Page:Aristopia (1895).pdf/53

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Massawomeks had lately made an attack. One of this tribe could speak the language of Powhatan, and a friendly parley ensued. When the Tockwoghes saw the well-known and dreaded weapons of the Massawomeks in the hands of the English they supposed the weapons had been captured in battle, and their admiration of the whites was greatly increased. They welcomed the explorers with the greatest hospitality. Their town was palisaded with considerable skill as a defense against the attacks of the Massawomeks. Smith found among these Indians some articles which had evidently come from the French traders on the St. Lawrence, having passed from tribe to tribe in exchange.

Finding the mouth of the Susquehanna, the explorers ascended that river until they came to a place where the stream, although very broad, was too shallow to float the barge. On this river the explorers found a tribe of Indians called the Susquehannocks, whose great size astonished Smith. They were mild and friendly. They, too, had suffered much from the forays of the Massawomeks.

Sailing down the bay our party explored the Patuxent River and then entered the Rappa-