Chapter X — Father Schoenmakers Arrives at The Mission.
Chapter X
Father Schoenmakers leaves from St. Louis — His arrival at Osage Mission — He starts the Manual Labor School.
With the end of March, 1847, the Missouri river being declared open, nothing could any longer detain Father John Schoenmakers in St. Louis. Having insured all his outfit, on one of the Missouri steamboat, he in company of Father John Bax, and Brothers John Sheehan, John De-Bruyn and Thomas Coghlan embarked for the far west. They ascended the river as far as to Kansas City, considered at that time the “final tenure (?)” for very few would risk of going any farther. The so called “Kansas City” consisted of a few dilapidated log buildings and a couple of rickety shanties called stores, standing, perhaps one mile below the junction of the Kaw River with the Missouri.
The ascent was very slow and took many days on account of the high stages of water prevailing at that season, and of a large amount of floating ice. They landed on the first week of April, Here they were bound to delay several days to procure oxen-teams to haul all their freight. At last the caravan started, and following a southwest course through the endless prairies of Kansas, which then was only and Indian Territory, a regular desert on which not a single white man’s house could be found. On the 28th of April they reached the Osage Agency, then located about 2 miles from the mouth of Flat Rock into the Neosho, and took formal possession of the two houses put up by the Indian Department for the use of the mission.
From this time the Osage Mission began to be looked upon as a place of some importance,, a real oasis through the desert of Kansas. And why not? Here were at work the mechanics allowed to the nation by treaty’s stipulations, here were merchants with stores filled up with all sorts of Indian goods, here now there were ample conveniences for school and church and nothing more was needed to make it a town of some consideration. So by degrees, this place lost the very bad name it had before that time viz. “Sodom” and began to be called “Osage Catholic Mission” as can be seen on the geographical maps of those days. The reason why it was called “Catholic” was to distinguish it from the two other missions, which several years before had been established by the Protestant Denominations for education of the Osages, but were now vacated.
And lo! Osage children are now brought in every day by their parents and indeed they are the nicest and brightest boys one can find. At first the poor little fellows have hard time to move about in white people clothing, they do not like to dwell into rooms, for few days they are hobbling around, hardly having to show themselves in their new garments to their old friends. But they soon get used to the change, and find by experience, that the new kind of life is by far more comfortable that the one in which they had been raised. After but few days they do away with the (?) blankets and become very ambitious of wearing nice clothing.
Brother Thomas O’Donnell, who has been appointed to be a school teacher at the mission, having not been allowed to leave St. Louis with the others, Father Schoenmakers himself takes the task of teaching the school for the time being. This was certainly too much of burden for him, who hat too many other duties to attend to, but I contributed greatly to endear him more and more to the Osages, who felt proud, being that he himself was teaching their children.
With the end of March, 1847, the Missouri river being declared open, nothing could any longer detain Father John Schoenmakers in St. Louis. Having insured all his outfit, on one of the Missouri steamboat, he in company of Father John Bax, and Brothers John Sheehan, John De-Bruyn and Thomas Coghlan embarked for the far west. They ascended the river as far as to Kansas City, considered at that time the “final tenure (?)” for very few would risk of going any farther. The so called “Kansas City” consisted of a few dilapidated log buildings and a couple of rickety shanties called stores, standing, perhaps one mile below the junction of the Kaw River with the Missouri.
The ascent was very slow and took many days on account of the high stages of water prevailing at that season, and of a large amount of floating ice. They landed on the first week of April, Here they were bound to delay several days to procure oxen-teams to haul all their freight. At last the caravan started, and following a southwest course through the endless prairies of Kansas, which then was only and Indian Territory, a regular desert on which not a single white man’s house could be found. On the 28th of April they reached the Osage Agency, then located about 2 miles from the mouth of Flat Rock into the Neosho, and took formal possession of the two houses put up by the Indian Department for the use of the mission.
From this time the Osage Mission began to be looked upon as a place of some importance,, a real oasis through the desert of Kansas. And why not? Here were at work the mechanics allowed to the nation by treaty’s stipulations, here were merchants with stores filled up with all sorts of Indian goods, here now there were ample conveniences for school and church and nothing more was needed to make it a town of some consideration. So by degrees, this place lost the very bad name it had before that time viz. “Sodom” and began to be called “Osage Catholic Mission” as can be seen on the geographical maps of those days. The reason why it was called “Catholic” was to distinguish it from the two other missions, which several years before had been established by the Protestant Denominations for education of the Osages, but were now vacated.
And lo! Osage children are now brought in every day by their parents and indeed they are the nicest and brightest boys one can find. At first the poor little fellows have hard time to move about in white people clothing, they do not like to dwell into rooms, for few days they are hobbling around, hardly having to show themselves in their new garments to their old friends. But they soon get used to the change, and find by experience, that the new kind of life is by far more comfortable that the one in which they had been raised. After but few days they do away with the (?) blankets and become very ambitious of wearing nice clothing.
Brother Thomas O’Donnell, who has been appointed to be a school teacher at the mission, having not been allowed to leave St. Louis with the others, Father Schoenmakers himself takes the task of teaching the school for the time being. This was certainly too much of burden for him, who hat too many other duties to attend to, but I contributed greatly to endear him more and more to the Osages, who felt proud, being that he himself was teaching their children.
