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

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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

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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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and salomi sausages draped around the vegetable stand affording rather a decorative air to the Ghetto. Great pile of fruit, polished nnd shiny, lay on the wooden plank alongside the vegetable stall . later on I noticed that a poorer quality lay in bock of thc c piles; nnd if the customer were a greenhorn, the salesman would quickly slip in poor fruit and place the good on top. Presently our uttention was attracted to a woman arguing with a dealer, insisting that she ought to have one more apple udded to the pile of apples on the scale because of a stiff breeie blowing; she claimed that it made the apples heavier than they really were. After a lengthy dispute she finally won by helping herself to an extra apple, then hurrying away. There were no ntnndnrd prices; the sale price was fixed to the mutual agreement of both dealer and buyer. It was quite annoying to have the merchants take hold of my arm and pull me to their merchandise. talking at the same time of the wonderful bargains they had to offer, but I grew accustomed to it and endeavored to get rid of the next dealer who approached me. by motioning that I was deaf. Much to my surprise hi began signing to me. The sign could be readily understood although they were rather crude. He was not the only one either who could converse with the deaf, for nearly all of the clerks, including women, were able to do so. By pulling my pockets inside out to indicate that I hud no money. 1 managed to evade the rest of them. Money talks, you know, but lack of it talks louder and more plainly. Suit of clothes were hanging above the crowd swinging in the breeze In front of a clothing store. On seeing them I was reminded of the swinging fans in Singapore, used to drive away flies. In many instances next to them were fish stores which gave the clothes a strong odor. Pity the poor buyer with a dull sense of smell! Pity more his friend who has a keen sense of smell! Great piles of fish from different waters were urranged to tempt the fish loving Jews: hut they also attracted flies, much to my disgust. IJttle hoys worming through the crowd with the merchandise which they were selling in their arms, needles, lemons and small articles, drew my attention. The whole family in this locality worked. I discovered. The dealers were mostly women, while their husbands were generally inside the houses or else aiding their wives. On the walk close to a building stood an old Jew grinding out horse radish by hand. Being fond of horse radish nnd aware of the fact that the Jews made u good brand, 1 bought a dime's worth nnd took the customary shed helping. All of a sudden burning tear poured down my cheeks us It was fiery hot. The tears blinded me, much to the amusement of those who saw me. The Maxwell Street horse-radish. I know now by my own experience, is the strongest of any hrund mnde. Shoes were purchased in the open; the customers at on top of empty packing boxr trying them on. Darns or hole in the heels or soles were no secret. Great loaves of twisted bread in different shade and sixes, generously covered with caraway seods, were piled high on bakery stands. Half a loaf could he bought. The dealer held the huge loaf on bis stomach to cut it in half, using a large knife with such expertness that it arrested my admiration. 1 am part Norwegian and a lover of Norwegian bread, hut I must confess that here I discovered that I like Jewish bread better. Every imaginable kind of goods was being sold on the street , even hardware. Pipes for «a!«-were rusty from open exposure to weather. The variety was so extensive that I sow pruticnlly no duplicates. Beginning to be foot weary our thoughts turned toward home, so we left the Orient behind for a modern world nnd a much needed hath. The strong odor of fish staved with me. as my clothes were saturated with it, for some time; hut I hod had too interesting a time to mind that. ! » is impossible in the number of word to which this essay is limited to tell but very little of whnt can be «cen in the Ghetto, hut in my feeble way I hope I have conveyed some idea of the place.