The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-01-27
Pequot War Insured
 Connecticut Of Amity
Prosecuted WctOriOusly By Strategy of COlOnys First
 Military Hero, Captain John Mason

There might never have existed state of Connecticut or at least its development would probably have been seriously delayed if fl had not been for a decision made by the general court on May 1 1897, to prosecute an offensive wal against the fiercest of all the In. dian tribes in this section of the country, the Pequots, whose inten- ton 1t was to wipe out all white settlers from the Connecticut river valley.
 Moreover, the war against these thirsty natives in a wild land which they knew perfectly and of which the English knew little would probably not have been suc- cessful if 1t had not been for Con- necticut's first military nero, the courageous and strategically skill ful, Captain John Mason. Mason out-foxed the fierce and willy Pe- quots in their own country, anni- bilated practically the whole tribe and put an everlasting fear of white men in the Indian heart.
 Why this war was waged; how John Mason beguiled the redskins into a false sense of security only tc attack them with q surprise raid which resulted victoriou3)y; how the English were aided by their chaplain, Rev Samuel Stone--and in fact, all of the exciting details of Connecticut's first war--are told In a brief but gripping narrative by Howard Bradstreet, published in pamphlet form by the Yale University Press for the comJnittee on historical publications of the Connecticut tercentenary commit tee.
 MT Bradstreet's story bears the title, "The Story of the War With the Pequots Re-told". It is one of the pamphlets published for the tercentenary commission to fur nish 0 comprehensive picture of the life, struggles and customs oi Connecticut, 50 that the people of the state will understand the full significance of the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of the state, which will be celebrated In 1885. Any or all of the pamphlets may be obtained for nominal cost by addressing the Yale Uni versity Press, New Haven.
 According to MT Bradstreets story, the causes of the war with the Pequots, which was declared only year after the arrival ir Connecticut of Rev Thomas Hook CT and his flock, were a series o1 murders of white settlers by tho Indians and reprisals by the Dutch at New York and the English iron Massa chusetts bay. After each re- prisal by the whites, the Pequot' invariably wrecked their ven' seance on members of the little Connecticut colony.
 TO have a clear picture of tht courage of the Connecticut settler! in waging this war, 1t must be re membered that the colony at tht time consisted of only three tin! settlements, Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, and the for l which had been erected at thu mouth of the Connecticut river a Saybrook. Man power was yer. limited and none of the soldier had had experience against Indiai methods of fighting. True, thu white man had his crude firearms of the day, but this served only t' offset somewhat the superior mum | bers of the reds. It was the strat egy of Mason which counted mos heavily in bringing about the hap py result.
 Lion Gardiner in charge of tho Saybrook fort had tried to dis. suade the expedition from Massa.