The Romance of Norwalk

tain Israel Stoughton, Captain William Trask, Lieutenant Richard Davenport, Captain John Mason, Captain Daniel Patrick and Roger Ludlow, the latter an intrepid Indian fighter, destined to be a pioneer in the founding of Norwalk, were in command and they forthwith laid plans for a cam¬ paign. Twelve colonists were stationed around the lower edge of the Swamp. A second group under the direction of Davenport, succeeded in making the ridge of high land which cut the swamp through its center. Before the lieu¬ tenant and his men had proceeded very far, every bronze face had dropped out of sight into the murkiness of the sec¬ ond half of the swamp behind the hill. Through the tangled thickets could be discerned about 20 wigwams and it was in the direction of these that the Pequots disappeared. At least 300 men, women and children, perhaps one-third of whom were warriors, the English felt sure, were hidden in the swamp. However, they advanced bravely, were met by a storm of arrows, advanced again, fired a few shots, were greeted by more arrows and then several Englishmen fell, buried in the mire. Suddenly the Pequots closed in and a hand-to-hand combat took place, the English retreating in the face of certain defeat. Another campaign was now planned by the colonists and their next movements were rapid and often. They placed men at intervals around the edge of the entire swamp and a leisurely musket fire began, the plan being to harass the Indians until they surrendered. The new campaign effected little of the desired result and it was discovered that only the women and children were being killed. Conference among the English resulted in the plan to offer peace to the Pequots, if they would allow themselves to be taken prisoners without further loss of blood. Thomas Stanton heroically offered himself as interpreter and peacemaker. He approached the swamp, succeeded in cutting his way through the underbrush, hailed the Indians and was granted a hearing. They listened stoically to his pleas for peace and his promise of safety to all those who COMING OF THE WHITE MAN i5 had been innocent of spilling English blood, and then, to the surprise of all, accepted the English terms and volun¬ teered to surrender within two hours as soon as they had gathered together their effects. The English, light-hearted and glad that the battle was over, awaited the Pequots. But the latter were crafty and cunning. Very shortly, when only the women and children and the old men issued from the swamp, the English realized that they had been foiled and that the Indians had merely used the peace truce to rid them¬ selves of their dependents, so as to leave the warriors free to fight with greater ease. When the colonists called for the surrender of the 100 braves who still remained in hiding, the Pequots, headed by Sassacus yelled: “Never! We will fight it out to the last!” and to emphasize the cry of battle, they sent a flight of arrows after Stanton, the interpreter, who wras hurriedly rescued by the English. Thus you have a picture of the iron courage of the Indians, who, trapped as they were, and fighting with their backs to the wall-, still preferred to die with bow and arrow in hand, rather than accept any con¬ cession from their hated enemies. Once again the English held counsel and decided on another plan of attack. They placed their men about 12 feet apart around the entire circumference of the swamp, so that no matter which way the Indians might turn in an escape attempt, their first movements would be heralded by one of the sentries on guard. All through the long night the Indians stole up and down the length of the swamp fitfully shooting at the English, but with little effect; and all through the long night, the white men used their muskets with a great deal more effect judging from the number of bloodied bodies discovered in the mire the next morning. The darkness finally passed, merging into a heavy and almost impenetrable fog, just before dawn. The Pequots watched their chance for escape. Through the murkiness they crept, suddenly flinging themselves against the sentinel line of Captain Patrick’s men and letting out blood-curdling i6 ROMANCE OF NORWALK yells of victory. Other sentries from the opposite English lines, hearing the outcries, dashed forward to aid Patrick and the Pequots were driven back into the swamp. But the Indians were not disheartened. By no means, for their attack on the captain and his men had been nothing but a ruse, and before the other English sentries, who had come to Patrick’s aid had a chance to get back to their posts, the Pequots had broken through the unguarded section of the swamp and made their escape. The colonists dashed forward, firing as they went but not before 60 of the most desperate Indians had gained their freedom. With the daylight, the English attacked the remaining redskins, some 40 warriors, and slew them all. Then they turned their attention to following those who had escaped and succeeded in killing off a score or so more. As a result of this bloody battle in the swamp, 180 prisoners were taken, many of whom were later sent to Massachusetts where they were sold and shipped as slaves to the West Indies. A great deal of wampum was confiscated. What, however, was of greater importance to the English, was the fact that the backbone of the proud Pequot nation had been broken. It is estimated that some 800 Indians in total were either taken prisoners or killed in the duration of the Pequot war. But what of Sassacus? He did not even take part in that foggy early morning encounter, for he had succeeded the night before in slipping through the English lines with his sachem Mononotto and about 20 trusty warriors. The fugi¬ tives headed for the land of the Mohawks on the Hudson river but these people turned out to be no friends of the Pequots. Several of the latter, including Sassacus, were killed and scalped in short order after their arrival. Whether this action on the part of the Mohawks was caused by a desire to pay off old scores against Sassacus or whether the Mohawks merely wished to gratify the English, is not known. At any rate they sent the scalps of Sassacus and those of five other sachems to the English in Hartford. Roger Ludlow, himself, in company with several others, COMING OF THE WHITE MAN i7 carried the scalps from Hartford to Boston a short time later, “as a rare sight and demonstration of the death of their mortal enemy.” Thus passed Sassacus, ingloriously. SASSACUS AND UNCAS Much has Sassacus been flayed by historians for his cruelty, for his ruthlessness, for his alleged desertion of his people, yet Sassacus and not Uncas, whom we have been taught to revere, was the heroic figure. There seems little to honor in the character of Uncas, greedy, selfish and lustful for power as he was, who extended a helping hand to the English only because he thought to gain some personal ad¬ vantages by so doing. Uncas was born in 1588 in the Pequot settlement on the Hudson river and he traveled with his tribe, when it jour¬ neyed down into southeastern Connecticut in the early 17th century. Upon the death of Wopigwooit, the Pequot grand sachem, a dissension arose between the grand sachem’s son, Sassacus, and Uncas, the Sagamore, who asserted his right to succession to the post of honor on the grounds of his own royal descent and that of his squaw, who it so happened was a daughter of Sassacus, and whom he married in 1626. Some histories cause confusion by insisting that Uncas mar¬ ried a daughter of Tatobam, a sachem. A little research discloses the fact that Tatobam was the real name of Sassa¬ cus and that the two titles refer to the same person. This means of course, that Uncas, throughout the Pequot war, fought against his father-in-law and his wife’s people. When Sassacus emerged victor in the quarrel over the grand sachemship, Uncas left the Pequot colony and drew beneath his guard the greater part of the Mohegan tribe. From that time on, it was war to the death between the two chiefs. Sassacus, on his part, became very powerful and at one time had as many as 26 sachems and 700 warriors under him. During the years of his ascendency, his most familiar haunts included the territory where Groton and i8 ROMANCE OF NORWALK New London now stand. He is said to have sent his haughty messengers for hundreds of miles into far off regions where the inhabitants trembled at the terror of his name. He was often known as “All One God.” Think to what unhappy depths he sank before his inauspicious end! Criticism has been levelled at Sassacus because of his flight and his desertion of those who depended upon him for counsel and protection, during the swamp fight, but it is doubtful if this criticism is warranted. It is very possible that Sassacus abandoned his people against his own inclina¬ tion. Probably he urged them to fly, seeing that delay meant certain death, and that when they spurned his advice, he took it himself. Perhaps he fled in self-protection. Certain it is that the Pequots blamed Sassacus for their long string of misfortunes and they would in all likelihood have killed him had he remained. At any rate, what Sassacus did during his life he did for his people, and not like Uncas, for personal gain. He saw the encroachment of the English on Connecti¬ cut land; saw the Indians being driven back farther and farther into the wilderness, away from their favorite haunts and their homes; saw the English chop down the trees and demolish the forests, driving off the deer and other game; saw the Indians being stripped of everything they owned and being sentenced to a life of want and wretchedness.