USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Our county and its people : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts. Volume 1 > Part 3
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At length, however, French aggression and Jesuit influence became intolerable to the English, especially in New York, and about 1700 the colonial legislature of that province passed an
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unjustifiable act expelling every Jesuit missionary, on pain of death. The act was not fully obeyed, yet it had the effect to retard French encroachments in certain localities, while the spir- itual welfare of the Indians did not seriously suffer through the absence of a guiding hand.
In later years the Jesuit fathers were followed by the faith- ful New England missionaries, who labored first for the conver- sion of savages within their own territory, and afterward carried their work into the country of the Iroquois and the Delawares. Among these workers were such noble men1 as Henry Barclay, John Ogilvie, Timothy Woodbridge, Gideon Hawley, Eleazer Wheelock, Samuel Kirkland, Bishop Hobart, Eleazer Williams, Talbot, Spencer, Dan Barnes (Methodist), and others of less distinction, all of whom labored faithfully but with varied suc- cess for the conversion of the Indians. All, however, were forced to admit that their efforts as a whole were unsatisfactory and dis- couraging; and even subsequent and more systematic attempts to establish christianity and education among the Indians, while yielding results perhaps sufficient to justify their prosecution, have constantly met with the most discouraging obstacles.
The Indians of the Connecticut valley, while perhaps more peaceful than their western neighbors, the Iroquois, or their Canadian ancestors-for they undoubtedly were of Algonquin or Huron ancestry-possessed substantially the same native traits and characteristics, and there is little indication that any of them were ever inclined to improve upon the condition in which they were found by the Europeans. They were chiefly attached to their warrior and hunter life, and devoted nearly all their energies to the lower forms of gratification and enjoyment. Their dwellings, even among the more stationary tribes, were rude, their food coarse and poor, and their domestic habits and surroundings unclean and barbarous. Their dress was ordina- rily the skins of animals until the advent of the whites, and was primitive in character. Their women were degraded into mere
1John Eliot and Thomas Hooker were early missionary workers among the Indian tribes, and Eliot, who was known as the "Apostle to the Indians," trans- lated the Bible into their language. Their missionary work was contemporary with that of the Jesuits.
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beasts of burden, and while they believed in a Supreme being, they were powerfully swayed by superstition, incantations, med- icine men, dreams and visions, and their feasts were exhibitions of debauchery and gluttony.
Such, according to the writer's sincere belief, are some of the more prominent characteristics of the race encountered by the Puritan fathers of New England when they landed on the shores of Cape Cod and sought to establish for themselves a home in a new and unknown land. Although more peaceful than most of the tribes of other localities, the Indians of the Atlantic coast in New England were not less fierce when aroused to anger or when inspired to deeds of savagery through wantonness and instinctive hatred of the pale-faced race. Champlain first welcomed the Indians with a volley of bullets, a policy that was pursued by nearly all his civilized successors. It is not denied that the Indians possessed redeeming characteristics, but they were so strongly dominated by their barbarous manner of life and savage traits that years of faithful missionary labor among them was productive of little real benefit.
And whatever is true of any one nation of Indians in this respect is true of nearly all others. To the English the Mohi- cans were known as a peaceful, friendly and domestic people, yet nearly all early efforts for their conversion to christianity were unsatisfactory. No strong controlling influence for good was obtained among any of the tribes previous to the time of Sir William Johnson (the first superintendent of Indian affairs in America), and even then it is doubtful whether they were not moved more by the power of purchase than by love of right.
Regarding the origin of the New England Indians, no relia- ble authority expresses a positive opinion. Unlike the Iroquois of New York, or the Delawares of Pennsylvania and the south, the savages living east of the Hudson had no ancestral traditions, yet some writers are inclined to the belief that the tribes scat- tered along the coast were of Delaware or Lenni Lenape (mean- ing Original People) origin, and that they separated from the parent body and crossed over the river into the country to the eastward previous to the formation of the Iroquois league, or the
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confederacy known in history as the Five Nations. The Iroquois and the Lenni Lenapes were for centuries avowed enemies, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the former made war upon and subjugated the latter, and ever afterward were their acknowledged masters; but it does not appear that the vengeful Iroquois ever waged war against the tribes along the New England coast or sought to bring them into subjection. Nor were they in any respect considered allies of the Iroquois, but appear to have been regarded as a neutral people, who warred only among themselves previous to the advent of the whites.
When the region comprising New England was first explored by the colonists the Indian tribes were located and known about as follows: In the lower Housatonic country were the Pedunks, while to the northward, between the Housatonic mountains and the Berkshire hills, dwelt the Stockbridge Indians, so-called, but presumably an offshoot from the most eastern body of the Mo- hawks, although their real origin, like that of the Pedunks, is quite in doubt, notwithstanding the opinions of various writers. The Pequots (sometimes called Pequods) occupied the lower Connecticut valley and the territory immediately eastward. In Rhode Island were the Narragansetts, one of the most numerous and untamable tribes in the New England region, while north of them and in the order named were the Pokanockets, the Nip- mucks, the Massachusetts and the Pawtuckets. With the excep- tion of the Pedunks, the Stockbridges and the Nipmucks, the tribes inhabiting the coast were claimed to be of Lenni Lenape descent, while those of New Hampshire and Maine undoubtedly were of Abenakis, or Abenaquie, origin, and whose ancestors came from the lower St. Lawrence regions of Canada. The Mohicans, famed in song and story, one of the exceptionally friendly tribes, dwelt, during the latter part of the seventeenth century, in northern Connecticut, east of the river of that name.
The Connecticut river Indians, especially those who inhab- ited the valley north of the country of the Pequots, probably were of Algonquin (Canadian) ancestry, but the time of their emigration from their northern possessions cannot now be deter- mined. Their habits and customs, while not wholly unlike those
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who occupied other portions of New England, were much the same as of the Canadian Indians, yet by long association and intermarriages with the dusky inhabitants of the coast region they adopted the mode of life of the latter. In the early wars with the colonists they fled toward the Canadas when pursued, and they likewise joined with the Canadian Indians when the latter invaded the frontier settlements of the whites. They never were allies of the Mohawks, as some authorities have stated, but occasionally were visited with the vengeance of the latter, who were for centuries at deadly enmity with the Algonquins and their allies.
Of the tribes in the valley none were numerically strong, and they generally took names suited to the locality in which they lived. Their dialect was the same and to the whites they were known as separate bands of the same nation. On the site of Springfield there were the Agawams, whose tribal name is preserved in a flourishing town; at Westfield, in a region con- tiguous to the river valley, were the Woronokes ; at Northampton and Hadley were the Nonotucks; at Deerfield were the Pocom- tucks; at Northfield were the Squakheags; at Brookfield, east of the valley proper, were the Quaboags; at Windsor were the Massacoes, and at Charlestown were the Mishawams.
These Indians at best were a lawless, treacherous and un- trustworthy horde, and never during all their long intercourse with the whites did they secure the absolute confidence of the latter. The Puritans and their immediate followers treated them with the greatest consideration, and in the treaties for the purchase of their lands they were satisfied with the compensation offered ; and in many cases where lands were acquired from them the actual consideration frequently was more than doubled by subsequent gifts.
As a matter of fact the natives regarded the land as of little value to themselves and readily parted with their title for a few strings of wampum, a number of hatchets and an assortment of blankets, trinkets and other notions that most struck the savage fancy. In no case were they deceived into parting with their possessions, and no unfair means were resorted to by the colonists
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to accomplish that end. The period of treachery and deceit on the part of the whites in extinguishing Indian titles was much later than that of which we write, and in the history of the early settlement in the Connecticut valley the much vaunted claim, put forth by some chroniclers of contemporary events, that "little importance should be attached to treaties in which the untutored savages were pitted again intelligent Europeans," is of no effect, as it had no foundation in fact. In the Massachusetts province "justice and the faith and restraints of treaties" were not "subordinate to the lusts of power and expediency."
William Pynchon and his followers, who came into the Con- necticut valley in 1636 and founded a plantation on the site of Springfield, purchased land from the Agawams, and in addition to the price paid they clothed, fed and warmed the natives, and sought by every means to establish friendly relations with them ; but at the same time they prudently constructed a fort of suffi- cient strength to assure a safe refuge for all the settlers within the plantation ; and in later years, when the settlement had in- creased in numbers, two other stockade fortresses were added as a means of still further security against Indian attacks. Subse- quent events proved the wisdom of this precaution, for the settle- ment at Springfield was attacked, the buildings plundered and burned, the lands laid waste, and a ruthless slaughter of the in- habitants was only prevented by the defensive strength of Fort Pynchon. And when plantations were extended up and down the valley and into the interior regions east and west of the river, the pioneers first provided a strong stockade fort for the common protection of their families. In course of time each of these settlements was attacked and suffered loss of life and property at the hands of the savages. These attacks, while perhaps not provoked by the Connecticut river Indians, were nevertheless participated in by them, and their professed friendship for the whites counted for nothing.
In justice, however, to the Indian tribes of the Connecticut valley it may be said that for many years they maintained friend- ly relations with the whites and that frequently they lent succor to distressed settlements ; and occasions are not wanting in which
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some of the friendly tribes took up arms and fought battles as allies of the colonists against a dusky foe.
After the advent of the white man the highest aim of the Indian was the ownership of a gun and ammunition, and a free license to indulge his appetite for liquor. The English colonists used every possible means to keep these instruments of death from the natives, and the general court enacted stringent laws to prevent the traffic; and while these laws were generally obeyed they were occasionally violated even in the New England colonies. The Dutch in the Netherlands became rich in trading guns and gin to the Indians in exchange for furs, and previous to the over- throw of their power in America, they furnished these double weapons of destruction to the Connecticut Indians for the very purpose of inciting the latter against the New Englanders. It was, however, a pernicious practice, steadily adhered to, and resulted disastrously to the American colonists. The Indian loved liquor next to life itself, and in a drunken condition he knew no restraint whatever. But be it said to the enduring honor of the English colonists that they opposed this unholy traffic with every known means of legislation, severe penalties and moral influence.
Having thus referred at some length in preceding chapters to the contests of European nations for supremacy in America, and also to the tribal names, location and something of the life and traits of the Indians who were the original possessors of the territory in New England, it is proper that the succeeding chap- ter be devoted to a brief narrative of the events of planting col- onies and extending settlements in the region.
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CHAPTER IV
COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT
English Colonization and Settlement in America-The Plymouth and London Companies-Landing of the Pilgrims-Distress in the Colony-Massasoit's Generosity-Accessions to the Col- ony-Plantations Founded in the Connecticut Valley-The Colony at Agawam-Springfield Founded-Independent Gov- ernment for Connecticut River Plantations-Springfield re- turns to Massachusetts Jurisdiction-Four Counties Incorpor- ated-Springfield not Included.
In 1606, James I, of England, divided his possessions in America, between degrees 34 and 45, north latitude, into two parts and granted them, the south part to the London company, and the north part to the Plymouth company, the territory of the latter extending from the 38th to the 45th parallel, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. In the same year the Plymouth company fitted out a vessel for the purpose of sending a party to colonize their lands, but the ship fell into the hands of the Span- iards who then were at war with England.
In 1607 the London company made a successful attempt at founding a colony in America. A fleet of three ships with one hundred and five men was sent to the country and established a permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. In the same year the Plymouth company sent Admiral Gilbert with a party of one hundred planters, under instructions to establish a colony within the boundaries of the company's grant, to make improvements and prepare the way for future colonization and settlement of the region. This party touched the coast of Maine near the mouth
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of the Kennebec, where forty-five men were landed and began the construction of a storehouse. Captain George Popham was their president, or commander, and directed the work of improve- ment. The others, however, soon became discouraged, aban- doned the scheme and returned to England. Those who re- mained suffered greatly from the severities of the winter, and, to add to their misfortunes, the storehouse was destroyed by fire, their president died, and early in the next year the survivors re- turned to England. Thus ended the first attempt to found a colony in New England, and no further effort in the same direc- tion was made for a period of twelve years.
In 1602 a little band of dissenters from the tenets and exac- tions of the church of Rome left their homes in the south part of England and took up an abode in Leyden, where, under the lead- ership of John Robinson, they dwelt and worshipped after their own ideas of duty and christian humility. In England they had suffered all manner of religious persecution, and had exiled themselves from it, but in Holland they found themselves and their youth exposed to unwholesome and contaminating moral influences hardly less dangerous than those from which they pre- viously had hoped to escape. They, therefore, resolved to flee from Europe and establish a new home in America, where they might worship and live in the light of their own religious convic- tions. The resolution to depart was adopted in 1619, and on September 6, 1620, a band of one hundred devout Puritans set sail from Southampton in the Mayflower, bound for the English settlement in Virginia, in the territory of the London company.
However, through the ignorance or treachery1 (probably the
1According to Hutchinson's narrative, the Dutch endeavored to persuade the Pilgrims to join the West India colony at New Amsterdam, but they preferred to settle in Virginia, and made application for a land patent in that region, which was refused. In order to assure the London company that they were able to found and maintain their colony the Pilgrims offered the declaration "that they were well weaned from the delicate milk of the mother country, and enured to the difficulties of a strange land ; that they were knit together in a strict and sacred bond, by virtue of which they held themselves bound to take good care of each other, and of the whole; that it was not with them as with other men, whom small things could discourage, or small discontents cause to wish themselves home again." Hutchinson also says the Pilgrims intended to land near the mouth of the Hudson river, but that the Dutch had bribed their pilot, who car- ried them much farther north.
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latter) of the master of the vessel, on November 9, of the same year, the Puritans (Pilgrims, they were more aptly called, having made the pilgrimage from England to Holland and thence to America) found themselves at anchor off the bleak and barren coast of Cape Cod, within the territory of the Plymouth company and hundreds of miles from the English settlement in Virginia, where they had hoped to land.
Disappointed, but not wholly disheartened, the Pilgrims determined to land and brave the severities of approaching win- ter in the desolate region, surrounded with a race of savages whose strength and temper they knew not. Before leaving the ship they entered into a solemn compact to combine themselves together in a civil body politic, "for our better ordering and preservation ; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just laws, ordinances, constitutions and offices as from time to time shall be most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obe- dience."
It was a simple yet effective contract and was steadfastly observed by all the Pilgrim fathers, also by many of their Puri- tan followers, and was the cornerstone of the constitution of the commonwealth of Massachusetts in later years. John Carver was chosen governor of the colony, and on November 21, the Pilgrims left their ship and knelt on Plymouth Rock. They named the place New Plymouth, in allusion to Plymouth, in Eng- land.
During the winter which followed the landing of the Pil- grims the members of the brave band suffered untold hardships from the severity of weather, lack of proper clothing and food, from sickness and death. Their leader and governor, John Carver, was one of fifty-five who died from sickness and exposure; and when in distress and almost utter starvation the survivors were reduced to the greatest extremity, their sufferings were unex- pectedly relieved by the generous assistance of Massasoit, sachem of the Pokanokets, or Wampanoags, who gave them food and succor, and who indeed proved as steadfast in his friendship as his son, King Philip, in later years proved merciless and devilish in his enmity.
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Notwithstanding the vicissitudes which attended the first year of life in the Plymouth colony, frequent accessions were made to the number of settlers, and in 1622, upon the arrival of the half hundred and more men brought from England by Mr. Weston, the London merchant, the latter soon branched out from the parent colony and founded a plantation at Weymouth. This party, from all historical accounts, was less conscientious than many of its predecessors, and soon became involved in a contro- versy with the Indians which threatened the safety of all the New England colonists of whatever creed. It was the first breach of faith and propriety on the part of the New Englanders, and was inexcusable, even on the ground of dire necessity.
In 1624 a settlement was made at Cape Ann, and in 1628 a colony of more than two hundred persons was planted at Salem, where also the second church in New England was established. From this time settlement increased rapidly, and within the next two years colonies were founded at Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxbury and Boston. In 1629 the government of the Plymouth colony, which previously had been administered in England, was, through the grace of his majesty, King Charles, and the address of John Winthrop, transferred to New England. An election of officers was ordered, and in 1630 Governor Winthrop and his deputy, Thomas Dudley (chosen to succeed John Hum- frey, the original deputy), came over from England in a numer- ous fleet. The first general court was assembled in Boston, where the freemen attended in person. They builded better than they knew, and in that informal attempt to establish a government for a scattered handful of colonists, they in fact laid the found- ation for one of the most stable and enlightened systems of state government known to the history of America.
The transfer of the seat of government of the New England colonies had the effect to increase the tide of emigration from the mother country to such an extent that the crown began to devise measures to prevent further loss of home population, but without material results. Almost every month witnessed the arrival of fresh shiploads of immigrants, while still other vessels brought cattle and merchandise. At length the settled localities along
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the coast began to show evidence of overcrowding, and many of the more determined planters turned their faces toward the interior portions of the country, in the direction of the river "Quoneticut" (Long River), as known to the Indians who first described that fertile region to the whites.
Having thus laid the foundation for civilized white settle- ment in the Connecticut valley, it can hardly be considered with- in the scope of our present work to refer at greater length to the outspreading of the home colonies in the north and south regions of New England, or to the founding of plantations that led to the establishment of colonies and the subsequent states of Connec- ticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine, or to the various causes that led to the division of the mother colonies and the form- ation of new ones ; but rather we may more properly direct atten- tion to the events which led to the establishment of plantations in the Connecticut valley, to the creation of a new county under the name of Hampshire, to the settlement and civil organization of that jurisdiction, and to the trials and hardships and ultimate successes of the inhabitants within its boundaries.
According to the opinion of the best chroniclers of New England history, the vast region of country known as the Connecticut valley in Massachusetts and Connecticut became known to the white settlers of the eastern plantations about the year 1631, through information furnished them by the Indians, who for years had roamed undisturbed throughout the country east of the Hudson river. The Dutch, however, were first in the locality, according to reliable authority, about 1614, five years after their colony had been established on Manhattan Island. They were traders, buying from the natives large quantities of furs, and as their possessions, as claimed under Hudson's dis- coveries, extended east to Cape Cod, it was only natural that they should barter with the inhabitants of the valley, where beaver were known to abound. Yet the Dutch made no attempt to occupy the land previous to the advent of the English in that locality, information of which was conveyed to them by the Indians, who had more regard for them than for the English, as the former supplied them with guns and rum while the latter
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could not do so under penalty of the rigid laws of the general court.
In the latter part of 1633 two settlers of the Dorchester colony visited the Connecticut valley, and found one of the grandest regions that ever awaited the approach of civilization ; with climate and soil diversified by the most remote extremes, a wilderness of beauty and fertility ready to be transformed into a productive agricultural settlement.
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