Irish explorer Henry Ellis (1721-1806), in *A voyage to Hudson’s Bay, by the Dobbs Galley and California, in the years 1746 and 1747*, wrote the following about the indigenous understanding of the population ecology of deer (spelling etc. as in original, which can be found on the Internet Archive):
<< They have no Dependance upon the Fruits of the Earth for their Subsistance, living entirely on the Animals they take in Hunting or Trapping, at which they are very dexterous. They make prodigious Slaughter every Season among the Deer, from an unaccountable Notion that the more they destroy, the greater Plenty will succeed; therefore sometimes they leave three or four hundred dead on the Plain, taking out of them only their Tongues, and leaving their Carcasses either to rot, or be devoured by the wild Beasts. At other times they attack them in the Water, and kill prodigious Numbers, which they bring down on Floats to the Factories. [The deer take to the water to escape the gnats and mosquitos, and are an easy target there for the Indians.] >>
Seems these guys weren't even bothering to burn the bones to make more deer! They just had a knowing that more deer would keep coming (and of course they did, for a while), and attributed the seasonal abundance to the previous year's abundant slaughter.
Thanks for this series, Igor -- and especially for today's link to the History Cooperative article with its wonderful notes and bibliography! (Some reading for me later when the sun goes down.)
The SCHENECTADY PATENT gives an interesting account about some of the adult "whites" taken by the indigenous people who refused to leave when the military came to their rescue because they preferred the easier lifestyle.
Irish explorer Henry Ellis (1721-1806), in *A voyage to Hudson’s Bay, by the Dobbs Galley and California, in the years 1746 and 1747*, wrote the following about the indigenous understanding of the population ecology of deer (spelling etc. as in original, which can be found on the Internet Archive):
<< They have no Dependance upon the Fruits of the Earth for their Subsistance, living entirely on the Animals they take in Hunting or Trapping, at which they are very dexterous. They make prodigious Slaughter every Season among the Deer, from an unaccountable Notion that the more they destroy, the greater Plenty will succeed; therefore sometimes they leave three or four hundred dead on the Plain, taking out of them only their Tongues, and leaving their Carcasses either to rot, or be devoured by the wild Beasts. At other times they attack them in the Water, and kill prodigious Numbers, which they bring down on Floats to the Factories. [The deer take to the water to escape the gnats and mosquitos, and are an easy target there for the Indians.] >>
Seems these guys weren't even bothering to burn the bones to make more deer! They just had a knowing that more deer would keep coming (and of course they did, for a while), and attributed the seasonal abundance to the previous year's abundant slaughter.
Thanks for this series, Igor -- and especially for today's link to the History Cooperative article with its wonderful notes and bibliography! (Some reading for me later when the sun goes down.)
Disappointing to learn about the Beaver ashes !!!
The SCHENECTADY PATENT gives an interesting account about some of the adult "whites" taken by the indigenous people who refused to leave when the military came to their rescue because they preferred the easier lifestyle.
I for one have always loved beaver since I was about 16