USA > Massachusetts > Our western border : its life, combats, adventures, forays, massacres, captivities, scouts, red chiefs, pioneer women, one hundred years ago, containing the cream of all the rare old border chronicles > Part 12
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SCOLDED FOR HELPING SQUAWS.
i.is company was very agreeable, and I was sorry when he left me. During his stay at Sunyendeand he borrowed my Bible, and made some pertinent remarks on what he had read. One passage where it is said " It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." He said we ought to be resigned to the will of Providence, as we were now bearing the yoke in our youth. Mr. Campbell appeared to be then about sixteen or seventeen years of age.
There were a number of prisoners brought in by these parties, and when they were to run the gauntlet, I went and told them how they were to act. One John Savage was brought in, a middle-aged man of about forty years old. He was to run the gauntlet. I told him what he had to do ; and after this I fell into one of the ranks with the Indians, shouting and yelling like them; and as they were not very severe on him, as he passed me I hit him with a piece of a pumpkin- which pleased the Indians very much, but hurt my feelings. About the time that these warriors came in, the green corn was beginning to be of use, so that we had either green corn or venison, and sometimes both, which was comparatively high living. When we could have plenty of green corn, or roasting corn, the hunters became lazy, and spent their time, as already mentioned, in singing and dancing, &c. They ap- peared to be fulfilling the Scriptures beyond those who profess to be- lieve them, in that of taking no thought of to-morrow; and also in love, peace and friendship together, without dispute. In this manner we lived until October; then the geese, swans, ducks, cranes, &c., came from the North, and alighted on this little lake in an incredi- ble number. Sunyendeand is a remarkable place for fish in the Spring, and fowl both in the Fall and Spring. As our hunters were now tired with indolence, and fond of their own kind of exercise, they all turned out to fowling, and in this could scarce miss of success ; so that we had now plenty of hominy and the best of fowls; and some- times, as a rarity, we had a little bread made of Indian corn meal, pounded in a hominy block, mixed with boiled beans, and baked into cakes under the ashes. This, with us, was called good living, though not equal to our fat roasted and boiled venison, when we went to the woods in the Fall; or bear's meat and beaver in the Winter ; or sugar, bear's oil and dry venison in the Spring.
Some time in October, another adopted brother, older than 'Ton- tileaugo, came to pay us a visit at Sunyendeand, and asked me to take a hunt with him on Cuyahoga. I then went with Tecaughretanego to the mouth of the little lake, where we met with the company he in- 1 tended going with, which was composed of Caughnewagas and Otta- was. Here I was introduced to a Caughnewaga sister, and others I had
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OUR WESTERN BORDER.
never before seen. My sister's name was Mary, which they pro- nounced Maully. I asked Tecaughretanego how it came that she had an English name ; he said that he did not know that it was an English name; but it was the name the priest gave her when she was baptized, which he said was the name of the Mother of Jesus. He said there were a great many of the Caughnewagas and Wyandots that were a kind of half Roman Catholics; but as for himself, he said that the priest and him could not agree.
The Ottawas have a very useful kind of tents, which they carry with them, made of flags, plaited and stitched together in a very artful man- ner, so as to turn the rain and the wind well. Each mat is made fif- teen feet long and about five feet broad. In order to erect this kind of tent, they cut a number of long straight poles, which they drive in the ground in the form of a circle, leaning inwards ; then they spread the mats on these poles, beginning at the bottom and extending up, leaving only a hole in the top uncovered-and this hole answers the place of a chimney. They make fire of dry split wood in the middle, and spread down bark mats and skins for bedding, on which they sleep in a crooked posture, all round the fire, as the length of their beds will not admit of stretching themselves. In place of a door they lift up one end of a mat and creep in, and let the mat fall down behind them. These tents are warm and dry, and tolerably clear of smoke. Their lumber they keep under birch-bark canoes, which they carry out and turn up for a shelter, where they keep everything from the rain. Nothing is in the tents but themselves and their bedding.
About the first of December, 1755, we were preparing for leaving the river : we buried our canoes, and as usual hung up our skins, and every one had a pack to carry; the squaws also packed up their tents, which they carried in large rolls, that extended up above their heads; and though a great bulk, yet not heavy. We steered about a south-east course, and could not march over ten miles per day. At night we lodged in our flag tents, which, when erected, were nearly in the shape of a sugar-loaf, and about fifteen feet diameter at the ground. In this manner we pro- ceeded about forty miles and wintered in these tents, on the waters of Beaver Creek, near a little lake or pond, which is about two miles long, and one broad, a remarkable place for beaver.
HABITS OF THE BEAVER-SMITH SNOWED UP AND LOST.
In conversation with Tecaughretanego, I happened to be talking of the beavers catching fish. He asked me why I thought that the beaver caught fish? I told him that I had read of the beaver making dams for
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HABITS OF THE BEAVER.
the convenience of fishing. He laughed, and made game of me and my book. He said the man that wrote that book knew nothing about the beaver. The beaver never did eat flesh of any kind, but lived on the bark of trees, roots, and vegetable matter. In order to know certainly how this was, when we killed a beaver I carefully examined the intestines, but found no appearance of fish; I afterwards made an experiment on a beaver which we had, and found that it would neither eat fish nor flesh ; therefore I acknowledged that the book that I had read was wrong.
I asked Tecaughretanego, what was the use of the beaver's stones, or glands, to them-as the she beaver has two pair, which are commonly called the oil stones, and the bark stones ? He said that as the beavers are the dumbest of all animals and scarcely ever make any noise ; and as they were working creatures, they made use of this smell in order to work in concert. If an old beaver was to come on the bank and rub his breech upon the ground and raise a perfume, the others will collect from different places and go to work; this is also of use to them in traveling, that they may thereby search out and find their company. Cunning hunters finding this out, have made use of it against the bea- vers, in order to catch them. What is the bait which you see them make use of, but a compound of the oil and bark stones. By this perfume, which is only a false signal, they decoy them to the trap.
Near this pond, beaver was the principal game. Before the water froze up, we caught a great many with wooden and steel traps; but after that, we hunted the beaver on the ice. Some places here the beavers build large houses to live in ; and in other places they have subterrane- ous lodgings in the banks. Where they lodge in the ground, we have no chance of hunting on the ice; but where they have houses, we go with malls and handspikes, and break all the hollow ice, to prevent them from getting their heads above the water under it. Then we break a hole in the house, and they make their escape into the water ; but as they cannot live long under water, they are obliged to go to some of those broken places to breathe, and the Indians commonly put in their hands, catch them by the hind leg, haul them on the ice, and tomahawk them. Sometimes they shoot them in the head, when they raise it above the water. I asked the Indians if they were not afraid to catch the beavers with their hands ; they said no : they were not much of a biting creature ; yet if they would catch them by the fore foot they would bite.
As it began to snow and blow most violently, I returned and proceeded after my company, and for some time could see their tracks ; but the old snow being about three inches deep, and a crust upon it, the present driving snow soon filled up the tracks. As I had only a bow, arrows and tomahawk with me, and no way to strike fire, I appeared to be in a
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OUR WESTERN BORDER.
dismal situation-and as the air was dark with snow, I had little more prospect of steering my course than I would in the night. At length I came to a hollow tree, with a hole at one side that I could go in at. I went in, and found that it was a dry place, and the hollow about three feet diameter, and high enough for me to stand in. I found that there was also a considerable quantity of soft, dry, rotten wood around this hollow; I therefore concluded that I would lodge here, and that I would go to work, and stop up the door of my house. I stripped off my blanket, (which was all the clothes that I had, excepting breech-clout, leggins and moccasins,) and, with my tomahawk, fell to chopping at the top of a fallen tree that lay near, and carried wood and set it up on end against the door, until I had it three or four feet thick, all around, ex- cepting a hole I had left to creep in at. I had a block prepared that I could haul after me, to stop this hole; and before I went in I put in a number of small sticks, that I might more effectually stop it on the inside. When I went in, I took my tomahawk and cut down all the dry, rotten wood I could get, and beat it small. With it I made a bed like a goose- nest or hog-bed, and with the small sticks stopped every hole, until my house was almost dark. I stripped off my moccasins, and danced in the centre of my bed for about half an hour, in order to warm myself. In this time my feet and whole body were agreeably warmed. The snow, in the meanwhile, had stopped all the holes, so that my house was as dark as a dungeon ; though I knew that it could not be dark out of doors. I then coiled myself up in my blanket, lay down in my little round bed, and had a tolerable night's lodging.
When I awoke, all was dark-not the least glimmering of light was to be seen. Immediately I recollected that I was not to expect light in this new habitation, as there was neither door or window in it. As I could hear the storm raging, and did not suffer much cold as I was then situated, I concluded I would stay in my nest until I was certain it was day. When I had reason to conclude that it surely was day, I arose and put on my moccasins, which I had laid under my head to keep from freezing. I then endeavored to find the door, and had to do all by the sense of feeling, which took me some time. At length I found the block, but it being heavy, and a large quantity of snow having fallen on it, at the first attempt I did not move it. I then felt terrified -among all the hardships I had sustained, I never knew before what it was to be thus deprived of light. This, with the other circumstances attending it, appeared. grievous. I went straightway to bed again, wrapped my blanket round me, and lay and mused awhile, and then prayed to Almighty God to direct and protect me, as he had done here- tofore. I once again attempted to move away the block, which proved
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SMITH SNOWED UP AND LOST.
successful; it moved about nine inches-with this a considerable quantity of snow fell in from above, and I immediately received light ; so that I found a very great snow had fallen, above what I had ever seen in one night. I then knew why I could not easily move the block, and I was so rejoiced at obtaining the light, that all my other difficulties seemed to vanish. I then turned into my cell and returned God thanks for having once more received the light of Heaven. At. length I belted my blanket about me, got my tomahawk, bow and ar- rows, and went out of my den.
I was now in tolerable high spirits, though the snow had fallen above three feet deep, in addition to what was on the ground before; and the only imperfect guide I had, in order to steer my course to camp, was the trees, as the moss generally grows on the north-west side of them, if they are straight. I proceeded on, wading through the snow, and about twelve o'clock (as it appeared afterwards, from that time to night, for it was yet cloudy,) I came upon the creek that our camp was on, about half a mile below the camp; and when I came in sight of the camp, I found that there was great joy, by the shouts and yelling of the boys, &c.
When I arrived, they all came around me and received me gladly ; but at this time no questions were asked, and I was taken into a tent, where they gave me plenty of fat beaver meat, and then asked me to smoke. When I had done, Tecaughretanego desired me to walk out to a fire they had made. I went out, and they all collected round me, both men, women and boys. Tecaughretanego asked me to give them a particular account of what had happened from the time they left me yesterday until now. I told them the whole of the story, and they never interrupted me ; but when I made a stop, the intervals were filled with loud acclamations of joy. As I could not at this time talk Ottawa or Jibbewa well, (which is nearly the same,) I delivered my story in Caughnewaga. As my sister Molly's husband was a Jibbewa, and could understand Caughnewaga, he acted as interpreter, and delivered my story to the Jibbewas and Ottawas, which they received with pleasure. When all this was done, Tecaughretanego made a speech to me in the follow- ing manner :
" Brother :- You see we had prepared snow-shoes to go after you, and were almost ready to go when you appeared ; yet, as you had not been accustomed to hardships in your country to the east, we never ex- pected to see you alive. Now, we are glad to see you in various re- spects ; we are glad to see you on your own account, and we are glad to see the prospect of your filling the place of a great man, in whose room you were adopted. We do not blame you for what has happened,
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OUR WESTERN BORDER.
we blame ourselves ; because we did not think of this driving snow fill- ing up the tracks, until after we came to camp.
" Brother :- Your conduct on this occasion hath pleased us much ; you have given us an evidence of your fortitude, skill and resolution ; and we hope you will always go on to do great actions, as it is only great actions that can make a great man."
The next morning some of the hunters went out on snow-shoes, killed several deer, and hauled some of them into camp upon the snow. They fixed their carrying-strings (which are broad in the middle and small at each end) in the fore feet and the nose of the deer, and laid the broad part of it on their head or about their shoulders, and pulled it along ; and when it is moving, it will not sink in the snow much deeper than a snow-shoe; and when taken with the grain of the hair, slips along very easily. The snow-shoes are made like a hoop net, and wrought with buckskin thongs. Each shoe is about two feet and a half long, and about eighteen inches broad before, and small be- hind, with cross bars, in order to fix or tie them to the feet. After the snow had lain a few days, the Indians tomahawked the deer by pursuing them in this manner.
About two weeks after this there came a warm rain and took away the chief part of the snow, and broke up the ice ; then we engaged in making wooden traps to catch beavers, as we had but few steel traps. These traps are made nearly in the same manner as the raccoon traps already described. One day as I was looking after my traps I got be- nighted, by beaver ponds intercepting my way to camp; and as I had neglected to take fire-works with me, and the weather was very cold, Icould find no suitable lodging place ; therefore, the only expedient I could think of to keep myself from freezing, was exercise. I danced and hallooed the whole night with all my night, and the next day came to camp. Though I suffered much more this time than the other night Ilay out, yet the Indians were not so much concerned, as they thought I had fire-works with me ; but when they knew how it was, they did not blame me. They said that old hunters were frequently involved in this place, as the beaver dams were one above another on every creek and run, so that it is hard to find a fording place. They applauded me for my fortitude, and said as they had now plenty of beaver skins, they would purchase me a gun at Detroit, as we were to go there the next Spring ; and then if I should chance to be lost in dark weather, I could make fire, kill provision, and return to camp when the sun shined. By being bewildered on the waters of the Muskingum, I lost repute, and was re- duced to the bow and arrow, and by lying out two nights here I re- gained my credit.
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SINGULAR INDIAN CUSTOMS.
SINGULAR INDIAN CUSTOMS-AN INDIAN DRINKING FROLIC.
After some time the waters all froze again, and then, as formerly, we hunted beavers on the ice. Though beaver meat, without salt or bread, was the chief of our food this Winter, yet we had always plenty, and I was well contented with my diet, as it appeared delicious fare, after the way we had lived the Winter before. Some time in February we scaf- folded up our furs and skins, and moved about ten miles in quest of a sugar camp, or a suitable place to make sugar, and encamped in a large bottom on the headwaters of Big. Beaver Creek. We had some diffi- culty in moving, as we had a blind Caughnewaga boy, about fifteen years of age, to lead; and as this country is very brushy, we frequently had him to carry. We had also my Jibbewa brother-in-law's father with us, who was thought by the Indians to be a great conjurer-his name was Manetohcoa. This old man was so decrepid that we had to carry him this route upon a bier, and all our baggage to pack upon our backs.
Shortly after we came to this place, the squaws began to make sugar. We had no large kettles with us this year, and they made the frost, in some measure, supply the place of fire, in making sugar. Their large bark vessels, for holding the stock water, they made broad and shallow; and as the weather is very cold here, it frequently freezes at night in sugar time; and the ice they break and cast out of the vessels. I asked them if they were not throwing away the sugar? They said, no: it was water they were casting away, sugar did not freeze, and there was scarcely any in that ice. They said I might try the experiment, and boil some of it, and see what I would get. I never did try it; but I observed that after several times freezing, the water that remained in the vessel changed its color, and became brown and very sweet.
About the time we were done making sugar the snow went off the ground; and one night a squaw raised an alarm: she said she saw two men with guns in their hands, upon the bank on the other side of the creek, spying our tents-they were supposed to be Johnson's Mohawks. On this the squaws were ordered to slip quietly out some distance into the bushes; and all who had either guns or bows were to squat in the bushes near the tents; and if the enemy rushed up, we were to give them the first fire, and let the squaws have an opportunity of escaping. I got down beside Tecaughretanego, and he whispered. to me not to be- afraid, for he would speak to the Mohawks, and as they spoke the same- tongue that we did, they would not hurt the Caughnewagas or me, but they would kill all the Jibbewas and Ottawas that they could, and take us along with them. This news pleased me well, and I heartily wished for the approach of the Mohawks. 7
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OUR WESTERN BORDER.
Before we withdrew from the tents, they had carried Manetohcoa to the fire, and gave him his conjuring tools, which were dyed feathers, the bone of a shoulder-blade of a wild-cat, tobacco, &c .; and while we were in the bushes, Manetohcoa was in a tent at the fire, conjuring away to the utmost of his ability. At length he called aloud for us all to come in, which was quickly obeyed. When we came in, he told us that after he had gone through the whole of his ceremony, and expected to see a number of Mohawks on the flat bone when it was warmed at the fire, the pictures of two wolves only appeared. He said that though there were no Mohawks about, we must not be angry with the squaw for giv- ing a false alarm; as she had occasion to go out and happened to see the wolves, though it was moonlight, yet she got afraid, and she con- ceited it was Indians with guns in their hands ; so he said we might all go to sleep, for there was no danger-and accordingly we did.
The next morning we went to the place, and found wolf tracks, and where they had scratched with their feet like dogs; but there was no sign of moccasin tracks. If there is any such thing as a wizard, I think Manetohcoa was as likely to be one as any man, as he was a professed worshiper of the devil. But let him be a conjurer or not, I am per- suaded that the Indians believed what he told them on this occasion as well as if it had come from an infallible oracle ; or they would not, af- ter such an alarm as this, go all to sleep in an unconcerned manner. This appeared to me the most like witchcraft of anything I beheld while I was with them.
Some time in March, 1757, we began to move back to the forks of Cuyahoga, which was about forty or fifty miles; and as we had no horses, we had all our baggage and several hundred weight of beaver skins, and some deer and bear skins all to pack on our backs. The method we took to accomplish this, was by making short day's journeys. In the morning we would move on with as much as we were able to car- ry, about five miles, and encamp, and then run back for more. We com- monly made three such trips in the day. When we came to the great pond, we staid there one day to rest ourselves, and to kill ducks and geese.
I remember that Tecaughretanego, when something displeased him, said, "God damn it !" I asked him if he knew what he then said ? He said he did, and mentioned one of their degrading expressions, which he supposed to be the meaning, or something like the meaning, of what he had said. I told him that it did not bear the least resemblance to it ; that what he had said was calling upon the Great Spirit to punish the object he was displeased with. He stood for some time amazed, and then said, if these be the meaning of these words, what sort of peo.
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AN INDIAN DRINKING FROLIC.
ple are the whites ? When the traders were among us, these words seem to be intermixed with all their discourse. He told me to reconsider what I had said, for he thought I must be mistaken in my definition ; if I was not mistaken, he said the traders applied these words not only wickedly, but oftentimes very foolishly and contrary to sense or reason. He said he remembered once of a trader's accidentally breaking his gun-lock, and on that occasion calling out aloud, God damn it-surely, said he, the gun-lock was not an object worthy of punishment for Owan- aneeyo, or the Great Spirit ; he also observed the traders often used this expression when they were in a good humor, and not displeased with anything. I acknowledged that the traders used this expression very often, in a most irrational, inconsistent and impious manner ; yet I still asserted that I had given the true meaning of these words. He replied, if so, the traders are as bad as Oonasharoona, or the underground in- habitants, which is the name they give the devils, as they entertain a notion that their place of residence is under the earth.
We took up our birch-bark canoes, which we had buried, and found that they were not damaged by the Winter ; but they not being sufficient to carry all that we now had, we made a large chestnut-bark canoe, as elm bark was not to be found at this place. We all embarked, and had a very agreeable passage down the Cuyahoga, and along the south side of Lake Erie, until we passed the mouth of the Sandusky ; then the wind arose, and we put in at the mouth of the Miami of the Lake, at Cedar Point, where we remained several days, and killed a number of turkeys, geese, ducks and swans. The wind being fair, and the lake not ex- tremely rough, we again embarked, hoisted up sails, and arrived safe at the Wyandot town, nearly opposite to Fort Detroit, on the north side of the river. Here we found a number of French traders, every one very willing to deal with us for our beaver.
We bought ourselves fine clothes, ammunition, paint, tobacco, &c., and, according to promise, they purchased me a new gun ; yet we had parted with only about one-third of our beaver. At length a trader came to town with French brandy ; we purchased a keg of it, and held a council about who was to get drunk, and who was to keep sober. I was invited to get drunk, but I refused the proposal-then they said that I must be one of those who were to take care of the drunken people. I did not like this ; but of two evils I chose that which I thought was the least-and fell in with those who were to conceal the arms, and keep every dangerous weapon we could out of their way, and endeavor, if possible, to keep the drinking club from killing each other, which was a very hard task. Several times we hazarded our own lives, and got our- selves hurt, in preventing them from slaying each other. Before they
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