On The Frontier In Minnesota

The Minnesotan Benedictines first called the place designated for the future monastery “St. Ludwig on the Lake.” However, since they had already received a title to the so-called “Rothkopf Addition” near the little town of St. Cloud on March 6, 1857, where they had initially planned to settle, calling it, “St. John’s Seminary,” they eventually transferred this title along with the rights of the charter, to this new settlement by the lake. In 1858, 4 priests and 9 brothers were living at St. Joseph’s. By fall the latter had already constructed a two story log house, 30’ long, by the lake. While working on this they had to buy their groceries at St. Joseph, which was separated from the lake by 4 miles of dense forest. There they often came in contact with Indians. One day one of the brothers was driving his wagon, hitched to two yoke of oxen, toward the lake. In the middle of the forest some Indians approached him, inspected his load, opened a bag, and took three loaves of bread out, which they divided among themselves. Then one of them walked toward the frightened brother and handed him a quarter dollar. Then they let him go his way in peace. Not long after this when Brother Wolfgang Beck (from Metten) was alone in the log house by the lake, an Indian entered and said to him, “give me some whisky.” The brother did not have a drop of whisky in the house, and, since he was not able to express himself in either the Chippewa language nor in English, he had to make himself understood with gestures. He had already heard about the passion among the Indians for whisky, so he quickly pointed his guest to a tub full of water that stood in the room, while he himself grasped a kitchen knife, cut a piece weighing about two pounds from a large loaf of bread and handed it to the Indian, who left, content with it.

—From Boniface Wimmer, Abbot of Saint Vincent in Pennsylvania, translated by Dr. Maria Von Mickwitz and Father Warren Murrman, O.S.B., editor.