Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program
History Of Connecticut's Water Trails
Native Americans
The Saukiog
The Saukiog tribe (sometimes spelled Sickaog or
Suckiaug) lived in the Hartford, Connecticut circa the early 1600’s.
Location
Hartford. In 1636 sachem (chief) Sequassen sold their land to the British. Some Saukiog may have subsequently joined the Mattabeseck and, after 1650, the Pocumtuc tribes.
Name
Saukiog - Black earth
The Saukiog spoke an Algonquian dialect and were part of the Algonquin confederation.
Connecticut Village Locations
Hartford
As part of the Pocumtuc there were perhaps as many
as 5,000 in 1600, the population declined rapidly from epidemic and wars
with the Iroquois and English. For the most part, the Pocumtuc were
destroyed during the King Philip's War (1675-76). A mixed group of 600
Pocumtuc and Nipmuc refugees relocated to the Mahican village at
Schaghticook on the Hudson River (New York). Others went north to the
western Abenaki (Sokoki) at either Missisquoi or Odanak (St. Francois du
Lac) in Quebec. By 1758 the last groups of Pocumtuc and Nipmuc at
Schaghticook had left and joined their relatives living with the Sokoki.
It can safely be assumed that the current populations of the Vermont
Abenaki in the United States and the St. Francois and Bcancour Abenaki
in Canada contain descendents of the Pocumtuc.
They were an agricultural people. Their territory was provided rich soil for the planting of crops, the mainstays of which were maize, beans and squash. Their homeland was also a fertile ground for game, which they hunted throughout the winter period. Much use was also made of the fish to be had in the Connecticut River.
Besides the obvious north-south transportation
provided by the Connecticut River (Quinnitukqut "long river"), their
villages sat along the route of some major trade trails. Not
surprisingly, then, their villages came under frequent attack from war
parties passing through. For this reason their villages were heavily
fortified. The Pocumtuc confederation afford protection in the case of
one band coming under attack.
One of the major challenges came in the form of the
English, or more correctly in the form of the diseases that they
introduced to the native tribes. A major smallpox epidemic swept across
New England in 1633-35.. About the same time the British had pushed
forth from Plymouth and set up their first trading post in modern day
Windsor, Connecticut. The British were
now able to intercept all the furs that travelled down the Connecticut
River towards the Dutch trading post. The Dutch response was to build a
fortification around their trading post. When the British responded in
kind with their own fort at the mouth of the river, the Dutch were
effectively cut off.
The British next set about acquiring the lands of
the native tribes in the area. After defeating the Pequot in 1637,
English settlers swept into Massachusetts and Connecticut. With English
backing the Mohegan Indians now emerged as the dominant tribe in the
area. In response to the threat posed by this newfound power in the
hands of the Mohegans and their leader Uncas, they joined an alliance
with the Narragensett and the Tunxis against the Mohegans. The Mohegans,
however, were too powerful. The alliance was broken and the Narragensett
were defeated in 1643.
Warfare between the native tribes escalated over the
ensuing years. First the English and then the Dutch began supplying
their trading partners with firearms. Former enemies the Mohawk and the
Mahicans formed an alliance under the guidance of the Dutch and caused
havoc among their neighboring tribes. The Wappinger and Delaware were
particularly affected. After these tribes were decimated some of their
people moved north to join the Pocumtuc. In 1650, however, Mohawk war
parties attacked the Pocumtuc. A new alliance with the Soconi and
Pennacook managed to stave off the Mohawk for a few years. By 1663,
however, the Pocumtuc were suffering heavy losses and asked the Dutch to
intercede in search of peace. This failed and the Pocumtuc went directly
to the Mohawk. Their enemies had suffered many casualties themselves and
agreed to peace talks. But the allies of the Pocumtuc wanted to press on
with the war. Consequently they arranged for the Mohawk peace envoy to
be murdered. The Mohawk now resumed their attacks in earnest. As a
result the Pocumtuc were forced to flee from the Connecticut valley.
Many fled west where they sought refuge with the Pennacook. They were
pursued by the Mohawk and driven to southern Maine.
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