1714-1716.
Indian School at Fort Christanna--The Rev. Mr. Griffin,
Teacher--Governor Spotswood visits Christanna--Description of
the School and of the Saponey Indians.
GOVERNOR SPOTSWOOD, who was a proficient in the mathematics, built the
Octagon Magazine, rebuilt the College, and made improvements in the
governor's house and gardens. He was an excellent judge on the bench. At
his instance a grant of L1000 was made by the governors and visitors of
William and Mary College in 1718, and a fund was established for
instructing Indian children in Christianity,[384:A] and he erected a
school for that purpose on the southern frontier, at fort Christanna,
established on the south side of the Meherrin River, in what is now
Southampton County.[384:B] This fort, built on a rising ground, was a
pentagon enclosure of palisades, and instead of bastions, there were
five houses, which defended each other; each side of the fort being
about one hundred yards long. It was mounted with five cannon, and had a
garrison of twelve men. The Rev. Charles Griffin had charge of the
school here, being employed, in 1715, by Governor Spotswood to teach the
Indian children, and to bring them to Christianity. The Rev. Hugh
Jones[384:C] says that he had seen there "seventy-seven Indian children
at school at a time, at the governor's sole expense, I think." This
appears to be a mistake. The school-house was built at the expense of
the Indian Company.[384:D] They were taught the English tongue, and to
repeat the catechism, and to read the Bible and Common Prayers, and to
write. These some of them learned tolerably well. The majority of them
could repeat the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments, behaved
reverently at prayers, and made the responses. The Indians became so
fond of this worthy missionary, that they would sometimes lift him up in
their arms; and they would have chosen him chief of their tribe, the
Saponeys. They alone remained steadfastly at peace with the whites. They
numbered about two hundred persons, and lived within musket-shot of Fort
Christanna. They had recently been governed by a queen, but she dying
they were now governed by twelve old men. When Governor Spotswood
visited them in April, 1716, these old men waited on him at the Fort,
and laid several skins at his feet, all bowing to him simultaneously.
They complained through their interpreter of fifteen of their young men
having been surprised, and murdered, by the Genitoes, and desired the
governor's assistance in warring against them until they killed as many
of them. They governor agreed that they might revenge themselves, and
that he would furnish them with ammunition. He also made restitution to
them for losses which they complained they had suffered by being cheated
by the English. Sixty young men next made their appearance with feathers
in their hair and run through their ears, their faces painted with blue
and vermilion, their hair cut in fantastic forms, some looking like a
cock's-comb; and they had blue and red blankets wrapped around them.
This was their war-dress, and it made them look like furies. They made
no speech. Next came the young women with long, straight, black hair
reaching down to the waist, with a blanket tied round them, and hanging
down like a petticoat. Most of them had nothing to cover them from the
waist upwards; but some wore a mantle over the shoulders, made of two
deer-skins sewed together. These Indians greased their bodies and heads
with bear's oil, which, with the smoke of their cabins, gave them a
disagreeable odor. They were very modest and faithful to their husbands.
"They are straight and well-limbed, of good shape and extraordinary good
features, as well the men as the women. They look wild, and are mighty
shy of an Englishman, and will not let you touch them."[385:A]
The Saponey town was situated on the bank of the Meherrin, the houses
all joining one another and making a circle. This circle could be
entered by three passages, each about six feet wide. All the doors are
on the inside of the circle, and the level area within was common for
the diversion of the people. In the centre was a large stump of a tree,
on which the head men stood when making a speech. The women bound their
infants to a board cut in the shape of the child; the top of the board
was round, and there was a hole for a string, by which it is hung to the
limb of a tree, or to a pin in a post, and there swings and diverts
himself out of harm's way. The Saponeys lived as lazily and as miserably
as any people in the world. The boys with their bows shot at the eye of
an axe, set up at twenty yards distance, and the governor rewarded their
skill with knives and looking-glasses. They also danced the war-dance;
after which the governor treated them to a luncheon, which they devoured
with animal avidity.
FOOTNOTES:
[384:A] Keith's Hist of Va., 173.
[384:B] Huguenot Family, 271, and map opposite page 357. The names on
this little map, taken from a letter by Peter Fontaine, are reversed, by
mistake of the engraver.
[384:C] State and Condition of Virginia.
[384:D] Rev. C. Griffin's Letter, in Bishop Meade's Old Churches, etc.,
i. 287.
[385:A] Huguenot Family, 272.