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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
about the middle of July, 1633. " Mr. Hooker's company," as it was called, which afterwards constituted his church at Cambridge, had preceded him. Dur- ing the two years and a half that he remained with the Massachusetts colony, bis influence was marked. He became deeply interested In the plan of emigra- tion to the beautiful valley of the Con- neetleut. It has been said that the speclal reason of his going was, because of the increase of the population about the Bay, and the necessity of the people finding more fruitful fields for their focks, and better land to till. But this was not the main reason in the mind of Hooker. There were many things in connection with the elvil regulation of affairs in Massachusetts that did not meet his approval. He believed in a government " by the people for the people; " and it was to be his high ser- vice and destiny to inspire, if his hand did not pen, the first constitution ever adopted by a people. From the time Mr. Hooker came to Hartford until his death he was a leader in public affairs. Of majestic person and noble mien, his words were both eloquent and powerful. Gentle and affectionate in spirit, his life was a beautiful illustration of the faith and doctrine he professed. Mr. Hooker fell a victim to epidemie disease at the age of sixty-one, dying at his home in Hartford, July 7, 1647.
2 JOHN WAREHAM was an eminent minister In Exeter, England. After emigrating with his church to New England, and remaining at Dorchester for some time, he followed his people to Windsor the year after they made a set- tlement there. He is said to have been the first minister in New England who preached with notes. Cotton Mather gave testhony that "the whole colony of Connecticut considered him as a prin- elpal pillar and father of the colony."
3 BOTH THE Dutch and the I'llgrims at Plymouth were annoyed at the coming of the Massachusetts people into the Connecticut valley, but the tide of emi- gration was too strong for them to resist.
4 LION GARDINER had been a mas- ter workman and engineer in the employ of the Prince of Orange. He became owner of the island at the east end of Long Island which bears his name.
5 SAYBROOK PATENT. In 1606 two great companies were formed in Eng- land -one in London, and the other in Plymouth - for the settlement of North America. To the Plymouth Company, King James gave the coast extending from about the mouth of the Hudson River to the eastern point of Maine. There was no western boundary to this grant, which extended across the conti nent to the Pacific Ocean. In 1620 the original company was broken up, and a new one formed, called " The Council of Plymouth for the governing of New England." The King gave this company control of the territory from about P'hil- adelphia to Nova Scotia. In 1630 the Council conveyed to its President, the Earl of Warwick, a territory supposed to be bounded on the north and east by the grants that had already been sold to the Plymouth and Massachusetts colo- nies, and extending from Narragansett River forty leagues (a hundred and twenty miles) upon a straight line near the seashore, towards the south-west as the coast ran. There bounds were quite indefinite, but included much more than the present limits of the State. The patent this given stopped the further eneroachment of the Dutch. The first settlers of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor occupied territory included within the Saybrook patent; but the colony at the mouth of the river was not strenuous in asserting its rights.
6 TRUMBULL.
21
THE PEQUOT WAR.
1637.]
CHAPTER III. 1637.
THE PEQUOT WAR.
W THILE the Connecticut settlers were busy in clearing fields for tillage, building rude but substantial houses of logs and stones, and opening roads, trouble with the Indians commenced.
A band of roving Narragansetts had killed a trader named Oldham, at Block Island. Oldham belonged to Watertown, Mass., and that colony took steps to punish the murderers. Some of them were killed ; and others fled to the Pequot country, as their own friends, the Narragansetts, would have nothing to do with them. Governor Vane and his council decided to send a party of soldiers to Block Island, with orders to put to death all the men, but to spare the women and children.
In command of one hundred men, Captain Endicott sailed for the island in August, 1636. When the English attempted to land, the Indians did all they could to drive them back. They did not succeed in this, and finally took to flight after fourteen of their number were killed. Having set fire to the cornfields and wigwams, the expedition sailed to Pequot River.1 Meeting a party of Pequots, Endicott talked with them ; but, finding them defiant and hostile, he told them to prepare to fight. In a skirmish that followed, two Indians were killed. Having burned a few wigwams, Endicott sailed for Boston. This action only enraged the Pequots. " You
22
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1637.
raise these wasps around us, and then flee away," said the Connecticut men to their friends in Massachusetts.
Within a few days, parties of Pequot warriors began to harass and murder the settlers. The arrow from some ambush struck down the farmer toiling in his fields, and helpless women and innocent children were killed with fiend- ish cruelty. While a party of men were working outside the Saybrook fort, they were surprised by the Pequots, and four of their number killed. Lieutenant Gardiner was slightly wounded at the same time. The Indians, encouraged by their success, gathered in large numbers, and challenged those within the fort to fight, mocking them by imitat- ing the dying groans and prayers of the poor prisoners whom they had tortured. A few charges of grape-shot scat- tered them.
The work of pillage and death still continued, until the settlers scarcely dared to stir outside their homes. The Pequots tried to get their old enemies, the Narragansetts, to unite with them in a league against the English. This plan was broken up by the influence of Roger Williams 2 and the strength of the old enmity. The Mohegans were on bad terms with the Pequots, and formed an alliance with the English. The Niantics, although friendly to the Pequots, were unwilling to fight.
The colonists saw that it was a matter of life and death, and determined to make a desperate effort to break the power of the Pequots. A General Court was held in Hart- ford, May 1, 1637; and this resolution was unanimously adopted. " It is ordered that there shall be an offensive war against the Pequots, and there shall be ninety men levied out of the three plantations of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor." This number represented nearly one-third of the freemen of this little republic.
Within ten days from the opening of the court, this com- pany of men sailed from Hartford under the command of
23
THE PEQUOT WAR.
1637.]
Captain John Mason.3 With them was a band of seventy friendly Mohegan 4 Indians, and Uncas 5 their chief. When they reached the fort, at Saybrook, Captain John Underhill, a brave and capable soldier, with the consent of Lieutenant Gardiner, commanding the fort, offered his services to Mason with nineteen men.
For some days the wind was contrary, and the little fleet was detained at the mouth of the river. Pequot spies, swift of foot, were watching its movements from the opposite shore, and apprised Sassacus of his danger. Mason's orders were to sail directly to Pequot (New London) Harbor, and attack the enemy in their stronghold. Now that the wily Indians were informed of this purpose, he saw that it would be dangerous and perhaps futile to undertake it. He suggested that it would be best to sail as far as Narragansett Bay, and, if possible, secure the aid of Miantonomo, the chief sachem of the Narragansetts, in surprising and destroying their mutual enemy.
A council of war was held ; and, while they all recognized the force of their leader's arguments, they hesitated to assume the responsibility of changing the plan of the cam- paign. They were under orders, and it was their habit to obey without thought of personal consequences. It was finally suggested that they seek divine guidance; and the matter was referred to their chaplain, Mr. Stone, the be- loved and revered assistant pastor of the church in Hartford. Having spent the night in prayer, Mr. Stone the next morn- ing said to Captain Mason, that " he was fully satisfied to sail for Narragansett."
This was accepted as a final decision, and on Friday morning they set sail. They arrived in Narragansett Bay Saturday evening, but the wind blew so strongly off shore that they were unable to land before Tuesday afternoon. Mason at once informed Miantonomo of his plans, which met the cordial approval of the sachem. He thought, how-
24
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1637.
ever, that the little band of English soldiers were insufficient for such an undertaking.
During the night an Indian runner brought a letter from Captain Patrick, who had been sent from Massachusetts with a few men to assist in the war against the Pequots. He wrote that he had reached Providence, and urged Mason to wait until he could join him. The Connecticut company had already met with vexatious delays, and they were im-
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MAP OF PEQUOT CAMPAIGN.
patient to return home ; and they decided to push on to the Pequot country at once.
On Wednesday morning, May 24, the little army began their march, and before night reached the borders of the Pequot territory. Here was the seat of a Narragansett sachem ; but he refused to treat with the English captain, and would not allow his men to encamp within the palisades of his fortress. In the morning another band of warriors, sent by Miantonomo, having appeared, the Narragansetts within the fort plucked up courage, and with much boasting desired to join the expedition. When Captain Mason began
Mistic R.
PT JUDITH
25
THE PEQUOT WAR.
1637.]
the march again on Thursday, he had about five hundred Indians with him. Most of them proved a cowardly lot, and those who had bragged the loudest were the first to desert. Uncas, with his band of Mohegans, showed the most courage ; and Wequash, a petty chief who had revolted from Sassacus, proved a trustworthy guide.
Suffering from the lack of food and the oppressive heat, they finally reached the neighborhood of the Pequot fort about an hour after sunset. Here they encamped between two high rocks, still known as Porter's Rocks. It was a beautiful moonlight night; and the sentinels could hear the distant cries of the enemy, who were having a carousal of savage joy over the flight, as they supposed, of Mason and his men, as they had seen the vessels sailing past their territory.
An hour or two before daybreak the men were awakened from sleep ; and, after a fervent prayer by the chaplain, they started for the fort, following a path pointed out by the Indians. The distance proved greater than they expected ; and they began to fear lest they were on the wrong trail, when they came to a cornfield at the foot of "a great hill." Their terror-stricken allies had fallen back ; and it was only in response to a messenger that Uncas and Wequash came up, and informed them that the fort was on the top of the hill.
Sending the Indians word not to fly, but to keep at as safe a distance as they pleased, and see whether Englishmen would fight or not, they marched on, and soon came in sight of the Pequot's stronghold.
The men were divided, for the purpose of storming the two entrances at the same time. Captain Mason was within a step of the north-east entrance, when the bark of a dog gave the first alarm to the sleeping enemy. The cry of an Indian, " Owanus! Owanux!" ("The English ! the English ! ") startled the Pequots from the heavy slumber that had fol- lowed the debauch of the previous night.
4
26
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1637.
Completely surprised, and paralyzed with fear, most of them huddled in their wigwams, even after the English had entered the palisades. A few tried to escape ; and after some hand-to-hand fighting, Captain Mason gave the order to burn the fort, and, seizing a firebrand, lighted the conflagra- tion himself. The rest of the sad story is best told quickly. The flames spread rapidly, and in an hour six or seven hun- dred poor creatures perished within the belt of fire. Only a handful escaped to tell the proud chief, in the fort not far away, of the terrible calamity that had overtaken the tribe. Only two of the English were killed, and twenty wounded.
From the outlook of the hill they saw their vessels in the distance entering Pequot Harbor, and they at once took up their march in that direction. By this time the Indians from the neighboring 6 fort swarmed along the forest path, and in every possible way harassed the soldiers. Before the harbor was reached, however, the Pequots returned to their fort. and upbraided the proud Sassacus as the author of all their misfortunes. From that hour his power, and that of his tribe, was broken. Only the intercession of some of his chief counsellors saved his life. Panic-stricken, they burned their wigwams, destroyed their fort, and then fled. Sassacus, with seventy or eighty of his faithful warriors, sought refuge in the wilderness bordering the Hudson River.
When the little army of Englishmen returned to tell the story of their victory, the colonists breathed more freely.7 But they were still in fear lest the spirit of revenge kindled in the hearts of the survivors of the hated tribe might break out in fierce and treacherous attacks, and arrangements were made to continue the war. Without passing judgment as to the right or wrong of this action, it is evident that the colonists felt that their lives were in constant jeopardy while a Pequot remained in the vicinity of their settlements. Cap- tain Mason was put in command of forty men, and in June united his force with that of Captain Stoughton, who had
27
THE PEQUOT WAR.
1637.]
been sent to Pequot Harbor (New London) from Massachu- setts. While the vessels sailed along the Sound, the troops hunted for the enemy along the shore.8
It was on this march that the beauty of the location and surroundings of Quinnipiac (New Haven) was first discov- ered by English eyes. As they approached the place, they saw the smoke of what they supposed was a Pequot encamp- ment ; but they found that the fire had been kindled by a party of friendly Indians. The vessels having entered the harbor, they went on board, and waited for several days, until the return of a Pequot spy, who reported that Sassacus and his party were concealed in a swamp a few miles to the westward. This hiding-place proved to be in a bog-thicket a short distance from the present village of Fairfield.
It was not an easy matter to dislodge the Pequots from this natural fortress. The soldiers found it very difficult to penetrate the tangled underbrush without sinking in the treacherous mire ; and in the attempt to advance, many of them were wounded by the sharp arrows, that flew in showers about them. The Fairfield Indians, who were in the swamp, sent one of their number to beg for quarter, which was granted ; and they came out with their women and children.
The plan was then adopted of surrounding the band of desperate Pequots, who still clung to their hiding-place. During the night, which proved dark and heavy with mist, they attempted to break through this line ; but the watchful soldiers were prepared for a hand-to-hand fight, which ended in the death and capture of a large proportion of the Pequot warriors. The one hundred and eighty prisoners, with a large amount of booty consisting of wampum, bows, arrows, and other implements, were divided between Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Sassacus probably was not present at this fight. Fleeing in the direction of the Hudson, he sought refuge among his old enemies, the Mohawks ; but the old feeling of hate con-
28
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1637.
tinued, and, having beheaded him, they sent his scalp as a trophy to Connecticut.
On the 21st of September, Uncas and Miantonomo, with the surviving Pequots numbering about two hundred, met the magistrates of Connecticut at Hartford. A treaty was arranged between the colony and the Mohegans and Narra- gansetts, by the terms of which the tribes entered into a compact of peace, and agreed, that, in any case of wrong, justice should be meted out by the English. With consider- able ceremony the remnant of the Pequots was divided among the chiefs who had given their aid in the war against the tribe now humbled and powerless.
1 PEQUOT RIVER. Thames River.
? ROGER WILLIAMS. The founder of Rhode Island. His influence over the Narragansetts was remarkable, and his efforts in behalf of peace were unremit. ting.
3 JOHN MASON had won reputation as a brave soldier in the Low Countries. He was a member of the company that removed from Dorchester to Windsor. Oliver Cromwell offered him the posi- tion of major-general if he would return to England. For many years he held the highest position of military authority in the colony.
4 THE MOHEGANS appear to have been tributary to the Pequots, but at this time they were on bad terms with each other. They dwelt on the west side of the Thames River.
6 UNCAS was a Pequot by birth ; and hla wife was a daughter of Sassacus, a Pequot sachem. At one time he was a petty chief under Sassaens, the great prince of the nation. They had quar. relled ; and at the time the English first came to Connecticut, his influence among the Indians was small. He had nothing to lose, and every thing to gain, through the friendship of the English.
6 THE NEIGHBORING FORT. Besides the fort at Mystic, the principal and royal residence of Sassacus was situated on Fort Hill in Groton, about four miles north-east of New London.
7 CAPTAIN MASON and the Narragan- sett Indians, after leaving Pequot Har- bor, continued their march by land to the Connecticut River, where they ar- rived on Saturday, " being nobly en- tertained by Lieutenant Gardner with many great guns." From Saybrook the English volunteers in this expedi- tion returned to their homes, where they were received with great rejoi- cing.
8 UNCAS with his Indians and some of the soldiers, at a point about eighteen miles west of Saybrook, discovered the Pequot sachem, Mononotto, with a few of his followers. They attempted to escape by swimming across the mouth of a narrow harbor, but they were way. laid and taken as they landed. Uneas shot the sachem, and, after beheading him, stuck the head in the crotch of a large oak tree, where it remained for many years. Since then the place has been called Sachem's Head.
29
FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW HAVEN.
1638.]
CHAPTER IV.
1638-1639.
FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW HAVEN. - ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTIONS BY THE NEW HAVEN AND CONNECTICUT COLONIES.
0 N the 26th of July, 1637, there arrived at Boston the most opulent company that had thus far emigrated from England. Every possible inducement was offered to keep them in Massachusetts, but they decided to found a distinct colony. Having learned of the beauty of the country lying west of the mouth of the Connecticut River, they sent a few of their number to spy out the land.
This company, in charge of Theophilus Eaton, one of their prominent and wealthy men, selected, as the most attractive and eligible spot for the future home of the colony, the present site of the city of New Haven. Here they built a temporary hut, and left it in charge of a few servants for the winter. On the 30th of the follow- ing March, the entire company set sail for the harbor of Quinnipiac, which they reached after a tedious voyage of two weeks.
Their first sabbath was strictly kept with religious ser- vices held under the spreading branches of an oak-tree, supposed to have stood near the present corner of College and George Streets. The Rev. John Davenport,1 whose name occupies a distinguished place in the early history of the colony, preached a sermon warning them of the trials of the wilderness, and was followed in a discourse from his
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1639.
colleague, the Rev. Mr. Prudden, from the text, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
In November, Theophilus Eaton, Mr. Davenport, and other gentlemen, made a contract with the Indian sachem Momaugin, in reference to a sale of lands. It is a curious document, being of the nature of a treaty as well as a deed of sale of Quinnipiac.
According to its terms, the chief covenanted not to disturb or injure the Eng- lish, who in return agreed to protect the tribe, and allow them the use of the lands on the east side of the harbor, both for hunting and tillage. On the 11th of December another large tract of land was deeded to the same gentlemen by Montowese.
The territory included in JOHN DAVENPORT. [ From a portrait in possession of Yale College.] these deeds is now divided into the towns of New Haven, Branford, Wallingford, East Haven, Woodbridge, Cheshire, and North Haven. Twenty- three English coats, with sundry other articles, was the con- sideration named in the deeds, with the right to hunt and plant and fish with few restrictions ; but the protection of the colonists was of far more value to the little Indian tribe than gold or silver would have been.
The year 1639 will ever be memorable in the history of the State as the time when written constitutions were adopted by the infant colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, that have been the source of influences that have affected the life, not only of the Commonwealth, but of the nation. The
31
FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW HAVEN.
1639.]
band of earnest, thoughtful men and refined women, who laid the foundations of these two colonies, were many of them of gentle birth. Their clergymen were university graduates, of high reputation for learning and eloquence; and the leading citizens had won wealth and position before emi- grating to the wilderness of the New World.
They did not leave homes of comfort in England to seek the advancement of their 1638. material fortune. The star of hope that led them across the ocean, and gave QUINNIPIAC them courage to sub- due the wilderness and endure privation, was luminous with THE the light of religious and civil liberty. Their earliest thought DESE REJOICE and care were given R.E.J to laying the founda SHALL tions of communities that should embody MEDAL COMMEMORATING THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW HAVEN. and illustrate prin- ciples of spiritual, ecclesiastical, and political freedom, dear to them as life.
During the first year of the settlement of New Haven, the colonists lived under a simple compact to obey the Scrip- tures. On the 4th of June, 1639, all of the free planters met in a large barn,2 and proceeded in a formal manner to lay the foundations of government. The Bible was made the sole rule for ordering the affairs of the Commonwealth, and church members were alone admitted to the rights of citizenship.
In October the court, as it was termed, composed of seven
32
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1639.
church members called " the seven pillars," and duly elected for this purpose, met and instituted the civil government. All of those who were connected with approved churches were accepted as voting members of the Commonwealth, and Theophilus Eaton was chosen governor of the colony.3
For many reasons, the history of the first Constitution of Connecticut is of deep interest. During the first year after the settlement of Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford, the government was under a commission from Massachusetts. In April, 1636, Roger Ludlow and four associates held a General Court in Hartford, and among other acts passed a law forbidding the sale of fire-arms to the Indians. In May of the following year, the towns appointed delegates to par- ticipate with the magistrates in the counsels of the court.
At the opening session of this body, May 31, 1638, the Rev. Thomas Hooker preached a remarkable sermon, in which he declared "that the choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's own allowance," and " that they who have power to appoint officers and magis- trates have the right also to set the bounds and limitations of the power and place unto which they call them." He gave two reasons for this assertion, - first, "Because the foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people ; " second, "Because by a free choice the hearts of the people will be more inclined to the love of the persons chosen, and more ready to yield obedience."
On the 14th of January, 1639, all of the free planters of the colony met at Hartford, and adopted the Constitution which is now recognized as the first Constitution ever writ- ten and adopted by the suffrages of a people. It will always, probably, be a matter of doubt as to whose pen draughted this remarkable document ; but there is every reason to believe that the principles which it contains were suggested by the far-seeing and liberty-loving mind of Thomas Hooker. Roger Ludlow acted as legal adviser, and may have prepared
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