Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/171

 BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN OREGON and

in the

161

spring of 1831 they started eastward and reached fall. Their presence, however, did not

their destination that

seem to

attract

any

were many The hardships of the upon them, and two became dangerously special attention, since there

Indians about St. Louis at that time.

journey told heavily ill and afterwards died.

In their sickness both asked to be

Their baptized by the black-robed priests, which was done. Christian names were Narcissa and Paul, and the record is in the Cathedral of St. Louis, and both were buried in the

Roman

Catholic cemetery at that place, Narcissa on October 31st and Paul, November'l7th, 1831.

The story of the Indians going from the "Oregon Country" to St. Louis in search of the white man's "Book of Life" has been repeatdly told, but has been doubted in many quarters. The above statement with reference to the occurrence was condensed from the writings of Rt. Rev. Joseph Rosati, Bishop of

and a further proof that the Indians armay be found in the letter books of Gen. William Clark, Governor of Missouri at that time, now in possession of the Kansas Historical Society. A second deputation was sent in 1832, consisting of one Iroquois and his family. He arrived safely in St. Louis, had St.

Louis

in

1831



rived in St. Louis in 1831

his children baptized, was returning home to his people, with the hope of soon having priests in his country, but was killed by the Sioux Indians.

Dr. John McLoughlin, of Canada,

who began

his career in

North-West Company, when that company was merged into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, was selected as chief factor to take charge of the combined 1800 as an employee of

-the

business of both companies in

Rocky Mountains.

He came

to

all

the territory west of the

Oregon

in

1824 and changed

the headquarters from Astoria to Belle Vue Point the site of the present citv of Vancouver and built a fort there. He

permitted the employees whose terms of service had expired to settle in the Willamette vallev and on the Cowlitz river.

Numbers

of these

men had married Indian

and began to wish for the presence of a

wives, had children,

priest.