IS SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 10 



generations." (Ibid., p. 121.) In the winter of 1832 Captain Bonne- 

 ville tried to make peace between the western Indians and the Black- 

 foot. The Flathead, Nez Perce, and other western allies called a 

 council to discuss the matter. In the end these Indians rejected 

 Bonneville's proposal, on the logical grounds that a state of open 

 warfare, during which everyone was constantly alerted, was preferable 

 to the false security of peace with an enemy they could not trust. 

 (Irving, 1851, pp. 121-122.) 



While the Blackfoot waged a relentless war against American 

 traders on the plains, the Flathead were uniformly friendly to both 

 British and American traders. Through the fur trade their material 

 culture was enriched with both utilitarian objects and luxuries — 

 weapons and ammunition, metal tools, and household utensils; glass 

 beads and garments of cloth. Aside from encouraging the Flathead 

 to hunt valuable fur-bearing animals for the trade, and attempting 

 to bring peace to the tribe, the fur traders were content to let the 

 Indians live their own lives. 



The appearance of Iroquois Indians among the Flathead was a by- 

 product of the fur trade. Some time prior to 1825 a number of 

 Iroquois men, who had been encouraged to leave their homes in the 

 St. Lawrence Valley to hunt and trap for the fur companies in the 

 far West, settled among the friendly Flathead. These Iroquois had 

 received religious instruction from Catholic priests in the East, prob- 

 ably at the Jesuit Mission of Caughnawaga. They introduced among 

 the Flathead some of the elements of Catholic worship as they recalled 

 them, which were combined with elements of primitive Flathead 

 religious ceremonials. The fur traders Wyeth and Bonneville reported 

 the curious blend of Christian and native religious practices which 

 they observed among the Flathead in 1833 and 1834. At that time 

 the Flathead offered daily prayers and observed the cardinal holidays 

 of the Roman Catholic Church. They considered Sunday a day of 

 rest on which hunting, fishing, trading, and moving camp were for- 

 bidden, unless hunger or extreme danger from enemies prevailed. 

 Each Sunday morning the people assembled to hear the moral teach- 

 ings of their religious leader. The service was interspersed with 

 singing and dancing in a great circle after the fashion of the older, 

 native prophet dance. (Wyeth, 1899, pp. 193-194, 195, 196, 203; 

 Irving, 1851, pp. 389-390; Spier, 1935, pp. 30-39.) However, these 

 services consumed only a portion of their day of rest. The remainder 

 of the day was celebrated as a secular holiday, in which the Indians 

 indulged their love for gambling. Horse racing, the hand game, and 



