The remainder of the night they spent in discourse, in which Annawon "gave an account of what mighty success he had had formerly in wars against many nations of Indians, when he served Asuhmequin, Philip's father." Morning being come, they took up their march for Taunton. In the way they met Lieutenant Howland, according to appointment, at his no small surprise. They lodged at Taunton that night. The next day "Capt. Church took old Annawon, and half a dozen Indian soldiers, and his own men, and went to Rhode Island; the rest were sent to Plimouth, under Lieut. Howland. Annawon, it is said, had confessed "that he had put to death several of the English, that had been taken alive; ten in one day, and could not deny but that some of them had been tortured;"* and therefore no mercy was to be expected from those into whose hands he had now fallen. His captor, Capt. Church, did not mean that he should have been put to death, and had entreated hard for him; but in his absence from Plimouth, not long after, he was remorselessly executed. We shall again have occasion to advert to the execution of Annawon, and shall now pass to consider the events in the life of a sachem of nearly equal interest. Quinnapin was by birth a noble Narraganset, being the son of Coginaquan, otherwise Conjanaquond, who was nephew to Canonicus. Therefore Miantunnomoh was uncle to Quinnapin, and Canonicus was his great uncle. We find his name spelled in almost every possible way, and for the amusement of the reader will offer a few of them-Quanopin, Quonopin, Qunnapin, Quannopin, Quenoquin, Panoquin, and Quanepin. His name has also been confounded with that of Quaiapen, the old queen” of Narraganset. In 1672, Quinnapin confirmed, by a writing, the sale of a tract of land previously granted by Coginaquan, his father. This sachem took part with the Wampanoags in Philip's war, and from the punishment which the English executed upon him, on his falling into their hands, we may suppose he acted well his part in that war, although but little is recorded of him by the historians of that period. From Mrs. Rowlandson's account of him, we must conclude he was not wanting in attentions to the fair sex, as he had certainly three wives, one of whom was a sister of Wootonekanuske; consequently he was, according to the English method of calculating relationships, brother-in-law to the famous Metacomet himself. Quinnapin was one of the chiefs who directed the attack on Lancaster, the 10 Feb. 1675, O. S., and he purchased Mrs. Rowlandson from a Narraganset Indian who had seized her when she came out of the garrison, among the captives of that place. And it was this circumstance which caused her to notice him in her Narrative. Wettimore, whom she mentions in the following extract as his wife, we have said, was Weetamoo, the "queen of Pocasset." In the winter of 1676, when the Narragansets were at such “great straits," from the loss of their provisions, in the great swamp fight, (" corn being two shillings a pint with them,") the English tried to bring about a peace with them; but their terms were too hard, or some other cause prevented. "Canonchet and Panoquin said they would fight it out, to the last man, rather than they would become servants to the English." A truly noble resolution, and well worthy of the character we have of Canonchet. *Hubbard, Nar. 108. + Mr. Willard's edition of it, (p. 25.) Lancaster, 1828. + Hubbard. "My master (says Mrs. Rowlandson) had three squaws, living sometimes with one and sometimes with another. Onux, this old squaw at whose wigwam I was, and with whom my master [Quinnapin] had been these three weeks. Another was Wettimore, with whom I had lived and served all this while. A severe and proud dame she was; bestowing every day in dressing herself near as much time as any of the gentry of the land-powdering her hair and painting her face, going with her necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads. The third squaw [or wife] was a young one, by whom he had two papooses.' While the Narragansets and Nipmucks were encamped at a place on Connecticut River at considerable distance above Northampton, perhaps near as far as Bellows Falls, Mrs. Rowlandson says, "My master's maid came home: she had been gone three weeks into the Narraganset country to fetch corn, where they had stored up some in the ground. brought home about a peck and a half of corn"! She We shall relate, in the life of Nepanet, the mission of Mr. Hoar to Philip's quarters for the redemption of Mrs. Rowlandson. This was not long after Sudbury fight, and the Indians were preparing to commemorate it by a great dance, "which was carried on by eight of them, (as Mrs. R. relates,) four men and four squaws; my master and mistress [Quinnapin and Weetamoo] being two. He was dressed in his Holland shirt, with great stockings, his garters hung round with shillings, and had girdles of wampom upon his head and shoulders. She had a kearsey coat, covered with girdles of wampom from the loins upward. Her arms, from her elbows to her hands, were covered with bracelets; there were handfuls of necklaces about her neck, and several sorts of jewels in her ears. She had fine red stockings, and white shoes, her hair powdered, and her face painted red, that was always before black. And all the dancers were after the same manner. There were two others singing and knocking on a kettle for their music. They kept hopping up and down one after another, with a kettle of water in the midst, standing warm upon some embers, to drink of when they were dry. They held on till almost night, throwing out their wampom to the standers-by. At night I asked them again, if I should go home: they all as one said, No, except my husband would come for me. When we were lain down, my master went out of the wigwam, and by and by sent in an Indian called Jamesthe-printer, who told Mr. Hoar, that my master would let me go home tomorrow, if he would let him have one pint of liquor. Then Mr. Hoar called his own Indians, Tom and Peter, and bid them all go and see if he would promise it before them three; and if he would he should have it, which he did, and had it. Philip smelling the business, called me to him, and asked me what I would give him, to tell me some good news, and to speak a good word for me, that I might go home to-morrow? I told him I could not tell what to give him, I would any thing I had, and asked him what he would have. He said two coats and 20 shillings in money, half a bushel of seed corn, and some tobacco. I thanked him for his love, but I knew that good news as well as that crafty fox. My master, after he had his drink, quickly came ranting into the wigwam again, and called for Mr. Hoar, drinking to him and saying he was a good man; and then again he would say, Hang him a rogue. Being almost drunk, he would drink to him, and yet presently say he should be hanged. Then he called for me; I trembled to hear him, and yet I was fain to go to him, and he drank to me, shewing no incivility. He was the first Indian I * Narrative, 63, 64. saw drunk, all the time I was among them. At last his squaw ran out, and he after her, round the wigwam, with his money jingling at his knees, but she escaped him; but having an old squaw, he ran to her,"* and troubled the others no more that night. A day or two after, the sagamores had a council, or general court, as they called it, in which the giving up of Mrs. R. was debated. All seemed to consent for her to go except Philip, who would not come to the council. However, she was soon dismissed, and some who were at first opposed to her going, seemed now to rejoice at it. They shook her by the hand, and asked her to send them some tobacco, and some one thing and some another. When the extensive system of war carried on by Philip was broken in the west by intestine bickerings, Quinnapin returned with Philip to his country of the Wampanoags. About the end of July, 1676, Captain Church learned by a captive squaw that Quinnapin and Philip were in a 66 great cedar swamp" near Aponaganset with "abundance of Indians." This news, together with a discovery the captain soon after made, induced him to leave that country without disturbing so formidable an enemy. Soon after, Quinnapin escaped from a company of Bridgewater men, who killed Akkompoin, as he and Philip's company were crossing Taunton River. The next day, Church pursued him, but he effected his escape. Not long after this, he was taken, and, some considerable time after the war, was shot at Newport in R. Island. It appears that Quinnapin had had some difficulty with the R. Island people, who, some time before the war, had cast him into prison; but that by some means he had escaped, and become active in the war. He was reported "a young lusty sachem, and a very rogue."+ Tuspaquin, whose biography we shall next pursue, was one of Philip's most faithful captains, and sachem of Assawomset, as we have before had occasion to notice, in speaking of John Sassamon. His name in printed accounts differs but little, and is abbreviated from Watuspaquin. Also in our life of Tatoson it was necessary to speak of this chief. From a survey of the deeds which he executed of various large tracts of land, it is evident his sachemdom was very extensive. It will be necessary to glance at some of the conveyances of Watuspaquin for several reasons, the principal of which is, that the part he acted in the great drama of 1675 and 1676 may not be underrated. His conveyances to the Rev. John Sassamon and his family are already related. On 9 Aug. 1667, "Tuspequin, otherwise called the Black-sachem," for £4, sells to Henry Wood of Plimouth his right and title to the land on the east side of "Namassakett" River,‡ bounded "on one end" by the pond called Black-sachem's Pond, or, in Indian, Wanpawcutt; on the other end, by a little pond called Asnemscutt. How much was included in the given bounds, is not mentioned, nor could we now by the description possibly tell how far said tract extended back from the river. With Tuspaquin, his wife, Amey, signed this deed, and it was witnessed only by two Englishmen. On 17 July, 1669, Tuspaquin and his son William sell for £10 a tract or parcel of land near "Assowampsett," half a mile wide, and "in length from said ponds to Dartmouth path." Besides two English, Samuel Henry, Daniel and Old Harry were witnesses. Experience Mitchell, Henry Sampson, of Duxborough, Thomas Little, of Marshfield, and Thomas Paine, of Eastham, were the purchasers. June 10, 1670, Tuspaquin and his son William sold for £6, to Edward * Narrative, 73-75. + Capt. More's account of "The Warr in N. E. visibly ended," &c. Gray, "in the behalf of the court of Plimouth," "all that our meddow that lyeth in or neare the town of Middleberry," on the west side of a tract belonging to John Alden and Constant Southworth, "and is between Assowamsett Pond and Taunton path, being in three parsells vpon three brookes;" also another parcel on the other side of Taunton path. Witnessed by "Amie," the wife of Tuspaquin, and two English. 30 June, 1672, Tuspaquin, "sachem of Namassakett, and Mantowapuct alias William his son," sell to Edward Gray and Josias Winslow, lands on the easterly side of Assowamsett, to begin where Namasket River falleth out of the pond, and so south by the pond; thence by perishable bounds to Tuspaquin's Pond, and so home to the lands formerly sold to Henry Wood. 3 July, 1673, Tuspaquin and his son William sell to Benjamin Church of Duxborough, house carpenter, and John Tompson of Barnstable, lands about Middleborough, for which they paid him £15. It is described as "lying att and neare the township of Middleberry," bounded westerly by a river called Monhiggen, which runs into a pond called Quisquasett, and so by a cedar swamp to Tuspaquin's Pond; thence by Henry Wood's land to a place called Pochaboquett. Nahudset River is named as a northern boundary; and the two "places" called Tuscomanest and Massapanoh are also named, likewise a pond called Sniptuett, and a "river's mouth called Tuppatuett which runneth into a pond called Quittuwashett." Two English, Sam Harry, and Joseph of Namasket, were witnesses. 1 Nov. 1673, William Watuspaquin, saweta, Tobias and Bewat, for £10. sell to three English of Barnstable a tract of land bounded by Quetaquash Pond northerly, by Quetaquash River easterly, Snepetuitt Pond, &c. 14 May, 1675, the two Tuspaquins, father and son, "make over to John Tompson, Constant Southworth" and others, of Middleborough, "all that tract of land which we now have in possession, called commonly Assowamsett neck or necks, and places adjacent," as a security against the claims of others, &c. of other lands deeded at the same time; if, therefore, they are not disturbed in the possession of the former lands deeded, then they "are not to be outed of Assawamsett neck." Pottawo, alias Daniel, Poyman, Pagatt,* alias Joseph, were witnesses. For the land deeded they received £33. "sterling." It consisted of uplands and meadows about the pond called Ninipoket, Quiticus,† &c., and, judging from the price paid, was, no doubt, a very large tract. Thus are a few of the acts of Watuspaquin sketched previous to the war. We are now to trace his operations in quite another sphere. In our opinion, Mr. Hubbard was right in styling him "the next noted captain to Philip," but erroneously calls Old Tuspaquin "the Black-sachem's son." He does not appear to have known of the son William. Indeed, we hear nothing of him in the war, but it is probable he shared the fate of his father. In the spring of 1676, Tuspaquin was marching from place to place with about 300 men, and was doubtless in high expectation of humbling the pride of his enemies, and, but for Philip's western disasters, occasioned by the disaffection of his Pocomptucks and others, his expectations might have been realized. It was doubtless under his direction that 19 buildings in Scituate were burnt on 20 April; and on the 8 May, had not a shower prevented, most, if not all, the houses in Bridgewater would have shared the same fate. Tuspaquin was known to have led his men * Two names, probably; but in the MS. there is no comma between, as is often the + Titicut, probably, now. case. in this attack.* The inhabitants exerted themselves to repel the Indians, but, conscious of their strength, they maintained their ground until the next day, when they retreated. Notwithstanding the rain, they succeeded in burning 17 buildings before they decamped. On 11 May, 1676, there were eleven houses and five barns burnt in Plimouth, and a few weeks after, seven houses more and two barns. These were probably such as were at a considerable distance from the village. and had chiefly been deserted. This "mischief" was attributed to Tuspaquin and his men. About this time, Benjamin Church was commissioned by the government of Plimouth to lead parties in different directions over the colony; and from the time he commenced operations, the Indians found but few opportunities to do mischief in Plimouth colony. Tuspaquin still kept his ground in the Assawomset country, and for a long time baffled all the skill Capt. Church was master of, who used every endeavor to take him prisoner. Church received his commission 24 July, 1676, and the same night set out on an expedition against Tuspaquin. His Indian scouts brought him before day upon a company of Tuspaquin's people in Middleborough, every one of whom fell into his hands. How many there were, Church does not say. He took them directly to Plimouth, "and disposed of them all," except "one Jeffery, who, proving very ingenious and faithful to him in informing where other parcels of the Indians harbored, Capt. Church promised him, that if he continued to be faithful to him, he should not be sold out of the country, but should be his waiting man, to take care of his horse, &c., and accordingly he served him faithfully as long as he lived.”+ Thus strengthened by Tuspaquin's own men, Church pursued his successes with a manifold advantage. There was a small tribe residing near Munponset Pond, which was next captured without loss on either side, and there was henceforth scarcely a week passed wherein he did not captivate some of these people. Not long after this, it was found that Tuspaquin had encamped about Assawomset, and Church set out on an expedition there; but finding Old Tuspaquin was ready for him at the neck between the two great ponds, he was glad to make the best of his way on towards Acushnet and Dartmouth. As he was crossing Assawomset neck, a scout from Tuspaquin's camp fired upon him, but did him no injury. Meanwhile the great Annawon having been surprised by the indefatigable Church, Tuspaquin saw no chance of holding out long; therefore appears afterwards only intent upon keeping out of the way of the English. This could not be long reasonably expected, as their scouts were ranging in every direction. On 4 Sept. 1676, according to Church's account, Tuspaquin's company were encamped near Sippican, doing "great damage to the English in killing their cattle, horses and swine." The next day, Church and his rangers were in their neighborhood, and, after observing their situation, which was "sitting round their fires in a thick place of bruch,"§ in seeming safety, the captain "ordered every man to creep as he did; and surrounded them by creeping as near as they could, till they should be discovered, and then to run on upon them, and take them alive, if possible, *Mr. Hubbard says, (Nar. 71.) the Indians were led by one Tusguogen, but we are satisfied Tuspaquin is meant. + Church, Narrative, 31. Just below where Sampson's tavern now stands. I suspect Mr. Hubbard mistakes the situation of this place, in saying it was "in Lakenham, upon Pocasset neck." Church is so unregarding of all geography, that it is quite uncertain where it was. If it were near Sippican, it was a long way from any part of Pocasset. |
