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NATURAL HISTORY
450 million years -- a brief history
The cliffs and caves form
450 million years B.C. (the Ordovician era): The
Michigan Sea teems with ancient life. Over time, the shells of
tiny creatures settle to the bottom, joining sediment brought by
rivers, and forming layers of sand, clay and calcium carbonate.
Over millions of years, pressure, heat and chemical reactions
turn the sedimentary layers to stone. Sand becomes sandstone. Clay
becomes shale. Calcium carbonate becomes limestone.
250 million years B.C.: The Sea retreats and
the Escarpment begins its slow rise from the Earth. A layer of
hard dolostone tops softer layers of limestone, shale and sandstone.
Over millions of years, the softer lower layers eroded, while the
tough upper layer resists, protecting the layer below it.
Over time, glacial ice, weathering and ancient waves shape the
caves and sculpt rocky outcrops along the towering cliffs.
Beyond time -- Natural features and Native spirituality
Ekarenniondi, Oscotarach and the Thunderbird
The deep clefts and the imposing standing stone of the site lent
themselves perfectly to the spiritual beliefs of the native people
who migrated northward to the region before the arrival of the
Europeans. In 1636, the Jesuit Father Jean de Brébeuf recorded
these beliefs in "The Ideas of the Hurons Regarding the Nature
of the Soul, both in this Life and after Death".
The path to the Village of the Souls -- the Afterlife -- was marked
by a rock called Ekarenniondi, which stood in the land of the Petun,
west of the Hurons. And on the same road "before arriving
at the Village, one comes to a Cabin where lives one named Oscotarach,
or 'Pierce-head', who draws the brains out of the heads of the
dead, and keeps them." (The tale might sound gruesome, but
Oscotarach would have been seen as a benevolent helper who removed
the memories from the dead so that they would not recall their
past lives or long for life itself.)
Archaeologist and historian Charles Garrad has extensively studied
the tales and their relationship to the area. "Today, no-one
disputes that the sacred Rock marking the trail to the Village
of the Dead, which is at the same time Ekarenniondi, The Watcher
and Oscotarach, the Head-Piercer, is the rock long so identified
at the Scenic Caves. It is the only rock which meets all the tests
implied in the legends...."
He offers further thoughts to spark the imagination of those visiting
the rock.
"The appearance of the rock varies," he writes. "The
angle and strength of light, the consequent shadows, the position
of the viewer, and the degree of imagination applied, all are factors
in determining what the viewer sees. From one minute to another
the rock may be perceived to be the petrified figure of a sleepy
bear or a tired old man. A 'death's-head' effigy sometimes appears.
From below it may be a bear rearing up, or a watchful owl. Any
of these interpretations would make an acceptable Oscotarach, with
claws, teeth, beak, talons. He faces east, watching for journeying
Souls. With further imagination, the rounded, weathered boulders
strewn at his feet down the talus slope below the Rock look strangely
like human brains...
"There are also many cracks and cavities leading down into
the rock, perceivable as the route to the Underworld below. It
is a place where, in the Ojibwa cosmological view, all Three (Upper,
Middle and Lower) Worlds meet."
Ekarenniondi may also be the source of power of the 17th century
Onditachiae, a Petun shaman famous for being able to control the
weather. Garrad suggests that he would have lived in or near the
village of Ekarenniondi , and might have used the Rock as a vantage
from which to view the weather approaching from the Northwest.
As recently as the early 20th century, the Chippewas of Rama spoke
of a Thunderbird's nest on Blue Mountain . The Thunderbird was
said to be able to control the weather.
Recorded history
Before 1616: As many as 8000 native people live
in nine villages along the Escarpment. The Hurons call them Tionontati
-- the people from the other side of the mountain. The Village
of Ekarenniondi (actually two companion villages) is situated on
the site of Scenic Caves Nature Adventures.
Winter, 1616: Samuel de Champlain visits Ekarenniondi
and other villages of the Petun (or Tobacco People), as the people
are known by the French. The name may have been suggested by the
natives' cultivation of tobacco or, more likely, their extensive
use of it in ceremonies.
c. 1637: The village of Ekarenniondi is relocated
to the ridge above Craigleith.
1639: The Jesuits establish the Mission of St.
Matthieu at Ekarenniondi.
Winter, 1648-1649: The Iroquois League overrun
the Huron. Many Huron take refuge in Petun villages.
December 7, 1649 : The Iroquois
attack the Petun Village of Etharita, and the Huron and Petun survivors
descend on Ekarenniondi.
Spring 1650: The Petun and Huron abandon their
country forever, journeying by canoe up Georgian Bay and westward,
initially to Mackinac Island . These people eventually became known
as the Wyandot, who today reside primarily in Oklahoma ..
Before 1818: After the Petun-Wyandot people
left, the area remained empty for years. At some point, Algonquin
Indian bands occupied the area, until one branch -- the Ojibwa
-- ceded the land to the British Crown in 1818.
Mid 1800s. Settlers begin to carve farms from
the rugged bush in the area, and even before Collingwood's incorporation
in 1858, local people begin to explore the Scenic Caves area. The
main road up the Escarpment crosses the property. A carving of
initials in one of the caves still reads 1850.
Late 1800s and early 1900s: Historians, scholars
and researchers seek the village of Ekarenniondi and the sacred
rock. While some propose locations within the Pretty River Valley
and in Collingwood Harbour , the rock at Scenic Caves is finally
accepted as the site referred to by Brébeuf.
Before 1930: The Scenic Caves property has been
settled and operates as a farm.
1932: Alfred Staples purchases the property.
He builds a cabin, wooden ladders and wooden bridges, and begins
to promote the site as a tourist attraction with guided tours of
the ancient caves. Calling himself the "Man of Nature",
he's a one-man travelling billboard for the Caves. By feats of
daring and endurance -- such as crossing the ice of Nottawasaga
Bay to Christian Island and walking from Collingwood to Chicago
-- he attracts attention and publicizes the Scenic Caves .
1960s: Staples's daughter Sandra takes over
the venture with her husband. During the next 25 years, the McCarthurs
expand the amenities, building the gift shop, providing parking,
and further establish the Caves as an area attraction.
1975: Archaeologist Charles Garrad confirms
the location of the villages of Ekarenniondi at the Scenic Caves
site with a number of excavations, beginning this year.
1993: Rob Thorburn buys the property. He and
his family continue to improve Scenic Caves ' amenities and activities,
gradually transforming it to Scenic Caves Nature Adventures.
2002: The Nordic Centre at Scenic Caves Nature
Adventure opens -- offering 15 km. of beautiful trails for cross
country skiing and snowshoeing.
2003: The Suspension Bridge at Scenic Caves Nature
Adventures welcomes its first visitors.
The future: Much more adventure, including
- An Eco Adventure complete with zip lines,
a canopy walk, magnificent views from rare vantages, and a new
way of looking at the living world around us.
- A Living History Sugar Bush demonstrating
how people tapped this tasty resource through the centuries.
- A Cedar Maze
- Starlight Adventures
- A bigger, better, boisterous Children's Play Area .
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