The Tarratines retaliated by attacking the main village of the
Penobscots where they killed the Bashebe (Great Sachem), then
continued on, attacking most of the villages from the Penobscot River
to the Blue Hills of Maine, killing so many in these raids that the
survivors were for some time unable to bury their dead. That same
year, Nanepashemet sent a war party to aid the Penobscots, but
although his men were victorious in their few skirmishes with the
Tarratines and brought a few prisoners back to Massachusetts, he
brought about his own death and the destruction of his federation by
his participation in the war.
As a result of this disastrous war with the Tarratines in 1616,
Nanepashemet was forced to live in constant fear for his own life. He
abandoned his coastal lodges, going inland to Medford along the
shores of the Mystic River. He built several fortresses to which he
could retreat at the first sign of danger. One of these was at the
top of a hill. The house was built on a platform that was six feet
from the ground. Pointed stakes were driven into the ground as close
together as possible. These stakes were between thirty and forty feet
long, and formed a circle almost fifty feet in diameter. It was
necessary to climb over the palisade with a ladder which was
retrieved when Nanepashemet was safely inside. To make the fortress
more difficult to get to, a huge ditch was dug around the outside
walls. This was approximately five feet deep and almost seven feet
wide. A narrow bridge spanned this moat, and, like its larger
counterparts in Europe, it was designed so that it could be pulled
back easily in times of danger.
As Nanepashemet had feared, the Tarratines at last found his
hide-out. A large war party was sent out in 1619 which successfully
stormed the fortress and killed the Great Sachem. Prior to the
imminent attack, Nanepashemet sent his wife and four children inland
where they were protected by a friendly tribe. When it seemed that
the danger had passed, she returned to Medford where she assumed the
cloak of authority that had once been her husband’s. Although she
lost a number of the Massachusett federation tribes, three remained
loyal to the squaw-Sachem (the Naumkeags, the Saugus, and the
Winnisimmets), and she placed her three sons to rule over them. This
new federation was also called the Massachusett, and she is known to
us only as the squaw-Sachem of the Massachusett. In 1667, she
suffered a stroke that left her completely paralyzed and soon died.
She is buried somewhere in Medford, but the exact location of her
last resting place is unknown.
Of her three sons, Wonohaquaham, known as Sagamore
John, was the oldest and became Sachem of Winnisimmet whose lands
included Charlestown, Revere, Winthrop, and Chelsea. He maintained
his chief residence at Medford, as this was the seat of the new federation.
On August 8 1631, Sagamore John was wounded along with his brother
Sagamore James at Agawam, ( Ipswich ), during a battle with the
Tarratines. His wife, Wenunchus, was taken captive along with several
other Indians. She was ransomed September 17, 1631 for wampum and ten
beaver pelts through the mediation of Mr.Abraham Shurd of Pemaquid,
who used to trade with them.
In 1632, Canonicus, the Narragansett Sachem, sent a messenger to both
Sagamore John and Chikataubut demanding their help in a war with the
Wampanoag. John went to Rhode Island along with 30 of his men. The
English at Plymouth had intervened before they reached the
Narragansetts and the war was over. However, the Narragansetts were
also at war with the Pequots at the time and decided to send the two
Massachusetts groups along with some of their own men against them.
The Pequot proved too strong for this force and both John and
Chikataubut returned home.
When Governor Endicott asked for permission to settle
Mishawam (Charlestown), Sagamore John, (Wonohaquaham), gave his
consent gladly. He hoped that these settlers would act as a buffer
between his people and the Tarratines.
The English settlers liked this tall, handsome, agreeable Indian, and
they referred to him as Sagamore John instead of his Indian name
Wonohaquaham. He consented to be ruled by the same laws that governed
the English, availing himself of the Court’s justice on a number of
occasions. The Court was pleased that it could show the local Indians
that the English justice would work for them just as it did for the settlers.
In 1632 Sagamore John, (Wonohaquaham), found that the settlers were
becoming too numerous and they were encroaching on his lands. He went
to the Court constantly in an effort to have these disputes settled
peaceably, yet a majority of his claims were never brought to trial.
The problem was eventually overcome when the small-pox epidemic
killed almost all the Massachusett Indians in 1633.
Sagamore John himself became ill in late November 1633 and died
December 5, 1633. Samuel Maverick and his wife and servants took care
of John and several other Indians with smallpox. John gave the
governor a quantity of wampum as well as gifts to several other
English; and took order for the payment of his own debts and those of
his men. He died convinced that he would go to the Englishmen’s God.
Many of the ill Indians said they would worship the English God if
they recovered. When visited shortly before his death he was reported
to have said “by and by mee mattamay (to die) may be my two sons
live, you take them to teach much to know God.” Samuel Maverick
buried John as well as thirty other Indians who had died on the same
day. This burial site was probably in Chelsea on the hill where the
Naval Hospital was later built.
Some of the English in the towns around the bay took the Indian
children into their homes hoping to rescue them from the smallpox.
Most died, Sagamore John’s son was one of the few to survive. He was
taken care of by Mr.John Wilson, pastor of Boston.
John Winthrop is said to have taken another one of his sons, no more
is known about this child and he may have died soon after his father.
Some of the tribes lost 90% of their population, while others were
completely wiped out.
There is ample evidence that the colonists, as a whole, treated the
Indians fairly well. They purchased their lands at prices deemed
equitable to both parties. They were given equal protection under the
law and an honest effort was made to bring them under the influences
of civilization and Christianity. Unfortunately, the Indians had
great difficulty conforming to the colonists way of life and
restraining their old roaming habits.
By 1685 the Indians in Winnisimmet and around Boston were few, and
were neither useful nor respectable. It was necessary to place them
under guardianship and deny them rights as citizens. In spite of a
sincere effort to do so, it was impossible to incorporate them into
our political and social system. Extermination, if not the law, was
what took place.
