Cultural History of the Prairie

Cultural History of the Prairie. . Imagine what Ohio's early inhabitants thought when they first gazed across a vast ocean of tall grasses. What did the prairie hold in store for them?, Early Native American tribes, like the Miami, Ottawa and Potawatomi, found the prairie to be a rich supply of food and medicine. Deer, otter, bear, beaver, and even the now extinct woods bison all lived in and around the Ohio prairies. Miami hunters would set fire to the grass around a herd of bison to force them through a narrow channel. Once the animals reached that opening, the braves would be waiting that opening, the braves would be waiting with their bows and arrows., The prairies were also used as medicine for local tribes. The leaves of the wild bergamot, which have a slight mint aroma, were boiled as a cure for pimples and colds. The root of the purple coneflower was used to treat everything from snakebites to distemper in horses. Modern medicine still uses extracts from this plant for treating wounds and sore throats., European settlers first thought the prairies had poor soil due to the lack of trees and the fact that their wooden plows kept breaking in the tough, entangled mass of roots., Cyrus P. Bradley wrote in 1835 that "I shall never forget my ride across those nothing but long grass, horned cattle, gloomy, unhealthy prairies, which produce disease, mosquitoes, and rattlesnakes." existence during the 1840's did settlers Not until the iron plow came into discover that the prairie actually held nutrient-rich soil that was perfect for agriculture.