Captain Wheeler, went upon a treaty of peace with them,
August 2d, unto a place where they had agreed to meet
him, to consummate and confirm the articles they had sworn
to about a month before. But the Indians not appearing
according to promise, Captain Hutchinson rode too far, in
order to discover them, for he fell into an ambuscade they
had laid for him. They fired on him, and mortally wound-
eight more of his company on the spot,

ed him, and killed
and then escaped.

In this year, August 25, 1674, a party of men were sent out at Connecticut, under the command of Captain Robert Treat, who met with a considerable body of the enemy, and engaged them; in which encounter he had nine men killed, belonging to nine several towns. September the 2d, eight men were killed by the Indians at a place called Squasheed. About this time, or perhaps some time before, two men were met by a party of Indians; one was killed and another wounded.

In this time, as the Indians were making great havoc in the country, Captain Church, of whom we shall hear more afterwards, and Captain Fuller, went from Plymouth in quest of the Indians in that quarter, with but small parties of men under their command; and in their march to the southern part of the colony fell in with a large body of Indians, who beset them very strongly. Captain Fuller sheltered himself and men in a small house near the sea-side, until a vessel from Rhode Island came and took them off. But Captain Church bravely withstood the encounter, with his men, who posted themselves by the sea-side under the bank; but this being low and not sufficient for their defence, they piled up stones on the top of the bank. One of his men began to despair, concluding they should not be able to stand it out against such a numerous company, and under a mighty shower of whistling bullets flying over them. Captain Church perceiving his courage to fail, the Captain, to animate them in the conflict, declared (but upon what foundation is not easy to conceive) that not a man of them should be hurt; and so it came out; for as this faint-hearted soldier was raising up a flat stone, to raise their barricado on the bank, and had partly got it up in his arms, when there came a bullet forcibly against the stone; but the soldier received no harm. Upon which he, with the rest, renewed their

1

courage, and fought like lions all the afternoon, without any harm, until a sloop from Rhode Island came and carried them off. This noble action was fought at a place then and still called Pocasset, both by the Indians and English.

Philip, the sachem of Mount Hope, to make himself strong against the English, drew into his assistance several other tribes of Indians, who made great spoil in the country; and those that were so miserable as to fall into their hands, were many of them tortured to death in the cruelest manner these bloody savages could invent, or the old serpent himself could readily lead them to perpetrate; as will be found in a great many instances in the course of this history.

September 2, in this year, 1674, eight men were killed by the Indians in the woods, at a place called Squakheag. Soon after this Captain Beers and a score of his men fell by the Indians, in his attempting to bring off the distressed people of Deerfield. After all their houses, save one, in which they gallantly defended themselves, were consumed to ashes, these poor people defended themselves against a formidable body of Indians, that violently beset them, but were finally constrained to retreat without gratifying their furious bloodthirsty purposes. Thus God often appears for the defence of his people when all human helps fail. What loss the enemy sustained in this encounter is uncertain; for it is the manner of the heathen universally to risk and hazard, at such times, their own lives to the last degree, if possible to carry off and conceal their dead, of which they give multiplied instances.

September the 18th, Captain Lothrop, with about 80 men, essaying to fetch off the corn that was threshed in Deerfield, was assaulted by a large body of the heathen enemy; upon which ensued a very bloody slaughter, in which action the Captain himself and sixty of his men were slain.

Captain Mosely, hearing the report of their guns in this battle, hastened but with a few men to the relief of the English, though too late for Captain Lothrop's help and them that fell with him; yet slew 95, and more than 40 wounded of their part, as the Indians after confessed, with the loss only of two men of his own. This conflict lasted six hours. This Captain Mosely seemed to be a terror to the Indians. They distinguished him by "the man with two heads." The reason of which was he wore a wig, which were not so

common in that day as since; and when he came to engage the enemy, he was wont to hang his wig upon a bush, and still to wear his head upon his shoulders, and do great exploits upon them.

In an engagement with the Indians at Hatfield, one Englishman slain. Some others were killed, uncertain how many, in their essaying to treat in a friendly manner at their fort.

About this time, Springfield was beset by great numbers of the enemy, who fired thirty-two houses; but the people were rescued in their garrisons, and by the seasonable arrival of Major Treat, Major Pinchon, and Captain Appleton. In a battle at Hatfield, one Englishman slain.

December 12, or thereabouts, fourteen Englishmen were slain in Narragansett, now South Kingston, in Bull's garrison there.

Soon after this, in December 18th, if I mistake not, the forces from the Massachusetts, and of Plymouth and Connecticut, consisting of 1500 men, under the command of Major-General Josiah Winslow, marched towards a fort to which the main body of the Indians in that part of the country had retired for their better safety. The principal commanders and captains under General Winslow, and the majors, were-Captain Mosely and Captain Davenport led the van, Captain Gardner and Captain Johnson were in the centre, Major Appleton and Captain Oliver brought up the rear of the Massachusetts forces. General Winslow with Plymouth forces, under Major Bradford and Captain Gorham, marched in the centre; and Connecticut forces, under Major Treat, and Captain Siely, Captain Gallop, Captain Mason, Captain Watts, and Captain Marshal, made the rear of the whole army.

The fort the English assaulted was on an island in a great swamp, and the passage to it was only upon a single tree they had felled for that purpose, viz. the Indians. The English forces in their march had taken 40 Indians, among. whom there was a fellow named Peter, who had taken a disgust against his countrymen, and became a guide to the army, who was very faithful and singularly serviceable in directing our forces to that part of the fort that was easiest of access. They advanced with an intrepid bravery and courage, having nothing but death or victory in view, under the sharp

fire of the enemy, and entered the fort and soon made themselves masters of it, by killing great numbers of the enemy; and those that escaped fled into a great cedar-swamp not far distant. The English force set the wigwams on fire soon after they entered the fort, so that not only their houses but treasure also was quickly turned to ashes, and their corn and beans were turned to a coal, and great quantities of them remain to this day in their full proportion at a small depth under the surface of the earth. This remarkable conquest was effected on the Indians December 19, 1674, when 85 Englishmen were slain, and 150 wounded, of which many died. There were six captains among them that were slain, Captain Davenport, Captain Gardner, Captain Johnson, Captain Gallop, Captain Siely, and Captain Marshal. They destroyed 700 fighting men, and 300 after died of their wounds, as they afterwards confessed, besides old men, women and children.

Brave Major Bradford was wounded in his back with a bullet, probably by one of their own men, in the hurry of this fight, which he carried to the grave with him. This memorable exploit and victory over the Indians is still, and doubtless will be, distinguished from the many other heroic acts of the English in that season of their warlike conflicts with the Indians in New-England, by the name of The Swamp Fight, by way of special eminency.

The only chaplain I find in the army, on this expedition, was Mr. Samuel Nowell, who after was a magistrate. He behaved with wonderful courage and activity in the face of death, when the balls whistled on every side of him, yet escaped.

It may here be remarked, that Wequash was the English army's guide in the taking of Pequot Fort, and John Sausaman discovered Philip's plot against the English at Plymouth. These were preachers to the Indians afterwards, though at places far distant; Wequash at Connecticut, and Sausaman in the parts of Plymouth,-and were both murdered by the Indians, because of their friendship to the English; but I know not what became of Peter, that was guide to the army at the Swamp Fight.

Deserted Mendon was this same winter laid in ashes, the French from Canada sending recruits, as their method always has been, to instigate and supply the Indians with

arms and ammunition, as well as otherwise on all occasions. February 10, the Indians fell upon Lancaster, then an out town, burnt many houses, and murdered and captivated more than 40 of the inhabitants. They soon after did much mischief at Marlborough, Sudbury, and Chelmsford; and, February 21, they fell upon Medfield, and burnt near half the houses in the town, and killed near or full out a score of the inhabitants.

February 25, they killed four at Braintree,-three men and a woman. The woman they carried about six or seven miles, and then killed her and hung her up in an unseemly and barbarous manner, by the way-side leading from Braintree to Bridgewater; and, if I mistake not, the same day they killed three at Weymouth.

On March 14, the Indians killed five persons at Northampton, and burnt five houses. On March 10, the Indians ́did further mischief at Groton and Sudbury; and March 13, they burnt almost all the houses in Groton, with the meeting-house, and tauntingly said to the people in the garrison, "What will you do for a house to pray in, now we have burnt your meeting-house ?"

March 12, they barbarously cut off two families in Plymouth colony. The number of persons, at the lowest computation, may be supposed to be six, or perhaps more.

On March 17, they burnt all the houses in Warwick. March 26, 1676, Captain Peirce, engaging the enemy with 50 Englishmen and 20 friendly Indians, was overpowered by a far greater number of the savages. He, with 49 English, and eight Christian Indians, fell in the field of battle, after they had slain 140 of the enemy. A disastrous day! for on this day the town of Marlborough was consumed to ashes by another party of Indians; and by another party, the same day, Springfield was beset, and several (I am uncertain how many) were murdered; we may suppose at least five or six.

March 28, forty houses were consumed to ashes, and the next day about thirty at Providence fell under the same fate. And because they could not gratify their bloodthirsty cruelties on the people, now entered into their garrisons for defence, they exercised their barbarities in a prodigious manner upon the dumb creatures, cutting out the tongues