[Sidenote: =The Indians are persecuted=]
=50. King Philip.= After the death of old Massasoit the friendship
between Pilgrims and Indians soon came to an end. More and more white
settlers came in and built homes. The Indians began to fear that they
would be crowded out of the country which belonged to them and to their
fathers before them. No longer were they treated with respect as at
first. They were a proud people, and grew bitter because they saw that
they were despised.
One of the proudest of the race was Philip, son of Massasoit and ruler
of his people. Several times the governor of Plymouth forced him to
do things against his will. This hurt the pride of Philip, and he
began to hate the English. His own people also came to him frequently
with complaints against the white men. Philip grew surly, while the
colonists began to distrust him.
The bad feeling grew on both sides, and gradually both Indians and
colonists came to believe all the evil stories that were told of each
other. Both sides collected arms, powder, and lead. After a short while
war with all its horrors began. The Indians burned many villages and
massacred hundreds of white men, women, and children.
[Sidenote: =Philip is defeated and killed=]
There was much fighting, and finally the Indians were completely
defeated. Most of the braves were killed; those who were captured were
sold as slaves. Philip's family was killed or captured. He himself fled
to a swamp, where he met death at the hands of one of his own people.