SAMPSON OCCUM, or, as his name is spelt in a sermon* of his, Occom, was a Mohegan, of the family of Benoni Occum, who resided near New London, in Connecticut. He was the first of that tribe who was conspicuous in religion, if not the only one. He was born in 1723, and becoming attached to the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, the minister of Lebanon in Connecticut, in 1741 he became a Christian. Possessing talents and great piety, Mr. Wheelock entertained sanguine hopes that he would be able to effect much among his countrymen as a preacher of the gospel. He went to England in 1765 to procure aid for the keeping up of a school for the instruction of Indian children, which was begun by Mr. Wheelock, and furthered by a Mr. Moore, by a donation of a school house and land, about 1763. While in England he was introduced to Lord Dartmouth, and other eminent persons. He preached there to crowds of people, and returned to America in September, 1768, having landed at Boston on his return. It is said he was the first Indian that preached in Eugland. He was ordained, in 1759, a preacher to the Montauks on L. Island. About this time he visited the Cherokees. He finally settled among the Oneida Indians, with many of his Mohegan brethren, about 1768; they having been invited by the Oneidas. He died in July, 1792, at N. Stockbridge, N. York, aged 69. Tituba is noticed in the annals of New England, from her participation in the witch tragedies acted here in 1691. In a valuable work giving a history of that horrible delusion, § mention is thus made of her. "It was the latter end of February, 1691, when divers young persons belonging to [Rev.] Mr. Parris' || family, and one more of the neighborhood, began to act after a strange and unusual manner, viz., as by getting into holes, and creeping under chairs and stools, and to use other sundry odd postures, and antic gestures, uttering foolish, ridiculous speeches, which neither they themselves nor any others could make sense of." "March the 11th, Mr. Parris invited several neighboring ministers to join with him in keeping a solemn day of prayer at his own house; the time of the exercise those persons were, for the most part, silent, out after any one prayer was ended, they would act and speak strangely, and ridiculously, yet were such as had been well educated and of good behavior, the one a girl of 11 or 12 years old, would sometimes seem to be in a convulsion fit, her limbs being twisted several ways, and very stiff, but presently her fit would be over. A few days before this solemn day of prayer, Mr. Parris' Indian man and woman, made a cake of rye meal, with the children's water, and baked it in the ashes, and, as it is said, gave to the dog; this was done as a means to discover witchcraft. Soon after which those ill-affected or afflicted persons named several that they said they saw, when in their fits, afflicting of them. The first complained of, was the said Indian woman, named Tituba. She confessed that the devil urged her to sign a book, which he presented to her, and also to work mischief to the children, &c. She was afterwards committed to prison, and lay there till sold for her fees. The account she since gives of it is, that her master did beat her, and otherwise abuse her, to make her confess and accuse (such as he called) her sister witches; and that whatsoever she said by way of confessing or accusing others, was the effect of such usage; her master refused to pay her fees, unless she would stand to what she had said." We are able to add to our information of Tituba from another old and curious work,¶ as follows:-That when she was examined she "confessed the making a cake, as is above mentioned, and said her mistress in her own country was a witch, and had taught her some means to be used for the discovery of a witch and for the prevention of being bewitched, &c., but said "that she herself was not a witch." The children who accused her said "that she did pinch, prick, and grievously torment them; and that they saw her here At the execution of Moses Paul, for murder, at New Haven, 2 September, 1772. To his letter to Mr. Keen, his name is Occum. + Life Dr. Wheelock, 16. His Letter to Mr. Keen, in Life Wheelock, 175. Wonders of the Invisible World, by R. Calef, 90, 91, 4to. London, 1700. "Samuel Paris, pastor of the church in Salem-village." Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, by John Hale, pastor of the church in Beverly, p. 23, 16mo. Boston, 1702. T Modest Enquiry, &c. 25. 184 TITUBA-WITCHCRAFT. [BOOK 11. and there, where nobody else could. Yea, they could tell where she was, and what she did, when out of their human sight." Whether the author was a witness to this he does not say; but probably he was not. Go through the whole of our early writers, and you will scarce find one who witnessed such matters: (Dr. Cotton Mather is nearest to an exception.) But they generally preface such marvellous accounts by observing, "I am slow to believe rumors of this nature, nevertheless, some things I have had certain information of." * The Rev. Mr. Felt gives the following extract from the "Quarterly Court Papers." "March 1st. Sarah Osborn, Sarah and Dorothy Good, Tituba, servant of Mr. Parris, Martha Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Cloyce, John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth, all of Salem village, are committed to Boston jail on charge of witchcraft." The other servant of Mr. Parris was the husband of Tituba, whose name was John. It was a charge against them that they had tried means to discover witches. But there is little probability that these ignorant and simple Indians would ever have thought of "trying a project" for the detection of witches, had they not learned it from some more miserably superstitious white persons. We have the very record to justify this stricture. Take the words. Mary Sibly having confessed, that she innocently counselled John, the Indian, to attempt a discovery of witches, is permitted to commune with Mr. Parris' church. She had been previously disciplined for such counsel and appeared well." We are not told who disciplined her for the examination. Was it Mr. Parris? This is the only instance I have met with of Indians being implicated in white witchcraft. * I. Mather's Brief Hist. Philip's War, 34. ↑ In his valuable Annals of Salem, 303. Danvers Records, published by the author last cited. END OF BOOK SECOND. BOOK III. BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE NEW ENGLAND INDIANS CONTINUED. CHAPTER I. Life of ALEXANDER alias WAMSUTTA-Events which led to the war with PhilipWEETAMOO his wife-Early events in her life-PETANANUET, her second husband -Weetamoo's latter career and death-Ninigret-Death of Alexander-JOHN SASSAMON-His country and connections-Becomes a christian-Schoolmaster-Minister-Settles at Assawomset-FELIX marries his daughter-Sassamon discovers the plots of Philip-Is murdered-Proceedings against the murderers-They are condemned and executed. ALEXANDER was the English name of the elder son of Massasoit. His real name appears at first to have been Mooanam, and afterwards Wamsutta, and lastly Alexander. The name of Mooanam he bore as early as 1639; in 1641 we find him noticed under the name Wamsutta. About the year 1656, he and his younger brother, Metacomet, or rather Pometacom, were brought to the court of Plimouth, and being solicitous to receive English names, the gov ernor called the elder Alexander, and the younger Philip, probably from the two Macedonian heroes, which, on being explained to them, might have flattered their vanities; and which was probably the intention of the governor. Alexander appears pretty early to have set up for himself, as will be seen in the course of this chapter; occasioned, perhaps, by his marrying a female sachem of very considerable authority, and in great esteem among her neighbors. NAMUMPUM, afterwards called Weetamoo, squaw-sachem of Pocasset, was the wife of Alexander; and who, as says an anonymous writer, was more willing to join Philip when he began war upon the English, being persuaded by him that they had poisoned her husband. This author calls her "as potent a prince as any round about her, and hath as much corn, land, and men, at her command." Alexander having, in 1653, sold a tract of the territory acquired by his wife, as has been related in the life of Massasoit, about six years after, Weetamoo came to Plimouth, and the following account of her business is contained in the records. "I, Namumpum, of Pokeesett, hauing, in open court, June last, fifty-nine, [1659,] before the governour and majestrates, surrendered up all that right and title of such lands as Woosamequin and Wamsetta sould to the purchasers; as appeeres by deeds giuen vnder theire hands, as alsoe the said Namumpum promise to remoue the Indians of from those lands; and alsoe att the same court the said Wamsutta promised Namumpum the third part of the pay, as is * Old Indian Chronicle, p. 6. |