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These presents Testifie That Chauk alias Chaque the sachem of
Pacomtuck for good & valluable consi=
dirations him there unto moveing, hath Given Granted Bargained & sold, & by these presents doth (for himself &
his Brother Wapahoale) fully clearely & absolutely give grant Bargaine & sell unto Capt John Pynchon of Springfeild
for ye use & behoofe of Major Eleazer Lusher & Ensign Daniel ffisher & other English of Dedham their associates & successsors &
to them & theire heires for ever Certaine persels of Land at Pacomtuck on ye further side or upper side or North side of Pa=
comtuck river, that is to say beginning a little above where Pukcommeagon river runs into Pacomtuck river and so a little
way up Puckommeag river & then leaving Puckcomeagon river runs off to ye hill Sunsick westward: All ye land from ye
hill Sunsick on westward, downe ye River Pacomtuck eastward below Nayyaocossick to Pochewee, neare ye Mouth
of Puckcomeagon river, wch persells of Land are called Nayyyocossick, Tomholissick, Masquomcossick, vssowwack
Wusquiawwag & so to Sunsick hill, or by what ever other Names ye sd Land is or may be called: All ye aforedescri
bed Tract of Land, being called by several names as aforesd viz. Nayyocossick Tomholissick Masquomcossick vssowwack
Wusquiawawag & Sunsick, or by what ever names it may be called, Togither wth the Trees, waters, mea=
dows, woods, Brooke, upland, stone, proffits, comoditys & advantages thereoff & there unto belonging or in any wise
appertaining, the aforesd Major Eleazer Lusher & Ensign Danl ffisher of Dedham, theire Associates & successors, & their
Heires are to Have Hold & Injoy & that forever, only the sd Chauk alias Chaque doth reserve Liberty of fishing
for ye Indians in ye Rivers or waters & free Liberty to hunt Deere or other Wild creatures & to gather Walnuts
chestnuts and other nuts things &c on ye commons: And the sd Chaque doth hereby covenant & promise to & wth ye sd Maj
Eleazer Lusher & Danl ffisher, That he will saue ye sd Major Lusher & Danl ffisher, therire Associates & theire
Heires & assignes, Harmless or & from all manner of Claimes of any person or persons Lawfully claiming any
right Title or Interest in any of ye sd lands hereby Sold or in any part or parsell thereof & will Defend the same
from any molestation or Imcumbrance by Indians otherwise than as before reserved. In witness whereoff the sd
Chaque hath hereunto set his hand this 24th ffebr 1666-7 The marke of Chaque
In presence of
Jon Pynchon Jur
Wequanock an Indian witness The day aforementioned Chaque acknowledged
his V mark who helped ye this Instrumet to be his act & Deed
Sachem in making ye Bargaine Before me
John Pynchon, Asist

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This document is a deed for land that would become the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts. A group of men from Dedham, Massachusetts, delegated John Pynchon, a well-known and powerful Englishman in Springfield, Massachusetts, to represent them in this land transfer. A sachem called Chauk represented the Pocumtuck, the Native group whose homelands encompassed the land described in the deed. Whether or not the Pocumtuck Sachem, Chauk, could or intended to sell land to the English is debatable. To alienate land completely may have been beyond the authority of any one individual in Native American societies of the Northeast. The language of the deed suggests that Chauk viewed the agreement as a traditional transfer of land use. For example, he reserved for the Pocumtuck fishing, hunting and gathering rights on the very land he had just "sold." European notions of exclusive land ownership and Native beliefs of land stewardship and usage were ultimately incompatible. Disagreements immediately arose as settlers moved into Deerfield and elsewhere and asserted what they saw as their exclusive rights to the land they had purchased.

 

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Deed of Pacomtuck land granted by Chauk to Dedham residents

creator   Chauk alias Chaqve, sachem of Pacomtuck (1665-1703)
date   Feb 24, 1667
location   Deerfield, Massachusetts
height   7.5"
width   12.0"
process/materials   manuscript, paper, ink
item type   Legal Documents/Deed
accession #   #L98.012


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See Also...

Lot Survey of Deerfield

Deed of Pacomtuck land granted by Ahimunquat to Dedham residents

Deed of Pacomtuck land granted by Mashalisk to John Pynchon

Deed of Pacomtuck land granted by Chauk to Dedham residents


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