The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1898-04-23
FREDERICK BARAGA.
Continued from page one.


bay, directly opposite, was the
Catholic mission, three miles dis
tant.
A building owned by Peter
Crebassa, which stood on the site of
the American Fur company's old
place, mile and half above
L'Anse village, was moved on the
ice to the other side of the bay and
there dedicated as church by Fa-
Their Baraga. He built q mission
house and school, and commenced
the work of cvangelizing the Chip
pewas in the vicinity of his mission.
Several Indian families from the
vicinity of LaPoint, from Lac VieuX
Desert, Lac du Fiambeau, etc, fol-
lowed their venerated pastor and
made their homes in the vi
entity, on the shores of l. 'Anse. He
had soon gathered around him a
numerous following of Christian
Chippewas. His missionary work
proceeded with such success that
debauchery was eXtirpated, sobriety
succeeded, and then conversions and
baptisms followed.
ITO wean the Indians from their
raving habits, Father Baraga built
"a substantial log house for every
new conner. and also endeavored to
accustom them in gardening and
farming In this, however, he failed
through want of personal. familiarity
with agricultural pursuits, and left
the work to be accomplished by one
OF his successors. '-(Letter of Fa-
Their Jacker.)
Father Baraga s experience in the
Ottawa missions had taught him
that the Indians occupancy of the
soil, under the American govern
meut was uncertain, He had seen
the Ottawa tribes whom he had con-
verified to Christianity deprived OF
their extensive lands by the con-
venience of Indian treaties, and his
Christian communities eXpatriated
to unknown territory west OF the
Mississippi. He could not contem-
plate such result to his Chippewa
constituents without grave solicit
tude. To prevent such u sad fate
for those under his spiritual care,
he bought in his own name from the
! United States government, large
tract of unoccupied land contiguous
to his mission. This he divided into
acre lots, upon which he had built
small, but comfortable dwellings.
which he distributed among the
heads of the Christian families sur
rounding his mission. No suisse
quent treaty could affect these
Indians domiciled upon Father Bar
aga's own land. This is the paternal
episode in the missionary career of
Father Baraga; it speaks eloquently
of the charitable instincts of his
/ heart, while in the history of all
missionary work during the nine
teenth century, it will be difficult to
find parallel.
Rev. John II. Pitezell the well
known Methodist missionary in the
Lake Superior district from 1914 to
1882 in his brief references to
L'Anse. says of Father Baraga:
while at l. 'Anse, Bishop Lcferve,
Of Detroit, with Father Baraga,
came and dned with us, and was
glad afterward to return his friend
ly call at Detroit. Rev. Frederick
Baraga was the resident priest at
l. Anse at our arrival, then probably
about fifty years old, descended
from a family of distinction in
! Europe; well educated, speaking
,adily six or seven living Ian
/ guages, including German, French,
English and Chippewa. He spent
| years on the shores of Superior,
building IA church and making ex-
| tensi improvements on the shore
of keweenaw Bay, opposite the
Methodist mission. He Travelled eX
tensively on foot and by all methods
then in use. Temperate in his
habits, devout and dgnitied in his
private and ministerial bearing, he
was universally respected by In
dams and the mining community,
and affectionately loved by those in
closer fellowship. At a more recent
date, in consideration of his sacri-
fees and meritorious services, the
pope honorcd him with the inter of
d bishop. Years since he has passed
beyond the vicissitudcs of earth,
transmitting his name to the coun-
ty within which the two missions
named above are located, an honor
richly deserved The following
letter to me, | copied verbatim ct
liberatim ct punctuatim:
I" 'Revd John Pitezall, and the
whole community of the Methodist
Mission, l. 'Anse:-
Dear Friends: / have been re-
quested by some Of you to let you
have the bell, which is hanging in
our steeple here, as soon as another
one, which is now at the Sault, shall
be brought to this place. But this
bell does not belong to me; it was
lent to my chapel by the deceased
Mrs. Cote, to whom it belonged
AS Mrs. Cote is now no more, | re-
quested her afflicted husband to let
you have the said bell, in regard of
the kind services which some of you
have bestowed upon his lamented
wife, IN her last days; he cheerfully
consented to give you the bell for
the use of your chapel, as soon as
| nina Shan ha hrottUht from the