a post, and tying a rope to the other, of which they laid hold. Underhill, elsewhere characterized as a "bold, bad man," had, on this occasion, the humanity to shorten the torment of the victim by a pistol-shot.

The plan of campaign adopted by Mason, after much debate, was to sail for the country of the Narragansetts, and there disembarking, to come upon the enemy by land from an unexpected direction.

Canonicus and Miantonimo received the party in a friendly manner, approving the design, but proffering no assistance.

Intelligence was here received of the approach of Captain Patrick and his men from Massachusetts; but Mason determined to lose no time by waiting for their arrival, lest information of the movement should in the meantime reach the camp of the Pequots. The next day, therefore, which was the 4th of June, the vessels, in which the company had arrived from Saybrook, set sail for Pequot river, manned by a few whites and Indians, while the main body proceeded on their march across the country. About sixty Indians, led by Uncas, were of the party.

A large body of Narragansetts and Nehantics attended them on their march, at one time to the number, as was supposed, of nearly five hundred. In Indian style, they made great demonstration of valor and determination; but as they approached the head-quarters of the terrible tribe that had held them so long in awe, their hearts began to fail. Many slunk away, and of those who still hung in the rear, none but Uncas and Wequash, a Nehantic sachem, were ready to share in the danger of the first attack.

The Pequot camp was upon the summit of a high rounded hill, still known as Pequot hill, in the present town of Groton, and was considered by the Indians as impregnable. The people of Sassacus had seen the Eng

lish vessels pass by, and supposed that danger was for the present averted. After a great feast and dance of exultation at their safety and success, the camp was sunk in sleep and silence. Mason and his men, who had encamped among some rocks near the head of Mystic river, approached the Pequot fortification a little before day, on the 5th of June.

upon

The alarm was first given by the barking of a dog, followed by a cry from some one within, of "Owanux, Owanux" - the Indian term for Englishmen which the besiegers rushed forward to the attack. The fort was, as usual, enclosed with thick palisades, a narrow entrance being left, which was barred by a pile of brushwood. Breaking through this, Mason and his companions fell upon the startled Pequots, and maintained for some time an uncertain hand to hand conflict, until, all order being lost, he came to the savage determination to fire the wigwams. This was done, and the dry materials of which these rude dwellings were composed blazed with fearful rapidity.

The warriors fought desperately, but their bow-strings snapped from the heat, and the Narragansetts, now coming up, killed all who attempted to escape. The scene within was horrible beyond description. The whole number destroyed (mostly by the flames) was supposed to be over four hundred, no small portion of which consisted of women and children.

The spirit of the times cannot be better portrayed than by citing the description of this tragedy given by Morton: "At this time it was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the same; and horrible was the stink and scent thereof; but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and

give them so speedy a victory over so proud, insulting, and blasphemous an enemy." Dr. Increase Mather, in much the same vein, says: "This day we brought six hundred Indian souls to hell."

In looking back upon this massacre, although much allowance must be made for the rudeness of the age, and the circumstances of terror and anxiety which surrounded the early settlers, yet we must confess that here, as on other occasions, they exhibited the utmost unscrupulousness as to the means by which a desired end should be accomplished.

The loss of the attacking party in this engagement was trifling in the extreme, only two of their number being killed, and about twenty wounded. Captain Patrick with his soldiers from Massachusetts, did not reach the scene of action in time to take part in it- Underhill, however, with twenty men, was of the party.

The result of this conflict was fatal to the Pequots as a nation. After a few unavailing attempts to revenge their wrongs, they burned their remaining camp, and commenced their flight to the haunts of their forefathers at the westward.

They were closely pursued by the whites and their Indian allies, and hunted and destroyed like wild beasts. The last important engagement was in a swamp at Fairfield, where they were completely overcome. Most of the warriors were slain, fighting bravely to the last, and the women and children were distributed as servants among the colonists or shipped as slaves to the West Indies; "We send the male children," says Winthrop, "to Burmuda, by Mr. William Pierce, and the women and maid children are dispersed about in the towns." It is satisfactory to reflect that these wild domestics proved rather a source of annoyance than service to their enslavers.

Sassacus, Mononotto, and a few other Pequot warriors,

succeeded in effecting their escape to the Mohawks, who, however, put the sachem and most of his companions to death, either to oblige the English or the Narragansetts.

The members of the tribe who still remained in Connecticut were finally brought into complete subjection. Many of them joined the forces of the now powerful Uncas; others were distributed between the Narragansetts and Mohegans; and no small number were taken and deliberately massacred.

The colonial authorities demanded that all Pequots who had been in any way concerned in shedding English blood should be slain, and Uncas had no small difficulty in retaining his useful allies, and at the same time satisfying the powerful strangers whose patronage and protection he so assiduously courted.

CHAPTER III.

QUARRELS BETWEEN THE NARRAGANSETTS AND MOHEGANS. — UNCAS AND MIANTONIMO. — THE MOHEGAN LAND CONTROVERSY. — SUBSEQUENT CONDITION OF THE PEQUOTS AND MOHEGANS.

A SMALL body of the Pequots made one more futile attempt to settle in their old country; but a company was sent against them, and they were driven off; their provisions were plundered, and their wigwams destroyed.

The destruction of this powerful tribe left a large extent of country unoccupied; to no small portion of which Uncas laid claim by virtue of his relationship to Sassacus. The power and influence of this subtle and warlike chief had become, by this time, vastly extended, not only by treaty and alliance with the Europeans, but by continual addition to the number of his warriors; as many straggling

Pequots, and wanderers from other tribes, were eager to join his rising fortunes.

Between him and Miantonimo, old feelings of jealousy, rivalry, and national antipathy were now aroused anew by various acts of petty hostility and mutual treachery. Uncas and his followers succeeded in exciting in the minds of the English a deep and abiding mistrust of the Narragansetts, which Miantonimo, upon repeated citations before the court at Plymouth, was unable wholly to remove. His wisdom, cautiousness, and sagacity, excited the admiration of all who heard him, but, with all his tact, he failed to convince the authorities of his good faith and innocent intentions.

The animosity of the two chiefs at last broke out into open hostilities. Miantonimo, accompanied, as was computed, by over nine hundred warriors, came suddenly upon Uncas, who was supported by only about half that number of effective followers. Before joining battle, the Mohegan sachem challenged his opponent to single combat, proposing that the vanquished party should, with his men, submit to the victor.

Miantonimo refusing to accede to this proposal, Uncas, according to a preconcerted signal, prostrated himself; and his warriors, discharging a flight of arrows, rushed forward with such impetuosity that, despite the disparity of numbers, they completely routed the Narragansetts, and drove them from the field.

The chief of the invaders was taken prisoner in his flight by Uncas himself, assisted by two other warriors. He had been impeded in his motions by an old corselet, a piece of defensive armor which had been presented to him by an English friend, but which proved fatal to him. Seeing that resistance was hopeless, he seated himself upon the ground, with true Indian stoicism and silence.

Uncas took his prisoner to Hartford, and requested the