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Page 22
In 1660, Passaconaway relinquished all authority over his tribe,
retiring at a ripe old age, and turning over his office of sachem to his
son Wannalancet, whose headquarters were at Penacook. Numphow, who was
married to one of Passaconaway's daughters, was the chief for some years
of the village of Pawtucket. In 1669, Wannalancet, in dread of the
Mohawks, came down the river with his whole tribe, and located at
Wamesit, and built a fortification on Fort Hill in Belvidere, which was
surrounded with palisades. The white settlers of the vicinity, catching
the alarm, took refuge in garrison-houses.
[Illustration: OLD BRIDGE OVER PAWTUCKET FALLS.]
In 1674, there were at Wamesit fifteen families, or seventy-five souls,
enumerated as Christian Indians, aside from about two hundred who
adhered to their primitive faith in the Great Spirit. Numphow was their
magistrate as well as chief, his cabin standing near the Boott Canal.
The log chapel presided over by the Indian preacher, Samuel, stood at
the west end of Appleton Street near the site of the Eliot Church. In
May of each year came Eliot and Gookin; the former to give spiritual
advice; the latter to act as umpire or judge, having jurisdiction of
higher offences, and directing all matters affecting the interests o�
the village. Wannalancet held his court, as sachem, in a log cabin near
Pawtucket Falls.
[Illustration: SAINT ANNE'S CHURCH, 1850.]
King Philip's War broke out in 1675. Wannalancet and the local Indians,
faithful to the counsels of Passaconaway, took sides with the settlers,
or remained neutral. Between the two parties they suffered severely.
Some were put to death by Philip, for exposing his designs; some were
put to death by the colonists, as Philip's accomplices; some fell in
battle, fighting for the whites; some were slain by the settlers, who
mistrusted alike praying and hostile Indians.
During the following year, 1676, the able-bodied Indians of Wamesit and
Pawtucket withdrew to Canada, leaving a few of their helpless and infirm
old people at the mercy of their neighbors. Around their fate let
history draw the veil of oblivion, lest the present generation blush for
their ancestors. The Indians of those days, like their descendants, had
no rights which the white men were bound to respect.
During the war the white settlers were gathered for protection in
garrison-houses. Billerica escaped harm, but Chelmsford was twice
visited by hostile bands and several buildings were burned. Two sons of
Samuel Varnum were shot while crossing the Merrimack in a boat with
their father.
In April, 1676, Captain Samuel Hunting and Lieutenant James Richardson
built a fort at Pawtucket Falls, which, with a garrison, was left under
command of Lieutenant Richardson. A month later it was reinforced and
the command entrusted to Captain Thomas Henchman. This proved an
effectual check to the incursions of marauding Indians.
[Illustration: RUINS OF A CELLAR, BELVIDERE.]
When the war was over, Wannalancet returned with the remnant of his
tribe, to find the reservation in possession of the settlers. The tribe
was placed on Wickasauke Island, in charge of Colonel Jonathan Tyng,
where they remained until their last rod of land had been bartered away,
when they retired to Canada and joined the St. Francis tribe. Colonel
Tyng and Major Henchman purchased of the Indians all their remaining
interest in the land about Pawtucket Falls.
[Illustration: OLD BUTMAN HOUSE, BELVIDERE.]
During the nine years of King William's War, which followed the English
Revolution of 1688, the people of Chelmsford and neighboring towns again
took refuge in forts and garrison-houses. Major Henchman had command of
the fortification at the Falls. August 1, 1682, a hostile raid was made
into Billerica and eight of the inhabitants were killed. August 5, 1695,
fourteen inhabitants of Tewksbury were massacred. Colonel Joseph Lynde,
from whom Lynde Hill in Belvidere derives its name, was in command of a
force of three hundred men who ranged through the neighboring country to
protect the frontier.
The town of Dracut was incorporated in 1701. It contained twenty-five
families, and was set off from Chelmsford.
The Wamesit purchase was divided into small parcels of land and sold to
settlers. Samuel Pierce, who had his domicile on the Indian reservation,
was elected a member of the General Court, in 1725, but was refused his
seat on the ground that he was not an inhabitant of Chelmsford.
Accordingly the people of the reservation refused to pay taxes to the
town of Chelmsford until an act was passed legally annexing them to the
town. The place was afterward known as East Chelmsford.
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