"The name of this village—'Cross,' recalls to one's mind, some reminiscences connected with the early history of the Indian Missions. Suffice it to observe, that it derives its name from the circumstance of a large cross having stood for many years on the brow of the hill, on which the present Indian village stands, planted there by some of the followers of James Marquette, during their explorations and missions in this part of the country. The old cross was of oak, and was still standing about forty-five years ago. Recently it has been replaced by another. An old Indian, called The Short-Arm, over whose head some eighty winters had passed, was still living in 1836, and who, when a little boy, recollected to have seen the last Missionary of this place. 'I am old, my children,' said the aged Missionary, 'and I wish to die among my own people—I must leave you.' He left; and in the course of time the Arbre-Croche Indians relapsed into Paganism. They continued in this state until a young Christian Ottawa, named Aw-taw-weesh, who had just returned from among the Catholic Algonquins in Canada, appeared among them and taught religion. He became also, in some respects, what Cadmus was of old, or Guess among the Cherokees—the first teacher of letters, among his people. As writing paper was then scarce, at least among the Indians, he taught them to write on birch bark, with sharpened sticks, instead of pens. This man is still living. He is now old, poor, almost entirely blind; and although having been a real benefactor to his people, he may go down to his grave, unpitied, and unknown.
"But awakened by his teachings, the Indians afterward called loudly on Missionaries to come among them, and they have had them during the past thirty or forty years.
"At this day two Catholic Clergymen and a Convent of four Brothers and twelve Sisters—being a religious community, of the Third Order of St. Francis—are stationed at this place. But, to return: As rough voyaging generally gives keen appetite, so the party did ample justice to the eatables, which had been prepared by the Indians. Perhaps some reader at a distance might suppose this supper to have been taken in a wigwam; with the fire-place in the centre, a hole above for the escape of smoke; and the party squatting down upon the ground, with legs crossed in tailor fashion, around a single dish: no, no; but it was prepared in a good, substantial house; on a table with a table-cloth, with crockery, dishes, tea-cups and saucers, and knives and forks, such as are used by common white folks. Then there stood the waiters, ready to assist the double-handed manipulations going on at the table. At a convenient hour, the party separated for the night; the agent was put in possession of the clergyman's house, then temporarily absent on a mission, by the Rev. Mr. Weikamp, the Superior of the Convent.
"The next day, after the forenoon services of the church at the village, the agent and party, according to previous invitation, went to the Convent for dinner. Arrived there, they were introduced first into a log cabin, situated at some distance in the rear of the convent, occupied by the four Brothers, belonging to the order, and the Rev. Superior. He occupies a single room, in real new-settler style. This is his sitting-room, library, study and bed-room. He has traveled in Europe, and some parts of Asia; he has various objects of curiosity; and among these is a silver coin of about the size and value of a Mexican quarter of a dollar, which he brought with him from Jerusalem. This piece of money is said to be one of the kind of which Judas received thirty pieces, from the chief priests and magistrates, the price for which he sold his Divine Master. Another thing, is a Turkish pipe, with its long, pliable stem, with which the lover of the 'weed' could regale himself without being annoyed by the smoke, as usual; for the pipe, which is made somewhat in the shape and of the size of a small decanter and half filled with water is so arranged that while the wet tobacco is burning in the cup on the top, the smoke, during suction at the stem, descends through a tube into the water, and none of it escapes visibly, into the open air. The Rev. Mr. Weikamp, the Superior, is a German, and speaks English fluently. He is in the prime of life, and is full of energy and perseverance. He is not one of those who, from the fact of belonging to a religious order, may be supposed to be gloomy, with head bowed down, not hardly daring to cast his eyes up into the beautiful light of the heavens; but he converses with freedom, ease and assurance; and he relishes a joke as well as any man, when it comes a propos. A fanciful peculiarity, though nothing strange in it, attends his steps wherever he goes, in the shape of a small black dog called "Finnie," with a string of small horse-bells round his neck. "Finnie" has two black, watery and glistening spots in his head for eyes, which seem ready to shoot out from their sockets, especially when spoken to. When told in German, to speak, 'Finnie' begins to tremble—he shakes his head—jingles his bells; and utters a kind of guttural snuffling, and half-suppressed growl or bark. But, as we are not acquainted with the German language, we cannot say, that "Finnie" pronounces it well!
"Dinner being announced at the convent, the party went over with the Superior to partake of it. Everything about the table was scrupulously neat—an abundance of the substantial of good living had been prepared by the Sisters. Some time after dinner the vesper bell rang at the convent; and by special permission, the party were shown into the choir usually occupied by the Brothers alone during the services of the church. This was on one side of the altar; and on the other, was a similar choir for the sisters. In the body of the church, the Indians or others are admitted. For a few moments after entering, all was silence;—but the priest having intoned the vespers, the sweet tones of a large melodeon suddenly swelled through the sanctuary, mingling with the voices of the sisters. This for a time had a singular effect. To hear music in these wild woods, far away from civilized society where instrumental music forms part of the ordinary pleasures and amenities of life, served to recall to one's memory other days and other climes. After vespers, the Superior of the convent conducted the party through the building to view it. The dimensions are: 160 feet long, 80 wide, and 28 feet high. There are two court yards, each 40 by 40 feet, and the church also 40 by 40, placed between them. When finished, this building will contain 108 bedrooms, a large schoolroom, carpenter and blacksmith shops, dining-rooms, kitchen, store-rooms, halls, corridors, &c. It will be separated into two parts; one to be occupied exclusively by the Sisters, and the other by the Brothers. At the time of this visit, there were some cultivated flowers yet in bloom in the court-yard. So much for the material building: and now a hasty sketch of this religious order may not be unacceptable to some of our readers.
"This religious community, is the Third Order of St. Francis, of Assisi, instituted in Europe by this saint in 1221. It was established for persons married or single living in the world, united by certain pious exercises, compatible with a secular state. It soon spread over all Europe, and even kings and queens on their thrones vied with the poorest peasants in eagerly entering this order, to share the labors of the mission within its sphere, and to participate in its spiritual benefits. Among the persons of this order, who were expelled from their cloister homes during the revolution which agitated Europe in 1848, was Sister Teresa Hackelmayer. This nun, at the proposal of a missionary father in America, and by permission of her Superior, came to New York in the winter of 1851, to establish a community of her order in that State. But meeting with disappointment there, she finally established a convent at Oldenburg, in the State of Indiana. In 1851, a second convent of this order was founded at Nojoshing, four miles from Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan. In 1853, the Rev. J. B. Weikamp founded, in West Chicago, the third convent of this order, and also formed a community of Brothers;—and in October 1855, with the understanding of Bishop Baraga, then Vicar Apostolic of Upper Michigan, he transferred those two communities to 'Cross Village'—his present location.
"The company having ranged through the building, as observed, took a walk outside. From the south side of the convent, a broad walk is laid out reaching to an inclosure of some forty feet square, at the distance of about fifteen rods. Another and narrower walk through the centre of this inclosure leads to a small square building, on the opposite side, having a four-sided roof meeting in a point, and surmounted by a cross. On entering this building, a lounge or settee, stands in front, and on the wall above it, hangs a piece of board or canvass, painted black, on which are human skulls of different sizes, each with two cross bones painted in white. A trap-door is raised from the floor, and a deep, spacious vault is opened to view: this is the place of burial for the Superior of the convent. On the outside, the spaces on either side of the little walk are intended to be the last resting-places of the brothers and sisters. It is a solemn thought to see men thus prepare deliberately for Death! But as the party retraced their steps in such cheerful, good humor, loitering toward the convent, one might have supposed that the beautiful weather, the bright sunshine, and the bracing air had, for the time, scattered away all thoughts of death. Among the questions proposed to the Superior was, 'Whether at any time the brothers and sisters were allowed to have social, familiar intercourse with each other?' The Superior answered, in substance, that they were not; nor even allowed to speak to each other, without permission of the Superior. 'Then according to your principle,' some one rejoined, 'the world would soon come to an end!' The remark raised a general laugh, in which the Superior himself joined heartily."[(Back to Content)]
CHAPTER VIII.
Three epochs — The romantic — The military — The agricultural and commercial — An inviting region — Jesuit and Protestant missions — First Protestant mission — First missionary — Islands of Mackinac and Green Bay — La Pointe — Saut St. Mary — Presbyterians — Baptists — Methodists — Revival at Fort Brady — Ke-wee-naw — Fon du Lac — Shawnees — Pottawatimies — Eagle River — Ontonagon — Camp River — Iroquois Point — Saginaw Indians — Melancholy reflections — Number of Indians in the States and Territories.
The history of this region, in the language of one, exhibits three distinct and strongly marked epochs. The first may be properly denominated the romantic, which extends to the year 1760, when its dominion passed from the hands of the French to the English. This was the period when the first beams of civilization had scarcely penetrated its forests, and the paddles of the French fur trader swept the lakes, and the boat songs of the voyageurs awakened the tribes on their wild and romantic shores.