Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-05-07
RELICS OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
An Interesting Chapter of Indian Local
Archaeology.

Co. IS History OF Chlttenuen county, now
in process of compilation. The chapter
is from the pen of Prof. George II. Perkins
No other comment is needed:
How many places there are in this
county in which there are indications OF
ancient habtation is not known, Tor there
are undoubtedly some, perhaps many, that
have not been noticed, but we find them
here and there in every part of the area.
In Essex there are several sandy knobs
over which flint chips, bits of pottery and
occasionally wrought bits of stone or even
perfect implements are scattered Some
times the sand is filled with these witness
es of former occupations to depth OF
several inches. | think that we may re
gard any locality III which fragments OF
pottery are numerous as probable vii
LACE site for earthenWare as made by the
Indians was fragile ana must have been
made at the cost of much labor, and it is
not suppOSable that they carried much OF
it with them when off on Il short eNpedl
ton but only when they intended to es-
tabliSh "A more or less permanent camp.
At porter's Point in Colchester there was
another settlement for here we lihd be
sides the llnt chips, earthenWafe, elc',
evidences OF ancient heurthS III charcoal
LAYERS and burnt stones. At this place
large fragments of earthcnwarc, indeed
we have nearly an the fragments of two
large Jars, were buried several ltet III the
sand Some of these | took from the
ed the land, five or six feet DeluW the sur
face and over them. that is at the surface,
was layer Of black earth several inches
in thickness. upon winch were pines grow
ing. All this shows That the settlement
here was very ancient. About MallejS
BAY so IN my implements have been found
shat we must believe that somewhere IN
the neighborhood there was settlement
And one may say the same oil Colchester
Point, SO too, on the interval near tAe
.oilp ltsi.l al
street there are similar indications OF Il
former village. There may have been
settlement nearer the mouth OF the river
on the Van Ness farm for there Is clump
of chestnut trees, the only ones growing
in this part OF the State, though they are
found abundanUy in the southern part.
In a very interesting historical sketch OF
Lake ChamplHiu 10y Mr.. Thomas CanHeld,
published in Vol. H.. OF Miss llemen-
ways Gazetteer, the author suppOseS that
Champlain visited this place because he
mentions chestnut trees among others as
seen growing by him and none are known
elsewhere about the lake. Champlllh
however, SAYS distinctly that he kept
along the west shore OF the lake and no.
where mentions having crossed 1t, nor
does he speak of entering any nNer ana
il is hardly credible that in 50 detailed an
account there should he no mention OF Il
sail of seven or eight miles ont Of the lake,
through a river and back, and then across
the lake Near the mouth of the IamOllle
in Milton there must have been one or
more settlements. a very ancient settle
ment near SWanton village, just over the
town line in lllghgate, should be briefly
mentioned, although for a full account the
reader must he referred to Vol NNNIN,
D. - of "Proceedings of American Assocl-
alton for the Advancement OF Science
1t is one of the most interesting localities
ever studied in New England. IT is far
more ancient than the settlement OF the
St. Francis Indians mentioned, and these
people had no knowledge concerning ii,
and all the objects found and the circum-
stances attending their discovery indicate
great antiquity. On il low sandy ridge,
covered by a pine forest when the first
settlers came into the region, but witch
was attcrWard removed So that tine wind
lad free Access TO the sandy SOL, several
graves were first discovered about twenty
wears ago. some u1 these graves were
found to he directly beneath the stumpS
OF large trees. Exploration mas shown
that there were PROBABLY many graves. of
which twenty or thirty nave been found,
and the contents removed. Many interest
ing specimens have been taken from the
graves, or from The sand above them, some
of them showing exceedingly 1ue work
manShp THESE are OF shell, copper and
stone. lhr bones found were most of
them So fragile that 1ney could not he
preserved \ very interesting fact re
speeding these specimens l. the close re.
semDiaucc Of many of them TO those taken
from the mounds OF the Onlo valley and
it seems t. me probable that at some AN
Gent time small baud of the mound
building tribes wandered from place to
place toward the East until finally they
reached the banks of the MissisquO where
they settled and lived for, perhaps, many
years, carrying on the arts of life and per
forming their strange religious ccrcmo-
MES. they We're probably of Il higher
civilization and of greater skill on stone
work than the tribes about them or which
succeeded them. The same people also ap-
pear to have roamed into this county, for
here one or two peculiar objects, such as
have been found nowhere else in the
State except in the ancient graves, have
been picked up.
Some of the village sites which have
been named may very likely have been
those of temporary settlements for these
were common among the early tribes,
many of whom did not occupy any one
place throughout the year. In the spring
bands cOusl~tSng OF Il greater or less mum
Der OF persons set out from their winter
quarters and, after spending il few weeks
in replenishlnG the exhausted larder by
hunting and fishing, finally reached a 10.
cation that seemed to them suited to their
purpose. y low hlllOck or Well-draned
piece of lowlaud always near clear water.
The location OF the camp or village once
chosee the sturdy warriors threw down
their weapons and laid themselves by them
on the ground to rest, while the sullaWS.
laying down their heavier burdens, begin
at once to build the huts. Saplings, either
found growing i'll the right place or cut
from the neighbOring forest and thrust
into the earth, are bent together and tied
ut the top by bands of bark. over this
light framework the covering was placed
This consisted either of tanned skins
large pieces of bark, or mats of plated
rusheS and seeds, A hole was left at the
top OF the tent, through which so much OF
the smoke from the lire below it rs did
not preferto sweep about over the eyes OF
the inmates and escaped in some Other
way, could make its exit Another open
ing left in the side and more or less fully
closed by Il hanging skin, served as the
door. such huts or lodges, were often
cOnical, but sometimes rectangular. \
day or so of vigorous exercise on the part
of the squaws and of meditation and lazi
ness ON that of the men, as they watched
operations sufliced to transform 81
lnnt Lu.nln1n Hnll intn h1un. ,.illn1 LIZ.