8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 82 



rather plan of the rapids and islands in the James which was made 

 before the year 1700. At a point between an island and the right 

 bank of the river v/as indicated the position of the " Indian Fish 

 Traps." This was evidently just within the western limits of the 

 present City of Richmond where ancient fish traps may still be seen 

 in the river. They are clearly defined when the water in the James 

 is low, and under such favorable conditions they were photographed 

 by the writer in October, 1926. The view is reproduced as the frontis- 

 piece, plate I. 



Beverley ' described several ways of fishing, and had undoubtedly 

 witnessed all being practiced by Indians with whom he had come in 

 contact. He wrote in part : "At the falls of the Rivers, where the 

 Water is shallow, and the Current strong, the Indiuns use another 

 kind of Weir, thus made : They make a Dam of loose Stones, whereof 

 there is plenty at hand, quite across the River, leaving One, Two, or 

 more Spaces or Trunnels, for the Water to pass thro' ; at the Mouth 

 of which they set a Pot of Reeds, wove in the Form of a Cone, whose 

 Base is about Three Foot, and perpendicular Ten, into which the 

 Swiftness of the Current carries the Fish, and wedges them so fast, 

 that they cannot possibly return." 



The preceding description applies perfectly to the fish trap in the 

 James, where three " Spaces or Trunnels " may be distinctly traced 

 pointing down the stream. Beverley may have had this exact site in 

 mind when he wrote his account so many years ago. 



White oak splints, similar to those used in making baskets, were 

 formerly " wove in the Form of a Cone " to serve as fish traps. They 

 were used extensively in this part of Virginia as elsewhere. The 

 maximum diameter of the large end was usually about one-third the 

 length of the finished trap. At this end the weaving returned inward 

 for a short distance, the opening becoming smaller so as to prevent 

 the escape of the fish. At the opposite end the warp elements extended 

 some inches after the woof was discontinued, coming closer together 

 and finally touching, thus serving to close the end of the trap. They 

 were placed where the current was strong, with the small end pointing 

 down stream. 



MOWHEMCHO 



This village, later to be known as Monacan Town, was the first 

 encountered by Newport in 1608 in passing up the valley of the James 

 from the falls. It stood on the right or south bank of the river and 



' Beverley, Robert, The history and present state of Virginia, Book 2, p. H- 

 London, 1705. 



