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.
[Illustration: Charles II. signing the Charter of Pennsylvania.]
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!
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTE:
[15] Except Virginia.
III.--INDIANS, THEIR TRIBES AND WARS.
[Illustration]
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]
[Illustration]
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]
[Illustration]
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.