Arosaguntacook. A tribe of the Abnaki confederacy, formerly living in
Androscoggin County, Me. Their village, which bore the same name, was on
Androscoggin River, probably near Lewiston.
The various names used indiscriminately for the tribe
and the river may be resolved into the forms Amoscoggin and
Arosaguntacook, which have received different interpretations, all seeming
to refer to the presence of fish in the stream. The name seems to have
been used only for the part of the river in Androscoggin County between
the falls near Jay and those near Lewiston. The present name was obtained
by changing the first part of the word to Andros in compliment to Gov.
Andros. The Arosaguntacook lived on the edge of the first English
settlements in Maine, and consequently suffered much in the various Indian
wars, in which they took a prominent part from 1675 until their removal to
Canada. Their town was burned by the English in 1690. As the settlements
pushed into the interior the Wawenoc, at the mouth of the river, moved up
and joined the Arosaguntacook, and at a later period the combined tribes
moved still farther up and joined the Rocameca. These movements led to
much confusion in the statements of writers, as the united tribes were
commonly known by the name of the leading one, the Arosaguntacook or
Androscoggin. These tribes, together with the Pigwacket, removed to St
Francis, Canada, soon after the defeat of the Pequawket by Lovewell in
1725. Here the Arosaguntacook were still the principal tribe and their
dialect (Abnaki) was adopted by all the inhabitants of the village, who
were frequently known collectively as Arosaguntacook.
Source: Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge, 1906
This site
includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These
items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied .
