NATIVE VILLAGES AND VILLAGE SITES EAST OF 
THE MISSISSIPPI 
By Davin I. BusHNELL, JR. 
I. THE COUNTRY AND ‘THE PEOPLE 
Eastern United States, that part of the country extending east- 
ward from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, when first traversed by 
Europeans was the home of many tribes, speaking different languages, 
having various manners and customs unlike one another, and often 
the avowed enemies of their neighbors. The combined population 
of the many tribes formerly living within this wide area has been 
estimated by Mr. James Mooney to have been about 280,000, scat- 
tered, although having many distinct centers more thickly peopled 
than others. But before referring to the distribution of the tribes, 
or rather groups of tribes, speaking the same language, we should 
consider the physiographical features of this part of America, as 
later it will be shown how great an influence the natural environments 
exerted on the development of certain customs of the people in 
different sections of the country, and how often rivers and mountains 
served as boundaries between the lands claimed by various tribes. 
Considering eastern United States as a whole, five distinct geo- 
graphic divisions are suggested: 
First, eastward from the Hudson, including entire New Engiand, 
having a rough and rocky surface, with many streams flowing into 
the Atlantic, and in the northern part, the present State of Maine, 
innumerable lakes, some of which are of great size. Forests of pine, 
spruce, and hemlock covered a large part of this region. The climate 
was severe, with long winters, heavy snows, and much frost. 
Second, the coastal plain and piedmont area bordering on the 
Atlantic and extending to the foothills of the Alleghenies, having in 
the southern portion wide expanses of low swamp lands, and crossed 
by many streams taking their rise in the mountains to the westward. 
Third, the Alleghenies, attaining their greatest elevation in North 
Carolina, with many rich and fertile valleys between the long ridges 
which extend, in a general course, toward the northeast. The range 
forms the divide between the waters flowing into the Atlantic and 
those reaching the Mississippi. 
Fourth, the rich prairie lands and hilly country lying west of the 
mountains and continuing to the Mississippi, divided transversely 
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