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

328
his promise in this treaty, and his experience with the English in
former treaties had not tended to give him exalted ideas of treatypromises.
He was allowed to depart, having received the present
of a coat, gaudily laced. We do not know how much effort he
made to carry out his promise ; we do know that he gathered his
own people into the great fortress in the swamps, where, in December,
he was overwhelmed by the Colonial army ; in which battle
great numbers of his people were destroyed.
The story of that fearful battle and its result to the English, and
from their side, has been told. We know but little from the Indian
side, and that only by accidental testimony. The English troops
recruited at Wickford until the last of January, when, having been
reinforced with fresh troops, they began the "Long March" through
the Nipmuck Country, around to Marlborough and then to Boston.
Canonchet and his Narragansets had profited by the time of the
army's inactivity ; they returned to their ruined forts and buried
their dead, cared for their wounded, and quietly sent their women
and children with their sick and wounded out of harm's way. Then
with a strong band of his fighting men as a rear-guard, Canonchet
hung about the army, and closely observed all its motions, keeping
out his scouts in every direction, with a line of posts and temporary
camps along the whole line of the great "trail" even to the vicinity
of Quabaog, where he soon established relations of alliance with the
hostile tribes gathered at head quarters at Menameset. But just
upon the eve of the advance of the troops, the Narragansets made a
swift descent upon Warwick, where they burnt the buildings and corn
and hay of Mr. Carpenter, and drove away near two hundred sheep,
fifty large cattle, and fifteen horses of his, besides many cattle from a
Mr. Harris. Our army pursued the Indians and had a sharp
skirmish with their rear-guard, in which the Indians, though losing
heavily, were able to divert the army and cover the retreat of a
large body having in charge the cattle and supplies, with many of
the women and children, who with many of the wounded and help-
less had been encamped at the "Rocks," a very strong natural
fortress, and hitherto deemed an impregnable retreat for the Indians.
It is probable that the Indian leaders were somewhat disconcerted by
the advance of the army both as to time and direction. The attack
upon Mr. Carpenter was partly perhaps to turn the attention of the
English in that direction. They succeeded in eluding the army,
however, and were received into the great gathering of the tribes at
their chief head quarters beyond Quabaog, after they had proved
that they were really at war with the English, by bringing the usual
evidence of English scalps and heads. There is evidence that old
Canonicus, uncle of Canonchet, and many of the older chiefs of the
Narragansets and their subject tribes, like Ninigret, chief of the Niantics,
tried hard to restrain the warriors from open war. But the proud
spirit of the younger Canonchet could not bow to the terrible blow