USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
This state of things lasted, with little intermis- sion, through the winter; and when the spring came and vessels began to sail, they were so closely watched and so much threatened by the savages, that navigation was attended with great danger. The commander of the fort, Lieutenant Gardiner, was once waylaid, with ten or twelve of his men, on returning from the marshes which he had gone to burn over. The path lay then, as it does now, along a narrow piece of dry land, just beyond which the savages rose and killed three of the Englishmen, wounding the lieutenant and an- other, and closely pursued them to the fort. The latter died the next day. The Indians thus be- came more imboldened; and they would some- times come in boats as near as they dared, and challenge the men to come out and fight, saying they would kill them "all one flies," and imita- ting the dying groans and pious exclamations of those whom they had tortured.
A shallop, on its way down the river a short time after, was captured by a number of canoes ;
-
ยท
56
WAR ON THE PEQUODS PROPOSED. [1637.
and the crew, having been killed, were cut and mangled in a shocking manner, and then hung on trees by the water-side, that they might be seen by their countrymen. What painful impressions would such a sight have made at the present day ! How doubly distressing must have been the feel- ings excited in the state of things which then ex- isted, when the people were few, most of them known to each other, scattered in feeble settle- ments, and in constant dread of the Indians! The cruelties practised by the Indians in their treat- ment of their captives greatly increased the dread of the whites. Sometimes they cut great gashes in their flesh, and filled them with hot embers and burning coals ; sometimes they mangled and mu- tilated them alive, or burned them to death with a slow fire ; and, when they uttered cries or prayers, they would imitate, insult, and ridicule them.
When the court next met, on the 21st of Feb- ruary, they addressed letters to Massachusetts, pro- posing prompt and severe measures against the Pe- quods. They complained that Captain Endicott's expedition had done more harm than good, by ex- asperating their enemies rather than terrifying or enfeebling them ; and offered to send forces to join those of Massachusetts, and invade the Pequod country.
It was at this same court determined, that the name of Newtown should be changed to Hartford (after the birthplace of the Rev. Mr. Stone, who was a native of Hartford in England), and that of Watertown to Wethersfield. Not long after, the name of Dorchester was changed to Windsor. These names remain to the present day.
57
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In the following March a re-enforcement of twen- ty men was sent to Saybrook fort, under Captain Mason ; and after that the Pequods gave the place no more trouble. Captain Mason soon returned, being relieved by Captain Underhill and twenty men from Massachusetts. In April, however, a number of Indians laid an ambush at Wethersfield, and sur- prised some of the inhabitants on their way to the fields, killing six men and three women, and taking captive two girls. They also killed about twenty cows, and did other injuries.
CHAPTER VI.
The Crops fall short .- The Court determine on a War with the Pequods .- The troops embark, under the command of Captain Mason .- Uncas joins them .- An Indian captured and tortured by the Mohegans .- The expedition delayed at Saybrook by contrary Winds .- Differences of Opinion reconciled .- They sail for Narraganset .- Council with Miantonimob .- They march into the Pequod Country, guided by Wequash .- Cap- ture and burning of Sassacus's Fort and Village .- They re- embark, and return to Saybrook.
THUS the colonists continued to suffer under a variety of calamities ; but they persevered, under a trust in God, whose service they so highly val- ued; and the prosperity which crowned their ef. forts to secure religious freedom to their posterity is a standing proof that they did not labour nor trust in vain. The want of good ploughs and other farming utensils caused the crops to be small ; und, while the coarse grass which then grew in
:
-
58
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PEQUODS. [1637.
their meadows was poor, they were unable to make their hay, as well as to till their ground in the best manner. So many cattle died for want, that a good cow was not to be bought for less than thirty shill- ings, while Indian corn was worth five shillings a bushel, and every other necessary bore a corre- sponding price.
On the 1st of May a court met at Hartford, com- posed of Messrs. Ludlow, Welles, Swain, Steele, Phelps, and Ward, magistrates, and Messrs. Whi- ting, Webster, Williams, Hull, Chaplin, Talcott, Gef- fords, Mitchell, and Sherman, committees. They . resolved on war against the Pequods, to be carried on by the three towns. Hartford was required to furnish forty-two men, Windsor thirty, and Weth- ersfield eighteen ; and supplies were voted for this little army of ninety men. The people exerted themselves to favour the enterprise." When the news reached Massachusetts and Plymouth, their governments ordered troops to co-operate : the former two hundred men, the latter forty; and Captain Patrick set out immediately, with forty soldiers, to join the Connecticut troops as soon as possible.
On the 10th of May, Captain Mason embarked his troops in a pink, a pinnace, and a shallop, and sailed for Saybrook. He had been joined by sev- enty Mohegans from the place now called Nor- wich, under the command of their sachem, Uncas. Mason was an experienced officer, having been bred to arms in Europe. Mr. Stone accompanied the expedition as chaplain ; and the embarcation at Hartford was attended with a solemn religious service performed on the shore. The water being
59
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
low, the vessels several times got aground; and delays occurred, which rendered the Mohegans so impatient, that they requested to be set on shore at a little distance above Saybrook fort. On their way thither by land they encountered a party of about forty Pequods, of whom they killed seven and took one prisoner. The captive was recog- nised as an Indian who had lived in the fort. where he had been kindly treated, and learned English, but had secretly acted as a spy, and informed Sas- sacus of what he saw. He had been present at the death of all the English killed at Saybrook. The Mohegans insisted on taking his life in their cus- tomary manner, and the English did not interfere, as they ought to have done on every principle of humanity and religion. The savages therefore made a fire, tore or cut him limb from limb, and ate his flesh with shouts and dancing, burning what remained of their inhuman banquet.
The vessels were detained by contrary winds till Friday. There was also a difference of opin- ion with respect to the best manner of proceeding : the under officers generally wishing to obey in. structions by landing in Pequod harbour, while Mason preferred to avoid the numerous Indians who he had learned were assembled there, with sixteen muskets among their other arms, and to proceed to Narraganset, whence he might approach their forts by an unguarded route, and where they might be joined by recruits. Mason had received much information about the Pequods from the two girls they had captured at Wethersfield, whom the Dutch had just ransomed. Such was the religious character of the Connecticut people in those days,
60
PLAN OF ATTACK.
[1637.
that the officers requested their chaplain to pray to God earnestly for direction in the difficult circum- stances ; and he spent the greater part of Thurs- day night in prayer. In the morning the officers expressed their concurrence with Mason; and, as the wind permitted, on Friday, the 19th of May, the vessels sailed for Narraganset. Captain Ma- son, however, had sent twenty men back to guard the towns, and received in their places Captain Un- derhill and nineteen men from the fort.
Passing by Pequod harbour, the expedition reach- ed the Narraganset country on the 20th; and Mason and Underhill, landing with a guard, marched to the plantation of Canonicus, one of the sachems, who sent for Miantonimoh. That chief held a council with the English, and promised aid; but advised them to wait for Captain Patrick, of whose arrival an Indian runner or messenger apprized them while assembled in council. But the Connecticut men were very impatient to accomplish the objects of the enterprise, that they might return. The troops therefore set off, accompanied by many Narragan- sets ; and a considerable number of Eastern Ne- hantics joined them when they had reached their country. Captain Mason was so fortunate as to procure a faithful Pequod guide. This was a man named Wequash, who had lived among the Narra- gansets for some time, and was acquainted with the country and situation of the enemy.
The first plan was to divide into two detach- ments, and attack both the Pequod forts at once : but the weariness of the men, the distance of Sas- sacus's fort, the difficulties of the way, and the de- sertion of many of the Indians, inclined the English
61
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
to follow the advice of their guide, and march in a body for the nearer fort at Mystic. They reached a marsh between two hills at twilight, and en- camped by two rocks, now called Porter's Rocks, where they slept on the bare ground. Some of the sentinels were near enough to the fort to hear the shouts of the savages, who were rejoicing at what they supposed to be the timidity of the Eng- lish : for, having seen their vessels sail by a few days before, they thought they had not courage enough to attack them. They spent most of the night in feasting and dancing, and then sunk into a deep sleep.
On the morning of the 28th of May, the troops were ordered out about two hours before daylight ; and, after addressing prayers to God for guidance and success, they marched silently on, in the light of a clear moon : the Indians who remained with them falling behind with strong marks of fear. Wequash having informed the captain that the fort was on the top of the hill before them, he proceeded to the northeastern side, while Captain Underhill marched to assail the western. As Mason ap- proached within a rod or two of the fort. a dog began to bark, and an Indian cried out, "Owanux ! Owanux !" (English ! English !), and some of the savages immediately appeared and endeavoured to repel them. But they received a general volley from their assailants through the poles or palisades with which the fort was surrounded ; and, a moment after, the English rushed in at the gate sword in hand. The Indians made a resolute stand at first, but were soon driven back through the principal street of the village which their fortifications en-
F
62
RETURN OF THE TROOPS. [1637.
closed. Some of Underhill's party soon fell on them in that direction, and they were obliged to seek shelter in their wigwams, but still kept up a desperate resistance. It proved impossible to dis- lodge them from these by force: for, when an Englishman entered a wigwam, he was set upon by several Indians at once. Numbers having been killed and the others being weary, Mason cricd out, " We must burn them ;" and, taking a fire- brand from a wigwam, he set it in a flame, and the whole village was soon in a blaze. Mason had been educated in Europe as a soldier ; and even the Puritans retained too much of harsh feeling towards enemies. The English then formed a cir- cle round the fort, and the friendly Indians another behind them, to prevent the escape of the Pequods ; and thus, with most unjustifiable cruelty, they killed six or seven hundred men, women, and children in the course of one short hour : only seven esca- ping, and seven being captured. The others were shot as fast as they climbed up the palisades or ran out of the fort to avoid the fire. The English had two killed and twenty wounded.
In about an hour after the destruction of the fort, the three vessels were scen entering Mystic harbour. At the welcome and unexpected sight, the troops marched towards the shore to embark, followed by three hundred Pequods. who had come from Sassacus's fort on seeing the light of the fire. A constant skirmish was kept up, in which several Pequods were killed, but none of the English. They re-embarked and sailed for Connecticut; and thus the expedition was terminated, and the troops reached home again in about three weeks after its sailing.
63
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In the mean time, the other and principal fort of the Pequods also was burned ; not by an enemy, but by themselves : for the Indians threatened to kill their sachem, Sassacus, for having by his pride drawn on the nation the vengeance of the English. His chiefs, however, interceded for him ; and, af- ter destroying their fort and village, they all fled in different directions : Sassacus, Mononotto, and seventy or eighty chief counsellers marching for Hudson River, intending to seek refuge among the Mohawks. The others, by the secrecy and caution for which the Indians are so remarkable, long avoided discovery, and eluded their enemies who went in pursuit of them.
Late in June, Mr. Stoughton arrived at Pequod harbour from Boston with 120 men ; and, having captured eighty Pequods in a swamp, killed all the men except two sachems, who promised to guide them to Sassacus. Forty men soon joined the Massachusetts troops at Pequod harbour; and, with the advice of Mr. Ludlow, who was with them, the army pursued the fugitives westward. They found the places where they had encamped every night, and observed that they travelled slowly, and had to dig clams and search the woods for food. On reaching Menunkatuck (now Guilford), they found that they could not obtain informa- tion from their two captives, and beheaded them.
1
.
|
64
REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPEDITION. [1637.
CHAPTER VII.
Reflections on the Expedition against the Pequods .- Captain Stoughton, with troops from Boston, pursues the Pequods .- The Swamp Fight at Fairfield .- Mononotto's Wife .-- Severe treatment of Prisoners .- The Colonies suffer from scarcity of Food .- Military Arrangements in Connecticut.
THE enemy had now been dislodged, and their country was open to the colonists : but many of the Indians were wandering in the wilderness, and likely to fall upon some of the little scattering towns, which might probably have been overwhelmed as easily as their own had been. And it is not to be wondered at that the people should have been extremely apprehensive : for they had melancholy experience in their own feelings and conduct of the horrible influence of war. Though they had been educated as Christians, and wished to be guided by the laws of God, some of them had just de- stroyed by fire and sword many innocent persons, including women and children, with a few guilty ones ; and what made this proceeding the more blameworthy was, that the sufferers were poor ignorant savages, who had never been taught the duty of man or the nature of God. They might, therefore, well imagine what the Pequods would do if allowed to recover from their panic or to assemble in great numbers ; and they thought that their own safety required the entire reduction of their enemies, as plainly as it had before demanded the bloody attack they had made upon them.
65
1637.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
We cannot say with certainty what might have been the effect if a different course had been pur- sued : but there is reason to think that more hu- mane measures might have proved both safe and suc- cessful. When William Penn, on a certain occasion some years later, found that the Delaware Indians were dissatisfied with a bargain they had made for the sale of some land, though some of his friends proposed to make war upon them, he rejected the idea with abhorrence ; and, sending for the chiefs, asked what they wanted, and paid them to their satisfaction. The consequence of such treatment was, the Delawares long and faithfully maintained peace and amity with Penn and his people. The New-Englanders set the first example in proclaim- ing and regarding the principles of justice and hu- manity towards the Indians; and Penn had the humanity uniformly to adhere to them.
Some measures were indeed taken to conciliate the Pequods before their destruction : but there is reason to presume that, if a humane course had been farther pursued, war might have been avoided. It is true that those Indians were proud and cruel, and regarded the English as their rivals ; but, if a few good and intelligent men had visited them, and taken pains to convince them of their good in- tentions and friendly wishes, they might have per- suaded them to desist from their treachery and cruelty. The Connecticut settlements were doubt- less in threatening danger : but they ought to have confided in God for protection rather than have un- dertaken an indiscriminate slaughter of old and young, innocent and guilty. Happily, we shall not
F 2
1
66 FURTHER PURSUIT OF THE PEQUODS. [1637.
often be called to condemn the people of Connecti- cut for inhumanity.
We have reason to think that the Pequods are spoken of with unmerited severity by some of the New-England historians. " The Pequants" (or Pe- quods), says Wood, " be a stately, warlike people, of whom I never heard any misdemeanour ; but that they were just and equal in their dealings ; not treacherous either to their countrymen or English : requiters of courtesies, affable towards the English." It would have been difficult to give higher praise of any savage tribe in their condition ; and it gives us reason to presume that the Pequods were equal to the neighbouring Indians in humanity and good faith. It is true they are chargeable with perfidy, deceit, and violence : but this was proba- bly chiefly owing to their sachems ; and the wom- en and children ought to have found more mercy than they received. John Oldham was a man of a restless, troublesome character, who had been tried and punished in Plymouth, and was a kind of outcast. He may have provoked the Indians to his murder, as they declared Norton had done, who, they said, had killed some of the Indians. Wood's book was published in London three years before the Pequod war.
Captain Mason was soon after appointed to the command of forty men, who were ordered to be raised for the prosecution of the war.
This force united with that under Captain Stough- ton at Pequod Harbour (New-London), whither Mr. Ludlow and several other gentlemen from Connecticut went, to advise on what should be done. They decided on pursuing the Pequods in
67
1637.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
their flight westward; and the vessels were order- ed to sail along the Sound, while the troops were sent to scour the land in search of them. It is to be remembered that the country was then a perfect wilderness, not a habitation of a single white man being found south of Wethersfield in any part of the present state, excepting only at Saybrook Point. The only paths through the forest were such as are found in the wildest parts of Africa : mere foot- tracks, overhung by trees, and often impeded by vines and bushes, and barely passable by men walking in single file.
The troops took a few straggling captives, but were unable to ascertain where the main body of the enemy were, or whether their chiefs were with them or not. At length they reached Menunka- tuck (now Guilford) ; and tradition says that they had a fight with a small body of Indians on the shore, at a spot thence named Bloody Cove. Ilis- tory states that, having found that the sachems whom they had kept as prisoners would not give them the promised information, they beheaded them at the little harbour (near that spot), hence called Sachem's Head. They then marched for Quinne- piack (now New-Haven), which they reached in three days. On approaching it they saw a great smoke, which they supposed proceeded from a Pe- quod encampment : but it led them to a party of their friends, the Indians of Connecticut River. The troops there embarked in the vessels ; and, af- ter waiting several days, a Pequod informed the of- cers that a large number of his people were con- cealed in a swamp a few miles westward. The troops therefore hastened to the place, which was
.
68
THE SWAMP FIGHT.
[1637.
in the present town of Fairfield, just west of the village, near the road. There they found a piece of ground thickly overgrown with trees, and so wet and muddy that it was almost impossible to enter it without sinking into the mire. The Indians ap- pear to have occupied a firmer spot in the middle, being about 80 or 100 warriors, with about .200 others, including women and children.
Some of the white men rushed in, with Lieuten- ant Davenport at their head. They were, however, glad to escape alive : for the Indians, in despera- tion, met them so boldly that some were wounded, and several sunk into the mud, and would have been killed had not others come promptly to their res- cue, sword in hand, and saved them from the tom- ahawk. After more fighting, some of them asked for a parley ; and, it being gladly granted, they said that the Indians who resided near the spot, and had gone in with the Pequods, desired to come out. Mr. Thomas Stanton acted as interpreter, be- ing acquainted with some of the Indian languages and manners ; and he was authorized to promise life to all who had killed no Englishmen. About two hundred old men, women, and children accepted the offer, and came out in companies. But the Pe quod warriors not only refused, but attempted to kill the interpreter, who was shot at, and would have lost his life but for the interference of some of the soldiers. The fight then began again, but ceased as night approached, when the soldiers sur- rounded the enemy, to watch. them till morning. The Indians, under a thick mist, made several vio. lent attacks on different sides to break out, and at length sixty or seventy of the bravest forced their
69
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1637.]
way through and escaped. Only about twenty were killed, who would not yield.
The women and children were divided among the troops of the different colonies. Some of those taken by Mr. Winslow for Massachusetts were sold as slaves in the West Indies ; and this act of inhumanity we will not attempt to justify or ex- cuse. A very interesting scene occurred in the course of the Swamp Fight (as this battle was called), which we may contemplate with greater pleasure. A delicate Indian female proceeded from the woods with two little sons, and presented herself before Mr. Winslow with such an air of modesty and dignity, that he, although accustomed to the manners of the British court, was greatly struck with admiration and respect. She declared herself to be the wife of Mononotto, the second sa- chem of the Pequods ; and said that she had come to the English with only two requests, viz., that she might receive no personal injury, and that the lives of her children might be spared. It was known that she had before done the white men a service, by saving the lives of the two young wom- en taken captive at Wethersfield by her interces- sion ; and not only was her petition granted, but Mr. Winslow gave particular orders for her pro- tection and accommodation, declaring that he was astonished at the natural grace and dignity of that untaught Indian female.
The prisoners told the colonists that thirteen sachems had been killed, and the same number had escaped. After this fight a number of scat- tered Pequods were killed by the Mohegans and Narragansets, who carried their heads to Hart-
70
CLOSE OF THE WAR.
[1638.
ford and Windsor. About twenty chief warriors had fled for refuge beyond the Hudson to the Mo- hawks, with Sassacus and Mononotto, taking with them about 500 pounds' worth of wampum : but they were all killed by them except Mononotto. Sassacus's scalp was sent to Connecticut in the autumn.
At length a number of Pequod warriors came to Hartford, and offered to be the servants of the English if they would spare their lives. This was promised them; and the court took them under their protection. The court then requested Uncas and Miantonimoh to meet the Pequods at Hartford ; and they came on the 21st of September, 1638, when a firm covenant was made with them for the division of the surviving Pequods (about 200, besides women and children) among the Mohe- gans and the Narragansets (SO to Miantonimob, 20 to Ninigret, and 100 to Uncas). for a perma- nent peace, an appeal to the English in case of dif- ficulty between the Indians, and the mutual forgive- ness of all injuries. The Pequods were not to in- habit their own country, nor to be called Pequods again, but to be known by the names of the nations to whom they were given. Neither Narragansets nor Mohegans were to have any of the Pequod country without the consent of the English. The Pequods were to pay an annual tribute of a fathom of wampum for every sannop or warrior, half a fathom for every young man, and a hand for every male papoose (or child). A public thanksgiving was observed in all the towns for the establishment of peace.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.