The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-07-27
THE INDEPENDENT PAMUNKEYs
A Tribe of Indians That Has No ReIn-
tons With the United Sintes.

lions win the tntteu Stntcs.
| Jamestown (ya.) Corr. of the Chicago Record-)
| On the banks OF the Pamunkey River. in
King William county, about twenty-five
miles from Richmond, and a mile east of
| the historic White House." the home of
John cambridge where George Washington
married the lovely widow Gusts. dwells a
| community of ITO Indians, the lingering
| remnants of the nation which met the
English colony with friendly greetings
when it arrived on the Chesapeake Bay
The records of those times refer to Pow
hatan as the Emperor of the Potomac, p"
| and from the Relation of Capt. John
| Smith. we may Judge that he had about
| $500 warriors under his command. By the
| last census they were reduced 10 90, and
/ since then the birth rate has been so much
| greater than the death rate that they have
/ increased their total by II. The place
/ where they live is little peninsula, a
bottle shaped neck of land comprising
| about 500 acres, of which 250 acres are I'M
der cultivation. The remainder is thickly
wooded with virgin forest. swampy and I'M
1 inhabited. 1t abounds in game. which is
/ one of their chief sources OF subsistence.
| This tract is secured to the Pamunkey In
| dians by an act of the Colonial Legisla-
ture. They hold it in common, are pro-
hibited from alternating the title. and are
| exempt from taxes, although under an an
| cient law they are required to supply the
Governor of the Virginia Colony annually
with certain amount of wild game. This
| practice still continues and during the
shooting season, spring and fail, they are
/ in the habit now and then OF sending the
governor, by the conductor of the train. q
bunch of wild ducks or a haunch Of yeni-
son.
The Pamunkeys have no relation with
the United States Government. They re-
ceive no annuities, and their names are
not upon the rolls of the Indian office.
The State of Virginia annually appoints
five trustees to look after their interests,
but the Offices are sinecures, as the In
dams are perfectly capable of looking af-
ter themselves. They elect the chief and
council of four, who exercise executive,
legislative, and judicial functions. Every
member of the tribe Is allowed to vote,
and on the day appointed they meet at
the council house, with usually two candi-
dates to choose from. Those in favor OF
one indicate their choice by dropping a
! grain of corn into the ballot box; those
who prefer the other indicate 1t by drop
| ping a bean in the same place. These ma
| tive officials take care of the tribe. pun
| ish all offences except felonies. over which
the State courts have Jurisdiction, and
conduct a cooperative merchandise store,
which is patronized by white people in the
| neighborhood as we'll as the members OF
| the tribe.
The Indians are temperate, moral, peace
able and Industrious. Very few OF them
are full blooded. During the three hun
dred years of contact with the whites and
negroes around them they have been I'M
able to preserve their racial integrity. al
though the laws of the tribe prohibit CO.
habitation or marriage with persons of
African descent. They are exceedingly
proud of their lineage. and while they
would probably acknowledge the white
aristocracy OF Virginia as their equals,
they decline to have anything to do with
the blacks, and some years ago raised a
miniature rebellion because a mulatto wo-
man was placed in charge of a public
school upon their reservation.
Realizing that continual intermarriage
has impaired the physical condition If the
tribe. they have recently appointed COM
mittee TO treat with the remnant of the
Cherokee Indian nation of North Carolina
on this subject.
The Pamunkeys are not only thoroughly
civilized, but are quite inclined to be re-
ligious. The best building on their reser-
walton is a Baptist Church. at which nearly
every member OF the tribe attends service
twice on Sunday under the administration
of a native preacher.