The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-15

Rev. Father Albert Lacombe, the
first missionary to penetrate into the
Canadian Northwest as far north as
Edmonton, and who is still doing ac-
tive work in that country, left last
evening for Chicago on a trip East,
after g short visit in st. Paul. During
his stay in st. Paul he was the guest
of Archbishop Ireland, who has been
interested in his missions for many
years, and of President James j. Hill,
who has been his friend for the past
thirty years.
Although now nearly seventy eight
years of age, and in spite of the fifty
four years of trials and privationS
among the pioneers and Indians of the
far Northwest, Father Lacombe is still
quite active and is now at work on
what he hopes will be the crowning
achievement of his life-the establish
ment of a colony for the half breeds"
Of Canada and the northwestern part
of the United States.
He recently secured a tract of land
100 miles east of Edmonton from the
Canadian government upon which to
found this colony, and has since spent
$4,000 in improving it and sending
half-b breed colonists to it. During his
stay in st. Paul he conferred with Mr..
Hill in reference to sending a large
number of the half-breeds who live in
Montana back to the colony, and made
arrangements to have one of his priest
immigration agents sent to Montana
Immediately.
Il hope to make this colony, which
1 have been planning for the past six
years the croWning event of my life"
said Father Lacombe to h e G 10 b e
yesterday. 'The Canadian government
gave me piece of land fifteen miles
square, which 1 was permitted to
choose myself, and since then l have
spent $4,000 in putting in sawmills
and flour mills and securing colonists
All this 1 secured by donation. The
government also let me appoint some
of my missionaries immigration agents
to secure colonists.
THE founding of the colony is nee
essary to redeem these people, of which
there are about 10000 in Canada and
the northwest part of the United
States. They were good class of peo-
pie until"the white men began to throng
the country. They are unable to COM
pete with the white men and are not
liked by them, and therefore generally
live life of poverty and misery.
Il wish to get them all together
where one will be the equal of the
till their ground and work for their liv-
ing. If l live long enough to do this
L shall feel very happy, for then 1 am
certain that we can make good Chris
tian citizens of them and redeem this
people from it's present downtrodden
and wretcher condition"
Father Lacombe will spend some
time in Chicago and New York, inter-
esting friends in his colony and will
h nj TJa
expects to return to his little home in
Pincher's Creek, a thriving town at the
foot of the Rockies, in the province of
Alberta, some time in February.
Father Lacombe has charge of all the
missions in the province of Alberta,
and still spends a good deal of his
time going about the country visiting
the missions and churches which have
sprung up. When in Pincher's Creek
he holds services in his mission there
and. spends his spare time in his little
home which he calls the "Hermitag ge."
His district includes the prosperous
towns of Calgary, Fort Mcleod, Ed
monton, Lethbridge, Pincher's Creek
and others.
First Came to ST. Paul in 184e.
81 was born in Montreal, and re-
ceived my education as a priest there
said Father Lacombe yesterday. Early
in my life l decided to become a mis-
Sionary among the Indians, and as soon
as l was ordained, when I was not yet
twenty-four years of age, 1 started for
the Northwest l came all the way by
boat and stage coach and arrived in
st. Paul in 1S49. The city >S>n con-
sisted of only a few little log cabins
and shacks. Father RavouX, who is
still living in ST. Paul, held services
in little log church, and had quite a
large congregation. He met me when
1 arrived on the steamboat and enter
tanned me like a brother during the
time that l spent in ST Paul organiz-
ing my expedition into the Northwest.
I spent two months in getting my pack
train together and finding Indian and
helf-breed guides, and then we started
out. We went direct to Edmonton,
which was then but a small trading
post of the great Hudson Bay COM
pany. That point was the farthest
into the Northwest a missionary had
yet gone, and the field 1 had before
me extended from what is now Mani
toba clear to the Pacific and up to the
arctic circle, including Alaska.
'The country was inhabited by
Blackfeet, Bloods, Piegans, the Stony
and the Cree Indians They roamed
the great forests and prairies and
made their livelihood by hunting and
trapping. Great nerds OF buffalo could
be seen on the prairies almost any day
and the Indians constantly hunted
them. Now they are all gone The
white man came in and gave the In
dian firearms, and the merciless
slaughter was taken up by both white
and red man.
L made my way about the country
among the different tribes on horse
back or in dog sledges. l spent sew
trail years learning the various Ian
guages and succeeded in arranging die
tionaries and grammars of them, which
the Canadian government had printed.
The Indians welcomed me everywhere,
and the only time was in danger was