The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-11-16
SOUTH JERSEY INDIANS
Some of Their Old Haunts
and I1abitaIions De-
~ scr bed.
THEIR LIVES AND HABITS
Samples of Pottery Found, Which
Show credit ,blt lasts and
Skill-Indlan Axes and
Fliats.
TIL Err LIVES AND HABITS
Flints.

South Jersey, says;
1t WAS the custom Of the Indians tc
visl the seasnors At certain times OF the
year. The rails tasy followed have
been trac d across the State ofsENew
Jer ey. Beach dty' ana s'ciambakes"
arr customs learned from the Indians.
Toe eaormous guam itv OF shells III heaps
ainng : shlre a. indtc lions of these
@niera Ions and of their fondu-sa for the
oys' er. CLAIMS and other mollusks. A
certa u KNIT OF clam ia stlll known By its
Iiriia : nsms. qushoR. Many toua of
THESE nplls stiil remain in spite of the
faet that large a. utitiss have bean used
far reads. for farms. aud long ago, for u
Il x in the manuf 'cture of iron from bog
q = Toe size aud number of these heaps
eain3 icsie t at the Bays aud thoronghfarss
u 70 then literally ful of ella ms and
oyst IS Of caasid -rAbly larger sizA than
D e = - aJ. There Is li;tle else of Iu-
te in hess heaps besides = few pot
sntr Is.
o iHg. perhaps, to the lack of fresh
" o. ne i~icIernency of the weather and
th" asoxious insects when nfest these
Marches. the ssssb0re wsH but q transient
resting place for he Indiau. Tradition
SAYS that ia spite Of their endurance
tteF wtre vi unwilling to bear, for any
t"AS 49, "
ferrous die- snd mosquitoes.
Fro the ohyslcsI geeeraphy of the
rgion one may quickly judge wnere they
would locate leir permanent settles
ments. The sauds Of the interior offered
few attractions. Water Was their high
way, and the source of much of their
food. SO the majority of their villages
were situated on p ominent points OF tae
riyeis, not fur from tbs bays and ocean,
not far frora fresh water. near fairly good
ani1 aiRra fhAV rulffVafadr y tnalza ond
perhaps pumpkins. beans aud tobacco,
near fresh water "fiats" where the gold
eu oroHfiam" grows. the rootstocks of
which were an important food, where
they conid find 'snapper<" or logger
heads" as well As near u region of berries
and game.
In many places in South Jersey thu
charcoal and grease of his kltchsn-mid-
deus still blHcken the ground. II ere,
TOO, are the bones OF deer. turtle ana
olRer animals. Bits of shells, pieces of
Indian pipeo. charred stones and other
relics.
SITE OF A ARG VILLAGE
The largest rivers Ut that rsgion are
the Great and Little Egg Harbor or
Mullica. On eacn or these there fs the
site of what must have bseu q very large
permansur village. Vsstiges are found
in mauy other places in the neiRhbor%
hood. but they are of little conseq usncs
Or comparison with the region or Cat
-SdsEb6s Ou tnC 0Etdt Lkk IIhEUOI. &Du OIL
As dsalsstnut Meek. on the Mulliea River.
bsif3FwOnf the tributaries of tas latter river
4 ~ Known IA the Nescochaqae and Nc
cfesactauxfn brAucnes. Another branch.
called Eigeasllng Cresk. WAS the last
resting place of the Indians in South
Jersey before their removal westward.
With gratitude and fraukuess unlocked
for IN such bsrbartans, they credited the
Autnoritits with honest dealings toward
tEe,r fathers aud themselves.
N-Ha pNt,a runr1 To 2 a. H, ii "a n ~. - So, Vz1.--
name. is no way conaected with the Iu-
dians who once lived there. Il was
named from tue Catawbs River,
ri Ihs CarolInas, which received its name
ltresasth Catawbas who onca lived along
mst&obanks. aA
-ani5skexr Gatawba, at South River. thsre
sd'ars vestiRes OF an Indian village. Up the
e. main river q short Distance there Is
ano' her at Goose Potnt. Throughout the
whole region, in fact, there are KiGns OF
~. Ind Ian habitations.
Catawba is a deserted sAndbluff Op-
posite are the fastnes les of q swamp
forest The river winds soutnward
through many miles of MARSH. So wild
aud deserted Is the region that it requires
but a little stretch OF the Imagination TO
see squaws picking berries along the
banks or digging the rootstalks of the
Indian club;" others bringing clay from
the beds near by, knehding and mixing
it with bits Of powdered quartz and
sheids; others weaving moutds OF
grass aud twigs; others br~nameneing
the finer grades with dots AMI line;
Others working Implements of Jasper
and, perhaps, wMmpurn, from shells.
A group of wRttlsd hnts, th&tched, per-
hans. with the leaves OF corn and GALA
mus, surrounding a Dire. on which there
Is a very large pot, in which the roof
stalks OF tbs golden orontium are boil
ing. belongs to che picture 53
AN INDIAN FOOD PLANT.
Oroatium aQuatlcum, 30 oil, en- spoken
OF By Old writer's as AL important food
plant. covers the hats of these rivers. Is
is believed bv Souis to rave basn intro
duced by the Indians. 1t might be profit
able to cultivate this plant. sincs tr Ia not
bad food. although 1t needsto be cooked
full half a day TO be palatabie.
Tue light and durable wood of the
white cedar they found ,exseitsnt and
abundant msterisl for their canoes. It
Chestnut Neck. SO c lied because Of the
4cbestnuts which ones grew there, y canoe
of chestnut wood was dug oat of the
marsh,
Chestnut neck Is much naarer the sea
aud Is not 80 dssolats AZ Catawbs. The
soil Is richer. aud the iunabitauts we'll to
do baymen. Few Indian bones have bseu
found in South jersey iu spite OF careful
searching, 1t ma be that they carried
the bones of their ancestors away, as did
the Nanllcokes.
Or all that they left behind them
shefds are the most abudant, aud for
~tunateiy, most vtiuAbie. Pottery 10 an
sunmislakable evidence 4 man. Natural
formations simulate his hMndfwork, but
p ttery. 10 matter now coarse, ID u sure
sign Of human nsbitation. IL marks bs st
the p aRrsss Of of culture. since tnat was
one of the first. The most lasting aud
LEA lest method Of expressing his artistic
,,pnciss. Tbs mud pie was the germ of
! FL. fhe cultus OF a people Is often to
judged w che coarse sberds
which cover aluiosl evsry campsite. THY
! made common vessels for com ,ou pur-
poses. With the distinction of vessels
began the separation of artisi and srii-
san. We mus measure ability, there
fore, by the finest specimens found
Tn ssusaHds OF these bis must be col.
lectpd, aud from these the inest must be
selec ed.
-! No whole pots have been found, 20 my
knoM Ietxe. In South jersey. but from tRe
curvature of the bits some OF them were
OLIVER yslarae SIZE. Sons of thsss snerds
are not decorated vt alt. others show
ssignse sf more artistic ability than Is
usually accredited TO the Indian. The
major ty are soft, COARSE aud mixed with
bits of onartz and shsrds. Some are
hard and hne. some contain nults near
the rim for u all, Indicating that they
carried their Vessels in their hands.
They vary in color, owing 70 the nature
al The clay. Some have peculiarly ruff