Elements of Useful Knowledge Volume 1 Author:Noah Webster Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SECTION VII. Indian Wars. Of the Maffatre in Virginia, IN the year 1622, the fettlers in Virginia loft three hundred and forty nine of their number by a f... more »ud- den maflacre. The Indians had, for fome time before, lived on very familiar terms, with the Englifh; but in the fpring of that year, they fecretly plotted to exterminate the colony. The direct occafion was this. A young Indian Chief had murdered one Morgan, an Englifhman, for fome toys which he was carrying to fell to the Indians. The Erglifh attempted to fieze him, and he making an obftinate refiftance, was killed. To revenge his death, a confpiracy was formed, and on the 22d of March, the Indians fell on the inhabitants who were unprepared and killed all they found. This compelled the people to abandon moft of their plantations and retire to James Town. The confe- quence of this maflacre was a furious and unrelenting war, in which the favages were flain without mercy. Of the principal Indian Tribes in Neiv England. The fettlers at Plymouth and Maflachufetts had no trouble with the Indians in their neighborhood, for many years. But weftward of the Narraganfet Bay, lived powerful tribes, which had not been reduced by the malignant fever. Thefe were the Narraganfets who poflefled the country between the river of that name and the Paucatuc, which territory is now a part of Rhode Ifland —The Pequots, a warlike nation, inhabiting the territory between Paucatuc and the Connecticut; now a part of Connecticut, by the names of Stonington and Groton—The Mohegans who refided on the weft of the river Mohegan, and owned the land, now a part of New London and Norwich. Of thefe the Pequots were the rnoft warlike, ferocious, nd formidable to the other tribes, with whom they sre often at war. Of the Occafion of the Pcquot War...« less