OH-FOOTSTEPS-L Archives

From: "Ohio Archives EV1" <>
Subject: Fw: Tid Bits - Part 62
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 19:29:43 -0400

----- Original Message -----
From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 6:37 PM
Subject: Tid Bits - Part 62



Contributed for use in
USGenWeb Archives
by Darlene E. Kelley
July 21, 2005.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Historical Collections of Ohio
And Then They Went West
Know Your Ohio
Tid Bits - part 62.
by Darlene E. Kelley
notes by
S. Kelly [ ]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tid Bits - part 62.

The Indians of the Cuyahoga River
On the Western Reserve.

" Cayagaga " was the first name by which the Mohawk Indians designated
the stream that sprang from the northern part of what is now Portage
County and proceeded west and south through the gorge and over the falls
called "Coppacaw" to the junction with the Little
Cuyahoga, and then north again to enter into the lake later to be known
as " Erie."

The explaination of the word meaning
" crooked " from which Cuyahoga Falls got its name, was given by James
Smith. James Smith was captured by the Indians in 1755 and escaped in
1759. he writes of one of the explorations of the area, " We turned up
the Cuyagaga and hunted for several days until we came to the junction
in the Cayagaga. The upland is hilly and second -- and third grade land;
the timber chiefly black oak, white oak, hickory, and dogwood."

The river had many spellings for its name which is translated into
numerous meanings.

The Moravians, who in 1786 founded what has been called the first white
settlement in the present Cuyahoga County near the junction of Tinker's
Creek and the Cuyahoga, wrote the name of the stream
" Gajahaga." Near their villiage was an old Indian trail crossing the
river at the rapids south of the village.

An educated Seneca Indian claimed the name " Cayohaga " meant to the
Seneca's " The place of the Jaw Bone," and was thus applied to the river
and the locality of Cleveland, because in the dim past before the
whiteman came, the jaw bone and other portions of a mastodon were found
near the river about five miles from its mouth.

An old European map shows the Cuyaoga River and its " carrying place,"
the Portage Path, with some Indian villages, one of them on the site of
Akron being called " Caujahoga Town."

The Delaware Indians had it as the
" Diiohage." while still another spelling was " Kayhoga." The name is
also written
" Canahogue," and once even " Tioga" and one writer claims the Cuyahog
means
" The Beautiful."

The early mappers of the Western Reserve, Evans and Hutchins, gave the
spelling "Cuyahoga." Other spellngs were;
" Cayahoga, Cujahoga, Kayahoga, Cajahages, Guahaga, and Gayahague."
The closest the English spelling can approximate the original Mowhawk
Indian dialect would be " Kaihoghha."

The source of the Cuyahoga River is located in the center of a large
field in Hambden Township, Gueuga County. There is a large swamp roughly
in oval shape covering perhaps half an acre. The land about the swamp on
all sides except the south is cultivated so we can plainly see quite
plainly that no stream runs into the swamp. We assume that the swamp is
the result of a natural drainage and perhaps underground springs. There
is a dense growth of vegetation in the swamp, many elder bushes,
cattails, high weeds, a number of small trees and other swamp
vegetation.

The swamp itself is of secondary importance as we are concerned mostly
with the drainage ditch. It took considerable effort to find it as we
had to work our way through tall weeds, reeds, briars, and other
vegetation. The drainage ditch is very small. It is perhaps twelve to
fifteen inches wide and about eight inches deep. There is only a trickle
of water in the ditch in hot weather. It is a stream less in volume than
could be made with a garden hose. It is hard to believe that this
trickle of water is the mighty Cuyahoga River.

Strangely, this source of west branch is only about sixteen miles from
Lake Erie, yet the river flows in a southernly direction, away from Lake
Erie, then west, then north, in a great " U " shape for about eighty
five miles to empty into Lake Erie at Cleveland. It is easy to
understand why the Indians called it " Cuyahoga," meaning crooked
waters.

When the earliest settlers first came to Summit County, they inquired of
the Indians about legends and stories about the mound builders. The
mound builders were gone before the redman came, but they left more than
thirty mounds in Summit County. Many have disappeared, but one which
remains is located at the entrance of the Valley View Golf Course on
Cuyahoga Street near the bank of the river. The mound contains many
kinds of soil not found nearby. It is about forty feet high and covered
with large oak trees. It remains as a monument to a little known race of
people who were first known to occupy our country.

As with all stories of the continent and this nation, the roots of our
culture sink deep into the land and are nourished by the tales of Indian
folk lore. This area of the nation which we call Cuyahoga Falls was
probably property of no particular Indian tribe, but set aside by
various tribes as a hunting ground. With the dawn of the history in Ohio
at the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, we find a cat nation,
or Eries, in this region; but before the arrival of the first settlers
the Eries had been defeated by the Iroquois, in 1656.

After the annihilation of the Erie tribe, Ohio became an open country
for all Indian tribes who cared to come here or were driven westward by
the ever increasing white population. A few tribes traveled through Ohio
on their way westward without even stopping. Many adopted the Ohio as
their home, being content to stay for a while, loafing and enjoying the
easy life that the rich land of Ohio afforded them. They moved on only
as whim struck them. Other tribes found living so easy and comfortable
that they decided to stay indefinately.

Strange as it seems, many Indian tribes which had continually warred
against each other in their homelands of New York and Pennsylvania, now
lived together in Ohio in peace and harmony. One very popular place for
incoming Indians was the valley of the Cuyahoga River. Senecas lived
with a stone's throw of Ottawas, Mingos and Delawares and built their
villages close together. Chippewas and Wyandottes were neighbors. There
was no tribal warfare, since the provided food and pleasure was
sufficient for all.

The Indians who lived in Summit County were peaceful and friendly to the
white settlers. In Summit history, there is no record of the Indians
burning the cabins of the settlers or murdering their men and women. It
was only when the Indians became intoxicated by the whiteman's firewater
that they became troublesome; and then afterwards were sorry and
apologetic.

Near Boston, there was large Indian encampments. A number of Indian
tribes lived in adjacent Indian villages, the biggest being one of Chief
Pontiac's camps occupied by Ottawas. Nearby lived the Cuyagas and
others. It is said by many historical writers that the Indians near
Boston were most advanced gardeners and farmers. Rich lands along the
river was planted in corn, pumpkins, and tobacco. Mature apple trees
were found there by the first settlers.

Nearby, in Northhampton Township, there was another village of the
Ottawas under Chief Pontiac. The site of this village on the Portage
Trail, was at one time, marked by a large stone that was used by the
Indian squaws to grind grain. [ It has since been removed to a farm
nearby and used as an ornament, and then removed to the Summit
Historical Society.]

Prehistoric Indian Mounds, campsites, and other landmarks indicate use
of this area as a hunting ground. the trails and portages were used by
early settlers as they journeyed from lake to river, portaging from the
Cuyahoga to the Tuscarawus; and crossing east to west, from the great
salt springs in the eastern portion of the state to the hunting grounds
that lay to the west. The Indian trail from the Great Lakes and Canada
to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and thus to the Gulf of Mexico lay
through the valley. All who wished to make the trip started up the
Cuyahoga River to the point at which it was crossed by Portage Path.
>From there the Redman and Whitemen alike carried canoes and cargo up the
hill and then South along Portage Path, East Avenue, and Manchester Road
to the location of Young's Inn. [ The Inn is still there but not in
use.] Here, at the crossing of the Tuscarawas River, the travelers could
continue by water all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

This trail of water and land marked the northern limits of this new
nation in 1800. All agreements for land and settlement rights at the
time of the first pioneers in this area gave the Thirteen Colonies the
land east of this line and to all the Indians all the lands to the west.

The boats used in the transportation of men and goods fom the mouth of
the Cuyahoga to the " old Portage" were long and narrow vessels,
frequently called
" dugouts." They were from twenty to forty feet long, and from three to
four feet wide and were propelled by poles when going against the
current. They could carry from ten to twelve barrels of pork salt, or
whiskey. At that time, salt sold for $ 20.00 per barrel and whiskey for
$ 5.00 or less.

In a report dated 1771, Thomas Jefferson said." The Muskingum is 280
yards wide at its mouth and 200 yards at the lower Indian town. It is
navigable for a small batteaux to within one mile of a navigable part of
the Cuyahoga River which runs into Lake Erie.

It is felt the Indians liked hills and valleys more than the
coparatively level land in the lakes region; but, whatever the reason,
most Indian life was centered about our northern townships. The Big
Falls of the Cuyahoga and the Old maid's Kitchen, was the site of a
large village of the Delawares under Chief Net-a-wat-wees. It is said
they had the largest fields of corn and vegetables in the country. The
northern part of North Akron was always a plateau without trees.

The largest Indian Village was at Silver Lake, about 500 Senacas under
Chief Wabmong. Wabmong, from the beginning, was a great friend of the
early settlers, supplied them with food, nursed them in sickness, and
helped them generally. His greatest feat was the prevention of the
massacre of the entire white population of Stow Township during the War
of 1812. The British bribed the Indians and tried to persuade them to
murder all whites. Chief Wabmong was able to control his drunken
" braves " and caused them to leave for the west without harming the
whites. Here the Indians lived quietly and peacefully for many years.

The early settlers told interesting stories of peaceful, as well as
warlike, encounters with the Indians. Mrs. William Wetmore never tired
of telling stories of the Indians. Lydia Wetmore of Cuyahoga Falls was
not of the nervous type, and she understood how lucky the settlers were
to have Senacas, Ottawas, and Delawares as neighbors. She understood
too, that diplomacy was required.

But she would have owned to a touch of real concern when spring burned
through in the year the youngest of her three boys turned 12 and her
eldest 16. As she scrubbed their work trousers, she watched out her real
glass window at Silver Lake.

The three Seneca girls bathing in Silver lake [ Stow's Pond ] were
handsome and lively. The sun glinting off their coppery limbs painted
the beautiful kind of picture which would haunt any young man's nights.
And the trousers that Lydia was scrubbing were definately long pants
now.

A boy was a man at 16 out here, if he was going to be one. But Lydia and
her husband William Wetmore, cofounders and agent for Joshua Stow of
Cuyahoga Falls, felt that serious trouble could break out if settlers'
sons coveted Indian daughters in this girl scarce land.

Three times this spring the Seneca girls had bathed here, spashing and
laughing with the light footed joy of emeging from winter boots. Lydia
watched them dry off in the sun, and with a woman's heated lighting
awareness, she linked it to the sudden cessation of ax blows from up on
the rise where the boys were clearing. The Indian girls dressed, but
their short- open sided summer manteaux were far from Connecticut
fashions. She saw that they were headed now not back to the village, but
up to her own house to visit, as they often did.

Lydia Wetmore was a woman of understanding. For white settlers to tell
indians to wear Connecticut dress would be clumsy. And Silver Lake, she
felt, belonged more to the Indians than her. Suddenly she reached down a
bolt of blue dyed sacking, sissored off seven feet, folded it, cut an
interesting neckline at the fold, and sat down with needle and thread,
composing herself as one not in a hurry.

" Come in." she called casually to the knock.

Lydia Wetmore was a favorite with Senaca girls. They smiled with
pleasure at the sight of the crisp clean sacking. They crowded close,
inquiring with soft Seneca exclamations. Lydia Wetmore smiled around a
mouthful of pins and nodded them to be patient.

Intently they watched her work, and they argued pleasantly in Seneca
about what she was making. She kept them in suspense, until she unfurled
it with a flourish. Then it all came clear, Lydia nodded to the tallest
girl who gasped and snatched the cloth. She put it on right over
everything else and looked down at herself with pleasure. But the short
girl laughed and spred her arms wide, "H-a-a!" Mrs. Wetmore laughed,
too. She cut off a narrow band from the bolt, wrapped it abound the tall
girl's waist and tied a large neat bow. The short girl folded her arms
and cocked her head, " Ah-ha !"

And she stared involuntarily at the bolt of cloth. Mrs. Wetmore unrolled
the blt of cloth and handed her the scissors. then she threaded three
iron needles.

The Seneca girls ran across the trail to their Silver Lake village.They
had not been gone long when their smiling mothers suddenly appeared at
Mrs. Wetmore's door. One held out a blue sacking waist sash and nodded
with agressive geniality.

Inside the hut, Mrs. Wetmore held up the diminished bolt against the
nodding mother. There was a problem of girth. But she told them to get
hides and pelts and come and meet her at the trader's cabin. There the
pelts was negotiated for yard goods.

After that, the Seneca women met in increasing numbers every sabbath in
the Wetmore cabin. She taught them how to keep the stitches very small.
They kept coming and she taught them how to cut and sew dresses for
themselves and their families. So it can be said that the woman's sewing
circle was the first gathering of people in the land of Cuyahoga at the
headwaters of the Coppacaw, Cuyahoga Falls. Here too, they all exchanged
cooking recipes and the woman became very close in friendship.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tid Bits to continue in part 63.


--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 3801 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now!

This thread:

• Fw: Tid Bits - Part 62 by "Ohio Archives EV1" <>