The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-02
Malunge0nS OF Hancock
County Tennessee.
They are Descendants Of
Portuguese Immigrants.
Retain Many OF the Ancient Customs
Of Their Progenitors.

nessee, live peculiar people. They are
known as the Malungeons.s They are
splendid specimens of the human race,
copper-colored, with high cheek bones,
straight noses, black hair, rather coarse
and straight, eyes invariably black, and
above the ordinary mountaineers in in
telligence. Their peculiar color and their
customs have caused them great deal
of trouble. They number between 200
and 400. They live on Black Water Creek,
in Hancock county, and they have lived
in this section for over 100 years. The
records oflHancock county show that the
ancestors of these strange people came to
Powell's Valley as early as 1850, when
they took up lands on Black Water. Ira
dition says they held aloof from the white
settlers and spoke q strange language,
which none of the pioneers understood.
Some of them could speak broken English,
and by this means communicated with
the white merchants to the extent of buy
ing arms and ammunition and other
supplies which they could not raise in the
valleys of their mountain homes. They
intermarried until their racial character
istics were so thoroughly established in
their progeny that the frequent marrying
of strangers by members Of the colony
during recent years has had no perceptible
effect on their color, hair and general
resemblance to their ancestors, who lived
half a century ago.
Before the war the Malungeons had
hard time in obtaining the right to vote
and TO send their children to the primitive
public schools of that day. The white
citizens declared they Were negroes, and
the matter finally caused so much bicker-
ing and strife between the Malungeons
and the whites that it was carried into
the courts. In the trials which ft,lleYgeel
it was developed that the ancestors of
these people had emigrated to America
about 150 years ago from the interior of
Portugal; that they had preserved their
native habits and customs while sojourn-
ing in South Carolina, and that when
they omigrated to Tennessee they were
the same people which had left
Portugal fifty years. before. They declared
on the witness stand that there was not a
drop of negro blood in their veins, and
after long and tedious litigation they were
finally allowed the right of suffrage and
were permitted to send their children to
the public schools, and the wrangling of |
between the states i'm 1861, the Malun- |
geons espoused the cause Of the union. |
They fought in the usual mountain |
fashion-bushwhac many Con- |
federate soldier was sent TO his long home |
by the unerring bullets Of these Portu- |
yuesc- Americans. Whenever tho Confed- |
crates captured any,. of them they were |
shot on the spot. They were greatly |
dreaded by the soldiers and whenever |
column was marching in the Malungeon
territory extra precautions were taken |
against bushwhackcrs.
After the war ceased and the Malun- |
ycons returned to their old pursuits they |
found the government was interfering |
with one of their oldest INDUSTRIES
whisky making. They had been distillcrs
back in South Carolina, and some of the
,arly stills in Tennessee were brought by |
heir ancestors over the mountains from
5he first named state. When they found a
AK of S. gallon on the product of their
stills they openly dcfled the government
which had levied it. They did not make
whisky openly, it is true, but they sold it
N the open market inter they Ind made it
in their "moonshine" stills They be-
,ame very much incensed against revenue
officials who came into their country,
md not few of the officers were killed
With their deadly Winchesters. OF late
ears the revenue men have been so per-
,istent I'm their work of hunting the
down that the Malungeons
nave sold but little whisky openly. They
till continue to make moonshine how
'ver, in large quantities. but they have
doptcd the methods Of other Illicit distil-
ers in the mountains of Kentucky and
Tennessee, and they are rarely caught
low. Notwithstanding railroads have
,cnctratcd Eastern Kentucky and Eastern
Tennessee, the Malungeons never go far
rom home. IL is rare thing to see
hem on this side of the state line, al
hough few of them go to the little viii
age of Cumberland Gap Tenn, once i'm
great while to lay in supplies. Occa-
ionally one or two Malungeons arc seen in
'azcwcll, Tenn, but IL is seldom indeed
hat n member of this unique community
seen in Knoxville or Middlcsboro.
Paradoxical rs IL may seem, these pco-
lc, who have shed much blood and other
rise violated the laws ~ their country,
re deeply religious. In this respect they
cry much resemble the Southern negroes.
,uring their meetings they will sing and
hout and seem TO be beside themselves
'ith religious fervor One Of the patriarchs
T the Malungcons was "Unclc'' Ward
ollns, who was devout Christian.
ne night in June, many years ago, DR.
frederick a. Boss, n noted Presbyterian
,inistcr Of Eastern Tennessee was trav-
fntr thfsopob tho RfocI Wafor conpfrv II /.