SOURCE OF ST. Peter's river. 149 



indefatigable apostle of India, is situated within about a 

 mile of the river, and twenty-five miles, (by land,) above its 

 mouth. The ground upon which it is erected is the site 

 of an ancient and extensive Potawatomi village, now no 

 longer in existence. The establishment was created by 

 the Baptist Missionary Society in Washington, and is 

 under the superintendance of the Rev. Mr. M'Coy, a man 

 whom from all the reports we heard of him we should 

 consider as very eminently qualified for the important trust 

 committed to him. We regretted that at the time we pas- 

 sed at the Carey mission-house, this gentleman was absent 

 on business connected with the establishment of another 

 missionary settlement on the grand river of Michigan ; 

 but we saw his wife, who received us in a very hospitable 

 manner, and gave us every opportunity of becoming ac- 

 quainted with the circumstances of the school. The spot 

 upon which the houses are built and the agricultural pur- 

 suits carried on, was covered with a very dense forest seven 

 months before the time when we visited it, but by the great 

 activity of the superintendant, he has succeeded in the course 

 of this short time in building six good log houses, four of 

 which are connected and afford a comfortable residence to 

 the inmates of the establishment, a fifth is used as a school- 

 room, and the sixth forms a commodious blacksmith's shop. 

 In addition to this, they have cleared about fifty acres of 

 land, which are nearly all enclosed by a substantial fence; 

 forty acres have already been ploughed and planted with 

 maize, and every step has been taken to place the establish- 

 ment upon an independant footing. The school consists 

 of from forty to sixty children, of which fifteen are females. 

 They are either children of Indians, or half-breed de- 

 scendants of French and Indian parents; there being about 

 an equal number of each. It is contemplated that the 



