the hearts of the Oregon Indians. They remain Catholics to this day.
In June, 1846, DeSmet was back again at Fort Colville, and was there joined by Father NobiH, who had just returned from a missionary journey to Fort St. James, the capital of Nevs Caledonia, situated on Stuart Lake. The end of June saw him at St. Francis Xavier mission on the Willamette. A few weeks later he was making his way up the Columbia in an Indian canoe with two blankets unfurled by way of sails. At Walla Walla he experienced the hospitality of Mr. McBean, the superintendent of the Fort. Taking farewell of Mr. McBean, Father DeSmet visited the Nez Perces, Kalispels, and Coeur d'Alenes, among whom were stationed Fathers Hoeken, Joset and Point. On the feast of the Assupmtion, he was again among the Flatheads in the Bitter Root Valley. St. Mary's mission had prospered, both materially and spiritually. He found the little log church which had been erected five years before, about to be replaced by a large and handsome structure. Another agreeable surprise awaited him. The mechanical skill of Father Ravalli had erected a flour mill and a saw mill. "The flour mill," writes Father DeSmet, "grinds ten or twelve bushels a day and the saw mill furnished an abundant supply of planks, posts, etc., for the public and private building of the nation settled here."
On August 16th, 1846, Father DeSmet left St. Mary's mission in the Bitter Root and reached the University of St. Louis, December 10. His missionary work in Oregon was at an end. His biographers, summing up this period of his career, write as follows: "The results of his labors from a missionary point of view, were highly successful. The whole Columbia valley had been dotted with infant establishments, some of which had taken on the promise of permanent growth. He had, indeed, laid the foundation well for a spiritual empire throughout that region, and but for the approach of emigration, his plans would have brought forth
