Chapter IV: Part 4

The rise of the colony of RHODE ISLAND commenced in the expulsion of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. He was a minister of the Gospel at Salem; but, holding tenets that were obnoxious to the people there, and being unwilling to renounce them, after friendly remonstrance and dealing, he was ordered to quit the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. He accordingly took his exile thence, and traveling, with his few followers, as far as the present town of Rehoboth, he sat down there; but, being within the jurisdiction of Plymouth, Governor Winslow, out of courtesy to the government of Massachusetts, desired Mr. Williams to leave that place. The latter, then crossing the Pawtucket river, came to the spot which, in acknowledgment of God's merciful providence to him in his distress, he called 'Providence.' He purchased the lands of his plantation of the Indian owners, became the father of the colony, and, for a period, appeared to have combined, in his person, the principal powers of government. Times of scarcity occurred in the Providence plantation, as in most of the other colonies in North America, and the followers of Mr. Williams were saved from famine only by the products of their forests and rivers. No personal resentment seems to have arisen between Mr. Williams and Governor Winthrop, from the proceedings which led to the founding of the new settlement. All the several colonies remained at peace, and cultivated friendship with each other.

The religious difficulties in Massachusetts, arising out of the case of the fanatical Mrs. Hutchinson, were the occasion of the origin of the Rhode Island plantation, south of Providence. Several gentlemen differed in principle from the prevailing belief of the churches, and chose to leave the colony. Among them were William Coddington, John Clark, and others, who came to Providence in search of a place where they might enjoy their own sentiments unmolested. Through the assistance of Mr. Williams, they purchased Aquetnec of the Indian sachems. The adventurers, eighteen in number, incorporated themselves into a body politic, and chose Mr. Coddington to be their judge, or chief magistrate. The character of the climate and soil, soon brought many adventurers to their settlement. The territory was RHODE ISLAND, according to its subsequent name. The two settlements of Mr. Williams and Mr. Coddington, being destitute of any charter from the mother-country, the former went to England with a view to procure one. He succeeded in the object, and returned with a liberal charter of incorporation of Providence and Rhode Island plantations.

The district, now state, of MAINE, though the first permanent settlement commenced in 1630, was for a long time in an unhappy condition, from the number and hostility of the Indians within its borders. The early settlers, after the death of their proprietary, Sir Fernando Gorges, formed some kind of voluntary compacts, and chose their own rulers; but the difficulties under which they labored induced them, in 1650, to unite with the government of Massachusetts, and to become an integral part of that colony. Their civil and religious institutions generally resembled those of the other colonies of New England. In the first settlements, churches were early established, which enjoyed the labors of some of the worthiest ministers of their time.[14]

A project of great importance was consummated, in 1643, in the _union_ formed by the New England colonists. It had been proposed, by the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, as early as 1638, but was not brought to a conclusion until five years after. The confederacy consisted of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. The plan of it evidently reminds one of the great confederacy, afterwards formed between the thirteen United States, with similar provisions and principles. It was a powerful means of defence, and of the subsequent strength and prosperity of the colonies. It maintained their internal peace, awed the savage tribes, and caused their neighbors, the Dutch, and the French in Canada, to respect them. By the articles of confederation, they entered into a firm and perpetual league of friendship and amity, for offence and defence, mutual advice and assistance upon all just occasions, both for preserving and propagating the truth and liberties of the Gospel, and for their own mutual safety and welfare. Each colony was to continue its separate organization, as to courts and laws, but to be considered as one, in regard to their public transactions. This union subsisted, with some alterations, more than forty years, and was dissolved when the charters of all the colonies were rescinded by James II. It was known under the style of _The United Colonies of New England_.

The state of VERMONT was not settled until long after the other New England states. It was as late as the year 1724, before any settlement was made in that territory. This was on a spot, within the present town of Brattleborough, where, at the same time, during a severe Indian war, the government of Massachusetts had erected a fort. It was then supposed that the settlement was within the limits of that state, but it afterwards appeared not to be the case. Subsequently it was believed that the territory belonged to New Hampshire. Grants were accordingly made from time to time, by the latter colony, of tracts within the territory of Vermont. As it was the scene of warfare, during the middle part of the century, the country became well known to many individuals, and not a few openings were made in the wilderness, towards the cessation of hostilities, on the northern borders. During the revolutionary war, the Green-mountain Boys, as they were familiarly called, distinguished themselves by their bravery, and rendered important service to the cause. In 1777, the inhabitants constituted themselves an independent state. As Vermont was settled mostly by emigrants from Connecticut, the character of the people was similar to that of the inhabitants of the latter state, and of New England in general. They were careful to establish their civil and religious institutions in accordance with those of the sister-states, and have been highly distinguished by their stability in the principles and usages of the fathers.

The _character_ of the early settlers of New England deserves a distinct notice, beyond that which has incidentally appeared in narrating the history of their achievements. A brief sketch can only be presented, and scarcely commensurate with the importance of the topic; but it is all that the limits of this work will admit. The greatness of the results, though affected extensively by the direct providence of God, manifests the peculiarity of the dispositions and motives of the agents who were concerned in producing them.

The planters of New England were men of whom their descendants need not be ashamed. So far as the pride of ancestry may be lawfully indulged, New Englanders, of the present race, may indulge it to the full, in view of the character and deeds of their forefathers. They were _inferior_ men in _no sense of the word_, however apt we may be to connect the idea of adventurers with that of a roving, restless, dissipated, loose-living class of men, loving savage nature, or freedom from the restraints of civilized life. They became adventurers, not from love of adventure, but from high and noble impulses--the impulses of religion. To advance that precious interest was, indeed, their commanding object. This was indicated by their circumstances and manner of life in Holland before they removed thence, and by the desire they felt to leave that country. Could their favorite views, in respect to religion, have been carried out there, they would, probably, never have come to this western wilderness. Their declarations and professions, through their leading men, also show that the establishment and enjoyment of a free Gospel was their great object. Their laws and institutions, moreover, evince that this was their principal concern, in connection with the diffusion of education and knowledge. These all had reference, more or less directly, to the moral and religious welfare of the community. The cause of God and righteousness was guarded by the wisest and most decided legal provisions. The concurrent declarations of all the early writers among them, likewise indicate the spirit and purposes which distinguished the fathers of New England above, perhaps, all other settlers of new countries, in proposing and carrying forward the interests of religion. Indeed, no object but religion and its enjoyment, could have borne them through their almost unprecedented trials and privations. To these they voluntarily submitted, on account of their religion. They were not otherwise compelled to leave their native land and the homes of their childhood--the seats of ease and plenty. To hardships, of any kind, many of them had never been exposed before; but the love of God's word, and freedom of worship, according to the light of their own minds, were motives, with them, sufficient to brave every peril and earthly woe.

They were not inferior men, in respect to their _civil standing in the community_. They did not proceed, generally, from the lower orders of society--the poorer artisans and the laborers. They belonged, mostly, to the middle and respectable ranks of English society. A few were classed with the higher orders, but not to the same extent as was the fact with the settlers of Virginia, if we may judge from the list of names and titles of several emigrants of the different colonies. In respect to a worldly, chivalrous bearing and spirit of adventure, New England and Virginia differed--the latter were eminent in this respect, but never were men more truly brave than the fathers of New England; in moral courage, they were unrivalled. Like other adventurers, they manifested their undaunted spirit in relinquishing their comfortable homes, in braving the dangers of the deep, in encountering the horrors of a wilderness, in incurring the risk of famine and pestilence, and in frequently combatting a fierce savage foe. There were as extraordinary traits of martial heroism displayed among the pilgrims of New England, when called forth by the necessity of circumstances, as can be found in the history of any of the American colonists, though this was not a characteristic in which they gloried. The exploits of Miles Standish, of Plymouth, and John Mason, of Connecticut, might be ranked among the most striking exhibitions of courage on record. Of Standish, it is remarked, by an old historian, that "he was allied to the noble house of Standish, in Lancashire, and inherited some of the virtues of that honorable family, as well as the name." But the high bearing and courage of the planters was eminently of a moral kind. Unlike their Virginian neighbors, they suffered no misrule in their settlements. If any threatened for a time, they promptly put it down. Their courage was seen in resisting evil among themselves. They feared not to put their laws into execution. They were characterized by a healthful, vigorous public spirit, consenting to sacrifice their own individual interest for the general good. They thus manifested a noble nature, the product of principle, if not of birth.

The fathers of New England were not _ignorant_ men, and unversed in the concerns of the world. Their clergymen and leading men in civil life, were among the ripe scholars of the age. They had been educated at the English universities, and numbers of them had occupied important stations in church and state. As authors and men of influence, in their native land, they could not have sunk their high character by emigration; and though in a wilderness, and under the pressure of mighty cares, they could not so advantageously pursue their studies as in the shades of academic retirement, they still did not neglect to add to their intellectual stores. In several instances, they brought large and valuable libraries with them. The writings of Colton, Hooker, Davenport, Winthrop, Bradford, Prince, and others, show that they were eminently men of mind and masters of language--that they were well versed in the science and literature which adorned the age; and their universal learning, sanctified by grace, we know, was devoted to the most noble and beneficent purposes. There were among the merchants and men of business, who had figured in the world's affairs before they came to these solitudes--men of large experience and cultivated taste, not wanting in any accomplishment deemed essential in refined and honorable society. The mass of the people, who came over to this country as its settlers, must evidently, from the nature of the case, have been of that thinking, intellectual, practical class, who understood their rights and duties as human beings, as also the principles of government; and could not, therefore, with their good sense and honesty, submit to the exactions and wrongs of tyranny. This, of all others, is the most valuable body of the community.

The estimate which the fathers placed upon education, is seen in the immediate establishment of literary institutions, both of the higher and lower grades. Scarcely had the venerable men felled the trees of the forest, than they erected the common school-house, the academy, and the college. In the midst of their untold personal pressing cares and troubles, they exercised a far-reaching sagacity and benevolent regard towards the common good, and towards posterity, in laying broadly the foundations of order, intelligence, and virtue. They conceived the highest idea of the importance of sound education to their rising republic. They wisely judged that solid learning and true religion were the firmest pillars of the commonwealth and of the church. Within ten years from the settlement of Massachusetts, a college, with good endowments, was founded for the use of the colony.

The planters of New England were not _poor_ men--needy adventurers. Had they been such, whence could the funds have been derived that were necessary to sustain the enterprise? It is evident that large sums of money were expended in the transportation of themselves, their cattle, and their effects to this country, and in their various removals when here, as well as in the continued sustentation of their families in times of scarcity and famine. These we know, from their history, were of frequent occurrence. Governors Winthrop, Haynes, Eaton, and Hopkins, were men of wealth; so also were Mr. Johnson, Mr. Colton, and Mr. Hooker--the last two uncommonly rich for ministers. Mr. Johnson was reputed to be the wealthiest of all the original emigrants. The mass of the early comers must also have possessed no inconsiderable means, to enable them to bear the heavy expenses of their voyage and settlement. With such a basis of property, it is not a matter of surprise that, notwithstanding the drain and exhaustion of the few first years, they should have increased greatly in their worldly substance in the end, inasmuch as they settled on a virgin soil, possessed abundance of land, and carried on a lucrative trade in the products of the country. Their habits of sobriety and industry were essentially favorable to their advancement in wealth.

The New England planters were not _wanting in any moral virtues_, _piety_, _wisdom_, _or magnanimity_. There never lived on earth, if we may credit history, a more disinterested, upright, conscientious, prudent, and holy body of men. Their souls were imbued with the loftiest principles of patriotism and piety. They gave undoubted proofs of the possession of this spirit in their exertions, toils, and sacrifices for the best welfare of their descendants and the cause of Christianity--in their spirituality, prayerfulness, purity, and well-ordered lives. They wished, above all things, to serve God and to do good--to transmit to posterity a pure church and free form of government. They received the Word of God as their sole guide in religious concerns and moral conduct--they regulated their individual life, their families, their local societies, their churches, and their state, by its rules, so far as the latter could be consistently applied. They were sound in the faith, receiving the doctrines of grace as the real system of divine truth--were strict in preserving the order and carrying out the discipline of the churches--and were rigid in the administration of law and justice. Their zeal and liberality in supporting the institutions of the Gospel among themselves, and in efforts to Christianize the Indians, were marked traits in their character. They considered it one of the great objects of their mission to this continent, to become the means of the salvation of its aboriginal inhabitants, and thus to extend Christ's kingdom in the world. In a most commendable degree, they carried their religion into the various every-day concerns of life, and consulted, especially on every occasion of interest and importance, the particular guidance and blessing of God.

Such was the character of New England's fathers: they were not perfect men; they did not claim for themselves the attributes of perfection; neither can others, their warmest panegyrists, claim it for them with any consistency. They had their errors--the errors of the age. All darkness had not passed away from their understandings, nor all obliquity from their hearts. There was an austerity, a preciseness in some points, an unaccommodating temper, which perhaps is not well suited to all times, or every state of society, but which better agreed with their circumstances as the founders of a nation, and as an example for others to follow. In the natural course of imitation from age to age, there will be apt to be a feebler resemblance of the original; so that where the conduct in the beginning was over-strict, in the lapse of years it will be apt to fall quite too far below the true standard of virtue. The founders of a nation, if they fail at all in firmness of temper or rigidness of discipline, will be very apt to bring on the sooner a dissolute state of the body politic. Our fathers, on this account, were not so much at fault as many suppose. They were fitted, by the guidance and grace of God, for the times in which they lived--for the work which they were called to perform. If some few spots or shades could have been effaced from their characters, they would have been still more fitting instruments of good to the Church and to posterity; but as the case is, no other founders of an empire probably ever possessed so large a portion of wisdom and goodness.

In respect to charges made against the fathers of New England, pertaining to superstition, enthusiasm, injustice towards the Indians, treatment of supposed witches, bigotry, persecution, and the incorporation of church and state, they are capable of a satisfactory refutation in all the material points, and have often received that refutation. While something, however, is to be laid to human imperfection in their case, yet, even in these matters, more is due to the grace of God, which preserved them so comparatively free from evils to which their natural dispositions, or their circumstances, might be supposed to lead them.

It was indeed a new order of things which was introduced by the pilgrim fathers, in their removal to America. The Mayflower came to these shores freighted with great moral principles, as well as with a precious cargo of godly men and women. Of those principles, some were the following, viz: The right of private judgment in the examination of divine truth, is to be held sacred--Conscience, enlightened by the Word of God, is a sufficient guide as to truth and duty--a majority governs in church and state--universal education is the basis of free government--the observation of the Sabbath is a moral virtue, and essential to the safety of a people. From these principles, others have been deduced; or to them others, of scarcely less importance, have been added in more recent times.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] Holmes' Annals.

[7] New England Memorial, by Nathaniel Morton.

[8] New England Memorial.

[9] New England's Memorial--Appendix.

[10] Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims.

[11] Trumbull's History of Connecticut.

[12] Bacon's Historical Discourses.

[13] T. Robbins.

[14] T. Robbins.

III. MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN SETTLEMENTS.[15]

NEW YORK--New Jersey--Delaware--Maryland--North Carolina--South
Carolina--Georgia--Pennsylvania.

The settlement of the state of NEW YORK commenced in 1613, so far as the erection of a fort, near the present city of Albany, and a few trading-houses on the island of Manhattan (New York), may be said to constitute a settlement. The Dutch founded their claim to the soil from the discovery of the Hudson by an Englishman of that name, who was then in the employ of the Dutch; but the British king disputed the claim, from the fact of the previous discovery of the country by the Cabots. The Dutch were forced, for a short time, to yield to the demands of the English; but, the colony having increased in the course of a year, the English were required, in their turn, to yield their authority to the original occupants. For a series of years, the latter continued in peaceful possession, and, by characteristic toil and perseverance, secured the blessings of a growing settlement.

The territory on both sides of the Hudson, occupied by the settlers, was called New Netherlands. In defence of their colony, in 1623, they built several forts, one on the east side of Delaware bay, which they named Nassau, and another, one hundred and fifty miles up the river, which they called Aurania. At the mouth of the river they built a town, to which they gave the name of New Amsterdam, afterwards New York. Near fort Nassau, the Swedes had a settlement, and, from the interfering claims of the two people, quarrels arose, which in a few years ended in the subjugation of the Swedes. In consequence of the Dutch claims so far to the eastward, difficulties frequently arose between them and the Connecticut and New Haven colonies; but these never amounted to another rupture, and the Dutch were occasionally assisted in the Indian warfare by their more courageous neighbors.

At the ascension of Charles II. to the British throne, the province of New Netherlands passed into the hands of the English. As the king, by a charter, had conveyed the whole territory to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, he undertook to effect his object by force, and accordingly despatched an armament, under the command of Colonel Nichols, who was also appointed governor of the province. The exhibition of force was the means of effecting a treaty of capitulation on the part of Stuyvesant the Dutch governor. From this time, New Amsterdam and the whole conquered province received the name of New York, the original settlers choosing, for the most part, to remain, and being permitted to adopt many of their own forms of government.

NEW JERSEY was settled by the Dutch, not long after they had fixed themselves on the Hudson river. The Danes, also, commenced a settlement at a place to which they gave the name Bergen. This was about the year 1624. In 1626, a company of Swedes and Finns purchased land on both sides of Delaware river, and commenced a settlement on the western bank. The Dutch, however, considering themselves as the original settlers, laid claim to the country. They had built a fort, as early as 1623, on the east bank of the South river, as the Delaware was then called. It was not until the year 1640, that the English made any attempt to colonize the territory in question, and then they were resisted and expelled by the Swedes and Dutch. A few years afterwards, however, the Duke of York granted New Jersey to John, Lord Berkley, and Sir George Carteret, the territory receiving that name in compliment to Sir George, who had been governor of the island of Jersey in the English channel. Carteret soon after arrived at Elizabethtown, which he made the seat of government.

The state of DELAWARE was originally settled by the Dutch and Swedes, the former as early as 1629, having purchased a tract of land near Cape Henlopen. The enterprise of planting a colony, on the Delaware, was entrusted to an experienced navigator, De Vriez; and, in 1630, an association was formed for this purpose, in pursuance of which, a settlement was made, the next spring, on the west side of the river, at a place since called Lewiston. The Swedes, also, made considerable settlements on the same side of the river; but, whether these preceded that of the Dutch, is considered doubtful, the more recent authorities leaning rather to the Dutch claim. The Swedes, however, whatever their pretensions may have been, were conquered by the Dutch, in whose possession the country remained until the surrender of New York, in 1664. It was immediately after taken possession of, for the Duke of York, by Sir Robert Carr. A portion of its subsequent history is included in that of Pennsylvania, as Delaware had not even an assembly, separate from that of Pennsylvania, for several years.

Settlements commenced in MARYLAND as early as 1634. Two or three years previously, Lord Baltimore had visited the colony of Virginia, and, observing that the Virginians had formed no settlement to the northward of the river Potomac, he determined to procure a grant of territory in that region; but he died before the necessary authority by charter, which Charles had promised, could be given him. The patent, however, was filled up for his son, Cornelius Calvert, who had then become Lord Baltimore. The king gave to the new province the name of Maryland, in honor of his queen, Henrietta Maria. It was originally included in the patent of the south Virginia company, a circumstance which gave rise, for a time, to disputes and difficulties between these communities. Lord Baltimore pursued a wise course in forming his colony. He established a basis of security to property and of freedom to religion, bestowing, in absolute fee, fifty acres of land on every emigrant, and allowing toleration to the various sects of the Christian faith. George Calvert, the brother of the governor, arrived with the first colony, consisting of about two hundred Roman Catholics, from England. Calvert, by kindness and liberality, obtained possession of an Indian town of importance, to which he gave the name of St. Mary's. Lord Baltimore was constituted the proprietor of the province; and he and his descendants, with some years of interruption, continued to enjoy the rights of jurisdiction and property until the time of the Revolution. Then the people, having adopted a constitution, refused to admit the claims of the representatives of Lord Baltimore.

The charter, embracing what is now NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, and GEORGIA, was granted by Charles II., in 1662, to Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven, and several others. This country was called Florida, and claimed by the Spaniards. The claim, nevertheless, was supposed to be relinquished by the stipulations of a treaty between Great Britain and Spain, in 1667. The previous efforts to colonize this portion of the American continent had been unsuccessful, and grants that had been given to different individuals were now pronounced by the privy council to be null and void. A government was organized over the few settlers that were scattered in different parts, Mr. Drummond having been appointed governor. The settlers on Albemarle sound were allowed, on certain conditions, to retain their lands. The proprietors of the Carolinas did not make serious effort towards adding to the number of the colonists until 1667. Two ships carried out a number of adventurers, with provisions, arms, and utensils, necessary for building and cultivation. Sayle was appointed governor in 1669. In what place he first landed is uncertain; but not being pleased with his situation, he moved to the southward, and took possession of a neck of land between Ashley and Cooper rivers. Here he laid out a town, which, in honor of the British king, he called Charleston. This was the origin of South Carolina, as distinguished from North Carolina. The distance between Albemarle and the new location, induced the proprietors to establish two separate governments, the settlements on the sound constituting North Carolina. The early existence of the northern colony is said to have been marked, in a sad degree, by confusion and misrule, owing mainly to the exceptionable nature of its fundamental constitutions.

GEORGIA, though the last of the English colonies established in North America, may be mentioned here, since it was included in the original grant with the Carolinas. The charter of Georgia, as a district, was granted in 1732, and embraced the country on the south of the Carolinas, between the rivers Savannah and Altamaha, and extended westward from the heads of these rivers to the South sea. It was given to twenty-one persons, who were wealthy and influential individuals, as trustees, who were incorporated for the purpose of settling and establishing the colony. In pursuance of this design, in 1733, James Oglethorpe embarked for the province, with one hundred and sixteen persons destined for settlement. He selected the present site of Savannah, as the most desirable spot for this object. Here he built a fort, and put the colony in a proper state of defence, not neglecting, in the mean time, to cultivate friendly relations with the Indians. Though the objects of the settlement of Georgia were in a great measure benevolent--as they contemplated, among other things, an asylum for the poor and wretched in England and Ireland--yet the hopes of prosperity, entertained by the trustees, were not a little disappointed. The expenditures necessary for the support of the colony, became, at length, very onerous. The colony, also, was disturbed by the hostility of the Spaniards on the south, and nothing, under Divine Providence, but the wise counsels and determined valor of General Oglethorpe, saved it from destruction in the early part of its existence.

The tract of country west of the Delaware was, in 1681, granted to William Penn, son of the distinguished Admiral Penn, as a reward for the services of his father. The boundaries of the tract are definitely given us in the charter, but are too minute to be here specified. The whole region was afterwards called PENNSYLVANIA, constituting a state of very large and regular dimensions. The origin of the name is beautifully and ingeniously accounted for, in a letter written by William Penn: "This day (January 5, 1681)," says he, "after many waitings, watchings, solicitings, and disputes in the council, my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania; a name the king would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being a hilly country; and when the secretary, a Welshman, refused to call it New Wales, I proposed Sylvania, and they added Penn to it, though I much opposed it, and went to the king to have it struck out. He said 'twas past, and he would take it upon him; nor could twenty guineas move the under secretary to vary the name; for I feared it would be looked on as a vanity in me, and not as a respect in the king to my father, as it really was. Thou mayst communicate my grant to friends, and expect shortly my proposals. 'Tis a dear and just thing, and my God, that has given it to me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the government, that it be well laid at first." And it was _well laid_. The territory was peaceably, and by fair purchase, procured of the natives, and though difficulties occasionally existed in the government, which gave the proprietor considerable concern, yet the colony enjoyed a career of prosperity for several successive years. The effects of his magnanimity and justice were especially visible in the early history of the colony.

Such, as briefly reviewed, is the history of the original settlements of the _old thirteen United States_. The character of the settlers, as well as their circumstances, were various. They were from different nations in the old world, though the great majority were of direct English descent. But amidst the variety, there is a degree of uniformity, a similar basis of institutions and principles has obtained, and they have admirably coalesced in forming and sustaining one and a general government, amid their several distinct state organizations--a government admirable for its simplicity, freedom, exact equipoise, and liberal compromises. The number of states is now more than doubled, and ere long will probably be three-fold. Through the Divine blessing, let it be perpetual!

FOOTNOTE:

[15] Except Virginia.

III.--INDIANS, THEIR TRIBES AND WARS.

I. INDIAN TRIBES.

GENERAL DIVISION--Tribes in the Central and Southern parts of New
England--Tribes in the Northern parts--East of Lake Erie and
south of Lake Ontario--Southern tribes.

At the period of the settlement of the English colonies in America, savage tribes of Indians were scattered over the country. In many respects, they possessed a similar character, usages, and institutions--a bond of affinity running through their several communities and tribes. As a race of men, they were distinct from all the races found in the old world. Their history was unknown, and to us, in these times, dates no farther back than to the period of European discovery here. They had, indeed, their traditions; but these, like the traditions of all other nations, are no farther entitled to credit than they are confirmed by appearance or probable conjecture. If the hypothesis be correct of the Asiatic origin of the Aborigines of America, by the way of Bherings straits, there would seem to be a probability in the general account given of their migration towards the east, and of their conquest of a more civilized race, then occupying the country. Such a race seems to have been once in existence, judging from the monuments and relics that have been occasionally found among us. They were called the Allegewi, and their more rude conquerors styled themselves the Lenape and the Mengwe, or the Iroquois. These seem chiefly to have divided the country between them, after they had expelled the Allegewi. The general name of the Delawares has since been given to the former, and their language, called by the French, the _Algonquin_. The Iroquois inhabited more the upper parts of the country, along the lakes and the St. Lawrence. The Lenape, or Delawares, extended themselves to the south and east.

When our fathers came to these shores, they found here the descendants of these savage conquerors. They were entirely uncivilized, having, probably, undergone no process of civilization, from the time of the migration of their ancestors to the Mississippi and the Atlantic slope. As distributed through the various parts of the thirteen original states, they may be mentioned, as to their confederacies or tribes, in the following order:

In the central and southern parts of New England there were five principal tribes: the Wampanoags or Pokanokets, the Pawtuckets, the Massachusetts, the Narragansets, and the Pequods. The Pokanokets were the first known to the English settlers. The territory inhabited by this tribe, was that which now constitutes the south-eastern part of Massachusetts and the eastern portion of Rhode Island. To the chief of this tribe, who was Massasoit, at the time of the English emigration, other smaller tribes were subject, dwelling principally on the adjacent islands. His residence, as also afterwards that of Philip his son, was at Montaup, now Mount Hope, in Bristol, Rhode Island.

The tribe of Pawtuckets occupied the land upon the Merrimack near its mouth, as their principal seat, though they extended themselves south until they came in contact with the Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts were found about the bay which bears the name of the tribe. They were bounded by the Pawtuckets on the north, and the Pokanokets on the south. Their head sachem held under his rule several smaller tribes, some of which were known by the name of the Neponsetts, the Nashuas, and the Pocumtucks. The acknowledged sovereign of the confederacy, at the time of the English settlement, was the widow of a powerful chief, styled sometimes the "Massachusett's queen." They were situated in a delightful region, where now stands the metropolis of New England, with its cluster of noble towns in the vicinity.

The tribe of the Narragansets held their chief seat on the island of the Canonicut, in the bay called after their name. Here, also, their grand sachem resided. They extended west of the Pawcatuck river, where they came into the neighborhood of the Pequods. The Pokanokets bordered them on the east. They occupied a beautiful country, and happily adapted to their mode of life, which was fishing and hunting. Their disposition was more mild and peaceable than usually appeared in the Indian character. When the English arrived in that region, they found there Canonicus, the grand sachem of the tribe, who proved a benefactor of Rhode Island.

The tribe of Pequods were seated in the eastern part of Connecticut, having the Narragansets on their eastern border. They were a fierce and warlike race. Their grand sachem, Sassacus, resided on the heights of Groton, near the river called by their name, now the Thames. Sassacus held the Mohegans subject to his authority. These were a tribe occupying the place where Norwich now stands. Uncas, the leader of the latter, joined the whites in their war with the Pequods. These several tribes, at the period referred to, were singularly diminished in number and power, on account of a wasting sickness, which had been sent among them a few years before.

In the northern portion of New England, roved the Indians whose general name was that of Tarenteens, or Abenakis. They inhabited the coast of Maine throughout, and extended into New Hampshire. Their character was ferocious, and the settlers suffered severely from their wars, murders, and depredations. Stealing in, at the dead of night, upon the villages or dwellings, they burned and plundered, indiscriminately, whatever came in their way--butchering men, women, and children, without mercy.

The five tribes, or nations, that spread out east of Lake Erie, and south of Lake Ontario, were the Iroquois, or Mengwe, who had become thus divided, in consequence of being pressed by the Hurons, and one or two other tribes, inhabiting the St. Lawrence. They were called the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks. They at length became a powerful race in their new abodes, and not only overcame the Hurons, but made war upon the Delawares, and were objects of dread far and near. The most warlike community of the whole was said to be the Mohawks. Their power and exactions reached east and south, to a great distance.

The Indians, in the southerly portion of the country, were of course earlier known to the English, than those already mentioned--this was true of the tribes at least that inhabited Virginia, of which there were more than forty in number, in 1607. The nucleus of an entire confederacy, inhabiting the territory from the sea-coast to the falls of the rivers, was the Powhatan nation. This confederacy included no less than thirty tribes, and the number of warriors was estimated at eight thousand. The chief of the same name, who figures so much in the history of Virginia, was the great sachem of the confederacy. The seat of the hereditary dominions was near the present site of the city of Richmond. Here the noble Pocahontas was born, and passed her early, uncultivated life.

The Indians who dwelt on the highlands, between the falls of the rivers and the mountains, were divided into two confederacies, not long after the arrival of the English. One division consisted of the Monahoaks, in the eight tribes, on the north. The other consisted of the Monacans, in five tribes, stretching on the south into Carolina. The latter went under the name of Tuscaroras, and connected with the Iroquois.

Of the Indians in the southern extremity of the country, the principal confederacies were the Creeks, whose locality was mostly in Georgia--the Cherokees, who inhabited the mountainous back country--and the Choctaws and Chickasaws, who dwelt in the region between the mountains and the Mississippi. Two or three other tribes occupied particular localities, which need not be indicated.[16]

FOOTNOTE:

[16] Mrs. Willard's Republic of America.

II. ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

VARIOUS SPECULATIONS ON THE SUBJECT--Opinions of Voltaire--Of Rev.
Thomas Thorowgood--Dr. Boudinot--Roger
Williams--Hubbard--Thomas Morton--John Josselin--Cotton
Mather--Dr. Mitchell--Dr. Swinton.

Although not in precise accordance with the plan of this work, yet, on account of the interest which attaches to the subject, we devote a few pages to an exposition of the various theories advanced in relation to the _origin_ of the Indian tribes existing at the time the English settled the country. These theories have been various, according to the whims or predilections of the authors. Some have seen in them an original species of the human race, unconnected with any of the nations or tribes of the old world. Others have fancied their resemblance to this or the other people, ancient or modern, of the eastern continent--as Hebrews, Trojans, Tartars, and the like.

Voltaire, and other skeptical writers, have accounted for their origin, according to the first-named theory. They have considered the Indian placed in America by the hand of the Creator, or by nature--just as the buffalo, or the tortoise, or any other animal, was placed there--or just as trees and other products of vegetation, that are indigenous to the soil. Thus they make no account of the apparent scriptural doctrine of the unity of the human race--the common descent from Adam.

The identity of the Indian with the Hebrew or the Israelite has been conjectured by many. Rev. Thomas Thorowgood, an author of the seventeenth century, held that opinion, and endeavored to prove that the Indians were the Jews, who had been lost in the world for the space of near two thousand years. Adair, who claims to have resided forty years among the southern Indians, published a large quarto upon their origin, history, &c. He endeavors to prove their identity with the Jews, by showing the similarity of their customs, usages, and language to those of the latter. The author of the Star in the West, Dr. Boudinot, has followed the same thing, and thinks assuredly that the Indians are the long-lost ten tribes of Israel.

Roger Williams, at one time, expressed the same opinion. He writes, in a letter to friends in Salem, that the Indians did not come into America from the north-east, as some had imagined, for the following reasons: 1, Their ancestors affirm that they came from the south-west, and return thence when they die; 2, Because they separate their women, in a little wigwam by themselves, at _certain seasons_; and 3, Beside their god Kuttand, to the south-west, they hold that Nanawitnawit (a God overhead) made the heavens and the earth; and he avers, also, that he (the writer) had found "some taste of affinity with the Hebrew."

The similarity of practices, or even of a number of terms in a language, can, however, be no conclusive proof of sameness of origin. It may be merely accidental, or in respect to customs more particularly, may be owing to similarity of circumstances. "Who will pretend that different people, when placed under similar circumstances, will not have similar wants, and hence similar actions? that like wants will not prompt like exertions? and like causes produce not like effects?" The slight resemblances existing, or fancied to exist, between the Indians and the Israelites, may be owing to a cause like the one pointed out. As to the language of the Indians, Mr. William Wood, an old writer, says: "Some have thought that they might be of the dispersed Jews, because some of their words be near unto the Hebrew; but, by the same rule, they may conclude them to be of the gleanings of all nations, because they have words after the Greek, Latin, French, and other tongues."

Hubbard, an American historian, who wrote about 1680, has this among other passages on the subject: "If any observation be made of their manners and dispositions, it is easier to say from what nations they did not, than from whom they did derive their original. Doubtless their conjecture, who fancy them to be descended from the ten tribes of the Israelites, carried captive by the Salamaneser and Esarhaddon, hath the least show of reason of any other, there being no footsteps to be observed of their propinquity to them more than to any other of the tribes of the earth, either as to their language or manners."

Thomas Morton, an early New England historian, refers their origin to the scattered Trojans, observing, "for after that Brutus, who was the fourth from Æneas, left Latium, upon the conflict held with the Latins, where, although he gave them a great overthrow to the slaughter of their grand captain, and many others of the heroes of Latium, yet he held it more safely to depart unto some other place and people, than by staying to run the hazard of an unquiet life or doubtful conquest; which, as history maketh mention, he performed. This people was dispersed there is no question, but the people that lived with him, by reason of their conversation with the Grecians and Latins, had a mixed language that participated of both." Morton maintains the great similarity of the languages of the Indians to the Greek and Roman, as an instance of which, he fancied he heard among their words Pasco-pan, and hence thinks without doubt their ancestors were acquainted with the god _Pan_!

A writer, Mr. John Josselin, who resided some time in New England, towards the middle part of the seventeenth century, pronounces the speech of the Mohawks to be a dialect of the Tartars. He says "the north-east people of America, that is, New England, &c., are judged to be Tartars, called Samoades, being alike in complexion, shape, habit and manners."

That the Indians were Scythians, is an opinion expressed in a decided manner by Cotton Mather. He was confirmed in it, on meeting with this passage of Julius Cæsar: "Difficilis invenire quam interficere," rendered by him, "It is harder to find them than to foil them." Cæsar was speaking of the Scythians, and the aptness of the language, as expressing one peculiarity of the Indians in their warfare--their sudden attacks and retreats--is noticeable.

Dr. S. L. Mitchell, of New York, a voluminous writer in his day, thought that he had settled the question of the origin of the Indians. They came, in his opinion, from the north-east of Asia, and that is now, perhaps, the more common belief. He thinks that they possessed originally the same color, as that of the north-eastern nations of Asia.

Dr. Swinton, author of many parts of the Universal History, after stating the different opinions of various authors, who have advocated in favor of "the dispersed people," the Phœnicians and other eastern nations, observes, "that, therefore, the Americans in general were descended from a people who inhabited a country not so far distant from them as Egypt and Phœnicia, one will, as we apprehend, readily admit. Now, no country can be pitched upon so proper and convenient for this purpose, as the north-eastern part of Asia, particularly Great Tartary, Siberia, and more especially the peninsula of Kamschatka. That probably was the tract through which many Tartarian colonies passed into America, and peopled the most considerable part of the new world."[17]

FOOTNOTE:

[17] Book of the Indians.

III. VIRGINIA INDIAN WARS.

EARLY troubles of the English with the Indians--Power and cruelty
of Powhatan--His apparent friendship for the
Colonists--Treacherous conduct--Kindness of
Pocahontas--Inhuman conduct of Lord De la War--Captivity of
Pocahontas--Cruel Massacre of the
Whites--Opecancanough--Troubles with Totopotomoi--Anecdote of
Jack-of-the-feather.

The intercourse of the colonists in VIRGINIA with the Indians, was not altogether such as to secure their friendship. Difficulties arose, which were settled only by a resort to wars and massacres. The earlier colonists either returned to their native land, were destroyed by famine, or were cut off by violence. The whole scheme of colonizing was, at first, a series of mismanagement or misfortune. The earliest attempt at settlement, under the Captains Amidas and Barlow, in 1684, was abortive. It is related that the English, after landing on an island, called by the Indians Wokokon, saw none of the natives until the third day, when three were observed in a canoe. One of them came on shore, and the English went to him. He was not at all intimidated, but spoke much to them, and then went fearlessly on board the vessels. The whites, after making him some presents, received some food in return. Wingina, chief of the Indians in that place, never had much faith in the good intentions of the English, and to him was mainly attributed the breaking up of the colony. They were disposed to return home, having made no serious attempt at settlement.

The next colony which proceeded to Virginia was conducted by Sir Richard Grenville, in 1685. He had the imprudence to commit an outrage upon the natives, which occasioned at length the breaking up of the colony of one hundred and eight men whom he left behind him. He burned an Indian town, in revenge of a petty theft, which some native committed upon him. Ralf Lane, who was governor, became justly chargeable with very reprehensible conduct. He put to death some of the natives on the most frivolous charges, and it is no wonder that the animosity of the Indians was aroused, and that the small band of adventurers were so discomfited as to seek a return to England.

No attempt to settle Virginia had succeeded up to the year 1607. The ill-advised schemes of the company or their controversies, and the suspicions and hatred of the Indians, had defeated every enterprise hitherto. But one man, Captain Smith, by his sagacity and heroism, at length accomplished the object. Of his adventures, no particular account needs to be given here, as these have been narrated in another part of this work. But his connection with Powhatan affords the occasion of bringing the latter more especially into view in this place. This chief is described as being tall and well-proportioned, wearing an aspect of sadness--exceedingly vigorous, and possessing a body fitted to endure great hardships. At the time of the settlement of Jamestown, he was about sixty years of age, and rendered the more majestic by the grayness of his hair. He inspired the awe of beholders as he was seated on his wooden form, and adorned with his robe of racoon skins, and his headdress of various feathers having the appearance of a crown. He governed many nations, and many of them by the right of conquest. The place of his residence, at first, was at Powhatan, near the falls of James river; but, afterwards, when he had extended his conquests north, it was at a place called Werowocomoco. His dominion included the country upon James river, from its mouth to the falls, and all its tributary streams. This was the boundary of his country southerly, and thus across the territory, "nearly as high as the falls of all the great rivers over the Potowmack, even to Patuxet in Maryland."

He usually kept a guard, consisting of forty or fifty of his bravest men, especially when he slept, but this number was four-fold after the arrival of the English. His wives were numerous, and taken or dismissed at his pleasure. When he slept, one sat at his head and another at his feet. His places for temporary residence, or at certain seasons of the year, were numerous. At these places he had victuals provided against his coming, in spacious wigwams thirty or forty yards in extent. His manner of attack upon his neighbors, was stealthy and fiercely cruel. An instance is given, in his surprisal, on one occasion, of the people of Payankatank, who were his neighbors and subjects. To effect his barbarous purpose, he sent several of his men to lodge with them the night on which he designed an attack; then, secretly surrounding them in their wigwams, commenced a horrid massacre. Many of the men were killed, their scalps taken, and the women and children made prisoners. The scalps were exhibited upon a line between two trees as a trophy, and the chief of Payankatank and his wife Powhatan became servants to the emperor.

Through Captain Smith's address, this prince was now brought completely into the English interest; although eventually, through the imprudent conduct of Newport, who soon after arrived from England, he was induced to practice deception upon his new friends, in the way of trade. Smith, however, in his turn, took advantage of the emperor, to the no great credit of his moral principles. The revenge was complete, as the following example shows; Smith gained his end fully, by pretending to set a great value on a few blue beads, which he had exposed to Powhatan as if by accident, and which he professed to be very unwilling to part with, as they were worn, according to his account, only by great kings. This fired the emperor with the wish to secure them, at whatever sacrifice on his part. In the infatuation produced, he parted with two or three hundred bushels of corn, for a pound or two of beads. Thus the intercourse of the whites with these simple children of nature, in the early period of our history, was not always marked with that delicate regard of right and veracity, with which every transaction of this nature should be attended. The consequences very naturally appeared in the many plots and counter-plots which were contrived to embarrass one another, or to effect unlawful objects.