The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-07-29
HOW URSULHME ORDER MADE
START 1M TREASURE STATE

Mother Amadeus, the flower Of my flock,
is at their head"
Mother Amadeus, formerly Sarah
Theresa Dunno, was born in Akron, Ohio,
in 1946, and came to Montana in the
middle of January, 1884. The heads Of
religious houses must necessarily be per-
sons Of strong character n great ex-
ecutive ability. Both Of these qualities
Mother Amadeus possessed to a remark
able degree. The life for which she was
destined would have tried the strength Of
a woman of robust health. This Mother
Amadeus was not. Early in her conven-
tual life a dose of poison had been given
her by mistake; while she survived, to
the day of her death she was a sufferer.
The winter of 1884 was a severe one,
~blanketing the Yellowstone valley with
deep snow, the thermometer registering
40 degrees below zero. Man fashion, no
arrangement had been made for the re-
ception of the missionaries, although
both Bishop Brondel and Father Ltnde-
smith met them at the train, and others
, welcomed their arrival. From the Life
of Mother Amadeus I learn The motley
gathering, in which the cowboy predom-
mated, in chaps and SombreroS, booted
and spurred, hailed the nun with deliri-
Gus enthusiasm, M those gathered
about the saloons dotted their sombreros
removed their pipes, and observed a rev.
erential silence while the nuns, with low-
cred wells, walked past"
After a few moments consultation, the
bishop and Father Ltndesmith took the
nuns to the house Of n widow Nc
Gamma" Her home, she explained, was
built Of logs which had been hauled
down from the mountains at a cost Of
five dollars a log. The shelter was
neither clean nor warm and the beds
were what might nave been expected IL
such quarters. Nor was this the worst o
their experiences On that first night il
L - @H~- nIAu -WAH
hungry, yet could not eat "the herring
bones swimming in dubious water
which the widow served them. Lacking
chairs, they were forced to sit on TIT
floor, n sleep was impossible as on tn
other side of the partition against which
they rested was a laundry run, by on
Gee Lee, a Chinaman whom some Of TIT
nuns, in their first burst Of missionar,
zeal, mistook for an Indian. Moreover
the cowboys domiciled in the rest Of tn
little house -. gave way to tradltlona
conviviality and hilarity."
The following day Mother Amadeu
succeeded in finding a. four-room nous
on Pleasant street, Miles City. This sh
secured at a monthly rental Of thtrt
dollars, and here was established tn
first Ursuline convent in Montana.
The building evidently contained n
other furniture than the stove, bough
with their scanty means, and wher
INAOJlUcI d.. EId4lCAo COOhC0 OACA AAO6o
meal of coffee and potatoes with an eX
tremely limited amount Of coal. Fac
of the articles, including fuel, was linn
tied Il the price Of ten cents. Here wa
poverty which St. Francis de Assis'
might have envied.
That night the six women street.-the
buffalo robes they had brought wit
them, on the floor about the stove t
serve as their beds.
Their first letter from Toledo held in
closed enough money to pay a month
rent, and they were told to expect a be
of biscuits later. They were charged nC
to break their teeth on them should the
be hard. The reason for this warnir
was disclosed on the receipt Of the gift
when another months rent was four
baked in the morsel."
The question Of temporary shelter vi