Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1886-07-07


Block RodeRbarSh.
CONTINUED.
The enormous amount of beaver and other
furs taken in this new country which
| Blocks explorations had opened up to COM
merce, caused large numbers of fur-trading
merchants of Holland who had depended on
Russia for their skins to fit out ships for
| these parts, and it is quite probable the bays
| and valleys of the Red mountains were visit
| ed by one or more Dutch vessels annually,
| but we have not yet found mention of an
other vessel passing through Long Island
| Sound, SO quiet did the Dutch keep their
| operations here, until 1919 when Captain
| Thomas Dermer, an Englishman who had
| been many years in the employ of Sir
| Ferdinando Georges, sailed from England
and loaded his ship of two hundred tons with
| fish and furs at Monhigan, and after dis
| patching her home to England, sailed for
| Virginia in pinnace and with Indian
| pilot, who drew on his boats chest the
| Sound passage, as appears by his letter writ
| ten at Captain Martyrs plantation, Virginia,
| dated 9th December, 1872 and addressed to
his worshipful friend Mr. Samuel Purchase,
| preacher of the word at the church, little
| within Lidgate, London. But as he makes
| no mention of our subject, (New Haven Har-
| bor,) we only note him as the first English
man who sailed through Long Island Sound.
And now we come to the incident which
| pointed out this bay of the Red mountains
| as fit site to found commercial city, and
how a combination of facts and circum-
stances directed a company of Eng
| lish colonists, many of them and
their associates merchants of distinction in
London, who on account of their differences
with the established Church of England
chose to select home in Ngw England,
which had now, 1857, been opened up for
| trade and colonization and which the nu-
| merous colonial histories have shown were
| advanced by The assistance of some of these
very colonists, among whom we find Theoph-
| illus Eaton, John Davenport, Edward Hop
| kins, the Yale brothers and several soldiers
| of the Peouot expedition of the June preced
| ing, with others of company, chiefly Lon
doners, which sailed from the Thames, after
delay and protest, in the ship Hector, Cap
tain William Fernes, and another vessel in
April, 1887 and arriving at Boston the June
| following, just after the breaking out of the
Pequot war, in which Massachusetts and
Connecticut had decided to join forces in a
campaign already commenced by troops sent
ont by Connecticut under the command of
Major John Mason ian officer who had served
| in Holland under Sir Thomas Fairfax) and
| their Indian allies, led by the famous I'm
| cas-, chief of the Mohegans, which little
| army after the Groton fight had rendez-
voused at Pequot harbor (now New London),
where they were joined by party sent out
| from Massachusetts under the command of
Captain Patrick, and learning of the flight
westward towards Manhattan of the remnant
of this tribe with their chief, Sassacus, it
| was decided to follow them, leaving at Say
brook fort their wounded. In this pursuit
the English followed in their vessels, and
the Indians under Uncas, by
we'll known trail westward by land,
Mason tells US, reached on the third day
Quinnipiac* New Haven), where dwelt a
tribe of this name, then diminished in num-
bers by sickness and wars with the Mohawks
and Pequots, to whom they had been tribu
tary, and by this means their number had
been reduced to about Al warriors and as
many squaws and papooses, but were Low in
undisputed possession of this territory.
1t is said in this pursuit the Pequots were
compelled to follow the shore in order to
subsist on shell fishes and such other pro-
ducts as the coast afforded, and the English,
| guided by signal smoke by day and fires by
night from their Indian allies, coasted every
| indenture of the shore, arriving simulta-
neously off our harbor where they were at
| tracted by a great smoke curling up
| among the trees made by the timid
and friendly Indians of this vicinity, and
we are told that here at "Quinnipiac" Mo
hogan named Jack Etow signalized himself
| by feat which shows how greatly the Pc
quots had become depressed by their mis-
fortune and how he captured two of the
fugitives in the forest and carried them
board one of the vessels in the harbor, they
being in starving condition and surrendered
for the sake of obtaining little food.
One of these Pequot captives, named
Luz, was granted his life If he would
bring back Sassacus, their chief, alive from
his retreat which was discovered in Sasco
swamp, in Fairfield, but not sue
ceeding, he returned to the English
camp at Quinnipiac and traitorously led
them on where their last stand was made,
and he remained with the little army when
it returned to Quinnipiac and assisted as
guide while they were prospecting this prom
ised land of which Mason, Stoughton and
Davenport writes.
Space will not allow longer account of
this war and the incidents which led to the
settlement here, but from the summit of the
Noble Red Mountain let us get a sentimental
view of this promised land" and its harbor
| and see it as the valiant Mason, Stoughton,
Davenport, Underhill, farmer, Patrick, Sea-
ley and Stanton did and note their then de-
scription of it and read from the pages of
time the progress of two hundred and forty
nine summers, and while looking at the
past anticipate the wants of the future
and assist in carrying out noble and COM
common country, when its population shall
have reached hundreds of millions of the hu-
man race and by so doing show to those who
are to come after us that we have anticipat-
ed their wants by laying a foundation for
future generations to develop as required.
The fortune of war gave to Massachusetts
and Connecticut the country of the Pequots,
and on account of Uncas valuable assistance
part of these lands were granted him,
and as Governor Eaton's colony, then
at Boston, had not yet decided where to
locate their settlement, and hearing the
reports of the numerous soldiers which had
returned from these successful campaigns of
the advantages of Quinnipiac, it was decided,
although late in the season, to quietly ex-
anime this harbor, which being accomplished
and found to be desirable site for a COM
mercial city, and fearing the Dutch at Man
haitian might anticipate his plans, Governor
Eaton at once decided to occupy by building
a hut and leaving sufficient number to hold
the territory until he could return to Boston
and arrange for removal early in the follow
ing spring, which was accomplished, as is
supposed, by means of small vessels and pin
naces via we'll known and often-used por-
tage through Buzzard bay So, tits supposed, did
they avoid the dangerous passage of Cape
Cod, which at this season of the year is be-
set with drift ice and fogs, they arriving
early in April, 1888, and keeping the first
Sunday here on the 18th. Sailed for Boston
Marcn OUCn, 1OOO)
This theory of the passage of these colo
nists by this route is supported by the known
lay of the land at that period, which lies low
between Massachusetts bay and Monument
river and other creeks from Buzzard bay,
which connect with marshes and ravines now
to be seen with creeks running toward a
meeting, which suggest theory |
that this was the portage used
by Governor Eaton's company and SO |
laid down on Blocks chart of 1914. A |
theory has also been advanced that this port !
age may have been closed by driftags sands, |
and evaporation caused by the powerful rays |
of the sun. But, setting theories one side, |
we have evidence from Block and other navi- |
gators of its existence, also mention of
signs of q closed passage and the before |
meeting of these waters in the diary of |
Tudoe Sanuel Sevell dated October 26.