Thanks for your interesting post, issybird. Although this may be off-topic as far as Fools Crow, it is surely not off-topic concerning the theme of the suppression and suffering of native peoples.
This article about the extermination of the Abenaki was just featured on the
Indian Country Today Media Network.
The historical marker in your town describes (one-sidedly) the Oyster River Massacre of July 18, 1694, which took place during King William's War. Here is a quote concerning a bounty offered at the beginning of that war:
Quote:
In July 1689, at the start of King William’s War, the state of Massachusetts declared that each soldier would receive eight pounds out of the public treasury for each Indian scalp and that “whatever Indian plunder falls into their hands shall be their own.”
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwor...t-begin-153651
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I have been in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona all month exploring museums and places rich in history. No matter where I go I am struck by the sensitivity of historical markers and museum displays to the condition of all the earlier people. At the Fort Huachuca museum a display featuring a late 1800's white army wife with a recording telling her story has her speaking in an Irish accent. It brought to mind an unspoken back story of the suffering she probably endured in arriving at this corner of the frontier. The Apaches trying to survive and the Buffalo soldiers once stationed here are all treated with compassion, respect, and sensitivity. It gives me hope for us all.