USA > Maine > The history of Maine, from the earliest discovery of the region by the Northmen until the present time; including a narrative of the voyages and explorations of the early adventurers, the manners and customs of the Indian tribes, the hardships of the first settlers, etc > Part 18
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No treachery was practised. He returned unmolested to the fort. But there he found, greatly to his surprise, that, during his absence, all within the walls, except the members of his own household, availing themselves of the offer to retire with their goods, had hastily seized their effects, hurried to the boats, and had already put out from the shore. As Jocelyn had not accepted the proffered terms, finding himself thus utterly help- less, he was compelled to surrender at discretion.
A naval expedition was sent to Richman's Island to rescue the inhabitants and the property there. As the sailors were removing the property, a part of them being on shore and a part on board the vessel, they were attacked by so overpower- ing a force of Indians, that those on shore were immediately shot or captured. Those on the deck were, by a deadly fire of
1 Mr. Willis thinks that this sad event occurred on what is now called House Island. - Ilistory of Portland, p. 209.
2 Williamson, vol. i. p. 540. Mr. Willis writes, "They left this part of the coun- try in the beginning of October; and, about a week afterwards, the Indians rallied" their forces, a hundred strong, and, Oct. 12, made an assault upon Black Point." - History of Portland, p. 210.
8 Mr. Willis spells this name Jocelyn; Mr. Williamson spells it Joscelyn.
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the savages, driven below. The assailants approached the vessel in their canoes, and cut the cables. A strong south-east wind drove the vessel ashore.
Capt. Fryer, who was in command of the English party, had been struck by a bullet, and was lying upon the cabin floor, helplessly wounded and bleeding. The Indians shouted out to them, that unless they surrendered they would set the vessel on fire, and all should be burned to death. There were eleven in the hold. They agreed to surrender upon condition that they should be permitted to ransom themselves, by the payment of a stipulated amount of goods within a given time.
Two of the prisoners were released to fetch the ransom. They returned with the goods before the appointed time had elapsed. But those Indians, who had agreed to the terms of the capitulation, were absent on a new expedition. Other Indians held the nine remaining captives. These savages killed one of the bearers of the ransom, took the goods, and refused to release the prisoners. "A true specimen this," Williamson writes, " of Indian faith."
Winter came, with its fierce blasts and drifting snows. Still the war raged. Cabins and wigwams blazed. Everywhere terror and misery reigned. The Indians and the English were alike homeless and starving. The chieftain, Mugg, was dis- pleased with the treachery of the vagabond Indians in refusing to surrender the captives upon the receipt of the ransom. He ventured as an ambassador of his superior sagamore, Madocka- wando, to visit Piscataqua, in the endeavor to negotiate, if possible, a peace. He made no attempt to disguise his earnest desire for the cessation of hostilities.
Mugg took with him, and restored to his friends, Capt. Fryer, who was dying of his wounds. He declared himself greatly mortified and indignant that the other captives had not been restored, and promised that they should speedily be set at lib- erty. According to Williamson, Mugg " was favored with an immediate passage to Boston, where he, in behalf of Madocka- wando and Cheberrind, negotiated a treaty." 1
1 Mr. Drake, in his valuable Book of the Indians, gives a less pleasing account of this affair. He writes, "General Gendall of Massachusetts, being there, forced
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The treaty was certainly as favorable to the English as they could have desired. Indeed, it seems impossible that the Indi- ans could have fulfilled its stipulations. It was agreed that all hostilities should cease ; that all captives, and all vessels and goods, which had been seized by the Indians, should be restored ; that the English should receive full satisfaction for all the dam- ages they had experienced ; that the Indians should purchase ammunition only of agents appointed by the government ; and that certain Indians accused of crime should be surrendered for trial and punishment.1 In conclusion of the treaty, this man, whom we call a savage, said, -
" In attestation of my sincerity and honor, I place myself a hostage, in your hands, till the captives, vessels, and goods are restored; and I lift my hand to heaven in witness of my honest heart in this treaty." 2
Two war vessels were sent to the Penobscot to obtain from Madockawando the ratification of the treaty. All the articles received the sanction of the sagamore, and fifty or sixty cap- tives were restored to their desolated homes. But again we come upon contradictory statements which cannot be recon- ciled. Several of the tribes were much displeased with the terms of the treaty, in which every thing seemed to have been surrendered to the English.
With considerable apparent apprehension, Mugg decided to visit the Canibas tribe at Teconnet, opposite the present site of Waterville; to persuade those disaffected warriors to consent to the peace, and to release their captives. In departing, he said
Mugg on board his vessel, and carried him to Boston; for which treacherous act an excuse was pleaded, that he was not invested with sufficient authority to treat with him, Madockawando's ambassador, being now in the power of the English, was obliged to agree to such terms as the English dictated." - Book iii. p. 102.
1 This treaty is given entire in the History of New England, by Daniel Neal, vol. ii. p. 403.
2 "Mugg was the prime minister of the Penobscot sachem, an active and a shrewd leader, but who, by his intimacy with the English families, had worn off some of the ferocities of the savage character." - History of Portland, by William Willis, p. 217.
"Mugg was a chief among the Androscoggins, and very conspicuous in the war of 1676-7, into which he seems to have been brought by the same cause as Madock- awando, already stated. He had been very friendly to the English, and had lived some time with them." - Drake's Book of the Indians, book iii. p. 105.
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to Capt. Moore, " If I do not return in four days, you may con- clude that I am certainly bereft of my life or my liberty."
For some unexplained reason he did not return. Capt. Moore, after waiting a week and hearing no tidings from him, sailed back to Boston. Mr. Hubbard, however, states that it was afterward reported that Mugg said boastfully to the Indians at Teconnet, "I know how we can even burn Boston, and drive all the English before us. But we must go first to the fishing islands, and take all the vessels of the white men."1
We feel bound to record this speech, though it does not seem to be at all in accordance with the character of Mugg, and rests only upon the foundation of rumor. The following incident is much more characteristic of this chief, and is sustained by ample evidence : -
Among the captives found at Penobscot, there was a young man by the name of Cobbet. He was the son of a Christian minister at Ipswich. Having been disabled by a musket wound, he was seized and bound. In the division of the captives, it was his unfortunate lot to be assigned to one of the most bru- tal, drunken, and cruel of the savages. His sufferings were terrible. Several times he narrowly escaped having the knife of the savage plunged into his bosom. Just before Mugg's departure to Teconnet, the friendly chief chanced to meet this victim of demoniac cruelty, and to recognize him as one whom he had seen before. He called him by name, and said, "I saw your father in Boston. I promised him that his son should be returned to him. You must be released, according to the treaty."
Madockawando and Capt. Moore were both standing by. The sagamore feared the fiendlike ferocity of the captive's master, and that Cobbet would certainly be killed if he were released without a ransom.2 He therefore turned to Capt. Moore, and begged him to give as a ransom a showy military
1 Narrative of the Indian Wars, by William Hubbard, p. 386.
2 "Madockawando demanded a ransom, probably to satisfy the owner of the captive, fearing to be killed by him if he yielded him up, without he were there to consent; for he was, he said, a desperate inan if crossed, and had crumbed (killed) two or three in that way." Drake's Book of the Indians, book iii. p. 102. This may imply that Madockawando feared for his own life.
+
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coat which he had in the vessel. The request was granted, and young Cobbet saw his master no more.1
Still there was no settled peace. Many of the Indians were dissatisfied. Though active hostile operations had ceased, there were rumors of threats to break the treaty, and it was said that some captives had not yet been returned. The General Court fitted out a naval expedition of two vessels to visit Casco, and ascend the Kennebec River. There were ninety Englishmen and sixty friendly Natick Indians on board the vessel. They were instructed " to subdue the Indians in those parts, and to deliver the English captives detained in their hands." Majors Waldron and Frost commanded the two vessels.
This ill-starred expedition was as injudiciously conducted as it was unwisely commenced. The troops landed first upon Mare Point, in Brunswick, about three miles below Maquoit. It was then, in Maine, mid-winter. Freezing blasts shook the forests, and deep snow covered the ground. As a party stepped on shore, a small band of Indians met them, accompanied by Squando and the ferocious Simon, the " Yankee-killer." After a short parley, in which Simon declared that they sincerely desired peace, and that they sent Mugg to the English for that purpose, the Indians retired, and were seen no more until noon of the next day.
A fleet of fourteen canoes was then seen ascending the bay ; and, propelled by paddles, they were rapidly approaching the shore near the spot where the vessels were anchored. Soon after, a log house was seen in flames. It was naturally supposed that the Indians had recommenced their work of conflagration and massacre. An armed band was immediately landed, and a battle ensued, in which several of the Indians were killed and many wounded. The English commenced the attack by firing upon the Indians. At length a flag of truce was raised, and the leaders of the two parties met.
" Why," Major Frost demanded of the chiefs, " have you not returned all the captives ? Why have you set the white man's house on fire ? And why have you challenged us to fight ?"
1 See Williamson, vol. i. p. 544, and Drake, book iii. p. 102. "The historians of the war," writes Drake, " have all observed that the prisoners, under Madock- awando, were remarkably well treated."
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The sagamores replied, " The captives are a great way off. The weather is so cold, and the snow so deep, that we could not bring them in. We did not set the house on fire : it took fire accidentally. It was no deed of ours. Your soldiers fired at us first, and we did but return the fire. This is our answer."
Assuming that this statement were true, as it probably was, it must be admitted that, though the Indians were worsted in the battle, they had the best of the argument. The English having only exasperated the natives, and provoked them to revenge by the sight of their dead and their wounded comrades, again spread their sails, and, pressed by wintry blasts, traversed the icy seas to the mouth of the Kennebec. They landed on the western shore, opposite the foot of Arrowsic Island. Here they commenced building a block-house for the establishment of a garrison. It was the latter part of February, 1677. One- half of the men were set diligently at work there.
On the 26th of February, Major Waldron, with the remainder of his company in the two vessels, sailed to Pemaquid to meet two or three sachems, who were accompanied by Indians from several tribes. It was arranged that a council should be held the next day, each party repairing to the rendezvous unarmed. The council met. Major Waldron complained of the hostile spirit still manifested by the Indians, that several captives had not yet been returned ; and he demanded that the tribes, then represented, should enter into an alliance with the English to attack the other Indian tribes which yet remained hostile.
An aged sagamore replied, " Only a few of our young men, whom we cannot restrain, wish to enter upon the war-path. All the captives with us were intrusted to our keeping by the Canabas Indians. For the support of each one of them there is due to us twelve beaver-skins and some good liquor."
The liquor was promptly supplied, and ample ransom offered : and yet but three captives were delivered. We have not been informed whether there were others so far away that they could not be delivered up in so short a time.
The council adjourned, to meet again in the afternoon. Major Waldron was suspicious of treachery. In eagerly looking around he discovered some hidden weapons, and, seizing a lance, he
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brandished it in the air exclaiming, " You perfidious wretches ! you intended to rob us of our goods and then to kill us, did you ? " 1
A tumult ensued. The Indians, in consternation, fled. A well-armed party from the vessels hurried up, and pursued the unarmed Indians, shooting them down. Two of the chiefs and five of the Indians were killed by the bullet. Several of the savages rushed to a canoe. The boat was capsized ; five were drowned, the remainder were captured. One of the chiefs, Megunnaway, was dragged by Major Frost and an English sailor on board one of the vessels, and shot.2 Among the cap- tives there was a sister of Madockawando. It will be remem- bered that one of the daughters of this renowned chieftain had married Baron Castine.3
In addition to the slaughter and the wounds thus inflicted upon the unarmed Indians, the English plundered them of their goods and of their provisions, amounting to a thousand pounds of beef. In allusion to this event, Mr. Williamson, who was by no means disposed to palliate the crimes of the Indians, has very justly remarked, -
" The chastisement partook of a severity which the provocation by no means justified; nor could it be dictated by motives of sound policy. It must have reminded the Indians of the mock fight at Dover, and served to increase their prejudices." 4
From this inglorious enterprise, Majors Waldron and Frost returned to Arrowsic. There they captured and shot two In-
1 "In February, 1677, Major Waldron and Capt. Frost, with a body of men, were sent into the eastern coast to observe the motions of the Indians who still remained hostile. At Pemaquid they were invited on shore to hold a treaty, but the English, finding some weapons concealed among them, thought it a sufficient umbrage to treat them as enemies. A considerable fight ensued, in which many of the Indians were killed, and several taken prisoners." -Drake's Book of the In- dians, book iii. p. 102.
2 Drake's Book of the Indians, book iii. p. 110.
8 Madockawando was chief of the Penobscot tribe. Some mischief had been done by the Androscoggin Indians. The English, following the example of those whom they so much reprobated, retaliated on any Indians that fell in their way. Madockawando was not an enemy; nor do we learn that his people had com- mitted any depredations until after some English had spoiled his corn and other- wise done him damage." - Drake, book iii. p. 100.
4 Williamson, vol. i. p. 547.
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dians whom they found upon the island. They also captured an Indian woman, whom they sent up the Kennebec River to Teconnet, to demand an exchange of prisoners. Taking some anchors and large guns which had been left there, they returned to their garrison on the main land. Leaving forty men for the defence of the works, they returned to Boston, reaching that port on the 11th of March. It was their boast that they had not lost a single man during the enterprise. But, by their folly, they had enkindled anew the flames of horrid war, in which multitudes of men, women, and children were to be consumed.
The Mohawk Indians had the reputation of being the most powerful and ferocious of all the savage tribes. The govern- ment authorities in Massachusetts sent Majors Pinchon and Richards to the country of the Mohawks, to enlist them in the. war against the eastern Indians. Many opposed this measure as barbarous ; others defended it on the ground that it was law- ful to make use of any advantage which Providence might place in their hands.
Eagerly a band of Mohawks rushed to attack the Indians against whom they had no ground of quarrel. Their first ex- ploit was to fall recklessly upon a small party of friendly natives whom they chanced to meet, who were the allies of the Eng- lish. They pursued them hotly, and all but two or three were killed, or wounded and captured. Among the slain there was a noted chief, who, from the loss of an eye, was called Blind Will. He was grievously wounded, and crept away into the woods, where he perished miserably.1
The news of the arrival of the Mohawks, as the hireling sol- diers of the English, spread rapidly through the tribes in Maine, and roused them to the highest pitch of exasperation. Imme- diate and vigorous measures were adopted by them to attack York, Wells, and the garrison at the mouth of the Kennebec. Indeed, nearly all the other important points in Maine had already been laid desolate.
1 "The death of Blind Will was the less lamented because of his supposed du- plicity, though his general conduct had always been in consistency with his pro- fessions. In any point of view the event was unfortunate, as the introduction of the Mohawks to our assistance was altogether impolitic." - Williamson, vol. i. p. 548. See also Trumbull's History of Connecticut, vol. i. p. 326; Hubbard's His- tory of New England, p. 630; Drake's Book of the Indians, book iii. p. 130.
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A party of English, from the garrison, visited Arrowsic. The Indians fired upon them from ambush, and shot down nine upon the spot. Three or four only succeeded in recovering their boat and escaping. This so disheartened and alarmed the survivors, that the post was abandoned, and the men were sent to other points.
Savage bands, breathing threatening and slaughter, now pressed down from the northern and eastern portions of the Province, where they had no foes to encounter, to ravage the few trembling settlements in the vicinity of the Piscataqua. Seven men were at work in a field at York. The prowling savages shot them all down.
Wells seemed doomed to utter destruction. The savages. were as stealthy in their movements as the wolf in his midnight prowlings. No man could leave his cabin door in the morning, or go a few rods from his house into the field, without the apprehension that a savage might be concealed behind every rock, stump, or tree. The cattle were sure to be shot by an invisible foe unless carefully housed.
On the 14th of April, a band of Indians, led by the cele- brated sagamore Simon, crossed the Piscataqua River to the Portsmouth side. They burned a house, and took a mother, with an infant child, and a young girl, captives. There was an aged woman in the family. Simon said that she should not be harmed, because in former years she had been kind to his grand- mother. He also gave the infant child to her to tend. It is difficult to reconcile the contradictory reports about this strange man. Sometimes he is represented as a demon ; and again he develops traits of character remarkably humane. He was one of the " praying Indians," so called, and seems certainly to have known the better way if he did not always follow it.1
1 It is said that on one occasion Simon sat with an English justice to decide upon a criminal case. Several women, Simon's wife among the rest, had com- mitted some offence. Judge Almy thought that they should be punished with eight or ten stripes each.
"No," said Simon, "four or five are enough. Poor Indians are ignorant. It is not Christian to punish as severely those who are ignorant as those who have knowledge.”
This judgment prevailed. But then Judge Almy inquired, "How many stripes shall your wife receive?" Simon promptly replied, "Double, because she had
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On the 16th of May the Indians attacked with great boldness the garrison at Black Point. Lieut. Tappan defended it. For three days there was almost a constant battle. Three of the English were shot. One was captured, and was put to death with horrible torments.
In this conflict the chieftain Mugg was struck by a bullet, and fell dead. This so disheartened the assailants that they retired. They left, by water, in two bands. One fleet of eleven canoes paddled to the eastward. The other band, in five canoes, proceeded towards York and Wells, killing and burning as they had opportunity.1
A new force was raised, by the General Court, of two hundred Natick Indians and ninety white men, consisting principally of those whom the Indians had driven from Maine. Capt. Ben- jamin Swvett and Lieut. Richardson, two very brave and very imprudent men, were placed in command. They reached the fort at Black Point in high spirits, on the 28th of June. The shrewd savages, who, in large numbers, were hovering around, began as usual to prepare their ambuscade. The English offi- cers, as usual, commenced their march into it.
The Indians sent out their decoy. The ninety white men rushed out upon them. The Indians feigned a retreat. Their victims followed. With pell-mell inconsiderateness, the English pursued their foes till they were entirely in the trap. There was a dense forest on one side, a swamp, covered with an im- penetrable thicket, on the other. Both sides were filled with Indian warriors, laughing at the folly of the white men. There was a volley of musketry from an invisible foe, followed by a
knowledge to have done better." Judge Almy, out of regard to Simon, remitted his wife's punishment entirely. Simon seemed much disturbed; but at the time he made no reply. Soon afterwards, however, he remonstrated very severely against the decision of the judge.
"To what purpose," said he, "do we preach a religion of justice, if we do unrighteousness in judgment?" - Drake's Book of the Indians, book i. p. 22.
This anecdote may be apocryphal; but, if fabricated, it shows the reputation he enjoyed as a man of discretion. It is said that this event took place when Simon was an aged man, and when, by the power of Christianity, his character may have been greatly changed.
1 "Mugg had alternately brightened and shaded his own character until the most skilful pencil would find it difficult to draw its just portrait. His address was inspiring, and his natural good sense and sagacity partially inclined him to be an advocate for peace." - Williamson, vol. i. p. 550.
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continuous, rapid discharge. The dead and the wounded were dropping in all directions. Lieut. Richardson was one of the first shot down.
It was an awful scene of tumult and slaughter. The hideous yells of the Indians almost drowned the rattle of musketry. Capt. Swett, as brave as he was reckless, fought like a lion. Slowly he commenced a retreat of two miles, endeavoring to carry his wounded with him. The savages, flushed with their victory, hung upon his rear, manifesting even more than their ordinary ferocity. In their outnumbering strength they so crowded the fugitives that there were frequent hand-to-hand fights. In this terrible retreat Capt. Swett received twenty wounds. At length, when exhausted by fatigue and the loss of blood, he was seized by a burly savage, hurled to the ground, and was literally hewn in pieces by the tomahawk. Sixty of his men perished in this terrible disaster. It sent lifelong woes to many families, whose cup of misery seemed already full to the brim. Capt. Swett had won universal respect by his bravery and his many virtues. His death was deeply lamented.1
There can be no question that the responsibility of this war rests mainly with the white men. The Indians desired peace ; but, when goaded to war by intolerable wrongs, they conducted the conflict in accordance with the dictates of their own savage natures. Mr. Bourne very truthfully says, -
" The wickedness of man was about to bring its deadly influences to the ruin of the peace and progress of the settlement. King Philip, believing himself wronged in his intercourse with the white man, and ruminating on the cruel kidnappings of his brothers and the English usurpation of his domains, determined to destroy the cruel intruders. His intellectual power was far in advance of the generality of the sachems. He claimed to have free communication with the Great Spirit, and to derive from this inter- course, instructions as to his manner of life; and he told the tribe that the white men were bent on driving them from their possessions, and called upon them, as with the voice of the great Father, to destroy them from off the land." 2
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