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Show " EDUCATIONAL WORK AMONG THE INDIANS A Narrative of Grand Effort and Glorious ResultsShould Re-sultsShould Put An End To All opposition oppo-sition Inspired by Biggotry. (From th BuHe .Miner of March 1:!.) It was as early as 1S12 to that, the Flatheads got their first notion of Christianity, they being visited about, this time by a band of Iroquois Indians In-dians from Canada, the leader being one Ignace La Mousse, better known among the Indians as Big Ignace, or Old Ighace. beoau-e of his moral and physical superiority. These people were kindly and hospitably received and in the Hitter Root, valley the wandering band concluded to remain. The two tribes became great friends, the tics ripening into stronger ones by intermarriage. Through his knowledge of the world and men. Big Ignace easily became a leader. He spoke to ihe Indians in council from time to lime, teachinc them the Catholic religion, re-ligion, its' doctrines, its prayers and its rites, and also suggested the necessity of their having among them the black robes to instruct them, and teach I hem the way to Heaven. It was through his words and teachings that, the .tribe learned the principal truths and practices of Catholic devotion. The Indians In-dians strove with all their power to put into practice prac-tice just what they had been taught, and it was not long until the desire possessed many of them to have some of the black robes in their midst, and at a great council called the matter was fully discussed, dis-cussed, the final outcome being that four of the braves volunteered to make the journey, some 3,000 miles, to Saint Louis, to appeal to the bishop to have some of the fathers sent to them. Xone but the sturdy pioneers can even in a small way im" agine the hardships and toil that were endured by the braves on their journey. It was in the spring of 1S31 that the four Indians In-dians started on this long anel hazardous trip, reaching Saint Louis in the fall of the same year. However, the trip proved to be too much for two of the party, who fell dangerously ill soon after reaching reach-ing their destination and died. The other two braves disappeared while on the return journey and were never again heard from. -The-visit of the braves to Saint Ixnris had the effect of inspiring the Protestant missionary boards to send out some missionaries, but as they were, not the black robes, which the Flatheads wanted, they were not received kindly, and feeling that their presence was not desired, the missionaries went on into the Washington Washing-ton country. Xot altogether discouraged by the failure of their first party, the Flatheads. dispatched another embassy to Saint Louis in-1835. it. being headed by none other than Big Ignace. The party succeeded in gaining the assurance that some of the black robes would be sent to them as soon as possible, and they returned to their own land. However, after waiting some eighteen months and no black robes putting in an appearance, another embassy was sent, but, this time the party met with a war party of Sioux Indians and every member perished, although al-though selling their lives dearly. Still imbued with the idea that the black robes could and would do them good, the Flatheads dispatched another embassy em-bassy in 1839, the last part? being successful, for in ---j the spring of ISlO rather Vtor -I. I hornet -was sent to the Flathead count r.v. The life ..f this noble, , man who spent the best t ars of hU life auionc th; redskins, teaching them Chri.-ihinity and how o till the. s.oil ;hhI build homo, i- toll of inspiring deeds. Father lV'Kiiict .md hL conipauiin n -ached tic 1. Pierre hob- alley, on the line that, separates i ;J-r : . Idaho from Wyoming. sii!h of Pleasant Valln. about duly 15 of that year, being mt iliore by In- ' ' ' dians of the tribes of Flatheads. Ne. Forces, Ferd d'Oreilles and Ivali.s dU. who had traveled about sou inib-s to meet tli'- tirst black ron.-. The corning of the reverend father had been amiouii'cd by .i . courier, and thet-e Indian, numbering oipe I.Kim, had come ;o gi t him and accompany him to tit" land of Ihe Flatheads. Speaking of Ins entrance into the eanip. Father : i , DeSniet. in relating lie incident to ;i friend la'er, , said: "Immediately the whole village vas in commotion; com-motion; nu n. women and children all came to meet me and shake hands, and I was conducted in .' triumph to the lodtro. of the great chief, who had th" 'appearance of n patriarch." The great, chief in . ', greeting the father, sajd: "This day the great spirit ; has accomplished our wishes and our benris ar.- . ; swelled with joy. Our dtire to ho instructed wa 1 so great tint three times had we deputed our perr , pie to the ureal black robe in Saint, bonis to obtain prie.sts. Now. father, speak and we will complv with all that you will tell u. Show lis the way we have to lake lo g.. to the homo .f the great, spirit." lather DeSniet then continued his narrative: narra-tive: '"He resigned bis authority to me, but 1 replied re-plied that he mistook the object of my coming among them; that I bad no other object, , I in view but the salvation of their souls and that j they were to remain as they were until eireum- ' j stances should allow them to settle in a permanent j spot.'' . I The entire party then took up its journey to tho . land of the Flatheads. whpre Father DeSmet. re- j mained some two months, returning to Saint, Louis for the winter. But the following spring he again i returned to the land of the tribe, accompanied by i other missionaries. This party passpd over the j spot where Missoula now stands, going on down through th? Bitter Boot valley, a distance of some ! twenty-eight miles, arriving at a spot, which lies . between the present site of Stevensville anil old Fort ; j Owen, where was established the fir.v Catholic mis- , sion in Montana iu 1S4I. The founding of the first Catholic mission in Montana was certainly a grpat historical event. It occurred on the l'4th day of September, being - - J the feast of Our Lady of Mercy. This was the day j upon which Father .DeSrnet and his band of co- j workers reached the spot, in the Bitter Rent valley, 1 which was to be their future homr. Their first work j was to mark the spot with a hurriedly constructed j cross of roughly hewn timber, and they designated . s the spot Saint Marys. On the following Sunday, the first, in October, the mission was formally in- augurated, and the day after, arrangements wer l started for the erection of the needed buildings. I Within a few weeks time a log chapel sufficiently j large to accommodate nearly the entire tribe was - ! ready for service, and the hopes and wishes of the j Indians to a great extent being realized, their joy j seemed unexceeded. Although not. made known at I the time of its erection, the chapel seemed to havf j been placed on the very spot hallowed from on high by a special occurrence, and historical facts give ! the incident as follows: j "The church had just been frtished when one of the Indians exclaimed: 'Why! this is the very spot on which little !Mary said the house of prayer j would be built.' " j It seemed that while some Indian lodges were camped on the place some years before, little Mary. j an Indian girl about 13 years of age, bad there f fallen sick and died after having been baptized, at j her own request, by one of the Lrorpiois, who hap- f pened to be in the party. While thanking God for j the grace of baptism, just received, all at once she f cried out: "There is no happiness oa this earth; j happiness is only to be found above; (with her weak and trembling hand pointing to the sky). I see '. I the heavens open and the mother of Jesus Christ ' :' invites me up to her." Then turning to the aston- ! iohed Indians she added: ''Listen to tho black jj robes when they come; they have tho true prayer; . f do all they tell you.. They will come and on this a very spot, where I die, will build the houso of ' prayer." . The spot 6elected for the mission was a most , ' beautiful one, and at the same time fertile. Tho work of the missionaries was not alone to teach 1 the Indians to pray and be good Christians, but to 1 1 work and live industriously. Among the first plans " was that of getting a tract of land ready for seed- 1 ing in the spring, upon which the missionaries were to teach the Indians the manner of raising crops. ' ' f The nearest point at which seed might be procured j was Fort Colville, Wash., a distance of over three ? hundred miles. Father DeSmet went there accom- panied by an escort of Flathead warriors. Some T I forty-two days were spent on the trip, visiting the different tribes en route. Tho seed brought back I consisted of a few bushels of oats, wheat and po- j tatoes. These were planted in the early spring, but " . ! the Indians could not understand how tho seed be" ' ' I ing placed under ground and allowed to rot would bring forth crops. Tt is said that after the seed bad . - ? been placed in the ground the Indians for days ' would sit on the fence which inclosed the tract and watch for the green blades to appear. When a 1 bountiful harvest resulted the Indians were over- ! joyed and no longer did they doubt the wisdom of the priests. This was in the summer of 1S42, and it is said that this was the first attempt at agriculture agricul-ture in Montana. . (To B Continued.) |