Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-04-15


In truth, it is wonderful document. 1t il
worthy of the man. No doubt it is the result
of the combined effort Of Ashley Cooper and
Locke. Its grand defect consisted in its I'M
practicability. No man nor set of men could
establish, in an unbroken forest amongst un'
tutored Indians, that form of government set
forth in the "grand model" There was
wealth in the forests Of Carolina; but the peo'
ple were all poor-hence, lords and earls
caciques and barons were out Of place.
THE INDIANS.
No history of South Carolina-in fact NO
history of Americas complete which does
not assign place to the aboriginal lnhabl'
tants. They were called Indians because
Columbus set out to reach the Indies by a
westerly route. How this people gotto Amer
ica, and from what country they came, are
questions that have never been satisfactorily
answered and from the peculiar circumstan-
ces of the case, nothing, perhaps, better than
reasonable conjecture, will ever be arrived at
1t has been, by some individuals, conjectured
that the Indians, as they are called, came to
this country from Asia. The point at which
they crossed over is supposed to have been
Behripg Strait. This strait, which at pres.
ent is less than forty miles wide, it is supposed
may have at some time been much narrower
or the two continents may, it is conjectured,
have once touched each other. Supposing
this not to have been the case, it is argued
that when the strait was frozen over, single
families or tribes may have crossed over on
the ice, and thus reached the continent OF
America. Other individuals, on account OF
the great differences which appeared to exist
between the people of Europe and the abo'
rigines of America, have been led to conclude
that the latter are different species from the
former. This theory, Notwithstanding the
fact that it has been held by men Of eminent
scientific attachments, is attended with so
many and 50 great difficulties, that it has been
generally rejected as destitute of facts to es-
tablish it. The theory or conjecture that the
Indian came to America from Asia, by the
way of Behring Strait, whilst it is not salts
factory, is attended with as few difficulties
as any supposition, and may be accepted until
something is discovered which will throw
light upon this mysterious subject
We are accustomed to speak of America,
when discovered by Europeans, as waste. un'
trodden only by the feet of wild beasts. This
is not strictly y correct. All of America was
inhabited, and some of it densely populated,
when first visited by Columbus. The West
Indies, South America and Mexico, at least
parts of them, were densely populated by par
TALLY civilized men. The natives of Mexico
and Peru had magnificent cities and vast
quantities ofgold. When Columbus visited
Hispaniola and Jamaica, he found that the
former had three millions of inhabitants, and
the latter six hundred thousand. These, we
are forced to add, were all cruelty extermi'
mated.
In South Carolina when settled by the
English, there were, as near as can be ascer-
tanned, twenty-eight tribes. Some Of these
were small and insignificant, but others were
large and powerful. Their territory was from
the mountains to the seaboard. The two
most powerful tribes were the Westoes and
Savannahs. The Westoes occupied the terri
tory between Charleston and Edisto river.
The Savannahs we're located on the middle
country, on the Savannah river. On the
northeast side of Savannah river, back of
Port Royal Island, were the Yamassees. The
Creeks had established themselves on Broad
river, which was called by them and the Cher
okees, the Cherokee river. The present coun-
ties of Anderson, Greenville, and parts of the
adjoining counties, as far as Broad river, was
the home of the Cherokees. The Congarees
lived on the river which still bears their name.
Newberry county was the hunting ground OF
the Saludas. The Catawbas roamed north
ward from Camden, on both sides ofthe river,
which retains their name. The Waterees
located themselves below Camden. There
were many other tribes-as the Chickasaws,
who, since they did not live wholly in the
territory now occupied by South Carolina, are
omitted. Some of these, as we will see in the
SEQUEL, we're numerous and valiant, rendering,
in some instances, signal service to the whites {;
and at other times spreading terror through
the country.
Of the twenty eight tribes which once in
habited the State, only about seventy lndlvld-
uals remain. These are in the eastern portion
of York county, on the Catawba river. They
remain as the debris of once numerous, and,
we may be permitted to add, generous people.
In person, the Indian is described as being
tall and slender, with high cheek bones,
and long, straight, black, coarse hair. Their
hair, it is said by old historians, was as strong
as that of horse. The Indian was active,
rather than strong; capable of enduring much
fatigue, rather than performing great labor.
He was not brave, in the modern sense of
that word, .Iut was possessed of fortitude toa
degree unknown to most other people. He
was cunning. He never attacked his foe in
the open field, but concealed himself behind
trees and rocks, and when favorable oppor-
tunity was presented, poured death and des-
truction upon his enemies. He was sad and
taciturn. Rarely did he speak. and more
rarely did he laugh, and never did he indulge
in even moderate hilarity. His mode of
life made him sober. His existence was a
precarious one He lived by hunting and
fishing. The forests and rivers spontaneously
produced his supplies. TO capture his game,
with his rude weapons, required great skill
and a noiseless motion. A failure, for few
DAYS, in the chase, would bject him to much
suffering, and perhaps death. Hence, he was
sedate, and all his movements were made with
great caution.
With regard to the religion of the Indians
very little is certainly known. That they had
some kind of religion, there is unmistakable
evidence. In some of their religious ceremo
nies there is, at least, resemblance to the
ceremonies of the ancient Jews. Hence
some persons are of the opinion that the In
dians are of Abrahamic origin. The god O
the Indians who inhabited Manhattan Island
was called Manitou; that of some of the
tribes of South Carolina was called Toya
To this deity they celebrated feasts which
however solemn they might have been to the
worshippers, appeared silly and ridiculous te
Europeans. They had priests, but in what
their duties consisted, we are not able to say