Austin Steelman's Summary of Native History and European American Contact

The Massachusett tribe lived in what is now the town of Quincy. Their territory ranged from the Blue Hills to Quincy Bay. They hunted and fished for food in the salt marshes around the Moswetuset Hummock and the forests of the region. The Massachusett tribe was a part of the Algonquian family. The tribe numbered from 3,000 to 5,000 leading into the seventeenth century, but the Old World diseases for which they had no immunity reached them before the colonists themselves. By the time Myles Standish would meet sachem Chickatabot in 1621, the tribe numbered around five hundred. Disease continued to decimate them. As the 1600s continued on, the Massachusett Indians became part of the “praying towns” established by European missionaries.

Sachem Chickatabot and the Moswetuset Hummock
Chickatabot was the sachem or chief of the Massachuset Indians during their first encounters with Europeans. He ruled from Moswetuset Hummock on the north end of what is now Wollaston Beach abutting Quincy Bay. The hill’s name means “shaped like an arrowhead,” but has also been translated to mean “site of the great house.” The Massachusett or Moswetuset tribe took their name from the hummock. From here, Chickatabot had a clear view of the surrounding area as well as access to prime hunting and fishing grounds. Captain John Smith first noted the hummock, and included it in his 1616 map. Myles Standish, commander of Plymouth colony, together with Squanto his guide met Chickatabot there for in 1621. Chickatabot and the Massachusett Indians maintained good relations with the colonists. Chickatabot traded Indian corn for English clothes with Governor John Winthrop of the Plymouth colony. The men ate and smoked tobacco together. Chickatabot lived until 1633 when small pox killed him as it had  so many others in his tribe.