It was stated at one time that Sitting Bull, while hating the white Americans and disdaining to speak their language; was yet very fond of the French Canadians, that he talked French, and that he had been converted to Christianity by a French Jesuit, named Father De Smet. How true this may be is uncertain, but probably there is some foundation for it.
The French Jesuits have always been noted for their wonderful success in winning the affections of the Indians, as well as for the transitory nature of their conversions, and it is very possible that Father De Smet may have not only baptized Sitting Bull at some time, but induced him and his braves to attend mass, as performed by himself in the wilderness.
The benefits of the conversion seem however to have been only skin deep, as far as preventing cruelty in war is concerned. (Whittaker, A Complete Life of General Custer, Volume 2, 535).
Link (here) to Diogenes: In Search of an Honest Politician.
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