Table of Contents
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Squanto is best known
for helping the colonists
who settled in Plymouth
in 1620, but there
was much more to his
life. Kidnapped at a
young age and brought
overseas, the Native
American found a way
to escape and make his
way home, only to nd
his people wiped out by
disease. He continued
to travel and explore,
becoming a friend to
the English settlers who
were taking over his
land. This fascinating
biography tells the true
story of a brave man
who worked for peace
against all odds.
Isbell
SQUANTO: Native American Translator and Guide
JUNIOR
BIOGRAPHIES
JUNIOR
BIOGRAPHIES
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W ords to K noW
agriculture Preparing and working the land for crops.
band A tribe; a group of native people with a shared
culture.
expedition A trip that is made to explore or discover.
famine Deadly hunger in a large group of people.
Grand Sachem The leader of the Wampanoag people.
historian A person who studies history.
interpreter Someone who speaks more than one
language and helps people communicate.
native Original.
plague A disease that kills many people.
plantation A large area with homes and many elds for
planting.
savage A erce creature; a word used by Europeans
to describe native people whose ways they did not
understand.
treaty An agreement.
C ontents
Words to Know ..............................
Chapter 1 A Man of Mystery ..........................
Chapter 2 The Way Back Home ...................
Chapter 3 Squanto and the Pilgrims ..............
Chapter 4 Thanksgiving ................................. 18
Timeline ........................................
Learn More ...................................
Index ............................................
Squanto was a guide and
interpreter for the English
colonists.
c h a p t e r
A M An of M ystery
The name Squanto is famous in American history.
However, for a man who was so important to the countrys
history, much of his life is a mystery. What we do know is
that Squanto, whose birth name was Tisquantum, lived a
life of adventure.
During his life, Squanto was a slave, a prisoner, an
explorer, an interpreter , and a teacher. He was the last
of his people. But even as his own nation died out, he
helped his people to start a new one.
t he P Atuxet
Squanto was born around 1580, but no one is sure of the
exact date. He was a Patuxet Indian. The Patuxet people
were a band of the Wampanoag Nation, which was once
where the states of Massachusetts and Maine are today.
Not much is known about the Patuxet people, for sadly,
they all died long ago. When Europeans came to North
America, they brought diseases that killed most of the
native people.
This map of what is now southern New
England shows where the different native
groups lived in the 1600s.
A M An of M ystery
What we do
know is that
long ago,
Patuxet was
a place with
busy cities
and plantations .
Their society was
built around agriculture . The Patuxet hunted, shed, and
traded with other nations, too.
K idnAP And e sCAPe
Squanto was kidnapped many times in his life. Some
historians believe that the rst time Squanto was
kidnapped, he was just a young boy. The story goes that
he was brought to England, where he lived for many
months before being returned home to Patuxet. However,
In the sixteenth century, the
native people of the Northeast
had the most advanced
agricultural methods in the
world.
no one knows for sure if this
story is true. We do know that
in 1614, an Englishman named
Thomas Hunt, who worked
for Captain John Smith,
kidnapped Squanto.
Hunt promised to trade
with Squanto. He talked him
and twenty-six other people
into going onto his ship. Once they were on board, Hunt
locked them up and took them to Spain. There they were
sold into slavery. Somehow, Squanto escaped and made
Captain John Smith was a
famous English explorer. One
of his men took Squanto and
sold him as a slave.
s quAnto : n Ative A MeriCAn t rAnslAtor And G uide
Hunt, a worthless fellow of our nation more
savage than they, seized upon the innocent
creatures, that in confidence of his honesty put
themselves in his hands.
Sir Ferdinando Gorges describes Squantos kidnapping
his way to England. He was still a young man, but he had
already been kidnapped at least once, been made a slave,
and escaped. He also taught himself to speak English
along the way!
A M An of M ystery
c h a p t e r 2
t he W Ay B ACK h oMe
No one knows exactly how Squanto escaped slavery. Some
believe Spanish holy men helped to free him. Others
believe he did it on his own. Historians do know that he
traveled to England, where a man named John Slaney
gave him a job.
Slaney was very interested in exploring what
Europeans called the New Worldthe Americas. In
1617 he sent Squanto on an expedition to Newfoundland,
Canada. There he met another European explorer
named Captain Thomas Dermer.
Captain Dermer traveled with Squanto back to his
Patuxet home. Sadly, the home that he remembered was
gone. While Squanto had been gone, a plague had killed
all the people of his nation.
Smallpox was a terrible disease brought to
the Americas by Europeans. The disease
killed over 90 percent of Native American
people between Columbuss voyage and the
Pilgrims landing at Plymouth.
In his early years, Squanto escaped slavery and
traveled to England. He learned the language
that later helped him guide the Pilgrims.
t rAvels With d erMer
Squanto continued to travel with Thomas Dermer all over
what is now New England. He worked as an interpreter
and helped Dermer to explore the different nations.
Together, they met many native North American people.
Not all the people were friendly to Squanto and
Dermer. More people were learning about the illnesses
brought by Europeans. Some thought that the explorers
