Indians of North Carolina
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63d Congress 1 ^^ocumknt SENATE -1 Sd Session > ) No. 677 INDIANS OF NORTH CAROLINA LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TRANSMITTING, IN RESPONSE TO A SENATE RESOLUTION OF JUNE 30, 1914, A REPORT ON THE CONDI- TION AND TRIBAL RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS OF ROBESON AND ADJOINING COUN- TIES OF NORTH CAROLINA January 5, 1915.—Referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs and ordered to be printed January 13, 1915.—Accompanying illustrations ordered printed WASHINGTON 1915 t. CONTENTS. Page. Letter of transmittal -.-:•- ^ Report on condition and tribal rights of Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina 7 Exhibit A 32 Al—Senate resolution No. 410 32 A2—Office instructions, July 23, 1914 32 A3—Eleventh Census, United States, 1890 33 Exhibit B 36 Bl—Petition of Croatan Indians.-. 36 B2—Office letter of Hon. J. W. Powell, January 7, 1889 37 B3—Letter of J. W. Powell to Indian Office, January 11, 1889 37 B4—Office letter to Hamilton McMillan, January 29, 1889 38 B5—Letter of W. L. Moore to Indian Office, July 2, 1890 38 B6—Office letter to Hamilton McMillan, July 14, 1890 39 B7—Letter of Hamilton McMillan' to Indian Office, July 17, 1890 39 B8—Office letter to W. L. Moore, August 11, 1890 40 Exhibit C.—Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony, by Hamilton McMillan 41 Exhibit CC. —The Lost Colony jf Roanoke: Its Fate and Survival, by Stephen B. Weeks 58 Exhibit CCC.—Extract from History of North Carolina, by Samuel A' Court Ashe 69 Exhibit D.—Notes of Lederer's Travels in North Carolina, and Comments by Dr. Hawks 88 Exhibit E.—Lawson's History of Carolina 99 Exhibit F 120 Historical Sketch of the Indians of Robeson County, by A. W. McLean. 120 Letter of A. W. McLean, dated September 7, 1914 128 Statement by Wash Lowrie, a Robeson County Indian 131 Office letter of September 14, 1914, to A. W. McLean 132 Exhibit G.—History of the Cherokee Indians (from Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology) 133 Exhibit H.—History of the Tugcaroras (from Handbook of American In- dians) 180 Exhibit I. —History of the Old Cherawa (from Greggs' History of the Old Cheraws) 196 Exhibit J. —History of the Catawbas (from Handbook of American Indians) 215 Exhibit K 218 History of the Cheraws (from Handbook of American Indians) 218 History of the Cherokees (from Handbook of American Indians) 220 Exhibit L.—Legislation relative to Indians of Robeson County 223 Exhibit M.—Correspondence relative to the investigation of the condi- tion, tribal rights, etc., of the Indians of Robeson County, N. C 233 3 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Indians cooking fish 76 Map of the lost colony 83 Ogilby's map of Carolina, 1671 89 Lederer's map of Carolina, 1671. '. 90 Home's map of Carolina, 1666 91 Lawson's map of the Carolinas, 1709 100 Map of the Cherokee country (from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology) 134 Map showing territory held by the Cherokees and their neighbors (from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology) 136 Map of the sites of the Cheraws and Catawbas, from Greggs' History of the Old Cheraws 197 Map of Cheraws precinct and parts adjacent (from Greggs' History of the Old Cheraws) ."^ 198 4 CKq-7o.oi LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Department of the Interioe, Washington, January 4, 1915. The President of the Senate. Sir: Senate resolution 410, dated June 30, 1914, reads as follows: That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, directed to cause an inves- tigation to be made of the condition and tribal rights of the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties of North Carolina, recently declared by the Legislature of North Carolina to be Cherokees, and formerly known as Croatans, and report to Congress what tribal rights, if any, they have with any band or tribe; whether they are entitled to or have received any lands, or whether there are any moneys due them, their present condition, their educational facilities, and such other facts as would enable Congress to determine whether the Government would be warranted in making suitable provision for their support and education. In conformity therewith, I have caused an investigation to be made by Special Indian Agent O. M. McPherson, and am transmitting herewith his report of September 19, 1914. This report is quite full, showing a careful investigation on the ground as well as extensive historical research. It is believed that this report covers the matters mentioned in the resolution, and it is hoped that the information afforded thereby will "enable Congress to determine whether the Government wdl be warranted in making suitable provision for their support and education." Respectfully, Franklin K. Lane. REPORT ON CONDITION AND TRIBAL RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS OF ROBESON AND ADJOINING COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA. By Special Indian Agent O. M. McPheeson. Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Washington, September 19, 1914- Hon. Cato Sells, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. My Dear Mr. Sells: On June 30, 1914, the Senate passed a reso- lution (S. Res. 410) authorizing and directing the Secretar^r of the Interior to cause an investigation to be made of the condition and tribal rights of the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carohna. Said resolution reads as follows: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, directed to cause an investigation to be made of the condition and tribal rights of the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties of North Carolina, recently declared by the legislature of North Carolina to be Cherokees, and formerly known as Croatana, and report to Congress what tribal rights, if any, thej' have with any band or tribe; whether they are entitled to or have received any lands, or whether there are any moneys due them, their present condition, their educational facilities, and such other facts as would enable Congress to determine whether the Government would be warranted in making suitable pro- vision for their support and education. (See Exhibit A.) On July 23, 1914, you instructed me to proceed to Robeson County, N. C, as earl^r as convenient, and make the investigation called for by the resolution. In obedience to your instructions I immediately proceeded to Lumberton, in said State, and the results of my investi- gation will appear under appropriate headings in this report. (See Exhibit Al.) historical. The Croatan Indians (designated "Cherokee Indians of Robeson County" by an act of the General Assembly of North Carolina rati- fied Mar, 11, 1913) comprise a body of mixed-blood people residing chiefly in Robeson County, N. C. A few of the same class of people reside in Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Scotland, and Hoke Coun- ties, N. C, and in Sumter, Marlboro, and Dillon Counties, S. C. It is also said that a similar people, called "Redbones," reside in these counties in South Carohna, but I think it probable that they belong to the same class of people as those residing in Robeson County, N. C. In the Eleventh Census, of 1890, under the title "North Caro- — 8 INDIANS OF NORTH CAROLINA. Una Indians," they are described as "generally white, showing the Indian mostly in actions and habits." It is stated that They were enumerated by the regular census enumerator in part as whites; that they are clannish and hold with considerable pride to the tradition that they are the descendants of the Croatans of the Raleigh period of North Carolina and Virginia. (See Exhibit A2.) They are described in the Hand Book of American Indians, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin No. 30, as a people evidently of mixed Indian and white blood, found in various sections in the east- ern part of North Carolina, but chiefly in Robeson County. It is also stated that for many years they were classed with the free negroes, but steadfastly refused to accept such classification or to attend the negro schools or churches, claiming to be the descendants of the early native tribes and white settlers who had intermarried with them. A bulletin of the Thirteenth Census (census of 1910), "Indians of North Carolina," shows their numbers to be as follows: Bladen County 36 Columbus County 12 Cumberland County 48 Scotland County 74 Sampson County 213 Robeson County 5, 895 Total in North Carolina 6, 278 In a statement furnished the Committee on Indian Affairs, House of Representatives, February 14, 1913, in the hearing on Senate bill 3258, it is said: According to the census of 1910, the number of Indians in Robeson County waa 5,895. There are also about 1,500 to 2,000 in adjoining counties in North and South Carolina, making a settlement in all of about 8,000 persons. Apparently, the Indian Office had no knowledge of the existence of the Croatan Indians until the latter part of 1888. About that time 54 of these Indians, describing themselves as "a part of the Croatan Indians living in Robeson County," and claiming to be "a remnant of White's lost colony," petitioned Congress "for such aid as you may see fit to extend to us." This petition was referred to the Indian Office, and on January 7, 1889, a copy was sent to the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with the statement that there was no record in the Indian Ofiice showing any such Indians or any such colony as that referred to, and requesting to be furnished with such information as said bureau had concerning these people. On Janu- ary 11, 1889, the Director of the Ethnological Bureau replied: I beg leave to say that Croatan was in 1585 and thereabouts the name of an island and Indian village just north of Cape Hatteras, N.