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Wampatuck, called Josiah Wampatuck, succeeded him in his rule. During his minority, Mr. Gookin says, "he was bred up by his uncle Kuchamakin, a sachem, who resided at Nepon- set." He is mentioned as one of three sachems who, on the 5th of February, 1643-44, came to the governor of Massachusetts Colony in their own name, and "in the names of all the sachems of Watchusett and all of the Indians from Merrimack to Tecti- cutt, and tendered themselves " to the Massachusetts governor, and gave him thirty fathoms of wampum and promised to come to the court when it next met. The governor agreed "to accept their presents until the court came in, and if the court and they did agree then to accept them." Upon the coming in of the court, this was approved, it being stated that they desired "to be received upon our protection and government upon the same terms that the other Indians had been." The subsequent conduct of his uncle gave much anxiety to the colony. Under his influence, Josiah Wampatuck seems to have acquired much of the impetuosity and fickleness which characterized his after life. He at one time professed to be one of the praying In- dians, but afterwards turned apostate and separated from them, although he seems to have been a faithful friend of the whites, and in 1662 made extensive grants of land in Middleboro. We find him, however, in 1669, joining in the war between the Indians of New England and the Mohawk Indians as the chief sachem. This, however, proved a failure, and the Massachu- setts warriors were obliged to retreat, leaving a large number of their slain upon the different battlefields. He was among the
I2
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1671-75
dead, and left a son Jeremy, who became a sachem in 1671. He left a son Charles Josiah, who was the last of his race.1
Tispequin, the black sachem, who inherited the lands from the pond sachem, made many conveyances in Middleboro to the early settlers of this and adjoining towns. (See chapter on Early Purchases.) He was a fearless and able chieftain, one of the leaders in King Philip's War, upon whom Philip relied more than upon any of the sagamores of the country. He had mar- ried a daughter of Massasoit, and was a brother-in-law of Philip. Notwithstanding his numerous dealings with the whites, he never became accustomed to their ways or accepted their re- ligious faith. In the later years of his life his residence was outside of Middleboro, and from his personal relations with King Philip, it is not surprising that he became his confidant and most trusted warrior. It is a little remarkable that, con- sidering his influence and position, he did not succeed in in- ducing more of the Indians of the town to join Philip in the Indian war for the extermination of the whites in 1675. He had all of the malignity and cruel disposition of the most savage and bloodthirsty of his race, and notwithstanding all of the dealings he had had with the white settlers within his domain, it is not improbable that during the years in which these con- veyances of land were so freely given, he was meditating a plot in connection with Philip for the utter extermination of the whites, hoping thus eventually to regain the land conveyed. Upon the breaking out of the war he was the leader of most, if not all, of the savage exploits and terrible massacres in the old colony. (See chapter on King Philip's War.) What became of his son William, who would have been his legal successor as chieftain of the tribes of southeastern Massachusetts, is un- known. His other son, Benjamin, died from the effects of a wound received in battle during this war. One of Benjamin's daughters, it is said, married an Indian by the name of Quam, whose daughter received sufficient education to be at one time a school-teacher among the few remaining children of her tribe.
1 Drake's Book of the Indians, Book II, pp. 44-45; New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. iii, pp. 339-340.
13
INDIANS
1673]
In a deed dated 1673,1 wherein he made a gift to John Sas- samon of certain land at Assawampsett, he is called Old Tis- pequin. The descendants from Tispequin were called Squins, a corruption of the great sachem's name.
In 1793 the tribe had so diminished that there were but eight families living in their Indian houses at Betty's Neck. There were in these eight families between thirty and forty Indians, who were poor and improvident, and who became very intemperate, the corn and rye raised on their land being usually sold for liquor. They obtained a meagre subsistence by the sale of brooms and baskets which they manufactured.2 This tribe is now reduced in numbers to a single family.
Beside the Indian burial ground on Muttock Hill there was undoubtedly an ancient place of burial at the Four Corners, near the site of the house of the late Allen Shaw on Main Street, and a little to the east of the residence of the late Colonel Peter H. Peirce on the other side of the street. In 1826, in making an excavation for the cellar of Mr. Shaw's house, Indian remains were found in a sitting posture. One of the skeletons had a brass kettle over his head, and his body had been profusely deco- rated with beads and other ornaments. These evidently were of English manufacture, and had probably been procured at Plymouth. Upon the farm of the late Ellis Weston, about half a mile from the Lower Factory, was an Indian settlement, which is indicated by the very rich black soil in circular spots, as though it had been under the wigwams. In ploughing fields in this neighborhood numerous arrowheads, battle-axes, and spears have been found.
Some few years ago the water was drawn off from a pond made by an artificial dam, leaving exposed a large number of tree stumps in a perfect state of preservation ; against one of these stumps was found leaning a skeleton of an Indian chief with the remains of various implements of warfare, which had probably been buried with him. The skeleton was given by Mr. Weston to Professor J. W. P. Jenks, and was afterwards
1 History of Plymouth Colony, Lakeville, p. 292.
2 From notes of Nehemiah Bennett, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vol. 35.
14
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1831
moved to the Museum of Brown University. A large number of arrowheads, spears, and stone axes have also been found about the high ground on the east of Assawampsett Pond.
Ben Simonds was the last of the full-blooded Indians who lived at Assawampsett. Upon his death he was buried in a cemetery in the westerly part of Lakeville, and a small gran- ite obelisk was erected by Mr. Levi Reed, which bears this inscription : -
" In Memory of Ben Simonds, the last male of the native Indians of Middleboro. He was a Revolutionary soldier. Died May, 1831, aged eighty years."
INDIAN MONUMENT
CHAPTER II
PRAYING INDIANS
NE purpose of the early settlers in both Massachu- setts and Plymouth Colony in leaving the old coun- try and enduring the hardships of the New World was to teach the gospel to the Indians of America. The Massachusetts charter takes notice of it, and letters from the settlers to their friends frequently refer to this purpose, show- ing that not a little was done in their endeavors to christianize the Indians in that province. The submission of the five great sachems to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts did much towards preparing for this laudable undertaking. Some of them had expressed the wish "to suffer their children to learn God's Word ;" "To worship Him aright and worship Him in their own way." An order was passed November 13, 1644, that the col- ony should take care that the Indians residing in their several shires should be civilized, and instructed in the knowledge of the Word of God.1
In Plymouth Colony we find the same high motive in the reasons set forth by the pilgrims for leaving Holland, the country which had protected them from the persecutions of their native land. " Fifthly and last and which was not the least a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto for the propagation and advancement of the Gospel of the King- dom of Christ, although they should be but as stepping stones unto others for the performance of so great a work." 2
In order further to carry on this work, Governor Winslow,3 in July, 1649, was instrumental in forming a society for propa-
1 Barry's History of Massachusetts, vol. i, p. 350.
2 New England Memorial, p. 12.
3 Ibid., Appendix, p. 380.
16
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1674
Noskun kesukqur quttianatamunach-kowisnonk: -Peunmooutch_kukketassutamook kuttenantameenk one n-nach chkeit neane kesukgut
THE BEGINNING OF THE LORD'S PRAYER (From Eliot's Indian Bible)
gating the gospel in New England, while ministers in the mother country stirred up their congregations to contribute liberally for its support. A correspondence was held with the commissioners of the United Colonies as agents, and at one time over seven hundred pounds a year was raised for the use of this society. As a result of these contributions, which were carefully distributed, not only was an attempt made to intro- duce a change in the customs and dress of the natives, but teachers were appointed to carry out the work of instruction. How well this work was done may be inferred from the fact that in 16741 there were in Plymouth Colony four hundred and ninety-seven praying Indians. Of this number, seventy- two could write, one hundred and forty-two could read the In- dian language, as it had been reduced to writing by Eliot, and nine could read English. In addition to this number, there were about one hundred children in the Indian schools in the colony, who were being taught not only to speak English, but to read and write.
The Indians who early embraced christianity were from the smaller tribes about Boston, the Cape, and Plymouth Colony, while the larger tribes and the prominent chieftains of New England were never in sympathy with this work. Massasoit, although always friendly with the whites, cared nothing for their religion, and was much opposed to its being introduced among his tribes; when the whites were negotiating for lands in Swansea, he endeavored to have them promise never to con- vert any of his subjects to christianity. The successful Indian missionary, Eliot, at one time tried to make a convert of Philip,
1 Winsor's Duxbury, p. 75; also Gookin's " Historical Collections," in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vol. i, p. 141.
17
PRAYING INDIANS
1675]
but he, taking hold of a button of his coat, said, " I do not care for your religion more than I care for that button."
Of the Indian teachers and preachers whose names have come down to us, John Sassamon 1 was by far the ablest and best educated. He taught for a while at Natick, under the apostle Eliot, with such success that Eliot advised that his ser- vices should be paid for by the London society. He was settled as pastor and teacher over the church at Nemasket, and often taught and preached at Assawampsett and Titicut. His grave is supposed to be in an old Indian burial-ground on the south- ern shore of Assawampsett Pond.
The membership in the Indian churches shows how earnest and faithful must have been the labors and the exemplary christian character of the descendants of the pilgrims living in Middleboro, who without a pastor themselves, did such effective missionary work. These churches adopted a form of church government ; deacons and officers were appointed by the differ- ent tribes to adjust and settle matters of dispute and difficul- ties between them ; they had their own schoolmaster, and con- stables to enforce the orders and the decrees of their officials.2
1 For further account, see chapter on King Philip's War.
2 Whether the attempt to establish a local government by the Indians for their own protection, which was instituted by Eliot for the Indians of Natick and Nonan- tum in connection with his schools and the establishment of christian churches, ever was adopted in Plymouth Colony may be a matter of doubt, but the employ- ment of the more intelligent christian Indians as teachers and preachers was al- ways acceptable to them and esteemed a great honor. They probably held courts in Barnstable for the adjustment of their rights and the punishment of crimes.
Some amusing anecdotes of Indian justice and its administration have come down to us. The following warrant from an Indian court in Barnstable County was issued by one of the Indian magistrates to an Indian constable, and its con- ciseness and absence of unnecessary words are quite noticeable.
This was the form of the warrant : -
"I Hihoudi, You Peter Waterman, Jeremy Wicket ; Quick you take him, Fast you hold him, Straight you bring him, Before me, Hihoudi."
Davis, ed., New England Memorial, p. 415.
ยท
18
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1689
There were three churches, one in Nemasket, one in Titicut, and one in Assawampsett, with about thirty members in each ; the membership of the church at Assawampsett is said to have numbered thirty-five.1 They had places of worship of their own, although only the site of that in Titicut on Pleasant Street, near the centre of the parish, can now be identified ; the Nemasket meeting-house was burned, with the larger por- tion of the dwelling-houses, at the time of the war; the Old Pond Church was probably on the site of the Assawampsett meeting-house. Their pastors were devoted christian men, with a good knowledge of the scriptures, whose teaching and influ- ence were so beneficial in promoting friendship between the tribes and the whites that at the outbreak of the war most of them remained loyal to their white friends; many following them to Plymouth and some joining the different companies against King Philip. Without this friendship, the entire colony must have been wiped out, and yet, in spite of this fact, they were distrusted by many.
In 1689 Rev. Grindal Rawson of Mendon and Rev. Samuel Danforth of Taunton were appointed by the society to visit the several Indian settlements in the old colony. They re- ported " 20 houses and 80 persons at Assawampsit and Quit- taub [probably Nemasket] John Hiacoomes preacher and constant schoolmaster at Kehtehticut are 40 adults to whom Charles Aham preaches also Jocelyn preacher." 2 After the war and abandonment of their church organization, the pray- ing Indians of Nemasket worshipped with the First Church, where a place was provided for them in the gallery. We have no further records of the church at Assawampsett, although it probably continued for some time. The church at Titicut was apparently well sustained until after the middle of the eighteenth century. Rev. Mr. Treat occasionally visited the Indians of this section, and labored earnestly for their spiritual welfare. Rev. John Cotton, pastor of the church at Plymouth, instructed them from the scriptures of the Old and New
1 Goodwin's Pilgrim Republic, p. 536.
2 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vol. x, p. 134.
19
PRAYING INDIANS
1674]
Testament. Most of the Indians at this time had learned to read the Bible and the books which the apostle Eliot had translated into their language. Some of them could write, and not a few could speak and even write the English language.
Richard Bourne of Sandwich, another minister who often visited them, wrote on the Ist of July, 1674,1 of the Plymouth Colony Indians : -
"There is good hopes of diverse of them. Some of them being lately dead, having given a good testimony of their being in the faith, and so lifting up their souls to Christ as their Saviour and their All in All, as diverse of the well affected English know, and have been present among some of them that departed this life. I was with one of them, the last sum- mer, that had been sick for a long time, and I staid with him near one whole day, and there came from him very heavenly and savory expressions. One passage I will make bold to in- sert, the which is this : That he, being very sick, not expecting the continuance of his life, told me that his wife did much solicit him to forsake God and live, forasmuch as many that were not praying Indians were not so afflicted as he was. But he, using those words in Job II : 9, 10, gave her this answer : That he would cleave to God, altho' he died, rather than live and forsake Him."
Governor Hinckley, in a report made by him concerning the praying Indians of the colony, says : -
"Their manner is not to accept any to be praying Indians or Christians, but such as do, before some of their magistrates or civil rulers, renounce their former heathenish manners, and give up themselves to be praying Indians ; neither do they choose any other than such to bear any office among them. They keep their courts in several places, living so far distant one from another. Especially the four chief places often de- sire my help amongst them, at their courts, and often do appeal from the sentence of the Indian Judges, to my deter- mination, in which they quietly rest, whereby I have much trouble and expense of time among them, but if God please to bless my endeavours to bring them to more civility and Chris- tianity, I shall account my time and pains well spent. A great obstruction whereunto is the great appetite many of the young
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vol. i, p. 198, Ist series.
20
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO [1746-60
generation have after strong liquors, and the covetous evil humour of sundry of our English, in furnishing them there- with, notwithstanding all the courts orders and means used to prohibit the same." 1
In 1746 the praying Indians in Titicut had given lands for the meeting-house, although at that time no action had been taken by the General Court to confirm the grant, which by a law of the colony was necessary, and no title could be confirmed until those steps had been taken.
These three Indians, James Thomas, John Ahanton, and Stephen David, contributed thirty-eight and three quarters acres to the parish in Titicut, and the land included the site of the present meeting-house and parsonage, the public green, and the cemetery.2 These grants were afterwards duly con- firmed by the General Court.
Mr. Joshua Fobes has left on record that one at least of the three Indians was buried in the village cemetery, and he remembered the spot pointed out to him as the grave of James Thomas. Those connected with these churches were desirous of receiving spiritual instruction, and in their deportment showed that they were endeavoring to lead a godly life. They had great respect for the christian men and women living in that community, and seemed to look to them for an example of what their conduct and behavior should be.
When Rev. Isaac Backus came to Titicut as preacher, Nehemiah Abiel, Thomas Felix, and John Simons were pastors there, of whom he writes, "John Simons was the minister of the Indian church and continued for nearly ten years," 3 at the end of which most of the Indians had disappeared, and their remaining land was sold in 1760.
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. vol. v, p. 134, 4th series.
2 Emery, History of North Middleboro Church, p. 15.
3 Ibid. p. 8.
CHAPTER III
MIDDLEBORO AS FIRST KNOWN TO THE ENGLISH
N 1619 Sir Ferdinand Gorges sent an expedition to look after certain fishing and fur interests which Captain John Smith had established two years before. Thomas Dermer, one of Smith's captains, was in charge of the expedition, with instructions to join one Rocroft on the Maine coast. On arriving, he found that Rocroft had gone to Virginia. He sent his ship of two hundred tons home, laden with furs and fish ; then with a few men and Tisquan- tum, or Squanto, as guide, proceeded to explore the country in a small boat from the Kennebec to Cape Cod. He went to Tisquantum's native place, Patuxet, and of this he says, " When I arrived at my savage's native country, finding all dead I travelled almost a day's journey westward to a place called Namasket, where finding inhabitants, I despatched a messenger a day's journey west to Pokanoket, which border- eth on the sea, whence came to see me two kings attended with a guard of fifty armed men, who being well satisfied with what my savage and I discoursed unto them, and being desir- ous of novelty, gave me content in whatsoever I demanded."
On this trip he rescued two Frenchmen, who had been wrecked several years before. They had been subjected to a life of slavery since their capture ; a third had lived with them for a time, then had married, but soon after died and was buried with his child.1 Of the two survivors, one was found in Nemasket, the other at Massachusetts Bay. The natives were hostile to the Englishmen, and later would have killed
1 " The pilgrims discovered the grave of this man. On opening it, they found a bow between two mats, a painted board shaped like a trident, bowls, trays, dishes, etc., and two bundles which proved to be the bones of a man with fine yellow hair and a child. This caused much interest, as it showed them that white people had been there before them." Goodwin's Pilgrim Republic, p. 78.
22
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLEBORO
[1621
Dermer had not Tisquantum interfered. After varied adven- tures he set sail for Virginia with the two Frenchmen, leaving Squanto at " Tawahquatook " Satucket, now Brewster.
Two years later Squanto's services were required as guide by the pilgrims, who sent two of their number to Massasoit, " the greatest commander among the savages." They desired to ascertain where these Indians under the rule of Massasoit were, discover their strength, and make amends for any inju- ries which had been done. They also wished to continue their league of friendship and peace. Stephen Hopkins and Edward Winslow were chosen for this purpose. With Squanto as inter- preter, and a gift consisting of a coat of red cotton and lace to propitiate the chief, they set out at nine o'clock on the morning of July 13, 1621. They planned to spend the night at " Namaschet, a Town under Massasoyt," which they thought but a short distance from Patuxet, but found to be about fif- teen miles away. They fell in with several men, women, and children, who insisted on following them, much to their annoy- ance. At about three o'clock they reached " Namaschet," and were most cordially entertained by the inhabitants. They gave them an abundant repast of spawn of shad, a kind of bread called " maizium," and boiled musty acorns. As their journey's end was still more than a day's travel, Tisquantum advised their going a few miles further that night to a place where they would find a larger store of food. At sunset they reached a camp, where they halted and prepared to spend the night in the open fields, as there was no shelter. They found the Namascheuks (the name given to the people of Namaschet) fishing upon a weir they had made on the river (probably the old Indian weir at Titicut on Taunton River). Winslow wrote of this river,1 " The head of the river is reported to be not far from the place of our abode. Upon it are and have been many towns, it being a good length. The ground is very good on both sides, it being for the most part cleared. Thousands of men have lived there, which died in a great plague not long since ; and pity it was and is to see so many goodly fields and
1 Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims, pp. 204-206.
23
1621]
AS FIRST KNOWN TO THE ENGLISH
so well seated, without men to dress and manure the same. Upon this river dwelleth Massasoit. It cometh into the sea at the Narrobigganset Bay, where the Frenchmen so much use."
The messengers reached Massasoit on July 4, faint and weary. They had given generously of their food to the natives on the way, expecting to find an abundance with the chief. Unfortunately for his guests, he had little or nothing for them, so, worn and hungry, they sought rest with their royal host. Massasoit shared with them his bed, which consisted of a wooden platform a foot from the ground covered with a thin mat ; the guests slept at one side, he and his wife at the other, with two of his men close by. In such uncomfortable quarters they passed the night. The Indian custom of singing themselves to sleep was not as conducive to slumber for the whites as for the natives. The next day Massasoit gave them fish to eat, and early in the morning of the day following they set out for home. Winslow writes : "That night we reached to the wear where we lay before; but the Namascheuks were returned, so that we had no hope of anything there. One of the savages had shot a shad in the water, and a small squirrel, as big as a rat, called a neuxis ; the one half of either he gave us, and after went to the wear to fish. From hence we wrote to Plymouth and sent Tockamahamon before to Namasket, will- ing him from thence to send another, that he might meet us with food at Namasket. Two men now only remained with us ; and it pleased God to give them good store of fish, so that we were well refreshed. After supper we went to rest, and they to fishing again. More they gat, and fell to eating afresh, and retained sufficient ready roast for all our breakfasts. About two o'clock in the morning, arose a great storm of wind, rain, lightning and thunder, in such violent manner that we could not keep in our fire ; and had the savages not roasted fish when we were asleep, we had set forward fasting ; for the rain still continued with great violence, even the whole day through, till we came within two miles of home. Being wet and weary, at length we came to Namaschet."1 On their arrival they were
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