The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1959-05-07

After a look around he decided
that Detroit was the place to be-
gin and went back to Connecti-
cut after his sweetheart, Alice
Parks, not quite eighteen. They
were married December "a, that
year, and a week later Bacon
was ordained a missionary to the
heather. February IL, 1901, the
couple started by sleigh through
the New York and Canadian
woods to Detroit and got there
May 8 - on Saturday.
Detroit then was the center of
the fur trade - group of from
tier cabins and log houses all
inside a stockade of cedar pick
cts about IL feet high, six inches
thick and set so close together
that it could not be seen through.
At each side were strong gates
which were closed and guarded
and no Indians were allowed to
come in after sundown nor to re-
main overnight.
The only Americans in the
place were the officers and sol
diers of the garrison an in
fantry regiment and one compa-
ny of artillery. The rest were fur
traders and their fanilies-Eng-
lish, Scotch, Irish and French,
all of whom hated the Yankees
bitterly. The Revolutionary war
was not long past.
Up to his arrival at Detroit
Bacon had been paid $400 by the
Missionary society. After that
until September, 1903, he did not
get a cent. He tried to supporr
himself and wife by teaching
school but being a Yankee, the
four Catholic priests in the town
used their influence in opposition
There Bacon studied the Indiar
language, helped by his wife il
teaching the school, but made
slow progress. Their prospect!
around Detroit appeared slim
There, February 19, 1902, theil
first child was born - the later
eminent DR.. Leonard Bacon.
Next May the Bacons wen
| down into the Maumee countr!
to try to establish a mission
among the Indians there. Little
Otter, the chief, called a pow
WOW among the tribe and aftel
talking things over the Indian!
decided their own religion wa!
the better and they wanted none
of Bacon's. He was there severa
days and twice narrowly escaped
assassination by drunken say
ages.
Failing on the Maumee, th'
Bacons in summer, 1902, went Il
Mackinaw - then one of the mos
remote outposts of the fur trade
and guarded by a company o
United States troops. They want
ed to establish a mission amont
the Chippewas at Abrecroche
about 20 miles from the town
There they tried it.
Unable to find an interpreter
| Bacon took into his family an In
dian boy named Singenog, iron
whom he hoped to learn the Ir
dian language. But the Chippe
was, like the Ottawas in the Mat
NEE country, wanted no part c
the white peoples religion an
were determined that no missiot
ary should live among them
Most of them were usually drum
from the whisky the fur trader
swapped them for their pelts an
were interested in nothing else
At one time 800 gallon kegs c
whisky were in the place and o
hand. Pondega Kauwan, hea
chief of the tribe, told Bacon i
a very dignified speech that ther
was no use of his remainin
there - rum was their maste
and If ii were not for rum tn
Indians might listen. The Bacon
remained in the place two year
but never were allowed to G
among the Indians. The latte
generally regarded ministers g
another sort of conjuror wit
power to bring sickness and di
ease on them.
Again on foot in the forest, til
Bacon family in July, 1907, e
tablished a Christian colony
the Reserve and named it Tai
madpe At the end of the Sc