USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Norwalk > The romance of Norwalk > Part 2
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The Pequots finally reached the coast where their unhappy condition was slightly alleviated due to the fact that they were at least able to dig a square meal of clams and oysters.
Taking up the trail once more, they traveled west along the seacoast reaching at last the Fairfield or Southport swamp which Sassacus had designated as their temporary hiding place, but which proved a burial ground for many of them, for it was the scene of the last great battle between the English and the Pequots.
In the meantime, Captain Mason, back at Saybrook, had been joined by Captain Israel Stoughton of the Mass. Bay Colony. The English sailed slowly down the coast. At Quinnipiac, Jack Etow, a Mohegan, brought on board three half-starved depressed and discouraged Pequots. One was promised his life on condition that he search out Sassacus and either kill him or bring back word of his hiding place. The Pequot gave his promise and left. True to his word, he returned within the space of three or four days with all the information necessary for an attack on the fortress of the proud and haughty Pequot sachem. With new hopes in their hearts, gleams of hate in their eyes and the taste of blood in their mouths, the English set out once more, this time for a little place called Sasco near Southport which boasted a great swamp not far from the seashore, with the avowed intention of snuffing the life from every Pequot they captured.
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GREAT SWAMP FIGHT
Now the Pequot swamp, which has become famous in his- tory because it was the scene of the last stand of the Pequots, and which has alternately been termed Pequot Swamp, Fair- field Swamp, Southport Swamp and Sasco Swamp, lies be- tween Greens Farms and Southport, "just a few rods west of the N. Y., N. H. and Hartford railroad, where it crosses the old Pequot ave," according to an old description. This swamp should not be confused with Peat Swamp, so called because at one time early Norwalkers used to gather peat for their fires from its oozy depths, and which is between Norwalk and Westport. According to the boundary defini- tions of one Norwalker, this little swamp's location is "be- tween the foot of the hill near Lyons' garage on the post road, Norwalk, and Dugan's Pottery." The exact spot where the great Pequot swamp battle took place and where the Pequot war really ended is marked by a granite monu- ment beside the main highway, called the Post Road, Boston Post Road or Old King's Highway, just before the last turn of the road into Southport, going east. The monument bears the inscription: "The Great Swamp Fight. Here Ended The Pequot War, July 13, 1637."
When the English at last arrived at the swamp, they were non-plussed for they faced what seemed at the moment, insurmountable obstacles. The Pequots had entrenched them- selves behind a high ridge of ground in the center of the great swamp, and a wide ditch of bogs and water, thickly grown trees and a dense undergrowth of alder and birch, separated and protected them from the English, who were on the outskirts of the swamp. It was almost impossible to reach this ridge, which some histories insist was "a cone shaped hill 30 feet in height," for when the Englishmen succeeded in getting through the underbrush they found they had accomplished this feat only to sink knee deep into the filthy mire of the ditch.
They returned to dry land and held a consultation. Cap-
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tain Israel Stoughton, Captain William Trask, Lieutenant Richard Davenport, Captain John Mason, Captain Daniel Patrick and Roger Ludlow, the latter an intrepid Indian fighter, destined to be a pioneer in the founding of Norwalk, were in command and they forthwith laid plans for a cam- paign. Twelve colonists were stationed around the lower edge of the Swamp. A second group under the direction of Davenport, succeeded in making the ridge of high land which cut the swamp through its center. Before the lieu- tenant and his men had proceeded very far, every bronze face had dropped out of sight into the murkiness of the sec- ond half of the swamp behind the hill. Through the tangled thickets could be discerned about 20 wigwams and it was in the direction of these that the Pequots disappeared. At least 300 men, women and children, perhaps one-third of whom were warriors, the English felt sure, were hidden in the swamp. However, they advanced bravely, were met by a storm of arrows, advanced again, fired a few shots, were greeted by more arrows and then several Englishmen fell, buried in the mire. Suddenly the Pequots closed in and a hand-to-hand combat took place, the English retreating in the face of certain defeat.
Another campaign was now planned by the colonists and their next movements were rapid and often. They placed men at intervals around the edge of the entire swamp and a leisurely musket fire began, the plan being to harass the Indians until they surrendered. The new campaign effected little of the desired result and it was discovered that only the women and children were being killed. Conference among the English resulted in the plan to offer peace to the Pequots, if they would allow themselves to be taken prisoners without further loss of blood.
Thomas Stanton heroically offered himself as interpreter and peacemaker. He approached the swamp, succeeded in cutting his way through the underbrush, hailed the Indians and was granted a hearing. They listened stoically to his pleas for peace and his promise of safety to all those who
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had been innocent of spilling English blood, and then, to the surprise of all, accepted the English terms and volun- teered to surrender within two hours as soon as they had gathered together their effects. The English, light-hearted and glad that the battle was over, awaited the Pequots. But the latter were crafty and cunning. Very shortly, when only the women and children and the old men issued from the swamp, the English realized that they had been foiled and that the Indians had merely used the peace truce to rid them- selves of their dependents, so as to leave the warriors free to fight with greater ease.
When the colonists called for the surrender of the 100 braves who still remained in hiding, the Pequots, headed by Sassacus yelled : "Never! We will fight it out to the last !" and to emphasize the cry of battle, they sent a flight of arrows after Stanton, the interpreter, who was hurriedly rescued by the English. Thus you have a picture of the iron courage of the Indians, who, trapped as they were, and fighting with their backs to the wall; still preferred to die with bow and arrow in hand, rather than accept any con- cession from their hated enemies.
Once again the English held counsel and decided on another plan of attack. They placed their men about 12 feet apart around the entire circumference of the swamp, so that no matter which way the Indians might turn in an escape attempt, their first movements would be heralded by one of the sentries on guard. All through the long night the Indians stole up and down the length of the swamp fitfully shooting at the English, but with little effect; and all through the long night, the white men used their muskets with a great deal more effect judging from the number of bloodied bodies discovered in the mire the next morning.
The darkness finally passed, merging into a heavy and almost impenetrable fog, just before dawn. The Pequots watched their chance for escape. Through the murkiness they crept, suddenly flinging themselves against the sentinel line of Captain Patrick's men and letting out blood-curdling
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yells of victory. Other sentries from the opposite English lines, hearing the outcries, dashed forward to aid Patrick and the Pequots were driven back into the swamp.
But the Indians were not disheartened. By no means, for their attack on the captain and his men had been nothing but a ruse, and before the other English sentries, who had come to Patrick's aid had a chance to get back to their posts, the Pequots had broken through the unguarded section of the swamp and made their escape. The colonists dashed forward, firing as they went but not before 60 of the most desperate Indians had gained their freedom. With the daylight, the English attacked the remaining redskins, some 40 warriors, and slew them all. Then they turned their attention to following those who had escaped and succeeded in killing off a score or so more. As a result of this bloody battle in the swamp, 180 prisoners were taken, many of whom were later sent to Massachusetts where they were sold and shipped as slaves to the West Indies. A great deal of wampum was confiscated. What, however, was of greater importance to the English, was the fact that the backbone of the proud Pequot nation had been broken. It is estimated that some 800 Indians in total were either taken prisoners or killed in the duration of the Pequot war.
But what of Sassacus ? He did not even take part in that foggy early morning encounter, for he had succeeded the night before in slipping through the English lines with his sachem Mononotto and about 20 trusty warriors. The fugi- tives headed for the land of the Mohawks on the Hudson river but these people turned out to be no friends of the Pequots. Several of the latter, including Sassacus, were killed and scalped in short order after their arrival. Whether this action on the part of the Mohawks was caused by a desire to pay off old scores against Sassacus or whether the Mohawks merely wished to gratify the English, is not known. At any rate they sent the scalps of Sassacus and those of five other sachems to the English in Hartford. Roger Ludlow, himself, in company with several others,
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carried the scalps from Hartford to Boston a short time later, "as a rare sight and demonstration of the death of their mortal enemy." Thus passed Sassacus, ingloriously.
SASSACUS AND UNCAS
Much has Sassacus been flayed by historians for his cruelty, for his ruthlessness, for his alleged desertion of his people, yet Sassacus and not Uncas, whom we have been taught to revere, was the heroic figure. There seems little to honor in the character of Uncas, greedy, selfish and lustful for power as he was, who extended a helping hand to the English only because he thought to gain some personal ad- vantages by so doing.
Uncas was born in 1588 in the Pequot settlement on the Hudson river and he traveled with his tribe, when it jour- neyed down into southeastern Connecticut in the early 17th century. Upon the death of Wopigwooit, the Pequot grand sachem, a dissension arose between the grand sachem's son, Sassacus, and Uncas, the Sagamore, who asserted his right to succession to the post of honor on the grounds of his own royal descent and that of his squaw, who it so happened was a daughter of Sassacus, and whom he married in 1626. Some histories cause confusion by insisting that Uncas mar- ried a daughter of Tatobam, a sachem. A little research discloses the fact that Tatobam was the real name of Sassa- cus and that the two titles refer to the same person. This means of course, that Uncas, throughout the Pequot war, fought against his father-in-law and his wife's people.
When Sassacus emerged victor in the quarrel over the grand sachemship, Uncas left the Pequot colony and drew beneath his guard the greater part of the Mohegan tribe. From that time on, it was war to the death between the two chiefs. Sassacus, on his part, became very powerful and at one time had as many as 26 sachems and 700 warriors under him. During the years of his ascendency, his most familiar haunts included the territory where Groton and
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New London now stand. He is said to have sent his haughty messengers for hundreds of miles into far off regions where the inhabitants trembled at the terror of his name. He was often known as "All One God." Think to what unhappy depths he sank before his inauspicious end !
Criticism has been levelled at Sassacus because of his flight and his desertion of those who depended upon him for counsel and protection, during the swamp fight, but it is doubtful if this criticism is warranted. It is very possible that Sassacus abandoned his people against his own inclina- tion. Probably he urged them to fly, seeing that delay meant certain death, and that when they spurned his advice, he took it himself. Perhaps he fled in self-protection. Certain it is that the Pequots blamed Sassacus for their long string of misfortunes and they would in all likelihood have killed him had he remained. At any rate, what Sassacus did during his life he did for his people, and not like Uncas, for personal gain. He saw the encroachment of the English on Connecti- cut land; saw the Indians being driven back farther and farther into the wilderness, away from their favorite haunts and their homes; saw the English chop down the trees and demolish the forests, driving off the deer and other game; saw the Indians being stripped of everything they owned and being sentenced to a life of want and wretchedness.
High spirited, brave and courageous, with a love of his people and a loyalty to his tribe, such as Uncas could never have boasted, Sassacus revolted and decided to exterminate the English before they exterminated him. As fate would have it, the white man was stronger and the red went down to defeat. The fact that Uncas occupied no place of honor in the minds of the more intelligent of the historians is made very lucid by a short resume of their opinions on the two Indian Chieftains, Uncas and Sassacus.
"Why Uncas has received the laudations of so many writ- ers it is not easy to see," writes G. H. Hollister in his "His- tory of Connecticut", "unless in their love of treason which helped them to crush a troublesome enemy, they have learned
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also to cherish the memory of the traitor. For ourselves, we set a much lower estimate upon the character of this Indian, than upon that of the Pequot chief Sassacus who fought the English to the last hour of his life and scorned to ask quar- ter of those to whom he had himself denied it. Sassacus was the most intractable and proud of all New England Indians. He is described as having excelled all other men of his tribe in courage and address as a warrior, as much as that tribe surpassed all the neighboring ones in haughty claims to dominion."
Writes Herbert M. Sylvester in his "Indian Wars of New England" :
"Uncas was of huge stature, great bravery and strength, past master in stratagem, and who cared more for plunder than for glory. He was careful of his own men and there- fore popular. An apt politician, he was selfish, jealous and inclined to play the tyrant. Possessed of many bad traits, he also had some good ones. He served the English as the means to an end which was the consummation of his own personal animosities. In these days he would have been a political ward boss."
De Forest in the "History of the Indians of Connecticut," writes of Uncas :
"He was faithful to the English just as the jackal is faithful to the lion, not because he loves the lion but because it gains something by remaining in his company." James Fitch, colonist, sent among the Mohegans as a missionary, called Uncas, "an old and wicked wilful man, a drunkard and very vicious."
In 1842 a monument was erected to the memory of Uncas, in Norwich.
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PURCHASE OF NORWALK
CHAPTER III
Roger Ludlow Buys Eastern End of Settlement From Indians-Captain Patrick Purchases Central Portion- Indian Camps Found Here-Ludlow's Agreement With Planters-Western Norwalk Purchased.
IT was not long after the great swamp fight in 1637, that Roger Ludlow, back in his Hartford home, began consider- ing the possibility of founding a settlement in the fine and fertile country, the acquaintance of which he had recently made. Chance had led him into the vicinity of what is now Fairfield, Southport, and Norwalk, for had he not joined Stoughton and Mason in the swamp fight, he might never have traveled down into this corner of Connecticut. In such manner does Norwalk, the present city, owe its light of day indirectly to the deadly hatred between the two Indian chief- . tains, Uncas and Sassacus.
Roger Ludlow was a man of no small influence and stand- ing in the community. He came from the little town of Ludlow in Salop County, England, the home of the ancient Ludlows. His most famous ancestor was William Ludlow, M. P. of High Deverill, who belonged officially to the house- holds of King Henry, the Fourth, the Fifth and the Sixth during the fifteenth century.
Ludlow went to Balliol college, Oxford, at the age of 20 and later studied for the bar in London. He came to America in 1630 at the age of 40, being in the same company as Governor John Winthrop. After arriving in this country he took his second wife, a sister of Governor Endicott, and thereby climbed to the top of such a social ladder as the colonies could boast. Roger Ludlow had been elected deputy
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From an old Print
LUDLOW CASTLE
In Ludlow, Salop County, England, from which place Roger Ludlow founder of Norwalk came, and to which place he returned, after leaving this country, bitter and unhappy.
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governor of Massachusetts before he came to America and he held that office for four years.
In 1635, Ludlow, who in these days might be termed a "swell-headed fellow," removed to Windsor in order to add more laurels to his collection. From the time of his transfer to Connecticut, until 1654, he was either deputy governor or assistant deputy governor of the colony. He was deputy governor under Governor John Haynes at the time of the purchase of Norwalk.
In 1639, Ludlow removed from Windsor to Fairfield where he founded a settlement, purchasing the land from the Pequonnock Indians, May 11, 1639. For certain irreg- ularities alleged in connection with the purchase of this property, Ludlow was called to account, while deputy gov- ernor of Connecticut, by the Hartford court. It appears that Ludlow was sent by the government to establish a village in or near what is now Bridgeport, but that he de- cided instead to build his colony in the more fertile land, which now comprises Fairfield. For his headstrong action he was destined to suffer later.
No sooner had the intrepid Englishman commenced his Fairfield settlement, than he began casting an eager eye on the land lying between the Saugatuck and the Norwalk rivers, which he had traversed and marked with an eager eye when pursuing the fleeing Pequots after the great swamp fight. February 26, 1640, Ludlow, with his son, Thomas, and an Indian servant, called Adam, came to Norwalk and entered into a treaty with one Mahackemo, or Mahachemo, sachem of the Norwalk Indians, from whom he purchased all lands lying between the Saugatuck and the Norwalk rivers, to the middle of said rivers, and from the sea, a day's walk into the country. Below is a copy of the original deed. When you stop to think that the whole of the eastern side of this city was bought for a few jews harps, a handful of hatchets and knives and a little tobacco, it is not possible to accuse the Indians of profiteering.
The copy follows : Indian Deed to Roger Ludlow. (East
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Side of Norwalk River.) "A copyie of a deede of sale made by Norwalke Indians, unto Master Roger Ludlowe, of Fair- field, as followeth, 26th February, 1640. An agreement made between the Indians of Norwalke and Roger Ludlowe : it is agreed, that the Indians of Norwalke, for and in con- sideration of eight fathom of wampum, sixe coates, tenn hatchets, tenn hoes, tenn knifes, tenn sissors, tenn jewse- harpes, tenn fathom Tobackoe, three kettles of sixe hands about, tenn looking glasses, have granted all the lands, mead- ows, pasturinge, trees, whatsoever their is and grounds be- tween the twoe Rivers, the one called Norwalke, the other Soakatuck, to the middle of sayed Rivers, from the sea a days walke into the country; to the sayed Roger Ludlowe and his heirs and assignes for ever; and that noe Indian or other shall challenge or claim any ground within the sayed Rivers or limits, nor disturb the sayed Roger, his heirs or assignes, within the precincts aforesaid. In witness whereof the parties thereunto have interchangeably sett their hands. Roger Ludlowe.
Witnesse: The marke of Tomakergo, Thomas Ludlowe, The marke of Tokaneke, The marke of Adam, The marke of Prosewamenos, The mark of Mahachemo, Sachem."
CENTRAL NORWALK PURCHASED
Captain Daniel Patrick, who was a fellow passenger of Ludlow's and who it will be remembered also took part in the last battle with the Pequots, purchased the central por- tion of Norwalk. Patrick must have been a "gay young blade," judging by the opinions of the colonists. He seems to have been one of the 108 original townsmen of Water- town, Mass., coming to America at the same time as did Ludlow in 1630. He does not seem to have enjoyed a very savory reputation, for all his bravery and courage while on the fighting line. He appears to have been constantly scrap- ping, either with the English, the Indians, the Dutch or his neighbors. That his character did not measure up to the
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stern and strict standard of the day is evidenced by what Governor Winthrop had to say of him:
"We made him a captain and maintained him. After, he was admitted a member of the church of Watertown and a freeman. But he grew very proud and vicious ; for although he had a wife of his own, a good Dutch woman, and comely, yet he despised her and followed after other women; and perceiving that he was discovered and that such evil courses would not be endured here and being withal, of a vain and unsettled disposition, he went from us and sat down within 20 miles of the Dutch (at Greenwich) and put himself under their protection and joined their church, without being dis- missed from Watertown."
The error of joining a second church before being dis- missed from the first appears to have been a crime almost equal to that of murder in those days.
A few years later, Patrick met a violent death in Stam- ford. He happened to be in the home of one Captain Under- hill at the time. Several representative Dutchmen arrived in town, paid him a visit, and accused him of treachery with the Indians, which had resulted to the disadvantage of the Dutch. Patrick uttered some nasty reply, spat in their faces and then turned his back. One of them shot him down in cold blood. It is worth noting that when Patrick met his death, those who knew him commented on the fact that he was shot on a Sunday afternoon, just at the time when the second services were in session at the church. Mournfully they shook their heads and pointed out that had he been attending church, as he should have been, the murder could not have taken place, and that the Lord had seen fit to punish him for his trans- gressions.
Daniel Patrick didn't pay cash for all of his land; he charged some of it, craftily inserting in his deed to the Indians a paragraph that certain articles would be turned over to the redskins "when shipps come." There was cer- tainly no crime in owing part of the purchase price. The only trouble was that when the first of the month came
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around and it was time to pay up, Mr. Patrick wasn't to be found. As a consequence, July 1, 1650, the first Norwalk settlers were forced to conclude the installments of Patrick's purchase by turning over to the Indians, "twoe Indian coates and fowre fathom of wampum."
Two deeds were necessary. The first document represent- ing Patrick's purchase from the Indians was as follows :
INDIAN DEED TO CAPTAIN PATRICK
"(Of the meadows and uplands, adjoininge, lyinge on the west side of Norwake River).
"An agreement betwixt Daniell Patrick and Mahackem, and Naramake and Pemenate Hewnompom indians of Nor- wake and Makentouh the said Daniell Patricke hath bought of the sayed three indians, the ground called Sacunyte na- pucke, allso Meeanworth, thirdly Asumsowis, fourthly all the land adjoyninge to the aforementioned, as farr up in the cuntry as an indian can goe in a day, from sun risinge to sun settinge, and twoe islands neere adjoininge to the sayed car- antenayueck, all bounded on the west side with noewanton on the east side to the middle of the River of Norwake, and all trees, meadows, waters and naturell adjuncts thereunto belonginge, for him and his forever; for whith Lands the sayed indians are to receive of the sayed Daniell Patricke, of wampum tenn fathoms, hatchetts three, howes three, when shipps come ; sixe glasses, twelfe tobackoe pipes, three knifes, tenn drills, tenn needles; this as full satisfaction, for the afore mentioned lande, and for the peaceable possession of which the aforementioned mahachemill doth promise and undertake to silence all opposers of this purchase, if any should in his time act to witnesse which, on both sides, hands are interchangeably hereunto sett, this 20th of Aprill, 1640. Witnesses,
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