'Epictetus says: "Every thing hath two handles." The art of taking
things by the right handle, or the better side--which charity always
doth--would save much of those janglings and heart-burnings that so
abound in the world.' ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON.
For a long period an unbroken peace had subsisted between the English
settlers and the native tribes. But this could no longer be maintained,
and a succession of petty injuries and mutual misunderstandings brought
about a state of hostility that the Pilgrim Fathers had labored--and,
generally, with success--to avert.
Their kind and equitable treatment of the Indians had not been, as we
have had occasion to show, adopted by the later emigrants, and doubt
and suspicion had taken the place of that confidence and respect with
which the red men had soon learnt to regard the settlers of New
Plymouth.
The recent colony of Connecticut, which was composed of bands of
settlers from Plymouth and Massachusetts, and also a few Dutch
planters, first came into hostile collision with the natives. The
settlers of New Plymouth had entered upon an almost deserted land;
those of Massachusetts had ensured to themselves safety by their
superior strength; and those among the Narragansetts were protected
from injury by the friendly feelings of the neighboring Indians. But
the settlement of Connecticut was surrounded by hardy and hostile
races, and could only enjoy security so long as the mutual hatred of
the native tribes prevented them from uniting against the intruders.
In the extreme west of the Narragansett district, and near the entrance
of Long Island Sound, dwelt a powerful division of the Pequodees; of
that race of red warriors whose pride and ambition caused them to be
both feared and hated by the other tribes in the vicinity. They could
bring upwards of seven hundred warriors into the field, and their
Chief, Sassacus, had, in common with almost all the great Indian
Sagamores, a number of subordinate chiefs, who yielded to him a certain
degree of obedience. The Narragansetts were the only tribe that could
at all compete in strength with the fierce and haughty Pequodees; and
their young Chieftain, Miantonomo, was already regarded by Sassacus as
a dangerous rival.
Such was the feeling that existed among the tribes near the settlements
of Connecticut, when an event occurred that disturbed the peace of the
whole community. Two merchants of Virginia, who had long dwelt in
Massachusetts, and who were engaged in trafficking with the Connecticut
settlers, were suddenly and treacherously attacked by a party of
Pequodees, and, with their attendants, barbarously murdered. And
shortly afterwards another trader, named Oldham, met the same fate,
being assassinated while he was quietly sleeping in his boat, by some
Indians who had, but an hour before, been conversing with him in a
friendly manner. This latter murder did not take place actually among
the Pequodees, but on a small island belonging to the Narragansetts,
called Block Island. But the inhabitants denied all knowledge of its
perpetration, and the murderers fled to the Pequodees, by whom they
were received and sheltered. A strong suspicion, therefore, lay on
them as being guilty of the latter crime, as well as the former.
The government of Massachusetts immediately resolved on punishing the
offenders, and a troop of eighty or ninety men were sent off to Block
Island, to seek for the murderers. The natives endeavored to oppose
their landing; but, after a short contest, they fled, and hid
themselves in the woods. For two days the Boston soldiers remained on
the island, burning and devastating the villages and fields, end firing
at random into the thickets, but without seeing a single being. They
then broke up the canoes that lay on the beach, and sailed away to the
country of the Pequodees to insist on the guilty individuals being
delivered to them and, on this condition, to offer peace. But neither
the murderers nor their protectors were to be found. All had fled to
the forests and the marshes, whither the English could not follow
them, and they merely succeeded in killing and wounding a few
stragglers, and burning the huts that came in their way.
This fruitless expedition rendered the Pequodees bolder than ever, and
the neighboring towns were harassed by their nightly attacks, and,
notwithstanding all their precautions, and the patrols that were set on
every side, the savages fell on the whites whenever they were at work
in the distant fields. They slew the men with their tomahawks end
dragged their wretched wives and daughters away to captivity; and thus,
in a short time, thirty of the English settlers had become the victims
of their fury. Meanwhile, messengers were sent to Plymouth and
Massachusetts, to implore their aid, and the latter state promised two
hundred soldiers, and the former forty, which were as many as its small
population could afford.
The Pequodees, dreading the power of the English, endeavored to move
the Narragansetts--who had from the most distant times been their
rivals and enemies--to join them in an offensive and defensive alliance
against the white men, whom they represented as a common foe to the
Indians, and the future destroyers of their race.
This intended confederation was discovered by Roger Williams, who spent
much of his time in visiting the Indian villages and instructing the
natives, with all of whom he obtained a remarkable degree of influence.
This noble-minded and truly Christian-spirited man immediately seized
the opportunity of repaying with benefits the heavy injuries that he
had received from the Massachusetts; and, with an admirable magnanimity
and self devotion, he set himself to prevent the dangerous alliance.
The government of Massachusetts were well aware that Williams was the
only man who could effect this desirable object; and, on hearing from
him of the schemes of Sassacus, they immediately requested the former
victim of their unjust persecution to employ his influence with the
natives for the benefit of his countrymen: and well and zealously be
complied with this request. He left his now comfortable home, and all
the various employments that occupied his time, and travelled
restlessly from place to place, defying the storms and the waves, in a
miserable canoe; and meeting, with an undaunted courage, the assembled
parties of hostile tribes whom he sought, at his own extreme peril, to
bring into alliance with the English. He succeeded in his patriotic
object, and, after along doubtful negotiation, he persuaded the
Narragansetts to refuse the proffered coalition with the Pequodees.
Their young chief, Miantonomo, even went a journey to Boston, where he
was received with distinguished marks of honor and respect, and signed
a treaty which allied him to the settlers against his own countrymen.
The troops from the river-towns assembled together, and went down the
Connecticut to attack the Pequodees in their own land. Their numbers
were but small--not exceeding eighty men--as each town furnished a much
weaker force than had been promised. But they were joined by a band of
the Mohicans, a hardy race inhabiting the valleys of the Connecticut,
and who had been alienated from the Pequodees by the oppression and
arrogance that had excited the enmity of so many other tribes. The
combined forces of the English and Indians were placed under the
command of Captain Mason, a brave and intelligent officer who had
served in the Netherlands under General Fairfax.
The detachment that was expected from New Plymouth was not ready to
march at the time of the troops taking the field. Captain Standish,
therefore, did not set out himself; but he allowed such of his brother-
soldiers as were ready, to precede him, and take part in the
commencement of the campaign. Among these, Rodolph Maitland, who still
retained all the fire and energy of his youth, was the foremost; and he
led a little band of brave companions to the place of rendezvous. The
learned minister Stone--the friend and colleague of Hooker--accompanied
the troops from Boston; for a band of Puritanical warriors would have
thought themselves but badly provided for without such spiritual aid.
The instructions of the government of Connecticut directed Mason to
land in the harbor of Pequod,[*] and thus attack the Indian forces on
their own ground. But he found the natural strength of the place so
much greater than he expected, and also observed that it was so
watchfully guarded by his enemies, that he resolved to pass on to the
harbor in Narragansett Bay; and, after having strengthened his forces
with the warriors promised by Miantonomo, to attack the Pequodees from
thence. A circumstance occurred here that is so characteristic of the
time, and of the manners of the Puritans, that it must not be omitted.
The officers under Mason were dissatisfied with this alteration in the
plan of the campaign, and asserted that the instructions given to the
commander ought to be literally followed. It was, therefore, resolved
to refer the question to the minister, who was directed 'to bring down
by prayer the responsive decision of the Lord.' Stone passed nearly the
whole night in prayer and supplication for wisdom to decide the matter,
and the next morning declared to the officers that the view taken by
their leader was the right one; on which they all submitted without a
murmur.
[Footnote: Now Newhaven]
The Indian reinforcements continued to increase. Miantonomo brought two
hundred warriors, and other allied tribes joined them on their march,
until the number of native auxiliaries amounted to five hundred. In
these Mason placed little confidence, and would gladly have awaited the
arrival of the forty men from Plymouth, who were already at Providence
on their way to join him. But his men were eager to attack the savages,
and the Indians taunted him with cowardice for desiring to delay the
conflict; and he was forced to advance at once.
The great strength of the Pequodees consisted in two large forts, in
one of which the redoubted Chief, Sassacus, himself commanded. The
other was situated on the banks of the Mystic, an inconsiderable river
that runs parallel to the Connecticut. These Indian forts or castles
consisted of wooden palisades, thirty or forty feet high, generally
erected on an elevated situation, and enclosing a space sufficiently
large to contain a considerable number of wigwams for the aged men--or
whiteheads--and the women and children.
These two fortresses were the pride and the confidence of the
Pequodees, who believed them to be invulnerable; as, indeed, they had
hitherto found them to the assaults of their own countrymen. And the
other Indian tribes appeared to hold them in the same estimation; for
when they found that it was Mason's intention to march directly to the
fort on the Mystic, their courage failed completely. They were only
accustomed to the Indian mode of warfare, which consists in secret
attacks and cunning stratagems; and the idea of braving the terrible
Pequodees in their strongholds, overpowered their resolution. The very
warriors who, only the day before, had boasted of their deeds, now were
crest-fallen, and cried out, 'Sassacus is a God; he is invincible!' and
they deserted in troops, and returned to their own dwellings. Thus the
English found themselves deprived of at least a hundred of their
Narragansett allies. The rest remained with them, as did also the
Mohicans; but their fear of the Pequodees was so great, that Mason could
only employ them as a sort of rear-guard.
Meanwhile, these haughty Indians were exulting in their supposed
security, and indulging in songs and feasting. They believed that the
English were terrified at their strength and reputed numbers, and had
fled from the intended place of landing in Pequod harbor in fear, and
had abandoned their enterprise altogether. They, therefore, amused
themselves with fishing in the bay; and then inviting their allies to
join their revels, they passed the night in vaunting of their own great
actions, and defying the cowardly whites.
We have seen that their assuming arrogance had aroused the jealousy and
hatred of most of the neighboring tribes; but there were still a few
who adhered to their cause, and were willing to unite with them against
the British intruders. Among those, none were more powerful or more
zealous than the Nausetts--that tribe which had so greatly harassed and
annoyed the first settlers at Plymouth, and which still retained the
same feelings of enmity that had then influenced them. The presence of
Henrich among that portion of the tribe that was governed by Tisquantum
had, indeed, secured to himself the respect and regard of almost the
whole community; but it had not weakened the strong prejudice that
they, as well as the main body of their tribe, entertained against his
race, or lessened their ardent desire to rid the land of the powerful
invaders.
Sassacus was well acquainted with the sentiments of his Nausett allies,
and he had lost no time in securing the co-operation of the Sagamore of
the tribe, as soon as he knew that the British troops were preparing to
attack him, and he had, also, dispatched a swift messenger to meet
Tisquantum and his warriors, and entreat them to use all possible
expedition to join him in his own fortress, and assist in defending it
against his enemies.
With the present position and intended movements of Tisquantum's party,
the Pequodee Chief was perfectly conversant; for there was one in his
castle who was acquainted with the plans of the Nausetts, and had only
left their councils when their camp was pitched on the banks of the
great Missouri.
This individual had reasons of his own, besides his wish to strengthen
his countrymen against the English, for desiring the presence of
Tisquantum's warriors in the approaching contest. He hoped to place
Henrich in such a position, that he would have no alternative but
either to lead the Nausetts against his own people or to excite their
distrust, and even hatred, by refusing to do so. He expected, and
wished, that he should adopt the latter course; for he knew that he had
himself still many secret adherents in the tribe, who would gladly make
this an excuse for withdrawing their allegiance from the white Sachem,
and bestowing it on him; and thus, at length, the long-sought object of
his restless ambition might he attained. And then--then revenge!--that
burning passion of his soul--might quickly be also satiated!
It was now many months since Coubitant had escaped the punishment that
was due to his many crimes, and had fled from the wrath of Tisquantum.
But he had contrived to keep up an exact knowledge of the movements of
the tribe, and even an intercourse with his own treacherous partisans.
Often, indeed, as the Nausetts traveled slowly across the wide plain
between the Missouri and the Mississippi, that well-known and terrible
eye of fire was fixed upon them from the elevated bough of some thick
tree, or from the overhanging summit of a neighboring rock; and often
at night, when the camp was sunk in the silence of repose, his guilty
confederates crept forth to meet him in some retired spot, and form
plans for the future.
In this way Coubitant dodged the path of the Nausetts while they
traversed the forests and savannas, the lulls and the valleys, that led
them at length to the great lake, now so well known as Lake Superior.
Here they encamped for a considerable time, in order to construct a
sufficient number of canoes to carry the whole party across it and
also, by following the chain of lakes and rivers that intersects that
part of the great continent, and ends in Lake Ontario, to enable them
to land at no very great distance from their own native district.
When the little fleet set out on its long and circuitous voyage,
Coubitant actually contrived to be one of the passengers. His partisans
secured a canoe to themselves; and, pretending that some of their
arrangements were incomplete, they lingered on the shore until the rest
of the boats were nearly out of sight. They then summoned their leader
from his place of concealment, and, giving him a seat in the canoe,
followed at their leisure. Thus he performed the whole of the voyage;
and when the tribe landed on the eastern shore of Ontario, and
recommenced their wanderings on land, he left their route, and hastened
forward to try and contrive some schemes that could further his own
views.
The news of the war between the English and his old friends, the
Pequodees, soon reached him; and, in an incredibly short time, he
arrived in their country, and joined Sassacus in his fortified village.
It was he who travelled from thence to the head-quarters of the
Nausetts, near Cape Cod, and secured their assistance in the coming
conflict; and then returned in time to send a trusty emissary to meet
Tisquantum, and deliver to him a courteous message from Sassacus.
This message had the desired effect; for Tisquantum called a council of
his braves, and submitted to them the request of their powerful ally,
that they would fight with him against the Narragansetts. The emissary
was instructed to say nothing of the quarrel with the English; for
Coubitant wished to get Henrich into the power of the Pequodees, before
he became aware of the service that was to be required of him; and he
trusted that no intelligence would reach him in the desolate country
through which he and his warriors would have to march.
All the assembled council were unanimous in their decision, that the
request of Sassacus should be complied with; and Tisquantum then turned
to Henrich, who sat beside him, and said--
'My son! the days are past when I could lead forth my warriors to the
battle, and wield my tomahawk with the best and the bravest. I must sit
in my tent with the children and the squaws, and tell of the deeds that
I once could perform, while my young braves are in the field of fight.
You must now be their leader, Henrich; and let them see that, though
your skin is fair, you have in your breast an Indian heart.'
'I will, my father,' replied the Young Sachem. 'Your warriors shall be
led into the thickest of the battle, even as if your long-lost Tekoa
went before them with his glancing spear. Tisquantum shall never have
cause to feel shame for the son of his adoption.'
'I know it, my brave Henrich,' said the old Chief, 'I know that the
honor of Tisquantum's race is safe in your hands; and that you will
fight in defence of my ancient friends and allies, even as I would have
fought in the days of my young strength. Come away, now; my warriors
must prepare to go with the messenger of the great Sassacus. No time
must be lost in giving him the aid he asks; and you, my son, will be
ready by to-morrow's dawn to lead them on their way. I cannot go with
you, for these feeble limbs are unfit to travel at the speed with which
you must cross the forests and the plains; neither could the women and
children bear it. We will follow the course that we designed to take,
and go to the land of my fathers in the far east; and there we will
wait for our victorious warriors.’
As Tisquantum said this, he left the hall of council, which consisted
of a shadowing maple tree, and led his companion to the hut of boughs,
in which Oriana and Mailah sat anxiously awaiting the result of the
conference. They did not regret when they heard that their husbands
were to hasten to the scene of war, for they were Indian women, and
could glory in the deeds of their warriors. But when they were informed
that the main body of the tribe was to pursue the intended route
towards Paomet,[*] their grief and disappointment were very great.
[Footnote: Cape Cod]
'Must I leave you, Henrich?' exclaimed Oriana. 'Must I know that you
are in the battle-field; and wounded perhaps, and wanting my aid, and I
far away? Let me go with you! You know that Oriana can bear danger, and
fatigue, and hardship; and with you there would be no danger.'
'It cannot be,' replied Henrich, gently but decidedly. 'Your father
cannot travel, as we must do, with no respite or repose; and you, my
Oriana, could not leave him and our boy. You must go with them to
Paomet, my love; and prepare a home for me after the fight is done. The
camp of the fierce Pequodees is no place for you.'
Oriana felt that her husband was right; and she said no more. But she
did not the less sorrowfully assist him in his preparations for the
journey and the battle, or feel less keenly the grief of separation
when, at daybreak on the following morning, he and his warriors were
ready to set out.
'My son,' said Tisquantum, as he grasped the hand of Henrich, 'I have
one request--I would rather say command--to impress upon you before we
part. Let it not be known in the camp that you are a pale-face. I know
that your good arm will bring glory on yourself and those who follow
you; and I would have that glory belong to my own people, among whom
you have learned to fight. I ask it also for your own sake; for in the
camp of Sassacus there may be some who regard your race with jealousy
and hatred, and would not bear to see a pale-face excelling the red
men. You may trust my warriors. They look on you as they would have
done on my Tekoa. But you may not trust either our Indian friends, or
our Indian foes.'
Henrich regarded this precaution as needless; yet, when Oriana joined
her entreaties to those of her father, he readily gave the promise
required. His costume and accoutrements were strictly native; and
constant exposure to the air and sun had burnt his skin almost to a
copper color. But his eyes were a deep blue; and his hair, though now
dark, had a rich auburn glow upon it, that differed greatly from the
jet black locks so universal among the Indians. To hide this, Oriana
gathered it up into a knot on the top of his head in native fashion,
and covered it with a close black cap. Over this his Sachem's coronet
of feathers was placed; and it would have required a very scrutinising
and suspicious eye to have detected the disguise. The blue eyes alone
gave intimation of an European extraction; and they were so shaded by
long black lashes, and had an expression so deep and penetrating, that
few could discover of what color they were. The tongue of Hannah, too,
had learnt to speak the Indian language with a pure, native accent,
that no one could acquire who had not been brought up among the red
men; so that there was little fear of his being known for a pale-face,
amid the excitement and confusion of the war.
The warriors departed; and Tisquantum's party resumed their journey,
though not so joyously as before their separation from those who were
going to meet danger, and, perhaps, death.
With unremitting speed, the Nausett braves pursued their way, and
reached the land of the Pequodees before the campaign had begun.
Sassacus had, as we have seen, taken up his position in one of his
boasted forts, and he wanted no reinforcements there; for his presence
was regarded by his people as a panoply of strength. He, therefore,
sent to desire the Nausett detachment to march to Fort Mystic, and
assist the garrison there in defending it against any attack that might
he made.