The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1897-11-20
THE GEORGIA HUM0RIST
WILLIAMS FINDS IT HARD TO GET AWAY
FROM INDIANS.
Quotes Ethnologist Peterson---The Gen.
tleman From Washington Throws Some
Interesting Sidelights on the Subject.
Other Interesting Talk.

~
Interesting sidelights on the Subject.
Other Interesting Talk.
It seems to me that I am haunted by
Indians. The other night as I came
from Macon to Atlanta my friend,
Judge Hall, introduced me to DR..
Peterson, of st. Louis, a very learned
and cultured gentleman, who was con-
nected with the chronological depart
ment of the government and was en-
gagged in examining Indian mounds
and in writing up the history Of the
Indian tribes, especially Of tho five
tribes known as civilized, viz: the
Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choc-
taws and Seminoles. As these were
our Indians, I became much interested
in his discourse, for he had been care
full and diligent in his research, and
what he knew, he knew we'll. We
talked about DeSoto and how, with
handful of brave soldiers, he overran
this country and took captive as many
Indian girls as his men wanted.
"Why did not these Indians ever.
whelm DeSoto and his handful of fol-
lowers and extinguish them?" I asked.
Because, said the doctor, "they
were paralyzed with fear of this new
and aggressive race of reople-just as
the Peruvians were paralyzed by Pr
zarro, who overran and conquered
Peru with less than hundred men,"
The doctor has been to eastern
North Carolina Investigating the tribe
of 4, 1000 Croatoans over there. They
were originally called Hatteras Indi.
ans, but about three hundred years
ago Sir Walter Raleigh planted colo.
ny of English and Portuguese on Roam.
oke island put them in charge of Gov.
ernor. John White, very practical and
accomplished gentleman. A few days
after landing, Governor Whites
daughter, Eleanor, who had married a
Mr.. Dare, gave birth to a child and
she was named Virginia, and so Vir-
ginia Dare was the first English child
born on American soil. Let the boys
and girls remember that. But no man
knows anything more about her. Gov.
ernor White and Sir Walter went back
to England for supplies and farm
ing tools for the colony and ON
their return trip got into fight
with some Spanish cruisers and lost
their cargo and many Of their men
and had 10 60 back to England,
and it was several years before they
made another venture, and when they
arrived at the island the colony was
nowhere to be found and little Virginia
has never been heard of. The colony
left some marks on tree pointing to
an Indian town called Croatoan, but
the town was deserted. The doctors
Investigations have satisfied him that
the colony did not perish nor were
they killed, but that the men wanted
wives and went into the interior and
co-habited with the Croatoans- it
was found hundred years after that
these Indians were of mixed colors
and many of them spoke broken or
mixed English and Portuguese,
although they had no intercourse with
white people until the colony came nor
for hundred years after. He believes
that Virginia Dare probably grew up
with those Indians and her descend
ants are now of mixed blood.
It seems that these Creations were
never Americanized until the last civil
war, when many of them came to the
front with their guns and said they
wanted to fight some. They were &C.
cepted and enrolled and did fight for
the confederacy. During the war
there was an election held in county
where some of them lived, and they
were persuaded by an ambitious candi-
date to go to the polls and vote for him.
Their votes were challenged by the
other fellow upon the ground that they
had some negro blood in their veins.
They were very indignant and said,
''When you want us to fight for you,
we are same rs white folks; when we
want to vote, you say we are nagurs
And so committee of four doctors
was appointed to examine them and
say what they were. The committee
took them out to sandy place in the
road and had them take off their shoes
and make tracks barefooted. Five Of
them made very fair Anglo-Saxon
tracks and were accepted, but of the
other two the report was that the hollow
Of their feet made holes in the ground,
and they were rejected. There are
some of these Croatoans on Newman's
ridge, in Tennessee. remember that,
some years ago, party of us were
riding in the negro car on the state
| road, and when we reached Kingston
a colored convention of preachers got
aboard and claimed the car. Sanford
Bell ordered us out, and we retired, of
course. but one man did not. nova