In the Shadow of the Great Elm on Boston Common

The Sinner

1634 - 1638

 

Agnes often assists Anne in her work as midwife. In February 1637, the two women are at the bedside of Mary Dyer, a milliner’s wife, suffering excruciating pain with her third pregnancy in four years. A tiny infant is stillborn two months before term, so terribly deformed that the women hide it from Mary, who lies close to death.

 

Agnes and Anne consult Reverend Cotton, now in Boston, and with Cotton’s tacit approval, they go to bury the child beside the great elm on Boston Common. – They’re obeying ancient English custom that charges midwives with interring the stillborn “in such place as neither hog nor dog, nor any other beast may come unto it, and in such sort done, as it may not be found or perceived.”

 

Stereoscopic view of Great Elm, 19th century
Robert Dennis collection New York Public Library

 

Thomas Steele follows the pair and witnesses the burial. His mother swears him to secrecy, arguing that concealment of the deformed fetus is not only merciful to Mary Dyer but also essential to avoid alarming other pregnant women.

Nat has no knowledge of this event. He is himself involved in secret meetings of Boston’s leading citizens: Fifty sign a petition protesting the Star Chamber-like condemnation of Wheelwright. The Boston men are also in uproar over a decision to hold the next General Court at Newtowne (Cambridge,) where the country gentry will rally for “Lord” Winthrop.

 

Reverend John Wheelwright

In the south, the Pequots begin raiding English outposts and attacking isolated farms. By April 1637, Pequot ambushes kill thirty settlers, many suffering the unholy wrath of their enemies. Captured in sight of Fort Saybrook, John Tilley’s hands are cut off, and then his feet. Tilley lives three days without his limbs, greatly impressing his captors “because he cried not in his torture.”

On April 18, the General Court declares war on the Pequots and calls for a levy of one hundred and sixty men. A stormy meeting in the Hutchinsons’ living room gives rise to an anti-war party, who refuse to donate money or supplies for the campaign.

Agnes and Recompense side with the anti-war group. They remember the misery of the Massachusett and are reluctant to see their menfolk slaughter other Indians. Nat and Adam respect the opinions of their wives but feel honor-bound to serve Captain John Underhill. Jacques Petit marches with them.

 

Raised relief sculptural bust of Captain John Underhill
 from Underhill Burying Ground near Oyster Bay, New York