11
SSK3S
OH
m
Presented to the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY
by the
ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE
LIBRARY
r~ *- : -
HISTORY
OF THE
INDIAN TO OF
ELIOT THE APOSTLE
Fifty Years in the Midst of Them.
VOLS. I. AND II.
BY COL. ROBERT BOODEY CAVERLY,
AUTHOR OF GENEALOGICAL, POETICAL, AND OTHER WORKS.
BOSTON:
JAMES H. EARLE, 178 WASHINGTON STREET.
63 & 65 WASHINGTON STREET, CHICAGO.
1882.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by
ROUEIIT BOODEY CAVEULY,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
CJ
.
PRESS OF W. F. BROWN AND COMPANY, 2l8 FRANKLIN ST., BOSTON.
MY REVEREND FRIEND
JZttm Jlssott
in literature and in life renowned, we inscribe this History of
startling events, events which transpired in the primeval
years of New England, at a period when civilization, as
against barbarism, began to break in ; when, for the time being,
might made right; when brutalities, on the one side and on
the other, sought to gain the ascendancy; when a professed
humanity had been led to lay aside the Psalter, the Bible, and
the Prayer-book; when mutual madness waged a war of blood,
a war of extermination, threatening, as it did, devastation
and death, both to the Puritan and to the wild-man of the
wilderness.
Then it was that the fagot torch blazed at night to the burn-
ing down of camps and cots in the hamlet, and to the laying
waste of the rude wigwams of the wilderness.
had been made sharp ; then it was that the cry of vengeance, the
Indian war-whoop, and the wood-cry proclaiming danger and
death, brought consternation to men, women, and children ; then
it was, day and ni.nht, that mutual murders and hand-to-hand
conflicts crimsoned the skies, filling with despair the fields and
forests of New England.
And now, while the intelligent reader shall find in this volume
much to be deplored, still there may remain to him much to be
4 DEDICATION.
pondered and cherished. While perusing it, startled as he may
be at the frailties of man's common nature, as developed from
a professed civilization or from a brute barbarism, and though
pained he sometimes may be, not being able to discover in their
several deeds of cruelty, much if any difference; yet, in read-
ing, it may be well to bear in mind, that the native Indian with
these New England annals, which tend to make his nature
offensive, has had nothing to do.
It is not to be ignored, that neither the pen nor the paper on
which we write is his ; that the ragged line of race and color
between him and us, which ought to be severed, still remains
a barrier not easily to be removed; that the conquered red-
man having vanished away, hath become unknown to us save
through an English history, written and published from time
to time by Cotton Mather, by Douglas, Hubbard, and others,
mostly in the midst of angry conflicts with an opposing race.
Hence, it now becomes us, in sight of the name and fame of
the native Indian, to yield and concede to him at least the
ordinary fairness of a Christian civilization.
Notwithstanding all that appears of his native nature, and the
dire deeds to which he in many instances had been provoked,
there are in him, often to be found, prominent specimens of
man's best estate. In him, as well as in the white-man, may
be learned the wrong and the right way. From both, and from
all else to be found in this book, may be obtained pure lessons
of love, which will prove plain and profitable to direct our pil-
grimage onward and upward in and throughout the narrow
pathway of life.
R. B. C.
CONTENTS.
Wars of an hundred years.
King Philip and his Indian Na-
tions, 142.
Major Waldron massacred, 263.
Hannah Duston's ciptivity, and
her tragic release, 347.
Chocorua, slain in the moun-
tains, 397.*
Eliot, the Apostle, in peace and
war, 45, 397.*
Anna (Mountford) Eliot, 397.*
Sermon to the Red-man, 397.*
Philip's War, 144-146.
The sham fight and its 400 pris-
oners, 247.
Wamesit (Lowell), its conflicts,
218, 297.*
Adams, Mass., an assault, 340.
Albany, N. Y., ammunition, 229.
Andover, Mass., massacre, 265.
Athol, Mass., assault, 840.
Amesbury, assault upon it, 275.
Alliances, 284.
Amoskeag Falls, 262.
Anecdotes (Indian), 134.
Arrowsick, Me., its conflicts,
251, 252, 284.
Army raised by the four col-
onies, 182.
Barnard Family captives, 343.
Battle on the Mystic, 83, 100.
Battle on Sachem's Plain, 112.
Battles, 48, 67, 79, 102, 113, 139,
143, 155, 173, 176, 189, 192,
222, 224, 226, 248, 263, 269,
270, 287, 299, 306, 311, 313,
316, 318, 320, 321, 326, 329,
332, 334, 336, 337, 339, 349.
Black-point, troubled, Sear-
boro', 262.
Bedford, N. H., McQuade slain,
308.
Beers, Capt., in a conflict, 170,
172.
Berwick, Me. (conflicts in),
273, 313.
Billerica, Mass., massacre, 265.
Bloody Brook, battle (men of
Essex), 173.
Blind Will, 262.
Bradford, Mass, (massacre),
218.
Bradley, Hannah, in captivity,
378, 381, 382.
Bradley, Isaac, captive, 385.
Bridal party surprised (at
Wells), 337.
Bridgewater, Mass., assailed,
209.
Brookfield, Mass, (battle), 169.
Boston in a hub-bub, 86.
Bounties for scalps, 283, 303,
308.
Canonchet, chased, dies, 203.
Canonicus, his last words, &c.,
72, 74, 91, 94.
Casco, Me., its conflicts, 241,
269, 273, 332.
Chelmsford, Mass., conflicts
at, 211, 217.
Church, Maj. Benja., 162, 274,
327, 335.
Clergy of N. E. in 1643, 119.
* Life of Eliot, page 397.
CONTENTS.
Clothing of the tribes, 26.
Colburn, Edward, killed at
Wamcsit, 218, 307.*
Colonies alarmed, 100, 180.
Concord, Mass, (its conflicts),
217.
Concord, N. H. (its battles),
295.
Court (first trial here), 144.
Deerfield, Mass. (its invasions),
171, 277.
Dedham and Seakonk, 223.
Dorchester, Oldham, 88.
Dover, N. II., conflicts at, 2G3,
264, 270, 271, 276, 280, 304.
Drake, Sir Francis, 11.
Duustable, Mass, (conflicts),
275, 289, 295.
Durham (Oyster River), N. II.,
143, 242, 276.
Dutch and Indian conflicts, 79,
81, 135, 138, 139, 141.
Duston, Thomas, Story of, 369,
373.
Dutch Robert, Story of, 174.
Easthampton, Mass., 278.
Exeter, N. H., massacres, 270,
275, 276, 279, 280.
Falmouth (Portland), Me. (con-
flicts), 310, 312.
Faltering of the tribes, 228.
Foreign wars, effect of here, 139.
Fort Henry assailed, 321, 326.
French and Indian battles, 137,
132, 382.
Garrisons, 172, 184, 232, 233,
244, 298, 336.
Goffe, William, concealed, 180.
Groton, Mass., massacres, 170,
210, 270.
Hadley, Conflicts at, 167, 172,
176, 220, 339.
Hatfleld depredations, 171.
Hartford, Conn., 79, 110, 118,
136, 175.
Ilassamcnesit (Grafton), 177.
Haverhill, Mass. (Dustou story,
&c.), o48, ooo.
Hilton, Colonel, 280, 281, 284.
Hookset, N. II., massacre, 308.
Indians, their origin, 20, 21.
Language, 42.
Navigation, 34.
Insurrection, 53.
Time-keeping. &c., 33.
Manners, 25-27.
Names, 35.
Habits, 26, 27.
Numbers slain, 27?.
Scalping, how done, 353.
Scalps, Bounty on, 283.
Mode of attack, 45.
Mode of living, 30-40.
History of old, 32-48.
Mode of dress, 26, 58, 63.
Depravity, 31.
Lands sold by Philip, 146-
148.
Spies, James and Job, 214.
Indictment and trial, 144.
Kingston conflicts, 275, 276.
Kittery massacre, 325.
Lancaster, fight at, 192-197.
Lathrop, Captain (contests),
170-173.
Leonardson, Samuel, 357.
Long Beach, 262.
Long Island and Block Island,
95, 132-136.
Lowell (Wamesit), Mass., 218.
Lovewell and his companies at
the pond, 289, 290, 294.
Louisburg, Fight at, 304-306.
Mad oca wan da, the chief, 251.
Marlboro', Mass., massacre,
257.
Massacre of Miantonimo, 117.
Massanonomo and squaw, 71-
72.
Massasoit, the chief, 63, 121.
CONTENTS.
Mayano's tribes and Dutch, 139.
Manhattan, Dutch, 139.
Mather. Cotton, 131, 132, 152.
Meclticlcl, Mass., Attack upon,
199-202.
Menclon, destroyed by Indians,
July 14, 1675, 163.*
Methuen, Mary's farms, 393.
Mexam, Miautonimo accused,
108-115.
Missionaries expelled. 330.
Mohawks at Amoskeag, 262.
Mohegaus, 77, 133, 165, 204.
Mount Hope, ihe home of
Philip, 142, 157, 287.
Mugg, the chief, 254-25G.
Narragansetts, battle, 181-186.
Neflfe, Mary (widow), 356.
New England and its landscape,
11, 20, 49.
New London troops, 77.
Ninegret, the sachem, 128.
Nipmucks defined, 165, 168, 191.
Norridgewock, Me., 274.
Northfield fight, 216, 222, 342.
Northampton fight, 176, 215,
220.
Norwich conflict, 112.
Oldham, John, 89, 90.
Old and new style, 301.
One-eyed John, 213.
Ovveneco, the Mohegan, 154.
Origin of the tribes, 39.
Os-Jipee, N. II , 255.
Oyster River (Durham), 242,
269, 274, 276.
Pakanekets,orWampanoags,3S.
Passaconaway, 121-124.
Paugus slain, 294.
Ptituxet tribes, 202.
Pawtucket, Battle at, many
slain, 222.
Pembroke, N. II., 292.
i Pemaquid, 258, 272, 273.
Penuacook's battle, 295-298.
Pequawkct, 287.
Pemaquid fight, 258.
Pettysquamscot Swamp battle,
185-189.
Pequots, Warlike destruction
of, 77, 80, 84, 94, 100, 107.
Plantation at Sagadahock, 239.
Plymouth Colony, Pequots, 100.
Prayer^ its efficacy, 238.
Portsmouth, 262, 271, 281.
Philip's War, 237 slain, 141, 145,
153, 155, 169.
Quaboag tribe in Mass., 216, 222.
Ralle, the missionary, slain,
283, 284, 285, 323.
Ramkamagus, a Penacook, 263.
Rattlesnake story, 92.
Rawlaudson, Mrs., in captivity,
193, 201, 206.
Reading, Mass., 275-278.
Rehobath, Mass., arson, 162,
165, 202.
Reward for scalps, 283, 303, 308.
Robinhood and the dance, 240.
Rolph, Rev. Benja., slain, 368.
Roxbury, the escort, 98.
Royalton, N. H., battle, 343.
Sachems and Sagamores, 68.
Saco invaded, 332.
Sachem's Plain, Battle at, 113.
Sagadahock, Plantation on, 239.
Sagamore, John, 230.
Salmon Falls massacre, 242,
261, 320, 369.
Samoset meets Pilgrims, 54,
58.
Sassamon, John, 144, 397.*
Sassacus and his tribe slain, 79,
84, 102, 106.
Saybrook, Fort, 99.
Scarborough, 332-334.
* Massachusetts Gazeteer, by Rev. E. Nasou, p. 335.
CONTENTS.
Settlers (number of killed 700) ,
330.
Scituatc, massacre, 208, 339.
Saybrook, Invasion of, 90, 97.
Sham fight at Cocheco, 247.
Simon and his 20 Indians at
Portsmouth, 262.
Smith, Capt. John, 49.
Southampton, 341.
Squando, 260.
Squanto, G4-66.
Squaw sachem drowned, 231.
Squaw sachem of Seaconet, 226.
Sterling, Mass., invaded, 279.
Stockbridge, attacked, 341.
Stonewall, John, and crew, 184.
Stone, Captain, slain, 81.
Sudbury massacre, 204, 216, 223.
Speech of a squaw, 251.
Simmon, 333.
Springfield fight, 175, 179, 219.
Style, and how reckoned, 301.
Sudbury fights, 204, 216, 223.
Swansey, Mass., 155, 202, 208.
Taratine war and plague, 50.
Taunton, its 8 garrisons, 162.
Tisquantum, his captivity, &c.,
51, 61, 65, 76.
Tribes, Names of, 34.
Origin of, 39.
Treaties, 85, 157, 160, 273,
281, 307, 322, 325, 329, 330,
331.
Trial of Miantonimo, 115, 116.
Wampapaquam, 144.
Uncas, the Mohegan, 108, 153.
Varnnms at Wamesit, slain,
218, 397.*
Wadsworth, Captain, slain,
205.
Waldron, Major, 243, 247, 250,
259, 260, 263, 264.
Wamesit (Lowell), 218, 397.*
Warnsetta, 141.
Wars, 67, 100, 267, 332.
War-whoop and "wood-cry,"
53, 54.
War on Long Island, 138.
Warwick-neck conflict, 226.
Westfield massacre, 177.
Wells, Me., conflicts, 255, 262,
310, 318, 328, 333, 337.
Wethersfleld murders, 99.
Wetamoo, squaw sachem, 149.
Williams, Roger, and Canon-
icus, 73-74.
Wick ford massacre, 150 wig-
wams burned, 183.
Wigwams, 300 in a swamp,
163.
Winslow, Gov., and Nat., the
juryman, 145.
Winter Harbor, fight, 337.
Whittaker, Jos., Story of, 375.
Women in war, 275, 384.
Worcester, skirmish, 278.
Woualancet, peaceful, 123, 127,
167.
Wrentham, Mass., burnt, 340.
York, Town of, its garrisons,
&c., 316, 317.
Young men of Essex, slain, 173.
N. B. For further Table of Contents see in the context
" Eliot's Life," page (5) 401.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHOCORUA AT THE GRAVE OF KEOKA . . Frontispiece
THE PEMIGEWASSETT 30
SAMOSET AND PILGRIMS 54
TREATY OF MASSASOIT WITH GOVERNOR CARVER . . 62
TlSQUANTUM IN THE CLOUD 76
THE CONFLICT 98
MOUNT GRACE, MASS. 198
THE GARRISON-HOUSE AT BARRINGTON, N. H. . . 232
RALLE'S MONUMENT AT NORRIDGEWOCK, ME. . . 284
BLOCK-HOUSE AT FORT HALIFAX, ME. . . . . 312
GARRISON-HOUSE AT YORK, ME. (built about 1645) . . 316
LARABEE'S GARRISON, KENNEBUNK, ME. . . . 332
STATUE OF MRS. DUSTON ON THE ISLAND . . . 354
HANNAH DUSTON AT THE MASSACRE .... 362
INVOCATION.
Bless me, ye powers ! This world of ours,
In peaky, proudest beauty,
But points to Thee inspiring me
To diligence in duty.
True, true, they say, there is a better day:
And faith we ought to find it!
For the lights of love that burn above
Are lit for man to mind it
CHAPTER I.
INDIAN NATIONS: THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR DE-
SCENT.
Sir Francis Drake's Advent. No Historic Record previously. Out-
lines of the New-England Territory. Beauties of its Landscape.
Poetical Description of its Creation, and of the Formation of
its Rivers. The Winnipiseogee, and other Lakes. Rivers and
Tributaries. Origin of the Indian Nations of the New World.
Their Manners and Habits. Their Numbers at the Coining of
the Puritans. Their Ignorance. Their Government. Their
Fashions of Dress. Kind at First. Changing Gradually by
the Machinations of the French, by Individual Indiscretion, and
by their own unbridled Infirmities.
.HE history of New England is brief and
tragical. It dates back no farther than to
Sir Francis Drake, that adventurous white
man who in 1586 first touched upon its
shores, named it, and then, leaving it,
advanced onward upon his famous voyage around
the world.
Up to thai; period, whatever had transpired in the
affairs of this part of the New World is unknown.
Oblivion covers it: nor is it within the power of
mortal vision to trace or discover its outlines. Hence
every thing historical in this region, anterior to the
11
12 NEW ENGLAND.
advent of Drake, becomes a matter of mere inference,
or of curious speculation.
The countless years thus passed of man's career
Fraught with achievements oft enacted here,
With works of skill, what human thought could do,
With grand exploits, or deeds of direful hue,
With kings and prophets, chief in note or worth,
Through generations vast transpired on earth
Make but a blank in Time's historic lore,
Till voyagers from another world came o'er.
From my Merrimack, p. 22.
In Drake's time the length and breadth of territory
then comprised within the outward lines of Maine,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut, was a vast wilderness, crowned with its
white mountains on the north-east, towering in the
clouds, and sending forth ten thousand rills to the
east, to the west, to the north, and to the south,
from which the beautiful Merrimack, the Connecticut,
and the Saco leaped forth as from the creation, and
wiih silvery waters then flowing, rolling, meander-
ing downward through the then vast wilderness,
To form a sea, and on the world bestow
A vast highway, with tides to ebb and flow ;
THE STREAM AND TIDE. 13
In light refulgent, in extent sublime,
To swarm with joyous, life through endless time ;
To float huge ships in commerce and in strife
Of unborn nations waking into life.
Through constant heat her atoms rise again,
Floating in transit backward whence they came,
Feeding the streams with purer founts anew,
Which, made eternal, onward still pursue.
Both flood and vapor in one circuit run,
Like planet in her orb about the sun,
Or like the life-blood coursing in the vein
By means of arteries, return again,
Sustaining man's frail body from his birth,
So moving waters do the vital earth :
Pervading nature's germs and fibres free,
Upward in channels creep through herb and tree,
They deck the daisy in her checkered bloom,
And swell the rose to yield a sweet perfume,
Are felt in trunk, in branch, in bud, and leaves,
And thence escape in clouds borne on the breeze ;
Emblem of the " Eternal " in their round,
E'er free to give, but ne'er exhausted found.
Standing on the lofty heights of New England,
the historic spectator is entranced. He sees spread
out before him, southward and eastward, in azure
ENGLAND.
brilliancy, its vast expanse of field and forest, of
mansion and village, interlaced with the meander-
ing Saco and Connecticut ; while rolling onward, as
if to its eternal destiny, in the midst of this beauti-
ful landscape is the
MEKREMACK.
Sweet river ! thy true source which angels sung
At the creation when the world begun,
We seek ; and how thy rills, of chaos born,
First leaped rejoicing in their native form ;
When bleak New Albion's height began to rise,
And moon and stars, just formed, lit up the skies,
How the great God on high with outstretched hand
Divided waters from the massive land,
Scooped the vast concave of the ocean-bed,
And infant channels for the rivers made ;
And how and when his wisdom next arranges
To move the stagnant floods by natural changes,
Compel the seas their rugged bounds forsake,
Becloud the hills, and shining rivers make ;
To make thin vapors, heated to excess,
On ocean more, on terra firma less,
Out from the briny waves incessant rise
Above the hills, and back to other skies
Combine in clouds, and vast collections form,
Spreading the heavens with impending storm ;
STORM AND TEMPEST. 15
Whence earth itself, full formed, begins to move
Through mighty conflicts by the hand of Jove,
Outward and onward from its native source,
Round with the whirling spheres to take its course.
Now then the forked light, ascending high,
Unveils the terrors of a troubled sky.
Tempestuous gales in darkness intervene,
Sweeping the world with howlings in extreme,
And thunderings loud : the clouds, let loose in drops,
Dash down their showers on the mountain-tops,
Then leap the streamlets from the mountain waste
As if by stern command requiring haste ;
As if God's power, with screw and lever plied.
Squeezing the lofty hills to raise the tide,
Would drown the earth in awful floods sublime,
For local sin, or want of faith divine ;
As since in wrath he did in Noah's time.
Thus at creation's dawn did MerrimacK
Begin to flow. The storm subsides ; and light
Bright gleaming sunbeams broke from sable night.
And now the sweeping wave, with banks o'erflown,
Brilliant and grand, 'mid azure splendor shown,
Rolls on: and with accumulated force
Of mighty waters on their destined course
Through naked banks ne'er washed by waves be-
fore;
Now curving o'er the cliff with dashing roar
16 NEW ENGLAND.
Of cataract ; now swelling far and wide
Down sloping vales in full majestic tide ;
Then gliding smooth, as plain or meads ensue,
In tranquil pride resplendent bravely through
Conveys her fountains to the untried shore,
Where wave or flood had never reached before.
From my Merrimack, p. 11.
Such have been the workings of these tragic
waters from the creation. Such, indeed, was the
landscape view of New England in 1586, when Drake
discovered it; differing only in change of the re-
volving seasons, as when the bleak blast of stormy
winter beat upon it, or when the zephyrs of sweet
summer fanned the old forest to a tranquil repose.
Beautiful landscape ! From its lofty mountain
height, as if present, let us pause. The God of na-
ture is here : we behold him in the air, in the river,
in the cloud. Before us and around us is spread out
that wild New-England wilderness, which in the ad-
vancing years is to become the great battle-field of
the world, a crimson field, where barbarism is to
arise and manifest itself as never before, and where
civilization, as opposed to it, at the hand of God
and of the Pilgrim, is to live in its economy, and
obtain a foothold.
Here, too, the great Winnepiseogee, shining forth
THE FINNY TRIBES 17
as it did at creation's dawn, together with other innu-
merable beautiful lakes teeming with life, dotted the
landscape. These, with the great rivers we have
named, and their tributaries, had been made alive
with sturgeon here, with salmon there, with shad,
alewives, and the finny tribes generally in abundant
varieties, of whose origin and advent we have spec-
ulated in " The Merrimack : "
Next near the shore, now gliding, glittering, seen,
Minnows innumerous in the waters green ;
Minute in size, some faster, fuller grown,
Each for an end, yet there unseen, unknown,
In caves now playful, cautious, prone to be ;
Then out in depths of waters sporting free,
Each draws from heaven the fleeting breath of life,
Here to subsist through elemental strife,
Varied in species, color, and in form,
Some cold in temperament, others warm,
Each to its kind attached, prolific, free
To seek and share a common destiny.
In lapse of time from tiny minim grown,
The whale loomed up in vast proportion shown.
Now restless seeks more spacious depths to gain,
And finds a homestead in the briny main.
Huge sturgeons too, all fish of larger growth
Swelled the deep current seaward splashing forth ;
18 NEW ENGLAND.
While smaller forms, as trout and pickerel,
Inhabit native streams, content to dwell
Fresh-water tenants, tranquil quite as yet
By foe unsought, unhurt by hook or net ;
While others rove. The favorite salmon tries
The arctic seas in light of other skies ;
Yet, when sweet spring betides the Merrimack,
His out-bound path he fondly follows back
With finny tribes. Then through the inlets trace
A countless progeny, an infant race
From hidden spawns, to swarm the harmless shore ;
Then gambol outward, onward as before,
Quiet, yet quick in transit to and fro,
E'er keen to see what makes for weal or woe,
They drink sweet joys in light of nature given,
And fill a purpose grand, ordained of Heaven.
Thus, then, did the bright waters of New England
teem with inhabitants, lined and surrounded as they
were by that lofty old forest that had stood the tem-
pestuous blast of the eternal ages, and never as yet
had seen the woodman's axe. Majestic, lofty as
ever it then stood, casting its shadows at the foot of
the mountains, on the margin of the lakes and rivers
of New England, and along the shores of the sea, as
it loomed up in the sublimity of its beauty. Ancient,
venerable old forest! Where, oh where are the
BEAST AND BIRD. 19
tribes that knew thee of yore ? Within and beneath
the shadows of thy waving boughs various fruits of
the earth had sprung forth ; and the wild deer, the
moose, the roebuck, the stag, the bear, the beaver,
and other wild animals, have come forth and gam-
bolled, each race in its turn passing away, unknown
of the white man, from the beginning of the world.
Here also did the beautiful bird delight to dwell,
in nearly all its varieties, from the noble, historic
eagle to the sedate and lonely little sparrow.
Of the origin or advent of all these have we spec-
ulated in " The Merrimack : "
Meanwhile, the tree, for fruit and forest sprung
From latent life beneath the soil, begun
To spread in varied shadows Mother Earth
Verdant and fruitful ; in productive birth
Alike of insects strange, of beast or bird,
In pairs connubial, fit for flock or herd.
As thus 'mid thicket dense, or bower green,
In earth or air, at first half-hidden seen
The merest mites, thence, formed and fluttering, move
Unfeathered owls, the raven, hawk, and dove ;
Whence flaunts the eagle due in course of time,
And songsters warbling wing for every clime ;
Whence all the nervy tenants of the air,
From proudest swan to flitting insect rare,
20 NEW ENGLAND.
Whence clods of earth, and drops of water pure,
First fraught with life, with life can but endure.
Of tardy growth, sleek whelps in tiny form,
From latent caverns in the hill-side warm,
Of panther race, and beasts of other kind,
At length emerge, and habits varied find.
But the most interesting production found on these
shores by the first adventurers was the red man.
How long he had lived and wandered in this wilder-
ness with his tribes, subsisting from day to day
almost entirely upon the productions of a New-
England forest, and of its lakes and rivers, was and
still remains a mystery.
HIS OEIGIN.
The origin of the natives of this new world is like
a sealed book. All speculations in reference to it
are attended with extreme doubt and uncertainty.
No theory is satisfactory. These benighted sons, of
themselves knew nothing, and had no definite idea
of the paternity of their race ; and in this, perhaps,
we are no wiser than they. Many have believed
them to be of Asiatic origin, and that they had
crossed over here upon the ice that covers the north-
ern coast of America.
Yet, opposed to such a theory, is the fact that there
INDIAN DESCENT. 21
is a vast dissimilarity now existing between the
Asiatics, and the North-American Esquimaux and
other Indians. Reason would seem to warrant the
belief, that, in the absence of proof to the contrary,
the same race of men that our forefathers first found
had always been here.
That the " New World " had existed for thousands
of years without having a race of men upon it, would
seem but little short of a rash presumption.
That it had been left to accident ; that it had
been left to be peopled by the passing of a tribe from
Asia over an unknown arctic region, too cold for
human existence to get to it, would seem to be
a presumption quite as rash.
On the whole, we can but perceive that the wild
forests of America, when discovered by the white
race, were as well suited to the Indian as the Indian
was to the forest. And that the Indian here was no
more a matter of accident than was the forest itself;
and that both were but parts of one and the same
great design, would seem to be the most reasona-
ble theory.
In alluding to his origin, as may be seen in my
" Merrimack " of years ago, we made suggestions as
follows :
22 NEW ENGLAND.
HIS CREATION.
Then next from curious germ beneath the sod,
Now blest of needful care of nature's God,
"Whose eye, all-seeing, here began to scan
The strange invention of mysterious man,
By vigorous thrift, as fell the beaming rays
Of Phoebus, fitly felt on vernal days,
Came forth an Indian's form divine,
First spawn of manhood on the stream of time,
Basking in valleys wild, earth-formed, earth-fed,
For ripened age by native reason led ;
And chief o'er beast and bird in power became,
A fitful terror to the timid game.
And so it was: the manners and habits of the
native Indians, for aught we know, had always been
the same as now. Tradition affords us nothing
otherwise. They are known only as they were first
found by the adventurer from the Old World.
Their history, circumscribed as it is within the
limits of their short existence with the white man,
comprises the record of their race for all time.
Probably for thousands of years they had been noth-
ing but wild hunters, with manners and habits the
same, unimproved, unchanged, as is described in
" The Merrimack : "
THE INDIAN'S GOD AND LIFE. 23
.And thus, o'er laud and stream, for ages long,
A race of red men, vagrant, plod along
With, language taught from rustic nature's throne,
And habits each peculiarly their own ;
On growth spontaneous fed, content with prey,
What serves the purpose of a single day.
Their God is seen afar at rise of sun ;
Their life in heaven is hunting, here begun.
By laws unwritten, sachems rule the tribes,
And lead the host wherever ill betides
To fatal war. By force of arrows hurled,
They reigned sole monarchs in this western world.
It is asserted, that, when the Pilgrims landed,
there were then about twenty nations, or tribes, of
Indians in New England. These nations were dis-
tinct from each other, but united sometimes for
mutual protection, and for the purposes of war. In
every tribe there was a chief, or sagamore, to whom
all the others paid deference. But, as has already
been stated, the Indian wars, and the plague of
1617-18, had greatly reduced their numbers.
In the same work I once briefly discoursed of
HIS HABITS.
Increased at length by nature's self-same laws
To numerous tribes, prolific men and squaws,
24 NEW ENGLAND.
From artful wigwams new spread o'er the land,
First skill evinced in architecture grand,
He wanders wild, belted with arrows keen,
And blest with knowledge right and wrong between,
A stately priest at peace. Provoked to strife,
He wields a hatchet and a scalping-knife
With dire revenge. E'er true to self and squaw,
He knows no faith, no code, but nature's law ;
His footsteps fondly dwell where now we trace
Primeval heirlooms of the human race,
The chisel smooth, and tomahawk, first made
Of stone, ere art had formed the iron blade ;
Where, from a narrow dock, with native crew,
He launched in naval pride the first canoe,
And ploughed the Merrimack. His dripping oar
Ripples the waters, never pressed before ;
Bestirs the scaly tribes to nervous fear
For rights most sacred thus invaded here,
As if by instinct they the chieftain knew
To be a tyrant and a glutton too,
Intent on native beast or bird or fish,
By slaughter dire to fill a dainty dish ;
Whose webs are nets from bark of trees alone,
And mills that grind are mortars made of stone ;
Who clothed his tribes, if clad they e'er appear,
In raiment plundered from the bounding deer ;
Who maketh treacherous hooks from guiltless bones,
And drags a deadly net o'er sacred homes.
GOVERNMENT OF THE TRIBES. 25
HIS IGNORANCE.
He was no artisan. His wigwam and birch canoe
evinced the best skill in architecture which he ever
had. His paintings were extravagant and gaudy,
his colors brilliant. The flesh side of skins taken by
the Indian hunter was generally taken on which to
paint. These he spotted in curious, fantastic hues,
and often with fantastic colorings such as none but a
wild man could make, contrive, or invent. He knew
but little, and sought for improvement in nothing.
HIS GOVERNMENT.
In other parts of the earth all societies or cohabi-
tants are controlled by governments, and an absolute
compelling power is lodged somewhere, and in some
manner, in each and all of them ; but not so with the
North- American Indians. They had, substantially,
no compelling power the one over another.
When a tribe or neighborhood sent delegates to
treat with other tribes, or with bodies of white men,
the conclusions were always carried home memoriter ;
and the young men, who were always to be depended
on in war, must be persuaded to accede to all of their
general articles of agreement for peace or for war.
And, in the tide of events, if, from war and blood,
26 NEW ENGLAND.
they at any time were forced into a defeat or into
an humble treaty of peace, the blame, as of course,
would always fall upon their young men.
THEIR CLOTHING.
The Northern Indians wore skins of seals, cut in
different ways, according to their curious, fantastic
fashions, and sewed together with thongs. They
had no threads of flax or hemp. In other parts of
the country they wore skins from the various beasts
of the forest.
After the first English settlements in .New England,
they wore duffels and blanketings of about two yards
square, which the Romans would have denominated
44 togas." Their sagamores, or sachems, wore blankets
with borders of different colors.
When the explorers of New England first made
their appearance here, the Indians generally enter-
tained them with a generous feeling, seldom if
ever doubting their sincerity and truth. But after a
series of years had elapsed, partly by reason of
the wild, cruel, and uncultivated nature of the Indian
himself, and of his unstable, treacherous disposition ;
and partly by reason of the want of kindness, discre-
tion, honesty, and fairness, of individual white men,
who from time to time violated law and justice ; and
partly from the secret machinations of French Jesuits
INDIAN CHARACTER. 27
and their hirelings, who took an interest in advising
and instigating the Northern and Eastern tribes to
make war upon the English, the native Indian,
who had theretofore been master of the soil, began to
consider himself in the place of a degraded servant.
Hence he manifested himself true to his nature ; and
at every provocation, real or surmised, he sprang
forth from his 'secret hiding-places, an implacable
enemy to the white man, quick at resentment, and
reckless in revenge. Notwithstanding the agency
which some of the French in Canada had in starting
and perpetuating at least a part of the Indian wars
in New England, yet they were led to see the
Indian's true nature and character: they named
him (as some think) accurately, " Les homines des
bois" men-brutes of the forest.
MANNERS IN THE WIGWAM.
" The business of the women is to take exact
notice of what passes, imprint it in their memories
(for they have no writing), and communicate it to
theii children. They are the records of the council ;
and they preserve tradition of the stipulations in
treaties a hundred years back, which, when we com-
pare with our writings, we always find exact. He
that would speak rises. The rest observe a pro-
found silence.
28 NEW ENGLAND.
When he has finished, and sits down, they leave
him five or six minutes to recollect, that if he has
omitted any thing he intended to say, or has any
thing to add, he may rise again, and deliver it. To
interrupt another, even in common conversation, is
reckoned highly indecent. How different this is
from the mode of conversation in many polite com-
panies of Europe, where, if you do not deliver your
sentence with great rapidity, you are cut off in the
middle of it by the impatient loquacity of those you
converse with, and never suffered to finish it ! "
Instead of being better since the days of Franklin,
we apprehend it has grown worse. The modest and
unassuming often find it exceedingly difficult to gain
a hearing at all. Ladies, and many who consider
themselves examples of good manners, transgress to
an insufferable degree, in breaking in upon the con-
versations of others. Some of these, like a ship
driven by a north-wester, bearing down the small
craft in her course, come upon us by surprise ; and, if
we attempt to proceed by raising our voices a little,
we are sure to be drowned by a much greater eleva-
tion on their part. It is a want of good-breeding,
which, it is hoped, every young person whose eye
this may meet will not be guilty of through life.
There is great opportunity for many even of mature
years to profit by it. S. Cr. Drake.
CHAPTER II.
INDIAN NATIONS, THEIR TRIBES AND HABITS.
Always at Leisure. His Habits, and Mqde of Living. Fish a.j
found in the New-England Elvers. Indian Deceit, Revenue,
and Barbarity. Have but little Honesty. No Faith. Their
Paintings. Reckonings of Time, Distances, &c. Names of
some of the Tribes. The Winnepiseogees. Definitions of In-
dian Words. The Abenaqui Indians. Number of Several of
the Tribes. Their Locations. Tribes Anciently. Their own
Hostilities favored the English in New England. Never lay up
Any Thing in Store. Their Medical Practice. Language and
Reckonings. Hieroglyphics. Their Fashion of changing their
Names. Names of Massasoit's Two Sous changed. Eliot
prints a Bible in Indian Language. Naticks. Indian Mode
of Attack.
N Indian was always at leisure. He knew
no overtasking of the brain, had no
troublesome extensive trade, no taxes to
pay, no rents, no national debts. All
his surroundings were free to him. Each
had a share in the cool and shady hunting-grounds, in
the skies above them, and in the best fishing-places.
His corn-fields were where he sowed his seed.
His tobacco was a constant luxury to him; and his
fishing and hunting was a favorite pastime.
His wants, being few, were easily supplied. The
29
30 NEW ENGLAND.
bow-arrow and the fishing-rod afforded him a
competence in food and raiment : these were sub-
stantially the implements of his toil and of his
care.
With his squaw, who often wandered from the
wigwam in company with his tribe, he was usually
contented and happy. His home was made glad with
the song and the dance, and in the smoking or
" drinking the pipe," as they usually termed it.
The large lakes and rivers always afforded him
excellent fishing-places. The rivers were a constant
income, as vast highways, which brought to him, at
every returning spring, a full supply of salmon, ale-
wives, and shad.
At that day, no darns or bars being in the way to
impede the advent or progress of the finny tribes,
they came in vast numbers, and ever proved a source
of wealth to the Indian. At the forks of the Mer-
rimack the salmon, which always seek the coldest
climes, generally took the cold water, and went up
the Pemigewasset ; while the others took to the warm
water, and followed the Winnepeseogee to the lake,
or into the smaller streams.
From these rivers and their tributaries, the thirty
thousand Indians that used to trail along these val-
leys obtained the principal share of their support.
For thousands of years the waters of our rivers had
THE PEMIGEWASSETT, page 30.
INDIAN DEPRAVITY. 31
afforded the red man an abundant supply. Salmon
weighing twenty or thirty pounds were not uncom-
mon. There were then no gates to close up Nature's
highway, no dashing wheels to frighten back the fish ;
nor was there then any need of artificial steps or fish-
ways to lead the bewildered tribes (as are now in-
vented, but as yet in vain) over high dams into the
ponds above.
Kind Nature had given to the native Indian the
waters of these rivers to run freely down, as from
the creation they had run ; and had given to the fish
common highways to advance upward in them. Yet
by what is now termed the progress of civilization,
the tribes of fish, as well as the tribes of red men,
have become almost extinct in and about the rivers
of New England.
Sturgeons used to be caught in the Merrimack. As
these large fish passed up the river, two Indians, the
one to scull the boat, and the other to throw the
weapon, would spear them. Many a noble sturgeon,
from year to year, was thus slain, and tugged ashore
from his native waters.
HIS DEPRAVITY AND REVENGE.
Douglas, who wrote a hundred and twenty-five
years ago, says, " Indians are not so polite as the
wandering T.artars. Like the wild Irish, they dread
32 NEW ENGLAND.
labor more than poverty. Like dogs, they are always
either eating or sleeping, except in travelling, hunt-
ing, and their dances : their sloth and indolence in-
cline them to sottishness. Before Christians arrived
amongst them, they had no knowledge of strong
drink : this Christian vice not only destroys their bod-
ily health and that of their progeny, but creates feuds,
outrages, and horrid murders. They are much given
to deceit and lying, so as scarce to be believed when
they speak the truth. Their temper is the reverse
of East Indians, whereof some castes or sects will not
kill any animal : the West Indians, or Americans, are
barbarous, and upon small provocations kill their own
species. Some of them exceed x in barbarity, and in
revenge and fury eat the flesh of their enemies, not
from hunger or delicacy. Such were the Florida In-
dians : they said that the flesh of the English ate mel-
low and tender, that of the Spaniard, hard and
tough, the Bermudian, fishy.
" The Aboriginal Americans have no honesty, no
honor : that is, they are of no faith, but mere brutes
in that respect. They generally have great fortitude
of mind: without any appearance of fear or con-
cern, they suffer any torture and death. In revenge
they are barbarous and implacable : they never forget
nor forgive injuries. If one man kills another, the
nearest in kindred to the murdered watches an
INDIAN PAINTINGS AND TIME-KEEPING. 33
opportunity to kill the murderer ; and the death of
one man may occasion the deaths of many ; therefore,
when a man is guilty of murder, he generally leaves
the tribe, and goes into a kind of voluntary banish-
ment. They are a sullen, close people. The Indian
wars ought to be called massacres, or inhuman barba-
rous outrages, rather than necessary acts of hostil-
ity."
PAINTING AND TIME-KEEPING.
" Indians in general," says Douglas, " paint their
bodies, especially their faces (they affect red colors),
as the Picts and Britons of Great Britain formerly
were accustomed.
44 In the higher latitudes the Indians reckon their
time by winters (years), by moons (months), and by
sleeps (nights).
" Between the tropics they reckon by rains (the
seasons of rains : the end of summer and beginning
of autumn are periodical, as are our winters), moons,
and sleeps.
IN COMPUTING DISTANCES.
" They reckon by sleeps, or days' travel (as the
Dutch do by hours), viz., so many sleeps or days'
travel from one place to another."
34 NEW ENGLAND.
THEIR NAVIGATION.
This was by the " crossing of rivers upon bark-
loys, travelling along on the rivers or rivulets, and~on
the sides of the lakes, in canoes or ' schuyties,' port-
able by two men in their carrying-places from one
river or pond to another : they are of birch-bark,
upon ribs of ash, sewed together by some tough
wooden fibres, and paid (as sailors express it), with
rosin from the pine-tree. They use no sails or oars,
only paddles and setting-poles. The boat is capable
of carrying a man, his wife, children, and baggage.
" Narrow rivers are better travelling than ponds
and lakes, because upon the lakes, if stormy or much
wind, they cannot proceed, but must put to the
shore."
THE TKIBES.
The names of the tribes led for the most part
by the Pennacooks were, the Agawams of Essex
County, the Massachusetts, Wamesits, Nashuas,
Souhegans, Namoskeags, and Winnipesaukees.
Aside from these, there were other tribes, foreign to
the Merrimack, yet acknowledging fealty to the
great Pennacook in his confederacy, to wit, the
Wachusetts, Coosucks, Pequakuakes, Ossipees,
Squamscotts, Winnecowetts, Piscataquaukes, Newi-
chewannocks, Sacos, and Amariscoggins.
INDIAN LANGUAGE. 35
NAMES AND DERIVATIONS.
" The Winnipesaukees for the most part occupied
the lands and islands in and about their favorite
lake of that name. Its outlet, the Weirs, had been
for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years their
rallying-point, to which they had been in the habit
of returning from their wanderings. Winnipesau-
Jcee is derived from winne (beautiful), nipe (water),
kees (high), and auke (a place), literally meaning
the beautiful water of the high place. Wachu-
setts conies from wadcher (a mountain) and auke
(a place) : these centred near Wachusetts Moun-
tain in Massachusetts. The CoosucJcs : this cogno-
men is derived from cooash (pines) ; and they most-
ly dwelt on and boated in and about the Connecti-
cut River. The Pequaquaukes from Pequaquis
(crooked) and auke (a place) lived, hunted, and
fished up and down their favorite Saco, in Maine and
New Hampshire. The Ozsipees, from cooash (pines)
and nipe (river), wandered in and about Ossipee
Lake and its river, in the county of Carroll, N.H., and
in York County, Me. The Swamscotts from winne
(beautiful), asquam (water), and auke (a place)
hunted upon Exeter River in Exeter, and Stratham
in Rockingham County, N.H. The Winnecowetts,
from winne (beautiful), cooash (pines), and auke (a
86 NEW ENGLAND.
place) lurked about in the same county. The
Piscataquaukes from pos (great), attuck (a deer),
and auke (a place) fished and hunted on the banks
of the Piscataqua, between the southeastern part
of New Hampshire and Maine. The Newichewcw-
nocks, from me (my), week (a contraction of week-
warn, a house), and ouannocks (come) : they inhab-
ited the upper branches of the same river, known as
the Salmon Falls and the Cocheco. The name Sacos
was taken from sawa (burnt), coo (pine), and auke
(a place) : they dwelt mostly upon Saco River, in
the county of York, Me. And the Amariscog-
gins derived from mamaos (fish), kees (high), and
auke (a place) had their dwelling-places and hunt-
ing-grounds upon the Amariscoggin River, which
took its rise in the New-Hampshire hills, and empties
its waters into the Kennebec."
All the tribes of the interior, as contradistin-
guished from those near to the shores of the sea,
were known and designated in Indian parlance as
NipmucJcs, or fresh-water Indians. " Nipmuck is de-
rived from nipe (still water), and auke (a place),
with the letter c m ' thrown in for the sake of the
euphony."
Northerly, and yet on the south side of the St.
Lawrence River, there were tribes in the early dayg
INDIAN NATIONS, SMALL. 37
of New England who were denominated Abenaqui
Indians, to Avit, Delorette, a very small tribe a little
below Quebec ; Wanonoaks, on the River Besancourt,
or Puante, over against Les Trois Rivieres, not ex-
ceeding forty fighting men ; about ten leagues higher
was the tribe Areusiguntecook, on the River St.
Francois, about a hundred and sixty fighting men ;
on the east side of Lake Champlain was the tribe
of Mesiassuck, sixty fighting men; a little above
Montreal were the Kabnuagas, about eighty men,
being a parcel of idle " ave Maria " praying In-
dians, runaways from the New- York Mohawks
and River Indians. " They swallowed their flesh
and fish raw, and went naked, or covered with seal
and other skins. They were in small clans, very
idle, much dispersed, and of no great benefit to trade
or to the world."
Douglas says the northern tribes were small and
distinct. A large parcel of land lying waste, in
winter countries, for many months in the year, not
fertile and not cleared of wood, cannot subsist many
people ; but these small tribes, though much dispersed,
were allied by contiguity, language, and intermar-
riages. " Thus it is with our neighboring Abna-
quies, who border upon New England ; the Iroquois,
or Mohawks, who border upon New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and Virginia ; and the Chirakees, who border
38 NEW ENGLAND.
upon Carolina. These may be called three distinct
nations."*
Other distinct tribes were also to be found then
or later. In Connecticut were what were called the
Pequots, the Quinnipiacs, the Tunxis, and the Ham-
monassets. In Maine the Utechemins dwelt farthest
towards the East : and the Abenaquis, of whom the
Terratines were a part, hunted on both sides of the
Periobscot ; and at one time their boundaries ex-
tended from the English settlements on the Atlantic
shore to the Bay of Fundy, Lake Champlain, and to
the Rivers Hudson and St. Lawrence. The Indian
population in New England at the beginning of its
settlement by the English has been estimated at
about fifty thousand, at which time the District of
Maine contained about one-fourth part, and Con-
necticut and Rhode Island about one-half.
The Pakanokets, or Wampanaogs, hunted in South-
eastern Massachusetts, near Buzzard's and Narragan-
set Bays ; the Narragansets, in Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and some of them along the banks of the
Thames ; and the Moliegans at or near the shores of
the Connecticut River. The Wamesets had a village
dwelling-place in Wamesit, at the junction of the
Concord and Merrimack Rivers, now Lowell, Massa-
chusetts, where Eliot often preached to the tribes of
Wonalancet.
* Douglas wrote in 1749.
POPULATION OF NATIONS. 39
TEIBES ORIGINALLY.
In Bible history, it appears, all mankind anciently
lived in small tribes. Abraham and his allies could
muster only three hundred and eighteen men : with
these he defeated four great kings who had con-
quered several kings.
" Where lands lie not cultivated, the Tribes must
necessarily be small."
" From a country thus reduced to a small stock
we may investigate the various degrees of civil gov-
ernment. At first they were only distinct Families
left isolated, and their government was patriarchal ;
that is, by heads of families. These heads of fami-
lies soon became acquainted and neighborly, and for
mutual protection and good neighborhood entered
into associations by us called Tribes, Cantons, or
Clans ; and several of these Tribes, upon suspicion of
some ambitious design of some neighboring powerful
Tribes, for their better defence were obliged to enter
into a federal Union, and at length were incorpo-
rated into one general direction called a Nation or
Empire. Perhaps we may suppose that such were
the empires of Mexico and Peru."
FEW AND FEEBLE.
Douglas also says that the Europeans, on account
of their disparity of numbers, never could have sue-
40 NEW ENGLAND.
ceedecl in their settlement here, if the tribes (many of
them) had not joined them by reason of hostilities
among themselves. Thus Cortez in Mexico was assist-
ed by several of the disaffected tribes ; and on the other
hand, after the landing of the Pilgrims, Massasoit
was made formidable as against the Narragansets by
the use of fire-arms obtained from the English.
A Spanish bishop of the West Indies, a man of
observation, many years ago wrote as follows : " The
Indians are of a tender constitution. No part of
Europe was more populous than Mexico upon the
Spaniards' first arrival there. The Spaniards in the
first forty years destroyed about twenty millions of
them. They left but a few Indians in Hispaniola,
none upon Cuba, Jamaica, Bahama Islands, Porto
Rico, and Caribee Islands, excepting upon Domi-
nica and St. Vincent, where they remain to this day."
THEIR FOOD, AND MODE OF LIVING.
" Our Indians do not imitate the Bees, Ants,
&c., in laying up Stores, but, like rapacious ani-
mals, live from Hand to Mouth : after long Fasting
they are voracious, and upon a Glutonous Repast
can fast many Days by bracing in or reefing their
Girdles or Belts.
" The far North Indians of West Greenland, Terra
de Labarador, &c., live upon the Blubber of Whales,
INDIAN MODE OF SUBSISTENCE. 41
Seals, and other Fish; and their most generous Bev-
erage is Fish-Oil : scarce any Quadrupids or Fowls,
not only from the Severity and long Continuance of
their cold Weather, Frost and Snow, but also
because their Meadows and other Lands instead of
Grass and other Herbage bear only Moss.
" The Indians in the more moderate Climates live by
Hunting, Fowling, and Fish. They do not clear and
cultivate the Forest by planting and grazing : lately
some of their Squaas or Women improve in planting
of Mays and Indian Beans. Their Bread Kind are
Mays or Indian Corn, Phaseolus Kidney or Indian
Beans, several Sorts of tuberous Roots called
Ground Nuts, several Sorts of Berries, particularly
several Sorts of Vitis Idea in New England called
Ruckle-Berries. Upon a continued March, where
Hunting and Fowling is inconsiderable, they carry
with them for subsistence parched Indian Corn,
called No-cake.
" The Abnaquies, or New England Northern and
Eastern Indians, because of the Hunting and Fowl-
ing failing, during the Winter are obliged to remove
to the Sea-side, and live upon Clams, Bass, Sturgeons,
&o,
" Their medical Practice resembles that of officious
old Women in some remote Country Villages of
Europe, meer Empiricism, or, rather, a traditionary
42 NEW ENGLAND.
blind Practice : they regard only the Symptoms that
strike the gross Senses most, without Respect to any
less obvious principal Symptom which may be called
the Disease, or to Constitution, Sex, and Age.
INDIAN LANGUAGE.
" Their Manner of Expression is vehement and
emphatick : their Ideas being few, their Language is
not copious : it consists only of a few Words, and
many of these ill contrived : by a rumbling Noise or
Sound of many syllables they express an Idea or
Thing which in the European Language is done by
a Syllable or two.
"As their Ideas increase, they are obliged to adopt
the European Words of adjoining Colonies.
" In numbering they use the same natural Way of
reckoning by Tens, as in Europe, Ten being the
Number of humane Fingers.
"No Cronocles, scarce any traditionary accounts
of Things extending back further than two or three
Generations : scarce any Indians can tell their own
Age.
" They had no Characters, that is, Hieroglyphic* or
Letters : they had a few symbols or signatures, as if
in a Heraldry Way to distinguish Tribes : the princi-
pal were the Tortois, the Bear, the Wolf.
" There was not the least Vestage of Letters in
INDIANS MADE NO LETTERS. 43
America. Some years since a certain credulous Per-
son and voluminous Author imposed upon himself
and others: he observed in a tiding River a Rock,
which, as it was not of uniform Substance, the ebb-
ing and the flowing of the Tide made a Sort of ver-
mulure, Honey-combing or etching on its Face : here
he immagined that he had discovered the America
Indian Characters, and, overjoyed, remits some lines
of his imaginary Characters to the Royal Society in
London. See Philosophical Transactions, No. 339.
" ' At Taunton by the Side of a tiding River, Part
in, Part out, of the River, there is a large Rock, on
the perpendicular Side of which, next to the Stream,
are 7 or 8 Lines about 7 or 8 feet long, and about a
Foot wide each of them, engraven with unaccount-
able Characters not like any known Character.'
" This may be supposed to have been written
Anno 1714. At present (Anno 1747) by the con-
tinued ebbing and flowing, the Honey-combing is so
altered as not in the least to resemble his Draught
of the Characters.
" As the Indians were so rude as to have no letters
or other Characters, there is no certain Way of
writing their Names of Things : all we can do is to
express their Sounds or Pronunciations as near as
may be in our own letters.
" Father Ralle of Norridgwog, and some other scol-
44 NEW ENGLAND.
astick French Missionaries, have imagined that the
Greek Alphabet suits their Pronunciation best.
" The Indians have a figurative Way of expressing
themselves, as if in Hieroglyphics : thus, renewing of
Alliances they call brightening of the Chain.
" There is no general fixed Way of Writing Indian
Words ; therefore we shall not mind any particular
Orthography in that Respect ; only we shall endea-
vour to be understood. For Instance : the Indian
Tribe upon Quenebeck River in New England, we
write and pronounce it Naridgwoag : the French Mis-
sionaries write it Narautsoack.
"The Tribe of the Iroquois, or five New York
allied Indian Nations, which we call Sennekas, the
French call them Sonant ouans.
" There is not the same Reason for preserving the
Indian Names of their Countries, Nations, Tribes,
Mountains, and Rivers, as there is for preserving the
Greek, Roman, and other more modern Names of
such Things in Europe. The Indians have no civil
or classical History to require it.
The Indians change their own personal Names, and
the Names of other Things upon trifling occasions.
" Our Indians affect to have English Names : thus
Massasoit's two Sons desired of the Court at Ply-
mouth to give them English Names: they were
accordingly named Alexander and Philip.
INDIANS IN BATTLE. 45
" This Philip, formerly Metacomet, was Chief in a
subsequent Indian War called King Philip's War.
" Capt. Smith the Traveller resided 19 years in
Virginia and New England, and wrote a History of
those Parts, Anno 1624 : he enumerates the Names
of many Tribes, Rivers, and other Things, which are
now irrecoverably lost.
"As the Indian's Dealings and mutual Corre-
spondence are much confined, their several Lan-
guages 4 are of small extent.' '
Mr. Douglas, who was alive in 1747, adds to the
foregoing the following :
" Mr. Eliot, formerly Minister of Roxbury, adjoin-
ing Boston, with immense Labor translated and
printed our Bible into Indian : it was done with a
good pious Design, but must be reckoned among the
" Otiosorum hominum negotia;" it was done in the
Natick Language. Of the Naticks at present there
are not twenty Families subsisting, and scarce any
of these can read : Cui Bono ? "
THEIIl MODE OF ATTACK.
When the Indians go to battle they seldom make
an attack in large bodies. After a general rendez-
vous, they divide into small skulking parties (their
common unvarying art of war was in the hidden effi-
ciency of small parties) ; and like carnivorous beasts
46 NEW ENGLAND.
of the forest they advanced to the onset, laying waste
dwelling-houses, and committing cruel murders with-
out regard to justice, honor, age, or sex.
As formerly among the Israelites, so it was in the
early days of the New England settlements : a saga-
more was considered as a mighty prince who could
lead one hundred or two hundred fighting men. He
prided himself in the loss of ten or twelve men as
the sure and unmistakable evidence of a bloody
battle.
In the first instances their weapons of war were
arrows and darts ; but latterly they had obtained
and used the deadly musket, fusils, the hatchet, and
long, sharp-pointed knives.
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN WARS.
No Record here Anterior to the Advent of Drake. No Serious
Trouble for Twenty-eight Years. In 1(514 Hunt kidnaps and
sells Twenty Indians. It troubles the Adventurers. The War
and the Plague of 1616 and 1617. Bones on the Battle-Groiinds.
Tisquantum (Squan to). Pilgrims land. First Indian Insurrec-
tion. The War- Whoop. Their Wood-Cry. Samoset greets the
Pilgrims. His Personal Appearance and Discourse. Tarried at
Night, and left them in the Morning. Pilgrims feed the Indians.
Indians sang and danced. Painted Faces. First Treaty. Mas-
sasoit with Sixty Warriors meets Gov. Carver and his Suite.
/AVING already glanced at the land-
scape of New England as it appeared
prior to its becoming a general battle-field ;
k and having made allusion to the nature
and habits of the native Indian, and of
his tribes, their various locations, hunting-grounds,
and fishing-places, I come next to notice the barbar-
ous conflicts which from time to time happened
among themselves.
This branch of our New-England annals must
necessarily be brief, brief from the fact that the
natives were entirely unlettered, with a language
somewhat vague, yet curious and comprehensive,
47
48 INDIAN WAftS.
and up to that day almost undefined, and entirely
unwritten. They could have no record, historic or
otherwise ; and none existed.
Hence, as we have hinted, the bloody conflicts that
would have stained these pages, of the years and the
ages that had transpired anterior to the advent of Sir
Francis Drake, had entirely vanished from earthly
vision ; so that in history these, as well as the events
of peace, of love, or of joy among the tribes, as from
time immemorial they had alternated, are all covered of
oblivion, and can have no place in these our epics.
In all that history, if we and the world had it, how
much there would be to be learned from it ! How
much to amuse, how much to improve us, how much
of love, and how much of anger or of wratji at which
earth might be made sad, is now and forever to
remain a mystery !
Since that day (1586) the red man in New England
has had a history. A history varied, as the impulses
of the human temper is various, where, in the end,
the wrath of man has been suffered to achieve a mas-
tery over his better nature ; and where, from the want
of caution and culture, the inheritance of an entire
nationality has been lost, almost entirely through
its common frailties, and through its mad, ill-advised,
unbridled ambition.
Prior to 1615 the history of Indian conflicts among
MATTERS AMONG THEMSELVES. 49
themselves remains, as forever it mast, almost entirely
unrecorded. Up to that period very little, if any
thing, had occurred to create any conflict between
the exploring, occasional adventurer and the native
Indian or his tribe, as each party at that time was
mutually interested in the novelty of the occasion, as
well as in the traffic which from time to time tended
in its promises to afford aid and sustcrance to both
nationalities. The first trouble between the tribes
and the adventurers arose in manner as follows :
Twenty-eight years after the advent of Sir Francis
Drake, to wit, in 1614, Captain John Smith sailed
along the New-England shore, surveying its coast
from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. At this time he
discovered the river Piscataqua. One of his ships he
left behind him in the care of one THOMAS HUNT,
who, forgetting his manhood, if he ever had any,
decoyed on board it about twenty of the native
Indians, kidnapped and carried them to Malaga, and
sold them into slavery to the Spaniards.
This infamous outrage of course excited dread
animosity in the tribes, and greatly enraged them
against Hunt, engendering in their minds hatred and
distrust towards succeeding adventurers. Some of
those captives, however, through the friendly inter-
position of one Capt. John Mason and others, found
their way back to the tribes ; and peace again was
50 INDIAN WAKS.
restored. This was the act of ONE white English man,
wherein and whereby the peace and well-being of
many honest, generous explorers and settlers suffered,
and in many instances lives were lost. Yet such per-
fidious acts by the first explorers here must have been
few ; for this is the only outrage of the kind which is
noted in the history of that time ; and thereafter-
wards peace, being declared, prevailed for many years
between the red man and his more discreet and
peaceable neighbors. But in about two years (1616)
the first and most terrible war among and between
the tribes themselves, of which we have any account,
broke out. As it appears, the Northern and Eastern
Tarratines came down upon the Patuxets, the Nar-
ragansets, and other neighboring tribes, and the battle
was terrible ; also the plague of 1617, raging at the
same time, made sad havoc upon the red men : so
that of all the sons and daughters of the Patuxets,
not one of them remained alive save their chief,
Squanto, Tisquantum. The bones of the slain at that
time almost everywhere were seen by the Pilgrims,
around the sickly wigwam, in and about the
numerous Indian battle-grounds of New England,
on the hills, in the valleys, on the margin of the
lakes, by the side of the beautiful river, and along
the shores of the sea.
This was the first and last of all the bloody bat-
MATTERS AMONG THEMSELVES. 51
ties in New England of importance, of which we
have any account, from the beginning of the New
World up to the advent of the Pilgrims.
Tisquantum, above named, as appears, was one of
the same twenty Indians who had been kidnapped
by Hunt, and sold into slavery to the Spaniards. It
further appears that he soon in some way escaped
from Spain, and afterwards for a considerable time
sojourned in London with a man by the name of
Slaine, learned something of our language there ;
but at length, through the aid of the master of a
ship, by the name of Dermer, he found his way back
to New England; and upon his arrival became a
great chief among the Patuxets. But alas ! when
the Pilgrims arrived, his tribe, as we have said, were
dead ; and Tisquantum (Squanto) was alone.
From my " Merrimack," page 23, I here insert a
brief recapitulation, in which allusion is made to the
arrival of the Pilgrims, and their intimate friendli-
nesc with
TISQUANTUM.
Columbus first of all ; then many more
Within a hundred years then next before
The Pilgrims land, adventurers indeed,
From Adam sprung, juniors in race and breed,
But versed in letters, statute, law, and art,
Seniors in science, just in head and heart.
52 INDIAN WAKS.
They meet old Squanto wandering here alone,
Who, sore depressed, bereaved of friends and home,
Recounts events which true tradition brought
Of Indian life, what sad experience taught,
LIow far and near the dead unburied lay,
His own Patuxet tribe all swept away ;
Yet nations seaward, deep in woods afar,
Spared from the scourge of pestilence and war,
Still thrive. There Massasoit, whose power maintains
The peace of tribes, in full dominion reigns.
Tisquantum, while in Spain and in London, had
excited the curiosity of foreigners, who never before
had seen a red man, and who inclined to gaze at him
as a choice production of the New World.
The Pilgrims, at their landing Dec. 11 (O. S.), 1620,
forty-one in all, very soon fell in with this extraor-
dinary personage, who, through his familiarity in con-
versations with Englishmen in London while there,
had obtained some knowledge of our language.
They of course soon sought him out, and made him
their interpreter.
On the fifteenth of the same month, four days
after their arrival here, they discovered five or six
Indians approaching their encampments ; but upon
seeing the Pilgrims they appeared frightened at their
friendly attempt to approach them, and fled.
MATTERS AMONG THEMSELVES. 53
FIRST INDIAN INSURRECTION.
On the 15tli of November, 1620, as a Pilgrim of
the forest relates it, " We went ranging up and
down till the sun began to draw low ; and then we
hasted out of the woods, that we might come to OUT
shallop.
" By that time we had done, and our shallop came
to us, it was within night, and we betook us to our
rest after we had set our watch.
" About midnight we heard a great and hideous
cry, and our sentinel called ' ARM ! ARM ! '
" So we bestirred ourselves, and shot off a couple
of muskets."
" About five o'clock in the morning, Dec. 8, we
heard a great and strange cry, which we knew to be
the same voice, though they varied their notes."
" One of our men, being abroad, came running in,
and cried, 4 They are men ! Indians ! Indians ! ' And
their arrows came flying amongst us."
THE WAR-WHOOP.
It was here at Namskekat that the Pilgrims first
heard the terrible war-whoop cry of the savage,
which from time immemorial to the present day in its
startling vociferations has remained invariably the
same. They do not move at the sound of the
drum or trumpet. They rally at the cry,
54 INDIAN WARS.
WOACH ! WOACH ! HA HA HA HACK
WOACH ! And their wood-cry is ro HAU !
The Pilgrims represented the CRY as terrible :
the Indian arrows came flying in among them, of
which they afterwards picked up eighteen, which
they sent to their friends in England, on the return
of " The Mayflower." One savage fought from behind
a tree ; and an old Pilgrim had three shots at him
with a musket : at the last the scamp gave an extraor-
dinary yell, and away they all went in a hurry.
Some of those arrows were curiously headed with
hart's horn, others with eagle's claws.
Whether any of the savages were slain or seri-
ously injured in this first brief conflict does not ap-
pear. This was by the Nauset Indians, of whom As-
pinet was chief.
Since their arrival on the llth of November, they,
as appears, had for the most part made the ship their
abode up to the llth of December, when they
landed.
It was on this occasion that the famous chief Sam-
oset, then and there, upon the shore of Cape Cod,
came forth from the wilderness, and extended to
them the friendly cry, u Welcome^ InglisJimen ! * In
my " Merrimack," page 24, mention is made as fol-
lows of this
SAMOSET AND PILGKIMS, page- 54.
MATTERS AMONG THEMSELVES. 55
SAGAMORE.
From thence SAMOSET comes with heart and hand
To welcome Englishmen, and grant them land ;
His visage dark, with long and raven hair,
No treacherous marks his beardless features bear,
His frame erect, and strangely painted o'er,
Belted around his loins ; a sagamore,
Whose bony arm a bow and arrow held,
A heart unsoiled his tawny bosom swelled
To generous deeds. He broken English spake,
And talked anon of men, of Francis Drake,
That gallant white man, years before who came,
And gave New Albion her historic name ;
Of Captain Smith, who since surveyed the coast,
And other voyagers, now a scattered host ;
Of former days some history tried to give,
And " lay of land " where rambling red men live.
Truthful Samoset proves, and seeks to bring
The Pilgrim saints in audience with his king.
This interview of Samoset with the Pilgrims was
on the 16th of March, 1621 ; and Mourt says he very
boldly came all alone, and along the houses straight
to the rendezvous, where he intercepted him, not suf-
fering him to go in, as undoubtedly he would^ out of
his boldness. He was naked : " only a leather about
his waist, with a fringe about a span long."
1)6 INDIAN WARS.
It was cold weather ; and the PILGRIMS " cast a
horseman's coat about him." In his kindness Samoset
gave them, as well as he could, much valuable infor-
mation. He, as they said, had learned some broken
English of adventurers who had come to fish at
Wouhiggan, and knew by name most of the captains,
masters, or commanders who had visited here. He
was free in speech so far as he was able to talk our
language. The Pilgrims " questioned him of many
things ; " and they say " Tie was the first savage we
could meet withal."
He told them " he was not of those parts, but of
Moratiggon, and one of the sagamores or lords there-
of; had been eight months in these parts; it lying
hence to the eastward a day's sail with a great wind,
and five days by land." " He discoursed of the whole
country and of every province, and of their saga-
mores, their number of men, and strength ; " had a
bow and two arrows, one headed, and the other not.
" He was tall and straight ; hair black, long behind,
short before, none at all on his face." " He asked for
some beer; but we (as they say) gave him strong
water and biscuit and cheese and pudding, and a
piece of a mallard, all which he liked well."
He told us " the place where he now lives is called
Patuxet ; and that about four years ago all the inhab-
itants died of an extraordinary plague, and there is
neither man, woman, nor child remaining, as indeed,
MATTEES AMONG THEMSELVES. 57
we have found none ; so there is none to hinder our
possession, or lay claim unto it."
" All the afternoon we spent in communication
with him : we would have gladly been rid of him at
night, but he was not willing to go this night.
" Then we thought to carry him on shipboard,
wherewith he was well content, and went into the
shallop ; but the wind was high and the water scant,
that it could not return back.
" We lodged (with him) at /Stephen Hopkins 9
house, and watched him."
It may seem strange that the Pilgrims should have
been here so long without a friendly interview with
the tribes previously to this with Samoset. But it
will be remembered that the war of which we have
spoken, and the plague of which Samoset here
speaks, had destroyed almost all ; and that these rem-
nants of tribes most likely had been made coy from
the fact, that, at their onset upon the Pilgrims, on
the night of the 7th of December then last, they,
perhaps for the first time in their lives, had been
made to " smell gunpowder."
" Samoset left Plimouth the next morning to
return to Massasoit, who, he said, was a sachem
having under him sixty men."
" The English, having left some tools exposed in
the woods, on finding that they were missing, rightly
judged the Indians had taken them."
58 INDIAN WAES.
" They complained of this to Samoset in rather a
threatening air. We willed him (they say) that
they should be brought again, otherwise we would
right ourselves."
When he left them " he promised within a night
or two to come again," and bring some of Massasoit's
men to trade with them in beaver-skins.
MODE OF DBESS.
As good as his word, Samoset came the next Sun-
day, " and brought with him five other tall, proper
men. They had every man a deer's skin on him;
and the principal of them had a wildcat's skin, or
such like, on one arm. They had most of them long
hosen up to their groins, close-made ; and about
their groins, to their waist, another leather ; they
were altogether like the Irish trousers. They are of
complexion like our English gypsies ; no hair, or
very little, on their faces ; on their heads long hair
to their shoulders, only cut before ; some trussed
up before with a feather, broadwise like a fan;
another a fox-tail hanging out."
The English had charged Samoset not to let any
who came with him bring their arms ; these, there-
fore, left "their bows and arrows a quarter of a mile
from our town."
" We gave them entertainment as we thought was
fitting them. They did eat liberally of our English
MATTERS AMONG THEMSELVES. 59
victuals," and appeared very friendly ; " sang and
danced after their manner, like anticks." Some of
them had their faces painted black from the fore-
head to the chin, four or five fingers broad : others
after other fashions, as they liked. They brought
three or four skins ; but we would not truck with
them all that day, but wished them to bring mere,
and we would truck for all, which they promised
within a night or two, and would leave theso behind
them, though we were not willing they should ; and
they brought all our tools again, which were taken
in the woods in our absence.
" So, because of the day (Sunday), we dismissed
them so soon as we could. But Samoset, our first
acquaintance, either was sick or feigned himself so,
and would not go with them, and staid with us till
Wednesday morning.
" Then we sent him to them, to know the reason
they came not according to their words ; and we
gave him a hat, a pair of stockings and shoes, a shirt,
and a piece of cloth to tie about his waist."
SAMOSET returned again the next day, bringing
with him Squanto, mentioned in the last chapter.
He was " the only native [says Mourt's Relation]
of Patuxet, where we now inhabit, who was one of
the twenty (or twenty-four) captives that by Hunt
were carried away, and had been in England, and
dwelt in Cornhill with Master John Slaine, a mer-
00 INDIAN WARS.
chant, and could speak a little English with three
others."
They bi ought a few articles for trade; but the
most important was, " that their great sagamore,
Massasoit, was hard by," whose introduction to them
accordingly followed.
In June, 1621, a boy, John Billington, having been
lost in the woods, several English, with Squanto and
Tokamahamon, undertook a voyage to Nauset in
search of him. Squanto was their interpreter.
FIRST TREATY.
On March 22, 1621, Samoset and Squanto brought
to Plymouth the welcome news that Massasoit of
Pokanoket, their chief, was near at hand ; and " they
brought with them [say the Pilgrims] some few
skins to truck, and some red herrings newly taken
and dried, but not salted, and signified unto us that
their great sagamore, Massasoit, was hard by with
Quadiquina his brother.
" They could not well say what they would ; but
after an hour the king came to the top of an hill
[supposed to be what is now Watson's Hill on the
south side of Town Brook] over against us, and had
in his train sixty men, that we could well behold
them, and they us."
CHAPTER IV.
FIRST TREATY.
The Tribes greet the Pilgrims. Governor returns Prescn*" to
Them. Address to the Natives. The Repast. The King's
Dress. His Ornaments. Hostages. Savages seated on the
Floor. Terms of their Treaty. Squanto and Samoset are their
Interpreters. Death of Squanto. His Will. His Departure
Poetized. March of Civilization. Peace Fifty Years. Erup-
tion between the Tribes. Sachems and Sagamores, Names of, in
New England. An Expedition to attack the Mohawks.
Josias leads. Mascanonomo degraded. Battle with the Mo-
hawks. Tarratines attack his House. They capture his
Squaw. He relents, and greets the English. They make him
Presents. A Land Grant to his "Widow. Canonicns. His
Exemplary, Liberal Life. His Peaceful Death.
iE were not willing," the Pilgrims say,
;t to send our governor to Massasoit and
his tribe ; and they were unwilling to
come to us : so SQUANTO went again
unto him, who brought word that we
should send one to parley with him ; and we sent
Edward Winslow, to know his intent, and to signify
the mind and will of our governor, which was that
we might have trading and peace with them.
" We sent to the king a pair of knives, and a cop-
per chain with a jewel in it. To Quadequina we
Gl
62 INDIAN WARS.
sent likewise a knife, and a jewel to hang in his ear,
and withal a pot of strong water, a good quantity of
biscuit, and some butter, which were all willingly
accepted.
" The Englishman then made a speech to him about
his king's love and goodness to him and his people,
and that he accept of him as his friend and ally.
" He liked well of the speech (say the English),
and heard it attentively, though the interpreters did
not well express it.
" After he had eaten and drunk himself, and given
the rest to his company, he looked upon our mes-
senger's sword and armor, which he had on, with
intimation of his desire to buy it ; but, on the other
side, our messenger showed his unwillingness to part
with it.
" In the end he left him in the custody of Quade-
quina his brother, and came over the brook, and
some twenty men following him. We kept six or
seven as hostages for our messenger." As Massasoit
proceeded to meet the English, they met him with
six soldiers, who saluted each other. Several of his
men were with him; but all left their bows and
arrows behind. They were conducted to a new
house which was partly finished ; and a green rug
was spread upon the floor, and several cushions, for
Massasoit and his chiefs to sit down upon.
FIEST TEEATY. 63
Then came the English governor, followed by a
drummer and trumpeter and a few soldiers; and,
after kissing one another, all sat down.
Some strong water being brought, the governor
drank to Massasoit, who in his turn " drank a great
draught, that made him sweat all the while after."
They now proceeded to make a treaty, which stipu-
lated, that neither Massasoit nor any of his people
should do hurt to the English ; and that, if they did,
they should be given up to be punished by them ;
and that, if the English did any harm to him or any
of his people, they (the English) would do the like
to them ; that, if they did unjustly war against
him, the English were to aid him ; and he was to do
the same in his turn ; and by so doing King James
would esteem him his friend and ally.
"All whicii [they say] the king seemed to like
well ; and it was applauded of his followers."
THE KING'S APPAEEL.
Then Massasoit the king, and chiefs, appear ;
As well the " governor and suit " draw near,
By music led, and soldiers at command,
Clad in the homespun of a foreign land,
And greet the king. The king no armor bears,
Save on his breast a knife-like weapon wears,
64 INDIAN WARS.
White beads about his neck, a gaudy ring,
And quaint tobacco-bag suspended by a string,
Comprise the insignia of his regal power,
Known and observed of nations as of yore.
Both king and chiefs, with painted features, wear
' Feathers disjoined from birds of plumage rare,
But little else. Kindly in turn they greet
The Pilgrim band, and down in group now seat
Themselves, holding discourse of allied strength
In treaty ; and, when all agreed at length,
They pass the pipe around : each" drink* in turn :
A sacred compact thus they all confirm^
A treaty wise, that full contentment gives
For fifty years while Massasoit lives.
From my Merrimack, p. 25.
Meanwhile it appears Squanto and Samoset
remained with the English, instructing them, and
acting as their interpreters. " Squanto went to fish, a
day or two after Massasoit left, for eels. At night
he came home with as many as he could lift in one
hand, which our people were glad of. They were
fat and sweet. He trod them out with his feet, and
then caught them with his hands."
As we have said, this Indian was of great use to
the English, with whom he was at all times kind
* If you smoke, the Indian calls it "drinking."
TISQUANTUM. 65
and friendly in volunteering as an interpreter, and
in giving aid and information during the two first
years of the Pilgrim settlements. He believed in
their religion, joined their church, lived two years
in their society, and died in December, 1622.
The Pilgrim account of this event is this : " Here
at Manamoyk [since Chatham], though they had
determined to make essay to pass within the shoals
of Cape Cod, yet God had otherwise disposed, who
struck Tisquantum with sickness, insomuch that
he there died. His disorder was bleeding much at
the nose, which the Indians reckon a dangerous
symptom."
" He desired the governor would pray for him,
that he might go to the Englishmen's God, bequeath-
ing his things to sundry of his English friends as
remembrances of his love ; of whom (as they say)
' we have a great loss.' >:
The reader will bear in mind, this was the same
Squanto who in 1614 had been kidnapped by Hunt,
sold into slavery in Spain, and had fled from there
into London. In my " Merrimack," page 26, 1 wrote
a word to his praise, as follows :
TISQUANTUM.
Squanto, meanwhile, who'd served a peaceful end,
And in the Pilgrims' God had found a friend,
66 INDIAN WARS.
Bereaved and worn by care of by-gone years
In mazy pathways through a vale of tears,
Falls sick ; and as by fever low depressed,
And life in doubt, to Pilgrims thus addressed
His sovereign Will : " This hunting-ground is mine,
The lakes, the vales, those mountain-heights sublime,
The green-grown banks where Merrimack bright glows,
And all the hills far as Patuxet goes :
These spacious wilds, my kindred (now no more)
In full dominion held and hunted o'er ;
Then dying, all their titles thence descend
To me, Tisquantum, now so near this end
Of life. To thee, my Pilgrim friends, I give
This broad domain, here may the white man live,
My bow and arrow too : I give thee all ;
Hence let me go, obedient to the call
Of Angel Death. Adieu ! "
Thus gracious dies
The last red man beneath Patuxet skies ;
And thus the English sole possession share
By will from Squanto all this region fair,
Forever thence to lay the forest low,
To fence fair fields, and drive the crooked plow,
To waste the wigwams which for ages spread
The wild ; and build broad mansions in their stead,
School-houses, temples to the God of grace,
And cities proud, peculiar to the race
WAR OF 1636-7. 67
Of Adam. Diligent through honest toil,
They reap rich harvest from the virgin soil.
From culture urged with bold aggressive sway,
Wild beasts, becoming frantic, flee away.
As ravenous bears and moose and wolves recede,
Neat-cattle and the noble horse succeed
In aid of husbandry. Full flocks abound ;
The herds increase, as roll the seasons rouiiu. ;
The desert even, through culture's grateful care,
Soon set with fruit, begins to bloom and bear ;
Fair nature smiles responsive to the plan
Of faith in God and industry of man.
It will be remembered that from this first treaty
among the tribes in 1621, by Gov. Carver and Mas-
sasoit their king, an amicable peace of fifty years
ensued.
This peace accordingly prevailed as between them.
But in 1636 a war broke out between the Pequot
tribes and Massasoit's tribes and the English.
SEVERAL WARS.
And then followed many eruptions, skirmishes,
murders, and wars; including the Pokanekets and
their allied nations under Philip, against the English :
the French and Indian wars in King William's time ;
Queen Anne's War in Europe, and consequently, as a
68
INDIAN WARS.
result of it, outrages, invasions, eruptions, murders,
and devastations in and throughout the settlements
of New England; and then, again, the eruptions
and bloody conflicts that followed between 1722 and
1725; and another conflict transpired among the
early settlers, growing out of a war originating or
meditated by the French and Spaniards in Europe ;
and the war of 1747, all tending to involve New
England in conflagration, devastation, and death.
But, before advancing to a more specific account
of the more prominent conflicts, we will here give
the names of some of the sachems, chiefs, and saga-
mores who first and last were, to a greater or less
degree, land-holders, and leaders of the multifarious
tribes of New England.
SACHEMS AND SAGAMORES.
Samoset,
Passaconaway, Pennacooks.
Messambomet,
Wonalancet of Wamesit,
Wexar,
Hodgkins,
Egeremit,
Kamkamagus,
Watambatet,
Adiwando,
Wassambomet,
Wehanonowit,
Washemet,
Hegans,
Wattanmeman,
Nahoba of Wamesit,
Tassuke,
\Vatehenoet,
Mugg,
Pangus, Pequawhets.
Wattammon,
Wattanumon,
Wenemovet,
Moxus, Jforrigewocks.
Kennebis,
Ilopegood,
Capt. SamueL
Squando, Saco.
Bomazine,
Mauataguft, **
Uobiuhood,
Tisquantum.
Androscogffin.
Tarratinet.
Kenne c*
SACHEMS AND SAGAMOKES. 69
Warnadugunbuent, Penobscots.
Uncas, Mohegant
Sussup,
Sunseto, "
Apamaquid,
Oweneco, "
Madacawando, "
One-eyed John, Jfflpmuckt
Warrangunt, "
Namapassamct,
Robin Doney, Piscataqnas.
Webcowit (squaw),
Miantonirao, Jfarragansetts.
Aprimps,
Canonicus, "
Wattapacoson,
Ponham, "
Sagamore Sam, "
Sassamor, '*
Sassacus, Pequots.
Tupayaaman, "
Tunxis, "
Hobomoh, *
Hammonasset,
Mossup, "
Robert, "
Quinnapin, "
Sokoso, "
Wauwamino, *
Warandance, Mohandsicks.
Tashtassuck,
Ascossasotick (Long Island), "
Tassaquanawith, **
Kutshamaken, an interpreter, "
Aspinet, )
\ sachems of Nausett, "
lyanough, )
Mascus, "
, Sachems of Dorchester, fcc.,
Wenew, "
Kutchamaquin, <
< near Squantum.
Tawagason, "
Ono Pequin, Sacliem of Quabaog.
Ninegret (Niantick),
John Tahattawan, Chief of Praying Indians.
Walluspequin, "
Wampatuck, Massachusetts.
Philip (Metacom), Wdmpanoags.
Chickataubut,
Alexander (Wamsutta), "
Tampatuck, "
Quaquath,
Cluchatabutt alias Jonas,
Peksuot, "
Tahattawan, at Concord (Mustaquid),"
Tokamahamon, **
Masconomo, at Ipswich (Agawam), "
Wecopaulum,
Montowampate, at Marblehead, "
Wectamos (a princess), "
Sam Hide, at Dedham (aged 105), "
Watuspaquin, "
Stonewall John,
Connecticote, Mohegans.
Cononchet (Ch. Sachem of Philip),
SHAMUT SACHEMS.
(Otherwise, those who signed the treaty of amity at
Plymouth, Sept. 13, 1621.)
Ohquameliud, Cawnacome, Obbatinnua.
Natawahunt, Caunbatant, Chuckatabak.
Quadaquina, Huthmoiden, Apanno.
70 INDIAN WARS.
THESE SAGAMORES.
" Some had expired in fight, the brands
Still rusted in their bony hands ;
In plague, and famine some" CAMPBELL.
MASSACHUSETTS AGAINST THE MOHAWKS.
In the year 1669 the Massachusetts tribe, uniting
with Englishmen, numbering in all about seven hun-
dred strong, took a march into what was called the
Maquas Country. They were mostly young men,
and advanced, without direction or advice of the
authorities at Boston, with revenge intent upon the
Mohawks.
ELIOT, the New-England apostle, advised against
it ; and yet five of his Indian disciples, volunteering,
went in for the fight. Josias^ an ambitious, stout,
middle-aged Indian, led off: as if in command.
They thus advanced two hundred miles through
the forest, and there falling in upon a Mohawk fort,
and besieging it, several of their men were killed :
others fell sick ; and, after some hesitation and delay,
they gave up the siege. On their retreat, the Mo-
hawks, following in pursuit, obtained a position in
the swamps or other ambushes in front of them ; and
there in battle, the great chieftain Chikatabutt, in
the midst of his prodigies of valor, was killed ; and
nearly fifty of his warriors also fell in this conflict,
on their way from the land of the Mohawks.
TAKKATINE INVASION. 71
MASCANONOMO.
In the English court, June 28, 1631, as against
this " sagamore of Agawam " (who had executed
deeds of " all his lands in Ipswich," to one John
Winthrop, jun.), a decree was recorded "that the
sagamore of Agawam be banished from coming into any
Englishman's house for a year, under penalty of ten
bear-skins."
This, as it seems, grew out of a difficulty which he
had made in killing Indians, and making strife
between the Tarratines and the English.
Soon the Tarratines came out in force against the
tribe of Mascanonomo, with a hundred men ; and on
the 8th of August of that year they made an attack
in the night-time upon his wigwams, wounded him,
killed seven of his men, and mangled others, who
afterwards died of their wounds. His squaw was
carried away captive.
This chief, notwithstanding these admonitions,
long afterwards, in 1644 (March 8), being friendly to
the English, made them a call with some of his
friends, assented to their articles of faith, were
" solemnly received;" and then they were presented
to the court.
They made him presents of twenty-six fathom of
wampum ; and the court gave him two yards of
cloth, dinners to him and his men, and " a cup
of sac '' to each at their departure. He dies.
72 INDIAN WARS.
A GRANT TO HIS SQUAW.
And now on the old Town-Book of Ipswich, under
date of June 18, 1658, a generous act of that munici-
pality is to be found, wherein a grant is made to
Mascononomo's squaw of
" That parcel of land which her husband had fenced
I'M," so long as she should remain a widow.
" Her husband was the last of the sachems of
Agawam ; and with him," says Mr. Felt, " descended
his feeble and broken sceptre to the grave." He
died March 6, 1658 ; and they buried him there, with
his gun, his tomahawk, and other implements of the
chase by his side, on " Sagamore Hill," within the
lines of Hamilton : there both squaw and sagamore
are at rest forever.
Many of the chiefs whom we have named as well
as we might in this chapter were men of note in
their times, standing distinguished among the native
nations, and at times were respected and favored of
the colonies.
CANONICUS.
Among these also was this sachem, from whose
good example and liberal kindnesses Connecticut
was obtained and civilized by the white man.
During the Pequot War great pains were taken to
secuie to the colonies the favor of Canonieus, then a
WILLIAMS AND CANONICUS. 73
sachem near to it in Connecticut. Hence Roger
Williams wrote to Gov. Winthrop as follows :
" Sir, if any thing be sent to the princes, I find
Canonicus would gladly accept of a box of eight or ten
pounds of sugar ; and, indeed, he told me he would
thank Mr. G-overnor for a box-full."
Then again he sent another letter, saying,
" I am bold to request a word of advice concerning a
proposition made by CANONICUS and MIANTUNIMO fo
me some half-year since. Canonicus gave an island in
this bay to Mr. Oldham, by name Chibachuwese, upon
condition, as it should seem, that he would dwell there
near unto them," and desired to know if this proposition
would be agreeable to Massachusetts. But the Pequot
War soon intervened ; and here, as we believe, this
matter came to an end.
CANONICUS was much noted. He was poetized
by some Boston writer in 1803, from which we
juote, wherein, at the age of eighty-four years, he is
made to announce his own departure from the
stormy trials of earth :
HIS LAST WORD.
" I die, my friends. You have no cause to grieve :
To abler hands my regal power I leave ;
Our God commands : to fertile realms I haste,
Compared with which your gardens are a waste.
74 INDIAN WARS.
There in full bloom eternal spring abides,
And swarming fishes glide through azure tides ;
Continued sunshine gilds the cloudless skies,
No mists conceal Keesuckquand from our eyes."
Roger Williams, in the year 1654, in alluding to
the old Narragansetts says,
" Their late famous long-lived Canonicus so
lived and died; and in the same most honorable
manner and solemnity (in their way) as you laid to
sleep your prudent peacemaker Mr. Winthrop, did
they honor this their prudent and peaceable prince ;
yea, through all their towns and countries, how
frequently do many, and ofttimes our Englishmen,
travel alone with safety and loving-kindness ! "
In a deposition which he gave of this chief, June
18, 1682, Mr. Williams says in substance that Mian-
tonimo was the marshal of Canonicus, was his
youngest brother's son, and did nothing without the
consent of Canonicus ; and then he adds, " I declare
to posterity, that, were it not for the favor that God
gave me with CANONICUS, none of these parts, no, not
Rhode Island, had been purchased or obtained ; for 1
never got any thing of CANONICUS but by gift"
CHAPTER V.
TREATY; PEQUOTS WITH THE ENGLISH.
Tbo Advance of Civilization. Pequot Hostilities and Depredations.
Their Numbers. Location of their Tribes. Sassacus their Sa-
chern. English Treaty with them. Land conveyed by the Tribes
to the Dutch. Consideration. In War they had conquered the
Dutch Settlers. Plymouth People seek Territory there.- Extent
of the Dominions of Sassacus. Stone and his Men; how slain.
Vessel Explosion, and Several killed. Narragansetts and English
unite against the Pequots. SASSACUS seeks Reconciliation. A
Talk in Boston. Position, as urged by the Pequots. A Treaty is
signed. Boston in an Uproar. Armed Men seat to Neponset to
appease the Narragansetts. Colonies try to pacify the Nations.
Englishmen seek Pequot Lands under Treaty. Neither Party
fulfils it. English took Deeds. Consideration of One of them.
Oldham is slain. Gallop finds his Body, and pursues the
Pequots.
the preceding chapters we have seen in
brief how the Pilgrims started on these
shores ; the first insurrection of the natives
against them ; how after the lapse of about
three months the friendly Samoset came to
meet and greet them ; how he brought in from
afar the wise, the peaceful, the discreet and
generous-hearted MASSASOIT ; how they made their
treaty, and formed a friendly alliance which, as
between the Plymouth Colony and these tribes,
75
76 INDIAN WARS.
endured for nearly fifty years ; and how old Sq aanto
(Tisquantum), after he had been taken by the heart-
less Hunt, carried into Spain, and sold as a slave,
escaped ; and after all his experience in London, and
after his sad reverses in the loss of his own entire
Patuxet tribe and kindred (all swept away by a war
and by the pestilence), how he still lived, and loved
the English ; how he joined the Church ; how then,
within two brief years, giving up every thing, he
took his final leave of a wilderness world, with an
abiding, triumphant faith in the Pilgrims' God.
Since then (December, 1622), the onward march of
civilization in New England has worked its "won-
ders.
FROM THE CLOUD.
Come back, Tisquantum, if above ye dwell :
Behold thy Merrimack, once loved so well.
Thy race had traced it from creation's start :
The white man turns it to the works of art.
Survey its progress these three hundred years,
Since up and down ye wandered here in tears
Alone, bereaved. Call once again to view
Thy thick-set forest wild, thy birch canoe,
Where now thy kindred sleep as from the first ;
Where Pilgrim saints since mingled in the dust ;
Where now the ploughman trudges in his toil,
Thoughtless of what still lies beneath the soil ;
TlSQUANTUM IN THE CLOUD, page 76.
SASSACUS AND HIS SAGAMORES. 77
Oh ! let us know from what thy name inspires,
What is man's destiny, what Heaven requires,
More fully still. From realms eternal, fair,
Tell us of hunting-grounds, of glory there,
Where blissful prospect Heaven shall fulfil
To generations onward, upward still ;
While purest fountains flowing, failing never,
Shall swell the tide of Merrimack forever,
Sure sign here given of God's enduring care,
For what we see in heaven, in earth, or air.
From my Merrimack, p. 74.
THE PEQUOT WAR.
The Pequot tribes of 1635-6 and 7 were said to
be at that period " the most numerous, the most war-
like, the fiercest and bravest, of all the aboriginal
clans of Connecticut. From the Niantic River on
the west, their forts and wigwams extended along
the rude and stony hills of New-London County to
Wecapoag, ten miles east of Paucatuc River, which
divides Connecticut from Rhode Island." Their
dominions extended back a considerable distance
ft om the sea, their northernmost tribes being mostly
Mohegans, who usually hunted along the banks of
the Thames. Sassacus was their grand sachem,
having under him twenty-six sagamores ; and he could
muster from five hundred to seven hundred warriors.
The Narragansetts, their most formidable foes,
78 INDIAN WARS.
dwelt at the eastward, in Rhode Island and vicinity,
and along the shores of the sea in Massachusetts
where the Indian population was dense.
These Narragansetts at the time are said to have
been very numerous, according to some accounts num-
bering more than twenty thousand, and that at one
time they could have furnished five thousand fighting
men.
It appears that on the 18th of June, 1633, there
was a treaty of sale and purchase between the Dutch
settlers in Connecticut and the Pequots. These
Indians conveyed to those Dutchmen " a tract of
land one Dutch mile in length along the river, ex-
tending one-third of a mile into the country." For
this land " Wopigwooit received twenty-seven ells of
a kind of coarse cloth called duffels, six axes, six
kettles, eighteen knives, one sword-blade, one pair of
shears, and some toys."
THE HOUSE OF GOOD HOPE.
The territory thus purchased for the purposes of
trade was to be free to all nations of Indians, and
" was to be a territory of peace. The hatchet was
to be buried there. No warrior was to molest his
enemy while within its bounds."
Yet Van Curler, " one of the Dutch," erected on it
a small trading-fort, armed it with two pieces of
cannon, and named it " The House of G-ood Hope."
DUTCH AND PEQUOT CONFLICTS. 79
Thereupon " the Pequots soon broke through the
conditions of the treaty aforesaid, by killing Indians,
their enemies, who came there to trade. Upon that,
the Dutch contrived to kill Wopigwooit their chief,
and several of his men."
SASSACTJS his son, a renowned warrior, succeeded
Wopigwooit as chief ; but alas ! he proved in the end
to be the last sachem o that tribe.
The war thus between the Dutch and the tribes
commenced. It lasted nearly two years ; bringing to
the settlers all the horrors of a bloody conflict, in-
terrupting trade, and producing unabated consterna-
tion throughout New England.
The Pequots for the time being prevailed over the
Dutch. In October, 1633, while the war with the Dutch
progressed, the Plymouth people resolved to make a
settlement in the Pequot country, and sent one
William Holmes up there with a vessel, a number of
men, and the frame of a house. " He sailed up the
river, passed the Dutch fort at Hartford, and, in
spite of remonstrances and threats of the garrison,
erected his trading-house in a place now called
Windsor." Holmes, they say, carried back in his
vessel the original sachems who had been driven
away by the Pequols, probably thereby giving
further offence.
The Pequots had then alread}' conquered this part
80 INDIAN WARS.
of the Connecticut Valley ; and their supremacy had
been substantially acknowledged by the Dutch.
It may be observed that the English inclined to
question the Dutch titles as well as those of the
Pequcts. But no open hostility commenced at this
time between the English and the Pequot race ; and
yet the germ of hostility was beginning to move.
In the summer of 1633 Capt. Stone came here from
Virginia in a small vessel to obtain trade on the
coast of New England. He traded a short time at
Massachusetts Bay, and then sailed with a Capt.
Norton and seven others for the Connecticut River.
Soon after his departure news came to Boston that
Stone, Norton, and his whole company, were killed,
his vessel burned, and all his articles of cargo taken
and divided among the Pequots and Nehantics. It
appears further that at or near this time others, to
the number of thirty, had been slain somewhat in a
similar manner.
ORIGIN OF THESE TKIBES.
This nation of Pequots, as we have seen, according
to Hubbard, cruel and war-like as they were, had in
former times " come down from the inland parts of
the continent, and by force had seized upon one of
the goodliest places near the sea, and had become a
terror to all their neighbors.'' He says their domain
PEQUOT WAR. 81
extended over a part of Long Island, over the
Mohegans, over the sagamores of Quinnepeake (now
New Haven), yea, over all the people that dwelt upon
Connecticut River, and over some of the most south-
erly inhabitants of the Nipmuck Country about
Quinabaag. The principal seat from which these
sagamores rallied was near the mouth of the
Thames, now New London. They had here origi-
nally three kings, to wit, Connecticote, Quinnipiog,
and Sassacus. CONNECTICOTE, as from a long line
of descents, was chief of chiefs. They up to this
time had conquered the Dutch settlers, having mur-
dered many of them in a quarrel, arising mostly from
the fact that the Dutch had traded with some of
their enemies; and, now that they had begun to
murder the English who came there to trade, we soon
will begin to behold
" HOW GREAT A MATTER A LITTLE FIRE KINDLETH."
So it was that one Capt. Stone from Virginia, in
1634, while on a trading expedition, as he had at
first touched at Massachusetts Bay, with his seven
men on board of his vessel was brutally murdered.
STONE AND NORTON.
It happened thus: On reaching the mouth of
the Connecticut, Stone opened a trade with the na-
tives, and sent three of his men ashore to hunt for
82 INDIAN WARS.
wild-fowl. The Indians appeared friendly, and were
suffered to come on board the vessel at pleasure.
Stone, being tired for want of rest, fell asleep in his
cabin in presence of the sachem ; and the rest of the
crew unsuspiciously and without any precautions
were in the galley.
Meantime the three men on shore had been at-
tacked and slain by a party of the Indians, but so far
off, it was not known of the ship's crew. Then the
chief knocked out the brains of the unconscious
captain ; and instantly his followers seized the fire-
arms of the vessel, and presented them against the
startled English.
NATIVES AFBAID OF FIEE-AEMS.
One of the English, seizing a musket, aimed it in
his own defence. Upon seeing such a weapon in the
hands of a white man, they all fled, leaping over-
board.
But, in the rush and confusion, the powder in the
vessel ignited, blew up, damaging the vessel, and
killing nearly the whole of the little crew then re-
maining.
Next then, the Indians clambered on board again,
and, killing such as yet remained alive, plundered
and sequestered the cargo. These murderers were
Pequots, aided, perhaps, by some of the western
AN IMPENDING CONFLICT. 83
NeJiantics. It was in this way the battles went on ;
for the Narragansetts, the Massachusetts, and tribu-
taries had not forgotten, as they never would forget,
their alliance as pledged to the English on their
great first treaty in the peaceful days of Massasoit ;
and they now resolved to move together against the
Pequots.
The Pequot nation had been besought to give up
their murderers by the English through their gover-
nor at Boston, and, as of course, in vain. Yet their
war with the Dutch settlers was still troubling them ;
and, in sight of the storm which they could but see
gathering to becloud them, they in the following
year, through Sassacus, undertook to conciliate the
English, hoping thereby to escape danger, and to
restore to his people a return of trade.
HE SENDS AN AMBASSADOR.
In October, 1634, a Pequot messenger arrived at
" the bay," bearing, according to Indian fashions
as an ambassador, a present for Deputy-Gov.
Ludlow from his sachem.
He laid down before the governor " two bundles
of sticks, indicative of the number of leaver and
other skins which the Pequots would give the Eng-
lish, and promised also a large amount of wampum,
and therefore requested a league between his people
and the pale-faces."
84 INDIAN WARS.
Ludlow accepted the presents thus made to him-
self, and gave him in return a moose coat of equal
value for the Pequot chieftain ; but the governor
kindly told the messenger, when he took leave of
him, that Sassacus must show his respect for the
English by sending deputies of greater quality than
he was, and enough of them, before a treaty could be
made with the colonies.
A fortnight afterwards, two Pequot sagamores
arrived, bringing to Ludlow other presents.
The deputy-governor, Dudley being absent, re-
ceived them with civility, conducted them to Boston,
and their negotiations opened.
But the Pequots were told that there could be no
consent to a treaty until the murderers of Stone and
others were surrendered, nor until restitution was
made for the plunder and destruction of his vessel.
PEQUOTS DEFEND THEIK ACTION.
These sagamores " did not deny that their nation
was responsible for the murder, but asserted that
Stone had provoked his fate"
They said that " on entering the Connecticut, he
forcibly seized two Indians of that region, and kept
them on board his vessel to make them pilot it up
the river ; that after a while, he and two of his men
landed, taking with them the two captives, with their
hands still closely bound behind them;
PEQUOT AMBASSADORS. 85
" That nine Indians watched the party ; and at
night, when the English had gone to sleep on the
shore, they killed them, and liberated their country-
men ; " that the vessel, with the remainder of their
crew, was afterwards blown up: ht of this they
knew nothing, neither the manner nor cause.
They further stated that the sac7&m whom they
had when Stone was put to death had been killed by
the Dutch, and that all the Indians concerned in the
murder had died of the small-pox, except two.
These, they cautiously added, Sassacus would prob-
ably be willing to deliver to the English, provided
the guilt could be proved upon them.
This story of the Pequot ambassadors, the English
were inclined to believe, having no direct evidence to
the contrary; and a treaty was then and there
agreed upon, and was signed by the parties.
SECOND TREATY IN N. E. HISTORY.
By this, the English were to have as much land in
the country of the Connecticut as they needed, pro-
vided they would make a settlement; and the
Pequots were to give them all possible assistance in
effecting their settlement.
The Pequots were to surrender the two murderers
whenever they were demanded, and were to pay the
86 INDIAN WARS.
English forty beaver-skins, thirty otter-skins, and
four hundred fathoms of wampum.
They were likewise to give all their custom to the
English, who, on the other hand, were to send them
a vessel immediately, not to defend them, bub to
trade with them.
Such was the treaty between the Colony of Mas-
sachusetts Bay and the Pequots in 1634.
BOSTON IN A HUBBUB.
On the morning next following this treaty, news
arrived " that two or three hundred Narragansetts
were waiting at a place called Neponset to kill the
Pequot messengers on their way home."
Thereupon a few armed men were collected by an
order from the governor ; and they proceeded to
Neponset with a message to come to Boston and
have a talk.
Bat, on reaching Neponset, the white men found
only two sagamores with about twenty warriors, who
put in a disclaims by saying that they were out
on a hunting expedition, and had come thither sim-
ply to make their old friends at Neponset a visit.
THE COLONY TRIES TO PACIFY THE TRIBES.
The English now make the attempt to negotiate a
peace between the Pequots and the Narragansetts.
SETTLEMENTS AMONG THE PEQUOTS. 87
To this end they offered the Narragansetts a part
of the wampum which was to be paid by the Pe-
quots ; and, as appears, the Pequots had stipulated
to furnish the governor with four hundred fathoms
of that article, extra, for that very purpose.
The Narragansetts acceded to this proposition ;
and a treaty of peace was also concluded between
them and the Pequots.
From this treaty, for the time being amounting to
a sort of reconciliation on the one side and on the
other, the English advanced to make settlements
among the Pequots at Wethersfield and elsewhere ;
and there is a deed wherein it appears that within
the two next years they had purchased of Sowheag
the sachem, certain territory " measuring six miles in
width north and south, and nine miles in length, of
which six miles were on the west side of the river."
There is another deed, bearing date April 25,
1636, by which they obtained by purchase a tract on
the east side of the Connecticut, lying between the
Podunk and Seantic Rivers, and extending a day's
march into the country.
CONSUMMATION OF THE DEED.
Its consideration was twenty cloth coats, fifteen
fathoms of wampum, a part of which was to be paid
at the time and a part when the next English pin-
nace came up the river.
88 INDIAN WARS.
This deed was signed by Arramament (sachem at
Podunk), Sheat (sachem of Poquonnuc), Cogremos-
set of Poquonnuc, and eight others, who hitherto
had claimed an interest in the lands.
TREATY NOT FULFILLED.
John W. De Forest, in his concise history of
the Connecticut wars, printed in 1750, says, that the
treaties between the colonial government and the
Pequots were imperfectly observed on both sides;
that iSassacus paid none of the wampum or other
articles which he had promised; nor is there any
proof that for two years after the treaty the colonists
ever sent a vessel to the Pequot country to trade ;
that the only article which the English fulfilled was
that of planting colonies in Connecticut; and the
only article which the Pequots fulfilled was that of
allowing them to do so without opposition.
TROUBLE WITH THE NARRAGANSETTS.
It was thus that matters went on under that
treaty ; and at length it happened, John Oldham of
Dorchester, an energetic commander of a pinnace,
in which he made trading voyages along the coast
for the purpose of obtaining corn and other Indian
articles of traffic was slain.
In the spring of 1636 he sailed up the Connecti-
MUBDEK OF OLDHAM. 89
cut, having for a crew two boys and two Narragan-
sefcts to assist him in trade with the Pequots.
OLDHAM finished his dealings with the natives;
but, pausing on his return at Manisses (Block Island),
he was murdered by its Indian inhabitants July 20,
1636.
Upon this being known to another trader, John
G-allop, who was voyaging along the eastern part
of Long Island, he discovered Oldham's pinnace,
having on board of it sixteen Indians, and a canoe,
manned by other Indians, loaded with goods, put-
ting off from the shore.
HE HAILS IT.
Gallop, running close to it, gave a hail in English ;
but, obtaining no answer, his suspicions were aroused
by observing that the Indians were armed with guns.
Immediately a sail was hoisted on board the pinnace.
The wind and tide being off the island, their boat
began to drive northward towards the Narra-
gansett shore. Gallop then bore up as if to head
them off, and occasionally fired at them with duck-
shot ; upon which they all took shelter under the
hatches. He then, standing off at a distance, made a
run upon the pinnace's quarter with heavy force.
Six Indians, frightened at the shock, jumped over-
board, and were drowned while making for the shore,
90 INDIAN WARS.
He then made another rush upon the pinnace with*
his heavier vessel ; and, no other Indians making their
appearance, he used his muskets in firing through
her sides.
Then six others of the plunderers leaped over-
board, and were drowned.
The victors then (three men and two boys)
boarded their prize. Two Indians came up on deck,
surrendered, and were secured; but, as they made
him trouble in securing them, he threw one of them
into the sea. Two other Indians still remained
under the hatches armed with swords, in such a posi-
tion that they could not be killed or taken.
The body of John Oldliam was found beneath an
old sail, his head split open, his arms- and legs
gashed as if the Indians had tried to amputate them,
and his flesh still warm.
Gallop committed these remains to the sea, took
the sails and remainder of the cargo on board their
own craft, and then tried to tow the pinnace away
with the two Indians still in it.
But the high wind and heavy sea drove the pin-
nace from them : they were obliged to loose her ;
and she drifted over against the Narragansett shore.
CHAPTER VI.
THE OLD NAKKAGANSETTS.
With the English Harmonious usually. An Eruption. The Tribe
proposes War. Go v. Bradford returns the Rattlesnake Skin,
and avoids Trouble. Canonicus and his Sachems. Pequots
suspected of Hostility. An Expedition sent against them with
Terrible Instructions. Fleet lands. The Indians run away.
English commit Depredations. A Dread Warfare is at hand.
Murders ensue from the Tribes. Men, Cows, &c., are killed.
Miantonomo and two Sons of Canonicus, and Twenty Others visit-
ed Boston in Kindness, and made an Alliance. Tilly and Others
murdered. Uncas at the Say brook Fort. Battle on the High-
lands at Mystic, led by Mason. Underbill and Uncas andWe-
quash on the One Side, and the Sagamores of Sassacus on the
Other. Its Description. Numbers Slain. Sassacus in sight of
his Dead Nation. He seeks the Mohawks. They murder
him, and return his Scalp to the English.
CANONICUS for many years was their chief;
and every thing, as between them and the
English, seemed to move harmoniously at
all times, with the exception of one or two
instances of apparent warlike eruptions.
One of these causeless misunderstandings is de-
scribed by Edward Window in his GOOD NEWS OF
NEW ENGLAND, and is repeated by Mr. Drake the
historian, as follows :
91
92 INDIAN WAES.
In February, 1622, Canonicus sent into Plymouth
by one of his men a bundle of arrows, bound with a
rattlesnake-skin, and left them there, and retired.
The Narragansetts were then many thousands strong.
Tisquantum the interpreter, after the messenger had
left, being called, told the English that the arrows
lapped in a rattlesnake's skin was intended as a
challenge for war.
Thereupon Gov. Bradford took the rattlesnake's
skin, filled it with powder and shot, and returned it
to the old Narragansett, with a message of defiance,
and at the same time invited him to a trial of
strength.
The messenger, with his daring demand, produced
the desired effect upon Canonicus, who, declining to
receive the rattlesnake-skin, at once returned it.
And here, as we believe, the trouble ended.
Canonicus had held, and still maintained, an influence
over some of the Massachusetts sagamores, who
were inclined to follow him.
We are told that in the war between Uncas and
Miantonomo, two sons of Canonicus fought for
Miantonomo, and that they were wounded at
Sachem's Plain.
Poems were published of this chief, of. which a
few lines are here copied :
THE PLOT AGAINST OLDHAM. 93
" A mighty prince of venerable age,
A peerless warrior, but of peace a friend ;
His breast a treasury of maxims sage,
His arm a host to punish or defend."
The tribes of Canonicus from the beginning, as we
have said, had maintained good faith with the Pil-
grims. They had become more civilized, and had
been better in their behavior, and more inclined to
progress, than any other of the tribes within the six-
teen years since they had entered into an allied treaty
with the English.
But now an event has happened which makes
Canonicus, that faithful old Sachem, sad. It was not
the act of Canonicus : his sorrows arise from the
perfidy of a few of his men, just as great quarrels
usually commence. This old chief of the Narragan-
eetts^ seeing the situation, as avowed, forthwith sent
Miantonomo his nephew, with seventeen canoes and
two hundred men, to punish the murderers.
It was undoubtedly true that the plot at the mur-
dering of Oldham was planned and perpetrated by
his Narragansetts, because this captain had traded
with their enemies, the Pequots. Canonicus, in view
of this troublesome murder, had applied for aid and
advice to Roger Williams, a clergyman in that vicin-
ity. Accordingly Williams had prepared a letter in
94 INDIAN WABS.
bis behalf; and three Narragansetts were made the
bearers of it as ambassadors to the governor at Bos-
ton. The plot had been formed, and the murder
committed, by certain reckless savages on the island :
as we have said, they had taken offence because Old-
ham had favored the Pequots with his trade.
The authorities at Boston finally sent the messen-
gers back to Canonicus, expressing some suspicions
which they had entertained upon this matter. They,
however, demanded that Canonicus should surrender
Oldham's two boys, whom the savages still held, and
that he should inflict severe punishment upon the
guilty tribes upon the island.
The boys accordingly were returned ; and Canoni-
cus and Miantonomo thereafterwards succeeded in
convincing the governor that neither he nor his sag-
amores had any knowledge of, and that they had not
had any participation in, the murder.
PEQUOTS SUSPECTED.
It came to light that some of the Pequots had
harbored some of the murderers of Oldham ; and by
the Colony it was thought they had been partakers
of guilt with the Narragansetts ; and, in that time
of faithless fear and excitement, hasty measures were
adopted.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PEQTJOTS. 95
Although, by the treaty of 1634, the Pequots were
to have paid the Colony four hundred fathoms of
wampum, which was to have gone to the Narragan-
setts, they had not done it. Yet from that treaty they
had behaved well towards the Colony, and could not
be accused of having committed any outrage against
the English, their property, or their allies. " Yet such
were the suspicions against them, which were now
aroused in this time of excitement, that the govern-
ment at Boston resolved to demand of the Pequot
nation six hundred additional fathoms of wampum,
and some of their children as hostages for its deliv-
ery."
On Sept. 25, 1636, pursuant to orders from the
governor and council, John Endicott of Boston was
furnished with three small vessels and with ninety
men, of which John Underhill and Nathaniel Turner
were captains, and Jenyson and Davenport ensigns,
and with instructions to invade Block Island, and,
sparing "the women and children, put all the men
to the sword." Endicott was commanded to go
farther : he was to advance into the Pequot Country,
obtain the " infidel murderers of Stone," together
with a thousand fathoms of wampum, demand some
of their children as hostages for the performance of
these conditions, and, if the children were refiised,
to take them by force, and bring them to Boston.
96 INDIAN WARS.
The fleet was off, and landed on the island. The
principal chiefs were away. No attack was made
on that day. They made some random shots, by
which it is supposed one Indian was killed ; but the
Indians at the smell of gunpowder ran away, as
usual. On the following day Endicott and his force
marched over the Island, but, finding no Indians
there, "burned down their wigwams, destroyed their
canoes, carried away some of their mats and baskets,
shot their dogs, and laid waste about two hundred
acres of corn."
They spent two days there, but found no
more Indians. Thence Endicott with his force
advanced to Saybrook. Lieut. Gardner, who com-
manded the fort there, expressed great surprise at
the sending out of such an expedition, and appeared
almost exasperated at the madness of such an un-
reasonable movement. Addressing the commander,
says he, " You have come to raise a nest of wasps
about your ears ; and then you will flee away."
Gardner, however, upon reflection, and in obedi-
ence to orders, re-enforced the expedition with two
shallops and twenty men.
They remained four days by reason of stress of
weather ; and then they advanced along the coast of
the western Nehantics. As they passed, the Indians,
at the sight of so many vessels, innocently and un-
DREAD ALARMS. 97
suspiciously came running to the shore in large
numbers to inquire the object of their visit. " What
cheer? Englishmen ! " they shouted. " What do you
come for ?"
The craft kept steadily on, making no answer
(for they seemed to have none to make). When
arriving at the mouth of the Thames, and when, as
it appeared, the white men would not answer, the
Indians turned and began to cry, "Are you angry,
Englishmen ? Will you kill us ? "
No answer was returned. The vessels silently
passed down the river, cast anchor far from the shore ;
and the anxious Pequots sadly turned away.
Dread alarms reverberated through the wilderness
that night ; and next day the Pequots in that neigh-
borhood were few. It being late in the season, the
expedition was finally given up. By such a demon-
stration, that wicked, barbarous nation the Pequots
were driven to desperation ; and a reckless warfare
again commenced. In the field, in the forest, on the
highway, in the church, or in the cot, danger, like a
pestilence at noonday or at night, to men, innocent
women, and helpless children, followed all alike.
At Saybrook in October, 1636, five men, while
haying in a meadow, were attacked; and one of
them, by the name of Butterfield, was killed ; and
that meadow bears the dead man's name to this day.
98 INDIAN WARS.
About fourteen days afterwards, two men were
taken in a cornfield two miles from Saybrook Fort.
Within a mile of the fort six men were surrounded
by two or three hundred Indians. Four escaped ; two
were taken : the two of course were slain. Advan-
cing, they killed one cow, and shot arrows into
others.
Oct. 21, the friendly Miantonomo, a Narragansett,
with two sons of CANONICUS, came to Boston with
twenty other Indians, to give notice to the English
of the approaching dangers. Katashamakin also
sought a conference with the governor ; and giving
notice of his purpose, a military company, being
ordered, met him at Roxbury and escorted him into
Boston.
Here at this time he made an alliance against the
Pequots, agreeing with the English that neither
party should make peace with the Pequots without
consent of the other, and made it a duty to de-
liver up murderers, or to put them to death.
John Tilley about the same time was sailing down
the Connecticut in a boat ; and within about three
miles of Saybrook Fort he shot at some game. The
Pequots, hearing the report of his gun, overtook him,
tortured and maimed him in the most brutal manner,
and at length cut off his legs and arms, cruelly
leaving him alive. He lingered about three days.
AN ALLIED ARMY MOVES. 99
He was denominated " a stout man " by his tor-
mentors. A man who at the same time was with
Tilley was also killed.
On Feb. 22, 1636, several Englishmen, as they
went out from Saybrook Fort, were decoyed into an
ambush by the Pequots; and four of them were
slain. The others with great difficulty made their
escape.
At Wethersfield (same year) April 12, six men
and three women were murdered ; two young
women were carried away ; and one horse and
twenty cows were killed.
Next, then, there was extraordinary alarm through-
out these English plantations. Miantonomo had
sent a notice to Boston that the Pequots had sent
their women and children away to an Island.
Forty men were thereupon raised and sent to
Narragansett, to join others to be raised by Mianto-
nomo himself, with the design of falling in upon the
Pequot warriors by a surprise, and driving them out
of the world.
About this time Capt. Mason, with ninety men
raised in Connecticut, had been sent away to make
war against the Pequots. The famous Uncas^ with a
large body of his warriors, advanced with Mason ;
and on their march to Saybrook, May 15, 1637, they
fell upon about thirty Pequots, killed seven of
100 INDIAN WARS.
them, and placed their heads on the walls of the
fort at Saybrook.
Immediately afterwards Capts. Mason and Unier-
hill advanced to take one of the forts of the enemy,
which was situated on a rise of ground, where
Groton, Conn., now stands. The English and
about five hundred allied Indians arrived there on
the 25th of May, and surrounded the eminence before
day on the morning of the 26th ; and the battle was
obstinate, furious, and bloody. Beforehand, however,
the Mohegans and Narragansetts had begun in their
talk to hesitate, thinking that the English would not
stand their ground as against the Pequots led by so
brave a sagamore as Sassacus.
Thereupon Mason and Underbill, who commanded
the seventy-nine Englishmen, called up Uncas, who
was to lead the Mohegans, and Wequash, a fugitive
Pequot chief who had acted as a pilot, and who was
to assist in, the lead of the Narragansetts, and
endeavored to excite them to bravery, urging them
to follow the English ; and then, the battle com-
mencing, the Pequots swarmed out against them
furiously. On the other hand, the allied Indians,
although they kept at respectable distances from the
front, maintained their ground, and did good service
in heading off the fugitive Pequots, as the fight ex-
tended along the way for several miles.
THE PEQUOT SLAUGHTER. 101
The English had but seventy-seven men, which
were divided into two companies, one led by Mason,
and the other by Underbill. The hostile Pequots
were all within their wig % wam-fort, asleep. The
barking of a dog was the first notice they had of the
approach of the allied forces; yet none of them
knew the cause of the alarm, until met at their
gates by the foe.
The fort had two entrances at opposite points,
into which each party of English were led, sword in
hand. " Wanux, Wanux!" (English, English) was
the Availing cry of the five hundred savages within
the distracted wigwams of the fort.
The bow and the arrow, or even the tomahawk,
were as nothing to them then. The English, rapiers in
hand, backed up by the Mohegans and Narragansetts,
from wigwam to wigwam, pursued and slaughtered
them in every place. Men, women, and children, all
were falling, one after another, without reservation
or distinction. At length fire was set in the mats
and other combustible material that covered the
wigwams : it furiously spread over the whole fort ;
and the dead and dying were together consumed.
A part of the English had formed a circle around
and on the outside of the fort ; and they made it a
business to shoot all those that attempted to fly.
Some of them tried to ascend the pickets to escape
102 INDIAN WARS.
the flames, but fell, being shot down. Upwards of
five hundred Pequots perished in this battle. Two
only of the English were killed ; and about twenty
of them were wounded. Sassacus himself was in
another fort, and, being informed of the fate of his
tribes, destroyed his habitation, and with about
thirty others fled to the Mohawks ; but the faithless
Mohawks treacherously beheaded him, and made a
return of his scalp to the English. Thus perished
the Pequots ; and thus ended the Pequot war, and
almost the entire Pequot race. Yamoyden the poet
celebrates this battle as follows :
" And Sassacus, now no more,
Lord of a thousand bowmen, fled ;
And all the chiefs, his boast before,
"Were mingled with the unhonored dead.
Sannap and sagamore were slain
On Mystic's banks, in one red night :
The once far-dreaded king in vain
Sought safety in inglorious flight ;
And, reft of all his regal pride,
By the fierce Maqua's hand he died."
At this terrible battle,* waged as it was by the Eng-
lish and their Indian allies on the one side, and by
* Cotton Mather says, that, while this Pequot battle at the fort was
progressing, a party of three hundred of them from another place
came up, and that they " acted like bears bereft of their whelps;"
WAILINGS AT THE LOSS OF A NATION. 103
the perfidious Pequots on the other, Sassacus, their
great sachem, was away. Some eighty of his men
also were away guarding another locality, who, as
appears, subsequently came in, and rallied in the fight.
Tragical indeed was that scene on the morrow.
When the news of the loss of his nation fell upon
the ears of Sassacus, and his eyes came to behold
the ruins of his great wigwam fortress, together
with the dead and mangled bodies of his slaughtered
tribes, he with his thirty attendants appearing as
the pitiful remnant of a powerful nation, the pic-
ture was indeed pitiful. The dead extended from
the fort to distant swamps ; and the whole loss to the
Pequots, first and last, was nearly seven hundred.
Mather says, " When they came to see the ashes of
their friends mingled with the ashes of their fort,
and the bodies of so many of their countrymen ter-
ribly * barbikew'd,' where the English had been
doing a good morning's work, they hoivled, they
roared, they stamped, they tore their hair ; and,
though they did not swear (for they knew not how),
yet they cursed, and were the very pictures of so
many devils in desperation." This was the last day
of Sassacus on his old hunting-grounds in the val-
tbat they " combined a bloody fight for miles together ; " that they
made a fort of every swamp in their way, until they became finally
" discouraged, and gave over " at a place called Fail-field.
104 INDIAN WARS.
leys of the Connecticut, and along the beautiful
Thames. His hand had been raised against every
man's hand ; his hostile nation had left its scars on
the red, brawny faces of all the neighboring tribes :
and now, while he stood there in sight of the horrors
of that tragic morning, amid the mangled bodies of
his tribes, and in the midst of the wailings which
Mather has described, whither, oh whither now
should he fly ? His thirty bereaved friends, the rem-
nant of his mighty tribes, then filling the air with
their lamentations, were powerless to aid, to comfort,
or to tell him. The English were away ; but, reek-
ing with vengeance, they were as yet on the alert,
and were yet seeking Ms blood. Where, to whom,
should he fly ? Like a wounded deer pursued by the
hounds he leaped : he fled away for the Mohawks.
The Mohawks ! and they, too, were still bearing upon
their bodies the same deep-cut scars which Sassacus
himself had made ; and oh, what madness ! No-
where else could he go. Forgetting his own bloody
aggressions, and depending for his life upon an
unforgiving, merciless Mohawk, impetuous, he flew
away to him, still meditating vengeance, and whose
hostile tribes on the borders of New York destroyed
him, and then afterwards waged war upon Passacon-
away. It was thus Sassacus fell.
The wrath of the English, and of their allied
FATE OF SASSACLTS. 105
Mohegans and Narragansetts, had swept over his
nation like a pestilence ; and then, like a fish atxthe
net, and the bird caught in the snare, Sassacus per-
ished at the hand of the Mohawks. The Mohawks (a^
if in fear of the English), when Sassacus came falling
penitently into their open arms, murdered him in
cool blood; and then with Mohawk ceremonies
treacherously they transferred and transmitted his
bleeding scalp to the English government at Boston.
Here ended the last sad lesson which may be
taken from the history of this famous, belligerent,
fated Sassacus, a lesson among many, wherein the
wrath of man has been permitted to prevail over his
better passions, and where professed civilizations as
well as barbarisms have been at fault, through which
an entire nation perished in a night ; and that original
Pequot tribe of New England fell^ never more to be
seen.
However cruel the provocations, that urged the
immediate necessity of destroying the Pequot race
might be, yet the reader cannot but be surprised at
the evident complacency of its leading enemy, Cotton
Mather, in announcing the result of that murderous
conflict, while he asserts that in a little more than
an hour "five or six hundred of these barbarians were
dismissed from a world that was burdened with them."
He states that on that bloody night of May 20,
106 INDIAN WARS.
1637, not more than seven or eight persons of all
that multitude of Pequots at the garrison escaped :
these fled with Sassacus to the Mohawks.
Dwight, on this slaughter, concludes a poem
thus :
THE PEQUOTS.
" Undaunted, on their foes they fiercely flew,
As fierce the dusky warriors crowd the fight;
Despair inspires ; dread combats strength renew ;
With groans and shouts they rage unknowing flight,
And close their sullen eyes in shades of endless night.
" Indulge, my native land, indulge the tear,
That steals impassioned o'er a nation's doom :
To ine each twig from Adam's stock is near ;
And sorrows fall upon an Indian's tomb.
" And, oh ! ye chiefs in yonder starry home,
Accept the humble tribute of this rhyme :
Your gallant deeds in Greece or haughty Rome,
By Maro sung, or Homer's harp sublime,
Had charmed the world's wide round, and triumphed over
time."
CHAPTER VII.
MIANTONIMO.
Uucas excites Suspicions against him. A Hearing is had at
Boston. Nothing is Proved. Thence he and Miantonimo
were in Conflict. Another Hearing was had. Uncas proved tc
be in the Wrong. Council disbelieve the Witness. The Wit-
ness murdered. Tineas is waylaid and shot at. He demands
for it that Six of Sequasseii's Men shall be delivered to him to
be put to Death. One is adjudged Sufficient. Sequassen, as
probably advised by Miantonimo, would not give him up.
Miantonimo threatens War against Uncas. English do not
object to it. Uncas invades Sequassen. Miantonimo then
invades Uncas. Uncas routs Miantonimo's Force by deceitful
Strategy. Miantonimo is taken Prisoner. Imprisoned. The
Four Colonies, under Advice of Fifty Clergymen, authorize
Uncas to murder him. His Secret Execution. Burial on
Sachem Plain. The Narragansetts visit his Grave. Ven-
geance visits the Clergy of New England.
; HE next war of much importance after the
destruction of the Pequot nation was
that of the Mohegans, commanded by
Uncas, against the Narragansetts, led by
the adroit, the ambitious, but the fated
Miantonimo.
107
108 INDIAN WARS.
" Two mighty chiefs, one cautious, wise, and old,
One young and strong and terrible in fight,
All Narragansett and Coweset hold :
One lodge they build ; one council-fire they light."
DURFEE,
In 1640 suspicions arose among the English chief
magistrates at Boston that Miantonimo was brooding
dissensions, and that he, as the leader of the Nami-
gansetts, was endeavoring to excite the tribes to a
general rebellion against the four colonies.
Miantonimo accordingly was summoned, and, ap-
pearing before the governor, claimed that his accus-
ers should be held to appear at the same time, that
they might meet him face to face ; he averred that
Uncas and the Mohegans had become his enemies,
were busy in malicious slanders ; and, demanding an
investigation, he urged that his accusers, if found in
the wrong, should be put to death.
Nothing of importance was proved against him ;
but from that time, of course, Uncas and Miantonimo
were enemies ; and one evening, while Uncas was
passing from one wigwam to another, an arrow was
shot at him by an unknown marksman. It went
through his arm, inflicting a painful wound. It
appeared soon afterwards that a young Pequot had
a considerable quantity of wampum. This aroused
suspicion. The Pequot, as if conscious of guilt, fled
MOHEGANS AGAINST NAKRAGANSETTS. 109
to the Narragansetts, and took refuge under and
within the wigwams of Miantonimo.
Thereupon Uncas called the matter up ; and
Miantonimo was again called before the council at
Boston ; and the Pequot, being called there as a wit-
ness, went on to testify as to how at one time he was
staying at Uncas's fort ; how Uncas then and there
had tampered with him, had tried to induce him to
tell the English that Miantonimo had employed him
to kill Uncas, ; and how Uncas, as if to make this
story effective, took a flint from his gun, and cut his
own arm on two sides, leaving it as if an arrow had
gone through it.
This story, not being believed by the English, op-
erated in their minds against Miantonimo, who intro-
duced him ; and they at once decreed the Pequot to
be delivered over to Uncas and his Mohegans, and
by this intended to subject him to their vengeance.
Miantonimo, having induced this Pequot to attend
this trial, claimed the right of returning him to his
(the Pequot's) own hunting-ground, promising that
upon arriving there he would deliver him up to
Uncas. This was allowed ; and the two parties sepa-
rated. But for some reason the Pequot was not
permitted to return home.
The friends and followers of Miantonimo know-
ing " that it would be a great gratification to their
HO INDIAN WARS.
enemies the Mohegans, to wreak vengeance on this
witness," and knowing that a dead man could tell no
further tales, they, while on the way with him home-
ward, murdered him themselves.
Enmity existed between Sequassen, sachem of
the tribes of " the river country," who was of Con-
necticut, and who was friendly to Miantonimo and to
the Mohegans. Soon after the happening of that
event, some of his Indians slew a leading Mohegan.
They also waylaid Uncas, tried to poison him, and,
while paddling his canoe at one time, shot arrows at
him on the Connecticut. Of all this Uncas com-
plained, and before the authorities at Hartford,
Conn., claimed that for this murder and other tres-
passes he ought to have six of Sequassen's men, in
order that he might put them to death.
The governor remonstrated against a demand
which seemed to him to be so captious and unrea-
sonable. Finally, he induced Uncas to be content
if he could have the man who had committed the
murder.
Inasmuch as the assassin was a friend and relative
of Miantonimo, Sequassen, being called on to that
end, refused to deliver him up, relying as to this upon
Miantonimo and his Narragansetts for assistance in
the maintenance of this purpose.
Thus the magistrates, failing in all attempts to pro-
UNO AS AGAINST MIANTONIMO. Ill
duce a reconciliation, dismissed the two sachems
(Uncas and Sequassen), but at the same time
advised UNCAS to avenge his own grievances.
UNCAS, immediately advancing to do so, invaded
Sequassen's territory, killed seven or eight of his
warriors, wounded thirteen others, burnt up his wig-
wams, and plundered wherever he went.
This news from Connecticut soon reached the Nar-
ragansetts ; and Miantonimo thereupon began to
meditate war. He sent a message to the Connecti-
cut governor, complaining of the action of UNCAS
against Sequassen and his allies, the Indians of Con-
necticut River. The governor refused to interfere in
this matter. Miantonimo gave notice of what the
Mohegans under UNCAS had done to the governor of
Massachusetts, and earnestly inquired if the people
of the bay would be offended if he should make
war against the Mohegans, and obtained for a reply,
44 that if UNCAS had done him or his friends any
wrong, and had refused to grant satisfaction,
the English would leave him to choose his own
course"
By these complaints made to the English govern-
ors, this chief had complied with the terms of his
treaty with them in 1638 ; and at once he accordingly
proceeded to collect a large band of Narragansett
warriors, and thence proceeded with secrecy and alac-
112 INDIAN WARS.
rity, to make invasions against the forts and hunting-
grounds of the Mohegans.
Now, then, from the lofty hills of Norwich, the
Mohegan watchers began to discover the hostile Nar-
ragansetts as they emerged " from the old forest, and
crossed the river Shetucket above its junction with
the Quinnibaug."
It was then the runners dashed away, as it is said,
to carry the startling intelligence to Uncas, and to
excite him to call out and to rally his warriors to
the battle.
His fort was on the banks of the Thames, some
five miles below ; and it was there that the messen-
gers probably found him.
Uncas rallied ; and, from their various tents in the
dark forest, they swarmed forth to advance upon the
invading Narragansetts, then numbering, according
to the best estimation, about six hundred warriors.
Uncas, then present on the field at Norwich with
his tribes, numbered in all three hundred men.
And there, in front of his men on the rise of ground
upon " the G-reat Plain" Uncas cautioned his men,
and made known to them the strategy by which he
would win the battle against the veteran Mianto-
nimo, and against his superiority of numbers.
In the mean time (as De Forest's history has it),
the Narragansetts had crossed the fords of the Yan-
BATTLE OF SACHEM PLAIN. 113
tic, and were in loose ranks descending the declivities
nearly opposite to the Mohegans.
Uncas despatched a messenger to Miantonimo, ask-
ing an interview. It being granted, the two com-
manders met for a conference between the two
armies that then awaited the issue, all in breathless
suspense, and all within bow-shot of their formidable
deadly enemies, with eager eyes intent upon the
movements of their two gallant sagamores.
The Narragansetts still waiting! the Mohegan
army listening and watching for the signal !
Uncas urges Miantonimo against the folly of
wasting the precious lives of their warriors in a con-
test which might as well be settled by themselves
alone.
" Let US fight it out," said Uncas. " If you kill me,
my men shall be yours : if I kill you, your men shall
be mine."
Miantonimo, although in person tall and strong,
desiring rather to depend on his strength of num-
bers made immediate answer,
" My men came to fight ; and they shall fight ! " Such
an answer Uncas had of course expected. He at
once fell upon the ground. His forces recognizing the
signal, with bow in hand, quick as sight, they let fly
three hundred arrows to the hearts of the Narragan-
setts.
114 INDIAN WARS.
" Uncas sprang up ; and his warriors pealing forth
the yell of battle, and brandishing their tomahawks,
rushed forward with him" upon the staggering
enemy.
The Narragansetts, panic-struck at the assault,
made but feeble resistance, and were speedily put
to flight.
The Mohegans followed them with impetuous
fury, drove them through the shallows of the river,
and chased them far into the forests beyond. All
over that rude and hilly country (as tradition told
it), the pursuers and pursued might be seen leaping
over rocks and dashing through thickets, like wolves
in the chase of timid deer.
Miantonimo fled with his followers ; but his flight
was impeded by an English corselet which he had
put on to protect him in battle. Two of the Mohe-
gans followed him closely, and still further pre-
vented his escape by springing against him, and
jostling him as he ran. They said they might have
taken or killed him with their own hands ; but this
honor they were willing to reserve to their sachem.
The first of these men who followed the flying
chieftain was a sagamore named Tantaquigeon,
whose descendants were long held noble among the
Mohegans, and whose renown for a long time was
matter of boast among the Mohegans.
MIANTONIMO A PRISONER. 115
Uncas, a robust, muscular man, finally came up, and
seized Miantonimo by the shoulder. The ill-fated
sachem, as soon as he felt the hand of his enemy
upon him, ceased his flight, and sat down upon the
ground. From his closed lips not a word came to
indicate his misery at heart.
Thirty of the Narragansetts had been slain ; and
many more were wounded. The rest, without an
effort to wipe out their disgrace or to rescue their
captive sachem, retreated to their own "prescribed
dominions."
Miantonimo remained silent, although some of his
own followers were brought up and tomahawked
before his eyes.
Uncas was disappointed in not being able to draw
out from him a single confession of weakness or fear.
" Why do you not speak ? " said he. " If you had
taken me, I should have besought you for my life."
But he obtained no answer.
This chief was carried in triumph to the fortress,
and was there held. A truce was opened between
the tribes, to remain while this prisoner remained
there at the fort.
The Narragansetts sent their chief several pack-
ages of wampum while he remained imprisoned,
which the prisoner gave away, some to Uncas, some
116 INDIAN WARS.
to Uncas's wife, and some to his favorite counsel-
lors.
The English in Rhode Island took sides in favor
of this sachem. He had won their good- will ; and
they believed him mainly in the right. And one
Samuel Gorton, a wild-headed enthusiast, yet kind-
hearted, also beset Uncas to liberate him. Uncas
refused, but finally referred the matter to his old
friends the English of Connecticut, as to whether
he should try still to hold him, release, or put him to
death.
While the matters were maturing before the
English authorities, it had been affirmed by the
adherents of Uncas that Miantonimo had engaged
the Mohawks to join him, and that they were then
encamped within a day's journey of the frontiers,
and were awaiting his liberation.
Then and thereupon the English record is finally
made up as against old Miantonimo, who in his long
lifetime had extended to the English settlers in New
England so many favors, thus :
" These things being duly weighed and considered, the com-
missioners apparently see that Uncas cannot be safe while
Miantonimo lives ; but that, either by secret treachery or open
force, his life will be still in danger.
"Wherefore they think he may justly put such a false and
MURDER OF MIANTONIMO. 117
blood-thirsty enemy to death, but in his own jurisdiction, not
in the English plantations ; and advising that in the manner of
his death all mercy and moderation be showed, contrary to the
practice of the Indians, who exercise tortures and cruelty.
" And Uncas having hitherto shown himself a friend to the
English, and in this craving of their advice, if the Narragan-
aett Indians or others shall unjustly assault Uncas for his exe-
cutioi., upon notice and request the English promise to assist
and protect him as far as they may against such violence."
Before dismissing the Narragansett deputies who
had attended with earnest solicitation upon the trial,
the commissioners induced them to subscribe to
articles of agreement, as follows :
" That they (the Narragansetts) would not make war upon
Uncas, until after the next planting of corn ; and even then, that
they should give thirty days' notice to the English before com-
mencing hostilities : also, that, if any of the Nayantick
Pequots should make any assault upon Uncas or any of his, they
would deliver them up to the English to be punished according to
their demerits ; and that they should not use any means to pro-
cure the Mohawks to come against Uncas during this truce."
MASSACRE OF MIANTONIMO.
The decision was kept an entire secret, lest the
tribes should know of it, and arrest the commis-
sioners while on their way home, to hold them as
hostages for the redemption of Miantonimo ; and all
the preliminaries of killing him were written down,
for the time being to be kept secret.
118 INDIAN WARS.
As soon as Eaton and other commissioners were
far enough towards home to be out of reach of the
tribes, then Uncas, attended by his brother Wawequa,
with a select band of warriors, was to take the
prisoner from the jail in Hartford, which they ac
cordingly did. And, pursuant to instructions, they
travelled back through the forest with the old, war-
worn sachem ; and, when they came to the plain
where the battle was fought, Wawequa, stepping
behind Miantonimo, split him down with a hatchet ;
and there they murdered him.
What the names of those reverend Englishmen
were, referred to in the following page, does not ap-
pear in the annals which I am now consulting, and
that too, perhaps, for the best of reasons.
It, however, does appear, that, while the flesh of
Miantonimo was yet warm at his death, Uncas cut a
large piece from his shoulder, and ate it down with
savage exultation, saying, " It is the sweetest meat 1
ever ate. It makes me strong ! "
They buried, him there on Sachem's Plain. A
friend piled up a heap of stones there ; and, for a
hundred years, every Narragansett that passed that
way turned, in his sadness, and added one stone to
the pile.
That battle-field still retains the name of Sachem's
Plain.
COLONIAL ARBITRATIONS.
119
This trial and murder by referees was had at
Boston, Sept. 17, 1643.
The commission before whom this venerable
sachem's fate was determined consisted of the fol-
lowing members, as the representatives of the four
colonies, to wit,
John Winthrop,
Thomas Dudley,
Edward Winslow,
William Collier,
Massachusetts.
Plymouth.
George Fenwick,
Edward Hopkins,
Theophilus Eaton,
Thomas Gregson,
Connecticut.
New Haven.
In the startling, extraordinary proceedings and
decision of the commissioners above named, it is
perhaps to their credit, that they could not make up
their minds to spill the blood of the gallant old
MIANTONLMO, until they had summoned to their
assistance a train of fifty clergymen, who from their
number selected five who were subtle enough to
become the scape-goats to carry off the sins of white
men in seeking the blood of one who, during a long
and painful life, had with extraordinary good-will
and sagacity invariably proved the friend, and who,
in that hour of trial, with no guilt upon his gar-
ments, had thrown himself into their arms for pro-
tection. .That the Mohawks, having a deadly hate
to the Pequot Sassacus, when he thus imploringly
threw himself upon them, murdered him, was terri-
ble ; but when a company of white men, with reli-
120 INDIAN WARS.
gion and civilization uppermost upon their tongues,
will condescend to make merchandise of innocent
blood, not through prejudice, mistake, or malice, but
through an inordinate desire to obtain a political
advantage, or to seek dominion through blood in a
manner foreign to a fair, open warfare, the humane
heart is made pale and pitiful : it falls sick in sight
of it.
The injustice of this massacre of Miantonimo
must have been felt at the time in every vein of all
New England, while it foreshadowed what deeds of
blood white men could be led to seek and sanction.
At the same time it must have created an abiding
distrust in the hearts of red men never to be oblite-
rated. It proclaimed a precedent which, in the ad-
vancing years, daily and nightly brought premature
death to scores of the reverend clergy of New Eng-
land, however perfect and pure their lives, or how-
ever kind and circumspect their demeanor towards
the tribes. Alas ! how, in sight of the unjust
slaughter of Miantonimo, can we wonder at the
record which history discloses for the hundred years
then next ensuing, wherein it appears, all the way
long, more clergymen fell in New England by the
blade of the tomahawk, according to their numbers,
than of any other class of mortals?
CHAPTER VIII.
INDIAN WARS. NATIVE PEACE-MAKERS.
Dominion of Passaconaway. His Oration. Eliot at Pawtncket
Falls. The Great Feast. Wonalancet of Wamesit, peaceful.
Ninegret's Dominions. The English distrust him. He offends
the Tribes of Long Island. His Address to the English Magis-
trates. Cotton Mather against Barbarism. His Opinion of the
Pequots.
S we have already seen, one of the most
powerful tribes in New England were the
Penacooks, and next to them, as allies,
were the Pawtuckets and Penobscots.
The strongest and most conspicuous chief
of all the tribes in the East was Passaconaway.
His dominion under, after, and from Massasoit,
extended over a very large part of New England.
121
122 INDIAN WAHS.
Nearly all the serious difficulties that arose among
his people were from time to time submitted to his
consideration and decision.
His territory extended from the sea to the moun-
tains, and from the Penobscot to the Merrimack
Elver. His places of residence were at Pawtucket,
Piscataqua, and at Penacook. Thomas Morton, in
his New-England Canaan, writes of him thus :
" Papsiquimo, the sachem or sagamore of the
territories near Merrimack River, is a man of the
best note and estimation in all these parts ; and (as
my countryman, Mr. Wood, declares in his prospec-
tus), a great necromancer." We infer, from an
account of him in Winthrop's journal, that Passa-
conaway was a clever juggler, as well as warrior.
In full belief of his supernatural powers, his
tribes were held in awe of him, and their destinies
were controlled in a great degree by this, as well as
by his wise councils. They believed he could make
a dry leaf turn green ; that he could make water
burn, and then make it turn to ice ; that he could
hold the rattlesnake in his hands without danger of
hurt or harm.
In 1642 a suspicion arose among the English
that a conspiracy was being formed by the Indians
to crush out the white man. Thereupon men were
Bent out to arrest some of the principal chiefs, and
ELIOT AT PAWTUCKET FALLS. 123
forty of them were directed to arrest Passaconaway,
but he escaped by reason of an intervening storm.
His son, Wonalancet, not being so fortunate, was
taken, but his squaw escaped. As Winthrop relates
it, they barbarously and insultingly led Wonalancet
away by a rope ; that he loosened the rope and escaped
from them, but was finally retaken.
For such a wrong Passaconaway was afterwards
distrustful of his English neighbors. For this, in
1647, he refused to see his friend Eliot, while both
were giving attendance to the fishing season at Paw-
tucket Falls. Being fearful that the English would
kill him, he regarded their religion, which seemed to
tolerate such invasions upon the rights of the red
man, to be unworthy of his attention.
But in 1648, when Eliot again visited Pawtucket
Falls at the fishing season, Passaconaway was then
pleased to hear his preaching. To the assembled
Indians, Eliot then preached from this
TEXT.
" From tfie rising of the sun, even to the going down
of the same, my name shall be great among the Gen-
tiles ; and in every place incense shall be offered unto
my name, and a pure offering ; for my name shall be
great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."
MAL. i. 11.
124 INDIAN WARS.
The Indians paid respectful attention, and, after
the discourse was closed, proposed many questions.
At length Passaconaway arose, amid the most pro-
found attention, and announced his belief in the
God of the English. Says Eliot, " He said he had
never heard of God before as he now doth ; that he
would consider the matter, and would persuade his
sons to do the same," pointing to two of them who
were present. Passaconaway was doubtless sincere
in his belief, and, as it appears, so continued until
his death.
We have but little else of this chief until 1660,
when he had become old. He was at Pawtucket
Falls (now Lowell), on the Merrimack, at a great
assemblage of Indians, where, as Capt. Gookin says,
they had a great feast. The old sagamore then and
there made a farewell address to his tribes. His rai-
ment was plain, but somewhat gaudy and beautiful.
He was full of sorrow, being deeply affected; his
utterances were tremulous from the storms of a long
life, yet musical. Standing erect before that assem-
bled multitude, he delivered this
OKATION.
" Hearken to the words of your father ! I am an
old oak, that has withstood the storms of more than a
hundred winters. Leaves and branches have been
PASSACONAWAY'S OKATION. 125
stripped from me by the winds and frosts. My eyes
are dim ; my limbs totter ; I must soon fall. When
young, no one could bury the hatchet in a sapling
before me. My arrows could pierce the deer at a
hundred rods. No wigwam had so many furs, no
pole had so many scalp-locks as Passaconaway's.
Then I delighted in war. The whoop of the Pena-
cooks was heard on the Mohawk, * and 110 voice so
loud as Passaconaway's. The scalps upon the pole
in my wigwam told the story of Mohawk suffering.
The English came ; they seized the lands ; they fol-
lowed upon my footpath. I made war on them;
but they fought with fire and thunder. My young
men were swept down before me when no one was
near them. I tried sorcery against them, but they
still increased, and prevailed over me and mine; I
gave place to them, and retired to my beautiful
island, Naticook. I, that can take the rattlesnake
in my palm as I would a worm without harm, I,
that have had communication with the Great Spirit,
dreaming and awake, I am powerless before the
pale-faces. These meadows they shall turn with the
plow ; these forests shall fall by the axe ; the pale-
faces shall live upon your hunting-grounds, and
make their villages upon your fishing-places. The
Great Spirit says this, and it must be so. We are
* The Mohawk tribes dwelt on and about the eastern borders of
New York.
126 INDIAN WAKS.
few and powerless before them. We must Lend
before the storm ; peace with the white man is the
command of the Great Spirit, and the wish the
last wish of Passaconaway." * Soon after this, his
mantle fell upon his son Wonalancet, who contin-
ued sagamore of the Penacooks for several years,
yet he was always at peace with the English.
WONALANCET.
This Penacock sachem was the son of Passacona-
way, succeeded him, and was chief over the domin-
ions of his deceased father, and dwelt mostly at
Wamesit, now Lowell, on the beautiful Merrimack,
from 1660 to 167T.
Lowell is Queen, her history recalls
The might and memories of Pawtucket Falls,
Where lived the tribes, to proud progression blind,
Science and art, with enterprise combined,
Prove true to tell how moves the world apace
At the will and wisdom of a Saxon race.
On the 7th of September, 1675, the authorities of
Boston, through Lieut. Thomas Henchman of
Chelmsford, despatched an order, to be borne in
company with two suitable Indians of Wamesit to
this sachem, of which the following is a copy :
* Passaconaway is said to have lived te> the age of one hundred
and twenty years.
WONALANCET DISTRUSTED. 127
" This our writing or safe conduct doth declare that the
Governoi and Council of Massachusetts do give you and every
of you, provided you exceed not six persons, free liberty of
coming unto, and returning in safety from, the house of Lieut.
T. Henchman at JSTaamkeake, and there to treat with Capt.
Daniel Gookin and Mr. John Eliot, whom you know, and whom
we will fully empower to treat and conclude with you upon
such meet terms and articles of friendship, amity, and subjec-
tion, as were formerly made and concluded between the Eng-
lish and old Passaconaway, your father, and his sons and people,
and for this end, we have sent these messengers [ ]
to convey these unto you, and to bring your answer, whom we
desire you to treat kindly, and to despatch them back to us
with your answer. Dated in Boston, 1st October, 1675.
JOHN LEVERETT, Governor.
"EDWARD RAWSON, Secretary"
The messengers did not find Wonalancet: as it
appeared, he had retired into the wilderness, in the
Valley of the Connecticut, and did not return until
the next summer.
He then returned, having with him a party of
Nipmucks, Sagamore Sam, One-Eyed John, and
others who had been hostile to the English, but who
now sougnt pardon and aid through the good faith
of Wonalancet.
Previous to the 19th of September, 1677, this
sachem sold out all his titles to lands in New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts not previously conve} r ed,
128 INDIAN WARS.
and then left the pale faces, and the graves of his
fathers, and sought a distant home in the dense
forest, where no intruder could come to disturb the
peace and quiet of his old age.
The Pawtuckets, after his departure, gradually
vanished away, through the overpowering numbers
and influence of their white neighbors, who, as it
seemed, continually intruded upon their hunting-
grounds and otherwise became more and more
offensive.
This sachem once had occasion to be at Dover,
we shall hear of him again there, prior to his de-
parture. He had a fort, while here, at Wamesit,
Lowell, on a beautiful rise of ground near its ceme-
tary, now known and celebrated as " FOKT HILL."
NINEGKET.
This influential Sachem was a Neantick, usually
friendly to the Narragansetts, and was a successor
of Miantonimo, of whom we discoursed in another
chapter.
He claimed dominion over a part of the Indians
on Long Island (but AscassasoticJc had the immedi-
ate control of them), as well as over the old Narra-
gansetts. Yet the winter of 1652-53 he spent with
the Dutch in New York.
This caused suspicions in the minds of the English
NARRAGANSETTS DISTRUSTED. 129
authorities, they being unfriendly to the Dutch ; and
from this a meeting was held in Boston, in April of
that year, upon the suspicion that the Narragansetts
were uniting with the Dutch, being, as they sup-
posed, bent on mischief.
To test the correctness of this suspicion, a com-
mittee was sent to Ninegret, with interrogatories
propounded as follows to each of the following chiefs,
Mexam, Pessacus, and Ninegret.
1. Whether the Dutch had engaged them to fight against
the English ?
2. Whether the Dutch governor did not indorse such con-
spiracy ?
3. Whether they had not received arms and munitions of
war from the Dutch ?
4. What other Indians are engaged in the plot ?
5. Whether, contrary to their engagement, they were re-
solved to fight against the English ?
6. If they are so resolved, what they think the English
will do ?
7. Whether were their grounds against the English ?
8. Similar to the first?
9. What were their grounds of war against the English ?
10. Whether they had not better come or send messengers
to treat with the English ?
11. Whether they had hired the Mohawks to help them ?
Each answered in their order.
NINEGRET, addressing them in reply, says,
180 INDIAN WARS.
" You are kindly welcome to us, and I kindly thank the
Sachems of Massachusetts that they should think of me as one
of the Sachems worthy to be inquired of concerning this
matter.
" Had any of the other Sachems been at the Dutch I should
have feared their folly might have done some hurt, one way or
other ; but they have not been there. I am the man. 1 have
been there myself. I alone am answerable for what 1 have
done. And as I have already declared, I do utterly deny and
protest that I know of no such plot as has been apprehended.
What is the story of these great rumors that I hear at Poca-
toke, that I should be cut off, and that the English had a
quarrel against me.
" I know of no such cause at all, for my part. Is it because
I went there to take physic for my health ? or what is the
cause ? I found no such entertainment from the Dutch gover-
nor, when I was there, as to give me any encouragement to stir
me up to such a league against the English, my friends.
" It was winter time, and I stood a great part of a winter
day, knocking at the governor's door, and he would neither
open it, nor suffer others to open it, to let me in. I was not
wont to find such carriage from the English, my friends."
All this was said and done, and much more, evin-
cing an over zeal ; yet such an inquisition was of no
avail to the English. No plot was discovered.
Afterwards, in 1654, Rhode Island communicated
to Massachusetts " that last summer NINEGKET,
without any cause, had fallen upon the Long Island
Indians, our friends and tributaries ; " that he had
SAYINGS OF COTTON MATHER. 131
killed many of them, had taken others prisoners,
and would not restore them.
That this summer he had made two other assaults
upon them, "in one whereof he killed a man and
woman that lived upon the land of the English, and
within one of their townships, and another Indian
that kept the cows of the English," that he had
drawn many of the foreign Indians down from the
Connecticut and Hudson Rivers who rendezvoused
upon Winthrop's Island, where they killed some of
his cattle.
This war of murders commenced in 1653, and con-
tinued several years.
But there were other wars of murder going on
else\vhere, and at other various times. Some of these
Cotton Mather, that indomitable leading New Eng-
land divine, refers to in a brief summary, which I
copy in this place, .
REV. COTTON MATHER SAYS :
" In the year 1634 these terrible savages [Pe-
quots] killed one Capt. Stone, and Capt. Norton,
with six men more, in a bark sailing up Connecticut
River, and sunk her.
44 In the year 1635 a bark sailing from Massachusetts
bay to Virginia, being by a tempest cast away at
132 INDIAN WARS.
Long Island, the same terrible salvages killed several
of the shipwrecked Englishmen.
" Tn the year 1636, at Block Island, coming aboard
a vessel to trade, they murdered the master (2 Mag-
nalia, p. 480), and another coming that way found
that they had made themselves masters of a bark,
which occasioned the sending of one hundred and
twenty soldiers thither, under the command of Capt.
Endicott, Capt. Underhill, and Capt. Turner, by the
governor and council of Boston, upon whom, at the
then landing, the Indians violently shot, and so ran
away where no English could come at them. Trav-
elling further up the Pequot country the Pequots
refused, upon a conference, to surrender the murder-
ers harbored among them, which were then de-
manded ; whereupon a skirmish ensued, in which,
after the death of one of their men, the Indians fled,
but the English destroyed their corn and their huts,
and so returned."
From this many lives were lost from time to time
in various ways, and Mather says,
" These parts were then covered with nations of
barbarous Indians, and infidels, in whom the prince
of the power of the air did work as a spirit ; nor could
it be expected that nations of wretches, whose whole
religion was the most explicit sort of devil worship,
should not be instigated by the Devil to engage ID
SAVAGES TO BE DESTROYED. 133
some early and bloody action, for the extinction of
a plantation so contrary to his interests as that of
New England.
" Of these nations there was none more fierce, more
warlike, more potent, or of greater terror unto their
neighbors, than that of the PEQUOTS ; but their
being so much a terror to their neighbors, and espe-
cially to the Narragansetts on the east side of them,
and the Monhegans on the West, upon whom they
had committed many barbarous outrages, produced
such a division in the kingdom of Satan against
itself, as was very serviceable to that of our Lord."
After repeating many other enormities perpetrated
by the Pequots, Mather continues, " Unto all
which there was annexed the slaughter of nine men,
with the taking of two maids, by this horrid enemy
lying in ambush for them as they went into the
fields of Weathers field. So that the infant colonies
of New England, finding themselves necessitated
unto the crushing of serpents, while they were but
yet in cradle, unanimously resolved, that, with the
assistance of Heaven, they would root this nest of ser-
pents out of the world"
I will close this chapter with one or two brief
anecdotes :
" A SEBIOUS QUESTION. About 1794 an officei
134 INDIAN WARS.
presented a western chief with a medal, on the one
side of which was represented Gren. Washington, sword
in hand, and on the other an Indian in the act of
burying the hatchet.
" The chief, carefully looking the medal over,
earnestly inquired, * Why don't the president bury
his sword also ? ' '
" SELF-ESTEEM. A white man, meeting an In-
dian, accosted him as brother. The red man, with
much expression of meaning in his countenance,
inquired how they came to be brothers. ' By the way
of Adam I suppose,' said the white man. The
Indian added, ' Me thank him great Spirit, we no
nearer brothers! ' '
" COMIC. An Indian having been found frozen
to death, an inquest of his countrymen was con-
vened to determine by what means he came to such
a death. Upon a full hearing, they returned the
following
" Verdict.
" * Death from the freezing of a great quantity of
water inside of him? which, as they averred, he had
taken instead of rum."
CHAPTER IX.
THE TKIBES AGAINST THE DUTCH.
ilm of the Four Colonies. Trouble with the Narragansetts pre-
% en ted. The Dutch of New Netherlands and Indians confed-
erated against the Colonies. It comes to an End. "War. The
Narragansetts and Nian ticks pursue the Montaokes. The Colo-
nies advance and settle this Matter. Foreigners induce Con-
flicts. War. Dutch against the Tribes. Mohawks against
the Hudson Tribes. Dutch Battle with the Tribes. One Hun-
dred Indians slain. Fifteen Hundred Indians organize into
Eleven Clans, and beset the Dutch on the Connecticut and Hudson.
Dutch against Mayn and Mayano's Tribes. Their Battle.
Eighty Indians slain. Their Village consumed. King Philip.
His Biography. Intends War. Individual Intrusions.
Sassamon murdered. Indictment Trial of the Murderers.
Philip in Court. Three Indians are hanged by the English.
War is tlireatened.
FTER the extermination of the Pequot
nation, there were now and then, as usual,
occasional eruptions between the various
tribes and the English, growing out of
trespasses committed through individual
recklessness on the one side and on the other,
resulting sometimes in terrible retaliations in tres-
passes, conflagrations, and bloodshed. But in the
135
136 INDIAN WARS.
year 1643, March 19, a unioix, offensive and defen-
sive, was formed of the four united colonies of New
England; which colonies were to furnish propor-
tionate forces, in any event of necessity, as fol-
lows :
The Massachusetts colony one hundred men; and
the Plymouth, Hartford, and New Haven, each,
forty-five men.
In 1645 and 1646 the Narragansetts, by reason of
certain misunderstandings, threatened insurrection,
and made some trouble for the English, but were
soon brought to amicajble quietude by the leaders of
the colonies.
WAR ON LONG ISLAND.
In 1653 the DUTCH of New Netherlands under-
took a confederacy with the INDIANS, for the purpose
of cutting off and destroying all the English settle-
ments in New England ; but, by an early declaration
of peace between England and Holland, that desper-
ate, diabolical scheme was defeated at the threshold.
The year 1654 inaugurated a war, for the most part
between the tribes themselves ; yet, more or less, it
affected the peace and quietude of the individual
colonies. In this the Narragansetts and Nianticks
had waged war, and were pursuing the Montaoke
Indians in and about Long Island.
FRUITS OF FOREIGN WARS. 137
Thereupon the united colonies fitted out two hun-
dred and seventy foot, and forty horsemen, and,
advancing to the front, soon brought all these con-
flicting powers to a final settlement.
FOREIGNERS INDUCE CONFLICTS.
It will be seen, as we advance in these annals, that
the wars in New England were, in the main, the off-
shoots of the conflicting powers of foreign countries.
For instance, whenever France and England de-
clared war, that event was but the signal to the
French Jesuits in Canada to incite and encourage
the tribes to annoy, to murder, and destroy the
English population on this side of the great waters.
So that each and every declaration of war in Europe,
wherein England was a party, covered her colonies
here, as with a cloud; and, sad to tell, the sound of a
war-trump there was but a death-knell to the women
and children of New England.
At length the French with England disagree,
Which now portends what carnage hence shall be,
What man's estate must prove, a varied life,
From quiet peace proceeds terrific strife :
From plenty dearth, from faith and virtue, sin,
From health disease, that wages war within.
138 INDIAN WARS.
As early as 1642, a war began to be threatened
between the Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam and
their neighboring tribes. Dutch traders, having
induced an Indian to become intoxicated, robbed
him of a valuable dress of beaver skins. In
retaliation for this robery, an Indian warrior killed
two white men, and then escaped to another dis-
tant tribe. A demand was made by the Dutch gov-
ernor (Kieft) that the murderer might be given up ;
which, being refused under a false pretence that he
could not be found, and the governor forgetting his
civilization, revenged himself by an act of cruelty.
Then, at some time that winter, two tribes on the
Hudson were surprised by the Mohawks; seventy
of their warriors perished, and. many prisoners were
carried into captivity. The survivors of these
tribes, several hundreds of them, came for protection
to New Amsterdam, there to dwell as hunters in
that vicinity.
Keith, seeing their sufferings, at first gave them
aid by furnishing them with corn ; but at length,
getting offended with them, and remembering the
old conflict, he and his councillors agreeing to-
gether, sent a band of soldiers against them, sur-
prised them at midnight, and put to death more
than a hundred of them in cool blood.
This was an act done under the laws of civiliza-
THE DUTCH AND THE TRIBES. 139
tion, probably with high professions of humanity, if
not of religion; but pause for a moment, and see
the result.
The Indians on the Hudson arose at once to re-
venge this cruel treachery, the tribes on Long
Island uniting with them. They formed a confed-
eracy of eleven clans, in all more than fifteen hun-
dred warriors ; and fire and the tomahawk visited
every Dutch settlement on Long Island, Manhattan,
and along the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers.
Desolation followed the Dutch and English, also,
along the Connecticut coast as far as East Stamford.
The pretended prophetess, Anne Hutchinson, who
had taken up her residence here, although she
had escaped her persecutors in Massachusetts, fell
among their other victims. Until the last moment, it
is said, the Indians came to these houses apparently
friendly ; and then, in an unexpected moment, the
hatchet fell, and seventeen perished in the same mas-
sacre. Horses were driven into the barns when
they were on fire, that they also might be consumed.
NEW AMSTERDAM. THE DUTCH AGAINST MAJOR
MAYANO'S TRIBES.
These tribes were as hostile as its sachem, Mayano,
had been known to be ; and in February, 1644, after
certain preliminaries had transpired, one hundred
140 INDIAN WARS.
and thirty men were raised and sent off for Green-
wich, Conn., under the command of Underbill and
Vandyck.
Underbill had fought in the Pequot war, and also
had done service in an expedition on Long Island,
and had but recently, at the head of twenty-five
men, surprised a small Indian village, " killed eight-
een or twenty of the inhabitants, and had taken the
rest, an old man with some women and children,
prisoners. These commanders, with one hundred
and twenty men, then embarked, and on the same
evening landed at Stamford; but a snow-storm de-
tained them nearly all night. Next morning they
advanced, marching all day : at eight in the evening
they came to two rivers, one of which was two hun-
dred feet wide, and three feet deep. There they
halted to rest the men, and prepare for the conflict.
They again advanced at ten o'clock ; the sky had
become clear, and a full moon cast its light upon the
snow. And now they came in sight of three long
rows of wigwams, standing near a rise of ground
which protected them from the northeast gales.
They called it an Indian village. The Indian inhab-
itants had obtained notice, and were on the alert.
But the Dutch surrounded the village, allowing none
to escape. Gallantly, however, the Indians charged,
with the intent of breaking the Dutch lines; yet
DUTCH WAR AT AN END. 141
twelve of the foremost were taken prisoners, and
the others were driven back. A fire of musketry
was opened upon them by the Dutch. The conflict
was bloody and furious for an hour ; and then the
Indians fled back to their fortified wigwam, leaving
upon the cold, down-trodden snow eighty of their
valiant number dead and dying.
Then (as at Fort Mystic against the Pequots),
they set fire to their village, into which they were
driven by the sabres and musketry of the Dutch,
and there they perished, men, women and children.
Five hundred fell in that battle : eight or ten only
of the tribes escaped.
The Dutch forces built large fires, and camped
down for the remainder of the night. Next morn-
ing they returned, arriving at the English settlements
at Stamford. And from that day all the Dutch
chroniclers daily discoursed and rejoiced that " the
Lord had collected the most of these enemies" thus to
be slain, and that of the Dutch soldiery on their way
hone, " the Lord endued the wounded with extraordi-
nary strength" Thus ended the Dutch, war.
PHILIP'S WAR.
Massasoit, the chief of thirty tribes, had, as we
have seen, two sons, Wamsutta and Pometacon : the
one (by the governor from the English court at Ply-
142 INDIAN WARS.
mouth) took the name of Alexander, the othe* they
called Philip.
Alexander, soon after the death of his father in
1622, died. Philip then became sachem of the Wam-
panoags. Ho resided at Pakanoket, now within the
town of Bristol, in the State of Rhode Island, at a
place called Mount Hope. It is an elevation of land
about two hundred feet in height, and was the an-
cient dwelling-place of his fathers. The view from
its summit, even in this day of change, is said to be
beautifully picturesque, and full of inspiration.
Philip, after the death of his father, in the winter of
1661-2, and of his brother, now being king of the tribes,
entertained the idea that the English intended, by
their proceedings, to crush out his own native race,
and to take this domain entirely and exclusively to
themselves. And although he tried to dissemble,
yet the startling purpose of his heart to make war
against them could not long remain concealed nor
mistaken ; for, as soon as his hostile intentions were
suspected by his sagamores, then it began to be fore-
shadowed by murders and unprovoked trespasses.
Yet Philip and his sagamores did not themselves
remain unprovoked; and of their provocations we
will give one or two instances. Squando, one of his
allied chiefs, who dwelt on the Saco, had a squaw
with an infant passing down the river in a canoe;
CRUELTY TO THE TRIBES. 143
and meeting some sailors, who had heard that a pap-
poose at any age would swim, with a view to try
that question, the sailors recklessly overset their
canoe. The squaw, diving to the bottom, brought
up her drowning infant, and saved its life ; but alas !
by reason of this exposure, soon afterwards it sick-
ened and died.
Other provocations were constantly on foot in the
form of trespasses on the Indian hunting-grounds,
and in various other ways, wherein their primeval
rights and titles were often, too often, ignored or
denied.
Thus Squando, as well as Philip, was provoked ;
and the seeds of discontent, hatred, and jealousy,
falling in every direction, began to swell and take
root.
The design of the leading colonists to usurp
jurisdiction over all this New-England domain had
then from all their actions become quite apparent;
and trespasses, arsons, robberies, and murders pres-
ently became common in Maine, Rhode Island, and
elsewhere all along the English settlements.
In the month of September, 1675, a party of
Indians advanced upon the plantations at Piscataqua,
and there at Dover, where Durham now is, killed
two men, burned down two dwelling-houses belong-
ing to the two Chesleys, and carried away two cap-
tives.
-
"**
144 INDIAN WAES.
Philip, to the vigilant colonies, all this time still
denied that he intended to make war. His deadly
intent, however, soon leaked out, through Sassamon,
an Indian graduate from Harvard, who had been an
itinerant preacher among the Mohegans in Connecti-
cut, and who latterly had been acting as an inter-
preter between Philip's native tribes, and the
English New-England settlers. This Sassamon, as
now Philip had heard, had given his enemies to
understand that Philip was instigating an insurrec-
tion.
Soon, then, in the spring of 1674, it happened Sas-
samon was missing, was supposed to have been
murdered. Search was made for the body, and it was
found in Assawomset Pond in Middleborough. His
hat and gun were found near the opening in the ice,
through which he had been dropped, supposed to
have been thus left in sight, to indicate a suicide.
But by marks upon the body, and by the fact that his
neck was broken, murder itself became apparent.
The English took this matter in hand : three Indi-
ans, to wit Tobias, and his son Wampapaquam, and
Mattashunannamo, in the June then next, were in-
dicted. The indictment contained the following
count :
" For that being accused, that they did with joint consent upon the
29 of January, anno 1674 (1675 new style), alt a place called Assa-
THE INDICTMENT.' 145
wamsr.tt pond, wilfully and of sett purpose, and of malice, forethought,
and by force and armes murder John Sassamon, another Indian, by
laying violent hands on him, and striking him, or twisting his necke
until he was dead; and to hyde and conceale this theire said murder
att the tyme and place aforesaid, did cast his dead body through a
hole of the ice into the said pond."
The twelve jurymen, as empannelled, were Eng-
lishmen. We give their names, as follows :
Win. Sabine, Win. Crocker, Edward Sturgis, Wm.
Brookes, Nath. Winslow, John Wadsworth, Andrew
Hinge, Robert Vixon, John Done, Jona. Bangs, Jona.
Shaw, and Benja. Higgins.
A trial was had. The record then goes on to
state,
"Itt was judged very expedient by the court, that, together
with this English jury aboue named, some of the most indiffer-
entest, grauest, and sage Indians should be admitted to be with the
said jury, and to healp to consult and aduice with, of, and con-
cerning the premises : there names are as followeth, viz., one
called by an English name, Hope, and Maskippague, Hannoo,
George Wampye, and Acanootus: these fully concurred with the
jury in theire verdict."
JOSIAH WINSLOW was then governor of the Ply-
mouth colony; and under his lead, as it appears,
these murderers were sought out, apprehended, tried,
and hanged. This seems to have been the first great
146 INDIAN WARS.
capital trial, which was had here in New England
by an English court. As we have seen, he appeared
there, and by various ways manifested his deter-
mination to seek redress for the many grievances
which had for a long time affected his race of native
red-men.
And from that day, it appears, Philip became
more and more exasperated, ever denying that the
English had any right to or anything to do with
his men, this domain, as he claimed, being entirely
vithin his own jurisdiction. Hence the war com-
menced, and thenceforth he rallied his allied forces
against the English settlers through many a murder-
ous conflict, and thus he gave battle from the first
trial of his men by an English court up to that
fatal hour, August 12, 1676, when he fell in his own
native wilderness at the treacherous gunshot of Sea-
conet : *
" Indulge, my native land, indulge the tear
That steals, impassioned, o'er a nation's doom.
To me each twig from Adam's stock is near,
And sorrows fall upon an Indian's tomb ;
And O ye chiefs in yonder starry home,
Accept the humble tribute of this rhyme."
* See further, p. 231.
PHILIP'S KINDNESS. 147
In 1668 Englishmen had bought of Philip certain
lands which are now included within the lines of
Swansey; and in the following year they induce
a sale from him of Memenuckquage and Towanset
Neck, supposed now to be a part of Swansey.
Next ye^r they purchased of him, at the cost of
20, five hundred acres, which now also is a part of
Swansey.
About the same time Philip presented a plan oi
lands, which the venerable historian, S. G. Drake,
copies in his elaborate history of North American
Indians, to the English court in Plymouth, with a kind
proposition, and with words of explanation, as fol-
lows :
" This may inform the honoured court, that I, Philip, am willing
to sell the land within this draught ; but the Indians that are upon
it may live upon it still, but the land that is (Waste) may be sould,
and Wattachpoo is of the same minde.
" / have sed downe all the principal names of the land wee are
willing should bee sould.
" PHILIP P his mark.
" From PACANANKETT.
the 24 of the 12 Mo. 1668."
In 1669, for 10, Philip sold to John Cook an
island near the town Nokatay.
Also for 13 he sold a considerable tract, now
within the boundaries of Middleborough. In 1671
he, with Monyocam, for 5, sold to Hugh Cole of
148 INDIAN WARS
Swansey, lands lying near Acashewah in Dart-
mouth.
In 1672 Philip sold to Wrn. Brenton and others of
Taunton, a tract, south of that town, for ,143,
which contained twelve square miles.
Also to Constant Southworth, another tract of four
square miles.
Thus we have given the dates, &c., of a few of the
sales which were made in this part of New England,
by this then most wealthy and renowned sachem ;
and the reader will perceive the position in which he
had stood in the world anterior to the fatal day when
he feU.
The English sought him to obtain his lands, and
as speedily to divest him and his race of any and all
power in the administration of the government of
New England.
Their constant importunities had induced Philip
and his confederates to do and concede, for the sake
of peace, many things which otherwise they, in all
probability, never would have done.
Listen for a moment to "MR. MORTON," who
wrote anterior to this conflict, when Philip's gar-
ments, as yet, remained unstained of blood. In the
year 1662, he observes,
" This year upon occasion of some suspicion of some plot intended
by the Indians against the English, Philip, the sachem of Pokanoket %
ARTICLES OF TREATY. 149
otherwise called Metacom, made Ms appearance at the court held at
Plymouth, August G, did earnestly desire the continuance of that
amity and friendship that hath formerly been between the Governor
of Plymouth and his deceased father and brother"
The court thereupon presented certain articles of
mutual agreement, in writing, on which signatures
were given as follows :
" The mark of P PHILIP Sachem
of Pocanaket
The mark of ^] VUCUMPOWET
unkell to the abovesaid Sachem.
" Witnesses : "
JOHN SASSAMON
The mark of M FRANCIS, Sachem of Nanset
The mark D.I. of NIMROD, alias PUMPASA
The mark l^of PUNCKQUANECK
The mark 8 of AQUETEQUESH."
There were misunderstandings also in 1671, be-
tween Philip and the English, but which at that
time were adjusted ; for which, in this, we have no
space.
WEETAMOO.
This squaw sachem resided at Pocasset. Her hus-
band Petunaet, seeking out the distinguished Capt.
Church, crossed over to him in a canoe from Philip's
150 INDIAN WARS.
head-quarters at Mount Hope. It was then that
Church obtained from him the confirmation that
Philip was making preparation for open war.
At this time Weetamoo was at her camp on a high
hill to the north of Howland's Ferry, and not far from
the Pocasset shore. Her husband invited Church to
make her a visit. Church found her in a melan-
choly mood, as she said all her men had left her,
being absent at Philip's war-dance ; and she talked,
perhaps too freely, of Philip and of his intentions.
Church, on his return to Plymouth, reported this
squaw sachem as being secured to the English ; but
in the mean time, Philip having reclaimed her, she
afterwards advanced to the conflict with him, and
finally perished, fighting heroically against the Eng-
lish in behalf of her own falling race.
" What fiend could then disturb the peaceful dead ?
Remembrance pointing to what last she said.
Prepare the hollow tomb and place me low,
My trusty bow and arrow by my side ;
For long the journey is that I must go
Without a partner, and without a guide."
CHAPTER X.
LAWS OF THE NATIVE NATIONS.
Impending Dangers. Insurrections. Philip is in Arms. The
Colonies, troubled, are moving. The Clergy do not seek to
prevent War. Warriors send their Women and Children
a\\-ay. Depredations at Swansey. Slaughter there. Ply-
mouth Governor applies to the Massachusetts Colony. They
try to dissuade Philip. Messengers dare not approach him.
Forces sent to Swansey. Hammond is killed. Five or Six
Indians killed. Philip's Councillor slain. July 4, Capts. Mosely
and Pago obtain a Treaty with the Narragansetts. The Articles as
signed. War begins. Capts. Church and Fuller with Forces
move to Pocasset. They form Two Companies. Fuller goes
Seaward. Finds too many Indians. Indians pursue Church
Seaward. He kills Fifteen. Fuller and Church return to
Ilhode Island. Taunton secures her Families into Eight Garri-
sons. English advance to the Swamp. Five of them killed
from an Ambush. Their Hundred Wigwams deserted. Five
or Six Farmers killed in Mendon. Force sent there. De-
serted. Burned down. Henchman tries to starve out Philip.
Philip with his Warriors escapes to the Nipmuck Country.
Behoboth Men. Mohegans and Henchman Pursue him. The
two former Forces kill Thirty of Philip's Men. He is not
reached. Insurrections in Connecticut. Two Englishmen
slain at Brook" eld. Mosely is sent to Penacook. Wonalan-
cet Neutral. iiutchinson and Wheeler are to obtain a Treaty.
Hutchinsou and Seven others are murdered by Nipmucks.
N the preceding chapter we have noticed
some of the foreboding incidents which in-
augurated that general uprising of the
tribes on the one hand, and of the English
planters on the other, in that terrible
151
152 INDIAN WARS.
straggle of barbarians against a professed civilization,
each contending with bloody cruelties, for a national
existence.
At first the laws of the tribes for a long period
had been ignored ; and the English statutes had been
enforced against three of Philip's men for the mur-
der of one of Ms own race : and from this and other
real or supposed encroachments, long and constantly
continued, Philip and his sagamores could but see in
prospect the fearful fate of their race. 'In truth, an
unmistakable, ominous hand had for a long time
been " writing upon the wall."
And now the public mind had begun to be agitated
with anxious fears and forebodings. The colonial
leaders were constantly sending from Boston emissa-
ries to the tribes in Connecticut, and to the east-
ward on the Saco and Kennebeck, disarming them,
and securing pledges of good faith, and of course
thereby making at every step hostility still the more
acrimonious, yet obtaining promises often obtained
but almost as often violated. Everywhere among
the planters, as well as among the natives, "loud
rumor" spoke; and it spoke of blood, carnage, and
despair.
The New-England clergy, for the most part, led by
such men as that indomitable Cotton Mather, laid
aside their prayer-books, and with carnal weapons
INDIANS SURRENDER THEIR FIRE-ARMS. 153
went in for a total extermination of che native
nations of New England.
The tribes could not have been unmindful of the
destruction of the Pequot nation and of the murder
of the valiant Miantonimo the Englishman's friend,
slain in cool blood at their own hands. They well
knew that the leaders in such barbarisms sought but
little else than destruction of the tribes for the pur-
pose of obtaining political advantages and a national
supremacy.
To the end of disarming the New-England tribes,
hostile or otherwise, commissioners, having been
appointed, were constantly on the alert in Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut, and Maine, or wherever in
New England they might be found.
Of the Narragansetts it was reported " that the
elder people were inclined to peace, and that the old
sachems expressed a desire that all controversy
might be brought to an end ; but the commissioners
volunteer an opinion that their intent is as treacher-
ous as ever, and that they intend in the spring to
invade the plantations all at once, and that their
pretences for peace are all a mere sham."
At an early day Uncas, the old opponent of Mian-
tonimo, and the representative of the Mohegan tribes
of Connecticut, was ordered to appear at Boston, and
by surrendering his fire-arms give additional assur-
154 INDIAN WARS.
ance of his good faith towards the Colonies. There-
upon Oweneco the eldest son of Uncas, attended by
fifty warriors, made his appearance at headquarters,
and returned with them their fire-arms. The two
younger sachems were held to remain in Cambridge
as hostages, while Oweneco and his warriors marched
with the English forces in pursuit of Philip.
The Pequot race, who had been nearly annihilated
in 1637, had accumulated, from scattered fragments,
and from natural health and increase, to another
distinct tribe, and (in this Philip's war) together with
the Mohegans under Oweneco, continued true, and
sustained the English throughout this conflict, as in
the sequel it will appear. Other Connecticut tribes
remained neutral, except the Poduncks of East
Windsor and East Hartford, of nearly two hundred,
and the Nipmucks of Windham County of about
sixty warriors, who turned away, and sooner or later
went into the fight for Philip.
It appears that in June, 1675, during all the time
the murderers were 011 trial, whom we have noted in
the preceding chapter, Philip had a posse of armed
warriors on the march up and down near the court-
house at Plymouth, and ever afterwards kept his
men about him in arms, and still continued to enlist
recruits from distant tribes then and afterwards.
The English at Plymouth, knowing this, ordered a
PHILIP'S WAR BEGINS. 155
military watch in all the towns, hoping that Philip,
not finding himself arrested by the court, might
be come appeased, and that this war-cloud might
vanish away.
But the facts proved otherwise. His strength
daily increased by the flocking of the tribes to him ;
and his women and children were continually being
sent to the care of the Narragansetts.
Then the English at Swansey, a town adjoining
Philip's country, were daily menaced by the doings
of Philip, intent on war and bloodshed; and the
savages, emboldened, began to kill their cattle and
pillage their houses. At length an Englishman shot
at one of these intruders, wounded, but did not kill
him ; upon which the Indians began to kill the
English wherever they could find them ; so that on the
24th of June, 1675, the alarm of war was sounded
throughout the Plymouth colony, eight or nine of
the English having been slain in and about Swansey,
on the same day. They killed three of these men
in the highway, and six men in and about a dwell-
ing-house in another part of the town.
Upon that, on the 14th July, 1675, an amicable
letter was sent to Philip by a magistrate from the
Plymouth Colony, requesting him to desist ; but no
answer was returned.
The governor and council of Plymouth sent what
156 INDIAN WARS.
forces they had to secure the towns thereabouts, de-
spatched messengers to the governor and council of
Massachusetts, and solicited assistance, and also sent
two messengers to Philip to ascertain whether he
could or could not be diverted from his bloody pur-
pose by mediation the same as an arrangement
had been made previously in 1671. But the messen-
gers, upon seeing the dead which lay in the way, did
not dare approach him, and, discouraged, returned
speedily to Boston.
Massachusetts forces were immediately fitted out ;
and others were ordered to follow.
First) a foot company under Capt. Daniel Hench-
man, and a troop of horse under Capt. Prentice,
bound from Boston to Mount Hope.
On the 20th these companies advanced to Swansey,
and were quartered at Miles's house, minister of
that town, within a quarter of a mile of the bridge
that led into Philip's lands; arrived a little before
nightfall, passed over the bridge, into the enemy's
territories, where they found eight or ten Indians,
who fired upon them from the bushes, killing Ham-
mond and wounding Belcher, his horse also being
killed. The eighty-seven English fired upon the
Indians, killing five or six of them as they escaped
into the swamps.
They were thus driven from Mount Hope ; and all
TREATY WITH NARRAGANSETTS. 1^7
escaped into the wilderness and were nowhere to he
found.
Lieut. Oaks with another force, pursuing the
savages, slew four or five others : among them was
Thebe, a sachem of Mount Hope ; another of the
slain was a chief counsellor of Philip ; the lieutenant
lost one of his number, a soldier by the name of
John Druce. Capts. Mosely and Page were there
with their dragoons ; arid while they thus pursued
Philip in various directions they received orders
from Boston, July 4, 1675, to pass into Narragansett,
and make a treaty with the sachems there. They
marched there, remained four days, and made their
treaty. Hostages were given by the Narragansetts
to enforce the performance of their treaty.
TREATY.
Articles, covenants, and agreements had, made, and concluded
by and between Major Thomas Savage, Capt. Edward Hutchin-
son, and Mr. Joseph Dudley, in behalf of the government of
the Massachusetts Colony, and Major Warto, Winthrop, and
Richard Smith, on behalf of Connecticut Colony, the one
party; and Agamand, Wampsh alias Corman, Taitson,
Tawageson, councillors and attorneys to Canonicus, Ninigret,
Matababug, old Quen Quainpen, Quananshet, and Pomham,
the six present sachems of the whole Narragansett Country,
on the other party : referring to several differences and troubles
lately risen between them, and for a final conclusion of settled
158 INDIAN WARS.
peace and amity between the said sachems, their heirs and
successors forever, and the governor of the said Massachusetts
and Connecticut, and their successors in said governments for-
ever.
I. Tliat all and every of the said sachems shall from timo
to time carefully seize, and, living or dead, deliver unto one or
other of the above-said governments all and every of Sacbem
Philip's subjects whatsoever that shall come or be found
within the precinct of any other lands ; and that with greatest
diligence and faithfulness.
II. That they shall with their utmost ability use all acts of
hostility against the said Philip and his subjects, entering his
lands, or any other lands of the English to kill and destroy the
said enemy, until a cessation from war with the said enemy be
concluded by both the above-said Colonies.
III. That the said sachems, by themselves and their agents,
shall carefully search out and deliver all stolen goods whatso-
ever taken by any of their subjects from any of the English,
whether formerly or lately, and shall make full satisfaction for
all wrongs or injuries done to the estate of any of the subjects
of the several colonies, according to the judgment of indifferent
men, in case of dissatisfaction between the offenders and the
offended parties, or deliver the offenders.
IV. That all preparations for war or acts of hostility against
any of the English subjects shall forever for the future cease ;
together with all manner of thefts, pilferings, killing of cattle,
or any manner of breach of peace whatsoever shall with utmost
care be prevented; and instead thereof their strength to be
used as a guard round about the Narragansett Country for the
English inhabitants' safety and security.
PREMIUMS FOR PHILIP. 159
V. lii token of the above-said sachems' reality in this treaty
and conclusion, and for the security of the several English
governments and subjects "they do freely deliver unto the above-
said gentlemen, in behalf of the above-said colonies, John
Wabequab, Weothint, Pewkes, Wanew, four of their near kinsmen
and choice friends, to be and remain as hostages in several
places of the English jurisdictions at the appointment of the
honorable governors of the above-said colonies, there to be
civilly treated, not as prisoners, but otherwise at their honors'
discretion, until the above-said articles are fully accomplished
to the satisfaction of the several governments ; the departure
of any of them in the mean time to be accounted breach of
the peace and of these present articles.
VI. The said gentlemen, in behalf of the governments to
which they do belong, do engage to every the said sachems and
their subjects, that, if they or any of them shall seize and
bring into either of the above-said English governments, or to
Mr. Smith, inhabitant of Narragansett, Philip Sachem alive, he
or they so delivering shall receive for their pains forty truck-
ing cloth coats : in case they bring his head, they shall have
twenty like good coats paid them. For every living subject of
said Philip's so delivered, the deliverer shall receive two coats,
and for every head two coats, and for every head one coat as a
gratuity for their service, herein making it appear to satisfac-
tion that the heads or persons are belonging to the enemy, and
that they are of their seizure.
VII. The said sachems do renew and confirm unto the English
inhabitants or others all former grants, sales, bargains, or con-
veyances of lands, meadows, timber, grass, stones, or whatever
else the English have heretofore bought or quietly possessed and
enjoyed, to be unto them and their heirs and assigns forever ;
160 INDIAN WAKS.
as also all foimer articles made with the confederate Colo-
nies.
Lastly. The said councillors and attorneys do premeditately,
seriously, and upon good advice, covenant, conclude, and agree
all above said solemnly, and call God to witness they are and
shall remain true friends to the English governments, and per-
form the above-said articles punctually, using their utmost en-
deavor, care, and faithfulness therein.
In witness whereof they have set their hands and
seals,
PETAQUAMSCOT, July 15, 1675.
Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of us
underwritten, being carefully interpreted to the said
Indians before sealing.
Daniel Henchman, TAWAGASON, his C. mark.
Thomas Prentice, TAYTSON, his D. mark.
Nicholas Paige, AGAMOUG, hL : T. mark.
Joseph Stanton, Interp.
Henry Hawlaws, WAMPSH 1
Pecos Burkow, alias I his X mark.
Job Neff, CORMAX, J
The four colonies, as appears, were alarmed almost
to desperation ; and, while this treaty with the Narra-
gansetts was progressing, the English everywhere
else were advancing to the various posts of danger,
many of them commissioned to make treaties or
alliances with the afflicted, troublesome tribes, all
CHURCH AND FULLER AT POCASSET. 161
now more or less on the alert at the sound of the
soul-trying, terrific war-whoop, and all charged to
ferret out and destroy Philip and his bloody warriors
then ambushed with a strong force in some New-
England swamp (no Englishman knew where).
Accordingly, Capts. Church and Fuller were de-
spatched to Pocasset with a force of fifty soldiers,
advanced, seeking the enemy, and trying to make
peace or treaty of peace with the Pocassets. That day
they traversed Pocasset Neck ; and they watched all
that night in a deserted house which they found
there, but, sad to relate, they heard no tidings of
Indians.
They then divided their company. Fuller took
towards the sea, had a skirmish wherein one of his
men was wounded ; but, ascertaining that there
were more Indians in that neighborhood than would
answer his purpose to find, they turned back, and a,
sloop of war took them all to Rhode Island in entire
safety.
Capt. Church with his force marched farther into
the neck of Pocasset, and, coming near a field, dis-
covered two Indians among the standing peas. Hear-
ing them shout, a tribe in great numbers sprang up,
and chased him and his fifteen attendants far away
to the seaside ; and there they too, without loss of
life, found a sloop, " The Golden Gate," that took them
162 INDIAN WARS.
to Rhode Island all in safety. It is recorded, that, on
this retreat to the sea-shore, this gallant captain used
up all of his ammunition, and killed at least fifteen
from the tribes that pursued him.
Capt. Church soon returned to Massachusetts,
took more soldiers, and advanced to Pocasset again,
and there again, in a skirmish with the enemy, killed
fourteen or fifteen of them ; and at this time he ascer-
tained that Philip had betaken himself and tribes
to the swamps not far away.
Capt. Cudworth in the mean time operated with
his forces in killing Indians nearer at home.
Thus did the Plymouth Colony busy itself during
the negotiations with the Narragansetts. Then, on
Friday, July 15, the same day when the Plymouth
treaty was completed, the Massachusetts forces
marched to Rehoboth; but, hearing of no Indians
nearer than the great swamp of Pocasset, eighteen
miles from Taunton, they the next day advanced
twelve miles to Metapoiset, midway between Taun-
ton Bay and Mount Hope : thence, July 17, after a
march of twenty miles, they arrived at Taunton,
where the people generally had assembled and had
secured their families within eight garrisons.
On the eighteenth of July our forces again ad-
vanced eighteen miles to the swamp, and, being
joined by Plymouth soldiers, entered the thicket, and
PHILIP ESCAPES. 163
were fired upon by the Indians in ambush. Five
of the foremost Englishmen were killed ; seven
were wounded : and then again there were no Indians
to be seen.
Three hundred wigwams, made there of green
bark, so that they would not burn, were entirely de-
serted. A God-forsaken, decrepit old Indian was
found in and about them. He confessed that Philip
had lately lodged there, but said Philip and his
tribes were in parts unknown to him.
For some time they travelled about, searching the
swamp ; but no further trace was found of Philip.
Night now coming on, and a retreat being sounded,
they buried their dead ; and then most of the
Massachusetts were drawn off, leaving Capt. Hench-
man with one hundred men, together with the Ply-
mouth forces, to pursue Philip and his hosts from
this locality.
Under this arrangement Major Savage, Capt. Page^
anl Capt. Mosely, with their companies, returned,
and reported to their authorities in Boston.
And then Capt. Prentice with his troop of
horse wa:$ ordered towards Mendon, where some
of Philip's Indians had entered a field and had
killed five or six men at their labor, and soon as
done had taken night to the wilderness. He ad-
vanced ; but that little village of Mendon was soon
164 INDIAN WARS.
found to have been entirely deserted ; and its hitherto
peaceful cots had now all been turned to ashes.
" Benjamin was not, and Simeon wais not ; " and
" the bowl " had been " broken at the fountain."
Captain Henchman, who had been left with strong
forces at Pocasset, thence to pursue Philip, not de-
siring to beard the beast in his den, knowing the
danger and folly of entering the dismal woods deep
in its miry bogs, blindfolded by the boughs of trees,
to be ambushed and shot down by unseen tribes,
whose foot-paths in flight were plain and smooth to
the savages, but dark and deadly to an Englishman,
resolved to starve them out. Accordingly he built
there a fort, as it were, to beleaguer the enemy, and
prevent his escape from the swamp, where he was
then known or supposed to be, and where, as he
hoped, he would hold him fast within his surround-
ings.
Philip, of course not being ignorant of what was
going on without, and perceiving himself doomed if
he remained, late in July started with one or two
hundred of his best fighting men, advancing towards
an arm of the sea that bordered there, and, taking
the advantage of a low tide, built rafts of timber in
the night-time, and ere the day broke with all his
company escaped in the wilderness away into the
country of the Niprnucks, while yet his enemies
PHILIP SEEKS THE NIPMUCKS. 165
still remained in camp on an opposite side of the
great swamp.
Philip left behind him a hundred or more of his
women and children, whom he could but leave to the
mercy of the English, and to the God of his fathers.
His way into the Nipmuck territory was beset with
many an ambuscade of English forces, then vigilant,
seeking his blood. He was first discovered near
Rehoboth, where its inhabitants with a party of
Mohegans (then on their way from their visit to
Boston) started in considerable force to apprise
Henchman of Philip's flight ; but, meeting an English
force in direct pursuit of the enemy, they fell into
the same ranks, and advanced. The news of all
this in the mean time had reached Henchman, who,
as soon as he could cross over with six files of men
rowing hard the most of a day, arrived at Provi-
dence, and thence also advanced in pursuit of Philip
of Pokanoket.
In the mean time the Mohegans, with the men of
Rehoboth, had fallen at night upon the enemy's
trail, overtook him, killed about thirty of them, and
took a considerable of plunder without much lose.
The men of Rehoboth that night, having left
their horses three miles in the rear, returned the
next morning ; and the Mohegans wheeled in, and
again agreed to advance forward with Henchman, in
166 INDIAN WARS.
pursuit of the king and his tribes, towards Nep-
satcJiet, then thirty miles distant. To that end
Henchman supplied provisions to the Mohegans ; and
to the same end Capt. Edmunds and Lieut. Brown
of Providence had supplied Henchman.
But the pursuit, as appears, from no good reason,
was not then followed for any great distance or ex-
tent. Henchman followed him until his provisions
failed: then he and his Englishmen, as well as the
Mohegans, severally faced about and returned home.
Philip escaped away to the westward, kindling
and fanning the flames of war in all the western
plantations of the Massachusetts Colony, wherever
he went : so that both westward and eastward Philip's
war was now beginning to wax warm, and in the
fury of its flame had begun to rage within the two
colonies of Connecticut.
While these events were progressing within the
Plymouth Colony, the commissioners of the other
three Colonies were constantly consulting, advising,
inventing, and forwarding means and measures to
prevent, as far as possible, the hateful horrors of an
impending barbarous, savage war.
By the treaty which we have copied, the Narra-
gansetts were kept from waging war in conjunction
with the tribes of Philip ; and thiia the inland plan-
tations of the English, for the present at least, had
been saved.
MOSELY ADVANCES TO PENACOOK.
Henchman returned to Boston ; and after a while
his force was disbanded.
Capt. Mosely then, with his force, was ordered
from there to Quaboag (Brookfield), with other cap-
tains, to protect its inhabitants, and " to seek after
the enemy in those woods." None for a long time
being found there, they came down to Lancaster,
where on Sunday, the 22d of August, a man, his
wife, and two children had been slain, and where a
young man, while keeping his father's sheep, had
been shot at by an Indian at Marlborough.
There was an Indian fort here. Mosely demanded
and took their guns. Suspecting evil in eleven of
them, he took and sent them to Boston, as if they
had had something to do in the slaughter of the
four men and the shooting at the young shepherd.
But these prisoners when tried were all acquitted.
Presently also Capt. Mosely, with a company of
soldiers, was sent from Boston up the Morrimack
River to Penacook (Concord, N. H.), but found no
Indians. Wonalancet, the sachem of that valley,
whose residence was at Wamesit (Lowell), together
with his tribes, having no heart for bloodshed for
either of the belligerent nations, turning aside to
remain neutral, had wandered back into the dark,
dense forest.
Thence Mosely was sent westward to Hadley, to
168 INDIAN WARS.
put a stop, if possible, to depredations and murders
which Philip's men were "making in that direction
both by fire and by sword.
The authorities at Boston at this time stood
greatly in fear of the Nipmuck nation, located as
they were between the great Merrimack and Connecti-
cut Rivers, and sent up there a committee to rcake
inquiries, who on their return reported " that they
found the said Indians wavering, the young men very
surly and insolent, the elder ones showing some incli-
nation to maintain the wonted peace"
On July 28, 1675, Capt. Wheeler was sent from
Boston with a company of twenty horse, to assist
Capt. Hutchinson at Quaboag (Brookfield, Mass.),
for the purpose of obtaining, if possible, a treaty of
peace. They arrived there, and obtained the promise
of an amicable arrangement. The day (Aug. 2)
was set for the negotiation to be signed or completed :
whereupon, on that day some of the principal men
of the town, unarmed, rode along with said Hutch-
inson and Wheeler to the place appointed ; but,
finding no Indians had arrived, they, suspecting
nothing, passed over to the chief town of the tribes*
some three or four miles beyond, where they were
assailed from an ambush, eight of them being shot
down. Capt. Hutchinson was among the slain.
Such, indeed, was the result of trying to obtain a
treaty of peace in the land of the Nipmucks.
CHAPTER XL
BATTLE OF BLOODY BROOK.
Massacre. Deerfield is surprised and sacked. Sam and Ne-
tramp executed. Capts. Beers and Lothrop. Hostile Indians
westward. Neutral Indians suspected, and fly. Twenty-six of
them slain. Beers and Twenty Men are slain. Garrisons.
Lothrop and Essex Men slain. Treat arrives, joins Mosely to
bury the Dead. Story of a "Wounded Soldier. Mosely's Skirm-
ish. He drives them to their Swamps. Cooper at Springfield.
Is assailed by Savages. Treat comes out from Westfield.
Thirty-two Houses destroyed. Capts. Mosely, Poole, and Apple-
ton are assailed. Seven of their Men killed. Parties in the
Woods. They wander towards the Narragansetts. Hasse-
menesit visited by Henchman. Indians vanish. Found Wig-
wams. Heard of Indians farther away, Twenty-two Men on
Horses. Their Commander is killed. Towns are fortified.
Scouts of Indians all about. Tribes vanish towards Dutch
River, and to the Narragansett Country. Philip concentrates.
The Colonies deliberate. Advance upon the Narragansetts.
Battle of Pettyquanscot Swamp.
the preceding chapter it already appears
that Capts. Hutchinson and Wheeler had
been sent from Boston to negotiate a
treaty with the Nipmucks at Meminimis-
set (Brookfield) ; and that Capt. Hutchin-
eon and others, in passing into that Indian village,
169
170 INDIAN WAES.
known to be there, as he was, for the purpose of
peace, were fired upon by two or three hundred
Indians from an ambuscade near a swamp, and were
slain, and Capt. Wheeler wounded.
From that the Indians flocked into the village,
setting fire to all the dwelling-houses and other
buildings save the one in which the people had gar-
risoned themselves, and which they tried also to
burn.
For nearly two days they tried to destroy the
garrison-house, in which about seventy of the inhab-
itants had taken refuge, but failed.
Major Willard, with forty-eight dragoons, and Capt.
Parker of Groton, with forty-six more, on the sec-
ond day then from Boston came to their relief, fired
upon the Indians ; and the tribes as of course took
to their dens in the woods and swamps.
In this raid many houses were burned, cattle were
killed, and other trespasses committed. In the mean
time Capt. Watts and Lieut. Cooper arrived with
re-enforcements from Springfield, in all eighty Eng-
lishmen and Indians.
These Indians, as usual, moved in small parties,
and were led by several sachems, among whom were
Sam, sachem of Weshacum, and Netaump, who were
afterwards captured, and were executed in Boston.
Then Capt. Lothrop and Capt. Beers were sent up
TROUBLE AT DEERFIELD AND HADLEY. 171
there ; and Major Willard with several companies of
armed men were sent into the Nipmuck country to
head off any attempt on the part of Indians to take
concert of action with King Philip ; but to little pur-
pose. These re-enforcements traversed the woods in
various directions for many miles ; but the tribes had
fled.
DEERFIELD.
The hostile Indians generally wandered westward ;
and very soon a considerable force of them became
concentrated at Deerfield, Swamscot, and Squakeag,
places of plantations newly started.
At Hadley also the apparently neutral Indians be-
gan to be suspected, as they inclined to make noises
while on the pursuit of Philip's force ; by reason of
which they were called upon to deliver up their
arms ; yet they refused, and fled like sheep. Lothrop
and Beers pursued and overtook them about ten
miles above Hatfield, at Sugarloaf Hill, killed
twenty-six of them, but lost ten of their soldiers.
The other fugitives fled away, and joined Philip.
On the first of September, 1675, the tribes beset
Deerfield, killed one man, and laid most of the town
in ashes.
172 INDIAN WARS.
SQTJAKEAG.
Two or three days afterwards they fell in upon
Squakeag, another new plantation fifteen miles
higher up the river, where they killed nine or ten of
the inhabitants, falling as they did before getting
sheltered within the garrison-house.
CAPTAIN BEERS SLAIN.
The next day Capt. Beers, with his force, on the
way near by, was suddenly surprised in a thicket by
the swamp-side, fought valiantly, yet he and twenty
of his men were killed; and the remainder of his
men returned back to Hadley.
Here the heads of some of the slain were pinioned
on poles ; and one or two were afterwards found with
a chain hooked into the under jaw, and suspended
upon the limbs of a tree.
Major Treat and Capt. Apple ton, with a hundred
men, visited the place after the slaughter, and brought
the families garrisoned there away, leaving the place
deserted of the English.
GARRISONS.
Northampton, Hatfield, Deerfield, and other towns,
were now ordered to be more securely garrisoned ;
Hadley being made their headquarters.
LOTHROP AND HIS MEN. 173
The corn at Deerfield, three thousand bushels,
standing in stacks, was accordingly carried to Had-
ley.
LOTHEOP AND HIS MEN SLAIN.
Capt. Lothrop with eighty or ninety men was left
to guard the corn and other goods.
On the 18th of September, 1675, while march-
ing along with their carts of corn, apprehending
no danger, they were almost all cut off. He, with
most of his men, was killed, some of them teamsters :
no more than eight or ten escaped.
The soldiers slain were the choice young men of
Essex County, leaving many a sad heart at home
to mourn their sad, their early departure from
earth.
The Indians here numbered seven hundred.
Subsequently in 1835, at this battle-ground in
Deerfield, on the one hundred and sixtieth aniversary
of the slaughter of Lothrop and his gallant young
men of Essex, their bones were hunted out like the
bones of Joseph in Israel, by the yeomanry who
then came forth to the number of six thousand,
and there at Bloody Brook advanced to erect a
stately monument, six feet square, and twenty feet
high. There under the cool shade of a walnut tree,
the distinguished orator (Everett) as he was wont,
174 INDIAN WARS.
eloquently discoursed to them of the past, of the
present, and of the world to come.
Thanks to the inhabitants of Deerfield, who by
this, haVe contributed so much to the valor of young
men!
Those eighty young heroes of Essex, who had
volunteered in behalf of civilization, will neve*
grow old ; nor will their memories (always green in
every New-England heart) grow cold, or fade in the
sunlight of the advancing ages*
STORY OF ROBERT DUTCH.
Major Treat had been directed to join Mosely at
this point, who had previously started another way
with about one hundred soldiers, Indians and Eng-
lish. They met, and buried the dead.
They found upon the battle-ground a soldier
of the day before, Robert Dutch of Ipswich, who
had fallen by a bullet in the head and by the weight
of a hatchet, and had been stripped of his clothing,
and left for dead. Yet he crept his way to these
undertakers, and was a live wonder in the midst of
the silent dead, having survived through that dreary
night to hail the light of another day ; and they say
lived to a good old age.
This victory greatly encouraged Philip and his
tribes. Yet it was stated as coming from the enemy
INVASION AT SPRINGFIELD. 175
that on that battle-day with Lothrop they lost in all
ninety-six men.
Soon after Lothrop's battle, Mosely came up while
the tribes were still pillaging the dead, gave them
battle, charged upon them ; and his lieutenants,
Perez, Savage, and Pickering, assisting in his com-
mand, drove the savages headlong into the swamp.
THE IMPEHDESTG CRISIS.
The Springfield Indians had joined Philip ; and in
the midst of great precaution, by treaties, pledges,
and hostages, obtained on the part of Springfield,
Philip's Indians had resolved to burn and destroy it.
To this end they cunningly enticed away the hostages
from Hartford, and secretly received three hundred
of Philip's Indians into their fort as re-enforcements,
undiscovered of the English. All remained quiet,
until at once the startling fact was revealed in ti-
dings by post from below Springfield, that Lieut.
Cooper had advanced there to ascertain the truth of
the message, when forth came the bloody monsters,
at once firing upon him, hit him several times ; yet he
reached the next garrison-house. They killed his
attendants, and, advancing, fired the town in all of
its parts outside of the garrisons.
As it happened, the inhabitants had taken alarm
over night, and many of them had disappeared, 01
176 INDIAN WARS.
they would have been totally destroyed. Majoi
Treat had come from Westfield in season for theii
rescue, although he had not sufficient boats to trans-
port his men. Also Major Pinchen and Capt. Ap-
pleton came with their forces ; and, although thirty-
two houses had been destroyed, the remainder of the
town was saved. The valuable library belonging to
the minister of the town, Rev. Peletiah Clover, was
among the property consumed.
BATTLES AT HADLEY, NOKWOTTUCK.
The 1st of September, 1675, was a day of fasting
and prayer in Hadley ; and at church the Indians fell
in upon them. The people took to their arms, which
they had at church, confronted the invaders ; but
their numbers, greatly disproportioned, eventually
were forced to falter ; and they gave way. At this
moment an old hoary-headed veteran, " G-offe" ap-
peared in their midst, with his frosty locks moving in
the breeze, with a firm, steadfast voice re-animating
their spirits, led them on to another onset, and drove
the heartless savages out of town.
HATFIELD.
And then on Oct. 19, 1675, Capt. Treat being r,t
North Hampton, Capts. Mosely, Poole, and Apple-
CONFLICTS AT HADLEY AND HATFIELD. 177
ton advanced to Hat field, when all at once seven
hundred of the enemy invaded the town in every
direction, killing two or three of the scouts of citi-
zens, and seven of Mosely's men ; but they soon
found it to be warm, dangerous work. Appleton's
sergeant was mortally wounded. Night came on:
many were seen to fall, some run into the river, while
flying in various directions.
Sunday. After their defeat at Hatfield, straggling
parties of them were seen about North Hampton,
Westfield, and Springfield.
In a short time afterwards they set fire to some
barns and outhouses, and then vanished away into
the wilderness. Winter setting in, they now wan-
dered away into the Narrangansett Country ; yet
it was not known to the English where Philip
was.
HASSAMENESET.
In 1675, Nov. 1, Capt. Henchman was sent from
Boston to beset the Indians at this place. Advan-
cing, he on the third day came in sight of Indian
fires ; but there were no Indians to be found. On
the fourth day they hunted along among the planta-
tions, and found a miller-boy who had been previously
taken by the Indians from Marlborongh : the Indians,
upon seeing the belligerent intruders, fled, leav-
178 INDIAN WARS.
ing every thing behind them. Henchman with his
men advanced on toward Marlborough, but found
no Indians. He then proceeded to Poppachuog : from
tLere the tribes had fled. He then came back to
Mendham to examine into affairs there, heard of
Trigwams about ten miles away, and marched onward
in that direction. He was joined there by Capt.
Philip Curtice.
Early next morning they espied a wigwam where
the enemy had camped over night. Some Indians,
as they ascertained, had been following them.
Hearing thr,t there were Indians still farther on,
the captain, with Curtice and his lieutenant, upon
consultation mounted twenty-two men upon horses,
who advanced into the woods ten miles, and found
some wigwams. But the leader, upon looking back,
found that he had but five men in the place of the
tweiaty-two. He, however, assaulted the wigwam.
The tribe, returning the fire, shot the lieutenant
and one of his men ; and all the rest of his force ran
away.
TLe next day our people went up there : the
Indians had left. They buried the two n:en, and
then again returned to their quarters to Mendon.
On the way they destroyed two hundred bushels
of corn, as they could not well save it.
TRIBES TURN TOWARDS NARRAGANSET. 179
INDIANS AT SPRINGFIELD AND VICINITY.
The Indians at this time had been driven away
from H.^dley ; and the people round about there bar-
ricaded their villages and towns by setting up pali-
sadoes of cleft wood about three feet in length to
break the force of sudden assaults by the ladians,
which proved advantageous in their defence against
the invaders. Although in the spring at North
Hampton, the enemy succeeded in breaking through
one of these fortifications, generally the invention
answered a good purpose.
At Springfield and other places about there, small
parties of Indians were often seen in the woods,
skulking about like demons, exciting the terrors of
the white man, as they often devastated his lonely cot,
destroyed his cattle, or murdered his women and
children.
For instance : at Long Meadow a half a score of
them beset a cottage remote from the village ; but,
being at once fired upon by our Englishmen, they fled
towards Windsor and escaped.
A Springfield man, while visiting his deserted
house, to look after his corn deposited there, was
shot ; and then his house was burned down by some
of the same tribe.
Soon afterwards the tribes withdrew, some towards
180 INDIAN WARS.
the Dutch River, but most of them to the Narragan-
sett Fort ; these tribes having for the most part
joined Philip, although old Ninegret, their chief,
now in his dotage, had inclined otherwise.
After this the soldiers remained for a while at
Ilatfield, and then were called back to their head-
quarters at Boston.
THE COLONIES DELIBERATE.
Winter was now approaching ; and the COMMIS-
SIONERS of the four united Colonies took council
together as to what should next be done. For now
they saw Philip in great force of many hundreds con-
centrated ; that during the winter, if left alone, more
and more of the tribes would take courage, and
follow at his command ; that in the spring, leaving
the swamps, the tribes would be likely to devastate
the settlements of New England everywhere. They
well weighed the effect which a cold, sharp New-
England winter would have on an army waiting and
bivouacked on a bleak field, of its length, of the
depths of the snow, of the difficulty of affording the
men relief or supplies.
They reasoned, that, if Philip were let alone all
that time, it would be impossible to cope with him
successfully on the approach of spring and summer,
when the advantages would turn in his favor ; that
ENGLISH ENLIST MOKE MEN. 181
the English soldiers, in squads and in companies,
would be likely to fall one after another, as might
well be seen from the experience of the past.
They further considered that the Narragansetts.,
numerous as they were, best disciplined, best clothed,
having the best manners, of all the tribes, now re-
membering the fate of their dear old Miantonimo,
the embers of whose ashes were alive, still burning
and firing their hearts the same as they did forty
years previously on Sachem Plain, they knew
that they had broken out from the network of the
Colonies, and had become their deadly foes in their
adhesion to Philip's army.
Thereupon the commissioners agreed to raise an
army of a thousand men, to be gathered from the
several Colonies as soon as might be, in time not to
exceed the 10th of December of that year (1675) ;
that the Narragansetts had violated every article of
their treaty, lately renewed, in this, that they had
not delivered up the Englishmen's enemies that had
sheltered themselves in their midst, and had been sup-
plying them with sustenance ; that many of their young
men were at least suspected of being in open arms
with Philip's forces, some of them having been
found among his wounded in the wigwams, and else-
where to be healed of their injuries at home ; that
some of the Englishmen's guns, lost in the battle
182 INDIAN WAKS.
at Deerfield, were found in their fort, left there
by Narragansett hands when it was fired and con-
sumed : by reason of all which, the Colonial Com-
missioners having this matter in charge ordered the
raising of an army of a thousand fighting men to
be enlisted out of all the Colonies ; of which the share
of the Massachusetts Colony was to be five hundred
and twenty-seven : the rest were to be supplied out
of the Plymouth and Connecticut Colonies.
Accordingly the one thousand men, together with
volunteers from the friendly tribes, were in due
time forthcoming. A commission was granted to
Josiah Winslow, Esq., then governor of the Ply-
mouth Colony, a man of courage and prudence, as
commander-in-chief. Thus under his command
were six companies, led severally by Capt. Mosely,
Capt. Gardner, Capt. Davenport, Capt. Oliver.
Also five companies from Connecticut under Major
Treat, to be led severally by Capt. Siely, Capt.
Gallop, Capt. Mason, Capt. Watts, and Capt. Mar-
shall.
Also two companies from Plymouth, to be led by
Major Bradford and Capt. Gorham. Samuel Apple-
ton was in command as major of the Massachu-
setts forces.
The Massachusetts force as raised numbered
four hundred and sixty -five men, besides a troop of
MOSLEY'S FORCE MOVES ONWARD. 183
horse commanded by Capt. Thomas Prentice, which
were delivered to the general in command at Ded-
ham, Dec. 9, 1675.
On that night they marched to Woodcock's, about
twenty-seven miles from Dedham, and on the next
night they had arrived at Seaconk. Thence Capt.
Mosely and his company with Mr. Smith proceeded
onward, and the next day were ferried over the
water to Providence.
WICKFORD.
On the 12th, after passing over Patuxet River,
they marched through Powham's Country, and at
night joined in with Capt. Mosely and his force at
their destined headquarters in Wickford.
On his way Capt. Mosely had surprised thirty-six
Indians ; took one by the name of Peter, and brought
him along with him as a guide, who in the end proved
useful.
On the 14th, two days afterwards, a scout was
sent out under Sergeant Bennet, who killed one Indian
and one squaw, and brought in four others. After-
wards the whole company moved into the wilderness,
where they burned a hundred and fifty wigwams,
killed seven Indians, and brought in at night eight
prisoners-
184 INDIAN WARS.
STONEWALL JOHN.
On the following day this Indian came into camp
as if from the sachems, expressing a desire for peace,
yet full of doubts whether the English would dare
engage so formidable an enemy as King Philip. At
length this fellow started homeward ; and the crew
that attended him falling in with some of Capt.
G-ardner's men, who were wandering about without
orders, slew his sergeant and one or two more, and
also two of Capt. Oliver's men. Others came up,
fired several times at Capt. Mosely, doing him no
harm ; but some of his men, charging upon the sav-
ages, killed one of them and the rest fled.
BULL'S GARRISON.
Next day news came that Jerry Bull's garrison-
house had been burnt at Pettyquamscot by the
tribes, that ten Englishmen and five women and
children had been killed, two only having escaped
from it.
On the following day news also came from Petty-
quamscot that the Connecticut forces had arrived
there on behalf of the English with three hundred
Mohegans " ready fixed" to give battle against the
Narragansetts, and that they had already slain five or
six of them, and had taken as many more prison-
ers.
BATTLE IN THE SWAMP. 185
THE ADVANCE TO PETTYQUAMSCOT.
The English and allied tribes having now all ar-
rived, their first great care was ^to obtain supplies,
and to protect themselves against the cold storms of
a New-England winter, as well as against the am-
bushed tribes of Philip, who lurked in every swamp
that surrounded them.
Then on the next day the whole Massachusetts
and Plymouth forces, with an intention to engage
the enemy, advanced to Pettyquamscot.
The Connecticut forces, their house of rendezvous
having been consumed, and for want of shelter from
the extreme cold, now on that cold, stormy evening
marched on through the snow at night, having and
finding no protection better than the sharp air of the
skies, and the fleecy, frosty snow that all night long
fell upon their shoulders,
It was Dec. 19, 1675, at one o'clock, P.M., when
they arrived at Pettyquamscot, after a march of four-
teen miles through that country of the old Snuke
Squaw of Narragansett. Still advancing, they
reached a swamp, as they were told by their guide
they would find Indians.
Capts. Mosely and Davenport were then on the
lead ; and Major Appleton and Oliver were following
with the Massachusetts forces, Gen. Winslow with
186 INDIAN WARS.
the Plymouth men in the centre ; and the Connecticut
troops were following on in the reai.
BATTLE OF NARRAGANSETT.
The front files, upon discovering Indians in the
woods, fired at them ; and their fire was returned from
the swamp, the Indians flying farther in. Still
they were followed by the invaders until they reached
a fort, into which the tribes betook themselves. This
battle-ground was an island of four acres in the wil-
derness, surrounded by a dense swamp. It is now
an upland meadow a few feet higher than its adja-
cent lands, situated in South Kingston, Rhode Island.
In the fort upon it, there was but one entrance : yet
the Indians had many ways of coming out of it. It
had been raised upon an island of four or five acres
of rising land in the midst of a swamp. The sides
of it were made of palisadoes set upright, compassed
about by a dense, impenetrable hedge of almost a rod
in thickness. Its usual Indian place of entrance was
over a long tree extending over a pool of water, and
portended death, such was its exposure, to any and to
all who might venture to enter the fort in that direc-
tion. At one corner also there was a cap made up
of a long log laying four or five feet from the ground
over which files of men might also pass. Yet nearly
opposite to it was a block-house.
ENGLISH OFFICERS SLAIN. 187
The English filed in upon these, the only entrances;
and from the block-houses, as well as the ambushes
within, they were shot down nearly as fast as they
arrived. Capts. Johnson and Davenport both fell.
The soldiers were driven back : they threw them-
selves upon the ground to avoid the shots: many
men were lost. At the last two fresh companies
were brought up to another assault, who charged in
upon them, raising the cry, " They run ! they run ! "
This frightened the enemy, and encouraged their com-
rades, two fresh companies thus being brought in.
They fought valiantly in the place of the four which
had already been engaged. The enemy was driven from
the fort, but not without great loss on the part of the
assailants ; but the enemy lay dead in great numbers
in and about the fort and swamp.
No less than six brave leaders fell on the part of
the English ; to wit, Capts. Gallop, Siely, Mar-
shall, and Lieut. Upham, as well as Davenport and
Johnson already named.
The invaders then set fire to the wigwams of the
fort, in which were remaining women and children,
who many of them were destroyed in the general
conflagration of five or six hundred dirty, smoky
cells.
That night the English forces had to marc h back
to their dreary headquarters, which then lay fifteen
188 INDIAN WARS.
miles to the rear, bearing and carrying the bodies of
their dead and wounded along with them through
the snow.
And thus the war upon the Narragansetts who had
tlireatened to join Philip had now in good earnest
commenced.
Drake, S. G., the historian, says, "Eighty English
were killed in this fight, and a hundred and fifty
wounded, many of whom died afterwards. The shat-
tered army left the ground in considerable haste,
leaving eight of their dead in the fort." "Philip
and such of his warriors as escaped unhurt, fled into
a place of safety, until their enemy had retired ; and
then they again returned back into the fated fort.
The English in their retreat must have expected a
pursuit ; but Philip, not knowing their dread con-
dition, did not venture any attempt to follow his in-
vaders."
Oh, how long and sad must have been that re-
treat ! a retreat, with their dead and wounded, at
night, in the dense wilderness, amid the deep snows
of dreary winter !
CHAPTER XII.
BATTLE IN THE PETTYQTJAMSCOT SWAMP.
Smoke of Wigwams on Fire. Indian Dead and Dying. English
Force returning at Night, and hearing their Dead. Prentice
and Men are sent to Popham's Country. Ninegret proposes
Peace. More Soldiers from Boston. Canonicus asks a Suspen-
sion. Tribes start Northward towards the Niprnucks. Indians
seize Two Hundred Sheep, Fifty Cattle, Fifteen Horses. Eng-
lish follow; take Seventy, and kill some of them. Philip's
Force join the Nipmucks. Massacres at Lancaster. Mrs. Bow-
landson's Captivity, and Narrative verbatim. Her Conversa-
tions with King Philip. Massacre at Medfield. Mrs. Rowlaud-
son describes the Indians' Return from this Battle. A Bally for
the Battle. Tribes near Patuxet. A Hundred and Forty of
them killed. At Warwick, Houses burned. In Plymouth,
Houses burned, and Eleven killed. Indians near Rehoboth and
Swansey burn Thirty Barns and Forty Houses. Connecticut
Colony sends Dennison with Forces to head them off. Killed
Forty-five without Loss. Canonchet is shot. Battle at
Sudbury. Capt. Wadsworth and Sixty Men slain. Their Mon-
umentAn Indian Dance. Mary Bowlandson released from
Captivity.
was night ; and the smoke of the wig-
wams was still beclouding the heavens.
The Indian dead, including their women
and children slain by the sword or con-
sumed in the conflagration of the fort,
still haunted the frosty pathways of the wilderness.
189
190
INDIAN WARS.
all the way along, through that night, as the English
bore their ninety dead and wounded back with them
fifteen miles to their headquarters already consumed.
Those gallant men, it will be remembered, had the
preceding night marched through the perpetual
snows to this battle-field, and again back all night
long, burdened with the fatigue of the battle, and of
their valiant dead through the woods. Was there
ever a night more sad, more terrific, more hideous,
than this ? Is it to be wondered that many a gallant
heart at this second great battle in Philip's war per-
ished ? Is it to be wondered that the English author-
ities thereafterwards sought safety in attempted
fruitless treaties during what remained of the win-
ter, making but few and feeble military movements
against Philip and the Narragansetts until spring?
Yet murders and skirmishes were common as usual.
The killed and -wounded under the several com-
manders in this battle of December 19, 1675, were
as follows :
Connecticut Companies.
S.ain and Wounded.
New Haven Co., 20
Capt. Siely's Co., 20
Watts's Co., 17
" Marshall's Co., 14
Plymouth Co., Commanders
Bradford and Gorham, 20
Mass. Companies.
Killed. Wounded.
Major Appleton,
3
22
Capt. Mosely,
9
10
" Oliver,
5
10
" Gardner,
7
11
" Johnson,
3
11
*' Davenport,
4
15
31
79
THE TRIBES SEEK A SUSPENSION. 191
On the 27th of December, Capt. Prentice with u
small force was sent into Popham's country ; found
no Indians, yet burned a hundred wigwams. He
there learned, from one of Philip's squaws and others,
that in the battle near Pettyquamscot the Narragan-
setts lost three hundred warriors.
On the 8th of January, Canonchet, a messenger
from Ninegret) came into camp, who brought a letter
from Stanton an interpreter, expressing from this old
sachem friendship as ever, and who also said that
corn was two shillings a pint among the tribes.
Jan. 10, a supply of soldiers were sent from
Boston, in a severe snow-storm.
Jan. 12, a messenger came from Canonicus, asking
a suspension of hostilities for a month, in which to
negotiate a treaty; but the proposition was rejected.
By prisoners which were brought in, it soon ap-
peared that the tribes had started, and were trailing
away to the woodland swamps of the Nipmuck coun-
try ; which country, as we have seen, lies between the
Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers.
Capt. Prentice, Jan. 21, with his force, fell in with
one of the tribes, took two prisoners and killed nine
Indians. One of his men (Dodge of Salem), riding
with his friend, met two Indians. Dodge pursued
one of them, his friend the other. His pistol snapped ;
the Indian pulled him from his horse, and fell upon
192 INDIAN WARS.
him with a knife in hand. Dodge, seeing it, caught
hold of it, saved the life of his friend, and killed both
Indians.
The English authorities are now beginning to dis-
cover the necessity of following the tribes in their
hidden trails to the Nipmuck wilderness. But the
Indians were already far ahead of their time of being
ready to commence the pursuit ; and, as the Indians
advanced, they seized two hundred sheep, fifty head of
cattle, and fifteen horses, belonging to one Carpenter ;
drove them along with them to be used as supplies
among the Nipmucks.
The English forces followed them, troubling them
in the rear, discovered the heads of fifty horses in
one place, fell in with some of the tardy savages,
killed and took about seventy of them, but could
not obtain an open battle, as they would always,
when assaulted, take to the swamps. After pursu-
ing them far into the thickets between Marlboro' and
Brookfield, towards Connecticut, our forces in the
beginning of February returned to Boston.
Then the Narragansetts, thus left alone, joined the
Nipmucks ; and now on the 10th of February, 1675,
we come to the
MASSACRE AT LANCASTER.
This was a village of about fifty families. The
minister of that locality (Rev. Joseph Rowlandson)
MRS. ROWLANDSON. 193
was away ; and the minister was generally the leader,
if not the law-giver, almost everywhere in those
days. That night, on his return from Boston, where
he had been to consult the governor as to how Lan-
caster should be defended against the invaders, it
was to meet the tragic news that Lancaster was in
ashes, it's inhabitants, including his wife and children,
all gone.
His own mansion had- previously been changed
into a garrison ; and within it were men to defend it.
Yet the fortifications on the back side of it being
closed up with firewood, the Indians forced their way
to it, set it on fire ; and its inhabitants within were
then subjected to the alternative to yield to the mer-
ciless savages, or to be consumed in the crackling
conflagration. It was thus the forty-two inmates of
that minister's garrison fell : twenty-two of them
were carried away captive, mostly women and chil-
dren grown ; the rest were murdered outright, or
reserved for further misery. Several of them who
were not killed in the fight were slain in their at-
tempt to escape, as well as -others who were not
deemed valuable as captives.
MARY ROWLANDSON.
MARY was the wife^ in whose care the household
was left when her reverend husband left it to consult
194 INDIAN WARS.
the governor at Boston. She with her children was
among the captives of that day, was doomed to
many months in captivity, saw and talked with
King Philip ; and in this matter I can give the reader
no light mo::e interesting than to allow Mary to
speak here in her own words.
Mary, in twenty chapters which she at the time
denominated " REMOVES," wrote and published a
full account of what she heard and saw of the tribes
during her captivity in 1675. In this narrative,
among other things, she says,
" On the 10th of February came the Indians in
great numbers" (Nashuas and Nipmucks, led by
Sagamore Sam) " upon Lancaster. Their first coming
was about sun-rising. Hearing the noise > of some
guns, we looked out : several houses were burning,
and the smoke ascending to heaven.
" There were five persons taken in one house. The
father and mother and an infant child they knocked
in the head : the other two they took and carried
away alive. There were two others, who, being out
of their garrison upon occasion, were set upon. One
was knocked on the head: the other escaped.
Another there was, who, running along, was shot and
wmuded, and fell down. He begged of them his
MARY'S OWN STORY. 195
life, promising them money (as they told me) ; but
they would not hearken to him, but knocked him on
the head, stripped him naked, and mangled him.
" Another, seeing many of the Indians about his
barn, ventured and went out, and was shot down.
" There were three others belonging to the same
garrison who were killed. The Indians, getting up
upon the roof of the barn, had advantage to shoot
down upon them over their fortifications.
" Thus these murderous wretches went on, burn-
ing and destroying all before them.
4< At length they came and beset our house ; and
quickly it was the dolefullest day that mine eyes ever
saw.
" The house stood upon the edge of a hill. Some
of the Indians got behind the hill, others into the
barn, and others behind any thing that would shelter
them ; from all which places they shot against the
house, so that the bullets seemed to fly like hail ; and
quickly they wounded one man among us, then
another, and then a third.
" About two hours, according to my observation
in that amazing time, they had been about the house
before they prevailed to fire it, which they did with
flax and hemp which they brought out of the barn.
And there being no defence about the house, only
two flankers at two opposite corners, and one of
196 INDIAN WARS.
them not finished, they fired it once ; and one ven-
tured out, and quenched it. But they quickly fired it
again ; and that took.
" Now is the dreadful hour come that I have often
heard of in the time of the war, as it was the case
of others ; but now mine eyes see it.
THE DREAD SCENE.
" Some in our house were fighting for their lives,
others wallowing in blood, the house on fire over
our heads, and the bloody heathen ready to knock
us on the head if we stirred out.
" Now might we hear mothers and children crying
out for themselves and one another, ''Lord, what
shall we do ? '
" Then I took my children, and one of my sister's
girls, to go forth and leave the house ; but, as soon as
we came to the door and appeared, the Indians shot
so thick, that the bullets rattled against the house
as if one had taken a handful of stones and threw
them ; so that we were forced to give back. We had
six stout dogs belonging to our garrison ; but none
of them would stir, though at another time if an
Indian had come to the door they were ready to fly
upon him and tear him down. . . . But out we must
go, the fire increasing and coming along behind us
roaring, and the Indians gaping before us with their
spears and hatchets to devour us.
MARY IS WOUNDED. 197
" No sooner were we out of the house, but rny
brother-in-law (being before wounded in defending
the house, in or near the throat), fell down dead ;
whereat the Indians scornfully shouted and hallooed,
and were presently upon him stripping off his
clothes.
A BULLET STRIKES HER.
" The bullets flying thick, one went through my
side, and the same (as would seem) through the
bowels and hand of my poor child in my arms.
" One of my elder sister's children, named Wil-
liam, had then his leg broken, which the Indians
perceiving knocked him on the head.
" Thus were we butchered by those merciless
heathens, standing amazed, with the blood running
down our heels.
" My eldest sister, seeing her William and others
dead, exclaimed, ' Lord, let me die with them ! ' At the
same moment a bullet struck her ; and she fell down
dead over the threshold.
" The Indians laid hold of us, pulling me one way
and the children another, and said, ' Come, go along
with us.' I told them they would kill me. They
answered, 4 If I were willing to go along with them
they would not hurt me.'
" There were twelve killed, some shot, some
knocked down with their hatchets."
198 INDIAN WARS.
Maiy says, " Those seven that were killed at Lan-
caster the summer before upon a sabbath day, and
the one that was afterwards killed upon a week day,
were slain and mangled in a barbarous manner by
4 ONE-EYED JOHN,' and Marlborough's praying Indi-
ans which Capt. Mosely brought to Boston, as the
Indians told her.
On the leaving of Lancaster she says,
" One of the Indians carried my poor sick
wounded babe " (a daughter six years old) " upon a
horse. I went moaning along, ' I shall die, I shall
die ! ' I went on foot after it. At length I took it
off the horse, and carried it in my arms till my
strength failed, and I fell down with it. Then they
set me upon a horse, with my wounded child in my
lap."
There was a fall of snow ; and Mary goes on to
tell how she suffered with the wound in her side all
the way through, with the child in her arms fast
breathing out its life upon the broken boughs of
the forest, and upon the cold snows of a February
night.
This tribe dwelt a while at Wenimesset, now New
Braintree, as they were on their way to Albany,
which place had, for the time being, been adopted
as the headquarters of King Philip.
For nine days she bore her sick and faint little
MOUNT GRACE, MASS., page 108.
MARY'S CHILD DIES. 199
daughter along : at length, in the wigwam, as she
says, " About two hours in the night, my sweet
babe like a lamb departed this life, on Feb. 18,
1675, it being about six years and five months old."
Mary, as it seems, still hugged her dead daughtei
to her bosom for one or two nights ; and at length,
when the tribe next started upon the trail, she again
clasped it in her arms to bear it along with her ; but
the tribe, with more show of humanity than usual,
tore it away from her bosom, and buried it. Mary
as yet had a daughter and son ; but they were held
by other tribes.
And here we may observe, there is an elevation
of land in Warwick, near the place where the
savages buried that little Grace Rowlandson, which
has ever since borne her name. It is called Mount
Grace.
MASSACllE AT MEDF1ELD.
While Mary was still with them, Feb. 21, 1675,
three hundred Indians advanced upon Medfield. It
had a garrison supposed to be well guarded by sol-
diers and by its inhabitants ; yet fire and slaughter
followed.
The young growth in the surrounding woodlands
afforded a thick-set shelter, and favored the schemes
of the invaders. In these coverts, and in the barns,
orchards, and under the fences, they hid themselves
00 INDIAN WABS.
as usual; and then they leaped upon the villagers
with the ferocity of tigers : thus they killed eighteen
and wounded twenty of the inhabitants of Medfield.
The houses in the centre, in the west, and in the
south-west parts of the town were mostly burnt
down : an old man was burnt in one of them. Lieut.
Adams and wife among others were killed ; and forty
or fifty houses and barns were consumed. The loss
to this town was upwards of two thousand pounds.
Of this battle Mary, being among their women
and children, had been informed, and thus goes on to
say,
" The next day the Indians returned from Med-
field, all the company ; for those that belonged to
the other, smaller company came through the town
that now we are at. But before they came to us,
oh the outrageous roaring and the whooping
that there was ! They began their din about a mile
away. By their noise and whooping they signified
how many they had destroyed. Those that were
with us were gathered together as soon as they
heard the whooping ; and, every time they repeated the
number slain, these at home gave a shout that the
very earth rang again." And thus they continued
till they arrived to the sagamore's wigwam. And
then she goes on to tell " how hideous were their
yells and triumphant exultation at and over the
MARY VISITS KING PHILIP. 201
scalps of Englishmen which they had taken, and
had brought along with them from Medfield."
These tribes, as we have said, were tending to-
wards Albany. They advanced ; and at her eighth
remove Mary says, " We travelled on till night ; and
in the morning we must go over the river (Hudson)
to see Philip's crew.
" While I was in the canoe, I could not but be
amazed at the numerous crew of pagans that were
on the bank on the other side. When I came ashore,
they gathered all about me, I sitting alone in the
midst. They asked one another questions, and
laughed and rejoiced over their gains and victories.
MARY DINES WITH KING PHILIP.
"Then I went to see King Philip. He bid me
come in, and sit down, and asked me whether I would
smoke it ? But this in no way suited me.
" Next " (she says) " the Indians gathered theii
forces to go against Northampton.
" Over night one went about yelling and whoop-
ing to give notice of the design ; whereupon they
went to boiling of ground-nuts, and parching corn
(as many as had it) for their provision ; and in the
morning away they went.
" During my abode in this place Philip spoke to
me to make a shirt for his boy, which 1 did ; for
202 INDIAN WARS.
which he gave me a shilling. I offered the money
to my mistress; but she bid me keep it, and with
it I bought a piece of horse-flesh. Afterwards he
asked me to make a cap for his boy, for which lie
invited me to dinner. I went ; and he gave me a pan-
cake about as big as two fingers : it was made of
parched wheat, beaten, and fried in bear's grease ; but
I thought I never tasted pleasanter meat in my life.' 1
TRIBES AT PATUXET.
While Mary was still with Philip's Indians, within
a month after their attack upon Medfield, constantly
changing place, the tribes were seen to the number
of six hundred near Patuxet and Providence. They
did much mischief on the way.
On the 12th of March, eleven persons had been
slain by them in Plymouth, and several houses
burned. On the seventeenth they had beset War-
wick near Narragansett, and had destroyed much
property there ; and on the 25th of March some of
the tribes had fallen in upon Weymouth, and had
destroyed dwelling-houses there.
Then on the 28th of March, 1676, they swept
around towards the Narragansett country, and in
the neighborhood of Rehoboth and Swansey burned
nearly thirty barns and forty dwelling-houses.
In April, 1676, Canonchet, chief sachem, and
CANONCHET, A PRISONER. 203
Philip, being driven out from their own country the
winter previously by the English, now from the west-
ward, in order to obtain subsistence for the tribes in
campaign of the spring and summer, had intended
that all the plantations taken from the English
should be planted to corn ; and for that reason ven-
tured with thirty men to bring his seed-corn from
Seaconk (near Mount Hope), and started on his
journey, leaving Philip's force of fifteen hundred
men in and about Seaconk, to await his return.
But, as it happened, Capt. George Dennison of
New London, who previously, on March 27, 1676,
had started on an expedition made up of forty-seven
English, eighty Indians, twenty of whom were
Ninegret Narragansetts, led by Catapazet, the others
were Pequots under Cassasinamon, and Mohegan
under Oweneco, son of Uncas.
This force accidentally intercepted Canonchet.
They slew one of his men ; and from two squaws they
learned that Canonchet was near. They started after
him and his men, chased them around a hill, and
finally captured Canonchet. In the race he cast off
his lace coat, given him previously, in October, at a
treaty in Boston. A young Englishman now speak-
ing to him, the sachem replied in broken English,
" You much child, no understand matters of war. Let
your brother or your chief come : him I will answer."
204 INDIAN WARS.
He was as good as his word, and chose to die rather
than to make concessions. He with two Pequots
were imprisoned, and were shot at Stonington.
As soon as news of the enemy's returning was
known, the Connecticut Colony, April 1, 1676, di-
rected Capt. George Dennison, with his force made
up of Mohegans, Pequots, and Nianticks belonging to
Ninegret the Narragansett sachem, as we have stated ;
who followed the tribes, and killed there and on the
way forty-five of them without much loss. Several
of the sagamores were either slain or taken prisoners,
among whom, as we have seen, was Canonchet, chief
sachem of the Narragansetts, and son of Miantonimo,
and the right heir of his nation's pride, as well as
the avenger of the murder of his valiant father, who
had been brutally murdered through the treachery
of the English. The son, a prisoner, was now exe-
cuted at Stonington.
It appears now that the war and the winter had
wasted many from the ranks of that numerous
nation. They numbered in the commencement, as
was supposed, nearly two thousand warriors, with
nine hundred stand of arms, yet now are very much
reduced.
MASSACRE AT SUDBURY.
The next raid by Philip's returning forces, of
much importance, was upon this ancient towr,
April 18, 1676. And now, as the tribes had come
WADSWORTH'S FORCES SLAIN. 205
in from Marlborough, they burned down several
dwelling-houses and barns, and killed ten or twelve
of the English soldiers who had been sent in from
Concord, and who had been ordered to head off
Philip, and protect the feeble, unfortified towns that
]ay open and exposed to his terrible encroachments
on the way.
To the same end soldiers had been sent from Bos
ton, under Capt. Samuel Wadsworth of Milton, who,
on his destination to Marlborough, took the trail of
Philip, and followed him through the woods to Sud-
bury. Within a mile of the town he discovered a
body of a hundred Indians, who fled as if through
fear, drawing the eager, incautious English into a
place convenient to be surrounded by five hundred
savages, who sprang forth and destroyed them. The
most of this English force of about sixty men were
slain ; but a few of them were left alive to be tor-
tured. Capt. Broclebank and Lieut. Sharp, who had
joined Wadsworth on the way, also fell in this battle.
In 1852 a monument was erected here by the
State of Massachusetts and the town of Sudbury, at
the grave of the heroes of that bloody battle of
long, long ago.
It will be remembered that Mary Rowlandson all
this time had been a captive among Philip's forces.
In her twentieth chapter and in her fourteenth month
of captivity at this Sudbury onset, she says,
06 INDIAN WARS.
\
" It was their usual manner to remove when they had done
any mischief, lest they should be found out ; and so they did at
this time. We went about three or four miles ; and there they
built a great wigwam, big enough to hold an hundred Indians ;
which they did in preparation to a great day of dancing.
" They would now say among themselves, that the governor
would be so angry for his loss at SUDBURY, that he would send
no more about the captives, which made me grieve and
tremble."
It was not long after this, however, before from
the authorities a proposition came for her redemp-
tion ; and then she says,
" Philip called me to him, asked me what I would give him
to tell me some good news and to speak a good word for me
that I might go home to-morrow.
"I told him I could not tell what to give him, and asked
him what he would have. He said, ' Two coats, and twenty
shillings in money, half a bushel of seed-corn, and some
tobacco.' I thanked him."
Soon this lady obtained a release, and returned
home. Afterwards she travelled eastward to New-
bury, Portsmouth, and other places ; and with her the
husband preached on the way ; and finally they ob-
tained the deliverance of their son and daughter
from captivity.
Yet, sad to relate, this same husband, the Rev.
Joseph Rowlandson, in 1697 was seized and mur-
dered by the Indians.
CHAPTER XIII.
NEW LONDON, NORWICH, STONINGTON.
The Ten Expeditions. Two Hundred and Twenty-nine Indians
taken and slain. Thirty killed on the Retreat from Narragan-
sett. Seventy-six slain by Dennison's Force. Invasion of
Scituate, Bridyewater, and Tctunton. Expedition to Swansey.
Assault upon Bridgewater. Its Neighborhood. Invasion of
Groton. Two Eruptions. Expeditions there from Boston and
Watertown. Strategy in their Attack, and of the Black Sheep.
One-Eyed John. His Threats. His Capture and Execution.
Indian Spies. Attack on Northampton. Massachusetts Colo-
nial Expedition. Murder on the Highway. Expedition from
Sudbury. Tribes begin to relent and vanish. Depredations in
many Places. Wamesit Indians become Hostile. Trespass on
Chelmsford and Woburn. Invasion of Concord, Mass. Depre-
dations at Haverhill and Bradford. Expedition from Boston.
A Surprise on a Bear-Hunt. Skulking Parties Numerous. In-
dians at Wachusett Hills. Expedition from Hadley, Hatfidd, and
Northampton. Expedition by Twenty-five Men of Hadley.
Henchman at Brook field. Connecticut Expedition. Another
Assault on Hadley. Tribes incline to surrender. Proclama-
tion to call them in. Connecticut Expedition. Battle at War-
wick Neck.
the preceding chapter we have learned
how Capt. Dennison's force had been made
up, and of his success in his expedition ;
and now we come to a time when the inhab-
itants of New London, Norwich, and Ston-
ington voluntarily enlisted under Major Palmar,
207
208 INDIAN .WAKS.
Capt. Creo. Dennison, and Capt. Avery, and during
the year 1676 advanced, first and last, on ten expedi-
tions against the tribes. On those several occasions
they killed and took of the enemy in all two hundred
and twenty-nine. In this they were assisted by
small parties from the Pequots, Mohegans, and Nar-
ragansetts.
It may be noted, that a part of this force, on the
19th of December, 1675, during their long march
after the fight in the Narragansett swamp, took
thirty Indians ; and sixteen others with fifty guns at
other times not above reckoned.
After this it appears Dennison's force killed and
took seventy-six Indians, among whom were two
Narragansett sachems, and at the same time obtained
a hundred and sixty bushels of corn.
Subsequent to this, but little damage was done
by the Indians in Plymouth County, except in
depredation, upon houses and barns.
SCITUATE AND SWANSEY.
On the 20th of May, fifty Indians burnt nine-
teen houses and barns at Scituate, and on the 8th
of May seventeen houses in Bridgeivater ; and
four of the inhabitants of Taunton were killed
while at work in a field.
On June 20, 1676, an order from Gov. Winslow
TISQUAGEN AND HIS TRIBES. 209
directed the raising of twenty men well armed, and
furnished with horses, to advance immediately to the
relief of Swansey. Seventeen were sent away that
niorht. On the 21st they were further directed by
Capt. Bradford to advance to Bourne's garrison
twelve miles away, to assist in the defend of the
seventy inmates there. Six men from this garrison,
while out on that day without a proper military pro-
tective force, were slain. On the following week
fifteen of the force above named, while out in search
of horses, discovering a party of Indians, fired at
them; but they escaped, save one or two, after-
wards found dead.
BBfDGEWATEB.
On the 9th of May, Tisquagen, with three hun-
dred warriors, made an assault upon Bridgewater,
burnt an out-house and barn, rifled several houses,
and committed other trespasses, particularly at the
east end of the town. Another invasion was after-
wards made ; and thirteen dwelling-houses were de-
stroyed in and about that neighborhood ; and some
barns and cattle were also lost.
Then, on the 18th and 19th of July, the English
sent a military force to this same town, to fol-
low in pursuit of the tribes ; and, advancing, they
took sixteen of them. Some of the Bay Indians,
210 INDIAN WARS.
9
under Capt. Brattle, also volunteered in the pur-
suit.
The conflicts at this date were not confined to
Plymouth County. They extended almost every-
where. Trouble existed in the midst of the inland
plantations, as well as all along the sea-coast ; and
the Colonies were at work by forces of considerable
strength almost everywhere, in defence of the New-
England settlements.
ATTACK UPON GEOTON.
The town of Groton being invaded on the 2d of
March, 1676, by the tribes of Philip, the news of
it at once reached Boston ; and on the following
day Major Wlllard with seventy horsemen ad-
vanced from there, and forty foot-soldiers from
Watertown. But the Indians, having burned all the
houses in town save the four garrisons, the meeting-
house among the rest being consumed, had all made
a safe retreat to parts unknown.
CAPT. SILL AT GROTON.
Capt. Sill was also sent there to take away the
inhabitants of Groton, their furniture, &c. ; for
which purpose some sixty carts were used, making a
trail on the road, of some two miles in length.
While passing they were fired upon by the In-
GROTON AND CHELMSFOED. 211
dians in an ambush from the front, and two of the
men were killed ; the Indians being, as was sup-
posed, a part of the same gang who the day before
had burned some part of Chelmsford.
Chelmsford, being soon afterwards deserted, was
destroyed by the enemy.
GROTON AGAIN.
This town was surprised as follows :
The Indians came in on the night of the 2d of
March, rifled seven or eight houses, and carried off
some cattle.
On the 9th, about ten in the morning, a number
of Indians, who had been secretly lurking about
there, laid an ambusli for two teams which had been
driven from the garrison to bring in some hay;
they were attended by four men, two of whom at
sight of the Indians escaped. The other two being
assailed, the one was killed, and left in a naked,
mangled condition ; and the other was carried away
captive. He, however, finally escaped from them,
and found shelter in the garrison at Lancaster.
Groton was again assailed by four hundred In-
dians on the 13th of March, 1676. The town had
been previously startled by news of the attack upon
Lancaster, and had concentrated its inhabitants into
five garrisons, four of which were so near together
212 INDIAN WAKS.
as to afford assistance to one another ; and between
these the cattle were kept belonging to the various
families. But the cattle at this time had been sent
into the pastures, perhaps to obtain browse from the
shrubbery.
In the night-time the Indians had secreted them-
selves in various places. Two of them at first made
their appearance near one of the garrisons. The
fcown did not anticipate such an advent. The day
before they had searched the wilderness for many
miles, finding none, and now were engaged in their
usual business, some feeding their cattle, some pro-
curing fire-wood, and others doing other various
things.
At sight of the two Indians an alarm was given ;
at which the men came forth from the first garrison,
and some from the second, which were eight or nine
rods apart, and started in pursuit of the two Indians,
who remained stationary in the distance. But, when
our men reached the brow of a hill, the Indians from
an ambush fired upon, and routed them. One was
slain, and three were wounded.
At the same time another squad had risen, and
came in upon the back side of one of the garrisons
so deserted of men, and pulled down the palisadoes.
But the women and children had escaped from there
to the stronger garrison, to which the soldiers
THREATENINGS OF ONE-EYED JOHN. 213
also retreated; which left the first garrison to the
meiey of the invaders, who consumed the most of
the day in securing the spoils, which consisted mostly
of corn and household materials. They fired upon
the other garrison, and took a few cattle.
From the sound of the first volley, smoke ascended
from nearly all parts of the town at once.
In the afternoon an old Indian came down the
street, as if decrepit, with a black sheep upon his
back. They made shots at him in the distance, and
sallied forth to capture him, but, discovering an
ambush, retreated ; and the savage and his black
sheep vanished from their sight. That night some
of them remained in the deserted garrison, others ir.
an adjacent valley, making the night hideous.
ONE-EYED JOHN.
Next morning they fired two or three volleys at
the defended garrison, and then marched off, fearing
perhaps that they might be overtaken by a strong
force from abroad.
About forty dwelling-houses of the town were
burned ; and the head of the man slain was piked
upon a pole, as well as the heads of others previously
slain.
Before leaving the place, ONE-EYED JOHN, who
led in this attack, announced his threats to Capt.
211 INDIAN WARS.
Parker then in the garrison, saying they had burned
Lancaster and Medfield, and that next time they
would burn Chelmsford, Concord, Watertown, Cam-
bridge, Charlestown, Roxbury, and Boston ; adding in
his own dialect, " What me will, me will do."
THE RESULT.
Notwithstanding this braggadocio, the sagamore did
not live to see his purpose entirely fulfilled.
Indeed, it was not long before these fellows, One-
Eyed John, Sagamore Sam, and old Jethro, were all
on the march to Boston, with halters about their
necks, to be hanged.
Afterwards, April 17, Capt. Sill being appointed
to keep the garrison at Groton, some Indians coming
there and drawing near to the house, supposing it to
have been deserted, the captain fired at them, killing
three, two at one shot.
INDIAN SPIES.
The Colonists, during this war of King Philip,
found it very difficult to ascertain the precise locali-
ties of Philip's force. Hence, during the winter of
1675-6, they sent two Christian Indians, James and
Job, through the woods into the Nipmuck and Nar-
ragansett countries as spies ; who " having free
liberty of discourse with them," and, in the end to
EXPEDITION LED BY MAJOR SAVAGE. 215
obtain and bring information, performed at lea^t
favorable service to the English.
NORTHAMPTON.
On the 24th of March, 1676, the Indians made an
assault upon Northampton, and broke through the
fortification of palisadoes set up around it, but were
repulsed after they had killed four men and two
women, and destroyed four or five dwelling-houses.
A COLONIAL EXPEDITION.
In the beginning of March, Major Savage,
commander of new forces, was sent out, to be joined by
such as might be raised by the Connecticut Colony,
with instructions to search for Indians at and about
Wachusett Hill. But, on their arrival there, the
Indians were somewhere else. The English, how-
ever, fell in with a few stragglers, slew some,
took others, to the number of sixteen, and then
turned back to the relief of Hadley and North-
ampton.
MURDER ON THE HIGHWAY.
About this time, March 26, sabbath, some families
at Long Meadow, near Springfield, attending church
under an escort of soldiers, on their return home,
riding with women behind them, some, with children
in their * arms, fell in the rear of the rest of the
216 INDIAN WARS.
company, and were fired upon from an ambush.
Two of them were killed, and others wounded.
SUDBURY.
The inhabitants of this town, many of them on
the 27th of March, 1676, started for the woods in
the night. Towards morning they discovered the
tribes, three hundred of them lying by their fires
(within half a mile of a garrison-house), upon which
forty of their townsmen fired upon them several
times, wounded thirty, fourteen of which died then
or soon afterwards.
THEY VANISH.
After this the tribes began to scatter ; yet they
were in fragment parties. We hear of their depreda-
tions at Weymouth and at Billerica (where Timothy
Farrer was killed), at Quaboag, at JBraintree, at
Wrentham, and many other places all over the coun-
try; yet their main forces were lurking in the
woods. Some of them were between the towns of
Brookfield and Marlborough, and the Connecticut
River.
They killed several persons, ten or twelve resi-
dents of Concord, Mass., who had marched to assist
their Sudbury neighbors. On their journey back
towards the garrison-house, they were all waylaid,
killed, or taken.
INVASIONS BY THE WAMESITS. 217
Then again at Plymouth they burned eleven
dwelling-houses and five barns. Our scouting parties,
falling in upon a tribe of them, killed several ; but
within a few days seven houses and two barns were
consumed in the same town.
By the ill-advised acts of some of the English,
" another sort of Indians " from Wamesit (Lowell)
had fired guns to the killing of some and wounding
of others at Chelmsford, and also at Wbburn. These,
after winter was over, becoming enemies, set fire to
Mr. Falkner's house in Andover, wounded one Roger
Marks, and killed his horse ; and at Shawshine, near
it, on March 10, burned down houses ; May 8, killed
one, and carried away captive another, sons of
George Abbott; killed some cattle on their way,
cutting out their tongues, and passing away, being
shot at from a garrison. Savages visited Thomas
Fames of Sudbury, killed his wife, carried away
his children, leaving his house in ashes. Two men
were killed.
CONCORD, MASS.
In February, 1675, two boys, Isaac and Jacob
Eames and a maid, were taken captives.
This maid, fifteen years of age, escaped from them ;
and in the May following, one of the captive boys,
thirty miles through the woods alone, escaped, and
218 INDIAN WARS.
returned home upon a horse which the Indians had
stolen at Lancaster.
Also at Concord, on March 10, two men were
killed ; and on March 18, the hostile Indians, on the
north side of the river at
WAMESIT,
burned down three or four houses of Edward
Colburn ; and afterwards, April 15, about forty of
them pursuing Colburn, Samuel Varnham and
sons, shot at them, killing two of the sons,
and at the same time burned fourteen dwelling-
houses.
On May 3, after killing a man at Haverhill on the
Merrimack, a party of them crossed over to Brad-
ford, killed Thomas Kimball, and carried away his
wife and five children into captivity, forty miles into
the woods.
AN EXPEDITION.
To suppress these deadly eruptions, on April 27,
1676, the government at Boston started several
fresh companies of soldiers, and sent them forth to
range the woods under the command of Capts. Sill,
Cutter, and Holbrook. The horse companies were
commanded by Capts. Brattle, Prentice, and Hench-
man.
On the 6th of May, 1676, our Natick allied scout
PHILIP TURNS TOWARDS PLYMOUTH. 219
discovered a party of the enemy, who were pursuing
a bear, and, not perceiving the scout to be otherwise
than friends, were easily" pursued. Our horsemen
fell in upon them, killing and taking sixteen.
It was charged, that the untimely sounding of a
trumpet in the chase operated as a disadvantage to
the English, and the tribes escaped.
After returning to their headquarters at Medford,
although they could discover their fires at night in
great numbers, yet the tribes had become too far
scattered ever afterwards to be reached in any con-
siderable numbers. English soldiers fell sick, and
were temporarily dismissed on the 10th of May of
that year.
But to return. The great body of Philip's men in
the early spring, as we have seen, tended towards
Plymouth ; yet there were scattering skulking parties
all about.
At Rehoboth a party went out, and killed ten or
twelve. At Springfield Capt. Holyoke and his men
entered the woods with ten or twelve resolute men,
and near the great river killed three, and wounded
another.
Previously, Oct. 5, 1675, about three hundred
Indians made an attack on this town, killed three
men and one woman, and reduced to ashes thirty
dwelling-houses and twenty-five barns.
220 INDIAN WARS.
On the beginning of April, 1676, three of the
Hadley men, at work under a guard of soldiers,
Deacon Goodman being one of them, were slain.
Two others, who had ventured to wander away from
the guard, were also killed.
The largest company of Indians in this neighbor-
hood were now in and about Wachusett Hills. They
had been disappointed of their corn in the loss of
Canonchet : yet they were now taking advantage of
the fishing-season.
HADLEY, HATFEELD, NORTHAMPTON.
These towns now unite in revenge for the loss of
life, of houses, and cattle, and, to rid the country of
its common enemy, May 18, 1676, raised a hundred
and fifty men, marched silently at dead of night,
surprised the drowsy tribes at their wigwams in the
woods.
Arriving there, they dismounted, fired into their
wigwams, frightened them (killing some), drove
others into the stream, by which many of them were
borne down over the fall with the current, some
perishing in the waters ; others, hugging the shore,
were killed there ; and some, seeking the canoes,
being shot or overset in the stream, sunk, and slept
their last sleep. Capt. Holyoke killed five, young
and old, with his own hand.
HENCHMAN AT BROOKFIELD. 221
At the onset upon them, the Indians exclaimed,
u Mohawks ! THE MOHAWKS ! " Their slain were
nearly three hundred.
But the tribes, rallying after them on their retreat,
fell upon their horse-guards, fired upon them in the
rear ; so that, on their return, thirty-eight men wei e
missing. Holyoke's horse was killed. He was a
valiant leader.
HADLEY'S TWENTY-FIVE YOUNG MEN.
These came forth May 30, 1676, crossed the
river, and down upon a tribe which had been attack-
ing their garrison, burning houses, and killing and
driving away their cattle and sheep in large num-
bers ; fired upon them, killing five or six on their
flight far away.
This same force by the council at Boston was
rallied again, with instructions to drive out the
enemy from their fishing-places, from the woods, and
from the plantations.
And then, on May 30, 1676, Henchman leading,
advanced to Brookfield, intending to join others
from the Hartford Colony, with Tom Doublet to
trace out the Indian trails, overtook the enemy
fishing in Weshacom Ponds, killed seven, and cap-
tured twenty-nine, mostly women and children.
Previously, at Northfield, September, 1675, "Nine
222 INDIAN WARS.
or ten persons were killed in the woods ; and, on
the day following this massacre, Capt. Richard
Beers of Watertown, with thirty-six men, fell into
an ambuscade, and several of them were slain.
Retreating to Beers's Mountain, fought on the way ;
and only sixteen of Beers's company escaped. The
conflict was severe. The heads of some of the
English dead were elevated on poles : one of them
was suspended by a chain from the limb of a
tree. The fort there and the houses were 'de-
stroyed."
BATTLE AT PAWTUCKET.
On Sunday, the 26th of March, 1676, a battle
was fought by Gapt. Pierce and his seventy men,
twenty of whom were Indians. They fell in with the
tribes at Pawtucket River, near Pawtucket Falls.
The Indians led by Nanuntenoo decoyed them into
an ambuscade, and surrounded them with a force
of three hundred. Pierce and fifty-seven of his men
were slain. The Indian loss was estimated at a
hundred and forty.
NORTHFIELD (SQUAKEAG).
As it happened, Henchman did not meet the Hart-
ford force until a week afterwards, who joined him
at Hadley. The two forces then advanced towards
Squakeay, arrived at Deerfield, encountered a severe
TKIBES IN MOTION. 223
storm, damaging their ammunition ; yet seized and
secured many stolen goods, and a quantity of fish
from the enemy ; found some places where depreda-
tions and murders had been committed ; but from
thence, supposing the tribes to have gone towards
Plymouth, they returned home.
CAPT. HENCHMAN SAYS:
" Our scouts brought intelligence that the Indians were in
continual motion, some towards Narragansett, some towards
Wachusett, lying not above one night in a place. The
twenty-seven scouts brought in two squaws, a boy, and a girl,
giving an account of five slain. Yesterday they brought in an
old fellow, brother of a sachem, six squaws, and children,
having killed five men and wounded others. Eleven persons
we had in all, two of whom by council we put to death."
DEDHAM AND SEACONK.
On their return, this force was ordered from Sud-
bury by the governor of Plymouth to Dedham, and
so to Seakonk (Rehoboth), to join Bradford in pur-
suit of Philip, who, with his many hundreds, was
besetting the plantations in that neighborhood,
and whither, not long before, " Capt. Brattle
with a troop of horse, and Capt. Mosely with
a company of foot, were sent up from Boston to
pursue them, now flocking in great numbers for the
woods."
224 INDIAN WARS.
Here Hezekiah Willet of Swansey had been bar-
barously slain ; and to these forces at their arrival a
negro slave, escaping from their captivity, reported
that Philip was preparing to attack Taunton, and
that his army had slain twenty cattle over night,
and that nothing was left of them in the morn-
ing.
Next, Major Talcot, advancing to meet our forces
at Quaboag (Brookfielcl), as they came there from
Norwich, surprised a gang of Indians, took fifty-
one, nineteen being slain. Two other expeditions
volunteered from New London, Stonington, and
Norwich, having been left to guard that locality.
The one under Talcot disposed of about thirty of
the enemy, the most of whom were slain.
The other force killed and took forty-five, mostly
women and children; yet (as the minister had it)
they were " serpents of the same brood."
HADLEY (POCUNTUCK).
The next day the Indians assaulted Hadley with
seven hundred warriors, at six o'clock in the morn-
ing. But the Connecticut forces, made up of
English, Pequots, Mohegans, and other friendly
Indians, five hundred in all, being quartered near,
were soon on hand. The Indians, leaving the town,
had set it on fire. They fired, and killed three of
the English, but made their escape.
ENGLISH PROPOSE TERMS. 225
The 29th of July, 1676, was observed as a day of
thanksgiving. A body of Indians had been lurking
about the Connecticut all the spring, suffering for
food and of diseases ; and, discouraged at losses,
began to fall out with Philip, and resolved that the
tribes might separate, and desired to return to their
several homes ; and that Philip and the Narragan-
setts might do the sams. The Nipmucks and River
Indians beat westward; others northward, towards
Penacook on the Merrimack ; and Philip's crew and
the Narragansetts were left to drift in another direc-
tion, amid the swamps towards Mount Hope.
The tribes, in sight of events as of late they had
drifted, began to despair at the impending fate of
their race and of themselves.
The government at Boston, understanding this
matter, published a
DECLARATION.
;% That whatsoever Indians should, within fourteen
days next ensuing, come in to the English, might
hope for mercy"
Thereupon James the printer came in, affirming,
with others who came with him, that more of his
race had died since the war by diseases than by the
sword. And soon two hundred more came in.
226 INDIAN WARS.
SQUAW SACHEM OF SEACONET.
This squaw, allied to Philip as she had been, sent
three messengers to the governor of Plymouth, su-
ing for life and liberty, promising submission as
above ; but, before her messengers returned, the
English troops came upon her. She submitted her-
self to Major Bradford, together with her ninety
followers ; and then, recklessly and without mercy,
they were all murdered.
CONNECTICUT FORCES AT WARWICK NECK.
These, under Major Talcot and Capts. Dennison
and Newbury, on the 2d of July, 1676, pursuing
Philip, discovered a large force near Mount Hope in
a swamp. They divided their forces in three divis-
ions, and made a charge with Englishmen and In-
dians on all sides of the fort at once, by which all
the tribes were either killed or put to flight. A
hundred were killed at the outset, and the fugitives
by both horse and foot, until the whole were either
slain or taken prisoners. Two or three of the Mo-
hegans and Pequots were wounded: none of the
English were injured in the slaughter and capture of
nearly three thousand savages, young and old.
Among these was the old squaw of Narragansett,
commonly called the Old Queen.
CHAPTER XIV.
TRIBES IN TROUBLE.
War and Winter weakens them. They murmur in
Treachery of their own Race. They begin to distrust Philip.
Incline to abandon his Cause. Two Hundred surrender.
Three Hundred led by Six Sachems come in. Capts. Mosely, Bat-
tles, and Bradford Forces advance towards Mount Hope. Philip
escapes to Pocasset. A Chief Sachem surrenders with Forty
Attendants. Also Sagamore John with a Hundred and Eighty.
Philip is slain. Garrison-Houses. An Epic. An Expedition
to Pasco Bay. Depredations and Murders along the Piscataqua.
An Attack on the Upper Garrison at Salmon Falls. Major
Waldron sends a Team and Twenty Men to obtain the Dead.
The Men are attacked from an Ambush. Capt. Plaisted killed.
Attacks at Kittery, Cocheco, and other Places. Number
slain.
)
[HE winter of 1675-76 had fallen heavily
upon them. From Mount Hope, Philip's
fl main force had been routed, but with ter-
rible loss to the English, in the beginning
of the cold storms. Since then, the
slaughter which his tribes had shared; their constant
exposures to the inclemencies of winter, by the change
of place from day to day, with their wives and little
ones; and the devastating inroads which dire disease
had made upon them, overwhelmed their hearts
with crushing despair and discontent.
227
228 INDIAN WARS.
And now, in early spring, their remnant tribes, as
they perceived, were being beset with crushing forces
not only by the English, but, most wicked of all, by
the treachery from tribes of their own ancient race,
to wit, the faithless Pequots, Mohegans, and others.
No wonder, then, that the hand of fate is now
" seen writing upon the wall " this awful result,
that Philip's last great battle for the native freedom
of an ancient race of red men had been fought, and
is already lost ; that Philip himself is to die speedily ;
that his tribes, many more of them, are yet to perish
by the sword ; that the others are to be driven be-
yond the deep seas, or farther and farther into the
dark wilderness, there to be lost and forgotten.
In sight of all this, no wonder that Philip's war-
riors, for the sake of their women and children at
least, should begin to throw down their weapons of
war, and submit, however ingloriously, to the terms
proposed by their faithless foes.
Next, then, two hundred of them, from within the
Plymouth jurisdiction, through famine and fear came
in, and submitted themselves to the government there ;
some of whom, to obtain favor, were, as induced,
turned about, and were made to co-operate against
Philip and his then trembling tribes.
And then five or six sachems from Cape Cod, with
three hundred Indian attendants, came in and sur-
rendered.
PHILIP PURSUED, ESCAPES. 229
On the next day, July 7, 1676, the English with
some Christian Indians, invading the woods not far
from Dedham, killed seven, one of whom was a Nar-
ragansett sachem.
News then came that some of the Indians had fled
to Albany, N.Y., and were obtaining ammunition
there, on the pretext that Philip's war had come to
an end.
On the llth of July, Philip's whole remaining
force made an attempt to destroy Taunton ; but the
plot, being seasonably discovered, was defeated.
After the firing of two houses they were repulsed,
and fled.
Up to the 22d of July, Capts. Mosely, Battles,
and Bradford, operating from Concord, Mass., in and
around the swamps of Mount Hope, had slain and
taken of their enemies about a hundred and fifty.
It was feared Philip would now return to the Nip-
mucK country ; and English horsemen were sent to
guard the passage thither, as it led out from Mount
Hope. They followed him into the swamps, often-
times lodged near to him ; always a little too late,
yet sometimes found his camp-fires yet burning, his
kettles still boiling over them, and his dead from
sickness and war still unburied.
Philip, at length, with his followers much reduced,
by means of a raft made his escape from the Meta-
230 INDIAN WARS.
poiset woods, over an arm of the sea on to another
neck of land on the Pocasset side.
Capt. Church, commander of the Plymouth Colony,
with eighteen Englishmen and twenty-two Indians,
had long been on the chase of Philip, during which
time he had slain seventy-six men from the faltering
followers of Philip.
Philip's squaw was afterwards taken, one of his
chief councillors also.
A chief sachem at Pocasset, and forty Indians, came
in also, seeking life and liberty.
Other Indians heard of near Dedham, as being
nearly in a state of starvation, were pursued by
twenty-six of the English, and nine or ten Christian
Indians, who took fifty prisoners without loss to the
English, together with great quantities of wampum
and powder; and they slew Pomham, one of the
most valiant sachems of the ten commanders of the
Narragansetts.
SAGAMORE JOHN.
This sachem, July 27, came in before the council
at Boston, bringing with him a hundred and eighty
warriors, their wives and children, all of whom sur-
rendered.
On the 31st of July a party went forth from
Bridgewater in search for Philip and his followers,
PHILIP'S SQUAW-SACHEM, DROWNED. 231
and, coming nea.r, killed some of them, among whom
was Philip's uncle, who, standing by his side, was
shot down ; but Philip escaped, having previously
shaved his hair off so as not to be known.
On the 6th of August, twenty volunteers, led by an
Indian fresh from Philip, seized the whole party of
twenty-six Indians except the squaw sachem, who
escaped from them, but jumping into the river was
drowned. It is a shameful truth, they cut off her
head, and set it upon a pole in Taunton, at the sight
of which the dusky prisoners, as they passed, were
overwhelmed with grief, and passed on with wail-
ings and heart-rending despair.
An Indian now came in, who, reporting Philip as
having returned to Mount Hope, offered to pilot
any force that would undertake to follow him. And
then a company led by Capt. Church, part English
and part Indians, advancing to the great swamp
and surrounding it, Philip was discovered passing
out from it. Church aimed to shoot him, but the
gun missed fire : thereupon Alderman Seaconet, an
Indian of his own nation, at the same moment, being
with Church, fired ; and Philip fell dead, shot through
the heart. On the same day, Aug. 12, 1676, five of
his strong men fell also. And here ended forevei
the last great struggle that foreshadowed the final
fate of the red man on this continent.
232 INDIAN WARS.
Let us turn, that we may glance for moment at
the landscape. New England even now is but little
else than a wilderness. That wilderness is still in-
habited by remnant, distracted tribes ; some at pres-
ent peaceful, some hostile, afflicted of painful scars,
disease, and death ; and some of these seeking refuge
within the lines of neutral tribes ; and some wander-
ing afar off in quest of life and liberty in the far
distance. Yet every wigwam in the woods, as well
as every lonely cot, house, or hamlet in New Eng-
land, is doomed to dread fear and consternation. At
noonday, at midnight, consternation is now entailed
upon all the generations of New England for the
seventy tardy years now next to come. Philip is
dead : but the embers in his ashes are still burning ;
and the war between the two races, under their sur-
roundings, as a matter of course, could never die
out but in the destruction or exit of the one or the
other. Dread fear pervaded all. Garrison-houses
were then standing in all the hamlets, and even in the
more scattered neighborhoods. They must neces-
sarily abound in New England, must remain ; and they
did remain.
Even now, after the lapse of two hundred years,
some of those old structures, made mostly of logs,
erected during the Indian wars, may be traced
They ought to be preserved forever. One of those
tiin -without.
Lbout
HOUSES OF THE OLDEN TIME. 233
garrisons, with its terrible lessons, stood near the
home of my boyhood. Not many years since, pass-
ing that way, I visited it at eve. It then appeared
as in the engraving.
THE OLD GARRISON-HOUSE.
TALK WITH A GHOST,
At my native Harrington, N.H., Saturday Eve,
Oct. 20, 1866.
THEY'RE sacred now, these walls of wood.
Ah ! what can bear comparison;'
From age to age they've nobly stood :
They've braved the conflict, storm, and Hood,
Of the olden time a garrison.
Deserted now within, without ;
Alone, aloof, upon a hill ;
And rumor rife hath come about,
That, " in those port-holes looking out,
The midnight spectre lingers still."
And now, }'e ghosts, if ghost there be,
Speak ! speak, and tell us of the strife,
When you had life and limbs as we ;
When panting Pilgrims had to flee
The tomahawk and scalping-knife ;
234 INDIAN WARS.
When, in that boundless forest wild,
At sound of war-whoop from afar,
How anxious up and down ye filed,
And hewed the logs, and upward piled
This fortress rude ; how, in dread war,
At humble huts far scattered wide,
To toil ye gave the weary day,
Then, driven here at eventide,
The child and mother side by side,
Fast winding through the thorny way.
Unheeded then the beasts of prey ;
The p :owl of wolf no terrors brought,
Nor rancorous reptiles in the way :
The Pilgrim heart knew no dismay
Save what the knife and fagot taught.
Within these doors, then bolted fast,
Say, what of dreams ? Pray speak, and tell
How oft, amid the tempest blast,
Ye heard the rattling arrows cast,
The midnight gun, the savage yell.
What tearful thought, and what the care,
That moved the matrons and the men
To hug sweet infants cradled there,
To guard the household, and to share
The dangers dread impending then.
TALK AT A GARRISON. 235
And what, when tedious years had passed,
To mourn thy man} r kindred slain ;
Here then, at peace, ye lived at last ;
Yet did the sands of life fall fast,
And dust to dust return again.
How then the spirit wafted high
From lifeless nature 'neath the ground :
Then from the portals of the sky,
'Mid clouds of night, oh ! tell us why
In this old fort ye still are found?
Whence are thy joys eternal bright ?
As if ye had no faltering fear,
No sad bereavements, pain nor blight
Nor care, to cramp that calm delight
Foretold of faith in such career.
Ye've seen the tribes that roamed of yore
From Lovwell's Lake to the Falls of Berwick,
Or down Cocheco's woodland shore
Where Wat-che-no-it l dipped his oar,
At Dover old, or Squanomegonic.
Since then, as now, to the market town,
From the hills afar, yet blue and bland,
'Mid summer's heat or winter's frown,
How settlers teamed their treasures down,
Proud in the products of the land.
NOTE 1. "Wat-che-no-it was one of the chiefs who conveyed land-
titles iu New Hampshire.
236 INDIAN WAKS.
Their footprints firm are on the plain
'Mid blighting frost or blooming health,
Where varied life of joy and pain
Hath learned of Mother Earth how vain
Is pride or fame or sordid wealth.
Then, tell me true, if well ye may,
Since tribe and pilgrim hither met,
How generations lived their day,
How each in turn have passed away,
But where oh ! where untold as yet.
Of all that host some knowledge lend,
That from the world the years have hurried :
Say, what of Waldron? what his end?
Old " Mi-an-to-ni-mo " 2 his friend,
And " Mossup, 8 slain yet kindly buried.*'
Say if, amid that spirit-sphere,
Ye have full knowledge freely given,
Why thus withhold from mortals here
The glories grand, forever dear
To thee and thine, of death and heaven?
Mi-an-to-ni-ino was a chief, said to have been friendly,
tall, and cunning.
NOTE 3. Mossup, a brother of Mi-an-to ni-mo, was killed by the
Mohawks, about twenty miles above the Piscataqua, and was bur-
ied by Major Waldron.
THE REPLY. 237
The spectre, listening, seemed to move,
Half hidden still within the wall ;
In garb of light and looks of love,
With cadence strange, as from above,
Made answer thus, the one for all :
44 Why thus should men make search to know
Their final fate forever hidden?
Be}~ond the world of weal and woe
Your vision finite ne'er can go.
Enough for man it is forbidden.
44 What truth in Abraham ye trace,
And what of Israel's tribes are told,
What Bunyan wrote of the pilgrim race,
Ye well may know, and grow in grace,
As the fathers faithful did of old.
44 Enough ! and why should we disclose
The purpose grand ordained above,
Betra}^ the trust that Heaven bestows,
And tempt the world from calm repose,
Its tranquil life, and truthful love?
44 Then banish care ! Earth can but see,
Far in the cloud, a guardian hand ;
Nor heed the storm, alike as we,
True mariners upon the sea :
Ye'll find the pilgrim's promised land."
238 INDIAN WARS.
The night-damp dark in curtains fell ;
Hushed were the hills and valleys green :
I bent my footstep down the dell ;
A voice there whispered, " All is well ; "
And nothing more was said or seen.
JOHN.
In the winter which followed the downfall of
Philip, under the Boston proclamation previously
made, JOHN, a Nipmuck sachem, with many others,
came in, and were protected of their lives ; and
Hubbard, who lived and wrote at that day, says,
" Yet did that treacherous villain make an escape this winter from
Capl. Prentice's house, under whose charge he was put about Cam-
bridge village, and with twenty more fled away into the woods to shifl
for himself, with the rest of his bloody companions. They were pur-
sued, but had gone too fast and too far to be overtaken"
EFFICACY OF PRAYER.
Mr. Hubbard, who was a clergyman as well as
historian, now at this date complaining of the pagan
propensities of UNCAS, the Mohegan chief, says sub-
stantially that Parson " Fiske of Norwich," in the
terrible drought of that summer, had prayed con-
stantly and fervently for rain, but in vain ; that the
English were left to pray " without any motion from
the Indians ; " and that the drought long remained
CONFLICTS BECOME GENERAL. 239
upon them ; but that at length, by reason of dearth,
Uncas and his tribes were induced to come in and
join in the prayers, at which dense clouds at once
covered the earth ; a rain-storm followed ; and that
" the river rose more than two feet in height that
night."
FIRST PLANTATIONS.
The first place taken and possessed in the East as
a plantation was on the Sagadahock (KennebeclO ;
and in that neighborhood there was no serious
trouble with the tribes until Philip's war ; and even
then the principal mischief was made by the Andros-
coggins. But westward of that locality, at Stur-
geon Creek, at Salmon Falls, Cocheco (Dover), at
Greenland, Lampre River, Exeter, and Swamscot,
plantations were early commenced ; and all of them
suffered in 1675-6, and more or less during most of
the Indian wars. In the East, some of the planta-
tions were commenced as early as 1606, contempora-
neously with the like commencements in Virginia.
At the inception of Philip's war, the Indians all
through New England had been aroused ; and in the
East, although they had been peaceful from the be-
ginning, they began to see force and justice in Philip's
cause. And the tribes at Casco and Androscoggin, at
Piscataqua, at Wamesit, being pinched with hunger
and cold, had during the first winter risen against the
240 INDIAN WARS.
English, y3t in the early spring and summer returned
apparently to their good faith, and delivered up then
English prisoners ; yet in many instances, as in the
case of Simon and Andrew in their violence at Brad-
ford and Haverhill, returned their prisoners to Major
Waldron at Dover, but soon afterwards joined the
Kennebecks and Androscoggins in committing mur-
ders in that region.
By reason of these general uprisings, a meeting
was held at the house of Capt. Pattishals near the
Kennebeck ; and an expedition was sent up that river
to test the fidelity of the Indians. They succeeded
in obtaining some arms and ammunition, and a
promise of beaver-skins; the Indians, at the time,
yielded to them for the sake of peace. Upon the
condition if they cause no eruption, their arms, &c.,
were to be returned to them.
Robinhood then invited the tribes to a great dance,
and sung songs attended with great applause, to
evince a lively determination on their part to fulfil
their agreement to keep the peace ; yet many
of them broke their covenants with the English, to
their own injury as well as to that of their enemies.
They at first assaulted the house of Mr. Purchase,
took his liquor and ammunition, killed calves and
Bheep ; but contented themselves, for the most part,
with what they could eat and carry away.
.DEPREDATIONS CONTINUE. 241
Thereupon twenty-five Englishmen passed up
Casco Bay in a sloop arid two boats, to obtain Indian
corn ; and near Androscoggin River, they heard a
knocking in and about the houses, and saw two
Indians, who took towards the water. The Eng-
lish in pursuit killed one : the other escaped in a
canoe.
CASCO.
And then at Casco Bay a tribe entered the house
of Mr. Wakely, murdered him, his wife, his son, and
daughter-in-law, and her three children.
Soon after, Sept. 18, 1676, the houses of Capt.
Bonithon and Major Phelps were assaulted by about
forty Indians, the one on the east and the other on
the west side of the Saco River, and were set on
fire ; but the English rallied upon them, shot at
them from from all quarters, wounded the leader of
the gang, which caused them to " take leg-bail " for
other more remote quarters. They killed several
persons at Blue Point ; surrounded a garrison having
in it fifty persons, but none of the inmates were
killed. Major Phelps was wounded ; and his mills
and other edifices were consumed. About the same
time, five persons going up the Saco in a boat were
all killed.
In September the tribes tended towards Piscataqua^
and committed violence along that river, burnt the
242 INDIAN WARS.
houses of the two Chesleys at Oyster River, killed
two men on board a canoe there, carried away a
young man and an old Irishman from Exeter, killed
Goodman Robinson of Exeter, while on the road to
Hampton, He and son were waylaid by John Samp-
son Cromwell, and John Linde : the son escaped,
taking flight into the woods.
Then at Oyster River and Newechewanick great
violence was done. At the latter place, on the 16th
of October, 1676, a hundred Indians came in, and a
half a mile above the upper garrison at Salmon Falls,
amid other outrages, killed a man by the name of
Tozer, and others, and took his son captive ; from
which a despatch was sent to Major Waldron as
follows :
SALMON FALLS, Oct 16, 1675.
MR. RICHARD WALDRON AND LIEUT. COFFIN, These
are to inform you that just now the Indians are engaging us
with at least an hundred men, and have slain four of our men
already, Richard Tozer, James Barny, Isaac Bettes, and
Tozer's son, and burnt Benoni Hodsdan's house. Sirs, if ever
you have any love for us and the country, now show yourselves
,Ji men to help us; or else we are all in great danger to be
slain, unless our God wonderfully appears for our deliverance.
They that cannot fight, let them pray. Nothing else ; but I rest
Yours to serve you,
ROGER I*LAISTED.
GEORGE BROUGHTON.
MASSACRE AT SALMON FALLS. 243
And thereupon Waldron sent twenty men with a
yoke of oxen and cart to take away the dead bodies ;
and, obtaining a part of them, a hundred and fifty
Indians in ambush fired upon them, frightened the
cattle so that they ran back to the garrison carrying
part of the dead, leaving the twenty men to fight it
out on that line. Capt. Plaisted was killed: the
others got back to the garrison, the Indians taking
fright and running away. And the Indians advanced
to Sturgeon Creek, to Kittery, to Cocheco, Exeter,
Salmon Falls, Casco Bay, Wells : there and in other
places were constantly depredations and murders;
and in the conflicts in that direction between the
Piscataqua and the Kennebeck, upwards of fifty of
the English were slain, and nearly double that num-
ber on the part of the tribes. In this, from August
to December, 1676, the Pugwakets of Saco, and
Androscoggins of Pejepscot River, and some of the
Pennacooks, took a part.
GARRISONS.
Besides the ordinary forts in these days, some of
which have been named, there were garrisons or
block-houses west, at George's, Pemaquid, Richmond,
Saco ; at Fort Massachusetts, Pelham, Shirley,
Colerain, Fall Town, Dinsdale, Northfield^ Deerfidd,
Road Town, New Salem, Winchester, Lower Ashuelot,
244 INDIAN WARS.
Upper Ashuelot, No. 4, Pequiog, Nashawog, Narra-
gansett No. 2, Brown's, Leominister, Lunenburg,
Towns 3nd, Groton, New Ipswich, Salem, Canada,
Souhegan West, New Hopkinton, Great Meadows,
Contoocook, Rumford, Suncook, Dunham 12.
In the eastern part, there were garrisons at
Philip's Town, Berwick, Kittery, York, Wells,
Arundel, Biddeford, Scarborough, Falmouth, Saca-
rappee, Narragansett No. 7 or Gorham's, New
Marblehead, North Yarmouth, Topsham, Wiscasset
or Unksechuset, Rice's of Charlemont, George
Town or Arrowsick, Wiscasset, Sheepscot, Dama-
riscotta, and East George's; being in all fifty-six,
whereof fifteen are in another province, several in
each of the many towns, and seven as we have
seen in Penacook.
In the inland frontiers many of the out farm-
houses had been reconstructed, having jets in their
corners with loop-holes for small arms.
By means of garrisons erected almost everywhere,
many lives were saved.
CHAPTER XV.
OTHER CONFLICTS EASTWARD.
Gen. Dennison in the East. Tribes begin to disperse. Canonicus
is slain. Warriors seek Concealment among the Neutral Tribes.
Four Hundred Indians surrounded and taken at Cocheco.
Some sold as Slaves, and Some hanged. Tribes rebel at Casco
and Falmouth. Court at Boston appoint a Council of War.
Council obtain a Reconciliation. War revives in the Summer.
Waldron pacifies the Piscataquas and Cascos. Meets the
Sachems on the Kennebeck. Reasonings of the Squaw Sachem.
Massacres follow at Hammond's, at Arroivsick. Settlers leave
their Plantations. Apply for Aid at Boston, but in Vain.
Indians again at Casco. Again at Piscataqua. At Cape Ned-
duck. At Wells. At Blackport. The People Escape. Tribes
at Richmond Island. Ransom from Boston stolen. Mugg a
Prisoner at Boston. Remains as a Hostage. More Forces sent.
Other Murders. Forces reach Ossipee. Indians have fled.
Mugg is shipped to obtain English Captives. His Vessels return
with Eleven Captives. Forces sent under Major Waldron.
His Negotiation. Returns to Boston. War near Cocheco.
Alliance with Mohawks. Mohawks at Dover. Kill Waldron' 8
Men. Simon invades Portsmouth. A Treaty of Peace. Gar-
risons at Dover taken. Major Waldron is slain. Invasions.
URING Philip's war, the governor
and council of Massachusetts had
enough upon their hands in the western
towns ; yet they had a care for the several
counties eastward. That region of coun-
try was consigned more especially to the oversight
245
246 INDIAN WAKS.
of Major-Gen. D. Dennison, who raised soldiers;
but, the winter setting in sharply in December, the
snow, being deep, caused great delay. Yet the same
winter's cold was bearing still more heavily upon the
Ind'ans, reducing them in some instances to starva-
tion ; and they began to sue for peace.
Their applications were made to Major Waldron
of Dover, through whose mediation terms of peace
were agreed upon, but which, as it seems, were not
strictly fulfilled.
On the last of June, 1676, the Indians, by the
terrible conflicts and exposures of the preceding
year, were strangely dispersed and dispirited, every
nation beginning to shift for itself. The faithful old
Canonicus of the Narragansetts, distrusting the
faith of the English, had been slain in the woods ;
but the life of his squaw was spared.
Some of the Lancaster warriors tried to obtain
shelter beneath the wings of the peaceful Piscata-
quas. Some of them had mixed with the Penacooks,
Pequawkets, and Ossipees, seeking thus to avoid
danger. Thus at this time there was a strange
admixture of the elements of peace and of hostility
among nearly all the tribes.
Whereupon forces had been raised in Massa-
chusetts, the commanders of which were Capts.
Wm. Hawthorne and Joseph Still, to suppress in-
FOUR HUNDRED INDIANS SURPRISED. 247
surrections. And these leaders joined Major Wal-
dron and Capt. Frost of Kittery, and their men, in
the scheme of seizing all the Indians that might be
induced to assemble in Dover at their call.
Accordingly, on the 6th of September, 167G.
Wonalancet with four hundred Indians had been
induced to meet at Major Waldron's at Cochecc
(Dover). They made a military parade, and, as was
concerted, joined with the Indians in a sham-fight
exercise. The Indians were put upon the drag-
ropes of the artillery. The English, of course, were
appointed to manage the guns; and a sham fight
commenced. A gun exploded towards the Indians,
at which the English infantry by a preconcerted
manuoevre enclosed the Indians on all sides, secured
and disarmed them all.
Hubbard says, " They were handsomely surprised,
without the loss of any person's life," to the number
of four hundred ; by which device, after our forces
had them all in their hands, they separated the
peaceable from the perfidious. Wonalancet and the
friendly Penacooks, Pequawkets, and Ossipees were
dismissed to their homes, while two hundred or more,
having taken part in the rebellion, were taken to
Boston. Seven or eight of them were hanged for
supposed murders ; and the others were sent to other
[tarts, and some of them at least sold into slavery.
248 INDIAN WARS.
Thrs were they disposed of to prevent their
union with the hostile eastern Indians.
By reason of certain friendly Indians at Cape
Sable being taken under color of a legal warrant,
but having fraudulently been sold into slavery, and
the tribes having been deprived by the English of
their ammunition, hunger and murmurings and ani-
mosity pervaded the eastern wigwams everywhere.
On the llth of August, 16T6, at Casco, a.party of
Indians commenced depredations, and carried away
captive thirty persons, and burnt down their dwell-
ing-houses, among whom was one Anthony Brack ett
of that place. Brackett's brother, offering to resist,
was killed : the wife and five children were carried
away prisoners. Thence they went to Corban's
house, killed him, Humphrey Durham, and Benjamin
Atwel, and thence onward to other places, killing
others. So that from Falmouth and Casco Bay,
thirty-four persons were carried into captivity.
The Indians up at Fort To tonic on the Kenne-
beck had done no wrong against the English : yet
Capt. S. Davis and Capt. Lape of Boston thought fit
to bring away all their powder and shot from their
trading-house, and told them, if they would come
down to their place they would supply them, and that
if any of them refused to come down and deliver up
their arms, the English would kill them.
MEETING OF THE SACHEMS. 249
These and other aggravating incidents caused so
much trouble along the Kennebeck, that the General
Court at Boston appointed a council of war there,
and issued warrants to restrain all manner of per-
sons from intermeddling with the Indians without
further order, which within a few days should bo
had.
In the mean time the sachems met at Pemaquid ;
and, notwithstanding their many complaints made of
the English on that river, they came to terms of
peace, promised friendship as well as aid against the
hostile Androscoggins.
A hard winter was over and gone ; and then the
English agent at Pemaquid attended a meeting of
Indians in the East, praying that peace might be
continued, at which the tribes were joyful, presents
being passed in confirmation of a mutual good under-
standing. But when summer came the kidnapping
of individual Indians by the English, which had
previously transpired, of which we have spoken,
came to light ; and thereupon they again fell into a
rage, making bitter complaints to Mr. Earthy the
English agent, and others. They were told that
their Indian friends thus kidnapped and transported
should be returned to them. The Indians, thus out-
raged with mere promises which might never be
fulfilled, were not easily appeased : for true it was in
250 INDIAN WAKS.
the summer and fall previously, they had been
frightened away from their corn-plots; and, as it
appeared also, the withholding of their powder and
shot during the winter had tended to deprive them
of their sustenance in that direction ; and many of
them in the winter's cold, almost starved, had died
all along the Kennebeck.
Major Waldron of Dover had concluded a peace
with the Piscataqua and Casco Indians; and now
there was to be an attempt made to conclude a peace
with the Androscoggins, including all the eastern
tribes. Yet jealousies increased ; and a meeting was
sought as the agent had proposed.
Soon a notice came from Totonnock, desiring him
to meet Squando and the " Amoscoggan " sachems
there for a treaty.
Accordingly this agent, by advice from the council
then sitting in Kennebeck, with others repaired
thither. But at an English house on the way his
suspicions were aroused by startling reports ; yet
our agent passed on, and met them in council.
Madokawando sat as chief; and Assimin, squaw,
was their speaker.
Capt. Davis, speaking, told them in substance that
the English were to deal with them like men. To
which the squaw replied,
HARD QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED. 251
" You did otherwise with us. When fourteen of our men
came to treat with you, you set a guard over them, and took
away their guns ; and a second time you required our guns, and
demanded us to come down unto you or you would kill us,
which was the cause of our leaving our fort and corn to oui
great loss. 1 "
MADOKAWANDO appropriately asked what they
were to do for the want of corn ; what for the want
of powder and shot ; and whether the English would
have them die, leave the country, or go entirely over to
the French.
The English messenger, on the other hand, among
other things said, "You have admitted that the
western tribes will not make peace. Now, if we sell
you powder, and you give it to the western men,
what do we do but to cut our own throats ? "
Much was said, but no treaty was then had ; arid
conflicts thereafterwards came to pass as formerly.
Hammond's house was invaded. On the 14th of
August, 1676, on the island Arrowsick, early in the
morning, the Indians hid themselves under the walls
of its fort until the sentinel had gone from his place :
then chey followed him to the fort-gate, obtained a
foot-hold at the port-holes, shot down all that were
passing up and down within the walls of it, made
themselves masters of it, and of all that was within
it. Capt. Davis, within the fortification, was
252 1NDIAK WARS.
wounded there, but escaped. Two others, Capt.
Lake and Major Clarke, also escaped ten or twelve
miles away until they found some craft in which to
get away ; but, as it happened, that " good man "
Lake was slaughtered before he reached a place of
safety. He and Clarke were the owners, by purchase,
of this island ArrowsicJc in the Kennebeck. Their
fortifications there were extensive, with many con-
venient buildings for habitations and trade. The
persons slain at Hammond's and Arrowsick were
sixty-three.
From this all the white inhabitants along the Ken-
nebeck and Sheepscot Rivers fled away. Help was
sought at Boston. Some of the people tarried at
Monhiggon, resolving there to stay to await some re-
port from headquarters. Guarding themselves by a
night watch of twenty-five men, they thus continued
for a fortnight, within which time nearly all' tha
houses in the country round about were consumed ;
yet Boston, having enough on its hands nearer home,
had not been heard from. These people thereupon
advanced farther out, some to Piscataqua, some to
Salem, and some to Boston.
At the Arrowsick massacre, some of the people
were away, some to bring corn ; some were in boats
obtaining fish. Among the latter was Richard Pots
with two others. Mrs. Pots was washing bj the
BLACK POINT INVADED. 253
water's edge, where she with her children were pur-
sued in hot haste by the Indians. A little child cried,
and called to its father from the shore in the dis-
tance for help ; but the father in his prudence fled or
paddled away, not deeming it wise even to shoot the
Indian. From that place the Indians invaded Spur-
winks and other places. At Casco on Sept. 23, 1676,
some seven men went to Mountjoy's Island to obtain
sheep. The Indians pursued them : they betook them-
selves to a stone house there, defended themselves,
but in the end were all destroyed. One of them,
George Felt, mortally wounded, survived but for a
few days, and, being a valiant man, died much la-
mented.
From this, the Indians wandered nearer towards
Piscataqua. A party advanced upon Cape Nedduck,
killed or carried away nearly all the inhabitants of
the scattered houses of that locality, leaving there
unmistakable evidence of their heart-rending cruel-
ties. The day before this a man was killed in Wells,
and more soon afterwards.
On the 12th of October, 1676, one hundred In-
dians invaded Blackpoint. All the inhabitants had
concentrated into one garrison. The Indians were
led by the sagamore Mugg. He demanded of Joslyn,
chief of the garrison, a surrender, offering them the
privilege of taking away their goods. This was out
254 INDIAN WARS.
a distance from it; and when Joslyn returned all his
people had escaped, and had carried away their goods,
so that none were left to stand by him but his ser-
vants who attended him ; and he could do no better
than to surrender. The invasion upon Richmond Is-
land followed immediately upon that of PHckpoint.
Many other wicked things happened nereabouts ;
and before the 1st of November, 1676, the said Mugg
came to Piscataqua, bringing James Fryer, who,
being disabled, soon died of his wounds.
Ray, in the mean time, had been sent east from
Boston to ransom the eastern prisoners. But, as it
seems, the ransom had been stolen by one of the
tribes ; and thereupon Mugg, their leader, was seized
by the major-general of the Massachusetts Colony,
or by his order, and was sent to the governor and
council at Boston, 'that he might there, in the name
of their chief, Madokawando, make arrangements for
the giving-up of all the fifty or sixty prisoners which
they then held ; and with the understanding that
said Mugg was to be held a hostage for the due
performance of this understanding, Madokawando
and Squando being the leading chiefs at war in the
East.
Outrages in the mean time were daily heard of from
the country farther north ; and, to quell the erup-
tions there, a military force of one hundred and
EXPEDITIONS SENT NORTH. 255
thirty Englishmen, and forty allied Indians, were
sent there under the command of Capts. Haw-
thorne, Still, and Hunting, to be joined with others
raised by Major Waldron and Capt. Frost. The
force advanced in that direction, sweeping round vid
Casco, Wells, Winter Harbor, Blackpoint, in pur-
suit of Indians, but not finding many, yet killing
now and then one or two, all others escaping. By
these men, James George was shot from his horse
while at Casco Bay going home from church ; and
Capt. Niddock on the 25th of September, 1676, was
murdered, also George Farrow of Wells.
The enterprise proving fruitless thus far, this force
swung around towards Ossipee.
Yet at Wells and vicinity some murders were still
happening. Littlefield and Cross and Bigford were
killed there about this time : thirteen head of cattle
were also killed, their bodies left to their owners,
ers, except that their tongues had been taken out.
In four days our forces had reached Ossipee, had
taken quarters in an old fort built for the Indians by
the English as a defence against the Mohawks, which
\vas fourteen feet high, with flankers at the corners.
Cold winter had now arrived : the soldiers made fuel
of this fort, and advanced in scouting parties farther
north into the woods among the lakes ; yet finding
no Indian;?, and coining to the conclusion after nine
256 INDIAN WARS.
days' service in that direction, they marched back to
Newitchewannock, having suffered more from frost
than from Indian fire-arms.
In November Mugg had been despatched from Bos-
ton with two vessels, through whom the fifty or sixty
prisoners were to be obtained in the East, pursuant
to the articles of treaty entered into on the sixth day
of that month, between the eastern tribes and the
English ; which treaty was signed by " The X mark
of Mugg, Indian" on the one side, and by " John
Earthy, Richard Oliver, and Isaac Addison" on the
other.
Mugg with the vessels found Madokawando at Pe-
nobscot in the beginning of the next month, who de-
livered all the prisoners then there in his power,
which were only eleven. Mugg then passed up into
the wilderness to find other prisoners with other
tribes ; but, being gone too long, the vessels returned
to Boston, where they arrived on the 25th of De-
cember, 1676 without him.
As to the other prisoners, they were still among
their captors, arid were not as yet obtained; the
women being employed making garments for the
natives from goods plundered from the English ; the
tribes not all seeking peace as their sachems had
sought, and still desired.
In the first week of February, 1676, two hundred
WALDRON'S EXPEDITION. 257
and fifty soldiers, and sixty Natick Indians, were
raised, and sent away by water to the East, under
Major Waldron. On the llth of February, Waldron
sailed, touched in various places, established garrisons,
searched for the captive prisoners, found Mattahando,
who promised to deliver up those at Penobscot.
On the 20th of March, 1676, at Marlboro', the
worshipping assembly was suddenly dispersed by a
cry of "Indians at the door!" The confusion at
the moment was instantly increased by a fire from
the enemy. No one was injured, save Moses New-
ton, wounded in the arm. The people at once van-
ished to a place of safety. The meeting-house and
all the defenceless dwelling-houses of the town were
consumed. Much property was taken or destroyed.
The historian says, " The enemy retired soon after
the first fire, declining to risk the enterprise and
martial prowess of the young plantation. The
people at once sought safer quarters by moving out
of the place."
" The hostile savage yells for prey
Along the pathless wild :
The huntsman's track is watched by day ;
By night his sleep's beguiled ;
His blazing cottage lights the gloom ;
His infant shrieks the alarm ;
His wife sinks lifeless in a swoon,
Or bleeds within his arm."
258 INDIAN WARS.
BATTLE AT PEMAQUID.
At Gyobscot Point, Major Waldron espied two In-
dians in a canoe, who waved their caps, desiring to
speak with him. Paine and Gendal were sent to
them, from whom they learnt that there were many
Indians at Pemaquid with the English captives ; and
the major bent his course in that direction, landed,
saw an English captive with his master in a boat,
and sought to speak with the captive, which was not
allowed. But the Indians pretended peace, and
promised to deliver up such captives as were at
Penobscot the next morning. They desired to speak
with some of the officers. Some of them went on
shore ; and three of the sagamores came on board
the ship. After some talk the major went on shore
with six men, carrying no arms with them. He
found their words were uncommonly smooth ; and,
from the fact that all definite action in reference
t
to the delivering-up of captives had been deferred to
the next morning, his suspicions of their honesty be-
gan to be excited.
In the morning, Feb. 27, the major, with the same
number as before, went on shore to treat with them ;
they with John Paine hailing them cheerfully. Their
persons were searched on both sides, and all arms
laid aside. They spent the forenoon in a treaty,
FAITHLESS TRIBES DEFEATED. 259
whereat they seemed much to rejoice, in expectation
of a peace with the English. But when Major Wal-
dron urged a present delivery of captives, with assist-
ance of men and canoes to proceed against the
Androscoggin Indians, enemies to both, it was
denied ; and they claimed pay for the keeping of the
captives through the winter ; as for their canoes,
they had a present use for them, being bound to go
to Penobscot: the price demanded was twelve
skins. This proposition was yielded to ; upon which
they delivered up William Chadlourn, John Winnie!*;,
and John War wood. The part of the pay which was
to be in liquor was paid down : the rest was promised
to be sent in the afternoon. Afterwards, and in the
mean time, three of the sagamores came on board of
the major's vessel ; and, from their manner and talk,
the major's suspicions of their evil intent were in
no way abated.
BATTLE ON THE SHORE.
In the afternoon Major Waldron, with five attend-
ants without arms, again went on shore to meet the
Indians, to complete the treaty, and to pay the bal-
ance of the ransom ; but upon arriving there,
through a due circumspection, the major discovered,
within a rod or two of the place of the hearing, some
concealed weapons of death, m the shape of guns and
260 INDIAN WARS.
lancets, obviously intended to be used by the war
riors upon receipt of their full pay. He immediately
seized up a lancet, and, springing towards them,
charged falsehood and treachery upon them, at
which guilt was seen in every countenance. One or
two advanced towards him as if to get the weapon ;
but he, brandishing it, threatened death to any one
that approached him, and passing his hand upward,
raised his hat, which was a signal of distress to all
his men in the ship, at which they rallied around
him in full force. The Indians seized some of their
weapons, but were put to flight. The soldiers fought
valiantly: many of the tribe, before they could
get away, as they took to their boats, were slain.
The remainder of the captives the major was left
to seek elsewhere ; and after establishing garrisons
in the East, as we have noticed, and after visiting
Sheepscot, from which they obtained plunder in
which there were forty bushels of wheat, and at Ar-
rowsick in the Kennebeck, after obtaining a hundred
thousand feet of lumber, they returned home to
Boston.
WAR IN WALDRON'S NEIGHBORHOOD.
This was in 1676. Previously, in 1675, while the
war was going on westerly and in the remote East,
Squando at Saco, and his tribes, were fruitful of con-
SLAUGHTER IN VARIOUS PLACES. 261
flicts in the country in which Dover and Major
Waldron were the great centre. Men at Durham,
at Exeter, at Hampton, at Newichewannock, at Con-
cord, N.H., and many other places, had been slain,
and many dwelling-houses consumed. Twenty'
young men, by leave of the major, had scattered
themselves in the woods, discovered five Indians,
and killed two of them. The people fled from their
homes and from business to their garrisons. Fast-
ing and prayer had become more common. At
Salmon Falls, Lieut. Roger Plaisted sent out seven
men from his garrison : they fell into an ambuscade,
and three of them were killed. Two days after the
taking of the four hundred Indians at Cocheco, of
which we have spoken, Waldron's and Frost's men,
with Blind Will, a sagamore of the Indians, as pilot,
marched off to the eastward, and thence to the
Ossipee Ponds, where the Indians had a strong fort
of timber fourteen feet high with flanker; but, as
we have seen, the tribes were somewhere else.
ENGLISH ALLIANCE WITH THE MOHAWKS.
Hitherto there had been conflicts between the
eastern Indians and the Mohawks at New York;
and at this crisis two messengers, Major Pynchon
of Springfield and Richards of Hartford, repaired to
that country, and made an alliance with the Mo-
262 INDIAN WARS.
hawks. The Mohawks were valiant for a fight as
against their enemies of old; and in March, 167 7,
they came down upon Amoskeag Falls. Wona-
lancet in the woods discovered fifteen Indians, who
called to him in language not understood. If e fled :
they fired their guns at him ; he escaped. Thence
they appeared at Cocheco, against whom Waldron,
not knowing them to be allies, sent out eight of his
Indians led by Blind Will against them, or at least
to obtain information ; and the Mohawks fell upon
them, and but two or three escaped. Will was
dragged away by his hair, and perished in the woods
at the confluence of the Isinglass and Cocheco Rivers.
This place still bears the name of Blind Will's Neck.
Hence it appeared that the Mohawks were intent
upon the destruction of the friends of the English as
well as their foes ; and, in fact, they threatened the
destruction of all the Indians in these parts without
distinction. They thus proved fruitful of many
calamities to the English. Then the garrisons at
Wells and Blackpoint were beset : at the latter
place the tribes lost Mugg, their leader and treach-
erous negotiator.
On a sabbath morning Simon^ with twenty other
Indians, surprised and took six of our Indians in
the woods near Portsmouth. At night they crossed
the river at Long Beach, killed some sheep at
TREATY AT CASCO. 263
Kittery, and turned off towards Wells ; but in fear
of the Mohawks they let their prisoners go. Four
men were soon after killed at North Hill.
In 1678 Shapleigh of Kittery, Campernoon and
Fryer of Portsmouth, as commissioners, entered into
a treaty with Squando and other chiefs at Casco,
and there obtained the remainder of the captives in
the East ; and here an end was put to this terrible
war of three years.
We have said that Philip's war was ended ; but
this is to be taken at least with some allowance, as
it is a very difficult matter to ascertain when an In-
dian war did end, their nationalities being numerous,
and their impetuous notions various and uncertain.
At Cocheco (Dover), Major Waldron had a strong
garrison-house ; and near him were four others.
Rankamagus, a Pennacook chief, had, in league
with others, on the 27th of June, 1689, contrived to
surprise and destroy the town : accordingly squaws
were sent, two to each garrison-house, to obtain
lodgings for the night ; and Massandowet, their chief
sachem, that same evening took supper with the
major, and, among other things, told him they were
(joining the next day to trade with him ; but said,
" Brother Waldron, what would you do if the strange
Indians should come ? " To which he forcibly replied,
" I could assemble an hundred men by lifting up my
254 INDIAN WARS.
In the utmost quietude and security they retired
to rest ; but at midnight the gates were opened by
the squaws, and death and consternation prevailed
throughout the town. One garrison, having refused
to admit the squaws, escaped : all the others fell.
They crowded Waldron's house, some guarding
the doors, while others advanced upon their business
of blood and death. Waldron, then eighty years of
age, seizing his sword, defending himself, drove the
savages from room to room, until, from behind him,
he was knocked down with a hatchet, and then,
being dragged away and placed upon a table, was
stripped, and gashed, burned, and otherwise tortured,
until death relieved him.
While gashing him, they would say thus, " I cross
out my account" While cutting off his fingers, they
would say, " Now will your fist weigh a pound? "
While this was being done, other savages were
compelling the women of the garrison to prepare
supper for them.
In the garrison-houses and elsewhere, the inhabit-
ants of Dover, to the number of twenty-three, were
killed ; and twenty-nine were carried away captive
through the wilderness to Canada, where the most
of them were sold to the French.
Previously, an Englishman at Chelmsford, Mass.,
had learned of some Indians of their proposed
VARIOUS INVASIONS. 265
attack on Cocheco, and had sent a despatch to in-
form them ; but, being delayed at Newbury Ferry,
sad to relate, the despatch failed to reach its desti-
nation.
At ANDOVEB, as we have seen, in Philip's war,
several persons were killed by the Indians ; others
were captured; and some houses were burned, as
was common : and now in 1698 Assacurnbuit made
an attack upon the town with forty Indians, " burned
frv\o dwelling-houses, and killed Simon Wade, Nath.
Broivn, Penelope Johnson, Capt. Pasco Chubb, his
wife Hannah, and a daughter of Edmund Faulkner"
BILLEEICA.
On this town, in 1695, an attack was made. As
Nason describes it in his excellent Massachusetts
Gazetteer, " Several were slain ; and then again, on
the 5th of August of that year, the Indians entered
the house of John Rogers in that northerly part of the
town, and discharged an arrow at him while asleep,
which entered his neck, severing the main artery :
awakened, he started up, seizing the arrow, withdrew
it, but expired with the instrument of death in his
own hand. A woman, being in a chamber at the
time, threw herself out of the window, and, though
severely injured, made her escape by concealing her-
self among some flags. A young woman was scalped
26b INDIAN WAKS.
and left for dead, but survived. A son and daughter
of Mr. Rogers were made prisoners. The family of
John Levestone suffered also severely : his mother and
five young children were killed, and his oldest daugh-
ter captured. Capt. Thomas Rogers and his oldest son
were killed. Mary, the wife of Dr. Roger Toothaker,
and Margaret his youngest daughter, with four other
persons, were slain."
The Indians were pursued by the villagers, but to
no purpose. The tribes had covered their tracks, had
even tied up the mouths of their dogs with wampum,
to prevent all noise, and to avoid detection. That
terrible shock to Billerica was long held by its in-
habitants in painful remembrance.
In 1690, March 18, Sieur Hartel and Hopegood,
with fifty-two French and Indians from Canada, in-
vaded Salmon Falls, N.H. The attack was at day-
break, in three places. The people from their garrisons
defended, but were overcome : thirty were killed,
and fifty-four surrendered. Houses, mills, and barns
were burned ; and many cattle were killed. The in-
habitants, gallantly following them into the woods,
gave them battle, with the loss of some four or five
on each side.
Hertel, on his way home, was joined by others,
and fell in upon the fort at Casco. His mode of
warfare was cruel.
CHAPTER XVI.
KING WILLIAM S WAR.
New England is alarmed. Wars as they advanced. Three De-
tachments from Canada. Attack on Salmon Falls. Treaty
with Penobscots and Others. Attack on Oyster River. Ports-
month invaded. Skirmish at Breakfast Hill. Dover and
Kittery assailed. Treaty at Casco. Five Hundred French and
Indians invade New England. Invasion of 1704. Coi
Church's Expedition with Major Hilton. Hilton's Expedition in
1705 on Snow-Shoes. Patrol at Portsmouth. Heroic Women,
Two Hundred and Seventy Warriors at Piscataqua and Dun-
stable. Mohawks, painted Red, attack Oyster River. Col
Hilton of Exeter slain. Three Hundred and Forty-two French
and Indians attack Deerfield. A Flag-ship returns Prisoners.
Raid on Worcester. On East Hampton. On Sterling
Premium on Scalps. Expedition to obtain Captives. Church,
Hilton, and Forces are sent East. Col. W. Hilton slain. Col.
Walton's Expedition to the East. Piloted by a Squaw. Three
Hundred Indians advance East with Threats. French and
Indians by the Government declared Rebels. Parson Ralld
makes Trouble. Arrowsick invaded. Attack on Northfield.
Another Alliance. Father Ralle', the French Jesuit, slain by
Capt. Harmon.
safety.
N the year 1689, New England was again
startled with the news that King William
had invaded England with the intention of
dethroning the king. This, of course, at
once led to combinations, and councils of
The French and Indians of Canada, as we
2fi7
268 INDIAN WARS.
might well suppose, came down upon the English
here like an avalanche ; and war here and war there
continued until Jan. 7, 1699. Then upon the
heel of this followed another foreign conflict, known
as Queen Anne's War, commencing in Gov.
Dudley's time, Aug. 10, 1703, and ending at the
peace of Utrecht, March 31, 1713.
In consequence of 'encroachments by the English
upon Indian lands, this peace proved to be of short
duration ; and war again gradually came on, became
general in July 25, 1722, and continued to distress
New England up to Dec. 15, 1725.
Thence with occasional troubles as the years ad-
vanced, until March 29, 1744, when Great Britain,
under George II., declared war against France and
Spain. This raged up to 1749. During all of these
years, since the beginning of the war by Philip,
(June 24, 1675), which we have detailed, and then
again from 1689 up to the year 1763, there was, all
the way along, more or less of Indian conflicts,
afflicting the generations of men, and overwhelming
the hearts of women and children with the pangs
of sad bereavements.
In the winter of 1690 Count de Fontenac, gover-
nor of Canada, detached three parties of French and
Indians on three different routes, upon the frontiers
of New England. These parties, one of which went
PEACE PROPOSED AT PEMAQUID. 269
into New York, performed the offices for which they
were organized, by killing the inhabitants, and burn-
ing and destroying their property.
On the 18th of March, 1690, Trois RiviSres, with
fifty- two French and Indians, made an attack on
Salmon Falls, N.H., led by Hopegood, a noted war-
rior. They came in at daybreak in three parties.
The people flew to arms, defended their garrisons
valiantly ; yet about thirty persons were slain, and
the rest, fifty-four in number, surrendered to the
tribes. The houses, mills, and barns were burned.
They were pursued to the woods by a hundred and
forty men, who overtook them at the bridge on
Wooster's River. There, an engagement took place.
The loss was small, four or five on each side. The
next day they destroyed the fort at Casco.
In 1693, Aug. 12, the Penobscots, Kennebecks,
Androscoggins, and Sacos submitted to a treaty of
peace at Pemaquid, in which they agreed to abandon
the French interest, to deliver up all captives, and
to sustain free trade. Yet July 18, 1694, they were
induced by the French to other hostilities.
At Oyster River (which is a westerly branch of the
Piscataqua) there were twelve garrisons, with dwell-
ing-houses on both sides of the river. On the morning
of the 17th of July, 1694, the Indians in two parties
invaded the village on both sides, planted themselves
270 INDIAN WARS.
in ambush in small parties near every house, and
awaited the rising of the sun, as well as the firing of
the first gun as a signal. John Dean, the earliest
riser, was shot as he advanced from the threshold.
This gave an alarm prematurely, as the Indians had
not all obtained their several positions ; and the in-
habitants came forth, some to escape, and some to
organize, and give battle to the tribes.
Of the twelve garrison-houses, five were destroyed ;
to wit, Adam's, Header's, Drew's, Edgerley's, and
Beard's.
Fourteen of the inhabitants were slain. A boy
was made to run through their files. They threw
their hatchets at him to carry out their sports, until
he fainted and fell.
The defenceless houses were set on fire, and were
nearly all consumed. Many persons were taken
captive.
The other seven garrisons viz., Buinham's, Bick-
ford's, Smith's, Bunker's, Davis's, Jones's, and Wood-
man's were resolutely and successfully defended.
Thence a part of these tribes proceeded westward,
through Durham and Exeter, to Groton, Mass. They
were led by Toxus, a Norridgewock chief.
In July, 1695, and 1696, men were killed by the
Indians at Exeter ; and in May (1696) John Church,
who previously had been seven years a captive, was
slain at Cocheco near his own house.
CONFLICTS IN THE OLD TOWNS. 271
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.
On the 26th of June, 1696, an attack was made on
Portsmouth, N.H., about two miles out from the
village.
" The enemy came over from York Nubble to
Sandy Beach in canoes which they had in the bushes
near the shore. At early morn they pillaged five
houses, took four prisoners, and killed fourteen per-
sons. One man was scalped and left for dead, but re-
covered. The houses were consumed.
Thereupon, Capt. Shackford with a company of
militia advanced in pursuit of the tribe, and, over-
taking them at Breakfast Hill, rushed upon them
from the top of it, retook the captives and the
plunder ; but the Indians, rolling themselves down
the hill, and from thence into a swamp, reached
their canoes, and escaped.
DOVER, N.H.
On the 6th of July of the same year the people
of Dover were waylaid on their return from church.
Three were killed, three wounded, and three were
carried away to Penobscot.
In June, 1697, at Exeter, a body of Indians had in
the morning placed themselves near the town for the
purpose of an assault, but were frightened away ; but
in July they murdered Major Frost of Kittery in
272 INDIAN WARS.
revenge, as they say, for the seizure of the four hun-
dred Indians at Dover in which he had been con-
cerned.
In 1699 the Indians were brought to a treaty at
Casco, by the English commissioners, wherein the
Indians once again promised better behavior.
During Philip's war, Douglas says about three
thousand Indians had been slain or taken, and that
the Narragansetts, one of the largest nations, had been
reduced, not being able to rally more than a hun-
dred men.
And again during King William's war much
trouble within the Colonies of New England was
constantly diminishing the population on both sides.
Thus there were battles during this period at Haver-
hill and other places which we have named.
In 1689 there had been fights at North Yarmouth,
at Sheepscot, and Cocheco ; and forts and garrisons
had been built at Sheepscot, Pegepscot, at Pemaquid,
at Wells, York, Berwick, and Cocheco.
In 1690 Massachusetts sent a hundred and sixty
men to Albany for protection, and to head off
invasions from the Canadian French and Indians,
and then to the East in 1692. William Phipps, having
raised four hundred and fifty men, advanced against
the enemy on the Kennebeck.
On the other hand, in 1696 the French landed
CONFERENCE IN 1703 AT CASCO. 273
some soldiers at Pemaquid, as allies to the Indians.
About this time the fort here, with ninety-five men
and fourteen mounted cannon, was surrendered In
the French by one Capt. Chub.
In 1697 a squadron from France was sent to
operate against New England; but it was driven
asunder in a storm. And then, Jan. 7, 1698, followed
the French treaty of peace at Berwick ; and the
eastern Indians again submitted.
On June 20, 1703, Gov. Dudley, with delegates
from his provinces, held a conference at Casco with
the Norridgewocks, Penobscots, Pequawkets, Penna-
cooks, and Androscoggins. A treaty of peace was
then and there entered into, with many mutual
promises and much ceremony : yet, as it turned out,
the Indians' guns were loaded. And on Aug. 10,
1703, M. Bobasier, with five hundred French and
Indians in several divisions, invaded the New-
England frontier from Casco to Wells, making bar-
barous havoc, sparing neither age nor sex, killing
some, and taking others, a hundred and thirty
in all, burning and destroying all before them.
In the spring of 1704, the surrounding country
\vas alarmed: the women and children fled to the
garrisons. No laborers went to the fields without
being fully armed, or surrounded by sentinels well
posted.
274 INDIAN WARS.
On April 25 Nathaniel Header was killed in his
field at Oyster River. Edward Taylor was also slain
by the tribes ; and his wife and son were taken cap-
tive at Lamprey River.
In May of this year CoL Church was started on
an expedition from Boston, with transports and
whaleboats for going up the river. Major Hilton
joined him at Piscataqua, and they were in the East
all summer ; destroyed Minas and Chiegnecto, and
damaged the Indians at Penobscot and Passama-
quoddy.
In the winter of 1705 Col. Hilton, with two hun-
dred and seventy men, including Indians, advanced
to Norridgewock on snow-shoes upon the snow, then
four feet deep. They burned the wigwams, finding
no Indians. This year the line of pickets which
enclosed the town of Portsmouth was repaired ; and
a nightly patrol was established on the sea-shore
from Rendezvous Point to the bounds of Hampton,
the coast being infested with the enemy's priva-
teers.
Thomas Dudley, governor at that time, kept a
vigilant eye upon the enemy during the winter,*
and caused a circular scouting march to be taken
once a month around the head of the towns from
Kingston to Salmon Falls.
On the 24th of May, 1704, East Hampton, Mass.,
WOMEN VALIANT IN WAR. 275
was destroyed by the Indians, and about twenty of
its inhabitants were slain.
In 1706, at Reading, five Indians killed a woman
and three children, and carried the remaining five
into captivity.
In April, 1706, a small party of savages invade^
the house of John Drew at Oyster River, killed
eight, and wounded two. Not a man was in the
garrison : yet the WOMEN valiantly fired an alarm :
putting on hats, and concealing their hair, they went into
the fight, firing away fervently at the enemy. The In-
dians, frightened, fled before them, without plundering
or even burning a house.
In July, 1706, a rumor came that two hundred
and seventy French and Indians were on the march
to Piscataqua ; and the people again took to their
garrisons.
This enemy first fell in upon D unstable, thence
to Amesbur3% and then to Kingston, at this time
killing many cattle.
Again, a party of them lurked about Hilton's
house in Exeter, where they saw ten men moving to
the mowing-field. When the mowers had laid aside
their arms, the Indians, creeping between them and
their guns, rushed upon them, killed four, wounded
one, and took three : two only escaped.
Sept. 15, 1707, a man was killed by them at Exe-
276 INDIAN WARS.
ter; and, two days afterwards, Henry Elkins fell at
Kingston.
Then again, at OYSTER RIVER, a company of men
were at work in the woods, hewing timber ; and a
party of French Mohawks, painted red, came in upon
them with a hideous yell, and at the first fire killed
seven, and mortally wounded another. Capt.
Chesley was among the slain.
During the winter of 1708, four hundred Massa-
chusetts soldiers were posted within its province.
COL. WINTHBOP HILTON.
This gallant officer, in 1710, July 22, was con-
cerned in the masting business ; being in the woods
fourteen miles away from his house in Exeter, was
ambushed by a party of Indians. Hilton, with two
more, was killed at the first fire. His other men
escaped. A hundred men followed the next day in
pursuit ; but no Indians were seen. They had left
a lance in the colonel's heart. On the same day the
savages ambushed the road in Kingston, and killed
Samuel Winslow and Samuel Huntoon, and took
and carried into Canada Huntoon and Oilman.
In the spring of 1711 the tribes renewed their
ravages on the frontier; and Thomas Downs, John
Church, and three others, were killed at Cocheco;
and several were assaulted on their way from
A BATTLE AT THE DOOR. 277
church. And from this, conflicts most cruel contin-
ued up to July 17, 1713.
THE OLD DOOR, IN DEERFIELD.
On the night of Feb. 29, 1704, Major Hertel de
Rouville, with three hundred and forty-two French
and Indians, fell in upon Deerfield, entered its fort,
embracing the church and several dwelling-hou'-es
Vhen unguarded, and massacred many, and carried
others away. At the onset Rev. Mr. Williams
seized his pistol : it missed fire, and was knocked
aside. Two of his children and servant were mur-
dered. He and five of his remaining children were
marched away into captivity. His wife, two days
afterwards, was slain in Greenfield.
Two years after this a flag-ship, sent from Quebec
to Boston, brought back Mr. Williams, his four chil-
dren, and fifty-two other redeemed captives. As it
happened, one of his children inclined to remain
there, grew up among the Indians, accepted one of
them as a husband, and in later years once or twice
visited her early home in Massachusetts.
In this attack upon Deerfield (Mr. Nason says),
the Indians, cutting a hole through the door of Mr.
Sheldon's house, fired at and killed Mrs. Sheldon
just as she was rising from her bed.
The old door of this house now hangs, enclosed m
278 INDIAN WARS.
a frame of chestnut, in the hall of the Pecomtuc
House.
The peasant-bard of Gill thus speaks of it :
" Bless thee, old relic ! old and brave and scarred ;
And bless old Deerfield, says the grandson bard.
Towns may traditions have, by error spun :
She has the door of history ; that's the one."
At Worcester, in 1704, an invasion was made by the
tribes. The inhabitants deserted the town ; and the
wife of Dickory Sargent became a captive, and was
carried away. Years before this the place had been
noted : the Indians here had been interviewed by
the apostle Eliot and by G-ookin ; and then again, in
Philip's time, Pakachoag had been visited by King
Philip, while inducing the Indians to take up arms
against the white men.
In 1704 Caleb Lyman at Cowwassuck on the
Connecticut, with one Englishman and five Mohegan
Indians, killed eight hostile warriors out of nine. The
Assembly for this gave him thirty-one pounds.
In this same year, May 24, East Hampton (Passa-
comuck) was destroyed by the Indians, and about
twenty persons killed.
In 1706 a party of Indians, visiting Reading, killed
a woman and three of her children ; and carried her
other children, five in number, into captivity.
A PREMIUM FOB SCALPS. 279
On the 18th of August, 1707, a party of twenty
four Indians from the forest appeared to Mrs. Mary
Fay and Mary Goodnow, while gathering herbs in a
meadow. Mrs. Fay took to a garrison near by, and
assisted in defending it until the men in the fieU;
came to their relief.
The next day, in Sterling, the same tribe invaded
the town, and " got the worst of it : " nine of them
were killed. In their packs was found the scalp of
the unfortunate Miss Goodnow, whose lameness pre-
vented an escape. Her lonely grave is still to be
recognized near the place where she fell.
At this time the premiums for Indian scalps and
captives had been advanced by the Assembly, per
piece, to impressed men ten pounds, to volunteers
twenty pounds, to volunteers serving without pay
fifty pounds, with the benefit of captives and plun-
der. And Capt. Rowe was sent to Port Royal,
N.S., with a flag of truce, to negotiate for prisoners.
Capt. Sheldon was also sent there twice for the
same purpose.
Col. Hilton, with two hundred and twenty men,
was also sent away to the eastern frontiers. He
killed many Indians.
The colonel was himself killed by the Indians in
1711, in Exeter.
At this time Col. Church, March 13, 1707, sailed
280 INDIAN WARS.
east with two regiments to the same end. He ob-
tained many prisoners.
And then Col. Hilton, with a hundred and seventy
men, proceeded to Amarasconti and Pequawket.
In the spring of 1708, eight hundred French and
Indians invaded New England; but, disagreeing
among themselves, some of them returned back : the
others fell in upon Haverhill and other places, as we
have noticed.
In 1711, near Exeter, Col. Winthrop Hilton, with
two others, was slain by the Indians in the woods :
near Exeter two others were taken. The next day
one hundred men followed in pursuit of the Indians ;
but they could not be traced. Soon they appeared
again in the streets at Exeter, took captive four
children and John Wedgwood, and murdered John
Magoon ; and again at Cocheco they killed Jacob
Garland while on his return from worship.
In the winter Col. Walton, with 170 men, traversed
the eastern shores, which were usually sought at that
season by the Indians to obtain clams.
Some of the tribe, mistaking Walton's encamp-
ment at night, came near, and were taken prisoners.
One of them was a sachem of Norridgewock, active,
sullen, bold. He would make no discoveries, and
was slain. Upon this his squaw and two others
piloted the colonel to Saco River, where he overtook
A BRIEF SUSPENSION. 281
five Indians, and slew them all : also on the way he
took two prisoners under her lead. Thomas Downs,
John Church, and three others were killed at Cocheco ;
and on the sabbath, as the people were returning
from church, Humphrey Foss was taken captive,
and John Horn was wounded.
Walton, with two companies, advanced to the
ponds in the fishing season ; but the Indians had de
serted their wigwams.
In Chelmsford Major Tyng was killed ; and mar-
ders by the Indians were happening in other places.
SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITIES.
News now came of the suspension of arms be-
tween England and France; and the Indians ap-
plied for an accommodation.
In 1713, July 11, the New-England Colonies held
at Portsmouth, N.H., a congress with the tribes.
The basis of this treaty was the same as that at
Penobscot, Aug. 11, 1693 ; in which one of the arti-
cles provides, that, in case of a difficulty between
the English and the tribe, the matter must be set-
tled by an English court.
This conference included, as appears, the St. Johns,
the Penobscots, Kennebecks, Ammoscoggins, Sacos,
Merrimacks. Mauxis was their chief.
282 INDIAN WARS.
The tribes usually took the names of the rivers
along which they hunted and obtained their fish.
HOSTILITIES AGAIN.
In 1717 the Indians began to murmur ; and, after
giving the settlers warning to leave their lands, ad-
vanced to the killing of cattle, and to other tres-
passes ; and in 1719 the French again urged them
to renew and set up their claims to the lands of New
England.
But to a considerable extent thus far they are
kept in awe of the English.
In 1719 (Shute and Dummer's time) the French
again urged the Indians to set up claims to New-
England territory, and proceeded to aid them in
trespasses ; but the English, with their allied tribes,
soon discouraged them.
In 1720 the Indians are urged on again, and com-
mence to kill cattle, committing depredations gener-
ally ; but Col. Walton, with two hundred men,
advancing against them, brought them to submission,
and obtained hostages for their good behavior.
About this time the small-pox prevailed, which
always operated as a terror to the tribes of New
England. It tended to retard the general progress
of hostilities.
In 1721 M. Croizer is sent here from Canada,
PARSON RALLE, THE JESUIT. 283
M. St. Casteen from Penobscot, and Ralle* and De
la Chasse (French missionaries), with about three
hundred Indians, who made their appearance at Saga-
dahock (Kennebeck), with threats that if the English
did not remove from the lands claimed by the
tribes, within three weeks, they would kill the in-
habitants, and burn their houses down.
On June 13, 1722, the French and Indians began
in good earnest, and captivated Love, Hamilton, ffan-
said, Trescot, and Edgar. Thereupon by the assembly
in Boston in the following July they were declared
rebels, and were proceeded against accordingly.
Parson Halle, a missionary and Jesuit at Canada,
about this time was telling the Indians that the lands
of New England " were given them of G-od, to them
and their children forever, according to the Christian
sacred oracles."
BOUNTY.
In 1722, July 5, the government of Massa-
chusetts Bay proclaimed the invaders to be rebels,
and ordered a bounty of XI 00 per scalp to be paid to
volunteers fitted out at their own charge ; and after-
wards it added and offered four shillings a day
besides.
Soon after this Capt. Hanson on the Kennebeck
slew several Indians ; and many other captains ad-
vanced in search of the wigwams of the wilderness.
284 INDIAN WARS.
About this time (1722), at Arrowsick, a body of
Indians killed several people, burned sixty dwelling-
houses, and destroyed fifty cattle. They failed in
their attempts upon the English forts at Richmond on
the Kennebeck, and at St. George near the Penobscot.
Yet they surprised sixteen fishing-vessels at Canso.
In 1723, Aug. 13, in Northfield (Squakeag), two
men were killed by the Indians ; and in October
an attack was made on their block-house, and several
others were slain; and, as late as 1748, Anson
Bolding was slain there by the Indians. Here it was,
as we have seen, Capt. Richard Beers with thirty-
six men fell into an ambuscade in 1675, and only
sixteen of them escaped after a desperate battle.
On the previous day ten men by the same Indians
had been slain there in the woods.
ANOTHER ALLIANCE.
On Aug. 21, 1723, sixty-three Indians from the six
New-York nations visited Boston, proposing an
alliance against the eastern Indians ; their real
object in this being to obtain presents. They, how-
ever, did not obtain many.
FATHER RALLE SLAIN.
In 1724, Aug. 12, a battle was had at Norridge-
wock on the Kennebeck River.
HALLE'S MONUMENT AT NORKIDGEWOCK, ME., page 284.
RALLE AND OTHERS SLAIN. 285
Capt. Harmon, with two hundred men in seven-
teen whale-boats, had moved up the Kennebeck River.
He surprised the Indians there, took twenty-six
scalps to be seen in Boston, among which was that
of " Father Ralle*," whose reckless advice had led to
much of the bloodshed along the frontiers of New
England.
The Indians killed and drowned in their attempt
to cross the river, in that battle, were computed to
be not less than eighty.
Belknap says, " In that battle they completely
invested and surprised the village, killed the ob-
noxious Jesuit with about eighty of his Indians,
recovered three captives, destroyed the chapel, and
brought away the plate and furniture of the altar,
with the devotional flag, as trophies of their victory."
Rall6 was then in the sixty-eighth year of his age,
and had resided in his mission at Norridgewock
twenty-six years, having previously spent six years
in travelling among the Indian nations in the
interior of the American Continent.
Oft thus the powers with England disagree,
Which does portend what carnage hence shall be,
What man's estate must prove, a varied life.
From quiet peace proceeds terrific strife ;
From plenty, dearth ; from faith and virtue, sin ;
283 INDIAN WARS.
From health, disease, that wages war within.
Thus strangely intermixed are good and ill,
True to the purpose of a sovereign Will :
Nature but thrives by fire that burns within :
From planets broken other worlds begin ;
Yet bloody conflicts, such the world abhor
As mark the advent of avenging war 7-
Enough enough ! yet others still there were
Of blood profuse. 'Tis man's estate to err :
Let pass Queen Anne's, the troubles of her day ;
The craft of Jesuits, fruitful of dismay ;
Nor need to note the French and Indian strife,
Nor trace the torch, the tomahawk, and knife
Farther. 'Tis now the olive-branch divine
We seek, its beauteous benefits benign.
From my Merrimack, p, fe
Aj&
**3i^gC&**--
CHAPTER XVII.
BATTLE OF PEQTJAWKET.
The Conflict of Fifty Years. Its Inroads upon Civilization. The
Eventful Issues of 1725 still Pending. Capt. Lovewell and his
Forty-six Men. His Fourteen Survivors pensioned. Paugus of
Pequawket slain. The Battle poetized of Old. An Ancient
Battle, as from Tradition. Depredations at Pennacook. Gar-
rison, and how Constructed. Eruptions as started from
Abroad. Numerous Tribes allied to the French. Inroads
upon the New-England Frontiers. Eeckoning of Dates.
Expeditions against New England. War of 1744. Detach-
ments sent out. Bounties allowed. Donahew's Expedition.
Conference at Albany. Successive Invasions.
N former chapters we have endeavored to
give somewhat in detail, as they had trans-
pired, the various leading eruptions, conflicts,
and depredations, which, as between the
English and the native Indians in New Eng-
land, hitherto have happened. Up to this period, fifty
years had elapsed since King Philip at Mount Hope
had raised the battle-axe in behalf of his native soil
and in behalf of his then dying race of red men.
Philip died then : still, plain to be seen, the hatchet
was not buried. And sad to relate, although the
white race were destined in the end, as it were,
287
288 INDIAN WARS.
by brute force to prevail, barbarism, for the time
being, as against civilization, had been suffered to
gain the mastery. * Fifty years of bloody conflicts
had made terrible havoc with the minds and morals
of men, wherein a pure religion and a well-tutored
civilization were of but little use, other than to
sharpen the arrows which brought to an untimely
grave thousands of innocent men, women, and chil-
dren.
How could such a conflict, wherein law and reli-
gion for so long a period were substantially laid aside,
do otherwise than to misguide and betray the public
mind into the- commission of devilish deeds ? Hence
the hanging of witches and of Quakers were but
legitimate offshoots from the bloody barbarisms in
New England, which, in spite of law and religion,
had sprung forth, producing dreadful devastation on
the right hand and on the left, mutual barbarisms,
which, taking a rabid form, worked inconceivable
mischief ir almost every direction. And yet when
New England came out of its terrible trial, having
learned much from the wars and bloodshed of tragic
years, it thenceforth made haste to perfect itself in
the organization of a noble, generous civilization,
which at this time is every day exemplified through
its thriving municipal corporations, as well as by
individuals, in liberal laws and magnanimous deeds.
BATTLE AT THE POND. 289
LOVEWELL.
We come now to other conflicts.
Capt. John Lovewell of Dunstable, previous to
this time, had raised a company of thirty volunteers,
and had advanced north of the Lake Winnipi-
seogee, and, finding an Indian and boy in a wig-
wam, killed the Indian, and, keeping the boy, brought
him alive to Boston, and thereupon received the
legal bounty as well as a gratuity from the gov-
ernment.
Upon another excursion he proceeded with seventy
men to the same place in the forest above the Lake ;
but for the want of provisions thirty of his men
thence returned. The remainder of them advanced
into the deep forest, where they discovered a tribe
encamped for the night. Concealing themselves,
they remained; and at midnight, by the side of a
frozen pond, they fell in with the Indians. Lovewell
fired first, killing two. Five others fired instantly,
and then the rest fired ; and but one Indian remained
alive. He, wounded, tried to escape, but, followed
by the dog, was held fast until they killed him.
This was at a place now knovrn as Lovewell's Pond,
in Wakefield, N.H., at the head of one of the
branches of Salmon Falls River.
This "brave company on Feb. 24, 1725 [says
Belknap], with the ten scalps stretched on hoops,
290 INDIAN WARS.
and elevated on poles, entered Dover (Cocheco) in
triumph, and proceeded thence to Boston: there
they received the bounty of one hundred pounds for
each, out of the public treasury."
On the 16th of April, Capt. Lovewell, raising
another company, forty-six men, including a chap-
lain and surgeon, advanced again into the north-east.
Two of the men becoming lame, and one falling
sick, and the surgeon, were left behind in a stockade
fort, on the west side of the great Ossapee Pond ; and
eight of the men were also left there as a guard.
The remaining thirty-four men, led by Lovewell,
advanced onward about twenty-two miles, and en-
camped on the shore of a pond. At their devotions
in the morning, they heard the report of a gun, and
discovered an Indian on a point of land extending
into the pond nearly a mile away. Upon consulta-
tion they marched off in direction of the Indian,
after disencumbering themselves of their knapsacks,
leaving them at the north-east end of the pond with-
out a guard. It happened that Love well's march
had crossed a carrying-place wherein Paugus and
Wahwa, with forty-one warriors from Saco River,
were returning to the lower village of Pequawket,
distant about a mile and a half from this pond.
They traced Lovewell's track back to their packs ;
and counting them, and ascertaining that the num-
LOVEWELL'S LAST BATTLE. 291
her was less than their own, they placed themselves
in ambush to await their return.
The Indian who had stood on the point of land,
while now returning to the village, received their
fire, returned it with small shot, wounding Love well
and one of his men.
Lieut. Wyman, firing again, killed him ; and they
took his scalp. And now returning to obtain their
packs, the Indians arose, and fired upon them, rais-
ing a terrific yell. Capt. Love well and eight others
were at once killed: Lieut. Farwell and two others
were wounded. Several of the Indians fell ; but,
seeing their superiority of numbers, Lovewell's men
took positions behind rocks and trees. On their
right was the mouth of a brook ; on their left was a
rocky point ; their front was covered partly by a deep
bog, with the pond in their rear : there they kept
up their fire for a long time. Jonathan Frye,
Ensign Robbins, and one more were at length mor-
tally wounded ; and yet they continued the battle
until the Indians near night left the ground, carrying
off their killed and wounded, and leaving the dead
bodies of Lovewell and his men unscalped.
Of the remnant of this brave company, three
were unable to move from the spot, eleven were
wounded but able to march, and nine had re-
ceived no injury. It was sad to leave their
292 INDIAN WARS.
wounded companions behind them, in the wilderness ;
but the fates had so ordered it. One of them,
Ensign Bobbins, desired them to lay his gun beside
him, charged, so that, if the Indians should return
before his death, he might be able to kill one more.
It was the 8th of May, at night. The moon had
cast its light upon the fatal spot when they left it,
and directed their march toward the fort where the
surgeon and guard had been left. Lieut. Farwell and
the chaplain, and one other wounded, perished in the
woods. The others, after suffering the most severe
hardships, came in one after another.
A generous provision was made for the widows
and children of the slain ; lands by the Common-
wealth were given to the survivors of Lovewell's
company, one tract of which now takes the name
of Pembroke, N.H. Immediately afterward Col.
Tyng of Dunstable visited that battle-ground, found
and buried the bodies of twelve of the company,
carved their names upon the trees, and then again
left them alone in the dark, deep forest to a sweet
repose.
Under the management of Gov. Dummer's admin-
istration, the Indians, on Dec. 15, 1725, begged and
obtained a cessation of hostilities ; and in the fol-
lowing May, at Casco, a treaty of peace was agreed
upon, wherein the Indians were to have all their
ANOTHER TREATY. 203
lands " not hitherto conveyed," with the privilege of
hunting and fishing as formerly. This was signed by
the government, and by the Norridgewock, Penob-
scot, St. Johns, and Cape Sable Indians, as repre-
sented by their several sagamores. And this treaty
was ratified Aug. 5, 1726.
BETTER DAYS.
Then Peace, that welcome harbinger of health.
Of generous thrift, foreshadowing weal and wealth,
Brings her glad tidings down, and cheers the laud
With prompt good will, and noble d6eds at hand,
To heal the broken heart, to make amends
For wilful waste, which from the past descends.
Thence this fair vale from mountain to the main
In vernal grandeur buds to bloom again ;
And plenteous harvest with her golden ears,
Crowning the prudence of progressive years,
Adorns the field, and grace triumphant gives
To honest toil. My Merrimack, p. 32.
Belknap says, " This account of Lovewell's battle
is collected from the authorities (cited in the mar-
gin), and from the verbal iufoimtition of aged and
intelligent persons. The names of the dead on the
trees, and the holes where the balls had entered
and had been cut out, were plainly visible when
I was on the spot iu 1784. The trees had the ap-
294: INDIAN WARS.
pearance of being very old; and one of them was
fallen."
Col. Tyng, while upon the battle-ground, dug up
the bodies of the dead Indians, among which he identi-
fied that of Paugus, chief of the Pequawkets, who
had fallen at the first shot in the engagement. FOUJ>
teen only, out of the forty -six who left Dunstable,
lived to reach home.
The Indians centred no more at Pequawket dur-
ing the Indian wars.
This battle, with its heroes, was poetized at that
distant day ; and we will try to interest the reader
in a biief quotation.
" tip then the tribes to battle rose,
Who'd hid themselves in ambush dread;
Their knives they shook; their guns they aimed,
The famous Paugus at their head.
Thus Paugus led the Pequawket tribe;
As runs the fox would Paugus run;
As howls the wild wolf would he howl :
A huge bear-skin had Paugus on.
But Chamberlain of Dunstable,
He whom a savage ne'er could slay,
Met Paugus by the water-side,
And shot him dead upon that day.
BATTLE AT PENNACOOK. 295
Then did the crimson streams that flowed
Seem like the waters of the brook,
That brightly shine, that loudly dash
Far down the cliffs of Agio-chook.
Ah ! many a wife shall rend her hair,
And many a child cry, * Woe be me 1 '
When messengers the news shall hear
Of LovewelPs dear-bought victory."
DUNSTABLE, AND THE PENNACOOK BATTLE.
Love well's home, as we have seen, was at old
Dunstable, within the dominions formerly of Pas-
saconaway and of the peaceful Pennacooks.
Attendant upon this ancient town, are many
memories. History as well as tradition follows it.
Around it on either side, as well as within its lines,
we now trace out, as it were, the ancient landmarks
left us by Eliot the Apostle and by the peaceful
Passaconaway. Before their time Indian wars had
prevailed in this region, as we have seen. And at
one time, as tradition has it, there was a great battle
at Pennacook (now Concord, N.H.), between the
Massachusetts, Pawtuckets, and Pennacook tribes,
and the angry Mohawks from the eastern borders of
New York. Of this conflict Dr. Bouton says, " The
Mohawks, who had once been repulsed by the Penna-
cooks, came with a strong force, and encamped at
29(5 INDIAN WARS.
what is now called Fort Eddy, opposite Sugar
on the west of the river. Thence they watched
their prey, determined either to starve the Penna-
cooks by a siege, or to decoy them out and destroy
them.
" Having gathered their corn for the season, and
stored it in baskets around the walls of their fort,
the Pennacooks, with their women and children,
entered within, and bade defiance to their foes."
Skirmishes often ensued. Whenever a Pennacook left
the fort he was ambushed. If a canoe pushed off
from the bank, another from the opposite side started
in pursuit. The Pennacooks would not venture an
open fight in the field ; nor did the Mohawks dare to
assail the fort. At length one day a solitary Mohawk
was seen carelessly crossing Sugar Ball Plain south
of the fort. Caught by the decoy, the Pennacooks
rushed out in pursuit : the Mohawk ran for the river.
Band after band from the fort followed in the chase till
all were drawn out of the fort, when the Mohawks,
secretly crossing the river above, having approached
in the rear, and secreted themselves, now sud-
denly sprang from their hiding-places, and took pos-
session of the fort. At this a terrible war-whoop
went up from the Pennacooks. They turned back ;
" and long and bloody was the battle." The fight
by the Pennacooks was "for their wives and children.
MOHAWKS DEFEATED. 297
for their old men, for their corn, and for life itself: "
by the Mohawks it was "for revenge and for plun-
der."
How the victory turned does not appear: yet
tradition has it that " the Mohawks left their dead
and wounded on the ground," and that the Penna-
cook tribes were greatly reduced in numbers. A
diversity in the skulls which used to be found there
induces the belief that their dead were buried pro-
miscuously.
This slaughter in the olden time, and that which
followed it in 1617, attended by the plague, of
which we have spoken in another chapter, were the
only great battles among the tribes which happened
prior to the landing of the Pilgrims, of which tra-
dition gives any account: all others prior to 1617
being covered of oblivion.
All the way along from 1739 to 1754, there were
great apprehensions of trouble from the Indians in
the vicinity of Pennacook, caused in those years
mostly by intrusions from Canada ; and many garri-
sons were built.
In 1742 Jonathan Eastman's wife was carried
away captive, but was afterwards redeemed.
In 1744, at the opening of the French War, the
alarm to the Colonies was increased.
At that time, Capt. Ebenezer Eastman raised a
298 INDIAN WARS.
company of soldiers, and advanced against the for-
tress at Louisburg ; and Pennacook (since Rumford,
now Concord) was kept constantly on the alert for
fear of invasions. The Massachusetts Government,
in 1745, sent detachments there from Andover and
from Billerica, to assist, if need be, in its defence.
Also, in 1746, Capt. Daniel Ladd and Lieut. Jona-
than Bradley, with a company of soldiers from Exe-
ter, were sent by the governor for the defence of
Rumford and the neighboring towns.
MASSACRE AT RUMFORD.
On the 10th and llth of August, 1746, Lieut.
Bradley took seven men, and proceeded about two
and a half miles to a town garrison: at about
one and a half miles away, they were fired upon
by thirty or forty Indians; and Lieut. John Luf-
kin, John Bean, and Obadiah Peters were killed.
Alexander Roberts and William Stickney were taken
prisoners.
The minute details of all these events are more
fully given in Mr. Bouton's excellent " History of
Concord."
GARRISONS.
Under the authority of Gov. Wentworth, addi-
tional garrison-houses were established in various
places.
GARRISONS, HOW MADE. 290
In Pennacook there were seven in 1746.
They were usually made up of " he wed logs
which lay flat upon each other: the ends, being fitted
for the purpose, were inserted in grooves cut in
large posts erected at each corner. They usually
enclosed an area of several square rods ; " were
about the same height as a common dwelling-house.
At two or more of the corners were projections (in
box-form), wherein the sentinels kept watch by day
and night.
In times of danger, all the houses not connected
with the garrisons were usually deserted of the
household, and were without furniture.
If the enemy approached, alarm-guns were fired ;
and the report was answered from fort to fort. In
the house of worship, the men, with their powder-
horns upon their shoulders, stacked their guns in
the centre of it ; " while the parson, having the
best gun in the parish by his side, advanced to his
preaching and prayer." BOUTON.
CONFLICTS : 1743-1748.
The Indian eruptions, depredations, and inva-
sions in New England, upon its English settlements,
which transpired between the years 1743 and 1748,
were too numerous to be detailed very minutely in
tljese annals.
COO INDIAN WARS.
As we have already observed, the oft-repeated
intrusions of the white man, and particularly the
conflicts which occasionally came to pass in the
Old World, were always to be regarded as the har-
bingers of depredations, violence, danger, and death
in the New.
In Canada, at this bloody period, the French had
five hundred Indians at their immediate control, in-
dependent of more distant allies, as follows :
The Cacknawages, two hundred and thirty ; Con-
nestagoes, sixty; Attenkins, thirty; Neperinks,
thirty ; Missequecks, forty ; Abenaquis at St. Fran-
ces, ninety ; Obenacks at Becancourt, fifty ; Hurons
at Lorette, forty.
Ever jealous of the English, and entertaining a
deep interest to appropriate these domains to them-
selves as a distinct race, and having an abiding alli-
ance, in their marriages and in their traffic, with the
tribes, those French leaders controlled the masses,
and from time to time urged them forward to deeds
of blood throughout the English frontiers.
Hence Massachusetts, as well as the Districts of
Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, constantly
suffered more or less in all their settlements ; as well
as Rhode Island and Connecticut, to whose Indian
battles we have already adverted.
Aside from their Indian tribes, the French force
RECKONING OF TIME. 01
%
in Canada had nearly thirteen thousand of their
own race, all ready and able to bear arms.
At that date, the then Territory of Massachusetts
contained a thin population of only two hundred
thousand, many of its inhabitants living in lonely
cots, hemmed in by the old native forest: others
lived in little villages, few and far between.
My friend Drake, the historian of "long ago," esti-
mated the New-England population of that time at
four hundred thousand.
In this place, it may be of use to the young
reader to understand the mode in which our time is
reckoned, as by the
OLD OB NEW STYLE.
It should be remembered that the English did
not reckon dates by the Gregorian calendar until
Jan. 22, 1752. Their year previously had com-
menced on the 25th of March.
Up to that date, their rule or mode of computa-
tion during a long series of year? had, by degrees,
carried the winter too far into the spring.
To remedy this irregularity, Parliament adopted
this new rule, ordering eleven days to be dropped
out from the calendar; so that, for instance, the
30th of March, 1697 (the date of the Contoocook
o02 INDIAN WARS.
slaughter) should in our time be reckoned as the
eleventh day of April of that year.
The French adopted the same rule previously.
Our dates, when taken from their records, will of
course accord with our own reckonings at the pres-
ent day..
The war which had broken out between Great
Britain and Spain involved France in its flame ; and
in New England it took the name of the
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
The contest opened in Nova Scotia, that province
at first being the debatable ground. Such had been
the invasions, depredations, and murders by the
French and their allied Indians, that, on the 2d of
June, 1744, our English Government at Boston pro-
claimed war against France, and, as a guard against
the common enemy, called into the service five hun-
dred men, fifty from each of the militia regiments of
Pepperell, Gerish, Berry, Plaisted, Saltonstall, and
Phipps, and two hundred men for the western
frontier ; to wit, fifty from each of the regiments of
Chandler, Ward, Willard, and Stoddard.
Also twenty-five men were raised from each of the
regiments of Wendall and G-ouge at Boston, for re-
enforcing the various garrisons ; to wit, to be sent to
George's Fort forty men, to Pemaquid twenty, to
GREAT REWARDS OFFERED. 303
Richmond twenty-five, to Brunswick twelve, and
to Saco twenty.
No detachment was made from the militia of
the Plymouth Colony. Gunpowder (ninety-six bar-
rels) was conveyed to the several townships, to be
sold to the inhabitants at prime cost.
Other provisions were made ; and, of course, many
other things were done in that and other directions
In the summer of the same year the Cape Sable
and St. John's Indians, having made an attempt on
Annapolis, were by the government in Boston pro-
claimed rebels. And in November, 1744, in and
over all the territory east of the River Passama-
quoddy, they offered a bounty of 400, old tenor, to
be granted for every scalp or captivated Indian
obtained ; and when it was learned that the Penob-
scots and Norridgewocks had joined them, then,
Aug. 23, 1725, a declaration of war was also ex-
tended to them. Previously those Indians had
burned the fort, St. George, at Annapolis Royal, also
English dwelling-houses, had murdered the master
of a sloop, and killed many cattle.
REWARDS.
On the 26th of October, 1744, the General Court
enacted laws offering other premiums as follows :
"To any company, party, or person singly, of His Majesty's
subjects, to or residing within this province, who shall volun-
C04 INDIAN WARS.
tarily, and at their own proper cost and charge, go out and kill
a male Indian of the age of twelve years or upwards, of the
Indians above named, after the twenty-sixth day of October
last past, and before the last day of June, 1745 (if the wai
lasts so long), anywhere to the east of the Penobscot beyond a
fixed line, the sum of 100 in bills of credit, new tenor; and
105 for a male Indian captive of the like age ; and the sum
of 50 for women ; and the like sum for children under the
age of twelve years killed in fight; and 55 for such of them
as shall be taken prisoners.
On Nov. 2, 1744, the " precise line " above named,
to the east of which they were to operate by the
killing, scalping, and taking captives, was fixed and
published. It was to begin on the sea-shore, three
leagues from the most easterly part of Passama-
quoddy River, and from thence to run north.
DONAHEW'S EXPEDITION.
In 1645, May 15, Capt. David Donahew embarked
in the sloop " Resolution," with two other armed
vessels, with nine hundred men, to advance against
the French and Indians at Louisburg.
In this undertaking Massachusetts had enrolled
and sent out 3,250 men, including Donahew's force ;
New Hampshire, 304 ; Connecticut, 516. The train
of artillery consisted of eight twenty-two-pounders,
twelve nine-pounders, two twelve-inch mortars, one
eleven and one nine inch mortar.
DONAHEW SLAIN. 05
Ten eighteen-pounders were borrowed of Gov.
Clinton of New York.
"Brig-Gen. Samuel Waldo was the leader. Col. Samuel
Moore commanded the forces from New Hampshire, Lieut.-Col.
Simon Lothrop those of Connecticut, and Lieut.-Col. Gridley
the artillery.
" Lieut.-Gen. Wm. Pepperrell supervised the expedition."
After this expedition and its results were known,
a considerable time elapsed before the fate of the
gallant Col. Donahew was known, who, as it proved,
had fallen into the hands of the Indians. "Picket "
relates that he with eleven others went on shore in
the Gut of Canso, and was at once nearly sur-
rounded by two hundred and fifty-three French and
Indians.
" That, being cut off from retreating to their vessel, defended
themselves for a quarter of an hour, in which time the captain,
his brother, and three others were killed."
That the rest, six in all, being wounded, were
taken prisoners : two of the enemy were killed, and
several wounded. That the Indians cut the flesh
and sucked the blood of the captain's brother, ana
brutally mangled his dead body, and repeated the
same upon others who had been slain.
806 INDIAN WARS.
This captain previously had commanded a priva-
teer, which went out from Newbury, Nov. 7, 1744.
VARIOUS DEPREDATIONS.
In these years depredations by the tribes were
being committed continually. We give place to a
few of them.
"In 1745, July 10, an Indian party who previously had
assaulted the Great Meadow Fort in Putney, Vt., came to the
Upper Ashuelot, now the town of Keene, N.H., waylaid the
road ; and an early proprietor of the town, Deacon Fisher,
while on his way to a pasture with his cows, was shot and
scalped. On the 19th an express came to Fal mouth, from
Capt. Bradley at Fort George, that a garrison had been burnt
by the Indians, having seventy inmates, and that one man and
forty cattle had been killed. On the 30th, news arrived at
Boston that two men had been beaten down by the Indians
with clubs, and scalped, the one being dead, the other yet alive.
And then on the 23d of August, 1745, Lieut.-Gov. Phipps,
in the absence of Gov. Shirley, declared war against l the Eastern
and Canada Indians? because, as he averred, the Norridgewocks,
Penobscots, and others had * broken out in open rebellion.' "
On Sept. 5, Lieut. Proctor and nineteen men gave
battle to some Indians near Fort George, and two
noted chiefs were killed who had been known as
Col. Morris and Capt. Samuel; another of them,
" Col. Jb5," was taken prisoner, and afterwards died
in prison at Boston.
CONFERENCE AT ALBANY. 307
News came that a son of Col. Gushing was killed
by unseen Indians at Sheepscot, and that two boys,
Jimes and Samuel Anderson, were taken and carried
captive to Canada. Their father was killed. And
thus the fight progressed.
On the 5th of October, 1745, by request of Gov.
Clinton, a conference was held at Albany, N.Y.,
between the English and the Six Nations.
" Pursuant to notice, MASSACHUSETTS sent delegates, John
Stoddard, Jacob Wendall, Samuel Wells, and Thomas Hutch-
inson ; Connecticut, Roger Walcot, Natli. Stanley ; Pennsylvania,
Thomas Lawrence, John Kinsey, and Isaac Norris. Arent Ste-
vens and Coenrat Weiser were the Interpreters. The nations
represented there were the Mohawks, the Oneydas, the Onondayas,
the Tuscaroras, the Caeuges, and the Senekes."
The result of this conference was on the 20th of
October announced in Boston, that,
" The Six Nations readily renewed their covenant with the
several governments ; that they had taken the hatchet against
the French and Indian enemy, and only wait till the Governor
of New York shall order jhern to make use of it."
Still depredations were advancing almost every-
where, and particularly on the borders of New York.
About this time a large body of three hundred
French and two hundred Indians came down upon
the Dutch settlements at Saratoga, and murdered
308 INDIAN WARS.
many of the inhabitants, ravished the country,
burned houses, saw-mills, and lumber.
" For the years 1745-6-7 the premium in New York for In-
dian scalps and captives was 1,000, old tenor, per head, to vol-
unteers, and 400 to impressed men, their wages and subsist-
ence money to be deducted."
In this year, 1745, James McQuade and Robert
Burns of Bedford, N.H., while returning home from
Pennacook, were fired upon by Indians. McQuade
was killed : Burns escaped.
A man by the name of Bunten, while on his way
from Pelham to Pennacook, near Head's Tavern in
Hooksett, N.H., was shot. And thus it was that the
English as well as the tribes suffered dreadfully in
murders and in battles, daily and nightly.
<{ Such was the bloody fight and such the foe :
Our gallant force returned them blow for blow,
By turns successfully their force defied ;
And conquest wavering swayed from side to side."
CHAPTER XVIII.
French and Indians in Maine and elsewhere against the Colo-
nies. Skirmishes, Murders, and Dread Conflicts. At Port-
land. At Berwick. At Casco. At Wells, and at York.
Governor Phipps. Fort Henry again Assailed. A Treaty
of Peace concluded. Rewards to Volunteers.
BAYING given a brief review of the New-
England landscape, as in the olden time,
and of the manners, customs, and habits
of the native Indian, and of his un-
bridled ferocious propensities in the
midst of the early settlers, up to the end of King
Philip's war and since, we now advance to the more
prominent conflict, which troubled the English mostly
in the District of Maine, through the many invasions
of Indians, combined with volunteers from the Cana-
dian French.
As we have already seen, there had existed a spirit
of rivalry between France and England in reference
to New England, and any trouble there invariably re-
vived animosities, and created new conflicts here. So
it was, that each nationality in quest of dominion,
from time to time sought and obtained allies of the
309
310 INDIAN WARS.
native Indian, and thence did they advance to the
most desperate cruelties of a savage warfare.
Among the then transpiring events, Massachusetts
made a purchase of Maine at the price of 1,250
sterling.* This outwardly created a considerable dis-
quietude, and in fact incurred the disfavor of King
James II. It raised a rumor of additional uprisings
and invasions of the colonies from the French and
Indians. Whereupon, to resist all aggressions, Massa-
chusetts enlisted a military force of six hundred men,
including a company of Natick Indians, ninety in
number, and stationed them at Berwick (Newichawan-
nock), Me. Soon, then, a detachment of these troops
advanced to (Portland)
FALMOUTH,
and there they were joined by one hundred and fifty
Maine volunteers, settlers, together with some Indians,
all under the command of Maj. Benjamin Church, who
had been a distinguished English leader in Philip's war
some years previous. Church landed his forces in the
woods at Falmouth, where they remained concealed,
half a mile away from the settlement. But the French
and Indians, to the number of about seven hundred,
had already arrived; and a pitched
* Hutchiuson's Collection of State Papers, page 493.
THE THIRTY VOLUNTEERS. 311
BATTLE
ensued, in which Church lost twenty-one in killed and
wounded, six of whom were friendly Indians.
Both sides at once retreated, as appears; and the
loss of the French and Indians was never reported.
Soon then the garrison-houses east of Portland were
abandoned, and the settlers many of them took refuge
nearer Boston, many of them into garrisons that stood
on or near the Piscataqua.
From Falmouth, Major Church, on ship-board with
his force, advanced to the east, ascended the Ken-
nebec, visited its garrisons, left about sixty soldiers at
Fort Loyal; yet meeting no opposition there, after a
little time returned to Boston.
FALMOUTH AGAIN.
On May 16, 1690, the French and Indians, to the
number of about four hundred, as history has it, made
another invasion upon this town. Upon some rumor
of their coming, thirty young men volunteered to re-
connoitre the position of the invaders. They, led by
one Lieut. Thaddeus Clark, marched back into the
wilderness, and upon the top of Mun joy's Hill, they
were met by a volley of bullets from behind a fence.
Their commander and nearly one-half of their company
were killed. The living fled, and they were pursued
by the French and Indians with a savage yell. They
312 INDIAN WARS.
and all outsiders, as they went, who could not reach
the garrisons, were slain or captured. The dwelling-
houses were plundered and consumed. For four days
the combined savages gave battle to Fort Loyal and
the other four garrisons of Falmouth, the assault
being kept up until the twentieth day of May, and
until nearly all within the garrison were slain.
At length the survivors sent out, inquiring upon
what conditions they might be allowed to surrender:
upon which they were assured that all their lives
should be spared; that they should be treated merci-
fully, and that under guard they should be conducted
in safety to the next English town, where, in the
course of time, they should be liberated. To this
Mons. Burneffe took an oath "to the living God," in-
suring the safety of all.
Thereupon the gates of the garrisons were opened.
But, alas! the poor inmates found but little mercy.
The Indians, in spite of English or French, rushed in,
and but few of the prisoners escaped death. Burneffc,
however, with his French assistants, succeeded in sav-
ing the lives of Davis, the commander, and of from
fifty to one hundred of his people, who had surren-
dered from the garrisons. The town was consumed,
and the French and Indians turned away, retreating
towards Canada. The dead were left unburied ; Cap-
tain Davis, with others, was carried away into cap-
tivity. After being held four months at Quebec, his
BLOCK-HOUSE AT FORT HALIFAX, ME., page 312.
HARTEL AND HOPEGOOD. 313
release, by an exchange for a French prisoner, was
obtained by Sir William Phipps. At this downfall of
Falmouth, the surrounding settlers fled westward, leaving
the feebler garrisons, many of them securing themselves
under the strong fortresses at Wells.
In 1725, Dec. 15, there was a treaty here (the Dum-
mer Treaty), which lasted several years.*
BERWICK.
This settlement was made up of about twenty-seven
dwelling-houses. In the spring (March) of 1690, the
French and Indians, having destroyed the small village
at Salmon Falls, on the river, passed over and invaded
Berwick, f
Their force, as then organized, included twenty-seven
French (Canadians) and twenty-five Indians. Of course,
as was the Indian custom, the onset was commenced
at the early dawn. Hartel led the Frenchmen, and
the famous Hopegood was chief of the Indians. In
the conflict thirty-four, nearly all the men of the Eng-
lish, being killed, their women and children could do
no better than to surrender. The victors killed the
cattle, burned all the buildings, took all the plunder
they could carry, and with fifty-four captives whom
* See Massachusetts Government Records, vol. xii, p. 88.
Abbott's History of Maine, p. 332.
t Ibid., p. 226.
314 INDIAN WARS.
they had taken there at Berwick, started on their re-
turn back into the wilderness.
The burning down of this village attracted from the
adjacent settlements a force of fifty men, who pursued
the Indians and French, and overtook them at
"Wooster River," where, in crossing it, the battle was
renewed, and continued until nightfall, which brought
an end to the conflict. Several on the one side and
on the other were slain. In 1703, " Major Mason, with
nearly one hundred friendly Indians, belonging to the
Pequods and Mohegans of Connecticut, were stationed
here at Berwick."
CASCO.
From this, in September, 1690, a second expedition,
under Major Church, was now organized. It was made
up of three hundred men, and was ordered to advance
to Casco, to destroy the hostile Indians, and obtain
from them their many captives. Landing at Maquort,
he moved under cover of night through the wilderness
to the Pajepscot Fort at the Falls. The enemy dis-
covering his coming, fled away, but in their frenzy
left their captives at the Fort. Church captured and
secured one- Indian warrior with a few women and
children, as well as their English captives. He at
first inclined to kill the warrior, but was dissuaded
by the women captives, who had been favored by him.
UP THE ANDROSCOGGIN. 315
The wives of the two chiefs Worumbee and Kaukam-
agus were held as prisoners. These wives promising
that the many English prisoners should be given up
in exchange for them, they were committed to the
garrison at Wells, and were safely held there. Two
children of Worumbee's squaw were also spared by
Church, and sent with her and imprisoned at Wells;
but the sister of Kaukamagus was killed. The capture
consisted of nine Indian prisoners and five English
captives rescued. This was Sunday, Sept. 14, 1690;
Church then, with forty soldiers, proceeded up the
Androscoggin seven miles to another fort. There
he obtained five English captives, took nine Indians
prisoners, burnt the fort, and slew the others, twenty-
one in all. But Great Tom, one of the prisoners,
escaped and fled back to his tribe in the wilderness.
Thence Church, with his craft, proceeded along the
Maine coast eastward ; yet finding but little opportunity
on the way to afflict the tribes, he, on the twenty-first
day of September (1690), arrived at Purpooduck, neat 4
Cape Elizabeth. Here he was assailed by a band of
Indians. In this fight he lost five of his men, killed
eight or ten Indians, and took and sequestered from
them thirteen canoes.
After the conflict, it is said the Indians cruelly killed
as many of their English captives as they had lost in
the battle.
316 INDIAN WARS.
WELLS.
In the following October, ten Indian chiefs made
their appearance at Wells, where an exchange of prisoners
was had, and the Indian women and children held
there were returned to their tribes. "We are ready,'"
said these sagamores, "at any time and place you
may appoint, to meet your head men and enter into
a treaty." * At this time all the settlements in the
east had been devastated, except York, Wells, Kittery,
and the Isle of Shoals. And upon this, several efforts
were made by the English to obtain a treaty, all of
which proved fruitless.
On the 9th of June, 1692, a reinforcement of thirty-
five soldiers were sent down to aid the garrison at
Wells. They happened to arrive in season for the
then impending conflict. Immediately the entire gar-
rison was assailed by two hundred Indians. In this,
the tribes, as appears, killed many cattle; yet only
some half-dozen of the English were lost, being, as
they were, well protected by their forts.
The enemy, however, hastily retired, and on the
way burned several dwelling-houses at Cape Neddock,
in York, and boarding^ a vessel, killed most of the
crew.
YORK.
In the midst of conflicts, murders, and arsons, time
moved on; and in February, 1692, at the breaking in
* History of Wells and Kennebunk, p. 196.
GARRISON-HOUSE AT YORK, ME. (built about 1645), page 310.
BATTLE AT YORK. 317
of a cold day, a force of three hundred French and
Indians, who had tramped their way from Canada
on snow-shoes, now turned in and gave battle to
York. The inhabitants, not anticipating an invasion
at that cold season of deep snows, were of course
sadly surprised. In a half-hour their houses were all
on fire. Still, the walls of the garrisons were well
defended. Seventy-five of the inhabitants were slain,
and upwards of an hundred were taken prisoners
and carried into captivity; many of whom greatly
suffered from wounds received in the conflict. The
garrisons, however, held out; and the French and
Indians, in fear of reinforcements to the English,
secured their captives, and gathering together their
plunder, retreated. They took a direction towards
Sagadahoc. It appears that nearly half of all the
people of York were killed or carried into captivity.
Their minister, the Rev. Shubael Dummer, a graduate
of Harvard, was slain, as it was the invariable custom
to kill the minister if possible, first of all. His wife
was carried away with the captives. She afterwards
from exposure soon died, and but few of all the
prisoners lived to return. To the credit of the tribes,
they soon selected from the captives, when taken, of
the old men, women, and children, equal in number
to those of their race who had then recently been set
free by Major Church, and carefully sent them back
to one of the English garrisons. A volunteer party
318 INDIAN WARS.
from Portsmouth, N". H., immediately advanced in
pursuit of these French and Indian invaders, but
not being overtaken, they made a safe retreat.
WELLS AGAIN.
On June 10, 1692, a shallop and two sloops with
fourteen sailors had been sent with supplies to aid the
garrison at Wells. The garrison was commanded by
a Captain Converse. At the morning dawn the town
was startled by the yells of five hundred French and
Indians, led by Mons. Burneffe as commander, with
four sagamores under him, who led the Indians.
The assault, as usual, was commenced with yells,
and with ranks divided into separate squads.
But the tactics appear to have been French and
Indian combined. There were about thirty armed
men in the garrison. The women there were probably
much more numerous.
It was reported that one of the soldiers, being
frightened at that terrible war-whoop yell, exclaimed,
"We can 't resist, we must surrender ! " To whom
Converse sternly said, "Repeat that word, and you
are a dead manf"
These garrisons were defended with cannon and
with musketry. The women gallantly engaged in the
defence. They brought ammunition, they assisted in
handling the guns, and great havoc was made in the
ranks of the French and Indians. It has been asserted
CONFLICT AT WELLS. 319
that the Indians were not satisfied with the French
fashion which had conducted this conflict.
English sloops were anchored there, near the shore,
so near that the Indians built a breastwork of planks,
and from behind it shot fire-arrows into the vessels,
sometimes setting them on fire ; but by the use of
mops upon poles, the flames were extinguished by the
sailors.
The enemy then fixed a breastwork upon a cart,
and moved it upon the shore towards the vessel.
But in moving, the cart-wheel stuck in the mud. A
Frenchman placed his shoulder to the wheel, and was
killed by a bullet from the ship. Another jumped
into his place, and he falling dead 'neath the cart, the
Indians fled away.
SUNDAY,
June 11, the attack upon the garrison (of which there
were seven or eight) was renewed. None of the in-
mates, however, were injured. The chief could speak
English ; and during the assault, Commander Converse
was often besought to surrender. Converse defied
them. The chief said, " Since you feel so stout,
Converse, why do you not come out into the field
and fight like a man, and not stay in a garrison like
320 INDIAN WARS.
"What a pack of fools you are," Converse rejoined.
"Do you think I am willing, with but thirty men,
to fight your five hundred?"
"No, no," said the chief. "We think English
fashion all fool. You kill me ; me kill you. Not so ;
we lie somewhere, and 'em Englishmen when he no
see, that 's the best soldier."
Then turning away, both French and Indians re-
newed their attack upon the two sloops, on board of
which there were but seven or eight sailors. Then
this allied strength of five hundred constructed a raft,
on which they heaped a large mass of combustible
materials, made up of dried branches of trees, birch
bark, etc., on which they approached the sloops, and
triumphant yells filled the air. But as fortune turned,
the wind at once changed directions, and their fiery
craft, in spite of all their efforts, was driven to the
opposite shore, where, to the dismay of the tribes, it
was entirely consumed.
Among the slain was Labocree, one of the French
officers. The French and Indian loss in killed and
wounded during this conflict was considerable. One
Englishman was killed on a sloop; and one John
Diamond was taken prisoner, but afterwards was
horribly tortured and put to death by the savages.*
* See History of Wells and Kennebunk, p. 196.
GARRISON AT PEMAQUID. 321
GOVERNOR PHIPPS.
On the 8th of June, 1692, a new administration in
Massachusetts having commenced under Sir William
Phipps, its Legislature assembled at Boston, and
preparation being made, 450 men were sent by the
government to Pemaquid Point, where they constructed
a large quadrangular garrison built of stone at the
cost of $500,000, which was called Fort Henry. In
the mean time, Major Church was sent farther east
with a strong force to seek out and destroy the allied
invaders in that direction. But no enemy was
discovered. Yet the Major on his way found several
deserted cabins, and a few individual Frenchmen arid
their wives, who were native Indians, caught and
secured two or three Indian tramps and a small
amount of plunder, principally corn and bear-skins.
Then the Major returned with his military force to
Pemaquid, and thence sailed up the Kennebec to
Winslow (Teconat). The Indians of that place,
hearing of his approach, "set fire to their wigwams
and fled away into the dark dense forest." *
FORT HENRY AGAIN.
After this, the Canadian-French, to the number of
200, assisted by their Indian allies under Madakawando,
undertook the destruction of Fort Henry. They
* See Third Expedition of Church, p. 131.
322 INDIAN WARS.
manned two French frigates, the one of thirty-four
and the other of thirty-eight guns. But when they
reached Pernaquid, they were dismayed by the dis-
covery of a British man-of-war anchored near the
guns and under the frowning walls of the garrison.
Thence they retired, somewhat wiser than when they
started.
TREATY OF PEACE.
Tired of war, defeat, poverty, and distress, the
eastern tribes now proposed a treaty of peace. Hence
a meeting to that end was had Aug. 12, 1692, at
Pemaquid. It was made up of three commissioners
representing the settlements, and of eighteen Indian
sagamores who represented the most, if not all, the
tribes in the East. * A treaty was then and there
made, wherein the tribes renounced all alliance to
France, and guaranteed "loyalty to the crown of
England. They were to release all their captives
without pay; were never more to trespass on the terri-
torial possession of the English settlers ; and agreed
to confine their traffic to such trading-houses only as
should be regulated by English laws, and agreed
that all causes of conflicting rights should be adjusted
in the English courts. Thereupon five Indians of
high rank were yielded up as hostages to the fulfil-
ment of this Treaty." f
* See p. 273. f See Mather's Magnolia, Vol. 2, p. 542.
CHAPTER XIX.
Differences in Religion. French Missionaries foment Hostil-
ities. Mons. Villieu at Penobscot. Bounty offered for
the Head of Ralle. Failure of proposed Treaty. Assault
upon Fort Henry. French and Indians in Retreat.
Treaty. Nova Scotia Ceded to the English by Massachu-
setts. Massachusetts Government Vote to Expel Catholic
Missionaries. Conference at Falmouth. Casco again As-
HE early settlements in New England were
held not only against the hostilities of the
native Indians and their French allies on
the one hand, as fanned into a flame by
the furious, frequent outbreakings of war
between France and England, but by Catholic French
missionaries in and on the borders of Canada, who, in
sight of the Protestant clergy of New England, deemed
"it no sin [as they would say] to break faith with
heretics." They sought to make proselytes of the
tribes, and in their over-zeal sometimes led off in
many a dread conflict, which otherwise might never
have occurred.
Among those Catholics there was a man of much
force and influence, "Father Ralle," who resided at
Norridgewock. Williams says, Ralle's "entire devo-
323
324 INDIAN WARS.
tion to the religious interests of the Indians gave him
an unlimited ascendancy over them."
In 1693, the governor of Canada had stationed
Mons. Villieu as a resident French commander at
Penobscot, who had succeeded in enlisting two hun-
dred and fifty Indians with Madakawando as assistant
leader, together with a French force to make an
assault upon Dover.
About the same time, the English at Boston, as
appears, had offered bribes to the Indians to capture
and bring in to them these hostile missionaries ; but
failing in this, they offered "a reward of a thousand
pounds sterling to any one who would bring to them
the head of Ealle." *
Then, July 18, 1693, Madakawando, with the two
hundred and fifty Indians and with the French force,
invaded and destroyed Dover, N. H., and returned
back into Maine. They took one captive near York,
and killed four men there. In the following month
(August 25), they scalped a small girl, and killed
* Bomaseen, one of the Eastern chiefs, in a talk with an
English Protestant, said, "The Indians understand that the
Virgin Mary was a French lady. Her son Jesus Christ, the
blessed, was murdered by the English. But he has risen
from the dead and gone to Heaven. All who would gain his
favor must avenge his blood." History of Maine (p. 243} *
by Abbott.
A PROPOSED PEACE FAILS. 325
eight men in KITTERY. This of course was regarded
as a violation of the treaty last made. *
A TREATY.
Hostilities had thus continued, variously, and in
May, 1695, the English sent Sheepscot John, one of
their captive chiefs, east } to invite another treaty.
Hence they obtained a conference at Rutherford's
Island, out from Fort William Henry about three
miles. The sagamores came there in fifty canoes.
Eight English captives were then and there set free.
A truce was to be had, commissioners were to be
appointed, and the two nationalities, at the end of
thirty days, were to meet at Fort William Henry to
complete a final treaty of peace. But when that time
arrived, although the sagamores were promptly there,
Phillips, Hawthorne, and others, who represented the
English, demanded of the Indians the giving up of
their prisoners ; but as they refused to surrender their
own hostages, the Indians would not make peace. To
this extraordinary demand they answered, "You have
not brought us our friends, and yet you demand that
we should bring to you yours. This is not fair.
We will talk no more." Thus and thence, this truce
came to an end.
* See pp. 283-6.
326 INDIAN WARS.
PISCATAQUA.
In the following year, 1696, June, upwards of
twenty persons were murdered, and many cottages
were burned, on and along the Piscataqua.
FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
At length two men-of-war and two companies of
soldiers, commanded by Captain Iberville, were sent
from Quebec, who at Port Royal were to obtain fifty
Indians, to be joined at Castine by reinforcements
there.
Baron Castine joined them at the place last named,
and in all it has been said there were in this force
two hundred Indians.
On the 14th of July, 1696, these savages, corning
in canoes, led by Castine, joined in the assault
upon Fort William Henry. Chubs in the garrison
had ninety-five men and fifteen guns, with a good
supply of ammunition and provisions.
The Frenchman, Iberville, aimed his mortars at
the fort, and called for a surrender. Chubs refused.
The bombardment commenced, and thunderbolts of
shot and shell assailed the fort. Chubs, feeling the
effects of so strong a force, and knowing of many
outrages which he himself had committed against
the natives, and fearing for his own life, raised the
WAR-SHIPS ON THE COAST. 327
white flag.* He surrendered the garrison, the French
flag was raised upon it, and he and his men taken
captives were carried into Boston and were there
exchanged for Indian and French prisoners.
FRENCH AND INDIANS ESCAPE.
This surrender startled the English and encouraged
the hostile French and Indians. Yet very promptly
500 men were raised and transported to the Pis-
cataqua, led by Major Church ; but no enemy was
traced.
A fire-ship, three British war-vessels, with a smaller
craft of twenty guns, were sent in pursuit of the
victorious French squadron, and although they came
in sight of it, it could not be reached, and it made
safely its return to Quebec.
On their way back to Boston, the English ships
captured a French shallop, under the command of
Villieu, with twenty-three French sailors.
Then next, Church, with a division of his force,
sailed back along the coast of Maine, and touched at
the Island Monhegan. He passed up the Penobscot
* Chubs resided at Andover, Mass., and was murdered there
by the Indians in Feb. 1G98 (Drakes Indians, Book III, p. 113),
and no wonder, for on Feb. 16, 1G96, Chubs had lured two
chiefs, Ed^eremet and Abenquid into his fort and put them
to death." Mather's Magnolia, and Drake, B. Ill, p. 112.
328 INDIAN WARS.
Bay, near to the Camden Heights, about ten miles
above Owl's Head, and thence in August he went up
the river to the Bend, now Edington.* Landing here,
he took a march up the west bank of the river. The
inmates of the scattered wigwams fled from their
presence in the wilderness far away. Church burned
their habitations, destroyed their growing crops, plun-
dered away their furs and corn, caught now and then
a beaver, a fish, or a bird, and then turning home-
ward at Passamaquoddy Bay, met and joined in with
an English squadron of three vessels from Boston.
Thence they proceeded to make an attack upon St.
John ; but this proved unsuccessful.
The winter of 1696-97 was uncommonly dreary, in
which some of the English and many of the Indians
through cold and hunger perished. For instance, at
one time nine Indians who were on a hunting ex-
cursion, after eating their dogs, famished and were
found dead in the dark, dense forest.t
It is now 1697, and the conflict, in its various
forms revived, still continues. Two young men on
the way to the garrisons at Wells are shot by lurking
savages ; and at a little distance from the garrison at
York, five soldiers are shot down and scalped. An-
other, for some offence against the tribes, is roasted
alive against a slow fire. Two men near Wells are
* Williamson, Vol. 1, p. 68. f2 Mather's Magnolia, p. 536.
FRENCH AND INDIANS, 1,500. 329
seized and carried off captive in a canoe. But one,
Lieutenant Larabee, discovering this craft, rescues one
of the captives and shoots three of the savages.
NOVA SCOTIA.
During this year, 1,500 French and Indians united
in an expedition to recapture Nova Scotia, and to
advance upon New England. From this, the English
became active. Five hundred soldiers were at once
enlisted and forwarded to man the forts on the main
coasts. Others, numerously, were sent to intercept
the incomings of the lurking foe from the wilderness.
Major March, who had charge of the five hundred,
landed them at Damariscotta, and concealed them in
the forest. But being discovered, they were at once
saluted with a shower of bullets. Nearly thirty were
killed. The Major rallied his forces, and the enemy,
without much loss, fled farther back into the wil-
derness.
It is a part of Indian tactics to strike an unex-
pected blow, and then to escape without a retroactive
injury.
TREATIES.
This conflict was on the 9th of September, 1697;
and on the llth, a treaty of peace between France
and England was declared at Eyswick, which reached
Boston on Dec. 10, 1697, and in the summer of 1698
330 INDIAN WARS.
the Indians, tired of continued conflicts, privations,
and death-struggles, sent in .flags of truce, imploring
peace in the midst of the New England settlers.
Hence a conference to that end was held on the
14th of October, 1698, between two Massachusetts
commissioners and six sagamores, who were attended
with a numerous Indian retinue.
The Indians, complaining of their losses of life, their
winter privations, and continual famine, had become
mournfully sad. Their revered chief, Madakawando,
was dead, and they urgently sought peace. But the
English commissioners insisting that by the treaty the
"Catholic Missionaries" must all -be driven out of
the country by the Indians, this proposition put an
end to the conference.
To this, the chiefs firmly, nobly replied : " The
white prisoners will be free to go home or stay with
their Indian friends ; but the good missionaries must
not be driven away."
In these wars it was estimated that between five
and seven hundred of the English settlers had been
killed ; two hundred and fifty carried into captivity,
many of whom had died. And now, at Brunswick,
in January, 1699, one Colonel Phillips and Major
Converse met the tribes, and ratifying a former treaty,
peace for a brief season was again restored, and the
then ten years' war seemed thus to be at an end.
MISSIONARIES TO BE EXPELLED. 331
Massachusetts yielded all her rights to the territory
of Nova Scotia to the Crown of England and assumed
the territory of Maine as a province. That territory
was inhabited by a mixture of Canadian Catholics and
wild Indians.
Thence the people gradually for a while began to
improve and prosper, civilization seemed to advance,
and nothing more than occasional skirmishes and
murders disturbed New England, up to May 4, 1702.
The next conflict was France against England
claiming all the territory east of the Sagadahoc, and
a right to all the fisheries there.
About March, 1700, the Massachusetts Legislature
passed a penal act, by which to expel the Catholic
missionaries from the State.
Then, June 20, 1703, a conference, as we have
seen, was had at Falmouth; the chiefs came in a fleet
of sixty-five canoes, bringing 250 painted and plumed
redmen in gay colors, well armed. Governor Dudley,
on the other hand, was there, and spread a spacious
tent to accommodate the conference.*
The Governor, addressing them, among other things
said, "I come to you commissioned by the great and
good Queen of England. I would esteem you all as
brothers and friends. It is my wish to reconcile
every difficulty, whatever has happened since the last
treaty."
* Mass. Records, Vol. VII, p. 426.
332 INDIAN WARS.
Simmoa, a Tarritine chief, replied as follows : " We
thank you, good brother, for coming so far to talk
with us. It is a great favor. The clouds gather and
darken the sky; but we still sing with love the songs
of peace. Believe my words. So far as the sun is
above the earth, so far are our thoughts from war, or
from the least desire of a rupture between us."
On that day, by an exchange of presents and mutual
promises, all former treaties were ratified.
WAK AGAIN.
At the beginning of Queen Anne's war, August 10,
1703, a force of French and Indians broke in upon
Wells, killing or taking captive thirty-nine. They
invaded Cape Porpoise, Saco, Scarboro', Spurwink,
Purpooduck, and Casco. The destruction in these
settlements at this time was so entire, that no
general account of it in detail was ever given.
CASCO.
After this time, Major John March commanded the
fort at Casco, * which is said to have been at
that time farthest east of all. And then again this
garrison was assailed by three chiefs, who led the
Indians, to wit: Moxus, Wanungoet, and Ascacombuit.
* Casco was the Indian name of what was as early as 1G58
incorporated as Falmouth now a part of which is Portland.
FLEET OF BIRCH CANOES. 333
It is said the conflict lasted six days and six nights.
Near the close of the fight, a reinforcement of
French and Indians came in, increasing their numbers
to nearly five hundred.
While this battle was in progress, an armed vessel
under the command of Cyprian Southack arrived in
support of the garrison. This turned the tide of
events ; at which the French and Indians took to
their two hundred and fifty birch canoes, and as best
they could, the most of- them escaped. Every com-
bustible thing had been consumed.
Major March, the English commander, in his return
of this conflict, to the General Court, reported that
he had lost "a sloop and its furniture, eighty-nine
head of sheep and cattle, five acres and a half "of
wheat, six acres of excellent peas, and four acres and
a half of Indian corn." In this campaign it is
reported that the loss to English settlers was not less
than one hundred and fifty, killed or taken captives.*
WELLS AGAIN.
From this, a troop of horse were soon quartered
at Wells. "Three hundred and sixty men were
marched to Pequawket, and another force was sent to
the Ossipee ponds. Major Mason, with an hundred
friendly Indians, made up mostly of Pequods and
Mohegans of Connecticut, was stationed at Berwick.
* Bourne's History of Wells, p. 314.
334 INDIAN WARS.
SCARBOROUGH.
In 1677 a force of two hundred Natick Indians and
ninety white men, mostly men whom the Indians had
previously driven from Maine, led by Captains Swett
and Richardson, were as volunteers sent out by the
Massachusetts General Court against the hostile tribes
of Maine.
On the 28th of June of that year, they reached
there at Black Point. They, of course, were soon
discovered, and the coy savages at once appeared to
be preparing their ambuscade. The English forces,
confiding in their superior strength, aggressively
marched upon and into it. The Indians, who were
there as a decoy, were soon out of harm's way,
feigning a retreat. But the English, in their hot
haste and pursuit, at once found themselves in a
glade, surrounded by a swamp, dark with trees on
the one side, and with an impenetrable thicket on the
other. There, the decoy escaping, the woods instantly
reverberated from all sides with the discharge of mus-
ketry. Captain Swett, on a two-mile retreat, fought
bravely, all the way carrying his dead and wounded
with him. On the way, it is said, he received several
wounds. At length, overcome by numbers, . he was
struck to the ground and hewed to pieces by toma-
hawks. Sixty of his men, English and Naticks,
perished.*
* Abbott's History of Maine, p. 204.
CHAPTER XX.
Expedition to Norridgewock. French and Indians again
attack York, Wells, Kittery, Casco, Berwick, and Winter
Harbor. Various other Invasions Early and Late. Fights
at Hatfleld, at Adams, at Athol, Mass., and at Royalston,
Vt. Peace. The Indians Vanish Away.
EXPEDITION TO NOVA SCOTIA.
May 21, 1704, Col. Benjamin Church
was fitted out at the command of three
war-vessels, with fifty-one boats of vari-
ous sizes ; one ship carried forty-eight,
3 - and another thirty-two guns; the third
was a province galley. Colonel Church made sad havoc,
touching in various places, and like a savage did
much mischief in the enemy's country, killing many,
and here and there spreading death and desolation.
Governor Dudley reported to his Massachusetts Legis-
lature that "Colonel Church had destroyed all the
settlements in the vicinity of Port Royal and had
taken one hundred prisoners and a large amount of
plunder with the loss only of six men."
In the winter of 1705, at Winter Harbor, near the
mouth of the Saco River, the fort was fortified, and
336 INDIAN WARS.
Colonel Hilton was sent with two hundred and
seventy men, twenty of whom were friendly Indians,
to attack the French Missionary Station at Norridge-
wock. They advanced in dead of winter on snow-
shoes, bearing in their packs food for twenty days.
This adventure caused the calling of a council in
Canada, and the Indians were induced to become
allies to the French as usual, and they met them in
council to the number of two hundred and fifty. The
missionaries, of course, sought favor by religious ser-
vices, and at Norridgewock, the Indians, taking a
hint, had fled away. (See further as to this on page
274.)
In another direction, the governor (Subucase) of
Nova Scotia, had raised an army of five hundred and
fifty French and Indians, under the Indian leader,
Assacombuit. In the contest there and thereabout
among the English settlements, many were slam by
the tribes; one hundred and forty were taken pris-
oners. On either side, it was "blood for blood,"
arson for arson, prisoner for prisoner.
In 1707, August 10, the English invaded Port
Royal, but failed in this.
Whereupon the French and Indians came down
again, threatening all the garrisons of Maine now only
remaining, to wit: Kittery, Berwick, York, Wells,
Casco, and Winter Harbor.
AN ATTACK UPON THE SHALLOPS. 337
WINTER HARBOR.
Among other outrages, they fell in upon Winter
Harbor, Sept. 21, 1707, one hundred and fifty in
number. They were seen coming to land in a fleet of
fifty canoes, three fighting redmeri in each canoe.
There were two shallops in the harbor, in the
charge of eight men only. And as this fleet came
paddling in with hideuos yells, these eight mariners
gave them a shot from the shallop. By this onset,
some of the canoes were crippled. But the others
pushed forward to surround the shallops. Upon this,
the eight heroes abandoned one of the vessels, and
boarding the other, and spreading sail, endeavored to
put to sea.
The Indians in time had boarded the other shallop,
raised the sail, and started in pursuit.
The Indians, being the poorer mariners, and in the
slowest shallop, fell too far astern to do much
execution. Yet the eight Englishmen, had lost
one man, Benjamin Daniel, killed on the shallop ;
the loss of the Indians, in killed and wounded, was
about thirty. At length the fort discharged a cannon,
and the Indians ventured no further assault.*
THE BRIDAL PARTY.
On Sept. 16, 1712, there was a great wedding at
Wells, in one of its garrisons. A young man, Elisha
* Williams' History of Maine, Vol. 1, p. 55.
338 INDIAN WARS.
Plaisted, of Portsmouth, was to be married to
Hannah Wheelwright, a young lady of much merit.
The guests were numerous, some coming on horse-
back, and some by water from Portsmouth and other
adjacent towns, and the bridegroom being attended by
an imposing cavalcade of young men and maidens.
The nuptials were celebrated with much hilarity.
But during the ceremonies a force of nearly two
hundred Indians, coming down from the forest, had
concealed themselves in a thicket near the narrow
way, which the great bridal party were to take that
night on their return from the wedding. Missing
some of their horses (stolen), a party went out after
them, two of whom fell dead, and a man by the
name of Tucker was taken captive. The report of
guns alarmed the party and the entire garrison.
Many military-men being present, they mounted
their steeds and 'led off in pursuit of the foe.
Plaisted himself led one of the squads of seven or
eight. They fell into the ambuscade, every horse was
shot down, one of the men was killed, and Plaisted
was carried into captivity. The tribe, though pursued
by a great force, made good their retreat into the
dense wilderness. Some time afterwards, as appears,
the ransom of the gallant Plaisted was obtained by
his father at the cost of 300 ($1500).*
* Abbott's History of Maine, pp. 283-4.
339
SCITUATE.
On page 208 mere mention is made of the attack
on this town in the days of King Philip, and we
here give place to a more specific account of it.
This conflict was on May 20, 1676. "The Indians
first burnt the saw-mill on Herring Brook; then Capt.
Joseph Sylvester's house; then the house of William
Blackmore, who was killed the same day.
"In their attack upon the garrison-house, they were
bravely repulsed; but proceeding in their work, they
mortally wounded John James; and during the day
reduced as many as nineteen houses and barns to
ashes. They were repulsed, however, towards night,
and driven from the town. Capt. Michael Pierce was
killed near Pawtuckct." *
HATFIELD.
As history has it,| we have been told how, on the
19th of October, 1675, seven hundred Indians invaded
Hatfield and fought desperately, and how previously
(May 30, 1675) six hundred Indians had entered this
town, set fire to twelve buildings within its for-
tifications, and then made an attack upon some
men in the meadow, and upon the fortified houses.
The people (twenty-five from Hadley) rallied,
killed twenty-five Indians, one apiece to each
* Gazeteer of Massachusetts, by Rev. Elias Nason, p. 454.
., pp. 250-1.
840 INDIAN WARS.
of the gallant volunteers. How in October they
again beset the town, as we have shown. How again
in September, 1677, fifty Indians came down the
Connecticut upon Hatfield, shot three men outside
of the fortifications, took captives, and made sad
havoc among the women and children. And how
in Wrentham the Indians burnt every house in town
save two ; and from these they were only prevented
by the small-pox, which prevailed within.
Conflicts like these were going on throughout the
New-England settlements then ; and, although fifty
dreary years had elapsed, there was as yet no deliv-
erance from daily and nightly anxieties, from the
fagot, torch, nor from the sight of blood.
Forts and garrisons were as common as the cot.
It was thus, from town to town, for fifty years,
the war went on, nearly all the way continually ;
and now, Aug. 26, 1746, nine hundred French and
Indians invade the town of Adams, Mass. It had a
fort which had been constructed in 1744, and is now
gallantly and successfully defended under the lead
of Col. Hawks, who kills forty-five of the assail-
ants.
Three hundred French and Indians again invaded
it, Aug. 2, 1748 ; and Col. E. Williams, with a gallant
force, defended it.
In 1746, at Athol, Mass., Ezekiel Wallingford,
CRUEL CONFLICTS. 41
while on his way to a garrison, was slain by the
Indians ; and, in the following year, Jason Babcock
was carried into captivity.
In August, 1747, Elisha Clark of South Hampton
was killed by the Indians at his barn; and Capt.
Ephraim Williams, Eliakim Wright, and Ebenezer
Kingsley were killed near Lake George at about the
same time.
In 1754 Stockbridge, Mass., was attacked by heart-
less savages. A Mr. Owen and his children were
slain; and again in the next year, several persons
fell by the blade of the tomahawk in the same
neighborhood.
Many invasions and many murders had thus trans-
pired, and were still happening up to 1763.
CONFLICTS AGAIN AMONG THEMSELVES.
During 1757 the Mohegans were again obliged to
defend themselves against the Narragansetts and
Nehantics, who were assisted, at times, by two Mas-
sachusetts tribes, the Pocomtocks and Norwootucks.
On one occasion some Pequots allured a Mohegan
canoe to shore, and thus enabled a party of Pocom-
tocks, who were lying in ambush, to surprise and
massacre the crew. Pessicus, with a large force,
invaded the Mohegan country, and once "more held
Uncas besieged in his fortress. A small body of
842 INDIAN WARS.
English was sent by the Colony of Connecticut to
relieve him. Its very appearance caused the Narra-
gansetts to retreat ; and the Mohegans, rushing out
upon them, changed their retreat into a rout. The
invaders fled tumultuously towards their own
country, and were furiously pursued by the Mohe-
gans, who overtook and killed many of them while
struggling through the thickets, or floundering across
the streams.
In the early part of 1661, Uncas attacked the
Indians of Quabaug in the eastern part of Massa-
chusetts, killed some, made others prisoners, and
carried off property, as the sufferers alleged, to the
value of thirty-three pounds sterling.
WAR FARTHER NORTH, 1746-1780.
The Indians usually extended their wigwams
along the banks of rivers, and sought the sea-shores
rather than the deeper woods in the north. Hence
Vermont suffered less from their invasions than the
other New-England States: yet (1746) in the town of
Vernon, Bridgman's Fort \v as taken and destroyed by
them, and several of the inhabitants of the town
were slain. On the 27th of July, 1755, Caleb Howe,
Hilkiah G-rout, and Benja. G-affield were waylaid and
fired upon while on their return from their labor
in the field. At the Fort the tribes made
CONFLICTS AT ROYALTON. 343
prisoners of the families of those above named,
including their wives and eleven children, and sold
them into captivity in Canada.
Other depredations were committed. In 1756
Capt. Melvin with twenty men, on his way from
Charlestown, N.H., to Hoosic Fort, was fired upon
by Indians. A conflict followed, and several were
killed. During the wars the frontier towns were
frequently alarmed by Indian scouts, but were not
often molested. On Aug. 9, 1780, they took three
men captive in BARNARD ; and in October of that
year they invaded ROYALTON on White River,
then a town -of three hundred inhabitants. The
invaders were made up mostly of Indians, and were
led by one Horton, a British lieutenant. Their
first design was to attack Newbury ; but, upon hear-
ing of its being fortified, they fell in upon Royalton.
It was on Monday morning, Oct. 16 ; first they
searched the house of John Hutehinson, near the line
of Tunbridge, and took him and his brother prisoners ;
thence advanced to Robert Haven's ; killed Thomas
P ember and Elias Button ; thence to Joseph Knee-
land's^ and took him, his father, Simeon Belknap, G-iles
Cribs, and Jonathan captives; thence to the Louse
of Elias Curtis, and made him, John Kent, and Peter
Mason prisoners. Thence they divided into parties,
and proceeded to plunder the dwelling-houses, and
bring in other prisoners.
844 INDIAN WARS.
By this time the inhabitants had taken the alarm,
and were flying ; and the Indians were still a work,
filling the air with yells. One party proceeded
towards SHARON, taking prisoners, and burning
houses and barns there: another went up the
river, made prisoner of David Waller, set fire to
G-en. Stevens's house, plundered it, and thus on
three miles, killing cattle, plundering, and setting
fires all the way.
Thence they returned to their starting-point;
and then they advanced across the hill to Randolph,
and camped down for the night, on the second
branch of the White River. During the day they
had killed two persons, burned twenty houses and
as many barns; had killed one hundred and fifty
head of cattle, and all the sheep and hogs that fell
into their paths on the way. By night the people
had gathered from Connecticut River and elsewhere,
organized with Capt. John House commander, and
followed on in pursuit of the enemy. At length
they were fired upon from an ambuscade, one man
being wounded : they returned the fire, killing one,
and wounding two others.
The captain then halted, and remained till day-
light. The savages then sent an aged prisoner to
inform the Americans that if they made an attack
upon them they would put all their English prison-
TRIBES VANISH AWAY. 345
ers to death; that two had already been killed,
the one to retaliate for the death of the Indian who
had been slain ; and the other was slain for refusing
to march, in the expectation that the Americans
would relieve him. These were tomahawked as
they lay upon the ground.
Having placed their warriors in the rear, they
silently proceeded to Randolph, took one prisoner
there, thence through Brookfield by the way of
Winooski River and Lake Champlain to Montreal.
House and his men followed them to Brookfield, and
thence returned, but without further conflict.
PEACE.
Soon after the close of this French war the In-
dians, withdrawing from their rivers and ponds, and
from their hunting and trapping grounds in New
England, gradually vanished away. Thus by de-
grees the way was opened to English settlers, who
ventured farther into the forests thus vacated, and,
sequestering and taking possession of the lands,
built houses, and otherwise made progress, some-
times aggressively excluding the red man, until at
length he became unheard of, except now and then
from the far-off wilderness.
In his departure he left behind him not the ruins
of desolated cities, nor of lofty castles, nor of world-
346 INDIAN WARS.
renowned temples : he left nothing, nothing, but
now and then a sample of the bow and arrow,
the chisel, the rude axe, and the mortar made of
stone.
Seized thus, the settlers proud dominion share
By force of conquest all this region fair ;
From thence, for aye, to lay the forest low,
To fence fair fields, and drive the crooked plough,
They waste the wigwams which for ages spread
The wild, and build broad mansions in their stead;
School-houses, temples to the God of grace,
And cities proud, peculiar to the race
Of Adam. Diligent through honest toil,
They reap rich harvest from the virgin soil.
From culture urged with bold, aggressive sway,
Wild beasts, becoming frantic, flee away.
As ravenous bears, and moose, and wolves recede,
Neat cattle and the noble horse succeed
In aid of husbandry. Full -flocks abound ;
The herds increase as roll the seasons round;
The desert e'en, through culture's grateful care,
Soon set with fruit, begins to bloom and bear;
Fair Nature smiles responsive to the plan
Of faith in God and industry of man.*
* From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballads, p. 342.
HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
CHAPTER XXI.
HER HISTORY.
Faith and Valor of the Mothers. Hannah's Biography. Her
Children. Their Names and Ages. Her Captivity with Mary
and Samuel. Indians surround Haverhill. Their Mode of
"Warfare. What they then did. What Thomas, her Husband,
did. His Biography. His Heroism then poetized. Names of
the Twenty-seven slain by the Tribes. Island Contoocook.
Its Location, and Distance from Haverhill. What Hannah did
there. Names, &c., of her Thirteen Children. Mrs. Neff's Biog-
raphy. Her Generous Deeds. Samuel's Brief History. The
Gantlet. Mode of Scalping. Savages : Number slain. Cap-
tives' Arrival Home. Cotton Mather greets them in Boston.
General Court makes them Presents; Governor of Maryland also.
Recapitulation as an Epic.
JEROISM is a divine attribute. Patriotism
approves and honors it. Humanity fer-
vently and ambitiously inclines to cher-
ish it.
To make a record of its achievements
becomes the pleasure as well as the duty of a gener-
ous people, who are never unmindful of their heroes.
Hence the exploit of our heroine, with her assistants
Neff and Leonardson (the boy), will ever be revered.
347
C48 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTCN.
Forever will its history be remembered, transmitted,
and cherished as a household treasure. Like an
heir-loom, it imparts inspiration, an inspiration
which, diffusing itself, shall tend to elevate the heart-
felt aspirations of the sons and daughters, descend-
ants of the old New-England mothers throughout
the uncounted ages yet to come, mothers who
lived in a day of trial, but whose truthfulness his-
toric hath never been surpassed, and whose endur-
ance, faithfulness, and valor, tried and made manifest
in the midst of savages, are in this volume truth-
fully exemplified.
HER BIOGRAPHY.
Hannah Duston was born in Haverhill, Mass., Dec.
23, 1657 ; was the daughter of Michael and Han-
nah Webster Emerson ; was married to Thomas
Duston Dec. 3, 1677 ; and, up to the date of her cap-
tivity, had become the mother of a family of children,
twelve at that date, thirteen in all.
THE INDIAN ONSET.
She was captured at Haverhill March 15, 1697 ;
her infant then being only a week old.
Mary Neff, then a widow, a neighbor, and friend,
was with her, and, for the time being, was having a
care for the household.
HER HISTORY. CIO
The tribes throughout New England, as appears,
had, for several years prior to this attack, beset the
English settlements by trespassing upon their corn-
fields, killing their cattle, taking and carrying away
captives, and daily and nightly murdering the inhab-
itants, burning down their barns, their lonely cots,
and their infant villages.
Always, in their depredations upon the Pilgrim set-
tlers, they had been cunning, ferocious, coy, and cruel.
Previous to this Duston massacre, they had taken at
Worcester, Mass., Samuel Leonardson, a youth of
some fourteen summers, and had him along with
them among their captives.
At Haverhill, on that fifteenth day of March, 1697,
according to the tactics of Indian warfare, they di-
vided their tribes into small parties, and made the
attack all around the town, everywhere very nearly
at the same moment ; so that on that day, in and
about that little inland, rural village, they took and
carried away thirteen captives, burned down nine
dwelling-houses, and killed twenty-seven of its in-
habitants, men, women, and children.
THE SLAIN.
The individuals then and there killed were John
Keezer, his father, and son George; John Kimball
and his mother Hannah ; Sarah Eastman ; Thomas
350 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Eaton ; Thomas Emerson, his wife Elizabeth, and
two children, Timothy and Sarah ; Daniel Brad-
ley, his wife Hannah, and two children, Mary and
Hannah ; Martha Dow, daughter of Stephen Dow ;
Joseph, Martha, and Sarah Bradley, children of
Joseph Bradley ; Thomas and Mehitable Kingsbury ;
Thomas Wood and his daughter Susannah ; John
Woodman and his daughter Susannah ; Zechariah
White ; and Martha, the infant daughter of Mrs.
Duston.
THE OLD COT.
Mrs. DUSTON'S house stood not far from the left
bank of the Merrimack River, on the north side of
the road, about a mile and a half from that little
hamlet, now the city of Haverhill, populous, opu-
lent, and thriving.
FIRST SIGHT OF SAVAGES.
On that day, THOMAS DUSTON (the husband)
was in some way startled in his field at the ap-
proach of savages. He seized his gun, mounted his
horse, and driving his children before him, seven
in number, ages from two to seventeen years,
all escaped. It has been said that guns were
fired at him, and that he returned the shots ; but this
statement is beclouded with at least some doubt. It
is, however, said, and perhaps correctly, that the In
HER HISTORY. 351
dians did not pursue him far, for fear of the English ;
and that lie with the children took shelter in an old
house supposed to have been used occasionally as a
garrison.
In the mean time the Indians at the homestead
had seized Mrs. Duston, Mary, and the infant ; forced
the child from Mary's arms, and killed it against
an apple-tree ; and, pillaging and setting fire to the
dwelling-house, drove their captives away into the
wilderness, a wilderness then dense, dark, pathless,
and thorny ; in the confusion, Mrs. Duston having
but one shoe to her feet.
The cold snows of winter had not entirely disap-
peared. Yet were they compelled to advance, reclin-
ing at night upon the frosty earth to obtain rest and
strength, and then up at break of day, continuing
their ramblings northward, by and near to the Mer-
rimack, through the wilderness ; thus onward until
they reached that Indian fort on the island between
the waters of the Contoocook and Memmack Rivers.
ISLAND CONTOOCOOK.
As appears, this island, containing about two acres,
then (and now) covered with a dense forest, was
the adopted home of one of the tribes ; and, from its
surroundings, it served to be a strong fortification
against their common enemy, the English settlers.
352 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
For fifteen days they had continued their march
through the forest, a distance of seventy-five miles,
according to our reckoning ; but, according to the
Indian computations of that time, two hundred and
fifty miles.
But, before they reached the island, the tribe
divided into two parts : the one with several captives
(among whom was Hannah Bradley, whose brief
biography will appear on a subsequent page) con-
tinued still farther onward to another place ; while
the other company, with Mrs. Duston, Neff, and
Samuel, crossed over in their birch canoes, to dwell,
at least for a night, on the island between the safe
surroundings at the junction of these two beautiful
rivers.
On their way the Indians had talked of another
fort of theirs in Canada ; and had intimated to the
captives, that, upon their arrival there, they would be
held to run the gantlet, according to the law and
custom of the tribes.
GANTLET.
This was usually performed thus : The group was
made up by " two files of Indians of both sexes, of
all ages, containing all who could be mustered in
the village ; and the unhappy prisoners were obliged
to run between them, when they were scoffed at
HER HISTORY. 353
and beaten by each one as they passed, and were
made marks of, at which the younger Indians threw
their hatchets."
As if to add to these worst of cruelties, the tribes
often made sale of their captives to the FRENCH
in Canada, then hostile to the English settlers in
New England, to be held to service by them as
slaves.
In sight of all the severities to which they had
already been subjected, and in view of impending
disgrace and danger, these three (Duston, Neff, and
Samuel) secretly took counsel together, and resolved
to liberate themselves.
HOW TO KILL AN INDIAN.
Thereupon the boy Samuel inquired of one of
the tribe (" Bampico ") as to where he would strike
if he would kill a man instantly, and how he would
take off the scalp.
The Indian, bringing his finger against his temple,
made answer, "Strike him there!" and he then
proceeded to tell him how to take off the scalp.
SCALPING.
This feat is performed by the savage as follows :
Placing his foot upon the neck of his prostrate victim,
he twists the fingers of his left hand into the scalp-
354 HEEOISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
lock ; and then, cutting with a knife in his right hand
a circular gash around the lock, he tears the scalp
from the head, and fastens it to his girdle with a yell
of triumph.
The scalps upon their belts on public occasions
were worn to designate the warriors.
ON THE ISLAND.
There, on that night, March 30, 1697, the camp-
fires in front of the wigwams blazed pleasantly ; and
the tribe in front of them, reclining, and burdened
with the fatigue of a restless journey, of course slept
soundly.
Having a heed to all this, the captives patiently
awaited the midnight hour ; and then, cautiously,
noiselessly, obtaining the tomahawks, and moving
with concert of action, they struck the deadly blow.
None of the Indians escaped alive, save one old
squaw covered with wounds, and an Indian boy,
whom the captives did not incline to pursue.
NUMBER OF VICTIMS.
Ten of them were slain. The captives, in their
haste, at first left the wigwams without full evidence
of what had been done ; yet soon returned, took off
the ten scalps, taking also with them an Indian
gun and tomahawk ; and then, seeking to avoid pur-
STATUE OF MRS. DUSTON ON THE ISLAND, pase 354.
HER HISTORY. 355
suit, they scuttled the canoes, all but one ; and in
that they floated down the Merrimack as far as they
could come for the falls, and thence along its left
bank, as tradition has it, until they arrived home
safely at Haverhill.
On the 21st of April in the same year (1697), tney
visited Boston ; carrying with them, as evidence of
their achievement, the scalps, the gun, and toma-
hawk ; and, on the 8th of June thereafterwards,
the General Court awarded to Mrs. Duston a gift of
X25, and to Mary Neff and Samuel Leonardson
X12 10s. each. Col. Nicholson, then governor
of Maryland, upon hearing of the transaction, also
transmitted complimentary presents to them. Many
thanks, as well as material gifts, were extended to
them by many others.
SONS AND DAUGHTERS.
The children of Thomas and Hannah Duston
were,
Hannah, born Aug. 22, 1678.
Elizabeth, born May 7, 1680.
Mary, born Nov. 4, 1681 (died
Oct. 18, 1696).
Thomas, born Jan. 5, 1683.
Nath., born May 16, 1685.
John, born Feb. 2, 1686 (died
Jan. 28, 1690).
Sarah, born July 4, 1688.
Abigail, born October, 1690.
Jona., born Jan. 15, 1691-92.
Timothy, born Sept. 14, 1694.
Mehitable, twin-sister to Timo-
thy (died Dec. 16, 1694).
Martha, born March 9, 1696-97;
slain by the Indians March 15,
1697.
And Lydia, born Oct. 4, 1698.
356 HEROISM OP HANNAH DUSTON.
MAKY NEFF.
Mary was a native of Haverhill, born Sept. 18,
1646 ; was the daughter of George and Joanna Cor-
liss ; and married William Neff June 23, 1665.
William died in February, 1681. Mary died Oct.
22, 1720, aged seventy-four years.
Mary, at her marriage, left the parental homestead ;
and, up to the time of her captivity, resided on the
rise of ground on the left side of the road leading
from the compact part of Haverhill to the old farm
where little Martha Duston, the infant, was mur-
dered against an apple-tree, and where the Duston
dwelling-house, on that day, was burnt down by the
Indians.
Mary's residence was at the same place, now or
formerly owned by William Swasey- It was, in
fact, a gift on her nuptial day from her father. It
was situated about a mile north of the village of
Haverhill.
Mary, as well as Mrs. Duston, was indeed a New-
England mother. At her capture by the Indians
she was a widow, and was Mrs, Duston's senior
eleven years. Upon notice that her neighbor and
friend Mrs. Duston was sick and in need of care,
Mary was at her bedside.
From this and other evidence, we may well cherish
HER HISTORY. 357
the belief, that the conduct of the household, the
good health, and in fact the well-being, of that
whole neighborhood, belonged mostly to Mary. They
found in her, daily, not only a generous, genial dis-
position, but great strength of mind, and force of
character, a force in the sight of justice and duty
too strong to be abashed or dismayed by the war-
whoop cry, or to be disconcerted at sight of the
tomahawk and scalping-knife. In fact, through all
trial, Mary persistently adhered to the matron of her
charge; hugged little Martha to her bosom until
the child was torn from her embrace to be slain of
the furious tribe ; and then, as ever, adhering to the
care and encouragement of its sick, heart-stricken,
bereaved mother.
SAMUEL LEONARDSON.
Of Samuel's parentage, of his birth, death, or
burial, we have obtained no account. The three ex-
traordinary incidents of Samuel's life involved in
his capture at Worcester by the Indians, his agency
in the slaughter of savages in the Contoocook, and
of his sedate, unostentatious presence in Boston April
21, 1697, and then again on the 8th of June the
then next following, there to receive from " the
Great and General Court " of Massachusetts a com-
plimentary reward for the heroic manhood of his
858 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
youth are probably the first and last that earth will
ever hear of that heroic, generous-hearted, gallant
boy.
The account herein given of the .war and blood
at Haverhill, and of the slaughter of the tribe in the
Contoocook, well known of tradition and general his-
toty, was carefully written down by that celebrated
historian and divine, Cotton Mather, from the lips
of Duston, Neff, and Leonardson, then in Boston,
while they were receiving the plaudits of that
afflicted generation of English settlers, and while
they still held in their hands the sanguine trophies
of their world-renowned victory.
Several years since, I published in my " Merri-
mack," page 36, in epic, descriptive form, a brief
statement of that event at Haverhill and in the Con-
toocook, which we here
RECAPITULATE.
And this is war ! and such in wrath makes haste
To lay the white man's cot and village waste .
That deals in daggers poisoned, coated o'er,
The fagot-torch, and gluts on human gore.
Against such crime the settlers strong unite :
In various ways they rally for the fight :
Some seek defence by force of gun and dogs ;
Some take to garrisons strong built of logs ;
HER HISTORY. 359
And some in squads with weapons rude assail
The foe, and fierce pursue the hidden trail.
'Twas so at Newbury and at Bradford town,
Far further north, and seaward further down ;
Along the vale, where'er the white man dwelt,
Still unprovoked the self-same scourge was felt.
And at old Haverhill, as Mather tells,
The flaring fagot burns where Duston dwells.
That faithful father, frenzied to dismay,
Hastens the flight of children far away :
But not the infant : that in wrath is slain.
Its mother, captured, trudges in the train
Of savages ; while in the clouds are shown
The crackling ruins of an English home.
The tribes evade pursuit : they skirt the glen,
Fast hastening through the fields away ; and
then %
Dense woods and sable night conceal the foe.
There, couched on broken boughs, in beds of snow,
Repose they seek. Still mindful of the past,
Her heart depressed, by sleep benumbed at last,
There dreams that mother, weary, sick, at rest,
Of happy home, of father, children blest ;
Of life's sweet joys, profusely, kindly given ;
Of angel-visits from the throne of heaven ;
800 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Of that true bliss religious life inspires,
That wafts the soul above earth's frail desires.
Thus moved congenial thought her dreamy mind
As moved that mighty forest in the wind ;
Thus on, till twilight gray with breaking beam
Now turns the tenor of a fleeting dream ;
When, half aroused, before her vision gaze,
Appear grim visages and fagot-blaze ;
Tall spectres gaunt, whose garments drip with
gore
From that infanticide the day before,
Wrought strange convulsions. Whence that fearful
wail?
'Twas Hannah Duston, waking for the trail.
Her dark brown hair back on her shoulders spread ,
The frosts of night still on her garments laid.
At sight of death, at sound of war-whoop cry,
Avenging justice flashes in her eye.
Still, far beyond the cloud-capt tree-tops shown,
There gleamed in prospect yet another home.
Light paints a tinge upon her pallid brow ;
And up to God above she made a vow :
For on the trees are marks of kindred blood ;
And vengeance just is whispered in the wood.
Firm as the granite hills that brave the storm
That mother's will is fixed, and waxes warm.
HER HISTORY. 361
Yet, held to follow through the rugged way,
Kept equal step for many a weary day,
('Twas death to falter 'mid a savage throng,)
With Mary Neff and boy, all move along
Through winding paths and tangled wildwood fens,
Where prowled the wolf, and where the serpent
dens :
Declivities they wind, and ford the brooks
That leap the mountain-pass from granite rocks ;
Thence in dark thicket, then in sunlight gleam,
And then in boats of birch on spacious stream,
Up where old Contoocook unites in pride
With Merrimack, profound in rolling tide ;
There, on an island wild, are captives shown
The wigwam rude, an Indian's favored home.
And there, on mats, around the camp-fire flame
Seated in group, they glut the slaughtered game
Which hunger sought ; and Night, now gathering in,
Spreads her dark mantle o'er the woods within ;
While from afar a gentle zephyr-breeze
Plays grateful music on the waving trees,
Inviting rest from the rambling drudge of day,
That lulls the spirit from the world away.
Still does that zephyr omens strange portend,
A baleful bickering, some tragic end :
Yet ne'er more safe, ne'er less by danger pressed,
Than felt the drowsy foe reclined at rest ;
8G2 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
And sleep sonorous, which fatigue inspires,
Drowns deep the tribe in front of midnight fires.
Then rose that mother, noiseless, moving near
To Neff ; breathes mandates startling to her ear :
To Samuel, too, her vent of vengeance went
That fired his heart. They move with joint intent,
And signal stealth. Around the foe they felt,
And drew a tomahawk each from the belt
That touched his loins ; and then erect they stand,
Lifting that bloody blade with heedful hand :
Down on his guilty head three times they strike ;
And three times three death follows each alike.
No groan nor sigh is heard, nor sign of woe ;
But stiff and cold there lies the bloody foe
'Neath clouds of night. The wigwam embers fade ;
And phantom shadows stalk along the glade
In depth of woods ; the hills are hushed aloof ;
No voice, save from the owl or hungry wolf
That clamors for his prey. Yet as these three,
Once captive bound, now turn away thus free,
Bright, beaming stars through parted clouds be-
tween,
True guides intent, from heaven's arch serene
Look down ; while Truth, still valiant to prevail
O'er wrong, and Justice stern, with even scale,
Approve the deed : and from that crimson glade.
That dark, lone wigwam with unburied dead,
HANNAH DUSTON AT THE MASSACEE, page 362.
HER HISTORY. 363
Relieved, yet sad, they board the light canoe
To dip the oar in hope of home, pursue
Adown bright Merrimac in generous tide,
That bears the craft on high through borders
wide,
Thence paddling east, they gain a favored shore
Above the fall, where troubled waters roar
Below, all safe at land.
The day-star rose,
Nature anon awakes from night's repose,
Wild birds from far, thick-gathered in the trees,
Warble sweet welcome on the morning breeze
To strange adventurers ; while all that day
Along the winding shore that leads the way
To Haverhill, they thoughtful trudge and talk,
What each had seen in life's bewildered walk,
Of childhood years beguiled with favorite toys,
Of love, of home delights, of buried joys.
Thus did the women mutual converse hold,
Till Samuel from mutest manner cold
Bespoke them thus: "What mean these signs of
pain ?
These crimson marks that through my garments
stain ?
Did such from veins of Bampaco descend,
Who gave me bow and arrow as a friend?
364 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Truth undisguised these morning beams disclose,
The sure avenger of his dying woes !
Unwelcome tints! they haunt my homeward way
And at the threshold threaten to betray
Me there. Shall I, long-lost, a mother's boy,
Return arid pangs impart instead of joy
To such a heart? No, leave me here; unknown,
To seek some hidden cave aloof from home!
Or send me, captive bound, to dwell again
In tents, afar from her who mourns me slain,
Whence crime concealed shall never vent a stain,
Nor rumor sad, to blot a cherished name."
He said, and there half halting stood
Till Mary chides him in a different mood :
"I pray thee, Samuel, list to me awhile,
Misgivings sad attend but to beguile
Thy youth. But list, they move me to descry
In wrong, if thou art guilty, so am I;
For at the war-whoop cry I could have fled,
And shunned captivity, its horrors dread;
Yet would not yield to fate that infant dear,
Nor fail my mistress kind through selfish fear.
Alarmed, I seized it from the cradle there;
That life, I begged a furied fiend to spare
At risk of self. Yet we no favor gain;
Our plea, our prayers most fervent, all in vain!
THEIR TALK. 365
Impelled, from horrors which this heart had stung,
To our liege mother and to thee I clung,
In bonds a comrade held, a volunteer
In all the dangers dread of such career.
I 've more to fear than thou, who, found alone,
Wert forced at Worcester from parental home
By brutal foes. Grim cruelties they sought,
But on themselves relentless vengeance brought,
In which an agent I indeed was one
To bear a part in wrong, if wrong were done
If in the shed of blood a crime it be,
To break from hell-born bondage to be free,
Then is the fault in me much more than thee,
Who had no choice of lot nor chance to flee.
Yet have I faith from inward teachings given,
Life's freedom gained is justified of Heaven ;
Whose care paternal henceforth let us trust,
As did our fathers, faithful from the first."
Thus did they talk of self, of wrong and right,
Meandering along till late at night
Through narrow pathways, hindered now and then
By tangled thicket dark, by brook and fen.
Then next by range of hills, where lies at length
A deep ravine, and there, through lack of strength,
They turn aside beneath a shelving rock
O'ergrown of spreading pines ; thither to stop,
Inclined to rest; but fain would wakeful keep,
366 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Yet, lost anon by force of needful sleep,
Remain still there, till morn's refulgent ray
Reflected on the wave of NASHUA,
Cast varied shadows in the branchy wood
Around the group.
There "mother Duston" stood
Invoking favors from the throne of God
To be bestowed in coming time for good
For MARY NEFF, for SAMUEL the same,
Her pilgrim comrades, whence deliverance came
And briefly now, as ended then her prayer,
Addressed them each in turn still waiting there
In kindness thus: "Mary, to thee I owe
Much more of debt than I can e'er bestow
Of earth's reward. Thy truthfulness of heart,
Thy generous constancy, thy guileless ^rt,
In trial proved, this thankful soul reveres;
May blessings, Mary, crown thy future years;
My home is thine, if home I see again,
Devoutly favored, thou shalt there remain.
"And you, dear Samuel, valiant in the past,
Honest in purpose, faithful to the last,
No more should doubt. To savages belong
The retribution of relentless wrong,
And not to thee. Are not His dealings just
Who Israel led? Shall we our God distrust?
THEIR TALK. 367
No. Brood no more of doubts, most noble boy!
Go, seek thy way to Worcester; bear true joy
To her who bore thee, and whose hallowed care
Shall haste thee onward to her presence there,
Still undisguised, in truth of God still led,
Wash not a stain from out thy garments red.
Thy deeds but known shall welcome truth impart ;
They'll prove the valor of a valiant heart.
Take yonder skiff ; 't will be no trespass done.
For thee it drifted from a fate unknown.
For thee my voice in thanks shall hence ascend ;
Away! and blessings on thy life attend."
Still loath to part, yet harboring doubts no more,
The lad, wide wafted on the westward shore,
His beckoning paddle raised; with aprons, too,
The women, answering, waved their last adieu.
Thence turning, tearful, meditating mild
On distant ''dear ones" wandered through the wild,
And Haverhill reached ; to whom, from governors even,
Came generous gifts and thankful plaudits given.
And there they rest. In beauty bright, to-day,
Stand signal monuments to Duston's clay.
Her noble deeds are held in high renown,
Sacred like heirloom in that ancient town;
And long as Merrimac's bright waters glide
Shall stand that mother's fame, still by its side.
368 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
REV. BENJA. ROLFE.
On the 29th of August, 1708, at break of day, a
force of two hundred and fifty French and Indians
from Canada, after devastating other villages, came
past the frontier garrisons undiscovered, and were
first seen near the pond in Haverhill, marching two
and two. John Keezer saw them first of all, near
his house. He ran into the village and alarmed the
inhabitants by firing a gun near the meeting-house.
The enemy came down with yells and "a sound
like whistling."
Mrs. Smith, the first person seen, as she took
towards a garrison, they shot. The foremost party
proceeded to the house of Rev. Mr. Eolfe; and
although guarded by three soldiers, his family were
awakened by the war-whoop.
Mr. Rolfe leaped from his bed, placed himself
against the door which they were trying to force
in, and called to his soldiers for assistance, but they
had fled like sheep. The tribe fired bullets through
the door. Mr. Rolfe, wounded, fled from the back
door ; the Indians following, killed him with toma-
hawks. Soon finding Mrs. Rolfe, they killed her and
murdered her infant against a stone at the door.
Hugar, a negro slave, ran away with two of the
children six and eight years of age hid them under
tubs in a cellar and thereby their lives were saved.
CHAPTER XXII.
THOMAS DUSTON.
Thomas Duston's Bravery. Saves his Children. Poetry to his
Praise by Mrs. Sarah J. Hale. Order to Dustou in his Garrison.
Story of Joseph Whittaker. Petition of Thomas Duston.
Captivity of Hannah Bradley. Her Return. After Six Years,
her Second Capture. Her Long Sufferings. Birth and Slaughter
of her Infant. Two Years a Slave to a Frenchman in Canada.
Her Husband finds and redeems her. Their lie turn to Boston
and to Haverhill. How the Indian Battle-Axe fell Heavily upon
the New-England Mothers. A Word to the Praise of their Faith
and Valor.
is an axiom commonly conceded, that great
occasions as when the lives of men or the
well-being of a republic are endangered
operate to bring forth the brightest exam-
ples of truth, of self-sacrifice, and of val-
iant heroism.
Hence many modest, unpretending hearts, men
and mothers, who else would have remained forever
retired and unknown, sprang forth as against the
invasions of barbarism in New England, and
have left to us and to the world valuable enduring
legacies.
369
370 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Among these instances of bravery may be
reckoned the gallant feat of Thomas Duston,
husband of Hannah, in protecting the lives of
his and her children at the massacre in Haver-
hill.
This hero, as is supposed, emigrated from a family
at Dover, N.H., where it is said there were many of
that name.
At Haverhill he seems to have been a man of
considerable note and influence ; was a constable,
a maker of bricks, and also of almanacs on rainy
days, as they say ; and was the keeper of a garrison
at his new brick house, his headquarters at the
homestead having been consumed.
His sagacious effort in saving his seven children
from the cruel grasp of savages on that terrible day
when his little Martha was slain, his house burnt to
ashes, and his wife carried away captive, was indeed
praiseworthy. It has been poetized by Mrs. S. J.
Hale. Her poetry runs thus :
THE FATHER'S CHOICE.
Now fly as flies the rushing wind I
Urge, urge thy rushing steed !
The savage yell is fierce behind ;
And life is on thy speed.
THOMAS DUSTON. 371
And from those dear ones make thy choice !
The group he wildly eyed ;
When " Father ! " burst from every side,
And " Child ! " his heart replied.
There's one will prattle on his knee,
Or slumber on his bicr^t ;
And one whose joys of infancy
Are still by smiles expressed.
They feel no fear while he is near ;
He'll shield them from the foe :
But, oh ! his ear must thrill to hear
Their shriekings should he go.
In vain his quivering lips would speak ;
No words his thoughts allow :
There's a burning tear upon his cheek,
Death's marble on his brow.
And twice he smote his clinched hands ;
Then bade his children fly,
And turned ; and even that savage band
Cowered at his wrathful eye.
Swift as the lightning winged with death
Flashed forth the quivering flame :
Their finest warrior bows beneath
The father's deadly aim.
372 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
Ambition goads the conquerer on ;
Hate points the murderer's brand :
But love and duty these alone
Can nerve the good man's hand.
Not the wild cries that rend the skies
His heart of purpose move :
He saves his children, or he dies
The sacrifice of love.
The hero may resign the field,
The coward murderer flee :
He cannot fear, he will not yield,
That strikes, sweet Love ! for thee.
They come ! they come ! He heeds no cry
Save the soft child-like wail :
" O father, save ! " - " My children, fly ! "
Were mingled on the gale.
And firmer still he drew his breath,
And sterner flashed his eye,
As fast he hurled the leaden death,
Still shouting, " Children, fly ! "
No shadow on his brow appeared,
Nor tremor shook his frame,
Save when at intervals he heard
Some trembler lisp his name.
THOMAS DUSTON. 873
In vain the foe those fiends unchained
Like famished tigers chafe :
The sheltered roof is neared, is gained ;
All, all the dear ones safe !
This Indian massacre was a terrible blow to
Haverhill. " Some of its most useful citizens and
promising youth, as already appears, were among the
slain ; and, well knowing that they were daily and
hourly liable to similar attacks, it needs no stretch
of imagination to declare that fear seized the
hearts of the inhabitants.
" The most vigorous measures were speedily taken
to prevent, if possible, another similar bloody onset :
guards were stationed in many of the houses ; and
the brick house of Thomas Duston, that had been
partly finished the preceding year, not being occu-
pied, was ordered to be garrisoned."
The following is a copy of the order to Thomas
Duston when appointed to command it :
ORDER.
u T> Th'tma* Duston, upon the Settlement of Garrisons.
"APRIL 5 V 1697. You being appointed master of
the garrison at your house, you are hereby in his
Majesty's name required to see that a good watch is
874 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
kept at your garrison, both by night and by day, by
those persons hereafter named, who are to be under
your command and inspection in building or repair-
ing your garrison ; and, if any person refuse or
neglect their duty, you are accordingly required to
make return of the same, under your hand, to the
committee of militia in Haverhill. 4 The persons
appointed are as followeth : Josiah Heath, sen.,
Josiah Heath, jun., Joseph Bradley, John Heath,
Joseph Kingsbury, and Thomas Kingsbury.
" By order of the committee of militia.
" SAMUEL AYEB, Captain"
Mr. DUSTON was a constable in Haverhill ; and,
for the times, was largely engaged in brick-making.
The business, however, was attended with no little
danger, on account of the Indians, who were almost
continually lurking in the vicinity, watching an
opportunity for a successful attack. The clay-pits
were only a short distance from the garrison ; but
the enemy were so bold, that a file of soldiers con-
stantly guarded those who brought the clay from the
pits to the yard near the house, where it was made
into bricks.
There is a story of Joseph Whittaker, one of this
guard ; and it may be well to tell it.
JOSEPH WHITTAKEB. 375
THE STORY.
JOSEPH was young. He had become deeply in
love with one Mary Whittaker, who was then being
protected within the garrison. Joseph had struggled
long and manfully to escape the silken meshes, but
in vain. At last, summoning all his courage, lie
improved a favorable opportunity to make a declara-
tion of his passion and purpose. But ah ! most
unfortunate Joseph ! Mary did not heed him. He
pleaded, he entreated, he implored, but all to no pur-
pose. Mary declared most emphatically that she
would not have Joe Whittaker. Thereupon his
blood was up. He told her, that, unless she accepted
his offer, he would jump into the well. But Mary
avowed that she wouldn't. Joe hastened from the
garrison, seized a log that lay near by, and plunged it
into the dark, deep waters. Mary heard the plunge,
and her heart relented. Remembering her love, and
with her hair streaming in the night-wind, she rushed
to the well, crying in the agony of her heart, " O
Joseph, Joseph ! if you are in the land of the living,
I will have you."
Joseph, immediately emerging from his hiding-
place, fell into her arms, exclaiming, "I will take you
at your word ! "
The two Whittakers were soon afterwards made
376 HEROISM OF HANNAII DUSTON.
one ; and, from the records of Haverhill, it does not
appear that the Whittakers were in any way dimin-
ished by that operation.
On the 21st of April, after a little rest from- the
fatigue of her wearisome captivity, Mrs. Duston
with ner husband and two captive companions were
in Boston. Cotton Mather then and there wrote
from their own account of it the entire outlines of
this tragedy ; while the ten scalps, the gun, and the
tomahawk were still there as witnesses also to the
truthfulness of the narrative. Duston at the same
time presented to the General Assembly, then in ses-
sion, a petition as follows :
PETITION.
"To the Right Honorable the Lieut. -Governor, and
the Great and General Assembly of the Province
of Massachusetts Bay, now convened in Boston.
" The humble Petition of Thomas Duston of
Haverhill sheweth: That the wife of ye petitioner
(with one Mary Neff) hath, in her late captivity
among the Barbarous Indians, been disposed &
assisted by Heaven to do an extraordinary action, in
the just slaughter of so many of the Barbarians, as
would by the law of the Province which a few
months ago would have entitled the actors unto con-
siderable recompense from the Publick.
HANNAH BRADLEY. 377
" That tho' the [ #ant] of that good law [war-
rants] no claims to any such consideration from the
Publick ; yet your petitioner humbly that the
merit of the action still remains the same ; & it
seems a matter of universall desire thro' the whole
Province that it should not pass unrecompensed.
And that your petitioner having lost his estate m
that calamity wherein his wife was carried into her
captivity, render him the fitter object for what con-
sideration the Publick Bounty shall judge proper for
hath been herein done ; of some consequence not
only unto the persons more immediately delivered,
but also unto the generall interest.
" Wherefore, humbly requesting a favorable Regard
on this occasion, your petitioner shall pray, &c.
"THOMus DU(R)STUN."
On the 8th of June the House of Representatives
" voted that the above-named Thomas Durstan, in
behalf of his wife, shall be allowed and paid out of
the publick Treasury Twenty-five pounds, and Mary
Neff the sum of Twelve pounds Ten shillings, and the
young man (named Samuel Lenerson) concerned in
the same action the like sum of Twelve pounds Teu
shillings."
HANNAH BRADLEY.
Contemporaneously with the capture of Hannah
378 HEROISM OP HANNAH DUSTON.
Duston and Mary Neff, on the same 15th of March,
1697, Hannah Bradley was also taken and carried
into captivity. She, as a captive, followed Mrs.
Duston, and in the same trail constituted one of the
number at the command of the same savages, until
they arrived near and opposite to the Contoo-
cook ; when she with one branch of the tribe took a
different route, and camped at another Indian home
not far away.
Hannah Bradley, however, afterwards escaped, and
returned home to Haverhill, probably the same year.
In 1703, six years later, the same Mrs. Bradley
was again captured by the savages, and at this time,
as appears, remained nearly two years in captivity.
In the mean time, she was sold by the Indians to the
French in Canada, who were hostile to our English
settlers.
Joseph Bradley the husband, at Haverhill, hearing
of his wife in Canada, started off on that then long
journey, and persevered until he found, purchased,
obtained, and brought her back to Haverhill.
Of this Myrick says, " On that first general attack
in that war of Queen Anne's time, Aug. 10, 1703,
five hundred French and Indians ravaged the settle-
ments from Casco to Wells, and killed and captured
one hundred and thirty persons."
He says, " On the 8th of February then next fol-
MBS. BBADLEY'S SECOND CAPTURE. 879
lowing, a party of six Indians attacked the garrison
of Joseph Bradley, which was unhappily in an
unguarded state : even the sentinels had left theii
stations, and their gates open. As appears, Bradley
lived on the parsonage road, near the northerly brook.
"The Indians approached cautiously, and were
rushing into the open gates before they were dis-
covered. Jonathan Johnson, a sentinel, who was
standing in the house, shot at and wounded the fore-
most ; and Mrs. Bradley, who had a kettle of boiling
soap over the fire, seized her ladle, and, filling it
with the steaming liquid, discharged it on his tawny
pate, a soap-ori&c that brought on a sleep from
which he never awoke.
" The rest of the party immediately rushed for-
ward, killed Johnson, and took captive the intrepid
woman and some others.
44 The Indians then, fearing lest they should soon
be attacked by a stronger party, commenced a hasty
retreat, aiming for Canada ; which was then a place
of resort often whenever they had been so success-
ful as to take a number of prisoners. Mrs. Bradley
was in delicate circumstances, and in slender health :
still she received no kindness from her savage con-
querers. No situation of woman would ever protect
her from their demon-like cruelties.
44 The weather was cold the wind blew keenly over
380 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
the hills, and the ground was covered with a deep
snow ; yet they obliged her to travel on foot, and
to carry a heavy burden, too large, even, for the
strength of man.
" In this manner they proceeded through the wilder-
ness ; and Mrs. Bradley informed her family after
she returned, that, for many days in succession, she
subsisted on nothing but bits of skin, ground-nuts,
the bark of trees, wild onions, and lily-roots.
While in this situation, with none but savages for
her assistants and protectors, and in the midst of a
thick forest, she gave birth to a child. The Indians
then, as if they were not satisfied with persecuting
the mother, extended their cruelties to the innocent
and almost friendless babe.
" For the want of proper attention, it was sickly,
and probably troublesome ; and, when it cried, these
remorseless fiends showed their pity by throwing
embers into its mouth.
" They told the mother, that, if she would permit
them to baptize it in their manner, they would suffer
it to live. Unwilling to deny their request, lest it
should enrage their fierce and diabolical passions,
and hoping that the little innocent would receive
kindness at their hands, she complied with their
request. They took it from her, and baptized it by
gashing its forehead with their knives.
MES. BRADLEY SOLD. 381
" The feelings of the mother, when the child was
returned to her with its smooth and white forehead
gashed with a knife, and its warm blood coursing
down its cheeks, can be better imagined than de-
scribed.
" Soon as Mrs. Bradley had regained sufficient
strength to travel, the Indians again took up their
march for Canada. But, before their arrival to their
place of rendezvous, she had occasion to go a little
distance from the party ; and, when she returned, she
beheld a sight shocking to a mother and to every
feeling of humanity. Her child, which was born in
sorrow and nursed in the lap of affliction, and on
which she doted with maternal fondness, was piked
upon a pole. Its excruciating agonies were over ; it
could no more feel the tortures of the merciless
savages ; and its mother could only weep over its
memory."
HANNAH BRADLEY WITH THE FRENCH.
44 Soon after, they proceeded to Canada, where Mrs.
Bradley was sold to the French for eighty livres.
" She informed her friends after her return, that she
was treated kindly by the family in which she lived.
It was her custom morning and evening, when she
milked her master's cow, to take with her a crust of
bread, soak it with milk, and eat it : with this, and
382 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
with the rations allowed her by her master, she eked
out a tolerable existence.
" In March, 1705, her husband, hearing that she
was in the possession of the French, started for Can-
ada with the intention of redeeming her.
" He travelled on foot, accompanied only by a dog
that drew a small sled, in which he carried a bag of
snuff as a present from the governor of this prov-
ince to the governor of Canada. When he arrived
he immediately redeemed her, and set sail from Mon-
treal for Boston, which they reached in safety, and
from thence travelled to Haverhill."
THEY TRIED TO TAKE HER A THIRD TIME.
In 1706, " during the summer of that year," Myrick
says, " a small party of Indians again visited the gar-
rison of Joseph Bradley ; and it is said that he, his
wife and children, and a hired man, were the only
persons in it at the time. It was in the night : the
moon shone brightly ; and they could be easily seen
silently and cautiously approaching. Mr. Bradley
armed himself, also his wife and man, each with
a gun, and such of his children as could shoulder
one.
" Mrs. Bradley, supposing that they had come pur-
posely for her, told her husband that she would
rather be killed than be again taken.
HER COMPANIONS IN CAPTIVITY. 383
" The Indians rushed upon the garrison, and en-
deavored to beat down the door. They succeeded
in pushing it partly open ; and, when one of the
Indians began to crowd himself through the open-
ing, Mrs. Bradley, firing upon him, shot him
dead.
" The rest of the party, seeing their companion fall,
desisted from their purpose, and hastily retreated."
The story of Mrs. Bradley's captivity as a compan-
ion of Hannah Duston is here told briefly, perhaps
imperfectly, how she was taken a second time,
carried to Canada, and sold as a slave ; how during
that time she had seen her own dear infant slain by
the tribe; how amid Indian exultations she had
seen it piked upon a pole ; and how, after her deliv-
erance from bondage, a third attack being made upon
her husband's garrison, she arose in her heroism,
shot the leader, and thereby put to flight the stealthy,
cowardly invaders. The experiences of her gallant
little son, who was indeed her senior in captivity,
will appear in our next chapter.
From all this it must be seen how sadly in that
day, and with what crushing weight, the Indian bat-
tle-axe* at noonday and at midnight fell upon the
women and children of New England.
A brief poem from my " Merrimack," page 35,
given on the following page, may be of interest :
884: HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
WOMAN IN WAR.
From war-whoops wild, and earth in crimson glow,
A wail goes up, a note of woman's woe.
Fierce vengeance tempts her singleness of heart,
Her heroism true, her guileless art,
Her purity, her own maternal care ;
Her faith in God, that never knows despair ;
Her love indeed, that triumphs most and best
In trial sad, when most by danger pressed ;
Whose truth endures when fails our vital breath,
Inspires fond hope, and smooths the bed of death.
Such were the hearts, whose wails went up afar,
That brooked the fury of King William's war ;
Whose just protection savages defied,
And dearest hopes of house and home denied.
Around her hearth from hidden ambush springs
The lurking foe, and death with horror brings.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE TWO BOYS.
Their Captivity. Their Treatment by the Tribes. They learn the
Indian Language. Their Schemes. Their Escape at Midnight.
They hide in a Hollow Log. The Tribes with Hounds pursue
them. The Boys appease the Dogs. They remain undiscov-
ered. Advance mostly by Night. They lose their Way. Sub-
sist on Hoots. Are Nine Days in the Forest homeward. Their
Arrival at Saco. They fall Sick. Isaac plods hij Way Home.
Joseph's Father finds and takes him to Haverhill. General
Court grants Land to Isaac's Mother; also to Joseph Neff, Son of
Mary. Mrs. Bradley 's Deposition. Descendants from the Cap-
tives.
N the fall of 1695, as history has it, a party
of Indians appeared in the northerly part of
Haverhill ; where they surprised and made
prisoners of Isaac, son of Hannah and
Joseph Bradley, aged fifteen years, and
Joseph Whittaker, aged eleven, who were at work
in the open fields near Joseph Bradley 's house. The
Indians instantly retreated with their prisoners,
A
without further violence ; and pursued their journey
through the forest until they arrived at their homes
on the shores of the Winnipiseogee. Isaac, says tra-
j was rather small in stature, but full of vigor-,
385
38G HEKOISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
very active, and possessed more shrewdness than
most boys of that age ; but Joseph was larger and
less active. Immediately after their arrival at the
lake, the two boys were held in an Indian family
consisting of the man, his squaw, and two or three
children. While they were there they became ac-
quainted with the Indian language ; and learned
from their conversations with other Indians that
they intended to carry them to Canada the following
spring. This discovery afflicted them. If such
design were carried into execution, they knew
there would be but little chance for their escape ;
and from that time the active mind of Isaac was
continually planning a mode to effect it. A deep
and unbroken wilderness, pathless mountains, and
swollen and almost impassable rivers, lay between
them and their homes ; and the boys feared, if they
were carried still farther northward, that they should
never again hear the kind voice of a father, or feel
the fervent kiss of their then afflicted mother, or the
fond embrace of a sister. They knew, that should
they die in a strange land, among savages, the're
would be no friend there to place the green turf
upon their graves, and no fond one near to announce
their fate or to treasure up their memories.
Such were the melancholy musings of the young
boys: and they determined to escape before their
THE TWO BOYS. 887
master started them for Canada. The winter came
with its storms of snow ; the spring followed with its
early buds, its flowers, and its pleasant south wind :
still they were prisoners. Within that period Isaac
was brought nigh to the grave : a burning fever
came upon him, and for many days he languished ;
but by the care of a squaw, his mistress, usually
kind, he recovered. And yet he felt a strong desire
to escape, which increased ; and in April he matured
a plan for that purpose. He appointed a night in his
own mind when to escape ; and, on the day previous-
ly, he made known to his companion his intentions.
Joseph expressed a desire also to escape : to this
Isaac said, "I'm afraid you won't wake." Joseph
promised that he would, and at night they laid down
in their master's wigwam with the tribe. Joseph
soon fell asleep, and began to snore lustily ; but
there was no sleep for Isaac : his strong desire to
escape, the fear of a failure in the attempt, and of
the punishment that would be inflicted if he did not
succeed, and the danger, hunger, and fatigue that
awaited him, all moved his imagination, and kept
bleep far from his eyelids. His daring attempt was
covered with danger, yet his resolution remained
unehaken. At length the midnight hour came, and
its holy stillness rested on the surrounding forest.
At :hat moment he slowly and cautiously arose. All
888 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
was silent there save the deep-drawn breath of the
savage sleepers. The voice of the wind was scarcely
atidible on the hills ; and the moon at times would
shine brightly through the scattered clouds, and sil-
rer the broad lake, as though the robe of an angel
had fallen on its sleeping waters. Isaac stepped
boftly and tremblingly over their tawny bodies, lest
they should awake : he secured his master's fire-
works, and a portion of his moose-meat and bread ;
these he carried to a little distance from the wigwam,
and concealed them in a clump of bushes. He then
returned, and bending over Joseph, who had all this
time been snoring in his sleep, carefully shook him.
Joseph, more asleep than awake, turned partly over
and asked aloud, " What do yyu want ? " This blun-
der alarmed Isaac ; and he instantly laid down in his
proper place, and again began to snore as loudly as
any of them. Soon as his alarm had somewhat sub-
sided, he again arose, and listened long for the heavy
breath of the sleepers. Perceiving them all asleep,
he resolved to escape without again attempting to
awake Joseph, for fear of his indiscretion. He then
arose, and, stepping softly out of the wigwam, walked
slowly and cautiously from it until he had nearly
reached the place where his provisions were con-
cealed, when he heard footsteps approaching behind
him. With a beating heart he looked backward.
THE TWO BOYS. 389
and saw Joseph, who had aroused, and, finding him
absent, had followed him.
They then secured the fire-works and provisions,
and, without' chart or compass, struck into the woods
in a southerly direction, aiming for the distant
settlement of Haverhill. They ran at the top of
their speed until daylight appeared, when they con-
cealed themselves in a hollow log, deeming it too
dangerous to continue their journey in the daytime.
Their master and tribe, in the morning, finding their
prisoners had escaped, aided by their dogs, pursued
them in haste.
The dogs, taking their track, in a short time came
up to the boys in the log, made a stand, and began
to bark.
The boys trembled, fearing a re-capture, and death
at the edge of the tomahawk. In this situation they
knew not what to do, but spoke kindly to them.
The dogs, knowing their voices, ceased barking, and
wagged their tails with delight. They then gave
them their moose-meat, which the dogs instantly
seized and devoured. While they were thus con-
cealed, trembling and meditating, the Indians made
their appearance, and passed near to the log in which
they were concealed ; the dogs, being quiet, were un-
noticed, and immediately followed on after the tribes.
With breathless anxiety the boys followed them with
390 HEBOISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
their eyes as they advanced from their sight ; and
hope again revived within their bosoms. They lay
in the log during the day, and at night pursued their
journey, taking a different route from the one trav-
elled by the Indians. Their bread was soon gone :
after that, they subsisted on roots and buds. On the
second day they again concealed themselves, but
afterwards travelled night and day, without resting.
On that day, towards night, they luckily killed a
pigeon and a turtle, a part of which they ate raw,
not daring to build a fire, lest they should be dis-
covered. On their way they subsisted on fragments
of these, and on such roots as they happened to
find ; continued their journey night and day as fast
as their wearied legs would carry them. On the
sixth day they struck an Indian path, and followed
it till night, when they suddenly came within sight
of an Indian encampment ; saw their savage enemy
seated around the fire, and distinctly heard their
voices. This alarmed them exceedingly. They pre-
cipitately fled from it, fearing lest they should be
discovered and pursued; then turning, all night
long they retraced their steps. The morning came,
and found them seated side by side on the bank of a
small stream, their feet torn and covered with blood,
and both sadly meditating upon their misfortunes.
Thus far their hearts had been hopeful; but now
THE TWO BOYS.
their hopes had given way to despair. They thought
of their homes, of the green trees under which they
had played, of the hearth around which they bad
often gathered with brothers and sisters. They
thought of these, and of more ; still they were unwill-
ing to yield. The philosophy of Isaac taught him
that the stream must eventually lead to a large body
of water : and, after refreshing themselves with a
few roots, they again commenced their journey, and
followed down the stream. Thus they continued
onward. On the eighth morning Joseph found him-
self completely exhausted; his limbs were weak,
and his mind was lost in despair. Isaac endeavored
to encourage him to proceed; he dug roots for
him, and brought water to quench his thirst, but all
in vain. He laid himself down on the bank of the
stream, in the shady deep forest, there to die un-
sought, unseen. Isaac left him to his fate ; and, with
a bleeding heart, slowly and wearily pursued his
journey. He had travelled but a short distance
when he came to a newly-raised building. Rejoiced
at his good fortune, and believing that inhabitants
were nigh, he immediately retraced his steps, and
soon found Joseph in the same place, told him what
he had seen, talked very encouragingly, and, after
rubbing his limbs a while, induced him to stand
on his feet. They then started together, Isaac now
392 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
leading him by the hand, now carrying him on his
back; and thus, with limbs tired with travelling,
with bodies reduced to skeletons, they arrived at Saco
Fort in the course of the next night.
Thus, on the ninth night after travelling through
an immense forest, subsisting on a little bread, on
buds and berries, a raw turtle, and a pigeon, and
without seeing a fire or the face of a friend Isaac,
soon as he regained his strength, started for Haver-
hill, and arrived safely at his father's dwelling-house,
who had heard nothing from him since his capture,
never expecting to see him again. But Joseph had
more to suffer. As soon as he reached the fort his
fever increased upon him ; and there, for a long time,
he remained confined to his bed. His father, ob-
taining intelligence by Isaac, went to Saco, and, as
soon as circumstances would admit, conveyed his
sick son safely to his home in Haverhill.
MRS. BRADLEY AGAIN.
Forty years farther along in our annals, to wit,
in 1738, we again hear of the same Hannah Brad-
ley, who on the same day with Hannah Duston, in
1697, had then for the first time been carried into
captivity.
A GENEROUS REWARD. 393
AT THE GENERAL COURT.
That year (1738) compensation was awarded her
at that session, on the account of her suffering as a
captive, twice taken, and pursued a third time.
It was the grant of two farms in Methuen, which
were laid out to her by Richard Hazen, surveyor,
May 29, 1739 ; the one containing one hundred and
sixty acres, bordering on the westerly line of Haver-
hill, and the other ninety acres, which extended
along the easterly line of Dracut.
MARY NEFF AGAIN.
In June, 1739, JOSEPH, a son of the same Mary,
petitioned " the Great and General Court " for a grant
of land in consideration of his mother's captivity,
and of her services in assisting Hannah Duston " in
killing divers Indians ; " alleging that she was " kept a
prisoner for a considerable time" and that " on their
return home, they passed through the utmost hazard
of their lives, and suffered distressing want, being
almost starved before they could return to their
dwellings."
On this petition Joseph was supported by the
same Mrs. Bradley. .
894 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
AN AFFIDAVIT.
" The deposition of the widow HANNAH BRADLEY of
Haverhill, of full age, who testifieth and saith that about
forty years past the said Hannah, with the widow Mary
Neff, were taken prisoners by the Indians, and carried*
together into captivity ; and above Pennacook the deponent
was by the Indians forced to travel farther than the rest
of the captives.
" And, the next night but one, there came to us one
squaw, who said that Hannah Duston and the aforesaid
MARY NEFF assisted in killing the Indians of her wig-
wam, except herself and a boy, herself escaping very nar-
rowly, showing to myself and others seven wounds, as she
said with a hatchet, on her head, which wounds were given
her when the rest were killed."
" And further saith not."
her
" HANNAH X BRADLEY."
mark
Signed and sworn to at Haverhill, " June 28, 1739."
" JOSHUA BAGLEY," J. P.
DESCENDANTS.
The descendants of these several captives whose
brief biographies have been given, with the excep-
tion of Leonardson (if he had any) are quite numer-
ous in New England.
HANNAH DUSTON has many, among wh>m are
DESCENDANTS OF THE CAPTIVES. 895
Jonas B. Aiken, Walter Aiken, and F. H. Aiken, of
Franklin, N.H., all men of wealth, noble and gener-
ous, and all of much use and profit in this genera-
tion.
MARY NEFF has also many descendants, among
whom was the late Horatio G. F. Corliss, a distin-
guished lawyer of Lowell, Mass.; also Mr. John L.
Corliss of the same city, who now resides on or near
the spot upon which Passaconaway, when he had
become old, in 1660, addressed the Pennacooks at
Paw tucket Falls on the Merrimack. Another descen-
dant of Mary is Charles Corliss, Esq., of Haverhill,
who now holds the inheritance where Mary was born,
and still lives in the same house ; which, being fitted
up, constitutes a kitchen to his modern mansion.
HANNAH BRADLEY'S descendants are to be found
in New England almost everywhere. Prolific like
Mrs. Duston, she left a numerous progeny ; and from
her the world has been blest with the best blood of
a noble race, contributing much of life and stability
to the various branches of New England enterprise.
Among the many of them are Messrs. Ira Bradley
and Son, formerly of Haverhill, now of Boston, far
known to the book fraternity, and for these many
years strong in wealth, truthful, faithful, and val-
iant.
It may here be observed that her son ISAAC, the
396 HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON.
boy, was a comrade in captivity with Joseph Whit-
taker in 1695 (as may be seen on page 385), the
same Joseph who afterwards, in Duston's garrison,
at Haverhill, most adroitly obtained the hand of the
heroic Mary Whittakef.
WONALANCET.
This chief never proved unfriendly to the English.
His home was at Wamesit, and when on May 3,
1676, Thomas Kimball, of Bradford, Mass., was killed
by the hostile tribes, and his wife and five children
were seized and held in captivity, it is recorded,
that "though Mrs. Kimball and her infant child had
twice been condemned to death by the Indians, with
fires ready kindled to burn them, they were generously
saved by the interposition of Wonalancet. * To this
sachem it was that Governor Leverett, on October
1, 1675, sent a communication in effect desiring his
influence and aid to a treaty of peace in that dread
day of conflicts, by Lieutenant Henchman, and asso-
ciated with him as representatives in behalf of the
English, Gookin and Eliot the apostle. But this
attempt proved fruitless. Wonalancet, having retired
from Wainesit, far back into the wilderness, was not
found; but at the death of Philip, returned.
* Drake's American Indians, Book III, p. 97.
Kilt FRANCIS miAKK. FI ItST WHITE MAN IN NEW ENGLAND. Frontispiece.
LIFE AND LABORS
OF
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE
AMONG THE
INDIAN NATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND,
TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OK THK
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
BY COL. ROBERT BOODEY CAVERLY,
AUTHOR OF THE " GENEALOGY OF THE CAVERLY FAMILY," " ANNALS
OF THE BOODEYS," POETICAL, DRAMATICAL,
AND OTHER WORKS.
VOL. II.
BOSTON :
JAMES H. EARLE,
178 WASHINGTON STREET.
1882.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the j'car 1881, \ty
ROBERT Booi>Er CAVEULV,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
the
REVEREND CLERGY OF NEW ENGLAND,
AND TO THE
fetbcr aub gibbanccb ^iubtui in % JSabbatlj School or Cjjurd
THESE
LESSONS OF LAW AND LIFE, HISTORIC,
ARE INSCRIBED.
Faithfully, Thine,
ROBT. B. CAVERLY.
CENTRALVILLE, Feb. 22, 1882.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, FIRST WHITE MAN ON A NEW ENG-
LAND SHORE (Chronology: Drake, 158G; Pilgrims,
1620; John Eliot, the Apostle, 1631) . . . Frontispiece
DEATH OF KING PHILIP 70
PRISONERS OF WAR ON THE WAY TO DEER ISLAND ... 78
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The ancestor (remote), Sir William De Aliot 7
Landing of the ancestor with William the Conqueror 7,8
Eliot descendants, Lord Ileathfleld, and others 8
Sir John Eliot in Parliament 9
Sir John Eliot in Court 10
Sir John Eliot in the Tower his death there 10, 11
Boyhood of our Apostle at school 11
The Apostle and his brothers Philip and Jacob, Puritans in England, 11
Their trip to the Tower to visit Uncle John, the martjT 11
England's jewels, crowns, sceptres, etc 13
Description of the Tower a bird's-eye view 12
Up the stairway tools of torture, etc 13
Inscriptions, offences, and cruelties 13, 15
Statuary and weapons of war 14
Royalty in the climax of its conflicts and troubles 17
The Apostle and his brothers at the dungeon of Sir John 19
What the brothers saw and heard in the Tower 20
What the brothers saw and heard, leaving the Tower 21
The brothers returning to the ship " Lyon " 22
The Apostle and his brothers voyage to the New World 22, 24
Lessons from the great and good 25
The Apostle in New England, his force of character life and death.. 25, 26
England's intolerance Eliot's mission and position 27, 28
Indian nations in New England 28, 29
Eliot's apparel his prospective field 30
Location of the tribes 30, 31
Eliot's fidelity his purpose unwavering 32
6 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Troubles in England its conflicts 34
Oliver Cromwell kept there a protector 35
Eliot's republican book suppressed 35
The regicide judges three escape to Boston 36
Eliot and King Charles II republican government 37
Eliot's order rulers law teachers the civil power, etc 3S-41
Eliot's disciples he takes courage 42
His first Indian sermon at Nonantum 43, 44
Praying Indians, number of infidelity sunshine and cloud 45, 46
Philip's war anticipated Eliot fearful a similitude 46, 47
Murder of Sassamon foreshadows war 48, 39
Trial of the Indian murderers 49, 50
Chapter III a recapitulation 50, 51
Eliot's letters to King Charles II 51-55
His progress care for schools his rulers and ministers 55, 56
Convention of Sagamores at Natick churches, covenants, etc 57, 58
Eliot's resistance to a proposed war against the Missaconogs 59-61
Indian stations Eliot at Pawtucket Falls Passacona way 61, 02
Up to 1674 Eliot's progress war 65
The dread alternative 67
James the Printer, and Mrs. Rowlandson 67, 08
Job Nesutan, and Old Jethro 69
King Philip slain the sham fight 70
Eliot opposes slavery 72
Eliot again at Wamesit his sermon Wonolancet 03, 04, 75
Desperadoes trouble Eliot cruel death of squaw sachem 73
Extermination of races avowed on either side 75
Conflagration and battle at Wamesit 75
Philip's forces as against the settlers the flames how fed 75-78
Eliot escorted to Nashua his friends testimonials 79, 80
Anna Mountfort Eliot her life, her force, faith, and death 81-84
Eliot in old age his charity, manners, and his departure 84-80
Decline among the Indian churches after his decease 88
Carnal conflicts diminished, but long continued 89
Captivity of Jane McCrea (poetized) 89-91
Death of Chocorua, and his curse (poetized) 91-98
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
INTRODUCTORY.
BEFORE advancing to obtain Lessons from John Eliot, the
Apostle, we turn to his ancestry. There is no test, in bringing
to light the merits of a man, better or more conclusive than to
exemplify the blood that moves him. True it shall be found,
that the life-current which fed the Evangelist had flowed auspi-
ciously in England through many a successive channel for more
than seven hundred years, leaping forth and meandering in all
Its life-inspiring elements, and from the pure original fountains
of good-will, social gladness, and progressive manhood.
SIR WILLIAM.
When William the Conqueror, in the year 106G, with his army,
in seven hundred ships, then landing on the shores of England,
at Pevency, he had on board an Eliot, not an apostle, but the
remote ancestor of our New England evangelist. It was no
other than Sir William De Allot, a military officer under the
great Conqueror, then valiant, and then in high command.
History bears record that the landing of that vast army was
made without resistance ; that the archers landed first, that they
wore short habits, and had their hair cut close ; that the horse-
men next followed, wearing steel head-pieces, tunics, and
cuirasses, and with long, heavy spears, and straight, two-edged
swords ; and then, to the shore, next came the workmen of the
army, pioneers, carpenters, and smiths, who unloaded on the
strand, piece by piece, prepared beforehand, three wooden
castles already framed.
8 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
The Conqueror being the last of all to touch the English
shore, in the setting of his foot upon it, made a false step, and
fell in the mud upon his face ; at which there went up a mur-
muring cry, "God preserve us! God preserve us! This is a
bad sign ! " But the duke, rising to his feet (with hands full
of mud), cried out, "See, seigniors! I have seized England
with both hands ! See, seigniors ! All is our own ! "
Then one of the men, running forward, and snatching a hand-
ful of thatch from the eaves of a hut, turned to the duke and
exclaimed to him, " Sire, come forward, and receive seizen of
this land ! I give you seizen ! This land is yours ! " The duke
answered aloud, " I accept it! I accept it! May God be with
us!"
Thus landed the first Eliot, eight hundred years ago, on
England's shores, a valiant officer, in the midst of an army of
conquerors. According to history, Sir William, our Eliot's
remote ancestor, then and there addressing the duke, and
swearing fidelity, declared that *' at the hazard of his life, he
would maintain the rights of his lord, the Conqueror, to the
vast sovereignty of England."
For this avowed fidelity, the Conqueror at once added to the
Eliot coat-of-arms a canton (on a field of azure), an arm and
sword as a crest, with the motto, "Per saxa, per iynes ; fortiter
et recte" " Over rocks, through fires; bravely and honorably."
Ever since the Norman conquest, England's places of honor
and trust have constantly called them out. Especially since the
reign of James the First (1625) the Eliot name stands on the
record highly honored. Independent of royal appointments,
generalships, and other high places, no less than thirty Eliots,
both from England and Scotland, represent the realm as mem-
bers of Parliament.
DESCENDANTS.
From that noble knighthood have descended Maj.-Gen. George
Augustus Eliot, honored as Lord Heathfield ; Sir Gilbert Eliot,
the Earl of Minto ; and most, if not all, the many thousands of
distinguished Eliots who have since lived in England, including
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 9
those who, within the last two hundred and fifty years, have
landed and lived on these our New England Chores.
And proud may the race b^, that the same heroic blood that
moved one of the old conquerors, is fruitful of inspiration in
the veins of the generous Eliots in this our day. For more than
fourscore years, it came, coursed and moved the Apostle, in-
spiring life and light and love divine, on his mission to the
heathen tribes of the wilderness.
Aside from the Eliot ancestry in England, now unrcmembered,
unknown, in spite of oblivion, which in stealth creeps in, over-
whelming the generations of earth, the Eliot name everywhere
still adorns the English annals.
SIR JOHN ELIOT.
This noble knight, born in 1,">90, was a member of Parliament
from Newport, and afterwards representing Cornwall, was a
leader in the House in the latter part of the reign of James II
and the first part of Charles I. Repeatedly he had made himself
prominent in opposition to the king's assumed prerogative ; and
finally, among other things, he strenuously led off in opposition
to the levying of tonnage and poundage by the king himself,
without consent of the House of Commons.*
Being an active man, and a decided enemy to favorites and
their encroachments, Sir John was appointed by the House a
manager in the impeachment trial of the Duke of Buckingham.
By reason of his action in this, he, with his associate Digges
and others, was committed to the Tower by the king, but was
soon afterwards released.
In 1028 he was again imprisoned, with others, for his alleged
parliamentary misconduct, and for his refusing to answer for it
before the Privy Council ; and yet he was again released.
Again the king having persisted in the aggressions above
named, and Sir John, in concert with other members, having
* Among the many great men associated with Sir John Eliot, were Sir
Edward Coke, Sir Edwin Sandis, Sir Robert Philips, Sir Francis Seymour,
Sir Dudley Digges, and Sir Thomas Wcntworth, the noble Earl of Strafford.
Hume's Hist., Vol V, pp. 33, 34, 55, 60.
2
10 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
at length framed a remonstrance against the levying of tonnage
and poundage by the king without consent of the House, pre-
sented it to the clerk to be read ; but the clerk refused. There-
upon Sir John arose, and read it to the House himself.
The question being called for, the speaker objecting, said ' e
had a command from the king not to put any question, but to
adjourn the House ; and, rising up, leaving the chair, an uproar
ensued.
The speaker was pushed back into his chair, and was forcibly
held into it by llollis and Valentine, until a short remonstrance
in writing was framed by Sir John, which, without vote, was
passed by acclamation. In this, Papists and Armenians were
declared by the House capital enemies to the commonwealth, as
well as those who had been concerned in levying tonnage and
poundage. The doors at this time being locked, the usher of
the House of Lords, sent by the king, could not obtain admit-
tance, until that remonstrance on the motion of Sir John Eliot
had been carried through.*
POSITION OF THE KING.
These proceedings of the House were denounced by the
throne as seditious, and on this account several members of
the House were imprisoned, but were afterwards, with much
difficulty, released.
SIR JOHN IN COURT.
This member, with Hollis, Valentine, and others, was (May 29,
1628) summoned to his trial before the King's Bench for "sedi-
tious speeches and behaviour." Sir John was charged of having
declared, in the House, that "the council and judges conspired
to trample under their feet the liberties of the subject ai:d the
privileges of Parliament": and being arraigned before a tribunal
inferior to his own, as asserted, he refused to answer. There-
upon the King's Bench condemned him to be imprisoned in the
Tower at the king's pleasure, and to pay a fine of 2,000. His
parliamentary associates received less, but similar, sentences.
* flume, Vol. V, p. 59.
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 11
The king, in the midst of embarrassment, offered them a re-
lease on the terms of concession, to which they would not yield,
nor would they accept of bail generously offered ; but for the
cause of liberty they cared not for the bonds that held them.
Under this imprisonment Sir John Eliot died in the Tower Nov.
27, 1632. This was announced throughout the realm as the
death of a martyr, and it was not very long afterwards (1648)
when his royal oppressor also died, beheaded.*
THE APOSTLE IN ENGLAND.
The first now known of our John, the Apostle, is, when he was
at school with Rev. Thomas Hooper, nt Little Baddow, in
Essex, f as an usher, or assistant teacher: and tradition has it,
that he was also schooled for some time in the University at
Cambridge, but of this last statement there is some doubt. J
The Apostle, as well as his brothers Philip and Jacob, was
once supposed to have originated at Nasiug, in Essex; but a
special historian has journeyed to that town, and upon diligent
search, finds no evidence of it. Nor does it in any way appear
that the Apostle ever saw that town.
In 1631, the year previous to Sir John Eliot's death in the
Tower, the Apostle and his two brothers, disgusted at the then
oppressive papacy, and at the royal misrule as affecting them-
selves and kindred ties, had made up their minds to desert Eng-
land^
ABOUT TO EMBARK.
Being about to leave the realm, these Eliot brothers must
needs advance to take final leave of favored friends. So doing,
* Hume's History of England, Vol. V, pp. 59, CO, 371.
t Hooker was suspended from the ministry by reason of his hostility to
papacy and royalty as then administered; and years afterwards, in 1G40,
left England in the ship "Griffin," with two hundred others (among whom
Oliver Cromwell started, but turned back), and finally settled in Connecticut,
and was honored as the " Moses " of that State.
J Eliot Gen., p. 35.
Life of Eliot, by Francis, pp. 6, 7, and note. Hist, of Puritans, Vol. II,
p. 245.
12 ELIOTS IX ENGLAND.
we seem to see them on the way, hurriedly advancing in and
along the narrow highways of London to its Tower, on a visit
to their dear old uncle, Sir John Eliot, the Martyr. They pass
incognito. Their sympathies concentre at the Tower. They
know and feel the injustice of the imprisonment, and the cru-
c\ty of that royal power which holds him within its walls.
Foremost, as they advance, the great white fortification heaves
in sight, and then next its outstanding twelve towers, and then
a spacious moat or canal that surrounds it. Here, then,
a fortress, terrible in its history, and awful in its frowning
strength and power, now stands before them. They gaze
glancing upon its embattled watch-towers, and upon its heavy,
time-stained, stately walls.
UP THE STAIRWAY.
Permitted by " the warder, or yeoman of the guard," they
pass the gateway into the outer ward, and farther onward
enter within and along up the heavy stairway from the inner
ward, and still higher along between the various dismal
dungeons and solitary apartments of the great white Tower.
TOOLS OF TORTURE.
On their winding way upward, step after step, on either side
are seen, in various forms, the many implements of cruelty and
death of long-gone years. Here is seen the collar of torment ;
there the thumb-screw; there the rack and the stock that
destroyed the limbs of men, and the block that held the heads
of queens. There, too, among thousands of other dread im-
plements, is the broad, bloody axe which, one after another,
all the way through England's reign of terror, had left kings
headless and many a noble heart lifeless. As they move up-
ward, gazing, wondering, the splendor of royalty and the
beauty of queens fall oft upon their vision. The dazzling
insignia of royalty and the glittering power of princes are
exemplified. Found high up in one of the towers, in all their
value and beauty, they behold
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 13
ENGLAND'S JEWELS.
These diadems are grouped. The crown of the sovereign con-
sists of a cap of purple velvet, enclosed in hoops of silver, sur-
mounted by a ball and cross, all brilliant in diamonds. In the
centre of the cross is the inestimable sapphire ; and in front is
the heart-shaped ruby once worn by the Black Prince.
St. Edward. One of the group is the crown of this prince,
made of gold, richly embellished with emeralds, pearls, and
other precious gems.
Prince of Wales. The crown of this prince is of pure gold,
unadorned. It is a crown which usually is placed before the
seat of the heir-apparent in the House of Lords.
Ancient Queen's Crown. This is used at coronations, for the
queen's consort.
Queen's Diadem. This is adorned with large diamonds and
pearls.
St. Edward's Staff. Made of beaten gold; it is four feet
seven inches in length, and is surmounted with an orb. It is
carried before the king at the coronation.
The Royal Sceptre. This, with the cross, is usually carried
before the Archbishop of Canterbury at the coronation. It is
of gold, adorned with jewels.
Rod of Equity. This sceptre is placed in the hand of the
sovereign at the coronation. Made of gold, it has an orb, and
a dove with expanded wings.
Ivory Sceptre. This was the sceptre of "Queen Marie De
Estie."
The Golden Sceptre. This seems to have originated from
Queen Mary, of William the Third, and is the last of the group.
These, to the brothers, were indeed "glittering generalities."
INSCRIPTIONS, OFFENCES, AND CRUELTIES.
Next they enter various other departments, encased with huge
walls, upon which now and then are deeply engraved the many
sentimental sayings, inscribed in plain letters, some in English,
14 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
some in Latin, and others in other languages, by the many
heroic victims, men and women, who in by-gone ages had
perished in the Tower.
On one side, over the fireplace, is found the name "Philip
Howard." Philip was the son of the Duke of Norfolk, who in
1572 had been beheaded for the grave offence of having aspired
to the hand of the dear Mary, Queen of Scots. This was
the duke's offence. Philip's own crime proves to have been
an ardent devotedness to the church of his choice, at which
Queen Elizabeth had taken offence. Philip, seeing his danger,
tried to escape into exile ; but, detected, was seized and sent to
the Tower, where, upon its walls, over his name (immortalized),
he engraved the following words :
" Quanta plus affectiones pro Christo in hoc secula plus glorias
cum Christo in futuro. Philip Howard.
"Arundell, June 22, 1587."
The interpretation of this declares that, "The more suffering
with Christ in this world, the more glory shall be obtained
with Christ in the world to come."
PHILIP'S SENTENCE.
This same earl, being found guilty of high treason, was
condemned to death, but having been convicted on religious
grounds, was not beheaded, but, doomed, was held a prisoner for
life. Worn with sorrow, he expired in the Tower, " 1595, aued
39." In person he was tall, of a swarthy complexion, but *' had
an agreeable mixture of sweetness and grandeur of countenance,
with a soul superior to all human considerations."
Next they come to the inscriptions made by Arthur Poole, on
the north side of his cell, to wit: "Deo servire penitentiam inire
fato obedire Rcynare est. A. Poole, 1564 I. H. S"
It seems that Arthur was in the belief that " to live penitently,
yield to fate, and serve God, is to reign."
And again, the same prisoner leaves on the walls other words,
"I. II. S. A passage perilous maketh a port pleasant." "A.
15G8." "Arthur Poole." "A. C. sue 37 A. P."
In another place in the walls are found, from his brother, the
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 15
following: " I. H. S. Dio semin . . . in lachrimis exultations
mater. A. E. 21 E. Poole 1562." " That which is sown of
God in tears is to be reaped in joy."
Under one of the autographs of Edmund Poole is the word
" lane." This is said to have been the royal title of Lady Jane
Gray; and as appears, Lady Jane herself, while imprisoned in
the Tower, left an inscription scratched upon the wall with a
pin, as follows :
" To mortals' common fate thy mind resign,
My lot to-day, to-morrow may be thine."
IMPRISONMENT AND DEATH.
It was in 1640, when Sir Thomas Cromwell, for his Reforma-
tion sentiments, was cast into the Tower, and afterwards was
beheaded on Tower Hill. About this time, in the midst of
heresy and delusion, the dungeons were filled with learned
divines.
In 1546, Anne Askew, a lady of merit, for denying in conver-
sation the doctrine of transubstantiation, was tortured in the
Tower, and then burnt at the stake in Smithfield.
The offence of Margaret, the Countess of Salisbury, mother of
Cardinal Pole, was that she was of royal blood. When brought
to the scaffold on the green, she refused to lay her head upon
the block, saying, "So do traitors use to do, and I am no
traitor." An awful scene followed. At length the headsman
dragged the countess by her long, frosty locks to the block.
Thus perished the last full blood of the Plantagenets.
Sir Walter Raleigh, once an inhabitant of the New World,
was afterwards seized in England, charged of being concerned
in the plot of placing on the throne Lady Arabella Stuart. For
this he was held a prisoner in the Tower twelve years. Re-
leased, he went to Guiana in search of gold ; but failing in that
enterprise, on his return, for the original offence, he was again
remanded to the Tower, and without reason was beheaded in
1618.* While in the Tower that noble Raleigh wrote a history
of the world.
* Hume, Vol. IV, p. 452.
16 ELIOTS IX ENGLAND.
Thomas Wentworth, * Earl of Strafford, one of England's
most eminent sons, was incarcerated in the Tower for trying to
withstand the popular current, which was concentrating to a
revolution, and in 1641 was beheaded, to the intense grief of
his sovereign.
STATUARY AND WEAPONS.
Present to the brothers, as they advance, are also other unnum-
bered victims of despotic vengeance in the by-gone centuries.
They behold, in deep thought, the emblematic banners which
floated over heroes like Edward I, Edward III, the Black
Prince, and many others, such as had been fanned by "the
whirlwinds of war and by the crimson wing of conquest."
Here, too, on the right and left as they pass, are the cross-
bows, with their stocks curiously carved, used in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Here, also, is the carved steed,
bearing away upon himself, in his pride, Elizabeth, Queen of
England. Here, too, fronting the queen, is the equestrian
statue of a noble knight wielding in his hand a tilting lance,
clad in the closest armor. Also, farther upward, is the figure
of an archer in a brigandine jacket; and there, too, is a cross-
bow used in the days of our remote Eliot and William the
Conqueror, with groups of spears on all sides of it. Next to
be noticed are rugged shields, with scenes from the story of
Hercules ; helmets and breast-plates, ancient firearms, match-
locks, etc., innumerable. Still farther upward are groups of
arms and armor, iron skull-caps, and various figures of stat-
uary; effigies of noble knights on horseback, very common,
among which appears Charles the First on horseback in the
same gilt armor which he had received as a gallant gift from
the -city of London. All these, and immensely more, excite the
senses of our Eliot brothers on that day in the heart of their
native Eugland, and in the proudest city of the world.
Now, half halting, our young Apostle, breaking silence, thus
addresses Philip and Jacob :
* Sketches of the Tower, p. 38.
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 17
ROYAL OUTRAGES.
These, as you see, are but the emblems that have come down
from a wild, unjust, untutored ambition, whence dread heresies,
and the thirst for power, have, through carnal weapons, been
allowed to gain the ascendancy over a Christian civilization as
found in the laws of God, and which forever must needs be
enforced, pursuant to "the great God's Golden Rule." Thus in
this our English fathers have failed. England, beautiful Eng-
land, whose mountains have been made vocal with the high-born
Hoel's harp and soft Llewellyn's lay, hath suffered all this.
Indeed, a better era shall follow her. Then shall her kings and
queens reign in righteousness; and "then shall her princes
decree justice."
Next, now, as the brothers pass, are pointed out to them the
various dungeons which long previously had been filled with the
mighty men of Scotland. For here it was that King Baliol was
imprisoned in 1297; where, also, the noble Wallace suffered
imprisonment and death in 1305; where the gallant earls of
Ross, of Athol, and of Monteith, in 1346, King David Bruce's
time, all perished;* and where, also, the six hundred Jews must
have been quartered, who inhabited the Tower, prisoners in the
reign of Edward the Third, and during the ^nilitary career of
Sir Hugh Calverly, the chevalier verte," who first used guns
in England's wars.f
In 1406, in the reign of Henry IV, the boy f rince James, son
of Robert III, King of Scotland, when on a sea-voyage to
France to obtain an education, driven by storrn and tempest,
was cast upon the shores of England. Now, for reason that
Scotland was then at war with King Henry, this infant prince
was seized, as if by a wrecker, and was consigned to the Tower
of London, and was there held imprisoned eighteen years. He
educated himself there, and in after life, crowned, he at length
became renowned " for consummate wisdom and virtue."
* See Harmon's Sketch, pp. 32, 33.
f These Jews, for this, their offence of having adulterated the coin of the
realm, with their entire nation, were finally released from the Tower, by
being banished from England. See Hume, Vol. II, pp. 124, 131, 256-282, 337.
3
18 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
It was in the Tower that the Black Prince, then in the fifteenth
century, the pride and delight of England, fella prey to "the
wolf-like passions of rival factions." At this period were seen
the tyrants' darkest deeds. Then it was that royal cousins, in
wrath, struggled for the crown, now and then dooming the
unhappy aspirant to a dismal dungeon, or, to a dread assassina-
tion. Rampant for power, they increased the traffic in tools of
torture, in the building of scaffolds, and in deeds of blood.
Here (seen by the brothers) is the image of Queen Anne,
consort of Richard II, on her knees pleading in tears at the
feet of her lord, for her dear king's own friend, Sir Simon
Burley, all in vain; and Sir Simon, "that noble Knight" (1388),
was made the first victim beheaded upon the new scaffold at
Tower Hill. Discontent follows Richard II, and soon he
resigns his kingdom to his relative Bolingbroke, in language as
follows: " Fair cousin Henry, Duke of Lancaster, I give and
deliver to you this crown, and therewith all the rights thereto
depending." Richard himself was then committed to the Tower,
and thence to Pomfret Castle in Yorkshire ; and to this day a
sable veil conceals his death.
Nor was the reign of Bolingbroke peaceful. Ah ! how truthful
the poet sings,
" Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade
To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep,
Than doth a rich embroidered canopy
To kings, that fear their subjects' treachery?"
It was here, in 1485, when in front of St. Peter's Chapel, Lord
Hastings was doomed to instant death at the mandate of Richard
III. And from here, from within the Tower's dismal recesses,
the renowned Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, after a long
imprisonment for religious opinions (1417), was carted away, and
at the fields of St. Giles was burnt at the stake. And here during
the reign of Henry the Eighth, when Rome was at its height in
persecutions, and the populace were frantic in charges of heresy,
the broad gates of the Tower of London were wide open swung
in the reception of innocent hearts.
Under statutes that empowered the Bishop to imprizon any
ELIOTS IX ENGLAND. 19
one suspected " of heresy, the dungeons of the Tower were soon
filled with pious convicts. The illustrious Lord Chancellor,
Thomas More, and Fisher, the venerable Bishop of Rochester,
covered as he was with the frosts of eighty winters, were held
here as heretics, thus to pine away their otherwise useful lives
in solitude and sadness, until death at length relieved them.
They were held under the wrath of King Henry, the professed
head of the church * This old bishop, while there, in a letter
to one of the lords, complains: "I have neither shirt nor sute
to wear, but that be ragged, and rent so shamefully and my
dyett also, God knoweth how slender it is at meny times."
In 1533, Anne Boleyn was the pious queen of Henry VIII.
She was escorted to him by the Lord Mayor of London, arrayed
in scarlet and clad in golden chains, " amidst the great melody
of trumpets and divers instruments, and a mighty peal of guns."
In 1536 her home was in the Tower. The traitor gates opened
wide to receive Queen Anne; she came attended by her jail-
ers ; her fair fame had departed, and the gloom of death
overshadowed her. Charged of unfaithfulness to her king, and
arraigned before the Duke of Norfolk, she was condemned to
death, at which she exclaimed, "O Father! O Creator! Thou
who art the way, the truth, and the life, Thou knowest I have
not deserved this death." On the 19th of May, 1536, a mourn-
ful procession passed over the green. Anne Boleyn, dressed in
black, surrounded by a retinue of sympathetic maidens, was on
the way from the Tower to the scaffold, there in person tran-
scendently beautiful, "mournfully brilliant." Here ended the
earthly career of a generous queen.
In 1553, dread royalty again is seen in the Tower, during the
ten days' reign of Lady Jane Grey, who, as it often is told, fell
a victim to the unholy ambition of the Duke of Northumberland.
Her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, was executed about the
same time, on Tower Hill. Lady Jane, as declared by Fuller,
"had the innonense of childhood, the beauty of youth, the learn-
* Parliament conferred on the king, power as a supreme head of the
church of England. Hume's Hist, of Eng., Vol. Ill, pp. 189-197, 490, 491.
20 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
ing of a clerk, the solidity of middle life, the gravity of old age,
and the soul of a saint." She, like many others, died a victim
to a low ambition under a thirst for power, and against all law,
true religion, and common decency.
AT THE CELL OF SIR JOHN.
Here the brothers, conducted, have at length arrived. With
eager eyes they glance at their kind uncle, the martyr, in silent
solitude. The old man, startled at their footsteps, rising up,
turns himself hither and thither like a caged lion, as if from a
deep slumber, or from an absorbing reverie. A long imprisoned
beard rests loosely upon his breast; the frosts of dreary winter
hang, spread wide, upon his shoulders ; yet there is the blood of
an Eliot in the long, pale, furrowed cheek, and a flash of fire,
glimmering, still twinkles in the old man's eye.
The brothers draw near ; and oh ! with what gladness, what
love and thankfulness, does the oppressed martyr meet and greet
them, separated only by intervening bolts and bars. The old
knight, after an interchange of greetings, pauses, listening to a
brief detail of their designs for the future, as they were now
about to leave their native land, to sojourn for life in a wilder-
ness afar off, beyond the high seas, breaking silence, advises
them thus : "For the just liberties of the realm I remain here.
This Tower is my home. But, for you, full of life, England in
its distractions, having become offensive, it is but wise that the
Puritan should leave it. Full of vigor, you may as well go to
the New World. Accept of no office there. Trust to your own
strength in the faith of God. Divulge not incurable difficulties.
Keep your own councils, that the disadvantages of this sad Old
World may not encumber you there in the New; observe the
law and keep the faith."
The brothers are silent, sad. An extended hand, a half-
suppressed adieu, is had, and then an heart-felt, old-fashioned
farewell is extended and returned. Sadly away the brothers
turn ; the old knight sinks back into his couch, again thoughtful,
silent, at rest.
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 21
By this the shades of night are beginning to becloud the
Tower, and the brothers, turned, are beginning to tread down-
ward the various stairways that wind in and about its dark
dungeons and lofty walls. Descending cautiously, the terrible
apparitions of England's royal cruelties, with unseemly sights of
her sainted subjects slain within this fearful fortress, fall con-
stantly upon their vision. At every footstep, the hollow, sepul-
chral rotunda resounds with the agonizing sighs and groans, as
the spectral victims of regal rage and power of the past seem
constantly to give unearthly utterances. From the ceiling, from
every step and stairway, the complaints of sainted souls, whose
blood had been shed here, and whose dust hath been trampled
under the foot of princely power, seem everywhere audible.
From the pores of the pilasters and crevices of the eternal
walls, the innocent blood of men and women, in the midst of
sepulchral accents, seems to ooze out. Nay, behind every statue
or image of royalty, behind the bloody block, or rack of torture,
or statue, as they pass, unseemly ghosts of kings, or of queens,
or of martyred innocence, strangely appear, peeping out.
Thus, to the Apostle and brothers in the Tower, while ram-
bling in the midst of its terrible emblems, did injured humanity,
and the dread maledictions of a just God, move their Puritan
minds into a sad melancholy. Out of it, advancing to the arch-
way of the traitor's gate, there they pause, but to reflect, how
oft had royalty and grandeur passed beneath its portals;
how often here had "the dreams of honor and glory," and
"the brilliancy of courts," been exchanged for the dungeon, the
torture-room, and the scaffold. Advancing farther out, they
reach the Bloody Tower, where, near it, is the iron railing upon
the green, which encloses the block at which Lady Jane Grey
last kneeled, yielding up her life.
Thence backward they glance, taking a comprehensive last
look at that old vast white fortress, and the twelve great towers,
with embattlements, that stand around it ; and thence, not far
away, to behold that ancient St. Peter's chapel, within which
the bodies of fated prisoners numerously in the silent dust
moulder.
22 ELIOTS IN ENGLAND.
LEAVING THE TOWER.
Now, with heavy hearts, but with lightsome step, leaving,
the Eliot brothers hasten away on their half-bewildered, back-
ward return. And now the pale moon, amid the bright stars
of heaven rising, beholds them wandering, first nearing the old
College of Heraldry, which records the valor of England's best
blood; and then next near the towering walls of St. Paul; and
then round through the stately gateway of Temple Bar, which
to this day marks the entrance through the once-frowning walls
of the first London ; and thence away they wander, to the ship
" Lyon," which on the morrow is to waft them away, away
from conflicting powers ; away from unholy, oppressive dynas-
ties ; away from a bewildered populace and a distracted repre-
sentation ; away from an insane kingdom, driven to terrible
extremes by unhallowed, cruel conflicts.
On board the ship, after taking the required oaths of "allegi-
ance and supremacie," the brothers, in their bunks, tired, all
night long in dreams are thoughtful, both of the past and of
the future. Morning, now breaking in upon them, adorns the
world with uncommon glories ; and the big ship on the way is
now beginning to brave the broad billows. The sweet breezes
of heaven, promising freedom, prosperity, and progress, are
whispering in the rigging like the harp of a David, the thrill-
ing, peaceful acclaim of an evangelist, or like the seraphic
song of congregated angels ; and away that brave old bark, as
if in the care of a God of Love, moves straight onward, west-
ward.
Another night has cast her lights and shades over the vast
expanse, bringing back again the beauteous morn, when a voice
from the high deck is heard,
" Come aloft, my companions, the billows are beauteous,
To the God of creation devotedly duteous."
Obediently all are aloft. And now the boundless ocean, rolling
up her billows to the sky, and the brilliant azure of the God-
given sunlight playing upon the wild waters, the ship's canvas,
and the clouds, inspires the world.
ELIOTS IN ENGLAND. 23
" Ah! " says the Apostle to his comrades, " this is life, in its
progress ; life foreshadowed ! Still, indeed, there are storms
and gales and even tempests on the way. This highway vast
is fraught with doubt and dread dangers; yet through faith
and trust and trial, wo will reach the New World. Nay, as we
advance farther onward in life's journey ings, not less of storm
and of tempest will beset us on the way, advancing to that
beautiful land above, of which our dear old father had in fer-
vent faith advised us."
"Be heedful, my brother," said Philip. "Remember, when
in the Tower, our Sir John advised caution, that neither our
town of nativity nor the name of the dear father be disclosed."
"Yes," said the Apostle, " that name, always dear at heart,
needs never to be expressed.
' O, no, I '11 never mention him,
That name shall ne'er be heard ;
My lips aro hence forbidden to speak
That once familiar word.' "
Back now to the cabin the brothers return. The old ship,
keeping her course onward, the breath of heaven swelling the
sails auspiciously, outrides the storm and tempest, and at
length, after many days, beneath brighter skies, lands her
freight of valiant hearts at Plymouth on the shores of New
England. Philip had come, as if for the defence of liberty,
being soon found in the gallant ranks of the "Ancient and
Honorable," at its origin, and then next in the honored halls
of legislation. Jacob, also, a Puritan gentleman, had come,
making himself highly useful in support of a laborious indus-
try, and in the furtherance of the benign rules of law and
justice. John was here also, to proclaim the divine law,
Love to God, and love to the red-man in the wilderness.
LESSONS OF LAW AND LIFE.
" It is wise to recur to our ancestors. Those who do not look
upon themselves as a link connecting the past with the future,
do not perform their duty to the world." DANIEL WEBSTER.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE,
CHAPTER I.
in the acquisition of knowledge shall prove
more profitable than the study of the lives and charac-
ters of great and good men. Such men, like an index,
serve to lead the way to an improved civilization, and to
a more devoted fidelity to God and to mankind. To
study and know them is wisdom ; to follow their pre-
cepts and examples, bespeaks an abundant success in
this life, and the gain of a glorious reward beyond it.
The lessons thus to be learned are practical ; tending to
manliness, to sobriety, to a stern integrity, to a diligent
industry, and to a fervent faith.
I therefore invoke the attention of my readers, for a
brief period, to such light and learning as may be ob-
tained from the extraordinary life and character of John
Eliot, as seen in and through his evangelical mission to
the Indian tribes of New England. For two centuries,
Eliot, with the faith and fruits of his mission, hath been
estimated as the common property of all New England.
Like, as from a province of real estate, held jointly, the
generations have hitherto been constantly benefited by
his exemplary productive life and character.
Still onward, in this light of history, Eliot's force
25
26 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
his holy aspirations, his labors of love, his vast under-
takings, and his valiant perseverance in the midst of
opposition, still exist, and shall afford to the intelligent
reader pleasure and profit forever.
The obstacles which encumbered his way were hazard-
ous and fearful, yet valiantly he advanced. History
points to no one man of so much force, against such em-
barrassments ; of so much perseverance, against such dis-
couragements ; of so much patience, under such provoca-
tions ; of so much laborious industry, with an apparently
slender constitution ; of so much endurance, under severe
hardships and keen sufferings; and with so much faith
and consecration to his God and to his fellow-man,
never failing, never faltering.
Such was the man who made our English Bible speak
the Indian language ; who raised up missionaries ; and
who, for forty years, preached the Gospel to.the wild man
of the wilderness; and who thereby had turned many
hearts from a savage life Zion-ward. And when the
dread conflict with Philip had come, and civilization in
New England, as against barbarism, seemed quivering
in the scale, yet, protesting against the use of carnal
weapons, Eliot held the balance of power, and thus, in
the end, served to tip the scale to the side of civiliza-
tion lost the tribes, but saved the white man, who still
pursued, leaving the lone Indian mother to her lamenta-
tions :
** I will go to my tent, and lie down in despair;
I will paint me in black, and dishevel my hair ;
I will sit on the shore where the hurricane blows,
And will tell to the God of the tempest my woes.
I will weep for a season, on bitterness fed,
For my kindred have gone to the mounds of the dead ;
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 27
But they died not of hunger, nor wasting decay,
The steel of the white-man hath swept them away."
That balance of power, which the Apostle, in his mission,
held, was none other than the power of Christian love.
LIFE AND DEATH.
John Eliot first lived in the far-off England, in the
year 1604. He left this world of care and conflicts, at
Roxbury, Mass., May 20, 1690, at the venerable age of
eighty-six years.
In personal appearance (if we may judge from his
portrait), he was a little above medium height, in form
slender, and in features not entirely unlike the honest
face of Abraham Lincoln.
After completing his education in England, Eliot
embarked for the New World, landed in Boston in
November, 1631, and there, at the age of twenty-seven,
raised the banner of the Cross.
Soon, a train of neighbors and friends followed him.
They settled near him, at Roxbury ; and the next year
they called him there, to be their minister.*
Obeying their call, he took his final stand at Rox-
bury, as if upon the loftiest part of Z ion's walls, and
he held his station there all the way onward, through
the remainder of his long life.f
INTOLERANCE.
That want of toleration, which had driven the Pil-
grims over here, eleven years previously, probably had
much influence, inducing Eliot also to sever the social
* Bacon's Hist, of Natick, ch. 2, p. 12; ch. 15, p. 152.
t Memoir of Eliot, pp. 8, 9, 10.
28 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
ties, to forsake the friends of his youth, and, far away
over the great deep, to cast his lot among the sons of
strife.
Thus, over here, as if at the command of God, " Go
ye into all the world," the Apostle began his work. He
began it where every man ought to begin to labor, to
wit, at the main obstacle to be overcome where the
most good can be done, or where the noblest ends in life
may be accomplished.
THE POSITION.
Looking back, we seem to see the evangelist, as in full
life, standing on the highest point of that Zion's hill of
his, as if, at the outset, to look the landscape over.
Afar off before him, in the distance, the lofty moun-
tain-peaks tower up towards heaven ; they stand there,
against the sky.
His sharp vision seems to descry the Connecticut, the
mighty Merrimac, and the Saco, as they, in ten thousand
rills, leap forth from the mountains, forming these rivers,
up to that time unmeasared of the white man, and
which, ever since the Creation, had been rolling and
meandering downward, through a wild old wilderness,
to the sea.
INDIAN NATIONS.
In the dense forest, and in and about these rivers of
water, and along the shores of the sea, are thirty nations
of native Indians, numbering, in all, fifty thousand.
These nations, organized under laws unwritten, wander
in tribes, as all the inhabitants of the world, before
civilization dawned, did wander in tribes.
The Pilgrim Fathers are at Plymouth and vicinity,
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 29
and the scattered Puritan settlements are beginning to
make openings in the landscape.
The field was to be the world ; and this New England
world, thus spread out before him, was thenceforth to be
Eliot's field, a field, then a wilderness, full of ferocious
beasts, and of ungodly, unbridled red-men ; and yet a
field which, through the Evangelical leadership of John
Eliot, is to be cleared up and cultivated ; and which, in
the far future, under the sunshine of heaven, is to become
a flowery field, bearing upon it, everywhere, not carnal
weapons, but the sweet fruits of a Christian civilization.
And now, at this distant day, although there are
secluded corners in the field, where the generations have
gone down, in which many of us have sometimes been
made to weep; yet it is plain to be seen that, through
the leadership of Eliot, in God's ministry, those corners,
all over New England, have been made to our people
as the very gateways to heaven. Plain it is, that this
New England field, with all its gates and guide-boards
heavenward, although two hundred years have passed
away, now remains, and, through all the generations yet
to come, shall remain, still to flourish and bear fruit, as
having descended, with all its vernal glories, from that
same ancient, original Christian proprietor, John Eliot,
the Evangelist.
His FIRST WOKK.
At first the Apostle, in preparation for his final great
effort, directed all his sermons to the white man,
seeking to build up strong exemplary churches in the
hamlets held by English settlers, at his own Roxbury,
and elsewhere.*
* Dearborn's Sketch of Eliot's Life, p. 13.
30
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
His habits were like this : Every second Sabbath of
his ministry he preached away from home, to the white
settlers of the neighboring towns.* And thus onward,
for the first fifteen years of his ministry ; while, in these
same years, he was educating, as well as he might, his
Indian young men and others, who, in due time, were to
be his preachers, his printers, his proof-readers, and
interpreters ; and who, in the wilderness, were to aid
him in the vast undertaking of evangelizing the tribes.
During all these years he was at work with his pen,
by pamphlet, by letter, and by many books, shaping
and concentrating public opinion to the great plan of his
operations. Also, by prayer and petition, at home and
abroad, he from the commencement, and from time to
time, continually obtained material aid and encourage-
ment for the carrying out of his design.
His APPAREL.
Again, let us glance for a moment at the Evangelist,
as he appeared two hundred and thirty years ago, when
about to move upon his Indian mission.
We will imagine him still there, on the high hill at
Roxbury, in his common costume, an English dress-
coat or sack ; small clothes, long boots, and a slouched
broad-brimmed hat.
There he stands, as if divinely meditating, as if con-
templating the long labors of life, in that vast field
of which we have spoken, and which the God of Nature
had spread out before him.
* Histoiy of Natick, ch. 1, p. 12.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 31
LOCATION OF THE TKIBES.
From thence, away to the west of him (as he could
but discover), there are six nations of Mohawks, made
up of many tribes, leading useless, wayward, wandering
lives.
Northeast of him, on the Sagndahock, and all along
towards the eastern borders of Maine, he calls to his
vision those troublesome warlike tribes, the Tarratines,
or Abanaquise, who twenty years previously had come
up here from the East, wielding weapons of war ; and,
accelerated by the plague of 1617, had destroyed the
entire Patuxet nation, leaving their bones to be bleached
upon the hills and in the vales, seen often, doubtless,
of Eliot, as well as of the Pilgrims.
Not far away from him, on the left, are the ashes of
that great Indian fort, on the Mystic, where, as appears,
through the weapons of war and flames of fire, a hostile
Pequot nation had in one night (1637) all perished by
the English sabre.
To the southwest of him, as he there stands, are the
Narragansetts, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, led
of Canonicus, and of that fated, but brave old chief,
Miantonimo.
From the same height, away to the left, are the flagrant
Mohegans of Connecticut, at the head of which Uncas
reigned as chief, wild in all of his infidelity and
barbarism.
Then next, more immediately in front of the Apostle,
as he looks northward, in contemplation, are the Nipmuck
tribes, roaming and hunting all over that tract of country
which lies between the great rivers Connecticut and
Merrimac. Hence, all of us who happen to reside
32 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
southwest of the Merrimac, if natives, might be denom-
inated Nipmticks.
Northward, at Concord, and along the banks of the
Merrimac, wandered the peaceful Pennacook and the
Wamesit tribes, then led by that venerable sachem and
necromancer, Passaconaway, whose people, at a later
period, were ruled for several years by his son, Wona-
lancet.
Though a peace-maker, once, in a time- of hostilities,
this chief, with becoming prudence, established an Indian
fortification at Fort Hill, on the east of the Concord
River, at Wamesit.*
ELIOT'S FIDELITY.
The soul-trying incidents of the forty years of the
Apostle's life, then yet to come, beginning to be disclosed,
are now breaking in upon his vision. There are lions,
terribly ferocious, prone, lurking along his pathway, in
prospect, all the way onward, with all their devouring
threatenings.
Yet he must advance, must move onward, to the
responsible, the noble, and soul-trying duties of an
evangelist, in the midst of unlettered savages.
Whatever there may be of trouble on the way or in
the field of operations, he is constantly, duteously to be
* We suggest, that on Fort Hill there ought to be erected two
statues, one to John Eliot, the Apostle; and another to the peaceful
Wanalancet, holding the fort. Such statues in our Wiimesit, proclaiming
peace on the one hand, and a Christian civilization on the other, while
they would evince the magnanimity of our people, would tend, for a thousand
years, to inspire the generations to a becoming peacefulness, to a diligent
industry, to a truthful fidelity to mankind, and to a stronger faith in Him
whom the Apostle so devoutly loved and served.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 33
there. What though the very elements are to conspire
to hedge up the way ; ' what though the wintry blasts of
snow and hail and tempest, as they were wont to come,
sweeping away " the honors " of a thousand years, from
that vast old wilderness, John Eliot is to be there,
and there, too, in a fervent faith, faith that the same
God, who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, would
also be there ; and he was there.
Nay, even though the thunders of war, in their thrcat-
enings, begin to break forth from a New England sky,
such in their terrors as were never known on earth
before (save in the bloody tragedies of a Homer), even
then John Eliot must be there, holding out a healing
hand divine, and bearing aloft the beautiful Christian
banner of peace and love.
And though destruction is impending, and a threatened
distraction may be about to fall upon his native churches,
driving and carrying his Indian Christian people into
exile and imprisonment; yet the Apostle, like the good
shepherd, is to follow the flock, is to stand between the
fires, is to administer comfort, and is to bind up the
broken heart.*
Nay, aside from the carnal conflicts of war, when its
tearful terrors have waned away, there are to the
evangelist terrible trials still. And what of all this ?
What though strong men refuse " to bow themselves,"
heeding not the way ? What though the bowl, and the
wheel, and "the pitcher, be broken"? What though, in
the events of this New World, the sun and moon and
the stars are to be darkened ? What even, if all " the
* Dearborn's Sketch of Eliot's Life, p. 15.
34 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
keepers of the house" are trembling? List! list! High
above all, the tribes are to hear the clarion voice of the
evangelist, fearlessly proclaiming the word, faithfully
seeking to save that which seemed to be lost.
For Eliot knew, as we know, that " man goeth to his
long home " ; that his " dust must return to the earth as
it was " ; and that his never-dying spirit must go back to
the God who gave it.
TROUBLES IN ENGLAND.
Eliot had left the Old World, as we have seen, in 1631,
when the unfortunate Charles the First was king, and at
the time when the religious creeds of the realm were
distracted, all in dread conflict; when the King was at
war against Parliament, and Parliament was angry
against the King; when our English government was
powerless to advance, its wheels being clogged up, the
kingdom throughout broken down, and falling apart into
factions. It was then the religious and political rights
of the realm were being trampled down under the feet
of tyrants,* and the armies of England, Scotland, and
Ireland in conflict were making sad havoc on bloody
fields of battle.
Eliot left England, and in leaving forsook, as we have
seen, the comrades of his youth, among whom there was
a strong young man, whose valiant heart, like his own,
was full of republicanism. That man, disgusted with the
English government in its distracted condition, had with
other refugees, packed up his trunks to embark for our
New England shores, but was prevented. It was
* Hume's History of England, vol. 5, pp. 85-434. Rush., vol 2, pp. 409-418.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 35
OLIVER CROMWELL.
But the God of governments, as if for wise ends, turned
the intent of Cromwell, to still remain in England ; * while
John Eliot was led, for another wise purpose, to seek his
field of apostolic labors in the wilderness of a new world.
At that time, as we have seen, the English government
was fast falling to pieces through its internal religious
and political infirmities, which resulted in the downfall
of King Charles the First, who, at length, was beheaded
at the decree of about seventy judges.
Thus, while Cromwell became the great Protector in
the Old World, John Eliot came over here, and became
renowned as the great primeval leader to a Christian
civilization among the settlers and Indian nations of the
New.
MATERIAL AID.
He was encouraged to advance upon his mission
through influences brought to bear upon the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge, and upon a missionary society
in his native England, as well as upon our own Colonial
government at home.
Cromwell, as appears, encouraged Eliot* and Eliot, in
his way, tried to obey and sustain the English govern-
ment, under him, as the great Protector of both countries.
THE BOOK.
During the existence of Cromwell's government, seven
* "Urged by his wants and his piety, he had made a party with Hambden,
his near kinsman, who was pressed only by the latter motive, to transport
himself into New England, now become the retreat of the more zealous
among the Puritanical party; and it was on an order of Council which
obliged them to disembark and remain in England." Hume, vol. 5, ch. 61,
p. 437.
36 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
years, up to the end of his (the Protector's) life, Sept. 3,
1658, Eliot had written a work entitled "The Christian
Commonwealth," in which he planned, and bestowed
praise upon, and chalked out a republican form of govern-
ment. But, alas ! Before the book issued extensively
from the press, Cromwell dying, the government, in a year
or two, changed back to a kingdom ; and then Charles the
Second (a son of the beheaded Charles), being crowned
king, and becoming apparently dangerous, as against the
active adherents to Cromwell's administration, is filled
full of exasperation against all ideas of republicanism.
This event exposed the Apostle's head to great danger,
by reason of his having written that "Christian Com-
monwealth," which indirectly assailed the Crown. The
Colonial government became anxious, and advised the
suppression of the book ; and for the sake of his great
cause and of his life, Eliot suppressed the manuscript,
and the book never issued.*
These were times of trial in both countries. The
tide in tyrannical events rolled high.f All of the Crom-
well adherents were narrowly watched.
The regicide judges, who had sat in the trial of the
late king, some of them, caught in England, were
beheaded there; some of them escaped to foreign
countries. Three of them at least, coming to Boston
in 1660, were followed, and were pursued here, in Con-
necticut, in and about Hadley, Mass., and other places,
by the king's constables. Fortunately, by flight and
concealment, from place to place, in the caves of the
wilderness, they escaped violent death.
* Eliot's Life, by Francis, p. 210. f 5 Hume, p. 434.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 37
Thus, more than two hundred years ago, did John
Eliot foreshadow our republican form of government
in his "Christian Commonwealth," thus suppressed; yet
his cautious plans and suggestions became popular, and
lived to be adopted and sustained, by a noble nation, an
hundred years after his death.
" Truth crushed to earth shall rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers."
ELIOT AND THE KING.
Still he takes courage. Invoking the angry king, Eliot
makes him his friend, and also a contributor, in the
carrying forward his mission to the Indian nations.
With long and eloquent letters, he presented to the
king translations of our English Old and New Testa-
ments into the Indian language, and thereby obtained
favor and patronage from the throne itself.*
REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.
The Hebrew commonwealth, organized and officered
by Moses of old, undoubtedly had some influence upon
the Apostle's action, in the forming of a commonwealth.
In this respect, he could but see Moses had his seventy-
two elders, which would answer to our U. S. Senate;
his twelve tribes of Israel may be likened to the origi-
nal thirteen United States; and his congregation of the
people, as appears, may be taken to accord with our
House of Representatives.
Moses himself, occupying the place of president, pre-
sided over the whole. Such a government is supposed
* Life of Eliot, pp. 258, 259.
38 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
to be the best, if not the strongest, of all. In this,
Moses and Cromwell and Eliot and Washington all seem
to agree.
ELIOT'S ORDER.
In all his operations, the Apostle was exact, and full
of discipline. A civil officer, Major-General Gookin, a
wise, conciliatory man, usually attended him. Gookin
had been clothed, by the Colonial government, with a
power of organization over the people, a power, to a
certain extent, both judicial and executive. So, it
appears, Gookin appointed civil officers ; sat as judge,
holding courts ; and issued commissions to the Indian
rulers of hundreds or of fifties or of tens, as the tribes,
under the Apostle, saw fit to elect them, and as the good
of the Indian church, from time to time, seemed to
require.*
Thus Eliot and Gookin, moving together, constituted
an efficient, peaceful, executive power ; and, at the same
time, prudently led the way to a progressive Christian
civilization.
LAW.
Believing order to be the first law of heaven, it was
one of the axioms under which Eliot, in his economy,
always moved. From his life and example we gather
these rules:
1. There must always be a ruler, or leader, to every
organization.
2. That a ruler, or leader, is never to be ignored, but
* Bigelow's His. of Natick, p. 22. Sketch of Life of Eliot, p. 17.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 39
is always to be respected and followed, for the office' sake,
if for nothing else.
3. That the first great maxim in a kingdom, to wit :
that " the King can do no wrong " (though that may not
be true in fact), is sound in principle, and unless revolu-
tion is intended, must be observed and followed through-
out, from the king down to the humblest parent of a
family.
RULERS.
A leader, once known, whether appointed of man or
of God (as in case of a parent), mast be recognized, and
must always be followed. Everything else would be
disorder; everything else is grief; everything else is
revolution, distraction.
To illustrate this : take the leader of the family, and
then the leader of a church organization, and then the
leader of a town, or state, or of the United States, as
may be seen in a President. Now every one of these,
for the peace, safety, and well-being of the respective
bodies which they severally represent, must be recognized
as such, and followed.
For instance, our President,* although many may disap-
prove some of his acts and measures, yet, in a general
sense', he must be upheld and sustained. What if he
was not well chosen ? lie was so declared to be by the
united force and voice of this great nation. Hence he
must needs be sustained, otherwise anarchy, confusion,
and general distraction would follow.
What if he did (as some have alleged) bargain away
the rights of others, tending to cripple the political
liberties of the f reed-man? What if he did extend a
* 1879.
40 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
conciliatory compromise to a Ku-Klux Clan, then armed
offensively with thousands of rifles, threatening violence
and blood ? Even if all this be true, by the laws of God
and the rules of government, it is but wise and just in
the people to sustain him to the end of his term. Other-
wise anarchy, distraction, and confusion would follow,
and thousands of hearts would be made to bleed all over
the land.
Hence, duteously, as Eliot would say, we must always
follow the leader, in the country at large, in the state,
and in the family.* Thus, under the Apostle for the
Indian church, as elsewhere, you would always find a
leading ruler, with a teacher, and oftentimes an interpre-
ter, having a watchful care over ten Christians, or over
thirty, or over fifty, as the peace and prosperity of a
Christian civilization might require. And to the praise
of the red-men of the forest, Eliot's rules and ordinances
were generally observed, respected, and obeyed as such
by them.*
Although the Apostle, under the ordinations of God,
with the discreet Gookin at his side as a magistrate, thus
ruled, yet he never seemed to rule.
TEACHERS.
O that the spirit of John Eliot, in the sight of all these
subjects, like the light of heaven at early morn, might
break in upon us, to inspire our teachers to prepare them-
selves, that they may train the rising generations to the
true science and economy of life ; that we may all be
trained to a becoming servitude, to a code of genuine
* Cotton Mather's Magnolia, 3d B., Art. 2, p. 494.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 41
good manners ; without which there can be no substantial
success in the world; that they may train their pupils,
male and female, to love labor, industrious, ardent,
economical labor, without which there can be no sound
health, nor solid, enduring comfort; that we may be
trained to fervent, lofty aspirations; that henceforth the
wanderer may be reclaimed, and led upward in life to
a more congenial condition, and thence onward to a
glorious immortality.
Yes, let us be trained, if leaders, to lead justly, kindly,
and judiciously. If mere servants we remain (and we
are all more or less servants in this world), let us serve
heartily and faithfully over everything, throwing
bread upon the waters, helping the needy neighbor first,
and then ourselves, as Eliot would do.
Bear in mind, that man, in his best economy, lives, by
helping others to live; and remember, there are roads
enough to honor, and highways enough heavenward, "for
all to go up, without crowding one another."
CIVIL POWERS.
All the way along in the Apostle's progress, there were
many elements of power which had to be respected.
First of all, there was the parent English government
at London, then distracted, as we have seen, by terrible
conflicts. Then, there was the colonial government at
Boston; and then, the loose, the rude, and undefined
governments of the Indian nations. The rights and
rules, habits and customs, of all these, at all times, were
to be heeded and respected. For there is no nobler
reward in this life, than the consciousness of having
" rendered to all their dues."
CHAPTER II.
DISCIPLES.
Eliot had many pupils, first and last, some in prep-
aration for the ministry, some for teachers, interpreters,
etc. Many of them were schooled at the Indian college
at Cambridge, among whom there were Sassamon * and
Ephraim, James the Printer, Daniel, Waban,f Piambo,
Specn, Oonamo, Tukaperwillin, Ohatawan, Capt. Tom,
Old Jethro, Numphow, John Thomas, Solomon, Samuel
Peter, Nesutan,J and many others. Among his white
assistants, as clergymen, teachers, rulers, etc., there were
Rawson, Gookin, Thracton, Dettins, Bandit, Noyes,
Cotton, Mahew, Bourne, and some others.
ELIOT TAKES COURAGE.
From his lofty position, thus far he had been advanc-
ing, anticipating the obstacles which at times would roll
in to hedge up his way, and which already were often
encumbering him with many difficulties.
* Sassamon was murdered by Philip's Indians. Memoirs of Eliot, ch. 14,
p. 86.
t Waban served as Justice of the Peace at Natick, and held courts as
such. One of his warrants reads thus : " You, You, big constable, quick you
catch Jeremiah Offacow, strong you hold um, safe youbring um beffore me.
"WABAN, Justice of the Peace."
J Slain in battle fighting for the English at Mt. Hope. Drake's American
Indians, B. II, p. 51.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 43
But now, in sight of the prospect, he is said to have
broken out in the pathos of his warm and glowing heart:
"I see [in the distance] the day-breaking, or the sun-
rising, of the Gospel of Christ in New England."
INDIAN SEKMON.
Among the many places where the tribes were wont to
congregate, when they came up from their fishing and
hunting excursions, was a place near Natick in Newton,
called Nonantam. This, in Indian language, means a
place of rejoicing. An intellectual Indian chief occupied
it, by the name of Waban.* And Waban's tent was
there.
Previously a proclamation had been sent forth, that
Eliot, on a given day, would preach to the native nations
at Nonanturn. Accordingly, on the twenty-eighth day
of October, 1646, Eliot stood forth there, for the first
time, an Evangdist, in the midst of the assembled
sachems, povvovvs, sanaps, necromancers, the red-man
in his plumes, and squaws, women, and little children,
painted and adorned, as in primeval life, with rustic
beads and rings, and other appendages, fashionable and
ornamental. Eliot stands forth, above them, proclaiming
his text (Ezekiel xxxvii, 9): "Prophesy! unto the wind,
prophesy, son of man ! and say to the wind, Thus saith
the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath; and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live!"
All are silent. Above, as he stands over the multitude,
there is an open sky. The bleak winds of heaven are
moving the brave old tree-tops into silent, secret
* Life of Eliot, pp. 27, 28, 79, 80. Sketch of Life of Eliot, p. 13.
44 JOHX ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
whisperings. The voice of infidelity, the war-whoop,
the Indian wood-cry, and the bowlings of the wild
beast, are hushed for the time being. The Apostle's
prayer went up to the God of the Red-man! They
sung a song of Zion, a sermon from that text, and
from that trumpet-toned, apostolic voice, reverberating,
fell upon the hearts of the then heathen inhabitants of this
New England world, for the first time.
Next? There's something strange in the sun,
something strange in the earth and in the skies.
What ails that sanap out there? What ails the
soothsayers, and the necromancers, that the pipes they
were smoking have unconsciously fallen from their lips?
Out yonder, what ails that young squaw upon the leaf-
covered ground, with little children about her, that tears,
forbidden, are falling from her eye-lids ? And afar off,
what ails the brave old Waban, at the door of his tent,
weeping?
What is it but that a live coal from the altar of God
hath touched Waban's heart ?
Ah! how true! how propitious ! Waban is beginning
to sing that new song, which no man of his race ever
had sung in New England, from the beginning of the
world.
Thence, that point, that place in the wilderness, em-
phatically had become a place of rejoicing, ever after-
wards to be held sacred. Indeed, it had become to the
tribes a temple of worship, a gateway to heaven.
NATICK.
Near to Nonantum, Eliot obtained a gift (or exchange)
of lands, on which to build up and organize an Indian
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 45
town, which they called Natick, and which, in their
language, means "a place of the hills."
This Indian town was peopled, organized, and offi-
cered by Indians, all the affairs of which were
conducted in a perfectly orderly manner, by its Christian
Indian inhabitants, for nearly a century, all through the
remainder of the Apostle's life, and for nearly fifty
years afterwards.
At Natick, Eliot, often attended by his Indian ministry,
continued to meet the assembled tribes of red-men, up
to the end of his days, as well as in other Indian towns,
then fast becoming civilized, within his spacious fields
of labor.
PRAYING INDIANS.
These numbered (up to the commencement of King
Philip's war, 1674) 1,150; first and last, in all, as some
say, 3,600.
INFIDELITY.
Many of the English settlers, from the beginning of
Eliot's undertaking, professed to have no .faith in the
effort to civilize an Indian.
This, at the outset, tended to embarrass and afflict the
Evangelist. The desperado, thus aided by the weak and
jealous white man, who ought to have known better,
obtained encouragement.
And thus, oftentimes, his progress was retarded by a
secret foe within the camp. Yet the labors and achieve-
ments of John Eliot were more than equal to those of
ten ordinary active men put together, and his great
mission moved onward.
46 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
He soared so far above the mediocrity of his fellow-
laborers in the vineyard, that the musketry of " the sap-
pers and miners," who are always combining and ad-
vancing, in pursuit of great and good men, to traduce
them, never could reach him.
SUNSHINE 'AND THE CLOUD.
Many years of his mission had now passed away.
Through storm and sunshine, he had already labored
among the tribes (from 1646 up to 1674) twenty-eight
years. In the mean time, our English Bible had been
made, by the Apostle, to speak the Indian language.
And our then New England wilderness, in its openings,
had been dotted with little Christian churches.
But, alas ! there is a war-cloud in the heavens. King
Philip is angry, meditating war and blood. John Sas-
samon, an Indian pupil and preacher, who had been
schooled in the Indian college at Cambridge, hath been
murdered by Philip's men.
Sassamon, heedlessly, while serving with Philip as an
interpreter, etc., had divulged to the English Philip's
secret purpose of making war against them.*
King Philip, obtaining knowledge of this supposed
treachery of Sassamon, instigated three of his Indians
to murder him ; and this gave rise to the trial of these
murderers in an English court. All this tended to
hasten a dread conflict. The war-trump is sounding.
It comes like the rushing of a terrible tempest, threat-
ening devastation and death all over this western New
England world. The tomahawk and scalping-knife, on
* Hubbard's Indian Wars, pp. 78, 79, 80. Bacon's History of Natick, pp.
29, 30.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 47
the one hand, and the English bayonet and the deadly
sabre on the other, are beginning to be sharpened.
Alas ! as against the vengeance of conflicting races,
as against ten thousand carnal weapons, upraised, threat-
ening extermination, indeed, what is to become of the
faithful old Eliot and his Christian churches ?
Ah ! when the beautiful oriole, down from a leafless,
wintry sky, animated by the sun-beams of spring, hath
hung her nest to a branch of the tree-top on high, she
takes joyful pleasure in that little church-like charge of
hers, which she holds at the hand of nature's God her
joys are the joys of Heaven.
But there is a cloud in the sky ; and there are fearful
mutterings beyond the mountains ; and the tempestuous
gale howls; and, coming down, sweeps away the tree-
top, madly dashing that dearest little family of hers to
the deadly earth!
Now, in the agonies of despair, she flies from place to
place, afflicted; and she mourns mourned, as we now
have it, the dear old Eliot, in prospect, thus doomed,
must mourn.
But when the clouds had cleared away, and when time,
that great healer of hearts that bleed, had brought an-
other lovely day, that little mother dried her tears (if
tears they have), and she turned again to her duteous
labors, bringing sticks, and strings, and other material
things, and builds aloft another habitation; and soon
rears, and faithfully takes charge of, another little God-
praising, parent-loving family.
In this similitude, I briefly foreshadow that part of
John Eliot's life, which, among other things, coming as
lessons from his exemplary wife, will be elaborated in
my next chapters.
48 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Still there is a cry without King Philip is on the
war-path ! Murder ! murder ! gassamon is murdered of
Philip's Indians! The terrible trump of war, afar, is
blowing its blast, with dread alarms, reverberating all
over the settlements !
Meanwhile, the three Indian murderers Mattashu-
nanamo, Wam-pappaquam, and Tobias arrested by
English officers, are brought into court at Plymouth,
to be tried by English judges.* The judges are there,
and the jury is there, with five red men added to it,
as advisers, or as a mere show of fairness; and the
Indian prisoner, above named, are there, standing,
trembling, doomed, upon an indictment, to be tried
for their lives. An allegation in the indictment reads
as follows :
" For that being accused, that they did with joynt consent
vpon the 29 of January anno 1674 att a place called Asso-
wamset pond wilfully and of sett purpose and of malice fore
thought and by force and armes murder John Sassamon another
indian, by laying violent hands on him and striking him, or
twisting his necfce, vntil hee was dead; and to hyde and conceale
this theire said murder att the tyme and place aforesaid did cast
his dead body through a hole of the ice into the said pond."
It is now that the much-suspected, much-feared King
Philip enters that court ; and, denying the right of the
English to try his own Indian subjects, for the killing of
an Indian, promulgates his own notions of law and right,
in language purporting, in substance, to be a plea to their
jurisdiction; if we may speak in poetic form, substan-
tially thus :
* Hubbard, Hist, of Indian Wars, pp. 80-82. Hist, of Natick, pp. 29, 30.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 49
What right, what law, these prisoners to arraign,
Have Englishmen, in this, my own domain ?
What lease of venue, from allotted lines,
To make invasions, and to adjudge of crimes 1
Why seek the Indian's life, in guile forlorn,
Of these three men, of native mothers born?
Who one and all, with Sassamon, the slain,
Were my liege subjects, bound by laws the same,
Which governed tribes a thousand years ago,
But which, evaded, brings an endless woe.
What mind, what project, points your boundless sway,
But hence to drive the red-man, far away
From this fair land, his birthright and his wealth,
And hold these regions vast, through royal stealth !
With flagrant wrong, the tribes will ne'er concur,
And to your bold intrusion, I demur !
My subjects here, an English court may try,
By spurious judgments, they may fall and die ;
Yet vengeance, dread, shall point the red-man's steel,
And to the God of battles I '11 appeal !
Philip withdrew, and ne'er returned again ;
His truthful talk was uttered but in vain ;
The prisoners held, and thus condemned to die,
Brought darkness, gathering o'er this western sky ;
The bloody sunset, and the forked light,
That broke the curtain of that fearful night,
Awaking English matrons, 'mid alarms,
To hug sweet infants with tenacious arms,
Foretold gross carnage of successive years,
And devastations in a land of tears.
True to his word which danger thus defied,
Philip the pilgrims fought, and fighting died ;
With countless victims by the self-same blade
Which mutual madness had in folly made.*
* From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballads, p. 344.
7
CHAPTER III.
IN the foregoing chapters we have spoken of the les-
sons which ought to be learned from John Eliot's life
and character ; have alluded to his birth in England, to
his education there, and to his arrival at Boston in the
month of November, 1631 ; and in the narration have
told of his former friends landing here in the follow-
ing year, and settling at Roxbury ; how he then and
there became their pastor, and remained their minister
to the end of his long life ; how, for the first fifteen
years, he preached solely to the white-man ; how, during
that time, he was educating Indian boys to the English
language, and white men's boys to the Indian language ;
and how, in the same period, he had prepared many
young men for the ministry, that they might, in the
Indian dialect, preach to the tribes of the wilderness ;
and how, at the same time, he had begun to make our
English Bible speak the Indian language. And when he
had prepared his young ministry to follow him in suc-
cession to the apostolic work, he then, Oct. '20, 1646,
amid the Indian wigwams in the wilderness, preached his
first sermon to the assembled tribes at Nonantum. How
Natick was obtained of the government, for the organ-
ization of an Indian town ; how it was officered by
Indians, who administered the government of it, as
Christian citizens, for nearly a century. How our apostle,
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 51
from the first, advanced as a leader, a law-giver, and as
an evangelist ; how he wrote up his " Christian Common-
wealth," favoring a republican -government under the
great Protector, Oliver Cromwell ; how Cromwell, then
dying (1658), and before the book effectually issued
from the press, Eliot, at the frown of the king, and at
the command of our colonial government, suppressed it,
and thus saving his mission, and perhaps his own head,
he appeased the wrath of Charles the Second, who had
then been crowned king of the reinstated kingdom
under which our fathers lived. His two letters to the
king, the one written in 1661, and the other in 1663, are
given below.
To the High and Mighty Prince Charles the Second, by the Grace
of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, De-
fender of the Faith, &c., the Commissioners of United Colo-
nies in New England with increasz of all happiness, &c.
MOST DREAD SOVEREIGN :
If our weak apprehensions have not misled us, this work will
be no unacceptable present to your Majesty as having a greater
interest therein, than we believe is generally understood, which
(upon this occasion) we deem it our duty to declare.
The people of these four Colonies (confederated for mutual
defence in the time of the late distractions of our dear native
country) your Majesty's natural born subjects, by the favor and
grant of your father and grandfather, />f famous memory, put
themselves upon this great and hazardous undertaking, of plant-
ing themselves at their own charge in these remote ends of the
earth, that, without offence and provocation to our Brethren,
and Countrymen, we might enjoy that liberty to worship God,
which our consciences informed us was not only our right, but
duty ; as also that we might (if it so pleased God) be instrumental
vo spread the light of the Gospel, the knowledge of the Son of
52 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
God, our Saviour, to the poor barbarous heathen, which by his
late Majesty, iu some of our Patents, is declared to be his prin-
cipal aim.
These honest and pious intentions have, through the grace
and goodness of God, and our kings, been seconded with propor-
tionable success ;
That other part of our errand hither hath been attended
with endeavors and blessing, many of the wild Indians being
taught, and understanding the doctrine of the Christian religion,
and with much affection attending such preachers as are sent to
teach them, many of their children are instructed to write and
read, and some of them have proceeded further, to attain the
knowledge of the Latin and Greek tongues, and are brought up
with our English youths in University learning There are di-
vers of them that can, and do read some parts of the Scripture,
and some catechisms which formerly have been translated into
their own language, which hath occasioned the undertaking of
a greater work, viz., the printing of the whole Bible, which
(being translated by a painful labor amongst them, who was
desirous to see the work accomplished in his day) hath already
proceeded to finishing the New Testament, which we here
humbly present to your Majesty, as the first fruits and accom-
plishments of the pious design of your royal ancestors.
" Sir: The shines of your royal favor upon these undertak-
ings, will make these undertakings to flourish, notwithstanding
any malevolent aspect from those that bear evil will to this Lion,
and render Your Majesty more illustrious and glorious to after
generations.
The God of heaven long preserve and bless Your Majesty with
many happy days, to his glory, the good and comfort of his
Church and people. Amen."
LETTER II.
MOST DREAD SOVEREIGN:
As our former presentation of the New Testament was graci-
ously accepted by your Majesty, so with all humble thankfulness
for that royal favor, and with the like hope, we are bold now to
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 53
present the whole Bible, translated into the language of the
natives of this country, by a painful laborer in that work, and
now printed and finished, by means of the pious beneficence of
Your Majesty's subjects in England ; which also by your special
favor hath been continued and confirmed, to the intended use
and advancement of so great and good a work as is the Propa-
gation of the Gospel to these poor barbarians in this (erewhile)
unknown world.
Translations of the Holy Scriptures, the Word of the King
of kings, have ever been deemed not unworthy of the most
princely dedications; examples whereof are extant in divers
languages. But your Majesty is the first which hath received
one in this language, or from the American world, or from any
parts so remote from Europe as these are, for aught that ever
we heard of.
Publication also of these sacred writings to the sons of men
(who here, and here only, have the ministers of their eternal
salvation revealed to them by the God of heaven) is a work that
the greatest princes have honored themselves by.
But, to publish and communicate the same to a lost people, as
remote from knowledge and civility, much more from Christi-
anity, as they were from all showing, civil and Christian
nations, a people without law, without letters, without riches,
or means to procure any such thing, a people that sat as deep
in darkness and in the shadow of death as (we think) any since
the creation. This puts a lustre upon it that is superlative, and
to have given royal patronage and countenance to such a publi-
cation, or to the means thereof, will stand among the marks of
lasting honor in the eyes of all that are considerate, even unto
after generations.
And, though there be in this Western world many Colonies of
other- European nations, yet we humbly conceive, no prince has
had a return of such a work as this ; which may be some token
of the success of your Majesty's plantation of New England,
undertaken and settled under the encouragement and security of
your royal father and grandfather, of famous memory, and cher-
ished with like gracious aspects from your Majesty.
54 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Though indeed the present Poverty of these plantations could
not have accomplished this work had not the forementioned
Bounty of England lent Belief; nor could that have continued
to stand us in stead, without the Influence of Your Royal Favor
and Authority, whereby the Corporation there for Propagating
the Gospel among these Natives hath been established and en-
couraged, (whose Labor of Love, Care and Faithfulness in that
Trust, must ever be remembered with Honor;) yea, when
private persons, for their private Ends, have of late sought Ad-
vantages to deprive the said Corporation of Half the Possessions
that had been by Liberal Contributions, obtained for so Religi-
ous Ends. We understand that, by an Honorable and Righteous
Decision in your Majesty's Court of Chancery, their Hopes
have been defeated, and the Thing settled where it was and is ;
for which great favor and illustrious fruit of Your Majesty's
Government we cannot but return our most humble thanks in
this Public manner; and as the result of the joint Endeavors of
Your Majesty's subjects, there and here, acting under your
Royal Influence, We present You with this work, which upon
sundry accounts is to be called yours.
Religion is the End and Glory of mankind, and as it was the
professed End of this Plantation, so we design ever to keep it
in our eye as our main design, (both to ourselves and the natives
about us,) and that our products may be answerable thereunto.
Give us therefore leave, (Dread Sovereign) yet again humbly to
beg the continuance of your Royal Favor, and of the Influences
thereof, upon this poor plantation, The United Colonies of New
England, for the securing and establishment of our Civil Privi-
leges and Religious Liberties hitherto enjoyed; and upon this
Good Work of Propagating Religion to these Natives, that the
Supports and Encouragements thereof from England may be
still countenanced and confirmed.
May this Nursling still suck the Breast of Kings, and be fos-
tered by your Majesty, as it hath been by your Royal Predeces-
sors, unto the preservation of its Main Concernments. -It shall
thrive and prosper to the Glory of God and the Honor of your
Majesty. Neither will it be any loss or grief unto our Lord the
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 55
King, to have the blessing of the Poor to come upon Him, and
that from these Euds of the Earth.
The God by whom Kings Reign and Princes Decree Justice,
Bless Your Majesty and establish your Throne in Righteousness,
in Mercy and in Truth, to the Glory of His Name, the Good of
His People, and to your own Comfort and Rejoicing, not in this
only but in another World."
PROGRESS.
I have already spoken of the New England landscape as
seen in 1631 ; of the location of the various Indian nations,
then roaming upon it, wild hunters of the wilderness.
We come now to speak more particularly of Eliot's
perseverance and progress in the fourteen Indian towns,
of his care, and of his 8,600 praying Indians, up to 1674,
when the tearful terrors of Philip's war began to becloud
New England, bringing dread dismay to the souls of men,
women, and children. How previously, in 1648, the
four colonies heedlessly, and perhaps unintentionally,
retarded Eliot's mission of love, by permitting the use
of carnal weapons, with all their appalling consequences,
as against Christianity; and by giving their unjust
assent to the same, as may be seen in the murder of that
life-long Englishman's friend, the brave old Miantonimo.*
Thus many instances of cruelty and of crime came like
clouds, floating in, polluting the atmosphere, all tend-
ing to hedge up Eliot's highway to civilization and
Christianity.
Yet in spite of these terrible happenings ; in spite of
all the carnal outrages on the one side and on the other,
of war, of conflagration, of skirmishes, and murders
* My Duston, and New England Wars, pp. 160-169.
56 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
in the midst of his people, Eliot's mission of love had
prospered all the way through. Up to 1674, he had
made constant, fruitful progress.
His CAKE FOB SCHOOLS.
From the first, Eliot had evinced uncommon interest
towards the rising generations. Cotton Mather bears
testimony to his strong force in that direction.
At one of % the synods held in Boston, Mather says :
" I heard Eliot pray : ' Lord ! for schools everywhere
among us ; * that our schools may flourish ; that every
member of this assembly may go home, to procure a
good school to be encouraged, in the town where he
lives; that before we die, we may all be happy to see a
good school established in every part of the country.' "
INDIAN SCHOOLS.
So it was, by his resistless force of character, as time
advanced, an Indian college at Cambridge, being erected,
was supplied with students for the ministry ; and thus
his disciples, both red and white, were schooled to be his
successors in the vast undertaking of evangelizing the
red-men of New England. Up to 1674, Eliot's mission
had advanced, and his progress had been favored,
apparently, by the great Head of the Church.
RULERS AND MINISTERS.
Many assistants, as well as successors, were needful to his
mission. Proceeding to the translation of the Bible into
* Memoirs of Eliot, p. 74. Adams' Life of Eliot, p. 51.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 57
the Indian tongue, scholars, well tutored in the languages,
both Indian and English, had become a necessity. Hence,
many had been raised up as volunteers, to enter his field
of progress, as teachers, as rulers, as printers, as trans-
lators, and as ministers, to supply the various towns
where the Apostle had established churches, or Indian
preaching stations.
In all this, as we have seen, Eliot had been encouraged
by the aid of " a Society " in the old world, organized
there, " for the propagation of the Gospel in New Eng-
land " ; and by Cromwell, by the Colonial government
here, and otherwise. For in his pastorate at Roxbury,
where he preached but once in two weeks generally, the
remainder of his time being devoted to his books, and to
the various tribes, as they gave him gospel gatherings, in
the wilderness or near the sea-shore, he was sustained by
a constant salary to the end of his life.
CONFERENCE OP SAGAMORES.
On the 10th of June, 1651, having called together,
from all quarters, the many sachems and sagamores, and
their attendants, of New England, he held a discourse
with them, on the subject of religious worship, and of
carrying his great undertaking into effect.
On that occasion, they were induced to subscribe to a
general approval of his purpose, and among other things,
they made choice of rulers, as follows : one ruler for an
hundred men ; two rulers of fifty each ; ten rulers of
ten men each.*
* Drake's American Indians, B. II, p. 113. Mather's Magnalia, B. Ill, p.
612. Memoirs of Eliot, p. 67. Life of Eliot, pp. 117, 118.
8
58 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Before the adjournment, they signed Eliot's covenants,
and endorsed their consent generally to the days of
fasting and prayer, which, on that occasion, had been
appointed.
THE COVENANT
which the Indians had signed, though somewhat long,
was .to the point. It began, and ended, thus :
"We are the sons of Adam. We and our Fathers have
a longtime been lost in our sins; but now the mercy
of the Lord begins to find us out again. . . . Oh!
Jehovah, teach us wisdom in thy Scriptures ! Let the
grace of Christ help us, because Christ is the wisdom of
God. Send thy spirit into our hearts, and let it teach
us ! Take us to be thy people and let us take Thee to
be our God!"*
CIIUKCH AT NATICK.
In the year 1661, Eliot's first Indian church was organ-
ized, it being a day of baptisms. At this date he had
completed his translation of the New Testament. In
1663 he had also completed the printing of the Old
Testament in the Indian language. At this, it is said,
the commissioners of the four colonies were greatly
pleased.
He' then proceeded to the translation of the Psalter ;
and then to the " Practice of Piety," which, being printed
in the Indian language, became popular among the tribes,
who took several editions of it in the years 1665 and
1667, and up to 1687.
* Memoirs of Eliot, ch. 13, pp. 83, 84.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 59
In 1666, Mr. Eliot had established a lecture station at
Natick, his first Indian town; and about the same time,
making proclamation, he called together a multitude of
Indians at Marshpee. There he took from them con-
fessions of their Christian knowledge, faith, and practice.
Afterwards (Aug. 17, 1670), Mr. Bourne was ordained
over the native church at Natick.
PEACE.
In the year 1671,* the settlers in Plymouth colony
were threatening to make war against a neighboring
tribe, the Missokonog Indians. Eliot hearing of this,
and trembling for the safety of his Indian churches, at
once dispatched a committee to proceed to that place of
danger, as mediators, with instructions (from Eliot) as
follows :
We, the poor church at Natick, hearing that the
honored Rulers, and good People of Plymouth, are
pressing, and arming soldiers to go to war against the
Mis-so-konog Indians, for what cause we know not.
Though they pray not to God, we hope they will ! And
we do mourn, and pray for them, and desire greatly that
they may not be destroyed. Especially because we have
not heard that they have done anything worthy of
death.
Therefore we do send these two brethren, Anthony
and William, who were formerly our messengers to
those parts; and we request John Sassarnonf to join
them
* Bacon's History cf Natick, pp. 24-86.
t Sassamon was afterwards slain. Drake, B. Ill, p. 9.
60 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
And this trust we commit unto you, our dear
brethren and beloved
First, to go to the misso-konog Indians, or who else
may be concerned, in the quarrel; tell them the poor
churches in Natick, send them two Scriptures.
When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against
it, then proclaim peace unto it.
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace,
and open unto thee, then it^ shall be, that all the people
that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and
they shall serve thee.'
* Dare any of you, having a matter against another,
go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints ?
" * Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the
world ? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye
unworthy to judge the smallest matters ?
"'Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How
much more things that pertain to this life ?
"'If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to
this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in
the church.
" ' I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a
wise man among you ? no, not one that shall be able to
judge between his brethren?
" ' But brother goeth to law with brother, and that
before the unbelievers.' f
"If they of Missokonog accept this our exhortation,
tell them, that the Church, also, have sent you to the
Governor; tell him that the Church hath sent you to
be mediators of peace; on behalf of the Missokonog
Indians, or any other of their neighbors ...
* Dcut. xx, 10, 11. 1 1 Cor. vi, 1-C.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 61
"Nay, beseech them all, to consider, what comfort it
will be, to kill, or to be killed, when no capital sin hath
been committed, or defended by them
" And we request you, our beloved brethren, to be
speedy, in your motions. We shall endeavor to follow
you in our prayers ; and shall long to hear of a happy
peace^ that may open a clear door for the passage of
the gospel among the people.
"Thus, commending you to God, in prayer, we do
send you forth, upon this great service of peace-making,
which is evidently the flower and glory of Christ's
kingdom."
(Signed) JOHN ELIOT,
with the consent ~\
NATICK, Aug. 1, 1671. of the Church. }
INDIAN STATIONS.
About this time, the Apostle had towns of Christian
Indians as follows :
Natick, his first town, had in it some 29 families, and
145 inhabitants, occupying 6.000 acres of land. Here,
as perhaps in other localities, the Indian people on the
Lord's days, and on other lecture days, were called
together at the sound of a drum.
Pekemit (Stoughton), then reckoned to be 14 miles
south of Boston, contained 12 families, and 60 Indians,
occupying 6,000 acres of land.
Has-sa-namesit (Grafton) had a church organized in
1671. About 30 of the natives had been baptized. It
is said, in general, they all sustained the Sabbath, and
church-worship, in a becoming manner.
Okom-ma-kemesit (Marlboro'), then 30 miles west of
62 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Boston, had 10 native families, cultivated 6,000 acres of
soil, with orchards planted by Indians. Solomon was
their teacher.
Nashobah (Littleton), then 25 miles west-northwest
from Boston, contained 10 Indian families and 50 souls,
holding lands 4 miles square. John Thomas was their
teacher.
Wagum-qua-cog, situated between Natickand Grafton,
had 11 native families and 55 inhabitants, who, as
appears, " worshipped God, kept the Sabbath, and adhered
to the duties of civil order." Job was their teacher.
Pentucket (or Tewksbury), situated at the confluence
of the Merrimac and Concord Rivers, contained 2,500
acres, had 15 Indian families, and 75 souls.*
Numphow lived here, as their ruler, and his son Samuel
(named by the English) served his father here, as an
assistant teacher. They had been educated at the
expense of that society in England of which we have
spoken.
This being a favorable fishing station, the tribes at
certain seasons, from various quarters, often congregated
here.
Eliot had sometimes preached at Pawtucket Falls
during the long life-time of Passaconawuy.^ This ven-
erable sachem was generally present to hear the sermon,
% to which he and his tribes usually listened attentively.
One day at the Falls, after the sermon, the Indians
propounded to the Apostle many questions.
At one time (1648) the old chief, who .probably had
seen, upon these hill-sides, the frosts of an hundred
* Memoirs of Eliot, pp. 101, 102, 140.
t Drake's American Indians, B. Ill, pp. 93, 94.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 63
winters, rose up at the close of the service, and publicly
announced his belief in the Englishman's God. Among
other thing*, Eliot himself speaks of him thus:
" He said he never heard of God before as he now
doth; that he would consider the matter, and would
persuade his two sons [then present] to do the same."
THE TEXT
(Malachi i, 11), translated for the occasion, was as follows :
" From the rising of the sun to the going down of the
same, my name shall be great among the ' Indians ' ; and
in every place, prayers shall be made unto my name ; and
a pure 'prayer'; for my name shall be great, among
the 'Indians' (saith the Lord 'of hosts')."*
AT WAMESIT AGAIN.
On the 5th of May, 1674, Eliot comes once again, to
meet the assembled tribes, Major-General Gookin at-
tending the Apostle, and holds a court here. They
were together when they came, and when they went
away.
Public notice had been given for the convention of
the tribes, held at that time, where the Eliot Church, in
Lowell, now stands. Gathering in, they filled up the
space-way between the wigwams on that hill-side, to
hear the Apostle, all curious, all anxious.
At that time, the dark cloud, which had begun to
overshadow New England, portending war, brought
dread fear to all. This must have quickened the foot-
step of the Christian red-man, as he came in with his
* Francis' Life of Eliot, p. 107.
64 JOHN ELTOT, THE APOSTLE.
squaw and little ones, coming, as they did, from Amos-
keag and other places, that they might learn lessons, and
be encouraged by that great and good man, the Apostle!
Thus, now, the many tribes are here; Numphow is
here ; Samuel and Wonalancet are here ; and Gookin is
here. The sun has gone down beyond the Wachusette
hills ; the shades of night are spread out in the skies ;
the din of Pawtucket Falls is audible ; and beneath the
stars of heaven, as they seem to gaze down approvingly,
the voice of the Evangelist, like the voice of a God, falls
in upon the assembled tribes, at Wamesit, for the last,
last time.*
WONALANCET.
He, then about fifty years of age, being present, was
seriously impressed among others ; and rising up at the
close of the discourse, addressed Eliot and Gookin
thus :
" Sirs, you have been pleased for four years, in your
abundant love, to apply yourselves particularly unto me
and my people ; to exhort, press, and persuade us to
pray (to God). I am thankful to you for your pains. I
must acknowledge, have all my days been used to pass
in an old canoe; and you exhort me to change that old
canoe, to which I have hitherto been unwilling. But
now, I yield to your advice." t
He was a son of Passaconaway. The father, at the
age of more than a century (as recorded), had gone
hence. The son succeeding him, as chief sachem of the
Penacooks, including the Wamesits, had spread his
* Text, Matt, xxii, 1-14. t Memoirs of Eliot, p. 102.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 65
wigwam tent here, and here, upon our beautiful Fort
Hill, had erected his fortification, as we have seen. This
was at about the beginning of dread hostilities, during
which, being a peace-maker, Wonalancet fled away with
many of his men ; but returned, when he had reason to
believe the conflict had come to an end. At length
(1077), disgusted with the repeated, unprovoked ill-
treatment of some of the settlers towards him and his
kindred race, he, after selling out all his lands, finally
wandered away into Canada, leaving his native hills,
and never, never returned.*
ELIOT'S PROGRESS.
In 1674, and up to that time, although terrible difficul-
ties had intervened, yet Zion, even in a wilderness of
many conflicts, as appears, had made progress. But
now, through the threatenings of King Philip, under the
many outrages of individual 'settlers, a terrible war is at
hand.
The very elements are angry, and the muttering thun-
ders of war are everywhere breaking in against Eliot's
mission, and against the Christian civilization of the
New England tribes.
The top of Zion's tree, so to speak, on which Eliot's
Indian churches hang, is now beginning to be tossed by
the tempest; the tornado gathers blackness, and the light-
nings, followed by thunderbolts, are shooting down from
the skies, chilling the blood of mortals, and, in spite of
the Apostle and his peaceful Christians, distracting the
populace, and turning their God-given love into mad-
* Drake's His., B. Ill, pp. 95-97.
9
66 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
ness, cruelty, and blood. Beneath its blackness are the
fagot and the tomahawk, with all their nightly and morn-
ing horrors. Indeed, on the one side and on the other,
it is known to be a war of extermination, a war, not
based upon the overwhelming power of Christian love,
but upon the madness of brute force, wielding the blood-
stained weapons of demons, a war in which the peace-
ful Christian Indian will not be allowed to stand neutral;
but is to be compelled to take up arms against his own
kindred race, or be manacled, imprisoned, or slain by the
white man ; and a war in which the Bible, the Psalter,
and the Prayer-book are to be laid aside, giving place to
the deadly carnal weapon.
To all this, Eliot, in the agonies of his heart, demurred.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ALTERNATIVE.
So it was ; every neutral Indian, by the colonial gov-
ernment, was branded as an enemy, however pure in
thought or deed, or circumspect in life, he might be.
Under this pressure, some of the natives, not being
willing to allow their own kindred people to be de-
stroyed, fled into the ranks of King Philip; some of
them took up arms for the English ; some of them, like
Wonalancct, seeking peace, wandered- away into the
dense wilderness afar off ; * while Eliot's non-resistant,
Christian red-men were seized, as at Natick, manacled,
and boated down Charles River, and were held at Deer
Island as prisoners of war.f
JAMES THE PKINTEK.
In sight of the dread alternative thus offered, in which-
Eliot's Indians were doomed to take sides, James, although
always heretofore faithful to the white man, now turning,
fled away, and joined his kindred nationality. He served
under King Philip, and was found with Philip's forces
in the invasion of Lancaster, which captured Mrs.
* Dearborn's Sketch of Eliot's Life, p. 15.
f Francis' Life of Eliot, pp. 277, 278.
68 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Rowlandson, and held her for some months in captivity.*
James had a desire, it seems, to save his race from
the extermination then impending; yet remembering,
as he must, the many good things which he had learned
from the Apostle, redeemed himself in favoring the
redemption of Mrs. Rowlandson from her captivity as
follows. Long had this pious lady sought redemption,
after extreme abuse, privation, and sorrow, but in vain.
Being a clergyman's wife, a great price for her release
was demanded.
One day, Mr. Hoar, with others from Boston, by
permission entered King Philip's wigwam camp in the
forest, to obtain this lady from captivity, and offering to
Quinnopin, her master, an hundred dollars. lie refused
to give her up. The savage said it was not enough, and
persisted in the refusal. It was all the money; and
Mrs. Rowland s'on is seen weeping, in a distracted,
hopeless condition. James the Printer, seeing this, and
his Christianized heart touched by the incident, ap-
proaching Mr. Hoar, said, "Go again to Quinnopin [her
master] ; offer him the hundred dollars again, and give
him a pint of rum." His suggestion was obeyed ; the
money, with the rum, was accepted ; and the oppressed
captive was set free.
Soon afterwards this lady went forth with her revered
husband, both as missionaries in New England preach-
ing the gospel, until he was slain by the tribes ; and then
Mrs. Rowlandson prepared and published her popular
book often found in our Sabbath schools, in which she
gives many a startling incident of her captivity.
* Drake's American Indians, B. II, pp. 50, 51.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 69
JOB NESUTAN.*
Xesutan, another of Eliot's disciples, when the dread
alternative came, taking sides in the use of carnal
weapons, elected to turn into the fight in behalf of the
English. Job had been long with James the Printer in
Eliot's service; was a good linguist in the English
tongue, had worked on the Bible and other books
as a printer in the Indian language. In war he proved a
valiant soldier, and fell in the fight during the first
expedition at Mount Hope.
OLD JETHKO.
This pious Indian preacher had labored in the vine-
yard under Eliot and Gookin at Lancaster and other
places, and had been long in the service. But, sad for
him, when the dread alternative of the contest offered
itself, he was found on the side of his own kindred
and Countrymen. This was the extent of his crime;
yet the last his Christian brethren saw of him, he was in
the hands of desperadoes on the briery pathway to
Boston, with a rope about his neck, to be hanged. f And
the Christian " cry " of Old Jethro was heard no more
" in the wilderness."
Thus it was that numerous desperadoes could have
their own way, when carnal weapons had obtained the
ascendency, encouraged, as they were, by the barbarous
examples of cruelty and torture which had long lived
to disgrace the government of England.
* Drake's American Indians, B. II, p. 51.
| Jethro. See Drake's American History, pp. 81, 8'i, 90.
70 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
DEATH OF KING PHILIP.
True it is, and it is but just to say it, when King
Philip, in the fight for his country and nation, had been
shot down in his native forest, his lifeless body torn
asunder, and divided, was borne away in pieces as by
brute beasts; and then the wife and the son were sold
into slavery. Against all these, and other practices of
the kind, Eliot, by his eloquence, by prayer and petition,
constantly remonstrated. Philip is no more.*
"He felt his life-blood freezing fast;
He grasped his bow, his lance and steel ;
He was of Wampanoag's last,
To die were easy not to yield.
"His eyes were fixed upon the sky;
He gasped, as on the ground he fell;
None but his foes to see him die ;
None but his foes his death to tell."
THE SHAM FIGHT.
As truth impels us, we turn next to the great Training.
About a month after the death of King Philip, the war
then being supposed to be ended, proclamation had been
made by the English, that on the sixth day of Septem-
ber, 1676, there was to be a great training at Cocheco
(Dover, N. H.), in which the red-man, from every part of
New England, was invited to participate. That day
arrived. The peaceful Wonalancet was there; four hun-
dred other Indians were there ; among whom were that
scattered and bereaved remnant of Eliot's men, from
* Drake's Amer. Indians, Book III, pp. 42-44.
JOHX ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 71
Wamesit, and from other places; some of whom had
been pressed into the fight, as against a strong desire to
be neutral ; some of them, peaceful, had fled away, but
had returned at the joyful news of peace; and all,
willing to join the white man, bringing the Christian
olive-branch, had, as invited, come to the great training
at Cocheco. The brigade was formed, Major Waldron,
who four years afterwards was slain at midnight, was
the commanding-general of the day. In the order of
military exercises, there was to be a sham fight. In this,
the Indians, without weapons, were stationed to the
drag-ropes of the field-pieces of the artillery. The Eng-
lish, of course, had charge of the guns. All being ready
for the onset, a signal was given, by the discharge of a
field-piece ; at which, by a preconcerted manoeuvre, the
English infantry, closing in upon the Indians on all
sides, seized, manacled, and confined them all as prison-
ers of war.*
Thus, at Cocheco, were assembled the Wamesits, the
Penacooks, the Ossipees, Pequawkets, and others, all at
the pretended peace-making beck of the English ; and
were under the benign protection, as they thought, of
the peaceful Wonalancct, and of Eliot's Christian civil-
ization. But, alas ! they were all prisoners.
Then and there, without a trial, they were separated,
the peaceable from the perfidious. About two hundred
of them with Wonalancet, then thought to be harmless,
were released. The other two hundred, being suspected
of evil intent, were marched or boated away to Boston.
* Hubbard, historian of that day, complacently says : " They were hand-
somely surprised, without the loss of any person's life, to the number of
400 Indians.'! Drake, B. Ill, pp. 96, 97.
72 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Seven or eight of them were hanged as supposed mur-
derers ; some of them were sent to other parts ; some of
them sold into slavery.*
PETITION OF JOHN ELIOT AGAINST THE SALE OF INDIANS.
To the Hon. Gov. and Council, sitting at Boston, this 13th of the 6th, 1675.
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF JOHN ELIOT SHEWETH:
That the terror of selling away such Indians unto the Islands for perpetual
slaves, who shall yield up themselves to your mercy, is like to be an effectual
prolongation of the war, and such an exasperation of them, as may produce
we know not what evil consequences upon all the land.
Christ hath said, blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
This usage of them is worse than death. The design of Christ in these last
days is not to extirpate nations, but to gospelize them. His sovreign hand
and grace hath brought the gospel into these dark places of the earth.
When we came we declared to the world (and it is recorded) yea, we are
engaged by our Letters Patent from the King's Majesty, that the endeavour
of the Indians' conversion, not their extirpation, was one great end of our
enterprise in coming to these ends of the earth. The, Lord hath so succeeded
that work as that, by his grace, they have the Holy Scriptures, and sundry
of themselves able to teach their countrymen the good knowledge of God.
And however some of them have refused to receive the gospel, and now are
incensed in their spirits unto a war against the English, yet I doubt not that
the meaning of Christ is to open a door for the free passage of the gospel
among them.
My humble request is, that you would follow Christ's design in this
matter, to promote the free passage ol religion among them, and not destroy
them.
To sell souls for money seemeth to me a dangerous merchandise. To sell
them away from all means of grace, when Christ has provided means of
grace for them, is the way for us to be active in the destroying their souls.
Deut. xxiii, 15, 16, a fugitive servant from a pagan master might not be
delivered to his master, but be kept in Israel for the good of his soul; how
much less lawful to sell away souls from under the light of the gospel into a
condition where their souls will be utterly lost, so far as appearcth unto man.
All men of reading condemn the Spaniard for cruelty upon this point, in
destroying men, and depopulating the land. The country is large enough;
* Drake's Amer. Indians, Book III, pp. 81-3.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 73
THE SQUAW.
We, as well as Eliot, have reason also to lament the
dealings of the desperadoes of our white race with the
squaw sachem of Saconet.*
Prior to the death of Philip, a proclamation had been
made, which called upon all his adherents to come in, giv-
ing them to understand, that they, in that case, should
be dealt with mercifully. Thereupon, this squaw sachem,
an ally of Philip, having first sent three messengers to
the governor of Plymouth, suing for life, promising,
under that proclamation, submission ; and accordingly
surrendered herself and tribes to Major Bradford.
But, sad to tell ! they were slain, the entire one hun-
dred and ten, that very day. Well might the Apostle
expostulate.
Great God, forgive our Saxon race,
Blot from thy Book, no more to trace
Fraternal wrath infernal !
That taiuts the atmosphere we breathe,
The sky above and earth beneath,
With dearth and death eternal ! f
here is land enough for them and us too. Prov. xiv, 28. In the multitude
of people is the King's honor.
It will be much to the glory of Christ to have many brought in to worship
his great name.
I desire the Honored Council to pardon my boldness, and let the case of
conscience be discussed orderly, before the King be asked. Cover my
weakness, and weigh the reason and religion that laboreth in this great case
of conscience.
JOHN ELIOT."
About three months subsequently, seven Indians were sold ["to be
transported to any place out of this continent"], by the Treasurer of the
Colony. See Genealogy of Eliot Family, pp. 133, 134.
* Drake's Amer. Indians, Book II, p. 40.
t From my Epics, etc., p. 167.
10
CHAPTER V.
EXTERMIN A.TION.
THIS was avowed as well on the one side as on the
other. And at the hands of desperadoes, the natives,
in various ways, were constantly being crowded, to the
end of their lives. Provoked variously, to madness and
desperation, they fought, some against their own race,
some against the English settlers ; and, as Cowper hath,
in truth, said, " the brands rusted in their bony hands."
In view of all this, it is much to be deplored that the
unbiased historian, aside from Eliot's influence, has
never been able to see any material difference between
the so-called civilization of that day of trial, and native
savage barbarism itself, as evinced by desperadoes on
the one side and on the other.
So it was at
WAMESIT.
In 1675, the Indians (Oct. 27 and Xov. 4) had been
provoked by English desperadoes, who had repeatedly
fired upon them, at Chelmsford and elsewhere, upon
suspicion that the Wamesits had been guilty of burning
a barn, by and for which some of the natives had been
killed.* Being thus indiscriminately accused and injured
* Francis' Life of Eliot, pp. 279, 280.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 75
as barn-burners, it of course came to pass that the
Wamesits, combining against the settlers in this locality,
by reason of these aggressions long and often repeated,
crossed the Merrimac in their canoes, and, falling in
upon the English settlers on the north side of the river,
near where the old garrison-house still stands (1880),
raising their fearful war-whoop cry, and burning down
three dwelling-houses, one or more of which belonged to
Edward Colburn and Samuel Varnum; said Colburn and
others were shot at, and pursued by the Indians (forty
in number) ; and while upon the river, in attempting to
cross it, the two sons of Varnum in the conflict were
slain. It was March 18, 1676. And on the 15th of
April, then next, fourteen or fifteen English cottages in
this vicinity were consumed.
MORAL.
From all this, we may clearly see how great a matter
a little fire may kindle; indeed, how those, who unwisely
take the sword, may perish by it; and above all, how
wise it shall be to learn of Eliot, bearing, forbearing, and
forgiving, advancing valiantly onward, following peace
with the world under God's great golden rule, as he did.
OLD MEN AND WOMEN.
As Philip's war progressed, the Wamesits at one time
went away, deserting the station, leaving only some few
old men and women here, too old to get away.* Sad
to relate, soon after the young Indians left, their wigwams
at night were set fire to, and all those that remained
* Sketch of the Life of Eliot, pp. 15, 16.
76 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
perished. Their ashes, no doubt, are somewhere in this
ground on which we tread.*
PHILIP'S FORCE.
For a considerable time he appeared to be strong and
invincible. And yet that light and love, which by the
Apostle had been diffused among the tribes, tended
greatly to delay and dishearten a savage warfare.
But for this, the war would have been longer, and if
possible more terrible; but for this, the general mass of
natives would have gone over to King Philip. And in
that event, the English settlers would have been most
likely driven out, if not entirely exterminated. Eliot's
mission to evangelize the Indian nations, although it
fell short of his grand purpose, politically, as we have
seen, it saved the white settler of New England, serving,
as it did, to concentrate a balance of power towards
civilization and economical progress.
All the way, 'neath the war-cloud or otherwise, Eliot's
constant prayer was for peace. So it was in the
Missakonog troubles, which he so nobly averted and
prevented. It was so in 1G69, when the Massachusetts
Indians made a six-years' war against the Mohawks. In
that contest, along the borders of New York, seven
hundred Indians, against the prayerful entreaties of
Eliot, waged war in that wilderness, and more than
half of them perished in the fight, f All this, and
more, the Apostle had foreseen, and had raised his
voice against it.
* Drake's American Indian Wars, B. II, p. 117.
f Drake, B. II, p. 45.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 77
MALICIOUS MEN.
Conflicts with the natives were got up, not by the
masses, on the one side or the other, but, through
occasional depredations, the kindling embers of anger
from time to time were fanned forth to furious flames.
And although terrible scenes of war and blood had
transpired, beclouding and hedging up the pathway of
the Apostle, in the killing of his educated ministers and
teachers, and in the distraction or destruction of his
Christian churches and people of his care, Eliot still
survived, yet he mourned, bereaved, and what follows.
They thence, advance 'mid oft-recurring strife,
Through conflicts desperate kindled into life,
By hate implacable still lingering long,
Avenging Philip's death; and flagrant wrong,
Remembered well, encroachments rash, designed,
Repeated oft, as self had long inclined
The natives here. But through the lapse of time,
Whence wayward hearts to better faith incline,
Whence discord wanes away, then Truth began
To shed with light the vagrant paths of man ;
Distracted foes their errors soon discern,
And back to reason once again return.
Then Peace, that welcome harbinger of health,
Of generous thrift, foreshadowing weal and wealth,
Brings her glad-tidings down, and cheers the land,
With prompt good-will and noble deeds at hand,
To heal the broken heart, to make amends
For wilful waste, which from the past descends.
Thence this fair vale, from mountain to the main,
In vernal grandeur buds to bloom again ;
And plenteous harvest, with her golden ears,
Crowning the prudence of progressive years,
Adorns the field, and grace triumphant gives
78 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
To honest toil. Here Wonalancet lives,
Unscathed by war, a sachem wise and true,
Of fragment tribes still roving fur and few,
Along these banks, where Penacook had stood
For countless years, through tempest, storm, and flood;
And further seaward where Wamesit lies,
Still well entrenched, a wigwam city thrives ;
Rightly reserved, the home of hunters here,
A fort within and habitations dear
To friendly red-men. While from dearth released,
From scourge of conflict, and in strength increased,
Through many a favored year the Pilgrim mind,
By faith and works religious freedom find :
Such as the fathers sought and had foretold
Should ^ome, in grace abounding as of old.*
In that dread war, the Apostle had followed his
disciples, his ministers, his teachers, his printers, his in-
terpreters, and other brethren to their places of im-
prisonment, at the pines on Charles River, as they were
boated away ; and at Deer Island and other places, while
held imprisoned and in chains; and although powerless to
rescue them, his kind, discreet voice, everywhere and to
all, administered comfort, encouragement, and consola-
tion, f
And when, at Philip's death, the rancor of war seemed
to subside, the Apostle again advanced, not as before, but
as well as he could. On foot in the forest, preaching,
and trying to re-establish his former missionary stations ;
advancing, sometimes through torrents of rain, storms
of hail, or drifts of snow; and sometimes, for days to-
gether, without a dry thread in his garments.
* From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballads, p. 346.
t Dearborn's Sketch of Eliot's Life, pp. 14-17. Bigelow's Hist of Natick,
p. 30. Francis' Life of Eliot, pp. 277, 278.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 79
ELIOT AT NASHUA.
At one time, in the summer of 1652, he had started
from Roxbury, to preach to the tribes at Nashua, some
sixty miles away, as then reckoned. But while on the
journey, a notice reached him of a conflict up there
among the Indians, that might endanger his own life.
Thereupon, for a day or two, he halted, turned aside, and
waited.
The old chief at Nashua, hearing of this, at once
organized an armed force of twenty Indian warriors,
headed them himself, and bounding through the forest,
surrounded their old Apostle, safely escorted him
through, with gallant honors, to the place of his appoint-
ment, thus they honored him, that he might preach
to their waiting, assembled people.*
His MANY FRIENDS.
His Christians, those that had already been driven out
from their native soil, those that had perished in the
fight, or otherwise had been slain, or had died of disease
or starvation during the conflicts, including those whom
he, in his long life, had parted with at the common
grave, had been thousands.
Yet he had consolation, that amid all the trials of
earth, he had constantly borne to the breeze that gospel
banner of righteousness, beautifully inscribed, " Love to
God ! Peace on earth, and good-will towards men."
* Drake's Hist. Amer. Indians, Book III, p. 85.
80 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
TESTIMONIALS.
Richard Baxter, the great author and scholar, in 1691,
upon his death-bed in England, declared, among other
sayings, "There was no man I honored above John Eliot.
. . . I hope as he did ; it is for his evangelical succes-
sion that I plead."
Shepard, one of his cotemporaries, then minister at
Cambridge, while the Puritan settlers were trembling
(in the war) for the fate of New England, exhorting his
people to take courage, declared, that " the country could
never perish, so long as John Eliot lived."
Cotton Mather, speaking of Eliot's eloquence, says :
" lie would sound the trumpet of God against all vice,
with a most penetrating liveliness, and make his pulpit
another Mount Sinai, for the flashes of lightning therein
displayed against the breaches of the law, given from
that burning mountain." *
Edward Everett, in his oration at Bloody Brook, an-
nounced his belief, that " since the death of St. Paul, a
nobler, a truer, a warmer spirit than John Eliot never
lived." f
But what need have we for witnesses?
John Eliot is known of all New England ; and
although his translations of the Bible and other books,
into the Indian language, have become as a dead
letter; and his Indian nations, whom he tried to save,
were nearly destroyed, their descendants, being now
unknown, and unheard of, save in some distant prairie
or wilderness, still wandering afar off, few and far
between.
* Life of John Eliot, p. 9. t Hist, of Natick, ch. 2, p. 12.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 81
'T is sad to tell how the Indian fell,
How the storm had swept the deck,
How the tribes of yore, all dashed ashore,
The craft became a wreck !
Bright stars shall burn, and seasons turn
Their sunny sides forever ;
But ne'er to change, that mountain range
Again shall know them never.
True, true they say, there's a better day,
And faith, we ought to find it!
For the lights of love, that burn above,
Are lit for man to mind it.*
ELIOT'S ADHERENTS.
Prior to the war, he had at his call many whom he had
schooled for the Indian ministry, as teachers, as printers,
as interpreters, proof-readers, etc., as we have seen ; and
who had aided him in his vast undertaking to civilize
and evangelize the Indian nations. But first and last,
and not least, among those who contributed to that great
cause, there was a lady, diligent, circumspect, duteous.
ANNA MOUNTFORT ELIOT. t
Their acquaintance had commenced in England ; and
after Eliot had been in Boston about a year, the cry,
"Come over and help us," or some other cry, had reached
the car of Anna Mountfort. At once she made haste
for the hazardous sea-voyage. Ah ! how the gallant valor
of that girl of the olden time looms up to our frail
imagination !
* From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballarls, pp. 191-195.
t Genealogy of Eliot Family, pp. 44, 55.
11
82 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Beyond the seas, I seem to see her there, at early morn,
about to sever herself from the mates of her childhood
and from kindred ties; there, at the dear old threshold
of home; there, as she takes leave of a trembling, tearful
old mother, the sister, or the brother, with that last sad
good-by, which never on earth, orally, was to be
.repeated.
Thence, through her truth and love to John Eliot, she
dares the dangers of the high seas ; and three thousand
miles away from all else dear to her, in 1632 lands in the
New World, at Boston.
And such a girl ! I '11 tell you true, once here, it did
not take her long to find her John's tenement, or the
place of the parsonage. She had come here, bearing
woman's olive-branch of peace and love. She had come,
not to encumber, not to embarrass; not as a worthless,
heartless image, embracing a bill of expense. No she
had come to help John, had come to his field of honest
labor. She had come to this wilderness, equipped and
fortified with that force and power which no man on
earth ever had, to wit, the transcendent power of
woman's peaceful, faithful love ! She had come to follow
the leadership of the husband, and to advance to that
sphere and vocation which the great God, in his wise
economy, hath pointed out to all women.
Thus armed, thus endowed, with the power of woman's
unfaltering, faithful love, that lady, just then married,
was ready for duty, ready, if need be, to enter the
wild forest with her dear John, and to help him to fell
the trees, and to gather together the bark and the boughs,
and to build the wigwam.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 83
HER FIRST WORK.
In the beginning, she busied herself, among other
duties, in acquiring a knowledge of medicine and medical
practice. But this, too, without hinderance, or inter-
ference with the cares of the household. So that, when
disease, contagious or otherwise, came to the white-man
or to the red-man, there she stood, by the side of John
Eliot, a healing hand, holding an antidote for every
languishing heart, a balm for every wound.
It was thus from the day of her marriage, that Anna
Eliot became the leading exemplary spirit, in advance of
those brave old New England mothers, who followed her
in succession ; the equals of whom, for valor, for frugal
industry, for endurance, for truthfulness, and for a valiant
faith in their God, the history of the world hath never
known.
Thus this primeval leader of the wives of our fathers
began ; and thus she advanced, to the highest honors of
life, and to a glorious immortality. All the way along,
through a connubial life of more than half a century,
in the forest, in the field, in peace, and in dread war,
she had filled well her place, a wife, a Christian
pioneer, as well as a companion.
With truth, and trust, and patient pride,
At morn, at noon, or even-tide,
She calmed the cloudy hour;
Her heart was full of love and song,
She cheered her Eliot all along,
She brought him many a flovver.f
* Life of Eliot, p. 269. Eliot Genealogy, pp. 4*4, 45, 48.
t From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballads, p. 160.
84 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
HER DEATH.
We have seen how the girl had left the home of her
childhood, and father and mother and friends, in the
far-off England; and now that lady, after the lapse of
more than fifty years, crowned with the plautlits of
"well done," takes leave of earth itself, in presence
of the Evangelist in tears ; animated by that true faith
in God which had led them onward together through the
wilderness triumphantly, that exemplary heroic spirit
fled away.
And when kind friends and neighbors had come to the
threshold of a lonely home, the Apostle, rising, covered
with the frosts of more than fourscore winters, and calling
them to the casket, said, "Here lies my dear, faithful,
pious, prudent, and prayerful wife."
O, what a God-given commentary !
And now the funeral obsequies are performed, "the
long procession passes by," and the earth overshadows
the mortal remains of Anna Eliot.
It was a new tomb, consecrated and reserved to her,
as its first inhabitant, by the gallant people of old Rox*
bury.* It was a tribute to fervent faithfulness and to
the insignia of truth. Yet cold, too cold, as best they
could make it, was such a new tomb for so warm a
heart.
ELIOT'S CHARITY.
Thereafterwards the Apostle, for the want of strength,
could preach but little. He had arrived at the last three
* Eliot, Gen. History, p. 53.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 85
years of his life. Knowing that Roxbury had been sup-
porting two ministers, to make his own labors less, he
appeared before its committee, and seeking permission
to relinquish his salary, said, "I do here give up my
salary to the Lord ; and now, brethren, you may fix that
upon any mnn that God shall make a pastor." *
But his confiding society said, no ! They said it be-
cause they loved him, and because they knew that his
venerable presence in their midst was by far of more
value than any salary.
One day, the parish treasurer had paid him some
money, and fearing he would give it away before he
reached home, he tied it up in a handkerchief, closing it
in with the hardest knots he could make.
The Apostle started homeward, and on the way he
turned into the cottage of a good woman in poverty.
Perceiving her penniless condition, he said, " Oh ! I have
brought some relief to you." And he tried to untie the
knots, and could n't do it. At length, passing it to the
poor woman, he said, " Take it ; I believe the Lord de-
signs it all for you." f
His MANNERS.
Hearing one of his ministry complaining of others, by
reason of some unexpected coldness and ill-treatment,
Eliot replied, "Brother, learn the meaning of these three
little words : bear, forbear, and forgive ! "
He had students ; some of them, inclining to stupidity,
did not rise early. " I pray you," said Eliot, " see to it
that you be morning birds ! "
* Sketch of Eliot's Life, pp. 20, 22, 24. t Life of Eliot, p. 12.
86 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Cotton Mather says, his manner of preaching was
powerful, yet plain ; that "his delivery was graceful ; that
at times his voice rose into great warmth and energy."
In his old age, while, of a Sabbath morning, an attend-
ant was leading him up the hill to his church, " Ah ! "
said the Apostle, " this is very much like the road to
heaven, it is up-hill."
His DEPARTURE.
At length, on his long anticipated death-bed, while the
sands of life were beginning to fall, a friend approaches
him, in kindness making an inquiry. " Alas ! " said Eliot,
"I have lost everything, my understanding leaves me,
my memory leaves me; but, thank God, my charity
holds out still."
Then, at a later hour, another of his ministry called,
sympathetically. At the first sight of his friend, he
whispered, " You are welcome to my very soul. Pray
retire into my study for me, and give me leave
to be gone." Of course the friend retired. Soon then,
obtaining leave to be gone, the noble triumphant spirit
of John Eliot vanished into thin air, beyond the clouds.
Its last rays, like the rays of the beautiful sunset, shoot-
ing upward, thence beamed backward on this world of
ours.
The very stars of heaven, at this moment, arc typical,
just as if, bespeaking, they were still transfusing that
evangelical light and love, which was first diffused here
by the Evangelist, to the heathen nations of New Eng-
land.
* Memoirs of Eliot, pp. 150, 151. Adams' Life of Eliot, p. 275.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 87
The tones of his voice, audible everywhere, are still
rising above the ordinary whispers of a sainted soul.
In it there is no uncertain sound. It comes to us,
like the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "prepare
ye the way of the Lord," and make your paths straight.
From the very walls of your churc-hes that same apos-
tolic acclaim hath reverberated, for more than two hun-
dred years. It is still here. The voice of the Evan-
gelist still whispers to the young man, to the maiden,
and to the little ones, in the Sabbath school, at the
fire-side, and at the family altar. Known of all men,
the very name of the Apostle is glorious. Plainly it is
known, at the distance of two centuries, ns if it had for-
ever been engraved upon the New England door-post,
known universally, as if from canvas it had swung upon
the guide-post in all the highways of the land.
So it is, that New England still profits by the far-
seeing leadership of John Eliot, by his apostolic plans,
purposes, precepts, and examples, which have come
down to us full of light, transfusing the primeval true
lessons of life. Everywhere, spiritually, his Evangelical
hand, far extended, is still writing upon the wall. It
is an index, true, faithful, and profitable, serving to
point the generations onward and upward, to that
great
CITY ABOVE Us,
Where the saints and the angels, with banners unfurled,
Chant holy hosannas to the God of the world ;
Up there, where the fields, bright beaming, are proud,
Like the tints, 'mid the rain-drops, of the bow in the cloud;
Where the lakes and the rivers pure silver unfold,
And the rocks of the mountains are garnished of gold.
88 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
There, sweeter than morn, in the glory of spring,
The lily waves wide and the wild warblers sing ;
From the farthest fixed star, as ye see it bright burning,
Around which the spheres, vast, eternal are turning;
Where did the great maker stand forth from his throne,
When he framed the creation, and called it his own ; *
There, there may you find the great New England
evangelical pioneer, amid throngs of the blest, in robes
of living light, and in the joys of his God.
EARTH'S CONFLICT.
This with the Evangelist was long and arduous. But
now (1690) it hath come to an end. Not so with the
Indian churches which he left living, of whom Cotton
Mather says : " There were [then] six churches of
baptized Indians in New England, and eighteen assem-
blies of catechumens professing the name of Christ.
Of the Indians, there are four-and-twenty preachers;
and besides these there are four English ministers,
who preach the gospel in the Indian tongue."
It is sad to say that these, partly through the infirmity
of membership, partly for want of constant ministerial
support, and mostly by reason of depredations and ill-
usage from many of the English settlers constantly
crowding, were finally driven to distraction and to
desperate ends.
Yet, as against all this, the Natick Indian church, after
Eliot's demise, for many years maintained its town
organization, until at length it became greatly diminished
in population ; and finally, by an Act of the legislature
* From my Epics, Lyrics, and Ballads, p. 18.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 89
it yielded its entire organization to the English. So
that, in 1792, there were in Natick but one Indian
"family of five persons and two single women." *
And then, with all the rest of the New England en-
feebled tribes disorganized, one after another, they
wandered farther back into the wilderness, and thence
vanished away to the ends of the earth.
During all these intervening years, from the death of
the Apostle, murders and wars and conflicts of every
description, with but brief interventions of peace, had
ensued, many of which were terrible. For instance, as
late as 1777, transpired the capture and murder of a
young lady,
JANE McOnEA (LUCINDA).
Thus it happened, that by reason of aggressions on the
part of the English soldiery (the contest for the native
soil not being then quite ended), a small tribe, skulking
about the camp of Jones, a young English captain, where
Jane, his betrothed, was briefly making a visit, seized her
there and dragging her by the arms and hair, mounted
her upon a horse, and hurried her back into the dense
wilderness. The captain, missing the girl, at once dis-
patched two friendly Indians to pursue and obtain and
bring back to him his dearest lost prize ; then, hastening
himself to another trail, he also pursued the tribe. Now,
as appears, the Indians had obtained the young lady, but
upon a dispute between themselves as to which should
present her to the captain, and obtain a barrel of. rum
which had been offered for her return, they in the affray
* Memoirs of Eliot, p. 120.
12
90 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
struck her down with a tomahawk. The captain at that
moment appearing in sight, and hearing the shriek of the
dying girl, fell upon the two Indians, and they also were
both slain at his hands. This was near the banks of the
Hudson.
These are facts which tend to show how carnal weapons,
even at that late day, were still used. How at the hands
of desperadoes, seeking neither Christianity nor civili-
zation, the earth was still being stained with the blood of
mortals. This incident was long ago poetized by
Barlow, and an extract is deemed appropriate.
" Lucinda's fate ! The tale ye nations hear,
Eternal ages trace it with a tear.
" He hurries to his tent. Oh ! rage ! despair I
No glimpse, no tidings of the frantic fair,
Save that some car-men, as a-camp they drove,
Had seen her coursing for the western grove.
Faint with fatigue, and choked with burning thirst,
Forth from his friends with bounding leap he bursts ;
Vaults o'er the palisade with eyes aflame,
And fills the welkin with Lucinda's name !
" The fair one, too, with every aid forlorn,
Had raved and wandered, till officious morn
Awaked the Mohawks from their short repose,
To glean the plunder ere their comrades rose.
" Two Mohawks met the maid, historian, hold I
She starts, with eyes upturued, and fleeting breath,
In their raised axes views her instant death.
Her hair, half lost along the shrubs she passed,
Rolls in loose tangle round her lovely waist;
With calculating pause and demon grin,
They seize her hands, and through her face divine
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 91
Drive the descending axe ! the shriek she sent
Attained her lover's ear! he thither bent
With all the speed his wearied limbs could yield,
Whirled his keen blade, and stretched upon the field
The yelling fiends ; who there, disputing (stood)
Her gory scalp, their horrid prize of blood!
He sunk delirious on her lifeless clay,
And passed, in starts of sense, the dreadful day." *
STILL, TRUE IT PROVED,
that after the Indian conflicts in New England, which
had brought terror and dismay to our Pilgrim and
Puritan settlers for more than half a century from the
death of the Apostle, yet never forgetting him, the
Indians, withdrawing from their rivers and ponds and
from their hunting and trapping grounds, gradually
disappeared. In their departure they left behind them,
not the ruins of desolated cities nor lofty castles, but the
same old wilderness, for the most part dense and dark as
ever, and now and then on the banks of rivers and on
the lake and ocean shores they accidentally left many a
sample of their bows and arrows, their chisels, their
tomahawks, and their mortars made of stone. Still, on
the north, from the beautiful Lake Winnipesaugee in New
Hampshire, one that may be called the last lone tribe,
wandering, hunting, still lingered in that dense wilderness.
Its great chief was the warlike, devil-daring
ClIOCORUA.t
He w;us the last of the Pequawkets! Oh, what clusters
of incidents, terrible in their impressions, seem to rally
around that gallant but cruel historic name. Prior to the
* Drake's Amer, Inrt., li. Ill, p. 101. f Pronounced Cheh-corrua.
92 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
year 1766, and for years perhaps up to that time, this
great chief had hunted that old forest, of which the town
of Burton had become the centre, and in which that
lofty mountain which still bears Chocorua's name now
stands, as it hath stood from the Creation. This moun-
tain historic hath ever been known and visited for its
tragical history, as well as for its scenery and the
beautiful landscapes that adorn it, near to it and in the
distance towards the great lake, towards the lofty white
mountain-peaks and far away to the high seas.
This old chief had a family. His squaw died, and
was buried (beneath a log structure, after the manner of
some of the tribes) by the brook-side where he had first
found her.
He had a small Indian boy, his son, who, after the death
of the mother, continued daily to tag after his father,
the chief, in his ramblings and huntings in the
wilderness.
At length, one day, as it happened, while at the
cottage of one Campbell, a white settler, the boy got
poisoned, and, returning home to the wigwam, soon died.*
Chocorua averred that the white-man poisoned the boy
purposely. Afterwards, one day, when the father of the
family had left home, returning at night, he found the
wife and children of his house all murdered. After
burying the dead, the white settlers followed Chocorua
to the same mountain which still bears his name, in Bur-
ton (now Albany, N. H.). They there discovered the
chief on the mountain cliff, at its highest pinnacle, and,
commanding him to jump off, "Ah," said he, "the great
Spirit gave Chocorua his life, and he'll not throw it
* See Legend by L. Maria Child.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 93
away at the bidding of the white-man." At this, Camp-
bell shot him; and, while dying, he, with doleful, husky
exclamation, pronounced awful curses upon the English.
From that day to this, the want of vegetation in that
mountain, all its deaths, and all the diseases upon the
cattle and upon the inhabitants of that region, have been
attributed to that "dread curse of Chocorua."*
Not many years since, on a hunting excursion to the
New England mountains, we encamped beneath the brow
of Chocorua over-night, and in a trance fell into the
following
SOLILOQUY.
The tired hounds at length are sleeping,
And over our tent, wild night is weeping
Dark dews in the Burton wood ;
While from her distant radiant fountain,
The queenly moon lights up the mountain
Where brave Chocorua stood.
To this the ills of earth had brought him,
'T was here the white-man sought and fought him,
In daring, dashing numbers ;
From whence despair had deigned to dwell,
Chocorua, wounded, faltering fell,
And here in death he slumbers.
Entranced beneath thy cragged peak,
Creation vast! thy summit bleak,
Thy varied vales I ponder;
I reverence Him who shaped the hills,
These silvery lakes, those glittering rills,
Wild, in a world of wonder.
* Drake's Amer, Ind., B. Ill, p. 101.
94 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Up 'neath the stars, yon glimmering slope,
Piled range on range, they fill the scope
Of man's enchanted vision ;
Bold there -ibove a heaving sea,
For aye U> vie in majesty,
Earth's grandest, proud position I
Life and its joys Chocorua sought,
His tribe he trained, as nature taught,
Mild in these magic mountains ;
With bow and arrow known of yore,
Vast wood-lands, wild, he hunted o'er,
Dame fed him at her fountains.
Of what wild waters yield in view,
Chocorua launched his light canoe
On many a rapid river ;
Fierce falcons faltered in the air,
And the wild-deer bounded from his lair
At the rattle of his quiver.
From boyhood brave, a priest he roved ;
Faithful at heart, he fervent loved
Keoka, ne'er to sever ;
No happier pair could earth produce,
Keoka true and a proud pappoose
Inspired that wigwain ever.
With truth and trust, and patient pride,
At morn, at noon, or eventide,
She calmed the cloudy hourj
Her heart was full of love and song,
She cheered Chocorua's life along,
She brought him many a flower.
Such was the life Chocorua sought,
Such were the charms Keoka brought,
Unselfish, unpretending ;
Kings of the earth, I 'd envy not,
Give me to know Chocorua's lot,
Such faith, such favor blending I
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 95
Soon then, alas ! sad fatal years,
That moved heroic hearts to tears,
Fell heavy on Pequawkct ;
Dread death, that brought Keoka blind,
Had mazed Chocorua in his mind,
The tribes began to talk it.
Of rushes rud they made her shroud,
In crooked form a casket proud,
And laid her in the wild- wood,
Beside a rippling river shore,
Where many a song and dance of yore
Had cheered her happy childhood.
Six logs laid high on either side,
Embraced they hold that sacred bride,
With a rail-made roof around her ;
Deep calm at rest, devoid of fears,
Of loves, of hopes, or tender tears,
Where first Chocorua found her,
A white flag fluttered in the air,
Sweet stars from heaven glittered there,
And the zephyrs came to love her ;
Deep wood-lands whispered sighs unknown,
The plaintive pines their loss bemoan,
And the wild rose creeps above her.
Ten times a day Chocorua wept; *
Ten times a day his shadow swept
In plumy form around her :
The partridge fluttered from his trail,
And the she-wolf nightly heard his wail,
To a troubled trance it bound her.
Where'er he turned, where'er he roamed,
Or when around the grave he mourned,
There prompt and true to mind him,
His little lad with lifted eye,
As if to hail that mother nigh,
Tripped on, and stood behind him.
96 JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
'T was thus Chocorua's heart was pressed ;
Long months moved on, but gave no rest ;
Sad thus, dread fate had made it ;
Still there is grief as yet unknown,
" One trouble never comes alone,"
Our dear old mothers said it.
Next then indeed, how true it proved I
Another fate as fortune moved
Came cruel quite as t'other;
By hidden drugs, in malice made,
Alas ! the boy hath fallen dead,
To moulder with his mother.
Then wailed Chocorua wilder still,
Without a heart, without a will,
A ghost-like, lurking wonder ;
Yet in his flesh there 's native fire,
Though earth and hell in crime conspire,
To drive the soul asunder.
True, true the story oft is told,
Chocorua hateful here of old
Brought maledictions many ;
" Curse on yr white-man's soul ! " he prayed}
" Curse on yr living and yr dead,
Nor give him gospel any I
" Yr war-path let it lay in snares,
Yr fields laid low of frost and tares,
Yr pestilence supernal ;
Of crime accursed, for aye to know
Prompt penalties of pain and woe
On all yr heads infernal.
" Yile, heartless knaves ! ye killed my boy,
My own Keoka's darling joy ;
E'er in the grave she rested ;
By deadly drugs laid low, he died,
Me too, ye 've slain 1 let devils deride
Ye, tortured, damned, detested.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. 97
" Ho ! let the war-whoop lead the fight,
The torch, the tomahawk, at night,
Yr habitations storming !
Drive deep the axe, the scalping blade,
Spare never a white-man, child or maid,
Give carnage to the morning !
" Great Spirit, let thy lightnings flash!
Thy flery vengeance, let it dash
Down where the pale-face prowls ;
On Campbell's head, on all he owns,
Let panthers perch upon his bones
While hot in h 1 he howls ! "
Thus prayed Chocorua, bleeding, slain ;
Vengeance from thence eternal came
To a devastation certain ;
Nay, ever since, from then to this,
Not a breath of hope nor breeze of bliss
Hath moved these woods of Burton.
Veiled now in shadows stands the sun,
The Indian hunter's day is done
In these New England borders ;
A baleful shaft his heart hath broken,
Out from the cloud the fates betoken
Unwonted strange disorders.
Dread on that night and hitherto
The heavens let fall malarious dew
Far down these murky mountains ;
Of all the flowers, not one is known;
The maple leaf is dry, half grown,
And death is in the fountains.
The moping owl hath ceased to hoot,
The scrub-oak falters at the root,
And the snail is lank and weary.
The fated fawn hath found his bed ;
Huge hawks, high-flying, drop down dead
Above that apex dreary.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE.
Faded, the vales no fruits adorn ;
The hills are pale with poisoned corn ;
The flocks are lean, repining;
No growth the panting pastures yield,
And the staggering cattle roam the field
Forlorn, in death declining.
'T is thus we 're made the slaves of earth,
Mope in miasmas, deep in dearth,
Sad, from some bad beginning ;
From cruelty to friend or foes,
Our morbid pains or mental woes
Prove but the pangs of sinning.
High now a voice is in the air,
As if Chocorua still were there
With wood-nymphs wild attending.
'T is heard far up the mountain-side,
That plaint of earth's down-trodden tribe,
Bleak with the zephyrs blending.
Great God, forgive our Saxon race I
Blot from Thy book, no more to trace
Fraternal wrath infernal,
That taints the atmosphere we breathe,
The sky above, and earth beneath,
With dearth and death eternal !
Come, boys ! we 11 take our tents away
To better vales. 'T is break of day;
And the hounds are awake for duty.
Blow, blow the horn ! A gracious sun
Hath brought a brotherhood begun
In life, in love, in beauty 1
** (&****+ B.
"HE MERRIMAC AND ITS INCIDENTS. Epic Poems
Boston: limes & Niles. 18G5. 12mo. 80 pages. Illus-
trated. Trice, 82.00.
Under four divisions or heads : First, Its creation. Sec-
ond, Its landscape, disconnected with animal life, a mere
wild extensive surface, over which, by force of gravitation,
the water-shed of New England conducts its rains, gathered
from the mist and cloud, down the vales one hundred and
ten miles, now through broad intervales, now down in
dashing waterfalls, and now variously rolling onward to a
boundless ocean. Third, Its finny inhabitants, its animals,
and its native Indian tribes. Fourth, Its English settlers,
its peace and its wars, its founders of cities, arts and sciences,
and the onward advance of civilization.
THE MERRIMAC AND ITS INCIDENTS. This is a finely printed book,
and relates to subjects of peculiar interest to those who dwell on the
banks of our noble and beautiful river. The poet recites, in harmonious
numbers, the events which happened in this region in the early history of
the country. Conspicuous among, these are the captivity and rescue of
Mrs. Duston. The verses celebrate her sufferings, her courage, and her
deliverance. It is a fresh honor to the heroine of Haverhill. The bard
pursues the narrative until he tells how she
4 Wandered through the wild,
And Haverhill reached.'
' And there they rest. There upward points to-day
A monument of stone from Duston's clay.
Her noble deeds are held in high renown,
Sacred, like heirloom, in that ancient town;
And long as Mcrrimac'u bright waters glide,
Shall stand that mother's fame still by its side.'
. . . The author of this poem is a distinguished lawyer of Lowell. He
has rendered an important service, and one not at all likely to be at once
remunerative to him. He has brought into fresh notice times and men who
should not be forgotten, and embalmed their deeds and memories in verse
which in this region may well be immortal." From the HON. NATHAN W.
HAZEN, in the Essex Banner, Aug. 10, 1866.
44 SELECT READINGS FROM Mn. CAVERLY'S POEMS, AT GREENWOOD.
The pastoral preludes on the organ did not more surely carry the listener
CAVERLY'S (ROBT. B.) WORKS.
out into the pure, intoxicating enjoyment of Nature, than did the musical
beat of the speaker's words, as in his first and longest piece, he described
the sights an.d sounds of primitive New England. As we listened, we
thought it might not improperly be called a symphonic sonr/, or poem of
the creation, there was such comprehensive blending of varied melodies.
We were taken back to the time when ' the morning stars sang together';
and then, by the gradually more measured tread of the language, the
worlds were launched, and the mountains reared their crests up to the
stars. In majestic diction, the hills of New England were depicted. In
the more flowing numbers that succeeded, we were aware that the
streamlets were born, and trickling, drew their silver line down the
rocky slopes. Through the meadows meanders the peaceful river,
gladdening herb and liird and man. The songs of the happy tenants of the
air, and the sounds of many innocent and prosperous industries, are heard
from every side. Then, in more constrained, almost impatient rhythm, is
given the vivid picture of Nature in chains, but even the captive is benef-
icent. No longer the sportive, rambling runlet, but now the / iant Mer-
rimac in the hands of the Philistines. The noise of a thousand wheels, the
whirl of ten thousand spindles, and the clatter of looms, are pictured in
language fitly chosen to typify these active, gigantir, and incessant activi-
ties. And then, like peace after strife, comes the melodious description
of the gorgeous fabrics, more wonderful than any fairy legend, and by the
rich, subdued spirit of content that fills the verse, we feel, without being
told, that a state of society in which all amenities, graces, and charities
flourish, is the purposed end of the magnificence and wealth of the crea-
tion." REV. AUSTIN S. GARVER, in an article as found in a public journal
of April, 1877.
" DESCRIPTIVE SCENES. Thoreau, Tracy, Walker, and Whittier have
cast their garlands of praise upon the Merrimac. Mr. Cavcrly brings
another, in the verse which Goldsmith used; and makes it evident that he
not only loves the busy current, but that he has also carefully examined the
history of those inhabiting its banks, even to the remotest times." From
the New England Historic, Genealogical Register of 1867, p. 383.
GENEALOGY OF THE CAVERLY FAMILY, from the
year 1116 to the year 1880, made profitable and exempli-
fied by many a Lesson of Life. Lowell, Mass. : George
M. Elliott. 1880. Printed at the Vox Populi Office. 200
pages. 12mo. Fully illustrated.
11 1 have read with great pleasure the excellent oration of R. B. Caverly,
Esq., before the Caverly family, and the interesting lineage of the race.
I am thankful that he has been pleased to make such a fine contribution to
our genealogical literature. The book is an honor to him, and to his kin-
dred It is also highly creditable to the enterprising publishers I see
not why our works on genealogy need be so dull and dry. The faniily cer-
tainly is the home of poetry ; anil all our brightest hopes, and happiest, pur-
est thoughts concentre in it. Why, then, should works on the subject be so
dull and stupid? This fine volume shows us they need not be. He has
most happily interblended narrative, anecdote, poetry, picture, and coun-
sel with his genealogy, and made almost a romance out of his material.
He has put himself and his bright ideas into it, and taught us how such
works may and should be written. The illustrations come in just right,
and are very fine. I hope his book, so full of sprightly thoughts, and
bearing marks of careful research on every page, will be appreciated by
his kindred, and the public also. I shall place it amongst my choicest vol-
umes, and frequently refer to it." From the REV. ELIAS NASON, the
celebrated author.
CAVERLY'S (ROBT. B.) WORKS.
EPICS, LYRICS, AND BALLADS. A volume of 408 pages,
comprising, with other poems, those included in volumes
1 and 2, with copious historical notes thereto appended.
Neatly printed on tinted paper, and beautifully illustrated.
Price, $3.00.
" This book is elegantly written, tastefully illustrated, skilfully printed,
and beautifully bound. *I have perused the several pieces with keen
and sympathetic pleasure, and I congratulate the author on the advanced
record he has made in beating the sweet lields of poetry.' Aside from
the intrinsic merit of his muse, the local scenes ami circumstances which
he poetizes become a part of our own life and being; and thus, in
reading him, we have the joy, not only of perusing tuneful numbers,
but of "seeing common things we know around us, as by an enchanter's
wand, transfigured into beauty. So the poet lives, because he makes
things live around him. Hence comes the dignity of the vocation."
From the ItEV. ELIAS NASox, of North Jjill&rica, author of many books.
" We have been permitted to glance at the proof-sheets of a new volume
by Robert B. Caverly, Esq. Among others, the poem ' Arlington ' is a
tender, touching reverie, expressive of what occurred to him while
standing upon the I'otomac bridge between Washington and Arlington
Heights, the one the great city of the living, the other of the dead; and
what occurred to him on a walk from there, over and around Arlington
and back, in the shades of the evening, after Grant's inauguration. Here
the poet wanders amid the desolated beauty of nature and the graves of
the fallen heroes; and recounts in his finest style the touching and
romantic history of the fallen hero, and the desolation of war. The
volume contains copious notes, which assist the reader in recalling the
historic incidents to which allusion is made in the poems. 'Arlington'
appears to have been written on the day of the inauguration, and begins
thus:
' Potomac rolls her fountains down
Deep gliding 'neath the shades that crown
My theme of contemplation ;
While night begins to chase away
The living throngs and proud display
Of the great inauguration.'
" While wandering towards the heights, he inquires the way. A portion
of the answer is given thus :
"Go back," he said, " and take the day;
Untimely spectres haunt the way,
When night lets fall her curtain ;
There, where rebellion rose at first,
Where slavery, doomed of God, was cursed,
They strangely stroll, uncertain."'
' What can be more touchingly beautiful than the following:
' Half halting, 'mid the sainted throng,
In the pebbled path I
At the foot of the soldier sleeping;
Life's noblest history, brief and brave,
I trace it, 1 tt -red on the grave
In careful, kindest keeping.'
" And yet again we have a fine thought :
Eternal frosts, with deadly blight,
From the heavens above, fell down that night,
When Lee took marching orders;
CAVERLY*S (ROBT. B.} WORKS.
Sweet fields no more could bloom to bear,
Nor tender vine, with vintage rare,
Had growth within these borders.'
Two quotations more, and we are done :
1 Strangers, indeed ! but no less brave
In brunt of battle, there they gave
Sweet life to treason's havoc;
From bleakest, bloody fields they've come,
Out from the shades of Old Bull Run,
And down the llappahannoek. . . .
4 How beauteous is the gateway here,
That leads from earth to heaven, so near
It meets my finite vision ;
It spans the whirling spheres afar,
The midnight moon, the shooting star,
That lingers in transition.'"
From the Lowell (Courier') Star, Oct. 25, 1870.
" MR. CAVERLY'S NEW BOOK. The poem which opens the volume, and
gives it its name, was written to commemorate an event well known to
our readers, when an eagle lighted on the I -add and Whitney monument.
The same eagle, as it is supposed, was shortly after captured 'in Litchfield,
brought to Lowell, was purchased by subscription, and set free from the
top of Carleton Block, in the presence of thousands. Mr. Caverly takes
this bird as t'ie representative of his species, and calls for his experience,
which the bird proceeds to give, from the pro-historic ages down to his
capture and liberation." From the Lowell Courier, Oct. 28, 1870.
"MR. CAVERLY'S ENTERTAINMENT. The First Congregational Church
was well filled last evening, to Iktcn to the readings by 11. B. Caverly. Ks<|.
Mr. Caverly 's readings were all from his own 1'ocms, giving a variety of
style and sentiment, and affording an opportunity to judge of his versatil-
ity of talent. He is particularly fond of dressing up the quaint legends of
tlic aborigines in the language of poesy, and tho. Wigwam of Contoocook,
and the Bride of Burton, were good examples of this work. There were
not wanting, however, the lighter strains, as in the 'Voice of Spring,' and
the 'Allegory' of the Squirrel, irresistibly reminding one of Wordsworth,
though not exactly like him. 'The Golden Wedding' was in a humorous
strain, after Saxe and Holmes, and caused a ripple of laughter to sweep
over the audience as the pictures of the olden New England life were
draAvn. In those days, as Mr. Caverly said in his introduction, the long
winter evenings were occupied in surprise parties and golden weddings.
. . . Mr. Caverly's second volume of poems, in dainty dress, is now
ready, and will form a handsome holiday gift for those who desire to do
honor to the poet of the Mcrrimac. The living voice and presence of the
author arc a great help in the enjoyment of his verses, but those who have
been unable to hear him will find a fund of enjoyment in perusing the
volumes at their leisure." GEORGE A. MARDEN, ESQ., Poet, and Propri-
etor of the Lowell Courier, Oct. 26, 1871.
HISTORY OF BARNSTEAD, from its first settlement in 1727,
to 1872. Lowell, Mass. : Marclcn & Rowell. Commenced
by Dr. J. P. Jcwett, and after his decease, written, illus-
trated, and published by Robt. B. Caverly, of the Massachu-
setts (N. E.) Bar. Price, $2.00. 2G4 pages.
This is a book skilfully written, well printed, and finely illustrated. It
will last much longer than ordinary books." From the Vox Popuii, 1872.
CAVERLY'S (ROBT. B.) WORKS.
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. VOL. I. THE EAGLE, ARLING-
TON, AND OTHER POEMS. Dover, N. H. : Freewill Baptist
Printing Establishment. 1871. Illustrated and beautifully
bound. Price, $2.00. 12mo. 166 pages.
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. VOL. II. BRIDE OP BURTON,
VICTORY, AND OTHER POEMS. Lowell, Mass. : Stone, Huse
& Co. 1872. Well bound and beautifully illustrated. Price,
$2.00. 12mo. 180 pages.
" Mr. Caverly was introduced, and premised the reading of passages from
Arlington,' which led him to pen the poem. The greatest interest was
exhibited by the audience, as he progressed in his recital of a walk hfi
took among the thousand mounds which mark the resting-places of fallen
soldiers on the heights of Arlington ; and while passing from his prologue,
as he carried his listeners in fancy from Washington city, over the Poto-
mac and up the heights, we could almost imagine we heard the solemn
rustling of the trees, and could discern in the twilight the melancholy
records of the battle. We could almost hear the stranger, whom the writer
met at the outset, dissuade him from the visit by weird t;iles of ghosts and
spectres; and we, in common with the whole audience, were forced into
a smile by the reply :
Why care,' said I, 'for ghost or elf?
How soon you '11 turn to one yourself,
More worthy of your minding.' "
From Z. E. STONE, ESQ., known as an eminent journalist, having been
present at the entertainment.
" MR. CAVERLY'S POEMS. What I most of all admire in them is the
patriotic spirit which animates them. In looking them over, the veteran
soldier must live over again some of the most interesting periods of our
national history, and in thought revisit some of the most remarkable
places which our country has to show." WM. C. BRYANT, Poet and
Journalist.
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE. Lessons. With Historical
Introduction. Boston, Mass. 1880. 12rao. 100 pages.
Finely illustrated.
"The elegant volume from the Vox press, on the Caverly family, having
had a ready sale, the same author (Col. 11. 15. Caverlv, of tins city) is
following it with a volume entitled ' Lessons of Law and Life, from John
Eliot, the Apostle.' It opens with a sketch of the Eliots of England, do\v.i
from the Norman conquest, among whom was that brave Sir John Eliot,
who died in the Tower in 1632, a year after the Apostle's arrival here, and
who was as much a voluntary martyr to liberty as any man who ever
died, and is one whose life involves the main chapter of English and
American freedom. The author, in delineating the life of the Apostle,
interweaves the history of New England in a brief, forcible manner, and
learnedly follows out the conclusions and deductions of the story. The
book is to be in the same line style as the Caverly record, with beautiful
engravings from the Vox copper-plate press. It is dedicated by the
author, at Centralvillc, Mass., to the Reverend Clergy of New England,
and to the Teacher or Advanced Student in the Sabbath School or Church."
From the HON. JOHN A. GOODWIN, Editor Vox I'opuli, 1880.
CAVERLY'S (ROBT. .) WORKS.
POETICAL WORKS. Lowell, Mass. : Stone & Huse. 12mo.
" Such is the title of an extremely neat and elegantly printed work, on
heavy toned paper, through which fine steel engravings are strewed.
Their contents prove that the prosaic details of Blackstone and Coke have
not obliterated the poetic element from the author's mind; the rathrr,
perhaps, have they acted as stimulants to its exercise. The most .preten-
tious poem in the book, as appears to us, is entitled the 'Bride of Burton,'
which gives the legend of the death of Chocorua. The following lines wo
copy from it:
' Entranced beneath thy cragged peak,
Creation y:ist! thy summit bleak,
Thy varied vales I ponder;
I reverence Him who shaped the hills,
These silvery lakes, those glittering rills,
Wild, in a world of wonder.'
The other contents are ' Victory,' and a variety of patriotic, personal,
and special poems. The execution of the work is commensurate with the
merits of its contents." Fro m the Boston Traveller, 1872.
" PORTLAND, Sept. 17, 1872.
44 1 am in receipt of beautiful and choice volumes of Mr. Caverly's Poetical
works. ... I have read and examined them with interest, and find
them filled with effusions that seem to carry me back to other scenes and
other times. In them there is the freshness of the present mingling with
the past in graceful measures that seem to touch the life and experience of
the many. 1 shall keep these volumes carel'ully, and at times re-examine
them with interest, wondering how they could be prepared during the
emergencies of a professional life But wonders will never cease, and
mysteries have no bounds." From the HON. JUDGE JOSEPH HOWARD,
late of the Supreme Court of Maine.
" CONCORD, N. H., Aug. 21, 1872.
44 E. S. Nutter, Esq. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt from you
of a copy of Mr. Caverly's Poems, Vol. II, elegant in form, and beautiful
in expression and sentiment, for which you have, sir, my sincere thanks."
From the REV. DR. N. BOUTON, late 'Historian of New Hampshire.
HEROISM OF HANNAH DUSTON, together with the Indian
Wars of New England, to which the History of the Duston
Monument, and its unveiling, is appended Elegantly illus-
trated. Boston, Mass. : B. B. Russell & Co. Price, $2.00.
12mo. 408 pages.
44 Mr. Caverly's historic and legendary works have heretofore been hon-
ored with critical notices by London re'viewers. We have now to notice a
like compliment from another quarter. The Daily Review, of Edinburgh,
devotes a column and more lo a notice of Mr. Caverly's work, the ' Hero-
ism of Hannah Duston, together with the Indian wars of New England.'
The writer's opinion of this production is very plainly indicated in the
concluding remark, that 4 both Americans and English have to thank Mr.
Caverly for his laborious and interesting resume of those old Indian wars "
From HON. CHAUNCEY JL. KNAPP, of the Lowell Citizen of January, 1876.
44 It is a book of thrilling interest throughout." Boston Transcript.
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