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 TRACES OF THE INDIAN IN 
 
 PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 By 
 
 Douglas L. Rights - ' '*J§* 
 
TRACES OF THE INDIAN IN 
 
 PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 Paper Read By Rev. Douglas L. Rights Before the Annual 
 
 Meeting of the North Carolina Historical Society, 
 
 in Raleigh, Deeerfber 7, 1923 
 
 ^5 
 
 The bold pioneers who colonized 
 the Carolinas, truly makers of his- 
 tory, were not, with few exceptions, 
 especially interested in writing his- 
 tory. N'ot only did most of them 
 neglect to record scrupulously tluir 
 own achievements, but they failed 
 also to reveal to future generations 
 much that they learned of their 
 aboriginal predecessors, the red men. 
 
 We have, in a general way, learned 
 of the traits of the Indian in the 
 Carolinas. There are a few detailed 
 accounts 'on record. The natives of 
 Eastern Carolina early came in con- 
 tact with the whites, and the history 
 of the two races was interwoven 
 from the beginning of the settle- 
 ment. 
 
 It was not thus with Piedmont 
 and Western Carolina. We learn 
 about the Ind:an wars, but there is 
 little to study which will throw an 
 intimate light upon these men, their 
 habits, customs, and manner of liv- 
 ing, except the scattered traces which 
 they have left behind. 
 
 Teiiitorj;. 
 
 The territory considered in th's 
 paper is the piedmont section. The 
 study includes the counties from 
 Orange and Chatham in the east 
 to AVilkes in the west; from Cabar- 
 rus in the south to the Virsinia line 
 in the north. The level country of 
 the east pa.sses gradually into the 
 hill country of the west. Before the 
 Indians were driven across the 
 mountains or departed, as some did, 
 to the north, this section was mainly 
 forest land with pleasant valleys, 
 well watered and suitable for hunt- 
 ing and fishing. The fertil.ty of the 
 meadow land adjacent to streams 
 forded advantages for the crude 
 tempts at primeval agricultuie. 
 THbes. 
 
 An estimate of the number 
 aboriginal inhabitants east of 
 Mississippi at the beginning 
 colonization by the whites is placed 
 at about 280,000. Many tribes, 
 speaking different languages and 
 dialects, occupied this territory. They 
 were engaged in conf.nu^il warfare. 
 
 af- 
 at- 
 
 of 
 
 the 
 
 of 
 
 The Algonquin and Iroquois groups, 
 each composed of various tribes 
 speaking similar dialects though 
 each differed from the others, were 
 the most numerous. 
 
 The Indians encountered by the 
 members of Sir Walter Raleigh's 
 expedit ons to our coast'and were of 
 the Algonquin group. The Tuscarora 
 and the Cherokee were tribes be- 
 longing to the Iroquois 1 nguistic 
 group. Bishop Spangenberg in 1752 
 passed thru a Tuscarora town on 
 the Roanoke River. Indians of this 
 tribe may have roamed the piedmont 
 country, but doubtiess did not have 
 permanent settlements there, as 
 they were at war with and feared 
 the Indians of that region. The 
 Cherokees held to the mountains of 
 Western Carolina. Early reports 
 give account of great numbers pass- 
 ing thru Piedmont Carolina, but their 
 stronghold was in the mount-iin 
 country. The Senecas, also of the 
 Ii-flquois, came this f ar south on 
 hunting expeditions. 
 
 The Siouan tribes, we know, had 
 strongholds in the piedmont section. 
 These included the Catawba, Cheraw, 
 Saponi, Tutelo and Manocin. Of 
 these, the Catawba is considered the 
 most important. The SaponV. and 
 Tutelo ranged from Piedmont Vir- 
 ginia into Carolina, but the Catawba 
 was a strong tribe of the piedmont 
 region. 
 
 Some small tribes had disappeared 
 before the coming of the whites, as 
 •s reported of the Sawra Indians. 
 
 Bishop Spangenberg's diary, writ- 
 ten at Edenton in 1752, records the 
 following: 
 
 "The Indians in North Carolina 
 are in a bad way . The Chowan 
 Indians are reduced to a few fam- 
 ilies. The Tuscarora lived 35 miles 
 from here, and are still in possession 
 of a pretty piece of land. They are 
 the remnant of that tribe with which 
 Carolina was formerly at war, and 
 part of them went to the Five Na- 
 tions, and united with them. The 
 Meherrin Indians, living further 
 
 ^ 
 
west, are also reduced to a mere 
 handful. Still further west 1 ve the 
 Catawbas, who will probably be 
 our neighbors. They are still at 
 war with ihf Six Nations (Iroquo s). 
 Southwest from here, behind South 
 Carolina, are the Cherokees, a great 
 Nation." 
 
 In a study of the aboriginal traces 
 left by th s vanishing people, it is 
 difficult to a.ssign to what tribe the 
 relics and remains belong. Some may 
 have been left by hunting parties 
 and temporary sojourners. However, 
 the Siouan group should claim tha 
 majority. This was the r home. 
 The Siii*vey. 
 The trail of the Indian is ea.sy to 
 discover, namely, follow the water- 
 courses. The Yadkin and Catawba 
 rivers, largest streams of the sec- 
 tion, reveal most clearly traces of 
 the Indian. Though the land adjoin- 
 ing the streams has been tilled for 
 years, the mark of the red man is 
 stfll there. Camp and village sites 
 are difficult to obliterate. Occasion- 
 ally an overflow from the river per- 
 forms the work of archaeologist 
 and excavates with a nicety that re- 
 veals the secrets of the hidden burial 
 grounds. 
 
 However, the smaller streams bear 
 witness also. Choose almost any 
 creek of considerable size, and ei-e 
 long you will f nd the evidence of 
 former habitation by the red man. 
 A stream only ten miles in length, 
 known as South Fork Creek, is 
 situated five miles directlv south of 
 Winston-Salem and flows' west. At 
 no point is the creek more than 
 knee deep. A careful survey reveals 
 nineteen camp or village sites. A 
 thousand artifacts of flint have been 
 gathered in the survey. These fields 
 have been cultivated for over a 
 century. 
 
 Following the watercourses up in- 
 to branches and even to large springs 
 reveals traces of the Indian. 
 
 If calculations from these surveys 
 are correct, the Indians in choosing 
 camp s tes preferred the north bank 
 of a stream flowing west, the west 
 bank of a stream flowing south, thus 
 securing advantages of weather. 
 
 A partiality for sandy loam soil 
 is noted, evidencing no aboriginal 
 desire to become a "stick in the 
 mud." 
 
 Scenes of natural beauty and 
 grandeur are often marked as haunts 
 of the Indian. Peculiar rock form- 
 ations, cliffs, river bends, escarp- 
 ments and Other more or less spec- 
 tacular natural scenes made their 
 appeal. 
 
 It is disappointing, therefore, to 
 record only faint traces of the 
 Indian in the immediate v cinity of 
 picturesque Pilot Mountain. How- 
 ever, there were large camps at no 
 great distance. The same mav bo 
 
 .--•aul ul the Sawratown Mountains, 
 reputed to be named after a native 
 tribe. But altho traces in the 
 mountains themselves are not so 
 numei-ous, or are more diff cult to 
 di.sclose, yet the longest and most 
 beautiful fashioned spear head yet 
 exhibited from the Piedmont section 
 comes from the slopes of the Sawra- 
 town range. 
 
 It may be noted that traces reveal 
 that the Indian did not camp direct- 
 ly on the brink of streams unless on 
 a high bank. The usual camp or 
 village site was located on the second 
 bottom or rise from the valley. 
 
 An iquities. 
 
 About 7000 specimens of stone im- 
 plements gathered in the Piedmont 
 section have been examined during 
 the prepaiation of this paper. In 
 Addition, pottery formed from baked 
 mud. nearly all now found only in 
 fragments, has betn disf?covered in 
 abundance thruout the region. Or- 
 naments of she)l, stone, baked mud 
 and bone have been observed. A 
 few ornaments of metal have been 
 reported. 
 
 These various relics may be 
 classed in gener 1 with the tyn.^ 
 found along the AtlanJc seaboard 
 east of the Alleghenies extending 
 from Maine to Georgia. 
 
 The search reveals no siga of 
 great age. Traces of a socalled 
 "primitive man" do not r.ppear. Ex- 
 cept in graves or caches, where arti- 
 ficial deposit is apparent, no sign 
 of very ancient human life is in 
 evidence. One report showed that 
 an arrowhead was found seven feet 
 below the surface, but further in- 
 vestigation revealed that it lay in the 
 ed of a running stream, where it had 
 undoubtedly been carried by tlie 
 water. Paleolithic traces are not 
 expected. 
 
 However, quantities of these 
 specimens of the neolithic age may 
 rightly be called pre-hisioric. Many 
 of the artifacts have been shaped 
 long before the advent of the his- 
 torians. For instance, the lonely 
 white hunter's cabin, which served 
 as the first abode of the pioneers 
 who began the Wachovia settlement, 
 has entirely disappeared. Not a 
 trace of the colonists' work remains 
 today on the spot marked by a 
 l>Iain granite monument. But the 
 plow has revealed within a few yards 
 of this granite block distinct traces 
 of a former Indian camp. Several 
 arrowheads, arrowheads' broken in 
 the making, a crude tomahawk, and 
 fragments of pottery reveal an an- 
 cient camp site occupied before the 
 coming of the whites. Thus .some 
 remains may be called pre-hi.storie, 
 though none of gi-eat nge. • 
 
Haiiditaps. 
 
 The deplorable lack of public 
 museums cr depoii^ories Invo.ves 
 re ious handicaps :or the student of 
 Indian Ivfe in this rogion. There 
 ar a number of private collec'ions 
 hardly accessible, and no large, ad- 
 equate disp ay for the public, -rhou- 
 ETinds and thousands of specimens 
 have been gathered and lost. Many 
 •of the most inter*, sting have passed 
 out of the sta-fe. Su "h collections as 
 we find are general'y poorly class- 
 ified, described or displayed. 
 
 Within a radius of 2j miles of 
 Win~ton-£alem there were thousands 
 of whole specimens of mud-baked 
 pottery left by the Indians. Today 
 there is only one complete specimen 
 en exhibit to show the ceramic art. 
 This is in the Wachovia Historical 
 Society, and though clacked, s 
 otherwi~e well pr. served, and hap- 
 pily possesses a record of th:- camp 
 site where found. 
 
 Jia.ny farmers, whose fieds were 
 examined during the past few y~ars. 
 had been plowing amid Invdian relics 
 for years, and knev.r not what these 
 odd bit3 of stone might be. 
 
 It is interesting to note that this 
 lack of acquaintance with Indian 
 relics leads som' minds to exagger- 
 ation of their value. It is reported 
 that a soap:;tone pot, which the large 
 museums of the country exhibit in 
 abundance, is being held by a certain 
 man foY $100. )0. At thi- rate for 
 relic: our Na ional Museum wi'l 
 roon riv^l the United £tat3s Treas- 
 ury. The South Carolina collector, 
 who is reputed to have gath red 
 twenty bushels of arrowheads in a 
 single county, is ceitainly a well-to- 
 ri o perscn. 
 
 The writer of this paper has sev- 
 eral hundred very good' ^specimens 
 of arrowheads, speAr points, drills 
 and knivs fvom the Chapel Hill 
 neighborhood, which were fashioned 
 long before the savage sophom©ric 
 j-ell brought terror to the campus. 
 He is readj' to present these to the 
 University wheneve ■ that institution 
 provitles adequate museum facilities. 
 At present, the only exhibition of 
 aboriginal remains at the University 
 is confined tc the new dormitories 
 recent y erected, th? mortar of which 
 was mixed wi h sand from an Indian 
 burying ground. 
 
 Re'ics. 
 
 Of what do these relics cons/st? 
 By far the mo^t numerous are the 
 flint chipped implements. Among 
 these, ariow points, knives, and 
 fpear heads rank first in number. 
 Then come scr.apers, drils or 
 punches, oddly shaped stones, rough- 
 ly formed axes, celts, gouges and 
 other rude tools. 
 
 Less plentiful are the pecked and 
 polished smooth implements, axes, 
 gouges, celts, etc. The axe, or toma- 
 
 hawk, is usually grooved, sometimes 
 -n the center, sometimes toward one 
 eMid, thus making a snug fit for the 
 handle, which embraced the body 
 of the weapon. These vary in 
 length from four to eight inches, in 
 weight from one to three pounds. 
 The heavier ones require a s trong 
 arm for manipulation. Production 
 of th3se artifacts required much 
 time and labor. 
 
 Hammer stones abound. These 
 were of a size to fit into the hand, 
 some larger for the heavier worK, 
 nearly all having two small pits, 
 one in the center of each flat side. 
 They are made of quartzite, "nigger- 
 head rock" or flint, with preference 
 -or river washed stones. 
 
 Fi'agments of pottery are found 
 widespread thruout the section. 
 There are two classes; baked mud 
 and steatite or soap.stone. The first 
 appears to have been moulded in 
 baskets cf woven grass or reeds, 
 usually conical in shape, then burned. 
 Most of it shows gravel and even 
 small pebbles intermingled with the 
 clay. It is quite encluring and stands 
 weathering as well as the average 
 brick. Decorations sometimes ap- 
 pear, mosfy near the rim, in the 
 form of incised lines, small pits ap- 
 parently impressed with bone or 
 twig, impressions of thumb nail at 
 regular intervals, and some scrolls 
 or t.acings well rounded. These 
 mud pots are ordinarily one-fourth 
 to one-half inch thick. The color 
 ranges from brick red to dark brown 
 and even black. Often holes were 
 punched near the rim for fitting 
 hanelle. A gallon or less was the 
 capacity of the majority of these 
 pots. 
 
 Soapstone vessels, of which num- 
 bers have been preserved intact, 
 were made from material found 
 abundantly in the piedmont area. 
 Some are blocks of stone with shal- 
 low basin scooped out. Others are 
 as large as half-bushel measures 
 with walls more than an inch thick. 
 Some have two knobs to serve as 
 h ndles. More delicate specimens 
 resemble the modern deep dish, and 
 one specimen, probably a burial urn, 
 is beautifully cut down to the size 
 of a pint cup, with walls about one- 
 fourth inch thick, having small holes 
 pierced near the rim for insertion 
 of handle the size of a cord. 
 
 There are several soapstone pestle.g 
 and mortars for pounding grain. 
 
 Piljes and Ornaments. 
 
 Traces show plainly that the 
 Pieelmont Indian was adelicted to 
 the use of tobacco. Pipes were 'made 
 of baked mud, but more often of 
 stone, principally soapstone. A few 
 sm 11 metal pipes are in existence. 
 Mud pipes range in shape from the 
 straight tubular to the "L" shaped. 
 

 
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The .stiiiK- iiipt-s are suiuulhly 
 finished. At least fotir different 
 styles have been discovered in this 
 region; tubular, Southern mound 
 type, monitor and .VjqwI or vase 
 shaped. 
 
 The ornaments are usually of 
 shell or stone, some of baked mud 
 and bone. Bits of mica have been 
 discovered and a few metal orna- 
 ments. 
 
 Many sheKs have been found on 
 camp sites along rivers, mostly in 
 kitchen middens, where sometimes 
 a bed two fe*t thick, nitngled with 
 animal bone.-, charcoal and broken 
 implements, mark . former f tasting 
 v!ace. Some of the larger mus^Jftf 
 :>helTs, still lustrous and colorful 
 were found. They may have served 
 aa spoons or a^ ornaments. Some 
 elongated shells resembling the 
 conch weYe :.rought to )ight. These 
 were pierced at the end to be 
 ;;trung for necklace. Some shells 
 are cut round like a coin with a 
 smai: hcle drilled near the edge. 
 £hells resemb ing sna'M shells, only 
 much smaller, are found in quan- 
 tities, some pierced for stringing. 
 Wampum, or Indian money, has been 
 found, shell beads about one-half 
 inch long, half the thickness of a 
 lead pencil, all pierced. 
 
 Perforated mud beads the size of 
 a marble have been found, also a 
 few bone beads. 
 
 Ornamental stones vary in shape 
 and s'(ze. Some are crescent shaped 
 with hole dri.led thru center. Others 
 are squ.re, oval, elliptical and cir- 
 cular. On some there are scratches 
 Or markings, most of them with one 
 or two pe-foraticns. A few objects 
 re enible tiny saucers or bowls. 
 
 Some -few copper bsads. and discs 
 have been found, /, ; ;. . 
 
 In linn W'arfai'e. • 
 
 Graphic accounts of warfare ^j.e- 
 tween Indians and . . wlyjje.. -se.ttlers 
 have b e.i preseXVed',V-;."5^e. fallow .«g 
 extracts from 'The' Records of the 
 Moravians in North 'Carolina," cited 
 by Mi3s Ade aide Fries, gives vivid 
 pietuvt oj the f:tirring. times n the 
 piedmont section in 1760, when the 
 Indians were on the warpath: 
 
 "This w2^s a year of fierce Indian 
 war, and on he 10th of February the 
 first whites were killed by tho 
 Chcrokees n North Carolina. On 
 the 13th of March many Indians 
 we.e in our neighborhood; eight 
 miles away, on the Yadkin, houses 
 were burned; two men were killed 
 at the bridge over the Wach (Salem 
 Creek); two persons were killed on 
 I he Town Fork. They had one large 
 camp six miles from Bethania, and 
 a smaller one less than three miles. 
 Here at the mill, and at Betnana, 
 there were Indian spies every night. 
 M.nrch Ifith. a lifaiitif ul snow foil. 
 
 lying for several days, and then wo 
 could see the smoke from :hejr 
 camps. Among our ncighboi:. more 
 than fifteen people were slai'i. The 
 Indians said later that they had 
 tried to make prisoners here, but 
 fa led; that several times thty had 
 been stopped by the sound .if the 
 watchman's horn and the ringing of 
 the bell for morning and evening 
 services. 
 
 "On the 9th a man came, pierced 
 thru and thru with an arrow. He 
 related that 24 hours befor ; William 
 Fish and his son had asked him to 
 go with them to their farm to gel 
 piov sions for the families gathei'ed 
 at a certain place on the Yadkin. 
 Some miles up the river they hap- 
 pened upon a party of Indians, who 
 fired at them and shot many arrows. 
 Fish and his son fell, but this man, 
 longing to reach Bethabara, for his 
 soul's sake rode into the river to 
 escape them. On the further .'lide 
 he found more Ind/ans, but tliey 
 paid no attention to him and he 
 re-crossed the river, plunge.i into 
 the woods, where in the darkness 
 and rain he soon lost his way, and 
 wounded by two arrows, wandered 
 for many hours, but finally i-eached 
 the Moravian town where Dr. Bonn 
 took out the arrow and saved his 
 life." 
 
 Arrows. 
 
 The arrows, such as this account 
 mentions, were an important factor 
 both in hunting and in warfare. 
 They are the most numerous of all 
 the implements still preserved and 
 afford an interesting study. The 
 site of a camp or lodge may be dis- 
 covered by the scattered flint chips, 
 broken from these implements in 
 manufacture. 
 
 Whether a flint weapon was an 
 arrow, spear or knife, we can only 
 conjecture from its size. Sometimes 
 the shape shows distinctly that the 
 implement in question is a knife and 
 has been made for hafting. A large 
 arrow or spear could serve also as 
 knife. 
 
 All grades of workmanship are 
 found. Some of the arrow points 
 are so crudely fashioned that we 
 wonder if they were not so made 
 to provoke a smile from some stolid 
 savage. Others so delicately wrought, 
 with long thin blade, symmetrical 
 barbs, or so finely notched, that we 
 marvel how aboriginal tools could 
 accomplish the feat. 
 
 The flint projectiles exammed 
 vary in length from f)ne-half inch 
 to seven inches. 
 
 Material. 
 
 The material from which they are 
 made is largely flint of the varying 
 grades. Some pure quartz arrows, 
 which are transparent, are preserved. 
 Beautiful white quartz arrowheads 
 have been found thruout th's sec- 
 tion. This is a native stone ea ily 
 
procured. Many tinted flints, gray, 
 brown, blue, black, with streaked 
 and spotted hues, form a multi- 
 colored variety pleasing to the eye. 
 Practically all are made of flint 
 material, which represents quartz in 
 d fferent degrees of purity. Thru- 
 out the world this has been discov- 
 ered by savages as a tractable stone, 
 readily shaped by chipping. It 
 breaks with a conchoidal fracture, 
 that is, when struck a sharp blow 
 with another hard stone, fragments 
 break off leaving shallow, shell- 
 shaped cavities. Attempts to use 
 other grades of stone met with little 
 success. 
 
 Most of the flint was quarried at 
 considerable distance from camp 
 sites and was carried by the Indians 
 m pieces as large as the hand and 
 of the same shape. These were 
 kept in supply for future use in ar- 
 row making. Piles of these have 
 been unearthed. 
 
 Some of the arrowheads studied 
 were apparently made of material 
 brought many miles from the quarry. 
 Some of the piedmont flint chips 
 and implements of the f ner grade. 
 It is quite probable, were brought 
 from across the mountains, possioly 
 some from the famous Flint Ridge 
 quarries of Ohio, from which ma- 
 terial has been traced six hundred 
 miles. 
 
 Classification. 
 A report issued a number of years 
 ago by the National Museum in- 
 cluded a careful classification of 
 the different shapes of Indian ar- 
 rowheads as follows: 
 
 "Division 1 — L.eaf-sh:iped — In this 
 classification the leaf-shaped is 
 placed at the head as being the 
 oldest implement of its kind. The 
 division includes all kinds, elliptical, 
 oval, oblong, or lanceolate forms, 
 bearing any relation to the shape of 
 a leaf, and without stem, shoulder 
 'or barb. 
 
 D vision II — Triangular — All spec- 
 mens in the form of a triangle, 
 whether bases or edges be convex, 
 concave or straight. 
 
 Division III — Stemmed — All va- 
 rieties of stems, whether straight, 
 pointed, expanding, round or flat, 
 and whether bases or edges are 
 convex, straight or concave. 
 
 Division IV — Peculiar Forms, such 
 as have beveled edges, serrated 
 edges, bifurcated stems, perforators, 
 etc." 
 
 Following this classification, the 
 Piedmont Indian made a good show- 
 ing. From a single camp site in 
 Forsyth county, 400 arrowheads 
 were gathered. Of the many pos- 
 sible shapes enumerated in this 
 classification, every shape mentioned 
 in the list was found included in 
 the 400, except the long thin arrow 
 ascribed to the California Indians, 
 and some peculiar forms found only 
 In distant portions of our country. 
 
 i^rrow Making-. 
 
 The mak.ng of an Indian arrow- 
 head with primitive tcols is, to many 
 people, a mystery. It has been called 
 a lost art. However, traces in Pied- 
 mont Carolina reveal nearly every 
 stage in the process of manufacture. 
 While there were numerous methods 
 employed, in a general way we may 
 trace the implement from quarry 
 to quiver. 
 
 First, large chunks of flint were 
 broken (jTf at the quarry by mean.? 
 of striking with weighty boulders. 
 These were reduced by blows to 
 large, leaf-shaped pieces. These 
 could be transported and finished 
 elsewhere at leisure. Hidden stores 
 of these have been uncovered in the 
 piedmont region. 
 
 When ready for fashioning, the 
 flint was laid on a flat stone which 
 served as anvil. We are told that 
 strips of buckskm or other soft ma- 
 terial were placed between flint and 
 anvil to reserve force of b-ows for 
 the desired portion of the flint. 
 
 The work of striking was done 
 with a hammer stone, shaped like a 
 large biscuit, which fitted well into 
 the hand. Nearly every hammer 
 stone found has two small pits, one 
 worn in the cente: of each side. 
 When the flint is worked down to 
 a size easily managed, it can be 
 held in the hand. Buckskin strings 
 were doubtless used also to protect 
 the hand. The leaJ-.-haped imple- 
 ment ^is now re.dy to receive the 
 finishing touches, to ba pointed, 
 trimmed down, stemmed and barbed. 
 The many specimens broken in the 
 making and flUcarded show that 
 the Indian was not always success- 
 ful In his efforts. 
 
 The renowned Captain John Smith 
 left a valuable light upon the subject 
 of arrowma^tng when he wrote 
 about the Indian of V rginia, "His 
 arrowhead he quickly maketh with 
 a Wttle bone, which he ever weareth 
 at his bracert, of any splint of a 
 stone, or fflass in the form of a 
 heart, and these they glew to the end 
 of their Arrowes." 
 
 These smaller tools for the finish- 
 ing touches have come to light in 
 our sect on. One of these little deer 
 horn tools was cut down for hafting, 
 and showed signs of use. 
 
 Holding the flint in one hand, the 
 Indian, with pressure and dexterous 
 turn of the hard bone or horn tool, 
 soon had the small chips flying and 
 presented a deftly formed weapon 
 ready for attaching to arrow shaft. 
 Different methods were resorted 
 to, but this may be considered the 
 general process. 
 
 On village and carnp s'tes the loca- 
 tion of the arrowmaker's lodge may 
 be discovered. Hammer stones, 
 anvils, partly finished implements, 
 arrowheads broken in process and 
 thickly scattered flint chips reveal 
 .an ancient workshop. 
 
An Indian (•lavc. 
 
 Although traces of the Indian are 
 abundant, a'ter the_ lapse of cue or 
 two centurts, it is difficult to 
 restore in imagination a camp or 
 village as it actually appeared, peo- 
 pled with its inhabitants. However, 
 the overflow of the rivers during 
 seasons of high wat< r, have revealed 
 quite clearly methods of Indf'an 
 burial. Such articles as deerskin 
 and feathered ornaments h.ve long 
 fince disappeared, but the remains 
 h f t by the receding waters present 
 a:\ interesting as.'^embly of articles. 
 
 Modes of burial diffired among 
 the various tr bes, and in the same 
 tribe more el borate ceremonials 
 were observed for more distinguished 
 peronages. Practically a'l, how- 
 ever, instead of following our cus- 
 t':m in which pergonal effects of 
 the deceased a e bequeathed to 
 dc-cenr^ants. "-ou^rht rather to en- 
 tomb such possessions and in addi- 
 tion to add gifts from kinsmen and 
 frienu o. ine departed. I'erh .ps 
 a typical grave cf an important mem- 
 Iier of a tribe may be noted in the 
 following di-c-osure: 
 
 The water of the stream had 
 rarr ed away the soil to a .lepth of 
 four feet. Here a layer of stoneT 
 was loosened. Directly una M-neaih 
 were numerous implements r-nd or- 
 namental articles. The disintegrated 
 bones showed that the remains had 
 been deposited lying horizontally 
 with head to the east, the body 
 flexed in a sitting po^'ture. Th^ fol- 
 low ng articles were sc:itte"e1 in the 
 enclosure which was nine by twelve 
 feet square: 
 
 Six conch shells, size o" thumb, 
 pierced to form a necklace . 
 
 One large, lustrous musc^ shell. 
 
 One shell cut to size of five cent 
 piece, pierced with smooch hoh^ 
 
 Five wamijum Vieads of shell. 
 
 A handful of small shells, souie 
 pierced. 
 
 One mud-baked bead, pierced. 
 
 One bone bead, pierced. 
 
 One smooth, thin stone ornament, 
 ])ierced at toi). 
 
 A dozen or more sm'ill colored 
 pebbles cf attractive shape. 
 
 One tomahawK and aiiother frag- 
 ment. 
 
 One fragment of smooth celt. 
 
 Three portions of soapstone pipes 
 and one portion of a mud pipe. 
 
 Four bone needles, broken from 
 leg bone of some animal and 
 smoothed down to a iioint, in length 
 fiom one to four inches. 
 
 Six hammer stones, all bearing 
 marks of usage. 
 
 One deer or goat horn, cut for 
 ha ting, an arrowmaker's tool. 
 
 Quantities of mus|*^ shells. 
 
 Bones of deer, opossum, dog and 
 other nimals and a tortoise shell. 
 
 Large fragments of mud-baked 
 pottery linning the grave. 
 
 Two hundred twenty-five arrow- 
 heads, rather small, and as many 
 more fragments. 
 
 From this we judge that the de- 
 parted member of the tribe was 
 plentifully supplied for his journey 
 to the spirit land. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Today the Indian has disappeared 
 from Piedmont Carolina. The old 
 folks remember when roving bands 
 passed thru and would skillfully 
 shoot their arrows with sure aim to 
 strike down coins placed many feet 
 awTy by the wonder ng white men. 
 But' today the Indian here is a 
 memory. Only the traces remain 
 to tell of his departed glory. 
 
00030721808 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
 C 
 
 Form No. A-368, Rev. 8/95 
 
■in 
 
 mW