HISTORY OF THE SHAWNEE IN INDIANA
By: Donna Sullivan & Mallory Kirst
The name Shawnee means "southerner". It was said that the Shawnee, a large and united tribe were on of the early historic groups of southern Indiana, but this has been questioned due to conflicting reports. The Shawnee considered the Delaware the "grandfathers" of the Shawnee tribe and the source for all the Algonquin tribes.
The Shawnee were living in northwestern Indiana by 1788, but some bands of the tribe roamed around Indiana and in April of that same year, Kakinathucca’s band were hunting and making sugar in the southwestern part of Indiana. When the sugar making was done they the moved toward Vincennes, near where the Ohio and White Rivers meet and here the women of the tribe planted their crops. The men of the tribe were warriors and the care of the crops was the responsibilities of the women. Many of the tribal ceremonies were centered around the agricultural cycle. In the spring when it was time to plant they performed the corn dance. When the crops were ripe they did the Green Corn Dance and at harvest time it was the Autumn Bread Dance to celebrate the harvest. When the harvest was done the band moved again, north toward Fort Wayne.
It was in the village near the White River where the Shawnee "Prophet" had his vision and he and his brother started their campaign among the central woodland tribes for the tribes return to the native way of life. The Prophet gained many followers but only a few Shawnee supported his ideas.
The Shawnee were divided into five divisions, the Pekowi, Chalakatha, the Theawikila, Kispola, and Miskohe. Each division had their own war chief, peace chief, woman chief, messenger and sacred bundle.
The Chalakatha and the Pekowi had established villages in Indiana and Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet belonged by birth to the Kishpolo division.
The tribal chiefs were chosen from either the Chalakatha or the Thawikila divisions. Each division was divided into a number of partilatineal or gens groups. An individual’s name referred directly to some the animal or a characteristic of the animal that the gen took their name.
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A FAMILY REMEMBERS
Perry Beaver, the name that was later changed to ‘Beever’, is the great grandfather of Mallory Kirst, who resides in Williamsport, Indiana. With the help of her grandmother, Mallory has begun to learn her Native American Heritage. In an interview with Mallory this last week she provided me with information about her great grandfather. This is the idea that sparked the plan for the article on the History of the Shawnee in Indiana.
Perry Beaver was born December 28, 1830, in Champaign County, Ohio and died at the age of 57, "8 months and a few days". He and his wife Margaret Ann had 11 children and lost six of the children in infancy.
We don’t know what tribe of Shawnee Perry Beaver was a part of. But given what the story of the History of the Shawnee in Indiana states, I would say that Perry Beaver was a member of the Beaver Tribe.
It is good to see young people interested in their heritage and parents and grandparents taking an interest in helping them to preserve it.
A lot of Native American heritage has been lost, due to fear. There was a time when a Native American was not allowed to own land and it was taken away from them. So many of them claimed to be other nationalities, and only spoke in whispers of their heritage. This has been the case in my own family history research and makes that research very difficult to complete.
The Native American’s are a proud people and it is a shame that their heritage may be lost.
What can we do? Write it down as Mallory’s grandmother has done for her, get a tape recorder and let your parents and grandparents talk. Preserve the family history and story line. I have many cassettes of my grandfather and grandmother speaking into a recorder that they had forgotten was there. I have played this for my grandchildren, two of them that didn’t get to know them. It was a joy to share this with them. But the point is, this is a history that will go on. Will yours?
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Whispering Willow
By: Willow
A few weeks ago I asked for you as readers to send me stories or recipes. I received a few responses to the recipe request and I thank all of you very much. Surprisingly, I didn’t receive much response to the request for stories. That is until the Christmas Holidays I received a letter from Mallory Kiest. Mallory is nine years old. She has been reading my paper for a long time. She said in her letter she had an idea for a story, so I met with Mallory and her mother last Saturday.
I was very impressed with this young lady. She knew what she wanted to talk about and the conversation moved along swiftly. Her idea was a story about her grandfather, xxxxx Beever. Her grandfather was a member of the Shawnee tribe of the Alquonquin Indian tribe. She brought with her some information about her family history.
So I went online and researched the Shawnee, our story appears as the main article this week. Mallory shares my byline this week because she helped me research the material in the story.
The best part of the meeting was when Mallory asked if she could write an article in my paper that would be of interest to her age group. This idea appealed to me, so I explained what we would need to do to print her article in the paper every week
On Monday evening I received Mallory’s first article by email. The column is written by Mallory in her own words, and is entitled "Mallory’s Take". She informs us that she already has an idea for her next column. I hope you enjoy reading Mallory’s article. She has put a lot of thought into what she has to say. I think we can look forward to more interesting article from this young lady.
Be Blessed
Willow
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Willows Garden
By: Willow
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates
BURDOCK
Burdock is also known as Beggar’s Buttons, and Coltbur. It is credited by the Hawaiians known there by its Japanese name gobo, with the ability to increase strength and endurance. Hawaiians who need stamina to perform some arduous task have been known to repeat the popular expression, "I need gobo." The Burdock is a sturdy plant, its Latin name Actium derives from the Greek work meaning "bear," is found in many countries all over the world. Various cultures have discovered its versatility in culinary as well as medicinal.
The burdock plant is alternately despised as a troublesome weed and sought out as a cherished healing herb. As far as troublesome is concerned it not only can take over a garden when introduced, but when you dog comes home with the little hitchhikers tangled in their fur, it is a real problem untangling them. It was introduced into North America by early European settlers, it grows along roadsides, in ditches, hedgerows, and waste places throughout most of the United States and Canada. It also grows in Asia, and particularly Japan where it is cultivated as a healing plant.
This is a biennial plant with long dull green stalks and large, up to 12 inches long, oval leaves with many veins. The leaf resembles rhubarb because of their size, shape and wavy edges and the underside is gray, covered with a fine down. The stalks and leaves are usually stripped with purple patterns. In it’s second year of growth, fuzzy looking purple blossoms top the thick seed stalks that can grow up to 3 feet high. Those pesty little hitchhikers, the burs, follow the flowers. These burs are covered with bristly stickers that make them stick like Velcro. The plant sends down a long thick taproot, which is the part that is used medicinally.
To plant burdock, though I can’t imagine why anyone would see the need to since they are so easy to identify and grow so prolifically in this area, set seeds ¼ inch deep in rows that are about 2 feet apart. When the seedlings establish, thin them to about 6 inches apart. The plant thrives in a deep bed of well-rotted compost, manure, sawdust, leaf mold, wood chips, and other light loose material. Sawdust is an especially good addition to the bed because it increases porosity and makes it easier to pull up the roots. Fine would chips would also help. If the bed is too shallow or not porous enough, the roots well are very difficult to dig up, since they grow to over 12 inches long. A thin spade or posthole digger can help unearth stubborn roots.
For medicinal reasons, treat the burdock as an annual by harvesting its roots at the end of the growing season in the plants first year of growth. Follow the drying procedure I have given in the past for the drying of roots. The leftover tops make an excellent mulch and compost ingredient.
In China and Japan the burdock root is not only consumed because of its excellent taste but also for its strengthening and nutritive qualities. The fresh root is skinned and sliced into thin rounds and added to soups, vegetables, stir-fries, and meat dishes. A rich tasting miso broth, fortified with sea and land vegetables, including burdock is a classic Japanese soup. To make this simple soup see this weeks recipe. The nutritional benefits of burdock and those of the seaweed which contain 10 to 20 percent more minerals than land plants make this a very healthy soup.
Europeans and Americans alike enjoy the leaves and stalks of the burdock as a vegetable. You can gather the tender young leaves of the first year burdock in early spring. Blanch them in water, and use them as a salad vegetable. Peed and served in a salad or cooked like asparagus, the young leaf stalks also make a good savory vegetable dish. When the plants reach their second year of growth the immature flowers stalks can be peeled to yield a tasty pith. Remove all parts of the outer rind and cook this pith like the roots.
In addition to its culinary uses, burdock has some long-standing medicinal applications. Burdock leaf poultices have been used for centuries to treat gout in Europe and China. In Chinese medicine, the seedpod is dried and used for colds and coughs, swelling of the throat, boils and measles. Both the European and Chinese herbalists have long considered burdock roots lightly warming, moistening effect an excellent tonic for the lungs and liver, and a good blood purifier. When the leaves are used in an infusion or a decoction of the root, it is traditionally used as a wash for various skin problems, including ringworm, acne, measles rash, and burns. This sturdy plant the Burdock’s nourishing and healing properties make it a very valuable plant.
Be Blessed
Willow
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Spinach Stuffed Shells
REPRINTED BY REQUEST
1 pkg. (10 oz) chopped frozen spinach, frozen and drained
1 ½ c. nonfat ricotta cheese
½ c. grated Parmesan Cheese
2 eggs
3 gloves garlic, finely chopped
1 t. dried oregano
½ t. salt
½ t. dried basil leaves
½ t. dried marjoram
¼ t. ground black pepper
24 cooked large pasta shells
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine spinach, ricotta, and Parmesan Cheese, eggs and seasoning in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into cooked shells and place shells in prepared pan. Top with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese melts.
Makes 4 servings
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According To Big Al...
"Listen to what I mean... not what I say."
BASEBALL
When I was a child growing up in Wisconsin we all played softball. Now softball was what is now known now as 12" fast pitch softball. Nearly everyone in our rural one- room school played ball whenever we got the chance. The school normally supplied us with a bat and ball. Most of the players had no gloves. The catcher would normally have a catchers mitt and most of the time the first baseman had a fielder's glove – the rest depended on how much money the kids had to get one of their own,although it wasn't considered necessary to have a glove, indeed sometimes it was considered being a "sissy" to use a glove. You see mom and dad never used one when they were kids.
Nearly everybody in our little one room school of less than 20 students had to participate in the game on order to form a team. This means you might have a few older 7th and 8th graders on your school team, but the majority of your team was 5th and 6th graders or less. It also meant that most of the girls played on the team also. As you might expect the teams were not very high on talent nor ability, but their was a lot of participation and team spirit. There was never any kind of schedule to play a ballgame, it was whoever was interested in playing, in the form of "workup" where you were at bat until you made an out, then you went in the outfield, and "worked" back up thru whatever positions were being available with the number of players. It meant playing the outfield then the infield then pitching and back to hitting. It was a rather loose game because it depended on how many people were playing. As a rule you only had two hitters, which meant you had to drive the other batter home or he was out. If you only had 2 or 3 players not at bat, you might have 1 or 2 outfielders and one infielder. Many times you had no infielders and the "Pitchers Hand" was out. This meant the batter had to get to first base before the pitcher got his hand on the ball. This meant everybody playing had their turn at different positions and developed their skills (hopefully). The playing field was nothing more than an area where the grass was cut by one of the local farmers with a hay mower, and the infield was grooved from the previous years of playing. You never knew which way the ball would bounce.
I am constantly amazed a t how nicely conditioned the fields are today with no one playing on them unless it isan organized game. In my day there was no organization of the games. Some student or parent or teacher would make contact with someone else in a neighboring school to schedule an impromptu game or a game involving the students and parents would be played at the annual spring picnic. There was no organized games like we have now. There was one exception that I can remember and that was 4H ball, but this involved young people (adults) and not kids. I remember seeing a pitcher playing for the opposition using what was known then as a "Windmill" pitch. His ball was delivered with great speed and no one on our team could hit him. I went home and started practicing this method of pitching with my brother as the catcher. We practiced all summer long and when we went back to school in the fall, the other kids were amazed at how fast I could pitch. The other kids were intimidated by my speed and wildness. Today you see this same thing in girl's softball but it was quite rare back then.
When we moved to Chicago, we were unable to comprehend what softball was to the "Chicagoans". They used a 16" ball and had to pitch it slow. No one used a glove and they played it in the city streets. Today this is known as an "Old Man's" game. When we showed the kids our small 12 softball, most of the kids thought of it as baseball. No one would play our type of ball, mostly because we could hit it too far for conditions I suppose. We changed our allegiance to baseball whenever we got the chance to play. But we got a bitter taste in our mouths from playing the local kids, because they all played right field was an out, not a foul ball and all my brothers and I were left handed hitters. It did serve one purpose thou – we learned to become switch-hitters.
Later when we moved to Calumet City, there were a lot of empty lots and undeveloped land and my brothers and I went about to make us a baseball diamond so we could play baseball. We had to clear the fields and mow the weeds and grass with an old-fashioned reel-type push mower. We had no power mower. It was a lot of work getting the field in shape and a never-ending job keeping it in relatively decent shape. Was it any wonder that all of us Martin's were in pretty good physical shape?
Big Al
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Silver Island
Taken From The Wabash Valley News Jan. 14, 1987
Silver Island - The very name rings of mystery and hidden secrets.
Located in the southwest corner of Fountain County in Fulton Township, the island is about five miles long and 1 ½ miles wide. It is bounded on the west by the Wabash River and on the north, east and south by what is called locally, the Swail Branch and Coal Creek.
For about 35 years, from 1830 to the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Wabash and Erie Canal passed along the eastern side.
No one seems to know how the island received its name. One legend says Indians, returning from the Battle of Tippecanoe (near Lafayette) buried silver.
Another says an Indian chief paid a white man in silver coin to marry his daughter. The man did marry the Indian maiden, but soon left here. Before he slipped away, he buried the coins.
Aaron Fitz Randolph and his wife Margaret Carmon, settled the island in 1818 and built a brick house which is still standing. In 1893 the property was sold to the Shipman Coal Mining Co. In 1909 Elsworth and Nellie Sager bought the land. The two-story home, completed in 1832, is now owned and occupied by their descendants, Charles and Betty Smith Sager.
Aaron Randolph lll now lives across the road from the original family home. A life resident of Silver Island, he said he has plowed, hunted and "lived a lifetime here without ever finding a single silver coin".
The island has no villages nor towns. One road, running north and south, connects farms located on either side.
Some believe the island was so named for it’s geological treasures.
Some of the area’s finest building stone was mined here in the late 1880’s. Rich coal from thick veins from under the rock was used to heat homes for over 100 years. Sand and gravel from roads has been mined on the island since 1900’s. Farmers will tell you the soil has produced, over the years, millions of bushels of corn, wheat, oats, and soybeans.
For those that call it home, Silver Island is a place of treasures untold.
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DINKY RAILROAD
The Dinky Railroad was a short narrow gauge railroad that was built by Wabash Clay Company for hauling shale from the shale pits to its factory. The railroad crossed Coal Creek immediately south of the highway that was known as the "Dinky Bridge". Then the road proceeded northward, on the west side of the gravel road, which is directly west of the plant, where the shale was dumped. A wreck occurred in 1914 on the Dinky Railroad and engineer Elbert Gillis was killed.
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Veedersburg
Veedersburg
Veedersburg was first laid out by Peter S. Veeders, Christopher Keeling, Franklin Yerkes, and W. .D. Cockran. It was incorporated in 1872. The town was named for Peter S. Veeders. Veeders was never a resident of Veedersburg, but he did own businesses in Veedersburg and was very interested in the growth of the town. Veeders donated much of the land that is now Veedersburg and also $5,000.00 to be used for the building of the school and the residents, though there is no record of this, are said to have matched his donation.
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CRYTOQUOTE
RVZTLFR
EXAMPLE
To solve the puzzle, one letter stands for another. As in the word "EXAMPLE" above "R" stands for "E". Sentence structure and grammar rules and sentence structure are another clue.
BG FQK PVTTQS NBT, RVWZ SXZ GZCCQN
VXZV QG FQK HDZVW SXZ DZQJ. - VTQTFRQKM
Last Weeks Answer
Whenever a man seeks your advice, he generally seeks your praise.
--- Lord Chesterfield
Here's a tip on this weeks puzzle: Z = E
