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it. Though years may have elapsed from the time the plot began, the most entire secrecy was maintained among them to the very night before they struck the blow.

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5. Indeed, on the very morning of the day appointed for the execution of the bloody deed some of the Indians were "in the houses and at the tables of those whose death they were plotting." Sooner," said they, "shall the sky fall than peace be violated on our part." But their deceit in war was not so well understood two hundred years ago

as now.

6. The night before the massacre took place, however, the plot was revealed by a converted Indian to a part of the English, so that the people of Jamestown, and a few of the adjacent settlements, were on their guard, and a large part of them were thereby saved.

7. The attack was made precisely at noon, April 1st, and was made upon all, without regard to age, character, or sex. The feeble and sickly no less than the healthy; the child at the breast as well as its mother; the devoted missionary as well as the fraudulent dealer in trinkets and furs-were victims alike.

8. It is not a little singular that the savages should have selected such an hour of the day, in preference to the darkness of the night, for their work of butchery, and still, that the blow should have been struck so suddenly. So unexpected was the attack, that many, it is said, fell beneath the tomahawk, unconscious of the cause of their death.

9. Thus, in one short but awful hour, three hundred and forty-seven persons, in a population of three or four thousand, were butchered, and a group of eighty settlements reduced to eight. The rest were so frightened that they dared not pursue their usual avocations. Even the public works, in most places, were abandoned. And to add to the general distress, famine and sickness followed the massacre, as weil as a general war with the Indians.

10. The savages, however, were but poorly provided with fire-arms, and a dozen, or even half a dozen white men, well armed, were able to cope with a hundred of them. When Captain Smith was captured, as we have related, he was defending himself, single-handed, till he stuck fast in the mire, against from one to two hundred Indians.

11. Peace, it is true, was finally made; but it was only a peace of

5. What of the savages on the day appointed for the massacre? 6. What took place the night before the massacre? 7. What of the attack? Who were the victims? 8. What was singular? What of the suddenness of the attack? 9. How many persons were killed? How were the settlements reduced? Fears of the settlers? 10. Comparative power of the whites and Indians? What of Smith, when captured? 11. State of feeling among the savages?

compulsion, so far as the Indians were concerned. They gave up open war, because the colonists came over too fast, and were too strong for them. But they still meditated revenge, as is obvious from the fact that only twenty-two years elapsed before they attempted another

massacre.

12. The 28th of April, 1644, was the time appointed for this second outrage, in which not only the settlers were aimed at, but their cattle and other property. The attack was sudden and unexpected, like the former. Providentially the savages took fright, from some unknown cause, and fled in the midst of their cruelties; not, however, till they had slain three hundred persons, and destroyed much property.

13. This second massacre, as well as the first, was succeeded by sickness and suffering, and both of them by emigration of some of the colonists to New England, and the return of others to the mother country. Not long after, the aged chief, Opechancanough, died of a wound inflicted by a soldier, after he had fairly and honorably given himself up as a prisoner.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Settlement at Weymouth.—Captain Standish chastises the Indians.- Other Settlements. Incorporation of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.

1. WE must again return to the history of New England. A settlement was begun at Wey'-mouth, Massachusetts, in 1622, by Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, and fifty or sixty more. The next year a plot was laid by the Indians to destroy it, which would no doubt have succeeded had not Massasoit, the friendly chief, who supposed himself to be about to die, revealed it.

2. As soon as the plot was known, it was decided to defeat it, if pos sible, it being feared that if the conspirators were successful, they would carry their work of butchery into the rest of the settlements. Captain Stan'-dish, with eight men, was therefore sent out to destroy the leaders in the conspiracy, and put the rest in fear.

3. This was a singular expedition, and one which to us, at the pres

12. What of the second massacre? 13. What followed the massacres in Virginia? The death of Opechancanough?

CHAP. XXIX.-1. What of Weymouth, in New England? 2, 3. What did Captain Standish and eight soldiers do?

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ent day, seems almost incredible. What could nine men do in the way of chastising a whole tribe of Indians? Yet, Captain Standish and his men ventured boldly among them, slew the conspirators and several others who opposed them, and drove the rest into the swamps, where many, it is said, perished from disease.

4. A settlement was begun at Brain'-tree, in 1625, on a hill not far from the seat of the late President Adams, and was called, in honor of Mr. Wol'-las ton, the principal settler, Mount Wollaston. But the colonists consisted of fifty servants, and they did not thrive. The following year a part of them were taken to Virginia. A settlement was

begun, in 1624, at or near Gloucester, on Cape Ann.

5. The same individuals who settled Gloucester proceeded soon after to settle Salem, Charlestown, Dorchester, Watertown, Roxbury, and Boston. Among the number were several ministers of the gospel, and a Mr. John Endicott, afterward Governor Endicott.

6. Salem, called by the Indians Na-um-ke'-ag, was begun in 1628, by Mr. Endicot and about one hundred emigrants. They were reinforced the next year by three or four hundred other emigrants, who brought with them one hundred and forty head of cattle, and a few horses, sheep, and goats. Two hundred of the Salem settlers proceeded, soon afterward, to Charlestown, and others to Dorchester and elsewhere.

7. These various settlements were incorporated, in 1629, under the name of "The Colony of Massachusetts Bay," and extended as far north as the present boundary of New Hampshire. A form of government was projected by their friends in England, and Mathew Cradock appointed governor; but he was succeeded, soon after, by John Endicott.

8. A circumstance took place in 1628, which deserves to be recorded and remembered. One Morton, a man greedy of gain, sold guns, powder, and shot to the Indians, and taught them how to use them. He was rebuked by Governor Endicott and others, but without effect. At last he was seized and sent to England, but not till he had done a work of mischief for which a long life could not atone.

4. What of a settlement at Braintree? 5. What other towns were now settled? 6. Salem? 7. What of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay? 8. What of one Morton ?

CHAPTER XXX.

Settlement of New Hampshire.-Other Events in this State. 1. THE first permanent settlement in New Hampshire was made in

son alone, and then first received the name of New Hampshire.

2. The place where they established themselves was called Little Harbor. It has often been mistaken for Portsmouth; but this town was not settled till eight years afterward, and was two miles further up the river, at a place called Strawberry Bank. Some parts of the wall and chimney of Mason Hall remained standing about half a century ago.

3. Other places in New Hampshire were settled the same year, including Co-che'-co, afterward called Dover, and now noted for its extensive manufactures. But the progress of the colony was slow. It was not separated from Massachusetts till 1680, and as late as 1742 only contained six thousand persons liable to taxation. It suffered severely from the Indian wars.

4. The first legislative assembly was convened in New Hampshire, In 1680, and John Mason was the first governor. A constitution was

CHAP. XXX.-1. When and where was the first permanent settlement made in New Hampshire? What of the first house? What of John Mason? 2. Portsmouth? Remains of Mason Hall? 3. Other settlements in New Hampshire? Progress of the settlement? Separation from Massachusetts? Population in 1742? Indian wars? 4. First legislation in New Hampshire? Constitution? Earthquake?

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formed for the state in 1683, and went into operation the next year. This year is remarkable for an earthquake, which shook even the granite mountains of New Hampshire itself. It was felt as far south as Pennsylvania.

5. There was an insurrection here in 1786, excited and led on by the insurrection in Massachusetts of the same period. On the twentieth of September, a body of two hundred men surrounded the court-house at Exeter, in which the general assembly were sitting, and held them prisoners for several hours. Other acts of violence were also committed. There was, for a time, every appearance of a civil war. The insurrection was only quieted by calling out the militia.

6. New Hampshire has been in general a peaceable and quiet state; it is distinguished for its excellent pastures, towering hills, and fine cattle. The White Mountains lift their lofty peaks in this state, and they may be seen at sea at a vast distance. They are the highest mountains in New England.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Government of the Colonies.-Union of the Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay.

1. THE agreement of the settlers at Plymouth, just before they landed,

has been mentioned, as well as the names of some of their early governors. For four years, the governor of the colony had no other counsel or assistance in his office than what was afforded by one individual. In 1624, the number of assistants was increased to five.

5. Insurrection? 6. Characteristics of New Hampshire? The White Mountains? CHAP. XXXI.-1. What assistance or counsel had the governor of the Plymouth colony the first four years? How was the number increased in 1624?