I'm not aware that she was from Kecoughtan, but it gives an idea of what a larger village was like. Nice enough that the English wanted to take it over. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Feb 13, 2007, at 1:05 PM, Anne Pemberton wrote: > Nancy, > > Thanks so much for the information. I have saved it into the file > of stuff for this story. Was Pocahontas from the Kecoughtan > village? Or another village? Perhaps I will learn the exact village > when I get Dr. Roundtree's books. > > The description of the meal sounds like the evening meal. According > to the article by Roundtree, breakfast was leftovers from the night > before, especially whatever was in the stew pot. It is interesting > that they did not eat roasted meat and bread together. I guess they > wouldn't eat a roast venison sandwich<grin> > > Anne > Anne Pemberton > [log in to unmask] > http://www.erols.com/stevepem > http://www.erols.com/apembert > http://www.educationalsynthesis.org > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sunshine49" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 11:06 AM > Subject: from the sources > > >> the native village of Kecoughtan was described as a village >> within 1000 cleared acres, planted with copses of mulberry trees, >> which the natives liked for shade. Strachey describes it as >> originally being inhabited by 1000 people in 300 dwellings, but >> by the time Smith arrived, there were only 18 houses and 240 >> warriors. Powhatan had recently taken it over and had it >> populated with his own people. Gov. Gates removed the natives in >> 1610 and it was taken over by the English, became a very >> important trading port, and was near what is now the heart of >> dowtown Hampton. [I have read that small, hasty excavations were >> done in the area many decades ago, does anyone know where these >> artifacts would be located?] >> >> A description of a Powhatan meal: food was spread on mats on the >> ground, a dish of corn, or hominy and beans [a special delicacy], >> broiled fish, roasting ears of corn; roasted meat was always >> served seperately from boiled, and meat and bread were never >> eaten together. Men sat on one side, women on the other. Before >> eating, they took a small bit of food from the dish and threw it >> into the fire as an offering, and said a short "grace." Leftovers >> were gathered up, to be served again or given to those who were >> destitute. Hands were washed before the meal from a platter of >> water. In Kecoughtan a feast was described, of oysters, fish, >> wildfowl, and good bread before a roaring fire. >> >> BTW the Wicomico Indians were described as "diminutive", the >> Rappahannocks as tall, and Smith measured the thigh of one >> Susquehannock warrior as being 3/4 of a yard in circumference! >> The women were described as very comely, with delicate features; >> they wore, among other things, necklaces of pearls and bracelets >> of copper and pearls. The women were also tattooed, with designs >> of flowers and tendrils of vines. I have read that they used the >> black sap of poison ivy to make this tattoo ink [and probably >> other things as well], so the story that native Americans were >> generally immune to poison ivy seems to be true [although some of >> the plains Indians had herbal remedies for it, perhaps they had >> not been as exposed as Indians in the eastern woodlands, and thus >> had not developed an immunity]. They also wove the fibrous ivy >> roots into baskets. Which I am sure the English loved [an early >> 'biological warfare' happened during the Rev. War, when the >> colonists planted poison ivy along the peninsula, to try to >> inflict misery on the advancing British troops. My few drops of >> Powhatan blood might be the reason I have never in my life had so >> much as a bump from poison ivy. If the softball goes into a patch >> of the stuff, I am the one sent in to retrieve it.]. >> >> Hope this helps you flesh out your story. >> >> Nancy >> >> ------- >> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. >> >> --Daniel Boone >> >> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the >> instructions >> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html