Life at The Kalispel St. Ignatius Mission, Pend Oreille River (cont.)
[show Father Nicholas Point drawing of St. Ignatius –only one found] think it is by present day CCA creek
Right at the start there were problems. Spring run off caused floods in 1845, 1846.
- In 1848, the mission was moved up the hill.
- The Pend Oreille River drains an enormous region west of the Continental Divide.
Harsh winters in 1846, 1848, 1849.
- Nearby deer herds almost exterminated.
- Crops did not do well in 1849.
As early as 25 March 1849, A. Hoecken wrote to Roothaan that as “The lands of these Indians are all sterile and little suited to farming; moreover the prairie is exposed to floods in May and June,” the mission should be transferred to some better site.