(Source is the National Archives collection of Native American images.)This post is all about an appreciation for my University of Baltimore professor, Dr. Eric Singer, whose patience and understanding is allowing me to postpone my final blog entries for class until I've been able to recover from a "triple-whammy" that has prevented timely completion of my research project: Press of an out-of-state business trip -- both preparing for, participating in, and completing follow-up work for my bosses; the snowstorm and holiday hours that closed Maryland Historical Society Baldwin Library and prevented my final verification of some notes on Native American place names in the Baltimore area; and the apparently snowstorm-related continuing shut-down of my Intranet connection where the majority of my blog research notes are stored. But ... within a few days, "I will be back!" to post my research.
Meanwhile, happy holidays to you all -- and just imagine how the early Native Americans coped with severe weather, huddling in their furs and no doubt cuddling in their smokey but warm Eastern Woodland long houses while the snow drifted about them outside ... playing snow games such as the "snow snake" where players would launch a straight stick across an expanse of ice and see whose 'snake' would travel farthest ... (Image courtesy of youthnoise.com)
Enter "snowsnake" at this link to see a snowsnake in the collection of the North American Ethnographic Museum/American Natural History Museum. This is a list of tribes associated with this game, including Iroquois/Seneca/Ponca who likely passed through pre-Baltimore territories.
... and trekking and tracking on their invention of snowshoes. In the words of weloveoutdoors.com, "Snowshoes were first invented by the Native Americans, to help them walk in the deep snows of winter. From observing [likely] the snowshoe rabbit, the early North American inhabitants discovered that the larger the feet, the less one would sink in deep snow."
Algonkian snowshoes are said to be the most effective and comfortable of all the Native style snowshoes, according to a Canadian historical group website, csmid.com, where we can see how to tie snowshoes the Indian way:
