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http://cherokeehistory.com/initialc.html
The above says the Rickahockans were the name by which the Powhatan called the Cherokee. Is there any historic documentation for this? It mentions a 1654 battle between Cherokee and the Powhatans and colonists. I just read a book “Monacans and Miners” and I believe it mentioned this battle and said these who fought the colonists and hteir Powhatan allies were Monacans. I need to reread parts of that book and make sure.
http://www.comanchelodge.com/chickamauga-cherokee.html
If you will scroll way down a little further than halfway on this website the author of this website says that 5 Rickahockans (whom he calls Cheroke) were murdered by the Occoneechee.
He also mentions the murder of James Needham, Virginia trade representative sent to the Cherokee. He says the Occoneechee guide murdered him to prevent the Virginia colonists from trading directly with the Cherokee, as they wanted to be the middle men. his makes no sinse as there was another guide that lived, right? If the Occoneechee were responsible why let one trader live? he one that lived was later captured by the shawnee I believe and later freed by them to go back to Va. Is this correct? I am just recalling what I recently read from memory and I have an untrustworthy memory. 🙂
I have had runins with this fellow, Darren McCathern before (the man who created the website), and his techniques for researching are not accurate — he rarely cites the source of hs information. His record of the Chickamauga is one of the main reasons I wanted to start learning for myself and and is part of the reason i wanted to create my own Chickamauga research yahoo group. Altho he has a great deal of information, as I said he never or rarely gives the source of his information, but that doesn’t mean some of it isn’t true, it just means he is a bad researcher. He wants to slant history to his own way of thinking rather than just read what is there.
Did the Occoneechee murder Needham as this man says? I had thought the Cherokee themselves murdered him. Isn’t this what Needhams compaion, the one that survived, said when he was eventually freed?
thanks
Vance
The Rickahockans or Ricahecrians entered Virginia from beyond the mountains in 1656. Through misunderstanding and mismanagement they were attacked, and inflicted a severe defeat upon Colonel Edward Hill and the friendly Pamunkeys, at the forks of the river of that name. Neill, E. D. Virginia Carolorum, 245-246.
The Bureau of American Ethnology identifies these Indians with the Cherokee [Mooney, Siouan Tribes of the East, also Handbook of American Indians, art. Cherokee]. They have also been identified with the Erie or Rique, who were defeated and expelled from their home on Lake Erie in 1655. [See Parkman, Jesuits in America, 438-441; Charlevoix, History of New France, vol. ii, 266.] They are referred to in many cases under the name “Riquehronnons” or “Rigueronnons”-Iroquois designations. [See Thwaites, Jesuit Relations, index s. v. Eries; Handbook of .American Indians, article Erie, and synonyms.] They retired behind the Blue Ridge after defeating Hill, and remained there for several years.
* Colonial Papers, Public Record Office, vol. xxiv; Winder Papers, Virginia State Library, vol. i, 252.
This Indian John by his Indian name is calld Hasecoll, now you are to note that this Indian John was one that went with Mr. James Needham and my man Gabriell Arthur att ye first to ye Tomahitans and returned with Mr. James Needham to my house where he ye said John received a reward to his content and a greed with me to goe a gaine with him. and indeavour his protextion to ye Tomahittans and to return with Mr. James Needham and my man to my house ye next spring and to that end receved halfe his pay in hand. Ye rest hee was to receve at his returne. My poore man Gabriell Artheur all this while ecaptivated all this time in a strange land, where never English man before had set foote, in all likelihood either slaine, or att least never likely to returne to see ye face of an English man, but by ye great providence and protection of God allmighty still survives which just God will not suffer just and honest indevors to fall quite to ye ground. Mauger ye deivill and all his adherents, Well, shall now give a relation, what my man hath discovered in all ye time that Mr. James Needham left him att ye Tomahitans to ye 18th of June 74. which was ye daye Gabriell arived att my house in safety with a Spanish Indian boy only, with difficulty and hasard and how Mr. James Needham came to his end by ye hands of the barbarious roge Indian John that had undertaken his protection and safety and as briefe as I can give a touch upon ye heads of ye materaall matter my mans memory could retain, for he cannot write ye greater pity, for should I insert all ye particulars it would swell to too great a vollume and perhaps seeme too tedeous to ye courteous and charitable Reader soe I begg pardon for ignorant erors, and shall againe come to Mr. Needhams, where wee left him. from Aeno hee journied to Sarrah, with his companions ye Tomahitons and John ye Occhoenechee accompanied with more of his country men which was to see ye tragady acted as I suppose, it happened as they past Sarrah river an Indian lett his pack slip into ye water whether on purpose or by chance I canot judge, upon this some words past betwine Needham and ye Indian. Ochenechee Indian John tooke up Mr. Needham very short in words and soe continued scoulding all day untill they had past ye Yattken towne and soe over Yattken river, not far from ye river Mr. Needham alighted it not being far from the foot of ye mountaines, and there tooke up theire quarters. Still Indian John continued his wailing and threating Mr. Needham tooke up a hatchet which lay by him, haveing his sword by him threw ye hatchet on ye ground by Indian John and said what John are you minded to kill me. Indian John imediately catched up a gunn, which hee him selfe had carried to kill meat for them to eate and shot Mr. Needham neare ye burr of ye eare and killd him not withstanding all ye Tomahittans started up to rescue Needham but Indian John was to quick for them, soe died this heroyick English man whose fame shall never die if my penn were able to eternize it which had adventured where never any English man had dared to atempt before and with him died one hundered forty-foure pounds starling of my adventure with him. I wish I could have saved his life with ten times ye vallue. Now his companions ye Tomahittans all fell a weepeing and cried what shall-wee doe now you have killd ye English man wee shall be cut of by ye English. Indian John drew out his knife stept acrosse ye corpes of Mr. Needham, ript open his body, drew out his hart, held it up in his hand and turned and looked to ye eastward, toward ye English plantations and said hee vallued not all ye English. Ye Tomahittans reployed, how dare you doe this, wee are all afraid of ye English. Indian John reployed he was paid for what he had done and had receved his rewarde and then laid a command upon ye Tomahittans that they should dispatch and kill ye English man which Needham had left att ye Tomahittans and immediately opened the packs tooke what goods he pleased, soe much as Needham’s horse could carry and soe returned backe.
Thanks Emma,
This brings up more questions, in no particular order.
i.] You mentioned the Erie — “are referred to in many cases under the name “Riquehronnons” or “Rigueronnons”-Iroquois designations.” — and say they were forced from their home near Lake Erie in 1655 and the fact tha the Rickahockens appear in Va in 1656 makes me think this is more likely than a Cherokee explanation.
Here’s why. Were a band of Cherokee to appear in the heart of the Monacan Nation — well that would have meant war, pure and simple — they would NOT have been allowed to settle there. The Cherokee had no reason to flee and seek the protection of the Monacan — unless these people were NOT Cherokee but rather had been tributary to them — captives of the Cheroke who escaped or a band of Outlaw Cherokee banned from the tribe. Cherokee settling there would mean the Monacan Nation had been destroyed, and since records of them exist after this date, the Rickahockans really, logically, couldn’t be Cherokee. It makes no sense.
However it was often a tactic of many tribes to take in refugees and settle them on land as a buffer between them and a traditional enemy. So for the Monacan to take in a band of refugee Erie Indians (aka Riquehronnons aka Rickahockans) and settle them in no-mans-land between the Monacan settlements and the Pamunkey/English settlements DOES make sence, tribes did this all the time. Wasn’t it the Susquehanna that destroyed the Erie? Again I forget.
Sounds like the Monacan met with survivors, and agreed to protect them from their traditional enemies so they settled them where the Susquehanna couldn’t get at them. This is 100 pecent speculation, but it is something that could have happened.
Is there a record of what became of the Erie?
Can anyone explain why the Monacan might have allowed the Cherokee to settle in their midst?
ii.] The second article seems to be saying when Arthuer returned he told his story to the man who recorded it. He says that Needham was traveling with some Tomahitan and Occoneechee Indians. One “Indian Tom”, an Occoneechee, killed Needham after a dispute. They’d travelled through Aeno/Eno and Sara/Cheraw lands and passed Yattken Town near the Yattken River. who are these “Yattken” Indians?
This seems to be saying a dispute caused the murder, not a desire to be the middlemen in trade. However it could have been a staged event. Maybe Artheur might have wondered if it was.
I really doubt this because one Englishman survived. Maybe it was staged for the benefit of the Cherokee present. The Cherkee were strong enough that if they wanted trade relations and they percieved the Occoneechee were preventing it, they would have taken revenge on some of the Southern Siouian peoples had they so dsired.
However I suspect Needham said something that Indian Tom took as a cultural slight or insult to the Occoneechee in general when one Indian lost his gear. The Englishman might not have even realized he was speaking “fightin’ words” at the time. To Indian Tom whatever Mr Needham had said might have caused him to respond “You take that back or we’re gonna have it out, here & now” — but Mr Needham never said the magic words Indian Tom was lookin’ for. It says he was ridin’ Needham for quite some time, probably not wantin’ it to let it get out of hand. In his own eyes, he was showing restraint. Finally his anger got the better of him, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer. From the Englishman’s point of view, with England’s class system, where the rich constantly put down the poor as inferior, he probably saw nothing offensive in his behavior at all. It was just normal behavior. He thought he had nothing to appologize for.
iii.] Is “Tomahitan” the Pamunkey word for Cherokee? I think I read that it was somewhere . . . I could be wrong . . .
iv.] Where is that article written in “King James” style of English to be found?
That’s how I’d explain the two incidents from what I know at this time, in a way that makes more sense to me.
Just seekin’ a little “brainstormin’, seekin’ for explanations that are rational.
Thank you,
Vance
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