The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-08-04
Department of interior Trying
To Ascertain If They Are
Branch of Cher0keeS
MATTER LONG IN DISPUTE
The Government Going After
Information In thorough
going Style Special Indian
AGENT Visits Robson Coun-
ty To Live Among Strange
People and Observe Them

People and observe lhem
The United States Department of
the Interior is end%eavoring to arrive
at an answer to the question as to
whether the Croatan Indians of Robe
son county are a branch of the we'll
known indian tribe of the Cherokees.
To procure data IN this subject a spe-
cial Indian agent, Mr.. O.. M. McPher-
son, was here ope day last week to
procure what Information he could
from local sources, continuing his trip
Of investigation to Robson county
where he planned to live among the
Croatans for several weeks and OBJ
serve them at close ang IN an eifort
to arrive at a solution Of the PROB
lem which is vexing the Interior De-
partment.
The question of the identity of the
Croatan people, along the center or
the southern border of North Caro-
lima, and tapping over into South
Carolina, has been for a good many
years, no a great many however, IN
| dispute. 1t was in 1887 that the North
| Carolina Legislature first recognized
| these people under the title of the
"Croatan Indians" gave them a sep
arate school system and declared
them to be a separate race. This
was due to the wo1 of Mr.. Hamil-
ton Mcmillan, of Red Springs, in
| the very heart Of the Croatan coun-
| try, who was then a member Of the
Legislature and whose mind vas full
Of what may be termed the romance
of these people.
The contention of Mr.. Mcmillan
was and is that the Croatans are the
descendants of the coast Indians and
Of the whites who composed the
l fI 1.o Cs~ ITa14o Dn1
eigh sent here and which had eStab-
lished itself on Roanoke Island, but
which was neglected for several
years owing to English wars, SO thai
when the relief expedition did ar
rive it found the fort abandoned, its
gate open, arms and armor, docu-
ments and other things rusting not
to Indicate anything being the word
"Croatan" cut on a tree near the
water and the word "Cro" on one OF
the two posts at the entrance to the
little star-shaped fort.
Mr.. Mcmillan contends hat many
things go to prove this ancestry of thu
CrOatans. The latter have a few In.
singular features as to complexion
and other things. For example, one
child will be very Indian-like, will
high cheek-bones, dark. wiry hair
etc, while a brother or sister will b.
Of light complexion and possibly blue
eyed. Some OF the Indian womer
have for years been noted for the
good looks, a bold beauty which lee
to many inter-marriages with white.
for a century and a half at least
There has been some inter-marriag,
with negroes, but relatively little an(
it is said that this for some years ha!
ceased entirely.
Tho Io~iC1o ,ro n f>- -
must have had a different view Q
r this indian matter for on the statute
it took away the word "Croatan" ant
gave as a new title the Indians O
Robson county," In 1857 the Croa
tans sent one Of their number to tn,
Indian Territory. now Oklahoma, t,
t endeavor to get admission into tn,
: Cherokee Nation but could no
: prove a case and so failed. Recent,
E an effort was made to get in touc]
with the C~herokees who have thei
reservation in Jackson and Swain
counties in high mountain North Car
f Dina and who there form what i
S known as the Eastern Band" b1
E though visits were exchanged betwee1
State nothing was brought about. TIL
CrOatans are continuing their en-
deavOr
In May. 1908, Col. Fred A.. Old
. took a Raleigh photographer wit
n MIN ana spent several days mons tn
Croatans, taking the first series of pic
5 lures yer made OF them to illustrat
d their life. In August of the same Yea
he took an artist from ASheyille an,
spent a week among the Cherokee
of the Eastern Band, getting materia
for information and also a remark
able set of photographs, the negative
$ Of which were a little later destroye
$ by a fire which burned the studio a
g the Asheville artist, so that ONLY tn
S pictures in the North Carolina HaI
OF History now remain, these hayin
for this reason a very decided yal1s
o since they represent much la Dor an
t care.
! There are no traditions in commc