The History of Virginia Part 15

-- 44. The Indians having no sort of letters among them, as has been before observed, they can have no written laws; nor did the const.i.tution 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 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, &c., is not so great, that they need quarrel for room, where the land is so fertile, and where so much lies uncultivated.

They bred no sort of cattle, nor had anything that could be called riches. They valued skins and furs for use, and peak and roenoke for ornament.

They are very severe in punishing ill breeding, of which every Werowance is undisputed judge, who never fails to lay a rigorous penalty upon it: an example whereof I had from a gentleman that was an eye-witness; which was this:

In the time of Bacon's rebellion, one of these Werowances, 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 presumed 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 unconcerned as if nothing had happened.

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.

-- 45. The t.i.tles of honor that I have observed among them peculiar to themselves, are only c.o.c.karouse and Werowance, besides that of the king and queen; but of late they have borrowed some t.i.tles from us, which they bestow among themselves. A c.o.c.karouse 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 Werowance is a military officer, who of course takes upon him the command of all parties, either of hunting, traveling, warring, or the like, and the word signifies a war-captain.

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.

They have also people of a rank inferior to the commons, a sort of servants 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 comfortable to themselves, by the indulgence of a kind climate, without toiling and perplexing their minds for riches, which other people often trouble themselves to provide for uncertain and ungrateful heirs. In short, they seem as possessing nothing, and yet enjoying all things.

CHAPTER XII.

OF THE TREASURE OR RICHES OF THE INDIANS.

-- 46. The Indians had nothing which they reckoned riches, before the English went among them, except peak, roenoke, and such like trifles made out of the conch sh.e.l.l. These past with them instead of gold and silver, and served them both for money and ornament. It was the English alone that taught them first to put a value on their skins and furs, and to make a trade of them.

Peak is of two sorts, or rather of two colors, for both are made of one sh.e.l.l, though of different parts; one is a dark purple cylinder, and the other a white; they are both made in size and figure alike, and commonly much resembling the English bugles, but not so transparent nor so brittle. They are wrought as smooth as gla.s.s, being one third of an inch long, and about a quarter diameter, strung by a hole drilled through the centre. The dark color is the dearest, and distinguished by the name of wampom peak. The Englishmen that are called Indian traders, value the wampom peak at eighteen pence per yard, and the white peak at nine pence. 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 small sh.e.l.l, 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 sh.e.l.l they also make round tablets of about four inches diameter, which they polish as smooth as the other, and sometimes 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 current among them, but of far less value; and this is made of the c.o.c.kle sh.e.l.l, broken into small bits with rough edges, drilled through in the same manner as beads, and this they call roenoke, 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.

CHAPTER XIII.

OF THE HANDICRAFTS OF THE INDIANS.

-- 47. 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 sh.e.l.ls, 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 excessive 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 arm'd 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 c.o.c.k.

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.

-- 48. 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 basis, 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 their working, and then, begin by gentle fires to hollow it, and with sc.r.a.pers 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 plant-able, and would produce immediately upon the withering 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 gra.s.s, gourds, which grow to the shapes they desire them, and earthen pots to boil victuals in, which they make of clay.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Lith. of Ritchies & Dunnavant Richmond, Va._ Tab: 14. Book: 3 Pag: 183]

TAB. 14. Shows their manner of felling great trees (before they had iron instruments) by firing the root, and bringing them to fit lengths, and shaping them for use by fire alone.

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, 1677, pays three Indian arrows for their land, and twenty beaver skins for protection every year.

In Accomac are eight towns, viz:

Metomkin is much decreased of late by the small pox, that was carried thither.

Gingoteague. The few remains of this town are joined with a nation of the Maryland Indians.

Kiequotank is reduced to very few men.

Matchopungo has a small number yet living.

Occahanock has a small number yet living.

Pungoteague. Governed by a queen, but a small nation.

Onanc.o.c.k has but four or five families.

Chiconess.e.x has very few, who just keep the name.

Nanduye. A seat of the empress. Not above twenty families, but she hath all the nations of this sh.o.r.e under tribute.

In Northampton, Gangascoe, which is almost as numerous as all the foregoing nations put together.

In Prince George Wyanoke is extinct.

In Charles City Appomattox is extinct.

In Surry. Nottawayes, which are about a hundred bowmen, of late a thriving and increasing people.

By Nansemond. Meherrin has about thirty bowmen, who keep at a stand.

Nansemond. About thirty bowmen. They have increased much of late.

In King William's county two. Pamunky has about forty bowmen, who decrease.

Chickahominy, which had about sixteen bowmen, but lately increased.

In Ess.e.x. Rappahannock extinct.

In Richmond. Port Tobacco extinct.

In Northumberland. Wiccomocca has but few men living, which yet keep up their kingdom and retain their fashion, yet live by themselves, separate from all other Indians, and from the English.