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

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sentiment of the colony ; for they not only sent supplies and money
for the Indians, but letters came inquiring into the treatment of the
Christian Indians. When the popular cry was raised that the
Indians at Deer Island should be transported out of the country or
destroyed, the General Court presented a bold front, and by public
proclamation declared these Christian Indians to be the allies and
friends of the English by the olden treaty of 1643, made with their
fathers, and never to this day broken by them or their children.
This firmness did much to enlighten and allay popular prejudice.
When Major Savage took command of the army to march to the
West in March, 1675-6, he made one condition, that he should have
a number of the Indians at Deer Island for guides. In pursuance
of this arrangement Major Gookin procured for him, James Quanapohit,
JobKattenanit, James Speen, Andrew Pitimee, and William
Ahaton. All these were men of tried courage and fidelity, and were
greatly elated that they would now have a chance under Major
Savage to prove their truth and worth. But when the troops were
at Marlborough, Job was permitted to go forward towards Hassanamesit
to meet his children in the place appointed by them, when he
escaped ; and it was hoped that those of his tribe who had come
but when Capt.
lately from the enemy could give later information ;
Mosely knew of this he made a great tumult, and so stirred up the
violent spirits among the soldiers that a revolt was threatened, and
it became necessary to send away after Job to bring him back, and
Capts. Wadsworth and Syll rode after him with all speed with James
Quanapohit as guide ; but Job returned to the forces without meeting
his friends, though they had been at the place appointed.
These poor wanderers were taken, coming to the English camps,
by some of Capt. Benj. Gibbs's men shortly afterwards, and brought
into camp with great ado as being a grand prize, but Major Savage
found them to be Job's friends and received them civilly and sent
them back to Marlborough, where they had to stop a night, and
there they were beset by a mob of frantic English women, and so
threatened and abused that four of them escaped in the night.
It will be remembered that many of the soldiers, and especially
those of Capt. Moseley's " volunteer " company, were of the most
reckless and disreputable class in the colony, and many of them
used the occasion of public service as a cloak for any sort of crime.
They robbed the defenceless Indians, and to hide their crime raised
a storm of fear against them by their falsehoods. At the same time
they stirred up all the worst passions of the people, and through
these sought to intimidate the Indians to escape, or provoke them to
some act of resistance which would prevent their demanding back
their stolen property. On this occasion at Marlborough, the
soldiers had stripped the poor creatures of everything, and had even
robbed the faithful Indian minister of the pewter communion cup
given him by Mr. Eliot. The four who had made their escape,