Appendix 1 To Father Ponziglione's Memoir — A Copy of a letter to Sister M. Coaina Mongrain about the coming of the Sisters of Loretto at Osage Mission.
This letter is rather long, but it is interesting. Father Paul was responding to a request for information from Loretto Sister M. Coaina Mongrain regarding the Loretto's history at Osage Mission. In answering the request, he provides a condensed history of the mission, and the early town of Osage Mission, focused on the Lorettos. There is also a briefer letter, written in the same time frame, in the Reference section at the bottom of this page. As with some of the other transcriptions, a (?) means I came across a word I just couldn't figure out. In some cases, it is Father Paul's writing, but damaged microfilm accounts for many of the (?)'s.
This letter is rather long, but it is interesting. Father Paul was responding to a request for information from Loretto Sister M. Coaina Mongrain regarding the Loretto's history at Osage Mission. In answering the request, he provides a condensed history of the mission, and the early town of Osage Mission, focused on the Lorettos. There is also a briefer letter, written in the same time frame, in the Reference section at the bottom of this page. As with some of the other transcriptions, a (?) means I came across a word I just couldn't figure out. In some cases, it is Father Paul's writing, but damaged microfilm accounts for many of the (?)'s.
To Sister M. Coaina Mongrain
St. Ignatius College, Chicago Illinois
September 8, 1892
September 8, 1892
P.X.
To comply with your request, I send you few items which will help you to write the history of your convent at Osage Mission, Neosho County Kansas. To what concerns the succession of your superiors from Mother Concordia to the one who now governs you, so likewise concerning the names of those of your sisters who died at this mission, and the dates of their death, you will have to examine your house records. Besides Sister Cerona and Regina, who have been living at the Osage Mission since its earliest days will supply you plenty of memories for a large volume.
Paul M. Ponziglione S.J.
—1945--
In the year of the Lord 1845 the U.S. President sent to Most Rev. Archbishop of St. Louis Peter Richard Kendrick D.D. a petition of the Osage Nation asking for a Roman Catholic mission and requested his lordship to provide for it. The Most Rev, Archbishop gave the charge of this mission to Rev. Fr. James Van De Velde, then Provincial of the Jesuits in Missouri and they appointed Father John Schoenmakers S.J. as superior of the mission giving him Father John Bax, as a companion and four Coadjutor Brothers to remain with his as assistants.
—1846--
Two very poor log houses having been put up in the year 1846 by the Indian Department, for the use of the mission and school in the fall of the year, Father Schoenmakers came to see them and having taken a memorandum of the furniture to be provided, returned to St. Louis.
—1847--
In the spring of 1847, as soon as the navigation was opened, the Father embarked with his companions in one of the Missouri River steamboats for Kansas City, where they landed on the first day of April. The great Kansas City then consisted of two rickety shanties, and nothing more. Father Schoenmakers had to stop here several days to procure some Oxen teams to haul his good to the place which has since been called Osage Mission. He reached here on the 28th day of April and on that day too formal possession of the place. On the 10 of next month he was able to open the Manual Labor School for Indian Boys.
Under the paternal care of the Father, the school was now running in perfect order. Nice looking Indian boys were every day entered as boarders and every thing was prospering. The Father however knew that no lasting success could ever be expected from this mission as long as the education would be restricted to Indian boys exclusively. He knew that from the influence of the woman ordinarily depends on the happiness of the family, and consequently he considered it his duty to provide, as soon as possible, for the education of Indian girls. To that effect he returned to St. Louis in hope of getting the services of some of the different religious communities of Sisters then established in that city.
Here, the good Father knocked on several convent doors, but when the Sisters heard that it was a question of going some 350 miles west among the Osages, which were at that time considered the wildest of all Indians, they shivered at the very idea of it, and begged to be excused, if they did not accept the invitation. And no wonder if they feared to assume such an undertaking! For in those days Kansas City was considered as the “Finis Terrae” and very few would be those who would go beyond that limit.
Father Schoenmakers felt disappointed, but not discouraged. He knows that Father Charles Nerinckx had just established our religious congregation in the state of Kentucky, where we lived in the midst of great many struggles, and inconveniences inseparable from a pioneer live. He came to Loretto to make application for some of us. Rev. Father David A. Deparey (?) our spiritual superior, desiring to comply with Father Schoenmakers wishes, called on the Sisters and laid before them the request of the Father, saying that those of them who would feel inclined to engage in such a hard and far off mission, should let him know about it by the next morning. The Sisters did not need long time to reflect on this matter, and that very day several offered themselves ready to start and any moment for this new mission. Father Deparey was very much pleased with their zeal, and appointed only four of them really apostolic work, and these were Mother Concordia to be Superior, and Sisters Mary, Bridget and Vincentia as her companions and assistants. There was no delay between their being appointed and their departure. On the 9 of September, 1847 they left the Motherhouse of Loretto for St. Louis Missouri. Having purchased whatever the thought might be more needed to start a new community, on the 20th of September they embarked for Kansas City. Here again they had to delay few days to procure teams to cross the desert plains then existing between that point and the Neosho River; at last on the 2 of October they took the old Indian trail leading to Osage Mission on the Neosho.
That the travel through the boundless prairies of Kansas might be as comfortable as possible, Father Schoenmakers provided our Sisters with common horse wagons, and entrusted them to the care of Mr. Jarboe, who very kindly acted as their conductor. The novelty and inconveniences of such a way of travelling could be hard on our Sisters who were all young and delicate and by no means used to that kind of rough riding. But they were all prepared for it. Far from suffering they seemed to become every day stronger; they were always cheerful and happy. Their slow moving over the monotonous prairies, camping out every night, took fully 8 days. On the 10 of October, just one month since they had started from Kentucky, they reached Osage Mission.
In those days the Mission had neither Rail Road, nor postal service, and consequently no one could tell anything positive about the time when our travelers might come in. All that Father John Bax knew concerning the movements of Father Schoenmakers was, that probably he would come in with the Sisters some time before winter. Father Bax however was not to be taken by surprise. To this effect he posted several Indian boys on the lookout. They had to scan the northern prairies every now and then, for it was from that direction the long-expected party had to come.
And LO! On the morning of the 10 of October the boys discovered some smoke on the hills way yonder about 5 miles north of the mission at a point where the old Kansas City road used to cross Flat Rock. After looking very carefully at the smoke they concluded that surely the long expected, at last were coming; and in less than one hour they were confirmed in their opinion when they noticed, at not far distance, the white tops of two wagons both advancing south.
Here, Father Bax was ready and placing himself at the head of the school boys who were all in their Sunday clothes and being followed by a large number of Indians, he went out with them all to welcome the strangers.
The Sisters soon made themselves at home in the poor log house Father Bax had fixed up for them. The Indians now crowded on them and they had a kind word for all. Father Bax had already engaged some Osage girls to come to keep company with the Sisters. Hardly 2 hours had passed since their coming when 4 little girls were brought to them as boarders. Of these, 3 were half breeds, and one a full blood Osage. That very day our boarding school was opened and from that day our convent became a point of attraction to all the Indians. From that day to the present, the mission work has been continued with unabated energy and perseverance. Everything had its special appointed time. The day was begun with a general attendance to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This over, the balance of the time was distributed as it is customary in all education houses.
Being the wish of the Indian Department that our school be a “Manual Labor School,” special hours were set apart for literary studies as well as for manual work; and this consisted in what is called housekeeping work, sewing, washing, mending, ironing, knitting …. So likewise milking cows making butter, cheese, baking, cooking and also attending to a vegetable garden when the weather would allow it.
Though after a while few more sisters were sent to help us, yet as the number of our pupils kept increasing, we generally had more work than we could do. But thanks be to God, the health of our community was always good, and we had the consolation to see that our children were contented and (?) improving. Their parents were well pleased and upmost out of themselves for joy, when on occasion of public examination, which we used to have either about Christmas or Easter, they saw their children receiving premiums for their good behavior as well as proficiency in their studies. Not only were the parents surprised at the success of our pupils in learning, but the U.S. agents and commissioners, who now and then would come to visit our school, they wondered at the quick answers the children would give them on the questions they were making either on grammar, or arithmetic, or geography. What however they always most admired were the literary accomplishments and needle works.
The good news of the success of our school began to spread around, and besides the Osages at different times we had quite a number of Quapaw’s, Kaw and Cherokee children attending our school as boarders. Ours was now a large family and though made up of Indians of different nationalities, they lived all together peacefully, as if they had all be children of the same parents.
—1852--
But roses have their thorns, so our happiness was about to be disturbed at different times by some tribulation. Spite of all the sanitary precautions we made use of to preserve the health of our children, at the beginning of March 1852 and epidemic broke out amongst them. A travelling Indian infected them with the black measles having stopped for one night in the mission's houses, communicated the disease to the boys. Hardly the stranger had gone away, when the symptoms of this terrible distemper became manifest, and in a few days most all of the boys were attacked by them. The infection was now in the air, and no one could prevent its spreading. From the Department of the Boys, it soon passed to ours and Lo! more than half of our girls were now laying down with the measles.
As soon as the Osages hear of it they rush into our house. They fill up every room crying and wailing. They accuse us of not taking proper care of the children, they blame our way of nursing the sick, they take the children from their beds; and spite the dangerous condition they were in they carry them down to the creek to bathe them. In consequence of it some died. Now their excitement reaches the highest pitch. Some threaten to kill us. Others want to set fire to the mission! For several days and nights, we were in continual fear of their coming to attack us. Fathers Schoenmakers had some of the brothers watching the whole night along our premises to assist us in case of any danger.
But thanks be to God, it was only a passing storm! Those Indians who in a fit of madness had carried away our children soon noticed that the few who had remained with us were all recovering and doing well, whereas of those they had taken to their lodges, several had died. Then they felt convinced that our way of nursing them was better than theirs, and gradually they returned to us our pupils. By the opening of May, order was once again established in our school and the old routine resumed. If ever we did perform the month of Mary with great fervor of devotion, it was most certainly this year, and this in thanksgiving to the Mother of God for the assistance she gave us during the trouble we had passed.
The effect produced by this great trial, far from being detrimental to our school, it rather resulted in uniting our Indians to us closer than they were before. The reaction that followed their excitement was in our favor. For they well understood that we could not prevent the coming of that sickness, they saw that spite of the abuses with which they had covered us, we kept treating them with equal love a liberality. They saw that we had no partiality in nursing their children and became convinced that we were looking for their general good, and their confidence in us was fully restored. In truth, we can say that our school arose from this affliction brighter that she was before.
—1859--
Early in June of the year 1859 a ferocious looking Osage Indian by the name of Tanassa, few days after having murdered his wife because she had brought here little daughter to our school, came towards evening to our convent calling for his daughter. He was told that she was not with us. Hearing this he got furious and brandishing his tomahawk, declares that he would kill some of the sisters that very night if he would not get his daughter. Fortunately, at the moment, Father Schoenmakers happened to be passing by and hearing the noise that man was making came in and succeeded in persuading the Indian to leave our house. The Father took him to his room and told him that he had better to keep quiet and go to hide himself as fast as he could, for if people would find out that he was on the mission’s premises, they would come to kill him. Hearing this, the wild man left in great haste and went to hide in the woods. In that night some of our neighboring Indians discovered that Tanassa had been in our house and at daybreak a party of braves started after him. They got on his tracks and meanwhile he was trying to hide himself behind a pile of fallen trees, they fired at him and killed him.
To what concerns the little orphan, she was out of danger. When Father Schoenmakers heard of the death of the mother, well knowing that Tanassa would not be satisfied till he would also have killed his little daughter, he quick took her together with the other little orphan girl of the same age and brought then both to a safe place some 60 miles into the state of Missouri and left them with a family of our friends. About 2 months after Tanassa’s death, the Father went after the two children and brought them back to the convent.
—1860--
The little girl remembering how her mother, at the cost of her life, had brought her to our school that she might become a Christian, was now asking most ardently to be baptized. As she was sufficiently instructed, her wishes were complied with. She was baptized on the 11th of September1859, and in Baptism she took the name of Jane. We were entertaining great hopes on her, on account of excellent dispositions. But the innocent Jane was a fruit already ripe for heaven! After lingering for several months, with a most painful sickness, strengthened with the last sacraments, and assisted by the fervent prayers of her companions, who stood kneeling by her couch, she died the death of the just on the 26 of July 1860 being about 9 years old.
—1861--
In 1861 we at once found ourselves in a very dangerous position, on account of the Civil War. In fact, our location could be no more critical, for our mission stood exactly on the line dividing the two belligerent parties. Besides, we were entirely isolated, the nearest town we might have applied for assistance in case of need being at 40 miles distance from us. Guerilla parties, always bent on doing mischief, were most daily passing in front of our mission and used to call on us either for food or medicines. Sometimes they would be very rough, insulting and threatening, being made bold by our unprotected situation. But God had given care of us to his angels! These unruly troopers, seeing that we were not afraid of them, after a while would feel ashamed of their effrontery. They would apologize for their want of good manners, and thankful for whatever assistance we gave them, they were leaving us unmolested.
Few Osages who were farming not far from us, had remained on their improvements in order to save their crops. But when they saw that the passing troops were respecting nobody’s property, when they saw their fences burned down and their fields destroyed, they packed up their goods, and went to the plains farther west, leaving us to our chances. Finding ourselves abandoned and defenseless, we cheered up our children the best we could, kept school's hours as usual, and encouraged our pupils to trust in God, and implore his assistance. To this effect we established among them a kind of perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and at every hour of the day some of us would be found prostrated before the altar, address to God, through the hands of his Blessed Mother, that powerful prayer, which was on the lips of St. Clare, when seeing the Saracens already climbing the walls of her convent, and having no means to protect here community, she fronted them with the Most Blessed Sacraments. Meanwhile she was repeating “O Lord, deliver not up to beasts, the sous that confess to thee, and forget not to the end the sous of thy poor.”
Horrible days of fratricidal slaughter passed on, towns and cities were leveled to the ground, no quarters were given to anyone who would come in the way of the madden soldiers. Twice one party attacked the other on our very premises! And meanwhile all the Indian Missions that were existing between us and the country of Texas were left in ashes, we, praised be to God were spared!
—1869--
By the Treaty the Osages have made in 1869 with the U.S. Government, they gave up all of the lands they had in the state of Kansas and bound themselves to move on to a new reservation allotted to them in the Indian Territory, now called Oklahoma. The treaty put an end to our Indian school, for most of the Osages are leaving Kansas took also the school children with them. Their vacant places however were soon filled up by the children of new settlers coming in every day to squat on the land abandoned by the Indians.
—1870--
For the whole of 22 we years lived in very poor but comfortable log-houses which Father Schoenmakers had kept adding to those the Indian Department had erected at the very commencement of this Mission. But our surroundings were now being changed, great improvements were daily made by the new-comers and Father Schoenmakers to keep up with the times. Having built a new stone house, 75x50 feet, 3 story high this year 1870 he made us a present of it, and with it he also donated 100 acres of excellent land joining that building, supplying us with animals and implements necessary to run a large farm. So, without having one cent of debt, our convent at once became self-supporting.
Having filled up our house as a first rate boarding school for young ladies, Father Schoenmakers, on the 19th of September, 1870, obtained for us a charter from the Kansas legislature, and from that time what used to be an Indian Manual Labor School, became St. Ann’s Academy. A number of young ladies were soon brought us by their parents and guardians, and the improvements these made has been a credit to our school.
Through our new house was a great deal larger than the old one we used to occupy; in few years it became too small to accommodate the children now coming to us. Mother Bridget to provide for the need and comfort of all went to work and put up most every year some new building. Of these the larger, and that, I might say, that crowned all her works has been the large and most beautiful chapel she erected at the east end of the convent. She also extended our farm by buying more land. And having been to us all for many years a living model of religious perfection, at last on the 23 of January 1890, she went to receive as we do not doubt, the reward due to her, for her many good works.
To comply with your request, I send you few items which will help you to write the history of your convent at Osage Mission, Neosho County Kansas. To what concerns the succession of your superiors from Mother Concordia to the one who now governs you, so likewise concerning the names of those of your sisters who died at this mission, and the dates of their death, you will have to examine your house records. Besides Sister Cerona and Regina, who have been living at the Osage Mission since its earliest days will supply you plenty of memories for a large volume.
Paul M. Ponziglione S.J.
—1945--
In the year of the Lord 1845 the U.S. President sent to Most Rev. Archbishop of St. Louis Peter Richard Kendrick D.D. a petition of the Osage Nation asking for a Roman Catholic mission and requested his lordship to provide for it. The Most Rev, Archbishop gave the charge of this mission to Rev. Fr. James Van De Velde, then Provincial of the Jesuits in Missouri and they appointed Father John Schoenmakers S.J. as superior of the mission giving him Father John Bax, as a companion and four Coadjutor Brothers to remain with his as assistants.
—1846--
Two very poor log houses having been put up in the year 1846 by the Indian Department, for the use of the mission and school in the fall of the year, Father Schoenmakers came to see them and having taken a memorandum of the furniture to be provided, returned to St. Louis.
—1847--
In the spring of 1847, as soon as the navigation was opened, the Father embarked with his companions in one of the Missouri River steamboats for Kansas City, where they landed on the first day of April. The great Kansas City then consisted of two rickety shanties, and nothing more. Father Schoenmakers had to stop here several days to procure some Oxen teams to haul his good to the place which has since been called Osage Mission. He reached here on the 28th day of April and on that day too formal possession of the place. On the 10 of next month he was able to open the Manual Labor School for Indian Boys.
Under the paternal care of the Father, the school was now running in perfect order. Nice looking Indian boys were every day entered as boarders and every thing was prospering. The Father however knew that no lasting success could ever be expected from this mission as long as the education would be restricted to Indian boys exclusively. He knew that from the influence of the woman ordinarily depends on the happiness of the family, and consequently he considered it his duty to provide, as soon as possible, for the education of Indian girls. To that effect he returned to St. Louis in hope of getting the services of some of the different religious communities of Sisters then established in that city.
Here, the good Father knocked on several convent doors, but when the Sisters heard that it was a question of going some 350 miles west among the Osages, which were at that time considered the wildest of all Indians, they shivered at the very idea of it, and begged to be excused, if they did not accept the invitation. And no wonder if they feared to assume such an undertaking! For in those days Kansas City was considered as the “Finis Terrae” and very few would be those who would go beyond that limit.
Father Schoenmakers felt disappointed, but not discouraged. He knows that Father Charles Nerinckx had just established our religious congregation in the state of Kentucky, where we lived in the midst of great many struggles, and inconveniences inseparable from a pioneer live. He came to Loretto to make application for some of us. Rev. Father David A. Deparey (?) our spiritual superior, desiring to comply with Father Schoenmakers wishes, called on the Sisters and laid before them the request of the Father, saying that those of them who would feel inclined to engage in such a hard and far off mission, should let him know about it by the next morning. The Sisters did not need long time to reflect on this matter, and that very day several offered themselves ready to start and any moment for this new mission. Father Deparey was very much pleased with their zeal, and appointed only four of them really apostolic work, and these were Mother Concordia to be Superior, and Sisters Mary, Bridget and Vincentia as her companions and assistants. There was no delay between their being appointed and their departure. On the 9 of September, 1847 they left the Motherhouse of Loretto for St. Louis Missouri. Having purchased whatever the thought might be more needed to start a new community, on the 20th of September they embarked for Kansas City. Here again they had to delay few days to procure teams to cross the desert plains then existing between that point and the Neosho River; at last on the 2 of October they took the old Indian trail leading to Osage Mission on the Neosho.
That the travel through the boundless prairies of Kansas might be as comfortable as possible, Father Schoenmakers provided our Sisters with common horse wagons, and entrusted them to the care of Mr. Jarboe, who very kindly acted as their conductor. The novelty and inconveniences of such a way of travelling could be hard on our Sisters who were all young and delicate and by no means used to that kind of rough riding. But they were all prepared for it. Far from suffering they seemed to become every day stronger; they were always cheerful and happy. Their slow moving over the monotonous prairies, camping out every night, took fully 8 days. On the 10 of October, just one month since they had started from Kentucky, they reached Osage Mission.
In those days the Mission had neither Rail Road, nor postal service, and consequently no one could tell anything positive about the time when our travelers might come in. All that Father John Bax knew concerning the movements of Father Schoenmakers was, that probably he would come in with the Sisters some time before winter. Father Bax however was not to be taken by surprise. To this effect he posted several Indian boys on the lookout. They had to scan the northern prairies every now and then, for it was from that direction the long-expected party had to come.
And LO! On the morning of the 10 of October the boys discovered some smoke on the hills way yonder about 5 miles north of the mission at a point where the old Kansas City road used to cross Flat Rock. After looking very carefully at the smoke they concluded that surely the long expected, at last were coming; and in less than one hour they were confirmed in their opinion when they noticed, at not far distance, the white tops of two wagons both advancing south.
Here, Father Bax was ready and placing himself at the head of the school boys who were all in their Sunday clothes and being followed by a large number of Indians, he went out with them all to welcome the strangers.
The Sisters soon made themselves at home in the poor log house Father Bax had fixed up for them. The Indians now crowded on them and they had a kind word for all. Father Bax had already engaged some Osage girls to come to keep company with the Sisters. Hardly 2 hours had passed since their coming when 4 little girls were brought to them as boarders. Of these, 3 were half breeds, and one a full blood Osage. That very day our boarding school was opened and from that day our convent became a point of attraction to all the Indians. From that day to the present, the mission work has been continued with unabated energy and perseverance. Everything had its special appointed time. The day was begun with a general attendance to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This over, the balance of the time was distributed as it is customary in all education houses.
Being the wish of the Indian Department that our school be a “Manual Labor School,” special hours were set apart for literary studies as well as for manual work; and this consisted in what is called housekeeping work, sewing, washing, mending, ironing, knitting …. So likewise milking cows making butter, cheese, baking, cooking and also attending to a vegetable garden when the weather would allow it.
Though after a while few more sisters were sent to help us, yet as the number of our pupils kept increasing, we generally had more work than we could do. But thanks be to God, the health of our community was always good, and we had the consolation to see that our children were contented and (?) improving. Their parents were well pleased and upmost out of themselves for joy, when on occasion of public examination, which we used to have either about Christmas or Easter, they saw their children receiving premiums for their good behavior as well as proficiency in their studies. Not only were the parents surprised at the success of our pupils in learning, but the U.S. agents and commissioners, who now and then would come to visit our school, they wondered at the quick answers the children would give them on the questions they were making either on grammar, or arithmetic, or geography. What however they always most admired were the literary accomplishments and needle works.
The good news of the success of our school began to spread around, and besides the Osages at different times we had quite a number of Quapaw’s, Kaw and Cherokee children attending our school as boarders. Ours was now a large family and though made up of Indians of different nationalities, they lived all together peacefully, as if they had all be children of the same parents.
—1852--
But roses have their thorns, so our happiness was about to be disturbed at different times by some tribulation. Spite of all the sanitary precautions we made use of to preserve the health of our children, at the beginning of March 1852 and epidemic broke out amongst them. A travelling Indian infected them with the black measles having stopped for one night in the mission's houses, communicated the disease to the boys. Hardly the stranger had gone away, when the symptoms of this terrible distemper became manifest, and in a few days most all of the boys were attacked by them. The infection was now in the air, and no one could prevent its spreading. From the Department of the Boys, it soon passed to ours and Lo! more than half of our girls were now laying down with the measles.
As soon as the Osages hear of it they rush into our house. They fill up every room crying and wailing. They accuse us of not taking proper care of the children, they blame our way of nursing the sick, they take the children from their beds; and spite the dangerous condition they were in they carry them down to the creek to bathe them. In consequence of it some died. Now their excitement reaches the highest pitch. Some threaten to kill us. Others want to set fire to the mission! For several days and nights, we were in continual fear of their coming to attack us. Fathers Schoenmakers had some of the brothers watching the whole night along our premises to assist us in case of any danger.
But thanks be to God, it was only a passing storm! Those Indians who in a fit of madness had carried away our children soon noticed that the few who had remained with us were all recovering and doing well, whereas of those they had taken to their lodges, several had died. Then they felt convinced that our way of nursing them was better than theirs, and gradually they returned to us our pupils. By the opening of May, order was once again established in our school and the old routine resumed. If ever we did perform the month of Mary with great fervor of devotion, it was most certainly this year, and this in thanksgiving to the Mother of God for the assistance she gave us during the trouble we had passed.
The effect produced by this great trial, far from being detrimental to our school, it rather resulted in uniting our Indians to us closer than they were before. The reaction that followed their excitement was in our favor. For they well understood that we could not prevent the coming of that sickness, they saw that spite of the abuses with which they had covered us, we kept treating them with equal love a liberality. They saw that we had no partiality in nursing their children and became convinced that we were looking for their general good, and their confidence in us was fully restored. In truth, we can say that our school arose from this affliction brighter that she was before.
—1859--
Early in June of the year 1859 a ferocious looking Osage Indian by the name of Tanassa, few days after having murdered his wife because she had brought here little daughter to our school, came towards evening to our convent calling for his daughter. He was told that she was not with us. Hearing this he got furious and brandishing his tomahawk, declares that he would kill some of the sisters that very night if he would not get his daughter. Fortunately, at the moment, Father Schoenmakers happened to be passing by and hearing the noise that man was making came in and succeeded in persuading the Indian to leave our house. The Father took him to his room and told him that he had better to keep quiet and go to hide himself as fast as he could, for if people would find out that he was on the mission’s premises, they would come to kill him. Hearing this, the wild man left in great haste and went to hide in the woods. In that night some of our neighboring Indians discovered that Tanassa had been in our house and at daybreak a party of braves started after him. They got on his tracks and meanwhile he was trying to hide himself behind a pile of fallen trees, they fired at him and killed him.
To what concerns the little orphan, she was out of danger. When Father Schoenmakers heard of the death of the mother, well knowing that Tanassa would not be satisfied till he would also have killed his little daughter, he quick took her together with the other little orphan girl of the same age and brought then both to a safe place some 60 miles into the state of Missouri and left them with a family of our friends. About 2 months after Tanassa’s death, the Father went after the two children and brought them back to the convent.
—1860--
The little girl remembering how her mother, at the cost of her life, had brought her to our school that she might become a Christian, was now asking most ardently to be baptized. As she was sufficiently instructed, her wishes were complied with. She was baptized on the 11th of September1859, and in Baptism she took the name of Jane. We were entertaining great hopes on her, on account of excellent dispositions. But the innocent Jane was a fruit already ripe for heaven! After lingering for several months, with a most painful sickness, strengthened with the last sacraments, and assisted by the fervent prayers of her companions, who stood kneeling by her couch, she died the death of the just on the 26 of July 1860 being about 9 years old.
—1861--
In 1861 we at once found ourselves in a very dangerous position, on account of the Civil War. In fact, our location could be no more critical, for our mission stood exactly on the line dividing the two belligerent parties. Besides, we were entirely isolated, the nearest town we might have applied for assistance in case of need being at 40 miles distance from us. Guerilla parties, always bent on doing mischief, were most daily passing in front of our mission and used to call on us either for food or medicines. Sometimes they would be very rough, insulting and threatening, being made bold by our unprotected situation. But God had given care of us to his angels! These unruly troopers, seeing that we were not afraid of them, after a while would feel ashamed of their effrontery. They would apologize for their want of good manners, and thankful for whatever assistance we gave them, they were leaving us unmolested.
Few Osages who were farming not far from us, had remained on their improvements in order to save their crops. But when they saw that the passing troops were respecting nobody’s property, when they saw their fences burned down and their fields destroyed, they packed up their goods, and went to the plains farther west, leaving us to our chances. Finding ourselves abandoned and defenseless, we cheered up our children the best we could, kept school's hours as usual, and encouraged our pupils to trust in God, and implore his assistance. To this effect we established among them a kind of perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and at every hour of the day some of us would be found prostrated before the altar, address to God, through the hands of his Blessed Mother, that powerful prayer, which was on the lips of St. Clare, when seeing the Saracens already climbing the walls of her convent, and having no means to protect here community, she fronted them with the Most Blessed Sacraments. Meanwhile she was repeating “O Lord, deliver not up to beasts, the sous that confess to thee, and forget not to the end the sous of thy poor.”
Horrible days of fratricidal slaughter passed on, towns and cities were leveled to the ground, no quarters were given to anyone who would come in the way of the madden soldiers. Twice one party attacked the other on our very premises! And meanwhile all the Indian Missions that were existing between us and the country of Texas were left in ashes, we, praised be to God were spared!
—1869--
By the Treaty the Osages have made in 1869 with the U.S. Government, they gave up all of the lands they had in the state of Kansas and bound themselves to move on to a new reservation allotted to them in the Indian Territory, now called Oklahoma. The treaty put an end to our Indian school, for most of the Osages are leaving Kansas took also the school children with them. Their vacant places however were soon filled up by the children of new settlers coming in every day to squat on the land abandoned by the Indians.
—1870--
For the whole of 22 we years lived in very poor but comfortable log-houses which Father Schoenmakers had kept adding to those the Indian Department had erected at the very commencement of this Mission. But our surroundings were now being changed, great improvements were daily made by the new-comers and Father Schoenmakers to keep up with the times. Having built a new stone house, 75x50 feet, 3 story high this year 1870 he made us a present of it, and with it he also donated 100 acres of excellent land joining that building, supplying us with animals and implements necessary to run a large farm. So, without having one cent of debt, our convent at once became self-supporting.
Having filled up our house as a first rate boarding school for young ladies, Father Schoenmakers, on the 19th of September, 1870, obtained for us a charter from the Kansas legislature, and from that time what used to be an Indian Manual Labor School, became St. Ann’s Academy. A number of young ladies were soon brought us by their parents and guardians, and the improvements these made has been a credit to our school.
Through our new house was a great deal larger than the old one we used to occupy; in few years it became too small to accommodate the children now coming to us. Mother Bridget to provide for the need and comfort of all went to work and put up most every year some new building. Of these the larger, and that, I might say, that crowned all her works has been the large and most beautiful chapel she erected at the east end of the convent. She also extended our farm by buying more land. And having been to us all for many years a living model of religious perfection, at last on the 23 of January 1890, she went to receive as we do not doubt, the reward due to her, for her many good works.
Paul M. Ponziglione S.J.
Some Reference Information:
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There Was Another Letter ...
... and Another Sister Mongrain. While looking at some other Sources, I found another letter written by Father Ponziglione, to Sister Coaina Mongrain. It is in the same time frame as the one shown above — August 12, 1892. This letter was included in W.W. Graves' book Life and Times of Mother Bridget, Copyright 1928. While the first letter was in response to a request for historical information, this second, short letter seems to address Sister Covina's concerns about the recent loss of a friend or friends. In the closing paragraph, Father Paul expresses some sadness over his departure from his beloved Osage Mission a few years earlier (August 1889). Graves' book, and some other sources, also mention a second Mongrain woman who was a Loretto — Sister Lorenzo Mongrain. Sisters Coaina and Lorenzo, also listed in the Osage Mission/St. Paul Centennial and Sesquicentennial books, were among nearly 80 local women who received their Holy Vows, into the Loretto Order, during the 1800's and early 1900's. The name Mongrain was fairly common among the Osages here. Graves notes: "A majority of the Indian girls at the Mission in 1870 bore names more French than Indian. A few of them were; Antyre, Bellieu, Choteau, Mongrain, Pappin, Perrier and others I have forgotten." The most recognized Mongrain was Charles who was a Union Army scout and interpreter. His stone is the most prominent on the Osage gravesite at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery at St. Paul. For more information about the cemetery and this grave follow THIS LINK. |
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Father Paul to Sister Coaina: 
The Osage Gravesite at St. Francis Cemetery is marked by three stones. Two 30” sandstone cubes were moved from an earlier mission cemetery to St. Francis, and they mark two common Indian graves. The tall stone marks the grave of Osage-Cherokee Charles Mongrain. (Click to enlarge)
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Date Notations:
As a footnote, Father Paul often writes the date of the event or chapter topic in the margin. Most chapters only have one or two dates. In this case, his letter spans a period of nearly forty years so there were several dates entered in the margin. If you are using a computer monitor, an image of one of his handwritten pages is in the background and you can see two of his margin dates. I have entered the dates, as dash-parenthesis-dash above the starting paragraph.
As a footnote, Father Paul often writes the date of the event or chapter topic in the margin. Most chapters only have one or two dates. In this case, his letter spans a period of nearly forty years so there were several dates entered in the margin. If you are using a computer monitor, an image of one of his handwritten pages is in the background and you can see two of his margin dates. I have entered the dates, as dash-parenthesis-dash above the starting paragraph.
