Date: June 23, 1907
Paper: Dallas Morning News
Peculiar Peoples In America By Frederic J. Haskins Sheltered by some pocket in the hills living in seclusion in some quiet valley or guarded by impenetrable grasses in some far everglade, there are here and there throughout the United States groups of people that are peculiar and distinctive from the rest of the inhabitants. Segregating in close communities they have preserved for centuries, traits and characteristics of some remote and often unknown ancestry, and 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁.
....On Newman's ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee, overlooking the beautiful Clinch River Valley, lives one of the most mysterious people in America. Through their Anglo-Saxon neighbors or through writers of romance the name "Malungeon" has been given them, a name that the better element resents. 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀, and yet have a strong, Caucasian cast of countenance that makes their claim to Portuguese descent seem probable. They came, so a 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀, 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.
In the 'Tractado das Ilhas Novas" 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟱𝟳𝟬, and published in San Miguel, Azores, only about forty years ago, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗱. This colony was known as Terra Nova, and from 1500 to 1579 the records at Lisbon show that commisions were regularly issued to Gaspar and Miguel Corte Real as Governors of the settlement. One hundred years before Columbus came to these shores it is claimed that the Basques, then great seafarers, but now a mountain people of Spain, came to these shores and lent much of their language to Indian dialects. From the Corte Real settlements and from these Basques speculating historians have tried to draw an ancestry for the "Malungeons." Whatever the origin may be as a people they were practically outcasts for many years.