History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

James of Lynn, and Sagamore George of Salem.
George finally became Sachem of the Pawtuckets.
After the death of Nanepashemit, his wife, as
queen and squaw sachem, reigned. She married
Webcowit, the physician of the tribe, "its powwow,
priest, witch, sorcerer, and chirurgeon." In
16:37 the Squaw Sachem deeded a tract of land in
Musketaquid (Concord). In 1639 she deeded a
"This testifies that I, the Sachem which have
riglit and possession of the ground which I re-
served from Charlestown and Cambridge, which
lies against the Ponds of Misticke with the said
ponds, I do freely give to .lotham Gibbon, his
heyres, executors, and assigns for ever ;
MEDFOED. 161
not \riUing
to have liim or his disturbed in the said gift after
my death. And this I do Avithout seeking too of
him or any of his, but I receiving many kind-
nesses of them, and willing to acknowledsj-e their
eicavalions, we discovered the skeletons of an adult and of an
infant within a few inches of the surface, the head, in each in-
stance, turned toward the west.
" At that time it was not suspected that they were Indian re-
mains, and nothing more was thought of the matter until last
month, when ilr. Simnis again brought me a few bones and a
speeimi'ii of red ochre which had been dug up near the place
where the skeletons had been previously discovered.
" A new road has been constructed the present year, leading
more directly from the reservoir on the top of College Hill to the
Pumping Works on the Mystic, and at the junction of this with
the old road the workmen engaged in making a sidewalk found
eight or ten skeletons of adults, within a foot of the surface, the
heads all placed toward the west. The bones were for the most
part quite fr.agile, only a few of the longest being strong enough
to bear removal from the clayey soil in which they were embedded.
The molar teeth were very much worn down, though
otherwise in excellent preservation.
" Near one of the largest skeletons was found more than a peck
of red ochre, that lay as if originally deposited in some receptacle
— perhaps a basket — which had a circular form.
" Underneath the same skeleton was dug out a fine stone chisel,
made of dark pojphyry, whose length is about six inches and its
breadth about two inches on the cutting edge. This is preserved
in the museum of Tufts College.
" A few stone arrow-heads picked up near the remains, together
with the discovery of the stone chisel and the red ochre, which
was the favorite war-paint of the Indians, would seem to indicate
strongly that this is the necropolis of the .Medford Indians, whose
existence had been suspected, but could not be determined until
these excavations for a highway had been made through it.
"Its location is on the northwest slope of College' Hill, about
midway between its summit and the .Mystic River, at the junction
of the two roads leading from Cm'tis Street to the engine-house
of the Mystic Water-Works.
" With great resjiect I am " Yours very truly,
"JOH.V P. M.IHSHALL."
many kindnesses by this small gift to their son,
Jotham Gibons.
"Witness my hand, the i:jth of 11 mo., 1636.
" The Squa Sachem g marke.
" Webecowit marke.
"Witness, Edmund Quincy."
Another grant, by the " Squa Sachem of ilistick,"
of lands borderhig on Medford, is as follows —
:
" The 15th of the 2d mo., 1639 : -Wee, Web-
tract to Charlestown (now Somerville) ; also another
tract to Jotham Gibbon of Boston.
is as follows —
:
This last deed Cowet and Squa Sachem, do sell unto the iidiabitants
of the towne of Charlestowne all the land
within the Hne granted them by the Court (except-
ing the farmes and the ground on the west of the
two great ponds, called Misticke Ponds), from tlie
south side of Mr. Nowell's lott, neere the upper
end of the ponds, unto the little runnel that cometh
from Capt. Cook's mills, which the Squa reserveth
to their use, for her life, for the Indians to plant
and hunt upon, and the weare above the ponds
they also reserve for the Indians to fish at whiles
the Squa liveth; and, after the death of Squa
Sachem, she doth leave all her lands, from Mr.
Mayhue's house to neere Salem, to the present
Governor, Mr. John AVinthrop, sen., Mr. Increase
Nowell, Mr. John Willson, Mr. Edward Gibons,
to dispose of, and all Indians to depart ; and, for
sattisfaction from Charlestowne, wee acknowledge
to have received, in full sattisfaction, twenty and
one coates, ninten fathom of wampon, and three
bushels of corn. In witness whereof, we have here
unto sett o'r hands the day and year above named.
" The mark of Squa Sachem., m'c.
" The mark of Web-Cowet, m."
This queen died in Medford before 1662, as
appears from the following documents in the second
volume of Middlesex Registry of Deeds —
:
" Mr. Francis Norton and Nicholas Davison
(Mr. Cradock's agent) do, in the name of the in-
habitants of Charlestown, lay claim to the tract of
land reserved to Squa Sachem during her lifetime,
and which is at present possessed and improved by
Tiiomas Gleison of Charlestown ; this land bounded
on the east by Mystic Pond, on the west by Cam-
bridge Common, on the south by the land of JMr.
Cooke, on the north formerly in the possession of
Mr. Increase Nowell.
" This demand and claim was made in the person
of John Fennell and Mr. William Sims, the 25th
of March, 1662, at the house of Thomas Gleison.
"Entered 29th of March, 1662, by T. Danforth.
" Signed, John Fennell.
" Wm. Simmes."