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LEGENDS OF LOUDOUN Reprinting of this book has been granted to the
Loudoun Museum by Mrs. Harrison Williams and Mr. and Mrs. Winslow
Williams.
All proceeds from the sale of book will benefit the Loudoun Museum.
We are indeed grateful to the Williams family for this generous gesture
and to the Loudoun County Independent Bicentennial Committee for
assistance in making this possible.
[Illustration: JOHN CAMPBELL, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1705-1782).
Governor-in-Chief of Virginia and Commander-in-Chief of British forces
in America, for whom Loudoun County was named in 1757.]
LEGENDS OF
LOUDOUN
_An account of the history
and homes of a border county
of Virginia's Northern Neck_
By HARRISON WILLIAMS
[Illustration: decoration--rider on horse]
GARRETT AND MASSIE INCORPORATED
RICHMOND VIRGINIA
COPYRIGHT, 1938, BY
GARRETT & MASSIE, INCORPORATED
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES
To
J. S. A.
PREFACE
Many causes have contributed to the great upsurge of interest now
manifesting itself in Virginia's romantic history and in the men and
women who made it. If, perhaps, the greatest and most potent of these
forces is the splendid restoration of Williamsburg, her colonial
capital, through the munificence of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., of New
York, we must not lose sight of the part played by the reconstruction of
her old historic highways and their tributary roads into the fine modern
highway system which is today the Commonwealth's boast and pride; the
systematic and constructive activities of the Virginia Commission of
Conservation and Development of which the present chairman is the Hon.
Wilbur C. Hall of Loudoun; and the excellent work done by the Garden
Club of Virginia in holding its annual Garden Week celebration in each
spring and the generous permission it obtains, from so many of the
present owners of Virginia's historic old homes and gardens, for the
public to visit and inspect them at that time and thus capture, if but
for the moment, a sense of personal unity with Virginia's glamourous
past.
The increasing flow of visitors to Loudoun and to Leesburg, its county
seat, has developed a steadily growing demand for more information
concerning the County's past and its charming old homes than has been
available in readily accessible form. These visitors, in their quest,
usually call at Leesburg's beautiful Thomas Balch Library which, during
Garden Week, lends its facilities to Virginia's Garden Clubs for their
Loudoun headquarters; and Miss Rebecca Harrison, its Librarian, has upon
occasion found the lack of published information in convenient form
somewhat a handicap in her always gracious efforts to welcome and inform
our growing tide of visitors. Knowing as she did my lifelong interest in
Colonial history and the lives and family stories of the men and women
who enacted their parts therein (my sole qualification, if such in
charity it may be called, for such a task) she, from time to time, had
suggested that I prepare a book upon Loudoun, the people who built up
the County and the old homes which they erected and in which they
lived. The present volume has been written in an effort to respond to
those requests. When some four years ago the work was contemplated, it
was proposed to make it primarily a small, informal guidebook to
Loudoun's older homes; but as my research into her earlier days
progressed, I became deeply conscious that the people of Loudoun have
forgotten much of her past that tenaciously and loyally should be
remembered; and so the story of the County almost crowded out, beyond
expectation, the story of the homes. It is hoped that, sometime in the
future, another book pertaining wholly to these old plantations and
their owners may be prepared and published.
Although there has been no very recent book devoted to her history,
Loudoun has had her historians within and without her boundaries and,
above all, has been fortunate in attracting the interest of that
outstanding scholar and historian of the Northern Neck, the late Fairfax
Harrison, Esq., whose beautiful country-seat of Belvoir is near by in
the adjoining county of Fauquier. As the most casual reader of the
following pages will quickly recognize, I have been under constant
obligation, in the preparation of this work, to these earlier writers
and can but here sincerely acknowledge the help I have derived from
them.
The first published history of Loudoun was written by Yardley Taylor, a
Quaker of the upper country, prior to 1853 in which year it made its
printed appearance. With it was published a map of the County prepared
by him (for his vocation was that of a land-surveyor) and both map and
book are highly creditable to their author. The book, however, is not
very large and, concerning itself somewhat extensively with the
topography, geology, etc. of the County, it has less to say of Loudoun's
history than its admirers could wish. The map, embellished with
cartouches of old buildings, was the first county map to be prepared in
this part of Virginia and so accurate was it found to be that it was
used by both Federals and Confederates in the devastating War Between
the States. That war, with its aftermath, set back the cultural
activities of Virginia for a full generation; thus it was not until 1909
that the next Loudoun history appears, this time by Mr. James W. Head of
Leesburg. His volume is more comprehensive than Mr. Taylor's but,
again, it covers far more than the County's history, including carefully
prepared surveys of its minerals, soils, farm statistics, commercial
activities, and many other interesting and closely related subjects. In
1926 Messrs. Patrick A. Deck and Henry Heaton published their _Economic
and Social Survey of Loudoun County_ which is somewhat similar in its
scope to the work of Mr. Head but not so large a volume. In the
meanwhile, however, in 1924, Mr. Fairfax Harrison, himself a scion of
the Fairfax family, had privately published his comprehensive _Landmarks
of Old Prince William_ covering the early history of all the territory
originally comprised in old Prince William County; and thereby built an
enduring monument to his own erudition and industry that will stand as
long as there remains a man or woman who retains an interest in the
fairest part of the princely Colepeper-Fairfax Proprietary. It remains a
pleasant and grateful memory that I had the benefit of Mr. Harrison's
personal suggestions and advice, as well as access to the overflowing
treasury of his published writings, in my preparation of this volume.
In addition to the authors named, much help was derived from Mr. John
Alexander Binns' treatise on his agricultural experiments, from the
war-books of Major General Henry Lee, Col. John S. Mosby, Col. E. V.
White, Rev. J. J. Williamson, Captain F. M. Myers and Mr. Briscoe
Goodhart, although in the case of the two latter authors their writings
are measurably impaired by the rancour which controlled their pens. Dr.
E. G. Swem's _Virginia Historical Index_ was of constant assistance as
were the publications of the Virginia Historical Society, those of the
College of William and Mary and similar historical magazines as well as
Virginia's Colonial records and the records of Loudoun County. The
resources of the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution and
those of our little Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg have all been
available to me. In short, I had intended to append a bibliography of
volumes consulted and relied upon for many of the views hereafter
expressed; but when those volumes grew in number to five or six hundred
I realized that limited space would permit no such project. Therefore I
have contented myself with frequently indicating in footnotes the
principal sources from which my information has been derived.
To my acknowledgment of aid obtained from books, pamphlets, newspapers
and magazines, official records and documents, must be added my
appreciation of the help of many friends. Mr. Thomas M. Fendall of
Morrisworth and Leesburg, of distinguished Virginia background himself,
has made such careful and comprehensive studies of Loudoun's past that
he was and is the logical prospective author of a book thereon; but his
modesty equals his industry and scholarship to the very obvious loss, in
this instance, to the County and its people. From him I have had such
constant and constructive assistance and cheerful response to my
frequent appeals that without his aid this book could not have attained
its present form. To Loudoun's present County Clerk Mr. Edward O.
Russell and to his deputy Miss Nellie Hammerley; to Mrs. John Mason;
Mrs. E. B. White and Miss Elizabeth White of Selma; Mrs. Frederick Page;
the Rev. G. Peyton Craighill, the present Rector of Shelburne Parish;
the Rev. J. S. Montgomery; Miss Lilias Janney; Judge and Mrs. J. R. H.
Alexander of Springwood; Mrs. Ashby Chancellor; Mrs. John D. Moore; Mr.
Frank C. Littleton of Oak Hill, and his long studies of the history of
that estate and of President Monroe; Trial Justice William A. Metzger;
Mr. J. Ross Lintner, Loudoun's County Agent; Hon. Charles F. Harrison,
Commonwealth's Attorney; Mr. Oscar L. Emerick, Superintendent of
Schools, for permission to use the map of the County prepared by him;
Mr. E. Marshall Rust; Mr. George Carter; Hon. Wilbur C. Hall and his
efficient official staff; Mr. Valta Palma, Curator of the Rare Book
Collection of the Library of Congress, and Mr. Hirst Milhollen of the
Fine Arts Division of the same great institution; Mr. John T. Loomis,
Managing Director of Loudermilk and Co. of Washington, as well as to
very many others, my sincere thanks are again tendered for the valuable
help they all so willingly have given me.
The illustrations used to embellish the text deserve a word of comment.
The portrait of the Right Honourable John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun,
Captain-General of the British forces in America and Governor-in-Chief
of Virginia, in whose honour the County of Loudoun was named, is
reproduced from an engraving that appeared in the London Magazine of
October, 1757, when Loudoun was at the height of his career. It was
copied from the engraving by Charles Spooner of an earlier painting of
the Earl by the Scotch artist Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), who later became
the principal portrait painter to King George III and his court. I have
in my collection two copies of this London Magazine engraving, one of
which I found in the hands of a dealer in New York and the other in
London. No other copies, so far as I can learn, have recently been
offered for sale.
The fine portrait of the Right Honourable William Petty-FitzMaurice,
Earl of Shelburne and 1st Marquess of Landsdowne, for whom Shelburne
Parish was named, is by Sir Joshua Reynolds and is now in the National
Portrait Gallery in London to which it was presented by his son Henry,
3rd Marquess of Landsdowne, K. G., in June, 1858. I obtained an official
photograph of this painting at the National Portrait Gallery in the
summer of 1937, and permission to reproduce it in this book.
The portrait of Sir Peter Halkett, Baronet, of Pitfiranie, Scotland, who
commanded that part of Braddock's army that passed through the present
Loudoun on its way to the fatal battle near Fort DuQuesne, is from P.
McArdell's engraving of the portrait painted by Allan Ramsay in 1740,
and is considered by me one of my most fortunate discoveries.
The pictures of Oak Hill in the body of the book and that of the meeting
of the Middleburg Hunt on its spacious lawns, reproduced on the
dust-jacket, are from the extensive collections of Mr. Frank C.
Littleton. The original of the portrait of General George Rust of
Rockland (1788-1857), builder of that cherished family seat in 1822,
belongs to and is in the possession of a grandson, Mr. John Y. Rust of
San Angelo, Texas, but a carefully executed copy hangs on Rockland's
walls. During the two administrations of President Andrew Jackson,
General Rust was in command of the United States Arsenal at nearby
Harper's Ferry and for many years he was one of the most respected and
influential of the County's citizens. The photograph of the original
portrait herein used I owe to another grandson, Mr. E. Marshall Rust of
Leesburg and Washington, as I do the picture of Rockland itself and that
of the old John Janney residence in Leesburg, later so long the home of
the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Edwards, the latter a sister of Mr.
Rust. They were all photographed in this masterly fashion by Miss
Frances Benjamin Johnston of Washington. The pictures of Foxcroft, Oak
Hill and the old Valley Bank in Leesburg are from the Pictorial Archives
of Early American Architecture in the Division of Fine Arts of the
Library of Congress and the negatives are also the work of Miss
Johnston.
Reproduction of the portrait of Nicholas Cresswell, the Journalist, is
due to the courtesy of the Dial Press, of New York, publishers of the
American edition of his journal. The original portrait is owned by Mr.
Samuel Thorneley of Drayton House, near Chichester, West Sussex, England,
a descendant of Cresswell's younger brother, Joseph Cresswell. The map
of Loudoun is based on that prepared by Mr. Oscar L. Emerick in 1923,
and is used by his kind permission.
And now, gentle reader, step with me into the pleasant land of Loudoun.
HARRISON WILLIAMS.
Roxbury Hall
Near Leesburg, Virginia
March, 1938.
CONTENTS
PREFACE vii
THE EARLIER INDIANS 1
ENGLAND ACQUIRES VIRGINIA 10
THE PASSING OF THE INDIANS 20
SETTLEMENT 31
THE MELTING POT 43
ROADS AND BOUNDARIES 60
SPECULATION AND DEVELOPMENT 72
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 83
ORGANIZATION OF LOUDOUN AND THE FOUNDING OF LEESBURG 97
ADOLESCENCE 114
REVOLUTION 123
THE STORY OF JOHN CHAMPE 142
EARLY FEDERAL PERIOD 159
MATURITY 182
CIVIL WAR 198
RECOVERY 222
INDEX 235
ILLUSTRATIONS
_John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun_ Frontispiece FACE PAGE
_Map of Loudoun County_ 1
_Sir Alexander Spotswood_ 20
_Sir Peter Halkett, Bart_ 83
_The Fall of Braddock_ 93
_William Petty-FitzMaurice_ 116
_Nicholas Cresswell_ 129
_Noland Mansion_ 139
_Oatlands_ 171
_Foxcroft_ 173
_Rockland_ 175
_General George Rust_ 176
_Oak Hill_ 178
_Oak Hill, East Drawing Room_ 179
_Old Valley Bank_ 203
_Battle of Ball's Bluff_ 205
_Old John Janney House_ 226
LEGENDS OF LOUDOUN
CHAPTER I
THE EARLIER INDIANS
[Illustration: MAP LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA]
The county of Loudoun, as now constituted, is an area of 525 square
miles, lying in the extreme northwesterly corner of Virginia, in that
part of the Old Dominion known as the Piedmont and of very irregular
shape, its upper apex formed by the Potomac River on the northeast and
the Blue Ridge Mountains on the northwest, pointing northerly. It is a
region of equable climate, with a mean temperature of from 50 to 55
degrees, seldom falling in winter below fahrenheit zero nor rising above
the upper nineties during its long summer, thus giving a plant-growing
season of about two hundred days in each year.
The county exhibits the typical topography of a true piedmont, a rolling
and undulating land broken by numerous streams and traversed by four
hill-ranges--the Catoctin, the Bull Run and the Blue Ridge mountains and
the so-called Short Hills. These ranges are of a ridge-like character,
with no outstanding peaks, although occasionally producing well-rounded,
cone-like points. The whole area is generously well watered not only by
the Potomac, flowing for thirty-seven miles on its border and the
latter's tributary Goose Creek crossing the southern portion of the
county, but also by many smaller creeks or, as they are locally called,
"runs"; and by such innumerable springs of most excellent potable water
that few, if any, of the farm-fields lack a natural water supply for
livestock. These conditions most happily combine to create a climate
that for healthfulness and all year comfortable living is without peer
on the eastern seaboard and, indeed, truthfully may be said to be among
the best and most enjoyable east of the Mississippi.
Before the advent of the white man, the land was covered by a dense
forest of oak, hickory, walnut, sycamore, locust, ash, pine, maple,
poplar and other varieties of trees--not by any means unbroken, for here
and there the Indian tribes that roamed the area, had burned out great
clearings for grazing-grounds to entice the wild animals they hunted and
in which the native grasses then quickly and indigenously sprang up;
attracting particularly the buffalo, in those days, and at least until
as late as 1730, to be found in vast numbers all through the Piedmont
region and always in the forefront as an unending supply of flesh-food
to their Indian hunters. With the buffalo were great herds of "red and
fallow deer" and wolves, foxes in abundance, bears in the mountains,
opossum, racoons, and, along the streams, otter and beaver (later to be
so greatly valued for their pelts) and whose presence, with that of
other fur-bearing animals, was to have its influence on the history of
the region.
When in 1607 the doughty Captain John Smith--in writing of any part of
Virginia one sooner or later is certain to shake hands with that
amourous hero--when Captain Smith made his first voyage to Virginia and
came in contact with her aboriginees, the latter were, in a broad sense,
of several stocks or nations, distinguishable principally by linguistic
affinity and more or less common cultural idiosyncracies rather than by
close alliances; and indeed frequently appearing to cherish their
bitterest enmities among their own blood-kindred. Along the coast, in
what we now know as Tidewater, the territory running from the Chesapeake
to those rocky outcrops making waterfalls in all the great rivers
flowing from Virginia into the Bay, the Indians were generally of the
Algonquin stock, a tribe covering an enormous territory along the
Atlantic seaboard from the neighborhood of Hudson's Bay southerly to at
least the Carolinas but by no means monopolizing the regions where they
were found.
To the north, in what is now New York, centred the Iroquoian tribes,
with ramifications as far south as Virginia and North Carolina. Among
these more southerly Indians of the Iroquoian stock were the fierce and
powerful "Susquehannocks" along the river we still call by that name who
later were to play a prominent role in our Loudoun yet to be; the
Nottoways, occupying a part of southeastern Virginia; the Cherokees,
occupying the area in Virginia and North Carolina west of the Blue
Ridge, extending north as far as the Peaks of Otter near the
headquarters of the James; and the Tuskaroras of famous and bloody
memory, who were paramount in North Carolina until their conquest and
all but annihilation by the English in 1711. What were left of the
fiercest and most implacable of the Tuskaroras after that crushing
defeat, retreated to New York where, as the sixth nation they joined the
Iroquois Confederacy of their near kinsmen of the Long House. A few of
the more friendly were removed to a local reservation in 1717 but
gradually, in small parties, says Mooney, they too moved to join their
kindred in the north.
Both Algonquins and Iroquois were to be classed as barbarians rather
than savages. The former have been described as having generally "found
locations in permanent villages surrounded by extensive cornfields. They
were primarily agriculturists or fishermen, to whom hunting was hardly
more than a pastime and who followed the chase as a serious business
only in the interval between the gathering of one crop and the sowing of
the next." The Iroquois, who found their highest development in their
confederacy of the Five Nations of the Long House in central New York
(the Massawomecks so dreaded by the Powhattans and Manahoacs of Smith's
narratives) were even further advanced. Described by historians as the
Romans of America, they led all other Indians of what is now the United
States in their powers of organization and extraordinary political
development. They lived in cleverly and strongly palisaded villages and
their agricultural activities, falling to the women's share of tribal
work, were probably further advanced than those of any other Indians
north of Mexico. Our earliest knowledge places them on the banks of the
St. Lawrence, in the neighborhood of the present Montreal, whence they
were driven by the neighboring Algonquins. Their defeat and expulsion to
the south bred in them a deep determination for revenge. In the New York
wilderness they developed and cultivated a passion for ruthless warfare
and forming their famous Confederation somewhere about the year 1570,
they rapidly became the most powerful Indian military force east of the
Mississippi and a sombre threat and terror to the other Indian tribes
far and wide.
In contrast to both Algonquins and Iroquois, the Siouan tribes who
ranged the Piedmont country from the Potomac south, were primarily
nomads--and nomads, observes Mooney, have short histories. Modern
scholarship inclines to place the origin of the great Siouan or Dakotan
family possibly amidst the eastern foothills of the southern Alleghanies
or at least as far east as Ohio, whence, after a long period, they
probably were driven by the Iroquois and other enemies beyond the
Mississippi. Being essentially nomadic, without permanent villages and
relying on constant hunting for their food, following their game
wherever it might lead, they necessarily ranged widely and covered broad
areas. From the days of the earliest European invasion, locations of the
Iroquois and Algonquin stock were known, but as the earliest English
scouts and adventurers found no such long established villages in the
Piedmont country, their tendency and following them, that of the early
writers and historians, was to loosely assume that the Indians found
there were, in common with their neighbours, either Algonquins or
Iroquois. Later antiquarians and ethnologists seem to have followed
their lead; with an exasperating paucity of record, tradition or
material remains, there was but little on which to base knowledge of
language, whence racial stock might be deduced. It was not until Horatio
Hale announced, sixty years ago, his discovery of a Siouan language
bordering the Atlantic coast and James Mooney, in 1894, published his
_Siouan Tribes of the East_ that these Indians of the northern Virginia
Piedmont, known to be members of the Manahoac Confederacy, were
identified as of the Siouan stock. They "consisted of perhaps a dozen
tribes of which the names of eight have been preserved. With the
exception of the Stegarake," writes Mooney, "all that is known of these
was recorded by Smith, whose own acquaintance with them seems to have
been limited to an encounter with a large hunting party in 1608."
As Smith's narrative, after its wont, paints a vivid picture of the
Manahoacs, a picture which almost stands alone in the mist of conjecture
and deductive reasoning making up what is left to us of them, it is well
to quote it in full, bearing always in mind that while these people were
found on the upper Rappahannock, we have excellent reason to believe
that they also occupied all the land now within the bounds of Loudoun.
As allied bands, without fixed habitation, they wandered over the lands
between Tidewater and the Blue Ridge, from the James to the Potomac.
The story is contained in Smith's _Generall Historie of Virginia_ which
states on its title page to be "by Captaine John Smith sometymes
Governor in those Countryes & Admirall of New England." Chapter VI of
the book, from which we quote, is however apparently signed by Anthony
Bagnall, Nathaniel Powell and Anas Todhill who were three of Smith's
companions on this adventure. Bagnall and Powell were among the six
listed as "Gentlemen" in distinction to an additional six listed as
"Souldiers," among the latter being Todhill.
On the 24th July, 1608, Smith and these twelve men set out on this
second voyage of discovery along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Going
as far north as the head of the Bay and the "Susquesahannock's" river
and noting their many findings, they eventually, upon their return
south, came to "the discovery of this river some call Rapahanock" up
which they proceeded, with occasional brushes with the Indians along its
banks. On their third day upon the river
"Wee sailed so high as our Boat would float, there setting up crosses,
and graving our names in the trees. Our Sentinell saw an arrowe fall by
him, though he had ranged up and downe more than an houre in digging in
the earth, looking of stones, herbs, and springs, not seeing where a
Salvage could well hide himselfe.
"Upon the alarum by that we had recovered our armes, there was about an
hundred nimble Indians skipping from tree to tree, letting fly their
arrows so fast as they could: the trees here served us for Baricadoes as
well as they. But Mosco (their Indian guide) did us more service than we
expected, for having shot away his quiver of Arrowes, he ran to the Boat
for more. The Arrowes of Mosco at the first made them pause upon the
matter, thinking by his bruit and skipping, there were many Salvages.
About halfe an houre this continued, then they all vanished as suddenly
as they approached. Mosco followed them so farre as he could see us,
till they were out of sight. As we returned there lay a Salvage as dead,
shot in the knee, but taking him up we found he had life, which Mosco
seeing, never was Dog more furious against a Beare, than Mosco was to
have beat out his braines, so we had him to our Boat, where our
Chirugian who went with us to cure our Captaines hurt of the Stingray,
so dressed this Salvage that within an houre after he looked somewhat
chearefully, and did eat and speake. In the meane time we contented
Mosco in helping him to gather up their arrowes, which were an armefull,
whereby he gloried not a little. Then we desired Mosco to know what he
was, and what Countries were beyond the mountaines; the poore Salvage
mildly answered he and all with him were of Hassinninga, where there are
three Kings more like unto them, namely the King of Stegora, the King of
Tauxuntania and the King of Shakahonea, that were coming to Mohaskahod,
which is onely a hunting Towne, and the bounds betwixt the Kingdom of
the Mannahocks, and the Nantaughtacunds, but hard by where we were. We
demanded why they came in that manner to betray us, that came to them in
peace, and to seeke their loves; he answered they heard we were a people
come from under the world, to take their world from them. We asked him
how many worlds he did know, he replyed, he knew no more than that which
was under the skie that covered him, which were the Powhattans, with the
Monacans, and the Massawomecks, that were higher up in the mountaines.
Then we asked him what was beyond the mountaines, he answered the Sunne:
but of anything els he knew nothing; because the woods were not burnt.
These and many such questions we demanded, concerning the Massawomecks,
the Monacans, their owne Country, and where were the Kings of Stegora,
Tauxintania, and the rest. The Monacans he said were their neighbours
and friends, and did dwell as they in the hilly Countries by small
rivers, living upon rootes and fruits, but chiefly by hunting. The
Massawomecks did dwell upon a great water and had many boats, & so many
men that they made warre with all the world. For their Kings, they were
gone every one a severall way with their men on hunting: But those with
him came thither a fishing until they saw us, notwithstanding they would
be altogether at night at Mahaskahod. For his relation we gave him many
toyes, with perswasions to go with us, and he as earnestly desired us
to stay the coming of those Kings that for his good usage should be
friends with us, for he was brother to Hassinninga. But Mosco advised us
presently to be gone, for they were all naught, yet we told him we would
not till it was night. All things we made ready to entertain what came,
& Mosco was as dilligent in trimming his arrowes. The night being come
we all imbarked, for the river was so narrow, had it biene light the
land on the one side was so high, they might have done us exceeding much
mischiefe. All this while the K. of Hassinninga was seeking the rest,
and had consultation a good time what to doe. But by their espies seeing
we were gone, it was not long before we heard their arrowes dropping on
every side the Boat; we caused our Salvage to call unto them, but such a
yelling and hallowing they made that they heard nothing but now and then
a peece, ayming for neere as we could where we heard the most voyces.
More than 12 miles they followed us in this manner; then the day
appearing, we found ourselves in a broad Bay, out of danger of their
shot, where we came to an anchor, and fell to breakfast. Not so much as
speaking to them till the Sunne was risen; being well refreshed, we
untyed our Targets[1] that covered us as a Deck, and all shewed
ourselves with these shields on our armes, and swords in our hands, and
also our prisoner Amoroleck; a long discourse there was betwixt his
countrimen and him, how good we were, how well wee used him, how we had
a Patawomeck with us, loved us as his life, that would have slaine him
had we not preserved him, and that he should have his liberty would they
be but friends; and to doe us any hurt it was impossible. Upon this they
all hung their Bowes and Quivers upon the trees, and one came swimming
aboard us with a Bow tyed on his head, and another with a Quiver of
Arrowes, which they delivered to our Captaine as a present, the Captaine
having used them so kindly as he could, told them the other three Kings
should doe the like, and then the great King of our world should be
their friend, whose men we were. It was no sooner demanded than
performed, so upon a low Moorish poynt of Land we went to the Shore,
where those foure Kings came and received Amoroleck: nothing they had
but Bowes, Arrowes, Tobacco-bags, and Pipes: what we desired, none
refused to give us, wondering at every thing we had, and heard we had
done: our Pistols they tooke for pipes, which they much desired, but we
did content them with other Commodities, and so we left foure or five
hundred of our merry Mannahocks, singing, dancing, and making merry and
set sayle for Moraughtacund."
[1] i.e. Shields.
The spelling, punctuation and capitalization follow the text of the
first edition (1624) in which, opposite page 41, is a map shewing
apparently the Manahoacs (there spelled "Mannahoacks") in possession of
the present Loudoun and the Monacans south of them, around the upper
waters of the James.
With Smith's return to the mouth of the Rappahannock the mist descends
again upon Loudoun for many years.
In 1669 and 1670, John Lederer made three journeys into the interior of
Virginia. His first journey took him up the York River; his second, up
the James; and the route of his third he describes as "from the Falls of
the Rappahannock River to the top of the Apalataen Mountains." Although
he obtained the consent of Sir William Berkeley before making his
explorations, he seems to have incurred the ill-will of the Virginians
themselves and by them was forced to flee to Maryland. There he met Sir
William Talbot, who sympathized with and befriended him and translated
his story of his travels from the latin in which it had been written. It
was published in London in 1672 with a "foreword" by Talbot in Lederer's
defense.
Of the "Indians then Inhabiting the western parts of Carolina and
Virginia," Lederer says:
"The Indians now seated in these parts are none of those which the
English removed from Virginia, but a people driven by the Enemy from the
northwest, and invited to sit down here by an Oracle above four hundred
years since, as they pretend for the ancient inhabitants of Virginia
were far more rude and barbarous, feeding only upon raw flesh and fish,
until they taught them to plant corn, and shewed them the use of it."
Concerning the whole Piedmont region, called by Lederer "The Highlands"
he writes:
"These parts were formerly possessed by the Tacci, alias Dogi, but they
are extinct and the Indians now seated here, are distinguished into the
several nations of Mahoc, Nuntaneuck, alias Nuntaly, Nahyssan, Sapon,
Managog, Mangoack, Akernatatzy and Monakin &c. One language is common to
them all, though they differ in dialects. The parts inhabited here are
pleasant and fruitful because cleared of wood and laid open to the Sun."
Apparently in Lederer's "Monakins" and "Mangoacks" we may recognize
Smith's "Monacans" and "Mannahocks" or "Mannahoacks"; but on his third
or Rappahannock journey he does not speak of such Indians as he may have
actually met. James Mooney thinks that by that time the Manahoacs may
have been driven out of their earlier hunting grounds. The "Tacci, alias
Dogi" described by Lederer are suggested by Mooney to have been only a
mythic people, a race of monsters or unnatural beings, such as we find
in the mythologies of all tribes and had no relation to the Doeg, named
in the records of the Bacon rebellion in 1676, who were probably a
branch of the Nanticoke.
What became of the Manahoacs? Did their pursuit of the game they hunted
gradually draw them westward or were they, more probably, driven from
the Piedmont country by their terrible foes the northern Iroquois, aided
perhaps by the Susquehannocks who next appear upon the scene? But before
taking up the story of the Iroquois and Susquehannock influence in
Loudoun, we must turn to the English Kings and their grants of Virginia
and particularly its Northern Neck, that spacious territory lying
between the Rappahannock and Potomac, extending from the Chesapeake to a
disputed western boundary.