USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 4
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40
CHANGES IN THE COUNTRY.
[1636.
CHAPTER IV. 1636-7.
The Colonists hesitate about removing to Connecticut .- They at length Depart .- Difficulties experienced by them on the way. -Settlements made by them at Springfield, Hartford, and Wethersfield .- Early Winter .- Scarcity of Provisions .- Loss of Vessels .- Some of the Settlers return .- Courts formed in the Spring .- Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, with their Congre- gation, travel on foot to Hartford .- Labours of the Colonists. and the Dangers to which they were exposed .- Apprehensions from the Indians .- The Pequods hostile.
THE colonists, who were preparing to leave Mas- sachusetts for Connecticut when Mr. Winthrop ar- rived at Boston, were for a while in doubt whether they ought to proceed, as the territory they had intended to occupy was embraced in the grant to the London Company. They finally, however, de- termined to go, after making an agreement that the company should indemnity them in case they should be obliged to leave the lands they might occupy, or provide them another place of settle- ment. With this understanding they commenced their journey : but great were the difficulties they encountered. Crowded with an industrious, weal- thy, and thriving population, the country now pre- sents to our eyes, on every side. marks of civili- zation and improvement. We behold a surface intersected by innumerable roads, occupied by comfortable dwellings, seldom so remote as to appear solitary, and towns and villages occurring at short distances in every direction. But the
41
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1636.]
routes now so carefully kept in repair, and where the traveller is seen passing along with so much ease and rapidity, were then overgrown with an un. broken wilderness; and the streams, now crossed by so many dams and bridges, could at that time be passed only by fording.
Although the emigrants had been previously ap- prized of these difficulties, they took with them their wives and children, their horses and cattle, and such provisions as they supposed would be necessary on the way, having provided for the transportation of their principal supplies and their household furniture by water. The journey, which is now performed with ease in ten hours, occupied this company several weeks : for the passage of the streams, and the crossing of hills and swamps occasioned frequent and serious delays, encumber. ed as they were in different ways.
On approaching their respective destinations, the party divided. The families from Dorchester stopped at Windsor ; those from Newtown occu- pied Hartford, and those from Watertown, Weth- ersfield ; giving to these several places the names of the towns which they had left in Massachusetts. The new settlements retained those names for sev- eral years, when they took those by which they are now known.
Unfortunately, the winter came on much earlier that year than usual. On the 15th of November the snow had fallen to a great depth, and the river being frozen over, a considerable number of the cattle driven from Boston could not be got across. But, worst of all, the vessels in which their pro- visions and furniture had been sent did not arrive :
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42
SUFFERINGS FROM FAMINE. [1636;
some of these had been wrecked,* and others did not enter the river until the ice made it impossible for them to reach the new settlements. Houses suitable to protect them against the inclemency of the weather, and proper shelters for their cattle could not be built, on account of the lateness of the season ; and they soon began to suffer both from scarcity of provisions and from cold. Under these circumstances, some of them set off to return to Massachusetts. A party of thirteen lost one of their number through the ice in crossing a stream ; and the sufferings of the rest were so great, that they would probably have all perished but for the kindness of the Indians whom they met on the way. They were ten days in crossing the wilderness. Another company of seventy proceeded down the river, with the hope of finding some of the expect- ed vessels. In this they were disappointed, until, arriving within about twenty miles of Saybrook, they met with the Rebecca, a vessel of about sixty tons, which had been fast enclosed in the ice, but, a thaw coming on, she was enabled to return to the open water. In attempting, however, to pass into the Sound, the vessel unfortunately grounded on the bar at the mouth of the river, and could not be got off without being unloaded. The cargo was again put on board, and, after a voyage of five days, they arrived safely at Boston.
The departure of so great a number of the set-
+ A vessel, with six men, which left Boston early in Novem- ber for Connecticut, was cast away about the middle of that month in Manamet Bay, near Plymouth. The crew wandered ten days in the snow. Two other vessels, which were shal- lops or large boats, were driven ashore on Brown's Island, near Gurnet's Nose, off Plymouth, and totally lost, with all on board.
43
1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
tlers afforded a temporary relief to those who re- mained : but such was the scarcity of provisions, that they were compelled to eat malt and grains, and even acorns. They could procure but little game, either by hunting themselves or from the Indians, owing, probably, to the severity of the season. Many of the cattle died, especially at Windsor, where the families from Dorchester had settled, and whose loss from this alone amounted to two hundred pounds. It is not a little remarka- ble, however, that many of the cattle which had been left on the other side of the river were found alive in the spring, having obtained food in the for- est, and escaped being destroyed by wild beasts.
But, great as were their disappointments and sufferings, the colonists were not disheartened. Relying on God, to whose service they had de- voted themselves, they struggled against every difficulty, and nobly persevered in their under- taking. Those, therefore, who now enjoy the ben- efits of their labours and privations, should always hold in grateful remembrance the providence of the Almighty, which enabled their forefathers, in the midst of so many dangers and difficulties, to lay the foundations of a noble state and its invaluable institutions. How different was their situation from ours-in the midst of a wilderness inhabited only by savages ; without proper shelter, destitute of food, and separated by a wide waste from the friends they had left behind. Cheerless and deso- late indeed must have been this first winter passed by the pilgrims on the banks of the Connecticut.
The arrival of spring at length relieved them from most of their trials; and one of their first
44
MR. HOOKER'S COLONY.
[1636.
acts was to hold a court. According to the sys- tem of government which they had adopted, this court consisted of two of the principal men from each town. They had also determined that, on ex- traordinary occasions, these should be joined by a committee of three, increasing the number of repre- sentatives to five from each town. The court, as constituted in the first instance, was authorized to transact all ordinary business ; but to conclude treaties with the Indians, to declare war, or to make peace, they were required to summon the attendance of the committees. The first court as- sembled at Hartford on the 26th of April, 1636, and consisted of Roger Ludlow, Esq. (who had been a magistrate in Massachusetts in 1630, and had been chosen lieutenant-governor of that colony in 1631), Mr. John Steele, Mr. William Swain, Mr. William Phelps, Mr. William Westwood, and Mr. Andrew Ward.
It appears from the Records of Connecticut, that this court passed a variety of laws for the safety and extension of the settlements, one of which pro- hibited the sale of arms and ammunition to the Indians.
As soon as the season would permit, the men who had gone in the vessel from Saybrook to Bos. ton set out to return. A short time after, as soon as the grass began to appear, and the cattle could browse in the forests, and the Connecticut had be- come navigable, several large companies set out from Massachusetts to join their friends in the new settlements.
Among these, a party which left Cambridge to settle at Newtown (Hartford) was of a character
45
1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
especially deserving notice. It consisted of an entire congregation, accompanied by their pastor, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, and his assistant, the Rev. Samuel Stone. Many of them belonged to highly respectable and wealthy families in Eng- land, having left their friends and estates at home, that they might enjoy unmolested the rights of con- science in America. This party numbered about one hundred persons, men, women, and children. Many of them were loaded with packs, besides car- rying their arms, ammunition, utensils, &c. ; and they took with them about one hundred and twenty head of cattle. Having decided on removing to Connecticut, they had disposed of their property in Cambridge to a number of English families which had arrived the year before, belonging to the con- gregation of the Rev. Thomas Shepherd, a man distinguished for his zeal and ability.
Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone set out with their people without any guide. This appears some- what singular, as, no doubt, Indians acquainted with the country might have been found. They probably concluded, however, that the savages would be but poorly qualified to choose the best route for so large a party of white men, accom- panied by their cattle ; the Indians being content with paths which admit of their passage in single file. Mrs. Hooker was carried in a litter. Nearly a fortnight was spent in the journey, at the end of which they safely reached their destination.
Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone were both ordained on the 11th of October, 1633, and continued asso- ciated in the pastoral care of the first church in Hartford from 1636 to July, 1647, when Mr. Hook.
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46
DANGER FROM THE INDIANS. [1636.
er died. Mr. Stone died on the 20th July, 1663. He was succeeded by Joseph Haynes, who died in 1679 ; after which Samuel Whiting, Mr. Foster, and Timothy Woodbridge were successively the pastors of this church from 1685 to 1732.
The party which emigrated from Dorchester to Windsor left their pastor, Mr. Maverick, behind, he being disinclined to the removal, though he af- terward determined to follow his people. He died, however, on the 3d of March, and was succeeded by Mr. Warham. Some of the principal men from that town were Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Henry Wolcott, Mr. William Phelps, and Captain John Mason.
Those who went to Wethersfield also left be- hind them their pastor, Mr. Phillips ; and his place was supplied by Mr. Henry Smith, lately arrived from England.
The people of Plymouth Colony now began to complain, that the territory on the Connecticut, which they considered as belonging to them, and which, through their exertions, had been prevented from falling into the hands of the Dutch, had been occupied by their friends of Massachusetts. Mr. Winslow accordingly went to Boston to claim some remuneration, and demanded a sixteenth part of the lands, and one hundred pounds in money. In this, however, he was unsuccessful ; though he afterward received fifty pounds, forty acres of meadow-land, and some upland from the people of Windsor, being what they considered a reasonable compensation.
The infant settlements were exposed to continu- al dangers from the Indians, who were accustomed
47
1636.]
1 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
frequently to change their abodes, as their conve- nience required, in procuring game, planting, fish. ing, &c. Although they were for the most part peaceable and friendly, being ignorant pagans and easily excited, they were not to be trusted, and might be induced at any time to attack the feeble set- tlements of the white people, which were not in a condition to defend themselves with much prospect of success, should they be suddenly and unexpect- edly assailed. It was therefore necessary that the colonists should be constantly on their guard. On the 7th of June in this year, another court was held at Dorchester (Windsor), and a law was passed requiring each town to maintain a vigilant watch, to provide themselves with arms and ammunition, and to have their men organized and constantly ready for defence.
The third court was held at Watertown (Weth- ersfield) on the 1st of September following, when the able-bodied male inhabitants throughout the settlements were ordered to be trained every !nonth, and those who were not skilled in the use of arms, still more frequently.
The settlement of Springfield was begun this year by a company from Roxbury, led by Mr. Puncheon, and was united in government with the other towns. During the first three years, the people generally had no immediate hand in the management of public affairs.
It may be readily supposed that the colonists took special care to prevent a repetition of the calamities to which they had been exposed during the preceding winter. To effect this, they were obliged to labour incessantly in the erection of
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48
SAYBROOK FORT STRENGTHENED. [1636.
houses for themselves and barns for their cattle, in clearing and planting their lands, and in gathering in their crops. Their dwellings were required to be so constructed as to be capable of defence ; and the solidity with which they were built is shown by the great length of time which many of them lasted. That the inhabitants of the different towns might have a more ready communication with one another in times of danger, they early began to construct roads, which was a most laborious un- dertaking at that period. Trees were to be cut down, and obstacles of various kinds removed. For the multiplied labours imposed on them the colonists were but poorly prepared. Many of them were not accustomed to hard work; the cli- mate and soil were new to them ; and it was only by experience, and after repeated disappointments and losses, that they were enabled to acquire a knowledge of the plants best adapted to the coun- try, and the proper management of their crops and cattle.
But probably the severest trials they had to en- dure were their constant watchings, and the state of alarm in which they were kept through fear of the Indians. It is said that several watch stations were erected in the main street in Hartford, from which signals could be made to the most distant parts of the town ; and that a similar communica- tion was afterward kept up between the Wyllis mansion and the house of the Rev. Mr. Hooker.
Early in this year, the construction of the build. ings and fortifications at Saybrook was resumed with great activity, as Mr. Winthrop had grounds for apprehension from both the Dutch and the Pe-
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49
1636.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
quods. Twenty men were employed there during the whole season; and, before the approach of winter, the fort was completed, several houses were built, and a quantity of land was brought into a state fit for cultivation. Some cattle had also been sent on from Boston.
The whole number of white people at that time on Connecticut River was probably about 800, or from 160 to 170 families.
CHAPTER V.
Hostile Movements of the Pequods .- They attack Wethersfield. -They kill Captain Stone on Connecticut River, and Captain Oidham at Block Island .- They beset Saybrook Fort .- Others killed by them.
WE now approach a period in the history of Connecticut, in which its little colonies were threat- ened with most imminent danger. The Pequods had become very bold and active, and their move- ments seemed plainly to indicate that they had formed a resolution to destroy the settlers. A glance at the map will enable the reader to per- ceive how critical was their situation. Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield, Middletown, and Saybrook were the only places occupied by the colonists ; and their number at each one of these points was very small. It is true there were several thousand friendly Indians scattered over the intermediate and surrounding country ; but they appear to have been E
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50
THE PEQUOD COUNTRY.
[1636.
timid and inefficient, and of but little use to the set- tlers as warriors, although some of them were after. ward very troublesome neighbours. They had been so terrified, oppressed, and weakened by the Mo- hawks or Five Nations on the west, and the Pequods on the east, as to have quite lost their bold, warlike character, if they had ever possessed any ; for in no single instance do they appear to have rendered any essential aid to the white men, on whom they relied for protection from their first arrival.
Between the oppressors of these poor and afflicted tribes there existed a close alliance. It would have been terrible enough to the River Indians had they been exposed to the Five Nations or to the Pequods singly : but both of these formidable enemies were arrayed against them, and had combined together to harass and destroy them. We need not be sur- prised, therefore, that these dejected and terrified people should have been backward in joining the whites in the war with which they were threatened. The thought of entering the country of their ene- mies was doubtless dreadful to them ; and, as they knew but little of the martial intrepidity, skill, and ability of their new friends, and might lose their protection in case they should prove unsuccessful, they no doubt considered it most prudent not to imbitter the enmity of the Pequods by uniting with their foes.
The country of the Pequods was small : but, as it afforded abundance of fish and game, the tribe was very numerous. They claimed, towards the east, all the country as far as Pawcatuck River, the present boundary between Connecticut and Rhode Island, as we learn from a manuscript in the office
51
1634.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the secretary of state. On the north they bor- dered on the territory of the Mohegans, and on the west extended to Connecticut River. Within these limits, however, were embraced the territories of the Eastern and Western Nehantics, between which two tribes, as has been already mentioned, the Pe- quods were said to have seated themselves by force of arms.
In the year 1634, a small vessel had arrived at the mouth of Connecticut River from the island of St. Christopher's, in the West Indies, for the purpose of trading with the Dutch at their fort at Hartford. It was commanded by Captain Stone, who lived at St. Christopher's. He had eight men with him, besides a Captain Norton. Wishing to send two of his men up to the Dutch fort by land, he engaged some Nehantic Indians to serve as their guides. They set off together : but, while the sailors were asleep in the wilderness at night, the Indians mur- dered them. The captain, after their departure, drew up his vessel by the shore ; and, having con- fidence in the natives, allowed twelve of them to remain on board. These men had before traded with him on several occasions : but, from what af- terward appeared, there is reason to believe they were in a plot with the sachems of the Pequods and Nehantics to kill and rob him and his men. The sailors happened to go on shore together, leav- ing Captain Stone asleep in the cabin ; and the In- dians, seizing the opportunity, killed him, and left his body covered, that it might not be seen. They then attacked the others, and soon put them all to death, except Captain Norton, who got into the cook-room, and defended himself with the greatest
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52 THE MURDER OF OLDHAM. [1635.
bravery with his fire-arms. He happened, how- ever, to place some gunpowder in an exposed situ- ation, that he might reload with greater conve- nience ; and this accidentally took fire, and burned him so much that his enemies were able to over- power and butcher him. The property found in the vessel was plundered ; and it was proved that Sassacus, the sachem of the Pequods, and Nini- gret, the sachem of the Nehantics, each had a share.
In the following autumn the Pequods found them. selves in trouble and danger, being threatened by two enemies at once. The Dutch, who had suffered from them as well as the English, had not shown as much forbearance, but killed one of their sa- chems, with several of his men, and taken others captive. At the same time, the Narragansets had attacked them on their eastern border; and these were enemies powerful enough to be respected. The Pequods therefore felt disposed to conciliate the English ; and in November one of their tribe appeared at Boston, with a proposal for peace, and a quantity of beaver-skins and wampumpeag as a present. The governor, however, refused to treat with him, and told him the Pequods must send men of greater quality. Two other messengers were afterward sent, with a present and a similar request. The governor assured them that the English were very desirous of peace, but would insist on the de- livery of the murderers.
The murder of Mr. John Oldham, by some In- dians near Block Island, had been committed in 1635. He had gone from Windsor to trade with them. The crime was discovered by John Gallup, who was sailing from Connecticut to Boston. Ob-
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53
1636.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
serving Mr. Oldham's little trading vessel with many natives on deck, and a boat going from it loaded with goods, he hailed them, but received no answer. Although he had no crew except two Narraganset Indians and two boys, he sailed up and fired upon them with duck-shot, which drove them all below. He then stood off, and three times ran his vessel against the other, which frightened the Indians so much that eleven jumped out and were drowned. Then boarding it, he found four Indians remaining, two of whom defended them- selves with swords below. The others he bound ; and, fearing they might untie one another, threw one overboard. He found the body of Mr. Old- ham shockingly mangled, and committed it to the sea. Taking out everything he could from the vessel, he attempted to tow it away : but he was obliged by bad weather to leave it in the night. Mr. Oldham's two boys were left captives among the Indians.
It proved that the murderers were chiefly Block Island Indians, with a few of the Narragansets, who then governed that island. It was supposed that several Indians with Mr. Oldham were in the plot, as some of the Narraganset sachems were found to be. Those who escaped crossed the Sound to the Pequods, and were protected by them.
The Governor and Council of Massachusetts determined to demand satisfaction of the Narra- gansets and Pequods for these crimes ; and, ninety men having volunteered to form an expedition, Captain Endicott was appointed to command them, and they first visited Narraganset. There the In- dians submitted to their terms, gave up the sons of
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54
PEQUODS BESET SAYBROOK.
[1636.
Mr. Oldham, and promised good behaviour for the future. The Pequods, however, would yield no- thing ; and Captain Endicott was ordered to take possession of Block Island, kill the men, and then recross the Sound to the Pequod country. There he was to demand the murderers of the Englishmen, and a thousand fathoms of wampum. If he could not get the murderers, he was to bring away some of the Pequod children as hostages ; and, in case the Indians should refuse these terms, he was or- dered to compel them by force of arms. He laid Block Island waste, but did not kill the inhabitants, who fled. He then crossed to Pequod (New-Lon- don) harbour, had a skirmish with three hundred Indians, and burned their wigwams : but returned to Boston without effecting anything farther.
The Pequods were thought to have then begun seriously to purpose the entire overthrow of the English. They endeavoured to induce the Nar- ragansets to join them in killing them ; and for a time they had a prospect of success in drawing them into the plot. To prevent it. the Governor of Massachusetts invited Miantonimoh and other of their sachems to go to Boston, where they formed with him a treaty of peace, amity, and trade.
The Pequods, however, continued to be hostile, and closely watched the fort at Saybrook. Several of the men having gone in a boat to an island about two miles up the river, one day in October, to get hay, were assaulted by Indians while they had the hay on their backs, and one, named Butterfield, was killed. Eight or ten days after, John Tilley was taken captive, having landed about two miles above the fort to shoot game; and the Indians tortured him
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55
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
in their manner, cutting off his hands and then his feet. Being unable to make him cry out or groan, they pronounced him a stout man. A party of Pequods also ambushed three men, who had been sent to keep a house about two miles from the fort; and two were taken prisoners, while the other cut his way through the enemy, sword in hand. The fort itself was soon so closely pressed by the Indians, that the men dared not venture be- yond the reach of the guns. The neighbouring houses and haystacks were burned, and the cattle sometimes came in with arrows sticking in them.
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