out, the English would soon take occasion to subjugate them; and if they would hearken to them, they should not need to fear the strength of the English; for they would not come to open battle with them, but fire their houses, kill their cattle, and lie in ambush for them, as they went abroad upon their occasions, and all this they might easily do with little danger to themselves. The which course being held, they well saw the English would not long subsist, but they would either be starved with hunger, or forced to forsake the country; with many like things, insomuch that the Narragansets were once wavering, and were half minded to have made peace with them, and joined against the English; but again, when they considered how much wrong they had received from the Pequots, and what an opportunity they had now, by helping the English to right themselves, revenge was so sweet to them, as it prevailed above all the rest; so as they resolved to join with the English against them, and so did. The court of Plimouth agreed to find fifty men at their own charge, and with as much speed as possible they could get them in readiness, under sufficient leaders, and provided a bark to carry their provisions, and to tend upon them on all occasions, and when they were ready to march with a supply from the bay, they had word sent them to stay, for the enemy was as good as vanquished, and there would be no need.

I shall not take upon me exactly to describe their proceedings in this war, because possibly it hath been done by themselves that were actors therein, and best knew the circumstances of things; I shall therefore set them down in the main and general, according to my best intelligence.

From Connecticut, who were most sensible of the hurt sustained, and the present danger, they set out a party of men, and another party met them from the Massachusetts Bay, at the Narragansets, who were to join them. The Narragansets were very earnest to be gone, before the English were well rested and refreshed, especially some of them which came last. It should seem their desire was come upon the enemy suddenly and unexpectedly. There being a bark of Plimouth newly put in there, which was come from Connecticut, they did encourage them to lay hold of the opportunity of the Indians’ forwardness, and to show as great forwardness as they, for it would encourage them, and expedition might turn to their great advantage. So they went on, and so ordered their march, as the Indians brought them to the fort of their enemy, in which most of their chief men were, before day; they approached the same with great silence, and surrounded it both with English and Indians, that they might not break out, and so assaulted them with great courage, shooting among them, and entered the fort with great speed; and those that first entered found sharp resistance from the enemy, who both shot and grappled with them; others ran into their houses, and brought out fire and set them on fire, which soon took in their mats, and their houses standing close together, with the wind all was soon on a flame, and thereby more were burnt to death than were otherwise slain. It burnt their bow-strings, and made them unserviceable. Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, some run through with their rapiers, so as they were quickly dispatched, and very few escaped. The number they thus destroyed, was conceived to be above four hundred. At this time it was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the same; and horrible was the stink and scent thereof; but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud, insulting, and blasphemous an enemy. The Narragansets, all this while, stood round about aloof, off from all danger, and left the whole execution to the English, except it were the stopping any that brake away, insulting over their enemies in their ruins and misery, when they saw them dancing in the fire; calling by a word in their own language, signifying, O brave Pequots! which they used familiarly amongst themselves in their own praises, in songs of triumphs after their victories.

After this service was thus happily accomplished, the English marched to the water-side, where they met with some of their vessels, by whom they were refreshed and supplied with victuals and other necessaries; but in their march, the rest of the Pequots drew into a body, and followed them, thinking to have some advantage against them by reason of a neck of land; they saw the English prepare for them, they kept aloof, so as they neither did hurt nor would receive any. And after the English their refreshing and repairing together for further counsel and directions, they resolved to pursue their victory, and follow the war against the rest; but the Narragansets most of them forsook them, and such of them as they had with them for guides or otherwise, they found very cold or backward in the business, either out of envy, or that they thought