THE INDIANS.
That portion of America now known as the State of North
Carolina was once inhabited by Indians. For many ages before
Columbus came across the seas in the year 1492, they had held
undisputed possession of all the Western Continent, except those
Arctic regions where the Esquimaux dwelt.
2. Nearly a century had gone by since the Spaniards had begun
their settlements, and yet, north of St. Augustine, in Florida,
not a white man was to be found. Cortez and Pizarro had founded
great states in Mexico and Peru, but the vast region stretching
from the Rio Grande to the St. Lawrence was still the home of
only red men and the wild beasts of the forest.
3. There were many different tribes and languages to be found
among the Indians. In North Carolina, the Tuscaroras lived in
the east, the Catawbas in the middle, and the Cherokees in the
western portion of the territory as now defined. There were
Corees, Meherrins, Chowanokes, and other small tribes in the
east, but they were weak in numbers and occupied but a small
portion of our present State limits.
4. The treacherous Tuscaroras were a portion of a powerful race
known as the Iroquois. The other five nations of this family
dwelt in the lake country of New York, and were the most daring
and dangerous confederation among all Indians then known to the
white people. These Iroquois of the North were generally
friendly to the English, but waged almost ceaseless war upon the
French and a tribe of Indians called the Algonquins.
5. The Tuscaroras were generally to be found in the country
watered by the Roanoke and Neuse Rivers, and were the terror of
all other tribes. It is not known when they had separated from
their northern relatives. They kept up amicable relations with
them, and messengers and embassies occasionally passed between
the banks of the Roanoke and the settlements on the northern
lakes.
6. The Catawbas roamed over the fair regions through which flow
the Catawba and Yadkin Rivers. Westward of them were to be
found, in the mountains, the numerous bands of the Cherokees.
Amid the towering peaks, and along the beautiful French Broad and
other rivers, lived and hunted these simple children of the
hills. They were generally disposed to peace, and were averse to
leaving the paradise they inhabited for the dangerous honor of
the warpath.
7. The Indians were, in many respects, a peculiar people. Though
ignorant and savage, they were not idolaters. They believed in
one God, whom they called the "Great Spirit." They were not
shepherds or farmers, for they had no domestic animals except
dogs, and their corn fields were but insignificant patches,
cleared and cultivated by their women. They cleared these little
patches of land by burning down the trees, and their plow was a
crooked stick with which they scratched over the ground for
planting the corn. The men hunted, and fought with other tribes,
but disdained to be found engaged in any useful labor.
8. Such habits made large areas of land necessary for the
subsistence of the people. Thus all of the tribes were jealous
of the intrusion of others upon their hunting grounds, and
whenever one found another getting closer than usual war was
begun. Their lives were filled with terror and apprehension; not
knowing when some enemy would kill and scalp every person in the
tribe.
9. The Meherrins lived in the fork of Meherrin and Chowan Rivers.
They were long at war with the Nottoways, who lived in Virginia,
south of James River. The Meherrins at last left their old men,
women and children and went on the warpath against their enemies,
who happened to be approaching them on a similar errand. They
chanced to miss each other, and the Nottoways therefore found the
lodges of their foes completely undefended, and they slew every
human being in the captured village. The Meherrins left their
old homes in despair and disappeared in the west. This occurred
after many white people had settled in the Albemarle country.
10. Such a state of society necessitated the control of one
leader; so the Indian tribes were governed by chiefs, who led
them to battle and in pursuit of game. Some of these chiefs,
like Powhatan and King Philip, were men of marked ability, and
extended their power over other tribes. When a chief died his
son succeeded to his office only when fitted for the place; if
weak or cowardly, some other brave was chosen. In this way the
honor was not strictly hereditary.
11. The Indians had no knowledge as to the working of iron. They
had only bows, arrows, stone tomahawks and such weapons for war.
They lived in small communities, embracing from ten to thirty
cabins, for protection, but had no large towns, because of the
impossibility of feeding great numbers at one point. They held
it a part of their religion to seek vengeance for all injuries,
real and imaginary, and their general traits of character were as
savage as their habits. In war they had no pity on captives, no
reverence for helpless age, and were strangers to the sentiments
of honor and justice. They were brave, yet much given to cunning
and treachery. They rarely forgot benefits or forgave injuries.
12. Many relics of these savages are yet to be found in almost
every county throughout the State. Broken pieces of pottery,
arrowheads and tomahawks are often plowed up in the fields; and
mounds of various sizes, made by the Indians, are still seen in
some sections. There had long been a tradition among the Indians
that, in the course of time, pale-faced strangers from beyond the
seas would possess their land; and so, after ages of petty
warfare among themselves, as the sixteenth century drew to its
close, they were confronted by men who built ships that withstood
the ocean's storms, and shook the solid earth with the roar of
their artillery.
QUESTIONS.
1. Who were the original inhabitants of the country now known as
North Carolina?
2. Who had made settlements on the American continent a century
before the English? What two great men were leaders in making
those settlements?
3. Give the location of the various tribes of Indians in North
Carolina.
4. Who were the Tuscaroras? What was the feeling of the Indians
toward the white people?
5. In what part of North Carolina were the Tuscaroras found?
What were their habits?
6. What tribes were found in the western portion of the State?
What were their habits?
7. What kind of people were the Indians? How did they cultivate
the soil?
8. Give further description of their habits.
9. Where was the home of the Meherrin Indians? The Nottoways?
What were the relations existing between these two tribes?
10. Describe the government of the Indians.
11. How did they live? What were some of their traits in war?
12. What relics of the Indians are still to be found in the
State? What tradition existed among the Indians? How was that
tradition beginning to be fulfilled ? Point out on the map the
ancient homes of the Tuscarora Indians. The Catawbas. The
Cherokees. The Corees. The Meherrins. The Chowanokes. Trace
the course of the Roanoke River. The Neuse. The Meherrin. The
Chowan. The Catawba. The Yadkin. The French Broad.