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Rating: 
Summary: A great man who should be better known
Review: This biography, penned originally in 1915, is a splendidly written story of an amazingly fruitful life, so full of adventure that one often feels as if they're reading a novel. Over the course of his life, Fr. de Smet travelled nearly 300,000 miles. He braved shipwrecks, blizzards, drought, famine, sectarian strife, hostile tribes, horrible food, sickness and every imaginable hardship for the sake of the Gospel. Especially dear to his heart were the Indians of the Plains and Rocky Mountains--the Flatheads, Kalispels, Coeur d'Alenes, Pend d'Oreilles, Sioux, and many others. By the end of his life, he had baptized thousands of people, brought succor to the afflicted, food to the hungry, and on several occasions was instrumental in bringing peace between warring tribes and the United States.The book itself is a true pioneer story and reveals a slice of life on the frontier (1823 through 1874) that is rarely seen. As such, it will be of great interest to any student of American history and those who wish to learn more about the great contributions made by those intrepid men of the Jesuit order. Father de Smet represents everything the Society of Jesus used to be: strong, austere, manly, intelligent, compassionate, courageous, generous, and positively on fire to win souls for Christ. Many of his rather soft brethren of today could learn a lot from his excellent example.
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