Prior to its discovery and settlement by the whites, Connecticut was inhabited by numerous tribes or clans of Indians. Of these the most numerous and powerful were the Pequots and Mohegans. The former, of whom tradition said they were once an inland tribe that had gradually migrated to the region bordering the Sound, occupied the portion of the State along the coast east from the Connecticut River, and their principal seats were at New London, Groton, and Stonington.
Their principal chief, at the time the English began their settlements, was Sassacus, who had under him twenty-six sub-chiefs, or war captains. The country of the Mohegans lay north from that of the Pequots, and extended into Massachusetts.
Although the Pequots and Mohegans have been treated of by historians as separate or distinct tribes, it appears that the latter were the followers of Uncas, who had been a sachem under Sassacus, and who was in rebellion against him when the English first came to Connecticut. By his subsequent alliance with the whites, he maintained his own and his people’s independence of the Pequots under Sassacus. The towns that were established in the territory of the Mohegans obtained their title deeds from Uncas or his successors.
Besides these, there were many smaller tribes or sovereignties, especially along the Connecticut River. Most of these were within the limits of Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield, and Middletown. In Windsor alone, it is said there were ten sovereignties.
West of the river there were scattering families in almost every part, and in some places large bodies. At Simsbury and New Hartford they were numerous; at Farmington there was a large clan; at Guilford a small tribe; and at Branford and New Haven another; at Milford there were great numbers; at Turkey Hill, in the northwestern part of the town, there was a large settlement; about half a mile north of Stratford Ferry they had a strong fortress, built as a defense against the Mohawks. There were two clans in Derby; one at Paugusset, erected on the banks of the river, about a mile above Derby Ferry, a strong fort against the Mohawks; four miles above, at the mouth of the Naugatuck River, was another tribe. At Stratford the Indians were very numerous, though they had been very much wasted by the hostile incursions of the Mohawks; in Stamford there were several tribes, and two small clans in Norwalk; there were many in Woodbury, most of whom were in that part since named South Britain.
In the northeasterly part of the colony was a portion of the territory of the Nipmucks. This was called the Wabbequasset and Whetstone country, and because Uncas had conquered it, the Mohegan conquered country.
The number of Indians in Connecticut when the settlement commenced has been variously estimated. Some have placed it as low as 7,000, others as high as 20,000. Probably the number was about 16,000.
Source
Whittemore, Henry, History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, New York : J. B. Beers & Co., 1884.
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