ing by him to have gained some intelligence of the enemy, that might be of advantage. But it unhappily fell out, that a fellow that had lagged behind, coming up, shot down the Indian; to Mr. Church's great grief and disappointment. But immediately they heard a great shout of the enemy, which seemed to be behind them or between them and the fort; and discovered them running from tree to tree to gain advantages of firing upon the English that were in the fort. Mr. Church's great difficulty now was, how to discover himself to his friends in the fort; using several inventions, till at length he gained an opportunity to call to, and informed a Sergeant in the fort, that he was there and might be exposed to their shots, unless they observed it. By this time he discovered a number of the enemy, almost within shot of him, making towards the fort. Mr. Church and his company were favoured by a heap of brush that was between them, and the enemy, and prevented their being discovered to them. Mr. Church had given his men their particular orders for firing upon the enemy. And as they were rising up to make their shot, the aforementioned Sergeant in the fort, called out to them, for God's sake not to fire, for he believed they were some of their friend Indians. They clapped down again, but were soon sensible of the Sergeant's mistake. The enemy got to the top of the tree, the body whereof the Sergeant stood upon, and there clapped down out of sight of the fort; but all this while never discovered Mr. Church, who observed them to keep gathering unto that place until there seemed to be a formidable black heap of them. "Now brave boys," said Mr. Church to his men, "if we mind our hits we may have a brave shot, and let our sign for firing on them, be their rising to fire into the fort." It was not long before the Indians rising up as one body, designing to pour a volley into the fort, when our Church ninably started up, and gave them such a round vol

.

ley, and unexpected clap on their backs, that they, who escaped with their lives, were so surprised, that they scampered, they knew not whither themselves. About a dozen of them ran right over the log into the fort, and took into a sort of hovel that was built with poles, after the manner of a corn crib. Mr. Church's men having their cartridges fixed, were soon ready to obey his orders, which were immediately to charge and run [-]1 upon the hovel and overset it; calling as he ran on, to some that were in the fort, to assist him in oversetting it. They no sooner came to face the enemy's shelter, but Mr. Church discovered that one of them had found a hole to point his gun through right at him. But however [he] encouraged his company, and ran right on, till he was struck with three bullets; one in his thigh, which was near half cut off as it glanced on the joint of his hip bone; another through the gatherings of his breeches and drawers with a small flesh wound; a third pierced his pocket, and wounded a pair of mittens that he had borrowed of Captain Prentice; being wrapped up together, had the misfortune of having many holes cut through them with one bullet. But however he made shift to keep on his legs, and nimbly discharged his gun at them that had wounded him. Being disabled now to go a step, his men would have carried him off, but he forbid their touching of him, until they had perfected their project of oversetting the enemy's shelter; bid them run, for now the Indians had no guns charged. While he was urging them to run on, the Indians began to shoot arrows, and with one pierced through the arm of an Englishman that had hold of Mr Church's arm to support him. The English, in short, were discouraged and drew back. And by this time the English people in the fort had begun to set fire to the wigwams aud houses in the fort, which Mr. Church laboured hard to prevent. They told him 1 [on]

[that] they had orders from the General to burn them. He begged them to forbear until he had discoursed with the General. And hastening to him, he begged to spare the wigwams, &c., in the fort from fire. [And] told him [that] the wigwams were musket proof; being all lined with baskets and tubs of grain and other provisions, sufficient to supply the whole army, until the spring of the year, and every wounded man might have a good warm house to lodge in, who otherwise would necessarily perish with the storms and cold; and moreover that the army had no other provisions to trust unto or depend upon; that he knew that the Plymouth forces had not so much as one [biscuit]1 left, for he had seen their last dealt out, &c.* The General advising a few words with the gentlemen that were about him moved towards the fort, designing to ride in himself and bring in the whole army; but just as he was entering the swamp one of his Captains met him, and asked him, whither he was going? He told him "In to the fort." The Captain laid hold of his horse and told him, [that] his life was worth an hundred of theirs, and [that] he should not expose himself. The General told him, that, he supposed the brunt was over, and that Mr. Church had informed him that the fort was taken, &c.; and as the case was circumstanced, he was of the mind, that it was most practicable for him and his army to shelter themselves in the fort. The Captain in a great heat replied, that Church lied; and told the General, that, if he moved another step, towards the fort he would shoot his horse under him. Then [bristled] up 2 [brusled]

1 [biskake]

*Thus the heroick Church discovered not only great bravery in battle, but judgment and forethought. Had his advice been taken, no doubt many lives would have been saved. It may be remarked, that notwithstanding Mr. Church so distinguished himself in this fight, his name is not mentioned by our chief historians.

another gentleman, a certain Doctor, and opposed Mr. Church's advice, and said, [that] if it were complied with, it would kill more men than the enemy had killed. "For (said he) by tomorrow the wounded men will be so stiff, that there will be no moving of them." And looking upon Mr. Church, and seeing the blood flow apace from his wounds, told him, that if he gave such advice as that was, he should bleed to death like a dog, before they would endeavour to stanch his blood. Though after they had prevailed against his advice they were sufficiently kind to him. And burning up all the houses and provisions in the fort, the army returned the same night in the storm and cold. And I suppose that every one who is acquainted with that night's march, deeply laments the miseries that attended them; especially the wounded and dying men.† But it mercifully came to pass that Captain Andrew Belcher arrived at Mr. Smith's that very night from Boston with a vessel laden with provisions for the army, which must otherwise have perished for want.

Some of the enemy that were then in the fort have since informed us that, near a third of the Indians belonging to all the Narraganset country, were kill

* I have not been able to learn the name of the beforementioned Captain nor Doctor. Perhaps it is as well if their memories be buried in oblivion. Trumbull says that, they had the best surgeons which the country could produce. Hist. Con. I, 340. In another place, I, 346, Mr. Gershom Bulkley, he says, "was viewed one of the greatest physicians and surgeons then in Connecticut."

What rendered their situation, more intolerable, was, beside the severity of the cold, a tremendous storm filled the atmosphere with snow; through which they had 18 miles to march before they arrived at their headquarters. See Hist. Connecticut, I, 340.

66 an

The father of Governour Belcher. He lived at Cambridge, and was one of his Majesty's council. No one was more respected for integrity, and it is truly said, that he was ornament and blessing to his country." He died October 31, 1728, aged 71. Eliot, 52.

ed by the English, and by the cold of that night; that they fled out of their fort so hastily, that they carried nothing with them, that if the English had kept in the fort, the Indians would certainly have been necessitated, either to surrender themselves to them, or to have perished by hunger, and the severity of the season.†

Some time after this fort fight, a certain Sogkonate Indian, hearing Mr. Church relate the manner of his being wounded, told him, [that] he did not know but he himself was the Indian that wounded him, for that he was one of that company of Indians that Mr. Church made a shot upon, when they were rising to make a shot into the fort. They were in number about sixty or seventy that just then came down from Pumham's town and never before then fired a gun against the English. That when Mr.

Mr. Hubbard, 135, mentions, that one Potock, a great counsellor among them, confessed on being taken, that the Indians lost 700 fighting men, besides 300, who died of their wounds. Many old persons, children and wounded, no doubt perished in the flames. But letters from the army, at the time, may be seen in utchinson, I, 272, 273, in which the enemy's loss is not so highly rated. They compare better with the account given by our author in the next note.

It

(The swamp fight happened on December 19,* 1675, in which about 50 English were killed in the action, and died of their wounds; and about 300 or 350 Indians, men, women and children were killed, and as many more captivated. is said 500 wigwams were burned with the fort, and 200 more in other parts of Narraganset. The place of the fort was an elevated ground, or piece of upland, of, perhaps, 3 or 4 acres, in the middle of a hideous swamp, about 7 miles nearly due west from Narraganset, south ferry.‡)

What is now Warwick. See note 2, page 56.

*The old copy of this history, from which I print this, gives the date, Dec. 29, but it must be a misprint.

+ Perhaps later writers are more correct with regard to the loss of the English, than our author. It is said that there were above 80 slain, and 150 wounded, who afterwards recovered. Hist. Con. I, 340.

The swamp where this battle was fought is in Southkingston, Rhodeisland, situated as mentioned above.