History--The history of
the Abnaki may be said to begin with Verrazano visit in 1524. The mythical
accounts of Norumbega of the early writers and navigators finally
dwindled , a village of a few bark covered huts under the name Agguncia,
situated near the mouth of Penobscot River, in the country of the Abnaki.
in 1604Champlain ascend the Penobscot to the vicinity of the
present Bangor, and met the "lord" of Norumbega, doubtless an Abnaki
chief. From that time the Abnaki formed an important factor in the history
of the region now embraced in the state of Maine. From the time of their
discovery until their partial withdrawal to Canada they occupied the
general region from the St Johns to the Saco; but the earliest English
accounts indicate that about 1605-20 the southwest part of the coast of
Maine was occupied by other Indians whose chief seat was near Pemaquid,
and who were at war with the Abnaki, or Tarrateen, as the English termed
them, who were more to the north; but these other tribes were finally
conquered by the Abnaki and probably absorbed by then. Who these Indians
were is unknown. The Abnaki formed an early attachment for the French,
chiefly through the influence of their missionaries, and carried on an
almost constant war with the English until the fall of the French power in
America. The accounts of these struggles during the settlement of Maine
are familiar episodes in American history. As the whites encroached on
them the Abnaki gradually withdrew to Canada and settled chiefly at Bêcancour
and Sillery, the latter being afterward abandoned by them for St Francis,
near Pierreville, Quebec.
The Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Malecite,
however, remained in their ancient homes, and in 1749 the Penobscot, as
the leading tribe, made peace with the English, accepting fixed bounds.
Since that period the different tribes have gradually dwindled into
insignificance. The descendants of those who emigrated from Maine,
together with remnants of other New England tribes, are now at St. Francis
and Quebec, Bêcancour in where, under
the name of Abnaki, they numbered 395 in 1903. At the same time the
Malecite, or Amalicite, were numbered at 801 in several villages in New
Brunswick and Quebec, with about 625 Penobscot and Passamaquoddy in Maine.
The present Penobscot say they number between 300 and 400, while the
Passamaquoddy claim as many as 800 souls.
Source: Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge, 1906
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