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

LANSING TOW\NS1III AND) CITY, WITH HISTORY

481

TELLS REMEMBRANCES OF INDIANS IN AND ABOUT
LANSING IN OLD DAYS.
DR. F. N. TURNER, North Lansing.
The Indian bands that visited Lansing, or the northern part of
Ingham county 55 years ago, were few and far between. They
were the remnants of the Pottawatamies, that roamed over southern Michigan 100 years ago.
Those that visited Lansing belonged to Chief Okemos' tribe,
and only consisted of three or four families. Their stay was always
short and their only object was to sell or barter baskets of their
own manufacture, wild berries and furs. If they could not sell
their wares to the local merchants they would try to dispose of
them to the good housewives for flour or garden truck. Sometimes they would have small cakes of dark brown maple sugar
to tempt the children.
These wanderers always calIped near the river on the commons
at the north end of Washingtton Avenue or in the woods just
north of the present residence of Hon. Frank L. Dodge. They
always rode Indian ponies, and used a part of their animals for
pack horses. Occasionally one or two would come by way of
the water route, down the Grand river in canoes from Eaton Rapids. When they left the city their ponies were headed north, or
in a northwesterly direction toward Maple Rapids or the Indian
reservation in Clinton and Ionia counties.
The stories of old settlers and Indian traders, as I can remember
them, were to the effect that Indian tribes north of the Ohio river
always made an annual trip from Ohio and Indiana into southern
Michigan. After wintering in these states they would start in
the spring, come north to fish, hunt duck, geese and pigeons until
they came to a fertile river bottom or flat, that the squaws could
clear of brush and timber. Here they would plant corn and some
other crops, stay until they harvested them, then, after the fall
hunt, go south again. One of these planting grounds was at
Okemos, another at Red Bridge on Cedar river. If anyone
going from Lansing to Williamston will stop before crossing the