Me in Wilderness Garb
My display
And the Change to come Across the Land
A reminder of Another TimeA Distant Horizon
On October the third of 2009, yesterday, I took part in a gathering of people near the Niangua River. It is a place where once a long time ago Prehistory and much later Indians gathered to set up their lodges to live, to give birth and to die. It was a bountiful place where food was abundant and the land rich where maze and other crops flourished. Broad fields as today lay along this portion of the Niangua. Over head buzzards circled lazily and below autumn colors could be seen along the timberline.
I was invited to set up a display of Indian artifacts and other related items to show and too speak of. A teepee set nearby. Other attractions were firing of percussion rifles, a blacksmith, a trapper, bee keeper, a coon hunter with his beautiful hounds and many other displays. The day ended with a chili supper. It was a fine day for me to talk about the Indians that once live along the river. The following are excerpts of my program.
The clothes I am wearing represent the attire of a white man of the early years in this country. They were adventurous men who left their homes to find their fortune in trapping and killing buffalo for their hides. As time past and with no stores available to replace their worn out clothing they used hides to replace the worn garments. Trading with the Indians also provided them with articles to wear.
I will begin the journey to distant horizons with word of inspiration, not our words but those of the Indians and I quote. “Now we will speak again of Him our creator. Our Creator said—Above the world I have created. I will continue to look intently and to listen intently to the Earth when people direct their voices at me. Let there be happiness he has given us. He loves us, he who dwells in the sky. He gave us the means of to set right that which divides us. (An Iroquois Thanksgiving ritual)
Take a moment to look around you. The ground you stand on contains remnants of another civilization, where once people lived and died. This place and the fields beyond was their home. Their lodges were many as is evident by the artifact that was left behind. Much of it has been taken; much of it was broken by the plows of the early years. There is little left of those enduring people who once inhabited this ground.
I have set at their hearths in wonder and in awe stirring the ashes of forgotten fires that held back for a time the black darkness of night and the many dangers common to the Indians. The Indian faced many perils, glaziers, floods, volcanic eruptions rendering adverse climatic conditions. Death plagued all, but especially the very young and the women.
All roads lead away from the past as do moral standards, but at the present it is as if it is a momentary sensation as we eagerly rush toward the future. Without the past we would not be aware of our mistakes and foolish cruelties. We cannot live in the past, nor should we, for the past is to learn from, to build strong fundamental values. The past is important and like this event today, it is alive. Remember there are no ordinary days. Adios
On October the third of 2009, yesterday, I took part in a gathering of people near the Niangua River. It is a place where once a long time ago Prehistory and much later Indians gathered to set up their lodges to live, to give birth and to die. It was a bountiful place where food was abundant and the land rich where maze and other crops flourished. Broad fields as today lay along this portion of the Niangua. Over head buzzards circled lazily and below autumn colors could be seen along the timberline.
I was invited to set up a display of Indian artifacts and other related items to show and too speak of. A teepee set nearby. Other attractions were firing of percussion rifles, a blacksmith, a trapper, bee keeper, a coon hunter with his beautiful hounds and many other displays. The day ended with a chili supper. It was a fine day for me to talk about the Indians that once live along the river. The following are excerpts of my program.
The clothes I am wearing represent the attire of a white man of the early years in this country. They were adventurous men who left their homes to find their fortune in trapping and killing buffalo for their hides. As time past and with no stores available to replace their worn out clothing they used hides to replace the worn garments. Trading with the Indians also provided them with articles to wear.
I will begin the journey to distant horizons with word of inspiration, not our words but those of the Indians and I quote. “Now we will speak again of Him our creator. Our Creator said—Above the world I have created. I will continue to look intently and to listen intently to the Earth when people direct their voices at me. Let there be happiness he has given us. He loves us, he who dwells in the sky. He gave us the means of to set right that which divides us. (An Iroquois Thanksgiving ritual)
Take a moment to look around you. The ground you stand on contains remnants of another civilization, where once people lived and died. This place and the fields beyond was their home. Their lodges were many as is evident by the artifact that was left behind. Much of it has been taken; much of it was broken by the plows of the early years. There is little left of those enduring people who once inhabited this ground.
I have set at their hearths in wonder and in awe stirring the ashes of forgotten fires that held back for a time the black darkness of night and the many dangers common to the Indians. The Indian faced many perils, glaziers, floods, volcanic eruptions rendering adverse climatic conditions. Death plagued all, but especially the very young and the women.
All roads lead away from the past as do moral standards, but at the present it is as if it is a momentary sensation as we eagerly rush toward the future. Without the past we would not be aware of our mistakes and foolish cruelties. We cannot live in the past, nor should we, for the past is to learn from, to build strong fundamental values. The past is important and like this event today, it is alive. Remember there are no ordinary days. Adios
1 comment:
I didn't know you had been up to that. Looks like it was an interesting day.
You have so much history of the Ozarks in your mind. It's wonderful when you get to share it.
T
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