Northampton County PA Archives History - Books .....The Aborigines 1920
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  Book Title: History Of Northampton County
  
  CHAPTER I
  THE ABORIGINES
  
      The origin of the North American Indian is one of the mysteries of history;
  many have tried to solve it, but it is still an enigma. They were here to
  welcome Columbus, the explorer of the Mississippi river, the Cavalier and
  Puritan settlers of Virginia and New England.
  
      In the period under review, the area now comprised in the States of
  Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York was occupied by Indian tribes known
  collectively as Algonquins, and embraced in two nations, or rather groups of
  nations, called by Europeans the Iroquois and the Delawares, the former having
  received their names from the French, and the latter from the English. The
  language of both these peoples was the Algonquin, but materially different
  dialects.
  
      Among themselves, in the Indian language, the Delawares were known as the
  Lcnni Lenape, or simply the Lenape, which signifies the "original or true
  people," while the Iroquois were called the Mengwe or Mingoes, this last being a
  corruption originating among the more ignorant white men, and from them adopted
  by the Delawares, who applied it as a name of reproach or contempt to their
  Mengwe neighbors, between whom and themselves very little friendly feeling
  existed. The country of the Mengwe extended from the shores of Lake Erie to
  those of Champlain and the Hudson, and from the headwaters of the Allegheny,
  Susquehanna and Delaware rivers northward to Lake Ontario, and even across the
  St. Lawrence, thus really embracing nearly all of the State of New York and a
  portion of Canada. This they figuratively styled their long "Council House,"
  within which, the place of kindling the grand council fire, was the Onondaga
  Valley, where delegates from all the tribes met in solemn deliberation. They
  existed as a confederation of tribes, and were usually known in English annals
  as the Five Nations. This alliance was composed of the Mohawks, Senecas,
  Cayugas, Onondagas and Oneidas. They were later joined by the Tuscaroras from
  the Carolinas, who had been driven north by white men. This made the federation
  the Six Nations.
  
      The Mohawks occupied the country nearest the Hudson river, and were
  considered as holding the post of honor-the guarding of the eastern entrance of
  the "Long House." The highest chief of the tribe was also always the leading war
  chief of the Confederacy. They held the first rank among the tribes, although
  the Senecas were the most numerous and were possessed of the highest degree of
  warlike spirit and military energy. They defended the western portal of the
  "Long House," while the Cayugas were guardians over the southern, that is, the
  frontier of the Delaware and Susquehanna valleys. The Onondaga nation held the
  office of chief sachem of the league; the Oneidas held forth along the northern
  front. They became very powerful, and reduced several rival nations, among them
  the Lenapc, to a state of semi-vassalage.
  
      The domain of the Delawares extended along the seashore from the Chesapeake
  to the country border, Long Island Sound to the eastward of New Amsterdam. Back
  from the coast it readied beyond the valley of the Susquehanna, and on the north
  it joined the jealously guarded hunting grounds of their supercilious neighbors,
  the hated "Murgoes." The three most notable sub-divisions of the Delawares were
  the tribes of the Turtle, or Unamies; the Turkeys, or Wunalachtikos; and the
  Wolf, or Minsi. The Unamies and Wunalachtikos branches of the Delaware nation,
  comprising the tribes of Assunpinks, Mators, Chickequaus, Shackmaxons, Tuteloes,
  Nanticokes, and others of lesser note, inhabited the lower country towards the
  coast, while the more warlike tribes of the Wolf watched their dangerous
  northern neighbors. Their lands extended from the Iroquois frontier south to
  Mackahneck, and they lighted their council fire in the Minisinks near what is
  now Port Jervis. Their principal villages were along the valleys of the
  Aquanshicole and the Analomuk (Broadhead creek), and the Upper Delaware all
  above the Blue Mountains. There were no Indian habitations in the section known
  as the Forks of the Delaware, that is, the area between the two rivers and the
  Blue Mountains prior to 1700; it was a common hunting ground accessible to all.
  When the white man reached the Forks, the first Indians he discovered were from
  the Jerseys, and who had emigrated from the southern half of New Jersey to the
  only nearest land on which they had rights-the Forks. The Shawnees had a few
  towns along the Delaware, but not any within the Forks. These towns were placed
  so as to protect something of value to the Six Nations, who granted the
  privilege to the Shawnees to settle in the country of the Delaware when they
  were expelled from their homes in what is now the southern part of the Middle
  West. One was at Durham, Bucks county, to look after the jasper mines and other
  interests in Rattlesnake Hill; one on the Flats, at the north end of
  Phillipsburg, New Jersey, to guard the marble deposits in the nearby hills.
  Their principal town was on Shawnee Island, about four miles above the Delaware
  Water Gap; this town was in plain view of the copper mine. There were some
  others of lesser importance; one of these was on Coplay creek, in White Flail
  township, now Lehigh county. When disaffection arose among the Indians, the
  Shawnees betook themselves to the lands of the Alleghenies, leaving the
  Delawares sole possessors of the Forks country, where they lived in harmony with
  the first white settlers until the year 1742, when they were so ignominiously
  banished from their homes by the Six Nations at the instigation of the
  proprietors, the avaricious sons of Willliam Penn.
  
      The wars between the Delawares and Iroquois were of long standing, and
  finally they discovered that warfare was depleting their numbers, especially the
  Iroquois (who. at this period under review, consisted of five nations, later of
  six nations), joined the federation, and became known among the English as the
  Six Nations, and by the French as Iroquois. The Delawares called them the
  Mengwe, and in derision Mingo.
  
      The strength of the Delawares was increased by the addition of the Shawnees,
  who were forced out of the southern country and were permitted to dwell among
  the upper nations. The Delawares were always too powerful for the Iroquois, so
  that the latter were at length convinced that if they continued the war, their
  total extinction would be inevitable. They therefore sent the following message:
  "It is not profitable that all the nations should be at war with each other, for
  this will, at length, be the ruin of the whole Indian race. We have, therefore,
  considered of a remedy, by which this evil may be prevented. One nation shall be
  the women. We will place her in the midst, and the other nations who make war
  shall be the men, and live among the women. No one shall touch or hurt the
  women, and if any one does it, we will immediately say to him, 'Why do you beat
  the woman?' Then all the men shall fall upon him who has beaten her. The women
  shall not go to war, but endeavor to keep peace with all, therefore if the men
  that surround her beat each other and the war be carried on with violence, the
  women shall have the right of addressing them, 'Ye men, what are you about, why
  do you beat each other? We are almost afraid; consider that your wives and
  children must perish unless ye desist. Do you mean to destroy yourselves from
  the face of the earth?' Then" shall you hear and obey the women."
  
      The Delawares not immediately perceiving the intention of the Iroquois, had
  submitted to be the women. The Iroquois then appointed a great feast and invited
  the Delawares to it, at which time, in consequence of the authority given them,
  they made a solemn speech containing three capital points. The first was that
  they declared the Delaware nation to be the women, in the following words: "We
  dress you in a woman's long habit, reaching down to your feet, and adorn you
  with ear-rings," meaning that they should no more take up arms. The second point
  was thus expressed: "We hang a calabash filled with oil and medicines upon your
  arm. With the oil you shall cleanse the ears of the other nations that they may
  attend to good and not to bad words; and with the medicine you shall heal those
  who are walking in foolish ways, that they may return to their senses and
  incline their hearts to peace." The third point, by which the Delawares were
  exhorted to make agriculture their future employment and means of subsistence,
  was thus worded: "We deliver into your hands a plant of Indian corn and a hoe."
  Each of these points was confirmed by delivering a belt of wampum, These belts
  had been carefully laid up, and their meaning frequently repeated. Ever after
  this singular treaty, the Iroquois called the Delawares their cousins. The three
  tribes of the Delawares were called comrades; but these titles were only made
  use of in their council, and when some solemn speech was to be delivered.
  
      The Iroquois, on the contrary, asserted that they conquered the Delawares,
  and that the latter were forced to adopt the defenceless state and appellation
  of a woman to avoid total ruin. Whether these different accounts be true or
  false, certain it is that the Delaware nation were looked upon to preserve
  peace, and entrusted with the charge of the great belt of peace and chain of
  friendship, which they must take care to preserve. According to the figurative
  explanation of the Indians, the middle of the chain of friendship was placed
  upon the shoulders of the Delawares, the rest of the Indian nations holding one
  end, and the Europeans the other. Such were the conditions when the white man
  first made his appearance at the forks of the Delaware.
  
      The Lenni Lenape and the nations in league with them resembled each other,
  both as to their bodily and mental qualifications. The men were mostly slender,
  middle-sized, handsome and straight; there were not many deformed or crippled
  among them. The women were short, not so handsome, and rather clumsier in
  appearance than the men, caused principally by their dress. Their skin was of a
  reddish brown, nearly resembling copper, but in different shades-some of a
  brownish yellow, not much differing from the mulattoes; some lighter brown,
  hardly to be known from a brown European, except by their hair and eyes; jet
  black hair, stiff, lank and coarse, almost like horsehair, that grew gray in old
  age; their eyes were large and black. The men had a fierce but not dreadful
  countenance; their features regular and not disagreeable, but the cheekbones
  were rather prominent, especially in the women. Both had very white teeth; the
  men a firm walk, a light step, and could run remarkably swift. Their smell,
  sight and hearing were very acute, and their memory so strong that they could
  relate the most trivial circumstances which had happened in their councils many
  years previous, and tell the exact time of former events with the greatest
  precision; their powers of imagination very lively, which enabled them in a
  short time to attain to great skill and dexterity in learning. They comprehended
  whatever belonged to their manner of living or tended to their supposed
  advantage with the greatest ease; and their continued practice in needful
  accomplishments, to which they were trained up in infancy, gave them a decided
  advantage. They had but few objects which required their whole attention, and
  therefore were less divided. Their history gives many instances of their
  greatness of mental powers and accuracy of deliberation and judgment, good sense
  in their intercourse with strangers, and strict ?conformity to the rules of
  justice and equity, which proved that they saw things in the proper light. They
  were far superior to any other uncivilized people on the face of the globe.
  
      In common life and conversation the Indians observed good manners. They
  usually treated one another and strangers with kindness and civility, without
  empty compliments; their whole behavior appeared solid and prudent. In matters
  of consequence they spoke and acted with the most cool and serious deliberation,
  avoided all appearance of precipitancy, but this was chiefly due to suspicion,
  and their coolness was merely affected; they were past-masters in the art of
  dissembling. They were sociable and friendly, and a mutual intercourse existed
  between families. Quarrels and offensive behavior were carefully avoided; they
  never put anyone to blush or reproach, even a noted murderer. Their common
  conversation turned upon hunting, fighting and affairs of state. No one
  interrupted his neighbor in speaking, but listened attentively to news, whether
  true or false. This was one reason why they were so fond of receiving strangers.
  Cursing and swearing were unknown to them, their language containing no such
  expressions.
  
      Difference of rank was not to be found among them: all were equally noble
  and free; the only difference consisted in wealth, age, dexterity, courage and
  office. Whoever furnished much wampum for the chiefs was considered as a person
  of quality and riches. Age was everywhere respected, for, according to their
  ideas, long life and wisdom were always related; young Indians endeavored by
  presents to gain instruction from the aged. A clever hunter, a valiant warrior
  and an intelligent chief, held high honor, and no Indian, with all his notions
  of liberty, refused to follow and obey his captain or his chief. Presents were
  very acceptable to an Indian, but he was not willing to acknowledge himself
  under any obligation to the donor, and even took it amiss if they were
  discontinued. Their hospitality was renowned; it extended even to strangers who
  would take refuge amongst them; they considered it a sacred duty from which no
  one was exempted. Whoever refused hospitality to anyone committed a grievous
  offence, and made himself detested and abhorred by all, and also liable to
  revenge from the offended person. In their conduct toward their enemies they
  were cruel and inexorable, and when enraged, bent upon nothing but murder and
  bloodshed. They were, however, remarkable for concealing their passions and
  waiting for a convenient opportunity of gratifying them. If they could not
  satisfy their resentment they even called upon their friends and posterity to do
  it. The longest space of time could not cool their wrath, nor the most distant
  place of refuge afford security to their enemy.
  
      The Indians in general, but especially the men, loved ease; and even
  hunting, though their chief employ, was attended to with perseveranee but for a
  few months of the year, the rest being chiefly spent in idleness. The women were
  more employed, for the whole burden of housekeeping lay upon them, and nothing
  but hunger and want could rouse the men from their drowsiness and give them
  activity.
  
      The honor and welfare of the nation were considered by them as a most
  important concern, for, though they were joined together neither by force nor
  compact, yet they considered themselves as one nation, of which they had an
  exalted idea, and professed great attachment to their particular tribe*
  Independence appeared to them to be the grand prerogative of Indians. Considered
  either collectively or as individuals, they frankly owned the superiority of the
  Europeans in several arts, but despised them as submitting to laborious
  employments; the advantages they themselves possessed in hunting, fishing, and
  even in their moral conduct, appeared to them superior to any European
  refinements. This public spirit of the Indians produced the most noble exertions
  in favor of their own people. They were fearless to danger, suffered any
  hardship, and met torments and death itself with composure, in the defence of
  their country. Even in their last moments they possessed the greatest appearance
  of insensibility in honor of their nation, boasted of their intrepidity, and
  with savage pride defied the greatest sufferings and tortures which their
  enemies could inflict upon them.
  
      The Delaware and Iroquois were the principal languages spoken throughout
  eastern North America, and all others were dialects of them, but the Delaware
  language bore no resemblance to the Iroquois. Though the three different tribes
  of the Delaware had the same language, yet they spoke different dialects. The
  Unamies and Wunalachtikos, who inhabited the eastern coast of Pennsylvania and
  New Jersey, nearly agree in pronunciation, but the dialect of the Minsi, who
  lived in the Minisinks above the Blue Mountains, differed so much from the
  former that they would hardly be able to understand each other did they not keep
  up a continual intercourse.
  
      The language of the Delawares had an agreeable sound, both in common
  conversation and public delivery. The dialect spoken by the Unamies and
  Wunalachtikos was peculiarly grateful to the ear, and much more easily learned
  by an European than that of the Minsi, which was rougher and spoken with a broad
  accent. However, the Minsi dialect is a key to many expressions in the dialect
  of the other two tribes. The pronunciation of the Delaware language was
  generally easy, only the ch is a very strong guttural. The letters f, v, p, k
  and r are wanting in their alphabet. They omitted them entirely in foreign
  words, or pronounced them differently; for example: Pilipp for Philip, Petelus
  for Petrus, Pliscilla for Priscilla. The sense of many words depended entirely
  on the accent, and great care was necessary in defining the meaning, as an
  Indian was loath to repeat his utterances.
  
      In matters relating to common life the language of the Indians was
  remarkably copious; they had frequently several names for one and the same thing
  under different circumstances. For instance, the Delawares had ten different
  names for a bear, according to its age or sex; such names had often not the
  least resemblance to each other. They had no terms for the things in which they
  were not conversant and engaged, nor did they take any pains to enrich their
  language in proportion as their knowledge extended, but rather chose to express
  themselves in a figurative or descriptive manner. The following examples will be
  sufficient to give an idea:
  
   1. The sky is overcast with dark, blustery clouds- We shall have troublesome
  times; we shall have war.
   2. A black cloud has arisen yonder-War is threatened from that quarter or from
  that nation.
   3. The path is already shut up-Hostilities have commenced; the war is begun.
   4. The rivers run with blood-War rages in the country.
   5. To lay down the hatchet or slip the hatchet under the heel-To cease fighting
  for a while during a truce; or to place the hatchet at hand, so that it may be
  taken up again at a moment's warning.
   6. To bury the hatchet-To make or conclude a peace.
   7. Singing birds-Tale bearers, liars.
   8. Don't listen to the singing of the birds which fly by!--Don't believe what
  stragglers tell you. 
   9. You stopped my ears!-You kept the thing a secret from me.
  10. I draw the thorns out of your feet and legs, grease your stiffened joints
  with oil and wipe the sweat off your body!-I make you feel comfortable after
  your fatiguing journey, that you may enjoy yourself while with us.
  11. The path between us is again open!-We are again on friendly terms.
  
      Thus the language of their orators, who most sensibly felt the want of
  proper expressions, was full of images, and they found even gesture and grimace
  necessary to convey their sentiments. When they saw new objects they commonly
  observed that these were things which have no name; now and then a council was
  held to consult about a term descriptive of a new thing. Thus they have chosen a
  word to express "brown color," which signifies "the middle between black and
  white"; for buckles they invented a word  meaning "metal shoestrings."
  
      The want of proper expressions in spiritual things, of which they were
  totally ignorant, was most perplexing. But after the Gospel had been preached
  among them, the language of the Dclawares and Iroquois gained much in this
  respect and improved in volume. The following is the Lord's Prayer in the
  Delaware language:
  
      Ki Wctochemelenk, talli cpian Awossagame. IUachelcndosutsc.il
  Ktelle-wunsowoagan Ksakiinowagan peycwiketsch Ktelitehewagan leketsch yim
  Achquidhackanike clgiqni leek talli Awossagame Milineen eligischquik qunagischuk
  Achpoan woak miwclendainmauwineen n'tschannauchsowagan-nena elgiqui nikina
  miwelendammauwenk nik tschetschanilawequengik woak kalschi n'pawiineen li
  achquelschlowaganink shnckund ktemiineen untsclii medhicking Alod Knihillatamen
  ksakiinowagan woak ktallewussoagan woak ktallowilissowagan ne untschi nallemiwi
  Nanne leketsch.
  
      To illustrate the difficulties encountered by the early interpreters and
  translators in making the English language in its most common form fit the
  limited vocabulary of the Indian language, the literal translation of the above
  prayer is here given:
  
      Thou our Father there dwelling beyond the clouds, magnified thy name; thy
  kingdom come on; thy thought come to pass here all over the earth. The same as
  it is there beyond the clouds. Through this day the usual daily bread, and
  forgive to us our transgressions, the same as we who arc-here we mutually
  forgive them who have injured us, and let us come to that, that we fall into
  temptation, rather keep us free from all evil, for thou claimest kingdom and the
  superior power and all magnificence from heretofore always, amen.
  
      It was not expected to find arts and sciences amongst the wild Indians, nor
  even any inclination to study them; unable to read or write, it was most
  difficult to give them any idea of those accomplishments. If a written or
  printed paper or book was shown them, and something read or spoken of as
  contained in it, they imagined that a spirit spoke secretly to the reader,
  dictating whatever he wished to know. Some thought that the paper, when written
  upon, could speak to the reader, but so as to be heard by no one else;
  therefore, a letter, particularly if it be sealed, was considered as a very
  sacred thing. They would not take pains to learn either to read or write. If any
  peace contracts or commercial papers were required to be delivered to the
  Europeans, signed by their chiefs, captains or councillors, they would never
  sign their name themselves, but get others to make the signature; then each
  would add his mark, which was often nothing but a crooked line or a cross,
  sometimes a line in the form of a turkey's foot, a tortoise or of some other
  creature.
  
      The Delawares knew nothing regarding their history but what had been
  verbally transmitted to them by their fathers and grandfathers. Thus the stories
  were handed down from father to son, and to impress it upon their young minds
  they would enlarge on the original so that in the course of time and the
  numerous repetitions the legendary tale lost all semblance of its original
  import. When they spoke of their ancestors they boasted that they were mighty
  warriors and exhibited many feats of valor.
  
      They delighted in describing their genealogies, and were so well versed in
  them that they marked every branch of the family with the greatest precision.
  They could also add the character of their ancestors, both in the male and
  female line. Though they were indifferent about the history of former times and
  ignorant of the art of reading and writing, yet their ancestors were well aware
  that they stood in need of something to enable them to convey their ideas to a
  distant nation, or preserve the memory of remarkable events, at least for a
  season. To this end they invented something like hieroglyphics and also strings
  of wampum; their hieroglyphics were characteristic figures which were more
  frequently painted upon trees than cut in stone. These were intended to caution
  against danger, to mark a place of safety, to direct the wanderer into the right
  path, to record some important transaction, or to commemorate the deeds and
  achievements of their celebrated heroes, and were as intelligible to them as a
  written account would be to us. For this purpose they generally preferred a
  tall, well-grown tree; they then would peel the bark on one side, scrape the
  wood till it became white and clean, then draw the figure of the hero whose
  exploits they wished to celebrate. These drawings would last fully fifty years,
  and it was a great consolation to the dying warrior that his glorious deeds
  would be preserved so long, for the admiration of posterity. Traveling Indians
  who might happen to camp at a certain place while on a hunting trip, would
  record the fact on one of the trees, giving an account of the amount of game
  secured, what tribe they belonged to, and other statements.
  
      Among the different tribes there were no fixed laws, but those in authority
  found no difficulty of governing them. Their councillors and chiefs were capable
  men, and whatever they saw or did was never questioned by subordinates, as they
  were proud of seeing such able men conduct the affairs of their nation; the
  Indians were little troubled about what they were doing, knowing that the result
  of their deliberations would be made public in due time. Matters of public
  import were generally made known by the chief through the orator, for which
  purpose the)- would be called together and assemble at the council-house; and if
  it was found necessary to require a contribution of money for carrying the
  desires of the chiefs into effect, the entire assembly cheerfully complied. The
  chiefs were very careful in preserving for their own information and that of
  future generations, all important deliberations and treaties made at any time
  between them and other nations.
  
      For the purpose of refreshing their own memories and of instructing one or
  more of their most capable and promising young men in these matters, they
  assembled once or twice a year. On these occasions they always met at a chosen
  spot in the woods, at a small distance from the town, where a fire was kindled,
  and at the proper time provisions would be brought out to them there on a large
  piece of bark or on a blanket, and all the documents laid out in such order that
  all could distinguish each particular speech the same as we know the principal
  contents of an instrument of writing by the endorsement on it.
  
      If parchment writings were connected with the belts of wampum (strings of
  beads woven into belts), they would apply to some trusty white man to read the
  contents to them. Their speaker then, who was always chosen from among those who
  were endowed with superior talents and who had already been trained up in the
  business, would rise and in an audible voice deliver with the gravity that the
  subject required, the contents, sentence after sentence, until he had finished
  the whole subject. On the manner in which the belt or string of wampum was
  handled by the speaker much depended; the turning of the belt, which took place
  when he had finished one-half of his speech, when done properly, by it was as
  well known how far the speaker had advanced in his speech as with us in taking a
  glance at the pages of a book or pamphlet while reading, and a good speaker
  would be able to point out the exact place on a belt, which was the answer to
  each particular sentence, the same as we can point out a passage in a book.
  Belts and strings, when done with by the speaker, were again handed to the
  chief, who put them up carefully in the speechbag or pouch. These belts of
  wampum were of different dimensions both as to length and breadth; white and
  black wampum were the kinds used-the former that which was good, a
  peace-friendship, good will; the latter the reverse-yet occasionally the black
  also was made use of as peace errands when the white could not be procured; but
  previous to its being produced for such purpose it was daubed all over with
  white clay, or anything to change the color from black to white.
  
      Roads from one friendly nation to another were generally marked on the belt
  by one or two rows of white wampum interwoven in the black, and running through
  the middle and from end to end; it meant that they were on good terms and kept
  up a friendly intercourse with each other. A black belt with the mark of a
  hatchet made on it with red paint was a war belt, which, when sent to a nation,
  together with a twist or roll of tobacco, was an invitation to join in a war. If
  the nation so invited smoked of this tobacco, and said it smoked well, they thus
  gave their consent, and from that moment became allied. If, however, they
  declined to smoke, it was a sign of rejection. Although at their councils they
  do not seat themselves alter the manner of the white people, yet the attitude
  they place themselves in is not chargeable to them as a want of respect.
  Faithful to the trust committed to them, they were careless of ceremonies from
  which the native cannot derive any benefit. They sat themselves promiscuously
  around a council fire, some leaning one way, some another, so that a stranger on
  viewing them might be led to conclude they were unattentive to what was said, or
  had become tired of attending. By sitting in this position they were given the
  opportunity of being intent on what was said and attentive to the subject under
  their consideration, as they had no object to look at which might draw off their
  attention. They were all ears, though they did not stare at the speaker; the
  fact was, nothing could draw their attention from the subject under deliberation
  unless the house they were sitting in should take fire or be attacked by an enemy.
  
      Wampum is an Indian word for mussel; a number of these mussels strung
  together was called a string of wampum, which, when a fathom long, was termed a
  belt, but the word "string" was commonly used, whether it be long or short. The
  mussels from which wampum was made were found principally along the coast of
  Maryland and Virginia, and were valued according to the color. Having first
  sawed these shells into square pieces about a quarter of an inch in length, an
  eighth in thickness, they ground them round or oval upon a common grindstone,
  then a hole was bored lengthwise through each, large enough to admit a wire
  thong. The black wampum was more precious than the white on account of its
  scarcity. The Delawares and Shawnees had a place in the Durham Valley where they
  procured jasper, from which they made black wampum. When the white man saw the
  value of wampum he set up a lathe and made the tiny beads in great abundance,
  and a profitable vocation it proved to be.
  
      Besides the above-mentioned by which the Indians commemorate certain events,
  they likewise had songs in praise of their heroes, extolling their glorious
  exploits; these were frequently sung, but merely from memory. They taught them
  to their children, and those who loved poetry composed more, so that there was
  no want of them.
  
      They required but very little arithmetic to keep an account of their goods
  and chattels, yet they were not wholly unacquainted with it. While some of the
  nations could only count ten or twenty, they would express a greater number by
  pointing to the hairs on their head, signifying that the number exceeded their
  power of calculation; but the Delawares understood very little about our letters
  and cyphers, yet could count into the thousands. They could count regularly to
  ten, make a mark, proceed to the next ten, and so on to the end of the account;
  then, by adding the tens, they found hundreds and thousands. The numerals as
  expressed in the Delaware language were as follows, which also illustrates the
  difference between the two tribes, the Minsi above the mountains, and the Unamie
  below the mountains:
  
  MINSI                    UNAMIE
  Gutti              1     N'gutti
  Nischa             2     Nischa
  Nacha              3     Nacha
  Newa               4     Newo
  Nalan              5     Palenach
  Guttasch           6     Guttasch
  Nischoasch         7     Nishasch
  Chaasch            8     Chasch
  Nolewi             9     Peschkonk
  Wimbat            10     Tellen
  
      Those Indians who understood the value of money had learned it chiefly from
  the English and Dutch. The Delawares called pence, pennig; and stivers, stipel.
  If they wished to calculate a sum of money with exactness they would take Indian
  corn, calling every corn a penny or stiver, adding as many as are necessary to
  make florins, shillings and pounds.
  
      Most of them determined a number of years by so many winters, summers,
  springs or autumns since such an event took place, and other facts; few of them
  knew exactly how many years old they were after thirty. Some of them reckoned
  from the time of a hard frost or a deep snow in such a year; from a war with the
  Indians, or from the building of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, as "when Pittsburgh
  was built I was ten years old," or as "in spring when we boil sugar, or when we
  plant, I shall be so old."
  
      Of geography they knew nothing; some imagined the earth was supported on the
  back of an immense turtle who floated on the sea; but they had an idea of maps,
  and could delineate plans of countries known to them upon birch bark with some
  exactness. The distance from one place to another they would not mark in miles,
  but by days' journeys of about fifteen or twenty miles each. These were divided
  into half or quarter day's journeys, and with accuracy when sending out war
  parties, or for hunting purposes, the road could be clearly described and time
  required to make the journey. An Indian would never lose his way in the woods,
  though some were between two and three hundred miles in length and as many in
  breadth. Besides knowing the courses of the rivers and brooks and the situation
  of the hills, he was safely directed by the branches and moss growing upon the
  trees. They marked the boundaries of their different territories chiefly by
  mountains, and these in smaller divisions by lakes, rivers and brooks, all
  measurements in straight lines if possible. They directed their course at night
  with the Polar star, and when the sun set they thought it went under water; when
  the moon did not shine they said it was dead. The three last days before the new
  moon they called naked days; the moon's first appearance was called resurrection.
  
      The Delawares divided the year into four quarters, and each quarter into
  periods. But their calculations were somewhat imperfect and could not agree when
  to begin the new year, so their year generally began with March. This month the
  fish passed up the streams, and was known as the shad time; April, planting
  time; May, hoeing time; June, the time when the deer became red; July, the time
  of raising the earth about the corn; August, when the corn is in milk;
  September, first month in autumn; October, harvest time; November, known among
  all Indians as time for hunting; December, time when the bucks cast their
  antlers; January, squirrel period. the squirrels then coining out of the holes;
  and February, frog season, as at that time the frogs began to croak.
  
      They did not divide the months into weeks or days, but into nights; an
  Indian would say, "I was traveling so many nights." But if he did not stay from
  home all the night he termed it, "I was a day's journey from home." Half day was
  expressed by pointing to the sun directly above, and quarter day by its rising
  or setting. If they wished to speak more accurately they would point to other
  marks intelligible to themselves. By the course of the sun they could determine
  the time of day with nearly as much exactness as we do by a watch; "I will be
  with you tomorrow when the sun stands in such place." The growth of the corn was
  also a mark of time; "I will return when the corn is grown so high"; "I will do
  this and that when the corn is in bloom, or ripe." Thunder they conceived to be
  a spirit dwelling in the mountains and occasionally coming forth to make himself
  heard.
  
      In their ideas of man, they made proper distinction between body and soul,
  the latter of which was considered by them as a spiritual and immortal being.
  Their ideas of the nature of a spirit did not preclude their representing good
  spirits in a human form, but that these excelled even the Indians, whom they
  considered as the most beautiful of the human race in comeliness and perfection.
  They considered the soul as immortal, and believed all Indians who led a good
  life would go to a good place after death, where they would have everything in
  abundance, but that all who had lived in wickedness would rove about without any
  fixed abode and be restless, dissatisfied and melancholy.
  
      They were very superstitious, made many sacrifices to their deities,
  practiced many absurdities in their belief and fear of the evil spirits, and
  differed but little from the religious ceremonies of the western Indian nations
  of today. While there was a similarity in worship, there was a vast difference
  in the dress, habitation and mode of living, and we will, therefore, forego an
  extended account of their religious practices and give fuller detail of domestic
  habits of the Delawares.
  
      In their dress and ornaments they displayed much singularity, but little
  art; to avoid clothing as a burden, they dressed very light. The men wore a
  blanket hung loose over both shoulders, or only over the left, that the right
  arm could be free to tie or pin the upper ends together. Formerly these
  coverings were made of turkey feathers woven together with the thread of the
  wild hemp, but these went out of fashion with the coming of the white man, who
  furnished them with a readymade blanket woven in gaudy colors. The rich wore a
  piece of blue, red or black cloth, about two yards long, around their waists. In
  some, the lower seam of this cloth was decorated with ribbons, wampum or corals.
  The poor Indians covered themselves with nothing but a bearskin, and even the
  rich did the same in cold weather, or put on a pelise of beaver or other fur,
  with the hair turned inward. These were either tanned by rubbing in water or
  smoke-dried, and then rubbed until they became soft.
  
      The men never suffered the hair to grow long; some even pulled so much of it
  out by the roots that only a little remained on the crown of the head, forming a
  round crest of about two inches in diameter. This they divided into two tails,
  plaited, tied with ribbons and hanging down, one to the right and the other to
  the left. The crown was frequentlv ornamented with a plume of feathers, placed
  either upright or in a standing position. At feasts, their hair was frequently
  decorated with silver rings, corals or wampum, and even with silver buckles.
  Some wore a bandage around their head, ornamented with as many silver buckles as
  it would hold.
  
      They bestowed much time and labor in decorating their faces, laying on fresh
  paint every day, especially if they went out to dance. They supposed that it was
  very proper for brave men to paint, and always studied a change of fashion.
  Vermilion was their favorite color, and frequently they painted their entire
  head; here and there black streaks were introduced, or they painted one-half of
  the face black and the other red. The figures painted upon their faces were of
  various kinds, every one followed his own fancy, and exerted his powers of
  invention to excel others and to have something peculiar to himself. One prided
  himself with the figure of a serpent upon each cheek; another with that of a
  turtle, deer, bear or some other creature as his arms and signature.
  
      Some would bore a hole through the cartilage of the nose and wear a large
  pearl or a piece of silver, gold or wampum in it. They would also decorate the
  lappets of their ears with feathers, flowers, corals or silver crosses. A broad
  collar made of violet wampum was deemed a most precious ornament, and the rich
  decorated even their breasts with it. The intent of this ornamentation was not
  to please others, but to give themselves a courageous and formidable appearance.
  It was customary to rub their bodies with the fat of bears or other animals,
  which was sometimes colored. This was done to make them supple and to guard
  against the sting of mosquitoes and other insects. This operation also prevented
  perspiration, increased their dark color, and gave a greasy, smutty appearance.
  A tobacco pouch was a most essential piece of an Indian's outfit; it contained
  his pipe, pocket knife and tinder box, which he always wore with a small axe and
  long knife in his girdle. Most pouches were made of the whole skin of a young
  otter, beaver or fox, with an opening at the neck. Those who chose to add
  ornaments to the tobacco pouch fastened pearls in the eye-sockets, or had the
  women adorn them with corals. Some would wear the claw of a buffalo. with a
  large pendulous pouch of deerskin stained with various colors and neatly worked.
  The Delawares were fond of a handsome head for their pipes, and preferred those
  made of a red marble found along the Mississippi river. These were made by the
  western tribes, and brought east to trade with the Delawares for arrowheads and
  implements of stone found only along the Delaware.
  
      The Delawares were noted as lovers of fancy dress; the married men took care
  that their wives adorned themselves in a proper manner. The men paid particular
  attention to the dress of the women, and on that account clothed themselves more
  scantily. The dress which peculiarly distinguished the women was a petticoat
  made of a piece of cloth about two yards long, fastened tight about the hips,
  and hanging down a little below the knees; this they wore day and night. Their
  holiday dress was either blue or red, hung all around with red, blue and yellow
  ribbons. Most women of rank wore a fine white linen shirt with a red collar,
  reaching from their necks nearly to the knees. Others wore shirts of printed
  cotton of various colors, decorated at the breast with a great number of
  buckles, which were also used by some as ornaments upon their petticoats.
  
      The Delaware women folded their hair and tied it round with a piece of
  cloth; some tied it behind them, rolled it up, and wrapped it with a skin of the
  rattlesnake. They never painted their faces, except a small round spot on each
  cheek, also red on their eyelids and top of the forehead.
  
      For their dwellings a site well watered and containing plenty of wood was
  selected, and in close proximity to a low and rich soil for the raising of corn.
  The villages therefore were generally situated near a lake, river or creek, yet
  sufficiently elevated to escape the danger of inundation during periods of high
  water. The huts were made of bark, lined with rushes and covered with either
  bark, rushes or long reed grass, but for some years prior to their emigration to
  the west, log huts were much in evidence. The Indian hut was built in the
  following manner: they peeled trees abounding in sap, then by cutting the bark
  into pieces of two or three yards in length. They laid heavy stones upon them,
  so they would become flat and even in drying; the frame of the hut was made by
  driving poles into the ground, and strengthened by cross-beams. This framework
  then was covered both inside and out with the bark, fastened very tight with
  twigs of hickory; the roof came to a point and was covered in the same manner.
  There was an opening at the extreme apex of the roof to let out smoke, and one
  in the side for an entrance. The door was made of a large selected piece of
  bark, and had neither lock nor hinges; a stick leaning on the outside was a sign
  that nobody was at home. All around the building were small openings with
  sliding shutters. There were no regular plans made for the village, but everyone
  built according to his own fancy; the Delawares were never known to have very
  large towns.
  
      The same blanket that clothed them through the day served as a covering for
  the night; the bed was made of bear skins or twigs. The stock of provisions and
  other necessaries were hung upon a pole fixed across the top of the hut, within
  easy reach.
  
      Prior to the advent of the European, the Indian kindled a fire by twirling a
  dry stick very rapidly upon a dry board, using both hands. Their knives were
  made of thin flint, in a long, triangular shape, the long sides being sharpened
  at the edge and fastened to a wooden handle. These, however, were not used for
  heavy work, such as the felling of trees, but only to peel them, and for
  warfare. They had a very ingenious manner of fastening the handle to their stone
  hatchets; they would select the stone and a young sapling, split the latter
  sufficiently to admit of the stone, then fasten it securely in place, bind the
  sapling above and below the hatchet, cover with clay, then left to grow securely
  around the groove of the stone, when the sapling would be cut down and shaped
  satisfactorily as a handle. This process required from one to two years to
  complete a hatchet, but they were everlasting. Their pots and boilers were made
  of clay, mixed with pounded seashells and burned so hard that they were black
  throughout.
  
      However, the Fork Indians in the white man's time were using the same
  implements and utensils as their white neighbors; formerly this outfit consisted
  of kettle, spoon and dish. Each would use the same spoon when eating, or most
  generally discard the spoon, and all ate from the same dish. Cleanliness was not
  common among them; dishes and spoons were never washed but left for the dogs to
  lick clean.
  
      When they had no axes but those made of stone, they used to kindle a fire
  around a large tree and burn it so long that the tree would fall, then apply
  fire at certain distances apart and thus divided them into smaller pieces for
  use. The Indian kept a constant fire burning in his hut, and consumed much wood,
  also destroyed carelessly considerable more, which compelled him to move his
  town to other places, for he always disliked the carrying of firewood from any
  distance.
  
      The Delawares married early in life, the men at eighteen and the women at
  fourteen. When an Indian wished to marry he first sent a present of blankets,
  cloth, linen and a few belts of wampum, according to his wealth, to the nearest
  relative of the person he had fixed upon. If they happened to be pleased, both
  with the present and with the character of the suitor, they proposed the matter
  to the girl, who generally decided agreeably to the wish of her parents and
  relations, and was afterward led to the dwelling of the bridegroom without
  further ceremony. But if the other party wished to decline the proposal, the
  presents were returned by way of a friendly neighbor. After the marriage the
  presents made by the suitor were divided amongst the friends of the bride. These
  returned the civility by a present of Indian corn, beans, kettles, dishes,
  spoons, baskets, hatchets and other useful articles brought in solemn procession
  into the hut of the newly married couple. The housekeeping of the Delawares was
  to a great extent better than among all other North American nations. A Delaware
  Indian hunted and fished, provided meat for the household, kept his wife and
  children in clothing, built and repaired the hut, made fences around the
  plantation. The wife cooked the victuals, brought firewood and labored in the
  field or garden. Occasionally the husband would assist in field work, but in
  managing the affairs of the family the husband left the whole to his wife, and
  never interfered in things committed to her. She cooked meals twice a day; if
  she neglected to do it in proper time, or even altogether, the husband never
  said a word, but would go to some friend, being assured that he would find
  something to eat there. If the wife desired meat, he went out early in the
  morning without eating, and seldom returned minus some game. When he returned
  with a deer he dropped it in front of the door, walked in, said nothing; but his
  wife, who heard him lay down his burden, gave him something to eat, dried his
  clothes, then went out and brought in the game. She was then entitled to do with
  it what she pleased; he said nothing if she chose to give the greatest and best
  part away to friends. This giving to friends was a very common practice among
  all Indians. Whatever the husband got by hunting belonged to the wife, therefore
  as soon as he brought the skins and meat home he considered them the property
  absolutely of the wife. On the other hand, whatever the wife reaped from the
  garden and plantation belonged to the husband, from which she had to provide him
  with the necessary food, both at home and abroad. Some men would keep the skins
  and purchase clothes for the wives and children. The cows belonged to the wife,
  but the horses to the husband, who generally made his wife a present of the
  finest one for her own use. The children were always considered as the property
  of the wife. If a divorce occurred, they all followed her; those grown up could,
  if they chose, go with the father. Both parties were very desirous of
  maintaining the love of their children, as shown by their conduct toward them,
  never opposing their inclination, so they would not lose their affection.
  Education was somewhat neglected, consequently the children had their own way
  generally. The parents were very careful not to beat or chastise them for any
  fault, fearing lest the children might remember it and revenge themselves on
  some future occasion. Yet many wellbred children were found among them'who paid
  great attention and respect to their parents and were civil to strangers. Very
  little attention was bestowed upon the dress of their children, and boys went
  naked until about six or seven years of age. The father generally named the
  child when it reached the age of six years, which was done with great ceremony,
  but if it was left to the mother to name, the ceremony was omitted. She would
  call the name after what struck her as peculiar, as beautiful; if they did not
  love the child they would choose a disagreeable name.
  
      As the girls grew up the mothers endeavored to instruct them in all kinds of
  work, first taking them as assistants in the housekeeping and by degrees making
  them acquainted with every part of a woman's business. But the boys were never
  obliged to do anything; they would loiter about, live as they pleased and follow
  their own fancies. If they did mischief to others they were gently reproved, and
  the parents would prefer to pay twice or three times over for any damage done
  than punish them for it. They were destined for hunters and warriors; they
  exercised themselves very early with bows and arrows, and in shooting at a mark.
  As they grew up they acquired a remarkable dexterity in shooting birds,
  squirrels and small game. When the parents saw their children provided for, or
  able to provide for themselves, they no longer cared for their support; they
  never thought of saving a good inheritance for them. Every Indian knew that
  whatever he would leave at his death would be divided among his friends. If a
  woman became a widow, the relations of the deceased took everything belonging to
  him, and gave to their friends. Thus the children had no more claim upon any
  inheritance than the widow and other near relatives. But if a dying Indian left
  his gun or any other pieces of his furniture to a particular friend, the legatee
  was immediately put into possession of it, so no one would dispute his right
  thereto.
  
      Whatever the husband gave to his wife during her lifetime remained her
  property. Therefore, married persons held very little in common, for otherwise
  the wife, after her husband's death, would be left destitute, and the husband
  would lose all when his wife died. According to an ancient rule the widow was
  not to remarry within a year after her husband's death, furthermore was
  compelled to live by her own industry, and often suffered in consequence. She
  was prevented from buying meat, owing to a superstitious fear of the seller
  failing in his luck to shoot straight in the future. As soon as the first year
  of her widowhood was past, the friends of her deceased husband clothed and
  provided for her and her children; they also proposed another husband, or at
  least told her that she was now at liberty to choose for herself; but if she had
  not attended to the prescribed rule but married within the year, they never
  troubled themselves about her again. The same rule was observed with respect to
  the widower by the friends of his deceased wife, for they still considered him
  as belonging to their family. The family connections often became very
  extensive, owing to frequent marriages or changing of wives.
  
      The Delawares always cooked their meat, but never used salt. They were never
  known to eat meat raw; in roasting meat they fastened it to a stick made of hard
  wood and held it before the fire. They were also fond of mussels and oysters,
  and could subsist for weeks on them; land turtles were also a luxury, and once a
  year they would enjoy a feast of locusts. Of the products of the soil, corn was
  their staple product; this they would prepare in twelve different ways: 1. They
  boiled it in the husk till soft and fit to eat. 2. Parboiled it in the husk,
  then removed the husk; washed and boiled it again until done. 3. Roasted the
  whole ear in hot ashes, then removed the husk. 4. Pounded it small and then
  boiled it soft. 5. Ground it fine in a mortar with a pestle, cleared it from the
  husks, and made a thick pottage of it. 6. Kneaded the flour with cold water and
  made cakes about the size of a hand and about one inch thick: these they
  enclosed in leaves and baked in hot ashes. 7. Mixed dried berries with the flour
  to give the cakes a better relish. 8. Chopped roasted or dried deerflesh, or
  smoked eels into small pieces and boiled them with corn. 9. They boiled the
  grits made of it with fresh meat, and this was one of the most common meals with
  which they ate the bread described above. io. They roasted the corn in hot ashes
  till it became thoroughly brown; then they pounded it to flour, mixed it with
  sugar, and pressed it down forcibly into a bag; this was a delicacy. 11. They
  took the corn before it was ripe and let it swell in boiling water, then dried
  and laid it by for future use. The white people purchased it in this form from
  the Indians and made soup of it, or soaked it again, then used it with oil and
  vinegar; this they found a very palatable salad. 12. They roasted the whole ear
  when grown but still full of juice; this was a well flavored dish, but wasted
  much corn in producing it. They also cultivated the peanut; these they would eat
  after boiling them thoroughly. The common bean was also grown and cooked with
  bear meat. The common white potato was one of their products; it was among the
  Delawares that Sir Walter Raleigh discovered the tuber and introduced it into
  Europe. They had four kinds of pumpkins and two kinds of melons. Parsnips,
  turnips, cabbage and some other roots grew wild and needed but little attention
  in their cultivation; a bread was made from the parsnips.
  
      They preserved their crops through the winter in round holes in the ground,
  lined and covered with dry leaves and grass; they commonly kept the situation of
  these magazines very secret, knowing that if they were discovered it would be
  necessary to supply the wants of every needy neighbor as long as there was a
  supply left. This might occasion a famine, for some were so lazy that they would
  not plant at all, knowing that the more industrious could not refuse to divide
  their store with them. The industrious therefore, not being able to enjoy more
  from their labor than the idle, by degrees contracted their plantations. If the
  winter happened to be severe and the snow prevented them from hunting, a general
  famine ensued, by which many died; they were then driven by hunger to dress and
  eat the roots of grass or the inner bark of trees, especially of young oaks.
  
      Wild fruits grew in abundance, and strawberries were large and very
  abundant; these they used baked in a mixture of flour and water. Gooseberries,
  black currants, blackberries, raspberries and bilberries grew in plenty; two
  kinds of cranberries were the varieties that grew on low bushes. The chokeberry,
  mulberry on trees, along with the wild cherry, were given over to the wild
  turkey. The grapes were left to the bears. The common black cherry was a
  delicacy, and these they dried both with and without the stone. There were
  plums, both red and green; peaches, crab-apples, all the nuts common at the
  present time; but the tree that was the most esteemed was the maple, from which
  they extracted sugar. Sugar boiling was the employment of the women; they would
  extract about eight pounds of sugar and as many more of treacle from one tree.
  Tobacco was cultivated among them, and for smoking they used it with dried
  leaves of the sumac or bark of the red willow sprouts; very often they mixed it
  with the leaves of the drywood, or for variety all three would be used in
  connection with the narcotic leaf. The Indian was an insistent smoker. The
  common drink of the Indians at their meals was nothing but the broth of the meat
  they had boiled or spring water, but they prepared a liquor of dried bilberries,
  sugar and water. The taste was very agreeable to them, and when rum was
  introduced they found it very intoxicating and also very strong. They soon
  overcame this objection by adding wild cherries and doubling with water, so as
  to increase the quantity and also the delights of intoxication.
  
      The common season for hunting generally began in September for deer and
  buffalo: from January to May was the best season for bear. The beaver was hunted
  all the year around on account of the value of its skin. Next to hunting, the
  Indian loved to fish, and he was seldom without a fishhook. Little boys waded in
  shallow water and shot fish with bow and arrow, but the great fishing season was
  March, when the shad was moving upward in the stream. They formed parties, and
  each party would select a section of the river where it was shallow and proceed
  to build a dam of stones across the stream, not in a straight line but in two
  parts, verging toward each other in an angle. An opening was left in the middle
  for the water to run off. At this opening they placed a large box, the bottom of
  which was full of holes: a rope of the twigs of the wild vine was made, reaching
  across the stream, upon which boughs of about six feet in length were fastened
  at the distance of about two fathoms from each other. A party would then proceed
  about a mile above the dam with this rope and its appendages and begin moving
  gently down the current, some guiding one, some the opposite end, while others
  kept the branches from sinking with wooden forks. Thus they proceeded,
  frightening the fishes into the opening left in the middle of the dam, where a
  number of Indians were placed on each side, drove the fish with poles and a
  hideous noise through the opening into the box. Here they would lie, the water
  running off through the holes in the bottom, Indians on each of the box would
  spear them and fill the canoes and convey them to the shore; it was only a few
  hours' work to catch a thousand fish.
  
      The goods sold to the Indians by the European traders consisted of the
  following articles: Cloth, linen, readymade shirts, blankets, cottons, calicoes,
  thread, worsted and silk lace, powder and shot, guns, wampum, knives, wire,
  brass kettles, silver and other buttons, buckles, bracelets, thimbles, needles,
  rings, looking-glasses, combs, hatchets and all kinds of tools. For these they
  exchanged deer, beaver, otter, racoon, fox, wildcat and other skins. Most goods
  in trade had a fixed price, yet an Indian had often been tempted to purchase an
  article at a very exorbitant price; but if in a short time he should repent of
  his bargain he was likely to return it, and the fixed price repaid. It was a
  difficult matter for an Indian to deceive a trader, but they were greatly
  pleased if they could deprive a trader of his goods; they were also fond of
  buying upon credit, promising to pay when returned from hunting, and on their
  return, if they found other traders in the country, they bartered with them, and
  troubled themselves no longer about their creditors; if the latter reminded them
  of their debts they were easily offended, for the paving of old debts seemed to
  them to be giving away their goods for nothing. The most ruinous part of the
  Indian trade was the use of rum; in peace, and especially about the time of
  their annual sacrifices, the dealers in rum infested the country, contrary to
  the established law, abusing the simplicity of the Indians, all for gain. An
  Indian, when once having succumbed to drink, would sell all lie possessed, for
  nothing is so useful or precious which he would not part with for rum. The
  traders' method of inducing the Indians to drink against his will is fully
  illustrated here: A dealer in rum placed himself upon a spot of ground where
  many Indians were assembled, with a small barrel, into which he had put a straw,
  invited any one to come and taste some through the straw; an Indian man
  approached with pensive mien and slow steps, but suddenly turning about, ran
  away, soon returned again and did the same thing, but the third time he suffered
  the trader to induce him to taste a little. He had hardly tasted it before he
  began to barter all the wampum he had for a dram; after this he parted with
  everything he had, even his gun and the blanket he wore, to purchase more.
  
      They were generally moved to sorrow and regret after recovery from their
  drunken stupors for the loss of their property, and would petition the European
  authorities to prohibit traders from selling rum, but all legislation on the
  traffic, the repeated resolution and order of their own chiefs and captains
  prohibiting the use of it, failed to prevent the evil. The reason advanced why
  the Indians were so fond of strong drink was their living almost entirely on
  fresh meats and green vegetables, such as corn, pumpkins, squashes, potatoes,
  cucumbers, which caused a longing in their stomachs for some seasoning, as they
  seldom if ever used salt. They were eager for any acid substance; vinegar they
  would drink in large quantities; they thought nothing of going thirty or forty
  miles for cranberries, whether in season or not, crab-apples, wild grapes, and
  the bitter bark of trees.
  
      The Indians were very sensible of the state of degradation to which they had
  been brought by the abuse of strong liquors, and whenever they spoke of it they
  never failed to reproach the whites for having enticed them into that vicious
  habit. The traders would endeavor to shift the blame from themselves in order to
  fix it upon the poor, deluded Indians. The following anecdote fully illustrates
  the situation: Some years after the Moravians had made their settlement in the
  Forks, an Indian from a distance having come to Bethlehem with his sons to
  dispose of his peltry, was accosted by a trader from a neighboring settlement
  who addressed him thus: "Well, Thomas, I really believe you have turned
  Moravian." "Moravian," answered the Indian, "what makes you think so?"
  "Because," replied the other, "you used to come to us to sell your skins and
  peltry, and now you trade them away to the Moravians." "So," rejoined the
  Indian, "now I understand you well, and I know what you mean to say. Now hear
  me. See, my friend, when I come to this place with my skins and peltry to trade,
  the people are kind, they give me plenty of good victuals to eat and pay me in
  money or whatever I want, and no one says a word to me about drinking rum,
  neither do I ask for it. When I come to your place with my peltry all call to
  me, 'Come, Thomas, here's rum, drink heartily, drink! It will not hurt you!' All
  this is done for the purpose of cheating me. When you have obtained from me all
  you want, you call me a drunken dog and kick mc out of the room. See, this is
  the manner in which you cheat the Indians when they come to trade with you, so
  now you know when you see me coming to your place again, you may say to one
  another: 'Ah, there is Thomas coming again! He is no longer a Moravian, for he
  is now coming to us to be made drunk, to be cheated, to be kicked out of the
  house and be called a drunken dog!'"
  
      The Delawares never took bread of Indian corn for a long journey, for in
  summer it would spoil in three days and be unfit to eat, but they took the flour
  of the Indian corn; this they mixed with sugar and water, or ate the flour dry;
  meat they could obtain on the way. Prior to the white man's arrival, they would
  carry with them when traveling a fire lighter; this was made of the pith of the
  elder or other pithy woods; this was kept afire until they returned. This method
  became obsolete after the introduction of the flint and steel. They were never
  in a great hurry when traveling, as they always felt at home in the forests;
  always fond of sleeping late in the morning, then lingering around, eating a
  hearty meal, and examining their clothes, which nearly always needed mending;
  this had to be attended to before proceeding on the day's journey, but when they
  once started they seldom stopped until sunset, when they would look for some
  convenient place for the night's lodging. If it was rainy they would build a
  shelter by peeling bark from the trees and placing it overhead on posts stuck in
  the ground. When they reached a river that had swollen so that a European would
  think it impossible to cross even in a boat, these Indians would swim it without
  any hesitancy.
  
      When at home, they amused themselves with diversions of various kinds, in
  which the women joined them as much as their time would permit. Dancing was the
  most favorite amusement; all solemn meetings were celebrated with a dance, and
  seldom did a night pass without some kind of a dance. The common dance was held
  either in the largest houses or on the outside around a fire. In dancing they
  formed a circle, and always had a leader, whom the whole company followed; the
  men went before, and the women closed the circle. The latter danced with great
  decency, as if engaged in the most serious business; they never spoke a word to
  the men, much less joke with them; this would injure their character. They would
  neither jump or skip, moved one foot lightly forward and then backward, yet so
  as to advance until they reached a certain spot and then retired in the same
  manner. They kept their bodies straight and their arms close to their sides; the
  men would shout, leap and stamp with such violence that the ground trembled
  under their feet. Their extreme agility and lightness of foot were never
  displayed to greater advantage than in dancing. The whole music consisted of a
  single drum; this was made of an old barrel or kettle, or the stump of a tree
  covered with a thin deer skin and beaten with a stick; its sound was very
  disagreeable and served only to keep time, which the Indians when dancing even
  in the greatest numbers kept with due exactness. There were various dances for
  various occasions; some for the men only, others for the women only, but the one
  dance that the white people were best pleased to behold was what they called
  their dance of peace or calumet or pipe dance. This was in quite a contrast from
  the one just described, and is only by the men, when the old were supposed to
  also take part to make it unanimous. The dancers joined hands and leaped in a
  ring for some time; suddenly the leader would let the hand of one of his
  partners go, keeping hold of the other. He would then spring forward and turn
  around several times, by which he would draw the whole company around, so as to
  be enclosed by them. When they stood close together they then disengaged
  themselves as suddenly, yet keeping their hold of each other's hands during all
  the different revolutions and changes in the dance, which, as they explained,
  represented the chain of friendship. A song made purposely for this solemnity
  was sung by the warriors at all the war dances held before or after a campaign,
  and was dreadful to behold; the air of anger and fury employed on these
  occasions made a spectator shudder.
  
      When hunting, the Indian would not walk leisurely and come suddenly upon the
  game, but run with such great swiftness and perseverance that he even would
  weary the deer, and often follow it for ten or more miles from home, and, after
  dispatching it, carry the burden without the least thought of the consequences.
  An Indian would think nothing of dragging a deer of one hundred or one hundred
  and fifty pounds weight home, through a considerable tract of forest, at least
  he affected not to feel its weight. Even when he showed exhaustion, he would go
  all day without eating, and then gratify his hunger by gluttonously consuming
  great quantities of meat. The consequences of these irregularities were visible
  among the aged.
  
      The women generally carried heavy loads on their heads and back of the neck,
  fastened in place by a band around the forehead; in this manner they would carry
  more than a hundred weight. This caused frequent pains and stiffness of the neck
  and back; most all the old women were subject to this affliction.
  
      The most common diseases among the Indians were pleurisy, weakness and pains
  in the stomach and breast, consumption, rheumatism, diarrhea, ague and
  inflammatory fevers. Smallpox was introduced by the Europeans, and was one of
  the principal causes of dislike toward them; this disease they dreaded more than
  any others, as owing to their unsanitary mode of existence they were easy
  subjects to its ravages.
  
      The Indians were, in general, bad nurses; as long as a man could eat, they
  would not own to illness; and would never pronounce his case dangerous until he
  had entirely lost his appetite. If a patient became sore from long lying, they
  would put him upon a bed of straw or hay, near a fire. A thin soup of pounded
  corn and water, without salt or grease of any kind, was the common diet for the
  sick; those who did not approve of this diet ate and drank what they pleased,
  though dangerously ill.
  
      Their general remedy for all disorders, small or great, was a sweat; for
  this purpose they had in every town an oven, situated at some distance from the
  dwellings, built either of stakes and boards, covered with sod, or dug in the
  side of a hill, and heated with some red-hot stones. Into this the patient
  crept, naked, and the heat soon threw him into such a profuse sweat that it fell
  from him in large drops; as soon as he found himself too hot he would creep out,
  and immediately plunge into the river, where he remained about one minute, then
  retired again to the oven. Having performed this operation three times
  successively, he smoked his pipe with composure, and in many cases the cure was
  complete.
  
      Their medicine men, on great pow-pows, used sorcery along with medicine as a
  means of inspiring the patients. If the invalid failed to recover, the cause was
  assigned to some other cause, or blame attached to some great uncontrollable
  circumstance. One great fault of these physicians was that they knew not how to
  proportion the strength of their medicine to that of the patient's constitution.
  External injuries they treated successfully, and were well skilled in healing
  bruises and wounds. They were perfect in the treatment of fractures and
  dislocations; if an Indian dislocated his foot or knee when hunting alone, he
  would creep to a tree and tie his strap to it, fasten the other to the
  dislocated leg, and, lying on his back, continue to pull until it was reduced.
  In burning and chilblains they used a decoction of beech leaves as a speedy
  cure. A warm poultice made of the flour of Indian corn was laid upon all boils
  until they became ripe, when they were opened with a lance. In letting blood, a
  small piece of flint or glass was fastened to a wooden handle, and placed upon
  the vein; this they would strike till the blood gushed out. Teeth were extracted
  with a common pincers or a string. Rheumatism was considered by them to be an
  external disorder, and therefore they prescribed nothing inwardly, but treated
  the affected parts. In cupping, they would make small incisions on the skin with
  a knife, upon which they would place a small calabash, and for a lamp used a
  piece of lighted birch-bark; some would occasionally take medicine inwardly and
  effected a radical cure. Bathing and sweating were considered the most powerful
  remedies. When taking medicine inwardly, if a decoction of two or three
  different roots failed to make a cure, they would resort to a composition of
  some twenty various sorts. The bark of the white walnut applied to parts of the
  body when suffering from pain would effect a cure; applied to the temples, cured
  headache; a strong decoction of it used warm on a fresh wound kept down the
  swelling, and often two days' application of a healing lotion made from the root
  of sarsaparilla effected a cure.
  
      The Indians were remarkably skilled in curing the bite of venomous serpents,
  and had a medicine peculiarly adapted to the bite of each species. For example:
  The leaf of the rattlesnake root was the most efficacious remedy against the
  bite of the rattlesnake. It is remarkable that this herb should grow in
  profusion just where this reptile abounds, and that it acquired its greatest
  perfection at the time when the bite of the rattler is the most dangerous. The
  Indians were so well convinced of the certainty of this antidote, that many
  would suffer themselves to be bitten for a drink of rum. The leaves they chewed,
  and immediately applied to the wound, and either some of the juice or a little
  fat or butter swallowed at the same time. This occasioned a parching thirst, but
  the patient refrained from drinking to more readily effect a cure.
  
      The bark of the ash was chewed for toothache; the flower of the tulip tree,
  when full grown, was used for ague; also, the bark of the roots was pood for
  internal use in fever and ague. Dogwood was used by these Indians the same a*
  the European used Peruvian bark. The laurel was used for special purposes
  medicinally, the leaves for one ailment, the roots for another, and the wood
  itself was compounded into a cordial beneficial for aiding digestion. A tea was
  made from the sassafras, and the elderberry when in blossom was used for
  reducing inflammation by rubbing into the afflicted parts. They drank saffron
  tea, also made a salve from the cream of the marshmallow; wintergreen berries
  were used in winter for stomach disorders, and liverwort, for consumptives, was
  very beneficial. Pokeberry roots applied to the feet and hands were used as a
  stimulant in fevers; jalap was used as a purgative, and the roots roasted and
  applied hot to the soles of the feet in severe cases of rheumatism. Ipecac was
  used not only as an emetic, but also as an antidote against the bite of
  serpents. Sarsaparilla was their blood elixir; bloodroot was also an emetic;
  snakeroot an antidote for snake bites; ginseng was used the same as by all
  European and Oriental nations; fusel oil (petroleum) was used for smallpox by
  bathing in pools of water wherein the oil abounded, also as a liniment for
  external use; it was extracted from the water by boiling when reduced to the
  consistency of paste; it was sold to the white settlers and used in their fat
  lamps for lighting purposes, the same as lard was used.
  
      The Indians were adepts in concocting poisons, and they had one for slow
  effect which caused death in about three months; another that would cause a
  lingering illness for a year or more, but could not be removed by any means
  whatever; a third species of poison that was effective in a few hours, but could
  be prevented by a timely emetic.
  
      Immediately after the death of an Indian, the corpse was dressed in a new
  suit, with the face of the shirt painted red, and laid upon a mat or skin in the
  middle of the hut or cottage; the arms and effects of the deceased were then
  piled up near the body. In the evening, soon after sunset, and in the morning
  before daybreak, the female relations and friends assembled around the corpse
  and mourned over it. Their lamentations were loud in proportion to the love and
  esteem they bore to the deceased, or to his rank, or the pains he suffered in
  dying; and they were repeated daily till the interment.
  
      The burying places were some distance from the dwelling; the graves were
  generally dug by old women, as the young people abhor this kind of work. They
  used to line the inside of the grave with the bark of trees, and when the corpse
  was let down they placed some pieces of wood across, which were again covered
  with bark and then the earth thrown in, to fill up the grave. It was customary
  to place a tobacco pouch, knife, tinder-box, tobacco and pipe, bow and arrows,
  gun, powder and shot, skins and cloth for clothes, paint, a quantity of corn,
  dried berries, kettle, hatchet, some articles of furniture, into the grave,
  supposing that the departed spirits would have the same wants and occupation in
  the land of souls.
  
      After the ceremony was over, the mother, grandmother and other near
  relatives retired after sunset, and in the morning arrived early to weep over
  the grave. This they repeated daily for some time, but gradually less and less,
  till the mourning was over. Sometimes they would place victuals upon the grave,
  that the deceased might not suffer hunger. The first degree of mourning in a
  widow consisted in her sitting down in the ashes, near the fire, and weeping
  most bitterly; she would then rise and run to the grave and make loud
  lamentations, returning again to her seat in the ashes. She would neither eat,
  drink or sleep, and refused all consolation; after some time she would permit
  herself to be persuaded to rise, drink some rum, and receive comfort. However,
  she would observe the second degree of mourning for one whole year, this was to
  dress without any ornaments, and was herself but seldom. As soon as she appeared
  decent, combed, hair ornamented and washed clean, it was considered as a sign
  that she wished to again marry. The men altered neither their dress or manner of
  living during the mourning period.
  
  
  Additional Comments:
  
  Extracted from:
  
  History of Northampton County
  [PENNSYLVANIA]
  and
  The Grand Valley of the Lehigh
  Under Supervision and Revision of 
  WILLIAM J. HELLER
  
  Assisted by AN ADVISORY BOARD OF EDITORS
  VOLUME I
  1920 
  THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
  HOSTON    NEW YORK     CHICAGO
  
  
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