American Passage: The Communications Frontier in Early New England

321 Pages·2015·5.543 MB·English

by  Katherine Grandjean

AMERICAN PASSAGE
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American Passage
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THE COMMUNICATIONS FRONTIER
IN EARLY NEW ENGLAND
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katherine grandjean
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
2015
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Copyright © 2015 by Katherine Grandjean
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Grandjean, Katherine, 1977–
American passage : the communications frontier in early New England / Katherine Grandjean.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-28991-8
1. New England—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775. 2. New England—Social
life and customs—To 1775. 3. New England—Social conditions—17th century.
4. Communication—Social aspects—New England—History—17th century. 5. Social
networks—New England—History—17th century. 6. Information behavior—New
England—History—17th century. 7. Frontier and pioneer life—New England. I. Title.
F7.G736 2015
974'.01—dc23 2014014452
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For my parents
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Contents
Footprints 1
1. The Ocean of Troubles and Trials wherein We Saile 15
2. A Messenger Comes 45
3. Native Tongues 76
4. Post Haste 110
5. An Adder in the Path 138
6. Terror Ubique Tremor 169
Milestones 206
A Note on Method 217
Abbreviations 221
Notes 223
Acknowledgments 299
Index 303
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. . . All these upwhirled aloft
Fly o’er the backside of the world far off
Into a limbo large and broad, since called
The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown
Long after, now unpeopled, and untrod;
All this dark globe the Fiend found as he passed,
And long he wandered, till at last a gleam
Of dawning light turned thitherward in haste
His traveled steps . . .
— John Milton, Paradise Lost
Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall
tread shall be yours.
— Deuteronomy 11:24
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Footprints
New England, 1638
I
t happened in the woods, north of Narragansett. Four English servants
lost their bearings. They had been on their way to New Netherland— and
freedom. But on making their escape, “they went not the ordinarie way, but
shaped such a course as they thought to avoyd the pursute of any.” Avoiding
familiar terrain had a price. Somewhere in “the way that lyeth between the
Bay of Massachusetts and the Narrigansetts,” the trees and the brooks and
the leaves underfoot began to blur together. They were lost. Now half-
starved and desperate, they paused along an unfamiliar riverbank and
rested.1
Twelve miles to the south, news of the lost party reached Roger Williams.
A “native, passing through us, brought me word,” he later wrote. Narragansett
travelers had noticed the “famished” men who had encamped at the
Pawcatuck River, and may even have talked to them. A Narragansett mes-
senger was apparently able to tell Williams how long the party had been lost
(“five days”) and how far they had wandered (“into our path but six miles”).
Williams promptly sent provisions. The next morning, when the refreshed
wanderers appeared at his doorstep, he learned who the men were: “one
Arthur Peach of Plymouth, an Irishman, John Barnes, his man, and two
others come from Pascataquack, traveling to Qunnihticut.” While they ate
breakfast, Williams quickly penned some letters for them to carry to
Connecticut and went about finding them a guide for their travels.
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