Letter XLVI.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRÉCIS HISTORIQUES, BRUSSELS.
John B. Duerinck, Missionary of the Potawatomies, America.
UNIVERSITY OF ST. LOUIS, Dec. 23, 1857.
REVEREND FATHER:
A fatal and most deplorable accident has just deprived us of one of our most zealous and indefatigable missionaries. Father John B. Duerinck, superior of the mission of St. Mary's, among the Potawatomies, in the Territory of Kansas, perished on the 9th of this month, while descending the Missouri river in a small boat. This is an irreparable loss to this fine mission.
I cannot describe to you how deep is the affliction which this mournful news has caused us. The first report reached us on Sunday, the, 18th instant. We were expecting him at St. Louis, whither he had been summoned by his superiors,. in order to prepare himself for his last vows in the society. A letter dated November 24th, in which he announced his departure from the mission, had arrived some days before. The following is an extract:
"I intend to repair to the town of Leavenworth and thence to St. Louis, in the course of this week. The chiefs of the tribe, the warriors, sages, seniors, and young men, have all decreed to send a deputation to Washington, or rather two, one composed of Indians of the prairie, Potawatomies not converted, and the other of Indians of the mission. These latter have put me on their list, in order that I may accompany them to Washington to advance the interests of the mission, and aid them in attaining with more certainty the object of their proceedings with the government. It will belong to the superior to decide on what I shall do. Whatsoever be his decision, I shall be content"
The earliest news of the death of the zealous missionary, although still not very precise, was accompanied by circumstances which hardly left any doubt concerning his fate. Two or three days after, we learned certain details of his loss. He went from the mission of St. Mary's to Leavenworth, on horseback, a distance of about eighty miles. Thence he went, in a stage-coach, fifty miles further, to the town of Kansas. He afterwards set out from Kansas, in a boat, with four other travellers, intending to descend the Missouri river as far as a place where steamboats would be met, which, on account of the lowness of the waters in thus season of the year, cannot go up the river as high. as Fort Leavenworth. Descending the river is a very perilous enterprise, considering the rapidity of the current, and the numerous forest-trees, detached from the shores and buried in the bed of the river. To strike against one of these "sawyers" is enough. to capsize the boat., and every year a number of boats are lost in this manner. The danger was certainly not unknown to Father Duerinck : but, a son of obedience, and a man of zeal, he thought, without doubt, that he ought not to recoil before a danger which so many travellers encounter every day. This devotedness cost him his life. Twenty-five miles below Kansas city, the point of their departure, between the towns of Wayne and Liberty, the boat, striking against a snag, capsized. All the passengers were thrown into the water, except two, who managed to cling to the sides of the boat, and holding on to it until the current brought them to
a sand-bank. The three others, among whom was Father Duerinck, perished.
Such a death has, without doubt, its melancholy side; but it appears glorious when we reflect on the cause which occasioned it, and on the example of so many holy missionaries and illustrious apostles who, adventuring with courage into dangers, in the keeping of God alone, have perished, far from all human aid, but so much the more protected in their last moments by him for whose honor they had exposed their lives.
John Baptist Duerinck was born. at St. Gilles, near Termonde, on the 8th of May, 1809. Formed to piety from his infancy, by the lessons and examples of his pious parents, he cast, from that time, the foundation of those Christian and religious virtues, of which he offered, in after years, so beautiful an example. When a college student, his excellent conduct, and his success, attracted to him the esteem and affection of his professors and class-mates ; and the president of the episcopal seminary of Ghent remembers him still as one of those who had afforded him most pleasure during their studies in philosophy.
He had long experienced a desire to devote himself to the conversion of the savages of North America. After obtaining the consent of his worthy parents, he embarked at Antwerp, on. the 27th of October, 1833, and entered the Society of Jesus, in Missouri, in which. he commenced his novitiate at St. Stanislaus, near the village of Florissant, in the opening of the year following, the 16th of January, 1834. Having finished his novitiate, he passed several years in different colleges. His talents for financial affairs caused him to be intrusted successively with the charge of treasurer in our colleges at Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Bardstown.
Every where, the Father Duerinck showed an exemplary exactitude in fulfilling his duties, and constantly gave proofs of the virtues which characterize the true religious. His zeal, his devotedness, as well as the frankness of his temper, gained him friends, not only among ourselves, but also with strangers and Protestants.
A great admirer of nature, be consecrated his hours of leisure to the study of its wonders and secrets, and to the contemplation in them of the beauty and omnipotence of God. He was attached especially to the study of botany, and he acquired a vast and thorough knowledge of thus branch of natural science. He traversed it great portion of Ohio and Illinois, in search of curious flowers and all kinds of rare plants, and made a beautiful and exquisite collection of them, which is preserved in the college of St. Francis Xavier, in Cincinnati. The botanical society of that city elected Father Duerinck a perpetual member, and offered him the chair of professor of botany ; but his modesty and his numerous duties would Dot suffer him to accept the charge. A new plant that he discovered, and which received, in his honor, the name Prunus Duerinckiana, shows how they esteemed his researches in the science.
The distinctive trait of his character was, a great natural energy, joined to an ardent zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. When there was question of gaining his neighbor to God, no obstacle seemed to be able to arrest him. He made himself all to all, according to the example of St. Paul, in order to win them to Jesus Christ. He had admirably adapted his manners to the customs and ideas of that section of country, and if he could not convert the numerous Protestants with whom he was in relation, he rarely failed gaining their good will; and it is a great step towards their conversion, to induce them to esteem the Catholic priest.
In 1849, Father Duerinck was sent among the Indians. This was the accomplishment of that desire which bad conducted him to America. He employed all his energy and all his talents, in this difficult work. The mission of the Potawatomies, of which he became the superior, owes to him, in great part; its actual prosperity. The greater number of the savages of this tribe had been converted for several years; hence it was necessary to consolidate the work of their conversion, by attaching them to the civilized life, and leading them to prefer agriculture, and the other useful arts, to the pleasures of the chase and the indolence so characteristic of the barbarous life. Already, previous to his arrival, the missionaries had persuaded them to cultivate some little fields, animating them by their example, and by motives of faith. It had been discovered, that when there was question of labor, the motives of religion were the only ones which had any empire over the hearts of the Indians, and they succeeded in inducing them to work in a spirit of penance. Profiting by this strong and simple faith, Father Duerinck endeavored to excite them to more extensive labors, and, by causing them to discover a certain plenty in the culture of their fields, he allured them into a forgetfulness of the dangerous life of the plains and forests. With the purpose of forming youth to an intelligent labor, schools of arts and trades had been established for the youth of the tribe. He made two journeys to Washington, to interest the government in this work, and to obtain assistance in it. These schools have obtained a permanent existence.
During these latter years, the mission of St. Mary's has been exposed to great danger of demoralization; first, in consequence of tile great number of caravans which have passed by the mission since the discovery of the gold mines of California, and, secondly, on account of the immense tide of emigration which has taken place since Kansas became a Territory. Amid these dangers, the neophytes, thanks to the care of the missionaries, have preserved their ancient regularity and their early fervor.
At the sound of the bell, the savages assemble, with the same piety as formerly, either in the church or in their dwellings. The confessions and communions are not less numerous. All, not excepting the Protestants, admire their zeal and their piety.
So far, the neophytes have maintained peace with the whites. Rare occurrence ; for ordinarily the approach of the whites is the signal of a war of extermination, if they cannot force the savages to quit their cabins and emigrate into new and more remote deserts. However, the danger of their present situation cannot be dissembled. They are already surrounded by whites, eager to take possession of 19,200 acres of land, that the government has solemnly granted them by treaty. It is especially in such a situation that the death of Father Duerinck, their father and benefactor, who was tenderly devoted to them, and whom they consulted in all their important enterprises and in all their difficulties, will be keenly felt. It is undeniably a real calamity for the whole tribe.
Father Duerinck was superintendent of , the Catholic schools among the Potawatomies. Several of his letters have been published in the annual documents which accompany the message of the President of the United States. They are found in the report of the Secretary of the Interior-, vol. i., and all bear the date of "St. Mary's Potawatomie Mission, Kansas Territory." They are as follows : 1852,
September 24, pp. 379-381 ; 1853, August 31, pp. 325-327 ; 1854, September 25 , pp. 317-319; 1855, October 1, pp. 422-425 ; 1856, October 20, pp. 666-669 ; 1857, October 17. The last one (the 6th September, 1857,) was published on the 17th of last October, in the Boston Pilot, and will appear, like the others, in the next report of the Secretary of the Interior.
The officers or agents of the government of the United States have always rendered the most honorable testimony to the zeal and success of Father Duerinck. In 1855, Major G. W. Clarke, agent of government for the Potawatomies, speaking, in his annual report to tile commissary of Indian affairs, concerning the two schools established in the mission, one under the direction of the Fathers, the other under the direction of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, thus expressed himself: "I cannot speak in terms too favorable of the condition of these two establishments. Besides the ordinary course of literary education for girls, they learn sewing, knitting, embroidery, and all tile other labors of a well-understood domestic training. An industrial school is attached to this institution. In it the youth are taught useful and practical arts, such as agriculture, horticulture, etc. Father Duerinck is a man endowed with great energy, and understands business well. He is entirely devoted to the welfare of the Potawatomies, of whom he has shown himself the friend and father, and who, on their side, entertain tile highest esteem for. him. I have no hesitation in expressing my conviction of the utility of this establishment. Its effects are visible in the neatly-kept houses, and the little well-cultivated fields of the Indians of the mission, and in the spirit of order which reigns in the environs."
In his report of 1856, Major Clarke renews these approving expressions. "Since last year," says he, " the Indians of this agency have made rapid progress. They have cultivated more extensive fields, and manifested, in different ways, their desire to conform to the customs of civilized life. The school of St. Mary's mission occupies the first rank among the schools of the missions, and merits my most sincere praises. The labors of Father Duerinck, and of the `Religious of the Sacred Heart,' serve not only to ameliorate the rising generation, and form it to the customs of civilized life, but their good examples, and their counsels, evidently have a great influence on the well-being of the adult population."
The numerous emigrants who are settled in the neighborhood of the mission, have ever displayed the highest esteem for Father Duerinck.
The public journals have announced his death as a calamity, which not only will leave a great void in the Indian mission, but will excite lively regret among his numerous friends in the different States, and, above all, in the inhabitants of the new territory who have had the happiness of knowing him. He enjoyed universal esteem.
The following is the homage paid to the memory of Father Duerinck, by all his religious brethren in the Potawatomie mission
"Rev. Father Duerinck, whom we all regret with tears, arrived at the mission of St. Mary's in the beginning of November, 1849, in circumstances the most critical and embarrassing, in the judgment of all persons versed in business matters. The mission had just accepted a school of boys, and one of girls, on conditions so onerous that good sense pronounced them intolerable. They were obliged to nothing less than to support annually about one hundred and twenty children, as boarders, for the small sum of fifty dollars each that is to say, for fourteen cents a day, lodging, food, clothing, books, paper, etc., must be furnished to each child; while no hotel-keeper in the place would have consented to board and lodge any person for less than five dollars per week. Further : the United States Government had allowed a certain sum for the furnishing or the construction of edifices, and, by an addition of unfortunate circumstances, the task had scarcely been begun, when the money was already expended. Well, thanks to the intelligence and activity of Father Duerinck, the mission met all these expenses, and triumphed over all the obstacles. But how many trials and fatigues were necessary to shelter his dear Indian family from indigence ! Crossing immense deserts, to buy animals at a low price, and conduct them to St. Mary's ; descending and ascending the Missouri, a distance of several hundreds of miles; continually on the watch, in order to discover an opportunity favorable for the arrangement and disposition of the products of the farm ; exerting himself in every way to find means of subsistence ; ever imagining new resources, forming new plans, and executing new projects, to meet the wants of the great family which had been intrusted to him, is what Father Duerinck nobly undertook for the good of the mission, and in which he succeeded perfectly.
" The Father had a strongly-marked character, or rather a soul virtuously courageous. The infirmities to which he was subject, never drew from him a plaint, nor produced the least alteration in his manners. For him, winter seemed to have lost its frosty rigors, and summer its stifling heats. He continually braved the inclemency of the seasons. We have seen him undertake a long journey in the extreme cold, and continue it in defiance of the icy breath of the north wind, and on arriving at the house where he proposed to lodge, perceive that some of his limbs had become as hard as stone by the cold which had stiffened them; so that, in order not to lose the use of them, it became necessary to bathe them in ice water. He neglected his sleep, he forgot his meals; he was ready for every sacrifice in the interest of his beloved Indians. Amid all these many- labors and hardships, his humor was always equable, his brow serene, his temper patient, his manner affable. Neither the pecuniary difficulties, nor the embarrassments of every kind which sprung up at every instant, could trouble the peace of his soul. The practice of humility was, so to speak, natural. Never any thing savoring of pretension; nothing affected was ever remarked in his air ; never a word, which, even remotely, breathed vanity. He was completely ignorant of those refined allusions by which self-love seeks sometimes to give importance to personality. Although superior, and highly esteemed by all those who know how to appreciate good manners, his great delight was to apply, like the last of the domestics, to the most menial works. He was so dead to all that is called `pride of life,' that he never opposed but an imperturbable brow to the bitter reproaches, to the outrages which he sometimes received from people of little education. Very often, on the earliest occasion, he would avenge himself for these insults by rendering some striking service to the person who had insulted him. When he was reproached with being too kind in regard to certain people who were known to be enemies to the Catholics, ' Well,' replied he,`we will force them to like up.' Father Duerinck was charitable, but his charity was prudent and enlightened. In short, no one ever did more good among the Indians of these sections. He assisted the poor and infirm liberally. He comprehended better than any one, by what way to procure the savages the benefit of civilization. He aided them in every way, exciting them to labor, and recompensing their industry. This, in his case, succeeded so well that the Potawatomies of St. Mary's excel greatly those of the other villages, in those qualities which constitute good citizens. Those who have had the most intimate relations with the Father, know how far his liberalities extended, and their prayers, inspired by the most sincere gratitude, will never be wanting to call down upon our good Potawatomies the benedictions of the God of mercy.
"The death of good Father Duerinck is an incomparable loss. In him, St. Mary's has lost him who was its soul and life; the Indians, a signal benefactor; the widows and orphans, an experienced counsellor; the mission, an excellent superior; and we, the best of Fathers. This blow (as fatal as unexpected) has thrown every one into mourning-bitter mourning. Nothing could console us for so sudden a loss., did we not know that nine years of trials and abnegation, of continual combats against his own inclinations, undertaken and sustained for the greater glory of God, are the best preparations for a holy death."
To this fraternal token of respectful affection I will add, Rev. Father, the homage which the agent of government (Colonel Murphy) paid Father Duerinck. When he was apprised of his death, he wrote in these terms to Major Haverty, superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis :
"The model school of the mission of St.Mary's continues without intermission, under its ancient preceptors, its salutary operations, with its habitual and regular system. At this moment (December 2d), the 'mission and the whole vicinity are plunged in profound grief, caused by the death, sudden and unexpected, of its superior, the Father Duerinck. I consider this loss as one of the greatest calamities which could happen to the Potawatomies, of whom he was the devoted friend and the Father. It is one of those decrees of Providence, infinitely wise, to which we must submit in all humility. Happily for the mission school at St. Mary's, the vacancy left by Father Duerinck can be filled. The children will continue to receive the same kindness and the same instruction. It is especially the parents and young men who lose the most in being deprived of his good advice and his example."
This letter is, no doubt, very consoling, Rev. Father, for the missionaries, and very encouraging to those whom God calls to become so. May generous Belgium send us other zealous missionaries, as well to respond to our ever-increasing wants, as to replace those whom death, alas! too rapidly mows down.
I commend to your holy sacrifices, and to your prayers, and to the pious souvenirs of all our dear brethren in Belgium, the soul of the Rev. Father Duerinck.
I have the honor to be,
Rev. and dear Father,
Revae Vae in Cto,
P. J. DE SMET, S. J.
THE END.
COPY OF A LETTER,
Accompanying a Gold Medal sent by the Holy Father
TO EDWARD DUNIGAN & BROTHER.
Most worthy and respected Gentlemen:
Some books, which, as it appeared by your most courteous letter, you wished to offer to our most holy Lord Pope Pius IX, have been lately handed to him. This act on your part could not but please his Holiness, and the zeal you constantly show the publication of works in defence and protection of the cause of the Catholic Religion, gives hint great joy.
The Sovereign Pontiff, therefore, with great pleasure encourages you in your course by this letter, and returns you his thanks for the gift which you offer.
I am, moreover, ordered to transmit a gold medal, which the same benign Pontiff sends, impressed with his august effigy, and with it, as a pledge of his paternal and especial affection towards you, his Apostolic blessing, which, as an auspice of all heavenly good, he lovingly grants you with the most sincere affection of his heart.
I have only to profess any respects to you, Gentlemen, on whom I earnestly implore all that is saving and propitious from our Lord.
Gentlemen,
Your most humble and obedient Servant,
DOMINIC FIORAMONTI,
Latin Secretary to his Holiness.
Rome, July 6th, 1853.
To E. DUNIGAN & BROTHER, New York.