History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 6

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 6

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INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.

found abundantly in the southern part; and these were probably planted by Indians, who used the nuts for food. Near the mouth of the Lamoille, in Mil- ton, there must have been one or more settlements. A very ancient settle- ment near Swanton village, just over the town line in Highgate, should be briefly mentioned, although for a full account the reader must be referred to Vol. XXXIV, page 75, of Proceedings of American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science. It is one of the most interesting localities ever studied in New England. It is far more ancient than the settlement of the St. Francis Indians mentioned, and these people had no knowledge concerning it, and all the objects found and the circumstances attending their discovery indicate great antiquity. On a low, sandy ridge, covered by a pine forest when the first settlers came into the region, but which was afterward removed, so that the wind had free access to the sandy soil, several graves were first discovered about twenty years ago. Some of these graves were found to be directly be- neath the stumps of large trees. Exploration has shown that there were prob- ably many graves, of which twenty or thirty have been found and the contents removed. Many interesting specimens have been taken from the graves, or from the sand above them, some of them showing exceedingly fine workman- ship. These are of shell, copper and stone. The bones found were most of them so fragile that they could not be preserved. A very interesting fact respecting these specimens is the close resemblance of many of them to those taken from the mounds of the Ohio valley ; and it seems to me probable that, at some ancient time, a small band of the mound-building tribes wandered from place to place toward the east, until finally they reached the banks of the Missisquoi, where they settled and lived for perhaps many years, carrying on the arts of life and performing their strange religious ceremonies. They were probably of a higher civilization and of greater skill in stone work than the tribes about them or which succeeded them. The same people also appear to have roamed into this county ; for here one or two peculiar objects, such as have been found nowhere else in the State except in the ancient graves, have been picked up.

Some of the village sites which have been named may very likely have been those of temporary settlements, for these were common among the early tribes, many of whom did not occupy any one place throughout the year. In the spring bands consisting of a greater or less number of persons set out from their winter quarters and, after spending a few weeks in replenishing the ex- hausted larder by hunting and fishing, finally reached a location that seemed to them suited to their purpose; a hillock or well-drained piece of lowland, always near clear water. The location of the camp or village once chosen, the sturdy warriors throw down their weapons and lay themselves by them on the ground to rest, while the squaws, laying down their heavier burdens, begin at once to build the huts. Saplings, either found growing in the right place,

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

or cut from the neighboring forest and thrust into the earth, are bent together and tied at the top by bands of bark. Over this light framework the covering is placed. This consists either of tanned skins, large pieces of bark, or mats of plaited rushes and reeds. A hole is left at the top of the tent, through which so much of the smoke from the fire below it as does not prefer to sweep about over the eyes of the inmates and escape in some other way, can make its exit. Another opening left in the side, and more or less fully closed by a hanging skin, serves as the door. Such huts, or lodges, were often conical, but sometimes rectangular. A day or so of vigorous exercise on the part of the squaws, and of meditation and laziness on that of the men as they watch oper- ations, suffices to transform a silent, desolate field into a busy village. The huts having been erected, and all necessary household arrangements completed, the cultivation of a few crops in a rude manner next occupies the attention of the squaws. A clearing is chosen or made near the village, and the soil not very thoroughly stirred, and the seed planted. The implements are hoes and spades, often of wood, sometimes of bone, such as the shoulder blade of an elk or bison, and more rarely of stone. Champlain mentions the following kinds of vegetables raised by the New England tribes among whom he traveled : Corn, which appears to have been the chief crop, beans, squashes, gourds, melons, tobacco, and various roots and herbs. The corn was planted in hills, and on the coast a fish was put into each hill as a fertilizer. Once planted, the crops did not receive much attention until harvest. Then such as had not been used as they ripened were dried and either stored in underground chambers or packed for transportation. In these agricultural labors the men sometimes assisted, though they spent most of their time in hunting, fishing and idleness, when not on the war-path. As the cold autumn weather drew near, the village was taken down and packed in bundles, and the occupants retired into a dense evergreen forest, where they would be sheltered from the severest winds. Im- provident and thoughtless as these people were, they often spent the first part of the winter in feasting and revelry and the last in starving and wretchedness, until the return of spring enabled them to obtain new supplies.

It is doubtful if we shall ever be able to determine the relative age of our Vermont stone implements ; and still more so that we can ever tell absolutely how ancient this or that is. We may believe, and with reason, that those found several feet below the surface are older than those found on it, but this is about all we can say. Nor can we know with much certainty which of our speci- mens should be referred to the Algonkins, and which to the Iroquois, and whether there are any that do not belong to either tribe, but to more an- cient people, as some have thought. I do not myself believe that we have liere, or anywhere else in the United States, any positive proof that any other peo- ple than the Red Indians ever occupied any part of it. I should, therefore, be inclined to assign even our most ancient specimens to the ancestors of the In-

INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.

dians. There is no doubt that many of our specimens were made by the Iro- quois, who probably lived for centuries in this region; nor is there any doubt that since the region was part of the great thoroughfare from Canada to the set- tlements south, many implements were lost by bands passing to and fro, aside from any settlements which existed. Probably our oldest and finest specimens are of Iroquois origin. Had any large collection of the implements of the St. Francis tribe been gathered at either Newbury or Swanton, it would be of the greatest value for comparison ; but this we have not. The only means available is the comparison of our Vermont specimens with those found in Canada and New York; for we know that the former was long occupied exclusively by Al- gonkins, and the latter by Iroquois. As we make this comparison it soon be- comes evident that the more elaborate and attractive of our specimens are mostly like those found in the Mohawk valley and other parts of New York. In no part of New England, I think, are so many relics found which remind us of those found in the West, as in this region. I suppose that this indicates that after the Iroquois retired from the Champlain valley westward, it was not generally occupied by settled tribes, but was merely, as was noticed in the early part of this chapter, a hunting ground over which numerous bands of savages roamed, but in which very few settled. As it is about camps, and especially places where villages have been, that the richest treasures of the relic hunter are found, of course that people who longest and most abundantly occupy any territory leave behind them the largest record. The Iroquois appear to have been much more in the habit of settling permanently than most other tribes. In the Mo- hawk valley they built log houses, sometimes of large size, and surrounded them with stockades and other defenses, and they may, very probably, have done so on this side of the lake. There is no doubt that some of the places in which we find implements were occupied much longer than others; neither is there any doubt that many village sites have been wholly obliterated by grad- ing, excavation, and other changes in the soil. Very brief inquiries by a col- lector will convince him, to his sorrow, that this is true, and also that a very great deal of most valuable material has been irretrievably lost, because those who chanced upon it saw no value in it, and either lost or even destroyed it. As we have seen, we have evidence abundant and undoubted that formerly there were villages in this county occupied by the aborigines, but there is, so far as I can find, neither record nor tradition that any existed here when the white men came ; and this indicates the greater antiquity. One of the most in- teresting of these village sites, although it is just over the border of this county, I wish to describe a little more particularly, that it may serve as an example for all. It is in Monkton on the border of Bristol Pond, and about fifteen miles from the lake shore. This pond is approximately a mile long, half as wide, deep and with a muddy bottom ; a good place for eels and catfish, both of which were sought by the Indians for food. Immediately adjacent to the pond is a

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

cedar swamp, west and north of which the ground rises to the uplands in a series of knolls and ridges. In some parts of these fields the soil is clay, in others sand or even gravel. The clay is almost wholly free from stones, except such as have been brought and thrown upon it, and of these there are many. Acres of the uplands when I first visited the place were covered with flakes, chips and even large masses of gray quartzite, such as is found in many parts of the State, though not in this locality ; and also many implements of the same material, some of which are large and rude. Hundreds of what were probably agricultural implements have been picked up, as well as numerous arrow and spear-points, knives, axes, pestles, etc. What are known to collectors as ham- mer-stones, were especially abundant. I presume that literally cart-loads of these have been removed from the region. These hammer-stones are simply water-smoothed pebbles, such as any gravel-bank affords, weighing from half a pound to two or three pounds, and sometimes more. That they were brought to this locality is known by the fact that none such occurs in either the clay or sand, and that they were used by the pitted sides or ends; moreover, a few are somewhat wrought. Not only on the surface are these things found, but, as the plow turns its furrows, we see that as deep as the plowshare reaches, the soil is full of flakes, etc. It seems evident that we not only have here the location of an ancient village, but of one that was occupied for a long time. The amount of quartzite and other stone which was transported from a distance to these fields is very great. I was told by Mr. H. B. Williams, whose farm includes a portion of the ground described, that some fifty years ago, in digging for road material in a part of the ground occupied by the Indians, several skeletons were found, but none of them was saved, and at the time no further explorations were undertaken. There are few data upon which to estimate the age of the objects found in these fields, but it almost certainly antedates the coming of the St. Francis Indians, for, if the village which once existed here had been oc- cupied so recently, certainly some account of it would have come down to us.

Probably no county in the State has afforded so rich returns to relic hunters as has this, unless it may be Franklin, which is also a most interesting region for study and exploration. It is fortunate, too, that the largest collections ever made in the State are in the museum of the University of Vermont, where those interested may study them at any time. I refer to the superb collection of the late Judge Halbert, presented to the college by Mrs. Halbert, and the equally valua- ble, though somewhat different, collection made at Milton by Mr. P. C. Deming, which was purchased by Mr. E. B. Taft, of Burlington, and by him given to the college. These two collections, together with a considerable number of speci- mens obtained from Mr. D. B. Griffin, of Essex, and those already in the col- lege museum when these were secured, render this museum able to present a very complete series of the ancient implements, ornaments, etc., of the county. It is interesting to note that Judge Halbert's specimens were mostly obtained

INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.

from the valleys of Brown's River, and the Winooski; Mr. Deming's from the Lamoille valley, and in addition there is the large collection recently obtained from Mr. Truax, of Swanton, which is from the Missisquoi valley. It is prob- ble, though this must be somewhat conjectural, that in the Halbert and Dem- ing collections Iroquois work is chiefly represented, while in the Truax collec- tion Algonkin work would predominate; although in this collection there are numerous objects from the ancient graves mentioned previously, and these may very likely belong to neither, but be the work of a different tribe.

We are now prepared to turn from this general study of the archaeology of this county to an inquiry respecting the character of the various objects which have been found. In order to a complete discussion of this portion of my sub- ject, a very extensive series of illustrations would be required ; but this is not practicable, nor will it be possible to describe fully even the leading types of objects, without extending the chapter far beyond reasonable limits. Probably the great majority of those who will read these pages will be able, if they choose to do so, to visit as often as they need the college museum, and examine the collection of stone implements. These illustrate far better than any engravings could the leading groups mentioned in the following pages.1

Here, as elsewhere, the very large majority of our archaeological material consists of objects made from stone, but we also find numerous fragments of earthenware, or pottery, a few of copper, fewer still of shell, and one solitary specimen of worked bone. This latter is simply a prong of a deer's horh, which has been somewhat smoothed and notched around the base. I found it just under a large stump, with some bits of pottery and arrow-points, at the village site in Monkton, described above. It is quite remarkable that bone im- plements, such as awls, needles, etc., have not been found in this region, espe- cially when we consider that just across the lake they have been discovered, though not in great abundance.

Fresh water clams are common enough in our streams and lake, and some of them grow to a large size ; but we find little evidence that their shells were much used by the early tribes. Occasionally more or less decayed shells are found, with bits of pottery, etc., but not often, and I do not know that any specimen of a shell that was worked to serve as an implement has ever been found here. Shell beads, quite a number of them, have been found in the Swan- ton graves, but curiously they are all made from shells found only in the south, and sea shells at that. It may be that valves of fresh-water clams were used just as they were found, for scrapers, spoons, trowels, etc., and when done with thrown away, in which case we could not know that they had ever been used. Implements and ornaments made of copper, though rare, are not wanting in

1 Through the courtesy of the publishers of The American Naturalist, we are able to give the illus- trations which accompany this chapter, all of which are from drawings made by the writer to illustrate articles published in Vols. V, XIII, XV, XIX and XX, of that periodical. To these articles those de- siring more complete accounts of the objects named are referred.

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

our collections. They are found in various parts of the State, but more, I think, have been found in this county than anywhere else. Most of our cop- per specimens are knives and spear-points, or perhaps they are all knives ; but a gouge, one or two chisel-shaped objects, small bars and tubular beads, have also been found. The gouge (shown one-half full size, Figure I, Number 5) which is one of the rarest of implements in copper, was found in Milton. It

weighs just a pound ; is seven inches long, and nearly two inches wide at the edge. The knives vary from two to four, or five inches in length. The beads have been found only in Swanton. They are made by rolling sheet-copper into cylinders. All of our specimens are of native copper, hammered into the de- sired form. It is most likely that this copper was obtained, by some sort of traffic, from the tribes about Lake Superior, or it may have been captured in battle; but in any case it shows intercourse of some sort with the northern tribes, just as the beads, made from southern sea-shells, shows the same with south- ern tribes. I suppose that in all, about a dozen copper specimens have been found in this county.

Specimens of earthenware are always of great interest to archaeologists, and especially in localities where they are rarely found. Such objects are very uncommon everywhere in New England, but in the Champlain valley they are more frequent. At present there are only four entire jars known that were found in New England, and two of these, and they are by far the largest and finest, were found in this county. Besides these two entire jars, we have nearly all the pieces of four more, and large fragments of many others, from which we can gain a very complete and accurate idea as to the character of the pot- tery used by our predecessors. There is evidence enough to show that earth- enware jars were very commonly used by the Indians. The present scarcity of pottery is due, not to its former rarity, but to the fragile nature of the ma- terials of which it was made. All our pottery is of the same general nature, a paste of clay in which were mixed angular bits of quartz, feldspar, mica, and sometimes pounded clam-shells. The coarseness of the ware of course depends largely upon the size of these bits of stone. In some cases they were ground fine, so that an almost homogeneous paste was formed ; in others they are large enough to be very readily seen wherever there is a fracture. Sometimes they show on the surface, but usually they do not, because, after the jar was shaped, it received a coating, both inside and outside, of smooth clay. When we remember that the squaws, in making their pottery, had no wheel to aid in shaping it, the regularity of the globular forms is very wonderful. It will be readily seen that earthenware made as has been described, when buried in the ground, soaked and dried, frozen and thawed, would usually soon become a shapeless mass of mud. Unless well burned it would be destroyed ; but sometimes it was burned so thoroughly that it has withstood all destructive agencies, and is as firm and hard to-day as when first made. In most cases the rim was

INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.

FIGURE 1.

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

thicker and more completely burned than any other part, and this is most for- tunate, because if there were any decoration upon a jar it was always upon the rim, even when nowhere else ; and this portion of the jars being that which is preserved, even when all the rest has crumbled, we are able to form a much better idea as to the variety and style of ornament used, than would otherwise be possible. Whatever adornment was used it always consisted of indented or impressed figures. We never find raised designs, nor those painted ; neither are jars found moulded into the form of men or animals, as is so common in the pottery found in the West. Our jars are of very variable color, owing in part to the different effect of burning upon different materials, and in part to difference in degree of heat to which different parts were exposed. Some are black, some are reddish-brown, some are buff or light brown. The decoration is very variable, and often really elegant, when all things are taken into ac- count. It consists of many designs, simple in themselves, but often combined into elaborate designs. Lines are especially common. They usually appear to have been drawn on the moist clay with a smooth, blunt point, since the line, or it is rather a fine groove, is not V-shaped, at least not often, but U-shaped. The width of the grooves is quite different in different jars, but they are never wide, and rarely coarse or carelessly drawn. They not uncommonly are car- ried entirely around the upper edge of a jar, and also a few inches below, the intervening space being filled with a different marking or pattern. Very com- monly the rim bears two or three, or more, of these continuous grooves around it. By means of groups of short lines drawn parallel, and either horizontally, perpendicularly, or obliquely, one group being at an angle with the next and often perpendicular to it, very neat and variable designs are readily obtained by sim- ply changing the inclination of the lines. Rarely the lines cross, thus making squares or diamonds. Certain figures, or patterns, were used with the lines. These were stamped with a tube, or other object, making circles, rings, cres- cents, triangles, squares, dots, key-shaped or ziz-zag figures, and other inde- scribable forms. Stamps made for the purpose appear to have been used, for we sometimes find a pattern, like saw teeth perhaps, which shows at the end of each inch or two a break or a lap, where the stamp was not exactly placed. Some of the figures are very small and delicately stamped, others may be a fourth of an inch long or more, and deeply stamped. As the lines are often arranged in groups, so are these figures, though they are quite as often in rows, or bands made of several rows. I do not remember that any specimen is ornamented with lines alone, but some are covered with figures alone, without lines, unless it be one or two about the upper edge. A singular feature of many, indeed I think it is true of most jars, is that these figures are much more deeply stamped on one side than the other. This was intentional, be- cause, in any jar it is always the same side that is deepest, and from this the figure slopes up to the general surface. The larger and coarser jars were not

INDIAN OCCUPATION AND RELICS.

usually ornamented except just about the rim, the remainder of the surface be- ing left smooth ; but the smaller were covered with lines or figures over the up- per half or two-thirds. A few were even ornamented over an inch or two of the inside of the rim. The lower portion of all the jars seems to have been more or less globular. Very large jars were probably not used. The largest of which I have heard is one mentioned in Thompson's Vermont, which is said to have held twenty quarts ; but I think that they were rarely larger than the largest in the college museum, which holds twelve quarts, and many held only three or four quarts. It is very difficult to describe the various shapes of our jars without the aid of illustrations. Some were, like the Pomeroy jar, nearly spherical, others were compressed to a rectangular form above, as is the Col- chester jar ; some were higher than wide, others the reverse. In some the rim was vertical, in others flaring, and somewhat recurved in a few. Occasionally its edge is notched or scalloped, and now and then holes were punched an inch or so below it, presumably that thongs might be tied in them so that it could be readily hung up.

Enough has been said, I think, to prove very conclusively that the ladies of prehistoric Vermont had no little skill in decorating such pottery as they had; and in judging of its beauty and merits we must be careful not to use wrong standards. It must be judged by itself, and the purposes for which it was designed should not be overlooked, nor the material of which it was made. When we remember the rude, unsettled life of the makers and the very simple style of their domestic arrangements, it is well-nigh marvelous that we find so much real elegance of form, gracefulness and regularity of design, variety of pattern, and general attractiveness in their earthenware. The smaller and more beautiful jars were usually for storing dried fruit, or whatever might be placed in them, while the larger and coarser jars were cooking-pots. When Mis-to-ga-be gave a grand feast the table service and the kitchen utensils were all one. Into a large pot hung over the fire was poured water, into which the chief cook threw, apparently at random, bear's meat and fat, venison, fish, corn, beans, garlic, and whatever else might be in the lodge at the time. The guests squatted about the stewing mess, and when it was done each fished out whatever he could lay hold of; and as the supplies diminished they were renewed, enormous quantities of food being disposed of. Indeed, early travel- ers describe these feasts and their sufferings in being compelled by courtesy to join in them, with great minuteness and ludicrous pathos, enumerating among their sufferings in the new country the stuffing which an Indian feast required. For such a repast the thinnest and most delicate ware was not sought, but rather the thickest and strongest, else the whole menu would, by an unfortu- nate cracking of the pot, fall into the ashes below and become rather too gritty for even an Indian's taste. Strong, therefore, they made their cooking jars, so far as they were able, and some of thein were nearly half an inch thick, though

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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 6

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054