The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-05-26
From Chambers Journal.
An American Tradition.

One OF the most interesting incidents in the
early history of New England is the deli liverance
OF the frontier town Of Hadley from an attack of
a barbarous native tribe. The Indiau war of
King Philip-the saddest page in the annals of
the colonies-had just commenced end the IN
habitants of Hadley, alarmed by the threatening
aspect of the times, had, on the first of Septem
Der, 1879, assembled in their humbis place of
worship, to impiore the aid Of the Almighty, and
to humble themselves before Him in a solemn
fast. All at once, the terrible war-whoop was
heard, and the church surrounded by n blooa>>
thirsty band of savages while the infant, theS
aged, the bedridden-all who had been unable
to attend service, were at the mercy of the to-
mahawk and scalying knife. At that period, so
uncertain were the movements of the Indians,
that 1t was customary for select number of the
stoutest and bravest among the dwellers in the
frontier towns to carry their weapons with them,
even to the house of prayer ; and now, in con-
sternaton and confusion, these armed men of
Ha'iley sailed forth to defend themselves and
families. But unfortunately, the attack had been
too sudden and we'll planned the Indians had
partly gained possession of the town before they
surrounded the church and posted on every
spot of vantage ground, their bullets told with
fatal effect upon the hewildered aud disheart-
ened colonists. At this crisis, there suddenly
appeared among them man, tall and erect
of stature, calm and venerable in aspect, with
10 ng gray hair falling his shoulders.
Railying the Fetreating towsnman, he issued
and with cool and soldiery precision. The pow
erful influence which in moments Of peril
and difficulty, a master mind assumes over his
less gifted fellows. was well exempfed on this
occasion. The strangers commands were i'm
pilcltly obeyed by men who, until that instant,
had never seen him. He divided the colonists
into two bodies placing one in the most adven-
tageous and sheltered position, to return the
fire of the enemy, and hold them in check while
the other by a crcuitous route, he led, under
cover of the smoke, to a desperate charge on the
Indian rear The red men, thus surprised in
turn, and placed between two fires, were imme-
diately defeated and put TO fight, leaving many
Of their painted warriors dead upon the field
an the town of Hadley was thus saved from con-
hagration, and its inhabitants from massacre.-
The first moments after the unexpected victory
were passed in anxious inquiries, afectionate
meetings and heartfelt congratulations then
followed fol- thanks aud praise to G9d and then
was he All had seen him instant before
but now he had disappeared nor was he ever
seen again. One or two among the people could
have told who he was, but they prudently held
their peace
Amid the dense forests and mighty rivers Of
America, the stern piety of the Puritans had
acquired an imaginative cast, almost unknown
in the mother country and thus, unable to ac
count for the sudden advent and disappearance
of the delivering stranger, the people of Hadley
believed that he was an angel sent from God, in
answer TO their prayers, TO rescue them from the
heather enemy With the traditions Of the In
dian of 1876, that belief has been handed
down to our own day; and it was only few years
ago, on the banks ofthe pleasant KeDnebec, that
n fair descendant of the redoubtsble Captain
Church related to the writer the foregoing le-
gend as an indisputable instance of supernat-
ural dispensation of Providence.
The story, however, is historical fact, and
latterly has embellished more than one popular
work of fiction. Sir Walter Scott, who allowed
little to escape him. alludes to it in 'Peveril of
the Peak " Cooper has made oft in ''The
Borderers; ;" and .'Oliver Newman the last
poem of Southey is partly founded the event
ful history of William Goffe, the delivering angel
of the inhabitants of Hadley.