Farther account of Master Weston's settlement, and the movements of the
Indians against him--Aspinet, the Nauset, supposed to be engaged in
that affair--His tribe and power--Provocations from the
English--Magnanimous revenge of the Sachem--His hospitality and
kindness--Friendly intercourse with Plymouth--Is visited by governor
Bradford--By captain Standish--Is suspected of hostility by Plymouth,
and pursued by Standish--His death--Career and character of Iranough,
the "Courteous Sachem of Cummaquid"--Is suspected and pursued--His
death.
Having necessarily, in the course of justice to some individuals
heretofore noticed, animadverted on the early Indian policy of Plymouth,
we shall devote this chapter to the further consideration of certain facts
bearing upon that subject, and especially as connected with the case of
Weston. These facts cannot be better set forth, than they are in the lives
of two among the most remarkable natives who held intercourse with the
Government in question.
One of them was Aspinet, _the first open enemy,_ as the Pokanoket Sachem
was the first ally, whom the Plymouth settlement had the fortune to meet
with. He ruled over a number of petty tribes, settled in various parts of
what is now the county of Barnstable, all of whom are said to have been
ultimately subject, or at least subsidiary, to Massasoit. The principal
among them were the Nausets, at Namskeket, [FN] within the present limits
of Orleans, and round about the cove which separates that town from
Eastham. With this tribe Aspinet had his residence.
* * * * *
[FN] A spot chosen with the usual sagacity of the Indians, and which at
some period probably subsisted a large population with its immense stores
of the _sickishuog,_ or clam. A thousand barrels annually are said to
have been taken there in modern times, merely for fish-bait. _Mass. His.
Coll._
Aspinet, we have observed, was the first open enemy of the colonists; and
it will be admitted, that his hostility was not without cause. Of the
twenty-four Indians kidnapped by Hunt, in 1614, twenty belonged to
Patuxet, (or Plymouth,) and the residue were the subjects of the Nauset
chieftain. When the Pilgrims came over, six years after this abominable
outrage, it happened, that upon landing in the harbor of Cape Cod, before
reaching Plymouth, they sent out a small party in a shallop, to discover a
proper place for a settlement. These men went ashore a little north of the
Great-Pond, in Eastham, and there they were suddenly attacked by the
Nausets. The assailants were repulsed, but the English retreated in great
haste.
Unquestionably, these men acted in obedience to the orders of Aspinet,
instigated, as he must have been, by the remembrance of Hunt's perfidy.
Winslow, in his Relation, gives an affecting incident which occurred
subsequently at this place, going to illustrate, very forcibly, the effect
of such atrocious conduct on the disposition of the natives. "One thing,"
he says, "was grievous unto us at this place. There was an old woman, whom
we judged to be no less than a hundred years old, which came to see us,
because she never saw English; yet could not behold us without breaking
forth into great passion, weeping and crying excessively. We demanding the
reason of it; they told us _she had three sons, who, when Master Hunt was
in these parts, went aboard his ship to trade with him, and he carried
them captives into Spain, by which means she was deprived of the comfort
of her children in her old age!_" The English made what explanation they
could of the affair, and gave her a few "small trifles, which somewhat
appeased her."
The expedition alluded to in this case, which took place in the summer of
1621, was occasioned by the absence of an English boy, who had strayed away
from the colony at Plymouth, and was understood to have fallen into
Aspinet's hands. The accident gave that sachem an opportunity of
gratifying his revenge, which to him might have appeared providential. But
he was too intelligent a man to confound the innocent with the guilty; and
too noble to avail himself of a misfortune, even for humbling the pride of
an enemy. When, therefore, the English party, on this occasion, having
landed on his coast, sent Squanto to inform him amicably of the purpose
for which they had come,--and with instructions perhaps to appeal to his
better feelings,--he threw down his enmity at once with his arms. "After
sun-set,"--is the minute but touching description given of this singular
scene:--"Aspinet came with a great train, and brought the boy with him,
one bearing him through the water. He had not less than an hundred with
him, the half whereof came to the shallop-side unarmed with him; the other
stood aloof with their bows and arrows. There he delivered up the boy,
behung with beads, and made peace with us, we bestowing a knife on him;
and likewise on another that first entertained the boy, and brought him
thither. So they departed from us." [FN] It was indeed a magnanimous
revenge.
* * * * *
[FN] Journal of a Plantation.
After this auspicious interview, a friendly intercourse was maintained for
more than a year between the English and the Nausets. Supplies of corn,
beans and other provision, were obtained of them to a large amount, at a
period when the colonists were reduced almost to famine. The trade was
conducted on both sides with justice, and therefore with confidence.
Governor Bradford, when he touched at Namskeket, was treated with the
highest respect. On one occasion, his shallop being stranded, it was
necessary to stack the corn which had been purchased, and to leave it,
covered with mats and sedge, in the care of the Indians. The Governor and
his party traveled home, fifty miles, on foot. The corn remained as he
left it, from November to the following January, and when another shallop
touched at Nauset, it was found in perfect safety. All this is attributed
to Aspinet; "_The Sachim,_" we are told, "used the Governor very kindly."
The Indians were promised a reward for taking future good care of the corn;
"which they undertook, and the Sachim promised to make good!" And again,
"the Sachim sent men to seek the shallop," and then sent the shallop to
Plymouth within three days.
He manifested the same good feeling and good faith at other times. When
Standish landed at Nauset, in the winter of 1622-3, an Indian crawled into
his shallop about dusk, as it lay in a narrow creek, and carried off some
beads, scissors and other small articles. The captain soon discovered the
theft, and taking some of his crew with him, he went immediately to
Aspinet, made his complaint, and demanded, with some bravadoes, that
either the articles or the criminal should be delivered to him forthwith.
The Sachem took no offence at his plainness of speech; but not being
prepared to give satisfaction on the instant, very composedly offered his
visitor the hospitalities of his wigwam till the matter could be settled
as it should be. These were rejected, and Standish returned to his
"rendezvous" on the shore. The next morning, Aspinet made his appearance.
He came marching down to the shore, with considerable pomp and
circumstance, attended by an escort of his subjects, probably numerous
enough to have overwhelmed the little party of Standish, and never at any
former time found wanting in courage. But the object was to do justice,
and not to enforce wrong. He approached the captain and saluted him by
thrusting out his tongue, "that one might see the root thereof, and
therewith licked his hand from the wrist to the finger's end, withal
bowing the knee, to imitate the English gesture, being instructed therein
formerly by Tisquantum." His men followed the example as well as they were
able, but so awkwardly, with all their zeal, as to furnish no little
amusement for the civilized spectators of the scene. Aspinet now gave up
the stolen articles, observing that he had beaten the thief soundly, and
"seeming to be very sorry for the fact, but glad to be reconciled." The
interview closed with a liberal provision of excellent bread upon his
part, which he had ordered his women to bake and bring in whatever
quantities it was wanted.
But notwithstanding all the pains which the chief of the Nausets took to
maintain a good understanding with his new neighbors, he was destined to
incur their suspicion, and to meet with a miserable ruin under the weight
of their hostility. When the English visited Massasoit, in his sickness,
early in 1683, that chieftain disclosed to them, by the medium of
Hobamock, the particulars of an extensive combination, reported to be
formed among the Indian tribes, "against Master Weston's colony at
Weymouth," as Winslow expresses it, "_and so against us._" The
Massachusetts Indians were ringleaders in the affair, it was said; but
Aspinet, and the sachems of many other settlements, including even
Capawack, (Martha's Vineyard) were charged with being privy to it.
Whether they were so or not, need not be discussed, and cannot be decided.
It is observable, however, in relation to Aspinet, that the evidence of
Massasoit, which was the only evidence in the case, went to show, that
"_the men of Massachusetts,_ were the _authors_ of the intended
business." This very much confirms our conclusion to the same effect, in
the Life of Chickatabot. But, granting all that is charged, it may easily
be imagined how much provocation the Indians had received from Weston's
notorious banditti, and how much reason they had to make common cause
against them in their own self-defence. Winslow himself bears witness,
that immediately after Weston's settlement was commenced, "the Indians
filled our ears with clamors against them, for stealing their corn, and
other abuses;" as also that the Plymouth Government "_knew no way to
redress these abuses, save reproof._"
It seems to have been hardly considered,---when the English undertook to
wage a preventative or precautionary war, as they did, upon all the
parties accused by Massasoit,--not only that the good Sachem might be
misinformed by rivals or enemies of those parties; and that there might be
a fault upon their own side; but also that the Indians might well be
disposed to punish the Weymouth ruffians, without necessarily carrying
their hostilities any farther. _They_ looked upon Weston's clan as one
_tribe,_ and upon the Plymouth people as another; and the conduct of the
two settlements respectively had hitherto given good cause for the
distinction.
But whatever was the truth or justice of the case, the result is a matter
of no uncertainty. Captain Standish proceeded to "_try his conclusion,_"
according to the phraseology of the times, much as John Smith would have
done in his stead, upon such of the savages as were most suspected.
Several were killed, wounded and captured, "and this sudden and unexpected
execution," writes our historian, "together with the just judgment of God
upon their own guilty consciences, so terrified and amazed the other
people who _intended_ to join with the Massachuseuks against us, as in
like manner they forsook their houses,--running to and fro like men
distracted,--living in the swamps, and other desert places,--and so
brought manifold diseases amongst themselves, whereof very many are dead."
Among these unfortunate persons was the Sachem of Nauset; and thus
miserably perished a man at least deserving the credit of having rendered
numerous and generous favors to a people, who had been in the first
instance flagrant trespassers upon his dominion, as they were finally the
cause of his death.
Iyanough, sometimes entitled the "Courteous Sachem of Cummaquid," ruled
over the Indians at that place, which was otherwise called Mattakees, or
Mattakiest, and was included in what has since been the eastern part of
the township of Barnstable and the western part of Yarmouth.
The kindness of the Sachem and his subjects towards such of the English as
first made their acquaintance, amply accounts for the compliment implied
in his title. The same party which, as we have seen, went in pursuit of
the Plymouth boy, put in at Cummaquid for the first night, and
unfortunately anchored in a situation, where at low water they found
themselves aground. In the morning they espied savages near the shore,
looking for lobsters. Squanto was sent to inform them of the object of the
visit of the English, and to assure them of their friendly disposition.
Thus addressed, the Indians answered that the boy was very well, but at
Nauset; yet, since the English were so near their territory, it was hoped
they would take the trouble to come ashore and eat with them. The
invitation was accepted by six of the party, who landed as soon as their
shallop was afloat, leaving four of the Indians voluntary hostages with
the residue of the crew.
They were conducted to the residence of Iyanough; a man described as not
exceeding twenty six years of age, but very personable, gentle, courteous,
fair-conditioned, and indeed not like a savage, save for his attire. [FN]
This entertainment is said to have been answerable to his "parts," and
his cheer plentiful and various. The English tarried with him until after
dinner, and then reembarked for Nauset; Iyanough and two of his men going
with them on board the shallop. The latter returned on foot, when the
design of the expedition was accomplished. The English sailed for Plymouth
with a head wind, but were obliged to put in again for the shore, where
they met with their fellow-passenger, the Sachem. He came out to greet
them, with most of his subjects, in company, men, women and children: "and
being still willing to gratify us," says the historian, "took a rundlet,
and lead our men in the dark a great way for water, but could find none
good; yet brought such as there was on his neck with them." In the
meantime, the women joined hand in hand, and began to dance and sing upon
the stand near the shallop; the men showed all the kindness in their
power; and the interview ended with Iyanough himself taking a bracelet
from about his neck, and hanging it upon that of the person who acted as
the leader of the English. His visitors took their leave of him, and "by
God's providence came safely home that night."
* * * * *
[FN] Journal of a Plantation
All that we hear of Iyanough, after this, goes to confirm the estimate
which these particulars induce one to form of his character. He supplied
the colony with a large quantity of provisions, in a period of great need;
and as late as February 1623, when Standish went to Mattakiest on a
similar errand, it is admitted that he not only "pretended" his wonted
love, but spared a good quantity of corn to confirm the same. [FN] The
account given of that meeting closes with the following language. It is
the more noticeable as illustrating the temper of Standish in cases of
excitement and the kind of evidence against the Indians, by which, through
him, the colonists were likely to be satisfied.
* * * * *
[FN] Window's Relation.
"Strangers," writes the historian, "also came to this place, _pretending_
only to see him (Standish,) and his company, whom they never saw before
that time, but _intending_ to join with the rest to kill them, as after
appeared. But being forced through extremity [of weather] to lodge in
their houses, _which they much pressed,_ God possessed the heart of the
Captain with just jealousy, giving strait command, that as one part of his
company slept, the rest should wake, declaring some things which he
understood, whereof he could make no good constructions." We are then
informed, that some beads were stolen from him in the night. Upon this, he
drew out his men, and stationed them around the wigwam of Iyanough, where
many of his people were collected. He threatened to fall upon them
forthwith, unless satisfaction should be made; and seated his indignation
upon the Sachem with an especial emphasis. Iyanough exerted himself to
discover the criminal. An adjustment of the difficulties was at length
effected; and then the Indians good humouredly brought in corn enough to
fill the shallop. "Finally, this accident so daunted their courage, as
they durst not attempt any thing against him; so that through the good
means and providence of God they returned in safety."
It is not difficult to be seen that there was more prejudice against
Iyanough and his subjects, than proof. Their hospitality only made them
suspected. On the other hand, the real hostility which they may or may not
have felt towards the scoundrels and thieves who composed Master Weston's
settlement at Weymouth, was first taken for granted, and then amplified
into a cause of premature retaliation on the part of the people of
_Plymouth._ It was about this very time, that the Indians were making the
most urgent complaints against Weston--"how exceedingly," to quote again
from the Relation itself, "that company abased themselves by undirect
means to get victuals from the Indians;" and how "others by night robbed
the Indians' store, for which they had been publickly stocked and whipped,
and yet there was little amendment," &c.
If Iyanough _had_ indeed shown himself a little shy of his old
acquaintances in the case last alluded to, it were not much to be wondered
at; especially considering the violence of the worthy but warm-blooded
captain, and also the fact that Plymouth, though duly and distinctly
appealed to, had given the Indians no redress. It is somewhere intimated
in the ancient journals, that certain Indians,--and testimony of this kind
seems to have been received without much suspicions--stated that Iyanough
had been _solicited_ to join the Massachusetts against the whites. But
this certainly, if true, was no crime. Massasoit himself acknowledged,
that he was solicited.
On the whole, not to enlarge on the minutiae of a case, which at best can
afford no pleasure to those who feel their own honor involved in the
memory of Standish and his Plymouth brethren, we can hardly record the
fate of the kind and gentle Iyanough, the Courteous Sachem, on his own
soil, in the prime of his days, without a blush and a sigh together for
the _mistake_ and the _misfortune._ Insulted, threatened, pursued, by an
enemy whom no restitution could satisfy, and who suspected equally his
caresses and fears, he fled in consternation and died in despair.