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.