Passaconaway is said to have been one of the most legendary Native American figures associated with the Merrimack River; a true "larger than life" character. As a Bashaba (chief of chiefs) and powerful shaman, he held sway over the large Pennacook federation of tribes at the time of contact with Europeans. His domain reached from Pawtucket Falls in Lowell to north of Concord, NH. After he had relinquished much of his people's land to the Europeans, and entered the last stage of his life, he petitioned the General Court in 1662 to grant him a parcel of land. The Court granted him the requested parcel at a place called Naticook which today lies on both sides of the Merrimack River in the area of Litchfield and Merrimack, NH. Naticook Island, just downstream of Reeds Ferry, is believed to have been his last residence in New Hampshire.
Therefore, I decided if Passaconaway picked this area over all the others he'd seen and experienced, it must be worth a visit. Taking advantage of a pre-dawn start from home, I launched into the Merrimack River at the Depot Street Boat Ramp (Reeds Ferry Landing) a little before 6 am and paddled downriver towards Naticook Islands (there are 2)...
At its southern tip, I went ashore to drink in Passaconaway's downriver view...
Next, I relaunched and continued downriver to where the Souhegan River and Baboosic Brook enter from the west...
On the way, an osprey flew overhead...
Very soon after entering the Souhegan, I came to where Baboosic Brook flows in from the right. However, ascending the Baboosic looks more than a little difficult due to several concrete pipes...
After retreating back to the Souhegan, I went around the next bend to find the Souhegan dropping towards me through a beautiful set of falls...
Oblivious to the morning's commuter traffic, a blue heron had a prime fishing spot staked out.
Impressive sand deposits below the falls made a nice spot for my brunch...
Following that, I returned to the Merrimack and began the upriver trip encountering this rather nasty collection of flotsam on the way...
Here it is apres trash patrol...
By this time my trash haul was approaching overflow, so I landed on the gravelly beach at the north end of Passaconaway's island for a group photo and roll call...
There were 59 recyclable containers (no redemption in NH) and 80 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as 10 cans of spray paint, plastic bags, styrofoam, a Hooksett disk, a stuffed monster, and a child's lunch bag. YTD = 2821 All of today's trash was recovered from a less than 2 mile stretch of the Merrimack.
Arriving back at the Depot Street Boat Launch, I encountered two women from Frankin, NH who are in the process of section paddling the entire Merrimack River. Today they were paddling the stretch from Manchester to Nashua. After having lunch with family members at the landing, they were last seen heading downriver.
7 comments:
Thank you for your relentless pursuit of cleaner waterways in a World that needs to be more water-centric.
~En bloc
You're very welcome En Bloc.
I have spent most of my life trying to retrace Passaconaway's footsteps....I was born at Pawtucket (Lowell)....Passaconaways home during his reign as Bashaba (Chief of Chiefs)....It seemed that throughout my life I would frequently find myself in places that were sacred to him....There are conflicting stories as to where he is buried but several speculate that he rests on his beloved Naticook Island....I have tried to find more info on the island with no luck. There are clues like many places named Naticook and even a Passaconaway Country club. I have called these places to ask about the history behind their names but get the same response..."I dunno"....Thank you for posting this and letting me know that I am not alone in my quest for knowledge about the "Great Bashaba".....
You're welcome Unknown, Glad you enjoyed the post and hopefully more information will become available as to just where Passaconaway spent his last days. The stories associated with his funeral (send off) are incredible and show the respect he received from his people. Best, Al
As to the country club name, Stephen Calawa--a Litchfield native and historian--told me that his father started the golf course and gave it Passaconaway as a name. There will be a 250th celebration at Darrah Pond/Roy Memorial Park in Litchfield on July 25-26 and a Pow Wow on August 1-2. I will be there introducing people to the information I've found and an historical marker we are nominating about him. Passaconaway did write to the General Court in Boston in 1662 requesting a grand of land because so much of Pennacook/Naticook land had been taken over by settlers or was about to be. The Court approved, and Danforth and Parker were assigned to survey the Court's grant. The survey began in Litchfield opposite the mouth of the Souhegan. It went about 1.5 miles inland along the Brenton land, then northeast either 3 miles or up to Cohas Brook. It then followed the brook to the Merrimack River and continued another 1.5 miles across into Merrimack, mirroring the plot on the east side. In other words, it formed a rhombus, half on each side of the river. The surveyors included the two islands within, saying that Passaconaway and "his associates" had lived there a long time. They also included a 40-acre plot along the Souhegan.
As to Passaconaway's "footsteps," he may have been at Patuxet where the Pilgrims landed, and Christopher Levett claims to have seen him and met him at Odiorne Point in 1622 or 23. He resided and fought in what is now Concord--the enemy were the Mohawk. He lived and fished at Amoskeag, now Manchester. Governor Smith built his mansion on the spot and collected lots of artifacts. He also lived at Pawtucket. But he said in his letter to the Court that he wanted to return to "my beautiful island of Naticott," which is what the Court granted him. There is a lot written about him, but distinguishing myth from fact is difficult. An interesting book by Stephen Berwick is Shapeshifted Peace: Passaconaway's Pacification of Settlers. Berwick says he is a poet, not a historian, but the book has a lot of history.
As to Passaconaway being Great Bashaba, it turns out that Bashaba was the actual name of an extremely powerful leader, a contemporary of Passaconaway but residing farther north along the coast. John Smith met him and may have gotten the idea from others that "Bashaba" was the title of an Indian, a term meaning superior sagamore or chief of chiefs. Check out Alvin Hamblen Morrison's "Wabanaki Superchiefs of the 1600s: Paramount-Sakamos. Mawooshen Memos' Sakamo Series https:''dawnlanddominions.com/wabanaki-superchiefs-1600s/
Hello John and thanks for providing the additional information (and sources) about Passaconaway.
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