First Indian War in Maine.
The Winslow Register
Compiled by Mitchell and Davis 1904
Kent's Hill:  Published by the H. E. Mitchell Co. 1904.
pages 8-10

First Indian War in Maine.

After the departure of Father Druillette, for nearly a quarter 
of a century the history of the Kennebec Indians is a blank.  
The friction between the English and the Abenakis continued 
to be productive of discord.  The English made no effort to 
better the Indian.  Puritanism had no attraction for him, but 
the religious rites of the Catholic faith with its beautiful symbols 
of those days in the skillful hands of an enthusiastic priest held 
their attention and won their faith and love.  The Abenakis felt 
that the taking of Druillette from them was in some unknown 
way due to the influence of the English, and this being so it is 
plain to be seen that soon the relations between these parties 
must become strained.

The events which led to the outbreak in Maine were brought on 
by the Iroquois opening war upon the settlement in the Valley of 
the St. Lawrence.  There is an old tradition that there was fought 
near the outlet of Moosehead Lake a terrible battle between the 
Iroquois and the Abenakis.  There is little or no proof to support 
this, but it has come down through history as one of the disasters 
of this tribe.  It is said in this connection that a whole village was 
massacred save an old chief who was carried to the west and later 
tortured to death.

With the opening of King Phillip's War came a stir among the Indians 
of Maine, especially in the western portion of the State.  This led to 
an uneasiness on the part of the settlers about the mouth of the 
Kennebec.  From this resulted a parley between the Indians of this 
valley and other Indians of the state and the English, in which an 
agreement was made by the Indians to yield up their arms and remain 
peaceful.  This seemed to be a settlement of the matter, and 
undoubtedly would have been had not Squando, a Saco chief, 
interposed objections to the treaty, and refused to be a party to it.  
This spoiled the best laid plans.  The Indians were soon seen to be 
increasingly insolent.  Trouble was imminent.  War broke out.  
Massacres along the coast were committed in numbers.  Another 
parley was held with the Kennebec Indians, this time at Ticonic.  
The Indians demanded their arms saying they wished no part in 
the war then on, but were suffering from lack of food and had no 
means of procuring it without their guns and powder.  The English 
refused this request.  This was the "last straw" with the Indians 
and they joined the Androscoggins and other tribes and began 
pillaging up and down the valley.  This lasted about three years.  
Then followed a treaty of peace which was welcomed by the 
Abenakis, who during the conflict had not been so cruel and 
barbarous as the Androscoggins and others, thanks to the influence 
and teachings of Father Druillette.  In this treaty provisions were 
made by the English to protect the Indians of Maine from the tribes 
of the west.  But this was simply a temporary settlement, a kind of 
truce.  The two races were naturally repellant.



Tina Vickery <TVick65536@aol.com>
*************************************************
* * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and 
libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter 
information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other 
sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any 
other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of 
contents. 



* * * *
The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the 
information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information 
must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is 
always best to consult the original material for verification.