The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-02-21
FATHER De sMET
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF
THE SANITY INDIAN
MISSIONARY.

"DeSmet owes it's name to Peter
John DeSmet, a Jewish missionary,
for whom a town in Idaho was also
named"
This quotation appeared last week
in our esteemed exchange the Grant
| County Review, of Milbank, S. D. 1t
| is found in an able article dealing with
the origin of Dakota names. 1t is
undoubtedly a mistake due to the fact
that the word Jewish" has been sub
stituted for Jesuit" Whether this is
a mere typographical blunder or an
error due to lack of knowledge on the
part of the author, we feel sure that
the mis-statement slipped in unnoticed
by the editor of the Review who is
faithful Catholic and an earnest seek
er of the truth.
1t is because the article in which
this statement appears, is an able one
and likely to be read with much in
terest by the numerous patrons of the
Review, that we give the following
brief sketch of the renowned Father
sanity of Indian missionaries. Rev
erend VIM. H. Tanning S. j., of ST..
Louis University, in the Catholic En-
cyclopaedia is author of the article
from which we quote.
Pierre-Jean De Smet was born at
Termonde Dendermonde), Belgium,
January 80, 1901, and died at St. Louis,
Missouri, May %, 1873. He emigrated
to the United States in 1921 through
a desire for missionary labors, and
entered the Jesuit novitiate at White
marsh, Maryland. In 1923, at the sug-
gestion of the United States Govern
ment new Jesuit establishment was
SAINT near st. Louis, Missouri, for work
among the Indians. De Smet was
among the pioneers and thus became
one of the founders of the Missouri
Province of the Society of Jesus.
His first missionary tour among the
red men was in 1888 when he founded
st. Joseph's Mission at Council Bluffs
for the Pottawatomies. At this time
also he visited the Sioux to arrange
peace between them and the Potta
watomies, the first of his many peace
missions. Wherever he went the Indi
ans quickly learned to admire his fear
less courage while his sanity meek
ness won their reverence.
His almost inexplicable and seem
ingly instantaneous ascendancy over
every tribe with which he came in
contact, and his writings which had
made him famous in both hemi
spheres, caused the United States
Government to look to him for hell
in it's difficulties with the red men
and to invest him with public char
acter. Henceforth he was to aid the
Indians by pleading their cause be
fore European nations and by becom
ing their intermediary at Washington
In 1858, he started on what Chitten
den calls (Life, Letters and Travels
of Pierre Jean De Smet, p. 92), "tht
most important mission Of his whole
career" He travelled with the Peace
Commissioners for some time, bu
later determined to penetrate alone
into the very camp of the hostile
Sioux. General Stanley says: "Fathe
De Smet alone of the entire white
race could penetrate to these crue
savages and return safe and sound.
The missionary crossed the Bal
Lands, and reached the main Siou1
camp of some five thousand warrior'
under the leadership of Sitting Bull
He was received with extraordinar!
enthusiasm. His counsels were a
once agreed to, and Representatives
sent to meet the Peace Commission
A treaty of peace was signed, July 2
1868, by all the chiefs. This result
has been looked on as the most re
markable event in the history of thu
Indian wars. Once again, in 1870, h
visited the Indians, to arrange for {
mission among the Sioux. In such
crowded life allusion can be made onl!
to the principal events. His strange
adventures among the red men, hi
conversions and paintings of missions
his explorations and scientific obser
vations may be studied in detail il
his writings. On behalf of the Indians
he crossed the ocean nineteen times