cattle and flocks of sheep and
goats, intermingled with wild herds of deer and antelope, browsed on the
meadows and slopes above the river where they stood. Wild ducks and
geese and swan swam in the river, and grouse and wild turkeys and quail
and plover roamed the forests and uplands. There was no promiscuous
killing of wild animals allowed among the Tewana; they were shared in
common like the domesticated animals. Innumerable canoes, used for
fishing, were drawn up on the banks of the river.

The Tewana were an independent, self-supporting people. At all seasons
of the year were heard the sounds of the hand-loom and the smith's
anvil--the fashioners of iron and precious metals. The weavers of cloth
and baskets, and potters and tanners fashioned their wares in the open
in the shade of their walls and trees.

The life these people led, free from the harassing cares and anxieties
of the White man, was almost ideal. During the spring and summer months
they tended their fields, and after the harvests were gathered in the
autumn and the surplus produce stored in public granaries, they engaged
in the chase; hunting only with the bow and spear--camping in the open,
in the forests and plains until the advent of winter. During the ensuing
months, until the coming of spring, the children were instructed by
their parents in the industrial arts; taught the traditions of their
people, and how to read and write, and to observe the courses of the
stars and to forecast the weather and predict the nature of the seasons.
With the coming of the seedtime, they entered the fields with their
elders and learned to sow and tend and reap the crops.

Thus, by the time the child had attained the age of sixteen, he was
thoroughly conversant with all that was necessary to meet the demands of
life. He became an independent, self-supporting unit, while his constant
contact with nature not only revealed the latter's secrets and the laws
governing natural phenomena, but developed him physically and
spiritually as only nature can. All orphaned children were adopted by
the different families, and consequently, there were no outcasts or poor
and ignorant among the people.

Every house was surrounded by a small plot of ground sufficient to
supply the family with fruit, poultry, grain and vegetables; from two to
three acres in extent. Their herds were held in common and permitted to
run at will like the deer; requiring but little care.

The Tewana onl