USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. I > Part 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
On the 19th of September, 1816, at Old-town village, Saga- more Aitteon, John Neptune, next in grade and command, and two captains were inducted into office, with the customary cere- monies. To assist in these, the chiefs and 15 or 20 other princi- pal men from each of the tribes at St. John's river and at Passa- maquoddy, had previously arrived, appearing in neat and becom- ing dresses, all in the Indian fashion.
Early in the forenoon, the men of the Tarratine tribe, conven- ing in the great wigwam, called the camp, seated themselves on
* They are in modern times called Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Captains,-names borrowed from the English.
Tarratine
ducted into office.
496
THE HISTORY
[VOL. 1.
A. D 1615, the side platform according to seniority, Aitteon, Neptune, and to 1675. Indian chiefs in- ducted into office. the select captains at the head, near the' door; the former two being clad in coats of scarlet broadcloth and decorated with silver brooches, collars, arm-clasps, jewels, and other ornaments. Upon a spread before them, of blue cloth, an ell square, were exhibited four silver medals ; three of which were circular and twice the size of a dollar, the other was larger, in the form of a crescent. All these were emblematically inscribed with curious devices, and suspended by parti-colored ribbons, a yard in length, with ends tied. Aware of gentlemen's wishes to be spectators of the ceremonials, they directed the Indian, acting the part of marshal, to invite them into the camp. The admission of the female vis- itants was also requested ; but he replied, as directed by the chiefs,-' never our squaws, nor yours, set with us in council.'
The spectators being seated below the tribe, upon the platform, or benches, covered with blankets; the Marechite delegation, preceded by their chief, entered the camp in true Indian file, and sat down, according to individual rank, directly before the Tarra- tines. These now uncovered their heads and laid aside their caps and hats, till the ceremonies were closed.
Four belts of wampam, brought into the camp by a stately Marechite, were unfolded and placed in the area upon a piece of broadcloth, which enclosed them ; when his Sagamore, presently rising, took and held one of them in his hands, and addressed Aitteon, from five to ten minutes, in a courtly speech of pure ver- nacular, laying the belt at his feet. Three others in rotation, and next in rank, of the same tribe, addressed, in a similar manner, the Tarratine candidates of comparative grade ;- all which were tokens of unchanging friendship and sanctions of perpetual union. The Sagamore, then taking the medal nearest Aitteon, addressed him and his tribe in another speech of the same length as the former ; in the course of which he came three or four times to momentary pauses, when the Tarratines collectively uttered deep guttural sounds, like " aye." These were evident expressions of their assent to have Aitteon, Neptune, Francis, and the other, their first and second Sagamores, and two senior captains. The speaker, closing his remarks, advanced and placed the suspended medal, as the badge of investiture, about Aitteon's neck,-the act by which he was formally inducted into office and constituted
497
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
Sagamore for life. Neptune and the two captains, in their turns, A. D. 1615, after being shortly addressed by the other Marechite actors, were to 1675. invested by them with the ensigns of office in the same way.
Indian chiefs in- ducted into
During these ceremonies, the 'Quoddy Indians without, stood office. around a standard, twenty feet in height, to and from the top of which, they alternately hoisted and lowered a flag, as each Tarra- tine was inducted into office ; at the same time and afterwards, firing salutes from a well-loaded swivel, near the same place.
Mr. Romaigne, the catholic priest, attired in a white robe and long scarf, having seated himself among the Tarratines, before the ceremonies were commenced, now rising, read appropriate passages from the Scriptures in Latin, and expounded them in the Indian dialect ; and next a psalm, which he and the Marechites chaunted with considerable harmony. In the midst of the sa- cred song, the whole of them moved slowly out of the camp, preceded by the priest, leaving the Tarratines seated ; and form- ing a circle in union with the 'Quoddy Indians, stood and sang devoutly several minutes, and closed with a " Te Deum."
The priest then departed to his house ; and the Indians enter- ing the camp, took their seats-the 'Quoddy Indians in a lower place, abreast the sitting spectators, when they commenced their tangible salutations. In this form of civility, each of the two delegations rising in turn, literally embraced, cheek and lips, the four new-made officers, and shook heartily by the hand, all the others of the tribe.
The gentlemen, at the marshal's request, now withdrew ;- to be spectators only about the doors and apertures; when the Tarratine females, clad in their best dresses and fancifully orna- mented, joined for the first time, the Indian assemblage, and the whole formed an elliptical circle for dances. In close Indian file they moved forward in successive order, with a kind of double shuffle, to their former places, animated by the music of a light beat upon a drum, in the midst of the circus, with the ac- companiment of a vocal tune .* The female dancers then retir- ed ; the Indians took their seats ; and the spectators were re-ad- mitted.
To close the ceremonies, four chief men of the Marechites
* Formerly their chief instruments were rattles, made of small gourds and pumpkin shells .- Smith, p. 32.
VOL. I.
50
498
THE HISTORY
[VOL. I.
A. D. 1615, severally rose in succession and sang short songs, somewhat en- to 1675. tertaining, which were duly responded by others from the new- Indian chiefs in- ducted into office. made officers ; throughout which, the whole assemblage uttered, at almost every breath, a low-toned emphatic guttural sound, not unlike a hickup-the singular way by which they expressed their plaudits and pleasures.
More than three hours were consumed in these ceremonies ; which were succeeded by a feast already preparing. Two fat oxen, slaughtered and severed into pieces, were roasting; rice, beans, and garden vegetables were boiling; and bread-loaves and crackers were abundant. If the cookery, neatness and order, were unworthy of modern imitation; the defects were counter- balanced by the hearty invitations and welcomes, with which all the visitants equally with the natives, were urged to become par- takers, both of the repast and of the festive scenes. The regu- larities of the day relaxed to rude dances and wild sports in the evening, which were by no means free from extravagance and excess.
Confedera- cies of the natives.
These circumstances are evincive of the cordial fraternity and political union of these three tribes. Never have they been known on any emergency, to act otherwise than in concert. Nor have we any accounts, that either of the Abenaques tribes ever took arms against the others. It is certain, the ties of their at- tachment were uniformly strong; and in every movement, there was great unanimity. Among the Mickmak Sagamores we find, likewise, an ardent coalescence ; there being no traditional report of their making war at any time upon each other. But no con- federacy or union existed between any two of the three great Aberginean, Abenaques, and Etechemin people mentioned, until Philip's war, when a common interest softened their asperities towards one another, and urged them into a general warfare against the colonists.
Intercourse nists and natives.
During fifty years, the planters and traders in Maine, had of the colo- great intercourse with the natives, undisturbed by any open rup- ture. When they commenced hostilities, they were full of re- venge and greedy of spoils. No presents, no treaties, no other expedient could, for any length of time, bind them in the bonds of peace. Their jealousies and antipathies towards the English were habitual; and when it was too late, they had a fearful vision of ultimate exile or utter extinction. Within a period of eighty-
499
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
five years, between the war of Philip, A. D. 1675, and the cap- A. D. 1615, ture of Quebec, the inhabitants of Maine have been extreme to 1675. sufferers in six Indian wars ;*- some of which were long and all Six Indian wars and
of them bloody. The 1st, lasted three years ; the 2d, nine and treaties. a half ; the 3d, ten ; the 4th, three and a half ; the 5th, four, and the 6th, five years. The number of treaties have been much greater ; our political relations with the tribes, till they became extinct or peaceable, being always of considerable importance.
All acts and proceedings of the natives are regulated by a Laws and present sense of fitness, and immediate benefit. They have no written constitution, no code of laws, no judicial process, no per- manent documents. The fires of avarice and ambition,-the passions for riches and influence, which are the great disturbers of the civilized world, lie comparatively dormant in the savage breast. The Indians are a very peculiar race. Their territories are holden by the tribe in common ; individuals are willing stran- gers to an extended commerce and to accumulated wealth ; and therefore, no regulations are needed among them, except what are made for the purpose of preventing and punishing personal injuries.
Their laws of course consist of a few immemorial usages and plain maxims,-manifestly the mere dictates of natural reason. Checks and restraints must be given to the malignant passions ; otherwise no ligaments are strong enough to bind firmly
* The wars and principal treaties with the eastern tribes :- Mugg's treaty, Nov. 6, 1676 .- 2 Neal's N. E. p. 403-5.
1. King Philip's war, from June 24, 1675, to the treaty of Casco, April 12, 1678 .- Mass. Rec .- Treaty of Portsmouth, Sept. 8, 1685 .- Belknap's N. H. p. 348.
2. King William's war, from August 13, 1688, to the treaty of Mare- point, Brunswick, January 7, 1699 .- 2 Math. Magnal. p. 556-7 .- Treaty of Pemaquid, August 11, 1693 .- 2 Math. Mag. p. 542-3, entire.
3. Queen Anne's war, from August, 1703, to the treaty of Portsmouth, July 11, 1713 .- Penhallow's Indian Wars .- 1 Coll. N. H. Hist. Soc. p. 83-6. 4. Lovwell's war, from June 13, 1722, to Dummer's celebrated treaty, Dec. 15, 1725 .- Secretary's Office, Boston,-entire.
5. The Spanish, or five years' Indian ^var, from July 19, 1745, to the trea- ty of Falmouth, Oct. 16, 1749 .- 9 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 220-3 .- Treaty of Halifax, August 15, 1749 .- Secretary's Office, Boston.
6. French and Indian war, from April, 1755, to the conquest of Quebec, and treaty of Halifax, Feb. 22, 1760, and Pownal's treaty, April 29 .- Sec. Office.
Treaty with the Mickmaks and Marechites, July 19, 1776.
regulations.
500
THE HISTORY
[VOL. I.
A. D. 1615, a community together. The principal crimes which occur among to 1675.
the Indians are homicides, violent assaults, and drunkenness ;- sometimes treachery, theft and adulterous intercourse. But they are strangers to arson, robbery, burglary, perjury, forgery, frauds, ravishment and many other offences, which so much disturb and blacken civilized society.
Offences and redress.
Crimes and aggravated misdemeanors are summarily examin- ed by the Sagamore and chief men, who prescribe and dictate what punishment shall be inflicted upon the guilty. A murderer, according to the statement of Neptune and Francis, is tied to a tree, and there shot to death by one of the captains. Sometimes his life is spared upon his engagement to support the wife, the chil- dren, or helpless relations of the slain ; yet doomed to be forever an outcast from the tribe. This and treason are the only crimes among them, punishable with death. If we may believe Capt. Francis,-" Indians seldom steal from Indians ;" yet if one should be guilty of theft, Neptune says, he is tied fast to a tree and whipped till he confesses, and brings forth what he has stolen.
Quarrels among them and batteries are not uncommon. An- tagonists never strike. They clinch, and then struggle furiously to throw each other upon the ground ; when the victor seizes the hair of his fallen adversary, wrenches and twists his neck violent- ly ; and sometimes with his heel, gives repeated blows in his face. This is oftentimes done even in the view, and with the approba- tion, of the chief men, when they are convinced of the sufferer's villainy,
If female continency and chastity, be seldom solicited or vio- lated, there have been instances of lascivious intercourse, attend- ed with fearful evils, An affair of this character, a few years since, happened at a chief's camp, or hunting wigwam in the for- est, between his wife and an under chief, when the husband was absent. The shrewd native, suspecting the crime, made her con- fess it, and then forgave her ; determining to wreak his venge- ance only on the adulterer. Once they met and strove to take each other's life, in a combat with knives; nor were they without great difficulty separated. These transactions occurring, while the two men were at the head of the Tarratine tribe, have divided it into dire parties, who are not yet reconciled.
Revenge is fully justified, as the Indians believe, in this class of offences ; and should the blood of the criminal be spilt by the
501
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
avenger, its voice could never reach the ear of the tribe. A A. D. 1615, birth without a marriage was never known to occur, except in a Offences to 1675. very few instances, where the putative father is a white man ; and and redress. then the mother's former female associates subsequently avoid her society. Some, however, suppose this causes more resent- ment than disgrace. A Frenchman, as we are told, belonging to the company of de Monts, used a freedom with the daughter of an Openango Sagamore, in 1603; which eventuated in the man- ifest appearances of her unchastity. The ardent stranger was willing to marry the fair native, and she was enamored with him ; but her father objected, till the foreigner had evinced superior skill in taking game or salmon.
Among the natives, the law of retaliation is considered a dic- tate of nature, always justifiable. The vile, they think, are de- tered from the commission of crimes through the perpetual fear of the avenger, if they transgress. An Indian was never known to seek redress through the medium of our laws and courts, for any injury done him by one of his tribe. Nor was there an in- stance, till quite lately, where a white man ever sued an Indian in a civil action. But prosecutions have frequently been instituted at law upon complaints, both of the Englishman and the Indian, for crimes committed by either against the other.
The trial and story of Peol Susup, so much in point, may be Susup's related. About sunset, June 28, 1816, this Indian's turbulence trial. and noise, in the tavern of William Knight, at Bangor, became intolerable ; and the inn-keeper thrust him out at the door, and endeavored to drive him away. The Indian, instantly turning iu a great rage, pursued him to the steps, with a drawn knife, and gave him a deep wound, just below his shoulderblade, of which he presently died.
On his arrest, Susup frankly said,-‹ I have killed Knight- ' and I ought to die :- but I was in liquor ; and he abused me ; ' or I never had done it.'
After an imprisonment till the June term of the Supreme Ju- dicial Court, at Castine, the subsequent year ; he was arraigned on an indictment for murder, to which he pleaded not guilty .*
* Many of his own tribe, and several from St. Johns and Passamaquoddy, attended the trial. Among others, Susup's wife and four or five children ; -- Neptune gave his counsel 30 half dollars,
crime and
502
THE HISTORY
[VOL. I.
A. D. 1615, A day was consumed in the trial, amidst a concourse, which to 1675. crowded the meeting-house ; and, according to the position urged by his counsel,* the verdict was " manslaughter."
Susup's
trial.
The Court then said to him-Susup, have you any thing now to say for yourself ?- ' John Neptune,' said he, ' will speak for ' me :'-That Indian then stepped forward from the midst of his associates, towards the Judges, and deliberately addressed them in an impressive speech of several minutes. He spake in broken English, yet every word was distinctly heard and easily under- stood. His gestures were frequent and forcible ; his manner solemn ; and a breathless silence pervaded the whole assembly .- He began-You know, your people do my Indians great deal of wrong .- They abuse them very much ; yes, they murder them ; then they walk right off-nobody touches them. This makes my heart burn. Well, then my Indians say, we'll go kill your very bad and wicked men. No, I tell 'em, never do that thing ; we are brothers .- Sometime ago a very bad mant about Boston, shot an Indian dead ;- your people said, surely he should die ; but it was not so .- In the great prison-house he eats and lives to this day ; certain he never dies for killing Indian. My brothers say, let that bloody man go free ;- Peol Susup too. So we wish -hope fills the hearts of us all .- Peace is good. These, my Indians, love it well : they smile under its shade. The white men and red men must be always friends ;- the Great Spirit is our Father ;- I speak what I feel.
Susup was sentenced to another year's imprisonment ; and re- quired to find sureties for keeping the peace two years, in the penal sum of $500; when John Neptune, and 'Squire Je Merry Neptune, of his own tribe, Capt. Solmond, from Passamaquoddy, and Capt. Jo Tomer, from the river St. John, became his sure- ties in the recognizance.
An Indian has few inducements to industry. Like the wretch- ed drones in civilized society, he considers labor beneath his dignity ; and with him, time is esteemed of small value. What necessity or inclination urges him to undertake in seasons of
Idle habits of the In- dians.
* Mellen and Williamson for the prisoner .- For the government, D. Davis, Solicitor General.
t He alluded to one Livermore, who had received sentence of death for killing an Indian ; which was commuted to hard labor for life in the State's prison.
503
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
peace, is leisurely done ; for though he is never quiet, an inert A. D. 1615, life is in his estimation the boon of earthly happiness. to 1675.
and fishing.
The principal employments of the men are hunting and fishing. Hunting In the former, they discover great skill and dexterity. On the arrival of the Europeans, the natives used wooden traps; and an expert bowman, it is said, could, with his arrows, do execution at the distance of forty yards .* Sometimes the young hunter would shroud himself in the skin of a moose or other animal, and creep towards the herd, imitating their looks and motions, till a favorable moment offered, when he would shoot the decoyed game, and dropping the disguise, run it down and secure it. For the purpose of taking a herd of deer, two or three hundred men have been known to form an association ; wherein by surround- ing the animals with fires, posting themselves at well-chosen passes, and raising an alarm by hideous yells, they were enabled to kill great numbers. Oftentimes, one party would drive them to narrow points of land, or into a river, amidst an ambush, that would rise and kill them. The time for duck hunting was in the month of August, when the flocks had shed their quills and feathers, and their young were fledged insufficiently to fly. Ac- cording to the account given of an instance by Mr. Penhallow, A. D. 1717, the Indians drove them in such numbers into creeks as to be able with their paddles and billets of wood only, to kill 4,600 at one time ; disposing of hundreds to the English at a penny by the dozen .¡
Birds were taken with snares, or shot with arrows. The fish were caught either by hook and line, by entangling them in wears, by dipping with scoop-nets, or by striking them with spears. The fish lines and nets were constructed of deer's sinews, the bark of trees, or tough grass, spun into threads between the hands and teeth ; the hooks were bones grated to a point and bearded. The remains of Indian wears, constructed with large stones, are still extant in great Ossipee river.
The lazy habits of the natives incline them to travel as much as possible by water. Their craft or boats are of two kinds. One ual ingenu- is formed out of a large log excavated, 40 feet in length-the ity. inside being burned and then smoothed by a stone gouge. The other is constructed of birchen bark, so light, that an Indian
* Smith's Hist. p. 32. + 1 Coll. N. Hamp. Hist. Soc. p. 90.
Their man-
504
THE HISTORY
[VOL. 1.
A. D. 1615, turning it upside down, can travel with it some miles upon his to 1675. head : yet it will carry six men, and the other about forty. Their axe was formerly made of a fine grained stone, and used by means of a helve, fastened to the pole by a withe. The chisel and gouge were made of the same stone, the one straight and the other curved at the edge. Their arrow heads and spears, were made of flint, or the hardest stone, and shaped like the point of a two edged sword ; the former from two to three, and the latter from four to ten inches in length. A most curious article is the stone pendant, shaped like a pear. In length, it is three inches and a half, and four and a half around the bulb. It is too heavy for the ears, too clumsy and ill-shapen for a bosom ornament, and yet too much wrought for any minor use. It has been many times shown to the Indians of different tribes for an exposition of its use, without obtaining any satisfactory information.
Their weapons.
Their ancient weapons of war were only four or five, the war- club, the staff, the lance, the bow and arrows and the target.
The war-club, was made of the root or branch of a tree, with a knot at the end, for the purpose of fatal batteries in close en- gagement. The staff or stake, resembling an espontoon, was an elastic pole, 8 or 10 feet in length, hardened by fire at one end, and designed to parry the enemy, or strike him at short distances. A much more bloody and fatal weapon, was the lance. It re- sembled the pickaxe, and was formed by inserting near one end of a short hand-staff, at right angles, a deer's horn, or a long stone sharpened at each end; or it was a kind of pike sharply pointed with flint or bone .* By this, the fighter could fatally at- tack his foe, or shield himself from return-blows. The bow and arrow were of great use both in war and hunting. The bow was made of the toughest elastic wood, 8 or 10 feet in length. It was only bent when used to twang the arrows ; and then, like that of Ulysses, it required no feeble arm to bend it. An old English hunter assures me, he has seen a bowman shoot at short distan- ces with the precision and effect of a rifle-man. The target was a shield, or breastplate, not extensively used. The tomahawk and scalping knife, which strike the minds of the English with so much horror, are sharp-edged weapons, of iron and steel,
* Smith's History, p. 31 .- Indian Wars, (anon.) p. 272.
505
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
which have come into use among the Indians, since their acquaint- A. D. 1615, ance with the Europeans. to 1675.
They enter upon war with the utmost deliberation. The Sag- Their war- amore meets his Indian warriors in council ; a great fire is kin- fare. dled ; and he addresses the assemblage fully upon the important subject. Becoming acquainted with their determination, he takes up a circuitous march, while he sings a war song ; endeavoring to arouse and kindle their patriotic ardor to the greatest height. In war, a largess of services, among the Abenaques and Tarra- tines, is tendered to their Sagamores ; but among the Mickmaks, the Sagamore being more absolute, levied a kind of tribute upon his people, at pleasure." *- The fortifications of the natives were asylums merely, for old men, women and children, surrounded by palisadoes without bastions, where they tarried when the warriors were absent. It was not their policy to face the enemy in the open field ; but in skulking, stratagem and ambush, they dis- played their superior arts of war. They choose by stealth to wind their way under the covert of darkness, within shot of their foe, when their leader, at break of day, gives the signal, by a faint hollow shout ; and the whole body instantly raising a most frightful war-whoop, and rushing upon their enemies with the usual yell, ho ! ho ! ho !- scalp and kill after all resistance ceases. In victory or success, they exult extravagantly, in dances, feasts and shouts of triumph. They fight for the public good, without remuneration ;- scalps, booty, trophies, and a return without loss, constituting the glory of the expedition.
But wealth with them is of inconsiderable value, except for Their present use. They are no misers-though precious metals are Wampam. their most valued ornaments. Their wigwams are mere shelters, and nothing more. All in their estimation, which give worth to their lands, are their hunting grounds ; some small patches for cul- ture, and, since the arrival of the Europeans, the timber of the forests and other spontaneous productions of nature. The trade with them has consisted in a barter of furs and peltries, at " truck houses" and forts, established and regulated by laws. They never had any other domestic animals than dogs ;f no several
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.