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Authors: Thomas Hollyday
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and terrifying legends to come down from the early days. The Nanticokes were a strong and proud people throughout the Eastern Shore. One small band professed to be in special communication with the gods of the Nanticokes. It was said that their leaders listened to the whispers of their gods in the wind in the leaves of the great magnolias. This group who lived far inland from the Chesapeake was never invaded by the hordes of Northern Indians who would come through the area to get food and take captives. The invading groups feared this immense power.
“They were first seen by the early immigrants from England and their lands were sought for growing tobacco. No one traded with these people however. The colonists were religious men and women but they were also superstitious. They heard the legends of this group, and they feared to communicate with them lest they be tortured or killed by their supreme power.
“Finally in the deep night an English captain named Lawson and one of the missionaries holding a cross attacked. In the village they found huge groves of magnolia trees. The Indians were asleep, apparently secure in the thought that their spirits had not warned them of this incursion. The colonials, aware that the Indians believed in the whispers of these trees, set about firing the trees and the village.
“Great was the terror of these Indians, not used to warfare of any kind. Their supreme weapon had been the fear in others of their incantations and of these trees of knowledge. When the trees were set afire, they turned and ran, leaving the land to the colonists.
“What happened to the Indians after that is not known. One survivor of this clan was said to be still preaching in New York State long afterward, a very old man. He incanted against the outsiders and put curses on their lives and those of their c hildren but he died long before the Revolution. This writer visited the land where the clan was said to have had its village. Now the farmer there plows around the one remaining stand of the magnolias and tells me that he hears no whispers.”
Drexel handed him another page. “This one is from the History of the Lawson Family of Maryland written in 1910 by Admiral Richard Lawson, who was the father of Captain Lawson.”
“Colonel Edward Lawson (1650-1703) was one of the truly great soldiers in early Chesapeake settlements. Certainly his victory over the Nanticoke settlements in the central Eastern Shore was one of his greatest accomplishments.
“A whole tribe of Nanticoke were destroyed in a surprise attack by Colonel Lawson and his militia in 1697. His militia was handpicked for this duty from local bondsmen and free men who usually worked for him or owed him money. Colonel Lawson with his own funds armed them with the latest weapons and cannon.
“The Nanticoke village was eliminated as a lesson to other marauders. Especially important was the need to cut down the great magnolia trees which had a special significance to these Indians and were deemed important to destroy so as to also destroy their spirit, their desire to fight, and their unholy religion. It was said that the elders of the tribe would meet under the great trees for formal conferences and that these meetings had been going on since the earliest days any of the Indian could remembers. It was said that when the winds blew in from the Chesapeake that certain whispering sounds came from the leaves in the trees as the breeze blew through and that these sounds were interpreted as messages from the spirits of the land, messages that gave wisdom and protected this particular Nanticoke tribe from danger. So they took great care to cultivate the trees and each family had a work detail of hours spent in this care as a village responsibility.
“The militia members reported to Colonel Lawson that destroying some of the trees took several days as the trunks were very large. And the roots of the trees were viciously holding to the
“They were first seen by the early immigrants from England and their lands were sought for growing tobacco. No one traded with these people however. The colonists were religious men and women but they were also superstitious. They heard the legends of this group, and they feared to communicate with them lest they be tortured or killed by their supreme power.
“Finally in the deep night an English captain named Lawson and one of the missionaries holding a cross attacked. In the village they found huge groves of magnolia trees. The Indians were asleep, apparently secure in the thought that their spirits had not warned them of this incursion. The colonials, aware that the Indians believed in the whispers of these trees, set about firing the trees and the village.
“Great was the terror of these Indians, not used to warfare of any kind. Their supreme weapon had been the fear in others of their incantations and of these trees of knowledge. When the trees were set afire, they turned and ran, leaving the land to the colonists.
“What happened to the Indians after that is not known. One survivor of this clan was said to be still preaching in New York State long afterward, a very old man. He incanted against the outsiders and put curses on their lives and those of their c hildren but he died long before the Revolution. This writer visited the land where the clan was said to have had its village. Now the farmer there plows around the one remaining stand of the magnolias and tells me that he hears no whispers.”
Drexel handed him another page. “This one is from the History of the Lawson Family of Maryland written in 1910 by Admiral Richard Lawson, who was the father of Captain Lawson.”
“Colonel Edward Lawson (1650-1703) was one of the truly great soldiers in early Chesapeake settlements. Certainly his victory over the Nanticoke settlements in the central Eastern Shore was one of his greatest accomplishments.
“A whole tribe of Nanticoke were destroyed in a surprise attack by Colonel Lawson and his militia in 1697. His militia was handpicked for this duty from local bondsmen and free men who usually worked for him or owed him money. Colonel Lawson with his own funds armed them with the latest weapons and cannon.
“The Nanticoke village was eliminated as a lesson to other marauders. Especially important was the need to cut down the great magnolia trees which had a special significance to these Indians and were deemed important to destroy so as to also destroy their spirit, their desire to fight, and their unholy religion. It was said that the elders of the tribe would meet under the great trees for formal conferences and that these meetings had been going on since the earliest days any of the Indian could remembers. It was said that when the winds blew in from the Chesapeake that certain whispering sounds came from the leaves in the trees as the breeze blew through and that these sounds were interpreted as messages from the spirits of the land, messages that gave wisdom and protected this particular Nanticoke tribe from danger. So they took great care to cultivate the trees and each family had a work detail of hours spent in this care as a village responsibility.
“The militia members reported to Colonel Lawson that destroying some of the trees took several days as the trunks were very large. And the roots of the trees were viciously holding to the
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