POWHATAN CONFEDERACY. 335 POYNTER. tion on Pamuukoy River, King William County; Mattaponj', 50 persons, on another smaller reser- vation on Mattapony River, in the same county; Chickahoniinj', 220, along Chickahominy River, in New Kent and Charles City counties ; Xan- semond, 180, near Portsmouth, in Norfolk County. All the typical Indian customs of scalping, tattooing, dancing, and medicine men were found among the Powhatan tribes when first known to the whites. They wore very little clothing be- yond the G-string for men and a shprt skirt for women, with a robe for .state occasions or in very cold weather. The men commonly shaved the hair on one side and left it flowing loosely on the other. Their houses were wigwams of wagon-top shape, with frame-work of poles covered by bark or mats, sometimes built closely together and surrounded by stout palisades. The}- cultivated corn, beans, S(|uashes, and tobacco, which, with fish, game, and wild fruits, gave them an abun- dant subsistence. They were expert at shaping dugout canoes and weaving fish-nets and baskets. The dead were Ijuried in the ground or preserved in a mummified condition in houses built for the purpose. In some cases the bones were gathered up and cleaned for preservation after the body had decayed. They had an elaborate mythology and ceremonial, of which very little is Icnown, with sacred temples guarded by priests. Tribal government was based on the clan system, with descent in the female line. Their history proves that they were brave and expert warriors. Their modern mixed blood repi-esentatives are either fishermen or farmers. See Virgixi. ; Pamun- KEY; POWII.ITAN; OPECHANCAXO; POCAHONTAS. POWN'ALL, TnoMA.s (1722-1805). An Eng- lish statesman and colonial ofiicial. He was born probably at Lincoln, graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1743. and soon afterwards obtained a place in the office of the Board of Trade and Plantations. In 1753 he came to New York as private secretary to Governor Osborn. The next year he was present at the Albany Con- gress, and while there became convinced of the desirability of intercolonial union. About this time he made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, and the friendship then formed lasted until Franklin's death. In 1757 Pownall became Governor of Massachusetts, and shortly after- wards of New Jersey also, but soon resigned the latter office. He was very active in raising troops to fight against the French, and for a time was popular, hut ultimately his vanity and love of gay attire and society gained him the ill-will of many. Having grown tired of his office and ap- plied for his recall, he was in 1759 appointed Governor of South Carolina, but he returned to England without visiting that colony. In Eng- land he proved himself a stanch friend of the colonists. He contended that they were entitled to the same rights as Englishmen, and proposed a scheme for what would now be called "imperial federation.' From 1768 to 1780 he was a mem- ber of Parliament, and as such denounced the oppressive acts directed at the Americans; but when war broke out he gave some support to Lord North, and opposed Burke's conciliatory bill of November. 1775. Soon afterwards, how- ever, he declared that the colonies were lost forever, urged that to circumvent the French a commercial treaty should be negotiated with the colonists, and in 1780 brought in a bill for mak- ing peace. By most of his contemporaries Pown- all was regarded as a visionary on political mat- ters, but he really possessed profound insight, and he foresaw, among other things, the future preponderance of the English race in America. As a scientist, antiquary, and man of letters he was better appreciated, and was a member of the Society of Antiquaries and of tlie Royal So- ciety. He wrote on a great variety of subjects. His works include: Adniinistratioit of the Colo- nics (1764); Topographicnl Description of the il iridic Colonies (1776) ; Memorial to the Howr- cigns of America (1783) ; Hydraulic and Nauti- cal Ohservations on the Currents of the Atlantic Ocean, with notes by Dr. Franklin (1787) ; and Memorial to the 8overeig)is of Europe and the AlUnitic (1803). POYN'INGS, Sir Edwakd (1459-1521). An English statesman. In 1483 he was a leader in the Kentish uprising in behalf of Bucking- ham in the hitter's insurrection against Richard III. His name having appeared in Richard's proclamation, he fled to the Continent, identified himself Avitli the fortunes of Henr}', Earl of Richmond ( later Henry VII. ) , and landed in England with the Earl in 1485. In that year he became a Privy Councilor, and in 1492 was sent with a force of 1500 men to reenforce Maximilian I. in the contest with his rebellious subjects in the Netherlands. He ett'ectually did away with rebel privateering, and with the Duke of Saxony cap- tured Sluis. In 1494 he was sent with an army to Ireland as Lord Deputy, with the purpose of completely subjugating the country, and in the same year convoked a Parliament which, imder his direction, passed various acts which crushed the Yorkist Party in Ireland and placed the ad- ministration of Irish affairs under the direct control of the English Crown and Privy Council. ( See Ireland. ) He made two expeditions to Ulster, drove the Pretender, Perkin VVarbeck, to Scotland, and was recalled in 1496. Subsequently he held various posts, including that of warden of the Cinque Ports, sat in Parliament, and con- ducted the negotiations for Henry VIII. when that monarch joined the 'Holy League' against France. POYNINGS LAW. A statute enacted by the Irish Parliament at Drogheda in 1494. See Ireland (Hisionj) ; Poynings. POYN'TEE, Sir Edward John (1836—). An English historical and decorative painter and au- thor. He was born in Paris, March 30, 1836, the son of an architect. From 1854 to 1856 he was a pupil of Leigh's Art School in London, and of the Royal Academy, and from 1856 to 1859 he studied in Paris under Gleyre. In 1860 he re- turned to London, where he has since resided. He was Slade professor of fine arts at University College, London, from 1870 to 1875, when he be- came director of the art schools at the South Kensington Museum, and in 1894 he was ap- pointed director of the National Gallery. Elected Royal Academician in 1876, in 1806 he succeeded Millais as president of the Academy. Po.ynter executed some decorative work in mosaic in the House of Parliament, in Saint Paul's Cathedral, and in Westminster Palace, London. He also made two sets of designs for the English coinage of 1894. Amonsr his easel paintings are: "Israel in Egypt" (1867): "Helen of troy" (1881); "The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of
