The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-13
TREATMENT OF INDIANS BLOT
 ON OLD GLORY Red Men First Called By Columbus Who Believed He Had Found Part
 of India. FIERCE WARS IN
 COLONIAL DAYS King Philip One of Greatest Warriors Killed in
 1876.

The history of the slow extermina., tion of the Indian Tribes, first pos- sessors of our soil, is a blotch on the brightness of "Old Glory It was Columbus who first used the term Indians" believing that the islands on which. he landed were a part of India. Earlier than the greed of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which drove the American Indian ever westward, were the fierce war of Col onial Days between the British and the French and the powerful Sachs or Indian chiefs possessors of covet- ed land and of cattle. The King Phil ips War" in 1675-6. threatened the tent of the White Man on the lands of New England. King Philip (Met- acom) was a typical Indian chief and warrior of the Story Books and Le- gends.
 Nearly seven feet in herghr; or a frame that Hercules might have en- vied; the epitome of the pride of his powerful Wampumag tribe ter rible in anger, fierce in love, a whirl- wind in battle, awful in revenge, his name carried terror far along the At lantic seaboard, and gave unquiet mo- ments to brave men of British and French fighting traditions. Metacom was a great statesman, a mighty prince of his people, and he died in defense of his just rights. In 1875 his name swept New England like a cyclones contempt of obstacles. Superstition added to it's terrors; some said they had seen an Indian bow crawn across the heavens; others saw a scalp on the face of the yellow moon; others, phan- tom hOrsemen gallOping through the air, and the whistling of arrows was heard. New England shivered from +o at- acon was now here, now there with the flight of a tornado, and followed by his terrific Red Men of the war whoOp that curdled the blood of the bravest, and of the aspect of the warrior of the Apocalypse. Their path was marked by blood and broken dwellings, and the smoke of the over throw. But they were defencfng the land that was theirs against the az gression of the White Man A day came, August 12, 1878, when Metacom was driven back-farther back pressed back to Mt. Hope in Rhode Island. In his den at dead of night, one of his confederates proposed a Treaty of Peace with the British. Up sprang the fist of Metacom-to his toma hawk-and the bead of the lily hearted rolled in the dust. As he sat gnawing upon his massive underlip, 
 ObliviouS to footsteps stealing away in the dark. It was the brother of the murdered Indian. The traitor gained the English camp, and offered to lead them to Metacom's retreat. Captain Church set out with a body of men, accompanied by a shameless lot of Friendly" Indians, jealous of their sachemS rise to greatness. Church formed his men in extended order, T-I Ev,,c- iS1, man together, with orders to fire on any one who should attempt to eS- cape. At the dawn of day, the sen tinels alarmed the camp. Metacom sprang: seized his arms-saw that he was rounded-attempted to escape Two of Church's guards, an English man and an Indian, opened upon him; the Englishman's gun missed fire; the Indian sent two balls through the chiee one of which, piercing his heart, laid him dead on the spot. The Great Warrior had fallen on his face, liter ally in the last ditch from which they drew his body severing his head, ana leaving the body to the wild beasts. Thus perished, on August 12, l6fo, one of the greatest of the celebrated Red Skins" It was glorious, but was r2"