The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1894-06-08
POWHATAN'S TRIBE.
last REMNANT EXISTS IN THE PA
MUNKEY INDIANS OF VIRGINIA.

A Town of 500 Acres With ITO Inhabitants.
Proud of Their Lineage, They Accept
White Persons as Equals, but VIII Have
Nothing TO Do With Negroes.
How strange it seems that remnant
of the once powerful confederacy Of
Powhatan should actually exist at this
day not so very far from Washington
This last fragment Of a nation, which,
ht the time of the landing of Columbus,
occupied all of the region hereabout,
including large part of Virginia and
Maryland, consists of about 10 individ
uals. They call themselves the Pamun-
keys and dwell at what is known as I'm
diantown," which is situated on and
comprises the whole of a curiopsly
shaped neck of land extending into Pa
munkey river and adjoining King Will
liam county, Va, on the south. The
"town" consists of 800 acres and is al
most entirely surrounded by water, be.
ing connected with the mainland by a
narrow strip. The comparative safety
afforded by the situation in time of war
is doubtless accountable for the presence
of the tribe in this spot. Very likely
their survival is due to the protection
thus given.
On the death of Powhatan he was sue
ceeded by Opechancanough, chief of the
Pamunkeys. The tribe was at that time
the most powerful of the 80 warGke
tribes which composed the confederacy.
The entire nation had 400 warriors,
and comprised about 5000 individuals.
Of this population 1000 were Of the
Pamunkey contingent.
Powhatan was chief of remarkable
valor and Judgment. The confederacy
organized under the direction of his
savage genius was one Of the most not
table among the many unions Cf native
american tribes. The prominence of
this aboriginal nation in the early his
tory of this country is partly due to the
fact that Captain John Smith was a
writer as well as an explorer. Opechan-
canough himself was a man of unusual
ability. His leadership in the massacre
of 1922 made him the most dreaded en-
emy ever encountered by the colonists
of that period.
The Pamunkey Indians, whose dis
tinction it is to be the only Virginia
tribe that has survived the encroachment
of civilization, have excited the inter
est of the bureau of ethnology, which
has issued bulletin describing them.
! Oddly enough, their number has va
ried hardly at all during the last CEN
tury. Jefferson, writing in 1871, esti-
mated the population of Indiantown at
100, and How, nearly 70 years later,
placed it at the same figure. No mem
Der of the tribe is Of full blood. While
the copper colored skin and the straight,
coarse hair of the aboriginal American
show decidedly in some individuals,
there are others whose origin would not
be detected by the ordinary observer.
There has been considerable intermix-
ture of white blood and not little of
that of the negro, though the laws of
the tribe now strictly forbid marriage
with persons of African descent.
The Pamunkeys have q great deal Of
race pride. Though they acknowledge
the whites rs equals, they consider the
BLACKS far beneath their social level.
Their feeling toward the negro is illus
trated by their recent indignant refusal
to accept colored teacher who was
sent to them to conduct the free school
(which the state of Virginia provides for
them. They are very anxious to keep
their blood free from further mingling
with that OF other races, and how to ac'
cOmplish this purpose is a serious prob
lem of theirs, inasmuch as they recOg
nize the danger Of too frequent mar
riages within the pale of consanguinity.
To obviate this difficulty the chief men
have been trying to devise plan by
which they may induce immigration
from the Cherokees Of North Carolina.
The Pamunkey Indians are not par
ticularly strong and robust, perhaps
because of frequent marriages between
relatives. They are temperate, moral
and peaceable. There is good feeling
between them and their white neigh.
bors. They are exceedingly proud OF
their lineage and love to tell how brave.
ly and stubbornly their fOrefathers re-
sisted the encroachments Of the whites.
Opechancanough is their hero. They
take great delight in reciting the famil
lar story of how this noted chief, when
old and infirm, was carried on a litter
to battle that his presence might inspire
his men TO deeds OF bravery. Aside from