Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

SPRryGFIELD, 1036-1886. 21
the native conception of justice and gaining his ends as witli a cleaver.
"NVe do not deny certain extenuating circumstances favoring Captain
]\Iason's polic}' of force, nor begrudge him one spark of that grim
prestige tliat l)orr()ws its radiance from the burning Pequot fort and
its memorable holocaust; but we simply marvel tliat Mason and
Hooker and Stone and the rest should have been unable to uuder-
titand the motives and tht^ spirit of William Pyuchon ni liis dealings
with the Indians. No historian lias fully investigated this interesting
chapter of New England, nor attempted to state even vaguely the
merits of PjMiclion's falling out with the Hartford government. It
has been too readily and quite unjustl}' assumed that he was a
money-maker, and that Connecticut rebuked him accordingly.
''• How can you explain away the refusal of your ancestor to supply
Hartford with corn? " asks an historian of our day of a contempo-
rary Pynchon. During our quarter-millennial celebration of May,
1886, a Connecticut newsjiaper took occMsion to remark :
jVIr. Pync'lion 'was the first iiionopolist of tliis vk-inity. As far back as 1G88
he was given the sole riglit to tiaile in corn with tlie Imlians. on condition of his
supplying- our [Connecticut] colony with a, certain amount at a tixeil price. We
have no notion of raking up old sores with Springfield at tliis late day; l)ut it is
ji sad fact tliat Mr. Pyiiciion was not very careful to '• promote the publique
gooil." Iluinan nature in all ages seems to find it ])retty hard to resist the op-
portunity to abuse such privileges.
It will be admitted that the reading of the meagre references in
the histories to the charge brought against Mr. Pyuchon of specu-
lating on the necessities of the river towns might lead to the
conclusions above quoted ; but the Connecticut editor is wrong in
every particular of his charge. A>"illiam Pynchon did not hold a
monopoly of the corn trade for Connecticut ; the price was not fixed ;
he did not abuse his privileges. The controversy is very much in-
volved, but as there has never appeared, to oiu- knowledge, a complete
statement in print, a good deal of time lias been spent in gathering
—