Aboriginal America Part 7

The Copper Mines

This opinion is confirmed by certain indications that are observed in the Lake Superior copper region. Ancient mines are found here with traces of former workings that are on a scale fare beyond the capacity of the Indians of the present day.

Copper is a metal that comes into use in the history of civilization much earlier than iron, for copper is often found in a metallic and malleable condition, in its native state, while iron, being so easily oxidizable, almost always exists in the form of an ore, which it is necessary to reduce by a highly artificial process before the iron can be obtained. To make implements of copper it is only necessary to find ma.s.ses of native metal of the proper size, such as are often found upon or near the surface of the ground, and then to bring them to the required shape by hammering them with smooth and hard stones, or by grinding them upon rough ones.

Accordingly, as might naturally be expected, copper implements and ornaments have been, from time immemorial, very much in use among all the Indian tribes. But at the period of the discovery of America, and since that time, the supply of copper for these purposes was obtained almost entirely from specimens found near the surface of the ground. There is no evidence of any systematic or extended workings of the mines within a period of several centuries; but there is abundant evidence that before that time, as is shown by the age of the trees growing over the old excavations, mining operations in this region were carried on upon a very considerable scale. The miners of the present day frequently come to old trenches, half filled in and gra.s.sed over, and with immense trees growing in them, at the bottom of which, when they dig them out anew, they find remains of the ancient works. They come down, when digging in such places, to great ma.s.ses of copper blocked up on skids of wood which have been preserved from decay by lying all the time in water, with marks of fire upon them, and broken tools lying all around.

The tools which these old miners used were very curious. The princ.i.p.al one was a sort of hammer made of a smooth and hard stone. The handle of these hammers, instead of pa.s.sing through the stone, was formed of a withe, and was carried round it in a small groove, which they contrived in some way to pick in the stone. The withe was brought round the stone in this groove while it was green, and the two ends were then twisted together and secured by a cord wound round tight, close to the stone. Then when the withe became dry it formed a very stiff and substantial handle, and the groove prevented it from slipping off the stone.

Trees have been found growing over ancient works in these mines with five hundred concentric layers of wood in them, proving that the excavations and the works carried on in them were finally abandoned at least five hundred years ago.

The Mounds of Florida

Mounds of a somewhat similar character to those existing in the western country are found in Florida, many of which contain human bones in considerable quant.i.ties, indicating that they were used as places of sepulture. In one the bones of a very large person were found placed in a horizontal position in the center, and around it, in a circle, the skeletons of a number of other persons--these last being in a sitting position.

In another mound there were two layers of skeletons, one above the other. In both layers the bodies were arranged in a circle, with the heads toward the center and the feet toward the circ.u.mference of the mound.

In most of these mounds fragments of pottery were found. These relics consist of pieces of broken jars, kettles, stew-pans, porringers, and other domestic utensils of that sort. In many cases the vessels were whole, with the exception of a small hole in the bottom of each, which appeared to have been purposely made. This may have been done to render the utensils useless, in order that there might be no inducement to tempt any persons to violate the graves with the intent of robbing them of articles buried with the deceased owners.

Some of these specimens gave indications of considerable art in the manufacture of them, being ornamented with various devices worked in the clay. One had a hollow handle, which was so fashioned, in connection with the cavity of the vessel itself, as to indicate that it was meant to be used as a sort of funnel to pour out the liquid into smaller vessels without spilling it.

Whether these articles had been baked in the fire or sun-dried it was found difficult to ascertain; as also it was to determine whether they were fashioned by the and or upon a potter's wheel. The making of vessels out of clay by the hand is one of the very first steps taken by all savages in their attempts at art. Learning to indurate them, by baking them in the fire, is the second step; and making a wheel to fashion them upon, by putting the ma.s.s of clay in revolution in order to facilitate giving it a true circular form, is a third step, and one much in advance of the other two.

The remains of a potter's wheel, with a ma.s.s of clay upon it partly fashioned into a vessel, was found some years since in a mound in Georgia, and this at first seemed to afford positive proof that the Indians understood the art of shaping their pottery by means of a revolution of the clay. It was, however, afterward though not impossible that this wheel might have been introduced by the Spaniards, who very early made incursions into that part of the country and attempted to found settlements there. Indeed, the Spaniards were so early in their visits to the sh.o.r.es of the Gulf of Mexico, and the French to those of the great lakes, that considerable care is necessary to avoid attributing to the aboriginal Indians relics and indications which were really left by their European visitors.

Unquestionable Antiquity of Many of the Mounds

Although many of the mounds now found may be of comparatively modern date, there are some which, like those on the Ohio and the other western rivers, bear incontestable evidence of great antiquity in the immense trees that are found growing upon them. There are live-oaks standing upon some of these tumuli of such size that they are estimated to be six or seven hundred years old. This would carry back the date of the mound to a period two or three centuries anterior to the time of Columbus.

In many instances, on the other hand, the mounds are situated in open plains, or are covered with thickets consisting of plants and trees of moderate age. In such cases as these it is difficult to determine the question of the antiquity of the mound, except so far as a reasonable judgment may be formed from the character and appearance of the objects found within it.

Conclusion

On the whole, there is abundant evidence in these ancient remains that this continent has been inhabited by the ancestors of the present Indian races for a very long period. It is, moreover, generally supposed that in former times the population was far more numerous, and that the nations composing it were far more advanced in civilization than those found in possession of the country when the Europeans first visited these sh.o.r.es.

The Indian Family

The Inst.i.tution of Marriage The Indians, as all other communities of human beings in every age, in every clime, and in every possible condition in respect to civilization or barbarism, have done, lived in families--the husband, the wife, and the children forming a natural group and dwelling together in common, the children remaining under the care of themselves; and the husband and wife, once joined, remaining united for life.

Some persons have imagined that the inst.i.tution of marriage is an artificial inst.i.tution, adopted by society as an arrangement proved by experiment to be, on the whole, most advantageous to man. But the universality of this inst.i.tution proves that it is of higher origin. it is a part of man's nature, considered as an animal, that he should have one female partner, and that the union which binds him to his partner, when once she is chosen, should endure for life.

It is curious to observe that the provision of nature by which man is led everywhere, and under all circ.u.mstances, to the inst.i.tution of marriage as the foundation of the social state, is in accordance with a general principle which pervades the whole animal creation. The principle is this:

General Law of Pairing

In all cases where the nurture of the young of any animal, for any reason, requires more than the mother herself alone can do for them, it seems to be a general law of nature in respect to such animals that they are provided with instincts which lead them to pair. A male and female unite, and they remain united until the young no longer need their joint a.s.sistance.

Thus birds pair, because it is necessary that both should co-operate to build the nest, and also that the father should bring food while the mother sits upon the eggs to hatch them. And lions pair, for one must remain and take care of the young, while the other goes away on distant excursions to procure food.

But sheep and other such animals do not pair, for their young do not require the joint attention of father and mother.

In respect to the duration of the union thus formed, the principle is that it continues as long as the necessity for it continues; that is, as long as the brood of young ones require the united efforts of both father and mother to protect them. Then--at least so it is supposed in the case of birds--when the season is over and the young ones are grown up to maturity, the union is terminated, the pair separate, and each, at the commencement of a new season, chooses a mate again.

Application to the Case of Man

Now, in the case of man, the young require the aid of both parents for their nurture and protection; and inasmuch as each requires this attention for ten or twelve years at least, and as during the time while the first-born is attaining this age others succeed, the period during which the con-join effort of the parents are required is protracted, without intermission, during the whole of their lives--that is, through all the portion of it during which their natural vigor continues unimpaired. It follows from this, and from the fact that the numbers of the s.e.xes are equal, that according to the a.n.a.logy of nature we should have expected that the human species would be provided with instincts leading them to unite in pairs, and to continue so united for life.

We find, accordingly, that this is the fact everywhere. The marriage laws of all human societies are consequently made to guard and protect the marriage inst.i.tution--not to establish it. The inst.i.tution itself is founded in instincts and principles of our nature existing antecedent to all law.

Indeed, the family inst.i.tution, instead of waiting to be established by law, is often even more important and more prominent in low states of civilization than in high. It is most powerful where laws are weakest. Instead of being created by law and thus following it in the order or time, it is itself rather the origin and source of law. So far as we have any opportunity to trace back the forms of social organization to their source, we find them arising usually, in the first instance, from that primordial and elementary bond, the union of husband with wife, which springs at once from the physical const.i.tution and innate instincts of man, and is the germ from which all other systems of authority and subordination come.

It was eminently so among the Indians. They lived in families throughout the length and breadth of the land--the families of the same connection being grouped together in tribes. They lived generally in peace, and were engaged in labors of patient industry for providing food and clothing for themselves and their children.

Construction of Dwellings

The dwellings of the Indians were generally made of poles covered with bark or mats. The ends of the poles were set in the ground in a ring of holes made to receive them, and then the tops were tied together in a point above, so as to give the hut a conical form. Sometimes, however, the ring was made larger, and then the ends of the poles were lapped upon each other, each opposite pair being joined in this way. By this mode of fashioning the frame the hut would receive a hemispherical form--that is, the form of a dome--a structure much less convenient than the other.

In other cases the poles would be set in two long rows of holes, made at a suitable distance from each other, and each opposite pair would then be lapped together and tied. Poles were then laid lengthwise along the roof thus formed and tied at the crossings. These lengthwise poles acted as stays to give strength and stiffness to the frame. When the frame was thus completed it was covered with mats or bark. Of course, a hut made in this way would be of a semi-cylindrical form, like a long arbor built over a walk in a garden. Some lodges made in this way were intended to accommodate many families, and were very large.

Coverings

The bark used for the covering of the huts and lodges was commonly birch bark, a kind which peels off the tree in large thin sheets, and is of a substance, too, which is completely impervious to water. These sheets of bark could be rolled up in a very compact form, as matting or carpeting is rolled with us.

These strips peel off in a direction roundthe tree, and of course cannot be longer than the circ.u.mference of the tree from which they are taken. But a tree of two feet and a half in diameter, not an unusual size in the native forests of the country; would yield strips seven and eight feet long, which would be amply sufficient for the purpose intended, They were usually taken off the tree in pieces from two to three feet wide.

In putting on these sheets the upper end was fastened to the upper part of the frame--leaving a s.p.a.ce open for chimney--and the lower end came down to the ground. A round stick was rolled a little way into this lower end and sewed in. This stick helped to strengthen the end, and also a.s.sisted in holding it in its place. A stone was laid upon it when necessary, to keep it down. It also served as a roller to roll the sheet upon when the family removed; for these sheets of bark, once prepared, were considered quite valuable, and they were always taken away in cases of removal, though the poles which formed the frame were often left behind.

In some cases tribes living in the western country, on the banks of the Upper Missouri, where perhaps birch bark could not be obtained, covered the frames of their wigwams with flat stones set up against the poles, in such a way that they leaned in some measure upon them. These stones were arranged around the frame, tier above tier, each tier resting upon he edges of the tier below, and leaning against the frame. The joints were plastered with a mortar made of clay.

Of course, for such a covering as this it was necessary to make the frame very much stronger than when a lighter one was to be used.

Interior of the Lodges

The large lodges often contained several families, each of whom occupied its own particular portion of the interior. In such cases the different tenants were very careful not to encroach upon each other's domains. There was a fire in the middle of the lodge, and mats and skins for the members of the different families were laid down upon the ground in different situations around it. The sleeping places were back under the roof, the beds being also make of mats and skins.

When there were babies, beds were made for them of the finest moss, with a skin spread over it that was covered with some soft fur.

It was the pride of the mistress of this strange household to keep everything in good order in her domain. She maintained a bright and cheerful fire in the fire-place when the weather was cold, and kept the ground nicely swept and clean all around it. Then when all was arranged she would take her place upon her own mat or skin, and employ herself in sewing a roller into a new sheet of bark, or in making mats, or moca.s.sins, or snowshoes, while her husband, in his place near by , was employed in fashioning spears or arrows, or in making other hunting or fishing gear, and the children sat musing silently by the fire, or tumbled over each other in their play, upon a bear-skin in the corner.

Indian Housekeeping

Among the Indians the whole charge of the housekeeping devolved upon the women, as with us, but in their understanding of this term much more was included than in ours. It comprised building the house as well as taking care of it, and also the making of all the furniture. It was the work of the women to cut the poles and set them in the ground, to have always on hand a good supply of bark to cover the frame, and to take the work apart and put it together again, in case of removal. They had also to cultivate the corn fields, store the grain when it was collected, and prepare the food.

Removals

Although each tribe continued in most cases to occupy the same territory from generation to generation, still removals from place to place within the territory were very common. The best places for cultivating corn, and for fishing in the summer season, were not usually the best for hunting and trapping the wild animals of the woods in the winter. Accordingly there were frequent occasions to remove a family or a settlement from place to place; and in order to facilitate these migrations the wigwams were almost always built on the borders of streams, so that the sheets of bark for roofs, the mats, the skins, the cooking utensils, and the other household goods, might be conveyed to the new locality by water in canoes.

Canoes