Uncas

“ Still the general use of the Canadian term Brave, on our Indian border, may give it some poetic claims to introduction into our vernacular, burthened as it already is with more objectionable Americanisms.
If Uncas was the patron of Connecticut, Miontonimo, with his family of the Narragansett chiefdom, was equally so of Rhode Island. And it is from this obvious fact, probably, in part, that we find the historical notices of him, from the last quarter, decidedly more favorable to his general character than those emanating from the land of his enemy and his conqueror, Uncas. ”

“ Uncas went to Hartford, received his prisoner, and conducted him to the spot where he had been captured. Hardly had the party arrived, when a Mohegan, directly behind Miantonomah, killed him with a single blow of his tomahawk.
It is only fair to add that historians have never agreed as to the real character of Uncas and Miantonomah. ”

“ He, Uncas, is absorbed in the problem before him and has not deigned to look off across the fields to where the neighbor boy has gone crying to his mother. “Le Renard Subtil” will be heard from again but for [Pg 15] the present is forgotten. The foot must be advanced just so. The arm must be drawn back just so. When one hurls the hatchet the body must be swung forward just so. An absolute silence must be maintained. The skulking Huron who has dared come into our hunting grounds is unaware of the presence of the young Uncas. Is he, Uncas, not one whose feet leave no traces in the morning dew? ”

“ As they go homeward in the gathering darkness and come to the house, where lives “Le Renard Subtil,” to which he has gone crying but a few hours before, an idea comes to him. Uncas creeps in the darkness, halfway between the house and the picket fence in front and, balancing the hatchet in his hand, hurls it proudly. Well for the neighbor’s family that no one came to the door at that moment for Uncas’ long afternoon of practicing has got results. The hatchet flies through the air and sinks itself fairly and deeply into the door panel as Uncas and Hawkeye run away home. ”

“ To the westward, beyond the Rhode Island border, lived Uncas, the enemy of Miantonomoh. His domain extended to the river Thames, and he had been a chief of the Pequots, who revolted in 1634 against the Sachem Sassacus and joined the Mohicans, being chosen their chief sachem. He was friendly to the colonists, and by sagacious alliances with them increased the power of his tribe, which had previously been in a relatively subordinate position. He helped defeat the Pequots, and became so strong that he was described as the "most powerful and prosperous prince in New England." ”

“ Not long before, it seems that Uncas—the last man whose evidence should have been noticed at all—had called on Governor Haynes at Hartford, and informed him of Ninigret's visit to the Dutch; as also that he had made a league with them, bought up a large quantity of ammunition, and negotiated with the New York Indians for a war against Uncas and the English. Furthermore, it was said that Ninigret had sent to a neighboring Sachem, to procure a man skillful in poisoning, and had promised him one hundred fathoms of Wampum in return. ”

“ Sequassen, a sachem on the Connecticut river, killed a principal Indian of the Mohegan tribe; and waylaid Uncas himself; as he was going down the river, and shot several arrows at him. Uncas complained to the governor and court of the colony, who took great pains to settle the affair; but without success. He was finally induced to accept of one of Sequassen's Indians, to be given up as an equivalent for the murdered man; but Sequassen would not consent to submission or concession of any kind. He insisted upon fighting. Uncas accepted his challenge, and invaded his territory ”

“ The orphan youths had then become all-in-all to each other, and their mutual attachment had excited the respect and admiration of the whole village, of which, at his father's death, Uncas became the leading man. Had he lived his brother would have assisted him in the government and direction of that portion of the tribe but when he fell before the desolating pestilence, Jyanough was too young and inexperienced to be made Sachem, and the title was conferred on a warrior who was deemed more capable of supporting the dignity of the community. ”

“ The first grand chief, or sachem, of the Mohicans known to the English, was called Uncas: he was a crafty and ambitious chieftain, brave and cunning in war, and cruel to his conquered enemies. He was always a firm friend to the English, probably because he saw that it was for his interest to be so; for he was generally at war with the Six Nations on the north, and the Narragansets, a numerous warlike people on the east, who inhabited the country now called the state of Rhode Island. ”

“ About the 26th of July, fifty Mohegans belonging to Uncas, with three of his sons, whereof one was his eldest son and successor, named Oneko, came into Boston, all armed with guns, being conducted by two Englishmen and some of the praying Indians of Natick, where they lodged the night before ; they brought a letter from Mr. James Fitch, minister of Norwich, to our Governor and Council, signifying that their Sachem Uncas had sent them to assist the English against their enemy Philip ”

“ They thought themselves fortunate in these secure and sanctioned opportunities of revenge and plunder, even had they not also been richly repaid by the protection of the English, reciprocated to them in all emergencies of their own. Their last services during the life of Uncas were during Philip's war, when a party of them was commanded by Onecho, a son of Uncas, and by other sachems. The father was then too old a man to endure much more labor and weariness. ”

“ The criminal refused to express regret, and insisted that Uncas [72] should fight him. Uncas accepted the challenge and invaded the territory of the other to whom he gave a severe defeat. There seems little doubt that Miantonomah prompted both of these attempts at assassination. The baffled sachem was an ally, and the Narragansett set on foot a campaign against Uncas, hoping to strike his blow before the Mohegan could prepare for it. The spies of Uncas warned him of his danger, and he hurriedly gathered several hundred warriors to meet the invaders that were twice as numerous. ”

“ Ever since the Pequot War, there had been trouble between the Mohegans and the Narragansetts. Uncas, the powerful sachem of the former tribe, was Miantonomo’s deadly rival. When, therefore, war broke out between him and an ally of Miantonomo, [Pg 109] the Narragansett sachem took part in the struggle. With a force of about a thousand men, which greatly outnumbered the Connecticut Indians, he took Uncas completely by surprise. Unhappily, Miantonomo was hindered by a heavy armor that had been loaned him and this, together with the sudden fury of Uncas’ assault, cost him the day. ”

“ The enemy soon ascertained that Uncas was relieved, and raised the siege. The Sachem is said to have rewarded Lefingwell for his services by a deed of the town of Norwich. [FN]
[FN] Trumbull.
And not open and honorable arms, (as civilized foes would consider them,) alone, were employed against Uncas. One of the Pequots, in 1643, shot him through the arm, at the instigation, as was generally supposed, of Miantonomo; and the war with that chieftain was brought on by similar attempts on the part of Sequassen. ”

“ Up and down those lovely waters swept the barges of French and English, and the green hills rang to the shrill of bugles, the boom of cannon, and the yell of savages. Fiction and history have been weft across the woods and the memory of deeds still echoes among the heights. It was at Glen's Falls, in the cave on the rock in the middle of the river, that the brave Uncas held the watch with Hawkeye. ”

“ They decided that the rules of war permitted, and the safety of Uncas required, the death of Miantonomo. They were careful, however, not to permit his execution within their jurisdiction. The colonies were responsible for the death of this chief. Uncas was nominally their ally, but really their subject. From first to last he did their bidding with a spirit so craven and a manner so treacherous that he was neither trusted nor respected by them. But the English in their death-warrant voluntarily offered to protect Uncas from the consequences of Miantonomo's death. ”

“ Concessions of this nature it was—which no other Indian Sachem of equal power ever submitted to—that went farther than anything else to keep Uncas secure in the English favor. His actual services, which were considerable, have been alluded to. His tribe were an out-guard for the settlements in Connecticut. After selling the town of Norwich, that place being first colonized in a period of general excitement and hostility among the tribes, the Mohegans kept out spies and runners to give the inhabitants intelligence of their enemies' movements, and were a continual defence against them. ”

“ The remuneration to Uncas for the part which he took in this war, was a portion of the Pequot territory, (which he afterwards sold to the English,) and one hundred captives of that tribe; and this, with the honor of having subdued his great Pequot rival, and the reputation of being upon the most flattering and favorable terms of intercourse with the English, made him at once a character of high dignity and of no little influence. Indians began to collect around him from neighboring tribes, and he could now muster four or five hundred warriors. ”

“ Meanwhile, Uncas, who found himself obliged to rely more upon stratagem than strength, had acquainted his warriors on the march with a plan which he now proceeded to put in execution.
He desired a parley, and the two armies halted in the face of each other. Then advancing in the front of his men, he addressed Miantonomo: "You have a number of stout men with you, and so have I with me. ”

“ With great difficulty he was finally persuaded to accept of the offender alone. But Sequassen objected even to these terms; for he would do nothing but fight. A contest ensued, and Uncas was the victor.
His subsequent war with Miantonomo, and the proceedings which ensued upon his triumph over that formidable chieftain, have been detailed. From this period, so long as the Narraghansetts remained able to send an army into the field, there was no rest for Uncas or his people, day nor night. Truces and promises were negotiated and passed between the parties by the English ”

“ Chingachgook laid aside his paddle, while Uncas and the scout urged the light vessel through crooked and intricate channels, where every foot that they advanced exposed them to the danger of some sudden rising on their progress. The eyes of the Sagamore moved warily from islet to islet, and copse to copse, as the canoe proceeded ”

“ But Uncas said very little, until Mason inquired of him what he thought these Indians would do. "Nothing," answered he, gravely; "The Narraghansetts will leave you to a man. I can only say for myself that I never will." And he never did. The Narraghansetts, who had vaunted themselves on the example they should be obliged to set the English, to encourage them in their attack upon the enemy, soon fell into the back ground, and many of them returned home. ”

“ Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of feeling, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and in an attitude of friendship these two sturdy and intrepid woodsmen bowed their heads together, while scalding tears fell to their feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of falling rain. ”

“ Only two years previous, at the commencement of Philip's war it was reported to governor Winslow of Plymouth, that the Mohegan Sachem had sent twenty men to join his Pokanoket brother, with a message that if Philip would send him six English heads, all the Indians in his territories would go for him. [FN-1] Uncas is last heard of in 1680, when he must have been a very old man, though still likely, we are told, to survive all his enemies. ”

“ Uncas now says, having at last laid the Huron low. “Now that the dirty lover of squaws is dead we may build a fire and feast. Cook the venison ere the night falls. When darkness has come we must show no fire. Do not make much smoke—big fires for the paleface, but little fires for us Indians.” ”

“ In the neighbourhood of Mohegan is a rude recess, environed by rocks, which still retains the name of "the chair of Uncas." When the fort of that King was besieged by the Narragansetts, and his people were perishing with famine, he took measures to inform the English of their danger, and was found seated in this rocky chair, anxiously watching the river on the night when those supplies arrived, which rescued his tribe from destruction. ”

“ Nothing of the same character is before the public. What may be called an Indian Biographical Dictionary has indeed recently appeared, and to that the Author has gladly referred in the course of his researches; but the extreme difficulty of doing justice to any individuals of the race, and at the same time to all, may be inferred from the fact that the writer alluded to has noticed such men as Uncas in some six or eight lines, while he has wholly omitted characters so important as Buckongahelas, White-eyes, Pipe, and Occonoetota. ”

“ It was in truth, as it still is, part of Connecticut, though claimed by Massachusetts, as well as by Uncas.
This was plainly a lecture meant for the benefit of Uncas himself, and his agent was specially requested to inform him of the answer made to his protest. In another connexion, we find Mr. Gookin's opinion expressed to the same effect, without the same circumlocution. "I am apt to fear," is his language, [FN] "that a great obstruction unto his [Mr. Fitch's] labors, is in the sachem of those Indians, whose name is Unkas; an old wicked and wilful man; a drunkard, and otherwise very vicious ”