630 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 137 



Their howses are not many in one towne, and those that are stand dissite and 

 scattered without forme of a street, farr and wyde asunder . . . About their 

 howses they have commonly square plotts of cleered grownd, which serve them 

 for gardens, some one hundred, some two hundred foote square. (Strachey, 

 1849, p. 72.) 



Every werowance or chief had certain well-understood fishing terri- 

 tories. It is difficult to determine whether these corresponded to the 

 hunting territories of the northern Algonquians or the town lands 

 of the southern Indians in general. Very likely they formed a transi- 

 tion type, an adaptation of the former custom to southern conditions. 

 Strachey says of these : 



Every weroance knoweth his owne meeres and lymitts to fish, fowle, or hunt 

 in (as before said), but they hold all of their great weroance Powhatan. 

 (Strachey, 1849, p. 81.) 



Smith thus describes a small town called Kegquouhtan : 



The Towne conteineth eighteene houses, pleasantly seated upon three acres 

 of ground, uppon a plaine, halfe invironed with a great Baye, with a little He 

 fit for a Castle in the mouth thereof, the Towne adjoyning to the maine by a 

 necke of Land of sixtie yardes. (Smith, John, Tyler ed., 1907, p. 38.) 



In another pface he thus indicates the nature of Indian neighborhood 

 villages : 



Their houses are in the midst of their fields or gardens ; which are smal plots 

 of ground, some 20 [acres], some 40, some 100, some 200, some more, some lesse. 

 Some times from 2 to 100 of these houses togither, or but a little separated by 

 groves of trees. Neare their habitations is little small wood, or old trees on the 

 ground, by reason of their burning of them for fire. So that a man may gallop 

 a horse amongst these woods any waie, but the creekes or Rivers shall hinder . . . 

 (Smith, John, Tyler ed., 1907, p. 101.) 



In the Proceedings of the English Colonies in Virginia we read: 



These wilde named natives live not in great numbers together ; but dispersed, 

 commonly in thirtie, fortie, fiftie, or sixtie in a company. Some places have two 

 hundred, few places more, but many lesse. (Narr. Eaily Va., Tyler ed., 1907, p. 

 363.) 



As might have been expected, the same situation occurs in the coastal 

 sections of North Carolina. According to Hariot : ^ 



Their townes are but small, & neere the sea coast but few, some containing but 

 10 or 12 houses ; some 20. the greatest that we haue seeue haue bene but of 30 

 houses ; if they be walled it is only done with barks of trees made fast to stakes, 

 or els with poles onely fixed vpright and close one by another. (Hariot, 1893, 

 p. 36.) 



The following descriptions of a fenced and an unfenced town are 

 among the best our literature affords : 



The townes of this contrie are in a maner like vnto those which are in 

 Florida, yet are they not soe stronge nor yet preserued with soe great care. 

 They are compassed abowt with poles starcke faste in the grownd, but they 

 are not verye stronge. The entrance is verye narrowe as may be scene by this 

 picture, which is made accordinge to the forme of the towne of Poraeiooc. 



