Squanto, originally named Tisquantum, was a Pawtuxet
Indian, living near present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pawtuxet belonged to the Wampanoag
confederation. Nothing is really known
about Squanto's early life. His history
picks up in 1614, when Captain John Smith and ships under his command arrived
to map Cape Cod and the vicinity. John
Smith was perhaps better known for having been rescued by Pocahontas at the
Jamestown Colony several years earlier. After Captain Smith completed his exploration
and mapping of the harbors, he departed, leaving behind an associate, Thomas
Hunt, to trade with the Indians. John
Smith had hopes of founding a plantation in New England, and so he wanted to
engage the Indians in trade. Thomas
Hunt, however, had other plans. Offering
them food and trinkets, Hunt lured 24 Nauset and Pawtuxet Indians to the beach.
Hunt and his crew overpowered the
Indians, bound them hand and foot, rowed them to their ship, and locked them in
the ship’s hold.
Hunt left the New World, sailed to the
Straits of Gibraltar, and on to the city of Malaga, Spain, where he sold the
Indians as slaves. But even in these
difficult circumstances, God was watching over Squanto. Some local Friars in Malaga pooled their meager
money and bought Squanto. They took him
to their monastery, set him free, and taught him the Christian faith! The friars began making plans to get Squanto
back to his home in America. After
working and saving for five years, Squanto had enough money for passage to
England. The friars sent him to live
with John Slaney in Cornhill, London., where he learned English. John Slaney was the treasurer of the
Newfoundland Company which had planted a colony at Cupper's Cove, Newfoundland
in 1610. Slaney Got Squanto a job as
translator on the next ship to Newfoundland. Slaney hoped Squanto could eventually get home
to the Cape Cod area. Squanto worked
with Captain John Mason, governor of the Newfoundland Colony.
While in Newfoundland, Squanto met a ship's
captain by the name of Thomas Dermer. Dermer
had worked with Captain John Smith in 1614 mapping the Cape Cod area when Hunt
had kidnapped Squanto! Dermer wanted to
use Squanto to help him to reestablish the fur trade with the Indians in
Massachusetts. So, they returned to
England and arranged an expedition to Cape Cod. Thomas Dermer depended on Squanto to act as an
interpreter and peacemaker between the English and the still-enraged Indians of
the Patuxent and Nauset tribes.
In 1619, Captain Dermer and Squanto set off
for New England, to attempt to make peace and re-establish trade with the
Indians. But upon arriving, they
discovered Squanto’s entire town - all the Patuxent - were dead from the plague
(smallpox or tuberculosis). Squanto was
crushed. He went to live with Massasoit,
the chief of the Wampanoag Confederation. Dermer tried to make peace with the Nauset but
was attacked and taken captive. When
Squanto heard about the incident, he came to Dermer's rescue and negotiated his
release. Dermer continued south without Squanto. Squanto was so despondent that he left the
Nauset village and lived alone in the woods. But God was still at work. God had prepared Squanto and had planted him
right where he wanted him.
That same fall, in November 1620, the 102 Mayflower Pilgrims sailed into
Provincetown Harbor. In December, the
Pilgrims sent out exploration parties, and during their third expedition they
were attacked in camp early one morning by the Nauset Indians. Shots were fired and arrows flew, but in the
end, no one was injured and the Nauset fled back into the woods. After exploring the Cape Cod area, The
Pilgrims selected the abandoned Pawtuxet village as the best place to settle. The area had been named Plymouth by Captain John Smith on his 1614 mapping expedition. The Pilgrims first set foot on Plymouth Rock
on December 21, 1620.
The Pilgrims lived out of the Mayflower and
ferried back and forth to land while they built a common house. Next, they built storehouses and 17 living
houses. They labored all through the
bitter winter months. During that entire
time, they saw almost no signs of any Indians, except for a few fires burning
in the far distance. By spring, over
half of their numbers had perished! Of the
102 settlers, only 47 were still alive. On
March 16, they got a surprise: an Indian named Samoset walked right into the
Colony and spoke to them in broken English. Samoset was from the Abenaki Indian tribe in
Maine and had picked up a few English words from the fisherman that came into
the harbors there. He informed them that
there was another Indian who had been to England and could speak better English
than he could. Two days later, Squanto arrived
and, in perfect English, said, “Welcome to this land! Can I help you? Is there anything that I can do for you?” What a timely blessing! Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to use the
natural resources on Cape Cod. He taught
them how to catch eels, how to catch lobsters, and how to plant corn, squash,
and beans using fish as fertilizer. Squanto’s
first appearance was on March 22, just in time to plant the spring crops! The Plymouth colony had built their village on
the exact spot where Squanto had lived as a boy! The Pilgrims accepted Squanto into their
colony. Squanto had lost his Pawtuxet
family but had gained a new English family!
Squanto arranged for Chief Massasoit of the
Nauset tribe to visit Plymouth, and negotiated a peace treaty, the first in
America. Squanto helped to establish
trading relations between the Pilgrims and the Nauset Indians.
That fall, the Pilgrims had a bountiful
harvest of maize, beans, and squash.
They killed turkeys and Massasoit’s braves brought five deer. The ladies cooked and the men had games and
feats of strength for three days. This
was the first Thanksgiving in America.
In November 1622, Squanto (the last living Pawtuxet)
died leaving all of his earthly possessions to his family, the Plymouth colony.
