It was a sick-call that first brought Father Gallitzin to "the McGuire settlement." After he was established in Loretto, if a sick-call was within a few miles of wherever he was staying, he traveled on foot. For the last four years of his life, he traveled by sled because a fall prevented him from riding horseback. When Gallitzin first started, there were few families, and those were widely scattered. He bought land to attract other Catholic settlers.Richardson, Hester Dorsey. "Prince Gallitzin, Priest and Pioneer," Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. XLIX, January - June 1892. p. 235, J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1892 Gallitzin is believed to have spent $150,000 (USD) of his funds to purchase some additional which he gave or sold at low prices to newly arriving Catholic settlers. Traveling from one valley to the next, he was often away for over a week, sleeping on bare floors. For most of his time in the mountains, he worked alone and was relatively isolated. In September 1807, he wrote to Bishop Carroll:
