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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmte en commen^ant par la prem!4re page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iiiustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols y signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimAs A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, 11 est film* A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en preiiant le nombre d'im&ges nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 and the tun 1 I i HISTORY OF THB INDIANS OF CONNECTICUT waoM THE EARLIEST KIS^OWJST PERIOD TO A. D. 18S0. By JOHN W. Db FOREST. Oar inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. We are orohans and fatherless, our mothers are a, widows. The elders have ceased ^^the gat e he young men from their music. The joy of our hearts is ceased rrdanS is turned into mourning. "-Lamentations, Chapter V 1! raffl^K 1 PI 1 1 • t • 1 ■E » • ALBANY: J. MUNSELL, 83 STATE STREET. 1871. 'm ^ i ' ." iW iiiiuii . i miin i iMa.,!,,. ^ "- "iiwifiw ii i i ii The remainder of the edition of this work ho • Hands, I have added a new title pa^! wilL 7- ^^"^ ^"^ '"^ of that of a fpnner publisher. ' " ""P""* '""''^^^ J. M. ! TESTIMONIAL FROM THE CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. ome into my iprint instead J. M. This work having l^en submitted in manmcripi ,<, ,he Hi„„ri,., g„,.,„ .l.es:rr ""'"■■"'"'""■°" ">-- -»'ned „.,e adopted b, Jtt?aT'"\T°-'''''^ February 5.h, 1850, by the Con- necticut H.stoncal Socety, to examine a manuscript history De ror!!r" "■"''» "fConuecticut, prepared by Mr'john w' De Fore,,, and to give an opinion whether it should be nub ..hed under the patronage of the Society, would respeltj^t That they have read the manuscript referred to. with as much a„e„.,on as time and circumstances would a loT and fluJ ... .. abundant evidence of labor and research and a col lect.o„ of facts which they think highly imp„r.tt for a fuU e ucdatton of the history oftheState.^ They have no. though .necessary to look at the authorities on whfch Mr. De FoS rel.es for h.s statements, a, it is understood that he wishes ,1 .re'dtr wtr "'^°"* '- '"^ ^»- -" »p'r»° . The Committee recommend that the Society should en re;x^i^drh2p— :------r J. L. KINGSLEY, LEONARD BACON N.W H„.., Conn.. March ..d, ,8^- ™''^''''- 1 it I PREFACE. The advice of friends whose judgment I highly respect induces me to give a brief account of my course of investigations with regard to the subject treated in the present volume, and of the authorities upon which the narrative principally relies. It was no intention of becoming an author, but a real love of the subject, which first led me to pay attention to the story of the aborigines of Connecticut. As was natural, therefore, I first read for infor- mation those works, which, being the most common, were most likely to fall in my way. The most important of these were, Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Barber's Historical Collec- tions of Connecticut, and Thatcher's Indian Biographies. When, however, I had once formed the resolution of writing upon the subject, I could not, of course, be satisfied, without going back to the sources from whence these authon? drew their narrations. A large portion of these sources were kindly opened to me in the Library of Yale College ; and, with my writing materials con- stantly before me, I commenced availing myself of their contents. Having gone through with the printed matter which I found there, having read Winthrop and Hazard and their host of associate worthies as closely as seemed to be necessary, I proceeded to Hartford and commenced with the shelves full of manuscript volumes preserved in the office of the Secretary of State. The Colonial Records, the State Records, the Papers on Indians, on Towrs and Lands and on Ecclesiastical Affairs, although they occupied me a long time, were at last finished. Next followed a J* VI PftEFACE, scrubs of journeys, m which, visiting the primitive townships of the feci n?. '"TV f ^""^ ^' whatever existed in their till T 7 "''^ """^ °' •"'°™^*'''" ^-hausted ; and from the nr,atenals now lying before me began to arrange and wnte out my history. Many new examinations and additions, however were made after I had commenced my narrative ; and eou Iw H ;u '^'7 °f ^^"-^-"' ^'^hough it may not hav equalled, has fallen not far behind, the labor of compositL. It is upon the toundation laid in this manner that the suoerstructure contained m the present volume has been erected. It may be interesting, however, to students cf Connecticut histoiy, to receive works whose authority on this subject is of the most importance. The Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, „ow amoun mg to thuty volumes, is the first which I shall notice! This adm.raole repository the best of its kind in the United States, consists, to a considerable extent, of reprints of old a.d rare his- onca works relatmg to the early ages of our country, and par- ncularly of New England. In this precious libnu-y of antiques are to be found, iSew England's Plantation, and Roger Williams' Key mto the Indian Languages, from which I have drawn rny bnef account of the anci.nt appea,.nce and productions of Connecticut. In the Key also, and in Gookin's Historical Col- lections of t.e Indians of New England, likewie. presei.ed in the name repository, may be found most of my .naterials fo. the sketch ol the people, their customs, language and institutions. The position and relative importance of the various tribes is too apparent H om the whole course of Connecticut history t- need much citation of authorities ; yetdolthink that I have disco-'ered a number of .ew facts with regard to thes. subjects .y an exami- nation of the ancient recoitls of the towns. For my account of she intercourse, whether peaceable or hostile between the Indians of Connecticut and the Dutch. I am indebted :> I il Ik PREFACE. ^jj to O CaHaghan's minute and admirable Histoiy of the Colony of Ne w Netherland. For the early dealings between the Indians and the English, the principal and the best authority is the well known Journal of John Winthrop, as presented in the admirable edition of Savage. Winthrop carries us from 1630 to 1649, with general accuracy, and with the impartial spirit of a Christian gen- tleman. The Pequot war is related by Winthrop, who was a cotemporary, and by John Mason, John Underbill, P. Vincent and Lyon Gardiner, who were all actors in the struggle. Of these narrations, Mason's, especially when taken in conjunction with Prince's introduction to it, is by far the fullest, the best written and the most satisfactory. Leaving the Pequot war we depend once more principally upon Winthrop, until the second volume of Hazard's Collection of State Papers takes us up in 1643, and does not fairly set us down until 1678. Potter's Early History of Nar ragansett, also, is not to be forgotten, as affording, especially in Its appendix, much interesting matter concerning the Indians After ihe period when Hazard closes, the printed materials for aborigmal history become much less voluminous, and, in their nature, much more fragmentary, than before. Those of which I have most availed myself are, Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Barber's Historical Collections of Connecticut, Miss Caulkin's Hietory of Norwich, M'Clure's Life of \^heeIock and the Memoirs of Mrs. Sarah L. Smith. To these may be added Morse's Re- port on the Indian Tribes, Dwight's Travels, Tracy's History of American Miasions, Allen's Biographical Dictionary, the American Archives and the printed volumes of Executive Docu- ments issued by the jreneral government. Although I have hitherto hardly alluded to the manuscript materials which exist, yet are they deserving of the most serious attention. The ouly private authority of this kind worthy of note 18 the Itinerary, and some of the other papers, of President Stiles of Yale College, all of which are now preserved in the library of that institution of whifh hn xvna ^..»» >u - I sit; i. nat pait r vm PKEFACE. which is the result of the President's own observations is accurate and valuable ; but the remainder is far from reliable, as depending too much on the reminiscences of aged men and women, unac- customed to making statements for publication, and within whose recollections the slender numbers of the Indians multiplied as wonderfully as the two buckram men of Falstaff. Of public papers the records of the ancient towns are highly important ; not only as determining the positions and connections of the tribes, but as narrating the time and manner of the sales by which they parted with their lands. Another set of papers, of considerable importance, is a number of Indian petitions and a Defense of the Colony, referring to the long law suit between the Mohegans and Connecticut, and lately brought from England and deposited in the Yale College Library. But by far the most extensive and important range of manu- scnpts is to be found in the office of the Secretary of State at Hartford. The Colonial Records, consisting of eleven volumes and extending from 1636 to 1676, contain a largo quantity of matter. The twenty-seven volumes cf State Records present a smaller amount, and of a less interesting nature. Various deeds given by the Indians may be found in the ten volumes of papers on Towns and Lauds; and, thinly scattered throu^rh the fifteen volumes on Ecclesiastical Afiairs, are notices tf efforts mn^),. inv th.>ir civil improvement and conversion. Lastly but more ir.iporrant than any ..f the others, come two volumes ot papers relating to the Indians alone ; containing nearly siv hun. dred documents, and stretching in a series of letters, petitions and reports of committees, from 1647 down to 1799. From the manuscripts thus named is drawn a very largo portion of my history; and to the reading, thnngh not to the antiquarian, public this portion will he almost entirely new. And thus clones a l.ri,.f review of the prin.-ipal materials, .,.hi..ny, it will be observed, cotemporary, on which the sub.se.pient narrative is founded. My dates, for the sake of uniformity, I have reduced entirely to i I m PREFACE. IX i the mode of notation now in use. The difference between the old and new styles is at present twelve days; but as we go back- * wgrd in time this difference gradually diminishes, until, at the Council of Nice in 325, it ceases altogether. Consequently, from all dates in my authorities previous to 1710, 1 have retrenched ten days ; and from all subsequent to that, but previous to Sep- tember, 1752, when the change to new style was effected in England, eleven days. Thus, the first Court of Connecticut in 1636 was held, by old style, on the twenty-sixth of April ; by new style on the sixth of May. Thus, also, the second Commissioners' Court on the disputed lands of the Mohegans in 1738 was opened, by old style, on the twenty-fourth of May; by new style on the fourth of June. Respecting the map which precedes the work a few wonls will suffice. It was meant to be a sketch of the political divisions of Connecticut previous to its settlement by Europeans ; and it is my belief that the positions of the tribes which then existed are laid down with correctness. This was my chief object; and for any thing further than this I have made no great research, and lay claim to no extraordinary accuracy. It is pretty certain that some of the "Indian names" of our ponds and streams are not the names which the Indians themselves applied to them. Thus, Naugatuc was not anciently the name of the river to which it is now attached, but of a place on the banks of that rivei The same assertion is probably true of the Mattabesett, a stream which empties into the Connecticut near Middletown. The largest river in the western part of our State is now invariably known as the Ilousatonic ; but, if wm may believe the early reconls of Stratford, It was in ancient times "commonly called the Paugussett." There 18 a small stream in New Milford styled the Aspetuck, or Ash- petuck, which I have little doubt was named thus after the Aspe. tuck in the ancient township of Fairfield. In like manner, the Mystic between Groton and Stonington was so designated by emigrants who came from the banks of that Mystic which empties ■* PREFACE. into Massachusetts Bay. To this stream it will be observed that I have restored the ancient name of Sickenames, or Siccahams, which is applied to it in the early maps and relations of the Dutch. From these circumstances it will justly be inferred, that, to con- struct a correct catalogue of the ancient nomenclatures of our rivers, ponds and mountains, would be not simply difficult, but absolutely impossible. The four landscape illustrations in the volume are copied, it will be observed, from Barber's Historical Collections of Connecticut. The original of the likeness of Occom is a very defaced portrait of him, taken while he was in England, and found by Miss Sarah L. Huntington in 1830, at Mohegan. Miss Huntington having placed it in the care of Col. John Trumbull, the distinguished Connecticut painter, he laid it before Miss Murray, a benevolent lady of New York, who had two hundred and fifty lithograph copies of it struck, to be sold for the benefit of the tribe. It was from one of these copies, furnished me by the aged and now deceased mother of Miss Huntington, that the engraving presented to the reader was designed. Of the merit of tho five fancy pieces by Darley, an artist known and admired in Europe as well as in America, it is unnecessary to speak. It may be observed, however, that the costumes are imitated from cotemporary pictures of the dress of our colonial period ; and that the designs are thus, not only spirited and ex- pressive, but, in a true sense, illustrations. J. W. Di^ F. New Haven, October, 1850. observed that or Siccahams, 3 of the Dutch. 3, that, to con- latures of our y difficult, but copied, it will r Connecticut, sfaced portrait )y Miss Sarah ngton having distinguished a benevolent ograph copies It was from low deceased sented to the artist known unnecessary costumes are our colonial rited and ex- V. Dr; F. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. InTBOI.UCTI0K.-ThK COtrNTnv.-MANK.KS AND CUSTOMS. IN.TZTUTXOKS AKD LANGUAGE. Introduction, Page Appearance and condition of Conn, when inhalated by iteabori^nes"'' Appearance and piiysical qualities of the Indians, ' Agriculture, ' Hunting, Fish ing, Clothing and ornaments, , Houses and furniture,.,.. Food Wandering habits of the Indians,. Fortified villages, The public square, Dances, Gaming, The fnmily Courtship and marriage, Morals and character,... Diseases, Treatment of them, Funeral ceremonies, Religion, Kiehtan, the Good Spirit, HobbamocKo, the Evil Spirit, Infrior Gods No images Ideas of the creation, Belief in a daily providence, . Ideas of futurity, 8 9 12 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 20 20 21 23 23 24 24 25 26 26 95 'h' ■ ^^ CONTENTS Namee for the soul, **•■ The powwows, or priesthood, ..*.!..*'".!" ** ""* ^^ Religious dances, ' '" ^7 Grades of society, * "^^ The sachem and his councilors, ' ^* Hereditary nature of the sachemship, .'.".'...* fj Power of the sachem, ^" The sagamores, or inferior chiefe, .,.,,[ *^^ Revenues of the sachem, ..."1. ^* His duties, ^^ Love of the Indians for war, ..".".. ^^ Ceremonies before commencing it, .."!..',7....'.". o' Mode of conducting it, Sea fights, ..7.....!!!..."... ^^ Faie of prisoners, The Lord's Prayer in the Pequot tongue, ..".7. In the Massachusetts tongue, Indian vocabularies. . ,. ' • • ••.••••..••,,, Afi Capacities of the Indian languages, Their power of combining words, ..."" Observations on these languages, , Observations on the subject of the chapter, ....'.......".7..'7 ' 43 CHAPTER II. NaMKS, NUMBEB8, POSITIONS AND POUTICAl B.LATIONS OF TRI DIFFM.NT TBIBKS. Usual estimates of the aboriginal population of Connecticut exaggerated, 45 Observations on Trumbull's estimates, Proofs of the paucity of the population, .- Small clans along the western part of the coast, 49 Paugussetts and Wepawaugs the same people, 49 Their territory, numbers and fortresses, ,,'"' 50 The Potatucks of Newtown and Woodbury, SI The northwestern part of the State a desert, . 5, The Quinnipiacs of New Haven, Branford and Guilford, .......... ......1.* 53 The Hammonassetts of KilUngworth and Saybrook,. .'.'.*........* 62 The TunxiB of Farmington, ""[ .„ . 27 .. 27 .. 28 . 29 . 30 . 30 . 31 . 31 . 32 33 33 34 35 37 37 38 38 39 39 40 41 41 42 43 I I CONTENTS. _.•. All! Close connection among the Connecticut River tribes ^To The Windsor Indians, ' ^^ ■ The great sachem of the Connecticut "valley, .' .' ^^ The Wangunks of Middletown and Chatham ^'^ Identity of their sachem. Sowheag. with Sequi^.'sVchVm'aVwJt'hVrifSeVd" 54 Sachemdom of Montowese, son of Sowheag ^'t'^ersheld, 54 The Podunks of East Hartford and East WiD'''oV S The Machemoodus of East Haddam, ' The " Moodua noises," * ^^ The western Nehantics, * " ' ' " ^^ The Nipmucks, ^'^ The Pequots, ....'.*.*.".*. ' ' *.' ^"^ Observations on their numbers, ,][[[ ^^ The Mohegans a clan of the Pequots",' ^^ pequots descended from the Mohegans of" New* Yo'rk f o Other tribes of Connecticut related to the Narraganse.ts* * " * * Z Settlement of the Pequots in Connecticut, ^" Their wars and conquests, Their constant enmity with the Naira"ga'ns'e"tts" .' tl Numbers of the Narragansetts, Their character, ^ The western tribes of Connecticiu "o"pp"ress"e"d b^ 't'he'ir'o'q'u'ois', 6= Character and conquests of the Iroquois, Early sachems of the Pequots, ' ^^ Relation of Uncas, sagamore of Mohega"n".wi"th thi",;;;;;i;;;f;he'p'eq;;;s" 66 Important place of this man in the subsequent narrative, n Observations on the decline of the Indians ^l 67 CHAPTER III. Fbo» the fihst mscovERT OK Connecticut m 1614 to the eweditiox AGAINST THE PeUUOTS IN 1637. The Dutch discover and explore the coast of Connecticut.. . . *« tiStnblish a large trade there, -Purchase at the mouth of the Connecticut",.' .....[ l^. Purchase land at Hartford Make war with the Pequots, [[[[] ^^ The English settlements on Massaohuse'tts jg'a'y 11 Waghinacut urges the English to settle in the Co'n'n'ect'ii^m ;;;;;' 73 English adventurers explore Connecticut, , . . ^ " a '4 *^ CONTENTS. English found a trading house at Windsor, ^'^ y"! Give cause of complaint to the Pequots, ** Pequots murder Stone, Pequot affairs on the wane, They send to Boston for peace, "'' ' Make a treaty with Massachusetts, [ With the Narragansetts, English found settlements in Connecticut, !.!!!.*!!! 82 Sequassen sells a large tract, Windsor Indians sell land, Uncas rebels against Sassacus, the Pequot sachem,.'.'.'.*.'." *.'.'.'*.'.".' '.'.*' 94 He is defeated and banished, Person and character of Uncas, Treaty ill observed by both English and Pequots, qq Oldham killed by |he Block Islanders, 87 Gallop revenges him, Endicott's expedition, English ravage Block Island, Go to the Pequot country Skirmish whh the Pequots, Pequots endeavor to form a league with the Na'rra'gan's'etis",." .'.'.'.'.'.'.['.' m Roger Williams prevents it, League between the English and Narragansetts',.' 104 Pequots waylay and kill numbers of English, ." " ' jor They parley with Gardiner, commander of the fort at Sa'y'b'rook Jn Quarrel of the Wethersfield people with Sowheag,. ... ' jio Pequots attack Wethersfield, Reflections, ^^^ 115 CHAPTER IV. The overthrow op the Pequots. Sufferings of the Connecticut colonists by the war, 117 Meeting of the General Court, '[[ „ War declared against the Pequots, John Mason, the commander-in-chief, Uncas joins the English, Massachusetts and Plymouth raise troops for the w'aV,.' .' .' .* .' .' .' .* .' ..... [ 120 Mason sets sail down the Connecticut, [ joq t ^ ti« jji I i CONTENTS. XV Faqe. Uncas defeats two parties of Pequots, 120, 121 Mohegans torture a prisoner, 121 The Dutch ransom two English girls from the Pequots, 121 Mason sails from Saybrook to Narragansett, 125 Begins his march against the Pequots, 126 Is joined by numbers of Nehantics and Narragansetts, 126 Attacks a Pequot fort, 131 Massacre of the Pequots, 132 English retreat, with difficulty, to Saybrook, 134 Reflections on this enterprise, 138 Pequots disperse, 140 Main body retreats to Sasco or B'airfield swamp, 141 Capture and massacre of Pequot warriors, 143 English pursue the refugees, 144 Sachem's Head, ^t^ - I45 Jack Etow's exploit, 146 Pequots overtaken and defeated at Fairfield, 147 Death of Sassacus, I5I The wife of Mononotto, I5I Pequots seek refuge with other tribes, 153 Massachusetts reproaches Ninigret with harboring Pequots, 153 Quarrels with Uncas for the same reason, 153 Duplicity of Uncas, 254 The Pequot remnant surrenders, 155 Growing hostility between Uncas and Miantinomo, 156 Tripartite treaty between Connecticut, Mohegans and Narragansetts, . . 159 t -dley'8 court, ' - 310 r)eci8ion against the colony,*. 310 Connec.ic-jt appeals. '[" .... 3li Commission of review granted •••• 3^2 Mason resigns his guardians;,,,',', 312 I^rotest.&cofBenUncasandothe'rs' 313 Oweneco's death ; anecdotes of him ' ' 3^3 Succeeded by his son. Cesar ' 314 Thei/„.::rL ,%*°';::':. ■■!" ^•"''' -"■ :.z:^ En-.ctments for their benefit 316 Death of Cesar, " 316 Sachemship usurped by Ben UncnV 318 John Mason petitions to be repa,d ihe cos'ts' of'n V. ' *. ^18 Be-mes school teacher among' the Mohegant '' ''''"^' ^19 Petitions again, ^""^' 330 o- to England Ja:;::!:it^r "^ "^^^-^^ '- '^^ -'-- 3^1 Takes with him Mamohet, the rightful sadle'in. ' '^'' Mason and Mahomet die in England,. ' 323 Commission of review granted,.". . .. ' 323 Pi-pa,ations of the colony,. . . ' 325 The court opens at Norwich'jVts sirangVp^oJeVd'i;,- ^^^ Decision in favor of the coiony, . . P'^^'^'^^'^'ng" 327-331 Remarks upon the proceedings',.*.".'.' 331 Items in the costs for the colony 332 The Masons appeal, . 333 New commission granted, .' 334 Court opens at Norwich, .'.'_,' 334 The Commissioners, [ ■ 335 The arguments for the colony'.' 335 For the Mohegans, . . . . 336 A majority of the Court dedd'e' for* ihe* 'c'oio'n; ^^^ Morrjs and Horsmanden give their opinions,. 339 ^e^Maso„^,.p^,,^^ 343 tr' 1^ '4^ I f1* «l CONTENTS. 3QJJ Laws concerning the Mohegans from 1722 to 1743, .'343 Efforts for their educution and conversion, .'.'..'..' 343 Their condition in 1743,. „ 346 CHAPTER IX. HlSTCr OF THK PBrMITIVE TRIBES IN THE WESTERN AND NOBTHEKN PAKT8 OF THE State fbom 1683 to 1849. Subject of the chapter, Features of this period, " Of tlie* diminution of the Indians, [ ' „ A messenger belt, T, ... . , ' 349 Kestrictions withdrawu from the Indians, 349 Ccntiibution for their beneiit Mohawk hunting pa, ty in Connecticut, '!."..'.."..' 350 Indian census of 1774, Regulations concerning overseers, Potatuciis sell, ' ^^^ Their situation in 1710. . 352 Great powwowing among them, Appropriation made for them by the colony, ,][[ «cq Their numbers in 1761 and 1774 ' Death of Konckapotanauh, sachem of the Paugussetta, 354 Number of the Milford Indians in 1V74. [\ „ Number of the Golden Hill Indians ii 1765, ....'.'.' ' .*.'.*.'.'." gfj Aggressions upon them, Receive relief. •••• Milford Indi ins complain, Their present situation, Present situntijn of the Golden Hill Indians, okj The Woodhridge Indians, '/'" History of the sagamore ChickenB, [[ -.„ Indians of Greenwich, Stamford and Norwalk, oeQ Ridgefield Indians sell, ."..!.!!! t New Fairfield Indians sell, .' i 1 !!.!.'!!!.! .' 360 The Quinriipincs, Their reservation, ..'.*.*..'.'..'.**,' ^^'^ w Their last sachem, ... »•••.. 360 - Their numbers about 1730, -J " uinnipiacs remove to Farmington, ,gj * xzii CONTENTS. Number of Guilford Indiana in 1774, . . ''^"• Indian graves opened in East Haven' ^^* Other Indians of New Haven County ^^^ Dispersion of the Windsor Indians, .'^*'. ^^^ Disappearance of the Podunks, ^^^ rndian census of 1774 for HartVoidy Wind;o;;„d Eas't Windso"; T^ For Suffield. Glastenbury and East Haddam ' l^ Ihe Wangunks, their reservations "^ Labors of Richard Treat for their con version,!.".". ".■.." If, Numbers and condition in 1764.. Sale of their lands and dispersion "of "the "irib," ■".".■.■ •'" IZ Indian graves opened at Chatham,.. .. Disappearance of the Simsbury Indians,.".'.!.'.". ^^ Indian school among the Tunxis . "^ Some of the Tunxis become freemen, som'e 'p;ofess"o';:f;;Hg;o'n',' In Aggressions upon their property, and proceedings thereupon ... 37 Numbers in 1761 and 1774, ^'^ Receive a copy of the colonial laws,....!!!.,..." ^^^ Their dispersion and sale of their lands,..!!!!!!."!!!!!!!!!! II] Some remaining in 1804, Total disappearance, ^^^ Monument to their memory, !!".!! ^^^ The Nipmucksand Quinnebaugs,. ....!.. ^^^ Tradition concerning Alexander's Lake 'in"Ki'l'h'n"giy f!! Intercourse between the Nipmucks and the first settlers',!!.'!!!!!!"'! tl Jtfcob Spalding's adventures with an Indian creditor, Ill Revival among the Quinnebaugs, ^^ Numbers of the Nipmucks in 1774,....!..!!!."!!.!!!!. ^®° Their present condition, ^^^ The western Nehantics, !!!!!!!!! ^^^ Their reservation ^^' Aggressions of the whites, !!!...!!!..! ^®^ Their situation in 1734 and 1736,...'!!!!.'.!!!.'.' ^^^ Efforts for their religious benefit, Z/........', ^^^ Religious interest among them, ..!!![. ^^^ Difficulties with the whilei, !!! ^^'* Lose part of tlinr land, ][' ^^'* Numbers in 1761,1774 and 1788,.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^^^ Present nitiintion, ^®^ Indian remains, .'. . ^^^ 386 K .. 361 .... 362 ... 362 .... 363 .... 363 ... 363 ... 363 ... 363 ... 3G4 r. 367 ... 368 ... 363 ... 369 .. 370 .. 371 .. 371 .. 373 .. 373 .. 374 . 375 . 375 . 375 . 376 . 377 . 378 . 379 . 380 381 381 381 381 382 383 383 334 384 385 385 386 386 CONTENTS. XXIU <>' CHAPTER X. HlSTOBT OF THK NKW TBIBKS FORMED IN THE NOBTI, AND WIST O, COMWOnoUT FBOM THEIR OaiOIN TO 1849. Subject of the chapter. - ^^°' •^ ' , 38Q Formation of the clan at New Milford, ggg Observations on the numbers ascribed to it, ..*.'.'...'.*.'.' 309 Sell the greatest part of their country, !!!!".!! !.'!.* 391 Probable loss of Indian deeds, Sale of the "Indian fields" in New Milford, ...!......".'.7. 390 Weraumaug, the sachem, sells twenty-five square mileB,'".'.'.".'.".".'.' 300 Weraumaug's palace, Connections of the New Milford Indians with other "tribes,.'."*..'! 393 Indian telegraph down the Housatonic, oq. Conversion and death of Weraumaug, '."'.'.7. gg Contest between Rev. Daniel Boardman and a powwow .' 305 Anecdotes of Chere, son of Weraumaug, gg- Part ot the tribe migrate to Scatacook, ggg The remainder obtain an appropriation from the Asse'm'bl'y' ,07 Another migration, Numbers in 1774 ^^^ Indian cemeteries in New Milford, .......'. l^^ Formation of the clan in Salisbury and Sharon..!.'.*."'.'!'.'.'".*. -ll Indians sell a large tract in Salisbury, „qq Metoxon, the sachem, sells another tract, .'!!.!.*.'!!!*" qqq He sells a tract in Sharon, Complaints of the Indians !!!!!] ^^^ The colony purchases all the land rem'ni'nin'g'in "sali'sbuii!!!!!!! T. Indians gradually leave Sharon, ^ Two of them sell out the remaining rights "of 'u'l'eola'n,'.'!! am Return and complaints of Timotheus, *„! Mysterious nocturnal disturbances !!!!!! " Timotheus is bought out and the disturb'ancescease,'.'!'"'!'! tnl Chu^e forms a band at Humphreysville in Derby, '. .n. Traditions concerning him Removes to S.atacook and dies; his land sol'd"! Ull The Scutncooks, ' ■*"' Wanderings of their founder and'8a'c*h'e'm!"Mi;u"v;;h*u";.'.'.*!.!"*;'"* 40! bettlcs at Scatacook in Kent, and forms a tribe there !!...'.'!!!!1'!!!!! 408 ^^^^ CONTENTS. Moravian miseion among the Indians of this region . *"?" Its great success, "^^^ The missionaries persecuted and driven away' by'thV white's;.' l\n Consequent partial dispersion of the Scafacooks, I,. A " talli" with the Scatacooks and River Indians,. /,, Reservations of the Scatacooks, ' Sell part of their territory, ' '^^^ Encroachments of the whites, .' ^^^ Assembly gives land to the tribe, " .' ' ^^^ Continued difficulties with the settlers,.' f^^ Overseer chosen for the tribe in 1757,. ..'.".'.'.'.'.*.*."." Curious petition of the Scatacooks,. .. ^... ^!^ Numbers in 1774, Lands of the tribe leased in 1775, Condition and numbers in 1786, A large part of the reservation sold in 1801, .'.'.'.'.'.*.'.'." 419 Present numbers and condition, ' 420 CHAPTER XI. HlSTOET OF TUB PEquOTS PBOM 1683 TO 1849. Melancholy character of the Pequot history, Observations on their diminution, ' Early governora of the two bands, ..,,'.* ^^^ Quarrels between the governors and the people!!.....' 403 Groton appropriates Nawyonk, and the Pequots complain'."."!."".' 40, Nawyonk confirmed o Groton, Encroachments on the Groton Pcquo't"s'!'p;;;:*e'e*dings*;h'e';;'n'po',;!!''! 4^5^ Condition and numbers of the Groton band in 1731 Renewed encroachments, and consequent enactment's!"."'"! 408 Western half of the Groton reservation leased to white tenant;!!.'.".".".".".'." 428 Quarrels and dismissal of the overseers, Death of Scndaub, the last governor of the Gro't"o"n" 'pequois 4^0 Religious interest among the Stonington Pequots ' 400 Ara»Dgthe Groton Pequots, Niimbem of the Stonington Peqnotsin 1749, !!...".!.!".!! 430 Attempted usurpation of their lands, T,q Dishonest claim, of the tenants on the Groion'"res"ervaUon.!!!!!! 43, Assembly revokes die leases, , ^ "••• 434 Paox .. 409 . 410 . 410 . 4n . 411 . 413 . 413 . 414 . 415 . 415 415 416 417 417 417 418 420 CONTENTS. jjjy Proeecution of William Williams, ^^"' Tenants petition for a division of the disputed lands, ."!!.'!!!!! 1 1 435 Uuiuet decision of the Assembly, .„« Number of the Groton Pequots in 1762, [[ ^o- Efforts for their religious and educational benefit, .* 437 Numbers of the two bands in 1774, * .„q Many Pequots move to the Oneida country, * * " aaq Renewed difficulties concerning the reservation in Groton,.* 440 These difficulties settled in 1800, President Dwight's account of the Stonington Pequots,*. *.'."..* 44, Their situation in 1820, Condition and numbers of the Groton or Ledyard Peiuote in '1832* 443 Of the Stonington Pequots in 1848, ' ' AAt Of the Ledyard Pequots in 1849.. . ^, * 444 CHAPTER XII. HiSTOET OF THE MOHEOAWS FROM THE CLOSB OF THE COUBT ON THEU DISVDTKD LANDS IN 1743 TO 1849. Death of Ben Uncas ; his will, His son, Ben Uncas, chosen by the tribe as*his*succ*eMor*.*.*. 4^8 Mohegans join the colonial ranks in the war of 1755, 450 The Mason party still existent, * .,- Messrs. Adams and Jewet preach to the Mohegans,. .... .* .* [ * ." ." '. * ' .' " " 451 They are supplied with a schoolmaster, '.'.'..[ 450 Troubles of the master in collecting his scholars,. .... .. '. ' .* .' .* ......[, 453 Appropriations to aspjst him, Elcazer Wheelock, . . • ^ ^ 453 Converpion and education of Samson Occom, , . . , ,"'454 Becomes a missionary among the Long Island Indians,".*.*.*...']*]''.']*.' 455 Is licensed ' 455 Is ordained a member of the Suffolk Presbytery on Long Island 455 Wheolock'a Indian school opened at Lebanon 455 Inefficient contribution to assist it,. ... f . rn Occom and Rev. Mr. Whitaker go to England,*.'.*.*.]]]]]] ]]]]]]]]]]] 457 Success m obtaining funds for the school, 453 School removed to Dartmouth, New Hampshire,. ..]]]]]]]]]]' "v" 459 Its slight connection with the Indians of Connecticat.] ]]]]]]]*]]]]]]' 459 Continued divisions among the Mohegans, ]]]]]]** '^'F-" 450 * Death of Ben Uncas, last sachem of Mohegan,'.*.'.".]] ]]]]]]]]]] ]]«]^ ]] 4^0 3 s# ^ ^^^^ CONTENTS. ^effectual efforts of the Assembly to make Isaiah his successor. . . . ^':^tl Hostihtyoft.hegreat ^"-P-"^.' tion, gave^hem a 5 ' T'^P' 'heir natural oonstitu^ ' ^""h as the latter could seldom rival Wh. sary they would hunt f„ j "'=''■ """"s- from hunVo ..^rf! 7 ?" '°^°"'"' ^^ile suffering With no o :rXs ™e tl'^T'^ '"'""''' ">^ ^--'^ water. Roger W I ams .et" ' L"'" ^"'"' =''™ ■"«• Indian, with nomhrZdt "!. "' "^^ '""'^™ «» miles in a day • and baT . ' '"'™' ""^ hundred days. We o^Ut 1 ' T "•" ^"^ S™™''. *« 'wo 'hii -.en,e:"tat';r„r:; .r T ^" ^-^'"-'-^ «ed after a very loose fashtn d ht thT T ""'"^■ commonly, as we now find, mufh etggeratr"" """ AGRICULTURE. '^o'- 1, p. m. , °""^ ""'" Wf '!>.■ number. Wi„,hr«p, OF CONNECTICUT. 5 vated by women and children • thP tnK. , nd,a„s seem .0 have used, were spades mdelycrnt'ced wnen a family wished to break up a new field all if, foonds and ne^hbors came ,o assist so that as ma " ^ y idii,e in a single season two or three hpan« «r and, If ,hey had children or friends ,o assist Lmani he crop was not injured by wild beasts, or des royek b^ .e^r::x^:,:-;^-:-».-^ elt r':: ^'' ^"'^"'-"^ « Tas^t^int' earth, and thus preserved for the winter's subsistence f HUNTING. The invention of the bow and arrow is one of ,1. earliest circumstances which enables malto „Ii:I s't • Roger Willi.™,. Key. M.„. Hist. Coll., Vol m „ »„ t Rog., Willi.™. Key. M.». Hi.,. Co,,.;;:',; Sf^; 6 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ZTll '" ' ■"""'" ^'"^ ""^ »-™'« "'nation. Scarcely any barbarous people has no. either invented or imited *.s weapon, and n,ade it a principal ™ea„s of car~„ tlemtt ''"°"""'"''"^""">"--''' I' -as, accordingly, the most ™po«ant among the weapons of tLe aborigine ^o™ the wood of the hicW, wL'^X^^^a^r to four feet long, and so powerful that nothing but lonl practice could enable a man to bend i. Ti, ^ -de of reeds, elder s.ic.s, ^ ::?J:J^:Z7:Z "toa^'^T^'^'"'"'^'' "'"• «''"-'»- f-h^-d 1 ^ey hunted various species of wild fowl ■ ni~on<, -quads, turlceys and partridges, in the forests ; clanef::!' marshes. In the streams they also found the otter n„r sumg h.s solitary trade of fishing, and the beav JaZ" rir:;;"' '" '^-^ ^'"' ""--■ »^ ^-^"l i; winter. Both these ammals were eaten by the Indians • but they were hunted chiefly for the sake of tl e Zk wann furs with which nature has fitted them for their mode of existence. I„ the forests, raccoons, i^bbi s and of the common deer, the moose and the bear. The e^ mverous animals, whose flesh was never eaten, but wh„4 furs rendered them an object of the chase, wer wulcl wolves and foxes * wuucais, f * Key. Mass. Hist, Coll Vnl Ttt « onn « -, Mass. Hist. CoU., Vol. I, p lil ' '' '''* ""^^ ^"«''"''^'- ""»«'<>»• ¥ OF CONNECTICTJT. f The Indians did most of their hunting alone, each man supplying himself and his family ; but occasionally they united, and pursued the chase with twenty-five or thirty, or even two or three hundred in company. These grand hunts were seasons of diversion as well as labor ; and they scarcely ever failed of bringing in great quantities of game. Another method of hunting was as follows: having, during the coring, taken notice of the haunts of the deer,' they repaired to them, in bands of ten or twenty, after the harvest was over in the fall. They carried their traps, and sometimes, if the distance was not too great, they were accompanied by their women and children. On ar- rivmg at the localities already marked, each man selected a district of two or three miles in extent, and built for himself a small hunting house of bark and rushes. His traps, thirty or forty in number, he set in the deer paths, and near the springs in his district ; and, every two days went the rounds to visit them. Sometimes he was anti- cipated by those hereditary thieves and prowlers, the wolves, who, arriving first at the trap, thought themselves fortunate in finding a breakfast there without having had the trouble to catch it. In this case the disappointed hunter usually revenged himself by setting a separate trap for the robbers, in which one or more of them were often caught and crushed by a weight of large stones. The Indians were exceedingly careful as to what can.e in con- tact with their traps ; and, noticing that the deer often avoided them with singular dexterity, they used to say that there was a divine power in the animals wliich enabled them to perceive whatever was out of the com- mon way. When winter came on, the trappers left their 8 HISTOKF OF THE INDIANS m h houser, shouldered the dried meat which they had collected du„„g their stay, and returned to their wi^ warns or vdlages, sometimes travelling fifty or sixty miles through the snow.* ^ FISHING. They fished in various ways: with hooks, spears and th Lr"7 "' ^°"^ ""' '"""'■' "» "- -«. »d in trnir n ? '""'■ "^^'^ ''P'"'"^' ^""">« much rouble all the smaller kinds of fish ,• and, in their canoes! made iJ mT"' "' ''"'''""' '" '^"'' ^""» nets stoutly made of w,ld hemp. Sometimes porpoises got amone the rocks or shallows, and afforded a glorious sceueTf slsh aud dispatched. Occasionally, ,00, whales wereZown a?d LI dan?: ;; ^Tl'/T" " "^^ ^™'^' w^r» ,1, 7 '^P '^' "'^ '""'^ '" 'he inhabitants. Pish V n e E Tor™/'™'""'" '""'" "' ">« P--"' "-! >™en the European ha^ diminished their number hv h;. mechamcal contrivances, checked their hbcr y by ht ^ ..fical waterfalls, and perhaps frightened them awa' ^J 1 oinieu s.ick as they swam fearlessly bv ofTwrrr """ *■" '^"'"^"'"^ ""-" mswere •Key. Masa. Hist. Coll., Vol. I, p. 833. ch they had > their wig- r sixty miles , spears and sea, and in lout much leir canoes, lets stoutly among the 5 of splash- erpowered re thrown ed with a V variety, nts. Fish sent time, 5er by his i)y his ar- away by e-wheels. hem, by i»g them ses were ight and iratively .J < H < -ripm'1ll«limiiaMTifM"r--mitfnT--"lV'- mm. ^rl^^^i^^^' ■'■*'- • .J '/ ' 3 J,r •«( \''r b. i'y. a ''>'/ < H 2 k l/ 1 r u 1 ' I i OF CONNECTICUT. 9 heavy and strong, constructed of the trunks of large trees. In building the latter, the trees were felled, the branches cut off, and the excavation accomplished, chiefly by fire • shells and stone hatchets being also used, but simply to cut, or rather scrape and knock away, the charred portions of the wood. In this rude method they finished, with considerable neatness, canoes of forty or fifty feet in length, and capable of carrying twenty men.* Winthrop says that they sometimes made those which would carry sixty or eighty men ; but, if this was ever done, it could not have been often ; because the trees in New England seldom grew to so large a size as such a canoe would demand ; and because the Indians could not shape and move such heavy masses of timber without the greatest difficulty. ^ CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS. The clothing of the Indians was composed of skins, cured so as to be soft and pliable, and sometimes orna- mented with paint and with beads manufactured from shells. Occasionally they decked themselves in mantles, made of feathers overlapping each other as on the back of the fowl, and presenting an appearance of fantastic gayety which, no doubt, prodigiously delighted the wearers. The dress of the women consisted usually of two arti- cles : a leather shirt, or under garment, ornamented with fringe ; and a skirt of the same material, fastened round the waist with a belt and reaching nearly to the feet. A spendthrift husband would sometimes sell his wife's pet- • Oookin's Hi.,. Coll. of ,h. Indians in New England. Maa.. Hist. Coll. Vol. I, p. 153, 10 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ticoat, or gamble it away ; but custom would not allow him to seize upon the shirt, and the woman always held stoutly on to it until she was provided with another.* Their hair they dressed in a thick heavy plait which fell down upon the neck ; and they sometimes ornamented their heads with bands of wampum or with a small cap.f The men went bare-headed, with their hair fantasti- cally trimmed, each according to his own fancy. One warrior would have it shaved on one side of the head and long on the other. Another might be seen with his scalp completely bare, except a strip two or three inches in width running from the forehead over to the nape of the neck. This was kept short, and so thoroughly stiffened with paint and bear's grease as to stand up straight, after the fashion of a cock's comb, or the crest of a warrior's helmet. The legs were covered with leggins of dressed deer-skin, and the lower part of the body was protected by the breech-cloth, usually called by the early settlers, Indian breeches. Moccasins, that is, light shoes of soft dressed leather, were common to both sexes ; and, like other portions of the attire, were many times tastefully ornamented with embroidery of wampum. The men often dispensed with their leggins, especially in summer ; while in winter they protected themselves against the bleak air by adding to their garments a mantle of skins. The male children ran about until they were ten or twelve years old in a state of nature ; the girls were pro- • Key. Masa. Hist. Coll., Vol. 111, pp. 225—234. t (yCallaghan'a Hist, of N«w NetheriandB, Vol. I, p. 63 «.. not allow vays held another.* vhich fell namented a small fantasti- ;y. One head and his scalp nches in )e of the stiffened ^ht, after warrior's r dressed jrotected settlers, ! of soft and, like astefully 'he men ummer ; in St the )f skins. ! ten or '^ere pro- Or CONNECTICDT. 11 vided with an apron, though of very economical dimen- sions.* ^ Like our British ancestors, and some other very bar- barous nations, the Indians were much in the habit of pamtmg themselves with various colors. The women were most given to this custom, and used the paint as an ornament ; while the men seldom applied it, except when they went to war and wished to appear very terrible in the sight of their enemies.f Sachems and great men had caps and aprons heavily wrought with different colored beads. Belts were also worn of the same material, some of which contained so great a quantity of wampum as to be valued by the English colonists at eight and ten pounds sterling. These wampum beads formed the currency as well as the ornaments of the Indians ; were used in their trade and in paying their tributes; and were manufactured into belts to be given as pledges in au national dealings with other tribes. They were of two kinds, the black and white : the former were made out of mussel shells : the latter from the inside of the conch shell. Both sorts were carved and perforated with no better implements than sharp stones ; yet were they shaped and finished with a great deal of neatness and delicacy. Small quantities of wam- pum have occasionally been found ; and a few strings of It are preserved in the rooms of the Connecticut Historical Society at Hartford. The material of the white must nave been more common or more easily worked than that • Key. Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. Ill, p. 225. t Gookin. Moss. Hist. Coll., Vol. I, p. 153. 13 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS HOUSES AND FURNITURE. solelnri '"'■ "■' '"*™^ "PP*"^'' ''^'^""'ly rude ,o sc bed them to their friends at hom„ •; . jn. «verv ^d th, . . T"^ '"' ''•'"^ "'="'« "f "alted bough., and the roof thatched with reeds and rushes.t Gook' however, wnting in I674, speaks of them as bein gfrom twenty to forty, and even one hundred feet in Ien2 and m he latter case, thirty fee, in breadth. H sfys also' ofLn sepln .r"'. "'■■ ™' "'^'' "aving himself wa m 111 I '7' "" •"""" '^^'"'y •" 'heir being as The Indians had advanced far enough in luxury to u.p bedstead, which they n.ade of light frLeCkXu a ^1 Deddnig. The remainder of their household furniture was sufficiently simple ; consisting, for the most m f ~ dishes for the holding o'r' prepaLroHood Theie vvere wooden bowls, dug out of the knots of pep- • Key. Maw. Hist. Coll., Vol. III. p. 231 t New England's Plantation. Mass. Hiat.'coll.. Vol. I. p ,23 i Gookm. MaB3. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. ir,0. or CONNECTICUT. 13 pe^ge or other hard trees ; huge wooden spoons, of a size • sufficient to put to shame the puny silver ones which have succeeded them; baskets made of woodsplints rushes or long grass ; pails ingeniously constructed of birch bark, and pots made of baked earth and shaped like the larger half of an egg. In the Historical Rooms at Hartford are preserved two or three stone bowls, or mor- tars, found at Farmington ; and at Norwich I have seen two bowls carved from pepperage knots, each holding about three pints, and said to have been once the prop- erty of the great Uncas * The pails above mentioned had handles by which they could be carried ; and the bark of which they were made was fitted so nicely that these primitive vessels were capable of holding water The baskets varied in size from a pint up to four bushels They were neatly finished, and were often painted with the images of flowers, birds, fishes and beasts. The mats and baskets were made by the women; the pots dishes and spoons, and probably the stone vessels, by the men.f FOOD The most famous dish of the Indians was succotash, a mixture of corn and beans, which they boiled in their earthen pots, and sometimes seasoned with fish, either • These, with a curious staff, also said to have belonged to the old sach- i descended for a long time in the Uncas family, and were finally given, by a Mohegan squaw, to Mrs. J. B. Goddard. who resides next to the Mohegan cemetery, and in whose possession I saw them. One of the bowls is circular handles like the heads of dogs facing each other, t Gookin. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I, p. 151. 14 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS fresh or dried. In dressing a fish or an animal they sel- dom gave themselves the trouble of taking out the bones or entrails : in fact, like all savages, they were very little solicitous about the cleanliness of their food, and were more apt to be anxious concerning its quantity than its quality. Still, they sometimes attempted to render their succotash more savory, by mixing in ground nuts and artichokes, and thickening the mess with flour made by reducing walnuts, chestnuts and acorns to a powder. They also made cakes of Indian corn meal, wrapping them in leavres, and roasting them in the ashes. Straw- berries, blackberries and whortleberries were extremely abundant ; and those who lived on the sea-shore still fur- ther furnished their tables with all kinds of shell-fish, sometimes fresh, and sometimes dried.* PLACES OF RESIDENCE. Although the Indians tried to make themselves thus comfortable in their houses, they were by no means fixed to them, but often wandered from one place to another. In summer, as I have already mentioned, they sometimes removed a distance of many miles to their hunting grounds. In winter they often left the exposed sea-coast, or the banks of the rivers, and retreated into some wooded and sheltered valley, where they could, at once, be pro- tected from the winds, and plentifully supplied with fire- wood. If an enemy approached, they fled to their forts, or took refuge in some swamp or thicket. If one of the family died, they sometimes deserted the house in which • Gookin, p. 150. Key. Maen. Hist. Coll , Vol. Ill, p. 208. OF CONNECTICUT. 15 the death had occurred, though, whether to avoid infec- tion, or to fly from the remembrance of the loss, is un- certain. Thus they lived a wandering and unsettled life, thinking chiefly of the pleasures and troubles of the present, and bestowing but little anxiety on the future.* A part of the population, especially among the larger and more warlike tribes, seems always to have inhabited the fortified villages. These were almost invariably situated on some prominent hill, which would be easy of defense, and would command an extensive prospect by which the approach of an enemy might be perceived. Ihe ground occupied by a village varied from a very small space up to two or three acres. The houses were closely packed together, but an open place was left in the center, which was used for amusements, for ceremonies, for idling, and for the transaction of public business. The whole village was surrounded by a fortification, made of the trunks of young trees, firmly planted in the earth, and forming a close fence or palisade ten or twelve feet high. Where the entrance was left, the two ends of the fence overlapped each other, and made a narrow passage which was closed at night by being lulled up with brush- wood.f Here, in these fortresses, lived the grand sachems of the tribes ; here the great councils were held which decided the business of the nation ; here Kiehtan was honored and Hobbamocko was pacified by frantic dances ; and here the war parties gathered themselves together, and sang, and boasted, and prepared to go forth to battle. • Key. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, p. 213. t P. Vincent's Peouot War. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 38, 39. 4* 16 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS i AMUSEMENTS. The dances performed by the Indians were of various kinds : some were merely for amusement ; others were ceremonial ; others in celebration of some important event. They danced in the public square above mentioned, or in their large wigwams, or on the green sward without the walls of their fortresses. The most popular of their dances affords a striking illustration of that improvidence and love of excitement which prevails so strongly in the character of uncivilized man. To perform it they assem- bled in one of their largest wigwams, and stood or sat in a circle, so as to leave ah open space in the center. All being ready, one of the company entered the circle anc" commenced the game. Dancing alone, he flourished some valuable article in his hands until one of the bystanders came forward an.? begged for ;t, saying, " I beseech you." The dancer immediaitl- gave it to him ; then took up some other article, and so continued his performance, until he was thoroughly fatigued, or had danced himself out of all his property. Another now supplied his place, and in this merry and heedless style ^ach, in turn, divested himself of his worldly goods, going away at the end with whatever he had been able to beg from others. With bits of rushes the Indians played a game resem- bling cards; and they al.- made use of rude dice, con- sisting of pebbles, or other small objects, painted so as to render the different sides distinguishable. On these games, and on that of football, they sometimes staked and lost their whole property ; and, if unmarried, they were or CONNKCTICUT. ir even known to hazard their own persons, and thus, if chance turned against them, reduce themselves to slavery. In such cases the same results followed as among civilized gamesters ; for the unfortunate player became melancholy, dispirited, and ready to put an end to his sorrows by self' murder.* THE PAMILT. The Indians treated their children with affection and extreme indulgence, never beating them when they did wr.-ng, but reasoning with, and endeavoring to persuade them into what was right. Such a system of govern- ment produced its natural effects; and parental authority among the Indians was little better than a name.f A distinction, however, was doubtless made between the boys and the girls ; for to be in subjection was considered the province of the latter, while every encouragement was given to the bold and independent spirit of the for- mer. The women Avere an inferior race, whose proper business it was to plant and gather the crops, to erect the wigwams, to cut and haul firewood, to prepare food and to carry burdens, COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. When an Indian youth wished to obtain a girl, whom he fancied, in marriage, he made her presents of orna- ments wrought in wampum, and, if she accepted them, it * Key. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, pp. 234, 235. Gookin. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vo!. I, p. 153. t Key. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol, HI, p. 211. " This extreme affection, to- gether wilh want of learning, makes their children saucy, bold And undutiful." mmt 18 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS was considered as a pledge of betrothal. The consent of the sachem was then obtained; and he having joined their hands together, they were looked upon as husband and wife. In general, the husband seems to have obtained his wife of her parents, by making them a present of from nve to ten fathoms of wampum.* The number of wiv was not limited by public opin- ion; yet a man seldom had more than one at a time unless he was a sachem, or a person of wealth. Custom allowed either party to put an end to the connection if the other was unfaithful ; and separations sometimes took place for other causes than adultery. Occasionally it hap- pened that a woman, to escape from a husband whom she disliked, would run away, and take refuge with the ene- mies of her tribe, among whom she was always sure of a welcome. Yet, notwithstanding this laxity of the mar- riage bond, Roger Williams informs us that he was ac- quainted with couples who had lived together for twenty, thnrty, forty and fifty years. f MORALS AND CHARACTER. As may be inferred from what has just been narrated, unfaithfulness m marriage, among the Indians, was looked upon as a crime. The husband usually punished his guilty wife before witnesses with blows and wounds • and. If he even inflicted death by his violence, custom would not allow any one to interfere.^ As for ordinary • Trum. Vol. I, p. 38. t Key. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. III. p. 231. Young's Chronicles of Plymouth, p. 364. t Key. Mass. Hi.ct. Coll., p. 230. Winslow's Relation in ( met or CONNECTICUT. 19 n licentiousness, we have the testimony of most of the early writers of New England, that it was almost entirely un- restrained, and hardly considered a shame. This, how- ever, agrees so little with what is now ascertained ' to be the character of the Indian race, that we must make great allowance for the strong expressions of these puritan writers, and for their deep abhorrence of even the slightest deviation from the path of virtue. It is certain that the Indians in those early days were not licentious as the na- tives of the South Sea Islands are ; and it is very possible that, in this respect, they would compare not unfavorably even with the civilized and christianized race which has succeeded them. Robberies, the Indians seldom committed; and murder for the sake of robbery was very rare indeed. They often stole, however ; and, by their daily practice, showed that they had little idea of the beauty and value of truth.* Revengeful by nature, custom had made vengeance with them a matter of duty and honor. Impatient of bodily labor and indisposed to thought, they naturally turned for pleasure lo those coarse gratifications of the senses which were within their reach. They were indolent when not strongly incited to exertion ; they were gluttonous when supplied with an abundance of food ; and they became intemperate as soon as the means of intemperance were placed within their reach. These characteristics they possessed in common with all races of men whose natures have not been refined by civilization, nor restrained and elevated by religion. Their virtues were, in like manner, • " Lying, stealing, idleness and uncleanness. the Indiana' epidemical Bine.- —Letter of Soger Williams to Governor Winthrop. 20 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS the products of the state of society in which they lived They were grateful for favors, hospitable both to straii^ gers and friends, and disposed to share with each other m abundance and good fortune. SICKNESS, MOURNING AND BURIAL. The diseases of the Indians were few but severe in heir nature, and, for want of proper treatment, very apt to be fatal. They consisted of quinsies, pleurisies, rheu- matisms, quick consumptions, and such others as would naturally be produced by their exposures and hardships, and by their irregular mode of life, now suffering with hunger, and now stuffing themselves to repletion. Tooth- ache seems to have been common j and Roger Williams records the ludicrous fact that, while they could endure every other pain with fortitude, this was too much for their resolution, and would make them cry and groan after a most piteous fashion. For curatives they sometimes used sweating, and sometimes purged the system with herbs which thev knew how to select for that purpose. One mode of produ- cing perspiration was to stand, closely wrapped up, over a hole in the earth containing a heated stone. Aiiother was to remain an hour or more in a little cabin, about eight feet over, which had been strongly heated. These sweating huts were always on the banks of some river or pond, so that, wlien the patient had perspired sufficiently, he could finish the prescription by rushing out suddenly od plungmg into the water.* • Key. MaBi. IIi«t. Coll., Vol. HI, p. 236. OF CONNECTICUT. 21 But there was another mode of treatment, which, as it depended upon supernatural means, was universally re- garded as vastly more efficacious. The practitioners on this system were a set of men called powioows, who acted the part in the community of doctors of medicine, magi- cians and priests. Before the powwow would commence his incantations he required a present ; and it is probable, that, according to th3 value of this, he proportioned the length and earnestness of his exercises. Having received what he considered a suitable gift, he attired himself so as to resemble a wild beast or some nondescript monster, and entering the presence of the sick man, commenced invoking the deities. He began, at first, in a low tone, accompanying his song with strange, extravagant and often ludicrous gestures. As he went on, his motions became violent and frantic, and his voice grew louder and louder, until it ended in furious howls and shouts. Now and then the sick man uttered a word to show his concur- rence in the petition; and occasionally, too, his voice was heard joining in the song. When the powwow had exhausted himself, or thought that he had worked out the value of his present, he breatiied a few times in the face of the patient and took his leave. The success of this extraordinary mode of treatttj-^nt was fully propor- tioned to its nature ; and the Indians recovered or died under it, according as their constitutions or the disease proved to be most powerful. After the death of an individual, the relatives rcmnined at home a few days, receiving the consolatory visits of their friends, who came into the wigwam of the bereaved family, and stroking the mourners softly on the cheek or 22 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS head, said to them, « Be of good cheer." Some wise and grave man, of respctability in the tribe, commonly had the office of conducting the ceremonies of the funeral Havmg adorned the neck and arms of the corpse with such ornaments as the relatives could afford, he next swathed it in a covering of mats and skins. With their rude wooden spades they dug a shallow grave ; and, having covered the bottom with sticks, they bore the deceased thither and laid him in his resting place. They placed him, sometimes in a sitting, sometimes in a reclining posture ; and by his side they laid implements of war and hunting, and dishes of food, for the use of the disembodied spirit. During this ceremony, ihe relatives, with their faces painted black in token of mourning, stood by the grave. When it was finished they sat down around the body of their departed brother and wept. Tears flowed down the cheeks, even of men and warriors, and the wo- men exhibited their grief by doleful howls and shrieks. After some lime the grave was filled with earth ; upon which they broke forth into renewed lamentations, as being now completely separated from the object of their love. Such, according to the descriptions which have been left us, appears to have been an Indian burial. Sometimes a mat and dish which the deceased person had need were laid on the grave, and one of his garments w.;-^ hung on the branch of a neighboring tree. There they remained, unt.iuched by friends or enemies, the sport of winds and storms, until decay had mingled them with the dust. No Indian would meddle u^ith them, for they were consecrated to the use of the dead, and if they should bo taken away, the departed spirit might I I OF CONNECTICUT. e wise and ntionly had le funeral, orpse with , he next tVith their id, having ! deceased ley placed reclining, f war and embodied nth their )d by the ound the rs flowed I the wo- [ shrieks, h; upon tions, as of their ch have al. i person :arments There ies, the id them lem, for and, if might 23 be compelled to go naked and hungry in the other world.* But the funeral ceremonies of the Indians were not always alike ; and they sometimes differed, in various particulars, from those which I have just described. When a person of rank died, large sacrifices of property were often made, either as a solemn memento for the deceased, or to appease the anger of God, who was sup- posed to have sent the calamity. Thus, on the death of a son of Canonicus, grand-sachem of the Narragansetts, the bereaved father set fire to his palace and consumed it with all its furniture and goods.f RELIGION. Few portions, if any, of the human race are without some system of religion ; yet, in barbarous countries, these systems are almost always extremely crude and indefinite. Thus, although the religious dogmas of the aborigines of New England were sufficiently numerous, the accounts which have reached us of them are so various and even conflicting, that it is difficult to compile from them a satisfactory summary. It is certain, however, that they believed in one great and invisible deity, who was va- riously known, in difl-erent tribes, by the names of Kiehtan,t Woonand and Cautantowit. He lived far away to the southwest, and concerned himself little with the affairs of men in this life. His nature was benevolent, • Key. MasB. Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, p. 237. t The nbove section ia compiled chiefly from Roger Willinm»* Key and from descriptions of Indian graves which have been opened in varioua parts of Connecticut. t Winalow'a RclaUon, in Young's Chronicles of Plymouth, p. 355. 6 S4 HISTOM or THE INDIANS fl first obtained their corn and beans. But, as they feared h.m not, he reeeived little of their veneration; and th"r d men to Id the English colonist, that the wor'shipo the good Kiehtan had declined among them, even within their remembrance. >v"nm SDi^!? "^f T'"^ """^ ""^''' '» Hobbamoeko,* the many daZ '"'''"''' ''" '"''^'^^'^ «''-' veneration: sacrmces offered to appease his wrath. But there was likewise a race of inferior deities who srrd^':^^^^^r''---'"-o^-:us;:;! Williams t^nU^f t::^— ;« " '^•"^^^ .he south, a god of Z a :\"o? /tTf; " '1 1 .He house, a god of women,' a„f a .I 'o'^/cj:! L^. ^h" ::'e:rv::.t-::::,:«":i--". oDject 01 sacrifice and adoration Rrxror Wiir- disputed with some Narragansetts ab!uf ih "' """' Yotaanit, their god of firf T„ h """""^ °^ plied • " Wh„, I . ^'^ arguments they re- vhiity^ T" " """'""^ """ ""■' fi'" - '-. a di- d^lgofh nirVr "'r ■=•'"' ^""'^' i.-cs„sfro„ / g hunger , if a single spark falls into the dry wood .. . 4« i j » . ii nM « l iii ini;«i i n i : ji "• But, although the Indians believed in, and worshined VIS blc form. Smgular stones, bearing a faint resemblance to the human head and bust, have indeed been found and have sometmres been designated as Indian god . TW are however, evidently the productions ofLture and as they were not shaped by the hand of man the're" J mams not even the presumption that they wer^ ever the objects of his worship. When the Indians were questioned as to their creation -me of the inland tribes easily disposed of the sulTcbv f :Sr '"7 - V^-Oed rrom the inhaCt 01 tne seacoast. As to when or how the inhabitants of the seacoast came into being they pretended no t av Ano her story was, that two young squaws C r ole wadu,g or sw,mmn.g i„ ,he sea: the foam touched their bodies and they became pregnant: one brought forth a boy and the other a girl : .he two women the^ died and .he,r ehddren became the nrogenitors of the hun,ZrJet Roger W, hams says that the Narragansetts would allow . e er„ .hatGod made all things; but stUl insisted that tlH, sk,es, and earth, and people of England, were and earth'" '^"^'f «<"^' -""« 'hey, wuh'.he,; sj and earth, were made by their own gods. They also told htm that Cautantowit, the great god of the southwest, made a man and woman of stone; but, not liking them. • Key. Ma™. III,,. Coll., Vol. Ill, pp. aae-sas t Gookin'. Hi,,. Coll. M.M. Hi«. Coll., Vol. I, p. !«. 26 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS he broke them in pieces, and made another pair, of wood, from whom all human bemgs were descended. If the -Indians were favored with any good fortune, they acknowledged it as coming from the deity. If any ca- lamity or accident overtook them, although no more than a common fall, they were accustomed to observe that God was angry with them. If a man even had a dream which seemed to portend misfortune, he would rise in the dark- ness and pray that the threatened calamity might be averted. Williams relates that an Indian child having died during the night, its father, on discovering his loss at daybreak, called up the family. All began to weep and lament, while the bereaved parent exclaimed with many tears, «0 God, thou hast taken away my child Thou art angry with me. O turn away thy wrath and sf re the rest of my children."* On another occasion the same author, while gazing With unavailing pity upon a young Indian who was dying of a wound, observed that in his agonies he often called upon Muckachuckwand, the god of children. The na- tives who stood round informed him that, many years before, Muckachuckwand had appeared to the young man m a dream and told him to call upon him for help when he was in distress. Thus the poor Indian, in his bereave- ments and his dying hour, called for mercy and assistance to those gods in whom he had been taught to believe. They held that the soul existed after death, and that he spirits o. the good would go to the house of Kiehtan, far away ni the warm regions of the southwest. There • Key. Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. Ill, pp. 209. 226. OP CONNECTICUT. 27 they would be delivered from all sorrow and preserved from all misfortune ; and they would enjoy pleasures sim- ilar to those which are to be met with here, only in exhaustless abundance, and in complete perfection. The wicked, too, would go to the door of Kiehtan and knock for admittance ; but, upon his telling them to go away, they would be obliged to wander abroad forever in a state of horror and restless discontent. The Indians placed their heaven in the southwest, because the wind from that quarter is the warmest and pleasantest that blows in this climate, and usually brings fair weather in its train.* The soul was called by the Narragansetts cowwewonck, a word derived from sleep: "because," said they, "it works and continues in motion while the body sleeps." They had also another name for it, signifying " a clear sight or discernment."! All over New England, and, indeed, throughout all the region covered by the United States and Canada, existed that class of priesthood whom I have already mentioned, the poiowows. The individuals who composed this pro- fession were usually devoted to it from childhood, and were tried by painful ceremonies, by fasting and by want of sleep. Their object in these austerities was to attain to a converse with the gods ; yet it was not every one, they imagined, who made this attempt, that succeeded ; and, of those who did succeed, some were far inferior in influence and familiarity with supernatural beings to others. To confirm the idea of their inspiration, the • Key. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. Chronicles of Plymouth, p. 356. t Key, p. 228. III. Winslow's Relation in Young's 28 HISTORr OF THE INDIANS powwows seem to have practiced some of the arts of jug- gling or natural magic. A number of the tricks which they thus performed were so wonderful and seemingly- unaccountable, that many of the English colonists verily believed them to be accomplished by the special assist- ance of Satan. But, more than this, the powwows pre- tended to fall into trances, to be favored with visions which foretold future events, and to behold fearful and mysterious apparitions of the deity.* It is probable that these men deliberately imposed many times upon the credulity of their countrymen ; but it is also probable that they often believed themselves to be seized and impelled by the irresistable force of some super- natural impulse. It is unquestionable that, under the in- fluence of super^^tition, the human mind may work itself, by its own efforts, into such a degree of excitement, as to dethrone reason for a time and wrest from it its power over the body. The actor, in such a case, will foam at the mouth, fall writhing and struggling on the ground, and even remain for a time in complete insensibility to ex- ternal objects. The howling dervishes of Turkey the pagan priests of the South Sea Islands, and the religioi- enthusiasts who have sometimes appeared in the Christian world, are all examples of this fact, and may be com- pared with the Indian powwows of Connecticut On occasion of any great public calamities, such as siccness and drouth, war and famine, the Indians per- formed religious dances to appease the anger of their gods. Ihey also made use of the same ceremonies to Vclmt"^,?"^';''""''^"'''''-^''^- ^^y- Mass. Hist. Coll.. p 357 ' '• '• "^""^"'^ ^^^''*^''"' Y"-«'« Chronicles of PlymouiK --^i^fc'-^swswegy^'-'W^ Hw n w w . ;-' i i' iii qWa p w ip! i«il l! »i OF CONNECTICUT. 29 testify their gratitude for any unusual good fortune, such as a successful hunt, or an abundant harvest. Building large fires in the center of their wigwams, or, still oftener, in the open air, they danced round them in a circle, with wild and frantic gestures. They accompanied their mo- tions with loud songs and dissonant howls, shaking, at the same time, their rattles of shells, and thumping heavily on their sullen drums. The dance was led by the powwows, fantastically painted, and dressed in skins so as to resemble bears, wolves, and other savage beasts. Around the performers was gathered a vast crowd of men, women and children, collected from the whole neighbor- ing country, all gazing with deep interest upon the frantic ceremonies. The powwows at intervals continued the dance alone, varying it with furious starts and invoca- tions, while the dense crowd responded with groans and dolorous shouts. At these times they brought their furs, their wampum, and, it was told, even their children, and throwing them upon the fire, sacrificed them to Hobba- mocko, the author of evil. On the green meadows and ni the leafy forests, these wild assemblages might then be seen, where now, perhaps, rises the spire of the village church, or is-heard the lowing of cattle, or the hum and clatter of machinery. • SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS. According to Cotton Mather, society among the abo- rigines was divided into three classes. The highest was that of the " nobles," comprehending all those who were descended of the blood-royal, those who were invested with authority by the sachem, and those whose families 30 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS had been considered noble from time immemorial. Next to these came the "yeomen," or sannops, who formed the mass of the community, possessed a right in the lands of the tribe, and might claim the privilege of attending the sachem m his excursions. The third class consisted of strangers and descendants of foreigners, whom Mather is pleased to distinguish by the old English title of "vil- lains," or serfs. They had no property in the land ; they could not attend on the chief, except by permission ; and they were m some degree subject to the sannops, or ordinary citizens.* GOVERNMENT. The government was vested in a head or chief, called sachem, and in a body of men who acted the part of ad- visers and councillors. It is quite certain that the sachem- ship was not elective, nor to be attained merely by superior talenvs and courage.f On the contrary, it was entirely hereditary, descending regularly from father to son, and devolving. If male heirs were wanting, upon the females. So .trxt was this reverence to birth, that it was demanded that the mother should always be noble: for, said the Indians If the mother is noble the son will be at least half noble; but, if the mother is ignoble, the son may not have a drop of noble blood in him. The point of this reasoning; is easily perceived ; and w^ are at liberty to consider it as either a severe commentary on the faith- lessness of Indian wives, or a curious instance of the • Magnalia Book, Vol. VI, Chap. VI, Sec. 1. JJ.'^^''^"''"""'" " '"'"""' ""•* "°* by choice."- Tr.„,7o.',i?«. I T M< w I ■ijw i!i(j (Mii ^'i» "' '' ' i'wpj p ji^ mmiimiff^M'Mri^ mmm I I or CONNECTICUT. g| aeutene^ of Indian deductions, or aproof of the extremely „7^,„ custom, founded on the same course of reasonmg, was prevalent among the Iroquois, among he Indians of the Antilles, and probably among most of he abor^ines of America. I, must be observed that the sachemship, among the tribes of New England was of ™ su^cted to usurpation although it seldom', ireC;:^^^^ out ol the possession of one family. But although the sachem inherited his dignity by hereditary right, the authority which accompanied thai abilities. If he was brave, eloquent and cunning he might exercise a sway approaching to the despodc bul lor command, his dignity was despised and his orders in differently obeyed. Yet, however -reat h , Z« might be, he was usually c'a^ful not .: v olat .heir;: wishes of his ..ople; and seldom t^nsacted nj i"" —irofLvzrrn-r-sr publicly discussed, and the different leaders some ime chi^,» u ''"'•"P"' '^'"'"'" ^«^ » -='^» of inferior "nTbU" •' " J' P"""""' "='« 'he same wi.h ,' e nobles" mentioned by Cotton Mather. Each of th se petty chieftians would collect round him a band of follow ers as numerous as his character for abilities and / would enable him to draw together' ^twrS 32 HISTOBY OF THE INDIANS c aim to their services, however, and wa. obliged to make himself popular with ,hei„, and keep them in good hu! ^irriv'a,:' """" ""^^'^ """ ='"" ^"^^-^ '"--'-^ - Punishments were always inflicted by the sachem in person, except in cases where the delinquent was livine at too great a distance. He then confided the business to one of his councilors, and delivered him his own knife or tomahawk ,„ serve both as the warrant for the execution, and the instrument for inflicting it. If „„« of ,he tribe had been killed by another, the sachem caused the mur derer to be seized, and either knocked out his brai„ror .tabbed him to the heart. If a thief was detected, h a secLrr ' """" "P"'"™'' '""- "- --h^ni; a third he had his nostrils slit, so that all men might know his character and guard against him. Besides the honor and authority with which the sa- chems oflice invested him, he was entitled by it to de- Wm thH ,'7"'^"l' ' ""•' °^ '"'''"''■ They carried oZi /T " "^ •'•"'' """ ""<' •"««'^; ""d very ■nth ^u "'''""'' ""' °^ ^f'« 'hey had obtainj m fishing and hunting. In this way the cabin of a pow- f. od fu"'l T "'™"^ '"PP"^'' ^"h abundance of food, and his beds or couches were well furnished with When.r . ' ""''"' '''''^- ■"»''- -d beaver. When the sachem saw any of his people coming to him fl ng gift in token of gratitude, thanked him for what he had brought, and gave utterance to many complimentary expressions. To the sachem were given the spoUs taken'n iii i)i| >i wl) i .!iH)i i iH g| /l)H 11 ( 11 ( 1 (1 J!.i!iij'ipy OP CONNECTICUT. QO war, and especially the women and regal ornaments of any conquered chieftain. All the watefs, too,rrd„. mm,o„s were his ; and, in consequence of this prerogative he shore, and the skin of every wolf and deer that took to the water and was there despatched by the hnnters But, ,n return for the support thus furnished him by h" people he was bound to exercise an unlimited hospitalkv towards travellers and strangers, and take the wh I charge^of supporting ambassadors who came from othe: WAR ..^1^ "» "noi^ili^ed men, the Indians were fond of war and thought u the most desirable and glorious of mZ man occupat.ons. They carried it on almost incess ntly some,™es by general battles, but more often in smrex': d.t.ons conducted with secrecy and cunning. Th y W various ceremonies connected with it, both on U com me-e-nt, on occasion of any great Success, Id a .rj final concl„s,o„ of hos.m.ies. No distinct account, how ever, ,s rema.nmg of these rites; and we can onl^ infl hen nature from detached passages, or from wLt L known of the customs of other tribes A frequent cause of war was the mockery and mutual vuuperafon which passed between the sachems; Tnd no .nsult was so likely to bring it on as for one chief to prl nounce m a contemptuous manner the name of any of his nval's deceased ancestors: for there was a singuL c„ torn among the Indians, that, after a sachem died, his Vd.fp'.is"'"""'-"""-''"'"'"'-^^'- Gookin, Masa. Hiat. Col]., ■*r*'^i**i" !>• Ill 1 1 1 Bfc inar i S4 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS I name was never again mentioned ; whoever committed the offense being first warned of his transgression, and, on a repetition of it, punished. But notwithstanding this and other provocations, a sachem would sometimes say : "What ! shall I hazard the lives of my subjects, them and theirs, to kindle a fire which no man knows how long and how far it may burn, for the barking of a dog ?"* Before commencing hostilities, ambassadors were usually sent to the enemy, to recount the insults and injuries which had been received, and to demand satisfaction. Sometimes, also, a general council was called, to obtain the consent of the nation to the war, or to arrange the plan of the campaign. , Probably the head chief usually led those expeditions in which large numbers were engaged, while the smaller ones were often commanded by some of the sagamores, or inferior chieftains. In the evening, before setting out against the enemy, those who had pledged themselves to be of the war party, performed a dance. Large fires were built, and, in the lurid and fitful light of these, the war- riors, fiercely painted, and grasping their arms, moved in a circle round a painted post. One of them would finally spring forward, brandish his war-club, strike furiously at the post, and go through the motions of killing and scalping it as if it were an enemy. As he performed this exercise, he vaunted the exploits he had formerly achieved, reproached the foe with cowardice, and threatened that he would kill and scalp their young men, and would lead away their women captive to his lodge. When he had finished, another took his place, and thus the vain-gloriom • Key. McM. HiBt. CoU. Vol. Ill, p. 935. OF CONNKCTICUT. dance went on, until all in their turns had boasted of their intended achievements, and exhibited their hatred towards the enemy. On commencing their march, they moved cautiously towards the country of the hostile tribe, concealing them- selves as much as possible in the forests, and using every effort to fall upon their intended victims by surprise. Sometimes they waded up or down the beds of rivers, or stepped from rock to rock, or from one fallen tree to an- other, so as to leave no trace of their progress. Some- times they marched in single file, carefully treading in each other's footsteps, so that whoever discovered their trail might be able to form no judgment of their num- bers. All the arts which had been taught them by savage cunning, or by long experience in such a method of warfare, were put in practice to deceive and take at disadvantage an enemy who was no less cunning and experienced than themselves. If they came upon a hos- tile village by night, they waited in silence around it until near daybreak, when men sleep the soundest ; and then, as the spreading light enabled them to see, they nished forward, with hideous yells, to kill, burn and de- stroy. But the foe, although taken by surprise, was not therefore conquered : perfectly accustomed to such scenes of hidden danger, the sleeping warriors awoke, not to fly, but to grasp their weapons and resist. Thus the assail- ants had often a severe struggle to endure before they could destroy the village, and were sometimes themselves defeated, and driven back in fl'ght to their own country. The battles of the Indians were never very bloqfiy. In the most considerable that is recorded ever to have taken 6 36 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I : «! i place in Connecticut, that between Uncas and Miantinomo, nc more than thirty of the defeated party lost their lives.' In the forest every tree served as a buckler; and the war- rior, standing behind some huge oak or chestnut, launched his missiles with very little danger either to himself or his adversary. In the open country they danced and leaped about to avoid each other's arrows; and here, as well as everywhere, took great pains to protect and carry oflf the wounded. But when a warrior saw that his well- aimed shaft had stretched an enemy on the plain, he grasped his tomahawk, and rushed gallantly forward among the foe, to secure that most glorious of all trophies, the warm and bloody scalp. Some ran to prevent and' others to assist him, and a close and desperate struggle ensued round the body, such as the heroes of Greece and Ilium maintained over the corpse of Patroclus. If the victor succeeded in reaching his fallen foe, he seized him by the hair, gashed open the skin with his flint knife, and, by a single jerk of his teeth, tore the scalp from the head. Then, waving the bloody token aloft, he raised a triumphant yell, and either dashed again upon the enemy, or fled back for shelter to his comrades. The defensive weapons of the Indians were targets made of bark; their offensive ones, bows and arrows, wooden clubs and stone hatchets. At the commence- ment of an exijedition, or immediately before a battle, the leader of the war party often made a long and earnest oration, reviling and ridiculing the er ^my, extolling the courage of his warriors, and inciting them, by their desire of glory, or of revenge for past injuries, to fight bravely and win an unparalleled victory. ,. OP CONNECTICUT. 37 But the Indians had maritime as well as land battles making expeditions, not through the forests only, but along the rivers and on the open sea. Roger Williams once saw a fleet of thirty or forty canoes, filled with war- riors, engaged in desperate battle with another fleet of almost equal size. He has not informed us who the combatants were ; but probably one party consisted of the Narragansetts, of Rhode Island, and the other of their fierce and encroaching enemies, the Pequots of Con- necticut. Prisoners among the Indians underwent, according to circumstances, very different kinds of treatment. Occa- sionally the captive was adopted in place of one of the hostile tribe who had been slain in battle. In the family he filled the same position, whether of son or husband, which had been occupied by the deceased ; and he was treated, in all other respects, like one of the nation; unless that sometimes he was watched, to prevent him from leaving his newly found relations, and returning to to those with whom he was connected by the ties of nature. But, if the captive was not thus adopted, a ter- rible fate awaited him. He was appointed unto death j and his death must be one of lingering and horrible torture. He must endure all the insults which hatred can offer, all the torments which a ferocious ingenuity can inflict, all the agonies which the human frame is able to bear. But the suffering warrior, with the flames shrivelling his skin, and the live coals scorching his flesh, sternly suppressed every sound or look which could be- tray his angiiish, hurled back defiance in the faces of his enemies, and shouted his war-song even while the hand 38 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS * !». 1^ i han .hJ „ ^'""'" '"""^ ^™» " '"°^'= a="™ part omance .r' "."' ''' "' ''"^'' "««• whatever of ■rof the r ;■ "'^ "' "''" "'"'"* "•« character and LANGUAGE. As the natives of New England were all of the Aleon each other ,„ construction, although often very different o!,Ivas1hr'""^''^'T""^ "P™ •heseacoa.t, differed only as the vanous dialects of England differ, and were so much alike that the people of the several t ibes cltld e^.y understand each other.f This author suquL r^ waff ^""""'^ """ '^'^'^ '" 'he Ind a , as he was for many years superintendant of that lar^e por .on of the natives of Massachusetts which ubmS to the government of the colony. Yet, judging r™ such spec,m,ns as we have of the Massa huseUs N^ra ganse . and Pequot languages, I am disposed t' ^^ 1 andth t'inT'rr" "'"'""" "--"-ha. strained, and that .f the Indians could easily understand each other ■t was not so much from a close similarity of languls as from the facility which practice had given them ™ mmiK:a,,„. even where the languages were very d ^een" I will, however, place some of ihese specimens beforeTho i ». OF CONNECTICUT. 39 4* T reader, and allow him to draw his conclusions for himself. The first IS a version of the Lord's Prayer, in the Pequot or Mohegan tongue, which was obtained by Governor baltonstall, of Connecticut, in the year 1721.* " Co shunongone ihe suck cuck dhot. Na naw Hi e coom Shaw ims nuskspe com so wunk. Kuck sudanrnng peamook. Ecook Atootoomonwn ukkee tawti ee ook un- gow. A geescuck mee se nam eyew kee suck askesuck myspui eo honegan. A quon to mi nun namat to omp pa won ganuksh no. Awe ah goon to mi nad macha. Chook quoe a guck, ah greead macon jussuon mattum paw oon ganuck puk kqueaw hus nawn woochet. Match- etook kee kucks sudamong, cumme ehi go wonk, ah koont seek coomsako oh woonk. Mackceme, mackeme Beats " The next specimen is the Lord's Prayer, in the Massa- chusetts language, taken from Eliot's Indian Bible The reader will observe that one of the characters resembles a figure 8 laid on its side. This was adopted by Eliot to represent a sound, apparently a vowel sound, not contained m the English language. "Nooshun kesukqut quttianatamunach ko^wesuonk. Peyaumccutch kukketafcctamoonk, kuttenantamoonk ne n nach ohkdt neane kesukqut. Nummeetsuongash ase- kesukokish assamainnean yeuyeu kesukok. Kah ahquo- • It is preserved in No. 261 of the bound pamphlets in the library of the Con- Tn oTIk r '"'? ""' ''""''"'• ""^ 'f^-'^k-fshowir.g the colloea- tion of the words I give here the English translation. " Father ours above in Heaven. Admired in highest manner be thy name. Like done thy wdl on earth as like in Heaven. Let us be forgiven evil doing, o ours as we would forgive wrong doers to us. Not guide us i..to snare!^ 1^1 Z '" r"'' '""' '"'• '^""^ '''' P''^"^"' '^'"edo.n. thine the -trengtb. thine the greatest glory. Alwaya, always me wish so." 6* 40 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ('^ ■■ 1 nntamattnnean nummatcheseongash, neane rmtchene- nukqueapg nutaquontamounnonog. Ahquc sagkompa^ gunnaunnean en gutchhvuouganit, wehe pohquokwus- stnnean v^utch matchitut. Newutche kutahtaunn ketas- sootamoonk kah mennhkesuonk, kah sohsumoonk rmckeme. Amen. A further proof of the dissimilarity of the words in the Indian languages of New England is furnished by a vo- cabulary m the Appendix ,o Hale's Treatise on American Ethnology.* A list of sixty words in the Massachusetts dialect IS presented, accompanied by their synonymes, as for a. they could be procured, in the languages of the Narragansetts and of the Mohegans of Hudson river. In this list the Narragansett :,..d Massachusetts tongues re- semb.e each other, to some extent, in thirty..4en in- ^ances out of fifty-three ; perfectly in about seven. The Narragansett and Mohegan resemble each other, more or nol'" l^""' '''^"'y/""'^^'"" of fifty-two; perfectly in twentv .1 ^T"""""" """^ '""'"'g^'' have about twenty-three similarities, and also not one instance where he resei^b, „e« ;, „„„p,^,^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^_ tery, with the corresponding words in the Pequot or other Connecticut dialects, may be seen in Article First of the Appendix. By referring to it, the reader will observe that m the instances which it gives, at least, the Pequot bears a nearer resemblance to the Massachusetts and Narragan- the Pequots are supposed to have descended + But, however the Indian languages of this region may ** J"°.!""'°"' "' "" *■"«'«•" Elhi.ologlc.1 SMlew Vel II . .« t The Moh.6.™ of N.„ Y„k, „„. „r c«rjr ■ "■ "°- '•lsii,i^£iiiiiiMMi4&M»'ti*iU&-,»Aiii^&i.'i, OP CONNECTICUT. 41 have differed from each other in particular words, it is unquestionable that they were similar in construction • and we may take it for granted that, whatever general principle or characteristic might be alledged of one, was applicable to all the others. that the Narragansett tongue was eitceedingly copious, and often possessed five or six words to express a single an'".t V'^^^^'S'"': P'-^^Ment Edwards informs us, had all the Enghsh parts of speech ; and was believed by mm to contain as large a proportion of abstract to con- Crete terms as any other language.* The regularity with Which Its verbs were conjugated through dl the W .::i;ai'„i:h:rr"''-""""™' "" "''" '"""" -^^ The Indian languages had one peculiarity, which throws all the boasted powers of combination in he Ger- man into the shade. This was the power of unidng various syllables, of different words, into one new word' which should express the meaning of all the origina terns from which It was compounded. Thus, a Delaware g rl, m playing with a dog, might give utterance to her pleasure or admiration by exclaiming, KuHgatsckis, th.t -. ".hy pi.tty little paw ■ This word would be com- pounded from *, thou or thy; ,cum, pretty, ^Uckgat, paw; and the diminutive schis : so that four distinct and perfect words would be melted into another, equally per- from New York. JaJirnrh'" '''''''"''''''" «f ^^•^ Del«ware,akindred dialect of the negan, it not the same. 4» HISTORY OP THE INDIANS m i feet, which would contain only a part of their sounds, but the whole of their meaning. It was justly observed by Cotton Mather, that these compound words were in a manner, new words. The same author also asserts, that they composed nearly one-half of the Indian languages. It IS surprising that the languages of barbarians should have been so regular in construction, so copious, and, above all, so well adapted to carrying on abstract trains of thought. From the rudeness of their manners and in- stitutions, from their ignorance of the arts and sciences, and from their entire deficiency in a literature, we should naturally conclude that, as the ideas of savage men are few, so their means of expressing them would be limited and imperfect. But the^ direct reverse of this has been testified, concerning the aboriginal languages of America, by every one who has had the curiosity and patience to examine them. " You must not imagine," says the mis- sionary, Heckewelder, in a letter to Du Ponceau, "that the Indian languages are poor." <' It is not easy to find a language," observes the Abbe Clavigero, «so fit for metaphysical subjects, and so abounding in abstract terms, himself^3i»i&«!fei'"ii'i t OF CONNECTICUT. 40 whole ,i .,,, .,^^^ ^__^ ^^_^^^^.^^ ^^^^^ ,he structure -im'itiir^: ^''''' "^^ '"«"' ou»be^.,r REFLECTIONS. aboH;„t:rru:::::fi^t ""''' ''°"*"°" »^ "■« possessed some deast/L T ^? '''" ""="' ^""ilo 'hey sources of comfort T/ "^ character, and some few single trait of ciWlTzato H !. T ""'"""""'' ^-^ « lested, and unvis^'r rEuroZs .m T'"'' """""^ they would now have beetTrr. '"''"" '^>'' as disdainful of lahnr T/ ^ / ' ^ I""""' ^ ^a^'-ko. and, in every wif"' , "^ '"""""S ">»" «"^»i«» firs expoS tie 6ol?r"^''"''^"^'»""«° B'o^k virgin sho: s of LonTl ,td"s„ Tr.^^"''' '"'"^ '"o s.iU have been coverfd ^h' 'r , • It """"'T.^-"* would still have filled the tivlT 'sh^l'.T '^f'^' have been scattered, in exhZ e^ r '"'"'^ ^"" shores. Tracks of wHH f P^fusion, along the now exte^r'he solid tat'"'' "°"" "' '""'«'• "''-« of human fee, !h ° '^ T'"'' "■'"^''«" by thousands out of hltliow^::the^„r' ^--^ gent youth are ^m. J """^^^ "^ '"'e'li- fhe screls Tthe S'caf " 'l" "'"^ "' '^"""'S! heard where J'rJoltV^ST:/' T" "^ or the sweet melorfv „f , ^ "^ machmery, now as the rail';/ pT ■""""' 'he land, which [ wilderness ' ' ^^'"'' ^'"''' '"en be a desolate Two very ditfe^n. pictures are thus presented to .h. """'Ttilltl'i 44 ■ & HI8T0ET or THE INDIANS, ETC. mind, m comparing the ancient and modern situation of Connecticut; and between these pictures, few men, at the present day, will hesitate to prefer the one which is adorned with the lights.. . .: - ;,. of civilization. The spirit of the age is altogether adverse to barbarism, ev^n when bedecked with all the feathers of imagination ; and the sentimental eloquence of Rousseau, and other phi- losophers like him, is no longer sufficient to make men wish themselves savages. Neither in Oonnectiqut, there- lore, nor m any other civilized community, need we expect to hear an outcry of grief at the fact, that a state of society, such as we have described, has been sup- P anted by one such as we now see flourishing around us Our only serious business is to trace the progress of this ex raordmary change, and observe the moral and physical phenomena by which it has been attended As we trace this progress, however, and as we observe these phenomena we may drop a tear over the grave of the race which has perished, and reg.t that'civiliz at on t i at en CHAPTER II. KAMES, K.^„„K3, POSXTXO.S, ... po.IXIC^ HE..XIOKS OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES. Nothing can be more obvious on a httU . • • h,«.n n^ "" ^'^^* improbabilities. Even the largest known estimates, and introduces them into hi. I»^sage was penned in 1633, when the New Enlnd ^.on,s^ had no, yet extended beyond Massachl.. tKe mouth of the Connecticut ; when it was said that durmg seven months in the year, no vessels could e„t«1; • Hiat. ofConn.,Vol. I,p,27. 46 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS on account of the ice and the violence of the stream ; and when the Connecticut, with the Hudson, the Potomac, and other large rivers, were supposed to take their rise together out of some huge lake, or some hideous swamp at the north. Such was the knowledge of the English, at that time, respecting the country ; and very similar, no doubt, was their information concerning the numbers of its inhabitants. Again, we are assured by Trumbull, that so late as 1670, the bowmen of the river tribes were still reckoned at 2,000 ;* and this reckoning, made by nobody knows whom, he evidently introduces as if he considered it a reliable estimate. Yet the term " river tribes" only in- cluded the Podunks, the Windsor and Hartford Indians, and the Wangunks ; the Podunks were never estimated at more than 200 fighting men, and even that estimate is an absurd exaggeration; the Windsor and Hartford Indians were assuredly not more than twice as numerous ; and thus, at the very utmost, our computation will not exceed 600 warriors. Besides, it is absolutely certain, that the aboriginal population of the western part of the State was extremely sparse, and that many portions of it were uninhabited altogether ; and the Pequots, who could not muster more than five or six hundred warriors, were probably nearly as numerous as all the other tribes com- bined. This large estimate of Trumbull, too, is alto- gether inconsistent with the small numbers which the river tribes were really found to possess after the whites were fairly settled among them. Nations do not melt away in a generation without some powerful cause, not • Hist, of Conn., Vol. I, p. 27. '^^hiimM»^-ei.fo>ihii^^-^ OF CONNECTICUT. 47 even nations of savages; and the Indians of the Connec- ticut River were swept off by neither famine, nor pesti- lence, nor war. Trumbull further informs us that the Indians of Hun- tington could muster 300 warriors, and were even still ■ more powerful, until they were wasted by the incursions of the Mohawks * Had this been the case, they would have been little less numerous than the Mohawks them- selves ; and, combined with their brethren lower down the Housatonic, they would have been, in numbers at least, more than a match for them. Who believes, how- ever, that Huntington then supported a larger population of savage and improvident hunters, than it does now of civilized, industrious, and thrifty agriculturists?! In fact, these Indians were not even a tribe ; they were only a fragment of the Paugussetts of Stratford ; they existed without performing any action which has been recorded; and they passed away without leaving behind them so much as a name. Nowhere was the aboriginal population so dense. as along the sea-shore, where fishing afforded a surer and more plentiful supply of food than could be obtained by hunting. It was for this reason that the Narragansetts, of Rhode Island, maintained around their bays and creeks a greater number of souls than was contained by any other spot of the same size in New England. If we find, therefore, that the seacoast was thinly peopled, we may reasonably conclude that the remainder of the country • Hist, of Conn., Vol. I, p. 30. t According to the United States census, the population of Huntington, in 1840, was 1,326; whUe three hundred warriors would demand a population of 1,500. 7 ii 48 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS T f.T" *"'''"' '" '"•'''•'ita,..,. The Ckuinnipiacs extended along the shore from Milford to Madison ; hold- ing the bay of New Haven, and the little rivers which empty into it, as fishing places. Yet, when they sold then: cotintry, in 1638, to Davenport and his associates, they could state the number of men m their tribe at only forty-seven ; thus giving, to this considerable tract, a population of two hundred, or, possibly, two hundred and fif y persons.* A district north of this, measuring ten m,les north and south, and extending a great part «> the way between the Housatonic and the Connecticut rivers was inhabited by a tribe of only ten warriors.f s2 were the insignificant communities among which a hr-e part otthe surface of Connecticut was divided vt LI probably make a liberal estimate when we allow tw v hundred warriors for the whole State, and six or Je„ thou^nd individuals for its entire aboriginal population The seacoast, as I have already mentioned,,..., ,r most thickly peopled, and next to \u,s ^ t ^ n J along the courses of the rivers. Wherever some si el J bay or some natural waterfall produced a good fis , ! place, there a village was usually formed in C Ih f gregated the whole population for many mile around" the inland and seacoast tribes, for their m.Uual ron venience and benefit. The former came down tc be >>'->'::::riz^::,:TL ^"i ""^"' " '""-—pre. .«»„«ft«v »•■"> ■««•*>»#•■' Hiti ^^^^^^^mm^^^mmii^^i^f^^^^t*^^'^'^^'' OF CONNECTICUT. 49 shore to feast on oysters, clams and lobsters ; and the latter visited their iriends in the country to obtain better hunting, or to enjoy the lamprey eels which, in the spring, swarmed up the rivers. A communication of this kind existed between the Indians of Windsor and those of : il- ford ; individuals of each tribe making visits in the terri- tories of the other, and sometimes prolonging their stay for months, or even exchanging their residence altogether. The divisions and connections which existed between the various tribes were extremely loose, so as occasionally to make it difficult for us to distinguish one from another. Some small clans seem to have inhabited the coast from Greenwich to Fairfield, but so feeble and insignificant, that not even their names have been preserved from ob- livion. A larger population, indeed, existed on this shore about the year 1643, at which time the Long Island and Hudson River tribes fled hither to escape from the hos- tile vicinity of the Dutch. That period, however, must not be confounded with the present, when the population of this part of the State was probably very far from being considerable. Farther to the east, where Fairfield now stands, lived a small clan said to have been called the Unkowas.* Unkoway, at all events, was the aboriginal name of the spot on which Fairfield is situated.f There is no longer any doubt that the Paugussetts, who inhabited Stratford, Huntington, and the surround- ing townships, and the Wcpawaugs, who lived opposite to them, on the east bank of the Housatonic, were but one people. We find the names of the same chieftains appended to the native deeds of sale preserved in the • Prw. Stiles' Itinerary. + Col. Rec. Vol. I. «0 HlSTOnY or THE INDUS3 records of both Stratford' and Milford. We find that Ockenuck or Ockenung, chief sachem of Stratford, was the son of Ansantawae or Nunsantaway, sachem of Mil- ford, and that he set his mark with that of his father to the purchase of Derby. Finally, the Paugussetts, it is satd by Trumbull, lived at Derby; and ye. we find the Stratford Indians continually applying the name of Pau- gussetts to themselves, until the whites began to call them the Golden Hill tribe, from their settling on an emmence so called, within the limits of Bridgeport * The territories of this clan stretched fifteen or eighteen miles along the coast, and comprehended nearly the present townships of Monroe, Huntington, Trumbull, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, Orange and Derby t In numbers it seems to have been considerable, and large heaps of shells have been found along the coast, showiL what must have been the natives' favorite and principal food These heaps, however, do not necessarily prove the large population which people often suppose ; for thev were probably the accumulations of centuries, and their foundations may have been laid by some race which came and disappeared before the foot of a Paugussett or Wepawaug ever left its print on these shores. I,, fact eat.ng oysters is not such a marvellous feat, that large piles of oyster shells must, of necessity, indicate a great number of consumers. We must consider, also, th!. a he natives depended little upon agriculture foi a sub! sistence, and as hunting was a less certain and more • For lh« p.„ic„|.„, „,e ,|,e „.„„,j. „f s,„,f„,j J t For p,.„f of ,M., „.„,„ ,^, „,.,.,, ,^|^_ _ r?L.^n «, Ij i (. iui«i«M i i i it i jiij ! \ri iii M» ii \ ■nf^ .'^^- snani wtiiWin. i iMi) pi fti:« i l!i!ipWJWi'J^ OF CONNECTICUT. 63 of arrow heads curiously wrought from flint, of stone heads for war axes, of wampum beads, both black and white, and bowls or little mortars laboriously scooped out of stone. One wonders at the labor which must have been spent upon these articles, especially as he examines the brittle substance of the arrow-points, and the slender shape and neat piercing of the shell-beads. The Indians of Massaco or Simsbury were few in num- ber, and unquestionably formed a portion of the Tunxis. Floating now down the Farmington to the Connecticut we shall find the west bank of this river inhabited by a number of clans, obeying different sachems, and yet ap- parently living in close mutual connection.. The same names may, to a certain extent, be found attached to In- dian deeds in the town records from Windsor to Middle- town, a distance of twenty-five miles. Thus it appears either that one considerable tribe must have occupied the whole country, or that the various clans were closely united by national alliance and personal intermarriages My own opinion inclines to the former hypothesis al- though It is evident that, in later years, the national compact was pretty thoroughly dissolved, and the little sagamores sold land and performed other acts of sove- reignty on their own authority. The Windsor Indians seem to have had their principal seat at Poquonnuc a place on the Farmi.igton River five or six miles abo've Its junction with the Connecticut. The first sachem known to the English t^ms Sehat or Sheat, who died not long after the settlev.ei. of the town, and was snrre.a.^ by his nephew, i\asiHh'y,on.* * Windsor Recordf. 54 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Bat who was this great sachem of all the "river coun- try," to whoso existence we have just adverted ? The early Dutch authors spvak of such an one, called Se- queen ; who was a very powerful chieftain ; who main- tained a desperate war with the Poquots, and who was only defeated and overcome by them after fighting three 'bloody battles. I am inclined to believe that this sachem was the same with that Sequassen, or Sunckquasson, who sold Hartford, and the country west of it, to the English. The reasons for this belief will, I think, be made clearly to appear during the course of the history. Below Hartford, and stretching to a considerable dis- tance south of Middletown, we find a population which, in after times at least, was k.:own as a distinct tribe, under the name of Wangunks. Their chieftain, Sow- heag, was sometimes called, by the English, Sequin; although this was apparently not his real u..me, but only another version of the word sachem or king. When first known to the whites, he resided at Pyquaug, or Wethers- field ;* but afterwards, on account of a quarrel with the settlers, removed to Mattabesett, now Middletown. This circumstance led Trumbull into the mistake of making two persons out of one, by saying that there was a sa- chem at Pyqaug, named Sequin, who was subject to a greater sachem at Mattabesett, named Sowheag.f Thus, • " Soheage, an Indinn sachem of Pyquagg." Col. Rec, Vol. I, p. 19. t Hist, of Conn., Vol. I, p. 27. 1 at one time imagined that Sowheag mi^ht be the same with Sequassen ; but this iilca was dashed by a passage in the'xXXIII Volume of the Mass. Hist. Coll., (p. 161,) where they are expli- citly spoken of as two different persons : the one being called Sasawin orSe- quaseen, sachem of Sicaogg, (Hartford ;) the other Soheage or Sequin, sachem of Matabescck, (Middletown.) i or CONNECTICUT. 55 even the errors of this historian served to give color to his exaggerated suppositions concerning the numbers of the aborigines. Southwest of the principal seats of the Wangunks, a large extent of country was held by a son of Sowheag, named Montowese. I have already mentioned that the able bodied men in his tribe were only ten in number. His mother must have been the daughter and heiress of some deceased sachem, for it was through her that he obtained his land,* Having passed over the whole western part of the State, we now cross the Connecticut, where we shall find, in some portions at least, a more thickly settled population. In the towns of East Windsor and East Hartford lived the Podunks, who were governed, when first known to the English, by two sachems, Waghinacut and Arramament. The Podunks were closely connected with the Indians who lived on the opposite side o^ the river, as may be perceived by examining the native deeds in the early records of Windsor. Thus, when the land between the Scantic and Podunk Rivers was sold, and the deed was signed by Arramament and ten others, among these signers were Sheat and Cogrenr<:"!et, both Indians of Poquonnuc in Windsor, and the former sachem of Poquonnuc.f Haddam and East Haddam, with both banks of the Connecticut for some distance further down, were in- habited by a clan inconsiderable in numbers, but famous on account of its peculiar superstitions. None of the • Records of New Haven Colony, t Windsor Records. ftfft 06 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Other aborigines of Connecticut were so given to powwow- mgs, to sacrifices, and to religious ceremonies. The cause of this peculiarity was remarkable. In the township of East Haddam, at the junction of Moodus and Salmon Rivers and within plain sight of the Connecticut, stands a considerable eminence, now known as Mount Tom Even of late years, strange noises and rumblings are said to have been heard at times in the bowels of this mountain, and slight shocks, as of an earthquake, have been felt through the surrounding country. But in an- cient days, if tradition speaks true, and if the writers of those times are worthy of credit, these shocks and noises were far more violent than now, and were some- times truly wonderful. Chimneys have been untopped • walls have been thrown down ; heavy stones removed from their places ; large fissures opened in the bosom of the earth. The astonished inhabitants have heard ter- rible roarings in the atmosphere. They have heard loud noises following each other in rapid succession, and re- sembling volleys of musketry. They have heard sounds like slow thunder rolling down from the north, and at last closing with a loud report, which shook the houses and every thing in them. Such are the stories which have reached us concerning these noises, and which were evidently believed by those who have left them on record It IS natural to suppose, that at no time were these phe- nomena more common, or more extraordinary, than when the winds sighed heavily through unbroken forests, when ancient trees sometimes fell by their own weight in the lonely woodlands, and when the place was only inhabited by an ignorant and superstitious people, whose senses :,g^aifc3i6ffiaMWMMBfeg^ii'^*^»^ 'm m or CONNECTICUT. *•- 5/ were easily led astray by their imaginations. Mache den^eTH:;:"' T "t™" '° "'"•« '--"--^ aence of Hobbamock ; and here ihe Indians HpM fh«- S W ^ ' P"''«'°"' '^^""^ « worshiping the devil We kuo^v nothing of the size of this clan -and n fac u was probably a mere fragment of th Wa„g„ "ks' valleys of the Connecticut and the Farmington.* Movmg stdl farther down the Connec.fcut, we reach irora the river Connecticut, eastward along the seashorp to a sm^l stream which retains the:, namf tZ^^ to have been not inconsiderable in numbers, by the^r s iU retaining an existence; ye. they never f.rnished I v SanTXli rr ^"'"™^' ^"^ -arkaMer Tolland and Windham counties were sparsely inhabited lecton of tribes, whose principal seats were in the southern townships of this part of Massachusetts The; ;r:rcorr r^thr "'"'• -^ "-» -- Hi ii 58 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Last of all we come to the Pequots ; the most nu- merous, the most warlike, the fiercest and the bravest of all the aboriginal clans of Connecticut. From the Niantic River, on the west, their forts and wigwams extended along the rude and stony hills of New London County to Wecapaug, ten miles east of the Paucatuc River which divides Connecticut from Rhode Island.* They reached back, also, to a considerable distance from the seashore their northernmost community, afterwards known as the' Mohegans, residing on the banks of the Thames ten or twelve miles from the Sound. We are told that sJssacus their last grand-sachem, had twenty-six sagamores under him ; and that the number of warriors, whom he could muster from all his clans, was seven hundred. This esti- mate, compared with the population in the rest of the State, is extremely large ; and, judging from some cir- cumstances in Pequot history, it would appear to be con- siderably exaggerated. Let us examine The territory claimed by the Pequots, as their own peculiar dwelling-place, may be estimated at thirty miles m length by fifteen, to twenty in breadth, or about five hundred square miles. Seven hundred warriors, with one warrior to every five persons, would give a population of three thousand five hundred individuals, or seven to every square mile. Yet the territory of the Quinnipiacs, also ying on the seacoast, had not more than one inhabitant to the square mile; while that of Montowese, which lay no further back than the northern part of the Pequot country, had nearly three square miles to every member • Roger Williams' Letter to Mason. Vol. Ill, p. 161. Rhode Island Historical Collections, m or CONNECTICUT. Of Its population. A comparison of these resnl.. r onr ground, although by no mean, '*'?^'^^"^t« ^^nns su^pecting that the'n Jber oTthe Lr ? ""^ '^^ exaggerated. i'equots have been Further: when Endicott landed m, ,t>o- 1636, ,0 foren fron, them a "reatv L T "°'^''' '" alarmed the wnole coun.^v T ^ submission, he the entire tribe t.Z:';^l:T^ '""? --Sh ^or warriors who made, hi' ^*''" *"™="« "f 'h^ hundred. WheTMls n I.'''""": "" ""'^ '"ree fui expedition, ^e ZuTZlZT':'- "T ^""^^^- •he Pequot territory, from east tote.. ^Zn"''^"' wtth a single wigwam, except the seve ^f ^ ^ ' contamed in Mystic Port Th„ 7 ^ ^ *"'''' -reciany the Jst. mLt\ l':itdVtd "'^.. -^ very sparse population mdicatu.g a -!:rr;h:tLrcr.:nTir^"^^^^^^^ correct, we shai. probabi; ^l^.TlZT:!::^^ T '" f:x hundred warriors R,,. * • 7,/r ' ^^ ^^^^''^ .his statement, tderhi" vho ""n™" "*"• '"'"^- witness, estimates -he n'^l ^^.^ 'f--,-/^- and Wmthrop,who was a cotem o at ttt/s th "' '' only three hundred SfiJi .. ^^'^^^X' states them at perished during he IT'Zt^""^ T "'""""^ ^""^ mained when if wa „Ter I hint """"''' ''''° ""' '«" Pequots a body otlT^M nl^ """^ '=°*^''<' '" ""= warriors. ' ' '"'''''''>'■ ^« '>'"«lred native Je'LeTirth^Mot'^^T r- ^'"^'-'■^' o^'he -hvedon.hitr:pel;r:'i.r::;t: it-- E« vr, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) A // ^ ..V .A.^- .%,^^ /. ^ 1.0 i I.I 1.25 UiK» 12.5 lit 2.2 2.0 U 1 1.6 .^V/ .^:^i Sciences Corporation ^ ^^\ ■ 73 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTM.N.Y MSaO (7U) I7a-4S03 60 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS cient date, and, perhaps, not long before 1600, it is sup- posed that they resided among their relations ; at which time the country from the Housatonic to the western shores of Narragansett Bay was probably inhabited en- tirely by tribes of a single race. There is strong reason to believe that all the Connecticut clans, except the Pe- quots, were only fragments of one great tribe, or con- federacy of tribes, the principal branches of which were the Nehantics and the Narragansetts. The Nehantics of Lyme, for instance, were clearly related to the Nehantics of Rhode Island ; Sequassen, chief of the Parmington and Connecticut River countries, was a connection of the Narragansett sachems ; and the Indians of Windsor, sub- jects of Sequassen, were closely united to the Wepa- waugs of Milford. Thus, various connections might be traced between the Narragansetts and the tribes of west- ern Connecticut, while both united in holding the Pequots in abhorrence, and seldom bore any other relations to them than those of enemies, or of unwilling subjects. It is not likely that the Pequots were driven from the banks of the Hudson by war, since their brethren, the other portions of the Mohegan race, long continued to remain there undisturbed. They probably departed be- cause their country was unable to support so large a population of hunters, just as the ancient Goths and Ger- mans left their overpeopled forests to seek some country where they could find an easier subsistence. Migrating tovvards the east, they perhaps moved along the southern border of Massachusetts until they had crossed the Con. necticut River, when they changed their course to the southward, and dc.cnn,hd upon th« seashore. All tho .. 4<' ^(^^ t^!i OF CONNECTICUT. Af traditos of the Indians on the history of the Pe„„ots agreed ,n asserting that they migrated from the north shortly before the arrival of the English. They maj have been many years on their journey from the Hudson ' and may have settled for some time in the northern p^u of Connectic.,.. Their final irruption, however, mu have been violent and sudden; for one band of the Ne hant.cs was separated from the res. of the tribe, and hi ever stnoe borne the narv.e of Western Nehantio , and^ tamed a d.stmct existence. The rest of the N^hant « were probably driven violently over the Pane t^ whe " wuh zi ""'^ ""''""''' """^ - '-^ "-S with the mrragansetts. The Pequots now found themselves in possession «f a large extent of country well adapted to riTants en ir' The-:r'"'' '™''' ■""""'"^'^ -sunder bV enemies. Their fierce spirit quailed not under this dan- ger, and they maintained their hold on the conquered erritory with a tenacity equal to the boldness with wh ch hey had sei.ed it. They did more: their war-pan^s carried terror and trembling among the numerous C «gu setts on the east, and swept with the resistless foTe of a tornado over the slender tribes which bordered them on the west. The most powerful chieftain among he" ribes, at that time, was the one known to the D ulh by he name, or rather the title, of Sequeen, whom we havl supposed ,0 be Sequassen. With this sachem the pI! quots soon came in collision; and three battles were fought between them before the question „f ..n! was decided. Seqnassen was clpt e y o X' oTn' wa. compelled to submit to the invaders.'and remaird 62 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS m their subject until he was relieved by another race of strangers, more gentle in appearance, but really more dangerous, than the first * All this part .f the Connec- ticut valley, therefore, fell into the hands of the Pequots as well as the whole country between that river and the' territories of the Narragansetts. The western Nehantics became their allies, or, what is more likelv, their tribu- taries The powwowings of the Machemoodus probably avaded little against their superior numbers and ferocitv Advancing along the seacoast the Pequots conquered it as far as the bay of New Haven, and obliged the Qtiin- nipiacs to submit to their authority and pay them tribute On the south they sailed across the Sound in canoes, con- queredManisses or Block: Island, and extorted tribute from the eastern inhabitants of Sewan Hacky, or Long Island During all this time they appear to have been carrying on an unceasing contest with the great tribe of Narra! gansetts, who inhabited the country which now consti- tutes the State of Rhode Island. The shores of the islands of the bays, of the creeks, and of the inlets, which abound on this coast, then furnished an inexhaustible supply of fish; and here, accordingly, was collected the densest aboriginal population in New England, and, prob- ably in the whole limits of the United States. It was 'SI the denser, because the irruption of the Pequots had lately driven out the original inhabitants of the country between the Niantic and the Paucatuc. Yet credulity Uself must stare with astonishment, when told th. t the Narragansetts could furnish thirty thousand,! that they • 3ee O'CMIaghan'8 Hist, of New Netherlands, Vol. I. p 149 tJohuwn. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XIV, p. 43. c^ffo + -«« (^jp OF CONNECTICUT. go could even furnish five thousand* figh.,„g „«„. I„ 1676 when fear and anxiety sufficiently disposed the colonists to over estimate the strength of the then host,V Wagarttetts^ their warriors were only calculated at two olT , r '"" ''^'""' ^"'"^"'' ^ ™«" -» in- formed on Ind^n matters, stated them with more mod- eration, and undoubtedly with more correctness, at only one thousand t During the previou-s forty ye^rs there had een, doubtless, some diminution, yet if is'impossi te to bel^ve that then numbers had sunk away by four or even by three, fifths. In fact, that diminuLn, which usually takes place in a barbarous people, on being brought m contact wuh a civilised race, although sufficiemly rapid o shock the feelings of philanthropy, is ,. t less'ra^id than ,s commonly believed. When a savage tribe is first Covered tts numbers are almost invariably over est! ma ed : when better known, those numbers are found to be less than were formerly supposed ; and it is therefore taken for granted, that, in the meantime, they have di- mmished. Those who wi.h to see an e=;ampL of how .his fallacious conclusion may be easily reached, should compare the estimates made by Capt. Cook of the popu- lation of the South Sea Islands, with what has been as- certamed concerning that population at the present day. Doubtless the inhabitants of Tahiti have diminished since they were fim discovered ; but who believes that they have dminished from four hundred thousand to twenty thousand? Let us take it for granted, then, that in 1676 - the Narragansetts had, according to the estimate of • Brinley. Mm Hi,i. Coll., Vol. V, o. »1S t Man. Hut. Coll., Vol. I, p. 148, 8* fi 64 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Gookin, one thousand warriors. Let us suppose that, in the previous forty years, this number had decreased by two hundred. Let us remember that a decrease of two hundred fightmg men would involve the very consider^ able diminution in the whole population of one thousand souls. We shall thus arrive at the fair and just conclu- sion, that, a the time of which we are now speaking, the Narragansetts, including the Nehantics, could muster about twelve hundred warriors. They were, however, far superior in number to their rivals, the Pequots, and were inferior to them in influence, only because they were inferior in ferocity, in enterprise, and in a passion for war. They were the most supersti- tious of all the cons" -b'a tribes of New England ; being greatly under the .nflueiice of their powwows, and much given to the practice of religious rites and ceremonial dances. They were also more civilized, more ingenuous, and more disposed than any of their neighbors to undergo the fatigues of manual labor. Their wigwams were more than ordinarily comfortable, their canoes and utensils neatly constructed, and in all the ruder arts of life they had made greater advances than any of the surrounding tribes. Thus their character was milder, and their man- ners more refined, than those of the Pequots ; nor were they always inferior to them in magnanimity and courage, as the examples of Miantinomo and Canonchct sufficiently prove. Besides carrying on war with the Pequots, they sometimes fought with a tribe to the north of them, well known to us as the Pokanokets, and still better known as the tribe of the good Massasoit, and of his gallant but unfortunate son. King Philip. Indeed they at one time atx-,,'""- ri -^msm OP CONNECTICUT. 65 atx;, II reduced them to pay tribute ; though (as Massasoit as- serted) not because they were superior in war, but solely because the Pokanokets had been wasted by a grievous sickness. Elated with their uninterrupted success, borne on by the confidence which attends a course of prosperous ag- gression, the Pequots went on, conquering and to con- quer, until they met a bolder and fiercer race coming towards them from the west. About the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Iroruois, or Five Nations, were driven from Canada by .the Adirondacks, a confed- eracy of Algonquins. Undismayed by their reverses, they turned their arms against the Satanas or Shawnees, de- feated them, and then renewed the contest with their old enemies. Their efforts were now attended with saccess • and from this time they rapidly rose to be the first native power east of the Mississippi. Their war parties ranged from Hudson's Cay en the north to the mountains of Tennessee on the south ; from the Connecticut on the east to the Mississippi on the west; and every Indian nation within these vast boundaries trembled at the name of the Akonoshioni or United People. The natives of Connecticut did not escape, but were exposed every year to the ravages of these terrible destroyers. Whether they found the northwestern part of the State unoccupied, or whether they killed and drove away its inhabitants, is uncertain ; but they left it a desert. Their war parties passed, without meeting a human being, through the forests of Litchfield County, to fall suddenly and silently upon the villages along the seashore or in the valley of the Connecticut River. Their very appearance excited 66 HISTORT or THE INDIAXS consternation ; a cry of alarm would extend from hill to hill, and the natives would fly for safety to swamps and thickets, or to their fortresses. A large part of the in- habitants of the country west of the Connecticut became their subjects ; and every year two cld Mohawks might be seen going from village to village to collect tribute, and haughtily issuing orders from the great council at Onondaga. All the Iroquois were known in New Eng- land by the name of Mohawks, because that tribe, the oldest and most warlike in the confederacy, lived to the eastward of the others, and was oftenest seen this side of the Huds;on. The Six Nations seem never to have come in hostile contact with the Pequots ; and thus the natives of western Connecticut were cruelly oppressed by two fierce enemies who had no quarrel with each other. We will now return to the Pequots. The names of some of the early sachems of this tribe have been pre- served in a genealogy of the Uncas family, as it was made out by Uncas himself in 1679. The first whose name is mentioned was Tamaquashad, of whom no particulars are given, but who must have lived about the time when the Pequots first established themselves in Connecticut, or perhaps when they first set out on their pilgrimage from the Hudson. The next in succession was Muckquntdowas, who lived at a place called Awciim- bucks, situated in the heart of the Pequot country. His wife was named Meekunump, and he had two children • Woipeguand, who became sachem after him; and a daughter, called like her mother, Meekunump, who was married to Oweneco, the father of Uncas. Woipeguand married a daughter of Wekoum, chief sachem of Narra- ^ OP CONNECTICUT. 67 >^ gansett ; and, when ha died, was succeeded by his son Wop,gwoo... Wopigwooi. was .he same with Z Wapeqnart mentioned by the Dutch authors, and un-- doubtedly ako, with that Pekoath, who is spoken of by Wmthrop.* The son of Wopigwooit wa^ Tatobam o.herw,se called Sassacus, the most famous and the Z[ unfortunate of the Pequot grand sachems. About ten years previous to the war of the P^m,„,. wuh the English, that is about 1626, Unca^X ^ of Oweneco and Meekunump, married a daught;, of Sassa- cus, hus connecting himself still more closely w th 2 royal hue of h.s tribe. The claims which he in th mln! nereu=qu,redand strengthened, afterwards contributed "o he downfall of his nation, but finally resulted in rSn^ Uncas h,mself to considerable influence, and "o tde Pendent power. In faet, this Uncas, son of Owen c„ a" ■Pequo, sagamore, and father of another Oweneco L h.m«=lf a Mohegan sachem, will be one of the most rt markable, and one of the most important characters who ever w.11 occupy a place in the succeeding narS. Thus closes my account of the names, positions and strength of the aboriginal tribes of Connecticut, 1" been able to gather it from what seemed the m^t rehable authormes. I. „«, p„b,bly diminish somewha ,"« romanfc mterest connected with t'.ese barbarous cJm! • At the time Winthrop penned this, Connecticut h»,? n.. i. and he probably mistook the name of th tribe oh .„ A I ^ '''"'^'^ ' mi.akee might easily occur in the in.r::lt^^^^:^' Tt nat..es. neither of whom had much knowledge of eacl oij > ""' '""^ Pequot o^Pequod is not. perhaps, more unlike Pekoah thai T" T'"' or Pequetan. by both which names this tribe L met . ". ^''^"'" of New England. " mentioned in early writinp 68 BISTORT or THE INDIANS, ETC. Mb munities, by diminishing to so great an extent what were supposed to be their ancient numbers. But it will serve to explain to us their subsequent decrease and almost entire disappearance, without obliging us to suspect our ancestors of an amount of injustice and cruelty of which they were never guilty. Few in numbers at the time of their discovery, it is likewise probable that the natives 01 Connecticut were increasing very slowly, if increasing at all. The small size of their families, the fatal nature of their few diseases, the hardships and privations to which they were continually exposed, and the constant * I ars which they waged with each other and- with their neighbors, form sufficient grounds for believing that such was the fact. A close balance being thus kept i,p be- tween the number of births and the number of deaths soue new destructive influences, however feeble, were' sufli.ient to destroy that balance, and gradually sink the native races even to the point of national extermination. 1 hese influences were fearfully supplied, chiefly by the novel varieties of disease and vice unavoidably contracted m the intercourse with a civilized people. The ruinous war maintained by one tribe against the English must indeed be taken into consideration ; but the results of this war can be computed with tolerable exactness, and will by no means account for so entire and gradual a disap- pearance of a race. t- ■■ ttia CHAPTER III. * PROM THE FIRST DISCOVERr OF CONNECTICUT IN 1614 TO THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PE^UOTS IN 1637. We come now to the period of the first discovery of Connecticut, and the first intercourse of its inhabitants m nt a! Pr"\ 'l ''''' "" ^^^^« »^^^«- ^^^^tl- ment at P ymouth, three distinguished Dutch navigators Adraien Block, Hendrick Corstiaensen, and Cornelif mI;; arnved, on an exploring expedition, at the mouth of the Hudson River. Having visited a Dutch settlement of four houses, already commenced on the Island of Man- hattan, they separated, and each sailed in a different di- rection. Corstiaensen passed round to the eastern coast of New England, while Mey examined the southern shore of Long Island, and then explored southward as far as Delaware Bay. Adraien Block, a persevering, enterprising man, had the misfortune to lose his vessel, by fire shortly after his arrival in the Hudson. Not at all dis- couraged by this accident, he immediately laid the frame of a yacht, forty-four and a half feet long, and eleven feet aiid a half wide, completed it, and called it the Restless. Embarking in this little vessel, he passed through the Ji-ast River, to which he gave the name of Hellegat, and en- tered Long Island Sound, then supposed to be a deep bay On the right and left stretched unknown, unvisited shores* low ana green, sandy along the edge of the water, but in 70 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS the interior waving with trees. Leaving Long Island, then called Metoac or Sewan Hacky, (land of shells,) he sailed along the un-named and hitherto unexplored coast of Connecticut. He gave to the small islands at the mouth of the Norwalk River the name of Archipelagoes, and farther on, discovering the mouth of the gentle Hou- satonic, he called it the River of the Red Mountain. Continuing his voyage eastward, he came to the mouth of a considerable stream which he named the Fresh Rnrer, but which was no other than the pride of New Bifgland, the noble Connecticut. He ascended the river with his little vess2l, as high as forty-one degrees and forty-eight minutes, or about half way between the present city of Hartford and village of Windsor. Here he found an Indian fort, or village, belonging to a tribe whom he called the Nawaas : a nomenclature afterwards unknown, and probably founded on some mistake of the voyager. Prom this point, turning his course down the river, he re-entered the Sound, and sailed on until he dis- covered Its eastern opening into the main ocean. Before leaving the coast, he discovered and explored the Narra- gansett Bay, to which he gave the name of Nassau Bay. He also had some intercourse with the inhabitants of its shores, whom he describes as being of a shy disposition. He calls them Nahicans, and, from the faint resemblance between the words, it seems probable that they were the Nehantics. Such was the discovery of Connecticut.* Not long after this, the Dutch traders began to visit the country every year, and soon established a large trade with the natives ; buying annually, it was said, not less • Callaghan, Vol. I. pp. 72, 73. op CONNECTICUT. 71 than ten thousand beaver skins, besides such other com modules as the country could furnish • The Dutch settlements on the Hudson were at fi™, • lands but th.s corpora..on was replaced in 1621 by an- oth r, far more extensive and powerful, .he famous W^ India Company. In 1632, Hans Eencluys, a servarUof the company, landed a, the mouth of the ConnTc uf purcha^d a point of ,a„d from the natives, and e eted This spot he named Kievet's Hook, from the cry of a the Dutch, heveet. H,s object was to secure to the com tZ^oT" "' r r" ™"''^> '' "-'S" -ht; "n Twller, Governor of the New Netherlands, prosecuted on a greater scale during .he following year, 'r^: Jac ^ Van Curier and a party of men to ,he Connecticut valTey wuh orders to purchase a .rac. of land which had Jready been seleced, and erec. and fortify a .rading pos. upl' «. Th,s spot was on .he west bank of the river, C of Hartford. There were two parties to which he might apply for a purchase: .he Pequots, who claimed fhe country by r.gh, „f conquest ; and Sequeen or Seq^^n vanc:r.T.r "'" """■ " "'""^' -^ - -'- Van Curler took the most natural course, and applied to Wapyquart, or Wopigwooit, the grand sachem of the p" fMvst'ic'; r '" T' '" ""' "•''^'^' '=''"'f "' Siokenames (Mystic) River, and owner of the Connecticut. Wopis- voou was nothing loth to sell lands so far from his own • Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 113. 9 n HISTORY OF THE INDIANS fortresses, and which, perhaps, he held by an uncertain tenure ; and, on the eighteenth of June, 1633, a treaty of sale and purchase was effected between the two parties A iract of land one Dutch mile in length along the river and extending one third of a mile into :he country was passed over, by the Pequots, into the possession of the Dutch. For this territory Wopigwooit received twenty- seven ells of a kind of coarse cloth called duffals six axes, SIX kettles, eighteen knives, one sword blade, 'one pair of shears, and some toys. At the request of an In- dian named Aitarbaenhoet, probably a sagamore of the river tribes, the Dutch obtained permission from Wopicr. wooit that eequeen might return to his country and take up his residence at or near tho trading house. It was declared in the deed that S.quassen accepted this offer wuh the knowledge of Magarittinne, chief of Sloop's iiay: this being f.he name which the Dutch gave to the western part of I^rraganseti Bay. These circumstances serve to Identify Sequassen with the Sequeen here x.ien- tioned : lor Sequassen, as we shall subsequently see, sold a vast tract around Hartford to the English, as chief sachem of the country; and Sequassen, too, will be mentioned as a relation and a close ally of the Narragansett chieftains. The httie territory thus purchased was made free for purpose, of trade to all nations of Indians: it was to be a territory of peace : the hatchet was to be buried ther.. no warnor was to molest his enemy while within its bounds. Yan Curler erected on i. a small tradi^.g b • O'Calinghnn. Vol. I. p,,. 149—151. i 4 OF CONNECTICUT. 73 f i i 4 The Pequots soou broke through the above conditions by kihmg some Indians, their enemies, who came to the' house to traae. The Dutch were so incensed at this act ' of violence, that, to punish it, they, in some way or other, contnved to despatch Wopig wooit and several of his men. The old chieftam was succeeded by his son Sassacus, a renowned warrior and a noble and high-spirited man, but doomed to be the last grand sachem of his tribe. A de- sultory war ensued between the Dutch and Pequots, which lasted some months, if not a year or two, and, of course, interrupted the trade which had opened between the two parties.* These events were, it would seem, of considerable importance in their bearing on the future his ory of the tribe, as I think the subsequent narrative J , rw """""" "' ^""'^ P"^^^^^^ ^hat it was the death of Wop,gv.ooit which led to the fatal massacre of Stone and hi. crew ; and it is certain, that it was the loss of the Dutch trade which induced the Pequots to invite ticut Massachusetts Bay to settle in Connec- The Puritans, or pilgrims, had now been established thirteen years on the shores of this bay; and, although their numbers did not much exceed two thousand, they already began to complain of being cramped for want of room. Their mcreasing strength commanded the respect of th. surrounding natives; and the smaller tribes seem to have conceived the idea of obtaining, by their protec- tion, freedom from the oppression of the larger ones. As early as April, 1631, a sagamore named Waghinacut, probably a Podunk, car.;e to Massachusetts for the pur^ • O'CttUaghan and Winthrop, peunm. 74 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS had been in Enl^ /'"''"'''"''' ^'""'^ Straw, who oeen in England and spoke English ho ..ii i Governor Winthrop in Boslon it , .'"'/''"^'' <"• wanted some of Z PnTu ^''Plamed that he Of beaver; boasted of hft.,.':;,? f'^"'/ ^'''- frieX dinZ: tf erf;'"":' "^ ""''^™ --^ "i, a settlemer^r „ 'eve ' Z 7 ' '"""="'^'' "' P"""*- countrv H r "^""^ P^^P'" '» famine the country. He afterwards found, as he siv, .h,, w l naeut was a very treacherous .an, andTi 'a'tj-;^^;- a far greater sachem named Pekoath f ai.h„'ug?re'"peJr'';r"' r "^'""'^ -™--'-"'. «"^:s;x^re ::;r:fThr"™ "^^""- in furs which thp n.,. u ^^ immense trade « wnjcn tne Dutch were carrvin«^ on in tho o necticut vallev W.n»i ^ =* " ^"^ C?ou- -i„er pro:i;i„g":;t''r's:. Cn^ r r "- - mterforing with the charter of New EnZnd Th' colonists began to dispatch vessels tl r ^ trade, and several were thus semn, t '! ^'""!^'=""='" '» During the same year JoImOl u " ""^^ "' "^^^• killed by the Block Wn,,^ ' '"'"' '""' afterwards y tne Block Islanders, travelled across the country 1 •t^inise&i^jJIeiif^tKiUliSlleSsiiMetifi- OF CONNECTICUT. 75 aa with three companions, to the Connecticut River IT one of the sachems of the land entertained fhem in^" SKins. They carried back to Massachn^spfte o of U,e waa hemp which gre. in thT^^ InV^" that It contained many desirahl^ r,io •^' ^'""^^Poned «.snppor.i„,mL;ZL:'^^^^^^^^^ ^f5t:;a^sr.xt„«r^r ^^hnsetts to estabi.h a trading p„/„„ the C nLc.f I for obtmmng hemp and furs. Governor Wimh!" ' ninths in the year, no vessel conld navi^a r^hl" ir" al on account of the ice and the violence' of h e " Und scouraged by these representations the Plymorh October of the very same year, William Holmes ! -nt th,thcr with a vessel, a small company o men' and the frame of a house. He sailed up the river JTr^' ' e Dutch For,, at Hartford, in spite f thT'rfmon strances and threats cf the garrison, and erected W eradmg-house m the present township of Windsor, a little netLt'r """"'" "' "" ''"'"'"*'°" """ "•« '^°"- * Winthrop»8 JonmnI, Vol. I, p. HI. t Trumbull. Vol I. pp. 20,^21. Wimhmp. Vol. I. p. II3. V 76 [: HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Holmes ,s said to have brought back, in his vessel, iu3 original sachems of the country, who had been driven away by the Pequots ; and to have made his purchase o^ the country from them.* Thus, on the very first settle- ment of the English in Connecticut, they offered a dis- tmct, though, perhaps, an unintentional, insult and injury to the most powerful tribe in the country. The Pequo^' had conquered this portion of the Connecticut vJley; and had obliged its original owners to submit to their authority. Their claim had been acknowledged by the Dutch ; It was confirmed by immemorial Indian custom •+ and It was at least as just as that by which some civilized and christianized nations hold large portions of the globe. It was highly praiseworthy, indeed, for the English to pay a suitable sum to the original owners of the soil ; but they ought, in justice, as well as policy, to have best6wed some respect upon the well known claim of the Pequots Two reasons probably operated to prevent them from doing this : one that they may have considered the Pe- quots robbers and intruders; the other that, by refusing to acknowledge the Pequot title, they could, with abetter appearance of reason, deny the justice of that of the Dutch. Ihe offended tribe, however, did not make this an immediate occasion of hostility with the En-lish • although we know not how much influence it ma/have had upon its policy towards them on another occasion and at a subsequent time. It was not until afterwards that the event occurred, which may be considered as the •rl^edLl ' ""'^r '" ''^ '^''"'•*°"'' '' --- Indian sachem. ^•Berved m the papen on Towni and Landa. Vol. I, Doc. 67. ^ ! i i ' OF CONNECTICUT •n em a favorable opporTuX "T '"V"'" ""'"'' ?-« The position of thPe'L, *■"'"<""« satisfaction, "■eans so favorable as if had IJ" '' ""' '""^ "^ "o success and conquest no l.„ ' ^"'' ""'ulerrupted -- paths. They iTd J" "T" '" '■»"■'»' °» 'heir -"h - firm a han7 as fieri 'd'V'"^ '^'^™^™-«» the sovereignty of BlocfcTand' v u '^ ''^'' "=^™ '°^' passed lately under the dot";, ''^"^ "P'*"'" '<> have Their authority had been 2" °^ ""' N«hantics.t 'he upper val/y of the Co n:e":„r "' '"^ """''- '" O'ted, doubtless, to this a^b! r ' ^"""'"■aged and in- »f the Dutch, .rnotof h XLh trr^V"'' "O^^ y«cas, sagamore of Mohe^nh ■.■■'• "^^'des this, Wopigwooit, broken outlnt ' ' '"""' '"^ "^"'h of 'heir war with the Dut h, whV^" J,''^"- ^"7, of a number of their war iors nr„b IT """" ""^ ''^'^ more annoyance by break I '^ '^ ^""'' ">«■" still 'hey had sufficient I, rentrs'to'' "" '"""'"'"^ -"-h source of amusement bat ITll^'T" '"'^ ""' ""'r « In the following yeL.tfh"''' »" P°-er. """' "^ "'««'■ *ith the Dutch „iU • Winthrop. Vol. I, p. 123. + Roger Williams' Letten. OF CONNECT CUT. fs continned, Sassacus resolved lo ma!r» »„ «• cUiate the English and nh, f u *"'"'' "" ^o"" of their tr^e n„ ''"'^'"•'"'P"°P'«^<'"«Pon.on pe,.ot'.r„«er^re; :trr/h °°''''^'' '^^''- - .he rashion !r Indiana: Llt^^rp^^rrr • J- "^ ^'so laid down two bu i?Po,^f„*- , indicative of the number of beaver and n,h T"'^'""''^' the Pequots would give the Zh T f'"" ^'"'='' 'hat they should be alined bv a I'a """'"" wampum. He thm> a'^T ^ '"^e amount of people and the pa eLrtl' '"'" '""^'^" ^'^ Which was mad! to ^Zlf^^TT^ "^ """"' coat of equal value for the Pequot'ch^ftair" n' f "T messenger was a man of low rank ^ n u- ' "' ""' sacis must show his re,np!, r u '' ■"" 'h^t Sas- deputies of greal ;: e'^ltVe ; d"'"' '' ""^"'« befoi^ he could treat w h ,1 !' ** ^"""^^ "^ 'hem, This answer wtZ^o?'"^^^^ "' ">« ■=»■''-- accordance with the'l^lTo^rn? " ' ^^' ^° :o=:rf~r-:— ^^^^^^ negotiations were opened, althotigh Di dl ! ^ 7' "''"="' was sti I absent Th« d ^Fuaiey, the Governor, >ish were deriis?;;:^; t:" '"'t'"^' "•« ^»«- fever conseiit to atreafyt 1 h P '"""' """ ^""''' the murderers of s"c ,d ,,"""'' "'" "'"''"''''"=<' """' '""' '"^'le restitution for the 80 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS plunder and destruction of his vessel. The Indians did not deny tJiat their nation was responsible for the murder, but asserteii that Stone had provoked his fate by his vio- lent and alarming conduct. They said that, on entering the Connecticut, he forcibly seized two Indians of that region, and kept them on board his vessel to make them pilot it up the river. After a while he and two of his men landed, taking with them the two captives, with their hands still closely bound behind them. Nine In- dians watched the party, and at night, when the English had gone to sleep on the shore, they killed them and liberated their countrymen. The vessel, with the re- mainder of the crew, was afterwards blown up ; but of this they knew nothing, neither the manner, nor the cause. Thijy stated in addition that the sachem whom they had when Stone was put to death, had been killed by the Dutch ; and that all the Indians concerned in the murder had died of the small pox except two. These, they cautiously added, Sassacus would probably be will- ing to deliver to the English, provided the guilt could be proved upon them. Such was the story of the Pequot ambassadors ; and it was related with such an appearance of truth that the English, who had no good evidence to the contrary, were strongly inclined to believe it The conditions of a treaty were agreed upon, and the paper being drawn up was signed by both parties. The English were to have as much land in the country of the Connecticut as they needed, provided they would make a settlement ; and the Peauots were to give them all possible assistance in effecting their settlement. The Pequots were to sur- OF CONNECTICUT. 81 render the two murderers, whenever they were demanded ; and to pay the English forty beaver skins, thirty otter skins, and four hundred fathoms of wampum. They were likewise to give all their custom to the English, who, on the other hand, were to send them a vessel im- mediately, not to defend them, but to trade with them. Such was the substance of the treaty between the Pe- quots and the colony of Massachusetts Bay, made and signed in November, 1634.* The morning after the business was concluded, Boston was thrown into a hubbub by the report that two or three hundred Narragansetts were waiting at a place called Neponsett to kill the Pequot messengers on their way home. A few armed citizens were collected and marched away to Neponsett, w:ith a message to the Nar- ragansetts to come and have a talk with the governor. Then was seen the value of Indian reports ; for no doubt this story was brought in by some of the Indians of the neighboring country. On reaching Neponsett the white men found only two sagamores, with about twenty war- riors, who said that they were out on a hunting expedi- tion, and had come hither simply to make their old friends at Neponsett a visit. Whether this story was true or noi, they at all events showed themselves quite ready to oblige the English, and allowed the two ambassadors to depart unmolested.f The authorities of the colony now undertook to nego- tiate a peace between the two hostile tribes. For this purpose they offered the Narragansetts a part of the wampum which was to be paid by the Pequots. This • Winthrop, Vol. I, pp. 147—149. t Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 149. 82 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS was m accordance wuh the wish of the Peqnot depmtes, who had comm.ssioned them to do so, and had promised so large a quantity as four hundred fathoms for no other purpose.* The circumstance shows the pride of ta - sacus who was desirous to obtain peace, but unwilling to ^Ictt directly of h,s ancientand hereditary enemies. The Narragansetts do not seem to have been more averse to peace than the Pequots, for it is clear that a treat^ w^ rt^fx'^r"'''^'^" '''''- -•>'•=••-"-' It is almost needless to remark upon the Christian and ^""""r'""'" "' ""= """"^ ^^"'"'^ *e clnlts fr ■ '"y.f""^°''<'e "-nityand alliance between dlble bl" ' "■ "'"" "' ^^"'^h ""S"' be a formi- dable barrier aga„,st their own advancement in wealth and numbers Had they been actuated by selfish cl' otl ':;"' V ?"" "--"O-vored toleaken t 1 potent clans by fomenting their divisions; and at all St' "™'/."- "^^ --S'-'ened their h„ b jommg them m friendship and union. Religion how BS m others they acted in conformity to its precepts The path which our ancestors followed' in their dZg^ TouL and b " "" ""^ '"""""^O "y 'he beams of equity and humanity as well as sometimes shrouded in the Harkne.^sofinjustice and cruelty »"a<'a m The English soon began to found settlements in the county., as mdeed they would have done had thev formed no treaty to that effect with the Pequots A few men came over, by land, through the forest's, a^d stt.tl "Winthrop V^ol. I, p. 149. Il 'f OF CONNECTICUT. 83 m a rude manner at Wethersfield, some thirty miles up the Connecticut River. They suffered great hardships from cold and hunger during the first winter ; and some of them would, perhaps, have perished, had it not been for the friendly assistance of the Indians. During 1635 larger parties, with women and children, came ; and from this time the colony of Connecticut must be considered as firmly established. The Indians received them joy- fully, and their sachems, Sehat of Poquonnuc, Arrama- ment of Podunk, and the more famous Sowheag and Sequassen, sold them land without stint or hesitation. Sequassen sold them Hartford and the whole region west- ward, including the territories of the Tunxis, as far as the country of the Mohawks.* Nassecowen, of Windsor, a sagamore, or at least a landholder, was " so taken in love with the coming of the English," that, " for some small matter," he gave them all his possessions on the eastern side of the river.f The first Indian deeds of sale at Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, were never preserved, or, at least, have never come to my knowledge. There is, however, in the Colonial Records, a brief notice that the settlers of Weth- ersfield made a satisfactory purchase of their territory from Sowheag, the sachem. The tract thus obtained measured six miles in width, north and south, and nine miles in length, of which six miles were on the west side of the river.J In the records of Windsor we have also one deed remaining, of the date of April 25th, 1636, which conveys to the English a tract on the east side of the Connecticut, lying between the Podunk and Scantic • Farmington Records, t Windsor Records, t Col. Rec, Vol. I, p. 5. 84 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Rivers, and extending a day's march into the country. The price given for this territory was twenty cloth coats and fifteen fathoms of sewan or wampum ; part to be paid at the time, and part when the next English pinnace came up the river. The deed was signed by Arramament, sachem at Podunk ; Sheat, sachem of Poquonnuc ; Cog- renosset of Poquonnuc, and eight others, who claimed an interest in the lands.* It is worthy of observation, that three of the signers, Poxen, Wonochocke and Towtonemon, styled themselves Mohegans ; or, as it is once or twice expressed, Mohego- neak. This circumstance leads us to advert to the history of this portion of the Pequot nation. We have already mentioned the relationship of Uncas, sagamore of Mohegari, to the royal family, and have briefly noticed that he was now in rebellion against Sassacus, the grand sachem of the tribe. It seems probable that, on the death of Wopig- wooit or Pekoath, Uncas laid claim to the sachemship, grounding his title on his own descent, and perhaps strengthening it by the regal birth of his squaw. At all events, some difficulty occurred, and Uncas was soon en- gaged in open war with his chieftain. The great body of the nation remained faithful to Sassacus, and the re- bellious sagamore was defeated and expelled from the country. He fled to the Narragansetts ; but after remain- ing among them a while, he sent a humble message to Sassacus begging permission to return. This was granted, on condition of submission and future good behavior! Uncas promised every thing, and again came back to Mo hegan. He was soon guilty of treachery, or was accused * V,:,idsor Records. tk « ^* \, OP CONNECTICUT. gj- of it, and had once more to flv AMin «« i. • . he was pardoned and allowed o rtfZ- and T the same cause as before, banisLf Some 'r f"' riors who fled with him rema^Led in thTN """ country, and were living fU ^arragansett cases of war, became the property of the conqueror Hi, erntory w^ so small, and his men so few, thafhe "as "n able to make a grand hunt alone, but hun ed in LI wuh two other sagamores, sons of the"" ter of l'""'' and, of conr«p »i,o ■ , ' "' Sassaous, from tb,!?, '■ "'"" "^ ^'^ °»° «'*'■«• Judging from th,s fact, « seems probable that he could not havf had remammg more than twenty-five or tbirfv „ o .wo friends above mentioned fiLly Ja rel"J : ; th powerful relation, Sassacus ■ and [„^" "^'^^ ^"^^ "heir forced to f?v ,n ,i :^ "^' '"'<' '" consequence were orced to fly to the Narragansett country, from whence they never returned. Their lands, hke those of UnTr became subject to the grand sachem of the tribe.* ' authrfiff e T''""' "'^"^"^' ""O- =»-"*"? to one r'r^X cS;trf n^^""^ - ^^^ '^- iver, cnieny m the township of Hartford ^ Thus It was that we finrl Pn^o« u . "^"ord.-f name of Poxon, we^shaU s^ nT^ I eT.Tht c^ nmg counsellor and ambassador of uLrlfl heZ r-on to greatness and power. It is possible also ,h^ -me of these men were not native Mohegau but'r ve Indians, who had attached themselves to an adven uroI and warlrke chief like Uncas, and had thus tqS " 86 HISTORY OF TilE INDIANS title to the name of Mohegoneak* Uncas, himself, probably lived in this part of the country, as it is not at all likely that ne would be allowed to continue at Molie- gan. Mohegan was the ancient burying place of the Pe- quot sachems ; and would Sassacus, the uescendant and representative of that race of heroes, allow their graves to be polluted by the foot of one who had made hirnseL" an alien to his tribe ? In person, Uncas is said to have been a man of large frame and great physical strength. His courage could never be doubted, for he displayed it too often and too clearly in war, and especially in the subsequent contest against his native tribe. No sachem, however, was ever more fond of overcoming his enemies by stratagem and trickery. He seemed to set little value upon the glory of vanquishing in v ar, compared with the advantages it hrought him in the shape of booty, and new subjects, and wider hunting grounds. He favored his own rn^n and was therefore popular with them ; but all others who fell under his power he tormented with continual exactions and annoyances. His nature was selfish, jealous and tyrannical ; his ambition was grasping, and unrelieved by a single trait of magnanimity. He was now, it is prob- able, in the prime and vigor of early manhood. The treaty between the colonial government and the Pequots seems to have been imperfectly observed on both sides. Sassacus paid none of the wampum and other articles which he had promised, nor is there any proof that, for two years after the treaty, the colonists ever sent a vessel to the Pequot country to trade. The only ar- • Sometimes Bpclt Muhhekunneuk. • (i2«i OF CONNECTICUT. 87 ^ tide which the Enghsh fulfilled was that of planting colonies in Connecticut ; and the only article which the Pequots fulfilled was that of allowing them to do so without opposition. Thus matters went on, till an event' took place which roused the colonists to think of the obligations of their allies if not of their own. John Old- ham, of Dorchester, a man of energetic but turbulent dis- position, was the commander of a pinnace which made trading voyages along the coast for corn and other Indian commodities. In the spring of 1636 he sailed, with a crew of two boys and two Narragansett Indians, lo barter with the Pequots. This was done, as we are informed by Winthrop, m consequence of the treatv with them ■ but, as the treaty was made in 1634, the equots might justly have complained of the tardiness of the English in fulfilling its conditions. Oldham finir.hed his dealings ' with them, however, in safety : but having, on his return, stopped at Manisses or Block Island, he was there mur- dered by the islanders. The crime was discovered and punished by another trader, John Gallop, who was voya- ging from the Connecticut to the t^astern part of Long Island. Passing near Manisses on his way, he saw Oldham's pinnace with sixteen Indians on board, and a canoe, manned by other Indians and loaded with goods putting off for the shore. Gallop recognized the pi-mace,' and, running close to, gave a hail in English, but received no answer. He now began to suspect what had occurred ; and his suspicions were strengthened by observing that the Indians were armed with guns and other English weapons. Presently a sail was raised on board the pin- nace ; and the wind and tide being boll, off the island, it 10* ' 88 IIISTORT OF THE INDIANS began to drive northward towards the Narragansett shore. Gallop hesitated no longer, but bore up ahead of the little craft, and commenced firing duck shot among the Indians with such effect that they all took refuge under the hatches. He then stood off some distance, and, turning round, run down upon the pinnace's quarter with such violence as almost to overset her. Six Indians, terrified by the shock, leaped overboard, and were drowned in swimming for the shore. Gallop gave the pinnace another blow with his heavier vessel, but as no more Indians would make their appearance, he commenced firing with his muskets through her thin sides. Startled by this, six others of the plunderers jumped overboard and sank ; and the victors, who only consisted of three men and two boys, then boarded their prize. Two Indians came on deck, surrendered and were bound ; but as Gallop feared they would untie each other, and could not easily keep them asunder, he coolly threw one of them into the sea. Two others, armed with swords, still remamed under the hatches, posted so advantageously that they could neither be killed nor made prisoners. The body of John Oldham was found under an old sail, his head split open, his arms and legs gashed as if the Indians had been trying to cut them off, and the flesh still warm. Gallop and his crew put these melancholy remains into the sea, carried the sails and the remainder of the cargo on- board their own vessel, and then attempted to tow the pinnace away, with the two Indians still in the hold. But some wind and a good deal of sea coming on towards night, he was obliged to loose her, and she drifted over to the Narragansett shore.* i Wimhrop, Vol. I, pp. 189, 190. T' Mk OP CONNECTICUT. 89 Not long after, three Narragansetts, sent by the sachems of the tribe, came into Boston, two of whom were those who had been with Oldham. They brought a letter from Roger Williams, a Baptist clergyman residing in-' their country, written on behalf of Canonicus the grand sachem. It expressed his great grief for what had occur- red, and affirmed that Miantinomo, his nephew, had gone, with seventeen canoes and two hundred men, to punish the murderers. The magistrates examined the third In- dian so sharply that he made some confessions, which may have been true, and may have been extorted from him by terror. He said that a plot had been formed to murder Oldham because he traded with the Pequots; that all the Narragansett sachems were engaged in it except Canonicus and Miautinomo ; and that his two companions were accomplices in the crime. The authorities finally sent the three men safely back to Canonicus; but made known to him the suspicions which they entertained both or them and himself. They demanded that he should surrender Oldham's two boys, and should inflict a suit- able punishment upon the guilty islanders. The boys were soon sent to Boston ; and Canonicus and Miantinomo afterwards succeeded in convincing the colonial magis- trates that they Were guiltless of any participation in the murder.* The government of Massachusetts now turned its attention to the Pequots. They were said to have har- bored some of the murderers of Oldham, and, it was pre- tended, had thereby made themselves partakers in their guilt. A harsh and hasty measure, suggested by feelings * Winthrop, Vol, I, p. 190. 3 1 90 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS s!,lv7!uT ""* ^^^'P^^'io", was adopted. I. ^as re- poty ofi^:" r'^'^'^'f; '^<' 'hough, of .he i^: could no. be accused ot^^ZT' ""^^ ".andof John Erdico.. r Z"' 'T^ """^^ '"« <=<«»■ ^ ^"^'^0"' a resident of MassachusPft^ Wo • Winthrop, Vol. I. pp. 193^ 193^ ^ r^ OP CONNECTICUT. 91 At ■<^ Stone and one thousand fathoms of wampum, demand some of their children as hostages, for the performance of these conditions, and if the children were refused to take them by force.* It was nearly dusk when the little fleet of Endicott reached the shore of Block Island. A strong wind was blowing, and the surf was dashing heavily on the rocks. The English could see only a single Indian, walkixig along the shore as if deserted ; and some of them began to think that the rest of the inhabitants had fled to the main land. Others suspected, with more wisdom, that they should find them concealed behind a low mound which ran along the edge of the water. John Under- bill, a brave soldier though a bad man, moved towards the shore in a shallop containing about a dozen soldiers. As he neared the landing place, fifty or sixty tall warriors rose from behind the earthen rampart, and, advancing a few steps towards the invaders, let fly among them a volley of arrows. One of these missiles penetrated into the neck of a young man, through a collar so stiff" that Underbill likens it to an oaken board. The captain him- self received one through his coat sleeve, while another rebounded from the helmet which, at parting, his wife had, with difficulty, persuaded him to wear. The heavy surf tossed the boat about in such a manner that tiie Eng- lish did not dare to run it on the beach, nor, while in it, could they take any aim with their muskets. They sprang into the water, therefore, up to their waists, fired and hurried on to the shore. Endicott was landing at the same time, and the Indians, not daring to wait a close • Winthrop, Vol. I, pp. 192, 193. 92 BISTORT OP THE INDIANS conflict With so mau/ Englishmen, took to their heels, and were soon out of sight in the thicket * As it was now late, the invaders encamped on shore stationed sentinels, and passed the night in expectation of an attack. They were unmolested, however, and when morning dawned, commenced ranging over the' island in search of the inhabitants. It seemed to them about ten miles long by four broad ; its surface rough and composed of small hills ; containing no good timber but great quantities of dwarf oaks. Paths'led here and there through the brushwood, so narrow that the English were obliged to march along them in single file. They found two villages, containing together about sixty wigwams some of which were large and comfortably built, but all deserted except by a few dogs. The English burnt down the wigwams, staved the canoes, carried away some mats and baskets, shot some of the dogs, and laid waste about two hundred acres of corn. They spent two days in searchmg this small island; but its inhabitants had con- cealed themselves so closely in the swamps and thickets that very few of them could be found. A captain named Turner, stepping into a swamp, met several warriors and fired a number of shots at them. In reply they discharged their arrows, one of which struck upon his corselet with a force as if it had been the push of a pike. Underbill says that some fourteen of the islanders were killed and others wounded ; but the Narragansetts reported, as we learn from H-ibbard, that the English only succeeded in killing one.f • Underbill. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 5 6 t Underhill'« Pequot War. Maes. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 6. 7. throp'B Journal, Vol. I, pp. 192—194. Win. OF CONNECTICUT. 93 <4* f Having accomplished what they could at Block Island, Endicott and his men re-embarked and sailed to the little fort of the Connecticut settlers at Saybrook. Lieutenant Gardiner, who commanded the garrison, was greatly as- tonished at the appearance of such an armament ; and on learning its object, argued vehemently against the enter- prise and the manner in which it was to be conducted. " You have come to raise a nest of wasps about our ears," said he, " and then you will flee away." " But," he adds, in his history of the Pequot war, " as they came without our knowledge, so they went away against our will."* Finding, at last, that the expedition could not be pre- vented from proceeding, Gardiner determined to reinforce it with two shallops and twenty men. The fleet was detained four days at Saybrook by stress of weather, and then continued its voyage. As it glided along near the coast of the Western Nehantics, the natives, surprised at seeing so many vessels together, and totally unsuspicious, apparently, of the object of their visit, came running in numbers to the shore. " What cheer Englishmen ?" they shouted. " What do you come for ?" As the voyagers were unwilling to waste time, and still more to put the Indians on their guard, they made no answer to these questions, and kept steadily on their course. The natives continued to run along the shore abreast of the fleet until they came to the mouth of the Thames ; and, seeing tha* the strangers persevered in refusing to communicate with them, they changed their questions and began to cry: "Are you angry, Englishmen? Will you kill us? Do you come to fight ?" No answer was returned ; the vessels • Mass, Hist. CeU., VoL XXXIII, p. 140. 04 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Silently entered the river, cast anchor at a distance from either shore and remained in quiet until morning * During the whole night loud cries and doleful shouts reverberated from the forests which lined either bank : for the Pequots, apprehending that the white men had come to invade them, were continually calling to each other and sounding the alarm. Early in the morning an Indian was seen making his way out to the vessels in a canoe. On reaching them he appeared to be a man advanced in years, of a tall and hxge form, and dignified in his appearance and carriage. When he came to speak, his expressions were grave and majestic ; and he soon showed himself to be of a keen and mgenious mind. He demanded the object of the strangers in coming to the country of the Pequots. Cap- tain Endicott replied that the Pequots or their allies had destroyed an English vessel, and killed ten Englishmen on the Connecticut River; that their sachem had agreed to surrender the murderers, but had never yet fulfilled his agreement; that the English had now come for them, and. If the Pequots were wise, they would immediately give them up; that they must also pay one thousand fathoms of wampum for their destruction of English prop- erty and their faithlessness in observing the treaty ; and that, If they could not pay so large a sum down, they must surrender twenty children of their principal men as hostages.f The ambassador must have listened with astonishment and indignation to these last demands; but he replied • Underhill. Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. XXXVI, p. 7. t Wmthrop, Vol. I. pp. 192. 193. «,/aa«aa(iaasaj«t«»>»;v:«^»»-'^.v' OP CONNECTICUT. 95 with courtesy, and ingeniously endeavored to justify the conduct of his tribe. " We know not," said he, " that our people have slain any of the English. True it is that we have killed such a number of men, and in such a place, as you mention ; and this was our reason for doing it. Not long before the coming of these men into the river, there was a certain vessel came to us in way of trade. We used the people of it well, and traded with them, and believed them to be such as would not wrong us in the least matter. But wishing to destroy our sa- chem, they laid a plot for that purpose ; and thus did they accomplish their desire. They sufFtred none but him to come into their vessel, and then having seized him, they called to us as we stood on the shore and demanded a bushel of wampum for his life. This rung terribly in our ears, when we so little expected it ; but, seeing there was no remedy, we collected this great quantity of wampum and put it into their hands. Then did they in truth send our sachem ashore, as they had promised ; but not until they hfi slain him. This thing greatly exasperated our S-" -'^ and made us vow revenge. Shortly after came the oiii men into the great river, and pretended to trade first had done. We did not undeceive them, but sci . the opportunity and went quietly on board their vessel. The son of our murdered sachem staid in the cabin with Captain Stone, until the captain, having drank more strong water than was good for him, fell asleep. Our sachem then took a little hatchet from under his robe and knocked him in the head. The rest of our people attacked the other white men ; but when one of them took up a firebrand to set fire to the powder they U ■m 96 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS leaped overboard into the river. In this manner thev saved themselves, while .he strangers were all bl^wn up and destroyed. Could ye blame us for revengiZ the murder of our sachem? For we distinguished "ot le .ween the Dutch and English, but supposed them td be have do'Tr" ' ™' ""'''°" "^ "" "'' -"-- «hat we revenge the death of our sachem."* Such was the tale which this Pequot told in iustifica i::^™ar.:Si:Lr:th""- -' ^^ --^^ Chief, wopigwr;::^L:ht:~asi;^^^^^^^^^^^ mam,er m which the Dutch effected hL death. The ac ootm. dtffered greatly, it will be seen, from the stly told by the Pequot messengers to Governor Dudley • ye. of the two I am inclined to .hinlc that it was the m sfcolc' :rXr"' - " "S-J. "' -veral importa.u ^X' tication. "You know well enough," said he "the dif ference between the English and theDutch ; fl'r you,'™ hadsufflcen, dealings with both; and thereforrieZ you have slain the king of England's subjects rdemaud an accomi. of .heir blood, for we ourselves Ire l" account for them." ^ OP CONNECTICUT. 103 > hung m the balance. They were drawn by the apparent justness of what was advanced by the Pe^uot messen- gers ; and they were repelled by their old hatred of that warlike tribe, whose power they feared not less than that of the English colonists. One thing decided them. There was living among them, at that time, a man named Roger Williams, who has justly been styled the founder of the State of Rhode Island. In an age of intolerance he had been obliged to leave the settlements of Massachusetts Bay, on account 01 his religious opinions, and had found an asylum in the country of the Narragansetts. His upright conduct and gentle disposition ingratiated him with the sachems, and he soon acquired a considerable influence over the policy of the tribe. The magistrates of Massachusetts, having heard of the projected league between the Pequots and Narragansetts, sent letters to Williams requesting him to use the most earnest and immediate efforts to prevent it Without a moment's delay, he set off, in a wretched canoe, through a heavy sea, and at the hazard of his life reached the abode of the Narragansett sachems. Three' days and nights he was compelled to associate with the Pequot ambassadors, whose hands seemed to him to reek with the blood of his murdered countrymen, and whose knives he often expected at his own throat. His influence prevailed ; and, after '' many travels and charges," he was able to counteract the designs of the Pequots, and to accomplish the formation of a league between the Nar- ragansetts and the English colonies.* . Miantinomo having been sent for by Governor Henry • Letter of Roger Williams. Rhode Island Ilkt. Coll., Vol. IH, ,,. i qO 104 nisTonir of the Indians Vane. ropa,red to Boston, accompanied by a son of Canon- c«s, a,„l one other sachem, with about twc.y warrior! rwc,, y mnsketecr. „,e. .hem at Ro.xbnry „:, „..::: hem ,„t„ town, the governor received and feasted the - -Chens, and the sa„n<,ps were entertained at the iln Magistrates a„ lity oi shooting fowl. Three of them went out for ^.arpose, one furnished with a sword and gun, the others with guns only. They rambled about a mile from the fort, made the quiet woods ring with the reports of their long pieces, had excellent success, and finally set out, loaded with fowl, on their return. But all this while a large body of Pequots had been watching them from the thickets and long grass, keeping out of their way as they pushed on, but carefully closing up behind their backs. The incautious sportsmen soon fell into this ambuscade, when immediately a horrible yell was raised, and what seemed to them as many as a hundred warriors rose and poured in upon them a shower of arrows. The swords- man was pierced through the leg by one of these missiles ; but, drawing his weapon, he rushed with a stout and brave heart upon the savages, and broke through' tlicm, shouting loudly to his companions to follow. But they had no weapons for close conflict; they were besides petrified with terror at the sudden and frightful assault ; they stood motionless, and allowed the Pequots to come and take their pieces out of their hands. They were bound, led away, and afterwards tortured to the death. The gallant swordsman reached the house without further harm, and brought to his astonished companions the news of the catastrophe. The next day several men arrived in ■% OP CONNECTICUT. 107 ^%^', ^^v a shallop, to finish the harvesting of the com. Finding what had happened, they were so terrified that, taking on board what was already cut, and those of the little gar nson who were left, they hastily re-embarked for the fort They had only got a httle way from the shore, when lookmg back, they saw a smoke, and then a blaze, and perceived that the store-house was already in flames * Immediately on their return, a man, who is repeaiedly mentioned by Gardiner in his narrative as old Mr. Mitchell came to him to borrow the shallop. He wanted to go to Six Mile Island in the Connecticut, he said, to gather hay ; and he had procured four men to assist him The lieutenant objected. - You are too few," said he ; - your four men are only enough to carry the hay; you ought to have one to stand in the boat to defend it, and two more to keep back the savages if they run down upon you." Old Mr. Mitchell was still importunate, and Gardi- ner, having advised him to scour the meadow with dogs before he commenced his work, allowed him to take the shallop. All precautions were neglected, and the men on reaching the island, immediately proceeded to load them- selves with hay. While thus encumbered, the Peqtiots suddenly rose out of the long grass, and attacked them with the usual yells and shower of missiles. Old Mr Mitchell and three of the others threw down their loads' ran at full speed to the river, tumbled into the shallop and got off- without harm. The fifth, whom Winthrop speaks ot as "a godly young man named Butterfield," was taken with the hay on his I -k and subsequently roasted alive.f • Gardiner. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXIII. p. 142 Voutm """"■ '''''• ""'"•' ''°' '''''''"' ''• ''^' '^- Winthrop. ^•^1 108 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS i- ! The next incident of this nature which occurred seems to have been the surprise and massacre of Joseph Tillv ' and one other. Tilly, a brave and hardy man, but of a passionate and willful temper, commanded a small vessel With which he performed trading and carrying voyages along the coast of New England. He arrived first at Saybrook, where he had a violent altercation with Gar- diner about some orders which the lieutenant had estab- ished relative to vessels sailing on the Connecticut. At leavmg the fort he was warned of the danger of going on shore while in this part of the river, but received the warnmg with contempt. On getting about three miles above Saybrook, he landed, with one of his crew, to shoot fowl The moment he had discharged his gun a large number of Pequots rose from the long grass, and male them both prisoners. They killed Tilly's companion on the spot, and then carried Tilly himself across the river in sight of the English at Saybrook, who could plaini; see him, but could not assist him. They cut off his hands, then his feet, thrust hot embers between the flesh and skin, and thus put an end to his life by linoer- ing tortures. His firm and hardened temper enabled him to bear his suiferings without a groan ; and the ferocious Pequots themselves admired and celebrated his heroism.* All winter the fort was held in a kind of siege The Indians were continually lurking around it ; and no man of the garrison could stir out without fear, and danger of his life. The out-houses and stacks of hay were burned ; • Gardiner. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol XXXTir n H7 «r- .u p. m. u„d„hiii. M... Hi... cXvflxxvi. p ' 5. '"'•• '^'"- '• ,. l\ i8g*s«s»s?*®«»s* ,<.^ssi^gaa^M!i®to*v^***^^^" OF CONNECTICUT. 109 one of the cows was killed in the fields, and others came home with arrows sticking in them. On the fourth of March [1637] Gardiner, with ten men and three dogs, went out to burn the long grass and rushes which covered the neck of that point of land on which the fort was situated. Twenty trees had previously been felled here ; and his object was to roll them to the water- side, and from thence float them home. Two sentinels were placed at the mouth of the neck ; and then, every man being provided with brimstone matches and a quan- tity of match, they began to set fire to the reeds. The neck was soon burned over, and Gardiner called to his men to come away ; but they replied that they would first use up the rest of their matches. As the flames spread on, four Pequots started up from their lurking places among the reeds and ran away. At the same time the two sentmels shouted to Gardiner, that a number of In- dians were coming out of the other side of the marsh He ran forward to attack them ; but at this moment an ambuscade which had been lying concealed rose, and, m the usual style, poured in a volley of arrows. Two of the English threw down their guns and ran for the fort ; two were shot dead, two more severely wounded ; and Gardiner himself received an arrow in the thigh' while a number of others stuck in his buff" coat. The English retreated, defending themselves with their guns and swords, and reached the fort without further loss Here Gardiner found the two cowards who had run away whole and sound, but without their guns, while the two wounded men had brought theirs off with them. His wrath was so moved at their poltroonery that he resolved to '>|! 110 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS let them araw lots which should be hung ; "for," said he " the articles do hang up in the hall for every one to read' and you have known what they were this long time past ''" But old Mr. Mitchell, who probably had more sympathy for runaways, as having himself once scampered for life interceded so hard for the culprits, and was so earnestly backed by others, that the lieutenant finally gave up his design.* As soon as Gardiner's wound was healed he went out with eight men, and found both the guns, and the body of one of the slain colonists. An arrow had entered the right side, passed entirely through the chest, and pierced one of the opposite ribs. He caused this arrow to be pre- served, with the intention of .^ending it to the Bay • for the men of the Bay had asserted that the Indian bows were feeble things, and not to be feared in battle.f Elated with these successes, the Pequots, some dressed m English clothes, soui- armod with English weapons would occasionally come round the fort, and, calling to the soldiers, address them with jeers and defiance. « Come out and get your clothes again," they shouted. "Come out and fight if you dare. You dare not fight ; you ar- all one like women. We have one amongst us, who, if he could kill one more of you, would be equal with God • and as the Englishman's God is, so would he be." Then would they shriek and groan in imitation of those miser- able colonists whom they hac tortured, and once more call on the English, if they were men, to come out and revenge their slaughtered friends. Underbill, who records • Gaidiner. Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. XXXIII, pp. 143, 144 t Gardiner. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXIII, p. 144. ^^t^-~~-.:^-st m n OF CONNECTICUT. in M these taunts, adds that the soldiers were greatly troubled at such blasphemous speeches, but could do nothing in the matter at present on account of the fewness of their own numbers.* Some time in April [1637] a small vessel arrived at the fort, havmg on board Thomas Stanton, a man well ac- quamted with the Indian language, and long useful as an mterpreter to the colonial authorities. While he remained there, waiting for a fair wind, a number oi armed warriors were s(.en one day to come to a low hill within musket shot of the pickets, and lie down behind some large trees Gardmer immediately had the two little cannons of the fort pomted towards the spot, and gave orders that they should be fired when he waved his hat. Three of the Indians soon came forward and asked for a parley; upon which Gardiner and Stanton walked out a few rods to meet them. Both parties advanced cautiously, each call- ing on the other to come nearer. The two Englishmen finally reached the stump of a large tree and halted. The Indians demanded who they were. Stanton replied that It was the Leftenant, and himself, Thomas Stanton. "It IS false," said they; "we saw Leftenant, the other day, shot full of arrows." When Gardiner spoke, how- ever, they recognized his voice ; for one of them had lived three months at the fort, and only ran away when Endicott's expedition arrived. « Will you fight with Nehantics?" they asked. "The Nehantics are your friends, and we have come to tradp with yon." " We do not know the Indians one from another," replied Stanton, " and therefore will trade with none of them." * Mass. Hist. Coll . Vol. XXXVI, p. 11. 12* 113 HISTOKT OF THE INDIANS Indians. " Have you had fighting enough ?" Stanton. " We do not know that yet." dren *"""■ " '' '' '"""' ""^""^ '" '''" "'"""™ ^^ <=''«- Stanton. " You shall see that hereafter." then '"f T """^ '""' "'"' '"""' » «hort time, and then one of them again s^ke, and said .• " We arL Pe- quots ; and have killed Englishmen, and ean kill them as musketoes; and we will go to Connecticut and kill men and women and children, and carry away the horses! cows and hogs." Stanton translated this to Gardiner and begged him to shoot that rogue, saying that he hai an Englishman's coat on, and had boasted of kUling three of the white people. " No," replied Gardiner, " i, is not he manner of a parley ; but have patience, and I will fit hem before they go." He then addressed the Indians hrough Stanton, and advised them mockingly not to go to Connecticut; "for," said he, "if you kill all the Enl l.sh there ,t will do you no good, only hurt. English women are lazy and can't do your work ; the horses and cows will spoil your cornfields; the hogs will root np your clam-banks , and so you will be completely undone! But look here, at our fort; here are twenty pieces of tmckmg cloth, and hoes and hatchets, and all manner of trade ; you had better kill us and get these things before you trouble yourselves to go up to Connecticut."* The Pequots were furious at these taunts; and, put- tmg an abrupt end to the parley, they bounded away As soon as they had reached the trees where they firsi ^ JJ!^/«fe,!ji!S^#..v-jfiSiMtti«i^" Y OF CONNECTICUT. jio appeared, Gardiner waved hi. hat, the two Iillip„,ia„ cannons were fired, and, as the lieutenant says, j>ZZ a great hubbub among the savages * P™0"eea field tTJr°" "" ■""" '"^ ""'^ ^""*« "f ^"hers- held, up the Connecticut River, which the inhabitants of that place seem to have provoked by their own v^e„ large tract of land was sold them by Sequin or Sowhea. oncondmon that he might reside near them and .1":; .^nown, quarrelled :rhtlfdr:vThr:uroT :: neighborhood. Finding himself thus unChUvtreatl; rg::s:i=^'-'°^-~^^^^^^^^ .e^TettrXld^-lrrlVa ^ZZ^^^T -- ^nf:tr L^='h^ r ^-^^ back to thT'vma : ' *:': .Tai^ "-<' -0 ^^"'oped whomheme.and^nf„rr;:f^t™ang:i:st:a7:; flymg, began to ask incredulouslv what P»f , u ^ about, and how the Pe,uots StL'^:: .'';-'^;^ horseman, thinking his time too precious to b^d i„ disputmg the matter, left them and galloped 0!^ • Gardin.,. Mas. Hi,t. Coll., Vol. XXXIII.p. 144_„„ \i i 114 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS sudden approach of the savage warriors dispelled the women's doubts, and they attempted to escape ; but three of them were taken. Two were girls, who allowed them- selves to be carried away without resistance. The other struggled against her captors so stoutly, biting and kicking them, that one of the Indians became exasperated and dashed out her brains. The Pequots pushed on, sur- prised many of the people at work in the fields, killed two other women and six men, destroyed twenty cows and inflicted considerable injury upon the other property of the settlers.* f f y The report of this successful foray reached Saybrook two days after it took place ; on the second day following the successful warriors were seen coming down the river' There were many canoes of them ; they saug and shouted m token of triumph ; and some of them held aloft shirts which they.had taken from the unfortunate colonists of Wethersfield. In one of the canoes could be seen the two captive girls; the one sixteen years of age, the other younger ; and both daughters of one man, named Abraham Swain. When the Indians were opposite the fort, a can- non 3hot was fired at them ; diey were near the eastern bank, more than a mile distant, but the ball fell amon<. the fleet of canoes, and not far from the one which co„! tamed the two prisoners. The Pequots were startled by this shot ; but, drawing their slight vessels over a narrow beach, they passed on their way without further peril.f ;mti,™««*.««-**''— -r^f^'r.T OF CONNECTICUT. ^ 116 John Mason, John Underhill, and Lieutenant Seely all famous warriors of those times, were now in the garLn at Saybrook. They sometimes marched out, with twenty men, to scour the country, but could never discover a tece euher of Pequot or Nehantic. They learned after- wards, that the Indians were constantly lurking near, but furmshed wrth fire-arms, they did not dare to venture an whT.Th"',' r*"™ ""''"™ ^^ "*" ^« 'he manner in wh,ch the Indians condacted their wars, and understand .1. plan by wh.ch the Peqnots proposed to carry on, and finish, he,r contest with the colonists. While th,' triiing .h,ey.sh and assassin-like mode of warfare may justly exc,.e our contempt, we must regard it as a biUer and =«U,ng satne upon all those magnificent schemes of hos- . ty m wh,ch even civil.^ed and Christian nations take and smless state can be affected by such an emotion towards what .s so deserving of pity and abhorrence, h w who ca,7 7" ,'"' """"""' °' "-- -mmu itie" who, calhng themselves enlightened, moral and religious do ye co,.nte„ance and practice a system so characteristic of wild beasts and savages ! Looking down upon this .u.for.nnate world, they see panthers and wolves tearing out each other's entrails with claws and teeth ; thev see -vage men knocking out each qther's brains ;ith stone tomahawks, and flaying each other's heads with sharp PHices of fli„, , and they behold the hired soldiers of christian republics and catholic majesties sending each • UnderhiU. Mii«i. Hi,t. Coll.. Vol. XXXVI, p. IJ. 116 msTORT OF THE INDIANS, VTC. Other out Of the world with instruments of death onl^ and oalcula ed to produce a wider destruction In wt Wnit 1™ h""'"""'" "' ^"^'''=^' ^°'^''»-"- and breT that a,^ " """'' "^'"'"^'^ '■™™ '"e human maxims fttCilt '"'^"' ^'°^^ ""« ^-""^^ »<' J '!! only •ught view aim; and man nity IS to and CHAPTER IV. THE OVERTHROW OP THE PE^UOTS. This war, desultory and feeble as it was compared with European wars, reduced the few and scattered settlers of Connecticut to great distress. They could neither hunt, nor fowl, nor fish, but in fear; nor could they go out safely to work in their fields without burden- ing themselves with instruments of defense. The dread of a cunning and ferocious enemy hung over them all the day, and disturbed their rest by night. No woman felt certain, when her husband left her in the morning, that she should not, before the sun went down, see his lifeless corpse brought home, hacked by the Indian tomahawks No man could feel sure, on parting with his family to go out in the fields, that he should not return only to find his home desolate, and his wife and children either mur- dered or curried off by the Pequots. We who live in quiet and at rest, with no destroyer to come up against "s, can but ill realize the gloom and sickening anxiety of such an evil time. The settlers were poor at the best, suffering under the lack of most of the comforts of civili- zation, and even under a deficiency of food. No help had been received from the colonies of the Bay: no help except the ill-starred expedition of Endicott, which, as Gardmer foretold, had only started the wasps out of their nests. Late in the winter, the members of the General HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Court of Connecticut wrote letters concerning the situa- tion of affairs to the government of Massachusetts. They expressed strong dissatisfaction with the management of Endicott's expedition; they mentioned the sufferings which the colonists of Connecticut had endured in con- sequence of it; they urged the people of the Bay, since they had provoked the war, to prosecute it with more energy ; and they declared, in conclusion, that their fel- low settlers were determined to send an armament which should attack the enemy in his own country.* Immediately after this followed the disaster at Wethers- field, mentioned in the last chapter ; and, amidst the pressure of these continued calamities, was summoned, at Hartford, on the eleventh of May, one of the most im- portant meetings which ever took place of the legislative power of Connecticut. The General Court on this occa- sion consisted of two magistrates and three committee men from each of the three towns, Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, which composed the colony. The pros- pect, they agreed, was dark. Nearly thirty of the En- hsh had been slain. The enemy were numerous, a.^d seemed to be little depressed by the defection of their subjects the river Indians, or the hostility of their late allies, the Narragansetts. What they wa.ited m arms and audacity they made up in subtilty and knowledge of iho country. Past experience proved that a defensive war was of but little use ; and there were few means indeed of carrymg on an offensive one. There were twenty or thirty men at Saybrook ; the three towns contaiued about two hundred and fifty more ; and this was the whole • Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 917. Il, III ^:^^S^^^mMmmmmmimmmm^^^ OF CONNECTICUT. 119 If. .1 ''^'"^- ^' "' ^^^P' ^'^'^''' had been offered by Massachusetts, and as it was evident that some decided measure must be taken, the Court re- solved that an offensive war should be commenced against the Pequots. It was ordered that for the first campaign, ninety men should be raised; forty-two by Hartford, thirty by Windsor, and eighteen by Wethers- neld. 1 he necessary supplies were voted ; Mr. Stone mmister at Hartford, was appointed to go as chaplain,- and John Mason, lately stationed at Saybrook, was fixed upon as commander-in-chief* John Mason was a brave soldier, who had been bred to arms in the Netherlands under Sir Thomas Fairfax: and had attracted the notice of that general by his abi:ities and courage. He was tall and large in form, of an ener- getic, and even stern, but not headlong dispositioii, and of a moral, if not a religious character. No better choice could have been made by the Court of a commander in tins important crisis.f We have already mentioned the rebellion of Uncas the son of 0^veneco, against Sassacus ; and we shall now see of how much use he made himself to the English, and how deeply he revenged his past misfortunes upon his country- men. Smarting with disappointed ambition, with mortified pride, and with a desire of vengeance, this traitor to the 1 equot race now came to Hartford, at the head of a small band of follou ers, to assist the colonists. He was joined by a number of river Indians, probably from about Wind- .ioL^^lrxl?;^'^;^"'^"'^' ^"^-' ^^--huseUsHi.oHea,Col.ec- t Allen's Biog. Die. of New England. 13 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS sor and Hartford, and thus found himself at the head of seventy warriors. In the meantime, Massachusetts and Plymouth had been aroused, and the latter had voted forty, the former two hundred, men, to assist in prosecuting the war As It was reported that the Pequots had sent their women and children, for safety, to Block Island, Captain Daniel Patrick and forty men were dispatched overland by Massa- chusetts, to join with the Narragansetts, and pass over in canoes to the island. Having conquered it, they were to return to the main land, and assist the Connecticut troops m the campaign against the main body of the Pequots.* On the 20th of May, 1637, Mason, at the head of mnety Englishmen and seventy Indians, embarked at Hartfc^d on board a pink, a pinnace and a shallop, and began to drop down the river. The water was low • the vessels repeatedly got aground ; and, at their own request the Indian allies were set on shore to proceed to Saybrook by land. On their way through the forests, they fell in with thirty or forty of the enemy, and killed sovcn of them, with no loss to themsel.es except one man wounded. The two parties arrived without farther ad- venture at Saybrook, where the English were delighted by hearing of the exploit of Uncas, which they looked upon as a sure pledge of his fidelity.f Lieutenant Gardi- ner, however, was still suspicious of him, and said to Mason : " How dare you trust the Mohegans, who have out a year come from the enemy ?'• • Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 222. tMDson. Ma8fl.ni.t. Coll.. Vol. XVIII. p. 133. OF CONNECTICUT. 121 t " We are forced to trust them," replied the captain ; "for we want them to guide us." Gardiner was still unsatisfied, and calling Uncas to him, he said : " You say you will help Captain Mason, but I will first see it : therefore send twenty men to Bass River, for there went, last night, six Indians there, in a canoe : fetch them, dead or alive, and you shall go with Mason ; else you shall not." Uncas did as he was required ; his warriors found the enemy, killed four of them, and took another, named Kiswas, prisoner.* Kiswas had lived a long time at the fort, and could speak English tolerably well ,• but since the commencement of the war he had acted as a constant spy upon the garrison, and had been present at all the massacres of English which had occurred in the neigh- borhood. He seems to have been a bold and cunning savage ; and now, in his extremity, he showed neither fear nor sorrow, but braved his captors to do their worst. The Mohegans demanded permission to torture him ; and the English made no attempt to save a man who had assisted in the tortures of their own countrymen. The mode of execution was horrible. One of the captive's legs was tied to a post, a rope was fastened to the other, and twenty warriors pulled him asunder. Underbill put an end to the sufferings of the miserable wretch, by shooting him through the head with a pistol.f A little before the army reached Saybrook, a Dutch vessel arrived in the river, and cast anchor under the cannon of the fort. The garrison, learning from the crew • Gardiner. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXIII, p. 149. t Vincent. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, p. 36. ;l. ijf 122 HISTORV OF THE INDIANS dians w'h te«,;r2 1 '"' """''' ^"^P'^ '"« In- laid imn^edia^Te ^^d"";'" "' '»"^'' ^'-h altercationensued which In , '™^" '>^='<'^- An "y offering, if hllil ' "?" '^"^'^ P"'""" «"d to, '0 ransom';,. tTSSiT'"''"""'^^^^ 'ives. Thi. offe, being al'ptd^h ""' ""^ " "^''P- voyage, and soon came to fT' ^ '^"""""ed their ">en called Pe^no^rLr Ti.e" :,:! T" '""'""'' with an offer to tradp • ., ■ u ^^^°'^' "^ "S"a', i" return for Z^iJ^^l T'^'"' '"'" "'^^ -'--^ 'WO English girls whom ,h! P '' "°' '™"''™' ''"' ">« fiom Wethersfield Sal """' ''="' ""*<» «*"7 'e. the captives^: iTeZjl """' ^"^ "''"■^^'^ '» unscrnpulously and hn. '" '™"' '" ^°* "ore of Whom wer' ' :^^:::\r:""f r" "'^"' -- "ade them prisoners o 1 f 1 """' "°^^^'> 'h«y Pequots who stood on Z. t " ""^" ^^"•''' '" '"o here seven of your people o/h'!,' "" ""'^ " ^^ "-« =ire them again ye must 2 ."" ''^^^'- '^ ^^ de- ™. "s .ui:..y whrr^r:;i,t r,:T ^■'■'^- wiJI hoist sail and turn .11 ' °'' ^^ "^^ we main ocean." Th Pe; r," TV "'■'""'^'' """'h" threat, and stoutly r! led t "" f ""'' " "" '"'^ TheDntch^mmedL y tei. e/r;: T "'"•"'''■ by the time they had rraelld.l m ^ T^' ''' ' •"" Pequots were fuUy convinced thatth "■""'■' "'" and sent canoes to overlaid .ht t[ """ '" '"""^'' soon effected: the seven V e«hange was firm ground • and the, T '™'' ''' ""'='' '"<"■<' on S >nd, and the two g,rls were overjoyed to find * -f ♦ I i or CONNECTICUT. 123 i themselves agam among civilized men. The kind-hearted Du ohmen earned them immediately to Saybrook, Xe another Duteh vessel was found, which hj been sent by he governor of New Netherland, with express iZll ^rescue them on any condiaons, even at the risk of w! with the Pequots. Here, too, they found Mason and h^ had thus an opportunity of obtaining some late intelli- geuee concerning the enemy. They informed him that the Pequots were possessed of sixteen guns, and ha" to h Tn I?b"7 °' ""^^'^^ ^"-^ ^"o'- -They added tt the Indians had questioned them as to whether they could make powder ; and finding that they knew nothing about U, seemed to be considerably disappointed, and to s Zt.t':t: '""" "' "''' °" their new' acqui , lot St.ll they had been kindly treated, owing chiefly to the interposition of the wife of Mononotto, the second highel sachem who, as they thought, had saved them from bei 4 put to death. The Indians had tried to encourag" , ? to be merry and had carried them about from place to P ace, and shown them their fine wigwams and every th ng wh.h they themselves prized. Prom Saybrook these children were carried to New Amsterdam, to gratify the governor, who had «-isIied to see them with his own eyes, and then were returned in safety to their home, forty-six mdes up the Connecticut River • Mason had been directed in his commission to make his attack upon the enemy by landing a, Pequo. Harbor; and a letter to the same effect had reached him from tho • ttnderliill. Mm,, h,,,, Co|| , Vol. XXXVt, pn 17 ,8 iq n A- «y» .ha, he p.id ,,„ Bu..„ .„ p d, :„ „„«„;i;',Hj' !"■ °°'^'"" 1 o IS4 HISTOHr or THE m„^„. • m ■nagistmtes since his amVal at s . , m.l..ary judgment „adehirvervav.'°1- "" ^cod he urged hi. companions to a^l't r!'" '.^'^'"™ '^ -<■ to sail first to the country of fZ n '" <=™ch,ding "The Peqnots," said he "do I "' *«^»-g--'.' upon their river night and' day Th'' ^ "''""""" ^""fd ma-ds tell us, with sixteen pieces W "'^ '^'"'''- "^ ""^ *»'• Their numbers be gC. !' .nn "^ " ""^"'^ =""> ^'11 make it difficult for J,T\ '^"°' '" ""''• «"'ioh - etrect a landing, th;: ^^f' '""■ ^'^•'' '^ 'hetrswamps and thickeL Whe«ls"f ^"^ ""^ '''""^ '» ■'gansett, we shall come „non th ' Z" ^° ^''' '" '^ar- -a. .ake them by a su^;; rhtrth"' r't'"'^'' """ ^^ Most of the officers and """"^ '^»»' expect it. "# P-Po.ition; not reZZ ZV'f'"'^'''' 'his through the wilderness. ThevJ " " '""^ ™="eh hack to their fa„,ilies and ,i 7 "'""""^ "'^o '« get 'hi3 was to go at l^ to Pe' tfl'T '""'""' ^™^ ">' ' «ve battle. In .his diversi y of " ' ""' ''°"'" ^ 'i'"'- ^Wng Mr. Stone to prayftL Jr" "" ^^"'^'' '" de- might be guided in V ^o^H' %T '"^^ '"^^ honest minded minister spent mL 7;,, '"' P'°"= ""d and, in the morning, told Cal"n Ma r'^" '" ^'^y-' vmced that they ongh. .05?,"^""""''"'"^°"- -as no longer any h'i.a.ion Mas^rr""' '^'"^''^ '"Ily accepted. Twenty men , '*'° *"' '"""«'- "ver, to assist in defeld'ing he TJlr' ""'' "" '"« .,j«»,.a..'««*(l»*»*S»*<^-^^ ?^»JI4(SS>i!«*«l»t**'33»>^ mm » m or ''ONNECTICUT. It was Friday, the 2qth /• ,. '''^ =""1. on Saturday towalf ^^' ''''™ "'"^ *' ^ail ■ ,^ .he Shores or^hHatUrS '^ ""PP^'^ aneht' land, and, although time was!!. '^'^ ""• '«« '» -'"Pnlous observance of thrSahhT^u' '"* *«^ '"eir «" 'he next day on board thet!,' """ ""^^ '«»=■*"«<) "o«hwes, Wind blew from 2 '• °" """day the -olence as effectually tlpTev^T' h" "'''' '^""'-h ^^^ the same on Tuesdiv ,,"'*"""''"'=«'<"'• It Mason landed and maSip^'tr"* '''"'''' -"en .'^"«- He had an immediate C '"'"'"^"'^^ °^ Canon- -formed him of his desj o t, " *'"■ "-^ ^^h^™. 'he.r strong holds, and tofd h 1 th'T',:! ""' P«9"<"« h. Narragansetts was a free 1 ™ ,h ^u' ^""'^-^ "^ "•« The reply appears to havrbefn ""^"^ ""^'^ •'"""'rr. "He was glad," he said, "of Z '"'" '^ *«»'>n«mo The.r purpose was a ^o„^ """'"S '"' 'he English and .he white men w'hom hrrVT^''"^"' '" -r fe-^ 'o think of attacking ^hem ^I '"'" ""» "^^ '»o 'he Enjiish permission to pirtr T'''" «« Sa™ neither himself „or his Zv seZ'^ "'^ »™'r7; but Joni them.» '^ ^ " ***'" ye' to have offered to h4tsTi:t::rt:rcaSn"par"r '"'''^^ '"^ -mp, ^ °n his march as ProviCe ^he" 't 7"° "=•" ^""^ a1 Wrlhams. He urged Mason m t, ' "'""^"' "^ Ro?er "- arnval; but, fl.hoS "o tr.! "'"^ "^ "^ "'»'' considered desirable, it was d ' ^''.' '•einforcement was - "^'"^ The men' .ZZXT:^ 2^'T" ""' *' I 126 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS night from home, and were anxious to get back to their families and their spring labors. It was feared, too, that any farther detention would result in making their design known to the enemy, inasmuch as a number of squaws among the Narragansetts were known to keep up an inter- course with the Pequots. Finally they wished to dispel the doubts and sneers of these Indians, who still as- serted, that although Englishmen talked much they would not fight, and that they would never dare to invade the country of Sassacus* On the next morning the vessels were manned with thirteen whites and a few Indians, and ordered to sail for the mouth of the Pequot River. The land army, con- sisting of seventy-seven Englishmen, and about sixty warriors under Uncas, then took up its journey westward through the wilderness. They moved along a forest path, much traveled by the natives, but rough and diffi- cult to white men j and, after marching, as it seemed to them, eighteen or twenty miles, they came to a place called Nehantic. Here stood a fort built as a protection against the Pequots ; and here lived one of the Narragan- sett sachems, probably the same who was afterwards so well known to the whites under the names of Yanemo and Ninigret. On the march, Indian warriors flocked into the army, until, when it reached Nehantic, it was at- tended by as many as two hundred Narragansetts. The Nehantics were at first cool and suspicious, and would allow none of the English to enter their fort. Mason's indignation was excited by their haughtiness and inhos- pitality ; and suspecting them of hostile feelings, he feared • Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 36,37. ^j«^<^@r'' ;'gaMM^S******^' ^^fjtii0k.ili^ OP CONNECTICUT. 127 they would send notice of his coming to th. "Siimon^., c '-"innig to the enemy. S .ce no„e of „s may come in," said lie, " none of vou ha 1 go out ;" and he fulfilled his threat by post n/ sen! unels round .he fort who kept them all peL^'ed u"/:.", The number of Narragansetts who continued to join the arrny mduced many of the Nehantics, in spite of the ^orof't "^;'° "" "^^ ^^-- ^--o-s '0 'he e;,":! torn of the Indians, thdse boastful allies formed into a funous gestures, vaunting their prodigious courage, and When the Englishmen re-commenced their march in the mormng they were accompanied, as they thought bv five hundred Indian wa„iors.t The day was extremely warm; the country was rough and difficult of passage- and several of the men fainted with heat and with wani twefr ■, I' T"^'"^ ''''"' ^'PP''"^'^ '» be about twelve miles, the English eame to the Paucatuc River, a, a ford which, the Narragansetts said, was a favorite fish .ng place of the Pequots. Here the Indians pointed out where many persons had been lately dressing fish, from whence they all concluded that the enemy w' re hddTng a feast at their for.ress.J The army halted on the bank! with ! t T' ' "";'""* ^"'*°'^ ''""^^*<''' 'h-'-^^elves 11 ^t T ""' '°°'- ^' "'■^ P'-'^ 'he Narragan- etts and Nehantics began to exhibit the fear in which they held the Pequots. The Paucatuc was the last • Mmon. M.8,. His,. Coll.. Vol. XVIII, p. 130. t Ibid ^^ Uoh^on'. W„„ 'he o,«n air. The cam„ ^ ">' "" ">« §'•»"»<' ^"Pposcd themselves IcTtl T/"'^ '"""'• """^ 'h" -"en ■'en., overheard bythe ; '"''r' ^^ '•'-«" ■'<• "Jvaueed, a„d could heir .1 , "■""""''' "'"" ''"■• I'equots in thoir v.ll.t T,,, ^ "''""" "'"' -"S" "f the "'g'«- This m-t; , dl;!' ;' "" "" ^"" "'^ •'" "-1- that the white fear. Sassacus Jiad nit'ji avoided tl sf^'it a rein for •i'kI had im, Joined ' Barl)er' I'cemeiit I Coniieciicue, Groton ^''I'lot roimtry through irom the other 130 HISTOUY OF THE INDIANS fort : they were all feasting and rejoicing over their suc- cesses ; and on the morrow they were to go out against the enemy. Tired at last with their games, they lay down to sleep : almost all of them for the last time.* The English rose before daybreak, [Friday, June 5th,] and solemnly commended themselves and their enterprise to the care of God. Mason led on for about two miles, through an Indian path ; when, not being able to discover any sign of a fort, he halted at the foot of a large hill, and passed the word for some of the Indians to come up! North View of Fequot Hill, Groton. Uncas and a Nehantic sagamore, named Wequash, were the only ones who made thoir appearance. "Where is the fort?" said Mason. "On the top of the hill," they replied. " And where are the rest of the Indians ?" " In • Mnson. MuB^. IIIbi. Co!I , Vol. XVIII, pp. 137, 138. OF CONNECTICUT. 131 the rear, very much afraid." " Tell them not to fly," was the answer, ''but stand behind, at what distance they please, and see now whether Englishmen will fight."* The English being now on the western side of the hill. Mason sent Underbill, with part of the men, round to the southern slope, to attack the fort on that quarter, while he, with the remainder, led directly up towards the prin- cipal entrance. Fatigued with their dance of the evening before, the Pequots were all buried in a profound sleep. It was just about daybreak, when men's slumbers are usually the soundest, and when the Indians themselves were most fond of attacking a sleep-ng foe. Mason and his soldiers advanced silently and undiscovered until the captain was within a rod of the rude palisade. At this moment a dog barked, and a Pequot yelled out, Owanux ! Owanuxl (Englishmen ! Englishmen !) The assailants moved rap- idly forward, gave one fire through the palisade, and then rushed to the gateway. It was blocked up with bushes, but Mason clambered over them, and the others pulled them out of the way and poured in after him. A loud cry from the Pequots answered the volley of musketry ; they started up in fear and astonishment, but not knowing what to do remained cowering in their cabins. Mason entered the main street, and looked up and down it M'ithout seeing a smgle Indian. lie then forced his way into one of the wigwams, where he was immediately attacked by several warriors, who attempted to seize hold of, and capture, him. The gallant captain defended him- self stoutly, killing one or two of the assailants with his • Mnson. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVHI, p. 138. 14 \ : 132 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS sword ; and a soldier, named William Heydon, stumbling in after him, the Indians fled or hid themselves under the beds. In such a style the English, scattered over the fort, maintained a desultory conflict, in which many of the Pequots were slain, and some, likewise, of the assail- ants wounded. It had been determined not to burn the village, but to destroy the garrison by the sword and save the plunder.* But this, Mason soon saw, would be im- possible. The Pequots were continually shooting from the cabins ; some of his men were already wounded ; the others were confused, scattered, and knew not what to do ; and he was himself fatigued and out of breath with his exertions. " We must burn them," he shouted ; and, entering a wigwam, he seized a firebrand and applied it to the dry mats with which the rude dwelling was cov- ered. The fire kindled in an instant ; the northeast wind swept it from cabin to cabin ; the whole fort was rapidly involved in a furious conflagration. The party on the southern side had but just eff'ected its entrance. It had met with a g.aiant resistance ; one of its numbers had been killed ; and Underbill himself was wounded in the hip by an arrow. Seeing that the village was on fire, he kindled it farther by means of nowder; and then, with his followers, retreated from the already intolerable heat. Mason had done the same, and both parties, with the In- dians in the rear, formed a line about the blazing fortress. The shrieks of women and children, the yells and bowl- ines of men, rose from the conflagration, and mingled With the roar of the English musketry and the exulting shouts of the Mohegans and Narragansetts. Despair • Maicn. Maas. Hist. Con., Vol. XVIII. p. 139. i pJiMg| j »illj|# i^ OF CONNECTICUT. 133 seized on the wretched inhabitants : some perished in the flames without attempting to escape : others rushed into them, either deliberately, or in the blindness of mortal terror. Many brave warriors fought to the last amidst the burning palisades, until their bowstrings were cracked and rendered useless by the fire. A number gathered without the fortress, on the windward side, and shot their arrows at the assailants until cut down by the merciless discharge of musketry. About forty of the boldest rushed out, and attempted to force their way through the victors and escape into the neighboring thickets. A few, only, effected their purpose : the others were struck down by the English swords, or by the arrows and tomahawks of the Indian allies.* The greater part perished amid the flames of thetr blazing dwellings ; and so quickly did the fire do Its work, that in little more than an hour this frightful death-agony of a community was over. About four hundred Indians had perished during this short period : only seven had been taken prisoners ; and seven at the utmost, had escaped.f Two of the English were killed, twenty were wounded, and others had been saved from wounds or death, only by the most singular provi- dences. Mason was struck repeatedly on his helmet. • "For the Nnrragansetts beset the fori ao close that not one escaped "-. r. Vtncent. Mason, however, snys seven escaped, and Und.rliill five t Mason snys six or seven hundred perished ; Winthrop .ays one hnndred nnd h ty warnors. and one hundred and fifty old men. women nnd children ; Undernll snys four hundred. Judging from the nun.ber of wigwams in the . for., winch wns seventy. I should say that the es.imnte of Mnson wns above and that of Win.hmp under, the truth. The estimate of Underbill, also, may' be und.rn,ted by f.i.y or even a hundred ; yet P. Vincent, anothe. mrrator nnd eye-witness of the battle, puts the victims at only between three and four hundred. vii 4 -n-;i 134 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS I John Dier and Thomas Stiles were shot in the knots of their neckcloths. Lieutenant Bull received an arrow into a hard piece of cheese which he carried in his pocket. The victory had now been achieved, but the situation in which the conquerors found themselves was extremely- embarrassing, if not dangerous. They were overcome with fatigue by their rough march, by broken sleep and by fighting ; and four or five of their number were so wounded that they had to be carried by twenty more. Others were obliged to bear the arms of these last ; and thus only about forty men were left in a condition for service. Some of the Indian allies, also, were wounded • and the Narragan setts, finding that the white men were going westward, began to draw off towards their own country. The English anxiously scanned tfte suriace of the sound, but could discover nothing of their vessels and therefore knew not to what point to direct their march. After waiting about an hour, they were relieved from their perplexity by seeing their httle fleet, six or seven miles distant, sweeping with a fair wind into the Pcquot River. At the same moment a large body of warriors, seemingly three hundred in number, was dis- covered rapidly approaching from the west. This was composed of the Pequots from the other fort, and, doubt- less, from all the surrounding country, who had been startled by the distant roll of musketry, and were coming to revenge the destruction of their kinsmen. Such, how- ever, was the feebleness, the perfect imbecility of bows and arrows when opposed to fire-arms, that this numerous band of warriors, animated with the desire of vengeance, was met on its near approach, checked and driven back, 4 ,v,%jAH«ia-.a»<»»'«»'* ';^^S*^i!&i««*^aWS«aisaifefi' I OF CONNECTICUT. 135 by a couple of files of soldiers not amounting to more than fourteen men. The English were encouraged by seemg this evidence of the incapacity of the enemy in the open field, and commenced their retreat, directing their march towards the mouth of the Thames. The Pequots followed them until they came to the site of the recent catastrophe, where they halted to gaze at the scene of destruction. In place of their late fortress with its seventy wigwams, bidding defiance, as they thought, to every enemy, they beheld only smoking, smouldering ruins mingled with scorched and mangled corpses. There lay the aged counselor, the wise powwow, and the brave warrior ; there lay little children, who, but the day be- fore, had played in mimic warfare about the hill • there lay mothers and wives, and young girls just entering upon womanhood : all dead by a horrible and agonizing death, and so disfigured that not even the eye of love could recognize them. The stoicism of the Pequot war- riors gave way under so terrible a blow, and the English as they looked back, could see them stamp and tear their hair in that bitter agony of grief and rage. In a few min- utes they turned their thoughts to vengeance, and came rushing down the hill after the conquerors as i{ they would in an instant overrun and destroy them. But the deadly effects of the musketry soon checked their fury : some were killed, and the others ran about as if crazed, dis- charging their arrows at random. At the foot of the hill was a small brook, where Mason and his people halted and refreshed themselves, having already taught their pursuers to keep at a cautious distance. Here the Eng- lish hired some of their Indian allies to carry the wounded • 14* ' I 136 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS j: j Mi 1(3 j ! i and thus resumed their march in a better condition to act against the enemy. The Mohegans and Narragansetts now ventured to skirmish with the Pequots ; both parties, says Underbill, fighting in such a manner that in seven years they would not kil! seven men. They stood at a distance from each other, and aimed their arrows at an elevation; watched the course of each one, and never shot a second until they saw the effect of the first.* During the retreat about fifty of the Narragansetts took advantage of what they thought a favorable moment, and set off towards their own country. The Pequots dis- covered, pursued and surrounded them ; and were about to take a bloody revenge for their own misfortunes, when the other Narragansetts, beholding the danger of their countrymen, ran to the English officers and begged them to grant their assistance. The English were angry at the Narragansetts for what they called their desertion ; but as they were unwilling to have them cut off, or to see the Pequots obtain a triumph, Underbill was sent with thirty men to the rescue. Underbill, who is a great braggart, says that a contest of an hour ensued, in which the Nar- ragansetts were rescued and above one hundred of the Pequots killed or wounded. P. Vincent, who seems to have had a spite against Underbill, and in another place tries to make him out a poltroon, says that after five muskets were fired the Pequots fled. Underbill adds that the Indians were greatly astonished at the English mode of fighting ; but called it matchit or evil, because too •Mason. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVIII. pp. 141. 142. Underbill. Mass. HiBt. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 35, 26. ■::^SSS^iS^i^«»»8*^^a''^^*'*^* = OP CONNECTICUT. 137 furious and destructive of too many lives.* The colonists prosecuted their retreat slowly and with caution ; when- ever they came to a swamp or thicke ^ring a few shots into It for the purpose of discovering and driving out any Inrkmg ambush. The Pequots hung on their rear, shoot- ing ineifectually from behind rocks and trees, until within about two miles of the river, when they drew together in a body and disappeared. The English, with colors flying in token of their vic- tory, marched on to the shore. On board their vessels they found Captain Patrick, with his forty men, who having reached Narragansett after the departure of the land army but before that of the fleet, concluded to take the oppor- tunity aff-orded by the latter and sail round to Pequot Harbor. The whole force would now have embarked immediately had it not been for an unwillingness to leave the Narragansetts alone in the enemy's country. Accord- mgly only the wounded and about thirty-five others were put on board the vessels, while Mason, with twenty men Patrick, with forty, accompanied by all the Indians, set ofl" overland for Saybrook. On their march they came upon a village belonging to the western Nehantics, the nihabitants of which fled at their approach and took refuge m a swamp. The English pushed in after them drove them out on the opposite side, and chased them' among the low hills a considerable distance. But finding that the Indians dispersed all over the country, they gave up the pursuit, and drawing together again, continued their march. Towards the evening of this toilsome and • Underhm Mass. Ili.t. Coll.. Vol. XXXVI, pp. 26. 27. Vincent. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, p. 38. I'll \vr. Ill 133 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS eventful day they reached the mouth of the Connecticut, where their arrival was soon discovered, and welcomed with discharges of cannon, from the little fortress on the opposite shore.* Thus ended the famous expedition of the colonists of Connecticut against the Poquots : an expedition conducted with admirable skill and courage, and crowned with the most astonishing success. But of its moral fent^^rci,. -/hat shall we say? What shall we say of this indiscriminate butchery of both sexes and all ages, allowing none or almost none to escape, but consigning nearly a whole community to a death of unsurpassed anguish and horror ? It was thought shocking when, nearly a century and a half later, and within a few miles of the same spot, the soldiers of Arnold bayonetted eighty-five gallant men, who yet had dared and resisted the assault, and who, by the laws of war, were liable to all its consequences. What then would have been said, had the English sur- rounded the village of New London by night, had they set fire to its houses, cut down those of the inhabitants who attempted to fly, and driven back the others, indis- criminately of age or sex, to perish in the flames ? What repentance or atonement should we have thought suffi- cient to wipe away the stain of such an atrocity? When would our historians have ceased to record it, or our orators have forgotten to make it the subject of their in- dignant comments ? Yet surely there is not such a differ- ence between a barbarous and a civilized community, that the extermination, the complete, bloody and sudden ex- termination, of the one may be looked upon almost with • Mason. Mass. Hist. Coll, Vol. XVIII, p. 143. 144. 4 .gali^a/iiil OP CONNECTICUT. 139 i ' ^ insensibility, xvhile that of the other would be regarded as a master-piece of atrocity. On the other hand, there are several considerations which a supporter of Mason and his followers might, with considerable force, allege in their defense. Cruel, he might say, it certainly is, to put men, women and chil- dren to an undistinguishing slaughter ;' yet this cruelty may be palliated by provocations, and may be excused, or almost excused, by necessity. The Pequots them- selves had certainly no right to talk about the violation of the rules of humanity ; for the English only did to them what they ivould have exulted in doing to the Eng- lish, and what they had repeatedly done to individuals among the English. The colonists had seen their wives and daughters tomahawked by the enemy ; they had been told of their friends and brothers put to death in cool blood by lingering torments; they had heard the savage foe boast of these ferocities, and repeat with mockery the groans and prayers of the unhappy sufferers. What wonder then, that when they could put the cup of ven- geance to the lips of their enemies, they should seek to fill it to the brim ? And more : when Mason gave the order to burn the fort, the conflict was still raging, and victory was wavering in the balance. All the colonists were exhausted by fatigue ;* some of them had been killed, others wounded ; and the remainder were con- fused with the nu ibers of the enemy. The Indian allies hod as yet rendered no assistance, and still remained un- * "About two hours before the day, we marched towards the fort, being wcnry and much spent, many of ua having slept none at all"— Hubbart^a Indian Wars, p. 38. i 140 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS decided whether to advance or to fly. Had Mason con- tinued to fight on as he began, so many of his soldiers would have been killed and disabled that the rest might have been ovemhelmed by the warriors from the other village, or, at best, obliged to abandon their wounded and make a calamitoi^ retreat. Had he, at this critical mo- ment, ordered a retreat, the Narragansetts would have fled, the Pequots would have resumed the jffensive, and the whole object of the expedition would have certainly been lost. He did neither: he adopted the wise though stern alternative of making fire assist steel ; and from this moment his success was no longer uncertain. My own opinion of the burning of the Pequot fort is, that it was a piece of stern policy, mingled with some- thing of revenge, from which floods of argument could not wash out a stain of cruelty.* If it receives any ap- proval, it must be that of the intellect and not that of the heart. It would not be fair, however, to try the men of a stern and iron age by the high standard to which hu- manity has been elevated at the present day. Of this we must be cautions if we wish to be just. It is worthy of remembrance also, that the colonists were led by two old soldiers. Mason and Underbill, to whose charge much doubtless of their lack of mercy must be laid. After the Pequots left oflf the pursuit of the English, they returned, gloomy and dispirited, yet enraged, to their remaming fortress. They revenged themselves for the courage and success with which Uncas and his followers had assisted the English, by killing all of their relations, who remained among them, except seven. These made * See Appendix, Article II. ■^:p,a lalllli i Jui IllnOWf -- jj j ^a'..a-fc f'a,angjt^'JAja.'i. OF CONNECTICUT. 141 heir escape by flight, and some of them afterwards told the colonists that one hundred of the Pequots were killed and wounded in attacking Mason's army during the re- On the next day a council of the nation was held, at which three plans of action were proposed and discussed : fly from the country ; to attack the English ; to attack the Narragansetts. Sassacus, whose spirit was still un- broken, urgently supported the braver alternatives : but the great body of the nation, overwhelmed by the extent and fearful nature of their calamity, were resolved upon flight. They were determined to leave their country their cabins and the graves of their ancestors, rather than remain longer in the vicinity of enemies whose hostility was so dreadful, and whose wrath fell like the lightnino- destroying before it was seen. With sad and heavy hearts they applied the firebrand to their fortress and wigwams destroyed all their" property which could not be carried away; and then, separating into several parties, began to leave the land which they had so gloriously conquered, and hitherto so successfully defended.f One band of thirty or forty warriors, with a great number of women and children moved westward a short distance ; but, losing heart, returned once more to its ancient country, and took up its residence in a swamp.J The main body, consist- mg of several hundred souls, headed by Sassacus, by Mononotto, and by most of the sagamores who remained, * Vincent. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, p 39 Coll., Vol. XVIir, p. 145. t Underbill. Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XXXVI, p. 28. t Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 332. Mason. Mass. Hist. ;,l» l.^' wounded men ever, the others were beaten back, a,.d the wou ,0 force an entrance. Be mg ""^''"J^ J^^in of doing "T tn:r"i: - dlTm^r tr;a„t a parley ; Tna Thomarstar: the same who.had parleyed w.th a ^rrtt^^rwettrt—f^^^^^ preter. He weuv Indians that life havine obtained a hearing, told the inai other of tho old men, women and children ,. ,1 V 1 YVITI no 146.147. Winlhrop.Vol. I,p.231. • Mason. Mosb. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVIII.PP. 14''. iMki-tMimi^^&>:i^ I I fili'i u p w H W H H I 'I -SUjWaMwiWKW""* MiaMBu i^MSill&^l^*^' mm R E' < W H H m OF CONNECTICUT. 149 i followed, until, in about two hours, nearly two hundred persons had left the swamp. None remained, it is prob- able, but the Pequot warriors. Few of these could ever have slain Englishmen, and the greater portion of them might have surrendered with an almost certain prospect of being let off with life. Who then can refuse to admire that heroic spirit and noble self-devotion, which would not suffer them to desert each other in this last extremity ? With one resolution they exclaimed : " We will fight it out to the last." They shot their arrows at the messen- ger of peace, and rushed upon him with such violence that the soldiers had to run to his rescue.* As night came on, the English cut through the narrow part of the swamp, so that the men, by standing at a dis- tance of twelve feet from each other, were able com- pletely to surround the enemy. All night the Pequots kept creeping close up to the guards and discharging their arrows at them ; but, although the clothes of the latter were often pierced, not one of them received a wound. The English musketry was not thus ineffective, as was discovered by the dead bodies found next day, half-buried in the trampled mire.f A little before morning, a heavy fog came on, and the Pequots took advantage of the deepening obscurity to attempt their escape. They rushed with loud yells upon that part of the line guarded by Patrick's men, and re- turned to the charge as fast as they were driven back. \s the battle increased in violence, the other leaders came M , ( » Mason. Mnss. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVIII, p. 147. Winthrop, Vol. I, pp. 231,2.S2. t Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 48. 150 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS up to assist Patrick, and the line of the besiegers was broken up. While Mason was marching along the edge of the swamp, he found the Pequots pressing out upon him. He repulsed them with a discharge of musketry, upon which they immediately turned, and, falliig once more upon Patrick's line, forced their way through and fled. Sixty or seventy thus mads iheir escape, of whom some were found dead in the pursuit on the following day. A quantity of wampum and Indian utensils was taken, and the victorious army carried back one hundred and eighty prisoners* In this battle Sassacus had not been engaged. On finding by the attempt of his renegade countryman that he was still exposed to the attacks of his enemies, he had resolved to take refuge in yet more distant regions. Ac- companied by Mononotto, with twenty, or, as some say, forty, of his bravest warriors, and carrying five hundred pounds worth of wampum, he fled to the country of the Mohawks. To desert his people in the midst of their dangers, does not seem to correspond with his fame as a great chieftain and a brave warrior.. There are two ways, however, in which his conduct may be honorably ex- plained. It was reported among the English, that some of the Pequots accused him of being the author of their misfortunes, and would perhaps have killed him in their rage, had it not been for the interference of his friends. This quarrel may have pursued fiim into his present re- treat, and forced him to leave his countrymen even against his will. It is possible, in the second place, that, seeing there was no safety but in farther flight, he may have • Mason. Mass. Hist. Coll, Vol. XVIII, p. 148. Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 232.. i T ,w*-i»fe«i-s^life.» ■'*-.'sS; 4^i«i&«»i»*&;A'.v*t«y«rtf^ OP CONNECTICUT. i-j ever a, .nd his fate. The Mohawks, moved it wa, r. no«o. Who flea ^^:r:Lir.Tr:°''\T::!z: • were! ; '""cn 7- " "' "' ""^ '""'<'^^«'' -^'^-n^. de:^Xirtrr:r """'^ ''- ""^"^- -^ '-« The colonists at first tried to make use of their „ri, oners as servants, or, more properl,, as slave b st h was the uneasiness of these proud children „f ,v, r and so troublesome did they make tll f '""■ Among the prisoners taken in the Pairfip]^ o wethewifeandchildrenofMonooto wasaZdv known that chiefly through her influence hrdthe two girls taken at Wethersfield been saved from death Td she now attracted the admiration of the slth K T intelligence and modesty, no less .Ln hfha 1e Jrved their gratitude by her human if V u i "**" '^^^^'^^eci that her honor m' gh: 'rhe 0^.""::^.^;" ^T not be separated from her childr n She T'"""" -gned,hkemos.ofherfe:Xtivt.::rEt * Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 235. t Mason. Ma«. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVllI, p. 148. .%. Sf^n^W IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) i m {./ jf < «' .^ ^%^- ^ A f/j 1.0 I.I £ IS 12.0 IL25 1 1.4 1.6 p- ^ JT % ^^.;^ .-^ moiogrdpiiic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN kTKIIT WIBSTIR,N.Y. 14SI0 (71«) 973-4S03 • ;/ % 1^ 152 IllSXOttY OF THE INDIANS lish family ; but Governor Winthrop gave strict injunc- tions that she should be treated with kindness.* At the close of the swamp fight, it weis calculated that seven hundred Pequots had been killed or captured ; and the prisoners taken on that occasion reported, that, out of the twenty-six sagamores of their nation, only thirteen survived. A large part of these last, also, must have per- ished in the massacre with Sassacus.f Broken and dispirited, the Pequots now became an easy prey to their enemies j and the Mohegans and Narragan- setts continually brought their heads or hands into the English settlements. Among these ghastly trophies was a hand of the sagamore who led the band which massa- cred Stone and his companions on the Conneclicut. Some of the chased and persecuted tribe took refuge with their late tributaries, the western Nehantics ; some fled to Long Island ; some to the banks of the Hudson ; and others, tradition afterwards said, retreated as far as the back por- tions of Virginia and North Carolina. Many threw them- selves on the mercy of Uncas, and some even on that of their ancient and hated enemies, the eastern Nehantics and the Narragansetts. The Narragansetts were bound by a treaty not to receive them, and they appear to have kept their agreement with considerable fidelity. Those few who came to them they usually carried to Boston and handed over to the English magistrates. At one time they brought in nearly eighty of these prisoners, of whom twenty were men, and one of them a considerable saga- more. The Mohegans, and perhaps the Nehantics, were under no such obligation ; and they probably made little * Hubbard's Narrative, p. 49. t Winthrop, Vol. I, p. 234. OF CONNECTICUT. 153 hesitation about receiving and adopting as many of the defeated "tribe as would come to them. As early as July, 1637, less than two months after the fight at Fort Mystic, the authorities of Massachusetts had a quarrel with Nini- gret, the Nehantic sachem, about his harboring Pequots.* Uncas, too, whose clan was exceedingly feeble before the war broke out, now began to make it formidable by the number of refugees from the dispersed tribe which he continually received into it. Pequots and Mohegans were, until lately, all the same people ; and when they were mingled together it was difficult, if not impossible, for the colonists to distinguish them. But the proceed- ings of the crafty sachem were revealed to the English by the Narragansetts, between whom and Uncas a bitter hostility began to grow up even before the close of the present war. In July, 1638, while the persecution of the scattered Pequots still dragged on, Uncas, with thirty-seven of his warriors, made a ceremonial visit to Boston. Being ad- mitted before the council of the colony, he laid down twcL'ty fathoms of wampum as a present for the governor. He was told that the governor would not accept it until he had made explanations and given satisfaction con- cerning the Pequots whom he had received and now har- bored Uncas was terribly perplexed. He saw the rock upon which Sassacus had split, and was determined not to draw upon himself the nger of the English, while, at the same time, he could not bear to part with any of his followers. He denied that he had any Pequots, and aflirmed most expressly, that all the company then present • Winihrop, Vol. I, p. 232. 154 HISTORY or THE INDIANS with him were true Mohegans. His protestations and his evident grief softened the displeasure of the magis- trates, and they accepted his present. '.le now took courage. Placing his hand on his heart, and addressing the governor, he said: "This heart is not mine: it is yours. I have no men : they are all yours. Command me any hard thing and I will do it. I will never believe any Indian's words against the English. If any Indian shall kill an Englishman, I will put him to death be he never so dear to me."* To the spirit exhibited in this speech Uncas was faith- ful, so far as it agreed with his own advantage, as long as he lived. Entirely devoted to his own interest, he found that he best advanced that interest by exhibiting great devotion to the powerful foreigners. He was faithful to them just as the jackal is faithful to the lion : not because it loves the lion, but because it gains something by re- maining in his company. How sincere he was in his'dealings on this occasion, we may learn from a fact preserved in the letters of Roger Williams. As Uncas was returning from Boston he passed within a mile of Williams' house ; and, one of his com- pany being disabled from traveling by lameness, turned aside there to rest. This man, named Wequaumugs, had a Narragansett father and a Mohegan mother, so that he was on free terms in the country of either tribe. He soon fell into conversation with his kind host, and answered his questions without reserve. He stated that there were only two Pequots with Miantinomo, neither of whom had come in of themselves, but both having been captured by « Winthrop, Vol. I, pp. 265, 266. ,*isa**«!. ■JkiM'^!il^" OF CONNECTICUT. 155 his warriors. In the Nehantic country thv?re were about sixty under Wequash Cook, nephew of Ninigret the Ne- hantic sachem. Williams then asked him if there were any Pequots in the company which Uncas took with him to Boston. Wequaumugs replied that there were six, and gave their names, observing that two of them, Pamatesick and Weaugonhick, were slayers of Englishmen. Williams wrote down the names, and sent thc>m, with an account of the conversation, to Governor Winthrop, that Uncas might not lose the credit of his praise-worthy fidelity to the English, and his singular regard for truth.* The revelation must have been peculiarly gratifying to Win- throp, as he had given the sachem a fine red coat on his departure, had defrayed his expenses while he remained in Boston, furnished him with provisions l ur his home- ward journey, and dismissed him with a general letter of protection. The Pequots who remained independent at last became tired of being chased about, like wolves and foxes, from one hiding place to another. They sent in some of their chief men to Hartford, with an offer that, if only their lives might be spared, they would give themselves up to the English and become their servants. This offer was accepted; and Uncas and Miantinsmo were both sum- moned to Hartford, to agree with the magistrates in the disposition of the conquered people. This invitation demonstrates, perhaps, the power and influence to which Uncas had already arisen. Had he been no more potent now than he was at the commencement of the war, it is very possible that he might not have received such a token • Rhode Island Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, pp. 140, 141.* 16 156 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS of consideration. It seems probable, also, that the colo- nists had already fixed their eye upon him, as one whom they could safely build up as a bulwark and a watch- tower for themselves against the other aborigmes ot this part of New England. Another cause likewise existed for this meeting, in a circumstance to which I have before alluded The Pequots and Mohegans had already ceased fighting, and began to unite under Uncas' authority. Partly in consequence of this, and partly from the remem- brance of ancient hostility, a quarrel had arisen between this new community and the Narragansetts. Insults and injuries Mete bandied to and fro ; and the sachems were now summoned ^^ Hartford, as well to adjust their own disputes, as to sea the distribution of the Pequots. Miantinomo set out for the place of meeting in great state ; being attended by his wife and children, by several sachems, and no less than one hundred and fifty warriors. Three Englishmen also traveled in his company, one of whom wus Roger Williams. This large number of war- riors was, probably, not so much in ostentation, as for protection against real or fancied danger from the follow- ers of Uncas. On the way, various Narragansetts were met coming from Conne- ticut, who complained that they had been plundered by the Pequots and Mohegans. Some Wunnashowatuckoogs,* a tribe subject to Canon- icus, also came into camp and told alarming stories. " They had been robbed," they said, " two days before, by a band of six or seven hundred Indians, composed of Pequots and Mohegans, and others who were their con- federates. This great band had spoiled twenty-three • Probably a Nipmuck clan. ft2atgS*M&S«feS^-i*ii- ,^i£^^-iM)^Maa^< jis«sirii*»i* ■' OF CONNECTICUT. 167 fields of their corn, and had rifled several Narragansetts who were staying among them. Now they were lying in wait to stop Miantinomo on his journey ; and some of them had threatened to boil him in a kettle." These reports being continually swelled and strength- ened, the three Englishmen, with the design of preventing bloodshed, advised a return; and Roger "Williams pro- posed to go himself to Connecticut, by water, and use his influence to have a stop put to this insolence of the Mohe- gans. Byit as the distance was already half accomplished, Miantinomo rejected this plan ; and 9solved at any risk to proceed in the path on which he had set out. The journey was continued, therefore ; the sachems marching in the center; Roger Williams and his companions in. front ; and forty or fifty men scouting the woods on either side. No attack was made, perhaps none was intended ; and, proceeding in this manner, they finally crossed the Connecticut and entered the little village of Hartford. As soon as he obtained an interview with the magis- trates, Miantinomo brought forward his complaints against Uncas, for all the acts of injustice and violence which he had committed, or was said to have committed, upon the Narragansetts. The Mohegan chief was not there, having sent a messenger to say that he was lame and could not come. Haynes, a principal member of the council, and afterwards governor of the colony, replied that it was a very lame excuse ; and dispatched an urgent request that he should make his appearance. Uncas recovered from his lameness sufficiently to reach Hartford ; and an ex- amination was then commenced of the charges brought against him by the Narragansetts. The Mohegan sachem ^ 158 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS brought in one of his followers, to testify in his defense. This man stated that he was in the party which was said to have plundered the Wunnashowatuckoogs ; that in- stead of six hundred and sixty warriors, as the Narragan- setts affirmed, there were only one hundred ; and that they did nothing more than roast corn, and a few other harmless things of the like nature. The Narragansetts contradicted this, and the Mohegans rejoined : both parties commenced criminations and recriminations : the magis- trates heard them patiently for a whilj, to let them blow off their anger in words ; but, having no evidence upon which they could depend, they finally ordered the charges to be dismissed. They then attemptod to effect a recon- ciliation between the sachems, and succeeded so far as to • make them shake hands. Miantinomo seemed to be the most sincere, and twice invited his rival to feast with him on some venison which his men had just killed. The magistrates urged Uncas to accept the invitation; but, either from sullenness, or from suspicion of the Narragan- sett's intentions, he refused. * In a private conference Miantinomo gave in the names of six Pequot sachems who remained, and of all the sur- viving men of that nation who had been guilty of Eng- lish blood. A list of these names was v/ritten out, and was afterwards read to Uncas, who acknowledged it to be correct. The sachems, or, more properly sagamores, were Nausipouck, now on Long Island, Puppompogs, brothei of Sassacus, Kithansh and Nanasquionwut at Mohegan, and Mausaumpous at Nehantic. An investigation was now commenced, as to the num- ber of Pequots still remaining, and where they were to 1 1 OF CONNECTICUT. 159 be found. Canonicus, the Narragansetts said, had not one. MiantinOmo had ten or eleven, the remains of seventy who had, at vaxious times, submitted to him, out had either never come to his country, or had afterwards departed. All the rest of the Pequots, they asserted, were now in their ancient territory or among the Mohegans. Uncas was very unwilling to give in his account, and endeavored to avoid it with his characteristic duplicity. " He did not know the names of his Pequots," he said, " and so could not state them. He had but a few . Nini- gret and three other Nehantic sachems had Pequots ; but, as for himself, he had only twenty." Thomas Stanton, the interpreter, told him that he dealt very falsely ; and other persons stated that he had fetched over thirty or forty Pequots from Long Island at one time. He now acknowledged that he had thirty, but de- clared that he was unable to tell their names. He was allowed ten days to bring in the names and the exact number ; and a messenger was sent to the Nehantics to obtain a list of the Pequots who were with them.* Whether these conditions were exactly fulfilled or not is uncertain ; for we have no minute account of the fur- ther proceedings of this English and Indian council. At the next meeting, however, it was agreed on all hands, that about two hundred Pequots remained besides women and children. This number included all the grown males, the old, the infirm and the maimed, as well as those who were strong and fit for war. A tripartite treaty, dated October 1st, 1638, was now entered into by John Haynes, Roger Ludlow and Edward • Roger WUIiams' Letters. Rhode Island Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, pp. 14S— 148. 16* . I 160 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. Hopkins, for the English of Connecticut ; by Miantinemo on behalf of the sachems of the Narragansetts ; and Po- quim, or Uncas, on the part of himself and the sagamores under him. There was to be perpetual peace between the parties, all former provocations and enmities being buried forever. If, however, any quarrel should take place between the Narragansetts and Mohegans, the party aggrieved was to appeal to the English, whose decision was to be held binding. And if either of the tribes should refuse to be g ided by that decision, the English might take up arms aud forcibly compel it to submit. The Mohegans and ^Farragansetts were to destroy those Pequots who had been guilty of English blood, and to bring in their heads tc the magistrates. The two hundred Pequots were to be divided, eighty to Miantinomo, twenty to Ninigret, and the remaining one hundred to Uncas. For these captivts the chieftains were to pay an annual tribute of a fathom of wampum for every man, half a fathom for every youth, and a hand for every male child. The Pequots were not to live in their ancient country, nor to be called by their ancient name, but to become Narragansetts and Mohegans. Lastly, the Pequot territory was not to be 3laimed by the sachems, but^o be considered as the prop- erty of the English of Connecticut.* Such was the peace which closed the famous Pequo* war ; and thus, for a time, was the national existence of that brave though savage people extinguished. • Rhode Island Hist. Coll. Vol. Ill, p. 177. I %■ ^^lijUUstU^mmMrnhMiiiUMIttiilt'^^ CHAPTER V. FROM THE DIVISION OP THE PEq,UOTS TO THE DEATH OP MIANTINOMO. The overthrow of the Pequots relieved the English colonists from a very troublesome barrier to the prosecu- tion of their settlements in Connecticut. New emigrants arrived from England, and the white men began to flow into this recently opened field of colonization in consider- able numbers. The whole land was open to them, for the natives were both fearful of their prowess, and grate- ful for their own late deliverance from the ravages and taxes of the Pequots. Neither had they the foresight to anticipate the evil consequences which would ensue to themselves from the establishment of the strangers in their country. They did not so much as suppose that it would cause the game to disappear ; much less that it would result in their own depression and the extinction of their race. Setting little value upon land and much on the utensils and ornaments which the English could offer them, they willingly exchanged the one for the other, and perhaps thought, until they began to feel the consequences of their simplicity, that they were the greatest gainers by the transaction. According to the late treaty, the Connecticut colonists claimed the country in which the Pequots had chiefly lived, as their own by right of conquest. This tract lay 162 HISTORT OP THE INDIANS on the coast, between the Niantic and Paucatuc Rivers, and comprised the ancient large townships of New Lon- don, Groton and Stonington. No one pretended to dis- pute the title of it with the victors, and they consequently never purchased it of any one, although for several years no settlements were commenced within its limits. By their oursuit of the Pequot refugees, the English had become acquainted with the seacoast lying west of the Connecticut River. They were highly pleased with the advantages which it afforded them for settlements, and immediately commenced extending themselves in this direction. In the spring of 1638, six months before the final division of the Pequots, a considerable body of planters arrived from ^oston in the little bay of New Haven. The Q-uinnipiacs made no objection to their stay, well pleased, no doubt, at the triendly settlement of so powerful a race among them, whose vicinity, they concluded, would act as a barrier to the incursions of the Mohawks. On the fourth of the following December, a treaty was entered into between the strangers and the aborigines : John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton stood forth on the part of the colonists ; Momauguin, sachem of the Quinnipiacs, Shaumpishuh his sister, Sugcogisin, Q,uesaquanash,* Carroughood and Wesaucucke, his coun- cillors, on the part of the Indians. The treaty opens by a declaration from Momauguin, his council and his people, that Momauguin is the sole sachem of Cluinnipiac, and has, with his council and people, an absolute power to dispose of all or any part of it, unrestricted by any other person whatsoever. The declaration then goes on to • In this treaty spelt Quosaquash ; in that of Guilford as above. ] • iiirifr'rVr"--"-^"^" MwittiiTii iiiKiiMmiKlrtir OP CONNECTICUT 163 say, that the Quinnipiacs had not forgotten the heavy taxes and continual alarms which they had felt and feared from the Pequots, Mohawks and other Indians ; that, in consequence of their sufferings and terrors, they had not been able to remain in their own country, but had been forced to seek shelter among the English of Connecticut River ; and that, since the English had begun to build and plant among them, they had tasted some of that ease and safety which all those Indians enjoyed who lived near the English and under their protection. For this reason they gave up to the white men all the lands of Quinnipiac, wherever they might extend, together with all the rivers, ponds, trees and other appurtenances which belonged to them. For themselves they stipulated, that they might hunt over the district as before, and that a tract might be reserved for them on the east side of the harbor sufficient for their small population to plant on. Even on this tract the English might use the meadows and cut down the trees at pleasure ; nor should the Quin- nipiacs, in their hunting, set their traps in such a manner as would be likely to injure the cattle of the settlers. Many other conditions were annexed, each party prom- ising not to molest the other, and to make all suitable reparation if any injury should ever be done. The Quin- nipiacs stated the numbers of their men and youths at forty-seven ; and covenanted that they would admit no other Indians among them without first having leave from the English. The treaty was signed by the totems of the sachem, of his four councilors, and of his sister. The totem of Momanguin was a bow; that of Sugcogisin a fishhook ; that of Quesaquanash an irregular horizontal t 1C4 mSTORT OP THE INDIANS line; that of Weiaucuck apparently a war-club; whle that of Shauropishuh may or ma/ not have been a to- bacco pipe.* In return for the gift of so large a tract of land, the colonists made the Quinnipiacs what they styled, "a free and thankful retiibution" of the following articles ; twelve coats of English trading cloth, twelve alchymy spoons, twelve hatchets, twei/e hoes, two dozen of knives, twelve por-ingers, and four cases of French knives and scissors. Doubtless some such present as this was ex- pected by the Indians ; but the tenoi of the treaty shows that their principal inducements in making it were, grati- tude for the English protection, and a desire for its con- tinuance. Knowing little of European modes of life, and judging of the colonists greatly by themselves, they sup- posed that the latter would cultivate but a little laud, and support themselves, for the rest, by trading, fishing and hunting. Little did they think, that in the course of years the white population would increase from scores to hundreds, and from hundreds to thousands ; that the deep forests would be cut down ; that the wild animals would disappear ; that the fish would grow few in the rivers • and that the poor remnant of the Quinnipiacs would eventually leave ti)3 graves of their forefathers, and wan- der away into aLothei land. Could they have anticipated that a change so wondeiful, and, in their history, so un- precedented, v/ould of necessity fo'low the coming of the • Records of New Hnven Colony. A full copy of the irenty mny he seen in Bacon's Historica- Discourflcs. Appendi::, op. 331— 3.7fi. Foc-mmi!.>s of the totems of Momauguin and Shoumpishub. with those of f.ev.Mitcc.i o.licr Connecticut Bachcnn and BagamortB, are presented in the iippcndix to tho prtNnt v«)lum«, Anicle IV. OF CONNECTICUT. 165 S white man, they would have preferred the wampum tributes of the Pequots and the scalping parties of the Five Nations, to the vicinity of a people so kind, so peace- able and yet so destructive. There is n© proof, however, but that the treaty was well observed by both parties^ or that any difficulty ever arose between them as long as the Indians remained in exist- ence. In fact, the puritans of New Haven colony are perhaps not less worthy of praise than the quakers of Philadelphia for the peace and quietness which invariably existed between them and the aborigines * The Q,uin- nipiacs collected on their little reservation on the east side of the bay, where they lived for a long time, quiet and unnoticed, having a fort to protect them against in- vaders, and subsisting chieily upon the shell-fish to be found in the harbor. A few days subsequently, the New Haven settlers made a similar treaty [December 21st,] with Montowese, son of Sowheag, and sachem of the country north, northeast and northwest of Q.uinnipiac. The tract thus obtained was ten miles in breadth by thirteen in length, extending eight m'les east of the river Quinnipiac, and five miles west. The population of so considerable a region, com- prising at least one hundred and thirty square miles, con- sisted, besides the sachem, often warriors and a proportion, able number of squaws and papooses. The English gave in return a present of eleven coats of trading cloth and one coat of fine cloth for Montowese : a small reservation. * Pei'iaps some one will sneeringly nsk, what has become of the Indian who used lo live around Nev Haven ? To which may b« replied, wiih equal justice, What has become of the Indians who used to live around Philadelphia ? 166 HISTORY OP THK INDIANS also, was made by the Indians, and they were allowed to hunt on the land as before. The totem of Montowese is attached to the treaty, and also that of Sawseunck, an Indian who attended to witness and give his consent to the transaction, and who may perhaps have been a deputy from Sowheag. The totem of Montowese was a bow with an arrow fitted on the string ; that of Sawseunck was a hatchet. It is worthy of remark, as illustrating In- dian customs, that in this treaty Montowese states that he obtained his land from his deceased mother, whom wp may conclude, therefore, to have been the daughter of some petty sachem.* In February, 1639, Ansantawae, sachem of the Pau- gussetts or Wepawaugs, sold the English a considerable tract near the center of the present township of Milford. The purchasers laid down before the sachem six coats, ten blankets, one kettle and a quantity of hoes, knives' hatchets and looking-glasses. A twig and a piece of turf were handed to Ansantawae by one of his followers. He stuck the twig into the turf and gave both into the hands of the English. By this ceremony, he considered him- self to have passed over to them the soil, and all which the soil sustained. An instrument of sale was likewise drawn up, which was signed on the part of the Indians by Ansantawae, Anshuta, Arracowset, Manamatque and several others.f The Wepawaugs were considered so numerous at this time fjiat the colonists deemed it neces- sary for their own safety to enclose the whole town plot of a mile square with a palisade. • Records of New Hnven Colony. t Lamherfs History of New Haven Colony, p. 86. t^ ^^ iteMrtftifa" ■ ■ ■ ■im mill iiMiiiiiiiimlr or CONNECTICUT. 167 During the same year the little clan resident at Pair- field sold a large tract to the whites, who immediately commenced a settlement there, which they at first called, after the Indian name of the place, Unquowa. As the original records of Fairfield have been destroyed, the par- ticulars of this sale are now unknown. Another and the only other settlement eflfected in 1639, was the gne commenced at Menunketuc, now Guilford! The purchase was made [October 9th] of Shaumpishuh, sister of Momanguin, and sunk squaw or female chief of the Indians of Guilford. The tract purchased extended from the Aigicomock or East River of Guilford, to a place called Kuttanoo, most probably some part of the present township of East Haven. For a consideration of twelve coats, twelve fathoms of wampum, twelve looking-glasses, twelve pairs of shoes, twelve pairs of stockings, twelve hatchets, four kettles, twelve knives, twelve hats, twelve porringers, twelve spoons and two English coats, Shaum- pishuh and her people acknowledged themselves fully paid and satisfied. The Indians, according to agreement, soon left the purchased tract, part of them taking up their resi- dence in Branford, and part moving still farther west Dn>\ uniting with the main body of their kindred at EaU Haven. Among the former was Quesaquanash, who, with others, signed the treaty of New Haven ; and among the latter was Shaumpishuh herself, who thus joined her brother Momauguin. The number of Indians who ac- companied Shaumpishuh was fourteen men, six women, and fourteen children.* It will be remembered that, during the Pequot war, • Guilford Records. 17 168 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS some difficulties occurred between Sowheag and the p^^nt- ers of Wethersfield ; and that, in consequence, the former joined the Pequots, or at least advised them, in their at- tack on that settlement. The affair was then brought before the General Court of Connecticut ; but it was found, on examination, that the Wethersfield people had been the aggressors. A message was therefore sent to the Wangunk sachem, offering to renew friendship with him, provided he would surrender those of his men*who had been concerned in the above mentioned attack. At this time the contest was not yet decided against the Pequots ; and Sowheag, confiding in their assistance, and in the numbers of his own tribe, refused to give up his followers to the fate of malefactors. In August, 1639, the Pequot ■;var being fully over, the matter was again brought before the Court, and the magistrates resolved to punish Sow- heag as they had already punis,hed the Pequots, A levy of one hundred men was ordered, and messengers were dispatched to Qtuinnipiac to warn the settlers there of the coming war, so that they might provide for their own de- fense. Governor Eaton and his fellow townsmen were not at all pleased at the news ; entirely friendly hitherto with the Indians, they had not learned either to hate or fear them ; they accordhigly remonstrated with earnest- ness against the design ; they mentioned the expenses and sufferings caused by the late contest, and they urged that the colonists needed all their men and means to prosecute the settlement of the country. The Con- necticut settlers were wise enough to be convinced by these arguments ; the difficulties of the Wethersfield peo- ple with Sowheag were amicably adjusted ; and that OF CONNECTICUT. 169 sachem, who had already removed to Mattabesett or Mid- dletown,* was allowed to remain in peace.f Another affair was under the consideration of the Court. News had been brought that many of the Pequots had violated the treaty of 1638, by gathering together as a distinct people, and settling in their ancient country. They had built a village on the banks of the Paucatuc, close to the territories of the Nehantics, and they probably acknowledged some sort of allegiance to the Nehantic sachems. As they had thus not only broken the treaty, but intruded on land which the English claimed as their own, the Court resolved that they should be punished and driven out by force. Forty soldiers were raised and placed under John Mason, and the expedition was joined by Uncas, with twenty canoes and one hundred warriors. The united armament then sailed to the mouth of the Paucatuc. On entering the river, Mason fell in with three Pequots of the devoted village, to whom he de- livered a message for their countrymen. " They must leave the country immediately," he said, " or he would drive them away by force, carry off their corn, and burn their wigwams." The three Indians promised to bring back an answer ; but, having once got out of the hands of the English, they took good care never to be seen, again. Mason sailed up the river, disembarked, and at- tacked the village so suddenly that he captured some old men who had not time, in the general scamper, to make their escape. As it was now the Indian harvest, they found the wigwams stored with an abundance of corn. I ?•' • Treaty with Montoweee in the New Kaven Records. t Colonial Records, Vol. I, pp. 19, 31. . -umbull. Vol. I, p. 108. 170 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Uncas and his people immediately began to plunder ; but, while they were engaged in this profitable service, about sixty Indians appeared on a neighboring hill and rushed down upon them. The Mohegans waited in silence until their enemies were witnin thirty yards, when, raising loud yells, and brandishing their weapons, they ran for- ward to the charge. A confused and noisy conflict en- sued, while the English, drawn up one side, remained for a while quiet spectators of the scene. They were exceed- ingly amused with this Indian battle, in which there was a vast amount of shouting and yelling, but no lives lost, and very little blood spilt. After a few moments. Mason made a movement as if to surround the enemy, upon which they immediately dispersed and fled. Seven were taken prisoners; but the English killed none, as they were anxious to accomplish the object of the expedition without provoking the Indians to desperation and revenge. The captives, however, behaved so outrageously and in- solently, that Mason was about, as he expressed it, to make them a head shorter ; when Yotaash, a brother of Miantinomo, came forward and begged for their lives. " They are my brother's men," said he. " He is a friend to the English. You shall have the heads of seven mur- derers in their stead." The English were easily per- suaded, and the captives were committed, for the present, to the care of Uncas, though with what result is now unknown. At night the soldiers slept in the open air on the banks of a creek. Early in the morning they were startled by seeing a large body of Indians on the opposite side, whose numbers they estimated, in the uncertain light, at three ^:Sij^£iii-'^i**^'^-'^*^ OP CONNECTICUT. 171 hundred. They sprang to their arms, on which the In- dians immediately disappeared, some skulking behind rocks and trees, and others running entirely away. The English called across the creek, and asked to speak with them ; upon which a considerable number rose from their hiding places and came forward. Mason then explained to them, through his interpreter, that h had a just cause for his present expedition ; the Pequots having violated the treaty at Hartford, first by living as a separate people, secondly by settling in their ancient country. " The Pe- quots who live here are good men," replied the Indians ; "and we will certainly fight for them and protect them." " Very well," said Mason coolly ; " it is not far to the head of the creek ; I will meet you there, and you may do what you can at fighting." " We will not fight with the English," returned the Indians, "for they are spirits; but we will fight with Uncas." These warriors were Neliantics and Narragansetts, who had come to prevent their tributaries from being driven from their country, but had not the hardihood to en- counter the white men, who, from their late exploits, seemed to them manittos, or supernatural beings. Mason told them that he should spend the day in burning the Peqiiot village and carrying off the Pequct corn, and that they were at liberty to attack him whenever they chose. The drums beat, causing the woods to echo with their rolls of defiance ; and the English went about their work at leisure, and finished it without being disturbed by an enemy. Having destroyed the village and laden his bark with corn, Mason sailed away, followed by his Mohegan allies. The latter rejoiced in a great quantity of trav% 17* 1T2 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS mats, kettles and other Indian valuables, with which they had loaded their own canoes, as well as thirty others taken from their plundered enemies * We hear but little of the Pequots for seven or eight years after this event ; and it is certain that they gave no more military occupation to their nominal lords, the English cobnists. No one can reasonably condemn the foregoing trans- action ; no one can assert with truth that it was unjust, or hasty, or cruel. But it was followed by another, which I believe no unprejudiced person will refuse, or scarcely hesitate, to condemn. The colony of New Haven, re- markable for never having had a quarrel with the abo- rigines in its vicinity, sullied its fair fame by ipprehending Messatunck, or Nepaupu6k, a brave Pequot chieftain, as I crimmal, and executing him as a murderer. This man had fought gallantly in the late war, was known to have killed Abraham Finch, a settler of Wethersfield, and was reported to have slain several other white men and carried their hands to Sassacus. After the subjugation of his tribe he ivandered about, for some time, unnoticed; but venturmg at last (October, 1639,} into the settlement of New Haven, with another Indian, was recognized and apprehended. He was bound, but had nearly escaped agam by the help of his companion, when the attempt was discovered and prevented. He was thrown into the stocks, and his friend was dismissed with a sound flog- hnL?T."''*'"^- ^'"«'- "^«*- Coll.. Vol. XVIII. pp. 149-151. The band thus broken up was probably under Wequash, or Wequash Cook, who .s we earn frojn Roger Willian.' letters, [Rhode I.„„d Hist. Coll.. Vo . m.' ook T r """■'•• ""'"" ^''^ ''"'''''• '^^^-'l* — ed to near S«" brook, on the Connecticut, where he died in 1642. T OF CONNECTICUT. 173 T ging. The Quinnipiac sachem, with several of his tribe, were summoned before the magistrates of the colony, to declare what they knew of the prisoner The greatest part of them agreed that he had killed one or more Eiig- lish people, and that he had presented the hands of several to Sassaciis, boasting that he had slain them himself. While the examination was progressing, a auinnipiac, named Mewhebato, kinsman to the accused, came to in- tercede for his life. He was immediately brought before the Court and ordered to declare what he knew as to the prisoner's guilt. Trembling with fear at finding himself HI the hands of the English magistrates, he at first pre- tended ignorance ; but his countenance seemed distracted with terror, and being sternly admonished to speak truth, he finally confessed that his kinsman was guilty of the actions laid to his charge. The Indian witnesses were now sent out, and Nepau- puck was brought in, and made acquainted with the charges agahist him. He replied, that these things were true with regard to Nepaupuck ; but, as for himself, he was not Nepaupuck. Mewhebato, being again called in, told his kinsman, with a sorrowful air, that he knew him,' and knew him to be guilty of the things of which he was accused. Wattone, son of Carroughood, one of the Quin- nipiac councilors, now came into the Court, and charged the prisoner to hi« face with his guilt, asserting that\e himself stood on an island in the Connecticut River, and saw him kill Abraham Finch of Wethersfield.* Momau- • The Q..innipiac8, It will be remembered, had at that time taken refuge tmongthe Enfelisi, settlements on the Connecticut from the attacks of the PeijUoisand the Mohawks. 174 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS oner s gmlt and his identity with Nepaupuck. F,„d,„g it impossible t.o deny his name, the captive death the Enghsh might cut his head off, or liill him in any other way : only fire was God and r/i «„•.!, I,- ■ , "' *™ "od was anerv with him ; wherefore he desired not to fall into his hands " He was now sent back to the stocks, and a guard set over him for his safe keeping. The colony of New Haven was at this time distinct from the colony of Connecticut, and maintained a separate existence. It will be remembered, also, tha, the towns composing It were not founded at the time of the Pequot war, and that many of its inhabitants did not arrive in the ccnintry till that contest was virtually closed. Thus the ac ions for which Nepaupuck was imprisoned were not only committed without the jurisdiction of New Haven Colony bu, even before that colony had an existence. Nevertheless, on the next day, [November 8th, 1639 1 Nepaupuck was brought before a General Cour of the colony, ,0 be tried for his life as a murderer. There could be httle doubt about the result. The ftuinnipiacs gave their evidence as they had done before. The Court found Nepaupuck guilty of murder and condemned him to death. The prisoner was asked if he would not confess that he deserved to die. It is probable that he looked upon his own execution, not as a judicial act, such as the English were anxious to have it considered, but merely as an act of vengeance, such as Hs own people >vere accustomed to take upon their enemies. He simply replied, " Wcregin." ^^'iHmr^it or CONNECTICUT. tjg Thus, for haring fought bravely and with effect aeainst ffe^':;:"*"'".'" "'' "«'""' ^ <•- pequor s a'™ tim n7 " «-"">^'»<=-. -- indeed in acc^ ance with Indian custom, but certainly not with ih. .«ci.i,i.ed lands. Nepaupuck wTn'o^ K^nXh" subject, therefore not amenable to English laws H. ^"giish , and, if he had been, he could not leeallv hnuo ^•:sr"'r.'°r:n""™"'"«'^ p-^~^^^ and „ V ' '"^''"'' ^"^ " ■"«'« <•"««. » nothing looked rr ";" ^"T^"* "^ '"^ ■==-' ■■' "> »« o-^ ooked. It IS evident that liis execution was dictated bv he unjust and relentless policy of the colonists, of afot- >»S their enemies only two alternatives, compete s^ availed him nothing : ^S .rrgHsCer:: therefore, however taken, he must die. cZZv Zt Pe,uots themselves would hardly have been t^'st ™ in their po hey, or more unrelenting in their vengeance During 1640 and 1641, the English continued torn ke n theCr "' '"'""• """ •" '^'=""'* '"- "ve t wm he 'r":i '"" '"""^ P""'""^ "^ «•« 'and. It will be remembered that, in 1636, Sequassen sold a 7:t otr a '" """''^' --hingVrom aro„:d H^! ord on the Connecticut River, as far west as the terri- tons, of the Mohawks. This, however, did not plvent • New Haven Recorda. ZSSSmK»M 176 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS a number of Hartford people, who settled Farmington in 1640, from making another purchase, for the sake of satis- fying the Indians. They bought all the ground which the latter then had planted, and, in return, made them a reservation which has ever since been known under the name of Indian Neck. It was a beautiful little plain of rich meadow land, triangular in shape, inclosed on one side by the forest, and on the other two by the deep, nar- row and slowly flowing current of the Farmington.* Private sales and gifts were also not unknown, although apparently much less numerous in this early period than afterwards. No later, indeed, than 1638, an order seems to have been passed by the General Court, that no indi- vidual should purchase iland from the Indians without authority from itself.f This law, and others of a similar nature, were always more or less violated ; and it is of private individuals, I suspect, that the Indians have most to complain, wherever they have been unfairly deprived of their lands. But where or when have laws ever been observed with implicit obedience ? And what community ever succeeded in conferring perfect sjscurity from dis- honesty and violence on the property even of its own citizens ? Doubtless, however, it was not for the benefit of the Indians only that the above order was promulgated ; but also, if not entirely, for the purpose of asserting and * Farmington Records. t This law is mentioned by Doctor Johnson, who at one time was agent for Connecticut, in England, during the trial of the Mohegan Case. [Ind. Pap., Vol. I, Doc. 277] It is not indeed to be found on the records of the colony, yet is it in one place distinctly referred to. [Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 214.] Trumbull states ':iat such laws were enacted both by Connecticut and New Haven. See History of Connecticut, Vol. I, p. 1 17. ■• • ssaa immmm OP CONNECTICUT. 177 ., preserving the jurisdiction power of the General Court over the unbought and unoccupied lands of the colony On the fifth of March, 1C40, the Nor^yalk Indians sold a considerable part of their territory to Roger Ludlow, an mhabitant oi Fairfield. The deed comprehended all the land lying between the Norwalk and Saugatuc Rivers, a day s walk from the sea into the country. The price paid was e:ght fathoms of wampum, six coats, ten hatchets, ten noes ten knives, ten scissors, ten jewsharps, ten f^ithoms of tobacco, three kettles of six hands about, and ten looking-glasses. The deed of sale was signed by Ma- hackemo the sachem, and by Tomakergo, Tokaneke, Adam and Prose wamenos. In the following April, Captain Daniel Patrick, the same who had fought against the Pequots, bought two islands off the mouth of Norwalk River, and a tract on the main- land west of the river. This purchase, also, was made of Mahackemo and his people ; and the consideration given was similar in kind, although inferior in amount to the other.* In 1641, [July 11th,] two sagamores, named Ponus and Wassacussue, sold Rippowams, now Stamford, reserving to themselves only a small parcel for planting. They re- ceived for the land twelve coats, twelve hoes, twelve hatchets, twelve glasses, twelve knives, two kettles, and four fathoms of white wampum; altogether, says Trum- bull, equal to about thirty pounds.f In recording these transactions a doubt easily crosses the mmd, whether such purchases, where large tracts of laud, which are now valuable, were obtained for consider- • Hall's Hiat. of Norwalk, pp. 30. 41. t Pres. Stiles' Itinerary, Vol. II. r lal ITS HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ations which to us would be trifling, can be considered fully in accordance with honesty and justice. It must be remembered, however, that the severs were themselves what would now be considered poor; that the articles which they paid to the Indians were brought from a great distance, m vessels which came at long intervals; that twelve hoes and twelve hatchets, for instance, were no slight consideration to a community which, perhaps, did not possess a single plow;* and that the land which u.e purchasers obtained was worth almost nothing to them in Us wild state, and could only be made valuable by hard and long continued labor. On the other hand, the act of tie Indians was free; they were never induced to part w.th their land by threats and force; nor does it appear that they were ever, at this period, inveigled into it by intoxicating liquors. They were undoubtedly, at first as highly pleased with the bargain as were the pur- chasers ; and probably never thought of being dissatisfied until they found that what they had received had been wasted, aad what the white man had received had been improved. It is worth while here, to stop and look at the first con- vert to the Christian faith among the aborigines of New England. This man was Wequash, the Nehantic saga- more, who assisted Uncas in guiding Mason and his army against the ill-fated fort at Mystic. Wequash was ex- ceedingly astonished at the success of the colonists in that enterprise, and attrib.Ued to the superiority of the English • In 1637. there were only thirty plows in all Massachusetts ; it is probable ha there we^ not ten. perhaps not five, in Connecticut. So says Trun.buU (Vol. I page fi!), note ;] and this was true, it will be noticed, seventeen yean, •fter the nlgruns landed in New England. OF CONNECTICUT. 179 God over the gods of the Pequots. This behef led him to inquire of the settlers concerning their religion ; and what he thus heard seemed to produce upon him a deep and lasting impression. He became more and more in- terested in the subject ; he made it the chief theme of his conversation when among the English ; and. in the opiniotx of some of them, he " attained to a good know- ledge of tlie things of God and salvation by Jesus Christ."* Not satisfied with embracing the Christian religion him- self, he began to preach it to his countrymen ; but here he found none to sympathize with him, none who desired that treasure which he thought so precious. The Indians were violently attached to their ancient superstitions, and not only refused to follow the example of '"equash, but abused him, and treated him with contumt ly, for having forsaken the faith of his ancestors. The sagamore, hov/- ever, was firm in his profession, and continued to hold re- ligious conversations with his English friends, among whom were George Fenwick vf Saybrook, and the still better known Roger Williams. During the year 1642, he fell dangerously sick, with strong suspicions that he had been poisoned by those Indians who hated hiin fei- having become a Christian. Two days before his death, Roger Williams happened to stop at Saybrook ; and, while there, paid a visit to his esteemed friend, Mr. Fenwick, Being informed by that gentleman of the grievous sickness of Weqiiash, he expressed a desire to see him ; and they both walked out, about two miles, to the cabin of the dying sagamore. Wequash conversed with them on his sickness and probable death, and bequ 180 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Wenamoag,* to Mr. Fenwick's care. Roger Williams then, as he tells us, " closed with him about his soul." In reply, Wequash told him how, two years before, he had lodged with him at Providence, and how he then informed him of the miserable condition of men in this world, of their fallen and sinful nature, of the wrath of God against them, and of the necessity of repentance and faith in Christ. " And," continued he, " your words were never out of my mind to this time : very much have I prayed to Jesus Christ." Williams, anxious that he should not deceive himself :'n this important hour, told him that many people did the same who yet never turned to Christ in their hearts nor loved him. The reply of the saga- more was in broken English : "Me so big naughty heart ; me heart all one stone." " Savory expressions," con- tinues Williams, in his account of the interview, "and such as are used to breathe from compunct and broken hearts, and a sense of inward hardness and unbrokenness. I had many discourses with him in life ; but this was the sum of our last parting, until our general meeting."! What became of the son of Wequash is not known ; but he left a younger brother, named Cushawashet, who adopted his name, and was for some time known as We- quash Cook. Both Wequash and Cushawashet were sons of Momojoshuck, the earliest grand sachom of the Ne- hantics whose name has descended to our times. Cusha- washet, however, was not of pure royal blood, and the • Thnt this wbh his name appears by the testimony of the wife of Weqnnsh, (dated July l3th,lG49, old style,) concerning some land afiairs, preserved in the volumes of papers on Towns and Lnnda, Vol. VII. t Roger Willinma' Key. Mush. Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, p. 206. Winthrop, Vol. II. p. 74. s^2S;S^SaSSkS*^^?%**^«* u^ikmm!^tB«^i OF CONNECTICUT. 181 a and same was probably true of Wequash ; for, on the death of Moraojoshiick, his brother Yanemo, or Ninigret, succeeded him in the sachemship, while his two sons never became the heads of any considerable community. As Wequash was sometimes called a Pequot, and as Cushawashet was always more closely connected with the Pequots than with the Nehantics, it seems probable that their mother was a woman of the Pequot race. Cushawashet, though for some time called Wequash Cook,* finally adopted the English cognomen of Hermon Garret, under which name We shall hereafter become better acquainted with him.f Having disposed of matters of inferior importance, it is now time to look about for our old and crafty acquaint- ance, Uncas. After the overthrow of the Pequots, this sachem laid claim to the sovereignty of their country on the ground of his connection with the royal family of the tiibe. He readily gave up that district along the seacoast which the English had seized, but the remainder he con- sidered as justly and undeniably his own. He thus came into possession of all the northern part of New London County, together with the southern portions of the coun- ties of Tolland and Windham. The former tributaries of the Pequots, however, now considered themselves inde- pendent ; and those of them who submitted to Uncas, either at the present or any future time, were mostly, if not all, brought to submit by force. His tribe was vastly increased, perhaps doubled, by the one hundred Pequots, who had been given him at the treaty of 1638. Some refugees had joined him from the conquered tribe before ! ■!' • Weqiinshcuk, originnlly, it i» probnble, t Hazard, Vol. II, p. 464. Rhode lelaud Hist. Coll. Vol. Ill, pp. 64, 65. 182 HISTOny OF THE INDIANS that event, and others had attached themselves to him since. It was nntural that the Pequots, rather than fly from their country, or become slaves to the English, or join their ancient foes, the Narragansetts, should choose to identify themselves with a fragment of their own tribe, even though that fragment had been rebellious and hos- tile. Wanderers from other nations, too, collected around Uncas, and increased the numbers and influence of the Mohegans. Among these warlike and unsettled commu- nities, wherever a sachem distinguished himself by his abilities and success, he was sure to attract many adven- turers from the neighboring tribes. Some came out of a desire for protection, some from a wish to distinguish themselves under so fortunate a leader, and some, doubt- less, because they were forced to come by the sa.hem himself in his eff'orts to increase the number of his fol- lowers. Uncas considerably extended his territories by marrying the daughter of the Hammonassett sachem, Se- bequanash ; thus coming into possession of the seashore as far east as the Aigicomock, or East River, in Guilford. In 1641, indeed, he sold, [December 27th,] for a small consideration, nearly the whole of the tract to the people of Guilford ;* but, as most of the Hammonassetts prob- ably passed over to the east side of the Connecticut, liis eff-ective strength in warriors was very likely increased, rather than diminished, by this transaction. Uncas had another source of influence in the consider- ation which his late services brought him among the Eng- lish. His faithfulness during the Pequot war was repaid by the colonists with their llivor, when it could be granted * Ciuilford liccorda. irtfi T "-"- % I I OF CONNECTICUT. 183 with justice, and sometimes, perhaps, when it could only be granted with injustice. But, aside from gratitude, the colonists were not insensible of the advantages which would accrue to them from having always at their com- mand so active and influential a native chieftain. In war he would be useful as an ally, and in peace he could act as a spy upon the proceedings of his fellow sachems. Such an ally and such a spy Uncas was willing to be, as long as it would increase his power and gratify his ra- pacity. The first transaction of importance between Uncas and Connecticut, after the treaty of 1638, was an agreement drawn up and signed on the 8th of October, 1640. The nature of this agreement was ambiguous ; and it way, many years afterwards, made one ground of a tedious, fluctuating and expensive law suit between the Mohegans and the colony. The colonial authorities, and all who were interested in their success, affirmed that it was a true deed of purchase and sale. The Indians and their supporters declared that it was a mere right of pre-emption, by which Uncas interdicted himself from parting with his land to any but the colony, or the settlers, of Connecticut. Which was the most reasonable of these two opinions, may be judged from the value of the gift which was made to the sachem when the deed was obtained : " fivo yards of cloth and a few pairs of stockings." In return for this insignificant present, hardly worth a dozen beaver skins, Uncas is said to have parted with his whole coun- try, except that on which the Mohegans were then plant- ing.* There are some circumstances, however, it must • See the pnppr itself in ilif Apponlix, Article V 18* 184 HISTORY or THE INDIANS T be confessed, which tend to favor this conclusion. Uncas, at this time, had on^"* held his country two years, and . had barely ceased to be considered a tributary of the Pe- quots. He had besides been subdued in war by Sassacus, and had thus, according to Indian custom, forfeited his ands to his conquerors, as well as to whoever should con- quer them. This affair, however, gave no trouble to Uncas, during whose life-time the English never urged their pretended right to the Mohegan territory j and, for the present, his power and influence went on increasing in such a manner as to awaken the envy and fear of all the surrounding chieftains. The Narragansetts hated him as a Pequot ; they had cause, also, to hate on his own account ; and now their hatred was increased by seeing him become a formidable rival. Jealousy and ancient enmity made him likewise an object of bitter dislike to the kinsman and ally of the Narragansetts, Sequassen, the sachem of the Connecticut River. This chieftain had doubtless strong hopes, on the overthrow of the Pequots, that he should recover his ancient influence, and perhaps become even more powerful than before. But the sudden rise of Uncas blighted all these expectations, and ever afterwards he hated him with all the rancor of disappointed ambition. The events which followed, render the supposition prob- able, not only that Sequassen and the Narragansetts were acquainted with each other's sentiments towards the Mo- hegan chief, but that they had formed a conspiracy to overthrow and destroy him. Uncas, on the contrary, strove to defend himself and to injure his enemies, by spreading unfavorable reports of their feelings and designs i •mim-»¥:r dlMiMIHHMll OF CONNECTICUT. 185 with regard to the English. " Miantinomo," the Mohe- gans would say, '• wants to make himself sachem of all the Indians in New England. Miantinomo is trying to bring all the Indians into a great conspiracy against the white men." These reports produced so much suspicion in the ma- gistrates, that in November, 1640, they summoned the Narragansett chief to Boston. He obeyed immediately, thus at once producing a strong impression in his favor. When questioned, he was deliberate in his answers ; would never speak except when some of his councilors were present that they might be witnesses ; showed much in- genuity in his observations, and a good perception of what was wise and equitable in policy. He offered to prove that Uncas and the Mohegans alone had raised the reports against him ; asked that his accusers jnight be brought before him, face to face ; and demanded that, if unable to prove their charges, they should be put to death. His dignity, his frankness, and the justness of his remarks, silenced the complaints of the magistrates ; they acquitted him of all suspicion of conspiracy, and he departed from Boston iu peace.* This affair doubtless increased his hatred of Uncas; and, not long after, an event occurred which was said to be an effect of that hatred. One evening, as Uncas was passing from one wigwam in his fort to another, an arrow, discharged by some unseen .marksman, pierced his arm. He reached the cabin to, whitch he was going, without further injury, and, enteiing it, was safe. The wound »vas slight and soon healed. The perpetrator of this at- * VVinthioi), Vol. 11, pp. 80—83. 186 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS tempted assassination was unknown ; but a young Pe- quot, one of Uncas' subjects, being observed to have a large quantity of wampum, fell under suspicion. He was interrogated, and, as he could give no reasonable expla- nation of how he came by so much property, the suspi- cions against him were increased. Observing this, he stole away out of the village, fled over to the Narragaii- sett country, and took refuge with Miantinomo. Uncas laid the matter before the magistrates of Massachusetts ; charging Miantinomo with being the instigator of the at- tack on him ; and the Narragansett sachem once more felt himself compelled to go to Boston. He carried the Pe- quot with him, and the young man was examined by the magistrates in the chieftain's presence. He told a most extraordinary story ; how he was staying, at one time, in Uncas' fort ; how Uncas engaged him to tell the English that he had been hired by Miantinomo to kill Uncas, and how Uncas then took the flint of his gun and cut his own arm on two sides, so as to make it appear as if it had been pierced by an arrow. This tale, improbable in itself, and unpleasing to the colonists, who already distrusted the Narragansetts, as well as favored the Mohegans, not only did not clear the culprit, but brought Miantinomo under deep suspicion. It seemed as if the story had been con- cocted between the sachem and his tool, for throwing off" the guilt of a conspiracy from their own shoulders, and laying it on the intended victim of that conspiracy, who had barely escaped from it with his life. The magis- trates expressed themselves convinced of the Pequot's guilt, and declared that he ought to be delivered over to the vengeance of the Mohegan sachem. Miantinomo ob- i OF CONNECTICUT. 187 t jected, arguing that the man was under his protection ; but finally promised that, if he might only carry him back to his own country, he would then surrender him to Uncas. His earnest request was granted ; he was allowed to depart with the prisoner ; but on the way home he had liim murdered by his own followers. This action deep- ened, with good reason, the suspicions already excited against him, as it was immediately concluded that he had put his accomplice to death to prevent his own guilt from being completely exposed. Other motives, indeed, may be imagined. He was doubtless unwilling to gratify a hated rival by surrendering to him a man who had once sought his protection ; and he may have feared that Uncas would make use of the unscrupulous Pequot for the pur- pose of bringing still deeper and more dangerous accu- sations against himself and the Narragansetts. The dark- est and most natural inference, however, prevailed, and this act of violence and bad faith afterwards cost Mian- tinomo dear.* Sequassen now began to play his part against the Mo- hegans and their sachem. Some of his warriors assassi- ns., i^-'ding Mohegan, and others way-laid Uncas him,... shot arrows at him as he was sailing in a canoe c . ? Connecticut. Uncas complained of these provocations to the magistrates at Hartford, and Governor Haynes, having summoned the two sachems, attempted to effect a reconciliation between them. Uncas said that the Mohegan who had been murdered was a man of con- sequence, and that he must have six of Sequassen's war- riors to put to death in revenge. Haynes labored hard to • Hazard, Vol 11, p. 8. 188 HISTORY or THE INDIANS reduce this extravagant demand, so contrary to English ideas of justice, and with difficulty persuaded Uncas to accept of one individual who was acknowledged to be the murderer. But the murderer was likewise a man of con- sequence, and he was moreover a relation and a great favorite of MiantinOmo. Sequassen therefore would not surrender him ; said that he would defend him by force of arms ; and expressed his reliance upon the Narragan- sett sachem for assistance. The magistrates, finding an agreement impracticable, dismissed the two sachems, and gave Uncas liberty to avenge his own wrongs. He did so ; he invaded Sequassen's country ; defeated him, kill- ing seven or eight of his warriors, and wounding thirteen ; burned his wigwams, and carried away a quantity of plunder.* This was soon known in the country of the Narragan- gansetts, and MiantinOmo began to think of war and revenge. He sent a message to Governor Haynes, com- plaining that Uncas had injured his relation, Sequassen, and his allies, the Indians of Connecticut River. Haynes replied that the English had no hand in the affair, and did not mean to uphold or encourage Uncas in such conduct as he described. The Narragansett chief also gave notice of what the Mohegans had done, to Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts ; and asked, in particular, with much earnestness, whether the people of the Bay would be offended with him if he should make war upon Uncas. The reply of Winthrop was still more satisfactory than that of Haynes ; for he informed Miantinomo that, if Uncas had done him or his friends any wrong, and refused Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 130. Hazard, Vol. II, p. 9. ;fc,i5si;ijifc»««i*''^^ .;>ui*.>-««is***-*'">*'' OF CONNECTICUT. 189 to grant satisfaction, the English would leave him to choose Jiis own course.* Doubtless the representations which Miantinomo made, to both Haynes and Winthrop, were considerably exaggerated ; but these gentlemen, it seems, did not consider the matter worthy of investiga- tion, and the Narragansett sachem had now fulfilled the treaty of 1638, by submitting his complaints to the Eng- lish before he appealed to arms. He immediately, there- fore, set about avenging his own and his kinsman's quar- rel, with more promptness and energy, indeed, than good fortune. Collecting a large band of Narragansett warriors, he advanced rapidly and unexpectedly into the country of his rival. On a sudden, the Mohegan watchers on the hills of Norwich beheld the Narragansetts emerge from the woods, and cross the river Shetucket, at a fording place a little above its junction with the Cluinnibaug. The runners immediately dashed off, some to carry the startling intel- ligence to their sachem, some to alarm and collect their scattered warriors. Uncas had a fort on the banks of the Thames, about five miles below the site of the present city of Norwich ; and here, probably, the messengers of clanger found him. The Mohegans came pouring in on all sides from their villages and scattered wigwams, and he was soon able to advance towards the enemy with nearly the whole force of his tribe. The chroniclers of those times say that he had four or five hundred warriors, and that the invaders amounted to nine hundred or a thousand. These estimates, depending as they must have done entirely on the reports of the Indians, are undoubt- " Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 129. i4 190 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS edly exaggerated ; and, if we rate the Mohegans at three hundred, and their adversaries at twice that number, we Shall go as high, I suspect, as probability will warrant Uncas moved forward three or four miles, until he came to a spot situated in the present township of Norwich, and now known as the Great Plain. Here he halted his men on a small rising ground, and explained to them a strata- gem by which he hoped to make up for his inferiority m numbers. The Narragansetts, in the meantime, had crossed the fords of the Yantic, and soon appeared de- scendmg m loose array the declivity opposite to the Mo- hegans. Uncas now sent forward a messenger to ask an interview with Miantinomo. It was granted, and the two sachems snortly met eabh other in a narrow space between the armies. On both sides, the warriors, standing within bow-shot of each other, remained spectators. The Narra- gansetts were waiting unsuspiciously the result of the con- ference : the Mohegans were watching anxiously for the preconcerted signal from their sachem. Uncas addressed Miantmomo on the folly of mutually wasting the lives of their brave warriors in a contest which could as well be decided by themselves alone. "Let us fight it out," he concluded ; "if you kill me, my men shall be yours if kill you, your men shall be mine » / , i. Miantinomo was a tall and strong man, nor is it likely hat he was so deficient in personal cou;age as to rej t Uncas^ proposition through fear. But he was confiden m he superior numbers of his followers, and was reso ved not o throw away what seemed to be a certainty, for ngnt, said he, "and they shall fight." Kaismmmiamm OF CONNECTICUT. 191 Uncas had expected this answer, and now the time had come for his stratagem. He threw himself suddenly upon the ground ; his men recognized the signal ; and, drawing their ready-bent bows, they poured a shower of arrows among the astonished Narragansetts. Uncas sprang up, and his warriors, pealing forth the yell of battle, and brandishing their tomahawks, rushed forward with him upon the staggering enemy. The Narragan- setts, panic struck at this sudden assault, made hardly an attempt at resistance, and speedily took to flight. The Mohegans pursued them with impetuous fury, drove them through the shallows of the river, and continued the chase into the forests beyond. All over that rude and hilly country the pursuers and pursued might be seen, leaping over rocks and dashing through thickets, like wolves in chase of timid deer. Miantinomo fled with his followers, but his flight was impeded by an English corselet which he had put on to protect him in battle. Two of the Mo- hegan captains followed him closely, and still further pre- vented his escape by springing against him and jostling him as he ran. They might have taken or killed him with their own hands, but this honor they were willing to reserve to their sachem. The first of these men who reached the flying chieftain was a sagamore, named Tan- taquigeon,* whose descendants were long held noble among the Mohegans, and have scarcely yet cersed to boast of this exploit of their ancestor.f Uncas, a robust and powerful man, finally came up and seized Miantinomo by the shoulder. The ill-fated sachem, as soon as he felt • Appendix to Savage's Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 381. t History of Norwich, p. 18. 19 i'( Hm 192 HISTOKr OF THE INDIANS the hand of his enemy upon him, ceased his flight and sat down upon the ground. His heart must indeed have been swelled with grief and shame ; but from those closed lips came no word to indicate its misery. Thirty of the Narragansetts had been slain, and, undoubtedly, many more wounded ; the rest, without an effort to wipe out their disgrace, or to rescue their captive sachem, re- treated to their own country. Miantinomo still continued silent, although some of his warriors were brought up and tomahawked before his eyes. Uncas was disappointed at not being able to ex- tract from him a single confession of weakness or fear, *' Why do you not speak ?" said he. " If you had taken me I should have besought you for my life." But the captive made no answer. He was carried in triumph to the Mohegan fortress, but his life was not taken, and he was even treated with some degree of kindness and respect.* It would appear, also, that a truce was opened between the tribes, which continued as long as the fate of Miantinomo remained in suspense. The Narragansetts sent their sachem several packages of wampum during his captivity, which he gave away, some to Uncas, some to Uncas' wife, and some to his principal councilors. He made these presents, as the Mohegans and their supporters affirmed, partly by way of thanks for his courteous treatment, and partly to persuade Uncas to put him mto the hands of the English and refer his fate to their decision. The Narragansetts asserted that the wampum was given as a ransom, and they sub- • The nbove aorount is from the History of Norwich, Cimpter Il.conipnred With Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 131, ond Hazard, Vol. H,p. 9. '^^W^Sm^^^^^ OF CONNECTICUT. 193 sequently made it a strong ground of accusation against the Mohegan sachem.* The news of Miantinomo's capture excited a deep in- terest among the English of Rhode Island. Many of them were men who had been driven from Massachusetts on account of their religious opinions, and had found a refuge and a home in the country of the Narragansetts. The generous and dignified character of the captive sa- chem had won their good will ; and, from always hearing the Narragansett side of the story, they believed that he was in the right and his enemies in the wrong. Samuel Gorton, a wild-headed but kind-hearted enthusiast who had settled at Warwick, is said to have written Uncas a letter, commanding him to set Miantinomo at liberty, and threatening him with the English power if he refused. The epistle reached Uncas, and, being explained to him by the messenger, gave him not a little perplexity. He was by no means willing to set" his captive free ; but he did not dar on his own authority, to put him to death, and he had reason to fear that he should not be able to keep him safe as a prisoner. In this uncertainty he con- cluded to refer the matter to his old friends, the English of Connecticut. He carried MiantinOmo to Ha-tford, represented the case to the Governor and Council, and begged them to show him the path in which he should walk. The magistrates replied that, as there was no open war between their government and the Navragansetts, it was not prudent for them to interfere, but they would advise him to wait for the first meeting of the Commis- sioners of the United Colonies of New England, which Hazord, Vol. II, passim. 194 HlSTOllY OF THE INDIANS would take place in the following September, and refer the matter to their decision.* Miantinomo, finding himself in Hartford, begged ear- nestly that he might be kept there in the custody of the EtigHsh magistrates. He doubtless expected that the Enghsh would at least preserve his life, and feared that, if Uncas got him back to Mohegan, he might resolve to make sure of his fate by putting him to death. The magistrates were wilHng, and Uncas consented on con- dition that Miantinomo should still be considered as his prisoner.f The firat Court of Commissioners of the United Colo- nies of New England, met at Boston on the seventeenth of September, 1643. It consisted of John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley from Massachusetts, Edward Winslow and William r'oUier from Plymouth, George Fenwick and Edward Hopkins from Connecticut, and Theophihis Eaton and Thomas Gregson from New Haven. The first object of the commissioners was to ratify the agreement, and approve of the articles of confederation, which had been drawn up in the previous May. They then pro- ceeded to examine the case of the Narragansett sachem. Prepossessed in favor of Uncas on account of his obse- quiousness to the English, fearful of MiantiuOmo's power, and perhaps of his independent spirit, they yet hesitated in their judgment, and at first decided that, while it would not be safe to liberate the captive, there was still no sufR- • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 7, 8. Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 1.11. It is pretty certain that Gorion wrote a letter to Uncas, byt somfwhat doubtful whether he uted •ny threatH. Winthrop nt first slated that he did, but afterwards erawd the passage as if he had fouiui that the asaertion was incorrect. ♦ Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 131. t^i53»iSi^%>s^'«»-'******^*****'*^*^*^' - ' OF CONNECTICUT. 195 cient cause to put him to death. In this uncertainty it was determined to refer the case to the clergy, a general convocation of whom was then held in Boston, as many as fifty being assembled there from all parts of New "En^ land. For some reason, however, only five of this num- ber were selected, to give their voices on thi^ important question : these were called in, the whole affair was laid before them, and they were asked for their opinion. What is our astonishment to find that these reverend and, as it is to be hoped, pious gentlemen, came to that stern de- cision at which laymen and public magistrates had fal- tered ! Miantinomo, they said, ought to die.* The Commissioners, having all their doubts removed by the verdict of the ministers, decided that the unfor- tunate sachem was worthy of death, and that Uncas might justly kill him, since his own life would be in con- stant danger, either by treachery or open force, as long as such a false and blood-thirsty enemy lived. It was clearly discovered, they said, that there was a general conspiracy among the Indians against the colonies, and that the prisoner was at the head of it. His disposition, too, was proud, turbulent and restless. He had broken his promise of surrendering the Pequot who attempted to take Uncas' life. Finally he beat one of the men of Pomham, a sachem who had submitted to the English, took away his wampum and bade him complain, if he would, at the Massachusetts. In short, he had forfeited his life by the Indian customs, and by the fashions of all countries-! • Winthrop, Vol. II. p. 131. t Hazard. Vol. II, p. 9. Winthrop, Vol. TI, pp. 133, 134. 196 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS Such were the pretences, some false, some unjust, some frivolous, by which the Commissioners vindicated their course in the condemnation of a free and independent S£M2hem : false, because it had.wo^ been clearly discovered that there was a general conspiracy among the Indians, and because the innocence of Miantinomo on that point had already been acknowledged ; unjust, because nothing could well be more so than to send men out of this world for being proud, turbulent and restless ; frivolous, because the charges concerning Pomham and his man were alto- gether too trifling to have any weight in a question of life and death. As to the assertion that he had forfeited his life by Indian customs and by the fashions of all countries, the first part is true, but the second is as clearly false. It is not, at least, the fashion of civilized countries, to keep prisoners of war alive for weeks, and then bring them in cool blood to execution. The Commissioners decided that Uncas and some of his best men should be summoned to Hartford; that Miantinomo should there be surrendered into his hands ; that he should be put to death without the limits of the English settlements ; and that some of the colonists should witness the execution, " for the more full satisfiic- tion of the commissioners." If Uncas refused to kill the prisoner, he was not to be surrendered to him, but to be sent to Boston by sea, and there detained until the Court could decide further as to his fate. But, if Uncas carried the sentence into eff'ect, he was to be taken under Eng- lish protection, and it was to be the especial duty of Con- necticut to defend him against all enemies whom he might thus create. Plymouth was to restore Massasoit, K«i.^^'>f*'**'"^'?'?^ ": ■■tei*to*»*M*«ite; \ ' - / \ ' ■' Ml. I -I, ' *' ' a H 25 O K H •<1 M » m a OF CONNECTICUT. 197 z; H O K H Q n the sachem of the Pokanokets, to a perfect freedom from all the encroachments which had been made upon hini by the Narragansetts. Massachusetts was to give the Narragansetts notice that Uncas acted under the authority of the English, and would be defended by them against all assailants. The decision was kept secret until it was known that the Connecticut and New Haven Commissioners had reached home. It was feared that, if the Narragansetts should know what was to be done, they would intercept these gentlemen, and thus obtain hostages by whom to ransom their sachem. Such a design had indeed been agitated among them, as the frank and noble minded Miantinomo himself gave notice to Governor Haynes. As soon as Eaton and his friends were in safety, Uncas was ordered to repair to Hartford, at the head of a suffi- cient number of his followers. He came, attended by his brother, VV'awequa, and a select band of warriors. The decision of the Commissioners was made known to him : a decision, doubtless, after his own heart ; and he offered not the least objection to carrying it into execution. His captive was then delivered into his hands, and two Englishmen were designated to go with him and witness the murder. They left Hartford, and traveled on through the forests until they came to the plain where the battle had been fought and the prize taken. Wawequa was walking close be;iirid Miantinomo, who was still, per- haps, uncertain what would be his fate. Uncas gave a signal, and Wawequa, silently raising his tomahawk, sunk it with a heav> blow into the head of the un- suspecting prisoner. Uncas cut a large piece from the i! '!!■ n 198 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS shoulder and ate it with savage exuUation. " It is the sweetest meat I ever ate," said the barbarian. " It makes my heart strong."* Miantinomo was buried on the site both of his defeat and his death, and the spot afterwards received, from the English settlers, the name, which it still retains, of the Sachem's Plain. A heap of stones was raised over the grave, and, for a long time afterwards, every Narragansett who passed that way added one or more to the pile. Du- ring many subsequent years, parties of this tribe used to visit the spot every September, in spite of the almost con- tinual hostility which existed between them and the Mo- hegans. On reaching the rude monument they would break forth into lamentations, and then throwing new stones upon the heap, would consecrate them with mourn- ful cries and frantic gestures. The moimd remained standing for many years, but was finally torn down by the economical owner of the land, who wished to use the stones in the foundation of a new barn.f Such was the end of Miantinomo ; a sachem who seems to have been respected and loved by every one who was not fearful of his power. There can be no doubt that his death was perfectly in accordance with Indian customs ; yet, for the sake of the memory of our ancestors, I wish that it had not happened through their influence. Had Uncas killed and scalped him on the field of battle, or had he tortured him to death in cool blood on his own * See Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 11—13, and Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 134. Win- throp indeed says that he was killed between Windsor and Hartford ; but Trumbull, on the authority of some private manuscripts, places the scene of his murder in Norwich, and his account is confirmed by tradition. < History of Norwich, p. 20. 7^^^^^miu^^>sk^^:m^^^:^^^*^*^*^ f OF CONNECTICUT. 199 responsibility, no one could have had any occasion for surprise. It would have been no more than MiantinOmo would probably have done to Uncas, and no more than all the Indian tribes were in the constant habit of doing to their captive enemies. The English committed a great error in receiving the prisoner into their hands, and from this error they went on until the result was an act highly unjust and deliberately cruel. Even after receiving him, they might have returned him, and have left Uncas to act as he pleased, on condition that he should take upon him- self all the consequences. But we have seen that the Commissioners resolved to return him to the Mohegans only h the latter would put him to death, and that they pledged themselves to support the executioners against all who should call their conduct in question. The real causes of the sachem's execution seem to have been, fear of his power, jealousy that he was inimical to the colonies, and, perhaps, also, the fact that he had favored the hereti- cal settlement of Gorton and his company at Pautuxet. According to the resolutions of the Commissioners, Governor Winthrop dispatched messengers to the Narra- gansetts. They charged them with havi-^g broken their faith with the English, and having combined with Mian- tinOmo in his design to root out the colonies. They told them, also, that the English justified Uncas in what he had done, and were determined to protect him against whoever should offer to do him harm. As Canonicus, however, and Mascus, the deceased father of Miantinomo, had always guided the tribe in a peaceable way, the Com- missioners were willing to ascribe the late tumults to the proud and unquiet spirit of the deceased sachem. They 200 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. therefore offered the Narragansetts peace with the Eng- lish, and with Uncas, and Massasoit, and all the other allies of the English * The Narragansetts could do no better for the present, than receive this unpalatable message with a good grace, and remain in quiet. We shall see, however, before long, that neither messages nor treaties were sufficient to over- come their hatred of the Mohegans, or restrain their burn- ing desire of revenge. • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 12. -. CHAPTER VI. FROM THE EXECUTION OP MIANTINOMO TO THE RE-ESTAB- LISHMENT OF THE PE^UOTP. The Indians in this early period loitered, during much of their time, around the villages of the whites, and gave the settlers not a little annoyance. They frightened the women and children, by entering the houses without lib- erty, and sometimes caused lamentable accidents through their excessive eagerness to handle fire-arms. They were not perfectly honest, either, being very apt to steal what- ever excited their longing, and more desirous of running in debt than of paying what they already owed. If a man trusted an Indian to any amount, he was pretty sure io lose both his debt and his customer ; the latter very commonly transferring his valuable patronage to some other part of the country. To put a stop to these and other annoyances, penal laws were enacted, both by the colonial courts and by the assemblies of the towns. For handling weapons, an Indian was to pay a fine of half a fathom of wampum. If he wounded any one by his care- lessness or ignorance, he was to defray the expense of curing the patient. If the injured person died, life was to be exactod for life.* Indians who came round the settlements by night might be summoned by the watch- • Se« Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 52. .Tuno, IG^O. 202 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS men to surrender, and, if they refused to obey, might be shot down without hesitation.* Laws like these were sometimes accompanied by a provision, that notices of them should be given to the neighboring sachems, so that they might warn and restrain their people. In 1642, when there v e suspicions of a conspiracy among the Indians, having its head at Tunxis, the General Court of Connecticut enacted, that no ordinary citizen should admit a native into his house. Magistrates only were excepted, who were allowed to receive a sachem, provided he came with not above two men.f A like order was passed in 1644, except that magistrates and traders were permitted, to entertain sachems attended by four men. Mncas, however, was granted some superior privileges on account of his friendship for the colonists : he might come into the English houses with twenty fol- lowers, and his brother, Wawequa, might come with ten.| In 1647, Indians were forbidden to hire lands of the Eng- lish, because, by this means, they mingled freely with the settlers, and corrupted the young men.<§. There was, in fact, good reason for this caution, for the moral ex- ample of the natives was, beyond question, far more cor- rupting than beneficial. Dutch and French vessels were forbidden to trade with the Indians, within the jurisdic- tion of the colony, just as the Dutch and French colonial governments had forbidden foreigners to trade with the Indians in their territories. || These restrictions were laid, not so much to monopolize the trade of the abori- • Colonial Records, Vol. I, pp. 46, 240. t Colonial Rec, Vol. I, p. 73. t Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 106. § Col. Rec, Vol. I, p. 149^ II Colonial Records, Vol. I, pp. 197, 218. .".awiat^^tf'fe*^ i^ifVii ,.>,tmx^i*^i OF CONNECTICUT. 203 gmes, as to prevent them from becoming supplied with ammunition and fire-arms. ^ As the Indians complained of being cheated out of their territories, a law was passed [1663] interdicting private individuals from purchasing lands of them.* In 1650, an enactment was made, forbidding any person, under any circumstances, to buy wood of an Indian.f Such rules were not needless ; some of the whites were dishonest and rapacious ; all of the Indians were thoughtless and im- provident. Nothing operated with more injurious effect upon the natives than intoxicating liquors. The unnatural excite- ment which these produce was an agreeable stimulus to men whose avocations and pleasures were few, whose leisure hung heavily on their hands, and whose minds were most of the time dissolved in a tiresome vacuity. They drank them greedily whenever they could get them ; and the race, as well as individuals, soon began to ex- hibit proofs of their deleterious influence. One law after another was passed, forbidding any person to furnish an Indian with such liquors under considerable penalties. In 1654, this penalty amounted to five pounds for every pint thus sold, and forty shillings for the least quantity.^ Notwithstanding these laws the evil still went on in- creasing, as spirituous liquors grew more abundant, and could be obtained by the Indians at a less expense. Per- haps the evil was never greater than at the present day. Let us be careful, then, how we reproach our predecessors. A war was now raging between the Dutch of New 4, !S^ • Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 402. t Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 214. X Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 263. 20 204 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Amsterdam and several of the neighboring tribes of In- dians, which finally involved some of the clans of Con- necticut. In 1642, some Dutch traders, having saga- ciously contrived to get an Indian drunk, robbed him of his valuable dress of beaver skins. In vengeance for this injury the warrior killed two white men, and then fled for safety to a distant tribe. Governor Kieft demanded the murderer ; refused to believe that he could not be found, and finally revenged himself by an act of barbarous cruelty. In the following winter, two tribes living on the Hudson were surprised by the Mohawks, seventy of their warriors were killed, and many prisoners were left in the hands of the enemy. Half dead with cold and hunger, the remnant, amounting to several hundred souls, fled for protection to the vicinity of New Amsterdam. Kieft at first kindly furnished them with corn; but the dark thought soon came into his mind that now he could re- venge the insult which had lately been off"ered to his government. Some of his councilors agreed with him ; a Dand of soldiers and colonists was dispatched on the horrid errand ; the unsuspecting savages were surprised in their sleep, and more than a hundred of them were massacred in cold blood. The Indians living on the Hudson rose to revenge this cruel treachery, and were joined by the tribes of Long Island. A confederacy of eleven clans, numbering more than fifteen hundred war- riors, was formed, and a fierce war blazed wherever a Dutch settlement was to be found ; on Long Island and on Manhattan, along the Connecticut and along the Hudson. The Indians desolated the Connecticut coast as far east as Stamford, killing not only Dutch but Eng- iSBi^HI OP CONNECTICUT. 205 lish ; for the English in this quarter were few in number, and had been compelled to submit to the government of New Amsterdam. The pretended prophetess, Anne Hutchinson, who had taken refuge here from her perse- cutors in Massachusetts, was among the victims. Until the last moment the Indians came to the house in their usual friendly manner ; then the hatchet fell, and the ill-fated woman perished, with seventeen others, in the massacre. To close the scene, the horses and cattle were driven into the barns, the barns were set on fire, and the helpless ani- mals were roasted to death in the flames. Great numbers of Indians were now living in this part of Connecticut, where they had formed several large villages or encamp- ments. They were not, however, natives of the district, but had only retreated here from Long Island and the Hudson, so as to be less exposed to the expeditions of the Dutch. Mayn Mayano, a sachem living between Stamford and Greenwich, distinguished himself by a feat of daring though unsuccessful courage. At a time when one Eu- ropean was considered a match for several natives, he had the audacity to attack with his bow and arrows three Dutch settlers armed with muskets. He killed one, and was engaged in conflict with another, when the third struck him down. Had he succeeded in his desperate enterprise, he would have gained a glorious name among his people, and would perhaps have been regarded as the greatest brave among all the tribes of his race. Mayn Mayano's tribe having been as hostile as its sachem, an expedition was sent against it from New Am- sterdam. The troops landed at Greenwich, and, relying 206 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS i I upon some information given them by Captain Daniel Patrick of that place, marched all night in search of the enemy's encampment. But the Indians had escaped, and the Dutch marched on to Stamford in an ill humor at their d-sappointment, and believing that they had been mtentionally misdirected One of them, meeting Patrick m that village, charged him with falsehood and treachery. The high-tempered Englishman angrily retorted, spit in his accuser's face, and turned on his heel to walk away. Enraged at the insult, the soldier drew a pistol and shot him dead. Thus perished one of those captains who had led the troops of New England against the iU-fated Pequots. The deed was committed at the house of another, the famous John Underbill, who was likewise living at Green- wich under the authority of the Dutch. Both these men had been members of New England churches, but thei'r conduct had little corresponded with their professions, and, unable to bear the restraints and frequent admoni- tions which met them in Massachusetts, they had retired to these lonely shores where ministers and church com- mittees were few and far between. Before the armament returned to Manhattan, twenty- five of the soldiers undertook a more successful expedi- tion. By a forced march they surprised a small Indian village, killed eighteen or twenty of the inhabitants, and took the rest, an old man with some women and children prisoners. * Underbill now joined the Dutch armies, was placed at the head of a small force, and did good service in an expedition to Long Island. On his return from thii. enter- OF CONNECTICUT. 2or M prise, he went to New Amsterdam, from whence he was immediately sent to obtain information concerning the hostile Indians in the vicinity of Stamford. He brought back word, that an encampment of five hundred of them had been discovered, and urgently advised that an imme- diate effort should be made to destroy it. One hundred and thirty men were instantly raised, [February, 1644,] and sent off for Greenwich, under the command of Under- bill and Ensign Van Dyck. They landed that same eve- ning at Stamford, but a heavy snow storm obliged them to remain nearly all night in the settlement. The weather having moderated towards morning, they set forward, and made a long, painful and fatiguing day's march. About eight in the evening they came to two rivers, one of them two hundred feet wide, and three feet deep. They were now near the enemy, but thought it best to halt awhile for the sake of resting the men and preparing for the approaching struggle. At ten o'clock they resumed their march and moved on easily, the sky being clear, and a full "moon glancing over the brilliant surface of the snow. They soon came in sight of three long rows of wigwams, situated at the foot of an emi- nence which protected them from the northeast wind. This was the Indian village. Its inhabitants were on thair guard, and soon showed that they had discovered the presence of their enemies. The Dutch, however, advanced with such celerity as to surround the village before its inmates could make their escape. The Indians charged gallantly, with the hope of breaking the lines ; but twelve of them were taken prisoners, and the rest were driven back. A heavy fire of musketry was opciH^d 20* iU 208 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS by the white men, and, after a furious conflict of an houi the Indians retreated to their wigwams, leanng one hun- dred and eighty of their number stretched on the trampled and crimsoned snow. Not one would venture out any longer ; but they still maintained the conflict, from loop- holes, with their bows and arrows. Underbill, following Mason's example at Fort Mystic, now gave orders to fire the village. The same result followed which had been witnessed in the attack on the Pequots ; the Indians were driven out of their cabins by the fire, and were driven into them again by the Dutch sabres and musketry. They perished miserably, men, women and children ; only eight escaping, and five hundred, as the Indians afterwards as- serted, being destroyed by fire, lead and steel. The soldiers kindled large fires, and encamped for the remainder of the night on the field of battle. The next morning they set out on their return, and, " the Lord enduing the wounded with extraordinary strength," they reached the English settlement of Stamford about noon. Public thanksgivings were ordered at New Amsterdam for this great success ; and the Dutch chroniclers expressed their gratitude for the victory in the same devout strain with which the New England writers recorded the simi- lar triumph on the banks of the Mystic. They remarked it, for instance, as a particular providence, that, whon the attack was made on the village, " the Lord had collected most of their enemies there to celebrate some peculiar festival." This terrific slaughter put an end to the war, as the carnage at Fort Mystic had virtually ended the contest between the English and the Pequots. Not very long '\jMr^iiifU!Sa^ii'-m-%i&0a>i^^SSM-\:- OF CONNECTICUT. 209 after the Dutch Wctory, the Indians begged the interven- ion of Underhill, whom they seem to have considered the leading spirit among their adversaries, and, having ob- tained ,t, very soon [April, 1644,J consented to a peace.* During this violent and sometimes prosperous struggle with the Dutch colonists of New Netherland, it was not surprising that the Indians of this vicinity should occa- sionally manifest insolence towards the English colonists ot Connecticut. In the summer or fall of 1644, one of them named Ashquash, murdered, between Fairfield and fetamford, an English servant who was running away irom his master in Massachusetts. The fact being re- vea ed about six weeks after, by an Indian, the settlers applied to the sachem of Ashquash's tribe for satisfaction. He promised to surrender the murderer, and actually kept his pledge so far as to have him brought within sight of Fairfield. Some English were already coming out to receive him, when the Indians, beginning to pity their doomed comrade, unbound him and let him go. The settlers were enraged, and seizing eight or nine of the natives, carried them into the village and kept them con- fined there several days. Pour sagamores then appearing, and promising to surrender the culprit within a month the prisoners were released.f ' Not long after this agreement was made, an Indian came into a house at Stamford, in broad day, and attack- • The above events are taken almost entirely from O'Cnllaghan's Historr of New NHh.-rland.. Rook III. Chapfem III. IV and V. Trumbull tells of the war oontinuing till 1646. and of a great battle being fought that year at St,...kl.nd8 Plain in Horneneck j but this is a mistake, for peace was con- eluded two years before. t Hazard. Vol. II, p. 23. Ml' 210 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ing a woman who was there alone with her infant, left her on the floor for dead, plundered the house and went away. The settlers were alarmed and provoked at these repeated outrages, and demanded a conference of the na- tives for the purpose of obtaining reparation. The In- dians refused to appear ; left their corn unweeded ; fired off muskets in the vicinity ; and showed themselves in a tumultuous and threatening manner about the settlement. Some of their number told the villagers that their people were intending to attack them. The settlers sent mes- sages to Hartford and New Haven for assistance, and, at some of the plantations in this vicinity, a guard was kept up both night and day. Soldiers were raised at New Haven, and dispatched to the threatened district ; and a new demand was made for the surrender of Ashquash. Tne woman who had been attacked finally recovered from her wounds, though her reason was gone forever. She was able, however, to describe the person and dress of her assailant, so that the townsmen were enabled to recognize in him a fellow named Busheag. With a great deal of difficulty the Indians were persuaded to surrender him ; he was carried to New Haven, tried for his crime, convicted and sentenced to decapitation. Busheag sat erect and motionless, while the unskillful executioner mangled him with eight blows upon the neck, before he could detach the head from the body. This execution seems to have satisfied both parties ; the Indians became tranquil, and the English do not appear to have made any further demands for the murderer of the servant.* • Hazard, Vol. IT, p. 23. We find indeed certain recommendations, [Haz- ard, Vol. II, p. 128,] but no proof that they were followed by action. ""ffrfW ■^,,M^^K>i>^'Arm»^^^fi'"^ .%i:a^^ie^««^^-'"^"^ OF CONNECTICUT. 211 During this time, the Narragansetts had by no means remained quiet under the loss of their sachem, but were continually harassing the Mohegans with their war parties. Miantinomo's authority was inherited, at least to some degree, by his brother, a young man of about twenty, named Pessicus. Within a month after the death of Miantinomo, and also in the following March, Pessicus sent presents to Boston, with messages that he wished peace with the English, but was resolved to make war upon Uncas. His presents were refused ; unfriendly an- swers were returned to his communications ; and he was told that the English would stand by Uncas whenever he should be attacked. These replies, however, produced I little effect, for threats alone could not restrain the hatred and desire of vengeance which burned in the bosoms of the Narragansetts. Twelve or fourteen Englishmen, sent by Hartfojrd to protect Uncas, probably had enough and more than enough to do, all summer, in keeping watch, and running about from this point to that, to chase away the intruders. Things finally became so troublesome, that the Commissioners determined, [September, 1644,] that both parties should be summoned to Hartford, and plead their cause before the Court. Nathaniel Willet and the interpreter, Thomas Stanton, delivered the summons first to Uncas, and afterwards to the Narragansetts. Both tribes were ordered to remain at peace until the decision of the case, and to promise not to intercept each other's deputies on the journey to and from Hartford. The sa- chems of the Narragansetts consulted with Ninigret, and then sent one of their own number, Weetowisse, and three councilors, to make their accusation against Uncas. The I 212 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS Mohega,, sachem made his appearance in person. The Narraganset. deputies came, and .he cause'was opened The Narragansetts spoke firs,. They said that, whib Miantmomo was a prisoner, a sum of wampum h^d been mnhar""''^""'™^^"- '"^ MoLgansLh-: ransom that some portions of this ransom had actually m puttmg his prisoner to death* Uncas flatly denied that any such ransom had been ag eed upon ; asserted that the wampum sen, was so in- considerable in amount as to be totally inadequate for such a purpose; and that it had moreover been len otSfr'""" '" P---.«"'>erfor thesa^r ? obtaining favors, or ,n return for favors roceived.t ^.ith » « °"""!r'™"'' investigated the case, doubtless, decided r"' T '" "" ''"'=" '""'"='^»«' =>"" «-"y dec ded apparently, too, with justice, that the Narragan^ Thev told"!'!! '"" """^ '° ""'^'™'''"«' '"- cha'rge. .To' tdthatT r'"" ^'""P^"^<» '« give satisfac- tion, and that the colonies would still oblige him to do so whenever the Narragansetts should be abfe to prove ,e t'h °' """7="»^«"»n^- They then cautioned them ha. neither their tribe nor the Nehanties must attack Uncas, under peril of the English hostility, until "hey were ab e to satisfy the Court that he was guilty of ,1 crime alleged. The deputies consulted together a id -.uated, doubtless, by fear of the power of tl.e cobn^' as we 1 as intimidated by the presence and the demaTd: of the Commissioners, they consented to a temporary • Hajiird, Vol. II, p. S5. t Ibid. ,.»teiy»?«Si4»«fe OF CONNECTICUT. 213 cessation of the war. They promised not to attack (Jncas till after the next planting time, and not even then with- out giving thirty days notice to the Governor of Massa- chusetts. Neither would they use any means to bring the Mohawks against him during the truce, and if any of the Nehantic Pequots attacked him, they would deliver them up to be punished. The treaty to this effect was subscribed, [September, 29th, 1644,] on the part of the colonies, by the eight Commissioners ; on the part of the Narragansetts by Weetowisse, sachem, and Pawpiamet, Chimough and Pummumshe, councilors.* But either the Narragansetts did not consider them- selves bound by this agreement of their deputies, (who perhaps had no power to conclude such a peace,) or their bitter hatred of the Mohegans would not suffer them to abide by it. They re-commenced hostilities almost as soon as they had signed the treaty, and their war parties again swept over the territories of Uncas. In the spring of 1645, without giving the promised notice to Massa- chusetts, a large force of their warriors poured into the Mohegan country, under the command of Pessicus. They destroyed every wigwam and plantation in their progress, drove the Mohegans before them, and forced 'Uncas to take refuge in one of his forts. This stood on Shantok Pomt, a rough promontory on the western bank of the Thames, nearly opposite to the place known as Pocque- tannok. It coiitained a fine spring of water ; the English allies of Uncas had assisted in fortifying it, and the Mo- hegans could easily defend it against a foe as unskillful and as poorly armed as themselves. The Narragansetts • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 25, 26. 214 HisTony or the Indians had no hopes of taking it by force; but they seized the canoes in the river, spread themselves over the surround- ing country, and attempted to reduce the besieged by famine. The English garrison from Hartford had gone, but Uncas succeeded in sending news of his situation to the fort at Saybrook. A Mohegan, creeping cautiously out by night, crawled undiscovered along the margin of the river, and made his way across the country to the mouth of the Connecticut. Saybrook was then com- manded by John Mason, who entertained a kind and grate- ful remembrance of Uncas for his services during the Pe- Huot war, and was willing to assist him in his present extremity. He did not indeed attempt to raise the siege by lorce ; but he alloived one of his. garrison, a young man named Thomas Leffingwell, to undertake the enter- prise of introducing a supply of food into the beleaguered fortress. It is probable, although not certain, that Leffing- well was accompanied in his expedition by two other men named Thomas Tracy and Thomas Miner. A canoe capable of bearing twenty hundred weight was laden with provisions from the fort, and was then brought round to the mouth of the Pequot or Thames River. From there the adventurers, taking advantage of a dark night, pad- dled up to Shantok Point, ten miles or more, and suc- C€9dedin landing their cargo without being discovered by the besiegers. The Mohegans shouted with delight when they saw the beef, corn and peas which Leffingwell had brought, and save notice of their relief to the enemy by elevating a larg. piece of the meat on a pole. When daylight came the Narragansetts saw it, and seeing, also, one or more Englishmen among the Mohegans,' OP CONNECTICUT. 215 they gave up the siege in despair and returned to their homes> Close on the heels of this invasion followed another, of several hundred warriors, thirty of whom were provided with fire-arms. They came silently and secretly, and by making a show of only forty men, they drew Uncas and his followers within their reach. The whole body then rose, poured in a shower of arrows and bullets, and pur- sued the Mohegans furiously to the walls of their forts. Four Mohegan sagamores and two common men were killed in this battle, and they had between thirty and forty wounded. A few Englishmen who were in the neighborhood shortly made their appearance, at sight of whom the Narragansetts retired. John Winthrop and Thomas Peeters, both among the early settlers of New London, went to Uncas' fort and dressed the wounds of the injured Mohegans. Uncas told them the story of the battle, and boasted that, if it were not for the guns of the Narragansetts, he would not care a rush for them. From the letter of Peeters, which preserves these particulars, we learn that, either at this time or some other, he cured Tantaquigeon, the sagamore who first overtook the flying Miantinomo. Some Narragansett warriors had found their way to his cabin, by n-ght, and struck him en the breast, with a hatchet, as he lay on his couch. The brave warrior had notice enough of their presence to parry the blow in part, with his arm, and thus to save his life. The avengers of blood took to flight when they found themselves dis- covered, and Tantaquigeon escaped with only a wound.f » Mis^ Caulkins's History of Norwich, pp. 23 — 26. t Apjieiidix to Sav.'iq;i''s Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 381. 21 m I' 216 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS During the remainder of the season after this battle, a small force of English was kept constantly in the Mohe- gan country, ekher by Hartford or New Haven. These repeated attacks upon Uncas excited the indig- nation of the colonists, whose honor and interest both called on them to defend him against his enemies. The subject was brought before the meeting of the Commis- sioners at Boston, in May, 1645. Messengers were ap- pointed to go to Uncas and the Narragansett and Nehantic sachems, to invite them to lay their difficulties once more before the Court. They set off, attended by Benedict Arnold, an interpreter, intending to proceed, first to the Narragansett and Nehantic country, afterwards to that of the Mohegans. Pessicus received them with coolness, and finally with insolence ; Ninigret with haughtiness and contemptuous derision. The messengers did not dare to proceed on their journey to Uncas, and returned to Boston filled with great indignation at the insolence of the savages. They brought a letter from Roger Williams, saying that war would soon break out, and that the Nar- ragansetts, in anticipation of it, had concluded a separate treaty with Providence and the towns on Aquidnet, or Rhode Island. Provoked and alarmed, the Commis- sioners resolved on immediate hostilities, and arranged a plan for an energetic campaign. As the Connecticut and New Haven soldiers who formed the garrison at Mohe- gan were about to go home, forty men were immediately impressed, and dispatched in three days to supply their place. They were accompanied by four horses, and by two Massachusetts Indians who were to serve as guides. At Mohegan they were to be joined by forty men from or CONNECTICUT. 217 a Connecticut and thirty from New Haven, and the whole body was to march, under the command of John Mason, against the Nehantics. The Nehantics were supposed to be the chief incendiaries in the present difficulties, and the Commissioners were anxious that they should feel the first smart of the punishment. From the side of Massachusetts, Major Edward Gibbons, at the head of one hundred and ninety men, was to invade the country of the Narragansetts.* One more effort was made to bring the Indians to a peaceable accommodation. Two messengers were dis- patched to Pessicus, to explain to him the pacific feelings of the Commissioners, and inform him of the preparations which were being made to attack him. When that sa- chem and his people found that an army four times as strong as the one which overthrew the Pequots was about to enter their country, their hearts failed them. They obtained a short delay of hostilities, during which Pessi- cus, with several other sachems, repaired to Boston. Ap- pearing before the Commissioners' Court, they vainly attempted to defend themselves by renewing their old complaints about the bad faith of Uncas. They proposed a truce till the next planting time ; a truce for a year ; a truce for a year and a quarter ; but all these propositions were rejected. One of them then placed a wand'^'in the hands of the Commissioners, signifying that the terms lay with them. These terms were sufficiently hard. If the Narragansetts wish peace, said the Commissioners, they must pay the colonists two thousand fathoms of wam- pum, to indemnify them for the expenses which they • Hazard, Vol. II. pp. 28—32. ! f 218 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS have caused them; they must restore all the prisoners and canoes which they have taken from the Mohe- gans; and they must lay their difficulties with Uncas before the next meeting of the Court, and abide by its decision. The wampum was to be paid, by four instalments, within twenty months ; four sons of Pessicus, Ninigret and other principal chiefs were to be surrendered as hostages, within fourteen days ; and, until they were sur- rendered, four of the sachems now present were to remain prisoners at Boston. Finally the Narragansetts and Ne- hartics were to pay, in fulfillment of the treaty of 1G38, one fathom of white wampum, annually, for every Pequot man among them, half a fathom for every youth, and a hand-length for every child. The sachems thought these terms very severe, and pleaded hard that some of them might be remitted. They obtained that Uncas, as well as themselves, should be obliged to restore prisoners and booty. Otherwise the Commissioners were inflexible; and the treaty was re- luctantly signed [September 5th, 1645,] by Pessicus and five companions, Abdas, Pommush, Cutchamakins, Wee- kesanno, Wittowash, and the Nehantic deputy, Aumsaa- quen. ^ The colonial forces v/ere immediately disbanded, and the' day which had been appointed for a general fast was changed into a general thanksgiving.* In 1646, Sequassen came into generol notice through one of the most singular circumstances in the aboriginal history of Connecticut. This sachem, while ho hated Uncas as his own successful rival, disliked the English as • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 40-^4. , i>ji>v^f.&-*>i(SiS^*fesS:**«»*'**&» ii|fe»v-;*tsi»at« SiiSiJeismii OF CONNECTICUT. 219 the friends and supporters of Uncas. He therefore formed a plan which, if successful in its operation, would enable him to be revenged upon both. He resolved to effect the murder of some of the principal colonists, and, by causing the name of the deed to fall upon the Mohegan sachem, embroil him with his powerful allies. The person he selected as his instrument was Watch ibrok, a rascally Pota- tuck, whom he was said to have once before employed, in a similar way, to get rid of a hated sagamore. During the spring of 1646, Watchibrok and Sequassen were both visiting at Waranoak, now Westfield, in the southern part of Massachusetts, and while there lodged in the same wigwam. After some time Watchibrok proposed to go, but Sequassen persuaded him to stay longer, and went with him to a fishing place on the river. There they remained four days, when Watchibrok again proposed to leave, saying that he wished to visit some of his friends in other places. Sequassen told him, that, traveling in that way, alone, he ran a risk of being killed, and walked on with him to a spring, where they both stopped. Here the sachem opened the design, over which he was brood- ing, to his companion. He told him that, " if he ever wished to do Sequassen a kindness, now was the time. He was almost ruined, and the English of Connecticut were the cause of it. He wanted his friend Watchibrok, to go to Hartford and kill Governor Haynes, Governor Hopkins, and Mr. Whiting.* The two would then fly to the Mohawks with store of wampum, and on the way would give out that it was Uncas who murdered the white • Hopkins and Ilnynea were both repentedly Governors of the Colony ; Whiiing was a irspcctablc eilixen and a iriagietra*^, 21* P»ts«»«»«**^"^:: OF CONNECTICUT. 223 work with all their might to beat down the flames before they reached the town palisades. They succeeded in checking them at a large swamp north and west of the settlement ; but the fire did much damage notwithstand- ing, destroying a large quantity of timber, and completely ruining several pieces of good natural meadow.* The Mohawks were not so terrible now, to the Indians of this part of the colony, as they had been before the settlement of the English at Milford, Stratford, Fairfield, and other places along the coast. But they still came down occasionally, to exact tribute, or to kill, burn and lay waste wherever tribute was refused. To defend themselves against these destroyers, the Wepawaugs had erected two forts ; one at Turkey Hill, now in Derby, and one on Indian Point, between East River and the Sound. In 1646 or 1648, a body of Mohawks came into the town, and hid themselves in a swamp half a mile east of Stratford Ferry, with the hope of surprising the fortress at the Point. Some of the settlers, discovering them by accident, informed the Wepawaugs, who soon collected so great a number of their warriors as to venture an attack upon the redoubtable invaders. For once, at least, they were successful ; they defeated the Mohawks, killed some, and took a number prisoners. The victors stripped one of the captives, tied him hand and foot in the great meadows, and left him to be tormented by those clouds of musketoes with which the seashore is usually haunted. A settler, named Thomas Hine, finding the poor fellow in this condition, untied him, fed him, and enabled him to make his escape. For this deed of kindness the Mo- • Lambert's History of New Haven Colonv. n IQfl. 224 HISTORY OF THE INWaNS hawks long regarded the family of Hine With great h -; and used tosay that the Hines did not die hke otht ^e faces, but wen. to the west, where the Great Spir took^then. nuo his big wigwan. and made them g^ea. yel"m",f ';■ "^ ■=»■>-'»''»»«> took place for several years among the Indmns of this part of the colony, excew a murder which was committed by some of Lm a Stamford, ,n 1649. John Whitmore, a respectable'in- habuant of that place, and a member of the General Court of New Haven colony, went into the woods one day, to look for h.s cattle, and never returned. Shortly after his mto Stamford, and said Whumore had been killed by one Toquattoes, and that the assassin had now, in h,s pos! ofTe"' :r "' "' •""'"'' "'''''' "='""-• A number of the settle,^, accompanied by several Indians, repaired to he forest and made search for the body, but ;er: unab L I It i T""!™""^^' « ™'^ discovered, was not in the ne.g borhood Some of the English began to suspec hat the ^gamore's son had committed the murder, and thrown the guilt of it upon one who was absent and therefore unable to defend himself. I. was only a su ' p.c.o„, however, and, without ihaking any attempt to ar- rest h,m, they suffered the matter to lie quiet for two or th^e months At the end of that time. Uncas came to Stamford wah a number of warriors ; and, being informed ZttZ^T • """"""''' "'^ neighboring Indians to- gether and interrogated them concerning it. He finallv commanded them, with sternness, to show where tL body •T™„b„ll.V.,.,,pp.,e8,,s,. B.,b.K.Hi„.C.U..fCo„„.,M>lf.,<., T ^^mtmemmmsm OF CONNECTTCDT. 225 was concealed. The sagamore's son and one Rehoron, who was also suspected, immediately led the way into the forest ; the Mohegans and some of the English fol- lowed, and the guides were observed to go straight to a place where the body was found. The Mohegans, seeing this, and that the men were both trembling with agita- tion, instantly charged them with being the murderers. No immediate effort, however, seems to have been made to apprehend them, and before any efficient steps were taken for this purpose, they fled, and made their escape. A representation of the circumstances was laid before the Court of the United Colonies. The Commissioners passed some resolutions on it, but they were never carried into effect, and the matter gradually died away. The trem- bling of the two men was no certain proof that they were guilty, for the Indians often trembled when sternly con- fronted by the dreaded race which was gradually sup- planting them.* It would be a matter of some interest, to know what had brought Uncas so far west as Stamford, when his own dominions never extended, in this direction, beyond the East River in Guilford. No record, however, of his ob- ject has been preserved, and vro can only conjecture that he came to Stamford, as he had once sent his warriors to Poconitock, for the sake of obliging his friends, the colonists. We now return to the affairs of the eastern tribes. Uncas had become so confident of the favor of the Eng- lish on all occasions, that he began to bring trouble upon himself by his restlessness and insolence. He oppressed • Hazard, Voh IT-. np= 1Q7, iQR. Colonin] Rpcon!?, Vol, Tp, 197, 226 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS the Pequots who were subject to him j he abused and plundered those who were not properly his subjects; he robbed one man of his wife ; he robbed another man of his corn and beans ; he embezzled wampum which he had been commissioned to deliver to the English ; and he and his brother, Wawequa, took every opportunity of sub- jecting, or, at least, plundering, their neighbors. The colonists, however, did not encourage him in these acts of violence ; and sometimes, as the records of those times show, administered to him sharp rebukes and even pun- ishment. At this time there were living on the seacoast of the ancient Pequot territory, one near the Thames, and one near the Paucatuc, tw^o Indians, each of whom had col- lected a small band of ^^equots about him, and exercised over them something of the authority of a petty sachem. One of these was a Pequot by birth, variously styled Robin, Cassasinamon, Cassinament, Casmamon, Robin Cassasinamon and Robin Cassinament. The other was Cushawashet, mentioned in the last chapter as the brother of Wequash and nephew of Ninigret, and more commonly known by the names of Wequash Cook and Hermou Garret. When the people of New London commenced their settlement, they found Cassasinamon, Obechiquod, and a number of other Pequots living on the ground, whom, after the original name of the place, they called Nameeg Indians. A friendly agreement was made with them, in accordance with which the Indians removed from the locality, and took up their residence at a suitable dis- tance from the proposed settlement. In the intercourse between these Pequots and the settlers, Cassasinamon iiffyjsslBiK^a^a^J^^sa or CONNECTICUT. 227 seems to have become a sort of dependent or assistant of John Winthrop, the chief founder of New London, and accordingly is repeatedly mentioned in ' - early records as " Robin, Mr. Winthrop's man." Wequash Cook, or Hermon Garret, was, as I have al- ready observed, a Nehantic of Rhode Island, and son of Momojoshuck, the most ancient sachem known to us of the Nehantic tribe. On the death of his brother, We- quash, he adopted his name, and succeeded to him in his influence over that part of the Pequot tribe which at- tempted to preserve a separate existence on the eastern borders of their ancient country.* Fifty or sixty of these scattered warriors he collected around him, with a few Nehantics, and remained their sagamore till the day of his death. Hermon Garret was the last name which he as- sumed ; but, for the sake of perspicuity, I shall hereafter call him by no other. In the spring or summer of 1646, Thomas Peeters, of New London, (then called Pequat,) being ill, and some of his fellow-settlers out of provisions, they requested their neighbor, Cassasinamon, to make a hunt for them. He replied that Uncas would be angry. Peeters told him that he should go as from the English plantation, and so under its protection. "We are but twenty men," an- swered Cassasinamon, " and that is not enough to drive the woods." To obviate this objection Peeters sent for Hermon Garret, and the two sagamores made a great hunt in company. Uncas soon heard that Cassasinamon, who was his subject, and Hermon Garret, whom he hated as an enemy, were driving the woods as if they were great » Rhode Island Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, p. 65. 22 228 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I n and independent sachems like himself and Pessicus. His indignation blazed high. Gatl c ing Uib! ^ hundred Mohe- gans, he came suddenly upon th'^. hunters, beat some, plundered others, and broke up the enterprise. Thomas Peeters, quite indignant at the small amount of protection which the name of the plantation of Pequat had afforded to Cassasinamon, complained of Uncas to the Commis- sioners, and the Mohegan sachem was summoned to give an account of his conduct.* The next court was held in the fall at New Haven, and Uncas appeared before it in person. He confessed to the Commissioners that he had done wrong in acting with such violence in the neighborhood of an English planta- tion, and agreed to make an acknowledgment of his fault to the settlers. He then brought forward some com- plaints of his own ; how some of his Pequots were en- ticed from him under pretense of submitting to the Eng- lish at Pequat ; how Hermon Garret had hunted without leave on the lands of the Mohegans, and how the same sagamore was supported and encouraged against him by Peeters and his fellow-settlers. The Court gave him an obliging reply, promising to consider his grievances, and to see that his Pequots should not be taken from him.f Uncas had been dismissed by the Commission rs, but had not yet left New Haven, when William Morton of New London appeared with three Pequots, bringing a fresh accusation against him. He told the Court that Uncas had hired Wampushet, a Pequot oowwow, for fifteen fathoms of wampum, to wound another Indian, and then charge the crime upon Hermon Garret. Wam- • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 65. * Hazard, Vol. II, p. 65. '^■*mm'*: , ^.w j j'#"'".M 4tsj^0^iMisi0&^'^ I M OF CONNECTICUT. 229 pushet, he said, had fulfilled his agreement ; but after- wards, becoming troubled in his conscience, confessed the fact, cleared Hermon Garret and inculpated Uncas. As Morton could bring no proof for this story except the as- sertion of Wampushet, and as that individual was one of the Pequots who came with him from New London, he was called on to testify. His conscience seems to have troubled him a second time, for he contradicted Morton, cleared Uncas, and cast the whole plot upon Hermon Garret and Cassasinamon. Morton was astounded, and the two other Pequots, one of whom was Cassasinamon's brother, asserted in great wrath, that Uncas must have hired Wampushet to alter his testimony. But this mira- cle of conscientiousness persisted in his story, and added that Hermon Garret and Cassasinamon had given him a pair of breeches and twenty-five fathoms of wampum, to throw the guilt upon Uncas. The Commissioners were utterly perplexed by this labyrinth of lies, and dismissed the affair without adding any thing to their former de- cision.* During the year which followed this Court, Uncas seems to have kept straight on in his course of petty tyranny. He took possession of Obechiquod's wife and kept her for his own. He defiled the wife of Sanaps, another of his subjects, and robbed the disconsolate hus- band of his corn p id beans. He favored the Mohegans against the Pequots, so that, if the latter won any thing of the former in play, they could never collect it. He ordered the Pequots to assist him in excursions against the Indians of Long Island, and, when they refused, he » Hazard, Vol. II, p. 66. ■!(■; 230 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS cut lip their fishing nets. The harassed Pequots told the colonists dolorous stories of the abuses which they were continually obliged to sufier. " We have sent Uucas wampum," said they, " twenty-five times, as tribute for the English ; but we know not whether any part of it has been delivered. And we have made presents to Uncas himself as many as forty times."* Some time during this year, [1647,] one of Uncas' chil- dren died, upon which the sachem presented consolatory gifts to the mother, and ordered the Pequots, with threats, to do Ihe same. Tassaquanot, a surviving brother of Sas- sacus, opposed compliance with this demand ; sagaciously observing, that they had better give the wampum to the English ; for, if their favor could be secured, they need trouble themselves little about Uncas. The others, how- ever, terrified by the sachem's threats, collected about one hundred fathoms of wampum, and gave it as they had been directed. Uncas expressed himself much gratified, and promised that after this he would treat them on an equality with his ancient subjects. Only a few days sub- sequently, Wawequa came into the settlement of the Pe- quots, and said that his brother and the Mohegan council had resolved to put several of them to death. They now thought of the advice of Tassaquanot, and imme- diately set about collecting a quantity of wampum with which to purchase the interference of the English. Uncas heard of their design, and the next morning appeared before their fort, attended by a body of armed warriors. No collision took place, however ; and the Pequots sub- sequently succeeded in escaping, and taking up their resi- • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 89, .. ;;,^irt^*&»fcgi*i&«.-*.ii»^ in OF CONNECTICUT. 231 dence under the eye and protection of the settlers of New London.* At the next meeting of the Commissioners, [Boston, July, 1647,] a petition was presented to them, subscribed by the marks of Oassasinamon, Obechiquod and forty-six other Pequots, with those of eighteen Nehantics. It re- cited all the wrongs which Uncas had inflicted upon them ; how he had taken away their wives ; how he had robbed them of their corn and beans ; how he had spoiled their nets ; how he had extorted wampum from them ; and how they feared that he was going to kill them. The petitioners asserted, that, when the war broke out. between Sassacus and the colonies, they had refused to join in it, and had fled from their country, believing that, if they did not fight against the white men, the latter would never hurt them. Thus they were not guilty of English blood, and so could, with a good grace, claim the Eogiish protection.f Foxon, Uncas' chief councilor,! appeared on the part of his sachem, and taking up each of the charges, gave it an especial answer. Some he denied, some he palliated, some he pretended ignorance of, and in every way he put the best possible construction upon Uncas' avaricious and tyrannical conduct. He said, for instance, that Obechiquod had forfeited his wife by Indian custom, having fled away from the terri- tories of Uncas and left her behind him alone : that the ♦ Hazard, Vol. II, p. 89. + Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 87, 88. t Foxon, or Foxun, or Poxen, was a crafty, plausible councilor, who, as we learn from a letter of the apostle Eliot, written about this time, was consid- ered, even among the Massachusetts tribes, as " the wisest Indian in the country ."=Ma.^.?, Hist. Coll., Vol. XXIV, p. 57. 22* 232 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Pequots had never sent any wampum fcr the English, except in conjunction with the Mohegans, when they made presents to the governors at Boston and Hartford: that he never heard of any such thing as Uncas' cutting the petitioners' nets : that it was not true that Uncas favored the Mohegans against the Pequots in gaming; although the latter, being a conquered people, might sometimes be afraid to press for their rights ; and that, as to their pretense that they never warred against the Eng- lish, it was utterly false ; for some of them were in the fort which was burned by Mason, and escaped under cover of the smoke, while others were, at that very time, fighting in other places against the Narragansetts and Mohegans.* * In this style was the defense of Foxon, who seems to have put the best possible side on a very bad cause. The Commissioners were not deceived by it, although they were still unwilling to deprive their favorite of the au- thority which the colonies had bestowed upon him. They ordered that the Pequois should return under his rule, but that he should make no attempt to punish them for their late desertion. They sent him, by the mouth of his deputy, a grave reproof, and seriously admonished him that the English would never support him in any such "unlawful and outrageous courses."! Foxon, however, was not yet through with his labors ; for John Winthrop, of New London, now came forward, with a new charge against his master. On the part of the Nipmucks he complamed that Waweqva, at the hca' of one hundred and thirty Plohegans, had attacked and ¥ f • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 90. t Hazard, Vol II, p. 91. ;4sates«tf.a&ft*>wSi«;®&-iiiife>>*^s; ff ^ OF CONNECTICUT. 233 plundered them, carrying away thirty-five fathoms of wampum, ten copper keUles, ten large hempen baskets, and many bear skins, deer skins, and other articles of great value. Foxon was again called up and questioned. He admitted the facts stated, but said that Uncas, with his chief men, was then at New Haven, and knew nothing of the affair ; that he had never shared in the spoils, and that some of his own IrJians were robbed at the same time.* Winthrop had yet another complaint : that Wawequa had been over to Fisher's Island with a band of men, some of them armed with guns ,• had frightened an In- dian who was on the island, and broken a canoe. An- other New London man added, that, when Wawequa returned from Fisher's Island, he hovered in his canoes off the settlement ; that his motions were so suspicious and threatening as to alarm all the Indians and some of the English, and that numbers of the Indians were ter- rified to such a degree as to begin bringing their goods for safety into the colonists' houses. The Commissioners did nothing more for the present, however, than to im- pose a fine of one hundred fathoms of wampum upon Uncas, which he was to pay as soon as the Pequots re- turned to him. This fine was in consideration of his conduct the year before at the hunt, and was to be divi- ded, when received, among the Indians and English who had been injured on that occasion by the Mohegans. The complaints being at last finished, Foxon was suffered to depart, well laden with reproofs and admonitions to his avaricious and unscrupulous sachem.f The Pequots obstinately refused to return to Uncas, • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 91. 20* t Hazard. Vol. If, p f\m 11 ill ■I 234 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS and, too much under the fear of the Commissioners to make use of any forcible measures, he satisfied himself with complaining at the next Court. He then [October, 1648,] received liberty to constrain them to obey him ; a resolution being also passed, forbidding every one from offering them shelter. The order was useless, for a con- siderable number of the Pequots could never be either persuaded or forced to live again among the Mohegans. They preferred to mingle with their old enemies, the Ne- hantics and Narragansetts, or to hold a precarious existence as a community unrecognized by che English, rather than submit to the extortions of Uncas, or form a part of his traitorous and insolent tribe. The Commissioners had soon to defend the Mohegan sachem instead of admonishing him. The Pocomtocks, of Deerfield, had been enraged by his successful attempt to abduct Sequapscn from their territory. The Narra- gansetts and Nehantics sent them wampum to attack him, and in August, 1648, a large number of warriors gathered for this purpose at Pocomtock. Presents had also been sent to the Mohawks, and their arrival only was expected for the savage army to commence its march. Rumor proclaimed that one thousand warriors had collected at Pocomtock for this expedition ; that three hundred of them were furnished with guns and ammunition ; and that the Narragansetts were sending their old men, women and children into swamps, and preparing to join the in- vaders with eight hundred men. Hermon Garret and his peo])lo, though living east of the Paucatuc, and in what might be considered the Narragansett country, disclaimed all interest in the conspiracy, aiul retired to a point of land iS :* M ^ tiW}9 ' f ', ' ^ >> » r* ^* ^ *ai»««a««ai«*'>"«»»*»« ■•^s^^^^g^Sis^gy^Mijaw^:iK«i« or CONNECTICUT. 235 r where they could be separate from all who were any ways concerned in it. The governor and council of Connecticut were alarmed at these vast preparations, and anticipated not only ruin to Uncas but danger to the colony. They sent off Thomas Stanton and two other men, on horseback, to the place of rendezvous, with instructions to question the Indians as to their designs, and protest against them if they were hostile to the Mohegans. On reaching Pocomtock, Stan- ton found a large number of warriors collected, and pre- parations for the expedition going on. Being politely received by ihe sachem, he expatiated on the warlike character of the English, on their love of justice, and told him that they were firmly resolved to defend Uncas against his enemies. The sachem replied that the Pocom- tocks were aware of the wisdom and courage of the Eng- lish, and had no wish to fall out with them ; they would therefore desist from their enterprise for the present, and take further time to consider the matter. One great rea- son of this complaisance was, that he had just received news of an attack upon the Mohawks by the eastern In- dians in the French interest, and therefore could not ex- pect the immediate assistance of those formidable allies. Thus the league was, for the present, dissolved; the Narragansetts and Nehantics dared not move alone, and Uncas was never afterwards threatened by so formidable a combination. Messengers were sent to the Narragan- setts by the Commissioners, to charge them with their faithlessness, and order them to pay up the arrears of their two thousand fathoms of wampum.* • Hazard, Vo). II, pp. 105, lOG. Winthrop, Vol. II, p. 333. i; 236 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS The Rhode Island tribes, finding open force of no avail, now again resorted to secret measures for getting rid of their hated rival. During the following year, [1649,] Uncas repeatedly complained of their underhand proceed- ings. " The Narragansetts," he said, -* were plotting against him. They were trying to bring the Mohawks upon him. They were trying to put an end to his life by witchcraft. They had neither restored his canoes nor his prisoners." • One day, as he was on board an English vessel in the Thames, a Narragansett, named Cuttaquin, suddenly ran a sword into his breast, giving him a wound which was supposed to be mortal. The would-be assassin attempted to escape, but was seized and examined by some of the English, among whom was John Mason. " I am a Narra- gansett," said Cuttaquin to Mason ; " the Narragansett sa- chems are my sachems : they came to me and w ished me to kill Uncas : they offered me a large quantity of wam- pum and I accepted it : this wampum I spent and thus was placed in their power : had I not fulfilled my bargain and attempted to kill him, they would have slain me." The prisoner was then given up to the Mohegans, who carried him away, together with their wounded sachem. Ninigret went to Boston to clear himself and Pessicus from the charge ; but the Commissioners were so convinced of their guilt, that his arguments and protestations of inno- cence made but little impression on them. He asserted that the Mohegans had extorted the above mentioned story from Cnttaquin by torture. They replied that Cuttaquin related it to Mason and others before he was surrendered to the Mohegans. They dismissed him with reprimands •r» bj4aie»*'WMstel^«sfc«<;»>«" ■ aiaasgMa^^^***^**^^**^'^***- OF CONNECTICUT. 237 .. and threats, and sent word to Uncas, who was recovering, that Cuttaquin was at his disposal.* Although the fate of this wretched man has not been transmitted to us, those who know the customs of the Indians will not find it diffi- cult to conjecture it. Methinks I see a fire lighted, a stake planted, a naked victim bound to it, and around him dancing a crowd of painted savages. Mingled with the fierce shouts and boasting of warriors I hear the shrill cries of female exultation, and, occasionally, what sounds like a low, suppressed groan of anguish. The groans have ceased ; the shouts have died away ; the fire is ex- tinguished ; the placid moon looks down upon a heap of ashes. * Rumors were now prevalent that Ninigret v. as about to give his daughter in marriage to the brother of Sassacus, who was collecting Pequots around him as if he meant to assume the authority of his ancestors. The object of this plan was supposed to be, to gather all the Foquots into one body, thus weaken the Mohegans by causing large desertions from their tribe, and raise up against the rem- nant a foe whose proximity and bitter hatred would ronder him formidable. Messengers were immediately sent to the Nehantic and Narragansett country, to charge the sa- chems with the reported design, to make inquiries con- cerning the facts, and to urge the Indians again as to the arrears of their wampum. Nothing more is to be found in the records, concerning this subject, and if the marriage took place, (if, indeed, it was ever proposed,) it utterly failed of its intended e^o * f In September, l6Bu, t ucas complamed to the Com- • Hazard, YoL II, pp. 123, 130. t HnzarJ. Vol. II, p. 169. Tl I 238 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS missioners that Mohansick, a Long Island sachem, had killed several Mohegans, and had bewitched others, among whom was himself. The Commissioners appear to have thought little of Mohansick's witchcraft ; but the other part of the complaint they referred to the consideration and action of a committee. The committee-men were to see if Mohansick was guilty ; if he was, they were to order him to give Uncas satisfaction ; and, if he refused, they were to threaten him with the power of the English.* It is not difficult to see why Uncas was thus continually at swords' points with the sachems and tribes of his own race. His nature was rnean and jealous as well as ambi- tious and tyrannical. Hence, when he was not busy in conquering his neighbors-, or oppressing his subjects, he was usually accusing before thy English some one whom it was too troublesome or too dangerous to attack by force. Doubtless he had many provoc ions to this con- duct, for he was universally hated by the surrounding chieftains, and they seized every opportunity of doing him mischief But this hatred was not without its cause ; and although much of it was produced by envy and jeal- ousy, yet much more arose from the position which Uncas held towards all other red men. He had always been the unscrupulous ally of the English ; had obeyed every nod or sign with which they favored him, and had taken every advantage which they would allow over his breth- ren of the forest. It was he who guided Mason by night to the Pequot fortress ; who accused Miantinomo of form- ing a conspiracy against the colonies; who put that sachem to death as soon as he thought he could do so • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 150, 151. iiri i iaril i > i I ! jjoa i \ i iai » ii>iyi i i>iMwrB ^SiM^fdm^ or CONNECTICUT. 239 with safety ; who oppressed the fallen and scattered Pe- quots; who dragged Sequassen from his place of refuge among the Pocomtocks, and surrendered him to the colo- nial magistrates ; and who was continually complaining to his partial allies of Pessicus, of Ninigret, of Mexham, of Mohansick, and of every other sachem from whom he could possibly have any thing to fear. Such were the reasons for which Uncas was hated by the tribes who lived around him. During the year 1651, he gave another specimen of his jealous spirit. Sequassen had now returned to his own country, and the whites, taking pity on the unfortu- nate sachem, seem to have done him some favors. Uncas was greatly grieved, and carried his complaints to the Commissioners. '' Sequassen," he said, " was set up, and they were going to make a great sachem of him, and yet he refused to pay their friend Uncas an acknowl- edgment of wampum which he owed him as his con- queror." The Commissioners disclaimed any intention of making Sequassen great, and recommended that the government of Connecticut should see that Uncas received his rights ; although, as to the tribute of acknowledgment wliich he talked of, they told him that they duew nothing about it.* In the early part of 1653, Uncas came to the house of Governor Haynes, at Hartford, and complained that the Narragansetts and Nehantics were trying to form a con- federation against him with the Dutch of New Nether- lands. '• Ninigret," he said, " had been to Manhattan and formed a league with the Dutch governor. He made tho • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 190. 23 n I EM M p ■■>■■[ if J n?T ibkl 240 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS governor a present of a great quantity of wampum, and the governor made him a present of a large box of pow- der and bullets. Then Ninigret went to a council of In- dians over the Hudson River, and made a speech to them, askingtheir help against Uncas and the English." He then related a circumstance which is quite char- acteristic of the customs and superstitions of the Indians. He said that, about two years previous, Ninigret sent a present of wampum to the Monheag* sachem, desiring him to send a man skillful in magic and poisoning, and promising that, on the poisoner's return, he would send him one hundred fathoms of wampum more. Uncas, hearing of this nefarious plot against himself, caused a strict watch to be kept by land and sea, and succeeded in taking the canoe which was bringing the poisoner. It contained six other persons, one of whom was Wampeag, brother of the Monheag sachem, another was a Pequot, and the rest were Narragansetts. Uncas was then at Hartford, but his men carried the prisoners to Mohegan, and there examined them. Wampeag and one of the Narragansetts confessed every thing, and pointed out the ^conjuror ; upon which the Mohegans fell on him in a rage and put him to death.f Rumors now came in, from various quarters, of a con- spiracy of the Narragansetts and other tribes, with the Dutch, against the New England colonies. Various In- dians testified to it before the Commissioners, and, as war was then raging between the English Commcwealth and the United Provinces, the reports seemed not improbable. • Probably the Mohegan9 or Mohicans of Hudson River, t Hazard, Vol. TI, p 211. \ I OP CONNECTICUT. Governor Stuyvesant, of New Amsterdam, denied the charge ; Ninigret and the sachems of the Narragansetts did the same, and, after much alarm and indignation on all sides, the difficulty passed bloodlessly away* On the 19th of April, 1650, the settlers of Farmington made another agreement concerning land with the Tunxis. As Sequassen's authority was now of no account, the bu- siness was transacted on the part of the Indians by their two principal men, Pethus and Ahamo. They gave up a considerable part of Indian Neck, reserving only about one hundred and seventy acres, and received in lieu of it a tract of two hundred acres on the other side of the Far- mington. In this little treaty the two former purchases [1636 and 1640] were mentioned, as facts taken for granted by both parties, and as serving for the foundations of the present agreement. In the last article the Indians ac- knowledged that, on account of the protection and trade of the English, they were better off than when the whole country was at their own disposal ; so that they could even hire land of the while men with more profit than they formerly held it free and without hiring it of any one.f In 1650, a committee being sent by the General Court of Connecticut to examine the lands of Mattabesett, that is the townships of Middletown and Chatham, reported that they were capable of supporting fifteen families. A settlement was commenced the same year, and purchases were perhaps made, although no records have been pre- served of any such transaction. A portion of the Middle- • Hazard. Vol. II. pp. 225—242. t Farmington Records. 241 \H;i ': i; i I! 242 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS town lands, however, seems to have been given, some time previously, by Sowheag, to Governor Haynes * We now return to the Pequots, of whom some are at this time living with Uncas, others on Long Island, and others with the xNehantics and Narragansetts. The re- mainder, forming a large portion of the tribe, constitute the two bands of Cassasinamon and Hermon Garret • the former in the township of New London,! the latter li'ving east of the Paucatuc. These bands were not yet ac- knowledged as legal communities by the English • nor could the two leaders claim those rights and honors which were accorded to Uncas, Ninigrer, and other nidependent sachems. This was more especially the case with Cassa- sinamon, who with his followers were all Pequots, while Hermon Garret and some of his people were, as I have already mentioned, Nehantics. As early as 1647 the we^ern band had petitioned the Commissioners, though meffectually, that a place might be assigned them to live on, and that they might be taken under the protection of the English. Now, [1649J John Winthrop, of New Lon- don mtroduced a number af Pequots to the Court, who preferred the same request. The Commissioners decided hat, with the consent of Connecticut, a reservation ought to be made within the limits of that colony for the peti- tioners, but that they must remain subject to Uncas. * oxon, who was present, was instructed to tell Uncas that h. must treat them kindly, and that they were still his people.l * Statistical Account of Middlesex County, p 62 t Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 131^ 133 i IW" I 1 OP CONNECTICUT. 243 In the following year, [1650,] Thomas Stantqn was commissioned to obtain an account of the numbers of the Pequot- and to collect of them the arrears of their tribute. The next meeting of the Commissioners [1651] was at New Haven, and thither came Stanton to report the re- sults of his examination. With him arrived a number of Ninigret's people, Tineas and several of his men, Hermon Garret, Cassasinamon and some of his band, and several Pequots from Long Island. Ninigret's men paid in ninety-one fathoms of wampum; the Long Island Pe- quots, thirty-two ; and Cassasinamon, fifty-six. Hermon Garret brought fifty-four fathoms, and promised to deliver the thirty which were still due from his band within a month. Uncas paid seventy-nine fcthoms down, and agreed to hand in whatever he might owe above this amount, within three months. He then, with several others, demanded, on behalf of the Pequots, why this tribute was required, how long it was to continue, and whether it would descend to the next generation. The Commissioners referred to the treaty of 1638 as the ground of the tribute. The Pequots, they said, being then overcome in a war justly waged against them by the colonies, consented to save their lives by paying a small an- nual acknowledgment. Tribute was now due for twelve years, reckoning only to 1650 ; but, out of clemency, they would remit all that was past, and, if the Pequots would pay it regularly for ten years to come, after that they should be free.* This condition, as a matter of course, was accepted, yet it would seem that it was not observed by those who imposed it, since the Indians continued to m * rinznvd, Vnl. TT, p ISS. 23* n^ ": 1^. ^.^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /> "^ A 1/ /^V. «/- fe /^vZ. 1.0 ^i^ ^ I.I i -^ 11^ IL25 1 1.4 1.6 -f vQ /# 4V^^ Photogmphic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR.N.V. MStO (716) •73-4S03 V iV ^ ^ ;\ ^ \ «^^j^>^ ^p,-^ ■^^ ^ or s .4^ 4^ ^^ m 244 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS make their annual payments at least as late as 1663, that is for thirteen years instead of ten. It is possible, how- ever, and perhaps probable, that these last payments were simply arrears on the former ones. In 1653, an account of tribute received from the Pe- quots was handed in to the Commissioners by Thomas Stanton, who seems to have been tht> agent for its collec- tion. It consisted of thirteen pounds and three shillings worth of wampum from Harmon Garret ; eleven pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence from Cassasinamon ; eight pounds seventeen shillings and sixpence from the Pequots under Ninigret ; and ten pounds from Uncas, being what was due from him two years before.* A quarrel was now going on, between the English and Ninigret, which contributed not a little to better the con- dition of the Pequots, Ascassassotic, a sachem of Long Island, murdered several of the Nehantics, and challenged their sachem to revenge himself if he could. Ninigret commenced hostilities against him ; hired warriors from the Pocomtocks, the Mohawks and the Wampanoags • and •would probably have subdued or destroyed the insolent Long Islander had it not been for the interference of the Commissioners. The latter affected to consider the Long Islanders under their protection ; ordered Ninigret to sub- mit his quarrel with them to the decision of the Court ; and, influenced probably by his power and independent spirit, treated him with what seems like unprovoked harshness and injustice. They brought several accusa- tions against him, however, to justify their conduct, and, among others, that he had neglected to pay the tribute F • Hnzard, Vol. II, p. 302. m- '^ OF CONNECTICUT. 245 F which was due from him on account of his Pequots. He denied that he had any Pequots; saying that he only hired some, with v/ampum, to fight against the Long Islanders ; paying, in addition to their v/ages, a certain sum to the relations in case any one of them was killed. On this point the English were probably in the right ; for the sachem's assertion that he had no Pequots of his own was, almost unquestionably, a falsehood. Tho quarrel deepened, until the Commissioners [1654] declared war against Ninigret, and ordered that two hun- dred and seventy infantry and forty cavalry should be raised to carry it on. Major Willard, the commander-in- chief, advanced with a part of this force into the Nehantic territories. Ninigret made no defense ; but, leaving his wigwams and crops unguarded, took refuge in a swamp. A number of Pequots who accompanied Willard set out one day in search of Ninigret's camp, with the intention of obtaining an interview with their kindred there and persuading them to desert the Nehantics. They were met in the forests by tnree of Ninigret's Pequots, who demanded of them what they were doing there. " O ! we have some things to do," was the answer. " How many are there of you?" "Thirty." "Then there are thirty heads for us," fiercely responded ihe three boasters. " But we are in the employ of the English : we carry burdens or letters where they wish to send them." " We will nave those thirty heads before to-morrow afternoon in spite of the English," replied the strangers ; " we will not desist from fighting the Long Islanders, nor will we forsake Ninigret." This bold and braggart answer was worthy of a Pequot ; 'P. 246 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS but the greatest part of that tribe then living among the Nehantics were of a different opinion. Seventy-three of them came, next day. to Willard's camp, to seek Eng- lish protection, and were followed on the day after by sixty-three more. Few of these, probably, ever returned to Ninigret ; all, or nearly all, joining the bands of Her- mon Garret and Cassasinamon. The war was not prosecuted with much energy ; and Ninigret, instead of being entirely uprooted, as the Con- necticut and New Haven colonists wished, was permitted to escape by a humiliating peace. His power was greatly broken, however ; and, although he lived for more than twenty years afterwards, and even committed some under- hand hostilities against the Long Islanders, he is but little further mentioned in the records of those times.* At the next meeting of the Commissioners, [September, 1655,] the Pequots brought in their tribute,! and pre- sented a petition concerning themselves: that a place might be allotted them for a settlement ; thai a governor might be appointed for them ; and that they might be provided with a code of laws. The Commissioners ap- proved of these requests, and appointed Hermon Garret or Cashawashet governor over the Pequots at Paucatuc and Wecapaug, and Cassasinamon governor over those at Namcag or New London. Tumsquash and Metumpawett • For the troubles with Ninigret, see Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 308—391, paaaim. t From Paucatuc, fifty-eight fathoms ; from Wecapaug, thirty-seven ; from Uncas, (for two years,) one hundred and forty-ihree ; received in all X301 1« 6d. Tributaries behind in their payments: six at Paucatuc; five at Wecapaug ; six at Nameag, (Cassasinamon's band ;) thirty-six on Long Island, and twenty-two on the Connecticut River, who had never paid any thing. OF CONNECTICUT. 247 aTSatTfirf""" "' '"^ '""»"■ «"•' Yowwematero semed" "• "^^ ''^'' S"^^™"' ">« Court pre- .ented a comm..s.or. dra,vn „p in the following fo™ : of thVlT r. n ?'"' "PP™""'" •'>' ">e Commissioners Peqnots dwelling at Paucatuc aid Wecapaug. You, being for one year deputed governor of the aforesaid p;q„o.s! ' a e reqmred to ca^ry it, i„ all things, according to such ules and instructions as you have or shall receive from the said Commissioners, and according to their orders; and al Pequots inhabiting the said places are required peaceably and quietly, to subject themselves to you! to be by you ordered according to the orders aforesaid, a they w,ll answer the contrary at their peril. New Haven September 24th, 1655." naven, A similar commission was given to Cassasinamon, and a brief code of laws was presented to each of the new magistrates by which to govern their people. Of th^ code the following is a copy : f P "i tnis " 1- They shall not blaspheme the name of God the creator of Heaven and Earth, nor profane the Sab'blm 2. They shall not commit willful murder, nor practice witchcraft* under pain of death ^ punishli'eTt.^"^" ""' '"""^^ ^""""^ "P™ r- »f -- 4 Whosoever is drunk shall pay ten shillings ; but if he have not wherewithal to pay, he shall be punished with ten stripes, and further receive due punishmen f^ other m^carriages by such means committed. • Powwowing:, probably. 'II 248 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. 5. Whosoever stealeth the goods of another shall, upon proof, pay at least double the worth. 6. Whosoever shall plot mischief against the English shall suffer death, or such other punishment as the case may deserve. 7. They shall neither make war, nor join in war, with any other Indians, or people of any other nation, (unless in their own just defense,) without the express leave of the Commissioners. 8. They shall duly submit to such Indian governors as the Commissioners shall yearly appoint, and to them shall yearly pay the tribute due to the English." As Uncas was dissatisfied that his Pequots were not re- turned to him, the Commissioners enacted that those who would go back to Mohegan should have all their arrears of tribute remitted to them. It was also ordered, that Cassasinamon must not attempt to seduce those who were still with Uncas ; tha* his men must hunt and fish only within their own bounces, and not on the lands of the Mohegans : but permission was granted that they might hunt between the Thames and the Mystic, if the English settlers there made no objection. All " royal privileges" formerly belonging to sachems were now granted to the governors. There being six years tribute behind, Thomas Stanton was to receive it, and, if it was not freely paid, the governors were authorized to obtain it from their people by force.* And thus, just seventeen years after the suppression of the Pequots as a nation, they were restored to their ancient name and country, and placed once more unfjier chieftains of their own choice. • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 334—336. ill, upon English the case rar, with 1, (unless leave of ernors as lem shall re not re- hose who ir arrears 3red, that wrho were fish only ds of the ley might e English irivileges" ed to the I, Thomas •eely paid, rom their s after the re restored once more a D o o pa W H u o; o b Cil (D tS z a, o z D I i :(^«i;8*MasiJ»x CHAPTER VII. f- ta o o w a H « o In a (D O z la 3. o z t) PROM THE RE-UNION OF THE PEQUOTS TO THE DEATH OF UNCAS. In 1656, Uncas for once united with his old enemy, Sequassen ; but it was only in a quarrel with Tontonimo, sachem of a part of the Podunks. A young man named Weaseapano, who seems to have belonged to the Podunk trjbe, murdered a sagamore living near Mattabesett. The sagamore was a relative, and probably a subject, of Se- quassen, and that sachem of course deemed himself injured and insulted by the transaction. He wished to seize the crimmal, but the Podunks were resolved to defend him, and Sequassen sought the interference of Uncas. Uncas himself had cause of complaint against Tontonimo, for protectmg a murderer who had fled from his own ven- geance, and for enticing away some of his men. Accord- mg to his usual practice, he, in the first place, brought his cause before the English : in this case before the magis- trates of Connecticut at Hartford ; and he was accompanied m his complaint by Sequassen. The magistrates sum- moned all the parties before them, and attempted an amicable adjustment of the difficulties. Sequassen stood up before this court of arbitration, and testified that the murder was committed by a mean fellow upon a man who was a great sachem and his relation. Uncas, and 'P 250 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS his councilor, Poxon, confirmed this assertion, declaiming against the Podunks at great length and with much ex- citement. Governor Webster asked them what satisfac- tion they required. They replied that, as the deceased sagamore was a great man, and the murderer a mean fellow, they must have the latter and nine of his tribe to put to death. The Podunks pleaded that Weaseapano was justified in what he had done, because the sagamore had killed one of his uncles. Several of the court deliv- ered their opinions on the subject, some favoring one view of It and some another. The governor explained that according to English law, only the murderer could be punished, and both he and others of the court exhorted both parties to try and settle the matter peaceably. Th« Podunks then offered a quantity of wampum by way of satisfaction. Uncas and Sequassen refused it, but said they would accept of six victims instead of ten. Wearied out with hearing long speeches, which they did not un- derstand, the magistrates urgently pressed Tontonimo to settle the affair by giving up the murderer. He pretended to consent ; but, instead of fulfilling his agreement, stole privately out of court, with his followers, and hurried off to the Podunk fort. Uncas and Sequassen were highly indignant ; the English also were vexed at being thus de- ceived, and a messenger was sent to the Podunks, to order them to perform their promise. Uncas was now per- suaded to accept of the murderer alone ; but the Podunks said that his friends in the fort were so numerous and powerful that they could not surrender him. In the after- noon the magistrates came to the conclusion that the English ought not to trouble themselves, or interfere S!»anu««:'iate4»« OP CONNECTICUT. 251 with the quarrels of the Indians. The governor made a long speech to the complainants, desiring them to take the wampum which had been offered them, if they would ; if they would not, he left them to follow their own coun- sel ; only they should not fight on the west side of the river, nor injure any of the English on the other side. Several deputies said the same, and the court then broke up, leaving the quarrel about as near to a settlement as it had found it.* Uncas took advantage of the permission thus given him, and, assembling a war party, marched against the Podunks. Being met near the Hockanum River by an equal number of the enemy, he considered the event so doubtful that he was unwilling to hazard a battle. He sent a message to Tontonimo that, if he continued to protect that murderer, Uncas would bring the Mohawks upon him, to destroy both him and his people. He then returned home, and shortly afterwards induced the Po- dunks to surrender Weaseapano by means of a stratagem. A brave and dexterous warrior, furnished with Mohawk weapons, was sent to the Podunk country, where he set fire to a wigwam by night, left the weapons on the ground near the spot, and fled away without being dis- covered. In the morning, the Podunks came out of their fort to examine the ruins and look for the trail of the destroyers ; and, seeing some weapons lying about which they knew by their make and ornaments must have been fashioned by Mohawks, they concluded that Uncas had succeeded in fulfilling his threat. Terrified at the idea of supporting a contest with the dreadful Iro- • Colonial Records, Vol. I, pp. 304, 305 24 tf^wtsi-sssm. 252 HISTORY or THE INDIANS quois, they sent immediately to Mohegan for peace, and surrendered the murderer.* The Podunks, as far as I can learn, were the first In- dians of Connecticut who had an opportunity of listening to the preaching of the gospel. John Eliot, the " apostle to the Indians," being at a council of ministers in Hart- ford during the year 1657, anxiously sought an opportu- nity of declaring the truth to the natives of that vicinity. As the Podunks lived only on the opposite side of the river, they were persuaded by some of the principal in- habitants to assemble and listen to the preacher. He spoke to them in their own language, and, when he had finished, put the question whether they were willing to accept of Jesus Christ, the Savior, as he had now been presented to them. The sachems and old men scornfully and angrily answered, " No." The English, they said, had already'" taken away their land, and now they were only attempting to make the Podunks their servants. Such was the reception which the Podunks gave to their first, and, perhaps their last, invitation to embrace the religion of truth. There is no record to show that they had suffered any injustice with regard to their lands ; and probably it would have been ditlicult, if not impos- sible, for them to have pointed to any definite and con- siderable cause of dissatisfaction. They considered only that they had once been lords of the whole country around them, while now it was almost all in the hands of the English foreigners. They saw that they were poor and wretched, while the white men were surrounded by what seemed to them the height of comfort and even luxury. 1 • Dr. Dwight's Travels, Vol. II, p. 282. . ^»t^ijM«^i^«tei^HiBipaMui»e«M«^««^^ iMMM OF CONNECTICUT. 253 \% They looked at these results, and thought not of their causes : of their own heedlessness and idleness ; of the white man's providence and industry. With spirits ren- dered sore and fretful by such considerations, they were little disposed to hear moral teachings from a race whom they regarded as having defrauded and iiyured them. But this was not all : the doctrines of repentance, humiliation and holiness are unpleasing to all men ; and they were none the less unpleasing to the Podunks, because the latter had been brought up from childhood to love war, to love re- venge, to lay no restraint upon the indulgence of their passions. During 1657, the Mohegans were again obliged to de- fend themselves against the Narragansetts and Nehantics, who were assisted, at times, by two Massachusetts tribes, the Pocomtocks and Norwootucks. On one occasion, some Pequots allured a Mohegan canoe to shore, and thus enabled a party of Pocomtocks, who were lying in am- bush, to surprise and massacre the crew.* Pessicus, with a large force, invaded the Mohegan country, and once more held Uncas besieged in his fortress. A small body of English was sent by the colony of Connecticut to re- lieve him ; its very appearance caused the Narragansetts to retreat; and the Mohegans, rushing out upon them, changed their retreat into a rout. The invaders fled tumultuously towards their own country, and were furi- ously pursued by the Mohegans, who overtook and killed many of them while struggling through the thickets oi floundering across the streams. Long after this battle, some old Mohegans used to relate, with savage glee, how • Hazard, Vol. II. . >' 254 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS they found a poor Narragansett lyin£- among the bushes which bordered a river, and so crazyd with fear that he imagined himself in the water and was actually trj'ing to swim. Tradition says that one body of the fugitives was driven out of the straight course to the fords of the Yantic, and came upon that stream where it flowed between high banks and with a deep and rapid current. Blinded by fear, driven on by the enemy behind, they pkmged reck- lessly into the abyss, and were either dashed to pieces on the rocks beneatli the precipice, or drowned amid the boiling waters.* The Pocomtocks and Norwootucks grounded their hos- tility againsr Uncas, or pretended to giound it, on his treatment of the Podunks Either his quarrel with Ton- tonimo had broken out again on the latter discovering how he had been duped, or some new difficulty had taken place of which we have not been informed : at all events, the two Massachusetts tribes now complained to the Court of the United Colonies, that Uncas had made war upon their friends, the Podunks, and had driven them out of their country. In reply, the Commissioners directed Un- cas to let the Podunks return to their homes and remain there without mole^station from him or his people. They were to be invited back by the government of Connecticut, and the Pocomtock and Norwootuck sachems were to be notified of the fact, and ordered to cease their hostilities against Tineas till the next meeting of the Court.f If this message was forwarded, it availed little j for the records of .he United Colonies for 1658 speak of anoth«ir invasion of the Mohe^^ans, by a combined force of Po- • History of Norwich., pp. 30, 31. t Hazard. Vol II. ov. 384. 3S!i, ^*/ ■Uti&^iStuMm 1 OF CONNECTICUT. ^55 comtocks, Timxis and Narragansetts, headed by Annape- com, the principal sachem of the Pocomtocks. Uncas again fled to his fort, where the enemy not only besieged him, but committed some acts of violence upon the neigh- boring English settle-s. They were told that two men, named Brewster and Thomson, furnished the Mohegans with ammunition, and that Brewster had several of their enemies concealed in his house. A couple of shots, also, were fired at them from that side of the river, and added to their suspicions and indignation. Some young Pocom- tocks dashed over the stream in search of the marksmen, and, not finding them otherwheres, ran to the house of Brewster and attempted to force their way in. Failing in this, they revenged themselves by carrying off some of km corn and a quantity of other property. Annapecom reproved his warriors for this act of violence, and made them restore what they had taken ; but Brewster was still mdigna:.t, and, after the invasion was over, laid his com- plaint before the Commissioners. They ordered that a fine of forty fathoms of wampum should be levied from the confederates ; ten from the Tunxis, fifteen from the Pocomtocks, and fifteen from the Narragansetts. The Tunxis paid their fino on its being demanded ; but whether the others were equally compliant is uncertain. Aimapecom s-u the Commissioners a dignified explana- tion of the difficulties with Brewster, and, in conclusion, made the following requests: "We desire the English sachen;s not to persuade us to a peace with Uncas. for we have experience of his falseness, ard we know that, thou,-h he promises much, he will perform nothing. Also,' if any messengers are sent to us from the Eimlich >J 2i* lEV, tJil 256 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS desire that they may not be liars and tale-bearers, but sober men and such as we can understand."* No further invasions, however, of the Mohegan country are mentioned, and no more battles between that tribe and the Narragansetts ; from which it seems probable that this tedious and harassing hostility of fifteen years had now about drawn to a close. But the uneasy temper of Uncas could not suffer him to remain quiet long, and he had scarcely got out of one set of difficulties before he plunged into another. In August, 1658, some of his warriors killed a man and two women, subjects of Ponham and Tupayaamen, two Nar- ragansett sachems who had submitted to the government of Massachusetts. Other Mohegaus seized six of the sub- jects of Apumps, a Nipmuck sagamore, killed one of them and wounded another. Pomham and Apumps com- plained to the Commissioners, and Uncas was notified that he must answer the charges at the next Court ; but no further action was taken on the subject, and the com- plaint was eventually forgotten.f In the early part of 1661, Uncas attacked the Indians of Quabaug in the eastern part of Massachusetts, killed some, made others prisoners, and carried off property, as the sufferers alleged, to the value of thirty three pounds sterling. The Quabaug Indians were subjects of Woosa- mequin, or Massasoit, the first friend of the Pilgrims, who must now have been an old man and not far from his final sleep. As he had gone through the ceremony of submitting to the English, Massachusetts considered him under her protectioji, and sent a message to Uncas order- • Hazard, Vol. U, pp. 396-423. t Hazard, Vol. II, p ?38. i i J i***a^S«fftii!*«iKvJa»»a4S&#« iass&wt&afci OF CONNECTICUT. 257 iiig him to liberate the prisoners, and make restitution for the plunder he had taken. No reply was received fr^m the sachem, and, some time afterwards, the affair being made known to the Commissioners, thej' sent John Mason to him to repeat the demand. Unoas excused himself to Mason, by saying that he had only received the order li-om Massachusetts about twenty days previous lo his ar- rival. He never knew, he added, that the Quabaug In- dians were under the care of the English, and it was not true that they belonged to Woosamequin ; but, on the contrary, to a deadly enemy of the Mohegans, named Onopequin. Woosamequin's people had repeatedly fought against the Mohegans, and so had Alexander, or Wam- sutta, his eldest son. Nevertheless he had already set the prisoners free, although one of them was his own cousin, and had been in arms against him several times before. Such was the excuse of Uiicas. It seems to have sat- isfied the Commissioners, who made no further mention of obliging him to give satisfaction. It was contradicted, however, in j.art, by Wamsutta, who being about that time in Plymouth, declared that the Quabaug Indians were his, and that he had made wa«- with the Mohegans because of the wrong which Uncas h..d done them.* In 1666, Uncas became involved in a quarrel with Ar- ramament, who appears to have been at this time the sole sachem of the Podunks. The Mohegans encroached upon the territories of the Podunks, probably by hunting over them, and thus arose a disagreement, and perhaps hos- tilities. One or both parties, however, soon appealed to the government of Connecticut, and the General Court • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 450, 451. 268 HISTORT OF THE INDIANS of that colony appointed a co...mittee to examine and settle the difficulties. A boundary line was surveyed and marked out, and both sachems expressing their satisfac- tion with it, the troubles were brought to an amicable conclusion.* We have one more circumstance to relate of Arrama- ment, and then his name, like that of his fellow-sachem, Tontonimo, will appear no more upon our pages. Either before the late treaty, or after it, and in consequence of the good feeling produced by it, Arramament gave his daughter Sowgonosk in marriage to Attawanhood, the third son of Uncas. In confirmation of this act of friend- ship, Arramament made over [May 23d, 1672,] to his daughter and her husband all the lands which he owned in Podunkf or elsewhere, then and forever. This ter- ritory was to descend to the children of Sowgonosk by Attawanhood ; in case there were no such, to the chil- dren whom she might have by any other person ; and in case there were none such as these, then to whatever per- sons were declared to be the nearest heirs by English law.| This Attawanhood seems to have kept the main chance in view, even in love affairs, and to have been a famously lucky fellow at marrying himself into property. By one of his wives, either Sowgonosk or some other, he obtained lands in Farmington, and it is extremely probable that it was by some other marriage that he stepped into his sachemship over the western Nehantics. The affairs of the Pequots during the period occupied by this cliapter are of no very great interest, and are • Mohegan Petition. t Enst Windsor and East Hartford. t Windsor Records. WmSuS^uSSmiiiti&m Of CONNECTICUT. 259 chiefly included under the heads of their governors, their tributes, and their lands. Hermon Garret and Cassasi- namon were, for some time, appointed, annually, as gov- ernors ; but, after several years, this ceremony was dis- continued, and each of them held the office to the day of his death. Cassasinanon's band- was the largest, partly because it had been so from the beginning, and partly be- cause new deserters continued to come to him from Uncas. It was in vain to try to prevent this : the General Court of Connecticut finally gave Cassasinamon per- mission to keep them till further orders, and no further orders ever appear to have been given. But the Pequots after a while began to get tired of their governors, and commenced deserting to Ninigret, and even to Uncas. These sachems were therefore forbidden .(1660] to harbor any such runaways, and were directed to detain them when they came, and send word to their governors so that they might be fetched home.* Out of the wampum annually paid by the Pequots, a considerable sum was usually allowed to Thomas Stan- ton, the collector; a smaller portion to Captain Denison of Stonington, who acted as assistant or overseer to the two governors ; and the remainder was placed in the treas- ury of the General Court of the United Colonies.f At one time, [1658,] none of the Pequots brought in their tribute, and Hermon Garret did not even appear be- fore the Court to apologize for his remissness. For this act of contempt and disobedience, he and his people were • Hazard, Vol. IT, pp. 433, 434. t In 1657, Stantoi « • r paid on- hundred and twenty fathoms and Deniaon thirty. Hazard, Vol. 11, p. 383 I f 260 HISTORY or THE INDIANS fined ten fathoms a man, while those of the New London band who were present received a sharp reproof One of them offering a quantity of refuse wampum in part pay- ment, the Commissioners took it as an insult, and had him and another of his countrymen imprisoned. A Pequot who had borne arms the preceding summer against i\e Pocomtocks, and thus violated the seventh article of the Pequot code, was likewise confined. Obechiquod and seven others were, for the same offense, fined seven fathoms of wampum. All these fines were to be dis- trained by Thomas Stanton, and, if needful, he was to be assisted by the constables of New London in Connecticut and Southertowne in Rhode Island. About a fortnight after, wampum arrived from both bands, with a message from Hermon Garret excusing both his non-appearance and his non-payment. "He had been sick," he said, "and some of his men were stubborn and would not pay m season : he wished, therefore, that some Englishmen might be appointed to force them to raise the tribute." This excuse being considered saticfactory, the Commis- sioners remitted all the fines, and simply ordered the In- dians to pay over what they still owed into the hands of Stanton.* In 1663, fifty fathoms of wampum were accepted from Cassasmamon and thirty from Hermon Garret, as satisfac- tion in full of all arrears. It was then enacted, that forty fathoms, annually, should thereafter be paid by each com- pany ; yet no records exist of any further payments, and It is extremely probable that this was the last. It is diffi- cult to see why this condition was imposed ; for, by the « Hazard, Vol. II, p. 413. "* ^.•.' w. fl, J^^^ P*j y. J :. ffisMi;i(ft«4^8ite»*l&ii^*y«fc'ii!S^a^ •■jjiJi^i^sto.!- OF CONNECTICUT, 261 r London One of part pay- l had him L Pequot ainst t'ie le of the uod and id seven • be dis- ras to be inecticut fortnight message aearance he said, not pay lishmen ribute." 'ommis- the In- ands of ed from Jatisfac- at forty ih corn- Its, and is dim- by the \ agre^m^nt of 1650, the tribute was only to be exacted for ten years after that period.* As the Pequots had to pay yearly so considerable an amount of wampum, they were obliged to hunt in various places for the material from which it was manufactured. They sometimes went over, for this purpose, to Long Island, which was famoi for producing an abundance of shells, and was even called, on that account, Sewan Hacky, or the land of shells. About 1657 or 1658, the Montauk sachem, fearful, perhaps, that his shores would be exhausted of their shelly wealth, commenced opposing their visits. Twenty or twenty-five years before, the Pe- quots had held the Montauks as their tributaries, and had exacted from them not shells only, but the wampum itself They now, therefore, considered their ancient and hereditary rights violated, and brought a complaint on the subject before the Court of the United Colonies. The Commissioners ordered the Montauk sachem to abstain from molesting the Pequots, and, if he had any fair and reasonable objection to their custom of gathering shells on Long Island, to bring it before them at their next meeting. Nothing, however, appeared, and we may therefore conclude that the Pequot canoes still continued to glide over the Sound to bring back loads of conches and mussels.f In 1661, two of the colonists were appointed as assist- ants to the Pequot governors. They were to advise them in their administration, and to see that the Indians were not deprived of any rights by their English neighbors. This plan was continued afterwards, year by year, and in • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 477. t Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 387, 888. ■ i 262 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS course of time was adopted with regard to most of the tribes in the colony. The governors were ordered to en- courage their people to attend on the instructions of any religious teachers who should be sent them by the Com- missioners. They were required, also, to seize all spir- ituous liquors brought among them, and deliver it to the English assistants. The assistants were to sell it to the whites, (a tougher race!) and give the proceeds, half to the person who informed concerning the liquor, and half to the one who seized it. The overseers were also in- structed to use their influence in civilizing the Pequots, and were authorized to punish any among them whose conduct was riotous and disorderly. They might decide all cases but capital ones, and the Indians might appeal to them from the decisions of their governors.* The Pequots were, for several years, unsettled, both divisions living on lands held more by sufferance than by acknowledged right. They made repeated complaints concerning their situation to the Commissioners ; petition- ing that they might be furnished with a tract where they might build their wigwams, and plant their corn, without disturbance. Whenever these complaints were preferred, the Court usually recommended Rhode Island to lay out a reservation for Hermon Garret's band, and Connecticut to lay out one for that of Cassasinamon, and here the . matter ended. In 1667, however, the General Court of this last colony removed Cassasinamon's people froYn Nawyonk on the seashore, where until then they had re- sided, and planted them on a reservation of some two thousand acres, styled Mushantuxet, situated in the • Hazard, Vol. II, p. 464. i 1 I Jii*S!ijii»*U3asii^%ia&'«s^**i OF CONNECTICUT. 263 St of the ed to en- s of any he Com- all spir- it to the it to the , half to and half I also iu- Pequots, n whose it decide it appeal ed, both than by nplaiiits petition- ere they without referred, lay out necticut lere the /ourt of ie froYn had ro- me two in the I -i present township of Ledyard.* The Paucatuc and We- capaug Pequots were settled and again unsettled, and did not obtain a permanent home until 1683, when Connec- ticut granted them a tract of two hundred and eighty acres now lying in North Stonington. In 1656, the Farmington Indians murdered a white man and burnt a quantity of English property. A Tunxis, named Mesapeno, was supposed to be the author of these outrages, but he escaped, and never was punished. His tribe, therefore, was forced by the colony to agree to an annual tribute of eighty fathoms of wampum for seven years. This tribute was very slackly paid, and the greater part of it seems never to have been paid at all. The Tunxis were at this time very troublesome to the people of Farmington, entertaining. strange Indians in their vil- lage, and pleasantly shooting bullets into the town during their skirmishes. The General Court of Connecticut there- fore ordered them to send away all Indians who did not belong among them, and to provide themselves a resi- dence at a safer distance from the settlement.! A number of years later, the Indians of this town found themselves in danger of losing some of their lands through the encroachments of settlers. They complained of their wrongs, and, to the credit of the people of Farmington, their complaints met with consideration. The affair \vc^ brought before a town meeting, and an agreement was made [June 1st, 1673,] with the Indians. The latter re- • Previous to 1836, Ledyard was a part of Groton, and previoue to 1705 both these townships formed a portion of New London ; so that the Mushan- tuxet Pequots were at one time called the New London Pequots, afterward, the Groton Pequots, and now the Ledyard Pequott. t Colonial Records, Vol. I, pp. 294, 299, 303. 25 m 264 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ceived goods to the value of three pounds : they were to retain their ancient reservation in Indian Neck : the two hundred acres on the other side of the river were to be bounded out to them ; and they, on their part, ratified all the former agreements between the Tunxis and the settlers of Farmington. Twenty-six Indians signed this paper with their marks ; among which we find the totems of Seocut and Nassahegon, both of them sachems in Windsor. This circumstance shows that the ancient con- nection between the tribes once living under Sequassen was still in some measure preserved.* In 1659, Golden Hill, now containing some of the finest private dwellings in Bridgeport, or indeed in the State of Connecticut, was i^et oS" to " the Indians of Pequonack."f These Indians were a part of the Paugussetts, and, from the name of the place to which they now removed, after- wards became known as the Golden Hill Indians. On the thirtieth of May, 1662, nine men and two women, of the Wangunk tribe, sold a tract of land, extending six miles on each side of the Connecticut River, and reaching from the straits down to Pattyquounck in the present township of Chester. The only reservations made were thirty acres of land at Pattyquounck and an island in the river called Thirty Mile Island. For this large tract, com- prehending perhaps one hundred and fifty square miles, the Indians received thirty coats, worth it may be one hundred dollars. Two squaws, named Sepunnemoe and Towkishk, signed on the part of themselves and their children ; a man named Turramuggus signed for him- self and his son ; and Unlaus Chiamugg and Nabahuit, S ( • Farmington Records. t Coloniiil Records, Vol. I, p. 33R. i| OF CONNECTICUT. 265 i i signed for themselves alone. The other proprietors did not put down their marks, and were possibly absent, although they are distinctly mentioned in the deed as agreeing to the sale.* About the year 1666, Nassahegon, sachem of Poquon- nuc in Windsor, sold a tract of twenty-eight thousand acres to some persons acting as agents for that town.f Oh the third of February, 1672, the same Nassahegon, in conjunction with Sepunnemoe and a number of others, sold all the territory yet remaining to the aborigines in Middletown and Chatham. The sale comprehended a tract extending six miles east of the Connecticut and as far west as the General Court of the colony had granted the bounds of ihe town. Three hundred acres were re- served in Chatham, and there was also another plot ex- cepted which had been previously laid out for one Saw- sean and his heirs. A few months after, [April 18th, 1673,] this sale was confirmed by five Indians who had not been present at the first agreement. J In October, 1673, the people of Wethersfield obtained a deed of a tract on the opposite side of the Connecticut, " five large miles east and west," and " six large miles north and south." The price and other conditions for which this deed was procured are not mentioned. It was signed by eight Indians, one of whom was a woman named Sarah Sasakonamo, another was the universal Nassahegon, and a third was one Powampskin, who, a few months before, had put his mark to the paper of con- firmation at Middletown.-^ « Haddam Records, t Middletown Records. t Papers on Towns and Lands, Vol. V, Doc. 9. § Wethersfield Records. . I ^ I 266 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS \ ' On the sixteenth of April, 1669, a tract of some eight miles square, and fourteen miles up the Connecticut River, was sold to one William Lord, by a Mohegan named Chapeto. Chapeto stated in the deed, that he obtained his rights over this territory from Ananpau, his father, and Woncohus, his grandfather, " both of them sachems of Paugunt." The instrument is signed by the marks oJt Chapeto, of Maskoran his son, and of Uncas, the Mohegan sachem, who is styled in it his kinsman. The land was given for money, and no reservations were made except the right of fishing, hunting and cutting timber for canoes. Five years after, the same territory was deeded by an In- dian called Captain Sannup, to John Talcott, John Allyn and Edward Palmar, " chiefly in consideration of past favors."* This tract could not have been within the country of the western Nehantics, for at the very time when Chapeto signed the above deed that tribe was gov- erned by Attawanhood, the son of Uncas. In proof of this, we have a deed of Attawanhood's, dated February 19th, 1669, disposing of three hundred and thirty acres of land in Lyme for the consideration of thirty pounds of wampum.f Governor Winthrop, having obtained liberty [June, 1659,] of the General Court of Connecticut to purchase a large tract on the Q,uinnebaug, bought it of two Nip- muck chieftains, one named Allups or Hvems, the other Mashaushawit.J This tract was subseqieiili/ erected into the township of Plainfield; and, ds uU ihis region was claimed by the Mohegans as their territory, the pur- « Papers on Towns and Lands, Vol. V, Document 70. + Lyme Records. t Trumbull's Hist of Con.VoI I, P- 4tf I . ; 5i ' I ii«Wifiri>iii JMfitftiiiiia OF CONNECTICUT. 267 chase was long afterwards made a ground of complaint by Oweneco against the colony * A tradition has been preserved in Killingly concerning a war which once took place between the Nipmucks of that town and the Narragansetts. The story is, that the Narragansetts having invited the Nipmucks to a feast of shell fish, the latter were so much pleased at the enter- tainment that they urged their hosts to come up in the spring and join them in a banquet of lampreys. At the appointed time a number of Narragansett warriors arrived in Killingly, and were courteously received by their en- tertainers. Logs were provided for seats ; the fish were taken out of the kettles ; each guest was furnished with a liberal allowance ; and the Nipmucks were complaisantly preparing to enjoy their own politeness, when an incident occurred which marred all these prospects of pleasure. The lampreys had becni cooked without dressing, and the Narragansetts, who were more fastidious than their inland neighbors, took such a disgust at this circumstance that they refused to eat. An embarrassing pause ensued, then words of dissatisfaction, and finally a furious quarrel. The Nipmucks, mortified at having brought their guests so far to partake of a feast which they could not stomach, gave vent to sneers and reproaches, to which the Narra- gansetts retorted with equal bitterness. At last, the for- mer, forgetful of all the rites of hospitality, seized their weapons and attacked their guests, who, being unarmed, were overcome and slaughtered without difficulty. Two alone escaped the massacre by swimming the duinne- baug, and after a rapid flight through the forests of Wind- • At Dudley's court or. tha rli<5nutccl Mohegan lands in 1705. 25* ^iSami&>i^M,siMi, 268 HISTORT OF THE INDIANS ham and New London counties brought the sad news to their homes. The Narragansetts now raised a strong war party^ and set out for the Nipmuck country to revenge the murder of their brethren. They marched up, en the western side of the Cluinnebaug, till, when half a mile below the present village of Danielsonville, they discovered the Nipmucks oii the other bank. The latter irr mediately advanced to attack the invaders ; but being warmly received, fell back to their own side of the river, and dug a trench there to prevent the Narragansetts from forcing a passage. The Narragansetts also constructed a rude fortification, and both parties remained fighting in this position for three days. At the end of that time the invaders, finding it impossible to gain any advantage, left their dead behind them and retreated to their own country. The intrench- ments raised on this occasion are still visible, and skele- tons are sometimes found here which are said to be the remains of those who fell either in the battle or the mas- sacre. The tradition adds another circumstance, much more remarkable but not quite so credible as the former, that owing to the turpitude of the above transaction, the earth around this spot was blasted by a curse, so that not a blade of grass would grow on the graves of the mur- dered Narragansetts.* On the thirty-first of August, 1674, a committee ap- pointed by the General Court purchased, for thirty-eight pounds, a tract of land at Mattatuck, now Waterbury. u lay upon both sides of the noisy little Naugatiic, running ten miles north and south, and measuring six miles east * Barber's Hist. Coil, of Connecticut, p. 428. J MMMa wkmSmm^mlmlk 4 I f OP CONNECTICUT. 269 and west. In 1684, another tract to the north of this, was sold by the natives for nine pounds ; and thus nearly- one hundred and eighty square miles more of Connecticut passed away from its original owners into the hands of the Anglo-Saxon. =* In 1671, the Wepawaug Fort at Milford, which had escaped the Mohawks in 1648, was destroyed at dead of night by eleven young men of the neighborhood. Their motives are now unknown; but it is probable that, like many lads of these less staid and sober days, they had a more acute appreciation of fun than of justice. The pro- prietors of the fort complained, and the perpetrators of the roguery being discovered were sentenced by the General Court of New Haven co' ny to pay a fine of ten pounds. The Indians were appeased and afterwards rebuilt their fort.f The sagamore of Milford at this time was Ansantawae, whose doni'uions seem to have extended as far north as the present township of Waterbury, On the other side of the river, Stratford, liiidgeport, Trumbull, Huntington and Monroe were ruled, at one time by Tountonemoe, afterwards by Ackenach, both sons of Ansantawae. I should infer from the Stratford records that Tountonemoe was the oldest son, and that he died about 1660 and was succeeded by Ackenach, whose name is sometimes spelt Ockenung or Ockeniuigo. The division of territories above mentioned is shown by the deeds of land which are prosprved in the town books of Milford and Stratford. In Milford they are usually signed by the sagamore An- santawae and his son Tountonemoe ; in Stratford, by * Bttiber, pp. 253, 260. + linnibcn'u Hmt. of New Haven Colony, p. 130. t : t '% LkUt^ 270 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS the sagamore Tountonemoe and his father Ansantawae. Sometimes, also, they have in addition the mark of Acke- nach or Ockenung. In Milford, a considerable tract was sold in 1656 for twenty-six pounds ; and three or four years subsequently, Indian Neck, lying between East River and the Sound, was disposed of for twenty-jfive pounds. The Indians made a reservation of twenty acres on the Neck, but sold it about a year after for six coats, two blankets and a pair of breeches. Ansantawae and his wife, with Tountonemoe and Ackenach, received lib- erty to settle, in case of danger, at some place in the town which the townsmen should then designate for them* In 1660, 1663 and 1665, the Indians of Stratford sold various large tracts of land to the settlers of that town- ship. In 1671, a number of them, for a consideration of twenty pounds of lead, five pounds of powder and twenty trading cloth coats, signed an agreement confirming all sales ever made by themselves or their ancestors. This act of confirmation was itself confirmed by other members of the tribe, some in 1684, and some in 1685. Among the signers in 1671, was a man named Shoran. This word has since been changed into Sherman, and is now the family name of the remnant of the Golden Hill Indians. In 1680, Ackenach, still styling himself sachem of Mil- ford and Pangussett, complained to the General Court that he was in want of land. It was ordered that one hundred acres should bo laid out for him ; and " one hun- dred acres, more or less," were accordingly bounded off for this purpose on Coram Hill in Huntington. The In- dians complained of it as rough and stony, and another • Milford and Stratford Rccorda. OF CONNECTICUT. 271 committee was appointed to lay out the tract "according to the true intentions of the Court." It is to be hoped that this committee was more honest or more considerate than its predecessor.* Various enactments were passed, during this period, for the regulation and protection of the Indians. In 1657, the Commissioners ordered that no company of them should come armed within a mile of any English settle- ment, and that no strange Indians should be received into such a settlement unless they were flying from their ene- mies. In 1659, when reports of a conspiracy against the colonies were rife, repeated acts of precaution were passed by the General Court of Connecticut. Indians were not allowed to live within a quarter of a mile of the towns ; not allowed to bring guns into the towns on penalty of seizure; not allowed to entertain stragglers from other tribes.f Two years after, some of these restraints were removed, and the Tunxis and River Indians were ex- pressly authorized to go armed through the towns when there were not more than ten of them in company.^ As driniken natives used to prowl about the settle- ments, making attempts to get more liquor, and whooping, yelling and creating a disturbance from the effects of what they had already drank, all Indians were forbidden walk- ing about the towns after nightfall, under penalty of a fine of twenty shilhngs, and a flogging of at least six stripes. In 1660, it was ordered that no person should take the property of an Indian for debt, without his con- sent, unless by legal authority.*^ In 1675, persons who • Slrntford Rec. Col. Rec, Vol. III. I Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 375. tCol. Rec, Vol. I, pp. 350, 351. § Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 375, , . j ' ! \ ^ ■1 m m 272 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS i trusted Indians with goods were deprived by enactment of the right of appealing to the laws for their recovery * From the laws established for the benefit of the Indians it is an easy transition to the efforts made for their con- version and civilization. These were by no means so earnest and so long continued In Connecticut as in Massa- chusetts, nor were they attended by any thing like so remarkable results. The early labors of Eliot and his companions excited great enthusiasm in England ; and in 1649, a missionary society was formed there, entitled " The Society for propagating the Gospel in New Eng- land." The funds raised were invested in lands yielding an annual income of five hundred pounds, which seems to have been faithfully expended in printing Eliot's bible and other works in the Indian language ; in paying the salaries of several ministers and teachers ; and in defray- ing other expenses incidental to a missionary enterprise. On the restoration of Charles II the charter was esteemed dead in law; but in 1661, the year following, a new one was granted. About this time, or perhaps a little after, Abraham Pierson, minister at Branford in Connecticut, began to preach to the Indians of that vicinity, and con- tinued to do so for several years. It would seem, also, that he sometimes preached in other places, or else that there was another person of the same name who " minis- tered" to the Indians of Wethersfield. At least, we find in the records of the United Colonies for 1658, an order that six yards of cloth should be distributed out of the mission funds to the piincipal men of the Wethersfield Indians, as an encouragement to those who attended on • Colonial Records, Vol. III. I i Maaagr.^ M( i , i iMft#» » . |i M* | -^iiil-tir^rifl i B- i T I Mr i Mi i il ii iiiCaiabxWWIM ■riHa # OF CONNECTICUT. 273 Mr. Pierson and refrained from powwowing and from laboring on the Sabbath.* We are informed by another missionary of that day, that Mr. Pierson never met with any considerable success in his labors, and that his hearers continued to exhibit an averseness and a perverse con- tempt for the gospel.f He received, for several years, from the Society in England, an annual salary of thirty pounds, which in 1667 was reduced for some reason to fifteen pounds. Not very long after this he removed to the vicinity of New York, which of course brought his missionary labors among the Indians of Connecticut to a close.J A part of the funds of the Society, or Corporation, as it was sometimes called, seem to have been placed at the command and discretion of the colonial Commissioners. In 1660, therefore, they made a present of six coats to Cassasinamon, Hermon Garret, and their four assistants, "to reward them for their services in governing the Pe- quots, and to persuade them to attend on such means as should be used for bringing them to a knowledge of God." All Indians who would put out their children to '' godly English" were also offered a coat every year, besides food and clothing for the children. A man named William Thomson was employed for some time, at an annual salary of twenty pounds, to instruct the Cassasinamon band of Pequots. In 1672, en pounds of the Society's money were presented by the Court to the Commissioners fiom Connecticut, to be distributed by them among »HBzor(l.Vol. II. t Rev. James Fitch in a letter presented by Gookin. Vol. I. p. 208. jibid. Mass, fJiat. Coll., ii hi k i i> m 274 HISTORJ or THE INDIANS " sundry well-deserving Indians of the Pequots and there- abouts."* Another missionary more remarkable than Pierson was James Fitch, the first minister of Norwich, a generous and kind hearted man and a zealous Christian. But, although settled as early as 1660 in the vicinity of the Mohegans, he did not commence his labors among them till after Pierson had removed from Branford. In 1671, inquiries were made of Uncas and his son Oweneco, to ascertain whether they would listen to Mr. Fitch if he should come and preach at Mohegan. The sachems made no ohjeciion, and the fact of their favorable inclina- tions was reported to the General Court of Connecticut. This body sent word to the Mohegans, that it should certainly favor all those who received the Christian reli- gion, and should regard with displeasure all who opposed and rejected it.f Not long after this, probably. Fitch commenced his ministrations. The Mohegans at this time, as well as all the other In- dians of Connecticut, were still heathen. They had little or no knowledge of the Christian religion ; they still be- lieved in their good and bad gods, their charms and incantations ; and they continued to practice dances, pow- wowings, and their other ancient superstitions and cere- monies. Fitch at first met no opposition from either people or sachems, although their attendance was neither very regular nor very reverent. As the nature of Chris- tianity, however, hecame more familiar to the Mohegans, and as its precepts were more forcibly pressed upon them, some began to be affected by the truth and others bitterly • Hazard, Vol. II, pp. 435 530. + Colonial Records, Vol. II. n,j'i i j » . i 0ri. i .(.iK»> '■iMS^^xna OF CONNECTICUT. 275 p to oppose it. " Uncas and Oweneco," says Fitch, " at first carried it teachably and tractably, till they discerned that practical religion would throw down their heathenish idols and the tyrannical authority of the sachems. Then they went away and drew off their people, some by flat- teries and some by threats, not allowing them to attend even outwardly." A few, however, in spite of the oppo- sition of the sachems, and of a majority of the tribe, still clung to their teacher. With these individuals. Fitch commenced a regular series of religious meetings which continued for several years, although it is impossible to say how long. In 1674, they numbered thirty men and women, with a proportionable number of children. They had given up their ancient ceremonies, were acquainted with the principal doctrines of the Scriptures, and met together every Sunday to converse over what they had heard from their minister. Weebax, the principal man among them, was capable of teaching the others and of leading their devotions. The conversation of this man was so blaBfleless that his worst persecutors were forced to respect and speak well of it. The same pleasing testi- mony is borne by Fitch concerning another of the com- pany named Tuhamon. During one year, at least, the Society in England granted Fitch thirty-one pounds and ten shillings for his services, and his Indian hearers re- ceived ten pounds from the same benevolent source. They doubtless needed it, for, aside from their natural poverty as savages, they were now objects of abuse and persecu- tion to their own countrymen. In order to encourage them and give them a fixed place of residence, Fitch him- self presented them with about three hundred acres of '46 i t 276 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I I land, which he secured to them as long as they should remain firm in their affection to Christianity. This mu- nificent gift excited the envy of the other Mohegans, and even Uncas and his sons for a time pretended to be the missionary's friends. Fitch was not deceived by their hollow professions, and declared in a letter to Gookin, written in 1674, that their appearance of friendship arose merely from feelings of selfishness and envy.* The above is about all that is known of the labors of Fitch, or of the history of the little congregation which he collected. It is said that its numbers had increased to forty a short time before the breaking out of Philip's war. Many of the Mohegans took part in that contest, and from what we know of the usual influence of war on religion in a community, we may conclude that it con- siderably cooled the religious interest which existed in this little band. Excellent people have sometimes tried to hope that Uncas was converted to at least a theoretical belief in the doctrines of Christianity. His religious chai^ftcter, how- ever, .was to make the best of it extremely doubtful, as some well-attested particulars will show. In 1674, Daniel Gookin and John Eliot, while on a missionary tour among the aborigines, came to a village of Christian Indians at Wabequasset in what is now the south-eastern part of Woodstock. The two clergymen spent a great part of the night with the principal inhabitants, praying, exhorting and singing psalms. There was one Indian present, a stranger, who took no part in the devotions, and for a long time remained silent. At last he rose and announced that he I 1 • Gookin in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol I, pp. 208, 209. Hazard, Vol. II, passim. ,jlI«l^,llJL",J|llft!l.J*''' ;iMVj i yiii,ii i yLijfflL i i i j.j.>iiii^ OF CONNECTICUT. 277 was a deputy of Uncas, sachem of Mohegan ; aud that in his name he challenged a right to, and dominion over, this people of Wabequasset. "And," said he to the tuo ministers, " Uncas is not well pleased that the English should pass over Mohegan River to call his Indians to pray to God." Gookin replied that Wabequasset was not subject to Uncas, but belonged under the jurisdiction oif Massachu- setts. And no harm need be feared, he continued, were it otherwise ; for the only object of the English in preach- ing to the Indians is to bring them to a knowledge of Christ, and suppress among them the sins of drunkenness, idolatry, powwowing, witchcraft and murder. Gookin told the messenger to report this answer to his master ; and he no doubt meant it, in part, as a lecture to the sa- chem upon his own habits and character. This circum- stance took place nine years before the death of Uncas, and when he was already an old man of probably seventy summers. In another passage, Gookin mentions the Mo- hegan sachem as "an old, wicked and willful man, a drunkard and otherwise very vicious," and tells us that he " had always been an opposer and underminer of pray- ing to God ;" and that he suspected him of being a great obstruction to the labors of Mr. Fitch.* Fitch also spoke of him very severely. In one of his letters, written in 1678, he calls him " a plotter of mischief," " a liar," " a murderer ;" and accuses him of being a viiifier of rulers, laws and religion, and a great opposer of godliness among his own people.f • Gookin. Mass. Hiat. Coll., Vol. I, pp. 191, 192. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 33. «ii. ..liUiia 278 IIISTORT OP THE INDIANS The only evidence that Uncas ever gave the slightest credence to the truth of Christianity is to be found in the following anecdote. In the summer of 1676, so severe a drouth prevailed in New England, that, in some places, the leaves and fruit fell from the trees as if it were au- tumn. The Mohegans applied to their powwows, and the powwows danced, and shouted, and howled ; but all to no purpose. Uncas and some of his people finally went to Norwich, and laid the case before Mr. Fitch, whose character they respected much more than they loved his doctrines. " They were in great trouble," he said ; " their crops were all spoiling ; the powwows could do them no good ; and they had concluded to apply to the God of the English," A fast was appointed in the settlement, to pray for rain, for the colonists were suffering even more than the Indians. The day of the fast was clear till towards sunset, after the religious services had closed, when a few clouds gathered on the horizon. The next day was cloudy, but no rain fell ; and Uncas, with many of his people, came again to Mr. Fitch to lament about the weather. " If God should send rain, would you not say it was your pow- wows ?" asked the minister. " No," replied Uncas ; " we have done all we can, and it is of no use." Mr. Fitch then told him that, if he would make this declaration publicly before the Indians, they should see what God would do for them. Uncas accordingly made a speech to his followers, affirming that, if God should send them rain, it could not be in consequence of their powwowings, but must be ascribed to Mr. Fitch's prayers. The next day so copious a rain fell that the river rose more than two feet.* • Hubbard's Indian Ware, p. 251. » ^i. i; .ir.»ii, i i)i < V,|_|i|i»|i. « . OF CONNECTICUT. 279 I ■s What the effect of this circumstance upon Uncas was, we are not informed ; and the above affirmuiion is the only instance in which he is known to have expressed any kind of faith in the religious belief of the English. We now come to the last great struggle of the native tribes of New England against the race of foreigners which was gradually crowding them out of the land of their fathers. Massasoit, sachem of the Pokanokets, was dead, and had been followed to the grave by Wamsutta, or Alexander, his eldest son. Wamsutta was succeeded by his brother, Metacom, or King Philip, a sachem whose proud spirit of independence, whose heroism, and whose misfortunes, have rendered him the most famous of all the New England aborigines. Philip formed no general league, no great conspiracy against the English ; but he was smarting from humiliations inflicted upon himself and his brother ; and, like most of his race, he looked with anger and dismay upon the steady progress of the for- eigners in spreading over and occupying the country. The war on the part of the Indians was a war for freedom and existence, and when those were no longer possible, it be- came a war for revenge. It broke out in June, 1675, just about a century before the commencement of our own struggle for independence, and continued with uninter- rupted fury until the autumn of 1676. It is not my de- sign to give a history of this celebrated contest, but only to mention the part which was taken in it by the Indians of Connecticut. Early in the struggle, Uncas was ordered to appear at Boston, and, by surrendering his fire-arms, give assurance that he would remain firm to the cause of the colonies. 26* 280 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS The messengers returned, accompanied by Oweneco, the eldest son of Uncas, and by two of his brothers, probably Joshua, o. Attawanhood, the third son, and Ben the fourth. They were attended by sixty warriors, and brought with them a number of guns. The two younger sachems re- mained at Cambridge as hostages, while Oweneco and his warriors marched, in company with a body of English, in pursuit of Philip, who had just made his escape from Po- casset Neck. They overtook and killed about thirty of the fugitives, but not being able to come up with the main body, and their provisions failing, the Mohegans separated from the English and returned home.* The Pequots, like the Mohegans, throughout the whole contest continued faithful to the English. The other tribes of Connecticut mostly remained neutral, except that a few of the Nipmucks of Windham County joined Philip, and also the Podunks of East Windsor and East Hartford. The latter, it is said, assisted him with two hundred men ; but this estimate rests entirely upon tradition, and is alto- gether too large to be worthy of the slightest credit. Probably the Podunks at this time could not have mus- tered more than sixty warriors. In the fall of 1675, an expedition of one hundred and sixty Englishmen and Mohegans was sent from Connec- ticut, under Major Treat, to protect the settlements in the Massachusetts part of the valley of the Connecticut River. When Captain Lathrop, with his eighty or ninety young men, the flower of Essex County, was cut off by an am- buscade of several hundred of the enemy, they heard the noise of the battle and marched to his relief. Lathrop • Hubbard'a Indian Wars, pp. 94—98. 'i ■i ;;.L.i/iii fii'inpii'ii r..7 i;]~ '•'••'r^^--^----r^^ » 9^"nxyrwr-i*r'" ■ tf- -i-'-^.-j^ ^^---.■-^.^■.■..^, p OF CONNECTICUT. 281 ^ and his party had already fallen when they arrived ; but they found Captain Mosely, who had hurried from Deer- field to assist him, closely and desperately engaged with the victorious enemy. Their unexpected onset decided this second battle, and the Pokanokets, Nipmucks, Po- comtocks and Norwootucks were driven from the field. Treat, with his soldiers, and his Mohegan allies, after- wards remained some time in this vicinity, protecting the scattered and terrified settlements from the attacks of the enemy. He relieved Springfield from an unexpected as- sault, although not till thirty houses and many ont-build- ings were burned, and the inhabitants had nearly given themselves up for lost. Shortly afterwards he assisted Hadley when suffering a similar attack, and, in conjunc- tion with some Massachusetts troops, gave the assailants a severe defeat. They were so effectually routed indeed, that the main body of them forsook this part of the coun- try, and retreated, as it was said, to the territories of the Narragansetts.* A treaty of friendship had been extorted from this large tribe at the commencement of the war ; but, as it had been obtained from them by compulsion, it was very in- differently kept. The English settlers in Rhode Island found that the yoimg men of the Narragansetts went away on secret expeditions, and, after a while, came home wounded. They concluded very justly that they had been to assist Philip in attacking the English towns and fighting the English war parties. Now, when they re- ceived Philip's adherents into their country, and sheltered the old men, women and children, while the warnors * Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 112— 121 ill. 282 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS went out to burn, tomahawk and scalp, it was resolved that no further measures should be kept with so faithless and hostile a people. One thousand men were raised ; and one hundred and ftfty Mohegans and Pequots, com- manded by Oweneco, and by Catapazet, the son of Her- mon Garret, marched with the army to attack the Narra- gansetts. The expedition was completely successful, and, in the midst of winter, the Pequots had the pleasure of gazing on the flames of the Narragansett fortress, as the Narraganseits had gazed on the flames of theirs thirty- seven years before * Without a home, without provisions, driven from his country, his people perishing around him with cold and hunger, Canonchet, the brave sachem of the Narragan- setts, the son of Miantinomo, refused to give up the contest, and aflirmed that he would not surrender a Wam- panoag nor the paring of a Wampanoag's nail. He main- tained the war with his whole energy ; and never had Philip been so prosperous, never had the English suff-ered so many disasters, as for several months after the battle in the Rhode Island swamp. Captain Pierce and Captain Wadsworth, each with fifty men, were "swallowed up," as a writer of those times vigorously expresses it ; and village after village was burned, and the inhabitants either massacred, or compelled to fly long distances through the snow, sometimes in their night clothing. But the day of English vengeance soon camn. In the spring Canon- chet was obliged to make an adventurous expedition into his ancient country, to obtain corn for planting at the next harvest. He had reached a place called Seaconk, when « Hubbard's Indian Wnrs, pp. 199—144. m^ , m ' I k^'^-m t f ■ ffij ' iA *^f»ysy ^iMiii ■assi^^ia- 1 OF CONNECTICUT. 283 Captain Denison, a skillful partisan leader of Connecticut, arrived in the vicinity with forty-seven Englishmen and eighty Pequot and Mohegan warriors. Canonche^ was discovered and furiously pursued. The lock of his gun became wet as he was springing through a brook. This accident disarmed him, and when he was overtaken by a swift-footed Pequot he made no resistance. Others of the pursuers came up, and the Narragansett chief found him- self the prisoner of men whom he had enraged by his desperate and persevering hostility. His courage failed him not in this hour of trial, and he boi**. himself in a manner worthy the chieftain of a powerful tribe. When his captors told him that they should put him to death, he replied : " It is well. I shall die before my heart is soft ; before I have said any thing unworthy of Canonchet to say." He was carried to Stonington, and there executed in such a manner as would give each tribe of the warriors who were with Denison a share in the deed. The Mo- hegans of the party were led by Oweneco, and the Pe- quots, one part by Cassasinamon, the other by Catapazet. Cassasinamon's men shot the devoted sachem ; the Mo- hegans beheaded and quartered him ; the warriors of Catapazet kindled the lire on which his body was burned. His head was preserved by Denison as a trophy, and was sent to the magistrates of the colony.* During the expedition in which Canonchet was taken, the Eiurlish and their allies killed and captured nearly fifty of the enemy, some of whoiu were among the councilors and chief warriors of the Narragansctts. Other volunteer expeditions were equally successful, and during the spring, • Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 163—169. 284 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS V < summer and fall succeeded in driving the offending tribo nearly out of its country. The Nehantics were alone suf- fered to remain undisturbed, because they alone had taken no part in the war. During 1 676, two hundred and thirty- nine of the Narragansetts were, in this way, either killed or captured, fifty guns were taken, and one hundred bushels of corn were plundered. Yet not a single Pequot or Mo- hegan, and not a single volunteer from Connecticut, was either killed or died of his wounds. In one successful ex- pedition one hundred and twelve Pequots were engaged.* In another, a large body of the enemy was surprised, and so many captives and so much plunder taken, that the Pe- quots and Mohegans insisted upon returning immediately home. On th^ir march back they killed and took about sixty more. Among the prisoners of the Mohegans was an active young warrior, who had distinguished himself by his courage, and whom they demanded permission to JDUt to death by torture. The English consented ; " partly," says Hubbard, " lest their denial should dis- oblige their Indian friends of whom they had lately made so much use ; partly that they might have ocular demon- stration of the savage, barbarous cruelty of the heathen. '"f The young captive, unappalled by the dreadful fate which awaited him, stood up after the fashion of Indian war- riors, and boasted his exploits. " I have shot nineteen English with my gun. I loaded it for a twentieth. I could not meet another and let it fly at a Mohegau. I killed him and completed my number. Now I am fnlly satisfied." The Mohegans formed a circle, and placed the victim • Hubbtrd'i Indian Wan, pp. 169, 170, 915, 216. t Ibid, 333. ^-^^M^^^mt^smtm^i'i^im^:^!^ OF CONNECTICUT. 285 in the center where all could gaze upon his tortures. They deliberately cut round one of his fingers at the joint, where it united with the hand, and then broke it off. They cut, in a similar manner, another and another, until only the stump of the hand was left. The blood flowed in streams, sometimes spirting out a yard from the wounds. Some of the English wept at the horrid sight, but no one interfered. The victim shrunk not from the knife and showed no signs of anguish. " How do you like the war ?" tauntingly asked his tormentors. " I -like it well," he said ; " I find it as sweet as Englishmen do their sugar." They cut off his toes as they had done his fingers, and then made him dance round the circle till he was weary. At last they broke the bones of his legs. He sank upon the ground, and sat in silence until they dashed out his brains.* One of the most famous of the native adherents of the English was a Pequot, partly of Narragansett blood, called Major Symon. This man's physical strength and reck- lessness of danger were said to be truly astonishing. Fighting seemed to be his recreation. During the war he was seldom at home more than four or five days to- gether, being engaged the rest of the time in warlike expeditions. It was reported that he had with his own hand killed or taken above threescore of the enemy. , Once he came alone upon a band of hostile Indians as they lay at ease under a steep bank. He leaped down among them, killed some, put the rest to flight, and carried away prisoners. On another of his expeditions he fell asleep, and while sleeping, dreamed that Indians were • Hubbard's Indian Warn, pp. 233—235. ! il 286 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ( i I coming upon him. He awoke with the dream, and get- ting up, discovered some of the hostile warriors approach- ing his resting-place. He presented his gun and they stopped : he then turned and made his escape, although he was very weary and his pursuers were numerous. To- wards the close of the war he was traveling, with two other Indians and Thomas Stanton, to Seaconet. On their march they learned that some of the enemy were near by, upon which the three Indians left Stanton and went in search of them. They found the camp, but the warriors of the company were gone, and had left behind them only a few old men, women and children. These surrendered to Major Symon and his companions who led them away at a rapid pace. One old man was unable to keep up with the party, and was allowed to lag behind on his promising that he would follow. In the meantime the warriors had returned to camp; and, having.taken up the trail, soon overtook the old man, and learned from him what had happened. They speedily came up with the three adventurous warriors, killed one of them and liberated the captives. Major Symon and his remaining companion stood at bay, and the former offered to fight any five of the assailants if they would lay aside their guns and use only their hatchets. They feared his ^strength and dexterity too much to accept the challenge, and advanced on him in a body. He fired upon them, and, rushing furiously forward, broke through their line and escaped, followed by his companion. After hostilities were over in Massachusetts, this Pequot Achilles joined an expedition against the Indians of Maine and New Hampshire, where for nearly two years more the flame of OF CONNECTICUT. 287 war continued to smoulder on. No particulars of his achievements there, however, are known, nor whether he fell with the hatchet in his hand, or returned home to die in the midst of despised and detested peace.* In August, 1676, Philip fell ; and after this event the contest in the southern part of New England soon ceased. His struggle had been a noble one, but its results to his followers and supporters had been most disastrous. The I Pokanokets were nearly exterminated. The Narragan- setts were reduced to a small part of their former num- bers. The remnants of the Pocomtocks, Nashuas, Nip- mucks and other tribes of Massachusetts, mostly left their country and fled to the northward or westward. President Stiles has left on record, in his Itinerary, a singular tradition concerning this war. It said that the report of the contest reached to the backwoods of Virginia and North Carolina, where some of the Pequots had fled, nearly forty y. '•s before, from the victorious settlers of Connecticut. Incited by a desire of revenge, the de~ scendants of these refugees seized their arms, and set out on the long march for their ancient country. They had come as far as New York, when the news reached them that Philip and Canonchet were dead, and that the red men had been scattered like the dry leaves of autumn. Disheartened at the tidings, they relinquished their hope of vengeance and returned to their homes. A number of the hostile Indians who had been taken prisoners during this war were allowed to take up their residence in some portions of Connecticut. Most of them were at first placed under Uncas, but were afterwards li!; • Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 246, 247. 27 ! if 288 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ' I withdrawn from his authority, and had three hundred acres of land assigned them in the fork of the Shetucket and duinnebaug Rivers. In 1678, about thirty, chiefly heads of families, were living here, while others remained with Uncas, and others still were scattered among the Pequots. About tl" ^ • '■ ^" one ol the Shetucket band was murdered, and also other " surrenderers" who had been placed upon the iarm of Mr. Fitch, the good Norwich minister. Uncas was strongly suspected of being the author of these misdeeds ; but he professed utter igno- rance of them, and suggested that they had boen com- mitted by some of the hostile Indians who were still ranging the woods. Mr. Fitch in particular was very suspicious of him, and in a letter to the General Court applied several severe epithets to the sachem ; charged him with acting treacherously towards the "surrenderers," and declared that he was even " worse than before the war »'# Not long after the close of the contest died Attawan- hood, the third son of Uncas, and sachem of f he western Nehantics, leaving behind him a will wiiich is preserved among the Indian papers at Hartford. This will was signed [March 10th, 1676,] by the sachem at his residence in Lyme, near Eight Mile Island in the Connecticut River. He was then, as the paper states, " sick of body ;" and, as no later record exists of him, it is probable that this was his last and fatal illness. He left behind him two wives, two sons and one daughter. To his sons he gave a large tract, apparently northwest of Say brook, with the condition that if one died it should go the survivor, and * Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doouments 3S, 33. < £ a ^ ; , ''. '" ^ ] ,i ^ gi^M^i|i Sj jpw>iijw,_j-^ ' »i' yU~tU«|KUMl»SM» "jm^^l^^lgiMi^^^^S^&^l^i^sk& or CONNECTICUT. 289 J) if both died, to their sister. He also left them forty acres at Podunk, and about half a mile square, situated within a tract which had, a little previously, been added to Hart- ford. These lands, if the two sons died, were to revert to his wives. The rest of his property was given away, in enormous tracts, to various white persons of Hartford, Saybrook and other places. Whole townships, as for in- stance, those of Windham, Mansfield and Canterbury, were included ; a single grant covered a hundred thousand acres ; and the whole line of lands reached eighteen miles north and south, and, in some places, eight miles east and west. The Indians who then resided on his territories he directed to leave them, and attach themselves to his father Uncas. His sons he desired to live near Saybrook ; to be taught English by their mother ; and, at the end of four years, to be placed at an English school. Thirty- five pounds which were owing to him by certain whites, as well as the rents of all the lands which he had left the boys, were to be expended in their support and education. He recommended his children earnestly to all his legatees, but more particularly to three whom he mentioned by name, Robert Chapman, William Pratt and Thomas Buck- ingham. For himself he left directions that he should be buried at Saybrook, in a coffin, and after the manner of the English.* The war with Philip was the last contest in which the Indians of Connecticut were engaged against their own race, unless we except a few unimportant skirmishes nmong themselves, or with their ancient enemies, the Mohawks. One of the last inroads of this formidable • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 30. 290 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS people was in 1678, when a party of them appeared in the .Mohegan country, and captured a number of that tribe among whom was a son of Uncas.* During the whole period treated in this chapter, Uncas was selling and granting away the lands of his people with a iavishness which shows that, notwithstanding his cunning, he had a full share of that improvidence common to uncivilized men. The Norwich and New London re- cords abound with deeds, conveying tracts, of usually from one to five or six hundred acres, to various persons of those towns. Some are signed by Uncas, some by Oweneco, some by both these sachems, and others have m addition the mark of Joshua or Attawanhood. In these deeds the sachems alledge various reasons for parting with the land: sometimes it is " out of love and affection for the grantee ;" sometimes " on account of many benefits and kindnesses heretofore received:" sometimes for "a valuable consideration" now paid, or perhaps only prom- ised. These grants often covered each other, often con- tradicted each other, and were the source of innumerable quarrels and litigations between the English and the In- dians, and between the English and each other.f The sachems at times complained, tliat advantage was taken of them when they were intoxicated, to beguile them out of lands which they never intended to part with. For this reason, in 1680, Oweneco made over all the lands which his father had given him on the Quinne- baug to his loving friend, as he calls him, James Fitch of Norwich. As a reason for the act he states, in the deed, • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 37. t See Norwich and New London recorda, paaaitn ' *=...._. i-^al?#»;i*^A«tJ»Si»»«^^*«^S^«*^*'S »»?^%*««»«»!«Ms*^to«*«^«afi^«^#»i»^ OF CONNECTICUT. 291 - ■? ' * that some of the English extorted land from him by their importunities, and others by inducing hmi to sign papers when he was under the influence of strong liquors * James Fitch was a son of the good minister at Norwich, who seems to have possessed the confidence and respect of all the Mohegans, although his religious teachings were only attended to by a part of them. The partiality which the Indians bore to the father they transferred to the son, and he continued to be, for a long time, one of the prin- cipal advisers of the tribe. The numerous deeds above mentioned, with various other land transactions, were finally involved in an impor- tant law suit which arose between the Mohegans and the colony, and, continuing more than seventy years, puzzlad some of the wisest heads in New England and the motl er country. As this controversy will occupy an important space in the subsequent narration, it will be worth while to obtain here, if possible, a clear view of the events from which it arose. I have already mentioned the deed of 1640. The next important circumstance connected with Mohegan lands occurred in 1659. A tract of nine miles square was then sold for the township of Norwich, for which the Mohegan sachems, Uncas anu his sons, received seventy pounds. This sale was made with the consent of John Mason, who was himself one of the settlers of Norwich, and who for many years had been regarded by the Mohegans as thsir especial friend and adviser.f During the same year, Uncas and Wawequa, in the presence of witnesses, deeded all the rest of their lands, • New London Records. t Towns and Lands, Vol. VI, Doc. 159. 07# 292 f HISTORT OF THE INDIANS without exception, to Mason, to his heirs and to his assigns forever.* There can be no doubt of this circum- stance ; but two contradictory constructions have been placed upon it, and both are supported by probabilities. The Indians seem to have thought that they had simply placed their property under the protection or trusteeship of Mason, who was wiser than themselves, and who knew how to deal with the English and the English law.f The same view was also supported by Mason's de- scendants, and by all those who advocated the cause of the Mohegans in their suit against the colony. On the other hand, Connecticut and those who favored her side of the question maintained that the deed was obtained by Mason as the commissioned agent of the colony, and that the object of it was to extinguish whatever remaining title to their lands the Mohegans might have possessed. In proof of this they refer to an entry in the Colonial E^cords, showing that on the twenty-fourth of March, 1660, Mason, then deputy governor of Connecticut, sur- rendered to the colony that "jurisdiction power" over the Mohegan lands which he had obtained in the previous year from Uncas and Wawequu.J: In this deed of sur- rendry, however, he reserved to himself land enough for a farm, and the right, also, of laying out according to his * Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. .'JSg ; Mohegan Petition. t Owf.neco, in 1710, protested against the deed being held of any force ; declar. :Ttbat it was given while his father was besieged by the Narragnn- setts, with the understanding that it was to be used only if his enemies con- quered him ; otherwise to be burned. If this statement is true, it throws n deep stain upon the character of two men, Sc^n Mason and Rev. James Fitch, in whose honesty and honor I choose to believe rather than in the veracity of Oweneco. X Colonial Records, Vol. I, p. 359. "*S?R'SSSK5^^^SMBS»5iSSi&«*M^Bi^^ i OP CONNECTICUT. 293 own choice the various settlements which should be made in the district. This certainly looks as if the land no longer belonged to the Mohegans ; and yet this last con- dition is, it must be confessed, a very extraordinary one to be made by a mere agent. Mason was still considered as the guardian of the Indians both by themselves and the English authorities. The proof of the former is that in 1661 and 1665, Uncas. Oweneco and Attawanhood con- firmed the grant which had formerly [1659] been made to Mason by Uncas and Wawequa.* The latter seems to be sufficiently proved by various dealings of the colony concerning land with the Mohegans, and by various passages in the history of its subsequent legal contest with them. What Mason's opinions of his rights over the Mohegan lands were, at a late period in his life, may be gathered from an important act of his in 1671. He was then old, being in the seventy-second year of his age ; and fearing that, after his death, the Mohegans might be wronged by unscrupulous men, he determined to secure to them a tract of land so that it should be theirs forever. He ac- cordingly drew up, and signed, a deed, making over to the tribe a large district, and entailing it to them as in- alienable by grant or sale.f Notwithstanding the evi- dently benevolent intentions of Mason in this transaction, it is not difficult to bring up doubts as to the propriety of his conduct. If the Mohegan property had truly been ! ' !i! i'i I 'ii * Mohegan Pcfition. t Mohegan Petition. This paper is continually mentioned in the records of the " Mohegan Case," and neither its existence nor its authenticity once disputed. 294 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS trusteed to him, what right had he to content himself with giving back to its owners only a small part of it ? If it was not trusteed, but sold or granted to him, and if he had made it over to the colony, as the records seem to prove, what right had he to return and entail any part of it t all? On this entailed tract, however, usually called the " Se- questered Lands," the Mohegans remained unmolested till Mason's death, which took place some time in the follow- ing year. From that time till 1680, various encroach- ments are alledged to have been made by the neighboring whites ; and, in spite of the articles of entailment, various sales and grants were executed, and recorded on the town books of Norwich and New London.* It was during this period that Attawanhood died and willed away those ex- tensive tracts which have already been described. Atta- wanhood never could have possessed the whole of this enormous territory : his grants covered many of the grants of Mason and of the Mohegan sachems, and this will in- troduced a new element of litigation into the already in- terminable confusion of land claims. Some drunken Indians having set fire to, and destroyed the Norwich jail, Uncas and Oweneco were called on to make up the loss, which they did, very unwillingly, by passing over to the town [1679] six hundred acres of land. The tract was sold to English purchasers, and brought forty pounds, of which ten pounds were given back to Uncas and the remainder placed in the town treasury.f This large loss and the encroachments which Uncas • See Norwich and New London Records, the early volume*, t Colonial Records, Vol. III. ^^^RSZ. diJikHiifiHiii uiiM^MWiiiMiiiki OF CONNECTICUT. 295 believed were being made upon him by towns and indi- viduals, alarmed him for his territories. He applied to the General Court of Connecticut, asking that a line might be run between Mohegan and Norwich, and that the bounds of his land might be marked out and recorded * The Court assented ; and ordered that the people of New London also should come to a decision about their boun- dary line, and, in conjunction with Uncas and his men, should mark it out as soon as possible. The sachem was first, however, obliged to consent to a league or agree- ment of which the substance is here given. I, Uncas, sachem of Mohegan, promise for myself, my people and all my successors, to be friendly to the people of Connecticut, and if I or any of my tribe do them an injury, to repair it. I give up all my lands to the juris- diction of the colony, and will dispose of them in no other way than the governor and deputies shall please. These lands shall be distributed into farms and villages as the General Court shall determine; and I, on the other hand, am to receive compensation for them, accordingly as wc shall then agree. I confirm all grants that I have eve- made of Mohegan lands. I promise to do no evil to the colony, nor to conceal any that is proposed to be done to it by others. I promise to take advice of the General Court in all matters of importance, especially in making peace or war and contracting leagues ; and I will make no league with any people at enmity with the colony. Finally, I bind myself to assist the colony, when neces- sary, with a competent number of warriors in the manner which the government shall deem most expedient.f • Indian Papers. Vol. I, Doc. 39. t Mohegan Petition. ir * 296 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS In return the Court promised to receive Uncas, his people and his descendants under its protection, then and forever. If they kept the articles mentioned above, no harm should be done to them ; and, if they were wronged in any manner by the English, the Court would grant them satisfaction. Whatever plantations were laid out on the lands of the Mohegans, the latter should always have a sufficiency to live on, and should receive a just price for what was taken. Lastly, if Uncas was attacked, the authorities of Connecticut would advise him to the best of their ability, would furnish him with ammunition at a fair price, and do whatever might be consonant with the peace of the colony for his protection.* Thus matters were settled for the present ; neither of the parties, it will be observed, paying any regard to the entailment of Mason. One can hardly help smiling at the munificence of our ancestors in promising good advice to Uncas in return for his armed assistance. It would not have been worth while, indeed, for the colony to involve itself in a war for the sake of the Mohegans ; but, on the other hand, a promise ought not to have been exacted from the Mohegans to peril their lives for the sake of the colony. Such is a very brief acconnt of the Mohegan lands down to the death of Uncas, as I have been able to gather it from the various authorities. Uncas died in 1682 or 1683 ; the precise date as well as the circumstances of his death being unknown. This sachem had seen stranger events and greater changes than perhaps had been witnessed by all his ancestors since the day that they first set foot on this continent. He could « M/^t1Jinl■n Pi>tition. »"iV»H»""jl'>H'- " 'iMmtlim OP CONNECTICUT. 297 remember when throughout all New England the red man ruled supreme, his power unchecked and unshared by any other member of the human race ; and he had lived to see the time when a new people, strange in ap- pearance and garb, and wonderful in wisdom, was spread- ing over the same land, and when the tribes of the forest were fading away before it, as the light of the stars grows dim at the rising of the sun. The land now possessed, or, at least, claimed by the Mohegans, consisted chiefly of three tracts, each of very considerable dimensions. The first, where the Indians themselves mostly resided, lay between New London and Norwich, and measured more than eight miles in length by four in breadth. Another stretched along the north boundary of Lyme, measuring nine miles in length by two in breadth, and resting at its western extremity on the Connecticut River. A third, usually styled the Mohegan Hunting Grounds, lay between the townships of Norwich, Lebanon, Lyme, Haddam and Middletown.* The other tracts were smaller, and it is impossible to tell where they were all situated, although it is certain that consider- abla quantities of land were still held by the Mohegans in the county of Windham.f Hermon Garret and his son, Catapazet, being both dead, the Pequots of that band were now living under the government of an Indian named Mamoho. After many unavailing petitions, after being settled in Rhode Island and again broken up, they had at last obtained a home ; and in 1683 two hundred and eighty acres of land hud in- 1 1 I; ill'' • Mohpgan Papers. Middlctown then comprrhended Clinthara. t riainfield Records. 298 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS ! been marked out for them in Stonington on the spot where their descendants live at the present day. From the small size of this reservation it seems probable that the band itself was small ; and it is pretty certain that a part of it remained in Rhode Island under the rule of a daughter of Ninigret, who was somewhat known about this time as the squaw-sachem.* The Pequots of New London were still governed by Cassasinamon, with the help of an assistant named Daniel, first appointed to this post in 1667. These Pequots were now living at a place called Mushantuxet, situated in the ancient township of New London, and in the modern one of Ledyard. They possessed upwards of two thousand acres of land here, and still made use of the neck at Naw- yonk from whence they had removed in 1667. They planted chiefly at Mushantuxet, but went down to Naw- yonk to fish and to hunt for fowl. The territories of the western Nehantics at this time must have been nearly gone, and it is doubtful whether they had any land left which they could call their own. Some of the tribe, doubtless, had followed the injunctions of Attawanhood in his will, and joined themselves te the Mohegans. Others, however, remained in their ancient country, and continued to reside there, on sufferance, until they were furnished with a small reservation by the town of Lyme. The Wangunks, the Ttmxis, the Indians of New Haven, Milford, Stratford and other places, were all living on re- servations, mostly small, which had been made for them at the respective sales of their lands. • Hnznrd, Vol. H ; Colonial Records, Vol. III. i , i t 1 ^S*5!SijBSaLii ■aMHMMMtfli J . » or CONNECTICUT. 299 The independent and roving existence of the Indians had ceased, and they were now little more than the sub- jects and tenants of the white men. They were no longer, it is true, under fhe fear of hostile war parties ; bat they were restrained by the fences, by the bounds, and by the enactments of the settlers. Universal poverty prevailed among them, as it had indeed always done j but, unlike the days of olden time, this poverty had now become de- graded and degrading through its contrast with surround- ing wealth and comfort. I doubt whether any community in the world is so debased as a barbarous people in which the independence of a free savage life has been lost and is succeeded by a sense of inferiority and a feeling of de- spair. Without hope, without ambition, debarred from even the excitement of war, they sink into a state of stupid listlessness, and think only of enjoying the present by an unrestrained indulgence in brutalizing pleasures. They become more indolent than ever, while their means of subsistence have diminished ; they indulge in intem- perance as far as their resources and opportunities will allow ; and, if they were ever licentious, their licentious- ness is now vastly increased. Such at this time was the case with the Indians of Connecticut, as far as the records of those days enable us to form any judgment of their condition. Preserved in the manuscripts of President Stiles, we have a most singular account of the loose state of morals which existed among the remnants of the Nar- ragansetts. This account was written, it is true, eighty years later, when the Ii.dians had probably become still more degraded ; but I have little if any hesitation in be- lieving, that the same state of things had already begun 28 300 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS to exist at the period of which we are now speaking. In 1761, while President Stiles was traveling in Rhode Island, he fell in with a Narragansett named John Paul, and made some inquiries of him concerning the morals of his countrymen. John Paul was very communicative, and spoke of the subject without reserve. From his account it would seem, that the morals of the Indians were very corrupt before the arrival of the English ; that, although a strong prejudice against illegitimate births existed, it did not prevent prostitution, and only produced abortion and infanticide ; and that these last customs being broken up by the influence of the whites, all reserve was thrown aside and the Indians became openly and shamelessly licentious. No restraint of virtue or decency prevailed : the young men hesitated not to speak, even before their parents, of their unlawful amours: the young women hesitated not to receive presents for their shame, and even to take them openly and by force when they were not given. John Paul made not only general statements, but mentioned individuals and pointed out localities, all con- firmatory of his melancholy story. Now, it is notorious that the form of vice here mentioned, especially when carried to such excess, is productive of both sterility and disease. Is it wonderful that communities so licentious, and, added to this, so indolent and drunken, should not increase ? that they should even rapidly decline ? The assertion of this Narragansett with regard to the state of morals among his people before the arrival of the English must be received with some allowance for exag- geration. Favored by the testimony of several of the early New England writers, it is contradicted by others, , i.'Sj&.vsx: I mtitiMm 111 ^ I , ,,j,,^i;, , 0fmr^ltjlu\tKUmW}>UP-,)Xi!^'}i ' g^B^aiS^4^-^a»fe^*«-ST OP CONNECTICUT. 301 and stands in opposition to the general character of the native North American race. But, nevertheless, it lends weight to other circumstances which tend to prove that the morals of the Indians were, even at the first, far from being altogether pure. To this belief we may add the certainty that they steadily changed for the worse as the native tribes lost their wild independence and became im- pregnated with the vices of civilization. These circum- stances would not be worthy of so much space as I have given in various places of the present volume, did not a knowledge of them assist in explaining the decline of the Indian population, not in Connecticut simply, but throughout the United States. As to the religious state of the Indians, we have seen that a few of them, at Mohegan, had become at least theoretical converts to the Christian faith. The remainder were still heathen ; believing, not perhaps in all their an- 'cient deities, but at least in some of them ; and asserting that, while the English were bound to worship the Eng- lish God, the Indians were equally bound to worship and serve the Indian gods. Concerning the numbers of the Indians in Connecticut at this time, we have, in an account of the colony drawn up by the General Court in 1680, an estimate which puts them at five hundred warriors.* This estimate, which would give a total of some twenty-five hundred indi- viduals, is a further proof of the extreme paucity of the aboriginal population of the State. It was now only fifty years since the first European settlement was begun in Connecticut, at which time the ^"dians, according to • Chamler'a Political Annals, p. MQ. '! I \\1 M if i' I 302 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. Trumbull, numbered twelve or sixteen and possibly twenty thousand. To suppose thttt so great a diminu- tion as this would imply had taken place in so short a time, IS not only incredible, but even worthy of ridicule. The question then arises as to which of the two estimates IS most worthy of our dependence. This will not require very long consideration. The estimate of 1680, was a cotemporary one, was made by the representatives of the colony, and was made, too, when the whole country had been examined and the condition of every tribe was tolerably known. The estimate of Trumbull was made more than one hundred and fifty years after the period to which It related ; and, while it was founded, in great part, upon tradition, was built up with assumptions and guess-work : assumptions very unwarranted, and guess- work of an exceedingly poor quality. li >;ti^ if i ' 'ii Pi« ^ij » w i ^ y j Hf i -rwawiwwiwM* —■ r-"- ■ ■».^^^...«.~-.-. ■ Sa^S^i^te*sfe«S«S>is;*s i i I CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OP THE MOHEGANS FROM THE DEATH OP UNCA8 TO THE CLOSE OP THE COURT ON THEIR DISPUTED * LANDS IN 1743. On the death of Uncas all unity which our subject ever possessed entirely disappears. From this time the re- spective histories of the Tunxis and Mohegans, of the Wepawaugs and Pequots, have but little more connection than if those neighboring tribes had lived in opposite quarters of the globe. To prevent the remainder of the narrative, therefore, from becoming a mere jumble of dis- connected events, I shall divide it into five sections, without j;egard to the order of time. The present chapter will trace the history of the Mohegans down to the close of the Commissioners' Court on the disputed lands of the tribe in 1743. The ninth and tenth chapters will follow the fate of the western and northern tribes from the same starting point down to the present time. The eleventh will do the same by the Pequots, and the twelfth will close the history of the Mohegans. War had now ceased between the different tribes, but other causes for reducing the population arose which more than equalled it in destructiveness. Game grew less abundant, and the fish began to disappear from the rivers. Now. too, ardent spirits, which at first had been scarce 28* ! t 304 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS and dear even among the whites, became more plentiful and found their way to the hps of the Indians. Intem- perance IS destructive of the happiness of civilized com- munities, but it is destructive of the life of savage ones. Laws and penalties, as we have seen and shall see, were repeatedly enacted against providing the Indians with liquor, and were sometimes, if not often, carried into effect. Still they did not accomplish their object; the temptation on both sides was too great : the traders were too fond of money, and the Indians were too fond of rum. They drank more and more, and the vice finally involved both sexes and almost all ages in its absorbing and pestiferous influence. Oweneco succeeded without opposition to his father and seems to haVe inherited all his dignities and peroga-' tives. Of his three brothers, one, at least, Attawanhood, or Joshua, was already dead. Of the other two, John, the eldest, died before Oweneco, and probably before Atta- wanhood; while Ben outlived them both, and ultimately snceeded to the sachemship. One day, as Uncas was talking with Thomas Stanton about his children, he ob- served that the three eldest were legitimate ; but as for Ben he was poquiom, or half-dog, tho mother being a poor beggarly squaw, not his wife. It was matter of report' however, among both Indians and whites, that Ben's mother was the daughter of Poxon, who, as we have seen, was a man of considerable consequence among the Mohegans.* I have already noticed that Attawanhood left three children, assigning to them a considerable quantity of • Indian Papere, Vol. I, Doc. 173, p. 57. i '4 I ■■? -.y y^^ t . ' J iW i ", '" i ri ; P 0' tf i^ i mf ' fj 0i>m'';fft00#lf W»yvmmW^*'MW^9^ i ? I ► 7 OF CONNECTICUT. 305 land for their maintenance. These lands, it would seem, were very unprofitable, or else the proceeds of them were not applied to the purpose for which they were intended. In 1683, about four years after the father died, only one of these children, Abimelech, was living; yet his guar- dians applied to the Court of the colony for assistance towards his support.* The first object of Oweneco on receiving the sachem- ship seems to have been to secure his tribe in the per- petual possession of their lands. To this course he was doubtless urged by Daniel and Samuel Mason, who, like their father, John Mason, were high in favor with the Mohegans, and advised them on all important occasions. Under their direction, probably, the following paper, dated March 16ih, 1684, was drawn up, and was signed by Oweneco with his totem or mark : " Know all men whom it doth or. may concern that I, Oneco, sachem of Mohegan, have and do, by these presents, pass over all my right of that tract of land be- tween New London town bounds and Trading Cove brook unto the Mohegan Indians for their use to plant, that neither I, nor my son. nor any under him, shall at any time make sale of any part thereof; and that tract of land shall be and remain forever for the use of the Mohe- gan Indians and myself and mine, to occupy and improve for our mutual advantage forever, as witness my seal and mark." Oweneco's mark.f A few weeks after, fearing, as he said, that he might be ensnared in drink and induced to make injudicious sales, the sachem trusteed his lands to Samuel and Daniel • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 40. t Norwich Records. ii.a I i !i' i 306 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Mason, as his father and uncb had, in 1859, granted them to John Mascn.* From ♦his time these two men were recognizd as their guardians by the Mohegans; often, however, acting in conjunction with James Fitch, to whom Oweneco had trusteed [December 22d, 1680,] his own private lands on the Quinnebaug.f In 1689, Owe- neco made a confirmation of the above instrument to Daniel Mason alone. Samuel Mason, however, still acted in the same capacity, and was more noted as the friend and defender of the tribe than his brother.l Without the limits of the territory which he had thus reserved to his tribe, Oweneco still sold land, apparently whenever and wherever any one chose to purchase. At one time he conveyed to James Fitch a tract west of the •Q-uinnebaug River estimated at six or seven miles in length by one in breadth. At another time he made over to him a tract north of the township of Norwich, of un- certain length, but of a mile and a half in breadth. Other parcels of similar magnitude were added ; the price of the whole, it would seem, being only sixty pounds. James Fitch appears to have been a different man from his father, the minister ; his nature inclining him far more strongly to the acquisition of land than to th*? giving of it away. The above tracts are but a poi tion of the lands recorded to him in the Norwich records ; and in 1696, he attempted to possess Himself of others in a manner which, with the light we have at present upon it, appears dis- honest and mean. He was, at that time, the town clerk of Norwich, and he took the opportunity afforded by his • New London Records, Vol. VI. t Plainf^.-ld Records. :: History of Norwich, p. 159. ■i y mm^ >,i.>^ «0», iii . i | !ji n iiiiiiii |i " i n * | W i i J W Wf^^ i f OP CONNECTICUT. 307 oftice, to record a large tract of land between the Quin- nebang and Shetucket Rivers to himself. What claim he could alledge is now unknown ; but whatever it was, the tract thus summarily disposed of covered nearly the whole of the three hundred-acre reservation which had been set apart for the " surrenderors," or Shetucket In- dians. The town protested against the record, and Mr. Pitch was probably obliged to resign hs claim. Other persons, however, had trespassed upon the reservation, and it is likely that the Indians were already deprived of a considerable portion of it.* On May, 24th, 1685, the General Court granted to Lyme a tract lying north of that township, nine miles in length by two in breadth. This had hitherto been claimed by the Mohegans ; and long afterwards they asserted, in their petitions to the crown, that for this large tract they had never received any remuneration whatever.f In addition to the grants and sales mentioned above, Oweneco gave [1687] a deed of the country between Stonington and Norwich to a number of whites, for the sum of fifty pounds, to be paid in four annual installments.! Another tract parted with in 1692, measured five miles L,ciuare, and, like the above, was granted to several persons, among whom was Samuel Mason.-§. Between 1698 and 1706, the Mohegan sachem parted with four considerable plots of ground, which were afterwards united into the large to.vnship of Lebanon. In 1699, Colchester was bought by one Nathaniel Foot, who acted as agent on behalf of a company of purchasers. || If we may believe • History of Norwich, pp. 165, 1G6. t Mohegan Petition. t Papers on Towns and Lands, Vol, IV, Document 223. § Norwich Records. || Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 48. *|i Pi ri ■ 1 /; 1 308 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS the subsequent petitions of the Mohegans, this purchase was effected in a manner by no means honest : Oweneco being in liquor at the time, and the only consideration given by Foot being some five or six shillings.* The settlers, however, may have acted on the ground that the Mohegan country was already justly the property of the colony. This purchase took in nearly all of what were called the Mohegan Hunting Grounds,and the town grant was enlarged soon after so as to comprehend them en- tirely; but this last act, it is probable, was not intended to extinguish the Indian right. A quarrel arose, doubt- less on account of these transactions, between the Mohe- gans and the settlers of Colchester, and each inflicted petty insults and injuries upon the other. Daniel Mason took the part of the Indians, and so excited the wrath of the townsmen, that, as he was riding through Colchester one day, some of them threatened to shoot his horse under him.f Another quarrel took place, about the same time, be- tween the Mohegans and the town of New London. The citizens, it seems, passed a vote taking under their juris- diction all the land between the northern limits of their township and the southern limits of that of Norwich. The Mohegans were alarmed, fancying that by this act the whole of their entailed lands were taken away from them. They complained to the General Court, which ordered an investigation of the case at New London, and had the chiefs summoned there to support their own cause. Oweneco, his brother Ben, and his son Mamohet, styling * Mohegan Petition. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 52. ments 76, 77. Towns and Lands, Vol. I, Docu- 1 L_ ■^ ■ iil HI l iJ I , J l jl l I .IK I HU l p i l 1 OP CONNECTICUT. 309 themselves sachems of the Mohegans, made answer to the summons in a letter written by their friend Daniel Mason. They complained of the various encroachments made upon them, and, among others, of two large farms laid out, by order of the colony, for John Winthrop and Gur- don Sallonstall upon the entailed lands. They objected to going to New London, saying that they could see no iise in it ; that, besides, they were afraid to go lest some of the people there should kill them ; and that, if they should send a faithful fiiend who would boldly defend them, he would be in the same danger : instancing in support of their fears the violent language which had been used towards Daniel Mason by the citizens of Colchester.* The selectmen of New London quieted the difficulty by making a declaration, that, in extending the limits of their township over the Mohegan territory, they had no intention of infringing upon the rights of the Indians, but considered that they held the same claim to their lands as before.f But the dissatisfaction of the Mohegans still continued respecting the territory which they had lost in Colchester. They acknowledged indeed that this land had been pur- chased, but they asserted that the manner of the purchase was illegal and its terms unfair : illegal, because made without the consent of Mason their overseer ; unfair, be- cause Ovveneco was intoxicated at the time, and because the price paid bore no proportion to the value of the prop- erty.J Nicholas Hallam, a strong friend of the Mohe- gans, drew up a petition enumerating all their wrongs, • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 52. t Towns and Lands, Vol. I, Doc. 137. t Mohegan Petition. , I *lii , I 1 ! ' I 'I liiiiyi^^ 1 .;1 310 HISTORY or THE INDIANS and presented it to Queen Anne.* A commission was issued [July 29th, 1704,] for the trial of the case, and twelve commissioners were appointed, at the head of whom was Joseph Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts. Dudley was m private life an estimable man ; a lawyer a scholar, a gentleman and a Christian. He was, how- ever stigmatized as the tool of Sir Edmund Andross, and was long regarded as the bitter enemy of the colony of Connecticut. The commissioners were empowered to restore the Mohegans their lands, if it appeared that they had been unjustly taken away ; yet their decision was not irrevocable : an appeal might be had to the crown The court was appointed at Stonington; the Commissioners w^h'T :T"' "^' ''^"^^^"^ ^^ Connecticut, with all persons holding lands claimed by the Mohegans were summoned to appear. In reply, the government of' the colony appointed a committee with the followini. in- inquiry they were to defend the cause of the colony and show the unreasonableness of the Mohegan claims ; if the design or the court appeared to be to decide definitely upon the case they were to enter a protest and with- draw They of course protested, and their protest was founded on the assertion that the crown had no ri^ht to issue such a commission, it being contrarv to a statute of Charles I, ana to the charter of Connecticut.! All sub- jects of the colony were likewise forbidden to present themselves before the court, or in any other manner to acknowledge its authority. Thus no defendants appeared to suj>po^t their case, and Oweneco and his friends Mason ♦ iDdian P„p.r.. Vol. I, Doc. 55. t Tr«mbuII. Vol. I, p. 444. *v ::9iS^^agi^.£^^gi^^^^^ sion was iase, and head of ihasetts. lawyer, IS, how- OSS, and •lony of ered to lat they rt^as not 1. The ssioners 3cticut, legans, lent of ing in- )urt of ly and if the initely with- t was ?ht to lUe of I sub- •esent ler to eared lason or CONNECTICUT. 311 and Hallam had the testimony and the pleading all to themselves. A survey of the original Mohegan country jnst made under the direction of the plaintiffs was brought forward, and compared with the pittance of land which now remained to the tribe.* The tract thus laid down comprehended what may be roughly described as the northern two-thirds of New London County, and the ' southern two-thirds of Windham and Tolland Counties, comprehending not far from eight hundred square miles. It was not claimed, however, that the Mohegans ought now to possess all this territory, but only that portion which they had remai iig to them when the last treaty was made [1680] between Uucas and the colony. The Commissioners went over the circumstances by which, in a space of twenty-two years, the Mohegans had been de- prived of land measuring, as they said, more than forty square miles, almost without receiving any compensation at all. They referred to an enactment of the colony by which Daniel Mason was acknowledged as trustee of the Indian lands, and pointed out the ruimber of grants which had been made of those lands, some by Oweneco, some by the colony, without the concurrence of Mason. The decision was then pronounced, that the Governor and Company of Connecticut should replace the Mohegans in possession of all the lands which they held at the death of Uncas. These consisted of three tracts : one of twenty thousand acres, lying between New London and Norwich ; one of eighteen square miles on the northern bounds of Lyme ; and one which comprised the township of Col- chester. A bill of costs was filed against the colony of ■'I is.i • Mohegan Petition. 29 312 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS £673 125. 8d. Oweneco and Ben Uncas thanked the Commissioners for their decision, expressed their com- plete satisfaction with it, and begged that their acknowl- edgements might be sent to the Queen for her kind care over the Mohegans. Oweneco next requested that, as Saniuel Mason who had acted v^ their guardian was lately deceased, his nephew, John Mason of Stonington might be appointed in his place. John Mason was ac- cordingly appointed guardian to Ou ineco and his people with authority to manage all their affairs. Other com- plaints were now brought forward concerning other tracts of land : one north of Windham ; one called Plainfield • some m Lebanon, and some in Canterbury. The court prohibited all her majesty's subjects from entering upon or improving any of these lands, until a further hearing and decision should be had concerning them. An account of the proceedings, and of tiie complaints still lying against Connecticut, was then drawn up for the crown, and the court adjourned.* Connecticut appealed against the decision, and, on the fifteenth of February, 1706, the queen granted a com- m.ssion of review. John Mason, now the guardian of the Mohegans, fell into a low state of health, so as for several years to be confined to his house. The government of Connecticut had Imle interest in prosecuting the aflair, ann thus the commission was never used.f The colony appointed a committee to treat with Owcneco ; bnt such were the sachem's demands, that the governor rejected them, and the attempt fell through.^ Mason soon found «f tine trml. t Mohegan Pcition. t Coloninl Record-, Vol. IV. t OF CONNECTICUT. 313 himself involved in difficulties, partly through the already confused state of the Mohegan lands, and partly through his own carelessness or dishonesty in deeding the same tracts to different persons. In 1711, therefore, he re- signed his guardianship to William Pitkin and five others, while the colony granted the new overseers lands valued at one thousand pounds, to be laid out in settling with the different claimants.* Grants were still made with true Indian heedlessness by Oweneco, as we find by the records of the neighboring towns. Several of them, too, were without the supervision of the overseers and without any consideration in return. It is very likely that some, if not all, of these last were obtained from the sachem, either while he was intoxicated, or by teasing and impor- tuning him when he was sober. His conduct in parting with so much territory, in a manner so reckless and un- thinking, excited some opposition among his people. Ben Uncas and fifty-four other Mohegans signed a paper [May, 1714,] and had it recorded in the town books of New London, affirming that Oweneco had wrongfully sold a great part of their lands, and declaring that they consigned what was left to Gurdon Saltonstall, Captain John Mason, Joseph Stanton, Colonel William Whiting and John EUiot.f One of the deeds granted by Oweneco reflects no great honor upon his character for sobriety. Being very drunk one night, he fell out of a canoe and would have been drowned, had not two settlers, named John Plumb and Jonathan King, pulled him senseless out of the water. • Indion Papers, Vol. I, Document 136. t New London Records. I' m 314 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS . . • , ^ ^ y^^'^- -ine brave warnor who n h.s youth and early „,a„hood, fought gallantly agai 1; Z!ZTt'- "^ ""'''""'''' '"«' NarraganLt,; be came t„ h,s old age a mere vagabond. With his blat^ket, his gun hts sqttavv, and a pack on his back, he used ofte, At h,s o d fnends and acquaintances he was generallj made welcome, and established himself, durin. h's sTav - the k,.chen or some of the o.u-house;. T„°strl ,gerl' who were unable to understand his imperfect Engli h he written for him by a settler named Bushnell. " 0<"">. king, hi« queen d„,|, ^^^^ To beg a Utile food j As ihey go along his friend, among To try how kind, how lood. " ^™' P"'!". *>me beef, for cheir relief. And if you can't spare bread She'll , hank you for pu.ldi„g, nJ .hey go a goodin,. And carry u on her head." -"he last line refers to an Indian mode of carrying bur- SledT^"""^' " '''• ""''"« 0-™ •"« '-1 and supported by a strap passi.,g over the forehcad.f Oweneco had three sons, Josiah, Ma.nohet, (or as the Engish settlers usually called it, Mahomet,) nd ell; Josiah and Mainohct died before their father, and uZL • Indian Papers. Vol. I, Document 53. t iliBlory of Norwich, p. J 70. OP CONNECTICUT. 315 het, the son of Mamohet, being still a child, his uncle Cesar, on the death of Oweneco, assumed the sachemship.* Cesar's reign was equally disturbed with his father's by- land disputes between his tribe and the colony. The Mohegans were on the point of again applying to the crown, when the General Court appointed a committee empowered to hear and settle the complaints of the In- dians, and to remove all persons from the lands who held them by no legal right. This committee, Messrs. Wads- worth and Hall, examined the case at Mohegan, and de- cided [1721] substantially in favor of the white claimants. They allowed nearly all of the . English claims which were presented ; assigned the Hunting Grounds to Col- chester ; the tract stretching from the Niantic to the Con- necticut to Lyme, and three-quarters of the Sequestered Landsf to the various persons who had obtained deeds of them. Between four and five thousand acres which re- mained were granted to the Mohegans, and were entailed in their possession as long as a single one of them should remain in existence.^: This decision was ratified by the government of Connecticut, and thus ended the proceed- ings resulting from the complaint which Hallam had pre- sented seventeen years before to the crown. Few records lemain concerning the Mohegans, duruig the period over which we have now passed, except those which refer to their lands. We know, however, that, as in some of the other tribes of Connecticut, individuals among them assisted in the wars against the French of ii- 'i '' iiM'l •i| ihll i • Mohrgnn Petition. t Thnt is, ihe landf ntailed by the first John M:tson. t Colonial Records, Vol. V; Mohcgnn Petition. 20* ■,jM 316 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Canada ; joining the regular contingents of the colony in the character of scouts, and receiving out of the public treasury pay of from fifteen to twenty shillings a month. In 1703, they were offered a bounty of ten pounds for every hostile Indian whom they should take prisoner * In the year following the warriors of the tribe were estimated at one hundred and fifty, which, in the propor- tion of one to five, would give a total population of seven hundred and fifty. It was said that no less than one hun- dred of this number were in the military service of the colony during this same year.f As to the religious condition of the Mohegans, little was done at this period to instruct them in the Christian %ith. We hear nothing of the little band of praying In- dians, and only knov^ that they had been left without a teacher by the death [in 1702] of their excellent friend the Rev. James Fitch. In May, 1717, the '' business of gospelizmg the Indians" was brought before the General Court. The subject was deferred until the October session, and the Governor and Council were req,iested to consider, m the mean time, what might be the best means for effecting the proposed end. In October, Governor Saltonstall sent in a message, on the subject, which was well worthy of coming from the pen of a Christian states- man. After pointing out several methods of preventing and restraining the vicious habits of the Indians he ret commended that the English population should be urged to do their part towards drawing the natives from bar- barism, by exemplifying ,n their own conduct the excel- lencies of civilization.it On the hints furnished in this • Col. Rec, Vol. m. i Mohegau Petitioa. , i„di.„ P„pe„. Vol. III. Doc. 88. : !m^iSiimmm::i:m OF CONNECTICUT. 317 letter, an act for the promotion of civilization and Chris- tianity among the Indians was framed and passed. The authorities of each town were ordered to convene the In- dians within their jurisdiction, make known to them the laws existing against such crimes and immoralities as they were likely to commit, and inform them that they were as much exposed to the penalties of a violation of those laws as were his majesty's subjects. To prevent drunken- ness and its attendant evils it was enacted, that whoever should sell strong drink to an Indian might be tried before any justice of the peace, and, on conviction, be fined twenty shillings for every oifense. To encourage in- dustry it was recommended that the Indians should be gathered into villages, and their lands no longer left com- mon, biif divided among the different families.* Such were the provisions of this act, sensible and ex- cellent ; but alas ! there is no proof and no probability that they were ever thoroughly carried into effect. Some rumsellers may have been prosecuted ; some Indians may have been told that there were laws against stealing and fighting ; but no division was made of lands, no well- governed villages were formed, and no check was put to the decline of the native population. h\ October, 1722, it was represented to the Assembly that the acts forbidding private purchases of land from the Indians had been broken repeatedly and with impunity. A new enactment was passed, inflicting a fine of fifty pounds upon whoever should make such purchases in future, or should sell lands which had in this manner been already acquired.f In 1724, also, an act of 1702 • Colonial Record^, Vol. V, ami Indian Papers, Vol. II, Doc.iment 87. t Colonial Records, Vol. V. li I! •'• Wi 318 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS n * i I recoverable m any court.* These various laws of course apij.ed ,0 the other tribes in the colony a, well a^ ." Mohegans, and may be kept in mind while reading the subsequent chapters. <'«u'iis me In ir23, died Cesar the son of Oweneco, after hacins for eight years, been the sachem of Mohegan. The right' M he,r to the throne now, was Mamohet the grandson of Oweneco by his eldest son, also called Mamohet A„ mfant when his father died, he was still a boy or at 21^7 ''"""t™™'/"" -d-^'-ge was taken of his youth to deprive h.m of the sachemship. Ben Uncas youngest brother of Oweneco, and illegitimate son o t^e' great Uncas, must now have been an old man; ye „„ old enough, u seems, to have laid aside the lov^ of dig- nuy and power. On the death of Cesar, he became a competuor wuh Mamohet for the sachemship, and eve' hreate d, as the Indians reported, to put his ';pone death A general council of the tribe v a. held, where he claims of the two rivals were discussed and disputed made. The Assembly declared itseSf in favor of Ben •+ Mason also supported him, perhaps to prevent a quarrd between the Mohegans and the colony ; .md MamoZ hopeless of overcommg such opposition, or fearful of Ben's vengeance, gave up the contest and resigned his claim. Major Ben Uncas, as he was commonly called, was there- fore crowned sachem, and had his election ratified by an act of the Assembly.J ' • Indta P.po,., Vol. I, D<,c„„„„, 1,5. , M„heg.„ relilion. t Colonial Records, Vol. V. OF CONNECTICUT. 319 The controversy respecting the Mohegan lands, which snemed to be settled in 1721, was soon revived. John Mason was by no means satisfied with the decision then made by the .assembly's committee : yet he would not probably have contested it had it not been for the ill- advised, though, perhaps, not singular parsimony of the colony. The expenses of the commission of 1705 had been large, and Mason, as the friend and guardian of the Indians, had stood responsible for their proportion of them. This was, of course, in expectation that the decision of the court would be fulfilled, and that then the Mohegans would be able to repay him out of the proceeds of the re- covered lands. All such hopes being finally crushed by the proceedings of the committee of 1721, Mason seems to have resolved to appeal for justice to the General Court. In 1 722, he applied for copies of the records relating to the Mohegans, and, in October of the following year, pre- sented a memorial of his grievances and a petition for redress. He stated the charges of Governor Dudley's court at £573 12s. Sd., part of which he had already paid, and for the remainder had made himself responsible. He represented the injustice of the people of Lyme and Col- chester being allowed to retain the large tracts which they had acquired, without making the Indians any compen- sation for them. Finally, he requested that he might again have the care of the Mohegans and their lands, with permission to live among them and cultivate such a tract as they were willing to allot him* The Court made no reply to the first part of the memorial, but granted the rest in full. He was authorized to take charge of the • Indian Paper?, Vol. f, Documents 121, 122. *).'.': I i,H*"J i-: ■ ! I 320 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Indians, 3hool affairs of the Indians, and was requested among them, and to make them acquainted with the liature of the Christian religion. " This," says the reso- IntiOD, « is in consideration of the respect justly due to the name of Captain Mason, ancestors; to the great trust which the Mohegans have had in them ; to the confidence which they repose in him, and to his knowledge of their language and iiutiineis."* Ben Uncas, his council and tribe, had already [August 23d, 1723,] chosen Mason their guardian, and confirmed the office to him and to his heirs forever. He now applied to them for permission to live among them, and for a tract of their land for his own use. These requests were instantly granted, for the love of the great body of the Mohegans to the Mason family was hereditary and unfading. Mason accordingly moved from Stonington to Mohegan, and for some years acted as the teacher of the Mohegans: the General Court granting him, at one time, fifteen pounds for his services in that capacity.f He still complained, however, of the injustice of being obliged to pay the costs of a court which the colony re- fused to obey ; and being unwilling, and indeed unable, to extort so large a sum from the Mohegans, he made another effort to obtain it from the colony. He presented [May, 1725,] a second memorial, asking that the decision of Dudley's court might either be fulfilled, or some other method taken of liquidating the expenses which had accrued to h'm from it, as well a., the losses which he had sustained by .vaiting twenty years. He asserted that an obligation to pay the costs of the court had been given to • Colonial Rcc, Vol. V. t Indian Papers. Vol. I, Doc. 153 Col. Rec. V. '^t^^^i»M«i^' X^iJSii«a»Ma.*.^f .•t-KMfit- >. < W^ ".-^Cl;.!!. OF CONNECTICUT. 321 Oweneco by the colony in 1706, but had unfortunately been lost, so that he could not produce it. A deed was also made out for himself in the same year, he said, con- veying to him seven hundred pounds in silver money to defray the above expenses.* On this memorial a committee was appointed, which reported in May of the following year. It objected to two hundred and seventy-two pounds of the costs which Mason had charged, and stated that no proof existed of either the deed or the obligation which he mentioned. The committee also brought up against Mason the resig- nation of the trusteeship of the Mohegan lands which he made in 1710, and the one thousand pounds which were then paid by the colony to satisfy those who claimed lands of him. The report was approved by the General Court, and the petition remained ungranted.f In the spring or summer of 1726, the old sachem died, and was succeeded by his son, also named Ben Uticas, to the prejudice of the rights of Mamohet. Some opposition was made to him by part of the tribe ; but he was pub- licly invested with the office after the Mohegan fashion, and his election was ratified by the Court. One of Ben's first acts of sovereignty was to give a power of attorney to one of his people, Jo Weebuck, to collect the rents and herbage of the land from the English tenants by whom some portions of it were cultivated.^ In the mean time. Mason, unsatisfied with the decision of the colony, was endeavoring to form a party among the Mohegans to support him in obtaining what he considered * Indian Papers, Vol. I, Documpnt 12f). t Ibid. t Indian Papers, Vol. T, Dr.rnniPiiti' 127. 128. 12D. f II , . i' ( i^ 322 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS his rights. Ben Uncas and a few others remained firm to Connecticut, but the family name and personal influence of Mason succeeded in bringing over the greater part of the tribe. In this little community, therefore, two factions were now formed, which continued for thirty or forty years to oppose each other, with a violence and pertinacity that would have done honor to bigger parties in a bigger state. Be 1 Uncas, finding his authority disturbed by this circumstance, became as much opposed to Mason, and as anxious to destroy his influence, as the government of Connecticut could wish. He twice petitioned that other overseers might be appointed for the tribe, although both his father and himself had granted that office, in per- petuity, to; the family of Mason. The General Court accordingly passed [October, 1726,] a resolution, confirm- ing Ben Uncas as sachem of the Mohegans, and appoint- ing John Hall and James Wadsworth as his guardians. It was enacted, at the same time, that persons holding lands on the tract sequestered to the Mohegans by John Mason in 1671, should not be allowed to plead even fifteen years possession for their claim ; but should still hold them merely as tenants of the Indians, unless they could prove them to have been fairly and legally purchased.* In October, 1730, three guardians, James Wadsworth, Stephen Whittelsey and Samuel Lynde, were appointed,' with authority to lease the Indian land to English tenants.' Two years afterwards, the guardians then chosen were authorized to prosecute those tenants who refused to quit the lands when their leases expired ; for which object the sum of five pounds might be drawn from the public • Colonial Record', Vol. V. Indian Papers, Vol. I, Dooumento 129, 130. a>UUUlWti9K«t^JftWIUKseMII OF CONNECTICUT. 323 if treasury. In 1730, a like sum was allowed for the purpose of prosecuting intruders. The rents were received by- Ben Uncas in right of his dignity as sachem.* Mason, though deprived of the overseership, still con- tinued to live on the Mohegan lands. Believing still thai he was wronged by the colonial government, and still claiming to be the rightful guardian of the tribe, he re- solved to carry his case before the crown. Finding Ben wholly intractable and bitterly opposed to him, he sup- ported the claims of Mamohet to the sachemship, and in- duced a great part of the tribe to follow his example. In 1735, taking with him his son, Samuel Mason, and Ma- mohet, now a full grown man, he sailed to England, and laid a memorial of the case of the Mohegan lands before George the Second. The king referred it to the Lords Commissioners on foreign trade and plantations. They reported that an order of review of the case had been given in 1706 ; and proposed that another should now be granted, the expense of which, out of consideration for the poverty of the Mohegans, should be paid by the crown. Before the commission was made out. Mason died in England. His two sons, John and Samuel, now claimed the guardianship, upon the authority of the deeds making over that office to their father and his descendants in perpetuity. A few weeks after the death of Mason, he was followed to the grave by Mamohet, probably the only Indian sagamore who was ever buried in England.f A few months previous to this event, the Mohegans, while holding a great dance, had put it to the vote 'i I } I * Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 154. t This passage is collected from the Muhegan Petition!. 30 - J r m M V '{ ! 324 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS whether Mamohet or Ben Uncas was their true sachem, and had decided unanimously in favor of the former. On hearing of the death of their favorite, they set up in his place John Uncas, a cousin of Ben, and son of that John who was the next oldest brother to Oweneco. Hardly a dozen, and sometimes less, remained firm to Ben, while the great body of the tribe, which then numbered eighty or one hundred men, followed John and the Masons.* Both parties drew up and signed memorials which still remain. The memorial of Ben Uncas was presented to his guardians. It complained that Captain John Mason, lately deceased, had opposed the rightful authority of Ben Uncas, and had encouraged the Mohegans to set up a rival against him, their true sachem. It asserted that, Mason being dead, the lands on which he had lived ought to return into the possession of the tribe. He had come among them on pretense of keeping a school, and, in fact, had performed the duties of a teacher for about three years. His lands, therefore, ought now to revert to the tribe, and be leased to some pious person who would un- dertake the same office. 3eu also complained that the heirs of Captain Daniel Fitch were encroaching on his lands.f The other memorial made various complaints against Ben Uncas, and asked that the widow and children of Captain Mason might rernrin on the lands of the tribe until Samuel Mason could reti..n from England.^ In reply to these petitions, the General Court directed the three guardians to go to Mohegan and do all they » Indian Popers, Vol. I, Doc. 173. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 157. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 158. OF CONNECTICUT. 325 could to settle the quarrels of the Indians. They were also to see that their rights were preserved to them, their fields well fenced, and their corn protected from the cattle of the neighboring farmers. On the fourteenth of June, 1737, a commission of re- view upon the affairs of the M. .hegans was made out in England, appointing as Commissioners the Governor and Assistants of Rhode Island, and the Lieutenant Governor and Members of New York. The government of Con- necticut, seeing the storm approaching, began its prepara- tions to meet it. An important point, on which the fate of the trial might turn, wao the question as to who was the true sachem of the Mohegans. If Ben Uncas could retain the name and authority of that office, he might perhaps render the proceedings of the proposed court nugatory, by refusing to acknowledge Samuel Mason as the agent of the tribe, and by declaring that the Mohegans had no cause of complaint against the colony. The greater part of the Indians were, indeed, violently opposed to Ben ; but a favorable opportunity now offered to induce them to acknowledge his title. A report was abroad that the. eastern Indians were coming to attack them, and the Mo- hegar.d therefore applied to the colony for protection. Tne governor replied that he would protect none but their lawful sachem, Ben Uncas, and those who submitted to his government* A paper acknowledging Ben as the true sachem of the tribe was drawn up, and was presented • My only authority for this ptatenient is a Mohegan Petition. Without these petitions it is imposaibie to trace a connected narrntive. I must in honesty give warning, however, that they may contain exaggrralions and even falsehoods. Yet I hnve taken pains to reject those passages, the truth of which appcani evidently duubtfui. t ) 11 Si 326 HISTORY or THE INDIANS Tor the marks of those who, on this condition, would accept of the protection of Connecticut. Fifty-eight In- dians signed it, among whom was Ben Uncas himself, and John Uncas, either his rival or his rival's son.* That Ben Uncas should sign a paper acknowledging himself as sa- chem is very absurd ; and that John Uncas should sign the same paper, with a knowledge of its contents, is very improbable. The explanation is not dilficult, and is given us in full by the testimony of Jonathan Barber, at that time missionary among the Mohegans. He assigns three reasons for believing that tlie signers of the above paper knew little or nothing of its meaning. In the first place, many of them had, a short time before, asserted openly in conversation, that Ben Uncas was not their sachem. In the second, some of them insisted that Ben himself should sign the paper, which was inconsistent with the nature of it. Finally, many of them afterwards declared that they supposed the object of their signing to be, to show how many Mohegans were ready to join in the war which was expected to take place against the French, the Mohawks and the eastern Indians.f Another method of strengthening the hands of Ben was to send for his son, then an indented apprentice in Massa- chusetts, and marry him to Ann, the daughter of the former sachem Cesar. His master, Samuel Russell of Shcrburn, refused to give him up without being satisfied for that part of his apprenticesliip which was still unex- pired. Forty pounds were paid for this object, ten pounds more for the ex])enses of the messenger, and young Ben • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Documpnt 17.1, pp .17, 38. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Documeni 173, pp. 43, 44. I OI" CONNECTICUT. 327 I was brought home to Mohegan and married to Ann as had been proposed.* The precaution was also taken of obtaining a deed from the Mohegans ; acknowledging that the colony had always behaved towards them with justice ; disclaiming the com- plaint which had lately been made to the king, and re- leasing all persons concerned from the consequences of the decision of Dudley's court. Fifty pounds, it was said by the enemies of the colony, were given for this settle- ment ; yet such was the influence of the Masons that only eighteen of the tribe, including the sachem, could be in- duced to sign it. A large number of the others met the next day, formally protested against what had been done, disclaimed Ben Uncas as their sachem, and denied that he had any righf to release their demands.f The meeting of the court being now at hand, John Richards, one of the overseers, was ordered to provide Ben Uncas with suitable clothing to appear before the com- missioners. We may be allowed to infer from this circum- stance, that the sachem was ordinarily somewhat ragged and dirty in his equipments ; and, if such was the condi- tion of the chief, who claimed and received all the rents of the lands, what must have been the situation vf the people ! Another resolution of the General Court directed that the commissioners should be properly and honorably rewarded for the expense and trouble which would ne- cessarily ensne to them in the discharge of their duty.J On the fourth of June, 1738, the court convened at Norwich, almost in the midst of the disputed territory, * Indian PnpcrB, Vol. I, DocutnentH 23fi, 237. t Mohegan Petition. t Coloninl Records, Vol. VI. 80* .i,;i 328 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS and only a few miles from the wigwams of the Mohegans. luc Commissioners were nine in number: Philip Oort- landt and Daniel Horsmanden, members of the New York council, and the Governor and six Assistants of the colony of Rhode Island. Of the others httle is at present known • but Horsmanden was at different times chief justice of the colony of New York, president of the council and recorder of the city.* The Mason party had retained as counsel for the Mo- hegans William Shirley, advocate-general of New Eng- land, and afterwards governor' of Massachusetts, and Wil- liam BoUan, a distinguished lawyer, son-in-law of Shirley, and also, at one time, advocate-general of New England' Phihp Cortlandt was chosen president, and the court en- tered upon Its business. The governor and council of Con- necticut, the sachem and heads of the Mohegan tribe, and the persons holding disputed lands, were now summoned. When the chief sachem of the Mohegans was called, Ben Uncas rose and replied that he was chief sachem, and was immediately followed by John Uncas, who asserted that he was chief sachem. The court decided to settle tfiis point before proceeding further ; and nine persons of the vicinity, well acquainted among the Mohegans, were sum- moned and examined as to which was the rightful claimant. They all testified that John was descended from the second son of old Uncas ; that Ben was de- sceiKied from a younger son, who was supposed to be Illegitimate : that, in consequence, John Uncas was the true and lawful sachem of Mohegan. The Rhode Island commissioners, who from the first showed a ducid'.d m- * Allen's Biographical Dictionary. or CONNECTICUT. 329 clination to favor Connecticut, were still unsatisfied, and Shirley and Bcllan proposed that the Mohegans who were then present might be. brought in as additional witnesses. The greatest part of the tribe was probably there, but the proposition being put to the vote, a majority of the court decided against it. Horsmanden considered this decision so unjust that he openly dissented. I'his was on the tenth of June.* On the following day the examination of witnesses was continued ; and Thomas Stanton the interpreter,! Captain John Morgan a firm friend of the Mohegans, and Jonathan Barber, then missionary among them, testified in favor of John Uncas. Shirley and Bollan now moved again that the testimony of the Mohegans might be taken, fir«=t for Ben Uncas, afterwards for John. The Rhode Island com- missioners refused, and Horsmanden again dissented from the refusal. J On the thirtecntli of June, a majority of the court de- cided, in face of all the evidence, that Ben Uncas was the rightful sachem of Mohegan. Horsmanden once more dissented, and was joined by Cortlandt, ijiscolh^ague from New York. The case was now in a singular position. The sachem and people of Mohegan were complaining against the colony of Connecticut ; Ben Uncas was the acknowledged sachem of Mohegan ; and Ben Uncas de- clared that neither he nor his tribe had any cause of com- plaint against the colony. The first thing that this ex- traordinary plaintiff did was, to dismiss Sherman and Bollan from their post as couusel for the Mohegans, and • See Indian Pnf t'rs, Vol, I, Document l?*?. t Son of tiiat Thoma** Slfliuon who wns intrrprrtor in the early days of th« colony. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 173. i: 1 'M rLaLar^^ I I, I 330 HISTORY or THE INDIANS ask that three Connecticut men whom he named might be chosen in their place. This was carried, and Messrs. Edwards, Curtiss and Lee were accordingly installed as advocates to manage the case against the colony. To counteract this move, Shirley and Bollan proposed that Samuel Mason, son of the deceased John Mason, should be admitted as the guardian of the Mohegans. This was refused, and Horsmanden dissented. They mored that the Mohegans might choose their own advocates. It was denied. They moved that these motions and refusals might be recorded among the proceedings. It was re- fused. The New York commissioners dissented, and re- quested that their dissents might be entered. It was voted down. Shirley and Bollan, seeing that their presence was completely useless, returned to Boston. On the following day, Cortlandt and Horsmanden brought in a protest against the proceedings of the court; calling the defense of the colony unfair and collusive ; observing that the prosecution was in part conducted by members of the government of Connecticut ; and expressing their entire dissatisfaction. Having laid this protest on the table, they left the court and returned to New York.* The remaining commissioners now appointed John Wanton, governor of Rhode Island, as president. The defense of the colony being called for, various documents were brought forward, and, among others, the deed of 1640. This deed, it will be remembered, represents Uncas as passing away nearly his whole territory, amounting to seven or eiglit hundred square miles, for nothing, and re- ceiving a present of five and a half yards of cloth and a • See Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 17. 'J. i : i'iaiaiaiMii»^ iiiSii ;.*i*a*eii>;*:!«ia«» OP CONNECTICUT. 333 Uncas, on the contrary, was head of the youngest branch of the royal family, and that branch, too, generally be- lieved to be illegitimate. Descent among the Indians was mfluenced by the mother, not by the father,- and the mother of Ben Uncas was not a woman of royal blood. John Uncas, therefore, was the true sachem of Mohegan . in spite of the fact that his rival had obtained the cere- mony of installation. Mason, too, should have been the guardian, Sherman and Bollan the advocates, of the plain- tifts • not some persons who were chosen by the de- fendants. It was a new thing indeed, as the complainants said, that one of the parties in a suit at law should be guardian and adviser for the other. Finally, the last treaty made with Uncas provided that when any Mohegan land was taken for the use of the' colony, a compensation should be made such as the parties could agree upon. Yet not a penny appears to have been paid for the eighteen square miles absorbed into Lyme • nor more than a few shillings for the still larger tract taken up by the township of Colchester. These lands, therefore If no others, ought to have been paid for or restored. ' The costs of the trial had been considerable to Connec- ticut, and some of the items preserved in the records are not unworthy of notice. ^ One James Harris sent in two bills for expenses incurred in keeping up among the Mo- hegans a party favorable to the colony. The first con- sisted of £8 5s. lOd. in clothes and other articles for Joshua and Samuel Uncas. Simon Choychoy and Zachary Johnson. The second was for expenses incurred while remaining personally among the Mohegans and endeav- oring to keep them in a good humor. One of the items . !' l' 334 HIST0R7 OF THE INDIANS in this last was £10 13s. 7d. "for feasting the Indians at their meeting for the revocation :" aUuding to the council where the quit-claim or release was assented to by the party of Ben Uncas. The entire bills of Harris amounted to over one hundred and ninety-three pounds, but the General Court finally allowed him only one hundred.* . Difficulties soon arose between Ben and some of the people of Norwich, and he complained to the Court that encroachments were made on the lands which had so lately been reserved to him. The guardians. Wadsworth, Lynde and Richards, were therefore commissioned to as- certain the bounds of Mohegan, and assist the sachem in maintaining them against in'- ^ers.f After the close of the coui 1738, John and Samuel Mason were commissioned b> .leir party among the Mo- hegans to present an appeal to the crown. The memorial was written, signed and sent over to England, with a report from Cortlandt and Horsmanden of the irregular proceedings which had caused their withdrawal from the court. The Lords Justices accordingly set aside the de- cision, and granted a new commission, [January, 1741,] empowering the governor and council of New York and the governor and council of Naw Jersey to try the cause. An appeal might be made to the king's privy council, and then the litigation was to be settled forever.J These events being known in Connecticut, prepara- tions were made to meet the trial ; committees appointed, advocates hired, and agents chosen to represent the colony * Indian Papers, Vol. II. Colonial Records, Vol. VII. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc'ts. 217, 218. t Mohegan Petition. 1 t a o V n -'■^tmtiae.^^matiK.^^tmmtm-^r'i.^- ■ ■ '.-r ^'''' ''ai^^i^dmismi^iMlii^mmiLAMiti^ OF CONNECTICUT. 335 before the expected court. Ben Uncas now did what had never before been done by a Mohegan sachem : after ^ des r,„g that h,s appomtments might be mtified. That body of course assented to a request so obsequious, and so hegans. The names of the councilors exhibit the curious mixture of native and English cognomens now prev^ among ,he Indians. They were, " old Wambawaug d Jo Py, Joshua Uncas, Simon Chawchaw, Samnef p' Samson Occom, Ephraim Johnson and John Wambl: waug. A paper was also presented, signed by Ben a„r<5 '''f " '"^'"™"°"^ ™d misrep,.sentations of John and Samuel Mason.". This paper probably exhibits the Whole strength of the colonial party among the Mohegans dred mTn '"'" """''""^ °'"""' """" ""« h""' fro^l'V"' V "',!' "^7 "'■ ^"'^' "^^' fi™ """mis^ioners from New York and New Jersey held their firs, meeting a. N„rw,ch Two of them were Philip Cortlandt, the president of the former court, and Daniel Horsmanden, who had made hunself so conspicuous by his opposition to the members from Rhode Island. Another was '!ad- walader Golden, historian of the Six Nations ; a physician a botanist and an astronomer; formerly surveyor-general of New York, and now a member of itscouncil. A fourth was Lewis Morris, first governor of New Jersey, an old man of seventy-one summers. The little town of Nor- wrch was filled to overflowing with strangers, some of ' Indian Papers, Vol. I, Dr-^ 31 ^nf 21 '5. Colonial Records, Vol. VII, ^n ^^ik■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/ fe /- l/j k 1.0 I.I l^|2^ 12.5 S S^ 12.2 lU lU L25 i 1.4 2.0 1.6 ^ <%' y. A r>^> ^^ ^. /a "m Photographic Sciences Corporation <^ ..-is 1 ^ct v ^% ;\ 33 WIST MAIN STKIIT WIISTH.N.Y. 14510 (716) 37)-4S03 I/. 336 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I IF * P m whom were personally interested in the proceedings, others attracted thither by curiosity. All the officers of the government and many of the distinguished men of the colony were present. The whole tribe of the Mohegans was quartered on the inhabitants, and the two rival sa- chems exerted themselves each to support the greatest state. John Uncas and his followers were entertained by their friends, the Lathrops, the Leffingwells, and other principal inhabitants of Norwich. Ben Uncas was sup- ported mostly at the expense of the colony, and was hon- ored with the notice of the chief officers of government.* Four parties, John Uncas, Ben Uncas, the colony of Con- necticut, and the holders of the disputed lands, appeared in court, each represented by its own attorney. The counsel of John Uncas was the same William Bollan who had served him, five years before, in conjunction with Governor Shirley. The sheriff was commanded to sum- mon the Mohegans individually, and inquire of them who was their rightful sachem. He returned from his duty, saying that he had interrogated ninety-nine; that twenty- two of them had declared for Ben Uncas ; that the other seventy-seven had denied Ben, and pronounced for his rival, John Uncas.f The case was argued at length by the council for the colony. They stated, in the first place, that the Mo- hegans were not originally a distinct and independent people, but only a fragment of the Pequots which had been rescued from servitude and rendered numerous and powerful by the friendship of the Knglish. Thus they had properly no territory of their own, and what rights to • History of Norwich, pp. ICI, 16.1. t Molirgnn Petition. f OP CONNECTICUT. 337 land they could claim were passed away by Uncas's deed of 1640. Another deed had been obtained, in 1659, by Mason, not as trustee of the Indians, but as an agent of the colony of Connecticut of which he was then deputy governor. Less than a year after, he made over all the lands thus obtained to the colony, so that his subsequent reservation of a considerable portion of them to the Mo- hegans was illegal and worthless. The lands in dispute had thus twice been bought in the mass, and had after- wards been purchased in tracts by individuals. The In- dians, of themselves, weie perfectly satisfied, and only made trouble, because they were incited to do so by selfish and designing men. The territory in question had been held by its present possessors many years, and as these now amounted to five or six hundred persons, much suffering would be produced by ejecting them from their lands. They protested against the claims of John and Samuel Mason to the guardianship of the Mohegans, and asserted that no person could exercise that office without the consent of the colony. Finally, they denied that the authority of the court could extend further than to such lands as the sachems had in their sales reserved to them- selves.* Bollan spoke on the part of the complainants. He denied that the Mohegans had ever sold their land in the mass to the colony. On the contrary, they had trusteed it to their faithful friend, John Mason, to keep it for them from the greediness and cunning of many of the English. When Mason grew old and was about to die, he had re- turned the greater part of it to the tribe, and the sachems • Indian Papers, Vol. II. Mohegan Petition. Defense of the colony, mm. 338 HISTORY OF THK INDIANS I : ' {| I had, after his decease, transferre(' it to the care of his chil- dren. In that family it had always continued, and in that family, by the will of the Mohegans, it still remained. John and Samuel Mason had been noticed as guardians of the tribe in the last royal commission of review. The government of Connecticut had no right whatever to appoint overseers for a free people, like the Mohegans, especially in such a conjuncture as the present. It was an unheard-of thing for one of the parties in an important law suit, or any law suit at all, to make itself guardian and adviser for the other. His clients denied that Bea Uncas was sachem, and acknowledged no one for that post but John Uncas. They repudiated most of the grants which were alleged to have been made since the death of the great Uncas ; and they contended that all papers re- lating to transactions between the Indians and the English ought to be interpreted in the sense most favorable to the former, because the whites, who drew them up, would naturally state them as advantageously as possible for themselves. As for the length of time which the lands had been held by the present tenants, that was not plead- able against the Indians, who, being independent, were not subject to English law. And, besides, when the de- cision of 1705 was given in their favor, few of the tenants had been in possession long, and some of them had not entered upon the lands, or acquired any claim to them at all.* ' The trial dragged on for a long time, and an immense amount of evidence on every point bearing any relation to the case was brought up and examined. On the sixth • Mohegnn Petition. Il or CONNECTICUT. 339 day of the court, Captain Lee, counsel for Ben Uncas, begged a hearing on behalf of his client. It was granted J upon which he produced a paper signed by Ben Uncas, a^ sachem of the Mohegans, and by ten of his people. It was a release to the government and people of Connec- ticut from the present trial, acknowledging that all the material assertions in their defense were true, and de- claring that they held legal and honorable possession of the territory now in litigation.* Several days after the court had been opened, the holders of the disputed lands protested against the pro- ceedings, denied that they were complained against by those who had a right to complain, and prayed to be dis- missed. BoUan replied that the tenants held lands once belonging to the Mohegans; that the Mohegans had charged them with obtaining those lands unfairly ; and that it was their busir.ess to repel that charge and the proofs which were alleged in its support by substantial facts. The tenants denied the power of the crown to in- stitute such a court as was now sitting ; but the commis- sioners overruled the denial. The tenants finally made a declaration, that they held their titles by fair Indian grants, obtained for money, goods and valuable articles paid to the native owners.f On the twenty-sixth of July, seventeen day? after the opening of the court, the commissioners had finished all the evidence, heard all the pleas ; and three out of the five, Golden, Rodman and Cortlandt, pronounced a de- cision in favor of the colony. They went over the whole history of land transactions between the Mohegans and • Mohegan Petition. 31* t Mohpgin Petition. II! 340 niSTORT or THE INDIANS the people of Connecticut ; allowed the truth of all, or nearly all, that had been urged by the advocates of the latter ; expressed their belief that the Indians would not have retained a foot of land had it not been for the inter- ference of the colonial government ; mentioned that the Mohegans now had, secured to them, a tract of four oi five thousand acres, and declared that with this they ought to be satisfied * Lewis Morris than rose, and stated that his opinion differed in some particulars from that of Messrs. Golden, Rodman and Cortlandt. He considered the deed of 1640 to be the genuine work of Uncas ; but, from its tenor, and from s:it ent transactions, he regarded it as only giving thf Conr.ecticut people a pre-emption right to the lands therein mentioned, to the exclusion of the other English and of the Dutch. As to the surrender of the Mohegan lands by Mason to Connecticut, he thought it could not have been his intention to convey to the colony the ownership of t'le lands, but only to enable it to ex- ercise its jnrisdictive power within the limits of the ter- ritory. His opinion on the whole case he would reserve until the next meeting of the court.f Finally rose Horsir .nden ; not a whit more friendly to the government of Connecticut now than he had been five years before. He differed widely, he said, from Mr. Morris, as well as from Messrs. Golden, Rodman and Cort- landt. He had carefully examined the deed of 1640, and had compared the several exhibits made of it with each other. He did not believe that the marks on it were those of Uncas and his councilor, nor that the name of the in- • Mohegan Petition. t Mohegan Petition. i OF CONNECTICUT. 341 terpreter, Thomas Stanton, which was appended to it, was written by Thomas Stanton himself. He believed the whole instrument, with its marks and signatures, to be the work of one man. Governor Hopkins of Connec- ticut. And even if the deed had been genuine, such were the transactions subsequent to it that they ought to render it null. Having delivered this extraordinary opinion, as much out of the way on one hand as that of Golden, Rodman and Cortlandt could possibly oe on the other, Horsman- den, like Morris, reserved his decision on the entire case until the next meeting of the court. It was now carried, by a vote of three against two, that the judgment of the majority should be drawn up. The court then adjourned to the fifth of November, 1743. On the day appointed the commissioners met, and the statement of the case made out by Golden, Rodman and Gortlandt was read, closing with the following decision. The decree of Governor Dudley and his colleagues, de- livered September 3d, 1705, is wholly revoked, except as to that pan of the Sequestered Lands, amounting to be- tween four and five thousand acres, which has been laid out by the colony of Gonnecticut for the Mohegan In- dians, and which is now reserved to them as long as they exist. Bollan, on the part of John Uncas and his people, then presented an appeal from the decision of the court to that of the king's privy council. The commissioners accepted it, although the agents of the colony objected that it was signed by Bollan, who, they still insisted, had no right to act as the advocate of the Mohegans. 342 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS Morris rose and stated that he had not been able to prepare his opinion, because the clerk had neglected to send him the exhibits of the case. Horsmanden then read his opinion at length ; but such was its character, that the commissioners, by a vote of three to two, refused to record it. He protested against the refusal, and de- clared that he would forward the opinion to the Lords Commissioners on foreign trade and plantations, to whom all colonial matters were usually referred.* He kept his promise : the appeal of the Indians was also sent, and the cause was tried and finally settled in England. The last mention of it to be found at Hartford is dated July 8th, 1766, when it, was to be presented to the Lords Commis- sioners in the folio- ing February. The final decision, when it took place, was given in favor of the colony ; but more, as many people thought, on grounds of expediency than on those of justice. I have yet to speak of the legal enactments made for the Mohegans from 1722 to 1743, and of their religious, moral and physical condition during the same period. I shall be obliged to mention, also, some laws passed by the Legislature, which applied, not only to them, but to the other tribes in the colony. War had broken out in 1722, between the Indians of Maine and the people of New England. The natives of • The account of the proceedings of this trial is taken almost wholly from the petitions of the Mohegans in the Library of Yale College. Other materials would have been desirable as standards of comparison, but I knew not where they can be found. Some particular.'^ are extracted from Miss Caulkins* en- tertaining history of Norwich, a few from the second volume of papers on Indians in the office of the Secretary of State, and a few from the manuBcript defense of the colony prc.-crvcd in the Library of Ynlc College. ' pounds in bills of the old • Presidrnt Stilcs's Itinerary. iP 364 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS tenor,* to assist the Indians of New Milford in obtaining schools in that town, and twenty-five pounds for the Po- tatucks, who were to receive the same benefits in New- town and Waterbury. The ministers of New Milford, Woodbury and Newtown were recommended to take the petitioners under their care and instruction.! I know nothing of the results of this movement, nor any thing , further of the history of the Potatucks until 1761. At that time they were found to consist of one man and two or three broken families.^ In 1774, the Newtown Indians were reduced to two.<^ THE PAUGUSSETTS OR WEPAWAUGS. This tribe, it will be remembered, lived on the Housa- tonic, from its mouth at least as high up as its confluence with the Naugatuc, and claimed the country for a con- siderable distance on either side of the river. The last person who exercised the sachemship over the whole tribe was Konckapotanauh, who died about the year 1731 at his home in Derby. After this event the nation broke up : some joined the Potatucks ; some went to the country of the Six Nations ; some perhaps migrated to Scatacook ; and of those on the eastern side of the river very few re- mained about their ancient seats. In 1774, the Milford part of the tribe was reduced to four persons, who lived • Three pounds and a half old tenor were, about this time, equal to one of new tenor ; new tenor was not equal to silver, at six shillings and eight pence the ounce, though intended to be so. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 242. X L'-ttcr of Rev. N. Bi.dscy to President Stiles, dated September 3d, 1761. 4 Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. or CONNECTICUT. 355 on a small reservation at Turkey HUl, now in the town- ship of Derby. On the western side of the river the Paugussetts con- tinued to reside quietly on their reservations : one on Coram Hill in Huntington ; ane one, of about eighty acres, on Golden Hill in Bridgeport. In 171C, there were said to be twenty-five wigwams on Golden Hill and about sixty or eighty warriors in other parts of the town.* This, It must be observed, was over twenty years before the dispersion of the tribe after the death of Konckapotanp.uh. It is probable that this estimate is an exaggerated one, as in 1765 only three women and four men remained on Golden Hill, where lay the principal reservation of the tribe.f They enjoyed their reservations peaceably until about 1760, when they were ejected by some of the neighboring white proprietors who laid claim to all the land but about six acres, and enforced their claims by pulling down the Indian wigwams. Soon afterwards, [1763] John Sherman, Eunice Shoran, and Sarah Shoran,' stated their wrongs to the Assembly, and asked that they might be righted, and that for themselves a suitable guar- dian might be appointed. Thomas Sherman of Fairfield was chosen guardian, and a committee was appointed to examine the grievances of the Indians and make a report. This report was unsatisfactory to the Assembly, and an- other committee was appointed, [1765] authorized to sum- mon witnesses, and to call on the English claimants for their defense. The case was brought to trial ; was decided in favor of the Indians ; and the defendants were ordered to surrender the land. In consequence of this decision • R«v. N. Birdsey's letter. 1761. t Indian Papers, Vol. II. Doc. 333. Ml n .,''•! 356 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS a compromise was effected between the parties. The whites gave the Indians thirty bushels of corn and three pounds worth of blankets ; and they also furnished them with twelve acres of land on the west bank of the Po- quonnuc, and eight acres of woodland on Rocky Hill. For these considerations the Indians gave up their rights to all the remainder of their ancient reservation.* In 1774, the number of Indians in Stratford, which then comprehended Monroe, Huntington, Trumbull and Bridgeport, was thirty-five.f In 1791, the remnant of the Milford band complained to the Legislature, that some of their white neighbors car- ried away wbod from their reservation. A bill was there- fore passed, ordering the county court of New Haven to appoint an overseer foi* the Indians, who should be em- povrered to prosecute all trespassers, and also to lease out all the arable land, or otherwise improve it for the best advantage of the owners.| A few of this clan still live on about ten acres of land at Turkey Hill. The family name is Hatchet ; they are mixed with negro blood j and they are all pooi, degraded and miserable.*^ As the Golden Hill Indians made little or no use of their land, and as their guardians were repeatedly obliged to advance them money for taxes and other expenses, the whole reservation was, forty or fifty years since, exposed for sale. The sum which it brought was very consider- able, and was put out at interest for the benefit of the owners. In 1842, it amounted to eleven hundred and seventy-five dollars. At that time five hundred dollars • Colonial Records, Vol. X. t State Records, Vol. IV. t Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. § Janiinry, 1849. or CONNECTICUT. 357 were expended in purchasing a small house and twenty acres of land in the township of Trumbull. The tribe now numbers two squaws, who live in an irregular connection with negroes, and six half breed children, all of whom are grown up but one. They are intemperate, but have been of about the same number for many years. Their family name is Sherman. There is another family, called the Pan tribe, who wander about m this part of the country, and seem to have no land. They number three adults and one boy, and resemble the Shermans in their character and habits. Such is the present state of the Paugussetts ; flickering out of ex- istence like the wick of a burnt-out candle. The Woodbridge Indians, known as the Mack family, were from the Paugussetts, and moved many years ago to their rocky and thorny patch of territory in that township. Some were carried off by the small pox, and for ten or twelve years back none have remained, except one man and two women. One of the women. Old Eunice, as she was commonly called, died a number of years since. Her two children, Jim and Ruby, I have often seen coming into my native village, to sell parti-colored baskets and purchase provisions, the greater part, if not the whole, of which was usually rum. Ruby was short and thick, and her face was coarse and stupid. Jim's hi>ge form was bloated with liquor ; his voice was hoarse and hollow ; and his steps, even when he was not intoxicated, were unsteady from the evil effects of ardent spirits. At present, I believe, they are all in their graves ; at least it is years since I have seen them, or heard any one speak of them. Other Indians of Fairfield County will now be menr , )i 358 HISTORr OF THE INDIANS tioned, among whom the most notorious seems to have been a small sachem, variously known as Sam Mohawk, Chickens, Warrups Chickens and Chickens Wallups. He was said to be a Mohawk, by nation, and he is first known to us as living at Greensfarms between Westport and Fairfield. Having committed a murder here, prob- ably upon some of his own race, he moved away from his old home and settled in the town of Reading * In 1720, he received here the Indian belt which came from Towat- towau, and forwarded it to the village of the Potatucks. Five years after, [March 1st, 1725,] he sold all his land to Samuel Couch of Fairfield for twelve pounds and six shillings; reserving to himself and his heirs liberty to fish and fowl on land and water, and also such a tract of land around his wigwam as a committee appointed by the Assembly should think proper. Such a tract was laid out for him, accordingly ; but, owing to Chickens's ignorance of public business, the vote was never approved, and the appropriation remained incomplete. He subsequently, therefore, found himself deprived of all his land without the power of ever reclaiming it. Having laid the case before the Assembly, he obtained [1746] a grant of one hundred acres mostly arable and of a good quality.f Two years after, a man named John Read proposed to exchange with him ; and, in place of his one hundred acres at Read- ing, to give him two hundred at Scatacook in the township of Kent. A considerable tribe had collected at this locality, and Chickens would thus find himself among his own race with .lo probability (.f being disturbed by the whites * President Stiles's Itinerary. t Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 114 ; Vol. II, Documenta 35—30. :ste^a»y**'.ss^!*i«A,JlS»»;i34ii^ I or CONNECTICUT. 359 for some time. The land offered by Read, also, was v/ell adapted to an Indian's wants. It was bounded on the east by the Housatonic, in which there was good fish- ing, and on the west by mountains where there was plenty of game. At Reading his fences were decayed, his trees partly gone, the English were gathering round him, and their beasts injured his crops. Having received per- mission from the Assembly, he made the exchange, [1749] and removed to Scatacook.* But Chickens was growing old and unable to support himself by labor ; and in 1762 he petitioned the Assembly that thirty acres of his land might be sold, and the proceeds expended in paying his debts and providing for his future support. His request was granted, and the business was committed to his over- seer, Jabez Smith. The old sagamore died not many years after, leaving his remaining land to his squaw and one or two children. The Indians of Greenwich, Stamford and Nor walk, seem to have melted away unnoticed : a great part of them probably moved to other homes, and one portion appears to have settled for a time in what is now Ridgefield. We learn from the census of the Connecticut Indians, taken in 1774, that there were then only eight natives remaining in Greenwich, nine in Norwalk and not one in Stamford.f The Ridgefield clan called themselves the Raraapoo Indians. About the beginning of the last century they were under the government of a sachem named Catoonah. On the tenth of October, 1708, Catoonah and his people sold out their country, for one hundred pounds, to a com- • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 31. t Masa. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. 33 ♦'!^i I ' 360 HISTOUY OF THE INDIANS ! i 1 ' I i papy of settlers from Norwalk and Milford. The tract was estimated to contain twenty thousand acres ; no re- servation was made, and ihe Ramapoo Indians went their ways into the wide world, to seek a home where it might be found. Those besides Catoonah who put their marks to the sale were Woquacomick, Waspahchain, Waw- kamawee, Naranoka and Caweherin. Three others, prob- ably of some other tribe, signed as witnesses : Gootquas, Mahkee and Tawpormick.* The township of New Fairfield, originally much larger than at present, was chiefly purchased of its ancient in habitants in 1729. A tract of eight miles in length was then sold to the English settlers by Cockenon, Mauwehii and eleven others, who styled themselves, in the deed, " the rightful owners of all unsold lands in the grant of new fairfield"t THE QUINNIPIACS. Under this head are included the aboriginal inhabitants of New Haven, East Haven, Branford and Guilford. A reservation of thirty acres, laid out in three lots of ten acres each, was early made in East Haven for the Quin- Dipiacs. They used to cultivate these lots by rotation, each one being planted in its turn while the other two lay unused.l It is traditionary, I believe, that the last sachem of the tribe was named Charles, and that ho wa? frozen to death in 1740.*^ President Stiles assure^ ui, on the other hand, that the last sachem was John Sanck, and that he died about the year 1730. |J • Ridgeficia Rcords, Vol. I, p. 1. t Papers o; Tjvv.is anr^ Lands, Vol. VIII, Document 4 t Cole --.] >^ (, .^, V.,1 X. ^ Barber, p. 1.S4. II Itinerary. or CONNECTICUT. 361 ' This last author was told, in 1785, by one of the old citizens of Branford, that, fifty years before, that town was inhabited by fifty Indian men ; and a Mr. Pardee of East Haven assured him that, in 1730, there were as many as three hundred Indians in East Haven, and that he could himself remember when their grown men out- numbered the town militia. I must confess that I look upon these estimates and comparisons as sheer exaggera- tions. If they were correct, then the aboriginal population of Branford and East Haven, in 1730, must have been five hundred souls. Yet in 1638, nearly a century before, the duinnipiacs only counted forty-seven men, while the Indians of Guilford, if they were a separate tribe at all, (which I do not believe,) must have been considerably less numerous. Is it likely that the native population of this region had increased, or even remained stationary during this long period, while the surrounding tribes had so fearfully declined ? But further : in 1774, only forty- four years after the date fixed by these old men, the number of Indians in Branford was only four, and in East Haven only eleven ; yet no considerable emigration, that we can learn, had taken place. It is not by such sudden fits and starts, but by a steady and gradual decline, that the aboriginal population of Connecticut has disappeared. About 1768 some of the Cluinnipiacs removed to Far- mington, where land was bought for them, among the Tunxis, with the proceeds of what they had sold in East Haven.* In 1774, twenty-three Indians resided in Guil- ford, which then comprehended Madison.f Eleven years later, those of Branford had all disappeared. At the • Colonial Records, Vol. VI. t Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. J'l M» H 362 HISTORY or THE INBIANS present time the Q,uinnipiacs no longer exist, except in story. The site of the ancien* burying place of the (i^uinni- piacs in East Haven is still known, and several localities are pointed out where they are said to have had forts or villages. One of these strong holds was in the Indian cemetery on a hill which overlooks the harbor. In 1S22, three graves were opened by the Rev. Mr. Dodd of East Haven. The skeletoiis were found three and a half feet below the surface, stretched on the bare sandstone rock, and exhibiting no appearance of any wrapper or inclosure. Every one had the head laid towards the southwest, where dwelt Cautantowit, and where the Indians believed heaven to be. Two of the skeletons had their arms laid by their S'ies: in the other case ihey were crossed over the breast after the manner of the whites. The thigh bones of one measured nineteen inches m length, the leg bone eighteen, and the arm, from the shoulder to the elbow, thirteen. The skeleton seemed to be that of a man about six feet and a half in length. No article of any description was discovered with the bones; but it was traditionary that, many years before, some graves were opened here, and found to contain a variety of In- dian implemetrts for cooking and war.* The other Indians of New Haven County, with the exception of one band at Humphreysville, which will be noticed m the next chapter, have left few records of the time and manner of their disappearance. In 1774, there were twenty in Derby, four in Wallingford, one in Dur- ham, and four in Waterbury.f • Bnrber'8 Hist. Coll. of Conn., p. 207. t Mum. Hist. Coll., Vol. X. p. 1 18. '^WbMs^ibiiM^&iiiii&^iiS&ii^.^J^i-iA . OF CONNECTICUT. 363 THE RIVER INDIANS. - \i This was the ancient term for all the Indians residing on the banks of the Connecticut River and within the limits of Connecticut colony. The river population was considered numerous at one time ; but it consisted of small clans who had little national strength and pride to bind them together, and who were thus easily broken and dispersed. The Indans of Windsor gradually left their ancient seats, some removing among the Tunxis, and others settling in the towns of Salisbury ar I Sharon. In 1730, the number of Indian men who used to come into Hartford on election and other great gala days was estimated at seventy or eighty. Thirty-two years after, President Stiles was informed that there were only six families remaining in Hartford and one in Windsor.* A remnant of the Podunk nation, living on the Hocka- num River, remained in East Hartford as late as 1745, but in 1760 had entirely disappeared.! In 1774, there were four Indians in Suffield, five in Hartford, six in Windsor, six in East Windsor, sixteen in Glastenbury, and seven in PJast Haddam.^ The Wangunks remained for some time in Middletown and Chatham, living on three separate reservations. One of these was in the neighborhood called Newfield ; and • President Stiles's Itinerary. Indians, however, used to go to election from distant porta of the Stote, as for instance from Mohegon. Thus the above seventy or eighty Indian men were by r.u means ail from Windsor and Hartford. t President Stiles's Itinerary. t Masa. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. 33* ,\\;\ !! A \. ■ ! ■ ami: 1 J 364 BISTORT or THE INDIANS t ! on this the Indians stayed and held lands as late as 1713. Another was laid out. at an early date, on the west side of the river, for one Sawsean and his descendants. The third consisted of three hundred acres on the opposite bank, which was set aside by the town in 1675, " for the heirs of Sovvheag and for the Mattabesett Indians."* As a considerable number of Wangunks still remained in 1734, a man named Richard Treat conceived the benev- olent idea of trying to improve them by education and re- ligious teaching. Being encouraged in his design by several of the neighboring ministers, he commenced, on the sixth of January, with a small number of the Indian children. He was attended for some time by twelve or fourteen of these; and he maintained, also, a weekly meeting, with those of the adults of the tribe who would listen to him, for about two months. The governor of Connecticut, Joseph Talcott, approved his design and urged him to go on ; but, at the end of four months, having found that no one felt disposed to assist or reward him, and that he had to bear all the expense and trouble alone, IVHr. Treat became discouraged and gave up hie efforts. He found the Indians ignorant of the doctrines of the Scriptures and even of what the Scriptures were ; so that quotations from them had no more weight on their opinions than a common proverb or one of his own ob- servations. He was obliged, therefore, in his controver- sies with them, to apj^eal to such principles of morality and natural religion as they held among themselves. He was hindered, also, by the broken knowledge whicfi iho Indians had of the English tongue, and by their natural * Slntistical Account of Middlesex Comiu p.p. 3}, 35. OF CONNECTICUT. 365 I 1 aversion to the humbling doctrines of Christianity. Once, when he was speaking of the resurrection of the dead, and of the judgment to come, one of them pointed to a pig which lay by the fire, and asked with a sneer if that pig would rise again like one of themselves. It would not do, the preacher thought, to answer this fool accord- ing to his folly, and he succeeded in silencing him by ar- guments, " although it took him a long time to do it.". During the latter part of the summer, after the school and religious services had been discontinued, the Wan- gunks held a great funeral dance. One Saturday, the second day of the ceremonies, Treat repaired to the place, partly to find out the numbers of the Indians, as the gov- ernor had requested him to do, and partly with the idea that his presence might operate as a restraint upon their extravagances. When he arrived, the Indians were dancing, singing and yelling; and some of those who knew him gathered around him, and bade him " begone, for. he had no business there." "I come to see you as others do," said Treat. " You never order them away. Why are you so angry at my presence ?" " You come here to see if you cannot preach to us to- morrow," replied one of them in a rude tone ; "but you shall not preach !" "That is not my business here." said Treat; "but I am ready to do you what service I can. You are now taking off mourning clothes for one who is dead, and you ought to think of prep;*ration for your own death. Others will wear niou.ning for you as you have worn it for him.'* "You shall not preach !" still insisted the Indian. " To- morrow is our day and you shall not preach !" .1 hIJ I' ■)i ' H ' i'!:; E.^ \r-k. S lit I 366 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS A number of Nehantics and Mohegans, however, gath- ered round Treat, and told him, that, if he wished to preach, they would assemble on the following day, at a certain house near by, and hear his discourse. On the morrow, therefore, which was Sunday, he went to the house in question, but found no listeners, all the Indians being too much interested in the dance. Hearing that there was a sick child among them, he went in search of It, thinking that he might be able to do it some service. He had succeeded in finding it, when some Indians came up and attempted to drive him away, although without offering violence. Finding this impossible, they told him, that, if he would go to a clump of trees ten or fifte )n rods distant, they would follow and listen to his preaching. He complied, but had scarcely reached the trees when the Indians commenced a most hideous noise, beating their breasts, grunting and groaning, by way of an invocation to the devil. It seems that some Indian was suspected of having poisoned the deceased Wangunk, and they were now soliciting a revelation from the evil spirit as to whether the suspicion was just. Horrified and scandal- ized by the scene. Treat ran back, rushed in among them, and by his energetic corporeal interference put a very sudden end to their spiritual investigations. Some of them were prodigiously enraged, and seemed much in- clined to dispatch him on the spot. They finally told him, that, if he would only go the trees again, they would certainly follow and listen to him. Treat did not believe it, and told them so; but still he walked away, to satisfy them, and to see what they would do. As he expected they re-commenced their orgies. He ran back and broke them i^4«a^>«**%S^^*«a^S»*^fel«*««ii^*^ ■ OP CONNECTICUT. 367 op as before This happened several times: until the Indians either wearied out with his perseverance or having obtained all the information from diabolical sou;ces which they expected, gave, up the contest and desisted fiom their invocations. He now waited some time, to let hem season, as he expressed it, for divine service : and then made them a discourse to which they listened without offering any disturbance. His course on this occasion, singular as it may seem appears to have been productive of good effects; for there was but httle noise made the following night, while usually, at such times, the Indians kept up an astounding uproar. No similar ceremony was performed among the Wangunks for several years,* and there is nothing to show but that this was the very last. The last sachem, but one, of the Wangunks was called Doctor Robbins; it is not known exactly when he died but It was some little time previous to 1757. He left a son named Richard Ranney, who was brought up among the whites, spoke and wrote the English language, learned the trade of a joiner, and became a professor of religion.f In 1/64, the tribe still numbered between thirty and forty persons ; but some of these were living among the Mohegans, and others had migrated to Hartford and Far- mington. Those who remained consisted of two squaws and their three children. One of the squaws, Mary Cuschoy or Tike, was the blind and aged widow of Cuschoy, the last sachem of the tribe. She had been supported for twelve months previous by the town, J • Eccleainstioal Paper.. Vol. V. t Indian Papers. Vol. Ill DoCf 131. 136. t In(Jian Papew, Vol. I, Documents 132. 239. •1 W • I <■ 368 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS il In 1764, a committee appointed for the purpose sold a large part of the lands ; and, on the first of June, 1765. reported that they had on hand funds to the amount of one hundred and sixty-three pounds and nineteen shillings in continental bills, and about one hundred pounds in ob- ligations not yet collected. By 1772, over ninety pounds of this sum had been expended in the support of old Mary Cuschoy : the rest, also, was probably laid out, in one way or another, for the benefit of the Indians.* The Wangunks were willing to dispose of their land, and the third religious society in Middletownf was anxious to purchase it. . Several petitions were presented to the As- sembly, in the name of both parties, and in 1765, a com- mittee was appointed to sell the land, and use the proceeds for the benefit of the proprietors. A part only seems to have been disposed of; for, some years after, [1769,] Samuel Ashpo and nine others, then living at Farmington, obtained permission from the Assembly to sell their re- maining lands at Wangunk. Mary Cuschoy was living on the town of Chatham as late as 1771. Three years later, the number of Indians residing in that township was two.| In 1785, a com- mittee was appointed by the Legislature to collect all the money due on the Indian lands at Wangunk, and pay it over to the proprietors, who seem, at that time, to have entirely left the place. Thus ended the national existence of the Wangunks, or, as they were sometimes called, the Wangums.<^ • Colonial Records, Vols. X and XI. t This society is now in Chatham, which was then a part of Middletown. t Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. § Colonial Recordfl, Vol. X. Indian Papers, Vol. II, Doc'ts 234—336. OF CONNECTICUT. 369 In various parts of Middletown and Chatham, Indian skeletons have been exhumed. They were found in a sitting posture, with food, utensils, arms, ornaments and wampum around them. In 1808, three Indian graves were opened in Chatham. In one of them there was the skeleton of a man, sitting, and wrapped in a'blanket. On exposure to the earth the blanket crumbled as if it had been reduced to cinders. In the man's lap were two small brass kettles containing a spoon, a knife, a vial and a pipe. One arm of the skeleton was passed around the kettles, and it was observed that, where the flesh had been in contact with the brass, it was in a state of pre- servation. The other two graves contained skeletons of children, one of which held in its hand a small brass cup. In this instance, also, the flesh had not perished where it touched the brass; and, what was more curious still, the other side of the cup had disappeared, as if the flesh and the brass preserved each other. Around the wrist was wampum strung on deer skin, and near by were beads, of the hearts of oyster shells, which may have been around the neck. In the grave of the other child was a copper box containing wampum strung on deer leather.* THE TUNXIS. The Tunxis continued to reside for some time on their two reservations in Farmington, without any important incident happening to them which has been recorded Of that part of the tribe which lived in Massacoe or Sims- bury, some had fled from their country during Philip's • Statistical Account of Middlesex County, p. 9. 370 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS :n war. and m x710 only a few families were remaining. Some years later, a single individual still possessed a little ract of land, on the east side of Farmington River, near the south hue of the town. In 1750, this man, as well as every other representative of the Massacoe Indians, had disappeared.*" ' The main body of the tribe was joined in 1730 by the Indians of Hartford jf and it received, also, at various times, re-enforcements from Windsor, Middletown and other parts of the Connecticut valley. A historical discourse, delivered by Professor Porter of Yale College, states that an Indian school was taught in Farmmgton by Mr. Newton, and perhaps by Mr. Hooker • the former, munster in that town from 1648 to 1657 and the latter from 1658 to 1697. In the colonial rec;rds, from 1733 to 1736, are repeated notices of such a school then ni existence. Bills, amounting to sixty-one pounds and SIX shilhngs, ''for the dieting of the Indian youth at two shillings a week," were presented in 1735 and 1736 aiid liquidated out of the colonial treasury. Judging from' these bills I should conclude that the number of scholars who were boarded could not have amounted to more than five or SIX. Rev. Samuel Whitman, at this time minister in t armington, seems first to have brought it to the notice of the Assembly; and it is probable that, like his prede- cessors he officiated as its teacher. Now, from the time when Mr. Newton must have established his school, to 1736, when the one alluded to above is last mentioned on the records, is a period of more than eighty years. But it seems scarcely possible that such an institution could have • Phelps'a History of Simsbury. t President Stile.'s Itinerary. ^s«SfefttSkS^aii.iaiii*^^ OP CONNECTICUT. 371 been kept up so long a time, without attracting consider- able attention, and leaving behind it some traces more extensive than the two or three brief records to which I have adverted. We may suppose, therefore, that it ex- isted at intervals during the consecutive ministries of Mr. Newton, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Whitman. We have the authority of the above discourse for saying that, at one time, fifteen or sixteen scholars attended the school ; that a few of the Tunxis were admitted as freemen, and that a few became members of the church. Indeed it seems to be traditionary in Farmington that a number of the Indians of that place, in early times, made a profession of reli- gion ; while to verify this tradition from written state- ments, at the present day, is probably utterly impossible. Farmington was not a very learned town anciently, not being able for a while to keep its own records without assistance from Hartford •* and, from this cause or some other, the church records were either not kept at all, or were kept in marvelous confusion. At the accession of Mr. Whitman they were put in proper order ; but his list -hurch members only shows two Indian professors; -^mon Mossock admitted June, 1763, and Eunice Mos- iC admitted September, 1765. In 1738, two of the Tunxis memorialized the Assembly on behalf of their tribe, alleging that nearly all their land in Indian Neck had been usurped from them by the neigh- boring whites. Eighteen or twenty of the settlers were concerned in these aggressions, most, if not all, of whom claimed that they had obtained the land they held, by » Such was the case with some other towns in the State, not one person in the community being Budicicntly en, lite to ofliciate as town clerk 34 !li'"' iii 372 BISTORT OF THE INDIANS V: I purchase.* No effect seems to have been produced by this memorial, and the affair remained unsettled for manjr years. But in 1768 another petition, of a similar purport, was presented by James Wauwus. A committee which was appointed on the subject by the Assembly made the following report. The English claimants had obtained entire possession of Indian Neck, by various purchases, some of them made for valuable considerations. Some of these purchases were never acknowledged ; some wore acknowledged, but never recorded ; and only four had, according to law, been ratified by the Assembly. They stated that the reservation really amounted to only one hundred aud forty acres. Finally, they recommended that a committee should be appointed to lay out to the English claimants what they were entitled to, and sur- render the rest to the Indians. Wauwus and others of the Tunxis sent in a remonstrance against this report, alleging that all but four of the deeds mentioned were void in law, and that, moreover, the committee had made a great mistake as to the amount of the reservation. Both these allegations were true : the Assembly, therefore, negatived the committee's recommendation, and the affair lingered on for some time longer.f By these petitions it appears that several of the Tunxis at this time understood the use of letters. It is probable that they had been scholars in the school mentioned as having existed in 1735. James Wauwus was one of the number, and Solomon Mossuck, Charles and Elijah Wimp- sey, James Cusk and Thomas Carrington were others. • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Documents 171 and 172. t Indian Papers, Vol. II, Documenta 179, 180, 191. 'Mli&IS^S^aiX^!iiS^^4^4iiitiMkis^mMiii0^Jsi»i«^ or CONNECTICUT. 373 An aged citizen of ^armington, who died some few- years ago, and who was born about 1730, used to say- that, within his recollection, the Indian children in the district school were not much fewer than those of the whites. In their snow-balling parties, the former used to take one side and the latter another, when they would be so equally balanced in numbers and prowess, as to render the battle a very tough one and the result doubtful. This, of course, must have been at least as early as 1750. In 1761, the tribe was estimated at something less than twenty-five families. They had moved back from their original position, and resided chiefly in the northwest part of Farmington, and in the adjoining township of New Hartford.* A considerable number removed, about this time, either before or after, to Stockbridge in Massachu- setts. In 1774, the number of Indians in Farmington was forty-three, and in New Hartford thirteen.f During this year, [1774,] Elijah Wimpsey and Solomon Mossock petitioned the Assembly, in behalf of their tribe, for a copy of the laws of Connecticut. They stated that most of their people had formed some idea of English customs ; that many had learned to read and write the English language ; and, though poorly able to bear the expense, had furnished themselves with bibles and other books. They had been told that they were considered subjects of the colony, like their white neighbors; and they thought, therefore, that they ought to become ac- quainted with its laws. The Assembly, in reply, granted the petitioners a copy of the laws of the colony.J • President Stiles's Itinerary. t Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X,p. 118. t Indian Papers, Vol. II, Docament 195. ,1 I ■m - ! ■i i i 374 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Only a few days after, another memorial was presented to the Assembly, by the same persons, accompanied by one John Adams who was probably one of the Quinui- piacs that had lately moved to Farmington. They said that the Six Nations had invited them to settle in the Oneida country, and had promised them a cordial recep- tion and plenty of land. Being straitened where they were, they thought it would be better for themselves, and would afford an opportunity for the extension of the king- dom of Uhrist, if they should go. They therefore desired that Messrs. Strong, Gay and Gridley of Farmington might be appointed to assist them in the sale of their lands. The petition was granted, but two or three cir- cumstances embarrassed the sale. The land was the common property of the tribe : the revolutionary war soon broke out, and the Mohawks took the British side. For these reasons the property was not sold : yet, for all this, some of the Tunxis removed to the Mohawk country, and others determined to follow. They thus found them- selves in need of the avails of their land, and, in 1777, thirty-one of them petitioned that it might be divided among the individuals of the tribe. John Porter, Heze- kiah Wadsworth and Solomon Whitman were appointed by the Assembly to undertake the division. They found the lands to consist of four separate tracts, amounting altogether to two hundred and sixty acres. Two hundred acres were situated on the west side of Pequawbuck meadow ; another tract, purchased for the duinnipiacs, amounted to sixteen acres and one hundred and twenty- eight rods ; there were five acres at Fort Hill, and forty and a half acres at another place. The whole was divided fH'i^musm ■'^xm^ .- 'i^^^im^^^fimmS^Si^h^^^ or CONNECTICUT. 375 into sixty-five lots, of various sizes, but generally contain- ing from four to five acres each. The number of males who shared was seventeen ; the number of females twenty- four; and some individuals received two or three lots apiece. The report was approved by the Assembly and the division confirmed.* So.iie of the Tunxis removed, after this, to Scatacook, and from thence to Stockbridge. Two of them, Elijah Wimpsey and Samuel Adams, having been driven from the latter place by Indians in the British interest, applied for relief to the Assembly of Connecticut, and obtained a grant of £33 Is. 8d. Adam, the Q,uinnipiac, removed to the Mohawk country previous to 1776, and his land was sold. In 1804, some of the Tunxis still lived, and held property, in Farmington, and were under the care of an overseer.f At the present time they have all disappeared from their ancient home. One miserable creature, a man named Mossock, still lives in Litchfield, perhaps the sole remnant of the tribe. In the burying ground of Farmington, which was also the Indian burying ground, and which looks out upon the river valley and upon Indian Neck, a small monument has been erected to the memory of the Tunxis. It is grate- ful to see such a memorial of the poor aborigines, and one can only regret that the execution of the design did not correspond with the emotions which prompted its conception. The monument is about six feet high : the cap has never been placed, or else has been removed : the • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 199. t Indian Papers, Vol. II. State Records, Vol. VII. 34* 'II i M\ 376 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 1 material is red sandstone, coarse and crumbly in its texture, and the inscriptions upon it are fast obliterating under the influence of the winds and storms. These inscriptions mention that, according to tradition, this spot was the scene of a bloody battle between the Tunxis and the Stockbridges ; that, according to another tradition, and judging from the many skeletons discovered here, the place was once used as a cemetery by the aborigines, and that some of these scattered remains have been collected and decently interred beneath this stone. So sleep the Tunxis. So in time, perhaps will sleep the race which has succeeded them. I THE NIPMUCKS AND QUINNEBAUGS. These Indians, living entirely under the domination of the Mohegans, never sold any land for themselves, except the tract purchased by John Winthrop, all the rest of their country being granted away by the chiefs of the family of Uncas. This circumstance saved both them and the colony of Connecticut an incalculable amount of quarrel- ing and vexation. They had no petitions to present to the Legislature : there were no long and expensive law suits to be sustained against them ; and no committees to be appointed to examine into, and settle, the state of their affairs. For this reason there are almost no reords con- cerning the Indians of this part of the State, and very little can be related of them, except a few unimportant an- ecdotes. A considerable number of Nipmucks lived in Thompson, the most northeasterly town in the State ; and it is tradi- tionary that one of their chiefs, named Q,uinnatisset, had ^-^ >;*^*«i«SMK«^a^^a^* .j^itfefeaiai&S^iiijifei- I OF CONNECTICUT. 377 a grand wigwam near the spot where now stands the congregational church. Their strong hold, however, was on Fort Hill, an eminence about three quarters of a mile easterly, where the rude foundations of a fortress can yet be traced. Individuals who wander into the neighboring forests still find, here and there, the hills and rows of the Indian cornfields, now thickly covered over with sturdy trees. The Indians were well supplied with fish from the streams and ponds, and especially from a considerable body of water extending from Thompson into Massachu- setts, which bore the discouraging name of Chargog- gagoggmanchogaggogg. This pond is studded with little islands; and tradition affirms, though not with much probability, that the Nipmucks regarded it as the sceiie of their paradise ; the place where the Great Spirit lived ; where the shades of theix departed friends wandered ; and vhere, after death, they should be delightfully employed forever in fishing and luniting. An aboriginal tradition has been preserved concerning a pond, called Mashapaug,* which lies in the western part of Killingly. It is said that, on the spot occupied by this pond there once stood a mountain, and that a small island in the pond, called Loon's Island, constituted the top of this mountain. But in ancient times, aflat the red men of this region had long enjoyed en abundance of fish and game, they grew gluttonous and wicked, and provoked tlie anger of the Great Spirit. Finally, they appointed a festival on the top of a mountain covered with tall pine trees, and there they s\mn four days in feasting and revelry. At the end of this time, the Great Spirit could • Conimniily known ns Alcxnnder's Lnke. I.I > y . ;. 378 HISTORT OT THE INDIANS no longer contain h^> anger at their wickedness, and re- solved to overwhelm them with a quick and awful destruction. While, therefore, the Indians were still capering about the sides of the mountain it suddenly sunk down into a great cavity ; the subterranean waters rose around it, and all the red people perished, except one good old squaw who stood on the very summit of the emi- nence. Such, says tradition, was the origin of Masha- paug Lake. Even at the present day it is soberly affirmed, that the boatman who will push out into the deepest parts of the water, may, in a clear day, see the trunks of pine trees reaching up from the bottom towards the surface. The Indians were somewhat troublesome to the first se *lers of this region, wlio, being few and scattered, durst not use force to resist their impositions. A large party would sometimes call at a white man's house, demanding its hospitality, and threatening by their numbers and ap- petite to bring the household to utter starvation. Some- times they employed stratagem for the sake of obtaining admission ; and, in the morning, when the astonished settler came to count his guests, he would find half a dozen new ones who had been dexterously smuggled in among the baggage and pappooses. Friendship was always preserved, however, between the whites and their wild acqtiaintances, and the two races often joined to- gether in amicable sports and trials of strength. The Indians were fond of wrestling, although they were generally thrown by the whites, whose muscles, hardened by labor and regular habits, were stronger than those of the indolent savages. A certain Joseph Cady, one of the first •ettlers of Killingly, was one day cutting brush alone, i^mmm^m&iLmm ;i 'f' ■1' ii 1 1 t 1 ■ m ■ f I J I w u D W t> C •>) K b D n O O OF CONNECTICUT. 379 « D H 'A W t> C •>) b P -I D •«l 0. ui pq o o < •>vhen an Indmn approached him from the neighboring ores,, and expressed a strong desire to try the skill of f f he "m ".' '™"""^- ^'"'^^ ""'"='" '» himself that, f he ecu d thro^v the fellow, it might operate to deter the Indmns from hostilities against the settlements, and ac- cord,ngly accepted the challenge. Both men struggled ong and desperately, but Cady at last prevailed and the Indian was prostrated. Unfortunately he fell among the brush wh,ch his antagonist had been cutting, and, one of the sharp stumps perforating his skull, he died on the spot. In 1720 Jacob Spalding, also an early settler of Kil- hngly had a curious adventure with an Indian creditor. He had purchased a deer skin of the Indian, and had paid h,m wuh one of the paper notes, called tenor bills, issued by the colony The man . n. the bill in his pocket ; but, be„,g somewhat intoxicated at the time, soon forgot tha he had ever received it, and again demanded payment for hts deer skm Jacob was indignant, of course, at what he considered such a bare-faced attempt a, imposition, and refused eomphance. A wordy squabble ensued which ended by the Indian's going away, muttering that he would have revenge. The next day, as Jacob was shin- ghng a barn, he saw his late creditor approaching, accom- panied by two of his tribe. He jumped down, met them . and was again asked to pay for the deer skin. He re^ fused. One of the Indians, who seemed to be a sachem then stated in broken English, that he had come to see' lair play, and laid it down as perfectly honorable that two Indians should fight with one white man. His two friends thou attacked Spalding; who, however, defended himself with such dexterity and success, that he laid fl ;.. m '\ ' m J ! 380 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS them both on the ground and gave them a sound drub- bing. The sachem looked on, in the mean time with great impartiahty, and gave his fellows no further en- couragement in their tribulation than Pnorcl.^gsl poor dogs! me hope. he kill you both !' Thus ended this skirmish ; but ti.- Jay after, as Jacob was again mounted on his barn, he saw the same Indians commg towards him , the one who fancied himself cheated bearmg a rifle which he was in the act of loading. But, putting his hand into his pocket to find a ball, he drew out the identical bill, the loss of which had caused all this trouble. Qonscience-struck, he said to Jacob who was commg to meet him, " Me believe now, Jacob, you paid me de bill." Jacob now turned to the sachem and said, You, who have come to see fair play, what shall we do with this fellow ?" " Tie him to de tree and whip him," was the laconic sentence. This was no great justice, perhaps, but it was well administered; for the culprit being tied up by the combined puissance of all hands, wa^ soundly threshed to strengthen his memory. Such was his mortification at the whole affair, and particularly at the flogging, that he soon afterwards left that part of the country and never returned.* . The great revival of 1740 and 1741, which affected the Mohegans and the Pequots, also reached the Indians on the Qumnebaug. Many of them seemed to become con- verted ; they reformed from drinking ; they conversed much on religious subjects ; they held meetings among themselves for prayer and exhortation ; and numbers of • The above traditions and anecdotes are from Barber's Hist. Coll. of Conn Thompson and Killingly. )} 1 •CJ* CONNECTICUT. th*M *«Wed «,«h e^^dence of piety ,ha, they were ad- m«ted .* taembera of English churches.. How ,ince« »nd how lasting this impression was, we do no. know • bat we may presume that it mostly faded away before many years, like the effects of the same excitement in other abongmal tribes. It is said, that Samson Occom preached a few times among the duinnebaug Indians, and It IS very possible, therefore, that he did so during this period. ° In 1774 Windham and Tolland counties contained one hundred and forty-two Indians, who were divided as fol- ows : twelve in Killingljr, twenty-five in Plainfield, twelve in Pomfret, eleven in Canterbury, six in Volun' town, nineteen in Windham, thirty-eight in Woodstock, five in Tolland, two in Coventry and twelve in Mansfield f Since that time their diminution has still continued ; and It is now more than thirty years since the last of the Kil- l>ngly band, a pious female named Martha, was laid in her unpretending grave. Of the other Indians of this part of the State I do not know that now even one exists. THE WESTERN NEHANTICS. It is difficult to conjecture in what way the lands o^ the western Nehantics passed from their possession into that of the colonists. They were not willed away by Atta- wanhood ; the were not covered by the sales of Chapeto and Captain Sannup ; and the only other Indian sale pre- served in the Lyme records refers to a tract of very in-, considerable dimensions. A reservation was indeed made • Trumbull, Vol. 11. t Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. ' i t 1 m^ i I i V ' ; i 1 ) 5 "5 ': ii ,•) 382 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS for the natives when Lyme and New London were incor- porated, stretching from the Niantic River four miles westward, and running north from the seacoast as far as the bounds of those townships. This territory, however, was afterwards absorbed into Lyme and New London j and I am entirely ignorant as to whether its original in- habitants ever received or claimed for it any remuneration. The first definite fact which I can state concerning the matter, is, that in 1672, the Nehantics had no land of their own, and were then furnished with three hundred acres by Lyme, on condition of bringing in a wolf's head annually,* In 1693, their chief man seems to have been one Obed whom, during the same year, we find, with his fellows' very unwisely entering into some arrangements with their white neighbors. For a small consideration they allowed one Joseph Bull to have the herbage from one hundred acres of their land, on condition that he would not inter- fere with their plowing and planting. This bargain soon began to work against the Indians, like almost every other of the bargains between them and their civilized neigh- bors Before many years had elapsed the horses and cattle of Joseph Bull, his neighbors and descendants, in their pursuit after the above mentioned herbage, were running all over the Indian reservation, pushing down the fences of the poor Nehantics and devouring their crops. In 1728, they presented a memorial of their grievances to the Assembly, complaining that the English animals were turned into their fields to feed even after the corn and beans had come up and been weeded. The Assembly * Colonial Records, Vol. III. S iiaflWfia ^^ M » a a« Miiidaafcrtiie*feYjiatfc^^ oaeg: :-m^W!E^fiff in s OF CONNECTICUT. granted them a pound, which was to be built hv ih society of Lyme • anri n^r. • * / ^^ *^® ^^^ 7 "1 i^yme , and appointed an oversppr fnr ♦»,« * l not far from one hundred and fiftv n^u heathen «tm K r . '^^^ ^"^ ^"7- They were nearly all neathen, still believing m their ancient gods: and manv a memorial tn th. a !^, clergymen presented exam ne the case, and see that the Nehantics were nlacerf .n q„,et possession of .heir rights, was chosen The' "l' mmee surveyed the land, fixed the bounds, and oX^d that the mcIos.„g fences should ' , erected by the ^erh m or nearly all the herbage on the land, and the As- sembly was compelled to admit the legalit; of the clafm These measures somewhat soothed the temper of he ^ orS^h.. isitodtltf^-ti^ May of the same year h.s example was followed by a * Colonial Records, Vol V Tn,i,nn d t Indian Pnp^s. v;,. iL.^^^^^ ''' '' ^~ ^^S. 35 ,!(>!, ''I' ;!!. i Wl I i' ^1 384 HIST0R7 OF THE INDIANS clergyman named Adams, probably Eliphalet Adams of Mohegan. The Nehantics told this gentleman that Captain Mason had promised them a school, a«d they begged him to see that the promise was fulfilled. Mr. Adams petitioned to the Assembly; a grant of fifteen pounds was obtained, and with this sum a man named Ely was hired to open a school for the Nehantics.* Six or seven years after this, the great religious interest of New England spread among the Narragansetts, Pequots and Mohegans, and finally reached the western Nehantics. Together with about one hundred English, Mr. Griswold, the minister of Lyme, admitted into his church thirteen Indians.! These were, perhaps, the first of the tri'^e who forsook their ancient superstitions ; and, at all events, they were the first who cordially embraced the Christian faith. Some of iix~ Nehantics were still dissatisfied with the tenure of their lands, and nineteen of them presented [1743] a memorial on the subject to the Assembly. From this paper we learn that the English farmers claimed the grass on two hundred acres of the reservation ind the fall foed of the remaining one handred. The pelitioners ac- cused three men, named John and Jonathan Prentiss and Thomas Mannering, of having taken possession of the southern hundred acres and inclosed them. They com- plained that their ^'lardians were old men and not able to perform their duties. The Nehantics, they said, wished to live like Christian people, and keep cattle^ hogs and swine, which, in the present state of things, was difficult, if not impossible.^ • Colonial Records, Vol. VI. Indian Papers, Vol. I. t Trumbull, Vol. II, p. 146. t Indian Papers, Vol, I, Doc. 25!. / MmmitMii«a:imiiiammmmtkMxmmfi&9^eMt*/iiu-tmu,)ii mamasmimimBmMi OF CONNfiCTICUT. 385 A committee was appointed to investigate the subiect but ..s proceedings did not satisfy the Indians, and bick' enngs still continued between them and the farmers. At one time the former owned a few cattle and swine, and wished to pasture them at pleasure on the reservation. The farmers, however, still claimed the herbage of all the hundred They threatened to impound the animals of the Indians If these claims were not respected, and actually dd impound some of them. Something in this style, now . quiet and now disturbed, matters went on till 1762 Two men, named Joseph Smith and Edward Champlin, then laid claim to part of the reserration by virtue of a grant formerly made to Jonathan Bull of Hartford, descending iron, him to his sons, and made over by them to Neh^ miah Smith of Groton. A compromise was effected, by which the upper hundred acres was equally divided with regard tp both quantity and quality : one half was re- tained by the Indians, and the other made over to Smith and Champlin.* The last sachem of the Nehantics was a Pequot, named Vummanum, who died about 1710. In 1761, President Stile.. visited the rribe and found it to consist of eighty- five persons, lidng in eleven houses and seven wigwams there were nir.e widows, ten married men with their wives, and fifty-six children, large and small. The large IVT. r rir^^"^' ^^ ^^P^^^^^^ ^ ^^e fact that, from 17^5 to 1761 eighteen men of the Nehantics had joined the colonial troops in the war against Canada, and sevea out of this number had died or been killed in the service.f ♦ Indian Papers, Vol. I. Doc. 124. t President SiUes's Itinerary. 386 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS It is probable that this census of President- Stiles extended only to the Indians immediately around Black Point : for, in 1774 it was shown by the colonial census, that the number of Indians in the whole township was one hun- dred and four * 'ri 1783, the number of families remain- ing at Nehantic was sixteen : only one of them living in wigwams : all the rest in rude houses. One of the tribe, named Simon Hobaxt, served in the Connecticut line during the revolutionary war and received pay like other soldiers. Some have sold their lands in late years, by permission of the Legislature, and have removed to Brothertown, or to other places where bands of Indians existed. Trespasses have hardly yet ceased upon the property of the Nehantics, as appears from an enactment passed in 1836, by which a fine of five dollars was im- posed upon any one who should carry a load of wood off from the reservation.! At the present time the amount of the Nehantic land is about two hundred and forty acres, of which rather more than half is cleared, and, for the most part, used as pasture. Very little is cultivated, or otherwise employed, by the Nehantics, the rest being rented by white farmers. The Indians have some bank stock and a quantity of money at interest, but their whole annual income is not above one hundred and thirty dollars. Some of the tribe have, in years back, removed to Oneida County, New York, and at present it amounts to only ten individuals. All but one are full-blooded, and this one has no share in the income of the property. Some of them occasionally go to sea ; but they all make it their residence in Lyme, * Mass. Hiflt. Coll., Vol. X, p. 118. t State RecordB, Vol. XXI. I i or CONNECTICUT. 387 except one who usually resides at Mohegan. They have but one house, and their only other dwellings consist of two wigwams. For some years they have kept but few cattle, and, at present, their whole stock amounts to one horse, one cow and fifteen or twenty sheep. Two of them are much addicted to intemperance : the others go to meetmg, send their children to school, and are generally moral, and, to a certain extent, industrious. Such is the condition of the western Nehantics in the year eighteen hundred and forty-nine. A few monuments remain of their ancient existence, as fleeting, and as unobtrusive in their nature, as that ex- istence Itself has been. Arrow heads and stone hatchets are sometimes found in the soil; large deposits of shells have been discovered even at a distance from the sea- shore ; skeletons have been exhumed by inhabitants of Lyme m digging their cellars ; and the Niantic River with Its ceaseless washings, has exposed skulls and bones which were once interred on its banks.* Thus closes, for the present, the history of all the primitive tribes of Connecticut, with the exception of the Pequots and the Mohegans. It is a history which opens in all the freshness and wildness of savage life, amidst the rustling of unbroken forests, and in hearing of the long- drawn howl of the wolf and the piercing yell of the panther. It closes amid the presence of busy multitudes the clangor of Sabbath bells, the strokes of the printing press, the puff of the steamboat, and the thundering rush • For the above information concerning the present condition of the Ne- hantics. I am indebted to a letter (dated December 3d. 1849) from their overseer, Calvin S. Manwaring, Esq., of East Lyme. 35* ';l .ii!' 1' . k f ■i Ij RISTORT or THE INDIANS, ETC. of the locomotive. The change has been complete, and in its nature marvelous ; but the space over which that change extends has been a space of two hundred and twenty years. It can hardly be accounted singular, that, m this period, an attenuated and feeble barbarism should have given way before a full and vigorous civilization. ;'to'--»«a(iaU»iaKt4**s*^3«ft , and that and that, lould •n. / CHAPTER X. HISTORY OP THE NEW TBIBES FORMED IN THE NORTH AND WEST OF CONNECTICUT. The present chapter will contain the history of the new tnbes which were formed among the Indians by aggregation from the older commumties. These tribes will be only four: the New Milford Indians ; the Indians of Sharon and Salisbury ; the Scatacook Indians of Kent, and the Naugatuc Indians of Humphreysville. Other settlements of the same kind may have existed ; but, with the exception of one at Ridgefield, and a very insignifi- cant one at Woodbridge, both for obvious reasons already mentioned, none such have come to my knowledge. NEW MILFOR^ INDIANS. The clan which collected at New Milford was quite considerable in size, although I cannot find that it ever had a distinctive name. It was unquestionably a mere collection of refugees and wanderers, who had migrated hither from the southern and eastern parts of Connecticut to escape from the vicinity of the English settlements! Its numbers seem to have been large about the beginning of the last century, although it is perfectly incredible that |»{ H F i ^ ( i I 'i ;• . „M i^ : t.i 1 390 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS it could have mustered, as some authors have affirmed, two or three hundred warriors. The manuscripts of Pres- ident Stiles state them at three hundred; and a century- sermon preached in 1801 by the Rev. Stanley Griswold, then of New Milford, puts them at two hundred. Both these gentlemen had good opportunities for obtaining in- formation, yet I must still be allowed to express my incredulitjr. Tradition is always unsafe, and always exaggerates ; and even our recollection, when it refers to events which happened in our youth, inclines us often to exceed the truth, never to underrrte it. For the sound- ness of these positions I would be willing to submit to the judgment of any judicious person, who has had experience in collecting oral information on a historical subject, and comparing that information with written facts. When Gookin, in 1674, wrote his Historical Collections of the Indians of Ne vv England, he was told by the " ancient In- dians" that, forty years previous, the Pequots could muster four thousand warriors. Yet, in that early period to which he alludes, the Pequots themselves stated their numbers at only seven hundred warriors. When I was in the eastern part of the State, inquiring into the condi- tion of the North Stonington Pequots, one gentleman ass,;ired me that they were rapidly declining ; that thirty years a^o they numbeied as many as twenty families, and that during a very few years back they h-^i diminished full two-thirds. Yet, when I came to prosecute my in- quiries, I was informed, on unquestionable authority, that, thirty years ago they numbered not more than ten fami- lies, and that at the present time they arc nearly as nu- merous as they were then. Other examples might easily .« ^ i.tmmtMuamimiMKtimaamtam ^^^^^Y-Tili ^^ •MiMilMI^ .44L ■■'■eim&miiVMi^fMi' OF CONNECTICUT. 391 be given of the fallacy of estimates, traditions and remi- niscences, on this subject, and of their invariable tendency to exaggeration. I must, therefore, disbelieve that the INevv Milford Indians could raise three hundred warriors, and must be allowed to question whether they could even muster one-third of that number. The rapidity with which they disappeared, and the sparse population of the tribes from which they congregated, render it improbable that they could have been very numerous. The first settlers of New Milford were from the old town of Milford on the Sound. They bought the town- ship from the native proprietors, on the eighteenth of Feb- ruary, 1703, for sixty pounds in money and twenty pounds m goods. The first Indian name mentioned in the deed and the first on the list of signers, was Papetoppe ; from whence it is possible that he at that time was sach«m. The others are Rapiscotoo, Towcomis, Nanhootoo, Haw- wasues, Yoncomis, Shoopack, Wewinapouck, Docames, Paramethe, Wewinapuck, Chequeneag, Papiream, Noko- purrs and Paconaus. It is witnessed by the interpreter, John Minor; and by Ebenezer Johnson, John Durand' Wonawak and Tomaseete. Although this purchase was' made in 1703, it was not recorded until 1756, more than half a century afterwards; being found in the records, not on the first page of the first volume, where it ought to be, but on the two hundred and sixty-ninth page of tho ninth volume. This fact and others similar give us reason to conclude that some, if not many, Indian deeds are now lying in oblivion, or have been totally lost, for want of being recorded. Tho proportion of Connecticut which we can prove to have been sold by tho Indians to the iij.^ ^^f i L'i i ' . I 392 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I J whites is much less extensive than that which unques- tionably was thus sold. A considerable tract of ground, which is now known as the Indian fields, and lies on the west side of the Hou- satonic, opposite to the village of New Milford, still re- mained to the Indians after this sale. This tract was sold in 1705, [September 8th,] to John Mitchell of Wood- bury, by one Shamenunckgus, who styled himself its sole proprietor. The paper was signed by Shamenunckgus himself, by Papetoppe, who signed the first sale, Ches- queneag, Whemut, Wannuppe, Cuttouckes, Joman, Ap- pacoco, Yongan, Yongan's squaw, Papetoppe's squaw and Mantooe's mother.* These rolls of unmusical and out- landish names may seem tiresome and uninteresting to the majority of readers ; yet those who have toiled among Indian records, and who look with interest and kindness upon the mementoes of that faded race, will know how to ttxcuse me for introducing them into my narrative. Whether Papetoppe or Shamenunckgus were sachems is uncertain ; but, if they were, they were soon succeeded by another whose name has acquired much more notoriety. This was Raumaug, or Weraumaug, whom we find in 1716 selling, in conjunction with one Nepato, a large tract of land north of New Milford. It stretched twenty-five miles along the east bank of the Housatonic, was one mile in width, and was bought by Benjamin Fairweather of Hartford for twenty-nine pounds.f The country around New Milford was styled Wyan- tenock ; and the chief residence of the Indians was at tho • New Milford Records, Vol. II, p. 3. Recorded Novtmber 2Gth, 1714. t Jun« 88th, 1716. New Milford Records, Vol. I, p. 73. «V CONNECTICUT. 393 i fiJls.on the Housatonie, called by the natives Meticha«ron This rapid descent of water formed an excellent fishing place, espec.ally ,n the spring, when great numbers of lamprey eels came swarming up the river and vainly attempted to ascend the cascade. At this spot, and „o^ far, probably, from the bank of the river, stood the palace or great w.gwam of Weranmaug. It was constructed of a frame of poles, covered with bark laid on and fastened With unusual care. The smooth side of the bark was inwards, and was adorned with pictures of many kinds of known beasts, birds, fishes and insects, and some, too no doubt, which were never known. The artist who' executed these drawings was an Indian, and had been sent to Wcraumaug by a sachem, living at a great dis- tance, who was his friend. = s » President Stiles tells us, that the fndians of New Mil- ford were on terms of alliance with those who lived at Scatacook or Kent, at Pomperaug or Woodbury, at Ban- torn or Litchfield, and at Wealaug or Salisbury." The clan at Woodbury, however, was merely a part of the Potatucks; that at Litchfield was no doubt extremely in- s.gmfica„t; while the one a. Scatacook was not formed till 1728, nor that at Salisbury till slill later. The ranse of tribes living on the Housalonic combined, it is said ii, a system of signals, consisting of cries which might 'be heard from one eminence to another, by means of which an alarm could be conveyed down the river, in three hours, over a line of-nobody pretends to tell hoT • many miles. Some of the heights in New Milford still bear euch names as Fort Hill, Guarding Mountain, to show • Itinerary. 'h'' 394 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS that they were once occupied by the fortresses and look- out stations of the Indians. As I have already mentioned, the natives early parted with the Indian fields ; but they long kept a reservation at the falls in the Housatonic ; and Weraumaug also made another, of two thousand acres, which was comprised in what is now the society of New Preston in Washington. This last was sometimes called the hunting grounds of Weraumaug, and was eventually sold (some of it, at least,) by Chere, son of the sachem. The Rev. Daniel Boardman, ordained in 1716 the first minister . of New Milford, became much interested in Weraumaug, and often mentioned him with great respect. In one of his letters, quoted by Trumbull, he calls him " a distinguished sachem," speaks of " his great abilities and eminent virtues," and declares, though very incor- rectly, that he was the most powerful chieftain that ever lived in Connecticut. He took great pains to instruct him in the truths of the Christian religion ; and, from his evidence, it would seem that the sachen's death-bed was softened by penitence and cheered by hope. During his last illness, Mr. Boardman constantly attended him, and endeavored to impress and confirm upon his mind the vital truths of Christianity. It was a sad place for a sick and dying man ; for all the other Indians, and even the sarhem's wife, were bitterly opposed to the English reli- gion, and exerted their utmost influence to keep him true to the cheerless faith of his ancestors.* Their conduct • Thus far from Trumbull, Vol. 11, pp. 83, 84 ; and Barber, pp. 475, 476. Barber copies from the sermon, before referred to, by Mr. Griswold ; and that gcnileman drew, for authority, from a manuscript left by the Rev. Daoiel nonrdinan. rs&fxmmsimmiismr^Bmsaimmfmmm OF CONNECTICUT. 395 was rude and abusive towards the good minister; and scenes sometimes occurred which, in spite of the solemnity of the occasion, were little less than ludicrous. Once m particular, while Mr. Boardman was at the sachem's bed-side, the latter asked him to pray, to which he of course assented. It happened that there was at this time n the village a sick child, whom a powwow had under- taken to cure by means of the usual writhings, grimaces and belbwings. • As soon as Mr. Boardman began his prayer, Weraumaug's wife sent for this Indian clergyman stationed him at the door, and bade him commence hi exercises. The powwow immediately set up a prodigious shoutjngand howling; Mr. Boardman prayed loudeVso that the sick man might hear him above the din; elch raised his voice more and more as he went on; the In- dians gathered round, anxious for the success of their champion; the powwow was fully determined to tire out he black-coat, and Mr. Boardman was equally .esolved that he wou d not be put to silence in his duty by this son of Behal. The indomitable minister afterwards de- clared, that, according to the best of his belief, he prayed three hours, without stopping, before victory declared in his favor. The powwow, completely exhausted with his efforts, gave one tremendous yell by way of covering his retreat ; then took to his heels, and never stopped till he was cooling himself up to his neck in the Housatonic The above anecdote, with some other particulars con- cerning the New Milford Indians, was related to me by the grandson of Mr. Boardman, the venerable David S Boardman of New Milford. This gentleman informed me that he supposed, from various circumstances, that the 86 396 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS ! t' ^j I i death of Weraumaug must have happened about the year 1735. His grandfather left a minute account of his labors with the sachem ; but unfortunately it has been lost, and nothmg now remains of it but some facts which were copied into the sermon of Mr. Griswold. Chere, the son of Weraumaug, was never sachem ; the tribe breaking up and dispersing soon after his father's death. He was a savage, violent man, of huge stature, great strength, and had a deep, hoarse voice. Like the othe- Indians, Chere disliked Mr. Boardman's teachings but held th^t gentleman himself in great respect, because' nature had endowed him with extraordinary bodily strength.: One day, Sherman Boardman, the son of the minister, observed Chere and another Indian sitting ou a log, both partially intoxicated, and engaged in a violent quarrel. He came up softly "behind them, and just as he reached the log saw Chere draw back his hand to stab the other, who was too drunk to observe it. Young Boardman caught the huge wrist, and held it firmly while he shook the savage with all his strength. '' Ah boys '" roared Chere with his big voice ,• then looking over his shoulder and seeing who it was, he said. '' I give up ' your father is the strongest man in the world !" In 1736, part of the New Milford Indians migrated to Scatacook, and took up their residence on the plain on the west side of the river. Their desire of remaining here hf ving been communicated to the Assembly, an order was passed, forbidding any white person to lay out a farm on this plain, and declaring that whoever laid out such a farm should obtain no title thereby.* * Indian Papers, Vol. I, Doc. 170. Mi^mfeaifep !^wi or CONNECTICCT. i« About six years after this removal, the New Milford Indians as well as the Soa.acooks, and various ohlr clans of New York and Connecticut i^ this vid„r we" very favorably influenced by the labors of the S^" m,-.o«ar.es. A more full account of these laborsZd o" .rr;"".'"^ f'^'"' "'" "« S-» - 'he history of the f't : ■ "" "•'' '™^ "^^'^ ^^^ """y thirty of the tnbe remammg in New Milford. This remnant m,t.ed wuh the Potatucks in petitioning the ArmbTy for a school and preaching. The Potatucks were provided for as I have already described. The Assembly recom- C Milf ;"? '" ""^ '^^'°™' ^-^ "' 'he min'rr Hf own Th'r H° ""'■"' "*""" '"" P'^^o-^-S in that town. These advantages were made use of for a fme and some of the Indian children attended the schodsbrh wmter and summer.! When the Moravians left tt ^r" of the country, a large par. of the New Milford Ind.Tn ^ft also, and moved with their teachers to Pennsylvania Many „ .hem died there ; others returned to (TI Z; and sett Id a, Scatacook. They still retained their land S ockb f '" "" '''"'"'■ "■"' "^"^ '" -•»« "own fro,; Stockbndge, every year, to fish for lampreys, which d" ne° ef: ,d " "" ""'"' '" '"= "'^ ™s'stand'he; never would part with, although they had sold every her part of their ancient patrimony. By the censu f im, .t appears that there were no Indians remaining in L a^i :: ":?'"' """' "■"■"'■S'" to this fishing place, and, even of late years, when a straggler present! • Equal to about eleven pounds in silver t Indian Papers. Vol. I, Doc'ts 240,241.243. Ii 398 ' t HISTORY OF THE INDIANS himself, his claims are acknowledged, and he is allowed nosLT i, " "" ""' ^'" ''^' "^ 'h« "'" op- posite the village ; another on the east side at no grea^ dmance from the ancient residence of the sachem. M "^ of the graves have trees of considerable size growiMl o..t of them. The mounds are circular in shape Id on opemng then, the skeletons are found in TLtZl posture. Tne grave of Weraumaug is still supposed to b^ dLTni r '"'^ '- '^^ "'-- -^ '" ^-^ of c INDIANS OP SALISBURY AND SHARON. corrr'of tlirLf. ""' '"" '""^"'P-^ '" "^^ "-"^--t nected 1 K f ! '""" '° ^''"' ^'^'^ «»«eiently con- nected to be placed under one head. They were com posed of refugees from various quarters : ml^ Z" pT:- rortheM":""":"'- ^"-^ ^™— -ilr .he Hudsl R vef 1; .t/'""^ ''"" ''^ """''^"^ » z iviver. As the former retreated west to avoiVI he advancmg Now Bnglanders, so the latter ™oved a Nel York' "" '° "'^^^^ '""^ ">« -'"^ settlements i: In Sharon the Indians lived chiefly in the northwestern parts of the town, fishing around the large pond, tit™ and hun.n,g m the still undisturbed forests Their pri^;' cjpal v.„age was on the plan, lying between Z Mountain, a spur of the Taghconnuc range, and India^ • Barber, pp. 475, 47G. ( =*^*^****l'^^«*«»»fe«<»^ife^*ai^^ or CONNECTICUT. :ori- Pond, 399 and N V 1r'"" '" '^' ^'''' ^^^^^^'-^ Connecticut probably ten or fifteen years after the principal English settlement was commenced [1739] in Salisbury. The first purchase of land effected by white men in these regions was probably the one made by two citizens of iNew York on the thirty-first of January, 1721. Twcv were Lawrence Knickerbocker of Dutchess County, and Johannes Diksman of the manor of Livingston. The tract purchased lay west of the Housatonic and north of the great falls, and must have comprised more than half of the present township of Salisbury. The deed was given for a consideration of twenty pounds, and was sub- scribed by Konaguin, Sakowanahook and others, ''all of the nation of the Mohokandos," that is, of the Mohicans of Hudson Rit-er.f The number of Indians in Salisbury, in these early times, was considerable ; and, even some time afterwards It was said that their village counted seventy wigwams They were perfectly .friendly, however, to the settlers, who for many years were few and scattered. In 1726, a number of English from Connecticut pur- chased of Mef.xon, the sachem, the southwest corner of Sharon, and all the western part of Salisbury up to within about two miles of the Housatonic River. Again on the sixth of November, 1738, Thomas Lamb purchased of tho same chieftain all the land in Sharon, still unsold, with the exception of a strip, one mile in width, across the southern extremity of the township. For this territory he paid the sum of eighty pounds; and shortly after he • Barbe , p. 492. t Pnpcrs on Towns and Lands, Vol. VII, Doc. 245. 36* I 1 nf' & I- i 400 HISTORT or THE INDIANS added to It the slip at the south end, which he succeeded m buying, for nine pounds, of an Indian named John or Waunese. Other purchases took place subsequently, and by 1740 the whites had obtained possession of all of both townships, except about two miles square in the northeast corner of Salisbury. The Indians soon, however, began to complain, asserting that some lands had been taken which they never sold, and that they were not allowed the rights, which they had reserved, of living on some of the lands which they had sold. These complaints were probably just, for some of the neighboring whites united ^vith them in thinking that they were aggrieved; and, in addition. It was stated by a committee, appointed to ex- amine the case by the Assembly, that the Indians had been wronged in the laying out of the lands.* In 1742, therefore, a memorial on the subject was pre- sented to the Assembly, subscribed by Messrs. Pratt Skmner and Dunham of Sharon, and by Stephen Negun' temaug, Nanhoon and other Indians of the vicinity The memorial mentioned the above grievances, and prayed that a committee might be appointed to examme into them. It stated that the number of Indians in the north- west corner of Sharon was considerable ; that there were others in the vicinity, and that they were all anxious to be instructed m the Scriptures, and to have their children educated in a knowledge of the Christian rel i^ion f In answer to this petition, a committee was sent to Sharon, to investigate the Indian claims. The com- • Indian Papers. Vol. I. Doc'ts 244-246. Towns and Lands Vol Vir Documents 213, 214, 249, ^^naa, voi. vil, t Towns and Lands, Vol. VII. Document 913. I i ms^s^^^sisi^ii^'mmmmmmm ^^iimkMi or CONNECTICUT. 401 mittee, on examination, found that tlie whole number of Indians m Sharon was only forty-five ; and that they Z c aimed two hnndred acres of land in the northwest cornt of that township, besides a tract of two miles square in the northeast corner of Salisbury. The committee gave It as their opinion that all, or nearly all, of Sharon had been fairly purchased by the settlers ; but they still re- commended that fifty acres should be set off to the In- dians, who, they thought, could not reasonably ask for any more* ' .„ 1"' u'T^!^ ^P'"'"""' °^'"«' Edwards of Hartford to finish the business. He was to buy the two miles square m Salisbury, and lay out the fifty acres, for he Peter Pratt of Sharon to give religious instruction to the Indians for the next six months; and, for this purpose was authorized to draw on the colonial treasury to the amount of twenty pounds.t Edwards proceeded to Sharon, but did not execute his commission there, as the Indians still claimed ,wo hundred acres and told him they could not keep together wi h less, havmg cultivated eighty-nine acres that very year They stated their willingness to listen to Mr. Pratt ; con- tinued to express a desire for the education of their chil- dren ; and said that, if they were allowed to keep together they would receive the laws of the colony thankfully and behave as good subjects. Under such circumstances it seemed very hard to force them on the meagre pittance of fifty acres; and Edwards, letting the matter pass for * '"'"»" f'P"', Vol. I, Dociiment 244 ♦ I"'""" '""K". Vol. I, Docnmeni S45. 1 t^|i8 hi: :* m 402 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS , i the time, promised them that he would report their situa- tion to the Assembly * From Sharon he went on to Salisbury, to buy the two miles square still possessed in that town by the Indians. But this part of the tribe, it seems, had already emigrated, and vrere now living in Stockbridge. Proceeding to Stockbridge, he published his errand among the Indians ^ere, and inquired for the owners of the Indian lands in VVeataug.t All agreed in saying that there were but three left : a man, a woman and a child. The man, Tautau- pusseet, had wandered abroad and was living at a great distance. The woman was his sister, Shekannenooti, and the child was named Kowannun. Edwards drew up a deed, had it read and interpreted to Shekannenooti and Kowannun, and bought the land for sixty pounds sterling.! '^ On his return he reported the case of the Sharon In- dians ; but no notice seems to have been taken of their wants, and for several years they had no land which they could call their own. They exhibited much discontent at this injustice, and many of the white inhabitants of Sharon became interested in their complaints. In 1747 a number of the settlers memorialized the Assembly! representing *he uneasiness of the Indians, and asking that a committee might be appointed to examine into the difficulties and settle them.<^ A committee was chosen, which repaired to Sharon and laid out for the Indians one hundred and seventy acres. The same land, however, had been laid out, five years before, to one Joseph Skinner. • Indian Pnpere, Vol, I, Doc. 246. $ Indian Papen, Vol. I, Doc. 246. t The Indian nume of Snliibury, i Colonial Recordi, Vol. VIII. /, ^»-msiSmimmJii, I op CONNECTICUT. 403 who, having thus a legal title to it, refiised to g,vc it „„ or even to exchange it for another tract.* The IndianJ were, therefore, still without a certain home, and of oZ ontmued their complaint. They never intended o "" the,r land, they said, b„. were deceived into it by those who were more cunning than themselves. But as t,^ prospect of obtaining their rights seemed .„ become m re and more hopeless, ,hey continued to move away 7Z Sharon , and, by 1702, only .wo men, Bartholomel and Ne^ untemang, remained. These two were willing to sell the r cla,ms, and one Thomas Barnes of Salisbury ac cordmgly struck a bargain with them and took a deed date the fourth of August, 1752. Negantemaugtd a.r.holomew then moved away; and, for a time, the In fh'e'nTT'.TJj '""''" '^ "'^ ""S'"^' P-Prie.ors.t In the fall of 1754, one of the tribe, named Timotheus, made h,s appearance, and began to hang around the set- tlement. He often came into the farmers' houses, and expressed h.s indignation that the land which the com- mittee laid out to the Indians had never been put in their possession. As he sat, one day, in the kitchen of Jona- than Pe,,„, he talked about the wrongs ol his people until he became excited and very angry. " I vow it is my land," he exclaimed, " and you know it. I swear it is my land, and I will have it." Nightly disturbances now commenced : whoops and whistlings were heard near the houses of the settlers • and doors. One Thomas Jones had bough, a farm and a log. • InJf.n P„,„„, Vol. II, Docuino m. S»_24 t Iiidun Pi,,,^,,, v„|. II, !)„„„„„„ ej u, r 1 ■ t 404 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS house near the spot where the Indians formerly lived Its previous owner was a Dutchman who had been the chief confident and adviser of the Indians. Jones obtained it in the sprmg preceding Timotheus's re-appearance, and, as both Dutchman and Indians had moved away, he an- ticipated no disturbance. Now, however, he be^ n to hear men talking, by night, about his house j and some- times, too, they would beat upon the outside with what seemed to be clubs and hatchets. The other settlers, finding how he was persecuted, came by turns to watch with him, and for two or three weeks a regular guard of armed men was kept up in the lonely dwelling. One Sabbath evening, as the guard, consisting of three or four men all armed with guns, were sitting together in the cabm, an Indian pushed aside the blanket which served for a door, and put his head partly in at the opening. One of the men proposed, in a low tone, to shoot: but another, named John Palmer, prevented him, hoping for a better chance in a moment. The Indian drew back and they then watched through the cracks between the logs until they discerned him standing at a little distance. Palmer fired at him through a large crack, but missed : seizing another gun he fired a^ain through the rude win- dow ; and this time he thought the Indian stumbled and fell. They rushed out to the spot, but found nothing. Soon after, they saw a man further on, in the clear moon- light, dressed in a white blanket, and Palmer fired again but with the same ill success as before. Joseph Jackson ran out with the others, but was told by one of them to go back and guard the house. Ho went back, but soon returned, and, as he ran on, met a man carrying a gun ^^^^^»memi!£w'!sm^m^^;g;s^i^^-^:-,,^:,. ved. Its he chief tained it ice, and, r,he an- )et, n to id some- th what settlers, watch ^uard of ?. One 1 or four : in the I served 'pening. ot; but aing for 7 back, ;en the istance. nissed : le win- ed and othing. moon- again, ickson lem to t soon a gun OP CONNECTICUT. ^ij and dressed in loose blue clothing. He took him .n h one of the company na„.ed John Lay, w otor a oo ! blue overcoat; but, finding that John Gray "Z b fl him, he turned back and ran after the stranger whom b! now concluded to be an Indian. He could':', til: however; and, after a while, the others returned to he house equally unsuccessful. ^® tJ'r""^J,'""" """ ^" "='=''""' "'■ 'h'^^ dis-urbauces to the Assen^hly, with -.he affidavits of several perso,rwho had oeen witnesses. A committee was appofnted o t am,ne ,„to .he grounds of the discohtem amo'ng thj Ind,a„s, and to devise some fair and equable rTeZl of pu...ng an end ,o it. Affairs, however^ we rroul. o -adjustment without any official iut'erven.i' "1 part of the colony. Timotheus, who was no doubt Z Th? i^Txi .'""T' "'"-' '" -« » Sla'im . or Barth^iTc: ^^^12::::^^;:-^ pounds ten sh.llings of New York cur „cv and Z pounds of the old tenor of Connect! • Vr 1 Z ' so ted; .he money was paid; Timotheus declatd hTm self sa,.,r.ed; and from this time Thomas Jone and™ h,sfe,ow.„fferers were allowed to sleep i„ peacl ' "" SaLury ;■ "" """" '""'''"'" '" «""- «"" "'"« » THE NAUOATDC I.VDUKS. The Naugatuc Indians, or .he band to which I shall giv, that name, res.ded at the falls of the Naugatuc, about fiv' t Indian Pnpere, Vol. II. DoB'm RQ—uc ♦ m w,. oi. ii.uo«(sB3-85. t Mn8s.Hiit.Coll.,Vol.X,p. 118. 1 1- m ill. 1 1 ;■' i 406 HISTORY or THE INDIANS : i f miles above its confluence with the Housatonic. Gideon Weh.,, the founder of a tribe which will present^ b noticed, had a son, named Jo or Joseph, who lived till he was twenty-one with one of the settlers of Derby A he chose then to remain in this vicinity, his father gave h,m a tract of land near the above mentioned faUs, JZ .he hm,ts of w at is now the village of Humphr ysville Here a fe. followers gathered round him, 'and during forty or fifty, years he played the part of a ;etty sachem m.dTe IZ"' T"""' "' pronouncing the word LL; o OW Ch^ ^'"='' -"'-bered in the village by the nam of Old Chuse. Chuse built his wigwam among a few oak trees near the falls; and supported himself, after the fashion of Ins race, by fishing, by hunting, a, d by the produce of a I.t.le patch of ground. When he took up h,s residence here, there were only two or three white families in the vicinity ; but others followed, and gradually ml up a vinage which, for many years, ;as known y the name of Chusetown. The sachem lived on the most amicab terms wuh his cvili.ed neighbors, and I have heard h,m spoken of with feelings of evident kindness and sympathy by those .ho remembered him. Anecdotes a e p eserved of him, which show that he was somcvhat addic ed to the use of ardent spirits, and considered rum or whisky essentially superior, as a beverage, to cold water. He used to come, when he was thirsfy to a fie .pring, bursting from a hollow rock at the foot of a hil •nd there he would sit, down on the bank by the side of |hat spring, and drink the sweet water as it gi'illd tm the rock, and pratse .t ; and say that, if there was only • Gideon Jsently be i^ed till he !rbJ^ As ther gave Is, within reysville. d during ■ sachem, nly spelt i choose ; the name ig a few- after the I by the took up !e white radually lown by he most I have :indness lecdotes newhat ed rum to cold 5 a fine a hill ; side of d from IS only or CONNECTICUT. 407 another spring, just such a spring, of rum, flowing by the side of a, he would ask for nothing more, but should be perfectly happy. Chuse was a large, athletic man, and a skillful hunter: in his shooting excursions he used to kill deer, wild turkeys, and occasionally a bear. In 1760, he sold an acre and a half of land, on the east side of the falls, to Thomas Perkins of Enfield, and Ebe- nezer Keney, Joseph Hull and John Wooster of Derby who had formed a company for the purpose of putting up sonie iron works. After living at Humphreysville forty- eight years, Chuse moved to Scatacook, where, a fevr years afte., he died at the age of eighty. His land was not disposed of till 1792, when it still amounted to thirty- three acres. At the petition of his heirs it was then sold for their benefit. It lay in the bend of the Naugatuc, between Bladen's brook on the north, and the bridge over the river on the south.* THE SCATACOOKS. One of the largest, if not the very largest, of the tribes formed by the bands of wanderers who retreated before the advancing colonists was the tribe of Scatacooks in Kent. The founder of this community was a Pequot called Gideon Mauwehu, who possessed something of the energy and commanding character for which his nation was once distinguished. He is first known as having boen the leader of a small band which li ^d about the lower portions of the Housatonic. He is said to have re- wded, at one time, in or near Derby ; and it is certain that • Barber, pp. 199, 200. Colonial and State Rcoorda. 37 Ml, 5 I\ 40S HISTORY OP THE INDIANS i i: oi ms sons on a small territory at Humphrevsvillp H. ana in 17-29 ho soems to have been one of thirteen In .tlZpaS -^^J/Hecners oran ni.soMTant ^ou.tiess that no. ^o:;::..::^:^:^;^ Milford IndTa! '"'°""' '■"''""<=« "^ '"e New Ten Mi,e Kivert r 3,1^;^ ^^ '^ r^d aovvn from this eminence, he beheld that ^entle rhJ with fJ ' ' ^^"'"^ ^"^'^» ^v-as deh-^hted with the scene, and instantly perceived th. u , of the re^inn r^. • Perceived the capabilities hLt:r;:et"r;:;re;rr'^^ up his property, and jout'ed with lirC;" ^fl '«wersto.h.„ev..fou„d,a„Lr<,,,ieta:dfe;:'';l,^: ^^^f^^^ftii^Mi^^^i^^sa^ki^Mbi^ OF CONNECTICUT. 409 here he issued invitations to his old friends at Potatuck and New Milford, to the Mohegans of the Hudson River and to other tribes of the surrounding country. Immi- grants flocked in from all quarters; large numbers espe- cially came from the clans south of him on the Housa- tonic; and, in ten years from the 'time of the settlement It was thought that a hundred warriors had collected under the sachemship of Mauvvehu. A considerable ac- cession was received from the New Milford tribe in 1736 a short time after the death of their sachem, Weraumaug! The Indians called their settlement Scatacook, and it is by this name that the tribe thus formed always continued to be distinguished. The Scatacooks had not enjoyed their happy valley many years before they were disturbed by *he arrival of the whites. The settlement of Kent, commenced in 1738 was prosecuted rapidly; but no difficulties seem to have occurred between the settlers and the Indians, and nothing worthy of notice took place until 1742.* In that vear, the Moravian missionaries began to preach to the Scatacooks, and soon effected a remarkable change in the character of the tribe. As this mission had so much to do with the Indians of Connecticut, it will be well to give a short sketch of its history. In 1739 or 1740, a Moravian, named Christian Henry Ranch, arrived at New York, with the design of commencing a mission among the Indians of this part of America. Shortly after his landing, he fell in with two New York Mohegans, and accompanied them to Shekomeko, an Indian viUage between Connecticut and the Hudson. His labors at • The preceding account is chiefly from Barber, pp. 471, 479. V 410 HISTORY or THE INDIANS first met With much opposition from the natives and the "eighbonng whites; but success finally rewarded his perseverance, and, in 1742 he h-,n thn u "^^j*, '^'^ ♦,•„•„„ ' ' ^^ "^" "^6 happiness of bap- Uzms several converts, among whom were the two I„^ d.a >s who brought h.m to Shekomeko. A few of the bj. hren jo.„ed him, and, living and dressing in the n! dtan syle, supported themselves by their own labor. vdlages of Connecticut and New York, affecting,°,o. only .h natives bu, the white population. Many of'the Now Mtlford Indians were converted, and a missionarv amed nn iVT T""" '" """O"' -"» -mained her' until h,s death. Among the Sca.acooks the efforts of the Moravians were eminently successful. Mauwehu .Id from one hundred and twenty ,o one hundred Z fiftj of his people were baptized. A church was buiU and . flourtshmg congregation collected. An almos 1', formation seemed to be effected i , ,h u ' '^' Indians. Nearly their whot! ■ """" "^ "'" .he English was'on r iS a ::r""" "■"=" -""""^ oftheirtimein the „„h , ' ""^ "'"J' ^P^"' a groat part This wide spread relivTu 1 T """""' """^ "' ''^''^'■°»- hostility J>^^:e':z^::r:^^ -''-" of the surrounding district. They .stw h " once cut off, and the Indians v'^ Z f f"" " .heir best customers, now ^^ t mp at Td L'^" Reports were snrpnri tu * .i '^•"P^'aie and savnig. .he^ndianr;^a™t , ^::r°"^.''^^ ~^«™ p-''^-? injoaleagne with .hXl^TC^vrr ''""' called on to serve in the militia, and hll^d '1 ""* cuted to force a ,.nr«,.i- • . "^'^ssecl and perse- lorce a comphance with the call. An act of ^Sim'>^!Viiiimt.,sa«mm;^^ ' ' ^t'Q^S-it'^^.^Bi^^'''" OF CONNECTICCT. 411 Legislaturo was procured in the same colony, commandin? Uie missionaries to take the ', of allegiance, and for! bidding them to teach the Indians unless they obcyod It was contrary to the religious prejudices of the Moravians either to take oaths or to act any part in military afl-urs Rather than violate their consciences, they resolved to leave their present settlements, and retire to some spot where they could preach the gospel in peace. Inviting their flock to follow them, they removed to Pennsylvania"^ where they commenced a village which they called Beth- lehem. The New York people now seized the lands of the Indians, and set a guard to prevent the latter from being visited by the brethren. A large number of the Mohegans* followed their teachers to Bethlehem ; many also, of the IVew Milford Indians, and some of the Scata- cooks. But this change of climate proved fatal to num- bers of the emigrants, especially among the old people. The Connecticut Indians, discouraged by sickness and hardship, returned to their ancient country, and settled at Scatacook. Here, deprived of their teachers, they seemed to forget their religion, sank into intemperance, and began to waste away. In this mournful manner ended the most promising, and, for a time, the most successful religious effort that was ever commenced among the aborigines of Connecticut.f During the war of 1744 with France, Governor Clinton of New York, and a body of commissioners from Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut, had an audience with the Scatacooks and River Indians,| and made them an address • Not the Mohegans of Connecticut, but those of the Hudson. ♦ Tracy's History of American Miasiona, pp. 13. If). Trtimbull. Vol. II, p. 84. t ProbHbly the Stockbriclges of Massachusetts 37* Fi i ! 412 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS calculated to either keep them at peace or engage them on the English side, Thvy be^an «. '. , . ^„ • T ■* "^S^^, ds iS usual on such occas,„„s. by ..yl.ng a.e Indians neighbors . .d friends z::ii f; '""^": ^''"^ "■« «--"- -<» -™'"t.' hencefc^h ook ' t™' '"' ''"='""'^ "'^ "^^^ should henceforth look upon them ,s .he,r ,-„y near relaUons. that n was a very proper time to brighten the chain „f peace ; for the French, without any cause, had jus, be.^n a war oa the English, that the latter might tie fo" want the assistance of their good fr.ends and\ othtr he Scatacoote and River Ind.ans: and that, when a ifn rentent t,me arrived, they would make them J^.^ a present as would be suitable to the circumstancTs. S ch was the stibstance of a speech delivered by one o," the We are inclined to live m peice and love with these three gomiiments and all the rest of his Majesty-f lU^ cove2, i "" "" '''" """ ^^ ''' ="' ■•""^'' " o- covenant chain ; we are resolved that it shall n„, , . and Will therefore wind it with beaver skins ' '"'' Fathers : we are ready to promote good things • and what our unc es, the Six Natm,,., «, '""igs , ana re„j,i„ ■ "ations, have promised we will readily concur m on our part. Fathers : you are the greatest, and you desire us t„ sWBWSSBSHarf^ismettijft..-., gaaiE'^'ryj'. "^wmf^'i^pi^m^f^H^ ^ OF CONNECTTCUT. 413 Fathers : we are united with the Six Nations in one common covenant, and this is the belt which is the token of that covenant. Fathers of Boston and Connecticut : whatever you de- sired of us yesterday we engaged to perform ; and we are very willing to keep and cultivate a close friendship with you; and we will take care to keep the covenant chain bright. Fathers : you are a great people and we are a small one ; we will do what you desire, and we hope you will take care that no harm come to us." The Indians then presented a belt of wampum and three martin skins.* From this speech it seems pretty evident, that the In- dians were considerably more anxious to be protected themselves than to risk their lives in injuiing others. The warlike spirit had greatly decayed among them ; and what was it to them whether the English beat the Frencli, or the French beat the English ? The township of Kent was sold to the original settlors by the colony; and no records or papers remain to show whether the land was usurped from tlie Indians, or was obtained from them by purchase. Reservations, however, were made to them: one on the west bank of the H(.iisa- tonic Rive ; and one, of two thousand acres, in the mountains . and, since there were reservations, we may conclnde that there must have been, in the first place, sales. One of the only two land transactions, beiweon' the natives and the colony, to be found hi the Kent records, is a deed dated December 19th, 174G. For the • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 263. IH f. 414 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS Slim of two hundred pounds, it leases to Benjamin Hol- lister, Robert Watson and Henry Stephens, a large tract, extending from the Honsr.tonic to the western bounds of the colony, for a term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years. This form of passing over the property is an evi- dent attempt to evade those colonial laws which pro- hibited the purchasing of luuian lands by individuals. The record is subscribed by the marks of "Capten May- hew, Lcftcnant Samuel Coksucr, Jobc Mayhow, John Antency, Thomas Cuksuer and John Sokenogc."* From the above spelling of the sachem's" name, we may infer the English origin of the word Mauwehu. Gideon was very likely one of those ''Indian youths" who had been brought up, more or less, in the families ot "godly English," or other English, and had been bap- tized, or otherwise furnislmd, with an English name. When Gideon Mayhew became a chief, he was, very naturally in that military age of New England, dubbed Capten ; and his surname was easily transformed into Mauwehu by his own foreign pronunciation, or by the outlandish spelling of the scribes of those early days. The other Indian deed in the Kent records is a sale by Chere son of Weraumaug, of four hundred acres in Wc- raumaug's Reserve, that is in New Preston in Washington. The price is not mentioned : Chere only declares that he has received a valuable consideration.! After the Connecticut people commenced their settle- ments ill Kent, the Indians took up their residence chiefly on the west bank of the Housatonic. The settlers grad- ually encroached on them, by purchase and perhaps other- • Kent Records, Vol. I, p. 381. t Kent Records, Vol. I, p. 464. M m . m^ im mm iiiM.,mtit' fH'^ftN*!i*wii i jij i )i ! ii|,i^ii| fi OF CONNECTICUT. 416 wise, until, about the year 1752, the Indians found them, selves deprived of nearly all their la.ids on the plain Mau^reh^ and fourteen others now subscribed a peti- tion to the Assembly, saying that the tribe consisted of eighteen fam.l.es ; that they had been deprived of all their planting grounds except a small quantity which was in- sufficient for them ; and praying that they might have a tract of unoccupied land which lay below them along the Housatonic. ° The Assembly granted them about t^vo hundred acres m the place designated, allowing them to cultivate it at pleasure, and to cut what timber they needed for their own use, from the greatest part of it. The tract was not however, given in fee simple, but was to be held by thJ Indians at the pleasure of the colony * Other difficulties followed, similar in their nature to those which took place between other tnbes and the surrounding whites. The Indians complained of en- croachments and trespasses, sometimes with, and some- times apparently without, cause. State committees re- ported, and town committees reported, without producina much more effect than the reports of a similar number of pop-guns. At this distance of time it is not easy to un- derstand the precise grounds of these petty differences nor to discover which party was in the wrong. ' In 1757, Jabez Smith was chosen overseer of the tril.e- being the first officer of the kind appointed for the Scata^ cooks. Ten years after this event, Mauwchu and many other of the older persons in the community being dead the • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Docui.ieat 76. m B,?: i*(> ii »' yg^-^t^ m 1 in ■■ i i Wt ', m m 1 4 416 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS remainder became anxious to remove to Stockbridge. The Stockbridge Indians had invited them to come, and they therefore petitioned the Assembly, that the tract of one hundred and fifty or two hundred acres which had been gi-anted them in 1752 might be sold for their benefit. As this land, however, did not belong to the Indians, but to the colony, the Assembly negatived the request. In October, 1771, the following singular petition, evi- dently the composition and penmanship of the Indians themselves, was presented to the Legislature. " We are poore Intins at Scutcuk in the town of Kent we desire to the most honorable Sembly at New Haven we are very much a pressed by the Nepawaug people praking our fences and our gates and turnmg their cattle in our gardens and destroying our fruits, the loss of onr good friend 4 years ago which we desire fora nother over- seer in his sted to take Care of us and see that we are not ronged by the people we make Choice of Elisha Swift of kent to be our trustee if it [be] pleseing to your minds,"* The petition was signed by David Sherman, Job Suck- nuck and eight others. Elisha Swift was appointed overseer, in accordance with its request. He was shortly succeeded by Reuben Swift, and he, in turn, by Abra- ham Fuller, who held the office for several ye^.;s. The Indians, during all this time, were in extremely poverty- stricken circumstances ; several of them, too, were sick, and were unable to pay the expense? they thus incurred. David Sherman, a signer, and perhaps the comj)oser, of the above petition, broke his brother's head so badly in a • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 201. 1^ fa..,M. - i ,' , ■- 1.11 ■i B i ii Mi tW. . r.:b . i::ja,J i;.~-^:-.-V.-<'.,": .V"'/.- op CONNECTICUT, ijiii 41T quarrel as lo render a trepan necessary. By 1774 ,„ "2n :rrf r '"" ■" '^--'''">- ">» „ul remaining in Kent was only skty-two. Of th other bands of Luchfield County, there were seven ind.vid J In mf ;."'^' '" ''"''"'"''■ »"" ""'^ '" Woodburv.. in 177 , the Assembly ordered that the lands of ihe Scatacooks should be leased to pay their debts and def^a^ their expenses. It was also ordered, with regard to David Sherman, tha, he should be bound out t: service, to Tl Zl w'''*"''' "^'"^ '"'"' "'' ''"">"'« broken head. Thomas Warrups, probably a sou of ;he old sagamore of R admg, was allowed to sell thirty acres of la'nd to pay his debts and provide for his family. Three years after a other tract, of ten acres, was sold for the purpose of m7:" T^ :f ''"' -cumstances of th! A^ar.-up was blind, however, and had lately been sick + of Humphreysville, came to Scatacook, and took up his residence in his father's tribe. His name appears in a petition dated April 13.h, 1786, which bears marks of having been written by some of the Scatacooks. It com- plains concerning their darkness, their ignorance, and their consequent inability to take care of themselves ; and prays that some means may be used to give them knowledge and education. Most of their reserved lands, the petition goes on to say, have been taken from them; they have ^s their hunting grounds in th.e mountains, and the New Milford people have deprived them of their ancient right •IWa». Ilisl, ColL.Vol. X,p. 113. f Indian P.pi-,.. Vol. II. c,,lomal R,„rJ. Vol. XFI. iiilK' 1 I M i M 418 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I ■■■[-■ of fishing at the falls of the Housatonic. Some of their number have suffered extremely from poverty, and the rest are themselves so poor as to be unable to help them. As for the rents of their lands, they do not know what becomes of them ; and they ask the privilege of chc o ing a guardian once a year, and exacting from him an annual settlement. The petition states the number of males in the tribe at thirty-six ; the number of females at thirty- five : twenty of the whole being children of a suitable age for attending school.* A committee was appointed, and examined into the grounds of complaint mentioned in this memorial. They reported that the New Milford people had satisfied the Indians as to their fishing rights ; and that, so far from the Scatacooks being entitled to complain of their guar- dian, they were actually indebted to him to the amount of sixteen pounds, six shillings and sixpence. The com- mittee further stated, that the lands were rented for only one year, and thus the tenants were induced to exhaust them without any regard to their future fertility. They recommended that fifty acres should he allotted to each Indian family, and that the rest should be leased to white farmers in terms of fifty years. As fora school, they re- ported that the children were so few in number, and " kept in such a wild savage way,'- that the thing would be useless. The report was approved by the Assembly ; and we may suppose, therefore, that the measures which it recommended were carried into execution.f In 1801, the Scatacooks were reduced to thirty-fivo idle, intemperate beings, who cultivated only six acres of • Indian Vapn^, Vol II, Doc 219. + Coloninl Recorda. VoL XII. ' i > nf yt^ OF CONNECTICUT. 419 I groand Their lands still amonnlcd to twelre or fiftp.„ V: Tr Th~"^ '°" "■" Housatoniei;!?,: V o, k |,ne. The greatest portion of this tract consisted of .hetr ancent hunting grounds, was situated amo g , mountains, and was rough and unsuitable for tillage n consequenee of siclcness among the Indians, their overseer Abraham Fulh=r, had contracted debts on their ceo m 7^ hat part of the reserrat.on might be sold, to paV him for these expenses. The Assembly voted thlt the no "hern po ..on of ,t should be sold, the above debts liquidated out applied to bu.ldmg s,x wigwam, for the Indians. The lands were accordingly disposed of for the sum of thir^n hundred pounds, and the overplus, after paying d Ms and deductmg expenses, was put out at «x per cent in terest on mortgage securities.* ^ '"' An honorable exception to the prevailing intemperance Benjamm CInckens, a descendant of the old sachem Ch ekens. Seven or eight years before the sale, he ,'0^.' o to the north-western par. of the laud, built him a small but convement house there, and fenced and cnltivatd several acres u, such a manner as to make it good meadow and ,»sture land. In consequence of these improvemen I e w ole tract sold for more than it could otherwise hav brought. Benjamn. very reasonably requested that he nngh. be rewarded for his labor; and the Assembly as „ remuneratton, voted him one h.u.dred dollars. At first he purchased tuneteen acres in Kent, hut, s,x or seven • Plate Rerorfln. Vols VI VIF 38 -ii •iii ='1' !1 i fj ; t [;■ ' J r- ' 'i i' f i '■ i 1 1 , 1 1 420 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. years after, he sold his little farm and moved into the State of New York* Other portions of the Scatacook lands were disposed of at various dates ,• and these sales, together with the appoint- ments of overseers, constitute the annals of the tribe in later times. In 1836, Eunice Mauwehu, a grand-daughter of the old sachem, and a daughter of Chuse or Joseph, was still living at Scatacook, aged seventy-two years.f The Scatacooks have yet a considerable tract of land on the mountain ; too rough and woody indeed to be culti- vated, but well adapted for supplying them with firewood. At the foot of the mountain, also, and between that and the Housatonic, they possess a narrow strip of plain, sufficient in size for gardens, watered by springs from the upper ground, and containing a few comfortable houses. The number of Indians remaining in the fall of 1849 was eight or ten of the full blood, and twenty or thirty half- breeds. A few are sober and industrious, live comfort- ably and have good gardens ; but the great majority are lazy, immoral and intemperate. Many of them lead a vagabond life, wandering about the State in summer, and returning to Scatacook to spend the winter. Three or four are in the habit of attending preaching, and a few of the children go to school. Their funded property now amounts to about five thousand dollars, and, for the last forty years, has more than paid the annual expenses of the tribe.f • State Records, Vols. VIII, IX. t Ba.ber, p. 471. t For this informntion concerning the present condition of the Scatnrooks I am indebted to the politeness of their overseer, Mr. Abel Beach, of Kent. '^ CHAPTER XI. HISTORY OF THE PEQUOTS FROM 1683 TO 1849. We now resume the history of the Pequots : the saddest page, from beginning to end, thai is to be found in the story of the aborigines Oi" Connecticut. From the time when Endicott, with little or no provocation, staved their canoes and destroyed their wigwams ; from the time when Mason burnt their village and its population of four hun- dred human beings with fire ; fiom the time that the miserable remnant was loaded with a heavy tax and de- prived of its national existence ; from these events down to the present day, the Pequots have received little from us except injustice and the most pitiless neglect. Their gradual diminution in the period included by the present chapter was produced by the same causes which produced the disappearance of their brethren in the western part of the State. They were living, a barbarous race, iti the midst of a civilized community. Conse- qiiently, when they were attacked by the diseases and vices of civi'i oa, they had nothing to oppose to them but their ai,< icn« ignorance and simplicity. They were as lazy as ever, and they were besides drunken: they were as improvident as ever, and the game and fish which once supplied them had nearly disappeared. For them 422 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I medical science did nothing : the couches of their sick were tended only by ignorance and indifference : intem- perance and vice sapped their strength socially and indi- vidually: the annual deaths were more, on an average, than the annual births : some wandered to other parts of the country and joined other bands of unfortunates, and thus slowly and painfully have they faded away. We left the Pequots, at the decease of Uncas, divided into two hands, one in Stonington under Momoho, the other in G re ion under old Cassasinamon. The latter was not only the Irrgest, but possessed a disproportionately large share, of land having two thousand acres to live on while the other had only two hundred and eighty. Cas- sasinamon died in 1692, and his assistant, Daniel, was chosen by the Assembly to cceed him. At tho same time, Cushamequin, son of Momoho, was empowered to become his father's successor over the Stonington Pe- quots, if he showed himself capable of the station. To conciliate Joseph the son o^ Catapazet and grandson of Hermon Garret, who might, on grounds of descent, have laid claim to the gubernatorial dignity, he was acknowl- edged as the rightful possessor of all his father's property. Some of Momoho's Pequots cultivated little tracts in Groton, although they were not proprietors there, and were acting only as squatters. The Assembly gave them permission to continut* this culture ; but ordered them to make their residence in Stonington, so that they could be under the eye of their governor. Daniel died in 1694, upon which Scattup, or Scadoab, was appointed to suc- ceed him as ruler over the Groton Pequots.* • Indian Papers, Vol. I. Colonial Records, Vol. III. ^U^L«.4^4 l4ggj ^^^'VJ^ ^ i 't!i..i! i' WMWIIIIPW » aM'Hj|H|ll l l i»l OF CONNECTICUT. 423 Three or four years subsequently some quarrels took place between the Indians and their governors. Whether the former were imbibing too democratic notions, or the latter were growing too regal or despotic in their administration, it is now difficult to say. Some of the old men who felt themselves aggrieved by the conduct of the governors sent a memorial concerning it to the Assembly; and, finding that no notice was taken of this, they sent another.' To keep these peay rulers in check, therefore, it was enacted that, for the future, they should be under the immediate direction of the governor of Connecticut, who might displace them and appoint others at his discretion. The governor, however, never exercised this prerogative, and the civil affairs of the little communities were suffered to take pretty nearly their own course. Robin Cassasi- namon, son of the former chief, soon became a rival of Scadoab ; and, for several years, each had his followers, who allowed their different leaders the title and something of the authority of sachem.* In 1712, the townsmen of Groton, regarding the lands of Nawayonk, or Nawyonk, as nj Jonger belonging to the Indians, passed a vote allotting thciiA to some of their own citizens. In consequence a petition soon appeared before the Assembly, signed by young Robin Cassasinamon and others, setting forth the rights of the Pequots to Naw- yonk, and complaining of the injustice of the Groton people in taking possession of it. The commissioners of the missionary society in England interested themselves in the affair. By Samuel Sewall, their agent in Boston, they sent an address to the government of Connecticut, • Colonial Records, Vol. III. 38* Li^l cm I i HISTORY or THE INDIANS r requesting it to notice the complaints of the Peqiiots, and not suffer wrong to be done to a people, who, for more than seventy years, had been submissive to the English and dependent upon their protection. They had lately directed, they said, Mr. Experience Mayhew to visit the Pequots and Mohegans, and offer them the gospel ; but they feared that the scandal of thrusting them out of their worldly possessions would embitter their spirits and make them averse to receiving the heavenly tidings. Samuel Sewall also wrote, on the subject, one letter to Governor Saltonstall, and another to Jonathan Law. In each- he expressed his opinion, that depriving the Pequots of Naw- yonk was contrary to former enactments of both the General Court of Connecticut and the Commissioners' Court of New England ; and, in his letter to Law, he closed with the hope, that the Assembly would not only preserve what land was remaining to the tribe, but would, if necessary, make additions to it. " For I hope," he concluded, " though the natives are at present so thinned as to become like two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, yet God will hasten their reformation and increase."* The Assembly issued an order commanding the town of Groton to return the land, or make suitable payment for it, or appear before the next session of that body to answer against the complaint of the Pequots. In October, 1714, a committee was appointed to examine into the claims of the Indians ; and, in the mean time, all persons were forbidden to disturb them in fishing, hunting or planting, on the disputed lands. On investigation, the • Indian Paperi, Vol. I, Doc. 80. EcclesiaBtical Papen, V0I..I. ' .' 1 ,^. 1 . 1'' ijg . 1 Hin I i.llUI!MRIll|JJw...M!: ^"BPFB OP CONNECTICUT. 42ff commutee very justly came to the conclusion, thatNaw- yonfc no longer belonged to the Pequo.s. They hadlT. t because « was worn out ; they had not lived on it f " forty years; they had been provided with another trac four t,mes as large ,• and i, seemed unfair, that industr^ armers should be kept out of a large body of lands J^^y to accommodate a few idle Indians in hunting and fishing lands at Mushantuxet sufficient for the Pequots; but granted them the privilege of hunting and fishing at Naw- yonk as they had done before* This difliculty was followed, a few years subsequently by another n 1653, John Winthrop of New london have been covered afterwards by the Peqnot reservation at Mushantuxet. The claim was now revived by one of h,s descendams, and on the ground of it he pretended a right to five hundred acres of the Pequot land. The In- dians were alarmed, and offered the tract to the town of Groton, probably on condition of receiving something i„ return. The town accepted the offer, granted the Indians sr* hundred acres in another place, and took upon itself the task of opposing Winthrop's claim.f Still, the land of the tribe was evidently decreasing, m one way or another, and Cassasinamon and his party became dissatisfied. James Avery, their overseer, regarded them as suffering injustice, and probably encouraged and assislea them in carrying their complaints before the As- sembly. In 1721 a memorial was presented, complaining • Wl.n P.pe,., Vol. I. D«. gj, t t«di.„ P.p.™, y,,,. J, Doo. 96. !lfc ■I 1 j1 * 426 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS that encroachments were made upon their territory; that the orchards which their fathers had planted were taken away ; and praying the Assembly to grant them justice for the past and protection for the future. In time of war, they said, the English treated them as rational creatures and called them brethren; but now they drove them, like goats, upon rough ground, to break and fertilize it for themselves.* The report of a committee on this petition stated that the Indians had seventeen hundred acres of land, which was secured to them by the town of Groton ; that almost all of them were satisfied, and that Cassasinamon com- plained, only because some person continually incJ^^d him to do so. This person was doubtless James A\ ery, the overseer, who at this very time addressed a lette > the Assembly, accusing the committee of not having done their duty. They had not called on him, he stated, nor had they seen Cassasinamon ; and he could himself testify that the Pequots were driven out of their fields and orchards : for he had visited Mashantuxet, and seen with his own eyes a considerable portion of the Indian land inclosed by the English fences. In a subsequent com- munication he mentioned twenty-eight lots, averaging twenty acres each, which had been laid out in the reser- vation by whites. But the followers of Scadoab, who comprised the ma- jority of the Pequots, were opposed to making any com- plaint, and expressed themselves satisfied with the lands now confirmed to them. To the memorials of Avery and Cassasinamon they opposed others declaring their perfect Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 95. Z^i.'^ii'' i>>';m^ w ' -a^i ^ y jF r^^l^^B Or CONNECTICUT. content and satisfaction tu ha. appended . i, .He .LTof ^ .ttl .~; received the concurrence of .hTls ejb ' ' 'o ,""'* encroachment was found, and one tlZ^^ade t. Z co.„uy surveyor. The actual amount of the IndL ,1 :hittrrr::r-'-^----enhu„dredii over . X. „, ,^, ^^^„„,^^. ^ J;.r r ! 17 . ' ." """"'■" "'"''" 'h^ "»mber of such males who lived on the lands, sixty-two of ,1 t ived in English families, nine... f anToV t e' w^^I^: were cleared, two hundred more partially cleared • but only fourteen were planted, although the Ind ans h d bestdes a considerable number of apple trees. The re- curvation sfll amounted to seventeen hundred and thirty. • Indian P.pe„, v„|. j, D„c„mam. 100, 101, 104 106 10- .« V ^ ^f^^- iMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A >A // \S'J^ "^ ^ {< f/. f/. ^ ||IJ.O I.I 11.25 ^1^ 1^ 2.0 U 11.6 (55 0% ^ %. >:^* nl._x !-_•_ i IliJUJgrdpiUL' Sciences Corporation as WIST MAIN STRUT WHSTiR.N.Y. 14310 (716) 173-4)03 ^S^ ^ ^"^ '^ f is I: :^! \ 428 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS seven acres; but it was rocky, hilly, and, for the most part, fit only for pasturage. The herbage was claimed by the neighboring whites, on the ground that the Indians made no use of it, and that the land was not theirs in fee simple, but only held as a life-grant from tl»e colony.* , Captain James Avery being dead, h.s son James was, in 1731, appointed to succeed him as overseer, m con- junction with John Morgan. Some of the settlers bought, orivately, from individual Pequots, some tracts on the In- dian land, and then proceeded to inclose their purchases and exclude the tribe. Others not only allowed their horses and cattle to range over the entire reservation thus injuring the little patches of corn planted by the Indians, but took the liberty to fell v-ood and carry it away for their own use. To prevent these irregularities, the As- sembly enacted that Avery and Morgan should be em- powered to prosecute all trespassers and encroachers, and should, from time to time, report the situation of the Pe- quots. The town clerk of Oroton was also forbidden, under a penalty of ten pounds, to make record of any transaction by which the possession of the Indian land was transferred from the Indians themselves to any other Irsol^ An act was likewise passed, in 1732, dividing ?he western half of the reservation into fifty acre lots, and easing them, for the benefit of the Indians, to English ftrmelt Considering the indolence of the Pequots, this Panert, Vol. I, Documents 143, 147. t Colonial Records, Vol. VI. „ v„1 H X Colonial Records, Vol. VI. VIII. Indian Paper., Vol. H. mj^ le most medby Indians t theirs om tlie les was, in con- bought, the In- irchases »d their on, thus Indians, Lv;ay for the As- be em- lers, and ' ti:e Pe- jrbidden, i of any lian land my other , dividing ! lots, and D English luots, this )\e in Indian OP CONNECTICUT. looked like a wise and profitable disposal of the lands- b«t, ow,„g ,0 the eventual dishonesty of the tenants il led o n.a„, difflcnltie, and .suited i.f „„eh in' :": In irSS, over th.rty of the Pequcs sent in a complaint that trespasses on them were still continued, their corn bcng destroyed and their trees cut down. They ken wme .a a few cattle, they said ; but could no. main n .hem ^ ong «, ,he English monopolized all .he herb^e ^er Jo"n M '" ^' '"'"'"' '"' "'^' "'^ "-'"er over- seer, John Morgan, was the sole cause of these com p a.„.s Twen.y eigh. Pe,„o.s replied by pe" o Ig that Avary m.gh. be removed and Joseph Rose of Presto^ appomted ,n his place. They asserted that Avery „ a" least, h,s sons, were personally interested in their la" ds and thus had a selfish inducen.ent .o sm„th3 t i '„t: plamts and s.and idly by while they were wron Jd Bu. 10 ted ont to farmers, who, having inclosed it, would no. allow them to plant within the inclosures. it was true too that they had been deprived of the fruits of thei; ^^rva.Lrr' """ ""^"^" ''"-' ^^^ "- ""■" 0" 'heir Such were the complaints of the Pequots; but what foundation they really had for considering 'themselve agsr,eved ,t .s difficult to ascertain. The reports of the wo overseers continually contradicted each other, and the Ind,a,,s knew little what really belonged to them and what d,d not The Assembly settled the quarrels of the overseers bydtsmtseing them both: it ,he,i appointed in • Indhn P,pe„, Vol. I, DocumenlB S37, 388, 234. .)l' *• 430 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS their places two citizens of New London, John Richards and Daniel Coit.* The year 1740 was rendered worthy of note to the Mushantuxet Pequots by the death of Scadaub, the last of the band who held the office of governor, or maintained any thing like the dignity of sachem-f In 1742, there was a school teacher among the Groton Pequots, and probably, also, although not certainly, among those of Stonirigton.;): More than six hundred pounds had lately [1636] been contributed by the people of Con- necticut fpr the spiritual and intellectual benefit of the Indians in the colony : a sum by no means remarkable indeed compared with the benevolent collections of the present day, but still enough to do some good among the natives had it been wisely expended. How it was ex- pended, or who had the care of expending it, would, as I have observed in another place, be now extremely difficult, or, more probably, altogether impossible, to determine. Some good results were, about this time, effected among the Pequots in another way. In 1733, the society formed in Great Britain for propagating the gospel in New England established a missionary, named Parks, among the Narragansetts of Westerly and Charleston in Rhode Island. During the great revival of 1743, a number of converts were made among the Stonington Pequots, and several of them paid a visit to the Narragansetts under the care of Mr. Parks Then the religious interest among the latter, which before had been slight, became deep and general. The descendants of warriors who had fought • Indian Papers, Vol. I, Document 235. t President Stilea't Itinerary. i Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 239. »W*fe^^Si(jftJfci' OP CONNECTICUT. 431 fariously among those hilk, who had aimed their arrow, .each other's hearts in those very forests, and w "hid gazed w.th savage delight and triumph ^n the „Lt v flames of each other's villages, knelt together around „™ throne of grace, mingled their tears in one stream L breathed their desires m one prayer I„ litl ^ ' u .welve months si.ty were rec'eird'into" 1^ I'nd" ' a few yea« ,a,er, the nnmber of pi„„s persons among the Pe<,uo„ was believed to be abont twenty, thoramon; the Narragansetts nearly seventy.* ^ Two years previous to this, the Groton Pequots had ^so become .n :..me measure interested in rehgion UntU hen hey were all he..en, licentious and in'tempe^a ! but at th,s penod many of them began to be in much heThM"" ^'"^ ""'^- ^' ^"^ '- about Tyf them had become reformed, sedate, and were constant in the. attendance upon public worship. About thirty we e much mchned to learn to read; they had, as I'Ze already mentioned, a schoolmaster among them ; and they sent a petition, with forty-one marks, to the Assembly praymg that he might be supported.! I find no record of any special grant in reply to this request : I know not indeed, how long these promising appearances continued ' but It IS certain that they disappeared in the end, and that, at the present day, the Pequots are very much as if the gospel had never been preached. The Stonington Pequots have hitherto attracted little of our attention. They were a smaller band at first 'ban those of Groton : some of them, also, were Nehantics, and • Tracy'8 History of American Missions p. 17. t Indian Paper*, Vol I, Documedta 238. 339 39 1-^' S[M im I ( 432 niSTORT OF THE INDIANS J I ' I i I li had long ago separated from the others ; atid those who remained amounted, in 1719, to only thirty-eight persons, mostly females. During this time they had been suffer- ing encroachments on their little reservation ; and were now, in 1749, on the point of losing it altogether. It had been bought for them of Isaac Wheeler of Stonington, with the promise that Wheeler was to have the whole of the pasturage, and the Indians were to be at the risk of protecting their own crops from the incursions of his cattle. Subsequently two men, named Samuel Minor and James Grant, purchased several ancient grants which covered the reservation. In 1722, James Minor, on behalf of Samuel, obtained liberty from the Assembly to survey and mark out a suitable tract for the Indians. This was, in some sort, an acknowledgment of the justice of his claim to their land ; yet it does not appear that he carried it out by transplanting the Pequots to any other locality. Minor's claim was subsequently bought by William, the son of Isaac Wheeler, who seems to have thought that thus he had increased the extent of the right which he derived from his father to the Indian land. He inclosed the whole tract, and, at his death, left it by will to two sons-in-law. They, or, at least, one of them, claimed the land in fee simple ; part of it was sold, and the Indians were no longer allowed to keep stock, although they still had liberty to plant their little patches of corn and vegetables. The clan was at this time under the sunk-squaw, as she was called, Mary Momoho. She was the widow of a Momoho who had lately died, and who must have been a son of the governor of that name ap- pointed in 1692. Mary Momoho, with Simon Sokient, 01 CONNECTICUT. 433 and others of her people, induced some neighbor to draw- up a memorial representing their grievances and asking for redress. This petition received the marks of the In- dians, and was presented to the Assembly at the May session of 1749. A committee appointed on the subject reported that, in their opinion, the Indians were wronged, and that, in reality, they had a right not only to plant on the land, but to keep and feed cattle on it. The two ' heirs of vV^heeler were required to give up their claim, but refused, preferring to stand the chances of a trial. The case was decided against them, and they were obliged to pay the costs of the suit and give the Indians a quit-claim of the land. The Assembly, however, granted them, as a compensation for their loss, two hundred and eighty acres in another place out of the public lands of the colony.* Still greater troubles now commenced an'ong the Groton Pequots, arising out of the act passed in 1732 which leased the western half of their reservation to English farmers. Some of the tenants began to act on the thievish principle, that, by hiring and cultivating the lands for so long a time, they had acquired a right to them in fee simple. In January, 1747, the Indians sent up a memorial, appealing for the protection of the As- sembly against such pretensions. A committee was chosen to examine into the complaint, but nothing was done to satisfy the Indians, and in 1760 one of their number, Joseph Wyokes, complained again. The leases, he said, were to continue no longer than the Assem- bly chose, and the Indians now asked them to be • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Documents 40 — 43. 'It*' II .1*! lii if 434 HISTORY OF THE l^NDIANS withdrawn, because they were greatly disturbed and restricted by the claims and fencings of the tenants Another examination was made, and the examining com- mittee reported that the tenants had wronged the Indians, had cut down and destroyed their wood, had obstructed their labor, and had thus.greatly discouraged them in their attempts to improve their own condition. The Assembly concurred in the report, [October, 1752,] declared the law of 1732 repealed, and empowered the overseers to prose- cute for the recovery of the Indian lands.* John Richards and Daniel Coit, both of New London, were at this time guardians to the Pequots ; but neither of them was faithful to his trust. Owing, as they said, to the pressure of their own affairs, the task of righting the the Indians was suffered to lie along year after year; and, of necessity, becaniie continually more difficult. Nothing of consequence was done until 1758, when the overseers commenced a suit, in the Superior Court of New London County, against one Williams who held in his possession eighty-three acres and ninety rods of the reservation. Williams proved that he had obtained the land, by fair pur- chase, of its former holder, John Wood of Groton ; but it was proved, on the other side, that John Wood had no legal claim to the land, and only held it through having entered on it at his own risk. As the plaintiffs were understood to allege their right to the land in fee simple, and as they could not make proof to all the particulars of a right in fee simple, the fact being indisputable that the whole reser- vation belonged to the colony, the court finally decided in favor of the defendant.! • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Documenta 12, 13 ; 51—58. t Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 114. OF CONNECTICUT 435 A memorial, with the marks of thirty-one Pequois appended to it, was now forwarded to the Assembly, pe- titioning that a new trial might be allowed, and that the grounds on which the first decision was given might bo excluded. The petition was granted ; the case was tried again ; and William Williams was defeated, and found himself deprived of nearly all his property. It was indeed a hard case, since he was suffering, not so much through dishonesty as through heedlessness, and the dishouesty of another; as well, indeed, as through that laxity of public sentiment which would allow men to appropriate the property of a feeble and poverty-stricken race, whose Ignorance of English customs incapacitated them in a great measure, from perceiving and maintaining their rights. Williams petitioned for a third trial, but the case was soon decided in another way. The decision against him had alarmed all those who held possession of Pequot land, and they united in a memorial [May, 1760,] to the Assembly, asking that a committee might be appointed to settle the disputes between themselves and the Pequots by dividing the contested lands between the two parties. " They had laid out considerable sums," they said, " in improving the portion they held. They had never in- tended to injure the Pequots. It was doubtful, too, whether the latter held the property in fee simple or only had a right to cultivate it. The case had been repeatedly tried, and the courts had decided different ways." In short, these men put the best face they could on a mean and dishonest action. They had hired the land of its present owners, the Pequots, with the understanding that they were to pay a prescribed rent for the u«!e af -♦ 39* r * 'if r ; m m I, i 436 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS They had had the use and had paid the rent ; and with this the bargain was fulfilled, and the transaction should honestly h*ave closed. They had no right, either legal or moral, to call one foot of the land their own, nor to prolong their stay upon it a single week after the lease had expued and the owners had given them notice to quit. The case was exactly the same as if a citizen of Hartford or New Haven should petition the Legislature to put him in possession of the house he rented, simply because he had lived in it several years, paid the rent regularly and kept the building in good repair. The Assembly seems to have regarded itself as left, by the circumstances of the case, at considerable liberty in making a decision. The land on which the Pequots lived had not been given them as their own, but only to bj used for their support. The question was, whether this gift or any portion of it could be revoked. Honor and justice answered, no. Expediency said, yes; and expediency carried the day. The land was divided : nine hundred and eighty-nine acres and sixty-eight rods were confirmed to the Indians : the remainder, about six hun- dred and fifty-six acres and one hundred rods, was granted to the tenants.* While the affair was still undecided the Pequots took some offense at John Richards, one of their overseers. Fourteen of them, headed by Charles Scodobe, sent a « Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 123. Colonial Records, Vol. IX. T'lis took place at the sessions of May, I76I. The above amount of land ' about ninety acres less than remained to the Pequots iu 1728. Williams's claim of eighty-three acres and ninety rods will nearly account for ae difference Williams was not one of the tenants, but had bought ou. the claim of a ■quatter on the reservation. OF CONNECTICUT. > m declaration to the Assembly that they noted out John Richards from being their guardian and wished Daniel Coit appointed in his place. The Assembly humored hem, excluded Richards, and appointed Coit in conjunc tion with Ehsha Fitch of Norwich. In 1762 the Groton Pequots numbered from twenty to SaTs r '°"*"""^ ^'^^ ^""^-^ -<^ --ty-six In 1788, the eastern band presented a petition to the Assembly, subscribed by the marks of thirty persons twenty-two of whom were women. It represented that the petitioners had been for several years without an over- seer, and their affairs had consequently gone on after a very confused fashion. Some had obtained double their proportion of the profits of the lands, and had refused to pay their share of what ought to be common expenses, such as supporting the poor and keeping up the inclosure of the reservation. They therefore desired overseers • but as there were several of their white neighbors who only wanted an opportunity to strip them of all they possessed, they wished to select those for the office in whom they could place confidence. The two persons upon whom vv\ tu ^"'" ^^^'^'' ^'''' ^^ Stonington and Eljsha Williams of Groton.f The Assembly appointed Huit; but, for some reason now unknown, selected Stephen Billings of Groton in place of Elisha Williams. Little was done at this period for the religious or educa- tional benefit of the tribe. In 1776, the situation of the • Memoir of the Pequots. Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. X. p. 103. t Indian Papen,. Vol. II. Document 252. 1 1 ^^H ^^^^H 438 HISTORY or THE INDIANA Groton band having been brought before the Assembly, as a proper subject for amelioration, a committee was chosen to inquire into its condition ; and was empowered to give what orders it thought proper for their religious and intellectual education, and to draw on the colonial treasury for this purpose to the amount of twenty pounds. The committee found one hundred and fifty-one Indians living on the lands at Mashantuxet, of whom aboirt half were under sixteen years of age. All were in poverty- stricken circiimstances, and many were widows whose husbands had perished in the colonial armies during the late wars with Canada. Their houses were chiefly within a mile square ; their land was by no means the best, yet some of it was good and cultivated after the English fashion. There was a small school-house in which one Hugh Sweetingham was now teaching, having been hired for that purpose, at twelvre pounds a year, by the mis- sionary society in England. From the same source the Rev. Mr. Johnson received six shillings and eight pence for every sermon which he preached to the Indians. A considerable number of the Pequots were willing to hear the gospel and send their children to school, but were generally so poor that they could not provide them with decent clothing for that purpose. The committee ex- pended the twenty pounds in buying clothing and school books for these children ; and they stated, in their report to the Assembly, that further appropriations would be needed in the winter. The compensation of Sweeting- ham was, in their opinion, insufficient ; and so also was that of Mr. Johnson, especially as he attended the Indians in sickness and at funerals. Twenty pounds additional . OP CONNECTICUT. .„„ • ^•"■f "■erefore appropriated rOctober 1 7fi«if ., , of the Pequot children fivi TI ! '^ '^' "■* *""'««« tour pounds to i„crer;,h T '" **'• ^^hnson, and with the above e" u I;!"' "' ^--sham.. «u»t Pe„.ots it j;rwe, to?"'"''" f '"" ""»"- census of the IndianI h! .1 , ^""^'^ ""* '•"^'"' "f ••-» 'his census the tleVftdtnTUG 1 '" '''''^ «^ one hundred and ei»h.v J! u u ""'" "mounted to .Han the con-^itfeel^l?; 'C^ur^fTh^r reservation^orbV'Lr ;''"''''''■'' ""' "™'" »" 'he Visiting ™;de of mlZ r""'"""" '"« ™8™»'. aborigines from the r fi I^d '"'"'"'''' """"S 'h« B"t ^hat are we " h.nk w enTh"^ '" "*' """■" <'^^- us .hat the number of ManrinT™'"""'"''"™' hundred and thirty-seven " He J , "'"^""' ""' '^"^ be some considerable miLkeTh! T'^ '° '"^' "-' Pequots was smaller thl that r'^^roTft'The T ' "' ning, and it is smaller now In 17n ! ^^'"" before this census was takeri.l . ' '""''"°"* >'^'"-» grown men, or abolfo tu^llVdX 'h'"';-"''''^ It is not probable th»r i, •""'*'' °"^ "f'/ 'ndinduals.t numerous' .mt„,r "">-■""»»«- or even a, to suppose that Indlrc ' ' """" ^^ """h t^ason in thrston;:uirrw:c:rr^^^^^^^^^ servation had been made for the a^'cient ^ro;;::^! " V.1 t:t JTet;;;"' """ '•™°'° — - '» ">3. Indian P.p^ •it 440 HISTOR- OF THE INDIANS I "I i In 1786, many of the Pequots, uniting with other In- dians of Connecticut, moved to New York, where they formed the nucleus of the Brothertown tribe. The division of 1761, giving two-fifths of the Pequot lands in Groton to the men who had leased them, ought to have put an end to all encroachmen:s ; but it did not. The portion reserved to the Indians had been surveyed, but never marked out : the survey was lost, and it was sus- pected that some of the late tenants had destroyed or con- cealed it. Encroachments re-commenced ; and, in 1773, twenty-six of the Pequots presented u complaint concern- ing them; to the Assembly. A committee was appointed to mark out the bounds of the land, but could accom- plish nothing because of the loss of the official survey. The committee, Edward Mott, then asked that he might survey the tract himself at the expense of the claimants, who were willing to defray it, so that they might be assured of their property. This was granted; but the adjacent landholders threw various obstacles in the way ; the openmg of the revolutionary war drew the attention of the Assembly to weightier matters ; and it was not t''l 1785 that the wrongs and the precarious situation of the Pequois with regard to their lands again attracted atten- tion. Joseph Scordaub, in the name of t>.e whole tribe, then presented a memorial on the subject, which secured the appointment of a new committee empowered to survey and mark out the reservation. The survey was not com- pleted and brought before the Assembly till 1793 ; and then th;^ neighboring farmers (the former tenants) pre- sented objections to it, on the ground that it left them less land than had been awarded to them in 1761. The «S*»B3!aut6«iJss;= or CONNECTICUT. 441 settlonent was therefore postponed; and in 1800 the overseers, Samuel Moit and Isaac Avery, presented an account of the affair to the Assembly and asked for di- rections. In reply, they were empowered to make over and dted away those tracts which were in dispute, wherever the white claimants would pay the prices at which they oliould be appraised. This was, in effect, a confirmation of the Pequot claims ; and none of the whites choosing to pay for the land, the former retained it in their possession.* Within a few years of the commencement of this century the Stonington Pequots were visited by President Dwight, who has left us several interesting particulars of their condition at that period. He found some residing in wigwams, others in framed houses the best of which wer small, rude and almost worthless as a protection "gainst the weather. In these wretched tenements lived about two-thirds of the tribe ; the others being distributed as servnnts among the English families of the neighbor- hood, they were in poverty, misery and degradation ; excessively idle, licentious and intemperate : in a single drunken frolic they would squander the earnings of a year. A small numbe.'-, both of men and women, were reputed to be honest ; but the rest were liars and thieves, although with too little enterprise to steal any thing of importance. There was no such thing among them as marriage, the two sexes cohabiting without ceremony or covenant, and deserting each other at pleasure. Th6 children were sometimes placed by their parents with • Indian Fapf rs. Vol. II. Documents 243-249. Colonial Record., Volt A, XI. State Records, Vols. Ill, VI. 1*1 i'^m ij0 t ^ I L jfi 442 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS English farmers, and often behaved well for a time, but as they became older, grew up to be as vicious and good for nothing as their fathers. Some of those who hired out as servants were tolerably industrious; and the women among them, especially, showed a great fondness for dress, and were often seen at church. The others dozed away life in slothful inactivity ; were always half- naked, and very often half-starved. This is indeed a sad account. One hundred aud sixty years of contact with a Christian race had not brightened the condition of the Pequots morally or intellectually, and physically had dark- ened it. Among this miserable band of human beings there was, however, one aged man, who, to considerable natural in- telligence, seems to have united a sense of religion. For a series of years he had preached to the others, and some- times, it was said, gave them very excellent exhortations. His degraded countrymen held him in much respect, and occasionally assembled very generally to listen to his dis- courses. This man, probably, was the sole remaining fruit of the religious interest which took place among the Pequots about 1742. The respect with which his people regarded him is a striking instance of the influence which consistent purity of character will often exert even in the most debased and abandoned communities.* In 1820, this band counted fifty individuals. Their principal men were Sami;el and Cyrus Shelley, Samuel Shantnp and James Ned. With few exceptions they were still intemi)erate and improvident ; of course, poor and miserable. They made brooms, baskets and similar • Dwitjhi's TiBvelH, Vol. Ill, pp. 87— 89. or CONNECTICUT. 443 articles, and generally exchanged them for a.dent spirits They enjoyed the same opportunities of attending ^t gious worsh.p and sending their children to school JZ wb..e ^„p,e f .he town, but seldom availed themLl « of these privileges. A few, however, were apparently P.OUS, and held a meeting once a month at wWchT ! all spoke m turn.* ' In 1832 the Groton Pequots numbered about forty person, of both sexes and all ages. They were consider^ ably mixed wuh white and negro blood; but still poL sessed a feeling of clanship, and still preserved th rl- e,e,u national hatred for the Mohegans. This anti^th was heartily returned ; and it was very seldom that inter! wUh'T r. " "' '""'""• ""' '"» '"^'- Compared .Tli^ '\\''f "«^"^' "- P«1"<"' were more vicious in their habits, less pure in point of race, less decent and less good looking in their persons. Their most common nan rsdttgiirr''^'''''^^-''"-^'''''-^'^^ •>«-«. The following facts concerning their situation at the present day «-ere ccllectcc' ■ North Stonington during tJlfcT '"'"' '""" =""°'-' '° aho^two'ir! dred and forty acres, originally as good as most in the vicinity, but long used chiefly for pasturage, and nlw much worn down. Some years since, several lots were cultivated by the Indians themselves; at present notZ The number of families living on the trJt is reduced to .l..ee of which one consists of three individuals, another of -he parents and nine children, and the third of a single • Mone'n Report on the Indian Tribes * t Mass. Hist. Coll.. Vol. XXIII, p. 134. it': i4^' . fr! ^■% *>■ Biirii. rtsa .>^^.>»-t^.»»..:,t^.>,yfr^-)^ 444 HISTORi or THE INDIANS man who lives alone. There is a very aged woman, hkewise, who lives a little off from the reservation. The others of the tribe have scattered because the heads of the families are dead. Some are in Ledyard, some in Preston, others in Providence, and thus throughout various parts of the country. A few lately came from some part of New York, to see if there was any thing accruing to them from the property of the tribe. The land rents, annually, for about one hundred dollars, which by no means sup- ports even those few who remain on it. Only one, Sam Shantup, lives in a house ; the rest occupy huts. Some of the children have been taught a little at school Others have been put out to service, but, owing to their idleness and improvidence, with very little result. None of them work J they are all extravagant and intemperate j and iu morals they are as miserable as miserable can be. To the overseer of tlie Lodyard Pequots, William Mor- gan, Esq., I am indebted for an account of the community under his care. The reservation has not diminished since the division of 1761, and still consists of about nine hun- dred and eighty-nine acres, of which the greater portion is woodland. The cleared land is rented to white tenants, and brings in a revenue of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars a year. One acre would include all that is cultivated by the Pequots, who cannot be induced to till any more than will serve for their garden spots. The houses on the reservation are seven in number, oi>e story in height, and varying from one to four rooms. They are situated where the quality of the land is good , and, though small, are comfortable and much superior in condition to their occupants. The band now numbers i OF CONNECTICUT. 145 twenty-eight persons, of whom twenty reside in Ledyard, while one is in New Haven, one with the Mohegans, two in Windham, and three are gone on whaling voyages. Some twenty years since five or six of them joined the Stockbridge Indians in Oneida County, New York, and have not since returned, except that one of them once made a visit of a few weeks among his old acquaintance. Those who remain in Ledyard show no disposition to attend on schooling or preaching j and some of them are particularly given in their conversation to violent scolding and vulgarity. They work not above one or two days at a time, either laboring for some neighboring farmer or making baskets, for sale, at home ; and, having thus ob- tained a little money, they drink and idle about until it is ail gone, when they set to work again after the same fashion as before. None of the pure Pequot race are left ; all being mixed with Indians of other tribes, or with whites and negroes. One little girl among them has blue eyes and light hair, and her skin is fairer than that of the majority of white persons. There is no such thing as regular marriage among them. In numbers they do not increase, and, if any thing, diminish. The community, like all of the same kind in the State, is noted for its wandering propensities; some or other of its members being almost continually on the stroll around Ledyard and the neighboring townships. From a fellow feeling, therefore, they are extremely hospitable to all vagabonds ; receiving without hesitation all that come to them,' whether white, mulatto, Indian or negro.* SucL 4 the present situation and character of the Mu- • Letter of Mr. Morgan, dated August SSd, 1849. ^! m h \l Ik 440 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, ETC. shantuxet band of the once free, warlike and high-spirited tribe of the Pequots. Thus, too, for the time, does the sad history of this unfortunate people come to a close. Nothing is left but a little and miserable remnant, hanging around the seats where their ancestors once reigned supreme, as a few half-withered leaves may sometimes be seen clinging to the upper branches of a blighted and dying tree. irited s the jlose. gned ;imes I anci I CHAPTER XII. HISTORY OF THE MOKEGANS FROM THE CLOSE OF THE COURT ON THEIR DISPUTED LANDS IN 1743 TO 1849. I SHALL now take up the history of the Mohegans where it was left in 1743, and bring it down to the present time. Nothing of consequence occurred till the death of their sachem, Ben Uncas, which appears to have taken place in 1749.* His will, dated May the 8th, 1745, was, of course, drawn up by some white person ; but, as some of the ideas may have been original with the sachem, I shall here give an extract from its opening passage. " In the name of God, Amen. I, Benjamin Uncas, sachem of the Mohegan tribe of Indians, sensible that I am born to die, and also knowing that the time when is uncertain, do now, in my health and strength, for which I desire to praise God, make and ordain this my last Will and Testament. I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God who made it, trusting in Christ for the free and full pardon of all my sins and for obtaining eternal life. My body I commit to the earth, to be buried in devout Christian burial, at and in the sepulcher of my ancestors in the common Indian kings's burying ground in the town of Norwich. And I believe, that, through the mighty • Indian Pnpers, Vol. II. 40* J 448 HISTOKY OF THE INDIANS power of God, my body shall be raised at the last day, and soul and body be re-united and live together never more to be separated." The sachem appointed Benjamin, his only son, as his successor, on condition that he proved himself a man of prudence and discretion, that he governed the Mohegans with justice and equity, that by his conversation and be- havior he induced them to love and follow the Christian religion, that he submitted himself to the direction of the Assembly, and that his general conduct and policy were such as that body could approve. Very severe conditions were these, it must be confessed, and such as many a monarch would not have found it easy to fulfill. His personal property Ben divided into seven parts, and left one each to his wife, his son and his five daughters. If any one of them should die childless, or rebel against the colony, his portion was to be shared among the others. In conclusion, he expressed his desire that all his children might be brought up and educated in the Christian reli- gion, which he affirmed to be his own choice, and in which he declared that he hoped to live and die.* On the death of the sachem a large part of the tribe united on his son ; giving expression to their choice, how- ever, in the following highly democratic style. " We, the Indians commonly called Moyanhegunnewog, having had several meetings to consult about a sachem, and finding that we cannot be a distinct people without a head, have nominated Benjamin Uncas, if he will con- sent to all the articles which his father left in his last will concerning the matter. And, having examined the said • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 38. OF CONNECTICUT. 449 Ben Uncas and heard his consent to all tlie above men: t^ned articles, and that he purposes, by divine help and assistance, to conform himself to them all ; so now upon hose very terms and no others, we do choose BeruTas to be our sachem ; and we do also, as one, promise hm o be lovmg fauhful and obedient subjects, so long as h^ shall mamtam and walk agreeably to his father's last Will and Testament concerning the sachemship "* This paper was undersigned with the marks of thirty, mne Indians, and with the signatures, in a good clear Occum ''"' °'''''' •"''" Dantiquidgeonf and Samson A memorial was likewise forwarded to the Assembly by Ben, saying that he had been elected sachem of the (whom he named) to assist him in the government. No objection was made, and both Ben and his councilors were confirmed in their dignities.^ lu 1755 commenced the last, the most exhausting, but finally the most triumphant, of the wars which the colo- nies had to sustain against the French of Canada Con- necticut, then containing a population of about one hun- dred and sixty thousand persons, repeatedly had five thousand men in the field; and, in the disastrous cam- paign of 1757, when Fort William Henry was taken, she mised her complement to six thousand and four hundred. 1 he Indians of Canada assisted the French, and the Eng- lish called on the tiibes south of the St. Lawrence to take up the hatchet for them. The Mohawks pledged their • Indian Papers Vol. II, Document 34. t Usually spelt Tantaquigeon. I Indian Papers, Vol. II, Doc. 35. Colonial Records, Vol. VIII. if- tJ li I ! I ll ' i' i J'! 450 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS friendship to Sir William Johnson; their example was followed by their nephews, the Stockbridges ; and the Stockbridges sent a messenger to Connecticut, to wake up their brothers, the Mohegans. The Mohegans unani- mously expressed their willingness to fight against a people who, as they were told, were perfidious, implacable and cruel. Many of the tribe joined the colonial ranks, and many others would have followed, had not the As- sembly discouraged it in consequence of the overburthen- ing expense which already pressed upon the colony in supporting its own conscriptions. The wages of Indian soldiers who fell in the contest were, by enactment of the Assembly of Connecticut, paid over to the heirs of the deceased, or laid out for their benefit. The close of this war left orphans and widows among the Mohegans, as well as among those who had been directly interested in the success of the struggle, the English and the English colonists.* The old controversy in the tribe was not yet asleep ; for the Masons were still in hopes of obtaining a new trial and an ultimate triumph. These hopes, probably, were not completely dashed until the revolution: u«til that event, at least, the subject seems to have continued to pro- duce more or less of uneasiness among the Mohegans. In 1760, Ben Uncas complained to the Assembly that a party among his people had set up one Henry Qua- quaquid as sachem, in opposition to himself, and that Quaquaquid had received some messages of approbation from Sir William Johnson. These Indians who supported Quaquaquid were not, he said, true Mohegans, but only • Indiaa Papers, Vol. II, Documents 94, 102. or CONNECTICUT. Hi Strangers who had married into the tribe, and were incited ^ their present rebellious behavior by a set called the Mason family. They refused to obey him ; they would not attend the religious meetings ; they sold the firewood of the tr.be to some of the whites, and gave others liberty to carry it away ; nor was it possible for himself or his guardians to control them. He therefore hoped that the Assembly would either compel these Indians to submit to him, their lawful sachem, or would deprive them of the privileges which they enjoyed under pretense of being members of the tribe.* The committee appointed on this petition did not enter into all the views of the sachem ; but reported that some mischief had, without doubt, been done to the Mohegans by cutting away their wood. It was therefore enacted that no person should cut or carry off wood from the re- servation without forfeiting three times the value of what he thus cut or carried away, the fine being devoted to the benefit of the'tribe.f The Rer. Eliphalet Adams, of Montville, then a part of New London, with David Jewit, another clergyman of the same town, had now for many years labored among the Mohegans, though with no very eminent success. Both were excellent men ; and Adams is styled in one of the petitions of Ben Uncas and his people « their faithful and venerable pastor." He died in 1753, aged seventy- seven; but he continued his care over the Mohegans to the last year of his life ; as we find him in 1752 petition- mg the Assembly, in conjunction with Jewit, to make an • Indian Papers, Vol. II, Document 103. I Indian Papers, Vol. II, Documents 104, 105. 1- im ii: n i 462 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS appropriation for repairs of the Indian school-house. The petition was successful j a sum being voted for repairing the building and erecting a " lean-to" on one side of it for the better accommodation of the teacher and his family. This teacher was Robert Clelland, a man who had just been stationed there by the missionary society in Eng- land, and who exercised his office, partly at the charge cf the society, partly at that of the colony, at least as late as 1763.* Two years after this appropriation, [1754,] a law book was presented to the Mohegans by the Assembly ; and Clelland was. directed to read and explain to them, at least twice a year, the capital laws of the colony and those statutes which related particularly to the Indians.f In 1760, Clelland complained that his salary was not large enough, and petitioned the Legislature for an increase. Forty pounds were granted him : a considerable sum if the bills of the colony were then at their par value j but this is hardly probable. It was, however, soon, if not now, his whole annual salary; the society in England withdrawing its support : and the rest of his living Clel- land was obliged to obtain by his ov/n labor, probably by cultivating some portion of the Mohegan land. Owing to the late war there were many orphans at this time in the tribe ; and there wt;re, likewise, many other children whose parents were tc r-^*- : n- too intemperate, to provide them with even sutticient food. In winter they were in general tolerably supplied ; but in summer, before the crops were gathered in, they were too often pinched with hunger. On account of this their poverty • Colonial Records, Vol. VIII, t Colonial Records, Vol. VIII. OP CONNECTICUT. 453 as v/ell as their natural dislike of confinement, Clelland found no small difficulty in getting the members of his little charge together. Sometimes he went out into the fields to search for them ; and sometimes he went to the cabms of the parents to persuade them to do what they could in getting the children regularly to school. Finally he commenced giving each of the poorer scholars a piece of bread every day for dinner. This plan had a good effect ; the himger of the young Mohegans conquering their antipathy to confinement and study. Clelland's means, however, would not allow him to continue the practice, and he petitioned the Assembly for assistance. Six pounds were appropriated for this purpose in 1761, and six pounds and ten shillings more in 1762. At the same time with this last grant fifteen pounds were voted to Clelland himself, as a further remuneration for his ser- vices during the preceding three years. The last notice of Clelland which I have met with is dated May, 1763, at which time he obtained seven pounds more from the As- sembly, also for the purpose of procuring his scholars food.* It now becomes proper to notice an institution which was long a ground of hope to those who looked with anxiety for the conversion and civilization of the abo- rigines of this part of North America. Eleazer Wheelock a clergyman of fine talents, of earnest character and of de- voted piety, was settled in 1735 over the second congre- gational church in the town of Lebanon. It was his custom, like many other ministers of that day and long afterwards, to keep several youths in his family, whom he taught in the higher branches of English and in • Colonial Records, Vol. IX. Indian Papers, Vol. II, Doc'ta. 106, 107. Illiii ttui 451 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS I !!^i ' I! if l.V ri i the classics. In December, 1743, a young Mohegan applied for admission amcng his scholars, whose name has since become more famous than that of any other of his tribe, unless we except the first Uncas. Sam- son Occom was born in 17*23, at Mohegan, and grew up in the pagan faith, and in the rude customs which were then common to nearly the whole of his country- men. During the great religious excitement of 1739 and 1740, he became convinced of the truth of Christianity and deeply alarmed for his own lost situation. For six months he was in the gloom of night ; but then light broke upon his soul, and he commenced that Christian pilgrimage which, it is believed, terminated not on this side of the grave. From this time the desire seems to have pressed upon his heart, to become a teacher to his brethren, and unfold to them the truths of that religion which he had embraced. He now stood before VVi.eclock asking to be instructed for this purpose. It was not in the heart of this excellent man to neglect so good an opportunity for the benefit of an individual, and perhaps of an entire race. Occom could already read by spelling, and, since his couv'crsion, he had spelled out a considerable portion of the bible. His education recom- menced in VVhcelock's family, ap.J here he remained three years, when he removed, for one year, to the home of Mr. Pomroy, clergyman of Hebron. During the four years that Occom remained with Wheelock and Po'^ oy he learned to speak and write English with facility, he studied both the Latin and Greek, and he even paid some attention to the acquisition of Hebrew. A part of the expense of his education was contributed by the mis- OP CONNECTICUT. 455 sionary society in the mother country so often alluded to in the preceding chapteis. It was intended that Occom should complete his educa- tion at college ; but his health failed him under confine- ment, his eyes became affected, and he was obliged for a while, to give up his studies. In 1748, he is known to have taught school for a time in New London. During the same year, he went ov.r to Long Island, and became the religious teacher of the Montauk Indians; preachin- also, at times, to the Skenecock or Yenecock tribe sitt uated thirty miles distant. During this period, he lived in a wigwam covt ed with mats, and moved twice a year with tlie Indians going to the planting grounds with them m summer, and to the woodlands for better con- veniences of fuel in winter. He s.^pported himself by fishing and hunting, by binding old books for the East Ham^:ton people, by stocking broken guns, and by making woodea spoons, pails, piggins and churns. For ten or eleven years he lived in this manner, during which time a revival took place among the Indians to whom he preached, and many of them were converted. Occom was thought also to have done considerable good, by di- verting the converted Montauks from a fanatical wild- ness into which they had been led by some enthusiastic preachers from New England. During all this time, he was carrying on his studies ; and, having acquired a tolerable knowledge of theology, lie was examined by the clergymen of the Association of Windham County, Connecticut, imd regularly licensed to preach. On the twenty-ninth of August, 1759, he was ordained by the Suffolk Piesbyterv on Long Island, and was ever 41 fir .mrnm a'lU I !:■ ^11 456 HlSTORr OF THE INDIANS afterwards regarded as a regular member of that eccle- siastical body. The case of Occom encouraged Mr. Wheelock to un- dertake the enterprise of an Indian school, for the forming of teachers and ministers who might be employed i?y rest is ciil- )f the land one dollar some two e hundred thirty are the reser- the corn- Did ; some Lchusetts ; rreen Bay ale ships, is have a e otheir ; There left; but who are house is B, if not Bohemy. cendant, Uncas. s herself id keeps beneath nunity ; 3hegan, of the. , par'fy OF CONNECTICUT. moq houses stand on the reservation, eleven of wh' if ^ cupied byMohegans. These a,: arflldKuM" "" most o, ,,, „, 'a-hed and p,aste'iJZ^, "itfaV" Nine adults are members nf tha ,u u temperate in their habits- biif «.V « • u perlectly .;.eo.e«..s.„ ,.„:c,:L7a:s:er:^ c-Jc^h^rtrjL:;^^--^ fr.ends commenced their philan.hropie exertions • ' 18M '^ Ik' T^ "^ "" '""'■^Sans down to the year of the I„d,ans of Connecticut come to a close. The causes of the diminution and destruction of these E^., of M,,„,vill,, f„„ whom r« "d" ,1*"" '""■'"'■ '■"'•' °- '■"•='■• •illh of Novmber, 1849. ' conoemine ihem. d.ttd ih. 490 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS, ETC. feeble and barbarous tribes have been so fully dwelt upon during the course of the narrative that little further con- cerning them remains to be said. A question which still continues open is, how far our own race is responsible for this diminution, and whether it can he convicted of treat- ing the Indians with any peculiar cruelty or injustice. My own belief is, that had the latter never been deprived of a foot of land otherwise than by fair and liberal pur- chase, and had not a single act of violence ever been com- mitted upon them, they would still have consumed away with nearly the same rapidity, and v/ould still ultimately have perished. Their own barbarism has destroyed them ; they are in a great measure guilty of their own destruc- tion ; yet is this guiltiness also their deep and pitiable misfortune. And, while we must admit that the white population of Connecticut has not fulfilled its responsi- bilities as a civilized and Christian race, we are also bound to admit that, judged by the rule of the ordinary course of human conduct, it has not, on the whole, in its behavior toward the Indians, been guilty o: any peculiar degre" of heedlessness, or inhumanity, or injustice. iwelt upon iirther con- which still )onsible for 3d of treat- • injustice, n deprived iberal pur- been com- med away ultimately y^ed them ; 1 destruc- d pitiable the white responsi- are also I ordinary ole, in its J peculiar ice. Man Woman Ear Eye Nose Mouth Teeth House Shoes San Moon Day Night Fire Water Rain Snow Tree Dog Bear River One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine wosketomp mittamwosses wehtauog wu8ke8uk,(pl,)j wutch nuttoon (my) meepit wetu mokfssonah nepauz nepaushdt kesukod nukon nutau jnippe jsokanunk koon mehtug janum mosq sepu nequt oeeae ni.h APPENDII. ARTICLE I, p. 40. Narragarutt. [nnin I squaws wuttouwog wuskesuk, (pi.) Mohican. I Peguot. yaw napanna nequttatash Inesausuk [shawosuk paskoogun puik wuttone weepit, (his) wetu mocussinass nippawus manepaushat wompau tuppaco* squtts jnip jsokenum sockepo 'mintuck anum neemanaoo p'ghainoom towahgue ukeesquan okeewon otoun wpeeton wekuwuhm mkissin Ikeesogh neepauhauck waiikaumauw t'pochk staauw nbey thocknaun jmsauneeh machtok n'dijau (?) mquch sepoo ngwittoh neesoh noghkoh nauwoh nunon ngwittus tupouwus ghusooh nauneeweh jmtannit cuttuwaneagef skeezuoks, (pi.) kuchijage cuttoneege neebut, (sing.) wigwam muckasons meun weyhan tNaugahiOt InUm rinh wenih yewt nupp sokghean souck'poun jmattuck, (pi.) jnahteah awausseus keeioop toof-ku ru'uh-tah nuppeh tookh * toward nlgbt Inuquut neeze shweh yauh nuppan nucquuddosk nezzaugnsk shwausk panzsacougen Piugg I t wkat y«u h«ar bj. 44 492 APPENDIX. ARTICLE II, p. 140. It is quite superfluous to attempt to prove that Mason and his companions were actuated, on this occasion, by some emo- tions of vengeance, since such must infallibly have been the case as long as human nature retains her present imperfections. T give, however, some extracts in point from Underbill and Vincent, two of the historians of the expedition. " It may be demanded," observes Underbill, " why should you be so furious? (as some have said.) Should not Christians have more mercy and compassion ? But I would refer you to David's war. When a people is grown to such a height of blood, and sin against God and man, and all confederates in the action, there he hath no respect to persons, but harrows them and saws them, and puts them to the sword, and the most ter- riblest death that may be." Underbill's principal justification of the massacre, indeed, is a comparison of it with the tremendous executions inflicted by the Hebrews upon the idolatrous Canaanites ; but Vincent's observations are directly to the point. " At break of day the seventy English gave the .fort a volley of shot, whereat the salvages within made a hideous and pitiful cry; the shot, without all question, flying through the palisadoes (which stood not very close) and killing or wounding some of them. Pity had hindered further hostile proceedings, had not the remem- brance of the bloodshed, the captive maids, and cruel insolency of those Pequots, hardened the hearts of the English, and stopped their ears unto their cries. Mercy mars all some- times ; severe justice must now and then take place." ARTICLE III, p. 132. The account which Hubbard has given us of the contest with the Pequots is one of the most ferocious things in APPENDIX. 493 Mason and some emo- ! been the erfections. lerhill and "It may |rou be so ians have Jr you to height of ates in the ows them most ter- indeed, is flicted by Vincent's r day the ereat the the shot, lich stood m. Pity J remem- Insolency lish, and ill some- ) contest aings in American literature. He describes the helpless overthrows and frightful massacres of that unhappy people, with a com- placency and satisfaction which might have excited the envy of father Valverde. He lived in a stern and iron age; he wrote at the close of the bloody and exasperating war with Philip ; and the asperities of his character were sharpened by an enthusiasm which in these days would be called fanatical. He regarded the New "England Puritans as, in an especial manner, the Lord's people ; and he looked upon their enemies as the Lord's enemies, and as worthy of no greater mercy than extermination. Very different was his character from that of the mild tempered Gookin, and his elder brothers in the mis- sionary work, Mayhew and Eliot. I have made but little use of the narrative of Hubbard with regard to the Pequot war, because he was not a coteraporary author, and because I be- lieve the story to be exaggerated and over-colored by the vindic- tive feelings of the wri|er. For the sake of fairness, however, as well as to exhibit a passage of unmeant pathos, I here give his account of the victory at the Fairfield swamp. I do not vouch for its correctness ; and neither will I vouch for its incorrectness. " A little before daybreak, (by reason of the fog which useth to arise about that time, observed to be the darkest time of the night,) twenty or thirty of the lustiest of the enemy broke through the besiegers and escaped away into the woods, some by violence, and some by stealth cropping away, some of whom notv/ithstanding were killed in the pursuit ; the rest were left to the mercy of the conquerors, of which many were killed in the swamp like sullen dogs that would rather in their self- willedness and madness sit still and be shot to pieces than re- ceive their lives for asking at the hand of those into whose power they were now fallen. Some that are yet living and worthy Of credit do affirm, that in the morning, entering into the swamp they saw several heaps of them sitting close to- 494 U i APPENDIX. gether, upon whom they discharged their pieces laden with ten or twelve pistol bullets at a time, putting the muzzles under the boughs within a few yards of them ; so as besides those that were found dead (near twenty as was judged) many more were killed and sunk in the mire, and never were minded more by friend or foe."— Narrative of Indian Wars, pp. 47, 48. {fl ARTICLE IV. p. 164. 3 A ''^ ,rvs^ Indian Autographa. 1, Uncas. 2,Oweneco. 3, Attawanhood. 4, Major Bem Uncas. 6, Mamohet, (son of Oweneco.) 6, Mahachemo. 7, MOMAUGUIN. 8, AnSANTAWAE. 9, TONTONIMO, (of Milfoid.) 10, SiiAUMnsHuii. 11, Montowese. 12, Ackenacii. 13, Pethus. 14, Ahamo. 15, Nassaiieoon. 16, Cassasinamon.' 17, HERMONtand or lie the rude grave stones of the dead; and, towering above the others, rise's a monument erected a few years since by the ladies of Norwich to the memory of Uncas. The cost of the monument, with that of the fencing, was, I have been informed, about four hundred dollars. Its material is granite ; its shape is a plain obelisk standing on a pedestal ; and on one side of it is cut in large raised letters the simple inscription of uncas. The monument itself, and the condition in which the cemetery is now placed, are both highly creditable to the citizens, and more especially to the ladies, of this charming little city. Uncas was not in- deed a good man, or a beneficent ruler ; but he was as de- serving a monument as the greater part of the kings and princes who have appeared in the world ; and ho was a steady and unflinching friend to the fathers of the city of Norwich, as well as to all of the colonists of New England. The monu- ment is creditable, I said ; but Norwich has erected still nobler monuments than this : in the labors of Fitch for the conver- sion of the Mohegans, and in the more modern efforts of Miss Huntington and her friends. These are monuments which will not perish, like granite, but will endure even when lime shall be no longer. Of the other graves in the inclosure, some are, and some are not, marked by stones ; and two or three of the stones haro 1 t f 5^ APPENDIX. 49f been so broken that the inscriptions are now difficult to deci- pher. By the aid, however, of a transcription of them which was made some time ago, and which was kindly lent me by Mrs. Goddard, who resides next to the cemetery, I am enabled to offer the following copy of these epitaphs to the reader. SAMUEL UNCAS. For Beauty wit for sterling Sense For temper mild for Eliquence For Couradg Bold For things Wauregeon^ He was the Glory of Mohedgon Whose Death has Caused great lamantation Both in ye English & ye Indian Nation. Heiie lies the Bodyes op two infant Children op Ben- jamin Uncas jun and op Ann Uncas op ye Royal Blood- One died Nov. ye 8th 1738 ye other Deo. ye 10th. Here lies ye body op pompi uncas son op benjamin and ANN UNCAS AND OP YE ROYAL BLOOD WHO DYED MAY YB 1 Uf 1740 IN YE 21 YEAR OP HIS AGE. I HERE LIES SAM UNCAS THE SECOND AND BELOVED SON OP HIS FATHER JOHN UNCAS WHO WAS ^HE GRANDSON OP UNCAS, GRAND SACHEM OP MOHEOAN. THE DARLING OP HIS MOTHER B^INO DAUGHTER OP SAID UNCAS GRAND SACHEM. HE DIED JULY 3l8t 1741 IN THE 28th OP HIS AGE. • Fine things— good clothes, omamerta, furniture, tto. I 498 APPENDIX. IN MEMOKY OF TONO SEA8AR lONUS* WHO DTED APRH. 30th 1749 IN THE 28th YEAR OF HIS AGE AND WAS COUSIN TO UNCA8. In Memory of Elizabeth Joquiib the Daughter of Mohomet great grand Child to ye first Vucaus Sachem of mohagen Who Died July ye 5th .1756 Aged 33 years. In Memory of Elizebeth Begneott Great grand child of Uncas Sachem of mohegan Who Died on ye 20th A. D. 17G1 Aged 14 years. * Probably a c has slipped from this word, so that it should be read ioitctti. *T^ th LS. let an INDEI. of 31 AcKENACH, sachem of the Pau gussetts, 269, 270. Aiisantawae, sachem of the 269^2w'^'' '^"' '^"'^' ^^^' Arramament, a Podnnk sa- chem, his quarrel with Un- cas, 257. His will, 258. Ashquash, a Fairfield or Stam- lord Indian, murders a white man, 209. Attawanhood, third son of Un- cas, his death and will, 288 ?"? ^^^''^^^ERs, murder John Oldham, 87. Are pun- ished by the English, 88. 91. Busheag, a Stamford Indian, nis crime and execution, 210 Canonchet, sachem of the ^larragan^etts, heroism and death of, 282, 283. Canonicus, old sachem of the Narragansetls, 23, 89, 125, •1> V *j t Captain Sannup, an Indian, sells a tract previously sold f>y Chapeto, 266. Cassasinatnon, a Pequot, «ol. Iccts a band of Pequots at Numeag, 226. Is abused by Uncas, 227. Ls accused of a plot against Uncas, 229. Petitions against Uncaa's government, 231. Pays trib- ute to the English, 242, 243, 244,246,260. Is appointed governor of the western band of Pequots, 246. Leads a war party against the Nar- ragansetts in Philip's war 283. Dies in 1692, 422. Chapeto, sells a large tract on the Connecticut, 266. Chickens, a sagamore, "history Ot, uOS. Chuse, or Jo Mauwehu, forms a tribe at Humphreysville, 400. Traditions concerning, 406. Removes to Scatacook and dies, 407. Clothing.ofthe Indians, 9. Commissioners of New Eng- land, try Miantinomo, 194. Send an overbearing mes- sage to the Narragansetts. 199. Try the quarrel be- tween Uncas and the Nar- ragansetts, 212. Investigate the conduct of Uncas, 228, 231, 254. Mwke war on Nmigret, 24.'. Grant the Pequots a governme r!^ 246 Impose fines on the Picom- tocks, Tunxis and Narra- gansetts, 256. Appoint over- seers for the Peaunf« OR\ -J , — jj. 800 INDEX. Connecticut, appearance and condition of, when first visi- ted by Europeans, 2. The colony of, its suiTerings by the Pequot hostilities, 117. Declares war against the Pequots, 119. Breaks up a coalition against Uncas, 235. Grants eighteen square miles of Mohegan territory to Lyme, 307. Is summoned to appear before Dudley's court, 310. Appeals from the decision of Dudley's court, 312. Prepares against a second trial, 325. Wins in cause, 331. Prepares for a third trial, 334. Is again successful, 339. Cushawashet, see Hermon Garret. Diseases, of the Indians, 20. Dutch, their early discoveries in Connecticut, 69. Their trade with the natives, 70. Buy land at the mouth of the Connecticut, 71. Buy land on the site of Hartford, 71. Make war with the Pe- quots, 73. Ransom two English girls from the Pe- quots, 121. Make war on the Indians of Hudson River and Long Island, 204. De- stroy an Indian village, 207. Make peace with the In- dians, 209. Endicott, John, commands an expedition against the Block Islanders and Pequots, 90. English, settlements of on Mas- B'i ::'au8etts Bay, 73. Explore Citjsr.ecticut, 74. Build a trading-house at Windsor, 75. Give cause of complaint to the Pequots, 76. Con- tinue their settlements in Connecticut, 82. Observe ill their treaty with the Pe- quots, 86. League with the Narragansetts against the Pequots, 104. Destroy a Pequot village, 131. Cap- ture and massacre Pequot warriors, 143, Prosecute their settlements in Connec- ticut, 161. Defend Uncas against the Narragansetts, 211. Etow Jack, a Mohegan, ex- ploit of, 146. Fairfield Indians, sell land, 167. Gallop John, revenges the murder of Oldham, 87. Gardiner Lieutenant Lion, 93, 105, 107, 109, 111, 120. Guilford Indiai:s, sell their land, 167. Numbers of, in 1774, 361. Hammonassetts, situation of, 52. Their country sold, 182. Hermon Garret, the same with Cushawashet and Wequash Cook, 180. Collects a body of Pequots, 226. Is abused by Uncas, 227. Is accused of a plot against Uncas. 229. Pays tribute to the English, 242, 243. 244, 24G 260. Is appointed governor of the eastern band of Pequots, 246. Indjans, appearance and phys- ic:?J qualities of, 3, Agri- culture of, 4. Their modes of s anting, 5. Their fishing, 8. INDEX. m Their clothing and orna- ments, 9. Their houses and furniture, 12. Their vil- lagea, 15. Their amuse- ments, 16. The family among them, 17. Marriage among them, 17. Their morals and character, 18. Their diseases and medical treatment, 20. Their funeral ceremonies, 21. Their reli- gion, 23. Their social dis- tinctions, 29. Their govern- ment, 30. Their mode of war, 33. Their treatment of prisoners, 37. Their lan- guage, 38, 491. Observa- tions on the decline of, 67, 299, 348. Physical and moral condition of, in 1683, 299. Numbers in 1680,' 301. Restrictions withdrawn from, 349. Census of, in 1774, 350. Regulations con- cerning overseers of, 351. Numbers of, in several towns, 363. See Laws and Mis- sionary Efforts. Iroquois, oppress the western tribes of Connecticut, 65, Are defeated by the Pau- gussetts, 223. Are engaged by the Narragansetts to at- tack the Mohegans, 234. In- vade the Mohegan country, 289. Hunting party of, in New Hartford, 350. Johnson Joseph, a Mohegan preacher, 469. His efforts to induce the New England tribes to remove to the country of the Six Nations, 469. His appeal for as- 501 sistance to the Assembly of Connecticut, 470. Preaches in New York, 470. Moves to the country of the Six Nations, 471. Letter to, from Washington, 471. Johnson Zachary, a Mohe- gan, active in the Mohegan troubles on the side of the colony, 459. Interesting an- ecdote of, 477. His death. 479. KoNCKAPOTANAUH, sachem of the Paugussetts, his death. 354. Laws, against private pur- chases from the Indians, 176. Forbidding Indians to handle fire-arms, 201. Restricting Indians from coming into the settlementg, 202. Forbid- ding Dutch and French ves. sels to trade with the Indians within the limits of the colony, 202. Interdicting the purchase of wood from Indians, 203. Forbidding the sale of ardent spirits to Indians, 203. For the gov. ernment of the Pequots, 247. Confining the Indians within certain bounds, 271. Re. straining them from ap. preaching the settlements, 271. For the punishment of drunken Indians, 271. For the protection of In- dians against creditors, 271. Concerning the Mohegans, 317, 342. For the regula- tion of overseers of Indians, 351. For the protection of the Nehantics, 386. For the 502 INOKX. protection of the Groton Pe- quots, 428. Machemoodus, situation and superatitions of, 55, 56. Mahackemo, sachem of the Norwalk and Stamford In- dians, sells land, 177. Major Symon, a Pequot Achilles; his exploits, 285. Mamohet, son of Oweneco, his death, 314. Mamohet, son of the last. 318 321, 323. Mason John, commands an expedition against the Pe- quots, 119. Commands a second expedition, 169. His , deahngs with regard to the Mohegan lands, 293. Mason John, grandson of the former, is guardian of the Mohegans, 312. Petitions that the costs of Dudley's court may be repaid him, 319. Becomes a school teacher among the Mohe- gans, 320. Forms a party among the Mohegans ad- j verse to the colony, 321.' Goes to England to appeal to the crown and dies there 323. Mauwehu Gideon, founder of the Scatacook tiibe, 407 et seq. ' Mauwehu Joseph, see Chuse. Mayn Mayano, » sachem at Stamford, his daring attempt and death, 205. Metoxon, sachem of the Sharon and Salisbury Indians, sells land, 399. Miantinomo, a Narragansett sachem, 89. Approvei the expedition of Mason, 125. Goes to Hartford concerning the conquered Pequots, 156. Makes a treaty with the English and Mohegans, 159. Accused of hostility to the English, he clears himself, 184, 185. Suspicious con- duct of, with regard to a Pe- quot assassin, 186, 187. Ob- tains permission from Massa- chusetts and Connecticut to makewaronUnca8,188. In- vades the Mohegan country, 189. Is defeated and taken' 191. Is placed as prisoner at Hartford, 193. Is tried by the Commissioners of New England and con- demned to death, 194. Is executed, 197. Observations on the justice of his sen. tence, 198. Missionary efforts among the Indians, of Eliot, 252. Of Rev. Abraham Pierson, 272. Of Rev. James Fitch, 274, 275. 4mong the Mohegans! 344,482. Among the Wan' gunks, 364. Among the Western Nehantics, 384 Among the tribes of Litch- field County, 409. Among the Pequots, 430. Mohegans, a clan of the Pe- quots, 59. Rebel and are expatriated, 84, 85. Join the English against their breth. ren, 119. Their rising en. mity with the Narragansetts, 156. Their increasing num- bers, 181. Kill and plunder ' INDEX. ' some Massachusetts Indians, 2.56. To-nre a Narragan- settprisa. .,284. View of their land affairs from 1640 to 1683, 291, et seq. ^Z tionof;inl683,297. Quar- rel with the people of Col- Chester and New London about land, 308. Their legal contests with Connecticut, 503 Momauguin, sachem of the Quinnipiacs, gives his ter- "tory to the English, 162. lestifies against Nepau- puck, 173. ^ Mononotto, a Pequot saga- niore, 151. His wife, 151 Montowese, son of Sowheag his sachemdom, 55. Parts 310 '\9i Qo/; o^r>"""'". — ""' '^'"i ic CO tne i ^ar 315. ^heir numbers f 1704, 316. Enactments *"L ""^ l^enefit, 317. The Mason party " formed among them, 321. Laws concerning them from 1722 to 1743, 342. Efforts for their education and conver- sion,344. Condition in 1743, d46. Assist the colonists in tne l*rench war of I755 4^0. Mason party still exists' among them, 450. Efforts lor their religious and edu. cational benefit, 451 Con f°"^'^y' 212. Agree to a tinued division, JJ„,,°,™: TiTl^'^^'^''' ^13. tinned divisions among, 459. 1 iieir numbers in 1774, 474 Fight for the colonies in the revolution, 475. Numbers "L^'^W^'^. '" ^^^^ York, aII' ^"'&"^ar memorial of, Iq, o , Z''^'^^^" "f' i" 1790, 481 Sabbath and day school established among, 482 A n- propriations for, by the Uni- ted States, 484. Condition ;^™^^^,«^hoolin 1842 and 1845, 486. Present num rious tribes of Connecticut ^^- Iheir situation and numbers, Q2. Their char- acter, 64 Form a treaty with the English, 104. Join o« ^^P^'^^^ion of Mason, I'^b. Attempt to procure the murder of Uncas, 185,236. Are defeated by the Mohe- gans, 191, 253. Attack Un- ""fJ^ ^^enge for the death ofMiant,nomo,211. Accuse Uncas of falsehood and dis- honesty, 212. Agree to a Defeat the Mohegans, 215 War against them resolved ^"^y^he_ Commissioners, <5Jb. Obtain peace on hard conditions, 217. Unite with the Pocomtocks and Mo- havyks against Uncas, 234 Unite with the Pocomtocks and lunxis, 253. Their overthrow and ruin, 281 Theb country ravaged" by the English, Mohegans and Pequots, 283, 284. Cemetery of ^^.T:^^"^^^' ^^^indsor saga^ at Norwich, 4, )r,. I 265' Sells land, 264, 45 504 INDEX. I I Nehantics, a Rhode Island tribe, 61. Join the expedi- tUm of Mason, 127. War u|" n by the English, 244. Nehantics Western, of Con necticut, early condition of, 57. A village of, attacked by the English, 137. Their re- servation, 381. A -v^., ressions upon, 382. Condition in 1734 and 1736, 383. Efforts for their religious bene- fit, 383. Religious interest among them, 384. Difficul- ties with the whites, 384. Their numbers in 1761, 1774 and 1783, 385, 386. Their present condition, 386. Nepaupuck, a Pequot saga- more, unjust trial of, 172. Execution of, 174. New Fairfield Indians, sell their land, 360. Ne_Ar Milford Indians, collec tion of into a tribe, 389. Observations on their num- bers, 389. Sell Wyantenock, 391. Sell other large tracts, 392. Their connection with the neighboring tribes, 393. Their partial migration to Scaiacook, 396. Obtain an appropriation from the As- sembly, 397. Make another migration, 397. Their con- dition in 1774, 397. Their cemeteries, 398. Niuigret, sacheu: of the Rhode Island Nehantics, 153, 160, 216, 236, 239, 244, 245, 246. Nipmucks, or Nipnets, their early condition, 57. Seil a tract at Plainfield, 266. Make war with the Narra- gansetts, 267. How their lands passed away from them, 376. Traditions con- cerning them, 377. Singu. lar tradition of theirs, 377. Their intercourse with the settlers, 378. Religious in- terest among them, 380. Their numbers in 1774, 381. Norwalk Indians, sell their land, 177. OccoM Samson, conversion and education of, 454. Be- comes a missionary among the Long Island Indians, 455. Is licensed and or- dained, 455. Goes to Eng- land and attracts great no- tice, 458. His oljservations on the result of the Mohegan Case, 463. His sermon at the execution of Moses Paul, 465. His death, 476. Oweneco, oldest son of Uncas, leads a war party against Philip, 280. Leads another against the Narragansetts, 283. Trustees his private lands, 290. Becomes sa- chem of the Mohegans, 304. Confirms a large tract to the tribe, 305. Trustees the Mohegan land to the Ma- sons, 305. Makes various, sale and gifts, 306, 307. Engaged in a law suit against Connecticut, 310. His death, and anecdotes of him, 314. Pauoussetts, situation, num- bers and fortresses of, 49. Sell part of Milford, 166 Disturb the people of Mil.' ford 222 i,,,P^, ^ ^;^- of Mohawks, 223. Land nil, 2G4. Make various sale«, 269. Land laid out to Jem in Huntington, 270. 1 heir dispersion, 354. Num- bers at Golden Hill at va-, nous times, 355. Ageres. sions upon the Golden Hill "Pon the band in Milford, in M-f/T"^ remnants of, m Milford and Trumbull 357 Colony of, in Wood- bridge, 357. Pequots situation and num. nr^A^f- ^^«^«nded from ^le Mohicans of Hudson River, 59. Their settlement m Connecticut, 60. Their early wars and conquests, bl. iheir enmity with the JNarragansetts, 62. Their early sachems, 66. Sell Hartford to the Dutch, 7L Make war with the Dutch, 73. Murder Captain Stone, 77. I heir affairs on the wane, 78. Make a treaty with Massachusetts, . 80 • with the Narragansetts, SL Observe ill their treaty with Massachusetts, 86. Treat ;^P~^^-I^^ght with a party f English, 99. Fail in attempting to excite the ^arragansetts against the English, 101-loi Kill numbers of the English, 43 INDEX. 505 105-109. Parley with the garrison at Say brook, 111 i"^^//^'^;'J>ersfield, J 13." Aie defeated at Mystic and then- fort burned, 131-133 Dispezse, Uo. Retreat to' i-aiiheld swamp, 141. Are overtaken and defeated, 147 Seek refuge among the sur- rounding tribes, 152. Sub- - mit to the English, 155. Aie divided among the Mo- Regans, Nehantics and Nar ragansetts, 159. Havinc? settled in their ancient ccuu. ]^y, are driven out, 169. /wo bands of them collect J^ their ancient country, 226 i;iy from the authority of Uncas, 230 . Petition to be fieed from his rule, 231. Resolute in refosing to obey Uncas,233. Petit^n to be governed by the English, English, 242, 243, 244, 246, ^60. Leave the Nehantics and come in to the E.iglish, '^T . t^^e received under colonial authority and pro- tection 246. Governors ap- pointed for them, 246. Laws made lor their regulation, ^47. Quarrel with the Montauks, 261. Overseers appointed for them, 261. Their western band settled at Mushantuxet, 262. Join the English in Philip's war 280. Their situation in 1683,297. Melancholy char? acter of their hi.tor/, 421. Observations on their dimi- 506 INDEX. nution, 421. Their early governors, 422. Their quar- rels with them, 423. En- croachments on the western band, 423. Its condition and numbers in 1731, 427. Its lands in part leased, 428. Laws for its j.otection, 428. Religious interest among the Pequots, 430. Numbers of< the eastern band in 1749, 432. Attempted aggressions on it, 432. Aggressions on the western band, 433. De- prived of a large part of its lands, 436. Its numbers in 1762, 437. Efforts for its religious and educational benefit, 437. Its numbers in 1774, 439. Numbers of Pe- quots remove to the Oneida country, 440. Renewed diffi- culties concerning the lands of the western band, 440. President Dwight's account of the eastern band, 441. Its condition in 1820, 442. Con- dition of the western band in 1832, 443. In 1849, 444 , Condition of the eastern band in 1848,443. Philip, sachem of the Pokano- kets, his war commences, 279. His death, 287. Pocomtocks, a Massachusetts tribe, 234, 235. 254, 255. Podunks, situation and num- bers of, 55. Their difficulties , with Uncas, 249, 257. Listen to the gospel from Eliot, 252. Their disappearance, 363. Potatucks, situation of, 51. Sell a large tract of land, 351. Their condition in 1710, ^52, Hold a great powwowing, 352. Obtain an appropriation from the Assembly, 353. Numbers of in 1761 and 1774, 354. Powwows, or priests, account of, 27. QuiNEBAUGS, see Nipmucks. Quinnipiacs, situation and numbers of, 52. Sell their territory, 162. Their reser- vation, 360. Their last sa- chem, 360. Their numbers about 1730, 361. Their par- tial migration to Farming, ton, 361. Their cemeteries, 362. Ram ipoo Indians, of Ridge field, sell their land, 359. " River Tribes," close connec- tion among anciently, 53. Great sachem of, 54. Clo- sing history of, 363, et acq, Salisbury Indians, see Sha- ron Indians. Sassacus, becomes sachem of the Pequots, 73. Sends to Massachusetts to solicit peace, 79. His courageous counsels, 141. He retreats with part of his people to Fairfield swamp, 142. Leaves them and flies to the Mohawks, 150. Is murdered by the Mohawks, 151. Scatacooks, collect at Kent, 407. A Moravian mission amongthem,409. Their par- tial dispersion, 411. Hold a " talk " with the commis- sioners of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, h t INDEX. 607 ;' 411. Their reservations, 413. Sell part of their ter- ritory, 414. Encroachments on them, 414. Obtain land from the Assembly, 415. Difficulties with the whites, 415. Curious petition of, 416. Their numbers in 1774, 417. Their lands leased in 1775, 417. Their condition in 1786, 417. A large tract of their land sold in 1801, 419. Their present numbers and condi- tion, 420. Sehat, a Windsor sagamore, 53, 83. Sequassen, sachem of the River Tribes, 54. Overcome by the Pequots, 61. Sells land around Hartford, 83. At- tacks Uncas, 187. Is de. feated, 188. His singular conspiracy, 218. He is im- prisoned by the English, 222. Being in exile is allowed by the commissionei's to return to his country, 222. His quarrel with the Podunks, 249, ei seq. Sequin, see Sowheag. Sharon Indians, one tribe with the Salisbury Indians, 398. Sell various tracts of land, 399. Complain of encroach- ments and oppression, 400. Sell their reservations in Salisbury, 401. Gradually leave Sharon, 403. Sell their reservations in Sharon, 403. Shaumpishuh, sunk squaw of the Guilford Indians, 52. Signs the treaty at New Haven, 164. Sells her land at Guilford, 167. Sowheag, or Sequin, sachem of the Wangunks, 54, Sells the country around Weth ersfield, 83. Wronged by the Wethersfield people, 113. Induces the Pequots to attack Wethersfield, 113. His quarrel with Connec- ticut, 168. TiMOTHEUS, a Sharon Indian, claims land there, and makes disturbances, 403. Is bought out, and leaves, 405. Tontonimo, a Podunk sachem, quarrels with Sequassen and Uncas, 249. Tountonemoe, a Paugussett sachem, 269. Tunxis, situation and numbers of, 52. Sell Farmington, 175. Attack the Mohegans, 254. Fined therefor, 255. Fined for a murder, 263. Their reservation confirmed to them, 263. Disappear from Simsbury, 369. School existing among them, 370. Several become freemen and professors of religion, 371. Aggressions upon their lands, 371. Their numbers in 1761 and 1764, 373. Me- morials, &c., 373. Their disappearance, 375. A mon- ument to their memory, 375 Uncas, a sagamore among the Pequots, 66. Related to the royal Pequot family, 66 Rebels against Sassacus, 84. Defeated and banished, 84. His person and character, 86. ^ff^-JSf^-\ II ]; 508 I^TDEX. Joins the English against the Pequots, 119. Defeats two parties of Pequots, 120, 121. Tortures a prisonei, 121. Deceitful conduct of, 154, 159. Joins in a league with Connecticut and the Narra- gansetts, 159. His increas- ing power, 181. Sells the Hammonassett country, 182. His deed of 1G40, 183, 455. Is hated by Sequassen and the Narragansett sachems, 184. Invades and defeats Sequassen, 188. Defeats Miantinomo, 191. Executes him, 197. Is besieged by the Narragansetts, 213. In- vestigates an Indian murder at Stamford, 224. Beats and abuses a hunting party of Pequots, 227. Is summoned before the Commission- ers, 228. Other complaints against him, 228, 231. Fox- on's defense of him, 231. He is fined, 233. Is stabbed by a Narragansett, 236. Quar- rels with a Long Island sa- chem, 237. Why hated by the other sachems, 238. Complains to the English about Ninigret and the Dutch, 239. Quarrels with Tontoiiimo, a Podunk sa- chem, 249. Defeats the Nar- ragansetts, 253. Is attacked by the Pocomtocks, T^nxi^: and Narragansetts, 254. Quarrels with Arramamen't, a Podunk sachem, 258, Op- ^ poses the gospel, 275. His religious character, 276. Joins the English in Philip's war, 280. His death, 296. Uncas Major Ben, son of the last, his protest against Owe- neco's sales, 313. Usurps the sachemship of Mohegan, 318. His death, 321. Uncas Ben, son of the last, be- comes sachem of Mohegan, 321. Is opposed to the Ma- sons, 322. Releases Con- necticut from the claims of the Mohegans, 321. His will and death, 447. Uncas Ben, son of the last, he- comes sachem of Mohegan, 448. Complains of the Ma- son party to the Assembly, 450, 459. His death, 460. Uncas Cesar, sachem of Mo- hegan, 315. His death, 318. Uncas Isaiah, son of Ben Uncas, educated at Whee- lock's school, 456. His death, 464. Uncas, the name of, now prob- ably extinct, 481. \VAoiii.\AcuT,a Podunk saga- more, urges the English to settle on the Connecticut, 73. Won iinnks. their situation, 54. Sell various large tracts, 264, 265. Their reservations, 663 Labors of Richard Treat for their education and conversion, 364. Their num- Lv^rs and condition in 1764, 367. Sale of tlieir lands and their dis[)trsion and extinc- tion, 368. Waierbury Indians, sell their land, 268. Wcpawaui{3, see Paugusaetts. ' i INDEX. 509 "Wequash, a Nehantic saga- more, 130. His conversion, 178. His death, 179. Wequash Cook, see Hermon Garret. Weraumaug, sachem of the New Milford tribe, sells a large tract on the Housa- tonic, 392. His grand wig- wam, 393. His conTersion and death, 394. Singular scene at his dealh-bed, 395. Wheelock, Rev. Eleazer, in- structs Samson Occom, 453. His Indian school, 456 — 459. Windsor Indians, 53. Disper- sion of, 363. Numbers of, in 1774, 363. i