The Romance of Norwalk

No sooner had war been declared than there appeared in Hartford, Uncas, Pequot chieftain, who had rebelled against Sassacus, when the latter became Grand Sachem of the Con¬ necticut sachems, upon the killing of his father, Wopigwooit, by the Dutch. Uncas had not only rebelled against Sassa¬ cus, he had caused the northernmost community of the Pequot tribe, the Mohegans, to secede, and to gather under his leadership, as an independent band of Indians. With 70 stalwart Mohegan warriors at his command, Uncas of¬ fered himself to the English in their war against their enemy, now also his, the Pequots. The English, who needed all the aid they could muster, gladly accepted the offer. Thus does Uncas, the second of the two great Indian sachems destined to play stellar roles in the story of Norwalk, make his formal bow in Connecticut history. Help came to the English un- 10 ROMANCE OF NORWALK expectedly from another direction just about this time, when the Massachusetts colony sent down a detachment of 200 men, while the Plymouth colony sent 40. Captain Daniel Patrick, sometimes called Partrick, who later turned out to be one of the purchasers of Norwalk, was in charge of the latter band. He was sent overland. Meantime, May 20, 1637, Captain Mason with the 90 Englishmen allotted him by the Hartford court, and the 70 Indians, given him by Uncas, started down the river from Hartford in three small vessels. Mason went to Saybrook and then to the shores of Narragansett, Rhode Island, to see Canonicus and Miantonomoh, two Narragansett chieftains, who stood in high repute among both the English and the Indians. Mason’s plan was to go up through the Narra¬ gansett land and to attack the Pequots in their own country, from the rear. It is interesting from now on to trace the course the English followed in tracking the Pequots across the country from east to west to the final grave of the proud Indians in the Pequot swamp, close to Norwalk. Mason traveled on to Nehantic where he was joined by many Nehantics and Narragansetts, the total force now numbering about 500. Traveling west, they reached the Paucatuck River and there discovered unmistakable signs of recent Pequot camps. The men pushed on and learned that there were two large forts controlled by the enemy near at hand, and that Sassacus, great sachem of the Connecticut Pequots was guarded in one of them. So the English camped about a half mile north of the head of the Mystic river, right near the first Pequot camp. Then on June 5, 1637, '‘just before dawn when man sleeps heaviest, and the favorite time of the Indians themselves to war and surprise a camp,” the English attacked the first fort. Here in an enclosure were about 70 wigwams. The white men dashed into the settlement, surrounded the tented homes on all sides and completely surprised the Indians, who were still dreaming. The braves rushed out and commenced at¬ tacking the English with bows and arrows, poisoned hatchets COMING OF THE WHITE MAN 1 1 and tomahawks. Mason found it necessary, in order to prevent his men from being annihilated, to fire the wigwams, with the result that hundreds of Pequots were roasted alive. To the very last, the trapped Indians, in terror, fury and agony, fought with their bows and arrows until their birch- woods were too scorched to bend. Then in a frenzy, they tore their clothes and hair, some of them crazily leaping into the smoldering embers which already held the charred bod¬ ies of their loved ones, wives, mothers and children. MISERY OF THE PEQUOTS After this terrible blow, the Pequots held a consultation. Their biggest camp had been burned to the ground and hundreds of their people lost. Should they flee the country? Or follow the English and attack them again? Or declare war on the Narragansetts and appease their desire for ven¬ geance in that manner? After a solemn council fire discus¬ sion, Sassacus announced that he would carry war into the Narragansett camp first and that then he would set about annihilating the English. The first step would be the aban¬ donment of their present homes, and the second, the seeking of a hiding place, until the right time to strike presented itself. And so, mournfully and slow of step, they burned to the ground all that remained in the old fortress and every¬ thing in the new, which they could not carry, and prepared to depart from their homes. The Indians traveled down to Quinnepauge, New London, on the first lap of their journey. Some lagged by the road¬ side ; some were left behind ; others deserted when they found fertile fields and thick forests, but the main body at whose head were Sassacus, Grand Sachem, and Mononotto, also a sachem, kept on through the woods and the meadows, weary, discouraged and in a deplorable condition. The Pe¬ quots suffered on that journey, as they had never suffered before. It was early June, nights were cold and rainy; they had no shelter and little to eat. One by one their numbers 12 ROMANCE OF NORWALK decreased. The stalwart braves, trained to hardship, could stand the rough trip. The women, unused to such gruelling travel, could not, and the little children sickened and died. With lowered brows the men watched the round bronze faces of their little sons and daughters grow thin and lined and with many a curse on tightened lips, they laid the worn- out bodies of the children, who but a short time before had played in mock battles about the campfire, in rude graves dug by the roadside. Surely their cup of misery was full, and they vowed eternal vengeance against the palefaces who had heaped such trouble upon their heads. The Pequots finally reached the coast where their unhappy condition was slightly alleviated due to the fact that they were at least able to dig a square meal of clams and oysters. Taking up the trail once more, they traveled west along the seacoast reaching at last the Fairfield or Southport swamp which Sassacus had designated as their temporary hiding place, but which proved a burial ground for many of them, for it was the scene of the last great battle between the English and the Pequots. In the meantime, Captain Mason, back at Saybrook, had been joined by Captain Israel Stoughton of the Mass. Bay Colony. The English sailed slowly down the coast. At Quinnipiac, Jack Etow, a Mohegan, brought on board three half-starved depressed and discouraged Pequots. One was promised his life on condition that he search out Sassacus and either kill him or bring back word of his hiding place. The Pequot gave his promise and left. True to his word, he returned within the space of three or four days with all the information necessary for an attack on the fortress of the proud and haughty Pequot sachem. With new hopes in their hearts, gleams of hate in their eyes and the taste of blood in their mouths, the English set out once more, this time for a little place called Sasco near Southport which boasted a great swamp not far from the seashore, with the avowed intention of snuffing the life from every Pequot they captured. COMING OF THE WHITE MAN i3 GREAT SWAMP FIGHT Now the Pequot swamp, which has become famous in his¬ tory because it was the scene of the last stand of the Pequots, and which has alternately been termed Pequot Swamp, Fair- field Swamp, Southport Swamp and Sasco Swamp, lies be¬ tween Greens Farms and Southport, “just a few rods west of the N. Y., N. H. and Hartford railroad, where it crosses the old Pequot ave,” according to an old description. This swamp should not be confused with Peat Swamp, so called because at one time early Norwalkers used to gather peat for their fires from its oozy depths, and which is between Norwalk and Westport. According to the boundary defini¬ tions of one Norwalker, this little swamp’s location is “be¬ tween the foot of the hill near Lyons’ garage on the post road, Norwalk, and Dugan’s Pottery.” The exact spot where the great Pequot swamp battle took place and where the Pequot war really ended is marked by a granite monu¬ ment beside the main highway, called the Post Road, Boston Post Road or Old King’s Highway, just before the last turn of the road into Southport, going east. The monument bears the inscription: “The Great Swamp Fight. Here Ended The Pequot War, July 13, 1637.” When the English at last arrived at the swamp, they were non-plussed for they faced what seemed at the moment, insurmountable obstacles. The Pequots had entrenched them¬ selves behind a high ridge of ground in the center of the great swamp, and a wide ditch of bogs and water, thickly grown trees and a dense undergrowth of alder and birch, separated and protected them from the English, who were on the outskirts of the swamp. It was almost impossible to reach this ridge, which some histories insist was “a cone shaped hill 30 feet in height,” for when the Englishmen succeeded in getting through the underbrush they found they had accomplished this feat only to sink knee deep into the filthy mire of the ditch. They returned to dry land and held a consultation. Cap- 14 ROMANCE OF NORWALK