RIGHT HANK OF THE RAPPAHANNOCK FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RAPIDAN TO RICHARDS FORD

The

junction of the

two

streams,howeverlarge or small they

may

have been,

was

always a desirable location for a native settlement.

In a densely forested country, trails often followed the banks of streams,and where it

was

possibleto use canoes, the streams them- selves servedas linesof communication. Consequently, the junction of

two

water courses afforded three distinct routes that led

away from

thecamp,orby whichitcould beapproached. Fishing

may

also have beenbetter atornear the

mouth

ofatributarystream.

Inplate8isreproduced anaerialphotograph

made from

highover the Forest Hallsite, looking

up

the Rappahannock, with the camera pointingabout due north.

The mouth

of the Rapidan is ontheleft,

and the farm on the right bank of the

Rappahannock

(on the left inthe view,whichislookinguptheriver) isatRichards Ford,about

Tmile above the

mouth

of theRapidan.

The

small,rocky, V-shaped islandseenintheforeground

may

alsobe distinguishedinplate5,and hadthewaternot been soveryhigh,otherislands and ledges would be visible inthe channel of the river. It willbeobserved

how

great a part of thecountry remainsheavilytimbered,althougha section of

it

now

overgrown may,long ago,have beenclearedandcultivated.

A

small clearingcanbe seen betweenthe

two

rivers at the

mouth

of theRapidan. This

was

cultivateda

few

years ago,but

when

visited

NO. 8

MANAHOAC

TRIBES IN VIRGINIA

BUSH NELL

25 duringthe

autumn

of 1934, ^it

was

overgrown, andthe surface could notbeexamined.

However,

along the margin of the higher ground, facing the

Rappahannock

and less than20 feet

from

it, fragments of potteryandseveral quartz pointswerediscoveredinastratumabout

I footbelowthepresent surface. This indicatesthe exposedsurface at oneperiod ofoccupancy;the superstratumof sand

was

deposited by theriver during

some

great freshet.

The

level area is not

more

than 2 acres in extent,

bounded

by the rivers and a cliff, and this,

when

carefullyexamined, should proveof exceptional' interest.

Cliffs face the

Rappahannock from

Richards

Ford

and beyond to the

mouth

of the Rapidan.

They

reach the right

bank

of the river just abovethe ford, but a short distancebelow thecrossing thelow ground, betweenthe foot of thecliffand^theriverbank, isabout 250 feet wide.

Much

of the lowground isnot visible inthephotograph, plate8,asitisscreenedbya fringe oftreesand brushalong the bank, overhangingthe water.

A

vertical aerialview^{of the river}andadjacent land at the ford is

reproducedin plate9,figure i. Several large islandsinthe river just above the ford are not included inthe picture.

The

house near the upperleft corneris on a plateau

some

50feethigher than the river, but the cultivated ^field, on the right

bank

of the

Rappahannock

and extendingbeyondthe area

shown

inthephotograph,risesonly a

few

feet abovethenormalstage of theriverand

was

under water during the flood of September 1934.

The

fragmentary pottery

shown

in plate 9

was

found on the surface of the field a

few

daysafter the watershadreceded,and

may

bebrieflydescribed:

Specimen aappears nottobe a fragment ofa vessel, but suggests a piece of wet ^{clay that} had been accidentally pressed on a

woven

bag ora piece of niatting. It isflaton both sides, very porous, and of a light reddish color.

The

textile, as restored, is

shown

natural size in figure6.

The

long elements resemble a grass or

some

other vegetalfiberthat hadnot been twisted, andthesewere held together by tightlytwisted cords.

Threespecimens,b,bear theimpressionofnets. That onthelargest fragmentisclearlydefined,andadoubleimpression of the netappears on part of the surface.

The

meshes were about one quarter inch square, knotted atthe crossing of the cords.

The

^nets used on the other

two

specimens had

much

smaller meshes, and the impressions areless distinct.

The two

piecescwere probably similartothethree preceding,but the surfaceshave

become

smoothed,either intentionally or as theresult of useandwear.

The

color of all isbrownish.

The

very small quantity of crushed quartz intermixed with the clay

may

26

SMITHSONIAN

IMISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 have been added as tempering.

The

five fragments just mentioned have the appearance of greater age than the majority of specimens recoveredfromthesite,and

may

have belongedtoanearlyperiod of occupancy.

The

decorationonthesmall fragmentd is

more

difficulttounder- stand. Itappears asfour parallel linesofcordmarks,less thanone- quarter inch apart.

Of

these the first

and

second, and the third and fourth, are joined by similar,impressions so placed as to

form

rowsof squares,but noindications of knots arevisible. It suggests theuse of a net

made

offinelytwisted cords,impressedupontheplastic clay,with the connectinglinesbetween

two

rowsofthe

mesh

smoothed away.

Fig. 6.- Textile, restored,fromRichards Ford. Naturalsiz

U.S.N.M.no.373791.

Many

of the fragments reveal theuse of the roulette, and others arecord-marked.

The

impressiononc

was

producedbyeitheratextile or basketry, the surface is greatly worn.

Xo

examples of incised decorations were discoveredonthe site.

The

three specimensto the right inthetop

row

arefragmentsofrimsofvessels.

A

few arrowpoints

made

ofwhite quartzwere foundscatteredover thesurface of thefields,andnear the center of theplowedarea

shown

inthe verticalphotograph were severaldiabase boulders

from

which pieceshad been struck, witha quantity of small flakes nearby.

The

surfaces of the flakes are only slightly altered, although they have beenexposedtotheaction of the elements for three centuriesormore.

The

finding of flakesinthis condition indicates that

some work

had beendone on the siteata comparatively late day.

NO. 5

MANAHOAC

TRIBES IN VIRGINIA

BUSHNELL

2/

As

mentioned

when

reference

was made

to the probable location of the five settlements indicated on ^the 1624 map, Hassuiuga is as-

sumed

tohavestoodonthebanksofthe

Rappahannock

inthevicinity of the present Richards Ford. Lederer undoubtedly followed an Indiantrail

when making

his

memorable

journeyin1670.

On August

21,thedayafter leaving thefalls,heandhispartycrossed the

Rappa-

hannock^"whereit dividedinto

two

branchesnorth and south,keep- ing the main branch north of us", obviously at the fordlater to be

known

as Richards Ford.

A

veryold road not

more

than 6feet in width,and probably following the course of a still

more

ancient trail, ascends

from

the river bank to the plateau at the edge of the line oftrees on thesouthernboundary ofthe clearinginwhichthe house stands. This

may

be tracedintheverticalview,andit

was

undoubtedly the trail over which Lederer passed ^"due west to the top of the Apalataean Mountains."