Twists, turns
Dear Editor,
Historic fact has some interesting twists and turns.
The Pilgrims survived, thanks to Squanto (Tisquantum), a Pasturet Indian. He taught them how to plant corn and to fish the Native American way.
His life was adventure-filled. In 1605, he sailed to England on a ship that explored the Massachusetts coast. In 1619, he returned to his village after a misadventure on another ship and being sold into slavery in Spain. His entire village had died from disease brought to them by white men.
Squanto helped John Carver, governor of the Plymouth Colony, negotiate a treaty with Massasoit, chief of the Wambanoag tribe of Southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This lasted until Massasoit's death in 1661.
Things changed when his sons, who had taken the names of Alexander and Philip, began leading the Wampanoags. Squanto died of a fever in 1662. Massasoit's death ended the treaty. Alexander planned to fight the colonists. He was interrogated in Marshfield, Mass. Several days later, he died. His younger brother, Philip, blamed the English.
The English had established settlements in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. King Philip fought to regain the land with the help of other tribes. King Philip's war lasted from 1675 to 1679. He was killed and decapitated in 1676. His head was displayed for 20 years at the Plymouth Colony.
Helen Ruth Arnold
McCook