137 THE FIRST MAINE INDIAN WAR: INCIDENT AT MACHIAS (1676) Frank T. Siebert Penobscot Nation The First Maine Indian war of 1675-1678, the first hostile engage­ ment of the Abenakis with the white settlers of New England, has been considered by most annalists to be only an episode of King Philip's War of 1875-1676, which was waged in southern New England. In reality they were separate conflicts with unrelated causes and were connected only by a delicate thread of sequence. Although some writers have not committed themselves very strongly on this point they have allowed this impression to remain as a tacit conclusion. Among those who have presented the First Maine Indian War either openly or by implication as a part of King Philip's War are Williamson (1832(1)499, 516-519), Hutchinson (1768(2)27-31), Bailey (1969:30), Day (1981:18,21), Leach (1966:59-61); and Eckstorm (1919:53). Alvin Morri­ son (1977:209) considered the First Maine Indian War as the "Northern Front" of King Philip's War. William Willis (1831:136-156) was almost alone in not equating the conflict in Maine with the war in southern New England. The confusion has been created by misleading comments found in the early accounts, by over-reaction among the white New England populace, and by some contemporary writers who imagined that the French abetted the war and that all New England Indians were either allied with or sympathetic to Philip. These beliefs were contrary to fact or without adequate supporting evidence. The Puritans were of a suspicious frame of mind and greatly ex­ aggerated notions of plots against themselves and the effectiveness of Indian political and military organization. Ancient feuds among the Indian nations of New England and a fragmented political organiza­ tion precluded the fulfillment of any really efficient pan-Indian mili­ tary organization. King Philip, the son of Massasoit who in friendship had greeted, feasted, and aided the earliest English settlers, must be regarded as a great Indian patriot who clearly foresaw the result of English land hunger and of the escalating conflict between European and Amerindian cultures, namely the eclipse of Indian peoples in the land of their forefathers. The conversion to Protestantism of many In- 138 Frank Siebert dians and the establishment of numerous "praying towns" through the efforts of John Eliot and the Mayhews; the awe created by superior Eu­ ropean sophistication and technology, which impressed many Indians unfavourably about themselves and promoted negative self-images; and Indian dependence upon Europeans in trade and in obtaining firearms, all contributed to Indian divisiveness. In contrast, the Puritans were united by unanimity of purpose in the face of a hostile challenge, had achieved ideological uniformity, and, despite jurisdictional individual­ ism, maintained political cohesiveness. Philip was foredoomed to be a loser, but fatalistically pursued the only course which he perceived to be available to him that accorded with Indian views of self-determination and cultural preservation. His retaliation came too late to sustain In­ dian hegemony, casting him in a tragic role. He very probably realized this himself toward the end of the war when he was reported to have been found often in pensive moods of reflection. King Philip's War began on June 14, 1675, and ended with Philip's death on August 12, 1676, in a swamp near his residence at Mount Hope in present Rhode Island. The exultingly worded description of his antagonist, Capt. Benjamin Church, reflected the Puritan spirit toward a fallen enemy. Philip "ran directly upon two of Capt Churches Ambush," and the Englishman missed fire, but an Indian mercenary who was a former subject of Philip "sent one Musket Bullet thro' his heart, and another not above two inches from it; he fell upon his face in the Mud & Water his Gun under him." Some English and Indians "drew him thro' the Mud into the Upland, a doleful, great, naked, dirty beast, he look'd like" (Church 1716:44-45). King Philip's adherents included most of his Wampanoags, the Nar- ragansetts, and the Nipmucks, although some few of each of these groups did not join his forces. The Nausets of Cape Cod and the na­ tives of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard remained for the most part neutral. Only a few Massachusett Indians supported Philip, but many assisted the English. Most of these were Eliot's converts from Natick and Punkapog. Job Nesutan of Natick, who had been Eliot's chief assistant in his translation of the Bible, was killed in July 1675 in an abortive raid on Philip's headquarters at Mount Hope. The Niantics remained neutral, and many of the Mohegans and a remnant of the Pe- quots aided the New Englanders. The Pocumtucks and other Connecti­ cut River Indians, who appear to be mostly divisions of the Nipmucks, Incident at Machias 139 united with the other Nipmuck villages in actively supporting Philip in the war. There were frequent defections of converts from the Nipmuck praying towns. The Sokokis of Squakheag, at present Northfield, Mas­ sachusetts, also supported Philip. The Abenakis of New Hampshire and Maine, however, were not allies of Philip, and did not partici­ pate in King Philip's War. The Western Abenakis, in fact, remained neutral. They were commonly called Penacooks, from their principle village of Penacook at present Concord, New Hampshire. Their other villages were Piscataqua, Wamesit, and Pawtucket, the latter two near present Lowell, Massachusetts. Their famous chief was Passaconaway, who died about 1664, to be succeeded by his eldest son, Wonnalancet. As soon as Philip's War broke out, Wonnalancet "withdrew himself into some remote place, that he might not be hurt by the English, or the Enemies" (Hubbard 1677:9). The Eastern Abenakis, consisting of the Pigwackets of the Saco Val­ ley, the Aroosagunticooks of the Androscoggin, the Canibas of the Ken­ nebec, and the Penobscots, were not allies of King Philip, and were not involved in his attacks on southern New England towns. The Abenakis took up arms against the English frontier settlements at a later date for entirely different causes and the hostilities lasted until April 1678, long after King Philip was dead. Furthermore, the Abenakis confined their warlike activities to their own territory within present Maine and directed them chiefly against the specific groups of settlers who had unjustly provoked them. One major cause, never described by any previous writer, and the main events of this separate war will now be discussed in some detail. Incident at Machias In July 1676, while King Philip's War was still in progress, an out­ rage was committed against the small peaceful band of Indians at Machias who were affiliated with the Penobscots. By some undescribed stratagem Henry Lawton and William Waldron of Boston kidnapped 32 unoffending Indians from Machias with the intent of selling them as slaves. Machias was about 120 miles east of the St. George River, and far within the bounds of French Acadia as determined by the Treaty of Breda. However at this time, there was no active French rule in Acadia, and Massachusetts had not yet acquired jurisdiction. Much of the coast of Maine was in a state of anarchy. There was indignation in Boston, and Governor John Leverett issued 140 Frank Siebert an order for the arrest of Lawton and Waldron. Lawton was taken into custody and placed in jail in Boston, but Waldron eluded capture with his cargo of Indian slaves. On August 23, 1676, at Boston, Edward Rawson, the Secretary of the colony had issued a warrant for the ar­ rest of Lawton and Waldron "for seizing and carrying away 30 Indians where one Sagamore & his squaw to ye Eastward" (Baxter DHMe 6:120). Leverett's motives were probably threefold: partly humanity and jus­ tice; the desire to avoid any more trouble with the Indians of which he already had plenty; and partly to circumvent any protest from the French. Apparently the French took no note of the affair. Waldron took the 32 Abenakis to Fayal (modern Faial Island), the westernmost of the Azores. At that time the islands were not subject to any government, and Faial was the haunt of freebooters, slavers, cutthroats, and unsavory outlaws from half a dozen European nations. Situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where the sea lanes crossed and the sailing routes between Europe, America, and Africa converged, Faial was a communication centre during the three centuries of horror of the African slave trade. Governor Leverett persuaded a kind-hearted English sea captain, Bernard Trott, to try to rescue the Indians. Trott sailed to Faial and secured the release of the chief and his wife, but the other 30 Abenakis had disappeared into the cruel oblivion of slavery. In June 1677 Captain Trott petitioned the governor for payment of 62 pounds due him for the expenses of his voyage and redeeming the two Indians, "a sagamore & his squaw stolen away from the eastward by one Waldron & 13 [error for 31?] Indians more & carried to Fyall and sold for slaves which made the first Indian War In those parts." He submitted new petitions in August 1703 and again 1704, but apparently Massachusetts never paid him the 62 pounds (Baxter DHMe 23:1-2). The 32 Indians taken from Machias must have represented about half the population of the village, for 12 years later a census revealed 26 Indians in nine wigwams, with 10 men, 10 women, and 6 children in the Machias band (Gargas 1688). Because of the raids of the Dutch pi­ rates and English under Thomas Cole there were apparently no French inhabitants of Machias in 1676.