The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1921-08-19

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Bendry and Thos. MCCLELLAN, directors
of the Baraga district school, as the
teacher and principal. Arriving in
Baraga on the Gath day of August
1885, found thriving town of four
hundred optimistic people, composed
CT a variety of nationalities, among
whom were some French, Indians
half-breeds, Irish, German, Swedcs,
English, Canadians, and a e--.ll ag
of lower Michigan people. The prin-
cipal industry was numbering and the
leading business MAJ was Thos. Mes
ter. He made his home in Detroit,
while his brothers, John and Pat, re-
mained in Baraga and conducted the
business for him.
Howeer, the place that held Pc
culiar charm for me was the little,
old-fashioned, one-story brown-paint-
ed, countrywide school house that
stood on side street, in which l was
to teach for the ensuing three years.
1t had four windows on either side,
with door in front. The pupils
were called from Elay to work by a
hand bell. Passing through the out
er and inner door, the first thing the
eye fell upon was a rough desk at the
far end, and on either side of the
walls between the windows the black
boards which bore the marks of age
and hard usage. Looking back upon
this scene ! cannot but call to mind
some of the pupils: Carl Crebassa,
now grocer at Keweenaw Bay; Luci-
US Hillyer, now prominent citizen
and lumberman; and Andrew Gid
dings, now engaged in the lumber
business.
Nor can refrain from recalling
some Of the school exercises and So
cial gatherings that helped to bright
en- the life Of the child and of the
family. Once month, on Friday af-
ternoon, was speaking day.. Then
it was that the proud parents visited
the school to admire their little John
ME or Miss Susie, and to encourage
them in their platform efforts.
In that day roller skating was pop
ular, and on Friday and Saturday
nights many of the yoang people Of
L'Anse and Baraga gathered at Fou-
cault's hall to enjoy that sport. Hill
coasting and sleigh rides to neighbor-
ing towns was another social diver
sion.
Adverting again tc the school, / be-
lieve that the total enrolment of pu-
pills in 1885 was seventy-seven, and
the average attendance fifty six, while
the school year consisted of ten
Among those whom / mentioned as
composing the population Of Baraga
in the eighties were the half-breeds
and the Indians. AS is we'll known,
L'Anse and Keweenaw Bay had been
fur trading centers from the time of
the French regime. And even down
as late as the eighties the fur trade
was a no inconsiderable factor in the
life Of the Indians. / Lave seen the
Indians start off in the Fall for On
tonagon county with their deg teams,
or dog trains as they were called,
loaded with provisions for subsist-
ence during th, winter, while en-
gagged in their usual vocation Of hunt
ing and trapping. In the Spring they
would return with the dog trains load
ed down with pelts of beaver and 9TH
er fur-bearing annals. In those days
all the general stores bought beaver
skins, and can recall having seen
pelts piled as high as you could reach
in Peter Rupees and ]. B. Smiths
stores.
One Of the projected industries that
looked rather promising in those
days was Wintergreen Oil Distill-
cry, located at Fewsville, just above
Fewsville wintergreens grew in law
ish abundance. The plains were lit
orally covered with them. Here was
an opportunity to make fortune.
Erect wintergreen oil distillery, and
then engage every Indian on both
sides Of the bay to pick the winter
greens. What could be more allur-
ing? What could be more attractive
as an investment Was it not splen-
did business scheme! It was. The
cnly weak link in the tntirc chain
was that the promoters were lacking
in intimate knowledge Of the Kewee-
naw Indian. He wcald not pick win
tergreens and the Fewsville winter
green distillery collapsed.
While the half-breed population
may not have been on speaking terms
with Darwin, vet they possessed a
keen insight into and knowledge Of
the life lived in the woods. One in
stance comes to my mind that bears
this out and It bear story which 1