The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-11-02
First Installment of q COmpre-
hensive Write-Up of the
Late Missionary.
HIS LIFE AND WORKS.
BY One Who Lived at His
Mission During the Early Days
of Its Establishment.
Jacobsville, Mich, Oct. 20, 1901.

Jacobsville, Mich, Oct. 20, 1901.
Editor THE L'ANsE SENTINEL:
Lest you find me guilty of a breach
of promise-the promise given you
in reply to your. request to write a
''sort of history" of the life of the
late Rev. Father Terhorst-I submit
to you the following sketch, frag-
mentary as it is.
In the early sixties, while l lived
at his Mission, much of my time
was spent with the deceased, with
whom it was my good fortune to be
on most intimate terms. After my
removal from the place our inter
course was reduced to occasional
visits, until finally we almost lost
sight of each other. Ten years ago
shook hands with him once more
after long interval in which we
had not met. found him aged
considerably, his body, always
STOPPING, bowed down more than
ever. But he was still in excellent
health, his mind clear and energetic
as ever, and in the best of humor.
Little ] thought then that this was
to be our last meeting on earth.
From the foregoing statement
you may conclude that / am quite
familiar with Father Terhorst S
early life as missionary, and ought
to be able to speak of it author
itatlvely, while you also will be
aware that the work of his later
years can receive but scant recogni-
tion from my pen. This, however,
is superfiuous. The last two decades
of his life are still fresh in the
memory of most of your readers;
and the scene of his labors, the
Catholic Indian Mission, is itself
the most eloquent testimony of the
consummation of his noble work.
+. ].
Gerhard Terhorst was a West
phalian by birth, of humble, but
pious parentage, and came to the
United States in the Sos after re-
ceiving the common school educa-
tion of the fatherland. Both at
home and in his adopted country he
earned his bread by the labor of his
hands ere he found an opportunity
to educate himself for the priest
hood and thus satisfy his hearts
desire. Bishop Baraga, who was
very much in need of workers in the
missionary field, gladly accepted
the new applicant and placed him
under the tutelage of the Rev. l.
Mrak, Baraga's subsequent success
sor. This Jealous priest was sta
toned at the Ottawa Indian Mission
of Little Traverse, and then and
there Terhorst began his Latin and
theological studies, forming at the
same time his first acquaintance
with the intricacies of the Indian
grammar, ,which-thanks to his keen
understanding and excellent mem
ory-he soon mastered.
Ordained at Sault Ste. Marie on
December %, 1860, at the age of
thirty-one, the bishop in the follow
ing spring sent the new priest to
the Catholic Mission near the head
of L 'Anse, Bay, where he arrived
about the latter part OF May. The
Mission, besides embracing q mum.
ber of families, French and half
breeds, scattered along the bay
shore, consisted OF a single row OF
houses, perhaps twenty in number,
strung in solitary array along the
sandy beach. On the top of the
hill rising abruptly from the site of
the village, stood the church. Like
the rest of the buildings it was con-
structed of logs and in rather
dilapidated condition. A diminu-
tive, kitchen-like annex in the rear
OF the church served as the presby-
terry. The whole presented picture
of forlornness and decay not par
ticularly inviting to the new conner,
however interesting it may have ap-
peared as bit of landscape, to the
artists eye.
Some OF the Mission indians still
lived in their primitive dwellings, OF
cedar or birch bark. A few bad
made an attempt at gardening,
while fewer still were so far adj
vanced in agricultural pursuits that
they raised potatoes enough to last
them through winter. For liveli-
hood they mainly depended upon
the uncertain proceeds OF hunting