332 MOXUS TAKES PEMMAQUID. [BOOK III. Whether the expedition against Groton was under the immediate direction of Madokawando, or not, we are not informed, but it was, without doubt, executed under the command of one of his chief captains, the noted Morus, or, as he was sometimes called, Torus. That place was laid waste on the 27th of July, 1694; 22 people were killed, and 13 led into captivity. The scalps of the unfortunate slain were said to have been presented to Governor Frontenac by Madokawando himself. At the destruction of York was taken the family of the Rev. Mr. Dummer and our authority made us say that Mrs. Dummer died in captivity, but we are now assured, by other testimony,* that she lived to return out of captivity, having been redeemed. For such termination of a wretched fate she was, no doubt, indebted to Madokawando. This chief seems to have had unlimited control over the country upon the Penobscot River, as has been seen from what we have already before stated; judging from the amount of property paid him, from time to time, for sundry tracts of his country. Yet, though we are satisfied that the amounts he received were large, still they are expressed in such vague terms that it is impossible to arrive at any thing like a tolerable notion of their extent. One testifies that, for a certain tract of land, Madokawando "received a large amount of money;" another, that he received a hatful; and a third states it to have been "a hatful of pieces of eight." We have said that the great sachem was succeeded at his death by Wenamovet, and at the same time "Morus seemed his successor." We find nothing yet to vary this statement, but in explanation we would note that Wenamovet appears not to have been a war chief, or in any other way very conspicuous, except as a counsellor; and though in name the successor of Madokawando, yet was willing to let "fierce Moxus" bear his well-earned title of chief in all matters of war. One of the most signal exploits of Morus was the capture of Pemmaquid, on the 2d of August, 1689. From this place his men led 16 of the English into a most miserable captivity, whence but very few ever returned. A considerable number were killed before the fort was taken, among whom was the worthy Captain Gyles; three other captains were also slain, and the fort capitulated the second day, and all within it were suffered to leave it and return to the English settlements in safety. We have seen that the chief Bomazeen was intrapped and thrown into prison in Boston, in 1694. He was also a prisoner there four years after, having probably been retained all this time to restrain acts of barbarity on white captives; and it was rumored that he had been the leader at Groton, which probably had some influence in lengthening his captivity, but it is not now a question who the leader was in that sanguinary exploit. Mr. John Gyles returned out of a ten years' captivity in 1698, and on the 14th of October of that year, he says he was sent for by Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton, to interpret a conference with Bomazeen and other Indians then in jail. This same Mr. Gyles, afterwards captain of Fort George, went as interpreter with Captain Southack in the province galley to the eastern shores, for the ransom and exchange of captives. Our chief was at this time exchanged, and the galley returned to Boston in December, 1698. Whether, upon mere suspicion, injury was added to crime in the case of Bomazeen, we cannot, upon our slender evidence, aver; but if it were a parallel case to that of the seizure and death of Egeremet and Honquid, or, as others write his name, Ahanquid, Abenquid, &c., it could scarcely be surpassed in atrocity. There are no facts to show that Abenquid had been an enemy to the English, or, if an enemy, that he had been engaged in any depredations. Notwithstanding it is a custom among some tribes of Indians to obliterate all remembrance of the dead, their near connections, it was by no means common among all tribes, for we have had occasion to mention many instances where the name of a noted chief has been perpetuated, both * Greenleaf's Ecclesiastical Sketches of Maine, p. 10. Narrative of John Gyles, as published in our "Indian Captivities." among the western as well as among the eastern Indians. Abenquid was killed by Captain Chubb in 1696, and in 1725 there was another chief of the same name, of equal distinction. And he deserves some notice in this place, as do many others. While Captain Lovewell was on his march against the Pequawkets, measures were being devised in Boston for a peace with the eastern Indians. There were, at the same time, several Indians there, some as prisoners and others as hostages, and the English concluded to send some of them out to invite their countrymen to come to Boston to settle difficulties; accordingly Saquarexis and Nebine, one a hostage and the other a captive, were despatched upon that business. They, "after some time," returned and reported, “that the Indians were generally disposed to a peace, for that the losses they met with, and the daily terror they were under, made their lives miserable. After this they went out again," and meeting with several others of their countrymen, received further assurances of a general desire for peace. Whereupon commissioners were sent with those two Indians to Fort St. George, to procure a meeting of chiefs and to make a treaty. They arrived there on the 2d July, and on the 14th thirteen chiefs had assembled, not at the fort, but at a safe distance therefrom, fearing treachery from their white brethren on a more extended scale than they had experienced not many days before. However, after considerable parleying, in which the Indians made the English swear by their God, in the most solemn manner, that their intentions were of a tenor with their pretensions, the parties came together. The battle of Pequawket was recent, and it was evident that the Indians had become conscious of their weakness, and did not urge their wrongs at this meeting, although, as it were, in their own country, but seemed determined to have peace on any terms. They did indeed, to the demand of the English, "Why they had made war upon them?" reply, that it was because they had taken up their land, even to Cape Newagen; and not only seized upon their lands to that place westward, but that they had there beaten two of their men to death. To this the English commissioners answered: "The lands are ours, and we can show you they were fairly bought of your fathers; and if your men were beaten to death by the English, it was your business to complain to our government, and not to make war." This seems to have silenced the poor Indians, and we hear nothing further from them at this time but an earnest desire that peace might be concluded, or that a cessation of arms might take place. The commissioners informed them that they had not power to grant a cessation of arms, but said that, probably, if a deputation of their chiefs would go to Boston, it might be granted by their government. It was finally agreed that the two chiefs, Loron, or, as he was sometimes called, Saguaaram, now an old and venerable chief, and Ahanquid, should return with the English to Boston, and see what could be done towards a general peace. LORON and AHANQUID having come to Boston, it was soon after settled that these two chiefs should go into their country, and return in 40 days with a sufficient number of chiefs, with whom a proper treaty might be made. Meanwhile several depredations having been committed on both sides, the time of the return of the Indians was considerably protracted in consequence; and, as we have in a previous chapter mentioned, the forty days had nearly twice expired before their reappearance; but, in the beginning of November, the faithful Loron and Ahanquid returned to Boston, bringing with them Arerus, Francis Xavier, and Meganumba, representatives from the eastern Indians, clothed with full power to negotiate of peace. More than a month was passed by these chiefs in Boston before a treaty was signed. This waз done on the 15 December, 1725, and peace was thereby restored to the eastern frontiers. "And indeed they had cause of being so, for that about 10 days before, [20 June, says Williamson, ii. 144,] under a flag of truce, some of the English treacherously attempted to lay violent hands upon them, but lost one in the skirmish and had another wounded, visch was the occasion of the like unhappy disaster that afterwards happened unto Captain Saudiza Penobscot Bay." Penhallow, 120. 334 CAPTAIN TOM.~WAHWA. [Book III In our notice of Captain Tom in a previous chapter, and his depredatica at Hampton, it should have been stated that he had abundant excuse for retaliations of the nature there described. Length of time, to whatever number of years extended, is no guaranty that an injury will not be repaid by an Indian, with Indian interest; and Hannibal did not more strictly observe his vow to war against the Romans, than the savage of America adhered to his resolution of revenging an insult, even though its origin were removed several generations from him. In the chapter already referred to, we have detailed the expedition of Colonel Church upon the Androscoggin, and his capture and destruction of a fort some 30 or 40 miles up that river. This fort was the residence of AGAMCUS, more generally known among the English as Great Tom. This chief, according to my authority, was taken captive at the time of the assault by Church, "but he slipt away from the hands of bis too careless keepers, which was a disaster they much complained of. But if this piece of carelessness did any harm, there was another which did some good; for Great Tom having terribly scared a part of his men with the tidings of what had happened, and an English lad in their hands also telling them some truth, they betook themselves to such a flight in their fright, as gave Mr. Anthony Bracket, then a prisoner with them, an opportunity to fly four score miles another way." But we have recorded the escape of poor Anthony Bracket, who, says Dr. Mather, "if he had not found one of Church's vessels aground at Maquait, would have been miserably aground himself,” after all his severe travel and sufferings to effect an escape. And now we have arrived at the extent of our information concerning Agamcus. WAHWA shall here receive additional notice. He may be the same spoken of before, though there the name, if it be the same, has another syllable in it. He was the renowned Hopehood, doubly celebrated by the stroke of oblivion aimed at his head by the classic Magnalian. But Wahwa could hardly have been Hopehood of 1675, § as he would have been very old at Lovewell's fight, in 1725; yet it is not impossible, notwithstanding he is made to die, by the hand of the Mohawks, not long after the capture of Salmon Falls, in 1690, "while on his way westward to bewitch another crew at Aquadocta." His name of Hopehood had, very probably, been manufactured out of an Indian name approaching it in sound, as are many others we possess. He did not leave the scenes of his exploits until the summer of 1690, as we have seen;¶ he was the leader at Fox Point, in Newington, in May of that year; and he very probably had the direction of the party, if he did not lead it, who, on the 4th of July, killed eight people as they were mowing in a field near Lamprey River, and took a boy captive. On the 5th they attacked Captain Hilton's garrison at Exeter, but Lieutenant Bancroft, arriving to its relief, beat off the Indians "with the loss of a few of his men." One man they were forced to leave without scalping, and though shot in 9 places, was still alive. To these desperate wounds they had added two blows with the tomahawk at his neck, endeavoring to sever his head from his body; "which blows, you may be sure," says Mather, "added more enormous wounds unto the port-holes of death already opened, and from which his life was running out as fast as it could." When discovered by his friends he was looked upon as dead, but on being stirred was observed to gasp; whereupon an Irish fellow then present, advised them to give him another dab with a hatchet, and so bury him with the rest." Yet this man recovered, and was afterwards well. His name was Simon Stone. There are daily occurrences, which in those days would have been viewed as miracles, or as retaliations of the Creator upon miserable wretches for thoughtless acts or expressions. Upon all such as came to the knowledge of Cotton Mather he laid his potent hand with manifest satisfaction. Doubtless the poor Irishman thought it would have been a favor to the wounded man, who could not live, to put him out of his misery; but this weighed nothing in the mind of the * Fort" Amonoscoggin," according to the Magnalia, about 40 miles ↑ Magnalia, ib. Page 105, 114, 124, ante Page 116. Page 118. пр the river. By Mather, Magnalia historian. "Teague," he says, "as he was foolishly pulling a canoe ashore, about this time, with the cock of his gun, it went off, breaking his arm with a fearful wound, by which he was made a cripple ever after." By a council of war held at Portsmouth, occasioned by these depredations of that memorable tiger Hopehood," it was decided that Captain Wiswall should go out in search of him with a large scouting party. Several other prominent men, being emulous of the service, offering to join him in command with another party, it by lot fell on Captain Floyd. Having rendezvoused at Dover to the number of about one hundred men, they marched into the woods on the since memorable day, July 4th, 1690. On the 6th, having sent out their scouts "before breakfast" in the morning, they "immediately returned with tidings of breakfast enough for those who had their stomachs sharp set for fighting." The parties immediately met at a place called Wheelwright's Pond, in Lee, and an obstinate battle ensued, which lasted from two to three hours. Owing, however, to the Indian mode of fighting, adopted by the English, comparatively but few were killed. Neither party could boast of a victory, for, as at Pequawket, each was glad to retreat from the other. Of the whites above 30 were killed and wounded, of which 15 were of the former number. Among these were included Captain Wiswall, his lieutenant, Flagg, and Sergeant Walker. Captain Floyd maintained the fight until most of his men had retreated, which obliged him to retreat also. "For this some blamed him, who, probably, would not have continued it as long as he did." Captain Converse visited the battle ground the next morning, and brought off seven wounded still alive, but the Indians had removed all of theirs, and it could never be known how many of them were killed. There was no doubt about the precipitancy of their retreat, as they left much of their plunder upon the field. The same week "these rovers made their descent as far as Amesbury, where Captain Foot being ensnared by them, they tortured him to death. This so alarmed the other inhabitants, that they flew from their beds to their garrisons, otherwise before the next morning they had found their beds their graves. However, they killed three persons, burnt three houses, and many cattle. In fine, from the first mischief done at Lamprey-eel River, (on July 4th,) to this last at Amesbury, all belonging to one Indian expedition, forty English people were cut off." Thus Hopehood is considered the leader in all these transactions, although our chroniclers of that day do not mention him, excepting where we have done so, nor do they mention the names of any other Indians. He was the commander of his countrymen at the taking of Casco, on which event the garrisons of Purpooduck, Spurwink, Black Point, and Blue Point, drew off to Saco, and in a few days from Saco they retreated to Wells, "twenty miles within the said Saco, and about half Wells drew off as far as Lieutenant Storer's. But the arrival of orders and soldiers from government stopped them from retiring any farther; and Hopehood, with a party that staid for farther mischief, meeting with some resistance here, turned about, and having first had a skirmish with Captain Sherburn, they appeared the next Lord'sday at Newichawannok or Berwick, where they burnt some houses and slew a man." This last event was three days previous to the massacre at Fox Point, before related. We now are to speak again of Wahwa, and as we have before considered him a different chief from Hopehood Wahowah, we shall still do so, yet the character of his exploits agrees well with those of that chief; but that argues nothing as to his identity, for numerous other chiefs correspond equally as well. On the 27th of October, 1726, a band of seven Indians surprised the family of Philip Durell at Kennebunk, capturing ten persons, eight women and two children, and carried them off. The attack was made late in the afternoon, while Mr. Durell was absent. On his return he found his house in flames, chairs piled on the fire, trunks split to pieces, but no traces of his wife and children. The Indians had been watching for an opportunity to attack when Mr. Durell should be absent, fearing, it was thought, his powerful arm, if made when he was at home. Twenty-three years before Mrs. Durill had been a 336 * ACTEON.-WAHWA. ¡BOOK IIL captive, but unlike most of her sex in like circumstances, she foreboded no evil of a like kind from the Indians, but looked upon her former capture by them as we do upon a malady that never attacks a second time; but in this case it was otherwise. The perpetrators were pursued with vigor the next morning, which caused the Indians to put most of their captives to death, by which means they were able to make good their flight. It was for some time doubtful what Indians, or how many, had committed this horrid act, but it was finally ascertained that the bloody "Wahwa, Paucaunaumpojte, formerly a Mohegan, Acteon, afterwards known as Captain Moses, an Arisaguntacook, Omborowees, Manneenhowhau, Pier, Sungebaugundo, probably of the same tribe, though one or more was of Wowenok, but then residing among the St. Francis Indians. Yet five-and-twenty years or more afterwards, Colonel Job, a noted orator and chief speaker at Governor Shirley's treaty in 1754, denied that Acteon was an Arisaguntacook, and said he was an Albany Indian; but as Job was accused of telling lies in his talk at the treaty by one of his own party, not much dependence can be given to what he did say. But it appears that he was a Norridgewok, but having taken an Arisaguntacook woman for a wife, became one of them. He was the same chief who, on the 28 April, 1752, with a party of 10 or 12 of that tribe, fell upon four men on a branch of Contoocook River, shot one of them dead, one escaped, and the other two were taken and carried to Canada; but this affair we shall notice more at large presently. His We hear of but one that ever returned of those taken at Kennebunk. name was John Durell, son of Philip, whose family were destroyed; and he, though he was redeemed in about two years, was, according to the historian of Kennebunk, "ever after more of an Indian than a white man." He was live when Governor Sullivan wrote his history, and resided there. It was not long after Wahwa's depredation, that two friendly Indians, Quinoise, of Wowenok, and Ogicsand, were sent by the governor of Massachusetts to learn the fate of the captives, as well as what Indians had done the mischief; these ambassadors, from causes not explained, though doubtless no uncommon ones on such undertakings, were not heard of for nearly a year after, and then could give no satisfactory account in the business they undertook. At the treaty of Casco, in 1727, Auyaummowett, chief speaker of the Arisaguntacooks, said he had learned that a boy taken at that time was among the French. This was probably John Durell. After peace was made, and intercourse commenced again between the Indians and the settlers, it seems Wahwa used frequently to visit Kennebunk, and often talked familiarly with the friends of those he had massacred. Like most other Indians, he would get drunk when he could get liquor. On one occasion, as he lay drunk at the house of a Mr. Baxter, whose wife was among the murdered in the exploit above related, some of Baxter's acquaintances advised him to tumble him into the well, but he had too much humanity to wish to immortalize his name by an act so dastardly. And Wahwa remained a monument of his own cruelty, but not a more despised one than the advisers of his death; while the injured man, deprived of his nearest friends, remained a monument of humanity. We now return to Acteon, and his expedition to Contoocook. A small company of young men, four in number only, went out early in the spring of the year 1752, to hunt in the north-western part of New Hampshire. Their names were, Amos Eastman, of Concord, John and William Stark, of Dunbarton, and David Stinson, of Londonderry. What we are about to relate will be of more interest to the reader, doubtless, if he is told that John Stark, of this party of hunters, was the same who afterwards defeated Colonel Baum at Bennington, in the early part of the revolutionary war. These young men, wandering far beyond the confines of civilization, were, on the 28th of April, * Bradbury's History of Kennebunk Port, 120, 121. He was a fearless, bold fellow; accused Governor Shirley of "letting his young men act the Devil's part by doing mischief to the Indians," notwithstanding his protestations of justice to them. History of Kennebunk Port, 121. |