Latrobe - A Stan Klos Biography
DE SMET, Peter John,
missionary, born in Termonde, Belgium, 31 December 1801; died in St. Louis,
Missouri, in May 1872. He studied in the Episcopal seminary of Mechlin, and
while there he felt called to devote himself to the conversion of the Indians.
When Bishop Nerinx visited Belgium in search of missionaries, De Smet, with five
other students, volunteered to accompany him. The government gave orders to stop
them, but they escaped from the officers and sailed from Amsterdam in 1821.
After a short stay in Philadelphia, De Smet entered the
Jesuit novitiate at Whitemarsh, Maryland Here he took the Jesuit habit, but
after two years the house was dissolved, and he was about to return to Belgium,
when he was invited by Bishop Dubourg to Florissant, where he completed his
education and took his vows.
In 1828 he went to St. Louis and took part in establishing
the University of St. Louis, in which he was afterward professor. In 1838 he was
sent to establish a mission among the Pottawattamies on Sugar creek. He built a
chapel, and beside it the log huts of himself, Father Verreydt, and a lay
brother. He erected a school, which was soon crowded with pupils, and in a short
time converted most of the tribe.
In 1840 he begged the bishop of St. Louis to permit him to
labor among the Flatheads of the Rocky Mountains. "When it was represented to
him that there was no money for such an expedition, he said that sufficient
means would assuredly come from Europe, and set out on 30 April 1840, from
Westport, with the annual caravan of the American fur company, whose destination
was Green River.
He arrived on 14 July in the camp of Peter Valley, where
about 1,600 Indians had assembled to meet him. They had retained traditions of
the French missionaries of two centuries before, and De Smet found it easy to
convert them. With the aid of an interpreter, he translated the Lord's Prayer,
the creed, and the commandments into their language, and in a fortnight all the
Flatheads knew these prayers and commandments, which were afterward explained to
them.
During his journey back to St. Louis he was on several
occasions surrounded by war parties of the Blackfeet, but as soon as they
recognized his black gown and crucifix they showed the greatest veneration for
him. He thus laid the foundation of the extraordinary influence that he
afterward exercised over the Indians.
In the spring of 1841 he set out again, with two other
missionaries and three lay brothers, all expert mechanics, and, after passing
through several tribes, crossed the Platte and met at Fort Hall a body of
Flatheads who had come 800 miles to escort the missionaries.
On 24 September the party reached Bitterroot River, where
it was decided to form a permanent settlement. A plan for a mission village was
drawn up, a cross-planted, and the mission of St. Mary's begun. The lay brothers
built a Church and residence, while De Smet went to Colville to obtain
provisions. On his return, the Blackfeet warriors went on the winter chase, and
he remained in the village familiarizing himself with the language, into which
he translated the catechism.
He then resolved to visit Fort Vancouver, hoping to find
there the supplies necessary to make St. Mary's a fixed mission. On his way he
visited several tribes, and taught them the ordinary prayers and rudiments of
religion. After a narrow escape from drowning in Columbia River, he reached Fort
Vancouver, but was deceived in his hope of finding supplies, and on his return
to St. Mary's he resolved to cross the wilderness again to St. Louis.
There he laid the condition of his mission before his
superiors, who directed him to go to Europe and appeal for aid to the people of
Belgium and France. He excited great enthusiasm for his work in those countries,
several priests of his order asked permission to join him, and the Sisters of
the Congregation of our Lady volunteered to undertake the instruction of the
Flathead children.
He sailed from Antwerp in December 1843, with five Jesuits
and six Sisters, and reached Fort Vancouver in August 1844. He was offered land
on the Willamette River for a central mission, and at once began to clear ground
and erect buildings. The work advanced so rapidly that in October the Sisters,
who had already begun their school in the open air, were able to enter their
convent.
In 1845 he began a series of missions among the Zingomenes,
Sinpolls, Okenaganes, Flatbows, and Koetenays, which extended to the watershed
of the Saskatchewan and Columbia, the camps of the wandering Assiniboins and
Creeks, and the stations of Fort St. Anne and Bourassa. He visited Europe
several times in search of aid for his missions. Indeed, he calculated that his
journeys up to 1853, by land and water, must have been more than five times the
circumference of the earth.
The government of the United States cordially acknowledged
the ability and influence of Father De Smet, and his aid was often sought in
preventing Indian wars. Thus he put an end to the Sioux war, and in Oregon he
induced the Yahamas and other tribes, under Kamiakim, to cease hostilities. He
was chaplain in the expedition to Utah, and opened new missions among the tribes
in that territory. During his last visit to Europe he met with a severe
accident, in which several of his ribs were broken, and on his return to St.
Louis he wasted slowly away.
Father De Smet was made a knight of the order of Leopold by
the king of the Belgians. His best known works, which have been translated into
English, are "The Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains," "Indian
Letters and Sketches," "Western Missions and Missionaries," and "New Indian
Sketches."
DE SMUT, Peter John, missionary, born in Termonde, Belgium, 31 December 1801; died in St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1872. He studied in the Episcopal seminary of Mechlin, and while there he felt called to devote himself to the conversion of the Indians. When Bishop Nerinx visited Belgium in search of missionaries, De Smut, with five other students, volunteered to accompany him. The government gave orders to stop them, but they escaped from the officers and sailed from Amsterdam in 1821. After a short stay in Philadelphia, De Smut entered the Jesuit novitiate at Whitemarsh, Maryland Here he took the Jesuit habit, but after two years the house was dissolved, and he was about to return to Belgium, when he was invited by Bishop Dubourg to Florissant, where he completed his education and took his vows. In 1828 he went to St. Louis and took part in establishing the University of St. Louis, in which he was afterward professor. In 1838 he was sent to establish a mission among the Pottawattamies on Sugar creek. He built a chapel, and beside it the loghuts of himself, Father Verreydt, and a lay brother. He erected a school, which was soon crowded with pupils, and in a short time converted most of the tribe. In 1840 he begged the bishop of St. Louis to permit him to labor among the Flatheads of the Rocky Mountains. " When it was represented to him that there was no money for such an expedition, he said that sufficient means would assuredly come from Europe, and set out on 30 April 1840,from Westport, with the annual caravan of the American fur company, whose destination was Green River. He arrived on 14 July in the camp of Peter Valley, where about 1,600 Indians had assembled to meet him. They had retained traditions of the French missionaries of two centuries before, and De Smut found it easy to convert them. With the aid of an interpreter, he translated the Lord's Prayer, the creed, and the commandments into their language, and in a fortnight all the Flatheads knew these prayers and commandments, which were afterward explained to them. During his journey back to St. Louis he was on several occasions surrounded by war parties of the Blackfeet, but as soon as they recognized his black gown and crucifix they showed the greatest veneration for him. He thus laid the foundation of the extraordinary influence that he afterward exercised over the Indians. In the spring of 1841 he set out again, with two other missionaries and three lay brothers, all expert mechanics, and, after passing through several tribes, crossed the Platte and met at Fort Hall a body of Flatheads who had come 800 miles to escort the missionaries. On 24 September the party reached Bitterroot River, where it was decided to form a permanent settlement. A plan for a mission village was drawn up, a cross-planted, and the mission of St. Mary's begun. The lay brothers built a Church and residence, while De Smut went to Colville to obtain provisions. On his return, the Blackfeet warriors went, on the winter chase, and he remained in the village familiarizing himself with the language, into which he translated the catechism. He then resolved to visit Fort Vancouver, hoping to find there the supplies necessary to make St. Mary's a fixed mission. On his way he visited several tribes, and taught them the ordinary prayers and rudiments of religion. After a narrow escape from drowning in Columbia River, he reached Fort Vancouver, but was deceived in his hope of finding supplies, and on his return to St. Mary's he resolved to cross the wilderness again to St. Louis. There he laid the condition of his mission before his superiors, who directed him to go to Europe and appeal for aid to the people of Belgium and France. He excited great enthusiasm for his work in those countries, several priests of his order asked permission to join him, and the Sisters of the Congregation of our Lady volunteered to undertake the instruction of the Flat, head children. He sailed from Antwerp in December 1843, with five Jesuits and six Sisters, and reached Fort Vancouver in August 1844. He was offered land on the Willamette River for a central mission, and at once began to clear ground and erect buildings. The work advanced so rapidly that in October the Sisters, who had already begun their school in the open air, were able to enter their convent. In 1845 he began a series of missions among the Zingomenes, Sinpolls, Okenaganes, Flatbows, and Koetenays, which extended to the watershed of the Saskatchewan and Columbia, the camps of the wandering Assiniboins and Creeks, and the stations of Fort St. Anne and Bourassa. He visited Europe several times in search of aid for his missions. Indeed, he calculated that his journeys up to 1853, by land and water, must have been more than five times the circumference of the earth. The government of the United States cordially acknowledged the ability and influence of Father De Smut, and his aid was often sought in preventing Indian wars. Thus he put an end to the Sioux war, and in Oregon he induced the Yahamas and other tribes, under Kamiakim, to cease hostilities, he was chaplain in the expedition to Utah, and opened new missions among the tribes in that territory. During his last visit to Europe he met with a severe accident, in which several of his ribs were broken, and on his return to St. Louis he wasted slowly away. Father De Smut was made a knight of the order of Leopold by the king of the Belgians. His best known works, which have been translated into English, are "The Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains," "Indian Letters and Sketches," "Western Missions and Missionaries," and "New Indian Sketches."
