Sharp County record., 1912-01-19
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KING PHILIP.

tucket was aghast at murder just
committed within its borders.
A boastful Indian-either drunk or
else relying on the protection OF the
settlers-had spoken evil OF the dead
Pokanoket sachem, Massasoit. Now,
by ancient Indian law 1t was mortal
sin to speak i'll Of the dead. And it
was the duty of the next Of kin" to
avenge the words by death.
And, In this case, the next Of kin
chanced to be the sachem's son and
successor, Metacomet, known to the
white men as King Philip" No one
imagined Philip would dare outrage
English laws by obeying so barbarous
a custom. Yet he appeared at Nam
tucket one day in 1865, slew the In
dian who had insuited his fathers
memory, and returned unpunished to
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"
The Avencer and His Crime.
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 a 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 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 a sudden illness and the IN
dams declared the white men had
poisoned him.
Philip became sachem. He had q
heritage Of bitter hatred against the
English. Not only did he 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 to
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 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
ct last Philip found himself and his
once mighty tribe cooped UP In two
little tongues OF land at Bristol and
Tiverton, R, l. Yet, for timo, Philip
held firm to the t.eaties his father had
made. He lived at Montauk (pro-
nounced by the English Mount
Hope"), near Bristol, and ruled his
sadly restricted people as best he
could.
But the old friendly feeling between
white man and Indian was daily merg.
Ing into mutual hate and suspicion
IN 1874 q renegade Indian bore word
to the settlers-whether falsely or
truthfully--that Philip was planning
war. The Puritans at once forced mat
ters to such an isue that Philip found
It necessary either to fight or lose
what little authority he had left. He
cont the women and children OF his
tribe for protection to his allies, tho
Narragansetts, summoned all his avail.
able warriors, and took the field,
On Sunday, June 80, 1876, while the
Inhabitants Of Swansea, not far from
Plymouth, were at church, Philip and
his band swept down upon the town.
There was a wholesale killing and
burning. Tho war was on. Next Philip
attacked tho town OF Iladley, but was
beaten back, II Is said, through the
generalship Of mysterious white.
haired man (supposed to William
Goffe, tho regicido), who rallied the
colonigts to bravo defense, Soon
afterward, at tho battle Of Bloody
Brook, Philips men slow seyonty-threo
Puritan soldiers But while tho In.
dams were scalplng their victims Eng.
llsh reinforeements came up and
routed them. Philip led his murder
Gus eavGgcs through tho Connecticut
valley, leaving ruin, death and dosola.
tion IN his PATH burning and saeking
Springfield, Northheld and DroolHeld,
and massaorelng the Inhabitants OF
outlying hamlots,
Tho Fate OF Two Mighty Tribes.
Tho colonlsts, however, rallied gal.
lantly, nearly eSterminNted his allies,
tho Narragansetts, and at last eoopod
Philip and his remaining followers In
tho swamps near Mount Hope Thoy
captured his wifo and little son and
sold them into slavery IN tho West In.
dies. Such Of his valiant followers 10