Father Pierre Jean DeSmet, photographed by Mathew Brady
DeSmet arranges a peace
council on an island in the Missouri River between the Flatheads,
the Blackfeet, and the Nez Perce. What he achieved that fall
was nothing short of remarkable. If he had been influential
among the Indians before the fall of 1846, he was now the most
powerful 'medicine man' in the West.
Word of
his accomplishment spread rapidly from tribe to tribe. His
name was spoken in tones of awe and veneration. If he could
have remained in touch with the Blackfeet the peace might have
held. With a full heart, he climbed into a large canoe on
September 28 and set off on the 2,300 mile-long trip to St. Louis,
stopping at a number of trading posts to celebrate mass, to baptize
children, perform marriages and visit old friends. Near
Council Bluffs he met the Mormons gathering for their trek into the
wilderness, and he was moved with righteous fury when he heard of
their persecution.
Good fortune landed him a
berth on the last steamboat of the season, and on Dec. 1 he walked
down the gangway at St. Louis. During his adventures in
the Canadian and American wilderness in 1845-46 he had traversed
six thousand miles. Alas, he returned to St. Louis for the
purpose of soliciting funds, but he is ordered by his superiors to
stay in St. Louis while another priest was sent back to Indian
Country in his stead.
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