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A Distant View of the Pamunkey Reservation
The Conquest of Virginia
The Forest Primeval
An Account, Based on Original Documents, of the
Indians in that Portion of the Continent
in which was Established the First
English Colony in America
By
Conway Whittle Sams, B.L.
Author of "Sams on Attachment," "Shall Women Vote?" etc.
Member of the Virginia Bar
With Illustrations
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
Ebe Iknicl^erboclier ptees
1916
Copyright, 19 i6
BY
CONWAY WHITTLE SAMS
Ube finicfterbocfter preea, Hew ICorlJ
\
THE MEMORY OF
SIR WALTER RALEIGH
AND
HENRY WRIOTHESLEY, Earl of Southampton,
THE GREAT LEADERS IN THE
MOVEMENT WHICH RESULTED IN
THE FOUNDING OF
VIRGINIA
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED
I
THE VIRGINIANS' INTENTIONS WITH
REGARD TO THE INDIANS
" To teach them moral and physical good, which is
the end of our planting amongst them; to let them know
what virtue and goodness is, and the reward of both;
to teach them religion, and the crown of the righteous;
to acquaint them with grace, that they may participate
with glory; which God grant in mercy unto them.**
William Strachey
PREFACE
THE present volume is the first of a series
on which the author has been engaged for
several years. As the work grew, it be-
came apparent that it would be better to issue
its parts, written originally merely as chapters,
in the form of separate volumes.
Before beginning the narrative of the events
which occurred on this continent when the
English proceeded to take possession of it, it has
seemed proper to view the country itself, the
stage upon which so important a drama was to
be presented, and the race which then occupied
it.
We are enabled to do this with the aid of the
writings of those who lived at that period, and
who participated in these scenes.
The earliest of these writers, and a very im-
portant one, is Thomas Hariot. This man was
well known to Sir Walter Raleigh, who allowed
him a pension for instructing him in mathe-
matics. He was sent over by Sir Walter with the
expedition to Virginia in 1585. He was employed
in connection with the Roanoke Island settle-
ment, under the command of Sir Ralph Lane,
from June, 1585, to June, 1586. He was a man
vii
Vlll
Preface
distinguished for his great talents, excelHng as
he did in many departments of learning. He
was a noted astronomer, and withal a gentleman
of an affable disposition. His work is of endur-
ing value and interest.
Captain George Percy, also cited, was a son
of the Earl of Northumberland. He sailed for
Virginia in the first expedition, 1606. He was
twice Governor of Virginia, first from September,
1609, until the arrival of Gates in May, 16 10;
and again, when appointed by Lord De la Warr
at the time of the latter's departure, in March,
161 1, pending the arrival of Dale in May, 161 2.
Percy was a man of great importance. His
writings are preserved in part in the valuable
compilation made by the Rev. Samuel Purchas.
Captain John Smith's first work, the True
Relation, was followed some years later by his
General History of Virginia, New-England, and
the Summer Isles, which, unless otherwise indi-
cated, is the work herein referred to under his
name. He was a voluminous writer.
High in authority among these early writers
stands William Strachey, of Saffron Walden, in
England, who sailed from Falmouth on June 18,
1609, on one of the ships of the fleet of nine
vessels then sent out by the Company.
In this fleet were persons of the first impor-
tance: Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers,
Captain Christopher Newport, Ralph Hamor,
and others equally well known. The vessel he
was in was wrecked on the Bermudas, and there
Preface ix
he stayed from July, 1609, until May, 16 10,
when he set sail in one of the two vessels built
on the Bermudas by the shipwrecked mariners.
He reached Virginia on the 23 d of that month.
Here for three years he was employed as Secre-
tary of State and one of the Council with Lord De
la Warr, the Lord Governor and Captain General
of the Colony. A good scholar and of an observant
mind, Strachey gathered during this time the
material for his Historie of Travaile into Virginia,
This was composed, as he expresses it, of what
had been "gathered and observed as well by those
who went first thither, as collected" by himself.
Two manuscript copies of this work, with but
little variation between them, are in existence.
One is in the British Museum, Sloane Collection.
In 161 8, it was presented to Lord Bacon. This
copy was published by the Hakluyt Society in
1849. From it our extracts are taken. The
other, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, has
not been published.
Strachey returned to England in 161 1, and
Alexander Brown fixes the time when this treatise
was written between the date of his return and
July 23, 161 2, when Captain Argall sailed for
Virginia.'
Strachey must have returned to Virginia, as
he states that he was "three years thither
employed.'* He was still living in 161 8, then
presumably in England.
He wrote other works, among them an account
"^ Genesis of the United States^ vol. ii., p. 562,
Vlll
Preface
distinguished for his great talents, excelHng as
he did in many departments of learning. He
was a noted astronomer, and withal a gentleman
of an affable disposition. His work is of endur-
ing value and interest.
Captain George Percy, also cited, was a son
of the Earl of Northumberland. He sailed for
Virginia in the first expedition, 1606. He was
twice Governor of Virginia, first from September,
1609, until the arrival of Gates in May, 1610;
and again, when appointed by Lord De la Warr
at the time of the latter's departure, in March,
161 1, pending the arrival of Dale in May, 161 2.
Percy was a man of great importance. His
writings are preserved in part in the valuable
compilation made by the Rev. Samuel Purchas.
Captain John Smith's first work, the True
Relation, was followed some years later by his
General History of Virginia, New-England, and
the Summer Isles, which, unless otherwise indi-
cated, is the work herein referred to under his
name. He was a voluminous writer.
High in authority among these early writers
stands William Strachey, of Saffron Walden, in
England, who sailed from Falmouth on June 18,
1609, on one of the ships of the fleet of nine
vessels then sent out by the Company.
In this fleet were persons of the first impor-
tance: Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers,
Captain Christopher Newport, Ralph Hamor,
and others equally well known. The vessel he
was in was wrecked on the Bermudas, and there
Preface ix
he stayed from July, 1609, until May, 1610,
when he set sail in one of the two vessels built
on the Bermudas by the shipwrecked mariners.
He reached Virginia on the 23 d of that month.
Here for three years he was employed as Secre-
tary of State and one of the Council with Lord De
la Warr, the Lord Governor and Captain General
of the Colony. A good scholar and of an observant
mind, Strachey gathered during this time the
material for his Historie of Travaile into Virginia,
This was composed, as he expresses it, of what
had been "gathered and observed as well by those
who went first thither, as collected'' by himself.
Two manuscript copies of this work, with but
little variation between them, are in existence.
One is in the British Museum, Sloane Collection.
In 161 8, it was presented to Lord Bacon. This
copy was published by the Hakluyt Society in
1849. From it our extracts are taken. The
other, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, has
not been published.
Strachey returned to England in 161 1, and
Alexander Brown fixes the time when this treatise
was written between the date of his return and
July 23, 161 2, when Captain Argall sailed for
Virginia.^
Strachey must have returned to Virginia, as
he states that he was "three years thither
employed.'' He was still living in 161 8, then
presumably in England.
He wrote other works, among them an account
^Genesis of the United States, vol. ii., p. 562,
X Preface
of the wreck on the Bermudas. Alexander
Brown says of him: "We know but little of
Strachey; his command of language seems to
me very striking, and his initials, W. S., are the
most interesting of the period." This tribute
was well deserved, for Strachey is one of the
clearest, most direct, and satisfactory writers of
that period. It is a pity that his fine work
should have lain unpublished so long.
Henry Spelman, who is quoted so often,
writes from a close personal knowledge of the
Indians, having lived among them for some
time. He was the third son of Sir Henry Spel-
man, of Congham, Norfolk, and came over to
Virginia in the same fleet in which Strachey
shipped in 1609. Spelman's ship was the Unity,
It was not wrecked, but reached Virginia safely.
Shortly after his arrival he was carried by Cap-
tain Smith on an expedition to the Falls of the
James. Here, unknown to Spelman, he was
sold to Taux- Powhatan, or, the Little Powhatan,
a son of the great Powhatan. This son was king
of the Indian town of Powhatan. Smith sold
Spelman in exchange for the town, and left
him with the Indians. Smith wanted Captain
William West, a nephew of Lord De la Warr,
to build a town here. But Captain West had
selected another site and a serious dispute arose
in consequence.
After seven or eight days, however, Spelman
managed to return to the ship and sailed to
Jamestown. Hither came, soon after, Thomas
Preface xi
Savage, who was then Hving with Powhatan,
bringing venison from Powhatan to Captain
Percy, then President. Savage desired one of
his fellow-countrymen to go back with him, and
Spelman was selected. Spelman went willingly,
food being scarce at Jamestown. Powhatan
received him kindly, he and Savage sitting
regularly at his table. He was sent back to
Jamestown by Powhatan, to tell the English
that if they would bring to him a ship containing
some copper, he would give corn in exchange.
When in response they came, Powhatan killed
twenty-six or seven of their number.
While these proceedings were taking place,
Powhatan sent Spelman, and a Dutchman
named Samuel, to a town about sixteen miles off,
called Yaw-ta-noo-ne, where they were to wait
for him. Here Spelman seems to have stayed
for some six months. At the expiration of that
period, the King of Potomac came to visit
Powhatan, and showed such kindness to Spel-
man, Savage, and the Dutchman that upon his
departure they decided to go away with him.
They had not traveled far when Savage deserted
them, and going back to Powhatan informed
him of the departure of his companions. Pow-
hatan sent after them, demanding their return.
They refused to comply and proceeded with the
King of Potomac. One of Powhatan's messen-
gers with his tomahawk killed the Dutchman.
Spelman ran off, his pursuers after him, and the
King of Potomac and his men following in turn.
xu
Preface
The last mentioned overtook and subdued
Powhatan's men. Spelman, escaping, made his
way to the Potomac country.
Here he lived a year or more, making his
domicile at a town called Pas-ptan-zie. At the
expiration of that period. Captain Argall, sailing
up the Potomac River, heard that there was an
English boy in the region, and sought for him.
The King of Potomac, hearing of Argall's en-
deavor, sent Spelman to him. Spelman re-
turned from the interview, and conducted the
king to the ship. Then a bargain was struck,
Captain Argall purchasing Spelman from the
king for a stipulated amount of copper.
"Thus," says Spelman, "was I set at liberty
and brought into England."
He returned to England in 1611 with Lord De
la Warr. Later he went back to Virginia, and
was employed by the Colony as an interpreter.
In 1618, he was again in England, but returned
presently to Virginia. In 1619, he was in trouble
with the authorities for speaking disrespectfully
of Governor Yeardley to 0-pe-chan-ca-nough,
and was removed from his office as interpreter.
At the time of the massacre in 1622, he was
trading with the Potomac Indians, and on March
23, 1623, he was killed by the Anacostan Indians,
on the Potomac, at some point near the present
site of Washington. His head was cut off,
and thrown down the bank of the river to his
companions.
His work, a short treatise, was not published
Preface
xui
until 1872, and then only in an edition of one
hundred copies. It is, therefore, very rare.
There is a good deal of difficulty in the style of
its composition, but it has strength and is a
valuable addition to the records of the time in
which he lived.
Ralph Hamor, whose Relation is frequently
mentioned, came to Virginia, like Strachey and
Spelman, in 1609. He remained in Virginia until
June 18, 1614, when he returned to England.
During this period he published his book, which
appeared in London in 1615.
During this stay, the Company presented him
with eight shares, which carried title to eight
hundred acres. This was no doubt in recognition
of his valuable service to the Colony. He was
also a subscriber to the stock of the Company,
and on that account, and by reason of the trans-
portation of other persons to Virginia at his
expense, he must have become entitled to a
large amount of land.
His brother Thomas decided to return to
Virginia with him, and in the spring of 1617 they
jointly set sail.
Ralph Hamor became a person of considerable
importance in the Colony. He was a member
of the Council both under the Company and
under the King — that is, from 1621 to 1628, and
probably later.
His brother Thomas is believed to have died
early in 1624. We do not know the time of the
death of the author.
XIV
Preface
Thomas Glover, described as "an ingenious
chirurgion," who had lived some years in Vir-
ginia, communicated his account, a tract of only
thirty-one pages, to the Royal Society in 1676.
A very limited edition of it was reprinted from
the philosophical transactions of that society,
in 1904.
The Beverley referred to so often is Rob-
ert Beverley, whose entertaining work, The
History and Present State of Virginia, belongs
to a much later period than the above-men-
tioned works, and, unlike the other narratives,
is written "by a Native and Inhabitant of
the Place." It was published in London in
This gentleman belonged to a well-known
family of Middlesex County. He married Ursula,
daughter of the first William Byrd. His father,
Major Robert Beverley, was Clerk of the House
of Burgesses, "noted in the early history of
Virginia as a martyr in the cause of liberty,"
says Bishop Meade. During Bacon's Rebellion
the elder Beverley sided with the King, and
helped to re-establish the authority of Governor
Berkeley. But later he fell under the dire dis-
pleasure of the Governor and others in authority
by refusing to deliver to them copies of the
journal of the House of Burgesses without that
body's consent. All of which arose out of popu-
lar disapproval of the enforcement of the law in
regard to establishing towns in each county, and
other disorders.
Preface xv
The historian himself Hved in King and Queen
County, and there he died.
Though belonging to a much later period than
the writers we have mentioned above, there
were still Indians in Virginia when Beverley
wrote, — few indeed in the eastern part of the
Colony, but the Indian power in the west and
south was as yet unbroken.
In his writing he seems to have followed in
many respects the earlier narrators. His work
is of considerable value. It is well known, and
much of it is evidently original information.
These are the principal writers we rely upon
in the following account. We prefer to repro-
duce their own words, changed, for the conven-
ience and pleasure of the reader, only to the
extent of bringing much of what they wrote
into conformity with the present spelling. No
modern writer can equal in authority, nor sur-
pass in interest, the statements found in the
original records made by the very men who saw
these Virginia Indians, and whose feet trod the
forest primeval in which they dwelt.
C. W. S.
Norfolk, Virginia,
June 28, 1915.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK,
AND THEIR PARTICULAR EDITIONS
Beverley's History and Present State of Virginia, Lon-
don, 1705.
Burk's History of Virginia.
Campbell, Charles, History of Virginia, Philadelphia,
Pa., i860.
Glover, An Account of Virginia, 1676, Oxford Reprint,
1904.
Hakluyt, Early English Voyages to America, Edin-
burgh, 1 89 1.
Hamor's Relation, Reproduction of the London Edi-
tion of 1615.
Hariot's Narrative, London Reprint, 1893.
Hening's Statutes at Large.
Howe's Virginia, its History and Antiquities, Charieston,
1845.
Jones's Present State of Virginia, Sabin's Reprints, No. 5,
New York, 1865.
Keith's History of Virginia.
Kercheval's History of the Valley, Edition of 1850.
Meade's Old Churches and Families of Virginia, Original
Edition, Philadelphia, 1857.
Newport's "Discoveries in Virginia," Printed in the
ArchcBologta Americana, Transactions and Collections
of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. iv., Boston,
i860.
Purchas, His Pilgrims, London Edition of 1625.
Records of the Virginia Company, Publication by the Li-
brary of Congress, 1906.
xviii Bibliography
Smith's True Relation, Annotated by Charles Deane,
Boston, 1866.
Smith's History of Virginia (General History), Rich-
mond Reprint, 1819.
Spelman, Henry, Relation of Virginia, Printed by James
F. Hunnerwell, London, 1872.
Stith's History of Virginia, Sabin's Reprint, New York,
1865.
Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, Printed for
the Hakluyt Society, London, 1849.
Wingfield's Discourse of Virginia, Privately Printed
by Charies Deane, Boston, i860.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGB
I. — Introductory i
II. — The Indian Character ... 25
III. — The Fashion and Domestic Construc-
tion OF Indian Society ... 53
IV. — Marriage 77
V. — Seasons and Festivals ... 84
VI. — Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 91
VII. — Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 109
VIII. — Houses and Towns . . . .128
IX. — The Towns Located
X. — The Falls of the James
XI. — Political Laws and the Art of War 165
XII. — The Priestly Medicine Man .
XIII. — Hus-ka-naw-ing
XIV. — The Embalmed Kings and Funeral
Rites ....
XV. — Burial Mounds
XVI. — Priests and Conjurers
141
161
183
191
198
204
223
XX Contents
CHAPTER
PAGE
XVII.— Religion . . . .
. 238
XVIII. — Powhatan and Wingina .
. 267
XIX. — Some Indian Words .
. 285
XX. — The Tribes and Nations .
• 324
XXI. — Conclusion
. 406
Index
■ 4og
ILLUSTRATIONS
A Distant View of the Pamunkey Reser-
vation ..... Frontispiece
A Wer-6-ance or Great Lord of Virginia .
A Chief Lord of Roanoke
Aged Men of Pom-e-i-ock
An Aged Man in his Winter Garment
The Women Carrying their Children
One of the Chief Ladies of Se-co-ta
A Chief Lady of Pom-e-i-ock
A Couple of Young Women .
Cooking Fish ....
Seething of Meat in Earthen Pots
A Man and his Wife at Dinner .
Dancing at the Great Feast
Manner of Praying . .
Fishing in the Canoe .
Canoe Making and Felling Trees
38
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
74
86
88
94
no
xxii Illustrations
PAGB
Plate i. — Paleolithic Implements from the
District of Columbia . . .112
From the American Anthropologist.
Plate 2. — Paleolithic Implements from the
District of Columbia . . .114
From the American Anthropologist.
Plate 3. — Rude Chipped Implements from the
District of Columbia . . .116
From the American Anthropologist.
Plate 4. — Rude Chipped Implements from the
District of Columbia . . .118
From the American Anthropologist.
Plate 5. — Examples of Fabrics Impressed
UPON Pottery of the Potomac
Valley ...... 120
From the American Anthropologist.
An Indian Town with Cornfield . . .132
The Town of Pom-e-i-ock . . . .135
The Unenclosed Town of Se-co-ta . .137
Map Showing Principal Portion of the Ter-
ritory Ruled by Powhatan . . .142
Map Showing Indian Localities near Roanoke
Island . . . . . . .160
The Burial of the Kings .... 201
The Marietta Mound . . . . .210
The Great Mound, Showing the Observatory
Built on it in 1837 .... 212
Illustrations xxiii
PAGB
Carved Stone Found in the Mound . .216
The Great Mound in 1909 .... 220
A Priest and a Conjurer in their Proper
Habits 232
Their Idol in his Tabernacle . . . 240
The Idol Called Okee, Qui-6c-cos, or Ki-wa-sA 248
The Home of a Pamunkey Indian . . 334
The Conquest of Virginia
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
MANY excellent histories of Virginia have
been written, but the whole story
has never been told, and probably
never will be. It has been the method of the
other writers on this subject to regard the
acquisition of the territory we occupy as a
"Settlement" by the English, a peaceful kind of
settlement, one might infer, and the Indians,
and the troubles with the Indians, have been
made to occupy a comparatively inconspicuous
place in the narrative. Our relations with
England is the theme these writers have pre-
ferred to dwell upon, and but little is said of our
relations with the Indians.
On the other hand, in the series of historical
studies of which this is the initial volume, the
purpose has been to bring out the long and
difficult struggle which our forefathers had in
acquiring this goodly heritage. We have, there-
fore, called the work as a whole The Conquest of
2 The Forest Primeval
Virginia^ for conq.uest it was as truly as that of
Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, Mexico by
Cortes, or Peru by Pizarro.
The conquest on the part of England was com-
plicated by European rivalry. Spain, the great
World-Power of that day, claimed this territory
as her own, and France was equally ambitious to
acquire it. These three great Powers, therefore,
were rival claimants, and England had to deal
with them as well as with the Indians who were
in actual possession. Spain had led the way in
the conquest of the New World, and claimed it
under the discovery of Columbus, and a grant
from the Pope. She had established herself in
the southern part of North America, and called
it Florida. France came behind Spain, but
claimed title to the country on account of the
voyage of Verazzano and by virtue of the tradi-
tions of earlier expeditions. She entered upon
and attempted permanently to appropriate a
portion of this southern land, but she was
forcibly driven out by Spain, and, selecting a
new location for her Colony, went where Euro-
pean opposition was less effective. She founded
her new settlement in the colder regions of the
north, on the great River St. Lawrence, and
called the country Canada. From this beginning
she expanded west and south, and came later
into a long and dreadful conflict with England
and the English Colonies.
With the Spaniards then to the south, and the
French to the north, England, also claiming the
Introductory 3
whole continent on account of the discovery of
Cabot, decided to proceed to take actual posses-
sion of the central part of the continent, and
called it Virginia.
At the time when our history begins, 1584,
Elizabeth was Queen of England, having as-
cended the throne twenty-five years before. She
was a staunch Protestant. Henry III., the son
of Catharine de' Medici, — she who had instigated
the leaders in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, —
was King of France, having reigned already ten
years. Philip II., the most bigoted and perse-
cuting of monarchs, who had dedicated him-
self and the resources of his kingdom to the
extermination of Protestantism, sat absolute
monarch upon the throne of Spain. He had
then reigned for twenty-eight years.
The condition of Europe at this period, and
far into the seventeenth century, was that of one
vast battle-field. From every quarter ascended
to heaven the smoke of burning homes or villages
or cities. On all sides was heard the heavy
tramp of marching troops. The news of each
day was a battle, a conspiracy, or an assassina-
tion. The world was divided against itself on an
issue which seemed to threaten one side or the
other with extermination, as no ground of com-
promise or adjustment seemed possible. This
war involved many countries and took various
names, but one and the same principle was at
issue — freedom of religion. In Germany it was
the Thirty Years' War. In France it was the
4 The Forest Primeval
religious wars between the Catholics and the
Huguenots. In Holland it was the war for in-
dependence from Spain, which lasted eighty
years. In England it involved endless intrigue
and a revolution, and had as its most dramatic
incident and culminating point the defeat and
destruction of the Spanish Armada, which was
sent by Philip II. to overthrow and subjugate
that heretical kingdom, which was, next to
Holland, the great champion of Protestantism.
These long and bloody wars were most dis-
astrous, and are responsible in part for the
prejudice entertained by some to religion itself.
But they were fought by the Protestants for
self-preservation. To have surrendered the
principle of freedom of religion would have
changed the whole course of the world's history.
It was not to be thought of. Self-preservation
in the cause of freedom of religion was, therefore,
the principle for which the Protestant hosts were
contending. The destruction of this freedom,
and the extirpation of all dissent from the doc-
trines of the Church of Rome, was the principle
for which the Catholic Powers were contending.
Many of the incidents characteristic of this
long and terrible struggle are familiar to us all,
but some of them at least should be here briefly
reviewed, in order to understand the political
conditions under which Virginia was founded,
and so properly to appreciate and comprehend
its deep significance and importance. The
founding of Virginia was a movement under-
Introductory 5
taken by England for the extension of Protes-
tantism at the time when the following occur-
rences were taking place. Beginning our list of
events some thirty years before the first move in
that direction was made, we therefore mention : —
The burning alive of Bishops Ridley and
Latimer and other Protestants by Mary, the
Catholic Queen of England, in 1555.
The persecution of the Protestants, which had
gone on under Queen Isabella and Charles V.,
actively undertaken upon a formidable scale by
Phihp II., 1561, with a view to their complete
extermination.
The petition of the Four Hundred nobles
against the Inquisition in the Netherlands, 1565.
The revolt of the Protestants in Scotland, 1565.
The revolt of the Netherlands from Philip II.,
1566.
The war which followed this revolt lasted, as
we have said, eighty years, and covered, there-
fore, the entire period here reviewed. This war,
in which England took part, is one of the most
remarkable struggles recorded in history. It
resulted in the establishment of freedom of
religion and the independence of Holland, but
only after the most appalling losses and heroic
sacrifices. At the head of the Hollanders stood
the majestic figure of the great William the
Silent of Nassau, Prince of Orange, who earned
his sobriquet of "The Silent" by reason of his
course on one occasion when, walking with
Henry II. of France, this monarch, who had
6 The Forest Primeval
on'y recently ascended the throne, unfolded
to him his plans and purposes respecting the
Protestants, whom he had determined utterly to
destroy. Philip II. was to aid him in this plot.
William listened in silence to what Henry had to
say, letting the French King disclose all that was
in his heart, while he dedicated himself to defeat
those plans.
The dispatch of the Duke of Alva of Spain, for
the purpose of subduing the Netherlands, 1567.
The beheading of the Counts Egmont and
Horn, by the Duke of Alva, 1568.
The defeat of Mary, Queen of Scots, in her at-
tempt to conquer Protestant Scotland, 1568.
The defeat of the Huguenots in St. Denis by
the French Catholics, 1568.
The establishment of the Duke of Alva's
"bloody tribunal" at Brussels, 1568.
The rout of the Huguenots at Jarnac; Conde
killed, 1569.
The elevation to the leadership of the Hugue-
nots in 1 57 1 of Henry of Beam, afterwards
Henry IV. of France.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572, in
the course of which 70,000 Protestants were
murdered.
The recognition, in 1572, on the part of the
Northern States of the Netherlands, of William
the Silent as Stadtholder.
The siege of Leyden, 1574, by the armies of
Spain.
The peace of Chastenoy, 1576, granting the
Introductory 7
Protestants free exercise of their religion in all
parts of France, except Paris.
The formation in France, 1576, of the Catholic
League, supported by Philip IL, whose object it
was utterly to destroy the French Protestants.
The superseding of Don Juan by Alexander
Farnese as leader of the Spanish forces in the
Netherlands, in 1578.
The formation of the Union of Utrecht in 1579
by the Seven Provinces under William the Silent
against Philip II.
The declaration on the part of the United
Provinces of Holland of their independence from
Spain, 1581.
Sir Walter Raleigh's first expedition for Vir-
ginia, to establish a Protestant Colony in the
New World, April 27, 1584.
This event took place at the very height of the
long and dreadful struggle. Sir Walter Raleigh,
one of the most interesting figures that has
moved across the stage of history, hated Spain
and what Spain stood for, as Hannibal hated
Rome, and Raleigh's work was in large part
directed toward establishing in the New World a
Protestant Power, as a rival to Catholic Spain and
Catholic France. In the attempt he perished.
Spain regarded him with the deepest hatred as an
intruder on the domains which she claimed as her
own, and because he was an avowed and auda-
cious opponent of her religion, her policies, and
her power. At the hands of James I., whose
influence Sir Walter had sought to extend across
8 'The Forest Primeval
the ocean, but who now wished to make a family
alliance with the Spanish King, who was James's
natural enemy, and at the Spanish King's
instigation, and in deference to the desire of
pleasing that monarch, Raleigh, generally re-
garded as one of the finest types England has
produced, met his death, and the Colony on
which he had lavished his care and wealth came
to naught. But the work which he had been bold
enough to attempt was taken up by others and
carried, with labor and difficulty, and again with
overwhelming loss to those engaged in the enter-
prise, to a finally successful issue.
Many of the most stirring incidents of the
titanic struggle between Catholicism and Pro-
testantism were still hidden in the future when
Sir Walter undertook to plant his Colony.
Virginia was England's bold and determined
effort, participated in and encouraged by Eliza-
beth and, at first, likewise by James I., and by
cities, peers, nobles, members of Parliament,
men of affairs, and representatives of all classes
of English citizens, to claim and hold for England
and for Protestantism a part of the New World
which was in danger of falling entirely into
Catholic hands. Had Catholicism acquired this
domain, such a preponderating influence in the
affairs of the world at large would have been hers
that the aim and dream of Philip II., which were
utterly to exterminate Protestantism from the
face of the earth, might conceivably have been
realized. This was the object dearest to the
Introductory 9
heart of Philip, and it was the intention of
Raleigh, as it had been that of the great
William the Silent, that this object should be
defeated.
Catholicism tolerated no dissent from its be-
liefs. The Moors were conquered and driven
out of Spain, on the ground that they were
heretics. The Jews came in for equal condemna-
tion, and the Protestant Christians were most
hated of all. Holding the doctrine that no faith
was to be kept with heretics, the wars which were
waged against them were of the bloodiest and
most cruel character. Around the struggle which
began with Holland, when Spain, under Charles
V. and his son Philip H., undertook to suppress
all religious dissent from the doctrines of the
Church of Rome, by means of the cruelties and
terrors of the Spanish Inquisition, all the policies
and armed forces of the nations of Europe gradu-
ally revolved, as one after the other was drawn
into the vortex of that mortal struggle.
After Raleigh's ships had sailed for Virginia,
then, in the year 1584, these events were still to
happen: —
The assassination, July 10, 1584, of William
the Silent, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of
Holland, by a tool of Philip II.
This event, one of Earth's great tragedies,
occurred only seventy-four days after the ships
of Raleigh left England on their voyage for
Virginia.
Babington's conspiracy in the cause of Mary
9
10 The Forest Primeval
Queen of Scots to assassinate Elizabeth and
seize her throne, 1586.
The death of Sir PhiHp Sidney at the battle of
Ziitphen, 1586.
The beheading by direction of Elizabeth at
Fotheringay Castle, 1587, of Mary Queen of
Scots, the Catholic pretender to the throne of
England, for complicity in Babington's con-
spiracy.
The appearance in the English Channel on
July 19, 1588, of the Spanish fleet, called the
Invincible Armada, built by Philip II., and dis-
patched, under the command of the Duke of
Medina Sidonia, to conquer Protestant England
and subjugate it to Catholicism. Its defeat and
destruction by Lord Charles Howard, Sir Francis
Drake, and other English commanders. Sir
Walter Raleigh himself took an active part in this
defence.
The breaking out in 1588 of a rebellion in Paris,
at the instigation of Henry, Duke of Guise, the
head of the Catholic party of France.
The assassination of Henry III. of France, and
the ascension to the throne in 1589 of Henry IV.
of France and Navarre, a Protestant, the first of
the House of Bourbon.
The besieging, 1590, by Henry IV., of Paris,
which refuses him admittance because he is a
Protestant.
Henry IV.'s conversion to Catholicism, 1593.
The destruction by Howard, Essex, and
Raleigh of a Spanish fleet at Cadiz, 1596.
Introductory ii
The overthrow of the Roman CathoHc League
by Henry IV. of France, 1596.
The demise of PhiHp II., September 13, 1598,
and his succession by his son PhiHp III., who was
the persistent enemy of the Virginia Colony at
Jamestown, as his father had been of the one
attempted by Sir Walter Raleigh at Roanoke
Island.
The establishment through Henry IV. of
liberty of conscience and religion for the Protes-
tants by the issuance of the celebrated Edict of
Nantes, 1599.
The expulsion of the Jesuits from England by
proclamation of James I., 1604.
The concocting by Catholics of the Gunpowder
Plot designed to throw the English Government
into confusion. It was to have been accom-
plished by springing a mine under the House of
Parliament and destroying at the same time the
three estates of the realm, — the King, the House
of Lords, and the Commons. Guy Fawkes was
detected on November 5, 1605, in the vaults
under the House of Lords, preparing the train for
exploding the mine the next day.
The foundation of Quebec by the French
Catholics, 1605.
The requirement in England of oaths of alle-
giance recognizing only the Protestant succession
to the Crown, 1606.
The departure from London, December 19,
1606, for the purpose of founding a Colony in
Virginia, of the Sarah Constant, the Goodspeed, and
12 The Forest Primeval
the Discovery, owned by the Virginia Company,
which had succeeded to the claims of Sir Walter
Raleigh. These ships landed at Cape Henry
on the 26th of April, 1607, and on May 13 th,
founded Jamestown, or James City, as it was at
first called, the first permanent English settle-
ment in the New World.
The assassination. May 14, 1610, of Henry
IV. of France, the great supporter of the Protes-
tants.
The succession to the throne of Sweden in
161 1 of Gustavus Adolphus, destined to become
the great champion of Protestantism.
War in Germany between the two parties, the
Evangelic Union under Frederick, Elector Pala-
tine, and the Catholic League, under the Duke
of Bavaria, 1618.
The execution, on October 29, 161 8, of Sir
Walter Raleigh, then in the sixty-fifth year of his
age, by James I. of England, to please Philip
ni. of Spain.
The beginning in 161 8 of the Thirty Years'
War between the Protestants and Catholics,
involving the States of Central Europe.
The battle of Prague, 1620, resulting in the
total defeat and ruin of the cause of the Protes-
tants in Bohemia, and the loss of his crown by
Frederick V., the son-in-law of King James I.
of England.
The driving from Bohemia into exile in 1620
of the Protestants at the instigation of Ferdi-
nand n.
Introductory 13
The settlement of New England, at Plymouth,
December 21, 1620.
The death in March, 1621, of Philip III. of
Spain, and his succession by his son Philip IV.,
who continued the religious war with Holland.
The overthrow by King James I., June 26,
1624, of the Virginia Company which had estab-
lished the Colony.
The death on March 27, 1625, of King James
L, and his succession by his son Charles I., who
married Henrietta Maria, daughter of the great
Henry IV. of France.
The defeat by Tilly, who had been commander
of the Catholic League, of Christian IV., King
of Denmark and Norway, and leader of the
Protestants, at the battle of Lutter, August 27,
1626.
The choosing in 1629 of Christian IV. as head
of the Protestant League.
The inauguration of the career of Gustavus
Adolphus, the great champion of Protestantism,
by the conquest of Pomerania, 1630.
The capture and sack of Magdeburg by Tilly,
May 16, 163 1.
The defeat of Tilly by Gustavus Adolphus at
the battle of Leipsic, September 17, 163 1.
The mortal wounding of Tilly, in contest with
Gustavus Adolphus, near the Lech, April 15,
1632.
The defeat by Gustavus Adolphus, in alliance
with Charles I. of England, of Wallenstein at
the battle of Liitzen, and the death of Gustavus
14 The Forest Primeval
Adolphus in the moment of victory, November
i6, 1632.
The founding of Maryland by Lord Baltimore,
a Catholic, 1632.
The assassination of Wallenstein by his officers,
February 25, 1634.
The Peace of Prague between the Protestant
German Princes and the CathoHc Emperor, 1634.
The formation, 1635, under the leadership of
Richelieu, of an alliance between France and
Sweden against the two great Catholic states,
Spain and Austria.
The death on February 15, 1637, of the
Emperor Ferdinand II. of Germany, the great
persecutor of the Protestants, and his succession
by his son, Ferdinand III.
The hatching of a conspiracy by the Irish
Catholics to expel the English and massacre the
Protestant settlers in Ulster to the number of
forty thousand, commenced on St. Ignatius' day,
October 23, 1641.
The defeat by the Swedes of the Austrians at
Leipsic, 1642.
The death of Louis XIII., May 14, 1643, and
his succession by his son Louis XIV., then an
infant. Cardinal Mazarin controlling the affairs
of France.
The soliciting by the Protestant Princes of
Germany, oppressed by the House of Austria,
of the aid of Sweden, 1648, resulting in the
Treaty of Westphalia, signed on October 24, 1648.
This famous treaty, which included all the
Introductory 15
great and nearly all the minor Powers of Europe,
established the general condition of Europe for
one hundred and fifty years, and concludes this
list of the leading events which marked the
period just before and during the time of the
settlement of the Colony of Virginia by England.
By this treaty the Protestants in Germany
were protected in their freedom of religion nearly
to the same extent to which they had enjoyed
religious toleration under Maximilian II. The
Pope protested against this toleration, but his
protest was disregarded.
In France the Protestants were still protected
by the Edict of Nantes, established by Henry
IV., but which was to be revoked by Louis XIV.
in 1685, as a result of which fifty thousand fami-
lies were driven from his kingdom, many of
whom came to Virginia.
Religious persecution and strife was, therefore,
by no means ended even with the establishment
of the Treaty of Westphalia.
The condensed summary of events above re-
produced shows the state of Europe when
Raleigh, and after him, the Virginia Company,
undertook to plant an English Protestant Colony
on the western shore of the Atlantic.
This Colony was, therefore, the outpost of
Protestantism, braving not only the ocean and
the savage inhabitants of a vast and unknown
continent, but braving the two great rival
Catholic Powers of Europe, Spain and France.
A wide and deep distinction exists in this re-
1 6 The Forest Primeval.
spect between the Virginia Settlement and the
Massachusetts Settlement. The Jamestown
Settlement was in harmony with, and an exten-
sion of, the national aims and aspirations and
with the Orthodox Church of England, having no
grievance against the mother country, but loving
her, and seeking to extend her ideas and her power
to another continent, which was to be held by
and for Old England.
The Plymouth Settlement represented only a
fraction of the English nation. Puritanism was
obnoxious to the English Government. King
James I. hated the Puritans as much as Philip
II. and Ferdinand II. abhorred the Protestants,
and determined to suppress them. The founders
of the Plymouth Colony, having with difficulty
left England, on account of persecution, had gone
to Amsterdam in Holland a year before the
twelve years' truce of the war between Holland
and Spain was signed. Here they hoped to find
refuge and a toleration not granted them in
England, with whose Established Church they
were at variance on account of its adherence to
certain features of the worship which they
thought partook of the Roman ceremonial.
After one year's stay at Amsterdam, they re-
moved to Leyden. Here they lived ten years
in peace and security.
For various reasons they decided to go else-
where. They first thought of lands beneath the
equator. New Amsterdam (New York) next
loomed as a possible home. Then they applied
Introductory 17
to the Virginia Company for a patent, which they
could have obtained. On applying to King
James I. for a guarantee of religious liberty in
Virginia, to be given under his seal, the King
refused. They understood, however, that the
King would not molest them if they conducted
themselves peaceably. On the strength of this
understanding, they decided to go.
From Delftshaven in Holland, these people,
known in later years as the Pilgrim Fathers of
New England, sailed in the Speedwell for England.
They joined others at Southampton, and in the
Mayflower sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts.
These Pilgrim Fathers did not found the
United States of America. South of them, at
Jamestown, Virginia, another Colony, more
truly representative of the ideas of England, their
common mother country, had been established
for thirteen years before the Mayjiower began her
journey. In this older Colony representative
government had already been established and
Protestantism planted in the New World.
But for the existence in that part of the world
of this older Colony, America might not have
been selected by these people for their settle-
ment. They did not have to leave Holland.
They were protected there. That they could not
accommodate themselves to the form of Protes-
tantism approved by England made them desire
to separate themselves from England. This was
no more heroic than the action of the other men
of their kindred, who, having no grievance at
i8 The Forest Primeval
home, carried the banner of their beloved country
and its religion and laws voluntarily into the
wilderness, to extend its power and influence in
the world at large, and, by resisting Catholicism
successfully in another continent, prevent the
total destruction of all the forms of Protestantism,
Puritanism among them.
The Virginia Settlement was, therefore, a
larger, more significant, and nobler movement
than that of the Plymouth Settlement. It was
the great national struggle of the whole of
England, while the Plymouth Settlement was
that of a part which was out of harmony with
the whole.
Real religious freedom was nowhere. The
Catholics did not tolerate the Protestants, which
fact was the beginning and cause of all the sub-
sequent trouble. Virginia did not tolerate the
Catholics, and was founded with the intention of
prohibiting any of them from coming to this
country. New England had no idea of tolera-
tion, and persecuted those who dissented from
her.
Maryland, encroaching upon Virginia, and led
by members of the weaker party in England
did declare for toleration, but this toleration was
obligatory under the terms of the charter granted
to Lord Baltimore, a Catholic. This was no
doubt prompted by the desire to prevent that
Colony from oppressing the Protestants — the
leaders and founders of the Colony being
Catholics.
Introductory 19
The founding of Virginia was not the work of
a single man, nor of a group of men, nor was
it indeed in any sense a private undertaking.
Virginia was founded by England, and the man
at the head of the movement was no less a
personage than the King of England. James,
by the grace of God, King of England, Scot-
land, and Ireland, Defender of the faith, etc.,
was the director and the guiding hand of the
movement, though not its immediate originator.
The actual work was undertaken by others, but
they were acting under his immediate instruc-
tions both on sea and land. The form of the
charter under which they were acting was that of
a permission to locate and establish a colony in
Virginia, the transaction thus having a private
character to the extent of enabling the King to
disclaim it at any time if he so saw fit, in order
to avoid international complications if they
should arise, especially with Spain, the national
enemy, but with whom England was then at
peace.
The fleet which was to carry over the settlers
was placed under the sole command of Captain
Christopher Newport. The King made elabo-
rate provisions for conducting the affairs of
the Colony. He put his instructions in writing,
delivered them, duly signed and sealed, and
fastened up in a box, to Captain Newport,
Bartholomew Gosnold, and John Ratcliff. This
box, kept tightly closed during the voyage, was
not to be opened until within twenty-four hours
20 The Forest Primeval
after they had reached Virginia. These instruc-
tions contained a large amount of practical
advice, the combined experience of other coloni-
zation enterprises, and worked out a general
scheme of colonial government. It is believed
that the King did not allow the box to be opened
until the destined land was reached, in order to
prevent any conflict of authority arising between
the commander at sea and the commander who
would be chosen for the land. Thus the settlers
did not know who their rulers in the New World
were to be until the night following the day of
their arrival. Then they opened this mysterious
box and learned for the first time that by the
King's appointment they were to be ruled by
''His Majesties Council for the first Colony in
Virginia,'' and that this Council was to be
composed of Captain Edward-Maria Wingfield,
Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, Captain John
Smith, Captain Christopher Newport, Captain
John Ratcliff, Captain John Martin, and Captain
George Kendall. Captain John Smith was at
the time under arrest, on account of a mutiny
which had occurred during the voyage, and was
not allowed at first to serve. He was kept in
confinement in all for thirteen weeks, and was
not released until June, after the settlement at
Jamestown had been begun. The other men de-
signated selected Captain Wingfield as president.
The movements of the colonists after their
landing were largely regulated by instructions
given to them by the Council in England, which.
Introductory 21
having been also appointed by the King, of
course, represented his authority.
The beginning of this movement under the
first Charter, that granted on April 10, 1606,
was, therefore, under the royal authority, and
this period of the settlement has now come to
be understood as the period of the King's
Government. It was not eminently successful,
and a revolution took place when, in 1609, a
new Charter was granted, the Company reorgan-
ized, and power vested more fully in the hands
of the London Company, as we call it, with a
vast accession of territory covered by its new
grant. For fifteen years this Company carried
on patriotically the movement under that and
still a third Charter, further enlarging its scope.
At the close of this decade and a half, the Com-
pany was finally overthrown by the same King
James L, who, by a Quo Warranto proceeding,
revoked these charters on June 26, 1624, and
resumed the government of the Colony, which
then continued under the jurisdiction of the
Crown until the Revolution.
The undertaking was too great for any in-
dividual, or set of individuals. The King's first
Government or Company did not succeed. The
London Company depleted its treasury in the
attempt, and met with even greater losses than
Raleigh himself had suffered. This work was
governmental in its conception, continental in
scope, and hazardous in execution. It required
the resources of an established government to
22 The Forest Primeval
bear such burdens, and to carry to a successful
issue so gigantic an undertaking, and it was the
estabhshed government of England which began,
and which finally accomplished, the colonization
of Virginia.
The founders of the Colony have suffered a
slight injury due to the change in the meaning
of a word. Two classes of persons who aided in
this great enterprise were called "adventurers."
This word has in the course of three hundred
years acquired a meaning different from what it
bore at the time of the founding of Virginia. A
more or less bad signification now attaches to
the word adventurer, and a still worse to the
feminine form — adventuress. No such meaning
applied in 1607. The two kinds of adventurers
then spoken of were: those who adventured their
money in the enterprise, whom we would now
call investors; and those who went further, and
adventured their persons, these we would now
call colonists or immigrants. The idea under-
lying its use in both cases was that in the first
instance one risked his means in furtherance of
the enterprise, and the latter that he risked his
life. The men of that day would have been
amazed if they had been told that by the use
of the well-known and deeply significant word
adventurer, any deduction would in the future
be drawn that they were of such a class as we now
think of when we call persons "adventurers."
The patriotic gentlemen, men of affairs, members
of Parliament, nobles, peers, and great municipal
Introductory 23
corporations who subscribed to the stock of this
company would surely have laughed at being
called "adventurers" in the modern meaning of
the word.
The religious principles which characterized
the movement at its inception were steadily
adhered to for many years thereafter. The
colonists came over with fixed convictions
and a settled policy as to the government of both
State and Church.
As civil government extended, pari passu
ecclesiastical government extended. Over every
square mile under the jurisdiction of the county
court, the jurisdiction of some parish, equally
as vigorous and well defined, also extended.
Scattered all over Virginia were parish churches,
chapels of ease, and glebes of ministers. Roman
Catholics for a long time were not allowed in the
Colony. Lord Baltimore himself was driven out
on this ground.
This ecclesiastical polity of Virginia, as to its
adherence to the Church of England and its
parish system, continued in full vigor down
to the Revolution.
What made Virginia so much respected by the
other colonies, by the mother-country, and by
her own sons was the character of her leading
people, her orderly governmental construction,
and the principles for which she stood. Aristo-
cratic in all social matters, well governed by the
members of its aristocracy, who filled all public
offices, and sincerely attached to the Church of
24 The Forest Primeval
England, Virginia, during the Colonial period,
presented to an admiring world a well governed,
vigorous Colony, loyal to the Crown and loyal
to the Church.
CHAPTER II
THE INDIAN CHARACTER
ANTHROPOLOGISTS, in studying the
early races of mankind, and characteriz-
ing the ages in which they lived by the
implements they used, have called one the Stone
Age. This they divide into two principal periods;
the first, the rudest and least developed, when
their stone implements were only chipped and
rough, they call the paleolithic or ancient Stone
Age. Then came an advance upon this stage,
when the men using the stone implements were
able to make them smooth. This age they call
the neolithic, or new — that is, the more recent
Stone Age. To this latter period belonged the
Indians living in Virginia at the time of the
Conquest.
Viewed from the standpoint of their develop-
ment, being cultivators of the soil, they are
classed as barbarous. West of the Rocky
Mountains, stretching north into Canada and
covering Alaska, were Indians who lived only
by hunting and fishing, and so are classed as
savage. To the south, in Mexico and Central
America, were other Indians who, possessing
25
26 The Forest Primeval
some of the arts and sciences, are classed as
half-civilized.
Viewed generically, the Virginia Indians were
a part of the great Algonquin stock, whose
branches covered a large portion of the continent
east of the Mississippi, and reached up into the
eastern part of Canada. Of this race were
the Powhatans, the Shawnees, the Delawares, the
Illinois, the Miamis, the Kickapoos, the Potta-
watomies, the Ottawas, the Sacs and Foxes, the
Chippewas, the Objibwas, the Mohegans, the
Pequots, the Narragansetts, the Wampanoags,
the Tarratines, the Abenakis, and a host of
others.
As a little island in this sea of Algonquinism
were the Winnebagos, on the western shore of
Lake Michigan, and, as a very large island,
the Iroquois, stretching from Lake Huron to the
Hudson, and comprehending the Hurons, the
Eries, the Six Nations — that is, the Senecas,
the Cayugas, the Onondagas, the Oneidas, the
Mohawks, and the Susquehannocks.
To the south of the Algonquins, whose line
roughly corresponded to that dividing Virginia
from North Carolina, lay a branch of the Iroquois
comprised of the Cherokees and the Tuscaroras.
They occupied, however, only a part of this
southern boundary.
South, southeast, and southwest of these,
stretching down to the end of Florida, were the
Maskoki, or MobiHans, comprising the Catawbas
and the Yemassees ; in North Carolina and South
The Indian Character 27
Carolina, the Chickasaws and Choctaws; on the
Mississippi, with a small territory of the Natchez
Indians between them, the Creeks in Georgia,
and the Seminoles in Florida.
All of these nations were subject to many-
subdivisions of tribes.
It was with some of the tribes of the Catawbas
that the Roanoke Island settlers had to deal, as
it was with the Powhatans that the Jamestown
settlers were brought into conflict.
Although grouped under one general name the
various nations or tribes included under it were
by no means therefore friends or allies. They
were often bitter enemies. Examples of this
abound in all the records of those times. To
such an extent was this true, that if the Indians
had not been conquered by the white man, they
were still in danger of being exterminated by
each other.
Of all the things in the forest in which the
Virginia Indians lived, that which seems to have
first attracted the attention of the early writers
was the grapevines. Captain Barlow, in his
account of the first voyage made on behalf
of Sir Walter Raleigh, mentions them. They
climbed to the tops of high cedars, they abounded
on the sand and on the green soil, on the hills,
in the plains, on every little shrub. They spread
their leafy, Briarean arms into the very sea itself.
Glover tells of this same profusion, and says that
they twined about the oaks and poplars, and
28 The Forest Primeval
ran to the tops of these stately monarchs of the
forest.
Other trees which were important and
characteristic were the pine, walnut, cypress,
juniper, ash, elm, gum, locust, maple, willow,
magnolia, mimosa, honeypod, horse-chestnut,
chestnut, beech, holly, hickory, sycamore, and
the live oak; with the dogwood, sassafras, and
chinkapin of the size of large bushes. The pines
rose often to a majestic height, and many of the
others were equally imposing with their centuries
of growth behind them.
This forest was inhabited not only by Indians,
but by wolves, in such numbers that it took many
years to exterminate them, deer, bears, wild
cats, raccoons, possums, flying-squirrels, rabbits,
squirrels, beavers, otters, rattlesnakes, moccasins,
long black snakes, and short and thick black
snakes, which also abounded there, and in the
fields were the corn-snakes.
There were also eagles, hawks, cormorants,
fish-hawks, turkey-buzzards, owls, crows, wild
turkeys, pheasants, partridges, turtle-doves,
pigeons, mocking-birds, redbirds, blackbirds,
blue-birds, blue-jays, robins, cedar-birds, cat-
birds, and humming-birds.
On the marshes were marsh-hens, snipe, yellow
shanks, and cranes.
On the water, in season, were wild ducks,
brant, geese, and swan, in flocks which were
innumerable.
In the water were sharks, porpoises, turtles.
The Indian Character 29
stingrays, toad-fishes, sheepsheads, drums, stur-
geons, perches, croakers, tailors, trout, spots,
eels, crabs, and great shoals of mussels and
oysters.
Gnats, flies, and mosquitoes were also there.
Such, in the rudest outline merely, were the
flora and fauna of the country inhabited by such
of the Virginia Indians as were first seen by the
white man. It was a flat country, only a few feet
above the level of the sea. It abounded in
watercourses. The great Atlantic itself washed
its low-lying, sandy shore; in part it was inter-
sected by the great Chesapeake Bay, and further
cut to pieces by broad sounds, majestic rivers,
and vast arms of the sea. Its prairie-like
stretches of marsh often formed a characteristic
feature of the landscape.
The race of people which lived here was
strongly marked, and possessed a perfectly well
defined government. They were of a warlike
character, blood-thirsty and cruel. They had
been stationary, so far as progress in the arts is
concerned, from aboriginal times, apparently,
and have left us no works by which we can
remember them; not a ruin, except some scat-
tered burial-mounds, not a road, scarcely a visible
vestige of thepa remains in this part of the world
to tell the. present generation that another, a
vanished, rather than a conquered, race once
dwelt upon the soil we occupy. They have,
however, one set of monuments still left, which
f
30 The Forest Primeval
will probably defy the erosion of time — a few of
their words still live in the names of streams,
lakes, places, and counties. These have been
accepted, and so perpetuated, by the destroyers
of the race which gave them.
Still, we know these people fairly well, and
some of their leading characters, existing at the
time of the invasion, stand out boldly upon the
pages of history. The three principal invaders
of America — the Spaniards, the French, and the
English, — each pursued, as to the natives, a
different and a characteristic policy. The Span-
iards proceeded at once to crush, exterminate,
annihilate them. The French, with adroitness,
and a deeply laid policy, courted them, studied
them, entered into alliances with them, plunged
into their politics, and fought side by side with
them in their battles. The English, without
carrying their diplomacy so far as did the French,
yet entered into many treaties with them, which
extended in importance as the Colony stretched
farther and farther into the west, and came into
contact with larger nations, and involved also
other colonies. While a great deal of the for-
ward movement was by force of arms, an equal
amount at least was due to these negotiations
and treaties. Like the French, Virginia, in the
course of its history, had many treaties of
friendship and alliance with Indian tribes and
nations.
The Indians were in possession of the country
when the white man came, and they had not
The Indian Character 31
invited him to come over and take their country
from them. The natural relation of the two
races was, therefore, one of enmity, which must
have been accentuated, on the part of the savage,
by the visible superiority and the irresistible
encroachments of the invader, and on the part
of the English, by the barbarous habits and
savage surroundings of the Indian.
War with these people was therefore inevitable,
although we would gladly have avoided it.
Indeed the conversion of the Indians to Chris-
tianity was one of the reasons for making the
settlement, although a subordinate one. That
settlement had to be made, peaceably, if possible,
but still it had to be made. There were the
Indians. With no desire to make war upon them
nor to exterminate them, but rather with a sin-
cere intention of improving them, the English
came. But they came prepared to defend them-
selves. They brought cannon with them.
Let us now see what kind of a race of bar-
barians it was which our English ancestors, men
who in many cases were fresh from fighting the
well trained Spaniards in the great war then
still going on in the highly cultivated Nether-
lands, were now called upon to confront in the
tangled forests of the New World.
Strachey thus describes their color and features :
"They are generally of a color brown or rather
tawny, which they cast themselves into with a
kind of arsenick stone, like red patise or orpi-
32 The Forest Primeval
ment/ or rather red tempered ointments of earth
and the juice of certains crused^ roots, when they
come unto certain years, and this they do (keep-
ing themselves still so smudged and besmeered)
either for the custom of the country, or the
better to defend them (since they go most what
naked) from the stinging of musquitoes, kinds of
flies or biting gnats, such as the Greeks called
scynipes, as yet in great swarms within the
Arches,^ and which here breed abundantly
amongst the marish-whorts^ and fen-berries,^ and
of the same hue are their women ; howbeit, it is
supposed neither of them naturally born so
discolored; for Captain Smith (living sometimes
amongst them) affirmeth how they are from the
womb indifferent white, but as the men, so do
the women, dye and disguise themselves into
this tawny color, esteeming it the best beauty
to be nearest such a kind of murrey^ as a sodden^
quince is of (to liken it to the nearest color I can)
for which they daily anoint both face and bodies
all over with such a kind of fucus^ or unguent as
can cast them into that stain; after their
anointing (which is daily) they dry in the sun,
and thereby make their skins (besides the color)
more black and spotted, which the sun kissing
oft and hard, adds to their painting the more
rough and rugged.
"Their heads and shoulders they paint often-
* The trisulphide of arsenic. ' Crushed.
3 The sailors' term for the Archipelago. " The cranberry.
« Another name or kind of cranberry. ^ Mulberry. ^ Boiled.
* Latin, a red dye, generally understood for alkanet, or rouge.
The Indian Character 33
est, and those red, with the root pochone," brayed^
to powder, mixed with oil of the walnut or bear's
grease; this they hold in summer doth check the
heat, and in winter arms them in some measure
against the cold. Many other forms of paintings
they use; but he is the most gallant who is the
most monstrous and ugly to behold.
"Their hair is black, grosse, long, and thick ; the
men have no beards; their noses are broad, flat,
and full at the end,great big lips, and wide mouths,
yet nothing so unsightly as the Moors ; they are
generally tall of stature, and straight, of comely
proportion, and the women have handsome limbs,
slender arms, and pretty hands, and when they
sing they have a pleasant tange^ in their voices. ""^
"The men are very strong, of able bodies, and
full of agility, accustoming themselves to endure
hardness, to lie in the woods, under a tree, by a
small fire, in the worst of winter, in frost and
snow, or in the weeds and grass, as in ambuscado,
to accomplish their purposes in the summer. ' ^
"The people diff^er very much in stature,
especially in language. Some being very great
as the Sus-que-han-nocks; others very little, as
the Wigh-co-com-o-coes ; but generally tall and
straight, of a comely proportion, and of a color
brown, when they are of an age, but they are
born white. Their hair is generally black, but
few have any beards. The men wear half their
beards shaven, the other half long; for barbers
» Puccoon ; the bloodroot. ' Beaten. 3 Tone.
* Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 63 " s Ibid., p. 68.
3
34 The Forest Primeval
they use their women, who with two shells
will grate away the hair, of any fashion they
please. The women's are cut in many fashions,
agreeable to their years, but ever some part
remaineth long. "
"They are inconstant in everything, but what
fear constraineth them to keep. Crafty, tim-
orous, quick of apprehension and very ingenious.
Some are of disposition fearful, some bold, most
cautious, all savage. Generally covetous of
copper, beads, and such like trash. They are
soon moved to anger, and so malicious, that they
seldom forget an injury; they seldom steal one
from another, lest their conjurers should reveal
it, and so they be pursued and punished.
"Their women are careful not to be sus-
pected of dishonesty without the leave of their
husbands.'
"They are treacherous, suspicious and jealous,
difficult to be persuaded or imposed upon, and
very sharp, hard in dealing, and ingenious in
their way, and in things that they naturally
know, or have been taught; though at first they
are very obstinate, and unwilling to apprehend
or learn novelties, and seem stupid and silly
to strangers.
"An instance of their resolute stupidity and
obstinacy in receiving a new custom, I have
seen in the prodigious trouble of bringing them to
sell their skins, and buy gunpowder by weight;
for they could not apprehend the power and jus-
* Smith's General History of Virginia f vol. i, p. 129 et seq.
The Indian Character 35
tice of the stiliiard'; but with the scales at length
they apprehended it tolerably well; though at
first they insisted upon as much gunpowder as
the skin weighed, which was much more than
their demand in measure.
"They have tolerably good notions of natural
justice, equity, honor and honesty,' to the rules
whereof the great men strictly adhere; but their
common people will lie, cheat and steal.
"An instance of their resolutions for satisfac-
tion, we have in the death of Major Wynne, who
was shot by an Indian, because one of our ser-
vants had killed one of their great men ; and upon
the trial of the Indian, they pleaded that we were
the aggressors, and that they never rest without
revenge and reprisals; and that now they said
we and they were equal, having each lost a great
man: wherefore, to avoid more bloodshed, there
was a necessity to pardon the Indian."^
Beverley says: "The Indians are of the mid-
dling and largest stature of the English. They
are straight and well proportioned, having the
cleanest and most exact limbs in the world.
They are so perfect in their outward frame, that
I never heard of one single Indian, that was either
dwarfish, crooked, bandy-legged, or otherwise
misshapen. But if they have any such practice
among them, as the Romans had, of exposing
such children till they died, as were weak and
misshapen, at their birth, they are very shy of
^ Steelyard — an instrument for ascertaining weight.
" Jones's Present State of Virginia^ pp. ii, 13, 17.
36 The Forest Primeval
confessing it, and I could never yet learn that
they had.
"Their color, when they are grown up, is a
chestnut brown and tawny; but much clearer in
their infancy. Their skin comes afterwards to
harden and grow blacker, by greasing and
sunning themselves. They have generally coal
black hair, and very black eyes, which are most
commonly graced with that sort of squint which
many of the Jews are observed to have. Their
women are generally beautiful, possessing an
uncommon delicacy of shape and features, and
wanting no charm but that of a fair complexion.
"The men wear their hair cut after several
fanciful fashions, sometimes greased and some-
times painted. The great men, or better sort,
preserve a long lock behind for distinction.
They pull their beards up by the roots with a
mussel-shell; and both men and women do the
same by the other parts of their body for cleanli-
ness sake. The women wear the hair of the head
very long, either hanging at their backs, or
brought before in a single lock, bound up with a
fillet of peak' or beads; sometimes also they wear
it neatly tied up in a knot behind. It is com-
monly greased, and shining black, but never
painted.
"The people of condition of both sexes, wear
a sort of coronet on their heads, from four to six
inches broad, open at the top, and composed of
peak or beads, or else of both interwoven to-
» Beads made from shells.
The Indian Character 37
gather, and worked into figures, made by a nice
mixture of the colors. Sometimes they wear a
wreath of dyed furs; as Hkewise bracelets on
their necks and arms. The common people go
bare-headed only sticking large shining feathers
about their heads, as their fancies lead them.
'"Their clothes are a large mantle, carelessly
wrapped about their bodies, and sometimes girt
close in the middle with a girdle. The upper
part of this mantle is drawn close upon the
shoulders, and the other hangs below their knees.
When that's thrown off they have only for
modesty sake a piece of cloth, or a small skin,
tied round their waist, which reaches down to
the middle of the thigh. The common sort tie
only a string round their middle, and pass a piece
of cloath or skin round between their thighs,
which they turn at each end over the string.
"Their shoes, when they wear any, are made of
an entire piece of buck-skin; except when they
sew a piece to the bottom, to thicken the sole.
They are fastened on with running strings, the
skin being drawn together like a purse on the top
of the foot, and tied round the ankle. The
Indian name of this kind of shoe is moccasin.
"But because a draft of these things will
inform the reader more at first view, than a
description in many words, I shall present
him with the following prints^ ; wherein he is to
take notice, that the air of the face, as well as
' This refers to all the pictures illustrating Indian life which are
distributed through this volume.
38 The Forest Primeval
the ornaments of the body, are exactly repre-
sented, being all drawn by the life."'
With reference to the pictures above referred
to illustrating the Indian habits, customs, and
houses, we will say that they are those drawn in
Virginia, in 1585, by John White, one of the
party which founded the celebrated settlement of
Sir Waher Raleigh, at Roanoke. The drawings
of White were carried to Europe the next year,
and engraved by the famous artist Theodorus de
Bry, of Frankfort. The original leaves of these
drawings are now preserved in the British
Museum.
These pictures are so well drawn and engraved,
that they have been reproduced more than once
before. Fourteen of them are found in Beverley.
They are also seen in enlarged form in various
places, and are the most authentic presentation
we have of this vanished people.
In this same settlement, was Thomas Hariot,
from whose narrative of the first plantation in
Virginia in 1585 we liberally borrow. His work
was first printed in London in 1588, and after-
wards, with White and De Bry's illustrations, in
Frankfort in 1590. A commentator, speaking of
these, says: "The illustrations are of distinct
anthropological importance and exactness, and
convey a clearer notion of the ways and manners
of the Red Indians at the time of the English
plantation than any narrative could express. "
It adds an additional interest to these pictures,
^ Beverley's History of Virginia, book 3, pp. 1-3.
o
The Indian Character 39
to know that Sir Waher Raleigh sent White over
to draw for him pictures of the natives, so as to
illustrate their habits and customs. They relate
particularly to the towns of Roanoke, Pom-e-i-ock,
and Se-co-ta, which were near the Roanoke set-
tlement, but they are characteristic of the
whole section, and strictly accord with what
is written directly relating to the inhabitants
of Virginia.
The engraver, De Bry, himself thus speaks of
these pictures in his dedication to Raleigh of the
work of Hariot, which was illustrated by them.
After stating that he thought every one should
strive to express to Raleigh his appreciation of his
labors at colonization, he says : " I have thought
that I could find no better occasion to declare
it, than taking the pains to cut in copper, the
most diligently and well that were in my possible
to do, the figures which do lively represent the
form and manner of the inhabitants of the same
country with their ceremonies, solemn feasts,
and the manner and situation of their towns or
villages."
"The princes of Virginia are attired in such
manner as is expressed in this figure." They
wear the hair of their heads long and bind up the
end of the same in a knot under their ears. Yet
they cut the top of their heads from the forehead
to the nape of the neck in manner of a coxcomb,
sticking a fair long feather of some bird at the
beginning of the crest upon their foreheads, and
* This refers to the first picture.
40 The Forest Primeval
another short one on both sides about their ears.
They hang at their ears either thick pearls, or
somewhat else, as the claw of some great bird,
as Cometh in to their fancy. Moreover they
either pounce' or paint their forehead, cheeks,
chin, body, arms, and legs, yet in another sort
than the inhabitants of Florida. They wear a
chain about their necks of pearls or beads of
copper, which they much esteem, and thereof
wear they also bracelets on their arms. Under
their breasts about their bellies appear certain
spots, where they use to let themselves bleed,
when they are sick. They hang before them the
skin of some beast very finely dressed in such
sort, that the tail hangeth down behind. They
carry a quiver made of small rushes holding their
bow ready bent in one hand, and an arrow in
the other, ready to defend themselves. In this
manner they go to war, or to their solemn feasts
and banquets. They take much pleasure in
hunting of deer whereof there is great store in the
country, for it is fruitful, pleasant, and full of
goodly woods. It hath also store of rivers full
of divers sorts of fish. When they go to battle
they paint their bodies in the most terrible
manner that they can devise.
"The inhabitants of all the country for the
most part have marks rased ^ on their backs,
whereby it may be known what prince's subjects
they be, or of what place they have their original.
For which cause we have set down those marks in
^ Tattoo. =» Scratched.
The Indian Character 41
this figure, and have annexed the names of the
places, that they might more easily be discerned.
Which industry hath God indued them withal
although they be very simple, and rude. And
to confess a truth, I cannot remember that ever
I saw a better or quieter people than they.^
"The marks which I observed among them, are
here put down in order following:
"The mark which is expressed by A.'' belong-
eth to Win-gi-na, the chief lord of Roanoac.
"That which hath B. is the mark of Win-gi-na
his sister's husband.^
"Those which be noted with the letters of
C. and D. belong unto divers chief lords in
Se-co-tam.
"Those which have the letters of E. F. are cer-
tain chief men of Pom-e-i-ock, and A-quas-cog-oc."^
"The upper part of his hair is cut short, to
make a ridge, which stands up like the comb of a
cock, the rest is either shorn off, or knotted
behind his ear. On his head are stuck three
feathers of the wild turkey, pheasant, hawk,
or such like. At his ear is hung a fine shell, with
pearl drops. At his breast is a tablet or fine shell,
smooth as polished marble, which sometimes
^ It is to be remembered, in considering this statement, that Hariot
had no desire to frighten off possible settlers. This would prejudice
the interests of his patron, Raleigh, to whom this report was made.
* See plate, p. 38. Roanoac was the town of Roanoke, on Roanoke
Island.
3 That is, Wingina's brother-in-law.
4 The places here referred to were in the neighborhood of Roanoke
Island, where Sir Walter Raleigh's settlement was attempted.
Harlot's Narrative, iii. and xxiii.
42 The Forest Primeval
also has etched on it, a star, half moon, or other
figure, according to the maker's fancy. Upon
his neck, and wrists, hang strings of beads, peak
and roanoke. ' His apron is made of a deer skin,
gashed round the edges, which hang Hke tassels
or fringe; at the upper end of the fringe is an
edging of peak, to make it finer. His quiver is
of a thin bark; but sometimes they make it of
the skin of a fox or young wolf, with the head
hanging to it, which has a wild sort of terror
in it; and to make it yet more warlike, they tie
it on with the tail of a panther, buffalo or such
like, letting the end hang down between their
legs. The pricked line: on his shoulders, breast
and legs, represent the figures painted thereon.
In his left hand he holds a bow, and in his right
an arrow. The mark upon his shoulder blade,
is a distinction used by the Indians in travelling,
to show the nation they are of. And perhaps is
the same with that which Baron Lahontan calls
the arms and heraldry of the Indians. Thus
several lettered marks are used by several other
nations about Virginia, when they make a
journey to their friends and allies.
"The Landscape is a natural representation of
an Indian field."''
" For fishing, hunting and wars, they use much
their bow and arrows. Their arrows are made
of some straight young sprigs, which they head
* A kind of shell money, made of the cockle shell, of less value than
peak.
* Beverley, book 3, p. 3-4.
The Indian Character 43
with bone, some two or three inches long. These
they use to shoot at squirrels on trees. Another
sort of arrow they use made of reeds. These are
pieced with wood, headed with spKnters of crys-
tal, or some sharp stone, the spurs of a turkey, or
the bill of some bird.
" For his knife he hath the splinter of a reed to
cut his feathers in form. With this knife also,
he will joint a deer, or any beast, shape his shoes,
buskins, mantles, etc.
"To make the notch of his arrow he hath the
tooth of a beaver, set in a stick, wherewith he
grateth it by degrees.
"'His arrow head he quickly maketh with a
little bone, which he ever weareth at his bracert,^
of any splint of a stone, or glass in the form of a
heart, and these they glew to the end of their
arrows. With the sinews of deer, and the tops
of deer's horns boiled to a jelly, they make a
glew that will not dissolve in cold water. "^
" If any great commander arrive at the habita-
tion of a wer-6-ance,^ they spread a mat as the
Turks do a carpet for him to sit upon. Upon
another right opposite they sit themselves.
Then do all with a tunable"^ voice of shouting bid
him welcome. After this do two or more of
their chiefest men make an oration, testifying
their love. Which they do with such vehemency,
and so great passions, that they sweat till they
^ Bracer, the wrist-guard worn on the left arm as a protection from
the stroke of the bow-string.
^ Smith, vol. i., p. 132. 3 War captain. * Musical.
44 The Forest Primeval
drop, and are so out of breath they can scarce
speak. So that a man would take them to be
exceeding angry, or stark mad. Such victual
as they have, they spread freely.
''Their manner of trading is for copper, beads,
and such like, for which they give such commod-
ities as they have, as skins, fowl, fish, flesh, and
their country corn. But their victuals are their
chiefest riches."'
"The savages bear their years well, for when
we were at Pa-mon-kies^ we saw a savage who by
their report was above eight score years of age.
His eyes were sunk into his head, having never a
tooth in his mouth, his hair all gray with a
reasonable big beard, which was as white as any
snow. It is a miracle to see a savage have any
hair on their faces, I never saw, read, nor heard,
any have the like before. This savage was as
lustie and went as fast as any of us, which was
strange to behold."^
"They walk one after another in a line.""^
"They are frequently at war with all their
neighbors, or most of them, and treat their
captive prisoners very barbarously; either by
scalping them (which I have seen) by ripping
off the crown of the head, which they wear on a
thong, by their side as a signal trophey and token
of victory and bravery. Sometimes they tie
^ Smith, vol. i., pp. 136-7.
2 The territory of the Pa-mun-key Indians, between the Pa-
mun-key and Mat-ta-po-ny rivers, in Virginia.
3 Purchas, vol, iv., p. 1689.
4 Jones's Present State of Virginia, pp. 8, 12.
The Indian Character 45
their prisoners, and lead them bound to their
town, where with the most joyful solemnity
they kill them, often by thrusting in several
parts of their bodies skewers of light-wood which
burn like torches. The poor victim all the while
(which is sometimes two or three days) not shew-
ing the least symptom of grief, nor sign of pain,
but bearing it with a scornful sullenness.
"In their rejoicings and war dances they with
the most antic gestures, in the most frightful
dress, with a hideous noise, enumerate the
enemies, that they have murdered, and such
like exploits.
"They attack always by surprise, and will
never stand their ground when discovered; but
fly to ambush whither the enemy may pursue
with peril of his life.
"They bred no sort of cattle, nor had anything
that could be called riches. They valued skins
and furs for use, and peak and re-o-noke' for
ornament.
"The Indians never forget nor forgive an
injury, till satisfaction be given, be it national
or personal: but it becomes the business of their
whole lives, and even after that, the revenge is
entailed upon their posterity, till full reparation
be made.""^
This statement is corroborated, and partly
explained, by Glover, who says: "They are very
revengeful ; for if any one chance to be slain, some
* Roanoke, a form of shell money already described.
» Beverley, book 3, pp. 56-7.
9
46 The Forest Primeval
of the relations of the slain person will kill the
murderer or some of his family, though it be two
or three generations after, having no justice done
amongst them in this respect but what particular
persons do themselves; if that may be termed
justice."'
The use of the conch shell with these people
was diversified and important. Besides the
wampum peak, and white peak which as money
and ornajnent was made of it, we are told:
*'The Indians also make pipes of this, two or
three inches long, and thicker than ordinary,
which are much more valuable; They also make
runtees of the same shell, and grind them as
smooth as peak. These are either large like an
oval bead, and drilled the length of the oval, or
else they are circular and flat, almost an inch
over, and one-third of an inch thick, and drilled
edgeways. Of this shell they also make round
tablets of about four inches diameter, which
they polish as smooth as the other, and some-
times they etch or grave thereon, circles, stars,
a half-moon, or any other figure suitable to their
fancy. These they wear instead of medals before
or behind their neck, and use the peak, runtees
and pipes for coronets, bracelets, belts or long
strings hanging down before the breast, or else
they lace their garments with them, and adorn
their tomahawks, and every other thing that
they value.
"They have also another sort which is as
' Account of Virginia, p. 26.
The Indian Character 47
current among them, but of far less value; and
this is made of the cockle shell, broke into small
bits with rough edges, drilled through in the same
manner as beads, and this they call ro-e-noke,
and use it as the peak.
*' These sorts of money have their rates set
upon them as unalterable and current as the
values of our money are.
"The Indians have likewise some pearl
amongst them, and formerly had many more,
but where they got them is uncertain, except
they found them in the oyster banks, which are
frequent in this country."'
"Their travels they perform altogether on
foot, the fatigue of which they endure to admira-
tion. They make no other provision for their
journey, but their gun or bow, to supply them
with food for many hundred miles together.
If they carry any flesh in their marches, they
barbicue'' it, or rather dry it by degrees, at some
distance, over the clear coals of a wood fire; just
as the Charibees are said to preserve the bodies
of their kings and great men from corruption.
Their sauce to this dry meat (if they have any
besides a good stomach), is only a little bear's oil,
or oil of acorns; which last they force out, by
boiling the acorns in a strong lye. Sometimes
also in their travels, each man takes with him a
pint or quart of rock-a-hom-o-nie, that is, the
finest Indian corn parched, and beaten to powder.
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 58-9.
' Roast whole after their manner.
48 The Forest Primeval
When they find their stomach empty, (and
cannot stay for the tedious cookery of other
things,) they put about a spoonful of this into
their mouths, and drink a draught of water upon
it, which stays their stomachs, and enables them
to pursue their journey without delay. But
their main dependence is upon the game they kill
by the way, and the natural fruits of the earth.
They take no care about lodging in these jour-
neys ; but content themselves with the shade of a
tree, or a little high grass.
"When they fear being discovered, or followed
by an enemy in their marches, they, every
morning having first agreed where they shall
rendezvous at night, disperse themselves into the
woods, and each takes a several way, that so,
the grass or leaves being but singly prest, may
rise again, and not betray them. For the
Indians are very artful in following a track, even
where the impressions are not visible to other
people, especially if they have any advantage
from the loosness of the earth, from the stiffness
of the grass, or the stirring of the leaves, which
in the winter season lie very thick upon the
ground ; and likewise afterwards, if they do not
happen to be burned.
"When in their travels, they meet with any
waters, which are not fordable, they make canoes
of birch bark, by flipping it whole off the tree, in
this manner. First, they gash the bark quite
round the tree, at the length they would have the
canoe of, then slit down the length from end to
The Indian Character 49
end; when that is done, they with their toma-
hawks easily open the bark, and strip it whole off.
Then they force it open with sticks in the middle,
slope the underside of the ends, and sew them
up, which helps to keep the belly open, or if the
birch trees happen to be small, they sew the
bark of two together; the seams they dawb with
clay or mud, and then pass over in these canoes
by two, three, or more at a time, according as
they are in bigness. By reason of the lightness
of these boats, they can easily carry them over
land, if they foresee that they are like to meet
with any more waters, that may impede their
march ; or else they leave them at the water-side,
making no further account of them; except it
be to repass the same waters in their return.
"They have a peculiar way of receiving
strangers, and distinguishing whether they come
as friends or enemies; tho' they do not under-
stand each other's language: and that is by a
singular method of smoking tobacco; in which
these things are always observed.
" I. They take a pipe much larger and bigger
than the common tobacco pipe, expressly made
for that purpose, with which all towns are plen-
tifully provided; they call them the Pipes of
Peace.
"2. This pipe they always fill with tobacco
before the face of the strangers, and light it.
"3. The chief man of the Indians, to whom
the strangers come, takes two or three whiffs,
and then hands it to the chief of the strangers.
4
#
50 The Forest Primeval
"4. If the stranger refuses to smoke in it, 'tis
a sign of war.
"5. If it be peace, the chief of the strangers
takes a whiff or two in the pipe, and presents it
to the next great man of the town, they come to
visit: he, after taking two or three whiffs, gives
it back to the next of the strangers, and so on
alternately, until they have past all the persons
of note on each side, and then the ceremony is
ended.
"After a little discourse, they march together
in a friendly manner into the town, and then
proceed to explain the business upon which they
came. This method is as general a rule among
all the Indians of those parts of America, as the
flag of truce is among the Europeans. And tho'
the fashion of the pipe differ, as well as the orna-
ments of it, according to the humor of the sev-
eral nations, yet 'tis a general rule, to make these
pipes remarkably bigger, than those for common
use, and to adorn them with beautiful wings, and
feathers of birds, as likewise with peak, beads,
or other such foppery. Father Lewis Henepin
gives a particular description of one, that he
took notice of, among the Indians, upon the
lakes wherein he travelled. He describes it by
the name of Calumet of Peace, and his words are
these. Book i, chap. 24:
"'This calumet is the most mysterious thing
in the world, among the savages of the continent
of Northern America; for it is used in all their
important transactions: however, it is nothing
The Indian Character 51
else but a large tobacco pipe, made of red, black
or white marble: the head is finely polished, and
the quill, which is commonly two feet and a-half
long, is made of a pretty strong reed, or cane,
adorned with feathers of all colors, interlaced
with locks of women's hair. They tie to it two
wings of the most curious birds they can find,
which makes their calumet not much unlike
Mercury's wand, or that staff ambassadors did
formerly carry, when they went to treat of peace.
They sheath that reed into the neck of birds they
call huars, which are as big as geese, and spotted
with black and white: or else of a sort of ducks,
which make their nests upon trees, tho' the water
be their ordinary element: and whose feathers be
of many different colors. However, every na-
tion adorns their calumet as they think fit,
according to their own genius, and the birds
they have in their country.
"'Such a pipe is a pass and safe-conduct among
all the allies of the nation who has given it. And
in all embassies, the ambassador carries that
calumet, as the symbol of peace, which is always
respected. For the savages are generally per-
suaded, that a great misfortune would befall
them, if they violated the public faith of the
calumet.
"'AH their enterprises, declarations of war,
or conclusions of peace, as well as all the rest of
their ceremonies, are sealed (if I may be per-
mitted to say so), with this calumet. They fill
that pipe with the best tobacco they have, and
#
52 The Forest Primeval
then present it to those, with whom they have
concluded any great affair; and smoke out of the
same after them. '
"In Table 6/ is seen the calumet of peace,
drawn by Lahontan, and one of the sort which I
have seen.
"They have a remarkable way of entertaining
all strangers of condition, which is performed
after the following manner. First, the king or
queen with a guard, and a great retinue march
out of the town, a quarter or half a mile, and
carry mats for their accommodation : when they
meet the strangers, they invite them to sit down
upon those mats. Then they pass the ceremony
of the pipe, and afterwards, having spent about
half an hour in grave discourse, they get up
all together and march into the town. Here
the first compliment, is to wash the courteous
traveller's feet; then he is treated at a sumptuous
entertainment served up by a great number of
attendants. After which he is diverted with
antique Indian dances, performed both by men
and women, and accompanied with great variety
of wild music. "^
^ See picture, page 60.
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 18-22.
CHAPTER III
THE FASHION AND DOMESTIC CONSTRUCTION OF
INDIAN SOCIETY
SMITH gives US an account of the fashions
prevailing among the native inhabitants
of Virginia, in the year 1607, which
presents somewhat of a contrast to those of the
present day. He says: "For their apparel, they
are sometimes covered with the skins of wild
beasts, which in winter are dressed with the hair,
but in summer without. The better sort use
large mantles of deer-skins, not much differing
in fashion from the Irish mantles. Some em-
broidered with white beads, some with copper,
others painted after their manner. But the
common sort have scarce to cover their naked-
ness, but with grass, the leaves of trees, or such
like. We have seen some use mantles made of
turkey-feathers, so prettily wrought and woven
with threads that nothing could be discerned
but the feathers. That was exceedingly warm
and very handsome. They adorn themselves
most with copper beads and paintings. Their
women, some have their legs, hands, breasts, and
53
54 The Forest Primeval
face cunningly embroidered' with divers works,
as beasts, serpents, artificially wrought into their
flesh with black spots. In each ear commonly
they have three great holes, whereat they hang
chains, bracelets, or copper. Some of their
men wear in those holes, a small green and yel-
low colored snake, near half a yard in length,
which crawling and lapping herself about his
neck, oftentimes familiarly would kiss his lips.
Others wear a dead rat tied by the tail. Some
on their heads wear the wing of a bird, or some
large feather with a rattle. Many have the
whole skin of a hawk or some strange fowl,
stuffed with the wings abroad. Others a broad
piece of copper, and some the hand of their
enemy dried. Their heads and shoulders are
painted red with the root po-cone, brayed^ to
powder mixed with oil, this they hold ^ in sum-
mer to preserve them from the heat, and in
winter from the cold. Many other forms of
paintings they use, but he is the most gallant,
that is the most monstrous to behold. ""^
Spelman assigns a reason for the style of wear-
ing their hair:
"The common people have no beards at all for
they pull away their hair as fast as it grows.
And they also cut the hair on the right side of
their head that it might not hinder them by
flapping about their bow-string, when they draw
it to shoot. But on the other side they let it
» Tattooed. * Beaten. 3 Believe.
4 Smith, vol. i., pp. 129-30.
Construction of Indian Society 55
grow and have a long lock hanging down their
shoulder."^
These long locks were what we have heard of
as the scalp-locks, which were cut around and
torn dripping with blood from their heads by
their victorious enemies, who kept and prized
them as trophies of their valor.
"The chief men of the island and town of
Roanoac ^ wear the hair of the crown of their
heads cut like a coxcomb, as the others do. The
rest they wear long as women and truss them up
in a knot in the nape of their necks. They hang
pearls strung upon a thread at their ears, and
wear bracelets on their arms of pearls, or small
beads of copper or of smooth bone called minsal,
neither painting nor pouncing^ themselves; but
in token of authority and honor, they wear a
chain of great pearls, or copper beads, or smooth
bones about their necks and a plate of copper
hanging upon a string. From the navel unto
the middle of their thighes they cover themselves
before and behind as the women do, with a deer
skin handsomely dressed and fringed. More-
over they fold their arms together as they walk, or
as they talk one with another in sign of wisdom.
The Isle of Roanoac is very pleasant, and hath
plenty of fish by reason of the water that environ-
eth the same.""*
"In their opinion, they are finest when dressed
^ Spelman's Relation of Virginia, p. 52.
2 The island near the seacoast of North Carolina, between Albe-
marle and Pamlico Sounds.
3 Tattooing. < Harlot's Narrative^ vii.
f
56 The Forest Primeval
most ridiculously or terribly. Thus some have
their skins all over curiously wrought with bluish
lines and figures, as if done with gun-powder and
needles, and all of them delight in being painted;
so that when they are very fine, you may see
some of them with their hair cut off on one side,
and a long lock on the other. The crown being
crested and bedaubed with red lead and oil;
their forehead being painted white, and it may be
their nose black, and a circle of blue round one
eye, with the cheek red, and all the other side of
the face yellow, or in some such fantastical
manner. These colors they buy of us, being
persuaded to despise their own, which are com-
mon and finer."'
"The people of condition of both sexes, wear
a sort of coronet on their heads, from 4 to 6 inches
broad, open at the top, and composed of peak,
or beads, or else of both interwoven together,
and worked into figures, made by a nice mixture
of the colors. Sometimes they wear a wreath of
dyed furs ; as likewise bracelets on their necks and
arms. The common people go bare-headed, only
sticking large shining feathers about their heads,
as their fancies lead them.
"Their shoes, when they wear any, are made of
an entire piece of buck-skin; except when they
sew a piece to the bottom to thicken the sole.
They are fastened on with running strings, the
skin being drawn together like a purse on the
top of the foot, and tied around the ankle.
* Jones's Present State of Virginia, p. il.
Construction of Indian Society 57
The Indian name of this kind of shoe is
moccasin."'
"The aged men of Pom-e-i-ock are covered
with a large skin which is tied upon their shoul-
ders on one side and hangeth down beneath their
knees wearing their other arm naked out of the
skin, that they may be at more liberty. Those
skins are dressed with the hair on, and lined
with other furred skins. The young men suffer
no hair at all to grow upon their faces but as
soon as they grow they put them away, but
when they are come to years they suffer them
to grow, although, to say truth, they come up
very thin. They also wear their hair bound up
behind, and have a crest on their heads like the
others. " '
"Seldom any but the elder people wore the
winter cloaks (which they call match-coats), till
they got a supply of European goods, and now
most have them of one sort or other in the cold
winter weather. Figure i wears the proper
Indian match-coat, which is made of skins,
dressed with the fur on, sewed together, and worn
with the fur inwards, having the edges also
gashed for beauty's sake. On his feet are moc-
casins. By him stand some Indian cabins on the
banks of the river. Figure 2 wears the Duffield
match-coat, bought of the English, on his head
is a coronet of peak, on his legs are stockings
made of Duffields. That is, they take a length
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 2-3.
* Harlot's Narrative, ix.
58 The Forest Primeval
to reach from the ankle to the knee, so broad as
to wrap round the leg; this they sew together,
letting the edges stand out an inch beyond the
seam. When this is on, they garter below the
knee, and fasten the lower end in the moccasin. "^
We presume that the word "match-coat" is
derived from the Indian word match-cores, which
meant skins or garments.*
The next picture, which is the original of
Figure i, already given, is particularly interest-
ing in presenting, in the background, the appear-
ance, at a distance, of one of the Indian towns,
showing the enclosing palisade, and the regular-
ity of the corn fields surrounding it. In the first
of the upper fields, on the right, is the little cabin,
in which the man sat, to protect the corn from
the birds and beasts which would otherwise
devour it.
"The women of Se-co-tam are of reasonably
good proportion. In their going they carry their
hands dangling down, and are dadil^ in a deer
skin very excellently well dressed, hanging down
from their navel unto the midst of their thighs,
which also covereth their hinder parts. The
rest of their bodies are all bare. The fore part of
their hair is cut short, the rest is not over long,
thin and soft, and falling down about their shoul-
ders: They wear a wreath about their heads.
Their foreheads, cheeks, chin, arms and legs are
' Beverley, book 3, pp. 4-5.
' Smith, vol. 1., p. 147.
3 Clothed with an apron.
s
<
Construction of Indian Society 59
pounced.'' About their necks they wear a chain,
either pricked or painted.
"They have small eyes, plain and flat noses,
narrow foreheads, and broad mouths. For the
most part they hang at their ears chains of long
pearls, and of some smooth bones. Yet their
nails are not long, as the women of Florida.
They are also delighted with walking into the
fields, and beside the rivers, to see the hunting
of deer and catching of fish. "^
Strachey tells us more particularly about this
pouncing. He says:
"The women have their arms, breasts, thighs,
shoulders, and faces, cunningly embroidered with
divers works, for pouncing or searing their skins
with a kind of instrument heated in the fire.
They figure therein flowers and fruits of sundry
lively kinds, as also snakes, serpents, eftes,^ &c.,
and this they do by dropping upon the seared
flesh sundry colors, which, rubbed into the
stamp, will never be taken away again, because
it will not only be dried into the flesh, but grow
therein. "4
"The method the women have of carrying their
children after they are sufi^ered to crawl about, is
very particular; they carry them at their backs
in summer, taking one leg of the child in their
hand over their shoulder; the other leg hanging
down, and the child all the while holding fast
^ Tattooed. ' Hariot's Narrative^ iv.
3 Small lizards.
4 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 66.
6o The Forest Primeval
with its other hand; but in winter they carry
them in the hollow of their match-coat at their
back, leaving nothing but the child's head out, as
appears by the figure."'
"Men, women, and children have their several
names according to the several humor of their
parents. Their women (they say) are easily
delivered of child, yet do they love children very
dearly. To make them hardy, in the coldest
mornings they wash them in the rivers, and by
painting and ointments so tan their skins, that
after a year or two, no weather will hurt
them."^
"The manner of the Indians treating their
young children is very strange, for instead of
keeping them warm, at their first entry into the
world, and wrapping them up, with I don't know
how many clothes, according to our fond custom;
the first thing they do, is to dip the child over
head and ears in cold water,^ and then to bind
it naked to a convenient board ; but they always
put cotton, wool, fur, or other soft thing, for the
body to rest easy on, between the child and the
board. In this posture they keep it several
months, till the bones begin to harden, the
joints to knit, and the limbs to grow strong;
and they then let it loose from the board, sufi^er-
ing it to crawl about except when they are feeding
or playing with it.
* Beverley, book 3, p. 10.
» Smith, vol. i., p. 131.
3 Aristotle states that this custom was in favor with many bar-
barians. Politics, book vii
o
Construction of Indian Society 6i
"While the child is thus at the board, they
either lay it flat on its back, or set it lean-
ing on one end, or else hang it up by a string
fastened to the upper end of the board for
that purpose. The child and board being all
this while carried about together. As our
women undress their children to clean them and
shift their linen, so they do theirs to wash and
grease them.''^
Spelman adds the following:
"After the mother is delivered of her child
within some few days after the kinsfolk and
neighbors being entreated thereunto, come unto
the house: where being assembled the father
takes the child in his arms: and declares that his
name shall be, as he then calls him, so his name is;
which done the rest of the day is spent in feasting
and dancing."''
"About 20 miles from that Island,^ near the
lake of Pa-quip-pe,"^ there is another town called
Pom-e-i-ock, hard by the sea.^ The apparel of
the chief ladies of that town differeth but little
from the attire of those which live in Roanoac.^
For they wear their hair trussed up in a knot, as
the maidens do which we spoke of before, and
have their skins pounced^ in the same manner,
yet they wear a chain of great pearls, or beads of
copper, or smooth bones, five or six fold about
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 9-10.
^ Spelman 's Relation of Virginia, p. 38.
3 Roanoke. 4 Mattamuskeet.
s Pamlico Sound. « Tattooed.
62 The Forest Primeval
their necks, bearing one arm in the same, in the
other hand they carry a gourd full of some kind
of pleasant liquor. They tie deer's skin doubled
about them crossing higher about their breasts,
which hangs down before almost to their knees,
and are almost altogether naked behind. Com-
monly their young daughters of seven or eight
years of age do wait upon them, wearing about
them a girdle of skin. " ^
"The boy wears a necklace of runtees,^ in his
right hand is an Indian rattle, and in his left, a
roasting-ear of corn. Round his waist is a small
string, and another brought cross through his
crotch, and for decency a soft skin is fastened
before."^
"Their elder women are cooks, barbers, and
for service; the younger for dalliance. The
women hang their children at their backs in
summer naked, in winter under a deer skin.
They are of modest behaviour. They seldom
or never brawl. In entertaining a stranger, they
spread a mat for him to sit down, and dance
before him. They wear their nails long to flay"^
their deer: they put bow and arrows into
their children's hands before they are six years
old.'s
"Virgins of good parentage are appareled alto-
getherlike the women of Secota above mentioned,
saving that they wear hanging about their necks
» Hariot's Narrative, viii. » Disks of shells used as ornaments.
3 Beverley, book 3, p. 7. ^ Strip off the skin of.
» Purchas, vol. v., p. 844.
Construction of Indian Society 63
instead of a chain certain thick and round pearls,
with little beads of copper, or polished bones be-
tween them. Their hair is cut with two ridges
above their foreheads, the rest is trussed up on a
knot behind, they have broad mouths, reasonable
fair black eyes: they lay their hands often upon
their shoulders, and cover their breasts in token of
maidenlike modesty. The rest of their bodies
are naked, as in the picture is to be seen.
They delight also in seeing fish taken in the
rivers. "^
"There is notice to be taken to know married
women from maids, the maids you shall always
see the fore part of their head and sides shaven
close, the hinder part very long, which they tie
in a plait hanging down to their hips. The
married women wear their hair all of a length,
and it is tied of that fashion that the maids are.
The women kind in this country doth pounce
and rase"" their bodies, thighs, arms and faces
with a sharp iron, which makes a stamp in cu-
rious knots, and draws the proportion of fowls,
fish, or beasts, then with paintings of sundry
lively colors, they rub it into the stamp which
will never be taken away, because it is dried into
the flesh where it is sered. "^
"The Indian damsels are full of spirit, and
from thence are always inspired with mirth and
good humor. They are extremely given to laugh,
which they do with a grace not to be resisted.
' Hariot's Narrative, vi. ' Tattoo and mark.
3 Secured. Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1689.
64 The Forest Primeval
The excess of Hfe and fire, which they never fail
to have, makes them froHcsome, but without any-
real imputation to their innocence. However,
this is ground enough for the English, who are not
very nice in distinguishing betwixt guih, and
harmless freedom, to think them incontinent.
"The dress of the women is little different from
that of the men, except in the tying of their hair.
The ladies of distinction wear deep necklaces,
pendants and bracelets, made of small cylinders
of the conque shell, which they call peak. They
likewise keep their skin clean, and shining with
oil, while the men are commonly bedaubed all
over with paint.
"They are remarkable for having small round
breasts and so firm, that they are hardly ever
observed to hang down, even in old women.
They commonly go naked as far as the navel
downward, and upward to the middle of the
thigh, by which means they have the advantage
of discovering their fine limbs, and complete
shape. "^
A sample of the way these girls sometimes did
is given us in the following, which describes a
dance gotten up by Pocahontas, to entertain
Captain Smith, while waiting for her father to
make his appearance:
"In a fair plain field they made a fire, before
which he sat down upon a mat, when suddenly
amongst the woods was heard such a hideous
noise and shrieking, that the English betook
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 9, 6, 7.
Construction of Indian Society 65
themselves to their arms, and seized on two or
three old men by them, supposing Powhatan,
with all his power, was coming to surprise them.
But presently Pocahontas came, willing him to
kill her, if any hurt were intended; and the be-
holders, which were men, women and children,
satisfied the Captain that there was no such
matter. Then presently they were presented
with this antic; thirty young women came naked
out of the woods, only covered behind and before
with a few green leaves, their bodies all painted,
some of one color, some of another, but all differ-
ing; their leader had a fair pair of buck's horns
on her head, and an otter's skin at her girdle, and
another at her arm, a quiver of arrows at her
back, a bow and arrows in her hand: the next
had in her hand a sword, another a club, another
a potstick; all of them being horned alike: the
rest were all set out with their several devices.
These fiends, with most hellish shouts and cries,
rushing from among the trees, cast themselves
in a ring about the fire, singing and dancing with
most excellent ill variety, oft falling into their
infernal passions, and then solemnly betaking
themselves aga n to sing and dance; having
spent near an hour in this mascarado,^ as they
entered, in like manner they departed."''
"Their women know how to make earthen
vessels with special cunning, and that so large
and fine that our potters with their wheels can
make no better: and then remove them from
* Masquerade. " Beverley, book 3, p. 55.
5
66 The Forest Primeval
place to place as easily as we can do our brassen
kettles. After they have set them upon an
heap of earth to stay them from falling, they put
wood under, which being kindled one of them
taketh great care that the fire burn equally
round about. They or their women fill the vessel
with water, and then put they in fruit, flesh,
and fish, and let all boil together like a gallie-
maufrye," which the Spaniards call, olla podrida.
Then they put it out into dishes, and set before
the company, and then they make good cheer
together. Yet are they moderate in their eat-
ing, whereby they avoid sickness."^
"The women have a great care to maintain and
keep firelight still within their houses, and if at
any time it go out, they take it for an evil sign,
but if it be out they kindle it again presently, by
chaffing a dry pointed stick in a hole of a little
square piece of wood; that firing itself will so
fire moss, leaves, or any such like thing that is
apt quickly to burn."^
"After they have taken store of fish, they get
them unto a place fit to dress it. There they
stick up in the ground four stakes in a square
room,"^ and lay four potes^ upon them, and others
over thwart the same like unto an hurdle,^ they
make a fire underneath to broil the same, not
after the manner of the people in Florida, which
do but schorte,' and harden their meat in the
^ Hash. 2 Hariot's Narrative, xv.
3 Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. ii2.
4 In the form of a square. s Sticks. <» Gridiron. 'Cut.
^ ^
Construction of Indian Society 67
smoke only to reserve the same during all the
winter. For this people reserving nothing for
store, they do broil, and spend away all at once,
and when they have further need, they roast or
seethe' fresh, as we shall see hereafter. And
when as the hurdle cannot hold all the fish, they
hang the rest by the fires on sticks set up in the
ground against the fire, and then they finish the
rest of their cookery. They take good heed
that they be not burnt. When the first are
broiled they lay others on, that were newly
brought, continuing the dressing of their meat
in this sort, until they think they have suflS-
cient."^
"Their cookery has nothing commendable in
it, but that it is performed with little trouble.
They have no other sauce but a good stomach,
which they seldom want. They boil, broil or
rost all the meat they eat, and it is very common
with them to boil fish as well as flesh with their
homony; this is Indian corn soaked, broken in
a mortar, husked, and then boiled in water
over a gentle fire, for ten or twelve hours, to the
consistence of furmity.^ The thin of this is, what
my Lord Bacon calls cream of maize, and highly
commends for an excellent sort of nutriment.
"They have two ways of broiling, viz. : one by
laying the meat itself upon the coals, the other
by laying it upon sticks raised upon forks at
some distance above the live coals, which heats
^ Boil. « Hariot's Narrative, xiv.
3 Hulled wheat boiled in milk and seasoned.
f
68 The Forest Primeval
more gently, and drys up the gravy; this they,
and we also from them, call barbecuing.
"They skin and paunch' all sorts of quad-
rupeds; they draw and pluck their fowl; but
their fish they dress with their scales on, without
gutting; but in eating they leave the scales,
entrails and bones to be thrown away.
"They never serve up different sorts of victuals
in one dish; as roast and boiled fish and flesh,
but always serve them up in several vessels.
"They bake their bread either in cakes before
the fire, or in loaves on a warm hearth, covering
the loaf first with leaves, then with warm ashes,
and afterwards with coals over all. Their food
is fish and flesh of all sorts, and that which
participates of both, as the beaver, a small kind
of turtle or terrapin, (as we call them) and several
species of snakes. They likewise eat grubs, the
nymphe ^ of wasps, some kinds of scarabaei,^
cicadae,4 etc.
"They eat all sorts of peas, beans, and other
pulse,^ both parched and boiled. They make
their bread of the Indian corn, wild oats, or the
seed of the sunflower. But when they eat their
bread, they eat it alone, not with their meat.
They have no salt among them, but for seasoning
use the ashes of hickory, stickweed,^ or some other
wood or plant affording a salt ash.
"They delight much to feed on roasting-ears ;
* Eviscerate. = Chrysalis. ^ Beetles. "Locusts,
s Plants cultivated as field or garden crops which can be gathered
by hand without cutting.
^ Stickseed.
Construction of Indian Society 69
that is, the Indian corn, gathered green and
milky, before it is grown to its full bigness, and
roasted before the fire, in the ear. For the sake
of this diet, which they love exceedingly, they
are very careful to procure all the several sorts
of Indian corn before mentioned, by which
means they contrive to prolong their season.
And indeed this is a very sweet and pleasing
food.
"They have growing near their towns, peaches,
strawberries, cushaws, ^ melons, pompions, ^
matcocks,^ &c. The cushaws and pompions
they lay by, which will keep several months good
after they are gathered; the peaches they save,
by drying them in the sun; they have likewise
several sorts of the phaseoli."^
"In the woods they gather chincapins, chest-
nuts, hiccories, and walnuts. The kernels of the
hiccories they beat in a mortar with water, and
make a white liquor like milk, from whence they
call our milk hickory. Hazlenuts they will not
meddle with, though they make a shift with
acorns sometimes, and eat all the other fruits
mentioned before, but they never eat any sort of
herbs or leaves.
"Out of the ground they dig trubbs,^ earth-
nuts, wild onions and a tuberous root they call
^ A kind of pumpkin; a variety of crooknecked squash.
^ Pumpkins.
3 The same as maracock, the Indian name for the fniit of the
passion flower, which they ate.
4 Phaseoleas, a tribe of leguminous plants.
s TrufiBies, earth nuts.
70 The Forest Primeval
tuck-a-hoe, ' which while crude is of a very hot
and virulent quality: but they can manage it so
as in case of necessity, to make bread of it, just
as the East Indians and those of Egypt are said
to do of colocasha. It grows like a flag in the
miry marshes, having roots of the magnitude
and taste of Irish potatoes, which are easy to be
dug up.
**They accustom themselves to no set meals,
but eat night and day, when they have plenty
of provisions, or if they have got anything that
is a rarity. They are very patient of hunger,
when by any accident they happen to have noth-
ing to eat; which they make more easy to them
by girding up their bellies, just as the wild Arabs
are said to do, in their long marches, by which
means they are less sensible of the impressions of
hunger.
"Among all this variety of food, nature hath
not taught them the use of any other drink than
water: which though they have in cool and
pleasant springs every where, yet they will not
drink that, if they can get pond water, or such
as has been warmed by the sun and weather.
Baron Lahontan tells of a sweet juice of maple,
which the Indians to the northward gave him,
mingled with water, but our Indians use no such
drink. For their strong drink, they are alto-
gether beholding to us, and are so greedy of it,
that most of them will be drunk as often as they
^ Both the Virginia wake-robin and the golden-club, both aquatics
with deep fleshy and starchy rootstocks.
Construction of Indian Society 71
find an opportunity; notwithstanding which, it
is a prevaiHng humor among them, not to taste
any strong drink ' at all, unless they can get
enough to make them quite drunk and then
they go as solemnly about it, as if it were part
of their religion. " ^
In discussing the food supplies of this people,
Strachey says:
"They neither impale for deer, nor breed cattle
nor bring up tame poultry, albeit they have great
store of turkies, nor keep birds, squirrels, nor
tame partridges, swan, duck, nor goose. " ^
"Their corn and, indeed, their copper, hatchets,
houses, beads, pearl, and most things with them
of value, according to their own estimation, they
hide, one from the knowledge of another, in the
ground within the woods, and so keep them all
the year, or until they have fit use for them, as
the Romans did their moneys and treasure in
certain cellars, and when they take them forth
they scarse make their women privy to the store-
house. "^
"In March and April they live much upon
their fishing-weirs ; and feed on fish, turkeys and
squirrels. In May and June they plant their
fields, and live most off acorns, walnuts, and
fish. But to amend ^ their diet, some disperse
themselves in small companies and live upon fish,
» The Indians gave to alcoholic liquor the name of Fire Water,
because it would bum when thrown in the fire.
' Beverley, bk 3, pp. 14-16.
3 Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 72-3,
4 Ibid, p. 113. s Improve.
f
72 The Forest Primeval
beasts, crabs, oysters, land tortoises, straw-
berries, mulberries, and such like. In June and
July, and August, they feed upon the roots of
Tock-nough berries, fish and green wheat. It is
strange to see how their bodies alter with their
diet, even as the deer and wild beasts they
seem fat and lean, strong and weak. Powhatan,
their great king, and some others that are provi-
dent, roast their fish and flesh upon hurdles, as
before expressed, and keep it till scarce' times." ^
"Oysters there be in whole banks and beds,
and those of the best: I have seen some thirteen
inches long. The savages use to boil oysters and
mussels together, and with the broth they make
a good spoon-meat, thickened with the flour of
their wheat; and it is a great thrift and husban-
dry with them to hang the oysters upon strings
(being shelled and dried) in the smoke, thereby
to preserve them all the year. "^
"The manner of baking of bread is thus:
after they pound their wheat into flour with hot
water, they make it into paste, and work it into
round balls and cakes, then they put it into a pot
of seething water, when it is sod"^ thoroughly,
they lay it on a smooth stone, there they harden
it as well as in an oven. "^
"Several kinds of the creeping vines bearing
fruit, the Indians planted in their gardens or
fields, because they would have plenty of them
' Times of dearth. " Smith, vol. i., p. 129.
3 Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 127.
4 Boiled. s Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1689.
Construction of Indian Society 73
always at hand; such as muskmelons, water-
melons, pompions, cushaws, macocks and
gourds.'" They also cultivated Indian corn,
peas, beans, potatoes, tobacco, peaches, nectar-
ines, apricots, plums, cherries, and grapes.
"Cushaws are a kind of pumpkin of a bluish
green color, streaked with white, when fit for
use. They are larger than the pumpkins, and
have a long narrow neck.
"The macocks are a lesser sort of pumpkin,
of these there are a great variety, but the Indian
name macock serves for all. " ^
Simlins would be included under this term.
Maracock was the fruit of the passion flower.
It was an article of food which grew wild.
Spelman gives us this account of their country,
and food supplies:
"The country is full of wood and in some parts
water they have plentiful, they have marsh
ground and small fields, for corn, and other
grounds whereon their deer, goats and stags
feedeth. There be in this country lions, bears,
wolves, foxes, musk-cats, hares, flying-squir-
rels, and other squirrels being all gray like
conies, great store of fowl, only peacocks and
common hens wanting: fish in abundance where-
on they live most part of the summer time. They
have a kind of wheat called loc-a-taunce and peas
and beans. Great store of walnuts growing in
every place. They have no orchard fruits, only
^Beverley, bk. 2, pp. 26-8; bk. 4, p. 78.
• Ibid., pp. 27-8.
74 The Forest Primeval
two kinds of plums, the one a sweet and luscious
plum long and thick, in form and likeness of a
nut-palm, the other resembling a medler,' but
somewhat sweeter, yet not eatable till they be
rotten as ours are. '' ^
Strachey says that they were great eaters, and
that when any of them were in the employment
of the English, it was necessary to allow them
twice as much provisions as a white man needed.
This is in harmony with Jones's statement:
"They have no notion of providing for fu-
turity for they eat night and day whilst their
provisions last, falling to as soon as they awake,
and falling asleep again as soon as they are well
crammed." ^
"Before their dinners and suppers, the better
sort will do a kind of sacrifice, taking the first
bit and casting it into the fire, and to it repeat
certain words. I have heard Ma-chumps, at
Sir Thos. Dale's table, once or twice (upon our
request) repeat the said grace as it were, how-
beit I forgot to take it from him in writing. " "^
"Referring now to the picture here:
No. I. Is their pot boiling with hominy and
fish in it.
No. 2. Is a bowl of corn, which they gather up
with their fingers to feed themselves.
* Medlar, a small bushy tree, having a fruit like a little brown-
skinned apple.
' Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 28-9.
3 Jones's Present State of Virginia, p. 10.
4 Strachey, Historic of Travaile into Virginiay p. 94; Smith, vol. i.,
p. 140.
Construction of Indian Society 75
No. 3. The tomahawk, which he lays by at
dinner.
No. 4. His pocket, which is likewise stript off,
that he may be at full liberty.
No. 5. A fish. I Both ready
No. 6.' A heap of roasting ears. ) for dressing.
No. 7, The gourd of water.
No. 8. A cockle shell, which they sometimes
use instead of a spoon.
No. 9. The mat they sit on. All other matters
in this figure, are understood by the
foregoing, and following descriptions.
"Their fashion of sitting at meals, is on a
mat spread on the ground, with their legs out at
length before them, and the dish between their
legs, for which reason, they seldom or never sit
more than two together, at a dish, who may with
convenience mix their legs together, and have
the dish stand commodiously to them both. As
appears by the figure.
"The spoons which they eat with, do generally
hold half a pint; and they laugh at the English
for using small ones, which they must be forced
to carry so often to their mouths, that their arms
are in danger of being tired, before their belly. "^
"The men bestow their times in fishing, hunt-
ing, wars, and such man-like exercises, scorning
to be seen in any woman-like exercise, which is
the cause that the women be very painful,""
and the men often idle. The women and chil-
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 16-17.
" Oppressed with cares and duties.
f
76 The Forest Primeval
dren do the rest of the work. They make mats,
baskets, pots, morters, pound their corn, make
their bread, prepare their victuals, plant their
corn, gather their corn, bear all kind of burdens,
and such like." '
"Their manner of feeding is in this wise.
They lay a mat made of bents "^ on the ground, and
set their meat on the midst ^ thereof, and then
sit down round, the men upon one side, and the
women on the other. Their meat is maize sod-
den,"^ in such sort as I described it in the former
treatise, of very good taste, deer-flesh, or of some
other beast, and fish. They are very sober in
their eating, and drinking, and consequently very
long lived because they do not oppress nature. "^
Spelman's account of the manner the Indians
sat at meat is not Hke the picture given above,
which represents the man and his wife sitting
opposite to each other. He says:
"They sit on mats round about the house the
men by themselves and the women by themselves,
the women bring to every one a dish of meat, for
the better sort never eat together in one dish,
when he hath eaten what he will or that which
was given him, for he looks for no second course,
he sets down his dish by him and mumbleth cer-
tain words to himself in manner of giving thanks.
If any be left the women gather it up, and either
keep it till the next meal, or give it to the poorer
sort, if any be there. "^
^ Smith, vol. i., p. 131. ' Made of bent or plaited grass, etc.
3 Center. ■* Boiled. s Hariot's Narrative, xvi.
^ Spelman's Relation of Virginia, p. 51.
t
K
CHAPTER IV
MARRIAGE
SPELMAN gives us this account of their
manner of marrying:
"The custom is to have many wives
and to buy them, so it is he which has most copper
and beads may have most wives, for if he taketh
Hking of any woman he makes love to her, and
seeketh to her father or kinfolks to set what price
he must pay for her, which being once agreed on
the kindred meet and make good cheer, and when
the sum agreed on be paid she shall be delivered
to him for his wife. The ceremony is thus.
The parents bring their daughter between them,
if her parents be dead, then some of her kin-
folks, or whom it pleaseth the king' to appoint
(for the man goes not unto any place to be
married, but the woman is brought to him where
he dwelleth). At her coming to him, her father
or chief friend joins the hands together, and then
the father or chief friend of the man bringeth a
long string of beads and measuring his arm's
length thereof doth break it over the hands of
^It was by this title that the English designated the Wer-6-ances,
or Chiefs, of the various tribes of Indians.
77
f
78 The Forest Primeval
those that are to be married while their hands be
joined together, and gives it unto the woman's
father or him that brings her, and so with much
mirth and feasting they go together.
" When the king of the country will have any
wives he acquaints his chief men with his purpose,
who sends into all parts of the country for the
fairest and comliest maids out of which the king
taketh his choice, giving their parents what he
pleaseth. If any of the king's wives have once
a child by him, he keeps her no longer, but puts
her from him giving her sufficient copper and
beads to maintain her and the child while it is
young, and then is taken from her and main-
tained by the king, it now being lawful for her
being thus put away to marry with any other.
The king, Powhatan, having many wives, when
he goeth a hunting or to visit another king
under him (for he goeth not out of his own
country), he leaveth them with two old men who
have the charge of them till his return. " ^
"They express their love to such women as
they would make choice to live withall, by pre-
senting them with the fruits of their labors, as
by fowl, fish, or wild beasts, which by their
huntings, their bows and arrows, by weirs, or
otherwise, they obtain, which they bring unto
the young women, as also of such summer fruits
and berries which their travels abroad hath made
them known readily where to gather, and those
of the best kind in their season. If the young
' Spelman's Relation of Virginia^ p. 32.
Marriage 79
maiden become once to be sororians virgOy" and
live under parents, the parents must allow of the
suitor; and for their good will, the wooer prom-
iseth that the daughter shall not want of such
provisions, nor of deer-skins fitly dressed for to
wear; besides, he promiseth to do his endeavor
to procure her beads, pearl, and copper, and, for
handsell,^ gives her before them something as
a kind of arrasponsalitia,^ token of betrothing or
contract of a further amity and acquaintance to
be continued between them, and so after as the
liking grows ; and as soon as he hath provided her
a house (if he hath none before) and some plat-
ters, morters, and mats, he takes her home ; and
the wer-6-ances after this manner may have as
many as they can obtain, howbeit all the rest
whom they take after their first choice are (as it
were) mercenary, hired but by covenant and
condition, for a time, a year or so, after which
they may put them away; but if they keep them
longer than the time appointed, they must ever
keep them, how deformed, diseased, or unaccom-
paniable soever they may prove." "^
Courtship and marriage among the Indians
is thus described by Jones:
"Courtship was short, and like their mar-
riage unembarrassed by ceremony. If the pre-
sents of a young warrior are accepted by his
* A girl growing up with a man as his sister.
2 The first present sent to a young woman on her wedding day.
3 "Earnest money in ratification of the espousals."
* Strachey, Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 109.
»
8o The Forest Primeval
mistress, she is considered as having agreed to
become his wife, and without any farther explan-
ations to her family, she goes home to his hut.
The principles that are to regulate their future
conduct are well understood. He agrees to per-
form the more laborious duties of hunting and
fishing; of felling the trees, erecting the hut, con-
structing the canoe, and of fighting the enemies
of the tribe. To her custom had assigned almost
all the domestic duties; to prepare the food; to
watch over the infancy of the children. The
nature of their lives and circumstances added
another, which with more propriety, taken in a
general view, should have been exercised by the
male. It belonged to the women to plant the
corn, and attend all the other productions of an
Indian garden or plantation. But the labour
required for raising these articles was trifling,
and the warriors being engaged in hunting and
war, had neither leisure nor inclination to attend
to objects of such inferior consideration.
"Marriage, or the union of husband and wife,
stood precisely on the same footing as amongst
the other American tribes. A man might keep
as many wives as he could support. But in
general they had but one, whom, without being
obliged to assign any reason, they might at any
time abandon, and immediately form a new
engagement. The rights of the woman are the
same with this difference, that she cannot marry
again until the next annual festival.
"Nothing appears to them more repugnant to
Marriage 8i
nature and reason than the contrary system
which prevails among Christians. The Great
Spirit, say they, hath created us all to be happy;
and we should offend him were we to live in a
perpetual state of constraint and uneasiness.
"This system agrees with what one of the
Mi-am-is said to one of our missionaries. My
wife and I were continually at variance; my
neighbour disagreed equally with his; we have
changed wives, and are all satisfied. " '
"They punish adultery in a woman by cutting
off her hair, which they fix upon a long pole
without the town; which is such a disgrace
that the party is obliged to fly, and becomes a
victim of some enemy, a slave to some rover, or
perishes in the woods. " ""
"The Indians have their solemnities of mar-
riage, and esteem the vows made at that time, as
most sacred and inviolable. Notwithstanding
they allow both the man and the wife to part
upon disagreement; yet so great is the disreputa-
tion of a divorce, that married people, to avoid
the character of inconstant and ungenerous, very
rarely let their quarrels proceed to a separation.
However, when it does so happen, they reckon
all the ties of matrimony dissolved, and each
hath the liberty of marrying another. But
infidelity is accounted the most unpardonable of
all crimes in either of the parties, as long as the
contract continues.
' Burk, vol. iii., pp. 60-1.
* Jones's Present State of Virginia, p. 16.
6
82 The Forest Primeval
"In these separations, the children go, accord-
ing to the affection of the parent, with the one
or the other; for children are not reckoned a
charge among them, but rather riches, according
to the blessing of the Old Testament; and if they
happen to differ about dividing their children,
their method is then, to part them equally,
allowing the man the first choice.'"
"The reason which each chief patron of a
family, especially wer-6-ances, are desirous, and
indeed strive for many wives, is, because they
would have many children, who may, if chance
be, fight for them when they are old, as also then
feed and maintain them; yet sure, for the num-
ber of people inhabiting these parts, this country
hath not appeared so populous here to us as
elsewhere in the West Indies; and perhaps their
ignorance in not finding out yet the use of many
things necessary and beneficial to nature, which
their country yet plentifully and naturally af-
fords, their often wars for women (in which
many hundred perish) and their immoderate use
and multiplicity of women (and those often full
of foul diseases) leave this country not so well
stocked as other parts of the main, and as the
islands have been found to be by the Spaniards;
besides (under correction) it yet may be a prob-
lem in philosophy whether variety of women
be a furtherance or hinderer of many births, it
being clear in these countries where (as I said)
so many penuries for want of knowledge yet be
^ Beverley, book 3, p. 8.
Marriage 83
amongst the people, that the tired body cannot
have those sensual helps (as the Turks) to hold
up the immoderate desires, many women divid-
ing the body, and the strength thereof, make it
general unfit to the office of increase rather than
otherwise: and so may the common people
especially, for the most part, for this reason like-
wise be not so long lived here as elsewhere, even
amongst savages where greater moderation is
used, and where they keep a stricter ceremony
in their kind of marriages, and have not as many
women as they can buy or win by force and
violence from the enemies.
"We observe that those Indians which have
one, two or more women, take much [tobacco]
— but such as yet have no appropriate woman
take little or none at all. "'
» Strachey, Historic of TravaUe into Virginia, pp. 114, 121.
CHAPTER V
THE SEASONS AND FESTIVALS
BEVERLEY says:
'*They make their account by units, tens,
hundreds, &c, as we do, but they reckon
the years by the winters, or co-honks, as they call
them ; which is a name taken from the note of the
wild geese, intimating so many times of the wild
geese coming to them, which is every winter.
They distinguish the several parts of the year,
by five seasons, viz: The budding or blossoming
of the spring; the earing of the corn, or roasting
ear time; the summer, or highest sun; the corn
gathering, or fall of the leaf; and the winter
co-honks. They count the months likewise by
the moons, though not with any relation to so
many in a year, as we do: but they make them
return again by the same name, as the Moon of
Stags, the Corn Moon, the first and second
Moon of Co-honks, &c. They have no distinc-
tion of the hours of the day, but divide it only
into three parts, the rise, power and lowering of
the sun. And they keep their account by knots
on a string, or notches on a stick, not unlike the
Peruvian quippoes.'"
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 43-4. A quipu was a cord about two feet
long, tightly spun from variously colored threads, and having a
84
The Seasons and Festivals 85
"At a certain time of the year they make a
great, and solemn feast, whereunto their neigh-
bors of the towns adjoining repair from all
parts, every man attired in the most strange
fashion they can devise, having certain marks on
the backs to declare of what place they be. The
place where they meet is a broad plain, about the
which are planted in the ground, certain posts
carved with heads like to the faces of nuns
covered with their veils. Then being set in
order they dance, sing, and use the strangest
gestures that they can possibly devise. Three
of the fairest virgins of the company, are in the
midst which embracing one another do as it
were turn about in their dancing. All this is
done after the sun is set, for avoiding of heat.
When they are weary of dancing they go out of
the circle, and come in until their dances be
ended, and they go to make merry as is expressed
in the figure."
"Those which on each side are hopping upon
their hams,"* take that way of coming up to the
ring, and, when they find an opportunity, strike
in among the rest."^
"For their music they use a thick cane, on
which they pipe as on a recorder."^ For their
number of smaller threads attached to it in the form of a fringe,
used among the ancient Peruvians for recording events, &c.
^ Harlot's Narrative, xviii. Figure means the picture opposite the
preceding page. * Thighs. ^ Beverley, book 3, p. 54.
4 A musical instrument of the flageolet family having a long tube
with seven holes and a mouthpiece. The compass of the instrument
was about two octaves.
f
86 The Forest Primeval
wars they have a great deep platter of wood.
They cover the mouth thereof with a skin, at each
corner they tie a walnut, which meeting on the
back side near the bottom, with a small rope they
twitch them together till it be taut and stiff,
that they may beat upon it as upon a drum.
But their chief instruments are rattles made of
small gourds, or pumpeon shells. Of these they
have base, tenor, countertenor,^ mean,'' and
treble. These mingled with their voices, some-
times twenty or thirty together, make such a
terrible noise as would rather affright than de-
light any man. ">^
"Their sports and pastimes are singing, danc-
ing, instrumental music, and some boisterous
plays, which are performed by running, catching
and leaping upon one another; they have also
one great diversion, to the practising of which
are requisite whole handfuls of sticks or hard
straws, which they know how to count as fast as
they can cast their eyes upon them, and can
handle with a surprising dexterity.
"Their singing is not the most charming that
I have heard, it consists much in exalting the
voice, and is full of slow melancholy accents.
However, I must allow even this music to contain
some wild notes that are agreeable.
"Their dancing is performed either by few or
a great company, but without much regard either
to time or figure. The first of these is by one or
^ High tenor, or alto.
* A middle voice or voice-part. » Smith, vol. i., p. 136.
o
I
The Seasons and Festivals 87
two persons, or at most by three. In the mean-
time, the company sit about them in a ring upon
the ground, singing outrageously and shaking
their rattles. The dancers sometimes sing, and
sometimes look menacing and terrible, beat-
ing their feet furiously against the ground, and
showing ten thousand grimaces and distortions.
The other is performed by a great number of
people, the dancers themselves forming a ring,
and moving round a circle of carved posts,
that are set up for that purpose; or else round a
fire, made in a convenient part of the town; and
then each has his rattle in his hand, or what
other thing he fancies most, as his bow and
arrows, or his tomahawk. They also dress
themselves up with branches of trees, or some
other strange accoutrement. Thus they proceed,
dancing and singing, with all the antic postures
they can invent; and he is the bravest fellow
that has the most prodigious gestures. Some-
times they place three young women in the
middle of the circle, as you see in the figure."
"They have a fire made constantly every night,
at a convenient place in the town, whither all
that have a mind to be merry, at the public dance
or music, resort in the evening.
"Their musical instruments are chiefly drums
and rattles. Their drums are made of a skin,
stretched over an earthen pot half full of water.
Their rattles are the shell of a small gourd or
macock of the creeping kind. "^
' Picture. « Beverley, book 3, pp 53-5.
88 The Forest Primeval
Spelman gives this account of their pastimes:
"When they meet at feasts or otherwise they
use sports much hke to ours here in England as
their dancing which is like our Derbysher^
Hornpipe, a man first and then a woman, and so
through them all, hanging all in a round ^ there
is one which stands in the midst with a pipe^ and
a rattle with which when he begins to make a
noise all the rest gigett"^ about wringing their
necks and stamping on the ground.
"They use beside football play, which women
and young boys do much play at. The men
never. They make their goals as ours, only they
never fight nor pull one another down.
"The men play with a little ball letting it fall
out of their hand and striketh it with the top of
his foot, and he that can strike the ball furthest
wins that they play for."^
"When they have escaped any great danger
by sea or land, or be returned from the war, in
token of joy they make a great fire about which
the men and women sit together, holding a cer-
tain fruit in their hands like unto a round pom-
pion^ or a gourd, which after they have taken out
the fruits, and the seeds, then fill with small
stones or certain big kernels to make the more
noise and fasten that upon a stick, and singing
after their manner, they make merry: as myself
observed and noted down at my being among
^ Derbyshire, a midland county of England. * Circle.
3 Flageolet or whistle. 4 Move rapidly.
s Spelman *s Relation of Virginia^ p. 57. ^ Pumpkin.
Their Manner of Praying with Rattles about the Fire"
The Seasons and Festivals 89
them. For it is a strange custom, and worth the
observation. '"
Kercheval gives us this explanation of the term
"Indian Summer."
"This expression, Hke many others, has con-
tinued in general use, notwithstanding its
original import has been forgotten. A back-
woodsman seldom hears this expression without
feeling a chill of horror, because it brings to his
mind the painful recollection of its original appli-
cation. Such is the force of the faculty of asso-
ciation in human nature.
"The reader must here be reminded, that,
during the long continued Indian wars sustained
by the first settlers of the west, they enjoyed no
peace excepting in the winter season, when,
owing to the severity of the weather, the Indians
were unable to make their excursions into the
settlements. The onset of winter was therefore
hailed as a jubilee by the early inhabitants of
the country, who throughout the spring and early
part of the fall had been cooped up in their little
uncomfortable forts, and subjected to all the
distresses of the Indian war.
"At the approach of winter, therefore, all the
farmers, excepting the owner of the fort, removed
to their cabins on their farms, with the joyful
feeling of a tenant of a prison, recovering his
release from confinement. All was bustle and
hilarity in preparing for winter, by gathering
in the corn, digging potatoes, fattening hogs, and
^ Harlot's Narrative, xvii.
f
90 The Forest Primeval
repairing the cabins. To our forefathers the
gloomy months of winter were more pleasant
than the zephyrs and the flowers of May.
"It however sometimes happened, after the
apparent onset of winter, the weather became
warm; the smoky time commenced, and lasted
for a considerable number of days. This was
the Indian summer, because it afforded the In-
dians another opportunity of visiting the settle-
ments with their destructive warfare. The
melting of the snow saddened every countenance,
and the genial warmth of the sun chilled every
heart with horror. The apprehension of another
visit from the Indians, and of being driven back
to the detested fort, was painful in the highest
degree, and the distressing apprehension was
frequently realized.
'* Toward the latter part of February we com-
monly had a fine spell of open warm weather,
during which the snow melted away. This was
denominated the 'paw-waw-ing days,' from the
supposition that the Indians were then holding
their war councils, for planning ofi^ their spring
campaigns into the settlements. Sad experience
taught us that in this conjecture we were not
often mistaken."'
* Kercheval's History of the Valley, p. 189.
CHAPTER VI
FISHING, HUNTING, AND AGRICULTURE
THE Indian mode of fishing, is thus described
by Beverley:
'^Before the arrival of the English there,
the Indians had fish in such vast plenty, that the
boys and girls would take a pointed stick, and
strike the lesser sort, as they swam upon the
flats. The larger fish, that kept in deeper water,
they were put to a little more diflSculty to take;
but for these they made weirs, that is, a hedge
of small rived' sticks, or reeds, of the thickness
of a man's finger, these they wove together in a
row, with straps of green oak, or other tough
wood, so close that the small fish could not pass
through. Upon high water mark,"" they pitched^
one end of this hedge, and the other they ex-
tended into the river, to the depth of eight or
ten feet, fastening it with stakes, making cods^
out from the hedge on one side, almost at the end,
and leaving a gap for the fish to go into them,
» Split.
» That is when the tide was at its highest point, just before the
ebb set in. s Fastened into the ground.
4 Enclosures like a pouch or bag.
91
92 The Forest Primeval
which were contrived so that the fish could
easily find their passage into those cods, when
they were at the gap, but not see their way out
again, when they were in: thus if they offered
to pass through, they were taken.
"Sometimes they made such a hedge as this,
quite across a creek at high-water, and at low
would go into the run, so contracted into a
narrow compass, and take out what fish they
pleased.
"At the falls of the rivers, where the water
is shallow, and the current strong, the Indians
use another kind of weir, thus made: They
make a dam of loose stone, whereof there is
plenty at hand, quite across the river, leaving
one, two, or more spaces or trunnels, for the
water to pass through; at the mouth of which
they set a pot of reeds, wove in form of a cone,
whose base is about three feet, and perpendicular
ten, into which the swiftness of the current car-
ries the fish, and wedges them so fast, that they
cannot possibly return.
"The Indian way of catching sturgeon when
they came into the narrow part of the rivers, was
by a man's clapping' a noose over their tail, and
by keeping fast his hold. Thus a fish finding it-
self intangled, would flounce, and often pull them
under water, and then that man was counted
a cock-a-rouse, or brave fellow that would not
let go, till with swimming, wading and diving
he had tired the sturgeon, and brought it ashore.
' Put by a sudden movement.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 93
These sturgeon would also often leap into their
canoes, in crossing the river, as many of them do
still every year, into the boats of the English.
"They have also another way of fishing like
those on the Euxine sea, by the help of a blazing
fire at night. They make a hearth in the middle
of their canoe, raising it within two inches of
the edge: upon this they lay their burning light-
wood, split into small shivers, each splinter
whereof will blaze and burn, end for end, like a
candle. ^Tis one man's work to tend this fire
and keep it flaming. At each end of the canoe
stands an Indian, with a gig, or pointed spear,
setting the canoe forward with the butt-end of
the spear, as gently as he can, by that means
stealing upon the fish, without any noise, or dis-
turbing of the water. Then they, with great
dexterity, dart these spears into the fish, and so
take them. Now there is a double convenience
in the blaze of this fire : for it not only dazzles the
eyes of the fish, which will lie still, glaring upon
it, but likewise discovers the bottom of the river
clearly to the fisherman, which the daylight does
not."^
Glover, in describing this fire-fishing, says
that the hearth was fixed at the head of the canoe,
and in it, on a dark night, would be made a fire
with sticks of pine. They would then paddle
along the shore in shallow water. The fish,
seeing the light, would come as thick as they
could swim by each other to the head of the canoe.
* Beverley, book 2, pp. 32-4.
94 The Forest Primeval
With sharpened sticks the Indians would strike
through them, and lift them into the canoe.'
Strachey, speaking of the ingenuity of the
Indians, describes their weirs as:
"Certain enclosures made of reeds, and framed
in the fashion of a labyrinth or maze set a fathom
deep in the water, with divers chambers or beds,
out of which the entangled fish cannot return
or get out, being once in. Well may a great one,
by chance, break the reeds and so escape, other-
wise he remains a prey to the fishermen the next
low water, which they fish with a net at the end
of a pole."''
The picture on the next page represents the
Indians in a canoe, with a fire in the middle,
tended by a boy and a girl. In one end is a
net made of silk grass, which they use in fishing
their weirs. Above is the shape of their weirs,
and the manner of setting a weir-wedge across
the mouth of a creek.
"Note, that in fishing their weirs, they lay
the side of the canoe to the cods^ of the weir,
for the more convenient coming at them, and
not with the end going into the cods, as is set
down in the print. But we could not otherwise
represent it here, lest we should have confounded
the shape of the weir, with the canoe.
" In the air you see a fishing-hawk flying away
^Account of Virginia, pp. 23-4.
" Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 68.
J The cods of the weir are the parts forming the pouch, or bag in
which the fish were entrapped.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 95
with a fish, and a bald-eagle pursuing, to take it
from him ; the bald-eagle has always his head and
tail white, and they carry such a lustre with them
that the white thereof may be discerned as far
as you can see the shape of the bird. "'
"Their fishing is much in boats. These they
make of one tree by burning and scratching away
the coals with stones and shells, till they have
made it in form of a trough. Some of them
are an elne^ deep, and forty or fifty feet in length,
and some will bear 40 men, but the most
ordinary are smaller, and will bear 10, 20,
or 30, according to their bigness. Instead of
oars, they use paddles and sticks, with which
they will row faster than our barges. Betwixt
their hands and thighs, their women use to
spin the barks of trees, deer sinews or a kind of
grass they call pem-me-naw, of these they make
a thread very even and readily. This thread
serveth for many uses. As about their housing,
apparel, as also they make nets for fishing, for
the quantity as formally braided^ as ours. They
also make with it lines for angles."^ Their hooks
are either a bone grated as they notch their
arrows in the form of a crooked pin or fish-hook,
or of the splinter of a bone tied to the clift^ of
a little stick, and with the end of the line, they
tie on the bait. They use also long arrows tied
in a line, wherewith they shoot at fish in the
rivers. But they of Ac-caw-mack^ use staves like
^ Beverley, book 2, pp. 34-5. ' The English ell, 45 inches.
s Interwoven. 4 Fish-hooks.
s Crotch or fork. ^ The Eastern Shore of Virginia.
96 The Forest Primeval
unto javelins headed with bone. With these
they dart^ fish swimming in the water. They
have also many artificial^ weirs, in which they
get abundance of fish.
"In their hunting and fishing, they take ex-
treme pains; yet it being their ordinary exercise
from their infancy, they esteem it a pleasure and
are very proud to be expert therein. And by
their continual ranging^ and travel, they know all
the advantages and places most frequented with
deer, beasts, fish, fowl, roots and berries. At
their huntings they leave their habitations, and
reduce themselves into companies as the Tartars
do, and go to the most desert places with their
families, where they spend their time in hunting
and fowling up towards the mountains, by the
heads of their rivers, where there is plenty of
game. For betwixt the rivers'^ the grounds are so
narrow that little cometh here which they devour
not. It is a marvel they can so directly pass
these deserts,^ some three or four days' journey
without habitation.
"Their hunting-houses are like unto arbors
covered with mats. These their women bear
after them, with corn, acorns, mortars, and all
bag and baggage they use. When they come to
the place of exercise, every man doth his best to
show his dexterity, for by their excelHng in those
qualities, they get their wives. Forty yards
I Transfix with a dart. » Made by art or science. ^ Hunting.
4 Smith here refers to the peninsula between the James and the
York.
s Forests uninhabited by man.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 97
will they shoot level, or very near the mark, and
120 is their best at random.
"At their huntings in the deserts they are com-
monly two or three hundred together. Having
found the deer, they environ them with many
fires, and betwixt the fires they place themselves.
And some take their stands in the midst. The
deer being thus feared by the fires, and their
voices, they chase them so long within that circle,
that many times they kill 6, 8, 10 or 15, at a
hunting. They used also to drive them into some
narrow point of land, when they find that advan-
tage ; and so force them into the river, where with
their boats they have ambuscadoes to kill them.
When they have shot a deer by land, they follow
him like bloodhounds by the blood, and strain, ^
and often-times so take them. Hares, par-
tridges, turkeys or eggs, fat or lean, young or old,
they devour all they can catch in their power.
In one of these huntings they found me in the dis-
covery of the head of the river of Chick-a-ham-
a-ni-a,^ where they slew my men, and took me
prisoner in a bogmire,^ where I saw those ex-
ercises, and gathered these observations.
"One savage hunting alone, useth the skin of a
deer slit on the one side, and so put on his arm,
through the neck, so that his hand comes to the
head which is stuffed, and the horns, head, eyes,
ears, and every part as artificially* counterfeited
as they can devise. Thus shrowding his body in
' A hunting term meaning the view or track of the game.
» The Chickahominy. 3 Swamp or marsh. * Artfully.
98 The Forest Primeval
the skin by stalking/ he approacheth the deer,
creeping on the ground from one tree to another.
If the deer chance to find fault/ or stand at gaze,
he turneth the head with his hand to his best
advantage to seem like a deer, also gazing and
licking himself. So watching his best advantage
to approach, having shot him, he chaseth him by
his blood and strain till he get him.^'^
*'They have likewise a notable way to catch
fish in their rivers, for whereas they lack both
iron, and steel, they fasten unto their reeds or
long rods, the hollow tail of a certain fish like to
a sea-crab instead of a point, wherewith by night
or day they strike^ fish, and take them up into
their boats. They also know how to use the
prickles, and pricks of other fishes. They also
make weirs, with setting up reeds or twigs in the
water, which they so plant one with another,
that they grow narrower, and narrower as
appeareth by this figure.^ There was never seen
among us so cunning a way to take fish withal,
whereof sundry sorts as they found in their
rivers, unlike unto ours, which are also a very
good taste. Doubtless it is a pleasant sight to
see the people sometimes wading, and going
sometimes sailing in those rivers, which are
shallow and not deep, free from all care of heap-
ing up riches for their posterity, content with
their state, and living friendly together of those
* Approaching quietly and warily. » Catch scent of the hunter.
3 Smith, vol, i., pp. 132-4. -» Strike with a spear.
s The picture already given showing the Indian modes of fishing.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 99
things which God of his bounty hath given unto
them, yet without giving him any thanks accord-
ing to his deserts. " '
Spelman gives this account of their hunting:
"Their manner of their hunting is this, they
meet some 200 or 300 together and having
their bows and arrows and every one with a
fire-stick in their hand they beset a great
thicket round about, which done, every one sets
fire on the rank grass, which the dear feigne^
fleeth from the fire, and the men coming in by
a Httle and Kttle encloseth their game in a
narrow room,^ so as with their bows and arrows
they kill them at their pleasure, taking their skins
which is the greatest thing they desire, and some
flesh for their provision."^
The Indian hunting is thus more fully de-
scribed by Beverley:
"The Indians had no other way of taking their
water or land fowl, but by the help of bows and
arrows: yet, so great was their plenty that with
this weapon only, they killed what numbers
they pleased. And when the water-fowl kept
far from shore (as in warmer weather they
sometimes did), they took their canoes, and
paddled after them.
"But they had a better way of killing the elks,
buff^aloes, deer, and greater game, by a method
which we call fixre-hunting: That is, a company of
them would go together back into the woods,
* Harlot's Narrative, xiii. * Desiring to flee from.
3 Are^. 4 Spelman 's Relation of Virginia, p. 31.
100 The Forest Primeval
any time in the winter, when the leaves were
fallen, and so dry, that they would burn; and
being come to the place designed, they would fire
the woods, in a circle of five or six miles compass;
and when they had completed the first round,
they retreated inward, each at his due distance,
and put fire to the leaves and grass afresh, to
accelerate the work, which ought to be finished
with the day. This they repeat, till the circle
be so contracted, that they can see their game
herded all together in the middle, panting and
almost stifled with heat and smoke; for the poor
creatures being frightened at the flame, keep
running continually round, thinking to run from
it, and dare not pass through the fire, by which
means they are brought at last into a very narrow
compass. Then the Indians let fly their arrows
at them, and (which is very strange) though
they stand all round quite clouded in smoke,
yet they rarely shoot each other. By this means
they destroy all the beasts, collected within that
circle. They make all this slaughter only for the
sake of the skins, leaving the carcasses to perish
in the woods.
"The Indians have many pretty inventions,
to discover and come up to the deer, turkeys and
other game undiscerned; but that being an art,
known to very few English there, I will not be so
accessory' to the destruction of their game, as to
make it public. I shall therefore only tell you,
that when they go a-hunting into the outlands,^
^ Aiding and abetting. ^ Remote places.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture loi
they commonly go out for the whole season, with
their wives and family. At the place where they
find the most game, they build up a convenient
number of small cabins, wherein they live during
that season. These cabins are both begun, and
finished in two or three days, and after the season
is over, they make no further account of them.
"This and a great deal more was the natural
production of that country, which the native
Indians enjoyed, without the curse of industry,
their diversion alone, and not their labor, supply-
ing their necessities. The women and children
indeed, were so far provident, as to lay up some
of the nuts, and fruits of the earth, in their season
for their further occasions : but none of the toils of
husbandry were exercised by this happy people.
Except the bare planting a little corn and melons,
which took up only a few days in the summer, the
rest being wholly spent in the pursuit of their
pleasures. And indeed all that the English have
done, since their going thither, has been only to
make some of these native pleasures more scarce,
by an inordinate and unseasonable use of them:
hardly making improvements equivalent to that
damage."^
The cultivation of the soil was the character-
istic which distinguished the Indians of this part
of the world from those living in the northwestern
portion of the continent, and which is the reason
that they are classed as barbarous, instead of
« Beverley, book 2, pp. 38-40.
102 The Forest Primeval
savage, the latter living only by fishing and
hunting.
The early records abound with incidents which
show what an important part this cultivation of
the land played in the life of the Indians and of
the first settlers. The Indians had corn. The
settlers needed food. There was trading with
the Indians for their corn in exchange for
European commodities. They appear to have
generally had enough corn for themselves and a
surplus which they could sell.
The White and De Bry pictures represent large
cornfields in close proximity to the towns, and
also tobacco, pumpkins, melons, and a variety of
other products.
The cultivation of these articles of food was
a part of the work which custom assigned to the
women. The women were aided in the work by
the children. '
The men fished, hunted, felled trees, made
canoes, bows and arrows, and fought the battles
of their nation. Such work as attending to a
cornfield they deemed beneath their dignity.
These cultivated tracts were called by the
English, in later times, at least, "Indian Old
Fields." They were very numerous, as the
villages themselves were, and were regarded
generally as very fertile. They were sometimes
very extensive, Strachey stating that at Ke-
cough-tan (Hampton) there were two or three
thousand acres cleared.
^ Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. iii, 1 16-17.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 103
So important was this cuhivation that the
Enghsh found one of the most effective ways of
fighting the Indians was to destroy their corn
crops. This was conspicuously the case in the
war with the Pa-mun-keys, in 1624, when, after
a battle lasting two days against eight hundred
Indian warriors, enough corn was destroyed to
have sustained four thousand men for a twelve-
month.
Their system of planting is thus presented to
us by Spelman:
"They make most commonly a place about
their houses to set their corn, which if there be
much wood, in that place they cut down the great
trees some half a yard above the ground, and the
smaller they burn at the root, pulling a good part
of bark from them, to make them die, and in this
place they dig many holes which before the
English brought them shovels and spades they
used to make with a crooked piece of wood being
scraped on both sides in fashion of a gardener's
paring-iron. They put into these holes ordina-
rily four or five kernels of their wheat and two
beans like French beans, which, when the wheat
doth grow up, having a straw as big as a cane-
reed, the beans run up therein like our hops on
poles. The ears of the wheat ^ are of great bigness
in length and compass and yet for all the great-
ness of it every stalk hath most commonly some
four or five ears on it. Their corn is set and
gathered about the time we use,^ but their man-
* Indian com. ^ * Do these things.
f
104 The Forest Primeval
ner of their gathering is as we do our apples, first
in a hand-basket, emptying them as they are
filled into other bigger baskets, whereof some are
made of the barks of trees, some of hemp, which
naturally groweth there, and some of the straw
whereon the wheat groweth. Now after the
gathering, they lay it upon mats a good thickness
in the sun to dry and every night they make a
great pile of it, covering it over with mats to
defend it from the dew, and when it is sufficiently
weathered, they pile it up in their houses daily
as occasion serveth, wringing the ears in pieces^
between their hands, and so rubbing out their
corn do put it into a great basket which taketh
up the best part of some of their houses, and all
this is chiefly the womens' work, for the men do
hunt to get skins in winter and do tew^ or dress
them in summer.
''But, though now out of order, yet let me not
altogether forget the setting of the King's corn,
for which a day is appointed wherein great part
of the country people meet, who, with such dili-
gence worketh,as, for the most part, all the King's
corn is set on a day; after which setting the King
takes the crown which the King of England sent
him,^ being brought him by two men, and sets it
on his head, which done the people goeth about
the corn in manner backwards, for they going
before, and the King following, their faces are
» Shelling the com.
2 To make hides into leather by soaking them after cleaning, etc.
3 The copper crown sent over to Powhatan by King James I.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 105
always toward the King, expecting when he
should fling some beads among them, which his
custom is at that time to do, making those which
had wrought, to scramble for them. But to
some he favors, he bids those that carry his
beads to call such and such unto him, unto whom
he giveth beads into their hands, and this is the
greatest courtesy he doth his people. When his
corn is ripe, the country people come to him
again and gather, dry and rub out all his corn
for him, which is laid in houses appointed for
that purpose.'"
Tobacco, "the Indians' revenge upon the
White Man," as it has been well called, is thus
described by Hariot. It is interesting to read
the estimation in which this weed was held, and
the various virtues attributed to it, virtues,
which three hundred years of use, have abund-
antly proved never existed.
"'There is an herb which is sowed apart by
itself, and is called by the inhabitants up-po-woc :
in the West Indies it hath divers names, accord-
ing to the several places and countries where it
groweth and is used : the Spaniards general!}^ call
it tobacco. The leaves thereof being dried and
brought into powder, they used to take the fume
or smoke thereof, by sucking it through pipes
made of clay, into their stomach and head : from
whence it purgeth superflous phlegm and other
gross humors, and openeth all the pores and
' Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 47-50.
f
1 06 The Forest Primeval
passages of the body; by which means the use
thereof not only preserveth the body from ob-
structions, but also (if any be, so that they have
not been of too long continuance) in short time
breaketh them: whereby their bodies are notably
preserved in health, and know not many grievous
diseases, wherewithal we in England are often
times afflicted.
"We ourselves, during the time we were there,
used to suck it after their manner, as also since
our return, and have found many rare and
wonderful experiments of the virtues thereof:
of which the relation would require a volume
by itself: the use of it by so many of late, men
and women of great calling, as else,^ and
some learned physicians also, is sufficient
witness.'""
The Indians' method of cultivating this
plant so highly valued, is thus described by
Glover :
"In the Twelve days^ they begin to sow their
seed in beds of fine mould, and when the plants
be grown to the breadth of a shilling, they are fit
to replant into the hills; for in their plantations
they make small hills about four feet distant from
each other, somewhat after the manner of our
hop-yards. These hills being prepared against
the plants be grown to the forementioned bigness
^ Else, meaning besides these great personages, persons of lesser
station.
' Hakluyt, vol. ii., p. 339.
3 The Epiphany season, the twelfth day after Christmas, January,
6th.
Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture 107
(which is about the beginning of May) they then
in moist weather draw the plants out of their
beds, and replant them in the hills, which after-
wards they keep with diligent weedings. When
the plant hath put out so many leaves as the
ground will nourish to a substance and largeness
that will render them merchantable, then they
take off the top of the .plant ; if the ground be very
rich, they let a plant put out a dozen or sixteen
leaves before they top it; if mean, ^ then not above
nine or ten, and so according to the strength of
their soil, the top being taken if the plant grows
no higher; but afterwards it will put out suckers
between their leaves, which they pluck away
once a week, till the plant comes to perfection,
which it doth in August. Then in dry weather,
when there is a little breeze of wind, they cut
down what is ripe, letting it lie about four hours
on the ground, till such time as the leaves, that
stood strutting out, fall down to the stalk, then
they carry it on their shoulders into their to-
bacco-houses, where other servants taking of it,
drive into the stalk of each plant a peg, and as
fast as they are pegged, they hang them up by the
pegs on tobacco-sticks, so nigh each other that
they just touch, much after the manner they
hang herrings in Yarmouth. Thus they let them
hang five or six weeks, till such time as the stem
in the middle of the leaf will snap in the bending
of it. Then, when the air hath so moistened the
leaf as that it may be handled without breaking,
' Average.
io8 The Forest Primeval
they strike it down, strip it off the stalk, bind it
up in bundles, and pack it into hogsheads for use.
"Sometimes they are forced to plant their
hills twice or thrice over, by reason of an earth-
worm which eats the root, and when the plant is
well grown they suffer damage by a worm that
devours the leaf, called a horn-worm (an Eruca
or Caterpillar) which is bred upon the leaf; if
these worms be not carefully taken off, they will
spoil the whole crop."^
^ Account of Virginia, pp. 28-30.
i
CHAPTER VII
CANOE-, ARROW-, AND POTTERY-MAKING
IN describing the handicrafts of the Indians,
Beverley says:
"They rubbed fire out of particular sorts of
wood (as the ancients did out of the ivy and bays)
by turning the end of a hard piece upon the side
of a piece that is soft and dry, like a spindle on its
inke," by which it heats, and at length burns, to
this they put sometimes also rotten wood, and
dry leaves to hasten the work.
"Under the disadvantage of such tools, they
made a shift to fell vast, great trees, and clear the
land of wood, in places where they had occasion.
"They bring down a great tree by making a
small fire round the root, and keeping the flame
from running upward, until they burn away so
much of the base, that the least puff of wind
throws it down. When it is prostrate, they burn
it off to what length they would have it, and
with their stone tomahawks break off all the bark,
which when the sap runs, will easily strip, and
at other times also, if it be well warmed with
fire. When it is brought to a due length, they
raise it upon a bed to a convenient height for
^ The socket of a mill-spindle.
IQ9
no The Forest Primeval
their working, and they begin by gentle fires
to hollow it, and with scrapers rake the trunk,
and turn away the fire from one place to another,
till they have deepened the belly of it to their
desire. Thus also they shape the ends, till they
have made it a fit vessel for crossing the water,
and this they call a canoe, one of which I have
seen thirty feet long.
"When they wanted any land to be cleared of
the woods, they chopped a notch round the trees
quite through the bark with their stone hatchets,
or tomahawks, and that deadened the trees, so
that they sprouted no more, but in a few years
fell down. However, the ground was plantable,
and would produce immediately upon the wither-
ing of the trees : but now for all these uses they
employ axes, and little hatchets, which they buy
of the English. The occasions aforementioned,
and the building of their cabins, are still the
greatest use they have for these utensils, because
they trouble not themselves with any other sort
of handicraft, to which such tools are necessary.
"Their household utensils are baskets, made
of silk-grass ; gourds, which grow to the shapes
they desire them; and earthen pots, to boil
victuals in, which they make of clay. "'
In the account of Master Barlow of the first
voyage to Virginia, made for Sir Walter Raleigh,
in 1584, he tells us how they made their canoes.
He says:
"Their boats were made of one tree, either of
« Beverley, book 3, pp. 60-2.
u
H
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making iii
pine, or of pitch-trees, a wood not commonly
known to our people, nor found growing in Eng-
land. They have no edge-tools to make them
withal, if they have any they are very few, and
those it seems they had twenty years since,
which, as those two men' declared, was out of a
wreck, which happened upon their coast of some
Christian ship, being beaten that way by some
storm and outrageous weather, whereof none of
the people were saved; but only one ship, or
some part of her being cast upon the land, out of
whose sides they drew the nails and the spikes,
and with those they made their best instruments.
The manner of making their boats is thus; they
burn down some great tree, or take such as are
wind-fallen, and putting gum and rosin upon one
side thereof, they set fire into it, and when it has
burnt it hollow, they cut out the coal with their
shells, and ever where they would burn it deeper
or wider they lay on gums, which burn away the
timber, and by this means they fashion very fine
boats, and such as will transport twenty men.
Their oars are like scoops, and many times they
set^ with long poles as the depth serves."^
"Their fire they kindle presently by chafing
a dry pointed stick in a hole of a little square
piece of wood, that firing itself, will so fire the
moss, leaves, or any such like dry thing, that will
quickly burn. ""^
*Two Indians, Man-te-o and Wan-che-se, whom Barlow took
back with him to England.
' Propel the canoe by pushing against the bottom of the stream.
5 Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. ii., pp. 282 et seq. 4 Smith, vol, i., p. 131.
112 The Forest Primeval
"Before I finish my account of the Indians,
it will not be amiss to inform you, that when the
English went first among them, they had no sort
of iron or steel instruments: but their knives
were either sharpened reeds, or shells, and their
axes sharp stones bound to the end of a stick, and
glued in with turpentine. By the help of these,
they made their bows of the locust tree, an exces-
sive hard wood when it is dry, but much more
easily cut when it is green, of which they always
took the advantage.^ They made their arrows
of reeds or small wands, which needed no other
cutting, but in the length, being otherwise ready
for notching, feathering and heading. They
fledged their arrows with turkey-feathers, which
they fastened with glue made of the velvet
horns of a deer, but it has not that quality it's
said to have, of holding against all weathers.
They armed the heads with a white transparent
stone, like that of Mexico mentioned by Peter
Martyr, of which they have many rocks; they
also headed them with the spurs of the wild
turkey cock."^
Strachey says that they also made their bows
out of "weech," that is, the witch-hazel; and
their shields were made of the bark of trees,
thick enough to keep out an arrow. Their use
was not universal.^
The following excellently expressed remarks
* That is, cut it when it was green.
2 Beverley, book 3, p. 60.
3 Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ pp. 1 05-6.
Plate I
Paleolithic Implements from the District of Columbia
From the American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, p. 238
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 113
on the stone implements which have been found
in Denmark apply equally to those found in
Virginia, and well deserve to be reproduced:
"It must excite our astonishment that any
uncivilized people should be capable of producing
such well-finished instruments of stone. The
arrow-heads" frequently found "are so admir-
ably formed, that at the present day, with all
the advantage of our modern tools of metal, we
could scarcely equal, certainly could not surpass
them; and yet it is supposed the use of metals
was not understood. We can easily see and
understand how the arrow-head or axe was first
formed and afterwards polished; for indeed in
several instances the very whetstones have been
found near such stone implements; we are also
able to prove that the greater part of the arrow-
heads are formed of flints, which the makers knew
how to split out of large masses of that stone.
But the manner in which they contrived by means
of a stone, so to split the flint, and that too, into
such long and slender pieces, is still a mystery
to us; for from those uncivilized nations which
still make use of stone implements no satis-
factory information has yet been obtained as
to the mode in which they manufacture them.
Some have been of opinion that the aborigines
endeavored to prevent the splitting of the stone
by boiling it, or by keeping it under water while
they fashioned it into the desired form. Others,
on the contrary, have maintained, that such
stone implements could not possibly have been
114 The Forest Primeval
so well formed by means of a stone, but must
have been the work of those who were possessed
of the necessary metal. Probably the truth lies
between these two opinions, namely, in the sup-
position, that in the earliest times, when the
use of metals was unknown, the stone imple-
ments were of the very simplest make, but that
at a later period, when some had attained to the
use of metals, they assumed a more perfect and
handsome form. For it must be borne in mind
that the use of instruments of stone unquestion-
ably extended over a very long period.
"Lastly, we must not lose sight of this fact,
that the weapons and instruments of stone which
are found in the north, in Japan, in America,
the South Sea Islands and elsewhere, have for the
most part such an extraordinary resemblance
to one another in point of form, that one might
almost suppose the whole of them to have been
the production of the same maker. The reason
of this is very obvious, namely, that their form
is that which first and most naturally suggests
itself to the human mind.'"
The location of some of the aboriginal work-
shops of the men of the Stone Age have been
definitely fixed. One of these is in the District
of Columbia, on the north bank of Piney Branch,
near its confluence with Rock Creek, just below
the Fourteenth Street bridge. An account of
this is given by Mr. S. V. Proudfit:
" From the bed of the creek to the brow of the
' The Primeval Antiquities of Denmark by Worsaae, pp. 22-3.
r\
Plate n
Paleolithic Implements from the District of Columbia
From the American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, p. 238
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 115
hill, and for some distance back, the ground is
littered, and in many places covered to the depth
of several inches, with chipped stones, chips, and
flakes. Many of the stones show but slight
marks of chipping, a few pieces having been
struck off without materially modifying the
original form. Others, however, and they may
be numbered by the thousand, have been worked
into definite form. The material used was the
quartzite pebble, which composes to a large
extent the gravel beds of the hill. The forms
vary from that of the split pebble, with the outer
face worked at the edges, leaving the center with
its original surface untouched (see c, Plate III,
and a, Plate IV), to that of the almond shape,
chipped on both sides (see b, Plate IV). While
these ruder forms constitute for the greater part
the mass of the remains, thin knife-shaped imple-
ments of the same material are also found (see
c, Plate IV). Most of these are broken, but
perfect specimens occur frequently. While an
occasional arrow-head has been found, not a
scrap of pottery or other indication of residence
marks the place.
"'On the level ground at the top of the hill,
the earth in places is covered with small chips and
flakes, and mingled with them the butts and tips
of broken knives. The comparative absence
of rough material, large chips, and rude forms,
noted on the hillside below, and the presence of
small chips and finished forms, are at once ap-
parent, and are not without suggestion as to the
#
ii6 The Forest Primeval
relative character of the work prosecuted in each
place.
"The area covered by this workshop, embrac-
ing several acres in extent, is not confined to the
north side of the branch, but includes both sides,
as well as the very bed of the stream. The
greater part of the work, however, was done on
the north side, and any attempt to state its
amount would hardly be received with credence
by one who has not visited the place and made it
a study.
" Similar workshops, though less in extent, are
found in several places on Rock Creek below
Piney Branch. In some instances these places
cover but a few square yards ; in others the work
is scattered over the hillsides in profusion.
"My own conclusion as to the relics found at
these points is that they are the resultant debris
of Indian workshops, where material was roughly
blocked out, to be afterward fashioned into
knives, spearheads, etc. ; and that no good reason
is yet apparent for attributing their origin to
paleolithic man.'
"Among the remains found on the village sites
fragments of soapstone vessels and other forms
of the same material frequently occur, and in
sufficient quantity to establish the fact that the
value of soapstone for vessels and other articles
of domestic use had received substantial recogni-
tion. The material is found in many places in
' That is, to a race antedating the Indians of the period of the
Conquest.
Plate III
Rude Chipped Implements from the District of Columbia
From the American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, p. 242
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 117
the Potomac valley, and several aboriginal
quarries have been located within the limits of
the District. The most notable of these is the
Rose Hill quarry, about three miles north of the
city and near Tenleytown, a full account of
which was furnished by Doctor Reynolds in the
13th Annual Report of the Peabody Museum.
An examination of the place shows extensive
workings, prosecuted intelligently and with
considerable success. Pits and trenches, now
filled with trees and underbrush, mark the hill-
side on every hand, and rough fragments of
broken and unfinished vessels are scattered about
half buried in the forest soil that has accumulated
since the abandonment of the quarry. The
comparative absence of fragments would seem to
indicate that the process of manufacture at this
place was not carried farther than to reduce the
original block to a vessel convenient in size and
weight for transportation.
"At a point one mile below Falls Church,
Virginia, on the old Febrey estate, I found a
small but interesting soapstone workshop. It
is located on a hillside overlooking Four-Mile
Run and about one-fourth of a mile below a
recently worked soapstone quarry. Large pieces
of the unworked stone and fragments of
unfinished vessels covered the ground, which
occupies an area of not more than half an acre in
extent. No perfect vessels were found, and the
best specimen obtained was a small core worked
out from the interior of a vessel in the process
f
ii8 The Forest Primeval
of its construction. Several quartz implements
suited for working the stone were found mingled
with the debris. The amount of material on the
ground was comparatively small, when compared
with that at the Rose Hill quarry, and probably
it had been carried from the quarry above,
where the recent operations have obliterated
all traces of ancient mining, if any existed.
Careful and repeated research in the neigh-
borhood of this quarry only resulted in the
discovery of a few pieces of unfinished vessels
— enough, perhaps, to justify the conclusion
that this quarry furnished the material used
at the workshop.
"Taking the evidence of the fields of to-day,
we are enabled to supplement, in some degree,
the brief historic account of the early people of
the Potomac. Where recorded observation has
fallen short the archaeologist may thus take up
the study of this primitive period in the less
imperishable, though unwritten, record left by
this vanished people.
"Having identified a camp site by means of
historical evidence, it is eas}^, by a study of its
character, to determine the location of others of
equal importance, though not mentioned by the
historian, especially where the remains are so
abundant and distinctive in character as they
are in this region. By adding the deductions
to be drawn from the comparative study of the
archaeologic material to the historic facts we
may determine the status and rank of this
Plate IV
Rude Chipped Implements from the District of Columbia
From the American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, p. 244
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 119
people among the aboriginal tribes of North
America."'
The following interesting account of the pot-
tery of the Potomac, tide-water region, is given
by Mr. W. H. Holmes:
"The manufacture of earthenware was one of
the few simple arts practiced by the primitive
inhabitants of the Potomac, tide-water region.
Clay was employed chiefly in the construction of
vessels for domestic purposes, and fragments of
the fragile utensils were left upon camp sites
or built into the gradually accumulating masses
of kitchen refuse. These sherds constitute the
chief record upon which we rely for our knowl-
edge of the art.
"Meagre references to the use of earthen ves-
sels by the natives are found in the writings of
the first colonists, and it is known that feeble
remnants of the Virginia Indians have con-
tinued to practice the art even down to our own
time.
"It is difficult to say whether or not pottery
was universally employed by the tribes who dwelt
upon or who from time to time visited our shores,
for its durability varies greatly, and the village
sites that now furnish us no specimens whatever
may in former times have been well supplied.
" It may further be noted that the duration of
the practice of art cannot be definitely deter-
mined; for, although fragments may be found
from base to summit of shell-heaps and mounds
' The American Anthropologist^ vol. xi., pp. 244-6.
120 The Forest Primeval
that must have been hundreds of years building
or accumulating, we cannot as yet say that a
long paleolithic epoch of occupation did not
pass entirely without pottery.
"Whole vessels are rarely found, and such as
we have are recovered from graves where they
were deposited with especial care and at consider-
able depth. From camp or village sites and
from all artificial deposits and accumulations
where they are mere refuse they are recovered in
a fragmentary state and in pieces so small and so
entirely disassociated that full restorations are
exceedingly difficult.
''There is enough, however, to give a pretty
clear idea of the scope of the art and of the
character of its products — enough, it may be
added, to enable us to form a definite notion of
the culture status of the pre-Columbian peoples
as well as to throw considerable light upon their
ethnic affinities.
"The localities represented are quite numer-
ous and very generally distributed along the
shores of rivers and bays.
"The clay employed is of varying degrees of
purity and is tempered with divers ingredients.
These ingredients have varied with tribes and
with localities; they comprise all grades and
varieties of sand and artificially pulverized rock,
such as quartz, schist, steatite, etc. Pounded
shell was extensively employed, but the frag-
ments of this substance have in many cases
decayed and dropped out, and are represented
Types of form, pottery of the Potomac Valley.
Plate V
Examples of Fabrics Impressed upon Pottery of the Potomac Valley
From the American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, p. 250
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 121
by the irregular pits which now characterize
many of the sherds.
"The percentage of these ingredients is often
surprisingly great, as they constitute one-half
or even, in cases, three-fourths of the mass.
"Upon what theory these tempering substances
were added to the clay we are unable positively
to determine. We conjecture that strength,
porosity, resistance to heat, etc., were qualities
especially sought, but we cannot say that super-
stition did not have something to do with it.
The potter may have believed that the clay at
hand, unmixed with ingredients from particular
localities or of certain kinds, would subject the
utensils made from it to the influence of malig-
nant spirits, or from a vision or dream he may
have learned that a vessel not containing a
proper amount of shell material would never be
well filled with chowder or with terrapin.
"Of the preparation of the clay we can say
nothing, save through our knowledge of modern
practices, but the relics give us many clues as
to the methods of building and finishing the
ware. Systematic coiling was not practiced,
but the walls were in cases built up by means of
more or less narrow bands of clay, which were
pressed together and smoothed down by the
fingers or a suitable tool. In many cases the
vases break along the junction lines of the orig-
inal bands.
"To what extent molds such as baskets,
gourds, and the like were used we cannot clearly
9
122 The Forest Primeval
determine, but that they were used is pretty
certain. Exterior impressions of basket-hke
textures are not uncommon. The surfaces were,
to a hmited extent, shaped and finished by the
use of improvised paddles.
"The shapes of this pottery do not show a
very wide range of variation, for the stamp of the
preceramic^ originals are still upon them, and
the differentiation of use and office had not yet
gone so far in modification and multiplication of
forms as it had with the wares of the more
advanced races of the West and South. The
pot, with all that the name implies, was still the
leading idea, and now furnishes the type of form.
Its outline varies from a deep bowl, through
many degrees of rim and neck constriction and
expansion, to a rather wide-mouthed, sub-bottle
shape. There is, however, no end of variation
in detail within this narrow range of general
conformation. Rims are scalloped, thickened,
incurved, recurved, and otherwise modified.
Necks are straight and upright, swelled out or
gently or sharply constricted. Bodies are globu-
lar or oblong, and are rounded or pointed below.
Illustrations of typical forms are given a, b, c,
and d, Plate V. Handles, legs, knobs, and
projecting ornaments are rarely met with.
"A few pipes and some round, perforated
pellets — perhaps beads — are the only additional
forms that I have seen.
"The size is generally medium, the capacity
* Prior to the development of the art of pottery.
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 123
being a gallon, more or less; but minute forms,
as well as very large ones, are not uncommon.
"Use was chiefly domestic and generally cul-
inary, as the sooty surfaces and blackened paste
clearly indicate; but the vessels were not in-
frequently diverted to sacred and ceremonial
uses, as we know from historic evidence. It
is instructive to note, however, that such
special functions had apparently not yet, as
in the West and South, given rise to especial
forms.
"Surface finish was necessarily not of a very
refined kind. The fingers or a polishing tool
sparingly used gave all necessary evenness of
surface. In many cases fabric impressions, ac-
quired in construction or afterwards applied
for effect, cover the entire exterior surface.
Often these markings were afterwards smoothed
down and nearly or quite obliterated, indicating
that they had no important aesthetic office.
Other similar impressions from fabrics or fabric-
covered paddles were afterwards applied, very
certainly on account of some aesthetic or super-
stitious office.
"Much of the ware is decorated in simple but
effective ways. We cannot draw a very definite
line between those features that exist through
accidents of manufacture and those having
aesthetic or mixed aesthetic and ideographic^
office; but it is suflScient for our purpose to
^ Representing ideas directly, and not through the medium of their
names, as in hieroglyphic writing, etc.
f
124 The Forest Primeval
classify all patterns that show evidence of
design as ornament. The decorations are con-
fined to the neck and rim of the vessel. They
were impressed by means of numerous impro-
vised stamps or were executed with the fin-
gers or a pointed implement. The most usual
method was by the employment of bits of hard-
twisted or neatly-wrapped cords or thongs.
If a series of short indentations was desired the
cord was doubled between the thumb and finger
or laid across the end of the finger and pressed
sharply into the clay. Longer lines were made
by laying the cord singly upon the clay and run-
ning the finger along it for the length of the
desired impression. This was repeated until
the pattern was finished.
"As a rule, the figures were undoubtedly sug-
gested by textile combinations, and in many
cases served simply to emphasize or carry out
more fully the markings received from the basket
or net-mold employed in construction. Similar
effects were secured by incising, trailing, or
puncturing with a pointed tool.
"It is interesting to note that the tattoo
marks upon the 'foreheads, cheeks, chynne,
armes, and leggs' of the 'chief ladyes' of the
Chesapeake,' as shown in John White's illustra-
tions of the Roanoke expedition, are identical
with the figures upon the pottery now exhumed
from our shell-heaps.
"It happens that a study of the textile art of
^ Should be the town of Se-co-ta.
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 125
the Chesapeake tribes becomes a natural appen-
dix to that of the fictile art.
"From historic sources we know that the
Virginia Indians produced a variety of textile
articles, wattled' structures for shelter and for
trapping fish, mats for coverings, hangings, and
carpetings, nets for fishing, besides baskets,
nets, and pouches for various ordinary uses.
"From impressions upon pottery we get
additional evidence upon the subject — much
more indeed upon the technique of the art than
can ever be known from any other source.
Casts in clay from the potsherds give us numer-
ous restorations of the construction of such
cloths, nets, and baskets as happened to be as-
sociated with the potter's art. Four examples
are presented in Plate V.^
"That all are aboriginal in origin cannot be
proved, but there is nothing in them that seems
out of harmony with the known art-status of the
Indian tribes. The presence of nets identical
with the fish nets of the European affords the
only reason for making the query.
"The condition of the aesthetic idea among our
predecessors must receive a moment's attention.
"The shapes of the earthen vessels are in a
great measure inherited from basketry, but they
are conditioned to a considerable degree by
characters imposed by material, construction,
use, and the rather weak promptings of the aes-
" Formed of interwoven rods or twigs.
' See page 120.
#
126 The Forest Primeval
thetic idea. As a rule they are not crude, but
rather shapely and graceful.
"In decoration textile ideas inherited from
basketry still held almost undisputed sway, and
the timorous essays of taste did not extend
beyond the shadow of the mother art.
"The impressions of nets, baskets, and other
textiles employed in manipulating the clay are
in many cases ornamental in effect and were
probably so regarded by the archaic potter.
"We are reasonably safe in assuming that the
elaboration of textile suggestions by means of
stamps and pointed tools was the result to a
certain extent of aesthetic promptings ; but there
is another element to be considered — that of the
inheritance of forms and ideas from antecedent
stages of art and of the conservatism of habit and
superstition that tends so decidedly to retain and
perpetuate them even when meaningless.
"The amount of decorative elaboration is,
therefore, not a correct measure of the condition
of aesthetic development, although it is a measure
of the condition of that body of features in the
art that become the exclusive possession of the
aesthetic idea after habit and superstition loosen
their hold.
"I have myself gathered potsherds of the
above class all along the coast from the Chowan
River, in Carolina, to the eastern shore of Nan-
tucket, and have seen specimens from all parts
of the Atlantic coastal belt. Among them all
there is no hint of other ethnic conditions than
i
Canoe-, Arrow-, and Pottery-Making 127
those known through historic channels. All
indicate an even plane of barbaric simplicity.
There is fair homogeneity of character as well as
correspondence in stage, indicating ethnic unity.
"Every relic of art has an ethnic value, and
even these stray fragments of earthenware,
when all the evidence attainable has been gath-
ered about them, may be found useful in the
determination of ethnic questions.
"In glancing at the linguistic map of the
United States prepared by Major Powell and his
assistants I find a general correspondence be-
tween the distribution of this family of earthen-
ware and the area assigned to the Algonkian
peoples."^
* The American Anthropologist, vol. xi., pp. 246-52.
The plates and articles from The American Anthropologist pre-
sented in this volume are reproduced with the permission of The
Bureau of American Ethnology, and The Anthropological Society of
Washington, D. C.
CHAPTER VIII
HOUSES AND TOWNS
PROBABLY no feature of Indian life has
been more generally misunderstood than
that relating to their habitations. Most
persons, if asked, would say that they supposed
the Indians of Virginia were roving bands, oc-
cupying tents, when they could have been said
to occupy anything at all of that nature.
To be told that they lived in houses, and that
all their houses were located in towns, in most
instances carefully palisadoed, that around these
fortified towns were cultivated fields, and that
each town was ruled by a king, would strike most
with surprise. But such was the fact, as shown
by all the early writers.
Beverley, whom we quote from so freely and
frequently, tells us that:
"The method of the Indian settlements is
altogether by cohabitation, in townships, from
fifty to five hundred families in a town, and each
of these towns is commonly a kingdom. Some-
times one king has the command of several of
these towns, when they happen to be united in
his hands, by descent or conquest; but in such
128
i
Houses and Towns 129
cases there is always a viceregent appointed in
the dependent town, who is at once governor,
judge, chancellor, and has the same power and
authority which the king himself has in the town
where he resides. This viceroy is obliged to
pay to his principal some small tribute, as an
acknowledgment of his submission, as like-
wise to follow him to his wars, whenever he is
required.'"
This was essentially the feudal system as it
existed in so many other countries.
Glover, writing in 1676, says of the size of
these towns:
"At the first coming of the English divers
towns had two or three thousand bowmen in
them; but now, in the Southern parts of Virginia,
the biggest Indian town hath not above five
hundred inhabitants; many towns have scarce
sixty bowmen in them, and in one town there
are not above twenty, and they are so universally
thinned in the forementioned southern part, that
I verily believe there are not above three thou-
sand left under the whole government of Sir Will
Bartlet ; but in my Lord of Baltimore's territories
at the head of the bay, where the English were
later seated, they are more numerous, there be-
ing still in some towns about three thousand
Indians. But these being in continual wars with
each other, are like shortly to be reduced to as
small numbers as the former."''
» Beverley, book 3, p. 10.
* Account oj Virginia, p. 22.
9
#
I30 The Forest Primeval
From this it would seem that earlier accounts
misrepresented the size of these towns, making
them appear smaller than they really were.
Possibly this was done in order not to deter
settlers from coming over. The Indian popu-
lation was no doubt much larger than we are
accustomed to think of it.
Inside the enclosing palisade, irregularly
placed, stood the houses, nine or ten feet high.
Around the inside of them were banks of earth
cast up to serve instead of stools and beds.
The furnishings were of the simplest nature —
earthen pots, wooden bowls, and mats to lie on —
all made by themselves. '
Beverley thus described these houses:
"The manner the Indians have of building
their houses, is very slight and cheap; when
they would erect a wig-wam, which is the Indian
name for a house, they stick saplings into the
ground by one end, and bend the other at the
top, fastening them together with strings made
of fibrous roots, the rind of trees, or of the green
wood of the white oak, which will rive^ into
thongs. The smallest sort of these cabins are
conical, like a bee-hive; but the larger are built
in an oblong form, and both are covered with
the bark of trees, which will rive off into great
flakes. Their windows are little holes left open
for the passage of the light, which in bad weather
they stop with shutters of the same bark, open-
* Glover's Account of Virginia, p. 23.
« Split.
Houses and Towns 131
ing the leeward windows for air and light. Their
chimney, as among the true-born Irish, is a little
hole in the top of the house, to let out the smoke,
having no sort of funnel, or anything within, to
confine the smoke from ranging through the
whole roof of the cabins, if the vent will not let
it out fast enough. The fire is always made in
the middle of the cabin. Their door is a pendent
mat, when they are near home ; but when they
go abroad, they barricado' it with great logs
of wood set against the mat, which are sufficient
to keep out wild beasts. There is never more
than one room in a house, except in some houses
of state or religion, where the partition is made
only by mats and loose poles. "
"Their houses or cabins, as we call them, are
by this ill method of building, continually
smoky, when they have fire in them; but to
ease that inconvenience, and to make the
smoke less troublesome to their eyes, they gen-
erally burn pine or lightwood (that is, the fat
knots of dead pine) the smoke of which does not
offend the eyes, but smuts the skin exceedingly,
and is perhaps another occasion of the darkness
of their complexion.
"Their seats, like those in the eastern part
of the world, are the ground itself; and as the
people of distinction amongst them used carpets,
so cleanliness has taught the better sort of these,
to spread match-coats^ and mats to sit on.
* Shut in and defend.
"Clothes in shape like shawls.
132 The Forest Primeval
"They take up their lodgings' in the sides of
their cabins, upon a couch, made of board, sticks
or reeds, which are raised from the ground upon
forks, "" and covered with mats or skins. Some-
times they lie upon a bearskin, or other thick
pelt, dressed with the hair on, and laid upon the
ground near a fire, covering themselves with
their match-coats. In warm weather a single
mat is their only bed, and another rolled up their
pillow. In their travels a grass plat under the
covert of a shady tree, is all the lodgings they
require, and is as pleasant and refreshing to
them, as a down-bed and fine Holland sheets are
to us.
"Their fortifications consist only of a palisado,^
of about ten or twelve feet high ; and when they
would make themselves very safe, they treble
the pale."^ They often encompass their whole
town. But for the most part only their king's
houses, and as many others as they judge suf-
ficient to harbor all their people, when an enemy
comes against them. They never fail to secure
within their palisado, all their religious relics,
and the remains^ of their princes. Within this
enclosure, they likewise take care to have a
supply of water, and to make a place for a fire,
which they frequently dance round with great
solemnity. "^
' Sleeping or resting places.
2 Bifurcated branches of trees.
3 Palisade. 4 Encircle the town with three lines of palisades,
s Embalmed bodies.
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 1 1-13.
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Pi
Houses and Towns 133
"Each household knoweth their own lands,
and gardens, and most live of their own labors. "
Hariot has this to say of their towns, and the
construction of their houses:
"Their towns are but small, and near the
seacoast but few, some containing but ten or
twelve houses: some 20, the greatest that we have
seen hath been but of 30 houses : if they be walled,
it is only done with barks of trees made fast to
stakes, or else with poles only fixed upright,
and close one by another.
"Their houses are made of small poles, made
fast at the tops in round form after the manner
as is used in many arbors in our gardens of
England, in most towns covered with barks, and
in some with artificial mats made of long rushes,
from the tops of the houses down to the ground.
The length of them is commonly double to the
breadth, in some places they are but 12 and 16
yards long, and in other some we have seen of
four and twenty. " ' ♦
"By the dwellings of the savages," says
Strachey, "are bay trees, wild roses, and a kind
of low tree, which bears a cod like to the peas,
but nothing so big; we take it to be locust."^
This is identified as a tree very much like the
European crab.
"Every small town is a petty kingdom gov-
erned by an absolute monarch, assisted and
advised by his great men, selected out of the
* Twenty-four yards long. Hakluyt, vol. ii., p. 348.
* Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 72, 130.
#
134 The Forest Primeval
gravest, oldest, bravest and richest;^ if I may
allow their deerskins, peak and roanoke (black
and white shells with holes, which they wear on
strings about their arms and necks) to be wealth.
"They dwell in towns some twenty, some a
hundred miles, and some farther from one an-
other, each town having a particular jargon
and peculiar customs; though for the most part
they agree in certain signs, expressions and
manners. "
"They cohabit in some hundreds of families,^
and fix upon the richest ground to build their
wooden houses, which they place in a circular
form, meanly defended with pales,^ and covered
with bark; the middle area (or forum) being for
common use and public occasions. The women
in order to plant their Indian corn and tobacco
(to clear the ground of trees) cut the bark round;
so that they die and don't shade the ground, and
decay in time.
"Wherever we meet with an old Indian field,
or place where they have lived, we are sure of the
best ground. They all remove their habitation"^
for fear of their enemies, or for the sake of game
and provision."^
"The towns in this country are in a manner
like unto those which are in Florida, yet are
^ A thoroughly aristocratic form of government.
* Live in the same town together to the number of some hun-
dreds of families.
3 Palisades which constituted but a weak defence.
4 The inhabitants of the town remove together as one body,
s Jones's Present State of Virginia, pp. 8-9.
The Town of Pom-e-i-ock
Houses and Towns 135
they not so strong nor yet preserved with so
great care. They are compassed about with
poles stuck fast in the ground, but they are not
very strong. The entrance is very narrow as
may be seen by this picture, which is made
according to the form of the town of Pom-e-i-ock.
There are but few houses therein, save those
which belong to the king and his nobles. On the
one side is their temple separated from the other
houses and marked with the letter A., it is
builded round, and covered with skin-mats, and
as it were compassed about with cortynes"^ with-
out windows, and hath no light but the door.^
On the other side is the king's lodging marked
with the letter B. Their dwellings are builded
with certain potes^ fastened, and covered with
mats which they turn up as high as they think
good, and so receive in the light and other."^
Some are also covered with boughs of trees, as
every man lusteth or liketh best. They keep
their feasts and make good cheer together in the
midst of the town. When the town standeth
far from the water they dig a great pond noted
with the letter C. where hence they fetch as much
water as they need."^
"They eat, sleep, and dress their meat all
under one roof, and in one chamber as it were. "^
"Their towns that are not enclosed with poles
» Curtains.
» No opening for the light but the door.
s Sticks. ■< Things, understood.
5 Hariot's Narrative, xix,
^Strachey, Historic of Travails into Virginia j p. 71.
f
136 The Forest Primeval
are commonly fairer^ than such as are enclosed,
as appeareth in this figure which lively^ ex-
presseth the town of Se-co-tam.^ For the houses
are scattered here and there, and they have
garden expressed by the letter E. wherein
groweth tobacco which the inhabitants call up-
po-woc. They have also groves wherein they
take deer, and fields wherein they sow their corn.
In their cornfields they build as it were a scaffold,
whereon they set a cottage like to a round chair,
signified by F., wherein they place one to watch,
for there are such number of fowls, and beasts,"^
that unless they keep the better watch, they
would soon devour all their corn. For which
cause the watchmen maketh continual cries and
noise.
"They sow their corn with a certain dis-
tance noted by H. otherwise one stalk would
choke the growth of another and the corn would
not come unto its ripeness, G.^ For the leaves
thereof are large, like unto the leaves of great
reeds. They have also a several^ broad plot,^ C.
where they meet with their neighbors, to cele-
brate their chief solemn feasts; and a place D.
where, after they have ended their feast, they
make merry together. Over against this place
' Larger and handsomer.
'» In a life-like manner.
3 Generally written Se-co-ta. Se-co-tam was the name of a region
of which Se-co-ta may have been the capital.
''Game, not domestic.
5 G. in the picture represents the ripe com.
^ Separate and apart.
7 Small piece of ground of well-defined shape.
The Unenclosed Town of Se-co-ta
Houses and Towns 137
they have a round plot B. where they assemble
themselves to make their solemn prayers. Not
far from which place there is a large building
A. wherein are the tombs' of their kings and
princes, likewise they have garden noted by the
letter I, wherein they use to sow pompions.^
Also a place marked with K. wherein they make a
fire at their solemn feasts, and hard without the
town a river L. from whence they fetch their
water.
"This people therefore void of all covetous-
ness live cheerfully and at their hearts' ease.
But they solemnize their feasts in the night, and
therefore they keep very great fires, to avoid ^
darkness, and to testify their joy. ""^
Smith's account, agreeing in the main with
what has been said, and adding additional
details, is as follows:
"Their buildings and habitations are, for the
most part, by the rivers, or not far distant from
some fresh spring. Their houses are built like
our arbors, of small young sprigs^ bowed and
tied, and so close covered with mats, or the
barks of trees very handsomely, that not-
withstanding either wind, rain or weather, they
are as warm as stoves, but very smoky, yet at
the top of the house there is a hole made for the
smoke to go into right over the fire.
"Against the fire they lie on little hurdles^ of
' Receptacles for the embalmed kings.
" Pumpkins. 3 Dispel. -» Harlot's Narrative, xx.
s Saplings. * A movable frame made of interlaced sticks.
138 The Forest Primeval
reeds covered with a mat, borne' from the ground
a foot and more by a bundle of wood. On those
round about the house they He heads and points ^
one by the other against the fire, some covered
with mats, some with skins, and some stark
naked, lie on the ground, from 6 to 20 in a
house.
"Their houses are in the midst of their fields
or gardens, which are small plots of ground.
Some 20 acres, some 40, some 100, some 200,
some more, some less. In some places from 2
to 50 of these houses together, are but little
separated by groves of trees. Near their habita-
tions is little^ small wood or old trees on the
ground by reason of their burning of them for fire,
so that a man may gallop a horse amongst these
woods any way, but where the creeks or rivers
shall hinder."'*
It is to be observed, that the habitations of the
Virginia Indians, were houses, and not tents.
The popular idea on this subject is clearly er-
roneous. It is derived from the habits of the
existing Indian tribes, inhabiting the far west,
a roving collection of clans, often living in treeless
regions. They have less permanency of location
and their protection from the weather, is of a
portable nature, made of skins and such things.
Strachey tells us that the towns of the Virginia
Indians were commonly upon the rise of a hill,
^ Supported.
» With the head of one opposite the feet of another lying by his
side. 3 But little. " Smith, vol. i. , pp. 1 29-3 1 .
Houses and Towns 139
near some river, so that they could see whatever
happened upon it. That there were not many-
houses in any of the towns, and that such houses
as there were, were located without any regard
to a street, scattered about, far and wide, and
that all the houses, even the king's were alike.
Every house usually had two doors, one before
and a postern. The doors were hung with mats,
never locked nor bolted. The houses were gener-
ally placed under the cover of large trees, for
protection from bad weather, snow and rain, and
from the heat of the sun in summer.
Whittaker tells us that: "they observe the
limits of their own possessions."^ That is,
that the boundary lines of their several tracts of
land were clearly marked out, each man owning
his own piece of land. The same rule, on a
larger scale, would apply to communities.
Spelman gives this account of their houses:
" Places of habitation they have but few, for
the greatest towns have not above 20 or 30 houses
in them. Their buildings are made like an oven
with a little hole to come in at but more spacious
within, having a hole in the midst of the house
for smoke to go out at. The king's houses are
both broader and longer than the rest, having
many dark windings and turnings before any
come where the king is. But in that time when
they go a-hunting the women go to a place
appointed before, to build houses for their hus-
bands to lie in at night, carrying mats with
^Piirchas, vol. iv., p. 1771.
#
140 The Forest Primeval
them to cover their houses with all/ and as the
men go further a-hunting, the women follow to
make houses, always carrying their mats with
them/'^
"By their houses they have sometimes a
scaena,^ or high stage, raised like a scaffold, of
small spelts,"^ reeds, or dried osiers,^ covered
with mats, which both gives a shadow and is a
shelter, and serves for such a covered place where
men used in old times to sit and talk for recrea-
tion or pleasure, which they called prcBstega^^
and where, on a loft of hurdles,^ they lay forth
their corn and fish to dry.
"Round about the house on both sides are
their bedsteads, which are thick, short posts
stuck into the ground, a foot high and somewhat
more, and for the sides small poles laid along,
with a hurdle of reeds cast over, wherein they
roll down a fine white mat or two (as for a bed)
when they go to sleep, and the which they roll
up again in the morning when they rise, as we
do our pallets.
"They make a fire before them in the midst of
the house, usually every night, and some one of
them by agreement maintains the fire for all the
night long."^
* Withal, that is, in addition.
•Spelman'5 Relation of Virginia, pp. 30-1.
3 The word signified an arbor, bower or tent, and later, a stage.
4 Split pieces of wood.
5 Branches of the willow tree.
^ Literally, the fore part of the deck of a ship.
7 The floor of an attic, made in this case of a framework of sticks.
* Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 72, 130.
CHAPTER IX
THE TOWNS LOCATED
WITH reference to the map here presented,
we will say that it is founded, so far as
the names and position of the Indian
towns are concerned, on the map known as
Smith's. This map of Virginia is thus inscribed :
"Discovered and Described by Captain John
Smith, 1606." As the colonists never saw
Virginia until 1607, the date 1606 refers to the
year the expedition sailed. The map was the
result no doubt of all the information gathered
by the early explorers, and compiled at a later
date. This map is a good one, considering the
time it was made, and the inaccurate surveys it
must have been based upon, but it was, of course,
not perfect. The courses and distances of the
rivers, while in the main correct, will be seen on
comparison with any modern map of the State,
to be far from accurate. In attempting there-
fore to project the information contained in
that map upon a properly drawn chart, one is
met with the impossibility of doing so, and still
retaining the same relative positions of objects
as presented on the old map. We have at-
141
f
142 The Forest Primeval
tempted to make the two as nearly harmonious
as possible, measuring by the scales of the two
maps, and having regard to the more important
curves of the rivers. We can only claim for
this map such an approximation to correctness
as could be reasonably expected under these
circumstances.
It gives a greater feeling of reality as to these
vanished Indian towns, to meet with them by
name, in the history of those times. The names
of the towns are so frequently the names of the
tribes which inhabited them, that when we read
that one went to such a tribe, it is often equiva-
lent to saying, that he went to the village named
for that tribe. But it brings out the existence
of the villages more sharply, when we see refer-
ences to them purely as places. We have col-
lected a few of the references to certain of these
villages, which serve as a partial verification
of the map, as the map itself helps to illuminate
and verify the history.
Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co, on the north side of the
York, formerly called the Pamunkey, in Glou-
cester County, is mentioned repeatedly in all
the works on this subject. It was the favorite
royal residence, and the place at which Powhatan
was residing at the time of the invasion, and
where Captain Smith was brought before him.
It was fourteen miles from Jamestown.'
The exact site of this village was on the east
bank of what is now known as Timberneck Bay,
* Smith, vol. i., p. 142.
The Towns Located 143
according to Campbell/ But it is claimed to
have been on Putin, called also Poetan, that is,
Powhatan Bay, and also on the estate of Rose-
well, and still again at Shelly. Its exact location
is therefore now in doubt. But these places are
all close to each other, so its general situation is
well ascertained. Incidents given in connection
with Smith's arrival there which may help to
locate it are given in his history.""
From Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co the local tradition
is that there ran an Indian trail, or road, which
passed near what is now Gloucester Court
House; thence, it ran north, crossing the Pianka-
tank, where it narrows, above Freeport, into
Middlesex. A part of this road about ten
miles long, from Wan, near the head of Ware
River, to New Upton, near the Piankatank, is
still known as the Indian Road, which is believed
to follow exactly this Indian trail. It extended
on north, through Virginia and the other States
into Canada; and also, crossing the York and the
James, continued to the south, into the land of
the southern Indians. The tradition is that this
path was only used for trade and peaceful com-
munication, and never used for war parties.
Along the north shore of the York, and parallel
to i t, p assing Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co, ran another trail
to West Point, the land of Pamunkey. This trail is
believed to be nearly coincident with the present
thoroughfare known as the York River road.
' Campbell's History of Virginia, pp. 129-30,
" Smith, vol. i., p. 207.
i
144 The Forest Primeval
Powhatan was another royal town, situated on
the north side of the James, about the site of
Richmond, and gave its name to the ruler of all
the tribes.'
Powhatan sold this place, which was one of
his inheritances, in September, 1609, to Captain
Francis West, brother of Lord Delaware. He
promptly erected a fort there, calling it West's
fort, and settled there with 120 English.^
At Qui-yough-co-han-ock, on the south side of
the James, in Surry County, some ten miles
from Jamestown, they had a yearly sacrifice of
children, in connection with the rite of hus-ka-
naw-ing, described by Beverley.^
Chaw-o-po-we-an-ock, which we take to be
the same as the Chaw-o-po of the map, near the
above, is mentioned as a place where all the
Indians ran away from the English, being so
afraid of them, or so "jealous of our intents/'
as Smith quaintly expresses it.^
Pas-pa-hegh is mentioned in connection with
one of Smith's early voyages in seeking to buy
corn of the Indians. He says: "In my return
to Pas-pa-hegh, I traded with that churlish and
treacherous nation: having loaded 10 or 12
bushels of corn, they offered to take our pieces,^
and swords, yet by stealth, but seeming to dislike
it, they were ready to assault us, yet standing
upon our guard in coasting the shore, divers^
* Smith, vol. i,, p. 142.
» Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 48.
3 Beverley, book 3, pp. 37-41. ■« Smith, vol. i., p. 204.
s Guns. ^ Several.
The Towns Located 145
out of the woods would meet with us with corn
and trade," etc/
Pas-pa-hegh was the nearest village to
Jamestown.
Ar-ro-ha-teck, in Henrico County, is men-
tioned as being near the location chosen by Sir
Thomas Dale for the site of his town of Henrico.^
The name is here spelt Ar-sa-hat-tock, but it must
be meant to be the same place as Ar-ro-ha-teck.
Moy-so-nec is described as a peninsula of four
miles circuit, between two rivers joined to the
main land by a neck of forty or fifty yards, and
being about the same distance from high water
mark.
Near it were fertile corn fields, and the site
of the town was described as all that could be
desired. The result of these attractions, was a
large population.^
Ap-po-cant is mentioned as the town farthest
up the Chickahominy. It was in connection with
making the acquaintance of this town and neigh-
borhood, that Smith was captured by 0-pe-
chan-ca-nough, and dragged around the country
for several weeks. "^
Mo-hom-in-ge was a village near the Falls of
the James, or near the site of Richmond. Here
King James was proclaimed King by the first
settlers.^
Cap-a-ho-wa-sick, a town on the north side of
« Smith's Triie Relation, p. i8. ' Smith, vol. ii., p. lo.
3 Smith's True Relation, p. 22. 4 Ibid., p. 23.
s Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 25.
#
146 The Forest Primeval
the York, in Gloucester County, about midway
between Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co and Chesapeake
Bay, was the place which Powhatan offered to
give to Captain Smith, after his rescue by Poca-
hontas, and his adoption into the tribe. This
was to be given him in exchange for two cannon
and a grindstone.^
Kis-ki-ack is mentioned in connection with the
journey Captain Smith took to see Powhatan,
in January, 1609: "At Kis-ki-ack the frost and
contrary winds forced us three or four days also
(to suppress the insolency of those proud savages)
to quarter in their houses, yet guard our barge,
and cause them give us what we wanted.''^
0-zi-nies, which we take to be the same as the
0-ze-nick, located on the map, in James City
County, is mentioned as having inhabitants who
resisted the payment of the tribute of corn, and
for their refusal, they were attacked by Sir
George Yeardley. Their wer-6-ance was Kis-
sa-na-co-men.^
Ma-ma-na-hunt, on the south side of the
Chickahominy, in Charles City County, is men-
tioned as a place whose inhabitants, also, after
the departure of Sir Thomas Dale, refused to
pay the tribute of corn imposed by the English.
They defied Sir George Yeardley, his successor,
who attacked the place, to enforce his demands.
Under the wer-6-ance, Kis-sa-na-co-men, they
resisted, and a slaughter followed. During this
' Smith, vol. i., p. 163.
* Ibid., p. 206. 3 Ibid., vol. ii., p. 27.
The Towns Located 147
fight, prisoners were taken by the EngHsh, and
ransomed on the payment of one hundred
barrels of corn by the Indians.
Up to this time, this people had never been
a part of the Powhatan Confederacy, having
been able to withstand the power of Powhatan
and 0-pe-chan-ca-nough. After this fight with
the English, however, they acknowledged 0-pe-
chan-ca-nough as their King, he having made
them believe that it was due to his influence
with the English, that these terrible invaders
made peace with them.^
Ches-a-ka-won, in Lancaster County, is men-
tioned as the place at which Captain Spelman,
on board the bark Elizabeth, was first told by an
Indian, of 0-pe-chan-ca-nough's first plot to
massacre the English.^
We-an-oack, on the north side of the James,
in Charles City County, is mentioned in con-
nection with the revenge the English took for
the massacre of 1622, thus: "Shortly after. Sir
George Yeardley and Captain William Powel
took each of them a company of well disposed
gentlemen and others to seek their enemies.
Yeardley ranging the shore of We-an-ock, could
see nothing but their old houses which he burnt,
and went home. Powel searching another part,
found them all fled but three he met by chance,
whose heads he cut off, burnt their houses and so
returned. "^
^ Smith, vol. ii., pp. 27-8.
» Ihid., p. 78. a Ibid., p. 84.
f
148 The Forest Primeval
Ke-cough-tan, in Elizabeth City County, near,
or at, Hampton, is spoken of as being forty miles
from Jamestown. The place was well known,
and is often mentioned. This town is thus
described by Smith. "The town containeth
eighteen houses, pleasantly seated upon three
acres of ground, upon a plain, half environed
with a great Bay' of the great River,^ the other
part with a Bay of the other River^ falling into
the great Bay, with a little Isle fit for a Castle
in the mouth thereof, the Town adjoining to the
main"^ by a neck of land of sixty yards. "^
The destruction of this village by Sir Thomas
Gates, the Lieutenant General, in revenge for
the Indians capturing, leading up into the woods,
and " sacrificing" one of his men, Humfre}^ Blunt,
is thus told us:
"The ninth of July, he prepared his forces, and
early in the morning set upon a town of theirs,
some four miles from Algernoone Fort,^ called
Ke-cough-tan, and had soon taken it, without
loss or hurt of any of his men. The Governor and
his women fled (the young king Powhatan's son
not being there) but left his poor baggage and
treasure to the spoil of our soldiers, which was
only a few baskets of old wheat, and some other
of peas and beans, a little tobacco, and some few
women's girdles of silk, of the grass-silk, not
' The body of water between the mouth of Hampton Creek and
Old Point. 2 The James.
3 Hampton Creek, 4 Main land.
s Smith's True Relation, p. 16. ^ Built by the English.
The Towns Located 149
without art, and much neatness finely wrought;
of which I have sent divers into England, (being
at the taking of the town) and would have sent
your Ladyship some of them, had they been a
present so worthy. " '
Ap-po-cant, on the Chickahominy, in Han-
over County, is mentioned as the place at which
George Cawson was, with the most cruel tortures,
put to death by the Indians. ""
Ac-quack, in Richmond County, on the North
side of the Rappahannock, is mentioned in dis-
cussing plans for subjugating the Indians, as is
also 0-ze-nick, in James City County, on the
Chickahominy.^
Pis-sac-o-ack, Mat-o-ho-pick and Me-cup-pom,
towns next to each other on the north side of the
Rappahannock, in Richmond or Westmoreland
Counties, are stated to have been situated upon
high, white clay cliffs."^
War-ras-koy-ack, in Isle of Wight County, is
often mentioned. An English settlement there
was attacked, but successfully defended, in the
great massacre of 1622.^
Nan-se-mond, in the County of that name, is
frequently mentioned. One of the earliest refer-
ences to it is this : " Seven or eight miles we
sailed up this narrow river (the Nansemond),
at last on the western shore we saw large corn-
*Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1755.
^ Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 52.
3 Smith, vol. ii., p. 91. •♦ Ibid.t vol i., p. 185.
sibid., vol. ii., p. 68.
»
I50 The Forest Primeval
fields, in the midst a little Isle; and in it was
abundance of corn, the people he (an Indian of
that tribe) told us were all a-hunting, but in the
Isle was his house, to which he invited us with
much kindness."'
Houses of the Chesapeake tribe are thus men-
tioned: "So setting sail for the southern shore
(that is, from Point Comfort) we sailed up a nar-
row river,^ up the country of Chisapeack; it hath
a good channel, but many shoals, about the en-
trance. By that^ we had sailed six or seven
miles,'* we saw two or three little garden plots
with their houses, the shores overgrown with
the greatest pine and fir trees we ever saw in
the country. But not seeing nor hearing any
people, and the river very narrow, we returned
to the great river, ^ to see if we could find any of
them."^
Nom-i-ny, on the south side of the Potomac,
in Westmoreland County, where cliffs and a creek
still bear this name, was visited by Smith and a
party he commanded. They were conducted by
two Indians *'up a little bayed creek, towards
Nom-i-ny, where they discovered the woods laid
with ambuscadoes,^ to the number of three or
four thousand Indians, strangely grimed,^ dis-
guised and making a horrible shouting and
yelling."^
^ Smith, vol. i., p. 190. ' The Elizabeth. 3 When.
4 This would have brought them to the neighborhood of Norfolk.
5 The James. « Smith, vol. i., p. 190.
' Ambuscades. * Painted with soot.
9 Stith's History of Virginia, p. 65.
The Towns Located 151
Pa-taw-o-mek, in Stafford County, is men-
tioned frequently, once in connection with a
fight with the Indians, which was termi-
nated by Spelman's head being cut off by the
Indians, and thrown down the river bank to his
friends. '
On the other side of the Chesapeake, Tock-
wogh, in Kent County, Maryland, was located
seven miles up the river of that name, now known
as the Chester. This town was a fort, well pali-
sadoed, and mantled with the bark of trees,
an armor which would be very effective against
arrows. ^
Ma-chot, on the north side of the Mattapony,
in King and Queen County, was a village belong-
ing to 0-pe-chan-ca-nough. This was his princi-
pal residence after the massacre of 1622, and,
no doubt, the center of the Indian opposition
until his death, soon after the second massacre
brought about by him, in 1644.
"Ma-chot is supposed to be identical with
Eltham, the old seat of the Bassets, in King and
Queen County, and which borrows its name from
an old English seat in the County of Kent."
It was here that Powhatan's two sons went on
board the vessel, to see their sister, Pocahontas,
then in captivity. Finding her well, they ad-
vised their father to make peace, and be friends
with the English.^
Hamor, in telling of the negotiations relating
* Smith, vol. ii., p. 95. ^ Ibid., vol. i., pp. 120, 182.
3 Campbell's History of Virginia, p. 108.
f
152 The Forest Primeval
to the return of Pocahontas, after her capture,
says that they were "anchored near unto the
chiefest residence Powhatan had, at a town called
Ma-chot," etc'
This would make Ma-chot equal Wer-o-wo-co-
mo-co in dignity and importance.
Powhatan was here, when Hamor and Savage
and their Indian guides came to him, to try and
obtain another of his daughters for marriage
to some Englishman. This embassy was un-
successful.''
A-quo-han-ock, in the northern part of North-
ampton County; 0-nan-coke, in Accomack
County; Paw-tux-unt, in Calvert County,
Maryland, and Mat-ta-pan-i-ent, which we take
to be the same as Matt-pa-ment, located on the
map, in Prince George County, Maryland, are
mentioned as places visited by John Pory, Sec-
retary of Virginia, some time about 1619.^ May-
ta-pan-i-ent is also mentioned in connection
with a sham battle, which was fought on one
occasion between the Indians, for the entertain-
ment of their European guests."^
Or-a-pax was a hunting town and seat, lying on
the upper part of Chickahominy swamp, on the
north side, belonging to, and much frequented
by, Powhatan, and the imperial family, on ac-
count of the abundance of game it afforded.^
It is described as situated "in the desert be-
' Hamor's Discourse, p. 9. • Ibid., p. 38.
3 Smith, vol. ii., p. 61. < Ibid., vol. i., p. 135.
s Burk History of Virginia, vol. i., p. 107.
The Towns Located 153
twixt Chick-a-ham-a-nie and Yough-ta-mund, '*
that is, somewhere in Hanover County, very
probably. It was the town to which the old
Emperor Powhatan retired in order to be beyond
the power of the English. Near this town he had
his treasures, which were kept in reserve for his
death, and for his use on his journey to the spirit
land, and here he finally died, in the month of
April, 1618.'
This town was about twelve miles northeast
of Richmond, and consisted of about thirty or
forty houses. ""
The Na-cotch-ta-nok of our map, was situated
on the eastern side of the Anacostia River, now
in the District of Columbia. Its site is thus
described by Mr. S. V. Proudfit:
"The principal part of Na-cotch-tanke seems
to have been about due east of the Capitol, for
the fields at this point give greater evidence of
occupation than at most others, though indica-
tions of Indian occupation are to be found at
nearly all points of the valley. It should be
noted that the dwellings were in most cases close
to the bank of the stream. A line drawn parallel
with the shore and three hundred feet distant
would include the greater part of the houses.
Within the area thus indicated may be found
to-day every variety of stone implement com-
mon to the North American Indian. Arrow-
heads, spear-heads, knives, drills, perforators,
' Smith, vol. i., pp. 142-3; vol. ii., p. 36.
» Campbell's History of Virginia^ p. 46.
154 The Forest Primeval
scrapers, sinkers, polished axes (both grooved
and ungrooved), sharpening-stones, pipes, slate
tablets, pestles, mortars, cup-stones, hammer-
stones, as well as that rude axe-shaped implement
of chipped quartzite which has yet to receive a
name. Associated with these, and forming no
inconsiderable part of the remains, are found
partly worked implements — some broken, others
worked into the first rude forms of the arrow-
head or knife and then abandoned, and abound-
ing everywhere flakes, chips, and pebbles of
quartz and quartzite having but a chip or two
struck from the original surface.
"These fields have been under cultivation for
many years, and are regularly visited by local
collectors, yet they are to-day in places, fairly
strewn with the wreck of the old village
life."'
Beverley, writing in 1705, gives this list of the
then existing towns, and their conditions:
"The Indians of Virginia are almost wasted,
but such towns, or people as retain their names,
and live in bodies, are hereunder set down; all
which together can't raise five hundred fighting
men. They live poorly, and much in fear of
the neighboring Indians. Each town, by the
Articles of Peace in 1677,^ pays 3 Indian arrows
for their land, and 20 beaver skins for protection
every year.
* The Americap. Anthropologist, vol. xi., p. 242.
' The settlement of the disturbances with the Indians which
brought on Bacon's Rebellion the year before.
The Towns Located 155
"In Accomack are eight towns/ viz:
"Ma-tom-kin is much decreased of late by the
smallpox, that was carried thither.
" Gin-go-teque. The few remains of this
town are joined with a nation of the Maryland
Indians.
" Kie-quo-tank is reduced to very few men.
"Match-o-pun-go has a small number yet
living.
"Oc-ca-han-ock has a small number yet living.
" Pun-go-teque. Governed by a queen, but
a small nation.
"0-a-nan-cock has but four or five families.
" Chi-con-es-sex has very few, who just keep
the name.
"Nan-du-ye. A seat of the Empress. Not
above twenty families, but she hath all the na-
tions of this shore under tribute.
"In Northampton. Gan-gas-coe which is
almost as numerous as all the foregoing nations
put together.
"In Prince George. Wy-a-noke is almost
wasted, and now gone to live among other
Indians.
"In Charles City. Ap-pa-mat-tox. These
live in Colonel Byrd's pasture, not being above
seven families.
"In Surry. Not-ta-ways, which are about a
hundred bowmen, of late a thriving and increas-
ing people.
^ Most of these names are still to be fotind on the map of this
county.
156 The Forest Primeval
" By Nan-sa-mond. Men-heer-ing, has about
thirty bowmen, who keep at a stand.
" Nan-sa-mond. About thirty bowmen : They
have increased much of late.
"In King William County, 2.' Pa-mun-kie
has about forty bowmen, who decrease.
"Chick-a-hom-o-nie, which had about sixteen
bowmen, but lately increased.
''In Essex. Rap-pa-han-nock is reduced to a few
families, and live scattered upon the English seats.
"In Richmond. Port-Ta-ba-go has about five
bowmen, but wasting.
"In Northumberland. Wic-co-com-o-co has
but three men living, which yet keep up their
kingdom and retain their fashion; they live by
themselves, separate from all other Indians, and
from the English."^
In 1705, when Beverley wrote this, only some
twenty-odd of about one hundred and sixty
counties which were formed in what was once
Virginia's territory were in existence. He is
therefore speaking only of those in the eastern
portion of the Colony. The names he mentions
are, as a rule, those of the tribes, as well as the
names of the towns which they inhabited.
The Indian villages were situated at points
of advantage which in many instances seem to
have been recognized and adopted by the Vir-
ginians as the sites of their towns; thus, there
was on the site of
» Two towns of the Pa-mun-key tribe.
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 62-3.
The Towns Located 157
Richmond, Powhatan;
Norfolk, Ski-co-ak;
Petersburg, Ap-pa-ma-tuck;
Alexandria, As-sa-o-meck;
Fredericksburg, Sock-o-beck;
Hampton, Ke-cough-tan ;
Suffolk, Man-tough-que-me-o;
Cape Charles, Ac-cow-mack, and
Smithfield, War-ros-quy-oake.
At least, if these cities be not on the very sites
of these Indian villages, they are very near them.
Many of the fine estates in Virginia also occupy
such village sites. These presented the advan-
tage of being always fertile ground from which
the forest had, to some extent, been cleared
away, and fields ready for further cultivation.
The first settlers on Roanoke Island mention
the following Indian towns:
Ski-co-ak, mentioned as a great city. Its
location on the early maps would indicate that
it occupied the site of the present city of Nor-
folk. It will be mentioned again more fully
later on in connection with the Chesapeake tribe.
Ro-a-noke, at the north end of the island of
that name, a village of nine houses, built of cedar
and fortified with a palisade.
Pom-e-i-ock, on Pamlico Sound, in Hyde
County, east of Lake Mattamuskeet.
We know this town well, a picture of the same
being given to us by John White.
#
158 The Forest Primeval
Pas-que-noke, located probably at the south-
east end of Camden County, on Albemarle
Sound.
Chep-a-now, or Chep-a-nock, in Perquimans
County, on the north shore of Albemarle Sound.
Mas-com-ing in Chowan County. The name
is also written Mus-ca-mun-ge. It was prob-
ably on the site of Edenton.
War-a-tan, in the same county, a little farther
up the Chowan on the east side.
Cat-o-kin-ge, farther up the same river, at
the southern extremity of Gates County, at the
fork of the streams.
0-hau-nook, farther up the same stream, on its
west side, in Hertford County, or lower down in
Bertie.
Ram-us-how-og, still farther up the Chowan,
probably just north of its confluence with Kirby's
Creek.
Met-pow-em, in Bertie County, lower down on
the west side of the Chowan facing Albemarle
Sound, and near the mouth of Roanoke River.
It is also called Me-tack-wem.
Chaw-a-nook, whose lord was Po-o-nens, in
Chowan County, on the east side of Chowan
River, probably on the site of the present
Chowan.
Tan-da-quo-muc in the same county and
neighborhood, a little up the Roanoke River, on
its north side.
Mor-a-tuc in the same county, a little farther
up the Roanoke River.
The Towns Located 159
Me-quo-pen in Washington County, possibly
on Mackay's Creek.
Tram-as-que-coock in Tyrrell, on the west
side of Alligator River.
Das-a-mon-que-pe-uc in Dare County, on
Croatan Sound, opposite the northern end of
Roanoke Island.
A-gus-cog-oc in Hyde County, west of Pom-
e-i-ock, on Rose Bay.
Co-tan in Hyde County on the east side of
Pungo River.
Se-co-ta in Beaufort County, on the point of
land between the Pamlico and Pungo rivers.
This is said to have been the southernmost
town ruled by Win-gi-na.' We are fortunate in
having also a picture of this place.
Sec-tu-o-oc in Pamlico County somewhere
between the mouths of the Pamlico and Neuse
rivers, on Pamlico Sound.
Pan-a-wa-i-oc in Beaufort County, on the
south side of Pamlico River.
New-si-oc in Carteret County, on the south
side near the mouth of the Neuse.
Gwa-rew-oc also in Carteret County, on Bogue
Sound.
Hat-or-ask on the sea-coast near Loggerhead
Inlet.
Pa-qui-woc on the coast, near Cape Hat-
teras.
Cro-a-to-an on the coast between Hatteras
and 0-cra-coke Inlet.
' Hakluyt, vol. ii., p. 283 et seq.
i6o The Forest Primeval
Wo-kokon on the coast, south of 0-cra-coke
Inlet.
Two names of regions are given in John
White's map, by which chart the above towns
have been thus attempted to be localized to some
degree, Se-co-tan, which would appear to be the
territory between the Pamlico River and Albe-
marle Sound, and We-a-pe-me-oc, which would
include all from Albemarle Sound to Chesa-
peake Bay.
This map, which was drawn by John White,
was engraved by de Bry, and is often spoken of
as de Bry's map of Lane's Expedition. The
map here given is based upon it.
CHAPTER X
THE FALLS OF THE JAMES
THE "Fallsof the James'' are so often men-
tioned by the early writers, that it will
not be out of place to say a word about
their origin. In an interesting paper Mr. W. J.
McGee, after tracing the successive changes
through which the eastern coast of the United
States has passed, the lowering and rising of the
land, sometimes below the level of the ocean,
and then again above it, the advance and retreat
of the ice-sheet which once covered the north-
ern part of Virginia, he says :
"With the retreat of the great ice-sheet the
land rose slowly and the waters gradually re-
treated until the previous configuration of the
land and sea was in part restored; but the face
of the emerging land was changed. Not only
was the surface mantled and the valleys clogged
with sediments, but the country was cleft for
300 miles by a profound break or displacement
by which the lowlands were lowered and the
uplands lifted. This displacement of the surface
and the strata extends from the Potomac to the
Hudson, and every river crosses it in a cascade;
II 161
#
i62 The Forest Primeval
and the displacing is yet in progress — so slowly,
it is true, that man has scarcely measured its
rate, but so rapidly that the ever-busy rivers
are unable to keep pace with it, and either cut
down their upland gorges to tide level or silt'
up their lowland estuaries."^
And again:
"Through the Potomac valley passes one of
the most strongly marked geologic and cultural^
boundaries on the face of the earth. It was the
shore-line during the later part of the Potomac
period,"^ and again during the eons of Cretaceous ^
and early Tertiary^ deposition; it was again a
shore-line during the first ice-invasion, the
deposition of the Columbia gravels^ and brick
clays, and the fashioning of the Columbia^
terraces ; and it was the line of earth-fracture by
which the coastal lowlands are dropped below
the Piedmont uplands. It is known to students
of modern manufactures as the fall-line because
along it the rivers descend as abruptly as the
land; and it is even more notable as a line of
deflection than as one of declivity in rivers.
' Fill up with sediment.
' An arm or inlet of the sea, particularly one which is covered with
water only at high tide.
3 Relating to mental culture.
4 The geological period during which the Potomac River was being
defined.
s This geologic term relates to the chalk which was a character-
istic of the period.
6 The word signified third in order of formation.
7 A soil characteristic of the District of Columbia.
* This relates to the District of Columbia.
The Falls of the James 163
"The great waterways of the Middle Atlantic
slope maintain their courses through Appala-
chian ranges and Piedmont hills alike; but on
reaching the coastal lowlands they are turned
aside literally by a sand bank little higher than
their depth, and thence hug the upland margin
for scores of miles before finally finding their way
into the ocean. So the coastal lowlands are
nearly isolated by the tidal bays and river-
elbows along their inner margin. Measured
along the fall-line the Hudson is barred from the
Rappahannock, 300 miles southward, by only 60
miles of land and unnavigable water. This re-
markable physiography^ is now and ever has
been reflected in the culture of the region.
"The pioneer settlers of the country ascended
the tidal canals to the falls of the rivers, where
they found, sometimes within a mile, clear, fresh
water, the game of the hills and woodlands, and
the fish and fowl of the estuaries, and, as the
population increased, abundant water-power and
excellent mill-sites, easy ferriage, and practic-
able bridge-sites; here the pioneer settlements
and villages were located; and across the necks
of the inter-estuarine peninsulas the pioneer
routes of travel were extended from settlement
to settlement until the entire Atlantic slope was
traversed by a grand social and commercial
artery stretching from New England to the Gulf
States.
"As the population grew and spread, the set-
* Physical geography.
164 The Forest Primeval
tiements, villages, and towns along the line of
Nature's selection waxed, and many of them
yet retain their early prestige; and the early
stage-route has become a great metropolitan
railway and telegraph route connecting North
and South as they were connected of old in more
primitive fashion. And just as these natural
conditions influenced the white invader, so, and
even more strongly, must they have influenced
the migrations, settlements, industries, and
character of the aboriginal monarchs of the
Potomac waters and woodlands/'^
« The American Anthropologist^ July, 1889, vol. xi., pp. 231, 233-40
CHAPTER XI
POLITICAL LAWS AND THE ART OF WAR
STRACHEY gives us the best account of
the poHtical construction of Indian so-
ciety. That construction appears at
once upon investigation to have been thoroughly-
organized and essentially aristocratic. Over all
was Powhatan. The English called him an Em-
peror because he ruled over so many kings,
for each town had its king, as the English
called them. The Indians called them wer-6-
ances. They exercised despotic power over their
kingdoms.
Then there was a power behind the kings —
the priests and conjurers, who in many respects
ruled the kings.
There was thus no lack of government in the
forest, but it was of the arbitrary and tyrannical
sort.
Turning to the Historie of Travaile into Fir-
gtnia, we are told:
"The great king Powhatan hath divided his
country into many provinces or shires (as it
were), and over every one placed a several abso-
lute wer-6-ance or commander, to him contribu-
165
i66 The Forest Primeval
tary to govern the people, there to inhabit; and
his petty wer-6-ances, in all, may be in number
about three or four and thirty, all which have
their precincts and bounds, proper and commo-
diously appointed out, that no one intrude upon
the other of several forces; and for the ground
wherein each one soweth his corn, plant his
ap-oke^ and garden fruits, he tithes'' to the great
king of all the commodities growing in the same,
or of what else his shire brings forth, appertaining
to the lands or rivers, corn, beasts, pearl, foul,
fish, hides, furs, copper, beads, by what means
soever obtained, a peremptory rate. " ^
The despotic rule of Powhatan and of the
lesser Indian kings, as the early settlers always
called them, is thus stated by Strachey:
"Nor have they positive laws, only the law
whereby he ruleth is custom ; yet when he pleas-
eth, his will is a law, and must be obeyed, not
only as a king, but as half a god, his people
esteem him so; his inferior kings are tied likewise
to rule by like customs, and have permitted them
power of life and death over their people, as their
command in that nature. ""^
"There is a civil government among them
which they strictly observe, and show thereby
that the law of nature dwelleth in them; for they
have a rude kind of commonwealth and rough
* Tobacco. 2 Pays part as taxes.
3 Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 55.
4 This probably means that their jurisdiction derived from Pow-
hatan extended even to life and death. Historie of Travaile into
Virginia, p. 70.
Political Laws and the Art of War 167
government, wherein they both honor and obey
their king, parents, and governors, both greater
and lesser." So wrote the Rev. Alexander
Whittaker, from Henrico, in 1613.^
The taxes levied by the autocratic ruler of
the forest were very oppressive. Describing the
governmental system Strachey says:
** Every wer-6-ance knoweth his own meeres
and limits^ to fish, foul, or hunt in (as before
said), but they hold all of their great wer-6-ance
Powhatan, unto whom they pay eight parts of
ten tribute of all the commodities which their
country yieldeth, as of wheat, peas, beans, eight
measures of ten (and these measured out in
little cades or backets, which the great king
appoints), of the dying-roots, eight measures of
ten of all sorts of skins, and furs eight of ten;
and so he robs the people, in effect, of all they
have, even to the deer's skin wherewith they
cover them from cold, in so much as they dare not
dress it and put it on until he has seen it and
refused it, for what he commandeth they dare
not disobey in the least thing. "^
"The Indians having no sort of letters among
them, as has been before observed, they can
have no written laws ; nor did the constitution
in which we found them, seem to need many.
Nature and their own convenience having taught
them to obey one chief, who is arbiter of all
^ Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1771.
' "Meeres and limits" mean seas or waters in which to fish, and
the boundaries allowed them on land for hunting.
^Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 81.
f
1 68 The Forest Primeval
things among them. They claim no property
in lands, but they are in common to a whole
nation. Every one hunts and fishes and gathers
fruits in all places. Their labor in tending corn,
pompions," melons, etc, is not so great, that they
need quarrel for room, where the land is so fertile
and where so much lies uncultivated.
"They are very severe in punishing ill-breed-
ing, of which every wer-6-ance is undisputed
judge, who never fails to lay a rigorous penalty
upon it. An example whereof I had from a gen-
tleman who was an eye-witness ; which was this :
"In the time of Bacon's Rebellion, one of
these wer-6-ances, attended by several others of
his nation, was treating with the English in New
Kent County, about a peace; and during the
time of his speech, one of his attendants pre-
sumed to interrupt him, which he resented as
the most unpardonable affront that could be
offered him; and therefore he instantly took his
tomahawk from his girdle, and split the fellow's
head, for his presumption. The poor fellow
dying immediately upon the spot, he commanded
some of his men to carry him out, and went on
again with his speech where he left off, as un-
concerned as if nothing had happened.
"The titles of honor that I have observed
among them peculiar to themselves, are only
cock-a-rouse, and wer-6-ance, besides that of
the king and queen; but of late they have
borrowed some titles from us, which they bestow
' Pumpkins.
Political Laws and the Art of War 169
among themselves. A cock-a-rouse is one that
has the honor to be of the king or queen's council
with relation to the affairs of the government,
and has a great share in the administration.
A wer-6-ance is a military officer, who of course
takes upon him the command of all parties,
either of hunting, traveling, waring, or the like,
and the word signified a war captain.
"They also have people of a rank inferior to
the commons, a sort of servant among them.
These are called black boys, and are attendant
upon the gentry, to do their servile offices, which,
in their state of nature, are not many. For
they live barely up to the present relief of their
necessities, and make all things easy and comfort-
able to themselves, by the indulgence of a kind
climate, without toiling and perplexing their
mind for riches, which other people often trouble
themselves to provide for uncertain and un-
grateful heirs. In short, they seem, as possessing
nothing, and yet enjoying all things."'
The wer-6-ances exercised all the highest rights
of the various tribes, even extending to the aliena-
tion of the soil itself upon which they lived. In
the various conveyances of territory made by
the Indians as the result of treaties with the
English, it is the chiefs alone who execute the
deed ; the subordinate members of the tribe were
not recognized by them as having any say in the
matter. The deed made by the chief or chiefs
passed an indefeasible title to the whole.
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 56-9.
170 The Forest Primeval
Strachey said: "Upon Yough-ta-mund' is the
seat of Powhatan's three brethren whom we
learn are successively to govern after Powhatan,
in the same dominions which Powhatan by right
of birth, as the elder brother, now holds. The
rest of the countries under his command are (as
they report) his conquests. " ^
"I can't think it anything but their jealousy
that makes them exclude the lineal issue from
succeeding immediately to the crown. Thus if
a king have several legitimate children, the crown
does not descend in a direct line to his children,
but to his brother by the same mother, if he
have any, and for want of such, to the children
of his eldest sister, always respecting the descent
by the female, as the surer side. But the crown
goes to the male heir (if any be) in equal degree,
and for want of such, to the female, preferably
to any male that is more distant.
"As in the beginning of a war, they have as-
semblies for consultation, so upon any victory,
or other great success, they have public meetings
again, for processions and triumphs. I never
saw one of these, but have heard that they are
accompanied with all the marks of a wild and
extravagant joy. "^
With reference to the political construction of
the tribes, and the offices of wer-6-ance and
sachem, we are told:
^ The Pamunkey River.
^ Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 36.
3 Beverley, book 3, pp. 25-6.
Political Laws and the Art of War 171
"The sachem amongst all the tribes was a
magistrate either hereditary or elective, accord-
ing to their various customs, but in all cases
without tribute, revenue or authority. His
duty was invariably to stay at home, whilst the
war-chief, who was elected for his merit, was
fighting at the head of his warriors ; to preside in
the great council, where he had but a single voice,
and in the absence of the warriors to watch over
the safety of the aged, the women and children,
an office of so little estimation that amongst
several of the tribes it was frequently filled by
women.
"A fact in confirmation of this is related by
Charlevoix. A female chief of one of the tribes
of the Hurons made repeated attempts in council
to procure the admission of a Christian mission-
ary, but without success.
"Nor is it the sachem only that is without
power in those singular communities. There is
nothing like what we conceive of authority any-
where among them. Even the great council of
the nation can do nothing but by advice or
persuasion, and every individual is at liberty to
refuse obedience to its decisions.
"Even in war there is no such thing as an
imperative direction from a general to his
soldiers : Yet notwithstanding this uncontrolled
license, the advice of the chiefs is scarcely ever
rejected."'
This statement of a later writer, with reference
* Burk's History of Virginia, vol. iii., pp. 64-5.
172 The Forest Primeval
to the powers of the Indian rulers, is not borne
out by the earlier writers, who represent them
as despotic.
Spelman says: "The king is not known by any
difference from others of the (better) chief sort
in the country, but only when he comes to any
of their houses they present him with copper
beads or victual, and show much reverence to
him."^
He further says: "Concerning their laws my
years and understanding made me the less to
look after because I thought that infidels^ were
lawless,^ yet when I saw some put to death I
asked the cause of their offence, for in the time
I was with the Patomecks I saw 5 executed, 4
for murder of a child {id est) the mother and two
others that did the fact with her, and a fourth
for concealing it as he passed by, being bribed
to hold his peace ; and one for robbing a traveller
of copper and beads, for to steal their neighbor's
corn or copper is death, or to lie one with
another's wife is death if he be taken in the
manner.
"Those that be convicted of capital offences
are brought into a plain place before the king's
house where then he lay, which was at Pamunkey,
the chiefest house he hath, where one or two
^ Spelman 's Relation of Virginia, p. 52.
' A favorite way of regarding the savages. This lack of belief
in Christianity was often viewed as of itself justifying any course
with regard to theni which the English deemed proper — the infidels
having practically no rights the believers were bound to respect.
3 Had no laws.
Political Laws and the Art of War 173
appointed by the king did bind them hand and
foot, which being done a great fire was made.
Then came the oflScer to those that should die,
and with a shell cut off their long lock, which
they wear on the left side of their head, and hang-
eth that on a bow before the king's house.
Then those for murder were beaten with staves
till their bones were broken and being alive were
flung into the fire; the other for robbing was
knocked on the head and being dead his body
was burned."'
This account is in harmony with the statement
of the Rev. Alexander Whittaker, who says:
"Murder is scarcely heard of; adultery and other
offences severely punished. ""^
" When they intend any wars, the wer-6-ances
usually have the advice of their priests and con-
jurers, and their allies, and ancient friends, but
chiefly the priests determine their resolution.
Every wer-6-ance, or some lusty fellow, they
appoint captain over every nation. They sel-
dom make war for lands or goods, but for women
and children, and principally for revenge. They
have many enemies, namely all their westernly
countries beyond the mountains, and the heads
of the rivers."^
" For their wars also they use targets that are
* Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 43-6.
2 Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1771.
3 Smith, vol. i., p. 134. The enemies beyond the mountains were
the Shaw-a-nees, Cher-o-kees, and others ; those at the heads of the
rivers were the Mon-a-cans, the Man-na-ho-acks, the Mas-sa-wo-
mecks, and others.
I
174 The Forest Primeval
round and made of barks of trees, and a sword
of wood at their backs, but oftentimes they use
for swords the horn of a deer put through a
piece of wood in form of a pickaxe. Some a
long stone sharpened at both ends, used in the
same manner. " '
"These men are not so simple as some have
supposed them: for they are of body lusty, strong
and very nimble : they are a very understanding
generation, quick of apprehension, sudden in
their dispatches, subtile in their dealings, ex-
quisite in their inventions, and industrious in
their labor. I suppose the world hath no better
marksmen with their bows and arrows than they
be ; they will kill birds flying, fish swimming, and
beasts running: they shoot also with marvelous
strength, they shot one of our men being un-
armed quite through the body, and nailed both
his arms to his body with one arrow. "^
By being unarmed, the writer means that the
man did not have on armor.
Their method of summoning the warriors was
very original. Strachey says: "When they
would press ^ a number of soldiers to be ready by
a day, an officer is dispatched away, who coming
into the towns, or otherwise meeting such whom
he hath order to warn,"^ to strike them over the
back a sound blow with a bastinado, and bids
them be ready to serve the great king, and tells
^ Smith, vol. i., p. 132.
» Alexander Whittaker in Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1771.
3 Impress. -» Summon.
Political Laws and the Art of War 175
them the rendezvous, from whence they dare not
at any time appointed be absent."'
"When they are about to undertake any war
or other solemn enterprise, the king summons
a convention of his great men, to assist at a grand
council, which in their language is called a match-
a-com-o-co. At these assemblies 'tis the custom,
especially when a war is expected, for the young
men to paint themselves irregularly with black,
red, white, and several other motley colors, mak-
ing one-half of their face red, (for instance)
and the other half black or white, with great
circles of a different hue, round their eyes ; with
monstrous mustaches, and a thousand fantas-
tical figures, all over the rest of their body;
and to make themselves appear yet more ugly
and frightful, they strow feathers, down, or the
hair of beasts, upon the paint while it is still
moist, and capable of making those light sub-
stances stick fast on. When they are thus
formidably equipped, they rush into the match-
a-com-o-co, and instantly begin some very gro-
tesque dance, holding their arrows, or tomahawks
in their hands, and all the while singing the
ancient glories of their nation, and especially of
their own families ; threatening and making signs
with their tomahawk, what a dreadful havoc they
intend to make amongst their enemies.
"Notwithstanding these terrible airs they give
themselves, they are very timorous when they
come to action, and rarely perform any open or
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. lOO.
#
176 The Forest Primeval
bold feats; but the execution they do, is chiefly
by surprise and ambuscade.
"The Tearfulness of their nature makes them
very jealous and implacable. Hence it is, that
when they get a victory, they destroy man,
woman and child, to prevent all future resent-
ments."^
Spelman, an eye-witness to a battle between
two of the native tribes, says :
"As for armor or discipline in war they have
not any. The weapons they use for offence are
bows and arrows with a weapon like a hammer
and their tomahawks, for defence which are
shields made of the bark of a tree and hanged
on their left shoulder to cover that side as they
stand forth to shoot.
"They never fight in open fields, but always
either among reeds or behind trees taking their
opportunity to shoot at their enemies and till
they can nocke"" another arrow they make the
trees their defence.
"In the time that I was there I saw a battle
fought between the Pa-to-meck and the Ma-so-
meek; their place where they fought was a marsh
ground full of reeds. Being in the country of
the Pa-to-meck the people of Ma-so-meck were
brought thither in canoes which is a kind of
boat they have made in the form of a hog's
trough, but somewhat more hollowed in. On
both sides they scatter themselves some little
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 24-5.
3 Fit the arrow to the string of their bow.
Political Laws and the Art of War 177
distance one from the other; then take they their
bows and arrows and having made ready to
shoot, they softly steal toward their enemies,
sometimes squatting down and prying if they
can spy any to shoot at, whom, if at any time
he so hurteth that he cannot flee, they make
haste to him to knock him on the head. And
they that kill most of their enemies are held the
chiefest men among them.
''Drums and trumpets they have none, but
when they will gather themselves together they
have a kind of howling or howbabub so differing
in sound one from the other as both parts may
very easily be distinguished.
''There was no great slaughter of either side,
but the Ma-so-mecks having shot away most of
their arrows, and wanting victual, were glad to
retire."'
"The order and deportment of an Indian
assembly would not have disgraced the gravity
and dignity of a Roman senate; and the effect
produced upon a spectator, who is unacquainted
with their language and even prejudiced against
them, is in the highest degree impressive. Nor
is this effect produced by the grandeur of archi-
tecture or the splendor of dress. The council is
a large square space covered with rough boards;
and the councilors dirty savages wrapped in
skins and coarse blankets. It arises from the
patience, the temper, the animation, the regular-
' Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 54-6.
f
178 The Forest Primeval
ity, and even the eloquence of their action and
deportment. There we witness no impatience
nor contradiction; no ebulHtions of passions;
no bursts of rage and invective; no factious
intrigues. The whole subject is fairly and hon-
estly before them, and it is discussed with the
patient judgment of sages and the animated
integrity of patriots. An interruption would
be considered as an unpardonable insult: per-
haps it would not be too much to say that there
never was any such thing known as an interrup-
tion in an Indian assembly."'
"They use formal embassies for treating, and
very ceremonious ways in concluding of peace,
or else some other memorable action, such as
burying a tomahawk, and raising an heap of
stones thereon, as the Hebrews did over Absalom,
or of planting a tree, in token that all enmity is
buried with the tomahawk, that all the desola-
tions of war are at an end, and that friendship
shall flourish among them like a tree."""
In the many negotiations which Virginia had
with various Indian tribes and nations, our
people soon learned the necessity of adopting
the forms and ceremonies of the Indians, and
accustomed themselves to use the highly
figurative language of this people.
As far as in them lay they therefore adopted
their metaphors. In the negotiations prelimin-
ary to the concluding a formal treaty, they
^ Bulk's History of Virginia, vol. iii., p. 66.
= Beverley, book 3, p. 27.
Political Laws and the Art of War 179
smoked cal-u-mets; they called the Indians
brothers; they brightened the chain of friend-
ship with them ; they hoped it would be no more
stained with blood, nor rusted with contention,
nor broken asunder with discord, but that it
would last as long as the sun, the moon, and the
stars gave light.
In the progress of these treaties, strings of
wam-pum, in order to emphasize the less, and
belts of wam-pum to emphasize the more, impor-
tant matters, were freely given by the Indians.
It was customary, and so the Virginians made
similar presents to emphasize and act as re-
minders of the propositions advanced by them.
Indeed, it was absolutely necessary to make these
presents, and so, at a treaty held at Shen-a-pin
Town in May, 1752, it is recorded that: "The
Commissioners not having any wam-pum strung,
without which answers could not be returned,
acquainted the Indians that they would answer
their speeches in the afternoon, on which the
council broke up." Having provided themselves
by that time with this requisite, the negotiations
were then continued.
A string of wampum was given to the Virgin-
ians to enable them to see the sun clearly, and
to look upon the Indians as brothers; another
to clear their voices so that they could speak
clearly to the Indians; another by Queen Al-li-
guip-pe to clear their way to Loggs Town;
another to clear their hearts from any impression
that might have been made on them by flying
#
i8o The Forest Primeval
report, or ill news; and that they might speak
their minds freely. The way being long and the
day hot, a string was given them to wipe ofif
their perspiration.
Aside from these courtesies, and expressions
of wishes and hopes, all the salient features of
the debate were thus marked.
The Virginians gave the Indians a string of
wam-pum to receive their brethren of Virginia
kindly, and so on through the various phases of
the negotiation, all of which were very deliberate.
No hasty replies were made by the Indians. At
any time, on an important matter coming up
which they had not foreseen and about which
they were not agreed, the meeting would be
adjourned, and time taken by the Indians for
private consultation before giving their answers.
One object of such a treaty, as stated by them,
was to make the road between us and the In-
dians clearer and wider.
Approbation to propositions of importance,
emphasized thus by the gift of a string or a belt
of wam-pum, was expressed on the part of the
Indians by a shout, or cry, the Jo-hah, as it was
called.
An illustration of the Indian love of metaphor
is given in the speech of Can-as-a-tee-go, de-
livered on June 26, 1744, at Lancaster, Pennsyl-
vania, during the debate on the treaty pending
between Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and
the Six Nations. Speaking of the affection-
ate regard the Indians had for the Dutch,
Political Laws and the Art of War i8i
the Indian chieftain said: "We were so well
pleased with them, that we tied their ship to the
bushes on the shore, and afterwards, liking them
still better, the longer they stayed with us, and
thinking the bushes too slender, we removed the
rope, and tied it to the trees, and as the trees
were liable to be blown down by high winds, or
to decay of themselves, from the affection we
bore them, again removed the rope, and tied it
to a strong and big rock (here the interpreter
said they meant the 0-nei-do country) ; and not
content with this, for its further security we
removed the rope to the big mountain (here the
interpreter said they meant the 0-non-da-go
country), and there we tied it very fast, and
rolled wam-pum about it; and to make it still
more secure, we stood upon it, to defend it, and
to prevent any hurt coming to it, and did our
best endeavors, that it might remain uninjured
forever. "
While endowed thus by nature with poetic
forms of expression, and with traits of character
admirable in many respects, the Indians of Vir-
ginia were as blood-thirsty savages as ever
existed. They reflected and presented all the
phases of barbarism. They scalped their ene-
mies, when dead, and practiced upon them,
when alive, such tortures as make the blood run
cold when we read of them. It is noticeable,
however, how little the Indians were criticized
in this regard by the early writers. The ex-
planation is found in the fact that in 1607, and
#
1 82 The Forest Primeval
for many years thereafter, torture just as bad
was practiced by the highly civilized nations of
Europe. The abolition of "cruel and unusual"
punishments is a blessing of a comparatively
recent date.
These Indians, while terrible fighters in their
own way, were not capable of making long sus-
tained sieges. If their first sudden attack on a
fortified place did not carry it by assault and
the defense proved vigorous, in a compara-
tively short time they became discouraged, and
abandoned the enterprise for a more favorable
opportunity.
Their method of warfare was suited to the
forest in which they lived, and many of their
manoeuvres were adopted by our men. As
they fought from behind trees and such other
shields, so did the Virginians. We met them
on their own ground and fought them in their
own manner. In this way we won the battle
of Point Pleasant, while a contrary course, and
the adherence to tactics unsuited to the nature
of the enemy and the battle-field, led to the dread-
ful slaughter and rout of Braddock's defeat.
So well did the Virginians learn the warfare of
the forest, that they won from their opponents
the fear and admiration involved in the name
which the Indians gave them, for they called
the Virginians "The Big Knives."
CHAPTER XII
THE PRIESTLY MEDICINE MAN
SPELMAN gives us this account of Indian
medical views and practices:
"When any be sick among them their
priest comes unto the party whom he layeth on the
ground upon a mat and having a bowl of water,
set between him and the sick party, and a rattle
by it, the priest kneeling by the sick man's side
dips his hand into the bowl, which taking up full
of water, he sips into his mouth, spouting it out
again, upon his own arms and breast, then takes
he the rattle and with one hand shakes that, and
with the other, he beats his breast, making a
great noise, which having done he easily riseth, as
loath to wake the sick body, first with one leg,
then with the other, and being now got up, he
lesiurely goeth about the sick man shaking his
rattle very softly over all his body : and with his
hand he stroketh the grieved parts of the sick,
then doth he besprinkle him with water, mumb-
ling certain words over him, and so for that time
leaves him.
"But if he be wounded, after these ceremonies
done unto him, he with a little flint stone gasheth
183
f
184 The Forest Primeval
the wound making it to run and bleed, which he,
setting his mouth unto it, sucks out, and then
apphes a certain root beaten to powder unto the
sore/'^
"Concerning a green wound caused either by
the stroke of an axe, or sword, or such sharp
thing, they have present remedy for, of the juice
of certain herbs ; howbeit a compound wound (as
the surgeons call it) where, beside the opening
and cutting of the flesh, any rupture is, or bone
broken, such as our small shot make upon them,
they know not easily how to cure, and therefore
languish in the misery of the pain thereof.
"Old ulcers likewise, and putrified hurts are
seldom seen cured amongst them: howbeit, to
scarify "^ a swelling, or make incision, they have
a kind of instrument of some splinted stone.
"Every spring they make themselves sick
with drinking the juice of a root which they call
wigh-sac-an and water, whereof they take so
great a quantity, that it purgeth them in a very
violent manner, so that in three or four days after
they scarce recover their former health.
"Sometimes they are sore troubled with
dropsy, swellings, aches, and such like diseases,
by reason of their uncleanness and foul feeding;
for cure whereof they build a stove in the form
of a dove house, with mats so close, that a few
coals therein covered with a pot will make the
patient sweat extremely.
' Spelman's Relation of Virginia, p. 40.
=» To scratch, or make superficial incisions.
The Priestly Medicine Man 185
"For swelling, also, they use small pieces of
touchwood in the form of cloves, which, pricking
on the grief, they burn close to the flesh, and
from thence draw the corruption with their
mouth.
**They have many professed physicians, who,
with their charms and rattles, with an infernal
rout of words and actions, will seem to suck their
inward grief from their navels, or their affected
places ; but concerning our chirugians ' they are
generally so conceited of them, that they believe
that their plasters will heal any hurt. "^
"The Indians are not subject to many diseases,
and such as they have, generally come from
excessive heats, and sudden colds, which they
as suddenly get away^ by sweating. But if the
humour'^ happen to fix,^ and make a pain in any
particular joint, or limb, their general cure then
is by burning, if it be in any part that will bear
it; their method of doing this is by little sticks
of lightwood, the coal of which will burn like a
hot iron; the sharp point of this they run into
the flesh, and having made a sore, keep it running
till the humour be drawn off; or else they take
punck (which is a sort of a soft touchwood,^
cut out of the knots of oak or hickory trees, but
the hickory affords the best), this they shape like
^ Surgeons.
' Strachey, Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ p. io8.
3 Cure. 4 Bodily fluid.
s Settle in one place.
^ The soft white or yellowish substance into which wood is con-
verted by the action of certain fungi.
f
1 86 The Forest Primeval
a cone (as the Japanese do their moxa' for the
gout), and apply the basis of it to the place
affected. They set fire to it, letting it burn
out upon the part, which makes a running sore
effectually.
'"They use smoking frequently and scarifying ^
which, like the Mexicans, they perform with a
rattle-snake's tooth. They seldom cut deeper
than the epidermis, by which means they give
passage to those sharp waterish humours, that
lie between the two skins, and cause inflamma-
tions. Sometimes they make use of reeds for
cauterizing, which they heat over the fire, till
they are ready to flame, and then apply them,
upon a piece of thin wet leather, to the place
aggrieved, which makes the heat more piercing.
"Their priests are always physicians, and by
the method of their education in the priesthood,
are made very knowing in the hidden qualities
of plants, and other natural things, which they
count a part of their religion to conceal from
everybody, but from those that are to succeed
them in their holy function.
"They tell us, their God will be angry with
them if they should discover that part of their
knowledge; so they suffer only the rattlesnake
root^ to be known, and such other antidotes, as
must be immediately applied ; because their doc-
« A soft downy substance prepared from the young leaves of a plant
of this name. It is used as a cautery.
» Scratching.
3 A plant believed at one time to be a cure for snake-bites.
The Priestly Medicine Man 187
tors can't always be at hand to remedy those
sudden misfortunes, which generally happen in
their hunting or travelling.
"The physic of the Indians consists for the
most part in the roots and barks of trees, they
very rarely using the leaves either of herbs or
trees; what they give inwardly they infuse in
water, and what they apply outwardly they
stamp or bruise, adding water to it, if it has not
moisture enough of itself; with the thin of this
they bathe the part affected, then lay on the
thick, after the manner of a pultis, ' and common-
ly dress round, leaving the sore place bare.
"They take great delight in sweating, and
therefore in every town they have a sweating-
house, and a doctor is paid by the public to at-
tend it. They commonly use this to refresh
themselves, after they have been fatigued with
hunting, travel, or the like, or else when they
are troubled with agues, aches, or pains in
their limbs.
"Their method is thus: the doctor takes three
or four large stones, which after having heated
red hot, he places them in the middle of the
stove, laying on them some of the inner bark of
oak, beaten in a mortar, to keep them from
burning. This being done, they creep in six or
eight at a time, or as many as the place will hold,
and then close up the mouth of the stove, which
is usually made like an oven, in some bank near
the water side.
« Poultice.
f
i88 The Forest Primeval
"In the meanwhile, the doctor, to raise a
steam, after they have been stewing a little
while, pours cold water on the stones, and
now and then sprinkles the men to keep them
from fainting.
"After they have sweat as long as they can well
endure it, they sally out, and (tho' it be in the
depth of winter) forthwith plunge themselves
over head and ears in cold water, which instantly
closes up the pores, and preserves them from
taking cold.
"The heat being thus suddenly driven from the
extreme parts of the heart, makes them a little
feeble for the present, but their spirits rally
again, and they instantly recover their strength,
and find their joints as supple and vigorous as
if they never had travelled, or been indisposed.
So that I may say as Bellonius does in his obser-
vations on the Turkish bagnios,' all the crudities
contracted in their bodies are by this means
evaporated and carried off.
"The Muscovites "^ and Finlanders are said to
use this way of sweating also. ' It is almost a
miracle,' says Olearius, 'to see how their bodies,
accustomed to, and hardened by, cold, can en-
dure so intense a heat, and how that, when they
are not able to endure it longer, they come out of
the stoves as naked as they were born, both men
and women, and plunge into cold water, or cause
it to be poured on them. '
" The Indians also pulverize the roots of a
' Bath-houses. « Russians.
The Priestly Medicine Man 189
kind of anchuse' or yellow alkanet,"" which they
call puc-coon, and of a sort of wild angelica, ^
and mixing them together with bear's oil, make
a yellow ointment, with which, after they have
bathed, they anoint themselves capapee"^; this
supplies the skin, renders them nimble and
active, and withal so closes up the pores, that
they lose but few of their spirits by perspiration.
Piso relates the same of the Brazilians, and my
Lord Bacon asserts, that oil and fat things do
no less conserve the substance of the body, than
oil colors and varnish do that of the wood.
"They have also a further advantage of this
ointment, for it keeps all lice, fleas, and other
troublesome vermin from coming near them,
which otherwise, by reason of the nastiness of
their cabins, they would be very much infested
with.
"Smith talks of this puc-coon, as if it only
grew on the mountains, whereas it is common to
all the plantations of the English, except only to
those situated in very low grounds. " ^
"The Indians being a rude sort of people use
no curiosity in preparing their physic; yet are
they not ignorant of the nature and uses of their
plants, but they use no correctives to take away
the flatuous, nauseous, and other bad qualities
of them. They either powder, juice, infuse, or
boil them, till the decoction be very strong.
* A rough, hairy plant.
» An European plant which jrields a red dye.
3 A medicinal plant. 4 From head to foot.
5 Beverley, book 3, pp. 49-52.
f
190 The Forest Primeval
"Their usual way of cure for most inward
distempers is by decoction, which they make
partly pectoral, partly sudorific ; these they cause
the sick to drink, the quantity of half a pint at a
time, two or three times a day; but they give
nothing to procure vomiting in any distempers,
as a bad omen that the diseased will die; neither
did I ever know them to use any ways of bleed-
ing or cupping.
" If they have any wounds, ulcers, or fractures,
they have the knowledge of curing them. I did
once see an Indian whose arm had been broken,
and viewing the place, I found the bones to be as
smoothly consolidated, and as well reduced, as
any English chirurgeon could have done it.
"All Indians carry a powder about them to
cure the bites of snakes, and in almost every
town this powder hath a different composition,
and every composition is certainly effectual
to the correcting the malignity of the venom.
Neither was it ever known to us, that any Indian
suffered much harm by these bites, but in a day's
time he would be as well as if he had never been
bitten, whereas some of the English for want of
a speedy remedy have lost their lives.
"The Indians are frequently troubled with
violent colics, which oftentimes terminate in
palsies."'
» Glover*s Account of Virginia^ p. 27.
CHAPTER XIII
HUS-KA-NAW-ING
WE are not told by the early writers as
much as we would like to know about
the religious rites of these people. We
are told somewhat of their conjurations, their
incantations, their attempt to control the
weather, their rites to heal the sick, and so on,
but we are told little of their worship, or of their
innermost beliefs and traditions.
The rite of Hus-ka-naw-ing, however, is fully
described to us, and seems to have made quite
an impression on the early writers. It was
certainly very peculiar.
We owe our best account of it to Strachey.
His statement is as follows:
"In some part of the country they have yearly
a sacrifice of children; such a one was at Qui-
yough-co-han-ock, some ten miles from James-
town, as also at Ke-cough-tan, which Capt.
George Percy was at, and observed. The man-
ner of it was, fifteen of the properest young boys,
between ten and fifteen years of age, they
painted white; having brought them forth, the
people spent the forenoon in dancing and singing
about them with rattles.
191
«
192 The Forest Primeval
"In the afternoon they solemnly led those
children to a certain tree appointed for the same
purpose ; at the root whereof, round about, they
made the children to sit down, and by them stood
the most and the ablest of the men, and some of
them the fathers of the children, as a watchful
guard, every one having a bastinado in his hand
of reeds, and these opened a lane between all
along, through which were appointed five young
men to fetch those children.
"And accordingly every one of the five took his
turn and passed through the guard to fetch a
child, the guard fiercely beating them the while
with their bastinadoes, and showing much anger
and displeasure to have the children so ravished
from them; all which the young men patiently
endured, receiving the blows and defending the
children, with their naked bodies, from the un-
merciful strokes, that paid them soundly, though
the children escaped.
"All the while sat the mothers and kinswomen
afar off, looking on, weeping and crying out very
passionately, and some, in pretty, waymenting^
tunes, singing (as it were) their dirge or funeral
song, provided with mats, skins, moss, and dry
wood by them, as things fitting their children's
funerals.
"After the children were thus forcibly taken
from the guard, the guard possessed (as it were)
with a violent fury, entered upon the tree and
tore it down, bows and branches, with such a
» " Probably plaintive. "
Hus-ka-naw-ing 193
terrible fierceness and strength, that they rent
the very body of it, and shivered it in a hundred
pieces, whereof some of them made them gar-
lands for their heads, and some stuck of the
branches and leaves in their hair, wreathing
them in the same, and so went up and down
as mourners, with heavy and sad downcast
looks.
"What else was done with the children might
not be seen by our people, further than that
they were all cast on a heap in a valley, where was
made a great and solemn feast for all the com-
pany; at the going whereunto, the night now
approaching, the Indians desired our people
that they would withdraw themselves and leave
them to their further proceedings, the which they
did.
"Only some of the wer-6-ances being de-
manded the meaning of this sacrifice, made an-
swer, that the children did not all of them suffer
death, but that the 0-ke-us did suck the blood
from the left breast of the child whose chance it
was to be his by lot, till he were dead, and the
remainder were kept in the wilderness by the
said young men till nine moons were expired,
during which time they must not converse with
any; and of these were made the priests and
conjurers to be instructed by tradition from the
elder priests.
"These sacrifices, or catharmata, they hold to
be so necessary, that if they should omit them
they suppose this Okeus, and all the other Qui-
f
194 The Forest Primeval
ough-co-sughes, which are their other gods,
would let them no deer, turkeys, corn, nor fish,
and yet besides he would make a great slaughter
amongst them; insomuch as if ever the ancient
superstitious times feared the devil's postularia
fulgura^ lightnings that signified religion of
sacrifices and vows to be neglected, ' these people
are dreadfully aflflicted with the terror of the
like, insomuch as, I may truly say therefore, the
like thunder and lightning is seldom again
either seen or heard in Europe as is here. " ^
Smith gave an abbreviated account of this
rite, which Beverley reproduced. ^
Commenting upon this proceeding, Beverley
says:
"How far Captain Smith might be misin-
formed in this account, I can't say, or whether
their 0-kee's sucking the breast be only a delusion
or pretence of the physician (or priest, who is
always a physician), to prevent all reflection on
his skill, when any happened to die under his
discipline.
"This I choose rather to believe, than those re-
ligious romances concerning their O-kee. For I
take this story of Smith's to be only an exam-
^ "The rendering here given by Strachey of postularia fulgura is
evidently from Festus, though his quaint diction would mislead the
reader aS to the intention of the words. Festus gives the following
definition of the term. 'Fulgura quae votorum aut sacrificiorum
spretam religionem designant. ' " Lightnings which indicate religion
to be treated with contempt by reason of the neglect of vows or
sacrifices.
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 94-6.
3 Smith, vol. i., p. 140.
Hus-ka-naw-ing 195
pie of hus-ka-naw-ing, which being a ceremony
then altogether unknown to him, he might easily
mistake some of the circumstances of it.
"The solemnity of hus-ka-naw-ing is com-
monly practiced once every fourteen or sixteen
years, or oftener, as their young men happen to
grow up. It is an institution or discipline which
all young men must pass, before they can be ad-
mitted to be of the number of the great men, or
cock-a-rouses of the nation; whereas by Captain
Smith's relation, they were only set apart to
supply the priesthood. The whole ceremony
is performed after the following manner:
"The choicest and briskest young men of the
town, and such only as have acquired some treas-
ure by their travels and hunting, are chosen out
of the rulers to be hus-ka-naw-ed ; and whoever
refuses to undergo this process, dare not remain
among them.
"Several of those odd preparatory fopperies are
premised in the beginning, which have been be-
fore related ; but the principal part of the business
is to carry them into the woods, and there keep
them under confinement, and destitute of all
society, for several months ; giving them no other
sustenance but the infusion or decoction of some
poisonous, intoxicating roots.
" By virtue of which physic, and by the se-
verity of the discipline which they undergo, they
become stark, staring mad, in which raving con-
dition they are kept eighteen or twenty days.
During these extremities they are shut up night
196 The Forest Primeval
and day, in a strong enclosure, made on purpose;
one of which I saw belonging to the Pa-mun-key
Indians, in the year 1694. I^ was in shape like
a sugar-loaf, and every way open like a lattice
for the air to pass through/
"In this cage thirteen young men had been
hus-ka-naw-ed, and had not been a month set
at liberty when I saw it.
"Upon this occasion it is pretended that these
poor creatures drink so much of that water of
Lethe, that they perfectly lose the remembrance
of all former things, even of their parents, their
treasure,^ and their language.
"When the doctors find that they have drunk
sufficiently of the wy-soc-can (so they call this
mad potion), they gradually restore them to
their senses again, by lessening the intoxication
of their diet; but before they are perfectly well,
they bring them back into their towns, while
they are still wild and crazy, through the vio-
lence of the medicine.
"After this they are very fearful of discovering
any thing of their former remembrance; for if
such a thing should happen to any of them, they
must immediately be hus-ka-naw-ed again; and
the second time the usage is so severe, that sel-
dom any one escapes with life.
"Thus they must pretend to have forgot the
very use of their tongues, so as not to be able to
'Seepage 231.
« Their hidden treasures, held in reserve both for use in life and
after death.
Hus-ka-naw-ing 197
speak nor understand any thing that is spoken,
till they learn it again.
"Now whether this be real or counterfeit, I
don't know; but certain it is, that they will not
for some time take notice of any body nor any
thing, with which they were before acquainted,
being still under the guard of their keepers, who
constantly wait upon them every where, till they
have learned all things perfectly over again.
Thus they unlive their former lives, and com-
mence men, by forgetting that they ever have
been boys.
"If under this exercise any one should die, I
suppose the story of 0-kee, mentioned by Smith,
is the salvo' for it: For (says he) 0-kee was to
have such as were his by lot; and such were
said to be sacrificed.
"Now this conjecture is the more probable
because we know that 0-kee has not a share in
every hus-ka-naw-ing; for tho' two young men
happened to come short home^ in that of the
Pa-mun-key Indians, which was performed in the
year 1694, Y^^ ^he Ap-pa-mat-tucks, formerly a
great nation, though now an inconsiderable
people, made an hus-ka-naw in the year 1690,
and brought home the same number they carried
out.
"3
^ Excuse.
^ That is, two never returned home.
3 Beverley, book 3, pp. 37-41.
CHAPTER XIV
THE EMBALMED KINGS AND FUNERAL RITES
STRACHEY gives us this account of the
embalming of the bodies of the kings:
"Within the chancel of the temple, by
the 0-ke-us, are the cenotaphies or the monu-
ments of their kings, whose bodies, so soon as
they be dead, they embowel, and, scraping the
flesh from off the bones, they dry the same upon
hurdles' into ashes, which they put into little
pots (like ancient urns).
"The anatomy of the bones they bind to-
gether, or case up in leather, hanging bracelets,
or chains of copper, beads, pearls or such like,
as they used to wear, about most of their joints
and neck, and so repose the body upon a little
scaffold (as upon a tomb), laying by the dead
body's feet, all his riches in several baskets, his
a-pook,^ and pipe, and any one toy, which in
his life he held most dear in his fancy.
"Their inwards they stuff with pearl, copper,
beads, and such trash, sewed in a skin, which
they overlap again very carefully in white skins
one or two, and the bodies thus dressed lastly
^ Frames of wood. * Tobacco.
198
Embalmed Kings and Funeral Rites 199
they roll in mats, as for winding sheets, and
so lay them orderly one by one, as they die in
their turns, upon an arch standing (as aforesaid)
for the tomb, and these are all the ceremonies
we yet can learn that they give unto their dead.^
"We hear of no sweet oils or ointments that
they use to dress or chest ^ their dead bodies with ;
albeit they want not of the precious resin running
out of the great cedar, wherewith in the old times
they used to embalm dead bodies, washing them
in the oil and liquor thereof.
"Only to the priests the care of these temples
and holy interments are committed, and these
temples are to them as solitary asseteria^ col-
leges or ministers to exercise themselves in con-
templation, for they are seldom out of them,
and therefore often lie in them and maintain
continual fire in the same, upon a hearth some-
what near the east end."^
Beverley's description of this same proceeding,
but with interesting variations as to details, is as
follows :
"The Indians are religious^ in preserving the
corpses of their kings and rulers after death,
which they order in the following manner. First,
they neatly flay^ off the skin as entire as they can,
slitting it only in the back; then they pick all the
* More ceremonies were used, as we will see later on.
" Place in a coffin.
3 "Possibly misspelt from Kaa^repos quasi 'Eirao-tnJrepos, i. e., follow-
ing in a row one after another. "
4 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 89
s That is, observe as a religious duty. ^ Strip.
200 The Forest Primeval
flesh off from the bones as clean as possible, leav-
ing the sinews fastened to the bones, that they
may preserve the joints together.
"Then they dry the bones a little in the sun,
and put them into the skin again, which in the
meantime has been kept from drying or shrink-
ing; when the bones are placed right in the skin,
they nicely fill up the vacuities, with a very find
white sand.
"After this they sew up the skin again, and
the body looks as if the flesh had not been re-
moved. They take care to keep the skin from
shrinking, by the help of a little oil or grease,
which saves it also from corruption.
"The skin being thus prepared they lay it in
an apartment for that purpose, upon a large
shelf raised above the floor. This shelf is spread
with mats, for the corpses to rest easy on, and
screened with the same, to keep it from the
dust.
"The flesh they lay upon hurdles' in the sun
to dry; and when it is thoroughly dried, it is
sewed up in a basket, and set at the feet of the
corpse to which it belongs.
"In this place also they set up a Qui-oc-cos,
or Idol, which they believe will be a guard to
the corpses. Here night and day one or other
of the priests must give his attendance, to take
care of the dead bodies. So great an honor and
veneration have these ignorant and unpolished
people for their princes, even after they are dead.
* A movable frame made of rods crossing each other.
The Burial of the Kings'
v^
Embalmed Kings and Funeral Rites 201
"The mat is supposed to be turned up in the
figure/ that the inside may be viewed.'""
Hariot tells us that the bodies lay on a scaffold
nine or ten feet high, and that under this scaffold
some one of the priests had his lodging, "which
mumbleth his prayers night and day, and hath
charge of the corpses. For his bed, he hath two
deers' skins spread on the ground, if the weather
be cold, he maketh a fire to warm by withal."^
Spelman gives us an account of the ordinary
funeral customs:
"If he dies his burial is this, there is a scaffold
built about three or four yards high from the
ground and the dead body wrapped in a mat is
brought to the place, where when he is laid there-
on, the kinsfolk fall a-weeping and make great
sorrow, and instead of dole"^ for him, the poorer
people being got together, some of his kinsfolk
fling beads ^ among them making them to scram-
ble for them, so it happens many times divers
do break their arms and legs being pressed by
the company; this finished they go to the party's
house ^ where they have meat given them which
being eaten all the rest of the day they spend in
singing and dancing, using then as much mirth
as before sorrow, moreover, if any of the kin-
dreds' bodies which have been laid on the scaffold
be so consumed as nothing is left but bones they
' Picture, p. 202. » Beverley, book 3, p. 47.
3 Hariot 's Narrative, xxii.
4 A portion of money, food, or other things distributed in charity.
s Wam-pum or peak. <» The deceased man's home.
202 The Forest Primeval
take those bones from the scaffold and putting
them into a new mat, ^ hang them in their houses
where they continue while their house falleth,
and then they are buried in the ruins of the
house. "-^
Strachey gives an account of another kind of
burial:
"For their ordinary burials they dig a deep
hole in the earth with sharp stakes, and the
corpse being lapped in skins and mats with their
jewels, they lay upon sticks in the ground, and
so cover them with earth: the burial ended, the
women, being painted all their faces with black
coal and oil, do sit twenty-four hours in their
houses, mourning and lamenting by turns, with
such yelling and howling as may express their
great passions."^
Still a third mode of disposing of the bodies of
the dead is recorded by Glover. He says:
''They burn the bodies of the dead, and sew up
the ashes in mats, which they place near the
cabins of their relations. ""^
With every wer-6-ance or king was buried all
his wealth, for they believed that he that died
the richest, lived in another world the happiest.
In consequence of this idea, there was found
by the English a great quantity of pearls
stored in the "house of their sepultures," that
' Covering made of cloths or mats.
2 Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 40-1.
3 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 90.
^Account of Virginia, p. 24.
Embalmed Kings and Funeral Rites 203
is, the place where the embalmed bodies were
preserved.
Discolored and softened by heat as they had
been, having been found most probably in oysters
when they were cooked, their value was not so
great as it otherwise would have been. ^
We have reason to believe that when, in pur-
suance of treaties or cession of land to the Vir-
ginians, the Indians withdrew from the eastern
part of the State, they took all the embalmed
kings with them. ^
The honors paid to the departed, when they
were personages of distinction, did not end with
merely embalming their bodies. Lane tells us
that it was the custom to observe a general,
public mourning for a month. Such a mourning
on account of the death of En-se-no-re, the
father of Pem-is-a-pan, the King of the country
around Roanoke Island, was made the excuse
for collecting there eight hundred warriors, who
were to take part in the conspiracy to exter-
minate the English.
^ Brown's Genesis of the United States, vol. i., p. 349; A True and
Sincere Declaration of the Governors and Councilors, 1609.
* Beverley, book 2, pp. lo-ii.
CHAPTER XV
BURIAL MOUNDS
MR. JEFFERSON, in his Notes on Fir-
ginia, has an interesting account of
an examination made by him of one
of the Indian burial-places near his home. He
says:
"I know of no such thing existing as an Indian
monument: for I would not honour with that
name arrow points, stone hatchets, stone pipes,
and half shapen images. Of labour on the large
scale, I think there is no remain as respectable
as would be a common ditch for the draining of
lands: unless indeed it would be the barrows, of
which many are to be found all over this country.
"These are of different sizes, some of them
constructed of earth, and some of loose stones.
That they were repositories of the dead, has
been obvious to all; but on what particular
occasion constructed, was a matter of doubt.
" Some have thought they covered the bones of
those who have fallen in battles fought on the
spot of interment. Some ascribed them to the
custom, said to prevail among the Indians, of
collecting, at certain periods the bones of all
204
Burial Mounds 205
their dead, wheresoever deposited at the time of
death. Others again supposed them the general
sepulchres for towns, conjectured to have been
on or near these grounds; and this opinion was
supported by the quality of the lands in which
they are found (those constructed of earth be-
ing generally in the softest and most fertile
meadow grounds on river sides), and by a tradi-
tion, said to be handed down from the aboriginal
Indians, that, when they settled in a town, the
first person who died was placed erect, and earth
put about him, so as to cover and support him;
and when another died, a narrow passage was dug
to the first, the second reclined against him, and
the cover of earth replaced, and so on.
" There being one of those in my neighborhood,
I wished to satisfy myself whether any, and which
of these opinions were just. For this purpose I
determined to open and examine it thoroughly.
'^ It was situated on the low grounds of the
Rivanna, about two miles above its principal
fork,^ and opposite to some hills, on which had
been an Indian town. It was of a spheroidical
form, of about forty feet diameter at the base,
and had been of about twelve feet altitude,
though now reduced by the plough to seven and
a half, having been under cultivation about a
dozen years. Before this it was covered with
trees of twelve inches diameter, and round the
» Mechum's River. The location thus described would be a point
about two miles southeast of the station known as Proffit, on the
Southern Railway, in Albemarle County.
f
206 The Forest Primeval
base was an excavation of five feet depth and
width, from whence the earth had been taken
of which the hillock was formed.
" I first dug superficially in several parts of
it, and came to collections of human bones, at
different depths, from six inches to three feet
below the surface. These were lying in the
utmost confusion, some vertical, some oblique,
some horizontal, and directed to every point of
the compass, entangled and held together in
clusters by the earth. Bones of the most distant
parts were found together, as for instance, the
small bones of the foot in the hollow of the skull ;
many skulls would sometimes be in contact,
lying on the face, on the side, on the back, top
or bottom, so as, on the whole, to give the idea
of bones emptied promiscuously from a bag or
basket, and covered over with earth, without any
attention to their order.
"The bones of which the greatest numbers
remained, were skulls, jaw-bones, teeth, the
bones of the arms, thighs, legs, feet, and hands.
A few ribs remained, some vertebrae of the neck
and spine, without their processes, ' and one
instance only of the bone which serves as a
base to the vertebral column.
" The skulls were so tender, that they generally
fell to pieces on being touched. The other bones
were stronger. There were some teeth which
were judged to be smaller than those of an adult;
a skull, which on a slight view, appeared to be
« Outgrowing parts or protuberances.
Burial Mounds 207
that of an infant, but it fell to pieces on being
taken out, so as to prevent satisfactory examina-
tion; a rib, and a fragment of the under jaw of a
person about half grown; another rib of an in-
fant ; and part of the jaw of a child, which had not
cut its teeth.
"This last furnishing the most decisive proof
of the burial of children here, I was particu-
lar in my attention to it. It was part of the
right half of the under jaw. The processes,
by which it was attenuated ^ to the tempo-
ral bones,'' were entire, and the bone itself firm
to where it had been broken off, which, as
nearly as I could judge, was about the place of
the eye-tooth. Its upper edge, wherein would
have been the sockets of the teeth, was perfectly
smooth. Measuring it with that of an adult,
by placing their hinder processes together, its
broken end extended to the penultimate grinder
of the adult. This bone was white, all the others
of a sand colour. The bones of infants being
soft, they probably decay sooner, which might
be the cause so few were found here.
" I proceeded then to make a perpendicular cut
through the body of the barrow, that I might ex-
amine its internal structure. This passed about
three feet from its centre, was opened to the
former surface of the earth, and was wide enough
for a man to walk through and examine its sides.
« Become thinner or smaller toward the point of connection.
»The complex bone situated at the side and base of the skull,
in the region of the ear, whose internal organs it contains within its
substance.
f
208 The Forest Primeval
" At the bottom, that is, on the level of the
circumjacent plain, I found bones; above these a
few stones, brought from a cliff a quarter of a
mile off, and from the river one-eighth of a mile
off; then a large interval of earth, then a stratum
of bones, and so on.
" At one end of the section were four strata
of bones plainly distinguishable; at the other,
three; the strata in one part not ranging with
those in another: The bones nearest the sur-
face were least decayed. No holes were dis-
covered in any of them, as if made with bullets,
arrows, or other weapons. I conjectured that
in this barrow might have been a thousand
skeletons.
" Every one will readily seize the circum-
stances above related, which militate against
the opinion, that it covered the bones only of
persons fallen in battle; and against the tradi-
tion also, which would make it the common
sepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were
placed upright, and touching each other.
^'Appearances certainly indicate that it has de-
rived both origin and growth from the accustom-
ary collection of bones, and deposition of them
together; that the first collection had been de-
posited on the common surface of the earth, a
few stones put over it, and then a covering of
earth, that the second had been laid on this, had
covered more or less of it in proportion to the
number of bones, and was then also covered with
earth; and soon.
Burial Mounds 209
"The following are the particular circum-
stances which give it this aspect: I. The
number of bones. 2. Their confused position.
3. Their being in different strata. 4. The strata
in one part having no correspondence with
those in another. 5. The different states of
decay in these strata, which seem to indicate
a difference in the time of inhumation. 6. The
existence of infant bones among them.
"But on whatever occasion they may have
been made, they are of considerable notoriety
among the Indians; for a party passing, about
thirty years ago, through the part of the country
where this barrow is, went through the woods di-
rectly to it, without any instructions or enquiry,
and having staid about it some time, with expres-
sions which were construed to be those of sorrow,
they returned to the high road, which they had
left about half a dozen miles to pay this visit,
and pursued their journey.
"There is another barrow much resembling
this, in the low grounds of the south branch
of Shenandoah where it is crossed by the road
leading from the Rockfish Gap to Staunton.^
Both of these have within those dozen years,
been cleared of their trees, and put under
cultivation, are much reduced in their heighth,
and spread in width, by the plough, and will
probably disappear in time.
" There is another on a hill in the Blue Ridge
* This description would indicate the neighborhood of Wa3nies-
boro, in Augusta County.
14
2IO The Forest Primeval
of mountains, a few miles north of Wood's gap,
which is made up of small stones thrown to-
gether. This has been opened and found to
contain human bones, as the others do. There
are also many others in other parts of the
country."'
On the western bank of the Ohio River, at
Marietta, Ohio, is a nearly perfect specimen of
the barrow or mound. It was visited by the
writer in the fall of 1909. The mound is appro-
priately surrounded by a cemetery, named
Mound Cemetery. It is conical in shape, the
top being reached by forty-five stone steps, and
having a circumference at the base, of about
three hundred and seventy-eight feet.
Surrounding the mound, for about forty feet,
the earth gently slopes away from it, and
then descends into a shallow moat. Around
this little moat there circles a correspondingly
low rampart, at a distance of sixty feet from the
base of the mound. This formed the outer circle
of the structure, and is about seven hundred
and seventy-one feet in circumference. All of
this mound, space, moat, and rampart, is cov-
ered with a well-kept lawn, and presents a
beautiful and symmetrical whole.
The care with which this mound has been kept
does credit to the authorities of the city where it
is, although it would be still better, if certain
objects now there were removed from the top
as well as the stone steps which ascend it, so
^ Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 99 et seq.
i
Burial Mounds 211
that the mound could be seen in its original
condition.
The writer could not learn, during his short
stay, whether this mound had ever been thor-
oughly examined, or whether the encircling moat
and rampart were of recent, or of ancient con-
struction. He was told that its excavation had
been once begun, but that it was abruptly
abandoned.
Further up the Ohio, on its eastern bank, in
Marshall County, West Virginia, at Mounds-
ville, stands the greatest mound in the country.
This was discovered in 1772, by Joseph Tomlin-
son, who settled at what was then known as
Grave Creek. A description of the mound given
by one of its subsequent owners, Mr. A. B.
Tomlinson, taken from the American Pioneer^
is thus preserved by Howe:
*'The Mammoth Mound is sixty-nine feet
high, and about nine hundred feet in circumfer-
ence at its base. It is a frustum of a cone, and
has a flat top of about fifty feet in diameter.
This flat, until lately, was slightly depressed —
occasioned, it is supposed, by the falling in of
two vaults below. A few years since a white
oak, of about seventy feet in height, stood on
the summit of the mound, which appeared to
die of age. On carefully cutting the trunk
transversely, the number of concentric circles
showed that it was about five hundred years
old.
"In 1838, Mr. Tomlinson commenced at the
212 The Forest Primeval
level of the surrounding ground, and ran in an
excavation horizontally one hundred and eleven
feet, when he came to a vault that had been
excavated in the earth before the mound was
commenced. This vault was twelve feet long,
eight wide and seven in height. It was dry as
any tight room. Along each side and the two
ends, stood upright timbers, which had sup-
ported transverse timbers forming the ceiling.
Over the timbers had been placed unhewn stone;
but the decay of the timbers occasioned the fall
of the stones and the superincumbent earth, so
as to nearly fill the vault. "
A note here inserted by Mr. Howe states:
*'*At the top and bottom, where the timbers had
been placed, were particles of charcoal — an evi-
dence that fire, instead of iron had been used in
severing the wood. This goes to show that the
constructors of the mound were not acquainted
with the use of iron ; and the fact that none of
that metal was found in the vault, strongly cor-
roborates the opinion. Some of the stones were
water-worn, probably from the river; others were
identical with a whet-stone quarry on the Ohio
side of the river, two miles north. '
" In this vault were found two skeletons, one
of which was devoid of ornament — the other
was surrounded by six hundred and fifty ivory
beads, resembling button-moles, and an ivory
ornament of about six inches in length, which
is one inch and five-eighths wide in the centre,
half an inch wide at the ends, and on one side
i
00
.s
•3
I
t
o
CO
O
Burial Mounds 213
flat and on the other oval-shaped. A singular
white exudation of animal matter overhangs the
roof of this vault.
"Another excavation was commenced at the
top of the mound downwards. Midway between
the top and bottom, and over the vault above
described, a second and similar vault was dis-
covered, and, like that, caved in by the falling
of the ceiling, timbers, stones, etc. In the upper
vault was found the singular hieroglyphical
stone hereafter described, one thousand seven
hundred ivory beads, five hundred sea-shells of
the involute species, that were worn as beads,
and five copper bracelets about the wrists of
the skeleton. The shells and beads were about
the neck and breast of the skeleton, and there
were also about one hundred and fifty pieces of
isinglass strewed over the body.
''The mound is composed of the same kind of
earth as that around it, being a fine loamy sand,
but differs very much in color from that of the
natural ground. After penetrating about eight
feet with the first or horizontal excavation, blue
spots began to appear in the earth of which
the mound is composed. On close examination,
these spots were found to contain ashes and bits
of burnt bones. These spots increased as they
approached the centre: at the distance of one
hundred and twenty feet within, the spots were
so numerous and condensed as to give the earth
a clouded appearance, and excited the admira-
tion of all who saw it. Every part of the mound
214 The Forest Primeval
presents the same appearance, except near the
surface. The blue spots were probably occa-
sioned by depositing the remains of bodies con-
sumed by fire."
The following additional interesting informa-
tion is given by Howe:
"Mr. Henry R. Colcraft (Schoolcraft), whose
researches upon the Indian antiquities of the
West have placed him at the head of the list of
scientific inquirers upon this subject, visited
Grave Creek in August, 1843, and devoted
several days to the examination of the antique
works of art at that place. The result of his
investigations is partially given in a communica-
tion to the New York Commercial Advertiser,
copied below. We were subsequently at Grave
Creek, and obtained an impression in wax of the
hieroglyphical stone to which he alludes. An
accurate engraving from this impression we
insert in its proper place in his article:
" ' I have devoted several days to the examina-
tion of the antiquities of this place and its
vicinity, and find them to be of even more inter-
est than was anticipated. The most prominent
object of curiosity is the great tumulus, of which
notices have appeared in western papers; but
this heavy structure of earth is not isolated. It
is but one of a series of mounds and other evi-
dences of ancient occupation at this point, of
more than ordinary interest. I have visited
and examined seven mounds situated within a
short distance of each other. They occupy the
Burial Mounds 215
summit level of a rich alluvial plain, stretching on
the left or Virginia bank of the Ohio, between the
junctions of Big and Little Grave creeks with
that stream. They appear to have been connected
by low earthen intrenchments, of which plain
traces are still visible on some parts of the com-
mons. They included a well, stoned up in the
usual manner, which is now filled with rubbish.
*'*The summit of this plain is probably seventy-
five feet above the present summit-level of the
Ohio.
"It constitutes the second bench or rise of land
above the water. It is on this summit, and one
of the most elevated parts of it, that the great
tumulus stands. It is in the shape of a broad
cone, cut off at the apex, where it is some fifty
feet across. This area is quite level, and com-
mands a view of the entire plain, and of the river
above and below, and the west shores of the
Ohio in front. Any public transaction on this
area would be visible to multitudes around it,
and it has, in this respect, all the advantages
of the Mexican and Yucatanese teocalli.' The
circumference of the base has been stated at a
little under 900 feet ; the height is 69 feet.
"'The most interesting object of antiquarian
inquiry is a small flat stone, inscribed with
antique, alphabetic characters, which was dis-
closed on the opening of the mound. These
characters are in the ancient rock alphabet of
' A solid, four-sided, truncated pyramid built terrace- wise, with a
temple on the platform at the summit.
f
2i6 The Forest Primeval
sixteen right and acute-angled single strokes, used
by the Pelasgi' and other early Mediterranean
nations, and which is the parent of the modern
Runic^ as well as the Bardic.^ It is now some
four or five years since the completion of the
excavations, so far as they have been made, and
the discovery of this relic. Several copies of it
soon got abroad which differed from each other,
and, it was supposed, from the original. This
conjecture is true. Neither the print published
in the Cincinnati Ga-
zette, in 1839, nor that
in the American Pio~
neer, in 1843, is
correct. I have
terminated this un-
certainty by taking
copies by a scientific
process, which does
not leave the lines and figures to the uncer-
tainty of man's pencil.'*'*
This great mound was therefore the burial-
place of three distinguished persons, one alone,
in the -upper chamber, and two, probably a
mighty warrior and his favourite wife, in the
lower.
' An ancient race, widely spread over Greece and the coasts and
islands of the ^gean Sea and the Mediterranean generally, in pre-
historic times.
' The letters used by the peoples of Northern Europe from an early
period to the eleventh century.
3 The language of the bards among the ancient Celts.
< Howe's Virginia, its History and Antiquities, pp. 369-71.
CAllVeO STONB FOUND IN THE MOUND
Burial Mounds 217
It is to be observed that the bodies of the
three great personages in whose special honor
the mound was raised, were deposited in their
chambers unburnt, while the central part of the
mound is full of the remains of a large number
of other corpses which had been burnt.
It was characteristic of the Stone Age in
Northern Europe, to deposit bodies in such
chambers as these unburnt. The chambers
were then filled with earth, and the whole covered
with earth. Together with the body were de-
posited arrow-heads, lances, chisels, and axes
of flint, implements of bone, ornaments of amber
or bone, and earthen vessels filled with loose
earth. Around these mounds were circles of
stone, often of considerable circumference.
It was characteristic of the Bronze-period to
burn the bodies.
Worsaae tells us that: "At the summit and
on the sides of a barrow are often found vessels
of clay with burnt bones and articles of bronze,
while at the base of the hill we meet with the
ancient cromlechs or giants' chambers, with
unburnt bodies and objects of stone. From this
it is obvious that at a later time, possibly centu-
ries after, poorer persons who had not the means
to construct barrows, used the ancient tombs of
the Stone-period, which they could do with the
more security, since a barrow which is piled
above a giant's chamber had exactly the same
appearance as a barrow of the Bronze-period."^
» Primeval Antiquities, p. 94.
$
2i8 The Forest Primeval
Viewing the great mound with these ideas in
our mind, the facts related in connection with
its opening, become more interesting and signi-
ficant than ever.
It appeared that the lower vault had been
excavated in the earth before the mound was
commenced. This chamber was nearly filled
with earth when opened. Had it been entirely
filled it would have been in the same condition in
which those in Europe were purposely arranged
during the Stone-period. It is stated though,
that in this instance this was due to the decay
of the timbers, which held up the stones which
formed the roof. All had fallen in. Here were
two skeletons, surrounded with ivory beads and
other articles.
This chamber covered with earth was probably
all of the original structure.
It may have been centuries after this that
another chamber was built on top of this mound.
Another great man was buried. His arms were
adorned with copper bracelets, and his name and
his deeds were probably recorded on the hiero-
glyphical stone placed by his body, to give to
another age a message which we are all too
Ignorant to decipher.
The age of Bronze now comes, and one by one,
or possibly, many at a time, the bodies of the
dead are burnt, and their charred remains are
deposited on the sides of the tumulus, carefully
covered with earth. The mound thus grows
greater and greater, and becomes the cemetery of
I
Burial Mounds 219
a tribe, as well as the tomb of its most illustrious
chieftains, until that tribe, like its individual
members have done, itself vanishes from the face
of the earth.
When seen by the writer in 1909, the condition
of this mound afforded a sad contrast to that
at Marietta. One was perfectly kept, the other
was perfectly neglected. Around the West Vir-
ginia Mound, was no encircling space, moat, nor
rampart. It uncomfortably occupied the larger
part of a small city square. It was surrounded
by streets which had been graded and paved,
and all of the interesting outworks, such as exist
at Marietta, if they ever existed here, have been
utterly obliterated by a desecrating race-track,
which once ran around it, and later by the grad-
ing of the streets. But there seems to be no
tradition here of these circles having existed.
In fact, this great mound, after centuries of
honor, had the misfortune to go through a
dreary period of humiliation. The "observa-
tory" built by Tomlinson, or some other
building which succeeded it, was once used
as a restaurant and dancing pavilion. Level-
ing the top of the mound for this house took off
eleven feet of its height, which was originally
ninety, reducing it to seventy-nine, according
to the present local measurement. About the
mound was established the Fair Grounds, and
around this noble monument of antiquity,
erected to the dead, was constructed the race-
track over which horses ran at every county
220 The Forest Primeval
fair. The curiosity of the white man caused the
two openings to be made in it, which, together
with the giving away of the timbers of the two
vaults, has caused the falling in of the earth
through the center of the mound, although the
shaft and tunnel were walled up, taking for this
purpose eighty-five thousand bricks.
The top is now about 150 feet in circumference
and presents the appearance of a rim of earth
surrounding a cup-shaped depression, in about
the center of which is a black hole. The
opening on the north side, mentioned by Howe,
is said to have been about seven feet wide, ten
high, and ran back, gradually decreasing in size,
to the center of the mound. Then the shaft was
sunk through the top, met the second vault about
thirty-four feet above the lower vault, and went
down through the mound to the other vault.
The mound being composed of loose earth, caved
in.
No care having apparently been taken to
prevent it, the sides are deeply marked by rains,
and worn away by many foot-paths, difficult
enough to ascend, and the whole lies unenclosed,
liable to depredation and injury of every kind.
About forty large trees, and many smaller ones,
are now growing upon it, which give it the
appearance of a well-wooded hill.
So great is this mound, the circumference at
its base being considerably greater than the
outside ring around the Marietta mound, that
had it been similarly enclosed, its outlying en-
o
%
Burial Mounds 221
circling rampart would have taken in an area
equal to several squares of the town. It may
have been that these very circles suggested the
race-track.
The local belief is that the earth which was
used to build this giant tumulus, was taken from
a spot between a quarter and a half of a mile
away from it, known as "The Basin," which
lies on the north side of one of the principal
streets, between the mound and the railroad
station. This basin, enormous in area, has every
appearance of having been artificially created.
It breaks into the general slope of the land, its
sides have not the curves of a natural hollow;
and its soil is of the same character as that com-
posing the mound. Those who dug that basin
and built that mound, succeeded in accomplish-
ing a herculean undertaking.
We are glad to say that better days are ahead.
After years of work, the legislators of the State
of West Virginia have been brought to partially
appreciate the monument they have within their
borders, and when it was in actual danger of being
destroyed, or falling into utter ruin, they bought
the property for the State, which will preserve
it. Some work has already been done in clearing
off its sides, and before long it may be put and
kept in good condition, and so be properly handed
down to posterity.
As this work is historical only, the interesting
question of who built these mounds, whether
the Indians who lived here at the time of the
222 The Forest Primeval
English invasion, or some older race, we leave
to anthropology and archaeology, to which we
also leave the question of whence the Indians
themselves came.
Parkman gives an absorbingly interesting
account of a funeral rite which existed, and
was practised by the Hurons up to the time
of the French occupation of Canada.' Every
ten or twelve years, says he, the bodies of
all who had died during that period were
lowered from their scaffolds or lifted from their
graves, and deposited in one common sepulchre.
Such was no doubt the origin of the barrows
which were found in Virginia, but we know of no
statement by any of our early writers which
would indicate that any of them were constructed
during the period of the English occupation of
Virginia.
But these mounds, simple in construction, do
not compare in interest to this great mound at
Moundsville, which, with its chambers one above
the other, carries us back to the barrows of the
Stone-period, the giants' chambers and crom-
lechs of the Stone Age of Europe.
» The Jesuits in North America, pp. 71-8.
CHAPTER XVI
PRIESTS AND CONJURERS
OF all the opponents to the EngHsh, the
priests and conjurers were the most
bitter. Not only did the coming of the
White Man threaten political, social, and eco-
nomic revolution, but one of its objects was the
conversion of the heathen to Christianity. This
the priests held to be an immediate attack upon
them, and the whole system of which they were
the exponents.
This opposition Strachey thus describes:
"Indeed their priests, being the ministers of
Satan (who is very likely or visibly conversant
amongst them), fear and tremble lest the knowl-
edge of God, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
should be taught in those parts, do now with the
more vehemency persuade the people to hold
on their wonted ceremonies, and every year to
sacrifice still their own children to the ancient
God of their fathers, and it is supposed gain
double oblations this way, by reason they do
at all times so absolutely govern and direct the
wer-6-ances, or lords of countries, in all their
actions, and this custom he hath politically main-
223
f
224 The Forest Primeval
tained, and doth yet universally, a few places
excepted, over all the Indies.
"To have suffered still, therefore, me thinks,
these priests of Baal or Beelzebub, were greatly
offensive to the majesty of God, and most peril-
ous for the English to inhabit within those
parts; for these their qui-yough-qui-socks or
prophets be they that persuade their wer-6-ances
to resist our settlement, and tell them how much
their 0-ke-us will be offended with them, and
that he will not be appeased with a sacrifice
of a thousand, nay a hecatomb of their chil-
dren, if they permit a nation, despising the
ancient religion of their forefathers, to inhabit
among them, since their own gods have hitherto
preserved them, and given them victory over
their enemies, from age to age. " ^
Strachey also gives us the following account of
the priests and their principal stronghold:
"Their principal temple, or place of supersti-
tion, is at Ut-ta-mus-sack,at Pa-mun-key."" Near
unto the town, within the woods, is a chief holy
house, proper to^ Powhatan, upon the top of
certain red sandy hills, and it is accompanied
with two others sixty feet in length, filled with
images of their kings and devils, and tombs of
the predecessors. This place they count so
holy as that none but the priests and kings dare
come therein.
^ Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 83-4.
2 The name of the region lying between the Pa-mun-key and the
Mat-ta-po-ny Rivers.
3 The private property of, or especially appropriated to.
Priests and Conjurers 225
"In this, as the Grecian nigromancers' psycho
mantie^ did use to call up spirits, either the
priests have conference, or consult, indeed,
with the devil, and receive verbal answers,
and so saith Acosta^; he spake to the ^oirrj
or chaplains of the West Indies, in their
guacas or oratories, or at least these conjurers
make the simple laity so to believe, who, there-
fore, so much are the people at the priests'
devotion, are ready to execute any thing, how
desperate soever, which they shall command.
The savages dare not go up the river in boats by
it, but that they solemnly cast some piece of cop-
per, white beads, or po-chones^ into the river, for
fear that 0-ke-us should be offended and revenged
of them. In this place commonly are resident
seven priests, the chief differing from the rest
in his ornament, whilst the inferior priests can
hardly be known from the common people, save
that they had not (it may be, may be not have)
so many holes in their ears to hang their jewels
at.
''The ornaments of the chief priest were, upon
his shoulders a middle-sized cloak of feathers
much like the old sacrificing garment which
Isodorus"^ calls cassiola, and the burlett or attire
of his head was thus made : some twelve or six-
teen or more snakes' sloughs or skins were
» Magicians' power over the souls of others.
' A Spanish Jesuit historian and archaeologist.
3 Pieces of the root puccoon, from which a red dye was made.
4 Isodorus, a native of Charax, near the mouth of the Tigris. He
was a writer of the time of Caligula.
X5
226 The Forest Primeval
stuffed with moss, and of weasels or other vermin
were skins perhaps as many: all these were tied
by the tails, so as their tails meet in the top of
the head like a great tassel, and round about the
tassel was circled a coronet, as it were, of feathers,
the skins hanging round about his head, neck,
and shoulders, and in a manner covering his
face.
*'The faces of all their priests are painted
so ugly as they can devise; in their hands they
carry every one his rattle, for the most part as a
symbol of his place and profession, some base,^
some smaller. Their devotion^ is most in songs,
which the chief priest begins and the rest fol-
low him; sometimes he makes invocation with
broken sentences, by starts and strange passions,
and at every pause the rest of the priests give a
short groan. "^
The exact location of this sacred town of
Ut-ta-mus-sack we can probably determine.
The old maps show it to be situated on the east
side of the Pamunkey River, just before it makes
its sharp curves before it flows into the York.
The Pamunkey Indian reservation is on the east
bank of the Pamunkey just at this same point.
These two locations are one and the same.
Ut-ta-mus-sack was therefore situated upon the
land which has never yet been out of the pos-
session of the Pamunkey tribe. The more we
* The large rattles would give the base notes, the smaller ones the
treble. 'Religious service.
3 Historie oj Travaile into Virginia^ p. 90.
Priests and Conjurers 227
think of it, the more natural this conclusion ap-
pears to be. This town was the headquarters of
the priests, it was their special stronghold. The
priests directed the affairs of the tribe. The
tribe made peace with the Virginians, became
tributary to Virginia, and had a tract of land,
assigned for its own special possession. In
selecting the land to be allotted to them, the
priests of this tribe would naturally ask for that
to which they attached the most importance,
and that spot would be the one which had been
held in such reverence for generations, where
their temples were, and where the dead bodies of
their kings had so long reposed — this St. Denis
of the forest.
The conjuration of these priests is thus de-
scribed by Strachey:
"They have also divers conjurations: one
they made at what time they had taken Captain
Smith prisoner, to know, as they reported, if
any more of his countrymen would arrive there,
and what they intended : the manner of it Cap-
tain Smith observed to be as followeth: first
so soon as day was shut in, they kindled a fair
great fire in a lone house, about which assembled
seven priests, taking Captain Smith by the hand,
and appointing him his seat. About the fire they
made a kind of enchanted circle of meal; that
done, the chiefest priest, attired as is expressed,
gravely began to sing and shake his rattle,
solemnly rounding and marching about the fire,
the rest followed him silently until his song was
228 The Forest Primeval
done, which they all shut up with a groan. At
the end of the first song the chief priest laid down
certain grains of wheat, and so continued howl-
ing and invoking their 0-ke-us to stand firm and
powerful to them in divers varieties of songs, still
counting the songs by the grains, until they had
circled the fire three times, then they divided
the grains by certain number with little sticks,
all the while muttering some impious thing
unto themselves, oftentimes looking upon Capt.
Smith.
"In this manner they continued ten or
twelve hours without any other ceremonies or
intermission, with such violent stretching of their
arms, and various passions, jestures, and symp-
toms, as might well seem strange to him before
whom they so conjured, and who every hour ex-
pected to be the hoast' and one of their sacrifice.
Not any meat did they eat until it was very late,
and the night far spent. About the rising of the
morning star they seemed to have finished their
work of darkness, and then drew forth such pro-
vision as was in the said house, and feasted them-
selves and him with much mirth. Three or four
days they continued these elvish"" ceremonies.
"Now besides this manner of conjurations
thus within doors (as we read the augurers in
the old times of the like superstition, did as-
cend or go up into the certain towers or high
places, called therefore auguracula, to divine
of matters), so do they go forth, and either upon
» Host, victim ofifered in sacrifice. » Witch-like.
Priests and Conjurers 229
some rock standing alone, or upon some desolate
promontory top, or else into the midst of thick
and solitary woods they call upon their o-ke-us
and importune their other qui-ough-co-sughes
with most impetuous and interminate clamors
and howling, and with such pains and strained
actions, as the neighbor places echo again of the
same, and themselves are all in a sweat and over
wearied. "
"They have also another kind of sorcery which
they use in storms, a kind of botanomantia ^
with herbs; when the waters are rough in the
rivers and sea-coasts, their conjurers run to the
water sides, or, passing in their quin-tans, after
many hellish outcries and invocations, they cast
whe-si-can,^ tobacco, copper, po-cones, or such
trash into the water, to pacify that god whom
they think to be very angry in those storms."^
" Po-cones is a small root that groweth in the
mountains, which, being dried and beat into
powder, turneth red, and this they use for swell-
ings, aches, anointing their joints, painting their
heads and garments with it, for which they
account it very precious and of much worth. ""*
" It could not be perceived that they keep any
day as more holy than other: but only in some
great distress of want, fear of enemies, times of
triumph and gathering together their fruits, the
whole country of men, women, and children come
* "Soothsaying from herbs. " ''A bone.
3 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 92-3.
* Ibid., p. 121.
230 The Forest Primeval
together to solemnities. The manner of their
devotion is, sometimes to make a great fire,
in the house or fields, and all to sing and
dance about it with rattles and shouts to-
gether, four or five hours. Sometimes they set
a man in the midst, and about him they dance
and sing, he all the while clapping his hands, as
if he would keep time, and after their songs and
dancings ended, they go to their feasts.
"They have also certain altar-stones they call
Paw-co-ran-ces, but these stand from their
temples, some by their houses, others in the
woods and wildernesses, where they have had
any extraordinary accident or encounter. And
as you travel, at those stones they will tell you
the cause why they were there erected, which
from age to age they instruct their children, as
their best records of antiquities. Upon these
they offer blood, deer-suet, and tobacco. This
they do when they return from the wars, from
hunting, and upon many other occasions."'
"The priests of the aforesaid town of Se-co-ta^
are well stricken in years, and as it seemeth of
more experience than the common sort. They
wear their hair cut like a crest, on the top of their
heads as others do, but the rest are cut short
saving^ those which grow above their foreheads
in manner of a perriwigge."^ They also have
somewhat hanging in their ears. They wear a
^ Smith, vol. i., p. 140.
» An Indian town in what is now Beaufort County, N. C.
3 Excepting. 4 Wig.
Priests and Conjurers 231
short clocke ' made of fine hares' skins quilted
with the hair outwards. The rest of their body
is naked. They are notable enchanters, and
for their pleasure they frequent the rivers to
kill with their bows, and catch wild ducks, swans,
and other fowls. "
"They have commonly conjurers or jugglers
which use strange gestures, and often contrary
to nature in their enchantments: For they be
very familiar with devils, of whom they inquire
what their enemies do, or other such things.
They shave all their heads saving their crest,
which they wear as others do, and fasten a small
black bird above one of their ears^ as a badge of
their office. They wear a bag by their side as is
expressed in the figure. The inhabitants give
great credit unto their speech, which oftentimes
they find to be true."^
"I don't find that the Indians have any other
distinction in their dress, or the fashion of their
hair, than only what a greater degree of riches
enables them to make : except it be their religious
persons, who are known by the particular cut of
the hair, and the unusual figure of their garments;
as our clergy are distinguished by their canonical
habit. ^
"The habit of the Indian priest, is a cloak
^ Cloak — a garment shaped like a bell. The word clock means bell,
the sounding of the hour by a bell being its characteristic. The
garment took its name from its similarity in shape to a bell.
^ May not this be the origin of the expression — a little bird told
such and such a thing?
3 Hariot's Narrative, v., xi. < Coat.
232 The Forest Primeval
made in the form of a woman's petticoat, but
instead of tying it about their middle, they fasten
the gatherings about their neck, and tie it upon
the right shoulder, always keeping one arm out
to use upon occasion. This cloak hangs even
at the bottom but reaches no lower than the
middle of the thigh; but what is most particular
in it, is, that it is constantly' made of a skin
dressed soft, with the pelt or fur on the outside,
and reversed; insomuch, that when the cloak
has been a little worn, the hair falls down in
flakes, and looks very shagged, and frightful.
" The cut of their hair is likewise peculiar to
their function''; for 'tis all shaven close except a
thin crest, like a cock's-comb which stands
bristling up, and runs in a semicircle from the
forehead up along the crown to the nape of the
neck. They likewise have a border of hair over
the forehead, which by its own natural strength,
and by the stiffening it receives from grease and
paint, will stand out like the peak^ of a bonnet. "
" He (the conjurer) as well as the priest, is
commonly grimed with soot or the like; to save
his modesty he hangs an otter-skin at his girdle,
fastening the tail between his legs: upon his
thigh hangs his pocket, which is fastened by
tucking it under his girdle, the bottom of this
likewise is fringed with tassels for ornament sake.
In the middle between them is the hus-ka-naw-
ing pen. "^
' Invariably. " Office. ^ Projecting part.
4 Beverley, book 3, pp. 5-6.
Priests and Conjurers 233
Spelman agrees with the above, in his account
of the style of dressing the hair adopted by the
priests, but adds the fact that some had beards.^
That these conjurers exercised a powerful
control over the minds of the savages we are
fully prepared to believe, when we read T, M.'s
account of Bacon's rebellion, reciting events
which occurred as late as the year 1676. A
drought existed throughout the plantations that
summer, while rain poured down every day upon
Bacon and his troops in the forest. This rain
was believed by the English to be due to the
"pau-waw-ings," that is, the sorceries, of the
Indians, who in this way obstructed the move-
ments of Bacon's troops in his war upon them.
Beverley has this to say of them: "The priests
and conjurers are also of great authority, the
people having recourse to them for counsel and
direction, upon all occasions; by which means,
and by help of the first fruits and frequent
offerings, they riot in the fat of the land, and
grow rich upon the spoils of their ignorant
countrymen. " ^
The Indian priests are thus described by the
Rev. Mr. Whittaker, writing from Henrico in
1613: "Their priests (whom they call quick-o-
soughs) are no other but such as our English
witches are. They live naked in body, as if
their shame of their sin deserved no covering.
Their names are as naked as their body; they
' spelman *s Relation of Virginia, p. 52.
' Beverley, book 3, p. 57.
234 The Forest Primeval
esteem it a virtue to lie, deceive, and steal, as
their master the Devil teacheth them. . . . They
(that is, all the other Indians), stand in great
awe of the quick-o-soughs or priests, which are a
generation of vipers, even Satan's own brood.
The manner of their life is much like to the Popish
hermits of our age; for they live alone in the
woods, in houses sequestered from the common
course of men ; neither may any man be suffered
to come into their house, or speak to them, but
when the priest doth call them. He taketh no
care of his victuals ; for all such kind of things,
both bread and water, etc., are brought into a
place near his cottage and there left, which he
fetcheth for his proper needs. If they would
have rain, or have lost anything, they have
recourse to him, who conjureth for them and
many times prevaileth.' If they be sick, he is
their physician; if they be wounded, he sucketh^
them. At his command they make war and
peace; neither do they anything of moment
without him. " ^
"I can't understand that their women ever
pretended to intermeddle with any offices that
relate to the priesthood, or conjuration.""^
This belief in the supernatural powers of the
Indian priests to produce rain at will, was widely
spread and seems to have been generally enter-
* The people of this period were firm beHevers in witchcraft, both
at home and abroad.
* That is, sucks the blood from around the wound, to cleanse it.
» Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1771. " Beverley, book 3, p. 47.
Priests and Conjurers 235
tained. Glover also mentions it. He says:
"When they have great want of rain, one of their
priests will go into a private cabin, and by his
invocations will cause abundance to fall im-
mediately, which they call making of rain. " '
So deeply seated was the animosity against
the Indian priests, that Strachey was evidently
in favor of the "surreption" of them, that is
of getting possession of them all by craft, or by
stealth, if necessary. This he viewed as indis-
pensable for the safety of the colonists and the
enlargement of the plantation. He thus ex-
presses himself:
"Yet no Spanish intention shall be entertained
by us, neither hereby to root out the naturals,^
as the Spaniards have done in Hispaniola^ and
other parts, but only to take from them these
seducers, until when they [that is, until this be
done the rest of the Indians] will never know God
nor obey the King's majesty, and by which
means we shall by degrees change their bar-
barous natures, make them ashamed the sooner
of their savage nakedness, inform them of the
true God and of the way to their salvation, and,
finally, teach them obedience to the King's
majesty and to his governors in those parts, de-
claring (in the attempt thereof) unto the several
wer-6-ances, and making the common people
likewise to understand, how that his majesty
hath been acquainted, that the men, women, and
' Account of Virginia, p. 24.
2 Natives of the country. 3 Haiti.
236 The Forest Primeval
children of the first plantation at Roanoke were
by practice and commandment of Powhatan
(he himself persuaded thereunto by his priests)
miserably slaughtered, without any offence given
him either by the first planted ' (who twenty and
odd years^ had peaceably lived intermixed with
those savages, and were out of his territory) or
by those who now are come to inhabit some part
of his desert lands, and to trade with him for
some commodities of ours, which he and his
people stand in want of; notwithstanding, be-
cause his majesty is, of all the world, the most just
and the most merciful prince, he hath given or-
der that Powhatan himself, with the wer-6-ances
and all the people, shall be spared, and revenge
only taken upon his qui-yough-qui-socks, by
whose advice and persuasions was exercised that
bloody cruelty."
He then proceeds to argue the benefits which
would come to the Indians to be taken under the
milder rule of King James instead of the tyranny
they suffered under Powhatan, the better price
they would receive for their commodities, etc.,
and then what ought to be done if all the priests
could be convened when these things were dis-
cussed. He then concludes:
"This being delivered in fit terms, by some
perfect interpreter, and to men that are capable
enough of understanding it, may beget a fair
conceit in them of us and our proceedings, and
^ Those who were first settled or planted.
' Ago, or before the coming of the English to Jamestown.
Priests and Conjurers 237
leave them well satisfied; and indeed be it be-
lieved, that when so just an occasion shall offer
these priests of Asmodeus ' or the Devil into the
hands of the lord general, a better time than
that will not be found to perform the same
acceptable service to God that Jehu, king of
Israel, did, when he assembled all the priests of
Baal, and slew them, to the last man, in their
own temple. Of this may every vulgar sense be
well assured, that seeing these monsters do offer
up unto the devil their own children, and being
hardened against all compassion, natural and
divine, enforce their own mothers to deliver them
to the executioner with their own hands, they
will easily condescend unto, and assist the
destruction and extirpation of all strangers,
knowing or acknowledging the true God. " ^
^ In Jewish demonology a destructive devil, lame, and often re-
ferred to as the destroyer of domestic happiness.
^Historic oj Travaile into Virginia^ pp. 85-86; 88-89.
CHAPTER XVII
RELIGION
THE religion of the Indians was polytheistic
and idolatrous. Like most primitive
nations they were strongly imbued with
superstition. One of the objects of the settle-
ment of Virginia was to Christianize the natives.
Their views on religion were looked upon by the
English with abhorrence, as founded on the
darkest ignorance, and their priests and con-
jurers were regarded as representatives of Satan
himself. The latter were found to be the most
determined opponents of the English, who, not
entirely free from superstition themselves, at-
tributed supernatural powers to these Indian
priests nearly as great as was believed to be the
case by the natives.
The Indians' ideas on religion were not very
easy to determine. They were reticent about
them, and it was with difficulty that the English
could get them to talk on this subject.
The first account we have is that given by
Hariot, and is a part of his narrative written in
connection with the expedition sent out by Sir
Walter Raleigh in 1585. Here is what he tells
238
Religion 239
us, speaking of the Indians he saw in connection
with the Roanoke Island settlement, who were
typical of all in that part of the world:
"The people of this country have an idol,
which they call Ki-was-a : it is carved of wood in
length four feet, whose head is like the heads of
the people of Florida, the face is of a flesh color,
the breast white, the rest is all black, the thighs
are also spotted with white. He hath a chain
about his neck of white beads, between which are
other round beads of copper which they esteem
more than gold or silver. This idol is placed
in the temple of the town of Se-co-tam, as the
keeper of the kings' dead corpses. Sometimes
they have two of these idols in their churches,
and sometimes three, but never above,' which
they place in a dark corner where they show
terrible."^
"They believe that there are many gods which
they call Mon-to-ac, but of different sorts and
degrees; one only chief and great God, which
hath been from all eternity. Who as they affirm
when he purposed to make the world, made first
other gods of a principal order to be as means and
instruments to be used in the creation and govern-
ment to follow ; and after the sun, moon and stars,
as petty gods and the instruments of the other
order more principal. First they say were made
waters, out of which by the gods was made all
diversity of creatures that are visible or invisible.
"For mankind they say a woman was made
* Above that number. « Hariot's Narrative^ xxi.
240 The Forest Primeval
first, which by the working of one of the gods,
conceived and brought forth children. And in
such sort they say they had their beginning.
"But how many years or ages have passed
since, they say they can make no relation, hav-
ing no letters nor other such means as we keep
records of the particularities of times past, but
only tradition from father to son.
"They think that all the gods are of human
shape, and therefore they represent them by
images in the forms of men, which they call Ke-
was-o-wok, one alone is called Ke-was ; them they
place in houses appropriate or temples which
they call ma-chi-co-muck ; where they worship,
pray, sing, and make many times offerings unto
them. In some ma-chi-co-muck we have seen
but one Ke-was, in some two, and in some others
three; the common sort think them to be also
gods.
"They believe also the immortality of the soul,
that after this life as soon as the soul is departed
from the body, according to the works it hath
done, it is either carried to heaven the habitacle ^
of gods, there to enjoy perpetual bliss and happi-
ness, or else to a great pit or hole, which they
think to be in the furthest parts of their part of
the world towards the sunset, there to burn
continually: the place they call Po-po-gus-so.
"For the confirmation of this opinion, they
told me two stories of two men that had been
lately dead and revived again, the one happened
* Dwelling-place.
Their Idol in His Tabernacle
S^do[ calt'd, OKEE, QlUOCCOS, or /C/WA5A .
" The dark edging shows the sides and roof of the house, which
consists of saplings and bark. The paler edging shows
the mats by which they make a partition of about ten feet,
at the end of the house, for the Idol's abode. The Idol
is set upon his seat of mats, within his dark recess,
above the people's heads, and the curtain is drawn up
before him."
Religion 241
but few years before our coming in the country,
of a wicked man which having been dead and
buried, the next day the earth of the grave being
seen to move, was taken up again; who made
declaration where his soul had been, that is to
say very near entering into Po-po-gus-so, had
not one of the gods saved him and gave him leave
to return again, and teach his friends what they
should do to avoid that terrible place of torment.
"The other happened in the same year we were
there, but in a town that was threescore miles
from us, and it was told me for strange news that
one being dead, buried and taken up again as the
first, showed that although his body had lain
dead in the grave, yet his soul was alive, and had
travelled far in a long broad way, on both sides
whereof grew most delicate and pleasant trees,
bearing more rare and excellent fruits than ever
he had seen before or was able to express, and
at length came to most brave and fair' houses,
near which he met his father, that had been dead
before, who gave him great charge to go back
again and show his friends what good they were
to do to enjoy the pleasures of that place, which
when he had done he should after come again. " ^
*^ Concerning the immortality of the soul, they
suppose that the common people shall not live
after death; but they think that their wer-6-
ances and priests, indeed whom they esteem half
qui-ough-co-sughes, when their bodies are laid in
^ Presenting a fine appearance.
' Lane's account. Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. ii., p.
16
f
242 The Forest Primeval
the earth, that that which is within shall go
beyond the mountains, and travel as far as where
the sun sets, into most pleasant fields, grounds
and pastures, where it shall do no labor; but,
stuck finely with feathers, and painted with oil
and po-cones, rest in all quiet and peace, and eat
delicious fruits, and have store of copper, beads,
and hatchets; sing, dance, and have all variety
of delights and merriments till that wax old
there, as the body did on earth, and then it shall
dissolve and die, and be new born into the
world. "^
The belief which the Indians firmly enter-
tained of the immortality of the soul is strikingly
brought out in connection with the super-
stitious awe with which they regarded the white
men. At first they considered them immortal,
or, at least, not subject to be put to death by
themselves.
Lane tells us that En-se-no-re, the father of
Pe-mis-a-pan, the King of the country which
included Roanoke Island, held such views, and,
in the councils of his tribe, urged them upon the
others.
At a time when Lane returned safely from an
expedition on which certain Indians reported
that he had perished, he says that En-se-no-re
"renewed those his former speeches, both to the
King and the rest, that we were the servants of
God, and that we were not subject to be de-
stroyed by them; but contrariwise, that they
* Historie of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 96.
Religion 243
amongst them that sought our destruction
should find their own, and not be able to work
ours, and that we being dead men were able to
do them more hurt, than now we could do being
alive; an opinion very confidently at this day
holden by the wisest amongst them, and of their
old men.
"As also, that they have been in the night,
being one hundred miles from any of us, in the
air shot at and stroken by some men of ours,
that by sickness had died among them.
"And many of them hold opinion, that we be
dead men returned into the world again, and
that we do not remain dead but for a certain
time, and that then we return again. " ^
Smith gives us an account of an 0-kee being
carried by the Indians into battle. The god,
made of skins, stuffed with moss, painted and
hung with chains and copper, was borne before
the warriors, who followed in a square order. The
Indians charged the English. At the first volley
from the muskets the idol fell to the ground, its
bearers falling dead or wounded around it. The
rest fled. Soon a priest came forward to offer
peace and redeem the 0-kee. Terms being
offered which were satisfactory, the 0-kee was
restored. ^
Beverley gives us this account of a visit to
one of the 0-kee's temples:
"I have been at several of the Indian towns
" Lane's account in Hakluyt's Voyages.
» Smith, vol. i., p. 156.
244 The Forest Primeval
and conversed with some of the most sensible of
them in that country; but I could learn little
from them, it being reckoned sacrilege to divulge
the principles of their religion. However, the
following adventure discovered something of it.
As I was ranging the woods, with some other
friends, we fell upon their qui-oc-co-san (which
is their house of religious worship) at a time,
when the whole town was gathered together in
another place, to consult about the bounds of the
land given them by the English. '
"Thus finding ourselves masters of so fair an
opportunity (because we knew the Indians were
engaged) we resolved to make use of it, and to
examine their qui-oc-co-san, the inside of which
they never suffer any Englishman to see; and
having removed about fourteen logs from the
door, with which it was barricadoed, we went in,
and at first found nothing but naked walls, and a
fireplace in the middle. This house was about
eighteen feet wide, and thirty feet long, built
after the manner of their other cabins, but larger,
with a hole in the middle of the roof to vent the
smoke, the door being at one end. Round about
the house at some distance from it, were set up
posts with faces carved on them, and painted.
We did not observe any window or passage for
the light, except the door, and the vent of the
chimney.
^ As a part of the treaties made with the native tribes, tracts of
land were assigned them, to be held as tribal property, and not
subject to be patented or otherwise acquired by the white people.
Religion 245
"At last, we observed that at the farther
end, about ten feet of the room was cut off by a
partition of very close mats; and it was dismal
dark behind that partition. We were at first
scrupulous' to enter this obscure place, but at
last we ventured, and groping about, we felt
some posts in the middle; then reaching our
.hands up those posts, we found large shelves, and
upon these shelves three mats, each of which was
rolled up, and sewed fast. These we handed
down to the light, and to save time in unlacing
the seams, we made use of a knife, and ripped
them, without doing any damage to the mats.
In one of these we found some vast bones, which
we judged to be the bones of men, particularly
we measured one thigh bone, and found it two
feet, nine inches long. In another mat, we found
some Indian tomahawks finely graved, and
painted. These resembled the wooden faul^
chion' used by the prize-fighters in England,
except that they have no guard to save^ the
fingers. They were made of a rough heavy
wood, and the shape of them is represented in
the Tab. 10, No. 3.^
"Among these tomahawks was the largest
that ever I saw: there was fastened to it a wild
turkey's beard painted red, and two of the longest
feathers of his wings hung dangling at it, by a
string of about six inches long, tied to the end
of the tomahawk. In the third mat there was
» x\fraid. * A short broad sword curving sharply to the point
J Protect. ^ This is the picture on page 74.
246 The Forest Primeval
something, which we took to be their idol,
though of an underling' sort, and wanted putting
together. The pieces were these, first a board
three feet and a half long, with one indenture
at the upper end, like a fork to fasten the head
upon, from thence half way down, were half
hoops nailed to the edges of the board, at about
four inches distance, which were bowed out,
to represent the breast and belly; on the lower
half was another board of half the length of the
other, fastened to it by joints or pieces of wood,
which being set on each side, stood out about
fourteen inches from the body, and half as high;
we supposed the use of these to be for the bowing
out of the knees, when the image was set up.
There were packed up with these things, red
and blue pieces of cotton cloath, and rolls made
up for arms, thighs and legs, bent to at the knees,
as is represented in the figure of their idol, which
was taken by an exact drawer^ in the country.
It would be difficult to see one of these images at
this day, because the Indians are extreme shy of
exposing them.
"We put the cloaths upon the hoops for the
body, and fastened on the arms and legs, to
have a view of the representation. But the
head and rich bracelets, which it is usually
adorned with, were not there, or at least we did
not find them.
* Subordinate, or lesser divinity.
* John White, who drew the pictures for Sir Walter Raleigh, in
1585.
Religion 247
"We had not leisure to make a very narrow
search, for having spent about an hour in this
enquiry, we feared the business of the Indians
might be near over and that if we stayed longer,
we might be caught offering an affront to their
superstition; for this reason we wrapt up these
holy materials in their several mats again, and
laid them on the shelf, where we found them.
"This Image when dressed up, might look
very venerable' in that dark place; where 'tis
not possible to see it, but by the glimmering
light that is let in by lifting up a piece of the
matting, which we observed to be conveniently
hung for that purpose; for when the light of the
door and chimney glance in several directions,
upon the image through that little passage, it
must needs make a strange representation, which
those poor people are taught to worship with a
devout ignorance.
"There are other things that contribute to-
wards carrying on this imposture; first the chief
conjurer enters within the partition in the dark,
and may undiscerned move the image as he
pleases : secondly, a priest of authority stands in
the room with the people, to keep them from
being too inquisitive, under the penalty of the
Deity's displeasure, and his own censure.
"Their Idol bears a several name in every
nation, as 0-kee, Qui-6c-cos, Ki-wa-sa. They do
not look upon it, as one single being, but reckon
there are many of them of the same nature ; they
* Worthy of veneration or reverence.
248 The Forest Primeval
likewise believe that there are tutelar deities in
every town. " '
Percy tells us that they worshiped the sun.
He says:
" It is a general rule of these people when they
swear by their god which is the sun, no Christian
will keep their oath better upon this promise.
Their people have a great reverence to the sun,
above all other things at the rising and setting
of the same, they set down lifting up their hands
and eyes to the sun making a round circle on the
ground with dried tobacco, then they began
to pray making many devilish gestures with a
hellish noise, foaming at the mouth, staring with
their eyes, wagging their heads and hands in such
a fashion and deformity as it was monstrous to
behold.
"In the morning by break of day, before they
eat or drink both men, women and children,
that be above ten years of age run into the water,
there wash themselves a good while till the sun
riseth, then offer sacrifice to it, strewing to-
bacco on the water or land, honoring the sun
as their god, likewise they do at the setting
sun."^
"We have observed how when they would
affirm any thing by much earnestness and truth,
they use to bind it by a kind of oath ; either by the
life of the great king, or by pointing up to the
sun and clapping the right hand upon the heart,
^ Beverley^ book 3, pp. 28-31.
* Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1690.
Religion 249
and sometimes they have been understood to
swear by the manes' of their dead father. " ^
Strachey says that they worshiped everything
which they conceived able to do them hurt be-
yond their prevention. Thus, they adored the
fire, water, lightning, thunder, the cannon of
the English, and their horses, etc. But he says
the chief object of their worship was the devil.
Then he describes the whole religious system
in one sentence:
"In every territory of a wer-6-ance is a temple
and a priest, peradventure two or three: yet
happy doth that wer-6-ance account himself who
can detain with him a qui-yough-qui-sock, of the
best, grave, lucky, well instructed in their
mysteries, and beloved of their god : and such a
one is no less honored than was Diana's priest
at Ephesus, for whom they have their more
private temples, with oratories and chancels
therein, according as is the dignity and reverence
of the qui-yough-qui-sock, which the wer-6-ance
will be at charge to build upon purpose, some-
times twenty feet broad and a hundred in length,
fashioned arbor-wise after their building, having
commonly the door opening into the east, and at
the west end a spence or chancel from the body
of the temple, with hollow windings and pillars,
whereon stand divers black images, fashioned to
the shoulders, with their faces looking down the
church, and where within their wer-6-ances, upon
' The deified spirit.
» Strachey, Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 113.
250 The Forest Primeval
a kind of bier of reeds, lie buried; and under
them, apart, in a vauh low in the ground (as a
more secret thing) veiled with a mat, sits their
0-ke-us, an image ill-favoredly carved, all black
dressed, with chains of pearl, the presentment
and figure of that god (say the priests unto the
laity, and who religiously believe what the priests
say) which doth them all the harm they suffer,
be it in their bodies or goods, within doors or
abroad ; and true it is many of them are divers
times (especially offenders) shrewdly scratched
as they walk alone in the woods, it may well be
by the subtle spirit, the malicious enemy to man-
kind, whom, therefore, to pacify, and work to do
them good (at least no harm) the priests tell
them they must do these and these sacrifices
unto (them), of these and these things, and thus
and thus often, by which means not only their
own children, but strangers, are sometimes
sacrificed unto him; whilst the great God (the
priests tell them) who governs all the world,
and makes the sun to shine, creating the moon
and stars his companions, great powers, and
which dwell with him, and by whose virtues
and influences the under earth is tempered, and
brings forth her fruits according to her seasons,
they call A-ho-ne; the good and peaceable God
requires no such duties, nor needs be sacrificed
unto, for he intendeth all good unto them, and
will do no harm, only the displeased 0-ke-us,
looking into all men's actions, and examining
the same according to the severe scale of justice,
Religion 251
punisheth them with sicknesses, beats them,
and strikes their ripe corn with blastings, storms,
and thunder-claps, stirs up war, and makes their
women false unto them. " '
Henry Spelman, who lived a long time with the
Potomac and other Indians, gives us this account
of some of their religious ideas and customs :
"For the most part they worship the Devil,
which the conjurers, who are their priests, can
make appear unto them at their pleasure,^ yet
nevertheless in every country they have a sev-
eral image whom they call their god. As with
the great Powhatan he hath an image called
Cak-e-res which most commonly standeth at
Yaugh-taw-noo-ne^ or at Or-o-pikes"^ in a house
for that purpose, and with him are set all the
king's goods and presents that are sent him, as
the corn. But the beads or crown and bed which
the King of England sent him are in the god's
house at Or-o-pikes, and in their houses are all
the king's ancestors and kindred commonly
buried. In the Patomac's country they have
another god whom they call Qui-o-quas-cacke,
and unto their images they offer beads and
copper, if at any time they want rain or have too
much, and though they observe no day to wor-
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 82-3.
* Additional evidence of the firm belief in the power of the Indian
conjurers.
3 This place is difficult to locate, not being on the map of the
towns; see page 142.
4 A favorite town of Powhatan's, in what is now Hanover County,
usually spelt Or-a-pax.
252 The Forest Primeval
ship their god but upon necessity, yet once in
the year, their priests, which are their conjurers,
with the men, women and children do go into the
woods, where their priests make a great circle
of fire in the which after many observances in
other conjurations they make offer of two or
three children to be given to their god if he will
appear unto them and show his mind whom he
desires.
^' Upon which offering they hear a noise out of
the circle nominating such as he will have, whom
presently they take, binding them hand and
foot, and cast them into the circle of the fire,
for be it the king's son he must be given if once
named by their god. After the bodies which are
offered are consumed in the fire and their cere-
monies performed the men depart merrily, the
women weeping." '
The Rev. Alexander Whittaker, the minister
at Henrico, in 1613, has this to say of their re-
ligion: "They acknowledge that there is a great
good God, but know him not, having the eyes of
their understanding as yet blinded; wherefore
they serve the Devil for fear, after a most base
manner, sacrificing sometimes, as I have heard,
their own children to him. I have sent one
image of their god to the council in England,
which is painted on one side of a toadstool,
much like unto a deformed monster. . . . The
service of their god is answerable to"" their life, be-
* Spelman's Relation of Virginia, pp. 25-7.
» In conformity with.
Religion 253
ing performed with great fear and attention, and
many strange, dumb shews used in the same,
stretching forth their limbs and straining their
body, much like to the counterfeit women in
England, who fancy themselves bewitched or
possessed of some evil spirit."'
Paw-co-rances in general were mentioned in
the preceding chapter. It seems, however, that
there was one of greater prominence and impor-
tance than all the others. This is thus described
by Beverley:
"They had an altar-stone called Paw-co-rance,
which, according to the account of it given by
the Indians, was a solid crystal of between three
or four cubic feet, upon which in their greatest
solemnities, they used to sacrifice. It was at
Ut-ta-mus-sack,'' the principal temple of the
country, and the metropolitan seat of the priests.
They said that this stone was so clear that the
grain of a man's skin might be seen through it,
and so heavy that when they removed their gods
and kings, not being able to carry it away, they
buried it thereabouts. But the place has never
yet been discovered."^
"They erect altars wherever they have any
remarkable occasion ; and because their principal
devotion consists in sacrifice, they have a pro-
found respect for these altars. They have one
particular altar, to which, for some mystical
"Purchas, vol. iv., 1771.
' The Indian town in Pamunkey, as it was called, that is the lower
part of the territory between the Pamunkey and Mattapony rivers.
3 Beverley, bk. 2, pp. lo-ii.
254 The Forest Primeval
reason, many of their nations pay an extra-
ordinary veneration; of this sort was the crystal
cube mentioned above. The Indians call this
by the name of Paw-co-rance, from whence
proceeds the great reverence they have for a
small bird that uses the woods, and in their
note continually sound that name. The bird
flies alone, and is only heard in the twilight.
They say this is the soul of one of their princes ;
and on that score, they would not hurt it for the
world. But there was once a profane Indian in
the upper parts of James River, who, after
abundance of fears and scruples was at last
bribed to kill one of them with his gun ; but the
Indians say he paid dear for his presumption, for
in a few days after he was taken away, and never
more heard of.
"When they travel by any of these altars,
they take great care to instruct their children
and young people in the particular occasion and
time of their erection, and recommend the re-
spect which they ought to have for them; so
that their careful observance of these traditions,
proves as good a memorial of such antiquities,
as any written records; especially for so long as
the same people continue to inhabit in, or near
the same place."'
A presentation of the Indian tradition of
creation and an outline of their religion was
obtained from Jop-as-sus, the king of the Potomac
Indians, and is given to us by Strachey:
» Beverley, bk. 3, pp. 46-7.
Religion 255
"The last year 16 10, about Christmas, when
Captain Argal, was there trading With Jop-as-sus,
the great king's brother, after many days of ac-
quaintance with him, as the pinnace' rode before
the town Match-o-pon-go,^ Jop-as-sus, coming
aboard and sitting, the weather being very cold,
by the fire, upon a hearth in the hold, with the
Captain, one of our men was reading "a Bible,
to which the Indian gave a very attentive care,
and looked with a very wisht eye upon him, as
if he desired to understand what he read, where-
upon the Captain took the book, and turned to
the picture of the creation of the world, in the
beginning of the book, and caused a boy, one
Spelman, who had lived a whole year with this
Indian king, and spoke his language, to show it
unto him, and to interpret it in his language,
which the boy did, and which the king seemed to
like well of; howbeit, he bade the boy tell the
Captain if he would hear, he would tell him the
manner of their beginning, which was a pretty
fabulous tale indeed.
"'We have, said he, five gods in all; our chief
god appears often unto us in the likeness of a
mighty great Hare : the other four have no visible
shape, but are indeed the four winds which keep
the four corners of the earth, and then, with his
hand, he seemed to quarter out the situations of
^ A small vessel rigged as a schooner, generally with two masts,
and capable of being propelled by oars.
^ One of the many which are mentioned which cannot be located
on the map. A town of this name was on the ocean side of North-
ampton County. But this town must have been on the Potomac.
256 The Forest Primeval
the world. Our god, who takes upon him this
shape of a Hare, conceived with himself how to
people this great world, and with what kind of
creatures, and it is true that at length he devised
and made divers men and women, and made pro-
vision for them, to be kept up yet a while in a
great bag. Now there were certain spirits,
which he described to be like great giants, which
came to the Hare's dwelling-place, being towards
the rising of the sun), and had perseverance' of
the men and women which he had put into that
great bag, and they would have had them to eat,
but the Godly Hare reproved those cannibal
spirits, and drove them away.'
"Now if the boy had asked him of what he
made those men and women, and what those
spirits more particularly had been, and so had
proceeded in some order, they should have made
it hang together the better; but the boy was
unwilHng to question him so many things, lest
he should offend him; only the old man went on,
and said how that God-like Hare made the water,
and the fish therein, and the land, and a great
deer, which should feed upon the land ; at which
assembled the other four gods, envious hereat,
from the east, the west, from the north and south,
and with hunting poles killed this great deer,
dressed him, and, after they had feasted with*
him, departed again, east, west, north, and south;
at which the other god, in despite for this their
malice to him, took all the hairs of the slain deer,
* A following, or seeking after, per seguor. * On.
Religion 257
and spread them upon the earth, with many
powerful words and charms, whereby every hair
became a deer; and then he opened the great bag,
wherein the men and the women were, and
placed them upon the earth, a man and a woman
in one country, and a man and a woman in
another country, and so the world took his^ first
beginning of mankind.
"The captain bade the boy ask him what he
thought became of them after their death, to
which he answered somewhat like as is expressed
before of the inhabitants about us, how that
after they are dead here, they go up to a top of a
high tree, and there they espy a fair, plain, broad
pathway, on both sides whereof doth grow all
manner of pleasant fruits, as mulberries, straw-
berries, plums, etc. In this pleasant path
they run toward the rising of the sun, where the
Godly Hare's house is, and in the midway they
come to a house where a woman goddess doth
dwell, who hath always her doors open for hos-
pitality, and hath at all times ready dressed
green us-kat-a-ho-men and po-ka-hich-ory, (which
is green corn bruised and boiled, and walnuts
beaten small, then washed from the shells with
a quantity of water, which makes a kind of milk,
and which they esteem an extraordinary dish),
together with all manner of pleasant fruits, in
a readiness to entertain all such as do travel to
the Great Hare's house: and when they are
well refreshed, they run in this pleasant path
' Its.
17
258 The Forest Primeval
to the rising of the sun, where they find their
forefathers living in great pleasure, in a goodly
field, where they do nothing but dance and sing,
and feed on delicious fruits with that Great
Hare, who is their great god ; and when they have
lived there until they be stark' old men, they
say they die there likewise by turns, and come
into the world again.
"Concerning further of the religion we have
not yet learned, nor indeed shall we ever know all
the certainty either of these their unhallowed
mysteries, or of their further orders and policies,
until we can make surprise of some of their
qui-yough-qui-socks.^ " ^
Beverley gives us this further insight into the
religious ideas of these people:
"Once in my travels, in very cold weather, I
met at an Englishman's house with an Indian
of whom an extraordinar}^ character had been
given me, for his ingenuity and understanding.
When I saw he had no other Indian with him, I
thought I might be the more free; and therefore
I made much of him, seating him close by a large
fire, and giving him plenty of strong cider, which
I hoped would make him good company, and
open-hearted.
"After I found him well warmed (for unless
they be surprised some way or other, they will
not talk freely of their religion) I asked him
concerning their god, and what their notions of
' Strong, hale, or hearty. » Priests.
i Historie oj Travaile into Virginia, pp. 98-100.
Religion 259
him were? He freely told me, they believed
God was universally beneficent, that his dwelling
was in the heavens above, and that the influence
of his goodness reached to the earth beneath.
That he was incomprehensible in his excellence,
and enjoyed all possible felicity. That his du-
ration was eternal, his perfection boundless, and
that he possessed everlasting indolence and ease.
"I told him, I had heard that they worshipped
the Devil, and asked why they did not rather
worship God, whom they had so high an opin-
ion of, and who would give them all good things,
and protect them from any mischief that the
Devil could do them?
"To this his answer was, that, 'tis true, God is
the giver of all good things, but they flow natur-
ally and promiscuously from him; that they are
showered down upon all men indifferently with-
out distinction; that God does not trouble him-
self with the impertinent affairs of men, nor is
concerned at what they do: but leaves them to
make the most of their free will, and to secure as
many as they can, of the good things that flow
from him. That therefore it was to no purpose,
either to fear or worship him: but, on the con-
trary, if they did not pacify the evil spirit
and make him propitious, he would take away,
or spoil all those good things that God had given,
and ruin their health, their peace and their
plenty, by sending war, plague and famine among
them; for, said he, this Evil Spirit is always
busying himself with our affairs, and frequently
f
260 The Forest Primeval
visiting us, being present in the air, in the thunder
and in the storms. He told me farther, that he
expected adoration and sacrifice from them, on
pain of his displeasure; and that therefore they
thought it convenient to make their court to him.
" I then asked him concerning the image which
they worship in their qui-oc-ca-san ; and assured
him that it was a dead, insensible log, equipt
with a bundle of clouts, ' a mere helpless thing
made by men, that could neither hear, see, nor
speak; and that such a stupid thing could no
ways hurt, or help them.
"To this he answered very unwillingly, and
with much hesitation; however, he at last de-
livered himself in these broken and imperfect
sentences ; it is the priests, they make the people
believe — and — here he paused a little and then
repeated to me, that it was the priests — and
then gave me hopes that he would have said
something more, but a qualm "" crossed his
conscience, and hindered him from making any
farther confession.
"The priests and conjurers have a great sway
in every nation. Their words are looked upon
as oracles, and consequently are of great weight
among the common people. They perform
their adorations and conjurations, in the general
language before spoke of, ^ as the Catholics of
all nations do their Mass in the Latin.
' Worthless pieces of cloth. » Scruple.
3 That of the Oc-ca-nee-ches, mentioned in Chapter XIX. of this
work.
Religion 261
"They teach, that the souls of men survive
their bodies, and that those who have done well
here, enjoy most transporting pleasures in their
Elizium hereafter; that this Elizium is stored
with the highest perfection of all their earthly
pleasures; namely with plenty of all sorts of
game, for hunting, fishing and fowling; that it is
blest with the most charming women, which
enjoy an eternal bloom, and have an universal
desire to please. That it is delivered from ex-
cesses of cold or heat, and flourishes with an
everlasting spring. But that, on the contrary,
those who are wicked, and live scandalously
here, are condemned to a filthy, stinking lake
after death, that continually burns with flames,
that never extinguish ; where they are persecuted
and tormented, day and night, with furies in the
shape of old women. " '
Another view entertained by the Indians on
this subject is presented to us by Jones. He
says:
"Upon enquiry, we have from them these
their notions of the state of the dead.
"They believe that they go to Ma-hom-ny
that lives beyond the sun, if they have not been
wicked, nor like dogs nor wolves, that is, not
unchaste, then they believe that Ma-hom-ny
sends them to a plentiful country abounding
with fish, flesh and fowls, the best of their kind,
and easy to be caught; but if they have been
naughty then he sends them to a poor, barren
^ Beverley, book 3, pp. 32-4.
262 The Forest Primeval
country, where be many wolves and bears, with
a few nimble deer, swift fish and fowls, difficult
to be taken; and when killed, being scarce any-
thing but skin and bones. " ^
"They use many divinations and inchant-
ments, and frequently offer burnt sacrifice to the
Evil Spirit. The people annually present their
first fruits of every season and kind, namely,
of birds, beasts, fish, fruits, plants, roots, and of
all other things, which they esteem either of
profit or pleasure to themselves. They repeat
their offerings as frequently as they have great
successes in their wars, or their fishing, fowling
or hunting."''
"The first deer they kill after they are in
season, they lay privately on the head of a tree
near the place where they killed it, and they say
no good luck will befall them that year if they
do not offer the first of everything. " ^
Another favorite object of sacrifice was to-
bacco, or up-po-woc. Hariot tells us that:
"This up-po-woc is of so precious estimation
amongst them, that they think their gods are
marvelously delighted therewith: whereupon
sometime they make hallowed fires, and cast
some of the powder therein for a sacrifice:
being in a storm upon the waters, to pacify their
gods, they cast some up into the air and into the
water : so a weir for fish being newly set up, they
* Jones's Present State of Virginia^ p. i6.
^ Beverley, bk. 3, p. 34.
3 Glover's Account of Virginia, p. 24.
Religion 263
cast some therein and into the air; also after an
escape of danger, they cast some into the air
likewise: but all done with strange gestures,
stamping, and staring up into the heavens, utter-
ing therewithal and chattering strange words and
noises. " '
"The Indians offer sacrifice almost upon every
new occasion ; as when they travel or begin a
long journey, they burn tobacco instead of in-
cense, to the sun, to bribe him to send them fair
weather, and a prosperous voyage. When they
cross any great water, or violent fresh or torrent,
they throw tobacco, puc-coon,^ peak,^ or some
other valuable thing, that they happen to have
about them, to entreat the spirit presiding there
to grant them a safe passage. It is called a
fresh, "^ when after very great rains, or (as we
suppose) after a great thaw of the snow and ice
lying upon the mountains, to the northwest, the
water descends, in such abundance into the
rivers, that they overflow the banks which bound
their streams at other times.
"Likewise when the Indians return from war,
from hunting, from great journeys, or the like,
they offer some proportion of their spoils, of
their chiefest tobacco, furs and paint, as also
the fat, and choice bits of their game.
"I never could learn that they had any cer-
' Hakluyt, vol. ii., p. 339.
' The root from which a red dye was made, the bloodroot.
3 Money or ornament made of shells.
4 Freshet.
264 The Forest Primeval
tain time or set days for their solemnities: but
they have appointed feasts that happen accord-
ing to the several seasons. They solemnize a
day for the plentiful coming of their wild fowl,
such as geese, ducks, teal, etc., for the returns of
their hunting seasons, and for the ripening of
certain fruits : but the greatest annual feast they
have is at the time of their corn-gathering, at
which they revel several days together. To
these they universally contribute, as they do to
the gathering in the corn. On this occasion
they have their greatest variety of pastimes, and
more especially of their war-dances, and heroic
songs ; in which they boast, that their corn being
now gathered, they have store enough for their
women and children ; and have nothing to do but
to go to war, travel, and to seek out for new
adventures. " '
"The Indians have posts fixed round their
qui-oc-ca-san, "" which have men's faces carved
upon them, and are painted. They are like-
wise set up round some of their other celebrated
places, and make a circle for them to dance
about, on certain solemn occasions. They very
often set up pyramidical stones and pillars, which
they color with puc-coon,^ and other sorts of
paint, and which they adorn with peak, roenoke,"^
etc. To these they pay all outward signs of
worship and devotion; not as to God, but as
they are hieroglyphicks of the permanency and
* Beverley, book 3, pp. 42-3. ' House of religious worship.
» The bloodroot. 4 A kind of shell money.
Religion 265
immutability of the deity; because these, both
for figure and substance, are, of all sublunary
bodies, the least subject to decay or change;
they also for the same reason keep baskets of
stones in their cabins. Upon this account too,
they offer sacrifice to running streams, which,
by the perpetuity of their motion, typify the
eternity of God. " ^
We are told by Beverley that there was near
the James a flat rock upon which there was a
depression resembling a gigantic footprint. This
was an object of the most reverential regard by
the Indians, who believed it to be an impression
caused by the footstep of a god, as he passed
through that country. ^
An Indian legend is preserved in connection
with a little sheet of water on the Eastern Shore
of Maryland, about a mile from Betterton. It
is this water from which the town of Still Pond
gets its name.
The following is an account we have seen:
"This pond is so called because there has
never been seen a ripple upon its surface, no
matter how hard the wind blows, nor has its
surface ever been coated with ice. With the
mercury at six degrees below zero, not a particle
of ice has been seen.
"Another interesting fact about this body of
water is that, although only about twenty feet
across in any direction it has never been fath-
omed.
' Beverley, bk. 3, p. 46. 'Ibid., p. 44.
266 The Forest Primeval
"Still Pond, one of the mysteries of the
Eastern Shore, was an object of veneration
among the Indians of the peninsula. So deep
as never to be sounded, they believed its waters
ran down in the earth to supply the happy
hunting grounds of their dead. Long before
the first European settler had set foot upon the
shore of the Chesapeake, the Indians from all
parts of the peninsula, once a year, during the
full moon of September, assembled by the side of
the pond to worship the Man-i-tou and to pray
for the return of their mighty chief, who had,
they believed, fallen into the water and sunk
from their sight. "
According to the beliefs of the Cher-o-kees, the
Great Spirit of Evil had his throne among the
peaks and precipices of Whiteside Mountain, one
of the loftiest in the Co-wee^ range, near its
southern terminus. "There in a moss-grown
inclosure, curved by nature to form the seg-
ment of a circle, and walled in by stupendous
rocks which rise to a perpendicular height of
eighteen hundred feet, he held his court; but,
casting aside his state, he occasionally walked
abroad upon the earth, and then, as he strode
in the darkness from peak to peak, leaving upon
the bald mountain tops the print of his awful
footsteps, he spoke to the Red Man in the storm
and in the thunder."^
' This range of mountains, a part of the southern extension of the
Blue Ridge, is in the extreme western part of North Carolina, and
forms the boundary between Swain and Macon, and Macon and
Jackson counties. ' Kirke's Rear Guard oj the Revolution^ p. i8.
CHAPTER XVIII
POWHATAN AND WINGINA
AROUND the commanding figure of Pow-
hatan centers the greatest interest, as
the head and embodiment of the Indian
power in Virginia, at the time of the settlement.
Strachey gives us this account of his personal
appearance:
"He is a goodly old man, not yet shrinking,
though well beaten with many cold and stormy
winters, in which he hath been patient of many
necessities and attempts of fortune to make his
name and family great. He is supposed to be
little less than eighty years old, I dare not say
how much more ; others say he is of a tall stature
and clean limbs, of a sad aspect, round fat
visaged, with gray hair, but plain and thin,
hanging upon his broad shoulders; some few
hairs upon his chin, and so on his upper lip: he
hath been a strong and able savage, sinewy, and
of a daring spirit, vigilant, ambitious, subtle to
enlarge his dominions. " '
We are told that he was born on the north
side of the James River, then known by the name
* Historic of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 49.
267
$
268 The Forest Primeval
of the Indian, instead of the Enghsh, king, just
below the falls, near Richmond, in the country-
inhabited by the Powhatan tribe of Indians.
It seems that he did not naturally belong to
the Algonquin race of Indians, over a portion of
which he ruled. We have this interesting state-
ment presented about his origin by Hamor, who
says, "Powhatan's father was driven from the
West Indies by the Spaniards. " ' Beverley
says, "0-pe-chan-ca-nough was said to have been
a prince of a foreign nation and came to Virginia
a great way from the southwest, and by their
[the Indians'] account we suppose him to have
come from the Spanish Indians, somewhere
near Mexico, or the mines of St. Barbe. " Smith
says, " 0-pe-chan-ca-nough was a brother of
Powhatan, " which Beverley doubts. ^
How his father, if himself a newcomer, be-
came possessed of the rulership over this
country, we do not know, but from him Pow-
hatan inherited the sovereign power over the
countries of Powhatan, Ar-ro-ha-teck, Appomat-
tox, Pa-mun-key, Yough-ta-mund, and Mat-ta-
pam-i-ent.^
Under Powhatan were some thirty or forty
chiefs or kings, appointed by him, who had the
immediate rule over separate tribes inhabiting
^ Hamor's Discourse, p. 13.
" Beverley, History of Virginia^ book i, p. 51. This view is held
by Wertenbaker in his work, Virginia under the Stuarts, p. 89. He
says that 0-pe-chan-ca-nough having been defeated by the Spaniards
marched all the way from the far southwest, and united his people
with the tribes under Powhatan. 3 Stith, 53,
Powhatan and Wingina 269
definite areas, in which they had their towns.
These tribal territories were probably about the
size of the smallest of our counties. These
chiefs were called wer-6-ances.
Strachey says: "The word wer-6-ance, which
we call and conster' for a king, is a common
word, whereby they call all commanders for
they have but few words in their language,
and but few occasions to use any officers more
than one commander, which commonly they call
wer-6-ance."^
The name Powhatan was derived from the
country Powhatan, wherein he was born, which
is below the falls. "His own people sometimes
called him Ot-tan-i-ack, sometimes Mam-a-nat-
o-wick, which signifies 'great king'; but his
proper right name, which they salute him with
(himself in presence) is Wa-hun-sen-a-cawh. " ^
The extent of Powhatan's dominions is thus
defined by Strachey:
"The greatness and bounds of whose empire,
by reason of his powerfulness and ambition in
his youth, hath larger limits than ever had any
of his predecessors in former times, for he seems
to command south and north from the Man-go-
a-ges and Chaw-o-noaks bordering upon Ro-
anoke, and the Old Virginia,"^ to Tock-wogh, a
town palisadoed, standing at the north end of
the bay,^ in forty degrees or thereabouts^:
* Construe. * Historic of Travaile into Virginia, p. 51.
' Ihid., p. 48. ■♦ The Roanoke Island settlement.
s The Chesapeake Bay. ^ Of north latitude.
f
270 The Forest Primeval
southwest to An-o-eg, whose houses are built
as ours/ ten days distant from us, from whence
those Wer-6-ances sent unto him of their com-
modities; as We-i-nock a servant, in whom
Powhatan reposed much trust, would tell our
elder planters, and could repeat many words of
their language he had learned among them in his
employment thither for his king, and whence he
often returned, full of presents, to Powhatan;
west to Mon-a-has-sa-nugh, which stands at the
foot of the mountains'"; nor-west to the borders
of Mas-sa-wo-meck and Boc-oo-taw-won-ough^
his enemies; nor-east and by east to Ac-co-ha-
nock, Ac-cow-mack, and some other petty
nations, lying on the east side of our bay.^
"But"^ the countries Powhatan, Ar-ro-ha-tock,
Ap-pa-mat-uck, Pa-mun-key, Yough-ta-mund,
and Mat-ta-pam-i-ent, which are said to come
unto him by inheritance, all the rest of the terri-
tories before named, and which are all adjoining
to that river whereon we are seated,^ they
report (as is likewise before remembered) to
have been either by force subdued unto him, or
through fear yielded: cruel he hath been, and
quarrelous as well with his own wer-6-ances for
trifles, and that to strike a terror and awe into
them of his power and condition, as also with
^ These Indians were possibly taught to build such houses by
survivors of the Roanoke Island settlement.
* The Blue Ridge.
5 These boundaries make Powhatan's kingdom surround the
Chesapeake Bay, and include the land on the west as far as the Blue
Ridge. •♦ Except. « The James.
Powhatan and Wingina 271
his neighbors in his younger days, though now
dehghted in security and pleasure, and therefore
stands upon reasonable conditions of peace with
all the great and absolute wer-6-ances about
him, and is likewise more quietly settled amongst
his own."'
As to his place of residence we are told :
"He hath divers seats or houses; his chief,
when we came into the country, was upon Pa-
mun-key River, ^ on the north side or Pembrook^
side, called Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co, which, by inter-
pretation, signifies kings' house; howbeit, not
liking to neighbor so near us, that house being
within some fifteen or sixteen miles where he saw
we purposed to hold ourselves, and from whence,
in six or seven hours, we were able to visit him,
he removed, and ever since hath most kept at a
place in the desert called Or-a-paks,'* at the top
of the river Chick-a-ham-a-ni-a, between Yough-
ta-mund and Powhatan. " ^
We know several members of his family circle.
Of his own generation, we find that he had four
brothers, 0-pit-cha-pan, afterwards called Toy-
a-tan, who succeeded him in the chief power,
after his retirement, and who was lame and
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 48-50. ■ The York.
3 The first settlers took this way of naming the sides of the rivers.
In this manner the north side of the James was called Popham side,
in honor of Chief Justice Popham, and the south side, Salisbury side,
in honor of the Earl of Salisbury.
" The site of this town would be in Hanover County.
s That is, between the Pamunkey and James rivers. Historie of
Travaile into Virginia^ p. 49.
2^2 The Forest Primeval
decrepit, ' 0-pe-chan-ca-nough and Ke-ca-tough,
who had villages upon the Pamunkey River, and
Jop-as-sus, King of the Potomacs^ ; and two sisters,
who had two daughters.^ Whether 0-pe-chan-
ca-nough were really a brother is now in doubt.
As for wives, we are told that he had a large
number of them. When first seen by the Eng-
lish, he had his "girl wives" around him. We
know the name of one of his wives, 0-ho-lasc,
who was regent over the Tap-pa-han-nas, during
the minority of her son, and the names of twelve
other of his favorite wives preserved for us by
Strachey, who derived his information from an
Indian named Kemps. They were:
Win-ga-us-ke ;
Ask-e-tois-ke ;
Am-a-pot-ois-ke ;
Ot-to-pom-tacks ;
At-to-so-mis-ke ;
Pon-nois-ke ;
Ap-po-mo-sis-cut ;
Ap-pim-mois-ke ;
Or-tough-nois-ke ;
0-wer-ough-wouth ;
Ot-ter-mis-ke ;
Mem-e-ough-quis-ke.
As for children, we are told that he had, living
when Strachey wrote, twenty sons and ten
daughters, " besides a young one by Win-gan-us-
"^ Stith's History of Virginia, p. 139.
* Historic of Travaile into Virginia, p. 98.
5 Smith, vol. i., pp. 143, 208; Stith, pp. 154, 155.
Powhatan and Wingina 273
ke, Ma-chumps, his sister, and a great darhng of
the king's, and besides young Pocahontas, a
daughter of his, using sometime to our fort in
times past, now married to a private captain,
called Ko-co-um, some two years since.
"As he is weary of his women, he bestoweth
them on those that best deserve them at his
hands/' ^
Among this large number of his children, we
know individually of these :
Taux-Powhatan, who has been already men-
tioned as the ruler over the Powhatan Indians.
His name and position would indicate that he
was the eldest son.
Po~chins, who has been already mentioned, as
the chief of the Ke-cough-tans.
Na-mon-tack, a son who was carried over as a
little boy to England, and presented to James I.
He had been instructed that when he came into
the presence of the King, he should not take off
his hat, remaining covered on account of his
own royal descent. ^
On attempting to return to Virginia, the
vessel he was in was wrecked on the Bermudas.
There was another Indian among the passengers.
Ma-chumps. While the shipwrecked crew were
in the Bermudas, we are told that "upon some
difference. Ma-chumps slew Na-mon-tack; and
having made a hole to bury him, because it was
too short, he cut off his legs, and laid them by
' History of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 53-4.
' Brown's Genesis oj the United States^ p. 172.
x8
f
274 The Forest Primeval
him. Neither was the murder ever discovered,
before he got to Virginia. " '
Pocahontas, which means "Bright Stream
between two Hills. " She is described in glowing
colors by Smith, as the "Nonpareil" of her
father's country. ""
Another daughter, possibly, the one named
Cle-o-pat-re, whom the English also tried to cap-
ture at the time Pocahontas was taken, and whom
they wished to marry to some Englishman.
Ta-hah-coo-pe, who, as an infant, was ap-
pointed by his father chief of the Tap-pa-han-nas,
his mother, 0-ho-lasc, acting as regent during his
minority.
Nan-ta-quaus, a son already mentioned, whom
Captain Smith described as "the most manliest,
comeliest, boldest spirit he ever saw in a salvage,"
and, lastly,
Mat-a-chan-na, a daughter, who was the wife
of Tom-a-com-a.^
One of Powhatan's councilors, this son-in-
law, named Ul-ta-mat-a-ma-kin, and often called
also Tom-a-com-o, went over to England with
Dale, and was a frequent guest at Master Doctor
Goldstone's in 1616. Here, we are told, that,
in order no doubt to entertain his host, "he
sang and danced his diabolical measures and
discoursed of his country and religion."^ He
is represented as being a hardened sinner.
« Stith's History of Virginia, p. 115. * True Relation, p. 73.
3 Stith's History of Virginia, p. 143.
4 Purchas, vol. iv., p. 1774.
Powhatan and Wingina 275
We also know the name of one of his numerous
brothers-in-law, 0-pa-chis-co, he who is spoken
of as the old uncle of Pocahontas, who attended
her wedding. We infer that he was her mother's
brother, as his name is not given among the
brothers of Powhatan.
The domestic arrangements of the royal house-
hold are thus described by Captain Smith, and
give us some idea of the regular arrangements
which existed for comfort and safety:
"About his person ordinarily attendeth a
guard of forty or fifty of the tallest men his
country doth afford.
"Every night upon the four quarters of his
house are four sentinels, each from other a slight
shoot, and at every half-hour one from the corps
du guard doth hollow, shaking his lips with his
finger between them; unto whom every sentinel
doth answer round from his stand: if any fail,
they presently send forth an oflScer that beateth
him extremely.
"A mile from Or-a-paks in a thicket of wood,
he hath a house in which he keepeth his kind of
treasure, as skins, copper, pearls, and beads, which
he storeth up against the time of his death and
burial. Here also is his store of red paint for
ointment, bows, and arrows, targets and clubs.
This house is fifty or sixty yards in length, fre-
quented only by priests. At the four corners of
this house stand four images as sentinels, one of
a dragon, another a bear, the third like a leopard,
and the fourth like a giant-like man, all made
276 The Forest Primeval
evil-favouredly, ' according to their best work-
manship.
"He hath as many women as he will, whereof
when he lieth on his bed, one sitteth at his head,
and another at his feet, but when he sitteth, one
sitteth on his right hand and another on his
left. When he dineth or suppeth, one of his
women before and after meat bringeth him water
in a wooden platter to wash his hands. Another
waiteth with a bunch of feathers to wipe them
instead of a towel, and the feathers when he hath
wiped are dried again. " ^
In describing the power he exercised over the
subordinate chiefs, and their obedience to, and
fear of him, he says :
"They all know their several lands, and habi-
tations, and limits, to fish, foul, or hunt in, but
they hold all of their great wer-6-ance Powhatan,
unto whom they pay tribute of skins, beads,
copper, pearls, deer, turkeys, wild beasts, and
corn. What he commandeth they dare not dis-
obey in the least thing. It is strange to see
with what great fear and adoration all these
people do obey this Powhatan, for at his feet
they present whatsoever he commandeth, and
at the least frown of his brow, their greatest
spirits will tremble with fear: and no marvel,
for he is very terrible and tyrannous in punish-
ing such as offend him. For example, he caused
certain malefactors to be bound hand and
* With forbidding countenances.
• Smith, vol. i., pp. 142-3.
Powhatan and Wingina 277
foot, then having of many fires gathered great
store of burning coals, they rake these coals
round in the form of a cockpit, and in the
midst they cast the offenders to broil to death.
Sometimes he causeth the heads of them that
offend him to be laid upon the altar or sac-
rificing stone, and one with clubs beats out their
brains.
"When he would punish any notorious enemy
or trespasser, he causeth him to be tied to a tree,
and with mussel-shells or reeds the executioner
cutteth off his joints one after another, ever
casting what is cut off into the fire: then doth
he proceed with shells and reeds to case' the
skin from his head and face; after which they
rip up his belly, tear out his bowels, and so burn
him with the tree and all. Thus themselves
reported, that they executed an Englishman, one
George Cawson, whom the women enticed up
from the barge unto their houses, at a place
called Ap-po-cant."" Howbeit, his ordinary cor-
rection is to have an offender, whom he will
only punish and not put to death, to be beaten
with cudgels as the Turks do. We have seen a
man kneeling on his knees, and, at Powhatan's
command, two men have beaten him on the bare
skin till the skin has been all bollen^ and blistered
and all on a goar blood, ^ and till he hath fallen
senseless in a swoon, and yet never cried, com-
' Remove the case or skin.
* A town in what is now Hanover County, on the Chickahominy
River.
3 Swollen. ■♦ All covered with gore or blood.
f
278 The Forest Primeval
plained, nor seemed to ask pardon, for that they
seldom do. " '
Strachey maintained that the proper policy
for the English was to make friends and allies
of the enemies of Powhatan. In discussing this
he says:
"There is no man among themselves so savage,
or not capable of so much sense, but that he
will approve our cause, when he shall be made to
understand that Powhatan hath slaughtered so
many of our nation without offense given, and
such as were seated far from him, and in the
territory of those wer-6-ances which did in no sort
depend on him or acknowledge him; but it hath
been Powhatan's great care to keep us, by all
means, from the acquaintance of those nations
that border and confront him, for besides his
knowledge how easily and willingly his enemies
will be drawn upon him by the least counte-
nance and encouragement from us, he doth, by
keeping us from trading with them, monopolize
all the copper brought into Virginia by the Eng-
lish.
"And whereas the English are now content
to receive in exchange a few measures of corn
for a great deal of that metal (valuing it accord-
ing to the extreme price it bears with them, not
to the estimation it hath with us), Powhatan
doth again vent some small quantity thereof to
his neighbor nations for one hundred times the
* Smith, vol. i., pp. 143-4; Historie of Travaile into Virginia,
p. 52.
Powhatan and Wingina 279
value, reserving, notwithstanding, for himself a
plentiful quantity to levy men withal when he
shall find cause to use them against us ; for the be-
fore-remembered wer-6-ance of Pas-pa-hegh did
once wage fourteen or fifteen wer-6-ances to assist
him in the attempt upon the fort of Jamestown,
for one copper plate promised to each wer-6-
ance." '
Speaking of the country, and the people ruled
by Powhatan, Smith says: "The land is not
populous, for the men be few; their far greater
number is of women and children. Within 60
miles of James Town, there are about some 5000
people, but of able men fit for their wars scarce
1500. To nourish so many together they have
yet no means, because they make so small a
benefit of their land, be it never so fertile. Six
or seven hundred have been the most that hath
been seen together when they gathered them-
selves to have surprised me at Pa-mun-key,
having but fifteen to withstand the worst of
their fury. "^
That this estimate was far below the real state
of the case, is clear from the account given by
Glover, who says that at the first coming of the
English, "divers towns had two or three thou-
sand bowmen in them. "^ Any one of these larger
towns, therefore, contained twice as many war-
riors as Smith allowed for all of them put together.
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 103-4.
' Smith, vol. i., p. 129.
3 Account of Virginia, p. 22.
28o The Forest Primeval
The map of the country gives the names and
locations of over one hundred of these Indian
settlements. One conclusion, therefore, is, that
the Indian forces, instead of one thousand
five hundred, numbered many thousands of
warriors.
Such were the surroundings of Powhatan.
His attitude towards the English would naturally
enough be that of bitter hostility, as strangers
and intruders, but this feeling was heightened
by a prophecy which had come to his ears.
Strachey says:
*'It is not long since that his priests told him
how that from the Chesapeake Bay a nation
should arise which should dissolve and give end
to his empire, for which, not many years since
(perplexed with this devilish oracle, and divers
understanding thereof), according to the ancient
and gentile customs, he destroyed and put to
sword all such who might lie under any doubtful
construction of the said prophecy, as all the in-
habitants, the wer-6-ance and his subjects of that
province, and so remain all the Ches-si-o-pe-ians
at this day, and for this cause, extinct.
"Some of the inhabitants, again, have not
spared to give us to understand, how they have
a second prophecy likewise amongst them, that
twice they should give overthrow and dishearten
the attempters, and such strangers as should
invade their territories or labor to settle a plan-
tation among them, but the third time they
Powhatan and Wingina 281
themselves should fall into their subjection, and
under their conquest; and sure in the observa-
tion of our settlement, and the manner thereof
hitherto, we may well suppose that this their
apprehension may fully touch at us. I leave to
express the particulars unto another place,
albeit, let me say here, strange whispers (indeed)
and secret at this hour run among these people
and possess them with amazement, what may
be the issue of these strange preparations landed
in their coasts, and yearly supplied with fresher
troops.
" Every news and blast of rumor strikes
them, to which they open their ears wide, and
keep their eyes waking, with good espial upon
everything that stirs ; the noise of our drums, of
our shrill trumpets and great ordinance, terrifies
them, so as they startle at the report of them,
how far soever from the reach of danger. Sus-
picions have bred strange fears amongst them,
and those fears create as strange constructions,
those constructions, therefore, beget strong
watch and guard, especially about their great
King, who thrusts forth trusty scouts and care-
ful sentinels, as before mentioned, which reach
even from his own court down almost to our
palisado gates, which answer one another duly.
Many things (whilst they observe us) are suffered
amiss among themselves, who were wont to be
so servilly fearful to trespass against their cus-
toms, as it was a chief point of their religion not
to break in any, and all this, and more than this.
f
282 The Forest Primeval
is thus with them, whilst the great tyrant himself
nor his priests are now confident in their wonted
courses. " '
It is worthy of observation that this prophecy
of the Indian priests came true. The first at-
tempt, under Sir Walter Raleigh, failed. The
second attempt, under the King, failed. It was
the third attempt, at the head of which was
Lord De la Warr, representing the Virginia Com-
pany, which established the Colony, and over-
threw the Indian power.
The country just to the south of Virginia, where
the great fact of the permanent settlement was
to be finally worked out, was the scene of the
first attempts to plant the English Protestant
Colony in the New World.
It was in the part of the world now known as
North Carolina, but then Virginia, where the
attempt which failed took place. This country
was presided over by Win-gi-na, who bore the
same relation to it that Powhatan bore to the
portion of the continent in which the settlement
was ultimately established.
At the time of the arrival of the English under
Captains Amadas and Barlow, he was sick, hav-
ing been severely wounded in a fight with the
king of the next country.
He was then at the chief town of the country,
about six miles from Roanoke Island, and the
first voyagers did not see him at all.
^ Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. loi..
Powhatan and Wingina 283
At the time of the invasion he was in league
with two other kings, Po-o-nens and Men-a-to-
non, against their mortal enemies Pin-ma-cum,
king of Pom-ou-ik, and the king of New-si-ok.
Pom-ou-ik seems to have been a part of, if not
coincident with, the territory of Se-co-tan, that is,
the land between the Pamlico and Neuse rivers,
while New-si-ok lay across the Neuse, to the
west.
One of his brothers was Gran-ge-nim-e-o. It
was this brother who the day after the first
contact between the Roanoke Island settlers and
the natives took place, came with his forty at-
tendants to visit the English in their ships.
Later he visited them again, bringing his wife,
daughter, and two or three children. His wife
was always accompanied by forty or fifty other
women.
His house is mentioned as containing nine
apartments, and built of cedar.
Captain Ralph Lane tells us that Win-gi-na,
upon the death of his brother Gran-ge-nim-e-o,
took the name of Pem-is-a-pan. Under this
name he is generally referred to in the account
of the Roanoke settlement.
Like 0-pe-chan-ca-nough he planned the utter
and sudden extermination of the white men, and,
like him, he met his death at their hands. 0-pe-
chan-ca-nough's two plots were partly carried
out; but, Pem-is-a-pan's was nipped in the bud,
and he and his followers, instead of Lane and
his associates, were killed.
284 The Forest Primeval
Powhatan, having as much as possible kept
himself aloof from the white man, died a natural
death. The closing scene in Pem-is-a-pan's his-
tory is that of a white man coming out of the
woods with the head of the Indian king in his
hand.
Though such was the tragic fate of Pem-is-a-
pan, his successors succeeded in repelling the in-
vasion and finally exterminated the first of the
English ; while Powhatan's kingdom passed under
their dominion.
CHAPTER XIX
SOME INDIAN WORDS
ONE of the causes to which is attributed the
conquest of the country inhabited by
several thousand Indian warriors by the
white settlers, weak and divided as they often
were, was the confusion of tongues which pre-
vailed in the forest. There was no written
language. The Indians lacked the stability and
expansion which that would have afforded to
any leading dialect. The tribes spoke their own
languages, which differed widely, so widely, it is
said, that often those of one village could not
understand the inhabitants of another living
only a few miles away.
This was a serious impediment to concerted
action to unite and crush the invaders ; and to
It, possibly more than to any other one thing, is
due the fact that they were not destroyed. The
Indians were divided by their languages, and
divided they were conquered.
Beverley, says, however, that there was not
entirely wanting a means of communication
between them, but that there existed a sort of
general language understood by the chief men of
285
2S6 The Forest Primeval
many nations, as Latin was formerly. His words
are as follows:
"These Indians have no sort of letters to
express their words by, but when they would
communicate anything, that cannot be delivered
by message, they do it by a sort of hieroglyphic,
or representation of birds, beasts, or other things,
showing their different meaning, by the various
forms described, and by the different position of
the figures.
"Their language differs very much as anciently
in the several parts of Britain; so that nations,
at a moderate distance, do not understand one
another. However, they have a sort of general
language, like what Lahontan calls the Algonkine,
which is understood by the chief men of many
nations, as Latin is in most parts of Europe and
Lingua Franca' quite through the Levant.
"The general language here used is said to be
that of the Oc-ca-nee-ches, though they have
been but a small nation, ever since those parts
were known to the English: but in what this
language may differ from that of the Algonkines,
I am not able to determine.^'''
In considering the language of the Indians one
is apt to be struck by the length of their words
and the difficulty of pronouncing them. Un-
broken into syllables many are practically
unpronounceable. Most of such long words
as were contained in the authorities from which
the list herein given is compiled, are omitted.
' French. " Beverley, book 3, pp. 23-4.
Some Indian Words 287
They are often of things or abstractions of less
importance and interest than the shorter or
easier words, representing simpler ideas. But
the Indian words in general are long. Words
of one syllable, such as our language abounds in,
are hardly to be met with. As the accent is not
marked, the correct sounding of these words is
of course uncertain, at best, but the pronuncia-
tion of such of them as are familiar to us has
been the guide to the plan which has been adopted
of breaking these words up into their syllables,
so that an attempt at least may be made to
pronounce them.
The principal authority relied upon is the dic-
tionary of the Indian language given in Strachey's
Historie of Travaile into Virginia. ^ We have
also a short list given by Smith, ^ and other words
have been gleaned from Beverley.
Glover also speaks of this diversity of language
and says: *' Almost every town differs in lan-
guage, and yet not any of their languages copious ;
as may be seen by their frequent expressing their
meaning to each other by signs. ''^ That is,
that even those who spoke the. same dialect
lacked words to express many of their thoughts,
and had to make themselves understood by
signs, there being no words in their language to
express the ideas.
The great length of the Indian words, belong-
ing as they do to a rude, primitive tongue, is in
* Beginning at p. 183. » Vol. i., p. 147.
3 Account oj Virginia^ p. 25.
f
288 The Forest Primeval
harmony with a general law which obtains in the
development of languages. Keightley says that :
"It is a fact, well known to philologists, that the
earlier the condition of a language is, the longer
are its words and the more numerous its forma-
tive syllables. " '
As there is no Indian literature, the knowledge
of these words cannot be put to any practical
use in reading any works in that language; and
as there are no longer Indians or any one else
who now uses this language, they cannot be
made use of in speaking to any one. But still
they have an interest and value of their own, as
a part of the thought and life of a race of human
beings who once lived where we now live, and
who interpreted the scenes around them, and
the things of life, and communicated the thoughts
of the heart by the use of the words which are
here recorded.
What we have here first to say, let us call
A DAY IN AN INDIAN VILLAGE
The Indian was a child of nature. His sur-
roundings were such as he found them given by
the Creator unchanged by man. His life was
spent under the broad blue canopy of Heaven,
and all his occupations and his pleasures were
interwoven with the forest, vocal with the song
of birds, and with the streams reflecting the
bright rays of the sun, and teeming with all its
' Mythology of Greece and Italy, p. 15.
Some Indian Words 289
varied forms of life. For all these things the
Indian had their several names.
Let us imagine an Indian leaving his house
before daybreak, going out on a fishing
expedition.
Looking upon the created universe around
him, the object upon which he stood, the world
itself, he called pam-ah-saiv-uh.
Above his head stretching out into infinity
was o-sies, the heavens.
In contrast to it was the earth, as-pam-u.
As he journeys toward the place he is seeking,
kes-haw-teuh, the light, increases; pap-a-souh,
the sunrise, is at hand, and soon above the water,
sac-qua-han, appears the glorious orb of day, to
him an object of divine worship, kes-kow-ghe,
the sun, shines forth in dazzling splendor.
Across the waves of the sea, a-quas-kaw-wans,
its rays are reflected; day, raw-co-sough, has
dispelled the darkness of night, tap-a-coh, and
the objects of creation stand revealed.
Before him is the sea, i-a-pam. Around him
is the air, ra-ras-can. Above him is the blue,
o-sa-ih, sky, ar-ro-koth, in which float mam-ma-
um, the clouds, impelled by rowh-sun-much, a
gentle wind. Behind him is the forest, mus-ses.
At his feet is the sand of the shore, ra-cauh,
and seis-cat-u-uh, the ebbing water. In the
sand is the seaweed, as-cax-as-qu-us.
Toward the north, ut-cheiks, lies an island,
mem-nun-nah-qus, standing out clearly in the
water, suck-a-han-na.
19
290 The Forest Primeval
Toward the west, at-tag-was-san-na, the
land, chep-sin, is watered by a river, ye-o-kan-ta,
into which flows a small creek, me-ih-sut-ter-
ask.
On the east, ut-chep-wo-is-sum-a, there rises
a gentle hill, ro-mut-tun, and beyond it a tall
mountain, pom-o-tawk.
Winter, pup-pa-an-noh, with its ice, o-re-ih,
frost, tac-qua-cat, and snow, co-an, has passed.
The wild geese, the co-honks, and the swans,
wo-pus-so-uc, have gone to their distant homes.
The season of the year, paw-pax-son-ghe, is
that of the balmy summer, cow-wot-a-i-oh,
which will soon change into autumn, pun-sa-os,
the falling of the leaf. It is hot weather,
u-nes-haw-o-can-as-sup.
Here, mis-ke, is a running brook, wous-sick-it.
Yonder, yo-ax-u-uh, is a place, we-is-kis, where
the ground, pet-a-win, is covered with trees
standing in water. It is a dreary looking place.
It is a po-co-sin.
Making his way to near the mouth of the small
creek, he and his companion proceed with the
work in hand. They are going to put a fishing
weir, ne-ih-sac-an, across the creek, to catch
nough-mass, that is, any kind of fish.
He is supplied with his a-quin-tain taux, that
is, a little boat or canoe; a tse-ma-o-say, a
sail; his net, a-us-sab; an oar, tshe-mac-aus ;
re-kas-que, a knife; pe-mimt-naw, a rope;
mowh-ko-han, a fish-hook; por-a-sap, a bag;
and ok-tam-o-can, a can to drink in.
Some Indian Words 291
While he is waiting the appropriate time for
the current of the stream and the weir to do their
work in entrapping the fish, a butterfly, man-a-
aug-wos, flits by. A moc-ca-sin puts its head
out of the water, and disappears. A crane,
US-sac, lights upon the opposite shore, and
stalks around with its long legs. With discord-
ant note o-ha-was, a crow, flies across the stream
frightening a wild duck, pis-co-end which was
floating upon the surface of the water, on whom
an eagle, o-pot-e-na-i-ok had fixed his deadly
eye. A gull, co-i-ah-guns, floats lazily through
the air, and the black back of a porpoise, pot-a-
waugh, revolves in the deeper water beyond.
A fly, mow-ches-on, buzzes in his ear; a gnat,
po-en-gu-uh, stings him ; and a lizard, ut-a-cas-
kis, glides across his path.
When the weir is examined, among other
captures are found a sturgeon, cop-o-to-ne; a
turtle, com-mo-tins ; a sea-turtle, tuw-cup-pe-uk ;
a crab, tut-tas-cuc; an eel, as-cam-a-uk; a gar-
fish, ta-tam-a-ho ; and a lobster, ah-sha-ham,
and a number of fish, nam-ma-is, with their
sharp fins, wi-ih-cats.
Returning, pey-e-ugh, to the shore, the good,
win-gan, were taken, the rest thrown away.
Wet, nep-pe, but not weary, cut-tox-een, the
Indian now puts his fish in a basket upon his
back, and carries it home.
On the way to the town, mus-sa-ran, where
he lives, he met another friend, ne-tab, and
the three, nuss, proceed together, one, ne-cut,
2g2 The Forest Primeval
before, ut-cha-rund, the other, according to
their fashion of walking.
On their way, they meet a hare, wi-ih-cut-teis,
which scampers off into the grass, at-tass-kuss.
A squirrel, mous-som-ko, runs up the rough
bark of a pine tree, a-noo-sa. A fine deer, ut-
ta-pa-an-tam, with long, cun-na-i-u-uh, horns,
wa-wi-rak, and a little, taux, faun, no-nat-te-uh,
fled upon hearing, aixmp-su-uk, the Indians
coming.
They passed a village, ka-a-sun, also on their
way, and noticed a circle, mus-set-a-qua-i-oh,
of old women, u-tump-seis, around a boy, mar-
o-wan-ches-so, who lay there dead, tse-pa-ih
of a snake-bite, u-tag-wo-ong. They were mak-
ing preparations for his burial, pa-i-am-a-suw.
Passing on, they saw a great, man-go-i-te,
owl, quang-at-a-rask, in the top of a walnut
tree, as-sun-no-in-e-ind-ge. From the next,
u-tak-i-ik, tree, me-ih-tucs, a hickory of consider-
able height, man-ge-ker, a flying squirrel, a-i-
os-sa-pan-i-ik, came out of his hole, v/o-or,
flew down, lit upon the dead leaves, mo-in-cam-
in-ge, and disappeared in the reeds, nis-sa-kan.
Arrived at length at home, it was found that
all, che-isk, were well. These were the old man,
raw-e-run-nu-uh, his father, now-se ; his mother,
kick-e-was; his wife, no-un-gas-se ; his elder,
nus-sa-andg, brother, ke-mot-te; his sister,
cur-si-ne; his aunt, ar-i-quos-sac, and her hus-
band, wi-o-wah; his younger, we-saws, daugh-
ter, am-o-sens; and his other child, nech-a-im,
Some Indian Words 293
who was a little boy, us-ca-pess. The baby,
pap-poose, was fat, wir-a-o-hawk, and was now
strapped to a board, cut-sot-ah-wooc, hanging
from the branch of a cedar tree, mo-ro-ke. It
was not awake, au-mau-mer. It was a girl,
us-qua-se-ins.
His father, now-se, a strong, to-wauh, man
yet, was busily engaged in putting his arms in
order. By his side was his bow, at-taup; to
which he had just fitted a new bowstring, au-peis.
He was now at work on an arrow, at-tonce.
Its head, rap-ut-tak, and feathers, as-sa-cun-
sauh were being fastened on with the glue, up-
pe-in-sa-man, used for this purpose. Leaning
against a tree were his sword, mon-a-cooke, his
shield, au-mough-hough, and his hatchet, tom-a-
hack. In his belt was his knife, dam-i-sac,
which could give a dangerous stab, wap-in, or
cut, wap-e-uh. But these weapons were not
equal to the lead, wind-scup, from the gun,
po-ko-sack, of the English, Tas-san-tas-ses,
protected in their coats of mail, a-qua-hus-sun,
even though their arrows were sharp, ken-e-i-
wuh.
His brother, ke-mot-te, who was rather weak,
kes-she-manc, was engaged in fashioning from
some leather, ut-to-ca-is, a match-coat for the
coming winter.
His aunt's husband, who was lame, nep-a-wir-
o-nough, was very bright, mus-caus-sum, and
calm, coh-quiv-uh. He was engaged in making
a pair of shoes, mock-a-sins.
294 The Forest Primeval
His daughter, am-o-sens, was a fine young
woman, cren-e-po, very much ahve, ke-kewh,
and greatly admired by the young men of the
town. Her maw-chick cham-may, that is, her
best of friends, was a young wer-6-ance, war
chief, who had lately distinguished himself by
.killing the worst of the enemies, kas-ka-pow,
of the tribe, one of the man-eaters, mus-sa-
an-ge-gwah.
His wife, no-un-gas-se, was busily occupied
in preparing the meal, which was to consist of
bread, op-pones; suc-co-tash, corn and beans;
hominy; ra-pan-ta, venison; a little salt, saw-
wo-ne; and milk made of walnuts, po-co-hi-
qua-ra.
Other usual articles of food were pec-cat-o-
as, beans; chickens, ca-wah-che-ims ; caviare
or the roe of sturgeon, wo-ock; oo-tun, cheese;
eggs, o-waugh; bread made either of flour,
rouh-se-uh, or meal, rouh-cat; broth, no-ump-
qua-am; cau-wa-ih, oysters; hasty pudding,
as-a-pan ; dewberries, ac-coon-dews ; grapes,
mar-ra-kim-mins; and strawberries, mus-kef-
kim-mins.
There had formerly lived with them a man
nem-a-rough, who was a bachelor, ma-taw-i-o-
wijh, straight, ma-jauh, as an arrow, at-tonce,
but on one of the war-parties he was lost, now-
wan-us.
The inside of the house, yo-hac-an, was rather
dark, pah-cun-na-i-oh, as it seemed, as one
entered through the low, ma-chess, doorway.
Some Indian Words 295
But the light, kes-kaw-teuh, from the hole in
the roof enables the contents to be seen. Here
then appear in their proper places, the bed, tus-
san, which was hard, es-e-pan-nu-uh, enough.
On the ground lies a mat, a-nan-son. There is
the frying-pan, amp-ko-ne; a dish, o-ut-a-can;
the kettle, au-cog-wins; a basket, man-o-te;
paw-pe-co-ne, a pipe; an-ca-gwins, a pot; ham-
ko-ne, a ladle; a pot to drink in, ke-quas-son;
a mat made of reeds, a-nan-se-coon ; linen, ma-
tas-sa-ih; a stool, tau-o-sin; and oh-tam-o-can,
a barrel. The mat was torn, tut-tas-cuh.
In the middle of the chamber, ut-she-com-
muc, there are some ashes, pun-guy, left from
the last fire, po-kat-a-wer. Dust, ne-pen-sum,
is on some of the articles, and above our heads,
cobwebs, mut-tass-a-pec. In the corner was a
rat, a-o-tauk.
Outside the house, by the well, oh-ca-wooc, is
a rose bush, pus-sa-quem-bun ; some wood,
mus-keis ; a gate, cup-pe-nauk, opening into the
vegetable garden, o-ron-o-cah.
Scup-per-nong grapes were here, but no pear,
as-sen-ta-men ; nor apple, mar-a-cah; the wal-
nut, as-sim-nim, was here ; and o-pom-mins, the
chestnut; musk-mu-ims, the mulberry; and per-
sim-mons, with their numerous seeds, a-men-a-
ca-cac. This fruit was as yet unripe, us-can-ne-
uh, and no bird would care to plunge its beak,
meh-ke-uk, in it. A field of corn, po-ket-a-
wes, which the English often called wheat,
and West Indians, maize, was growing here.
296 The Forest Primeval
The meal being ended, the aunt's husband,
who had once been taken over to England in a
big ship, mus-so-wux-uc, began to teach the
Indian language to a little white, o-paiv-uh, boy,
one of the English, who had been exchanged for
one of the Indian king's sons, who was to learn
the English language. The first part of the
lesson was devoted to teaching him to count:
ne-cut, one; ningh, two; nuss, three; yough, four;
pa-rans-ke, five; com-o-tinck, six; top-pa-woss,
seven; nuss-wash, eight; kek-a-towgh, nine;
kas-ke-ke, ten.
After this the count was by tens, but the words
he taught were so long and barbarous sounding
that we dare not attempt to repeat them.
He, yoo-wah, learned these, youghs, first ten,
quickly, hus-que. The Indian then began to
teach him the meaning of some verbs. By
means of signs, gestures, action, and expression,
and such other means as were available, he
tried to teach the little Pale Face, that pas-sah-
i-ca-an meant to clap one's hands.
Catch-cah-mun mu-she meant to chop
wood.
Ah-coh-kin-ne-mun meant to carry upon one's
shoulders.
Pa-tow was to bring again.
Taw-a-tut-te-ner meant to yawn or gap.
Ne-igh-se-un was to cry.
Mo-undg meant to cut the hair of a man's
head.
Rick-e-uh, to divide a thing in half.
Some Indian Words 297
A-was-sew meant to fly.
Am-maw-skin was to fall.
Pa-atch-ah meant to give.
Quan-ta-mun was to swallow.
Paw-paw-me-ar meant to walk.
Pas-pe-ne was to walk about.
Num-mawh was to weep.
Zanc-ko-ne meant to sneeze.
Cut-to-undg meant to bark.
Am-in meant to bite.
Toos-ke-an meant to swim.
Po-kin was to dive under water.
Tchij-ma-oc meant to row.
Ke-se-i-quan meant to wash the face.
Cus-purn was to tie or make fast anything.
Nep-o-mot-a-men meant to shoot.
Ke-kut-tun was to say.
Sak-a-ho-can meant to write.
No-ha-i-u-uh meant to have.
Com-mo-to-ouh meant to steal.
Me-cher was to eat. ^
U-ne-kish-e-mu meant to cut anything.
0-nas-can-da-men meant to catch in the
mouth, as dogs do.
Ah-cou-she was to climb a tree.
Ket-a-rowk-su-mah meant to break all in
pieces.
Pe-rew was to be broken or cracked.
0-tas-sap-nar meant to call one.
^ This is close to our word munch, a word which is similar to others
with the same meaning in a number of languages, for example Latin,
tnanduco; French, manger; Spanish, mascar; etc.
298 The Forest Primeval
Now-wun-ta-men meant to hear.
Kes-she-kis-sun was to laugh.
Tse-pa-an-ta-men meant to kiss.
Cant-e-cant-e was to sing or dance.
Ne-tus-pus was to leap as men leap in danc-
ing or otherwise.
Hus-pis-sa-an meant to leap.
A-pows-saw meant to roast.
Num-me-cax-ut-te-nax wasto fight at fisticuffs.
Num-mach-a meant to go home.
Ma-ent-cha-tem-a-y-o-ac was the word to
express the idea — gone.
Mach-e-ne-caw-wun was to lie down to
sleep.
Bah-tan-o-mun meant to warm one.
Nep-a-tim was to sleep.
U-na-mun meant to awaken.
Na-ha-puc meant to dwell.
Noun-gat was to do.
Mus-kem was to run.
I-reh meant to go.
I-reh as-su-min-ge was to go and run
quickly.
Pe-in-tik-er meant to come in.
Cau-mor-o-wath meant to come, being spo-
ken familiarly or hard by.
Pi-jah meant to come, being spoken afar off to
one.
Mas-ki-ha-an was to be melancholy.
A-ro-um-mos-south meant to be sick.
U-nan-na-tas-sun meant to stand.
Ud-a-pung-war-en was to open one's eyes.
Some Indian Words 299
Naw-wi-o-wash-im meant to carry a thing
up and down.
Ne-cus-sa-guns meant to carry a thing be-
tween two.
Ah-gu-ur meant to cover one.
Waw-a-pun-nah meant to hang one.
Cut-ta-quo-cum meant to pull one down.
U-un-a-mum was to see.
Mon-as-cun-ne-mu meant to cleanse the
ground and make it fit for seed.
Nut-tas-pin meant to sow wheat.
Fair progress having been made in this lesson,
the man then took the boy through the town to
see the people and further explain his language.
Close at hand, near enough to have heard
them, sitting upon a stone, scha-quo-ho-can, was
a short, tack-qua-i-sun, bald, pa-atch-kis-caw,
deaf, cup-po-taw, beggar, cut-tas-sam-a-is. He
was nearly naked, ne-pow-wer; a stranger, ut-
tas-san-tas-so-wa-ih; without friends, ne-top-
pew; and alone, a-pop-a-quat-e-cus.
It was decided to give, pa-atch-ah, him, some-
thing to eat, me-cher, so maize, corn ; bread made
of the hot-tasting root tuck-a-hoe ; a lot of chin-
ka-pins; and me-tucs-mar-a-kim-mins, a bunch
of grapes, were given to him.
The town was surrounded by a palisade, inside
of which were about twenty houses, the houses
being scattered about irregularly, following
roughly the circle of the palisade, and leaving
300 The Forest Primeval
an open space in the midst. In the center of
this was now to take place a show, mach-e-que-o.
One of the enemies, mar-ra-pough, of the
tribe had been captured, and now all friends,
chesk-cham-ay, of the tribe had been sum-
moned to enjoy the pleasure of seeing him
tortured. A fire, po-kat-a-wer, was burning.
The captive was stripped naked, ne-paw-wer,
and ordered to sit down near the fire, and the
Indians beat him with their fists and sticks. A
post about fifteen feet high had been set firmly
in the ground, and piles of hickory poles lay
a few yards from it. The captive's hands,
metm-ge, were tied behind his back.
A rope, pe-munt-naw, was produced, one end
was tied to the post, and the other to the cord,
pem-a-nat-a-on, which fastened his wrists to-
gether. The rope was long enough to permit
him to walk around the stake several times and
then return. They then cut off his ears, me-taw-
ke, and the blood, saw-we-ho-ne, streamed down
each side of his face, us-ca-en-tur. The warriors
then shot charges of powder into his naked body,
commencing with the calves of his leg, mes-kott,
and continuing to his neck, nus-quo-ik. Three
or four, by turns, would take up one of the burn-
ing pieces of wood, and apply the burning end
to his body. These tormentors presented them-
selves on every side of him, so that whichever
way he ran around the post they met him with
the burning brands. Some of the squaws took
broad pieces of bark, upon which they could
Some Indian Words 301
carry a quantity of coals of fire, mah-ca-to-is,
and threw them on him, so that in a short time
his feet, mes-setts, had nothing but coals of fire
and hot ashes to walk upon.
This ordeal had now lasted two hours; the
prisoner was much exhausted, and his nerves had
lost much of their sensibility. He no longer
shrank from the firebrands with which his tor-
mentors incessantly touched him. At length
he sank, fainting, upon his face. Instantly an
Indian sprang upon his back, knelt lightly upon
one knee, made a circular incision with his knife,
re-kas-que, upon the crown of his head, men-
da-buc-cah, and clapping his knife between his
teeth, me-pit, taking hold of the hair, mer-ersc,
with both hands, tore off the scalp. As soon
as this was done, an old woman, u-tump-seis,
approached with a piece of bark full of coals of
fire, mah-cat-o-is, and poured them upon the
crown of his head, now laid bare to the bone,
wos-kan.
The wretched victim rose once more, and
slowly walked around the stake. At length
nature could endure no more. He fell for the
last time and his soul, net-shet-sunk, escaped
from his tormentors. '
Other captives were then produced. The
nails, me-kon-se, of their fingers and toes were
pulled out. Their forefingers, num-meis-sut-
^This account is taken from an actual case, that of Col. Wm.
Crawford, who was thus put to death. Peyton's History of Augusta
County, pp. 1 9 1-2.
f
302 The Forest Primeval
te-ing-wah, were cut off. The tongue, max-at-sno
cut out. The nose, mes-kew, sHt. The Hps,
nus-sha-ih, cut off. The thigh, ap-o-me, and
the arm, me-se, stuck full of burning pieces of
lightwood. The mouth, met-to-ne, filled full
of hot ashes. The elbows, me-is-quan, broken.
The forehead, mus-kan, torn off. The beard,
mes-se-ton-a-ance, plucked out. The veins,
a-bes-cur, opened. The skin taken off the
flesh, wegh-shau-ghes. The throat, ve-gwan-
ta-ak, cut open, and the eyes, mus-kins, gouged
out with burning sticks.
The gathering which had witnessed these
scenes included the sach-em, the magistrate,
who presided over the great councils of state,
and who looked after the aged, and the women
and children; a "woman queen," wir-o-naus-
qua, from an adjoining tribe; several cock-a-
rouses, members of the King's Council, or those
otherwise distinguished for bravery; and all the
cro-nock-o-es, that is, men of prominence in the
town. The mam-a-nat-o-wick, the Great King,
of the tribe was present, and a ver-o-a-nee, King
or great man, from each neighboring tribe.
After these proceedings were finished they
held match-a-com-o-co, that is, a great council of
state; discussed public affairs, and smoked the
cal-u-met, the pipe of peace.
As an appropriate conclusion to the festivities
of torturing the enemies of the tribe, a dance,
kan-to-kan, was gotten up, by the young war-
riors, while the bodies of the victims were thrown
Some Indian Words 303
into a common grave, our-car, where they slept
their last sleep, kaw-win.
Passing out of the town, to get a better, win-
gut-sca-ho, view of the country around, they
pass over, os-keitch, a stream, tsa-quo-moi, that
is, deep to the middle of a man. A little farther
down, no-us-o-mon, it was nut-tah-ca-am, that
is, deep over the head. The water was cold,
nons-sa-mats, and the stream crooked, o-ho-rin-
ne. In it were swimming an otter, cut-tack, and
a beaver, poh-kev-uh.
Behind, ta-an-go-quaijk, the town, was a body
of woods, full of leaves, ma-an-qui-pac-us, which
tempted them to enter it. Here was seen the
root from which the red dye of the Indians was
obtained, the puc-coon, called by the English,
the bloodroot, and the mus-quas-pen, another
root, ut-chap-poc, from which a dye was derived.
By the marsh at the edge of the woods Vv^as the
cranberry, raw-co-mens, growing wild. Here
also was the grass from which they made
threads, pem-me-now.
In the wood they picked up the acorns, an-as
ko-mens, and ate them raw, as-cun-me-uh. A
large vine, wap-a-pam-mdge, full of ripe, win-
gat-e-uh, grapes, spread its branches abroad,
us-cound. Beneath, ut-shem-a-ijn, it, there
grew a great deal, moow-chick, of weeds, at-tas-
qu-us. When, ta-noo chinck, they turned from
it, they saw an adder, ke-ih-tas-co-oc, curled
up under it, and killed it with a cane, nis-a-ke.
#
304 The Forest Primeval
The bark of a dog, at-to-mois, attracted them.
To the same tree he had tracked two curious
looking animals, a rac-coon and an o-pos-sum.
Other animals which had been hunted in that
wood were the fox, as-sim-o-est ; the bear, mo-
mon-sac-que-o, and the wolf, na-an-tam.
A robin redbreast, che-a-wan-ta, a pretty-
bird, tshe-hip, left its nest, wap-ches-a-o, when
they appeared, and, with interrupted motion of
wing, ut-to-can-nuc, sought safety elsewhere.
Here, too, were seen a turkey cock, os-pan-no;
a turkey, mon-y-naugh ; a wood pigeon, qua-
no-ats; a pigeon, tow-ac-quo-ins ; and a parrot,
mas-ko-whin-ge.
The season being well advanced, the leaves
of the gum trees have turned red, purple, our-
cre-uh, and yellow, ous-sa-wack.
It was now the afternoon, aun-she-cap-a, and
being sufficiently refreshed with this communion
with nature, they reenter the town and notice
a great many things, among others, the clothing,
match-co-res, worn by those they see. It being
warm weather, the inhabitants have on but
little. Here come two fine young women wear-
ing only aprons, mat-a-heigh ca-tom-mo-ik,
before and behind. Being ladies of distinction,
on their heads are coronets of peak; and around
their necks were necklaces or chains formed of
long links of copper, which ornament they
called tap-o-an-tam-nais ; but they had no use
now of stockings, caw-que-a-wans ; garters, kis-
pur-ra-caut-a-pus; shoes, mawh-ca-sins, nor
Some Indian Words 305
gloves, o-tein-gas. They were on their way
to the river, to see the men fish.
A conjurer comes next on his way to give some
young men medicine, wis-oc-can, for the husk-a-
naw-ing pen. He had in his hand, made out of a
gourd full of small stones, a rattle, chmgaw-won-
auk, which he was going to use in his conjura-
tions. Fastened to his girdle, pok-on-tats, is
his tobacco-bag, re-con-ack. With him was the
priest, dressed in a cloak of feathers, called put-
ta-wus. He was on his way to the 0-kee's
temple, qui-oc-co-san, and allowed the Indian
and the boy to join him. He was about to begin
a pau-waw-ing, or conjuration, in order to make
it rain again to-morrow, ra-i-ab, as he had made
it do, as he claimed, yesterday, o-sa-i-oh.
The names and designations which he had
for the Deity were numerous. Ra-wot-ton-emd
meant God, but a more general word for gods
was Mon-to-ac. For the images of gods in the
form of men, he used the word Ke-was-o-wok.
One of such images alone he called Ke-was.
O-kee was another name for a god, and A-ho-ne
still another. Petty gods and their affinities
he called Qui-yough-co-soughs. Qui-oc-cos was
the idol which dwelt in the temple already called
qui-oc-co-san, but which had also another
name, mach-i-co-muck. Ma-hom-ny was the
name of the deity who lived beyond the sun,
and who decided the fate of men after death,
and sent them to a place of happiness or
misery.
30
3o6 The Forest Primeval
Ri-o-ko-sick was one of their names for the
Devil, another form of which was Ri-a-poke.
Mo-un-sha-quat-u-uh was their name for
Heaven, while Po-po-gus-so was that for the
hole in the remotest west where the souls of the
evil burnt continually. It may have been that
the red glow of the sunset was the origin of this
belief.
The priest was going to offer a prayer, mau-no-
mom-ma-on, to the sun, kes-kow-ghe, before
proceeding to sacrifice, ut-tak-a-er.
The war chief, wer-6-ance, accompanied by
several followers, passes by. Three feathers,
ah-pe-uk, adorn his head. He has just called
one of his attendants, a married man, now-i-ow-
i-ih wi-o-wah, a fool, win-tuc, for selling a chain,
rar-e-naw; a copper kettle, au-cut-ga-quas-san ;
a coat, mant-choor; a mortar, tac-ca-hooc, and
pestle, poc-o-ha-ac; a bodkin, po-co-hack; a
comb, rick-a-ho-ne ; a needle, poc-o-ha-oc; a
block, tac-ca-hooc, and a spade, aa-ix-ke-hak-e,
most of which he had gotten from the English,
for only ten yards of peak.
This word, sometimes spelled peag, was the
name given to beads made from the ends of
shells, rubbed down into a cylindrical shape,
polished and strung into belts or necklaces.
These were valued according to their length
and the perfection of their workmanship, and
were used as money or ornament. One of the
pictures shows a man with a coronet of peak
upon his head. Black or purple peak was
Some Indian Words 3^7
worth twice as much, length for length, as white
peak.
Wam-pum was the special name given to this
more valuable, dark peak. Its full designation
was wampum peak.
Roanoke was another kind of money made of
the cockle shell. It was of less value than peak.
Runtees was still another name for the disks
of shells, used as ornaments, as in the form of
necklaces, etc.
The chief could not bear to have this man,
who was a mariner, or seaman, che-ik-sew, sell
his goods so cheaply, and he told him how he had
had to give a whole boat, quin-tan, load of maize,
corn, for a pickaxe, tock-a-hack; a pair of
shears, ac-cow-prets ; a ball, a-i-towh, made of
copper, mat-tas-sin; a bell, mau-ca-quins, made
of some white metal, us-sa-was-sin ; a stool,
tau-o-sin, and some shining brass, os-a-was,
which a great ship, a-quin-tay-ne mang-goy,
had just brought in.
Then he told him of a chest, pac-us, and a
bottle, po-he-euh, with a dram, ah-quo-hooc,
in it, which he had gotten from another ship
mus-so-wux-uc, in exchange for some pearl,
ma-kat-e-weigh.
Young men are seen at various amusements
or occupations, and, as the day is now well
advanced, the women come in from gathering
the corn and other fruits of the soil which they
have tilled and cared for, to prepare the evening
meal.
#
3o8 The Forest Primeval
The day has been not only hot, but sultry,
and a great wind, mah-qua-ih, now comes up.
In the west, piles of black clouds tower up in
the sky, and advance, threatening and terrible.
The Indians believe that this is a sign that the
Deity is offended. They have done wrong in
torturing and killing those prisoners. The Sun
is obscured by the thick clouds. The priest and
the conjurer offer sacrifice to it. The tobacco
thrown into the air is strewn over the land by
the hurricane, toh-tum-mo-cun-num, which is
now sweeping over them. The rain, cam-zo-wan,
falls in torrents. A flash of lightning, ke-cut-
tan-no-was, shatters a giant oak, po-aw-a-mingd
which falls to the ground with a crash, pe-nim,
while the thunder, pet-tack-queth, shakes the
world. Righ-com-ou-ghe, Death, is in the air.
At last the wind, ras-so-um, subsides. A
beautiful, mus-ca-i-u-uh, rainbow, quan-na-cut,
shines forth against the black, ma-cat-a-wa-i-
u-uh, clouds. The Deity is propitiated, and
the storm is over.
Sunset, qu-un-se-uh, was now at hand. In
the western horizon hangs the moon, ne-paw-
wesh-ough, which was now a new moon, suc-
kim-ma.
Smoke, kek-e-pem-quah, rises in the air from
many Open fires, the last meal of the day is
being prepared, so our observers go back to their
house, a spark of fire, ac-ce-cow, lights the wood,
and a fish is baked whole, bar-be-cued.
They then attended the social gathering
Some Indian Words
309
which took place nighdy in the centre of the
town. The company amused itself until a late
hour with singing and dancing.
When all was over, the day brought to a close,
they retired by the light of a pine knot, o-san-in-
tak, which served as a candle.
Outside all was dark. Profound quiet reigned,
except for the wind which sighed as it passed
through the pine trees, while overhead the
silent stars, pum-ma-humps, stood sentinel.
THE lover's quarrel
He: Ken-cut-te-maum, Good-morning. Ne-
tap, my dear friend.
She: Cham-ah wing-gap-o. Welcome, my be-
loved friend.
He : Pas-pas-a-at. The morning is fair.
She : Chin-gis-sum. It is very warm weather.
He: Tan-a-o-wa-am? Where have you been .?
She: Yo-ax-u-uh. Far away.
He : Nu-me-roth-e-qui-er ? Your companion .?
She: Mah-maindg-no-hai-u-uh. I have none.
He: Mat-ta-que-nat-o-rath. I understand
you not.
She: Mum-mas-cus-hen-e-po. I have been
asleep.
He : Kick-e-ten qui-er. Tell me.
She: Ma-tush. I will not.
He: Ne-tab. I am your friend.
She: Ken-ne-hau-tows. I understand well.
He: Near-now-wan. I have been.
310 The Forest Primeval
She: War-nat. Enough.
He : Net-a-peuh. I am at your command.
She: Win-gan-ou-se. Very good.
(He gives her a necklace of wampum.)
He: Thaig-wen-iun-mer-a-an. I give it you
gratis.
She: Ke-nah. I thank you.
He: Kaw-ko-pen qui-er. I drink to you.
She: Tang-go. Let me see it.
He: Jough-que-me wath. Let us go away.
She: Nec-qu-ris-saw. I dare not.
He: Me-ish-mi-co-an ches-soy-ouk. Give
this to the child.
(Gives her a rattle.)
She: Nu-wam-at-a-men. I love it.
He: Cum-meish yoo-wah. Give it him.
She: Mal-a-com-me-ir. I will not give it.
He: Hus-que-que-nat-o-ra. Now I under-
stand you.
Tah-moc-as-se-uh. He hath none.
She: Mon-i-naw. The cock crows.
Up-pou-shun. The ships go home.
He: Ca-cut-tew-indg ? What is my name?
She: Ca-iv-uh. I cannot tell.
No-e-wa-nath-soun. I have forgotten.
He: Ke-ar! You!
She: Cup-peh. Yes.
He: Pas-ko-rath. The gold sparkles in the
sand.
She: Num-mas-kat-a-men. I care not for it.
He: Koup-path-e. Yea, truly?
She: Oi-ac-pi-jaun. We will come again.
Some Indian Words
311
He: Tan-00 chick? When?
She: Ra-i-ab. To-morrow.
He: Kes-so-hi-ke-ar. Shut the door.
She: Na-hay-hough. I have it.
He: Noun-ma-is. I love you.
She: Ne-trap-per kup-per. Sit further.
He: Hus-que. By and by.
She: Mut-tack. No.
He: Nim. Yes.
She: Ough-rath. Far off.
He : Com-mo-mais ? Do you love ^
She: Mat-tan-a-hay-yough. I have it not.
(Turning to the door.)
Hat-ac-quo-ear. Hold it aside.
Num-ma? Will you go home.f*
He: Kan-i-ough. I know not.
Kutt-chaw-e. I am offended.
She: No-raugh to-an. Put on your hat.'
He : Num-ma-cha. I will go home.
She: Wam-at-tuwh. It is well.
Un-tough. Take it.
(Hands him his hat, pat-tih-qua-pis-
son.)
He: Ah-ath. Farewell.
She: Ke-ij. Get you gone!
(Throws after him a ring, nek-e-rein-
skeps, which he had given her.)
* Of course, the primitive Indians wore no hats. Where this
man got this hat, we cannot say — ^possibly from some Englishman
whom he had tomahawked.
312
The Forest Primeval
THE TROUBLESOME TRAVELER
Host: Que-quoy-ter-nis qui-re? What is
your name?
Traveler : Pi-pis-co.
Host: Ke-is? How many?
Traveler: Na-an-tu-cah ne-cut. Only one, I
myself, ne-ar,
Host: Ough. It is well.
Traveler: Ro-o-ke-uh co-an. It snoweth.
Cur-cie ne-i-re. I am cold.
O-ram-i-ath south. I am sick.
How-ghu-eih ta-kon ne-i-re. I
am hungry.
(To Attendant.) Noc-mcha-min-o
bok-e-taw. Mend up the fire.
(To Traveler.) Me-ih-tus-suc. Eat
with me.
Ka-pes-se-map-a-an-gum. Give me
a little piece.
Min-chin qui-re. Eat thou.
Que-quoy ? What is this ?
Nec-o-on-dam-en. It is good meat.
Me-ish-nah-me-cher. Give me some
meat.
Me-cho-cusk. I will eat by and by.
U-gau-co-pes-sum. I would drink.
Mam-ma-he suc-qua-hum. Give
me some water.
Host: Um-doth. Take it.
Traveler: Nuts-se-qua-cup. I will drink no
more.
Host;
Traveler:
Host:
Traveler:
Host:
Traveler:
Some Indian Words
313
Pa-atch nah nun-gan. Give me
some butter to spread on my
bread.
Pas-e-me up-po-oke. Give me
some tobacco.
Host: Win-gut-see up-o-oc. The tobacco
is good.
Bmser-an ap-o-ok. Fill the pipe
with tobacco.
Traveler: 0-pot-e-yough. The pipe is stopped.
Kesh-e-ma-ic po-oc. The tobacco
is naught.
Tawks ne-ge-isp. No more. I am
full.
Host: Tas-ho-ac. All is out.
Traveler: 0-wan-ough. Who hath this?
Host: May-an-se. I have it not.
Daw-ba-son-qui-re. Warm yourself.
Traveler: Ot-a-wi-a-ac bac-a-taw. The fire
is out.
Host: Mat-a-ches-a. It is not lighted.
Traveler: Pow-tow-ho-ne bok-e-tan. Blow
the fire with your mouth.
Host: As-sen-tew-ca-i-ah. It shineth.
Traveler : Win-gan outs-sem-et-sum-ne-ic.
My foot is well.
U-ne-gap-a-mut-ta menrne-tat-a-
ki-i. My legs ache.
Mat-a-mau-ca-sun-ne-ih. I have
no shoes.
Ken-o-rock-o-no-rem qui-re.
Come look at my head.
314 The Forest Primeval
Ah-kij. It hurts me.
Host: Ne-hap-per. Sit down.
Num-pe-nam-un. Let me see it.
Traveler: Ne-pun-che-ne-ir. I am dead.
THE QUARRELSOME CHIEFS
" Mow-chick way-a-ugh taugh ne-o-ragh
ka-que-re me-cher. I am very hungry, what
shall I eat.?
"Taw-nor ne-hiegh Powhatan? Where
dwells Powhatan.?
" Mach-e, ne-hiegh you-rough Or-a-paks.
Now he dwells a great way hence at Or-a-paks.
" Vit-ta-pitch-e-way-ne an-pech-itchs ne-
haw-per Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co. You lie, he
staid ever at Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co.
" Ka-tor ne-hiegh mat-tagh ne-er ut-ta-
pitch-e-way-ne. Truly he is there, I do not lie.
" Spaugh-tyn-e-re ke-ragh wer-6-wance
Maw-mar-i-nough kek-a-te-waugh pey-a-
qua-ugh. Run you then to the King Maw-mar-i-
nough and bid him come hither.
"Ut-te-ke e-pey-a-wey-ack wigh-whip. Get
you gone, and come again quickly.
" Kek-a-ten Po-ka-hon-tas pat-i-a-quah ni-
ugh tanks ma-not-yens neer mow-chick
raw-re-nock au-dough. Bid Pokahontas bring
hither two little baskets and I will give her
white beads to make her a chain. " ^
» Smith, vol. i., pp. 147-8.
Some Indian Words 315
The meaning of a few of their names of places
and persons has been preserved. We can well
wish that we. knew more of them.
Pocahontas means bright stream between two
hills.
Wer-o-wo-com-o-co means the chief place of
council, or King's House.
Pa-mun-key means where we took a sweat. '
War-ros-quy-oake means point of land. This
was the original name of Isle of Wight County.
Nan-se-mond means fishing-point.
Ka-naw-ha means the river of the woods.
Kentucky means dark and bloody ground ; or,
according to other authorities, at the head of
the river; long river; or long prairies.^
Ohio means the beautiful river; or, river of
blood.
Roanoke was the same word they used to
designate one kind of their shell money, and was
probably given to the locality where these shells
abounded.
Chesapeake means the mother of waters.
Appomattox means sinuous tidal estuary. ^
Potomac means water flowing in cascades.
The lower part of this river, to which such a
name would be inappropriate, was, as we have
seen, the Co-hon-go-roo-ta.
Patuxent means water flowing over mud.
Patapsco means water flowing over rocks.
* Campbell's History of Virginia, p. 193.
* Townsend's United States, pp. 57, 61, 63.
5 Brown's First Republic, p. 194.
3i6 The Forest Primeval
Pocomoke means broken by knobs or small
hills.
Shenandoah means the daughter of the stars. ^
Appalachian appears to signify those on the
other side.
Tennessee, from one of the Cherokee villages,
Tenas See, said to mean a curved spoon.
From Townsend, we learn that:
Accomac means land on the other side of the
water.
Aquia Creek means muddy creek.
Alleghany River means the river of the Alli-
ge-wi, a tribe which preceded the Delawares.
Chickahominy means turkey-lick.
Miami River means stony river.
Muskingum means elk's face.
Rappahannock means the river of quick
rising water. ^
Some of the Indian names for places and
streams in this part of the world, which they
called I-sen-a-com-ma-cah, were:
Pa-qua-chowng was their name for the region
known to us as the Falls of the James.
Accawmack was the name of the whole penin-
sula of the Eastern Shore. It was often spoken
of as the Kingdom of Accomack.
The Powhatan River is now the James River.
The Appamattuck still retains its name,
slightly altered in spelling.
* Irving's Lije of Washington, vol. i., p. 39.
' Townsend's United States, p. 82.
Some Indian Words 317
The Qui-yough-co-han-ock was Chipoak
Creek.
War-ras-quoy-ack Bay, pronounced War-
ris-queak, was the name for Burwell's Bay.
The Nansemond retains its name as a stream.
The Chesapeake River, or "brooke" as
Strachey calls it, is now the Elizabeth River.
The Chesapeake Bay retains its name.
The Chick-a-ham-a-ni-a retains its name
slightly altered into Chickahominy.
Ke-cough-tan, pronounced Kik-o-tan, is now
Hampton.
The Pamunck, or Pamunkey, is now the York.
Chin-quo-teck is now West Point.
The Yough-ta-mund is now the Pamunkey.
The Mat-ta-pa-ment is now the Mattapony.
The Pa-yan-ka-tank retains its name.
The 0-pis-cat-u-meck was later called by the
Indians the Top-pa-han-ock, then by the English
the Queen's River, and now is called the Rappa-
hannock.
The Pa-taw-o-meck was called by the English
the Elizabeth, and is now called the Potomac.
Its ancient Indian name appears to have been
the Co-hon-go-roo-ta.
The Qui-yough River is now Bull Run.
The Paw-tux-ent in Maryland retains its
name, slightly altered in spelling.
The Tock-wogh is now the Chester River.
The Wi-com-i-co River in Northumberland
County still retains its name.
Mob- jack Bay retains its name.
31 8 The Forest Primeval
On the Eastern Shore some of the Indian
names which have been preserved, on the ocean
side, are:
Chin-co-teague Bay, Inlet and Island.
As-sa-teague Island.
Me-tom-kin Inlet.
Wach-a-preague Inlet.
Great and Little Mach-i-pon-go Inlets.
Mock-om Island.
And on the Bay side, there are:
Mat-ta-wo-man Creek.
Nas-wad-dox Creek.
Oc-co-han-nock Creek, the dividing line be-
tween Northampton and Accomac.
Crad-dock Creek.
Nan-qua Creek.
Pun-go-teague Creek and Town.
0-nan-cock Creek and Town.
Ches-con-es-sex Creek.
Mes-son-go Creek.
Po-co-moke Sound and River.
Big An-ne-mes-sex River.
Man-o-kin River.
Wi-com-o-co River.
Nan-ti-coke River and Point.
Chop-tank River, formerly the Kus-car-a-wo-
ak.
Scattered through the eastern part of the
State, mainly, the following Indian names have
been retained:
Pungo, the name of a locality in Princess Anne.
Some Indian Words 319
Chuck-a-tuck in Nansemond.
Wash-i-kee in Greensville.
Po-quo-son and Mes-sick in York.
To-a-no in James City.
Nax-e-ra, Cap-pa-ho-sic, Wi-com-i-co, and
Za-no-ni in Gloucester.
Mis-kim-on and Co-an in Northumberland.
Mach-o-doc in Westmoreland.
Tap-pa-han-nock and Nan-lak-la in Essex.
Man-ta-pike and Pow-can in King and Queen.
Ro-man-coke, Man-quin, Man-go-hick, and
Co-ho-ke in King William.
Ma-to-a-ca and Win-ter-pock in Chesterfield.
Na-moz-ine Creek and Ro-wan-ta in Din-
widdie.
The Me-her-rin River and To-ta-no in Bruns-
wick.
Chap-ti-co, O-lo, No-go, Pu-pa, and the
Nottoway River in Lunenburg.
The Roanoke River in Mecklenburg.
Pas-sa-pa-tan-zy, A-qui-a, To-lu-ca, and
Potomac Creek in Stafford.
Quan-ti-co, Ne-abs-co, Ca-thar-pin, and Oc-
co-quan Creek in Prince William.
Ac-co-tink in Fairfax.
Kit-toc-ton Creek in Loudoun.
A-to-ka and So-we-go in Fauquier.
La-ko-ta in Culpeper.
Mas-sa-po-nax and Pan-i-en in Spottsylvania.
Nan-lak-i-a and Pas-sing in Caroline.
Tabs-cott, Lan-tan-a, Sha-ko, and Man-a-
kin in Goochland.
320 The Forest Primeval
Mat-to-ax in Amelia.
To-ro in Charlotte.
Or-rix in Bedford.
In the Valley of Virginia, the Shen-an-do-ah
River:
The Big Moc-ca-sin Creek in Scott.
Ca-taw-ba Creek in Roanoke and Botetourt.
The 0-pe-quan River, pronounced the
Opeckon, which forms the boundary between
Frederick and Clarke.
Row-an-ty and Sappony Creeks in Dinwiddie
and Sussex.
Seneca Creek in Campbell.
Shaddock's Creek in Southampton.
Shock-oe Creek in Pittsylvania, and Wa-qua
Creek in Brunswick.
Mountains which still bear their Indian
names are the Cacapon which form the western
boundary of Frederick, the Alleghanies, and the
whole Appalachian Range. Qui-ra-uk, the name
given by the Indians to the first settlers as that
of the Blue Ridge, has disappeared.
We have only one sample of Indian poetry,
and this is how we obtained it.
A slight advantage which the Indians once
gained in an encounter was the occasion of much
rejoicing on their part. They regarded it as a
great victory, and made it the subject of a scorn-
ful war-song of triumph. This remarkable pro-
duction is preserved for us by Strachey. He
tells us:
Some Indian Words 321
*'They have contrived a kind of angry song
against us, in their homely rhymes, which con-
cludeth with a kind of petition unto their Okeus,
and to all the host of their idols, to plague the
Tas-san-tas-ses' (for so they call us) and their
posterities; as likewise another scornful song
they made of us last year at the falls, in manner
of triumph, at what time they killed Captain
William West, our Lord General's nephew, and
two or three more, and took one Symon Skove,
a sailor, and one Cob, a boy, prisoners. That
song goeth thus:
" Mat-a-ne-rew sha-sha-she-waw e-ra-wan-go
pe-che-co-ma
Whe Tas-san-tas-sa in-o-shas-haw-ye-hoc-kan
po-co-sack:
Whe whe, yah ha-ha ne-he wit-to-wa, wit-to-wa.
" Mat-a-ne-rew sha-sha-she-waw e-ra-wan-go
pe-che-co-ma
Captain Newport m-o-shas-haw neir in-hoc na-
ti-an ma-tas-san:
Whe whe, yah ha-ha ne-he wit-to-wa, wit-to-wa.
" Mat-a-ne-rew sha-sha-she-waw e-ra-wan-go
pe-che-co-ma
Thomas Newport in-o-shas-haw neir in-hoc na-
ti-an mon-cock:
Whe whe, yah ha-ha, ne-he wit-to-wa, wit-to-wa.
^The word ut-tas-san-tas-so-wa-ih meant stranger. This name
which the Indians gave the English probably meant the strange
people, the foreigners.
la
Z'^^ The Forest Primeval
" Mat-a-ne-rew sha-sha-she-waw e-ra-wan-go
pe-che-co-ma
Po-chin Simon mo-sha-shaw nin-gon na-ti-an
mon-a-hack:
Whe whe, yah ha-ha ne-he wit-to-wa, wit-to-wa.
"Which may signify how they killed us for all
our poc-ca-sacks, that is our guns, and for all
that Captain Newport brought them copper,
and could hurt Thomas Newport (a boy whose
name indeed was Thomas Savage, who Captain
Newport leaving with Powhatan to learn the
language, at what time he presented the said
Powhatan with a copper crown, and other gifts
from his Majesty, said he was his son) for all his
mon-a-chock, that is his bright sword, and how
they could take Symon (for they seldom said
our surnames) prisoner for all his tam-a-hanke,
that is his hatchet, adding, as for a burden unto
their song, what lamentation our people made
when they killed him, namely, saying how they
would cry whe, whe, etc., which they mocked
us for, and cried again to us yah, ha, ha, Te-wit-
ta-wa, Te-wit-ta-wa ; for it is true they never
bemoan themselves nor cry out, giving up so
much as a groan for any death, how cruel soever
and full of torment. "'
Among the Indian words which were adopted
by the English and which are still in use are:
Pone, a word taken from their Op-pone, which
* Historic of TravaiUt etc., p. 79.
Some Indian Words 3^3
meant bread. It is used now generally in con-
nection with corn bread — a pone of corn bread.
Pocosin, land on which water stands in wet
weather. The word signifies dreary.
Persimmon, the well-known wild fruit.
Hickory, the tough wooded tree with which we
are familiar.
Chinkapin, the dwarf chestnut.
Opossum, or possum.
Raccoon, or coon.
Scuppernong, a sweet grape.
Hominy, the familiar article of food.
Barbecue, a word taken from their mode of
roasting fish and animals whole.
Succotash, a dish of corn and beans mixed.
Paw-waw-ing, a word which meant the con-
jurations of the priest, has been preserved with
an altered meaning.
Moccasin, the name of a deadly snake.
CHAPTER XX
THE TRIBES AND NATIONS
IT would probably be impossible to name all the
Indian tribes living in Virginia in 1607.
The division seems to have been, in some in-
stances, into very small units. The inhabitants
of one small village, being often spoken of as
a tribe. The great divisions were, in the east,
the Powhatan Confederacy, composed of many
tribes ; in the center of the State, the Man-a-kins
or Mon-a-cans, and the Man-nah-o-acs; still
farther to the west, in the mountainous part of
the State, were the Shaw-a-nese, the Cher-o-kees,
the Tus-ca-ro-ras, and others.
The center and heart of the Powhatan Con-
federacy was composed of the following six tribes,
whose sovereignty Powhatan had inherited.
These were his oldest and most faithful subjects.
They were the Powhatans, the Pa-mun-keys,
the Ar-ro-ha-tecks, the Ap-pa-mat-tucks, the
Yough-ta-munds, and the Mat-ta-pam-i-ents,
which we will now consider in order.
The Powhatans. This was Powhatan's own
personal tribe, and numbered forty warriors.
They lived on the north side of the James, in
324
The Tribes and Nations 325
Henrico County, near Richmond, which county
is full of their arrow- and spear-heads, their toma-
hawks, pottery, mortars, and pestles. In all of
his ancient, inherited, tribal headquarters, he
had houses built after their manner like arbors,
some thirty, some forty yards long, and at every
house provision was made for him according to
the time of his staying there. The King of this
tribe was Taux Pow-ha-tan, which means "Little
Powhatan, " one of the great Powhatan's sons. ^
Their chief town was named Powhatan, and
was situated at Mayo's.^
This tribe is mentioned in the acts in connec-
tion with the following transaction:
''Me-tap-pin a Powhatan Indian being sold
for lifetime to one Elizabeth Short by the King
of Wainoake Indians who had no power to sell
him being of another nation, it is ordered that
the said Indian be free, he speaking perfectly the
English tongue and desiring baptism." ^
Such references as this in the Acts of Assembly
which are given herein in connection with many
of the tribes, insignificant apparently in and by
themselves, yet serve not only to show the indi-
vidual existence of the tribes thus mentioned,
but they throw a strong light on the relations
between these tribes and the Virginians, and the
methods adopted by the Colonial Government
of dealing with them and their tribal lands. In
the case of some of the more obscure tribes these
» Smith, vol. i., pp. ii6, 142.
' Burk, vol. iii., p. 89. » 2 Hening, 155.
•
326 The Forest Primeval
references are practically the only authentic, or
easily accessible, authority we have to rely upon
for the recognition by the Colony of these tribes
as separate or distinct powers, at a time when the
Indians constituted a political and military force
which had to be reckoned with.
The Pa-mun-keys. Smith says, "Where the
river [the York] is divided, the country is
called Pamaunkee, and nourisheth near three
hundred able men." This description included
much of the area bounded by the Pamunkey and
the Mattapony rivers. Their wer-6-ance was
0-pe-chan-ca-nough, the most bitter and aggres-
sive of the enemies of the English. Their name
was originally borne by the noble York, and the
stream now called by their name was then
styled the Yough-i-a-nund. ^ Their chief town
was Ro-mun-cock. ""
0-pe-chan-ca-nough's two brothers assisted in
the government of this large tribe, and the three
are spoken of by Strachey as the triumviri of
that country.^
To write a history of the Pamunkeys would
involve much of the colonial history of Virginia.
They appear again and again upon its pages, and
in the acts of the General Assembly. For many
years they formed the heart and head of the
opposing power. Originating with its cunning
and relentless old king, and carried into execu-
tion in large part by their formidable warriors,
» Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 142. ^ Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
3 Historie oj Travaile into Virginia, p. 62.
The Tribes and Nations 327
were the massacres of 1622 and 1644. But they
finally became our alHes, and fought side by side
with us in our wars with other Indians.
This tribe, which is much older than the
Commonwealth or Colony of Virginia, is still in
existence, and forms an interesting link which
connects the present with the long forgotten past.
On September 5 th, 1908, the writer visited
the reservation of the Pamunkey tribe, in King
William County, about twenty-four miles east
of Richmond. He was met at White House
Station, on the Southern Railroad, by a member
of the tribe, Mr. S. J. Sweatt, who acted as guide,
and conducted him at once across the Pamunkey,
taking the railroad bridge and causeway, as the
nearest route. The causeway, which is a long
one, built across the original channel of the river,
was taken from the soil of the reservation.
The guide represented this as being an invasion
of their rights. He even said that they had had
trouble in preventing two burial grounds being
cut away for this work. They were saved, how-
ever, and stand out like little hills, on the green
sward which now covers the part dug away.
The railroad runs through the reservation,
nearly at its northern limit. The area of the
whole tract is now only some seven hundred or
eight hundred acres, having been subjected to
successive reductions.
Our first visit was to the chief of the tribe,
George Major Cooke. The chief was not at
home, he was engaged in one of the proper ways
f
328 The Forest Primeval
an Indian chief would be engaged — he was fishing.
Promises were held out to us that he would
return in a short time, and meanwhile we were
introduced to his squaw, his papooses, and his
wigwam.
His squaw, in whom we viewed the successor
to the queens of Pamunkey, is a typical Indian,
in middle life, thin, and then engaged, for it was
still early, in the affairs of housekeeping. Her
name is Theodora Octavia Cooke, which com-
pound of Greek, Latin, and English could hardly
be considered as appropriate to her as would have
been one of her own language. Around her was
a goodly set of little Indians, but the two oldest
sons were absent, being off with their father
fishing, these two were Major Thomas Cooke,
twenty years old, and Ottigney Pontiac Cooke,
aged eighteen. With their mother were George
Theo Cooke, a fine-looking young Pamunkey of
seventeen, Captola Eulalia Cooke, a pretty girl
of fifteen, Tecumseh Deerfoot Cooke, a hand-
some little fellow of eight, Dora Laughingwater
Cooke, an attractive little girl of five, and
Pocahontas Tarquinas Cooke, a sweet and pretty
baby of two.
The house of the chief was a good-sized frame
building, with outhouses and garden, and one
of the first one meets with on entering the
reservation. In this could be seen some pottery
and bead-work, made by the members of the
family. The pottery was all pipes, various de-
vices being presented, such as the terrible war-
The Tribes and Nations 329
rior's head, the tomahawk, canoe, and other
shapes. The bead-work was very pretty, taking
the shape of women's belts, necklaces, and fobs.
While these things were being examined, our
guide had gone to his house, which was not far
distant, and now returned with a buggy, rather
the worse for wear, drawn by a small, claybank
horse. With this locomotive equipment we set
off at a brisk trot, to view the reservation.
Our road was always down some green lawn,
about thirty feet wide, bordered by cornfields,
and enclosed by fences. These roadways were
kept as a common of pasture by the tribe. The
ruts cut by the carriages did not much disfigure
them, and the general appearance of the whole
place was made picturesque by these long
stretches of green grass.
The place is called "Indian Town,'' and of
course one would naturally expect to find at
least one cluster of houses, to which the name
would more particularly apply. But there is
none such. The "Town'* is a collection of small
farms, ranging from ten to twelve acres, or
thereabouts, in area. A large part of the reser-
vation is still forest. The settlement gives one
the impression of a well-populated rural neigh-
borhood, the several houses being so near to each
other, that from any one, you would be able
to see probably three or four others. All are
of frame, and most below the general average of
size and appointment found among the smaller of
the white farmers, although all are framed accord-
f
330 The Forest Primeval
ing to our general plans for such structures.
Two were of two stories, and pretty good houses,
but most are very small.
The cultivation of the land is the real support
of these people. They still do a little hunting
and fishing, but their territory has been so much
reduced, and their right to roam, fish, and hunt
in the neighborhood has been so curtailed, that
this source of income can only be considered as
an occasional addition to their more sure support,
which is derived from tilling the soil, over which
their warlike ancestors roamed at will.
The tribe is now reduced to about one hundred
and ten, and there are some twenty-five of their
houses on the reservation. Of these, about five
are now unoccupied. The land belongs to the
State of Virginia, held in trust by it for the tribe
as a whole. No one thus owns any part of the
soil in severalty. The various tracts are assigned
to the head of a family for his life. The house
is built at his expense, and is his property. If
he die leaving a family, it will be allowed to re-
main in the possession of his widow or son, the
youngest being preferred, if of suflScient age, and
if he have the desire to continue to occupy it.
The theory is, that every one must have a suflS-
cient piece of land, and if there should be a de-
mand made by a member, who was unprovided
with land, if necessary, a part would be taken
from him who held the largest piece.
We stopped on the roadside a Mr. Bradby, the
former chief. He was very affable, his large
The Tribes and Nations 331
round face smiling beneath a torn, straw hat.
He looked the picture of health, but not particu-
larly Indian. He was impressed with the need
of education for his tribe, and thought that with
better facilities, his brethren might distinguish
themselves at the bar, in medicine, or other such
liberal calling.
We visited several families. They received
us very politely, were thoroughly friendly, and
seemed to be pleased at the interest which they
felt the outside world took in them. One of the
most agreeable and interesting was a tall, and
very powerful man, Mr. Samson, who, at ten in
the morning, was sitting on his front porch shav-
ing before a small round mirror, of a very irregular
surface, hung up on the front of the house. He
wore a small black moustache, but for all that,
was an Indian all over. He was clad in a thick
gray undershirt, corduroy pants, and rubber
boots, though the day was dry and warm.
His house he had built with his own hands. It
had two rooms which were just about large
enough for him to move around in. He was
a merry bachelor, possibly sixty years old, but
who looked fifteen years younger. He did not
know how old he was. When asked how he, so
good looking a man, had escaped the fascinations
of the fair sex, he laughed very heartily. His
general defense for his conduct was that the
women now were not what they used to be ; they
seemed to be of so much more flippant a nature
than formerly, and not half so fond of hard work.
332 The Forest Primeval
Mr. Samson did not seem to think, that in losing
one of these modern helpmeets he had lost much,
but yet, the possibilities of matrimony he still
considered within his reach.
One old woman we called upon, the oldest
member of the settlement, and who lived in one
of the two best houses, was feeling so unwell that
we did not stay long. She was about eighty
years old. We found her sitting by a little wood
fire, with a sunbonnet on. She had felt very
cold in the early morning, and was still suffering,
so we thought it kindness to leave her.
At every house was to be seen one or more
guns. One family was cutting up apples to dry.
Another was getting ready to move to New York
where the father worked, the family coming
down to Pamunkey during the school vacation
season. This family had a very new house,
which presented quite a contrast to most of the
others. The mother of this family was a Chicka-
hominy Indian. One of their daughters, who was
present, was a buxom young squaw, very fair,
and still attending school. When looking at
her, we could not help thinking of the lonely, but
very happy, Mr. Samson, who lived just a little
bit down the road.
The guide thought the chief had probably
caught enough fish by this time, so we drove
down the verdant thoroughfares towards his
home. These thoroughfares were soft enough
for the horses feet, and pleasant enough to drive
over, but they were not kept in the best condition.
The Tribes and Nations 333
Little labor seems to ever have been bestowed
upon them. Where a lagoon passes across the
road, it simply stays there; no effort is made to
bridge it, nor fill up the road. At one place, a
broad and deep pond occupied the road for some
distance. Our driver calmly drove down into it,
and kept going until he pulled up out of it, on
the other side. All this had the charm of being
just so perfectly natural.
When we reached the chief's house, we found
that he had returned, and, having received the
letters of introduction which we had left for him,
he was very affable. He was tall, rather thin, a
typical looking Indian, in appearance not an
unworthy successor of 0-pe-chan-ca-nough and
Tot-to-pot-to-moy. Being asked if he minded
having his photograph taken, he complained a
little of the way he had to sit for pictures of
which he never got a copy. But we promised
to give him a copy of this picture, if he would
honor us with a sitting. The question of cos-
tume then came up. The chief had been exhib-
ited at the Jamestown Exposition, and, in order
to present a proper appearance, had let his hair
grow long, and has not cut it since. He prompt-
ly decided that his separate, individual picture
he would have taken in costume, so, arranged in
all the regalia of deerskin and beads, armed with
spear, bow, arrows, and tomahawk, he stood in
solitary grandeur while a kodak was snapped in
front of him. And then, a group-picture, in his
ordinary costume had to be taken, so the chief
334 The Forest Primeval
and his squaw, sitting side by side, surrounded
by six of their offspring, were similarly tortured.
The guide, who was the second Pamunkey
husband of a white woman, now took us to his
house, one of the best on the reservation, where
the writer was presented to this fair admirer of
the Pamunkeys. She was a very nice looking
young woman, with as dark complexion as many
of the Indians. The house was surrounded by
flowers, and presented a very tidy appearance.
There are onl^^ two houses of a public character
on the reservation, the schoolhouse, a little,
whitewashed affair, so small that you would
never think it a public building, and the church.
This latter is prettily situated in a tall grove of
trees, and is of a respectable size. The Pamun-
keys are all Baptists ; Okee's reign is ended.
The authority of the chief, who is elected by
the tribe, is more persuasive than otherwise. He
is the titular head of the tribe, decides disputes
on the reservation, keeps order, and represents
the tribe in all its public affairs. Associated
with him is a council of four.
The tribe pays no taxes to the State of Vir-
ginia, except the tribute imposed upon it in the
early days of the settlement, when it became
tributary to the English, acknowledging the
superiority of the Crown of Great Britain. This
tribute consists in game, which the chief delivers
each year to the Governor of Virginia, at the
State capitol, on New Year's day. According
to the varying circumstances of the chase, it may
The Home of a Pamunkey Indian
The Tribes and Nations 335
be a deer, a wild turkey, ducks, or fish. The
local tax imposed upon each man of the tribe is
the sum of one dollar. The chief receives no
salary, and this fund goes for other general
purposes.
Little of the aboriginal Indian appears to-day
in the settlement, for the houses, furniture, and
costume correspond to those of the neighborhood,
but the Indian physiognomy is presented per-
fectly in many cases, and these Pamunkeys, if
dressed in the costume of their ancestors, could
not be distinguished from those met with in
1607.
Their customs of marriage, and all such im-
portant matters, are now in conformity with
Virginia law. The authority of the chief extends
to the adjustment of small difficulties arising
in the settlement, but punishment for homicide
would be meted out by the regular courts of the
Commonwealth. The chief has no sufficient
force at his disposal to cope with such serious
difficulties.
The Pamunkeys consider themselves a poor
people. Their cultivation of the soil is fairly
good, corn and peas being their chief products
but they are not large proprietors, and they have
to plant the same field over and over again
allowing the land no time to rest. Many have
gone outside for employment. The population
of the tribe is about at a standstill. No mar-
riages are now contracted with any but other
Indians, or white people, the Pamunkeys holding
33^ The Forest Primeval
themselves, as they do, superior to the colored
people. The Indian type, presented by all the
children the writer saw, was very distinct.
This little settlement represents the largest or-
ganized body of the formerly large number of
Virginia Indians. As such, a deep historic
interest attaches to them, not only for what they
immediately represent, but also as constituting
an exception to the general scheme of the con-
struction of society, as at present organized;
for here, on the banks of the river Pamunkey,
there still exists tribal government.
The Mat-ta-po-nys. These lived on the river
now named after them, but which was originally
called the Mat-ta-pa-ment, in what is now King
William or King and Queen County. Their King
was Wer-o-waugh. ' They numbered one hundred
and forty, and could muster thirty warriors.^
They are said to have been a branch of the
Pamunkeys.
This tribe was also called the Mat-ta-pam-i-
ents or Mat-ta-pa-ments.
The following measure passed in 1662 shows
that the Virginians were always ready to do
justice to these people:
"It is ordered by the assembly that Lieuten-
ant Colonel Goodridge be summoned to appear
before the honorable governor and council at
next quarter court to answer the complaint of
the king of the Mat-ta-po-ny Indians concerning
' History of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 62.
» Smith, vol. i., p. 117.
6
o
The Tribes and Nations 337
the burning of his EngHsh house/ and that the
said Indian king have notice given him to be
present." ^
This tribe is also yet in existence and occupies
a reservation in King WilHam County. They
number in all about fifty.
In 1894, trustees were appointed for the Mat-
ta-po-ni tribe in King William County: "Said
trustees shall be governed by the laws now in
force in regard to Indians and their reservations
in this State; and, further, shall have the right
upon the vote of the majority of the trustees, and
also a majority of the members of the tribe
above twenty-one years of age, to expel from
their reservation any person who has no right
upon said reservation, or any member of the
tribe who shall be guilty of any unlawful offense :
provided that any person expelled from said
reservation shall have the right of appeal to the
county court of King William from the decision
of the trustees and the members of the tribe. " ^
The Ar-ro-ha-tecks. These lived in Henrico,
a little below the Powhatans. Their military
force was thirty warriors. The chief was Ash-
u-a-quid. "^
Their chief town was Ar-ro-ha-teck.^
The Ap-po-ma-tucks. This tribe lived on the
river of that name, in Chesterfield County, and
counted sixty warriors. Their wer-6-ance was
« House built after the English method. ' 2 Hening, 155.
3 Acts 1893-4, p. 973; 1895-6, p. 923.
< Smith, vol. i., pp. 1 16, 1 17, 142. s Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
22
338 The Forest Primeval
Co-quona-sum. It was the Queen of this tribe
who was appointed to bring Captain Smith water
to wash his hands with, when he was carried cap-
tive before Powhatan. Their chief town was at
Bermuda Hundred, near Petersburg/ It was
assauhed by Sir Thomas Dale in December, i6i i,
in revenge for some injuries done by them, and
taken without the loss of a man.^ They were
bitter enemies of the English, and were among
those against whom Bacon conducted his
campaign in 1676.
Over one of the small villages of this tribe
ruled a sister of Co-quo-na-sum. In 1610 she
lured fourteen of the English into her town, in-
sisting upon their leaving their guns in the boat.
The women were afraid of them, she said. The
English were slaughtered to a man. In revenge,
the town was burned, and many of the Indians
slain. 3
The Yough-ta-munds, also written Yough-i-a-
nunds. They lived on the headwaters of the
Pamunkey, which in that part bore this name,
probably in Hanover County, or on the south
side of the York, possibly in both places. The
word "yough" in Indian meant four. We may
surmise from this fact, that this tribe was a
composite one."^
This tribe once numbered seventy, and its
wer-6-ance was Po-mis-ca-tuck.^
* Smith, vol. i., pp. ii6, 117, 142, 162; Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
^ Stith, p. 124. 3 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 56.
"Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 142.
s Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 62.
The Tribes and Nations 339
These six were the inherited tribes, the follow-
ing were added to them, by the conquests or
diplomacy of Powhatan.
We will first take the tribes on the James, or
its tributaries and connections. They were:
The We-an-ocks. These lived in Charles
City, Prince George and Surry counties, and
claimed one hundred warriors. Their King
was Ka-quoth-o-cun, ' and their chief town,
Wey-o-noke.""
This tribe is mentioned in the acts. It was
their king who illegally sold the Powhatan
Indian, already mentioned.
They are again mentioned in the acts, in 1693,
when the Surry County Court was ordered "to
assign a particular mark to each of the towns of
the Weyonock Indians" by which all their hogs
were to be marked, and providing penalties for
purchasing any not properly marked.^
The Pas-pa-heghs. This tribe lived in James
City and Charles City counties, and in their
territory Jamestown was located. They num-
bered forty warriors, and their wer-6-ance was
Wo-chin-cho-punck. Their chief town was at
Sandy Point, on the James. Wo-chin-cho-punck
violently resented the intrusion of the English
into his territories. He was taken prisoner by
Captain Smith, and carried to Jamestown."^ He
escaped, and was finally killed by the English,
on February 9, 1610.
» Smith, vol. i., p. Ii6. * Btwk, vol, iii., p. 89.
33 Hening, 109. < Smith, vol. i., p. 223.
340 The Forest Primeval
Captain Smith tells us that he kept "the king
of Pas-pa-hegh in shackles, and put his men to
double tasks in chains, till nine and thirty of
their kings paid us contribution, and the offend-
ing savages sent to Jamestown, to punish at our
own discretion: in the two years I stayed there,
I had not a man slain." '
The king of this tribe had certainly good
ground for his opposition to the Jamestown set-
tlement. We are told of those who held Smith
in captivity: "Much they threatened to assault
our fort, as they were solicited by the king of
Pas-pa-hegh, who showed at our fort great signs
of sorrow for this mischance." ""
The story of the death of this chief is thus
told us by Strachey:
" Wo-chin-cho-punck, wer-6-ance of Pas-pa-
hegh, onwhom on the 9th of February, 1 6 10, whilst
he, with a company of his people, was attempting
some practice upon our old blockhouse at James-
town, and had been for the same sulking about
there some two or three days and nights. Cap-
tain George Percy, governor of the town, sent
forth Ensign Powell and Ensign Waller to make
surprise of him, if they could possibly, and bring
him alive into the town ; but they not finding him
at any such advantage, yet loath to loose him,
or let him escape altogether, set upon him (he
being one of the mightiest and strongest savages
that Powhatan had under him, and was therefore
one of his champions, and one who had killed
» Smith, vol. ii., p. lOo. ' Smith's True Relation^ p. 28.
The Tribes and Nations 341
treacherously many of our men, as he could be-
guile them, or as he, at any time found them by
chance single in the woods, strayed beyond the
command of the blockhouse), and Powell run-
ning upon him, thrust him twice through the
body with an arming sword"; howbeit, his people
came in so fast, and shot their arrows so thick,
as our men being unarmed^ (in their doublets^
and hose"^ only) and without pieces,^ were fain
to retire whilst the Indians recovered the wer-6-
ance's body, and carried it away, with a mighty
quickness and speed of foot, and with a horrible
yell and howling ; howbeit, the lieutenant of the
blockhouse, one Puttock, followed hard and
over-reached one of the cro-nock-o-es, or chief
men, and, closing with him, overthrew him, and,
with his dagger, sent him to accompany his
master in the other world/' ^
The Or-zi-nies. This tribe dwelt upon the
north bank of the Chickahominy. The name
of their village appears on the map as 0-ze-nick,
in James City County. Their wer-6-ance was
Kis-san-a-co-men. They were of an independ-
ent nature, and resented, and resisted, the pay-
ment of the tribute of corn, when demanded by
Sir George Yeardley, after the departure of Sir
Thomas Dale/
The Chick-a-hom-i-nys. This tribe lived on
» A sword made especially for use in battle.
' Without their armor.
3 An outer body-garment worn by men.
* A man's garment covering the legs and waist. s Firearms.
* Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p, 59. ' Stith, p. 140.
f
342 The Forest Primeval
the river named after them in New Kent County.
They occupied a pecuHar position of independ-
ence. At one time they were under Powhatan's
authority, but freed themselves from it, and
made treaties with the English on their own
account, containing stipulations for their pro-
tection against him. They are described as a
"dogged nation,'' who were too well acquainted
with our wants, refusing to trade, with as much
scorn and insolency as they could express. They
had over three hundred warriors.'
Their chief town was Or-a-pax.""
Stith gives us this account of this tribe;
writing of the year 16 14, after the marriage
of Rolfe and Pocahontas:
"The Chick-a-hom-i-nies were a stout, daring
and free people. They had no wer-6-ance, or
single ruler, but were governed, in a republican
form, by their elders. These were their priests,
and some of the wisest of their old men, as
assistants to them. In consequence of these
principles of government, they took all oppor-
tunities of shaking off Powhatan's yoke, whom
they looked upon and hated, as a tyrant. And,
therefore, they had taken advantage of these late
times of hostility and danger as well to the In-
dians as to the English, to assert their liberty.
But now, seeing Powhatan so closely linked with
the English, both in affinity and friendship, they
were in great concern and dread, lest he should
* Smith, vol. i., pp. ii6, 193; vol. ii., pp. 16-17.
* Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
The Tribes and Nations 343
bring them again to his subjection. To prevent
which, they sent ambassadors to Sir Thomas
Dale; excusing all former injuries, and promising
ever after to be King James's faithful subjects:
That they would relinquish the name of Chick-a-
hom-i-nies, and be called Tas-san-tes-sus, or
Englishmen, and that Sir Thomas Dale should
be their governor, as the King's deputy. Only
they desired to be governed by their own laws,
under their eight elders, as his substitutes.
*^ Sir Thomas Dale, hoping for some advantage
from this, willingly accepted their offer. At the
day appointed, with Captain Argall and fifty
men, he went to Chick-a-hom-i-ny ; where he
found the people assembled, expecting his com-
ing. They treated him kindly; and the next
morning, having held a council, the peace was
concluded on these conditions:
"That they should forever be called English-
men, and be true subjects to King James and his
deputies ;
"That they should neither kill, nor detain,
any of the English, or of their cattle, but should
bring them home;
"That they should be always ready, to fur-
nish the English with three hundred men, against
the Spaniards, or any other enemy;
"That they should not enter any of the Eng-
lish towns, before sending in word, that they
were new Englishmen ;
"That every fighting man, at gathering their
corn, should bring two bushels to the store, as
344 The Forest Primeval
a tribute; for which he should receive as many
hatchets:
"That the eight chief men should see all this
performed, or receive the punishment themselves ;
and for their diligence, they should have a red
coat, a copper chain, and King James's picture
and be accounted his nobleman. " '
We have the following references and provi-
sions in regard to them in the Acts of 1660:
"Upon the petition of Harquip the Mangoi
of the Chickahomini Indians to have all the lands
from Mr. Mallory's bounds to the head of Matta-
poni River and into the woods to the Pamunkeys,
it is accordingly ordered that the said land be
confirmed to the said Indians by patent, and that
no Englishman shall upon any pretense disturb
them in their said bounds, nor purchase it of
them unless the major part of the great men shall
freely and voluntarily declare their consent in
the quarter court or assembly.
"Whereas a certain grant hath been made to
the Chickahomini Indians of certain lands in
which tract Major-General Manwaring Hamond
claimeth a divident "■ of two thousand acres
granted him by patent, it is ordered, that the
said Major-General Hamond be desired to pur-
chase the same of the Indians or to procure their
consent, for the preservation of the country's
honor and reputation." ^
* Stith, pp. 130, 131, 140, 149. " Dividend, a share or portion.
» A case of conflicting patents in which the English claimant is
virtually ordered to make terms with the Indians in a manner satis-
factory to them.
The Tribes and Nations 345
"Harquip, mangoi of the Chickahomini In-
dians, in behalf of himself and the other Indians
the fourth day of April, 1661, did acknowledge
before the grand assembly the sale of a parcel of
land from the cliffs to the little creek to Mr.
Philip Mallory, being formerly surveyed by
Lt.-Col. Abrahall, and James Cole, containing
seven hundred forty-three acres according to
a survey of the same made for the said Mr.
Mallory by George Morris the twentieth of June
last." '
We have the following reference to them in
1662: "Whereas information hath been made
that one Edward Dennis hath, without title or
claim, seated himself in the Indian town of
Chickahomini; it is therefore ordered that the
said honorable the governor be pleased to send
his warrant for the said Dennis, and as he finds
occasion to give order for his continuance or
removal. " ^
Members of this tribe still survive. As
mentioned in the account of the Pamunkeys, one
of the women met there, who had married into
that tribe, was herself spoken of, and recognized
as being originally Chickahomini.
The Qui-yong-he-o-han-ocks, also called
the Tap-pa-han-nas. They lived in Surry and
Prince George counties, and claimed sixty war-
riors. They are spoken of as " a small nation of
Indians seated on the south side of the James,
about ten miles above Jamestown. " Their chief
» 2 Hening, 34, 35, 39. » Ibid., 161.
34^ The Forest Primeval
was Pe-pis-cu-mah, also called Pe-pis-co. "This
good king did ever affect the English above all
others; and although he was very zealous to his
false gods, yet he confessed, that the English
God as much exceeded his, as their guns did his
bow and arrows ; and in time of drought he would
often send presents to Captain Smith, to pray to
his god for rain. " '
The chief town was about Upper Chipoak
Creek.''
There is a romance about Pe-pis-co. He fell
in love with, and stole away from the terrible
0-pe-chan-ca-nough, one of his " chief women. "
For this offense, Powhatan deposed him from
being wer-6-ance of this tribe, and put in his
place, one of his sons, Tat-a-co-pe, then an infant,
with his mother 0-ho-lasc, as regent.
Pe-pis-co was suffered to remain in the coun-
try, and retained a little village upon the James,
with some few people about him. He lost his
kingdom, but he kept the woman he loved.
Strachey tells us about this love affair. He says
he made her "his best beloved," and that "she
travels with him upon any remove, in hunting
time, or in his visitation of us, by which means,
twice or thrice in a summer, she hath come unto
our town; nor is so handsome a savage woman
as I have seen amongst them, yet, with a kind of
pride, can take upon her a show of greatness;
for we have seen her forbear to come out of her
* Smith, vol. i., p. ii6; Stith, p. 99.
2 Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
The Tribes and Nations 347
quintan or boat through the water, as the others,
both maids and married women, usually do,
unless she were carried forth between two of
her servants. I was once early at her house (it
being summer time), when she was laid without
doors, under the shadow of a broad-leaved tree,
upon a pallet of osiers,' spread over with four or
five gray mats, herself covered with a fair white
dressed deer skin or two; and when she rose, she
had a maid who fetched her a frontal ^ of white
coral and pendants of great but imperfect colored
and worst drilled pearls, which she put into her
ears, and a chain, with long links of copper which
they call Tap-o-an-tam-i-na-is, and which came
twice or thrice about her neck, and they account
a jolly ^ ornament; and sure thus attired with
some variety of feathers and flowers stuck in their
hair they seem as debonaire, quaint, and well
pleased as (I wist) a daughter of the house of
Austria behune"^ with all her jewels; likewise her
maid fetched her a mantel, which they call put-
ta-wus, which is like a side cloak, made of blue
feathers, so artificially^ and thick sewed together,
that it seemed like a deep purple satin, and is
very smooth and sleek ; and after she brought her
water for her hands, and then a branch or two
of fresh green asshen^ leaves, as for a towel to
dry them. " ^
* Dried willow branches. ' An ornament for the forehead.
3 Beautiful. 4 Bedecked,
s Made with so much art or skill. ^ Ash.
' Strachey, History of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 57-8.
34^ The Forest Primeval
The War-as-coy-acks. These hved in Isle of
Wight County, and could muster sixty fighting
men. Their chief was Tac-kon-e-kin-ta-co.
They appear frequently in the early history.
Living on the same river, and between James-
town and the sea, the settlers were forever
passing by their territory. The king of this
tribe gave Captain Smith kindly warning against
Powhatan, when Smith was on his way to pay
him a visit, telling him that Powhatan meant to
kill him.
The name is pronounced War-ris-queek.
The following account of an incident in con-
nection with this tribe and its wer-6-ance is
preserved by Strachey:
"Tac-kon-e-kin-ta-co, an old wer-6-ance of
Warraskoyack, whom Captain Newport brought
prisoner with his son Tangoit about 1610, to our
lord general,' lying then at Point Comfort, and
whom again his lordship released upon promises
and a solemn contract, made by the old man, to
exchange with his lordship, after he should have
gathered in his harvest, in August following,
five hundred bushels of wheat, beans, and peas,
for copper, beads, and hatchets; and for the
better color (carrying away his son) and left a
nephew (as he said) of his with his lordship, as a
pawn Or hostage, until the performance; how-
beit, the imposture nephew, privy beforehand
to the falsehood of the old man, watching his op-
portunity, leapt overboard one night (being kept
' Lord De la War.
The Tribes and Nations 349
in the Delazvar^)] and to be more sure of him
at that time, fettered both legs together, and put
a sea gown^ upon him, yet he adventured to get
clear by swimming, and either to recover the
south shore, or to sink in the attempt. Which
of either was his fortune we know not, only (if
he miscarried) we never found his body nor
gown, and the Indians of Warraskoyack would
oftentimes afterward mock us, and call to us
for him, and at length make a great laughter, and
tell us he was come home; how true or false is no
great matter; but indeed the old king, after that
time, refused to perform the former bargain,
for which his lordship, to give them to under-
stand how he would not be so dealt withal, sent
forth two companies, those of his lordship's
own company, under the command of Captain
Brewster, and some seamen, under Captain
Argall, who fell upon two towns of his, and
burnt them to the ground, with all their goodly
furniture of mats and dishes, wooden pots and
platters, for of this sort is all their goodly epi-
trapezia^ or vessels belonging to their use for the
table, or what else.""^
In 1623, the tribe was attacked for the partici-
pation it had taken in the massacre of 1622.^
And later, a fort, or "castle," was built by the
English within its borders/
» The ship named after Lord De la War.
* A skirted garment or wrapper meant to be worn at sea.
3 Things put upon the table.
4 Strachey, History of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 58-9.
s Smith, vol. i., pp. 116, 180. ^ stith, pp. 303, 322.
350 The Forest Primeval
The tribe gave its name to one of the origi-
nal eight counties into which the colony was
divided.
The principal village of this tribe was War-as-
coy-ack." This was in the neighborhood of
Smithfield.
The Nan-se-monds. This was a large tribe,
living in the county named for them. They
had two hundred warriors, and four wer-6-ances,
Wey-ho-ho-mo, Am-e-pet-ough, Wey-on-gop-o,
and Tirch-tough.^
The following incident is told of them. In
order to keep things quiet at Jamestown, Cap-
tain Smith sent one Martin off to make a settle-
ment at Nan-se-mond. "That nation, having
been reduced to subjection and contribution
used him kindly; yet such was his unreasonable
jealousy^ and fear, that he surprised"^ the poor
naked king, and his monuments^ and houses,
with the island, wherein he lived, and there
fortified himself. But the Indians soon perceiv-
ing his fear and distraction, ventured to assault
him; and they killed several of his men, released
their king, and gathered and carried off a
thousand bushels of corn ; whilst he, in the mean-
time, never once offered to intercept them but
sent to the President,^ then at the Falls,^ for
» Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
* Smith, vol. i., p. 116; Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 59.
3 Distrust of the Indians. ^ Attacked without warning,
s The houses in which were deposited the embalmed remains of
the Indian kings.
^ Captain Smith. ' The falls of the James.
The Tribes and Nations 351
thirty soldiers. These were presently sent him
from Jamestown. "'
Their chief town was Nan-se-mond, situated
on the river of that name, about the mouth of
West Branch.^
In 1816, new trustees were appointed for the
Nansemonds. These were empowered to make
reasonable rules and regulations for the govern-
ment of the tribe and the expenditure of the
money held in trust for them. This was to
continue so long as the tribe had any members
still living. Any funds remaining were to be
paid into the public treasury.^
The Ches-a-peaks. This tribe live in Norfolk
and Princess Anne Counties, and according to
Smith, in his day, numbered one hundred
warriors."^
The tribe took its name, which means The
Mother of Waters, from the bay and river which
bordered its territories. The bay has kept its
original name, but the Chesapeake River is now
called the Elizabeth.^
Lane, who visited this tribe in 1585, said that
''the territory and soil of the Ches-e-pe-ans
(being distant fifteen miles from the shore), for
pleasantness of seat, for temperature of climate,
for fertility of soil, and for the commodity of the
sea, besides multitudes of bears (being an excel-
lent good victual), and great woods of sassa-
' Stith, p. 104. ' Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
3 Acts 1816-17, p. 174. < Smith, vol. i., p. 116.
5 Stith, pp. 13, 73.
352 The F'orest Primeval
fras and walnut trees, are not to be excelled by
any other whatsoever. ''
The names of three of the towns of this tribe
are known to us : Ap-a-sus, situated on the west-
ern side of the mouth of the Lynnhaven River;
Ches-a-pi-ooc, on the western bank of that
stream something more than half way to its
source, and Ski-co-ak, situated on the eastern
side of the Elizabeth River, on the site of the
City of Norfolk. All were palisadoed as they
appear on White and de Bry's map made in
connection with the Roanoke Island settlement.
Ski-co-ak is mentioned in the earliest of all
the accounts. Captain Barlow, in his report to
Raleigh of the voyage made in 1584, says, meas-
uring from Pom-e-i-ock: "Six days' journey
from the same is situated their [the Indians']
greatest city, called Ski-co-ak, which this people
[those of Roanoke Island] affirm to be very
great; but the savages were never at it, only
they speak of it by the report of their fathers and
other men, whom they have heard affirm it to
be above one hour's journey about it."
Lane also in speaking of this region said that
the place of greatest strength of the king who
ruled here was "an island, situate in a bay, the
water round about the island very deep."
From the geography of this region it would ap-
pear that this must refer to the same place.
A great Indian town therefore once existed
here, but the later writers. Smith stating the
military strength of this tribe at only one
The Tribes and Nations 353
hundred, and Burk/ saying that the principal
town of this tribe was about Lynnhaven, which
would make it either Ap-a-sus or Ches-a-pi-ooc
instead of Ski-co-ak, are explained by a state-
ment in Strachey.^ He tells us of the prophecy,
already mentioned, made by the Indian priests
to Powhatan, that from the east, through the
Chesapeake Bay, a people would arise which
would destroy his empire. He therefore, among
others, waged war upon and destroyed the Chesa-
peaks, fearful of everything and everybody in
that region.
Ski-co-ak, no doubt, at this time fell and its
greatness vanished. In Strachey's time, he
says, that the Indians who then occupied this
territory were "new inhabitants," Powhatan
having peopled the conquered territory with
those on whom he could rely.
The Ke-cough-tans. These Indians lived in
Elizabeth City County, their chief town being
Ros-cows at, or near, Hampton. They had once
been a large and powerful tribe, but had been
reduced by war to twenty.^
Strachey gives us this account of the land of
the Ke-cough-tans, which, including as it does
Hampton and Old Point Comfort, is of more than
ordinary importance:
"Po-chins, one of Powhatan's sons at Ke-
cough-tan, was the young wer-6-ance there at the
« Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
* Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 105.
3 Smith, vol. i., p. 116; Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.,
83
I
354 The Forest Primeval
same time when Sir Thomas Gates, Heutenant-
general, took possession of it. It is an ample and
fair country indeed, an admirable portion of
land, comparatively high, wholesome, and fruit-
ful; the seat sometimes of a thousand Indians
and three hundred Indian houses, and those
Indians, as it may well appear, better husbands'
than in any part else that we have observed,
which is the reason that so much ground is there
cleared and opened, enough, with little labor
already prepared, to receive corn, or make vine-
yards of two or three thousand acres : and where,
beside, we find many fruit-trees, a kind of goose-
berry, cherries, and other plums, the maricock,*
apple, and many pretty copsies or boskes (as
it were) of mulberry trees, and is (indeed) a
delicate and necessary seat for a city or chief
fortification, being so near (within three miles
by water) the mouth of our bay, and is well
appointed a fit seat for one of our chief com-
manders.
"Upon the death of an old wer-6-ance of this
place, some fifteen or sixteen years since (being
too powerful neighbors to side^ the great Pow-
hatan), it is said Powhatan, taking the advan-
tage, subtly stepped in and conquered the
people, killing the chief and most of them, and
the reserved he transported over the river,
craftily changing their seat and quartering them
» Husbandmen.
' The maracock is the passion-flower. The fruit is of the size
and color of a pomegranate. ' To be by the side of.
The Tribes and Nations 355
amongst his own people, until now at length the
remainder of those living have with much suit
obtained of him Pa-yan-ka-tanck, which he not
long since (as you have heard likewise) dispeopled.
They might have made of able men for the wars,
thirty.
>»i
On the York, the former "River of Pamun-
key,'' were the following:
The Wer-o-wo-co-mo-cos. Thus were called
those living at this place, which is the best known
Indian settlement in Virginia, being "the chief
place of council," and Powhatan's favorite
residence. It was in Gloucester County, on the
north side of the York, and is thus spoken of by
Smith: "About twenty-five miles lower on the
north side of this river is Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co,
where their great king inhabited when I was
delivered him prisoner; yet there are not past
forty able men. '' "* Smith is here not narrating
his captivity, but the tribes in Virginia.
The principal town of this tribe was Wer-o-
wo-co-mo-co, near Rosewell.^
The Kis-ki-acks. This tribe lived on the
south side ofthe York, nearly opposite Wer-o-wo-
co-mo-co. They numbered forty or fifty men.
Their wer-6-ance was Ot-ta-ho-tin. This place
was one of Powhatan's strongholds. ^ The name
of this tribe was afterwards corrupted by the
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 60.
" Smith, vol. i., p. 117.
3 Burk, vol. iii., p. 89. 4 Smith, vol. 1., pp. 117, 206.
356 The Forest Primeval
English into Cheesecake, and so appears in the
acts of the Grand Assembly.'
Their principal town was Kis-ki-ack, in York
County.^
We have the following references to them in
the early acts:
"Considering the great use and benefit the
country may enjoy from the Chess-koi-ack
Indians being kindly used by us, and being
sensible that with the few guns they have amongst
them they cannot prejudice us being a small,
inconsiderable nation, it is ordered by the
present Grand Assembly to show other Indians
how kind we are to such who are obedient to our
laws that the said Chis-koi-ack Indians quietly
hold and enjoy the land they are now seated upon,
and have the free use of the guns they now have,
any act or order of assembly to the contrary
notwithstanding. "
"Whereas, by the report of Lieutenant-Colonel
John Walker, who was appointed by the honor-
able Governor to enquire thereinto, it appears
that Mrs. Mary Ludlow, relict and executrix of
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Ludlow, deceased,
entrencheth upon the Ches-qui-ack Indians' land
at Py-an-ka-tanck. It is ordered by the As-
sembly that the said Indians enjoy their whole
tract of land according to the said survey and
that the said Ludlows' heirs enjoy the remainder
of their patent, and further order that no other
person enjoying or being seated on any part of
» Stith, p. 53. " Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
^'
The Tribes and Nations 357
the said Indians' lands possess the same but to be
with all convenient speed removed, and the com-
missioners appointed by the right honorable
Governor to enquire into and settle all differences
and disputes concerningthe said Indians' lands. "^
The following eleven tribes are mentioned by
Strachey as also being upon the Pamunkey, by
which he meant the York and its branches :
The Can-taun-kacks, one hundred warriors,
the chief, 0-hon-na-mo.
The Mum-map-a-cu-nes, one hundred, their
wer-6-ance being Ot-ton-de-a-com-moc.
The Pa-ta-uncks, one hundred; wer-6-ance,
Es-sen-a-taugh.^
The Och-a-han-nankes, forty, with the chief
U-rop-a-ack.
The Cas-sa-pe-cocks, one hundred, with the
chief Keig-hang-ton.
The Ka-pos-e-cocks, four hundred, with the
wer-6-ance Wey-a-mat.
The Pam-a-rekes, four hundred; wer-6-ance,
At-tas-quin-tan.
The Sham-a-pas, one hundred, with the
wer-6-ance Nan-su-a-punck.
The Or-a-paks, fifty; Powhatan himself being
the wer-6-ance.
The Chep-e-cho, three hundred with their
wer-6-ance 0-pop-oh-cum-unck.
The Par-a-co-nos, ten ; having only a Taux-
wer-6-ance,^ At-tos-so-munck.
«2Henmg, 39, 153.
"That is a little, subordinate, or vice-wer-6-ance.
€
35^ The Forest Primeval
As being in command of these tribes and three
others which are Hkewise included in our list,
Strachey names 0-pe-chan-ca-nough, Ke-quo-
taugh, and Taugh-ha-i-ten, all three Powhatan's
brethren, who he says are the triumviri, as it
were, or three kings of a country called 0-pe-
chan-e-ke-no, upon the head of Pamunkey River,
and these may make three hundred men.'
It is interesting to learn from this, that 0-pe-
chan-ca-nough's name was, like his brother
Powhatan's, derived from that of a place. It
was a territorial name, similar to that often
borne by the nobles of other countries.
On the Pa-yan-ka-tank River lived a tribe of
that name, which numbered about fifty or sixty
serviceable men. They lived on the north side
of the stream, near its mouth in Middlesex
County.^ Their principal town was at Turk's
ferry. ^
The Pa-yan-ka-tanks, who numbered forty to
fifty when Strachey, that observant first secre-
tary of the colony, wrote his account of his
travels, are said by him to be the remains of the
conquered Ke-cough-tans, transported there by
Powhatan. The original Pa-yan-ka-tanks were
destroyed, or reduced to slavery by Powhatan
in 1608. They were then his neighbors and sub-
jects. We have a brief account of this tragedy:
"The occasion was to us unknown; but the
* Historic of Travaile into Virginia, p. 62.
* Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 160. » Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
The Tribes and Nations 359
manner was thus performed. First, he sent
divers of his men to lodge amongst them one
night, pretending a general hunt, who were
to give the allarum'' unto an ambuscado^ of a
greater company within the woods, who, upon
the sign given at the hour appointed, environed
all the houses, and fell to the execution. Twenty-
four men they killed outright (the rest escaping
by fortune and their swift footmanship) ; and
the long hair of the one side of their heads, with
the skin cased off with shells or reeds, they
brought away to Powhatan. They surprised
also the women and children and the wer-6-ance,
all whom they presented to Powhatan. The
locks of hair, with their skins, they hanged on
a line between two trees ; and of these Powhatan
made ostentation, as of a great triumph, at
Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co, not long after, showing
them to such of the English as came unto him
at his appointment, to trade with him for corn,
thinking to have terrified them with this spec-
tacle."^
On the Rappahannock more Indians lived
than on any of the other rivers. The north side
of this fine stream was covered with their
villages. Among these tribes were:
The Cut-tat-a-wo-men. These lived on the
north side of the river, in Lancaster County
near the Chesapeake Bay. Here they had one
* Signal. . ' Ambuscade.
' » Strachey, Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 36.
k
36o The Forest Primeval
branch of their tribe, with thirty fighting men,
and another, much farther up the river, in King
George County, of twenty. Their king was
kindly disposed towards the English.^
Their principal town in King George was
about Lamb Creek, and that in Lancaster, at
Corotoman/
The Rap-a-han-ocks. These were frequently
called Top-pa-han-ocks. They also lived on the
north side of the river named from them, and
could count one hundred men.^
They are mentioned in the acts in the year
1662, and were thus protected in regard to
holding their tribal lands:
"It is ordered by this present assembly upon
the report of the committee for the Indian affairs,
that Colonel Moore Ffantleroy enjoy at present
no more of the land he is now seated upon than
what is cleared with the houses built upon and
marsh lying before it, and that he pay to the
King of Rappahannock Indians fifteen match-
coats before he depart the town in part of thirty
due per a former agreement, and the other fif-
teen when the differences between him and the
said Indians shall be ended by the commissioners
to be appointed by the right honorable Governor,
provided they allow him five hundred acres of
high land ground belonging to his said divident,"^
Provided if the said commissioners shall not
« Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 185. " Burk, vol. iii., 89.
3 Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 184-5.
* Dividend, that is, share of land due him.
The Tribes and Nations 361
determine the same then to be referred to the
next assembly, and all other claims of the said
Ffantleroy's to any other land of the said Indians
are hereby declared void."'
Their principal town was on Rappahannock
Creek, in Richmond County/
, The Nan-taugh-ta-cunds. These were also
called Nand-tangh-ta-cunds. They lived on the
south side of the river, in Caroline and Essex
counties, and boasted one hundred and fifty
men. Their king was friendly to the English.^
Their chief town was at Port Tobacco Creek.'*
The Mo-raugh-ta-cunds. These were also
called the Mo-raugh-ta-ow-nas. They lived
upon the north side of the Rappahannock, in
Lancaster and Richmond counties, and had a
fighting force of eighty men.^ Their principal
town was on Moratico River.^
The Pis-sa-secks. This tribe dwelt on the
north side of the Rappahannock, in King George
and Richmond counties. It is mentioned as
having a king kindly disposed towards the
English.^
Their chief town was above Leeds town.*
The Do-egs. This tribe dwelt in Staff^ord
County, not far from the site of Fredericksburg,
on the north side of the Rappahannock. They
are mentioned in connection with stealing the
^ 5 Hening, 152. « Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
3 Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 160, 185. * Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
5 Smith, vol. i., pp. 117, 184. ^ Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
7 Smith, vol. i., p. 185. « Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
362 The Forest Primeval
hogs of the early settlers at Jamestown, and later,
in the acts of Assembly, as committing many
murders of the English.'
On the Potomac lived several tribes, of whom
we can name:
The Wigh-co-com-o-cos, who lived on the
south side of the river, near its entrance into
Chesapeake Bay. They numbered one hundred
and thirty men/
Their principal town was on Wi-co-com-i-co
River, in Northumberland County.^
They were celebrated for being very small in
size/
The Cek-a-ca-wons. This tribe lived on the
same side, as the above, a Httle farther up the
river/
Their principal town was on the Coan River/
The Nom-i-nies. This tribe lived on the
south side of the river, in Westmoreland County.
A creek and cliffs fronting on the Potomac are
named for them/
The 0-naw-man-i-ents. This was a tribe of
one hundred living on this river/
Their principal town was on Nomini River, in
Westmoreland County/
The Pa-taw-o-mekes. These gave their name
finally to the whole river, which was at first
» 2 Hening, 193. ^ Smith, vol. i., p. 118; i Hening, 515.
3 Burk, vol, iii., p. 89. ■♦ Smith, vol. i., p. 129.
5 Smith, vol. i., p. 118. ^ Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
7 Stith, p. 53. * Smith, vol. i., pp. 118, 160.
' Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
The Tribes and Nations 363
known as the Co-hon-go-roo-ta, at least from
its junction with the Shenandoah, eastward
to the Chesapeake Bay. They Hved some
distance up the stream, on the west side, in
Stafford County. They numbered two hundred.
Their wer-6-ance was Jap-a-zows, the one who
helped to kidnap Pocahontas, when Argall cap-
tured her. He is described as being an old friend
of Smith, and so a friend of the whole English
nation, ever since the first discovery of the
country.'
Their principal town was on Potomac Creek,
in Stafford County.^
In 1662, the King of the Potomacs was Wa-
han-gan-o-che. He was tried before the Grand
Assembly on a charge of high treason and murder
and acquitted.^
The sale of several parts of their tribal lands
is thus recorded:
"Whereas Wa-han-gan-o-che, king of the Po-
tow-meck Indians, acknowledged before the
committee appointed for the Indian business,
the sale of that whole tract of land possest by
Mr. Henry Mees in Potowmeck according to the
bounds and marked trees which he confest
were marked in his presence and with his con-
sent, it is ordered by the assembly that the said
Mees enjoy the said land to him and his heirs
for ever.
"Whereas Wa-han-gan-o-che, king of the
1 Smith, vol. i., pp. ii8, 177; Stith, p. 127.
2 Burk, vol. iii., p. 89. » 2 Hening, 149.
364 The Forest Primeval
Potowmeck Indians, acknowledged before the
committee for the Indians' business that he sold
a parcell of land to Mr. Peter Austin, and hath
received for the same ten matchcoats, and also
promised to lay out the said Austin's land with
marked trees, it is ordered by the assembly
that the same being accordingly bounded, Mr.
Austin enjoy the same to him and his heirs
for ever.
"Upon the report of the committee appointed
for settling the Indian business, it is ordered by
the assembly that all differences of land between
colonell Gerrard Fowke and Wa-han-gan-o-che,
king of the Potowmeck Indians, be referred to
such persons as the governour shall commission-
ate therein who are fully to end and determine
the same.
"It is ordered by the assembly upon the report
of the committee for the Indian businesses that
all the differences of land between captain Giles
Brent and Wa-han-gan-o-che, king of the Potow-
meck Indians, be referred to the determination
of such commissioners whom the honourable
governour shall appoint therein. " '
It would appear that this king had further
trouble with the English, for we find, in 1665,
that a part of the money with which a fort was
to be built, was to be paid for by a levy of eighty
thousand pounds of tobacco, "besides the sale
of the king of Potomacks land. " It would seem
from this that his land was confiscated for the
^ 2 Hening, 154, 205.
The Tribes and Nations 365
use of the pubHc. As the trained bands of
James City and Surry counties were to contri-
bute six days' work towards the perfecting the
fort, it is probable that it was to be built not
far from the capital.'
The Taux-en-ents. This tribe lived on the
western side of the Potomac, in Fairfax County.
They numbered forty men. Their chief was
Na-men-a-cus.^
Their principal town was at, or near Mount
Vernon, General Washington's home.^
The Moy-a-ons. This tribe lived on the east-
ern side of the Potomac, in Prince George's
County, Maryland. They are represented as
friendly to the English.^
The Sec-o-wo-com-o-cos. This tribe lived on
the north side of the Potomac, and had forty
warriors.^
We also hear of the Po-tap-a-cos, with twenty
men; the Pam-a-ca-e-acks, with sixty; and the
Moy-o-wance, with one hundred.
The No-cotch-tanks, with eighty, are also
mentioned as living on this river.^
On the Patuxent River lived the following:
The Paw-tux-ents. This tribe lived upon the
east side of the river to which they gave the
name, in Calvert County, Maryland. Their
King was Na-men-a-cus.''
' 2 Hening, 220. » Smith, vol. i., p. 118; vol. ii., p. 61.
3 Burk, vol. iii., p. 89. 4 Smith, vol. i., p. 177.
s Smith, vol. i., p. 118. ^ Smith, vol., i., p. 118.
' Smith, vol. i., pp. 118, 148, 183; vol. ii., p. 61.
366 The Forest Primeval
The Ac-quin-ta-nack-su-aks. This tribe, with
the one above, and the next, is merely mentioned
as living on this river.
The Mat-ta-pan-i-ents. It is said of these
three, that they could only muster two hundred
and that "they inhabit together, and are not so
dispersed as the rest. These of all others we
found most civil to give entertainment."^
• On the Eastern Shore, the tribes which were
possibly under Powhatan's dominion were:
The 0-zi-nies. This tribe lived in Queen
Anne County, Maryland. ""
The Kus-kar-a-wa-ocks. This tribe lived in
Dorchester County, Maryland, on the river of
that name, also called the Kus, and now, the
Nan-ti-coke. They numbered two hundred.^
By some, this tribe is given greater importance
than this statement would imply. One map,
which the writer has seen, gives their name to all
the region now known as the Eastern Shore of
Maryland, and a large part of Delaware, as if
they were an independent confederacy.
The Tants Wigh-co-com-i-cos. This tribe
lived in Worcester County, Maryland, on the
Po-co-moke, or Wigh-co River.
Smith says of these two tribes: "The people
of those rivers are of little stature, of another
language from the rest, and very rude. " ^
The Gin-gas-kins. We know nothing of this
" Smith, vol. i., p. Il8. ' Ihid., p. 120.
3 Ibid., p. 120. *Ibid., p. 120.
The Tribes and Nations 367
tribe except that in 18 13, the tribal holding of
lands by the Gin-gas-kin Indians, in the county of
Northampton, was done away with, and an
equitable division of the lands was made to the
members of the tribe, to be held by them sepa-
rately, in fee simple. These lands were to be
free from taxes so long as they should be held
by the members of the tribe or their descendants.
The Ac-co-han-ocks. This tribe lived just
about on the boundary line of Accomac and
Northampton counties, on the Bay side. They
numbered forty men. Their king was Kep-to-
peke.'
Their principal town was on the Ac-co-hon»-noc
River.^
The Ac-cow-macks. This tribe lived nearly at
the south end of Northampton County. They
numbered eighty warriors. Captain Smith said
of the wer-6-ance of this tribe: "This king was
the comeliest, proper, civil savage we encount-
ered. '' He is elsewhere spoken of as the "laugh-
ing king." He says, in general, of this tribe,
that it "doth equalize any of the territories of
Powhatan, and speak his language." The soil
is also praised, and the good harbors for small
vessels. On the whole, we are informed that
this was one of the very best of the tribes.^
Their chief town was about Cherton's, in
Northampton County.^
» Smith, vol. i., p. 120; vol. ii., p. 61.
« Burk, vol. iii., p. 89. This river is now called Occohannock Creek.
» Smith, vol. i., pp. 120, 173; vol. ii., p. 63.
* Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
S^S The Forest Primeval
We harve the following reference to them in
the acts of 1660:
"Whereas the Indians of Accomack have
complained that they are very much strait-
ened for want of land, and that the English seat
so near them, that they receive very much
damage in their corn, It is ordered that the
right honorable the governor give commission
to two or three gentlemen with a surveyor living
on this side the bay (that have no relation to
Accomack), to go over thither, and lay out such
a proportion of land for the said Indians as shall
be sufficient for their maintenance with hunting
an(i fishing excluded. And that the land so
laid out to be so secured to the Indians that they
may have no power to alienate it, or any part of
it hereafter to the English.'"
We have attempted, not without difficulty, to
enumerate the many tribes which were under
Powhatan's rule. We are by no means satisfied
that there are not mistakes in the above list ; we
may both have inserted tribes which do not belong
there, and omitted others which do. The sources
of information on the subject are none too clear.
It will be observed that some of these tribes
bore the names now given to the rivers in the
State, A few of our Indian names of rivers are
due, no doubt, to the fact that they were so called,
not because such or such an Indian word would
be a good name to apply to such or such a
» 2 Hening, 13.
The Tribes and Nations 369
stream, but the Meherrin River was the Meher-
rin River, because the Meherrin Indians Hved
upon that river, and so on. Conversely, the
rivers, which were, of course, much older than
the tribes, and which had been named by them,
gave their names to many of the tribes living on
them, among these clearly are the Potomacs,
the Rappahanocks, the Chesapeaks, the Patux-
ents, the Chickahominys, the Appomattox, and
so on. Captain Smith, himself, writing of this
fact in his General History says: "The most of
those rivers are inhabited by several nations, or
rather families of the name of the rivers. "
Other tribes evidently took their names from
the places where they lived. Among these were
the Pamunkeys, the War-as-coy-acks, the Nan-
se-monds, the Ac-co-macs. The Cherokees,
however, derive their name from their descent
— Sons of Fire they called themselves.
How much of interest lies locked up in these
names, most of which will remain untranslatable
forever!
The domain ruled by Powhatan was sur-
rounded by enemies who were forever at war
with it. Among these may be most conspicu-
ously mentioned the Man-a-kins, or Mon-a-
cans, and the Man-na-ho-acks. Both of these
powers lay to the west, the first on the headwaters
of the James, and the latter on the headwaters of
the Rappahannock. It was from this region that
the colony had endless trouble, and many of its
34
370 The Forest Primeval
defensive measures, after its first struggles with
those nearer Jamestown, were directed towards
stopping the incursions of these enemies, who
were not only enemies of the Enghsh, but of the
native Indian population, which lived in the
portion of Virginia first occupied by the Enghsh.
Strachey tells us in speaking of the different
nations of Indians in Virginia: "The people
differ not much in nature, habit, or condition,
only they are more daring upon us; and before
we erected our forts amongst them, there was
ever enmity, and open wars, between the high
and low country, going by the names of Mon-o-
cans and Powhatans."'
The Man-na-ho-acs, included eight tribes,
these were :
The Man-na-ho-acs, who lived in Stafford and
Spottsylvania counties; the Shack-a-ko-nies, in
Spottsylvania ; the Whon-ken-ties, and the Taux-
i-tan-i-ans in Fauquier County; the Teg-ni-na-
ties, and the Has-si-nun-ga-es, in Culpeper; the
Ont-ponies, and the Ste-gar-a-kies in Orange
County/ The last seven paid tribute to the
Man-na-ho-acs.^
The Mon-a-cans Included five tribes :
The Mon-a-cans, who lived on the James,
above the falls, and numbered thirty warriors,
their chief town, Ras-sawck, being in the fork of
James Rlver^; the Mon-a-sic-cap-a-noes, who
' Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 27. ' Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
3 Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 102, 104,
4 The southeastern extremity of Goochland County.
The Tribes and Nations 371
lived in Louisa and Fluvanna counties; the
Mon-a-has-san-oes, who lived in Bedford and
Buckingham counties ; the Mas-sin-a-cacs, who
lived in Cumberland ; and the Mo-hem-en-choes,
who lived in Powhatan County.' The four last
paid tribute to the Mon-a-cans/
The Mas-sa-wo-mecks. Strachey thus de-
scribes this tribe:
"Beyond the mountains, from whence is the
head of the river Patomac, do inhabit the Mas-
sa-wo-mecks (Powhatan's yet mortal enemies)
upon a great salt water, which by all likelihood
may either be some part of Canada, some great
lake, or some inlet of some sea, that may fall into
the west ocean or Mar del sur.^ These Mas-
sa-wo-mecks are a great nation, and very popu-
lous, for the inhabitants of the heads of all those
rivers, especially the Pa-taw-o-mecks, the Paw-
tux-unts, the Sas-ques-a-han-oughes, the Tock-
woghs, are continually harbored"^ and frightened
by them, of whose cruelty the said people gener-
ally complained, and were very importunate with
Captain Smith, and his company, in the time of
their discovery, to free them from those tormen-
tors, to which purpose they offered food, conduct,
assistants, and continual subjection, which were
motives sufficient for Captain Smith to promise
to return with sufficient forces to constrain the
*Burk, vol. iii., p. 89.
'Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 102, 104.
' South Sea, the Pacific Ocean.
4 Forced to keep their harbors.
ZT2 The Forest Primeval
said Mas-sa-wo-mecks ; but there were in the
colony at that time such factions and base envies,
as malice in some, in some ignorance, and coward-
ice in others, made that opportunity to be lost.
*' Seven boats full of these Mas-sa-wo-mecks,
the discoverers before mentioned, encoun-
tered at the head of the bay, whose targets,
baskets, swords, tobacco-pipes, platters, bows
and arrows, and everything, showed they much
exceeded them of our parts; and their dexterity
in their several boats, made of the barks of trees
sewed together, and well luted' with gum and
resin of the pine tree, argueth that they are
seated upon some great water. Of these, like-
wise, it may please the Lord General again to
inform himself, as circumstances and occasion
shall serve to turn against Powhatan. ""^
Toward the north, other tribes were the Tock-
woghes, who lived in a strongly fortified town,
on a river of that name, now called the Chester, ^
and the At-quan-a-chuks, who lived in Delaware.
In this direction we also hear of the Sen-e-dos,
who occupied the north fork of the Shenandoah
until 1732, when they were exterminated by hos-
tile tribes from the south. And the Tus-ca-ro-
ras, whose villages were near Martinsburg, in
the present county of Berkeley."*
^ Having the cracks or openings closed.
' Strachey's Historie of Travaile into Virginia, pp. 104-5.
3 Smith, vol. i., p. 182.
* Peyton's History of Augusta County, p. 6.
The Tribes and Nations 373
This was presumably a branch of the great
nation of that name which was well known.
The Cin-e-las, on the Upper Potomac, are
mentioned, but not much is known of them.
And the Pas-cat-a-way tribe, on the head-
waters of the Chesapeake, is also mentioned.
They were alive and gave trouble to the Vir-
ginia and Maryland authorities as late as 1699.'^
Strachey gives us this account of the Sus-que-
han-nocks; who lived still farther to the north:
**Upon the river inhabit a people called the
Sus-que-sa-han-oughs ; they are seated two days
higher than was passage for the discoverers'
barge; howbeit, sixty of the Sus-que-sa-han-oughs
came to the discoverers with skins, bows, arrows,
targets, swords, beads, and tobacco-pipes for
presents.
*'Such great and well-proportioned men are
seldom seen, for they seemed like giants to
the English, — yea, and to the neighbors — yet
seemed of an honest and simple disposition,
with much ado restrained from adoring the dis-
coverers as gods. These are the most strange
people of all those countries, both in language and
attire; for their language it may well beseem their
proportions, sounding from them as it were a
great voice in a vault or cave, as an echo: their
attire is the skins of bears and wolves ; some have
cassocks made of bears' hides and skins, that a
man's neck goeth through the skin's neck, and
the ears of the bear are fastened to his shoulders
'Sainsbury Abstracts, vol. ii., pp. 1 10-15.
374 The Forest Primeval
behind, the nose and teeth hanging down his
breast, and at the end of the nose hangs a bear's
paw; the half sleeves coming to the elbow were
the necks of bears, and the arms through the
mouth, with paws hanging in a chain for a jewel;
his tobacco-pipe three-quarters of a yard long,
prettily carved with a bird, a deer, or with some
such device, at the great end, sufficient to beat
out the brains of a horse. Likewise their bows,
and arrows, and clubs, are suitable to their
greatness; these are scarce known to Powhatan.
"They can make well near six hundred able and
mighty men, and are palisadoed in their towns
to defend them from the Mas-sa-wo-mecks, their
mortal enemies. Five of these chief wer-6-ances
came aboard the discoverers, and crossed the
bay with them in their barge; the picture of the
greatest of them is portrayed, the calf of whose
leg was three-quarters of a yard about, and all the
rest of his limbs so answerable to that proportion,
that he seemed the goodliest man they ever saw;
his hair the one side was long, the other shorn
close, with a ridge over his crown like a coxcomb ;
his arrows were five quarters ' long, headed with
flints or splinters of stones, in form like a heart,
an inch broad, and an inch and a half or more
long; these he wore in a wolfs skin on his back
for his quiver, his bow in the one hand and his
club in the other. "^
They included, or were otherwise known as
* of a yard.
" Strachey's Ilistorie of Travaile into Virginia^ p. 39.
The Tribes and Nations 375
the Con-es-to-gas, and occupied a large area to
the north of the Chesapeake Bay, and appear to
have been a separate confederacy.'
It is said that the Sus-que-han-oughs origin-
ally occupied the headwaters of the Chesapeake
Bay, but were driven out by the Cin-e-la tribe
and took up their residence on the upper waters
of the Potomac, which was supposed to be one of
their favorite places of residence, as the remains
of their villages are more numerous in this re-
gion than elsewhere in the Valley. ""
In 1662, the colony took this action in regard
to them:
"Upon the report of the committee appointed
for the Indian affairs it appearing that the Sus-
que-han-nock and other Northern Indians, in
considerable numbers, frequently come to the
heads of our rivers, whereby plain paths will
soon be made which may prove dangerous conse-
quence, and also affront the English and destroy
their stocks and get the whole trade from our
neighboring and tributary Indians; it is ordered
by this assembly that for prevention and of other
injuries to the English from the Marylanders for
the future, that the honorable governor cause
by proclamation a prohibition of all Marylanders,
English and Indians (which they have already
done to us), and of all other Indians to the north-
ward of Maryland, from trucking, trading, bar-
tering, or dealing with any English or Indians to
* The American Anthropologist, vol. xi., p. 260.
* Peyton's History oj Augusta County, p. 6.
376 The Forest Primeval
the southward of that place, and that, by com-
mission from the governor. Colonel Wood be
impowered to manage the said business. " '
The Not-to-ways settled on the river which
still bears their name, at a late period, some time
after 1665. Their principal town was in Nanse-
mond or Southampton County, very near the
North Carolina line. They are first mentioned
in the acts in 1693, when the County Court of
Surry County, which then stretched to the North
Carolina line, was ordered to designate certain
marks with which all swine owned by the In-
dians of the various towns of this tribe should be
marked.'' In 1728, Colonel Byrd speaks of them
as "the only Indians of any consequence now re-
maining within the limits of Virginia/' Notto-
way Town, as their last stronghold was called,
then numbered about two hundred inhabitants.
The condition of this tribe, as it existed in 1734,
is presented to us in an act of Assembly passed
to enable them to sell a part of their lands, thus:
"Whereas the Nottoway Indians are possessed
of a large tract of land, laid off in a circle of six
miles diameter, lying and being on the north side
of Nottoway River, in the county of Isle of Wight ;
and of one other large tract of land, of six miles
square, lying and being on the south side of the
said river, in the county aforesaid : And, where-
as, that nation is of late reduced, by wars, sick-
ness, and other casualties, to a small number, and
» 2 Hening, 153. « 3 Hening, 109.
The Tribes and Nations 377
among those that remain, many are old and
unable to labor or hunt, so that one of the said
tracts will be sufficient for them, and more than
they are able, in their present circumstances, to
cultivate, or make any use of. "
Permission was therefore granted to the chief
men of the Nottoway nation to sell the circular
tract of six miles in diameter, with the consent of
their trustees, John Simmons, of Isle of Wight,
and Thomas Cocke and Benjamin Edwards, of
Surry, who were appointed to see the act duly
executed. No one person was allowed to buy
more than four hundred acres, and all the formal-
ities of the transfer, which was to vest a fee
simple title in the purchaser, were minutely
prescribed, including the making of livery of
seisin upon the land. One tract of four hundred
acres was to be purchased at what was to be
adjudged a reasonable price, for a glebe for the
use of the parson of the parish wherein the land
lay. The trustees themselves were not to pur-
chase any of the land without the consent of the
Governor and Council. ^
About 1800, the Nottoways, residing in the
County of Southampton, were authorized to sell
three hundred acres of their land; and in 1803,
they were allowed, under the direction and with
the approbation of their trustees, to sell all of
their lands lying on the north side of Nottoway
River. The money arising from the sale of the
lands was to be applied by the trustees in the
» 4 Hening, 459.
37^ The Forest Primeval
manner they thought best for the benefit of the
tribe, so long as any of them were living. Should
the tribe become extinct, the money or any part
of it which was left, was to be paid into the public
treasury. '
In 1816, new trustees were appointed for the
Nottoways. These trustees were empowered
to make reasonable rules and regulations for the
government of the tribe and for the expenditure
of the money held in trust for them, which was
to continue so long as any number of the tribe
were living. Any funds remaining on hand were
then to be paid in to the pubHc treasury. "^
In 1 8 19, this tribe was reduced to only twenty-
six persons. They owned a tract of land con-
taining 3912 acres. This being more than they
needed for agricultural purposes, 3000 acres of
it were authorized to be divided and sold for
their benefit. The trustees of the tribe and the
Indians were to unite in making the deeds of
conveyance. The purchase money was to be
invested for the benefit of the tribe. ^
The Indians objected to this, as being too
much land to be sold, and it was soon afterwards
reduced to 11 24 acres which was to be thus
disposed of."^
In 1838, a plan was adopted whereby the
members of the tribe could have their parts of the
land belonging to them set aside so as to be
' I Shepherd's Statutes at Large, 274; 3 ditto, 36.
"Acts, 1816-17, p. 174.
3 Acts, 1818-19, p. 198. * Acts, 1820, p. 92.
The Tribes and Nations 379
held separately in fee, but this was only to apply
to those who were not likely to become charge-
able to any part of the Commonwealth. '
The Me-her-rins, whose name still lives in
the designation of one of our rivers, are said
to have been a branch of the fierce Sus-que-
han-nas, who were enemies of the Powhatans.
This tribe settled in Virginia after the arrival
of the white man, some time after 1665. They
lived on the Me-her-rin River. In 1753, a parish
bearing their name was formed in the southern
part of Brunswick and Greensville counties.
This was a fierce and warlike tribe.
The Oc-ca-nee-chees were a small but very im-
portant nation which dwelt in this same region,
in what was later Mecklenburg County. Their
chief town was near Clarksville, close to the
Carolina border, and situated upon an island in
the Staunton, or Roanoke, River. It was de-
fended by three strong forts, and was a cele-
brated center of trade for the other Indians for
hundreds of miles. It was no doubt this fact
that made their language the universal medium
of communication as stated by Beverley.^
In 1676, when this tribe came into special
prominence on account of events connected with
Bacon's Rebellion, its king was Per-si-cles. He
is described as a very brave man and ever true
to the English, but during the tragic events of
that year he was finally brought into hostility to
them, and was killed in the battle which then
» Acts, 1838, p. 213. • Beverley, book 3, p. 24.
380 The Forest Primeval
occurred, Nathaniel Bacon being in command of
the Virginians.
The Tu-te-loes also lived upon the Me-her-rin
River. This tribe was connected with the Caro-
lina Indians, probably the Cho-wan-ocs. '
West of the Mon-a-cans and Man-na-ho-acks
lay the mountains. These were in the posses-
sion of many powerful and terrible tribes. The
most prominent of these tribes were the follow-
ing:
"The Shaw-a-nese, the most considerable of
the Algonquin tribes, had their principal villages
east of the Alleghanies, near the present town of
Winchester, but their possessions extended west
to the Mississippi River. Foote asserts^ that
the Shaw-a-nese owned the whole Valley of Vir-
ginia, but had abandoned it. He gives no
authority for the statement, and we have found
none in our researches. Of all the Indian tribes
with whom our ancestors came in contact, the
Shaw-a-nese were the most bloody and terrible,
holding all other men, as well Indians as whites,
in contempt as warriors, in comparison with
themselves. This estimate of themselves made
them more restless and fierce than any other
savages, and they boasted that they had killed
ten times as many white people as any other
Indians did. They were a well-formed, active,
and ingenious people, capable of enduring great
» Jefferson's Notes on Virginia^ p. 97.
' Second Series, p. 159.
The Tribes and Nations 381
privations and hardships, were assuming and
imperious in the presence of others not of their
own nation, and sometimes very cruel.
'> I
"That portion of the valley now embraced
within the county of Augusta, is not known
to have been the home or fixed residence of any
tribe of Indians at the period of its settlement,
nor is it known that it was not the home of some
tribe or branch of a tribe. Such red men as
Lewis met on entering Augusta, in 1732, were
friendly, and so continued for over twenty years.
"That the country had been, previous to 1732,
permanently occupied, is indicated by the re-
mains of barrows,^ cairns^ and ramparts, com-
posed of mingled earth and stones, found at
different points in the county, notably near
Waynesboro, on Lewis Creek, a few miles below
Staunton; on Middle River near Dudley's mill,
and at Jarman's Gap, north of Rockfish. The
cairn at Jarman's Gap is probably sepulchral,
and may have been intended and used as a
place of worship.
"The Valley of Virginia was, in 1716, when
visited by Spotswood, without extensive forests,
but the margins of streams were fringed with
trees; there were pretty woodlands in the low
grounds, and the mountain sides were densely
^ Peyton's History of Augusta County, p. 5.
All quotations from Peyton's History of A ugusta County are repro-
duced by the permission of L. W. H. Peyton, the personal representa-
tive of Col. John Lewis Peyton. " Burial mounds.
» Heaps of stones, often for sepulchral purposes.
SS2 The Forest Primeval
covered with timber trees. The wood destroyed
by autumnal fires was replaced by a luxuriant
growth of blue grass, white clover, and other
natural grasses and herbage. The spontaneous
productions of the earth were everywhere numer-
ous and abundant, and there were many varieties
of game and wild animals. The luxuriance of
the vegetation evinced the fertility of a soil which
required only the hand of art to render it in the
highest degree subservient to the wants of man.
But the nomads of the valley were averse to
improvement; their indolence refused to culti-
vate the earth, and their restless spirit disdained
the confinement of sedentary life. To prevent
the growth of timber and preserve the district
as pasture, that it might support as much game
as possible, and that the grass might come for-
ward in the early spring, the savages, before retir-
ing into winter quarters, set on fire the dry grass
and burnt over the country. The absence of
trees in an extensive quarter of the county north-
west of Staunton, led our ancestors to style it
*The Barrens,' a name that it still bears, though
it is interspersed at this time by handsome
woodlands, the growth of the last eighty years.
"The two principal non-resident tribes who
frequented this fine country in 1716-1745 were
the Delawares from the north and the Ca-taw-
bas from the south. At the time Augusta was
settled, 1732, a bloody war was progressing
between these tribes, and the valley was the
theater of action. In this war other tribes now
The Tribes and Nations 383
and again participated as the alHes of one or the
other party, and it was at a battle on the north
fork of the Shenandoah, in the county now
bearing that name, that the Sen-e-dos tribe was
exterminated. There is a burial place there
eighteen to twenty feet high and sixty feet in
circumference, filled with human bones, which
testify to the truth of this tradition. " '
We have no map giving us the names and
location of the Indian villages in this portion of
the State, as we had from Smith's map, of the
eastern and central portion, nor have we at
hand material for the composition of such a
map.
An account of some of their settlements and
antiquities is thus given us by Kercheval:
"On the banks of the Co-hon-go-ru-ton
[Potomac], there has doubtless been a pretty
considerable settlement. The late Col. Joseph
Swearengen's dwelling house stands within a
circular wall or moat. When first known by the
white inhabitants, the wall was about eighteen
inches high, and the ditch about two feet deep.
This circular wall was made of earth — is now con-
siderably reduced, but yet plainly to be seen.
It is not more than half a mile from Shepherds-
town.
"For what particular purpose this wall was
thrown up, whether for ornament or defense,
the author cannot pretend to form an opinion.
If it was intended for defense, it appears to have
* Peyton's History of Augusta County, pp. 5, 9.
384 The Forest Primeval '
been too low to answer any valuable purpose in
that way.
"On the Wap-pa-tom-a-ka, a few miles below
the forks, tradition relates that there was a
very considerable Indian settlement. On the
farm of Isaac Vanmeter, Esq., on this water-
course, in the county of Hardy, when the coun-
try was first discovered, there were considerable
openings of the land, or natural prairies, which
are called 'the Indian old fields,' to this day.
Numerous Indian graves are to be seen in the
neighborhood. A little above the forks of this
river a very large Indian grave is now [1850] to
be seen. In the bank of the river, a little below
the forks, numerous human skeletons have been
discovered, and several articles of curious work-
manship. A highly finished pipe, representing
a snake coiled round the bowl, with its head
projected above the bowl, was among them.
There was the under jaw bone of a human being
of great size found at the same place, which
contained eight jaw teeth in each side of enor-
mous size; and what is more remarkable, the
teeth stood transversely in the jaw bone. It
would pass over any common man's face with
entire ease. '
"There are many other signs of Indian settle-
ments all along this river, both above and below
the one just described. Mr. Garret Blue, of the
county of Hampshire, informed the author, that
^ Peyton thinks this was the bone of some animal. History of
Augusta County, p. 7.
The Tribes and Nations 385
about two miles below the Hanging Rocks, in
the bank of the river, a stratum of ashes, about
one rod in length, was some years ago discovered.
At this place are signs of an Indian village, and
their old fields. The Rev. John J. Jacobs, of
Hampshire, informed the author that on Mr.
Daniel Cresap's land, on the north branch of
the Potomac, a few miles above Cumberland, a
human skeleton was discovered, which had been
covered with a coat of wood ashes, about two
feet below the surface of the ground. An entire
decomposition of the skeleton had taken place,
with the exception of the teeth: they were in a
perfect state of preservation.
"On the two great branches of the Shenan-
doah there are now to be seen numerous sites of
their ancient villages, several of which are so
remarkable that they deserve a passing notice.
It has been noticed, in my preceding chapter,
thart on Mr. Steenbergen's land, on the north
fork of the Shenandoah, the remains of a large
Indian mound are plainly to be seen. It is
also suggested that this was once the residence
of the Senedo tribe, and that that tribe had been
exterminated by the southern Indians. Exclu-
sive of this large mound, there are several other
Indian graves. About this place many of their
implements and domestic utensils have been
found. A short distance below the mouth of
Stony Creek (a branch of the Shenandoah),
within four or five miles of Woodstock, are the
signs of an Indian village. At this place a gun
25
386 The Forest Primeval
barrel and several iron tomahawks were found
long after the Indians left the country.
"On Mr. Anthony Kline's farm, within about
three miles of Stephensburg, in the county of
Frederick, in a glen near his mill, a rifle was found
which had laid in the ground forty or fifty years.
Every part of this gun (even the stock, which
was made of black walnut) was sound. Mr.
Kline's father took the barrel from the stock,
placed the breech on the fire, and it soon dis-
charged with a loud explosion.
"In the county of Page, on the south fork of
Shenandoah River, there are several Indian
burying grounds, and signs of their villages.
These signs are also to be seen on the Hawks-
bill Creek. A few miles above Luray, on the
west side of the river, there are three large Indian
graves, ranged nearly side by side, thirty or
forty feet in length, twelve or fourteen feet wide,
and five or six feet high. Around them, in cir-
cular form, are a number of single graves. The
whole covers an area of little less than a quarter
of an acre. They present to the eye a very
ancient appearance, and are covered over with
pine and other forest growth. The excavation
of the ground around them is plainly to be seen.
The three first mentioned graves are in oblong
form, probably contain many hundreds of human
bodies, and were doubtless the work of ages.
"On the land of Mr. Noah Keyser, near the
mouth of the Hawksbill Creek, stand the remains
of a large mound. This, like that at Mr.
The Tribes and Nations 387
Steenbergen's, is considerably reduced by plow-
ing, but is yet some twelve or fourteen feet high,
and is upwards of sixty yards round at the base.
It is found to be literally filled with human skele-
tons, and at every fresh plowing a fresh layer of
bones is brought to the surface. The bones are
found to be in a calcareous ' state, with the ex-
ception of the teeth, which are generally sound.
Several unusually large skeletons have been
discovered in this grave. On the lands now the
residence of my venerable friend, John Gatewood
Esq., the signs of an Indian village are yet
plainly to be seen. There are numerous frag-
ments of their pots, cups, arrow points, and other
implements for domestic use, found from time to
time. Convenient to this village there are
several pretty large graves.
"There is also evidence of an Indian town in
Powell's Fort, on the lands now^ owned by Mr.
Daniel Munch. From appearances, this too was
a pretty considerable village. A little above
the forks of the Shenandoah, on the east side of
the South Fork, are the appearances of another
settlement, exhibiting the remains of two con-
siderable mounds now entirely reduced by plow-
ing. About this place many pipes, tomahawks,
axes, hominy pestles, etc., have been found.
Some four or five miles below the forks of the
river, on the southeast side, on the lands now
owned by Capt. Daniel Oliver, is the site of
another Indian village. At this place a con-
» Reduced to a soft chalky condition. ' 1850.
388 The Forest Primeval
siderable variety of articles have been plowed up.
Among the number were several whole pots, cups,
pipes, axes, tomahawks, hominy pestles, etc.
A beautiful pipe of high finish, made of white
flint stone, and several other articles of curious
workmanship, all of very hard stone, have been
found. Their cups and pots were made of a
mixture of clay and shells, of rude workmanship,
but of firm texture.
"There are many other places, on all our
watercourses, to wit. Stony Creek, Cedar Creek,
and 0-pe-quon, as well as the larger watercourses
which exhibit evidences of ancient Indian settle-
ments. The Shaw-nee tribe, it is well known,
were settled about the neighborhood of Win-
chester. What are called the ' Shawnee cabins, *
and 'Shawnee springs,' immediately adjoining
the town, are well known. It is also equally
certain, that this tribe had a considerable village
on the Babb's march, some three or four miles
northwest of Winchester.
"The Tus-ca-ro-ra Indians resided in the
neighborhood of Martinsburg, in the county of
Berkeley, on the Tus-ca-ro-ra Creek. On the fine
farm, now owned by, and the residence of, Mat-
thew Ranson, Esq. (the former residence of Mr.
Benjamin Beeson), are the remains of several
Indian graves. These, like several others, are
now plowed down; but numerous fragments
of human bones are to be found mixed with the
clay on the surface. Mr. Ranson informed the
author, that at this place the under jaw bone of a
The Tribes and Nations 389
human being was plowed up, of enormous size; the
teeth were found in a perfect state of preservation.
"Near the Shannondale springs, on the lands
of Mr. Fairfax, an Indian grave some years since
was opened, in which a skeleton of unusual size
was discovered.
"Mr. E. Paget informed the author that on
Flint Run, a small rivulet of the South River, in
the county of Shenandoah, a skeleton was found
by his father, the thigh bone of which measured
three feet in length, and the under jaw bone
of which would pass over any common man's
face with ease.
"Near the Indian village described on a pre-
ceding page, on Capt. Oliver's land, a few years
ago, some hands in removing the stone covering
an Indian grave discovered a skeleton, whose
great size attracted their attention. The stones
were carefully taken off without disturbing the
frame, when it was discovered that the body had
been laid at full length on the ground, and broad
flat stones set round the corpse in the shape
of a coffin. Capt. Oliver measured the skeleton
as it lay, which was nearly seven feet long. " ^
"Among the most formidable of the Indian
nations with which the Virginians came into
contact and collision was the nation of 'the
Cher-o-kees, who occupied the upper valley of
the Tennessee River and the high lands of Caro-
lina, Georgia, and Alabama. The Cher-o-kees
' Kercheval's History of the Valley, pp. 34 et seq.
390 The Forest Primeval
were the tallest and most robust of the southern
tribes, their complexions brighter than usual with
the red men, and some of their young women
were nearly as fair and blooming as European
women. They owed allegiance to the Mus-co-
gul-ges, who stood at the head of a confederacy
composed of Cher-o-kees, Sem-i-noles, Chick-
a-saws, Choc-taws, and Creeks, and it is proba-
ble that bands from all of these tribes, or at least
warriors, accompanied the Cher-o-kees, in their
annual visits to the Valley. Without exception,
these southern Indians were proud, haughty, and
arrogant, brave and valiant in war, ambitious
of conquest, restless and perpetually exercising
their arms, yet magnanimous and merciful to
a vanquished enemy when he submitted and
sought their friendship and protection.'
"The Cherokees are known to have been
visited by De Soto as early as 1540; but their
interior position kept them long from any inter-
course with the white settlers on the seacoast
of Carolina. The first white man who is known
to have resided among them was one Cornelius
Dougherty, an enterprising, but lax-principled
Irishman, who estabhshed himself as a trader in
one of the Cherokee towns in 1690." '
"The word 'Cheera,' in the language of this
tribe, means fire, and the warriors were called
Cher-ra-kee, meaning sons of fire, that is, of the
divine element, and their priests were called
Chee-ra-tag-he, men of divine fire. This word
' Peyton's History of Augusta County ^ p. 6.
The Tribes and Nations 391
Cher-ra-kee, which appHed only properly to the
braves, came gradually to distinguish the whole
tribe, although their nation was called by them-
selves Tsa-rag-hee.
" According to their own traditions, they came
originally from the far west, but when first known
to the Europeans, they occupied a country form-
ing now the upper portion of Georgia, Alabama,
and Mississippi, and the part of Tennessee
south of the Little Tennessee River.
"The government of the tribe was that of
an elective monarchy, more absolute in time of
war than in peace, and subject to deposition at
any time. It was held at the time of the Revo-
lution, when this tribe was an ally of Great
Britain, by 0-con-o-stot-a, one of the greatest
war chiefs of this nation, who held sway over it
for half a century. Under him was the half- or
vice-king, who was second in command, and
acted in his stead in case of the sudden death of
the monarch. These two rulers with the chief-
tains, or princes of the scattered villages, com-
posed the supreme council of the nation, which
sat at E-cho-ta, their capital, and decided all
important questions in peace and war. But
over the archimagus or king, and even the
supreme council, was the great and good spirit
who was the guardian of the Cher-o-kee, and
who uttered his will through the beloved man
or woman of the tribe.
"During and after the Revolution, this office
was held by a woman, who often thwarted the
392 The Forest Primeval
deliberate and deeply concerted plans of the
great council of the nation, with the great
0-con-o-stot-a at its head.
"The Cher-o-kees had no large cities, nor even
villages, but dwelt in scattered townships in the
vicinity of some stream where fish and game
could be found in abundance. A number of
their towns, bearing the musical names of Tal-
las-se, Tam-ot-tee, Chil-how-ee, Cit-i-co, Ten-
nas-see, and E-cho-ta, were, at the opening of the
Revolutionary War, located upon the rich low-
lands lying between the Tel-li-co and Little
Tennessee Rivers.' About one-third of the
tribe occupied these settlements, and they were
known as the Ot-ta-ri, or, among the mountains,
Cher-o-kees. About the same number were
located near the headwaters of the Savannah,
in the great highland belt, between the Blue
Ridge and the Smoky Mountains, "" and they were
styled E-rat-i, or, in the valley, Cher-o-kees.
Another body, among whom were many Creeks,
and which was somewhat more numerous and
much more lawless than either of the others,
occupied towns along the Tennessee, in the vicin-
ity of Lookout Mountain. These, from their
residence near the creek of that name, were
known as Chick-a-mau-gas. "
"These three bodies were one people, governed
by one archimagus, and at this time they
' Monroe County, Tennessee, covers all of this area.
' The Great Smoky Mountains divide North Carolina and Ten-
nessee. The Blue Ridge runs to the east of them.
The Tribes and Nations 393
numbered in all about thirty thousand people,
between three and four thousand of whom were
*gun men/ or warriors."
" E-cho-ta, which was located on the northern
bank of the TeUi-co, about five miles from the
site of Fort London, and thirty southwest from
the present city of Knoxville,' contained their
great council-house, and was the home of the
archimagus, and the beloved woman, or pro-
phetess of the tribe. It was their sacred town,
or ' city of refuge. ' . . . Once within the limits
of E-cho-ta, an open foe, or even a red-handed
criminal, could dwell in peace and security.
The only danger was in going and returning. It
is related that an Englishman, who in self-
defense had slain a Cherokee, once fled to this
sacred city to escape the vengeance of the kin-
dred of his victim. He was treated here with
so much kindness that after a time he deemed
it prudent to leave his asylum. The Indians
warned him against the danger; biit he ventured
forth, and on the following morning his body
was found on the outskirts of the town, pierced
through and through with a score of arrows."
" E-cho-ta contained a hundred or more cabins
and wigwams, scattered along the bank of the
stream, on both sides of a broad avenue, shaded
with oaks and poplars, and trodden hard with the
feet of men and horses. A little apart from
the other wigwams, and more pretentious than
* A point in Loudon County, Tennessee, would correspond with
this description.
9
394 The Forest Primeval
the rest, was that of the prophetess. Beside it
was its ' totem ' — an otter in the coils of a water-
snake. . . . Near by was the house of 0-con-o-
stot-a, and not far off, the grand council-house of
the tribe, occupying a spacious opening, circular,
of a tower-shaped construction, twenty feet
high, and ninety in circumference. It was
rudely built of stout poles, plastered with clay,
and had a roof of the same material, which
sloped down to broad eaves that gave effectual
protection to the walls from the rain. Its wide
entrance was covered with a couple of buffalo
skins hung so as to meet together in the middle;
but it was without windows, an aperture in the
roof, protected by a flap, serving to let the smoke
out, and the light in, just enough to make more
sensible the gloom that shrouded the interior.
Low benches, neatly made of cane, were ranged
around the circumference of the room; and on
these sat the warriors of the tribe when they
gathered to the great councils; but they were
cleared away when the braves met here to per-
form their green-corn dance. "
"In the rear of each lodge was a small patch
of cleared land, where the women and negro
slaves — stolen from the white settlers over the
mountains — cultivated beans, corn, and pota-
toes, and occasionally some such fruits as
pears, plums, and apples,
f>i
» Kirke's Rear-Guard of the Revolution^ pp. 13-25. All quotations
from this work are reproduced by permission of D. Appleton &
Company, Publishers.
The Tribes and Nations 395
The important part which the Cher-o-kees
were destined to play in the history of the Colo-
nies, as allies of England during the Revolution,
amply justifies this extended notice of the
tribe.
West of the Cherokee settlements, on the
other side of the mountains, was a vast region
stretching to the Mississippi, which was entirely
uninhabited. Until the year 1769, there could
not be found any permanent habitation of man
in this region. It was the hunting ground and
battle-field of the Indians, claimed by hostile
tribes, but occupied by none.'
It is interesting to know that a few descend-
ants of the Cher-o-kees are still living in Vir-
ginia, in Amherst County, where they and their
ancestors have been settled for the last one
hundred and twenty-five years. They are the
descendants of several old Cherokee warriors,
who dropped ofi^ from a band of pilgrims on
their return from a visit to the "Great White
Father. " There is a mixture of white blood in
the clan, which now numbers from two hundred
and fifty to three hundred persons. They are
known locally as "Issues.''
The name "Issue" was derived from an il-
logical association of words and ideas which
arose before the civil war, when free negroes
were called "free issue." These people were
dark, but not slaves nor negroes, but were
classed by the whites somewhat with them, and
* Kirke's Rear-Guard */ the Revolution, p. 13.
396 The Forest Primeval
given part of the designation of free negroes —
Issues.
The name "Issues" is disHked by them, and
they proudly call themselves Indian men and
Indian women, and keep much aloof from both
the whites and the negroes. The family names
recognized by them are Johns, Branham, Adcox,
and Willis, names taken from the whites, and
one Indian name, Redcross. They live the
obscure life of agricultural tenants, or small
farmers.^
In the course of the history of the country at
large, the relation of the State of Virginia to
some of the Indian tribes presented many curi-
ous phases. In 1861, when the War between the
States broke out, the Secretary of the Interior
of the United States Government held in trust for
the Choctaw tribe of Indians registered bonds of
the State of Virginia amounting to $450,000.
This tribe of Indians, living in the southwest,
had been taken under the protectorate of the
Confederate Government, as that tribe had
"united themselves with the Confederate Gov-
ernment." This made them allies of Virginia.
Interest was due, and the Indians wanted their
money, but Virginia would not pay it to the
Federal authorities for them. The State there-
fore declared cancelled the bonds as then held
by the Secretary of the Interior of the United
States, and issued others in their place, to the
Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate
* The Southern Churchman, vol. Ixxii., No. 53.
The Tribes and Nations 397
States. And, in 1864, a similar arrangement
was made with regard to ^90,000 of bonds, so
held for the Cherokee Indians.'
The Cherokee nation continued as a poHtical
body until midnight of June 30, 1914. It was
then dissolved. The tribal funds amounting
to ^600,000 was divided among its forty-one
thousand members. Commissioner Sells of the
Indian Office called on that day for the resigna-
tion of all Cherokee officials.
At the time of its dissolution the Cherokees
were the largest of the five civilized tribes.
Under the laws of Congress it was intended that
all of these civilized tribes should dissolve as
nations in 1906. Congress, however, extended
the time in the discretion of the Indian Office.
At the time of its dissolution one of its mem-
bers was a Senator of the United States from
Oklahoma, and received about ^15 as his portion
of the tribal funds.
The other four nations which made up the
''Five Civilized Tribes" were the Choctaws,
Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles.
Another powerful nation was the Ca-taw-bas,
whose headquarters were on the Ca-taw-ba
River, in South Carolina.
The Catawba River rises in the Blue Ridge
Mountains, North Carolina, near Morgantown.
It runs east and then south into South Carolina,
where it is known for some distance as the
* Acts 1861-2, p. 34; Acts 1863-4, p. 9.
398 The Forest Primeval
Wateree, but after the confluence of the Broad
River, it takes the name of Santee and under
this name empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It
crosses the boundary line of North and South
Carolina about at its center.
The Catawba territory stretched toward the
east from this river to the Yadkin, and on the
west, by reason of a treaty made with the Chero-
kees, to the Broad River. It lay on both sides
of the boundary between North and South
Carolina.
The largest village of this tribe was in York
County, South Carolina, on the Catawba River.
This was probably the place called Catawba
Town by the Virginians.
The Catawbas were probably the bravest and
most enterprising of all the southern tribes.
They are known to have gone as far north as
Pennsylvania, to wage war with the Five Nations,
and they repeatedly engaged in battle with the
Northern Indians in the Valley of Virginia. The
battle of Hanging Rocks was fought between this
nation and either the Mohawks or the Delawares.'
In 1682, this tribe could put 1500 warriors
in the field. By the year 1756, from the com-
bined effects of small-pox, and other deadly dis-
eases, and from constant and bitter warfare with
the Iroquois, Cherokees, Shawanese, Delawares,
and other nations, they were reduced to about
four hundred fighting men, the remnants of
over twenty different tribes.
* Peyton's History of Augusta County ^ p. 6,
The Tribes and Nations 399
Before this date, however, peace had been
made between them and the Cherokees. The
Broad River, which still bounds Cherokee
County, South CaroHna, on the east, was made
the boundary between them. And in 175 1,
their wars with the Iroquois were terminated by
a conference at Albany. But they were still at
war with western Indians.
The Catawbas became firm allies of Virginia.
They fought on the side of the colonies in the
war against the Tus-ca-ro-ras, during the years
171 1, 1712, and 1713; and again with them
against the French and Indians. They failed
to keep their promise to send a force to assist
Braddock, but fought on the side of Virginia
and the Carolinas against England in the
Revolutionary War.
In 1756, the king of the Catawbas was Heig-
ler. After having been a firm friend of Virginia,
he was killed near his own village by a small
party of his ancient enemies, the Shaw-a-nese, in
1762.'
Other tribes to the south were the Man-go-
ags, the Chaw-ons, and the We-op-e-medgs,
the last two on the Virginia-Carolina State line.
The We-op-e-medgs lived nearest the seacoast,
the Chaw-ons to the west of them.
The colony also came into contact with the
' The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography y vol. xiii.,
notes pp. 227, 238, 260.
400 The Forest Primeval
Delawares, who frequented the Susquehanna
River in Pennsylvania."
They were a powerful body of Indians, in
possession of the eastern part of Pennsylvania,
and the whole of New Jersey. They do not seem
to have occupied the State of Delaware, which
took its name not from them, but from Lord
De la War.
Other tribes with which Virginia came into
contact and sometimes in conflict were the
Wyandots, and the Mingoes, the latter a branch
of the Iroquois which had settled on the Ohio
and its branches. The Delawares and Shawanese
were also Iroquois tribes which migrated to this
section about 1728, coming from the French
settlements in Canada. The Miamis formed
another tribe which settled in what is now Ohio.
They were also called Twigh-twees. They were
the most powerful confederacy of the west,
combined four tribes, and extended their influ-
ence even beyond the Mississippi. Their princi-
pal town was Pi-qua. The Chick-a-maw-gas,
in Tennessee, and the Six Nations of New York,
also come before us, and play their part in
Virginia's history.
Among the Indian settlements which came
into historical prominence as the colony extended
farther and farther west may be mentioned Shan-
no-pins town, a Delaware village, on the south-
east side of the Alleghany River, two or three
' Pe3rton's History of Augusta County ^ p. 6.
The Tribes and Nations 401
miles above Pittsburg, and Logstown, on the
north bank of the Ohio. This was later named
Fort Mackintosh, and now the town of Beaver,
in the county of that name, in the State of
Pennsylvania, about twenty-five miles down the
river from Pittsburg. This was the stronghold
of Tan-a-cha-ris-son, the Seneca chief of the
mixed tribes which had migrated to the Ohio.
He was surnamed the "half-king," as not wholly
an independent sovereign, being still subordinate
to the Iroquois Confederacy. We meet with
him at the period of Washington's journey to
Fort Duquesne.
Charters Old Town and Sewickley Old Town
from ten to fifteen miles up the Alleghany on its
western shore. Queen Al-li-guip-pe's town, on the
site of the present McKeesport, were also well-
known Indian towns in Pennsylvania, in that
portion of it once claimed by Virginia.
In the old Virginia territory west of the Ohio
Indian towns abounded. Its tributary streams,
the Muskingum, the Hockhocking and the Scioto
all had their waters guarded by Indian towns
and villages.
Virginia's power and influence having been
felt, and government established by her as far
west as the Mississippi, and northwest to the
Great Lakes, she came in contact with all these
tribes and nations and many others.
In common with the Indians in the rest of
North America, these tribes and nations, as
402 The Forest Primeval
already stated, were engaged in endless warfare
among themselves, in the prosecution of which,
when they captured their enemies, they prac-
ticed all the cruelties which a savage imagination
could suggest. Among other enormities, they
sometimes practiced cannibalism. We are told
in particular of the Po-cough-tro-nacks, a tribe
which lived beyond the Falls, who ate men.^
"These vagrant tribes camped or resided at
great distances from each other, were widely
dispersed over a vast country, and any connec-
tion between them and particular localities was
of so frail a texture that it was broken by the
slightest accident.
"The different tribes or nations were small in
number as compared with civilized societies in
which industry, arts, agriculture, and commerce
have united a vast number of individuals whom
a complicated luxury renders valuable to each
other.
"No accurate information exists as to the
numbers composing these tribes, but it is most
probable they did not exceed a few hundred
warriors each. At the landing of the Pilgrims
in 1620, the number of Indians in New England
did not exceed 123,000, and a few years later the
number was greatly reduced by a plague. It is
probable that the Indian population of Virginia
was larger at this time, as the climate of our
Valley and State is generally better adapted to
the wants of man than that of New England.
' Smith's True Relation, p. 36.
The Tribes and Nations 403
Bancroft, however, ventures the opinion that the
whole Indian population east of the Mississippi
and south of New England did not, in 1620,
exceed 180,000.
" Detached parties of armed barbarians from
the Northern and Western tribes occasionally
came to the Valley, and the Mas-sa-wom-ees
penetrated to Eastern Virginia and were a terror
to the low-land tribes. Armed parties also
visited the Valley from the five nations situated
on the rivers and lakes of New York — the Mo-
hawks, 0-nei-das, 0-non-da-gas, Cay-u-gas,
and Sen-e-cas."'
In the course of its laborious, and often tragic,
westward progress, Virginia came into contact
or conflict with these many, and often powerful,
tribes. War and campaigns followed, diplomacy
and treaties, conflicting interests adjusted, and
compromises agreed upon, boundary lines es-
tablished between the white man and the red
man, grants of land, and conquests of territory.
It also involved treaties of alliance and co-
operation with some of these Indian tribes, and
with the other English settlements, sometimes
hampered by local jealousies and self-interest.
Some of these hostile Indians, too, were not
unsupported by powerful European influence.
France was their ally, and Virginia had to con-
tend with her trained soldiers as well as with the
savage foe.
' Peyton's History of Augusta County, pp. 6-7.
404 The Forest Primeval
The varying circumstances of this ever on-
ward and ever widening movement found Vir-
ginia now waging war in the western forests,
to stop the slaughter of her people on the fron-
tier; building forts without number and palisades
of enormous length; now sending troops to the
aid of Carolina, threatened with destruction
by the Indians of the south ; or debating with
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York the
terms of a treaty between the Indians and the
English Colonies at Lancaster or Albany.
Picturesque figures move across the stage, and
incidents as strange, and often as horrible, as
war only can produce, marked the struggle.
From movements of armed forces covering
the distance from Cape Henry to the heart
of the Northwest Territory, and from Carolina
to Fort Duquesne, down to hand-to-hand en-
counters in the log cabins of the pioneers, as the
Indians in small bodies roamed through the
settlements, the soil was too often drenched
with the blood of the contending races. It was
a life-and-death struggle between them for the
possession of the very soil on which they lived.
The Indians were no mean antagonists.
Born to war, and bearing pain and torture with
stoical indifference and Spartan-like fortitude,
the Indians of Virginia defended their possession
of the land they had inherited as any other war-
like nation would have done.
Awed at first by the new foe they had to deal
with, whom they regarded with superstitious
The Tribes and Nations 405
dread, protected as he was, also, by coats of mail
and master of those terrific fire-arms and thunder-
ing cannon, the Indians, during the period of the
colony's greatest weakness, were at a disadvan-
tage. This became less as time went on, for
he became familiar with the white man, and no
longer feared him as he had. They gradually
became supplied, too, with similar arms, and the
old inequality between them disappeared.
Thus the Indian power long continued formid-
able, and threatened the settlements with total
destruction.
CHAPTER XXI
CONCLUSION
SUCH was the people which sparsely occu-
pied a nearly unbroken wilderness among
whom was now to be attempted the plant-
ing of European civilization and the Protestant
form of the Christian religion.
It was no small task which was undertaken.
These brave pioneers faced death in many forms.
They faced the dangers of the sea, the dangers
of an unknown land; they faced sickness, pri-
vation, and enemies civilized and uncivilized.
They left behind them the familiar scenes of
childhood, their homes and their kindred, and
all that men hold dear on earth. When they
turned their ships toward the setting sun, and
began to plow the deep waters of the broad
Atlantic, how little could they tell what was in
store for them in the great unknown whither they
were sailing, and whether they would accomplish
their purpose and again behold the beloved
scenes of Old England, or leave their bones to
bleach upon the sands of a distant continent !
It may be that they fully realized the grandeur
of their work, and were inspired by the thought
406
Conclusion 407
that they, as well as the great leaders who di-
rected them, were actors in a drama of world-
wide significance, and that their names and
their deeds would deserve to be remembered
by the generations of their race which were to
follow them — and we do so honor and record
them.
INDEX
Accomac, special mode of fish-
ing, 95-96; towns in, 152, 155;
Empress of, 155; kingdom of,
155, 316; town of, on site of
Cape Charles, 157; word, 316;
tribe, 367-368
Accounts, how kept, 84
Acquia Creek, word, 316
Adultery, women careful not to
be suspected of, 34; how
women punished for, 81, 173;
unpardonable offence, 81 ; how
men punished for, 172, 173
Adventurers, meaning of the
word, 22-23
Agriculture, conducted by the
women and children, 80, 102,
104; basis of classification as
between barbarous and savage,
101-102; importance of, 102;
system of corn-planting and
gathering, 103-104, 136; cul-
tivation of tobacco, 106-108;
how land cleared of trees, 109,
no, 134; of the Cherokees,
394
Ahone, name of the benign
deity, 250 ^
Alexandria, site of Indian town,
157
Algonquin Indians, 26; pottery
of, 1 19-127
Alleghany, the word, 316
Allies, Indian, of Virginia, 326-
3'^7tZ39<5, 397, 399; of t^e
In^^S_agamst Virginia, 403
Altar-stones, see Pawcorances
Amherst County, some Chero-
kees still in, 395
Animals in the forest, 28
Appalachian, the word, 316
Appamattox, the town, 155;
on site of Petersburg, 157;
huskanawing at, 197; name,
315, 316; the tribe, 324,
337-338
Aprons, women clothed with,
58
Arbors, houses like, 96
Archery, skill in, 96-97
Aristocratic, Indian government,
133-134, 165, 169
Arrows, how made, 42-43, 112;
uses, 42-43; fishing with, 42,
95, 98; heads, 112; stone, dis-
cussed, 113-114; where made,
114-119
Assaomeck, town on site of Alex-
andria, 157
Assemblies, see Public meetings
Augusta County, tribes in, 380-
383
Authorities, this book based on,
vii.-xv.
Axes, uses of, no; how made,
112; stone, discussed, 113-
114; where made, 114-119
B
Bacon, Nathaniel, in command
against the Occaneechees,
379-380
Bald-eagle described, 94-95
Barbecue, style of cooking meat,
47, 67-68
Barbers, women as, 33-34, 62
Bark, shields made of, 112, 173,
176
Barlow quoted, no, 352
Barrens,The, in Augusta County,
381-382
Barrow, see Mound
Barter, trading by, 44
409
410
Index
Baskets, 76; how made, no;
use in pottery-making, 121-
122, 125
Bassets, seat of Eltham at
Machot, 151
Bathing to harden, 60
Battle, between the Patomecks
and Massomecks, 176-177; of
Point Pleasant, won by the
Virginians, 182; Okee carried
into, 243; of Hanging Rocks,
398
Beads, for coronets, 36, 42, 63;
use of, in marriage ceremony,
77
Beans, general article of food,
68, 73; widely cultivated, 73;
planted with the corn for a
support, 103. See Food
Beards, Indians generally wore
none, 33 ; pulled out by roots,
36; some priests wore, 233
Beaufort County, North Caro-
lina, Indian town in, 159
Beaver, uses of, 43; eaten, 69;
Pennsylvania, site of Indian
town, 401
Bedford County, tribes in 371
Beds, of earth, 130; of sticks,
etc., 132, 137-138, 140;
covered with mats, 132; how
slept on, 138, 140
Belts made of peak, etc., 46
Berkeley County, West Virginia,
tribes in, 372-373, 388-389
Bertie County, North Carolina,
Indian tribe in, 158
Beverley, Robert, writings, xiv.-
XV.; quoted, 35, 41, 44, 46, 47,
56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67,
72, 73, 74, 81, 84, 85, 86, 91,
99, 109, 112, 128, 130, 185,
194, 231, 233, 234, 243, 253,
258, 265, 286, 287
Big Knives, the Indians' name
for the Virginians, 182
Black boys, a servant class, 169
Board, children put on, 61
Bodyguard, Powhatan's, 275;
Grangenimeo's, 283; his wife's
attendants, 283
Bonds of Virginia held by Choc-
taws and Cherokees, 396-397
Bones, chains of, 61, 63
Bows, made of locust wood, 112;
of witch-hazel, 112
Bracelets, 55; worn by men and
women of condition, 37; made
of pearls or beads of copper,
40, 55; or of peak or runtees,
46
Branches of trees as clothes,
64-65, 87
Bronze Age, bodies burnt, 217
Brown, Alexander, quoted, ix.
Brunswick County, tribes in, 379
Buckingham County, tribes in,
371
Bull Run, Indian name for, 317
Burial, customs: body put on
scaffold, 201-202 ; body buried,
202; body burnt, 202; riches
buried with body, 202-203;
mourning for a king, 203;
mounds, chapter on, 204-222 ;
see Mounds
Burk quoted, 80-81, 1 71-172
Burnt, bodies, 217; offerings
to the Evil Spirit, 262
Byrd, Colonel Wm., Indians
lived in his pasture, 155
Cabins, picture of, 57; for man
to protect corn, 68; unclean,
189
Cabot, discovery of, foundation
of claims of England, 2
Calumet, or pipe of peace, 49-52
Calvert County, Maryland,
town in, 152; tribes in, 365
Camden County, North Caro-
lina, town in, 158
Cannibalism, 402
Canoes, of birch, 48-49; fishing
in, 93-96; of trunks of trees,
95, 109, 176; making of, 109-
III
Cape Charles, site of Indian
town, 157 _
Capital punishment, how in-
flicted, 172-173
Caroline County, tribes in, 361
Carteret County, North Caro-
lina, Indian town in, 159
Catawba, tribe, 26, 382-383,
397-399; Roanoke Island
settlers came in ^^ntflirf '""'^'S
27; became allies of Virgrinif^r
395LpfflnZS8
Cattle, Indians had none, 45, 71
Index
411
Ceremony of marriage, break-
ing string of beads over joined
hands, 77 ; none when presents
accepted, 79-80
Chains, of pearl, worn by the
princes, 40; and by women, 59
Charles City County, towns in^
146, 147, 155; tribesjn,_339
nViprnlrpp^;, p hfSTTnh^-^^f— J-V. p.
Trngnni"!, "'(^; whrn^-MmtrrHn
V^rp^inia, 324; thP ^-f^t^, 3^-
397; meanmg of th£.,name.
390-391
Chesapeake, houses of a, town,
150; name, 315; river, 317;
bay, 317; tribe, 351-353
Chester River, Indian name for,
317
Chesterfield County, tribes in,
337
Chickahominy, Smith captured
on, 97; town of, 156, 345;
, word, 316; river, 317; tribe,
341-345; form of govern-
ment, 342-343; treaty with
Dale, 342-344; troubles over
lands sold by King of, 344-345
Chiefs, see Weroances
Childbirth, women easily de-
livered, 60; how child treated,
60, 61
Children, Indian, born white,
32, 36, 131; how carried, 59-
60, 62; how hardened, 60;
how treated when bom, 60;
named by father, 61; on
boards, 61; greased, 61; wait
on parent, 62; how dressed,
62 ; use of bow and arrow, 62 ;
work of, 75-76; part played
by, in agriculture, 80, 102;
disposition of in divorce, d>2',
large number desired, 82 ; care
of sachem, 171; yearly sacri-
fice of, 191, 223-224, 252;
altar-stones used to instruct,
230; sacrifice of, due to the
priests, 237
Chinkapin, the word, 323
Chipoak Creek, Indian name
for, 317
Chowan, County, North Caro-
lina, towns in, 158; tribe, 380
Church government vigorous
in Virginia, 23-24
City of Refuge, 393
Civilized tribes, 397
Cleopatre, daughter of Powha-
tan, 274
Clock, meaning of the word,
note, 231
Cloth, Indians made, 125
Clothes, mantle, 37; skins, 40,
41-42; fashions, 53-59; match-
coats, 57; deerskins, 62; of
women, 64; thread for, 95
Cockarouse, title of honor for
bravery, 92; must have been
huskanawed, 195
Cockle shell, used as money, 47;
as a spoon, 75
Cohongoroota, river, 315, 363,
383
Cohonks, winters called, 84;
years reckoned by, 84; moon
of, 84
Colcraft, Henry R., quoted, 214
Color, of Indians, 32, 36; partly
due to smoke, 131
Columbus, discovery by, foun-
dation of claims of Spain, 2
Common people, given to steal-
ing, 35; headgear, 37; clothes,
37; bareheaded, 56; their souls
not believed to be immortal,
241-242
Conch shell, 46, 64
Confederate Government, Choc-
taws and Cherokees allies of,
396-397
Conjuration, particular case of,
227-229; performed in the
Occaneeche language, 260
Conjurer, see Priests and Con-
jurers
Cooking, boiling, 66; fish, 66;
meat, 66-67; done with little
care, 67-68 ; seasoning 68. See
Food
Cooks, 62
Copper, chains and bracelets of,
40, 53, 54. 55, 61, 63
Corn, Indian, 47, J^n 74, 76, 80,
84; fields, 58, 102; bread, 68;
gathering, 84; moon, 84; im-
portance of, 103; how planted
and gathered, 103-104; the
King's, how planted and
gathered, 104-105, 136; how
protected, 136; annual feast
at corn gathering, 263-264
Coronet, 36, 46, 56
412
Index
Council, great, of nation, power
of, 171
Counting, system of, 84; pastime
involving, 86
Courtship, 78, 80
Cowee range, 266
Crawford, Colonel Wm., his
death, 300-301
Creation, Indians* belief as to,
239-240, 254-258
Crown, sent by James I. to Pow-
hatan, use of, at time of corn
planting, 104; descent of,
through female line, 170; kept
in the god's house at Orapax,
251
Cruelty of the Indians, 44-45,
181-182
Crystal altar-stone for sacrifice,
253
Culpeper County, tribes in, 370
Cumberland County, tribes in,
371
Cushaws, preserved, 69; de-
scribed, 73; cultivated, 73
Customs, welcome to chief, 43;
walking, 44; dances, 45; travel-
ing, 47; receiving strangers,
49-52; entertaining strangers
of condition, 52
D
Dances, war, 45; one arranged
by Pocahontas, 64-65; fea-
ture of yearly festival, 85; two
kinds described, 86-87; every
night, 87; one like the Horn-
< pipe, 88 ; at the matchacomoco,
175; one form of devotion, 230
Dare County, North Carolina,
Indian town in, 159
Day, how divided, 84; none
more holy than another, 229,
251-252; "A, in an Indian
Village," 288-309
Dead, bodies of the kings, see
Mummies; fate of the, de-
cided by Mahomny, 261-262
De Bry, pictures engraved by,
37-39
Deer, plentiful, 40; skins used
as dress, 62; how flayed,
62; feeding-grounds, 73; how
hunted, 97, 99-100; stalking,
97-98; use of, when killed,
99, 100; the Great Deer, 256-
257
Descent of the Crown, 170
Despotism, Powhatan's rule a,
165-166, 167-168, 174-175;
Burk's statement as to au-
thority, 171
Devil worship, 249, 250, 251,
252, 259-260; names for, 306.
See Religion
District of Columbia, tribe in,
xii.; quarries and workshops
in, 114-119
Divination and enchantment,
frequency of, 262
Divisions, poHtical, of land, 165,
167
Divorce, husband could at will,
78, 79, 80, 81 ; right of wife to,
80, 81; children how disposed
of in case of, 82
Domestic animals, lack of, 71
Dorchester County, Maryland,
tribes in, 366
Drink, water, principal, 70;
appetite for strong, 70-71
Drums, how made, 85-86, 87;
none used in war, 177
Duffield match-coat, 57
Dutch, love of the Indians for
the, 180-181
E
Ear-rings, 40, 41, 54, 55, 59
Eastern Shore, towns on, 155;
kingdom of Accomack, 155,
316; Still Pond, 265-266;
tribes on, 366-368
Echota, capital city of the
Cherokees, 391-394
Eden ton, site of Indian town, 158
Edict of Nantes, 11, 15
Eltham, seat of the Bassetts, 151
Embalming, 47, 198, 199-200.
See Mummies
Empress of Accomac, 155
Enchantment, frequency of, 262
England, claim of, to Virginia,
2; King of, at the head of
movement to found Virginia,
19-21; policy of, in regard to
the Indians, 30, 236
English, Indian name for the,
321, 343; Indian words
adopted into the, 322-323
Index
413
Ensenore, mourning for, 203;
views in regard to immor-
tality of the white men, 242-
243
Essex County, towns in, 156;
tribes in, 361
Estates, private, on sites of
Indian villages, 157
Europe, condition of, in six-
teenth and seventeenth cen-
turies, 1-15; powers of, which
laid claim to Virginia, 2-3
Faces carved on posts, 85, 244,
249, 264
Fairfax County, tribes in, 365
Falls Church, Indian workshop
near, 117-118
Falls of the James, 161-164;
Indian name for, 316
Father, children named by, 61;
daughters bought of, in
marriage, 77-78; oaths on
manes of dead, 248-249
Fauna of the Virginia forest,
28-29
Fauquier County, tribes in, 370
Feasts, how attended, 40; one
described, 85; held at night,
137
Feathers as ornaments, 37, 39,
41
Female, title to the Crown by
descent through, 170
Feudal system, the Ind ans'
virtually a, 129
Field, picture of Indian, 42
Fire, always kept burning in
cabins, 66, 131; how lighted,
66, 109, in; water, 70-71;
every night for amusement,
87; fishing, 93-94; hunting,
97, 99-100; always kept with
the mummies of the kings,
First fruits, 262
Fiscal system of Powhatan,
165-166, 167
Fish, see Food
Fishing, women enjoy seeing,
63; spring diet, 71; chapter
on, 91-96; weirs, 91-92, 94,
95-96, 98; catching sturgeon,
92-93; by fire, 93-94; in
canoes, 93-96; hawk, pic-
ture of, 94; nets, 95; hooks,
95; lines, 95; bait tied on, 95;
shooting fish with arrows, 95,
98; in Accomac, 95-96; care
taken in, 96
Flora of the Virginia forest, 28
Fluvanna County, tribes in, 371
Flying-squirrels, 73
Food, constituted the Indians'
principal riches, 44, 71;
amount consumed, 66, 74,
76; grace before, 74; but
little stored up, loi; waste
of, 67, 70, 100; for various
seasons, 71-72; no cattle nor
domestic fowls, 70-71, 73;
herbs not used as, 69; had no
salt, 68; used ash of hickory,
etc., for seasoning, 68; cooks,
62; how cooked and served,
47, 66, 67, 68, 70, 74-75, 76;
all sorts of flesh used as, 68,
76; feasts, 40, 85, 139; some
mentioned:
acorns, 71
apricots, 73
beans, 68, 73, 103
bear's oil, sauce for dried
meat, 47
beaver, 68
bread, made of corn, wild
oats, sunflower seed, 68 ; or
tuckahoe, 70; how baked,
68, 72; eaten alone, 68
cherries, 73
chinkapins, 69
corn, see Com
crabs, 71-72
cushaws, 69, 73
dried fish, flesh, and oysters,
72
earthnuts, 69
fish, quantity of, 40, 73;
how dressed, 66, 68; how
cooked, 66, 67, 74; season
for, 71-72
goats, 73
gourds, 73
grapes, 73
grubs, 68
hominy, 67, 74
macocks, 73
maracocks, 73
matcocks, 69
melons, 69, 72-73, 102
414
Index
Food — Continued
mulberries, 71-72
muskmelons, 73
nectarines, 72-73
nuts, 69, 71
oil of acorns, sauce for
dried meats, 47, 69, 71
onions, wild, 69
oysters, 71-72
peaches, 69, 73
peas, 68, 73
plums, 73-74
potatoes, 73
pulse, 68
pumpkins, 69, 73, 102
roasting ears, 68-69
rockahomonie, for travel-
ing, 47-48
roots, 69-70
simlins, 73
snakes, 68
squirrels, 71, 73
strawberries, 69, 71-72
terrapin, 68, 71-72
tocknough berries, 72
tortoise, land, 72
truffles, 69
tuckahoe, 69-70
turkeys, 71
turtles, 68
venison, 76
walnuts, 69, 71, 73
wasps, 68
water, pond, preferred, 70
watermelons, 73
wheat, a kind of, 73
Football, 88
Forest, covered with grapevines,
27; principal trees, 28; flora
and fauna of, 28-29; often
uninhabited, 96; clear of un-
derbrush around the towns,
138
Fort, West's, 144; Algemoone,
148; at Warascoyack, 349;
Mackintosh, 401
Forum, one in each town, 87,
I34» 135, 136-137 ^
Fowls, abundance of, 73; no
chickens nor peacocks, 73;
how hunted, 99; how dressed,
68. See Food
France, claim of, to Virginia, 2;
pnli'r.y of, in regard to the
Indians, .•^o; an aiiv ot thg;
Indians. 403
Frederick County, tribes in,
380-381; towns in, 386
Fredericksburg, site of Indian
town, 157
Freedom of religion, involved in
wars of sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries, and in the
colonization of Virginia, 4-15;
existed nowhere at that time,
18
Fruits, see Food
Funeral, rites, chapter on, 198-
203
Furs, wreath of, 37; for use, 45
Game, seasons for, 71-72; kinds
of» 73, 97 f where found, 96;
part of most valued, 99, 100;
fowls abundant, 99; large, how
hunted, 99-100. See Hunting
Gates County, North Carolina,
Indian town in, 158
Gloucester County, towns in,
142, 145-146; tribes in, 355
Glover, Thomas, writings, xiv.;
quoted, 45, 93, 106, 129, 189,
202, 235
Glue, of deer sinews and horns,
43, 112; of turpentine, 112
God, see Religion
Gourds, 62, 73, 75; for rattles,
86, 87; use in pottery-making,
121-122
Government, feudal in its na-
ture, 129; of the Indians, aris-
tocratic, 133-134; essentially
a hierarchy, 165, 173; Powha-
tan's, despotic, 166; taxes of,
under Powhatan, oppressive,
167; descent of the Crown, 170;
of the Chickahominies, 342-
343; of the Cherokees, 391-
392; political connection be-
tween the tribes weak, 402
Grangenimeo, brother of Pemisa-
pan, 283
Grapevines, profusion of, 27-28
Graves, pottery found in, 120;
Indian in northwestern part
of State, 381-389
Greasing, of the hair, 36;
children, 61
Great, Hare, leg nd of the, 255-
258; Deer, legend of, 256-257
Index
415
Greensville County, tribes in,
379
Gustavus Adolphus, 13
H
Hair, of Indians, black, 33; men's,
half shaven, 33-34, 54-55;
worn long, 39; cut fancifully
and painted, 36; tied in knot
under ears, 39; cut like a
cock's comb, 39-40, 41, 57;
few beards, 54, 57; front part
of women's cut short, 58;
women's put up in knot, 61;
of maids cut short in front
and sides, 63; of married
women all long, 63
Hammer, weapon like a, 176
Hamor, Ralph, writings, xiii.;
quoted, 151
Hampshire County, West Vir-
ginia, Indian relics in, 384-
385
Hampton, Indian fields at, 102;
site of Indian town, 157
Hanover County, towns in, 149,
153; tribes in, 338
Happy hunting grounds, 261-
262
Hare, native animal, 73; the
Great, legend of, 255-258
Hariot, Thomas, writings, vii.;
sent over by Raleigh, vii,;
pictures, 37-39; quoted, 39, 40,
55, 57, 61, 62, 65, 66, 76,
85, 105, 134, 135, 201, 230,
239
Heaven, the Indians' belief in
. regard to, 240, 241-242, 257-
258, 261-262; Indian word for,
306. See Religion
Hell, the Indians' belief in regard
to, 240, 241, 261-262; words
for, 240, 306. See Religion
Henrico County, towns in, 145,
325; tribes in, 324-325, 337
Henry III. on throne of France
when this history begins, 3
Henry IV. assassinated, 12
Heraldry, marks on the body in
the nature of coats of arms,
42
Hertford County, North Caro-
lina, Indian town in, 158
Hickory, ash of, for seasoning
food, 68; nuts, 69; liquor
made from, 69; Indian name
for milk, 69; the word, adopted
. into the English, 323
Holmes, W. H., quoted, 119
Holy days, none specially ob-
served, 229, 251-252
Hours, no distinction of, 84
Houses, and towns, chapter on,
128-140; string used in con-
struction of, 95; for hunting,
96, loi, 139-140; corn storai
in dwelling, 104; axes and
hatchets used in building, no;
Indians lived in, 128; not
tents, 138; set about the
towns irregularly, 130, 134,
139; how built, 130-132, 133,
139; fire in, 131, 137, 140;
only one room, 131, 135;
flowers near, 133; built by
the rivers, 137; all of one
pattern, 139; built under
trees, 139; king's larger, 139;
scaena by, 140; not kept clean,
189; grand council, of the
Cherokees, 394
Howe quoted, 212-216
Hunger, Indians patient of, 70;
effect of, reduced by tightening
their girdles, 70
Hunting, chapter on, 96-101; of
deer, favorite sport, 40, 97-
98, 99-100; care taken in, 96;
how conducted, 96, 97, 99,
loo-ioi; houses built for, 96,
loi, 139-140; use of fire in, 97,
99-100; deer-stalking, 97-98;
of fowls, 99
Husband, duties of, 80; effect
of plurality of wives on, 82-
83
Huskanawing, chapter on, 191-
197; where done, 144, 191, 196,
197; how often practiced, 191,
195; only the choicest youths
selected for, 195; essence of
the rite, 195-196; cockarouses
and priests must have been
through, 195; wysoccan,a mad
potion given in, 196; those
treated must forget the past,
196-197; Okee's part in, 193-
194, 197
Hyde County, North Carolina,
towns in, 157, 159
4i6
Index
I
Idols, see Religion
Ill-breeding punished by the
weroances, i68
Immortality of the soul, see
Religion
Indian, jfile, 44; fashion and
domestic construction of, so-
ciety, 53-76; summer, 89-90;
old fields, 102, 134; chiefs, see
Weroances; towns, see Towns;
names of places in Virginia,
318-320; words adopted into
the English, 322-323; relics in
northwestern part of the
State, 383-388; allies of Vir-
ginia: Pamunkeys, 326-327;
Choctaws, 396; Cherokees,
397; Catawbas, 399. See
Indians
Indians, character of, chapter
on, 25-52; in Virginia belonged
to the neolithic Stone Age, 25;
classed as barbarous, 25; of
the Algonquin stock, 26; dis-
tribution of, in eastern part of
the United States, 26-27; at
war among themselves, 27,
129, 173, 382-383, 401-402;
character and attainments,
29-30, 34». 174, 1757176, 181-
182; policies of Spain, France,
and England in relation to the,
30; color and features, 31-32,
36, 59, 63, 131 ; hair, 33, 36, 39,
41; paints used by, 32-33;
clothes, 37, 41-42; shoes, 37;
marked on the back, 40-41;
all lived in towns, 128-129;
able-bodied, 33, 35-36; long-
lived, 44, 76; most frequent
diseases of, 185-190; patient
of hunger, 70; moderate in
eating, 66, 76; excessive in
eating, 74; bodies alter with
their diet, 72; wasteful, 67, 70,
100; prone to drunkenness,
70-71; cruel, 44-45» 181-182,
300-301; care-free original
condition, 98-99, 100; eco-
nomic effect produced by the
coming of the English, loi;
marriage among, 77-83; occu-
pations of men and women,
75-76, 102, 104, no; quar-
ries and workshops, 1 1 4- 1 1 9 ;
manufactures, 125; as traders,
34-35; standard of honesty,
35; differences in language,
see Language; in council, 170,
177-178, 179-181; the Vir-
ginians adopted forms of
speech of, 178-179; called the
English by their first names,
322; all except the priests
protected by the orders of
King James, 236; love of the,
for the Dutch, 180-181; re-
servations for, 327, 336;
, trustees appointed for, 351;
troubles caused by northern,
375-376; characteristics of
the southern, 390
Injury, never forgotten, 34;
revenge for, 35
Interpreter, Spelman, an, xii.
Interruption, punished, 168;
none in public meetings, 177-
178
Iron, Indians lacked, 112
Isle of Wight County, town in,
149; tribes in, 348
" Issues, " some Cherokees called,
395-396
J
James I., the head of the move-
ment to found Virginia, 19-
21; sent crown, etc., to Pow-
hatan, 104, 251; Powhatan
protected by orders of, 236 ^
James City County, towns in,
144-145, 146, 149; tribes in,
339, 341
James River, falls of, 161-164;
Indian name for, 3 16; tribes on,
339-355, 369-371
Jamestown, m the territory of
the Paspaheghs, 339
Jefferson quoted, 204-210
Johah, shout of approbation,
180
Jones quoted, 35, 44, 55, 74»
79, 81, 134, 261
Jopassus, Spelman lived with,
xi.; sold Spelman to Argall,
xii.; account of creation, 254-
258; brother of Powhatan,
272; King of the Potomacs,
363
Index
417
Kanawha, name, 315
Kecoughtan, Indian fields at,
102, 354; described and de-
stroyed, 148; site of Hampton,
157* 31 7 J sacrifice of children
at, 191; tribe, 353-355; town,
354-355;. conquest of, 354-
355; tribe transported to
Payankatank, 358-359
Keightley quoted, 288
Kent County, Maryland, town
in, 151
Kentucky, name, 315
Kercheval quoted, 89, 383
Kewas, an idol, see Religion
Kewasowok, plural of Kewas,
240
King, title of, 168; the embalmed
kings, and funeral rites,
chapter on, 198-203; the
Laughing, 274, 367; the Half
King, 391, 401; Indian Kings,
see Weroances
King George County, tribes in,
360, 361
King William County, Pamun-
keys live in, 327; Mattaponys
live in, 336-337
King and Queen County,
Beverley Jived in, xv. ; town in,
151
King William County, towns in,
' 156
Kingdom, of Accomack, 155,
316; term may apply to small
number, 156
Kiskiack, town, 146, 356; tribe,
355; allowed to have guns,
356; their land secured to
them, 356; owned land at
Payankatank, 356
Kiwasa, or Kewasa, an idol,
see Religion
Lancaster County, town in,
147; tribes in, 359-36o, 361
Land, separate use of, 133, 139,
168; size of tracts of, 138;
separate tracts for tribes,
139. 165, 167; conveyed by
the weroances, 169; tribal,
325; sales of, by King of the
Chickahominy tribe, 344-
345; secured to the Kis-
kiacks, 356; disputes in rela-
tion to, adjusted, 356, 360-
361, 363-364; secured to the
Rappahannocks, 360-361;
controversy with the King of
the Potomacs, 363-365; of the
Gingaskins, 366-367; secured
to the Accomacks, 368 ; of the
Nottoways, 376-379; un-
occupied, between the moun-
tains and the Mississippi, 395
Lane, map of expedition of, 160;
quoted, 239, 242, 351, 352
Language, differences in, very
great, 33 ; each town had sepa-
rate, 134, 285-286, 287; no
written, 285; that of the
Occaneeches a general, 286;
long words, 286-288; paucity
of the Indian, 287; "A Day
in an Indian Village," 288-
309; "The Lovers' Quarrel,"
309-311; "The Troublesome
Traveler," 312-314; "The
Quarrelsome Chiefs," 314;
names of places, meaning of,
315-316; other Indian names
of places, etc., 316-320; In-
dian verses, 320-322; words
adopted into the English,
322-323
Laughing King, 274, 367
Laws, political, and art of war,
chapter on, 165-182; no
written, 167-168; will of the
chief is law, 167-168; title to
the crown, 170; enforcement
of criminal, 172-173; Indians
not without, 172; how sum-
moned for war, 174-175
Leaves, not used as food, 69;
as covering, 64-65, 87
Letters, Indians had none, 167
Liquor, made from hickory nuts,
69; no other drinks, 70;
Indians* fondness for, 70-71
Loggs Town, seat of Queen Alli-
guippe, 179
London Company, established
Virginia, 21; overthrown by
the King, 21
Longevity, Indian over 160
years old, 44; general among
the Indians, 76
a7
4iS
Index
Louisa County, tribes in, 370-
371
"Lovers', The, Quarrel," 309-
311
M
Machicomuck, the temple, 240
Matchacomoco, a grand council,
175
Machot, town, 1 51-152
Machumps says grace at Dale's,
74
Macocks, a kind of pumpkin, 73;
for rattles, 87
Mahomny, the god who decides
the fate of the dead, 261-
262, 305
Mamanahunt, site of, 146; not
at first tmder Powhatan's
rule, 147
Manakins, where settled, 324,
369-370; tribes ruled by, 370-
371
Mannahoacks, tribes ruled by
the, 369-370
Mantles of turkey-feathers, 53
Map, Smith's, 141; of towns in
Virginia, 142; of towns in
North Carolina, 160; de Brys,
160
Maracock, fruit of the passion
flower, 73
Marietta, mound at, 2 10-2 11
Marks, on the backs of Indians,
40-41, 42
Marriage, chapter on, 77-83;
wives bought, 77, 78; cere-
mony of, 77, 79-80; of the
kings, 78; courtship, 77-80;
polygamy, 77, 78, 79, 80;
duties of the consorts, 80; di-
vorce, 78, 79, 80, 81
Married women, how distin-
guished from maids, 63; see
Wives
Maryland founded, 14; freedom
of religion compulsory in,
under its charter, 18; trade
with, prohibited, 375-376
Massachusetts, difference be-
tween, and Virginia, 15-18
Massomeck, battle between, and
Potomac, 176-177
Matachanna, daughter of Powha-
tan, 274
Match-coats, large mantles, 37;
formerly worn only by the
old, 57; meaning of, 58; chil-
dren carried in, 59-60; used as
mats, 131
Matcocks, fruit of the passion
flower, 69
Materia medica, knowledge of
the priests, 186; roots and
barks of trees, 187, 188-189;
Indian medicine very strong,
189; given in large doses, 190;
antidote for snake-bites, 186,
190; mad potion for huska-
nawing, 195-196; wighsacan
a purgative, 184; puccoon used
as a medicine, 188-189, 229
Mats, used to sit on, 62, 75, 131;
picture of, 75; made by
women, 76; made of bents,
76; used for doors and parti-
tions in houses, 131; covering
for beds, 132; carried about
for hunting-houses, 139-140;
interior of temples divided by,
245
McGee, W. J., quoted, 161-164
McKeesport, Pennsylvania, site
of Indian town, 401
Mattapament, town, 152 river,
317; tribe, 324, 336; see
Mattaponys
Mattapamients, the tribe, 324,
336, 366; see Mattapony
Mattapony, river, 317; the
tribe, 336-337; still existent,
337
Meat, see Food
Mecklenburg County, tribes in,
379
Medicine, Indian practices in
regard to, 183-190; knowledge
of, monopolized by the priests,
183, 186-187, 194; use of
rattles, 183, 185; treatment of
wounds, 183-184, 190; treat-
ment of ulcers, hurts, and
swellings, 184, 185, 190; pur-
gation, 184; dropsy, 184;
sweating, 184, 185, 187;
sweating - house, 187-188;
swellings how treated, 185;
use of sucking, 185; use of
charms, 185; use of burning
wood, 185-186; use of smoking
and scratching, 186; snake-
Index
419
Medicine — Continued
bites, 186-187, 190; vomiting
a bad omen, 190; bleeding or
cupping not used, 190; frac-
tures cured, 190; see Materia
Medica
Mehemn, tribe, 379; river,
tribes on, 379, 380
Metaphor, Indian fondness for,
178-181
Miami, tribe, 26; word, 316
Middlesex County, tribes in,
358-359
Milk called hickory, 69
Mobjack Bay, 317
Moccasins, shoes, how made, 37,
56-57
Monacans, see Manakins
Money, made of conch shell, 46;
fixed in value, 47; wives
bought with, 77
Montoac, name of many gods,
239. See Religion
Months counted by moons, 84
Moons, months counted by, 84;
names of, 84
Morters made by women and
children, 76
Mounds, one opened by Mr.
Jefferson, 204-210; theories in
regard to origin of, 204-205;
well known to the Indians,
209; some located, 209-210;
one at Marietta, 2 10-21 1;
one at Moundsville, 211-222;
stone found in 215-216; origin
of those in Virginia, 222; in
the Valley of Virginia, 381-
389
Moundsville, mound at, 211-
221
Mount Vernon, town near, 365
Mourning for the dead Kings,
203
Mummies, bodies preserved by
barbecuing, 47; of the kings,
how protected, 132, 198, 200,
201, 251 J another mode of
preservation, 198-200; where
kept, 199, 249-250; guarded
by the priests, who stayed
with them, 199, 200; removed
by the Indians, 203, 253
Murder, how punished, 172;
rare, 173
Music, pastime, 86; singing, 86;
every night, 87; instruments
of, 85-86, 87
Musical instruments, pipes, 85;
drums, 85-86, 87; rattles, 86,
St, no trumpets, 177
Muskingum, word, 316
N
Nails, length of Indian women's,
59; kept long to skin deer, 62
Names, given by parents, 60;
soon given to child, 61 ; given
by father, 61; meaning of, of
places, 315-316; Indian, for
places, etc., 316-320; origin
of Powhatan, 269, 358; origin
of Opechancanough, 358; ori-
gin of names of the tribes, 142,
368-369; Indians used only
first names of the English, 322
Nansemond, town, 149; towns
in, 149, 156; the name, 315;
river, 317; tribe, 350-351*.
tribes in, 350, 376-379
Nation, term may apply to
small number, 1 56. See Tribes
Necklaces, worn by ladies of
distinction, 64
Nets, fish, and other kinds made,
125
New England settled, 13
New Kent County, tribes in,
341-342
Newport, Capt. Christopher,
commander of second expe-
dition to Virginia, 19
Norfolk, site of Indian town, 157
Norfolk County, Indian tribe
in, 351-353
Northampton County, towns
in, 152, 155; tribes in, 366-367
Northumberland, County, towns
in, 156
Nuns, faces like, on posts, 85,
244, 249, 264
Oaths, the keeping of, 248-249;
on manes of dead father, 248-
249
Occaneeches, adoration and con-
juration performed in lan-
guage of, 260; theirs a general
knguage, 286; tribe, 379
420
Index
Ohio, name, 315; Indian towns
on, 401
Oil, of acorns, sauce to dry meat,
47; bear's, same use, 47;
women keep skin clean with,
64; no sweet oils, etc., used
in embalming, 199; used to
keep the skin of the mummies
from shrinking, 200
Okee, see Religion ^
Old Fields, Indian, English
name for their tracts, 102;
always fertile, 102, 134
Opechancanough, whether a
brother of Powhatan, 268,
271-272; Pepisco steals one
of his women, 346-347 ; origin
of his name, 358; see a/50 xii.,
145,147,151,283,326
Opitchapan succeeded his
brother Powhatan, 271-272
Orange, the Prince of, life-work
and death, 5-9
Orange County, tribes in, 370
Orapax, town, 152; Cakeres an
idol at, 251; crown and other
articles kept at, 251; tribe,
357; Powhatan weroance of,
357
Origin of the world and mankind,
239-240, 254-258
Oysters, pearl gotten from, 47;
as food, 71-72; abundance
and size, 72 ; dried, 72
Page County, Indian towns in,
^ 386 ^ ^ . ^
Paint, Indians decorated with,
36, 40, 56, 64, 175
Pahsade, picture of, 58; sur-
rounded most towns, 130, 132,
134; what kept within, 132
PamHco County, North Caro-
lina, Indian town in, 159
Pamunkey, place,, 44; corn de-
stroyed at, in 1624, 103; river
now the York, 142, 317, 326;
present, river, formerly the
Youghtamund, 170, 326;
towns of, in 1705, 156; husk-
ana wing at, 196, 197; still in
possession of principal seat of
the priests, 226-227; the name,
315; the tribe, 324, 326-336;
visit to the Reservation, 327-
336
Paquippe lake, 61
Parkman referred to in connec-
tion with Indian burials, 222
Pastimes, watching fishing, etc.,
59, 63; yearly feast, 85; sing-
ing, music, and games, 86;
nightly music and dancing, 87;
one form of dance, 88, foot-
ball, 88; kicking small ball, 88
Patapsco, name, 315
Patuxent, town, 152; name, 315;
river, 317; tribes on the, 365-
366; tribe, 365
Pawcorances, sacrifices made on
them, 230; the crystal altar-
stone, 253-254; commemo-
rated events by, 230, 254; used
to instruct children, 254; the
bird called, 254
Pawwawing days, 90; sorceries of
the Indians so called, 233
Payankatank, river, 317; coun-
try peopled by the Kecough-
tans, 354-355; the Kiskiacks
owned land at, 356; tribes on,
358-359; tribe, 358-359; de-
stroyed by Powhatan, 358-
359
Peace, pipe of, 49-52 ; making of
treaties of, 178; how marked,
178
Peak, for coronets, 36-37, 56;
for necklaces and bracelets, 42,
64; valued for ornament, 45;
various uses of, 46; passed as
money, 46, 306; made from
the conch shell, 64
Pearls, chains and bracelets of,
worn by princes, 40, 55;
supply of, 47; worn by virgins
of good parentage, 62-63;
buried with the dead, 202-
203
Pepisco, romance of, 346-347
Percy, Capt. Geo., writings, viii.;
at a huskanawing, 191 ; quoted,
248
Perquimans County, North
Carolina, town in, 158
Petersburg, site of Indian town,
157
Philip II. on throne of Spain
when this history begins, 3;
the enemy of Virginia, 1 1
Index
421
Philip III., the enemy of Vir-
ginia, II
Pictures, White's, 37-39, 124
Pilgrim Fathers, 15-18
Piney Branch, workshop on,
114-116
Pipes, of conch shell, 46; of
peace, 49-52; for music, 85;
of clay, 122
Places, Indian names for, 315-
320
Pocahontas, dance arranged by,
64-65 ; daughter of Powhatan,
273, 274; name, 274, 315;
Opachisco her uncle, 275
Pochone, see Puccoon
Pocomoke, name, 316
Pocones, see Puccoon
Poetry, specimen of Indian, 320-
322
Point Pleasant, battle of, won
by the Virginians, 182
Political laws, and the art of
war, chapter on, 165-182;
title to the crown, 170; wero-
ance and sachem, 170-171;
connection between the tribes
was weak, 402
Polygamy, custom, 77, 80; on
the part of the kings, 78;
status of wives, 79 ; reason for,
82; effect on the husbands,
82-83
Pomeiock, pictures relating to,
36-39, 135; Indians of, how
marked, 41 ; aged men of, how
dressed, 57; chief women of,
how dressed, 61 ; described,
134-135; mentioned, 157
Pompions, cultivated, 69, 73;
shells for rattles, 86
Pond, water preferred, 70; arti-
ficial for water supply, 135
Popogusso, Hell, 240, 241, 261-
262
Population, not so great here as
in West Indies, 82; greater
than supposed, 130; estimates
of, 279-280, 402-403
Posts, faces carved on, 85, 244,
249, 264
Potomac, town, 151 ; battle with
Massomeck, 176-177; Quio-
quascacke a god of the, coun-
try, 251 ; the name, 315; river,
317; tribe, 362; tribes on the.
xii., 362-366, 371-372, 373,
383
Pots, how set for cooking, 66;
made of clay, no, 119-127;
general form of, 122; uses of,
123. See Pottery
Pottery, made by women, 65-
66, 76; manufacture of, 119-
127; decoration of, 123-127;
relation to basketry, 125
Pouncing, general custom, 40,
53-54. 56, 58-59, 61; nation-
ality shown by, 42; described
by Strachey, 59; how done,
63; designs of, on body, same
as that on pottery, 124
Powhatan, origin of the name,
144, 269, 358; other names
given him, 269; origin of his
family, 268; where born, 267-
268; belonged to the Powha-
tan tribe, 324; eighty years
old when the English came,
267; personal appearance, 267;
temperament, 270-271; four
brothers and two sisters, 170,
271-272; three brothers lived
at Pamunkey, 170; his wives,
272, 273, 276; care of his wives
78; his children, 272-274, 346;
one of his councilors, 274;
inherited rule over six tribes,
268, 270; his bodyguard, 275;
the night-watch, 275; his
treasure-house, 275-276; his
chief holy house, 224-225;
regarded as a demigod, 166;
his power, 276; territory con-
quered by him, 270; bounds
of his empire, 269-270; popu-
lation of his empire, 279-280;
number of kings under him,
268-269, 276; tribes subject
to him, 324-368; despotic
rule of 166, 342; his priests
responsible for destruction of
the Roanoke Island settle-
ment, 235-236; destroyed the
Chesapeaks, 353 ; destroyed
the Payankatanks, 358-359;
Mamanahunt long indepen-
dent of him, 146-147; fiscal
system, 165-166, 167; op-
pressive taxes, 167; punish-
ments ordered by, 277-278;
had many enemies, 173; wag
422
Index
Powhatan — Continued
weroance of the Orapax tribe,
357; Werowocomoco favorite
residence, 142; resided at Mac-
hot, 152; owned Orapax, 152;
offered to sell Capahowasick,
145-146; disturbed by proph-
ecies, 280-281, 282; pro-
tected by order of King
James, 236; policy of, in deal-
ing with the English 278-279;
demoralization of his court
due to the coming of the Eng-
lish, 281; died at Orapax,
153; the rule as to the suc-
cession to his crown, 170; suc-
ceeded by his brother Opitch-
apan, 271; fate of, as com-
pared with Pemisapan, 283-
284; tribe, 268,270, 271, 273,
324-326; town, 144; town, on
site of Richmond, 156-157
Powhatan County, tribes in, 371
Priests, and conjurers, chapter
on, 223-237; their attire, 225-
226, 230-231, 231-232; con-
jurer's dress, 232; black bird
above ear as badge of office,
231 ; deemed semi-divine, 193-
194; their souls deemed im-
mortal, 241-242; lived well,
233-234; their power, 165,
252; constituted an hier-
archy, 165, 173, 223, 342;
ruled the Chickahominies,
342 ; decided questions of war,
173; were specially trained in
medicine, 186, 183-190, 194;
must have been huskanawed,
195; keepers of the mummies
of the kings, 199; stayed with
the mummies, 199, 201; op-
position of, to the white man,
223-224, 235-237, 238; princi-
pal seat of, 224-227; sacred
house near Uttamussack, 224-
225; devotions of, 226, 229,
230; no special holy days, 229,
251-252; conjuration of, 227-
229, 231; of Secota described,
230-231; some wore beards,
233; belief in their super-
natural powers, 233; pro-
ducing rain, 233, 234-235;
office of, never held by women,
234; made the people believe.
260; control over worshipers
in Okee's temple, 247, 260;
redeem an Okee fallen in
battle, 243; good, highly
valued by the weroances, 249;
prophecies of, in relation to
Powhatan's empire, 280-282;
destruction of the Roanoke
Island settlement due to, 236;
denounced by Whittaker, 233-
234; Strachey thought they
should be destroyed, 235-
237
Prince George County, town in,
155; tribes in, 339, 345-346;
Maryland, town in, 152;
tribe in, 365
Princess Anne County, tribe in,
351-353
Prophecies, 280-281, 282, 353
Protestantism, extension of, in-
volved in the colonization of
Virginia, 4-15; contest be-
tween, and Roman Catholi-
cism, 5-15
Proudfit, S. v., quoted, 114, 153
Public meetings, for war, etc.,
170; decorum of, 177-178;
how treaties conducted, 178-
181
Puccoon, a root, 229; paint
made from, 32-33, 54, 264;
used as medicine, 188-189,
229
Punishment, for adultery, 81,
172; for murder, 172; for
robbery, 172; capital, how
inflicted, 172-173; "cruel and
unusual," 181-182
Puritanism, contrast between
reasons of, for colonization,
and those which caused the
settlement of Virginia, 15-18
Putin Bay, Werowocomoco on
or near, 143
Q
"Quarrelsome, the, Chiefs," 314
Quarries, Indian, 11 4-1 19
Quebec founded, 1 1
Queen, title of, 168; Aliguippe,
179, 401
Queen Anne County, Maryland,
tribes in, 366
Quioccos, see Religion
Quioccosan, see Religion
Index
423
Quiver, of rushes, 40; bark, 42:
skin, 42
Rain, power of priests to pro-
duce, 233, 234-235; offerings
for, 251
Raleigh, Sir Walter, opposes the
policies of Spain, 7-12
Rappahannock, town, 156;
word, 316; river, names for,
317; tribes on the, 359-362,
369-370; tribe, 360
Rattle, picture of child with, 62 ;
musical instrument, 86, 87;
use in medicine, 183
Rattlesnake root, cure for
snake-bite, 186-187
Reeds, knives made of, 43
Refuge, city of, 393
Regions, Pamunkey, 44; Seco-
tan, 160; Weapemeoc, 160;
Newsioc, 283; Pomuik, 283;
Isenacommacah, 316
Reincarnation, 242, 258
Relics, Indian, in northwestern
part of the State, 383-388
Religion, freedom of, involved
in the wars of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, 4-
15 ; nature of the Indians', 238 ;
the Indians', described by
Whittaker, 252-253; the In-
dian governmental system of,
249; Occaneeche the language
of, 260; tutelar deities of
towns, 247-248, 251; the
priests made the people be-
lieve, 260; Indian priests re-
sented attack on their, 223-
224; Indians reticent about,
238, 244, 258; medicine a part
of, and not to be disclosed, 186-
187; Quioccosan or Machi-
comuck words for temple,
305; temples surrounded by
posts with faces on them, 244,
264; the temple at Pomeiock,
135; idols placed in the
temples to protect the mum-
mies of the kings, 198, 240,
250, 305; Beverley's visit to
the Indian temple, 243-248;
part played by conjurers and
priests in Okee's temple, 247 ;
altar-stones, 230, 253-254 ;
see Pawcorances; frequency of
sacrifice, 263; religious relics
carefully kept by Indians, 132 ;
no special holy days, 229, 251-
252; seasons observed in,
263-264; devotions, 226, 229-
230, 254; frequency of di-
vinations and enchantments,
262; various objects of wor-
ship, 249; the Devil chief ob-
ject of worship, 249, 251, 259-
260, 262; necessity for wor-
shiping him, 259-260; Rio-
kosick and Riapoke names for
the Devil, 306; Okee the
malignant deity, 2 50-2 51,259-
260, 305; his part in huska-
nawing, 193-194, 197; pro-
tected the mummies of the
kings, 198, 240, 250, 305;
carried into battle, 243; the
name Okee a generic term,
247-248, 305 ; the idol Okee de-
scribed, 246, 247, 250, 252;
burnt offerings and first fruits
given to, 262 ; Ahone the great
and good god, 250, 259, 305;
names of the gods Okee,
Quioccos, Kiwasa, 239, 247-
248, 305; Cakeres and Quio-
quascacke, 251; Montoac a
general word for gods, 239,
305; one great god, 239;
Rawottonemd their word for
god, 305; Kewas, an image of
god in the form of a man;
plural Kewasowok, 305; Qui-
youghcosoughs, the name for
petty gods and their affinities,
305; Quioccos the idol which
dwelt in the temple, 305;
Mahomny the god who de-
cides the fate of the dead,
261-262, 305; gods have
human forms, 240; sun
worship, 248; the good spirit
of the Cherokees, 391; the
evil spirit of the Cherokees,
266; his habitation, 266;
sanctity of oaths, 248-249;
rite of huskanawing, 191- 197;
grace before meals, 74; first
fruits, 262; tobacco subject of
sacrifice, 262-263; sacrifice to
running strearris, 265; pyra-
424
Index
Religion — Continued
midical stones and running
streams types of the immu-
tability of the deity, 264,
265; the giant's footprint,
265; Still Pond, 265-266;
Jopassus' account of creation
and the, of the Indians, 254-
258; the Great Hare, 255-
258; belief in the immortality
of the soul, 24Q-243, 257-
258, 261, 262; applied to
weroances and priests, 241-
242; did not include the
common people, 241-242;
journey of the soul after
death, 257-258; the Happy
Hunting Grounds, 261; the
Barren Hunting Grounds,
261-262; the doctrine of re-
incarnation, 242, 257-258;
belief that the white men were
dead men returned to life,
242-243; Popogusso their word
for Hell, 306; Mounshaqua-
tuuh, their word for Heaven,
306; Pepisco's appreciation of
the God of the English, 346
Reservations, Pamunkey, 327-
336; Mattapony, 336-337
Revenge, never forget injury,
34; case of, 35; form of private
justice, 45-46, 393; tobacco,
the Indians , on the White
Man, 105
Riches, food principal, 44; In-
dians had little, 45. See
Treasure
Richmond, site of Indian town,
144, 145, 157
Richmond County, towns in,
149, 156, 361 ; tribes in, 361
Rivers and streams, names of,
315-316
Roads, Indian running north
from Werowocomoco, 143;
along the north shore of the
York, 143
Roanoke, ornament, 42, 451
money, 47, 307; town of, 157;
name, 315
Roanoke Island, settlement
came in contact with the
Catawbas, 27; town, pictures
relate to, 39; Indians, how
marked, 41; costumes, etc..
55; climate, 55; king of the
country around, 203; settle-
ment's destruction due to
Powhatan's priests, 235-236
Roasting-ear, picture of boy
with, 62; a favorite food,
68-69; in picture of man and
wife at dinner, 75; time, a
division of the year, 84
Robbery, how punished, 172
Rock Creek, workshops on, 116
Roman Catholicism, its efforts to
suppress Protestantism, 4-15
Rose Hill, quarry, 117, 118
Rosewell, Werowocomoco, at or
near, 143, 355; Indian roads
near, 143
Running streams, worshiped,
265
Runtees, made of the conch
shell, 46 ; use of, as ornaments,
46, 307; picture of boy with
necklace of, 62
Sachem, office of, 1 70-1 71
Sacrifice, yearly, of children,
191, 223-224, 252; altar-
stones for, 230, 253 ; the crystal
altar-stone, 253 ; principal
devotion consisted in, 253-
254; tobacco, object of, 262-
263 ; frequency of, 263 ; to
running streams, 265
Scalp-lock, long lock preserved
for distinction, 36; half of the
hair allowed to grow, 54-55
Scarecrow, picture of cabin
used by, 58; regular feature
of agriculture, 136
Seasons, and festivals, chapter
on, 84-90; how divided, 84;
those observed religiously,
263-264
Secota, pictures relating to, 37-
39» 135-136; described, 135-
136; mentioned 159; priests
of, 230-231
Secotam, Indians of, how
marked, 41; region, 160, 283
Servants, black boys, 169
Shawanese, tribe, 26, 380-381;
where located, 324
Shelly, Werowocomoco at or
near, 143
Index
425
Shenandoah, name, 316; Indian
towns on, 385-389
Shenapin town, incidents of
treaty held at, 179-180
Shields, of bark, 112, 173-174,
176
Shoes, how made, 37, 56
Sickness, see Medicine
Sieges, Indians not capable of
making, 182
Singing, calculated to affright
rather than delight, 86 ; further
described, 86
Six Nations, location of, among
the Algonquin Indians, 26;
incident of a treaty with, 180-
181; came in contact with
Virginia, 400
Skicoak, town on site of Nor-
folk, 157
Skins, 53; of birds, 54; how
dressed, 57, 104; of persons,
how hardened, 60; how kept,
64; part of game most valued,
99, 100
Slaves, how married women
punished for adultery might
become, 81; stolen from the
white men by the Indians, 394
Smith, Capt. John, writings,
viii. ; taken captive by hunting-
party, 97; map, 141; quoted,
34, 42, 53, 58, 60, 71, 75, 85,
96, III, 137, 229, 243, 287,
369
Smithfield, site of Indian town,
157, 350
Smoke, houses full of, 131
Snake, as earring, 54; eaten as
food, 68; bite of, how cured,
186-187, 190
Socobec, town, on site of Freder-
icksburg, 157
Soul, belief in immortality of,
I 240-243; journey of, after
death, 257-258. See Religion
Southampton County, tribes in,
376-379
Spain, claim of, to Virgmia, 2;
policy of, in regard to the
Indians, 30; the Chicka-
hominies engage to fight
against, 343
Speiman, Henry, writings, x.-
xiii. ; head cut off, 151 ; quoted,
54, 61, 73, 76, 77, 88, 99, 103,
139, 172-173, 175, 183, 201,
233, 251;
Spinning, how done, 95
Spoon, 75; picture of cockle-
shell used for, 75; those used
by the Indians very large, 75
Spots, on body, from bleeding,
40
Spottsylvania County, tribes in,
370
Spring, the budding of, one of
the Indians' divisions of the
year, 84
Stafford County, tribes in, 361,
362-363, 370; town in, 363
Stags, moon of, 84
Stealing, common people given
to, 35
Still Pond, 265-266
Stockings worn more generally
by old people, 57-58
Stoicism, pain borne with, 44-
45
Stone Age, Virginia Indians be-
longed to neolithic, 25; work-
shops of, 1 1 2-1 19 ; implements
of, discussed, 113-114; bodies
unburnt during, 217
Stones, heap of, raised to com-
memorate treaties of peace,
178; used to typify qualities
of the deity, 264-265
Stools of earth, 130, 131
Strachey, Wm., writings, viii.-
X.; quoted, 31, 59, 65, 71, 72,
74, 78, 82, 94, 102, 112, 133,
135, 140, 165, 166, 170, 191,
198, 202, 223, 224, 227, 235,
241, 249, 255, 287, 321, 370
Strangers, how received, 49-52;
of condition, how entertained,
52,62
Sturgeon, how caught, 92-93
Suffolk, site of Indian town, 157
Summer, highest sun, Indian
division of the year, 84;
Indian, meaning of, 89-90
Summons, to war, how served
on warriors, 174-175
Sun, highest, one of the divisions
of the year, 84; worshiped as
a god, 248
Superstitions, continual fire in
the home, 66; suggested in
connection with pottery, 121;
as to vomiting, 190; in regard
426
Index
Superstitions — Continued
to huskanawing, 193-194; in
regard to lightning and
thunder, 194, 229, 259-260;
passing sacred house at Utta-
mussack, 224-225 ; conjuration
and sorcery, 227-229; in re-
gard to the white men, 242-
243, 404-405; various objects
of worship, 249; the bird
pawcorance, 254; baskets of
stones, 265; running streams,
265; giant footprint, 265;
Still Pond, 265-266; prophe-
cies as to the destruction of
the realm, 280-282. See Reli-
gion
Surry County, Indian towns in,
144, 155; tribes in, 339, 345-
346
Susquehannocks, one of the Six
Nations, 26; large in stature,
33, 373-374; described, 373-
376; tribe, 373-376, 379
Sweating-house, medical treat-
ment with, 187-188
Sword, of wood, 174
Tablet, breast ornament, 41, 46
Tahahcoope, son of Powhatan,
274
Tappahannas, Oholasc regent
over, 272; tribe, 345, 360
Targets of bark, 112, 173-174,
176
Tattooing, see Potmcing
Taxes, paid in tithes, 165-166,
167; oppressive, 167
Temple, at Pomeioc described,
135; mummies of the kings
kept in, 199; Beverley's visit
to the, of Okee, 243-248; and
priest in the territory of each
weroance, 249; built at the
cost of the weroances, 249;
how constructed, 249; sur-
rounded by posts with faces
carved on them, 264; called
quioccosan or machicomuck,
305. See Religion
Tennessee, word, 316
Textile art, 125-127
Thanksgiving, how expressed, 88
Thread, how made, 95 ; uses of, 95
Timbemeck Bay, Werowoco-
moco, on or near, 142
Time, how divided, 84
Tithes exacted by Powhatan,
167
Titles of honor, sachem, 171, 302 ;
cockarouse, 92, 168-169, 302;
weroance, 168, 169, 302;
borrowed from the English,
168-169; woman queen, 302;
cronockoes, 302 ; mamana-
towick, 269, 302; veroanee,
302; mangoi, 344, 345; be-
loved man, 391
Tobacco, pipes of peace, 49-52,
73; used most by men with
many wives, 83 ; shown in pic-
tures, 102; Indians' revenge,
105; described by Hariot, 105-
106; how used, 105-106; cul-
tivation of, 106-108; worm,
108; object of sacrifice, 262-
263
Tockwogh, town, 151; river,
317; tribe, 372
Tomahawk, adorned with peak
and runtees, 46; picture of,
75; buried as sign of peace, 178
Tombs of the kings of Secota,
137
Tomlinson, A. B., quoted, 211
Tools, files of beaver teeth, 43;
knives of split reeds, 43;
shells for razors, 33-34; bones
for fish-hooks, 95; cockle
shells for spoons, 75; thread
made of grass, 95; axes made
of stone, 112; weapon like a
pickaxe, 174
Toppahanock, river, 317; tribe,
360
Torture, of prisoners, 44-45;
general among the Indians,
1 81-182; particular case of,
300-301
Towns, and houses, chapter on,
128-140; located, chapter on,
141-160; picture of, 58; In-
dians lived in, 128-129; 134;
each, ruled by a king, 128-
129, 133-134; size of, 129-
130, 138, 139, 352-353; pali-
sadoed, 130; generally small,
133; distance apart, 134;
forums in, 134, 136-137; when
removed, 134; usually by
Index
427
Towns — Continued
rivers, 137, 138-139; woods
clear around, 138; generally
on a hill, 138-139; map of, in
Virginia, 142; John Pory
visits, 152; map of, in North
Carolina, 160; often had same
name as tribes, 142; all had
tutelar deities, 247-248; at
Turk's Ferry, 358; on the
Wappatomaka, 384; in Hamp-
shire County, W. Va., 384-
385 ; on the Shenandoah, 385-
386; in Frederick County, 386;
in Page County, 386; in
Pennsylvania, 400-401; west
of the Ohio, 401; some men-
tioned in this volume:
Accohanock, 367
Accomack, 157, 367
Acquack, 149
Anoeg, 270
Apasus, 352
Appamattox, 155, 157, 338
Appocant, 145, 149, 277
Aquascogoc, 41, 159
Aquohanock, 152
Arrohateck, 145, 337
Assaomeck, 157
Capahowasick, 145-146
Catawba town, 398
Catokinge, 158
Cekacawon, 362
Charters Old Town, 401
Chawanook, 158
Chawopoweanock, 144
Chepanow, 158
Chesakawon, 147
Chesapeake, 150, 352
Chickahomonie, 156, 345
Chiconessex, 155
Chilhowee, 392
Citico, 392
Corotoman, 360
Cotan, 159
Croatoan, 159
Cuttata women, 360
Dasamonquepeuc, 159
Echota, 391, 392, 393-394
Gangascoe, 155
Gingoteque, 155
Gwarewoc, 159
Hatorask, 159
Kecoughtan, 102, 148, 157,
191, 354-355
Kiequotank, 155
Kiskiack, 146
Loggstown, 401
Machopongo, 255
Machot, 151, 152
Mamanahunt, 146
Mantoughquemeo, 157
Mascoming, 158
Matchopungo, 155, 255
Matomkin, 155
Mattapanient, 152
Mattpament, 152
Menheering, 156
Mequopen, 159
Metpowem, 158
Mohominge, 145
Monahassanugh, 270
Moratuc, 158
Moraughtacund, 361
Moysonec, 145
Muscamunge, 158
Nacotchtanke, 153-154
Nanduye, 155
Nansemond, 149, 156, 351
Nantaughtacund, 361
Newsioc, 159
Nominy, 150
Nottoway, 155
Occahanock, 155
Occaneeche, 379
Ohaunook, 158
Onancoke, 152, 155
Onawmanient, 362
Orapax, 152-153, 251, 271,
275, 342, 357
Ozenick, 146, 149, 341
Ozinies, 146
Pamunkey, 44, 156, 224
Panawaioc, 159
Paquiwoc, 159
Paspahegh, 144-145, 339
Pasptanzie, xii.
Pasquenoke, 158
Patawomek, 151, 251
Pawtuxunt, 152
Payankatank, 358
Piqua, 400
Pissacoack, 149
Pissaseck, 361
Pomeiock, 36-39, 41, 57,
61, 134-135, 157, 352
Port Tabago, 156
Potomac, 363, 383
Powhatan, 144, 157, 325
Pungoteque, 155
Quiyoughcohanock, 144,
191, 346
428
Index
Towns — Continued
Ramushowog, 158
Rappahannock, 156, 361
Rassawck, 370
Roanoke, 157
Romuncock, 326
Secota, 58, 62, 135-136, 159
Sectuoc, 159
Sewickley Old Town, 401
Shenapin Town, 179-180,
400-401
Skicoak, 157, 352-353
Sockobeck, 157
Tallassee, 392
Tamottee, 392
Tandaquomuc, 158
Tauxenent, 365
Tennassee, 392
Tockwogh, 151, 372
Tramasquecoock, 159
Uttamussack, 224-227, 253
Waratan, 158
Warraskoyack, 149, 157, 350
Werowocomoco, 142-143,
271, 315, 355
Wicocomoco, 156, 362
Wokokon, 160
Wyanoke, 147, 155, 339
Yawtanoone, xi., 251
See Maps, 142, 160
Toyatan succeeded his brother
Powhatan, 271-272
Trading, by barter, 44; with
Maryland prohibited, 375
Traveling, food during, 47-48;
skill shown in, 96
Treasure, hidden, 71; buried
with the dead, 202-203; Pow-
hatan's guarded by an idol,
251
Treaties, see Public meetings;
with the Chickahominies,
342-344
Trees, principal, 28; how felled,
109, no, 134; around towns,
138; houses under, 139;
planted to commemorate
treaties of peace, 178
Tribes, and nations, chapter
on, 324-405; of Indians in
eastern part of the United
States, 26-27; origin of names
of, often same as rivers, etc.,
142, 368-369; the weroances
alone sold the lands of, 169;
how located in Virginia, 324;
under Powhatan, 324-368; the
five civilized, 397; some of the,
mentioned in this volume:
Accohanocks, 270, 367
Accowmacks, 270, 367
Acquintanacksuaks, 366
Anacostans, xii.
Anoeg, 270
Appomattucks, 268, 270,
337-338
Arrohatecks, 268, 270, 324,
337
Atquandachuks, 372
Bocootawwonough, 270
Cantaunkacks, 357
Cassapecocks, 357
Catawbas, 26, 382-383, 397-
399
Cayugas, 26, 403
Cekacawons, 362
Chawons, 269, 399
Chawonoaks, 269
Cheescake, see Kiskiack
Chepechos, 357
Cherokees, 26, 324, 389-
399
Chesapeaks, 280, 351
Chickahominies, 341-345
Chickamawgas, 392, 400
Chickasaws, 27^ 390, 397
Chippewas, 26
Choctaws, 27, 390, 396, 397
Cinelas, 373, 375
Conestogas, 375
Creeks, 27, 390, 392, 397
Cuttatawomen, 359
Delawares, 26, 382, 398-
401
Doegs, 361
Erati, 392
Eries, 26 ^
Foxes, 26, 73
Gingaskins, 366
Hassinungoes, 370
Hurons, 26
Illinois, 26
Iroquois, 26, 398-399, 400,
401
Kaposecocks, 357
Kecoughtans, 273, 353
Kickapoos, 26
Kiskiacks, 355-357
Kuskarawaocks, 366
Manakins, 324, 369-370
Mangoags, 369, 399
Mannahoacks, 324, 369-370
Index
429
Tribes — Continued
Maskoki, 26
Massawomecks, 270, 371-
372, 374
Massawomees, 403
Massinacocs, 371
Mattapaments, 336-337
Mattapamients, 268-270,
336-337
Mattaponys, 336-337
Meherrins, 379
Miamis, 26, 400
Mingoes, 400
Mobilians, 26
Mohawks, 26, 403
Mohegans, 26
Mohemenchoes, 371
Monacans, 324, 367-370
Monahassanoes, 371
Monasiccapanoes, 370
Moraughtacunds, 361
Moraughtaownas, 361
Moyaons, 365
Mummapacunes, 357
Muscogulges, 390
Nandtaughtacunds, 361
Nansemonds, 350
Narragansetts, 26
Natchez, 27
Nocotchtanks, 365
Nominies, 362
Nottoways, 376-379
Occaneeches, 379
Ochahannankes, 357
Ojibwas, 26
Onawmanients, 362
Oneidas, 26, 181, 403
Onondagas, 26, 18 1, 403
Ontponies, 370
Orapaks, 357
Orzinies, 341, 366
Ottari, 392
Ottawas, 26
Pamacaeacks, 365
Pamarekes, 357
Pamunkeys, 44, 103, 156,
196, 197, 226-227, 268,
270, 315, 324* 326-336
Paraconas, 357
Pascataway, 373
Paspahegs, 339-341
Patauncks, 357
Patawomecks, 362-365
Patawuxents, 365
Payankatanks, 358
Pequots, 26
Pissasecks, 361
Pocoughtronacks, 402
Potapacos, 365
Pottawatomies, 26
Powhatans, 268, 270, 271,
273, 324-326
Quiyongheohanocks, orTap-
pahannas, 272, 345
Rappahannocks, 360
Secowocomacos, 365
Seminoles, 27, 390, 397
Senecas, 26, 401, 403
Senedos, 372, 383, 385
Shackakonies, 370
Shamapas, 357
Shawanese, 26, 324, 380,
.388,398,399,400
Six Nations, 26, 398, 400
Stegarakies, 370
Susquehannocks, 26, 33,
373-376, 379
Tants Wighcocomicos, 366
Tappahannas, or Quiy-
ongheohanocks, 272, 345,
346
Tarratines, 26
Tauxenents, 365
Tauxitanians, 370
Tegninaties, 370
Tockwoghes, 269, 372
Toppahanocks, 360
Tsaraghee, 391
Tuscaroras, 26, 324, 372,
388, 399
Tuteloes, 380
Twightwees, 400
Wampanoags, 26
Warascoyacks, 149, 157,
348
Weanocks, see Wyanoke
Weopemedgs, 399
Werowocomocos, 142-143,
355
Whonkenties, 370
Wighcocomocos, 33, 156,
362
Winnebagos, 26
Wyandots, 400
Wyanoke, 147, 155, 339
Youghianunds, 338
Youghtamunds, 268, 270,
271, 324, 338
Tribute Indians reduced to,
146, 154
Triumviri of Opechanekeno,
326, 358
430
Index
Trustees appointed for Indian
tribes, 351, 378
Tuckahoe, an edible root, 69-
70
Turkey-feather, mantles, 53 ;
arrows fledged with, 112
Turpentine, glue of, 112
Tuscaroras, a branch of the
Iroquois, 26, 372; where
located, 324, 372; the Cataw-
bas fought with Virginia
against, 399
Tutelar deities, all towns had,
247-248, 251
Tyrrell County, North Carolina,
Indian town in, 159
Unoccupied region between the
mountains and the Missis-
sippi, 395
Uppowoc, see Tobacco
Uttamussack, principal seat of
the priests, 224-227; its loca-
tion, 226; crystal cube at, 253
Valley of Virginia, tribes of the,
380-390; "The Barrens," 381-
382; scene of Indian battles,
398, 403
Vegetables, see Food
Verazzano, voyage of, founda-
tion for claims of France, 2
Virginia, a leading motive for
the colonization of, was the
extension of Protestantism,
4-15; difference between, and
Massachusetts, 15-18; would
not tolerate Roman Catholics,
18, 23-24; founding of, by the
King of England, ^ 19-22;
scope of the undertaking, 21-
22; religious principles of the
founders long adhered to, 23-
24; why so respected, 23-24;
JLndiansofjJiow classed^ 25-26;
flora andTaHna of the, forest,
27-29; kind of country first
occupied, 29; policy of, in je-
gardL^to the Indians, 30-31;
bonds of, held by Choctaws
and Cherokees, 396-397;
westward progress of, 403-405;
Company, the colony estab-
lished by, 21 ; Indian name for,
316
Virginians, adopted figurative
language of Indians, 178;
adopted Indian method of
fighting, 182; called by the
Indians the Big Knives, 182
W
Wahanganoche, disputes with
over sales of land, 363-365
Walking, Indian mode of, 44
Walnut, 69, 71, 73
Wampum peak, made of conch
shell, 46; use of, in treaties,
179-180; used as money, 306-
307
War, art of, and political laws,
chapter on, 165-182; method
of, 45, 175-177, 182; for
women, 82, 173; with the
Pamunkeys in, 1624, 103;
continual among the Indians,
129, 173, 382-383, 401-402;
begun after due consultations,
170, 173, 175; authority of the
commander, 1 71-172; the
priests generally decide ques-
tion of, 173; how warriors
summoned for, 174-175; In-
dians timorous in action, 175-
176; and cruel, 176; dance, 45;
whoop, 117; Virginians adopt-
ed Indian method of, 182;
idol carried into battle, 243;
Virginia's westward progress,
403-405
Warraskoyack, town, 149; on
site of Smithfield, 157; tribe,
348-350; name, 315; bay,
317
Washington County, North
Carolina, town in, 159
Water, Indians* principal drink,
70; pond, preferred, 70; arti-
ficial, supply by town, 135
Weanoack, town burned, 147;
tribe, 339
Weapons, kinds used, 174, 176
Weighing, difficulty in Indians
understanding, 34-35
Weirs, fishing, how made, 91-
92, 94, 95-96, 98
Index
431
Weroances, meaning of the
word, 269; how dressed, 39,
172; how wives selected, 78;
had many wives, 77, 79;
planting and gathering their
corn, 104-105; their houses,
139; power of, 165-166, 168,
171; taxes due by, 166; num-
ber of, 166; ill-breeding pun-
ished by, 168; lands sold by
them, not by the tribe, 169;
office of, 170-171; how dis-
tinguished, 172; ruled by the
priests, 165, 173; how their
bodies preserved after death,
47, 198, 199, 200; how their
mummies guarded, 199-200;
protected by the orders of
King James, 236; their souls
believed immortal, 241-242;
each had a temple and priest
in his jurisdiction, 249; were
builders of the temples, 249;
some mentioned in this vol-
ume:
Amepetough, 350
Ashuaquid, 337
Attasquintan, 357
Attossomunck, 357
Canasateego, 1 80-1 81
Coquonasum, 337-338
Ensenore, 203, 242-243
Essenataugh, 357
Grangenimeo, 283
Harquip, 344
Heigler, 399
Jopassus, xi., xii., 254-258,
272, 363
Kaquothacun, 339
Kecatough, 272, 358
Keighangton, 357
Keptopeke, 367
Kequotaugh, see Kecatough
Kissanacomen, 146, 341
Menatonon, 283
Namenacus, 365
Namontack, 273
Nansuapunck, 357
Nantaquaus, called the
Laughing King, 274, 367
Oconostota, 391-392, 394
Ohonnamo, 357
Opechancanough, xii., 145,
147, 151, 268, 271, 272,
283, 326, 346-347, 358
Opitchapan, 271-272
Opopohcumunck, 357
Ottahotin, 355
Ottondeacommoc, 357
Pemisapan, 203, 242-243,
283, 284
Pepisco, 346-347
Pepiscumah, see Pepisco
Persicles, 379-380
Pinmacum, 283
Pochins, 273, 353
Pomiscatuck, 338
Poonens, 158, 283
Powhatan, see Powhatan
Tackonekintaco, 348
Tahahcoope, 346
Tanacharison, 391, 401
Tatacope, see Tahahcoope
Taughhaiten, 358
Taux-Powhatan, x., 273,
325
Tirchtough, 350
Tottopottomoy, 333
Toyatan, see Opitchapan
Uropaack, 357
Wahanganoche, 363
Werowaugh, 336
Weyamat, 357
Weyhohomo, 350
Weyongopo, 350
Wingina, see Pemisapan and
Wingina.
Wochinchopunck, 339-341
Werowocomoco, location, 142-
143; roads from, 143; rivaled
by Machot, 152; tribe, 355
Westmoreland County, towns in,
149, 150; tribes in, 362
Westphalia, treaty of, 14-15
West's fort, 144
West Point, Indian name for,
317
White, John, pictures, 37-39,
124; sent over by Raleigh,
39; map, 160
White peak, uses of, 46
Whiteside Mountain, the home
of the Spirit of Evil, 266
Whittaker quoted, 139, 166,
173, 233, 252
Wiccocomoco, see Wighcocomo-
coes
Wicomico River, 317
Wife, see Wives
Wighcocomocoes, tribe small in
stature, 33; town, 156; tribe,
362
432
Index
Wigwam, 130; see Houses
William the Silent, 5-9
Wingina, marks on his subjects,
41; on his brother-in-law's
subjects, 41; southern limit
of kingdom, 159; sick when
English first appeared, 282;
his allies and enemies, 283;
took the name of Pemisapan,
283; planned extermination of
the English, 283; death of, 284
Winters, years reckoned by, 84;
called cohonks, 84
Wives, bought with money, 77;
plurality of, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82;
of the kings, 78 ; care of Pow-
hatan's, 78; status of, 79;
duties of, 80; right of divorce,
80, 81; gotten by skill in
hunting, 96
Wolves, quantity of, 28; native
animal, 73
Women, of Secotam, 58; pas-
times of, 59; carrying children,
59-60; love of children, 60;
waited on by children, 62;
how employed, 62, 75-76;
behavior of, 62-64; kept skin
clean with oil, 64; dress of
young, 62-63, 64, 65; how to
tell married, 63; breasts, 63,
64; young, gay, 63-64; makers
of pottery, etc., 65-66, 75-76;
served meals, 76; wars for,
82; threads made by, 95; on
hunting-parties, 96; agricul-
ture conducted by, and chil-
dren, 80, 102; under care of
of sachem, 171; sometimes
sachems, 171; never priests
nor conjurers, 234; constituted
part of the delights of heaven,
261; dress of one described,
346-347
Worcester County, Maryland,
tribes in, 366
Words, some Indian, 285-323;
see Language
Workshops, Indian, 114-119
Worsaae quoted, 112, 217
Wounds, see Medicine
Wreath worn by women about
the head, 58
Wreck of Christian ship about
1564, III
Wysoccan, a mad potion given
in huskanawing, 196
Year, how divided, 84
Yeardley forces payment of tri-
bute, 146
York, river, formerly Pamun-
key, 142, 326; town on the,
145-146; tribes on the, 355-
359
Youghtamund, river now the
Pamunkey, 170, 317, 326; the
tribe, 324, 338
M Selection from the
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The Winning of the
Far West
A History of the Regaining of Texas, of the Mexican War, of
the Oregon Question ; and of the Successive Additions
to the Territory in the United States within
the Continent of America, 1829-1867
By
Robert McNutt McElroy, Ph.D.
Edwards Professor of American History, Princeton University
Author of "Kentucky in the Nation's History," etc.
(5°. IVith Illustrations and Maps. $2.50
This volume is designed as a continuation of Theodore Roosevelt's
well-known work, The Winaing of the West It begins with the history of
the Texas Revolution under General Sam Houston, tracing the origin of
that struggle to President Jackson's determination, so often announced in
his letters of that period, to " regain Texas, peaceably if we can, forcibly
if we must."
The author has had access to large collections of Jackson's letters,
most of which have never been published, and his treatment of the subject
is distinctly new.
The volume then traces the origin of the Mexico-American war, show-
ing from official documents that the declaration of war was not due to the
encounter between the forces of General Taylor and those of General
Arista on the banks of the Rio Grande, but had been positively decided
upon by President Polk and his Cabinet before the news of that engage-
ment reached Washington.
The Mexican War is treated in detail, the accounts of the battles being
based upon official documents and military reports.
The events leading up to the conquest of New Mexico and California,
and the settlement of the old controversy over the ownership of the Oregon
region, are treated as phases of the western movement. Then follows a
full discussion of the Compromise of 1850, and the volume closes with the
Purchase of Alaska.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
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Fremont and *49
The Story of a Remarkable Career and its Relation to
the Exploration and Development of our Western
Territory, Especially of California
By Frederick S. Dellenbaugh
8". With Frontispiece in Color and 48 Other
Illustrations, $4. SO
One ot Ine most interesting and
dramatic careers of the last cen-
tury, in the United States, was
that of John Charles Fremont,
born 1 00 years ago. His name
was early linked with the explora-
tion of the then very wild West,
and particularly with our acqui-
sition of California. He also
loomed large in politics, and, in
1 836, became the first candidate
of the Republican party for the Presidency, a candidate
who vigorously and unswervingly opposed slavery. Later,
he was a general in the Union Army. Much has been
written about him, and his own first report to Congress
will always stand as an admirable and conscientious piece
of work. The volume is a comprehensive, dispassionate
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of Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, whose actual experiences
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qualified to estimate and balance the exploits of this
energetic American whose hand so often nearly grasped
the most glorious success, and whose friends delighted to
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Sams, Conway Whittle
The conquest of Virginia
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