Total Number Of Pages: 1
Source: Scanned from the original photograph which is 10 inches in height and 8 inches in width.
Language: English
Coverage: Unknown
Creators:
Red Thunder Cloud [Cromwell Ashbie Hawkins West]
Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions
Description: The caption reads:
"Ten full blood Indian males perished in the wreck of Circassion on December 5, 1876, from which catastrophe, the Indians never full recovered. Nine of the men were Shinnecocks and one was a Montauk who had married into the tribe. This left ten widows among the Shinnecocks and any community would be severely crippled by a blow of this description. It is a mystery as to why the Shinnecocks did not try and seek mates from other tribes or why they did not let other tribal leaders know of their plight. The older Shinnecocks say that after this incident the tribe began to marry extensively with Negroes.
When there was a danger of cousin marrying cousin among many of my own people, the Catawbas of South Carolina, several members of the tribe migrated in 1840 to the Pamunkey Indians of Virginia and the Cherokees of North Carolina. The resulting marriages with these two tribes firmly entrenched their Indian blood.
Had the Shinnecocks had the forsight to migrate to New England where the Indian blood was still strong among the Narragansetts, Wampanoags, and Mohegans, the story of the Shinnecocks of today might have been different. The intermarriage with Negros lost for the Shinnecocks the recognition of the Iroquois of New York State, many of whom, will not admit that there is any Indian blood among them. This statement however is unjust as there have been many fine looking types among the Shinnecocks since I have come to know them. The more intermarriage occurs, the less Indian looking the children will become.
That there are still excellent full blood types among the Shinnecocks in spite of the increasing mixture with Negroes can be attested by this splendid photo of Mrs. Adeline E. Waters of Montauk, Matinecock and Shinnecock blood."
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