xt7x959c5z8c https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7x959c5z8c/data/mets.xml Crafts, William A. (William August), 1819-1906. 1876  books b929732c8422009 English Samuel Walker and Company : Boston, Ma. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Pioneers --United States. United States --History --Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775. America --Discovery and exploration. Pioneers in the settlement of America: from Florida in 1510 to California in 1849. By William A. Crafts. Elegantly illustrated under the supervision of George T. Andrew from original designs by F.O.C. Darley, Wm. L. Shepard, Granville Perkins, etc. ... text Pioneers in the settlement of America: from Florida in 1510 to California in 1849. By William A. Crafts. Elegantly illustrated under the supervision of George T. Andrew from original designs by F.O.C. Darley, Wm. L. Shepard, Granville Perkins, etc. ... 1876 2009 true xt7x959c5z8c section xt7x959c5z8c 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   PIONEERS

IN THE

SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA

From Florida in 1510 to California in 1849.

by

WILLIAM  A^^C RAFTS.

ELEGANTLY ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF GEORGE T. ANDREW, FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS BY F.O.C. DARLEY, WM. L. SHEPARD, GRANVILLE PERKINS, Etc.

Vol. II.

BOSTON:

published by samuel walker and company.

1877. 
   Copyright, SAMUEL WALKER  & CO., 1S76.

ELECTROTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 19 SPRING LANE.

 
   LVI.

MASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE.

URING the period of D'Aulnay's and La Tours conflicts, the English settlements in Maine had gradually though slowly grown and increased in number. Fishing-hamlets and trading-posts had grown into permanent villages, forests were felled, not only for the timber but for purposes of agriculture, and in the intervales along the rivers productive farms wrere cultivated. But, for want of a general government, the settlements had by no means flourished. Patents which overlapped each other, grants from the various patentees, and Indian deeds, created confusion and contentions. In consequence of the increased number of traders along the coast and the neighborhood of the Massachusetts colony, the settlers were not exposed to the want and privations which the Plymouth colony had endured, and which the first settlers on the Maine shores had experienced. But they had various other troubles, growing out of rival claims, which occasioned discontent. Similar troubles in the New Hampshire settlements had induced them to place themselves under the protection of Massachusetts; and following this example, which proved advantageous in New Hampshire, some of the settlements in Maine sought the same protection.

3 
   4 MASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE.

It is not our purpose to follow the various attempts of Gorges, Rigby, and others, to increase the settlements and establish civil governments, nor the subsequent efforts to maintain the royal provinces, nor the claims of the Duke of York and his agents. With several of these Massachusetts became involved in contests which, with various phases, continued many years. The patentees and patrons of the early settlements, and many $ the settlers, were Episcopalians, and they had no liking for the Puritans; but during the civil wars in England, and after the restoration of the monarchy, many dissenters or Puritans who emigrated settled in Maine. These were anxious for the protection of Massachusetts, and the Puritan colony was quite as willing to afford that protection, and to extend its authority.

To do this with the appearance of right, a new construction was placed on the limits of the territory granted by the Massachusetts charter. That charter extended to all the lands "within the space of three English miles to the northward of the river Merrimack, and to the southward of any and every part thereof." When the charter was granted, the course of the Merrimack was not known, and it was probably supposed that its general course was nearly east and west. As the early settlers confined themselves to the coast, the limits of the grant were fixed at three miles north of the mouth of the river, and for some years no thought of claiming beyond was entertained. But when it was known that farther inland the course of the Merrimack was from the north, a wider extent of the grant was suggested. The suggestion soon ripened into a claim, and in 1661 the General Court contended that all the territory south of a line stretching eastward from a point three miles north of the source of the river, belonged to Massachusetts.

The provincial government of Maine by no means acquiesced in this new claim, and Massachusetts appointed a commission to ascertain the latitude of a point three miles above the northernmost head of Merrimack River. This commission, with expert surveyors, traced the Merrimack to its head, "where it issues out of the lake called Winnipiseogee," and found the latitude of the place to be 430 40' 12", and the point from which a line was to be drawn eastward was 430 43' 12".   The line extended eastward from this point brought nearly 
   MASSACHUSETTS ASSERTS JURISDICTION. g

all the settlements of the province of Maine within the asserted jurisdiction of Massachusetts. That colony maintained its claim with a sturdy and inflexible will, and, notwithstanding the resistance of the provincial government, succeeded in establishing its jurisdiction, which was acceptable to a majority of the people of Maine. The struggle between king and parliament in England left the provincial government helpless, and, during the Commonwealth, affairs were conducted peaceably, except with the opposition of individuals, under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, in whose General Court the principal towns had deputies.

After the restoration of the monarchy, the grant of the Sagadahock territory to the Duke of York, and the visit of the royal commissioners to regulate the affairs of New England, the hold of Massachusetts on Maine was loosened, and in the conflict of authority political matters relapsed into confusion. Delegates were no longer sent to the Massachusetts General Court, and the jurisdiction of that colonv, under which the settlements had prospered, was greatly missed. Many of the leading men, disgusted with the condition of affairs, besought the Massachusetts government to resume jurisdiction over the province, and afford them a more certain administration of justice. The General Court did not long hesitate to comply with the request, and sent commissioners to resume jurisdiction, organize courts, and re-establish the authority of colonial government. The commissioners proceeded to Maine with a military escort, and at York they held a court, and proclaimed the purpose of their visit. The justices appointed by the royal commissioners undertook to dispute the authority of the Massachusetts representatives, and a war of words with some ludicrous scenes of confusion followed. The justices stole a march on the commissioners, and with their partisans took possession of the meeting-house, and held it, at a time appointed for the reopening of the court. The Puritan deputies wrere persistent men, and were by no means intimidated or disconcerted by this opposition. Preceded by their marshal, and backed by their military guard, they entered the church and ordered it to be cleared. A scene of confusion succeeded, the justices protested, their partisans vociferated, but the contest did not proceed beyond words, and the royalists finally retired.   By bold but discreet action the commissioners 
   6 MASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE.

re-established the authority of Massachusetts throughout the province of Maine; and though the displaced royalists were loud and bitter in their complaints, a majority of the people were highly satisfied with the better administration of justice, and the increased security to their rights and privileges which followed.

From Sagadahock eastward Charles II. granted the territory to his brother, the Duke of York. When Acadia was restored to France, the French resumed their settlements as far west as the Penobscot, and, by virtue of the indefinite extent of Acadia, claimed jurisdiction as far west as the Kennebec. The administration of affairs in the duke's province was in the hands of the justices appointed by the royal commissioners, subject to the duke's governor in New York, who, however, paid little attention to this part of his master's territory. The duke's friendly relations with France, and his proclivity towards Papacy, were well known, and, in connection with the claims of the bigoted French governor of Acadia, caused no little alarm among the settlers and in Massachusetts, lest the French claims should be acquiesced in by the duke. While the justices, perhaps, shared in this alarm, they were hostile to Massachusetts; but many of the people were anxious to have the jurisdiction of that colony extended over them.

To satisfy their own ambition and the desires of the SaL,r;ulalioek settlers, the Massachusetts authorities again resorted to the new construction of their patent, and, doubting the correctness of the former survey, employed George Mountjoy, a celebrated surveyor of that day, to fix the latitude of the northernmost waters of the Merrimack. Mountjoy made the source of the river two leagues farther north than did his predecessors, and the northernmost limit of the patent was thus found to be in latitude 430 49/ 12". A line drawn due east from this point was found to terminate at an island in Penobscot Bay. Notwithstanding the rather suspicious character of this new survey, circumstances favored the pretensions of Massachusetts. The recapture of New Amsterdam by the Dutch sent the duke's governor to England, and the justices of Sagadahock were left without support from any superior authority. The jurisdiction of Massachusetts was therefore extended over this province, also, without serious opposition, though there was a constant anxiety lest the Duke of York's agents and the French should combine to oust the Puritan commonwealth. 
   MASSACIIUSETTS PURCHASES THE GORGES rATENT. 7

Meanwhile, to strengthen herself in the province of Maine, Massachusetts commenced negotiations with the grandson of Sir Ferdinand Gorges for the purchase of his patent, and, after a long delay, succeeded in making the purchase for twelve hundred and fifty pounds. While a large number of the settlers in Maine sympathized with the religion of the Puritan colony, there were not a few who, by their complaints and claims, caused no little trouble and anxiety to the Massachusetts rulers. At this stage of affairs King Philip's war broke out in Massachusetts; and soon, in a mysterious manner, a like hostile spirit was manifested by the Indians of Maine. 
   LVII.

INDIAN WAR IN MAINE.

NTIL the breaking out of King Philip's war in Massachusetts, the Indians of Maine had been peaceable and friendly. In the earliest days they had committed some hostile acts, but as the settlements grew, and they found they could profit by trade, and were usually treated without any gross injustice, they remained quiet, though their natural treachery occasionally manifested itself. A fierce war with the Mohawks afforded them all the pastime they required in that line. The sale of fire-arms and ammunition to the Indians was prohibited in the English settlements, but not unfrc-quently a reckless trader would disregard the prohibition for the sake of the liberal quantity of furs which the natives were always ready to give for arms. The French, however, had no scruples or fears to deter them, and they dealt freely in the articles which afforded them the largest returns. The Indians, therefore, not only of the tribes near the French settlements, but throughout Maine, were gradually supplied with fire-arms, in the use of which they soon became expert. The bow and arrow was discarded for the more effective gun, and the chase, upon which the natives depended for subsistence, yielded a more certain supply of game. The possession of the same formidable weapons which had formerly so terrified them, made the Indians more confident, and they ceased to recognize the superiority of the whites in the arts which alone commended themselves to the savage mind.

It probably required but little provocation to induce many of the savages to turn their much-prized weapons from bird and beast upon

8

 
   HOSTILE SAGAMORES. g

the people who were possessing themselves of their lands. When King Philip, after much disquietude, determined on open hostilities, swift-footed runners threaded the forest to announce the fact to all the New England tribes, and to urge them to join in the war against a common foe. The young braves were eager to go upon the war-path; but the action of the tribes was generally controlled by the course of the principal chiefs, and a few of these, from friendship or policy, were not disposed to join at once in the war. The son and successor of Passa-conaway, the chief of the Penacooks, whose territory was principally in New Hampshire, like his father, was friendly to the English, and resolved to take no part in the quarrel. With most of his tribe he withdrew into the wilderness, and remained there during the war. One or two others, of less note, professed friendship for the English, and with rather doubtful fidelity undertook to serve them. The Baron Cas-tinc, at this time, was at the height of his influence with the Tarratines or Penobscot Indians, and, as he was engaged in a profitable traffic, he was opposed to their participation in the war. The sagamore of the tribe, Madockawando, whose daughter Castine had married, so long as he was not disturbed by the English, was also disinclined to join in the war; but some of the sachems and young warriors of the tribe were more disposed to hostilities, and among these was Mugg, who had lived with the English, and may have received some injury or slight which he desired to avenge.

Among those who were the most ready to respond to the call of Philip were several of the ablest and most influential chiefs, who had long entertained a dislike of the English. Squando, sagamore of the Sosoki branch of the Abenaquis, was a man of remarkable influence with his countrymen. He had imbibed some religious ideas from the whites, and adapted them to the superstitious notions of the Indians. Claiming to have intercourse with invisible spirits, he was regarded with veneration by his tribe; and when he declared that the Great Spirit himself had told him that "he had left the English to be destroyed by the Indians," he awakened in his savage followers a thirst for the white man's blood. Tarumkin, the sagamore of another branch of the Abenaquis, though a man of less ability, was equally jealous of the encroachments of the English, and was eager to join with all his race for the

no. xiii. 64 
   to

INDIAN WAR IN MAINE.

extermination of the white intruders. Among the Canibas branch of the nation, while the sagamore professed reluctance to make war upon the English, his son and other young warriors were anxious to distinguish themselves, and had influence enough to carry the tribe with them.

These hostile tribes comprised nearly all the Indians of Maine west of the Penobscot. When the messengers of Philip, visiting each in turn, announced that chieftain's purpose to avenge his wrongs by a relentless warfare upon the white settlers, the Maine savages remembered their own injuries, and recalled the traditions of those suffered by their fathers. In their councils they recounted every encroachment, every wrong, real or imaginary, and every slight suffered at the hands of the English, and held as a special grievance the refusal to sell them arms and ammunition. Thus were the vindictive passions of the savages aroused; and hostilities had scarcely commenced in Plymouth before the Indians of Maine were preparing for similar demonstrations. The)' became bold and insolent, and seemed anxious to precipitate a quarrel.

This conduct on the part of the Indians created great alarm among the settlers, and the General Court of Massachusetts, being informed of their fears, appointed three of the leading men at Sagadahock a com-mittee of military affairs, with instructions to provide arms and ammunition, and adopt other measures for the common defence. It was also proposed to take from the Indians along the coast their fire-arms. This proposition, however, was of little avail, for though one or two of the settlers, who had some influence with the natives in their immediate vicinity, induced them to surrender their arms, the general temper of the Indians was such that any attempt to disarm them, even by persuasion, would have been regarded as a new affront.

While the Indians were in this state of uneasiness, and the settlers were yet uncertain whether they might not yet be restrained from any hostile acts, Squando, the bitter enemy of the English, received a new affront, which naturally provoked his resentment. As his squaw, with her infant child, was paddling a canoe on the Saco, some reckless sailors, who had heard that Indian children could swim as naturally as young dogs, mischievously overturned the canoe, that they might see 
   COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR.

the wonder for themselves. The child sank; and though the mother, diviner, brousrht it to the surface alive, it soon after died from the effects of its sudden plunge. Squando was exasperated; but his anger was not confined to the perpetrators of the outrage; it extended to all the English, and, throwing off all restraint, he exerted himself, with all his eloquence and his arts of pretended intercourse with invisible powers, to excite the Indians against the settlers. It was not long before he saw his wishes realized by the waging of a petty warfare on the more exposed farm-houses and settlements.

The first decided act of hostility by the Indians was at the house of Thomas Purchas, who was one of the earliest settlers of Maine, and lived in the Sagadahock territory in a somewhat isolated situation. He had long been on friendly terms with the Indians, and had pursued a profitable trade with them. He was probably somewhat sharp at a bargain, and when the natives began to recount their wrongs, they reckoned up a score of petty grievances which they wished to wipe out. Purchas had sometimes been annoyed by the Indians coming to his well, and had ordered them away, or exacted some payment of furs for the privilege; and this was one of the affronts which they remembered, and were determined to revenge. A party of twenty Indians came to his house when he and his sons were absent, and none but women were at home. They pretended that they wanted to trade, but their purpose was hostile; and had Purchas been at home, they would doubtless have provoked a quarrel, which would have ended in bloodshed. When they found that he and his sons were away, they threw off their disguise, displayed their weapons, ^and proceeded to rob the house of arms, ammunition, and liquor, and killed a calf and a number of sheep. They were making merry over the liquor, a taste of which they had often before obtained from Purchas in payment for furs, when one of the old settler's sons returned^on horseback. He was close upon them before he perceived the mischief, and as he could not, alone and unarmed, contend with such a number of savages, he turned his horse and fled, hotly pursued, for a short distance,' by several of the Indians, who, however, did not fire upon him. When they had appropriated all the property they wanted, they departed without harming the inmates, but leaving them with the comfortable assurance that others would soon come and treat them worse. 
   j 2 INDIAN WAR IN MAINE.

This exploit was soon followed by others of a more bloody character, which showed that the Indians were really bent on war. On the Presumpscot River, in Falmouth, remote from neighbors, lived John "Wakely, with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, and there were also with him at this time his father and mother and a younger sister, a girl of about eleven years. This family had probably o-iven no provocation to the savages, and were unsuspicious of danger and unprepared for resistance. Coming upon them suddenly, a band of Indians killed the entire family, with the exception of the girl above named, treating some of them in the most barbarous manner, and then setting fire to the house. The young girl, who witnessed the murder of-all her family, was carried into captivity. She was obliged to follow the ever-moving Indians through the wilderness, enduring fatigue, hunger, ill treatment, and the remembrance of that terrible day when all who were dear to her were murdered before her eyes. During the winter she was carried as far south as Narragansett, whither the savages went to plot more mischief. Early the next summer, however, she was again taken towards Maine, and Squando, who by turns exhibited the noblest traits of character and the most fearful cruelty, restored the unhappy child to freedom by delivering her to Major Waldron, at Dover.

There was no longer any doubt as to the purpose of the Indians to wage a bloody war upon the settlers, and attacks on exposed houses throughout the region between the Piscataqua and the Androscoggin followed in quick succession. Such military forces as could be collected in the settlements were organized to resist them; but the Indians were cunning, and moved swiftly on places which were defenceless. Soon after the visit of the savages to the house of Mr. Purchas, a part}' of twenty-five men was sent to that neighborhood to bring away the few remaining settlers and their corn. They went thither in a sloop, and as they approached the little settlement below Purchas's house, they discovered that the Indians were cnijasied in rifling the houses, the inmates of which had fled. Landing, they endeavored to cut off the savages from the woods; but, in doing so, they came upon three spies, or sentinels, one of whom was shot, while the other two escaped,     one to a canoe, in which he crossed the river, and the other to the woods, 
   999999^9999 
    
   INDIAN ATTACK AT SACO. j3

shouting an alarm as he ran. The Indians immediately concealed themselves, and watched the English as they proceeded to gather the corn, which was ripe in the fields, and to load it into their boats. This work was nearly completed, when, with a fearful yell^ the savages rushed from their hiding-places in numbers exceeding the English, and made an attack in which they wounded several, and drove the whole party to the sloop. They then carried off the boat-loads of corn in triumph. This success had the effect to embolden the Indians, who hitherto had stood in fear of the whites when armed.

These events had hardly taken place, when a band of the savages appeared at Saco. The most exposed houses here were those of John Bonyton and Major Phillips, one on each side of the river, and for fear of unfriendly visits they had been to some extent fortified. One night, shortly before, a friendly native went to Bonyton's house and told him that some strange Indians were in the neighborhood endeavoring to persuade all the natives to join in a war against the whites, and warned him that they would soon be joined by others from the east, and would attack the settlement. Bonyton immediately alarmed the other settlers, and a number of them withdrew, with their families, to the house of Major Phillips, which was more capable of defence. This removal had hardly been effected when, at nightfall, Bonvton saw his house in flames, and soon after an Indian was seen skulking near Phillips' house. While looking from a chamber-window for any further sign of the enemy's approach, Major Phillips was wounded in the shoulder by a shot from a lurking Indian; and, as they saw him fall, the savages started from their concealment with a shout of triumph. In the house there were fifty persons, many of them women and children, and not more than ten or twelve were effective men; but these were disposed in the house, and behind the breastwork of logs that flanked each side, where they could fire upon any assailants. As soon as the Indians exposed themselves a vollev was discharged, which killed or 'Wounded several of them. They continued the attack, however, and endeavored, sometimes by threats and sometimes by offers of safety to all the inmates, to induce the garrison to surrender. Setting fire to some out-buildings and a mill, they challenged the " English dogs" to  come  and  put out the  fire.    But this challenge was as unsuc- 
   INDIAN WAR IN MAINE.

cessful as the threats and promises. The moon, which had afforded light for the garrison to see the assailants, had now set, and the Indians resorted to a new expedient. Taking a cart, they filled the body with combustibles, and constructed a screen upon it, behind which they could push it towards the house without being exposed to sight, and could then thrust the burning materials against it and set it on fire. But, as they did this, one wheel sank in a ditch and caused the vehicle to turn, so that the party that was pushing it was exposed to view in the li  -ht of the flaming combustibles, and within pistol-shot of the house. A volley from one of the side defences laid the whole party low, and the assailants, discouraged, soon after withdrew.

The settlers at Saco were now, with reason, greatly alarmed, and in answer to their call for help, Captain Wincoln, with sixteen men, hastened from Newichawannock, or South Berwick, to their relief. Landing at the mouth of Winter-harbor, not far from the settlement, they were met by several prowling Indians, who fired upon them and then fled to the woods, sounding their war-whoop to alarm their fellows. Soon not less than a hundred and fifty Indians made their appearance, and commenced firing upon the little band of whites. Before this large force Wincoln and his men were obliged to retire, though returning the fire of the savages. Fortunately there was a pile of timber near by, behind which they took shelter, and being able to fire     with more precision, they compelled the enemy to retire before their fatal shots. A party of eleven men who, hearing the guns, came from the settlement to join in the engagement, were less fortunate, for, falling into an ambush, they were all killed or wounded by an unexpected volley.

The Indians, always hovering about the settlements in bands of more or less formidable numbers, were well informed of the movements of the English, and were ready to take advantage of the absence of the men from their homes, or the weakness of a garrison. While Wincoln and his men were gone to Saco, a party of savages, led by a neighboring Indian, appeared at the house of John Zozier, who was one of Wincoln's party. The house was the most exposed in the settlement, and the family, consisting of fifteen persons, all women and children, were left in  it wholly unprotected.    The  Indians  were seen 
    
    
   AN UNKNOWN HEROINE. zc

approaching by a young woman of eighteen, who gave the alarm, and closing the door, held it while the family escaped at the rear of the house. The savages cut through the door with their hatchets, and forced an entrance in spite of the heroic efforts of the girl, who still remained at her post. They struck her with repeated blows, and left her for dead, while, finding the rest of the family had fled, they started in pursuit. They overtook two of the children, and one of them being but three years old, they immediately dispatched it, because too young to travel; the other was carried away into captivity, but was subsequently ransomed. The brave girl, whose heroism had saved the family from captivity or death, remained senseless till the savages had retired from the neighborhood. Fortunately, for some reason, they did not follow their usual practice and set fire to the house, and she was thus saved from a terrible death. She at last revived, and, being discovered by some men from the garrison, was carried away to a place of safety, and recovered. History records few instances of self-devotion more memorable than that shown by this young girl, yet even her name is forgotten!

The Indians, who knew of Wincoln's expedition, were eager to be revenged, and they set fire to his house and barns, which were entirely destroyed, with property of much value for that time. Fortunately, his family had been removed to a more secure place, and thus escaped the fate intended for them. Newichawannock seems to have been especially an object of vengeance with the savages. They continued to lurk in the vicinity, and shot several persons who imprudently exposed themselves at a distance from the settlement. Shortly afterwards, a party of about a hundred attacked the house of one of the settlers, killed him, and carried his son into captivity. The garrison at this place was under the command of Lieutenant Plaisted, who saw the attack from a distance. As the Indians apparently retired, he sent a party of nine men to reconnoitre, and ascertain their movements. The savages, seeing this party approach, according to their custom concealed themselves, and the men fell into an ambush, when three of them were killed, and the rest, with difficulty, escaped to the fort.

Plaisted was a brave man, and he determined that the bodies of the murdered  settler and his fallen  comrades should not be exposed to 
   T 6 INDIAN WAR IN MAINE.

further barbarities. Accordingly, with twenty of his men and an ox-team, he went to bring in the bodies for interment. They proceeded first to the house of the unfortunate settler, and, having placed his body in the cart, were returning to the spot where the others had fallen, when suddenly, from behind logs and bushes, a large number of Indians fired a volley, and immediately followed up the attack, rushing from their hiding-places with furious yells. The oxen took fright, and ran towards the garrison, while Plaisted and his men withdrew to a better position, where he attempted to make a stand against numbers greatly exceeding his own. The men, however, were not inspired with their commanders bravery; some of them were wounded, and the force of the savages seemed overwhelming, and, after firing a few volleys, most of them sought safety by retreating to the fort. Plaisted himself disdained to fly, and refused to surrender, though repeatedly urged thus to save his life. Supported only by his son and one other, he held his ground, and fought with desperate bravery; but, when the men retreated, the savages rushed forward and literally hewed him down with their hatchets. His two companions, who had been unwilling to leave him, fled before this onset, but they, too, were overtaken and killed. Another son of the brave lieutenant was severely wounded at the commencement of the engagement, and subsequently died of his wounds. Plaisted was a man of note in this region, and had represented Kittery in the General Court of Massachusetts. His loss was greatly lamented, and his heroism was long remembered by the settlers, who piously interred his remains, and those of his son, on his own land, and erected a simple monument over his grave.

The Indians were still bent on mischief, and though they did not venture to attack the more compact settlement, which was defended by the garrison, they burned several outlying houses and barns, and killed the cattle. Then proceeding to another small settlement at Sturgeon-Creek, they burned a dwelling-house and killed two men. When they attacked another house, on the outskirts of the settlement, they were frightened away by a shrewd but rather ludicrous stratagem. Captain Frost, the owner of this house, was at some distance from it when the Indians approached, and narrowly escaped being shot before he reached it.    The only other occupants of the house were three 
   EFFECTS OF THE WAR. ^

boys; but, as the Indians came near, the captain shouted his orders as ii he was commanding a company of soldiers: ^Load quick! fire then!" And when two or three guns were discharged he cried, "Well done, brave men!" The Indians believing that the house was garrisoned, withdrew without further molesting him.

The savages next made their appearance at Wells, where they destroyed one or two houses and killed several men. This was the last of their exploits during the year 1675, and was succeeded by a temporary quiet. Without making any determined attack upon a compact settlement, by attacking exposed houses they had inflicted a severe loss up