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

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HOUSEKEEPING IN A TEPEE By Alice Fischer Housekeeping In a tepee varied in different tribe a some of the Indian wore more eJvillxod than other . But thrlr living quarter in general, w» i e ulong the Mime linen. The homes of the Northern Indian-ut the time I he white men appeared in America were made of arched branch anil then covered with skin or canvas, Other Northern Indian made tent by sticking several pole in the ground and bringing thi .op together forming a cone shape. They covered the stick with nmta made of gras and bark. Often nrvcrol faro-idea would live in one Inrge wigwam which wa divided or arranged o each fondly could occupy n otall. The families were supposed to he relatives uh .hey descended from one Woman, The home in the southern part of America wen- quite different from those of the Northern Indiana. They were constructed of s one or nilobe, which wa» made from sun-dried clay. The wigwam contained very little furniture. Skin or blanket erved un bed . Chnirs, tabic or ftovc were unknown to them hut when .hey ate or told legend , they would it with their leg crossed in u hor»v hac circle. The homes hod very little ventilation. Their home were very smoky and what we would call unclean but It wn» in an orderly fashion, although it wa very primitive. The Indiun had little pride about their home as they were hifiles and inconsiderate. Thi was one of the chief defect of the Indian nature. The rude utensil used in the red man’s tepee were usually made of chiseled stones, bone and wood. Having no silverware, they u ed their hands to eat with and the family all ate from one howl. A camp fire is what we would cull the heuting system of the American Indian. They started their fires by rubbing two stick together until sparks would appear. The Indians seldom built very large fires because they didn’t want their enemies to see the smoke. The red man’s regularity of securing food for thnir squaws and children is very interesting. The way in which they caught buffalos was called the “buffalo round”. The Indians would wait a fortnight before thev would do nny hunting or kilting and then a hunting party consisting of a few men, went out in group so that they could form a large circle, about six or seven mile in circumference. Then at a signal from the chief, all the hunters would charge at once, those nearest repeating the or- der on to those farthest away. Sometimes a many as fourteen hundred bi'ffalo would he killed. This would be their winter aupply of meat. The brave who had killed the most buffalo was the hero of the hour. The Northern red man such as .he Souix and Iroquoi , used to live upon the caribou which furnished .hem with meat for food, skins for clothing, blankets, and sinews for thread . They hunted other animals such as the bison und the bear and they netted ll h. The ntort important food , planted and ruled by our Indians were malar, pumpkin , melon , and tobacco. The tools they used in preparing the ground wore spade-like tool with foot rest for thrusting them into the ground and others were just simple digging sticks. Tin- more civilised Indian used took which wen- pointed with copper Mid bronxe. The Indian women also secured their food from wild lice, roo.» of different plnnt and wild fruit . The method which the Northern Indiuns used m ga:hexing wild rice wa» the pleasantest and easiest part of the harvest toil. On on appointed day all the canoes were carried to the shore nnd placed upon the water with prayer and of-faring . Each family took possession of the allotted nee field, and tied all of the grain in bundles of convenient size, allowing it to stand for a few day In the water. Then they oguin went buck to the lake. Two person were assigned to each canoe, one to paddle while the other gently drew the head of each bundle to ward him and gave it a few strokes with a rod. Thi caused the rice to fall into the bottom of the hoot. After they had gathered the rice grains, they let it stand in the sun to dry’- Then the hulling began. A round hole wa dug a-bout two feet deep and the same in diameter. The rice was heated over a fire place und emptied into thr hole while it wo still hot. Then n young Indian lad. having washed hb feet, put a clean pair of new moccasin on, and trod upon it until it was hulled. The woman then (mured it upon a robe and shook it until all the chaff wa removed. Then, too, berries of ull kind wore gathered and dried in the un. They were then stored in bag of kin for winter use. The wild cherries were pounded up. stone and all. and made into small cake und dried for use in soup . —2k— N 1N E T E E N THIRTV-FI V E

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m Mugua ba not been captured. At gome ♦lift-tnncc. by the entrance of u cave, he catches sight of Mm Mimarling with Coru. In gront hunt - Uncoil make for the cave, but hit upend i interfered with when he in shot by one of .Magua' Indian . As Uncos draw nearer, and os Magua turns to give fight. u Huron stabs Corn, killing her. In face of Ihb cold blooded cruel deed, from u ledge above Uncos dives upon Magua but misao him. As he is getting up u hie feet. Mujrtin strikes him with hi knife. Since I'ncos has already been shot, he is weak, M- Is easily overpowered. No mercy for Uncos in shown. Time after time Magua' knife 1 thrust into him before he foils dead. Magua, then .seeing Hnwkeyo appear, tries to jump a precipice only to fail short of his mark: however, he catches hold of a shrub on the very edge. A he hang there. Hnwkcye, taking a good aim, succeeds in hitting Magua, Who Jet.-' go i«mi fulls to destruction on the sharp rock hundreds of feet below. Com u buried with pomp and ceremony, and for Unca an elaborate burinl service is given n' be was a very highly honored Delaware chief. Thus ends the lift- of the Ijist of the Mohicans. Instead of ending with the death of the hero and the heroine. I would have it thui: At the entrance of the cave us Mugua turned like a cornered rat to fight, he lifted his rifle to tuke aim at Unca . who wa drawing near, when quirk as u flash Unco shot, striking the fire-nrm» from Magun'-i hands. A fierce struggle en- sued. For some time it seemed os if they were of equal strength. Repeatedly Magua tried to thrust his knife into his enemy, but each time Uncos escaped unharmed. in spite of all of Mugua' varied evil and cunning tricks. Unca noon had Magua In hi power. Magua, playing the part of a coward, whined and bogged for his life. The Huron , whom the Delaware h id captured. heard of this dns.ordly act. which they considered a disgrace, one of the worst atrocities an Indian could inflict upon himself; in fact, i was absolutely unforgivable. They Pegged that Mugua be handed over to them and promised to do justice to him by burning him nt he •toko. This request wa quickly granted and .hey remained true to their word. After returning to the Delaware village. Unca and Cora were engaged in a long curious talk, in which die sincerely and kindly Mucc-udod in gut.ing him to understand that he would never be happy with her: that it would be imporsible for her to continue roaming .he wild forests with him. The truth of this Unca knew full well. “I shall never marry.” h. emphatically declared: then gently added. Return, my fair one, to your home and people.” Uneas. Hawkeye and ( hingochgook stopped nt the Delaware village a few day . All in vain the Delaware tried to purauitde Unca to return to them. Out into the deep forest the three tried friends plunged, to mam about hither and thither ns they were wont to do in the past, a freedom they deeply cherished. T II E T A T T I. K K

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In July and August the Indian Women dug with sharpened sticks, tcyxsinnn, a root thnt grow in handy soil. Teywinnu was a very star-chy food nnd had a very sweet taste. The wild sweet potato, a root of which the Indians were very fond wu found in bottom lands or river beds. An Indian housekeeper exerted herself much to secure a variety of appetizing dishes for her husband. To accomplish her end, she even took food from the field mouse and muskrat. She gathered wild bean ami roots of the wild lily from the nests of mice. The lily root was mod fur medicine. Wh'lc the Indians wen getting rice, they were on the look-out for other foods that grew in lakes and pond . A white bulb about, the size of an onion was often stored uway by the muskrat near the waterside. The Indians took it from the mu “krai and made stew of it. Before the white man came, the Indian wo men nnd men dressed alike, their clothing consisted of shirts and loggings of deerskin. But the tribes in the southwest wove cotton garment-? and made robes of plaited rabbits akin . It was ittyl'iih for the Indian to wear robes nnd blankets ami really beautiful patterns were developed. Even now some of these type of clothing persist in certain Indian tribes. The Indians, like all primitive races, were fond of personal adornment. They cut their clothing into fringe at the edges and often trimmed their garments with feather? or elk's teeth. On festive and war-like occasions, they painted both their faces and bodies. Some tribes tattooed themselves. Shell necklaces, ear rings and sometimes lip and nose jewelry were worn. The men uu well as the women were proud of their long black hair. The Indians usually arranged their hair In two long braids. You have perhaps been told that the indiun woman, a squaw, was the slave of her husband. This b not quite true. She had her work, and he had hi . It was his buxines to chase the game, sometimes many miles, and often when game wax scarce, he might be away for many days or even weeks. The women did the work about the tepee or hut, cultivated the ground, and made the clothe . In «hort. he did the work belonging to war and hunting while the women had to do with pcaci. When the clan or tribe was moving, the women carried most of the baggage, but the man had to be on guard for an enemy hidden behind a tree or u hill who might, ut any time, -end an arrow toward them, finishing their journey too suddenly. So we see that the Indian women were not so unfairly treated u i often pictured, and al though they present a picturesque appearance today, they do hot have n easy u life an their white sisters in the.’r modern homes with their efficient methods of housekeeping and labor-saving devices. But even with the present day living conditions, the worried face seem very different from the calm content shown by ;he Indian mother and housekeeper, seemingly satisfied w'ith her family and her nhodo. THE TAT T I. E R