USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > North Brookfield > History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Preceded by an account of old Quabaug, Indian and English occupation, 1647-1676; Brookfield records, 1686-1783 > Part 11
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ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS.
ing - hostile bullets constantly penetrating the walls - six severely wounded men and one of them dying, to be cared for - the stifling fumes of their own shots at the Indians - and in the confusion and straitened space, two wives giving birth each to twin infants 1 - all combined, form the grouping of a picture, startling in its reality, and exceeded in dark- ness of coloring by few events in the annals of our Indian warfare ! 5. But relief came when they most needed it, and had no reason to look for it. The safe arrival of Maj. Willard and his Troop, at that critical juncture, considering all the circumstances as set forth in the Narrative, must be regarded as "providential." In Rev. Mr. Fiske's Historical Sermon, it is stated that "Maj. Willard's conduct in altering his course and coming to the relief of Brookfield, being dictated by humanity and executed with bravery and success, has gained him the applause of people in general. But as it was beside his orders, he was censured by the Court, and cashiered." This was a tradition, which is not confirmed by the facts. The Council's letter of Aug. 24 (hereafter quoted) is proof of their confidence. And it is matter of record, that he was continued in command of the garrison at Brookfield till about Sept. 8; and Nov. 8, was granted by the Court fro for this service. He certainly was continued in commission, and was in service through the winter, and as late as April 18. He died at Charlestown Apr. 24, 1676, while attending the Court of Assistants, of which he was a mem- ber. His age was 71. 6. All accounts agree that the Indian who planned and executed the ambuscade, and directed the siege of the town, was Muttaump or Mettawomppe (also written Mawtamps and Netaump) the Wekabaug sachem. He was ably seconded by One Eyed John, alias Apequinash, and Sagamore Sam, Nashaway sachems, Puck- quahow the Wabbaquasset, and others, all of whom soon came into promi- nence, as leaders in the war. Of the number of Indians composing the assailing party, it is not unlikely that Capt. Wheeler's estimate is under rather than over the truth. Ephraim Curtis, whose judgment was reli- able, put the numbers which he found gathered at Menameset on his first visit, "at near 200 of men." Capt. Henchman, who reached Wabbaquasset Aug. 3, found not one Indian, and was told by a strag- gler whom he captured, that the Indians were all gone to Squabauge. Capt. Wheeler set the number of besiegers present Aug. 3, at 300, and the next day speaks of them as "increasing in number." This is probable, as news of the success in Monday's ambush was sent to the Nonotucks at Hadley, who "made eleven triumphant shouts, as their manner is when they have slain their enemies" - so writes Rev. Mr.
1 " During the time these people kept themselves in that house, two women were safely delivered of two sons apiece, who in a month's time brought them all themselves on foot to Boston, where they were plentifully relieved out of the church stock there." - Old Indian Chronicle.
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FIRST SETTLEMENT, 1660-1676.
Stoddard, and adds -" many went to Quabaug," who could easily have reached them on Wednesday, thus swelling the army of assaulters to not less than 400.1 7. The following list of Capt. Wheeler's company of horse, engaged in this expedition, has been prepared by Rev. George M. Bodge of East Boston.
Capt. THOMAS WHEELER of Concord, wounded. Lieut. SIMON DAVIS
Corp. JOHN FRENCH of Billerica,
TIMOTHY FARLEY killed.
GEORGE FARLEY 66
JOHN KITTERIDG 66
JAMES PATTERSON
JAMES RICHARDSON of Chelmsford
JOHN FISKE
EDWARD COLBURN
killed.
JOHN WALDO 66
wounded.
THOMAS WHEELER, Jr., of Concord
SAMUEL SMEDLEY killed.
HENRY YOUNG 66
mortally wounded.
BENJAMIN GRAVES
JOHN BUTTRICK
GEORGE HAYWARD 66
SIMEON HAYWOOD
66
JOHN HARTWELL
ZECHARIAH PHILLIPS of Boston, killed.
SYDRACH HAPGOOD of Sudbury, killed.
JOHN BATES of (unknown).
Of the Brookfield men, Sergt. John Ayres, Sergt. Wm. Prichard and Corp. Richard Coy were killed in the ambuscade ; Wm. Prichard, Jr., was caught in his father's house by the savages at their first onset from the east, and killed ; and James Hovey, who lived still further to the east, is named in an official List, as among the killed. The circumstances of his death are not known.
PLACE OF CAPT. WHEELER'S SURPRISE.
The historical data by which this bloody tragedy can be definitely located, are few, but they are sufficient to furnish the necessary clews.
The fixed points from which distances will be calculated are I. The Brookfield town site, which is known ; 2. Quabaug Old Fort, about the site of which there is no doubt; 3. Wenimisset. This last name has hitherto been applied to a single Indian town-site, on the easterly side of a brook of that name in New Braintree. The discovery [which is
I Hon. George Sheldon, who has carefully studied the matter, places the number of assailants at " about 500."
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PLACE OF CAPT. WHEELER'S SURPRISE.
detailed at length, ante, pp. 33] by the author, of two other native town sites in the vicinity, each of which tallies with authenticated records, and to which severally, according to Indian usage, the term " Menameset " was applied by contemporary writers, serves both to upset some accepted con- clusions, and to explain well attested facts, and to reconcile what had appeared to be geographical contradictions. Indeed, the two village sites now brought to light, supply missing links in the chain of historical certainties ; and the discovery, while it circumscribes the range of our inquiry, gives the certain means of its solution. The distance of Weni- misset from Brookfield, as stated by Capt. Wheeler, who evidently got his information from Sergt. Ayres and his townsmen, was "about 10 miles." As matter of fact, the first Menameset town was by the then travelled path, about nine and a half miles from Brookfield meeting- house ; and the second of the towns was about a mile further off.
The three witnesses whose testimony is to be relied on in this inquiry, are Capt. Wheeler, George Memicho, and James Quanapohit.
Capt. Wheeler says, that on his arrival at Brookfield August 1, learn- ing that the Indians were at their rendezvous about 10 miles distant, " we sent out four men to acquaint them of our business, and receive their answer," "we desiring to come to a treaty of Peace with them." "The chief sachems promised to meet us on the next morning about 8 of the clock upon a plain within three miles of Brookfield." The next morn- ng "accordingly we, with three of the principal inhabitants of that town marched to the plain appointed ; but the treacherous heathen in- tending mischief [he states as a fact, what indeed was true, but what he only found out in the sequel] came not to the said place." Apprehend- ing danger, some of the party advised to return to Brookfield ; but the three townsmen were so fully "persuaded of their freedom from all ill intentions towards us," that "Capt. Hutchinson who was principally intrusted with the matter of Treaty with them, was thereby encouraged to proceed and march forward towards a Swamp where the Indians then were." Mark the plain wording of the Narrative. Not the Swamp, i.e. rendezvous, where they were yesterday, as found by the four messengers, but " a Swamp where they then were," "waiting an opportunity to cut us off " - as he so soon found out to his cost. In making the record, he is done with the report of his messengers about the treatment they received from the surly Indians, and the Sachems' promise of meeting them upon the plain where they were standing ; has said all that he had to say about the earnest consultation between his superior officer and "the rest of the company " about the expediency of "going any further towards them or return ; " and now comes to matters of his own expe- rience, as they lay in his memory when he wrote his account. He pro- ceeds - carrying out the same train of associated thought and expe-
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FIRST SETTLEMENT, 1660-1676.
rience -" when we came near the said Swamp [where the Indians then were] the way was so very bad that we could march only in a single file, there being a very rocky hill on the right hand, and a thick swamp on the left, in which there were many of those cruel blood-thirsty heathen, who there way laid us, waiting an opportunity to cut us off; there being also much brush on the side of the said hill, where they lay in ambush to surprise us. When we had marched there about sixty or seventy rods, the said perfidious Indians sent out their shot upon us as a shower of hail." Having named fully other features of the place, and given a detailed account of the onset, and the attempt to retreat by the way in which they came, he says, "the Indians stopt our way back, and forced us as we could to get up the steep and rocky hill." The enemy attempted to surprise them a second time ; " and had in probability done it, but that we perceiving which way they went, wheeled off to the other hand," i.e. to the eastward, as the Indians had closed in behind them ; "and so they missed us, and we all came safely to the town, we being then ten miles from it." He adds, " none of us knew the way, those of the town being slain ; and we avoiding any thick woods, and riding in open places to prevent danger by the Indians." Afterwards, viz. Aug. 20, Capt. Wheeler made out a certificate in which he states that the two Indian guides, Sampson and Joseph, " conducted our distressed company in the best way from the swamp unto the town." Another account says : "by a way known to them," i.e. the guides ; which implies a by-trail, to be described hereafter.
This is the plain narrative of a man's own experience. His descrip- tion of the place of the ambush, and the circuitous route he travelled in getting back to the town, is sufficiently full and specific in those partic- ulars which time and cultivation do not materially change, to enable a person of observing habits and familiar with Indian tactics, to identify the same with much certainty.
But before proceeding to trace those lines of identification, it is in order to introduce the other two witnesses, whose independent testimony may point out conclusively the place of this tragedy.
James Quanapohit, an intelligent and trustworthy Indian, was sent by the Massachusetts government on an important mission to Quabaug, in Jan. 1675-6. He followed the Old Connecticut Path from Hassan- ameset to Maanexit ; thence he went to Quabaug Old Fort; and the next day was conducted to the enemies' quarters at Menameset. He says : "We came to three Indian towns, the farthest not above three miles distant from the other; ... the place is called Menemesseg, which is about 20 miles norward of Quabaug old fort." As he came from the south, he passed the two, in order to reach "the farthest." What he calls " 20 miles " is shown by measuring the like distance be-
95
PLACE OF CAPT. WHEELER'S SURPRISE.
tween two known points as given by him in another part of his Relation. Applying this measure, the 20 miles carries us to the Indian village-site on the Woodbury farm in Barre Plains. [See ante, p. 34.] And as matter of fact, the native trail between the two points named, is found to measure about 20 miles. To make the site still more certain of iden- tification, he further says that the place called Menemesseg was " about 30 miles from Lancaster " - which statement agrees with the actual dis- tance.
Here, then, is an established fact. And a starting point is thus secured, by strictly historical and geographical methods, from which to determine the place of Capt. Wheeler's disaster of August 2. Let us apply the measuring scale. Quanapohit says that Menemesseg, the enemies' quarters to which he was conducted, " is about eight miles north from where Capt. Hutchinson and Capt. Wheeler was wounded , and several men with them slayn, as those Indians informed him." Measuring southward from the upper Indian village-site, on the Wood- bury place, eight miles on the Indian trail, the scale touches a point in the Sucker brook valley, near the dividing line between New Braintree and Brookfield, and about five miles from the old Brookfield town-site.
George Memicho, who was with Capt. Wheeler in the fatal encounter and was taken captive, says that the place where he lay a prisoner, and where Philip came Aug. 6th, was " six miles from the swamp where they killed our men." As the "remains " attest, the "stronghold " and " store-town " of the Indians at this time, was the second of the Men- amesets - where prisoners would naturally be kept, and where Philip with his broken band would naturally resort for safety and food. Meas- uring southward on the Indian trail aforesaid, the " six miles " touches the same point as the " eight miles " named by Quanapohit touched, viz. near the dividing line betweeen New Braintree and Brookfield.
And no contemporary account has been found, to controvert this evi- dence.
In 1828, the Rev. Mr. Foot, pastor of the church in West Brookfield, gathered up the historical data and traditions which he found extant, relating to the old Quabaug Plantation. He had not read Wheeler's Narrative, and so was not influenced by its statements. Referring to the Indian Ambush, he says : "On the 2d of August ... Capt. Hutch- inson ... with 20 horsemen, and some of the principal inhabitants ad- vanced ... from the north end of Wickaboag pond ... up the valley towards the principal rendezvous of the Natives, and as they were pass- ing between a steep hill on one side and a swamp on the other, they were assailed by the Indians. ... Those who survived returned by a circuitous route to the town, because they were informed by friendly Indians in their company, that according to the custom of savage war-
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FIRST SETTLEMENT, 1660-1676.
fare, the path in which they had come would be found thickly lined by enemies ready to cut off those who escaped the fury of the onset." He does not fix upon the place of the "onset," but indicates two spots which " tolerably answer the description given by historians [not includ- ing Wheeler]; viz. " one near the line of Brookfield and New Brain- tree ; the other nearly two miles north of this line." It should be added, that a third spot, about two miles still further up the valley, has been selected by some modern writers, as answering to Wheeler's account, and pointed out by tradition.
With all the historical data as above given, in hand or in mind, the author traversed the valley from Barre Plains to Wekabaug pond. He was ignorant of all the local marks and traditions, and so an unpreju- diced observer. - Of the place on the easterly side of Wenimisset meadows, claimed by some as the scene of Capt. Wheeler's encounter (but not named by Mr. Foot), it is obvious to say, that in the absence .. of reliable historical evidence, we are left to the probabilities of the case, for the means of forming a judgment. The local tradition as to this place is at best quite indefinite and lacking in particulars, and is coupled with some fancies which are evidently of modern origin. And no narrow defile could be found in the vicinity, which answers to the description of the place of the ambush so fully given in Wheeler's Nar- rative. To be sure the " rocky hill " on the right is here ; but the " very bad way " where "we could only march in a single file " is wanting. And the place is too near the native village-site. Indian strategy, in laying ambushes and making assaults, always provided for a safe line of retreat, in case of disaster, and for a wide chance to give sufficient notice to those in his wigwams to escape with their utensils and provisions.
Of the place named by Mr. Foot, as "two miles north of the New Braintree line," it is to be said, that the selection is probably made on the strength of the statement contained in Hubbard's Narrative, and copied into Gov. Hutchinson's History, viz. "Wheeler and Hutchinson, with their Party of Horse . .. ventured along further to find the Infidels in their chief Town, . . . but when they had rode 4 or 5 miles that Way, they fell into an Ambush." If this statement be taken to mean 4 or 5 miles from the tree near Wekabaug pond, the inference is correct. But no concurrent testimony has been found ; and neither tradition, nor cor- respondence of geographical features supports such a conclusion. Indeed the "lay of the land " excludes the spot from the probabilities of identity.
Of the southerly place named by Mr. Foot, viz. the narrow defile near the New Braintree and Brookfield line, it is to be said - The historical evidence in its favor, as furnished by Quanapohit and Memicho, has already been quoted. Their testimony is given from knowledge; is
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PLACE OF CAPT. WHEELER'S SURPRISE.
clear ; they had no motive for deception ; and until clearer and weightier historical evidence is produced in favor of some other place, it must be reckoned conclusive. And if Hubbard's statement (above quoted) be taken to mean " four or five miles " from the Quabaug Plantation, where the march commenced, this ravine at the New Braintree line is the spot referred to. And a thorough examination of the locality here, finds a very complete agreement of existing conditions with all the details given in Capt. Wheeler's Narrative. The path under the steep hill, through a close defile, with brook and swamp on the left, is still here; and it is plain to see that in its primitive state, the way must have been so narrow and bad that horses could only go in a single file : the hemmed-in valley is more than "60 or 70 rods " in length ; and when this distance of bad way is passed, there is " a very rocky hill " on the right hand ; in a word, nothing is wanting to complete the identity. And according to Indian strategy, no better place can be found where the "cruel blood-thirsty heathen " could waylay the cavalcade. They would be effectually con- cealed by the brush on the slope of the steep bluff, back of the Pepper homestead, and on the opposite hillside, and in the swamp, so that a raking fire from behind could be poured into the scattered troop, while both flanks would be fully exposed. If Capt. Wheeler's first thought was to retreat through the depression in which the Pepper house stands, as the narrative seems to imply, his line could be easily cut off by the hindmost of the savages. His only way of escape was to push forward, and strike up the hill, and so follow round "by a circuitous route " on the edge of the Ditch meadows. And this route is indicated by Capt. Wheeler. He says: "we wheeled off to the other hand," i.e. to the eastward, " avoiding any thick woods " [which were found in the swamps and wet valleys of Mill brook, and Coy's brook], and "riding in the open places." At some distance from the Ditch meadow, they would strike an Indian trail -" a way known to the Indian guides " [and de- scribed in the early records], which took them via North Brookfield centre to near South Brookfield village, where they would strike the old country road that led directly to the town and Sergt. Ayers' Inn. This would make a march of "ten miles" as estimated by Wheeler. And it is evident that he approached the town from the east ; as he says the savages, who followed in his track, were found "rifling of houses " at that end of the town by Curtis and Young, who had been posted away to Boston before their appearance on the hill. In the mean while, the Indians would be busy, in torturing - perhaps burning the wounded, and scalping and stripping the slain, and assorting and dividing the plunder, long enough to account for the three or four hours' time which elapsed after the retreat and till they were met by Curtis and Young. The am- bush was a success ; they had achieved a complete victory ; had broken
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FIRST SETTLEMENT, 1660-1676.
the power of the English troops ; had slain the three military leaders of the Plantation ; there was no need that they should hurry the pursuit. The town on the hill was at their mercy - or their malice !
Here then is the evidence in favor of this southern location as the place of Capt. Wheeler's memorable Surprise and Defeat. The Captain's own account of the event, and description of the place, and of his approach, and manœuvres and retreat ; the precise geographical information recorded by intelligent and credible guides ; and the exact correspond- ence of natural features with contemporary delineations, all combined, appear to put the identification beyond reasonable doubt.1 But to this written evidence, we may add the confirmatory testimony of local tradi- tion. This ravine and swamp and the adjacent hills have been in possession of the Pepper family for three generations. They found attached to the place, and have preserved, a distinct tradition, that this was the scene of Capt. Wheeler's Fight with the Indians. Unsupported tradition may have small value ; but where it has intrinsic probability, and is in agreement with well-attested facts, its weight is to be duly rec- ognized. And it is scarcely conceivable, that the memories and associ- ations of an event so vital in itself and in its consequences, could have become obliterated from the locality, or been very much distorted, when the elder Mr. Pepper purchased these estates.
And it should be added, as a fact of considerable significance, that the designation " Death Valley," is still remembered as the name given by the old people to this ravine.
This Surprise and Defeat of Hutchinson and Wheeler and the destruc- tion of Brookfield, was most important in its direct and ultimate con- sequences. It was the hinge on which turned the then opening door of war. It was the bloody prelude to yet bloodier acts to follow in the immediate future. It was the first victory achieved by the Indians over an armed force of English troops ; and thus it broke the charm of the white man's invincibility which had spell-bound the red man ever since the destruction of the great Pequot fort in 1637. It was that great success, which raised the Indian in his own esteem to a level with his white antagonist ; which proved the superiority of his tactics ; and taken by itself, was the sure presage of the ultimate triumph of his cause. And it infused a mortal fear into the hearts of the English soldiers, and spread terror through the New England colonies.
And this daring and successful encounter brought to the front the
1 The writer of a tract called "The Present State of New-England," published in the fall of 1675, says : "The Indians appointed the Meeting at such a Tree, and at such a Time. . .. Capt. Hutchinson and Capt. Wheeler and his company, (with some of the Inhabitants of Brookfield, who thought them to be very Honest, therefore took no Arms with them) went to the Place, but the Indians were not there. Whereupon the Guide that conducted them through the Woods, brought them to a Swamp not far off the appointed Place."
SCENE OF CAPT. WHEELER'S SURPRISE, AUGUST 2, 1675.
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KING PHILIP AT QUABAUG.
hitherto peaceful interior tribes, and showed what, without the leader- ship of distinguished chiefs, the young men could do. It showed what was the strength of concerted counsel, and the force of concentrated action. The Quabaugs, Wabbaquassets, Nashaways and Nipnets demon- strated their right to become a power for redemption and revenge. Henceforth they were to take rank with the Mohegans and Narragan- setts, in strategy and deeds of bloody valor.I
And this success turned the scale with the River tribes. The Nauno- tuks and Pacomptucks appear to have been in doubt whether to remain neutral, or espouse the cause of Philip and join the combination for the extermination of the English. The news from Brookfield decided the doubt. When the scouts brought report of Wheeler's defeat, the Nauno- tuks "made eleven triumphing shouts ; " and immediately a party of young braves set off for Quabaug. And thenceforth these River Indians were prominent in the sanguinary surprises and massacres of the settlers in the Connecticut valley.
King Philip at Quabaug. - After his escape from Pocasset swamp in the early morning of July 31, leaving 100 wigwams (indicating the large number of his adherents), he made a hurried march to Rehoboth and encamped. Here, about ro o'clock in the morning of Aug. I, he was attacked by Oneko and 50 Mohegans, and some Natick Indians, and in the sharp fight that ensued, Nimrod, his chief counsellor, and many of his bravest captains and men were killed. One author says : "Nim- rod and 14 of his principal men were slain ; " another says : "slew about 30 of them." Philip had left about a hundred of his women and children in the Pocasset swamp, who fell into the hands of the English ; but he was still burdened by a large number of non-combat- ants ; and provisions failing, and the surrounding country becoming alarmed, he was put to his wits' end. A considerable part of his fol- lowers were discouraged and left him, some going to the Narragansetts, and some seeking refuge near their old homes. Philip, with a remnant of his men and many women, took a westerly course, and soon struck the old Providence Trail, which took him to Wabbaquasset and Qua- baug, where from the old time league of amity, as well as the new alli- ance, he counted on shelter and food and material aid. There is evidence that his coming was known beforehand, and that " the Sachems had sent men to Philip to conduct him up to Squabauge, with assurance that they would protect him." 2 He reached Quabaug Old Fort Thurs-
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