USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 5
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WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
minds. Therefore, they were treated much as children of reasonable understanding would have been. .
To the final end, the settlers never comprehended the natives and differentiated little between the Indian and the white. The white man brought his produce to the Pynchon store and bartered for clothing, tools or other necessities and so did the Indian in exactly the same way. Debit and credit accounts were kept with English and Indians alike. The natives came and went in the village in as familiar a way as the dogs or the Negro servants, where many were commonly known by their English nicknames. They were made to accept responsibility for their acts and held amenable to the same laws as bound the set- tlers. Of the native men, there were hardly more than a score in all, each of whom was known by sight and by name, to the villagers of this little English settlement of not more than fifty houses. The old records are quite conclusive on this point.
John Pynchon, in his account books, notes that "in page 20 of old book, John, ye Indian, owes me since 1659 16 shillings, 6 pence, and he can well allow me now 20 shillings." Thus was John being taught the meaning of the word interest, and shown that it applied to overdue accounts.
The court records show that in March, 1665, "an Indian called Sequinnatuck, from Springfield, deserves some help from this court, in respect of a sentence against him by Springfield commissioners for taking two guns from him for Thomas Miller. This court ordered that Springfield commissioners review the case between Thomas Miller and the said Indian." It was the intention, not only to mete out impartial justice to the natives, but if they felt aggrieved, they had the white man's right of appeal to a higher court.
In September, 1666, John Pynchon brought suit against Panesan and his wife Paupsunnuck, for the collection of a mortgage on their land, and the jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, for the full amount of his claim, with court costs, which were:
For entry 10 Shillings
Witnesses
3
Plaintiffs' allowance at court. 3
Attachment 6 Pence
The constable going to Westfield to serve it. 5 Shillings
Man with the constable, 1 day. 2
66
23s 6d
Small wonder, with the luxury of litigation on such an expensive basis, that in 1670, "Cuttonis the Indian, to prevent a suit at this court from Capt. Pynchon, acknowledges that he owes Capt. Pynchon." At the same court term, "the Indian Wequash, having had damage done him in his corn, a little before this last harvest, by swine, judged at 25 bushels, and four bushels of damage done to Cogoransset, the case being pleaded in court by Samuel Marshfield, the court deter-
37
INDIAN GARB
mined the owners of the swine should pay them so much corn." Here were two Indians, with a just claim, represented by their attorney, given damages in full.
In 1669, "the Indians of Springfield were presented for breach of ye Sabbath, traveling to and fro, and working, and some of them appearing in court for the rest, and it being found they have been formerly complained of and admonished for ye like offense, they are fined 40-8, vizt, to pay 20 bushels of Indian corn to ye county treas- urer for ve use of ye county, but upon their petition for abatement thereof, and promising better order, the fine was brought to 10 bushels Indian corn." The laws of the colony prevented the English from being abroad or working on Sunday and the rule was unques- tionably applied to the Indians.
In May, 1671, Allignat alias Neemp, and Wallump complained to the general court that an Indian named Amoakisson had sold to Thomas Cooper a tract of land that was really their property, and that they were unable to obtain any redress or any part of the pay- ment. The matter was referred to the Springfield court, where "the said Indian sachems also here appearing and declaring again their grievance,-Lieutenant Cooper also being present, after debate of the case in court, and between themselves, at last they declared them- selves agreed about the matter, vizt,-that Lieutenant Cooper shall and will allow the said Indians, 110 fatham of wampum, 50 fatham whereof is to be paid as he, Lieutenant Cooper receives it of the Indian called Watchwhaet, about whom Lieutenant Cooper hath taken and bestowed much care and pains about his broken bones this sum- mer now past, ye said Indians accepting thereof. And the 60 fatham is to be paid within one year from this time." Thus did the white man guard the wealth and the health of the native.
At the September court, 1672, "Mr. Glover complains against Robin, the Indian, for stealing three or four gold rings and two half crowns, English money, knives &c. Search being made for them, they were found, viz, the rings in his wigwam,-the money he had sold to goodman Ely, and all are restored to Mr. Glover, and Robin, being apprehended and put in prison, he made his escape from the gaoler before other punishment could be inflicted on him."
In March, 1674, "the will and testament of an Indian called Harry, late of Northampton and the inventory of his estate was pre- sented to this court."
At the spring term, 1676, "an Indian called by ye English, Joseph, accused Thomas Wells, Jr., that he sold him the 27th of May, 1675, three quarts of liquors." Just other times, and other reasons. Change the names and the dates and we would have the bootlegger of these days.
The Indians early adopted the English made "Indian coat" which really was but a blanket, but later they dressed much as the settlers did, though perhaps in brighter colors.
Umpanchala's account at the Pynchon store in 1659 and 1660 is indicative of his mode of dress at that time. It includes :
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WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Two blue coats. £2-10s
One blue waistcoat. 12s
One shirt. . 10s
One pair of breeches 6s
For the year from September, 1659, to September, 1660, he had of Pynchon, clothing, guns, kettles, etc., to the value of £75, which he paid for in land. If in the 23 years from 1636 to 1659, Umpanchala had progressed from native skins, to shirts, coats, waistcoats, and breeches, it is fair to assume that Toto, living in an older and earlier settled community would dress much like an Englishman. Especially does this seem true when it is considered that aside from the ques- tion of comfort and convenience, the English clothing was much more economical for the Indians.
The most desired fur was that of the beaver and it was also the most plentiful, and the easiest to acquire. With the exception of the otter, it was the most durable of native furs. The average beaver skin measured 24 by 36 inches or six square feet, and the standard of weight was four ounces per square foot, or a pound and half to a skin. Pynchon paid 10 shillings a pound for beaver, which made the average skin worth 15 shillings. Two-thirds of a yard of any material of a yard in width would not go very far toward the making of a pair of breeches such as Pynchon sold for six shillings-only two-fifths of what he would pay for a skin of that size. And the saving of labor involved in the making of skins into garments was an item of importance to the indolent natives.
Thus it seems reasonable to say that by 1675, these local Indians, as they paddled their dug-outs up and down the river, or lolled about the town street, or came to the village store for a chat, or for clothing or provisions, differed little in appearance from the English settlers.
Misled by romantic tales, it may be argued that while such dress may have been worn by Indians of the village, that in war time they would revert to a primitive costume, but there is abundant testimony to the contrary.
In February, 1676, Lancaster was assaulted by the Indians and Mary Rowlandson, wife of the town pastor, was taken captive. Eventually she was ransomed but for nearly 12 weeks she accom- panied the natives as they wandered from place to place. She was present when various towns were attacked, and saw the loot and the prisoners brought in. She was compelled to labor for her captors, and from her narrative these items are culled :
"I was at this time knitting a pair of white stockings for my mistress," that is, the squaw in whose charge she was.
"Another asked me to knit a pair of stockings. Then came an Indian to me with a pair of stockings which were too big for him, and he would have me ravel them out, and knit them fit for him.
"Then came an Indian and asked me to knit him three pair of stockings. To make a shirt for his boy, which I did. He asked me to make a shirt for a papoose. If I would make another shirt for a papoose, not yet born.
39
INDIAN GARB
"Bid me make a shirt for his papoose, of a Holland laced pillow- beer," which he had taken at the sack of some town.
"Another asked me to make her a shirt, for which she gave me an apron. He asked me to make a cap for his boy."
But even more conclusive was an event when they had just crossed Millers River and were on their way to Wachuset (Princeton).
"In that time came a company of Indians to us, near 30, all on horseback. My heart skipped within me, thinking they had been Englishmen, at the first sight of them, for they were dressed in Eng- lish apparel, with hats, white neck cloths and sashes about their waists and ribbons upon their shoulders."
There were feast days for the Indians. The sacking of the towns and the plunder secured, enabled them to indulge their fancies to an unusual degree, and probably many a hitherto meagerly attired native was more fully decked out with the coveted white man's attire than was usual to him. That it was desired and acquired whenever possible, store accounts and records show. That it was a much sought object of loot, there is much evidence.
Toto was a protege of the Wolcott family at Windsor, and undoubtedly dressed as did his fellows of both races. A bronze statue of the savior of Springfield, in such a garb, would of course be an incongruous thing, but a representation of an Indian in proper native dress, erected frankly as a mere memorial to friendly Indian, would be most appropriate, whether the setting was Forest Park or Long Hill. But such a representation should not include the many-feathered head dress-the so-called "war bonnet," worn by the Indians of the Western plains. While such a bit of finery might have been desirable on the open prairie, it would have been most unsuited for the use of the woods Indians of New England and was never worn by them.
During the 40 years from the settlement in 1636, up to the time of King Philip's war, the growth of Springfield was slight in compari- son with that of the Connecticut towns, lower down on the river, which had been established at about the same time. A manuscript in the British museum cited in Judd's History of Hadley, gives an account of all the trading towns and ports upon the sea and navigable rivers, with the number of houses in each town," in 1675. Included in this list are:
Hartford
500 houses
Windsor
400
Wethersfield
150
66
Farmington
100
Northampton
100 66
Hadley
100
Hatfield
50
Springfield
50
Northfield
30
Deerfield
30
66
This meager showing for Springfield was in part due to a pre- conceived plan to make the settlement a community of picked men.
40
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
It was May 14, 1636 that the settlers affirmed: "We intend that our town shall be composed of 40 families, or if we think mete, after, to alter our purpose, yet not to exceed the number of 50 families, rich and poor. Every inhabitant shall have a convenient proportion for a house lot, as we shall see mete, for every ones quality and estate." Under the dominating Pynchon influence, this plan was rather strictly adhered to, and many a desirous settler was warned out of town.
In accordance with this scheme, the plot from the town street to the river, and from Cypress to York Streets was divided up into some 40 house lots, 80 rods long, from the street to the river. Most of these were eight rods wide, making an area of four acres, but to Pynchon, his son-in-law Henry Smith, Jehu Burr and others who had forwarded and financed the project, larger tracts were allotted. Pynchon was also given 17 acres between York Street and Mill River, for a mill project. The land to the north and to the south was designed for pasturage and the Agawam meadows for planting grounds.
For transportation between these planting grounds and their homes, the pioneers used canoes. While the bark canoe of northern New England was not entirely unknown here, it was the dug-out of the local natives that was in common use. This was not only an unwieldy craft, but it was very laboriously made and trees of a size and quality suitable for its fashioning were hard to obtain. Due to the custom of the natives of burning over the land each spring and fall there was little real timber. In Massachusetts as a whole there is today probably greater forest area than there was when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. Consequently, in 1638, stringent rules were applied to the cutting of trees, and in 1639 the scarcity of canoes was such that it was ordered that no one was "to sell or anyways pass away any canoe out of ye plantation." These condi- tions all added to the natural handicaps encountered in wresting a livelihood from the wilderness.
When the restraining hand of the master was removed by the return of William Pynchon to England about 1652 the tracts north to Round Hill and south of Mill River were divided into lots, but these were not used to encourage the bringing in of new settlers. They were allotted to the members of the community, and very shortly a considerable proportion of them came into the hands of John Pynchon, either for debt or by way of exchange.
It was of course impossible for the settlers to support themselves on these pitiful little farms made necessary by the unfortunate situa- tion of the town. It resulted in the refusal of some of the original projectors to even attempt to settle. Others became discouraged and left after a year or two. Children married, but having no place to build, were forced to remain under the parental roof tree. There was a gradual reaching out and search for greater opportunities where agricultural requirements could be more fully met. Whole families dropped out to try their fortunes in the territories which later became West Springfield, Westfield, Longmeadow, Northampton, Hadley, Hatfield and Deerfield.
41
INDIAN GARB
This all resulted in the town becoming an industrial community whose people derived the major part of their living, directly or indirectly, from the Pynchon enterprises. These were of vast pro- portions, considering the times and conditions, the first being the grist mill on Mill River. John Pynchon became a merchant with such a varied and complete stock that his retail trade extended from Hadley and Northampton even to Windsor and Wethersfield. He had storehouses at Warehouse Point and docks and warehouses at Boston, where his two sons and his son-in-law received and forwarded the imports and exports. He also had an extensive plant at the Barba- does. In 1652 he was a one-sixteenth part owner in the ship May- flower. In 1659 he owned the ship Desire, and by 1675 the John's Adventure had been added to his fleet. In 1685 a ship was built for him at the Marshall shipyard in Windsor. In 1689 he was a one- eighth part owner of the ketch Northerne Venture, trading to the West Indies. All these, and others, were freighting out Connecticut Valley products and bringing in goods for the colonists.
In 1649 William Pynchon was associated with John Winthrop, the younger, in developing the graphite mine at Tantiusques, Stephen Day being the resident agent at the property.
Every natural product was utilized to its fullest extent. In 1692 a plant was established for the distillation of turpentine and the manufacture of rosin. By 1698 a blast furnace and foundry was in operation on Mill River, using native ore brought from south of the Chicopee River at Chicopee Falls.
But all these enterprises were overshadowed in volume and extent by the fur trade, founded by William Pynchon and continued by his son John. Their plan was the same as that adopted years later by the great Hudson Bay Company and so successfully carried on for two and a half centuries.
At Albany, Timothy Cooper had charge of the trading house and at Housatonic was Major Hawthorne, ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Thomas Cooper was at Westfield, Joseph Parsons and John Webb at Nalwatog, and Benjamin Waite and John Westearr at Hadley.
From this small territory, great quantities of furs were taken. For the three years, 1652 to 1654, inclusive, the beaver skins alone averaged 2,000 a year. At 10 shillings a pound this would equal about $7,500 a year, quite a sizable sum for those days. Some idea of the importance of the younger Pynchon's activities is gained by comparing his results with those of the Hudson Bay Company, the greatest fur company of history, which began collecting furs in the winter of 1668-69. After two seasons' operations it held its first sale at London in December, 1671, when 2,000 beaver skins were sold. This comparatively small quantity of a thousand skins a year, but half of Pynchon's average was in spite of the fact that it had the whole northern part of North America to draw on, while Pynchon was limited to a corner of Massachusetts.
42
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
These varied undertakings required the services of every abe- bodied man in the town. John Matthews was the cooper who made the hogsheads in which the furs were shipped to England and the firkins in which butter was packed for the Boston market, the vats for the Pynchon cider mill and miscellaneous containers for individual use of the settlers.
Anthony Dorchester was in charge of the grist mill in William Pynchon's day but when John Pynchon built the saw mill on Mill River in 1667, Dorchester took over the saw mill and John Warner became the miller. Cornelius Williams was paid £45 for "making ye saw mill, ye whole worke." Dorchester contracted "to cart all the timber for the saw mill wherever Mr. Andrews and Cornelius shall need it."
Samuel Terry and Benjamin Cooley were weavers of linen. John Stewart shod the horses and oxen, made the household utensils and builders' hardware as well as tomahawks for the Indian trade and tools for the graphite mine.
Samuel Marshfield and Thomas Stebbins both were tailors, mak- ing clothing for the townspeople as well as for the shelves of the Pynchon store-the coats, waist coats and breeches bought alike by white men and red men. John Ladd was the tanner who prepared the leather for shoes, harness and saddlery. His shop was on Garden Brook, near where the Hampden Paint Company now is. Hugh Parsons was a bricklayer. Rowland Thomas carted stone from "the hither stone place," for foundations and fireplaces.
The tiny windows of the houses and the church were made by John Gilbert. John Hitchcock made charcoal for the blacksmith and the blast furnace for which he was paid twelve shillings for each load of ninety-six bushels.
Miles Morgan and Thomas Merrick made numberless journeys to the storehouses at the foot of the falls at Warehouse Point, carry- ing down produce for shipment and bringing back the goods which Pynchon's sea-going ships unloaded there.
Daniel Denton was the schoolmaster and George Moxon the pastor until he was succeeded by Pelatiah Glover. Nathaniel Ely kept the inn and Simon Lobdel was keeper of the house of correction, which was on Maple Street, south of Temple.
Even the women and children contributed their share, stringing literally miles of wampum beads, which were brought from the coast in bulk-twenty-four beads to the hand, ten hands to the fathom. The fifty fathoms of wampum given for the land at Agawam in 1666 was made up of 12,000 tiny shell beads, strung by some industrious housewife.
It was very nearly a self-contained and self-supporting com- munity. The fifty houses which made up the town probably cared for sixty to seventy families, with a total population of some four hundred people.
Such was the local situation when the Indians began their war of extermination in 1675.
CHAPTER V Indian Canoes
I N POPULAR fancy, the birch bark canoe is typical of the Indian and so has become a symbol of the entire race. In fact, it was known and used in a very small part of America.
It has been said, that south of 42°-45" north latitude, the canoe birch (betula papyrifera) did not grow to a size sufficient for the making of a canoe. As this is the vicinity of Cape Ann on the Atlantic and the Mohawk River in New York State, the statement seems to be substantiated by accounts of early writers. Reference here, is of course to the aboriginal canoe, made of one piece of bark. In more modern times, as adequate adhesives became available, canoes were made of cemented sheets of bark, taken from smaller trees, which apparently could be found as far south as Pennsylvania.
As will be here shown, the birch bark canoe was in common use by the natives of the Atlantic coast from Cape Ann to Labrador; of both sides of the St. Lawrence River and of the north shore of the Great Lakes. South of the Great Lakes, the Iroquois used elm and possibly oak bark. In practically all the rest of the present United States, before the coming of Europeans, water transport was by the dug-out canoe.
Cartier seems to be the earliest explorer to leave any mention of bark canoes. At the Strait of Belle Isle, north of Newfoundland, in 1534, he saw the Indians with "canoes made of bark in which they go about and from which they catch many seals".
In May, 1603, at Tadoussac, Champlain saw "nearly two hundred canoes, which go wonderfully fast; for although our shallop was well manned, yet they went faster than ourselves. Two only do the work of propelling the boat, a man and a woman. Their canoes are from eight to nine paces long and about a pace or pace and a half broad in the middle, growing narrower towards the two ends. They are very apt to turn over, in case one does not understand managing them, and are made of birch bark, strengthened on the inside by little ribs of white cedar, very neatly arranged. They are so light that a man can easily carry one. Each can carry a weight equal to that of a pipe. When they want to go overland to a river where they have business, they carry them with them. From Chouacoet (Saco, Maine) all along the coast as far as the harbor of Tadoussac, they are all alike".
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WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
On Champlain's map illustrating the defeat of the Iroquois at Lake Champlain in 1608, he designates the location of the "canoes of the enemy (Iroquois) made of oak bark, each holding ten, fifteen or eighteen men" and the "Canoes of our allied savages (Montagnais, Hurons and Algonquins) made of birch bark".
On July 16, 1605, Champlain came to Cape Ann, the latitude of which he gave as "forty-three degrees and some minutes". Passing Emmerson's Point, the eastern extremity of Cape Ann, he anchored near Thatcher's Island, where he found the canoes of the natives "made of birch bark, like those of the Canadians, Souriquois and Etechemins". Continuing, they "sailed seven or eight leagues and anchored near an island" which is supposed to have been Noddle's Island in Boston Harbor. "The canoes of those who live there are made of a single piece, and are very liable to upset if one is not skill- ful in managing them. We had not before seen any of this kind. They are made in the following manner. After cutting down, at a cost of much labor and time, the largest and tallest tree they can find, by means of stone hatchets, they remove the bark and round off the tree except on one side, where they apply fire gradually along its entire length and sometimes they put red hot pebble stones on top. When the fire is too fierce, they extinguish it with a little water, not entirely, but so that the edge of the boat may not be burnt. When it is as hollow as they wish, they scrape it all over with stones, which they use instead of knives. These stones resemble our musket flints."
The Canadians were the Indians in the neighborhood of Quebec. The Souriquois were those people of Nova Scotia, subsequently known as the Micmacks. The Etechemins occupied the territory from Saco, Maine, to Saint John, New Brunswick. The Montagnais were a tribe roaming over a vast territory; an indefinite region on the north side of the St. Lawrence, whose headquarters were at Tadoussac. The Hurons occupied the eastern bank of Lake Huron and the southern shores of Georgian Bay. The Algonquins were of the regions of the Ottawa. To all these Champlain assigned the birch bark canoe.
Father Le Jeune first arrived at Tadoussac on June 18, 1632, where he "saw savages for the first time. As soon as they saw our vessel, two of them came on board in a little canoe very neatly made of bark".
De Vries went up the Hudson in 1638 and at the Mohawk found that "their canoes or boats are made of the bark of trees and will carry five or six persons. They also hollow out trees and use them for boats and skiffs, some of which are very large, and I have fre- quently seen eighteen or twenty seated in a hollow log go along the river and I have myself had a wooden canoe in which I could carry two hundred and twenty five bushels of maize". This reference to log canoes is obviously to the canoes of the lower Hudson, where De Vries had his home.
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