They carried their babies strapped to their backs while the older children clung to their mothers, badly frightened.
The men simply stood and looked at their burning village.
A WAMPUM BELT
They were grateful to the other Indian tribe even though it could do nothing to help them.
These two tribes had sealed their friendship by means of a belt of wampum.
Wampum, which was the only kind of money these Indian people knew, was made from various colored shells shaped into beads and strung on deer sinews. Some Indian tribes wore the strings of wampum wound about their necks, while others wove them into strong belts of many colors.
When two tribes wished to seal their friendship they did so by giving a wampum belt.
Mewanee’s father felt very sorry for these Indian people. Indeed they were a very unhappy tribe of Indians. All of their wigwams were burned, and all of their food gone.
As they collected about their chief, he told them that Mewanee’s father had invited them to share his village until they could rebuild their own.