USA > Connecticut > New London County > Montville > History of Montville, Connecticut, formerly the North parish of New London from 1640 to 1896 > Part 3
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the abyss and were either slaughtered or drowned, their mangled bodies floating down into the calm waters below. This incident probably gave the foundation for the tradition- ary legend connected with the Falls of the Yantic. In 1666, Uncas became involved in a quarrel with the sachem of the Podunks, a tribe located in the vicinity of Hartford. The Mohegans had encroached upon the territories of the Po- dunks, probably by hunting over them. One, or both par- ties, however, soon appealed to the government of Connecti- cut, and the General Court appointed a committee to examine into and settle the difficulties. A boundary line was surveyed and marked out, and both parties expressed themselves sat- isfied, and so their quarrel was brought to a peaceful con- clusion. In confirmation of the friendship which was formed between the two sachems, Uncas and Arramament, the lat- ter, sachem of the Podunks, gave his daughter, Sow-gon-osk in marriage to Attawanhood, the third son of Uneas. After- wards, in May, 1672, the Podunk chief made over to his daughter and her husband all the lands which he owned in Podunk or elsewhere, then and forever. This territory was to descend to the children of the daughter by Attawanhood, and in case there was no such, to the children whom she might have by any other person, and in case there were none such as these, then to whatever persons were declared to be the nearest heirs of Sow-gon-osk by the English law. Since about 1668 no special record is found of quarrels or war between the different tribes of Connecticut as had previously existed. The English settlers were at this time rapidly oc- cupying the Indian lands, either by purchase or encroach- ment. Many grants had already been made. New London had become considerably populated, and a deed had been signed by Uneas and his sons Owaneco and Attawanhood, conveying to the town of and inhabitants of Norwich a tract of land nine miles square.
The Indians at this early period gave the white settlers not a little annoyance by loitering around their settlements.
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They would often frighten the women and children by enter- ing the houses withont liberty and through their excessive eagerness to handle fire-arms, some lamentable accidents were caused. They were not always strictly honest either, being quite apt to take whatever excited their longing, and more disposed to run into debt than to pay what they already owed. If a person trusted an Indian to any considerable amount he was pretty sure to lose both the debt and his customer. To put a stop to such annoyance, penal laws were enacted both by the Colonial Courts and by the town authorities. For handling dangerous weapons, an Indian was to pay a fine of half a fathom of wampum. If he wounded anyone by his carelessness or ignorance he was to defray the expense of enring the patient. If the injured person died, life was to be exacted for life. Indians who came prowling around the settlements by night might be summoned by the watch- man to surrender, and if they refused to obey might be shot down without hesitation. Nothing operated with more in- jurious effect upon the Indians than intoxicating liquors, and they drank them greedily whenever they could get them, and the tribes soon began to exhibit proofs of their delete- rions effects. One law after another was passed forbidding any person to furnish an Indian with such liquors under pen- alty. In 1654 this penalty was five pounds for every pint thus sold, and forty shillings for the least quantity. These laws were what are now called prohibitory enactments, and were, in the judgment of the law-makers of those times, need- ful for the good of the Indians and the safety of the white settlers. Notwithstanding these prohibitory laws the evil still went on, increasing, liquors growing more abundant and could be obtained at less expense; the white settlers being too willing to furnish the liquors for the gain the sale brought them. The Indians were forbidden to hire land of the white settlers, because by this means they mingled with them and corrupted the youth, and there was good reason for this cau- tion, for the moral example of the native was beyond question
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very corrupting. At this date the Indians found themselves in danger of losing some of their lands through the encroach- ments of settlers, and they began to look with anger and dismay upon the steady progress of the foreigners in spreading over and occupying the country. And the last great struggle of the native tribes of New England against the race of foreigners was that of King Philip. This war, called ever since "King Philip's War," broke out in June, 1675, just about a century before the struggle of this country for inde- pendence. In this war, Uncas and his son Owaneco took an active part, and was probably the last struggle of this nature that Uncas was engaged in.
In August, 1676, King Philip fell, and after this event the contest in the southern part of New England soon ceased. During a period of more than twenty years before his death, Uncas had been selling and granting land with a lavishness that showed that he had a full share of that improvidence usually exhibited by the natives of the soil. Many of the deeds given were signed by Uncas alone, and others by Owan- eco, while some were signed by both, and others by the addi- tion of liis other sons. In these deeds various reasons are as- signed for parting with their lands. Sometimes it is, " Out of love and affection for the grantee;" sometimes, " In con- sideration of continued kindness shown to me and my chil- dren," and sometimes for " favors received when in peril." These grants often conflicted with each other, and were the source of serious quarrel and litigations between the set- tlers and each other. Uncas died about 1683 or 1684, the precise time, as well as the circumstances of his death being unknown. He was probably about eighty years old at his death. His domicile was situated on a commanding site about three-fourths of a mile southeast from the Mohegan Chapel, or what is now called " Uncas Hill." The land on which his house stood is now owned by Captain Jerome W. Williams, having been conveyed in 1858 to N. B. Bradford, Esq., by the overseer of the tribe, Dr. S. C. Maynard, by a decree of the
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Superior Court upon the petition of the members of the tribe then holding the fee of the land. The petitioners claiming ownership were William Wallace Uncas and his sister Eliza Uncas. The land possessed or claimed by the Mohegans at the death of Uncas consisted mainly of three tracts. The first was where the tribe mostly resided, and lay on the west bank of the Pequot or Thames river, between Norwich and New London, and measured more than four miles in breadth, resting at its easterly extremity on the river and extended westerly more than eight miles. Another tract lay along the northern boundary of Lyme, being about two miles in breadth and about nine miles in length, extending to the Connecticut river. A third, called the hunting grounds, lay between Norwich and the towns of Lebanon, Lyme, and Had- dam, a part of which constitutes the town of Colchester. Owaneco, the son of Uncas, succeeded his father as chief of the tribe. Of his three brothers, Attawanhood, alias Joshua, was already dead. Of the other two, John, who was the eld- est, probably died before Owaneco, while Ben outlived them both, and ultimately succeeded to the sachemship. Owaneco continued to convey land to the English settlers, which after- wards became the source of much controversy. On succeed- ing to the sachemship, Owaneco seemed to have had a desire to secure his tribe in the perpetual possession of their lands. It is very probable that Daniel and Samuel Mason urged him to this course. They, like their father, John Mason, were high in favor with the Mohegans, and advised them in im- portant matters. A paper dated March 16, 1684, was drawn up, probably by the direction of the Masons, and signed by Owaneco with his mark. The following is a copy from the Norwich records: "Know all men whom it doth or may concern, that I, Owaneco, Sachem of Mohegan, have, and by these presents pass over all my right of that tract of land between New London town bounds and Trading Cove Brook unto the Mohegan Indians for their use to plant; that neither
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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 Mohegan Indians; and myself and mine to occupy and improve for our mutual ad- vantage forever. As Witness my seal and mark.
Owaneco's Mark."
Soon after the execution of the paper, " fearing " as he said, " that he might be induced to drink too freely, and to make injudicious sales of his lands," Owaneco trusted his lands to Samuel and Daniel Mason, as his father had done in 1659 to John Mason. From this time Samuel and Dan- iel Mason were recognized as their guardians by the Mohe- gans, they often, however, acting in conjunction with Rev. James Fitch, who was their spiritual adviser. On the 24th of May, 1685, the General Court granted to the town of Lyme a tract of land lying north of that township, nine miles in length by two in breadth. This had been claimed by the Mohegans, and for a long time asserted that for this large tract they had never received any compensation what- ever. In 1699, Owaneco gave a deed to Nathaniel Foot, who acted as agent to a company from Hartford who were the purchasers of a large tract of land called the Mohegan hunting grounds. This tract afterwards constituted the township of Colchester. It is said the only consideration for this tract of land being some five or six shillings; this conveyance was by some thought to have been effected by means no ways honest, Owaneco being in liquor at the time. However this may have been, it was very probable that this deed was ob- tained in order to establish the original proprietors of that tract of land in their rights. It was only about a year pre- vious that the General Court had granted a petition of the inhabitants living in Hartford, giving them liberty for a plantation in that locality. " At a General Court, holden at Hartford, October the 13th, 1698. This Court, upon the petition of divers of the inhabitants in the counties of Hartford, Grant Libertye for a plantation at or near the place
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called Jeremiah's farm upon the Rode to New London, and Capt. Daniel Wetherell, Capt. John Hamlin, Mr. Will Pitkin, Capt. Samuel ffosdick, they or the Majr part of them are by this Court appointed to be a Committee to lay out a town Ship there beginning at the North bound of twentie mile River and So to Extend Southward to a River Called deep River; And to Extend Eastward from the bounds of Hlad- dam Seven miles."
This transaction gave rise to a quarrel between the Mo- hegans and the settlers of Colchester, each inflicting petty insults and injuries upon the other. Daniel Mason took part with the Indians, which so exasperated the townsmen that on one occasion, when he was riding through Colchester, some of them threatened to shoot his horse under him. About the same time another quarrel took place between the Mohegans and the town of New London, the town having passed a vote, taking under their jurisdiction all land lying between their northern limits and the southern limits of Norwich.
The northern boundary line of New London, as de- termined by a committee appointed by the General Court in June, 1654, was "to a brook called by the Indians Cochieknoke, where the footpath to Mohegan goeth over the creek or cove," and was the stream of water now called Oxoboxo, the southern line of Norwich being at Trading Cove and the brook flowing into it. The Mo- hegans were alarmed at this action taken by the citizens of New London, fearing that by this act the whole of their entailed lands would be taken away from them. They therefore complained to the General Court, which ordered an investi- gation, and had the chiefs of the tribes summoned to sup- port their own canse. Owaneco, his brother Ben, and his son Mamohet, made answer to the summons in a letter, written by their friend Daniel Mason. They complained of various encroachments made upon them, and among others were the two large farms laid out by order of the General Court
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in October, 1698, for John Winthrop and Gurdon Salton- stall upon their entailed lands. The selectmen of New Lon- don, however, quieted the difficulty between the Indians and the inhabitants of the town, 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 Indian, but considered they held the same claim to their lands as before. But the dissatisfaction of the Indians still continued respecting the territory which they had lost in Colchester. They acknowledged that the land had been purchased, but that the purchase had been illegal, and the terms unfair and unequivalent: illegal because made with- out the consent of Mason their overseer, unfair because Owan- eco was intoxicated at the time, and because the price paid bore no proportion to the actual value of the land. Nicholas Hallum, a strong friend of the Mohegans, drew up a petition enumerating all their wrongs, and presented it to Queen Anne. A commission was appointed, consisting of twelve persons, for hearing and deciding upon the case. This com- mission was issued July 29, 1704, by which they were em- powered to restore to the Mohegans their land if it should ap- pear that it had been unjustly taken from them. The court was to be held at Stonington. The commissioners met ac- cording to appointment, and the governor and company of Connecticut, with all persons holding lands claimed by them, were summoned to appear. The government of the colony protested against the action of the commissioners, found- ing their assertion upon the ground that the crown had no right to issue such commission, it being contrary to a statute of Charles I, and to the charter of Connecticut. The result was that no defense appeared to support their case, and Owan- eco and his friends, Mason and Hallum, had the testimony and all the proceedings their own way. The commission went over the circumstances by which in a space of twenty- two years the Mohegans had been deprived of their land, measuring, as they said, more than forty square miles, with
-
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but a small compensation in most instances, and in some none at all. They referred to an enactment of the colony by which Mason was acknowledged as trustee of the Indian lands, and cited those grants which had been made, some by Owan- eco, and some by the General Court without the concurrence of Mason. The decision of the case was at length rendered, ordering that the colony should replace the Indians in pos- session of all the lands which they held at the death of Uncas. Owaneco and Ben Uneas thanked the commissioners for their decision and expressed their entire satisfaction with it, and urged strongly that their acknowledgment might be sent to the Queen for her kind regards for the Mohegans. Samuel Mason, who had acted as their overseer, was now deceased, and Owaneco requested the commission to appoint John Mason of Stonington, nephew of the former overseer, to the place. John Mason was accordingly appointed overseer of Owaneco and his people, with authority to manage all their affairs. The commission then adjourned. The colony appealed from the decision of the commission appointed by the Queen, and on the 15th day of February, 1706, the Queen granted a commission of review. John Mason, now the overseer of the Mohegans, being of a feeble state of health, was for sev- eral years confined to his house. The government of Con- necticut had little interest in prosecuting the affair, and thus the commission never convened. The General Assembly, however. appointed a committee to treat with Owaneco con- cerning the differences arising upon his claim to the lands in Colchester and in New London, but his demands were such that it was considered more safe to leave the matter to some future time, and so the attempt was abandoned.
In 1711, John Mason resigned his overseership to Wil- liam Pitkin and five others. Grants of land were still made by Owaneco with Indian heedlessness, several of them too without the consent of the overseers and without any valuable consideration. His conduct in parting with so much territory in so reckless a manner excited some opposition among his
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own people. It is very probable if not all these last grants were obtained by him either while intoxicated, or by teas- ing him when sober. Two grants made by Owaneco about this time were for kindness shown him by John Plumb and Jonathan Hill in saving his life when in imminent danger of drowning. Being quite intoxicated one night, he fell out of a canoe and would have been drowned had not these per- sons, happening to be near, pulled him senseless out of the water, for which he afterwards gave them each one hundred acres of land, which transaction was afterwards confirmed by the General Court, and ordered to be surveyed and laid out " about a mile or two west northerly of the ancient Indian fence, provided Owaneco hath good right to said land, and it is not prejudicial to any former grant." Another grant was made to Jonathan Rogers, a cripple son of Samuel Rogers, " in Consideration of his lameness." This land was " bounded on other land of Samuel Rogers and on Hartford path and brook that cometh out of the pond called Obsopogsuit," now Gardner's Lake. Ben Uncas and fifty-four other Mohegans. in May, 1714, signed a paper and had it recorded in New London affirming that Owaneco had wrongfully sold a large part of their lands, and declaring that they consigned what was left to Gurdon Saltonstall, Capt. John Mason, Joseph Stanton, Col. William Whiting, and John Elliot.
Owaneco died in 1715 at the probable age of seventy or seventy-five years. He had three sons, Josiah, Mamohet or Mahomet, and Cesar. Josiah and Mamohet died before their father, and Mamohet, the son of Mamohet, being but a child, Cesar, on the death of his father, assumed the sachemship. Disputes between the tribe and the colony continued to dis- turb the reign of Cesar, and an appeal was made to the Gen- eral Assembly, which in 1718 appointed a commission "to view the state of the Indians living at Mohegan and of the land they lived upon, that they might the better understand their situation, and provide measures for civilizing them and acquainting them with the truth of the gospel. The com-
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missioners appointed were James Wadsworth, John Hooker, and Captain John Hall. They were empowered to hear and settle the complaints of the Indians and to remove all persons from the lands who held them by no legal right. The num- ber of the Indians as returned to the Assembly at this time was upwards of two hundred. At the May session of the General Assembly in 1720, the commissioners made their report, which was substantially in favor of the white claim- ants. Nearly every claim of the settlers was allowed, the hunting grounds to Colchester was confirmed, the nine-mile tract to Lyme and three-quarters of the sequestered lands to the several persons who had obtained titles to them. The decision was ratified by the government of Connecticut, and thus ended the proceedings resulting from the complaint which Hallum had made to the Queen seventeen years before.
As to the religious condition of the Mohegans, very little was done at this period to instruct them in the Christian faith. It is presumed that but few of them had become converts to the Christian faith: the remainder were still heathen, believ- ing not perhaps in all their ancient deities, but at least in some of them, and asserting that while the English were bound to worship the English God, the Indians were equally bound to worship and serve the Indian gods. About this time con- plaint was made to the government by the Indians, asserting that several of the settlers had encroached upon their lands. The governor summoned the chiefs to appear before him at New London and state their complaints. Cesar, Sachem, Ben Uncas and several of the council appeared before the governor, Gurdon Saltonstall, June 18, 1720, when he asked them who the persons were that had intruded upon their lands. They replied that they were Stephen Maples, Jona- than Hill, Ralph Fargo, Joshua Baker, Alexander Baker, and John Nobles, and also that a saw-mill * had been built upon their land by Peter Mason, and was then in the hands of
* This saw-mill stood where the Fox Mills, as they were afterward called, stood.
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Samuel Allyn, by which means their timber was destroyed. The governor then informed them that the persons complained of should be sent for and required to give an account of their pretention to their claims, which should be a preliminary step to bring the matter before the General Court. Cesar and his council were to have notice to be present and be heard in what they had to say relative to their complaints. The per- sons complained of were accordingly notified to appear before the governor's council on the Monday after the opening of the General Court, in September, 1720, which day fell on the third day of October of that year. All parties being present, the Indians were requested to state their particular complaints. Whereupon Ben Uneas declared " that the land which Jonathan Hill held as coming from his father, did not rightfully belong to him, and that Hill had offered him and Cesar four pounds apiece to be quiet and not com- plain against him," to which assertion Jonathan Hill replied, " he had offered it only for peace sake," upon which the Indian said, " the land was not theirs to dispose of, but was to de- scend to their children." Mr. Hill declined to give any ac- count of the right he had to the land " because on a former occasion he had given his reasons to the committee appointed by the General Court to settle all disputed claims." Stephen Maples also refused to make any statement relative to his claim to title before the council, as he said, because he had previously shown his right to his land before the committee.
Ralph Fargo declared the same, Jonathan and Alexander Baker also alleged that they had shown their titles to the committee, and the committee made no objection to them. John Nobles gave the same reasons for not showing his title as the others had. Upon the consideration of the complaints made by the Indians, and the answers by the claimants, the matter was, by the council, referred to the General Assembly, which body appointed James Wadsworth, John Hooker, and Captain John Hall, or any two of them, to be a committee to effect, if possible, a final settlement of the controversy per-
3
.
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taining to the land question in the North Parish of New London. Messrs. Wadsworth and Hall accordingly met at the house of Joseph Bradford, Esq., who resided in the North Parish of New London, on February 22, 1720-1, examined the matter laid before them, and decided in the favor of nearly every white claimant ! They allowed nearly all the English claims which were presented to them, and almost every claim- ant was quieted in his possession. The deed of trust was con- firmed, and the possession of the sequestered land which re- mained, being from four to five thousand acres, settled upon the Mohegans so long as a single man of them should remain in existence, and the reversion settled upon the town. All the court grants were ratified, the purchase of JJohn Lov- ingston, Robert Denison, Samuel Rogers, and James Harris made in 1710, and in general all Indian engagements made previous to that date. This decision was ratified by the Gen- eral Assembly, and thus ended the long existing controver- sies.
Cesar, the son of Owaneco, died in 1723, after having for eight years assumed the sachemship of the Mohegans. The rightful heir to the crown now, as before, was Mamohet, the grandson of Owaneco by his eldest son Mamohet. Being still a youth, or at the most a very young man, advantage was taken of him on that account to deprive him of the sachem- ship. Ben Uneas, youngest brother of Owaneco, an illegiti- mate son of Uneas the first, (it was a matter of report among both Indians and whites that Ben's mother was the daughter of Foxen), must now have been an old man, yet not old enough it appears to prevent his claim for royalty and power. Upon the death of C'esar, Ben Uncas became a competitor with Mamohet for the sachemship, and even threatened, as so reported, the life of his opponent. A council of the tribe was called and the claims of the two rivals were discussed, and disputed for several days, and at last decided in favor of Ben. The Assembly sustained the choice, and Mason also supported him. Major Ben Uncas, as he was commonly
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