Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-08-12

returned to Holland. On re entering |
tee lloorukill, in tho lolloying year DO |
Nrios was Mortified to find that tho |
awannondale coinniats had been butch
cren by the nativcs. Not one remained |
alive. With great difficulty he drew
from ono of tbs Indians full account
OF the massacre. 1t seams that for
some Tins after his departure all had
gone we'll. Tho Indians being kindly
treated had been well disposud. and had
frequently visited the settlement. On
ono occasion, howeggr,G eurioua native,
perhaps visitor from come more dis-
tant tribe, had, attracted 10y its gitlor,
torn from its fasienings the coat Of
arms which the Dutch had placed in a
public place to symhoiLs their
authority. When, in order 10 regain
the good graces of tho setiicrH, who had
loudly complained OF tho trespass, the
Indians bad executed the innocent
offender, the warriors OF his tribe had
trearheroualy avenged his death, not
upon his well meaning murdorers. but
on the transporting whites.
Without making any attempt at re-
taliation the disappointed commander
soon sailed away from the i'll fated
spot; and the fisheries proving un-
profitable. the PATRONS OF SwannenGale
sold il, after a time. 10 tho West India
20. for what in our present currancy
would be about sc, $40.
Such was the fate OF the first settle
ment on the Delaware, and the last
until the coming OF the siwodss. To be
sure, Fort Nassau, mare trading post,
built near where Gloucester now stands,
was occasionally garrisoned aud "Fort
Elsinburg" guarded the mouth of the
hay, but so late as 1922. when at the
instance of the Virginia Co., Sir Dud
Icy Carleton complained 10 the States
General OF the Dutch fur trade in
America, he says that ''he can not
learn that any colony ia as yet planted
thore, or intended to he, "
On his voyage of exploration. Capt
Hendrickson came in contact with tho
| Mingoes, tribe of indians inhabiG-
ing what is now Northern Delaware
and Cecil county, Maryland. and also
known as Susquehnnnas. tho valley of
the river which still bears their name.
The greater part Of the Peninsula,
\ however, was not occupied hy the
Mingoes, but by tho Leni Lonapc, or
| "Original People," who also inhabited
what is now New Jersey, Pennsylvania
east of the Susquehanna. ami South
eastern New York. 1t was probably the
LEM Lenape, that, above the High.
| lands, had welcomed the crew of the
Half Moon, who had found there ga
very loving people, and very old men,
and we're well used. II ia to them
that the name "Dnlawares" has been
generally applied.
Having journeyed, so say their legends,
for many moons from the land OF the
setting sun, and overcome a mighty
people that sought to dispute their pas.
sage, they had at last been forced by
the Iroquois to leave the war path, and
become the women" of the nations.
That they were NOT towards, however,
may be seen from the apostrophe of u
Delaware hunter to a bear which he
was about to kill-a soliloquy, which
overheard and described by IlecRe-
welder, one of the Moravian missionaries
at Bethlehem, has furnished Longfel.
low with tine eloquent defiance of
Mudiekeewis to the Mishe- Mokwa:
"Hark ye! bear! You are u coward
and no warrior as you pretend to be.
Were you a warrior, you woud show it
by your firmness, and not cry and
whimper like an old woman. You
know, bear, that our tribes are at war
with each other, and that yours was
the aggressor. You have found the
Indians too powerful for you, and you
have gone snoaking about in tho woods,
stealing their hogs Had you con
quered me, | would have borne it with
courage and died like brave warrior ;
but you, hear, sit here and cry, aud
disgrace your tribe by your cowardly
conduct. -
When tho hunter had dispatched
the bear, says MIR. IlerkewelCer. "
asked him how he thought that poor
animal could understand what he said
To il? oh, said he, this bear under
stood me very we'll; did you not observe
how ashamed he looked willis | was
upbraiding him. "
Tho Delawares did not inhabit the
lower part OF the Peninsula, although
it may have been the visit of one Of
this people to that region, that brought
about the massacre at SwAnnsEdule.
There lived the NHnticukes, one of the
many tribes that call tho Lcni Lenape
grandfathersn and fishers
rather than warriors.
The following descriptions amply with
equal truth to all the Indians OF Dea.
, ware:
HOW THE INDIAN ADORNED MS PEHs NJ
They all painted or dauhed their
face with red. The men suffered only
tuft dt hair To grow on the crown oi
their head: the rest, whether on theiI
heads or faces, they prevented from
growing by constantly plucking il out
by the roots, so that they always an.
peared as il they were bald and beard
less, Many were in the practice u
marking their faces, arms, and hruas,
by. pricking the skin with thorns ant
rubbing the parts with fine powder
, made OF coal tcharcnal, which, peuo
trsting the punctures, loft an in
, delihlo stain or mark, which romainoC
. as long as they lived. The puncturp,
, were made in figures according 10 thri
several fancies The only purt of thu
body which they covered wac from thi
waist half way down tho thighs, ant
their feet they guarded with u kim .
shoe made of buiTaloes or deer-skin
laced tight over the instep Rnd up /,
, tho ANKLES with thongs. Ii was ant
, still continues to he Il common practiG,
, among the men TO slit their cars, put
ting something into tho hole to proven
its closing, and then by hanging weight
> to the lower part to stretch it out, 81
that il hangs down the cheek like
large ring. "-Churles Thompson.
. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
"Of course their customs and man
\ ners there is much to he said. | vii
} begin with children. While very vounl
, and in cold weather TO choose, the,
Y plunge them in the rivers 10 haraul
and embolden them. Having wrapped
y them in q clout, they lay them on
: straight thin board a little more THAI