226 XIV. THE PILGRIMS IN DORCHESTER. CHAP. We told him of divers sachims that had acknowledged themselves to be King James's men,' and if he also 1621. would submit himself, we would be his safeguard from his enemies; which he did, and went along with us to bring us to the squa sachim. Again we crossed the bay, which is very large, and hath at least fifty islands in it; but the certain number is not known to the inhabitants. Night it was before we came to that side of the bay where this people were. On shore the salvages went, but found nobody. That night also we rid at anchor aboard the shallop. Sept. 21. On the morrow we went ashore,3 all but two men, and marched in arms up in the country. Having gone three miles we came to a place where corn had been newly gathered, a house pulled down, and the people A mile from hence, Nane pashemet, their king, in his life-time had lived. His house was not like others, but a scaffold was largely built, with poles and planks, some six foot from [the] ground, and the house upon that, being situated on the top of a hill.1 gone. Of course he could not be, as Prince supposes, the Obbatinnua who, with eight other sachens, on the 13th of the same month, seven days before, had signed a paper, professing their submission to King James; unless his name was affixed subsequently to that date. See Morton's Memorial, p. 67, and Prince's Annals, p. 196. The number of islands in Boston harbour is not overstated, although several of them, such as Bird Island and Nick's Mate, have been washed away since this Journal was written. A list of them is contained in Snow's Boston, p. 114. Smith, in his Description of New England, says, "The country of the Massachusets is the paradise of all those parts; for here are many isles all planted with corn, groves, mulberries, and salvage gardens." See Mass. Hist. Coll. iii. 295, and xxvi. 118. 3 They probably landed at Squantum, in Dorchester, which may have been so called by them at this time after their interpreter Tisquantum, who was one of the party. See note on page 191, and Mass. Hist. Coll. ix. 164. Perhaps Milton Hill, or some one of the Blue Hills. "At Massachusetts, near the mouth of Charles river, there used to be a general rendezvous of Indians. That circle, which now makes the harbours of Boston and Charlestown, round by Malden, Chelsea, Nantasket, Hingham, Weymouth, Braintree, and Dorchester, was the THE PILGRIMS IN MILTON. 227 XIV. Not far from hence, in a bottom, we came to a fort, CHAP. built by their deceased king; the manner thus. There were poles, some thirty or forty feet long, stuck in the 1621. Sept. ground as thick as they could be set one by another; 21. and with these they enclosed a ring some forty or fifty foot over; a trench, breast high, was digged on each side; one way there was to go into it with a bridge. In the midst of this palisado stood the frame of a house, wherein, being dead, he lay buried.2 About a mile from hence we came to such another, but seated on the top of a hill. Here Nanepashemet was killed, none dwelling in it since the time of his death. At this place we stayed, and sent two salvages to look [for] the inhabitants, and to inform them of our ends in coming, that they might not be fearful of us. Within a mile of this place they found the women of. the place together, with their corn on heaps, whither we supposed them to be fled for fear of us; and the more, because in divers places they had newly pulled down their houses, and for haste in one place had left some of their corn covered with a mat, and nobody with it. With much fear they entertained us at first; but seeing our gentle carriage towards them, they took heart and entertained us in the best manner they could, capital of a great sachem, much reverenced by all the plantations of Indians round about, and to him belonged Naponset, (Milton,) Punkapog, (Stoughton,) Wessa gusset, (Weymouth,) and several places on Charles river, where the natives were seated. The tradition is, that this sachem had his principal seat upon a small hill or rising upland, in the midst of a body of salt marsh in the township of Dorchester, [perhaps Savin Hill] near to a place called Squantum." Hutchinson's 228 THEY DISCOVER MYSTIC RIVER. CHAP. boiling cod and such other things as they had for us. XIV. At length, with much sending for, came one of their 1621. men, shaking and trembling for fear. But when he Sept. 21. saw we intended them no hurt, but came to truck, he promised us his skins also. Of him we inquired for their queen; but it seemed she was far from thence;' at least we could not see her. Here Tisquantum would have had us rifle the salvage women, and taken their skins and all such things as might be serviceable for us; for, said he, they are a bad people, and have oft threatened you. But our answer was, Were they never so bad, we would not wrong them, or give them any just occasion against us. For their words, we little weighed them; but if they once attempted any thing against us, then we would Ideal far worse than he desired. Having well spent the day, we returned to the shallop, almost all the women accompanying us to truck, who sold their coats from their backs, and tied boughs about them, but with great shamefacedness, for indeed they are more modest than some of our English women are. We promised them to come again to them, and they us to keep their skins. Within this bay the salvages say there are two rivers; the one whereof we saw, having a fair entrance, but we had no time to discover it. Better harbours for shipping cannot be than here are. of the bay are many rocks; The residence of the squa sachim of Massachusetts is variously conjectured to have been at Concord, and in the neighbourhood of the Wachusett mountain. There seems, however, no sufficient reason for placing it so remote. See 3 At the entrance and in all likelihood good Shattuck's Hist. of Concord, p. 2, and Drake's Book of the Indians, b. ii. p. 40. The Mystic and the Charles, the former of which they saw. 3 The Graves and the Brewsters are the principal rocks at the en THEY RETURN TO PLYMOUTH. 229 XIV. fishing-ground.' Many, yea most of the islands have CHAP. been inhabited, some being cleared from end to end. But the people are all dead, or removed. 1621. Our victual growing scarce, the wind coming fair, and having a light moon, we set out at evening, and through the goodness of God came safely home before Sept. noon the day following.3 They were absent on this expedition four days. Winslow was probably one of the party, and wrote this account. "All the summer no want. While some were trading, others were fishing cod, bass, &c. We now gather in our harvest; and as cold weather advances, come in store of water fowl, wherewith this place abounds, though afterwards they by degrees decrease; as also abundance of wild turkeys, with venison, &c. Fit our houses against winter, are in health, and have all things in plenty." Bradford, in Prince, p. 198. 22. CHAPTER XV. A LETTER SENT FROM NEW ENGLAND TO A FRIEND IN 1621. Dec. ALTHOUGH I received no letter from you by this ship, yet forasmuch as I know you expect the perform11. ance of my promise, which was, to write unto you truly and faithfully of all things, I have therefore at this time sent unto you accordingly, referring you for further satisfaction to our more large Relations.3 You shall understand that in this little time that a few of us have been here, we have built seven dwelling-houses and four for the use of the plantation, and have made preparation for divers others. We set the last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and This letter I think was addressed to George Morton. See note on page 113. 2 The Fortune, in which this The preceding narrative. 5 |