Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 13.pdf/438

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The Indian Remnant in New England. of New England, became somewhat scat tered and much reduced. At this period the ravages of rum were becoming almost equal to that of the "plague"; consequently, the Christianizing of the Indians was a work of physical as well as spiritual salvation. Little trouble was experienced thereafter from the Indians who continued to dwell south of the White Mountains; but in the five French and Indian wars which ensued, beginning with that of 1688, and ending with the fall of Quebec in 1/59, the Indians of northern New England joined the French and Indians from Canada; and the settlers in Maine, New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts endured great suffering and destructions. Treaties were made after each war, only to be easily broken on slight pre texts, whenever the interests of the French led them to incite the Indians to action against the English. As previously mentioned, the Indians of Maine west of the Penobscot region were finally forced to take refuge in Canada; but the Tarratines, more secure in their numbers and their remote fastnesses up their great river, still retained much strength. Less accessible to the French, they held to their treaties better; while the Indians about Passamaquoddy bay had never given the Eng lish settlers much trouble. By great care on the part of the national and State governments, the Penobscots and, generally, the Ouoddy Indians, had been in fluenced to remain loyal to the American cause during the Revolution; and the suc ceeding generation gained increased regard for Massachusetts during the war of 1812. The Tarratines, at this period, practically possessed all of Maine north of Bangor; and had an exaggerated idea of their importance in comparison with the scattered white com munities in the District of Maine, which was also subordinate to the government of the Bay State. Wherefore when the movement started for the separation of the district from the parent State, the Indians began to exalt their tribe in ways suggested by their admi

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ration of Massachusetts. Her government had very much pleased them by liberality in connection with the treaty or agreement of 1818, in regard to the kinds and increased amounts of annual supplies to the tribe, together with some specially gratifying gifts of small cannon, ammunition, and extra quantities of tobacco and of gorgeous cloths, flags having already been supplied. Adopting by degrees the dress of the Eng lish, and their customs, they, probably, with some jealousy of the new state that was being formed, planned to supersede in civil authority their hereditary leaders, the sachems, with officials chosen in the manner of the English; naming these new rulers after those of Massachusetts, viz., governor and lieutenant-governor; whereby they excelled the new State of Maine, which did not rise to the dignity of having a lieutenant-gov ernor, like the parent State and the Tarra tines. However, the tribe submitted without demur to the change of administrators of its external affairs, and was gratified and assured by the guaranties required of the new State for the fulfillment of the provisions of the last treaty. The provisions for the Quoddies were similar to those for the Penobscots. There was assigned to them a satisfactory dwellingplace and fanning lands on Pleasant point, in the town of Perry on Passamaquoddy bay; also a township for purposes of hunting and fresh-water fishing on the Schoodic lakes. In Vermont, the Lroquois tribe of Indians occupied the region of lakes Champlain and George, and appear to have been the only aboriginal residents in the territory of that State. Hunting parties of Algonquins from Canada sometimes ranged through the northeastern parts, and through northern New Hampshire, but the middle portion of both States was mostly left to the Mohawks, who occupied a wide territory about Albany. All through the early period of the Eng lish and French settlements in America, war