History of the Indians, of North and South America

by Samuel G. Goodrich

The experience they had so dearly bought should have made the colonists vigilant, and put them upon their guard at all times. But they seem, at this period, to have relapsed into a state of fatal confidence or indifference. The Indians fell upon the settlers, principally on the south side of James River, and at the head of York River, and so carefully had they concealed their design, so well was it arranged, and so resolutely executed, that they cut off five hundred of the colonists at a blow. This was a dreadful event to the infant settlement, and seems, at first, to have almost entirely disheartened the survivors. A long and bloody war followed, with various results, till, finally, the Indians being defeated, and tired of the strife, a peace was once more made, which continued unbroken for many years. The death of Opechancanough, the master spirit of the savages, and the implacable foe of the colony, doubtless contributed to this end. Every contest also taught the Indians the power of European discipline, and they at last learned that the field of battle was the grave of their warriors, and that even a successful war always resulted in a diminution of their strength.

No very striking event succeeded, in the history of the Virginia colony, till the year 1675, when the Indians again began to rob and murder the colonists. Intestine divisions raged, and they seemed, in their broils, to forget that an enemy lurked around them, who might take fatal advantage of their unguarded and feeble condition. Although the Indians dared not appear, as they had formerly done, in the very heart of the settlements,—for these had increased, and the tribes had been driven back into the interior,—yet they attacked those who dwelt on the frontiers, wasted their fields, burned their houses, and committed other ravages. The colonists were in no condition to avenge themselves of these outrages. Had the Indians, indeed, known the full extent of their weakness, they might have been emboldened to still more daring invasions; but, being successfully attacked by the whites, after a brief conflict, they were glad to accept of peace. The ascendency of the English being once established, the tribes gradually wasted away, and it would now be difficult to find a remnant of the once powerful people by which the eastern portion of Virginia was formerly inhabited.

The tract of country first called Virginia embraced more than is now comprised in the limits of the State; and as a part of North Carolina was included in its boundaries, it may be proper, in this connection, to notice the history of the Indians who occupied this region.

North Carolina was first discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1584. In the account given by him, it seems the Indian name of this region was Wingandacoa, the king being called Wingina. His chief town was six days’ journey from Wococon. His brother, Ganganameo, resided at a village on the Roanoke. The third day after the English arrived, some natives appeared, and one of them went on board of the ships. The English gave him a shirt, some wine, and plenty to eat. He paddled away, and, having laden his boat with fish, returned, and divided them into two parts, meaning one portion for one ship, and the rest for the other. The next day Ganganameo came to see them, with fifty men, spread out his mat on the point, without any apparent fear, and, sitting down, made signs to the English to sit down with him. He then stroked his head and breast, and theirs also in a gentler manner, thus signifying, that, henceforth, their heads and hearts should be one. He made a long speech, and they presented him with some toys, which greatly pleased him. They then opened a trade, and he gave them twenty deer-skins for a pewter basin; a sample of the dealings between the English and natives. The chief made a hole through the basin, and hung it about his neck for a breastplate. He also gave fifty more skins for a copper kettle.

Some days after this interview, Ganganameo came again with his wife and children. They were of a low stature, but quite handsome. His wife wore a coat and short apron of leather, and a band of white coral about her forehead, with ear-rings of pearls as large as peas, and hanging down to her waist. He was himself dressed in the same manner, except that his hair was long on one side, and cut short on the other. The English, in return, went to see him; but, as the chief was absent, his wife ran to meet them, and, as they approached the shore, ordered her people to take them on their backs to the land. The season being rainy, she had their boat drawn up on the bank. Her visiters were then taken into her house, where she washed their clothes and feet. After they had warmed and dried themselves by a fire, she took them into another room, where a dinner was prepared, consisting of various dishes,—boiled venison, roots, melons, and other fruits. When they returned to their boats, she gave them mats to shield them from the rain. Well might these voyagers say, as they did, “A more kind and loving people cannot be.”

Notwithstanding this favorable view, it appears, that, subsequently, the North Carolina Indians were more or less enlisted in the various enterprises of the natives against the colony of Virginia, of which an account has already been given, and, to some extent, shared the fortunes of their countrymen. In 1712, a part of them, the Corees, Tuscaroras, and others, formed a league for the purpose of expelling the colonists, who had now encroached upon their territories. Their plan was arranged with great secrecy and cunning. To secure their own families, they surrounded their principal town with a breastwork. Here the warriors of the different tribes met, to the number of twelve hundred bowmen. The plan was matured, and the time fixed for the massacre. When the fatal night came, small parties went out by different roads, and, under the mask of friendship, were admitted to the houses of the colonists. Rising at a preconcerted signal, they slaughtered men, women, and children, without distinction. To prevent discovery or alarm, they ran as speedily as possible from house to house, hastening the bloody work.

In the vicinity of Roanoke, they thus butchered one hundred and thirty-seven persons in a single night. A few escaped and gave the alarm, by which means the settlements were preserved from extinction. Nearly one thousand troops were immediately raised in South Carolina, by whom the Indians were pursued. On coming up with them, a severe battle was fought, in which three hundred Indians were slain, and one hundred taken prisoners. It was supposed that nearly one thousand of the Indians were finally killed, wounded, and captured. After this event, the remnant of the Tuscaroras fled to the Five Nations, with whom they became incorporated. From this period, the northern confederacy assumed the title of the Six Nations.

In Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the part of New York below the Highlands, there were likewise numerous tribes of Indians. It is said that there were not less than thirty kings within these limits, and the whole number of Indians is computed by Dr. Trumbull to have been about 10,000, and the warriors 2,000. The principal tribes were the Manhattans and the Delawares, or, as they are often termed, the Lenni Lenape. The peaceful policy of William Penn prevented any Indian wars in the early settlement of Pennsylvania, though another cause doubtless contributed to this result. The Five Nations had subdued the Lenni Lenape, obliged them to put themselves under their protection, deprived them of the power of making war, and confined them to the raising of corn, hunting, and fishing. To use the Indian phrase, they had been thus reduced to the state of women. The interior portion of Virginia had also been subjected to the same sway.

Many of the Indians of whom we are now speaking were greatly benefited by the missionary labors of David Brainerd, who instructed them in Christianity. Numbers became professors of religion, and were bright examples of the power of the gospel even over the savage heart. The Moravians, also, at a still later date, were not less successful, and the account of their residence among the Indians, as related by Heckewelder and others, deserves a careful perusal. The history of these Indians, however, is similar to that of the tribes in other quarters, when brought in contact with the whites. They wasted away in the competition with a master race, and not a vestige of them is left upon their original domains.