Indian Biography; Vol. 1 (of 2) / Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters

The original document of which we have here given a literal and exact copy has been preserved to this day. It is in the handwriting of Captain Standish.

The precise date of Massasoit's death is unknown. In 1653, his name appears in a deed by which he conveyed part of the territory of Swansey to English grantees. Hubbard supposes that he died about three years subsequent to this; but as late as 1661, he is noticed in the Records of the United Colonies, as will appear more particularly in the life of his eldest son. Two or three years afterwards, conveyances were made of the Pokanoket lands in which he appears to have had no voice; and it may be fairly inferred that he died in that interval. He must have been near eighty years of age.

Such are the passages which history has preserved concerning the earliest and best friend of the Pilgrims. Few and simple as they are, they give glimpses of a character that, under other circumstances, might have placed Massasoit among the illustrious of his age. He was a mere savage; ignorant of even reading and writing, after an intercourse of near fifty years with the colonists; and distinguished from the mass of savages around him, as we have seen, by no other outward emblem than a barbarous ornament of bones. It must be observed, too, as to them, that the authority which they conferred upon him, or rather upon his ancestors, was their free gift, and was liable at any moment to be retracted, wholly or in part, either by the general voice or by the defection or violence of individuals. The intrinsic dignity and energy of his character alone, therefore, must have sustained the dominion of the sachem, with no essential distinction of wealth, retinue, cultivation, or situation in any respect, between him and the meanest of the Wampanoags. The naked qualities of his intellect and is heart must have gained their loyalty, controlled their extravagant passions to his own purposes, and won upon their personal confidence and affection.

That he did this appears from the fact, so singular in Indian history, that among all the Pokanoket tribes, there was scarcely an instance of even an individual broil or quarrel with the English during his long life. Some of these tribes, living nearer the Colony than any other Indians, and going into it daily in such numbers, that Massasoit was finally requested to restrain them from "pestering" their friends by their mere multitude,—these shrewd beings must have perceived, as well as Massasoit himself did, that the colonists were as miserably fearful as they were feeble and few. Some of them, too,—the sachem Corbitant, for example,—were notoriously hostile, and perhaps had certain supposed reasons for being so. Yet that cunning and ambitious savage extricated himself from the only overt act of rebellion he is known to have attempted, by "soliciting the good offices of Massasoit," we are told, "to reconcile him to the 'English." And such was the influence of the chief sachem, not only over him, but over the Massachusetts sachems, that nine of the principal of them soon after came into Plymouth from great distances, for the purpose of signifying their humble respect for the authority of the English.

That Massasoit was beloved as well as respected by his subjects and neighbors, far and wide, appears from the great multitude of anxious friends who thronged about him during his sickness; Some of them, as Winslow ascertained, had come more than one hundred miles for the purpose of seeing him; and they all watched his operations in that case, with as intense anxiety as if the prostrate patient had been the father or the brother of each. And meagre as is the justice which history does the sachem, it still furnishes some evidence, not to be mistaken, that he had won this regard from them by his kindness. There is a passage of affecting simplicity in Winslow's Relation, going to show that he did not forget their minutest interests, even in his own almost unconscious helplessness. "That morning," it is said, "he caused me to spend in going from one to another among those that were sick in the town [Sowams]; requesting me to treat them as I had him, and to give to each of them some of the same I gave him, saying they were good folk."

But these noble traits of the character of Massasoit are still more abundantly illustrated by the whole tenor of his intercourse with the whites. Of his mere sense of his positive obligations to them, including his fidelity to the famous treaty of 1621, nothing more need be said, excepting that the annals of the continent furnish scarcely one parallel even to that case. But he went much further than this. He not only visited the Colony in the first instance of his own free will and accord, but he entered into the negotiations cheerfully and deliberately; and in the face of their manifest fear and suspicion. Henceforth the results of it were regarded, not with the mere honesty of an ally, but with the warm interest of a friend. It was probably at his secret and delicate suggestion,—and it could scarcely have been without his permission, at all events,—that his own subjects took up their residence among the colonists, with the view of guiding, piloting, interpreting for them, and teaching them their own useful knowledge. Winslow speaks of his appointing another to fill the place of Squanto at Plymouth, while the latter should be sent about among the Pokanokets, under his orders, "to procure truck [in furs] for the English."

The vast grant of territory which he made in the first instance has been spoken of. It was made with the simple observation, that his claim to it was the sole claim in existence. It was also without consideration; the generous sachem, as Roger Williams says of the Narraghansetts in a similar case, "being shy and jealous of selling the lands to any, and choosing rather to make a gift of them to such as they affected." Such is the only jealousy which Massasoit can be said ever to have entertained of the English. Nor do we find any evidence that he repented of his liberality, or considered it the incautious extravagance of a moment of flattered complaisance. We do find, however, that he invariably watched over the interest of the grantees, with more strictness than he would probably have watched over his own. He laid claim, in one instance, to a tract for which Mr. Williams had negotiated with the Narraghansetts,—that gentleman being ignorant, perhaps, of an existing controversy between the two tribes. "It is mine," said the sachem, "It is mine, and therefore theirs,"—plainly implying that the ground in question was comprised within the original transfer. Whether this claim was just, or whether it was insisted upon, does not appear; but there is indication enough, both of the opinion and feeling of Massasoit.

An anecdote of him, recorded by Governor Winthrop, under the title of a "pleasant passage," is still more striking. His old friend Winsnow, it seems, made a trading voyage to Connecticut, during the summer of 1634. On his return, he left his vessel upon the Narraghansett coast, for some reason or other, and commenced his journey for Plymouth across the woods. Finding himself at a loss, probably, as to his route, he made his way to Sowams, and called upon his ancient acquaintance, the sachem. The latter gave him his usual kind welcome, and, upon his leaving him, offered to conduct him home,—a pedestrian journey of two days. He had just despatched one of his Wampanoags to Plymouth, with instructions to inform the friends of Winslow, that he was dead, and to persuade them of this melancholy fact, by specifying such particulars as their own ingenuity might suggest. All this was done accordingly; and the tidings occasioned, as might be expected, a very unpleasant excitement throughout the Colony. In the midst of it, however, on the next day, the sachem entered the village, attended by Winslow, and with more than his usual complacency in his honest and cheerful countenance. He was asked why such a report had been circulated the day previous. "That Winsnow might be the more welcome," answered he, "and that you might be the more happy,—it is my custom." He had come thus far to enjoy this surprise personally; and he returned homeward, more gratified by it, without doubt, than he would have been by the most fortunate foray among the Narraghansetts.

It is intimated by some writers, rather more frequently than is either just or generous, that the sachem's fear of the tribe just named lay at the foundation of his friendship. It might have been nearer the apparent truth, considering all that is known of Massasoit, to say, that his interest happened to coincide with his inclination. At all events, it was in the power of any other of the sachems or kings throughout the country, to place and sustain themselves upon the same footing with the colonists, had they been prompted either by as much good feeling or good sense. On the contrary, the Massachusetts were plotting and threatening on one hand, as we have seen, not without provocation, it must be allowed,—while the Narraghansett sachem, upon the other, had sent in his compliments as early as 1622, in the shape of a bundle of arrows, tied up with a rattlesnake's skin.

Nor should we forget the wretched feebleness of the Colony at the period of their first acquaintance with Massasoit. Indeed, the instant measures which he took for their relief and protection, look more like the promptings of compassion, than of either hope or fear. A month previous to his appearance among them, they were reduced to such a pitiable condition by sickness, that only six or seven men of their whole number were able to do business in the open air; and probably their entire fighting force, could they have been mustered together, would scarcely have equaled that little detachment which Massasoit brought with him into the village, delicately leaving twice as many, with the arms of all, behind him; as he afterwards exchanged six hostages for one. No wonder that the colonists "could not yet conceive but that he was willing to have peace with them."

But the motives of the sachem are still further manifested by the sense of his own dignity, which, peaceable as he generally was, he showed promptly upon all suitable occasions. Both the informal grant and the formal deeds we have mentioned, indicate that he understood himself to be the master of his ancestral territory as much in right as in fact. There is nothing in his whole history, which does more honor to his intelligence or his sensibility, than his conduct occasioned by the falsehoods circulated among the colonists against him by Squanto. His first impulse, as we have seen, was to be offended with the guilty intriguant; the second, to thank the Governor for appealing to himself in this case, and to assure him that he would at any time "send word and give warning when any such business was towards." On further inquiry, he ascertained that Squanto was taking even more liberties with his reputation than he had been aware of. He went forthwith to Plymouth, and made his appeal personally to the Governor. The latter pacified him as well as he could, and he returned home. But a very short time elapsed before a message came from him, entreating the Governor to consent to the death of the renegade who still abused him. The Governor confessed in reply, that Squanto deserved death, but desired that he might be spared on account of his indispensable services. Massasoit was not yet satisfied. The former messenger was again sent, "with divers others," says Winslow in his Relation, "demanding him, [Squanto] as being one of Massasoit's subjects, whom by our first articles of peace we could not retain; yet because he would not willingly do it [insist upon his rights] without the Governor's approbation, he offered him many beaver-skins for his consent thereto." The deputation had brought these skins, accordingly, as also the sachem's own knife, for the execution of the criminal. Squanto now surrendered himself to the Governor, as an Indian always resigns himself to his fate upon similar occasions; but the Governor still contrived a pretext for sparing him. The deputies were "mad with rage and impatient of delay," as may be supposed, and departed in great heat.

The conduct of the sachem in this case was manifestly more correct than that of his ally. He understood as well as the Governor did, the spirit of the articles in the treaty, which provided, that an offender upon either side should be given up to punishment upon demand; and he was careful to make that demand personally, explicitly and respectfully. The Governor, on the other hand, as well as the culprit himself, acknowledged the justice of it, but manœuvred to avoid compliance. The true reason is no doubt given by Winslow. It is also given in the language of John Smith. "With much adoe," says the honest Captain, "we appeased the angry king and the rest of the saluages, and freely forgaue Tusquantum, because he speaking our language we could not be well without him." The king was angry, then, as he well might be; and the Governor took the trouble, he was both bound and interested to take, to appease him. It is not to be wondered at, perhaps, that the particulars of this transaction are so little dwelt upon by the writers of that period. Winslow barely states,—speaking, in another connexion, of the Indians being evidently aware of the weakness of the Colony,—that, what was worse "now also Massasoit seemed to frown upon us, and neither came nor sent to us as formerly." This passage is no less significant than brief; but not more so than a subsequent dry observation respecting Squanto, "whose peace, before this time, (the fall of the same year) was wrought with Massasoit."

Such were the life and character of Massasoit. It is to be regretted, that so few particulars are preserved of the former, and that so little justice, consequently, can be done to the latter. But so far as his history goes, it certainly makes him one of the most remarkable men of his race. There is no nobler instance in all history, of national fidelity, (for which he mainly must have the credit,) or of individual friendship. This instinct of a generous nature in the first instance, being confirmed by a course of conduct generally alike creditable to the feelings and shrewdness of the Colonists, finally settled itself in the mind of Massasoit as ineradicably as his affection for his own subjects. "I know now," said he to Winslow, on his first recovery from the severe sickness we have mentioned, "I know that the English love me,—I love them—I shall never forget them."

But putting even the most unnatural construction upon the professions and the conduct of the sachem, the relation he commenced and for forty-five years sustained with the English, must be allowed to show at least a consummate sagacity. He certainly succeeded during all this time, not only in shielding his tribes from their just or unjust hostility, but in gaining their respect to such a singular degree, that the writings of no single author within our recollection furnish one word to his disparagement. Even Hubbard speaks of him with something like regard; notwithstanding the obnoxious trait in his character indicated in the following passage. "It is very remarkable," he says, "that this Woosamequin, how much soever he affected the English, was never in the least degree well affected to their religion." It is added furthermore, that in his last treaty with the whites at Swanzey,—referring to a sale of land which we have mentioned,—he exerted himself to bind them solemnly "never to draw away any of his people from their old pagan superstition and devilish idolatry to the Christian religion." [FN] This he insisted on, until they threatened to break off the negotiation on account of his pertinacity, and he then gave up the point.

[FN] In that rare tract (published in London, 1651.) entitled "The Light appearing more and more towards the perfect Day" &c. and written by the Rev. Thomas Mayhew, it is stated, that some of the Christian Indians of Martha's Vineyard had a conversation with "Vzzamequin a great Sachem or Governor on the maine Land (coming amongst them) about the wayes of God"—he enquiring what earthly good things came along with them, and what they had gained by their piety, &c. This was previous to 1650.

Massasoit did not distinguish himself as a warrior; nor is he known to have been once engaged in any open hostilities, even with the inimical and powerful tribes who environed his territory. This is another unique trait in his character; and considering the general attachment of all Indians to a belligerent life, their almost exclusive deference for warlike qualities, the number and scattered location of the Pokanoket tribes, and especially the character of their ancient neighbors, this very fact is alone sufficient to distinguish the genius of Massasoit. All the native nations of New England, but his, were involved in dissensions and wars with each other and with the whites; and they all shared sooner or later the fate which he avoided. The restless ring-leaders who plotted mischief among the Massachusetts, were summarily knocked upon the head by Miles Standish, while hundreds of the residue fled, and miserably perished in their own swamps. The Pequots,—a nation who could muster three thousand bowmen but a short time previous, were nearly exterminated in 1637; and the savages of Maine, meanwhile, the Mohawks of New York, the Narraghansetts and the Mohegans were fighting and reducing each others' strength, as if their only object had been, by ultimately extirpating themselves, to prepare a way in the wilderness for the new comers.

CHAPTER VII.

Massasoit succeeded by his son Alexander—The occasion of that name being given by the English—History of Alexander previous to his father's death—Covenant made with Plymouth in 1639—Measures taken in pursuance of it, in 1661—Anecdote illustrating the character of Alexander—Notice of the charges made against him—Examination of the transaction which led to his death—Accession of Philip—Renewal of the treaty by him—Interruption of harmony—Supposed causes of it—Measures taken in consequence—Philip's submission-Letter to the Plymouth Governor—Second submission in 1671—Remarks on the causes of Philip's War.

Massasoit was succeeded in the Pokanoket government by his eldest son Moanam, or Wamsutta, known to the English chiefly by the name of Alexander; which appellation he received at the same time when that of Philip was conferred on his younger brother. The two young men came together on that occasion into open court at Plymouth and professing great regard for the English, requested that names should be given them. Their father not being mentioned as having attended them at the observance of the ceremony has probably occasioned the suggestion of his death. It would be a sufficient explanation of his absence, however, that he was now an old man, and that the distance of Sowams from Plymouth was more than forty miles. It is easy to imagine, that the solicitude he had always manifested to sustain a good understanding with his Plymouth friends, might lead him to recommend this pacific and conciliatory measure, as a suitable preparation for his own decease, and perhaps as the absolute termination of his reign.

There is some reason to believe, indeed, that Alexander had a share in the Pokanoket sovereignty, many years previous to the date of the ceremony just mentioned. The Plymouth records show, that on the 25th of September, 1639, the father came into court, bringing Moanam with him. He desired that the old treaty of 1621 might remain inviolable, "and the said Woosamequin or Massasoit, and Moanam or Wamsutta," did also promise that he nor they shall or will needlessly and unjustly raise any quarrels, or do any wrongs to other natives, to provoke them to war against him; and that he or they shall not give, sell or convey, any of his or their lands territories or possessions whatsoever, to any person or persons, without the privity and consent of the Government of Plymouth aforesaid; "and the whole court in the name of the whole government, for each town respectively, did then likewise ratify and confirm the aforesaid ancient league and confederacy; and did also further promise to the said Woosamequin and Moanam his son, and his successors, that they shall and will from time to time defend them, when occasion shall require, against all such as shall rise up against them to wrong or oppress them unjustly."

Agreeably to the terms of this covenant, the Records of the Colonies for 1661 set forth, that a message was that year sent by the United Commissioners to Uncas, chief Sachem of the Mohegans. [FN] The complainants in that case were the General Court of Massachusetts; and the charge alleged against Uncas was a violent "Invading of Wesamequin and the Indians of Quabakutt whoe are and longe haue bine Subjects to the English." The dominion here assumed, is probably intended to apply only to the Quabakutt Indians, and not to Massasoit. Uncas, in his answer, professed that he was ignorant they were subjects of Massachusetts, "and further says they were none of Wesamequin's men but belonging to Onopequin his deadly enemie." &c.

[FN] See the message and reply at large in the Life of Uncas.

He then alleges "that Wesamequin his son and diuers of his men had fought against him diuers times." The last paragraph of the answer—which was given in by Major Mason in behalf of Uncas—is as follows:

"Alexander allis [alias] Wamsutta Sachem of Sowamsett being now att Plymouth hee challenged Quabauke Indians to belong to him and further said that hee did war Warr {sic} against Vcus this summer on that account."

It is very clear at least that Alexander maintained fearlessly and frankly, what he believed to be his rights; nor does it appear, that the exercise of his sovereignty in this manner was objected to by the party which had the best, if not only right to object. He manifested the same independence in regard to the efforts of the English missionaries; so that Hubbard concludes he had "neither affection for the Englishmen's persons, nor yet for their religion."

This is licentious reasoning, at the best; for not a tittle of evidence exists in the case, so far as we are aware, which goes to rebut the just inference to be drawn from the circumstance that no difficulty or controversy occurred between Alexander and his allies from his accession to his death—with a single exception. The excepted case, which comes in order now to be considered, is one of the more importance, that its immediate effect was to terminate at once the reign and life of the chieftain.

In connexion with the remark last cited from Hubbard, that historian barely observes, that the Governor and Council were informed of the fact. Mather states, with no more particularity, that the sachem solicited the Narraghansetts to rebel with him;—upon the good proof whereof, the Plymouth Government adopted certain summary measures. From other sources we find, that this proof was communicated by letters from Boston, where it was probably founded upon rumors gathered from straggling Indians. At all events, no conclusive testimony appears in the case; and it may be plausibly surmised, therefore, that none was ever received, the writers just cited not being remarkably prone to omit matters of this kind. The rumor might originate from circumstances really suspicious; but were this true, and far more, if it were both false and malicious, like the charges against Massasoit, we may well question both the justice and the policy of the steps taken by the Plymouth Government.

"They presently sent for him, to bring him to the court," says Hubbard,—a very remarkable proceeding, related with a corresponding brevity. The business was intrusted, it also appears, to a gentleman who was neither afraid of danger, nor yet willing to delay in a matter of this moment. We are then told that this gentleman, Mr. Winslow, forthwith taking eight or ten stout men with him, well armed, set out for Sowams; that he fortunately met with Alexander, at a few miles' distance, in a Wigwam with eighty of his followers; that they seized upon the arms of the party, which had been left without the Wigwam, and then went in and summoned the sachem to attend them to Plymouth. He obeyed, reluctantly, being threatened that "if he stirred or refused to go, he was a dead man." Such was his spirit, however, adds Hubbard, that the very surprisal of him threw him into a fever. Upon this, he requested liberty to return home, and the favor was granted to him on certain conditions; but he died upon the way.

This account agrees with Mather's. "The Government sent that valiant and excellent commander," says the Reverend Doctor, "to fetch him down before them. The major-general used such expedition and resolution in this affair, that, assisted with no more than ten men, he seized upon Alexander at a hunting-house, notwithstanding his numerous attendants about him; and when the raging sachem saw a pistol at his breast, with a threatening of death to him if he did not quietly yield himself up to go down to Plymouth; he yielded, though not very quietly, thereunto." Mather attributes his death, furthermore, to the "inward fury of his own guilty and haughty mind." Now, even if the sachem were not compelled to travel faster or further than was decent in his unfortunate situation, as one of our authorities is careful to argue; and granting to the other, that he was treated (on the march) with no other than that humanity and civility, which was essential to the Major-General, [FN] it is abundantly clear, we conceive, that a more hot-blooded or high-handed measure could hardly have been executed by the adventurous John Smith himself. The son of Massasoit, and the ruler of a nation who had been forty years in alliance and warm friendship with the Colonists,—throughout all their feebleness, and in spite of all jealousies and provocations,—was assaulted in his own territory and among his own subjects, insulted, threatened, and finally forced to obey a summons of his ancient ally to appear before his court for his trial. It does not appear that he was even apprised of the occasion which required his attendance. And what is worse than all the rest, the whole proceeding was founded, so far as we can ascertain, upon no better testimony than accusations gathered from stragglers at Boston, and then communicated "by letters" to Plymouth. It must be admitted, that a different coloring is put upon the affair by the Rev. Mr. Cotton, whose relation may be found among the excellent notes appended to Mr. Davis's recent edition of Morton. He states, that the sachem readily consented to attend Winslow; and that he was barely examined before certain justices at Eastham, and dismissed. This account, however, does not much mitigate the essential circumstances of the case; and it admits the fact, that the sachem died within two or three days after being carried home on the shoulders of his men, although the English party seem to have found him in perfect health.

[FN] Among other civilities, he was offered the use of a horse on the journey, and declined that favor on the ground that some of his women, in the company, were obliged to walk; a fine trait of savage politeness.

Such was the ignominious death of Alexander, and under such circumstances did the government devolve upon his brother Metacom,—or Philip, as he is generally called. That Prince seems to have assumed the Pokanoket government, favored by a more than usual popularity; for the event was celebrated by the rejoicing and revelry of multitudes of his subjects, sachems and others, gathered together from the remotest limits of his territory. One of his earliest measures, was to appear with his uncle before the Plymouth Court, following the example of his father and brother. He expressed an earnest wish for the continuance of peace and amity; and pledged himself,—as the Court did also upon the other hand—to use all suitable measures for effecting that desirable purpose. For several years after this, the intercourse between the two parties went on, ostensibly, as it had done in former times, though probably not without some distrust upon both sides.

The first public interruption of this harmony occurred in 1671, during which season Philip was heard to complain, openly, of certain encroachments by the English upon his hunting-grounds. About the same time rumors were circulated that his subjects frequently assembled at various places in unwonted numbers and were repairing their guns, and sharpening their hatchets. The Plymouth Government were alarmed. They sent messengers to communicate with the Massachusetts Government, and at the same time other messengers to Philip, not "to fetch him before the Court," as in the case of his brother, but to ascertain his intentions.

He seems to have paid a dignified regard to this measure. On the 10th of April, a message was received from him, inviting the officers of the Plymouth Government to a conference. It was received by the latter at Taunton, where also were several gentlemen, despatched by the Massachusetts Government, with instructions to mediate between the contending parties. Governor Prince, of Plymouth, sent word back to Philip,—who was tarrying meanwhile at what is now called Three-mile-river, about four miles from Taunton green,—that he was heartily disposed to treat with him, and expected that the sachem would come forward for that purpose; and his personal safety was guaranteed in case he should do so. Philip so far complied with the request, as to advance a considerable distance nearer the village. He then stationed himself at a place called Crossman's mill, placed sentinels on a hill in his rear, and again despatched messengers to the Governor, desiring an interview. This, the town's-people, who could scarcely be restrained from falling forthwith upon the Indian party, would not permit. At last, the Massachusetts Commissioners, volunteering to take the supposed hazard upon themselves, went to Philip, and persuaded him to consent to a conference. This was on condition that his men should accompany him; and that the business should be done at the meeting-house, one side of which was to be reserved for the Wampanoags, and the other for the English.

The council took place agreeably to these arrangements, in the old meeting-house of Taunton. The English stood upon one side, solemn and stern in countenance, as they were formal in garb; and opposite to them, a line of Indian warriors, armed and arrayed for battle, their long black hair hanging about their necks, and their eyes gleaming covertly with a flame of suspicion and defiance, scarcely to be suppressed. Philip alone was their orator. He denied that he entertained any hostile design; and promptly explained his preparations for war, as intended for defence against the Narraghansetts. The Commissioners rejoined, however, with such arguments and evidence as satisfied themselves and completely surprised him. At least, he affected to admit all that was alleged against him; and though he refused to give compensation for past aggressions, he and some of his counsellors subscribed an acknowledgement drawn up by the English in the words following:

"Taunton, April 10th, 1671.

"Whereas my father, and my brother and myself have formerly submitted ourselves unto the king's majesty of England, and to 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 an evil 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 do desire that this may testify to the world against me if ever I shall again in my faithfulness towards them (whom I have now and at all times found kind toward me) or any other of the English colonies. And as a pledge of my true intentions for the future to be faithful and friendly, I do freely engage to resign up to the Government of New Plymouth all my English arms, to be kept by them for their security so long as they shall see reason. For the true performance of the promises, I have hereunto set my hand, together with the rest of my counsel.

From the tenor of this submission, it has been generally supposed that the Sachem was frightened into it. Hence Hubbard relates, that "one of his captains, of far better courage and resolution than himself, when he saw his cowardly temper and disposition, flung down his arms, called him white-livered cur, or to that purpose, and from that time turned to the English," &c. This might be true, though it is well known, that Mr. Hubbard's authority in regard to every thing touching the character of Philip is to be regarded with many allowances for his intemperate prejudice. He hesitates not, almost as often as he finds occasion to mention his name, to pay him the passing compliment of "caitiff," "hell-hound," "fiend," "arch-rebel," and various similar designations of respect and affection.

But there is no doubt that the acknowledgement was at least a mere artifice to gain time. Apparently it had no effect in reference to the impending hostilities, other than to hasten them by aggravating the ill-will of the Indians. It does not appear that their arms were given up, even so far as stipulated in the submission. The following reply of Philip to some communication respecting them may be deemed exposition of his side of the question. The precise date is undetermined.

"Sachem Philip, his answer to the letter brought to him from the Governor of New Plymouth.

"First. Declaring his thankfulness to the Governor for his great respects and kindness manifested in the letter.

"Secondly. Manifesting his readiness to lay down their arms, and send his people about their usual business and employments, as also his great desire of concluding of peace with neighboring English.

"Thirdly. Inasmuch as great fears and jealousies hath been raised in their minds by several persons, which now they better understand the falsity of such reports, as hath formerly been conveyed unto them, Philip doth humbly request the Governor will please favorably to excuse and acquit them from any payment of damage, or surrendering their arms, they not apprehending themselves blameworthy in those late rumors.

"Fourthly. They are not at present free to promise to appear at court, hoping there will be no necessity of it, in case their freedom for peace and readiness to lay down arms may be accepted; as also suggestions of great danger that befall them, in case they appear, with harsh threats to the Sachem, that may be considered.

"Per me, "Samuel Gorton Junior."

Whether Philip was at this time preparing for war, cannot be decided; but he was evidently as yet unprepared. He went to Boston, therefore, during the month of August (1671). He knew the Massachusetts government to be more friendly to him than the Plymouth; and although letters had arrived that very day from the latter place, announcing an intention of declaring war upon him forthwith, the Sachem succeeded in persuading the Massachusetts authorities of his entire innocence. They sent a proposal to Plymouth for a new council, to settle all difficulties. This being declined, they gave their opinion decidedly against war. Staggered by this declaration, the government of the old colony consented to try the effect of another mediation. A conference of all parties soon took place at Plymouth; and the following articles of accommodation were agreed upon.

"1. We, Philip and my Council and my subjects, do acknowledge ourselves subject to his Majesty the King of England, and the government of New Plymouth and to their laws.

"2. I am willing and do promise to pay unto the government of Plymouth one hundred pounds in such things as I have; but I would intreat the favor that I might have three years to pay it in, forasmuch as I cannot do it at present.

"3. I do promise to send unto the governor, or whom he shall appoint, five wolves' heads, if I can get them; or as many as I can procure, until they come to five wolves yearly.

"4. If any difference fall between the English and myself and people, then I do promise to repair to the governor of Plymouth, to rectify the difference amongst us.

"5. I do promise not to make war with any, but with the Governor's approbation of Plymouth.

"6. I promise not to dispose of any of the lands that I have at present, but by the approbation of the governor of Plymouth.

"For the true performance of the promises, I the said Sachem; Philip of Paukamakett [FN] do hereby bind myself, and such of my council as are present, ourselves, our heirs, our successors, faithfully, and do promise; in witness thereof; we have hereunto subscribed our hands, the day and year above written.

This negotiation was a new stratagem; [FN] and the success of it answered the purpose of Philip completely; for although he does not appear to have killed one wolf; or paid one cent, even "in such things as he had," nothing occurred for three years, to rouse the suspicions of the Colonies. There can scarcely be a doubt, that during all this time,—if not for a longer time previous,—the sachem was maturing one of the grandest plans ever conceived by any savage;—that of utterly exterminating the English of the northern provinces. This, he was well aware; could only be done by means commensurate with the danger and difficulty of the enterprise. The Colonies were no longer the feeble and timid allies, known fifty years before to his father. They had grown in numbers and in strength; and still more in experience and spirit. Nothing less, than a general union of the New England tribes, who lived among and around them all, would furnish a safe guarantee for the complete success of such a war as was now meditated.

[FN] Mather remarks upon the passage thus: "When the Duke of Archette, at his being made governor of Antwerp castle, took an oath to keep it faithfully for King Philip of Spain, the officer that gave him his oath used these odd words. If you perform what you promise, God help you; if you do it not, the Devil take your body and soul! and all the standers-by cried 'Amen!' But when the Indian King Philip took his oath, nobody used these words unto him; nevertheless you shall see anon whether these words were not expressive enough of what became of him!"

To that great preparation, then, the whole energies of Philip must be devoted. It was as difficult, he well knew, as it was desirable. The ruler of one small confederacy,—already suspected, and constantly under the close scrutiny of his powerful neighbors,—he must unite and interest in one common object, a multitude of scattered nations who had met and known each other, until this time, only in jealousy, envy, revenge, and in many cases hereditary and inveterate war; and among whose councils no similar plan, for any purpose whatever, had even been conceived of. How far Philip surmounted these obstacles, will be seen. The great train of events we are approaching, are so interesting both as a passage of general history, and still more, as they implicate and illustrate the character of Philip, that it may be proper to take some notice of the causes which gave rise to them. It is well known, that his English contemporaries looked upon him, very generally, With feelings far from benevolent. It was natural under the circumstances that they should do so; but it is no more necessary, than it is philosophical or just on the other hand, to confide implicitly either in their opinions or their statements. Philip and his Wampanoags are unlucky enough, like the lion in the fable, to have no painter.

It should be observed here, that Philip like his elder brother, unquestionably considered himself an ally and not a subject of the English;—at least, until his nominal submission in 1671. Even the same authorities who record this submission, speak of his renewing his ancient covenant, (as indeed the instrument itself shows.) A distinct article recognises Massasoit as an independent sovereign. Philip, then, held the same relation to the English, that his father and brother had done for the fifty years, during which the two parties had treated and associated upon equal and intimate terms. He was bound by the same engagements, and possessed of the same rights; and it only remains to be seen, if due regard was paid to these circumstances upon either side.

Now, we look upon the assault of Alexander, in 1662, in the first place, as not only a sufficient cause of suspicion and resentment, but of war; and that, upon the best construction which can be put upon the most favorable of the ex-parte relations that appear upon record. By the old treaty itself; which Alexander also took the gratuitous trouble to renew,—and without any reference to courtesy or humanity, or to national fidelity, or to personal friendship, existing up to this date,—the English were bound generally to treat him as an allied sovereign, and especially to make a preliminary demand of satisfaction, in all eases of complaint. We have seen that the charge brought against him in 1662,—vague and unsupported as it was,—was not so much as explained to the sachem, previously to his being taken from his own territory by an armed force, and carried before an English justice of the Peace. In no other instance does the Plymouth Colony seem to have exercised an authority of this nature, even over the meanest subjects of the sachem. "Inasmuch as complaint is made, that many Indians pass into divers places of this jurisdiction," say the records of the Colony for 1660, "it is enacted that no strange or foreign Indians be permitted to become residents, and that notice be given to the several sagamores to prevent the same."

A remark might be made upon the policy of laws like these, so far as the Pokanokets were concerned; as also of the acts of 1652, and 1653, which prohibited the sale of casks, barques, boats and horses, to the Indians, besides providing a punishment for such of them, resident in the Colony, as should violate the Christian sabbath, or discharge their guns in the night-time. But these regulations the Government had an undoubted right to make, as Massasoit and Philip had possessed a right,—which, however, they were complaisant enough to relinquish,—of selling their own lands to purchasers of their own choosing.

Such was the state of things previous to the submission of 1671. With regard to this, it is quite clear that, even if Philip was made to understand the instrument which it is well known he could not read, he could look upon it only as an insult, imposed upon him under circumstances amounting to duress. Independently of any force, too, he must have thought himself justified, by the manifest disposition and the summary measures of the English, in availing himself of any stratagem to lull suspicion and to gain time. He might or might not, at this period or before, have meditated acting offensively against them, in revenge of the indignity suffered by his brother and his nation; but it was certainly both prudent and patriotic in him, to put himself on the defensive. He had a right, it appears to us, both to drill his own people in martial exercises, and to make alliances with his Indian neighbors.

It might have been a safe policy in the Plymouth Government, to have considered these things, in regard at least to what they might call the jealous and barbarous prejudices of the Indians, before proceeding to extremities with either Alexander or Philip. On the contrary, while they enacted laws, and encouraged accusations, and took the execution of the penalty of them into their own hands, they used no means to conciliate Philip, but sending for him to appear before "the Plymouth Court." Whether they were cautious in all other respects after this time to avoid offence, it is not to be expected that history should enable us to determine. We find, however, that certain of the Colonists, in 1673, took upon them to negotiate treaties for land with private subjects of Philip; and there is no reason to doubt, that they entered and kept possession accordingly. As the sachems are known to have been as tenacious of their territory in claim, as they were liberal of it in disposal, it may well be conceived that this first instance of a similar nature upon record, should occasion Philip no little dissatisfaction. In imitation of the English courtesy, he might have despatched Nimrod, Tobias, Woonkaponcpunt, or some other of his "valiant and excellent" majors-generals to "fetch down" the offending grantees to Sowams. He seems to have taken no express notice of the affair. But that he understood his territorial rights, is apparent from the singular communication which follows. It is preserved in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, volume second of the first series, as precisely copied from the original, which is still preserved at Plymouth.

"King Philip desire to let you understand that he could not come to the Court, for Tom, his interpreter, has a pain in his back, that he could not travel so far, and Philip sister is very sik.

"Philip would intreat that favor of you, and aney of the magistrate if aney English or Engians speak about aney land, he pray you to give them no answer at all. This last summer he made that promis with you, that he would not sell no land in seven years time, for that he would have no English trouble him before that time, he has not forgot that you promis him.

"He will come as soon as possible as he can to speak with you, and so I rest, you very loving friend, Philip, dwelling at mount hope nek." [FN]

[FN] Since the text was written, our opinion has been confirmed by meeting with the following significant query in a petition of Mr. Gookin and Mr. Elliot to the Massachusetts Government in 1684, for the rescinding of certain purchases made of the Indians which they considered fraudulent:—"Was not a principal cause of the late war about encroachments on Philip's lands at Mount Hope?" No remarks of ours can add to the force of a suggestion from such a source.

This unique letter is addressed "To the much honored Governor, Mr. Thomas Prince, dwelling at Plymouth." As Philip himself could neither read nor write, the honor of the orthography and construction must be attributed to the infirm interpreter. But the sentiments are worthy of the sachem himself; and they certainly manifest a mingled civility and independence which do him great credit. No date is affixed to the letter. If it do not refer to the transaction just mentioned, it was probably prompted by some other of the same description. The interest which the sachem felt in cases of this kind, is apparent from one of his own conveyances, made in 1668. It was of a tract included within the present limits of Rochester, upon the sea-shore. He drafted an accurate plan of it with his own hand, (still preserved upon the records of the Old Colony) and forwarded it to the Court, with the following explanation.

"This may inform the honorable Court," we read, "that I, Philip, am willing to sell the land within this draught, but the Indians that are upon it may live upon it still; but the land that is mine that is sold, and Watashpoo is of the same mind. I have put down all the principal names of the land we are now willing should be sold." Watashpoo was probably one of the occupants, chiefly interested in the case. The letter ends thus; "Know all Men by these Presents, That Philip has given power unto Watashpoo, and Sampson, and their brethren, to hold and make sale of said land to whom they will," &c. This letter must have been sent in compliance with some request from his Plymouth friends. It is dated at Pocanauket; subscribed by the capital P, which was the sachem's mark; and attested, and no doubt written, by his secretary, John Sassamon.

Sassamon is distinguished in history as having been the immediate occasion of the first open hostilities. He was born in some family of praying Indians, and after receiving a tolerable education at Cambridge and other places, was employed as a school-master at Natick. The composition above cited rather supports Hubbard's remark, that he was a "cunning and plausible Indian, well skilled in the English language." This writer says, that he left the English on account of some misdemeanor. Mather states, that "apostatizing from the profession of Christianity, he lived like a heathen, in the quality of secretary to King Philip." He adds, that he afterwards deserted the sachem, and gave such notable evidences of repentance, as to be employed in preaching among the Indians at Natick, under the eye of his old instructor, the venerable Eliot.

This was another of the provocations which must have annoyed Philip. Hubbard states expressly, that Sassamon was importunately urged to forsake him; and it appears from other sources, that there had previously been such an entire confidence between the two, that the Secretary was intrusted with all the secrets of his master. The provocation went still farther. Sassamon, either having or pretending to have some occasion to go among the Pokanokets frequently, availed himself of this opportunity to scrutinize their movements, and to report them as he thought proper to the English. In consequence of this, Philip and some of his subjects were "examined," we are told, but nothing definite was learned from them. Soon after, Sassamon disappeared; and as he had expressed some well-founded fears of meeting with a violent death in the course of these manœuvres, his friends were alarmed. They commenced, a search, and finally found his dead body in Assawomset pond, (in Middleborough) where a hole in the ice, through which he had been thrust, was still open, and his hat and gun left near by, as if he had drowned himself. "Furthermore," says Mather, "upon the jealousies of the spirits of men that he might have met with some foul play, a jury was empanelled, unto whom it appeared that his neck was broken, which is one Indian way of murdering."

The next step of the Plymouth Government was to seize upon three Pokanoket Indians, on the testimony of a fourth, "found," says Hubbard, "by a strange providence." This man swore that he had seen the murder committed from a hill near the pond. It must be inferred that he swore to the identity of the prisoners, for it appears they were convicted from "his undeniable testimony and other circumstances," [FN] and forthwith hanged. Whatever may be said of the legal, the moral probability certainly is, that they were guilty. They were probably appointed to execute the judgement of Philip upon Sassamon, one of them being Tobias, a man of some distinction. At all events, Philip must have thought himself justified in taking this summary measure with a vagabond who was mean enough to avail himself, as Sassamon did, of being tolerated in his territory after having betrayed his confidence, and apparently for the very purpose of following up his own treason.

[FN] The Colonists were but too ready, throughout these transactions, to believe any thing and everything which supported a charge against Philip. One of the undeniable circumstances is, probably, stated by Mather. The dead body bled afresh, says the Doctor, on the approach of Tobias, "yea, upon the repetition of the experiment, it still happened so," albeit he had been deceased and interred for a considerable while before.