School History of North Carolina : from 1584 to the present time

by John W. Moore

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.