USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Great Barrington > History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts > Part 6
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58
HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
Van Valkenburgh acting as interpreter ; and on Mon- day, October 21st, the erection of the proposed building was begun by the Indians, at the spot designated. They worked with a will, and the house was completed within two weeks. Around this, the Indians erected such huts as their necessities required, and soon moved into them. Here Mr. Sergeant opened his school on November 5th, and the next week had twenty-two or twenty-three Indian children for scholars, to which two. more were added the week after. With the exception of a few days spent in a journey to Albany, Mr. Ser- geant remained here, teaching and preaching, until the 9th of December, when he returned to his Collegiate duties at New Haven, taking with him two Indian boys,, sons of Konkapot and Umpachene, and leaving the school in charge of Mr. Timothy Woodbridge, who had arrived about the last of November, and who be- came thenceforth the permanent school-master.
But where did the Mission-house and wigwams which surrounded it, stand ? This is a question, which,. so far as we know, can not be definitely answered. Singularly enough, among the descendants of the fam- ilies then living near it, no tradition relative to it has been preserved, and fifty years since, when the History of Berkshire was written, the Rev. Sylvester Burt was unable to define its location, but wrote with reference to it. "they (the Indians) may have been collected at the Great Wigwam, but were probably further north." An examination of such authorities as we have, will assist in defining the vicinity of its location with a. tolerable degree of accuracy. The principle points considered in the selection of the site for the building, were first that it should be located " near some Eng- lish families in one of which Mr. Sergeant might live" and second, that it should be "about half way between" the two Indian settlements. A letter, hereafter quoted, written in November, 1735, by a person who attended at one of Mr. Sergeant's Sabbath services, states that the same was held "in a wigwam about a mile from (below) the base of Mas-wa-se-hi,"-Monument Mount- ain,-and a mile or two above the Great Wigwam. This meeting, we have no doubt, was held at the In-
59
SITE OF MISSION HOUSE.
dian Mission-house, and the application to it of the term "wigwam," is not inconsistent, as having been built by the Indians, it was nothing more or less than a large wigwam.
At the time of its erection some families of Pixleys, and one or more of Phelpses, were settled in what is now called Pixley street, from the Pixley brook northward to the place, lately William Walker's, now owned by Edson Sexton. On this place, Josiah Phelps then lived, and his was at that time the most northerly loca- tion of the English families. To the northward of Phelps, between him and Monument Mountain, the in- habitants were exclusively Dutch. Taking these facts into consideration, the conclusion we arrive at is that the Mission School was in the vicinity of the present dwellings of Edson Sexton and Warren Crissey, cer- tainly not farther north than Mr. Crissey's though probably further east. This locality meets all the re- quirements then made ; it was in proximity to English families ; it was about half way between the Indian settlements; and it was nearly enough about a mile be- low Monument Mountain, and a mile or two above the Great Wigwam, to correspond with the description given in the letter above alluded to.
Early in May, 1735, Mr. Sergeant made a short. visit to the Indians, and again in July, having com- pleted his engagement as tutor at New Haven, he re- turned to his charge at Housatonic, arriving on the 5th of that month, and took up his permanent resi- dence here. In the spring of that year, as had been previously arranged, the Indians left their winter quar- ters, and returned to their homes, to engage in plant- ing and providing subsistence for their families ; and during the summer, schools were maintained by Mr. Sergeant and Mr. Woodbridge, both at Wnatukook and Skatekook. Mr. Sergeant was ordained as a min- ister at Deerfield on the 31st of August, 1735, in pres- ence of Governor Belcher and a large Committee of the Council and House of Representatives. A numer- ous delegation of the Housatonic Indians was also present, by whom Mr. Sergeant was formally accepted as their spiritual teacher. After the ordination, he
60
HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
visited his friends in New Jersey, and returning to Housatonic, commenced his labors as pastor on the 26th of October. From this time forward his life and energies were devoted to the work of civilizing and christianizing the Indians. As the first fruits of his labors, on Sunday, November 2d, 1735, he baptized Captain Konkapot, his wife and daughter, they respect- ively taking the names of John, Mary and Catherine ; and on the 16th of the same month, the rite of bap- tism was administered to Lieutenant Umpachene, his wife and child.
The following letter, written by a cotemporary of Mr. Sergeant, who had accompanied him on his return to Housatonic, and was present at the baptism of Kon- kapot, is valuable and interesting in this connection. It was furnished for publication to The Berkshire Cou- rier, by the late Hon. Jonathan E. Field of Stockbridge, and was printed in the columns of that Journal, Novem- ber 15th, 1866. It is to be regretted that neither the name of the writer or of the party to whom it was ad- dressed is given. It is written from " Indian Town," as the settlement above the mountain,-afterwards Stockbridge,-was then called.
INDIAN TOWN, November 8, [3] 1735.
My well beloved Christian Friend :- "I have just returned from Mahaiwe, (1) where I spent the Sabbath with our most worthy missionary, Rev. John Sergeant. It is only two weeks since the return of Mr. Sergeant from New Jersey, whither he went after his ordination at Deerfield. He was ordained on the 31st of August last. The same took place in the presence of Governor Belcher, and a large committee of the Council and House of Representatives.
" The Governor and his associates had spent the week pre- vious in arranging a treaty with the Indians, and exchanging pledges. On Sunday, August 31, the Rev. Mr. Williams of Hatfield, addressed Governor Belcher, in the church, and ' hum- bly asked if it were his Excelency's pleasure that the pastors then convened should set apart Rev. John Sergeant for the work of the salvation of the heathen.' The Governor responded affirm- atively.
" Mr. Williams then asked Mr. Sergeant if he would take
(1) Mahaiwe. The true word is "Neh-hai-we," and the definition "place down stream ;" our authority the Rev. Jere- miah Slingerland.
61
SABBATH SERVICES.
upon himself that work. Mr. Sergeant gave his assent. The Indians, of whom a large delegation were present, were then asked through an interpreter, if they would receive Mr. Ser- geant as their teacher. They manifested their approval by ris- ing in a body. The services of ordination were then performed. Mr. Sergeant seems deeply impressed with the duty which de- volves upon him. The ceremonies connected with the ordina- tion at Deerfield impressed him much. All seemed calculated to urge upon him the magnitude of the task which he had under- taken, and the deep solicitude which our Christian Governor, and all connected with the government of the Province feel in the effort to bring the heathen into the true fold of Christ.
"At his urgent request, I went with him to Mahaiwe. We. were obliged to cross over Maus-waw-se-ki, a rugged mountain on the south of us. We found a trail which led by a curious mound on the south side of Maus-waw-se-ki. It is a pile of stones some six or eight feet in diameter, circular at its base and raised in the form of an obtuse cone. It is raised over the grave of the first Sachem who died after they came into this region. Each Indian, as he goes by, adds a stone to the pile. Captain Konkapot tells me it marks the boundary of land agreed upon in a treaty with the Mohawks.
" The Muheconnucks being entitled to have all the country, for their hunting ground, within one day's journey in every di- rection from said pile. He also says a chief was buried there, but the stone is added to keep distinct the monument.
" The services were held in a wigwam about a mile from the base of Maus-waw-se-ki. The Indians gathered here from In- dian Town, aud from the 'Great Wigwam.'-at the ford a mile or two south.
" The church consisted of but one member, Ebenezer Poo- poonah, who is the interpreter. Yesterday Captain Konkapot was added, together with his wife and daughter. They were baptized. Captain K. received the name of John, his wife the name of Mary, and his daughter the name of Catherine. There was a large attendance of Indians and of whites, -the latter being principally Dutchmen, who have settled on the valley of the river. Lieutenant Umpachene and wife are to be baptized next Sunday, and then Captain Konkapot will be [married], according to the rites of the Christian religion. He has lived with his squaw many years and has a large family, but he nevertheless now wishes to be married. If the missionary can keep the Indians away from the Dutch settlers, who furnish them with fire-water, he may succeed, but unless he can I fear the Indians will need many ceremonies before they will abide. I translate the vow which Captain, now John, Konkapot took n presence of the large masses of Indians gathered.
" 'Through the goodness of God toward me in bringing me into the way of the knowledge of the Gospel, I am convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, and that it is the only way that leads to salvation and happiness. I therefore freely and heartily forsake heathenish darkness, and embrace the light of
62
HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
the Gospel and the way of holiness. And do now in the presence of Almighty God, the searcher of hearts, and [before many] wit- nesses, sincerely and solemnly take the Lord Jehovah to be my God and portion ; Jesus Christ, His Son, to be my Lord and Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost to be my scantifier and teacher. And I do now covenant and promise by the help of Divine Grace, that I will cleave to the Lord, with purpose of heart, believing His revealed truths as far as I can gain a knowledge of them, obeying His commands, both those which mark out my duty and those that forbid sin, sincerely and uprightly to the end of my life.'
"Konkapot is a man of fine presence, and the solemn man- ner in which, with deep, guttural tones, he pronounced the above visibly affected the whole audience. I shall spend some little time here. I go about a great deal, although I dislike the paths which are made to avoid the wet but seek the rough. I will give you in my next more of Indian life.
Thine sincerely, * (2)
The mission was maintained at the building erected for the purpose (in Great Barrington) during the win- ters of 1734-5 and 1735-6.
In the spring of 1736, the Mission was removed from Great Barrington to Stockbridge. At the time of the opening of the school in Great Barrington, the whole number of Indians collected here was about fifty; some additions were made to these, and soon after the removal to Stockbridge, the number was in- creased to ninety persons. The return of the Indians to their homes, with the opening of spring, presented an impediment to the successful operation of the Mis- sion, which had been foreseen, but not provided for. In order to induce them to dwell together that they might be the more efficiently and advantageously in- structed, the project of granting them a township had been discussed, and had indeed been proposed to them early in 1735. It was desired by the Indians, as well as by Mr. Sergeant and others interested in the Mis- sion, that a township should be granted to them to the northward of Monument Mountain, which would in- clude the "Great Meadow" at Wnahtukook, where Konkapot resided; but as this would embrace a large portion of the Upper Township, which had already
(2) We have followed the copy in the orthography of Maus- waw-se-ki; the correct word is Mas-wa-se-hi-" Nest standing upright."
63
PROPOSED GRANT OF INDIAN TOWN.
been purchased of the Indians, and was then the pro- perty of proprietors, some of whom were settled above the Mountain, it would be necessary to purchase the land of these proprietors, or make some arrangement for the extinguishment of their titles.
The subject was brought before the Legislature, and on the 6th of January, 1736, a committee was ap- pointed, consisting of John Stoddard, Ebenezer Pom- roy, and Thomas Ingersoll, who were "empowered to repair to Housatanock, to know the minds of the In- dians, respecting any particular tract of land on which they may be inclined to settle, and, whereas, it is prob- able that the interval land on Housatanock river, above the mountain, will be most agreeable to them, and, whereas, the same belongs to certain proprietors of Upper Housatanock, who may be likely to exchange the same for an equivalent of the unappropriated lands adjoining to the said Upper Housatanock, or near thereto. That, therefore, the committee be directed to consult with the said Indians and proprietors respect- ing the premises, and make report to this Court what they think proper for this Court to do thereon."
This committee visited Housatonic and there held a conference with the Indians in the following month of February. The report of the committee is recorded in the form of a dialogue between themselves and Cap- tain Konkapot, he acting as spokesman for the Indi- ans. (1) The Indians expressed a desire to dwell to- gether and receive the Gospel, and requested that the interval land above the mountain might be granted to them, that they might settle thereon, on the west side of the Housatonic River. "But,"-says the Committee -"You know that land belongs to the English and Dutch people. We bought it of you, and if you have that land. we must agree with them people that own it and give them some other land for it. Are you willing to let that land go to the Committee or General Court, where John Gilder (2) lives, the land you reserved for
(1) General Court Records, Volume XXIX, page 309.
(2) John Gilder (or Van Gilder) lived on the Reservation, in or near "Guilder Hollow," in Egremont. He was an Indian, with a Dutch name.
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
yours, when you sold the land to the committee, that so some of the proprietors in the Upper Housatunock may have the land in part as an equivalent for the land we now design to let you have?" To this the Indians- replied:
"Yes, we are willing to resign the land you speak of, to the English ; all the land that in the deed (1) we gave to the Com- mittee that we did reserve to ourselves." But Konkapot said. the Indians allowed "three Dutch people to live upon the east of Toconack Mountain," as he supposed, upon the reserved land, and he desired that the government would not take from those Dutchmen the land which they actually improved.
Committee :- "There must be other land given as an equiv- alent to the proprietors if the Indians have the land above the mountain. Is the land between Hopp Swamp (2) and the- Twelve-Mile Pond, (3) yours?"
Indians :- "That land belongs to Nannehokaunut and Roh- kaunupeet, and they are gone and won't be at home till next summer, and we can't say anything to that."
Committee :- "Captain Conkepot, have you got no land that way to the eastward of what you have sold to the committee ?"
Captain Conkepot :- "Yes. All that land east of what I have sold to the committee, south of the road to Westfield, as far as Farmingtown river to Connecticut line is all my land." (4).
Committee :- " Are you willing the committee or the Gov- ernment should have some of the land eastward of what you heretofore sold the committee, as an equivalent for the land the Government proposeth to let you have ?"
Captain Conkepot :- "Yes, I am very willing the English should have what of the land they want as an equivalent, pro- vided we have that land above the mountains, as you propose .. to us."
On the 25th of March, 1736, the General Court granted to the Indians a township, not to exceed the content of six miles square, above the mountain, and upon the Housatonic river, and appointed Messrs. Stod- dard, Pomroy and Ingersoll, a committee to lay out the same. (5) The committee were directed to lay out to each, the Rev. John Sergeant and Timothy Wood- bridge,-the school-master,-one sixteenth part of the
(1) The deed of April 25th, 1724.
(2) " Hopp Swamp" lies easterly from South Lee.
(3) Twelve-Mile Pond, now Brewer pond in Monterey.
(4) This tract, as described by Konkapot, included the whole of New Marlboro, nearly all of Sandisfield and a large part of Monterey.
(5) General Court Records, Vol. XVI, page 299.
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INDIAN TOWN LAID OUT.
township, and also to lay out a sufficient quantity of land for the accommodation of four English families, who were to be settled upon the land under the direc- tion of the committee, by and with the advice of Messrs. Sergeant and Woodbridge. They were also empowered to dispose of the land reserved by the In- dians in the deed of 1724, "in order to make satisfac- tion, so far as the same will go, to the proprietors and owners of the lands" now granted to the Indians; and also to give to the proprietors of Upper Housatonic, living below the mountain, an equivalent in the unap- propriated land, lying adjacent to Sheffield, Upper Housatonic, or to the town granted to the Indians; and further to make to the proprietors, living above the mountain, an equivalent in some of the unappro- priated lands of the province.
The committee proceeded to lay out the township in April, 1736, exhibiting a plan of it to the Indians, by whom it was well approved, and in May reported their proceedings to the Legislature. Early in May, "the Indians moved into the town with two new fami- lies added to their number." (1) "Others moved in soon after, so that by the close of June there were more than ninety souls in the settlement." (2) On the 7th of May, 1737, "the grant of the town was fully con- firmed to the Indians," (3) and in 1739 the township was incorporated as Stockbridge. (4) The township was laid out in an exact square of six miles on each side; and included a tract 770 rods in breadth north and south, and 1920 rods in length, east and west, equal to 9,240 acres, taken from the Upper Township.
Amongst the settlers who owned lands and dwelt above the mountain were John Burghardt, alias De Bruer, Jehoiakim Van Valkenburgh, Elias Van Schaick and Richard Moore. Burghardt exchanged his rights for land below the mountain, and removed thither. Van Valkenburgh was an especial friend of Captain Konkapot, often acting as an interpreter for the Indi- ans, who were much attached to him, and he is reputed to have received a considerable tract of land as a gift
(1) (2) (3) Field in History of Berkshire.
(4) Stockbridge then included West Stockbridge. 5
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
from Konkapot. The Indians desired that both Van Valkenburgh and Moore might be permitted to remain among them; and, as stated by the committee, the In- dians "were very fond" of Van Valkenburgh and it would be "vain" to try to remove him. Van Valken- burgh-probably by common consent-did remain for a time, but his presence was injurious to the Mission, as he sometimes furnished rum to the Indians; he, finally, about 1739, disposed of his rights and removed below the mountain. Van Schaick, who appears to have been a Dutch trader, was a very troublesome fellow; he dealt in rum, was a great annoyance to the Mission, and was determined to hold on to his lands at all hazards. It was not until he was forced by legisla- tive interference,-rendered necessary in order to pro- tect the Indians and the Mission,-that he relinquished his rights and removed from the township.
In this connection, Hon. Charles Allen, in his " Re- port on the Stockbridge Indians," made to the Legis- lature in January, 1870, says: "On the 15th of June, 1739, the General Court voted that certain rights claimed by Elias Vauscoir [Van Schaac]? were justly forfeited to the province, and forasmuch as it appeared that he was a person "of a very turbulent and haughty spirit, and that he is often disturbing the quiet of the Indians, and has thereby rendered himself very obnox- ious to them, and should he continue among them, it would greatly discourage the Indians from settling and continuing there, whereby the good intentions of the Government in making the grant of the town to the Indians, would be frustrated," it was ordered to eject him by lawful process in Court; but if he would go quietly to make him an allowance. The Mission was continued in Stockbridge for many years, perhaps as successfully as its founders had reason to anticipate. Idleness, and the love of rum, with the interference of unprincipled white men, who not only furnished the Indians with rum, but by misrepresentations and false- hoods, endeavored to dissuade them from listening to the instructions of the missionary, presented serious obstacles to its success; these were eventually over- come; the Indians were civilized; many of them were
67
SUCCESS OF THE MISSION
christianized and educated, and became respectable and industrious citizens. Their numbers were gradually increased by accessions from other parts of the coun- try. In 1739 they numbered about twenty families, fourteen communicants, and about sixty of them had been baptized. Some had houses built after the style of their white neighbors, and Konkapot had a "shin- gled barn." In 1740 their population was 120; in 1749, 218. They afterwards increased to about 400.
We do not purpose to follow the history of the Mis- sion during the years of its continuance in Stockbridge ; from the spring of 1736, forward, its annals belong to the history of that town, and have been already faith- fully written by the pen of a lady since deceased. (1)
Aside from christianizing and civilizing the Indians, one great advantage resulting from the Mission, was the securing of their friendship, which was of inesti- mable value to the settlers of the valley during the French wars, when their numbers, and known fidelity to the English, presented a barrier and a sure protec- tion to the inhabitants against the massacres and de- vastation, with which many of our frontier towns were visited, and they in common with their white neigh- bors, enlisted in defending our borders against the at- tacks of the allied French and Indians.
Again in the war of the Revolution, the Stockbridge Indians rendered efficient service. A number of them enlisted as Minute Men, and with other Berkshire sol- diers did duty about Boston during the time of its oc- cupancy by the British. These minute men were, by a special vote of the Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts, each presented with a blanket and ribbon. Through Colonel John Patterson and Captain William Goodrich, an address was made by the Congress to the tribe, explaining the reasons and causes of the contro- versy, and commending their zeal in the cause. To this address, the Indians after a council of two days at Stockbridge, replied on the 11th of April, 1775, giving assurance of their sympathy and readiness to assist in
(1) For a detailed history of this Mission, the reader is re- ferred to "Stockbridge ; Past and Present, or Records of an old Mission Station," by Miss Electa F. Jones.
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
the coming struggle. (1) Of the Indians about Bos- ton, eighteen petitioned the Congress in July, 1775, to pay over the money which was, or should become due them for services, to Messrs. Timothy Edwards and Jahleel Woodbridge, "as they were sensible of their [own] want of prudence in disposing of their money," and were desirous that the Congress "would devise some method to prevent them from getting too much strong drink."
"A full company of the Indians, went to White Plains, under Captain Daniel Ninham where four were slain and some died of sickness." (2)
Soon after the close of the war the Indians com- menced removing to a township given them by the Oneidas, in the state of New York, called New Stock- bridge, and by 1789 all had removed to that place.
(1) The " talk" of the Indians, will be found in the printed Journal of the Provincial Congress, page 311.
(2) Field-Berkshire History.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE INDIAN RESERVATION AND INDIAN CLAIMS.
In preceding chapters we have made frequent men- tion of the Indian Reservation,-or the land which the Indians, in their deed of 1724, to the settling commit- tee, reserved for their own use. The north line of this tract,-aside from a small piece of clear meadow, now in Great Barrington,-was substantially the present north line of Sheffield. It bounded east on the Hous- atonic River, and extended west to the line of the state of New York, and its width north and south-exclu- sive of the clear meadow-varied but little from five- eighths of a mile.
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