Antiquities of the Southern Indians, Particularly of the Georgia Tribes

CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XIV. Fishing.-Wears.-Nets.-Net-sinkers.-Plummets. BEFORE the axe of the European was lifted against the primeval trees, or that sJ"stem of drainage and denudation inaugurated by which large tracts of denselywooded lands have been gradually converted into cultivated fields and the pleasant sites of cities and villages, swamps, meadows, and forests, abounded ,vith game of every description native to this semi-tropical region. Amid the general silence which then reignetl unbroken, save by the voices of Nature and the occasional dances, festivities and war-whoops of the aborigines, there was little to terrify tIle wild animals at sport or pasture, scarcely any thing to affright the birds from their accustomed homes. The Indian population-limited at best and confined to chosen seats-was characterized by remarkable taciturnity. On every hand the air was vocal,vith the variant notes of the feathered tribe, and every brake was alive with the forms of animal life. Buffaloes, bears, deer, cougars, wild-cats, raccoons, OpOSSUIllS, beavers, rabbits, squirrels, and other quadrupeds , frequented the woods and congregated thickly in the moss-clad margins which environed the sluggish lagoons, undisturbed save by the noiseless y"et fatal 21 322 ANTIQUITIES OF THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. arro\y of the red hunter, uninterrupted in their daily ra.nges except by occasional villages scattered here and there at long intervals throughout.this vast domain. The buffalo long since ceased to exist in this region. But few streams give present token of tIle industry of the beaver. Bears confine thenlselves to the vinecov ·ered depths of unfrequented swamps. The cry of the cougar is seldom heard in the night-watclles. The wolf is no longer a pest, and from whole districts the deer has been expelled. For the untamed denizens of the forest, agriculture and civilization have Inade no reservations. Expatriation and death have been meted out even to the hunter-tribes; and they, too, are dwell. ers llere no longer. In that ancient time, however, there ,vas no lack of food either in tIle woods or in the waters. The early narratives frequently mention presents of deer, bears, and wilcl-turkeys, at the hands of the Indians, alld perpetuate the admiration of the Europeans as they beheld, for the first time, the pathless forests teeming with gallle. "The Indians never lack nleat," says the Fidalgo of Elvas. "With arrows they get abundance of deer, turkeys, conies, and other wild animals, being very skilful in killing game." 1 "They are excellent Hunters," affirms Tholl1as Ash, " their Weapons the Bow and Arrow made of a Read pointed with sharp Stones or Fish BOlles." 2 Still· hunting ,vas the favorite style, and in plate xxv. of the " Brevis Narratio" we have a quaint picture of three Florida Indians who, concealed in the skins of stags, and with drawn bows in their hands, 11ave crept upon 1 ,. Narratives of the Career of Hernando d~ Soto," etc., p. 55. Translation of Buckingham Smith. New York, 1866. 2 "Carolina," etc., by T. .A., Gent., p. 35. London, 1682. HUNTING TIlE ROE-DEER. 323 and are on the eve of discharging their barbed arrows into a herd of deer drinking at a stream.1 Bossu ~ thus describes the method adopted by the Alibamons in hunting the roe-deer: "An Indian takes the head of a roe-buck and dries it; he then carries it with him into the woods, where he covers his back with the skin of this animal; he puts his hand into the neck of -the dried head, taking care to put little hoops under the skin to keep it firm on the hand·; he then kneels do\vn, and in that attitude, mimicking the voice of these creatures, he shevvs the head; the roe-deer are deceived by it and come very near the hunters, who are sure to kill them." As the woods were well stocked with game,_ so also was there plenteous supply of fisl1es in ponds, lakes, rivers, and arms of the sea. Depending for subsistence upon wild animal, bird, and fish, the natives ,vere compelled to devote most of their time to hunting and fishing . Certain seasons were entirely set apart to these pursllits, and with formal ceremonies and solemn invocations were the general expeditions in quest of game inaugurated. With no domesticated animal except the dog, they were not entirely improviclent of the future. Public granaries I there ",vere, in...