56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IIO 



The Iroquois Ignace Lamoose, also known as Old Ignace or Big 

 Ignace to distinguish him from a younger Ignace of the party, was 

 the individual primarily responsible for introducing Christian religious 

 practices among the Flathead. Father Palladino termed him the 

 "Apostle to the Flathead." He it was who taught them to say the 

 Lord's Prayer, make the sign of the Cross, baptize their children, 

 and observe Sunday as a day of rest. (Palladino, 1894, pp. 9-10; 

 Mengarini in Garraghan, 1938, vol. 2, footnotes pp. 238 and 241.) 



He it was, also, who urged the Flathead to send deputations to 

 St. Louis to seek a Catholic missionary to the tribe. He personally 

 led two of the four deputations which traveled from the Northwest 

 toward St. Louis in the 1830's. 



Much has been written about the so-called "first deputation" of 

 1 83 1, but it has never been determined satisfactorily whether the 

 four Indians of that party who appeared in St. Louis in October 

 183 1 were Nez Perce or Flathead, or contained one or more Indians 

 of both tribes. There is also some question whether the deputation 

 was motivated by religious or secular desires. It is certain that 

 publicity resulting from the appearance of these Indians from the 

 distant Northwest in St. Louis attributed their journey to a desire 

 to obtain "The White man's Book of Heaven," and that this publicity 

 led to the establishment of the first Indian Missions in the Northwest 

 by Protestants between 1834 and 1836. These Missions were located 

 among the tribes of the old Oregon country far to the west of the 

 Flathead. (Chittenden and Richardson, 1905, vol. i, pp. 21-27; Gar- 

 raghan, 1938, vol. 2, pp. 237-238, 242-246.) 



There is less uncertainty regarding the membership and motives of 

 the other three deputations. All three were incited by Iroquois 

 living among the Flathead. Two deputations were composed entirely 

 of Iroquois ; the third was led by one. Active Flathead participation 

 was limited to the third deputation. 



The second deputation was a family affair. After the Flathead chief, 

 Michael Insula, determined that the missionaries who were sent west 

 in 1835 were not Catholics but Protestants, he returned home and 

 told his people of the disappointment. In the summer of 1835 Old 

 Ignace and his two sons set out for the east. They reached St. Louis 

 safely in the fall. The sons of Old Ignace were instructed and 

 baptized by the Jesuits there. On baptism December 2, 1835, they 

 were given the Christian names of Charles and Francis. Their 

 father told Catholic officials of the western Indians' desire for a priest. 

 He received a promise that a black robe would be sent to the Flathead 



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