Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A65574
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New-England's present sufferings under their cruel neighbouring Indians represented in two letters lately written from Boston to London.
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Wharton, Edward, d. 1678.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing W1536; ESTC R12188
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4,268
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10
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New-England's PRESENT SUFFERINGS UNDER Their Cruel Neighbouring INDIANS REPRESENTED In two LETTERS lately Written from BOSTON to LONDON London Printed in the Year 1675. New-England's present Sufferings c. Boston the 4 th of the 11 th month 1675. My Friend AFter my Love to thee and thy wife and the rest of my beloved Friends in the Truth in the which as we abide we are a Flock yea we are a pure Family of Love the Houshold and Children of the living God in whom he will be glorifi'd in carrying of his Lambs and Babes in the Arms and Ark of his everlasting power over all the swelling and raging Waves of the Enemy both within and without to the joy of all his Faithful ones and to the Glory and Renown of his holy Name who over all in Heaven and Earth and every where is blessed for ever and ever more Dear Frind I Comeing to Town and hearing of John Walley him by whom thou hast sent to me who being just ready to Sail for London could not omit to write these few lines unto thee But my business to Boston â—t this time was to build up something over our never to forgotten Friends Graves whom the Apostate Professors of New-England had hanged on a Tree and buryed neer the Countreys High-way side the Lord having put it into my heart that now was a fit and seasonable time it being a day of great Calamity and distress upon most part of New-England For the Natives are risen in great wrath and fury against the English breaking in upon many places with fireing of Houses and torturing of sundry persons with several sorts of Tortures And it is reported they hang up some alive in Iron Crâ—â—ks by the under Jaw untill Death burying some alive by degrees and Skinning others alive And some they carry away it is not known whither but it is thought to Torture them after the most horrid ways they can invent and here are great busles in Pressing Men â— sending out to War But the Indians as a Scourge in the hand oâ— the Lord goe on with great â—uâ—â—â—lty and success upbraiding and câ—â—llenging the English Warrâ—ers when they see them and saying Come why do ye not fight So that in a little time they have much surprized and made great slaughters upon the English and although they had great store of Ammunition of their own yet they get much more by Rifling of Houses and Slaughtering Souldiers out of the Thickets and Swamps as they March and Travel along the Woods They lately met with a Captain and his Company as they were passing over a Swamp and at one Volley of Shot slew him and neer all his Company The Indians I hear insult very much and tell the English Warriers that God is against them and for the Indians and that the English shall for their Unrighteousness fall into their hands Our Rulers Officers and Councellors are like as men in a maze not knowing what to do but the Priests spur them on telling them the Indians are ordained for destruction bidding them go forth to Warr and they will Fast and Pray at home in the mean time yet their General with some other Officers complain and say with tears They see not God go along with them And many of the English when the Natives have killed them they strip them naked and leave their bodies to rot upon the ground I heard some of the Indians did say to some Englishmen That they did not think the Quakers would come out against them I have not yet heard of much hurt they have done to Friends but it is likely to be a time of great tryal to all here What I had to get upon our Friends Graves being ready framed aforehand I got two Friends to help me to set it up in the night a Court of Guard being kept very neer but it being pretty dark we did our work without interruption so next day pretty early tiding was brought into Town that there was a Tombe built upon the two Quakers Grave by the Gallows and it being a Market day it is said many hundreds of Town and Country flock'd about it Reading taking and giving Copeys of the Inscription which was Engraven upon the Front end of the Work And much people were seriously affected saying one to another that the destroying of those good people is that which hath brought the Displeasure and Judgment of the Lord upon this Countrey But the Priests and Rulers it being General Court time hearing of it and the great Concourse of people which gathered about it in the evening it being the last day of the week they sent some to pull it in pieces and to bring the Table with the Inscription to the Governour and General Court When it was Demollished divers people who afterwards came from divers Towns to see it lost their labours But notwithstanding the rage of the Enemy it hath proved very good service and to the torment of the blood guilty and it riseth in the hearts of many people afresh So my Dear Friend with true Love I Rest E. W. Boston the 10 th of the 8 th Month 1675. My well beloved Friend AFter the remembrance of true Love to the and the rest of dear Friends c. This may inform thee that a most bitter Spirit is entred the English and Indians in which they greatly endeavour the utter destruction one of another so that the Face of the state and condition of this Country to all that sees seems very sad and dolesome and the fearful day of Gods most righteous Judgements according to his unchangeable Word spoken by his faithful Servants and Prophets seems now like a mighty and terrible one to come upon this wicked and adulterated Place and People and although they do fast and pray often yet still stands in them fast rooted the evil Tree and they still delight to smite with the Fist of wickedness even all them who faithfully reprove Iniquity in the gate and their evil hearts are much hardned So that although Plagues and Perplexities come in upon them like an overflowing Stream yet their wise Achitophels feed themselves fat without fear as for a day of slaughter whilst many of our miserable Inhabitants lye naked wallowing in their blood and dying and whilst the Barbarous enraged Natives from one part of the Country to another are on Fire flaming forth their fury spoiling Cattle and Corn and burning Houses and torturing Men Women and Children anf burning them alive Yesterday came news to mine Ear that a few Miles off the Indians came to a House and catch'd a Child of half a Year old from its Mother and another about ten Years old both which they carried to the other side of a River where they made a Fire and in sight of the tender Mother they took up the youngest by one Leg and held it aloft and said see you English Woman or to that purpose and so threw it into the Fire and burnt it
and so it 's supposed they destroytd the other also I this day heard of one whom they were three days torturing to death so it plainly appears New-Englands unparalel'd day is now come upon themselves Divers of the Priests I heard gathered together to consider what might be the cause that the Hand of the Lord is thus stretched forth against them and one of them said there seems to be a thick Cloud between the Lord and our Prayers and the Lord goes not forth with our Forces but on the very days that we Fast and Pray before the Lord do our Enemies give us the greatest overthrows and the last time we Fasted we had the greatest slaughter and some confessed that the greatest cause might be in the Priests but they would not all agree to that so Babylon was and is divided One of their Priests on a Fast day took his Text out of the 44th Psalm beginning at the 9th Verse and read to the 14th but Preached on the 9th But thou hast cast off and put us to shame and goest not forth with our Armies Verse 10. Thou makest us to turn back from the Enemy and they which hat us spoil us for themselves Verse 11. Thou hast given us like Sheep appointed for Meat and hast scattered us among the Heathen Verse 12. Thou sellest thy People for nought and dost not encrease thy Wealth by their Peace Verse 13. Thou â—akâ—st us a reproach to our Neighbours a scorn and a Division to them 〈◊〉 are round about us The Indians Insult very much over our English Forces Challenging them out to right you say say they you will kill all the Indians why come you not forth to fight Sometimes they watch the English and will not suffer them to bury their flain but force them to flee before them and then return and strip the flain naked and leave their Bodies to rot above ground now these things are come to pass as was foretold by our Friends the Servants of 〈◊〉 Lord. A few days since a Man who had gotten one of George Bishop's Books of Friends sufferings in New England and reading a saying there wherein he testified the days should shortly come that great Calamities should come upon that People and that their Young Men should fall by the Sword and Worms shall cover them and the Cup which they had filled to to others should be filled double to themselves This Man being press'd in Spirit went to the General Court then sitting with George Bishop's Book in his hand and came several Miles out of the Country he told them he could not have rest in his mind until he came to shew them that Book and he delivered it to them bidding them read such a place and consider if he was not a true Prophet from the Lord in what he had foretold and whether it was not now come to pass But they frowned hard upon him and examined him if he went to the Publique Worship or nay whereupon he demanded his Book again but went away without it Some of the Priests do endeavour to charm the minds of the People and to perswade them that the cause of these distresses fears and horrors that is come upon them in their lying down and rising up is for that the Magistrates do suffer the Quakers and other Hereticks to live amongst them but others of them tell the People in their Pulpits that the great cause of Gods sore displeasure against them is the guilt of innocent blood which from time to time hath been shed in the Land and father said that although the Lord had this Year taken away the Plague of Blasting the Wheat in the Field yet a greater Plague hath he brought in its room and if thus it doth continue greater Plagues than these are like to ensue the next Year even Pestilence and Famine with the Sword Great is the Policy and Wisdome the Natives do Act withal for they compass the out-sides and weakest Towns in the Country and gather the People and drives of them in heaps like Fishes before a Net and make them fly before them to the strongest Towns for Refuge and say they will drive them down to Boston and to two or three more of their strongest Towns where they for want shall starve and famish one another and at present if the Lord shew not mercy they seem as if they would destroy and roul up the rest of our Nation as a burdensome and menstruous Cloth and cast it out of their Land but blessed shall every one be that fears and follows the Lord with an upright heart for such he will make as a Wall of Brass and he will be their deliverer and their strong Tower henceforth and for ever more Amen Thy Friend in my measure in that which changeth not E. W. A Copy of the Inscription that was Ingraven over their Grave Although our Bodyes here in silent Earth do lie Yet are our Righteous Souls at Rest our Blood for Vengance cry THE END