self, in his report to the President of the United States, commends them highly, and calls upon the Government for aid and assistance. " They are," says he, speaking of the Flatheads, "the best Indians of the mountains and the plains - honest, brave and docile - they only need encouragement to become good citizens; they are Christians, and we are assured that they live up to the Christian code," etc. Most respectfully, Dear Sir,
Your humble and obedient servant,
P. J. DE SMET, S. J.
You see, Reverend Father, that I have cited the testimony of Governor Stevens, as to our Indian missions. The details which I shall give you in this letter emanate from the same source, as honorable as it is truthful. They form part of an official report on the State of Oregon, sent by that magistrate to the President of the United States, in 1855, and published by order of Government.
Speaking of the tribe of Pend d'Oreilles, the Governor says:
" I am indebted to Doctor Suckley for many interesting facts in relation to the mission of St. Ignatius, established among the lower Pend d'Oreilles; it would be difficult to find a more beautiful example of successful missionary labors. The mission was established nine years ago, by Reverend P. J. De Smet, the whole country at that time being a vast wilderness.
" For the first two years the missionaries lived in skin lodges, accompanying the natives on their periodical hunts and visits to their fishing grounds.
" During this time they found it very hard to live. Their food consisted principally of camas-roots and dried berries, which at best contain very little nourishment. They raised some wheat, which they boiled in the beard, for fear of waste; parching some of the grains to make a substitute for