USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 3
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Of all these, the Pequods were the most warlike, proud, and formidable. The traditions of other tribes, as well as their own, declared that they had fought their way from some unknown part of the interior, had made choice of the region which they occupied, bordering on the Sound, and Iving between the Eastern and the Western Nehantics, whom they compelled to submit, and had there maintained their ground, in defiance of their neighbours. The Mo- hegans wore a revolted portion of this tribe, who appear to have held their independence by a pre- carious tenure at the time the white men arrived
25
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
in their neighbourhood ; and were, perhaps, saved from subjection, if not destruction, by a well-timed and faithfully-observed alliance with the powerful strangers.
The Pequods doubtless belonged to that exten- sive family of the red race which overspread New- England and other northern parts of the Union, and a portion of Upper Canada, including the Delawares, Chippewas, or Ojibwas, &c., since they resembled them all in person, habits, and customs, and, what is a still more important mark of identity, in lan- guage. The extensive districts occupied by that wide-spread family were encroached upon, in the present State of New-York, by a formidable na- tion, or, rather, confederacy of tribes, differing from them in origin, manners, and dialect.
These were the Iroquois or Five Nations, who afterward acted a conspicuous part in the history of the country. They originally, if we may credit tradition, came from Canada ; and, before the ar- rival of the Europeans, had extended their warlike incursions into New. England. No doubt, during these hostile invasions, the most shocking barbari- ties were practised : for the first intercourse which took place between the River Indians and the Pil- grims of Plymouth was at the instance of the for- mer, to secure protection against the ravages of the Mohawks. This appellation was for a long time applied in New England to the Indians of the Five Nations generally, from its being the name of the particular tribe in that confederacy nearest her western borders. These terrible enemies had driven many of the Connecticut Indians from their native seats ; and others they had reduced to such C
26
THE MOHAWKS.
a state of depression and alarm, that, to obtain some degree of security, they consented to pay a heavy tribute ; notwithstanding which, they were treated with the greatest rigour on giving the slightest cause of offence. The River Indians would flee in the utmost terror to their little for- tresses on the first rumour of the approach of the Mohawks; and tradition reports, that it was cus- tomary with the squaws to frighten their fretful chil- dren into stillness by telling them that these dread- ful people were coming. Wood thus described them in 1634, in his quaint, amusing style :*
" These are a cruell and bloody people, which are wont to come downe upon their neighbours with
* The following traditionary tale, which is of an early date, probably records one of the latest instances of Mohawk murders on the banks of the Connecticut. The scene was a spot about a mile below the city of Middletown. on the ascent of Fort Hill, and not far from the river. The cellar of the old house still re- mains.
On a certain day, during the warm season of the year, the Indians were assembled in the fort for safety, in consequence of an alarm of the Mohawks. The English had no fear for them- selves, as they probably had done nothing to offend these terrible invaders, who may have also held their power in respect. The colonist who occupied the house above referred to had gone out, leaving only his wife and infant at home. The woman, having placed her child in the cradle, was sitting at her spin- ning wheel while it slept; when suddenly a young squaw rushed into the room in the greatest terror, and, with a few expressive signs, begging that she would not betray her, crept under the bed. A moment after, a tall Indian, in bis full war-dress, entered the door, and. brandishing his tomahawk, threatened the mistress of the house with instant vengeance if she should attempt to conceal his fugitive. The strange dress of the warrior convinced her that he was a Mohawk ; and, fear- ing for her child more than for herself, she silently, though re- luctantly, pointed towards the bed. In a moment he seized his victim by her long black hair ; and. dragging her out of the door, in spite of her screams and struggles, laid her dead with a sin- gle blow of his tomahawk.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
more than savage brutishnesse, spoiling of their corne, burning their houses, slaying men, yea, very caniballs ; they were sometimes eating on a man one part after another before his face, and while yet living ; insomuch that the very name of Mow- hack would strike the heart of a poor Abergenian dead, were there not hopes at hand of releefe from the English to succour them : for these inhumane homicides confesse that they dare not meddle with a white-faced man, accompanyed with his hot- mouthed weapon." "These Indians," he adds, " be more desperate in their warres than the other Indians, which proceeds not onely from the fierce- nesse of their natures, but also in that they know themselves to be better armed and weaponed; all of them wearing sea-horse skins and bark of trees, made by their art as impenetrable, it is thought, as steele, wearing headpeeces of the same, under which they march securely, and undauntedly run- ning, and fiercely crying out, 'Hadree, hadree, succomee, succomee,' ' We come, we come to suck your blood,' not fearing the feathered shafts of the strong.armed bowmen, but, like unruly, head- strong stallions, beat them down with their right- hand tamahaukes and left-hand javelins, which are all the weapons which they use, counting bowes a cowardly fight."
The Pequods were in alliance with the Five Na- tions ; and thus the more peaceable and inoffensive tribes, inhabiting the gentle declivities and verdant meadows along the Connecticut, were cruelly dis- tressed by implacable enemies both on the east and on the west, who seemed to have combined for their destruction.
28
INDIANS REMAINING.
The territory of the present state of Rhode Isl- and was occupied by another large and powerful tribe, that for a long time made a conspicuous fig- ure in the history of New-England, and whose re- lations with Connecticut were generally of the most unfriendly character. These were the Nar. ragansets, whose sachem, Massasoit, had extended the hand of peace and friendship to the pilgrims a few days after their arrival at Plymouth, but whose son Philip afterward involved the colonies in the most dangerous war in which they were ever en- gaged.
It will be seen, in the succeeding pages, that the colonists of Connecticut regarded the ignorant sav- ages among whom they were placed with feelings of humanity, and as became those professing to be governed by the mild and merciful spirit of Chris- tianity, treating them with exemplary justice and kindness in most instances, though, through the blindness of prejudice and habit. they unhappily introduced among them the use of ardent spirits, which were then and long afterward erroneously considered necessary to health. On two occasions, indeed, of extreme danger, they adopted severe and sanguinary measures towards tribes which threatened them with extermination ; and which, we regret to say, were of a character, when we view them without passion or prejudice, to call forth the strongest reprobation. Many efforts were made to christianize the Indians, though without any considerable success.
Of all the different tribes that once occupied Connecticut, the undisputed lords of the soil, scarcely a remnant now remains. Many fell in
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29
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the wars waged among themselves and with the whites, on which it will be our unpleasant task to dwell at length in this volume; a still greater num- ber probably became victims to the intemperance which their European visiters had introduced, com- mended and encouraged by their own infatuated example ; and not a few withdrew to distant tribes in the interior, with which they united themselves, that they might enjoy their native independence beyond the reach of civilization. In 1773 there were found to be 1363 Indians in the colony, " many of them in English families, in good order, peace, and inclined to idleness."
A few poor families and single individuals still reside on the land reserved for the remnant of the Pequods in Groton and that vicinity, for the Ne- hantics in Lime, and the Mohegans in Norwich : but they are chiefly of mixed blood, and most of them have lost nearly every trace of the aspect and customs of their ancestors.
Most of the wild animals which once afforded to the Indians active employment in the chase, and furnished them with some of their principal articles of food and clothing, have long since been destroyed; while the few that still exist are confined to some of the most thinly inhabited and inaccessible dis- tricts. A solitary bear or catamount, and a few wolves, have now and then been seen within the last few years in the hilly regions of the north- western towns. As late as the year 1815, a wolf was killed in the southwestern part of Saybrook, though, before this, scarcely any had been seen in that region since 1770. Two bears were killed in Haddam in 1754 and 1767; and one in Bethany
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30
FIRST EXPLORERS. [1631.
in 1796. Deer were not uncommon in Middlesex county up to 1765, when, in a time of deep snow, they appear to have been exterminated. The last moose seen in that part of the state is believed to have been one killed in 1770, in the southwestern part of Saybrook. Wild turkeys were numerous in the same neighbourhood till 1780; and contin- ued to be seen, though more rarely, as late as 1790. A panther was shot in Windsor in 1767.
CHAPTER III. 1631-1636.
First Explorers of Connecticut River .- The Plymouth People invited to settle on its Banks .- Windsor Trading-bouse .- The Dutch Fort and Trading-house built at Hartford .- Reasons for settling the country on Connecticut River proposed to Massachusetts .- Objections made to the Project .- Those ob- jections honourable to the character of the Colonists .- Five men spend the winter of 1635-6 at Pyquag, or Wethersfield. -Three companies of Colonists form Settlements in 1636 at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, first called New- town, Dorchester, and Watertown :- Lord Say-and-Seal and his associates send men to build Saybrook Fort.
Ir is uncertain whether Connecticut was first visited by the English or the Dutch. Both claimed to be the first explorers. The river and its fertile borders attracted the earliest attention. In 1631. one of the sachems living on that stream visited Plymouth and Boston, and earnestly solicited the governors of those settlements to send a colony to occupy the country. He stated that the land was exceedingly fruitful, and he promised to give them
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31
1632.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
eighty beaver-skins a year, and plenty of corn. The proposal, however, was not agreed to ; and it was afterward ascertained, that the object of the In- dians in making it was to secure the protection of the English against the Pequods, who, under Pe- koath, their chief sachem, were at this time making war upon them.
The next year a small party went from Ply- mouth to Connecticut River, and selected a conve- nient spot for a trading-house in the present town of Windsor, near the mouth of Farmington River ; and Governor Winslow and Mr. Bradford, of the Plymouth colony, proposed to Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and his council, that they should join them in establishing such a house there, to so- cure the country against the designs of the Dutch, who were reported to be about carrying into exc- cution a similar project. Governor Winthrop, however, declined participating in the plan ; as. signing as his reasons that such a colony would in all probability be destroyed by the Indians, since only small vessels could cross the bar at the mouth of the river, and, during seven months of the year, the ice and the rapidity of the current would pre- vent all navigation. The Plymouth people then determined to proceed in the enterprise alone ; and Governor Winthrop forthwith communicated to the Dutch governor information of the commis- sion which the English had to trade in New-Eng. land. He shortly afterward received a very cour- teous reply, requesting him to take no measures until the question should be definitively settled be- tween Holland and England.
In 1633, Connecticut River was visited by sev-
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16 43
32
WINDSOR THREATENED.
[1633.
eral vessels from Plymouth, and by a party of four men, led by John Oldham, of Dorchester, who crossed the country on foot. They were received with the greatest kindness by the sachem, and bought of him a quantity of the wild hemp which grew there, which was found to be better than that used by the English. In the mean time, the frame and other parts of a trading-house were prepared at Plymouth, which were shipped and brought into the river by William Holmes, with a chosen party of men, several Connecticut sachems being also on board the vessel. On reaching what is now called Hartford, they found that the Dutch had erected a small fort, mounting two guns, at the mouth of Lit- tle River, and Holmes was ordered by them not to proceed. He paid no attention, however, to this prohibition, but sailed fearlessly by ; and, reaching Windsor, put up the trading-house, and surrounded it with a palisade. The ground had been previously purchased of the sachems by the Plymouth people.
The Dutch had likewise bought twenty acres at Hartford, not of the River Indians, who were re- garded by the English as the rightful owners, but of a chief of their enemies the Pequods, named Nepuquash. Jacob Van Curter protested against the proceedings of Holmes, and some time after made an attempt to drive the English away, in obedience to the orders of the Dutch governor, Walter Van Twiller, who sent a military force for that purpose. The trading.house at Windsor was invested by seventy Dutch soldiers, who, how- ever, committed no violence, but peaceably retired when they found that it could not be taken with- out bloodshed. If the soldiers were withdrawn in
33
1634.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
consequence of orders from the Dutch governor, he deserves no little praise for his humanity.
The Rev. Thomas Hooker, a celebrated Puritan preacher in Chelmsford, England, had been silenced in 1630, and fled to Holland to avoid the fines and imprisonment with which he was threatened. Forty-seven conforming ministers near Chelmsford signed a petition in his favour to the Bishop of Lon- don, but without effect, notwithstanding that they declared him " to be for doctrine orthodox, for life and conversation honest, for disposition peaceable, and no wise turbulent or factious." The Earl of Warwick, president of the Plymouth Company, had often attended his preaching. In 1632, a large number of the people of Mr. Hooker emigrated to Massachusetts, hoping to induce him to follow them. They settled at Newtown (now Cambridge) ; and, having sent him an invitation to join them, in the following year he sailed from Holland in the ship Griffin, and landed at Boston on the 4th of Sep- tember. He was accompanied by Mr. Samuel Stone, a lecturer at Torcester, in Northampton- shire, as his assistant; and in the same vessel came out the celebrated John Cotton, also John Haynes, Mr. Goffe, and two hundred others. He was elected by the people of Newtown to be again their pastor, with Mr. Stone for his assistant ; and the first churches in Connecticut were, in the same manner, generally supplied with two ministers. The church at Newtown was organized on the 11th of October.
The first plan formed for the settlement of Con- necticut was proposed to the General Court of Massachusetts in the year 1634. A number of
34
A SETTLEMENT URGED.
[1634-
the inhabitants of Newtown or Cambridge, of which the Rev. Mr. Hooker and his congregation were the principal, finding that the persecutions of the Puritans in England were driving more people to Massachusetts than could be well accommodated with land, or comfortably provided for in the then existing state of the country, were disposed to re- move to some region more remote from the sea- coast. Having heard from persons who had vis- ited Connecticut River, of the size of that stream, the beauty of its banks, and the fertility of its meadows, they applied to the General Court for permission to remove to that attractive region.
To this request a strenuous opposition was made by many of their friends and towns-people, who represented it to be their duty to remain, as being a part of the one body constituting the colony, and for the good of the commonwealth, which they had promised with an oath to do all in their power to promote ; adding that their departure would weak- en the colony in the sight of its enemies, and tend to discourage many from leaving England to join them, whose arrival they desired and expected. Mr. Hooker had conceived so favourable an opin- ion of the plan, that he employed all his eloquence to remove the objections against it ; and, when the question was debated in the General Court in Sep- tember, as it was with much warmth, he attend- ed, and urged at length the various considerations which influenced his mind in favour of the project.
He insisted that the people had not land enough to feed their cattle, and were quite unable to offer accommodations to new colonists; that the plant- ing of so many towns near each other was inju-
2
35
1635.]
1774497 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
dicious ; that the land on the Connecticut was ex- ceedingly fertile, and would be amply sufficient for their wants; that the Dutch at Manahadoes (now New- York) claimed much of the territory on this river that belonged to the English, and were pre- paring to occupy it, so that it was highly important to anticipate them in its possession ; and that the proposed new settlements could be made without any difficulty, as many of the people had a strong desire to remove to that part of the country.
Notwithstanding this forcible and interesting ap. peal, so warm was the regard entertained for the excellent pastor and his devoted people, and so great the desire to retain them in the colony, that the opinion of the court was divided. The govern- or, two assistants, and a majority of the representa- tives consented to the proposal, while the deputy- governor and six assistants, with the remainder of the representatives, voted against it. The dis- cussion produced a high degree of excitement, to allay which, according to a custom before and af. terward prevalent among the Puritans, it was agreed to consider the matter in a solemn, religious man- ner; and the court requested the Rev. Mr. Cotton to preach a sermon on the subject before them. So great, however, was the unwillingness still man- ifested to adopt the plan, that all farther proceed- ings were for a time postponed, notwithstanding it had been intended to commence the new settlement that same season.
A few of the more zealous and active individu- als enlisted in the enterprise had, however, gone so far in making preparations as to be unwilling to wait until the following year ; and five of them
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MR. HOOKER SUCCEEDS. [1636.
set out from Watertown, and proceeded to Pyquag, a place on Connecticut River about four miles be- low Hartford, where they erected huts and spent the winter. This spot is on the margin of the beau- tiful cove, which presents the picturesque open- ing seen by the traveller in ascending the stream, in the upper part of the present town of Weth- ersfield ; and is remakable as being, it is believed, the second locality within the limits of Connecti- cut occupied by the white men. It is to be wish- ed that we could determine the precise spot where those adventurous and hardy men erected their temporary dwelling. Those who came to Pyquag the following year are said to have built their hou- ses on the southern point of the cove; and hence it is probable that this was the site chosen by their predecessors, it being a narrow ridge accessible to the water, and easily defensible against the Indians. The cove has been formed since that period, where . the river then made a sudden bend.
In the month of May, 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts again assembled ; and as time had been given the members to consider mature- ly the question of the proposed new settlements, the arguments urged in their favour could not fail to have their proper weight on minds previously disposed to decide correctly ; and the result was, the petition of Mr. Hooker and his friends, on be- ing renewed, was favourably received and granted. A resolution was passed, allowing them to remove to any place they might choose, with no other con- dition than that they should remain under the ju- risdiction of Massachusetts.
The history of these proceedings is highly char-
37
.1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
acteristic of the feelings, intentions, and practices of the founders of New-England. Having left their native country (to which none were ever more ardently attached) to avoid a common danger, and come to a savage region for objects no less hon- ourable to themselves than interesting to mankind, they not only established a form of government on republican principles, but cheerfully and conscien- tiously submitted to its authority, even when op- posed to their wishes, and without compulsory pow- er to enforce obedience-regarding it as being or- dained of God. In this manner, and at that early period in the history of constitutional democracy, did its disinterested founders display the sincerity of their attachment to its noble principles, which can be properly appreciated and developed only by men worthy of the honour of maintaining, and the happiness of enjoying them. They belonged to that inconsiderable number of intelligent and virtuous men, who had originated and defended in their na- tive land the doctrine of the supremacy of the peo- ple's rights, at a time when the opposite doctrine of the divine right of kings was almost universally received. They maintained that the only proper object of government is the happiness of the peo- ple ; and that none can be legitimate which is not administered on this principle. To a government thus conducted, they considered themselves bound, by the command of God, to render all due honour and obedience ; and they were now placed in a situ- ation to test the integrity of their character. The intelligent reader should bear in mind their posi- tion, observe how far their practice corresponded
D
38
ARRIVAL OF MR. WINTHROP.
[1636.
with their professions, and whether they honoura- bly sustained themselves in the trial.
The consent of the General Court was no sooner given, than active preparations for removal were commenced, not only in Newtown by Mr. Hooker and his people, but by some of the congregation of the Rev. Mr. Warham in Dorchester, and by a number of persons in Watertown. It was deter- mined that a few should go first, to make arrange- ments for the accommodation of the rest, who, after sufficient time for this object had been allowed, should follow with their families, cattle, furniture, implements, and provisions. Some of Mr. War. ham's people were soon on their way, and several small parties set out from Watertown.
A plan for the immediate settlement of Connecti- cut had also been formed in England. A company, composed of distinguished and wealthy individuals, had been organized in London by Lord Say-and- Seal, Lord Brook, Sir Richard Saltonstall, and oth- ers, who obtained a charter from the king, grant- ing them a tract of land about the lower part of Con- necticut River, which they determined to occupy without delay. Sir Richard Saltonstall, to whom the direction of the business was committed by the company, sent out twenty men to Boston, accom- panied by David Gardiner, an expert engineer. Mr. John Winthrop came over in the same vessel as the agent of the company, and brought with him several cannon, and two thousand pounds in money, with instructions to increase his party to the num- ber of fifty, and to proceed to the mouth of Con- necticut River, and there erect a fort, with such buildings as might be necessary for immediate
39
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1636.]
use ; and afterward to construct, within the fort, comfortable dwellings for several English gentle- men, who had determined to establish themselves at that place. All the settlers were required to live near each other for mutual protection ; and a tract of land of from a thousand to fifteen hundred acres was directed to be bought for the supply of the fort, and as contiguous to it as possible.
This Mr. Winthrop, who afterward became one of the most influential and valuable men of Con- necticut Colony, was the son of Governor Win- throp, of Massachusetts, and was alike distinguished by education, scientific acquirements, public spirit, and Christian character. Soon after his arrival at Boston, he learned that the Dutch at Manahadoes were preparing to occupy the mouth of the Con- necticut ; and, with a desire to anticipate them, he hastened, as fast as possible, his preparations. As soon as he had enlisted twenty men in his en- terprise, he sent them round in a small vessel. This party was so expeditious that it had already begun to build a fort, and had two guns mounted before the Dutch made their appearance. The latter showed at first some signs of hostility : but after a short time they went quietly away, without attempting an attack, though they had been sent from Manahadoes with express orders to occupy the place. Governor Winthrop now made all possible despatch in completing his preparations, in which he was greatly assisted by Mr. Gardiner, who had been appointed lieutenant of the fort.
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