The story of Berks County (Pennsylvania)

Preface

A good school system must meet the demands of the community in which its schools are located. To do this the aims, means and methods must constantly be adapted to the changing needs of the community life. The changes involved in such adaptation constitute educational progress. Many such changes are urgent at the present time. Children are often taught many things unnecessary, while essential matters are omitted. The lawmakers, the press, the business men and the general public are about unanimous on this point. In consideration of these matters some time at least should be devoted to the practical things which would prepare the pupil for direct usefulness in the community life.

In all localities, however, a knowledge of the early history of the industrial development, of the local government and of the local geography should form a vital part of the child's proper practical education, since these things are necessary to the child's proper existence as a social being. To be ignorant of these things would mean not only a lack of intelligence, but it makes the proper performing of the functions of an American citizen impossible.

The upper grades are the finishing schools for the vast majority of children. Provision in them should be made to teach the history and geography of the town, township and county in which they reside. Time should be found to give the children a knowledge of the industrial development upon which their future wages will depend. Means should be furnished so that children will not leave school by the thousands in almost absolute ignorance of the government under which they live and of those civil functions which, as members

4 PREFACE

of the community, they will be expected to perform. Provision for some of these things is usually made in the high school, but hardly one-tenth of the children in any locality ever enter the high school.

In a county like ours, in which much has already been done that will tend to prepare the boys and girls for the life they will probably live, a forward step along the lines of preparing them more directly to perform their duties as citizens of a republic and of giving them a view of how their grandparents lived and worked is especially urgent and vital. That this volume may supply the need it was prepared to fill is the sincere wish of the authors, who take this means of expressing their thanks to the many teachers and friends who so kindly furnished assistance and information.

A. E. WAGNER,

F. W. BALTHASER^-

D. K. HOCH.

CHAPTER I. Page

Those Who Were Here Before Us IT

1. The Indians 17

2. Tribes 17

3. Some Things They Did 19

4. How They Made Fire 21

5. Wampum Was Their Money 22

6. How They Lived 22

7. How They Acted In the Woods . . 23

8. Indian Boys and Girls 24

9. Government and Laws 25

10. Religious Beliefs 25

1 1 . Marriage Customs 26

12. List of Indian Words With Their Meaning 28

Chapter II

1. The Dutch 29

2. The Swedes 29

3. The English 31

4. William Penn 32

a. Penn's Treaty With the Indians 35

b. Penn's Work and Character 36

5. The Germans 36

6. The Redemptioners 37

7. The Welsh 39

8. Other Nationalities 40

9. Three Great Groups 40

Chapter III

1. Walking Purchase 12

2. Other Purchases 43

3. Petitions for a County 43

4. Erection of the County 46

5. Reductions of the County 40

CHAPTER IV. Page

Conrad Weiser and Count Zinzendorf 47

Chapter V

1. Tedysucung 54

2. Trouble Along the Frontier 55

3. Franklin Builds Forts 56

4. A Line of Forts 56

5. Fort Henry 56

6. Fort Northkill 57

7. Fort at Dietrick Snyder's 58

8. Fort Lebanon or Fort William 58

9. Fort Franklin 58

10. Regina 59

CHAPTER VI. Berks County's Records in the Nation's Wars 63

1. The Revolution 63

a. Jones' Company 63

b. Joseph Hiester 64

c. Hessian Prisoners at Reading 68

d. Conway Cabal 67

e. The Veterans 68

f. Washington Visits Berks 69

g. Fries' Rebellion 7 i

h. The County Militia 71

i. Militia at Valley Forge 72 a. Companies from Berks 72

b. English Families at Reading 73

3. Mexican War 73

4. Civil War 74

a. County Militia 74

b. Berks County Responds to the Call 75

c. Drafting Soldiers 76

d. Excitement at Reading 77

4. Civil War, Continued Page.

e. The Veterans 77

f. Companies from Berks 73

5. War With Spain 81

Chapter VII

1 . Colonial Life 83

a. Homes 83

b. Market Value of Articles About 1800 84

c. Farming Implements 84

d. Clothing 84

e. The Iron Industry and Early Furnaces 85

f. Burning Charcoal 87

2. Rivers and Canals 88

a. Early Navigation of the Schuylkill 88

b. Union Canal 89

c. Schuylkill Canal 91

d. Value of Canals 92

3. Turnpikes and Other Roads 92

a. Tulpehocken Road 92

b. Berks and Dauphin Turnpike 93

c. Maidencreek or Easton Road 94

d. Centre Turnpike 94

e. Oley Road 94

f. Perkiomen Turnpike 95

g. Schuylkill Road 95

h. Other Early Roads 95

i. State Highways 95

4. Stages and Stage Lines «)•;

5. Railroads 97

a. Philadelphia and Reading 97

b. Lebanon Valley 98

c. East Penn 99

d. Reading and Columbia 99

e. Wilmington and Northern 99

f . Colebrookdale 1 00

5. Railroads. Continued Page.

g. Schuylkill and Lehigh 100

h. Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley 100

i. Allentown , 101

j. Other Railroads 101

6. Trolley Roads 102

7. Scenic Roads 103

Chapter VIII

1. Parochial Schools 104

2. Quaker Schools 105

3. Catholic Sch< >ols 106

4. Moravian Schools 106

5. Pay Schools 106

6. Charity Schools 101

~ t . Free Schools 107

8. Free School Act of 1834 ■ 109

9. Farly School Buildings and Furnishings 109

10. School Exercises 112

11. Keystone State Normal School 113

12. Academies 113

13. County Superintendents 115

a. William A. Good 115

b. John Ermentrout 116

c. David B. Brunner 116

d. Samuel A. Baer 117

e. David S. Keck 117

f. William M. Zechman 117

g. Eli M. Rapp 113

Chapter IX

1 . Finances 120

a. Kinds of Taxes 120

b. Levying the Taxes 121

c. Collecting the Taxes 121

Page.

Party, Politics, Nominations and Elections 122

a. Who May Vote 123

b. Primary Elections 123

c. General and Municipal Elections , . . .124

d. Election Expenses 125

Township, Borough and City Government 126

a. The Township . 12G

1. Justices of the Peace 126

2. Constable 127

3. Assessor 127

4. Tax Collector 128

5. School Directors 128

6. Supervisors 129

7. Auditors 129

b. The Borough 130

1. Reasons for Borough Government 130

2. Borough Council 130

3. Chief Burgess 130

4. Other Borough Officers 131

c. The City 131

1. The Mayor 131

2. City Council 132

3. City Controller 132

4. City Treasurer 132

5. Aldermen 132

6. Other City Offices 132

7. School Controllers 132

County Government 132

a. Officers 133

1. County Commissioners 133

2. Sheriff 134

3. Coroner 134

4. Prothonotary 135

5. County Treasurer 135

6. Recorder of Deeds 135

7. Register of Wills 136

4. County Government, Continued Page.

8. Clerk of Quarter Sessions 137

9. District Attorney 137

10. Jury Commissioners 138

11. Prison Inspectors 138

12. Directors of the Poor 138

13. County Controller 138

14. County Surveyor 138

15. Mercantile Appraiser 138

16. County Solicitor 138

b. The County's Relation to the Courts 138

1. Kinds of Courts 139

2. The J udges 140

3. Juries 140

4. Accusation and Trial in the Criminal Courts.. 140

5. Manner of Conducting Civil Cases 142

Chapter X

1. Mountains 143

2. Rivers and Valleys 14G

3. Minerals 146

4. Caves 147

a. Crystal Cave 147

b. Dragon Cave 148

c. Other Caves 149

5. Divisions of the County 150

6. Charitable Institutions 151

7. Weather Bureau 152

8. Some Leading Facts 1 52

9. Post Offices 152

CHAPTER XI. The Townships L53

1. Albany 153

2. Alsace 155

3. Lower Alsace 157

4. Amitv 158

Page.

6. Upper Bern 160

?. Bethel 162

8. Brecknock 161

9. Caernarvon 164

10. Centre 166

11. Colebrookdale 168

13. District 171

14. Douglass 172

16. Exeter 174

17. Greenwich 176

18. Heidelberg 178

19. North Heidelberg 179

20. Lower Heidelberg 180

21 . Hereford 181

22. Jefferson 182

23. Longswamp 183

24. Maidencreek 184

25. Marion 186

26. Maxatawny 188

2^ . Muhlenberg 190

29. Ontelaunee 195

33. Richmond 19!)

34. Robeson 200

35. Rockland 202

36. Ruscombmanor 203

3; . Spring 204

38. Tilden 205

39. Tulpehocken 206

40. Upper Tulpeh< >cken 20^

Page. ' 41. Union 208

42. Washington 208

43. Windsor 209

44-. Township Statistics 211

CHAPTER XII. The Boroughs 212

1. Bally 212

2. Bechtelsville 212

3. Bernville 213

4. Birdsboro 214

5. Boyertown 215

6. Centreport 217

7. Fleetwood 217

8. Hamburg 219

9. Kutztown 220

10. Lenhartsville 221

11. Mohnton 222

12. Mount Penn 222

13. Shillington 223

14. Sinking Spring 223

15. Topton 224

16. West Leesport 226

17. West Reading 226

18. Womelsdorf 227

19. Wyomissing 229

20. Borough Statistics 231

CHAPTER XIII. The City of Reading 232

1. Early History— 1748 to 1783 232

a. Prominent Buildings 232

b. Industries 234

c. Hunting and Fishing 235

2. Reading as a Borough 236

a. Water Company Organized 237

b. Prominent Visitors 238

Page.

3. Reading Today 239

a. City Officials 240

b. Sanitary Provisions 241

c. Industrial Conditions 241

d. Education 242

4. Leading Facts — 1912 245

CHAPTER VII. Kitchen Fireplace

Fat Lamp.

Tallow Candle.

Carrying Fire.

Old Plow.

Spinning in Colonial House.

Oldest Stove Made in County.

Canal Boat.

Conestoga Wagon.

Pioneer Road.

Milestone.

Old Stage Coach.

First Locomotive and Train.

Horse Car.

CHAPTEE VIII.

Parochial School.

First School House in County.

Eight-cornered School House.

Old Wood Stove.

Franklin Academy.

Keystone State Normal School.

Modern Township High School — Consolidated.

CHAPTER X.

Map of Berks County.

Countv Linestone.

Entrance to Crystal Cave.

CHAPTER XI.

Sawmill.

Gristmill.

Chapel Rocks.

Carrying Corn to the Mill.

Stone School House.

Ney's Tavern.

Fort Henry.

Hand Mill.

Grain Cradle.

Lincoln Home.

Boone Home.

Scene Along the Sacony.

Blue Rocks.

Bethany Orphans' Home.

Wernersville Asylum.

Quaker Meeting House.

Centennial Oak.

Moravian Church.

Shoemaker House.

Old-time Mail Carrier.

Octagonal Church.

White Bear Inn.

Grosscup Home.

Cider Press.

CHAPTER XII.

Grain House.

Boyertown Mines.

Log House.

Pioneer House.

Lutheran Orphans' Home.

Wyomissing High School.

CHAPTER XIII.

Map of Reading.

Federal Inn.

Old Court House.

Old Penn Street Bridge.

Present Court House.

Askew Bridge.

New Penn Street Bridge First School House.

New Boys' High School.

CHAPTER XIV.

Birth of Our Flag.

Chapter I. Those Who Were Here Before Us

Two hundred years ago few white people lived in what we now call Berks County. At that time it was the home of wild animals and savage Indians. Great forests of giant trees were found in its valleys and on most of its rugged hills.

What wonderful changes we now see! The forests have nearly all been cut down. Humming mills, beautiful homes, rich farms now are found in its valleys; railroads have taken the place of the Indian paths, and its fertile fields are covered with rich crops of hay, grain and fruit. The savage Indians and wild animals are no longer seen; in their places we have civilized people and the much needed domestic animals. All these wonderful changes with many more have taken place in the short space of less than two hundred years. The story of how it all happened is as wonderful as a fairy tale, but it is true. We call it the story of Berks County. In order to understand this story fully, it will be necessary to know something of the causes which produced these great changes.

The Indians. More than four hundred years have elapsed since civilized men of Europe first learned of the race of red men in North America whom they called Indians. Who these Indians were or whence they came no one can tell.

When the white men first came here they were most numerous in the vicinity of the Delaware river, but there is no way of determining hpw many of them there were.

Tribes. The tribes that dwelt in what is now Berks County or roamed over its forest-covered hills and valleys called themselves the Lenni Lenape, or the original people.

The Lenni Lenape nation was divided into three principal tribes or divisions: the Unamis, or Turtle; the Unalachtgos, or Turkey; and the Monsey, or Wolf. The Turtle tribe occupied the country between the seacoast and the Blue Mountains and their hunting grounds extended from the Hudson to the Potomac. Their name means "the people down the river.'' Their chief abode was on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware south of the Lehigh River. The surrounding tribes that did not belong to the Lenape Confederacy agreed that they were entitled to the honor of being called grandfathers. As grandfathers they were supposed to have emigrated in a very remote time eastward from the Mississippi. In their travels eastward they are supposed to have conquered the builders of mounds that were numerous in the western valleys.

The Turtle and Turkey tribes were known among the whites as Delaware Indians. They were conquered by the Iroquois in 1742, when most of them emigrated to the western part of the State. The Moravian Missionaries, who made special efforts to Christianize the Delawares, saw their procession, like a funeral train, pass through Lehigh Gap.

The Wolf tribe was the fiercest and most warlike. They occupied the mountain regions at the headwaters of the Delaware and the Susquehanna Rivers. They held their principal council fires at the Minisink Flats on the banks of the Delaware just where it receives the waters of the Lehigh. Here they had extensive peach orchards.

The Ljnalachtgos lived in the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay. Penn bought his land from the Turtle and Turkey tribes.

The exact boundaries of the different tribes are not known. The Delawares occupied Berks County and the territory north and east. The Shawanese occupied the land along the Susquehanna in the vicinity of Harrisburg. The Conestoga Indians inhabited the land along the Conestoga Creek, extending through Caernarvon in Berks and through a part of Chester County.

There were subdivisions of the various tribes, and these were known by the names of the streams near which they lived. Thus we have the Schuylkill, Sacunk, Manatawny, Tulpehocken and Maxatawnv Indians.

Occasionally tribes or parts of tribes migrated, owing to sickness or war. The Ganawese, who lived along the Potomac, and were reduced in numbers by sickness, by permission of the Governor of Pennsylvania, settled near Tulpehocken. The Conestoga guaranteed the good behavior of the Ganawese during their residence in this section.

The Indians were fine specimens of physical men and women, yet to them the earth seems to have served no higher purpose than to be used as a happy hunting ground, for at no point have they left any definite and lasting impressions.

They were able to endure great hardships.

Their sharp eyes enabled them to find their

l] way through the forest by signs of which the

white men would take no notice. Their chief

occupations were hunting, fishing and fighting,

indian trap. though they also liked to dance and run races.

Some tnings they did. They made pots of clay mixed with powdered mussel shells burned in fire. In these they prepared their food. The trees they burned down, then used them for firewood. Their boats were made of the bark of cedar and birch trees bound together with stout straps of bark. These boats they often carried along when they went on a journey, using them to cross or sail up or down a stream. Boats were also made out of cedar trees of which they burned out the inside, scraping off the coals with sharpened stones or mussel shells.

The men and women dressed in skins and under garments made of wild hemp. Hemp was also made into twine, knit together with the pointed ends of feathers to form blankets. They made their bows as long as themselves ; the bowstrings of the sinews of animals killed in the chase ; and the arrows of reed about five feet long. At one end of this reed they fixed a piece of hard wood into which they made a hole to fit the head of the arrow. The arrow head consisted of flint stone, hard bone, horn or the teeth of large fish.

The head was glued into the end of the arrow so securely that water could not affect it, and at the opposite end they put feathers. In the abandoned corn fields grew hemp from which their ropes, bridles anci nets were made. Pestles about one foot long were used to grind or pound their corn. The first windmills that ground corn surprised them very much.

Their tobacco pipes had stems as long as a man. These pipes and immense bowls were generally given to friends who came to visit them, and were expected to be smoked out before the visit ended. The bowls were made of horn, red, yellow or blue baked clay, or of stone that was so soft that it could be cut and scraped with a hard shell. They also made mats of fine roots and these they painted with all kinds of figures.

The}- painted their faces red. Those who were most famous had their bodies painted also. The men allowed only a tuft of hair to

grow upon the tops of their heads; the rest was pulled out by the roots as soon as it appeared; so they were beardless as well as bald. On theii faces, hands and breasts were figures according to their individual fancies. These were made by pricking the skin with thorns and rubbing the bleeding parts with charcoal. The black of the coal entered the holes made by the thorns and left marks that remained for life.

Upon their feet they wore shoes made of skins tied together with strips of skin. The men often snt their ears and put something into the opening to prevent the parts from growing together, then hung a weight to the lower part so that it hung down the side of the neck like a large ring.

When an Indian killed an enemy he scalped him. This was done by cutting the skin around the head just below the hair, placing the* knee upon the victim's neck and rudely pulling by the hair until the scalp came off. The whole operation was often performed in a minute and was usually fatal, but not always. The scalp was painted red and placed upon a pole as a token of victory. He was

AN INDIAN CHIEF.

considered the greatest warrior who had the greatest number of scalps dangling from his belt.

When traveling or lying in wait for their enemies they made their bread of Indian corn and tobacco juice because they believed

this would satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst when nothing else was at hand. Besides corn, they raised beans and pumpkins.

The}- usually ate but twice

a day, morning and afternoon,

but used no tables or chairs.

Their meats were either broiled,

dried in the sun, or smoked.

Their bread was made of Indian

corn, which they crushed between

two large stones or upon a large

piece of wood. The meal was

moistened with water, made into

small cakes, wrapped in corn

leaves and baked in the ashes.

It was called hominy.

Before the white men came the Indians drank nothing but

water, but after coming into contact with the whites they soon

learned to drink strong liquors, becoming especially fond of rum.

For it they would often exchange their choicest furs or skins.

How they made fire. How they learned the art of making fire is a mystery. Their fire stick consisted of two pieces. The horizontal one was about two or three inches wide and from eighteen inches to two feet long and about one inch thick. The upright piece was usually about two feet long- and about one-half inch in diameter. The horizontal stick was made of soft, dry wood, frequently juniper, and the upright piece of the hardest wood they could find.

To make a fire they placed the horizontal piece upon the ground and placed the hard rounded end of the upright piece upon it. Then

INDIAN CACHE FOR PROVISIONS.

INDIAN KINDLING FIRE.

taking the upright piece between the palms of the hands, or by a method as shown in the illustration, they gave it a swift turning motion and the friction caused heat. The turning of the upright piece wore loose particles of the horizontal piece, and these particles became so hot that they began to smoulder.

As the constant use wore the hole in the horizontal piece deeper and deeper a small nick was cut into it so that the upright stick could work the ignited particles of powder out of the nick upon a piece of punk or some material that would burn rather easily. From this the fire was started by blowing it. Fire was necessary in their northern homes and they no doubt took good care to keep it from going out, since the task of relighting it was not easy.

Wampum was their money. For money they used a kind of bead made of shells, using the white, black or colored parts. These beads were formed into cylinders one-fourth of an inch long and one-fourth of an inch in diameter. A small hole was made through them lengthwise. They were then placed upon strings.

By arranging them properly the belts contained figures and pictures of animals according to the purpose for which they were made. They were used in treaties and served to assist the memory in retaining the conditions agreed upon. These beads were their riches. The peace belts or war belts varied in size according to the importance of the event they were made to commemorate. At times strings of such beads were worn about the neck and wrist for ornaments. They called these collections of beads wampum.

How they lived. Their way of living was very simple. Plenty of fish were in the streams and lakes. In the forest abounded deer, foxes, bears, wild turkeys and other game which they killed with their bows and arrows. They could gather all kinds of berries and wild fruits and when all else failed they could dig up roots and eat them. They did not plan for the future, so they frequently suffered for want of food and very often many of them starved to death. They cultivated the

- CORN DIGGER. ^^ ^ fl s0rt of ^

made from the shoulder blade of a deer or of a tortoise shell which, having been sharpened with stones, was fastened to a stick. They made axes with stones fastened to a stick and these were used to fell the trees where they intended to plant corn.

They seldom had towns or fixed homes, generally living in the part of the country in which they could most easily procure food. In the spring and summer they preferred the banks of the Schuylkill and its branches where they could find plenty of fish. In the winter they went further into the country where the animals were more plentiful.

As very many Indian relics have been found in the neighborhood of Virginville and Poplar Neck, it is evident that their largest settlements in the county were these points. Thousands of Indian relics have been found at these places.

Their movable huts or wigwams were dens of filth and dirt.

They built them by driving stakes into the ground and binding them together at the top, covering them with skins or mud. A bear skin usually served as a door. The fireplace was a hole in the ground, the chimney was a hole in the top.

Their knowledge of the haunts

AN INDIAN WIGWAM.

How they acted in the woods, and habits of animals was astonishing. They could gobble like a wild turkey, whistle like a bird and bark like a wolf so perfectly that they could deceive even these creatures themselves. It was seldom that the keenest animal could escape the Indians' cunning and craftiness.

When not on an extended chase, the Indian would leave at breakfast, and when he returned with a bear or a deer, his wife or squaw, was proud of him and served him well. She cut and brought the fire wood, pounded the corn with stones and baked his bread in the as'hes.

No one was compelled to go to war, but he who was young and able was hated if he refused to do so. He was chief who could reach and hold that place by showing superior heroism, greatest bravery, and the largest number of scalps. They assassinated their enemies but never fought them openly, if they could avoid it. They would

hide in a ravine, lurk in a hole, crouch behind a stone until their enemies would come near enough, when they would spring upon them with a ferocious yell, tomahawk. so piercing and so heart-rending as to

paralyze an ordinary victim. When captured by an enemy, they would allow their bodies to be burned or pierced without leaving a cry of pain escape them, and they would sing their death songs to the end. Their hideous warwhoop was terrible and was almost sure to stun the victim before he was touched.

Indian boys and girls. Indian children were called pappooses. When a child was born it was washed in cold water to harden it. Perm, in one of his letters, said that an Indian child was invariably wrapped in a blanket laid upon a thin board somewhat larger than the child. Then they fastened the board to the child to make him grow straight. Attached to these boards, they were often hung from trees to swing in the air. The children never went to school. The boys learned to hunt in the woods with the men. When they had given proof of their power and skill by having collected a large number of skins of animals they killed, thev were considered fit to be married.

The girls learned the Indian ways ot housekeeping from their mothers. They helped to hoe the ground, to dress the skins, and. to carry the loads for their mothers while

sidered old enough to be married she wore something upon her head to indicate this. She usually covered her face so that she could be seen only when she chose to expose herself. Most girls were married when from thirteen to fourteen years of age.

The women or squaws remained at home when the men went fshing or hunting; they took care of the fields; ground the corn and dressed the skins; and, when the family moved from place to place, they carried the load.

Government and laws. Their king was called Sachem. The line of succession was always on the mother's side. Every king had his council, which consisted of all of the old and wise men of the tribe. Nothing of importance was done without consulting them. In important things the young men were included in the council. In deciding upon war, peace, or selling land, the king sat in the middle of a half moon with the members of his council around him. Behind the old and wise men, at a little distance, sat the young men. It was the Indian custom to talk and consider quite long in their council before they acted. During the time that any one was speaking not a man of the council was observed to whisper or smile. The speakers usually said very little but spoke earnestly and elegantly. Penn said, "He will be a wise man who outwits them in any treaty about a thing they understand."

As they never acquired the art of writing they had no history. The legends and myths of the tribe were handed down from generation to generation by the fathers who sat around the fire in the evening with their families and friends. Again and again would they tell the stories relating to their own deeds of valor in the chase or on the battle-field; over and over would they tell the legends and traditions relating to their own tribe as they learned them from their grandfathers while smoking the pipe.

The aged were always favored by the young who sought their company and advice. In travel the older ones usually went on horseback or by canoe. They assembled annually that the aged might tell to the grandchildren the things that had happened to the tribe and talk of the treaties that had been made.

Religious beliefs and customs. When sick they would pay anything to their medicine men to be cured. If any of them died they were buried with their own clothing, and the nearest relative

26 THE STORY OF BERKS COUKTY

would throw into the grave some valuable thing in token of love. Those in mourning would blacken their faces and keep them so for a year. They selected the choicest places for their graves, kept them free from grass and shaped the ground into mounds with great exactness.

They believed in a great spirit who governed the world and controlled all things in nature. They believed that there would be for all a future life on a happy hunting ground on which all would live, sorrow free, very much as they did in the earthly life. They thought that spirits lived in animals and everything; they peopled the water and the air and the woods with imaginary spirits of which they lived in constant dread.

They worshipped the sun, the moon and the Great Spirit, but they never believed that their future conduct or condition could in any way depend upon their actions of the past. When they wanted the assistance of the Great Spirit very urgently, they often burned or tortured themselves to invoke sympathy. They often prayed for success in any enterprise, even though it was to steal, burn or murder. The Indian acted according to the custom of his tribe and felt no pity in torturing his enemy to death.