THE UNITED STATES (referring exclu sively to actual missionary effort made within the present boundaries of the United States).
Early Although priests had vis ited the present territory of the United States previous to the advent into New Mexico of the Franciscan Friar Mark of Nice (1539), Catho lic mission work properly dates from the expe dition of Coronado the year following. Fran ciscan friars were the pioneers; it was chiefly they who evangelized the tribes of Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Upper Cali fornia. Their exceedingly long roll of mission aries, many of them martyrs, contains such illustrious names as John of Padilla, the proto martyr of the United States missions (New Mexico 1542), Francis Pareja (Florida 1612), who published several treatises in Timuquanan, his 'IDoctrina Christiana' being the first work in any Indian language of this country to issue from the press; Ven. Anthony Margil of Jesus (Texas 1716); Junipero Serra (California 1769-84). The Dominicans gave to Florida Luis Cancer, the martyr (1549), Dominic of the Annunciation, Salazar and others (1559). The Jesuits were pre-eminently the apostles of the North, their missions extending from Maine to the Mississippi River. They also announced the Gospel in many other portions of the coun try. Among their best-known missionaries were Martinez (Florida 1566); Rogel (South Caro lina 1569); Kuhn (Arizona 1687); the illus trious martyr Jogues (New York 1646) ; Chaumont and Dablon (New York 1654); Le Moyne (New York 1661) ; Allouez (Wisconr sin 1670); Marquette (discoverer of the up per Mississippi 1673) ; Rale (Maine 1724); Dupoisson (Natchez 1729). Besides Francis cans and Jesuits, other priests engaged in the work, and Christianity was preached to the natives throughout the length and breadth of the land.
many instances the missions flourished exceedingly; the Indians received a rudimentary education and were brought to a high state of civilization. In 1630 there were in New Mexico about 35,000 Christian Indians, living in 90 pueblos, each pueblo having its church, attended from 25 mission residences. In 1634 there were in Florida 35 Franciscans maintaining 44 missions, while the Christian Indians numbered between 25,000 and 30,000.
In California the results were equally satisfac tory. The fruits of the labors of the early mis sionaries may still be seen among the Indians of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Minne sota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine. The missionaries not only evangelized the Indians, but they have placed the whole world in their debt by their work of exploring and colonizing, and by their contributions to science. They wrote exhaustively on many topics, and, more over, preserved to posterity the Indian Ian. guages by means of numerous lexicons, gram mars and books of devotion and instruction.
The Missions In the last cen tury the tribes of the great Northwest were evangelized principally by the modern apostle of the Indians, Peter John De Smet, S.J. (1838-73) and his Jesuit colaborers. The Jesuits, moreover, established missions among the tribes of Alaska. Other noted missionaries of the period were the Benedictine monks, who have met with "marked success, especially in Minnesota and the Dakotas; and Bishop Baraga (Michigan 1830-68) • Archbishop Blanchet (Or egon 1838-80); Bishop Marty, O.S.B. (Dakota 1876-94).
One of the results of President Grant's Policy( was the establishing, in 1874, at Washington, D. C., of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions to represent Catholic Indian interests at the seat of government, to super intend Catholic agencies and to obtain other agencies falling by the terms of the peace policy to the Catholic Church. Upon the modi fication of the peace policy, the bureau turned its attention to the establishing of schools and the aiding of missions, and since the with drawal of government aid from Indian mis sion schools, it provides financial support for such Catholic institutions. The history of the bureau since its inception is intimately bound up with that of the missions. It has established over 50 schools, which represent an investment of more than $1,000,000. The name most proth inent in Catholic Indian mission work of the present day is that of Mother M. Katharine Drexel, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, who has devoted her life and a very large for tune to mission work among the Indians and negroes.