The Indians of this region, on the North Shore of Massachusetts, were called the Pawtuckets, part of the greater Massachusetts Federation. They fell under the leadership of Great Nanapashmet (New Moon) of Saugus. One of his sons, Montowampate, controlled this territory all the way to the Charles River. He was given the English name of James by the settlers and thus was called Sagamore James.
Here's a little history adapted from New England's Prospect by William Wood in 1634.
•The Pawtuckets were comfortable with quite a bit less clothing than the English, as is commonly pictured throughout history. William Wood writes that they would “cover that which modesty commands to be hid.” In the winter time they wore “leather drawers, in form like Irish trousers” and shoes of moose hide.
•“Many of them wear skins about them, in the form of an Irish mantle, and of these some be bear’s skins, moose’s skins, beaver skins sewed together, otter skins, and raccoon skins.”
•They wore “pendants in the ears, as forms of birds, beasts and fishes, carved out of bone, shells and stone.”
•"They have incised in their faces portraitures of bears, deers, mooses, wolves, eagles and hawks."
•"Wampum shells were used for necklaces."
•"In the wintertime they ate all manner of fowls and beasts of the land and water; roots, beans and clams. They bowl, roast or turn their meat on a spit."
•"In the summer they had all manner of seafood with all sorts of berries."
•"They did not make cake of their corn, but cooked it like beans."
•"It was their fashion to eat all at sometimes and then not eat for two or three days."
•"When they travelled they would eat nocake (as they called it), which was Indian corn parched in hot ashes, sifted and ground to a powder. They would eat about ten spoonfuls a day."
•"The Indians were healthier and hardier than the settlers."
•"Their bodies were strong and apart from diseases such as smallpox which were imported from Europe, they were seldom sick."
•"They lived longer lives than the settlers."
•They had good medicine for healing. “Such wounds as would be sudden death to the Englishman would be nothing to them….[they would heal their wounds] by their rare skill in the use of vegetatives or diabolical charms….”
•"If it were possible to recount the courtesies they have showed the English since their first arrival in those parts, it would not only steady belief that they were loving people, but also win the love of those that never saw them, and wipe off that needless fear….”
•"These Indians are of affable, courteous and well-disposed natures….As he that kills a deer sends for his friends and eats it merrily, so he that receives but a piece of bread from an English hand parts it equally between himself and his comrades…. In a word, a friend can command his house and whatever is his (saving his wife), and have it freely."
The Pawtuckets also apparently felt that the way the settlers treated their wives was both disturbing and amusing as the Pawtuckets neither claimed nor desired such control and command of their wives!
The friendly nature of the Pawtuckets lead them to make many trades for the use of land. A story most people in these parts know is the story that Sagamore James traded the peninsula of Nahant for a nice suit of clothes. According to historians, the Pawtuckets did not not have the same idea of land-ownership. They thought they were trading "use of the land." This created many disputes among the settlers of Nahant because the Pawtuckets made similar trades with a few people.
Sadly, this tribe died out by the end of the 1600's due to the introduction of smallpox. Knowing the history of this hill has permanently changed my perception of it. I have some mixed emotions when I think about how it must have been for that tribe to see sails on the horizon, settlers cutting out roads, and clearing trees for crops and pastures. I try to imagine a clear view down to the ocean and a circle of wigwams. I think about their curious interactions with the English. I wish I had their knowledge of "vegetative" cures as William Wood calls it. There was an amazing tribe here, now gone. Sometimes when I cross the parking lot, I wonder what lies beneath, and what remnants could be found there.
For whatever it's worth, research of Sagamore Hill opened my imagination to this old world.
