One account I have now lying by me, written by a gentleman of Dover, in these terms:

"The eastern Indians, and especially those of Saco and Ammonoscoggin, pretend many reasons for the late quarrel against the English, which began this long and bloody war.

1. "Because the English refused to pay that yearly tribute of corn, agreed upon in the 'articles of peace,' formerly concluded with them by the English commissioners.

2. "Because they were invaded in their fishery, in Saco-river, by certain gentlemen, who stopp'd the fish from coming up the river with their nets and sains. This they were greatly affronted at, saying, 'they thought (though the English had got away their lands as they had, yet) the fishery of the rivers had been a priviledge reserved entire unto themselves.' 3. "Because they were abused by the English, in suffering, if not turning their cattel over to a certain island to destroy their corn.

4. "But the fourth and main provocation was, the granting or patenting of their lands to some English; at which they were greatly enraged, threatning the surveyor to knock him on the head if he came to lay out any lands there.

5. "To these may be added the common abuses in trading, viz; drunkenness, cheating, &c., which such as trade much with them are seldom innocent of."

Doubtless these Indian allegations may be answered with many English vindications. But I shall at present intermeddle no further than to offer another account, which also I have in my hands, written by a gentleman of Casco. It runs in such terms as these:

"Many were the outrages and insultings of the Indians upon the English, while Sir E. A. was governour. At North-Yarmouth, and other places at the eastward, the Indians killed sundry cattel, came into houses, and threatned to knock the people on the head; and at sev eral times gave out reports that they would make a war upon the English, and that they were animated to do so by the French. The Indians behaving themselves so insultingly, gave just occasion of great suspicion. In order for the finding out the truth, and to endeav our the preventing of a war, Captain Blackman, a justice of peace, with some of the neigh borhood of Saco river, seized several Indians that had been bloody murderous rogues in the first Indian war, being the chief ring-leaders, and most capable to do mischief. The said Captain Blackman seized to the number of between sixteen and twenty, in order for thei examination, and to bring in the rest to a treaty. The said Blackman soon sent the sa Indians with a good guard to Falmouth in Casco-Bay, there to be secured, until orders coule come from Boston concerning them. And in the mean time the said Indians were well pro vided with provisions and suitable necessaries. The rest of the Indians robb'd the English and took some English prisoners; whereupon post was sent to Boston. Sir Edmond An dros being at New-York, the gentlemen of Boston sent to Falmouth some soldiers for the defence of the country, and also the worshipful Mr. Stoughton, with others, to treat with the Indians in order for the settling of a peace, and getting in of our English captives. As soon as the said gentlemen arrived to the eastward, they sent away one of the Indian prisoners ti the rest of the Indians, to summon them to bring in the English they had taken; also, th their sachems should come in to treat with the English, in order that a just satisfaction should be made on both sides. The gentlemen waited the return of the Indian messenger and when he returned he brought answer that they would meet our English at a place called Macquoit, and there they would bring in the English captives, and treat with the English And although the place appointed by the Indians for the meeting was some le gues distan from Falmouth, yet our English gentlemen did condescend to it, in hope of getting in ou captives, and putting a stop to further trouble. They dispatch'd away to the place, an carried the Indian prisoners with them, and staid at the place appointed, expecting the com ing of the Indians that had promised a meeting. But they, like false, perfidious rogues, di

not appear. Without doubt they had been counselled what to do by the French and their abettors, as the Indians did declare afterwards; and that they were near the place, and saw our English that were to treat with them, but would not show themselves; but did endeavour to take an opportunity to destroy our English that were to treat with them. Such was their treachery! Our gentlemen staid days to wait their coming; but seeing they did not appear at the place appointed, they returned to Falmouth, and brought the Indian prisoners, expecting that the other Indians would have sent down some reason why they did not appear at the place appointed, and to make some excuse for themselves. But, instead of any compliance, they fell upon North Yarmouth, and there kill'd several of our English. Whereupon the eastern parts were ordered to get into garrisons, and to be upon their guard until further orders from Sir Edmond Andros; and that the Indian prisoners should be sent to Boston, which was done with great care, and not one of them hurt; and care taken daily for provision. But Sir E. A., returning from New-York, set them all at liberty; not so much as taking care to redeem those of our English for them that were in their hands. I had kept one at Falmouth a prisoner, to be a guide into the woods for our English, to find out the haunts of our heathen enemies; but Sir E. A. sent an express to me, that upon my utmost peril I should set the said Indian at liberty, and take care that all the arms that were taken from him, and all the rest of those Captain Blackman had seized, should be delivered up to them, without any orders to receive the like of ours from them."

It will be readily acknowledged, that here was enough done to render the Indians inexcusable for not coming in upon the proclamation, which Sir Edmond Andros, then governour of New-England, immediately emitted thereupon, requiring them to surrender the murderers now among them. A Spaniard, that was a soldier, would say, "that if we have a good cause, the smell of gunpowder in the field is as sweet as the incense at the altar." Let the reader judge, after these things, what scent there was in the gunpowder spent for nine or ten years together in our war with the Indian-Salvages.

Now that while we are upon this head, we may at once dispatch it, I will unto these two accounts add certain passages of one more, which was published in September, 1689:

"Such were the obscure measures taken at that time of day, that the rise of this war hath been as dark as that of the river Nilus; only the generality of thinking people through the country can remember when and where every one did foretel a war. If any wild English (for there are such as well as of another nation) did then begin to provoke and affront the Indians, yet those Indians had a fairer way to come by right than that of bloodshed, nothing worthy of, or calling for, any such revenge, was done unto them. The most injured of them all, (if there were any such,) were afterwards dismissed by the English with favours that were then admirable even to ourselves; and these, too, instead of surrendring the persons, did increase the number of the murderers. But upon the REVOLUTION of the government, (April, 1689,) the state of the war became wholly new: and we are more arrived unto 'righteousness as the light,' and 'justice as the noon day. A great sachem of the East we then immediately applied ourselves unto, and, with no small expences to ourselves, we engaged him to employ his interest for a good understanding between us and the party of Indians then in hostility against us. This was the likely, the only way of coming at those wandring salvages: but that very sachem now treacherously of an embassador became a traitor, and annexed himself with his people to the heard of our enemies, which have since been ravaging, pillaging, and murdering, at a rate which we ought to count intolerable. The Penacook Indians, of whom we were jealous, we likewise treated with; and while we were by

our kindnesses and courtesies endeavouring to render them utterly inexcusable, if ever they sought our harm, even then, did these also by some evil instigation, (the devil's, no doubt!) quickly surprize a plantation where they had been civilly treated a day or two before, and commit at once more plunder and murder than can be heard with patience."

Reader, having so placed these three accounts as to defend my teeth, I think I may safely proceed with our story. But because Tacitus teaches us to distinguish between the meer occasions and the real causes of a war, it may be some will go a little higher up in their enquiries: they will enquire whether no body seized a parcel of wines that were landed at a French plantation to the Eastward? Whether an order were not obtained from the King of England, at the instance of the French embassador, to restore these wines? Whether, upon the vexation of this order, we none of us ran a new-line for the bounds of the province? Whether we did not contrive our new-line so as to take in the country of Monsieur St. Casteen? Whether Monsieur St. Casteen, flying from our encroachments, we did not seize upon his arms and goods, and bring them away to Pemmaquid? and who were the we which did these things? And whether the Indians, who were extreamly under the influence of St. Casteen, that had married a sagamore's daughter among them, did not from this very mo ment begin to be obstreperous? And whether all the sober English in the country did not from this very moment foretel a war? But for any answers to all these enquiries, I will be my self a Tacitus.

ARTICLE II.

THE FIRST ACTS OF HOSTILITY BETWEEN THE INDIANS AND THE ENGLISH.

WHEN One Captain Sargeant had seized some of the principal Indians about Saco, by order of Justice Blackman, presently the Indians fell to seizing as many of the English as they could catch. Captain Rowden, with many more in one place, and Captain Gendal, with sundry more in another place, particularly fell into the hands of these desperate mancatchers. Rowden, with many of his folks, never got out of their cruel hands; but Gendal, with his, got a release, one can scarce tell how, upon the return of those which had been detained in Boston. Hitherto there was no spilling of blood! But some time in September following, this Captain Gendal went up, with soldiers and others, to a place above Casco, called North Yarmouth, having orders to build stockados on both sides of the river, for defence of the place, in case of any sudden invasion. While they were at work, an English captive came to 'em with information, that seventy or eighty of the enemy were just coming upon 'em; and he advised 'em, "to yield quietly, that they might save their lives." The soldiers that went thither from the southward, being terrified at this report, ran with an hasty terror to get over the river; but with more haste than good

red; for they ran directly into the hands of the Indians. The Indians, agging these their prisoners with 'em, came up towards the Casconians; who having but a very little time to consult, yet in this time resolved, first, "that they would not be seized by the salvages;" next, "that they would free their friends out of the hands of the salvages, if it were possible;" thirdly, "that, if it were possible, they would use all other force pon the salvages without coming to down-right fight." Accordingly they laid hold on their neighbours, whom the salvages had seized, and this with so much dexterity, that they cleared them all, except one or two; whereof the whole number was about a dozen. But, in the scuffle, one sturdy and surly Indian held his prey so fast, that one Benedict Pulfer gave the mastiff a blow with the edge of his broad ax upon the shoulder, upon which they fell to't with a vengeance, and fired their guns on both sides, till some on both sides were slain. These were, as one may call them, "the scower pit" of a long war to follow. At last the English victoriously chased away the salvages, and returned safely unto the other side of the river. And thus was the vein of New-England first opened, that afterwards bled for ten years together! The skirmish being over, Captain Gendal in the evening passed over the river in a canoe, with none but a servant; but landing where the enemy lay hid in the bushes, they were both slain immediately. And the same evening, one Ryal, with another man, fell unawares into the hands of the enemy; Ryal was afterwards ransomed by Monsieur St. Casteen, but the other man was barbarously butchered. Soon after this, the enemy went eastward unto a place called Merry-meeting, (from the concourse of divers rivers there) where several English had a sad-meeting with them; for they were killed, several of them even in cold blood, after the Indians had seized upon. their houses and their persons. And about this time the town called Sheepscote, was entered by these rapacious wolves, who burnt all the houses of the town, save two or three. The people saved themselves by getting into the fort, all but one man, who, going out of the fort for to treat with them, was treacherously assassinated. Thus the place which was counted "the garden of the east," was infested by serpents; and a sword expelled the poor inhabitants. Little more spoil was done by the salvages before winter, except only that, at a place called Kennebunk, near Winter-harbour, they cut off two families, to wit, Barrow's and Bussie's; but winter coming on, the serpents retired into their holes. When summer comes, reader, look for tornadoes enough to overset a greater vessel than little New-England.

ARTICLE III.

THE FIRST EXPEDITION OF THE ENGLISH AGAINST THE INDIANS.

WHEN the keeper of the wild beasts at Florence has entertained the spectators with their encounters on the stage, he has this device to mak 'em retire into the several dens of their seraglio. He has a fearful machi of wood, made like a great green dragon, which a man within it rouls upo wheels, and holding out a couple of lighted torches at the eyes of it, fright the fiercest beast of them all into the cell that belongs unto him. Si Edmund Andros, the Governour of New-England, that he might expres his resolutions to force the wild beasts of the east into order, in the winte now coming on, turned upon them as effectual a machine as the gree dragon of Florence; that is to say, an army of nearly a thousand mer With this army he marched himself in person into the Caucasaan regiona where he built a fort at Pemmaquid, and another fort at Pechypscot fall besides the fort at Sheepscote. He and his army underwent no littl hardship, thus in the depth of winter to expose themselves unto the ci cumstances of a campaign, in all the bleak winds and thick snows of the northern country. But it was hop'd that good forts being thus garrison' with stout hearts in several convenient places, the Indians might be kej from their usual retreats, both for planting and for fishing, and lye ope also to perpetual incursions from the English in the fittest seasons thereo and it was thought by the most sensible, this method would in a litt while compel the enemy to submit unto any terms: albeit others, consi ering the vast woods of the wilderness, and the French on the back ( these woods, fancied that this was but a project to "hedge in the cuckow However, partly the army, and partly the winter, frighted the salvag into their inaccessible dens: and yet not one of the Indians was killed but sickness and service kill'd, it may be, more of our English than the were Indians then in hostility against them. The news of matters a proaching towards a REVOLUTION in England, caused the governour ! return unto Boston in the spring; and, upon his return, there fell out se eral odd events, with rumours, whereof I have now nothing to say, bi that "I love my eyes too well" to mention them. Some of the soldie took advantage from the absence of the governour to desert their station in the army; and though this action was by good men generally condemni as an evil action, yet their friends began to gather together here and the in little bodies, to protect them from the governor, concerning who abundance of odd stories tnen buzz'd about the country, made 'em imagine that he had carried em out only to sacrifice 'em. Some of t principal gentlemen in Boston, consulting what was to be done in th extraordinary juncture, they agreed that, although New-England has much to justifie a revolution as old, yet they would, if it were possibl