Post by Okwes on Jun 6, 2007 17:41:19 GMT -5
Resident reflects on area's Native American past
By: G. C. Gould, Staff Writer
Former Wethersfield resident Frank Winiarski has been collecting artifacts in Wethersfield since he was a boy.
He has collected thousands of spear points, arrow heads, 500-year old beads, shoe buckles, old coins, and even a thousand-year-old carved stone axe head. The many items he has found in Wethersfield over the years tell the story of life both before white settlers arrived and also of the encounters between whites and Native Americans around the early years of the area the would become Wethersfield.
Before the whites arrived, the area that was to become known as Wethersfield was settled by the Wongunk Indians, an Algonquin tribe. Life for the Wongunk tribes, as depicted by Winiarski, was filled with the riches that the valley had to offer. The soil was fertile, especially so by the banks of the Connecticut River, the area which has come to be called the Meadows.
The earliest artifacts that Winiarski has found in the area are 8,000 year old bifurcated points. The points would be attached to wooden spears, 6 to 7 feet long, and used to get at otters and turtles.
"The bifurcated harpoon points would remain in the animal without coming out," Winiarski said. "If it didn't have barbs, it wouldn't stay in the turtle or otter [that they were hunting]."
There was also a progression from spear points to arrow points in Indian history. As the Indians' form of hunting evolved, they evolved from harpooning or spearing their prey, to the use of bow and arrow for hunting and gathering.
For many years, Indians in the area grew and smoked tobacco out of clay pipes. Women did most of the physical labor, planting corn, making clothing, cooking, sewing and raising children. Men did the hunting and fought in wars. The elder or king, was known as a sachem.
Native Americans around the area lived in Wigwams, which were bark-covered houses.
"They were igloo-like houses, elongated for extended families, with cots with animal skins. They cooked with clay and soapstone cooking pots," said Winiarski. If it rained or snowed, the wigwam had a flap to cover the indoor central fire area.
Winiarski said the arrow points would be buried in the hearth for the winter, and in the spring or summer they would retrieve them. The arrow points were made using deer antler tips to chip away at the stone.
"They could chip an arrow head in half an hour," he said. Some points are made of flint, which is a dark rock and may have come from New York state. Winiarski estimates the flint pieces at 2,000-4,000 years old.
The stone axe head is not quite finished. "When finished, it would be sharp," he said, "but would sometimes break and shatter. The Indians appreciated when the Colonists brought Iron, kettles, and blankets."
The Wongunks fished in Beaver Brook, which runs through Wethersfield. Winiarski said he was walking along the brook near the present-day Dunkin' Donuts and found the carved stone axe head. He also said the meadows are a particularly good place to find artifacts, especially after a farmer has turned over the soil.
In the winter and fall, the Wongunks would move inland away from the meadows. They also took excursions down to Long Island, where they got clams and shellfish.
"When the Indians made contact," said Winiarski, "the whites traded beads [shown above] for pelts." The pelts were taken back to Europe where it was fashionable to wear beaver fur as hats or coats.
He said the Wongunks were trading for beads with the Portugese between 1570 and 1677, when the King Phillip War disrupted trade in 1677.
Most of the beads the Indians traded for were made in Amsterdam and Venice. Some of the beads, the larger black ones were called Jesuit beads.
"The tiny ones were beads worn on deerskin moccasins. The medium ones were used for bracelets," he said. "They liked the bright colors."
Settlers contracted with the Indians to purchase 72 square miles of land in exchange for 12 yards of trading cloth. The 72 square miles were all Wethersfield, and consisted of present day Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Newington, parts of Berlin, and parts of Marlborough.
Also on the scene during Wethersfield's early years were the Pequot Indians, situated in the southeast corner of the state. They were the most warlike Indians in the area.
"All the other river tribes in the area were forced to pay tribute to them," Winiarski said.
When the white settlers came, the Pequots were upset because they were trading with the river tribes up and down the river. From 1633-34, when Wethersfield was first settled, the Pequots killed 75 percent of the area's Algonquins.
Because of development, the only place left to find artifacts is in the meadows, said Winiarski. "Driveways and parking lots are causing this stuff...to disappear before our eyes," he said. Even in the meadows, items can get displaced or broken due to the farm machinery.
Winiarski said that disease, especially the small pox, wiped out much of the Indian population, and up to 90 percent in Massachusetts died.
"New England would never have been settled if it wasn't for the diseases," he said. "When whites came here, land was here for the taking, except for the powerful tribes."
The Pequots now have an Indian museum at the Mashantuckett Pequot Casino. "You can get a feeling for what life was like," said Winiarski.
By: G. C. Gould, Staff Writer
Former Wethersfield resident Frank Winiarski has been collecting artifacts in Wethersfield since he was a boy.
He has collected thousands of spear points, arrow heads, 500-year old beads, shoe buckles, old coins, and even a thousand-year-old carved stone axe head. The many items he has found in Wethersfield over the years tell the story of life both before white settlers arrived and also of the encounters between whites and Native Americans around the early years of the area the would become Wethersfield.
Before the whites arrived, the area that was to become known as Wethersfield was settled by the Wongunk Indians, an Algonquin tribe. Life for the Wongunk tribes, as depicted by Winiarski, was filled with the riches that the valley had to offer. The soil was fertile, especially so by the banks of the Connecticut River, the area which has come to be called the Meadows.
The earliest artifacts that Winiarski has found in the area are 8,000 year old bifurcated points. The points would be attached to wooden spears, 6 to 7 feet long, and used to get at otters and turtles.
"The bifurcated harpoon points would remain in the animal without coming out," Winiarski said. "If it didn't have barbs, it wouldn't stay in the turtle or otter [that they were hunting]."
There was also a progression from spear points to arrow points in Indian history. As the Indians' form of hunting evolved, they evolved from harpooning or spearing their prey, to the use of bow and arrow for hunting and gathering.
For many years, Indians in the area grew and smoked tobacco out of clay pipes. Women did most of the physical labor, planting corn, making clothing, cooking, sewing and raising children. Men did the hunting and fought in wars. The elder or king, was known as a sachem.
Native Americans around the area lived in Wigwams, which were bark-covered houses.
"They were igloo-like houses, elongated for extended families, with cots with animal skins. They cooked with clay and soapstone cooking pots," said Winiarski. If it rained or snowed, the wigwam had a flap to cover the indoor central fire area.
Winiarski said the arrow points would be buried in the hearth for the winter, and in the spring or summer they would retrieve them. The arrow points were made using deer antler tips to chip away at the stone.
"They could chip an arrow head in half an hour," he said. Some points are made of flint, which is a dark rock and may have come from New York state. Winiarski estimates the flint pieces at 2,000-4,000 years old.
The stone axe head is not quite finished. "When finished, it would be sharp," he said, "but would sometimes break and shatter. The Indians appreciated when the Colonists brought Iron, kettles, and blankets."
The Wongunks fished in Beaver Brook, which runs through Wethersfield. Winiarski said he was walking along the brook near the present-day Dunkin' Donuts and found the carved stone axe head. He also said the meadows are a particularly good place to find artifacts, especially after a farmer has turned over the soil.
In the winter and fall, the Wongunks would move inland away from the meadows. They also took excursions down to Long Island, where they got clams and shellfish.
"When the Indians made contact," said Winiarski, "the whites traded beads [shown above] for pelts." The pelts were taken back to Europe where it was fashionable to wear beaver fur as hats or coats.
He said the Wongunks were trading for beads with the Portugese between 1570 and 1677, when the King Phillip War disrupted trade in 1677.
Most of the beads the Indians traded for were made in Amsterdam and Venice. Some of the beads, the larger black ones were called Jesuit beads.
"The tiny ones were beads worn on deerskin moccasins. The medium ones were used for bracelets," he said. "They liked the bright colors."
Settlers contracted with the Indians to purchase 72 square miles of land in exchange for 12 yards of trading cloth. The 72 square miles were all Wethersfield, and consisted of present day Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Newington, parts of Berlin, and parts of Marlborough.
Also on the scene during Wethersfield's early years were the Pequot Indians, situated in the southeast corner of the state. They were the most warlike Indians in the area.
"All the other river tribes in the area were forced to pay tribute to them," Winiarski said.
When the white settlers came, the Pequots were upset because they were trading with the river tribes up and down the river. From 1633-34, when Wethersfield was first settled, the Pequots killed 75 percent of the area's Algonquins.
Because of development, the only place left to find artifacts is in the meadows, said Winiarski. "Driveways and parking lots are causing this stuff...to disappear before our eyes," he said. Even in the meadows, items can get displaced or broken due to the farm machinery.
Winiarski said that disease, especially the small pox, wiped out much of the Indian population, and up to 90 percent in Massachusetts died.
"New England would never have been settled if it wasn't for the diseases," he said. "When whites came here, land was here for the taking, except for the powerful tribes."
The Pequots now have an Indian museum at the Mashantuckett Pequot Casino. "You can get a feeling for what life was like," said Winiarski.