Pequot village diorama, from the Mashantucket Peqout Museum.

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Pequot village diorama, from the Mashantucket Peqout Museum.

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Source: Mashantucket Peqout Museum and Research Center

Mystic (site of Mason's massacre of Pequots in 1637)

The pleasant town of Mystic, Connecticut, has a well of darkness in its past. It was here, in 1637, that one of the ugliest massacres of Indians by European settlers took place. The Pequot tribe, whose territory lay east of the Fresh River, were makers of sewan, or wampum, which tribes farther north and west valued highly. Recognizing this, the Dutch worked out an arrangement with the Pequots in which they would trade European goods for wampum, and then trade wampum with other Indians, particularly the Mohawks, for furs. This continued for several years, until the English arrived and decided they wanted a piece of the action. As tensions increased, a series of murders ensued: Indians killing Indians, Dutch killing Indians, Indians killing Englishmen. The horrific climax came on May 26, 1637, when a contingent of Englishmen under Captain John Mason attacked the Pequot village, burning it to the ground, and killing as many as 700 Indians.

• Visit Mystic Seaport online.

• The tribe-owned Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is a working museum dedicated to Pequot history, including lifesized villages and forts. It is the largest American Indian museum in the world.