The history of King Philip's War

[ io]
fortune; when they were immediately upon this befet with
Multitudes of Indians, who poffeffed themfelves of every
Rock, Stump, Tree, or Fence that was in light, firing upon
them without cealing; while they had no other Ihelter but
a fmall bank & bit of a water Fence. And yet to add to
the difadvantage of this little handful of diftreffed Men;
The Indians alfo pofTeffed themfelves of the Ruines of a
Stone-houfe that over look'd them, and of the black Rocks
to the Southward of them; 91 fo that now they had no way
to prevent lying quite open to fome, or other of the
prove a powder mill " at faid Neponfet.
The fafety of this mill was a fubjedt of
legislation, in October and November
following. [Hift. of Dorchefter, 607,
609.]
91 In the fecond edition of this narra-
tive [Newport, R.-I. 1772], Southwick's
compofitor here careleffly dropped
out the words " and of the black Rocks
to the Southward of them," and Dr.
Stiles did not difcover the omiffion ; fo
that, as all the fubfequent editions have
been reprints of Southwick's, and not
of the original, the hint of exact locality
which they furnifh has hitherto been
overlooked. On recently vifiting Punk-
atees neck and going carefully over it
in order to identify, if poffible, the exact
fpot where this peafe-field was fituated,
I found on the edge of the fhore the remains
of an outcropping ledge of foft
black flaty rock, which differs fo decid-
edly from any other rocks in the vicin-
ity, and which — making allowance for
the wear of the waves for near 200
years — anfwers fo well to the demand
36
of the text, as to incline me to the judgment
that they may identify the fpot.
If this be fo, the peafe-field muft have
been on the weftern fhore of Punkatees
neck, a little north of the juncture of
Fogland point with the main promon-
tory, and almoft due eaft of the northern
extremity of Fogland point, — which
runs up northerly and wefterly as it
pufhes over toward Rhode-Ifland ; ly-
ing a little north of the range of the
Almy burying-ground, which is in the
rear of the prefent refidence of Mr.
Horace Almy. Whether this be a cor-
rect fuppofition or not, the near neighborhood
of what is ftill called Church's
well — a fpring ftoned round like a well,
and fending a tiny rivulet down to the
fea, a few rods fouth of thefe remains
of what were once " black rocks," and
almoft oppofite the prefent refidence of
Mr. Samuel Almy, at the terminus of
the road leading to Fogland ferry —
fixes the fcene of the fight with fufficient
accuracy, as being near the juncture of
Fogland point with Punkatees neck.