700 children and adults. The mission is dedicated to the Apostle Peter. The number of Christians has grown considerably since my visit. The sight of this interesting little Christian community, growing so admirably in that faroff desert, after centuries of abandonment, was to me a most consoling spectacle, showing the power of the Lord's grace over hearts so barbarous and but now so guilty -for the Blackfeet are considered the most barbarous and cruel of all the tribes of the 'plains.'
I offered the holy sacrifice of the mass among them, by way of thanksgiving. An Indian choir, composed of men and women, young men and girls, chanted the litanies of the Holy Virgin and songs to the glory of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and in praise of his Good Mother, " whom all nations call blessed." Everything was sung in the language of the country. A goodly number drew devoutly near to the holy table.
The Blackfoot Mission, though to the east of the Rocky ?Mountains, belongs among the western missions; namely, the Flatheads, the Pend d'Oreilles, the Kootenais, the Kalispels, the Cceur d'Alènes and the Kettle Falls Indians. There have been latterly (1864) many conversions and baptisms of children among the Spokans or Zingomenes and the Nez Percés. All these tribes are located on the Pacific slope. Six new little churches were in process of construction.
Upon my return to Leavenworth I visited the Mission of St. Mary among the Potawatomies, seventy-five miles inland.
At my return in St. Louis in August, I visited several of the eastern cities - Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Boston,
4 The head chief of the Blackfeet is named Apistotoko, or " Father of a Large Family." He is a remarkable and most exceptional type. The countenance of this savage is almost square; it has something of the lion in it. Apistotoko wears a vest. His head is surmounted with a sort of turban adorned with plumes. He is armed with a shield and a short sabre, larger at the point than at the guard, and ending in a half-circle.-Authors :Vote.