Letter XXI.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRECIS HISTORIQUES,BRUSSELS
Oregon Missions.
UNIVERSITY OF ST. Louis, July 16,1857.
REVEREND FATHER:
Since my return to St. Louis I have been very busy, and not very well, in consequence of the sudden transition from' a cold climate to one where the thermometer stands at 90° Fahrenheit. I have not been able, thus far, to send you any interesting article. I have lately received a long and beautiful letter from Father A Hoeken, in the Rocky Mountains. It appeared, on the 11th instant, in the Freeman's Journal, which you receive regularly. I shall, try and send you a translation.
I inclose to-day a short notice of Father Eysvogels. If you give it a place in your Precis, it will give pleasure to the friends and acquaintances of that good Father in North Brabant.
As you propose, terminating a volume of my letters, you would do well, perhaps, to add, if there is time, a letter to the St. Louis Leader, dated June 19, 1855, which you can have translated.
St. Louis, June 19, 1855.
Mr. Editor :
From a letter received from the Rocky Mountains about two months ago, I learn that the Indians, in our different missions in Oregon, continue to give great satisfaction to
their mssionaries, by their zeal and fervor in the holy practices of religion. " I hope," writes Father Joset, " that the holy Sacrament of Confirmation, which many have lately received, will add still more stability to their good resolutions. The arrival of Monseigneur Blanchet, of Nesqualy, had been announced only a few hours before, yet, notwithstanding that one half of the neophytes were absent on their hunting-grounds, the zealous prelate gave confirmation to over six hundred persons. He expressed the greatest satisfaction at the flourishing condition of the missions, and the exemplary and Christian conduct of the Indian faithful."
The conversions to our holy faith, if you consider the small number of our missionaries, are very consoling and encouraging. Father Joset says, that in the mission of St. Paul's alone, among the Shuyelpies or Kettlefall Indians, he had one hundred and sixty-three converts in the course of the year. He further states in his letter, that Lieut. Mullan, of the United States Army, visited the Flat-Heads, and several others of our missions, by order of Governor Stevens, of the new Territory of Washington, and that the distinguished officer had expressed great delight at all he saw among the Indians, promising withal to favor them and to speak well of them in his report. Governor Stevens himself, in his report to the President of the United States, commends them highly, and calls upon the government for aid and assistance. "They are," says he, speaking of the Flat-Heads, "the best Indians of the mountains and the plains-honest, brave, and docile-they only need encouragement to become good citizens; they are Christians, and we are assured that they live up to the Christian code," &c.
Most respectfully, dear sir,
Your humble and obedient servant,
P. J. DE SMET, S. J.
You see, Reverend Father, that I have cited the testimon of Governor Stevens, as to our Indian missions. The details which I shall give you in this letter emanate from the same source, as honorable as it is truthful. They form part of an official report on the state of Oregon, sent by that magistrate to the President of the United States, in 1855, and published by order of government.
Speaking of the tribe of Pends-d'Oreilles, the governor says:
" I am indebted to Dr. Suckley for many interesting facts in relation to the mission of St. Ignatius, established among the lower Pends-d'Oreilles ; it would be difficult to find a more beautiful example of successful missionary labors. The mission was established nine years ago, by Rev. P. J. De Smet, the whole country at that time being a vast wilderness.
"For the first two .fears the missionaries lived in skin lodges, accompanying the natives on their periodical hunts and visits to their fishing-grounds.
"During this time they found it very hard to live. Their food consisted principally of camash-roots and dried berries, which at best contain very little nourishment. They raised some wheat, which they boiled in the beard, for fear of waste; parching some of the grains to make a substitute for coffee. After this, they slowly but steadily increased in welfare. Each year added a small piece to their tillable ground. They then obtained. pigs, poultry, cattle, horses, agricultural implements, and tools. Their supplies of tools, seeds, groceries, clothing, &c., are shipped direct from Europe to the Columbia river. There are two lay brethren attached to the mission. One of them, Brother Francis, is a perfect Jack of-all-trades. He is by turns a carpenter, blacksmith, gunsmith, and tinman ; in each handicraft he is a good workman. The other, Brother McGean, superintends the farming operations. They both worked hard in bringing the mission to its present state of perfection, building successively a wind-mill, blacksmith's and carpenter's shops, barns, cowsheds, &c., besides an excellent chapel, in addition to a large dwelling-house, of hewn timber, for the missionaries.
"The church is. quite large, and is tastefully and even beautifully decorated. I was shown the handsomely carved and gilded altar, the statue of our I Mother,' brazen crosses, and rich bronzed fonts-work which at sight appears so well executed as to lead one to suppose that they must all have been imported.
" Works of ornament are not their only deeds. A grindstone, hewn out of the native rock, and modelled by the same hand which made the chisel which wrought it, tin ware, a blacksmith's bellows, plough-shares, bricks for their chimneys, their own tobacco-pipes, turned with the lathe out of wood, and lined with tin, all have been made by their industry. In household economy they are not excelled. They make their own soap, candles, vinegar, &c., and it is interesting and amusing to listen to the account of their plans, shifts, and turns, in overcoming obstacles at their first attempts, their repeated failures, and their final triumphs. The present condition of the mission is as follows:
"The buildings are : the house, a good, substantial, comfortable edifice; the chapel, a building sufficiently large to accommodate the whole Kalispelum nation. A small building is attached to the dwelling-house; it contains a couple of sleeping-rooms, and a workshop, a blacksmith's shop, and a store-room for the natives. These are all built of square or hewn timber. Besides these there are a number of smaller out-buildings, built of logs, for the accommodation of their, horses and cattle during the winter, and an excellent root-house.
"The mission farm consists of about one hundred and sixty acres of cleared land: wheat (spring), barley, onions, cabbages, parsnips, peas, beets, potatoes, and carrots. Father Hoeken s says, that if the children see carrots growing, they must eat some. Says he, ` I must shut my eyes to the theft, because they cannot resist the temptation. Any thing else than carrots, the little creatures respect.
"The Indians are very fond of peas and cabbages, but beets, and particularly onions,-they dislike. The other productions of the farm are cattle, hogs, poultry, butter, and cheese. Around the mission buildings are the houses of the natives. These are built of logs and hewn timber, and are sixteen in number. There are also quite a number of mat and skin lodges. Although the tribe is emphatically a wandering tribe, yet the mission and its vicinity are looked upon as head-quarters.
"When the missionaries came among the Indians, they found them to be a poor, miserable, half-starved race, with an insufficiency of food, and nearly naked , living upon fish, camash and other roots, and, as the last extremity, upon the pine-tree moss. They were in utter misery and want. The whole time was occupied in providing for their bellies, which were rarely full. They were of a peaceable disposition, brave, good-tempered, and willing to work.
" Of spiritual things they were utterly ignorant. Unlike the Indians east of the mountains, they had no idea of a future state or of a Great Spirit, neither had they any idea of a soul ; in fact, they had not words in their language to express such ideas. They considered themselves to be animals, nearly allied to the beaver, but greater than the beaver, `because,' they said `the beaver builds houses like us, and he is very cunning ; true, but we can catch the beaver, and he cannot catch us, therefore we are greater than he.'
They thought that when they died, that was the last of them. While thus ignorant, it was nothing uncommon for them to bury the very old and the very young alive, because, they said, `these cannot take care of themselves, and we cannot take care of them, and they had better die.'
"The missionaries had an arduous labor before them, They commenced by gaining the good-will of the inhabitants, by means of small presents, and by manifesting great interest in their welfare, in attendance upon the sick, and by giving the poor creatures food, seeds, and instruction as to farming.
"The Indians could not help seeing that no hopes of temporal or personal benefit induced the missionaries thus to labor among them.
" The missionaries told them that they had a Creator, and that he was good. They told them of their Saviour, and of the manner of addressing him by prayer. To this they listened, and believed.
"The people look up to the Father, and love him. They say that if the Father should go away, they would die.
" Before the advent of the missionaries, the inhabitants, though totally destitute of religious ideas, still believed that evil and bad luck emanated from a fabulous old woman or sorceress. They were great believers in charms or medicine. Every man had his particular medicine or charm, and from it they expected either good or , ill. With some it would be the mouse, with others the deer, buffalo, elk, salmon, bear, &c.; and whichever it was, the savage would carry a portion of it constantly with him. The tail of a mouse, or the fur, hoof, claw, feather, fin, or scale, of whatever it might be, became the amulet. When a young man grew up, he was not yet considered a man until he had discovered his medicine. His father would send him to the top of a high mountain in the neighborhood of the present mission; here he was obliged to remain without food until he had dreamed'-of an animal; the first one so dreamed about becoming his medicine for life. Of course, anxiety, fatigue, cold, and fasting, would render his sleep troubled, and replete with dreams. In a short time he would have dreamed of what he wanted, and return to his home a man.
"The missionaries say that these Indians are industrious, and not lazy, as. compared to other Indians; that they are willing to work , but the land is so poor, and so little of it is susceptible of cultivation, that they cannot farm enough.
"The mission farm, as already stated, contains about one hundred and sixty acres. This is kept up for the natives, as but a few acres would be amply sufficient for the missionaries. Each Indian who wishes it, is allowed a certain amount of land to cultivate for his own use, and is provided with tools and, seeds.
"Before-reaching the mission of St. Ignatius, Dr. Suckley found four lodges of the
Pends-d'OreiIles about half a mile above the outlet of Lake Deboey. These lodges were all built after the fashion of the Sioux lodge, with the single difference that they were covered with mats of reeds, instead of skins. These mats are made of rushes laid parallel, and fastened together at their ends. For convenience in travelling, the mats are rolled into cylindrical bundles, and are thus easily carried in canoes. Dr. Suckley's provisions being out, be concluded to lodge all night with All-ol-stargh, the head of the encampment. The other lodges were principally occupied by his children and grand-children. `Shortly after our entrance,' says Dr. Suckley, 'All-ol-stargh rung a little bell; directly the lodge was filled with the inhabitants of the camp, men, women, and children, who immediately got on their knees, and repeated, or rather chanted, a long prayer,in their own language. The repetition of a few pious sentences, an invocation, and a hymn, closed the exercises. In these the squaws took as active a part as the men. The promptness, fervency, and earnestness, all showed, was pleasing to contemplate. The participation of the squaws in the exercises, and the apparent footing of equality between them and the mien, so much unlike their condition in other savage tribes, appear remarkable."
The following trait, mentioned by Mr. Doty in his report, attests their good faith and decision of character:
"On the 1st of November, six Pends-d'Oreille Indians came to this post, and delivered up all the horses that were stolen. It appears that they were taken by two young Pends
d'Oreilles, and run to the Pends-d'Oreille camp, then hunting beyond the Muscle-Shell, under the command of a chief of that nation, 'Alexander'. The horses were recognized, by the stamps, as belonging to the whites, and the young men confessed having stolen them at this post. A council was held, and it was determined that it was a great sin to steal horses from the white men who were friendly to them; that the wishes of the 4 Great Soldier Chief,' who had been at St. Mary's, were known to them, and they had promised compliance with them ; that stealing these horses would give the Pendsd'Oreilles the name. of liars and triflers ; that they had always borne a good name, and were ashamed to have mean things said of them now; therefore the horses must be taken back by the great chief and five principal men of the tribe. Accordingly, they came boldly to the fort and delivered up the horses, without asking any reward, but, on the contrary expressing much sorrow and shame that they had been taken.
"Thus the six Indians proved themselves not only honest , but brave in the highest degree, coining, as they did, five days and nights into an enemy's country, simply to do an act i of justice to strangers. They remained here two days, and on departing were accompanied by Mr. Clark and myself fifteen or twenty miles on their journey."
In regard to the Flat-Heads, the governor says
"Lieut. Mullan, in his journal of September 20, relates the following incident, illustrative of their noble character "We had to-night a great luxury, in a string of mountain trout, brought into camp by one of our Flat-Head friends. Our Indians displayed, on this occasion, a trait worthy of notice. They were without meat or any thing to eat. We were without meat, but had a little flour left from our small stock of provisions. These being the first fish caught by any of the party, they insisted on our taking them. This we refused, but they insisted, until we were compelled to accept them. He continues: ` I cannot say too much of the three noble men who were with us. They were firm, ups fight, reliable men, and, in addition thereto, entertained a religious belief, which they never violated. They did not partake of a meal without asking the blessing of God ; they never rose in the morning or retired at night without offering a prayer. They all knew the country well, and were excellent guides and hunters. When they could not find fresh meat, they accepted the remnants from our scanty table with the greatest contentedness.'
The Flat-Heads recognize Victor as their chief, an Indian of the same name being the chief of the lower Pendsd'Oreilles. These two tribes usually accompany each other in their great hunting expeditions east of the Rocky Mountains. The heroism of the Flat-Heads in battle, and their good faith towards others, have been the theme of praise, both from priest and layman."
Speaking of the Coeur-d'Alènes, the governor says:
"The Coeur-d'Alène Indians are under-estimated by all the authorities. They have some seventy lodges, and number about five hundred inhabitants. They are much indebted to the good Fathers for making considerable progress in agriculture. They have abandoned polygamy, have been taught the rudiments of Christianity, and are greatly improved in morals and in the comforts of life. It is indeed extraordinary what the Fathers have done at the Coeur-d'Alène mission. It is on the Coeur-d'Alène river, about thirty miles from the base of the mountains, and some ten miles above the Coeur-d'Alène lake.
"They have a splendid church, nearly finished by the labors of the Fathers, brothers, and Indians; a large barn a horse-mill for flour; a small range of buildings for the
accommodation of the priests and brothers ; a store-room ; a milk or dairy room ; a cook-room, and good arrangements for their pigs and cattle. They are putting up a new range of quarters, and the Indians have some twelve comfortable log-cabins. The church was designed by the superior skill of the mission, Père Ravalli, a man. of skill as an architect, and undoubtedly, judging from his well-thumbed books, of various accomplishments. Père Gazzoli showed me his several designs for the altar, all of them characterized by good taste, and harmony of proportion. The church, as a specimen of architecture, would do credit to any one, and has been faithfully sketched by our artist, Mr. Stanley. The, massive timbers supporting the altar were from larch-trees five feet in diameter, and were raised to their place by the Indians, with the aid simply of a pulley and a rope
.
"They have a large, cultivated field, of some two hundred acres, and a prairie of from two to three thousand acres. They own a hundred pigs, eight yokes of oxen, twenty cows, and a liberal proportion of horses, mules, and young animals.
"The Indians have learned to plough, sow, till the soil generally, milk cows (with both hands), and do all the duties incident to a farm. They are, some of them, expert wood-cutters ; and I saw at work, getting in the harvest, some thirty or forty Indians. They are thinking of cutting out a good trail to St. Mary's valley, over the Coeur-d'Alène mountains (on the route passed over by me). They need agricultural implements and seeds.
."The country generally, on both sides of the Coeur-d'Alène river and lake, is rolling and beautiful. It is interspersed with many small prairies, all affording excellent grazing, and most of them adapted to crops. The rolling country could be easily cleared, and would yield excellent wheat and vegetables. I have no question that all the country, from the falls of the Coeur-d'Alène to some distance above the mission, and thence to near Clark's Fork, a region of three or four thousand square miles, is adapted to grazing and culture. A small portion will be overflowed by the melting of the mountain snows, and another portion will be occupied by the mountain spurs or isolated peaks, capable simply of furnishing timber and fuel.
"The Fathers state that a better site for the mission is furnished by a river flowing from the southeast into the western end of the Coeur-d'Alène lake, and called by them St. Joseph's river. It is said to be larger than the Coeur -Alène river, to have many prairies along its banks, and the country generally to abound in wood, grass, and water.
" On the return of the Indians from the field above spoken of, I talked to them in these words:
"I am glad to see you, and to find that you are under such good direction. I have come four times as far as you go to hunt the buffalo,-and have come with directions from the Great Father to see you, to talk with you, and to do all I can for your welfare. I see cultivated fields, a church, houses, cattle, and the fruits of the soil-the works of your own hands. The Great Father will be delighted to hear this, and will certainly assist you. Go on ; and every family will leave a house and a patch of ground, and every one will be well clothed. I have talked "with the Black-Feet, who promise to make peace with all the Indian tribes. Listen to the Good Father and to the Good Brothers who labor for your good.
These details are drawn from the Message of the President of the United States to Congress, 1854-5, p. 416.
Accept, dear Father, my respectful homage, and believe me,
Your devoted servant and brother in Christ, ,
P. J. DE SMET, S. J.