Black Earth Township Traditional Geocache
Wis Kid: No response from owner. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.
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The Potawatomi are among the wave of Algonquian-speaking people who occupied the Great Lakes region from prehistoric times through the early 1800’s. Oral traditions explain that the ancient Potawatomi people were once part of an immense group that had traveled down the eastern shores of North America along the Atlantic Ocean. This large group, the Chippewa (Ojibwa), Ottawa (Odawa), and the Potawatomi all constituted a single tribe where they later split at Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada and went their separate ways. Through early historic records, it has been confirmed that the Potawatomi were living in Michigan and had established an autonomous tribal identify at least 500 years ago.
By the 1700’s, the Potawatomi were well known to the French on the St. Lawrence River. It is clear that the Potawatomi adapted to their wilderness environment. They mainly traveled Lake Michigan and its tributaries rather than traveling over the land on horseback. Canoes were made from birch-bark and hollowed out logs and could range in length from family-size up to 50 feet to carry several warriors. The lakes and streams around the southern tip of Lake Michigan were full of fish. Much of the fishing was done from pine dugouts or birch-bark canoes. These vessels also were used to hunt the flocks of waterfowl that migrated through the bay region in the autumn. In surrounding forests and nearby prairies, the Potawatomi hunted deer, bears, buffalo, and smaller game. During the winters, many Potawatomi families left the larger villages to establish small hunting camps in unpopulated areas. The vegetables in their diet were relieved with fish and game.
This cache takes you to the site of one such village. I was out bicycling when I came across a small sign that marks the spot where the village called, “The Black Earth,” was located. This village was the site of a Potawatami tribe for several hundred years until displaced by European settlers. Approximately 1000 villagers lived here when the US Army burned the village to the ground in 1862. In 1922 the state historical society performed an archeologic survey, finding 100 gravesites along with pottery and beaded items. Take a look at the flat creek that’s left black rich soil. Notice the flat plateau that’s below the wind line but above the level of the creek. Then imagine that people walked where you are standing almost 400 years ago.
Congratulations on FTF to Benfieldcrew.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zn Xnu Qn Jr Xnu Zvpu Pbp-Nytbadhva sbe zntargvp