Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/513

This page needs to be proofread.
the Christian Indians.

among the wicked enemies of the people of God. This man yielded to the enemies' arguments, and by his example drew most of the rest, for which he afterwards suffered death, being executed at Boston, the June after ; yet there were some of those Christian Indians went away with the enemy with heavy hearts and weeping eyes, particularly Joseph Tuckappawill, the pastor of the church at Hassanamesitt, and his aged father, Naoas, and some others, of which I had particular information from some that were eye and ear witnesses thereof. This providence, concerning those Christian Indians being carried thus away by the enemy, was a very deep wound to the work of Gospelizing the Indians, for this people were considerable for number as before is hinted. Being the greatest part of three Indian villages, viz. Hassanamesit, Magunkog, and Chobone-Konhonom. It was also a weakening to the English in removing these frontier Indian plantations and forts, which would have been as walls under God to us, as the sequel proved. Besides, many of these poor Christians lost their lives by war, sickness, and famine ; and some were executed that came in to us : it was a great scandal to the Christian religion they professed, yet through God's favor some of them were preserved alive and are reconciled again to the English, and now live among the rest of the Christian Indians, and in especial those of them that lamented and mourned when they were carried away ; the Lord spared their lives and brought them back to the enjoyment of sanctuary mercies.

Upon this intelligence of the enemies' appearance about Hassanamesit, two companies of English soldiers were despatched away into these parts, one commanded by Captain Daniel Henchman, the other by Captain Joseph Sill. This last took with him for guides five Natick Indians. When they came to Hassanamesit, they found signs of the enemy, but could see no considerable company of them. But Captain Syll, being at Hassanamesit the 6th of November, hearing a noise early in the morning, sent forth two files of men, with two Indians, viz. James Quanapohit, and Eliazor Pegin; they had not gone far, but they discovered seven of the enemy and one of them leading an Englishman ; the enemy discovering