of note among them. The army consisted of about 500 fighting men, which assaulted the garrison with but 15 men in it, and 15 more in the sloops, which were open vessels. Upon their examining this poor Diamond, he, through a mistake (as was supposed) told them of thirty instead of fifteen. They immediately fell upon dividing the persons and plunder, and agreed, that such an English captain should be slave to such a one of the company, and such a gentleman in the town should be servant to another, and this gentleman's wife should be a waiting-maid to his squaw's ladyship, and Mr. Wheelwright (after a counsellor in the province) should be such a netop's servant, and the vessels and their cargoes to be parted among them; and then, with a hideous shout and violent firing, they made an attack on the garrison. But a little before this, a man habited like a gentleman made a speech in English, assuring them if they fought courageously, all was their own. The English in the garrison sent them such a volley of shot that made them retire, purposing to spend the remainder of their fury on the sloops that lay in the harbor. Now Wells' harbor (as 'tis said) is rather a creek than a river; it is very narrow, and in places dry at low water. Nevertheless, it is deep where the vessels ride, but so near that the Indians could throw mud with their hands on board the vessels. The enemy lay behind the banks and a stack of hay and a quantity of plank that was there, much out of danger, and their fire was so sharp as to set the vessels on fire. But they on board were so active as, with a swab, dipped in water, to extinguish it. One fellow came with a plank before him for his defence, but a bullet reached him through the plank, so that they both fell together, one as dead as the other. The sloops lay but a dozen rods from the shore. The people in the garrison, being but few, could not afford them any relief; and the enemy finding that their fire-arrows did not answer their purpose in firing the sloops, they fetched a cart out of the woods, and put a considerable quantity of hay into it, designing to push it towards the sloops, that the tide and wind might carry it to the vessels, and set them on fire. But as they were pushing it forward, one of the wheels sunk in the mud. One of them ran hastily to lift it up and set it a-going, but Storer with a shot laid him dead on the spot. Another attempting the like, Storer sent him after his fellow; and

the tide rising, their flaming engine was soon overset, by which means those that were behind it became a fair mark to the English in the sloops, and they improved the opportunity by making a considerable slaughter. After this they made a new assault on the garrison, which was still gallantly defended. One of the soldiers spake of surrendering it, but the Captain protested "He would lay the man dead that he heard mutter that base word any more." The women in the garrison acted their part in this engagement with an Amazonian spirit and courage, not only in supplying the men with ammunition as they wanted, but firing off the guns as there was occasion.

The enemy being thus bravely repulsed, returned again to the sloops, and making three shouts, they fired on them as they lay lashed together, and killed one of the Englishmen. The enemy sent a flag of truce to the garrison to surrender, and made the like proposals to them in the sloops, under plausible pretences; but they were rejected. Upon which they made a firework about 18 or 20 feet square, and filled with combustible matter, set it on fire and pushed it off, expecting the tide would carry it to the sloops and set them on fire. This poor distressed company, having the enemy pelting them from the shore, and this mighty firework floating on them by the tide, could, by human view, see nothing but death, with all its amazing appearances, coming upon them. But in the midst of this perplexity, when some thought it best to surrender, God, that has the command of the wind, caused it to shift, and this machine was driven to the contrary shore, and by this they wonderfully were delivered. After they had killed some cattle, they drew off, leaving some of their dead behind, among whom was their French Lieutenant-General Labocree, with a whole pouch full of pardons, relics and indulgences. But it seems that none of the amulets, though finely printed and placed together about his neck, were able to save him from the stroke of death, by a mortal wound in his head. When they found they were defeated in their intended enterprises on the garrison and sloops, they drew off to a plain, out of the reach of the guns in the garrison. They began to exercise their more, if possible, diabolical rage and fury on John Diamond, who was, as before is mentioned, going from the garrison. They first stripped him naked and scalped him

alive. They castrated him, and finished that article, and then seared the parts wounded with a hot iron; and slit hist hands up from between his fingers, and likewise his feet between his toes. They cut off the flesh in the fleshy part of his body, and rubbed the wounds with firebrands; and some of them were sticking in the wounds when he was found.

Sir William Phipps being Governor of the Massachusetts, in order to defend the eastern parts of the government against the rage and insolence of the French and Indians, at Pemmaquid he built a fort of stone, according to instructions at Whitehall, in a quadrangular figure, beautiful and strong, for which purpose he raised about 450 men, and partly to guard the country. The fort was about 737 feet in compass, and 108 feet square, with near or full out 18 guns mounted, whereof six were 18-pounders. Captain Wing and Captain Bancroft commenced, and Captain March finished the work. But it continued not long; the charge of maintaining it was so much complained of, that in the year or before 1696, this costly fort was demolished. The name of the fort was William Henry.

In July, on the north side Merrimack river, the Indians killed several men in their meadows. Major Church about this time took five Indians at Penobscot; and, going to Taconet, the Indians discovering him, burnt their fort and fled. He with his men destroyed their corn.

Thus ended the year 1692, except a strange and inexplicable occurrence that happened this year at Gloucester, upon good and authentic testimony from several persons of undoubted veracity and credit, given upon oath. This story would be too long here to relate in all the circumstances of it. It may therefore be sufficient that I acquaint my reader, that in the month of July this year, there appeared several men, as they that saw them apprehended, not together, but sometimes one only, at other times two or three together, and once about a dozen in company, and heard them talking one to another. They appeared sometimes in the habit of Frenchmen, and sometimes others of them as Indians. They heard them stamping in the night about the garrison. Several men shot at them, and they were seen to fall down as dead; but when those that supposed they had killed them came near the place, they would either disappear, or stand up and run away; and though they ran over muddy places,

they left no track behind them. They appeared with guns, and twice shot at those who pursued them. One Ebenezer Bapson, being in the woods alone, heard the report of a gun fired by one of these spectres, or whatever they were, and heard a bullet whistle by his ear, which cut off the limb of a pine bush near to him, and lodged in a hemlock tree, which was after cut out, and preserved a long time, if not to this day. For the truth of these strange occurrences, we have the testimony of this Bapson, Day, Hammond, Ellery, Dolliver, who with others fired at them, but to no purpose.

Upon the rumor of these molestations the people of Gloucester were laboring under, Major Appleton ordered 50 men to march to their assistance. (This gentleman, I suppose, was father to the late honorable Judge Appleton, Esq., of Ipswich.) These men coming to the place, and understanding the troublers of this people were invulnerable, after all the attempts that had been made, thought it fruitless to pursue them, and returned; and these appearances disappearing, left the town in its wonted peace and tranquillity. Who, or what these appearances were, and from whence or for what purpose they came, I leave every one to judge as he pleases.

To return to the war with the French and Indians, principally intended in this history. Captain Convers, that had hitherto acted under this character remarkably, not only to annoy but destroy great numbers of the enemy, in defending the remote and exposed settlements in the east, had, in the year 1693, a Major's commission given him by the Lieutenant-Governor, together with the superior command of all the forces in that part of the country, with orders to draw off the most able and active of his officers and soldiers, and cause about 350 more to be levied and joined with them under his command, in order to scour the woods, which he did to good effect. For whilst Major Convers was at Wells, he heard of some Indians seen in the woods; he immediately marched in quest of them, and surprised and took them all; and hearing also that they had lately cut off a family at Oyster river, paid some of their chiefs in their own coin, and slew them. This family consisted, we may conclude, of four or five persons at least, if no more. Then going to Pemmaquid, and doing some service there, sailed up Sheepscott river, and then marched to Taconet, which was deserted by the enemy. After long and tedious trav

els through the wood, and finding no Indians, he returned with his forces to Saco, where a fort was built under the care and direction of the worthy Major Hook and Captain Hill, which was a great annoyance to the heathen in those parts. About this time tidings came that straggling Indians had done mischief at Quaboag, then a new settlement on the road leading to the westernmost towns of the Massachusetts government. Upon which a party of men from Connecticut sallied out in search of them, and finding their track, followed them to a swamp, where they apprehended themselves secure, killed the most of them, and recovered the captives, with some plunder, and then returned, with great applause from the people, and, it is hoped, with an answerable reward for the good service they had done.

But now it may be questioned, whether it was reasonable of Major Convers with his men scouring the woods and killing some of the enemy, or the building the fort at Saco, before-mentioned, or for fear of the Maquas, a powerful people in the West, now I suppose known by the name of the Mohawks and Senekas, who were in that day a dread and terror to all the heathen tribes throughout the country, as they were deemed by all far and near, that were of their color, the most warlike of all the Indians through the land; for it was reported by some that had accompanied these rovers in their marches and depredations abroad, that they had killed, at the lowest computation, more than two millions of Indians in the other sagamoreships, they being earlier furnished with fire-arms than the other nations more distant, toward the Mississippi river, and other remote parts beyond them. But that which most feelingly affected them at this time was, that the French at Canada were not able to supply them with ammunition, and other things they needed to carry on the war. Therefore the Indians, under their usual plausible pretentions, sued for a peace. The Province having been fatigued in a long and expensive war, and fearing the consequence, were, perhaps, too ready to give a listening ear to the motion, notwithstanding the repeated proofs of their perfidious infidelity and designed treachery against the English, and the more so probably, if possible, as they were under the direction, influence, and delusion, we may conclude, of the French, and their emis