WHAT time the first white man set his foot upon the soil of Lynn, or who he was, history revealeth not. Legends of a visit by Thorwald, with a company of sturdy Norsemen, to Nahant in the eleventh century, as well as tales of explorations in these waters by the early English adventurers, Gosnold and Pring, are preserved; but their foundation is obscure, if not doubtful. It is reasonably certain, however,that in 1614 Capt. John Smith, having established his Virginia colony, sailed northward on a voyageof exploration; and in his excellent description of the coast, he mentions the Mattahunts as two islandsof great beauty, and gives such a minute description of the bay and surroundings as to leave little doubt that  he explored  the beautiful peninsula, but  had  mistaken  the  pronunciation  of  the  Indian name, Nahanteau. In 1622 the whole territory known as the Massachusetts, extending ten miles northeast from the Charles River, including Saugus and the Nahants, was granted to Capt. Robert Gorges; but he failed to perfect his title to his princely domain, and left his heirs only a series of vexatious lawsuits, which were decided against them. The settlement of Salem was begun in 1625 by the famous Roger Conant, who came thither with the remnant of the Cape Ann colony. On the 19th of March, 1628, the Council in England sold all that part of Massachusetts between three miles north of the Charles River and three miles south of the Merrimack to a company of six gentlemen, among whom was M r. John Humphrey,

who afterward became an honored citizen of Lynn. Until that time the Indians had held undisputed possession of the country. Essex County was included in the domain of Nanapashemet, the mighty chief of the Pawtuckets, who sometimes made his home near the falls of the Merrimack, and occasionally on Sagamore Hill, at the eastern end of our city. But in a long and bloody war with the Tarratines, those terrible fighters of eastern New England, Nanapashemet, the New Moon, had gone down in a crimson sky; and a terrible scourge, occurring shortly after, had so reduced the numbers of the Indians that when the first settlers came, there were only scattering villages here and there, presided over by local sachems, and the old warlike spirit of the noble red men had given place to a more peaceful disposition, and a readiness to receive whatever in the way of benefits the hand of the white men might bring. They were entirely willing to sell whatever land the settlers desired, and did not hesitate to sell the same parcel as many times over as they could find a purchaser - a practice prolific of trouble for the settlers and business for the courts. The Indians are represented to have been tall and well-formed, and one impressionable writer speaks of "the unparalleled beauty" of the Indian maidens, describing them as having "very good features, seldom without a come-to-me in their countenance, all of them black-eyed, having even, short teeth, and very white, their hair black, thick and long, broad-breasted, handsome, straight bodies, and slender, thin limbs, cleanly, straight, generally plump as a partridge, and, saving now and then one, of modest deportment; " and another says: "The Indesses that are young are some of them very comely. Many prettie Brownettos and spider-fingered lassies may be seen among them." No doubt the national costume of the Indians afforded abundant facilities for accurate personal description.
     Lewis, writing in 1844, gravely informs us that Lynn "is much smaller than it was before the towns of Saugus, Lynnfield, Reading and South Reading were separated from it." Since that time the towns of Swampscott and Nahant have taken up separate existence. All the territory comprising these towns was called by the Indians, Saugus. Salem was known as Naumkeag, Marblehead as Massabequash, and the territory lying southwest of Saugus had the musical appellation of Winnisimet, but it was included in the territory of Mystic, which afterward became Boston. The marsh now lying partly in Chelsea and partly in Saugus was called Rumney marsh. When the white men came, Winnepoyekin - the Winnepurkit of Whittier's Bride of Pennacook - eldest son of Nanapashemet,

          "He whose name the Mohawk trembling heard,"

ruled the territory of Naumkeag, Montowampate was sachem of Saugus, and Poquanam of Nahant - all of them sons of Nanapashemet. The whites gave these three sagamores the less melodious but more pronounceable names of Sagamore James, Sagamore George No-nose and Duke William. It is evident that the "power and regal consequence" attributed to the Saugus chieftains had failed to impress the settlers as anything overwhelming. Most of the Indians hereabouts lived on Sagamore Hill, near the end of Long Beach, at Swampscott. and atNahant. Saugus signifies great or extended, amd was used by the Indians to designate the long beach which stretched out in front of their official residence. The river which now goes by that name was called by the Indians, Abousett. Nahant is a shortening of the Indian term Nahanteau, signifying the twins, and for many years the settlers adopted the Indian formula, and spoke of the two islands as the Nahants. When, therefore, in 1629 - probably in the leafy month of June - Edmund anel Francis Ingalls, not liking the atmosphereof the Endicott settlement at Salem, set out to find a place to "set themselves downe" under thc roving permission, given by the bluff and sometimes peppery Governor, to go where it pleased them, came hitherward searching for a suitable location where they might carve themselves out a home, they found a broken country, thickly covered with the primeval forest, save where, here and there. the Indians had cleared small patches, where they planted their pumpkins, beans and corn. Without doubt they climbed High Rock to get the lay of the land and as their eyes drank in the beautiful prospect, perhaps they felt in their hearts, as Thorwald is said to have done when he landed on Nahant: "Here it is beautiful, and here I would like to fix my dwelling." Edmund chose "a fayre plaine" beside a sedgy lakelet, on what is now called Fayette street, and Francis selected a spot nearer the beach in Swampscott, where he built the first tannery in New England. Newhall in his Jewels of the Third Plantation, gives a charming picture of the building of the first log cabin. There accompanied Edmund Ingalls from Salem, when he was ready to commence his habitation, a goodly company, who lent willing hands to the work. The corner stone, or, more properly, the corner log, was laid with earnest exhortation and lengthy prayer, and tradition has it that one Zachariah Hart worked harder, prayed longer and swore louder than any other man in the company. Three other families came to Lynn that year - William Dixey, who remained here some years, but finally removed to Salem; William Wood, who subsequently left to begin with others the settlement of Sandwich; and John Wood, who lived on the corner of Essex and Chestnut streets, and from him that locality has ever since been called Woodend. The Indians received the settlers kindly, and rendered them assitance in many ways, and, in return, received many benefits from the hand of the colonists. The following year saw nearly fifty families added to the number of settlers, who took up land in various portions of the plantation, and this year was born Thomas Newhall, the first white child who saw the light in Lynn. These settlers were principally farmers, who brought with them from England many of the necessaries and comforts of life, and possessed a large stock of cattle. The sheep, goats and swine were for many years pastured on Nahant, the danger from catamounts, bears and wolves being so great that the constant services of a shepherd were required for their protection. The Saugus freemen took their seats in the General Court in 1630, an act which constituted all the incorporation the town ever had. The legislators had mostly come from the walks of private life, and were unskilled in the mysteries of statecraft. Besides, the General Court had its calendar full of business, being called upon to regulate many of the most trifling details of everyday life, to say nothing of exercising a general oversight of the religious opinions of the settlers. As a consequence, many things which were well enough were suffered to stand, by common consent. But the progress of the settlers was measurably rapid. Their habitations, which at the first were roughly built of logs and thatched with straw or sedge, were improved; fanning tools became more abundant, and preparation was made for the common defense by the organization of a military company, which had two "great sakers," or iron cannon. The surrounding Indians, seeing the growing power of the settlers, had begun to be uneasy and less friendly; although the local sachems continued to regard the settlers kindly, the sad experiences of the other colonies warned the dwellers in Saugus to be on their guard. No outbreak ever occurred in this vicinity, but twenty-six men from Saugus took part in the King Philip war and participated in the swamp fight, which proved the death-blow to the power of the mighty Sassacus.
     During the first few years the religious privileges of the settlers were limited, the nearest minister being at Salem, and to attend service there the settlers had to traverse a road well-nigh impassable from stumps and rocks. In 1634 the Rev. Stephen Bachiler came to Saugus, and the First Church was organized. The first meeting-house was situated on the corner of Shepard and Summer streets. It was a log building "set in a hollow for protection from the winds, and like many of the early dwelling-houses, the floor was sunk several feet below the surface of the ground outside, and entrance was had only by a descent of several steps. Trouble soon arose between Mr. Bachiler and his flock, and in 1636 he was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Whiting, a most godly man. Under his fostering care the church became united and prosperous, and the foundation was laid so deep and strong that the church continues to this day with no substantial change in form or doctrine, the oldest orthodox Congregational Church in the world. The form and appearance of the town has undergone several transformations; new sects and new doctrines have arisen, few of which remain; but amid all the clash and tumult of sect and faction, and the changes in the customs and manners of the people, the old First Church has stood, a monument to that sturdy Puritan faith which would sooner face the terrors and hardships of a home in the wilderness than oppression and interference in matters of conscience, and which has been transmitted from father to son for ten generations.
     With 1637 ends what may he termed the first period of our history. In the eight years of its existence the colony has so rapidly increased in numbers that an assistant to the minister had been installed, farms cleared and stocked, mills built, and a ferry established over the Saugus River: altogether the colony was contented and prosperous.