Page 9 - Hotel Ormond

The Grand Hotel Ormond - On the Halifax River

The circular villages with narrow entrances protected the
Timucuans from their enemies. As many as 200 round wooden
huts comprised a village each with a conical shaped roof and
thatched with palmetto leaves. The Timucuans were a tall,
athletic people; pierced ears and ornaments of shells, animal
teeth and copper adorned them. Their blunt nosed canoes
skimmed the waters and their spears caught abundant fish and
their traps plentiful oysters and clams. Discarded shells from those
created large “middens” that have survived until today. In
addition, vegetables were grown in their small farms along the
river shores. In the winter, they moved to warmer inland forests
where they ate the berries, nuts, and herbs that grew wild. What
we know of them comes, in part, from the detailed diaries and
drawings of the French explorer Jacques LeMoyne. He wrote of
people who were accomplished hunters, warriors and craftsmen.
They were experts in weaponry, clay pottery, jewelry, and
clothing, made mostly of deerskin and moss.

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