Swanzey, and Mr. Samuel Gorton,† who was an interpreter, and two other men,‡ who brought a letter

A town on the west side of Taunton river in the bottom of Mounthope bay, about 15 miles from Taunton, and in the vicinity of Mount hope, distance by the road about 11 miles.

Seve

Accounts of this gentleman may be seen in Morton's Memorial, 117, &c., which, perhaps, are not impartial. That author partaking of the persecuting spirit of the times, accuses him of all manner of outrages against religion and go-. vernment. "Not only," he observes, "abandoning and rejecting all civil power and authority, (except moulded according to his own fancy) but belching out errours, &c." ral pages in that work are filled up to this effect. Dr. Eliot, N. E. Biog. 227, says, "It is evident that he was not so bad a man as his enemies represented." The reader is referred to that excellent work, for an interesting account of him." Allen, also, 314, seems inclined to do him justice, and is more particular. It appears evident that he was rather wild in his views of religion, and went too far, perhaps, in persuading others to fall in with him. He came to Boston in 1636, from London, and was soon suspected of heresy, on which he was examined. But from his aptness in evading questions, nothing was found against him. He went to Plymouth, but did not stay long there, having got into difficulty with their minister. From thence he went to Rhodeisland of his own accord; or as some say, was banished there. Here, it is said, he underwent corporeal punishment for his contempt of civil authority. Leaving this place he went to Providence in 1649, where he was very humanely treated by Mr. Roger Williams, who also had been banished on the score of tenets. He began a settlement at Patuxet, 4 or 5 miles south of Providence in 1641, but was soon complained of to the government of Massachusetts, for encroaching upon the lands of others. The Governour ordered him to answer to the same which he refused, treating the messenger with contempt. But he was arrested, carried to Boston and had his trial. A cruel sentence was passed upon him, being confined a whole winter at Charlestown in heavy irons, and then banished out of the colony. In 1644, he went to England, and in 1648, returned to his possessions by permission of parliament.

Who these two men were I have not been able to ascertain. Mention is made in the histories of this war of messengers being sent, but in none more than two, and their names are not mentioned. Two were also sent from Massachusetts. See Hub. Nar. 72, 73. Hutch. I, 262. They were sent 16 June, 1675.

He

from the Governour of Plymouth to Philip. observed to him further, that the young men were very eager to begin the war, and would fain have killed Mr. Brown, but Philip prevented it; telling them that his father had charged him to show kindness to Mr. Brown. In short, Philip was forced to promise them, that, on the next Lord's day, when the English were gone to meeting they should rifle their houses, and from that time forward, kill their cattle.

Peter desired Mr. Church to go and see his wife, who was but [just] up the hill; he went and found but few of her people with her. She said they were all gone against her will to the dances, and she much feared [that] there would be a war. Mr. Church advised her to go to the island and secure herself, and those that were with her, and send to the Governour of Plymouth, who she knew was her friend; and so left her, resolving to hasten to Plymouth, and wait on the Governour. And he was so expeditious that he was with the Governour early next morning,† though he waited on some of the magistrates by the way, who were of the council of war, and also met him at the Governour's. He gave them an account of his observations and discoveries, which confirmed their former intelligences, and hastened their prepa ration for defence.

Philip, according to his promise to his people, permitted them to march out of the neck on the next Lord's day, when they plundered the nearest houliament. He was a minister, and a man of talents and ability. His defence against the charges in Morton's Memorial, shows him to be a man of learning, and is worthy perusing. It is in Hutchinson, Hist. Mas. I, 467 to 470. He lived to an advanced age, but the time of his death is not known.

* I conclude this hill to be that a little north of Howland's ferry.

† June 16.

The neck on which Bristol and Warren now are, making the ancient Pokanoket.

§ June 20.

States, I, 139.

See Trumbull, Hist. Con. I, 327. Ibid. U.

ses that the inhabitants had deserted, but as yet offered no violence to the people, at least none were killed.* However the alarm was given by their numbers and hostile equipage, and by the prey they made of what they could find in the forsaken houses. An express came the same day to the Governour,t who immediately gave orders to the captains of the towns, to march the greatest part of their companies, and to rendezvous at Taunton on Monday night, where Major Bradford was to receive them, and dispose them under Captain (now made Major) Cutworth of Scituate. The Governour desired Mr. Church to give them his company, and to use his interest in their behalf, with the gentlemen of Rhodeisland. He complied with it, and they marched the next day. Major Bradford desired Mr. Church, with a commanded party, consisting of English and some friend Indians, to march in the front at some distance from the main body. Their orders were to keep so far before as not to be in sight of the army. And so they did, for by the way they killed a deer, flayed, roasted, and eat the most of him before the army came up with them. But the Plymouth forces soon

* But an Indian was fired upon and wounded, which was a sufficient umbrage for them to begin the work. See Hub. Nar. 72, and Hutch. I, 261. It appears that Philip waited for the English to begin, and to that end, had suffered his men to provoke them to it; yet, it was thought that Philip tried to restrain them from beginning so soon, as is observed in note 1 to page 17. At this time a whimsical opinion prevailed, that the side which first began would finally be conquered. Hutch. Ibid.

† In consequence of this intelligence Governour Winslow proclaimed a fast. H. Adams, 120.

+ June 21.

§ James Cudworth, several years a magistrate of Plymouth colony. Other historians style him Captain, but do not take notice of this advancement. See Hubbard, Nar. 75, 79, 84. Also in the continuation of Morton, 208, where it appears he was an assistant in the government between 1670 and 1675.

arrived at Swanzey,* and were chiefly posted at Major Brown'st and Mr. Miles' garrisons, and were there soon joined with those that came from Massachusetts, who had entered into a confederacy with their Plymouth brethren against the perfidious heathens.

The enemy, who began their hostilities with plundering and destroying cattle, did not long content themselves with that game; they thirsted for English blood, and they soon broached it; killing two men in the way not far from Mr. Miles' garrison, and

*Whether the Plymouth forces were at Swanzey when the first English were killed does not appear, though it is presumed that they were not. We are certain that they had sufficient time to arrive there. It appears from the text that they marched from Plymouth on Monday, which was the 21 June, and the first English were killed the 24.

The author seems to be a little before his story concerning the Massachusetts' men, for we know that they did not arrive till the 28 June, and their arrival is related before the first men were killed.

Dr. Morse, in his late history of the Revolution, has run over this history without any regard to dates. Nor has he thought it worth his while to tell us there ever was such an author as Church, but copies from him as though it were his own work, which, at best he makes a mutilated mass, like most of his book. [These notes were written before the Doctor died.]

† See note 5 on page 27.

The Rev. John Miles, as I find in Allen, Biog. 429, was minister of the first Baptist church in Massachusetts; that in 1649 he was a settled minister near Swansea in South Wales. Hence, perhaps, the name of Swanzey in Mass. is derived. Mr. Miles being ejected in 1662, came to this country, and formed a church at Rehoboth. He removed to Swanzey a ew years after, which town was granted to the baptists by the government of Plymouth. Hutchinson, I, 209, speaks of him as a man discovering christian unity, &c. He died in 1683.

§ It appears that an Indian was wounded while in the act of killing cattle; or as tradition informs us, the Indian who was wounded, after killing some animals in a man's field, went to his house and demanded liquor, and being refused attempted to take it by violence, threatening at the same time to be revenged for such usage, this caused the Englishman to fire on him.:

་

soon after eight more* at Matapoiset:† Upon whose bodies they exercised more than brutish barbarities; beheading, dismembering and mangling them, and exposing them in the most inhuman manner, which gashed and ghostly objects struck a damp on all beholders.‡

The enemy flushed with these exploits, grew yet bolder, and skulking every where in the bushes, shot at all passengers, and killed many that ventured abroad. They came so near as to shoot two sentinels at Mr. Miles' garrison, under the very noses of our forces. These provocations drew out [-] some of Captain Prentice's troops, who desired they might have liberty to go out and seek the enemy in their own quarters. Quartermasters Gill and Belcher commanded the parties drawn out, who earnestly desired Mr. Church's company. They provided him a horse and furniture, (his own being out of the way.) He readily complied with their desires, and was soon mounted. This party was no sooner over Miles' bridge, but were fired upon by an am1 [the resentment of]

*It was the same day, 24 June, on Thursday, being a fast, appointed by the Governour of Plymouth, on hearing what took place the 20. See H. Adam's Hist. N. England, 120. At Rehoboth a man was fired upon the same day. Hutchinson, I, 261.

† (In Swanzey.)

Several places bore this name. The word is now generally pronounced Matapois. It appears too, that the pronunciation tended thus, at first, as I find it spelt in Winslow's Narrative, Matapuyst. See Belknap, Biog. II, 292.

The sight must have been dreadful, but yet, it did not hinder the English from the like foul deeds. Weetamore's head was cut off and set upon a pole. See note 2 on page 27.

§ Capt. Thomas Prentice of the Boston troops. Twelve was the number that went over at this time. Hubbard, 75. Hutchinson, I, 262.

|| Hubbard, 75, calls him Corporal Belcher. He makes no mention of any person by the name of Gill.

¶ There is a bridge over Palmer's river, which bears this It is about 4 miles north of Warren.

name.