2 SMITHSONIAN >[ ISCP:LLANE0US COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 



villages had been abandoned and the people dispersed ; conseqnently, 

 very little is known of the manners, customs, and beliefs of this 

 ancient Siouan group. 



The region now to be considered, part of the ancient country of 

 the Manahoac, extends westward from the falls of the Rappahannock 

 at Fredericksburg, up the valley of the Rappahannock to Kelly s Ford, 

 and along the Rapidan from its mouth to near Mortons Ford. 



The description of the various camp and village sites and of the 

 material found scattered over the surface of many of them, which 

 is presented in the following pages, is based on data gathered during 

 short visits to the different localities. It was not planned to conduct 

 a thorough examination of the region, but rather to make a reconnais- 

 sance in the endeavor to locate sites that might have been occupied 

 by the Manahoac in 1608, and to discover, if possible, additional evi- 

 dence of an earlier period of occupation. 



At this time I desire to express my appreciation to Capt. H. K. 

 Baisley, Army Air Corps, stationed at Boiling Field, D. C, by whom 

 the aerial photographs (except pi. 2 ) were made ; to H. B. Collins, Jr., 

 my companion on many trips ; and to F. M. Aldridge, of Fredericks- 

 burg, and G. G. Harris, of Stevensburg, for assistance in locating sites 

 and material. 



ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH AT THE FALLS OF THE 

 RAPPAHANNOCK, AUGUST 1608 



During the summer of 1608 colonists from Jamestown, led by 

 Capt. John Smith, made two successful exploring trips to the islands 

 and shores of Chesapeake Bay in the endeavor to learn more about 

 the nature of the country in which their new home had been estab- 

 lished. They entered many streams, up which they went as far as 

 possible, and discovered Indian villages never before visited by Euro- 

 peans, in turn being the first white men to be seen by the majority 

 of the native inhabitants. Both trips proved to be of the greatest 

 interest and importance, and brief accounts of them have been pre- 

 served, but only that portion of the narratives will now be considered 

 that treats of the exploration of the Rappahannock which brought the 

 English into contact with the Manahoac tribes.' 



" Quotations are from the narratives of " What happened the second Voyage 

 in discovering the Bay .... Written by Anthony Bagnall, Nathanaell Powell, 

 and Anas Todkill ", in The General I Historie of Virginia, by Capt. John Smith, 

 1624. All references to Smith's writings are taken from the English Scholar's 

 Library edition, edited by Edward Arber, Birmingham, 1884. 



