CHAP. LXXIV.1

A further continuation of the narrative of the troubles with the Indians in New England, from April 1677 to June 1680.

way

An attempt was made against our Indian enemies, by of a diversion, in the spring of the last year, 1677, by treating with the Mohawks or Mawques Indians, partly to secure them to be our friends, as hitherto they had been, and partly to see if they could not be induced to prosecute their inbred antipathy against our Indian enemies, with whom they have had a long and deadly feud heretofore. Something was done that way by the help and advice of Major Andros, the Governor of New York; and probably the fear thereof was the only thing that awed the Indians about Pemaquid into a stricter correspondency and more ready compliance with the English; but the truth of this will be judged by the event hereafter.

A long, troublesome, and hazardous journey was undertaken by the Hon. Major Pinchon, of Springfield, and Mr. Richards, of Hartford, in behalf of those two Colonies they were followed with as much success as they could expect. The Mawque Indians made a great shew of cordial friendship to the English, and bitter enmity || against the Indians that have risen against them, making large promises of pursuing their quarrel against them, to the uttermost of their power; but distance of the place, and difficulty of the journey, hath prevented any great matter of effect in that kind, as was expected.

For though some of them armed themselves and came down within the territories of those Indians that have of late so much infested the English Plantations, yet the distance between their own place and that of the other Indians was so great, that they did little execution upon their own and our enemies. The most good it is hoped they did, was by the rumor of their coming down upon the backs of our enemies; it being known to be their natural temper to be very fearful of any evil while it is ||to|| | or ||

LXXIII in the MS.-H.

2 Fifteen of them appeared in the neighborhood of Merrimack, N. H. on March 22d, 1676–7, causing no small alarm to the friendly Indians. See N. H. Hist. Coll. iii. 100; Farmer's Belknap, p. 80; Williamson's Maine, i. 548.—н.

VOL. VI. SECOND SERIES.

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far off, and very stupid and blockish whenever it actually falls upon them.

Some of the country were not well satisfied in the design, as questioning the lawfulness of making use of their help, as they were heathen; but the General Court, and the most considerate of the country, apprehended it lawful to make use of any advantage Providence put into their hands, whereby to weaken or abate the force and power of their enemies.

Abraham entered into a confederacy with the Amorites, among whom he sojourned, and made use of their assistance to assist him in the vindicating of the quarrel of his kinsman, Lot, and recovering of him and his family out of the hands of the common enemy of them all. That which was now done by the General Court of the Massachusetts was no other. And this further benefit did redound to them thereby, that Blind Will, a sagamore at Pascataqua, that was a secret enemy of the English, and one [that] contrived much of the mischief that was done by the Indians of those parts against the English, was killed by those Mohawks or Mawques, as they ranged through those woods in the beginning of the year 1677, which the English much rejoiced in, although they knew not well how to put him to death themselves, because he pretended a kind of friendship towards them, without provoking the other Indians, his neighbors, against whom they had no such cause of exception.'

But to return to the other part of the narrative, concerning the further mischief acted by the Indians eastward against the English in those parts.

It was hoped in the beginning of that year, 1677, that the warfare of New England had been accomplished; but it appeared by the sequel that the storm was not yet over, nor were they as yet called to put on beauty for ashes, or the garments of praise for heaviness. For early in the spring that year, the country was alarmed with the uncomfortable news of the slaughter of nine of the garrison left before winter at Kennebeck, who, going securely to Arowsick Island to inter some of the English, that were left unburied before winter, and not having

'See Farmer's Belknap, p. 80; Williamson, i. 548.-H.

seen an Indian stir for many weeks together, were apprehensive of no danger till they fell into the same; for, as they went to perform the funeral obsequies to their Christian friends, they were suddenly surprised by a number of Indians that intercepted them, before they could recover their boat, and so all cut off but three or four that hardly escaped by some other way than they came; which doleful accident put the Governor and Council upon a resolution to fetch off the rest of the garrison, not accounting it worth the while to run so much hazard to secure it; so that poor remnant returning back, arrived at Boston with Captain Hunting, who was sent for them, April the 19th, 1677.

The soldiers being thus drawn off from the garrison, more mischief was done by the barbarous enemy in scattering parties down lower towards Pascataqua, for April 6th three were killed at the town of Wells, and April the 12th1 two more, the one named John Weld, the other Benjamin Storer.

About the same time a man and a boy were fowling in the marshes, and suddenly the boy espied seven Indians coming near them, while the man was mending his flint; but at the notice, suddenly rising, he presently scared them away by holding out his gun and saying, you rogues, I have been looking for you."

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About April the 7th six or seven men were slain by the Indians near York, while they were at work two miles from the town, whereof one was the son of Lieutenant Smith, of Winnisimet, near Boston, a very hopeful young man, who went in his brother's room, yet his brother's turn is to come soon after. April the 14th Simon and Andrew, the two brethren in iniquity, with a few more, adventured to come over Pascataqua River on Portsmouth side, when they burnt one house within four or five miles of the town, and took a maid and a young woman captive; one of them had a young child in her arms, with which not willing to be troubled they gave leave to her that held it to leave it with an old woman, whom the Indian Simon spared because he said she had 1 13th, says Williamson, i. 549.-H. The house of "Edward Weymouth, at Sturgeon Creek," says Drake's Book of the Indians, iii. p. 111.- -H.

2

been kind to his grandmother; yet one of the two captives escaped from their hands two days after, as did the other1 April 22d, who giving notice of the Indians, (being not so narrowly looked to as they used to do others,) thirty soldiers were sent in that pursuit into three places, by one of which the Indians that had done the mischief were to pass, but discovering the English at a distance. they escaped away through the woods.

Soon after three more were slain in those woods near Portsmouth, whereof one was riding to give notice of the danger to others in the outparts of the town, which himself it seems could not escape. Two of the men slain were very much lamented, being sober, active young men; but the sword, when it hath its commission, will devour one as well as another.

April 29 an Indian discovered himself near Wells, on purpose, as was judged, to draw out the English into a snare. Lieutenant Swett, that commanded the garrison at that time left for securing the town, sent out eleven of the soldiers under his command to lie in wait in some convenient place; but as they passed along they fell into an ambush of the Indians, who shot down two of them and mortally wounded a third. The Lieutenant hearing the guns, sent with all speed upon the enemy, and shot down five or six of them; but was prevented of doing any considerable spoil upon them by the folly of an Irishman that was in his company, who gave the notice of the Lieutenant's approach, by calling out aloud, "here they be, here they be;" for upon that alarum they presently ran all away out of sight, and too fast to be pursued.

May 16 another party of the enemy resolved to try their valor once again upon the garrison at Black Point, not doubting but to carry the place with a bold onset, which they made with much resolution and courage, for they assaulted the garrison three days together, in which space of time they killed three of the English and took one prisoner, whom, as is said, they miserably tormented. The garrison, on the other hand, as stoutly defended themselves, by the courage and valor of Lieutenant Tippin, that commanded them, and at last made a successful shot upon an Indian, that was observed to be very "A young woman from Rawling's house," says Belknap, p. 81

H.

busy and bold in the assault, whom at that time they deemed to be Simon, the arch villain and incendiary of all the Eastward Indians, but proved to be one almost as good as himself, who was called Mogg, that had been an author of much mischief the year before. The slaughter of him much damped the courage of all his companions, so as they soon after quitted the siege, flying away in eleven canoes towards the eastward; yet five paddled their canoes down towards York, where they killed six of the English and took one captive, May 19 following ; and May 23, four days after, one was killed at Wells, and one taken by them betwixt York and Wells; amongst whom was the eldest son of Lieutenant Smith forementioned his younger brother was slain in the same town not long before; so as their father might well mourn, as Ephraim did of old, for the evil that befell his house, the memorial of which was signalized by the name Beriah, in remembrance thereof, given his next succeeding child.

May 281 six Indians that were of the English side, having drunk too much strong liquor, [it] made them sottish and also careless of their lives, so as that next morning they were taken prisoners by the enemy Indians, who carried them twenty miles up into the woods, where they let them loose again, for fear of the Mohawks, whose very name is a terror and dread to them.

Yet still, their malice against us being implacable, they ranged from one town to another, observing where they could do any further mischief; for June 13 two men, upon a surprize, were suddenly shot down, that belonged to Hampton, above two miles distant from the town; for two sprightly young men of the place, hearing guns, mounted their horses and presently made to that place, to see what the matter was, but not looking about them so carefully as they should, were both mortally wounded, whereof one was called Edward Colcot, a sober and well disposed young man, much lamented at his death by all that knew him. He died soon after, if not the next day, of his wounds.2

127th, says Belknap.-H.

2 "The names of the four persons killed, according to the Town Records of Hampton, were Abraham Colcord, Jun., Abraham Perkins, Jun., Benjamin Hilliard, and Caleb Towle." Farmer's Belknap, p. 82.-н.