Chapter V: 1 (3)

The north sands are rapidly increasing, and extending further to the southward. In the memory of several of those who have been longest in the country, Cape Disappointment has been encroached upon some {289} hundred feet by the sea, and, during my short experience, nearly half an acre of the middle sands was washed away in a few days. These sands are known to change every season.

The exploration made of the Clatsop, or South channel, it is believed, will give more safety to vessels capable of entering the river. The depth of water on the bar seems not to have changed, though the passage has become somewhat narrow.

Grey’s harbour will admit of vessels of light draught of water, (ten feet), but there is but little room in it, on account of the extensive mud and sand flats. A survey was made of it, to which I refer for particulars.

This, however, is not the case with the harbours formed within the straits of Juan de Fuca, of which there are many; and no part of the world affords finer inland sounds or a greater number of harbours than can be found here, capable of receiving the largest class of vessels, and without a danger in them which is not visible. From the rise and fall of the tides, (eighteen feet), every facility is afforded for the erection of works for a great maritime nation. For {290} further information, our extensive surveys of these waters are referred to.

CLIMATE.—That of the western section is mild throughout the year, neither experiencing the cold of winter nor the heat of summer. By my experiments, the mean temperature was found to be 54° of Fahrenheit.

The prevailing winds in the summer are from the northward and westward, and in the winter, from the southward and westward, and south-east, which are tempestuous. The winter is supposed to last from December to February; rains usually begin to fall in November, and last till March, but they are not heavy though frequent.

Snow sometimes falls, but it seldom lies more than three days. The frosts are early, occurring in the latter part of August; this, however, is to be accounted for by the proximity of the mountains. A mountain or easterly wind invariably causes a great fall in the temperature; these winds are not frequent. During the summer of our operations, I found but _three days_ noted of easterly winds.

The nights are cold, and affect the vegetation so far, that Indian corn will not ripen. Fruit-trees blossom early in April {291} at Nisqually and Vancouver; and at the former place, on the 12th of May, peas were a foot high, strawberries in full blossom, and salad had already gone to seed.

The mean height of the barometer, during our stay at Nisqually, was 30.046 inches, and of the thermometer 66° 58′ Fahrenheit. The thermometer at 4 A. M. on the 4th of July, was at 50° Fahrenheit, and on the same day, at 2 P. M., 90° Fahrenheit. The lowest degree was 39° at 4 A. M., May 22d, and at 5 P. M. of the same day, the temperature was 72° of Fahrenheit.

From June to September at Vancouver the mean height of the barometer was 30.32 inches, and the thermometer 66° 33′ of Fahrenheit. Out of one hundred and six days, seventy-six were fair, nineteen cloudy, and eleven rainy. The rains are light; this is evident from the hills _not being washed_, and having a sward to their tops, _although of great declivity_.

The second, or middle section, is subject to droughts. During the summer the atmosphere is much drier and warmer, and the winter much colder than in the western section. Its extremes of heat and cold are more frequent and greater, the mercury at times falling as low as minus 18° of {292} Fahrenheit in the winter, and rising to 180° [_sic_] in the shade in summer; the daily difference of temperature is about 40° Fahrenheit. It has, however, been found extremely salubrious, possessing a pure and healthy air.

The stations of the missionaries and posts of the Hudson’s Bay Company, have afforded me the means of obtaining information relative to the climate. Although full data have not been kept, yet these observations afford a tolerably good knowledge of the weather.

In summer the atmosphere is cooled by the strong westerly breezes, which replace the vacuum produced by the heated prairie grounds. No dews fall in this section.

The climate of the third, or eastern section, is extremely variable. The temperature during the day, differing from 50° to 60°, renders it unfit for agriculture, and there are but few places in its northern part where the climate would not effectually put a stop to its ever becoming settled.

In each day, from the best accounts, all the changes are experienced incident to spring, summer, autumn, and winter. There are places where small farms might be located, but they are few in number.

{293} SOIL.—That of the first, or western section varies in the northern parts from a light brown loam to a thin vegetable earth, with gravel and sand as a sub-soil: in the middle parts, from a rich heavy loam and unctuous clay to a deep heavy black loam on a trap rock; and in the southern, the soil is generally good, varying from a black vegetable loam to decomposed basalt, with stiff clay, and portions of loose gravel soil. The hills are generally basalt, and stone, and slate.

Between the Umpqua and the boundary, the rocks are primitive, consisting of talcon slate, hornblende, and granite, which produce a gritty and poor soil; some places of rich prairie however, occur covered with oaks.

The soil of the second, or middle section, is for the most part a light sandy loam, in the valleys rich alluvial, and the hills are generally barren.

The third, or eastern section, is a rocky, broken, and barren country. Stupendous mountain spurs traverse it in all directions, affording little level ground; snow lies on the mountains nearly, if not quite, the year through.

AGRICULTURE, PRODUCTIONS, &C.—The {294} first section, for the most part, is a well-timbered country; it is intersected with the spurs, or offsets, from the Cascade mountains, which render its surface much broken: these are covered with a dense forest. It is well-watered, and communication between the northern, southern, and middle parts is difficult, on account of the various rivers, spurs of mountains, &c.

The timber consists of pines, firs, spruce, oaks, (red and white), ash, arbutus, arbor vitæ, cedar, poplar, maple, willow, cherry, and tew, with a close undergrowth of hazel, rubus, roses, &c. The richest and best soil is found on the second or middle prairie, and is best adapted for agriculture, the high and low being excellent for pasture land.

The pine woods run on the east side, and near the foot of the Cascade range. The climate and soil are admirably adapted for all kinds of grain, wheat, rye, oats, barley, peas, &c. Indian corn does not thrive in any part of this territory where it has been tried. Many fruits appear to succeed well, particularly the apple and pear. Vegetables grow exceedingly well, and yield most abundantly.

The surface of the middle section is about one thousand feet above the level of the first {295} or western section, and is generally a rolling prairie country. That part lying to the north of the parallel of 48° is very much broken with mountain chains and rivers, consequently barren and very rugged. From the great and frequent changes in its temperature, it is totally unfit for agriculture, but is well supplied with game of all the kinds which are found in the country.

The mountain chains on the parallel of 48° are cut off by the Columbia, as before stated, leaving an extensive rolling country in the centre of the Territory, which is well adapted for grazing.

The southern part of this section is destitute of timber or wood, unless the wormwood (artimesia) may be so called. To the northward of the parallel of 49° it is covered with forests. Wheat and other grains grow well in the bottoms, where they can be irrigated. The soil in such places is rich, and capable of producing almost any thing.

The missionaries have succeeded in raising good crops. Stock succeeds here even better than in the lower country. Notwithstanding the severe cold, the cattle are not housed, nor is provender laid in for them, the country being sufficiently supplied with fodder in the natural hay that is abundant {296} everywhere in the prairie, which is preferred by the cattle to the fresh grass at the bottoms.

No attempts at agriculture have been made in the third section, except at Fort Hall. The small grains thrive tolerably well, together with vegetables, and a sufficient quantity has been obtained to supply the wants of the post. The ground is well adapted for grazing in the prairies, and, despite its changeable climate, stock is found to thrive well and endure the severity of the winter without protection.

This section is exceedingly dry and arid, rains seldom falling, and but little snow. The country is partially timbered, and the soil much impregnated with salts. The missionary station on the Koos-koos-ke, near the western line of this section, is thought by the missionaries to be a _wet climate_.[107]

The soil along the river bottoms is generally alluvial, and would yield good crops, were it not for the overflowing of the rivers, which check and kill the grain. Some of the finest portions of the land are thus unfit for cultivation; they are generally covered with water before the banks are {297} overflown, in consequence of the quicksands which exist in them, and through which the water percolates.

The rivers of this Territory afford no fertilizing properties to the soil, but, on the contrary, are destitute of all substances. The temperature of the Columbia in the latter part of May was 42°, and in September 68°.

The rise of the streams flowing from the Cascade mountains takes place twice a-year, in February and November, from the rains; that of the Columbia in May and June, from the melting of the snows. Sometimes the rise of the latter is very sudden, if heavy rains occur at that period; but usually it is gradual, and reaches its greatest height from the 6th to the 15th of June. Its perpendicular rise is from eighteen to twenty feet at Vancouver, where a line of embankment has been thrown up to protect the lower prairie; but it has been generally flooded, and the crops in most cases destroyed. It is the intention to abandon its cultivation, and devote it to pasturage.

The greatest rise in the Willamette takes place in February; and I was informed that it rose sometimes twenty to twenty-five feet, {298} and quite suddenly, but soon subsides. It occasionally causes much damage.

Both the Willamette and the Cowelitz are much swollen by the backing of their waters during the height of the Columbia, and all their lower grounds submerged. This puts an effectual bar to their prairies being used for any thing but pasturage, which is fine throughout the year, excepting in the season of the floods, when the cattle are driven to the high grounds.

My knowledge of the agriculture of this Territory it will be well to mention, is derived from visits made to the various settlements, except Fort Langley and Fort Hall.

The Indians on the different islands in Puget’s Sound and Admiralty Inlet cultivate potatoes principally, which are extremely fine, and raised in great abundance, and now constitute a large portion of their food.[108]

At Nisqually the Hudson’s Bay Company had fine crops of wheat, oats, peas, potatoes, &c. The wheat, it was supposed, would yield fifteen bushels to the acre. The farm has been two years under cultivation, and is principally intended for a grazing and dairy farm. They have now seventy milch cows, and make butter, &c., to supply their contract with the Russians.

{299} The Cowelitz farm is also in the western section. The produce of wheat is good—about twenty bushels to the acre. The ground, however, has just been brought under cultivation. The Company have here six hundred acres, which are situated on the Cowelitz river, about thirty miles from the Columbia, and on the former are erecting a saw and grist mill. The farm is finely situated, and the harvest of 1841 produced seven thousand bushels of wheat.[109]

Several Canadians are also established here, who told me that they succeeded well with but little work. They have erected buildings, live comfortably, and work small farms of fifty acres.

I was told that the stock on these farms did not thrive so well as elsewhere. There are no low prairie grounds on the river in this vicinity, and it is too far for them to resort to the Kamas plains, a fine grazing country, but a few miles distant. The wolves make sad depredations with the increase of their flock, if not well watched.

The hilly portion of the country, although its soil in many places is very good, is yet so heavily timbered as to make it, in the present state of the country, valueless: this is also the case with many fine portions of {300} level ground. There are, however, large tracts of fine prairie, suitable for cultivation, and ready for the plough.

The Willamette valley is supposed to be the finest portion of the country, though I am of opinion that many parts of the southern portion of the territory will be found far superior to it. The largest settlement is in the northern part of the valley, some fifteen miles above the falls. About sixty families are settled there, the industrious of whom appear to be thriving. They are composed of American missionaries, trappers, and Canadians, who were formerly servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company. All of them appeared to be doing well; but I was on the whole disappointed, from the reports that had been made to me, not to find the settlement in a state of greater forwardness, considering the advantages the missionaries have had.

In comparison with our own country, I would say that the labour necessary in this territory to acquire wealth or subsistence is in the proportion of one to three; or in other words, a man must work through the year three times as much in the United States, to gain the like competency. The care of stock, which occupies so much time {301} with us, requires no attention there, and on the increase only a man might find support.

The wheat of this valley yields thirty-five to forty bushels for one sown, or twenty to thirty bushels to the acre; its quality is superior to that grown in the United States, and its weight nearly four pounds to the bushel heavier. The above is the yield of new land; but it is believed it will greatly exceed this after the third crop, when the land has been broken up and well tilled.

After passing into the middle section, the climate undergoes a decided change; in place of the cool and moist atmosphere, one that is dry and arid is entered, and the crops suffer from drought.

The only wood or bush seen, is the wormwood, (artimesia), and this only in places. All cultivation has to be more or less carried on by irrigation.

The country bordering the Columbia, above the Dalles, to the north and south of the river, is the poorest in the territory, and has no doubt led many to look upon the middle section as perfectly useless to man. Twenty or thirty miles on either side of the river are so; but beyond that a fine grazing country exists, and in very many places there are portions of it that might be advantageously {302} farmed. On the banks of the Wallawalla, a small stream emptying into the Columbia, about twenty-five miles from the Company’s post, a missionary is established who raises very fine wheat on the low bottoms, by using its waters for the purpose of irrigation. This is also the case at the mission station at Lapwai, on the Koos-koos-ke, where fine crops are raised; grains, vegetables and some fruits thrive remarkably well. In the northern part of this section, at Chimekaine, there is another missionary station. Near the Spokan, and at Colville, the country is well adapted for agriculture, and it is successfully carried on. Colville supplies all the northern posts, and the missionaries in its vicinity are doing well. The northern part of this section will be able to supply the whole southern part with wood. At Colville the changes of temperature are great during the twenty-four hours, but are not injurious to the small grain. The cultivation of fruit has been successful.

FISHERIES.—It will be almost impossible to give an idea of the extensive fisheries in the rivers and on the coast. They all abound in salmon of the finest flavour, which run twice a year, beginning in May {303} and October, and appear inexhaustible; the whole population live upon them. The Columbia produces the largest, and probably affords the greatest numbers. There are some few of the branches of the Columbia that the spring fish do not enter, but they are plentifully supplied in the fall.

The great fishery of the Columbia is at the Dalles; but all the rivers are well supplied. The last one on the northern branch of the Columbia is near Colville, at the Kettle falls; but salmon are found above this in the river and its tributaries.

In Frazer’s river the salmon are said to be very numerous, but not large; they are unable to get above the falls some eighty miles from the sea.

In the rivers and sounds are found several kinds of salmon, salmon-trout, sturgeon, cod, carp, sole, flounders, ray, perch, herring, lamprey eels, and a kind of smelt, called “_shrow_,” in great abundance; also large quantities of shell fish, viz: crabs, clams, oysters, muscles, &c., which are all used by the natives, and constitute the greater proportion of their food.

Whales in numbers are found along the coast, and are frequently captured by the {304} Indians in and at the mouth of the straits of Juan de Fuca.

GAME.—Abundance of game exists, such as elk, deer, antelope, bears, wolves, foxes, musk-rats, martins, bears and siffleurs, which are eaten by the Canadians. In the middle section, or that designated as the rolling prairie, no game is found. The fur-bearing animals are decreasing in numbers yearly, particularly south of the parallel of 48°; indeed it is very doubtful whether they are sufficiently numerous to repay the expense of hunting them.

The Hudson’s Bay Company have almost the exclusive monopoly of this business. They have decreased, owing to being hunted without regard to season. This is not, however, the case to the north; there the Company have been left to exercise their own rule, and prevent the indiscriminate slaughter of either old or young, out of the proper season.

In the spring and fall, the rivers are literally covered with geese, ducks, and other water fowl.

In the eastern section, the buffalo abound, and are hunted by the Oregon Indians, as well as the Blackfeet. Wolves are troublesome to the settlers, but they are not so {305} numerous as formerly. From the advantages this country possesses, it bids fair to have an extensive commerce on advantageous terms with most ports of the Pacific. It is well calculated to produce the following which, in a few years after its settlement, would become its staples, viz: furs, salted beef and pork, fish, grain, flour, wool, hides, tallow, lumber, and perhaps coal. A ready market for all these is now to be found in the Pacific; and in return for them sugar, coffee and other tropical productions, may be had at the Sandwich Islands—advantages that few new countries possess, viz: the facility of a market, and one that in time must become of immense extent.

_Manufacturing power._—This country, it is believed, affords as many sites for water power as any other, and in many places within reach of navigable waters. The timber of the western section, to the south of 49°, is not so good as that of the north. This is imputed to the climate being milder and more changeable. A great difference is found between the north and south sides of the trees, the one being of a hard and close grain, while the other is open and spongy.

To the north of the parallel 49°, on Frazer’s River, an abundance of fine timber {306} for spars of any dimensions is easily obtained.

There will always be a demand for the timber of this country at high prices throughout the Pacific. The oak is well adapted for ship timber, and abundance of ash, cedar, cypress and arbor vitæ, may be had for fuel, fencing, &c.; and, although the southern part of the middle section is destitute of timber, it may be supplied from the eastern or northern sections by water carriage.

Intercommunication would at first appear to be difficult between the different parts of the country, but I take a different view of it.

Stock of all kinds thrive exceedingly well, and they will in consequence always abound in the territory. The soil affords every advantage for making good roads, and, in process of time, transportation must become comparatively cheap.

SETTLEMENTS.—They consist principally of those belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company, and where the missionaries have established themselves. They are as follows: In the western section, Fort Simpson, Fort McLaughlin, Fort Langley, Nisqually, Cowelitz, Fort George, Vancouver, and Umpqua; Fort St. James, Barbine, Alexandria, Chilcothin, Kamloop’s, (on Thompson’s {307} River); Okanagan, Colville and Wallawalla, in the middle; and in the eastern, Kootanie and Fort Hall. Fort Boise has been abandoned, as has also Kaima, a missionary settlement on the Koos-koos-ke.[110]

These are all small settlements, surrounded by palisades, with bastions at their corners, enclosing the houses and stores of the Company, sufficient to protect them against the Indians, but in no way to be considered as forts. A few Indians reside near them, who are dependant for their food and employment on them.

These forts being situated for the most part near the great fisheries, are frequented by the Indians, who bring their furs to trade for blankets, &c., at the same time they come to lay in their yearly supply of salmon.

Vancouver is the principal depot from which all supplies are furnished, and to which returns are made.

At Vancouver, the village is separated from the fort, and nearer the river. In addition to its being the depot of the Hudson’s Bay Company, there is now attached to it the largest farm of the Puget Sound Company, the stockholders of which are generally the officers and servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company. They have now {308} farms in successful operation at Vancouver, Cowelitz, Nisqually, Colville, Fort Langley, and the Tualatine plains, about ten miles from Vancouver, all of which are well stocked, and supply the Russian post at Sitka, under contract, with a variety of articles raised on them. They have introduced large herds and flocks into the territory from California, and during our stay there several thousand head were imported.[111] They are thus doing incalculable good to the territory, and rendering it more valuable for future settlers. At the same time, this exerts an influence in domesticating the Indians, not only by changing their habits, but food, and attaching them to a locality.

The Indians of the Territory are not a wandering race, as some have asserted, but change for food only, and each successive season will generally find them in their old haunts, seeking it.

The settlements established by the missionaries, are at the Willamette falls and valley, Nisqually and Clatsop, in the western section, and at the Dalles, Wallawalla, Lapwai, and Chimekaine, on the Spokan, in the middle.[112]

Those of the middle section are succeeding well; and although little progress has been made in the conversion of the Indians {309} to Christianity, yet they have done much good in reforming some of the vices and teaching some of the useful arts, particularly that of agriculture, and the construction of houses, which has had the effect, in a measure, to attach them to the soil. The men now rear and tend their cattle, plant their potatoes and corn, which latter they exchange for buffalo meat with those who hunt. The squaws attend to their household, and employ themselves in knitting and weaving, which they have been taught. They raise on their small patches, corn, potatoes, melons, &c., irrigating the land for that purpose. There are many villages of Indians still existing, though greatly reduced in numbers from former estimates.

_Population._—It is extremely difficult to ascertain, with accuracy, the amount of population in the Territory. The Indians change to their different abodes as the fishing seasons come round, which circumstance, if not attended to, would produce very erroneous results.

The following is believed to be very nearly the truth; if any thing, it is overrated:

{310} Vancouver or Washington Island 5,000
From the parallel of 50° to 54° north 2,000
Penn’s Cove, Whidby’s Island, mainland (Shatchet tribe) 650
Hood’s canal, (Suquamish and Toando tribe) 500
At and about Okanagan 300
About Colville, Spokane, &c. 450
Willamette falls and valley 275
Pillar rock, Oak Point, and Columbia River 300
Port Discovery 150 }
Fort Townsend 70 } Chalams 420
New Dungeness 200 }
Wallawalla, including the Nez-percés, Snakes, &c. 1,100
Killamouks, north of Umpqua 400
Cape Flattery and Queen Hythe to Point Granville, (Classet tribe) 1,250
Blackfeet tribes that make incursions west of the Rocky Mountains 1,000
Birch Bay 300
Frazer’s River (Neamitch tribe) 500
Chenooks 209
Clatsops 220
At the Cascades 105
At the Dalles 250
Y’Akama River 100
{311} De Chute River 125
Umpquas 400
Roger’s [Rogue’s] River 500
Klamets 300
Shastys 500
Kallapugus 600
Nisqually 200
Chikelis and Puget’s Sound 700
Cowelits or Klakatacks 350
Port Orchard 150
------
19,154

The whole Territory may be estimated as containing twenty thousand. Of whites, Canadians, and half-breeds, there are between seven hundred and eight hundred, of whom about one hundred and fifty are Americans; the rest are settlers, and the officers and servants of the Company. The Indians are rapidly decreasing in all parts of the country; the causes are supposed to be their rude treatment of diseases, and the dissipated lives they lead.

The white American population, as far as I have been able to judge of them, are orderly, and generally industrious; although they are, with the exception of the missionaries, men who have led, for the most part, dissolute lives.

{312} The absence of spirits, as long as it continues, will probably secure them from excesses. Very much to their credit, they have abandoned the use of spirituous liquors, by consent of the whole community.

I cannot but view this Territory as peculiarly liable to the vice of drunkenness. The ease with which the wants of man are obtained, the little labour required, and consequent opportunities for idleness, will render it so. The settlers of the Willamette valley have, with a praiseworthy spirit, engaged to prevent the establishment of distilleries, and there are, as yet, no places where spirits can be bought (to my knowledge) in the Territory.

It is highly creditable to the Hudson’s Bay Company, that on a vessel arriving on the coast with some spirits on board, in order to prevent its introduction, they have purchased the whole cargo, while, at the same time, their storehouses were filled with rum. They have, with praiseworthy zeal, interdicted its being an article of trade, being well satisfied that it is contrary to their interest, and demoralizing in its effects on all the tribes and people with whom they have to deal, rendering them difficult to manage, quarrelsome among themselves, {313} and preventing their success in hunting. Endeavours have likewise been made by the officers of the Company to induce the Russians, on their side, to adopt this example, and do away with it as an article of trade, but hitherto without success.[113] This no doubt has been one of the causes affecting the decrease of tribes, as it was formerly almost the only article of trade.

In the event of the territory being taken possession of, the necessity of circumscribing the use and sale of spirits cannot be too strongly insisted upon by legal enactment, both to preserve order and avoid expense.

As far as the Indians have come under my notice, they are an inoffensive race, except those in the northern parts. The depredations committed on the whites may be traced to injuries received, or arise from superstitious motives.

MISSIONARIES.—Little has yet been effected by them in christianizing the natives. They are principally engaged in the cultivation of the mission farms, and in the care of their own stock, in order to obtain flocks and herds for themselves, most of them having selected lands. As far as my personal observations went, in the part of the {314} country where the missionaries reside, there are very few Indians to engage their attention; and they seemed more occupied with the settlement of the country and in agricultural pursuits than in missionary labours.

When there, I made particular inquiries whether laws were necessary for their protection, and I feel fully satisfied that they require none at present, besides the moral code it is their duty to inculcate.

The Catholic portion of the settlement, who form a large majority, are kept under good control by their priest, who is disposed to act in unison with the other missionaries in the proper punishment of all bad conduct.

I cannot close this report without doing justice to the officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s service for their kind and gentlemanly treatment to us while in the territory, and bearing testimony that, during all my intercourse, and in their dealings with others, they seemed to be guided by one rule of conduct highly creditable to them, not only as business men, but gentlemen.

They afforded us every assistance that was in their power both in supplies and in {315} means to accomplish our duties. There are many persons in the country who bear testimony to the aid and kindness rendered them in their outset; and of their hospitality it is needless to speak, for it has become proverbial.

To conclude, few portions of the globe, in my opinion, are to be found so rich in soil, so diversified in surface, or so capable of being rendered the happy abode of an industrious and civilized community. For beauty of scenery and salubrity of climate, it is not surpassed. It is peculiarly adapted for an agricultural and pastoral people, and no portion of the world beyond the tropics can be found that will yield so readily with moderate labour, to the wants of man.

THE END

DE SMET’S OREGON MISSIONS AND TRAVELS OVER THE
ROCKY MOUNTAINS, 1845-1846

Reprint of New York edition, 1847

Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by
EDWARD DUNIGAN,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United
States, for the Southern District of New York.

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND DR. HUGHES, BISHOP OF NEW YORK.

MONSEIGNEUR,

From the distant solitudes of the Rocky Mountains, in the midst of my missions among the Children of the Forests, I had the honor of addressing to you most of the letters contained in this Volume. I may, therefore, I feel, take the liberty of inscribing it to you, not only as a token of veneration for the distinguished qualities and eminent abilities which mark your character and add lustre to your dignity, but, likewise, as a tribute of personal friendship and esteem, with which I am allowed to subscribe myself,

Monseigneur,

Your humble servant,

P. J. DE SMET, S. J.

New-York, April 19th, 1847.