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The western half of Nantucket was sold by Wanackmamack, February 20th, 1661.

In this deed "the plain" is evidently immediately west of Nanahuma's Neck from the use of the word Acamy in the deed , and its locality is further fixed by the description of its position, which agrees almost mathematically with its exact actual position. I am sorry to differ from Mr. Worth when he says: "the deed of Nanahuma indicates that at the time he was sachem over the west end of Nantucket." It might as truly be said that the co-signer was sachem over the west end of Nantucket, which we know he never was.

I believe that Nanahuma was a subsidiary or petty local sachem, tributary to Nickanoose, and that all the property he owned as a sachem was restricted within the limitations already indicated. This is confirmed by his only subsequent deed, dated June 24th, 1678, by which he disposes of "all his interest in the West plains, and to the Neck or long woods" to the English. Besides, according to the delimitation of the other Sachems as already given, none of them interfered with those just mentioned as belonging to Nanahuma.

Indeed, it is doubtful whether Nanahuma at this time owned the Neck which bore his name, for, on July 4th, 1664, "all the fields belonging to the Neck" were sold to the English by Pakapanessa, Jonas Kimmo and Harry, son of Wapakowet, who were probably residents of the identical "plain" which was sold by Nanahuma in 1659. Moreover, in 1667, we find Nanahuma associated with "Mr. Larry Ahkeramo" and Obadiah in a plea to the Court that "whereas the sachems had sold the ground they formerly lived on to the English, the said sachems would not entertain them on the land unsold." Curiously enough, in 1678, we find George Nanahuma, alias Cowpohanet, selling to the English "all his interest in the West plains, and to the Neck or long woods." There, verily, seems to have been a joint stock company in these lands!

If Potconet had no jurisdiction over the northwest section of Nantucket, and if no evidence is in existence as to any other sachem holding predominant rights over it, may it not be suggested that it was mainly divided up into reallotments for the Indians who were dispossessed by the requirements of the whites, and over whom subsidiary sachems or sagamores were appointed, of whom there were several? Of course, this is a mere suggestion.

We talk glibly and deprecatingly of the poor Indians as "mere savages", but the annals of American history afford but few instances of really nobler men than Massassoit, Passaconaway, Samoset, and Wanackmamack, the controlling Head Sachem of Nantucket. Had it not been for the high personal qualities of such men New England might not have occupied today the proud position which she now holds among the United States.

The venerable Chief Wanackmamack was not only the pride and glory of his insular braves, but the tried, true, and loyal friend of the English immigrants. He was as kind-hearted and judicious as he was courageous and high principled, and he governed his home-land so ably and satisfactorily as to justify his memory in history as an exemplary ruler.

Of Wauwinet little is known but that he was very old and much respected when the settlers arrived, and nothing, so far as I have been able to ascertain, has been said against him.

Nicornoose, his eldest son and successor, has not a good record, as he deserted his wife and children, and had two children by another woman.

Beyond the fact that Autopscot was called "a great warrior and got his land by his bow", and that he permanently established peace throughout the island, little further is recorded of him. Nor does history mention anything concerning Potconet, the sachem ruling the proximate western islands, with the exception of a record of the sale of his lands to the settlers, in 1659. Such were the rulers of Nantucket when the settlers arrived.

What a revelation the incoming of the whites must have been to the red men, who had lived on the island, probably from a very early age, among their own people, under their own laws, perpetuating their own habits and customs--living close to Nature--for the most part in peace and amity--simple in their lives, and knowing nothing, caring nothing for the external world beyond them!

Yet, on the arrival of the new people who had come to supplant them, they received them amicably, treated them justly, and as they treated one another, relying upon what they recognized as the instinctive and inalienable principles of humanity to govern their relationships and to promote the mutual good and harmony of all. I cannot stop to inquire who first took advantage of the racial differences which distinguished these two peoples, or how the greater intellectuality and experience of the one eventually overcame the other, but Time tells the story; and today, while the whites glory in the beauties of, and the opportunities afforded by their island home, where are the poor Indians, the aborigines? All gone--melted away like dew-drops in the sun, and not even one remains to tell the story of their past history!

The number of settlers who had arrived from Salisbury in 1660 and 1661 soon began to make themselves comfortable in their new and strange environment, while the Indians could not but admire the novel type of dwelling houses which the new-comers had set up in strange contrast with the humble wigwams of the aborigines; indeed the new procedure which was being introduced in many directions must have caused them much surprise.

For a time the English and the Indians--the civilized and the uncivilized--worked together amicably for the agricultural development of the island. Together they cleared and tilled the land , settling the allotments, cutting down the timber, which is said to have almost covered the island, and mutually performing the numerous farming operations involved in the reclamation and cultivation of the soil. In addition to farming they engaged also in fishing, in which art the natives were expert. Much time was also devoted to the raising of sheep, and thus while mutual forbearance was exercised, mutual trust was generated, and while the settlers acted faithfully and justly with the Indians, the latter were equally loyal in the discharge of their duties in their new relationships.

Unfortunately, civilization has too often brought in its wake habits and customs which have ever proved degenerative, if not destructive to the uncivilized races of the earth, and so they proved to the Indians, who were sober, industrious, and happy before the settlers introduced among them the iniquitous "fire-water," to the abuse of which they fell a prey. Acting under its pernicious influence their primitive instincts were aroused within them, and never afterwards were they the same people. Discontent soon spread among them, and litigation in the Courts--to which they had equal access with the whites--became so very frequent that the records extend from 1673 to 1754.

I do not say that alcohol was at the bottom of all these cases, but that it made the natives excitable, litigious and dissatisfied I avow, without any reference to the misconduct and crime which it often prompted, and which frequently resulted from its influence. In many cases they found that the Courts decided against them, and they became discouraged. Moreover, they were astounded at the fastly-increasing number of whites on the island , and as a matter of fact they never could be made to understand that the execution of a sale-deed of their property involved its absolute surrender to the purchaser, however many attempts they made to regain their land.

Mr. Thomas Macy wrote a forceful letter to the Governor, in May, 1676, as to the pernicious effects of drink upon the natives, but every effort made to mitigate the evil by legislative measures failed; the natives who craved for it would sacrifice all they possessed, and one way and another, they generally found means of obtaining it. Fines and whipping were the modes inflicted for drunkenness and misdemeanors, but the death-penalty was never exacted except in cases of deliberate murder. It is recorded that, between 1704 and 1769, ten natives were executed for capital crimes.

On the other hand it has been stated that Quibby--who murdered Harry Gardner--was the first and only Indian executed in Nantucket since its settlement by the whites. Macy's instances, however, seem well substantiated.

"Miriam Coffin."

In thus alluding to the misconduct of the natives I am merely mentioning facts which I should have preferred to pass over, but in justice to their memory it must be said that perhaps the majority of them were exemplary in their lives--many of them pious--and good steady husbandmen and craftsmen. As a race they have been much misrepresented, and if revengeful, it was only when their subduers had treated them cruelly or unjustly.

Spirited efforts had been made to introduce Christianity among the natives, and the results on Nantucket were probably more successful than in any other section of New England. Thus, Barber says: "Soon after the English had settled on the island, attempts were made to convert the Indians to the faith of the Gospel, and, in course of years, all of them became nominal Christians."

Soon after 1680, all the old Sachems, who were alive when the English arrived had passed away, and their successors reigned in their stead.

There can be no doubt that the Nantucket Indians joined gladly in the chase of whales, and that they were fully as dexterous as the whites, not only in securing, but in dealing with the carcasses afterwards.

The year 1763-4 was, indeed, a sad one for the Indians of Nantucket, inasmuch as, from August in the former year to February in the latter, they suffered from a malignant form of epidemic which, even yet, has not been identified, although the probability is that it was either typhus or typhoid fever, small-pox or yellow fever. Curiously enough, of the English who visited them daily, caring for and nursing the afflicted natives, not one was affected by the pestilence, which ceased suddenly, without previous abatement, on the 16th of February, 1764. Before the epidemic broke out there were 358 Indians on the island, of whom 222 perished, leaving only 136 natives to represent the race.

In 1791 there were but four male Indians and sixteen females left on the island, and in 1809 there were only three or four persons of pure blood and a few of mixed race.

From 1664 to 1774 the records consist mainly of land-sales from the Indians to the English; of complaints of one Indian against another, or others in relation to landsales, and of controversies about their respective claims to whales. Within this period also one repeatedly notices the names of the successors of the old sachems, for several generations; but, concurrently with these, up to 1754, are the records of many attempts on the part of some of the Indians to regain their lands.

The perusal of these is very interesting, but I can only refer those who may desire to obtain a full knowledge of such matters to the ample and careful reports given by Mr. Henry B. Worth in the Bulletins of the Nantucket Historical Association.

In 1693 the island of Nantucket, ceded from the Provincial Government of New York, was incorporated in the State of Massachusetts.

Wanackmamack, Head Sachem of Nantucket in 1659. Wauwinet, aged Head Sachem of Northeastern section. Nicornoose, successor to Wauwinet. Autopscot , Sachem of Southwestern section. Potconet , Sachem of Tuckernuck, etc. Nanahuma, probably a petty Sachem. Harry, a witness, son of Wapakowet. Wauwinnesit, or Amos, second son of Nicornoose. Saucoauso, alias Jeptha, son of Wanackmamack. Joshua Jethro, eldest son of Nicornoose. Wat Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose. Paul Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose. Masauquet, son of Autopscot. Harry Poritain, alias Beretan, son of Masauquet. Isaac Masauquet, son of Harry Poritain. Askommopoo, daughter of Nicornoose and wife of Spotso or Spoospotswa. Felix Kuttashamaquah, an interpreter. Cain, son of Saucoauso or Jeptha. Abel, son of Saucoauso or Jeptha. Ben Abel, son of Abel. Eben Abel, son of Abel. Jemima, daughter of Cain, and wife of James Shea. Pakapanessa, Indian associated with Nanahuma. Jonas Kimmo, Indian associated with Nanahuma. Tequamomany, sold lands to English in 1604. Mekowakim, sold lands to English in 1604. Peteson, a complainer, 1667. Larry Akkeramo, a complainer, 1667. Obadiah, a complainer, 1667. Wequakesuk, a sachem, 1673. Isaac Wauwinet, son of Nicornoose, successor of father. Heattohanen, another name for one of Nicornoose's sons. Wohwaninwot, another name for one of Nicornoose's sons. Cowpohanet, another name of Nanahuma. Spotso, son-in-law of Nicornoose, signed also as Spoospotswa. Sasapana Will, sold land to the English, 1687. Henry Britten, Sachem, 1701. Eastor, wife of Saucoauso, 1709. Joshiah or Josiah, son of Spotso. James Shay, Shea, or Shaa, husband of Jemima. Esau Cook, an Indian who sold land, 1742. Isaac Woosco, an Indian who sold land, 1745. Samuel Chegin, an Indian who sold land, 1747. Titus Zekey, an Indian who sold land, 1762. John Jethro, a descendant of Nicornoose. Abigail Jethro, a descendant of Joshua Jethro, son of Nicornoose. Jacob, son of Potconet, 1672. Ahkeiman, son of Potconet, 1676. Desire, or Desiah, a partner of Washaman, in whales, 1676. Waquaheso, related to Nicornoose. Wakeikman, Sessanuquis, Wienakisoo, three associated Indians, 1678. Nautakagin, a companion of Nanahuma, 1678. Quench, an Indian who divorced his wife, 1677. Mequash, an Indian with whaling rights, 1678. Machoogen, an Indian burglar, 1677. Debdekcoat, a fraudulent creditor, 1677. Shaakerune, an anti-prohibitionist, 1677. Seikinow, a complainer, 1699-1700. Titus Mamack, Joshua Mamack, John Mamack, descendants of Wanackmamack. Jouab, descendant of Wanackmamack. John Jouab, a disgruntled complainer. Jonathan, a disgruntled complainer. James Asab, a disgruntled complainer. John Tashime , a descendant of Autopscot. John Jethro, a petitioner. Paul Jouab, a petitioner. Richard Napanah, a petitioner. Solomon Zachariah, a petitioner. Naubgrachas, a petitioner. Abel Nanahoo, a petitioner. John Asab, a petitioner. Barnabas Spotso, Sachem. James Papamoo, son of Barnabas Spotso. John Quass, the choice of Lakedon Indians for Sachem, when they repudiated Ben Abel, the legitimate chief. Sanchimaish, a witness to Isaac Wauwinett's will. Abram Tashama, son of John Tashama, 1741. Old Hannah, a witness. Ben Jouab, grandson of Pampason, 1752. Memfopooh, a messenger, 1752. Oowamassen, a witness to Isaac Wauwinnett's will, 1670. Joshua of Chappoquiddick, same as Joshua Jethro, eldest son of Nicornoose, 1706. Talagamomos, Keostahhan, Wumoanohquin, Quaquahchoonit, witnesses to Nicornoose's will, 1668. Ben Joab Pampushom, a claimant to Sachemdom of Occawa, 1745. Peter Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom's petition. Peleg Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom's petition. David Pompasson, said to have been a grandson of Nicornoose. Samuel Humbrey, a witness to John Jouab's petition, 1752.

Petty crimes and misdemeanors on the part of the Indians--too often caused by "fire-water"--frequently resulted in producing considerable trouble and annoyance to the proprietors, and when they found that the imposition of fines and the infliction of whipping in graver cases were inadequate to permanently restrain them, they at length appointed a superior Indian to undertake the office of superintendent and local magistrate, and with considerable success. The officer appointed was James Shouel, better known as Korduda and he soon became a terror to evil-doers, his usual procedure being, when one Indian complained of another, to order both the complainant and the defendant to be well whipped. This subsequently became known as "Korduda's law," and in many, if not in most cases, it was found very effective. He was also in the habit of having delinquents whipped for neglecting the cultivation of their corn, for drunkenness, etc.

A few other special Indians are referred to in Zaccheus Macy's well-known letter, viz.: "Old Aesop," the weaver, who was also a schoolmaster; "Old Saul," "a stern-looking old man;" Richard Nominash and his brother Sampson and little Jethro, who are described as "very substantial and very trusty men;" Zacchary Hoite, a minister who told his hearers "they must do as he said, but not as he did!" There were also some members of the old Hoight and Jafet families, and Benjamin Tashama, an Indian of strong individuality, to whom I shall now refer in detail.

Benjamin Tashama, or Tashima, was, perhaps, the most noted Indian within the bounds of Autopscot. He was a grandson of Sachem Autopscot, and was distinguished as a good and worthy man, an esteemed preacher, and a successful schoolmaster. "A portion of the industrious life of Tashima," says the author of "Miriam Coffin," "had been devoted to study; and he had succeeded, with infinite labour, in adapting his literary acquirements to the language and capacity of his tribe. He had nourished the vain hope of preserving the nation without a cross in its blood, and the language of his people in its pristine purity. It was a magnificent conception! The design was worthy of the last, as he was the greatest, chief of his tribe. He was the last, because none succeeded him; he was the greatest, for he was the most benevolent." While few details of his life are known it is attested that he latterly lived on the eastern boundary of Gibbs' swamp, about forty rods northeast of the fifth milestone on the 'Sconset road. Here, some years ago, the cellar of his dwelling still remained, and the large stone which formed the entrance may now be seen in the rooms of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Here Tashama, often called "the last Sachem of Nantucket," dwelt with his son Isaac and his daughter Sarah. Benjamin Tashama died in 1770. His brother, John Tashama, was alive in 1754, when he signed a petition to the court. John had one son, Abram, mentioned by John Coffin and Abishai Folger in a report dated May 25th, 1743.

Sarah Tashama married Isaac Earop, and on April 27th, 1776, a daughter was born to them. She was named Dorcas Honorable. When this child grew up she became a domestic in the family of Mr. John Cartwright, where she lived for many years, and she died in 1822.

Abram Api Quady or Quary, a half-breed, who lived in a hut at Shimmo for many years, died in 1855 at the age of 83, respected by all who knew him. He was the son of the notorious Quibby, already referred to, and of Judith Quary--a half-breed fortune-teller well-known on the island at one time. Abram, for obvious reasons, chose to assume his mother's name. A fine portrait in oil of this dignified old man may be seen in the Nantucket Atheneum.

It may seem strange that no burial place of the Indians has been discovered on the island of Nantucket, so far as I am aware. Skeletal remains and a few bones have been discovered at one time and another, and in various places, but I believe no regular place of Indian burial has ever been found. This may be thus accounted for, viz.:

Island Indians usually buried their dead contiguous to the coast-line, and the progressive erosion of the coast during two centuries may have possibly washed such remains into the ocean. This is merely a suggestion, and as I have but few proofs to offer, I am subject to correction. It is probable, however, that the Indians buried their dead in the neighborhood of Shawkemo, Pocomo, Folger's Hill on the Polpis road, at Quaise, beyond the present water-works, and at or near Miacomet. It is recorded that there was a circular burying-ground for one of the tribes near the head-waters of Lake Miacomet, and that Benjamin Tashama was buried there.

An opinion too generally shared, which regards the American Indian race as consisting of mere savages, almost inhuman in their ferocity and cruelty, and without a redeeming feature of any kind, is as untrue as it is unjust. They naturally possessed those characteristics shared by all unenlightened races of men who have been deprived of the elevating influences of civilization and a high code of ethics, but a careful study of their lives and history shows that, according to their enlightenment, they were actuated by many virtues which, in superior races, count for dignified manhood and nobility of mind. In personal bravery and courage they had few equals and yet they accepted conquest or punishment with a sublime fortitude and stoicism which scorned to ask for either life or pardon. Equality, freedom, and independence constituted the very atmosphere of their being and, in their dealings with their own race, the rights of each individual, and his personal freedom, were universally acknowledged. Judged from our modern standard the principles of morality which governed their lives, if of a lower order, were yet in keeping with their instincts and their environment, and they believed that "the crimes of the vicious were punished by the disgrace, contempt and danger they ensured for transgressors."

When all that can be said against the Indians has been spoken it must be conceded that they embodied a pure and lofty patriotism, for which they fought and died like men and true patriots, and although they had to gradually yield up their possessions and their homes in the land they loved, and to recede and disappear before the advancing wave of civilization, yet, as De Forest says: "We may drop a tear over the grave of the race which has perished, and regret that civilization and Christianity have ever accomplished so little for its amelioration."

In the somewhat severe words of Obed Macy, "Their only misfortune was their connection with Christians, and their only crime the imitation of their manners."

In conclusion, I venture to make two suggestions, one a minor and the other a major one. Would it not be expedient and appropriate on the part of the Nantucketers to erect a tablet over the grave of "Dorcas," the last of the aborigines? The residents of "the little purple island," I think, owe so much to the memories associated with her vanished race.

Or, now that Nantucket is becoming, increasingly, year by year, a fashionable ocean-bound sea-resort, would it not be possible to carry out the suggestion made by an off-islander, as far back as 1881 at the Commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of Tristram Coffin, to erect by public subscription "a towering statue in dusky bronze, representing the venerable Indian Sachem, Wanackmamack, the tried and true friend of the original purchasers of the island?" The island certainly owes this illustrious Chief a debt of gratitude, for it was almost entirely due to his benign influences that the "silent people of the forest" and the strangers lived in peace and amity together, and thus expedited the dawn of civilization without an obstacle within its boundaries. I have spoken, and I leave these suggestions to the islanders for reflection, with every fond wish for their prosperity and success.

Transcriber's Notes:

- Text enclosed by underscores is in italics . - Text enclosed by equals is in bold font . - Blank pages have been removed. - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.

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