Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGIAM COUNTY

the dance the Indians came in squads from every direction and
pitched their tents in a very different way from that of Barnum's
showmen.
In the forenoon of the first day of the feast two squaws received
all the guns, tomahawks, axes, knives-in fact every implement
of any such character, and carried them into a tamarack swamp
close by where they stacked them up in a hidden place. These
squaws kept themselves aloof from the festivities of the day.
About two o'clock the feast commenced and lasted until dark.
Then the long line of wood was set on fire and the dance, or hop,
jump and whoop began, the Indians chasing one another round and
round the fire, making as great a variety of sounds expressive of
glee as the human tongue can utter. And such antics! I will
not attempt a description, for words fail me. Some that became
weak-kneed from the use of too much fire-water fell down and were
run over by the others before they were able to get up and crawl
away. This continued until the fire burned down and out, when
those that were able went to their wigwams. The next morning
the two squaws that had taken care of the weapons the previous
day delivered them on the dance grounds. Two other squaws
removed them to the swamp again, hiding them in a different place,
and like their predecessors took no part in the play of that day,
which was simply a repetition of the previous one. In a few
days the visiting parties returned to their own hunting grounds,
and the pow wow came to an end."
From the Ingham County News for October 22, 1874. Mason,
Michigan.
"We suppose the greater part of the community, as we were
until a few weeks ago, are ignorant of the fact that a mint manufactory is being carried on quite successfully about two miles north
of this village, on what is known as the Lansing road. There is
such a distillery being carried on by Charles Mead, who moved
into this State from New York about two years ago. Before
coming here he followed the same business of distilling to some
extent. He carries on this business in connection with his farming and makes it quite profitable. He is willing to talk about his
mode of operation and gave us a couple of bottles containing samples of his peppermint and spearmint, which look as clear and