Pierz sends his school report with 5 receipts as they agreed in preceeding letters and hopes that Lefevere and the government will be satisfied with the quality of the report. Pierz arrived at Mackinac several days ago and is very busy hearing confessions and instructing for baptism and any other sacraments. Father J.B. Proulx from Courtoreil Island helped Pierz and Father Otho Skolla said Mass on two consecutive Sundays at Pointe de St. Ignace. Yesterday, Pierz baptized 21 converts. He does not know how to pay the Indians, because Stewart is not back from la Pointe on Lake Superior. He told Skolla to make a mission at Sault, but Skolla does not seem to be willing to do so. Proulx plans to go for a short time to Sault, on the Canadian border, to take care of the inhabitants and Pierz asks him to take care also of the people on this shore, since many Catholics are being gobbled up by the Protestant minister. Proulx plans to go for a short time and is willing to spend the winter at Sault only with some kind of support from Lefevere, since it is very hard to get any help at Sault. Pierz believes that Proulx can do much good because he can speak the languages of the tribes. But Pierz still thinks that a permanent priest would be more valuable. The Indians at Middletown built a new school and a room for Pierz. At Lacroix, they are building a house for the teacher and a room for Pierz. He needs two kitchen stoves and one furnace for the school room at Middletown. He also needs ten pieces of pipe for the furnaces he got last year. He expects to spend the winter at Middletown, Arbre Croche, and Lacroix. He asks Lefevere to send him a box of window glass and 3 locks. The Indians want to save money to buy their land. Pierz advises them to buy the land together so that the whites will not mix with them, for soon their land would be in the hands of the speculators. The Indians leave for Ionia in about two weeks to buy their land. Pierz asks Lefevere whether in regard to the land on which the churches, schools, and even his 6 gardens are situated, he should buy the land in the name of Lefevere or buy it himself, or let the Indians buy it. Pierz believes that it would be preferable to be in full ownership off the land in case of religious persecutions or political intrigues. He wishes to get a quick reply. Pierz has 160 Catholics at Grand Traverse and a school for Indians. On the other hand, the Presbyterian minister has only 12 adults and several children, and this after seven years of work in his religion. Since there are two hundred pagans not knowing what church to belong to, Pierz believes that in spending the winter at Grand Traverse he could win the pagans to the Catholic Church, and so break entirely the Presbyterian mission. But there might be trouble from the Presbyterians and may be from the government which has spent already more than $20,000 for the Presbyterian mission without getting any results. Pierz says that he is not afraid of such consequences, but he asks Lefevere to send himself and some other priest to Grand Traverse. David Mongolpin McGalpin, a Catholic farmer could be a good interpreter, and a great help to the priest. He includes a report of the Indian schools of Arbre Croche during the year 1844, dated Aug. 24th, 1844 and listing the schools at Arbre Croche, Lacroix, Middletown and Manistee, the assistants, the number of pupils, the tribes, and the expenditures - He also adds a note on the progress of the Ottowa Indians. :: III-2-h A.L.S. and A.D.S 8pp, 8vo, 1p. folio