Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable CharactersThatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
History
Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters
Thatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
Indians of North America -- Biography; Indians of North America -- History
So when he and his brother James, a few weeks afterwards, applied to the
Governor for an order, to procure the return of twenty beaver-skins which
had been obtained unfairly from them by an Englishman, "the governor
entertained them kindly, and gave them his letter, &c." [FN] John must
have been permitted to manage his relations with other sachems also, as
he pleased; for when Chickatabot fought for Canonicus in 1632, as we shall
soon see, he also joined him at the head of thirty men, and the fact is
recorded not only without censure, but without comment.
* * * * *
[FN] New-England Chronology, 1631.
James was a more troublesome personage, and was more than once in
difficulty with both Indians and English. A party of that formidable
eastern people, the Tarratines, attacked him in 1631, slew seven of his
men, wounded both him and his brother John, and carried off his wife
captive. Hubbard observes, that he had treacherously killed some of the
Tarratines before this, "and was therefore the less pitied of the English
that were informed thereof:" but the latter nevertheless procured the
redemption of his wife. The following extract from Mr. Winthrop's Journal,
throws some light, both on the authority which he exercised upon his own
subjects, and the liberties he took with the English. The Government, it
must be observed, had made a prudent regulation, forbidding the sale of
arms to the natives.
"September 4th, 1632.
"One Hopkins of Watertown was convict for selling a piece and pistol, with
powder and shot, to James Sagamore, for which he had sentence to be
whipped and branded in the cheek."--It was discovered by an Indian, one
of James's men, upon promise of concealing him, _or otherwise he was sure
to be killed._ It was probably for some offence of this description that
James was once forbidden to enter any English plantation under penalty of
ten beaver-skins; a much better dispensation of justice, clearly, than to
have sent an armed force, as the good people of Plymouth had been in the
habit of doing on such occasions, to punish him in person. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Winthrop.
The following is an item in the account of Treasurer Pyncheon, stated to
the General Court for 1632, under the head of Payments out of the Common
Treasury.
"Paid _John Sagamore's brother,_ the 9th Oct. 1632 for killing a wolf, one
coat at L0. 12s. 0."
This account of James indicates that he was much less known among the
English than his brother; and as it appears in company of several charges
like these,--
"To Jack Straw, one coat, by a note
from the Governor, 12s.
To Wamascus' Son, two wolves,
two coats, L1. 4s."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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