State

Indian Mound Historic Site An ancient people once thrived on the banks of the river. The first colonists to invade Mont¬ gomery County were not English or Scotch or even white people. They were Indians. About a hundred years before Sir Walter Raleigh’s followers decided to leave England to establish themselves in a new home, a group from (he south, probably Creeks, felt impelled to leave their homeland, too. It may be that they were religious dis¬ sidents, like the Plymouth pilgrims, or it may be that they were at an eco¬ nomic disadvantage and were seeking to mend their fortunes. Perhaps they were led by some family or clan which had been disgraced in battle with their ancient foes, the Cherokecs, upon whose territory' their own impinged in North Georgia. Around 1500 to 1550. these people, as many as 200 or more of them, started their long journey toward a promised land, and after many weeks of traveling, their advance party, which had been flung out before the main group, came to the banks of a clear and pleasant stream, along which stretched natural meadows, inter¬ spersed with groves in which signs of deer and other game were plentiful. A little stream flowed into this river at one point, and in this area, the in¬ vading Creeks found no inhabitants who might dispute their residence. So they built a village and began a new life far from their Georgia or Alabama home. Unlike Raleigh’s colonists, these set¬ tlers in North Carolina found a very congenial environment. They were THE STATE. September 3. 1960 brewing shows bow Ihc Indion tillogc once looked. Pori ot il Ко» been restored ond is open to the public. skilled woodsmen, of course, and had no difficulty in making the stream and the woods and fields yield them a liv¬ ing. The little colony flourished. The one village grew into two, and then into perhaps as many as ten over the years. Eventually the settlements along the Little River, and the territory ad¬ jacent thereto, contained 2,000 peo¬ ple and there is every evidence that they were well-to-do Indians. Not rich, of course, because they were not the heirs of a rich culture, but certainly they were as well off, and perhaps better off, than they had been at home. It is a singular thing, but we know about as much about these people who could not read or write as we know about the Lost Colony after Governor White left it to return to England. Ex¬ cavations at the site showed that the Indian colonists were probably well- fed. They ate deer, com, beans, squash. From their garbage pits, there is evidence also that acorns, walnuts, hickory nuts, berries, were in their diet. It is very likely that rock struc¬ tures in the river once formed an ef¬ fective fish trap. At the spot first sighted by the scouts of the invaders, the Creeks erected a ceremonial and social center which also was the tribe's cemetery. There was a large earthen mound, and on top of this mound, which was leveled off flat at the pinnacle, was a rude temple. In the temple, burned a fire. Once every year, perhaps in August, all the fires of the community were extinguished and this central fire was relighted in a ceremony which lasted for eight days and which was known as the annual Husk, apparently a sort of New Year for the Indians. The war¬ riors were purified, there was feasting and a general celebration. The mound was surrounded by burial plots in which the bodies were buried in circles in shallow graves, usually two and one-half to three feet deep. Over these burial circles prob¬ ably were erected burial huts. All around this ceremonial area, the In¬ dians built a log stockade or palisade, the post holes for which are plainly evident today. Several years ago. land on which this ceremonial center and cemetery was located was deeded to North Caro¬ lina and now the Department of Ar¬ chives & History has partially restored the physical evidences of the site. The mound was shaped up. the an¬ cient temple re-erected, and a palisade built around the grounds. There is a modest museum containing artifacts. More and more people arc driving out to see the place, about five miles cast of Ml. Gilead. It is about Wi miles off either N.C. 73 or 73 1. What happened to these dusky lost colonists who deserted their own peo¬ ple to establish a thriving civilization deep in the heart of the Carolina wilds? ( Continued on page 31) 9