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Life, Letters and Travels of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J., 1801-1873

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Life, Letters and Travels of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J., 1801-1873 —ON L I E> URY OF THE U N I VERS ITY Of ILLINOIS E> 5G38lc M. 2 EV IllINO ^/ Life, Letters and Travels of Father De Smet among the North American Indians. <fl LIFE, LETTERS AND TRAVELS OF Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S. J 1801-1873 Missionary Labors and Adventures among the Wild Tribes of the North American Indians, Embracing Minute Description of Their Manners, Customs, Games, Modes of Warfare and Torture, Legends, Tradition, etc., All from Personal Observations Made during Many Thousand Miles of Travel, with Sketches of the Country from St. Louis to Puget Sound and the Altrabasca Edited from the original unpublished manuscript Journals and Letter Books and from his Printed Works with Historical, Geographical* Ethnological and other Notes; Also a Life of Father De Smet MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY HIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN Major, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. AND ALFRED TALBOT RICHARDSON FOUR VOLUMES VOL. II NEW YORK FRANCIS! P. HARPERHA \& 1^ 1905 Y/ 389393 * **^ Copyright, 1904, BY FRANCIS P. HARPER All rights reserved v.t. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. PART III. PAGE. The Oregon Missions 403-407 CHAPTER I. The Voyage Around Cape Horn in 1844 .... 408-427 CHAPTER II. The Voyage Around Cape Horn 428-444 CHAPTER III. Planting New Missions 445-483 CHAPTER IV. Expedition to the Blackfeet Country — St. Ignatius to Fort Augustus 484-530 CHAPTER V. Return from Fort Augustus to the Mission . 531-552 CHAPTER VI. Among the Missions 553-569 CHAPTER VII. Peace between the Blackfeet and Flatheads . 570-583 CHAPTER VIII. Three Weeks in a Blackfoot Camp 584-509 CHAPTER IX. Return to St. Louis 600-612 w 5j 5507 VI CONTENTS. PART IV. PAGE. The Great Council of 185 i and Preceding Events . 613-616 CHAPTER I. Expedition to the Sioux, 1848 617-637 CHAPTER II. En Route to the Great Council 638-652 CHAPTER III. En Route to the Great Council 653-674 CHAPTER IV. The Great Council and Return to St. Louis . 675-692 PART V. The Utah and Oregon Expeditions of 1858-59, and Some Preceding Events 693-700 CHAPTER I. Ocean Voyages of 1853 and 1857 701-714 CHAPTER II. The Mormon Expedition of 1858 715-729 CHAPTER III. The Oregon Expedition of 1858-59 730-747 CHAPTER IV. Peace with the Oregon Indians 748-768 CHAPTER V. Return to St. Louis 769-776 CONTENTS. Vll PART VI. PAGE. From i860 to Father De Smet's Death, 1873 . 777-782 CHAPTER I. Voyages to Fort Benton in 1862 and 1863 .... 783-794 V PART III. THE OREGON MISSIONS. Itinerary from 1843 to ^46, Inclusive. 1843- IpOR the purpose of soliciting funds for the missions, Jl Father De Smet made a journey to New Orleans and back and as far east as Boston and back — He then went to Westport, Mo., with Father De Vos and companions — Then left St. Louis for Europe — Embarked at New York (fourth voyage across the Atlantic) — In twenty-one days landed in Ireland — Visited Cork and Dublin — Crossed to Liverpool and London — Continued on to Antwerp — Visited the principal cities in Belgium, France, Italy and Holland — Embarked at Antwerp with a father and a brother from Belgium, three Italian fathers, and six sisters of Notre Dame de Namur — Descended the Scheld to Flush- ing, where he was detained twenty-eight days by contrary winds. No dates given. Distance traveled, 15,479 miles. 1844. Sailed January 9th with a favoring breeze (fifth voyage) — Crossed the Equator February 14th — Saw the Falkland Islands on the 16th of March — Rounded Cape Horn on the 20th — Continued north ten days when a terrible tempest was encountered which drove the ship almost upon the coast cf Patagonia, but veered south in time to prevent wreck — Ship driven south to the 66th degree south latitude among [403] 4O4 TRAVELS IN 1 844-45. the icebergs — A favorable wind then brought the ship back to the coast of Chile in sight of the Cape of Tres Montes April 8th — Entered Valparaiso harbor April nth — Made a journey to Santiago, arriving there April 25th — Returned and left Valparaiso May 3d — Arrived in Callao May 10th — Visited Lima, the capital of Peru — Sailed from Callao May 27th — Recrossed the Equator in June and sighted the coast of Oregon July 28th — Crossed the bar July 31st and anchored in front of Astoria. August 2d set out by skiff for Vancouver arriving there on the 4th — Started for the Willamette August 14th; reached St. Paul's on the 17th and commenced the erection of St. Francis Xavier's residence — Was taken quite ill, and before he was entirely recovered, set out on horseback for the upper country — Traveled along the base of Mt. Hood, past the Dalles, and across Des Chutes and John Day rivers to Walla Walla — Crossed the Spokan Desert and went to the Sacred Heart residence among the Coeur d'Alenes west of Cceur d'Alene lake — Thence went to the Kalispel Bay and commenced the Mission of St. Ignatius — Thence to Fort Colville in quest of provisions whence he returned to the Bay and passed the winter among the Pend d'Oreilles. Distance traveled, 18,828 miles. i845- In the beginning of February, five feet of snow on the ground, Father De Smet set out by canoe up Clark's Fork and visited St. Mary's Mission among the Flatheads — Re- turned to the Bay, fixed on site for the new establishment, felled the first tree for the buildings and then set out for Walla Walla and Vancouver — Thence up the Willamette to St. Francis Xavier — Set out for the upper country with eleven horses laden with implements of various kinds — Traveled via Mt. Hood and Fort Walla Walla — Thence across the desert to the Bay July 1 5th — Established two TRAVELS IN 1 845-46. 405 stations: St. Paul at Kettle Falls and St. Francis Regis at Lake De Boey — August 9th Father De Smet set out for the Blackfoot country via the upper Columbia — He went to Lake Pend d'Oreille by canoe — Thence crossed the country through thick forests to the Kootenai river, called by him Flatbow or McGillivray river — Met the Kootenai Indians — As- cended the Kootenai to where it comes close to the source of the Columbia — Crossed over to the Columbia September 4th — Descended the Columbia past a number of lakes near its source — Recrossed the dividing ridge to the Kootenai near the mouth of the Vermillion river — Ascended this tributary to its source in the Continental Divide — Crossed to the headwaters of the south fork of the Saskatchewan September 5th — Traveled through dense forests and a 1 rugged mountainous country to the Rocky Mountain House on the North Fork October 4th — Met a small band of Blackfeet here — Set out on a long expedition to the south in search of the main Blackfoot band but could not find it, on account of heavy snowfalls which destroyed the trail — After three weeks of intense suffering, returned to Rocky Mountain House, and went thence to Fort Augustus on the Saskatchewan, arriving there December 31st. Distance traveled, 3,480 miles. 1846. Father De Smet spent the winter at Fort Augustus mak- ing one excursion to Lake St. Anne and St. Anne Mission — March 12th he set out for Fort Assiniboin on the Atha- basca on a sled drawn by four dogs — Arrived at Fort As- siniboin on the 1 8th — Ascended the river on the ice to Fort Jasper — Provisions being scarce, nearly the whole population of the post went to the Lake of Islands where game and fish were more plentiful and remained until April 25th — Father De Smet then started on his return journey — Ascended the Athabasca to a tributary, Trou or Hole 406 TRAVELS IN 1 846. river, and followed this nearly to its source in the pass over the divide at the foot of the Great Glacier — Here (May 1st) they encamped to await the arrival of the annual bri- gade of the Hudson Bay Company from the Columbia — About May 6th started across the mountains on snow- shoes — Descended to the Columbia at the mouth of Canoe river amid the greatest hardship and suffering, to which Father De Smet declares that he would surely have suc- cumbed if it had not been for the aid of a small band of Indians that he encountered. May ioth left Boat Encampment in a skiff and descended the Columbia — Arrived at Fort Colville " toward the end of the month " of May — Continued his journey in com- pany with a Hudson Bay party and arrived in due time at Vancouver. Father De Smet visited the establishments in the Willa- mette valley and then returned to Fort Vancouver where he procured supplies for the missions and started on his return to the mountains — Traveled via Fort Walla Walla and the Cceur d'Alene Mission and arrived at St. Mary's Mis- sion, probably about August ioth. " The expenses for the support of all our establishments had been great and it was thought necessary to send a Father to the States to provide for them. The Fathers unanimously expressed their desire that I undertake again this long and hazardous voyage." Left St. Mary's August 16th — Crossed the divide to Jefferson river — Traveled by way of the Three Forks and Bozeman Pass to the Yellowstone — Descended the Yellowstone to the mouth of the Big Horn about September 7th — Set out with Flatheads in northwest direction to find Blackfeet and conclude peace — Succeeded in accomplishing this in Judith Basin not far from Fort Lewis (later Fort Benton) — Proceeded with all the Indians to the fort.
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