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

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early settlers, showed himself to be
wonderfully shrewed and wise. Had
he dealt with one less shrewd than
John Smith, and having less exper-
lenceln adventure, the colonists would
have doubtless suffered MANY more
and worse things at the hands of the
Indians He constantly held the
settlers under suspicion, aud seemed
to fear the most when they came
bearing gifts. 1t was evident that
he had little relish for the corona
ton ceremonies that were Inflicted
upon him, and that he accepted the
gifts sent by the King of England
with some apprehension, believing
that In some way or other he would
be obliged to give au account for
them. On that occasion he gathered
up his cast-off garments in return
and presented them to the commits
sion that had in charge the ceremo.
MES aud coronation.
The empire over which he ruled
was made mp of subdivisions,
so distributed as that town or
village constituted one of these di-
visions. These towns were indepen-
dent of each other, but were all
under one Emperor and governed by
hlm or his appointees. In each viii
lage were sachem, tribal council
aud a priest.
The sachem was member of the
Kings council, and was looked to for
advice and direction in all civil and
domestic matters. He had absolute
power of life and death, and his word
was ordinarily considered final. The
werowance was the war leader, and
was the chief in all hunting expedi-
tlons. In time of war ne was supreme
in authority. He was appointed by
the Emperor, while the sachem was
elected by the people.
The tribal council, chosen by the
people, had the Authority of counsel
aud advice in every town. There
was a general council which met at
Werowocomoco. Over it's delibera-
tions the Emperor blrself presided,
and was always treated with pro-
found respect. The general council
was made up of representatives from
the various tribal towns.
The priests had authority in all
religious and spiritual matters. They
were held in high esteem, and were
consulted in regard to all important {
undertakings.
1t can be seen from these state
ments that there was considerable
conference in the government among
the Indiana. Among them land was
held In common, each inhabitant t
having equal rights in all hunting
privileges. Private property, dwell.
ings and gardens were respected by
all. The villages were usually built
upon high places, contiguous to
streams of water. All of these
streams, whether large or great, ran
perfectly clear. This is a strange
statement to the Virginian of the
present day. Now that the forests
have been cut away, aud the fields
put under cultivation, many of these
streams for most of the year run red
and muddy instead of clear and pure.
The villages were composed of twenty
live or thirty houses, which were
built of saplIngs, planted at regular
distances like posts, and then bent
over and tied together in the middle.
The house was built up by skilful
application and use of barks and
grasses adroitly interviewer. The
roof came down well over the struct.
ure. Sometimes there were windows,
but usually there was only one open
ing. The fire for heating was built
in the middle of the house on the
iloor, and usually there was an OPEN
ing at some proper place in the roof
Tor the escape of the smoke. The
beds were arranged around the fire
and were usually elevated few feet
above the ground, or were made up
of pallets Of furs and skins stretched
upon the floor. Several families usu-
ally occupied one of these dwellings.
The shape of the houses was either
oblong or circular. Each dwelling
place had its own plot of ground for
the cultivation of corn and vegetables.
Certain trees were planted and cul-
tivated. The mulberry tree was
especially popular, and the location
of many of these Indian villages
could be traced many years after
ward by the presence and growth of
these mulberry trees. OF fruit trees
there were not very many. The crab
apple, wild cherry, persimmon and
the plum constituted the assortment
of fruit trees native to the Virginian
soil. The gooseberry, raspberry and
cranberry greatly fourished. The
wild strawberry grew in prodigal
abundance, and greatly pleased the
settlers with its size and fine flavor.
In the fields were to be found the
wild onion, growing to be ''as large
as the thumb; the squash, pumpkin
and muskmelon greatly f1ourished,
but the watermelon, for which Vir-
ginia has since become famous, was
not indigenous, but was afterwards
imported. The sunflower was also
q favorite, and in all Indian gardens
it could be seen growingi in luxuriauce
| The products of the field were, in
the main, corn, beans and squashes
(or pumpkins). These ordinarily
were all grown as they are now, in
the same fields. The corn was planted
at intervals as the season wore on, so
as t0 have MANY crons of tho ~Oaot