Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/482

Gookin's History of

from Providence, and thirty from Seekonk, all English, who joining together with the Mohegans and Natick Indians made about 128 men, these pursued the enemy vigorously upon the first of August, being the Lord's Day, and came up with the rear of the enemy about ten o'clock in the forenoon ; the enemy had brought his best men into the war to oppose our forces pursuers ; but our men, and particularly the Mohegan and Natick Indians, behaved themselves with such courage and activity, as was certified by a letter from Mr. Newman, of Rehobah, a minister that was present in the fight, that they slew fourteen of the enemies, principally men, and wounded divers others, whereof one Nimorod, a chief Captain and Councillor to Philip, was one slain ; also they took a considerable booty which the Mohegan Indians loaded themselves with, which, together with the extreme heat of the weather, and the wounds of two or three of our side, (but none were slain of eighty-six,) occasioned them to give over the chase for a time to refresh themselves. In the interim, the enemy got such a start before our men that they escaped, though Capt. Henchman, with about sixty-eight men, whereof above twenty were of our Natick Indians, came up from Pokasit, where he kept garrison, about noon that day, and pursued the enemy two or three days, but could not come up with him, nor yet Capt. Mosely, who was sent from Boston, with fifty dragoons, to follow the chase, could not overtake the enemy, whose time was not yet come. Our praying Indians with Capt. Henchman, being not so loaded with plunder as the Mohegans, moved the Capt. to send them to head the enemy. But he thought it not prudent to break his small company, (for the Providence, Taunton, and Seekonk men were all gone home,) and to hazard so few as eight Indians were, against so considerable and numerous, as Philip was apprehended then to be. But as we were also certainly informed that Philip was so distressed and clogged at that time, his ammunition almost spent also, the Squaw Sachem, and her people, the Womponoges, (his greatest strength,) drawn off from them to the Narragansetts, that he had little above fifty able men left, but many hundreds of old men, women, and children ; so that if the counsel of our