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FOUR AMERICAN INDIANS
KING PHILIP
TECUMSEH
PONTIAC
OSCEOLA
A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS
BY
EDSON L. WHITNEY and FRANCES M. PERRY
NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Copyright, 1904, by
EDSON L. WHITNEY and FRANCES M. PERRY
Four Am. Ind.
CONTENTS
THE STORY OF KING PHILIP
CHAPTER PAGE
I. PHILIP'S PEOPLE 9
II. PHILIP'S CHILDHOOD HOME 12
III. MASSASOIT AND HIS TWO SONS 15
IV. PHILIP HEARS OF THE ENGLISH 19
V. PHILIP MEETS THE ENGLISH 23
VI. PHILIP'S EDUCATION 26
VII. PHILIP'S DAILY LIFE 30
VIII. PHILIP'S RELATIONS WITH THE ENGLISH 34
IX. PHILIP BECOMES GRAND SACHEM 37
X. PHILIP'S TROUBLES WITH THE WHITES 39
XI. PHILIP AND THE INDIAN COUNCILS 42
XII. KING PHILIP'S WAR 45
XIII. THE LAST DAYS OF PHILIP 48
THE STORY OF PONTIAC
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE MEETING OF PONTIAC AND THE ENGLISH 53
II. PONTIAC'S CHILDHOOD 59
III. PONTIAC'S EDUCATION 62
IV. THE CHIEF 66
V. THE PLOT 70
VI. THE SEVENTH OF MAY 74
VII. HOSTILITIES BEGUN 79
VIII. THE TWO LEADERS 84
IX. THE SIEGE OF DETROIT 89
X. IMPORTANT ENGAGEMENTS 95
XI. THE END OF THE SIEGE 101
XII. ALL ALONG THE FRONTIER 104
XIII. THE LAST OF PONTIAC 110
THE STORY OF TECUMSEH
CHAPTER PAGE
I. EARLY YEARS 117
II. YOUTH 121
III. ADVENTURES OF THE YOUNG BRAVE 125
IV. TECUMSEH DISSATISFIED 128
V. TECUMSEH'S BROTHER, THE PROPHET 133
VI. GREENVILLE 137
VII. THE PROPHET'S TOWN 144
VIII. THE COUNCIL BETWEEN HARRISON AND TECUMSEH 149
IX. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 155
X. THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE 161
XI. REORGANIZATION OF THE INDIANS 166
XII. TECUMSEH AND THE BRITISH 170
THE STORY OF OSCEOLA
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE EXODUS OF THE RED STICKS 179
II. THE FLORIDA HOME 183
III. THE FIRST SEMINOLE WAR 189
IV. GRIEVANCES 194
V. THE TREATY OF PAYNE'S LANDING 202
VI. HOSTILITIES 207
VII. THE WAR OPENED 212
VIII. OSCEOLA A WAR CHIEF 219
IX. THE SEMINOLES HOLD THEIR OWN 223
X. OSCEOLA AND GENERAL JESUP 228
XI. THE IMPRISONMENT OSCEOLA 233
XII. THE END 238
THE STORY OF
KING PHILIP
BY
EDSON L. WHITNEY
THE STORY OF KING PHILIP
I. PHILIP'S PEOPLE
Philip, ruler of the Wampanoags, was the only Indian in our country to
whom the English colonists gave the title of king. Why no other Indian
ever received this title I cannot tell, neither is it known how it
happened to be given to Philip.
The Wampanoags were a tribe of Indians whose homes were in what is now
southeastern Massachusetts and in Rhode Island east of Narragansett Bay.
A few of them, also, lived on the large islands farther south, Nantucket
and Martha's Vineyard.
[Illustration: A GRAND SACHEM]
Three centuries ago Massasoit, Philip's father, was the grand sachem, or
ruler, of the Wampanoags. His people did not form one united tribe. They
had no states, cities, and villages, with governors, mayors, and
aldermen, as we have. Nor did they live in close relations with one
another and vote for common officers.
On the other hand, they lived in very small villages. A few families
pitched their wigwams together and lived in much the same way as people
do now when they camp out in the summer.
Generally, among the Wampanoags, only one family lived in a wigwam. The
fathers, or heads of the families in the different wigwams, came
together occasionally and consulted about such matters as seemed
important to them.
[Illustration: WIGWAMS]
Every one present at the meeting had a right to express his opinion on
the question under consideration, and as often as he wished. All spoke
calmly, without eloquence, and without set speeches. They talked upon
any subject they pleased, as long as they pleased, and when they
pleased.
The most prominent person in a village was called the sagamore. His
advice and opinion were generally followed, and he governed the people
in a very slight manner.
The Indians of several villages were sometimes united together in a
petty tribe and were ruled by a sachem, or chief.
The chief did not rule over a very large tract of country. Generally
none of his subjects lived more than eight or ten miles away from him.
He ruled as he pleased, and was not subject to any constitution or court
of any kind. In fact, he was a leader rather than a ruler. Nevertheless,
a wise chief never did anything of great importance without first
consulting the different sagamores of his tribe.
The chief held a little higher position in the tribe than the sagamore
did in his village. He settled disputes. He held a very rude form of
court, where justice was given in each case according to its merits. He
sent and received messengers to and from other tribes.
As several villages were united in a single petty tribe, so also several
petty tribes were loosely joined together and ruled over by a grand
sachem.
The different Wampanoag tribes which owed allegiance to Philip and his
father, Massasoit, were five in number besides the small bands on the
islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The village where the grand
sachem lived was called by them Pokanoket.
II. PHILIP'S CHILDHOOD HOME
Massasoit had several children. The eldest son was named Wamsutta, and
the second Metacomet. In later years, the English gave them the names of
Alexander and Philip, which are much easier names for us to pronounce.
We do not know the exact date of Philip's birth, for the Indians kept no
account of time as we do, nor did they trouble to ask any one his age.
It is probable, however, that Philip was born before 1620, the year in
which the Pilgrims settled near the Wampanoags.
Philip spent his boyhood days playing with his brothers and sisters, and
with the neighbors' children; for although he was the son of a grand
sachem, he had no special privileges above those of the other children
around him.
We are apt to think of a prince as a man that does very little work. We
expect him to attend banquets, to be dressed in military uniform, with a
beautiful sword at his side and many medals on his breast, to be
surrounded by servants, and to have everybody bow down to him and stand
ready to do his bidding.
It was very different with Philip. He lived in no better way than did
the other members of his tribe. His home was neither better nor worse
than theirs. His food was of the same quality. His daily life was the
same. He wore no uniform. He never heard of medals or badges. He had no
servants. His father differed from the other Indians only in being
their leader in time of war and in being looked up to whenever the
chiefs of the tribe held a meeting, or council.
Philip's home was not such as American boys and girls are brought up in.
There were no toys, no baby carriages, no candy. There were no romps
with the parents, for the Indians were a quiet, sober people, and rarely
showed any affection for their children.
Philip's father never played any games with him. In fact, in his younger
days the boy never received very much attention from his father. He was
taken care of by his mother. He was never rocked in a cradle, but was
strapped in a kind of bag made of broad pieces of bark and covered with
soft fur. Sometimes he was carried in this on his mother's back, as she
went about her work. Sometimes he was hung up on the branch of a tree.
[Illustration: INDIAN BABY]
The little house in which he lived was called a wigwam. It was circular,
or oval, in shape, and made of barks or mats laid over a framework of
small poles. These poles were fixed at one end in the ground, and were
fastened together at the top, forming a framework shaped somewhat like a
tent.
Two low openings on opposite sides of the wigwam served as doors. These
were closed with mats when necessary, thus making the place tight and
warm.
The wigwam had but one room. In the middle of it were a few stones
which served as a fireplace. There was no chimney, but the smoke passed
out through an opening at the top of the wigwam.
On one side of the fireplace was a large couch made of rough boards
raised perhaps a foot above the ground and covered with mats or skins.
The couch was very wide, so that Philip and the rest of the children
could lie on it side by side at night.
There was no other furniture in the room. A few baskets were hung on the
walls ready for use. A few mats were placed here and there as ornaments.
The dishes that held Philip's food were rude vessels made of baked clay,
of pieces of bark, of bits of hollowed stone, or of wood.
[Illustration: MOUNT HOPE]
There was very little desire to keep the wigwam neat and tidy. It was
used for only a few months, and then given up for a new one that was
built near by. In the summer it was customary to pitch the wigwam in an
open place. In the winter it was pitched in the thick woods for
protection from the winds and storms.
Such was the home in which Philip was brought up. It differed but little
from those of his playmates, for there was no aristocracy among the
Indians. The place where Massasoit and his family generally lived was
near the present site of Bristol, on a narrow neck of land projecting
into Narragansett Bay. It is now called Mount Hope, and is twelve or
fifteen miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island.
III. MASSASOIT AND HIS TWO SONS
[Illustration]
In the early evening, during his boyhood days, Philip delighted to sit
near the camp fire where the members of his tribe were wont to gather.
There he eagerly listened to the stories of adventure told by his
elders, and wished that he was old enough to enter into the sports that
they so interestingly described.
Although children were not expected to talk in the presence of their
elders, Philip frequently showed his interest in their stories by
asking many questions in regard to the places visited by the older
Indians.
In those days news traveled slowly from one little village to another,
for there were neither telegraphs nor telephones; no, not even
railroads. In fact, there were no roads, and even the paths through the
woods were so little used that it was difficult to find one's way from
one place to another. The Indians kept no animals of any kind, and
always traveled from place to place on foot.
One pleasant evening in June, in the year 1620, little Philip noticed
that there was less general story-telling than usual, and that the
Indians seemed greatly interested in a long story which one of their
number was telling. He could not understand the story, but he frequently
caught the words, "Squanto" and "English." These were new words to him.
The next evening, as Philip and his brother were sitting by the fire,
they asked their father what had caused the Indians to be so serious in
their talk, and what the long story was about.
"Squanto has come home," his father replied.
"And who is Squanto?" asked Philip.
Then his father told him a story, which was too long to be repeated
here. But in brief it was as follows:
Several years before--long, in fact, before Philip was born--a ship had
come from across the sea. It was larger than any other vessel the
Indians had ever seen.
The only boats that Philip knew anything about were quite small, and
were called canoes. They were made either of birch bark fastened over a
light wooden frame, or of logs that had been hollowed by burning and
charring.
[Illustration: INDIAN IN CANOE]
But the boat from across the sea was many times larger than any of
theirs--so Massasoit explained to the boys--and had accommodations for a
great many men. Instead of being pushed along by paddles, it was driven
by the wind by means of large pieces of cloth stretched across long,
strong sticks of wood.
The Indians did not go down to the shore, but watched this boat from
the highlands some distance inland. Finally the vessel stopped and some
of the men came ashore. The Indians looked at the strangers in
astonishment. Their skin was of a pale, whitish color, very different
from that of the Indians, which was of a copper or reddish clay color.
The white men, or the pale-faced men, as Massasoit called them, made
signs of friendship to the Indians, and after a few minutes persuaded
them to go down to the shore. There the two peoples traded with each
other. The Indians gave furs and skins, and received in return beads and
trinkets of various kinds.
When the vessel sailed away it carried off five Indians who had been
lured on board and had not been allowed to return to shore. These
Indians had not been heard from since, and that was fifteen years
before.
Little Philip's eyes increased in size, and instinctively he clenched
his fists at the thought of the wrong that had been done his people by
the palefaces.
His father went on with the story, and told him how the Indians then
vowed vengeance on the white man; for it was a custom of the Indians to
punish any person who committed a wrong act towards one of their number.
From time to time, other vessels visited their shores, but no Indian
could ever be induced to go on board any of them.
Nine years later, another outrage was committed. The palefaces while
trading with the Indians suddenly seized upon twenty-seven of the
latter, took them to their vessel, and sailed away with them before
they could be rescued. Is it any wonder that Philip felt that the whites
were his natural enemies?
After that time, Massasoit said, the Indians had refused to have any
dealings with the whites. Whenever a white man's vessel came in sight,
the Indians prepared to shoot any one that came ashore. And now another
white man's vessel had arrived on the coast, and several of its crew had
landed in spite of all that could be done to prevent them.
To the great surprise of Massasoit's men, there was an Indian with these
palefaces. And that Indian proved to be Squanto, one of the five who had
been taken away fifteen years before.
This is but a bare outline of what Massasoit told his sons. It seemed to
the lads like a fairy tale, and for days they talked of nothing but this
strange story.
IV. PHILIP HEARS OF THE ENGLISH
During the following summer young Philip heard many an interesting story
about the English. Squanto himself came to see Massasoit several times,
and from him Philip heard the story of his adventures across the sea.
Late in the fall, long before Philip had lost his interest in the
stories of Squanto, another English vessel arrived on the coast of the
Indian country.
On the eleventh day of November, 1620, the vessel anchored near Cape
Cod. Sixteen palefaces came ashore. They did not act like the others who
had preceded them. They made no effort to become acquainted with the
Indians, but spent their time in looking around and in examining the
country.
They found four or five bushels of corn, which had been stored for the
winter by an Indian, and carried it away to their vessel.
This angered the Indians, and we can well imagine the thoughts that
passed through the mind of the boy Philip when he heard that the English
had stolen the corn that belonged to a poor Indian, one of his father's
friends.
[Illustration: WATCHING THE PALEFACES]
The Indians talked the matter over by their camp fire, and little Philip
listened to the story as eagerly as he had listened to the story of
Squanto six months before.
A week or so later, more news came to Mount Hope. The palefaces had
visited the shore a second time, and on this occasion had stolen a bag
of beans and some more corn.
How Philip's anger increased as he heard his father talk the matter over
with the other Indians!
A few days afterwards Philip heard still other news of the English. They
had come ashore a third time. The Indians had watched them from a
distance. Finally, when a good opportunity offered itself, thirty or
forty Indians quietly surrounded the palefaces, and at a given signal
every one of them yelled at the top of his voice and began to shoot
arrows at the hated visitors.
For a time it looked as if the palefaces would be driven into the water.
But soon they fired their guns, and the Indians ran away frightened at
the noise.
Philip was greatly interested in the description that was given of a
gun. He had never so much as heard of one before, and he thought it very
strange that any one should be afraid of little pieces of lead. He could
not see why it was not as easy to dodge bullets as it was to dodge
arrows.
A week or two later still further news was brought to Massasoit's
village. The palefaces had left Cape Cod and had sailed across the bay
to Patuxet (to which the English gave the name of Plymouth). There they
had gone ashore and had built some log cabins, evidently with the
intention of staying for some time.
This was something that the Indians could not understand. Every day some
of them went to the top of the hill which overlooked the little
settlement to see what the English were doing. Then they returned to
Mount Hope with something new to tell about the palefaces, and Philip
eagerly listened to every story that was related.
Several meetings of the Indians were held during the winter, at which
Philip was always present, and finally one of their number, whose name
was Samoset, was sent to Plymouth to ask the English why they had
settled in this land which belonged, of right, to the red men.
Samoset returned a few days later. He told his story to the Indians
around the camp fire, little Philip, as usual, paying great attention to
what was said.
Samoset said that the palefaces had been very kind to him, and had told
him that they had come to this country to settle, that they wanted to
live on the most friendly terms with the red men, and that they desired
to pay not only for the corn and beans which they had taken, but also
for the land on which they had built their village.
At the close of his story the Indians expressed themselves as satisfied
with the palefaces, and Philip felt that perhaps the English were not so
bad as he had thought them to be.
Samoset was then sent to the settlers to tell them that Massasoit and
some of his friends would like to meet them for a friendly talk about
many things that might otherwise become a cause of disagreement between
them. He brought back word that the English eagerly welcomed the
opportunity to meet the Indians, and had offered to see them on the
following day.
[Illustration]
V. PHILIP MEETS THE ENGLISH
The next day Massasoit and sixty of his warriors visited the English.
They did not go into the English village, but stopped on the top of the
hill near by.
Philip was not with them, for at this time he was too young to go so far
away from home. We can imagine his feelings, however, when he saw his
father and the warriors start out on their journey.
They were dressed in costumes that would look very strange if seen on
our streets to-day. Their clothing was made of the raw skin of wild
animals. Their feet were protected by moccasins made of thin deerskin.
Each one was tall, erect, and active, with long, coarse, black hair
falling down his back.
[Illustration: A WARRIOR]
None of them had any physical deformities, for it was the custom of the
tribe to kill any child that was born deaf, dumb, blind, or lame.
Each one was decked with his personal ornaments. These did not consist
of gold, silver, diamonds, or any other precious stones so familiar to
us. The Indians knew nothing about these. Their ornaments consisted of
ear-rings, nose-rings, bracelets, and necklaces made out of shells or
fish-bones or shining stones, which were very common in that
neighborhood.
Their faces were smeared with heavy daubs of paint. Each one had a
cloak thrown over his shoulders, and he also wore a head-dress made of
feathers or quills. To Philip it seemed as if he had never seen anything
so imposing.
We can imagine how eagerly Philip listened to the story that his father
told when he came back home: how the settlers came out to meet him on
the hill, and made him a present of three knives, a copper chain, and an
ear-ring, besides several good things to eat, very different from
anything he had ever tasted before.
Then Massasoit described the treaty that he had made with the palefaces
in which the settlers and the Wampanoags had agreed to remain friends
and to help each other in every way they could. To make the treaty as
strong as possible, the palefaces had written it down on paper and had
signed their names to it. The Indians did not know how to read or write.
That was something that they had never heard of before. But they drew
rude pictures at the end of the writing and called these pictures their
names.
Philip never tired listening to the stories about the palefaces. He was
still too young to be taken to their settlement, but he longed for a
chance to see them.
Suddenly, one day in the middle of the summer of 1621, about four months
after the Indians had made their treaty with the whites, six warriors
came into the little Indian village at Mount Hope with two men, who
Philip saw were palefaces. They were not so tall as the Indians. They
were thicker set, and their faces were covered with beards.
Massasoit recognized them immediately, for they were some of the party
that he had met at Plymouth. They had come on a friendly visit to him,
and had brought him a red cotton coat and a copper chain. Philip was
greatly pleased to see the palefaces, of whom he had heard so much. He
listened to their stories, answered their inquiries in regard to Indian
life, and learned what he could about their homes and customs.
After this, the settlers called on the Indians many times, and Philip
soon became very well acquainted with them.
During the next few months several white men came from England and
settled at Weymouth, a few miles north of Plymouth. These new settlers
were not so honest as those that had settled at Plymouth. They stole
from the Indians and otherwise injured them, and caused them to plot
against all the whites in the country. But before their plans were
carried out Massasoit was taken sick. The medicine man was called in.
The medicine man was the physician. He had learned the medicinal virtues
of a few simple herbs. He knew how to bind up wounds in bark with
certain preparations of leaves, and he could also cure a few fevers. He
went through many magical ceremonies with howls, roars, and antics of
various kinds. If the sick man became well, the medicine man took all
the credit; if the patient died, then the medicine man said that the bad
spirit had too strong a hold on him.
But the medicine man did not help Massasoit. Philip watched by his
father's side and saw him grow worse day by day. He remembered how, only
a few years before, the smallpox had carried away large numbers of the
Indians, and now he began to think that the days of his father, too,
were numbered.
But one day a paleface, one of the leaders of the colony at Plymouth,
came into the Indian village. He sent the medicine man away and tenderly
nursed Massasoit himself. He gave him medicine, nourished him with
several little delicacies, and brought him slowly back to health.
Massasoit was so grateful for the kindness shown him that he told the
palefaces of the Indian plot against them.
The whites at Weymouth were driven away and the palefaces at Plymouth
continued to live on most excellent terms of friendship with the
Wampanoags.
In the years that followed, Philip became better acquainted with the
whites, and while he never loved them, he had great respect for their
wisdom.
VI. PHILIP'S EDUCATION
During the next twenty years many more white men came and settled on or
near the lands of the Wampanoags.
In the mean time, Philip grew to manhood and received the same education
that was given to the other young men of his tribe. It was very
different from the education received by us to-day. The Indians had no
schools. Philip did not learn his A B C's or the multiplication table.
He never learned how to read or write. He knew nothing about science,
and could not even count, or keep track of time.
His education was of a different character, and was intended to make him
brave, daring, hardy, and able to bear pain; for these things were
thought by the Indians to be of the greatest importance.
He was taught to undergo the most horrible tortures without a word of
complaint or a sign of anguish. He would beat his shins and legs with
sticks, and run prickly briars and brambles into them in order to become
used to pain. He would run eighty to one hundred miles in one day and
back in the next two.
When he neared manhood he was blindfolded and taken into the woods far
from home to a place where he had never been before.
There he was left with nothing but a hatchet, a knife, and a bow and
arrows. The winter was before him, and he was expected to support
himself through it. If he was unable to do so, it was better for him to
die then.
Philip passed the lonely winter far away from home. Many times did he
wish that he was back in his father's wigwam where he could talk with
his parents and his brothers and his friends, and know what the
palefaces were doing.
But he knew that if he should return to his little village before the
winter was over he would be branded as a coward, and never be
considered worthy to succeed his father as sachem.
[Illustration: THE YOUNG HUNTER]
What, he, Philip, a prince, afraid? No, no, no! Of course he was not
afraid. What was there to be afraid of? Had he not always lived in the
woods? Still, he was a little lonely, and once in a while he wanted some
one to talk with.
So Philip went to work with a will. With his hatchet he cut down some
small trees, made them into poles, and placed one end of them in the
ground. With his knife he cut some bark from the trees and laid it over
the poles so that he had a fairly comfortable shelter from the storms
and winds which he knew would soon surely come. Then he spent several
days in hunting birds and wild game in the forest. With his bow and
arrows he shot enough to support himself through the winter.
Many an adventure did he have. Many a time did he lie down at night
without having tasted food during the whole livelong day. Many a savage
beast did he see, and on several occasions he climbed trees, or crawled
into caves, or ran as fast as he could, to get out of their way.
But he had a strong will. He knew that the son of the grand sachem of
the Wampanoags could do anything that any other Indian had done. And so
he passed the long, cold winter, bravely and without complaining.
In the spring, when his father and friends came after him, they found
him well and strong. His winter's work had made him healthy and rugged.
He was taken home, and a feast was prepared in honor of Massasoit's son
who had returned to his home stronger than when he had gone away the
fall before.
During the next two moons--for the Indians counted by moons and not by
months as we do--Philip led an idle life. He did no work of any kind. He
was taking his vacation after the hard winter life he had led alone in
the woods.
But his education was not yet finished. His body had been made strong.
It was next necessary to strengthen his constitution against the evil
effects of poison. He again went into the forest, and daily found
poisonous and bitter herbs and roots. These he bruised and put the
juices into water, which he drank.
Then he drank other juices which acted as antidotes and prevented his
sickness or death. He did this day after day until his constitution
became used to the poisons, and he was able to drink them freely without
any harm coming to him.
Then he went home. The people sang and danced and gave him another great
feast. He was now considered a man and ready to marry and have a wigwam
of his own.
The wedding ceremony was extremely simple. There were no presents, no
flowers, no guests, no ceremony, no banquet. Philip simply asked a
certain woman to come and live with him. She came and was thereafter his
wife, or squaw, as the Indians called her.
We have no record of the date of his marriage, for the Indians kept no
such records. We only know that it took place soon after his return from
his battle with poisons in the woods.
VII. PHILIP'S DAILY LIFE
We should consider the daily life of Philip very monotonous. It was the
same, day by day, year in and year out, with very little change. The
little village where he lived contained fewer than one hundred
inhabitants. Everybody was thoroughly acquainted with everybody else.
There was no society such as we have to-day. Philip's squaw did not
dress herself up in the afternoon, and make calls on the other squaws.
If she wished to talk with them she went where they were, whether it was
morning, afternoon, or evening.
There were no parties, no receptions, no theaters, no art museums, no
libraries, no books, no music, no fireworks, no holidays, no Sabbath.
The Indians believed in a good and a bad spirit, but they had no
churches or temples or service or worship or priests.
So we cannot think of Philip sitting in the best pew in church, and
listening to a grand sermon, preached by the most famous minister in the
country. Philip knew nothing of sermons.
He played no games that instructed his mind. He cared for only such
games as would strengthen his body, increase his power of endurance, or
develop his muscle or his craftiness. With the other Indians he played
football, tossed quoits, wrestled, ran, and jumped.
Occasionally he engaged with them in the war dance. This was performed
in a very solemn manner. It represented a war campaign, or a sham
battle, as we say. First, the Indians came together from different
directions. Then they marched forward stealthily and quietly, lay in
ambush, awaited the coming of the enemy, suddenly jumped out and rushed
upon them, slaughtered them, retreated, and finally went home. The dance
ended with the reception at home, and the torturing and killing of the
prisoners.
These were his amusements. His occupations were two in number: hunting
and fishing.
In the fall of the year, and again in the spring, he spent about three
months in hunting. In company with his brother or some close friend, he
went in search of a supply of meat for the use of the family, and of
skins to sell to the white men or to use for clothing.
After reaching the hunting-grounds, they built a big wigwam where they
stayed at night. There also they stored the skins of the animals they
had captured.
Many stories might be told of the exciting adventures they had with
bears and wolves. The woods of New England contained many moose and
other wild animals, and generally Philip returned to his little village
with meat enough to last all winter. Frequently he brought home as many
as one hundred beaver skins.
But Philip, like others, had bad luck sometimes. Now and then he lost
his way in the woods, and on one or two occasions the raft on which he
was taking his skins across the river upset and the results of his
winter's labor were lost.
He captured his game by shooting or snaring, or by catching it in
pitfalls. When the hunting season was over he spent his time in fishing.
Generally he caught his fish in nets, although occasionally he used a
hook and line.
When not engaged in hunting or fishing, or attending a meeting of Indian
princes, he was generally to be found near his wigwam, asleep or
watching his squaw at work.
All the work around the wigwam was done by his wife or squaw. According
to the Indian view she was his slave. She covered and lined the wigwam,
plaited the mats and baskets, planted, tended, and harvested the corn
and vegetables, cooked the food, ate the leavings, and slept on the
coldest side of the wigwam.
[Illustration: SQUAWS AT WORK]
Many Indians did not care very much for their squaws, and made their
lives miserable by treating them badly, and showing them no sympathy nor
love in any way whatever. But we are told that Philip was better than
the other Indians in this respect. He loved his wife and treated her as
a companion instead of as a slave.
Philip had no pots and kettles like ours. His wife roasted his meat by
placing it on the point of a stake. She broiled it by laying it on hot
coals or hot stones. She boiled it in rude vessels made of stone, earth,
or wood, and heated the water by throwing hot stones into it.
Philip's only garden tool was a hoe, made of clam shells or of a moose's
shoulder-blade fastened to a wooden handle. He also had a rude axe or
hatchet made of a piece of stone, sharpened by being scraped on another
stone, and tied to a wooden handle. His arrows and spears were tipped
with bone or with triangular pieces of flint. These were all home-made,
for Philip, like other Indians, was obliged to make his own hatchets and
arrows.
Finally, Philip never went to the store to buy things to be used at
home, for the Indians kept no stores. His wife raised the corn,
squashes, and pumpkins, and he caught his own fish and game. These, with
nuts, roots, and berries, gave him all the food he needed.
VIII. PHILIP'S RELATIONS WITH THE ENGLISH
Such was the daily life of Philip year after year, with but little
change. Occasionally he met the palefaces in the woods or at his
father's village. Now and then he went to Plymouth and traded with them.
Several of them he considered to be his strong personal friends.
We have already seen how greatly interested he was in his boyhood days
at the coming of the white men and how friendly he felt toward them at
that time. He, his father, and the other Wampanoags continued to remain
on friendly terms with the English, although several other Indian tribes
did not.
Between the years 1628 and 1640 many white people settled forty or fifty
miles north of Plymouth, in what is now Boston and Salem, and other
cities and towns near Massachusetts Bay.
Others settled inland on the Connecticut River, near the present
boundary line between Massachusetts and Connecticut, about seventy-five
miles west from Mount Hope, the home of Philip. Others settled at
Providence, and still others on the island of Rhode Island, fifteen to
twenty miles south of Mount Hope.
The settlers on the Connecticut had trouble with the Pequots, a tribe of
Indians living to the west of the Wampanoags, and in the war that
followed, all the Pequots were killed. The whites also had trouble with
the Narragansetts, who lived near Providence, outbreaks occurring every
year or two for several years.
During these years Philip and his father did nothing to injure the
settlers in any way. They refused to aid the other Indians in their wars
with the English, preferring to remain faithful to their early treaty
with the whites; and the whites remained on the most friendly terms with
them.
Philip knew nothing of the Christian religion. Several attempts were
made by the whites to convert the Indians to Christianity. In 1646, John
Eliot translated the Bible into the Indian language, taught the Indians
the English habits of industry and agriculture, and established near
Boston two towns composed entirely of converted Indians.
At the same time, Thomas Mayhew preached to the Wampanoags on Martha's
Vineyard, and there converted a great many. By the year 1675, four
thousand Indians had been converted to Christianity.
But the missionaries were not successful with Philip and the Wampanoags
at Mount Hope. They utterly refused to listen to the preachers. They
preferred their former mode of life, and there were several good reasons
for this preference, as they thought.
Philip noticed that many white men who called themselves Christians were
in the habit of stealing from the red men, and cheating them whenever
they could. He could not see that the Christian religion made them more
happy, more honest, or better than he was.
Again, he noticed that, as soon as the Indians were converted, they left
their former life and companions and joined themselves to the English.
This tended to lessen the control of the chiefs over their tribes, and
so reduced their power. Thus he saw that a great deal might be lost by
changing his religion, or by urging his followers to change theirs.
Nevertheless, Massasoit and his sons remained strong friends to the
Plymouth people until 1661, when Massasoit died, being about eighty
years of age.
IX. PHILIP BECOMES GRAND SACHEM
According to the custom of the Indians, Wamsutta, the eldest son of
Massasoit, succeeded his father as grand sachem of the Wampanoags.
Almost his first act was to go to Plymouth, where he made some requests
of the settlers. These were granted. Then he asked for an English name,
and was given the name of Alexander.
He was so much pleased with this name that he asked for an English name
for his younger brother, Metacomet. The English gave him the name of
Philip, by which name we have been calling him in our account of his
life.
A few days later, ten armed men suddenly appeared at the place where
Wamsutta and several of his followers were holding a feast, and arrested
them all. Wamsutta was taken to Plymouth immediately, and charged with
plotting with the Narragansetts against the English.
Being seized by force on their own grounds, and compelled to go to
Plymouth to answer charges based on rumor, was a new, experience for the
Wampanoags. It was very different from the friendly manner in which they
had been treated formerly.
The English treated Wamsutta very well at Plymouth. They could prove
nothing against him, and hence they soon let him go. On his way home he
died.
As Wamsutta left no children, he was succeeded by his brother Philip.
There was no ceremony of crowning, no procession, no speeches. In fact,
there was no crown at all; nor was there any ceremony of any kind. The
other Indians merely obeyed Philip just as they had formerly obeyed his
father and his brother.
Philip and all the members of the Wampanoag tribe believed that
Wamsutta's death was due to poison which had been given him by the
whites when he was at Plymouth. According to the belief and custom of
the Indians, it was Philip's duty to take vengeance on those who had
caused his brother's death.
Still, Philip made no attempt to injure the whites in any way. But the
whites became suspicious, probably because they felt that they had done
wrong; and very soon they summoned Philip to Plymouth to answer a charge
of plotting against them.
Philip acted very honorably in the matter. Instead of hiding in the
forest, as he might easily have done, he went to Plymouth. There he had
a long talk with the whites. He denied that he had plotted against them.
He showed them that it was against his own interests to have any trouble
with them, and as proof of his good intentions toward them, he offered
to leave his next younger brother with them as a hostage.
He agreed to continue the treaty that his father had made forty years
before. He went further, and acknowledged himself to be a faithful
subject of the King of England, and promised not to make war on any
Indian tribe unless the English first gave their consent.
For several years Philip was grand sachem of the Wampanoags and kept
this treaty with great faithfulness. During this time his duties were
similar to those which his father had had, and his life was uneventful.
He was consulted by the other sachems of the tribe, and his advice was
generally followed by them.
Like his father, the good Massasoit, he was inclined to be conservative;
that is, he did not like to change the established order of things. He
was very much liked by the Indians, who felt that he tried to treat them
all honestly and fairly.
He went to Plymouth very frequently, to visit the whites and to trade
with them. And, likewise, the whites frequently came to Mount Hope to
see him.
The relations between the whites and the Indians were such that it was
perfectly safe for a white man to go anywhere among the Wampanoags
unarmed. This is something that cannot be said of any other Indian tribe
in the colonial days. The Indians, acting under orders from King Philip,
treated the whites honestly and fairly. In fact, there was a feeling of
great friendship between the whites and the Indians.
X. PHILIP'S TROUBLES WITH THE WHITES
Ten years passed by peacefully, except for one little trouble, which
occurred in 1667, six years after Philip became sachem. An Indian told
the people at Plymouth that Philip had said that he wished the Dutch
would beat the English in the war which was then being carried on
between Holland and England.
The Plymouth people were very much surprised at this, and immediately
called Philip to account. But he denied ever making any such statement,
and offered to surrender all his arms to the English in order to show
that he had no hostile designs against them. This satisfied the English.
Everything went on quietly until 1671, when troubles between the two
races finally began to arise.
In that year Philip complained that the English were not living up to
their agreement which they had made with him ten years before. At the
request of the people of Plymouth, Philip went to Taunton, a village
near his hunting-grounds, and talked matters over with them.
He was accompanied by a band of warriors armed to the teeth and painted.
The meeting was held in the little village church. Philip and his
Indians sat on one side of the room and the English on the other.
A man from Boston, who was thought to be friendly to both parties, was
chosen to preside over the meeting. Then the Indians and the settlers
made speeches, one after the other, just as is done in meetings to-day.
Philip admitted that lately he had begun to prepare for war, and also
that some of his Indians had not treated the whites justly. But he also
showed that the English were arming themselves, and that many of them
had cheated the Indians when dealing with them.
Philip said that he preferred peace to war, and had only armed his
warriors in self-defense. Finally, it was decided to make a new treaty.
Here is a copy of the new treaty as it was drawn up. Notice the quaint
way of expressing the ideas, and also, that many words are not spelled
as we spell them to-day. Notice, too, how one-sided the treaty is, and
that it is signed only by Philip and the Indians.
COPY OF THE TREATY MADE AT TAUNTON, APRIL 10, 1671.
Whereas my Father, my Brother, and my self have formerly submitted
our selves and our people unto the Kings Majesty of England, and
this Colony of New-Plymouth, by solemn Covenant under our Hand, but
I having of late through my indiscretion, and the naughtiness of my
heart, violated and broken this my Covenant with my friends by
taking up arms, with evill intent against them, and that
groundlessly; I being now deeply sensible of my unfaithfulness and
folly, do desire at this time solemnly to renew my Covenant with my
ancient Friends and my Father's friends above mentioned; and doe
desire this may testifie to the world against me, if ever I shall
again fail in my faithfulness towards them (that I have now and at
all times found so kind to me) or any other of the English
colonyes; and as a reall Pledge of my true Intentions, for the
future to be faithful and friendly, I doe freely ingage to resign
up unto the Government of New-Plymouth, all my English Armes to be
kept by them for their security, so long as they shall see reason.
For true performance of the Premises I have hereunto set my hand
together with the rest of my council.
In the presence of The Mark of Philip,
Chief Sachem of Pokanoket
William Davis. The Mark of Tavoser.
William Hudson. ---- ---- Capt. Wisposke.
Thomas Brattle. ---- ---- Woonkaponehunt.
---- ---- Nimrod.
But Philip doubted the sincerity of the English. He hesitated to give up
his arms. Then the settlers ordered him to come to Plymouth and explain
why.
Instead of obeying, he went to Boston and complained there of the
treatment he had received. He said that his father, his brother, and
himself had made treaties of friendship with the English which the
latter were trying to turn into treaties of subjection. He said he was a
subject of the King of England, but not of the colony of Plymouth, and
he saw no reason why the people of Plymouth should try to treat him as a
subject.
The people of Massachusetts again made peace between Philip and the
settlers at Plymouth. But it could not long continue, for each side had
now become thoroughly suspicious of the other.
In 1674, an Indian reported to the settlers that Philip was trying to
get the sachems of New England to wage war on the whites. A few days
later, that Indian's dead body was found in a lake. The English arrested
three Indians and tried them for the murder. They were found guilty and
were executed, although the evidence against them was of such a
character that it would not have been admitted in a court of justice
against a white man.
XI. PHILIP AND THE INDIAN COUNCILS
Philip thought the matter over. He felt that the English had done the
Indians great injustice.
In the first place, the land had originally belonged to the Indians. It
was not of great value to them, for they used it mainly for hunting
purposes. So they had very willingly parted with a few acres to the
English in return for some trinkets of very little value--such as a
jack-knife, or a few glass beads, or little bells, or a blanket.
Then the English had forbidden the Indian to sell his land to any white
man. He was allowed to sell only to the colonial government. This was
done in order to protect him from white men who wanted to cheat him; but
Philip only saw that it prevented his giving away something of little
value to himself, and getting something he wanted in return.
Before the English came, the woods were full of game and the streams
were full of fish. Now Philip noticed that the game was going from the
woods and the fish from the rivers. He felt that the Indians were
becoming poorer and the English were getting richer.
Only the poorer lands were owned by the Indians now. All the best were
in the hands of the white men.
Philip was also tired of the airs of superiority assumed by the whites.
They looked upon the Indians as fit only for servants and slaves. He
thought that his people were as good as the whites. He felt that the
bonds of love and sympathy between the two races had been broken.
In spite of his many complaints and requests, the English had failed to
punish unprincipled white men who had done wrong to the Indians.
Finally, those Indians who had been converted to Christianity had left
their old tribes and their former modes of life. This had weakened the
power of the Indians, and Philip began to think that the English were
Christianizing the Indians simply for the purpose of getting control of
their lands.
Philip felt that the question was too deep a one for him to solve. He
called the sachems of the Wampanoags together, and talked the matter
over with them. Several meetings were held, and every member expressed
himself on the subject very freely.
The question then arose, what should they do? It very soon became
evident that two opposite opinions were held.
It was not the custom of the Indians to vote on any questions that were
discussed at their meetings. They talked the matter over and then
adopted the plan that most of them thought was best. But at this time
they were unable to decide what to do in order to get back that which
they had lost, and how to prevent losing any more. And so they kept on
talking over plans.
Fifty-five years of peace and friendship with the English had resulted
in giving the white men all the land of any value, while the Wampanoags
were decreasing in numbers and each year were finding it more and more
difficult to live.
The young warriors urged immediate action. They wanted war, and wanted
it then, and desired to keep it up until the English should be driven
out of the country.
Philip was opposed to this. He knew how strong the English were, and
that it would be impossible to drive them out. He saw that the time had
gone by when the English could be expelled from the country. He threw
his influence with the older warriors, and for a while succeeded in
holding the younger men in check. He felt that the Indians could never
be successful in a war with the English when the tribe owned only thirty
guns and had no provisions laid aside to carry them through the war.
XII. KING PHILIP'S WAR
Philip did his best to keep at peace with the English. For a while he
succeeded. But his young warriors began to steal hogs and cattle
belonging to the settlers, and on one pleasant Sunday in June, 1675,
when the people were at church, eight young Indians burned a few houses
in the village of Swansea, the nearest town to the Wampanoag
headquarters at Mount Hope. The whites immediately raised a few troops,
marched after the Indians, and had a little skirmish with them.
Philip was not with his warriors at the time. The attack on the whites
had been made against his express orders. When he heard that the Indians
and settlers had really had a battle, he wept from sorrow, something
which an Indian rarely does.