[4] Holly Quan wrote: "To the Blackfoot and Cree of the western plains, the Iron Stone was the embodiment of powerful spirits, a source of strength, power, protection and luck...To the Reverend George McDougall, the Iron Stone was a pagan symbol.

With considerable effort, in the early spring of 1866 he had the stone dug from its resting place...to be proudly displayed on the lawn of the Methodist college where he was trained...That spring, when the Cree and Blackfoot came again to visit the Iron Stone...their link with the buffalo spirits...had mysteriously vanished.

"[citation needed] Since 1972, Manitou Asinîy has been held in the collection of the Royal Alberta Museum.

[6][7] George extended his ministry to southern Alberta, establishing McDougall Mission on the Bow River named Morleyville.

On a hunting trip in January 1876 near the Nose Hill area George was lost in a blizzard and was found dead several days later.