March 16

The history of the peopling of the Americas is rife with stories of Europeans first contact with the Native Americans. One in particular concerns Samoset, a Mohegan, who on the 16th in 1621 greeted the settlers of the Plymouth Colony by allegedly saying ‘Welcome Englishmen, my name is Samoset.’ I am not certain but I think he was more likely to have said ‘Hey you kids get out of the yard.’