such force, that a blood vessel was broken, and the blood gushed out of his mouth like a torrent. His wife was soon brought to him. He tried but was unable to speak to her, and died in about twelve hours. He was carried to the grave with great funeral pomp, and was buried under arms, and with military honours. On his tomb stone is this inscrip tion. HERE LIETH INTERRED THE BODY OF THE HONOURABLE COL. BENJAMIN CHURCH, Esq.; JANUARY 17TH, 1717-18, IN THE 78 YEAR OF HIS AGE.* Newport April 8, 1772. *"High in esteem among the great he stood; See a poem called "A description of Pennsylvania, Anno 1729," by Thomas Makin, in Proud's Hist. II, 361. The above though applied to the founder of that province, as good, at least, is deserved by the venerated Church; who, through the foul intrigue, and low caprice of office seekers, and the blind zeal of ambitious bigots, suffered much, both as to fame and fortune, in his time. The truth of this remark will fully appear in the ensuing history. THE ENTERTAINING HISTORY OF PHILIP'S WAR, WHICH BEGAN IN THE YEAR 1675. WITH THE PROCEED INGS OF BENJAMIN CHURCH, Esq.* In the year 1674, Mr. Benjamin Church of Duxbury, being providentially at Plymouth† in the time of the * As the author does not begin with the causes and first events of this war, it may be proper to introduce the most important here. His intention appears to have been to give an account of this war, so far, only, as his father was engaged in it, as himself observes in another place. Although not a year had passed since the settlement of Plymouth without some difficulties with the Indians, I will go so far back, only, as immediately concerns Philip's War. After the close of the Pequot war, in 1637, it was conjectured by the English, that the Narragansets took some affront on account of the division of the captive Pequots, among themselves and the Mohegans; and that the English showed partiality. These tribes had assisted in the conquest of the Pequots, and were in a league with the English, and each other. For some time the Narragansets practiced secret abuses upon the Mohegans; but at length they were so open in their insults, that complaints were made to the English, whose interest it was to preserve peace between them. In 1642, it was thought that they were plotting to cut off the English. They so pressed upon the Mohegans, in † Some authors, both ancient and modern wrote this word Plimouth, but custom has adopted the manner as used in the text, 2* court, fell into acquaintance with Captain John Aimy of Rhodeisland. Captain Almy with great impor in 1645, that the colonies were obliged to interfere with an armed force. On The Wampanoags, or Pokanokets, of which Philip was King, inhabited the tract of country where Bristol now is, then called Pokanoket, thence north around Mounthope bay, thence southerly, including the country of considerable width, to Seconet. At the head of this tribe was Massassoit, when the pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, who always lived in friendship with them. He had two sons, who were called Alexander and Philip, which names they received from Gov. Prince of Plymouth, while there renewing a treaty, probably from Philip and Alexander of Macedon. Alexander being the elder assumed the power on the death of his father, and it was soon found that he was plotting with the Narragansets against the English; but his reign was short. being sent for to answer to the court at Plymouth, to certain allegations, he was so exasperated, it is said, that he fell into a fever, and died before he reached home. This was about 1657. Philip succeeded, and his plottings were continual. But he frequently renewed treaties and affected friendships until 1671, when he made a loud complaint that some of the English injured his land, which in the end proved to be false. A meeting was held at Taunton, not long after in consequence of the hostile appearance of Philip's men, by Gov. Prince of Plymouth, and deputies from Massachusetts. Philip was sent for to give reasons for such warlike appearances. He discovered extreme shyness, and for some time would not come to the town, and then with a large band of his warriours with their arms. He would not consent to go into the meetinghouse, where the delegates were, until it was agreed that his men should be on one side of the house, and the English on the other. On being questioned, he denied having any ill designs upon the English, and said that he came with his men armed to prevent any attacks from the Narragansets; but this falsehood was at once detected, and it was evident that they were united in their operations. It was also proved before him, that he had meditated an attack on Taunton, which he confessed. These steps so confounded him that he consented to deliver all his arms into the hands of the English as an indemnity for past damages. All of the guns which he brought with him, about 70, were delivered, and the rest were to be sent in, but never were. What would have been the fate of Newengland had Philip's warriours possessed those arms in the war that ensued? This prevented immediate war, and it required several years to repair their loss. Philip tunity invited him to ride with him and view that part of Plymouth colony that lay next to Rhodeisland, known then by their Indian names of Pocasset and Sogkonate.* Among other arguments to persuade him, he told him the soil was very rich, and the situation pleasant: Persuades him by all means to purchase of the company some of the court grant rights. He accepted his invitation, views the country and was pleased with it, makes a purchase, settled a farm, found the gentlemen of the island+ ́very civil and obliging. And being himself a person of uncommon activity and industry, he soon erected two buildings upon his farm, and gained a good acquaintance with the natives; got much into their favour, and was in a little time in great esteem among them.‡ The next spring advancing, while Mr. Church was diligently settling his new farm, stocking, leasing and disposing of his affairs, and had a fine prospect of doing no small things; and hoping that his good success would be inviting unto other good men to become his neighbours: Behold! the rumour of a war between the English and the natives, gave check to was industrious to do this, and, at the same time, used his endeavours to cause other tribes to engage in his cause. He was not ready when the war did begin, to which, in some measure, we may attribute his failure. Three of his men were tried and hanged for the alleged murder of John Sassamon, whom Philip had condemned as a traitor. It so exasperated Philip and his men that their friends should be punished by the English, that they could no longer restrain their violence. Thus are some of the most prominent events sketched which led to this bloody war. The history of John Sassamon or Sausaman, will be found in a succeeding note. * Pocasset, now Tiverton, was the name of the main land against the north part of Rhodeisland. Sogkonate, afterwards Seconet, now Little Compton, extends from Fogland ferry to the sea; in length between 7 and 8 miles. † Rhodeisland, which was now quite well inhabited. It was settled in 1638. Its Indian name was Aquetneck, and afterwards called the Isle of Rodes by the English. Mr. Church moved here in the autumn of 1674. his projects. People began to be very jealous of the Indians, and indeed they had no small reason to suspect that they had formed a design of war upon the English.* Mr. Church had it daily suggested to him that the Indians were plotting a bloody design. That Philip the great Mounthope Sachem, was leader therein, and so it proved. He was sending his messengers to all the neighbouring Sachems, to engage them into a confederacy with him in the war.† Among the rest *It may be diverting to some, to introduce here what Cotton Mather calls an omen of the war that followed. Things," says he, "began by this time to have an ominous aspect. Yea, and now we speak of things ominous, we may add, some time before this, [before those were executed for the murder of Sassamon] in a clear, still, sunshiny morning, there were divers persons in Malden who heard in the air, on the southeast of them, a great gun go off, and presently thereupon the report of small guns like musket shot, very thick discharging, as if there had been a battle. This was at a time when there was nothing visible done in any part of the colony to occasion such noises; but that which most of all astonished them was the flying of bullets, which came singing over their heads, and seemed very near to them, after which the sound of drums passing along westward was very audible; and on the same day, in Plymouth colony in several places, invisible troops of horse were heard riding to and fro," &c. Magnalia, II, 486. This is quite as credible as many witch accounts in that marvellous work. †The following is a statement of the probable numbers of the Indians in Newengland at the time of Philip's war, also of the English. Dr. Trumbull in his Hist. U. States, I, 36, supposes there were in Newengland at the time of settlement about 36,000 Indian inhabitants; one third of which were warriours. Their numbers gradually diminished as the whites increased, so that we may conclude that there were not less than 10,000 warriours at the commencement of Philip's war. Hutchinson, I, 406, says that the Narragansets alone were considered to amount to 2000 fighting men, in 1675. Hubbard, Nar. 67, says they promised to rise with 4000 in the war. Governour Hinkley states the number of Indians in Plymouth county, in 1685, at 4000 or upwards. Hist, U. States, I, 35. Beside these there were in different towns about 2000 praying Indians, as those were called who adhered to the English religion; they took no part in the war. In |