The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-12-14
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KING PHILIP.

KING PHILIP. III
The little Puritan colony at Nam
tueket was aghast at murder Just
committed within Its borders.
A boastful Indian-efther drunk or
else relying on the protection OF the
settIers-had spoken evil OF the dead
Pokanoket sachem. Massasolt. Now,
by ancient Indian law It was mortal
sin TO speak III OF the dead. And Il
was the duty of tho next OF kin" to
ayenge the words by death.
And. in this case, the next OF kin
CHANGED to be the saehem's son and
successor, Metacomet, known to, the
white men as king Philip No, one
imagined Philip would dare outrage
English laws by obcying so barbarous
eustom. Yet he appeared at Nan
tuckct one day in 1865, slew the IN
dian who had insulted his fathers
memory, and returned unpublished 10
his own people. This was the sachem,s
first open defiance OF white, mems law.
Soon the land was red with his deeds.
He was fated to fall as his first victim
had Just fallen, beneath the hand OF
an ayenging next OF kin" 70
The Avenser and His crlnis. 90. -,
Massasoit had been sachem Of the
mighty Pokanoket tribe that owned
all the land from Narragansett Bay, to
Massachusetts,. He was friendly TO
the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth,
Mass, in 1920, and made d solemn
peace treaty with them. He even
begged them to give English names
to his two sons, Namsutto and Meta
comet. Accordingly the youths were
renamed alexander and S".Philip,"
When Massasoit died Alexander, the
elder son, became sachem. Alexander
was accused OF plotting against the
English and was arrested. Then he
died from sudden illness and the In
dams declared the white men had
poisoned him.
Philip became sachem. He had a
heritage o. bitter hatred against the
English. Not only did be, believe. they
had murdered his brother, but he had
watched with growing dread the way
in which they were robbing the IN.
dams OF their land. We are wont 10
think Of our Puritan ancestors as
sanity folk. In some respects, per.
haps. they were. But in their. treat.
ment OF the simple friendly Indians
their claim to sanctity receives a Sc.
! we're shock. On one pretense or an
other they seized, bought at ridiculous.
ly cheap price, or otherwise secured
huge tracts OF the savages' land, until
at last Philip found himself and his
once mighty tribe cooped up in two
little tongues of land at Bristol and
4 Tiyerton, r. /, Yet, for. a time, PHILIP
held firm to the treaties his father had
made. He lived lat Montauk (pro
nounced by the English Mount
IHope"), near Bristol, and ruled his
sadly restricted. people I as best he
could asi n ~ y Z Z
4 But the old friend yt feeling between
white man and Indian was daily nisrg
Hing into;mutual hate and suspicion
In 1G7+a renegade; Indian bore word
| to the settlers2whether falsely OF
truthfully-that Philip was planning
war. The Puritans at once forced mat
tiers to such an isue that Philip found
1t necessary either to fight or lose
what little authority he had left. He
sent the women and children OF his
tribe for protection to his allies, the
Narragansetts, summoned all his avail
able warriors, and took the field. ~.
On Sunday. June 80, 1915, while tn,
Inhabitants OF Swansea, not far from
Plymouth, were at church, Philip ant
his band swept down upon the town
There was wholesale killing ant
. burning. The war was on. Next PhiliI
attacked the town Of Hadley, but wa
beaten back, It lis: said, through tn,
generalship dc a mysterious white
haired man tsdpposed to William
lGoffe, the regiclde), who rallied tn,
/ colonlsts to a brave defense. sool
afterward, at the battle of<|Blood.
Brook. Philips men slew seventy-thret
Puritan soldiers. But while the In
dams were scalping their victims Eng
fish achievements came UP ant
routed them. Philip led his murder
Gus savages through the Connection
valley. leaving ruin. death and desola
ton IN his path. burning and sackinl
Springfield. Mortified and Brookheid
and massacreing thu Inhabitants Q
outlying hamlets.
The Fate Of Two ihishty Tribes.
The colonists, however, rallied ga
lantly, nearly eXtermlnated his allies