The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-10-31
VI N NFFl NN LNFIJIT y Y l---FT-Tv
FROM IS T IL
W|!|1BiIiA zI:R:|RIlORS:
By. MARTHA IT, u. 'PfIAsssfANN.p

A0NlA4 AA41 4 q MA s(AAf~h~ -
Most of those who are. at al
MI familiar with the early history
~ Qrof Montana haYe heard 8 OF
c eh} i3 g fo5uuTT me NV Who, ii TIE
spFipg, S 6fa 1851 Set out for st, Louis,
for the purpose cf trying to induce
the Jesuits to- vi Visit sit theft country and
Instruct them . In the faith Of which
tffeyd had acquired some knowledge
from Catholic Iroquois and they may;
5 like myself, have wondered how the
IPoauois,, who lived in the far east,
CHANGED atoDlbe in the land of the
FIathsadsyE9T % D5Dn5iA6 to9l7h q
Tie reason for this is found in the
ee6n0fnic interpretation Of history.
IssR IS sal 10 ens good authority that
theiJgreat 5 Hudson's Bay company
having entered theD Upper Missouri
country and thatlnear the headwat-
ems lnf the Columbia, did not find the
indians alivento their commercial OPP
p0rtunities. They killed buffalo lite,
be s.uge,I and trap edo fur bearing ans
1mals,l bytJQnly enough foE thelr9oYn
needs The white men Tatad them
as incident, and hopingdto spur them
to. greater efficiency, sent, Iroquois
among them, which led, undoubtedly,
to the .IToQuois, Ignatius, becoming.
influential IN the 'F1aithead nation.
The first deputation sent east at
his iiistigatforf,s came to grief. Two
of its members died III st. Louis, and
the fate Of the remaining two was
never learned. In 1885 a. second de-
putation was sent headed by Igna-
thus Euho took with him two of his
sons he4awished ton have baptizeId.
This company did not reach st. Louis
until sDeeeplher Having secured
promise that missionaries would bel
glEantedo them, Ignatius9 returned tol
the Flat so ao59si9 aoBs u5inNl
For eighteen, months the i indians
patiently, awaited the fulfillment. Of
the promise, and then, dispatched a
third, deputatiop, which was conf
posed of three F'lath eads, a Nez Percel
and Tguatius. y This delegation was
wiped out by the Sioux whose domain
they had to cross on their way to |
Sta IIotiis'tG ng,Ws68d J9IiIiio2 III aloAI
When the news of the tragic fate
of this se6mpaHy reached the Fiat
headssd they Began to think their
medicine'' precluded their lever hav4
ing a priest, but, two Iroq uois5 Peter
Catcher, land young Ignatius, Offered
to make a fourth effort to secure one.
These Indians travelled with party
Of trappers,a and made atquick and
safe journey. sGThis Ill was in, 1891
eight years after the first deputation,
started for st. Louis. This time
they received not only a promise butt
Father DeSmet offered to return
with them
The Jesuit Father had been serv-
ing his apprenticeship as a mission
AIRY among the Potawatomies at, or
near Council Bluffs. 1t was not an
experience to be coveted. He wrote
If his trip up the river, 81 would
-ather cross the ocean than ascend
he Missouri river. The current is
20 swift that in order to get up the {
liver the boat must be heavily load
ID and the steam at full pressure.
Hence, the traveller is in imminent I
LANCER of being shot up into the air |
~ an explosion and coming down, {
in bits ]
His short stay with the Otoes did
lot impress him with The cleanliness
# the savages. He was invited to
he chiefs hut where a squaw asked :
i'm to be seated on an extremely
.reasy cushion, placed on an equally