ther plants. Indians raised crops moderately; they cultivated enough to live off of without exhausting the land. Northern Indians depended on hunting and gathering. During the spring they lived near the river which allowed them to catch fish, whales and seals. Children would catch birds and bird eggs for food. They kept their hunting to a moderation which allowed animal populations to be sustained. They also ate native plants such as strawberries, raspberries, and other wild plants. During the months of October through March Indians moved to the forest where they hunted beaver, moose and deer. They tried to use every part of the animals they hunted; they used the animals' skin as clothing and their bones as tools. Certain tribes had rules on what to do with left over animal parts. They kept population from increasing in the winter by not storing enough food, which caused some Indians to die during the winter. They also set big forest fires during the summer and fall, which in the long run increased nutrients in the soil. An abundance of grass for the animals made the soil warmer and drier, which allowed oak trees to grow. When the colonists arrived everything changed, the land began to be altered. As more and more colonists came to New England they began to see things that no longer existed in their mother country, such as an abundance of trees and unused rich land. The colonists viewed Indians as idiots who did not take advantage of the rich land they had. Colonists tended to promote New England as best as possible in order to increase the amount of colonists who immigrated to the New World. (p.34) This caused over population that forced the colonists to cut down forests in order to make more room for new homes and also to get more supplies of wood to build their homes. The clearing of the forest had consequences; weather conditions that did not damage the land now began to have great affects on it. The clearing of th...
