NO. 8 MANAHOAC TRII'.ES IN VIRGINIA BUSHNELL 3 



The information concerning- the Manahoac gathered during the brief 

 stay of Smith and his party in the vicinity of that people constitutes 

 the major part of our knowledge of the manners, customs, and beliefs 

 of members of that group of tribes, and its importance cannot be over- 

 estimated. The names of four native settlements, two on the banks 

 of the Rapidan and two on the Rappahannock, were told at that time 

 by Amoroleck, a Manahoac Indian from Hassininga, who had been 

 wounded and taken captive by the English. 



The second expedition left Jamestown July 24, 1608, and returned 

 earlv in September. Late in August, after having explored much of 

 the bay to the northward, they reached the mouth of the Rappahannock 

 and continued up the river to the village of Moraughtacund. This 

 was shown on the 1624 map as being on the left bank of the river, 

 and is thought to have occupied a site near a small creek, about li 

 miles above the mouth of Corrotoman River, in the present Lancaster 

 County, Virginia. Here a few years ago, scattered over an area of 

 some 60 acres, were vast quantities of oyster shells, the deposits hav- 

 ing a maximum depth of about 4 feet. A greater amount of frag- 

 mentary pottery and a larger number of chipped boulders and pebbles, 

 chips of stone, crudely made axes, and other objects of native origin 

 are said to have been found here than on any other site yet dis- 

 covered on the banks of the Rappahannock, indicating the location 

 of a large native settlement. 



At Moraughtacund the colonists met their " old friend Mosco, a 

 lusty Salvage of Wighcocomoco upon the river of Patazvomek ", who 

 was destined to serve them as guide and interpreter during their trip 

 up the river. Continuing up the stream, the English had a serious 

 encounter with the Rapahanocks, whose village, designated at Toppa- 

 hannock, is shown on the 1624 map on the left bank of the river. 

 It may have occupied a site on the bank of the Rappahannock in the 

 present Richmond County, immediately opposite the town of Tappa- 

 hannock, which stands on the right bank of the river in Essex County. 



Thus far, only Algonquian tribes had been encountered. 



The day following the skirmish with the Indians the English con- 

 tinued up the stream as far as their boat could be taken, where the 

 channel became obstructed by the rocks below the large island. Here 

 they went ashore to explore the country. They did not go far from 

 the boat but, as indicated by the position of the small cross on the 

 map, appear to have ascended the high ground on the right bank of 

 the river opposite the upper end of the island, beyond which lay the 

 countrv of the Manahoac. 



