the Nipmucks to the westward. At Lancaster, a man and his wife were killed on Lord's day, the 22d of August; and a lad tending sheep at Marlborough, was fired upon by the Indians. Captain Mosely with a party of cavalry from Boston, was ordered to Brookfield, where a few troops had been stationed, and the country in that quarter was scoured in various directions, but no affair of consequence took place; several Indians were however taken on suspicion and carried to Boston, but on trial acquitted. Not long after this expedition, Mosely was ordered to reconnoitre the country about Hadley, on Connecticut river.

Flattering themselves that the Nipmucks might be reclaimed, the governor and council of Massachusetts, despatched captains Hutchinson and Wheeler with twenty horsemen, to Brookfield, near which these Indians had engaged to hold a treaty with the inhabitants of that place. On reaching the settlements at Brookfield, they were joined by a number of people, and marched for the place assigned for holding the treaty; but finding no Indians at the place, Hutchinson continued his march four or five miles, to a narrow defile formed by a steep hill and a thick swamp, at the head of Wickaboag pond, where he was suddenly, and unexpectedly attacked by two or three hundred Indians in ambuscade; eight men fell on the first shot, and three were mortally wounded. Captain Wheeler had an extraordinary escape; his horse was shot down, and he received a ball through his body; seeing this, his son, whose arm was then fractured by a ball, dismounted and placed his wounded father upon his own horse, and mounting another, whose rider had been killed, they both escaped, and at length recovered of their wounds. The surviving English, retreated to the village of Brookfield, and had barely entered the place, when it was set on fire in various directions, by the pursuing enemy. The people of the village, in all, about seventy, repaired to a house slightly fortified, with a few logs hastily tumbled up, about the exterior side, and a few feather beds hung up in the interior, to deaden the balls, after the alarm was given. The house was soon surrounded by the enemy, and shot poured upon it, in all directions; but by the adverse fire they were kept at a respectful

distance. Every artifice in the power of the enemy, was resorted to for burning the building; fire arrows and combustibles attached to long poles, were tried in vain ; a cart filled with hemp and other materials, and set on fire, was thrust forward with poles lengthened by splicing, but before it was sufficiently near to fire the house, a fortunate shower of rain extinguished the burning mass. A quantity of combustibles placed by the side of the fort in the night, was set on fire, by which the beseiged were in imminent danger of a conflagration; they were now compelled to go out and draw water from a well, under a shower of shot; but they were so fortunate, as to extinguish the flames without the loss of a man. While a part of the Indians were thus employed at the fort, parties were stationed at a distance, on all the roads and avenues leading into the village, to intercept any troops that might approach to relieve the place, but their precaution failed. Major Simon Willard, at the head of a party of cavalry at this time was near Lancaster, on his march to attack a lodge of Indians to the westward of that place; on hearing of the critical situation of the people at Brookfield, he immediately changed his rout, and dashing on about thirty miles, reached the besieged garrison in the night. A drove of cattle which had been frightened from the place, by the yells, and firing of the Indians, happening to be near the rout on which Willard approached, fell into his rear, and followed him into the village; the Indians who were guarding that avenue, supposing Willard's force to be numerous, suffered him to pass without a shot. Finding the garrison thus reinforced, the Indians poured in a hot fire for a short time, killing several of the horses, then sat fire to the remain ing buildings, and retired into the woods.

During the attack, one man employed in drawing wa ter from the well, though covered by a board fence, was wounded, on which he exclaimed "I am killed;" the Indian who shot him, exultingly called out "me have killed Major Wilson." Though the attack continued three days, the casualties of the garrison, were very few; one man only, was killed within the house, and be in the chamber, where the enemy's balls often penetrated; but their loss is said to have been about eighty.

Notwithstanding the gallant conduct of major Willard, in the relief of Brookfield, it is stated that he was censured by the governor and council of Massachusetts, for deviating from his orders, which were, to attack the Indians in a different quarter. It will not be believed, however, that the orders were so rigidly imperative, as to admit of no discretion in the commander. In all expeditions against Indians in the distant forest, some latitude is evidently necessary. Probably the very Indians against whom major Willard was destined, were then at Brookfield; and if the orders were not so far discretionary, as to allow him to change his route, to relieve a place attacked by so powerful a force, the censure ought to rest upon the governor and council who gave them, and not upon him. Had he refused to relieve the distressed inhabitants of Brookfield, a more severe vituperation would have been bestowed upon him by the people of the province. Under all the circumstances of the case, his conduct must be pronounced highly proper, and his achievment gallant.

Soon after the attack on Brookfield, forces arrived at that place, under captains Lathrop and Beers from the eastern part of Massachusetts, and a corps of militia under lieutenant Cooper from Springfield, and also a company of Connecticut troops under captain Watts. These troops continued some time at Brookfield, under the command of major Willard; and the adjacent country was thoroughly scoured by detached parties. But the greatest part of the Indians had fled westward, and joined the Pocumtucks at Deerfield and Northfield, forming a considerable numerical force.

The settlements on Connecticut river, being now exposed to the inroads of the enemy, major Willard left Brookfield, and marched the principal part of his force to Hadley, to make arrangements for the defence of the towns in that quarter. Having completed this business, he left captains Lathrop and Beers, with their companies at Hadley, and returned to Brookfield, and not long after, with his corps to Boston.

The Hadley Indians, though they had not joined Philip's forces, began at this time to evince a hostile disposition, and they occupied a small fort, about a mile above Hatfield, which, it was apprehended, they

were about to abandon; resolving that they should not carry off their arms, the English commander determined, if possible, to seize them. The Indians, apprised of the design, fled in the night up the river towards Deerfield; captains Lathrop and Beers, with their companies, commeneed a pursuit early next morning, and came up with them at a swamp, a small distance south of Sugarloaf hill, opposite to the present town of Sunderland, and a warm contest ensued; ten of the English and twenty six Indians fell; the remainder of the fugitives, joined Philip's forces, and Lathrop and Beers returned to Hadley.

Finding that the Indians on the river above Springfield, were determined to join in the war against the English, Massachusetts and Connecticut, immediately ordered reinforcements, and a body of Mohegan Indians, for the protection of the upper towns on the river; and small garrisons were posted at Northampton, Hatfield, Deerfield and Northfield; but the main body remained at Hadley, where the peninsula formed by the river, afforded a defensible position against sudden attacks. This was the English head quarters, for this part of the country, and the assembled forces were now commanded by major Treat, a Connecticut officer.

Deerfield and Northfield were now much exposed to the fury of the enemy, who in considerable numbers lay in the neighboring woods. On the first of September, 1675, they fell upon the former place, killed one man and reduced several houses to ashes. Two or three days after, nine or ten people were killed in the woods at Northfield; others escaped to the garrisoned house. The day subsequent to this disaster, and before it was known at Hadley, captain Beers with thirty six mounted infantry, was detached by major Treat, to convoy provisions to the garrison and people at Northfield. Beers' route led through the present towns of Sunderland, Montague, and the tract called Erving's Grant, then a continued forest, through which was an imperfect road, the distance nearly thirty miles; and though continually exposed to attacks, he passed several difficult places, and among others, Miller's river without seeing an Indian. Dismounting and leaving the horses, the march was continued on foot, and was necessarily retarded by an accompanying baggage

waggon. At the distance of about two miles from the garrison at Northfield, the route lay over a deep swampy ravine, through which ran a considerable brook, emptying into Connecticut river. For some distance the ravine extended along the right of the route, and at the place where it was to be passed it made a short turn to the left, continuing directly to the river. Discovering Beers' approach, a large body of Indians formed an ambuscade at this place, and lay ready to attack his front and right. Without discovering the snare, Beers arrived at the point, and received the fire of the Indians from the margin of the ravine on his right. A considerable proportion of the party fell on the spot; the remainder instantly broke, and, in scattered order, retreated over a piece of level ground, closely followed by the Indians. Beers with a few of his men gained an abrupt hill, about three fourths of a mile in the rear, where they bravely maintained their ground sometime, against an overwhelming force; but at length he received a fatal shot, and the survivors were compelled to retire from the ground. Out of the thirty six, only sixteen escaped back to Hadley, leaving the baggage and wounded in the hands of the enemy.*

Two days after this disaster, major Treat with one hundred men, arrived on the ground where Beers' was defeated, and witnessed the horrid barbarity of the Indians. Several of the slain were decapitated and their heads elevated on poles near the road; one man was suspended to a limb of a tree, by a chain hooked to his under jaw, probably while alive, and the whole scene was appalling. Pursuing his march to the town, the major found the garrison safe, and brought them off with the inhabitants. On his return he met captain Appleton with an additional force from Hadley, who was urgent to advance up the river in search of the enemy; but the major,

* The ground where the disaster happened, is now cleared, and to this day is called Beers' plain, and the hill where the captain fell, Beers' mountain. Near the river, about three fourths of a mile south of the place of the first attack, is shewn a deep ravine, connecting with the river, called Soldier's hole, from one of Beers' men, who there sought safety in his flight. At a sandy knoll on the west side of the road, near the place where the attack commenced, the bones of the slain are still to be seen, in some instances, bleaching in the sun. Until lately the mail route from Montague to Northfield, passed over the ground, but by a recent alteration, it now runs a little to the west of it. Janes' mill is situated a small distance north of the place of attack.