Circular

INDIAN BACKGROUNDS

of the

Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center

|./«arine'a(Megical Laboratory

NOV 19 1962
I WOODS HOLE, MASS.

United States
Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife

Circular 138

INDIAN BACKGROUNDS

of the

Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center

IVlarinrBidlegJcal Laboratory!

L

NOV 19 1962
WOODS HOLE, MASS.

United States
Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife

Circular 138

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Exhibit of Indian Relics

The Indian artifacts on display in the C. Hart
Merriam Laboratory were collected on the grounds
of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center near
Laurel, Maryland, between 1937 and 1960. They
were picked up by employees and visitors to the
Center, mostly in areas now being- farmed. In
fact, almost every time the fields in areas marked
on the map are plowed or cultivated, additional
Indian relics are uncovered — often an arrow point,
a spear head, a blade, or a scraper, occasionally an
ax head, a drill, or a hammer. All are mute re-
minders that American Indians once lived on these
lands that in 1937 became America's first Federal
wildlife experiment station.

Local Tribes of Indians

What manner of Indians lived in these parts?
While the items on exhibit have not been dated,
archaeologists believe that some of them are asso-
ciated with an Indian culture going back perhaps
several thousand years. Some are doubtless of
much more recent origin. We know of course that
Indians were in this region when the first Euro-
pean settlers arrived.

There is evidence that tribes belonging to three
great Indian "linguistic families," the Algon-
quian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian, crossed and

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recrossed the area along the Patuxent Eiver below
where Laurel, Maryland, is now. Algonquians
were in the area most continuously about the time
of the arrival of the Europeans.

The Patuxent Indians were Algonquian stock.
Their principal village, called Patuxent, was lo-
cated in what is now Calvert County, Maryland.
Ethnologists are not certain but they think that
these Indians were closely related to the Conoy, if
not an actual part of them. In 1608 Captain John
Smith estimated the strength of the Patuxent vil-
lage at about 40 warriors, which would mean a
community population of about 200.

Wliat is the meaning of the word Patuxent?
The exact meaning is not known, but linguists who
have studied Algonquian dialects think that it is
related in meaning to Patuxet, which was the name
of a Massachusetts village on the site of Plymouth.
The Indians there told the colonists that Patuxet
meant "at the little fall." It is possible that the
Patuxent village in Maryland was located near a
small falls or rapids and obtained its name in that
fashion.

The Patuxent Indians were a friendly people
and they got along well with the Maryland col-
onists for as long as the tribe existed. Remnants
of the Patuxent Tribe and certain other groups
were gathered onto a reservation at the head of
the Wicomico River in 1651.

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Iro^'UotA" trtbcs moved from
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Indian Way of Life

To the Indian, fish and wildlife were the bread-
and-butter of a rugged culture. Deer, bear, and
turkey were some of the species the Indian hunted
with spear and arrow to supply the necessities of
life — food, clothing, and shelter. These animals
were all eliminated from Prince Georges County
by the advance of White Man's civilization, but
recently deer have been reestablislied, and they
can be seen again quite commonly here at the
Center and in adjacent areas. Wild turkeys were
restocked in 1960, and they may one day be re-
stored as the deer have been.

Tlie eastern tribes of Algonquians lived in
wigwams made of sheets of bark fastened to a
framework of saplings. Some of the wigwams
were round or oval ; others were rectangular. The
frames and the overlapping bark were usually
bound together by various plant fibers. The fa-
vorite fiber foi- making strong cords was obtained
from the inner bark of basswood saplings. Fine
threads were often made from the fibrous bark of

the stems of milkweed and of the closely related
dogbane gathered just before the fruit is ripe.

Large floor mats were woven of bulrushes and
cattails. Dishes were made of clay and of soap-
stone, and one can still find fragments of the pot-
tery dishes around many old campsites in Mary-
land.

Indians living along Chesapeake Bay and its
estuaries were excellent fishermen and hunters.
Their canoes were of the dugout type, made from
a single log which they shaped and hollowed out
with stone axes and by burning. When the cut-
ting and burning were completed, the cavity was
filled with water and hot stones were placed in the
water to heat it until the wood became pliable
enough for wooden cross braces to be driven in at
the middle to give it the proper spread.

In addition to the great variety of birds and
mammals which the Indians obtained with bows
and arrows or with snares and deadfalls, many
kinds of plants were used for food. Small patches
of corn, beans, squash, and occasionally other
plants were cultivated around the villages. Even

greater quantities of wild seeds, fruits, and vege-
tables were gathered by all the eastern tribes.

Acorns, particularly those from the white oaks,
were an important food. The acorns were
parched and the hulls were removed by flailing.
Usually the bitter flavor was eliminated by a
series of steps: First the acorn "meats" were
boiled until nearly cooked, then the water was
drained off and tlie acorns were placed in a net bag
and boiled again in water to which wood ashes
were added. Finally, they were removed from
this water and simmered in fresh water to remove
the lye left by the wood ashes. They were then
ready for drying and grinding into meal. Stone
or wooden mortars and pestles were used for
grinding. The acorn meal was cooked with vari-
ous kinds of meats or made into a mush seasoned
with bear oil.

Some tribes are reported to have removed the
bitter flavor from acorns by grinding the "meats''
before removing the bitter tannin. A thin layer
of fine gravel was placed in a tightly woven basket.
The meal was scattered over this gravel, and the

basket was placed on two heaps of gravel with a
drain between them. Water was poured slowly
over the meal ; when it seeped tliroiigh the gravel
filter without any yellow stain, the tannin was
gone, and the meal was removed and dried.

All the wild fruits and nuts that we use today
were also used by the Indians. The tubers of the
arrowhead plant, which grows abundantly in the
marshes, and those of a common wild bean called
the "ground nut" were used like potatoes.

Most of the clothing of the eastern Indians was
made from animal skins. These garments were
frequently colored by natural dyes. The roots of
the sumac, when boiled, yielded a yellow dye;
the spotted jewel weed or "touch-me-not" gave an
orange-yellow dye; butternut husks furnished a
brown dye, and butternut bark a black; boiled
roots of the bloodroot plant gave a red or orange-
red color, and boiled hemlock bark was a source
of dark red coloring.

Applying Indian Craftsmanship Today

There is much that the White Man has learned
from the Ked Man. For thousands of years, these

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primitive people lived off the natural products
of the land. They knew how to provide them-
selves with shelter, food, and clothing by primi-
tive craftsmanship and a knowledge of wild
plants and animals.

Although we are living in a machine age, we
still use the primitive craftsmanship and lore of
Indians in scouting and camping. Wild game is
no longer essential to us as food, but hunting con-
tinues as a healthy outdoor sport. About a fourth
of all Americans enjoy hunting and fishing. A
small but growing percentage of them use bow
and arrows in pursuing both big and small game.
Our armed services apply the primitive ways of
the Indian in training airplane pilots and crews
in survival techniques. During World War II
this training saved the lives of many airmen who
were forced down in wild and often unfriendly
territory where they were forced to live off the
land for long periods.

Natural Resources Vital to Civilizations

That a primitive race of Americans lived on
these very grounds some 350 years ago is histor-
ically interesting and exciting. Quite naturally,
the Indian relics on display remind us of this early
period in our history. Many changes have taken
place here since the time of the Indians. Many
more changes will occur in the future. Of one
thing we can be sure— Natural Resources were the
foundation of the Indian's culture; they are of no
less importance to us today. Our rich inherit-
ance in fertile soils, clean water, productive for-
ests, and bountiful fish and wildlife is the back-
bone of our abundant way of life. For our own
survival we must keep that backbone healthy and
strong.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1962— 0-629844
MBL WHOI Library - Serials

WHSE 00226