have passed, since the Mormons, that terrible sect of modern fanatics, flying from civilization, set-
St. Louis, Nov. 1, 1859.