The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1901-05-23
Graphic Account of the D0ingS of
the Indian Tribes.
HOW THEY LIVED IN THIS SECTION.
The Coming of the White man TO Possess
the Land
GRADUAL DECLINE OF THE RED MAN.
The Historical Review Written by a Good
Authority on the EARLY History
of this County.

The site Of MauitoNoc county was
until near the middle of the nineteenth
century u vast wilderness Of forest; I'M
broken. excepting where the rivers tiny
lakes and creeks, like gems in an emer-
aid setting sparkled in the sunlight, or
glimmered softly in the ghOstly light of
the moon. The tall pines on the hills
We're green and somber against the
morning sky: the valleys were luXuriant
with the varied greens of the oak, elm
and maple whose brilliant foliage i'll
the fall Of the year, with the festoOnings
Of the cherry-red Of the Virginia creep
er, and the scarlet clusters Of sumach,
made a picture that no artist would
dare to initiate and to which no pen
can do justice.
The low and swampy places were
dark and gloomy in the shade of the
mighty tamaracks. Stumps, tangled
underbrush and windrows Of logs Uttered
the forest and made it a veritable para
disc for wild animals. Herds Of deer and
elk feet-footed and alert sought their
pasturage from glade TO glade; clumsy
bears nosed about for roots, berries and
other toothsome morsels. Wolves, fox
es and wildcats lurked in the shadows
The creeks and rivers were the haunts
of the otter and the beaver whose soft
coats were the magnets that attracted
the first white men to the country lying
west Of Lake Michigan, Flocks Of pig
cons often darkened the sun. The honk
Of the wild goose and the quack of the
duck We're familiar sounds in the neigh
borhood Of ponds and lskes The swift
and graceful hawk skinned the tree
tops of the valleys, or darted like a sEot
upon its unsuspecting prey. On majes-
tic wing, high over the tallest pines
scared the king of birds And until the
white men came, all We're unveyed by
the sound Of a gun In winter, when
all animated nature was asleep in
white BLANKET Of ice and snow the wierd
sigh of the winds through the pines, or
the buster Of the storm-king, and the
roar of the breakers on the icy mounds
on the lake shore, contributed to the
dreary solitude " the woods
Indian villages We're located here and
there, some more or less permanent, sur
rounded in summer by corn plantations;
-
made bands, who temporarily tished or
hunted in this region, of,en miles and
miles from the favored haunts of their
tribes The love of home is not Il trait
of the Indians character, excepting III a
wider sense, a fondness for certain
regions through which to roam; setting
up his habitation wherever food was
plentiful and where protection was as.
sured against his enemies And when
in few seasons, game became scarce
he gathered his pots and kettles, and
with his squaw and papooses wander
ed often Cor days and weeks until he
found some new hunting ground which
struck his fancy.
Thus, during the two and one-half
centuries since white men first describ-
ed the magnifcence of the primeval for
est which surrounded the Lac daS Pt"a&
as Green Bay was then designated,
branches OF many tribes at one time or
another made this their hunting
grounds. Early occnparts Of this dis
trict in later years dwelt on the Mississ
ippi or in Southern Michigan, and tribes
of Like Superior or in a distant state at
later period erected their villages near
the outlets of the Manitowoc and the
Twin rivers The Indian name fol
twin was M >Itot1b, from which Neshota,
the name OF one Of the streams is deriv-
ed. Their warpaths also, often led
them over the boundaries Of many of
the states Of today Braves whose vii
lagos reposed in the warm sun OF the
Illinois prairies, fought bloody battles in
this region. Flotillos Of canoes from
Lake Superior or from Lake Huron Of
ten brought war and bloodshed onto the
nations Of this county. In peaceful
journeyings into the country Of strange
tribes aud scenes, the Indians experience
Ell as keen an enjoyment az do the
pleasure seekers in strange lands today.
Their return was the occasion for joyful
acclamations. long celebrations with
feasting and story telling.
Once upon time three hundred In
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