Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH COLONIAL LITERATURE
of Wampampeake; for they now bought aboute 50li. worth of it of them; and they
tould them how vendable it was at their forte Orania; and did perswade them they
would nd it so at Kenebeck; and so it came to pass in time, though at rst it
stuck, & it was 2. years before they could put of this small quantity, till ye inland
people knew of it; and afterwards they could scarce ever gett enough for them, for
many years togeather. And so this, with their other provissions, cutt of they trade
quite from ye sher-men, and in great part from other of ye stragling planters.
And strange it was to see the great allteration it made in a few years amonge ye
Indeans them selves; for all the Indeans of these parts, & ye Massachussets, had
none or very litle of it, but ye sachems & some spetiall persons that wore a litle of
it for ornamente. Only it was made & kepte amonge ye Nariganssets, & Pequents,
which grew rich & potent by it, and these people were poore & begerly, and had
no use of it. Neither did the English of this plantation, or any other in ye land, till
now that they had knowledg of it from ye Dutch, so much as know what it was,
much less yt it was a comoditie of that worth & valew. But after it grue thus to be a
comoditie in these parts, these Indeans fell into it allso, and to learne how to make
it; for ye Narigansets doe geather ye shells of which yey make it from their shors.
And it hath now continued a current comoditie aboute this 20. years, and it may
prove a drugg in time. In ye mean time it maks ye Indeans of these parts rich &
power full and also prowd therby; and lls them with peeces, powder, and shote,
which no laws can restraine, by reasone of ye bassnes of sundry unworthy persons,
both English, Dutch, & French, which may turne to ye ruine of many. Hithertoo ye
Indeans of these parts had no peeces nor other armes but their bowes & arrowes,
nor of many years after; nether durst they scarce handle a gune, so much were they
araid of them; and ye very sight of one (though out of kilter) was a terrour unto
them. But those Indeans to ye east parts, which had comerce with ye French, got
peces of them, and they in the end made a commone trade of it; and in time our
English sher-men, led with ye like covetoussnes, followed their example, for their
owne gaine; but upon complainte against them, it pleased the kings majestie to
prohibite ye same by a stricte proclaimation, commanding that no sorte of armes,
or munition, should by any of his subjects be traded with them.
Aboute some 3. or 4. years before this time, ther came over one Captaine
Wolastone, (a man of pretie parts,) and with him 3. or 4. more of some eminencie, who
brought with them a great many servants, with provissions & other implments for
to begine a plantation; and pitched them selves in a place within the Massachusets,
which they called, after their Captains name, Mount-Wollaston. Amongst whom
was one Mr. Morton, who, it should seeme, had some small adventure (of his
owne or other mens) amongst them; but had litle respecte amongst them, and was
sleghted by ye meanest servants. Haveing continued ther some time, and not nding
things to answer their expectations, nor prote to arise as they looked for, Captaine
Wollaston takes a great part of ye sarvants, and transports them to Virginia, wher
he puts them of at good rates, selling their time to other men; and writs back to one
Mr. Rassdall, one of his cheefe partners, and accounted their marchant, to bring
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