Since Midland was not far from where we first encountered Lake Huron in winter, we decided to visit it. I forgot to say that Penetanguishene the name is long and difficult for visitors to pronounce, so it was shortened by half and even the old name of the railway station was Penetang.
Midland is on the road to Penetanguishene.
That is, you need to drive through Midland to get to that city. Therefore, all roads lead to Midland. And although this city on the map is somehow nondescript and seemingly unremarkable. But this is the city with which the history of Huronia is connected. It is located south of the Georgian Bay’s 300 islands and is very economically developed.
Of course, when we went into the Midland Museum and saw those old photographs reflecting the former life of this city, I was very sorry that now there is no railroad to this wonderful place. But once it was the railroad that filled this area with life.
But the history of this place is connected with the history of the Hurons – a local Indian tribe that had a large settlement in this area and a developed economy and was engaged in the extraction of beaver fur, fur and grew corn.
The Huron tribe or otherwise called Wendat lived in this place. Due to diseases, wars and displacements, they migrated and now there are 5000 of them and their reservation is in Quebec. However, for us they left a reminder of themselves in the form of an Indian village, Huron village, which is in the Huron Museum.
I already wrote that we didn’t have to choose the time and weather, we used what we had and were very happy that the museum was open on Monday.
Yes, I want to note that it was in Canada that I fell in love with small towns for their museums.
No other large museum in Toronto has such a colorful exhibit. To see a real store from 1900, to see the design models of ships that sank in Lake Huron, to see the desks at which our great-grandmothers sat – it’s worth coming to the Huron Museum on Monday.
And the winter continued. And the snow fell, as if the gray sky had a hole and could not stop until it poured out all the snow. And there were snowstorms in places both on the road and in the field. But it was all worth it to get to this Huron village. The museum workers opened the door for us and we found ourselves behind a wooden fence in a small cozy settlement, which was all made of wood. In front of us there was a small roofed table made of thin tree branches and a log-hewn table, a half-hut, where people were apparently sitting. Further on there was a hut that went underground – the shaman’s house. The tribe’s shamans did not live in the village, but were in seclusion and came when called. The shaman’s house was half underground – I assume that this was for insulation from the cold and heat. In front of the entrance there were animal skins and some other symbols.
For tourists and visitors, everything is built like this, just so that we can see examples. Opposite the shaman’s house there was something like a wooden table covered with leaves and capes. Under it there was a hole and the remains of firewood. We were told that this was the place where the shaman treated people – they would put the sick person on top and light a fire underneath and fumigate. In our time, I do not know if such rituals exist, but I can confirm that many indigenous people study Indian medicine. Further on there is a large tall wooden house, because of which we came to see this village. The house is unique. It is built of large wooden beams. It has a solid foundation and a semi-oval high roof. That is, the roof arch is high. And when we entered this winter blizzard weather, when we were covered with snow in this dwelling, then all the fuss, all the bad weather remained outside the doors. Inside the house there are two floors. In the middle between rests of the fire – they cooked food and warmed themselves there. On these floors, on wooden crossbars, people slept. Wooden houses are very long and high. And in Indian villages there were up to 50 of them. Sometimes even more. All such villages were necessarily built near water, reservoirs, rivers and lakes. Inside the houses there are beaver skins. And for some reason they made me sad that this served as a source of wars and the death of tribes because at some time in history it became a value and they fought, killed and pursued them. Beaver skins were most prized. Also, when the first settlers came to this peninsula and met these tribes, they saw women dressed in rich fur clothes, in beautifully sewn fur decorations and decorated with gold jewelry. After that, a stream of hunters and traders came here This disrupted the normal life of people. Changed. Changed forever. It is also interesting to note that the Indians exchanged skins for glass beads and iron products for growing corn. When burying the dead, they placed glass beads and iron vessels, shovels, knives next to the deceased. This was considered wealth and honor. There are such glass beads in the jewelry of local tribes. Well, today I want to thank them for the fact that thanks to these tribes, corn was brought to Europe. And to this day, the cultivation of corn is a priority for local residents and their pride. Although corn is a difficult crop to grow, it is multifaceted and good for both livestock farming and food. Its production and cultivation brings profit and helps the circulation of rural producers. Today in Europe it competes with the production of wheat and even surpasses it. The Indians also grew tobacco and were engaged in fishing and hunting. The communities were mostly vegetarians. Only in winter, during the hunting season, did they eat meat. Basically, their food consisted of plant and fish.
In the history of Midland there is a story associated with the name Jean de Brebeuf.
But I won’t write about it today, because we were trying to go to St.Ignace II,but we were unlucky again. There was a very strong snowstorm on the road. The snow was raging. It was getting dark. The cars were driving carefully one after another along the highway. Visibility was impaired. The snow was sticky and thick. We turned onto the road to the area. We drove to the sign. There the road became dangerous as written on the road signs. I still continued driving until it narrowed to one passable car and when entering or entering the place we found a pickup truck that blocked the entrance. It was standing on the road, blocking the passage. There was no one in the car and there was snow around the car. We turned around and drove away, deciding that the trip would need to be repeated in more suitable weather and time.