It has been remarked, that the history of every incursion of the Indians
into the territory of the whites may be written in the words _surprise_,
_massacre_, _plunder_ and _retreat_. They fall upon the defenceless
village in the dead of night, “as falls the plague on men,” or as the
lightning falls on the forest. No vigilance seems to have been sufficient
effectually to guard against these attacks, and no prudence or foresight
could avert them. The Indians made their approaches to the isolated
villages by creeping cautiously through the surrounding woods in the
dead of night. The outposts were seized, and the sentinels silently
tomahawked, ere the war-whoop roused the sleeping families from their
beds.
During the early settlements of New England, the inhabitants suffered
much from the incursions of the Indians. The most celebrated war,
perhaps, which ever took place with the natives, however, was King
Philip’s war. During its continuance, the town of Brookfield,
Massachusetts, was attacked. The inhabitants collected in one house which
was immediately besieged by the savages, who set fire instantly to every
other building in the town. For two days and nights the Indians shot upon
the people in the house incessantly, but were met with a most determined
defence on the part of the besieged. They then attempted to fire the
house by flaming torches at the ends of long poles; but the garrison
continued to defend themselves by firing from the windows, and throwing
water upon the flames, as they fortunately had a pump within the house.
These attempts failing, the Indians then prepared a cart loaded with
flax, hemp, and other combustible matters, and under cover of a barricade
of boards, thrust the burning mass, by means of long timbers, against
the house. In this movement one of the wheels came off, which turned
the machine aside, and exposed the Indians to the fire of the garrison;
a shower of rain coming on at the same time extinguished the flames.
Shortly afterwards a reinforcement of forty men arrived from Boston,
forced their way through the enemy, and joined the garrison. The Indians
then abandoned the siege and retired, having suffered a heavy loss.