swanton] EARLY BISTORT OF THE CREEK INDIAN'S 185 
mi ye one side being \ ery high for Lts defence, the other three sides t rees of two fool 
over, pitched on end, twelve fool high, and on ye topps scafolds placed with parrapita 
to defend the walls and offend theire enemies which men stand on to fight, many 
nations of Indians inhabitt downe this river, which runes west upon ye salts which 
they are att waare withe and to that end keepe one hundred and fifty cannoes un- 
der ye command of theire forte, ye leaste of them will carry twenty men, and made 
sharpe at both ends like a wherry for swiftness, this forte is foure square; 300: paces 
over and ye houses sett in streets, many homes like bulls homes lye upon theire dung- 
hills, store of fish they have, one sorte they have like unto stoche-fish cured after 
thai manner. Eight dayes jorny down this river lives a white people which have 
l< »ng beardes and whiskers and weares clothing, and on some of ye other rivers lives a 
liaiiev people, not many yeares since ye Tomahittans sent twenty men laden with 
beavor to ye white people, they killed tenn of them and put ye other tenn in irons, 
t wi 1 1 if which tenn escaped and one of them came with one of my men to my plantation 
as you will understand after a small time of rest one of my men returnes with his horse, 
ye Appomatock Indian and 12 Tomahittans, eight men and foure women, one of those 
eight is hee which hath been a prisoner with ye white people, my other man remaines 
with them untill ye next returne to learne ye language, the 10th of September my 
mail with his horse and ye twelve Indians arrived at my house praise bee to God, ye 
Tomahitans have about sixty gunnes, not such locks as oures bee, the steeles are long 
and channelld where ye flints strike, ye prisoner relates that ye white people have a 
hell which is six foot over which they ring morning and evening and att that time a 
great number of people congregate togather and talkes he knowes not what, they 
have many blacks among them, oysters and many other shell-fish, many swine and 
cattle. Theire building is brick, the Tomahittans began theire jorny ye 20th of 
September intending, God blessing him, at ye spring of ye next yeare to returne with 
his companion att which time God spareing me life I hope to give you and some other 
friends hetter satisfaetion. 1 
The greater part of the information contained in this report is 
from Needham. Not long afterwards Needham was killed by an 
Occaneechi Indian. Arthur, however, was among the Tomahitans. 
lie escaped the fate of his companion and after several rather 
remarkable adventures, if we may trust his own statements, he 
returned to the home of his employer in safety and communicated to 
him an account of all that had happened. Wood informs us that a 
complete statement of everything Arthur told him would be too long 
to record, therefore he sets down only the principal points. The 
account runs thus: 
Ye Tomahittans hasten home as fast as they can to tell ye newes [regarding the mur- 
der of Needham]. ye King or chife man not being att home, some of ye Tomahittans 
which were great lovers of ye Occheneechees went to put Indian Johns command 
in speedy execution and tied Gabriell Arther to a stake and laid heaps of combustible 
( a nes a bout him to burne him, but before ye fire was put too ye King came into ye 
towne with a gunn upon his shoulder and heareing of ye uprore for some was with it 
and some a gainst it. ye King ran with great speed to ye place, and said who is that 
that is goeing to put fire to ye English man. a Weesock borne started up with a fire 
brand in his hand said that am I. Ye King forthwith cockt his gunn and shot ye 
wesock dead, and ran to Gabriell and with his knife cutt ye thongs that tide him and 
had him goe to his houce and said lett me see who dares touch him and all ye wesock 
i Alvord and Bidgood, First Explorations Trans-Allegheny Region, pp. 212-214. 
