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figfl‘f DIDIAN EMORY ill swam TOME?! Since the name of our Township. "Seugeen" is of Indian origin, meaning "the mouth of the river". it has been deemed desirable to include in this ri‘wesdsmuir History Book a sketch of early Indian habitation of Saugesn Township. So far as we can learn. by careful study and investigation, early Indian culture. as it app- lies to o'- S. 174. 5‘5. and #6. (the area covered by this book). appears to be non-existent. but recent findings by archeologiste in the vicinity of the town of Southampton indicate that a most interesting Indian culture existed in that part of the ‘l‘ownship in the very early days. The following article. prepared by Mrs. Grant olazie, was obtained from the owen dound sun times. dated June 28th, 1958: "Some ten thousand years ago. the area surr- ounding Southampton, like the rest of the north- ern part of the continent, was under the influ- ence of a receding glacier. ‘L'his last thrust of the lee Age of America left in its was the country as we now have it after changes in the terrain through erosion and weather. The pattern of the laxes and rivers were laid out during this period and remain basically the same. Following the glacial period the first evidence of human habitation in the area appears to be the lndians of the Laurentian Uulture. who lived here some 5,000 years ago. This was the Stone Age of America. as these primitive people used stone tools. About 1500 3.0. a more advanced group of lndians, known as the Point Peninsula Culture lived in the area. L'hese people had advanced greatly in their skills. using arrows. spears. pottery and had developed an early form of agri- culture. As the years passed, various forms of ludian li fa have been Known to occupy the land, and during the 17th century, the inhabitants were Known as the Petun or Tobacco Nation. These latter Indians were much more advanced in their mode of life than any of the other tribes that had occupied the territory. They grew tobacco and com. lived in 0113 Houses and their tools and' pottery were much tter than the earlier ones that have been found. l‘hese lndians were of the .Lroquois tribes. but were not included in either the Five Nation or Six Nation indians. 'L‘he Petuns were living here when semuel D. Uhamplain. Ettienne nrule and the Decollect Fatbâ€" ar Le La‘aron visited their nation in the winter of 1616. Although the exact spot there Champlain visited the Eetuns in their Winter camp is not known, there is some pOse‘lbllity that it was in the vicinity of the present site of the town of SouthamptOn. From this visit the Petuns. no doubt traded their {hrs to the French, which made them the allies of the French and the enemies of the Iroquois. /â€"‘2L Later in the 17th century. the desult natners established two missions in what is now bruce County. The more northerly one located some- where in the present Bruce peninsulstwss o't. Simon and St. Jude. Another mission. St. Peter and St. Paul was located south of the above mentioned. and may have been at or near the mouth of the Saugeen River. rl‘he finding in recent years. of crosses and stones with crosses carved on them. tend to support this theory. One of the crosses and one of the stanee with a cross on it. are now in the Bruce County Llussum. In his history of Bruce County. John Lic- nabb relates that lndisn graves excavated in the area contained crucifixes. which gave additional support to the theory of the lo- cation of the mission being in this vicinity. On their way to the massacres at Fort at. harie, the lroquois ruthlessly annihilated all of the lndian tribes and villages on their way to the north. “films in a very short space or time, the neutral lndiens to the south and the returns in the centre were swept from the face of the earth before the Jesuit massacres, which also included the virtual extermination of the Barons. The fate of the lndians in this area was the same as the others. and the only evidence left of a peaceful and industrious people is found in the archeolouiu‘ lxcaVatiqu of Ludt‘lil ‘ to 11:: :1 l .lltiihsh the :i Hr. Known to cm at for many years and much surface material collected, its importance we first recogâ€" nized by Frofessor A.h.dhutt of‘ the U.A.U. Guelph, and a summer visitor of o‘outhammon who reported it to the National Museum. In the summer or 1960 excavations were made and the date of the site is between 530 1:.C. and zero A. D. The occupants were a group of people known 35 Point Peninsula lniians. They were hunters who lacked Knowledge of agriculture and probably (chewed a pattern of life similar to the historic Cjibwas of Northern Ontario. They would scatter into the forests in winter. and gather in bands at favourable locations during the spring and summer. These people were among the earlier ones using pottery and used the bow and arrow. Material uncovered in excavations in- cluded burials. its, a house struchure. Artifacts cousis of pottery fragments. flint scrapers, arrow heads and hsmeretOnes. ‘20 date 13 burials have been uncovered and ex- cavated to determier as much infer-anti on as possible concerning burial practices and physical features of the people. aoth adult and infant burials have been found. 'L‘he lndians who lived on this site appear to (cont‘d on next page) V