

,Mrr J A K,* xit > del. 



ft?* v J«:"»r*ir *(» >fi«. 



Illustration from Wau-Bun, the "Early Day" in the North-West, by Mrs. John H. Kinzie. Published in 1856. 



Early Records 



of Chicagoland Birds 



Ellen T. Smith 

 Associate, Division of Birds 



Drawings by Marion Pahl 



Three hundred years ago, when Chi- 

 cago was a swamp and the Indians 

 enjoyed the freedom to live as they chose, 

 there was no one in the Great Lakes area 

 to record the wonders of nature or the 

 profusion of wild life. No bird watchers 

 made lists; no scientists studied the birds' 

 habits. But birds were there all the 

 same — most of them living, nesting, and 



migrating as we see them today and en- 

 joy them from various individual points 

 of view. 



The Indians made use of the birds of 

 the region as their ancestors had done. 

 They shot what they needed, and there 

 remained plenty of turkeys, pigeons, 

 grouse, and prairie chickens to breed 

 and supply needed food throughout the 

 year. Feathers were used on the shafts 

 of arrows, on head-dresses, for personal 

 adornment, and for other ornamenta- 

 tion. For example, Indian calumets, or 



ceremonial pipes, were usually decorated 

 by stuffing one end into the neck and 

 head of a bird, most often a loon or a 

 wood duck, and then adding feathers of 

 various colors to the shaft, red denoting 

 a war calumet, green or other colors for 

 peace calumets or those conveying safe 

 conduct. These calumets were smoked 

 on special occasions, or were carried in 

 full view as respected symbols. The head 

 and neck of a loon exhibited in Hall 5 of 

 the Museum could well have been used 

 on a calumet. 



PageS 



