The same year, a company from Roxbury, under Mr. William Pynchon, traversed the wilderness, and formed a settlement at Aggawam, now Springfield, on Connecticut river. The place was then supposed to be within the limits of Connecticut, and for about two years, was united in government with the three towns below.

The settlers of the towns of Weathersfield, Hartford and Windsor, finding they were without the limits of Massachusetts, entered into a voluntary association, and established a temporary government. Magistrates were chosen a court was held at Hartford, on the twenty sixth day of April, and several laws enacted for the management of their public affairs.

During these transactions on the Connecticut, a settlement was commenced at Mooshausick, in Rhode Island, by Roger Williams, who in grateful remembrance of the providential goodness, which he had experienced, he named Providence. This gentleman, a puritan minister, had been settled at Salem, as an assistant to the clergyman of that place; but holding tenets considered heretical and seditious, he had been banished the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. First seating himself at Seconck, within the colony of Plymouth, where had purchased a tract of land of the sachem of Pokanoket, he was advised by governor Winslow, to remove out of his jurisdiction; with this advice he readily complied, and seated himself at Providence.

In the eastern border of Massachusetts, settlements were extending in various directions. In 1636, twenty four towns had been planted-ship building had commenced at Marblehead-mills were erected in several places, and the general court, contemplating a public school at New Town, granted £400 for its encouragement. The militia was divided into three regiments, and placed under as many colonels, for the defence and safety of the colony. Plymouth evinced an equal spirit of enterprise; new towns were constantly arising-trade began to flourish, and the people to enjoy the blessings of liberty and competency.

The towns on the Connecticut, though under some embarrassment from the Dutch claims, and alarms occasioned by the murder of Stone and Norton, were improv

ing, and increasing in population. At the close of 1636, the three towns first settled, included about eight hundred people, of which, two hundred and fifty were males, capable of bearing arms. But from the hostile disposition of the Pequots, it was apparent that the time was not distant when the inhabitants on the river, would be compelled to desert their plantations, or to maintain them by an appeal to arms. Appearances also indicated that the Narragansets, as well as the Indians of the neighboring islands, would not long continue pacific, an an event soon occurred, which demonstrated that these apprehensions were not ill founded. In the course of this year, a trading bark under the command of captain John Oldham, of Massachusetts, who had with him three or four boys, was attacked and made prisoner, near Manisses, since called Block island, and the captain murdered, as was supposed, by the Indians of that island. One Gallop, with a small vessel and three men, soon after, discovering Oldham's bark near the island with a number of Indians on the deck, bore down and commenced a fierce attack upon the vessel-killed a number of the Indians-driving others overboard, and at length gained possession of the prize, in the hold of which the body of Mr. Oldham was found, barbarously mangled. The wind being high, Gallop abandoned the bark, and she was driven to the Narraganset shore. On investigating the affair, it was ascertained that both the Narragansets and Pequots, were accessary to the murder, and the governor of Massachusetts, after a fruitless attempt to obtain the murderers, dispatched captain Endicott with ninety men to the Pequots to offer terms of peace, on condition that they would surrender the murderers, and desist from further hostilities, otherwise to chastise them. On arriving at Block island, Endicott was opposed by about fifty Indians, but pressing on he effected a landing, and after a slight skirmish the Indians fled into the woods. About sixty wigwams, and two hundred acres of corn were found on the island: these, with many canoes were immediately destroyed. Endicott then sailed to Pequot harbor, and demanded the murderers of Stone and Norton and their crews. But finding the Indians disposed to hostilities, he burnt a few wigwams, and, unable to bring

1

them to terms, he left twenty men, with orders to proceed to Saybrook fort, and strengthen that garrison, and returned to Boston on the fourteenth of September.

The boat in which the party was to sail to Saybrook being detained by contrary winds for several days, the men went on shore to seize some corn belonging to the enemy; while employed in this business, the Indians made a sudden attack, with bows and arrows-the ground being open, the English, with their fire arms, easily kept them at a respectful distance, and after skirmishing several hours, embarked with only one man wounded; but several of the Indians were killed.

With the Narragansets the English were more successful. On receiving a solemn embassy from the gov ernor of Massachusetts, Miantonimoh, their acting sachem, repaired to Boston, with several petty chiefs, and entered into a treaty with the English, binding themselves to make no peace with the Pequots without the consent of the English, or harbor them in any case, and that they would return all fugitive servants, and deliver to the English, or put to death, all murderers.

The expedition of Endicott, though it proved a severe chastisement to the Block island Indians, produced no important effect upon the high minded Pequots, but rather increased their enmity, and more bloody disasters were apprehended from these implacable enemies. This nation, by the neighboring Indians, was considered as a powerful and bloody people, and with them they had frequent and disastrous wars. They were seated in the southeast quarter of Connecticut, and possessed several fortifications, not easily to be carried by attacks with Indian weapons. Their chief sachem was the formidable Sassacus, who had under his command, twenty six petty captains, little inferior to himself in prowess, and he could bring into the field, on short notice, seven hundred flerce warriors, besides a considerable force from his allies, the Mohegans and Nehanticks. Viewing the English as intruders upon his lands, Sassacus was kindled into the highest resentment, and he determined to drive them from the Connecticut. His first hostile steps were upon the trading vessels, as has been related; but before committing further depredations, it was his inten

tion to have engaged the Narragansets in the war; but in this he was disappointed, by the treaty they had concluded with the English. This circumstance however did not deter the Pequots from their designs, and their next depredations were turned to the English fort at Saybrook, under the command of lieutenant Gardiner.

In the month of October, 1636, five men having been sent four miles up the river to gather hay in a meadow on the left bank, were suddenly attacked by a party of Pequots, secreted in the long grass; one man was captured, another received five arrows in different parts of his body, but escaped to the boat with three others, and put off without further injury. The captured man was one Butterfield, and the meadow where he was taken has since been called by his name. Fourteen days after this affair, six men were posted in a small hut to guard a cornfield about four miles from Saybrook fort: three of the party who ventured out some distance to shoot fowls, were suddenly surrounded by about one hundred Indians. One broke through the enemy's circle and escaped; the two others were captured. The Indians then approached the fort-destroyed a quantity of hay in the stack, and killed and wounded several cattle, feeding in the vicinity. Before the close of the year another attack was made on a party of English near the fort; ten or twelve men, under the commander of the fort, went out to burn the marshes upon a neck of land not far distant; as soon as they had passed the isthmus, a party of Pequots rose from a covert place, and attempted to enclose the English and cut off their retreat; perceiving their danger, they made a rapid return, but before they gained the fort, several were killed-a few cannon shot soon drove the enemy into the woods. But they still hovered about the place, and kept the garrison in a constant state of alarm.

In the month of April, 1637, the enemy renewed their depredations on the English, higher up the river. A party of Weathersfield people, going to their labor in the fields, were attacked-nine killed, and two young women captured; twenty cows and some other property were destroyed before the enemy left the town.

Finding war unavoidable, the Connecticut people acted with vigour. A court was summoned to meet on the first

day of May, at which it was resolved, that an offensive war should be immediately commenced against the ferocious enemy; ninety men were ordered to be raised, from the three towns on Connecticut river, and captain Mason was appointed to command an expedition into the heart of the Pequot country. Application was made to Plymouth and Massachusetts, to join in the expedition, and those colonies ordered two hundred and fifty men to be raised, under captains Stoughton, Trask, and Patrick; the former was appointed commander. The Rev. John Wilson of Boston, was appointed chaplain of the Massachusetts and Plymouth forces.

The Connecticut troops were raised with great expedition, and on the tenth of May, Capt. Mason, with ninety men, and seventy Mohegan and river Indians, under the sachem Uncas, embarked on board several small vessels, and fell down the river to Saybrook fort. While at this place, forty of Mason's Indians, out some distance from the place, fell in with seven of the enemy, killed five and captured one, who was brought to the fort and executed by the English. Here the little army was joined by Capt. Underhill, with nineteen men, who, the preceding winter, had been sent by governor Vane of Massachusetts, to strengthen the garrison of Saybrook; and Mason ordered an equal number of his original force, to return home for the protection of the settlements, which he apprehended might be attacked, during his absence.

After remaining several days at Saybrook, to complete his arrangments, Mason sailed with his Connecticut forces for Narraganset bay, where he arrived on the nineteenth of May. At this place two hundred of Miantonimoh's Narragansets were engaged to accompany the English forces on the expedition. Information was now received from Capt. Patrick, that he had arrived at Roger Williams' plantation at Providence, with forty Massachusetts men, under orders to form a junction with the Connecticut troops. Apprehensive that the Pequots might gain intelligence of the expedition, Mason commenced his march, without waiting for Patrick's company, and soon reached Nihantick, the seat of one of the Narraganset sachems, where he was joined by an additional body of