34 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IIO 



tinguished by his superior skill in horsemanship, and by a large red 

 scarf, which he wore after the fashion of the Marshals of France." 

 (Chittenden and Richardson, 1905, vol. i, p. 305.) 



Moise remained a great favorite of Father De Smet, who called 

 him his "adopted Indian brother" whose "exemplary conduct took 

 pace with his renowned bravery and he was generally looked up to 

 with esteem." As an example of Moise's moral refinement, De Smet 

 recalled that on one occasion he and Moise had called upon a chief 

 who had just flogged a visiting Nez Perce youth. Moise stripped 

 off his buffalo robe, exposed his bare back, and called upon the chief 

 to give him 25 lashes. When Father De Smet interposed, Moise ex- 

 plained, "Father, the Nez Perce here present was whipped because 

 he talked foolishly to a girl. My thoughts are sometimes bewildering 

 and vexing and I have prayed to drive them from my mind and 

 heart." De Smet prevented the carrying out of this self-imposed 

 punishment. (Ibid., vol. 4, pp. 1225-1226.) 



De Smet told of Moise's calmness in encouraging his men before 

 their successful battle with the Crow Indians east of the Rockies in 

 the summer of 1846. "My friends," said Moise, "if it be the will of 

 God, we shall conquer — if it be not his will, let us humbly submit to 

 whatever it shall please his goodness to send us. Some of us must 

 expect to fall in this contest : if there be any who are unprepared to 

 die, let him retire ; in the meantime let us keep Him constantly in 

 mind." (Ibid., vol. 2, p. 576.) 



In 1857 Father Menetrey named Moise among the four Flathead 

 leaders who had never failed to follow the teachings of the mis- 

 sionaries after the closing of St. Mary's Mission. (Garraghan, 1938, 

 vol. 2, p. 388.) Moise was one of the Flathead chiefs who journeyed 

 to St. Ignatius to fulfill his religious duties in that year. (Chit- 

 tenden and Richardson, 1905, vol. 4, p. 1240.) After his visit to the 

 Flathead in 1859 De Smet termed Moise one of the greatest chief- 

 tains of the tribe, in whom real piety and true valor at war were 

 united. (Ibid., vol. 2, p. 766.) 



At the Flathead Treaty Council, Moise remained silent until he 

 was asked to sign the treaty. He refused to sign. Then he launched 

 a bitter denunciation of the treaty. He claimed the Flathead leaders 

 would not have come to the council at all if Lieutenant Mullan had 

 not assured them there would be "no talk of land," and that its pur- 

 pose would be to offer help to the Flathead in their struggle against 

 the Blackfoot. He refused to consider cession of any Flathead land. 

 He had no faith in Governor Stevens' promise to make peace with 



