Kaw-me-no-te-a, which means Good-heart, as he was persuaded by other
chiefs to come and establish himself where the mission was and send his
children to school. There were only three Indian log houses at that
time in Little Traverse, one belonging to my uncle, Au-se-ge-nock, one
for Joseph Au-saw-gon, my father's messenger, and another to Peter Sho-
min. But we and all other Indians lived in wigwams, and all the Indians
were dressed in Indian style. Rev. Mr. Dejan brought with him one
Frenchman from Detroit named Joseph Letorenue as school teacher, and
two girls from Mackinac Island as domestic servants, and an old nun,
whose real name I never learned, and knew only as "Sister." She was
exceedingly kind to Indian children and we all liked her very much. The
log school house was used as a dwelling as well as a school house, as
all the boys and girls who attended school were kept there continually,
same as boarding school. The larger boys and girls were taught
household duties and to cook for the scholars. The children were kept
quite clean. The French teacher took very great pains to teach them
good manners, and they were taught no other but the French language. In
the spring of the year each family of Indians contributed one large
mocok [Footnote: A kind of box made of birch bark.] of sugar which
weighed from eighty to one hundred pounds, which Priest Dejan would
empty into barrels, and then go down to Detroit with it to buy dry
goods, returning with cloth with which to clothe his Indian children.
Rev. Mr. Dejan did not say mass on week days, only on Sundays. He
visited the Indians a good deal during the week days, purposely to
instruct them in the manners and customs of the white man, ordering
things generally how to be done, and how the women should do towards
their domestic callings, not to work out of doors, and to take good
care of what belonged to their household. Mr. Dejan was a great friend
of Col. Boyd, Indian Agent at Mackinac, and in the second year of the
school, Mr. Boyd's two sons, James and George, wintered with the priest