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Fontaine, John. “The Journal of John Fontaine”, 1710-1718: p. 245-310. Maury, Ann. Memoirs of a Huguenot Family: Translated and compiled from the original autobiography of the Rev. James Fontaine, and other Family Manuscripts; Comprising an original Journal of Travels in Virginia, New York, Etc, in 1715 and 1716. New York. Geo. P. Putnam & Co. 1853. 512 pgs. <http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=BookList&dbid=15721&ti=0>
From the Journal of John Fontaine, pages 270 – 281
26th. – In the morning we crossed York River ferry to the brick house. About one, we put up at Fourier’s Ordinary, where we dined, and at two we set out from thence, and at five in the afternoon we arrived at Williamsburg.
This journey, going and coming from Williamsburg to the German settlement comes to 292 miles, besides ferriages, and cost me about 3 pounds 10.
Our Journalist appears to have remained quietly at Williamsburg until April, 1716, when he thus proceeds in his narration:
The Governor proposed a journey to his settlement, on Meherrin River, called Christanna.
April, 1716, Williamsburg. – The first day, Governor Spotswood and I set out from Williamsburg about eight of the clock in the morning, and we went to Jamestown in a four-wheeled chaise. Jamestown is eight miles from Williamsburg, and situated close upon James River. This town consists chiefly in a Church, a Court House, and three or four brick houses, it was the former seat of the Government, but now it is removed to Middle Plantation, which they call Williamsburg. The place where this town is built is on an island, it was fortified with a small rampart with embrasures, but now all is gone to ruin.
Our horses were ferried over before us; we left the chaise at Jamestown, and about ten of the clock we were in the ferry boat, and crossed the river, which they reckon to be about two miles broad at this place. When we arrived at the other side of the river, we mounted our horses, and set out on the journey. It rained all this day very fast, and we were well wet. About two of the clock we put into a planter’s house and dined upon our own provisions, and fed our horses; and about three, we mounted our horses, and came to a place called Simmon’s Ferry, upon Nottoway River. There was a great fresh in the river, so that we were obliged to swim our horses over, and to pass over ourselves in a canoe; then we mounted our horses and put on till we came to one Mr. Hicks’ plantation, upon one of the branches of Meherrin River, called Herring Creek. The man of the house was not at home, so we fared but indifferently. We made in all this day 65 miles.
April, the 2d day. – We set out with a guide for Christanna, for this house is the most outward settlement on this side of Virginia, which is the south side. We have no roads here to conduct us, nor inhabitants to direct the traveller. We met with several Indians, and about twelve we came to Meherrin River opposite to Christanna Fort. We say this day several fine tracts of land, and plains called savannas, which lie along by the river side, much like unto our low meadow lands in England; there is neither tree nor shrub that grows upon these plains, nothing but good grass, which, for want of being mowed or eaten down by cattle, grows rank and coarse. The places are not miry, but good and firm ground; they are subject to inundation after great rains and when the rivers overflow, but there is seldom over six or eight inches of water, which might easily be prevented by ditching.
About half after twelve we crossed the river in a canoe, and went up to the Fort, which is built upon rising ground. It is an inclosure of five sides, made only with palisadoes, and instead of five bastions, there are five houses, which defend the one the other; each side is almost one hundred yards long. There are five cannon, which were fired to welcome the Governor. There are twelve men here continually to keep the place. After all the ceremony was over, we came into the fort and were well entertained. The day proving wet and windy, we remained within doors, and employed ourselves in reading of Mr. Charles Griffin his observations on the benefit of a solitary life. We reckon that we made this day fifteen miles; in all, from Williamsburg, eighty miles.
The 3d day. – About nine in the morning we got up and breakfasted. Mr. Griffin, who is an Englishman, is employed by the government to teach the Indian children, and to bring them to Christianity. He remains in this place, and teaches them the English tongue, and to read the Bible and Common Prayers, as also to write. He hath been now a year amongst them, and hath had good success. He told the Governor that the Indian chiefs or great men, as they style themselves, were coming to the fort to compliment him. These Indians are called Saponey Indians, and are always at peace with the English: they consist of about two hundred persons, men, women, and children; they live within musket-shot of the fort, and are protected by the English from the insults of the other Indians, who are at difference with the English; they pay a tribute every year to renew and confirm the peace, and show their submission. This nation hath no king at present, but is governed by twelve of their old men, which have power to act for the whole nation, and they will all stand to every thing that these twelve men agree to, as their own set.
About twelve of the clock the twelve old men came to the fort, and brought with them several skins, and as soon as they came to the Governor, they laid them at his feet, and then all of them as one man made a bow to the Governor: they then desired an interpreter, saying they had something to represent to him, notwithstanding some of them could speak good English. It is a constant maxim amongst the Indians in general, that even if they can speak and understand English, yet when they treat of any thing that concerns their nation, they will not treat but in their own language, and that by an interpreter, and they will not answer any questions made to them without it be in their own tongue.
The Governor got an interpreter, after which they stood silent for a while, and after they had spit several times upon the ground, one of them began to speak, and assured the Governor of the satisfaction they had of seeing him amongst them, and of the good-will they had towards the English. They said that some of the English had wronged them in some things, which they would make appear, and desired he would get justice done to them, that they depended upon him for it: which the Governor promised he would, and he thanked them for the good opinion they had of his justice towards them; whereupon they all made a bow, and so sat down on the ground all around the Governor.
The first complaint they made was against another nation of Indians called Genitoes, who had surprised a party of their young men that had been out a hunting, and murdered fifteen of them, without any reason. They desired of the Governor to assist them to go out to war with these Genito Indians, until they had killed as many of them; but this the Governor could not grant. He told them he would permit them to revenge themselves, and help them to powder and ball, at which they seemed somewhat rejoiced. They also complained against some of the English, who had cheated them. The Governor paid them in full for what they could make out that they were wronged of by the English, which satisfied them, and afterwards he made them farewell presents, and so dismissed them.
About three of the clock, came sixty of the young men with feathers in their hair and run through their ears, their faces painted with blue and vermilion, their hair cut in many forms, some on one side of the head, and some on both, and others on the upper part of the head, making it stand like a cock’s-comb, and they had blue and red blankets wrapped about them. They dress themselves after this manner when they go to war the one with the other, so they call it their war-dress, and it really is terrible, and makes them look like so many furies. These young men made no speeches, they only walked up and down, seeming to be very proud of their most abominable dress.
After this came the young women; they all have long straight black hair, which comes down to the waist; they had each of them a blanket tied around the waist, and hanging down about the legs like a petticoat. They have no shifts, and most of them nothing to cover them from the wait upwards; others of them there were that had two deer skins sewed together and thrown over their shoulders like a mantle. They all of them grease their bodies and heads with bear’s oil, which, with the smoke of their cabins, gives them an ugly smell. They are very modest and very true to their husbands. They are straight and well limbed, good shape, and extraordinary good features, as well them men as the women. They look wild, and are mighty shy of an Englishman, and will not let you touch them. The men marry but one wife, and cannot marry any more until she die, or grow so old that she cannot bear any more children; then the men may take another wife, but it obliged to keep them both and maintain them. They take one another without ceremony.
cont…
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The 4th day. – In the morning I rid out with the Governor and some of the people of the fort, to view the lands, which were not yet taken up. We saw several fine tracts of land, well watered, and good place to make mills on. I had a mind to take some of it up, so I asked the Governor if he would permit me to take up 3,000 acres, and he gave me his promise for it. I went through the land I designed to take up, and viewed it. It lies upon both sides of the Meherrin River, and I design to have it in a long square, so that I shall have at least three miles of the river in the tract. I am informed that this river disgorgeth itself into the Sound of Currytuck. This river, though large and deep, is not navigable, because of the great rocks it falls over in some places. There is a great deal of fish in this place; we had two for dinner – about sixteen inches long – which were very good and firm.
I gave then shillings to Captain Hicks for his trouble in showing me the land, and he promises that he will assist me in the surveying of it. We say turkeys and deer, but we killed none. We returned to the fort about five of the clock
The 5th day. – After breakfast, I went down to the Saponey Indian town, which is about musket-shot from the fort. I walked round to view it. It lieth in a plain by the river-side, the houses join all the one to the other, and altogether make a circle; the walls are large pieces of timber which are squared, and being sharpened at the lower end, are put down two feet in the ground, and stand about seven feet above the ground. These posts are laid as close as possible the one to the other, and when they are all fixed after this manner, they make a roof with rafters, and cover the house with oak or hickory bark, which they strip off in great flakes, and lay it so closely that no rain can come in. Some Indian houses are covered in a circular manner, which they do by getting long saplings, sticking each end in the ground, and so covering them with bark; but there are none of the houses in this town so covered. There are three ways for entering into this town or circle of houses, which are passages of about six feet wide, between two of the houses. All the doors are on the inside of the ring, and the ground is very level withinside, which is in common between all the people to divert themselves. There is in the centre of the circle a great stump of a tree; I asked the reason they left that standing, and they informed me it was for one of their head men to stand upon when he had any thing of consequence to relate to them, so that being raised, he might the better be heard.
The Indian women bind their children to a board that is cut after the shape of the child: there are two pieces at the bottom of this board to tie the two legs of the child to, and a piece cut out behind, so that all that the child doth falls from him, and he is never dirty. The head or top of the board is round, and there is a hole through , so that when the women tire of holding them, or have a mind to work, they hand the board to the limb of a tree, or to a pin in a post for that purpose, and there the children swing about and divert themselves, out of the reach of any thing that may hurt them. They are kept in this way till nearly two years old, which I believe is the reason they are all so straight, and so few of them lame or odd-shaped. Their houses are pretty large, they have no garrets, and no other light than the door, and that which comes from the hole in the top of the house which is to let out the smoke. They make their fires always in the middle of the house; the chief of their household goods is a pot and some wooden dishes and trays, which they make themselves; they seldom have any thing to sit upon, but squat upon the ground; they have small divisions in their houses to sleep in, which they make of mats made of bullrushes; they have bedsteads, raised about two feet from the ground, upon which they lay bear and deer skins, and all the covering they have is a blanket. These people have no sort of tame creatures, but live entirely upon their huntings and the corn which their wives cultivate. They live as lazily and miserable as any people in the world.
Between the town and the river, upon the river side, there are several little huts built with wattles, in the form of an oven, with a small door in one end of it; these wattles are plaistered without side very closely with clay, they are bid enough to hold a man, and are called sweating-houses. When they have any sickness, they get then or twelve pebble stones which they heat in the fire, and when they are red-hot they carry them into these little huts, and the sick man or woman goes in naked, only a blanket with him, and they shut the door upon them, and there they sit and sweat until they are no more able to support it, and then they go out naked and immediately jump into the water over head and ears, and this is the remedy they have for all distempers.
The 6th day. – The Governor sent for all the young boys, and they brought with them their bows, and he got an axe, which he stuck up, and made them all shoot by turns at the eye of the axe, which was about twenty yards distant. Knives and looking-glasses were the prizes for which they shot, and they were very dexterous at this exercise, and often shot through the eye of the axe. This diversion continued about an hour. The Governor then asked the boys to dance a war dance, so they all prepared for it, and made a great ring; the musician being come, he sat himself in the middle of the ring; all the instrument he had was a piece of board and two small sticks; the board he sat upon his lap, and began to sing a doleful tune, and by striking on the board with his sticks, he accompanied his voice; he made several antic motions, and sometimes men sung, so the boys danced all around, endeavoring who could outdo the one the other in antic motions and hideous cries, the movements answering in some way to the time of the music. All that I could remark by their actions was, that they were representing how they attacked their enemies, and relating one to the other how many of the other Indians they had killed, and how they did it, making all the motions in this dance as if they were actually in the section. By this lively representation of their warring, one may see the base way they have of surprising and murdering the one the other, and their inhuman manner of murdering all the prisoners, and what terrible cries they have, they who are conquerors. After the dance was over, the Governor treated all the boys, but they were so little used to have a belly full, that they rather devoured their victuals than any thing else. So this day ended.
The 7th day. – After breakfast we assembled ourselves and read the Common Prayer.* There was with us eight of the Indian boys who answered very well to the prayers, and understood what was read. After prayers we dined and in the afternoon we walked abroad to see the land, which is well timbered and very good. We returned to the fort and supped. Nothing remarkable.
*The Rev. F. L. Hawks, D. D., has lent me a rare old book upon the colony of Virginia, by Hugh Jones, A.M., Chaplain to the Honorable Assembly, & c., 1724, from which I make the following extract:
“He (Governor Spotswood) built a fort called Christanna, which, though not so far back, yet proved of great service and use; where, at his sole expense, I think, I have seen seventy-seven Indian children at a time at school, under the careful management of the worthy Mr. Charles Griffin, who lived there some years for that purpose. These children could all read, say their catechisms and prayer, tolerably well. The Indians so loved and adored him, that I have seen them hug him, and lift him up in their arms, and fain would have chosen him for a King of the Sapony nation.”
The 8th day. – About ten in the morning there came to the fort ten of the Meherrin Indians, laden with beaver, deer and bear skins, to trade, for our Indian Company have goods here for that purpose. They delivered up their arms to the white men of the fort, and left their skins and furs also. Those Indians would not lie in the Indian town, but went into the woods, where they lay until such time as they had done trading.
The Governor and I we laid out an avenue about half a mile long, which gave us employment enough this day.
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…cont
The 9th day. – About seven in the morning we got a horseback, and were just out of the fort when the cannon fired. We passed by the Indian town, where they had notice that the Governor was returning, so they got twelve of their young men ready with their arms, and one of their old men at the head of them, and assured the Governor they were sorry that he was leaving them, but that they would guard him safe to the inhabitants, which they passed upon him, so that he was forced to accept it. They were all afoot, so the Governor to compliment the head man of the Indians lent him his led-horse. After we had rid about a mile, we came to a ford of Meherrin River, and being mistaken in our water-mark, we were sometimes obliged to make our horses swim, but we got over safe. The Indian Chief seeing how it was, unsaddled his horse, and stript himself all to his belt, and forded the river, leading his horse after him; the fancy of the Indian made us merry for a while. The day being warm, and he not accustomed to ride, the horse threw him before we had gone two miles, but he had courage to mount again. By the time we have got a mile further, he was so terribly galled that he was forced to dismount, and desired the Governor to take his horse, for he could not imagine what good they were for, if it was not to cripple Indians.
We were obliged to ride easy, that we might not get before our Indian guard, who accompanied us as far as a river, called Nottoway River, which taketh its name from the Nottoway Indians, who formerly lived upon this river. The place was about fifteen miles from the fort. When we parted with the Indians the Governor ordered them to have a pound of powder and shot in proportion to each man. So they left us, and we crossed the river and rid fifteen miles further, until we came to a poor planter’s house, where we put up for that night. They had no beds in the house, so the Governor lay upon the ground, and had his bear-skin under him, and I lay upon a large table in my cloak, and thus we fared until day, which was welcome to us.
The 10th day. – At five we got up, and at six we mounted our horses, and we took a guide who pretended to know the way, and bring us a short cut, but instead of that, he took us about seven miles out of our way. When we found that he was lost, we dismissed him; they sun began to shine out clear, so the Governor he conducted us, and about four of the clock we came to James River and took the ferry, and about six of the clock we mounted our horses and went to Williamsburg, where we arrived about eight of the clock. I supped with the Governor; and being well tired, I went after to my lodgings and to bed.
This journey, coming and going, comes to 160 miles.
Stacey
For additional notes on the excerpts above, refer to Vance’s “Germanna/Christanna” post at:
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1793
Originally posted by vance hawkins
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhs87.html
Go to notes #2166 to #2175 — quite a long narative of a trip to visit Fort Christ Anna by John Fontaine.
Stacey
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