Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-01-25

into the interior farther from the
hunting grounds of the Indians. liz
the early spring and fall the country
was filled with feathered game.
Captain John Smith said, "There
is yet no place in Virginia discovered
to be SO savage in which they have
not a religion" Every Indian vii
lage had a temple and attending
priests. They believed In the ex-
lstence of "a Supreme Being (or Great
Spirit) who was wise and bountiful
and benevolent. They usually be-
lieved in another supreme being who
represented the evil principle, and
whom they Eeld responsible for all
the evil and sorrow Of their lives.
The being who represented the
good principle they believed to be
kindly and mercifully disposed, and
if unhindered. he would fill their
lives with joy and blessings. So
assured were they in this belief of
his perpetual goodness that they
thought it unnecessary to render unto
him any special form of worship.
On the other hand, they believed that
the being representing the evil priu-
ciple was constantly bent upon their
suffering and unhappiness. With
this belief they conceived the idea
that If this supreme being could be
appeased they would be saved from
misery aud unhappiness. They
therefore concluded, in their rude
logic. that it was better to worship
the evil principle rather than the
good principle, because the evil pin
ciple might be placsted and bought
of. So their offerings and gifts were
all paid to the being representing the
evil principle of life.
They had very decided belief in
another form of existenre. They
seemed to have believed in what chris
tain people are used to calling heaven
and hell. Into the heaven went
all the good and faithful and brave;
into hell were driven the wicked and
unfaithful. In connection with this
belief in future life they had a
sort of vague faith in the transmit
grafton of souls, aud seem to have
believed that after certain stay in
the evil place, some were permitted
to come back into life and begin the
slow process of trausmigration which
should issue into better and truer
life.
1t will be Interesting, perhaps, to
know that there still fingers IN Vir-
ginia small tribe of Indians known
as the Pamunkey Indians. They
claim to be the lineal decendents of
the Powhatan tribe.
They live in a town on the Rich
mond and West Point Railway,
known as Indian Town, about twenty
one miles east of Richmond.
They live upon tract of land con-
tanning about eight hundred acres,
of which there are two hundred and
fifty arabic acres. This tract was
conceded by an act of the Colonial
Assembly, and it is never to be alien
ated from their possession. In 1898
there were present on the reservation
ninety Indians all told; twenty others
were accounted for as being in SER
vice In Richmond or as being en-
ployed on the steamships plying the
Virginia streams during the summer.
So that, all told, there were ia 1898
one hundred and ten Pamunkey
Indians. These Indians are not by
any means thoroughbred. Their
blood has become much tainted, es-
pecially with negro blood. The
estimate of its purity runs all the
way from one-fifth to four-fifths.
In recent years however, they have a
very stringent rule that there muat
be no intermarrylng with thnegroes.
The penalty for violation of this
rule is expulsion from all the rights
and privileges of the tribe.
They live under pure democracy
being governed by chief chosen by
the people, and by council of four
men assc c;ated with him. They
enforce their laws rigidly, although
penalties for violations of law do not
seem to be very great, consisting
mainly in fines and expulsions or
denials of the rights and privileges
of the tribe. All capital offenses are
tried in the neighboring court oi
King William county. The lands
are held in common, but there is allot.
ted to each head of the family eight
acres of ground. This land ordina.
rily remains in one family through
generations. Upon these eight acres
they build their house, usually a
story-and-a-half high. They live OF
subsist in very primitive fashion
depending upon the streams and
woods for their support. Deer il
sometimes to be had on their reser.
walton. They deal considerably in
furs of small wild animals. The
streams abound in all the fish known
to the Virginia waters. They cap.
ture each year large numbers of ducks
and other birds, especially the famous
and toothsome sora. Their name,
of killing the sora is interesting and
peculiar. Nowadays they have q
basket of iron resembling very much
the ordinary peach basket. In it il
put the pine kindling wood, which is
ignited and set in the marshes or in
front of their canoes. The birds are
attracted to the fire in vast numbers
and are beaten down by fails in the
hands of the Indians. They oripi.
naily had as receptacle for the fire
] what they called q snrn horse II