Wisconsin School for the Deaf - Tattler Yearbook (Delavan, WI)

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WISCONSIN INDIANS By Aoru Begun At the time when Wisconsin wan being explored by the white men. there were probably ten thousand Indian living within the present boundaries of the state. These Indians belonged to several tribes which were divided by langunge into two great families, the A Igonkin and the Dakotan. The largest Indian family was the Algonkin. The Ojibwayn. now called the Chippewa.- , were the least savage of the family. They lived in the northern part of Wisconsin as far south ns the Black River and perhaps as far east n» the Wolf. The Mcnomoniea known as Wild Rice Haters, lived cast of them. They were fine people and they wore not warlike in disposition. They spent most of thoir time gathering wild rice which grows in murahes in northeastern Wisconsin. From Green Bay southward nlong the shore of Lake Michigan lived the Pottawntomies. They were the most active of the Algonkin tribe and were fine looking people. When Longfellow wrote his poem ‘'Hiawatha, he told about the traditions of this tribe but he used the land of the Chippowua or Ojibways on laike Suporior as the background for his story. The Sacs and Foxes, sometimes called the Snukirs «nd Outa-gnmies. were weak in numbers when the white people come. They were bold and war-like, however, and grew in importance until they drove the Winnebagoes out of the Fox Valley. The Mnxcoutin who lived near the place where Berlin U now and the Kickapoos, from the Kick-apoo Valley were small tribes, and bands of Huron . Illinois, Minmis and Otto was sometimes wandered through the state. The Oneidas, Stock-bridges, Brothertowns and Munsecs who now live in northeastern Wisconsin nre left from tribes which wore moved here from New York and Massachusetts in 1822 and later. The Dakota family lived chiefly to the west of the Mississippi and the others to the east. A branch of this family, the Winnebagoes, lived at the head of Green Bay and in the Valley of the Fox and Wisconsin Riven . The other Indians called them The Men of the Sea because it was believed that they had come from near the ocean. They were a savage looking people with high cheek bones, flnt noses and eyes set far npnrt. They were wild and cruel like their cous-»ins, the Sioux, who lived west of the Mississippi. Many people believe that most of the Wisconsin mound were built by the Winnebagoes. If this is true, they must have wandered from place to place all over the state. The homes of the Indians in Wisconsin were not alike, but all had to be built so that they could be moved easily. Often they were made of long poles tied together at the top and covered with animal's skins, mats made of rushes, or sheets made of birch bark. They were called wigwams, tepees, or sometimes lodges. The Ojibways built a house shaped like half of a hose-ball. The Winnebago hut was more like a sugar loaf and was covered with mats of woven rushes. By some tribes cabins large enough to hold several families were built. These were sometimes a hundred feet long, twenty-five feet wide and twenty feet high. Most of the houses were very unsanitary. The Indian men often had several wives, who had to obey their husbands. Usually the men wore Jolly, easy going shiftless fellows. The squaws were hard workers. They raised beans, melons, pumpkins and sunflowers and also pounded corn into coarse meal. They often made maple sugar and dried the grape and berries which they found in the forest. The Indinn men went hunting and fishing for food. In summer they found plenty of fruits and roots which could be eaten. Many Indians in Wisconsin gathered wild rice which grew in the marshes instead of raising corn. Dishes were made of shells, bark, and rude pottery. They could not he used on a fire, so the Indians invented a kind of rtreless-cookcr. They heated stones and put them into dishes partly filled with water. In this way the water was boiled and the meal was cooked. The Indians wore few clothes which were made of animal skins. The squaws sewed the skins together with needles of stone or bone. They embroidered their garments, especially the leggings and moccasins, with bead and porcupine quills. The men wore head-dresses of feathers and also painted themselves red, yellow and green. Each time n brave killed an enemy, he would put a new feather into his head-dress. The Indians made fire in two ways. Flint-like stones were struck together and the sparks fell on dry rotten wood called punk . If they had no flint, the Indians used to rub two pieces of dry cedar together with great speed until the friction gave sparks which started fire to the “punk . They used bows nnd arrows for war. The how was about three feet long. It was mnde of tough wood and the bow string was made of animal's skin. The arrows were mode of hard

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VALEDICTORY By Sylvia Shadoski It has been customary in this school to have on«- of the senior class give a valedictory at the commencement exercise . This year this honor has com© to me. If we analyze the word valedictory we find that it breaks up into aU which means farewell and dicere which means to say. This is what I wish to do—to bid you farewell. Her© is the end of our journey; we have completed our school work, but our thought drift back to this school, to the true friends and to the pleasant memories we hove. Whatever success be ours, we owe a debt of gratitude to our dear Alma Mater which has provided us with this wonderful education. This class. I believe, has more pupils who have come up through the grades than any previous class. We now number eleven; only six of us have been here since our kindergarten day . Four have been here through high school and one has been here but a year. We all feel that this school is just like a home to us. As we have grown up here, wo have noticed so tunny improvement in our surroundings. Every year our dear school becomes more beautiful. Wc hop© that we. too. hav© grown and that we can justify these improvements by being good, useful citizens. To the Board of Control: To you, our first parting words are due. I wish to express the sincere thanks of my clast to you. who have don© much to make this school what it is. To our Superintendent: We wish to thank you for the many ways in which you have aided us ever sine© we first came here. We have learned tome of the most important lessons in life—promptness and obedience,—from you, whom we hav© always respect- ed as a father. We pray that God will reward you for all that you have done for us and hope that you may hav© many more years as Superintendent of this school. Farewell. To our schoolmates: We are passing out of school life into active citizenship today. Wc don’t know what message to leave with you. We shall never return here us students again, but the memory of our school days here will always be with u . Every year new faces will come, old ones will disappear. The class of 1932 extends best wishes for your future and we want to persuade all of you not to give up until you graduate. To our Teachers and Supervisors! We have spent many years studying here under you. Now that we arc about to leave, sonic of us would like to remain longer. However wc shall carry away with us plcaiu) t memories of you and the happy days wc have had together. For everything you have done, and for everything you are doing, we pray that you may be rewarded. Farewell to you. all. Parents and Friends: We appreciate your judgement in choosing this school for us. Wo understand the sacrifices you have made for us. We realize the lone-sornenesa of your early days without us at home and wc hope that we may be able to reward you for all this. Classmates: To you, my last words will be spoken. You know that we have been through sunshine and shadows together. Let’s seek the most important things in life as wo want our dear Alma Mater to be proud of us. Let’ not turn our backs on opportunities, but sieze them so that we can do greater things in the future. Again I wish to bid you farewell but not goodbye.

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wood or cum , hud point of atone and were tip pod with feathers. When the arrow were used for war. the point wa» poisoned. The tomahawk wo often used for wur too. Other weapon were wnr clubs, knives, spears, lances, and shield®. In southern Wisconsin there are thousand of mounds shaped like animals They arc called effigy mounds. Very few effigy mounds are found outside of Wisconsin except in Ohio, lown and Illinois. These mounds are made in many different shnpes and sixes. A thunder-bird at Men- dota has a wing spread of over tix hundred feet. Near Huraboo, the only remaining man mound U kept in a small park. In parks ut Milwaukee, Waukesha, La Crosse, Devils l-ake. PeJavan Lake and at many plncr around .Madison, effigy mounds uro preserved and marked. At Aztalan, near Lake Mills, on the Crawfish Kivor there u an enclosure of about seventeen acre surrounded by a low wall. Many Indian relic hnvc been found there and these help u» to know more about the only real Americana. MAXWELL STREET By John Davis Of all the many interesting places Chicago offers. Maxwell Street, the Jewish district, impresses me us the most fascinating. This may he o queer idea, in view of the fact that I huve seen almost all of Chicago's scenic spot . But. for thrilling experiences nnd real entertainment, I maintain that there is no other place that can compare with Maxwell Street. The Ghetto is the place where most of the poor Jew in Chicago do their trading. It is located in the south-western part of the city near the wholesale fruit establishments, that now take the place of the famous old South Water Market, which was removed to make room for Wncker Drive, constructed to diminish traffic congestion in the business section. In July 1031 I wa a member of the great unemployed army, so decided to take advantage of my idle moments nnd ce Chicago. From descriptions of Maxwell Street by a Jew named •'Abie.’' with whom I once worked. 1 was fully convinced that no other place would hold more of my interest or furnish greater amusement consequently a visit to the Jewish district was readily decided upon. To wander in a strange place alone was not to my fancy, so I nuked Abie to be my guide. His ncceptunce was not only prompt, but indicated sincere willingness. Being strong of limb, we chose to walk to our destination, or maybe it was lack of corfore that prompted u» to do so. As we neared Maxwell Street, the pedestrian populace begun to thicken, thus making our progress slow. It was a hot sultry day; besides this, the motley crowd and the dust, stirred up from the street by the traffic, added much to our discomfort. Walking on. we began to meet several orthodox Jews, the last of the old race, holding dead cigarette stubs in their mouth . They still cling to the ancient custom of Palestine. Long wavy heard covered the front of their vests and they wore skull caps and slippers. Young fleshy giggling Jewish girls with soft, Inrgc eyes that were most appealing, were walking along holding the hands of their corpulent mothers; rugged little boys with dirty faces dashed in nnd out of the crowd -ihouting at the top of their voices; young men dapperly dressed, most of them in green suits, and straw hat tilted at a jaunty angle, exposing oily Jet black hair, walked along the street. The babbling of voices grew loader a we drew nearer our goal. When we turned from Hnlsted to Muxwell Street, we suddenly plunged into a strange world that made me speechless. Looking around dazed, I amused my Jewish friend. However, the pushing and shuffling of the moving throng behind me. woke me up to the realization that I was in Chicago, not in Alice' Wonderland. So on we must go. The first thing that caught my eye were the stand with colored awning along the curbs of the street on both sides, resembling either a enravnn of covered wagons crossing the western prairies or the pitched tents of a Nomad tribe in the Sahara Desert. Because of the positions of the tents on the street, no automobiles could traverse there. Down the middle part of the street was an open space, in which had been dumped broken empty packing boxes nnd rotten fruit which attracted myriad of flies. With eyes riveted on the merchandise we walked slowly by the tand . I aw strings of dried onions