BULL. 301 



NAKTICOKE 



25 



E. shore, where Smith in 1608 located tl>eir 

 principal village, calletl Nanticoke. They 

 were connected lintruistically and ethnic- 

 ally with the Delawares and the Conoy, 

 notwithstanding the idiomatic variance 

 in the language of the latter. Their tra- 

 ditional history is brief and affords Ijut 

 little aid in tracing their movements in 

 prehistoric times. The 10th verse of 

 the fifth song of the Walam Olum is 

 translated by Squier: "The Nentegos 

 and the Shawanis went to tiie south 

 lands." Although the Shawnee and 

 Nanticoke are brought together in this 

 verse, it does not necessarily indicate 

 that they separated from the main body 

 at the same time and place; but in both 

 cases the separation appears to have oc- 

 curred in the region that in verse 1, same 

 canto, is designated Talega land, which 

 was probably in Ohio, since their tradi- 

 tion recorded Ijy Beatty ( Brinton, Lenape 

 Leg., 139, 1885) is precisely the same as 

 that of the Shawnee. It is also probable 

 that "south" in the legend signiliessome 

 point below the latitude of Pittsburg, Pa., 

 but not s. of the Kanawha. A different 

 and more probable account was given to 

 Heckewelder by the old chief, AVhite, 

 who said that, being great trappers and 

 fishers, they separated fmm the Dela- 

 wares after these had reached their east- 

 ern seat and wandered s. in search of good 

 fishing and trapping grounds. 



The Conoy in 1660 informed the gov- 

 ernor of Maryland of a "league that had 

 existed for 13 generations with an em- 

 peror of Nanticoke lineage at its head, 

 which embraced all the tribes of the 

 province, and also the Potomac and, as 

 they pretended, even the Iroquoian Con- 

 estoga" (Maryland Arch., Proc. Counc, 

 1636-67, 403). The Tocwogh of Smith, 

 as well as the later Doag, were possibly 

 identical with the Nanticoke. 



A short time after its settlement the 

 Maryland colony found the Nanticoke a 

 thorn in its side. As early as 1642 they 

 were formally declared to l)e enemies, 

 and not until 1678 was the strife com- 

 posed l)y treaty. A renewal of hostilities 

 was threatened in 1687, but by prudent 

 measures this was prevented and the 

 peace reaffirmed. In 1698, and from that 

 time forward as long as they remained in 

 the region, reservations were set aside for 

 them. In 1 707 they had at least 7 vil- 

 lages. In 1722 their princi]>al village, 

 called Nanduge by Beverley, contained 

 about 100 inhabitants and was the resi- 

 dence of the "empress," who ruled over 

 all the neighboring Indians. At that 

 'time they numbered about 500. Soon 

 afterward they began to move n., stop- 

 ping for a time on the Susquehanna, 

 at the mouth of the Juniata, and about 



1748 the greater part of the tribe went 

 up the Susquehanna, halting at various 

 points, and finally settled under Iroquois 

 protection at Chenango, Chugnut, and 

 Owego, on the e. branch of the Susque- 

 hanna in s. New York. They were esti- 

 mated at about 500 in 1765. A part re- 

 mained in Maryland, where they were 

 still living under the name of Wiwash 

 in 1792, although reduced to about 30. 

 In 1753 a part of those on the upper 

 Susquehanna joined the Iroquois in w. 

 New York, with whom they were still 

 living in 1810, but the majority of the 

 trilje, in company with remnants of 

 the Mahican and Wappinger, emigrated 

 to the W. about 1784 and joined the 

 Delawares in Ohio and Indiana, with 

 whom they soon became incorporated, 

 disappearing as a distinct tribe. A few 

 mixed bloods live on Indian r., Delaware. 



The Nanticoke were distinguished from 

 neighboring tribes by a darker color and 

 peculiar customs. They appear to have 

 been devoted to fishing and trapping as 

 a means of subsistence. Heckewelder 

 says: "They are said to have been the 

 inventors of a poisonous substance by 

 which they could destroy a whole settle- 

 ment of people, and they are accused of 

 being skilled in the arts of witchcraft. 

 It is certain they are dreaded on this ac- 

 count. I have known Indians who firmly 

 believed that they had people among 

 them who could, if they pleased, destroy 

 a whole army by merely blowing their 

 breath toward them. Those of the Le- 

 nape and other tribes who pretend to 

 witchcraft say that they learned the 

 science from the Nanticokes." What 

 particular characteristic, art, or knowl- 

 edge caused them to be looked upon in 

 this light is not stated; but it probably 

 was their knowledge of poisons and the 

 singular custom, which Heckewelder de- 

 scribes, of removing the bones of their 

 dead from place to place during their va- 

 rious shiftings. They ajtpear to have had 

 a head chief, to whom the P]nglish, adopt- 

 ing Old World terms, applied the name 

 emperor to distinguish him from the sub- 

 ordinate chiefs whom they called kings. 

 The line of descent of the former was 

 in the female line, and as noted above, 

 if Beverley be correct, a woman might, 

 under certain circumstances, hold the 

 chieftaincy. Their towns apjjear to have 

 been in some instances fortified, as Smith 

 says: "They conducted us to their palli- 

 zadoed towne, mantelled with the barkes 

 of trees, with scaffolds like mounts, 

 brested about with brests very formally." 



The Nanticoke confederacy appears to 

 have included, besides the Nanticoke 

 proper, the Arseek, Cuscarawaoc, Nause, 

 Ozinies (?), and Sarapinagh. The Nan- 



