Indian New England Before the Mayflower

298 Pages·1980·10.873 MB·English

by  Howard S. Russell

Indian New England Before the Mayflower
ftVlfe*
Menotomy: A drink from a spring. Sculpture by Cyrus Dallin.
Town Hall Park, Arlington, Massachusetts.
Indian New England
Before the Mayflower
Howard S. Russell
University Press of New England
Hanover and London
Published by
University Press of New England
One Court Street, Lebanon, NH 03766
www.upne.com
© 1980 by Trustees of Dartmouth College
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
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CIP data appear at the end of the book
ISBN-13: 978-0-87451-255-7
ISBN-10: 0-87451-255-7
eISBN 978-1-61168-636-4
Preface
Marcus Aurelius gratefully acknowledged the examples of tutors,
relatives, and friends from whom he acquired the personal qualities he
valued. "From Rusticus," he writes, he had learned "to read with
precision and not to be satisfied with general statements." In offering a
description of New England's Indians as they lived when Europeans
first met them, I affirm this purpose. I have tried to present the natives
as neither savages nor heroes, but fellow human beings, living at a
particular time in a particular environment. In this endeavor to provide
a truthful picture I have had the help of many friends, living and
departed. Some few are mentioned here.
Let me first pay tribute to New England's earliest explorers, Ver-
razano, Champlain, John Smith, and a score of literate sailors, and next
acknowledge my debt to Pilgrims and Puritans; settlers, travelers,
military men, and missionaries; and the accounts all have left us. A
surprising number of them, in the midst of crowded lives, took time and
trouble to describe in writing the new land and the characteristics and
way of life of its peoples.
A second background source is the modern archaeologist and
scientist. New England is fortunate to be the home of several active
archaeological societies, each sponsoring physical excavations and pub
lications that continually add to our perception of prehistoric man, his
habits and environment. To these societies, their officers, and the
contributors to their publications, and along with them to local and
professional anthropologists, geographers, linguists, botanists, and
other specialists whose studies may be specifically recognized in the
bibliography, I am greatly indebted.
Beyond such general attributions I mention with special gratitude
a few of the groups and individuals who have provided help:
Membership in two organizations for over a third of a century has
been a continued stimulus. The Massachusetts Archaeological Society,
through the courtesy of its curator, Maurice Robbins, its editor, Dena
M. Dincauze, and its officers and trustees, has generously allowed me
my choice among the illustrations that have appeared in its Bulletin.
The artist responsible for many is the Bulletin's long-time editor (now
retired), William S. Fowler. He has not only acquiesced in their use but
kindly read and criticized portions of the text. The second organization
is the nationwide Agricultural History Society, whose Executive Secre
tary, Wayne D. Rasmussen, an authority on Indian agriculture, has
v
vi Preface
offered repeated advice and encouragement. One of the Society's
members, Jonathan Gell, was generous with critical counsel on an
thropological aspects of the script.
Special appreciation is due Albin Webber, who from my crude
pencil sketches developed the accurate maps. Robert Schuette, my
hometown publisher, loaned the excellent diorama photographs which
he originally took to illustrate an earlier article of mine appearing locally
some years since. For other illustrations, individual credits appear on
the appropriate pages.
From the anthropological field, encouragement for publication
came from Margaret A. Towle of Harvard and Peru, who insisted that
an earlier version of the manuscript should be published, and from
Richard Evans Schultes, until recently head of Harvard's Botanical
Museum, who also kindly suggested Walton C. Galinat of the Univer
sity of Massachusetts Experiment Station as collaborator. Dr. Galinat
has provided important advice and assistance, though a heavy load of
research and teaching made actual collaboration impractical. In botani
cal matters the aid of his associate Josephine Stewart Starbuck has been
of great value.
It would be difficult to measure the contribution of Professor
William A. Haviland of the University of Vermont, who generously
opened to me his "The Original Vermonters" manuscript (in press) and
his pertinent notes; he criticized my manuscript and in particular
widened my appreciation of the Abenaki culture of northern and Down
East Indian life.
For the cooperation of the Boston Athenaeum and its ever helpful
staff, and the Harvard and Massachusetts State libraries, I am deeply
indebted. My local library staff have found answers to numerous textual
questions, and have obtained rare volumes for me. Reference librarians
and state college anthropologists or archaeologists in every New Eng
land state have cheerfully helped.
Beyond all these, my gratitude goes to Mrs. Russell for providing
the comprehensive index and for proofreading; and to her and our
daughter Constance S. Russell for unlimited interest, patience, and
helpfulness; to my efficient typist, Carol Kassabian; and to my student
neighbor and messenger, J. Christopher Flowers. For any merit this
volume may have as to style and typography the credit goes chiefly to
my publishing mentor, David Home, and his ever helpful staff.
Wayland, Massachusetts H.S.R.
October 1979
Contents
Preface, v
Foreword, xi
I. BACKGROUND
1. The Region and Its Resources, 3
2. The First Europeans, 8
II. THE PEOPLE
3. The Tribes and Their Distribution, 19
4. Personal Characteristics, 30
5. Health and Illness, 35
6. Religion and Philosophy, 43
III. THE HOUSEHOLD
7. A Place to Live, 51
8. Household and Personal Equipment, 58
9- The Family Meals, 72
The Cooking Pot; Maize;
Beans, Squashes, and Pumpkins;
Roots and Nuts; Fruits; Sugar and Salt;
Game, Fish, and Seafood;
A Diet for Superb Health
10. The Roles of the Sexes, %
11. The Day's Round, 104
12. Beyond the Round, 111
IV. THE BOUNTIFUL EARTH
13. The Soil, 119
14. The Provision of Nature, 123
15. Preparing for Cultivation, 133
Farming Tools; The Fields
16. Cultivated Crops, 147
Corn, Beans, Squashes, and
Watermelons; Roots; Tobacco
17. The Seasons Round, 165
Storing the Yield; Fall Hunting
viii Contents
V. INTERRELATIONS
18. Trade and Conflict, 185
19- Travel and Communication, 195
Afterword: A Promising Society, 206
Appendix: Uses of Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaceous Plants, 209
Notes, 216
Bibliography, 237
Index, 271
List of Illustrations
Frontispiece. Menotomy: A drink from a spring,
1. Arnold Spring rock shelter, 5
2. Champlain's map of the Saco Indian village, 9
3. Council Oak, 20
4. Southern New England tribes, 23
5. Northern New England tribes, 25
6. Traditional Indian path, 27
7. Areas suitable for Indian farming, 29
8. Pendants and beads, 41
9. Stone pipes, 46
10. Burial pits, 47
11. Child's pot, 47
12. Frame of wigwam, 52
13. Interior of wigwam, 54
14. Mortar and pestle, 59
15. Garden and household tools, 61
16. Quarrying soapstone, 63
17. Scrapers, knives, axes, and adze, 66-67
18. Moveable pictographs, 70
19. Wooden utensils, 74
20. Wooden bowl, 75
21. Slate knife, 75
22. Soapstone kettle, 82
23. Making maple syrup, 89