Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/221

 4

��1^

��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

��209

��they followed lines to a certain extent, thus forming rows each way across the field. When the corn began to gTOw, they cultivated it with wonderful industry until it had matured suffi- ciently for use. Their corn fields were nearly always in the vicinity of the villages, and sometimes were many acres in extent, and in favorable seasons yielded plentifully. The squaws had entire charge of the work. It was considered beneath the dignity of a brave to do any kind of manual labor, and, when any one of" them, or of any of the white men whom they had adopted, did any work, they were severely reprimanded for acting like a squaw. The Indian women raised the corn, dried it, pounded it into meal in a rude stone mortar, or made it into hominy. Corn in one form and another furnished the chief staple of the In- dian's food. They had various legends concern- ing its origin, which, in common with other stories, they were accustomed to recite in their assemblies.

The Indians were always fond of amusements of all kinds. These consisted of races, games of Imll, throwing the tomahawk, shooting at a mark with the bow and arrow, or with the rifle after its distribution among them, horse races, and other sports incidental to savage life. Their powers of endurance were remark- able, and astonishing accounts are often now told of feats of prowess exhibited by these ab- origines. Of the animals hunted by the Indians, none seems to have elicited their skill more than the l^ear. To slay one of these beasts was \ proof of a warrior's prowess, and dangerous en- counters often resulted in the hunter's search for such distinction. The vitality of bruin was unequaled among the animals of the forest, and, because of the danger attached to his capt- ure, he was made an object of special hunts and feats of courage.

'^The Black or Canesadooharie River," says Dr. Hill, " had always been famous among the aborigines of Northern Ohio for the number and

��largeness of its bears. Some of the pioneers yet surviving often visited this country in search of bruin, when they first settled in the country, and can relate astounding stories of their exploits at the time. The haljit of these animals was to search out a hollow tree or a warm clump of bushes late in the autumn, where they could remain three or four months, during the extreme cold of the winter, subsist- ing entirely on the fat of their bodies. They would emerge in the spring very lean, and when so were exceedingly ferocious. When searching out their places of winter solitude, they often left the impress of their feet on the bark of the tree they ascended, or on the grass in the lair they had found. These signs were easily discov- ered by Indians and expert bear hunters. They were then very fat, and were eagerly sought by the Indians for their flesh and fat. Some- times they would ascend trees thirty or forty feet high, and find a good wintering place and take possession. Again they would ascend the tree, if hollow, from the inside, and, finding a good place, occupy it. Then the hunters would divide forces, one ascend the tree and with a long pole, sharpened at one end, or wrapped with a rag or dry skin saturated with grease and set on fire, thrust the same down on the bear and compel him to descend, only to meet his death at the foot of the tree from the ar- row or bullet of the hunter below.

The skin of a fat bear was a great prize to an Indian. It made him an excellent couch on which to sleep, or a cloak to wear. His flesh was supposed to impart bravery to those who ate it, hence when dipped in sweetened bear's fat, it was considered an excellent dish and one often oftered to friends. Venison, prepared the same way, was also considered a dish fit for the most royal visitors ; a hospitality always ex- tended to all who came to the camp, and if not accepted the donor was sure to be off"ended.

The domestic life of the Indians was very much the same in all parts of America. Among

��^1

�� �