{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_70447/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_70447","id":"gutenberg_70447","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70447","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - American","Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indians of North America -- Massachusetts","Nantucket Island (Mass.) -- History"],"text":"The\n      Nantucket\n      Indians\n\n               By R. A. Douglas-Lithgow, M. D., L. L. D.\n\n                            [Illustration]\n\n                              NANTUCKET:\n                      INQUIRER AND MIRROR PRESS.\n                                 1911.\n\n\n\n\n                               FOREWORD\n\n\nThe concensus of modern scientific opinion favors the belief that the\nso-called American-Indian race represents the autochthonous people or\naborigines of the great American Continent. Referring to the origin\nof the American Indians, Professor Pritchard says: \u201cThe era of their\nexistence as a distinct and insulated race must probably be dated as\nfar back as that time which separated into nations the inhabitants\nof the Old World, and gave to each branch of the human family its\nprimitive language and individuality.\u201d The origin of the Amerinds of\nAmerica has still to be sought amid the sources of the various races of\nmankind from primeval times.\n\nThe Indian tribes of New England belonged to the great Algonquian\nConfederacy\u2014the most widely extended of all the North American\nIndians\u2014their territory stretching along the Atlantic coast from\nLabrador to Pamlico sound, and westward, from Newfoundland to the Rocky\nMountains.\n\nThe three principal Massachusetts tribes were the Massachusetts or\nNaticks, the Nipmucks, and the Wampanoags, the latter under the\ndominance of Massasoit when the Pilgrims arrived, and, at that time,\nthe third greatest nation in New England.\n\nWith regard to the primeval discovery of the island of Nantucket by the\nIndians the following legend is interesting, (as all legends are), and\nit was related by the aborigines to the early English settlers, soon\nafter their arrival.\n\nIn former times, a good many moons ago, a bird, extraordinary for its\nsize, used often to visit the south shore of Cape Cod, and carry from\nthence in its talons a vast number of small children. Maushope, who\nwas an Indian giant, as fame reports, resided in these parts. Enraged\nat the havoc among the children, he, on a certain time, waded into the\nsea in pursuit of the bird, till he had crossed the sound, and reached\nNantucket. Before Maushope forded the sound, the island was unknown to\nthe red men. Maushope found the bones of the children in a heap under a\nlarge tree. He, then, wishing to smoke his pipe, ransacked the island\nfor tobacco; but finding none, he filled his pipe with poke\u2014a weed\nwhich the Indians sometimes used as a substitute.\n\n\u201cEver since this memorable event, fogs have been frequent on the Cape.\nIn allusion to this tradition, when the aborigines observed a fog\nrising, they would say, \u2018There comes old Maushope\u2019s smoke.\u2019\u201d[1] (Here\nthe legend unfortunately ends.)\n\n  [1] Col. Mass. Hist. Soc. Vol. V. First Series, page 57.\n\nThe island of Nantucket, when first settled by the whites, was occupied\nby two tribes whose names have not been preserved. One occupied the\nwest end of the island, and was supposed to have come from the mainland\nby way of Martha\u2019s Vineyard. The other lived at the east end, and\nis said to have come direct from the mainland. The two tribes were\nindependent and were, at a time, hostile to each other. The tribe which\ncame from Martha\u2019s Vineyard was subject to the Wampanoags.[2]\n\n  [2] \u201cHand-Book of American Indians,\u201d Vol. II, p. 26.\n\nWhen the original discovery of the island of Nantucket was made by\nforeigners is still a moot point, many writers alleging that two hardy\nNorsemen, Bjorne Herjulfson, in A. D. 986, and Leif Ericsson, in A. D.\n1000, during their respective voyages, had both sighted the New England\ncoast, and that Leif had visited Nantucket, and bestowed upon it the\nname of Nauticon. If this is probable, it is equally probable that the\nname Nauticon was merely a Norse approximation to the original Indian\nname of the island, viz: =Natocket=[3]. It is now generally believed,\nhowever, that neither of these navigators got nearer to the New England\ncoast than Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, although there is much to be\nsaid on both sides of the question.\n\n  [3] H. B. Worth: Nantucket Hist. Asso., Vol. 11, Bull. 6, p. 290.\n\nWith regard to \u201cVinland\u201d, which Leif Ericsson is said to have visited\non his way to Greenland, a circumstantial account of his voyaging is\ngiven in the Norse saga\u2014the =Flateyarbok and the Hauksbok=. These\naccounts were subsequently confirmed by Adam of Bremen, in his =History\nof the Bremen Church, etc.=, and in the MSS. of numerous historians,\nfrom the eleventh to the fifteenth century; but the conjecture is not\nadequately substantiated by facts to warrant a conclusion, and it seems\nimpossible in this age to divest the ancient story from the cloud of\nmyth and mystery which surrounds it.\n\nIt seems strange, nevertheless, that the name Nautican is that applied\nto Nantucket island by Sir Ferdinand Gorges (=circa= 1630), and\nNantican in Hough\u2019s book, under the date 1641.\n\nJohn Cabot, the navigator\u2014of Italian birth\u2014settled in Bristol, England,\nin the time of Henry VII., and he obtained a patent from the King \u201cfor\nthe purpose of discovering unknown lands in the eastern, western and\nnorthern seas.\u201d His son Sebastian accompanied him, and in 1497\u20131498,\nthey cruised along the coast of America from Florida to Labrador. =The\nclaim of the English Government to Nantucket, Martha\u2019s Vineyard and the\nElizabeth Islands was based upon these voyages of the Cabots.=\n\nNantucket, however, looms out of mythland and into genuine history,\nwhen, in June or July, 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold, an English mariner,\nlanded upon its shore at Sankaty Head, when he, and some thirty\nsailors, were =en route= for Virginia, seeking a new plantation.\n\nIn May, 1605, Captain Weymouth is said to have \u201cbecome entangled among\nthe Nantucket Shoals\u201d[4], and in 1620 Captain Dermer certainly visited\nthe island.\n\n  [4] Drake\u2019s =Nooks and Corners of New England=, p. 324.\n\nIn approaching the consideration of the =Nantucket= Indians, the\nfollowing beautiful legend[5] cannot be passed over in silence, as it\nreveals the fact that self-sacrifice and the tender passion are not\nlimited in their influence to any race or color, but are the hallowed\nheritage of mankind. Such a record deserves a foremost place in any\nassociated local history. The incident referred to is supposed to have\noccurred about 1630, or, as Dr. Ewer suggested, about thirty years\nbefore the arrival of the white men.\n\n  [5] A worthy poetic setting of this legend was published by \u201cThe\n  Inquirer and Mirror\u201d nearly forty years ago, from the pen of Miss\n  Charlotte P. Baxter. It was republished in the \u201cInquirer\u201d of January\n  21st, 1911, and the poetic quotations in this preface have been taken\n  from it.\n\nWauwinet was the sage and beloved Sachem of the Northeastern section of\nthe Island. He had one daughter, Wonoma,\u2014\n\n    \u201cThe loveliest and the gentlest,\u201d\n\nand they were devoted to each other.\n\n    \u201cWell she knew the art of healing;\n    Skilled was she in all the uses\n    Of the herbs that grew around them.\n    And whenever from the waters\n    Spoke the voice of the Great Spirit,\n    She could tell unto her people\n    What the words were, and the meaning.\u201d\n\nFever had broken out among the natives of the south-western section of\nthe island, which was under the dominance of the Chief Autopscot, and\nhe feared that his people would be swept away by the rapid spread of\nthe pestilence. In his extremity he thought of the fair and graceful\nWonoma, Wauwinet\u2019s daughter, and knowing she possessed the knowledge of\na great medicine-man, he despatched one of his maidens, named Wosoka,\nto speed to Wonoma,\u2014\n\n    \u201cPraying her to come and save them,\n      From the cruel, blasting Fever.\u201d\n\nWonoma, always delighting to do good, accompanied the little maid back\nto her stricken people, and, in a little time, the plague was stayed,\nand she healed and comforted those who would have died but for her\nskilful and kindly help. By her skill, her winsomeness and her sympathy\nshe won the hearts of all the natives, and, when the time of her\ndeparture came, they begged her to remain with them, so that they might\nshow their gratitude.\n\n    \u201cFor the boon of Life She gave them.\u201d\n\nThen the brave Autopscot pleaded, not only for his people, but for\nhimself, that she should not go from them, and he ended by eloquently\nand fervently declaring his love for her; and Wonoma, deeply touched,\nsmilingly replied:\u2014\n\n    \u201cThat because She loved his people\n    But more truly loved their leader,\n    She would come again among them,\u2014\n    Come again to go not from them.\u201d\n\nLater, the friendly and fraternal feeling which had long existed\nbetween the tribes of Wauwinet and Autopscot gradually changed to\nfeelings of anger and hatred in consequence of some petty differences\nas to the dividing line between their respective territories. A feud\nwas generated and bloodshed was threatened between the contending\nparties. Wauwinet and his braves, in solemn council, had agreed upon a\nsubtle plan for overcoming their enemies; but Wonoma had overheard the\ndeliberations of the war-council, and resolved to save her lover at\nall hazards. When her people were asleep she stole out of her wigwam,\nand, securing a canoe, rowed through the darkness, with a prayer in\nher heart to the Father of all mercies that she might be enabled to\nsave him who was now dearer to her than even her own people. Over sea\nand land she hurried on, her feet bleeding and weary, and when she\narrived at her destination, she was completely exhausted. When she had\nfound him whom her heart desired, she told him what she had heard, and\nleaving her in charge of some of the maidens to rest, Autopscot called\nhis people together, and bade them to be prepared to receive the enemy\non the morrow.\n\nWhen, next day, Wauwinet and his braves proceeded to attack the enemy\nunawares, and found them armed and ready to receive them, instead of\nunprepared as he had expected, he simply turned around, and, with his\nwarriors retraced his footsteps to his own possessions.\n\nOn the following evening, as Wauwinet stood in deep thought at the\ndoor of his wigwam, an oncoming footstep aroused him, and, bending\ncourteously, Autopscot stood before him, and thus addressed the father\nof his love:\n\n    Oh, my father! Oh, most noble!\n    Dark have been the days about us,\n    And still darker have the nights been;\u2014\n    In our hearts the darkest hatred;\n    Hear me speak, Oh mighty father!\n    For the love I bear Wonoma,\u2014\n    For the sake of both our people,\n    May there not be peace between us?\n\nWauwinet\u2019s brow was clouded with anger as Autopscot spoke, but\ngradually the frown relaxed, and when the brave young chief had\nfinished, the elder was silent for a time, and thus replied in tones of\nfriendly feeling:\u2014\n\n    ********\u201cOh, my son, Autopscot,\n             Great has been the lesson taught me,\n             That I, myself, am not almighty,\u2014\n             That there is a power beyond me,\n             Unto which I have to yield me.\n             Great the love I bear Wonoma,\n             And if she so truly loves you,\n             There should only be between us\n             Words and thoughts that are most friendly.\u201d\n\nWhen Wauwinet had thus spoken, the two chiefs grasped each other by\nthe hand in mutual affection, and, before they parted, they amicably\narranged between them the land which had caused their dispute, and\nwhile pledging themselves to enduring peace, Wauwinet gladly sanctioned\nthe union of Wonoma and Autopscot. From that day to this Peace has\nreigned over and blest the island of Nantucket.\n\n\n\n\n                    The Settlement and the Natives\n\n\nThe story of the transfer of the Island of Nantucket from the English\nGovernment to Thomas Mayhew, and from him and the Indians to the white\nsettlers, has so often been told that a mere summary is all that is\nrequired here, in order to preserve the continuity of the narrative.\n\nNantucket was included in the Royal grant to Plymouth Company in 1621,\nand Lord Stirling and Sir Ferdinand Gorges were the Commissioners\ndeputed to promote the colonization of the territory, including the\nislands south of Cape Cod.\n\nLord Stirling appointed James Forrett as his agent in New York for\nthe sale or other disposal of the Colony, and Forrett sold the island\nof Nantucket, in 1641, (when it was under the jurisdiction of the\nProvince of New York), to Thomas Mayhew, an Englishman, who emigrated\nto New England in 1631, and who first settled at Watertown. Mayhew not\nonly purchased Nantucket, and the adjacent islands, but became a part\nproprietor of Martha\u2019s Vineyard and Governor of that island. He is said\nto have been a good colonizer\u2014always a friend to the Indians\u2014and was\nthe means of preventing them from engaging in Philip\u2019s war. He founded\nEdgartown in 1647, and from him were descended numerous missionaries to\nthe Indians, amongst whom they had much influence, and spoke the Indian\nlanguage fluently.\n\nThe islands remained in the possession of the Mayhews (father and son),\nuntil 1659, when they were transferred to ten purchasers, including\nMayhew himself, (as he reserved to himself and his heirs one-twentieth\npart of the property for his own use.)\n\nFrom a reliable genealogy of the Coffin family[6] it appears that in\nthe spring of 1659 \u201cTristram Coffin proceeded upon a voyage of inquiry\nand observation\u2014first to Martha\u2019s Vineyard where he secured Peter\nFolger, the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, as an interpreter of the\nIndian language; and thence to Nantucket, his object being to ascertain\nthe temper and disposition of the Indians, and the capabilities of\nthe island, so that he might report to the citizens of Salisbury what\ninducements for emigration thither were offered.\u201d\n\n  [6] =Vide= Godfrey\u2019s =Island of Nantucket=, p. 169.\n\nHe was evidently impressed favorably by what he saw and heard, for,\nwhen he returned to Salisbury, Mass., a company was formed, and the\npurchase of the island determined. In the autumn of 1659 Thomas Macy,\nEdward Starbuck, James Coffin, Isaac Coleman and some of their wives\nand children sailed in an open boat for Nantucket, where they arrived\nsafely, and spent the winter of 1659\u201360 on the island.\n\nIn July, 1660, Starbuck returned to Salisbury and Amesbury, and induced\na number of families to accompany him back to Nantucket, and as time\nwent on the little colony received numerous additions.[7]\n\n  [7] Most, if not all, of the English settlers came from Salisbury,\n  Mass., and its neighborhood.\n\nEach of the original colonists was permitted to name an associate,\nso that the island was primarily divided into twenty shares, and as\nthese were anxious to add to their number, and to induce artisans\nand mechanics to come among them, the number of shares was ultimately\nincreased to twenty-seven, these including the entire island, with the\nexception of the \u201ccommon\u201d land, and that reserved by Mr. Mayhew for his\nown use.[8]\n\n  [8] For copies of Mr. Mayhew\u2019s deeds =Vide= Macy\u2019s =History of\n  Nantucket=.\n\nDuring the next hundred years\u2014say from 1664 to 1774\u2014the records contain\nthe many transfers of lots of land deeded by the Indians to the\nEnglish, until, indeed, the entire island became the property of the\nwhite settlers.\n\nBefore the legal purchase of the island could be ratified, it was\nnecessary to secure the sanction of the representative Indian chiefs\nand this was duly obtained as appears from the following deed, dated\nMay 10th, 1660:\u2014\n\n                      SACHEMS\u2019 DEED OF NANTUCKET.\n\n  These presents witness, May the tenth, sixteen hundred and sixty,\n  that we, Wanackmamack and Nickanoose, head Sachems of Nantucket\n  island, do give, grant, bargain, and sell unto Mr. Thomas Mayhew\n  of Marthas Vineyard, Tristram Coffin, Senior, Thomas Macy,\n  Christopher Hussey, Richard Swain, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleaf,\n  Thomas Barnard, John Swain and William Pile, all the Land,\n  Meadow, Marshes, Timber and Wood, and all appurtenances thereunto\n  belonging, and being and lying from the west end of the island of\n  Nantucket, unto the Pond, called by the Indians, Waqutuquab, and\n  from the head of that Pond, upon a straight line, unto the Pond\n  situated by Monomoy Harbor or Creek, now called Wheeler\u2019s Creek,\n  and so from the northeast corner of the said Pond to the sea, that\n  is to say, all the right that we, the aforesaid Sachems have in the\n  said tract of land, provided that none of the Indian Inhabitants,\n  in or about the woodland, or whatsoever Indians, within the last\n  purchase of land, from the head of the Pond to Monomoy Harbor,\n  shall be removed without full satisfaction. And we, the aforesaid\n  Sachems, do give, grant, bargain and sell, the one-half of the\n  remainder of the meadows and marshes upon all other parts of the\n  Island. And also that the English people shall have what grass\n  they shall need for to mow, out of the remainder of the meadows\n  and marshes on the Island, so long as the English remain upon the\n  Island, and also free liberty for timber and wood upon any part of\n  the Island within the jurisdiction. And also, we, the aforesaid\n  Sachems, do full grant free liberty to the English for the feeding\n  all sorts of cattle on any part of the Island, after Indian Harvest\n  is ended until planting time, or until the first day of May, from\n  year to year forever, for and in consideration of twelve pounds\n  already paid, and fourteen pounds to be paid within three months\n  after the date hereof.\n\n  To have and to hold the aforesaid purchase of land, and other\n  appurtenances, as aforementioned, to them, Mr. Thomas Macy,\n  Tristram Coffin, Thomas Mayhew, and the rest aforementioned, and\n  their heirs and assigns forever.\n\n  In witness whereof, we the said Sachems, have hereunto set our\n  hands and seals, the day and year above written.\n\n          The sign of Wanackmamack [S]\n          The sign of Nickanoose   [S]\n  Signed, sealed and delivered, in the presence of us\n          Peter Folger,\n          Felix Kuttashamaquat,\n          Edward Starbuck.\n\n  I do witness this deed to be a true deed, according to the\n  interpretation of Felix the interpreter; also I heard Wanackmamack,\n  but two weeks ago, say that the sale made by Nickanoose and he\n  should be good, and that they would do so, whatever comes of it.\n\n  Witness my hand, this 17th day of first month, 1664.\n\n                                                         PETER FOLGER.\n\n  Witness: Mary Starbuck.\n\n  The mark of John (I. C.) Coffin.\n\n  Wanackmamack and Nickanoose acknowledge the above written to be\n  their act and deed, in the presence of the General Court, this 12th\n  of June, 1667, as attest.\n\n                                           MATTHEW MAYHEW,\n                                       Secretary to the General Court.\n\nIt is rather curious that this deed, although duly witnessed on May\n10th, 1660, was not confirmed by Peter Folger until January first,\n1664, and did not receive official attestation by the Secretary of the\nGeneral Court until the 12th of June, 1677.\n\nThis deed purchased the island from the original patentee and a greater\npart of it from the Indians, and the English are said to have paid \u00a326\nfor it. Almost a year before the execution of the above deed, however,\nwhat is known as \u201cThe First Indian Deed\u201d was executed by Nickanoose and\nNanahuma on June 20th, 1659. It is as follows:\n\n  \u201cThis doth witness that we Nickanoose of Nantucket, Sachem, and\n  Nanahuma of Nantucket, Sachem, have sold unto Thomas Mayhew of the\n  Vineyard the plain at the west end of Nantucket that is according\n  to the figure under written, to him and his heirs and assigns\n  forever. In consideration whereof we have received by earnest of\n  the said Thomas Mayhew the sum of twelve pounds. Also the said\n  Sachems have sold the said Mayhew of the Vineyard the use of the\n  meadow and to take wood for the use of him, the said Mayhew, his\n  heirs and assigns forever.\u201d\n\n  \u201cIn witness hereof, we the Sachems aforesaid have hereunto set our\n  hands this 20th of June, 1659.\u201d\n\n  \u201cThe said Acamy lyeth north and by east, and south by west or near\n  it.\u201d\n\n                                          NICKANOOSE, \uff0b (his mark.)\n                                          NANAHUMA, \u2715 (his mark.)\n\n  Witness hereunto:\n          Mr. Harry,\n          John Coleman,\n          Thomas Macy,\n          Tristram Coffin.\n\nI shall refer more particularly to this deed presently.\n\nAs an example of further deeds the following may be quoted.\n\nJanuary 5th, 1660, Nickanoose out of free voluntary love for Edward\nStarbuck gave him \u201cCoretue\u201d, which was reassigned by Edward Starbuck,\nAugust 30th, 1668.\n\nMay 10th, 1660, Wanackmamack and Nicornoose, Head Sachems of Nantucket,\nsold unto the first purchasers between west end of island and pond\ncalled by the Indians Waqutuquat (Waquittaquah)\u2014then on a straight\nline to pond by Monomoy harbour; also half of remainder of meadows and\nmarshes on all other parts of the island.\n\nWitnessed by Peter Folger, Edward Starbuck and Felix Kuttashamaquat.\n\nJune 22d, 1662, Wanackmamack signed a deed conveying a neck of land\nin the eastern section of the island known as Pocomo Neck. This was\nwitnessed by the younger Wauwinet, son of Nickanoose and by Peter\nFolger. The purchase was made by Tristram Coffin and Thomas Macy.\n\nFebruary 20th, 1661, Wanackmamack, Head Sachem, sold the west half of\nNantucket.[9]\n\n  [9] See note 13 page 22.\n\nNovember 18th, 1671, shows that Tristram Coffin bought of Wanackmamack\nand Nicornoose from Monomoy to Waquittaquage pond, Nanahumack Neck, and\nall from Wesco to the West end of Nantucket.\n\nJune 20th, 1682, Deed of Nicornoose, Sachem, to James Coffin, William\nWorth and John Swain\u2014the grass and herbage of all his lands from Indian\nharvest to first of May.\n\nAnd thus the land sales go on, until 1774, when the sachems and Indians\nhad virtually sold every spot in their possession to the English.\n\nAs Mr. H. B. Worth aptly points out, \u201cNickanoose signed deeds only\nof territory belonging to some other sachem; the fact is true of\nWanackmamack. Neither signed a deed of any portion of the territory\nunder his direct control. The Sachem Attapehat (Autopscot), as far as\nhas been found never signed any deed.\u201d\n\nI can only account for these facts, by assuming that these Chief\nSachems thought it beneath their dignity to sign deeds conveying their\nown property, while, at the same time they permitted no deeds to be\nsigned without their approval and attestation. This may appear a lame\nsuggestion, but it is the best I can offer.\n\nThe Provincial Governor of New York in 1671, (Lord Lovelace), thought\nit desirable to obtain a new deed from the Sachems, attesting the\nlegality of the land sales, and an assurance that the stipulated terms\nhad been duly complied with, before issuing a new patent. The necessary\nproofs were furnished in that year by Wanackmamack the Chief Sachem.\n\nIt may be stated here that Mr. Thomas Mayhew,\u2014the original purchaser\nof the island, had acquired a good knowledge of the Indian language in\nassociation with the Indians of the more western island; and that Peter\nFolger who also resided at Martha\u2019s Vineyard, was, in 1663, engaged\nby Tristram Coffin as interpreter, and to officiate in Nantucket, as\nmiller, weaver and surveyor.\n\nWhat has been written thus far will, it is hoped, serve to illustrate\nthe conditions under which the white settlers became established on\nNantucket, and I now propose to deal briefly with the Indians whom they\nfound there on their arrival. It may be noted that the names of many of\nthe original white settlers are perpetuated in teeming numbers among\nthe inhabitants of Nantucket until the present day.\n\nWith regard to the number of Indians occupying the island when the\nwhites arrived the statements vary considerably, some writers alleging\n3000, others 1500, and some still less. There is some difficulty in\nforming a correct estimate, but it is known as a fact that they only\nnumbered about 360 before they became victims to the epidemic which\ndestroyed so many of them.\n\nWhen Nantucket was purchased by the colonists in 1659, there were\ntwo Chief Sachems Wanackmamack and Nicornoose (acting probably for\nWauwinet), and at least two other Sachems, Autopscot (or Attapehat)\nand Potconet\u2014besides a few petty Sachems\u2014governing all the Indians on\nNantucket and Tuckernuck. It may be assumed that at this time Wauwinet\nwas old and feeble, and that his eldest son, known as Nicornoose, acted\nas his deputy, inasmuch as among several of the earliest deeds we\nfind Nicornoose signing as Sachem, and there are no signatures by his\nfather. Mr. Zaccheus Macy, in his valuable letter to the Massachusetts\nHistorical Society, dated October 2d, 1792[10] mentions Wauwinet as\nliving when the settlers arrived, but alludes to him as \u201cthe old\nSachem.\u201d\n\n  [10] =Vide Macy\u2019s History of Nantucket=.\n\nAmong the Indian tribes there were generally one or two Sachems\nwho controlled all the others. These were known as Chief or Head\nSachems, and they exercised absolute control. Such in Nantucket were\nWanackmamack and Wauwinet or his son and successor, Nicornoose.\n\nAccording to Zaccheus Macy, Wanackmamack\u2019s territory represented the\nsoutheast of the island and was bounded by a line running from Toupchue\npond in the south, northward, roughly to Gibbs\u2019 pond, and so over\ntoward Podpis swamp, and then eastward to Sesacacha pond.[11]\n\n  [11] These, and the boundaries of the other Sachems\u2019 property are\n  clearly delineated on Dr. Ewer\u2019s map of Nantucket.\n\n=Wanackmamack= had one son, Saucoauso or Jeptha, who married Eastor.\n\nSaucoauso had two sons, Cain and Abel.\n\nCain had one daughter, Jemima, who married James Shay, Shea or Shaa.\n\nAbel had two sons, Ben Abel and Eben Abel.\n\nWanackmamack died before June 9th, 1682, because his son, Saucoauso,\non this date, \u201chaving understood that his father Wanackmamack =now\ndeceased=, had granted (to) English pasturage on east end of island,\nalso sells same.\u201d\n\nWauwinet\u2019s boundary-line adjoined that of Wanackmamack on the north,\nextending due north to Coatue and Nauma, westward to Wesco (now\nNantucket), and hence, almost due south to Weeweder pond.\n\n=Wauwinet= had two sons, Isaac or Nicornoose, (also known as\nNickanoose) and Waupordongga, and one daughter, Wonoma, who married\nAutopscot.\n\nNicornoose had two sons, Joshua and Isaac Wauwinet, and one daughter,\nAskommopoo, by his wife. Askommopoo married Spoospotswa, known as\n\u201cSpotso.\u201d\n\nNicornoose forsook his wife and, by another woman, had two sons, Wat\nand Paul Noose.\n\nJoshua Nicornoose was so disgusted by his father\u2019s leaving his mother\nthat he left home altogether, and did not return until after an absence\nof over 50 years, when he claimed his inheritance and after some delay,\nit was restored to him.\n\nAutopscot\u2019s jurisdiction extended over the southwest of the island\nfrom Weeweder pond northerly to Monomoy, and then westward to the\nPopsquatchet hills and to Hummock pond.\n\n=Autopscot= had a son, Harry Poritain, or Beretan, by Wonoma, his wife,\nwho was the daughter of Wauwinet.\n\nHarry Poritain had a son named Isaac Masauquet.\n\nMasauquet had a son named Peter.\n\nPeter had a son known as Lame Isaac, who ceded the last rights of his\nsachemdom.\n\nAutopscot had also grandchildren named Tashama, of whom more anon.\n\nPotconet\u2019s (or Pottacohannet\u2019s) dominions are uncertain, and there\nis some doubt as to their limitations. It is at least certain that\nhe was Sachem of the adjacent island of Tuckernuck, but Zaccheus\nMacy, in his well known letter, states that his bounds extended from\nMadaket down eastward to Wesko and Capaum pond, thus lying north of\nAutopscot\u2019s possessions, and that they also included the western coast.\nMoreover, Dr. Ewer\u2019s map,\u2014probably based upon the information supplied\nby Macy\u2014delineates the northwestern section of the island as having\nbelonged to Potconet; but no proof is in evidence, and although it\nseems reasonable to suppose that some sachem must have represented this\nsection of the island, no deed has been found to cover it. Macy also\nasserts that Potconet sold all his rights to the English settlers, save\nthose reserved and secured to some of the old natives, known as the\nHoights and Jafets\u2014in the neighborhood of Wannacomet or Capaum pond.\n\nBe this as it may, from a foot-note to Hough\u2019s =Nantucket Papers=,\nit appears that, on February 20th, 1661, Wanackmamack, Head-Chief of\nNantucket, sold to Tristram Coffin, Sr., Peter Coffin, Tristram Coffin,\nJr., and James Coffin, for \u00a310, half of the island of Tuckernuck\u2014one\nhalf down, and the other, when Thomas Mayhew decides =who is the proper\nowner=.\n\n=Potconet, or Pottacohannet= had two sons, Akeamong, or Ahkeiman, and\nJacob.\n\nWhy did neither of these sons claim his rights until 1672\u2014a period of\n11 years? Was Potconet living in 1661? These questions have still to be\nanswered, although I have unsuccessfully sought in every direction for\na satisfactory reply.\n\nIn the Registry of Nantucket Deeds, under date June 20, 1672, is the\nfollowing entry: \u201cAhkeiman laying claim to part of Tuckanuck his claim\nthereto is found no other but as he was a =duke or principal man upon\nNantucket=; the Nantucket Sachems, =together with his father=, having\nsold =Tuckanuck=, it is ordered that he shall have such a part or\nportion of land for his use at Nantucket of the present Sachems as will\nbecome one of such quality, and a portion of the whales.\u201d\n\nOn page 211 of the Book of Town Records, dated March, 1681, there is a\nrecord of a bargain between James Coffin, Peter Coffin, John Coffin,\nand Stephen Coffin, and Ackeamong and Jacob, sons of Pottacohannet\n(Potconet), concerning Tuckanuckett, said Ackeamong and Jacob claiming\nhalf of it. The said Coffins having delivered them 40 acres arable\nland on Nantucket and \u00a35, and disclaiming any right to any whale, the\nsaid Ackeamong and Jacob renounce any claim to any part of Tuckernuck,\nreserving liberty to save their whale that may come ashore.\n\nTo this is affixed the marks of Ackeamong and Jacob, James Coffin and\nStephen Coffin, 6th of March, 1681.\n\nWitnessed by William Worth and Richard Pincom (Pinkham), and\nacknowledged on the same date before William Worth, magistrate.\n\nIt does not appear, however, why the order of the Court made in 1672,\nwas not carried out until 1681\u2014a period of nine years.\n\nPotconet must therefore, have died before March 6th, 1681, or his sons\ncould not have made the above agreement; if, indeed, he was not dead\nbefore 1672, when Akeamong made his first claim.\n\nSome confusion has arisen as to the standing of Nanahuma, who signed\nthe first Indian deed with Nickanoose. Mr. H. Barnard Worth[12] says:\n... \u201cThey (the English) obtained a deed, dated June 20th, 1659, from\nthe Sachems Nickanoose and Nanahuma, of a tract comprising the\nsection of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond.[13] George Nanahuma was\nthe sachem of the Indians that lived in this section but =Nickanoose\nheld some sway over him=, and joined in the conveyance.\u201d With this\nI am in perfect accord, with the exception of Mr. Worth\u2019s using the\ndefinite instead of the indefinite article, as indicated in boldface in\nthe above quotation. I believe that it should read thus: \u201cComprising\na section of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond\u201d; and further, \u201cGeorge\nNanahuma was a sachem of the Indians, etc.\u201d The force of this will be\nseen presently.\n\n  [12] Bulletin 3. Vol. II, p. 112. =Nantucket Historical Association\u2019s\n  Publications=.\n\n  [13] The western half of Nantucket was sold by Wanackmamack, February\n  20th, 1661.\n\nThere is no deed to prove who was the legitimate sachem, if any\nexisted, of the Western section of Nantucket, but a section west of\nHummock pond apparently belonged to Nanahuma, viz: the neck which bears\nhis name, part of the woods to the north of it, and he possibly may\nhave had a proprietary interest in the =large plain= further west. I\nthink this view is borne out in the \u201cfirst Indian Deed.\u201d\n\nIn this deed \u201cthe plain\u201d is evidently immediately west of Nanahuma\u2019s\nNeck from the use of the word Acamy in the deed (\u201con the other side of\nthe water\u201d), and its locality is further fixed by the description of\nits position, which agrees almost mathematically with its exact actual\nposition.[14] I am sorry to differ from Mr. Worth when he says: \u201cthe\ndeed of Nanahuma indicates that at the time he was sachem over the west\nend of Nantucket.\u201d It might as truly be said that the co-signer was\nsachem over the west end of Nantucket, which we know he never was.\n\n  [14] =Vide= Ewer\u2019s Map.\n\nI believe that Nanahuma was a subsidiary or petty local sachem,\ntributary to Nickanoose, and that all the property he owned as a sachem\nwas restricted within the limitations already indicated. This is\nconfirmed by his only subsequent deed, dated June 24th, 1678, by which\nhe disposes of \u201call his interest in the West plains, and to the Neck or\nlong woods\u201d to the English. Besides, according to the delimitation of\nthe other Sachems as already given, none of them interfered with those\njust mentioned as belonging to Nanahuma.\n\nIndeed, it is doubtful whether Nanahuma at this time owned the Neck\nwhich bore his name, for, on July 4th, 1664, \u201call the fields belonging\nto the Neck\u201d were sold to the English by Pakapanessa, Jonas Kimmo and\nHarry, son of Wapakowet, who were probably residents of the identical\n\u201cplain\u201d which was sold by Nanahuma in 1659. Moreover, in 1667, we find\nNanahuma associated with \u201cMr. Larry Ahkeramo\u201d and Obadiah in a plea to\nthe Court that \u201cwhereas the sachems had sold the ground they formerly\nlived on to the English, the said sachems would not entertain them on\nthe land unsold.\u201d Curiously enough, in 1678, we find George Nanahuma,\nalias Cowpohanet, selling to the English \u201call his interest in the West\nplains, and to the Neck or long woods.\u201d There, verily, seems to have\nbeen a joint stock company in these lands!\n\nIf Potconet had no jurisdiction over the northwest section of\nNantucket, and if no evidence is in existence as to any other sachem\nholding predominant rights over it, may it not be suggested that\nit was mainly divided up into reallotments for the Indians who\nwere dispossessed by the requirements of the whites, and over whom\nsubsidiary sachems or sagamores were appointed, of whom there were\nseveral? Of course, this is a mere suggestion.\n\nWe talk glibly and deprecatingly of the poor Indians as \u201cmere\nsavages\u201d, but the annals of American history afford but few instances\nof really nobler men than Massassoit, Passaconaway, Samoset, and\nWanackmamack, the controlling Head Sachem of Nantucket. Had it not been\nfor the high personal qualities of such men New England might not have\noccupied today the proud position which she now holds among the United\nStates.\n\nThe venerable Chief Wanackmamack was not only the pride and glory\nof his insular braves, but the tried, true, and loyal friend of the\nEnglish immigrants. He was as kind-hearted and judicious as he was\ncourageous and high principled, and he governed his home-land so ably\nand satisfactorily as to justify his memory in history as an exemplary\nruler.\n\nOf Wauwinet little is known but that he was very old and much respected\nwhen the settlers arrived, and nothing, so far as I have been able to\nascertain, has been said against him.\n\nNicornoose, his eldest son and successor, has not a good record, as he\ndeserted his wife and children, and had two children by another woman.\n\nBeyond the fact that Autopscot was called \u201ca great warrior and got his\nland by his bow\u201d, and that he permanently established peace throughout\nthe island, little further is recorded of him. Nor does history mention\nanything concerning Potconet, the sachem ruling the proximate western\nislands, with the exception of a record of the sale of his lands to the\nsettlers, in 1659. Such were the rulers of Nantucket when the settlers\narrived.\n\nWhat a revelation the incoming of the whites must have been to the red\nmen, who had lived on the island, probably from a very early age, among\ntheir own people, under their own laws, perpetuating their own habits\nand customs\u2014living close to Nature\u2014for the most part in peace and\namity\u2014simple in their lives, and knowing nothing, caring nothing for\nthe external world beyond them!\n\nYet, on the arrival of the new people who had come to supplant them,\nthey received them amicably, treated them justly, and as they treated\none another, relying upon what they recognized as the instinctive and\ninalienable principles of humanity to govern their relationships and to\npromote the mutual good and harmony of all. I cannot stop to inquire\nwho first took advantage of the racial differences which distinguished\nthese two peoples, or how the greater intellectuality and experience of\nthe one eventually overcame the other, but Time tells the story; and\ntoday, while the whites glory in the beauties of, and the opportunities\nafforded by their island home, where are the poor Indians, the\naborigines? All gone\u2014melted away like dew-drops in the sun, and not\neven one remains to tell the story of their past history!\n\nThe number of settlers who had arrived from Salisbury in 1660 and 1661\nsoon began to make themselves comfortable in their new and strange\nenvironment, while the Indians could not but admire the novel type of\ndwelling houses which the new-comers had set up in strange contrast\nwith the humble wigwams of the aborigines; indeed the new procedure\nwhich was being introduced in many directions must have caused them\nmuch surprise.\n\nFor a time the English and the Indians\u2014the civilized and the\nuncivilized\u2014worked together amicably for the agricultural development\nof the island. Together they cleared and tilled the land (for the most\npart existing as a primeval wilderness), settling the allotments,\ncutting down the timber, which is said to have almost covered the\nisland, and mutually performing the numerous farming operations\ninvolved in the reclamation and cultivation of the soil. In addition to\nfarming they engaged also in fishing, in which art the natives were\nexpert. Much time was also devoted to the raising of sheep, and thus\nwhile mutual forbearance was exercised, mutual trust was generated, and\nwhile the settlers acted faithfully and justly with the Indians, the\nlatter were equally loyal in the discharge of their duties in their new\nrelationships.\n\nWhen King Philip visited the island in 1665 and tried to induce\nthe natives to join in his contemplated war with the English, they\nemphatically refused to do so, expressing themselves as perfectly\nsatisfied and desiring to be at peace with the whites. Indeed, at a\ntown meeting, on October 10th, 1665, Attaychat (Autopscot) \u201csignified\nthat himself with all the Tomokommoth Indians subject to the English\nGovernment in Nantucket, acknowledge subjection to King Charles II.\nThis was done in the presence of Metacomet, alias Philip, Sachem of\nMount Hop.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately, civilization has too often brought in its wake habits\nand customs which have ever proved degenerative, if not destructive to\nthe uncivilized races of the earth, and so they proved to the Indians,\nwho were sober, industrious, and happy before the settlers introduced\namong them the iniquitous \u201cfire-water,\u201d to the abuse of which they\nfell a prey. Acting under its pernicious influence their primitive\ninstincts were aroused within them, and never afterwards were they the\nsame people. Discontent soon spread among them, and litigation in the\nCourts\u2014to which they had equal access with the whites\u2014became so very\nfrequent that the records extend from 1673 to 1754.\n\nI do not say that alcohol was at the bottom of all these cases, but\nthat it made the natives excitable, litigious and dissatisfied I avow,\nwithout any reference to the misconduct and crime which it often\nprompted, and which frequently resulted from its influence. In many\ncases they found that the Courts decided against them, and they became\ndiscouraged. Moreover, they were astounded at the fastly-increasing\nnumber of whites on the island (so that offensive measures were out\nof the question), and as a matter of fact they never could be made to\nunderstand that the execution of a sale-deed of their property involved\nits absolute surrender to the purchaser, however many attempts they\nmade to regain their land.\n\nMr. Thomas Macy wrote a forceful letter to the Governor, in May, 1676,\nas to the pernicious effects of drink upon the natives, but every\neffort made to mitigate the evil by legislative measures failed; the\nnatives who craved for it would sacrifice all they possessed, and one\nway and another, they generally found means of obtaining it. Fines and\nwhipping were the modes inflicted for drunkenness and misdemeanors,\nbut the death-penalty was never exacted except in cases of deliberate\nmurder. It is recorded that, between 1704 and 1769, ten natives were\nexecuted for capital crimes.[15]\n\nOn the other hand it has been stated that Quibby\u2014who murdered Harry\nGardner\u2014was the first and only Indian executed in Nantucket since\nits settlement by the whites. Macy\u2019s instances, however, seem well\nsubstantiated.[16]\n\n  [15] Obed Macy; =opus cit.=\n\n  [16] \u201cMiriam Coffin.\u201d\n\nIn thus alluding to the misconduct of the natives I am merely\nmentioning facts which I should have preferred to pass over, but in\njustice to their memory it must be said that perhaps the majority of\nthem were exemplary in their lives\u2014many of them pious\u2014and good steady\nhusbandmen and craftsmen. As a race they have been much misrepresented,\nand if revengeful, it was only when their subduers had treated them\ncruelly or unjustly.\n\nSpirited efforts had been made to introduce Christianity among the\nnatives, and the results on Nantucket were probably more successful\nthan in any other section of New England. Thus, Barber (in his\n=Historical Collections=, page 448) says: \u201cSoon after the English had\nsettled on the island, attempts were made to convert the Indians to\nthe faith of the Gospel, and, in course of years, all of them became\nnominal Christians.\u201d\n\nSoon after 1680, all the old Sachems, who were alive when the English\narrived had passed away, and their successors reigned in their stead.\n\nAs Macy says: \u201cThe Indians were instructed in the mode of fishing\npractised by the whites, and, in return, the whites were assisted by\nthe Indians in pursuing the business.\u201d Another writer says: \u201cThere\nis no doubt that the Natick Indians hunted the whale in canoes, in a\nmanner somewhat similar to that practised today by the Bow-Meaders\nof the north coast of Siberia.\u201d Moreover, I have been personally\ninformed by a gentleman of much culture and experience who knows as\nmuch about the Nantucket Whaling industry as any man now alive, that\n\u201chunting the whale was well-known and long practised by the Nantucket\nIndians.\u201d If any further evidence is deemed necessary it may be found\nin the following quotation from =Weymouth\u2019s Voyage=: \u201cOne especial\nthing in their manner of killing a whale which they (the Indians) call\n=powdawe=, and will describe his form, how he bloweth up the water,\nand that he is twelve fathoms long, and that they go in company with\ntheir King, with a multitude of their boats, and strike him with a\nbone made in the fashion of a harping iron, fastened to a rope, which\nthey make great and strong of the bark of trees which they veer out\nafter him; that all their boats come about him, and as he riseth above\nwater, with their arrows they shoot him to death. When they have\nkilled him and dragged him to shore, they call all their chief lords\ntogether, and sing a song of joy, and these chief lords, whom they call\nsagamores, divide the spoil and give to every man a share; which pieces\nso distributed they hang up about their houses for provision, and when\nthey boil them they blow off the fat, and put in their pease, maize and\nother pulse which they eat.\u201d\n\nThere can be no doubt that the Nantucket Indians joined gladly in the\nchase of whales, and that they were fully as dexterous as the whites,\nnot only in securing, but in dealing with the carcasses afterwards.\n\nThe year 1763\u20134 was, indeed, a sad one for the Indians of Nantucket,\ninasmuch as, from August in the former year to February in the latter,\nthey suffered from a malignant form of epidemic which, even yet, has\nnot been identified, although the probability is that it was either\ntyphus or typhoid fever, small-pox or yellow fever. Curiously enough,\nof the English who visited them daily, caring for and nursing the\nafflicted natives, not one was affected by the pestilence, which ceased\nsuddenly, without previous abatement, on the 16th of February, 1764.\nBefore the epidemic broke out there were 358 Indians on the island, of\nwhom 222 perished, leaving only 136 natives to represent the race.[17]\n\n  [17] Obed, Macy; =opus cit.=\n\nIn 1791 there were but four male Indians and sixteen females left on\nthe island, and in 1809 there were only three or four persons of pure\nblood and a few of mixed race.\n\nFrom 1664 to 1774 the records consist mainly of land-sales from the\nIndians to the English; of complaints of one Indian against another,\nor others in relation to landsales, and of controversies about their\nrespective claims to whales. Within this period also one repeatedly\nnotices the names of the successors of the old sachems, for several\ngenerations; but, concurrently with these, up to 1754, are the records\nof many attempts on the part of some of the Indians to regain their\nlands.\n\nThe perusal of these is very interesting, but I can only refer those\nwho may desire to obtain a full knowledge of such matters to the ample\nand careful reports given by Mr. Henry B. Worth in the Bulletins of the\nNantucket Historical Association.[18]\n\n  [18] =Vide= Vol II. Bulletin 3.\n\nIn 1693 the island of Nantucket, ceded from the Provincial Government\nof New York, was incorporated in the State of Massachusetts.\n\n\n       =Names of Some of the Nantucket Indians Occurring in the\n                  Registry of Deeds, Petitions, Etc.=\n\n  Wanackmamack, Head Sachem of Nantucket in 1659.\n  Wauwinet, aged Head Sachem of Northeastern section.\n  Nicornoose, successor to Wauwinet.\n  Autopscot (Attapechat or Attaychat), Sachem of Southwestern section.\n  Potconet (or Pottacohannet), Sachem of Tuckernuck, etc.\n  Nanahuma, probably a petty Sachem.\n  Harry, a witness, son of Wapakowet.\n  Wauwinnesit, or Amos, second son of Nicornoose.\n  Saucoauso, alias Jeptha, son of Wanackmamack.\n  Joshua Jethro, eldest son of Nicornoose.\n  Wat Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose.\n  Paul Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose.\n  Masauquet, son of Autopscot.\n  Harry Poritain, alias Beretan, son of Masauquet.\n  Isaac Masauquet, son of Harry Poritain.\n  Askommopoo, daughter of Nicornoose and wife of Spotso or Spoospotswa.\n  Felix Kuttashamaquah, an interpreter.\n  Cain, son of Saucoauso or Jeptha.\n  Abel, son of Saucoauso or Jeptha.\n  Ben Abel, son of Abel.\n  Eben Abel, son of Abel.\n  Jemima, daughter of Cain, and wife of James Shea.\n  Pakapanessa, Indian associated with Nanahuma.\n  Jonas Kimmo, Indian associated with Nanahuma.\n  Tequamomany, sold lands to English in 1604.\n  Mekowakim, sold lands to English in 1604.\n  Peteson, a complainer, 1667.\n  Larry Akkeramo, a complainer, 1667.\n  Obadiah, a complainer, 1667.\n  Wequakesuk, a sachem, 1673.\n  Isaac Wauwinet, son of Nicornoose, successor of father.\n  Heattohanen, another name for one of Nicornoose\u2019s sons.\n  Wohwaninwot, another name for one of Nicornoose\u2019s sons.\n  Cowpohanet, another name of Nanahuma.\n  Spotso, son-in-law of Nicornoose, signed also as Spoospotswa.\n  Sasapana Will, sold land to the English, 1687.\n  Henry Britten, Sachem, 1701.\n  Eastor, wife of Saucoauso, 1709.\n  Joshiah or Josiah, son of Spotso.\n  James Shay, Shea, or Shaa, husband of Jemima.\n  Esau Cook, an Indian who sold land, 1742.\n  Isaac Woosco, an Indian who sold land, 1745.\n  Samuel Chegin, an Indian who sold land, 1747.\n  Titus Zekey, an Indian who sold land, 1762.\n  John Jethro, a descendant of Nicornoose.\n  Abigail Jethro, a descendant of Joshua Jethro, son of Nicornoose.\n  Jacob, son of Potconet, 1672.\n  Ahkeiman, son of Potconet, 1676.\n  Desire, or Desiah, a partner of Washaman, in whales, 1676.\n  Waquaheso, related to Nicornoose.\n  Wakeikman, Sessanuquis, Wienakisoo, three associated Indians, 1678.\n  Nautakagin, a companion of Nanahuma, 1678.\n  Quench, an Indian who divorced his wife, 1677.\n  Mequash, an Indian with whaling rights, 1678.\n  Machoogen, an Indian burglar, 1677.\n  Debdekcoat, a fraudulent creditor, 1677.\n  Shaakerune, an anti-prohibitionist, 1677.\n  Seikinow, a complainer, 1699\u20131700.\n  Titus Mamack, Joshua Mamack, John Mamack, descendants of Wanackmamack.\n  Jouab, descendant of Wanackmamack.\n  John Jouab, a disgruntled complainer.\n  Jonathan, a disgruntled complainer.\n  James Asab, a disgruntled complainer.\n  John Tashime (Tashama), a descendant of Autopscot.\n  John Jethro, a petitioner.\n  Paul Jouab, a petitioner.\n  Richard Napanah, a petitioner.\n  Solomon Zachariah, a petitioner.\n  Naubgrachas, a petitioner.\n  Abel Nanahoo, a petitioner.\n  John Asab, a petitioner.\n  Barnabas Spotso, Sachem.\n  James Papamoo, son of Barnabas Spotso.\n  John Quass, the choice of Lakedon Indians for Sachem, when they\n      repudiated Ben Abel, the legitimate chief.\n  Sanchimaish, a witness to Isaac Wauwinett\u2019s will.\n  Abram Tashama, son of John Tashama, 1741.\n  Old Hannah, a witness.\n  Ben Jouab, grandson of Pampason, 1752.\n  Memfopooh, a messenger, 1752.\n  Oowamassen, a witness to Isaac Wauwinnett\u2019s will, 1670.\n  Joshua of Chappoquiddick, same as Joshua Jethro, eldest son of\n      Nicornoose, 1706.\n  Talagamomos, Keostahhan, Wumoanohquin, Quaquahchoonit, witnesses to\n      Nicornoose\u2019s will, 1668.\n  Ben Joab Pampushom, a claimant to Sachemdom of Occawa, 1745.\n  Peter Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom\u2019s petition.\n  Peleg Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom\u2019s petition.\n  David Pompasson, said to have been a grandson of Nicornoose.\n  Samuel Humbrey, a witness to John Jouab\u2019s petition, 1752.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPetty crimes and misdemeanors on the part of the Indians\u2014too often\ncaused by \u201cfire-water\u201d\u2014frequently resulted in producing considerable\ntrouble and annoyance to the proprietors, and when they found that the\nimposition of fines and the infliction of whipping in graver cases\nwere inadequate to permanently restrain them, they at length appointed\na superior Indian to undertake the office of superintendent and local\nmagistrate, and with considerable success. The officer appointed was\nJames Shouel, better known as Korduda and he soon became a terror to\nevil-doers, his usual procedure being, when one Indian complained of\nanother, to order both the complainant and the defendant to be well\nwhipped. This subsequently became known as \u201cKorduda\u2019s law,\u201d and in\nmany, if not in most cases, it was found very effective. He was also in\nthe habit of having delinquents whipped for neglecting the cultivation\nof their corn, for drunkenness, etc.\n\nA few other special Indians are referred to in Zaccheus Macy\u2019s\nwell-known letter, viz.: \u201cOld Aesop,\u201d the weaver, who was also a\nschoolmaster; \u201cOld Saul,\u201d \u201ca stern-looking old man;\u201d Richard Nominash\nand his brother Sampson and little Jethro, who are described as \u201cvery\nsubstantial and very trusty men;\u201d Zacchary Hoite, a minister who told\nhis hearers \u201cthey must do as he said, but not as he did!\u201d There were\nalso some members of the old Hoight and Jafet families, and Benjamin\nTashama, an Indian of strong individuality, to whom I shall now refer\nin detail.\n\nBenjamin Tashama, or Tashima, was, perhaps, the most noted Indian\nwithin the bounds of Autopscot. He was a grandson of Sachem Autopscot,\nand was distinguished as a good and worthy man, an esteemed preacher,\nand a successful schoolmaster. \u201cA portion of the industrious life of\nTashima,\u201d says the author of \u201cMiriam Coffin,\u201d \u201chad been devoted to\nstudy; and he had succeeded, with infinite labour, in adapting his\nliterary acquirements to the language and capacity of his tribe. He\nhad nourished the vain hope of preserving the nation without a cross\nin its blood, and the language of his people in its pristine purity.\nIt was a magnificent conception! The design was worthy of the last, as\nhe was the greatest, chief of his tribe. He was the last, because none\nsucceeded him; he was the greatest, for he was the most benevolent.\u201d\nWhile few details of his life are known it is attested that he latterly\nlived on the eastern boundary of Gibbs\u2019 swamp, about forty rods\nnortheast of the fifth milestone on the \u2019Sconset road. Here, some years\nago, the cellar of his dwelling still remained, and the large stone\nwhich formed the entrance may now be seen in the rooms of the Nantucket\nHistorical Association.\n\nHere Tashama, often called \u201cthe last Sachem of Nantucket,\u201d dwelt with\nhis son Isaac and his daughter Sarah. Benjamin Tashama died in 1770.\nHis brother, John Tashama, was alive in 1754, when he signed a petition\nto the court. John had one son, Abram, mentioned by John Coffin and\nAbishai Folger in a report dated May 25th, 1743.\n\nSarah Tashama married Isaac Earop, and on April 27th, 1776, a daughter\nwas born to them. She was named Dorcas Honorable. When this child grew\nup she became a domestic in the family of Mr. John Cartwright, where\nshe lived for many years, and she died in 1822.[19]\n\n[19] For these facts I am indebted to a statement made by Mr. Franklin\nFolger in May, 1743. =Vide= \u201cInquirer and Mirror\u201d, October 29, 1910.\n\n=She was a full-blooded Indian, and the very last of her race on\nNantucket=; and thus, little more than two centuries from the discovery\nof the island, passed away the only remaining one of the aboriginal\npeople who had dominated it from time immemorial.\n\nAbram Api Quady or Quary, a half-breed, who lived in a hut at Shimmo\nfor many years, died in 1855 at the age of 83, respected by all who\nknew him. He was the son of the notorious Quibby, already referred\nto, and of Judith Quary\u2014a half-breed fortune-teller well-known on the\nisland at one time. Abram, for obvious reasons, chose to assume his\nmother\u2019s name. A fine portrait in oil of this dignified old man may be\nseen in the Nantucket Atheneum.\n\nIt may seem strange that no burial place of the Indians has been\ndiscovered on the island of Nantucket, so far as I am aware. Skeletal\nremains and a few bones have been discovered at one time and another,\nand in various places, but I believe no regular place of Indian burial\nhas ever been found. This may be thus accounted for, viz.:\n\nIsland Indians usually buried their dead contiguous to the coast-line,\nand the progressive erosion of the coast during two centuries may\nhave possibly washed such remains into the ocean. This is merely a\nsuggestion, and as I have but few proofs to offer, I am subject to\ncorrection. It is probable, however, that the Indians buried their\ndead in the neighborhood of Shawkemo, Pocomo, Folger\u2019s Hill on the\nPolpis road, at Quaise, beyond the present water-works, and at or near\nMiacomet. It is recorded that there was a circular burying-ground for\none of the tribes near the head-waters of Lake Miacomet, and that\nBenjamin Tashama was buried there.\n\nAn opinion too generally shared, which regards the American Indian race\nas consisting of mere savages, almost inhuman in their ferocity and\ncruelty, and without a redeeming feature of any kind, is as untrue as\nit is unjust. They naturally possessed those characteristics shared by\nall unenlightened races of men who have been deprived of the elevating\ninfluences of civilization and a high code of ethics, but a careful\nstudy of their lives and history shows that, according to their\nenlightenment, they were actuated by many virtues which, in superior\nraces, count for dignified manhood and nobility of mind. In personal\nbravery and courage they had few equals and yet they accepted conquest\nor punishment with a sublime fortitude and stoicism which scorned to\nask for either life or pardon. Equality, freedom, and independence\nconstituted the very atmosphere of their being and, in their dealings\nwith their own race, the rights of each individual, and his personal\nfreedom, were universally acknowledged. Judged from our modern standard\nthe principles of morality which governed their lives, if of a lower\norder, were yet in keeping with their instincts and their environment,\nand they believed that \u201cthe crimes of the vicious were punished by the\ndisgrace, contempt and danger they ensured for transgressors.\u201d\n\nWhen all that can be said against the Indians has been spoken it must\nbe conceded that they embodied a pure and lofty patriotism, for which\nthey fought and died like men and true patriots, and although they had\nto gradually yield up their possessions and their homes in the land\nthey loved, and to recede and disappear before the advancing wave of\ncivilization, yet, as De Forest says: \u201cWe may drop a tear over the\ngrave of the race which has perished, and regret that civilization and\nChristianity have ever accomplished so little for its amelioration.\u201d\n\nIn the somewhat severe words of Obed Macy, \u201cTheir only misfortune was\ntheir connection with Christians, and their only crime the imitation of\ntheir manners.\u201d\n\nIn conclusion, I venture to make two suggestions, one a minor and the\nother a major one. Would it not be expedient and appropriate on the\npart of the Nantucketers to erect a tablet over the grave of \u201cDorcas,\u201d\nthe last of the aborigines? The residents of \u201cthe little purple\nisland,\u201d I think, owe so much to the memories associated with her\nvanished race.\n\nOr, now that Nantucket is becoming, increasingly, year by year, a\nfashionable ocean-bound sea-resort, would it not be possible to carry\nout the suggestion made by an off-islander, as far back as 1881 at the\nCommemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of Tristram Coffin,\nto erect by public subscription \u201ca towering statue in dusky bronze,\nrepresenting the venerable Indian Sachem, Wanackmamack, the tried and\ntrue friend of the original purchasers of the island?\u201d The island\ncertainly owes this illustrious Chief a debt of gratitude, for it was\nalmost entirely due to his benign influences that the \u201csilent people\nof the forest\u201d and the strangers lived in peace and amity together,\nand thus expedited the dawn of civilization without an obstacle within\nits boundaries. I have spoken, and I leave these suggestions to the\nislanders for reflection, with every fond wish for their prosperity and\nsuccess.\n\n                            [Illustration]\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n  - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n  - Text enclosed by equals is in bold font (=bold=).\n  - Blank  pages have been removed.\n  - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.","title":"The Nantucket Indians","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":9566}