The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-07-09
CENTENARY OF FATHER DE SMET

'ATHER DE SMET
On horseback and many long mile |
on foot. He had endured liardships
that seem to us almost impossible and
which were undoubtedly the founda.
ton of the ills which he afterwards
suffered. 1t was to the period of 1844-I
1846 that he referred In a letter to a
fellow missionary who was complain
ing Of the hardship OF his lot He
says: I have been for years wan
derer in the desert; was two years
In the mountains, without tasting
bread, salt, coffee, tea, sugar. was
for years without root and without a
bed; have been for six months with
out shirt on my back, and often
have passed whole days and nights
without a nnorsel to eat" 4
Fortunately, they furnish us with a |
map of his journeys. The multiplicity
of places and routes is positively be-
wildering, even though we have only
the record Of those West of the Mis-
sissippi. His journeys in the East and
his nineteen voyages over the Atlantic,
as we'll as his protracted, eventual and
dangerous trip around Cape Horn, are
omitted in his Life" for reasons of
space. But taking only the section
that is put before us for inspection
and considering what the Western
country was seventy years ago, and
how inaccessible 1t is yet In some Of
the parts he travelled over; how next
to impossible it is for man or beast
to live there, and how none OF our
modern conveniences we're then avail
able, even in those parts where ciyili-
cation had to some extent penetrated,
the conclusion is forced upon US that
Father De Smet's apostolic journeys,
be it said with due reverence. were
more extended and more perilous than
even those of st. Paul.
His immunity from harm on the part
Of the people he had to deal with is
Iamazing, and though possibly many an
old saint who laboreds and died nm
known in the midst OF degraded saw
lagos may have equalled him in apos-
tolic zeal, few could have attempted
what he accomplished.
His Fascinating Personality.
/ Archbishop Ryan in the funeral ora,
ttion pronounced ever De Smet's body
described him perfectly when he said
i there was such fascination about
the man that 1t was sufficient for him
to present himself for the attraction
to be Instantly established" It was
i true for all sorts Of people, savage and
II civilized; princely and plebeian; mil
) itary men and civilians; Indian agents
and trappers; Mormons and Forty
!, miners, and Oregon settlers. They al
lhad absolute confidence in him. Among
! the Indians, especially, it was almos
miraculous. He could walk into thu
II midst of thousands OF Infatuated say
. ages all ready to massacre the whites
and could scaim them, and they wouft
conduct him in triumph side by sid,
with big chiefs and muititudes of In
4 dams In feathers and war paint WHIT
: forgot their thirst for blood and rushet
/ forward to greet him. Sitting Bull ant
/ Black Moon would roll themselves vi
: in their Buffalo skins and sleep besid
j him with their tonaahawks ready Il
, brain anyone who might attempt t
) harm him.
~ Conquest Of sitting Bull.
But II he had never accomplishe
,, anything else than the peaceful cor
quest OF Sitting Bull. among who's
maddened warriors he walked wit
that amazing courage which he invar
ably displayed. holding the banner {
the Blessed Virgin in his hand, pleat
ing with his red friends to forgiy
:. and forget, and heading them finall
down into the very midst of the Unite
States troops, for the Indians place
: absolute confidence in his word-an
succeeding, finally, in bringing bac
5000 savages into allegiance to til
United States Government in spite I
all the outrages OF which they had bee
the victims, that alone entities him
. place Of honor among the disti
:. guished men Of the country. Thos
who were living at that time stiH r
s. member how Sitting Bulls terribl
ii war was filing the authorities ,
II Washington with d v.
Catholics, especially, ought to I
!. grateful to him. Seventy years az
:, excluding the inhabitants OF Mexic
there was scarcely Christian India
= west Of the Mississippi. They were a
i plunged In unspeakable physical an
moral degradation. Now. according
= the report Of the director OF the Blu
= eau Of Catholic Indian Missions
!. !. 1904, there were In the United Stat,
4 over 100000 Catholic Indians with II
Y churches and there are 5000 Indis
children in Catholic schools. The ms
who gave the initial movement to tn
= great work was Peter John De Smet.
4 A NOBLE ACT
Id FRENCH GENERAL PINS HIS oW
tdf MEDAL ON PRIESTS
ell BREAST.