The Tockwogh were an Algonquian tribe first encountered in 1608 by Captain John Smith's party after being informed about them by the Massawomekes (

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

). The name Tockwogh is a variation of tuckahoe, a water plant with bulbous roots used for food. At their first meeting, Smith noticed they wore copper hatchets and beads which were traded with their allies, the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...

, mortal enemies of the Massawomeke. The Indians held a feast for Smith's party. Smith noted that the Tockwogh

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...

s were very different from those of other

Algonquian peoples The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...

: longer, larger, covered with bark, and shaped like ovals. About 20 made a village and villages were surrounded by fields of corn, squash, beans, and tobacco. Before leaving the Tockwoghs, Smith traded blue beads, bells and hatchets for corn, pearls, meat, weapons and hides.

Sources

Rivers of the Eastern Shore - Seventeen Maryland Rivers by Hulbert Footner

External links

Sassafras Natural Resources Management Area
Eastern Algonquian peoples Extinct Native American tribes Native American tribes in Maryland {{NorthAm-native-stub