The Nanticoke enjoyed the best of native lifestyles. They were proficient farmers. By this time, Eastern Shore Indians were planting corn and beans, and drying them for later use. Women and children cared for lush gardens of corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and tobacco. They gathered nuts, berries, birds’ eggs, and edible plants in season. As they lived close to rivers, in the warmer months they fish. Nets, snares, baskets, and spears were fashioned by the men to harvest the waters bounty. The men hunted in forests and meadows of the Eastern Shore for squirrels, turkeys, deer, opossums, rabbits, bear, partridges, ducks, and geese. Food was roasted over open fires or boiled in clay pots as a stew. Bows, arrows, and spears were used for larger game and snares or traps were set for smaller animals. All parts of the animals and sea creatures were utilized. Shells were used for spoons, bowls, wampum, and ornate decorations. Porcupine quills, furs, skins, sinew, and bones were used for clothing and tool. Native American women of the eastern woodland regions fashioned clothing from animal skins and furs for warmth. Decorations and jewelry were made from shells and quills. Some tribes tattooed or painted their skin using berries. Later, after European contact, eastern tribes traded furs for cooler cotton fabrics called “trade cloth” and decorated them with ribbon strips of fabric, making ribbon shirts and dresses. Moccasins, made of deerskin, served as traditional native footwear, because they were soft and comfortable. In the
