The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-14
P0WHATAN'S TRIBE TRACED
Some Yet Living Under the Pro.
tecting Wing of Mormonism.

: Indians That Once Held Sway AIon,
the Banks of the Potomac-PInce
That Deserved Their Names From
= Aboriginal Fishers and Hunters
, II is not generally known perhaps. tina
, the descendants of the Powhatan tribe o.
Indians which once inhabited the shore,
of Chesapeake Bay as far north as tn,
Patuxent. in Maryland, are now living
quietly by the shores uf the Great Salt
Lake under the wing of Mormonism. This
assertion is based upon the statement OF
traveller who CHANGED, on recent visit
to the Cherokee Reservation in North
carolina, to meet Catawba squaw the
widow of one Samuel Owl, a Cherokee
In talking one day with this woman about
her own people. the visitor elected the
fact that number of Indians formerly
lived with them who were different from
the Catawbas. and were called Pam
inks On further questioning she stat
ed that they were all descendants of. or
| related to. an Indian named John Marsh.
who had come from Virginia about fifty
years before. They WERE says the tray-
eler' unquestionably some of the Pa
| munkeys, descendants of the Powhatans.
! VINO resided near Richmond Va on
asking her. he continues, what had be-
come of them, she said that they were
constantly quarreling with the Catawbas
for the old tribe hatred still lives on
until some Mormon missionaries from the
West arrived in that Vicinity few years
ago. when the 'Pamunks,' glad of an op-
portunity- to escape from their persecu-
tors. embraced the new doctrines. and
followed their deliverers to the far-dis-
tant land of Utah. where the last de-
scendants of the lordly -Powhatans now
read their lonely destiny in the waters of
the Great Salt Lake 49,
1t is stated, on the authority of the ear
iy settlers of Maryland that the valley at
the foot of Capitol Hill. in the city of
washington. formerly drained by the Ii
Der Creek, the Potomac. and the Eastern
Branch, was for some years periodically
visited by the Indians. who named 1t their
fishing ground to distinguish il from
their hunting ground and that in the
spring of the year especially they assem-
bled there in great numbers to procure
fish. The principal camp of the Indians
and the residence of their CHIEF were at
Greenieaf's Point, and their councils were
held among the various tribes thus gath
cred together. This. if not strictly his
torical, is at least traditional, and it is
supposed by some writer's that George
Washington was informed of this tradi-
ton, and it has been further intimated
that this knowledge had something to do
with his determination to locate the Cap
ital of the Nation on its present site. 1t
may be remarked, however. that If by his
so doing he meant to insure the future in
habitants an abundant supply of fish
from the part of the river alluded to his
plan in this wi ran IA, oo,z;a
cred a perfect success
According to Schooicraft the Indian
tribes, in most cases, dwelt on the banks !
OF the rivers. and the Indian geographical !
names are at once appropriate and eu-
phonic- The rivers were denoted by an (
infection to the root form of the name;
as annah. annock, any, hany, phany, etc !
Thus came the name of Allegheny Rap
pah-annock, Susqueh-annah. etc In diff |
ferent languages there were, of course, |
different terminal infections. The Della
wares, or Lenapes. used the term ittuk I
for the same purpose; hence. in their |
language Lenapeh-ittuk meant the Lem |
ape River. or the Delaware River
According to Mr.. James Mooney. there
was, on the Virginia side, directly across
the Long Bridge and opposite Washing
ton another settlement called Manner
oughquena. and between it and Tauxenent
mount Vernon were two others, known.
respectively. as Assaomeck (about Alex
andria) and Narnassingakent below AL
eXandria)- Several other small settle
ments existed about the mouth of the Pts
on the Maryland side. Nacoch
tank, which was the residence of a chief
ana contained eighty warriors was th,
principal settlement within or adjoining
the District.
The Jesuits. who came out later with
Lord baltimore. Latinized the name as
anacostan- whence We get Anacostia the
modern name of the Eastern Branch at
" ashIngton, and of the postoffice at
niontown, on its southeastern bend and
perhaps also Analostan, the name of the
sland opposite Georgetown
The Indians of Maryland and those of |
Virginia closely resembled each other
Those of the former State were descend |
Ints OF the same race with the Powhatans |
lnd spoke dialects of the great Algor Juin |
language. Powhatan himself claimed ju-
sdlction over the Patuxent, but il is
doubtful as TO whether he ever enforced
lis claim. The name of Chesapeake Bay
5, IN all probability. of Algonquin origin
is a general thing, the accounts of the
maryland Indians represent them as a I
nipple. open, appreciative, and confiding 7
eople, hlled with wonder at the appear +
nee of their European visitors. Father
mite, who accompanied Caleb Calvert I
avs they were endowed with an ingen- I
GUS and liberal disposition and an t
cuteness of sight and taste and smell
hat even surpassed the Europeans. and i
bat they lived mostly on an article of C
bod which they called pene," or hon. r
ny. etc. l.
The Susquehannas claimed the territory V
etween the Potomac and the Susquehan- p
a rivers when jamestown was settled
s their hunting ground. and it marked
ne boundary between their lands and the a
Cwhatanic kingdom. Subsequently they S
lovei their council fire down the western II
1ore to the PatuXent to avoid conflicts p
18th the Iroquois; but, on the other hand. p
ley came In contact with a class of il
hite people from whom they contracted
lc habit of usin galcoholic liquors. which p
roved a more powerful and insidio,is en- | b
ny than the Iroquois. Like the coast b
ibes of Virginia, they exchanged all the IL
valuable products of their streams and | n
rests for firewater, and when these were ! 81
me they sold their lands. They Jared ! Il
I'd in battles which they had with the ! Ia
hites and with other tribes and uniting II
It'll another tribe, gradually lost their p
dividuality and became extinct Pr
Besides the Powhatans in Virginia al
ere were the Iriquois and the Chicka- d.
'minies- The Powhatans were won over
tho English. especially by the marriage lii
Pocahontas to Rolfe; but this mar
age. though a remarkable event in his I
ry. was nothing more. The blending of
c English and Indian races. which some
ped and believed they saw foreshadow-
by this marriage, was. in reality. an