Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-04-24
How the indians Made them
and What they Show.
THE INDIANS BATTERED
In Systematic Manuor-The Redmau
Did not Travel In Hap-Hazard
Manner, hut on Well
Denned Route.

For The Gazette
IL was strange coincidence. A far
mer living near by had an Indian from
the school at Carlisle, and now that the
work Of the summer was over this taci'
turn youth walked daily over q hlll 10
school house more than q mile away, and
the path leading to it was an Indian
tren.
Not long since 1 met the lad on this
very path returning from school, aud
when lac passed ! stood by an old oak
aud watched him until lost among the
trees, walking Where centuries ago his
people had walked when going from the
mountain village and rOCk-sheters along
ana inland creek to a distant town by
the river.
AS you looked about from the old oak
tree there was no public road or house
Ia sight; nothing but trees and bushes,
huge rocks aud one curious jutung ledge
that tradition holds Is a yerltuble relic
of prehistoric time place where couu'
ell fires were Nc and midnight meetings
held
Whether tradition is true or not, the
! place was q hitting one whereat ~ tarry
aud fall q thinking. Happy, indeed,
| could the old oak have spoken
Many public road of recent date
! has been built on the Line of an old trail,
| az many a town aud even a city have
replaced Indian villages, but take the
| luug-scttlcd regions generally, the ancient
landmarks are all gone and n stray pots
/ herd or tllnt arrow point in the fields is
| aN that Is left to recall the days OF
| the dusky uboHgine.
TRACING INDIAN HIGHWAYS.
Only In the rough. rocky, irrecluimable
| hills are we likely now to be- successful
| If such trace as u trail are sought for.
IL was 80 here. Buld-tOp hill rs of little
! use TO the white mnu except for the hru.
! wood that grows upon It's sides and
! thc scattered game that still fingers iu It's
! thickcts. As seen from the nearest road,
| not iur of, there rs nothing now to sug
! g'st that an Indian ever clumhcrod about
! DO. The underground hides every trace
| of the surface but after the leaves drop
! and % little snow has fallen. then a
| curious white line eau Doe traced from
/ the base of the summit; this is the old
| trail.
IL b. narrow path. aud for so long
! had 10 been used by the Indians that
| still, when once we have had IL pointed
| out 10 cam be- followed without difficulty.
| IL leads now from one little mtervulp
! 10 another; from farmer A TO farmer n
! but originally 10 was part of their long
! highway leading from Philadelphia tU
! Estuu, perhaps. IL uuttcrs not Enough
! to know that then. u.s. now, there were
| towns almost wherever there was land
! ht for dwellings aud paths that led from
| one tp the other. IL Is clear that the
| Indians knew the whole country we'll
| The routes they finally chose came from
| long experience. and were as direct as
| the nature of the ground made pass.
able.
INDIAN TOWNS, ORCHARDS AND
FIELDS.
The study of trails opens mp TO IA a
! broader view of ancient Indian life than
/ I'D ID
! We hud the sites of villages on the
| banks ot the rivers and larger inflow.
! ing streams, travel by canoes was uni
! yrrsul NJ locality was so favorable
! as the open valley, and here the great.
! cr number of ludii ms doubtless dwclt
! but che river aud lbs fertile shores could
! not yield all that this people needed
! They had 60 draw from the resources OF
! the hill, behind them. They soon marked
! the whole region with q network of trails
! Lending Co the various points whalcp
! they drew the necessities of life The
! conditions of the present day are laid
! doWn on essentially the same lines as
| tE,u.
An Indian town was not temporary
| t,ut-stc, or mere cluster OF wig.
! ~ nus, hero to-day aud miles away 10.
! morrow. Nor did these people depend
! solely upon the chase. Beside the trail
over which ! recently passed was
| great clearing thut had been an orchard.
| We can yet find many barren SPOT
that il rightly known 10 the people of
| to-day as nu Indian field. So prrsistpntly
/ were these comhrlds cropped that az
/ last the soil was absolutely exhausted
aud has not yet recovered is fertility.
OLD INDIAN COMMERCE. AND
TRAVEL.
There was systematic bartering, too.
! ~ the red pipe-stune or catlinitc from
Minnesota, and hbSidlau from the more
! distant Northwest found ON the Allan
/ ne coast aud ocean shells picked up In
! the far Interior all testify. There was
! also periodical iourLeying from the iu-
/ buu 10 the sea cOust In autumn "a
| gather supplies OF oysters, clans and
| other "sea food which was dried hy
smoking ana then strung as beads
| and carried as great coils of rope burk
To. the halls 10 he consumed during tho
! winter
Many small colonies. too passed tbe
! winters Ou the coast in the shelter of
| the great pine forests that extended to
the very ocean beach. IL was no bap
| hazard threading of wilderness TO
! reach these distant points The paths
| were well defined, well used For how
long we can only conjecture hut tho
| vast Accommodations OF shells ou Inc con.t
| often now beneath the water. point 4, n
| ume SO distant that the country wore
different aspect from what il now does
a time when the land rose far HIGHER
! above the tide aud extended se1Vorj
whore now the ocean rolls resistlessly.
ANCIENT JASPER MINING.
Returning inland, let MS truce another
| of these old time paths from the river
shore whercOn the Indians had Inns
dwclt over hill and dale until we roach
a valley hemmed In by low, rolling hills
IL II pretty spot sim. altbougb
married by white mans work: bnt Nbv
was, It the goal of many a weary ionf.
! uey2 '' ''"''
Here is found the coveted iasnar ,,.
ried M hue as autumn Leaves on n sr,n.
mer sunset The quick eve of Soue wan
deung huhter il may be- found
chance fragment ana looking cIoser
saw that the ground ON which he Stool
was hllcd with H.; or fresbet neo,
have washed the soil from nm ont crn, s
ping of the mineral Who coo teng
must suffice 10 know that the diseovor,
was made IN time, and new indns,rS,.
arose. No other material so aJr,i,.s
bly, met the Indians need for nr,',,,,
points, for the blades OF snsars NV Nv
knives, drills, scrapers. ana tbs ,,hn ~
| range OF tools and weapons ip iau, 80