n and some Clatsop
Indians. The white man told them he would have come sooner to their aid,
but the Indians refused to brave the danger; and said that he expected
every moment to see the vessel dashed into a thousand pieces. The
Indians, seeing it ride triumphantly over the dreadful bar, considered
it under the special guidance of the Great Spirit, and greeted it with
wild screams of delight. This was the introduction of the serene sisters
to their field of labor. My idea of the sisters generally had been of
pale, sad beings, whose most appropriate place was by the side of
death-beds. These sisters of Notre Dame were brisk, energetic women, of
lively temperaments. Finding the building which was preparing for them
not yet provided with doors and windows, from the scarcity of mechanics,
they themselves set about planing, glazing, and painting, to make every
thing neat and comfortable. Wilkes, in his account of his exploring
expedition, speaks regretfully of the poor appearance the Protestant
missions presented, when compared with those of the Catholics; there
being among the former an unthrifty, dilapidated look, and the Indians
he saw there appeared to be employed only as servants.

The Catholics took pains to make all their ceremonies as imposing as
circumstances would permit; making free use of musketry, bright colors,
and singing,--things most attractive to an Indian,--remarking often,
"Noise is essential to the Indian's enjoyment," and, "Without singing,
the best instruction is of little value." They showed the Indians that
they regarded the comfort and good of their bodies, as well as of their
souls; giving them at Easter a great feast of potatoes, parsneps,
turnips, beets, beans, and pease, to impress upon them the advantages of
civilization, and taking pains that the requirements of religion should
not interfere with the fishery or the chase. All the good customs and
practices already established among them, they confirmed and approved,
and found much to sympathize with in the Indians. The suavity and
dignified simplicity of the chiefs particularly pleased them, and the
relation of the chief to the people,--they consulting him in regard to
every public or private undertaking, as when about to take a journey, or
when entering upon marriage; he regulating the gathering of roots and
berries, the hunting and fishing, and the division of spoils. The
priests said of the chief, "He speaks calmly, but never in vain." They