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A63333
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A True account of the most considerable occurrences that have hapned in the warre between the English and the Indians in New-England from the fifth of May 1676, to the fourth of August last : as also of the successes it hath pleased God to give the English against them : as it hath been communicated by letters to a friend in London : the most exact account yet printed.
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1676
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Wing T2385; ESTC R37895
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15,178
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13
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lives spared Thus could these bloody wretches plead for themselves by that Sacred name which they had Blasphem'd and in the blood of whose Servants they had embrued their hands The 9th of July two young Maidens Captives wandred away from the Indians that kept them and got to an English Garrison at Marlebrough The same day also we had tidings of the good successe of some of our Scouts the most of them of our Indian Friends the cheif of whom were William Nehawton and John Hunter who near to Mondham slew seven of the Enemy whereof one was a great Captain of the Indians and another was called Caleb who had formerly been a chief Instrument in burning Mendham when the Indians had first shot at the English an English Souldier in company with our Indian friends making haste to Fire had forgot to pull out a wadd of Tow which was in the pan of his gun which William Nahawton espying told him of and wish'd him to take it out and Fire the Englishman told him he judged the Indian whom he could but just descry by reason of the darkness of the morning and his distance from him was too far to be reach'd by his Musket try said Nahawton and God shall direct the bullet which he immediately did and he saw the Indian who was running from them tumble down who prov'd to be one of their great Captains above-mentioned afterwards the Indian Nahawton made a very serious Prayer in acknowledgment to God for the successe Upon the 10th day of July there were about 300 Indians at the Eastward that surrendred themselves to the English and their Sachems with them besides Waralancet who hath all along this war kept himself clear one Squardo that which did hasten them in was the dread of the Mohauks who have kill'd several of them in those quarters and a rumor they had of a great party of that nation coming down upon them July the 13th we had news from Major Talcot that in his return home from Pautaxit he killed and took another Party of the Indians in number 60 and had the plunder of all their Guns and other things and this also without the losse of any of our Countrymen July the 16th we had news from the forces which went from us to the Southern parts that they have taken and kill'd since their march from us about 120 of the Enemy with the losse only of one man of ours who neglecting to keep up with the rest of our forces and being bewildred in a wood hollowed and was heard by the Enemy and was taken and slain before relief could reach him We since hear that Pomham one of the great Sachems of Narrowgancet is one of those that were slain but we are not yet so certain thereof as positively to affirm it to be undoubtely so but great probabilities there are of it and if so the glory of that Nation is sunk with him into the same pit of this circumstance the reader will receive farther satisfaction in the ensuing Narrative On the 17th of July two Sachems with four Indians to wait on them came down to Boston from Wadjusset where Sagamour Sam. and others are with renewed desires of Peace they were dismissed the next day from the Councill with this answer to them that we would first have our Captives out of their hands and then talk of a Peace And soon after they returned with a scalpe of one of our Enemies which is their usual way where they kill and a signification of Sagamor Sams purpose to surrender himself to the mercy of the English The 18th of July we had the news of fourteen more Indians taken and killed by our forces and one of ours also slain and two dayes after of sixteen more Indians killed or taken by them in their return home without any losse of our Men. On the 29th of July we had an account by Letters from Plimouth that the forces of that Colony viz. two and twenty of the English with twenty of our Friend Indians under the Command of Livetenant Church had killed and taken 79 of the Enemy and that without the death or wounding of any of ours And by the same Post that Sachem Phillip had come down to his own Country of Mount Hope near Dartmouth as one that now was reduc'd to a few hundreds of the thousands he began this war with and that our forces were looking out after him and had considerably diminished his bloody Remnant whose desparation had engaged their adherence to him and amongst the rest Quinapins brother that succeeded Quinancet the Sachem before mentioned executed by us What I mentioned in my last about Pomham one of the greatest Sachems of the Narrogansets you may take now as followeth Upon the 27th of July it was that about twenty Indians were slain and thirty taken Prisoners we had five and twenty English and twenty of our Indian Friends in this exploit one of those that were slain was Pomham after he had received a deadly shot in his back he withdrew himself from his men for they were all his Relations and Subjects that were slain and taken at this time and thought to hide himself in a bushy hole but was found out by an English man who as he went to apprehend him found that the stout Sachem was unwilling to fall into the hands of the English for he gave him a stunning blow with his hatchet which he had reserved of all his weapons and perhaps had slain the English man but God ordered it so that he had a sudden revival and took Courage and grappled with him and threw him under him and others coming into his assistance Pomham was soon dispatcht There was about twenty pound of Indian money found in their baskets which was given to our friends the Indians the Guns c. the English took to themselves who lost not one man in this encounter The same day likewise there came in 160 Indians men women and Children who surrendred themselves up to the mercy of the English some of these belong'd to Sagamore Sam of Lancaster though he himself dare not so adventure but the most of them to two Nipmag Sachems and one Sagamore John this Sagamore John came down in person about fourteen days since to Boston to surrender himself and his men to the English promising for the future to be faithful declaring that he was sorry that he had sought against the English and promised to give some testimonial to the English soon of this fidelity to them and at his return now with his men women and Children he brought down bound with cords old Mattoonus and his Son Prisonrs This Mattoonus his eldest son had been tryed at Boston and executed about 5 or six years ago for an execrable murther by him committed on a young Maid of the English near Wooburn and his head fastened to a Pole at one end of the Gallows This old Mattoonus's Father had given it out that he would be avenged of us
for his Sons death which comming to the knowledge of the Council he was sent for and examined about it and having denyed it and there not being sufficient evidence of it he was dismist having only confest this that considering the death of his son he found his heart so big hot within him but that he resolved to abide a faithful friend to the English and so that accusation ended But after Sachem Phillip had begun his murthers in Plimouth Colony this Salvage first appeared an enemy to us and slew the two first men that were killed within the limits of our Colony to wit at Mendham and in that cruel outragious attempt at Quabang this old Mattoonus was the principal Ringleader being now brought a Prisoner to Boston he was by the Council the same day adjudged to be shot to death which was executed in Boston Common by three Indians and his head cut off and placed upon a Pole on the Gallows opposite to his Sons that was there formerly hanged His Son brought along with him remains still a Prisoner On the last of July there were about 26 Indians most Women and Children brought in by our Scouts as they were ranging the Woods about Dedham almost sterved We are also informed that most of Sachem Philips men have deserted him and surrendred up themselves to the English of Plimouth Colony at their mercy and that he himself with his Remains are gone to Dartmouth in Chase of whom Major Talcott with our Friend Indians are at present August the 3d. we hear this Morning by a Post from Bridgwater in Plymouth Colony that not far from that place a Party of our Souldiers met with a Company of the Enemy 25 in all who though prepared to make the first shot at the English in their march yet when they came within shot and were descryed by ours they nimbly prevented the Indians and killed eight of them and took the other 17 Prisoners with-any loss on our side Some of the Indians acknowledged that their Arms shook and trembled so that they could not so readily discharge their Guns as they would have done We are certainly inform'd that Philip Sachem is again fled from Dartmouth in Plymouth Colony into ours and that he is not far from Marleborough We are not without hope that he may ere long be caught which in probability would quench the remaining Coals of this Warre But we desire to wait upon Gods Will and attend his Work in this thing which will at last give us cause to say How great is his Goodness and how great is his Beauty Thus hath God dealt graciously with us which I was desirous to acquaint you with and therefore have for some of the latest Occurrencies took an Opportunity of a Ship not sailing directly for London to give you this Account which is a true one as far as the distance of times and places where the Actions have been will admit every Action must have allowance with respect to humane Infirmities and the various Reporters who may encrease or diminish according to their own Judgement of the matter of Fact But otherwise there is nothing represented but what consists with truth And also my great design is to desire you to acquaint our Christian Friends that have prayed for us in England with these things For as we have observed since we heard of their instant Prayers for us we have been much encouraged and have received eminent Returns of our joynt Prayers so also we begge that they would Praise and Magnifie the Name of the Most High with us and in our behalfs for we cannot sufficiently exalt him For besides these Mercies in reference to the Indian Warre we have had many other very great and seasonable cast in over and above to our great Astonishment VVe had an Epidemical Sickness that hath swept away several worthy Gentlemen amongst us besides many others which God hath Rebuked We have also had a great and sore Drought which Threatned the Spoiling of our Harvest and thereby an encrease of the Scarcity that hath been amongst us But this 4th of August God hath given us an abundance of Rain Blessed be his Name and we have our English Corn generally Housed with us and divers have gone to the Towns that were burnt down to reap the Wheat and what they had there Sown last Winter which in the last Spring they expected to have faln into the Enemies hand And the Husbandman goes out with more safety than could be imagined on his employments Our Indian Harvest is like to be very fruitfull that grain is now sold at two shillings six pence the Bushell besides the Supplies we have had from other Parts Yet shall we not say the bitterness of Death is over the Enemy hath several Sculking parties abroad which yet do little Mischief being disappointed by the Providence of God through the Vigilance of our Scouts May be God will still go on to fulfill that promise Isa 62.8 9. Surely I will no more give thy Corn to be meat for thine Enemy and the Sons of the Stranger shall not drink thy Wine for the which thou hast Laboured but they that have gathered it shall eat it and praise the Lord. But still we beg that you would not forget to pray for us that we may not again provoke God by breaking his Commandments least he be angry with us untill he have consumed us And we shall not cease to pray for you and all the Churches of Christ that call upon the name of our Lord and yours that you may obtain the like mercy to help in time of need SIR Pardon the prolixity of this Narrative from Your Affectionate Friends For a Close of this Narrative I shall beg the Readers patience to peruse the substance of some Letters which I shall contract under one relating to be Indians known to us here and to our Countreymen there under the name of the praying Indians that is such as call upon the Name of of our Lord Jesus Christ as being perswaded that there is a Concernment of Gods Glory depending thereupon A Vindication due to them who have been represented as Hypocrites or Apostates for the Generality of them which appeares to be otherwise as I hope the substance of the ensuing Letters communicated from persons of known Integrity will evidence which take as followeth SIR ALthough it hath Pleased God to Deprive us of several Useful Iustruments whom he had fitted for carrying on the Work of the Gospell amongst the Indians by removing them from their Labours to their Reward which may be looked upon as a Forerunner of the Occurrencies which have happened in the Indian Warre which hath to the eyes of many passed as it were a Sentence of Death upon the work yet as I believe I speak that the Light of the Gospell that hath shined upon these poor Gentiles in these Parts as it is a Real Work so will the Lord in due time make it more evidently appear to the Glory of his Grace by Jesus Christ And in truth to my understanding the Gospell hath gained an advantage rather than otherwise for the greatest part of the Praying Indians have been kept steddy in following their Profession and Witnessing to the Excellency of the Gospel by much Faith Patience Self denial and Courage which I hope will give a Conviction upon the minds of all more and more among us I shall not give you the Trouble of an Apology for them nor deduce particulars how Honestly and Faithfully they have the most of them acquitted themselves during this Warre though their Tentations and Tryals have been great for it is in matter of Fact evident that since the English have abated of their Fears about them and have employed them in this VVarre they have had most manifest proofs of their fidelity and valour and withal have had the blessing of many successes in which the Christian Indians have had their share though not of Conduct yet of great Usefullness and Serviceableness as far as they have been entrusted which I could not but communicate to you as that which I judge is due to them and which is more to the Glory of God and that good VVork which he hath been pleas'd to carry on by his Servants who have Laboured among them and I hope will perfect still more and more to his own praise Your Affectionate Friend FINIS