Simms, however, was never a stickler for details. Other accounts differ
as to John Lawson's exact fate, and no one is sure how he died.
Mike Lawson, (MIKE_LAWSON@intertec.com, http://www.mixbooks.com),
a direct descendant of the author, contacted me while I was working
on putting this book online, and sent me some interesting information,
which is summarized below. Baron de Graffenreid = Degraffenreid, etc.
From about 1705 to 1708 John Lawson had lived in Bath Town, NC,
where his primary interests were his orchards and vines.
When he went to England to have his book published, he was "called upon
by the Lord Proprietors to assist DeGraffenreid" who was trying to settle
a colony of Palatines in North Carolina. Franz Louis Michel,
of Bern, Switzerland, (Lawson refers to him as Francis-Louis Mitchell)
had come to America in 1702, and discovered evidence of silver
in the mountains. He returned to Europe to start a company
to found a colony in America, and met Degraffenreid, who had similar plans,
and had already contracted with the city of Bern to remove some Anabaptists
to America - they formed a partnership, and intended to search for silver.
After the course of events which included John Lawson's death
and a massacre of these colonists, they had a falling out,
and that plan never came off.
According to De Graffenreid, some days before the New Bern massacre
John Lawson proposed that they go up the Neuse River,
where there were plenty of wild grapes. They were assured
"that no savages lived on that branch of the river. But to feel safer
we took two Indians to guide, which we knew well, with two negroes to row."
Two days out, near the village of Coram, they were overtaken
by a large number of Tuscaroras, and captured.
There was a trial of sorts, where their intentions were examined,
and Mr. Lawson was charged with being too severe, and for selling their land.
After a lengthy debate, it was decided that they should be released
the next day, but the following morning, one Cor Tom reproached Mr. Lawson,
and they quarrelled. "I made every effort to get Lawson to quit quarrelling.
I did not succeed. All at once three or four Indians fell upon us
in a furious manner. . . . They took our hats and periwigs and threw them
into the fire, and a council of war being held we were immediately
sentenced to death." One of the Indians, a relation of King Taylor,
from whom De Graffenreid had bought the land for New Bern,
appealed in his behalf. "The Indians whispered in my ear
that I had nothing to fear, but that Lawson would die, what affected me much.
They also liberated my negro, but I never saw him since. . . .
As to his death, I know nothing. Some said he was hung,
some said he was burnt. The Indians kept that execution very secret."
The Tuscaroras then informed De Graffenreid that they were going to war,
but would not harm Chattooka (New Bern), but that the people of New Bern
ought to stay in the town - unfortunately, there was no way to inform
the people of New Bern. Several days later prisoners were brought back,
and De Graffenreid tells of recognizing some of them as his tenants,
including a boy who reported that his whole family had been killed.
After six weeks imprisonment at Catechna, he was released,
and returned to New Bern, where the people were surprised to find him alive.
(The relevant passages from De Graffenreid's journal were printed
in the North Carolina Booklet, Vol. I, No. 2, June 10, 1901,
`Colonial New Bern', by Mrs. Sara Beaumont Kennedy, pp. 7-13.
Issued by the North Carolina Society of the Daughters of the Revolution.
Raleigh: Capital Printing Company, 1901.)
Due to the age of this book, there are a number of nonstandard spellings,
and the font used in the original, with the s's much like f's,
has surely led to an error or two in the transcription, though every effort
was made to minimize this factor. The standards of printing at the time
were also somewhat low, and combine all this with those instances
where Indian names and words are given, and some of the material
is doubtless inaccurate - though Lawson's comments on zoology
should make that quite clear. Nonetheless, this account remains
one of our best sources for information on the Indians of North Carolina
in and about the year 1700.
Sidenotes, throughout, are presented in squiggly brackets. {As here.}
Where the sidenote precedes a paragraph, it is given on a separate line.
Corrections:
(p. 11)
[ and become Cripples all ther Life-time; ]
changed to:
[ and become Cripples all their Life-time; ]
(p. 13)
[ to satisfy the Apppetite of the Rich alone. ]
changed to:
[ to satisfy the Appetite of the Rich alone. ]
(p. 14)
[ so we got that Night to Mons. Gallian's the elder, ]
changed to:
[ so we got that Night to Mons. Galliar's the elder, ]
As the difference between "n" and "r" is significant,
other evidence (William Dobein James) suggests the real name was Gaillard,
and "Mons. Galliar's, jun'," is mentioned on the next page.
(In giving the background of Marion, in his "Life of Gen. Francis Marion",
Judge William Dobein James quotes from "A New Voyage to Carolina",
and in his footnotes gives some additional commentary on the area
in relation to Lawson's description. This text is online.)
(p. 19)
[ which was s Parrade of all Nations, ]
changed to:
[ which was a Parrade of all Nations, ]
and:
[ most Natious of the known World. ]
changed to:
[ most Nations of the known World. ]
(p. 21)
[ about it is hung Gourds Feathers, and other such like Trophies, ]
changed to:
[ about it is hung Gourds, Feathers, and other such like Trophies, ]
(p.28)
[ for tho' this most bears a Seed in a Sort of a small Cod, ]
changed to:
[ for tho' this Moss bears a Seed in a Sort of a small Cod, ]
(p. 44)
[ the Sinnagers, or Troquois.
