St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-02

I had never before seen priest or bishop
| in those remote regions; they mani
| Tested great desire to assist at divine
worship, and toapproacfl the sacrament
| of the church. The Catholics of st.
| Peter amounted to 1S5, st of whom we
baptized, administered confirmation TO
| S, communion to SO adults. and gave the
| nuptial benediction TO four couples"
| The 156 Catholics of whom the bishop
! speaks must have included. as Father
| RavouX tells me. besides the traders
| settled around ST. Peter and the refugees
| from Selkirk who were farming on the
| reservation. the Catholic soldiers of the
garrison and some traders from scat
| tered points of the Northwest, whose
! business may have brought them to st.
| Peter about the time of the bishops
! visit. Bishop Loras remained at st.
| Peter thirteen days, and thence ser out
| TO visit the Sioux al kaposia and at
| other points along the Mississippi while
! returning TO Dubuque. He purchased,
| as he writes, for that purpose a canoe,
made out of single tree, IN which he
ana his companions entrusted them
selves to Divine Providence. under the
Direction OF a Young Savage.
At the distance of seven miles he
came to a village inhabited only by saw
ages (kapOsia), where he was royalty re-
ceived by the chieftain, sprightly
young man, in whose family had been
the command for a length of time Lit
tie Crow. While the bishop was at ST.
Peters bloody battle occurred be-
tween the Sioux and Chippewas. ION
July 4. the siXty-third anniversary of
the independence of the United States,
was at the altar Offering prayers to
heaven in favor of my adopted country
when a confused noise suddenly burst
upon my ears. A moment afterward |
perceived through the windows band
OF savages, all covered with blood, exc
cutting barbarOuS dance and singing
one of their death songs. On the top of
long poles they brandished fifty bloody
scalps, to which a part of the
skulls was still attached, the horri-
bic trophies of the hard fight of
the preceding days" Sioux and Chip
pewas had made treaty OF peace out
side the walls of the fort. and had I'M
dertaken 10 cement the treaty by
game of foot race. The Sioux won the
first heat, the Chipewas the second:
they QuaTreied over the third and war
began. the Sioux pursuing the zoe be-
You'd the falls of st. Anthony and ut
tery routing them. This was Mime
sofa in 1889. Bishop Lora'S letters, from
which | have quoted, were written to
relatives in France and printed in the
Annals of the Propagation Of the Faith
at Lyons. English TRANSACTIONS Of the
volumes containing his letters were
some years ago picked up i'll a second
hand bOoETshop in Dublin, by Rev. +.
ID. Neill. and are now on the shelves of
the Minnesota Historical society.
Father GaItIer.
On the Goth of April, 1910, steamer
from st. Louis arrived at DUBUQUE,
bound for st. Peter and Fort Smelling
Bishop LoraS. hearing the boats
whistle, thought of sending a resident
pastor to the fort, and an hour later
Rev Lucian Galtier was on board. In
letter written i'll 1864. from Prairie du
Chen. where he was then living. to Rt.
Rev. Thomas l.. Grace. of ST. Paul,
Father Galtier gives most interesting
! account of his laOOrS at Fort Smelling
! and st. Peter. He found, on his ar
rival, at and around the fort, six CathO-
lie families, besides the Catholic sol
diers, and on the ST. Peter side,
some unmarried men aud five Catholic
families. There were, of course, few
other Catholics, somewhat more re-
mote from the fort, traders scat
tered far and wide, who Wis
lied him from time to time
at st. Peters. Thence, also. he made
where he found some few Catholics.
At St. Peters he used a cabin as resi-
dence and chapel, This fell down one
night in the summer of 1872, almost
killing Father RavouX, who was asleep
under its roof, and only after this acct
dent was the first church of st. Peter
erected. 1t was dedicated Oct. l, 1912,
nearly a year after the first cllulch III
st. Paul had been finished.
Choosing a Church Site.
To Father Galtier befell the task of
procuring a church building for the set
tiers living east OF the military reserva-
ton. The struggle for the site began.
Each settler though. of his own con-
venienee, and, perhaps. too, of the
prospective value OF his real estate,
and desired the church near his
residence. There was meaning to
terested parties knew-there was
question of the beginnings of great
things. Centuries hence, Homers and
Nirgils will chant in epic verse the
| birthplace of the proud metropolis of
central America, and shed over the
bluffs and SwampS of 1871 an immortal
halo not surpassed by the glories of
| Trojan PLANES or the Seven Hills laved
! by Tiber'S waterS.s
POinte Leclalre put forward its de-
mands: but they were not needed. Fa-
ther Galtier wisely thought of possible
! foundations, and facts of history have
since proven the wisdom Of his calcula-
| tons. The idea of a church some day
| floating down upon angry waters to-
! ward st. Louis did not please him.
/ Charles MOuSSeau, whose cabin was
| perched on the elevated bluff,
two and half miles further to
| the northeast. saw his opportunity.
! No nundation could ever reach his
! claim DaytOn'S bluff. No, indeed,
| replied the thoughtful priest; but the
contrary happens. the place is too high
/ above water. Father Galtier had more
! than the wisdom of his day and sur
roundingS. Il was truly looking ahead"
/ he writes, ito the future, as well as
seeing TO the present time. Steamboats,
! could not stop there: the bank was too
steep, the space on the summit too mar
| row. and communication difficult with
! the places of the other settlers up and
| down the river" He looked farther
up the river toward the nearest point
| to the head of navigation, outside the
| he continues. land Vital Guerin. two
good. quiet farmers, owned the only
! spot that appeared likely to suit. They
both consented to give the ground
necessary for the church, garden and
small graveyard. | accepted the
eastern part of Mr.. GuerIn's claim and
| the extreme west of Mr.. Gervais'." The
ground is now known as the Catholic
block" between Third and Bench
streets. west Of Minnesota street.
The church was built during the
month of October 1t WAS made of logs,
rough and unhewn. 1t had in length.
so far as Father RavouX now is able to
remember, twenty-seven feet, and in
width twenty feet. The roof was COW
cred with bark-sIded slabs. 1t does not
recall, as / describe it, St. Paul's of
Rome. Rather, it recalls more divine
temple-''the stable of Bethlehem"
Father Galtier himself writes: 1T was
smaller, indeed" he SAYS, ''than the
basilica of st. Paul in Rome, but as we'll
| adanted as tha latter for Dravpr and