Jesuits Among the Indians

In the spring of 1841, six black-robed Jesuits left Westport, Missouri, with a westbound fur caravan.  The leader was a burly Belgian-born, Pierre de Smet.  He had spent a year in the Rockies and was returning by invitation from the Flathead Indians to establish a mission.  The first mission in Bitterroot Valley was a success from the start.  The Indians were eager students.

When they set off on their late fall buffalo hunt, the Flathead wanted a "Black Robe" to accompany them to continue religious instruction.  Father Nicholas Point was chosen and for five months he stayed with them on the trail in winter camp, living their life and sharing their hardship.  Point, an artist of sorts, kept a pictorial record of his experiences.  In all, he spent six years with the Flathead, making numerous converts.  Point regarded them as "modest, frank, courageous, good and generous."

Jovial De Smet had equal success, and by 1847 there were three Jesuit missions in Oregon Country.  The Jesuit success, contrasted sharply with that of the Protestants.  It might have been the colorful Catholic symbolism that appealed to the Indians, or it may have been that the Jesuits were better trained.  They were not there to colonize, so were more sympathetic to the people.  Whatever the reason De Smet and his Jesuit priests were a welcome addition to the Oregon Flathead for a time.

Next time...America's First Mobile Home
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On January 30, 1835, Andrew Jackson becomes the first American president to experience an assassination attempt. Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter, approached Jackson as he left a congressional funeral held in the House chamber of the Capitol building and shot at him, but his gun misfired. A furious 67-year-old Jackson confronted his attacker, clubbing Lawrence several times with his walking cane.

Father Kino and the Spanish Missionaries

Spain did not hold the Southwest with much military force.  After all there wasn't much there to contest - no gold, no silver, and the farmland was, well, arid.  It was hot, dry and Spain didn't see any reason to colonize it.

The missionaries however were prominent..  The first were the black-robed Jesuits.  They established several missions in Lower California and the mountains of western Sierra Madre.  The Franciscan moved further north into present day New Mexico and Texas.

These friars did more than share Christian faith - they also instructed people in farming skills, stock raising and carpentry.  One of the most successful missionaries was Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, Jesuit explorer of 40 expeditions, mapmaker, and founder of missions.  Prior to the missionary work, he taught mathematics before coming to present day Arizona in 1687 where he worked for 24 years in the Sonoran Desert.

Even though Father Kino accepted that the natives were probably pagans, he won their trust and their faith throughout his time there. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767 from Spanish America by Spain's King Charles III  but men like Father Kino helped bring civilization to the area - proving that California was not an island which was a common thought at that time.

Father Kino shunned all personal possessions and when he died in 1711, he was on the only bed he had ever owned - a mat with 2 calfskins, 2 blankets and a saddle for a pillow.  After he died, the missions in Arizona were neglected for over 20 years while Spain was preoccupied with France in Texas.

Next time....Beginnings of Southwest Design
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Today on Pioneer Pieces Blog: "On May 31, 1887,Tombstone doctor George Goodfellow rushes south to investigate an earthquake in Mexico.  Reflecting a scientific spirit that was rare among frontier physicians,  Goodfellow is best remembered today for being one of the nation’s leading experts on the treatment of gunshot wounds, a condition he had many opportunities to study in the wild mining town of Tombstone, Arizona.