Left Fort Hall August 19th - Crossed the Snake river and traversed the desert in the vicinity of the Three Buttes - Continued north to the Continental Divide and crossed it about on the present-line of the Oregon Short Line railroad -Entered the Beaver Head valley (August 30th) where the Flatheads were found encamped - Recrossed the Divide into the valley of Deer Lodge creek near the well-known hot springs in that vicinity - Descended the Deer Lodge creek and Hellgate river to its junction with the Bitter Root where Missoula now stands -Ascended the Bitter Root valley about thirty miles and commenced the Mission of St. Mary's, September 24th.
Set out to Fort Colville for provisions October 28th - Went to Flathead lake - Thence down the Flathead river to its junction with Missoula river; thence down Clark's Fork, passing Camas Plains, Horse Plains, and a dense forest of cedar and pine which it took four days to traverse -Passed by Pend d'Oreille lake, which he called Kalispel lake - Thence to Lake Kalispel called by him Lake de Boey - Crossed the mountains to Mill creek, and descended its valley to Fort Colville on the Columbia where he arrived November 15th.
After three days spent in procuring provisions and tools Father De Smet returned by practically the same route and arrived at St. Mary's Mission December 8th.
Distance traveled, 2,323 miles.
1842
"In the spring of this year [about April 10th] I set out from St. Mary's to visit Fort Vancouver and the Willamette valley to confer with the Governor of the Hudson Bay Company and with the Very Reverend Mr. Blanchet, administrator of Oregon, upon the present and future interests of our missions in the mountains " - Went by way of Flathead lake and the route of the previous year most of the way arrived at Fort Colville " in the beginning of