<Tr> <Th> Other names </Th> <Td> Squanto </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Known for </Th> <Td> Guidance, advice, and translation services to the Mayflower settlers </Td> </Tr> <P> Tisquantum (/ tɪsˈkwɑːntəm /; c. 1585 (± 10 years?)--late November 1622 o.s.), more commonly known by the diminutive variant Squanto, was a Patuxet Native North American known for having been an early liaison between the native populations in Southern New England and the Mayflower settlers, who made their settlement at the site of Squanto's former summer village . One of the last surviving people of the Patuxet tribe--who had lived on the western coast of Cape Cod Bay and were annihilated by an epidemic infection--he acted as a translator, guide, and advisor while he lived with them for 20 months . He showed them how to sow and fertilize native crops, a boon when it turned out that the crop from the seeds they brought largely failed, and introduced them to the fur trade, an important means by which they could reduce their indebtedness to their London financial backers . </P> <P> Six years before the Mayflower's landing, in 1614 Squanto was abducted by an English adventurer, Thomas Hunt, who came to Patuxet as part of a commercial fishing and trading venture commanded by Captain John Smith . After Smith left for England with his cargo, Hunt, who was to take his dried fish cargo to Spain, kidnapped 27 Natives, including Squanto, and sailed to Spain to sell them into slavery . How Squanto escaped from Spain to England is not known, but when in England Squanto lived with a merchant involved in the project to exploit and settle Newfoundland . He eventually was sent there, where he met an associate of John Smith, Thomas Dermer, who was acting for the London merchants involved in settling New England . In 1619 Dermer brought Squanto to his native village, which he found to be destroyed by an epidemic . After intervening in a dispute between Dermer and Cape Cod Natives, Squanto evidently went to live with the Pokanoket, some say as a prisoner . No records exist of his activities from that time until his famous encounter with the Mayflower settlement in 1621 . </P>

Who helped the pilgrims in the new world