The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-10
a STRANGE RACH.
Neither Fish, Flesh Nor Fowl-Descend.
ants ofNeRroes, Indians and Whites.

IN the southwestern part of North Caro-
lima, In communities remote from towns
and railroads, live the remnants Of two
strange tribes Of people. They are the de-
scendants OF negroes, Indians and whites
who have intermarrisd among themselves
for more than century and the colors and
characteristics Of the three races have be-
come oddly blended and developed. The
members Of one Of these tribes are known
as Indian negroes, while the other tribe are
credited BY local history and tradition with
being the direct descendants Of Whites lost
colony. The latter live in Robinson county
and the former in the southern part OF
Moore county, some fifty miles distant.
Soon after the discovery OF North Caro-
lima by Sir Walter Raleigh, an English
navigator named White landed at
some point on the coast south of Cape Hat
teras. DE was accompanied by a small
band OF followers who decided to settle
there. A rude wooden fort was erected
and some twenty men agreed to remain.
while White with his ship returned to Eng
lana for supplies and the families of the
intending settlers On the return voyage
the vessel was lost, and it was many months
before the few sailors who escaped drown
ing were finally picked up and carried back
10 England.
1t was then some two years before another
vessel was fitted out to return to the
Carolina coast Co reinforce the colony.
When the second ship finally landed on the
shores Of the new world, only a trace of the
little colony was found The rude fort had
been destroyed. and the men who had been
there had disappeared. On the trees in the
vicinity few words had been carved with
knives. and from these 1t was learned that
the men had run out OF provisions and had
gone into the interior. A few Indians were
found who by signs indicated that the
pale faces had gone far into the interior
many moons before. The rescuing party
returned to England without learning any
thing more Of Whites lost colony. but
when the state was settled many years after.
ward the English settlers were surprised TO
find far in the interior a number OF half
breeds who could speak a little English.
From them 1t was learned that the men left
behind by White had Joined q tribe of In
dams and had married Indian wives.
These half-breeds bore the name OF some
of the men who were known to have been a
part Of the lost colony. They were Barry,
Strong, Lowry and Applewhite. These
half-breeds continued to live with the In
dams until the latter were driven west
Then they formed a colony and located in
Robinson county, where their few descend
ants still hive. They were lazy, worthless
lot. and lived chiefly by hunting, fishing
aud theft. They lived in rude cabins, and
their settlement was finally given the name
Of Scutfietown, which 1t still bears. The
place in time became the
resort Of runaway slaves who were
protected by these half breeds. Then slaves
who had purchased their freedom were ad-
mitted to the colony on terms of soMaI
equality. Then came marriages with blacks
and mulattoes, and the character of the tribes
already bad enough, grew rapidly worse =.
The men we're cunning and treacherous and
nearly always escaped punishment for their
crimes. Until the late war their criminal
acts we're confined to theft and robbery
with an occasional murder that could not
be proved against them.
Some twenty years ago Scuffie.own de-
veloped one of the worst and most success
full band Of outlaws that ever existed in this
country. They were led by Henry Barry
Lowry, young member Of the tribe Of I'M
questioned courage, and the cunning of an
Indian. The outlaws were known far and
wide at the time as the Lowry gang
They committed no less than twenty brutal
murders and as many daring robberies and
for months terrorized the entire country.
The band was finally broken up, most of its
the state. A few families Of the Lost
Colony tribe remain at Scuffistown, dis
trusted by the whites, feared and hated by
the negroes.
In appearance these people are tall and
well-built Their skin is dark and swarthy,
the marks Of their Indian and negro blood
being most prominent. Their hair is black
and coarse, but it does not kink like the
hair Of the negro and mulatto. They have
the high cheek bones of the Indian, the
thick lips of the negro, while the nose and
Caucasian blood that remains in this odd
mixture of races.
The origin of the Indian negroes is not so
clear. 1t is said in the locality where they
live that about the time of the revolution or
perhaps before that time, a mulatto,
who had purchased his freedom, married an
Indian squAw aud from them descended the
present tribe This seems plausible, as those
now living appear to have less Of negro
blood than that Of the other two
races. The striking popularity Of
their appearance Is that their skin
is not the same color on all parts Of their
bodies. Some Of them, from the waist up.
are almost white, while their lower limbs
are almost black. Others have swarthy
faces, while the skin on their hands and
other parts of their bodies is white. They
all have coarse black hair and black eyes.
Their features all show the mixed blood
that flows In their veins, but a number of
them have faces white enough for the purest
Anglo-Saxon.
The writer once saw three boys belonging
to one of these families, who was as black
as full-bleoded negroes from the hips down,
and white, with occasional brown spots
above the hips. The skin Of their hands
and faces are perfectly white, exposure
seeming to have had the effect of removing
the brown spots that were plainly visible
on their arms and shoulders. Their lips
were thick enough to show that there was
negro blood in their veins. and their cheek
bones betrayed the Indian blood.
These Indian negroes are socially ostra-
cised by both whites and negroes and live
in a settlement to themselves. They are
densely ignorant and superstltious, and in
the community where they live they have
never been recognized as citizens OF the
United States. They have never attempted
to exercise the right of citizenship by vot-
ing. They are very peaceable ana seem
content to be let alone. They support them.
selves bv hunting and cultivating small
rented farms, occasionally working for the
white farmers as day laborers.
ERNEST HAMLIN.
PLUMDUFF-Has that charming widow any