Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/185

 grain remaining in the villages of Mattapony and Youghtanund; even the hearts of the ruthless and famished colonists were moved by the outcries of the helpless savages.

The use of maize among the Indians was not confined entirely to food. It was employed by the priests and conjurers in their mystical ceremonies. This is shown by an incident in the life of Smith not long after his capture on the Chickahominy; he was suddenly interrupted on the occasion referred to by the entrance into the house in which he was detained as a prisoner, of an Indian priest, dressed in a fantastic costume of skins, who immediately with many violent gestures and strange invocations began to encircle the fire kindled on the ground with a line of meal. At this moment three other priests rushed in, and these were followed by three more, each one colored partly red and partly black, with red or white bars of paint on each check, and with strokes of red or white about the eyes. After dancing around Smith they took seats on a mat opposite him, the chief priest in the centre, and three of the minor priests on either side of him. The whole number then began a song, shaking their rattles loudly as they sang, and when this was ended, the chief priest deposited on the ground outside of the ring of meal fire grains of maize. This act was followed by a brief invocation, uttered with many strange demonstrations, which was greeted at the close with groans from his six companions. The chief priest then laid down three grains, and this ceremony was repeated until the fire was encircled by two lines of grain, a hand&#8217;s breadth apart, in addition to the line of meal. With the same invocations, groans, and rattling of gourds, a succession of small sticks were deposited between the maize at intervals of every