THoMAsi CONXECTICUT's POLUn' TOWAKD THE INDIANS Gil 



of tlic Iiuliaiis cif tlu! pluutiition wlu-ieiu smli liincls do lii;; ami all sales or leasi-s 

 of land fur any term or terms of years that shall at auy time bereaftfr duriuj; the 

 contimianpe of this act, 1)(^ made by any Indian or Indians to any other Indian or 

 ludiaus, shall bo ntterly void and of none eft'ect, unless the same be made by and 

 with license of the respective guardians as aforesaid.' 



In 1780 an act was ])asse(l appointing commissioners to examine all 

 sales of lands previonsly made by any of the Indians of the Moheakun- 

 niik tribe residing' in Stockbridge which had not been legally confirmed, 

 and to confirm those for which payment had justly been made. 



Another act was passed confirming tlie agreement with the Penobscot 

 Indians, by which said Indians released their claims to all lands on 

 the west side of Penobscot river, "from the head of the tide nj) to the 

 river Pasquateqnis being abont forty-three miles; and all their claims 

 and interest on the east side of the river from the head of the tide 

 aforesaid up to the river Mantawomkeektook being about eighty-five 

 miles, reserving only to themselves the island on which the old town 

 stands and those islands on which they now have actual improvement." 



As the records show purchases of but a comparatively small portion 

 of the territory of the state, and no assertions are found in any of the 

 numerous histories that the lands, except in the l)ounds of Plymouth 

 colony, were generally purchased, the reasoual)le inference is that tliey 

 were not, or at least that a large portion of them was otherwise obtained. 

 This conclusion appears to be confirmed by statements which have been 

 quoted above. That Massachusetts made an earnest effort to christian- 

 ize the Indians is certainly true, but it must be admitted that the treat- 

 ment of these natives by the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay in regard 

 to their lands will not compare in the sense of justice, equity, and 

 humanity with the policy of Connecticut, Khode Island, or Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



CONNECTICUT 



The policy of the settlers of Connecticut in their dealings with the 

 natives regarding their lands forms one of the brightest chapters, in 

 this respect, of the early history of our country. It is perhaps not 

 without justification that the author of one of the histories of the state^ 

 makes the following statement: 



The planters of Connecticut proved by their I'ondiict that they did not seek to 

 obtain nndue advantage over the Indians. Even thr Peiinod war was not under- 

 taken for the purpose of increasing their territory, but only in self-defense; for they 

 did not need their lands, nor did they use them for a considerable time. If they had 

 wished for them, they would have preferred to pay several times their value. Thoy 

 allowed the other tribes all the land they claime<l after the destruction of the 

 Pefiuods, and took none without paying a satisfactory price. Indeed, iu most eases 

 they bought the land in large tracts, and afterward paid for it again iu smaller 

 ones, when they wished to occupy it. Jn some instances, they thus purchased land 

 thrice, and, with the repeated presents made to the sachems, the sums they spent 



'Lawsof Ci>loni:il and State GovernmeiitB Relating to Indian AlTair.i (18:i2), p. 16. 

 'Theodim- Dwight, jr., The History of (Jonnei:liciit i'roni tli<i First Settl<Mneul to the Preseut Time 

 (1841), 1). S9. 



