Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-04

lataean Mountains, answerable to the
CULTS Of Florida and Mexico on this
side. Yet I am far from believing
with some that such great and navi
gable rivers are to be found on the
other side the Appalataeans falling
into the Indian Ocean as those which
run from them to the eastward,
. All our water fowl which de.
light in lakes and rivers come over
the mountains from the lake Of Can.
ada when it is frozen over every Win
ter to our fresh rivers, which they
would never do could they find any on
the other side of the Appalataeans."
His description Of the foothills of
the Blue Ridge in northern Virginia
follows:
1.-THE ground is overgrown with un.
derwood in many places. and so per-
plext and interviewer with vines that
who travels here must sometimes cut
through his way. These thickets har.
bour all sorts of. beasts of prey, az
wolves, panthers. leopards, lions. etc
(which are neither so large nor SC
fierce as those of Asia and Africa), and
small vermine, as wilde cats. foxes
raccoons. One language is common
to the Indians now seated here, though
they differ in dialects. The parts in
habited here are pleasant and fruit
full, because cleared of wood and laid
open to the sun. The valleys feed
numerous herds of deer ana elks
larger than oxen. These valleys they
call Savanae, being marish grounds al
the foot of the Apalataei. and yearly
laid under water at the beginning OF
Summer by floods Of melted snow
falling down from the mountains.
THE Apalatae can Mountains, called
in Indian Paemotinck Tor the origin
Of the Indians), are barren rocks, and
therefore deserted by all living Gre
atures but bears, who cave in the
hollow cliffs. Yet do these mountains
shoot out to the eastward great
promontories of rich land. known by
the high and spreading trees which
they bear"
THE Indians, Lederer says, "wor.
u ship one God, Creator Of all
things, whom some call Okaec, others
Mannith; to Him alone the high
priest, or Periku, offers sacrafice.
And yet they believe He has no re.
gard to 7sublunary affairs but COM
mits the government of mankind to
lesser dieties, as quiacosough and
taghanysough, that is, good and evil
spirits: to these the inferior priests
pay their devotion and sacrafice, at
which they make recitals, to a Ia
inevitable tune, of the great things
done by their ancestors. From four
Maraskarin, they derive the race of
mankinde; which they divide into four
tribes distinguished under those sew
eral names.
"Their places of burial they divide
into four quarters, assigning to
every tribe one: for to mingle their
bodies, even when dead, they hold
wicked and oninous. They common.
ly wrap up the corpse in beast skins,
and bury it with provision and house.
hold stuff for its use in the other
world. When their great men die
they likewise STAY prisoners of war
to attend them. They believe in the
TRANSPORTATION of souls: for the an.
CRY, they say. is possest with the
spirit of serpent; the bloudy with
that of wolf; the timorous of a
deer; the faithful of dog; and there.
fore they are figured by these EN-.
blems. Elizeum, or the abode of their
lesser dieties. they place beyond the
mountains and Indian Ocean,"
Lederer's chronological observations,
1t is learned at the Bureau Of 1s.,eri.
can Ethnology Of the Smithsonian In.
stitution, were quite accurate. The
four tribes to which he refers were
the various clans. each of which had
a common guardian animal, such as
the bear, the deer. etc. Relationship
was figured not by blood ties, as
among white people, but W descent
from these animals.
The memory Of the German ex-
plorer. the first white man to set
foot In much OF northwestern Vir.
ginia, was revived last Wednesday
when q tablet was placed to his mem
Org at Applewood Orchard. on the
Blue Ridge divide between Front
Royal and Linden. The marker is
approximately on the border line be-
tween Fauquier and Warren Coun-
ties and indicates the approximate
spot from which Lederer first looked
down upon the Shenandoah Valley.
It will be one of the landmarks on
the John Marshall highway, proposed
to run from Washington across the
continent. -.