The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1925-12-11
CBy w. W. MOsEs)

n UTE feeble but with a mind
that is still active and a menu
" Org which enables her to re-
count many happenings in the Indian
country in the very early part Of the
nineteenth century, Margaret Des-
champs, of Piegan and F~rench-Cana-
dian blood, is still on the census of
the Blackfeet Indian reservation, re-
siding at Browning amongst a nU-
merous progeny.
Mrs. Deschamps, who does not
speak the English tongue, but who
talks French fluently, claims to be
1O5 years of age but unfortunately
has no written records to attest the
date Of her birth. She is the oldest of
five generations, having one living !
child, 13 grandchildren, SO great
grandchildren and eve great-great
grandchildren.
She was the daughter of a Piegan
woman, the first of the Indian wives
of Augustin Hamel, or Augustus Ar
nell as he was generally known
among the whites, who was n Of
the earliest of the French-Canadian
fur traders of the northwest and
whose name was given to a stream
arising in the Judith mountains in
Fergus county and flowing north
easterly, discharging into the Mis-
souri, river about halfway between
the mouths of the Judith river and
the Musselshell river and which is
indicated upon the maps Of today as
ArmelIs creek.
At Browning the aged woman lives
at the home of her only living child,
! Mrs. Louise Paul, 68. She has also a
stepson, Charles Revis, who was
born in 1877, and who also resides
in Browning.
Records Missing
Although apparently possessed of a
very good memory, Mrs. Deschamps
makes two statements which cannot
be substantiated by historical rec
Ords. She says that she was baptized
along with a number Of other Indians
in 1928, when she was IL years OF
age by a priest who came to the fort
Z on the Judith river where her family
was located at that time.
Could this statement be sUbstan-
tiated, it would prove of great in
terest to the historians of the north
west as no records now available
show hat the Judith country was
visited by a priest before 1916, when
Father DeSmet passed through that
country.
However, there is a possibility
that a priest may have been in this
country in advance of Father De-
Smet, for which the writings of Fa-
Their DeSmet are the only available
authority.
In Life, Letters and Travels of
Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet," by
Chittenden and Richardson, is a let
ter written September II, 1916 by
Father DeSmet, while in the Judith
country. This letter, in the form of
a journal, contains for the day above
mentioned the following:
, September 17-Nothing very
noteworthy happened. After dinner, a
visit from two Blackfeet of those
u who pass for the worst of all. They
[ inform US that their people will be
enchanted to see us; that we need
5 not have a shadow of a fear for our
I persons; that already some so chill
dren, who have been baptized by a
Black-rObe who came from Red
% river, are wearing crosses at their
necks."
Four days later Father DeSmet
wrote:
September 21-Return of a war
+ party of the Blood family of Black
l feet from a Crow camp, from which
= they took 27 horses. The leaders
one of whom is a son and the other
r a brother Of the head chief, are par
T ticularly friendly toward the Black
S robes. The second long ago fOrsOOk
the worship that the others still rem
i der to the sun and moo He assures
/ us that we will be welcome in his
d tribe, in which there are already
e great number of baptized children
Married Young
The other statement is that she
was married when she was II years
of age and gave birth to her frs
= child when she was IA. This state
y ment is questioned by her daughter
who says that she could not have
d been married before 1884, in which
year the man she married, Louis
Rivet, came to Fort Benton.
. According to historical records