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MICHIGAN SYATE UNIVERSlTY HBRARIE'S ”'1'“ s I! 2's twi'w WI: ‘1 || It 'Illl' I H H ll 1 H mm ll IIILIIHM willy“; :1 1W llj ‘ i" i l '1 3 1293 00577 1468 min I TH 5.18 LIBRARY This is to certify that the dissertation entitled Together as Family: Metis Children's Response to Evangelical Protestants at the Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837 " presented by Keith Robert Widder has been accepted towards fulfillment ‘ of the requirements for Ph . D . degree in History 5 Major professor Datejflrwqi ”’7. H Sci MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771 MSU RETURNING MATERIALS: Place in book drop to remove this checkout from your record. FWES‘ LIBRARIES will be charged if book is returned =- after the date stamped below. .. 2" 1 0:5 "gm 2 '5' 1993 £810205gg4 FEW"! t 1 WW Eta-'3 03' ~33 m1 6 .2000 9 ‘5 TOGETHER AS FAMILY: METIS CHILDREN'S RESPONSE TO EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS AT THE MACKINAW MISSION, 1823-1837 BY Keith Robert Widder A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History 1989 lJ I‘Tii lJ b ABSTRACT TOGETHER AS FAMILY: METIS CHILDREN'S RESPONSE TO EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS AT THE MACKINAW MISSION, 1823-1837 by Keith Robert Widder In 1823 the Reverend William M. Ferry and his wife, Amanda, opened. a Protestant. mission school for Indian children on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The Ferrys and their associates intended to convert Indian students to evangeli- cal Christianity and to teach them the ways of Euro-American society. Only a few tribal Indian children, however, actually boarded at the mission and attended the school. Nearly all of the children were métis--youngsters who had a Euro-American or a métis father and an Indian or métis mother. To understand the relationship between métis families and evangelical missionaries, this study analyzes the heritage of the métis children who enrolled in the school. Scrutiny of the correspondence of missionaries, government agents, other observers at Mackinac, and fur trade records leads to insights into the métis as a group, and also into the larger fur-trade society which inhabited the northwest- ern.Great Lakes region in the early nineteenth centuryu The mission emerges as part of a larger community in which the missionaries labored to change the beliefs and ways of all the people living in that society. The métis, too, had an agenda. Most of the children's fathers were either traders or clerks in the fur trade; they wanted their sons and daughters to learn Euro-American ways to assist them in adapting to changes confronting their society so they would survive and thrive. The mission experience illuminates the complex social relationships that developed as Euro- Americans, Indians, and métis came together at Mackinac and in the Lake Superior country. The métis children and their families shared many things with the New England missionaries. This study delineates the region's social structure and shows how that structure reacted to the changing economic, social, and political ways which accompanied the westward advancement of Euro-American settlers. Because of the cultural diversity present at the school, a middle ground developed where the métis and the missionaries worked out accommodations with each other. Above all else, this study shows that the métis must not be viewed as tribal Indians, but as a distinct group of people. Copyright by Keith Robert Widder 1989 To Agnes ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While researching and. writing this dissertation, I received help, criticism, and encouragement from many individuals. I am indebted to these people and am most grateful for all of their assistance. Professor Richard White directed my work and faithfully evaluated. what must have seemed to be an endless stream of revisions for each chapter. His keen insights and hard questions helped me to identify and focus on the key issues raised by this study. Following the untimely death of Professor Stephen Botein, Professor David T. Bailey filled the breech on my committee. David, too, helped me to clarify my thinking and forced me to rethink many of my interpretations. I am especially thankful to both Richard and David for their frequent encouragement as I struggled with the complexities of the human experience that unfolded at Mackinac during the 1820s and 18308. Throughout my entire doctoral program Professors Gordon T. Stewart and Donald L. Iammers have both taught and inspired me. Their comments on this work*will always be appreciated, I also wish to thank Professor Mary L. Schneider, who not only read the dissertation, but also enriched my knowledge and understanding of Roman Catholicism. vi Since 1971 I have worked for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. I am indebted to many from that organiza- tion. Dr. Eugene T. Petersen allowed me to work half-time for one year so that I could complete my residency at Michigan State University. Dr. Donald P. Heldman and Dr. David A. Armour have encouraged me during both the research and writing of this'work. .Elizabeth M. Scott, David L. Pamperin, and Phil Porter have all been supportive of this endeavor. I extend my special thanks to Marian E. Petersen not only for typing the manuscript but also for offering many helpful suggestions to improve the text. Jane Robinson rescued me from the grips of an uncooperative computer when it appeared that we might never get this document printed. Lucille Hume and Jim Evans were also a source of strength throughout the past few years. I am also indebted to the staffs of numerous institutions that provided me with research materials and answered my inquiries over the years. The Houghton Library at Harvard University made the Papers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions available to me during my three visits there. Quotations from these papers are by permission of the Houghton Library. Other repositories that opened their holdings to me were: State Historical Society of Wisconsin; Minnesota Historical Society; University of Notre Dame Archives; Bentley Library at the University of Michigan; Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University: Dominican Archives at Sinsinawa, Wisconsin: vii Cornell University Department of Archives and Manuscripts; Newton-Andover Theological School Library in Newton Centre, Massachusetts: Congregational House in Boston: and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission Library. Dr. James M. McClurken shared his remarkable knowledge of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and métis with me. He also showed me documents which he had uncovered during his research on Great Lakes Indians. Professor Robert A. Trennert, Jr. and Professor Janice White Clemmer offered useful comments on a paper that I presented at the Western History Association Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota, in October, 1984. Donald P. Heldman commented on another paper pertaining to the mission that I read at the Great Lakes History Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in April, 1987. Both of these papers laid out many of the issues that I planned to analyze throughout the dissertation. I am also mindful of the many useful observations and criticisms offered by Professors Walter E. Gourlay and Emily 2. Tabuteau and the members of the History 901 Seminar at Michigan State University during the 1982-83 academic year as I wrote the first paper pertaining to the Mackinaw Mission. The Colonial Dames of Michigan aided my research by awarding me their Graduate Student History Scholarship in 1984. I also extend my thanks to Bill Draper, who made the map of the Lake Superior country. Many friends and family sustained me during the past few years. .Jean Cole helped me to learn French as I struggled viii with that at the beginning of my doctoral studies. Cal Goddard, Bill Jacques, and Mark Stadt have been loyal and trusted friends whose presence in my life has helped me over many rough spotsw IMy brothers, Dr. Richard A. Widder and Alan H. Widder, helped by nudging me along from time to time. I will be forever indebted to my mother, Marie E. Widder, and my late father, Hugo A. Widder, for instilling in me the values and faith in God which have guided me throughout my life. Without their love and upbringing, this dissertation would never have been written. By far the greatest joy to come into my life since I commenced this project occurred when I met Agnes Fyvie Haigh in a class on Twentieth-Century American history. Agnes and I were married several years later. She has been a constant source of support, encouragement, and critical commentary. When the writing appeared to be going nowhere, Agnes helped to pull me back on the track. More importantly, she has helped me to see that there is more to life than historical scholarship, thus enriching my life many fold. I am grateful for her patience, love, and understanding. With heartfelt appreciation, I dedicate this dissertation to Agnes. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables Map of Lake Superior Country Introduction Chapter I The Métis Family: Origins and Characteristics Chapter II "Go Ye Into All the World, . . ." Chapter III Mackinac, 1815-1830: The Fur-Trade Society Confronts Americanization Chapter IV The Fur-Trade Society Responds to the Missionaries Chapter V Metis Children Respond to Evangelical Missionaries Conclusion Bibliography xi xii 23 71 108 146 212 275 290 LIST OF TABLES BEES Table I-1 Licensed Trading Posts Near Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi, 1822-23 25 Table I-2 Licensed Trading Locations, 1825 26 Table I-3 Population Distribution of Indians and Métis Living in the Lake Superior Country and Upper Mississippi, 1832 27 Table I-4 Distribution of Métis Population by Village or Encampment in the Lake Superior Country and Upper Mississippi, 1832 28 Table I-S Jacqueline Peterson's Analysis of Marriages and Births at Michilimackinac 29 Table I-6 Birthplaces of Mission Children 62 Table II-l Missionaries to Mackinac and Lake Superior, 1823-1837 78 Table IV-I Members of the Presbyterian Church 149 Table IV-2 List of Donors for Construction of Mission Church 183 Table V-1 Age of Entry for Mackinaw Mission Children 216 Table V-2 Length of Stay at Mackinaw Mission 217 Table V-3 Numbers of Children Enrolled in Mission School 232 xi .820 3. 3.39:— has? «8.30 tau ........“.“..u. v 233... .. . . as... . am ..m...22..:........... . : will?“ Inn—550 acronym 9:3 or? 683 2.893 89.1.23... ‘ «21.2.3 93 xii INTRODUCTION Mission Church, like so many New England meeting houses, is simple yet beautiful. Built in 1829 and 1830, it still stands on the southeast corner of Mackinac Island, Michigan. From the time I first saw the church, I have wondered what story the structure might tell. Fur traders, métis children, soldiers, and other men and women from the island all worshipped here. All were part of a complex society which depended upon the fur trade. Fortunately, some of the people who were responsible for building this church, and some of their contemporaries, left behind records which have enabled me to uncover and interpret, at least partially, the significance of the historical drama which produced Mission Church. When Protestant missionaries built this church, Indians and Europeans had already lived and worked together in the upper Great Lakes region for more than 150 years. Chippewa and Ottawa men and women had received first French fur trad- ers, then British, and later American agents of the trade into their villages and families. Many of these Euro- American men either married or formed liaisons with native women: and out of these unions came children from two cultures--the métis. Together these people had made 2 Mackinac the fur trade entrepot for the northwestern Great Lakes and region beyond. Great changes took place in the fur-trade society following the War of 1812. The agents of these changes were Americans, and prominent among them were missionaries. In 1823 the United Foreign Missionary Society first sent missionaries to Mackinac: three years later the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions took over this work. . The missionaries sought to convert and, in their minds, save all members of the traditional society, but especially the children. They believed that God had called them to be his agents in transforming Indians into evangeli- cal Christians and to prepare them to take their place in American society. The Reverend William M. Ferry, his wife Amanda, and their associates from New England and New York State entered the world of the fur trade with high hopes of converting Indian children to evangelical Christianity. From the missionaries' perspective, conversion would enable Indian youth to fit into the new social order that was forming in the northwestern Great Lakes region. This new order was already visible at Mackinac. From 1815 onward a rush of American entrepreneurs, settlers, and government agents, as well as missionaries, swept into Michigan. They brought with them the political, economic, and social institutions of the new American state. 3 Education quickly emerged as the preferred means of transforming the minds and lives of Indians. William and Amanda Ferry opened a boarding school for Indian children on Mackinac Island in 1823. Here the Ferrys taught the intellectual and manual skills that would prepare boys to farm. or' practice a 'trade and instructed. girls to be homemakers. In reality most of the children who attended were not Chippewa or Ottawa, but métis. Approximately half of them.had Chippewa or part Chippewa mothers and came from villages located south and west of Lake Superior. About one-fourth of the others had Ottawa mothers while the remainder represented other tribes, including the Sioux, Cree, and Assiniboine. It is the children from the Lake Superior country who are the primary subjects of this study. Throughout the dissertation I will use several common terms which need clarification or definition. I am using the word métis to include persons of mixed Euro-American and Indian heritage. French-métis is used to identify individu- als who had fathers with a French-Canadian heritage and Indian or métis mothers. Anglo-métis refers to persons who had an English-speaking father of British or American descent and an Indian or métis mother. I have chosen not to capitalize métis, following the practice of Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S. H. Brown. They refer to the ”semantic differences between "Métis" and "métis" used by the Métis National Council (Canada) in 1984:1 ‘Written with a small ‘m' métis is a racial term for anyone of mixed Indian and European ancestry. Written 4 with. a capital ‘M' IMétis is a socio-cultural or political term for those originally of mixed ancestry who evolved into a distinct indigenous people during a certain historical period in a certain region in Canada.‘ When I use the term American, I am referring to all that pertains to the United States. The correct spelling of the Mackinaw Mission is with an "aw" ending. All other spellings of Mackinac, Mackinac Island, Straits of Mackinac, etc. are with an "ac" ending. I have used the ”aw” ending only when using the proper name "Mackinaw Mission." The confusion over the spelling of Mackinac arises from the fact that it is pronounced as if it ends with "aw," and many people spell it phonetically. In this study the terms evangelical Christianity, evan- gelical Protestantism, and evangelicalism will be used interchangeably. Evangelicalism defies precise definition. Persons who held significant theological differences, such as Methodists and Presbyterians, often considered themselves to be evangelicals. Evangelicals, at least for the purposes of this study, shared a number of common beliefs. They believed that the world was divided into two groups--the redeemed and the lost. Only persons who had accepted the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, as portrayed in the New Testament, for their sins against God could be redeemed and hope to spend eternity with God in heaven. All others were damned to an eternity of suffering in hell. The evangeli- cals also believed that the Holy Spirit convicted men and women of their sins and challenged them to repent, and it 5 was the responsibility of each individual to respond to the Spirit's leading. Evangelicals held that for anyone to be made right with God, they had to have a personal encounter with him, whereby they acknowledged their sins, repented, and asked for God's forgiveness through Christ's death and resurrection. Consequently, the evangelicals placed great eternal importance on personal conversion experiences. They also felt that God called them to take their message to all other'people throughout the‘world, and this is why they came to Mackinac. The evangelicals who served as missionaries at Mackinac all shared this basic similar theology; they were all either Presbyterians or Congregationalists. Although the term culture is hard to define precisely, it needs explanation. Much of this study discusses the culture of métis children and the attempts by evangelical missionaries to bring about changes in the beliefs and behavior of these youngsters. Clifford Geertz put the concept of culture into this perspective:2 When seen as a set of symbolic devices for controlling behavior, extrasomatic sources of information, culture provides the link between what men are intrinsically capable of becoming and what they actually, one by one, in fact become. Becoming human is becoming individual, and we become individuals under the guidance of cultural patterns, historically created systems of meaning in terms of which we give form, order, point, 'and direction to our lives. Culture as process is also recognized. by Lawrence W. Levine:3 Culture is not a fixed condition but a process: the product of interaction between the past and present. Its toughness and resiliency are determined not by a culture's ability to withstand change, which indeed may 6 be a sign of stagnation not life, but by its ability to react creatively and responsively to the realities of a new situation. The question, as vs vs Clark recently put it, is not one of survivals but of transformations. Each person--a métis child, a Presbyterian minister, an American trader, a Chippewa. mother--possessed. beliefs, skills, and knowledge and acted according to these in a way unique to them. But in so behaving, they tested their understanding against both a physical world and people of other cultures. The result was often the interpenetration of understanding and cultural change. After 150 years of Euro-Americans living among the Chippewa, the cultures of different groups, especially the métis and the Euro-Americans, already overlapped. As a result, a middle ground emerged where the métis and Euro- Americans shared cultural similarities which enabled them to negotiate mutually acceptable manners. This led to a dynamic situation where the individuals were forever re- sponding to both familiar and new stimuli in the world around them. The introduction of new technology, ideas, beliefs, and objects into one's personal environment could bring about transformations in world view and behavior. In the fur-trade society, the existence of a middle ground allowed the métis to respond to the Americans from a posi- tion of familiarity.‘ The Americans who entered the fur- trade society after the War of 1812 were, culturally, not total strangers. Consequently, when Americans introduced 7 new ways, the métis found some of them not only acceptable, but desirable as well. The Americans, however, had trouble categorizing and understanding the métis; this created great uncertainties for métis children in the 18203. Mest métis moved freely between Chippewa and Ottawa communities and the trading community of Euro-American society. They were, as historian Jacqueline Peterson aptly described them, a people ”in between" Indians and Euro-Americans, as well as "a people '5 Observers at Mackinac in the in the process of becoming. 1820s and 18303 reflect the ambiguous perception of the métis in their descriptions. They were interchangeably "Indians," ”half-breeds," or "ignorant Frenchmen.” Unfortu- nately, the documents tell us little about how the métis perceived themselves. Perhaps the voyageur whom Johann Georg Kohl met in 1855 provides a clue. This man had engraved both his Indian totem and French coat of arms on his seal-ring and took great pleasure in both sides of his ancestry.6 If this man's (he probably would have been of school age in the 18208 or 18303) self-identity is at all representative of the métis in general, we see that they consciously identified.with both the French and the Indian. Yet the métis, the Indians, and the Euro-Americans all were aware that the métis were neither fully Indian nor fully Euro-American. The Ferrys and their associates came to Mackinac to teach Indian children, and even though they knew that most 8 of their students were métis, they often acted as if the métis were full-blood Chippewa. Like most Anglo-Americans at Mackinac, they perceived anyone who was part Indian to be an Indian, culturally. But the Chippewa had not fully incorporated many of the métis into their society. Most of the children.at the mission did not have a totem and did not belong to a clan: they were, therefore, not fully integrated into the Chippewa social order. When the missionaries perceived the métis as Indians, they inevitably thought of them as savages. Most nine- teenth-century Americans judged Indians to be "savages" and "savage life and civilized life were realms apart."7 Americans could find nothing of value in their way of life. Belief in savagism logically led Americans to classify all Native Americans simply as ”Indians” and to deny their cultural diversity by viewing them as "a single entity."8 At Mackinac the evangelicals lumped the métis and various Indian groups into a single entity. They invented a group which did not, in fact, exist. The missionaries' ethnographic failures became, in time, the shortcomings of scholars, which have been chal- lenged by ethnohistory and the so-called new Indian history. In 1971 Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. challenged historians to move from their traditional manner of interpreting Indian history in terms of their relationship to whites. He argued that "American Indian history must move from being primarily a record of white-Indian relations to become the story of 9 Indians in the United States (or North America) over time." Furthermore, "the central theme of a new history of Indians ought to be the remarkable persistence of cultural and personality traits and ethnic identity in Indian societies in the face of white conquest and efforts at elimination." This approach, he argues, will elevate "Indian-Indian relations" to the same status the ”white-Indian ones" had in the past.9 Despite shortcomings, the "New Indian History" has greatly expanded our knowledge and understanding of how Indian societies were organized and how they functioned from the perspective of the Indians themselves.1o Recent studies of the métis and so-called "New Indian Mission History" raise issues relevant to this study of the Mackinaw Mission.11 Jacqueline Peterson has analyzed the origins and evolu- tion of the métis in the Great Lakes region.between 1680 and 1830. Her findings do much to explain the world in which the métis lived: 1. The métis ”functioned not only as human carriers linking Indians and Europeans, but as buffers behind which the ethnic boundaries of agtagonistic cultures remained relatively secure." 2. By the end of the eighteenth century the mobility in the trade enjoyed by French-Canadian and.métis traders ended. No longer were they able to rise to trader or partner level in small companies, and ”well-established Métis trading families like the Langlade-Grignons and LaFramboise, and French speakers in general found themselves cut off from the higher reaches of the trade structure." Al- though some métis traded on shares with the American Fur Company, "the inner sanctum at Michi- limackinac was an Anglo-Saxon club." The second and third generation métis found themselves in 10 fierce competition in a business which had a bleak future.3 3. By the 18303 many métis had turned to fishing at Mackinac and along Lake Superior while others "turned.to free trapping, logging, transport, and marginal forms of employment, usually peripheral to the Indian trade.” 4. Not all of the métis settlements felt the impact of Americanization at the same time. "In the northwestern corner of Wisconsin and in Minnesota the trading hamlets remained intact until at least the 18603, even though profits from the fur traffic dwindled each year, gradually impoverishing the men who clung to the occupation." Here many métis continued to practice their occupational skills for a few'more decades. 5. By the 18303 the position of the métis in the United States had become untenable. "Persons of mixed race who could not ‘pass' as civ1ilized, were increasingly identified as Indians." The children at the Mackinaw Mission came from a world where the structure of its economic base had been recently trans- formed, and.now'the fur trade itself was losing its viabili- ty. To compound their difficulties, a new ethnocentric elite looked down upon them. Studies of the Hudson's Bay Company have shown that métis living in Canada underwent significant changes during the first half of the nineteenth century which encouraged them to seek formal education for their children. Sylvia Van Kirk studies marriage, women, and families in the fur- trade society which grew up around Hudson's Bay Company between 1670 and 1870. Her emphasis is upon the Scottish- Indian unions and their offspring. She discovered the "Scottish.half-breed" had.a great interest in participating in the advancement of European-style civilization while the 11 "French half-breed” had a great "affinity with the hunting ”” Jennifer S. H. Brown and trapping life of the Indians. demonstrates that by the late 18203 Hudson's Bay Company officials were ascribing characteristics to ”half-breeds": ”conceit, unsteadiness, lying, laziness, and lack of propri- ety. " The métis resented these characterizations and looked for opportunities to educate their children. As a result, many fathers looked to the Red River settlement as a place where low-cost instruction could .be had.16 The desire by Euro-American fathers engaged in the fur trade to educate their children was also evident at James Bay."' Although a métis consciousness developed at Red River and in western Canada, here, too, Euro-Canadians saw them as being cultur- ally inferior. The New Indian mission histories discuss issues per- taining to attempts by Euro-Americans to educate Indian children in American ways. Missionaries emerge as ”cultural revelutionaries" who often found Indian children and their parents to be quite resistant to their teaching. Just as the métis took an active role in securing educational opportunities for their children, Indians, too, asserted themselves and demanded that their wishes be respected when they responded to missionary schools established in their midst.“ The vitality of Indian practices and religious beliefs is verified by their persistence in spite of repeat- ed attempts by Christian missionaries to instill Christian beliefs in their minds.19 12 Protestant missionaries judged Indian cultures to be inferior to their own although they did not see Indians to be racially inferior. Michael Edward Stevens finds that: ”While many colonists held attitudes that would be called racist by this definitionfl2° the missionaries were differ- ent, since they did not believe that the Indians were innately inferior to the English. Rather, missionaries emphasized environmentally influences [d] cultural differenc- es between the English and the Indians."21 Michael C. Coleman argues that Presbyterian missionaries among the Choctaws and Nez Perces between 1837 and 1893 "were con- vinced.of the intrinsic inferiority of Indian'culture." But they did not assume "the intrinsic inferiority of the Indians as people, either as individuals or as a group. . . . The Indians were redeemable despite their failings: they were potential citizens of the ‘Christian Civilization, ' and of the United States.";22 Despite the missionaries' extreme cultural bias, they did not harbor racist attitudes toward 3 A close look at the Mackinac missionaries Indians. reveals that they held attitudes and prejudices similar to those held by the men and women studied by Stevens and Coleman. Another major theme of Indian mission history focuses on how natives resisted missionary efforts rather than on the transformation of both Indian and missionary which took place as a result of the encounter. Seventeenth-century Indians living in New England rejected Protestant attempts 13 to change them culturally into Englishmen. When Indians converted to Christianity (and often they did not), they did so in such a way as to fit new beliefs into their own traditional molds. Furthermore, Puritan settlers were not about to accept "civilized" and Christianized Indians as equals in their society.“’ This prejudice thwarted Eleazor Wheelock's efforts to teach Indian girls at his school in Lebanon, Connecticut in the 17503 and 17603. Although the girls learned some practical and intellectual skills, they retained their native ways and rejected most values which Wheelock taught them. Even if the girls had accepted the new values, racial prejudice would.have prevented them from full participation in New England society.25 Racial prejudice, which was prevalent throughout much of American society, worked against the objectives of Protestant missionaries at Mackinac in the 18203 and 18303. By the mid-18203 the official policy of the United States Government was based upon the "Enlightenment view of man- kind," but whites on the frontier were rejecting this ideal. As a result, westerners pressured the government to remove Indians from their lands. By 1830 the struggle between those who viewed the "Indians as an innately equal,” and those who saw them as "expendable" had resulted in a victory for the latter. The political leadership no longer wanted to incorporate Indians into American society (at least east of the Mississippi River) on an equal basis with Euro- Americans. Despite this shift, however, the Indians still 14 had Euro-American friends, some of whom were missionaries.2‘S The Ferrys and their associates worked against the strong current of American opinion which increasingly viewed the Indian as racially inferior. William G. McLaughlin concentrated on the transforma- tion of both Cherokee and Euro-American culture when he studied fifty years of Protestant missionary activity among one nation, the Cherokees. He raised issues which are pertinent to the experience of métis children and evangeli- cal missionaries at Mackinac. lMcLoughlin concerned himself with such problems as: missionary efforts to change the Cherokee's behavior and world view and the Cherokee's resistance: the "ideological and social reorientations as seen by those Cherokees who came face to face with the mis— sionariest" how the Cherokees affected the missionaries: how Cherokees made "selective adaptations to white culture:" and ways in which Euro-American culture changed because of this experience. He then goes beyond these general questions to examine specific ways "in which Cherokees and missionaries looked at the need for, and means of, modifying social, institutional, familial, and individual behavior, beliefs, and customs."27 A case-study of the Mackinaw Mission provides a good opportunity not only to interpret the story of a previously unstudied mission but also to analyze the society from which métis children came. Furthermore, other in-depth mission studies deal with efforts in other parts of the country. 15 The fur-trade society of the northwestern Great Lakes region had.been formed by people whose cultures were quite differ- ent from those of New England or, for that matter, the Cherokee country or the Great Plains. Mackinaw Mission is of particular interest because the children who boarded there lived great distances from their homes and saw their parents for only a few weeks in the summer. These children were physically removed, to a large degree, from the day to day social and economic intercourse of their parents and neighbors. Consequently, daily parental and group influenc- es upon each child were less than upon students who attended a missionary school closer to home--thereby giving the missionaries a greater opportunity to influence each boy and girl in ways acceptable to the evangelicals. The Mackinaw Mission takes on additional significance 2" This pro- because nearly all of the students were métis. vides a unique opportunity to gain insights into the métis as a group. Just as nineteenth-century Anglo-Americans confused métis with tribal Indians, this study, too, must wrestle with the ambiguity of the culture and identity of individuals who had both a Chippewa and a Euro-American lineage. This cultural and racial ambiguity made the métis susceptible to the widespread.prejudice in American society and prevented them from being accepted by Anglo-Americans as their equals. It also made it extremely difficult for the missionaries to know who their students really were. By enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the Great 16 Lakes métis in the United States during the 18203 and 18303, this study may offer some suggestions as to why the métis never acquired the same sense of group consciousness as did the métis at Red River and in western Canada. The society at Mackinac was diverse, and although the Ferrys concentrated on their mission school, they came to minister to all members of the fur-trade society. Anglo- Americans joined, in increasing numbers, the French-métis, Chippewa, and Ottawa men, women, and children at Mackinac. The newcomers, including evangelical missionaries, inter- jected ideas and practices which triggered changes to an already complex society. A study of Mackinac thus allows a comparison of the responses of different groups to the evangelical ministry; Metis children, métis adults, women, full-blood Chippewa and Ottawa, and Anglo-American traders all responded differently. The story of the Mackinaw Mission is thus not one simply of the survival of one culture in the face of an onslaught by a hostile culture. Rather this account de- scribes and analyzes the attempt by evangelical missionaries to transform an entire and quite diverse community. A major theme of the study is examining and explaining the responses of'metis children and others to the missionaries' effort to convert them to evangelical Christianity. The Ferrys were "cultural revolutionaries" who set about reshaping society by reforming individuals. Their ideology dictated that they challenge each person individually to make changes in their 17 lives in order to make themselves acceptable to God and to live in harmony with Americans and their institutions. The evangelicals believed that they were God's agents who took his gospel to those who were unacquainted with it, but the responsibility for accepting or rejecting this message rested upon each person. In the process of their efforts to transform others, the missionaries themselves underwent transformation, and this forms a second interpretive theme. Perhaps the most startling change occurred when the Ferrys and most of the mission establishment found themselves supporting the fur- trade society and necessarily the American Fur Company. They were, in effect, preparing young people to make a living in the fur trade rather than in agriculture. As a result of their day-to-day dealings with métis children and others, the missionaries made other accommoda- tions. They hired métis adults to work at the mission: they grudgingly came to tolerate the wishes of Catholic parents: and two of the male missionaries married métis students. Furthermore, the experience at.Mackinac taught the Reverend Ferry and the American Board that they must send men and women to live among the Chippewa if they hoped to convert them. They implicitly acknowledged that at Mackinac they had encountered someone else. Basic to the first two themes and constituting a third theme, in its own right, is the attempt of this study to recreate the historical world in which the métis children 18 lived. This was a world where both Chippewa and French- Canadian values and characteristics shaped society. Spiri- tually, French-Canadians adhered to at least some form of Roman Catholicism, while Chippewa paid homage to their m. Most métis identified themselves as Catholics although at least some of them incorporated Chippewa spiritual concepts into their world view. The fur-trade establishment reached from Mackinac into each Chippewa village in the Lake Superior country. For at least part of the year many of the children lived in wigwams in or near their mothers' relatives' hunting camps and villages, although some resided in log cabins built by their fathers. All of these youngsters participated in the annual migratory treks undertaken by all members of the fur-trade society. Although much of the children's diet came from their sur- rounding environment, their parents supplemented it with foodstuffs imported from the East. Virtually all the people in the fur-trade society used European or American manufac- tured objects, such as kettles, axes, firearms, and cloth. The fur trade linked the children living in the northwestern Great Lakes region to an expanding world-wide market economy even though they were unaware of its extent and signifi- cance. The motivations “of the missionaries for coming to Mackinac are, of course, inseparable from the Mackinaw Mis- sion; they form the final theme. The dedicated men and women of the mission believed God had called them to 19 Mackinac, and they had no doubt regarding the righteousness of their work. Their world view differed sharply not only from that of their students, but also from almost everyone else in the fur-trade society. The missionaries had a clear sense of the future. William Ferry and his fellow New Englanders were convinced that American settlers would soon inhabit most of the lands of the Odd Nerthwest and that American political, social, and economic institutions would reign supreme. They came to Mackinac, with the support of the United States Government, to help the Indians take their place in this newly forming society in the fur-trade country. ' The missionaries presented the métis children with more choices than were possible in their existing society. At home they could choose between Roman Catholicism or Chippewa religion or accept some of both. They could choose to live with and like their mothers' people or seek out a place in métis society and function as an intermediary between the Chippewas and the Euro-Americans. After their schooling they could also choose evangelical Christianity, homemaking New England style, a skilled trade, to speak English, or to dress like the Americans, among a host of other choices. The chapters that follow demonstrate the conditions and patterns of their choices. 20 INTRODUCTION EDQDQLQE 1Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S. H. Brown, M (Lincoln, 1985),pp. 3-7: quote taken from W (Ottawa: Métis National Council, Fall 1984) 1: 6. chifford GeertZ. W (New York, 1973), p. 52. 3Lawrence w. Levine. Wings: o-=:° ' --:u‘ 1 0 . 90.09 on a ‘9 - “29u (Oxford, 1978), p. 3. The concept of middle ground was introduced to me by Richard White in private conversations and correspondence. sSee Jacqueline L. Peterson, "The People in Between: Indian-White Marriage and the Genesis of a Métis Society and Culture in the Great Lakes Region, 1680-1830" (Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois-Chicago, 1981) and "Many Roads to Red River: Métis Genesis in the Great Lakes Region, 1680-1815," in Peterson and Brown, In§_flew_£ggp1g§, pp. 37—72. °Johann Georg Kohl, - ° e (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, W 1985, originally published 1860), p. 299. 7Roy Harvey Pearce , - (Baltimore, 1965), p. 103. °Robert F. Berkhofer. Jr-. W in": 0 91 Ht; 2! t! e! ’00 0 -,I.I.._°.‘ 0 9‘ ' ;;-, (New York, 1978). 9Berkhofer, "The Political Context of a New Indian History.” W. 40 (August. 1971): 357- 382. 10A number of historians combining the methods of history and anthropology have applied an ethnohistorical approach to their studies of North American Indians. Some examples of these works include: James Axtell, Wag : ‘ 0 a2: 9‘ t110h=t0 9 C- 0n : Herth_Ameriea (Oxford 1981) and Th__la_a§1_a_flithini__1he WWW (Oxford. 1985): James P. Ronda, n he nd'a (Lincoln. 1985): Richard White, MW _ _ - _ - - o: _ - - I egu-. .10 e . g... .uoo, Q . A _ - --- 21 (Lincoln, 1983): James A. Clifton. WWW (Lanham, Maryland, 1984): and James M. McClurken, "Ottawa Adaptive Strategies to Indian Removal. " Wig. 12. N0- 1 (Spring, 1986). 29-56 and "We Wish to be Civilized: Ottawa-American Political Contests on the Michigan Frontier," (Ph. D. diss., Michigan State University, 1988). 11See James P. Ronda and.James.Axtell, Indignjfiisgigns; WWW): (Bloominqton. 1978) 12Peterson, "Prelude to Red River: A Social Portrait of the Great Lakes Métis," Ethnghistgry, 25 (Winter, 1978): 55. 1"’Peterson, "The People in Between,” pp. 229-230. 1"Peterson, ”The People in Between,” pp. 255-260. 1"‘Sylvia Van Kirk, ” ”' W MW WW (Winnipeg. 1980) . pp. . “J. 3. H. Brown, W W (Vancouver. 1980). pp- 206-208. 1"Daniel Francis and Toby Merantz, Partnerfi_jn_jmm§; .. . a ..e , .; , .n;: a. .00- :70 (Kingston, 1985), p. 153. 1“Ronda and Axtell. Mans. 1313- 1-7: and Berkhofer. W - . ~,. ' :. _: - 1 3 a (New - 1!! i...‘ -. York, 1972), Introduction. 19Henry Warner Bowden. WW ° (Chicago, 1981), p. 197. 2"The definition Stevens refers to is that given by Pierre Vanden Berghe whom he cites as defining race as a group which differs from other groups "by virtue of innate and inevitable physical characteristics." Racism is defined as "any set of beliefs, that organic genetically transmitted differences (whether real or imagined) between human groups are intrinsically associated with the presence or the absence of certain socially relevant abilities or characteristics.” Taken from Michael Edward Stevens, ”The Ideas and Attitudes of Protestant Missionaries to the North American Indians, 1643-1776,” (Ph. D. diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1978), p. 17. 22 21Stevens, ”Ideas and Attitudes," p. 176. 22Michael C. Coleman, "Presbyterian Missionaries and Their Attitudes to the American Indians, 1837-1893," (Ph. D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1977), p. 175. 2"’See. Coleman, "Not Race, but Grace: Presbyterian Missionaries and American Indians, 1837-1893," Journal_gfi Ame;igan_gi§;g;y, 67 (June, 1980): 41-60 and t ' v -: 01-. : -9‘: ~.'-. 0. In: 1! 1°. {IF 3 '39 (Jackson, 1985). flRonda, ”‘We Are Well As We Are:' An Indian Critique of Seventeenth-Century Christian Missions,” W r , Third Series, 34, No. 1 (January, 1977): 66-82 and "Generations of Faith: The Christian Indians of Martha's Vineyard.". 111W. Third Series, 38, No. 3 (July, 1981): 369—394: Neal Salisbury, "Red Puritans: The ‘Praying Indians' of Massachusetts Bay and John Eliot." momma. Third Series, 31, No. 1 (January, 1974): 27-54. 25Margaret Connell Szasz, "‘Poor Richard' Meets the Native American: Schooling for Young Indian Women in Eighteenth-Century Connecticut. " MW. 49, No. 2 (May, 1930): 215-235. z“Reginald Horsman , . - - (Cambridge, 1981), pp. 106-115, 190-91, and 300-01. 27William! 6- McLoughlin. WW 1152:1812 (New Haven, 1974), pp. 1-12. 2’Many other mission schools had students of mixed ancestry such as McLoughlin demonstrates among the Cherokees, but at Mackinac the overwhelming majority of students were métis who were not fully integrated into any Indian tribe. Other recent mission histories include W. David Baird, ”Cyrus Byington and the Presbyterian Choctaw Mission," in Clyde A. Milner, II and Floyd A. O'Neil, eds., WW (Norman. 1985). pp. 5-40: and Robert A. Trennert, Jr., Ihg_£ngenix_lngian WW (Norman: 1988). CHAPTER I THE METIS FAMILY: ORIGINS AND CHARACTERISTICS Euro-American men and Chippewa women living in the Lake Superior country created métis families who, in turn, gave rise to a distinctive métis society. The social hierarchy of this métis society, which evolved from Euro-American male roles in the fur trade, changed as control of the trade passed from French-Canadian to British and finally to Ameri- can hands. At the top of the hierarchy stood the traders, followed by clerks, and the far more numerous voyageurs or boatmen. While this basic structure had been in place for over a century by the 18203, the ethnicity of the traders' class changed when political control of the region trans- ferred to another nation. Following the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars, British merchants began to displace French-Canadians as traders; similarly after the War of 1812, Americans pushed out their British predecessors. Many of these displaced men continued to work in the trade as clerks, but this new role meant a decline of status for them within the fur-trade society. The nuclear families of traders and clerks formed the basic unit in métis society, and these men sent their sons and daughters to the Mackinaw Mission beginning in 1823.1 The fathers who headed these households served as agents of 23 24 exchange whereby Chippewa hunters and trappers traded their furs for manufactured items offered by the American Fur Company. Even though the traders' and clerks' children learned much from their Chippewa relatives, most of them would never enjoy full membership in Chippewa society.2 There existed, however, only limited opportunities for these boys and girls to learn Euro-American ways in their home- land. As a result, fathers of métis children often sent them away from home to receive an Euro-American education. When William and Amanda Ferry opened their boarding school on Mackinac Island in October, 1823, traders and clerks welcomed the opportunity for their children to be taught the ways of American society. The Chippewa-métis inhabited a vast area reaching from beneath the limestone bluffs on Mackinac Island to the Red River of Minnesota. Long, cold winters, a short growing season, and poor soil characterized the region. The forests ranged from a mixture of hardwoods and evergreens in north- ern Wisconsin to primarily coniferous stands in northeastern Minnesota. Fur-bearing animals, such as beaver and muskrat, thrived in the numerous lakes, cold streams, and rivers which ultimately emptied their water into Lake Superior or the Mississippi River. These same bodies of water formed an intricate natural transportation network. Navigable water connected Mackinac to the western end of Lake Superior and interior regions through the Montreal, Brulé, and St. Louis Rivers. The combination of water transportation and 25 TABLE I-1 LICENSED TRADING POSTS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI, 1822-23 Location Sault Ste. Marie Lake Superior Whitefish Point Grand Island L'Anse Aunce Quivinan Lac Court Orielles Lac du Flambeau LaPointe Folle Avoine Fond du Lac Upper Mississippi (Taken from: "Licences granted under the laws regulating Indian Trade by the Agent at Michilimackinac, between the lst of Sept. 1822 & the 313t of Augt 1823, inclusive, viz.," by George Boyd and "Abstract of Licenses issued to persons to trade in the Indian Country granted by Henry R. Schoolcraft Indian Agent at the Sault Ste. Marie, between the lst of September 1822 and the lst of September 1823," Letters Re- ceived by the Office of the Secretary of War Relating to Indian Affairs, 1800-1823, Microcopy No. 271, Roll 4, 1822- 1823, National Archives.) 26 TABLE I-2 LICENSED TRADING LOCATIONS, 1825 Sault Ste. Marie Grand Island L'Anse-Keeweenaw Ontonagon River LaPointe Lac du Flambeau Lac Che Tac Lac Court Oreilles Chippewa River Yellow River Snake River-Folle Avoine Country Fond du Lac Sandy Lake Leech Lake Red Lake Pembina Crowing River Rainy Lake War Road Vermillion Lake Grand Portage Round Lake (”Places licensed for trade, 1825,” Mackinac Indian Agency, Letters Received, Vol. 1, pp. 469-472, Microcopy No. 1, National Archives.) 27 TABLE I-3 POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS AND HETIS LIVING IN THE LAKE SUPERIOR COUNTRY AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI, 1832 Indianlndianlndian HEEL: WWmmmmm Northwest Coast of Lake Huron Drummond Island St. Mary's River Southern Shore of Lake Superior Extreme Upper Mississippi Old Grand Portage to Lake of the Woods Red River St. Crois River Chippewa River TOTAL % of total native population (Taken from Henry R. Schoolcraft, 18 16 58 193 399 118 226 233 253 1,619 21.5 29 18 73 493 125 224 254 211 1,807 24 51 23 144 472 851 201 388 328 212 2,997 39.9 persons 140. 161 123 112 32 336 80 lflé 1,097 14.6 436 1,005 1,855 476 1,174 895 7,520 "Statistical Tables of the Indian population, comprised within the boundaries of the consolidated Agency of Sault Ste. Marie and Michilimackinac, .," in Philip P. Mason, ed., School- in the year 1832, . 09V 9 9,, WW (Beet Lansins. 1958). pp- 158- 160. ) 28 TABLE I-4 DISTRIBUTION OF HETIS POPULATION BY VILLAGE OR ENCAMPMENT IN THE LAKE SUPERIOR COUNTRY AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI, 1832 RENEE: HBEDEI Location of.uetis. of Indiana Mackinac, St. Martin's Islands 8 Cheneaux 140 98 St. Mary's 161 275 Grand Island 14 36 Keweenaw Bay 28 112 Ontonagon 15 137 Mouth of Montreal River, Mauvais River, LaPointe 28 185 Fond du Lac 38 193 Sandy Lake 35 280 Pine River 8 Red Cedar Lake 6 72 Pierced Prairie 8 Noka Seepi [Nokaysippi] 12 100 Lake Winnepec [Winnibigoshish] 10 79 Turtle Lake 14 85 Lac Traverse [Bemidji 8 Itasca Lake] 11 157 Leech Lake Mukkundwas 24 706 Rainy Lake 16 143 Vermillon Lake 7 125 Lake of the Woods 9 126 Red Lake 32 258 Pembina 304 580 Falls of St. Croix 8 Snake River 38 301 Yellow River, Rice Lake and Lac Vaseux [Spooner] 42 340 Lac Court Oreilles 56 448 Lac du Flambeau 50 407 (Taken from Henry R. Schoolcraft, "Statistical Tables of the Indian population, comprised within the boundaries of the consolidated Agency of Sault Ste. Marie and Michilimackinac, in the year 1832,. . .," in Philip P. Mason, ed., School- go ‘ I - ev § 0 aource_of_the_niasissinni (Beet Lensin9. 1958). pp- 154- 160.) 29 TABLE I-5 JACQUELINE PETERSON'S ANALYSIS OF HARRIAGES AND BIRTHS AT HICHILIHACKINAC HBEDEI EQIQEDEQQS 851215955 1525:1155 91 85921555 Marriages Between Canadians 20 32.26 Between Canadians and Indians 17 27.42 Between Canadians and métis 13 20.97 1155:1515 Between Euro-Americans 8 18.60 Between Euro-Americans and Indians 6 13.96 Between Euro-Americans and métis 22 51.16 . Number Bementage Births 1525:1155 Qt 0 de Mans Hétis 136 38.75 Euro-Americans 78 22.22 Hétis ‘ 94 71.76 Euro-American 8 6.11 (Taken from Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5 in Jacqueline Peterson, "Many roads to Red River: Métis genesis in the Great Lakes region, 1680-1815," in Peterson and Jennifer S. H. Brown, editors, g: \ .-,, --° hf'!° 1° :- .u_,. .- .= 1 o 9 America (Lincoln, 1985), pp. 50- 53. ) 30 fur enabled the Chippewas and Euro-American men to establish an economic relationship predicated upon the Chippewas trading pelts for European or American manufactured goods. This, in turn, led to the mingling of the races which resulted in the métis. The métis society began in the seventeenth century when French men first cohabited with women of the bands who would later become the Chippewa. Table I-3 shows that by 1832 approximately one out of seven people living in the Lake Superior country were "persons of the mixed blood." Jacque- line Peterson's analysis of the parish register for Ste. Anne's Church at Michilimackinac between 1698 and 1818 demonstrates that Canadian men increasingly took Indian (generally Chippewa or Ottawa) or, especially, métis wives. Not surprisingly, the number of métis children relative to Euro-Americans rose accordingly as shown in Table I-5. Throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth, French-Canadians underwent "métisation' as more and more of them married into native families. The increase in the number of métis, coupled with changing political control of the region, raised serious questions relative to their place and role in both the fur-trade society and the emerging Euro-American society in North America. The experience of Jean Baptiste Cadot reveals how a métis society arose. Cadot migrated from Quebec in 1742 to trade among the Chippewas near Nipigon. Eight years later he went to Sault Ste. Marie from where he operated for over 31 fifty years. Sometime after moving to the Sault, Cadot began living with Athanasie, a Chippewa woman of prominence. Among her relatives was Matchekewis, who had led the attack against the British at Michilimackinac in 1763.3 With his marriage, Cadot forged connections with Athanasie's Chippewa relatives, and this in turn benefited his trading activi- ties. He followed a long standing practice: The establish- ment of kinship ties between Euro-American men and Indian women created the personal relationships upon which the trade depended.‘ Marriage to Indian women gave traders access to Chippewa society and allowed them to create a network of people who supplied them with furs and bought their goods. Intermarriage, however, had more significance for Cadot than improved business opportunities, as he and Athanasie started a family when their first child was born in 1756. Cadot intended to raise and educate his children as French-Canadians even though they would spend most of their lives among their mother's people. He insisted that his children be brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. When he and Athanasie took their daughter Marie Renee to Michili- mackinac in 1756 for baptism, they also exchanged marriage vows before Father Marie Louis LaFranc.5 We do not know to what extent Athanasie herself embraced Catholicism, but each of her children was baptized as a Catholic. To further impress Canadian ways upon his children, Cadot sent them to be formally educated in Montreal. In fact, Athanasie 32 herself lived there for several years before her death in 1776, overseeing the children while they attended school.‘ As a result, the Cadot children, including son Michel, were literate, practicing Roman Catholics. Michel Cadot returned to the West in 1782, when he was eighteen years old, to follow in his father's footsteps. He settled at La Pointe and married the daughter of the local Chippewa chief, White Crane, thus strengthening familial connections with the Chippewas upon which to build an effective and profitable trading system. After the British conquest of Canada in 1760, Michel's father, like many other French-Canadians, shifted his allegiance to the British. He assisted British officers in their diplomacy with the Chippewa: he also helped to enlist Chippewa support for British efforts during the American Revolution. In order to continue in the fur trade, Jean Baptiste, Sr., allied himself with British traders. Like his father, Michel affiliated with British entrepreneurs and eventually agreed to procure his goods from the Northwest Company and to sell his furs to them. Using kinship ties from his parents and his wife, Michel built a large trading enterprise and achieved a high status in the Lake Superior country.7 Michel Cadot passed his business on to American traders through his daughters. Mary Cadot, Michel '3 daughter, married Lyman Warren, after the "fashion of the country," in 1821. Lyman and his brother Truman, natives of 33 Massachusetts, had come to the Lake Superior country from Vermont in 1818 to trade for Charles Ermitinger, a competi- tor of the American Fur Company. For several years the brothers worked for'Michel Cadot in the Lac du Flambeau and Lac Court. Orielles regions, learning' the ‘business and getting to know their Chippewa customers. When each brother married one of Cadot's daughters in 1821, they assumed kinship ties to their wives' people. Two years later they took control of Michel's business. In 1824, the Warrens affiliated with the American Fur Company, but Truman died the next year, leaving Lyman to oversee the three depart- ments at Lac du Flambeau, Lac Court Orielles, and St. Croix.8 In three generations the Cadot family had seen the control of the fur trade pass from the French to the British to the Americans and had, indeed, been agents of the trans- fer. By the fourth generation this métis family combined French-Canadian, Chippewa, and American heritages. One of Lyman Warren and Mary Cadot's children, William, would later spend a year at the Mackinaw Mission. Not all métis and French Canadians amalgamated so easily with the newcomers. French-Canadians Bazil Beaulieu and. Jean Baptiste Corbin, both.natives.of'Quebec, lost status in the fur-trade society after they accepted employment with Warren. After he came to work.for the Northwest Company at Lac du Flambeau as a principal trader, Beaulieu (born in 1784) married Ogemaugeezhigoqua (Queen of the Skies), the daughter of the Chippewa chief Teegausha (White Raven). When John Jacob 34 Astor began to take control of the.American fur trade in the Lake Superior country, the American Fur Company employed Beaulieu in 1818 to manage their operations at Lac du Flambeau.’ For a time he competed with the Warren brothers, but after 1824 he worked for them as their clerk at Lac du Flambeau. Beaulieu's status slipped from that of trader to clerk as the fur trade underwent major reorganization. Nonetheless, he continued to enjoy considerable influence among the Chippewa and métis--an asset which the American traders eagerly exploited for their benefit. Throughout his life Beaulieu. remained faithful to ‘the 2Roman Catholic Church, although it is not known if his wife, who was commonly called Margaret, accepted Catholicism. The couple eventually sent five of their children to the mission school at Mackinac: Clement, Julia, Elizabeth, Sophia, and Paul.10 Jean Baptiste Corbin experienced a similar fate. Corbin, a man of "good education,” entered the fur trade in 1796 and accommodated himself both to its traditions and changes.11 He went to work for Michel Cadot, and in 1800 he built a post at Lac Court Orielles where he lived for over fifty years. When Astor's men appeared, Corbin made the transition to the new company by accepting a salary as their trader for Lac Court Orielles. In 1820 Lyman Warren em- ployed Corbin as his clerk, and this relationship continued when Warren affiliated with Astor. Like other French- Canadians, Corbin married a Chippewa woman whose influence among her people enabled him to establish trading partner- 35 ships with many Chippewa families around Lac Court Orielles. The couple enrolled their son, Alexis, in the Mackinaw Mission in 1826.12 By the mid-18203 the top rung of métis society had been transformed. Lyman Warren and other Americans entered the top of the existing métis social structure after 1815 and used the traditions and hierarchy already in place to carry on the trade. Warren, William Aitkin, Daniel Dingley, and others assumed the top places in the social order, but they followed tradition by marrying either métis or Chippewa women, thereby establishing or extending kinship ties. The newcomers employed displaced traders, such as Beaulieu, Corbin, and Pierre Cotté, as clerks to oversee important outposts like Lac du Flambeau, Lac Court Orielles, and Fond du Lac, where these men had lived and worked for years. In this manner the American traders assumed the benefits of Euro-American-Indian marriages over the past century and incorporated into their enterprises the kinship and trading networks established by these French-Canadians and their métis employees. Beneath the traders and clerks in the social hierarchy were the bulk of métis families, and the function of the head of household in the trade determined their status in fur-trade society. Under-clerks, runners, voyageurs or boatmen, and their families made up the lower classes of the métis social structure. under-clerks assisted clerks in overseeing and keeping records of trading transactions with 36 each Chippewa customer. Voyageurs, almost all of whom were métis, performed most of the manual labor ranging from paddling canoes to cutting firewood. The runners occupied a place between the under-clerks and.voyageurs; they served as crew leaders on board batteaux and canoes, and in winter they visited Chippewa hunting camps to supply needed trade items and collect furs.13 Just as there was a definite social hierarchy in métis society, there also existed a hierarchical order of métis settlements. Detroit and.Michilimackinac, the "commercial- military centres," formed the nuclei of the upper Great Lakes fur trade. They possessed growing and diversified economies. "Corporate trading towns," such as Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, and Sault Ste. Marie, depended upon them. The economies of these settlements were devoted solely to the trade, with several prominent traders, a blacksmith, a notary, a few farmers, and sometimes a small garrison living in each place. Near the end of the eighteenth century individual traders began establishing small villages or "hamlets," such as Fond du Lac and Sandy Lake, to serve as trading outposts. Generally the population of these settle- ments included the trader, his employees, and their fami- lies. Traders controlled the operations of the trade around the hamlets through kinship ties.“ Table I-4 lists the métis and Indian populations at most of these hamlets. These métis settlements, however, did not stand alone. They stood in the midst of Chippewa society with its own 37 social structure which helped to shape the ways of the métis. The five to eight thousand Chippewas who lived in the Lake Superior country organized themselves around three units: the village, the hunting band, and the household. Metis hamlets grew up near the seven major Chippewa villages at Lac du Flambeau, Lac Court Orielles, Yellow River, Snake River, Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, and Red lake, while other métis fur trade employees often settled near numerous smaller villages scattered throughout the region. In the winter several Chippewa nuclear families joined together to form hunting bands that headed to their winter grounds where they hunted and trapped fur-bearing animals. As the Chip- pewas moved about, traders, clerks, runners, and voyageurs kept pace, carrying on transactions with individual men, women, and households. The Chippewa mode of living thus determined seasonal patterns for the métis.” The ethnicity of the male heads of métis households varied greatly, but Chippewa or other closely related Indian groups provided the cultural common denominator for all métis children. Children could have had a French-Canadian, French-Indian, American, or possibly British father and an Indian or French-Indian mother, but in the Lake Superior country almost all had Chippewa relations. Their parents conceived and raised these children in a multi-ethnic social environment where both Chippewa and Euro-American ways molded both the children and the society as a whole. Fathers linked their métis children to the world beyond Lake 38 Superior, while mothers and fathers both tied them to the Chippewa world. The fathers, particularly traders and clerks, did not allow Chippewa ways to dominate the forma- tion of their métis children, especially their sons,“ but neither could the children avoid coming to terms with the Chippewa ways of their mothers, relatives, and neighbors. Within the métis family, the husband headed the house- hold, but his wife exerted considerable influence over how and where the family lived. The man often worked far from home, procuring provisions and carrying on commerce. He dealt with a wider world of military officers, government agents, Chippewa hunters, and businessmen. His family generally remained in a localized, kin-oriented world.where they lived near the wife's people. Women tended to small children, gathered and grew vegetables and grains, prepared food, and kept up the family dwellings. The wives of traders provided the social bonds that connected the Chip- pewas and their Euro-American husbands. Those men who re- mained faithful to their family responsibilities gained favor among the Indians.17 These families with their Chippewa and Euro-American heritage created a distinctive métis way of life, but one not easily separated from sur- rounding societies. The influence of the mothers' people showed in the daily life of métis children. They grew up knowing their grandparents, their other maternal relatives, and Chippewa life-ways quite well. For example, Alexis Corbin and 39 William Dingley, both of whom attended the mission school, literally lived next door to their mothers' relatives. William's American father, Daniel, traded at Yellow River, where he resided with his wife, Isabella Dechene, who did not speak English. Just a few rods from the Dingley house, Isabella's Chippewa mother and French-Canadian father dwelt in a lodge. At Lac Court Orielles, Alexis's Chippewa mother moved freely among her relatives and friends who inhabited lodges near her husband's post.” Many mothers in métis families remained in the midst of familiar people and surroundings. They continued to speak their native language and did not have to uproot themselves from the environment where they had been formed. Although youngsters such as Alexis and William learned much 3129113 Chippewa ways from their mother and her family, they were generally not fully incorporated into Chippewa family or social structures. In late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Chippewa society a person belonged to a clan symbolized by a specific totem. The totem was similar to the surname of Euro- Americans and was passed on to children from their fathers. By 1850 over twenty different totems, identified by birds, mammals, or fish, existed, which the Chippewa believed had evolved from five original totems. Clan members extended friendship and hospitality to fellow clansmen, no matter where or when they came in contact with each other.19 With few exceptions, the children who came to the mission, did not belong to a clan. Martin Heydenburk noted in 1832 that only 40 one boy could "claim a full relation to any tribe or band of Indians."20 Lack of a totem indicated that the children of traders and. clerks ‘were not fully integrated into Chippewa society. These children grew up in the midst of a Chippewa world but did not fully participate in it. The complexity of the relation between Chippewa and Euro-American elements of the métis world emerges from two contemporary accounts of traders' or clerks'.dwellings. In 1826 Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas L. McKenney visited the summer lodge occupied by Pierre Cotté, his métis wife, and children:” She lives in winter in the buildings we occupy: and in summer in a lodge near them, and it is the only really comfortable lodge I have seen. Like all lodges, its door is closed.by a piece of bark, or'a.mat: and it has an opening at top, under'which, and on the ground, the fire is made. Generally the Indians put around these lodges the branches of the spruce tree, on which they sit and sleep, but here is a floor of planks, resting on sleepers made of logs, which run from the sides of the lodge towards the passage way, which is in front of the door, and extends two thirds of the way through. This floor is about six inches from the level of the passage way. On this floor they sit on mats, or on their bedding. They have in this lodge little ottomans, which are handed out to strangers to sit on. In this lodge, which is nearly round, and about twelve feet in diameter, live two families, Mr. Coty's and Mr. Morrison's. Mrs. Coty has with her an aged, but fine looking Indian mother. . . In 1833 William Johnston, an American-métis, went to Leech Lake to trade in opposition to the American Fur Company. Soon after his arrival, Johnston ordered his men to construct a log house for himself and his clerk, and several log houses for his men and their families. Until these buildings were finished, all persons lived in 41 Chippewa-style bark lodges.” Upon its completion, Johnston provided a rare description of the inside of his house:23 I shall attempt to give you a description of a trader's house, humble as it appears. It is a palace to us: The building is thirty feet by twenty: built of hewed logs- -and middling well finished outside. It is divided into two appartments, one of_ which serves as our Store House: and the other we occupy which is small being twenty feet each way. On opening the door the first thing that attracts the eye is the chimnie: on each side of which are beds. The front and gable end of the house have each a window. leather serving in place of Glass. Fawn skins are used, which are put on when wet, when dry and oiled, give very good light. And they answered the purpose also of a drum, under one of the.windows, is our table nailed fast to the wall, above it and the window is a Coffee Mill: and in line, their is a drawing knife, Tobacco pouch, a dirty Candlestick: which has not enjoyed the friction of a cloth, since we left the Sault. Further on in the corner is a Cup- board, formed of two boards roughly hewed--in which is contained, all our articles of cooking utensils etc. added to which are many other articles--such as Augers, crooked knives, Candle Moles, [molds] etc. A little further on, near the other window between which and the cup board hangs a Coffee Pot, Table Cloth etc. Under the window, are the water buckets, kettles, Wash bowl--And upon the window, is a piece of soap two or three nails--a pair of creeper [?] , a dirty shaving brush And in addition to the above ornaments, is a dirty fine tooth comb, which from appearance must have performed many a labourious task in its day, and is now cast aside, as useless, for any future adventure in traping such animals as will now bring no price in market: either body or pelt as our oppositions tell the Indians. Now comes the Door: next to which and hanging up, is a frock Coat. Then comes other articles in regular rotation: a portage collar one or two pairs Mockesins, and old straw Hat, a violin with all its appendages; a small shelf upon which are the few books we possess: one or two Cossetts, an ax, a spade, Tobacco pouch etc. etc. I have not got to the bed, which is on a bed sted, of good workmanship. above the head is a fowling piece, a brace of Pistols and a dirk: I will not undertake to 42 describe it any more, as my attempts would be altogeth- er fruitless. In dwellings like these, métis children lived amid a distinctive material culture which borrowed from each of their heritages and was understandable to all groups. The modified interior of the lodge provided for comforts not needed by the Chippewas, but French-Canadian clerks required them in order to sleep off the ground and to sit about it. Despite changes in the traditional lodge, Chippewa relatives found that they could gather around the fire to prepare food, to eat, and to talk. In this way, métis families incorporated features from both of their heritages to create a home that was neither Chippewa, nor Euro-American, but métis. When métis built and furnished log houses, however, they relied much more heavily upon their Euro-American traditions. These relatively large and massive structures resembled homes in Canada and the United States employing techniques developed by the builder's Euro-American ances- tors. The furnishings, mostly items of Euro-American manufacture which could also be found in many Canadian.and New England homes, included beds, coffee mills, candles, candle molds, violins, and books. Unlike their Chippewa cousins, métis children slept on beds at times, listened to their fathers read from books illuminated by candlelight, and danced to fiddle music. Under the same roof, they observed their fathers transact business with their Chippewa 43 relatives and neighbors. life inside the trader's house epitomized the world of the métis in the 18203 and 18303 where Euro-Americans, métis, and Chippewas came together to make use of Euro-American goods in an environment where Euro-American ways were becoming more prevalent. The métis children of traders and clerks grew up in a material culture that relied upon some of the same things used by Americans in the eastern United States. Like dwellings, trading practices incorporated a combination of Euro-American and Chippewa forms. Traders and clerks taught their sons the intricacies of the fur trade. Boys watched their fathers, many of whom were illiterate, keep records in ledgers of each transaction, often using symbols or pictures to identify each Chippewa customer's account.“ Many of the fathers recognized the advantage of written language as a tool to improve the operation of their business. They also instructed their sons how to enact trading rituals and to respect Chippewa practices. To be a successful trader or clerk, one had-to drive hard bargains to maximize profits, but he also had to feed the hungry, give gifts of liquor, trade goods, or food, as well as receive gifts from trading partners, accept the hospitality of Chippewa families, and return it to them.25 Young métis males learned to be traders or clerks, or if lower class métis, to be runners or voyageurs: they were not, like their Chippewa male relatives, warriors or hunt- ers. Boys learned to speak French and/or English from their 44 fathers and Chippewa from their mothers. They could thus ideally communicate with all members of the fur-trade society.“' Metis boys acquired skills which Chippewa youth did not. This not only distinguished them from the Chip- pewas, but it prepared them to trade with Chippewa hunters and to take advantage of kinship ties to the Chippewas. William Johnston's experience during 1833 and- 1834 illustrates how both kinship and ritual functioned in the trade. In August, 1833, he stopped at La Points and unsuc- cessfully attempted to woo some of Lyman Warren's Chippewa customers by giving a gift of fifty plugs of tobacco accom- panied by ”great ceremony" to a local Chippewa chief. Métis children who watched this endeavor and similar transactions in other places saw how a trader observed traditional Chippewa ritualistic forms when trying to carry on a busi- ness transaction. Johnston attributed his failure to Chippewa fears that Warren might retaliate against them if they defected to another trader, but probably far more critical was Warren's relation to many of the La Pointe Chippewa through marriage.”' Incidents like this showed to métis children the importance of their blood ties to their Chippewa relatives. The children also saw how some trading practices used by their fathers helped to set traders and clerks apart from the Chippewas. William Johnston's experience at Leech Lake in 1833 and 1834 clearly shows that some methods of trade ran counter to Chippewa practices. He complained that not 45 only had William Aitkin imported huge quantities of goods to trade to the Chippewa, but Aitkin's clerks and boatmen exhibited "vile 8 treacherous" behavior which included bribery and intimidation of Chippewas who did business with him." By using such tactics, American traders and their métis clerks violated Chippewa customs, but they believed this necessary to retain as many trading partners as possi- ble. In so doing, the traders revealed the paradox they faced: If they hoped to make money, they had to keep the loyalty of their Chippewa customers and, at times, employ methods that conflicted with the Chippewas' sense of hospi- tality and reciprocity. When the traders and clerks did violence to Chippewa ways, they created a gulf between themselves and the Chippewas which prevented them from participating fully in Chippewa society. The traders' and clerks' children inherited this legacy which made it desir- able that they be able to cope with the Americanization of the fur-trade society. Just as fathers taught sons appropriate social roles, so mothers taught their daughters the female role in métis society. Métis and Chippewa women married to French— Canadians mixed Chippewa child rearing practices and Chip- pewa skills with those of their Euro-American husbands.” They sewed moccasins and leggings and other clothing in the same manner as the Chippewa. They taught their daughters to cook over a fire in the center of a bark-covered lodge, but they also used and cooked over the fireplace of a log 46 cabin.” Chippewa tradition did not tolerate striking or scolding children, but French-Canadians used corporal punishmentfi” Given the father's dominance in the family, it is likely that at times métis youngsters received harsh words and spankings as reprimands. Girls spent most of their time with their mothers: consequently, they learned to speak Chippewa as their language of daily discoursefi32 Young girls learned early to be homemakers in a fashion which enabled them to assist their men carry on the trade. The education and religious training of métis children moved them even further away from their Chippewa cousins. French-métis children combined Roman Catholic teachings from their father and Chippewa beliefs from their mother. Both the missionary Amanda Ferry and historian Francis Parkman commented on the results of this instruction. In 1829 Mrs. Ferry lamented to her family back in Massachusetts that the children at the mission had had the sentiments of Catholi- cism "instilled into their minds, as soon as they were capable of receiving impressions."33 While on a visit to northern Michigan in 1845, Parkman quizzed his canoe pilot, Joseph Gurnae, a former métis student at the Mackinaw Mission, regarding Indian myths of the area. Parkman noted:3‘ He evidently believed.much of them [Indian myths] him- self, and cautioned me against letting an Ind. girl, to whom I might become attached, get possession of one of my hairs, as she would then have it in her power to do me mischief. He boasted to have once defeated a spell cast on a man by a conjuror. 47 Metis children drew upon a dual religious heritage which they syncretized into distinctively metis belief systems. Virtually all French-Canadian and French-métis men identified themselves as Roman Catholics, but most exhibited little evidence that they still followed the Church's dic- tates. Between 1765 and 1830, no priest resided at Mack- inac: this meant that itinerant clergy administered sacra- ments, especially baptism, only during irregular visits to the Straits. Not surprisingly, the Church's influence waned. The result was many self-identified Catholics who lived "bad lives." Father Samuel Mazzuchelli concluded in 1830 that they had "forgotten our holy religion.“5 But they had not so much forgotten Catholicism as replaced it with what might be called "folk Catholicism" dedicated Catholic laymen, however, instructed children and adults alike in places where priests never went.“ Michel Cadot and Pierre Cotte kept the faith alive in the Lake Superior country by attempting to instill Catholic beliefs and practices in both children and adults. Both men read the Bible and possessed a good knowledge of Biblical and Catholic teachings. Acting upon the teaching that parents bring up their children -in the way of the Lord, Cadot and Cotté taught their children and their wives to pray, to listen to the Bible when it was read to them, to sing, and to learn the catechism. Since they occupied prominent positions, some of their employees, and even some Chippewas, sent their children to classes and worship 48 services conducted by Cadot at La Points and Cotté at Fond du Lac. So in the midst of’a society'where the institution- al church's impact was diminishing, there remained places in key settlements where some children received instruction in Roman Catholic Christianity at an early age.”' Not all fathers of métis families resembled Cadot or Cotte. In the absence of a strong paternal religious training in the family, métis children, such as Me sai a inse, adopted many of their Chippewa mothers' beliefs and practices. Even though her mother and Chippewa relatives apparently raised her without her natural father, whose identity is unknown, Me sai ainse had learned Catholic prayers. Me sai einse grew up near Lac Court Orielles before coming to the mission in 1825, when she was fifteen. William Ferry described her as ”a half blood Indian girl, the by habit 8 language a full native of the wilderness.‘ Before she went to Mackinac, Me sai ainse lived with her aunt and expected to join the Midewiwin society, which was a religious society that devoted much of its attention to promoting good health. Ferry commented further::38 The summer that she left she was to have been received as a full priestess or conjuress,--had gone thro' all the previous mummery 8 was on the ten days singing or finishing scene: when an uncle, who had given her her name 8 hence had a right of control, arrived 8 said he had been told in a dream that she must not become one of the Me ta wee.-That was enough. All was in conse- quence abandoned. And he took her away. . . . In the apparent absence of her French-Canadian father, He sai einse took on more Chippewa characteristics than did 49 most children of traders and clerks. Nonetheless, she illuminates Chippewa religious practices which metis chil- dren could choose to follow; Me sai Ainse's experience and Joseph Gurnae "3 comments reveal that tenets of Chippewa religion formed a part of metis children's world view. Both Gurnae and Me sai ainse tell us that they incorpo- rated into their world view the importance that the Chip- pewas placed upon the relationship between good health and being at peace with their spiritual world. The Chippewas believed that they lived among numerous non-human ”persons" or minim, as well as humans. These non-human ”persons," including certain animals, fish, birds, plants, and spirits, had "inherent powers to live." Humans, however, depended upon manitggs for their daily sustenance: consequently, the Chippewa placated them through "offerings” and ”respectful ”39 behavior. Men and women saw m everywhere they looked-ein the woods, in the water, along the shoreline, and on islands. Gurnae's respect for the potential power for evil that one individual could gain over another by possess- ing even a single strand of hair, reveals that he saw the world around him in a manner similar to that of his Chippewa relatives. Me sai einse's involvement with the Midewiwin society further substantiates the tie between health and meninges. The society paid great heed to the use of herbal and ceremonial cures of disease and made the maintenance of good health its primary objective. Through their ceremonies the Mides hoped to enlist the assistance of the m to 50 bring about good health. To the Chippewa their health depended upon the favorable disposition of the m which lived all around them.“ Mé sai einse's experience also reflected the importance of dreams. Her uncle's dream banned her from the Midewiwin society, and Me sai einse respected this and followed his direction. Although Ferry does not specifically say so, Me sai einse almost certainly fasted for several days prior to puberty to dream a vision that would reveal to her the identity of a personal guardian spirit. It might have been "in the shape of Quadrupeds, birds, or some inanimate object in nature, as the moon, the stars, or the imaginary thunder- ers."“1 The dreamer kept this specific revelation secret, and this "guardian genius" stayed with the individual throughout his entire life. He would worship and make sacrifices to this spirit and take great care not to offend it in any way. He also fasted from time to time in order to renew the powers of the initial rite.“2 Chippewa youth did not reveal the contents of their dream to others. This contrasted sharply with Christianity, which prompted converts to share their conversion experience with people around them and thus encouraged proselytization. Because the métis children may not have talked about having a pre-puberty vision, it does not mean they did not have one. In all probability, individuals who lived in families with a domineering French-Canadian father did not follow the Chippewa way, but in cases where the father had left or had 51 been more acculturated to the Chippewa, native practices played a larger part in the formation of their world view. The role played in the trade by the male heads of household of métis families determined to a large degree the families' relationship to the Chippewa. Traders and clerks retained a stronger sense of their French-Canadian identity, especially Catholicism, than.did the voyageurs, who adopted more Indian customs and manners. William W. Warren captured the ‘voyageur's affinity for ‘the. Chippewa: ”In 'their [French] lack of care for the marrow, which in a measure characterized the French 'voyageur,' and in their continued effervescence of animal spirits, open-heartedness, and joviality, they agreed fully with the like characteristics possessed by the Oj ibways. . ,. ."‘3‘ Even though the Cadots, Beaulieu, Corbin, and Cotte all married into the Chippewa community, the nature of their business required them to continue to relate as Euro-Americans to other Euro-Americans further east. As the managers of the trade, they remained apart from both the Chippewas who were indebted to then and the voyageurs who worked for them. Voyageurs carried furs and trade goods, but they did not conduct the trade itself. Their responsibility differed from that of their bosses, and this made it much easier for them to draw closer to the Chippewa. Not surprisingly, the children of traders and clerks exhibited stronger French-Canadian characteristics,. especially Catholicism, than did those of voyageurs, whose 52 behavior more closely resembled that of tribal Chippewa youngsters. Small scale agriculture further differentiated the families of traders and clerks from both Chippewa and voyageur families. Men did some of the work required on these small métis farms, in contrast to Chippewa society where women kept gardens and harvested wild riee. Lyman Warren sowed wheat at La Pointe, and Pierre Cotte planted corn and potatoes at Fond du Lac in addition to keeping cattle. Milk, butter, and meat from domesticated animals supplemented their diet and removed it from complete depen- dence upon fish, wild rice, corn, berries, game, and maple sugar--the staple foods of the Chippewa. Traders and clerks also added flour, pork, tea, coffee, and other imported items to their families' diet. This contrasted with the voyageurs dependence upon hulled corn and tallow supplement- ed.by fish in the winter; ‘Warren.and Cotté farmed primarily to provide food for their families not for sale on the market; Thus, métis families of traders and clerks blended products and methods of Euro-American agriculture with the traditional foodstuffs of the Chippewas to create a distinc- tive diet.“ Agriculture. only' temporarily’ diverted traders and clerks from tending to their main activity of the summer- -transporting furs to Mackinac and bringing back another year's supply of trade goods. This annual exercise required métis of all classes throughout the region to rendezvous at 53 Fond du Lac or La Pointe, where they met many Chippewas before they left for Mackinac. The rendezvous functioned both as a social get-together and as a staging point for the trip to Mackinac. In 1832 the Protestant missionary the Reverend William T. Boutwell expressed his astonishment when he witnessed one of these gatherings at Fond du Lac for the first time:‘5 On arriving here I was not a little surprised to find nearly 400 souls, French half breeds, Inds. 8 white men. The scene at our landing was such as I never before witnessed 8 enough to fill one unaccustomed as myself to the like with wonder if not fear. The yelling of Inds. barking dogs, crying children runing [sic] of the multitude, discharge of musketry 8 flourish of flags was much in the extreme. Traders had outfitted their voyageurs and canoes at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, and other inland hamlets with enough provisions to reach Fond du Lac. Many mothers and children of métis families accompanied the men at least as far as Fond du Lac. At Fond du Lac old friends saw each other for the first time since fall and enjoyed each other's company. But this was only the first stop on a long round trip journey. Métis of all classes came together at the rendez- vous before they set out for their annual trip to Mackinac. Some wives and children went alongd“ During the journey to Mackinac, the ranking of men in métis society stood out. Lyman Warren, William.Aitkin, and the other American traders assigned the details of the trip to their subordinates. The clerks made sure that each thirty-five to forty-foot batteau had sufficient provisions, 54 enough oars, sails, and oil cloths to cover the cargo in case of rain or rough water. They also accounted for each bale of fur. Runners now functioned as steersmen, assuming command of a batteau and giving orders to six or eight-man crews while they guided the vessel over the clear, cold waters of Lakes Superior and Huron. At the bottom of the hierarchy, the voyageurs pulled the cars and carried fur bales and other packs whenever necessary.“' Wives and children also shared the work from the time they left their winter home. Mothers cared for small children in addition to carrying family belongings over portages. Children who were old enough helped them, often trudging over muddy trails infested with mosquitoes and black flies. To their mothers also fell the job of making meals along the way.“! Chippewa and métis wives found little strange in these duties that closely resembled the work of Chippewa women, who carried lodges and household items to new locations while their husbands hunted. Métis women were accustomed to being deferential to men and to ‘9 The evidence does not indicate doing arduous labor. whether traders' and clerks' wives enjoyed preferential treatment to that of the voyageurs' wives. The trips to Mackinac at once expanded the world of métis children and reconfirmed the stratification of their fur-trade world. They saw distant places, such as Sault Ste. Marie and especially' Mackinac, where steamboats, soldiers, government agents, large warehouses, and the 55 bustle of a busy port town created a social atmosphere quite unlike Fond du Lac. Mackinac Island's location at the junction of lakes Huron and Michigan made it a stopping point for' ships going from Detroit to Chicago. At Mackinac the children saw their fathers do business with men who were far different from Chippewa hunters or voyageurs. Warren and Aitkin, for instance, dealt directly with Robert Stuart, the resident manager of the American Fur Company, and other English-speaking men, such as Indian agent George Boyd. Clerks supervised voyageurs who carried furs to the ware- house, where company clerks dutifully noted each parcel .. When the brigade prepared to return to the Lake Superior country, the boatmen transported bales and cases of trade goods, including blankets, calico, kettles, axes, and knives back to their batteaux. When not working, voyageurs spent much of their wage drinking, dancing, playing cards, and raising a ruckus. After a few weeks at Mackinac, the traders took their brigades of four or five batteaux back to Lake Superior. Visits to Mackinac helped the traders recognize that the coming Americanization of the fur-trade society had profound implications for their children. In a society where the English language, American systems of government and law, and American entrepreneurs would become more and more prevalent, their children would need preparation to meet the change. They required an American education to live in a society -where Americans would play an increasingly 56 larger role. Men such as Lyman Warren, William Aitkin, Charles Oakes, and Daniel Dingley quite consciously took the lead in trying to secure educational opportunities for their children near their homes. The Chippewas intended to live as Chippewas: métis children of traders and clerks were not Chippewa. They had to learn new ways and skills to cope successfully with the changing world around them. The extent of the changes involved in Americanization became quite evident when in August, 1826, Indian Superin- tendent Thomas L. McKenney and Michigan Territorial Governor Lewis Cass held treaty negotiations with the Chippewas at the American Fur Company's post at Fond du Lac. In the heart of Chippewa land these agents of the United States Government formally secured from the Chippewas their ac- knowledgement of "the authority and jurisdiction of the United States, and disclaim all connection with any foreign power, . . ." Although the specific ramifications of this agreement were unknown at the time, all groups in the fur- trade society realized that the American presence appeared to be permanent.50 The métis trading establishment initially looked to the mission at Mackinac as the place to educate their children, but within a few years the Lake Superior traders pressed the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to send teachers to their settlements. They looked to the Board because it was an institution that provided formal education in the northwestern Great Lakes region in the 18203. In 57 1830 Frederick Ayer, at the invitation of Lyman Warren, went to La Pointe to establish a school. In 1831, the Board sent the Reverend Sherman Hall and his wife, Betsey, to La Pointe to be followed by the Reverend William T. Boutwell in 1832 and Edmund F. Ely in 1833. During the 18303 these men and their associates conducted schools near the homes of Ameri- can traders and tried to carry Christianity and American education to the Chippewa, the métis, and the Euro-Americans at la Pointe, Yellow Lake, Fond du Lac, Pokegama, Sandy Lake, and Leech Lake.51 Ayer's experience at Yellow lake in 1833 illustrates the different reactions of métis and Chippewa societies to American dominance. In 1833 Ayer, his wife, Elizabeth, and Hester Crooks (the métis daughter of Ramsey Crooks) opened a school at Yellow Lake which in December he described as being "in a flourishing state," even though he had only six or seven regular students--all of them métis. Indian parents refused permission for their children to attend, although apparently some did come from time to time against their parents' wishes. In fall the band gathered near Yellow lake to hold a "Medicine Dance 8 Feast," at which time they formulated their reaction to Ayer's presence and purposes. Ayer reported their message to him: ‘They would not send their children to school or listen to God's Book. ' They would retain their customs 8 habits. If the Great Spirit had designed they should be instructed they would have had his word communicated to them before. ‘The Great Spirit designed they should have a different religion 8 custom from the White.' 58 Despite this rejection, the Chippewas extended their tradi- tional hospitality to Ayer and Crooks when they visited their lodges, even though some refused to listen to reli- gious talk. After a time Ayer sensed that many "seemed very much softened, " but except for several very old people, none of them expressed any real interest in Christianity. The Chippewas had not objected to Ayer's presence at this time, yet they planned to discuss the missionaries at a larger council in spring.” When the council gathered in early May, Ayer found himself the cause of dissension among the Chippewas. The chief Maiians had granted permission to build: now others in the band challenged Maiians' authority to do so. This opposition, which now included Maiians, proposed to expel Ayer "from house 8 country." On the evening of May 8, the leaders met with Ayer at his house. Ayer, lacking the customary gift of tobacco, "prepared an entertainment of Rice 8 potatoes" to present to the chiefs. Then Ayer told the assembly the reasons for his coming to Yellow lake. Speaking for the opposition this time, Maiians replied that they feared that the Americans would be coming to take their land. Following this speech, Kishkitanag defended Ayer, "Why do you blame him, He did call us together and place tobacco before us. I was speaker on the occasion and told him that we could not give him a definite answer until Spring when many more of the Indians would be together." Maiians spoke again demanding that Ayer leave. The council 59 then adjourned until the next morning, when they gave Ayer permission to remain. But Kishkitanag emphatically stated that the Chippewas retained ownership of the land used by Ayer, and they intended to adhere to their own rel igion.S3 The Chippewas feared that the missionaries came to impose changes upon them which would uproot them from both their land and their religion. They defined themselves, in part, by their distance from.kmerican customs. Acknowledg- ing their dependence upon traders, the Chippewas nonetheless argued strongly that they did not wish to surrender their way of life to newcomers. The Chippewas knew well that Americans had pushed others off their land to open it for new settlement. Chief Flat Mouth expressed this sentiment emphatically at Leech Lake in September, 1836:“’ Thus the Americans plan to treat us as they treat their black people. They do not come to see how we are in our homes, to find out about us, to help us as the French used to do, as the English used to do and still do. I know'why they do not come. It is because we are poor. But when they shall be as poor as we are, then they shall come to take our land, not to till it with us, but to drive us west. We shall not go west! We shall not sell! We shall not surrender our land, not until every one of the warriors you see around me has been killed. The Chippewas asserted that the Great Spirit had created the white man and the red man to have their own separate religion and customs. This state of affairs maintained harmony between.the races. The Chippewas intended to pass on their own distinctive religion and manners to their children themselves. Chippewa parents and elders would teach their youth as they had for generations: they had no 60 need for Americans to instruct their children to follow a strange religion or to practice new ways. The traders' ambition for their children not only divided them from the Chippewas, but subverted the lives of their Chippewa relatives. When they invited Americans into the country, they helped to introduce disruptive forces into the Chippewa world. Missionaries came to challenge the Chippewas to accept a new religion, and others would come to use their land and water for logging, mining, and fishing. American schools would serve to integrate métis children into the changing world around them, but their integration only threatened to isolate their Chippewa cousins. As the Chippewas rejected the American agents of change and the métis families of traders and clerks embraced them, the gap between the two groups widened. The American traders took the lead in bringing teachers into the fur-trade society, but teachers also satisfied the aspirations of the traders' French-Canadian and métis clerks. Corbin, Beaulieu, and others wanted their children to learn how to fit into a society where Americans were becoming more numerous and dominant. These children needed to be able to read and.write English if they hoped to adjust successfully to the new political and economic order. By doing so, the clerks hoped their children might even be able to regain some of the status which they had lost to the British and the Americans.55 61 The first results of this drive for education appeared at the Reverend William Ferry's mission school at Mackinac. As can be seen from Table I-6, most of the children came from places south and west of Lake Superior or the Straits of Mackinac. There were 175 names on the school's rosters, but others attended, primarily boys and girls who did not board at the mission since their parents lived on Mackinac Island. An analysis of the school's rolls reveals the children's ethnicity?“ 85 had Chippewa or French-Chippewa mothers 35 had Ottawa or French-Ottawa mothers 15 had Sioux or French-Sioux mothers 28 had mothers of other Indian nations 4 were full blood Chippewa 10 were full blood Ottawa 130 had French-Canadian or French-métis fathers 31 had American fathers Beginning in 1823, the métis children of traders, clerks, and probably a few boatmen had gathered together at the Mackinaw Mission to learn English and the new skills that their fathers hoped would equip them to participate in the Americanization of their society. Once at Mackinac, the children found themselves under the direction of men and women whose world view differed significantly from their own, but they shared a surprising number of characteristics with their mentors. Both groups came from male-dominated societies organized around stable, nuclear families. All of the missionaries spoke a European language, as did all the métis boys and some of the girls. Each practiced at least some form of Christianity, although they might disagree vehemently regarding the truth of each 62 TABLE I-6 BIRTHPLACES OF MISSION CHILDREN Birthplace Warm Mackinac 29 Lake Superior 25 Sault Ste. Marie 17 Fort William 11 L'Arbre Croche 11 Prairie du Chien Fort Gratiot Grand River Red River La Pointe Lac du Flambeau St. Peters La Cloch Fond du Lac Drummond Island St. Ignace Montreal (Wisconsin) St. Josephs Fort Churchill Bois Blanc Island Rand (‘2) River Rivieres Au Sable Lake Athabasca Cheboygan Chicago Wisconsin River Ohio Pt. Au Sable \l MLHHHHHHHNNUwUé-bmmmatq‘lmm 1.: (Taken from Catalogue of Boys School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC: 18.6.1.1:27; Catalogue of Girls School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC: 18.6.1. 1:26; and Children at Mackinaw, April 5, 1833, ABC: 18.5.7. 1:36.) 63 other's beliefs. Both the children's fathers and the New England missionaries recognized the value of a formal education whereby children learned to read and write. Even the competitiveness which characterized American economic development formed part of the children's family experience in the fur-trade society. Many of the students ate at least some food raised on small farms near their homes and con- sumed other products imported from the East. Like the missionaries, the children of traders and clerks slept on beds inside wooden houses (at least some of the time). The children who came to the Mackinaw Mission were not Indian children, but they were people who possessed traits drawn from both their Indian and Euro-American heritages. At the mission they encountered men and women who did not discern this, who often perceived them to be Indians instead of métis. They had more in common with New Englanders than first meets the eye, and both these commonalities and the missionaries' failure to recognize them did much to shape their experience. 64 CHAPTER I Enemies 1Henry R- Schoolcraft. WW 0 g Q Q— - 9 go WWW (Philadelphia: 1851).p p- 491. 2See Jacqueline L. Peterson, ”Prelude to Red River: A Social Portrait of the Great Lakes Métis," Ethngnistgry, 25 (Winter, 1978):41-67: ”The People in Between: Indian-White Marriages and the Genesis of'a Métis Society and Culture in the Great Lakes Region, 1680-1830,” (Ph. D. diss., Univer- sity of Illinois-Chicago Circle, 1981) and "Many Roads to Red River: Métis Genesis in the Great Lakes Region, 1680- 1815, ” in Peterson and Jennifer s. H. Brown, editors, The '10- 'e' -‘ 1° ‘21-. 3: OH H 4‘ = I 101! :2!‘ -. (Lincoln: 1985), pp. 37-72. 3David.A.Armour, "Jean-Baptiste Cadot," Dig;ignazy_gfi 91W, Vol. V (Toronto: 1983), pp. 128-130: Armour, ed., c c ' n :‘Ie': ,,-. S :10. 1° ‘1 ‘= .1210... an. 9 10.2! ' (Mackinac Island: 1971), pp. 37, 99, 103. A good discussion of how Euro-American men formed kinship ties with Indians (in this case the Sioux) is Gary Ciayton Anderson. WW 0. Q 90- y :: :: so ‘._ ‘ s .-:s (Lincoln: 1984). 5"Marriages at Mackinac," October 28, 1756, Wisggnsin WM (hereafter EEC) (Madison: 1908). Vol- 18, pp. 483 and "Baptisms at Mackinac," October 15, 1756, WHC, Vol. 19, pp. 46-7. 6Theresa Schenck, "The Cadots: The First Family of Sault Ste. Marie," M1gh1gan__fligtg:y 72 (March/April, 1988):36-43. 7William W. Warren , 3 (Minneapolis: 1970: originally pub. in 1855), p. 321. 3Warren. W. pp. 321. 326. 383-4 and.J. Fletcher Williams, "Memoir of William W. Warren,” in Warren. W. pp- 9-11- 9Good accounts that describe the development of the northern fur trade include: Harold A. Innis, 1n§_£u;_I;age 65 W (Toronto: 1975, originally pub. 1930): E. 8. Rich, WW1 (Toronto= 1967): Wayne Edson Stevens, 7 (Urbana: 1928) and "Fur Trading Companies in the Northwest, 1760-1816,) e 8 88 Val , Vol. 1):, Part II, 1916-1917, pp. 283-291: Kenneth Wiggins Porter. WW Man, 2 vols. (Cambridge: 1931) and David Lavender, M153; Mum (Albuquerque, 1979, originally pub. 1964). ”Children at Mackinaw, April 5, 1333, ABC:18.5.7.I:36, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University (hereafter ABC): Warren. WM. pp- 381-2: ”American Fur Company Employees, 1818-1819,” m, Vol. 12, pp. 154-55: Hamilton Nelson Ross. law (N- P-: 1960), p. 96: Gravestone of Bazil Beaulieu, St. Joseph's Cemetery, Madeline Island, Wisconsin. "Warren. W. p- 325. 12George Boyd, "Licenses granted . . . ," September 1, 1823, letters Received by the Office of the Secretary of War Relating to Indian Affairs, 1800-1823, Microcopy No. 271, Roll 4, 1822-23, National Archives: Children at Mackinaw: Reuben G. Thwaites, ed., 2135;, Vol. 19, p. 168, Note 27: American Fur Company Employees: Jedediah D. Stevens, February 19, 1830, Diaries, p. 87, typescript copy, Mackinac Island State Park Commission (hereafter MISPC): manuscripts of Stevens' diaries and journals are in the Jedediah D. Stevens Papers, Minnesota Historical Society (hereafter HHS); Warren. am: 99° 321! 325: 381-84- L"William Johnston to Jane Schoolcraft, July 23 and August 31, 1833, to (hereafter MEL-IQ), Vol. 37, pp. 133-38: 165-67: Paul H. Beaulieu, "The Fur Trade by Paul M. Beaulieu, 1880," in Gerald Robert Vizenor. ed.. W W (Minneapolis: 1968). pp- 75-91. “Peterson, "Many Roads to Red River," pp. 37-71 and "The People in Between,” pp. 104-143. The Northwest Company established posts at Fond du Lac in 1793, at Sandy Lake in 1794, and a few years later at Leech Lake. 15Rebecca Anne Kugel, "‘To Go About on the Earth': An Ethnohistory of the Minnesota Ojibwe: 1830-1900," (Ph. D. diss. University of California, Los Angeles, 1986) , pp. 33- 34: H. Schoolcraft, ”Statistical Tables of Indian Population, comprised within the boundaries of the consolidated Agency of Sault Ste. Marie and Michilimackinac, in the year 1832, . . .," in Philip P. Mason, editor, 0 - - - - o 9" -. .— .19f'. 'l ' Q‘ . 3 PV‘S ° W (East looming: 1958). pp- 158- 66 160: Harold Hickerson, ° (American Anthropological Association: BMW 1962), Memoir 92, pp. 33-51: H. Schoolcraft, July, 1831, Personal Memoirs, pp. 367-370: James E. Fitting and Charles E. Cleland, "Late Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Upper Great Lakes,"£flmph1g_t_gm 16: 289- 302: Jedediah Morse, x ; ' I o ‘ o Q ‘ o 0 Q ' : Q Q W (New Haven: 1822), pp. 67-9: and Thomas L. McKenney, W- . . 4 (Minneapolis: 1959: originally pub. 1827), p. 255. “David Greene, Report, August 22, 1829, ABC:18.4.8. 1:227. "Warren. W1. pp- 385-86: Elizabeth Therese Baird, "Reminiscences of Early Days on Mackinac Island," mg, Vol. 14, pp. 22-23. 18Stevens, October, 1829-February, 1830, Diaries, pp. 57-80. ”Edwin James. ed. . WW5: :° :1 7 ‘: °‘ °91 -.!!‘- '1- 9° :1 ‘-. S i“ 9‘! .H°!° 1°,-JS 1 1‘ !‘ ° 1 ' ‘ , -. (Minneapolis: 1956: originally pub. in 1830) , p. 313: H. Schoolcraft, January 31, 1823, W, p. 151: Warren, W, pp. 42-45: Frederick Baraga, W (New York: 1976). p. 9- z"Martin Heydenburk to Greene, June 26, 1832, ABC:18.6.1. I:61. 21Hermann-11:. W. p. 310. 2“’Johnston to J. Schoolcraft, September 20, 24, October 8, 18, and November 14, 1833, nzng, Vol. 37, pp. 180-89. 23Johnston to J. Schoolcraft, October 28, 1833, Mfifig, Vol. 37, pp. 198-99. 1"'P. Beaulieu, ”The Fur Trade,“ p. 87: Louis Proven- calles, Indian Ledgers and Notes, 1836-1837, MHS. ”For a good discussion of gift giving in the fur trade, see Bruce M. White, ”‘Give Us a Little Milk': The Social and Cultural Significance of Gift Giving in the Lake Superior Fur Trade,” Minnesota—111mg, 42/2 (Summer, 1982): 60-71 and ”A Skilled Game of Exchange: Ojibway Fur Trade Protocol, " Wm 50/6 (Summer, 1987): 229- 240: Arthur J. Ray and Donald B. Freeman, " v G th:_ "' ._' 0,01) i!° - o ;- . 0!: o- - Q; ' : and Kugel, ”To Go About on the Earth," pp. 5-51. 6 7 2"Greene , Report . 27Johnston to J. Schoolcraft, August 19, 1833, M2119, Vol. 37, p. 154. ‘ubohnston to J. Schoolcraft, November 14, 1833, Mzflg, Vol. 37, pp. 200-01: Boutwell, July 17, 1832, Journal, ABC:18.3.7.I:83: Boutwell to Greene, December 18, 1833, ABC:18.3.7.I:85. ”snags. Enigma—Indians. pp. 69-70: Martin Heydenburk to Greene, June 26, 1832, ABC:18.6.1.I:61. :chKenney, Iegz_§e_§he_Lekee, p. 310: Stevens, March 16, 1830, Diaries, p. 95. 31William T. Boutwell, June 28, 1832, "Journal," W. p- 320: Baraqa. W. W p. 53: Joseph N. Nicollet, s . - ° 1 _ -n. - ., 1e gizc'ssi-o' .---w-t- s w Netee en Indian Life, 1836-37 (St. Paul: 1970), pp. 188, 193-194: Boutwell, Reminiscences, William T. Boutwell Papers, typescript copies, p. 73, MHS. 32Greene , Report . inAmanda Ferry to Family, June 4, 1829, in Charles A. Anderson, ed., ”Frontier Mackinac Island, 1823-1834: Letters of William Montague and Amanda White Ferry," in 8 ° , 26:119-20 (June, 1948). These letters appear in three issues, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Dec., 1947): Vol. 26, Nos. 2 8 3 (June and Sept., 1948), (Hereafter this collection will be referred to as Ferry letters). “Mason. Wade. editor. W (New York: 1947), Vol. I, pp. 305-306. 35Samuel Mazzuchelli to Edward Fenwick, March 13, 1832, Fenwick Correspondence, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Papers, Box 1, University of Notre Dame Archives. :“At Mackinac Magdelaine Laframboise, a French-Ottawa woman, instructed children in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. See Keith R. Widder, ”Magdelaine Lafram- boise: Fur Trader and Educator," in Rosalie Riegle Troester. ed-. manly—Wiser): A (Lansing, 1987), pp. 1-14. 37Edmund F. Ely, June 8, 1834, Journal No. 4, pp. 18- 20 and September 17 8 21, October 15, and November 20, 1834, Journal No. 5, pp. 11-12, 22, Edmund F. Ely Papers, type- scripts, MHS (Originals are in the St. Louis County Historical Society, Duluth, Minnesota.) (hereafter Ely 68 Papers): Baraga to Leopoldine Foundation, August 9, 1835, September 28, 1835, and August 11, 1836, Baraga Papers, Northeast Minnesota Historical Center, University of Minnesota-Duluth: Roy Hoover, "‘To Stand Alone in the Wilderness': Edmund F. Ely, Missionary,”u1nnee9_te_fi1et_o;y 49/7 (Fall, 1985): 273-74: Boutwell, Reminiscences, pp. 71, 74: Stevens, February 7, 13, March 4, 5, 6, 17, 1830, Diaries, pp. 85-6, 93, 95-96: Boutwell to H. Schoolcraft, August 4, 1835, Papers of Henry R. Schoolcraft, Reel 7, Library of Congress (hereafter Schoolcraft Papers): S. Hall to Greene, August 9, 1836, ABC:18.3.7.I:64: Baraga to James Abbott, August 21, 1835, Baraga Papers. ”W. Ferry to Jeremiah Evarts, August 26, 1828, ABC:18.4.8.I:193. 39Mary B. Black, "Ojibway Power Belief System," in Raymond D. Fogelson and Richard N. Adams, editors, me .11O°°7°L°| '°W ‘ 1 °° -__°1 -1 ‘e °u :— W (New York: 1977). pp- 143- -145: Mary B. Black, "Oj ibwa Taxonomy and Percept Ambiguity," Egnee 5, No. 1 (Spring, 1977): 90-118: A. Irving Hallowell, "Ojibwa Ontology, Behavior, and World View,” Contribugiens A le in allowe (Chicago: 1976), pp. 378- 381: Andrew J. Blackbird, Histony ef tne QEEQW e end thnnege Indians 91 Miehiga n (Ypsilanti: 1887) , pp. 14, 79: Samuel Mazzuchelli,1ne nemeine ef Fatne; W (Chicago: 1967). pp 50- -51: H- Sohooloraft. W911 at !' °° ! 'U.‘ Q I. 1!- (Millwood, N. Y.: 1977): originally pub. 1856), p. 16. °Christopher Vecsey. W 1W (Philadelphia: 1983), pp. 174-190: William Boutwell reports on the Midewiwin in his Reminiscences, pp. 108-112, Boutwell Papers. For a discussion of the Midewiwin, see also W. J. Hoffman, The éw'w' ‘ d o ' wa (Washington: 1886): Kugel, "To Go About on the Earth," pp. 25-34: and Hickerson, Ine Southweetern Chippewa, pp. 51-63. Each year Chippewa men and women assembled at principal villages to partake in the proceedings of the Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society, which occupied an important place in their society. The Midewiwin appears to have originated at La Pointe after the proto-Chippewa made contact with the French. The society paid great heed to the use of herbal and ceremonial cures of disease and made the maintenance of good health its primary objective. In order for men and women to join the Society, they had to pay fees to its hierarchy and adhere to the organization's beliefs. Through their ceremonies the Mides hoped to enlist the assistance of the mime to bring about good health. The Midewiwin borrowed some elements of Roman Catholicism and adapted them to Chippewa practices. Their use of scrolls 69 fulfilled a somewhat similar role to the Bible, and the creation of a societal hierarchy of leaders resembled the clergy. Significantly, the Midewiwin became a national religion which allowed for members of all clans and villages to participate or to witness the ceremonies. The Society's annual ceremonies helped to create a sense of tribal unity among the Chippewa of the Lake Superior country. ‘“Warren. Histor2_of_the_giihwax_nation. pp- 64-5- “H. Schoolcraft, W. pp. 25-26: James, Narratixe_of_lohn_ranner. p- 287: H- Schoolcraft. April 2. 1823. Personal_nemoirs. pp- 164-65- ‘“Warren. Hist2rx_of_the_911hwax_nation. pp. 132-35- ‘“James Allen, June 15 and July 3, 1832, ”Journals and Letters of Lieutenant James Allen," in Mason, ed., fieheel; , pp. 175, 197-98: Ely, August 22,1833, Journal No. 1, p. 20: P. Beaulieu, ”The Fur Trade," pp. 79, 82, 88. ‘fiBoutwell to Greene, June 25, 1832, ABC:18.3.7.I:82. “P. Beaulieu, "The Fur Trade.” “Sherman Hall to Aaron Hall, August 22, 1831, Sherman Hall Papers (hereafter Hall Papers), MHS: Myra Peters Mason to Mary Peters, August 6, 1824, Letters from Myra Peters Mason to Mary Peters (hereafter Mason letters), microfilm copy in MISPC Library, originals in the New York.Historical Society: see also Robert G. Wheeler, Walter A. Kenyon, Alan R. Woolworth, and Douglas A. Birk, Yoi£e§_fr2m_the_nanids1 1 1°'1 1 ° 1 ._.- (St. Paul: 1975): P. Beaulieu, "The Fur Trade,” p. 85. “Johnston to J. Schoolcraft, July 30, August 4 and 31, 1833, MERE. Vol. 37, pp. 142, 146, 168. “Boutwell, June 27,1832, "Journal," Mason, ed., SghoolsrafiisLExnedition. p- 319: Baraga..thnneya_1ndian§. pp. 45, 4a. soMcKenney, W, pp. 328- -344: Herman J. Viola, homa McKenne ° c a - - (Chicago: 1974), pp. 135-155: and Charles J - Kappler. compiler. 111W (New York: 1972), pp. 268-271. 51William Watts Folwell, W (St. Paul: 1956), Vol. I, pp. 170-212: Widder, "Founding La Pointe Mission, 1825-1833," ' ' 64, No. 3 (Spring, 1981):81-201: Hoover, "To Stand Alone," 70 pp. 265-280: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, mum, 1830-1847. 5ZFrederick Ayer to Greene, December 1, 1833, ABC:18.3.7. 1:94. s"'Ayer to Greene, May 15-June 26 , 1834 , ABC:18.3.7.I:95. 5‘Nicollet, September 10, 1836, W, p. 114. 5"‘Stevens, March 20 and April 2, 1830, Diaries, pp. 96, 102. 5“Children at Mackinaw: Catalogue of Boys School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6.1.I:27: Catalogue of Girls School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6.1.I:26. CHAPTERII "GOYEINTOALLTHEWORLD. . ." The desire to transform the spiritual and temporal lives of others brought William and Amanda Ferry and their associates to Mackinac Island. Most of the missionaries were lay people with minimal theological training, but they responded to what they believed was the calling of the Holy Spirit to service among non-believers at Mackinac. It was these spiritual concerns that led missionaries to convert men, women, and children around the world, and in the process they hoped to improve the way their converts lived. Encouraged by the revivals of the Second Great Awakening, evangelicals formed missionary societies confident that they, could conquer sin and degradation. The Ferrys came to Mackinac to convert Indian children and others from "heathenism" and to insist that all of the inhabitants behave in ways consistent with evangelical social values. But the missionaries did more than bring the word of Christ: they were part of the westward advance of Euro-American settlement and American institutions. They perceived themselves to be God's representatives: but they were also, whether they recognized this or not, agents of the American republic. 71 72 Revival ist-minded Congregational and Presbyterian evan- gelicals in New England developed a theological basis for an aggressive proselytizing ministry which challenged people to repent of their sins--;_Q§ay_, and to reform the way they lived. All of the Mackinac missionaries were either Presby- terians or Congregationalists who stood in the Calvinist theological tradition, which taught that all men and women were sinful by nature due to the original sin of Adam and Eve. As a result, humans, by their own volition, could only choose to do sinful acts. In the eyes of God all men and women were condemned creatures. John Calvin had taught that God, in his sovereign will, had preordained or elected some people to be redeemed from their sins, but this happened only when the Holy Spirit regenerated a person's heart before that person called upon God for forgiveness of his sins. Influenced by Nathaniel Taylor, the evangelicals had moved from a strict doctrine of election to a belief that a person could choose to accept or reject God's predestination on his own volition. The Holy Spirit influenced one's mind, but regeneration ”was a free act of man's will."1 It was the duty of evangelicals to call upon the Holy Spirit to convince people of their need for repentance and urge those so affected to turn to God. Evangelicals, spurred by the revivals of the Second Great Awakening, devised "a comprehensive program to Chris- tianize every aspect of American life--spiritually, morally 73 and intellectually,"2 a vision which they extended far beyond the borders of the United States. As a means of bringing this vision into reality, in 1812 some leading Congregational ists and Presbyterians incorporated the Ameri- can Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions with head- quarters in Boston. The Board served as agent for a large evangelical constituency in New England and New York comprised mainly of members of the Congregationalist, Presbyterian, and Dutch Reformed churches. Local auxiliary societies, women's groups in churches, and energetic lay people all provided the financial and material support needed by the Board to carry on its work. These organizations collected clothing in the eastern churches to be sent to specific missions. Many people purchased an annual or lifetime membership with the Board and received its monthly organ, the W M} which published letters from missionaries and other news relative to the Board's operations. Influential church members often raised significant support for Board projects among their townspeople. From Boston the American Board sent missionaries to such faraway places as Hawaii, Ceylon, India, and Palestine. Soon their efforts to convert the ”heathen" extended into the western United States when the Board began its work among the Cherokee Indians in 1816. Thus began what William G. McLoughlin argues was the American Board's attempt "to 74 coordinate, direct, systematize, and control the elevation of the aborigines of the southern states, beginning with the "‘ Ten years later the Board extended to Mackinac Cherokees. Island its efforts to "civilize" and Christianize North American Indians. The American Board felt it had a two-part mission: to save souls, of course, but also to provide the benefits of “civilization" to the "savages." Justifying the Board's work, Corresponding Secretary David Greene petitioned Secre- tary of War Lewis Cass for its share of United States Government support for their Indian mission in 1834. At this time, Greene clearly outlined the Board's goals for their work among Indians: "that while the primary object of the Board, is the introduction among the heathen 8 other evangelized tribes Christian knowledge with all the blessings which flow from it to individuals 8 communities, the Board also aims to promote intellectual 8 social improvement generally, . . ."5 Consequently, the Board began to establish schools in which children learned to read (particularly the Bible) and to study history, geography, spelling, literature, and arithmetic. In addition, missionaries instructed students in manual skills to enable girls to become good homemakers and boys to practice a trade or to farm. The establishment and operation of the Mackinaw Mission demonstrates how the evangelical movement sought to 75 bring about social change as it fulfilled its spiritual obligations. Jedidiah Morse, the leading proponent for Indian mis- sions among the Congregational clergy, instigated the crea- tion of the mission at Mackinac. Best remembered as one of America's foremost early geographers, Morse organized and promoted evangelical causes during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. He believed that through education Indians could elevate themselves to the same level of "civi- lization" as Euro-Americans. While serving on the American Board, he became especially concerned with the Indians living in the Old Northwest Territory. Beginning in 1819 he devoted most of his energies to establishing missions among these people similar to stations among the southern tribes. Morse advocated the establishment of schools where ”education families” would teach Indians ”English, Christianity, and the ‘arts of civilized life'" and thus prepare them to become full-fledged American citizens. If this did not happen, Morse believed their race would expire.‘5 In 1820 Morse toured the Northwest and saw first- hand the people that he wished to see converted to evan- gelical Christianity. The visit confirmed his conviction that the Indians living in the Great Lakes region possessed the intellectual capacity to learn and benefit from education in American ways. After a stop at Mackinac 76 Island, Morse recommended to the government that a mission be established there.7 Upon his return east, Morse prodded both the Northern Missionary Society (N.M.S.) in Albany and the United Foreign Missionary Society (U.F.M.S.) in New York City to begin a mission at Mackinac.8 In October, 1820, the N.M.S. sent John Hudson to Mackinac. Unable to reach the island that fall, he established a small mission to the Chippewa at Fort Gratiot (Port Huron, Michigan) instead.’ In 1821 the Reverend Doctor Andrew Yates of Union College, Schenectady, New York, visited Mackinac, and.he subsequently engaged the support of Ramsey Crooks, one of John Jacob Astor's managers and chief organizer in the American Fur Company.1o Yates then convinced.William M. Ferry, a former Union student who had initially determined to work in Palestine, to labor at Mackinac instead.‘'1 In summer of 1822 the N.M.S. commis- sioned Ferry to go to Mackinac for the winter and make arrangements for a permanent mission. Once there, he formed a Presbyterian congregation composed of nine members before returning home in summer to marry Amanda White of Ashfield, Massachusetts. They secured an appointment from the U.F.M.S. (which had absorbed the N.M.S. in 1823) to begin work among Indian children at Mackinac.12 Three years later . the U.F.M.S. merged with the American Board and turned over all of their missions, including Mackinaw, to the Board. 77 Approximately forty men and women from the East eventu- ally came to work at the Mackinaw Mission and, after 1830, at the mission to the Chippewa in the Lake Superior country, (See Table II-l) which represented an extension of the work at Mackinac. These missionaries, along with their more secular neighbors from New England and New York, followed the same westward emigration patterns to Michigan. Although some had moved from New England to New York earlier in their lives, all but a few shared a common New England background. For example, Frederic Ayer, born in West Stockbridge, Massa- chusetts, and.Matilda Hotchkiss, born in Cheshire, Connect- icut,oboth came to Mackinac from Utica, New York.13 Their missionary impulse may have grown out of Charles Finney's revival in Utica during 1826. Jedediah D. Stevens' experience was, perhaps, typical of second generation New Yorkers. Born in Hamilton, a town south of Utica, in 1798, Stevens recalled that the community had first been settled by New Englanders and organized along the New England township model. He also remembered that Hamilton had its first ”awakening" or revival in 1808.“ William M. Ferry, born in Granby, Massachusetts, had graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York. Later he worked with the Reverend Gardiner Spring in New York City and attended the New Brunswick Seminary in New Jersey.15 78 TABLE II-l IISSIOIMIES T0 Willi: M3 LIKE Willi, “23-“27 Iirth Residence beiore Year of Spouse's Solon to hack)»: llarringe lane “03 last Stockbridge, ill litica, I? “03 Otis, M “03 lynoeboro, Ii hackinac, lli hackinac, lll “ii liassachosetts i774 hen liartiorl, Cl 1” Iortb lilhrahan, IA hshiielli, lit “93 Sraoby, M “00 Thetiori, 77 m1 Conny, Ill “03 kensselaerville, It “0i leathersiieli, 7! l7“ lienpsteai, IV 1779 Cheshire, Cl Caabriipe, IV (7) liiliiilesez loanship Ontario Conaty, I) m: Charlenont, M “03 ms lhitestonn, in “Si Fepperell, in “ii “03 troy, Loner Canada (near Iontreal) hiiileboro, M iliddleboro, ll “73 )laailton, IV Satavia, IV (7) “03 Ileath, n1 i337 Jacksuville, ll. “31 Chicago, ll. line Year oi Year Ieit Year oi Place of Arrival Anericao 33 birth Ayer, Frederick “27 “47 “arber, Abel “33 “34 i7) “outsell, billion 7. “3) “43 Canpbell, Elizabeth (Davenport) Canpbell, John Canpbell, Iillian ll. “33 “37 Cook, belia “23 “33 Ely, 331qu F. “33 “49 Farrar, Dolly “33 “37 Ferry, hnanla (lite) “23 “34 “any, lillian ll. “22 “34 Carey, Lucius “34 “37 Soodale, liaonah “23 “37 liall, Dianncey “32 “37 liall, Shernan “3i “3 lharsey, llason i334 “33 lieydenburk, llartin “24 i333 hornell, Seorne i323 “27 )iornell, ilrs. George “23 “23 liotchkiss, liatilla “23 “37 Hudson, John S. “23 “30 ibison, lirs. John 3. i323 Leavitt, Jane 3. “33 Loonis, Elisha “30 “32 Loonis, llarla “30 “32 llcFarlano, Elizabeth i324 “34 Inland, John “23 “27 lenlani, lbs. John “23 “27 Ienton, Abel “30 “34 (isnar, Eunice 3. “24 “43 Parker, Setsey “3i “33 Seynoor, John L. i333 i340 Skinner, Frances ll. i334 “37' Skinner, Fercis “30 “33 Sproat, Sranvilie l. “33 “43 Sproat, Florantha “33 “43 Stevens, Jedediah I. “23 “37 Stevens, Julia “23 “43 Stevens, Sabrina “23 “43 laylor, Elizabeth “23 “47 (7) loan, Joseph “34 ions, Hannah “33 harner, mm 3. “23 “33 Mimi, Elizabeth “33 “34 i?) mum sinister at tine oi appointnent “03 Iinileil, ll Avon, Cl Mover, M liackinac, hi liackiaac, ill Canaaiainoa, 37 Albany, It Petnrshan, III Ashlie“, III has Ironsnick, IJ Coonay, ll litlca, 37 Mom, M llinot, IE Skaneateles, IV lantern to York State lestern Ian York State litica, I) ”with, II Inshville, l7 kosbville, It Flaioilnlo, 37 Auburn, It More, I! labile“, Ill Iniialo, ll Ieatherniieli, Vi Flyaonth, CT liltesboro, IV Iitesboro, I) Iii (Illebl'o, M Skaneateles, I! “33 Elizabeth Taylor “33 Elizabeth Iooliori “34 Heater Crooks John Canpbell Elizabeth Davenport ll Dolly Farrar lionarrleli i. Catherine 3isseli (Sanlois) “33 lillian 3. Cambell “23 Iilliaa ii. Ferry “23 haaniia hits “34 Frances ll. Skinner “34 llatilia liotchkiss “3i Setsey Parker “27 MM ii. Iarner lbs. Seorne lbrnell Seoroe liornell “34 Chamcey Hall “23 llrs. John 3. ”son “23 John S. liaison “37 John L. Seynolr llarla Sartnell Elisha toonis thiaarrieo Ike. John lenient John lienlanii lhinarriei “37 Cutting llarsh “3i Shernan hall “37 Jane 3. Leavitt “34 tacius Sarey “33 3annel Danton “3S Florantha ibwson “33 Sranvilie l. Sproat “27 Julia Eppleston “27 Jedediah Stevens “33 Frederick Ayer llannah )iiil Joseph loan “27 hartin iieyienbork “33 Mel barber 79 The missionaries fretted over their concerns for mar- riage partners: for at Mackinac they would be far removed from the society from which they could expect to find a husband or wife. In common with most foreign missions, both married couples and single men and women comprised the staff at Mackinac. After living for several years at Mackinac, Martin Heydenburk went east in late 1827 with the intention of finding a wife--which he soon did, marrying Huldah Warner of Skaneateles, New York, on November 22. Warner, a school- teacher and a member of the Skaneateles Presbyterian Church, received an appointment from the Board later that winter.“ Lucius Garey, a widower, married while enroute to Mackinac in 1834. For thirteen years Garey had managed a mercantile business in St. Lawrence County, New York, but he had moved back to his native Thetford, Vermont, following his wife's death. Still grieving, he stopped in Utica on his way to Mackinac. There he met Frances Skinner, who taught school and belonged to the Third Presbyterian Church. Skinner had "long been anxious to devote her life to the service of the heathen” and had hoped to join her sister Percis at Mackinac. Frances' pastor, the Reverend O. P. Hoyt, described the result of Lucius' meeting Frances: ”Kindred in spirit, 8 in purpose it was not a very unnatural association which suggested the propriety of opinion.” That opinion led to their marriage.17 Although these men had 80 chosen life as missionaries, their needs for companionship and a sexual partner remained real. Among all the Mackinac missionaries, there were ten couples who were married before they came, but only a few had children. John and Elizabeth Campbell, of Mackinac Island, had several sons by the time they joined the mission family. Three marriages among the mission family occurred, and two male missionaries, William T. Boutwell and Edmund F.- Ely, married respectively Hester Crooks and Catharine (Goulais) Bissell, young métis women who had been students. Only William Ferry and Martin Heydenburk returned east to marry. Six of the missionaries remained unmarried during their entire tour of duty. As far as can be determined, only the Hornells, Newlands, and Loomises had children before they came. The Loomises brought only two of their five children, leaving the others in the care of friends in Rushville, New York. Since most of the missionaries ulti- mately :married, it is not surprising that there 'were approximately equal numbers of male and female missionaries at Mackinac. With two exceptions, all the missionaries were thirty years old or younger at the time of their arrival at Mackinac. . These young men and women did not surrender their desire to have families upon becoming missionaries. But they raised their children under difficult circumstances in the midst of the fur-trade society that held many values which conflicted with those of the missionaries. This, in 81 turn, helped to shape the evangelicals' negative perceptions of the métis. The men and women who served at Mackinaw Mission be- lieved that God had called them to the mission field. Reacting to this belief, each person prayed and reflected upon what they perceived to be the leading of the Spirit of God. The call and their response to it remained the heart of the missionaries' sense of self throughout their careers, which helped to sustain them in times of difficulty and uncertainty. To become a missionary, a man or woman had to make great personal sacrifices, but in return each in- dividual established a close personal relationship with God. The fact that God had called them to do his work gave them confidence that he would provide them with the strength, health, faith, and materials needed to carry on that work. Even in the face of meager results or opposition, evangeli- cal missionaries believed that God would fulfill his purposes through them, his agents. The missionaries' own accounts of their call reveal 1' Each one be- common beliefs, feelings, and responses. lieved in a God who was both sovereign and personal at the same time. Through his Spirit, God spoke directly to each person and demanded that they respond to his calling. They regarded doing God's work among unbelievers as the highest calling a person could receive. With this work, however, came great inner turmoil within each missionary's con- 82 science, which led to tortuous struggles over their concern that they were indeed following God's will for their lives. Their agony was intensified by their division of the world into two groups of people--the saved and the lost. The saved included only those who acknowledged that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, who had been crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected from the dead, and only after they had confessed their sin before God could they be forgiven through Christ's work. All others were doomed to damnation. William and Amanda Ferry and their associates had no doubt that God had entrusted them to tell others that they, too, must choose Christ or face an eternity in hell. The weight of this awesome responsibility influenced all facets of each missionary's life--every day. After the evangelicals assumed their vital duty in obedience to God's call, they expressed their dependence on him. The missionaries felt that God would always honor his promise to them that he would provide for all their needs while they served him in the mission field. To the Ferrys, their personal tie with God guided their lives and gave them great comfort during difficult times. After only two months at Mackinac, Amanda Ferry wrote to her sister Hannah, "I believe the Lord has called me to this work. How can I ever distrust his providence for our future! He who hears the young ravens when they cry, will not be unmindful of the 83 daily supplications ascending for the prosperity of Mackinaw Mission."19 William Ferry echoed his wife's belief that God, indeed, was blessing their work in this assessment in November, 1823: "Blessed be God, who has assured us that in due time the wilderness and solitary place £113.11 he M: and whose smiles now so graciously beam upon the first designs of his people for the good of this poor benighted region. "2° The Ferrys came to Mackinac expecting the Holy Spirit to work God's will through them: they anticipated that their efforts would result in non-believers converting to evangelical Christianity. The missionaries' faith that God would use them helped to relieve their anxiety over the implications of their call, but it also required them to seek out God's will constantly and to adhere to it. Missionaries who came later recorded the earlier phases of this same calling process. Jane Leavitt, Elizabeth Taylor, and Hannah Goodale all approached service in the mission field only after a prolonged time of prayer and contemplation in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In 1833 Leavitt, from East Sembornton, New Hampshire, told the Board's Prudential Committee:21 I have therefore concluded that my thoughts have not been altogether of a visionary nature, but have been suggested by the spirit of God, to teach me my duty which I believed is to spend and be spent in the mis- sionary cause, humbly believing that although I am very far from being what I should be my heavenly Father will make me in some degree adequate to the labours. 84 Leavitt reveals clearly how the Holy Spirit challenged her personally to surrender her life to God's service, but at the same time assured her that He would take care of her. This personal relationship between God and missionary made it possible for Jane Leavitt to forsake her home and come to Mackinac. After the Board appointed her, she obediently accepted, "1 en nilling: happy to follow a Brainerd to the West. I will (if God will) cheerfully go to Mackinac or to any other Station where I can be useful, grateful and happy if I can be allowed to labour in any part of the vineyard or the Lord."22 Taylor, a native of Heath, Massachusetts, became inter- ested in Mackinac while living with Amanda Ferry's parents in Ashfield during the winter of 1827-28. She offered her services for two years to the Board "after serious con- sideration 8 endeavouring to seek the direction 8 guidance of the Spirit.TB Hannah Goodale of Conway, Massachusetts, had converted to evangelical Christianity in 1811 but did not volunteer for the Board until 1828 after "prayerfull consideration."“ Twenty-two year old John L. Seymour, from Plymouth, Connecticut, concluded that going to the mission field would both honor God and bring him personal happiness. It would be the spiritual fulfillment of his commitment to God. He 25 shared his feelings with David Greene: Indulging the hope that I am Christian the duties of a Christian are devolving upon me, Whose duty, inter- 85 est, honor and highest happiness, it is to honor God by doing good to the children of men in all possible ways and by all possible means for herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit, . . . as to my willingness I feel that a thousand lives would be too few to spend in such a cause and should it be your pleasure to employ me may Heaven forbid that I prove unfaithful. Seymour's fear of disobeying God not only played an impor- tant part in his decision to become a missionary, but would influence his behavior throughout the rest of his life. He spent the winter of 1833-34 at Mackinac before proceeding to Yellow Lake in northwestern Wisconsin. For other evangelicals, revivals triggered the process that led them to offer themselves for missionary service. The Utica revivals caused Matilda Hotchkiss to rethink her commitment to God. In 1828 she recalled that it had been ”several years since I professed to be a follower of Jesus." Since making that decision she had struggled with an inner feeling that she needed to do "something directly to advance the Redeemers [Christ's] kingdom.” When seeking appointment from the American Board, she shared her turmoil with Corre- sponding Secretary Rufus Anderson:“' I can not say that the situation of the heathen has lain with peculiar want on my mind till within two years past. But during the precious outpouring of the Spirit in this Co. [County] I received a new impulce [sic] I felt an earnest desire to labour wholy for the soul and I was often astonished to see how willing the Lord was to bless my feeble efforts. For several months my earnest 8 constant prayer was that the Lord would in some way make me instrumental of the salvation of sinners. But when I counted the cost 8 see that I must leave many dear friends and be the subject of public remarks I prayed the Lord to excuse me 8 let me do my duty at home. 86 The Holy Spirit challenged Hotchkiss to consider seriously the plight of unbelievers and her responsibility for them: she concluded that she, herself, had an obligation to take the evangelical message to them even though she had to go away from home. Hotchkiss, a member of the Second Presbyte- rian Church of Utica, finally decided to give up her milli- nery store and leave her friends to work among the people at Mackinac. She, too, sacrificed much to obey God. Through ' obedience the evangelical established a peaceful relationship with God. For William Campbell, a revival at Canandaigua, New York, in 1832 prompted his conversion after some years of interest in religious matters. Campbell's route to conver- sion appears to have been long and torturous, but unlike many of his colleagues, he came to a quick decision to become a missionary:”' At the age of twenty I removed to this.p1ace, where the kind hand of Providence placed me under religious instruction and, as I humbly hope, brought me to him. I was under deep conviction many weeks before I was converted and although it grieved the Spirit and lost my serious impressions, God gave me again to see my danger and to hope in Christ. If I was ever converted it was about the 20 of April 1832 . . . In a few weeks I resolved to be a missionary and laid my plans accord- ingly. Following his conversion, the American Education Society financially supported. Campbell's studies as he prepared himself'for the mission field.“"8 He and his wife, Dolly Farrar, came to Mackinac in October, 1835. 87 After Sherman Hall's conversion at age twenty-one, he expressed a willingness to serve God in any capacity:“"9 I lived till near the age of twenty one years without God and without hope in the world. At that time it pleased the Lord to send his Spirit to convince me of Sin, or righteousness, and a judgment to come. From the time I began to indulge the hope that I had passed fromndeath unto life, 8 felt, I trust [MSS illegible], that I had been bought with a price, and that it was my duty no longer to live unto myself, but unto him who had died for me. I felt a perfect willingness to devote myself wholly to Christ in any service tO‘WhiCh . he might in his providence call me. The language of my heart was Lord what wilt thou have me do? Achieving assurance that his own conversion was genuine proved to be the largest obstacle to Hall's commitment to mission work. Once he had settled this personal matter with God, entering God's service seemed to be the logical thing for him to do. While studying at Dartmouth College and later at Andover Seminary, he concluded, ”If the gospel confirs [sic] any benefit upon those who possess it, it is the duty of Christians to give it to those who are without it."30 Hall believed that ”the command of Christ to his primitive disciples. W W. is as much binding on Chris- tians at the present day, as it was on the apostles."31 When Hall applied to the Board, he had no preference as to his destination. He accepted their appointment to work among the Lake Superior Chippewa in an obedient manner, saying, ”while no one seemed likely to be found, if I did 88 not go.""’2 Along with his wife, Betsey Parker, Hall arrived at La Pointe on August 3, 1831. From the missionaries ' statements, their primary motive in seeking to convert others was spiritual. Some, like Hotchkiss, Hall, and Campbell believed that God had saved them, but they remained restless because they felt that the Holy Spirit was calling them to God's service. For them, this meant that they tell others about Christ, whether they be the neighbors across the street or people living thou- sands of miles away. After a period of prayerful struggle and reflection, these men and women acquiesced to what they saw to be the will of God even though it meant great personal sacrifices. It is interesting to note that none of these people mentioned economic gain, excitement or adventure, or personal glorification in the eyes of others as a reason for becoming missionaries: nor did anyone express a desire to control the lives of other people for the missionary's personal benefit. Life as a missionary carried with it self-denial--the missionary expected to be God's servant in a world filled with people preoccupied with their own affairs, not those of the Lord.” The spiritual call caused men and women to present themselves as future missionaries to organizations like the American Board, who were constantly seeking new recruits. The Board possessed the administrative structure, finances, and mission establishments to place people in direct contact 89 with non-Christians coming from different cultures. The Board never seemed to have sufficient numbers of mission- aries, particularly ordained ministers, to meet its needs. Most of their ministers came from Andover, Auburn, or Princeton seminaries, but less than 15 per cent of the graduates from these institutions entered foreign missionary 3‘ The vast majority of missionaries possessed service. little formal theological training. Piety, personal charac- ter, and practical skills useful on the mission field became the traits by which the Board judged the suitability of candidates seeking appointment. Missionaries had to be pious, industrious, accommodat- ing, and of an amiable nature, and ministers, employers, and friends who wrote testimonials for prospective missionaries emphasized these traits.” Percis Skinner, whose parents lived in Floyd, New York, was a student at the Brooklyn Collegiate Institute when she applied to the American Board for an appointment. Her minister, the Reverend J. L. Van Doren, described the twenty-six year old woman as being "of a robust and healthful constitution brought up, and accus- tomed to hardships, and dependence upon herself, a good english scholar -- of ardent piety, of an humble, tractable, and mild disposition, . . ."36 The Reverend Joseph Lane said that Jane Leavitt's "natural disposition is mild and amiable.”7 Luther Hart believed that John Seymour was ”likely to prize 8 follow the directions which might be 90 given him by a missionary who should superintend his movements. "3‘ The Auburn, New York, Presbyterian Church found John Newland, a shoemaker, to be "an industrious, perfectly temperate, 8 moral man."39 In 1830 Thomas White and others felt that Abel Newton, a blacksmith and a member of the Ashfield Congregational Church, was suited for service at Mackinac in large part because, "His native temper appears peculiarly amiable, 8 has manners mild 8 pleasing. "“ In the East, lay persons, ministers, and other mission- aries all scouted for potential missionaries whom they could encourage to come to Mackinac. In response to William Perry's plea for additional workers, Thomas White (Ferry's father-in-law) recruited Hannah Goodale, 41, in 1828 to go to Mackinac to oversee the kitchen and to teach.‘1 When Martin Heydenburk went to New York during the winter of 1827-28, he located John Newland to take over the mission shoeshop."2 In 1827 Jedediah Stevens appeared at Mackinac without an appointment. Eager to have a mission started in the Lake Superior country, the Reverend Samuel Mills, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Peterboro, New York, and Josiah Bissell, Jr. raised enough money to send Stevens west. Their plan called for him to wait at Mackinac until he could accompany traders when they returned to Lake Superior in late summer. The time was not yet right for the Lake Superior mission, and Stevens remained at Mackinac for 91 the next year filling in as a much needed teacher.“ In 1830, John Hudson arranged for Elisha Loomis, a printer and a veteran of the Sandwich Island mission, to come from Rochester to Mackinac to teach. Due to the lack of help, and desperate for a teacher, Ferry actually paid Loomis $17 a month, which was most extraordinary since all the other members of the mission family served without salary.“ American Board recruiters sought men and women who possessed an education and skills appropriate to specific tasks required at the mission. William Ferry had acquired sufficient college and seminary training which enabled the New York Presbytery to ordain him in 1822."5 As a result, he was qualified to be the superintendent. Although teachers required less rigorous preparation, an appointment required experience and education. People in East Semberton regarded Jane Leavitt, age 24, ”as one of the most popular teachers" in the town's schools. She excelled ”in gaining the affection 8 confidence of her scholars 8 the respect 8 esteem of their parents."“ They also considered "her literary attainments of a high order," in addition to which she had "an aptness to teach. "‘7 Although his education had not been as good as he wished, John Seymour taught all subjects in a common school in Plymouth for four and a half months prior to volunteering his services to the Board. While teaching, Seymour continued to study geography, arithmetic, and grammar.‘8 Abel Newton had served a regular 92 blacksmithing apprenticeship and had successfully worked for ‘9 He managed the mission's black- a time as a journeyman. smith shop between 1830 and 1833. John Newland had con- siderable shoemaking experience as preparation for his assuming responsibility for the mission's shoemaker shop in 1828.50 Matilda Hotchkiss' work as a seamstress enabled her to teach young girls how to sew.” Despite the recruiters' best efforts, the mission remained perpetually short of skilled workers. Even though John Hudson oversaw the mission farm for several years, he lacked practical agricultural skills to do the best job. Lack of trained teachers at times forced Hudson and Martin Heydenburk, a carpenter, to teach, even though neither man was well-suited to the classroom. Ferry commented on Heydenburk, "His education is limited: yet a greater dif- ficulty is,--a something in his whole character which does not command respect 8 successful influence over the minds of his pupils." Heydenburk made his greatest contributions by building the mission church and other structures.52 Deficiencies in staff members heightened the need for recruiters in the East to locate men and women competent to perform all tasks required to make the mission run smoothly. Once a man or woman had made a commitment to serve at the Mackinaw Mission, he or she had to put his or her other personal business in order before leaving home, paying debts and procuring adequate clothing before coming west--a 93 requirement with which friends willingly helped. Percis Skinner's friends collected sixteen dollars to meet her obligations.53 At Andover, Shaman Hall and William Bout- well called upon their friends to contribute $500 to satisfy their creditors.“ William Campbell depended upon the Board to defray his debts before he could leave Canandaigua in 1835.55 In addition Campbell, like all the others, needed to acquire new clothes, most of which his friends purchased. His new wardrobe included two suits, fifteen to twenty shirts, shoes, socks, and over a dozen collars."s The Ladies Benevolent Society in Watertown, Massachusetts, outfitted John Seymour with both new and used clothing.57 The efforts required by the missionaries to meet their financial obligations often created anxieties, but this also helped to create a network of people on whom they could call for support, in both the present and the future. Departing from friends and family caused a new mission- ary much anguish, but this, too, was part of the process of becoming a missionary. Three months after she left Mas- sachusetts, Elizabeth McFarland wrote to her parents, "Shall I ever forget the day I bade adieu to my beloved dwelling? or can time and distance erase from my memory the day on which I gave you the parting hand? No, my dear parents -- never shall I forget the sighs, the tears."58 Amanda Ferry, after only two months at Mackinac, told her sister Hannah, "I never loved my friends more tenderly than now. " Thoughts 94 of her family often passed through her mind, hearing their "voices vibrate on my ears, " even though they were a thousand miles away.59 Prior to leaving Brooklyn, Percis Skinner shared her feelings with David Greene, ”Tis hard, ingeed it is hard to say farewell to the inmates of the Institute, they have all been kind to me, I love them too much--I have been nourished in sickness 8 favoured al- ways."‘50 Once they reached Mackinac, the missionaries confronted the people whose lives they had come to change. Most of the Mackinac missionaries had little or no previous first-hand knowledge of Indians. Consequently, the prevailing at- titudes among their fellow Yankees or those of the American Board itself shaped their perceptions of Indians and their ways. The Board, like most Americans, agreed that Indians were generally "uncivilized," but they differed sharply about the Euro-American's responsibility to the natives. Euro-American settlers, who increasingly coveted Indian lands, found the United States Government favorably disposed to removing Indians further’west--a policy formally enacted and implemented under President Andrew Jackson's administra- tion in the 1830s."’1 The American Board, however, took a more benevolent attitude toward the Indians. Board officials were alarmed by what they saw as the likely extinction.of the Indian race unless natives could somehow be made to adopt the ways of 95 Anglo-Americans and be assimilated into American society. Although the missionaries did not believe Indians to be biologically inferior, the cultural assumptions of the evangelicals forced them to dismiss Indian culture as mean- ingless. But they believed that Indians could indeed occupy an equal place with Euro-Americans if only they could be educated in Euro-American‘ways, surrender their traditional manners and beliefs, and embrace and live according to the prescriptions of‘ American institutions and evangelical Christianity. David Greene blended the sovereignty of God, a disparaging view of Indian culture, and a castigation of his countrymen in this statement relative to the condition and future of the Indian as a race:"’2 Perhaps no class of men were ever 8 continued so long in a condition which ought so much to excite our sympathy. We do not know what the design of God is respecting them: it may be that they shall be left to waste away. One thing seems certain: they must be civilized 8 rescued from the dominion of ignorance 8 sin, or they will be lost. They must be elevated as to stand on something like equal grounds with the white peOple, or the enrcroachment of the latter can never be restrained. The regard for right which is to be found in our people on the frontiers or in our govern- ments, we have reason to believe, will not save the Indians from injury or even extinction. This fear of extinction created a sense of urgency that the Indian needed immediate help. Although the missionaries brought with them an attitude that they would be working among the "heathen," their per- ception of the fur-trade society crystalized only after they had been at Mackinac for a time. Upon learning that she 96 would be going to Mackinac Island, Amanda Ferry said, "I formed my epinien, and notwithstanding all the correct information I received from M. F. [William Ferry] I could not be persuaded that the people were not all savages, on a comfortless barren spot.” After living on the island for several years, she discovered her surroundings to be more hospitable than she at first thought likely.‘63 In addition to Chippewa and Ottawa Indians and the métis, Mrs. Ferry found friends closer to her view of herself--American Fur Company employees, officers and enlisted men stationed at Fort Mackinac, government agents, and the wives and children of all these men. The migratory life style of Indians, the apparent carefree nature of the métis, the lack of principle among many Euro-American men of the fur trade, and above all the intemperate use of liquor by all groups caused the missionaries to lump them together under the concept ”heathen." Yet, they viewed the Indian and the métis as being in the worst condition. William Ferry believed that he worked in the midst of "Indian degradation and wretched- ness.” He also described the French-Canadian, métis, and Indian parents of the mission children as "superstitious" and "debased."“ After only a few weeks Elizabeth McFar- land, although critical of both races, found the Indians' behavior to be more reprehensible than that of others: "Me- thinks it would cause your heart to bleed, to hear in the morning, at mid-day, and evening, the oath of the drunkard 97 of our own colour, and the more hideous yells of the intoxicated savage..""s During October, 1829, Jedediah Stevens, while he traveled among the Chippewa south of Lake Superior in Wisconsin, described the country as being "inhabited only by wild beasts or men as ignorant and wild as the beasts."“’ There was little doubt in the.missionary mind that most of the men, women, and children of the fur- trade society needed to be rescued from what missionaries saw as their sinful and errant ways. If this happened, sinful practices would lose their grip upon the converted, and the newly saved would turn their attention to doing good works rather than evil. Because they viewed the inhabitants of this fur-trade society as lost souls, Ferry and his associates regarded their field of work as extending beyond Mackinac Island to include the establishment of central stations at Madeline Island, Prairie du Chien, and Red River. From these places mission families could go to settle among Indian villages and teach the natives reading, farming, and Christianity. In the 1830s William Ferry and Martin Heydenburk also expressed great interest in starting a work among the Chippewas at Grand Traverse Bay.67 The missionaries saw lost souls wherever they looked, and they sought to take their message to these people. The very nature of the evangelical impulse demanded that missionaries keep expand- ing their horizons. 98 The missionaries' division of the world's people into the saved and the lost skewed their perception of the people they met at Mackinac. To be counted among the saved, one had to adhere to theological beliefs and carry out religious practices that met the evangelical's test of purity. Because agreement on what these standards were proved elusive among different Protestant groups themselves, evangelicals were unlikely to find much of value in belief systems and.practices that fell outside Protestant Christi- anity; The Mackinac missionaries' refusal to recognize the validity of Roman Catholicism led them into open conflict with the Catholic Church resulting in.hard feelings. Since the missionaries had little direct contact with or under- standing of the practice of Indian religion, they simply denounced Chippewa and Ottawa religious beliefs as false. This prevented the evangelicals from even beginning to understand the practices of men, women, and children whom they had come to convert to Protestant Christianity. When they observed metis and Indian men and women drunk, unkempt, or fighting, the missionaries saw this as further confirma- tion of the falseness or evil of non-evangelical religion. They condemned the behavior typical of fur-trade society as incompatible with a way of life based upon book learning, agriculture, artisanry, or business. Similarly, the traditional seasonal rounds of the Chippewa and Ottawa, when coupled with what appeared to be strange religious prac- 99 tices, confirmed in the missionary mind that these people were indeed "uncivilized." Since the Roman Catholic, French-métis seemed to have adopted or accepted much of what they found in Indian society, the missionaries often relegated many of them to an "uncivilized" status as well. These perceptions of the missionaries prevented them from recognizing beliefs and practices which they held in common with their "uncivilized" neighbors, particularly the métis. As a result, the evangelicals perceived themselves to be more alienated from the inhabitants of the fur-trade society than they actually were. The evangelicals regarded the spiritual condition of a person as the most important facet of his life. Even though men or women might be highly moral, they were counted among the lost unless they had accepted the teachings of evangelical Christianity. For the Ferrys it was divinely imperative that they and other believers try to convert non- believers. .As a result, these aggressive agents of God.took their message to the world at large, challenging men, women, and children to accept evangelicalism and to throw off Indian religion or Roman Catholicism. Evangelical missionaries encountered Roman Catholic priests who also believed that non-Christians were lost and who actively sought converts. The virtual absence of priests in the northwestern Great Lakes region for over fifty years had contributed immensely to the decline of the 100 church's influence. But devout Cathol ic lay persons and periodic visits by priests had kept the faith alive among the métis. Priests and lay people taught the tenets of Catholicism to children, and priests celebrated the sacra- ments on their visits to Mackinac. By 1820, organized Catholicism's influence among the Chippewa and Ottawa was virtually nil. The evangelicals numbered Catholics, as well as the Chippewa and Ottawa, among the lost. The evangelicals' outright dismissal of Catholicism and Chippewa religion caused their perception of spiritual truth to differ substantially from that of the mission children and their parents. When William and Amanda Ferry saw a tree or heard thunder, they saw a tree and heard thunder and did not believe that any spirit or nanihe resided in either. They acknowledged that God had created both, but these natural phenomena possessed no supernatural attributes. Likewise, the Ferrys dismissed the power of the Catholic church's sacraments. Baptism did not bring about salvation: it was only a sign that a believer or his children were under the covenant which God had made with his church. Answering God's call brought the Ferrys to a strange place where they found many things they did not like, could not comprehend, and did not think worth understanding, but all this was to be temporary, they believed. Just as their secular counterparts spread American political, economic, and social institutions across the continent, the evangeli- 101 cals hoped to see all inhabitants of the United States embrace Protestant Christianity. When they responded to God's call, the evangelicals did not abandon their biases. They brought with them the strong anti-Catholicism prevalent in New England. They also assumed that agriculture, artisanry, and commerce as practiced in New England and New York provided the best basis on which to build a transformed society in the fur-trade country. But the missionaries never forgot that they were citizens in a nation much larger than Mackinac and the northwestern Great Lakes region and part of an effort that transcended that country. They saw their mission of trying to convert Indians and rid the fur- trade society of evil as part of a larger evangelical effort to transform the United States into a nation where slavery, intemperance, illiteracy, and infidelity would not be present. The Mackinac missionaries believed they could help to build a better society both in the Great Lakes region and in the country as a whole. 102 CHAPTER II M ‘George H. Marsden. WW 900 ° es- - . -e '10“ . ..- -d o 9 ou- .11 111W (New Haven. 1970). p. 50; For a discussion of theological thinking of Nathaniel Taylor see Sidney E- Mead MW Wipers; (Chicago, 1942) . a good single- volume exposition of Calvinist theology is L. Berkhof, was; Theology (Grand Rapids, 1941)- 2Manrscien. W. p- 3- 3The United Foreign Missionary Society published the WW prior to its merger with the American Board. ‘William 65- McLaughlin. WM 1289-1812 (New'Haven, 1984), p. 11; General histories of the American Board include William E. Strong, The Story of the o : c on ’ st Hund e Y ars e ' a omm'ss'o s fo ei issio (Boston, 1910): Clifton J. Phillips, "Protestant America and the Pagan World: The First Half-Century of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1810-1860,” Ph. D. diss. (Harvard University, 1954), and Fred Field Good- sell. WW (Boston. 1959)- sDavid Greene to Lewis Cass, January *22, 1834, .A.B.C.F.M. Indians, XIII:325, MHS; Berkhofer, Salyatign_§ng the_§a!sge. pp- 10-11. 6Joseph w. Phillips, MW ang;ggg§19n_li§m,(New’Brunswick, 1983), pp. 199, 208; John R-Bodo WWW (Philadelphia, 1954), pp. 93-103. 7Francis Paul Prucha. Irma—Inflated ' d (Lincoln, 1984), vol. 1, pp. 155-158 and Morse, Report. QJedidiah Morse to George Boyd, July 26, 1821, George Boyd Papers, II:11, State Historical Society of Wisconsin (Hereafter SHSW). fiJohn Hudson, "Annual Report,” October, 1822, Letters Received by the Office of the Secretary of War Relating to 103 Indian Affairs, 1800-1823, Microcopy No. 271, Roll 4,1822- 1823, National Archives. ”Ramsey Crooks to Boyd, April 5, 1822, Boyd Papers, 11:24. "D- Ii- Evans. WW (Detroit. 1869), pp. 9-10. 12United Foreign Missionary Society Board of Manager Records, ABC:24.III:227-235. The Northern Missionary Society merged with the United Foreign Mission Society in 1823. '3ABC:18.8.II:44,69. 1"Jedediah D. Stevens, Diaries, p. 1-11. 15ABC:18.8.II:67. “w. Ferry to Evarts, January 24, 1827, ABC:18.4.8. 1:185: Heydenburk to Evarts, January 4, 1828, ABC:18.6.1. 1:207: R.A. to Heydenburk, March 11, 1828, ABC:1.01.VIII: 189: Alex M. Cowan to Evarts, January 25, 1828, ABC:6.V:171: Solomon Prentice to Evarts, January 25, 1828, ABC:6.V:171. "Ova P. Hoyt to Greene, April 22, 1834, ABC:6.IX:11: E. G. Babcock to Greene, December 31, 1833, ABC:6.IX:11. 18Recognizing that most of the extant.missionary corre- spondence is to the governing board, the missionaries own words still clearly reveal that their primary motivation was spiritual. 1"A. Ferry to Hannah White, December, 1823, Ferry letters, 25:199. 20W. Ferry, November 3, 1823, extracts from Journal, WW 5. NO- 3 (March. 1824):”- 2‘Jane B. Leavitt to Prudential Committee, April 13, 1833, ABC:6.X:34. z""‘Ieavitt to Greene, August 14, 1833, ABC:6.X:34. 23’Elizabeth Taylor to Rufus Anderson, April 19, 1828, ABC:6.VI:195. “Hannah Goodale to Evarts, June 20, 1828, ABC:6.V:169. 25John L. Seymour to Greene, March 10, 1833, ABC:6.XII- :16. 104 a“’Matzllda Hotchkiss to Anderson, March 21, 1828, ABC:6.VI:266. 2William R. Campbell to Greene, April 6, 1835, ABC:6.VIII:1. z"Walter Hubbell to Secretaries of the ABCFM, March 16, 1835, ABC:5.VIII:1. ' ”Sherman Hall to the Society of Brethren in the Theological Seminary Andover, August 2, 1831, Records of the Brethren and the Society of Inquiry, Andover Newton Theological School. 3”s. Hall to the Society of Brethren, August 2, 1831. 3‘8. Hall to Anderson, March 10, 1831, ABC:6.VI:288. 32S. Hall to the Society of Brethren, August 2, 1831. 3BSpiritual motivation was an important factor in determining the behavior of many evangelicals, and it must be given careful consideration when analyzing their actions. Not all historians of evangelicalism have given enough attention to the significance which evangelicals placed upon divine or supernatural intervention in their affairs. For example. Paul E. Johnson in Win; . : ..o ‘ v : ;- , s - ew . . : (New York, 1978) concludes that in Rochester, New York: Evangelicalism was a middle-class solution to problems of class, legitimacy, and order in the early stages of manufacturing. Revivals provided entrepreneurs with a means of imposing new standards of work development and personal comportment upon themselves and the men who worked for them, and thus they functioned as powerful social controls. But there was more to it than that. For the belief that every man was spiritually free and self-governing enabled masters to prevent a relationship that denied human interdepen- dence as the realization of Christian ideals . . . (p. 138) - Mary P. Ryan in her study, - ° - (Cambridge, 1981), argues: That those who joined the evangelical churches and reform crusades along the route of the Erie Canal were responding to the inducements of their kin as much as their employers and.were often involved in an exercise in ‘self-control‘ rather than ‘social control.’ [Furthermore] . . . much of the frenzy of the Burned- Over District was created by young men and women from farm, artisan, and shopkeeping families who were 105 struggling to find a comfortable place for themselves within a changing social and economic structure. (P- 13) Both of these provocative and.well-reasoned studies provide valid insights into how evangelical beliefs and practices were used by believers to promote this form of Protestant Christianity. Sincerely held theological beliefs and their eternal consequences also motivated human behavior. Evan- gelicals took seriously the implications of their theology, and many felt a personal responsibility for the eternal welfare of non-believing friends and family. While it is no doubt true that evangelical clergy and lay leaders did indeed use the precepts of their theology to bring about forms of social and self-control, we must give adequate attention to the power of belief in the intervention of God in human affairs. :“Greene to W. Ferry, October 31, 1828, ABC:1.01.VIII: 588: Statement respecting the circumstances of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the impor- tance of enlarging its mission, April, 1832, ABC:42:6022. 35Evarts to Thomas White, July 5, 1830, ABC:1:01.X: 223-4. :“J. L. Van Doren to Greene, September 17, 1830, ABC:6. VI:374. 37Joseph Lane to B. B. Wisner, April 27, 1833, ABC:6. X:34. ”Luther Hart to Greene, April 3, 1833, ABC:6.XII:16. 39D. Lansing, et.al. to Evarts, December 18, 1827, ABC: 6.VI:332. “Thomas Shepard, Elijah Paine, T. White to Evarts, August 7, 1830, ABC:6.VI:376. “T. White to Evarts, February 17, 1828, ABC:6.VI:168: Daniel Crosby to Evarts, February 15, 1828, ABC:6.VI:168. “Martin Heydenburk to Evarts, December 13, 1827, ABC:18.4.8.I:206 and February 29, 1828, ABC:18.4.8.I:208. “J. D. Stevens to Evarts, February 7, 1829, ABC: 6. XII: 39: Keith R. Widder, "Founding LaPointe Mission, 1825-1833." WM 64 (Spring. 1981): 131- 201. “W . Ferry to Greene , November 5 , 18 3 O , ABC:18.6.1.I:29. 106 “Evans. Wm (Detroit. 1869). p. 10. “Lane to Wisner, April 27, 18.33, ABC:6.X:34. "John Lamborn to Wisner, April 20, 1833, ABC:6.X:34. “Seymour to Greene, March 30, 1833, ABC:6.XII:16. “Shepard, et.al. to Evarts, August 7, 1830, ABC:6.VI: 376. soLansing, et.a1. to Evarts, December 18, 1827, ABC:6. VI:332. 51Samuel W. Brace to Evarts, March 5, 1828, ABC:6.VI: 265. 52W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827, ABC:18.4.8. 1:189. ”P. Skinner to Greene, September 17, 1830, ABC:6.VI: 375. 5‘S. Hall to Greene, June 3, 1831, ABC:6.VI:294: Widder, ”Founding LaPointe Mission," 194. 55W. R. Campbell to Greene, June 18 , 1835, ABC: 6 .VIII:1: Greene to Campbell , August 7 , 1835 , ABC:1.3.1.II:339-340. “Campbell to Greene, July 25, 1835, ABC:6.VIII:1. ”Seymour to Greene, May 16, 1833, ABC:6.XII:16. soElizabeth McFarland to parents, September 15, 1824, MW 5. NO- 11 (November. 1820:36- 5"A. Ferry to H. White, December, 1823, Ferry letters, 25:199. “Percis Skinner to Greene, September 27, 1830, ABC:6.VI:375. . "See Pearce. angimnmilimign and Berkhofer, “Greene to W. Ferry, October 31, 1828, ABC:1:01. vnnsae-s. Brian Dippie in W WSW (Middletown. Connecticut. 1982) buttresses the argument that missionaries believed that Indians could be improved even though most Americans 107 did not. Francis Paul Prucha demonstrates in American W (Norman, 1976) that many Christians in the late nineteenth century still believed that Indians could be incorporated into the mainstream of American society. Robert Trennert in Alternatiygs tg Exgi action; Federal H. a! '0 1!! 1‘ 3‘0111-‘0 9‘ "S- a 0! S‘L'. 1846351 (Philadelphi , 1975) argues, "Every legitimate Indian policy devised by this nation has had one goal--to help the Indian by acculturating him into the mainstream of American life," (p. 1). Even removal to areas away from white Americans was justified on this basis. “A. Ferry to H. White, November 19, 1827, Ferry letters, 26:109-110. 6‘W . Ferry to Evarts , September 5 , 1827 , ABC:18.4.8.I:189. £55McFarland to parents, September 15, 1824, Mexican Miesignarx_3egi§ter 5. NO- 11 (November. 1824)=336- “J. D. Stevens, October 14, 1829, Diaries, p. 58. 67W . Ferry to Evarts , September 5 , 182 7 , ABC:18.4.8.I:189: Greene, Report: Elisha Loomis to Greene, December 2, 1831, ABC:18.6.1.I:52: Greene to Heydenburk, January 17, 1832, ABC:1.01.XI:417-19. CHAPTER III HACKINAC, 1815-1830: THE FUR-TRADE SOCIETY CONFRONTS AMERICAN I ZATION In 1824, Myra Peters Mason commented to her sister that Mackinac Island ”seemed indeed the half-way place, in every sense of the phrase between civilization & barbarism."1 Looking beyond Mason's bias, we find much truth in her description of Mackinac, for after the War of 1812, this long-time center of the northwestern Great Lakes fur-trade society became each year more and more an outpost of the American state. A mixed Indian and Euro-American society at the Straits of Mackinac had been evolving since the mid- seventeenth century when French W fig 12.9.1.3. first settled at St. Ignace on the north side of the Straits: by 1815 the island had become a center of métis culture. About fifty families, in addition to the garrison, lived on the island the year round.2 After 1815, the American hold on the Straits and the region to the west was secure. The American nationals, who came in growing numbers, established and strengthened the new nation's institutions at Mackinac, and they began extending their influence and authority throughout all of the territory claimed by the United States. Included among the new institutions were American 108 109 law, government, the military, business, Protestant Christi- anity, and the English language. As these new ways took hold, the fur-trade society underwent the beginnings of Americanization, which brought métis values into conflict with American values. Although the métis adapted to Ameri- can practices, they hung onto their old customs as much as possible. Since the 1660s when the Straits of Mackinac first served as a hub for fur-trade activities, changes there influenced the larger society to the west. Mackinac's strategic location at the juncture of Lakes Huron and Michigan made the Straits a logical place for a fur-trade center that served the vast western interior. In the seventeenth century French traders, soldiers, and missionar- ies introduced themselves, European manufactured goods, and Roman Catholicism into Indian societies, which initiated significant changes throughout the region. They came in birchbark canoes along the Ottawa River route from Montreal to Mackinac and found the Straits to be an ideal place to outfit their crews with fresh provisions before going on into the interior to live and trade among the Ottawa, Chippewa, Menominee, Sioux, and other nations. In spring, traders, often accompanied by Indian families, brought the winter's fur harvest from the vast west to Mackinac. Starting shortly after the British conquest of Canada in 1760, sailing vessels began calling upon Mackinac, bringing 110 British soldiers, traders, and goods. British control of the fur trade resulted in more changes as Indians, French- Canadians, and.métis all had to submit to British policies. In ‘1796 Americans started arriving at Mackinac aboard sailing ships, and in 1820 steam-powered vessels joined the Great Lakes fleet. Ideas, beliefs, and material culture coming from both the East and the West formed, shaped, and reformed society at Mackinac for 150 years. Archaeological and historical research at Fort Michili— mackinac (1715-1781) reveals how Euro-American ways took hold and helped to bring about a fur-trade society at Mackinac whose manners were neither entirely Indian nor European but a changing mixture of both.3 Dietary practices over the century illustrate this phenomenon. The French depended upon such imported beverages as coffee and choco- late and a variety of locally produced foods, including wild game, fish, and Indian-grown corn. Michel Chartier de Lotbiniere noted in 1749 that the ten French families (three of whom were métis) who lived at the fort showed little interest in agriculture. Instead they only took "the trouble of going to the edge of the lake, as if going to market, to get their supplies of corn and fish when the Indians bring some."‘ ,After the British gained control of Michilimackinac in 1761, they relied more upon imported foods, such as salted meats, milled flour, butter, and domestic animals. The British ate less venison, fish, and 111 corn, and consumed more beef. Although they practiced farming on a small scale, they, too, purchased large quanti- ties of Ottawa and Chippewa-produced corn which they used to provision the French-métis and Canadian crews of the trade canoes. Through importation of food stuffs and objects manufactured in Britain, British officers, soldiers, and traders attempted to transplant to Mackinac as many of the amenities of their ways as possible. Although their contempt toward the métis, the French, and the Indians was clear, the British never seriously tried.to force either’the French-métis or the Indians to accept their mode of living. The British concerned themselves primarily with keeping the fur trade as profitable as possible.5 The French and British sent military garrisons to the Straits in the eighteenth century which protected and furthered European interests in the fur-trade country. Actually, French troops first appeared in St. Ignace in the 16803 but were withdrawn in 1696. .About 1715, French troops returned and built Fort Michilimackinac. Their primary objectives at the time were to subdue the Fox Indians in Wisconsin, to improve their position in the fur trade, and to check the British encroachments into the Great Lakes region. Throughout most of the next forty-five years only a handful of soldiers lived among the fort's inhabitants. From 1761, the British, on the other hand, put a much greater emphasis on their military presence at 112 Michilimackinac. Employing a garrison of forty to one hundred men, the British military played a larger role in daily affairs than had the French army. Both France and Great Britain used their military to carry out their imperial policies which were designed to protect their trading interests, to influence Indian relations, and to check.their rivals' presence throughout the Great Lakes and Mississippi regions. Both métis and Indians became better acquainted with the European military, for frequently the post commandant called upon them to join him as allies in pursuit of an enemy. Mackinac had been an active center of military operations since 1715.‘ Mackinac was also the center of Roman Catholicism, a vital institution in the life of the métis living in the region. French missionaries had introduced Roman Catholi- cism to Mackinac in 1670 when the Jesuit Fathers Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette began a mission to the Huron on Mackinac Island. The next year they moved their work to St. Ignace and expanded it to include the Ottawa. The Jesuits intended to convert the Indians to Catholicism, but they had only limited success even though they continued their ministry at Michilimackinac and to the Ottawa (at L'Arbre Croche after 1741) until 1765. One result of the French loss of Canada to Great Britain was the weakening of the Catholic church at Mackinac. After Father Pierre du Jaunay departed in 1765, Catholic priests made only 113 irregular visits to Mackinac until 1830. French-métis traders, voyageurs, and mu fig 12.9.11: however, remained Catholic throughout the period, and some of the Indian women they married appear to have embraced some elements of the faith. ,At least some of their métis children were baptized in Ste. Anne's Church, located at Mackinac, and instructed in the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. There is no question that by the 1820s the development of the people's faith and the growth of the church had suffered from the lack of resident clergy. Despite the efforts of devoted lay persons, such as the métis fur trader Magdelaine Laframboise, to teach young people Catholic beliefs, the church's influence and authority languished.7 The weakening of Catholicism did not automatically lead to Protestant inroads. The British showed no interest in bringing Chris- tianity to the Indians near the post and never even started a Protestant congregation at Mackinac. In 1802 the Mission- ary Society of Connecticut sent the Reverend David Bacon to begin an American Protestant work at Mackinac, but within two years he left after little success.8 The conclusion of the American Revolution and the Treaty of Paris in 1783 signalled the end of British rule at Mackinac and the eventual sovereignty of the United States. It took thirteen years, however, before American troops garrisoned Fort Mackinac, and they relinquished control to the British at the outset of the War of 1812. 114 So the Americans' first stay lasted only sixteen years. Following the war, the American presence at.Mackinac became permanent and much more visible and had a greater impact: the new nation successfully incorporated the western Great Lakes region into its society. Unlike the French, who adapted to many Indian ways, or the British, who seemed content to manipulate the natives to suit their own purposes, many of the Americans, particularly Protestant missionaries, came to transform the métis and Indian people into people like themselves. Some of these Americans envisioned Indians and métis giving up their semi-nomadic way of life, which revolved around the fur trade, in order to become settled farmers, artisans, and homemakers, living in one place all year. If this happened, missionaries and others believed that Indians could be fully assimilated into American society. As the agents of American government established American sovereignty at Mackinac, other Americans started businesses and transplanted institutions, such as Protestant Christianity. The missionaries, in particular, intended to encourage the métis and Indians to adopt American ways. Changes occurring at Mackinac during the 1820s and 18303 presented challenges for the métis. These decades were a critical time for them and for the future of the fur trade. Most métis residents of the island lived in run-down dwellings, which helped to create negative impressions of 115 them. The métis resided in bark-covered houses of the old. French design "with corner and centre posts filled in."° Whitewash could not conceal their decaying condition or the poverty of the métis who lived by fishing, gardening, or laboring.1o Their appearance and living conditions led American observers to condemn the métis as inferior to themselves. Myra Peters Mason, the American woman mentioned earlier who spent the summer of 1824 on the island, viewed the métis as being ”a grade below any other species of the human race I have ever seen."11 Jedediah Stevens, while a teacher at the mission, observed that most of these French- men (who were really mostly métis) had married Indian women and were "an ignorant [,] deluded people most them Catholics [,1 which bias them from all instruction and leaves them to perish in their sins.“2 The Reverend William T. Boutwell's assessment of adult French-métis men was that "the French half-breed voyageur . . . [is] more hopeless than the Indians)” Eliza Chappell, who taught an. infant school independent of the mission in 1831 and 1832, commented that the métis were a ”race less stable in character than either ”“ Although Americans appear in theory whites or Indians. to have identified the métis, especially males, as a dis- tinctive group, in practice they viewed them as Indians, relegating them to a place at the bottom of their social hierarchy.” 116 Captain C. B. Marryat, an English visitor to Mackinac in 1837, observed that the majority of the residents were métis, but he believed that females were likely to fit better into the social order than males. He commented: It is remarkable that the females generally improve, and the males degenerate, from.the admixture of blood. Indian wives are here preferred to white, and perhaps with reason--they make the best wives for poor men: they labour hard, never complain, and a day of severe toil is amply recompensed by a smile from their lord and master in the evening. They are always faithful and devoted, and very sparing of their talk, all which qualities are considered as recommendations in this part of the world. Marryat also noted that well-educated métis could receive "great attention" in the fur-trade society.“ His observa- tions help explain why some métis fathers wished to have their children receive a non-Indian education. Many of the métis submitted to the authority of Robert Stuart, the resident manager of the American Fur Company, who accepted and relied upon them in their traditional roles. By so doing, he followed the same practice used by British merchants when they methodically took control of the fur trade from the French after 1763. Stuart and his wife, Elizabeth, came to Mackinac in 1817 at the behest of John Jacob Astor, who employed him to oversee the operations of the American Fur Company in the northwestern Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi regions. Until 1822 he shared this responsibility with Ramsey Crooks. In one way or another Stuart influenced the lives of thousands of métis, 117 Chippewas, and Ottawas as he implemented the company' s policies and directed the efforts of its employees. He worked. effectively within the existing social structure to V, Stuart depended upon experienced reap profits for Astor. Canadian and métis traders, clerks, and voyageurs or boatmen to travel to Indian lands, to carry the merchandise and a It was, furs, and to negotiate many of the exchanges.‘ therefore, in the company's best interest to perpetuate the fur-trade society's organization in the Lake Superior country. Even though the whitewashed limestone walls of Fort Mackinac, standing 150 feet above the water, clearly domi- nated the island's landscape, the island's economy revolved around the American Fur Company buildings located beneath the hill on Market Street. It was here the fur trade brigades from the Lake Superior country brought their winter's furs and restocked themselves with merchandise to carry back into the interior for the next winter's exchange. While passing through Mackinac in 1827, John A. Granger described this large establishment:19 The store is 195 ft. in length, 3 stories high, with a basement of 6 feet--It contains a very general and extensive assortment of every kind of goods for a Northern and Indian trade . . . Attached to the build- ing is a large storehouse filled with provisions and flour--a wine cellar containing 100 casks--a coopers [sic] and blacksmith shop, and a boatbuilders shop from which they furnish the batteaux used in their northern voyages. . . . In the centre in front, is a large three story house occupied as an office and boarding house- -the whole is surrounded by a very high fence, 118 protected from sudden attack in the rear, by passisadoes of 12 feet in heighth [sic]. On the island, meanwhile, the Stuarts used their social upbringing and economic position to form the nucleus of a new elite. A native of Collander, Scotland, Robert, aged 32, sailed from New York in 1810 for "Astoria" as part of Astor's Pacific Fur Company venture into the Pacific North- west. The hardy Stuart then led an expedition back east, overland across much of what came to be known as the Oregon Trail. Elizabeth Sullivan of Brooklyn, New York, married Robert on July 21, 1813, in New York City's First Presbyte- rian Church. She had been educated at the Bethlehem Board- ing School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Visitors to Mackinac discovered her to be as refined and sophisticated a woman as could be found anywhere among the genteel class in the East. Of the Stuarts' nine children, six were born on the island.20 Robert and Elizabeth entertained both leading citizens of Mackinac and important visitors to the island. He spent.much time with the traders who wintered in the Lake Superior country or along Lake Michigan. This not only strengthened Robert's supervision of their work, but it also enabled him to establish personal relationships with men such as Lyman Warren and Daniel Dingley. His business dealings also brought him into contact with the Indian agent, fort officers, local government officials, and other businessmen. As the size of the American Fur Company's 119 operation expanded, Robert Stuart's power and prestige grew. At the same time, Elizabeth took the lead in providing amusement for the wives and children of the men with whom her husband dealt in his work.21 The women shared meals and got together for tea in their "neat and comfortable english houses.”22 As this English-speaking elite formed, it included George and Harriet Boyd, William and Amanda Ferry, fort officers and their wives, and prominent merchants and their wives, such as Michael and Jane Dousman. These twelve to fifteen families hailed from the eastern United States or the British Isles. The small American elite brought other American insti- tutions and practices to Mackinac, which also impinged upon the lives of residents of both the island and the Lake Superior country. More Americans joined the Stuarts and the American Fur Company to advance the Americanization of the fur-trade society; Military officers maintained.a garrison at Fort Mackinac, Indian agents implemented the federal government's Indian. policy, judges established courts, island officials created local government based upon Ameri- can. practices, and evangelical Protestant. missionaries started a mission school and a Presbyterian church on the island. The men and women who administered these agencies all spoke English, and they intended to make English the dominant language throughout the region. These people worked together to extend the power and influence of the 120 United States government and American social practices throughout the entire northwestern Great Lakes region. The first resident agents of the United States govern- ment had appeared on Mackinac Island on September 1, 1796, when Major Henry Burbeck brought American troops to Fort Mackinac. From the fort the garrison kept a watchful eye on the traffic of people and vessels below. The military helped to keep order among boisterous and colorfully clad French-métis voyageurs, Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and profit-hungry fur traders and merchants. When William and Amanda Ferry arrived in October, 1823, Captain William Whistler commanded one company of the Second Artillery which included fifty-seven officers and enlisted menJ23 Through- out the 1820s and early 1830s.generally one or two companies garrisoned the post. From its first occupation, as a result of Jay's Treaty, the United States Army clearly intended to expand the sovereignty of the.American‘government throughout the Great Lakes region. After they had displaced British troops, the Americans hoped to check British influence among the north- ern Indians and involvement in the fur trade. They were not successful until the end of the‘War of 1812, when the United States not only beefed up its force at Mackinac, but estab- lished new posts at Green Bay (1816), Prairie du Chien (1816), St. Peters (1819), and Sault Ste. Marie (1822). Secretary of War John C. Calhoun hoped that this increased 121 ‘ strength would keep Indians from going to British posts and put teeth into the provision of the Treaty of Ghent which had revoked the rights of British traders to do business with Indians living on American soil.” At Mackinac the commandants watched over the fur trade, checking licenses and quelling disturbances. In addition, they were expected to work with the Indian agents in carrying out the govern- ment's Indian trade policy.25 The federal government sent an Indian agent to Mackinac to implement and, with the help of the military, to try to enforce its Indian policy. Congress had designed this policy to regulate Indian-white relations as American traders and settlers pushed into Indian lands in the West. Between 1790 and 1802 Congress.had.enacted.a series of Trade and Intercourse laws that attempted to prevent Euro- Americans from violating Indian rights, treaties, and lands. These laws "became the main current that carried along the federal policy, which was in large measure one of control- "26 The basic features ling contact between the two races. of this policy were: 1) the licensing of traders: 2) the requirement that the United States government purchase Indian land by public treaty: 3) that crimes committed by whites in the Indian country be punished: 4) the establish- ment of government trading houses and the promotion of trade through them: and 5) the "civilization" of the Indians. As the American government formulated its policy, it built a 122 bureaucracy, which was in place by the mid-18203, to admin- ister it. In 1793 Congress established the position of Indian agent and, in 1806, the Office of Superintendent of Indian trade. In 1824 Secretary of War Calhoun created the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or Office of Indian Affairs, as it was commonly called. The Secretary retained overall authority for conducting the government's business relative to the natives, but agents on the frontier had the responsibility for making the Indian policy work. If this policy were to be successful, competent men had to become agents.“’7 In June, 1819, George Boyd came to Mackinac to replace William Henry Puthuff as Indian Agent. Boyd already had had a checkered career both as a private merchant and as a public employee. Born in 1779 in Maryland, he had, in 1805, married Harriet Johnson, whose sister Louisa was married to John Quincy Adams. George had dealt in general merchandise back in Georgetown, Maryland: included among his transac- tions were the sales of slaves. Boyd also worked in the fledgling American bureaucracy. He had served as the personal secretary to Secretaries of War William Eustis and General John Armstrong from 1811 to 1814, and in 1817 he headed the Department's pension office. In between he had combined merchandising and government work during an 1816 and 1817 trip to Europe to buy arms, tools, and materials for the Ordnance Department. He was not successful in 123 filling his government contract and incurred substantial debts which resulted in some French merchants suing him for unpaid accounts. These debts plagued him for years. Thus Boyd, though politically well-connected, had achieved only limited success. Yet for over a decade he occupied a key place in the affairs of the Mackinac fur-trade society.28 George Boyd's power to license traders and to collect bonds and securities brought him in direct contact with Robert Stuart, who worked to have government agents enforce regulations to the benefit of the American Fur Company. Boyd's predecessor, William Henry Puthuff, had refused to let Stuart or Ramsey Crooks intimidate him into granting licenses to foreigners, a practice which had been disallowed by Congress in 1816.‘ When unlicensed traders ignored the law and traded in the Indian country, Puthuff seized their goods. Irritated by these actions, Astor and Crooks fought back on two fronts-~first they got "special licenses" for their Canadian traders, and secondly they worked for Puthuff 's removal. The company won their battle. Canadians received licenses, and Puthuff lost his job.” Boyd, however, proved to be more friendly toward the company. He licensed foreigners and pulled the licenses of some indepen- dent traders who carried whiskey and traded in opposition to Astor. The Indian agent's favoritism helped the company tighten its grip on the trade during the early 18203. Boyd's attitude toward the American Fur Company found 124 further support when another government agent, Customs Collector Adam D. Stewart, apparently allowed merchandise and liquor smuggled from Montreal to pass through Mackinac to Astor's benefit.” When the British captured the island in 1812, they seized the United States government's merchan- dise and furs located in the Indian factory. The U. S. Office of Indian Trade had established this factory or trading house in 1808, hoping to provide Indians with an alternate source of trade goods which would be less expen- sive than those offered by private traders. The British action closed the trading house forever, thereby eliminating it as a competitor to traders."'1 In 1822 the War Department extended its Indian bureauc- racy to the fringe of the Lake Superior country when it opened another agency in Sault Ste. Marie and appointed Henry Rowe Schoolcraft agent. Schoolcraft and Boyd worked closely together to prevent unlicensed traders from entering the region.32 For the year 1822-23 Schoolcraft issued fifteen licenses. for men to trade at locations between Fond du Lac and Sault Ste. Marie and as far south as the Grand River in Lower Michigan. Boyd granted licenses for places ranging from the Upper Mississippi, along and south of Lake Superior, as far south as St. Joseph's on Lake Michigan, and along the Wabash River in Indiana.” By this time most of those engaged in the trade had some type of affiliation with the American Fur Company.“ When traders licensed at 125 Mackinac came to the Sault, Schoolcraft examined their documents and cargo hoping to prevent contraband goods and liquor from making its way into Indian lands}5 By 1824 the Mackinac agency encompassed several build- ings, including a new agency house which was Boyd's office and his family's home, a blacksmith shop, a storehouse, and a stable. A staff of five worked there: Henry J. Gravreat from Albany, New York, served as interpreter at a wage of $365 per year: Tunis Hagerman from Ballsterian Springs, New York, was assistant interpreter at a salary of $150 per year: John Campbell, a Mackinac Island métis, received $300 a year as blacksmith: and Simon Allard of Montreal was paid $200 per year as the striker, which required him to do most of the hammering in the blacksmith shop. Indians visiting the island came here to have muskets and iron objects repaired and to ask for provisions when on their way to Drummond Island to see Captain.Thomas Anderson, the British Indian agent residing there. The government, hoping to reduce British influence on the natives, ordered Boyd not to provide rations and to encourage them to return home.:56 Boyd applied the American government's Indian policy to the Chippewas and Ottawas living within his agency's jurisdiction. The Ottawas from L'Arbre Croche, Grand Traverse, and the Grand River, andehippewas from along the Cheboygan River, St. Martin's Islands, Au Sable River, Point aux Chenes, and the Beaver Islands, numbering nearly 3,000, 126 called upon the agency for provisions and blacksmith servic- es. In addition, Boyd employed the fort surgeon to provide 37 Through these services medical care for needy Indians. and regulation of the fur trade, Boyd tried to entice the Chippewas and Ottawas to depend upon the United States rather than upon the British as a source of presents and trade goods. Beyond this, the Office of Indian Affairs hoped to draw the Indians closer to American society and to make them more receptive to 'civilization.”” A further sign of Americanization appeared at Mackinac in 1823 when Congress established the United States Circuit Court for Michilimackinac, Brown, and Crawford counties. This court, which came to be known as the Additional Court, brought the American judicial system closer to people living in the widespread Michigan Territory extending from Detroit north through Mackinac, west to the Mississippi River, and south to the Illinois border with Wisconsin. Now both criminal and civil cases could be heard at Mackinac Island, Green Bay, and Prairie du Chien. Prior to this, civil cases involving more than $1,000 and all capital cases had to be tried in Detroit. Beginning in 1823, Judge James Duane Doty held an annual session at each of these three western locations. Prosecutors tried Anglo-Americans and métis in this court and brought Indians‘ accused of killing whites before the American judge. Both métis and Anglo-Americans initiated civil litigation before Doty and his successor, 127 David Irvin. Increasingly, members of the fur-trade society submitted to the tenets of American law as higher levels of authority joined local units of government already in place at Mackinac.” Congress had created the mechanism ‘whereby local government could be established at Mackinac Island and throughout the fur-trade society with the adoption of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. Initially, the island‘waSjpart of the Northwest Territory, then Indiana Territory, and in 1805 Michigan.Territory came into existence, which included Mackinac. In 1818 the Michigan territorial government located in Detroit established. Michilimackinac County. Local legislative bodies and courts implemented andenforced the laws of the territory, which prepared the region for statehood and for an equal standing in the national govern- ment with the older statesfiw Even before county government, in 1817, the Michigan Territorial Council extended local political institutions to the island when it established the "Borough of Michili- mackinac” as a separate township. Each November the citi- zens assembled for the annual meeting to choose, by ballot, the officials who would serve for the next year and to levy taxes. The warden and two burgesses had the power to lay out highways and streets. They made laws relative to a wide range of concerns, including measures pertaining to: ”wharves, channels, anchoring and mooring vessels" 128 "trees planted for shade, ornament 8 commerce" "the fruit of such trees" ”trespasses committed in gardens" "walks and Buildings: public and private" "the sweeping of chimneys" ”preserve said Borough from injury by fire" "burial of the dead" "public lights & lamps” ”restraining Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, & geese from going at large" The warden and burgesses directed the treasurer to pay town monies for goods and services procured for the township's use and appointed men to inspect ”every kind of produce, brought to said Borough, for sale or exportation." As in other economic and political areas, a small elite group of English-speaking men controlled most of the local affairs as well as the policies which reached beyond the island. On November 3, 1823, for example, at the courthouse the town meeting elected William H. Puthuff, warden: John Laird and Michael Dousman, burgesses: Jonathan P. King, clerk: Robert Stuart, treasurer: and Elijah Warner, mar- shal."’1 The influence and power of American law and govern- ment were expanding in both size and scope. The Americans had begun the process of extending the proscriptions and norms of their laws to regulate the relationships of 129 individuals with each other and with government. They expected these to apply to all inhabitants. Americanization, however, did not affect the way inhabitants of the fur-trade society lived at Mackinac evenly: much continued as it had before. Each year Indians and métis continued to make their traditional visits to Mackinac. By early June hundreds of Chippewa, Ottawa, Menominee, and Winnebago men, women, and children began arriving in canoes. They came to see George Boyd, to do business with merchants, and to rest on their way to Drummond, Island, where they received payments from the British. They set up their wigwams, constructed with poles and rush mats, along the shore, and at times over one hundred Indian lodges crowded the beach, creating a tempo- rary community of as many as 1,500 people. Barking dogs, drunken quarrels, and high-spirited celebrants shattered the serenity that the community had enjoyed during the winter.“ Island residents continued to welcome the fur-trade outfits from the distant wintering grounds each June and July. Six or eight French-métis men usually rowed each batteau loaded with furs and carrying the traders, clerks, and some of their wives and children. This was a time of reunion with friends and acquaintances, although very few of those who wintered in the interior had families at Mackinac. As Myra Peters Mason observed:‘3 Some forty or fifty fur beaters, & as many more Canadi- an French inhabitants of the village, flock onto 8 130 around the wharf & receive these sun burnt marriners [sic] in.a manner which is sometimes affecting as well as amusing. Such a jabbering of French you never heard, as takes place on these occasions between the boat men 8 those of their comrades & fellowbeings they , had left behind. Drinking and revelry followed. For the children who accompanied their fathers from the Lake Superior country or the Upper Mississippi region during these journeys, Mackinac Island stood in sharp contrast to their home environment. To be sure they saw around them many familiar people, but.the size of the community’with.the bustle of two thousand or more people scurrying about in commerce, amusement, and official business constituted a far more complicated world than theirs. It was 'here they confronted Euro-American institutions directly. Their fathers worked for an American company headquartered on the island: they consumed American-made products: and some of them attended an.American.mission school. Technologically, socially, and economically, human activity at Mackinac was more complex than at Fond du Lac or Sandy Lake or at a winter hunting camp. At Mackinac most métis were excluded from the social affairs of the American elite. Magdelaine Laframboise won the respect of the Americans through her success in business and her commitment to the community's welfare. Even so, it is doubtful that the English-speaking elite invited her to their skating and hunting parties or concerts. They also 131 celebrated.holidays together, exchanging gifts such as meat and baked goods at Christmas and welcoming in the New Year at the Stuartsfi“ Despite all of Laframboise's accomplish- ments, the Anglo-Americans refused to accord her the same status as such women as Elizabeth Stuart or Amanda Ferry.“s . Some American men, such as Edward Biddle, who married native women.did build bridges between the American and the métis and Indian communities. Biddle's daughter Sophia received an education in Detroit and became a prominent young woman among the fashionable of Detroit society.“ Her experience supports Marryat's observation that some métis women were able to find suitable places in the newly forming social order. There was room for a few métis (especially Anglo-métis) to penetrate socially American circles. Excluded by the Americans, the French-métis continued to celebrate their holidays in their familiar way, paying little or no attention to their English-speaking neighbors and employers. They focused.much of their holiday celebra- tion on their children. French-metis families commemorated Christmas with religious ceremonies, followed by drinking and dancing, but they did not exchange gifts until the New Year. On New Year's Eve elderly fishermen, dressed in outlandish costumes, visited each house singing, dancing, and asking for the oldest daughter--causing great terror in the younger girls. Following each performance the men accepted a gift and moved on to the next home. The children 132 went to bed early after family prayers but were up at dawn to receive presents and blessings from their mothers and fathers." Holiday observances broke up the long winters of Mackinac Island, where inhabitants struggled to overcome isolation and to protect themselves from the harsh elements. Métis laborers performed most of the work required to keep the community fed and warm. Frequently, violent November and December storms threatened sailing vessels and their passengers. Normally, the last boat set sail for Detroit in late November and did not return until May.“ During the interval only one or two mails arrived from Detroit by dog sled. Ice locked the island in a firm grip during January, February, and March, but its forces were fickle. Before the solid sheet had formed securely, changing winds caused break-ups and unpredictable movement of ice cakes: everyone, regardless of social class, looked out for the welfare of those who were traveling on this shifting surface and worked in unison to bring to safety anyone who was in danger on the Straits.“9 The town's inhabitants expended considerable energy procuring adequate supplies of firewood, most of which they cut on nearby Bois Blanc Island or on the main- land. They transported it over the ice or hauled it in boats the following summer. Unstable ice could spell hunger for many of the island's poorer residents who depended upon ice fishing to produce their staple food. Shifting ice 133 could sweep away nets set in the Straits.” One sign that spring was near occurred in March when many of the inhabi- tants moved to Bois Blanc to make maple sugar.51 Just as the metis continued to carry on their tradi- tional seasonal activities, they persisted in their adher- ence to Roman Catholicism, even though practice of the faith had lost much of its vitality in the Straits region by the 1820s. The absence of a resident priest at Michilimackinac after 1765 resulted in virtual disappearance of Catholicism among the Ottawa at IflArbre Croche. When Father Gabriel Richard came to the Ottawa villages in 1799, he could find only one of the 1,300 residents who had been baptized. The influence of Catholicism upon the Ottawas had not been long lasting. To Father Richard's dismay, the Ottawas demon- strated little interest in having a priest come to live among them.” On the island the old Ste. Anne's church building brought over from Michilimackinac had fallen down in 1819, and a new structure was still incomplete three 53 Even so, some Frenchdmétis men and women years later. worshipped God in the manner prescribed by the Roman Catho- lic Church. Magdelaine Laframboise conscientiously observed Angelus, and upon hearing the ringing of the church bell at 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m., she stopped work, made the sign of the cross, and said short prayers. In an effort to uplift others in the faith, she taught children Catholic truths in Ottawa, English, and French.“’ 134 Laframboise's piety stood in contrast to most of the métis in the fur-trade society, who clung to what might be termed ”folk Catholicism. " Catholic tradition and practices formed a fundamental element in their lives and in their perceptions of themselves, but years of spiritual complacen- cy had resulted in many adopting a casual attitude toward the church's teachings. Without resident clergy, the French-métis lacked spiritual leadership and could not regularly avail themselves of the sacraments. As a result, drunkenness, illicit sexual relationships, and rowdiness went unchecked or unchallenged. Wayward French-métis Catholics still considered themselves to be Catholic, even though they failed to observe many of the church's dictates. At Mackinac Catholicism, in some form at least, persisted as an integral part of the métis self perception as they confronted Americans intent on radically transforming their society. This folk Catholicism of the métis initially developed in isolation from a European-influenced American Roman Catholic Church: however, the European and American Catholic churches merged at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1790 Father John Carroll became the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Baltimore, which gave him authority over all Catholics living in the territory granted to the United States by the 1783 Peace of Paris. No longer was the Bishop of Quebec to be responsible for the spiritual 135 well-being of Catholics at Mackinac, nor would Canadian-born priests (as had been the case between 1765 and 1787) come here. Rather, European-born missionaries carried Catholi- cism to distant frontier regions, as well as to towns throughout the United States. When the Sulpician Father Gabriel Richard came from France in 1792, Bishop Carroll assigned him to Kaskaskia. In 1798 Father Richard went to Detroit and then made his first trip to Mackinac the next year.55 His presence and subsequent appearances by other priests helped to keep Catholicism alive in the minds and lives of many métis. At Mackinac, Father Richard said he: found a great number of Children, I supplied the Ceremonies of Baptism to 30 and better who were above seven years. However it is very sorrowful to see so many poor creatures quite abandoned without instruc- tions. Several of them Know scarcely to do the sing [sic] of the cross. During his three-month stay he described further his activi- ties, "I am making Catechism for children every morning, and in the evening I said the Evening-prayers of the Church, after which I was used to give a familiar explanation of the different parts of Christian doctrine.”5° Many of the métis summer visitors attended his services. In all likelihood some of the children instructed by Richard later put their own children in Ferry's mission school. Five years later another Sulpician, Father Jean Dilhet from Toulouse, France, arrived at the island for a six-week 136 residence. He was horrified to learn that in a previous year the priest's house, which adj oined the church, had been used as a brothel, and that a Protestant had desecrated the church by placing a dead dog on the altar. Dilhet married several French-Canadians, métis, and Indians, baptized children, and prepared many children, including some Indi- ans, for their first communion. He also directed that new churchwardens be elected and ordered that in the future they rent the priest's house only to "honest persons." As they had done several times in the past, the parishioners sent an unheeded petition to the bishop asking that a resident priest be sent to them.57 Entries in Ste. Anne's register Show that Gabriel Richard was back at Mackinac in 1821. Among those he baptized on August 4 were seven-year old Louis and five-year old Antonie Provencalle, both of whom later enrolled in the mission school.” The next day the congregation assembled and elected William McGulpin, Eloy Bourassa, and Joseph Rollet churchwardens. In Father Richard's absence, the parishioners had entrusted to these men the care of the church linen, vestments, and movable property.” Father Richard returned in 1823, and several other priests called throughout the decade. Finally, in 1830 the Dominican Father Samuel Mazzuchelli from Milan, Italy, took up perma- nent residence at the Straits."’0 137 During the 1820s Catholicism grew and attained a fresh vitality throughout the United States. As German and Irish immigrants added to the Catholic population and Catholics moved westward, the church' s hierarchy expanded to meet new needs. In 1821 Rome created the Diocese of Cincinnati under the bishopship of Father Edward Fenwick. Although the diocese technically included only Ohio, Bishop Fenwick administered the church's affairs in Michigan Territory as well.61 Interest among European Catholics in the growth of their faith in America led them to send and support mission- aries in the United States. The Society of St. Sulpice in Paris and the French Society for the Propagation of the Faith aided the church's work immeasurably. In 1829 in response to Father Frederic Rese's appeal, German Catholics officially formed the Men m or Leopoldine Society in Vienna to help American missions, especially those controlled by the Cincinnati Diocese.‘52 Through immigration and financial, spiritual, and missionary sup- port, European Catholics helped to revitalize the church in the fur-trade society, which led to its growth and expan- sion. The resurgence of Catholicism in the United States coincided with the coming together of the métis and American nationals at Mackinac after the War of 1812. Bolstered by a resurgent church, the French-métis showed little inclination to surrender either their beliefs or affiliation with Roman Catholicism, no matter how nominal 138 their faith may have been. The church's renewed concern for their spiritual welfare reinforced an important part of their identity at a time when the métis were being asked to adapt to changes in other areas of their lives. The Catho- lic church, itself, became a factor in the Americanization of the fur-trade society.“ The church became a legitimate institution within the newly forming order at Mackinac. This made it easier for the métis to persist in their traditional religious ways in the midst of a rapidly chang- ing world around them. Seizing upon the métis' Catholic identity, the church hoped to help them find a meaningful place in American society. Just as those Catholic efforts were about to quicken, William and Amanda Ferry arrived at Mackinac in October, 1823, intent upon transforming all members of the fur-trade society into evangelical Protestant Christians. Mackinac Island had already become a significant outpost of American influence with American law and government firmly en- trenched. Although French was still the language of the street, more English could be heard every day, and the Anglo-Americans intended for it to become the common lan- guage used throughout the United States. Métis, Chippewas, Ottawas, and other Indians still called at the island each summer to conduct their business with the fur-trade estab- lishment and government agents, and the island's economy revolved around furs, as it had for decades. In 1823 139 Mackinac presented a curious mix of the old and the new--a society supported by practices which.had evolved for nearly two centuries encountering people intent upon incorporating its members into the United States. The Ferrys and their evangelical associates wanted to go one step further. They wished to convince métis, Indians, and Americans of the need to throw off their religious beliefs and practices in order to accept the teachings of evangelical Christianity. 140 CHAPTER III W ‘Myra Peters Mason to Mary Peters, August 6, 1824, Mason letters, microfilm copy in MISPC library, originals in the New-York Historical Society. 2Jedediah Stevens, 1828, Diaries, p. 32. 3See Carolyn Gilnan. Wm; Lekee_£nz_1;ege (St. Paul, 1982): Wheeler, et. al., yeieee from_the_3apids: Lyle M. Stone, ac ac 7 - i! ‘ ciae- 0° a ‘ ' 01 1‘ 'ev- t O 2’ Ezengie; (East Lansing, 1974): David A. Armour and Keith R. Widder, t e C ss 0 8' c ck nac 'n Ame;ieen__3eyelg§ien (Mackinac Island, 1986): Jill Y. Halchin, va ' ° ' ' c - ° !.-“ ' t!‘ O ‘-‘ 1° 2'-.“ Q’- ' ”IO-15W. I flee_e (Mackinac Island, 1985): and George Irving Quimby, I! 1 r ‘ 1° . ..‘t! a! 000:' 9 ._ 91" on ° ' " '1’. ! l‘ ‘i ‘1! 1i 41‘? ;‘° '1 (Madison, 1966). ‘Marie Gerin-Lajoie, "Fort Michilimackinac in 1749: Lotbiniere's Plan and Description,” Meekinee_fiie§ezy, Vol. II, No. 5 (1976), p. 9. See Elizabeth M- Scott effenMistenmLMighili: 7 (Mackinac Island, 1985): Donald P. Heldman and Roger T. Grange, Jr., Va 01 - u - ' - ‘ W (Mackinac Island, 1981) . "The John Askin Inventories," in Armour and Widder, A§_§h§_QIQ§§IQQd§. pp. 207-36. “Heldman and Grange. W MW 910- 15- 54: Armour and Widder. At_the mes: Armour and Widder. MW ge_;ne_§1;e (Mackinac Island, 1980), pp. 28-42. 7Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed. MW Allieg_peeemen;e (New York, reprinted, 1959), Vol. 57, pp. 115-119, 249- 263 and Vol. 61, pp. 69- 73: George Pare,1ne - (Detroit, 1983), pp. 232-403: "The cMackinac Register," in.flng, Vol. 18, pp. 469- 513 and Vol. 19, pp. 1-162: and Widder, "Magdelaine Laframboise: Fur Trader and Educator,” in Rosalie Riegle Troester. WW celebration (Lansing. 1987). pp- 1-14- 141 1’See Leonard Bacon. WW (Boston, 1876), pp. 44-67. 9John A. Granger, "Journal of a Tour to Detroit, Saut [sic] de Saint Marie, Lake Superior, Mackinac and Green Bay in 1827," typescript copy, p. 9, Michigan Historical Collec- tions, Bentley Historical Library: McKenney, W ‘Lekee, p. 397: Mason to Peters, June 1, 1824, Mason letters. 10Stevens, 1827, Diaries, p. 27. 11Mason to Peters, August 6, 1824, Mason letters. 12Stevens, 1828, Diaries, p. 38: Samuel Mazzuchelli, W (Chicago, 1967), p. 23. 13Boutwell, June 24, 1832, "Journal," p. 317. 1"Mary H- Porter. Wm; (Chicago:n.d.), p. 51. 15Three helpful books regarding nineteenth-century Anglo-American attitudes toward Indians are: Pearce, WWW: Berkhofer: MILL—MM Indian: and Horsman. WW- 1‘r’Capt. C. B. Marryat, damnation: (London. 1839). Vol- I. p- 192- 17John Newland to Evarts, April 8, 1829, ABC:18.4.8. I:232: see John D. Haeger, "Business Strategy and Practice in the Early Republic: John Jacob Astor and the American Fur Trade." W 19 NO- 2 (May. 1988): 183-202. “K. Porter, 532;, vol. 2, pp. 791-851. 19Granger, ”Journal," p. 9. 2”Helen Stuart Mackay-Smith Marlatt, vIntroduction, ;.°',‘ ! :1 1° Wm (privately printed 1916). Vol. 1, p. ix. 21Mason to Peters, June 1, 1824, Mason letters. 22Granger, "Journal," June 20, 1827. 23‘Post return, October, 1823, Records of the War Department, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Record 142 Group 94, Post Returns, Fort Mackinac, National Archives (microfilm copy in MISPC library). “Francis Paul Prucha, WM. Vol. 1, p. 83. 25Widder. WW Meekineee_11§Q;1§2§ (Mackinac Island, 1972), p. 50. 2“Prucha. W. Vol- 1. p- 92- 27Prucha. WW ‘o._.=' 16 12.-.1 10.: '2!- 1 _°'- =_ 4 (Lincoln, 1962), pp. 45-54, and The_§:ee§_£e§he1, Vol. 1, pp. 159-165. ‘nflohn Harold Humins, "George Boyd: Indian Agent of the Upper Great Lakes, 1819-1842," (Ph. D. Diss., Michigan State University, 1975), pp. 1-19. 29Humins, ”George Boyd," pp. 34-41. :wHumins, "Fur, Astor and Indians," Mienigen_flie;e;y, 69, No. 2 (March/April, 1985): 27-28. ”Prucha, The_§;ee§_£e§hez Vol. 1, p. 124, and Brian Leigh Dunnigan. WWW (Mackinac Island, 1980), p. 12. :nHenry R. Schoolcraft to George Boyd, March 24, 1824, Boyd Papers, II:57, SHSW. A recent biography of Schoolcraft is Richard G. Bremer, d ° W (Mt. Pleasant. Michigan. 1987). :BAbstract of Licenses issued to persons to trade in the Indian Country granted by Henry R. Schoolcraft, Indian Agent at the Saut [sic] Ste. Marie, between the lst of September 1822 and the lst of September 1823 and Licenses granted under the laws regarding Indian Trade by the Agent at.Michilimackinac, between the lst of Sept. 1822 & the 3lst of Augt. 1823, Letters Received by the Office of the Secre- tary of War Relating to Indian Affairs, 1800-1823, Microcopy No. 271, Roll 4, 1822-1823, National Archives. 3‘Humins, ”George Boyd," pp. 89-90. 15H. Schoolcraft, £ezeene1_flemeize, pp. 116-17. 3“’Boyd to Lewis Cass, August 15, 1823, Boyd Papers, 11:48: Humins, "George Boyd,” pp. 26-28, 61: for a dis- cussion of British-Indians relations after the War of 1812 see Colin G. Calloway, ”The End of an Era: British-Indian 143 Relations in the Great Lakes Region after the War of 1812, " WW 12. NO- 2 (Fall.1986)=1- 20. ”Boyd, Sept. 15, 1819, 1:73; Boyd to McKenney, October 27, 1824, 11:76: R. S. Satterlee, receipt, July 20, 1826, 11:93, all in Boyd Papers. z“’See Viola. Wm- 39Widder, "Justice at Mackinac: The Execution of Private James Brown," MW, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1974). “Alec R. Gilpin. WW (East Lansing, 1970), pp. 100-113. “"Proclamation by William Woodbridge, at Detroit, March 15, 1817:" "An Act incorporating the Borough of Michilimackinac," April 6, 1817: and Annual election of Borough Officers at the Court House, November 3, 1823, all in Michilimackinac Borough Records, Clarke Historical Library, microfilm copy in MISPC library. ‘RStevens, 1828, Diaries, pp. 31-2: A. Ferry to family, June, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:204-205: A. Ferry, June 4, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:120: Mason to Peters, June, 1824 and July 5, 1824, Mason letters: Morse, 89221;. Appendix, p. 7. “Mason to Peters, August 6, 1824, Mason letters: Stevens, 1828, Diaries, p. 32: A. Ferry to H. White, Ferry letters, 25:212. “Samuel P. Heintzelman, January 1, 25, 31, and September 9, 1828, Diary, 1825-1833, Samuel P. Heintzelman Papers, microfilm copy in MISPC library, original in Library of Congress: A. Ferry to H. White, December 21, 1827, Ferry letters, 26:110. “Widder, "Magdelaine Laframboise." “George S. May, "John C. Pemberton: A Pennsylvania Confederate at Fort Mackinac," MW, Vol. 1, No. 11 (Mackinac Island, 1968). "A. Ferry to a. White, December 21, 1827, Ferry letters, 26:110: Baird, "Reminiscences of Early Days on Mackinac Island,” Eng, Vol. 14, pp. 21-22. ‘wA. Ferry, December 12, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:121- 122. 144 “H. White to parents, February 1, 1831, Ferry letters, 26. 189- 190. 50A. Ferry, January 8, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:200. 51Baird, ”Reminiscences," p. 28. 5"'Gabriel Richard to Bishop Carroll, November 6, 1799, quoted in Pare. Tha_datholia_dhurdh. pp- 283-4. original in Baltimore Chancery Archives. 53Richard to Archbishop Marechal, Report, December 22, 1822, quoted in Pare, The_§g§helie_ghnreh, p. 339, original in Baltimore Chancery Archives. s"Baird, ”Reminiscences," p. 38: Widder, ”Magdelaine Laframboise." ”pare, 1he_gg;nglie_gnnren, pp. 267-285. For further information relative to the Sulpicians' work in the United States see: Charles G. Herberman, W W (New York, 1916) and Joseph William Ruane, The 3'1 i! ,0- ' 9- - I 9’ 1 '°. Stataa_11121:1a221 (Baltimore. 1955) 5"’Richard to Carroll, November 6, 1799, quoted in Pare, , pp. 283-84, original in Baltimore Chancery Archives. S7Pare. MW. pp. 293-94: "Mackinac Register," June 9-July 18, 1804, flag, Vol. 19, pp. 120-132 and June 30, 1804-July 17, 1804, 113;, Vol. 18, pp. 506-510. 5""Mackinac Register," August 4, 1821, [1119, Vol. 19, ppe 134-350 5“'"Mackinac Register,” August 5. 1821. 3135!. V01- 19. P- 162. °°"List of priests that officiated at St. Ann's Church, Mackinac, since 1823 from the Hex Book of Record, Edward Jacker Papers, Burton Historical Collection. “Pare, WW, pp. 329-330: Mazzuchelli, Memoirs. 9- 21- “Maksimilijan Jezernik, W (New York, 1968), pp. 27-9. 145 “One sign of the Americanization of the Catholic church in the 18303 was its efforts to receive a fair share of the money set aside for Indian education in the United States Government's Civilization Fund. CHAPTER IV THE FUR-TRADE SOCIETY RESPONDS TO THE HISSIONARIES The Protestant missionaries came to Mackinac intending to reform the fur-trade society. They saw their mission as a benevolent enterprise dedicated to uplifting the people living in the northwestern Great Lakes region. Coming as part of a spiritual movement destined both to save individual souls for eternity and to improve their lives in this world, the missionaries hoped to instill God's will in the lives of all who believed their message. William and Amanda Ferry and their associates expected to achieve all this by converting men and women to Evangelical Protes- tantism and by persuading non-believers to behave in ways appropriate to the evangelical faith. The missionaries ministered to all the groups that they found living at Mackinac, but they had notable success among only two or three groups of adults--upper class English-speaking traders and businessmen, Anglo-American women, and, to a lesser extent, army officers. In the course of this ministry the Ferrys collided with Roman Catholic missionaries, Bishop Edward Fenwick, Father James Mullon, and Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, who were simul- taneously working to win back wayward Catholics and to 146 147 convert Indians, Protestants, and métis to their faith. The intense rivalry that developed between the Catholics and Protestants held the attention of the community for at least two years and worked against the mission's goals. Indeed, the Reverend Ferry's vehement opposition to the Catholic clergy contributed greatly to the revitalization of Catholi- cism.at Mackinac. Significantly, the Protestants converted no adult French-Canadian nor métis males of French descent. Only seven full-blood Indians joined the Presbyterian church. On the other hand, Ferry's acceptance by some leading fur traders allowed him to exert great influence in the fur-trade society, where men such as Robert Stuart and Lyman Warren possessed immense power over both Anglo- Americans and métis. William Ferry organized the Presbyterian congregation of Mackinac on February 23, 1823. Besides himself, it consisted of eight members: Miles and Anna Standish, who previously had been Methodists: Mrs. Christine Carlson, a soldier's wife and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church: Ambrose R. Davenport, who first came to the island with the United States Army in 1796: Davenport's daughter Elizabeth and her husband, John Campbell, the son of the late Robert Campbell, a Scottish fur trader and mill operator on the mainland: Isaac Blanchard, who had been a soldier at Fort Mackinac: and businessman William Sylvester. .As far as can be determined, only Campbell had any Indian heritage--but 148 no French-Canadian ancestry.‘ In the beginning English- speaking people obviously responded. most favorably to Ferry's ministry. Over the next fourteen years the church roll grew to over one hundred (See Table IV-l) and included some of the most prominent people living at Mackinac and in the Lake Superior Country. Among this group were Robert and Eliza- beth Stuart, Dr. Richard and Mary Satterlee, William and Sophia Mitchell, Michael and Jane Dousman, Lyman Warren, Daniel Dingley, and Henry Schoolcraft. These people not only provided lay leadership within the church, but they also held key positions in the region's economic, political, and social institutions.2 An analysis of the 1829 membership list reveals that the Ferrys enjoyed their greatest success among English- speaking people, especially women. Included among the members were: 18 missionaries: 25 people of Indian descent, of which 7 were full blood. Seventeen of the Indians and métis lived at the mission, and 15 of these were students: 23 were men and 55 were women. Adult métis who can be identified include John Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Graveroat (who came from New York), and William and Sophia Mitchell. Of these it appears that only Sophia.Mitchell and John Campbell may have been French-speaking. Excluding the eastern missionaries, there were 11 husbands and wives who 149 TABLE IV-l MEMBERS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1521 (February 23) William Ferry Miles Standish Anna Standish Mrs. Christine Carlson John Campbell Elizabeth Campbell Ambrose Davenport Issac Blanchard William Sylvester 1521 (January 7) Robert F. Gibson Mrs. Sylvester Mrs. Davenport Miss Julia Wilson Amanda Ferry 1325 (September) Eunice Osmar Betsy McFarland Martin Heydenburk John L. Hudson Delia Cook Mrs. Jane Dousman Mrs. Hoffman Mrs. Hogan Mrs. Graveroat Mrs. Le Guthrie Lydia Mary Holiday laid (March) Eliza Nancy McKinzie Mrs. Brooks Mrs. Hudson Mrs. Thompson Elana Sent... 1.8.23 Mrs. Stuart Lt. Seth Johnson Mrs. Harriet Johnson Caroline Rodgers Cornelia Fonda Mary Ann Willard 150 TABLE IV-l (cont'd.) 1§2§ (Sept.) J. D. Stevens Mrs. Julia Stevens Miss Sabrina Stevens Mrs. Huldah Heydenburk Miss Hannah Goodale Elizabeth Taylor Matilda Hotchkiss 132 (April) Emily B. Smith Electa 0. Hastings Angelique E. Thompson Mrs. Mary Satterlee Julia Ann Silby Mrs. Harriet Mitchell Mrs. Sophia Mitchell Mrs. Polly Rolette Miss Nancy Dousman Eliza Aitkins Nancy Davenport Robert Stuart Dr. Richard S. Satterlee Mr. Michael Dousman Samuel C. Lasley David B. Gorham Joseph A. Christie William Mitchell 1522 (JU1Y) Frederick Ayer Elisabeth Hastings Jane Anderson Catherine Mattacent Nancy Holiday Francis A. Hastings Theophiles La Chappelle Angellique Lois Mary McGulpin Harriet Lasley Henry Graveroat David Aitkin Daniel C. Allen George Sayre Mary Lowdes 151 TABLE IV-l (cont'd.) (after this point only a partial reconstruction is possible) 1&19 Lyman Warren Daniel Dingley 6 persons added to the church 1&12 Captain and Mrs. M. Russell laid Sergeant Humphrey Snow about 20 were received into the church including youth of the school Qihfilfi Henry Schoolcraft Chusco (Taken from Greene's report, August 22, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:228) 152 made up 45 per cent of the membership other than the mission school children. Five female members were married to fort officers, two of whom belonged to the church. It appears that no adult French-métis males joined the church. Since church members occupied important places in the fur-trade society, they influenced hundreds, even thousands, of other people. Robert Stuart established work procedures for the American Fur Company, and its employees followed his orders. In the Lake Superior country, Warren, Dingley, and other traders friendly to the mission enforced Stuart's wishes away from the island. Elizabeth Stuart entertained most important visitors to Mackinac and, no doubt, impressed upon them her moral and ethical values. The Ferrys touched the lives of people from all social classes through the actions of employers, hosts and hostesses, government agents, and their own ministry to persons who attended the congregation's services. As men and women of prominence came to know God's will for their lives, they sought to impress upon others the necessity that they, too, behave in a way that was consistent with evangelical teachings. Individual self-control led to efforts to bring about social control throughout the community. As a result, the evan- gelicals forced others to observe some of their principles, such as not working on the Sabbath, which ran counter to prevailing practices at Mackinac. 153 The Reverend Ferry, like Presbyterians elsewhere, insisted upon a strict observance of the Sabbath. He held a series of services throughout the day to minister to specific groups. At nine o'clock in the morning, Amanda Ferry and the teachers assembled the mission children and youngsters from the village for Sabbath School.’ Here the missionaries instructed these boys and girls that it was necessary for them to believe the teachings of evangelical Christianity, in the value of reading the Bible, and in the importance of proper behavior. In order to encourage learning and participation in Sunday School activities, the Ferrys presented prizes to those who performed well. In addition, they gave awards to those who were punctual in attendance and who showed overall good behavior. It appears that the Ferrys divided the children into classes along racial lines, probably because an interpreter was needed for métis and Indian children. The missionaries stressed the memorization of Bible verses, believing that this would impress Biblical truths upon the young people's minds and would enable the children to call upon these teachings later in life. Before her fourth birthday, Katherine Stuart had learned fifty-nine verses from the WW. For this feat Kate received a premium. Amanda wrote to her parents, "Two half-Indians received the premiums of their class, one a New Testament, the other, younger, a valuable book. "" 154 From the missionaries' perspective these material awards served only to help maintain order and to sustain the children's interest in the curriculum: the primary goal always remained conversion. Amanda reported in October, 1825, that things in the Sunday School were ”Still very punctual and orderly and attentive but no cases of par- ticular thoughtfulness."5 At 10:30 a worship service, open to the community, com- menced. Each Sunday during the summer, between 200 and 300 worshippers attended the services which drew together a variety of people. Most adults who attended spoke English and were part of the growing group of American business and government agents who had come to take control of the political, economic, and social affairs at Mackinac. Included among these prominent people were visitors to the island. They joined enlisted men from Fort Mackinac, a few Indians, and the métis school children.“ Through these services, Ferry hoped to challenge his listeners to convert to evangelical Christianity, to believe proper theology, and to conduct their lives in ways which were consistent with evangelical teachings. Until 1830 when the new church building opened, the congregation assembled at the mission house. The Reverend Ferry's sermons formed the heart of both the morning and evening worship services, and through them he established his spiritual authority over his congrega- 155 tion. Unfortunately none of his sermons are known to be extant, but accounts by listeners preserve some of his topics and techniques. Preaching gave Ferry the opportunity to expon theological principles and to argue against what he believed to be unsound doctrine. But his message did not stop there, for he sought to show how doctrine applied to the life of the church and its adherents. Jedediah Stevens reported that on July 22, 1827, Ferry preached on the nature of baptism and argued that only ministers could perform the rite. He intended to refute the Roman Catholic teaching that all children were lost unless baptized, even if by a layman in the absence of a priest. Believing that baptism was not necessary for salvation, he warned his followers that they would incur "the awful curse of God" if they administered the sacrament. Furthermore, Ferry set forth the authority of the ordained clergy in providing spiritual leadership and dispensing the benefits of the church to the world at large.7 Two years later while visiting Mackinac, the Baptist minister Abel Bingham reiterated this theme when he preached on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, ”And we beseech you, breathren [sic], to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you:-And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.-And be at peace among yourselves. Church members were expected to submit to the authority of their pastor. 156 In the afternoon Sunday School resumed. While the Reverend Ferry met with the youth, his wife held meetings with adult Indians, usually women. Amanda read from the Bible and from tracts expounding the teachings she thought relevant to the Indians, hoping to convert them to Christ. Since Amanda knew no Indian language, Elizabeth campbell translated all of Mrs. Ferry's words into Ottawa or Chip- pewa. Seated on the floor, these Indians heard about Christ and his demand that they follow him or face an eternity in hell. The records reveal no accounts of questions or arguments which the Indian women may have raised in response to these strange teachings. The meetings did stimulate an interest in Christianity in a few individuals, and at least one, a woman named Eliza, converted after long attendance at these sessions.9 The Reverend Ferry also conducted occasional religious services at Fort Mackinac for soldiers. The degree of cooperation between the military and the mission depended upon the attitude of the commanding officer. Frequently the commandant ordered his troops down the hill to attend church--on one occasion it appears this was done as punish- ment for soldiers who had gotten drunk the night before. Major William Whistler and Captain R. A. McCabe did not give their permission for their men to go to church, while other commandants welcomed the minister into their garrison. No doubt frequent transfer of troops hampered this ministry.10 157 The Reverend Ferry intended to use Sunday worship services as a means to promote the growth of his church. With his emphasis on conversion and doctrinal instruction, William Ferry left little doubt that he was about serious spiritual business, hoping to entice men and women to seek out God's will for themselves. Even though he received a hearing from a large audience and many in the community came under his influence, the congregation experienced only slow growth until 1829. It took a revival during the winter of 1829 to bring substantial growth in church membership.11 Revivalism made its first appearance at Mackinac in 1827 when Jedediah Stevens brought the enthusiastic measures of the Reverend Charles Finney to the fur-trade society. Finney's highly emotional techniques were making a signifi- cant impact in parts of New England and New York State, where Stevens had heard him preach. With William Ferry away in Boston, Stevens, with the assistance of Amanda Ferry and Eunice Osmar, introduced a number of practices which met with favorable response. They replaced the Westminster Catechism with New Testament lessons in the Sunday School and started a weekly prayer meeting. Stevens expressed concern that the Reverend Ferry, who was unacquainted with Finney's ways, might be displeased with these changes and with the fact that women had been praying and speaking at public meetings. All of this ran counter to Ferry's Old School leanings, but the results impressed Stevens' 158 superior. Six persons converted and joined the church: Mrs. Elizabeth Stuart: Lieutenant Seth Johnson and his wife, Harriet: and Cornelia Fonda, Caroline Rodgers, and Mary Ann Willard, who were métis students at the school. The apparent genuineness of these conversions convinced Ferry that the Spirit of God could work effectively through these new means . 12 Two years later, beginning in January, a revival gripped Mackinac society and continued through the winter and into spring. Ferry described the situation in February:'3 The proud, the vain & the high-handed sinner is forced to bow under the mighty power of God. A number of heads of families are among the subjects of this work- -some now rejoicing in hope, others deeply concerned. So that in several instances gay amusements, such as the card table & its attendant scenes, are abandoned for the throne of grace: & dwellings where perhaps the voice of prayer was never heard, are now converted into little Bethels.--I think I may number ten hopeful subjects of grace in the garrison & Village, of these I would name for your comfort as well as our encouragement,--Doct'. Satterlee of 0.8. Army whom you saw at Boston a year ago last summer. Mr. R. Stuart agent of Am Fur Comp”. Mr. Mitchell Indian Trader at the Island--himself part Indian--& a poor crippled Indian woman who seems to be another Eliza in grace-- Within a few days two of our boys have expressed a hope--others are more or less uneasy & seriously inquiring. Ferry saw the grace of God at work in the lives of some people as they experienced spiritual regeneration and justi- fication whereby their sins had been forgiven by God. This, in turn, motivated them to change their behavior. As a result of the revival, thirty-three persons joined the 159 church in 1829. Among the converts were such prominent people as Stuart, Satterlee, Mitchell, Michael Dousman, and Samuel C. Lasley.“’ Five years later another revival pumped new life into the church. By 1834, the spiritual condition at Mackinac had deteriorated. Consequently, some of the faithful observed a day of fasting and, "An unusual spirit of prayer was poured upon the Church, which increased from week to week until many of the impenitent began to be alarmed and some to cry for mercy.” Into this situation came Jedediah Stevens, whose preaching at both regular and special meetings helped to spur on the work:15 About the first of January [1835] the Spirit of the Lord was evidently operative upon the hearts of the youth and children of the Mission School. Some were weeping in secret places while others were crying aloud for mercy. In a few days the aspect of the Mission was greatly changed. Instead of the voice of uizgh and hilarity, was heard the sound of prayer and supplica- tion from almost every apartment. . . . In March "the convicting Spirit seemed to withdraw and the excitement ceased." Three months later the Reverend Ferry, while on a visit to the island, admitted about twenty new members to the church with more prospects waiting for the next opportunity.16 To the missionaries revivalism represented.the work of the Holy Spirit bringing about changes in the hearts and minds of men, women, and children. The Spirit of God could entice the rich, poor, powerful, and weak alike to bow 160 before God, to confess their sins, and to call upon him for salvation through his son, Jesus Christ. Each person had to make a personal response to God's call. With the conversion of more persons, particularly prominent ones, the missionaries saw the influence and power of God's will extended throughout the fur-trade society at Mackinac. Revivalism at Mackinac paralleled similar experiences in other parts of the United States, especially upstate New York. Revivals demonstrated the importance which the Ferrys placed upon the conversion experience. Although there are few extant accounts of conversion experiences among adults at Mackinac, two well-publicized ones do survive. They concern Lydia and Eliza, both Indian women. When an Indian converted, the entire mission estab- lishment rejoiced and trumpeted the news to friends and supporters--for this represented a confirmation to them of both the truth of their religion.and God's blessing on their work. William Ferry's report of Lydia's conversion appeared in the Amezieen_flieeienezy_fiegie§en in 1824 and 1825, and in 1834 the American Board published Ferry's account of Eliza's conversion entitled, "Notice of Chippeway Converts, " WI. No. VII. While these published statements helped to arouse and sustain interest in Indian missions, they also give us a glimpse into the conversion process for anyone who wished to embrace evangelical Christianity. 161 Very early in his ministry, the Reverend Ferry came in contact with Lydia, who lived near the mission, and whose violent-tempered husband (whose ethnicity is unknown) beat her severely for showing an interest in religion."7 Lydia spoke no English, and Ferry talked to her through interpret- ers John and Elizabeth Campbell. Ferry described a meeting with Lydia in 1824:" After meeting with her one evening at Br. Campbell's who together with his wife talks good Indian, and having’ talked. with. her’ at length on. the leading doctrines of the bible, mans creation, fall, total depravity, and the way of salvation by the Lord Jesus. I told her that before parting we would kneel together and pray especially for the grace of God to renew and sanctify her soul. On rising from prayer, I perceived that although she does not understand English, she was bathed in tears. She is now learning to read, and comes to our house almost daily, generally choosing her time for this purpose toward evening, so as to enjoy evening worship with the family. Never have I been permitted to witness more animated joy and holy peace in any person's countenance than is uniformly expressed in tears. She often says in broken English, "0! I am happy--I love God's Son." She regularly attends our meetings, and seems to enjoy much, although she understands very little. later, Ferry asked Lydia what her feelings were follow- ing this meeting. She replied, "My distress was so great, I can't tell you how I felt. . . .” Further questioning describes Lydia's conversion experience:19 Q. Although you cannot tell me how you felt, your distress was so great, yet when I told you how God made all things, made man happy, 8c. how he sinned, and yet how God in the greatness of his love and pity provided a Saviour, did this affect your mind, and did you feel it to be true? A. Yes, I felt it to be true. It was what I never thought: I never felt so before. 162 Q. After closing this conversation, and then telling you, that God was able and willing to save just such great sinners, and that you must find grace, or be lost, and told you that we would then kneel together in prayer and pray especially, that God would have mercy upon your soul, how did you feel during prayer? A. I can't remember all. I recollect, that 1 longed very much to have God open my heart, and wash it clean from sin, and it was more than I could do, my heart was so full and burdened, to keep from weeping. When 1 went home, I wept much alone, wept very much all night. Q. How long do you think it was, after that evening's conversation, before you found the Saviour? A. It was on Tuesday of the third week after. Q. How did you feel when.you first thought you found the Saviour? A. I felt so happy, and so wanted to love and thank God for having mercy on my soul, that my whole feelings seemed new to me. I had never felt such love to any thing before, as I now felt to God, and I thought how glad I should be to have God take me away, that 1 might never be left to live, as I used to, and as I thought perhaps at times, I should do again, if I did not die soon. I then felt assured, that God had had mercy on my soul, and I wished to die, because I was afraid if I lived, I might do something to offend God, and it appeared to me, that God would then have no mercy on me. Eliza ' s Chippewa name was O-dah-be-tuh-ghe-zhe-go-quai , which in English meant, "the Mid-way-sky woman or the place of the sun at.” She was born near L'Anse.20 Earlier in her life she had been an interpreter of dreams for other Chip- pewa--a position of some status within Chippewa society. But she had fallen into dissipation through the abuse of whiskey. The death of three of her four children added to 163 her suffering. After Ferry convinced Eliza to put her son Joseph in the mission, he offered her a place there as long as ”she would be steady, and do such works as she was able.”v Eliza attended Amanda Ferry's Sunday School classes and found herself affected by what she heard. While at sugar camp on nearby Bois Blanc Island, she felt, "Here I am, going the same round daily from tree to tree, and can find no relief--1 must always carry this wicked heart, and when I die be miserable forever." Later that year her son died, and this created the environment for her conversion. After Joseph's funeral, she gave evidence to Ferry "that her feelings were under the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit." The next night there arose in her mind "an impression that there was no hope for her soul: but in a moment, she determined with herself to pray once more that God would have mercy." She then sat upon the cellar stairs pouring out her feelings to God. Upon hearing her there, the Reverend Ferry found her asleep: he awoke her and sent her back to bed. Eliza ”engaged in prayer again and was then, for the first time, conscious of enjoyment in the love of Christ. The next morning her soul was so filled.with love for'all the members of the family, that as she saw one and another, she says she felt that her own children had never been so near to her heart as they."22 164 Eliza expressed what this newly found relationship with God meant to her:23 I have always been happy in God since then. The more I have had a'view of the love of God in Christ, and.the longer I have lived, the more I have desired to love him, and to love him more and more, and to be more and more like him in my soul. She credited the peace she had found to "Christ's pity to my soul: because he died for poor sinners.” Through conversion Eliza found an inner peace which comforted her. Robert Stuart, too, underwent intense struggles within his soul over the challenge presented by the Reverend Ferry. Martin Heydenburk remembered Stuart's turmoil during the 1829 revival:2‘ He and.many other were brought to see their own unfit- ness to meet a Holy God. He struggled hard and long to resist. Sometimes he would try to shake it off: sometimes to think it a delusion: and sometimes to postpone it to a future time. But all to no purpose: conscience upbraided, the law thundered, and a life misspent stood before him in fearful array. He was out of harmony with himself, with God, and the universe. He did not want to yield, but was afraid longer to resist. He sat up till late at night, and then went to his room and told his wife he had resolved to begin a new life. . . . In all likelihood, many others who converted followed the same paths as did Eliza, Lydia, and Robert Stuart.25 These three cases reveal how the evangelical conversion experience occurred. At the time of their conversion some suffered from the effects of personal tragedies, while others, like Robert Stuart, were at the zenith of their business careers. At first, a person was confronted with 165 his sinful nature and hopeless state before God with his only reward being eternal damnation and suffering. But the missionary offered hope--God's love for even the most debased sinner was so great that he provided a Savior, his son Jesus Christ. Anyone who would call upon Christ for forgiveness of sin could be forgiven and be assured of an eternity with him in heaven. The missionaries believed that at every step in this process the Holy Spirit was at work, convicting an individual of his sin.and showing him the need for forgiveness in Christ. Yet the choice remained in the mind of each person, and each underwent a wrenching emotional battle as he sought to hang onto his old ways in the face of what appeared to be an irresistible urge to say yes to the beckoning of the Holy Spirit. While the new convert exercised an act of faith in his new-found belief, the missionaries placed unshakeable faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to move men and women to accept Christ. In their minds, they were only God's agents and in and of themselves could do nothing to relieve condemned men and women of their sinful state. Amanda Ferry summed up this attitude succinctly, ”But we are often made to realize that conviction is not conversion. Thanks be to God, that though He is pleased to make use of feeble clay to epen hlihg eyee the power of effecting great change belongeth unto Himself. Unto Him be all the Glory.”u’ They brought the message to unbelievers, and once an individual had acted favorably to 166 their challenge, they could help him grow in faith and works." While all converts expressed a similar faith in Christ as the sole source of their salvation, each person's experi- ence was unique. Both Eliza and Lydia had wandered from their Chippewa families and had become marginal to their own society. They were in a troubled state when the missionaries began working with them. Lydia's husband had beaten her: Eliza grieved the death of her children and suffered from alcohol abuse. The Ferrys reached out to them, offering them the hope of a reformed and better life. These women's apparent abandonment of their native religion may have been easier because their traditional beliefs and practices no longer played a vital role in their lives. Since they apparently no longer actively participated in Chippewa society, they probably faced little rejection or ridicule by their relatives. Lydia's and Eliza's conver- sions should have offered little hope to the evangelicals that most full blood Chippewas or Ottawas would be as receptive to their teachings. Anglo-Americans and métis confronted the Ferrys from a different perspective. Robert and Elizabeth Stuart, Lyman Warren, Michael and Jane Dousman, and some others in all likelihood had heard Presbyterian ministers before. Thus the concepts and practices set forth by the Reverend Ferry probably'had a familiar ring and fit into a shared secular 167 ideology as well. By affiliating with an evangelical church, these people joined an organization which was instrumental in advancing the political and economic institutions of the young republic. While not all republi- c'ans accepted evangelical Christianity, evangelical Christians supported continued westward settlement, organized and participated in government, and carried on commerce. Evangelicalism, fueled by the enthusiasm and widespread impact of the Second Great Awakening, made a major impact on the formation of American society during the first half of the nineteenth century. Men and women shaped their business practices, family relationships, and social responsibilities to meet evangelical demands.“ Members of the Presbyterian church at Mackinac actively participated in this vital movement. The circumstances of the French-métis and French Canadians made it extremely unlikely that they would join in the evangelical movement. The missionaries' inability to speak French made it difficult for them to communicate their message to these métis, but even if they had been able to, their prospects for success were slight. Unlike Lydia and Eliza, but like most Indians, the métis occupied a secure place within their own ethnic group. The Protes- tants, through their cultural biases and ridicule of the "half-breeds,” probably increased the métis' awareness of their group identity. In demanding that they renounce 168 Catholicism, the Ferrys attempted to cut one of the threads which bound together French-métis and French-Canadians throughout the northwestern Great Lakes region. The evangelicals' attitude toward the French-métis only helped to solidify existing divisions in the fur-trade society. Outside the adult métis community, however, some people looked to the Presbyterian church for their spiritual home. When new converts achieved church membership, they assumed their place alongside existing members. The Reverend Ferry and the elders examined candidates who wished to be received into the church. In April, 1829, seventeen persons who had been converted during the revival presented themselves for admission to the church roll. Before the Sunday communion service, they answered questions regarding their beliefs and how they came to believe in Christ. On the Saturday before, the group heard a "preparatory lecture" which spelled out the responsibilities of church membership. On Sunday, Ferry re-examined the candidates publicly and admitted them to the communion table. In the eyes of the church authorities, these men and women had satisfied all the demands for a "true" conversion.“"9 Now Ferry expected each to grow'in his or her faith and to behave consistently with evangelical teachings. As part of their religious life, evangelicals prayed frequently and saw this as a means of promoting both individual and corporate spiritual growth. The missionaries 169 stressed prayer as a means of welding together both local believers and those who lived far away to create a larger evangelical identity. Monthly meetings called the ”monthly concert" drew evangelicals togetherto pray. In 1834 Henry Schoolcraft summed up the purpose of these gatherings, "On visiting the monthly concert in the evening, I was reminded that this day had been set apart by various churches for imploring a special blessing on the Word of God, in the conversion of the world.”3° This experience helped to establish a bond between new converts and evangelicals throughout the country by uniting them in the common purpose of proselytizing all unbelievers. It also encouraged church members at Mackinac by reminding them that others--many unknown to them--were praying for them. Upon reflection, Elizabeth McFarland expressed her gratitude for this:31 Our little band of Christians has met us in our dwell- ing, it being our monthly concert, to mingle their prayers with ours, while we humbly trust that multi- tudes of our Christian friends are making supplication at the Throne of Grace in our behalf, and in behalf of the benighted heathen. 0h consoling and comforting thought!-- while in this dark and benighted region that we have the Same God and protection -- that we may unitedly lift up our hearts to him, and that he will hear our supplications, if offered in faith. Prayer helped to bind evangelicals to one another and created a deeper, corporate spiritual identity among them. The church sponsored weekly social prayer meetings, one conducted by men and the other by women, which were more locally oriented. These gatherings enabled believers to 170 offer support and encouragement to each other, to call upon God to meet their needs, to ask God for the conversion of specific individuals, and to seek from God a strengthening of'their faith. lEliza Chappell, who taught.an infant school on the island, looked forward to these meetings with great anticipation:"‘2 This evening I expect some of my sisters in the social prayer circle. My dear friends, do pray much and fervently for missionaries. They need your prayers. What do you think would sustain us did not Jesus in all places give answers to prayer. His presence cheers and enlivens every path. These prayer'meetings enabled visiting evangelicals to have fellowship with the Mackinac believers. One Saturday in .April, 1831, Philo .Adams had. worked. hard all day unloading freight from vessels in the harbor, but he took great delight in the evening prayer meeting where he "had the pleasure of gladening the hearts of some of God's Children by giving a brief statement of what God was doing at the east. . . ."33 Mutual support among evangelicals helped to strengthen their faith and their resolve to tell others about it. These prayer meetings partially explain why Anglo- Americans so heavily dominated evangelical religion at Mackinac. Since the purpose of these gatherings was to spur spiritual growth among believers, generally, only evangel- icals attended. This effectively barred most Indians and French-métis from these exercises, which meant that the most 171 intimate spiritual meetings found Anglo-Americans strengthening the bonds that already existed between themselves. The social, political, and economic elite added a spiritual bond to previously existing connections. While Sunday worship services were open to all who cared to come, prayer meetings helped to create an exclusiveness among this band of evangelicals. The connections between the local Mackinac elite and the evangelical movement are particularly clear in the auxiliary missionary societies which existed outside the congregation's jurisdiction. In December, 1830, friends of missions established "The Auxillary Foreign Mission Society of Mackinac,” whose sole purpose was to raise funds to support missions controlled by the American Board. The officers included leading members of Mackinac society--all of whom were either members or friends of the Presbyterian congregation: Michael Dousman, president: William A. Aitkin and Martin Heydenburk, vice-presidents: William Mitchell, treasurer: Robert Stuart, recording and corresponding secretary: and Samuel Ashmun, William Brown, and Bela Chapman, directors. Both men and women participated in the society's work, but only men served as officers. Ministers who belonged to the organization had a vote on the executive committee but did not hold office.“ Each year the society . sent sizeable contributions to Boston to be used by the American Board. For example, in 1833, Elizabeth Stuart 172 collected $26.29 in her family's ”monthly concert box" to be added to the $136.00 which secretary William Mitchell had accumulated from other individual contributions.” Evangelical women organized "The Mackinaw Female Home Mission Society for Aiding Destitude [sic] Congregations in this Territory" under the auspices of the American Home Missionary Society. Although the Reverend Ferry provided oversight of some of the society's affairs, women ran the organization, with Sarah G. Davis serving as secretary. During summer, 1830, they raised $100 which Mrs. Davis wished to be applied toward the support of a minister as soon as possible. The AHMS then directed these funds toward the support of William Jones, who was ministering in the St. Joseph's region in southwestern Michigan.“ The evangelicals worked through auxiliary societies to promote the spiritual welfare of people in their own locality as well. In August, 1831, the Mission Dorcas Society contributed nearly $75 toward the new Lake Superior mission, while the Juvenile Benevolent Society raised a like amount, donated in the form of vegetables, to support a "suitable boy" at Mackinaw Mission.37 In addition, Mackinac evangelicals formed both Bible and Tract Societies that enabled them to distribute Bibles and religious tracts to both hostile and sympathetic unbelievers."'a The evangelicals also worked to change the social and personal behavior of people outside their own circle of 173 believers without converting the entire society. This led the Reverend Ferry and others in the congregation to carry on an extensive personal ministry among people living at Mackinac. Hoping to increase their influence throughout the fur-trade society, the missionaries targeted key traders as men who could implement and enforce business and social practices which were consistent with evangelical teaching. By working through people in positions of authority, the evangelicals hoped to overcome social evils. They worked to discourage the consumption and sale of alcohol, violation of the Sabbath, cohabitation without benefit of a formal marriage ceremony, .Indian religious ways, and Roman Catholicism. (Curiously, the Mackinac missionaries did not exhibit some other characteristics or participate in some reform movements as did their fellow evangelicals in other parts of the country. They did not express outwardly millennial beliefs which called for the imminent return of Christ and the supernatural transformation of the world}39 nor did they show interest in anti-slavery causes.) For the Reverend Ferry, the elders, and other church members the ministry thus inextricably combined in a single work individual transformation and social reform.“ Comforting the afflicted, influencing personal behavior, bringing about conversion, and promoting individual spiritual growth. all ‘were aspects. of‘ a single ‘whole. Pastoral work transferred the scale of the ministry from 174 public services before large audiences to the more intimate level of one person working privately with another. Prayer, letters, friendship, and admonition all created bonds between the minister and the needy one. When working with individual unbelievers, the evangelicals hoped both to convert them and to help them through their difficulties. In fact, they believed conversion to be the most effective medicine for healing human hurts. Such ministry brought the Reverend Ferry to unfamiliar places. On December 5, 1828, Private James Brown fatally shot Corporal Hugh Flinn in the barracks mess hall at Fort Mackinac. Charged with murder, Brown was found guilty in the Additional Court before Judge James D. Doty. Doty sentenced Brown to be hanged on November 27 , 1829, but Brown appealed his conviction to President Andrew Jackson. Ferry frequently visited Brown in jail, hoping to uplift his spirits and to convince him of his need to convert to evangelical Christianity. Finally, on January 11, 1830, the mail carrier brought word of the President's refusal to grant Brown's appeal. To Ferry fell the grim task of informing the condemned man that all hope for his survival had ended. Facing doom, Brown appreciated Ferry's comforting words and the concerns expressed by others for him, but he steadfastly refused to convert. Many islanders had signed a petition asking that Brown be pardoned: they found the death penalty repugnant. All efforts to spare 175 Brown's life failed, and he went to the gallows on February 1.41 Other ministries were more conventional. Both Amanda and William Ferry tended the sick. In 1824, four weeks before childbirth, Mrs. Jane Dousman caught a severe cold, and she remained sick for some time after delivery. The Ferrys visited her regularly, hoping to cheer her and also to interest her in religion. Jane especially appreciated Amanda's visits and urged her to come often in order that they might converse. Not only did Jane recover, but Amanda's friendship helped lead her to conversion, and in September, 1825, Jane joined the church."'2 The evangelicals expended considerable energy combatting the use of alcohol, but not all of them took the same course of action. Robert Stuart's business required the sale of liquor. Even before his conversion, Stuart had joined the local temperance society, but after embracing evangelicalism, ”his conscience troubled him.” How could he justify trading whiskey to Indians and profess temperance at the same time? After much inner turmoil and considerable consultation with friends, he decided not to turn over this aspect of the American Fur Company's business to someone else. Stuart and his friends concluded that he was in the best position to "lessen the evil he could not cure."“3 Taking a different tack, William Mitchell, an Anglo- métis, got out of the trade rather than sell liquor to the 176 Indians, an act which he considered to be "contrary to the law of Christ." Eliza Chappell described the work of the Holy Spirit in Mitchell: "The spirit which had taught him to love God, had also taught him to love his neighbor as himself. . . . Mr. Mitchell is the Indian's friend and brother. Indeed a brother to all." After two years, Mitchell's only work was tending his garden, and he still looked for labor which would not do "violence to his conscience . "“ Mitchell, along with the Reverend Ferry, carried the pastoral ministry to William Johnston when they helped him overcome his drinking problem during the winter of 1832-33. They challenged Johnston, who apparently was a church member either at Mackinac or the Sault, to stop drinking. Not only was it harmful to his health, but his drunkenness caused considerable embarrassment for other church members. Evangelicals expected that all believers should behave in a way that was consistent with their practices. Mitchell wrote a painful letter to Johnston's brother-in-law, Henry Schoolcraft, informing him of Johnston's condition, which revealed Mitchell's sense of responsibility toward his troubled friend: "But as he has.been an inmate of my family a from the regard.I have for him, not only as a friend 8 old acquaintance, but as a member of Christ's church I feel it "45 my duty to use every means to bring him back. Ferry's 177 and Mitchell's efforts did help Johnston stay away from liquor--at least for a while.“ The Reverend Ferry similarly ministered to Chusco, an Ottawa seer who had fallen prey to whiskey. The Presbyterian pastor asked Chusco, who at one time had exerted considerable influence among his people, not only to give up liquor but also to stop practicing his native religion. He had been "a professor of the Meta and the Wabeno,--that is physician and conjuror. . . ."‘7 Henry Schoolcraft reported that Chusco relied upon ”the spirit of the tortoise, crow, swan, and woodpecker," all of whom "received their miraculous power to aid him directly from melee Menete, or the Great Evil Spirit."“ After his wife converted and joined the church, she began to encourage Chusco to give up his old ways, too. While they worked at the maple sugar camp on Bois Blanc Island, Chusco underwent an "agony” which "haunted" him until he accepted Christianity and joined the church. He was between fifty and sixty years old at this time. Although he continued to dress in his blue broadcloth coat, dark trousers, vest, hat, and moccasins, he changed some of his behavior dramatically. He surrendered his "medicine bag, manitos, and implements of sorcery" to Schoolcraft and gave up the use of liquor. Despite his conversion, Chusco did not learn English and continued to live among the Chippewa in the Straits area.“ 178 The evangelicals also exerted considerable effort to make the fur-trade society observe the Sabbath properly. Nowhere was this more evident than in Robert Stuart's strug- gle to conform his business practices to the sanctity of the ”Lord's Day.” One Sunday, a boat loaded with furs arrived in the midst of a storm. Once the boat docked at the wharf, its cargo belonged to the American Fur Company, and it assumed responsibility for the safe transfer of the furs to the warehouse. Stuart agonized that if he ordered the boat unloaded, he would violate the Sabbath, but if the raging wind and waves damaged the furs, he would have to pay for them with his own money. His wife, Elizabeth, helped him to put his dilemma into proper perspective when she teased him:so Bobbie, how much do you think you are worth? .He said, perhaps $20,000. How much is that load of fur worth? Perhaps $5,000 or $6,000. Well, then, I would stop groaning, and if the boat comes in, tell them to tie her up, and if she goes to pieces pay the company, and tell them you would rather do that than violate the Sabbath. His willingness to observe the Sabbath demonstrated to others that his conversion was genuine. By acting upon his inner convictions, he not only introduced discipline in his own life, but he also controlled the activities of many other people living in his community. This was evangelicalism working as its proponents intended. Through Stuart and others the Presbyterians enforced their Sabbath practices on the community at large among both 179 members and non-members. Philo Adams noted in 1831, "The people of Mackanac are very strict in their observance of the Sabath the most so of any seaport place that I ever saw their is not a person on the Island that pretends to do any bussiness [sic], no vessel is allowed to strike out or unloading all that day. . ."n This contrasted sharply with things a decade earlier when islanders conducted business on Sundays as they did any other day.”: Many non-evangelicals curtailed their work on Sundays, either because they worked for church members and were ordered to do so, or because they felt they could not violate this attitude toward Sunday which now prevailed over much of the community. William Ferry himself put tough restrictions on the behavior of those who worked for the mission, especially the crew of the hem, a vessel partially owned by the mission. The ship was not to be loaded, unloaded, or leave port on Sunday, "except in cases of necessity or jeopardized proper- ty.” More significantly, the captain agreed ”at all times to prevent by his injlhehee, W, & eflhegigy, as far as possible, both among the hands or ships-crew and pas- sengers everything like immoral conduct--such as prefeniey, erghhehheee & gemhlihg or games of chance:--or whatever is in public opinion considered to be a breach of moral rectitude." Hoping to control vice on other ships as well, Ferry tried to convince influential businessmen in Detroit 180 to apply similar regulations to vessels on which they shipped their goods.53 The evangelicals also demanded that anyone who wished to become a member of their congregation or to be in the full fellowship of the church should not be living with his sexual partner without benefit of a formal marriage. Consequently, traders who, after the fashion of the country, had taken Indian or métis wives solemnized their marriages by virtue of a Christian ceremony. On July 25, 1827, Lyman Warren and Mary Cadot and Daniel Dingley and Isabella Dechine exchanged vows. Two years later Ferry formally married William Aitkin to Magdalene and Charles Oakes to Sophia Gros Pied.“ In the eyes of the evangelicals the marriages of these adherents and friends of the church were now legitimate and could serve as examples in a society where many marital unions took place without formal religious or civil ceremony. The missionaries hoped that others would follow the traders to the altar. The conversion of important members of the fur-trade establishment allowed the American Board to expand its work beyond Mackinac Island into the Lake Superior country. After the revival of 1829, David Greene found the religious feeling among the traders to be astounding:55 It seems to me that, with reference to the state of religious feeling among the traders, we may say with very peculiar appropriateness.-This is the Lord's doing and marvellous in our eyes.-There is almost as little as possible of human agency in it.-They have been alone with God. A feeling of such a character, so extensive, 181 a so simultaneous, among such a class of men, so occu- pied, & so situated, is perhaps a thing unheard of in the operations of divine providence & grace. But the influence flowed both ways. Men such as Robert Stuart and Lyman Warren acquired considerable influence in both the local church and on the Board itself back in Boston. Through revival these members of the regional power structure acquired authority in the affairs of the mission. The Reverend Ferry came to rely upon Stuart and Warren, in particular, as trusted friends. When Warren and other traders asked the Board to send missionaries to their homelands in 1830, the Prudential Committee decided to expand their work into the Lake Superior country.“ This represented a substantial shift in the Board's thinking. In 1827 the Board had resisted efforts to establish new Indian missions because these stations were very expensive with few converts to show for their work. Even though they feared that the Indian race faced possible extinction, they had determined to leave the natives' future in God's hands. As Jeremiah Evarts wrote, ”Whether it is the purpose of God that these tribes are to be wasted away & ultimately to become extinct, or that they are to be preserved, & made to participate in the blessing "57 Now, of the gospel & civilization seems to us uncertain. in 1830, the Board sensed that the Spirit of God was moving and the time was right to extend the work at Mackinac. 182 In 1831 the American Board formally established its first station in the Lake Superior country at La Pointe, but along lines quite different from the Mackinaw Mission. This effort was greatly aided by Lyman Warren, who had been asking for'missionaries to accompany him for several years, and in 1830 Frederick Ayer had gone with Warren to La Pointe to open the first school in the region. The Board changed its methods with this endeavor, however, as they forsook the construction of an expensive boarding school and instructed missionaries Sherman Hall and William T. Boutwell to learn the Chippewa language and customs. In addition, the Board wanted these men and those who came after them to take the gospel directly to the Chippewa in their own lodges, camps, and villages. Hoping to capitalize on the traders' coopera- tion, Greene wished he could send a missionary to each principal post in the Lake Superior country, but he could not find enough men willing to go to the wilds of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.“ William Ferry's success in his ministry to the principal traders had indeed opened a door- -the evangelicals now hoped that the traders' influence among the Chippewa would help encourage Chippewa men and women to send their children to mission schools and make them susceptible to conversion. The revival of 1829 ushered the Presbyterian church into its most prominent period. The small congregation had 183 TABLE IV-2 LIST OF DONORS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF MISSION CHURCH s o - e c ad --T de 8 WW American Fur Company 50.00 John Holliday 20.00 Robert Stuart 50.00 Wm. A. Aitken 40.00 Geo. Boyd (In. Ag.) 50.00 Tho’ Conner 3.00 Wm. Mitchell 50.00 Benj'II Cadotte 3.00 John A. Drew 5.00 J. B. Corbin 1.00 w" Brown Jun 10.00 Wm Holliday 5.00 G. D. Dousman 5.00 G. Franchese 5.00 Tho' Guthrie 2.00 Bazil Beaulieu 3.00 L. M. Warren 20.00 C. Chaboiller 3.00 Saml Ashman 20.00 H. B. Hoffman 20.00 Bela Chapman 5.00 Joseph Rolette 20.00 Daniel Dingley 20.00 Alexis Bailly 20.00 David Aitken 10.00 H. L. Dousman 20.00 M. Morrison 5.00 Jos. Laframboise 3.00 E. Rousseau 10.00 Rix Robinson 20.00 A. Morrison 3.00 Pierre Duvenay 10.00 J. H. Fairbanks 3.00 Sam‘ Abbott 10.00 John Jacob Astor (NY) 250.00 H. H. Sibley 5,09 779.00 u - Michael Dousman 50.00 A. R. Davenport 10.00 Tho’ A. B. Boyd 4.00 D. B. Gorham 3.00 W" Sylvester 10.00 John Graham 5.00 Saml c. Lasley 5.00 Jos. Doleur 1.00 Louis Bousada 1.00 Nathan Puffer lQeQQ 129.00 Capt. R. A. McCabe 10.00 Lt. A. R. Hetzel 10.00 Lt. w" Alexander 10.00 Maj. Josiah H.Vose 15.00 Lt. A. T. Center 10.00 Dr. R. S. Satterlee 30.00 Col. E. Cutler 15.00 Lt. Sibley 10,00 110.00 - sun From Miss Bidwell (Canada) by letter thru Mrs. Satterlee 10.00 From sundry persons thru Mrs. Satterlee 5.75 From sundry persons thru Miss E. Aitken ZZ_§Z 38.37 184 TABLE IV-2 (cont'd.) Amt of Traders, Clerks 8 c - 779.00 Amt. of Citizens not in Indian trade - 129.00 Amt. of Military Officers - 110.00 Amt. from Abroad - 38.37 Total Amt. of Cash - 1056.37 (Taken from W. Ferry to Greene, November 5, 1830, ABC: 18.6.1.1:29.) 185 become a force with which to be reckoned after Robert Stuart and several of the Lake Superior traders affiliated with it. The people of Mackinac, including non-members and indeed some Catholics (See Table 1V-2) , contributed to the con- struction of a new church building. By November over $1,000 had been pledged, and the church was close to completion. Nearly $800 came from members of the fur-trade establishment with the American Fur Company, Robert Stuart, and William Mitchell each contributing $50. From New York, John Jacob Astor gave his stamp of approval with a donation of $250. Several French-Canadian and French-métis made small dona- tions ranging from $1 to $10--two of these men, J. B. Corbin and Bazil Beaulieu, had children living at the mission at one time. Others who gave were Joseph Laframboise, the son of Magdelaine Laframboise: Joseph Rolette, who traded in Wisconsin: Gabriel Franchere: and Benjamin Cadotte. Another $110 came from army officers, including $10 from Captain R. A. McCabe, who normally was not supportive of Ferry's minis- try. Merchants not directly engaged in the fur trade gave $179. Among this group were members Michael Dousman, William Sylvester, and Ambrose Davenport.59 The support of many non-members apparently represented a prudent move to generate good feelings among their friends and associates who had joined the church. Thus, William Ferry and his church clearly dominated religious life at Mackinac during 1829, but this situation was already changing with the visit 186 of Bishop Edward Fenwick of the Diocese of Cincinnati and Father James Mullon in June. The revitalization of Catholicism at Mackinac actually began at IflArbre Croche in the same year that the Ferrys opened their mission. In August, 1823, the Ottawa through Father Gabriel Richard petitioned the President of the United States to send them a Catholic missionary in order "to bring us your very affectionate children to civilization and to the knowledge of Jesous [sic] the Redeemer of the red Skins as well as of the white people.”“’ Father Richard and Father Vincent Badin, who made several visits during the mid-18208, rekindled an awareness of Catholicism which had virtually disappeared since the French priest Pierre du Jaunay had left in 1765. In 1827 Father Pierre Dejean made his first visit to the Ottawa, baptizing twenty-one and admitting eight to communion. Upon his return the next year, Father Dejean began to organize his Ottawa converts. He appointed seven catechists who were "to give instructions three times a.week, baptize the dying, etc. and keep a list of converts."“ In 1829 Bishop Fenwick accompanied Father Dejean and appointed him resident pastor at L'Arbre Croche. Assisting him were métis school teachers Elizabeth Williams and Miss L'Etourneau of Detroit. Father Dejean soon built a church, a rectory, and a schoolhouse in modern-day Harbor Springs. He left in 1831 and was succeeded first by Father Frederic 187 Baraga and then in 1833 by Father Simon.Saenderl, who stayed until Father Francis Pierz came in 1839.“2 In early June, 1829, much to the chagrin of the evan- gelicals, Bishop Fenwick and Father Mullon arrived at Mackinac, signalling to Catholics living there that the Church intended to establish a stronger presence among them. These clerics came with a sense of mission which differed from that of their Presbyterian rivals. Bishop Fenwick and Father Mullon nurtured people, primarily French-métis, who were Catholics already and who needed to partake of the sacraments and to submit to the discipline of the Church. Initially, at least, Catholic priests preached to the con- verted, but they, too, intended to seek new converts among all groups of people living in the fur-trade society. The evangelicals, of course, did not approve. The bishop's presence created quite a stir among the Catholics, some of whom fell upon their knees when he came near them, while others kissed the ring on his hand. In addition, Bishop Fenwick's activities caused ripples of discontent at the mission school. He encouraged parents with children at the school to bring them to the services he was conducting at Ste. Anne's. Not only did this irritate the Protestant missionaries, but some of the students chose not to attend, preferring to participate in Protestant exercises. This resulted in rifts between Catholic parents and their 188 children. Protestant and Catholic competition thus created tensions within métis families.“ It was Father Mullon's presence, however, that generated particular concern for the Reverend Ferry and created the most public interest in the differences between Catholic and Protestant teachings. Father Mullon, feeling the impact of Presbyterian criticism of Catholicism, took up the defense of his faith during the summer of 1829. He preached a series of "discourses" in Ste. Anne's refuting what he perceived as Presbyterian misrepresentations of Catholicism. .Although he invited anyone who disagreed with his views an opportunity to rebut, no one, including Ferry, accepted his offer. This was the first clerical articulation of Catholic theology in response to Protestant challenges at Mackinac, and it created quite a stir. Both Protestants and Catholics wished for the Reverend Ferry and Father Mullon to hold a public debate whereby each would lay out the teachings of his respective theologies and what he saw as the error in the other's beliefs. The meeting never happened. Each side charged that the other was afraid to debate publicly. The controversy over this failure to debate lasted for the next two years.“ Father Mullon, who edited the Qfi;helie_1§fleg;eph in Cincinnati, then launched a harsh personal attack on Ferry and condemned the mission itself. He accused Ferry of forcing an Indian woman to live in the mission, of operating 189 a sailing vessel for profit and then denying that he did so, and he accused one of the mission's agents (John Hudson) of receiving a donation of potatoes in Ohio but dumping them in the river to take on a more valuable cargo. Father Mullon further charged that the missionaries .secured donations of unneeded clothing and other articles only to convert them into money for other, personal, purposes and that Ferry identified métis children as being Indian children in his annual reports to the government. He denounced the Reverend Ferry as "A.minister, who claims the honor of having been commissioned by Christ to teach and instruct the ignorant with his eye fixed upon filthy lneze, and holding the shears in his hand, by which he intends to secure the fleece of the flock is denominated by the meek and humble Redeemer, a hireling, and not Shepherd.W“ The Mullon-Ferry affair helped prepare the way for Ferry's anti- Catholic lectures in winter, 1831, and Father Samuel Mazzuchelli's answers to them. Father Mazzuchelli, born in Milan, Italy in 1806, answered Bishop Fenwick's call for priests to minister to the rising tide of western immigrants in the rapidly growing United States. The young Dominican arrived in America in 1828 and studied in Cincinnati, where Bishop Fenwick ordained him into the priesthood in 1830. The bishop then assigned him to be resident priest at Mackinac.“ Father Mazzuchelli not only provided for Catholics spiritual 190 leadership that had been lacking since the eighteenth century, but he soon became a defender of the faith--a task which he performed ably despite an imperfect knowledge of English. On January 9, 1831, the Reverend Ferry gave the first of his six lectures ”on the Subject of Catholicism or the Corruptions of the Romish Church" before meetings in the Presbyterian Church which "were usually full 8 solemn" and included Father Mazzuchelli and some of his parishoners. Ferry thus set off a rancorous debate. He became so en- grossed in this endeavor that it took almost all of his time for eight weeks. His anxiety was heightened by his lack of experience in ”argumentative discussion“ (This may explain his unwillingness to debate Father Mullon.): consequently, he wrote out each hour-and-a-half long discussion com- pletely, a practice which departed from his usual manner of sermon preparation. No copies of these lectures are known to be extant, however. The topics covered by Ferry on the six Sundays were:“7 1. ”The Doctrine of Infallibility" 2. "Supremacy of the Roman See" 3. ”The Eucharist or Transub[stantiation]" ' 4. ”Absolution with Auricular confession 8 its dependencies" "Purgatory 8 praying for the dead" "Invocation of saints 8 angels" 191 ”The religious use of images" 5. ”Man of Sin or the antichrist of Prophecy" 6. ”A condensed review of the 5 lectures" The young Dominican believed he had to answer Ferry lest these sermons "would horribly scandalize my flock."‘6a Fortunately, Father’Mazzuchelli's replies and summations of Ferry's lectures allow us to determine major theological points at issue and how these differences influenced their approaches to missions. Father Mazzuchelli saw the Protestant denial of the infallibility of the Roman Catholic Church as "the most important and the foundation of all religious controversy." He added: ”Because when we are certain that our Saviour established on earth a church -- a body of persons particularly consecrated to him -- invested with divine authority with which he solemnly promised to remain till the end of time to teach her all truths, we need not hear the quarreling Christian to find a religious truth but to hear Christ['s] C[hurch]."69 He rejected the German reformers who denounced the Catholic Church as having fallen in error and thus denied its infallibility. The view of the church's infallibility had a practical implication for the philosophy of missions for the two ministers and their respective churches. For the Catholics, the church interpreted. the scriptures, and anyone *who accepted Christianity as truth depended upon the church and \ 192 its agents to give to them the meaning of the Bible. On the other hand, the Presbyterians advocated that each individual must study the Bible for himself. When taking Christianity to illiterate Indians, Father Mazzuchelli asked how many Menominie can read the Bible? Consequently, how could these people become Christians?70 The Catholics did not have this problem for the priests acted with a much greater institu- tional authority than did Presbyterian ministers. Presbyterian ministers derived their authority from their congregations and from their personal interpretation of the Bible. In addition, the denomination ordained its ministers and expected that they remain true to Presbyterian beliefs, but Calvinistic theology did not allow its clergy to absolve people of their sins. Nor did the Presbyterian church believe that, when a minister baptized a person, salvation resulted. 1f the minister wished to discipline an errant member, he could do so only with the concurrence of the elders, who were lay leaders. Presbyterian practices demanded that individuals communicate directly with God to seek forgiveness of sin or attain salvation. Ministers could guide, direct, admonish, and encourage men, women, and children to call upon God directly, but the agents them- selves were powerless to change another person's relation- ship with God. The authority of Catholic priests to interpret the scriptures and to dispense the sacraments helped them as 193 they tried to communicate Christianity to people ignorant of its teachings, particularly the illiterate. This, in turn, led to differences with the Presbyterians. The priest's authority allowed him. to deal with people's spiritual concerns directly and definitively. A French- métisvoyageur left the confessional with the assurance that his sins had been forgiven because his priest said this was so. Catholics believed that some deceased persons' souls went to purgatory, an intermediary destination between heaven and hell. Consequently, they prayed for the salva- tion of the souls of the dead--a practice denounced by Presbyterians. During a Catholic communion, it was believed that the body and blood of Christ were actually present, while the Presbyterians saw the bread and wine as being figurative only. In addition, Ferry condemned the Catholic use of images for religious purposes.71 Although he probably did not realize it, Ferry's harsh criticism of Catholic practices and beliefs was an assault on an impor- tant part of French-métis identity. When Father Mazzuchelli defended the Catholic faith and performed the Church's sacraments, he reaffirmed the identity of the French-métis. Even though the vitality of Catholicismihadrwaned since 1765, most French-métis thought of themselves as Catholics. As the Roman Catholic Church regained its long-lost vigor, many métis participated in this renaissance. This, in turn, drew them together at a 194 time when they were losing standing to the new Anglo- American elite. When Father Mazzuchelli reached out for new adherents among the friends and relatives of the more religious elite, the Catholic church appeared, more than ever, to be a strong, viable institution that could counter attacks by the Presbyterians. At a time when Anglo- Americans busied themselves trying to transfonm the fur- trade society in many realms, the revitalization of the Catholic church offered the métis some hope that they might withstand these newcomers. The Catholic and Presbyterian missionaries thus forti- fied themselves in different parts of the fur-trade society and from there launched their theological assaults. Their bitterness toward each other was predicated upon sincerely held beliefs which called upon both groups to challenge the others' interpretation of Christianity. Father Mazzuchelli believed that an Indian could become a Christian "without changing his mode of life, has only to give up his supersti- tious customs, to believe the truths of faith, to perfect those ideas of morality already divinely imprinted in his heart and finally, to do good and avoid evil."72 Once this was accomplished, a person could avail himself of the Church's sacraments and attain salvation. To the more rigid Presbyterians this appeared all too easy, and any who fol- lowed this way without having a conversion experience were destined to hell. Similarly, the Catholic clergy felt that 195 Ferry was leading his flock to destruction. So the battle raged. Part of the ill-feeling between Ferry and the Catholics stemmed from the behavior of some professing Catholics, who lived in a way that called into question their commitment to their faith. Father Mazzuchelli not only recognized this but lamented that some behaved so badly that it was evident that Catholic teachings had no meaning in their lives. Their actions, he believed, afforded the evangelicals the only reason for heaping scorn on his church. Hoping to remedy this situation, he planned to excommunicate several of the wayward ones, thinking this would cause others to reform. Among the sins that needed to be dealt with were drunkenness, swearing, and breaking the Sabbath.73 Even though Father Mazzuchelli and the Reverend Ferry probably did not recognize it, they both agreed that these modes of behavior were wicked. Genuine Christianity from the evangelical perspective ought to manifest itself in moral behavior and clean living. The apparent lack of this among some of the Catholics only gave stronger motivation for the Presbyterians to denounce the Church of Rome. To Father Mazzuchelli's delight, not all Protestants viewed Catholicism with disdain, and he took the same satis- faction from converting Protestants to Catholicism that Ferry did from his converts. The conversion of three island residents seemed a clear sign that Catholicism was 196 a vital faith. Samuel Abbott and Patrick McGulpin had both been raised as Anglicans, and Martha Tanner had been a student at Ferry's mission. All three became Catholics. On Samuel Abbott's first visit to Ste. Anne's he had stood during mass and turned his back to the altar. Yet Catholic friends challenged him to consider the truth of their faith and encouraged him to read religious books. All of this led him to think seriously about the church's teach- ing and to answer ”the Lord's voice." Thereafter, he said a short prayer each day asking God for "light and grace to know the truth." The greatest obstacle to his acceptance of Catholicism was making confession. In fact, Father Mazzuchelli threatened to deny him any further benefits of the church unless he appeared for confession.before Easter, 1831. On Good Friday, Abbott humbled himself before his priest and was admitted to the communion table." Patrick McGulpin, ninety-one years old and blind, had studied the Bible all of his life and possessed a thorough knowledge of it. He had arrived at an interpretation which fit neither the Catholic nor Presbyterian mold. Father Mazzuchelli found him to be a jovial, friendly man who enjoyed reminiscing about his experiences as a fur trader, but whenever the priest tried to talk about spiritual mat- ters, McGulpin either became silent or changed the subject. The theological battle attracted his attention, however, and his niece took him to hear Father Mazzuchelli preach. 197 Turning over in his mind the arguments put forth, McGulpin slowly felt a need to reach for Catholic teachings. On the day before Easter he left his house by himself and found his way to the priest's home in order ”to seal with his tears that sincere conversion to God, . . ."5 Martha Tanner, too, took a great interest in the reli- gious controversy; Martha was the daughter of John Tanner, who had been captured by Indians as a boy and spent thirty years living among different tribes. She had lived for a time on the island with a wealthy family and had attended the mission school. Father Mazzuchelli described her mind, having been exposed to Protestants, as being ”filled with strange, erroneous convictions and immoral ideas concerning Catholic faith and practices.” In late 1830 Martha returned from a stay in Detroit and discovered that her mother had already joined the church, but she remained cool to the faith. Martha was moved to read literature given her by the priest after her curiosity was stimulated during the de- bates. This led her to receive instruction to prepare her for baptism, to make confession, and to take communion at Easter.“ Although no accounts written by any of these converts are extant, their conversion experiences seem remarkably similar to those who became evangelicals. Even the means of bringing about the change--literature, preaching, encouragement by friends and pastor, prayer, and a 198 tremendous emotional experience--were those used by Ferry and his associates. But the difference in the two churches remained, and Abbott, McGulpin, and Tanner were committed to avail themselves of the Catholic church's sacraments and to submit to the authority of the priest and his interpreta- tion of the scriptures. Throughout 1831 and beyond, the Catholic-Protestant controversy engulfed the community. Lieutenant Samuel Heintzelman remarked in August that nearly all the people on the island were "very religious," and that the Protestants were "waging war with the Catholics.”7 Ferry took pleasure in believing that his lectures had caused some Catholics to question their faith and their priest and to become alarmed "for the danger of their craft."7' The evangelicals passed out tracts to all who would receive them, especially Catholics. After a time, Father Mazzuchelli urged his parishioners to burn the tracts and take no more. In addition, the Reverend Ferry charged Father Mazzuchelli with doing "evil" at the Temperance Society meeting in January, 1832, when the priest removed his name from the membership roll." The evangelicals could see nothing of value in Father Mazzuchelli's response to their criticisms of Catholicism. Elisha Loomis dismissed his sermons as being ”almost wholly of invective and ridicule . ”5° 199 It seems clear that although Ferry took the offensive against the Catholics, he had little desire to engage in face-to-face encounters. This both angered and frustrated Father Mazzuchelli. The young priest referred to Ferry as the ”Evil One." Perhaps Ferry was so sure of his own right- ness that he felt no need to debate publicly. He summed up his appraisal of the situation to David Greens"1 This Catholic excitement gives a kind of temporary countenance at least to that anti christian feeling elsewhere which is ever ready to oppose the truth. It is a precious consolation, however, to bear in mind that our cause is with God 8 that He has the hearts of all within his power. The Reverend Ferry and Father Mazzuchelli each believed that God.was on.his side in opposition to the evil intentions and deeds of the other. There was, indeed, little room or opportunity for compromise, much less for love. The flap at Mackinac was, in some respects, just another incident in the vehement Protestant-Catholic controversy raging throughout New England and much of the United States. New England had long been a center of an anti-Catholicism that had been brought there by the first settlers from England. Past English history, decades of war with France, and the Quebec Act all perpetuated and deepened the hatred of Rome. In the 1820s increasing foreign immigration, resurgent anti-Catholicism, and revivalism in America and England fueled even more distrust of Catholics and their faith."3 Catholic clergy in the West knew of the 200 bitter barrage being leveled against them from the pulpit and in sectarian newspapers in New England. New England Catholics had responded in kind, much to the chagrin of Bishop Fenwick. He carried on a correspondence with Joshua M. Young, who published a Catholic apologetic, the "Jesuit,” in Boston. Bishop Fenwick warned him to tone down his anti- Protestant rhetoric. Young, although he agreed to do so, complained that the ”Calvinistic, Baptist 8 Presbyterian Preachers" were Catholicism's ”bitterest and most uncompromising’ enemies," who ‘would stop at no lie or misrepresentation in their sermons and papers.“ William and Amanda Ferry were products of this tradition. Anti-Catholicism at Mackinac, however, did not fit very well into the rising feelings of nativism across the country that reached their peak in the 18508. American nationalism fueled feelings of superiority on the part of Protestant Americans, and immigrants, especially Catholics, often came under suspicion. Anti-Catholicism could, thus, easily become a nativist vehicle, but Ferry's expression of it here, although directed against foreign-born clergy (Bishop Fenwick was born in the United States), hit hardest at a people whose ancestors had been in the country for a long time. The French-métis were hardly immigrants, but William Ferry viewed them primarily as Indians. At Mackinac, anti- Catholicism represented a distrust and antagonism toward a rival belief system, not a fear of recent immigrants. This 201 meant that the evangelicals, by seeking to eradicate Catholicism, worked to undermine the existing social structure of the fur-trade society. Yet in the face of controversy, the Catholic church thrived. The bitter conflict of the early 1830s, coupled with increased clerical activity in the Straits area, led to a significant revitalization of the Catholic church on Mackinac Island. Father Mazzuchelli summed up his point of view quite well:°‘ It is true that the Calvinistic minister after his studied attack on Catholic doctrine did not have the consolation of adding to the number of his followers: while, humanly speaking, the religious controversy which he aroused was the indirect cause of several conversions of Protestants and helped to make the Faith clearer and better known to many who had known it imperfectly. Thus the Church and the sacraments began to be better frequented, religion more venerated, and the priesthood more respected. See how in God's hand evil is often made into an instrument for working good. Spiritual revitalization led to renovating Ste. Anne's Church and to construction of a rectory. The dormant Catholiijari h which Ferry found in 1822 no longer existed. He, in his unintended way, had helped to instill vigor into an institution that received considerable assistance from an expanding and aggressive Roman Catholic missionary thrust into the American west. Ferry's theatrics only increased Catholic resolve to claim their rightful place in the newly forming society in the Old Northwest. Controversy fueled 'the missionary impulse, both Catholic and Protestant, 202 encouraging both groups to win more members of the fur-trade society. The presence of both Protestant and Catholic missionar- ies at Mackinac reflected the expanding penetration of Americans and American institutions into the fur-trade society. The Protestants joined Americans already there and accompanied still others who were on their way west. The Ferrys and their associates shared much with other trans- planted easterners in the northwestern Great Lakes region. Belief in the virtues of representative government, agricul- ture, artisanry, shopkeeping, homemaking, and the right of Euro-American settlers to inhabit much of the land in the west all helped to form the Americans' attitude and to motivate their behavior. Catholic clergy returned to the Straits primarily because the Roman Catholic Church responded to ever increasing growth of Euro-American settlement in the western United States. Part of their effort included ministering to people who were already at least nominal Catholics. In effect, the growth of the United States led to the rediscovery of the métis by the Catholic church at the same time that the church was becoming an American Catholic church. Antagonism between Catholics and evangelicals at Mackinac resulted, in part, from the location of each of these forms of Christianity in different social groups. The French-métis, like their French-Canadian relatives, either 203 practiced Catholicism or perceived of themselves as Catholics in the absence of a vital church. Consequently, Catholicism was embedded within the fabric of this sector of the fur-trade society, and when priests provided leader- ship, a receptive audience eagerly responded to calls for renewal of the faith. When French-métis men and women reaf- firmed Catholicism, they found strength in their past and their identity as they set their course for the future. As the Catholic church at Mackinac regained its vigor, its adherents served notice that they intended to retain their own identity when they responded .to changes being brought by Anglo-Americans. Anglo-American evangelicals, on the other hand, entered the fur-trade society as agents of change. They were not bound by centuries of Catholic tradition nor Chippewa cus- toms. Their fervent desire to convert people from the fur- trade society to evangelical ism became one with their enthusiastic efforts to support the growth of American political, economic, and social institutions at Mackinac. The evangelicals at once challenged the right of Catholics to call themselves Christians or Americans. To the evangelicals what really mattered was whether or not a person had undergone a valid conversion experience indepen- dent of participation in the activities or rituals of a church, and whether that experience led them to act in a way being codified in middle class Protestant American morality. 204 Catholics, in turn, insisted on their own monopoly of Christianity and.their own identity as American Christians. They, like evangelicals, recognized and valued the spiritual power of God in individual lives, but they placed much greater emphasis upon the authority of the church. They looked to the priest to dispense such spiritual benefits as forgiveness of sin. French-métis fulfilled their spiritual needs through the sacraments, particularly Holy Eucharist, which affirmed their place in God's kingdom and gave them peace. They found spiritual uplifting through practices which their evangelical critics denounced as superstition. The Reverend Ferry was unable even to entertain the notion that Catholic teachings and practices might represent a truthful formulation of ChriStianity and that the Catholic clergy represented a vital American church. Controversy between Catholics and Protestants at Mackinac went beyond spiritual concerns--it entailed conflict between two groups of people who saw the world from different perspectives. The Catholic church represented the old order which the Ferrys hoped to transform into a new society populated by evangelical Christians who acted like New Englanders. During the 1820s and the early 18308, the evangelicals seemed on the verge of success, but beginning in 1830 a revitalized Catholic church checked their advance. Catholicism responded to the evangelical challenge by renew- ing itself and reasserting its influence among those who had 205 adhered to its traditions for generations. In the face of Americanization, the métis at Mackinac stood powerless to prevent the establishment of American law, government, and commercial interests. But their refusal to embrace evangel- ical ism kept the Presbyterian Church from flourishing as the evangelicals had hoped. When the Anglo-American leaders left Mackinac after the American Fur Company moved most of its operations off the island, the Presbyterian Church ceased to exist. 206 CHAPTER IV Endndtes ‘w. Ferry to ?, April, 1829, ABC:18.4.8.I:233. 2Greene, Report. After the list of members which appears in Greene's Report, there are no other complete records of new members. 3PhiloAdams, April 24, 1831, Diary kept by Philo Adams on a trip from Huron, Ohio to Green Bay, Wis., April 14-May 9, 1831, SHSW: Sarah Tuttle, o e ’naw ' , Second edition (Boston, 1833), pp. 60-61. ‘A. Ferry to family, June 13, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:203: Mason to Peters, July 5, 1824, Mason letters. 5A. Ferry to H. White, October 2, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:216. €Jedediah Stevens, July 22, 1827, Journal, p. 21: Greene, Report: Samuel P. Heintzelman, November 18, 1827, Diary, January 1, 1825-May 2, 1833, p. 47, Heintzelman Papers: W. Ferry to parents, June 6, 1826, Ferry letters, 25:222: A. Ferry to H. White, July 10, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:212: A. Ferry to ?, December 12, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:123. 7Stevens, July 22, 1827, Journal, p. 21. ’Abel Bingham, April 1-23, 1829, Autobiographical Sketch, 1798-1829, Abel Bingham Papers, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. 9w. Ferry to Evarts, February 7, 1829, ABC:18.4.8. 1:196: A. Ferry to family, June 13, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:203: Tuttle, gehyereeriene..., pp. 60-61. 1oGreene, Report: E. K. Barnum to W. Ferry and H. Schoolcraft, October 26, 1834, Schoolcraft Papers, Reel 7: H. Schoolcraft, January 17, 1834, Memoirs, p. 462: Heintzel- man, May 18 and October 30, 1828, Diary, 1825-1833, pp. 50, 56: Elisha Loomis to Greene, January 22, 1831, ABC:18.6.1. 1:53. 11W. Ferry to ?, April, 1829: Greene, Report. 12Stevens, 1827, Diaries, pp. 26-27: Greene, Report. 207 ”W. Ferry to Evarts, February 17, 1829, ABC:18.4.8. 1:197. “Greene, Report: Schoolcraft, March 21, 1829, Memeire, p. 323.‘ ”Lucius Garey to Greene, February 3, 1835, ABC:18.6.1. 1:67. 1"’Garey to Greene, July 28, 1835, ABC:18.6.1.I:68. 17'I‘uttle. downtime-u. pp- 62-64- “W. Ferry to Domestics Saelzrefiary, July 19, 1824, Ameri- MW : - . "W 6:338-339. 2°w. Ferry to Evarts, February 7, 1829, ABC:18.4.8. 1:196. Z‘W. Ferry, "Notice of Chippeway Converts," W WI (Boston. 1833). p- 4- 22W. Ferry, "Notice of Chippeway Converts," pp. 6-7. 23W. Ferry, ”Notice of Chippeway Converts," pp. 7-8. “Heydenburk, "Incidents in the Life of Robert Stuart, " 3239, Vol. 3, p. 59. 25A. Ferry to H. White, October 2, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:216. 26A. Ferry to ?, May 17, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:117. 27 26:115. Ferry to ?, August 30, 1828, Ferry letters, 28For good discussions of the Second Great Awakening see: William G- McLoughlin. Wad Reform (Chica90. 1978): Whitney R- Cross. mm D = ' I" _- a at! I ‘ ‘ t 1 , a as 0 1;- .e ;- - n , W5: - 1 - . . :H- : o (Ithaca, 1950): Bernard A. Weisberger, at d x ’ ° !‘ '1 ’ ’1 --_ s“ -. i 3 it! !‘ {(9‘:, MW (ChicaQO. 1966)- ”Bingham, April 1-23, 1829, Autobiographical Sketch: Greene, Report. 3oSchoolcraft, January 6, 1834, Memeire, p. 460. 208 3"Elizabeth McFarland to parents, September 6, 1824, MW 5:336- ”Eliza Chappell. June 28. 1832. W 5.1mm. p. 50. ”Adams, April 23, 1831, Diary. 3‘Mackinac Missionary Society Constitution , December 23, 1830, ABC:18.6.1.I:30. ”w. Ferry to Henry Hill, December 3, 1331, ABC:18.5.7. 1:29: November 5, 1832, ABC:18.5.7.I:38 and February 7, 1834, ABC:18.5.7.I:41: W. Ferry to Greene, December 23, 1830, ABC:18.6.1.I:30. 3"Sarah G. Davis to Absalom Peters, August 12, 1830: W. Ferry to Peters, May 10, 1831: William James to Peters, July 27,1831: Davis to Peters, August 1, 1831, Nos. 90,143, 150, and 142, respectively, American Home Missionary Society Papers, Bentley Library, University of Michigan. 37w. Ferry to Hill, February 26, 1833, ABC:18.5.7.I:38: Charles Hastings Ruad to Greene, February 1, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1. 1:58 and W. Ferry to Greene, August 5, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:33. ”w. Ferry to Greene, September 13, 1830, ABC:18.6.1. 1:28: John Hudson to Evarts, May 30, 1829, ABC:18.4.8.I:225. 3"’See Ruth Bloch, MW (Cambridge. 1985) “A. Ferry to H. White, October 2, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:216. “A. Ferry to ?, December 12, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:122: A. Ferry to ?, January 11, 1830, Ferry letters, 26:124-25: Widder, "Justice at Mackinac." ‘ZA. Ferry to family, June 10 and 29, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:203-04. “Heydenburk, "Incidents in the Life of Robert Stuart, " p. 59. “Chappell. June 28. 1832. W. pp- 49-500 “William Mitchell to H. Schoolcraft, February 1, 1833, Schoolcraft Papers, Reel 2. 209 “Stuart to H. Schoolcraft, January 4, 1833, Schoolcraft Papers, Reel 5. "Anna Brownell Jameson , W (London. 1838). Vol. 3. pp- 61-64- “H. Schoolcraft, October 1, 1837, W, p. 572. ”H. Schoolcraft, October 12, 1833, May 1, 1834 and October 1, 1837, new, pp. 449-50, 447, 572: Jameson, Wu” Vol- 3. pp- 61-64- soHeydenburk, ”Incidents . . .," pp. 59-60. ”Adams, April 24, 1831, Diary. ”WW. November 29. 1830: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, W 20 (March, 1835) 378-80. ”w. Ferry to Evarts, April 10, 1828, ABC:18.4.8.I:192. 5‘Register of the Post of Michilimackinac, Register of Deeds Office, Mackinac County Court House, St. Ignace, Michigan: Greene, Report. ”Greene , Report . s“Greene to Stevens, July 20, 1830, ABCFM Papers, Domestic, IX:229, MHS. ”Evarts to Alvan Coe, October 1, 1827, ABCFM Mss. Letters, p. 446, MHS. 58Greene to Frederic Ayer, December 24, 1833, ABC:1.3.1. 1:304-05: Greene to Edmund F. Ely, December 24, 1833, ABC: 1.3.1. 1:303: Greene to C. Kingsbury, February 28, 1834, ABC:1.3.1.I:360-61: Hudson to Evarts, November 4, 1828, ABC:18.4.8.I:216: Stuart to Greene, May 2, 1830, ABC:10. XIII:93: W 3:12. January 19, 1827: Evarts to Hudson, February 17, 1827, ABC:1.01.VI:550-51: A. Ferry to parents, July 29, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:120-22: Greene to Evarts, July 27, 1829, ABCFM Mss, Officers of the Board, 1:237, MHS: Widder, "Founding La Pointe Mission." ”Hudson to Evarts, May 30, 1829, ABC:18.4.8.I:225: W. Ferry to Greene, November 5, 1830, ABC:18.6.1.I:29. “Petition of Ottawa residing at Waganakisi (L'Arbre Croche) to the President of the United States, August 12, 1823, Diocese of Detroit Papers, Box 4. 210 mPierre Dejean, quoted in George Pare, W (Detroit, 1983), p. 597. “Pare. MW. pp. 592-602- “A. Ferry, June 4 and July 29, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:119-20. “MW 1. No. 2 (October 29. 1831): 12- 14. 65W I, No. 2:12-14: No. 3 (November 5, 1831): 20- 21: Wesley Norton, w \e‘gAzz : 0‘ 3 _0 0L .0, ..'e ;- e e e Qoinion (Athens, Ohio, 1977), pp. 48-49. “Mazzuchelli, Momoim, pp. v-vii. 67W. Ferry to Greene, March 10, 1831, ABC:18.6.1.I:31. “Mazzuchelli, Reply to Objections against the infalli- bility of the Church of Christ, p. 2, January 16, 1831, M88, Dominican Archives, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. “Mazzuchelli, Reply to Objections . . ., p. 27. ”Mazzuchelli, nomoiro, pp. 26 and 110. 71Mazzuchelli, Momoin, pp. 26-31. 72Mazzuchelli, nonoiro, p. 129. 7z’llazzuchelli to Fenwick, March 13, 1832, Fenwick Correspondence, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Papers, Box 1. "Mazzuchelli, Momoiro, pp. 33-34. 7”Mazzuchelli, Memoiro, pp. 34-36. “Mazzuchelli, Mom, pp. 36-37. ‘nHeintzelman, August 9, 1831, Diary, 1825 (Jan. 1)- 1833 (May 21), second volume, Heintzelman Papers. 76W. Ferry to Greene, March 10, 1831. 7"W. Ferry to Greene, February 8 , 1832 , ABC:18.6.1.I:35. ”Loomis to Greene, January 22, 1831, ABC:18.6.1.I:53. I”W. Ferry to Greene, February 8, 1832. 211 ”Ray Allen Billinqton. WM iooo (Chicago, 1938), pp. 1-48. 8"’Joshua M. Young to Fenwick, July 19, 1830, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Papers, Box 2. ll"Mazzuchelli, Momoim, p. 37. CHAPTER V. METIS CHILDREN RESPOND TO EVANGELICAL MISSIONARIES At the Mackinaw Mission the métis children of traders and clerks lived, studied, and worked under the close super- vision of William and Amanda Ferry and their evangelical associates. These children formed an important part of Mackinac's population, and like everyone else there, they lived in a social milieu which was evolving into a society dominated by American values and practices. American mis- sionaries scrutinized every aspect of each child's life in order to convert and Americanize them. In effect, each child left his own family to become a member of a new, temporary family composed of the missionaries, the missionaries' own families, and the other mission children. While the métis children lived in this large Christian family, the Ferrys hoped to transform them mentally and spiritually and to integrate them into American economic and religious institu- tions. But in the end parents, children, and missionaries all expected that the students would return to their actual families living in the Lake Superior country. At first glance it might appear that the mission simply brought together two widely divergent groups of people, but in reality both the métis children and the evangelical 212 213 missionaries had surprising similarities. Although for the most part the missionaries failed to recognize that in many respects the children's culture overlapped their own, it was on this middle ground that students and missionaries made changes and adaptations in response to each other. The nuclear family occupied the central place in the social organization of both métis and New England societies. Consequently, the children discovered that the missionaries taught them skills as their own mothers and fathers would have done. Boys and girls found it easier and more satisfy- ing to learn intellectual and manual skills and beliefs which they could fit into gender roles already apparent in their own families. Parents who boarded their children in the mission accepted the mission as a substitute family. They voluntarily sent their children and expected William and Amanda Ferry to function as a ”stand-in" father and mother who would care for their sons and daughters. Daniel Dingley, William Aitkin, Bazil Beaulieu, and other more affluent fathers paid $30 per year to the mission for board and tuition: poorer fathers indentured their sons and daughters to the Reverend Ferry, who supported them with funds donated by friends of the mission. (At least fifty- four children were indentured at one time or another during the mission's operation.) The indenture was a legal process, authorized by the Michigan Territorial Council, 214 whereby the Reverend Ferry became the legal guardian of those children bound to him. He viewed this to be essential in order to keep students from being removed by "superstitious whim & caprice of debased Parents."1 In return for their money or indenture agreements, parents asked the Ferrys to feed, clothe, and shelter their youngsters. In addition, the missionaries nursed sick children and disciplined errant ones. The Ferrys assumed these parental duties when they accepted a boy or girl into the mission family. Membership in this family for métis children, however, was only temporary--few, if any, of their parents abandoned them to the mission. Mothers and fathers planned to have their sons and daughters rejoin them once their education was completed. But as long as these children lived at the school, they were members of the mission family and were required to fulfill any obligations membership demanded of them. Parents generally enrolled their métis children in the school after their sixth birthday: they intended that their youngsters remain at Mackinac for only a few years. Over half (56.5%) of the children arrived when they were between six and ten years old, while almost another fourth (23.7%) were between eleven and fifteen. Table V-1 reveals that nearly 60% (59.3%) of the children were boys. Table V-2 shows that about half of all children (48%) stayed only one or two years, while another third remained between three and 215 five years. A closer look indicates that almost an equal percentage of boys and girls left after the first year (28.1%/29.2%), but 26.3% of the boys departed after two years compared to only 9.8% of the girls. Another 27.78% of the boys left after their third or fourth years, while only 12.2% of the girls followed a similar pattern. A greater percentage of girls stayed longer than did their brothers. This probably occurred because their fathers needed their sons to assist them in the fur trade. It is also likely that some of the fathers hoped their daughters might find suitable husbands at Mackinac: consequently, they allowed them to remain at the school longer. The fact that more girls lived at the mission longer also meant that the missionaries had more time to try to change them.2 Métis children found life within the mission family organized around gender roles quite similar to those of their natural families. Girls answered to Mrs. Ferry, Miss Osmar, and other female teachers and assistants regarding everything ranging from their personal habits and appearance to the content and meaning of their thoughts. The boys looked to Mr. Heydenburk, Mr. Hudson, and other male adults for guidance and direction in virtually every aspect of their daily existence. Both sexes, whether child or adult, recognized and submitted to the central authority exercised by the Reverend Ferry as the superintendent of the mission. 216 TABLE V-l AGE OF ENTRY FOR MACKINAW MISSION CHILDREN BOYS BIRLS Non-European Age of Entry Age of Entry Heritage 0-5 '6-10'11-15'16-20 Total 0-5 '6-10'11-15'16-20‘21-24 Total Chippewa 4 33 9 4 50 B 16 9 0 2 35 Ottawa 4 i9 2 i 26 l 7 3 0 0 li Chippewa (full blood?) 0 i 0 i 2 0 l i 0 0 . 2 Ottawa (full blood?) 0 2 0 0 2 2 4 1 0 l 8 Sioux Assinaboine Knisteneauw (Cree) Shawnee linnehago Potawatowi (None given) African 00 to.- new on— 4- 23 0° GO ON GO O N ””0000 coo—~39 coo—~00 OOOOOO nNOan coo—con o—ooouu 00°00- OOOOOO ii 65 22 7 105 14 35 20 3 3 72 (Compiled from: Catalogue of Boys School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6.1.I:27: Catalogue of¢Girls School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6.1.I:26: Children at Mackinaw, April 5, 1833, ABC: 18.5.7.1:36.) 217 TABLE V-2 LENGTH OF STAY AT MACKINAW MISSION Tsars at Mission B925 GIRLS TOTAL 1 16 12 28 2 15 4 19 3 9 1 10 4 7 4 11 5 5 7 12 6 1 3 4 7 3 6 9 a 1 1 1 9 o 2 2 10 Q l 1 57 41 98 (The length of stay for remaining children cannot be deter- mined.) (Compiled from: Catalogue of Boys School, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6. 1.1:27: Catalogue of Girls Schools, 1827, Mackinaw, ABC:18.6.1.I:26: Children at Mackinaw, April 5, 1833, ABC: 18.5.7.I:36.) 218 Next to him, Mrs. Ferry oversaw the homemaking and housekeeping functions of the mission: she possessed consid- 3 The mission family thus erable power in these spheres. resembled both métis and New England families at a time when the American "middle class” family was taking shape. The characteristics of this family structure were that it was headed. by' a ‘male and. had. a female responsible for homemaking; Girls learned from women and boys learned from men the respective role for each gender in both family life and the community. In the East, society had begun to judge women according to ”four cardinal virtues-- piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity.”‘ The missionaries impressed these values upon their students. But the mission family also differed from the children's natural family in important respects. The children lived with many more people (most of whom were unfamiliar) in their new home. Because the Reverend and Mrs. Ferry delegated authority to teachers, homemakers, and artisans, who in turn designated older students to look after the behavior of younger boys and girls, the children submitted to the authority of people other than their "parents." Furthermore, the adults of the mission family, preoccupied with promoting evangelical Christian teachings and practices, judged the children's attitudes and actions largely in terms of evangelical dogma, rather than by the Catholic and Chippewa beliefs of their parents. A child's 219 standing in the family, to a large degree, depended upon his or her responses to the missionaries' exhortations. The perception and organization of the mission as a family enabled all members to relate to each other as parents and children in a manner that was understandable to everyone. The mission family proved to be a useful construct that enabled métis children and evangelical missionaries to live together. The missionaries desired to establish their parental authority over the children as quickly as possible. Upon arrival, children encountered adults who tried to reassure them that they were welcome in this strange environment. Trying to comfort the children, the teachers, who spoke neither French nor Chippewa, communicated with the children through an interpreter. The frightened children often had difficulty understanding their new "parents." This lack of communication often led to unruly behavior, which the mis- sionaries interpreted as disobedience. ‘When this happened, a boy or girl soon discovered that their new parents disci- plined them with scoldings or even corporal punishment. The missionaries demanded that the children follow their direc- tions.5 Métis children, for their part, saw familial obligations somewhat differently than the missionaries did. They expected the missionaries to provide food, clothing, and shelter for them just as did their natural parents. 220 They shared none of their mentors' sense of mission, that feeling of being sent west to uplift a "benighted" people. Amanda Ferry summed up the children's attitude to her sister Hannah:6 Many of these dear (Indian) [métis] children, rescued from the filth of their birthright, after being awhile with us, feel that we are doing no more than we ought- - our duty,--and that they are conferring a favor by remaining with us! It is seldom that we receive expressions of gratitude from them unless their hearts are renewed by grace. The mission children felt little need to say thank you for provisions and affections which they assumed were the responsibility of their mission parents. Shortly after the children arrived at the school, they surrendered their clothes and bodies to the missionaries, who scrubbed their bodies with soap and water and provided new clothes. To Amanda Ferry, Eunice Osmar, Jedediah Stevens, and.the others this act had a dual purpose. In the first place this simply allowed them to clean up dirty boys and girls who were grimy from travel or whose personal hygiene differed from theirs. They, no doubt, bathed their own children in a similar manner. But this washing also had a symbolic significance that went beyond a child's physical appearance. Since the Ferrys believed that these children had come from the midst of "Indian degradation and wretched- ness,” they hoped to wash away what they viewed as physical manifestations of the children's home environment.7 This practice unknowingly paralleled Indian ceremonies whereby 221 Indians bathed and reclothed white captives before they adopted them into their tribe. When the scrubbing ended, the youngsters put on new clothing given them by their substitute parents. Every morning each boy and girl put on trousers or stockings or a coat or a dress and leather shoes similar to those worn by New England children. They no longer donned the colorful sashes or gaiters or comfortable Indian dresses which they had worn all of their lives. Gone were their familiar moccasins and tattered garments, which had been a modifica- tion of both Chippewa and European styles of clothing. Although few children understood this, their new clothing forged a link between them and supporters of the mission in evangelical churches back east. Members of eastern churches contributed money or donated clothing to be sent to Mackinac to help clothe the children in proper New England garb. In this manner, men and women who lived hundreds of miles away assisted in the attempt to Americanize métis children at Mackinac.“ The children had little choice but to acquiesce in this alteration to their outward appearance-~they were not as yielding to attempts to transform their self identity. As part of the introduction to their new family and the Americanization process, many of the children, both métis and full blood Indian, received English names from the Ferrys. This procedure does not seem to have altered a 222 métis child's self identity. For example, when Catharine Bissell Ely filled out her "Life memoranda" for the American Board, she simply made this entry after name-"Catharine. The name of my Father is Goulais, my mission name was C. Bissell."9 Her brother Louis assumed the name William Henry Cross during his stay at the school. Most mission names came from eastern benefactors who contributed up to $30 per year for the privilege of renaming and supporting a native child.10 For those ,so named, they understood, far better than the missionaries, that this new name did not change who they really were: the Goulais children remained Goulais. Their mission names had meaning within the mission family but not necessarily outside of it. The acquisition of new names was common in the Great Lakes country. Indians bestowed Indian names on people of Euro-American.heritage. The Chippewa perceived that a bond formed between themselves and the broader Christian community when they received a Christian name."1 Further- more, they believed that their native names originated in dreams and great benefit could be had from the spirit from which their name derived. The reality and power of these names were not diminished when American missionaries or Indian agents gave them American names."2 Métis children came from a culture where individuals could have more than one name. Unwittingly, the Ferrys partook in a practice 223 which, in some respects, was part of the children's heri- tags. The missionaries not only Anglicized the children's names, they also intended to teach them the English language and to make them use it. Language, perhaps, served as the most important vehicle and symbol in the battle for the métis children's minds. Most of the boys and girls spoke the language of their mothers and fathers upon arrival at the school. Girls, who had spent more time with their mothers, conversed in either Chippewa or Ottawa, while their brothers spoke French, their fathers' language. Both boys and girls intended to continue using their native tongues in daily discourse. These youngsters soon discovered that their mission parents conversed in neither of these languages and had no intention of learning them, but talked in English and instructed them to do the same. The Ferrys and the other teachers communicated with their students through interpreters, such as John and Elizabeth Campbell. The missionaries placed great importance upon teaching métis children to speak, read, and write English. The New Englanders deemed fluency in English to be important since it was the language used by many Euro-Americans settling the West, by the government, and by evangelicals trying to encourage people to read the Bible. Even though students could see that learning English had a utilitarian value, most of them continued to communicate with their own people 224 in their native languages. They saw no need to change this just because they had taken residence in a temporary family. Language differences meant that missionaries and chil- dren. often. could. not understand. each other, and this contributed to struggles within the mission family. In the classroom teachers used English both as the medium and as an objective of instruction. The children's academic curriculum consisted of both learning English and of applying newly learned English language skills to such disciplines as history, geography, rhetoric, and Bible study. The teachers complained that even when their students learned to speak and write English, they often did so from memory. They could not conceptualize in this strange tongue. It was apparent that few of their French- métis students ever thought in English. In fact, the boys and girls taught each other French and Chippewa--a phenomenon that ran completely counter to the Ferrys' goals.13 Not surprisingly, language differences contributed to discipline problems within the mission family, as the chil- dren resisted some of the attempts by their mission parents to impose their ways upon them. On his visit to Mackinac in 1829, David Greene commented that the boys "are riotous & noisy when about the house, talkative & negligent when about their work 5 are not all polite & hardly could be called civil in their general intercourse with the family 225 or strangers." Although the girls' behavior was somewhat better, Greene noted that "to a considerable extent" they, “ Eight years later, too, acted in a disorderly manner. just before the mission closed, teacher William R. Campbell complained that some of the boys were unmanageable and he had "to inflict corporeal punishment upon these stubborn willful boys."15 Undoubtedly some disciplinary problems resulted from frequent changes of teachers and differing philosophies toward discipline among the missionaries, but faulty communication due to lack of a common language played a major role in this situation. Language differences at the mission reflected the different perceptions which the métis and the evangelicals had of the purpose of the temporary mission family. The Ferrys viewed the mission family as an opportunity to prepare 'their students 'to enter' the larger’ Protestant American society which was starting to take hold in parts of the Great Lakes region. Although the Ferrys realized that their students would return home, they hoped that these transformed boys and girls would help lead their family and friends into the English-speaking American society as it 6 From the missionaries' per- spread into their homelands.1 spective, fluency in English seemed to be a prerequisite for anyone wishing to participate fully in this society. The métis children and their parents, however, saw the mission family as a means to learn intellectual and manual skills 226 which could be integrated into their native fur-trade society. Since most of the people in this society spoke French or Chippewa, the métis had no desire to give up the use of their languages. Even as American institutions penetrated deeper into the fur-trade society, both the métis and the Chippewas were reluctant to learn English. Out of both necessity and personal choice, the métis children persisted in their use of the French and Chippewa languages. This multi-lingual family took up residence in the mission house, where all joined in a common daily routine. Besides living accommodations, the mission house provided facilities for worship and schooling. The building con- tained more interior living space than any of the children had ever experienced before. The structure consisted of two, two-story end buildings, which measured thirty-two by forty-four feet each, and a middle building 1-1/2 stories high, which measured twenty-one by thirty-four feet. Alexis Corbin, the Beaulieu children, William Dingley, and dozens of other youngsters shared this imposing setting with the missionaries. Over 150 people lived here, many times the number of persons who lived in wigwams or small log houses. The Ferrys occupied a room on the first floor of the west building, while other missionaries lived in other rooms in the west wing and the first floor of the east wing. One room functioned as a "common sitting room" for the missionaries, a luxury unheard of in the interior. The 227 children attended classes on the second floor in the east building, and until the church was built in 1830, these rooms were also used for Sunday worship services. Much to the teachers' consternation, in these poorly ventilated rooms children and adults often found themselves sweltering from the wood stoves' heat or shivering from cold winds blowing through open windows. The Ferrys isolated sick children in the two rooms set aside as a boys' and girls' hospital. Most of the children slept in the upper half story over the kitchen and dining room in the center building--two or three to a bed in rooms occupied only by youngsters of the same sex." Métis children consumed a diet which depended heavily upon Euro-American-grown foods, and they practiced the table etiquette prescribed by the missionaries. While seated at long tables in the large dining room, the children ate all of their meals using knives, forks, and spoons: the missionaries did not allow them to eat from a common kettle or dish using their fingers, as was done when eating with Chippewa relatives." The Ferrys did not think it appropriate to mix the sexes in the dining room until boys reached eighteen and girls sixteen in order "to accustom them during the closing part of their minorship: to the feelings a movements & habits of men 8 women." The boys and girls ate three meals a day prepared and served by mission cooks. Breakfast consisted of salt fish or cold, boiled 228 salt pork, bread, cooked unpeeled potatoes, and barley coffee or tea. At noon dinner included more fish or pork, some vegetables, bread, and either corn, beans, or pea soup: and in the evening a light supper was made up of "mush" or corn.” Illness frequently struck both children and adults at the mission. When students contracted fevers, measles, consumption, eye inflammations, and other ailments, the post surgeon from Fort Mackinac treated them. In 1826 Dr. Richard Satterlee tended to many boys and girls who suffered from a "kind of inflamitory [sic] fever, similar to what is called the Epidemic. " In 1829 the missionaries worried when nearly half of the children "were sorely afflicted with inflammation of the eyes." Sickness accentuated the difference between. métis and mission families. Sick youngsters slept and rested in hospital rooms under the care of a stranger who prescribed unfamiliar medicines and treatments which differed from the herbal remedies mother or another relative back home would have used.“"0 Living at Mackinac put the children closer to epidemics that spread westward from the eastern United States. In 1832 great fear gripped the entire island as cholera raged in the East and soldiers afflicted with the disease were left at Mackinac while their compatriots continued on to participate in Black Hawk's War. In an effort to protect the mission family, Ferry closed the school to visitors for 229 a time, but there is no evidence that anyone at the mission contracted the disease.21 At times, illness ended in death. At least sixteen children died during the fourteen-year life of the mission, half of them dying in 1828-29, including three members of the Sayre family--Margaret, John, and Robert. Nine-year old Sarah Barrett died in 1824 just.a year after coming from Bois Blanc Island. Two Ottawas from L'Arbre Croche, Isaac Miller, 12, and his sister Electa Hastings, 16, died from an ”inflammation on the brain." One child was killed by a stone rolling down.the hill. In the fall of 1832 the family mourned the death of Martin and Huldah Heydenburk's one-year old 3011.“!2 Death did not respect ethnic identity, and it brought the mission family closer together. If children suffered ill health at the mission, their overworked teachers grew anxious and sick in turn. These ailments hampered their effectiveness and.were an important part of everyday life within the mission family. The Rever- end Ferry agonized with a sore or "diseased” side which he aggravated either by overwork or lack of exercise. This rendered him unable to preach at times. In 1829 weak lungs incapacitated FrederickMAyer, forcing him to remain indoors most of the time and seriously curtailing his teaching. Recurring ailments brought Betsy McFarland near death in September, 1828. This caused great concern among her companions, especially Amanda Ferry, who summed up the 230 family's feelings: "She is dear to us all, and we would lengthen her days if possible . . ."23 Elisha Loomis, overburdened by seventy students, expressed his feelings shortly after his arrival in November, 18309“ The care of a School of 70 persons, with only one assistant is so great a work for me in my inferior state of health that, I find it ooooioooiy nooossoxy to spend much of my time when out of school in the open air and in some active exercise. It is difficult for me to write for any length of time without experiencing a pain in my side. Loomis would run or walk for half to three-fourths of an hour before school, exercise at noon for half an hour, play with the boys at recess and go ice skating during winter. He believed all of this activity helped to free him from anxiety, which in turn led to an improvement in his overall health.” Ferry, Ayer, McFarland, and Loomis needed all the strength they could muster as they instructed the children in the ways of Anglo-American society. The teachers organized the school in such a way that, for the most part, men taught boys and women instructed girls in separate departments. Sometimes very young children comprised a third department. Over the years Martin Heydenburk, Jedediah Stevens, John Hudson, Elisha Loomis, William Campbell, and others served as teachers in the boys school, while Delia Cook, Eunice Osmar, Betsey Taylor, Percis Skinner, Matilda Hotchkiss, and Elizabeth McFarland labored among the girls. On occasion, due to a lack of able male teachers, Delia Cook helped in the boys 231 department. The adults also oversaw the children's work, religious, and recreational activities. Children whose parents lived on the island attended classes at the mission but went home at the end of classes each day.“’ As can be seen on Table V-3, 1828 was the peak year when 134 children boarded at the mission house. It is striking how' closely the organization and curriculum at Mackinaw Mission resembled district schools in New England. Students in both places read the same textbooks and studied spelling, arithmetic, geography, and grammar between the ages of four and sixteen. Similarly, teachers in New England divided their students into classes in each subject based upon the level of knowledge. There were two major differences. At Mackinac school ran through- out most of the year except for a few weeks in the summer when classes did not meet. In New England children usually attended for only five or six months each year. Also, children in New England lived with their parents rather than in a mission family. Because Mackinaw was a boarding school, teachers had greater control of their students' lives." When métis families and evangelical missionaries held similar values and ideas, the children learned the most. Even though the teachers seemed to be unaware of the middle ground they shared with their students, the children 232 TABLE V-3 NUMBERS OF CHILDREN ENROLLED IN MISSION SCHOOL Boarding Village Boys' 52119.91 79 56 44 Isargnilslrsn 1823 12 - 1824 62 40 - 1825 (figures not available) 1826 80-90 60 1827 112 60 1828 134 - 1829 104 40-50 1830 100 30 1831 130* - 1832 80 - 1833 70 30-40 1834 (figures not available) 1835 43 20 - 1836 29 17 1837 20-25 - Girls' fishes]. *The total probably includes village children. (Taken from American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Annual asserts. 1827-1837 and Meagan Rooiooor, 5 (March, 1824): 69 and 6 (April, 1825): 116). 233 responded most favorably to their mentors' instruction when skills or concepts appeared to fit into their own value system. Children chose to learn intellectual and manual skills which they and their parents thought relevant to their family's experience and future. Reading, writing, arithmetic, homemaking, and artisanry were all familiar to the métis and could be worked into their way of life as they pursued the fur trade in the Lake Superior country. Where métis and missionary values differed significantly, such as in the need to practice farming, the children resisted their teachers' attempts to expand their horizons. Recognizing cultural overlaps and differences is a key factor in understanding the "successes" and ”failures” of the school. At the mission school Julia and Elizabeth Beaulieu, Catherine Bissell, Charles Hastings, Matilda Aitken, and others took their places in classes divided according to the Lancasterian system. Under this arrangement advanced stu- dents served as monitors instructing members of each class in subjects ranging from learning the alphabet to arithmetic to spelling. This system had been introduced in England by Joseph Lancaster in 1798. He hoped that this method of using knowledgeable students to teach small groups of others would make it possible to educate large numbers of poor children at low cost. In theory, an able teacher could instruct up to 1, 000 students. The teacher gave to the monitors the responsibility for basic instruction, dispersal 234 of materials, giving of examinations, and promotion of scholars to more advanced classes. This method, Lancaster believed, was particularly well-suited to the teaching of spelling, writing, reading, and arithmetic. It appeared to be ideal for mission schools where shortages of money and qualified teachers always existed. William Ferry implemented it at Mackinac.28 Anglo-métis girls, such as Mary Holiday, made good monitors. Mary's father, John, had traded since 1802 in the L'Anse region, where he married her Chippewa mother. Upon arrival at the mission, Mary spoke Chippewa. Although she had learned some English from a woman before she came, Mary had forgotten how to read most words. At the school she quickly learned again to speak and read English, and was soon able to express concepts and ideas meaningfully; When Mary was thirteen, her teachers, pleased with her progress, gave her responsibilities as a monitor--teaching other students while also interpreting the missionaries' words and admonit ions . 29 After teaching new students the alphabet from charts, monitors drilled them to learn how to spell in English, using their chalk and slates or paper and pencil. Martin Heydenburk encouraged competition Jbetween students, especially boys against girls, to spur the mastery of more words. In 1824-25 the first class in the girls school challenged the first class in the boys school to a spelling 235 contest using words from the nineteenth table in Webster's W. This match generated considerable enthusiasm in both departments."’0 Meanwhile, young children learned their alphabet by drawing letters with their fingers in sand boxes under the tutelage of Miss Hotchkiss.31 Knowledge of words prepared students to read. Many children learned to read at least some English, a skill prized by both the métis and the missionaries. The teaching of reading proceeded with the aid of such books as Webster's W Primer and Putnam's W. Although many of the children's fathers and practically all of their mothers were illiterate, their fathers knew the value of reading and writing for carrying on the fur trade. The fathers also recognized that the use of English in their society was increasing and that their sons and daughters would benefit from being able to read and write in this language. From the missionary point of view, however, English was necessary because their students could then read the Bible. The Ferrys urged boys and girls to memorize Bible verses, and by 1825 they could recite 5,257 verses between them."‘2 Unfortunately, the emphasis on rote memorization often blocked conceptual understanding.” Many of the English language texts provided students with unfavorable descriptions of non-Anglo-Americans and bombarded them with moralisms. From Olney's may métis children found that among the people who lived in North 236 America, "Indians are the descendants of those who occupied the country at the time of its discovery, and are generally savages." Olney also described Indians at the time of discovery as "an ignorant, barbarous, and warlike people."“’ In Tho_Amorioon_§ooiiing_Book, Noah Webster wrote: "As for those boys and girls that.mind not their books, and love not the church.and school but play with such as tell tales, tell lies, curse, swear and steal, they will come to some bad end, and must be whipt till they mind their ways.":35 Such strong commentary must have confused and angered children. Since Chippewa mothers rarely scolded or threatened their children, any reproof represented a significant cultural attack and would surely conjure up hostilityfi“ As with reading, métis traders and clerks understood the benefit of arithmetic to their way of life, and they expected their children to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide while at the school. Monitors taught arithmetic by using tables which contained columns of entries like these: 9 and 1 are 10: 9 and 2 are 11: and 25 and 2 are 27, etc. More advanced students solved addition problems such as this one: 27935 3963 8679 19121 54904 The monitor instructed each boy or girl to first add the righthand column and write down the result. After inspecting 237 each one's work, the monitor then directed them to proceed to the next column. This process continued until the problem had been solved."’7 Each quarter the children underwent public examination by their teachers. The summer examination provided an opportunity for the teachers and the children to demonstrate to their parents progress made during the past year. Stand- ing in front of Miss Cook, Miss Skinner, Mr. Heydenburk, or Mr. Loomis and a large audience, Louis Provencalles, Reuben Smith, Catherine Spencer, and their classmates answered questions dealing with topics such as "the principal events which have transpired from the Creation to the death of Constantine." Arithmetic tests included mind twisters like these: "4 fifths of 16 is 6 tenths of how many thirds of 21‘?" or "12 is 5 eighths of what number?" or "If 5 horses will eat 26-7/8 loads of hay in one year, how much will 8 horses eat in the same time?" Besides these problems, the children recited responses to questions on modern history, geography, and grammar. Generally, observers were impressed with the students' performance.” Since the fathers were away from the island for almost the entire year, the public examination enabled them to see for themselves what their children were learning. The records do not allow a precise analysis of the students' academic achievements. Since the Lancasterian system did not form classes according to age, it is not 238 possible to determine the age when children actually started learning or how fast they progressed. Over 70 percent of them enrolled by the time they were ten (See Table V-l) which allowed them to receive basic instruction while fairly young. Perhaps as many as 40 percent stayed for more than three years (See Table V-2) which gave them enough time to master at least a modest level of competency in arithmetic and fluency in English. A significant number of children remained at Mackinac long enough to receive at least a rudimentary New England-style education. The classroom experience caused some teachers to alter their attitudes and to reform their teaching techniques to meet the needs of their métis students better. Shortly after he came to the mission in 1827 as teacher of the boys school, Jedediah Stevens summarized the school operation with a view toward instituting changes:” . . . When we commenced our work in the school it was conducted on the Lancasteria [sic] plan by monitors selected from the pupils as the most capable and trust- worthy, but they were very incompetent. There were seven classes. Each class had its monitor to hear its recita- tions and have an oversight of the class in school hours or at other times at work or play and their meals in the dining room and report to the Principal. I found in this way many erroneous ideas and habits had been taken up and not only this but pupils were taught words--not ideas-- read parrotfashion. I found boys who could read a whole paragraph pronouncing every word correctly without having the remotest idea of what they were reading. In making any change, the greatest caution had to be observed lest the whole school and mission should be arrayed against us. 239 Coming from the outside, Stevens recognized shortcomings in the school's educational program, but if he wished to insti- tute reform, he had to convince the Reverend Ferry that changes were needed. Stevens' temperament and abrupt manner often clashed with Ferry, which made it difficult for him to have the impact on the mission which he would have liked. It is doubtful whether Stevens initiated any significant reforms in teaching techniques, but Elisha Loomis, who came in 1830, also advocated a different approach and presumably tried some of his ideas. For example, he thought that once a child could count to two or three, he should be encouraged to apply this skill to his personal surroundings. The teacher would hold up his hand and ask the youngster what it was. Upon identification, the pupil then would be asked how many he had and of what else he had two. Likewise, Loomis taught that the study of geography ought not begin with books but rather through inductive questioning to determine such concepts as north, south, east, and west or the corners of a room or a house. Moving to the outside, the instructor should pose questions establishing the names given to small and large streams and the direction in which the water flowed."0 The educational process at Mackinac affected the teach- ers and.the American Board in still another'way as well: Some of them came to see the value of teaching Indian children in their own language. Loomis, a printer and veteran of the Sandwich Islands mission, believed that native children should 240 be taught in their own language. With the help of Dr. Edwin James, post surgeon at Fort Brady, Loomis prepared an orthography for the Chippewa language. He published an alphabet in 1832 and also helped to publish a spelling book, despite some differences of opinion with Ferry and Greene, who felt his knowledge of Chippewa was too limited for such a work. Loomis hoped his work could be used by Sherman Hall and William Boutwell when they started their mission to the Chippewa in the Lake Superior country. His effort reflected a fundamental change occurring at Mackinac and in the Ameri- can Board's home office, as well. Resistance by métis children to using English revealed the need for missionaries to learn the native languages and to teach in these tongues. The children's participation in the educational dynamic influenced. the nature of future ‘work. by' American Board missionaries in the Lake Superior country."1 The missionaries' also furnished manual and vocational training that was designed to accomplish two purposes: to prepare boys and girls to make a living in Anglo-American society and to provide much of the labor needed to operate the mission. William Ferry succinctly summed up his attitude toward the mutual importance of intellectual and manual training:"2 I am still of opinion that farming 8 mechanical interests are interwoven with the life 8 ultimate success of every mission among the Indians--not more important is mental cultivation among the savages: than the rotine [sic] of active labor which shall secure a personal knowledge of 241 what is necessary to the existence of civilized life. They must go hand in hand. As the children performed their endless tasks within the mission family, they discovered that here, too, many of the skills required to do their work conformed with those prac- ticed by their natural families. As was true in intellectual training, cultural overlaps helped to create a middle ground on which some boys and girls reacted quite favorably to their teachers' instruction. Where no common ground existed, the children generally resisted attempts to change them. The girls' training resembled that received by young New England girls. Under Eunice Osmar's overall direction, Julia and Elizabeth Beaulieu, Catharine Bissell, and their friends milked cows, washed clothes, cooked and baked, set tables, washed dishes, and swept floors. As in the classroom, the more capable and highly skilled girls acted as monitors, supervising younger girls at work and play. Some girls helped Matilda Hotchkiss sew and mend the clothing worn by all members of the mission family. Others learned to spin, to knit, or to make soap from Amanda Ferry. During the winter of 1825-26 the younger girls, using donated yarn, knitted forty pairs of warm socks to be worn by their friends. Mrs. Ferry, who was in charge of the kitchen, assigned numerous girls to assist an adult male cook throughout the day between 4:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. in preparing food to feed three meals a day to over a hundred men, women, and children. The girls 242 performed countless tasks that were necessary for the daily operation of the mission, and in the process they became acquainted with the expectations that New England men had for their wives as homemakers.‘3 Functionally, the role learned by métis girls in the mission family varied little from that practiced by their own mothers, although specific differences did exist. This overlap in the expectations for females within both.métis and New England families enabled some of the girls to assimilate many Anglo-American skills and habits. Since in the fur-trade society, both.métis and Chippewa women shouldered most of the responsibility for'maintaining'theidwelling, preparing'meals, and ‘tending' to small children, Ferry, Cook, Osmar, and McFarland either built upon or reinforced a pattern that was already part of the girls' heritage. They asked the girls to rely more heavily upon products and materials of Euro-American manufacture than before. The girls used yarn rather than animal skins, cooked on stoves and baked in brick ovens instead of over open fires, and ate meat only from domesti- cated animals. But beneath these utilitarian additions lurked a more significant change. The missionaries hoped to prepare these métis girls to raise a family and manage a household in a single dwelling in one location--either on a farm or in a town, rather than moving each season according to the demands of the fur trade. 243 Like their sisters, the boys worked long hours and gained knowledge about both new and familiar things. Reuben Smith, Louis Provencalle, Alexis Corbin, and the other boys kept busy learning to become New England farmers or artisans while doing much labor needed to keep the mission family warm, clean, and fed. In order to master his trade, Reuben, along with several others, assisted John Campbell and Mr. Haven in the blacksmith shop. Here they made hinges, hasps, and other iron and steel objects needed for the mission, and they produced articles ordered by island residents and merchants. Other boys practiced carpentry, shoemaking, and baking alongside Martin Heydenburk, John Newland, and Mr. Gibson, respectively. Some boys learned the fine art of plastering. Louis and his friends spent hour after hour laboring under John Hudson's direction on the farm located two miles northwest of the mission house. Here they planted and harvested grain and hay. When not looking after crops and animals, they tended the mission gardens which surrounded the mission house. The gardens encompassed up to ten acres of potatoes, peas, beans, and other vegetables.“ Other tasks which the boys performed were simply dull, arduous work. Each winter they sawed and split 400 cords of firewood on Bois Blanc Island. Once the cutting was done, they moved the wood across the ice on sleighs in winter or in boats during spring or summer. They also split rails for fencing and in spring made maple sugar on Bois Blanc. On 244 Monday ‘morning several of the older' boys carried large quantities of water from the lake to the cedar-bark-roofed wash house: they then helped Elizabeth Campbell and the girls move bulky, heavy loads of linen and clothing in and out of tubs. Some of the boys cleaned fish and prepared them for the kitchen staff. So it went, as boys and girls contributed hundreds of hours of labor each day. It was no wonder that even a short break from this routine provided a welcome reprieve. Louis Provencalle joyfully noted that during his three-week vacation in July, 1830, "We work 9 hours each day and have 3 hours for ourselves."“ Some of the ways impressed upon the boys, especially farming, contrasted sharply with their fathers' work. Paul and Clement Beaulieu, Alfred Aitkin, Charles Hastings, and their classmates learned that the migratory habits which their fathers practiced ran counter to the life style required for farming, blacksmithing, or shoemaking. In New England fathers generally expected to provide for their families by engaging in activities that allowed them to live in one place all year. By adopting this life style men could also participate more fully in. the institutional affairs of established. Euro- American communities. Settled fathers could vote, hold office, and attend church much more regularly. But some skills offered by the missionaries fit into the métis boys' own families' experience. Most of the boys had either watched or assisted in the construction of log 245 buildings in their homeland: consequently, they understood the use of carpentry and related skills. Likewise, métis families used ironwork in their homes and businesses. Some boys clearly recognized the value of blacksmithing. Since at least some of their fathers wore leather shoes, shoemaking, too, fit into the métis experience. In the Lake Superior country, men cutting timber and firewood were a common sight, although employees of the children's fathers usually performed this labor. Instruction in these skills enabled a few boys to acquire competence in trades that were directly transferable to the fur-trade society.“ On the whole, the missionaries challenged the boys to make a more radical change than their sisters, but the real opportunities for ways to choose a way of life different from their fathers proved to be very limited. The girls were prepared to assume the role of homemaker for either a fur trader or a farmer. Upon returning home, the boys, however, could not practice farming in the fur-trade society: the soil in the Lake Superior country was not conducive to productive agriculture. Even though a few traders and clerks engaged in some farming, they never intended to make a living from it. Rather, the yield from their farms supplemented fish, game, Indian-produced foodstuffs, and imported food. As a result, young males faced a future where they might forget much of what they had learned at the mission. A handful of boys could choose to practice blacksmithing, shoemaking, or sailing in 246 settlements such as Mackinac Island or Sault Ste. Marie, but such opportunities were few in these small communities. For most of the boys their future lot seemed inevitables a return home to practice and manage the fur trade. When this happened, they did not work to transform their younger brothers or neighbors into farmers or settled artisans as the missionaries had hoped."7 The missionaries sensed an urgency for their students to change their lives because they feared that the pace of advancing settlement was so rapid that those who lived in its way had to adapt quickly or face extinction. The military and government agents, too, went about their business with dispatch preparing the way for further settlement. When farmers came west, they opened up fields for cultivation and built dwellings for themselves and their livestock shortly after arrival. Merchants and businessmen laid out towns, built houses and shops, and.clamored for*better roads and easy access to markets and waterways. This pattern of immigration, settlement, and development was well underway in the Old Northwest by 1820, and now it encroached upon the lands and the people who made their living in the Mackinac fur trade. The newcomers to the northwestern Great Lakes busied them- selves creating and accumulating wealth and property. They brought a pace of life that clashed with the more relaxed manner of the métis and Indian peoples. The Americans wished to master the physical environment, and in trying to do so, 247 they prevented the Indians from managing it in their own manner. The Americans built roads and canals, cleared large pieces of ground for farming, and built sizable, permanent towns. This was a great departure from hiking over the forest trails, burning the prairies and forests to encourage herbaceous growth, harvesting wild rice on marshes, growing corn or beans on small plots of ground, and following the seasonal round necessary for trading furs. Despite the middle ground which métis children shared with the missionaries, they found themselves being asked to prepare to live in a world that emphasized not their similarities with the Americans but their differences.“ As the Reverend Ferry forged links between the mission children and the larger community on the island, he reinforced differences that existed between the métis and New England society. In essence, the missionaries taught boys to be producers rather than middlemen, introduced the children to a money economy, and demonstrated how families that lived in one place functioned. Ferry used the mission shops to introduce the boys working in them to American business practices, as well as to provide goods and services to island residents. Men and women from all groups living or visiting on the island availed themselves of ironwork, shoes, or bread produced at the mission. Boys working alongside the master artisans saw first-hand how American businessmen turned raw materials into finished products and then sold these items for 248 a profit. This differed significantly from the role of the middleman carried out by their fathers. At the shops some people still paid in fish or sugar, but.many others used money to pay their bills, a practice almost unheard of in the Lake Superior country.“ As the children participated in the affairs of the island's community, the missionaries impressed upon them the nature of the New England family, where males tended to most affairs outside of the home while females managed the household. The Reverend Ferry carried on an active commerce with the Indian agency. Boys helped to burn lime, cut wood, and hew timber needed by George Boyd or Henry Schoolcraft. In 1828 plasterers from the mission spent twenty days plastering the interior of the agency house, using 500 laths, four twelve- foot lath logs, and one-half bushel of hair all made at the mission. In December, 1832, the carpenter shop manufactured a coffin to be used to bury Osau-gequai, an Indian woman.50 Even though the children themselves did not arrange these transactions, some of their labor was essential for Ferry to deliver the goods and services to his clients. Boys who helped John Newland, Martin Heydenburk, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Haven, Abel Newton, and.Mr. Whittlesey in the shops saw the fruit of their work being used by their own temporary family and others residing on the island. At the shoe shop men and women brought their shoes for repair to Newland or Whittlesey. These men then supervised both the 249 boys and anyone from the community hired to help with the heavy work load. New shoes were priced as follows: "Mens coarse shoes $2.- coarse high shoes $2.25- coarse boots $4.50- fine shoes $3.- fine high shoes $3.50- womens straped shoes $2.25." Customers paid 50 cents to resole "coarse shoes" and 75 cents to resole ”fine shoes 8 boots."51 The mission also participated actively in the shipping business, and this provided opportunities for some boys to pick up a knowledge of sailing and to visit places further away from Mackinac. High freight costs for the hundreds of barrels of provisions and hundreds of cords of firewood needed by the mission had prompted the Reverend Ferry to purchase a boat in the mid-18203. In 1828 Robert Stuart allowed Ferry to buy a share in the Schooner Aurora, which was built at Mackinac, by underwriting the mission's portion of the ship's cost.. Several years later Ferry sold the m and built the Schooner Soooiy. These ships carried provisions and mer- chandise for many merchants, especially the American Fur Company. When he was about sixteen, Reuben Smith learned to sail from J. C. Oliver, who served as master of the Aurora during the late 18208 and early 1.8308, and from John Campbell, who captained the Soooly in the early 18303.52 In taking a direct.part in commerce, the mission helped expand Americani- zation of the fur-trade society. The boys applied their newly learned skills as subordinate agents of that Americanization. 250 Even for those not actively involved in shipping or in manufacture, the years at Mackinac provided obvious lessons in.Americanization as American law and.political institutions worked together to establish order. Adam Stewart inspected ships' cargo and collected customs duties owed to the federal treasury. Each July Judge James Duane Doty convened the Additional Court to hold trials for cases which had arisen during the past year. Officers and enlisted men from Fort Mackinac ‘mediated. disputes between civilians, maintained peaceful relations between visiting Indians and traders, and performed routine military duties. Some children may have accompanied their fathers on visits to the office of Indian Agent George Boyd, who issued licenses to carry on fur trading. Other boys and girls called upon local officials with their father and the Reverend Ferry when their indenture papers were prepared and signed. For them, provisions of American law were more than abstractions. While it is true that many of these children, especially the younger ones, did not fully understand how all of these different institutions and officials functioned, they did become acquainted with American men, women, and practices that had not yet reached the Lake Superior country. By the early 18308, however, other people began to teach their values to youth at Mackinac when they established their own schools. Like the Ferrys, these men and women hoped to prepare métis and Indian children for a changing world. The 251 intense theological rivalry between Father Samuel Mazzuchelli and the Reverend Ferry encouraged Father Mazzuchelli to open a school for Catholic métis children on August 15, 1831. Martha Tanner, who previously had been a student at Ferry' s school, and Josephine Marly taught twenty-six children in both English and French. Eight of these youngsters had attended classes at the Protestant school before. Catholic educational efforts continued in the Mackinac area long after the American Board's school had closed. Mary Ann Fisher, the daughter of the métis fur trader Therese Marcot Lasaliere Schindler and the Canadian voyageur Pierre Lasaliere, taught Indian and métis children at Mackinac for a few years and later for many years at L'Arbre Croche. When Father Florimond J. Bonduel came to Mackinac in 1834, he extended Catholic education across the Straits to St. Ignace.” Young island children had another opportunity for formal education--this one in harmony with the evangelical school. Throughout the mid-18303 young women from the East operated an infant school for children seven and under. Eliza Chappell, who taught in 1832 and 1833, stressed the importance of the first three years of life in preparing a youngster for following evangelical teaching: ”God Himself declares that if parents 'Train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he shall not depart from His law."'“ These children, numbering as many as fifty-four, learned to read the Bible and memorized Bible verses. Boys and girls "were brought into the 252 Kingdom of Jesus Christ at this early age--."55 Hannah White, Amanda Ferry's sister, and Sarah Owen of Utica, New York, carried on this endeavor after Chappell left the island. Mackinac teachers also established an infant school in St. Ignace at about the same time that Grenville T. Sproat opened a school there for all who came "to him of the Indian, or mixed race, without distinction and without reward.”“ The growth of schools in the Mackinac region was another sign of the push for Americanization, one in which the children themselves participated. The opening of Catholic and infant schools demonstrated the variety of religious groups that were helping to form American society. No single denomination would be able to impose its ways, alone, on the fur-trade society, even though the evangelicals tried hard to do so. At the mission the Ferrys and their associates subjected the children to a steady dose of religious instruction and required them to participate in a seemingly endless sequence of services, all of which were integrated into their daily routine. They listened to Elizabeth Campbell interpret the missionaries' words as ‘they’ read. and. explained. Biblical passages. In the classroom and in Sunday School they memo- rized hundreds of verses. Before meals they said prayers of thanksgiving, and after eating, one of the teachers usually 9' On Sunday morning, even though many of them read scripture. could not understand him, the children attended worship services to hear the Reverend Ferry preach on points of 253 doctrine, such as predestination, original sin, baptism, and the work of the Holy Spirit. For most of the children all of this Sunday activity differed from religious practices where the children had grown up. Chippewa religion recognized no Sabbath, and Catholics away from their parish generally lived Sunday as any other day.” Rather than listening to an elder seated before the fire in a wigwam or learning of God and his works from their father or one of his associates reading from a French Bible, boys and girls now heard sermons, studied Bible lessons, and memorized verses from the written scrip- ture.” Since some métis children had participated in Catholic prayers conducted by their father or one of his fellow clerks, praying was not a new experience for them, but frequent prayer meetings were. Whether interested or not, children had to take part in evangelical exercises. For the missionaries, the ultimate point of their work at Mackinac always remained the conversion of nonbelievers to evangelical Christianity. This required that anyone who wished to accept evangelical beliefs undergo a personal conversion experience. Although the missionaries did not understand it, evangelical Christian conversion in some ways resembled the pro-puberty vision experienced by Chippewa youth. It is unlikely that many of the mission children had had such a vision themselves, but they knew many people who had and were very familiar with the practice. Family members offered support to Chippewa boys or girls as they prepared for 254 their vision: similarly, family and friends encouraged a youngster who was struggling with the demands of evangelical Christianity. A major difference; however, existed-- evangelicals expected that converts share their experience with others, while Chippewa tradition forbade the individual from revealing the contents of a personal vision. The concept that a personal religious or spiritual rite of passage could be important to one's happiness was known to métis children. The central experience of both evangelical Christianity and Chippewa religion required the person to work through the process individually, and he alone was accountable to God or the moniro. Whenever boys or girls seriously considered their teachers' religious exhortations, an agonizing internal struggle ensued which could lead to conversion. Throughout the life of the mission, only twenty, perhaps thirty, students converted to evangelical Christianity. When they converted, they accepted beliefs and practices that ran counter to those held by their parents. The missionaries presumed that the young converts would renounce Roman Catholic beliefs and practices, as well as Chippewa religion. No longer could they submit to the authority of the Catholic church, say confession before a priest, or participate in the mass. The Ferrys created the impression that religious truth could be attained only by following evangelical dictates. Because Catholics and evangelicals shared.belief in a number of spiritual concepts, 255 the converts did not have to change their world view complete- ly.“’ Both Christian traditions recognized God and adhered to such beliefs as forgiveness of sin, the sovereignty of God, the importance of baptism, and the work of Jesus Christ. It was on this religious middle ground that converted métis children reconciled their new faith with that of their Catholic parents. Conversion created tensions between métis families and the mission family. On occasion, fathers of métis converts withdrew their children from the mission and severed all ties with the evangelical missionaries. More often, parents allowed their converted son or daughter to build bridges to their relatives and friends. The converts expressed great concern for the spiritual well-being of both their nuclear and extended families, and they wished to bring them into the evangelical family. Acceptance of evangelical Christianity increased the sense of responsibility that the converts had for their own people. I Me sai ainse, whose mission name was Caroline Rodgers, converted to evangelical Protestantism in 1828. That summer she gave an account of her experience in Chippewa to the Reverend Ferry through an interpreter. Ferry then recorded her words in English in a letter to David Greene. Large portions of this account appear below because this document gives us a rare opportunity to hear one of the mission student's own words. A careful reading of Me sai ainse's 256 words reveals how Bible reading, prayer, and personal encour- agement by missionaries and friends influenced her. We see how other converts, particularly those whose first language was Chippewa, communicated the evangelical message to others agonizing over the state of their souls:61 Preparatory to the first season of communion after my uneasy state of mind, while with Mrs. Campbell cleaning the Table service, she told me that none but those who loved God had any right or privilege at this table. I felt as if I should never be permitted to come there: as I knew nothing of God. All the night following I lay awake, distressed at the situation in which I began to see myself: And felt that as I had lived so long without thinking of God, or rather-knowing that there was such a glorious Being in the Heavens, that He would never have anything to do with me. That I was too bad to have Him think upon or help me.---The next day Miss Osmar read 8 had interpreted to the girls that portion of scripture where Christ instituted the supper, 8 explained to us the reason 8 design of the sacrament.--Afterward when seeing the Church around the Table, with all the affecting scene before my eyes, I had a fooling impression that there was rrorh_in these things: such as I had not had before. .And not only did I have my mind more sensibly agitated with distress for myself: but seeing so many (around me compared with the small number at the table) whom I supposed must be in the same wicked, dangerous condition with myself, my feelings of anguish or fright became indiscribable [sic].--On leaving Church while alone in my room, the thought came to my mind--Why need I be so frightened or distressed? There were others who appeared to feel as I do. Perhaps it is because these things are new to me. When I become more used to them they will not affect me so. .And.it.may'be, that I too may come to love God. After days of anxiety and struggle, she continues: The following Saturday evening there was a prayer meeting in the girls room. After which Miss O. [Osmar] made remarks to this amount---‘That she was afraid some of those professing so much anxiety, was deceived, - judging from their conduct: for surely if they were so anxious they would have given themselves to the Saviour before now.‘ This was like a knife to my heart! What can I do?---At first, after going to the bed-room with Mary [Collins] 8 Cornelia [Fonda] (who were also distressed) 257 we tryed to pr y together; But I found.this was no place for me: 8 the whole night I spent alone--now and then only awakened to keener agony from the sound of Mary's sobs 8 groans in the opposite room.--Sabbath morning, leaving my room a little after day light I saw Mary standing by her bed 8, with a smile on her countenance, looking at her little girl.-- The thought rushed upon me, that she must.have found the Saviour: for I've never seen a smile on her countenance before (meaning, since her anxiety). . . . --Here as in a moment I had such a kind of One or whole view of myself 8 willingness to be in Gods hands: that I could lie no longer, resolving to go in prayer 8 throw myself for the last time at the feet of the Saviour: 8 solemnly beg of Him to do what He would with me. Just at this time Eliza (an Indian pious woman of the family, who from the very filth of degradation has become as we hope one of Christa lambs) came 8 talked a good deal to me. Told me, how easy it was, if I would, to believe in the Saviour, 8 after talking sometime said we will pray together--Here I lost all my burden--I felt light-4A strange feeling that I cannot tell--I had no thought that I loved Cx [Christ]--But I was happy--And yet afraid to be happy--Was afraid to give indulgence to these feelings-~For it would be dreadful after all it appeared to me to go to Hell with no feeling of distress about iti--Rising from our knees I was conscious of a smile or serenity on my countenance which I designedly concealled [sic] with my handkerchief, lest Eliza should observe it.--Leaving the room, Miss 0. called me to her bedroom to eat some supper prepared for me.--I went, but could not eat a mouthful.--Miss O. 8 Miss C. [Cook] pressingly urged me-- 8 asked why I refused--To which I made no direct answer.--When they saw that I either ssulfi.nst.sr .HQQLQ.DQ§ eat, they proposed uniting in prayer, in which they each led in succession.--Here I was filled with that happiness which I hope to enjoy in Heaven. I dont know but that my enjoyment was as full as was possible for my soul to have of a view of the love, the nearness, 8 glory of the Saviour. I seemed to see it--- to feel it all, in a fulness [sic] of joy beyond expression.--... In her account Me sai Ainse relates her feelings at particular points in a process which had begun at least two years earlier. In fact, she determined upon advice from her aunt, with whom she lived at Lac Court Orielles, to come to Mackinac to live among ”the white people." She had abandoned 258 the Midewiwin society and hoped to escape the times of hunger she often experienced during the Chippewa hunting seasons Me sai Ainse tells us that, when.she first.began.to feel that she was a sinful person in need of salvation, she relied upon Catholic prayers which she had previously learned--but these exercises brought no relief. Me sai Ainse had already started a process of question- ing religious practices and economic activities in her native society. As a result, she had consciously chosen to come to the mission to learn new things in an effort to improve her life, but not necessarily to abandon her old ways. This made her receptive to change, and she became convinced that the religious message of her teachers contained truth which was relevant to her situation. Except for her aunt, it appears that.Me sai ainse did not have a sizable family. For her, the message brought by her evangelical teachers offered both the opportunity for spiritual redemption and entry into a larger family of evangelical Christian believers. These people were related to each other through a common belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In some sense, at least, membership in this Christian family resembled membership in a Chippewa clan: just as clan members welcomed fellow clansmen into their midst wherever they came in contact, evangelicals were expected to have fellowship with other believers both at home and away. Since Me sai Ainse did not have a nuclear family, 259 she was spared the tension with her family that other converts faced. Unlike Me sai ainse, Nancy McKinzie did belong to a large family, and her conversion created severe tensions within her family and irresolvable conflict between her family and the mission. In 1825 her stepfather, Mr. McBean, an Irish Catholic who worked as a principal clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company out of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, brought Nancy, then 15, and her four brothers and sisters to the mission to receive an education. He paid $30 per year to support each of his children. It was not his intention for any of them to adopt the Reverend Ferry's religious teachings as their own. Nancy, however, accepted evangelical beliefs and joined the church in January, 1827. Upon learning this, McBean and Nancy's Roman Catholic Indian mother took Nancy and her siblings out of the school. Once home, her family subjected Nancy to attempts to have her renounce evangelicalism and return to Catholic ways. The Reverend Ferry visited her at the Sault in 1828 and reported that her mother and brother had ridiculed her and tried to force her to go sailing on Sunday in violation of her conception of proper Sabbath behavior. Both verbal and physical abuse followed. Nancy resisted these efforts and continued in her new faithf’2 Nonetheless, her family's break with the mission was final. Most of the other French-métis converts experienced stress with their families, but they tried to bring their 260 loved ones into the evangelical fold. Julia and Elizabeth Beaulieu did not encounter such.harsh opposition as did Nancy from their Catholic father upon their conversion.' Julia embraced evangelical teaching at age seventeen after living at the mission for four years: her younger sister yielded after only two years, when she was thirteen. They remained at the mission, apparently with Bazil's blessing, until they married Euro-American men in 1831 and 1832 respectively. For Julia, conversion carried with it the responsibility to try to convert her mother and others in her homeland. Julia said in her testimony to the Board that her mother wished that missionaries would be sent to her home. It appears that her parents did not view evangelicalism with the alarm that McBean did. Julia definitely believed that God was working his will through her and had brought her to the mission family. This conviction encouraged her to feel that her mother might indeed be converted. What effect Julia had in changing her parents' religious beliefs is unknown, but her father remained a Catholic and is buried in the St. Joseph's parish cemetery on Madeline Island."3 Charles Hastings, a French-Chippewa youth, converted at age twenty in 1830 after living at the mission for six years and expressed great concern for the spiritual state of the Chippewa. He spoke Chippewa as a boy and retained fluency even after learning English. Upon conversion Charles felt a deep sense of responsibility for his Chippewa relations:“’ 261 I could bless God, and thank all the christians for sending us missionaries, to learn how to read: and above all to tell us about God and Jesus Christ. I could for one say I been as ignorant about God before I came to live with Missionaries as many thousands are now. we have for number of sabbaths had 2 or 3 meetings on purpose for the Indians. A number of them hope they are born again. The meetings we have had, been very inter- esting to me. What a blessing to see some of the Chippeways talk about God. But there is a great, darkness yet, all around us. They were 6 or 7 Chipeways from Lapoint, came down with traders: they told us when we told them about God that they never heard about God in their country.... Charles, too, exhibited an evangelistic spirit and hoped his newfound faith might be embraced by the traditional members of the fur-trade society. It appears that most of the Anglo-métis children encoun- tered little parental opposition to their conversions. One reason for this probably was that their fathers were familiar with Presbyterian and Congregational churches back in New England and New York, and they saw nothing objectionable to their children joining one of these churches. Although there is no indication that John Holiday professed evangelical Christianity, he apparently voiced no objections when his daughters Mary and Nancy joined the Presbyterian church. Holiday united.with Lyman Warren, Daniel Dingley, and William Aitkin in their efforts to extend the mission work into the Lake Superior country. All of them encouraged their métis children to learn the ways of American society, including evangelical religion . ‘5 262 When the conflict between métis families of converts and the mission did not result in a rupture of relations between the two, the youthful, new evangelicals became, in effect, missionaries to their own people. They did not see evangel- icalism as a force which would divide them from their rela- tives, but rather one which drew families closer together. When young people such as Julia and Charles expressed concern for the eternal well-being of their family and friends, the missionaries leapt for joy. This fulfilled their fondest hope--converting boys and girls who would then seek to convert others in their homelands and bring native families into the evangelical family. In this way the mission family had served its ultimate purpose. Julia and Charles had accepted the Ferrys' radical religious challenge, but they did it in a way which did not require them to disassociate themselves from their own people. For most of the children at the mission, evangelicalism did not generate tensions between them and their own families. They simply rejected it or, in some cases, integrated parts of it into their existing religious beliefs and practices without becoming evangelicals. Nancy McKinzie's experience provides one reason--Catholic parents could exert considerable influence over their children to remain Catholic. Few of the children wanted to alienate themselves from their parents and disrupt family harmony. Many of the children simply did not stay long enough at the mission to gain sufficient 263 understanding of evangelical beliefs and to give evidence to their mentors of the depth of their beliefs. Most of those who converted lived at the mission for at least two or three years before accepting evangelical ways.“ Still others found little truth. or’ relevance in ‘this system.*which. was so different from what their parents had taught them. Marriage and church records reveal the persistence of Catholicism among former students and their parents, even some who appeared to exhibit sincere interest in evangelical teach- ings. Lucy Beaubin, who lived at the mission for five years, said her marriage vows to Louis Carontz before Father Florimund J. Bonduel at Mackinac in 1837. Alexis Corbin and Sophia Perault married on July 1, 1833 before Father Mazzuchelli. Clement Beaulieu did not follow his sisters into the Presbyterian church: he and his wife, Elisabeth Farling, brought each of their children to Father Frederic Baraga for baptism on Madeline Island. Elisabeth had become a "hopeful subject of grace" at the mission in 1828, but evidently her interest in evangelicalism was not permanent. In the mid- 1840s William Warren and Matilda Aitkin also had their children baptized at St. Joseph's. Even William's father, Lyman, fell from good grace in the evangelical church, and in 1837 the Reverend Sherman Hall excommunicated him. Following this, Lyman and Mary Cadot brought their infants to Father Baraga for Baptism. Daniel Dingley and Isabella Dechine brought daughter Guillielmus to Father Baraga in 1838 to be 264 baptized.‘57 This evidence suggests that Catholicism among both métis and Chippewa women married to either French-métis or American men persisted even after their husbands embraced evangelicalism. To the Protestant missionaries' dismay, Roman Catholicism continued to influence some of the individuals and families who had received the evangelical message favora- bly. At least eleven of the girls chose spouses who were either Euro-Americans or métis. Not surprisingly, Anglo- métis females married Euro-American or Anglo-métis men. For instance, Hester Crooks, the half Ottawa daughter of Ramsey Crooks, married missionary the Reverend William T. Boutwell at Fond du Lac, and Matilda Aitkin married William Warren in 1842. It does not appear that any Anglo-métis girls married French-métis men. French-métis girls, on the other hand, married Euro-American, French-métis, and Anglo-métis husbands. Julia Beaulieu married the fur trader Charles H. Oakes on July 29, 1831, and her sister Elizabeth married the Danish trader Dr. Charles William Wulff Borup on July 17, 1832 at Mackinac. On August 30, 1835 Catharine (Goulais) Bissell married missionary Edmund F. Ely at La Pointe. These women found a way to retain the same level of social status held by their fathers in the fur-trade society.“ . Upon their marriages, Catharine Bissell and Hester Crooks made life-long commitments to spreading the evangelical message. Hester worked with her husband among the Chippewa at Pokegoma and other sites until the late 18403 and then 265 among Euro-American settlements in Minnesota until her death in 1853.” Catharine lived until 1880, having ministered to the Chippewa until 1854, after which she accompanied her husband to Duluth, then to St. Paul, back to Duluth, and in 1873 to California]0 Significantly, Boutwell and Ely never returned east to live with their native wives: rather they pushed further westward, following the progression of the frontier. They, like the generation of American fur traders who preceded them in marrying native women, chose not to take their wives back to New England or New York. Other former students also worked for many years to transform métis and Chippewa into evangelical Christians. Me sai Ainse accompanied FrederickMAyer'to La Pointe in 1830 when he began the American Board's work in her homeland. Her work as an interpreter was not very successful, but Josette Pyant and Henry Blatchford (both French-métis) made more substantial contributions in their roles as interpreters. Henry became a native catechist, was licensed to preach in 1860, and worked among the Chippewa until his death in 1901 at age ninety- three. He also assisted the Reverend Sherman Hall translate the New Testament into the Chippewa language.71 Being an interpreter fit nicely into the heritage of the métis, for they had filled this role for over a century. Most of the young men and women returned to their home grounds and worked in the fur trade, which fulfilled their parents' expectations for them after they left the mission. 266 The girls married and managed households just as their mothers had done before them. No boys made their livings by farming, and only nine learned mechanical trades. At least thirteen other boys worked as clerks in the trade, and several served 72 Louis Provencalle, who was as interpreters and laborers. typical of the "successful" boys, applied his knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic by assisting his father keep records of his fur-trading activities along the St. Peter's River. Charles Hastings, too, found employment as a clerk in the trade, going to work for Mitchell 8 Hoffman and later for Biddle 8 Drew on Mackinac Island. Alfred Aitkin traded for his father at Leech Lake and Upper Red Cedar Lake until he was murdered by an Indian in 1836. For fifty years Clement and Paul Beaulieu. traded among’ the Chippewa inMinnesota.’3 William Warren became active in Minnesota politics and took a seat in the territorial legislature before his death in 1853. He also studied his Chippewa heritage and wrote Him Q£_£h§_Qith§¥§- Unfortunately, the records provide little information regarding what many of the other students did after they left the mission. During the time the children spent at the mission, many of them incorporated new skills, ideas, and beliefs into their world view. Yet, crucially, none began to think and act as a New Englander. Instead, these students learned and.grafted new ways to those they already possessed, feeling this would benefit both themselves and their people back home. A few of 267 them went so far as to take the radical step of becoming evangelical Christians. But even in this, the converts believed that the evangelical message would be good for their parents, brothers, sisters, and friends. Those who accepted much of what the Ferrys had to offer did so with the convic- tion that this would draw them closer to their natural family rather than to drive them apart. The mission experience had removed the métis children further from their Chippewa relatives, and it pulled them closer to their Euro-American heritage. As Americanization approached the fur-trade society, the mission-trained youth were better equipped to carry out the traditional role of the métis as the inter- mediary people between Chippewa and Euro-American society. Despite the Ferrys' intention to "civilize" these children of the forest, they unwittingly structured the school in such a way as to insure that their students would incorporate new elements into their lives without necessarily rejecting their existing world view. 268 CHAPTER V 1W. Ferry to Evarts, January 24, 1827, ABC: 18.4.8. I: 185 and September 5, 1827, ABC: 18. 4. 8. I: 18: Tuttle, 0! ‘ 9: 01~ 0: a: y; . {:0 “!-3A 10.21 9‘ 0! , p. 33: Greene, Report: An Act to protect Missionary Societies in the Territory of Michigan, for the Education of Indians, and other persons of Indian habits, April 12, 1827, Logo_o§ tns_Tsrritsrz_ofJuisnissn. Vol. II (Lansing. 1874). pp- 383- 84. 2Jennifer S. H. Brown found that by the 18408 Euro- Canadian traders working for the Hudson's Bay Company married métis rather than Indian women, S§ronooro_in_fiiooo, p. xvi. 3A. Ferry to Family, November 29, 1824 (5), Ferry letters 25:209. Barbara Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820- 1860,” ,- .u‘ .u - . -. : - -l -- :p- v- (New York, 1978), oed. by Michael Gordon, p. 313: for discus- sion of New England and New York family development, see Philip Greven, he 0 esta e e t' atte o ' - {‘2 1° 1‘ ..' l ‘ 19'. .!‘ ‘ .1 . LL‘ . -. (New York 1977) 9nd Ryan. Qrsle_sf_fns_nidsls_§lssss 5Stevens, July 24, 1827, Diaries, pp. 22-3: W. R. Campbell to Greene, May 25, 1827, ABC: 18.6.1.1:87. 9A. Ferry to H. White, January 9, 1830, Ferry letters, 26:183. zW. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827. AJohn L. Hudson to Evarts, August 4, 1826, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:211: John A. Granger, June 20, 1827, "Journal of a Tour to Detroit, . . .," W. Ferry, November 28, 1823, extracts from Journal. Ansrissn_nissisnarx_8sgisrsr 5: 90: A- Ferry to Mary Arms White, March 9, 1824, Ferry letters, 25: 200- 01. 9Catharine Bissell, Life Memoranda, ABC: 6.5.3.1:451. ‘mGreene, Report- For example, Charles Hastings received his mission name from Mr. Charles Hastings of Utica, New York: Reuben Smith was supported by the Presbyterian Church of Ballston in Saratoga County, New York, and Me sai a inse was given the name Caroline Williams Rodgers and.wa8 supported by 269 the Ladies Society of Glenn Falls, New York, ABC: 24.V11:456, 461. 11Klugel, ‘To Go About on the Earth,‘ pp. 9-10. 12M. Inez Hilger, W(Washington, 1951), pp. 35-39: Frances Densmore, CW (Minneapolis. 1970). pp- 52-55- 13Greene, Report: Stevens, 1827, Diaries, pp. 21-25. 1“Greene, Report. 15W. R. Campbell to Greene, May 25, 1837. ‘mThe missionaries and some of their supporters expressed considerable concern over'where the mission students would go after they left Mackinac. David Greene, Thomas McKenney, Jeremiah Evarts, and others saw the children as Indians rather than métis, which confused their perceptions of the children's future after leaving the mission. Evarts commented, "Indian children educated at a boarding school, and sent home into the wilderness, will oorroiniy fall into savage life." (Evarts to Greene, July 7, 1829, A.B.C.F.M. Mss, Officers of the Board, Vol. 31: No. 186--A.L.S. , MHS.) When the métis children returned home, they reentered the ordered world of their métis families. The métis understood far more clearly than did the missionaries the value of an education at the mission for children who had to live in the fur-trade society. ‘wGreene, Report: Jackson.Kempery July 3-August 11, 1834, Diary, Jackson Kemper Papers, Vol. 69, SHSW: A. Ferry to Family, September 29, 1824 (5), Ferry letters, 25:207-08: W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827: Stevens, 1827, Diaries, p. 27. 1aBoutwell, June 28, 1832, ”Journal," in Mason, Sohool: Massimo. p- 320- ‘ 1"w. Ferry to Evarts, August 26, 1828, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:193: Greene, Report: John Newland to Evarts, April 8, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8.1:232. 20w. Ferry to Evarts, January 24, 1827, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:185, May 29, 1827, ABC: 18.4.8.1:186, February 7, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:196 and October 10, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8.1:200: W. Ferry to Henry Hill, November 16, 1829, ABC: 18.5.7.1:15: Heydenburk to Greene, December 1, 1832, ABC: 18.6.1.1:62. 21Porter. W. pp- 53-59- 270 uGreene, Report: W. Ferry to Evarts, April 10, 1828, ABC: 18.4.8.1:192: A. Ferry, April 10, 1828, Ferry letters, 26:111: Heydenburk to Greene, November 24, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:59. 23A. Ferry, August 28, September 10, and October 31, 1828, Ferry letters, 26:112, 116-17: W. Ferry to Evarts, August 26, 1828, October 10, 1829: W. Ferry to Greene, September 7, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8.1:199: W. Ferry to Hill, November 16, 1829, Loomis to Greene, January 22, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:53. “Loomis to Mrs. Harvey (Nancy) Ely, November 15, 1830, Elisha Loomis Papers, #2238, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cornell University. 25Loomis to Greene, January 22, 1831. z"McKenney, Moo, pp. 386-7: W. Ferry to Evarts, August 26, 1828, and January 24, 1827, ABC: 18.4.8.1:185. "Mark J. Sammons, "‘Without a Word of Explanatioru' District Schools of. Early Nineteenth-Century New England, " 9‘ I). g ‘ e e e -:e lo: MW (Boston. 1987). pp. 78-90. 28Stevens, July, 1827, Diaries, pp. 24-25: S. Hall to Greene, August 2, 1831, ABC: 18. 6. 1. I: 46: Joseph Lancaster, 0° - one o 1 ._ . -. . - .- 2: 10-8 - : (Clifton, New Jersey, 1973, origi- nally pub. in 1805): Ronald Rayman, "Joseph Lancaster's Monitorial System of Instruction and American Indian Educa- tion. 1815-1888." 11W 21 (Winter. 1981): 395-410. For a provocative account of Indian chil- dren's responses to Presbyterian mission schools between 1837 and 1893 see Michael C. Coleman, "The Responses of American Indian Children to Presbyterian Schooling in the Nineteenth Century: .An.Analy8is through Missionary Sources," Hiorory_ofi 27 (Winter, 1987): 473-497u Coleman found that Indian children reacted to their education at American mission schools in a variety of ways--"adaptability, ambivalence, acceptance, active manipulation of the school, resistance, and rejection." (p. 495). 29A. Ferry to H. White, September 12, 1825, Ferry let- ters, 25:213-14. ”Heydenburk.1825.m_nissisnan_3sgisfsr 6: 245- 46 and Tuttle. W. pp. 25- 6. 31Greene , Report 271 32Heydenburk. 1825. MW 6: 245- 46 and Tuttle. WW. pp- 26- 7. 33Stevens, July, 1827, Diaries, pp. 24-25: S. Hall to Greene, August 2, 1831. "J. Olney. ummmmmomm (Hart- ford, 1839), pp. 49, 149. .”Noeh Webster. MW -'.’.l I. 2’. O ,0. _: (Albany. 1820). P- 46- 3“Jameson, W, Vol. 3, pp. 177-78. 37Lancaster. MW. 913- 66. 70- ”Loomis to Greene, August 11, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:55: W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827: Greene, Report: W. Ferry to Greene, March 10, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:31: S. Hall to A. Hall, Jr., August 4, 1831, Hall Mss--A.L.S., MHS. ”Stevens, July, 1827, Diaries, pp. 24-5. “Loomis, 1832, On Teaching Geography in the Common Schools and On Teaching Arithmetic in the Common Schools, Loomis Papers, #2275. “Oj ipue Alphabet, ABC: 8.5:24: Loomis to Greene, August 11, 1831: Loomis to Edwin James, August 3, 1831: Loomis to William Williams, September 23, 1831 and January 23, 1832: all Loomis Papers, #2238: Loomis to Greene, December 2, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1.1:52 and April 3, 1832, ABC: 18.3.7.1:114: Greene to Loomis, January 17, 1832, ABC: 1.01.x1:416-7: S. Hall to Greene, August 2, 1831. “W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827. ‘uA, Ferry to family, September 29, 1824(5), November 29, 1824(5), May 8, 1826, to H. White, September 12, 1825, to T. White, November'3, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:208, 209, 215, 219, and 220: A. Ferry to H. White, January 27, 1830, A. Ferry, n.d., Ferry letters, 26:126-27 and 186: Greene, Report: W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827. “W. Ferry to parents, June 6, 1826, Ferry letters, 25:22: A. Ferry to Family, June 4, 1827 and to H. White, August 25, 1827, Ferry letters, 26:101, 106: W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827: Greene Report: T. White to Evarts, February 17, 1828, ABC: 6. V8168: Tuttle, mum 272 W, p. 34 and Louis Provencalle to Greene, July 23, 1830, ABC: 4.8.1:231. “Provencalle to Greene, July 23, 1830: A. Ferry to parents, June, 1824, Ferry letters, 25:203-03: A. Ferry to 7, December 31, 1829, Ferry letters, 26:126: Greene, Report: W. Ferry to Evarts, April 10, 1828, ABC: 18.4.8.1:192. “Garey to Secretary of War, December 15, 1834, ABC: 18.6.1. 1:66. "Evarts to Greene, July 7, 1829: Greene, Report. “W. Ferry to Evarts, September 5, 1827. MW. Ferry to Hill, November 16, 1829 and February 26, 1833, ABC: 18.5.7.I:38: Greene, Report: Stevens, 1828, Diaries, pp. 38-39. soInvoice, October, 1828, George Boyd Papers, 111:73, SHSW: Invoice, November 7, 1826 and December 16, 1831, Wisconsin Manuscripts: Green Bay and Prairie du Chien Papers, Lxx11:61, 131, SHSW, Invoice, December 18, 1832, Reel 2 and Invoice, March 31, 1834, Reel 22, Schoolcraft Papers. ”w. Ferry to Hill, November 16, 1329, ABC: 13.5.7. 1:15. ”W. Ferry to Evarts, April 10, 1323, August 26, 1323, January 5, 1829, ABC: 18.4.8.1:195: Loomis to Greene, May 17, 1832, Loomis Papers #2238: W. Ferry to Hill: November 20, 1830, ABC: 18.5.7.1:21, January 24, 1831, ABC: 18.5.7.1:24, February 26, 1833, ABC: 18.5.7.I:38: S. P. Heintzelman, September 27, October 12, and October 22, 1828, Diary, 1825- 1833, pp. 54-5: Manifests, August 18 and October 7, 1829, November 30, 1830, August 23 and September 10, 1831, April 11, May 10, September 18, and October 9, 1832, American Fur Company, Port Mackinac Papers, 1831-1835 (Sault Ste. Marie Papers), Roll 14, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Original documents are in the Judge Joseph H. Steere Special Collections Room, Bayliss Public Library, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. 53Mary Anna Fisher, 1839, Michigan Superintendency of Indian Affairs and Mackinac Indian Agency, Letters Received 7:131: Hearsey to Greene, November 14, 1834, ABC: 18.6.1. 1:82: Samuel Mazzuchelli to Leopoldinen Stiftung, August 25, 1831, Notre Dame Archives: Malcolm Rosholt and John Britten Gehl, m ° W'sco s e (Rosholt, Wis., 1976), pp. 22-35: John McDowell, "Therese Schindler of Mackinac: Upward Mobility in the Great lakes Fur Trade. " WWW 61:125-143- 273 s"Porter. W. p. 53- 55Stevens, 1828, Diaries, p. 29. 5"H. Schoolcraft to E. Herring, December 31, 1834, Schoolcraft Papers, Reel 22: Porter, WM, pp. 92-96: Herring to Schoolcraft, March 16, 1835, Mackinac Indian Agency, Letters Received 3:50, National Archives, Microcopy No. 1: H. Schoolcraft to Herring, October 1, 1835, Mackinac Indian Agency, Letters Sent, May 31, 1833-July 1, 1836, p. 125: Schoolcraft to Harris, September 30, 1836, Mackinac Indian Agency, letters Sent 1:40: Sarah C. Owen, John A. Drew, and William Johnston, December 31, 1835, Schoolcraft Papers, Reel 23: W. Ferry to Greene, September 13, 1830: Hearsey to Greene, November 14, 1834, ABC: 18.6.1. 1:82. 57Stevens, July 23, 1327, Diaries, p. 21: Greene, Report. s‘H. Schoolcraft, January 19, 1823, Momoiro, p. 146. 5"’H. Schoolcraft, W3, pp. xv, xviii-xix. “See Kenneth H. Morrison. W e - '. ; e 1 Q ‘ e ' 1.- n g ' ; e g ‘ (Berkeley, 1984) for a discussion of how a native group (the Abenaki) came to grips with missionaries seeking to convert them in the seventeenth century. Morrison contends that ”something more than compromise and something less than conversion emerged" (p. 82). In some instances it appears that this concept applied to conversions among the mission children. James Axte11.1hs_1nxasinn_ili_tninI_Tns_CsntesLof W (New York. 1985) demon- strates that Indians living in the Northeast "were remarkably resourceful in adjusting to new conditions, especially in using elements of European religious culture for their own purposes. According to the social and political circumstanc- es in which they found themselves after contact, they accept- ed the missionaries' offerings in just the amounts necessary to maintain their own cultural identity” (p. 286) . This, too, helps explain some of the métis children's responses to the evangelical missionaries. Every young man and woman who underwent a genuine spiritual conversion sought to make this experience consistent with the world from which he came. mW. Ferry to Greene, August 26, 1828. “w. Ferry to Evarts, January 24, 1327 and August 26, 1828: Hudson to Rufus Anderson, July 10, 1827, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:213. “Julia Beaulieu to Greene, February 11, 1830, ABC: 18.4.8. 1:201. 274 6"Charles Hastings to Greene, August 13, 1830,. ABC: 18.4.8. 1:231. 65Mary Holiday to H. White, September 12, 1825, Ferry letters, 25:213: Children at Mackinaw. “Greene, Report: Children at Mackinaw: Catalogue of Boys School: Catalogue of Girls School. "Register of the Post of Michilimackinac: Liber Baptize- torium Missions S. Joseph: in loco dicto: A la Pointe du Lac Superieur, Box 2, Diocese of Detroit Papers: Children at Mackinaw: S. Hall to Greene, October, 1838, ABC: 18.3.7. II:122. “Register of the Post of Michilimackinac: Catharine Bissell, "Life Memoranda:" Hester Crooks, ”Life Memoranda," July 21, 1838, ABC: 6.5.3.1:183: see also J. Peterson, "Many roads to Red River: .. .:n J. Brown. Strangers_in_nlnon: and S- Van Kirk. Manx_Tsnnsr_Tiss- “Edward D. Neill, ”Memoir of William '1'. Boutwell," Macalester College Contributions, Second Series, No. 1, ppe 48-9e "Roy Hoover, "To Stand Alone in the Wilderness," Minnssnfa_flisforx 49 (Fall. 1985i=80- "Garey to Greene, January 15, 1336, ABC: 13.6.1.1:70: ABC: Missionaries of ABCFM, Vol. 1: Mary Warren English, June 25, 1905, Warren Family Papers, SHSW: S. Hall et al to Greene, September 12, 1835, ABC: 18.3.7.1:79: W. Ferry to Greene, July 12, 1834, ABC: 18.6.1.1:43 andMAugust 5, 1831, ABC: 18.6.1z33. 72Lucius Garey to Secretary of War, December 15, 1834, ABC: 18.6.1.1:66. 71‘Bruce M. White, "A Skilled Game of Exchange: Oj ibway Fur Trade Protocol,” W 50 (Summer, 1987) :229- 240: Mark Diedrich, "Chief Hole-in-the-Day and the 1862 Chippewa Disturbance: A Reappraisal," MW 50 (Spring, 1987):193-203: H. Schoolcraft, February 1, 1837, , pp. 553-54: W. Ferry to Greene, August 5, 1831: Provencalle to Greene, July 23, 1830. CONCLUSION The experience at Mackinac exposed the dilemma which confronted the traders and clerks and their métis children in the 18208 and beyond. On the one side, they encountered changes instigated by advancing Americans: on the other side, they remained steadfast in their determination to carry on the fur trade. Their choice was not between two ways of life: neither way had room for them. To continue in the fur trade meant devoting themselves to a doomed business that would endure for only a few more decades even in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Yet if the métis chose to settle among and seek accommodation with the invading Anglo-Americans, the racial and cultural prejudice of American society would prevent them from being accepted as equals. Their own desires and the prejudices of the Americans conspired to defeat the métis. Seeking to retain the basic structure of the fur-trade society that could not survive and also banished from an alternative life among the Anglo- Americans, the métis faced a seemingly impossible situation. Yet as the mission story reveals, the métis and the Anglo- Americans also shared a middle ground. This middle ground 275 276 represented a road not taken. It might have been possible for the métis to assume a place in American society. The acculturation.of both.Chippewas and Euro-Americans that created the métis had been going on for decades. Consequently, the metis children of traders and clerks had things in common with the missionaries that made it possible for them both to understand and to respond to the challenges presented by their teachers. Both organized the world in similar ways.1 When William and Amanda Ferry created a mission family at Mackinac, they unwittingly established a familial order at the mission which enabled the children to take their place in the school within a form familiar to them. The children accepted instruction in skills and values from their mission parents that resembled the experience of their own families. Girls found that the emphasis placed on homemaking by the missionaries closely resembled the role played by their mothers. Boys could see the benefit of learning mechanical skills, such as blacksmithing or carpentry, because they knew them to be useful to their fathers' work. Both boys and girls recognized the worth of reading, writing, and arithmetic since these intellectual skills were necessary for record keeping in the fur trade. Nor'was the larger community initially unresponsive to the mission efforts that joined the two worlds. Most of the people at Mackinac welcomed the Ferrys' establishment of a 277 school. The community, like many others in the northern United States, endorsed formal, institutional education as worthwhile.2 The support for the mission by traders and clerks working for the American Fur Company reaffirmed the long-standing desire which Euro-American men working in the fur trade had to educate their’metis children in non-Indian ways.3 American traders who were recent arrivals had the added incentive of wanting to prepare their own children in ways of Anglo-American society. French-métis parents living on Mackinac Island, too, willingly sent their sons and daughters to the school to learn to read and write and to add and subtract. Except for most Indians, all groups at Mackinac recognized the value of the mission as an educational enterprise and believed it could benefit their children. By introducing formal education to Mackinac, the evangelical missionaries aided in the Americanization of the fur-trade society. Only when the missionaries moved off the.middle ground did the children resist their educational efforts. The métis children, with their parents' approval, stood against attempts to make them into settled farmers. Despite the Ferrys' desire that their students either live on farms or practice a trade in a community where they lived all year, the children insisted on taking their newly acquired knowl- edge back to their homelands in the Lake Superior country. Once at home, they continued the seasonal migrations of 278 their parents. The children's fathers, after all, wanted an education that allowed their sons and daughters to cope with changes in the fur-trade society: they never intended for them to abandon the trade. Although the fur trade might be doomed, agriculture was not a realistic alternative. The soil and climate did not allow the métis or anyone else to farm on a large scale. The missionaries, who in 1823 had never been in the Lake Superior country, had no way of knowing how different a land this was physically from settled New England and how questionable small family farming was as an occupation. When the missionaries confronted the children with the radical demand that they convert to evangelical Christianity, the children again largely refused: those who did convert resolved the implications of their conversion on the middle ground. French-métis boys and girls did not have to break completely with Roman Catholic teachings to become evangelicals. Both Christian traditions worshipped the same God and shared beliefs in such practices and doctrines as baptism, the forgiveness of sin, and the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Outwardly, the converts had to abandon the Roman Catholic Church and could not participate in mass or confess their sins before a priest. But inwardly, they fit their new-found evangelical beliefs into Christian concepts taught to them by their parents. The youthful converts actually introduced evangelicalism 279 onto the middle ground shared by the métis and the missionaries by taking their new faith back to their own families and relations. The children did not wish to create discord, but instead they hoped to incorporate their rela- tives into the larger evangelical family of believers. The children's desire to convert their own.people met the evan- gelical expectation that its adherents seek to bring other people into the evangelical fold. Yet if on this personal level the Ferrys' mission expanded the middle ground, it simultaneously modified the world that sustained it. The mission extended far beyond its walls. Its activities reached out to the fur-trade community and worked to incorporate the people living in it into the evangelical vision of the larger American society.‘ They sought to recreate a world where evangelical Christianity occupied as important a place as it did in New England and New York. In so doing, the Ferrys participated in the larger effort to take evangelicalism to the American frontier for the spiritual benefit of believers as well as trying to convert others who had settled in the West. To see the Mackinac missionaries simply as a small band of religious enthusiasts bent on turning Indians into evangelicals would miss the broader significance of their work. Their theology commanded them not only to proselytize, but to eradicate sin wherever they saw it. The missionaries attempted to reform evils which they saw 280 running rampant at Mackinac. They were truly offended by unholy Sabbath practices, alcohol abuse, swearing, gambling, and men and women living together and reproducing without the benefit of a formal marriage. As a result, when the missionaries worked for change, they made their presence felt throughout the northwestern Great Lakes region. The Ferrys hoped to build an evangelical-centered community at Mackinac which would be part of a larger, world-wide, evangelical Protestant society. Just as the agents of the American government prepared the region to take its place in the national government, the Mackinac missionaries be- lieved that they could convince the people living there to join the religious movement which was doing much to shape the country's development. The evangelical Christians' prime motivation for estab- lishing the mission was spiritual. The Mackinac missionaries saw obedience to God as the most important thing in their lives, and out of this grew their desire to influence others in both spiritual and temporal matters. Ordinary men and women living in New England and New York followed what they thought was God's call to devote their lives to telling others the evangelical message. The missionaries believed.that they were obeying God's command- -and that there could be no higher calling. Even though they worked hard to control people's actions, the Ferrys' primary objective always remained to convert lost souls. 281 A full understanding of the motivation of evangelical behavior must take into account their ideology and spiritual aspirations. The missionaries' fervent proselytizing found favor among some who had a similar cultural background, but alien- ated others, especially the Roman Catholics. Most people who accepted the teachings of evangelical ism had roots in New England or New York: only a handful of "non-Yankees" experienced conversion to evangelical Protestantism. By antagonizing the French-métis, the Ferrys' rabid anti- Catholicism actually brought about a revitalization of the Roman Catholic Church at Mackinac. The new-found vigor of Catholicism at Mackinac after 1830 sprang in part from the Catholic church's own effort to become an American institu- tion. For all the influence missionaries exerted on the behavior of non-evangelicals through the power exercised by employers or officials who adhered to the evangelical message, they could not force Catholics or many others to join the Presbyterian church.s To complicate things still more, the missionaries themselves changed as they worked among strong-willed métis children and a diverse adult community. They came to accept the fact that their students would return to the fur-trade society and make their living in the trade or activities closely related to it. In effect, the Ferrys and their associates trained boys and girls to become better fur 282 traders, not settled farmers. When the Reverend Ferry accepted support for the mission from the agents of the American Fur Company, he gave tacit approval to their enter- prise and to the style of life which the business required of its employees. ENen though the evangelicals remained steadfastly attached to their theological and spiritual beliefs, they changed course in the secular phase of their mission because (the circumstances in which they found themselves left them little choice. The youngsters who came to them (voluntarily enrolled by their parents) had a much clearer perception of their world than did the New Englanders. Because the métis knew what they expected to gain from ‘the school, the Ferrys acquiesced ‘to ‘metis aspirations that the school meet their needs. This did not, however, mean that the evangelicals gave up control over their program: rather they adjusted one of their major goals to meet local circumstances. Ultimately the evangelical missionary enterprise both revealed and exacerbated the métis predicament. By working to speed up the acculturation process for their students, the missionaries exposed them to the racial and cultural prejudice which stood in their way of being assimilated on an equal basis into American society. At the same time, when the Ferrys accepted the legitimacy of the fur trade, they encouraged the métis to continue making their living 6 in a dying business. And in a perverse way, the métis 283 desire to perpetuate the fur-trade society reinforced the power of American prejudice. The experience of the Mackinaw Mission reveals that when most Anglo-Americans, armed with their belief in the superiority of their own ways, met both métis and tribal Indians, they had little or no desire either to recognize or to respect the value of these peoples' customs. Nor did the Anglo-Americans wish to integrate people of Indian descent into the mainstream of American society. This forebode a bleak future for the métis. Métis identity or nationalism in the northwestern Great Lakes region experienced a far different fate than it did at Red River or other places in Canada. In Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota there existed no large centralized settlement like the one at Red River where métis formed a majority of the population. Even as Euro-Canadians discriminated against the métis during the first half of the nineteenth century, forcing them into laboring positions in the fur trade, Red River provided a focal point for métis identity and aspirations. The persistence there of the fur trade as a viable economic activity after it declined in the United States allowed the métis at Red River to retain gainful employment. Policies of the Hudson's Bay Company, which relegated most métis males to laboring jobs without hope of rising in the company, helped to unify the métis. The métis at Red River coalesced around their common 284 experiences and developed a social and political identity which has endured to the present.7 No such experiences unified the Great Lakes métis. By the mid-18308 most of the people who had made up the evangelical community had vanished from Mackinac. The mission closed in 1837. William and Amanda Ferry moved to Grand Haven, Michigan, in 1834, where he started another Presbyterian church and.became involved in the lumber busi- ness. The church at Mackinac had lost its spiritual leader, and the American Board never found an ordained minister to replace him. The church suffered other losses as members moved away. Most of the teachers, their assistants, and converted students left. Several members, including Michael Dousman, were excommunicated for behavior deemed contrary to evangelical teaching. Another major change occurred after the American Fur Company reduced its operations at Mackinac. In 1834 John Jacob Astor sold his interest in the company to Ramsey Crooks, who moved many of the company's functions to Sault Ste. Marie and La Pointe. Consequently, many of the traders and their employees, including those from Lake Superior, no longer visited Mackinac during the summer. Now, these men wanted teachers sent to their homelands, a request the Board began to honor as early as 1830. The métis children who had come to Mackinac with their parents came no longer. 285 In effect Americanization, which had produced the mission, also brought about its demise. Since Mackinac did not grow into a major center of American settlement, govern- ment, or commerce, the political and economic institutions established there served only a few people. Mackinac, itself, proved unable to support either the mission school or the Presbyterian congregation after the mid-18308. Many people passed through the Straits on their way west, but only a handful of new Anglo-American settlers came to live on the island. Instead, Americans moved into southern Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and southern Minnesota, where better soil encouraged widespread agriculture, growing towns spawned industry, and promoters encouraged large-scale immigration from the East and Europe. Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and other cities became the centers of American society in the upper Midwest, while Mackinac served as one of the gateways for Americans to carry their civilization west. Mackinac, like the métis, was about to decline. As American society and government marched west, the winds of change transformed each group living in the fur- trade society. The Anglo-Americans dominated the new order and kept the métis and Indians from occupying equal places in it. Métis families from the Lake Superior region retreated to the safety of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, where for another twenty or thirty years they continued their familiar life style. This did not resolve their 286 dilemma: it simply delayed the consequences. Shut out of American society, many of the métis moved closer to their Chippewa kin, who were even more alienated from the Americans. Because the Mackinac missionaries misperceived the métis, they failed to recognize the things that both groups held in common. Consequently, the Ferrys were unable to find or to articulate ways to incorporate the métis into American society. This failure by the missionaries also helped to shove the métis toward their Chippewa relatives. The story of the Mackinaw Mission confirms that the métis occupied an intermediary place between Chippewa and Euro-American societies, but more importantly, it demon- strates that, where the two cultures overlapped, a middle ground had emerged. It was on this middle ground that.métis families and evangelical missionaries met and carried out an educational effort that allowed both groups to achieve at least some of their objectives. Identifying cultural overlaps enables us to see how decades of acculturation between the Chippewas and Euro-Americans had prepared métis children to:meet.Anglo-American.evangelical missionaries on at least some terms that were familiar to both. Where they shared common values, such as the importance of the family, they related to one another in constructive ways and reached accommodations that were mutually acceptable. When either group wandered off the middle ground, however, resistance to the other set in. 287 The experience at Mackinac reveals that the métis can no longer be viewed as tribal Indians when we interpret the history of Indian missions. Historians must come to grips with the métis as a distinct group of people in addition to their affiliation with or involvement in tribal affairs. Since the métis embodied characteristics of both Indian and Euro-American societies, a close look at their origins and development will lead to an analysis of the larger society in which they lived. This, in turn, provides a clearer understanding of the historical world in which Christian missionaries met both métis and tribal Indians. As a result, life at Indian missions turns out to be much more complicated than simply that of one group of people trying to impose its ways upon another. Rather, the mission becomes part of the larger community in which it is located. Missionaries emerge as people determined to change the beliefs and ways of all of society, and the métis stand out as people with a distinctive culture having their own agenda relative to the mission. Indian missions should provide the impetus for studying the community that hosted them. Because so many children in Indian mission schools were métis, mission studies can illuminate many of the complex changing social relationships that took place as different groups of people came together on the frontier. The métis can help us unravel some of the tangled threads of the complexities of over three centuries of 288 contact between Indians and Euro-Americans. In this study an analysis of the métis led to a delineation of the region's social structure and how it related to changing economic, social, and political activities which accompanied the westward advance of Euro-American settlers. Society at Mackinac and the Lake Superior country had evolved largely as a result of several tribes of Indians and several groups of Euro-Americans working together to create a middle ground. Because of cultural diversity, a middle ground was necessary if these divergent groups hoped to live among each other, but many differences still persisted. As the métis evolved, they embodied many of the characteristics of the middle ground which enabled them to relate to both Indians and Euro-Americans. Historians must not fall into the same trap as did the Anglo-Americans of the nineteenth century who lumped métis and tribal Indians into one group. As we have seen, this caused the Anglo-Americans to miss the métis as a distinct group of people. The métis deserve to be studied as important contributors in the evolution of American society. Failure to do so not only robs them of their heritage, but it deprives all of us of a full understanding of American history. 289 CONCLUSION Endnefes ‘Ryan. W. 2Mark J. Sammons, “Without a Word of Explanation': District Schools of Nineteenth-Century New England, " in Peter Bones. ed.. WW 0 ‘W 1° 1° '0 . ° " 11!-i ' 0 “! °S J-:e ,9 o1! 191—l2fii (Boston: 1987), pp. 78-90: and Carl F. Kaestle, ”The Development of Common School Systems in the States of the Old Northwest, " in Paul H. Mattingly and Edward W. Stevens, Jr., eds., ” ns C t o " '"° ' 9 r‘ ' ° -_ . ° 1 . ! .! ' W (Athens, Ohio: 1937). PP- 31-44- 3Jennifer Brown, "Ultimate Respectability: Fur-Trade Children in the Civilized.World,” fiooyor Outfit 308.3 (Win- ter, 1977):4-10 and Outfit 308.4 (Spring, 1978):48-55. ‘William R. Hutchison. W (Chicago: 1987), pp. 1-15 and 63-69. sJohnson. WW- ‘Horsman. Mammal: and Berkhofer. The Wisn- 7Gerald Friesen , W (Lincoln, 1984), pp. 91- 128: Brown, EIIQDQ§I§_in_ELQQ§3 ‘Van Kirk. Manx_TenQer_Ties: and Peterson, ”The People in Be- tween,” pp. 245-263. 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