Since he did not receive any salary for a half year nor any answer to his last letter, Pierz thinks that he has lost the favor of Lefevere. He asks Lefevere to send him the means to take care of his mission. He wants to know what salary Lefevere wishes to give him in the future, so that he can balance his expenses with his salary. The savages want schools everywhere and insist on seeing a priest constantly. Pierz plans to have 3 public schools which would be financed by the government. He will have a school at Kachagens Ondibaning with a church; another one on the other side of Grand Traverse where the Catholics wish to gather in their new village; and the third school in Arbre Croche. He will pay the teacher $12 a month which is the same salary Lefevere use to pay Mrs. Fisher and Grivat. At Cheboygan and other places where there are not enough children to have public schools he will establish some private ones. He asked Margaret to take the school at Arbre Croche two or three afternoons a week and he will take two or three days a week for the teaching of catechism. He promised Margaret $12 a month, but she refused and Pierz decided to let her continue to teach every morning with the salary of $10 a month. He asks Lefevere to make a decision concerning the public schools and the salary of the teachers. Pierz says that he just received some news from Grand Traverse where some people are dying. He is leaving at once, but this will be through tremendous difficulties, since there is not enough ice for the sleigh, no water for the boat and no read for the horse. The snow is three feet deep. For the love of God he is not afraid to endanger his life because he will not let a Catholic die without the sacraments. He asks about the priest promised him. Pierz wanted Father Ivo Leiviz, since he would have been able to take Pierz's place during his absence. But unfortunately some people told Lefevere that Ivo was not the right kind of priest for such a mission. But Pierz says that they were wrong, since he is such a good priest. At Kachagen Ondibaning there are now 64 Catholics who need a priest. Since Pierz is too old to take care of more than 4 villages: Arbre Croche, Cheboygan, Agakochiwing and the new village on the extreme part of the Bay at Grand Traverse. Pierz would like to see Lefevere send Father Ignatius Mrak to Grand Traverse because of his knowledge of the Indian language. Pierz will help the new priest at Lacroix with the confessions, etc., and he will be able to use Pierz's Catechism until his knowledge of Indian has improved. Pierz believes that Father Mrak would like this change, because he is very tired of all the intrigues in Middletown. Indeed, Mrak make a mistake in asking the savages to give the title of the new church to the Bishop without giving them an explanation of the reasons. The ignorant chief Neogima let himself be influenced by some intriguers, and decided to oppose Father Mrak. Pierz at once explained the situation in Middletown to his savages here at Arbre Croche and Cheboygan. Now there is no such opposition in his mission. Mrak sent Pierz Lefevere's last letter, and he asks Pierz to get Lefevere's permission to say Mass in the new church before it is blessed. Pierz replied that this would not be possible because Lefevere does not know well enough the situation of the savages. Pierz does not want to favor anybody and insists that the right order be maintained so that the savages can learn to accept the Church laws and obey the orders of the Bishop and the priests. The chief of the savages from Middletown spent three days with Pierz. He told Pierz that he will obey him and will follow his advice. During his trip to the savages of Cheboygan he examined Pipigwen's schools. Pierz went there to see about Pipigwen's complaint to Lefevere of not receiving the money for the schools. He found out that only 6 or 8 pupils were going to his school and that they had learned only the alphabet. Pipigwen had lied when he told Lefevere that he had 3 pupils who could read. He told a lie so that Pierz would send him $6. As a matter of fact the savages told Pierz that he did not spend more than a month teaching. However, Pierz sends him $2., since the teacher does not want to appear before Pierz. The teacher did not send the receipt for the $6. he received last spring. At the present time there are only 11 boys with some ability in the school of Cheboygan. All the adults in the school are not able to read and write in their own language. For 10 years he has been working hard in the mission, spent his energy and time teaching the savages how to read and write. He has given all he could so that the savages could learn their prayers and their catechism. He told them that he does not seek any more becomes a lazy and wandering man; experience is the best witness. The young coming from the protestant schools in Ohio do not work and do not practice religion. They are a bad example for our savages. Pierz tells Lefevere that it is hard to teach English to the savages, since in their alphabet they do not have the letters f, l, r, x, y, z, and are not able to pronounce any English words. Pierz says that the best example of their incapacity to learn English was given by the experience of Mrs. Fisher against Pierz's own will. The Presbyterians experience the same thing with the savages at Grand Traverse. Pierz sends all these informations to Lefevere so that he will be in the position to answer any government questions concerning the education of the savages. Three weeks ago Augustine Hamlin came to Arbre Croche and told Pierz that he was now an interpreter at Mackinac and that he was told by Babcock ?, the agent of the government, to make a census of the savages for the year 1849. But the savages do not trust Hamlin, and they would not give him their names. The savages asked Pierz what to do but Pierz told them that he had nothing to do with them since they rejected his advice last year. Pierz told them he did not want to advise them anymore concerning their political disputes. The savages refused to enter into correspondence with Asagon of Cheboygan, his only friend, to help him gather answers to some questions. Most of the savages did answer his questions. But at Lacroix and Middletown he had more difficulty in getting them together. After Hamlin left, Pierz asked to the savages what was the subject of their conversation. They answered that it concerned mostly the question of the school and the money of the government for the education of the savages. The savages at Cheboygan told Pierz that they were going to get an English school. The purpose of this census for 1849 is directed toward other reasons than the one mentioned by the savages. Pierz remembers that about 6 or 7 years ago the Presbyterian clubs tried to get control of the schools in the name of the government. But the Bishop opposed this unconstitutional action very vigorously. At the same time they tried to convince the savages to put a claim with the government against the Bishop of Detroit for not spending the money the right way for the education of the savages. Mr. Stuart wanted to take over the direction and the payment for the schools. But the savages did not want to put themselves in opposition to the Bishop and refused to accept Stuart's proposition. Pierz says that the majority of the Whigs are Presbyterian and want to control the schools against the democrats. Pierz sends Lefevere such information to warn him against any surprise. Concerning the conduct of the savages Pierz says that there is nothing very promising. Indeed, there are still many good Catholics attached to the Church and the priests, but many of them are changing and influenced by traders and the pupils from the Ohio school. There is so much discontent that he does not mix in their affairs. Some live like libertines. Last winter one could hear the drunkards going through the streets at night. Lately a wayward girl got a child and some say she killed him. The conduct of the savages is is very sad. Pierz has known it for two years, and it is for this reason that he has asked that Lefevere grants him a release. Indeed, the work kills him and he has suffered very much for the last 10 years. Pierz, however, received the answer that a priest in the United States is made for his entire life the property of his Bishop. The priest should be able to have more liberty. He has left his release to the will of God and to his Superiors. He wants to suffer and work hard as long as he is able to do so. When he will not be able to work he will return to his own country. He has to stop because he just engaged a savage for his trip to Grand Traverse. Pierz concludes by saying that if he wrote such a long letter, it is to let Lefevere know of the bad situation in the mission. :: III-2-h A.L.S. French 7pp. 8vo.