Soldiers in King Philip's war. Containing lists of the soldiers of ...

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and were preparing to go out against the Indians the next morning,
but during the night a messenger arrived from Hartford or Windsor,
reporting that Toto, a friendly Windsor Indian, had disclosed a plot
of the Springfield Indians to destroy that town next day, and that
five hundred of Philip's Indians were in the Springfield fort, ready
to fall upon the town. Thereupon, early on the morning of Tues-
day, October 5th, Major Pynchon, with Capts. Appleton and Sill,
and a force of one hundred and ninety men, marched for Spring-
field, arriving there to find the town in flames and the Indians just
fled. Maj. Treat had also received news of the intended attack,
and hastened from Westfield with his company, arriving on the
west side of the river some hours before the Massachusetts forces
came, but was unable to cross, though five Springfield men escaped
through the enemy's lines, hotly pursued, and carried over a boat in
which a party attempted to cross, but the Indians gathered upon the
east shore and fired upon them so fiercely that the attempt was
abandoned until Major Pynchon came. The Indians burned some
thirty dwelling-houses and twenty-five barns with their contents,
Maj. Pynchon's mills, and several of his houses and barns, occupied
by tenants. Fifteen houses in the " town-plat," and some sixty
more in the outskirts and on the west side were left unharmed. The
people had taken refuge in the garrison-houses, which were not attacked.
Two men and one woman were killed, viz., Lieut. Thomas
Cooper, who before the assault rode out towards the fort to
treat with the Indians, having two or three men with him, and was
shot by an enemy concealed in the bushes a short distance from the
town, but managed to ride to the nearest garrison-house, where he
died. His companion, Thomas Miller, was killed on the spot.
During the assault, Pentecost, wife of John Matthews, was killed,
and Nathaniel Browne and Edmund Pringridays were mortally
wounded.
The above account is the substance of letters written by Major
Pinchon and Rev. John Russell, October 5th and 6th. The number
of Indians engaged has probably been much over-estimated.
The Springfield squaw captured at the time, reported the whole number
at two hundred and seventy. Mr. Russell said the Springfield
people thought there were not " above 100 Indians, of whom their
own were the chief." Rev. Pelatiah Glover, the minister of Spring-
field, lost his house, goods and provisions, together with a valuable
library which he had lately removed to his house from the garrisonhouse
where it had been stored for some time.
On October 8th Major Pynchon writes to the Council an official
account of the situation, telling of the great discouragement of the
people and their sad state ; the loss of their mills makes a scarcity
of bread, and the many houseless families throng the houses that remain.
The Major advises to garrison all the towns, and abandon
the useless and hazardous method of hunting the Indians in their