Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore and the first American Indian to make contact with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. On March 16, 1621, he greeted the colonists in English, and asked for beer. Samoset learned some English from fishermen who came to fish off Monhegan Island.
About Samoset in brief
Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore and the first American Indian to make contact with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. On March 16, 1621, he greeted the colonists in English, and asked for beer. Samoset learned some English from fishermen who came to fish off Monhegan Island and he knew most ship captains by name. He is believed to have died around 1653 in Bristol, Maine. The orthography of Samo’s name varied depending on who was discussing him. He appeared as Samo in some accounts and as Somerset in others, probably a folk etymology from Somerset in the West Country of England, home of many sailors.
He was a tall straight man, the hair of his head black, long behind, only short before, none on his face at all; he asked some beer, but we gave him strong strong water and biscuit, and butter, and cheese, and pudding, and a piece of mallard, all which he liked. He told us where we now live is called Patuxet, and that about four years ago all the inhabitants died of an extraordinary plague, and there is neither man, nor woman, nor child, as we have found, so there is none to hinder our possession, or to lay claim to it.
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This page is based on the article Samoset published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
