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Brenda;
You referred to the Adena as a Tribe of Indians, I don’t think that is right as the Adena is a Culture during the Middle Woodland (Hopewellian) Period.
It could and would entailed various tribes of Indians.
Archeologist’s have divided successive Indian Cultures into four general culture periods Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippi Periods. I believe you will find the late Adena in the Middle Woodland (Hopewellian) Period.
as always
Aubrey G Cole
Linda ;
Tsoyaha yuchi, meaning “We are children of the sun from faraway,” was the answer of the South’a most mysterious Indian when asked who they were. Tsoyaha, children of the sun, was the name they called themselves. But
other Indians , unwilling to accept this claimof devine ancestry, called them merely the Yuchi, or faraway people. (quote from book Tribes that slumber)
The Yuchi were called by several names, Chisca,Euchee,Westo also known as
Rickahokans, a mysterious tribe in the early history of Virginia.They came from somwhere west of the Applachian Mountains and estsblished themselves near hthe fall of the James River about 1656. A joint expedition od Virginia colonists and their Indian allies was dewfeated when an attempt was made to dislodge them.Then for no apparent reason, the Rickahokans suddenlu abandoned their Virginia locatio, only to turn up farther south as the Westos. At about the same time that the Westos were molesting the South Carlonians, others were harassing the Spaniards, by whom they were called Chiscas. ( Quote from Tribes that Slumber)
as always
Aubrey G. Cole
Aubrey,
The Hopewell culture were in the Ohio Valley in Indiana and Ohio here where I live. And if memory serves me, they are attributed to the mound building in this area also. I think the timeline is around 1000 AD. Someone correct me if I’m mistaken.
Jim
MrBaker wrote: Linda,
The explorer you were trying to think of (that was killed) was James Needham. Gabriel Arthur accompanied him on his trek into present day Tennessee. They were both in the employ of Abraham Wood at the time. A letter from Abraham Wood to John Richards in London gave the account of the events of that journey, including the death of Needham. The journey of Needham and Arthur began in April of 1673 and ended, at least for Arthur, in June of 1674. The letter written by Wood was dated August 22, 1674 and was, for the most part, a retelling of the events Arthur described to him.
The book “Early Travels in the Tennessee Country 1540-1800” by Samuel Cole Williams contains a well annotated account of this story, including the full letter of Abraham Wood. I have just recently read it and scanned back over it again after reading this thread. I do not see any mention of the Yuchi in this account, at least not by name. Also, Gabriel Arthur was not technically captured by anyone.
The man that allegedly killed James Needham was an Occaneechi known as Indian John. The other Indians in the party were “Tomahitans” (as spelled in the letter); part of the Cherokee Nation. The party of Tomahitans, along with Needham, had been staying in the town of the Occaneechis just prior to Needham’s death. Apparently, the Occaneechis blamed the Tomahitans for killing Needham. Arthur was not with this party at the time; Needham had left him back in the Tomahitan’s town in order to learn their language.
Whatever the details of the political intrigues were, it seems that some of the Tomahitans were friendlier with the Occaneechis than others among them were. At Indian John’s urging, according to the account, they returned home to kill Arthur. The Tomahitan chief intervened, violently, and saved Arthur’s life. He took Arthur into his home and, subsequently, involved him in quite an adventure before finally escorting him back to Abraham Wood.
According to Williams’ book, these Tomahitan Cherokee were originally Mohetans that had been abosorbed into the Cherokee Nation. As the account relates, these Tomahitan still had close ties with the Mohetans (alternately referred to as Monetons) in Virginia during the time of these events.
The account is too lengthy to do it justice here, but it’s highly interesting reading and probably a must read as early historic reference pertinent to this forum. There are several tribal groups mentioned or directly involved in the story, including various Siouan peoples. Interestingly, the individual in the Tomahitan camp that was most bent on killing Gabriel Arthur was reportedly a Waxhaw Indian that was living amongst them. The inter-relations of the various tribes and the geographically broad reach of most of them, I think, is really under appreciated or realized by many people today.
Randall
I found this same story in the book I am reading, “The Cherokee Indian Nation” by Duane H. King which was published in 1979.
It says that after Needham and Arthur remained at the Tomahitan village in Eastern TN for several months, Needham headed back to Fort Henry, leaving Arthur with the the Tomahitans. Arthur staying at the village shows that there mission was successful. On the way back, Needham’s Indian guide, an Occaneechi named Indian John, quarreled with Needham, shot him, stole his goods and pack horses, ans sent runners back to the village to have Arthur killed. The men of the village tied Arthur to a stake and would have burned him if not their “king” intervened. The king shot one Indian who defied him and persuaded the others to to back off. Arthur remained at the village for about a year, during which time he accompanied his hosts on war parties against the Shawnees on the Ohio, the Spaniards in Florida, and a coastal tribe located near Port Royal, Florida (which was called Santa Elena by Juan Pardo and the Spaniards who lived among the Catawba in the 1560’s), before being returned to Fort Henry in VA.
This book says many believe the Tomahitans were Overhill Cherokee because their location seems to be on the Watauga and the Nolichucky Rivers and also because the Shawnee were enemies. It also says that the Tomahitans were trading in Florida and had about sixty Spanish flintlock muskets. This book says that the Cherokee of the Lower Towns, much closer to Saint Augustine, claim to have had no guns twenty years after the Needham event. Why would the Overhill Cherokees have so much from the Spaniards earlier and farther away than the Lower Cherokees?
I think the Tomahitans were Sioux-speaking Indians who were either the Catawbas or were connected to the Catawbas, given the presence of their Spanish goods, their trade with the Spaniards, and their travels to Port Royal, which was Santa Elena to the Spanish, which is connected to Juan Pardo’s Spanish fort at Joala (Morganton, N.C.).
I came across this while searching Saponitown for Tomahitan…
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1423&page=2&highlight=needham
Moneton. Meaning “Big Water” people.
Connections.—The Moneton belonged to the Siouan linguistic family; their nearest connections were probably the Manahoac and Monacan of Virginia and perhaps the Ofo of Ohio and Mississippi.
Location.—Probably on the lower course of Kanawha River.
History.—The Moneton were first mentioned by Thomas Batts in 1671. (See Alvord and Bidgood, 1912.) Three years later they were visited by Gabriel Arthur, an indentured servant of the trader Abraham Wood, and this is the last we hear of them as an independent tribe. They probably united with the Siouan people in the Piedmont region of Virginia.
Population.—Unknown. Arthur calls the principal Moneton settlement “a great town.”
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