ny ee

 

A I aa a

14 Chroneles of the Cape Fear River

According to the recitals in the oldest deeds for lands on
Eagles’ Island and in its vicinity on either side, the Northeast
and the Northwest branches of the Cape Fear River come to-
gether at the southern point of that island. What is now called
Brunswick River, on the west side of the island, was then the
main River; and Wilmington was on the Northeast branch, and
not on the main stream of the Cape Fear. That portion of the
river which runs from the Northeast branch by Point Peter, or
Negrohead Point, as it is called, to the Northwest branch at the
head of Eagles’ Island, is called in the old deeds and statutes
of the State the “Thoroughfare,” and sometimes the “Cut-
through” from one branch to the other; and the land granted
to John Maultsby, on which a part of Wilmington is situated,
is described as lying opposite to the mouth of the “Thorough-

fare.” At another time, what is now known as Brunswick
River was called Clarendon River.

THE CAPE FEAR INDIANS.

The tribal identity of the Cape Fear Indians has never been
clearly established. We find Indian mounds, or tumuli, along
the river and coast and in the midland counties, and we are told
that the head waters of the Cape Fear River were known to our
aborigines as “Sapona,” a tribal name also known farther north,
and that “King” Roger Moore exterminated these Indians at
Big Sugar Loaf after they had raided Orton; but there is noth-
ing in the mounds, where hundreds of skeletons are found, nor
in the pottery and rude implements discovered therein, to iden-
tify the tribe or prove the comparatively unsupported state-
ments which we have hitherto accepted as facts. Capt. S. A.
Ashe says: “The Cape Fear Indians along the coast were
Southern. The Saponas who resided higher up were probably
Northern. They were not exterminated by ‘King’ Roger; in
fact, in 1790 there were still some in Granville, and a consid-
erable number joined the Tuscaroras on the Tuscarora Reserva-

tion on the Roanoke. They were both Northern, probably,
otherwise the Saponas would not have been welcome.”

There is reason to believe the tradition, generally known to
our older inhabitants, that the Indians from the back country
came regularly in the early springtime to the coast of the Cape
Fear for the seawater fish and oysters which were abundant, and
that their preparation for these feasts included the copious

 

Exploration and Settlement 15

drinking of a strong decoction of yopon leaves, which produced

free vomiting and purgation, before they gorged themselves to
repletion with the fish and oysters.

The beautiful evergreen leaf and brilliant red berries of the
yopon still abound along the river banks near the remains of the
Indian camps. The leaves were extensively used as a substitute
for tea, which was unobtainable during our four years’ war, and
the tea made from them was refreshing and tonic in its effects.

Dr. Francis P. Venable says: “It belongs to the Llex, or
holly genus. My first analysis was on a small sample from New
Bern and showed 0.32 per cent caffeine. Securing a larger sam-
ple from near Wilmington, I found 0.27 per cent. The maté,

or Paraguay tea, is also gotten from an Ilex and contains 0.63
per cent. The percentage of tannin in the yopon is rather high
and I suppose has something to do with the medicinal effect.”

Dr. Curtis, an eminent botanist of North Carolina, says:
“Yopon I. Cassine, Linn. An elegant shrub ten to fifteen feet
high, but sometimes rising to twenty or twenty-five feet. Its

native place is near the water (salt) from Virginia southward,
but never far in the interior. Its dark green leaves and bright
red berries make it very ornamental in yards and shrubberies.
The leaves are small, one-half to one inch long, very smooth and
evenly scalloped on the edges, with small rounded teeth. In
some sections of the lower district, especially in the region of
the Dismal Swamp, these are annually dried and used for tea,
which is, however, oppressively soporific—at least for one not
accustomed to it.”

Our yopon (the above) is the article from which the famous
Black Drink of the Southern Indians was made. At a certain
time of the year they came down in droves from a distance of
several hundred miles to the coast for the leaves of this tree.
They made a fire on the ground, and putting a great kettle of
water on it, they threw in a large quantity of these leaves, and
sitting around the fire, from a bowl holding about a pint, they
began drinking large draughts, which in a short time caused
them to vomit easily and freely. Thus they continued drinking
and vomiting for a space of two or three days, until they had
sufficiently cleansed themselves, and then, every one taking a
bundle of the leaves, they all retired to their habitations.