Young Bear's "discovery"
Since her capture, Young Bear's white relatives continued to look for her, but did not meet her again for fifty-nine years. In 1835 Colonel George Ewing, an Indian trader who did business with the Miami and spoke their language fluently, stayed the night at a log cabin at what was known as Dead Man's village. He spoke with an elderly Miami woman who revealed to him that she was by birth a white woman and remembered her Christian last name, Slocum. Ewing believed Young Bear revealed her identity to him because she appeared to be in poor health and wished to finally reveal a secret she had kept for many years. However, it is more likely that Young Bear had finally decided to reveal her identity because her tribe faced forced removal to Kansas and her white identity might save her family from removal. When Ewing met Young Bear, she was a widow, living with her extended family in a double log cabin. Living with her were her two daughters, Kick-ke-se-quah (Cut Finger), O-shaw-se-quah (Yellow Leaf),Kick-ke-se-quah's husband a metÃs named Jean Baptiste Brouillette, her three grandchildren, and another elderly relative. Deaf Man's village was a cross-cultural meeting place and Young Bear's diverse family was not unique. Living in another cabin in Dead Man's village was an African-American laborer who had assimilated and married into the Miami tribe. Although Dead Man's village was a mix of European and Native culture because of the influential fur trade, Young Bear was thoroughly a member of the Miami tribe. The people of Dead Man's village, including Young Bear, did not speak English and were not Christian. They practiced pluralism, and continued traditions and ceremonies that had not changed much from the century before.
Read more about this topic: Frances Slocum
Famous quotes containing the words young, bear and/or discovery:
“It is misery, you know, unspeakable misery for the man who lives alone and who detests sordid, casual affairs; not old enough to do without women, but not young enough to be able to go and look for one without shame!”
—Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936)
“I conceive that the leading characteristic of the nineteenth century has been the rapid growth of the scientific spirit, the consequent application of scientific methods of investigation to all the problems with which the human mind is occupied, and the correlative rejection of traditional beliefs which have proved their incompetence to bear such investigation.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“The discovery of Pennsylvania’s coal and iron was the deathblow to Allaire. The works were moved to Pennsylvania so hurriedly that for years pianos and the larger pieces of furniture stood in the deserted houses.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)