So when they came to Unketty yᵉ Constable saw it was such a mercilesse thing yᵗ he tooke yᵉ warrant away wᵗʰ him to carrie to Boston, & left one of oʳ frᵈˢ to goe wᵗʰ us. So were we persecuted from place to place till we came to Scituate, so after yᵗ J returned back to Boston, & there was a youngman out of yᵉ North of England wᶜʰ was moved to goe into their Meeting place & breake 2 bottles before them for a signe how they should be broken whom violently they tooke & whipt at yᵉ great Gun in Boston 10 or 12 stripes & as many more in yᵉ house of Correction, & yᵉ next mornḡ they had him away, & J was moved of yᵉ Lord to goe in sackcloath & ashes upon my head to beare my testimony agˢᵗ them in Jndicots house & they put me out of dores & set Bellingam in (in yᵉ place of Jndicote) yᵉ place of persecution, so J was moved to goe along to Billingams house who was yᵉ Deputie, & there bare my testimony agˢᵗ them for shedding Jnocᵗ bloud, So they fetcht me in & J cleared my Conscience to them & he made a mittimg to have me to yᵉ Goale & whip me at yᵉ whipping post so they J told they filled up yᵉ measure of persecution wᶜʰ their Bretheren in England left undone, so there Warrant was to whip me at other two townes, at Rocksbury & Deddam at each 10 stripes apiece, & when J came to Rocksbury yᵉ Constable & yᵉ othʳ ffrᵈ met us there yᵗ they might whip him there at the Carts taile where they whipt him & me together, so when they had done wᵗʰ us J bare my testimony & we met yᵉ Priest of yᵉ towne who said he was going to take of our whipping & J asked him his reason he said because we tooke 5ˡⁱ a time for oʳ whipping J asked him where we should have it he answerd in England a Company of lyers they were J said, & yᵉ Constable yᵗ was wᵗʰ us lost both his Warrants & when he came to Deddam he gott him to anothʳ Persecutoʳˢ house yᵗ he might fulfill yᵗ wᶜʰ yᵉ othʳ had lost yᵉ Warrant for, & then they there tyed us both to yᵉ carts taile yᵉ youngman & J in yᵗ cold weather & stript us as usual to yᵉ middle & there whipt us from whence they had us to Medfield, & would fain have whipt us there also, wᶜʰ yᵉ Priest desired & sought much for oʳ bloud but could not obtaine it, So yᵉ Constable wᵗʰ his long sword went wᵗʰ anothʳ man to guard us out of their Jurisdiction, into yᵉ woods & left us to goe 20 miles in yᵉ night among yᵉ Bears & wild beasts & watʳˢ & yet we were preserved & yᵉ Constable when he saw me returne lift up his hands & said he never expected to see me againe, And allwayes they drive us toward Road Jsl being a place of liberty to us.
So afterwards J went to one of their Meeting places & spoke to yᵉ priest when he had done, who sent me to prison, but his wife would never give him rest till he sett me at libertie, so J went up into yᵉ Country among ffrᵈˢ so comeing back againe, J was moved off yᵉ Lord to goe to yᵉ othʳ Meeting place where J stood till they had done, in yᵉ meane time they abused me as J stood, & when he had done J asked yᵉ priest a question, yᵉ people violently flew upon me young & old, & flung me downe on yᵉ ground So J said this was yᵉ fruit of their Ministry, & their Lawes J did deny & being contrary to yᵉ Law of God & yᵉ King & one of their Magistrates had said to me, it was yᵉ Devils Law if it were contrary to Gods Law to take away a poore Mans Cow, So 2 dayes & 2 nights J was in prison & they fetcht me before Bellingam yᵉ Deputy, who sentenced me to be whipt from yᵉ prison dore to yᵉ townes end at yᵉ Carts taile & so all along out of their jurisdiction, wᶜʰ was between 20 & 30 miles, but they whipt me to yᵉ towns end & yᵉ next time J came J was to be hanged, Such a Law had they now made, So when yᵉ Kings Comissionʳˢ came to Boston, they did desire we should Visit them there, So J & othʳ ffrᵈˢ rode to Boston & my Horse they tooke away & Windlocks, to carry away yᵉ Comissionʳˢ out of yᵉ towne, though we were called wandring Vagabond Quakers & 3 score mile J had to goe wᶜʰ was towards Road Jsland & they had no power to execute their Law upon me, wᶜʰ was a dangerous voyage not only for me but for one yᵗ was wᵗʰ me, neare to be lost J cannot expresse yᵉ danger J went through in yᵗ voyage though yᵉ Lord delivered us both miraculously praises to his holy Name for ever & for ever, for yᵉ end & purpose of their doing to us was for murther.
7 or 8 more ffriends yᵗ came out of England did they thus abuse wᵗʰ horrible whippings & mangling of our bodyes wᵗʰ whips fining imprisoning & banishing into yᵉ Wildernesse yᵗ when yᵉ snowes were very deep & no tread but wᵗ Wolves had made going before me, & my life neare lost many times in yᵉ cold of yᵉ winter & yᵉ hazard of the Journeys, & thus have they used us English people, as Vagabond Rogues & wandring Quakʳˢ wᶜʰ had not a dwelling place wᶜʰ were true borne English people of their own Nation, yet had yᵉ Jndians wᶜʰ were barbarous savage people, wᶜʰ neither knew God nor Christ in any profession have been willing to receive us into their Wigwams, or houses, when these professoʳˢ would murther us, so in comeing back againe from my dangerous Jour[ney] for want of my Horse, wᶜʰ yᵉ Kings Comissionʳˢ would not have had if they would have found them any other & so me they put in prison, & tooke me out of prison in yᵉ night to yᵉ ship because they heard J was to goe away, but in yᵉ morning very early they sent their Constables to search for Quakers, & found 4 of oʳ ffriends in their beds & had them before their Rulers Bellingam & yᵉ rest, & asked them wᵗ they came thither for who said they came to visit yᵉ Kings Comissionʳˢ but they said they would whip yᵉ Comissionʳˢ upon yᵉ Quakʳˢ backs, & so they whipt us very grievously at 3 towns & out of their Jurisdiction they put us & kept one of yᵐ wᶜʰ was an inhabitant of yᵗ Country in prison, but yᵉ Kings Comissionʳˢ were grieved at wᵗ they did unto them, because they knew yᵗ their enmity was to them as well as to us, but they durst not do yᵗ to them, wᶜʰ they did unto us least yᵉ Country had risen agˢᵗ them, ffor oʳ Kingdome is not of this world, therefore his servᵗˢ could not fight, but we have comitted oʳ Cause to God who hath & wil defend it to his glory: for yᵉ defence of their ffaith yᵗ are yᵉ persecutoʳˢ, were Goales & whips ffines & banishmᵗˢ & their gallowes on wᶜʰ they hanged foure, & their persecuting powers wᶜʰ ffaith is at an end, when another power comes over their heads, this was New Englands ffaith, wᶜʰ was full of cruelty, more then J can expresse by writing wᶜʰ J did receive being an old womⁿ being about 3 score years old, had not yᵉ Lord been on my side J had utterly failed.
Blessed be yᵉ Lord for ever & ever yᵗ hath brought me to England againe to my Native Country & amongst Gods people, where we are refreshed together yᵗ J may never forget his mercy whose Name is in yᵉ flesh
Elizab. Hooton.
This wᶜʰ J have declared is yᵉ worke of Cains ofspring part of wᵗ they have done to yᵉ Jnnocent. So J end for yᵉ present.
The story of the help given by Elizabeth Hooton to the King’s Commissioners, referred to in the foregoing narration, is told more fully in a letter “To the King and Counsell,” written presumably after her return home; but before quoting this it may be well to consider the reasons for the appointment of the Commissioners as gleaned from the Calendar of State Papers. It will be remembered that as early as 1661 evidence was taken respecting alleged grievances in the Colonies, after many delays and recommendations as to the best way of dealing with the disaffection that was rife there; the Lord Chancellor drew up a paper of “Considerations in order to the establishing of His Majesty’s interests in New England.”
In April, 1663, the King in an Order in Council made a similar Declaration, at the same time promising to preserve the Massachusetts charter though he wished to know how it was maintained on the part of the Province.
Another year elapsed before Charles II. signed Commissions and Instructions, in April, 1664, “for Richard Nicolls, Sir Robert Carr, George Cartwright and Samuel Mavericke to visit the Colonies of New England and determine all complaints and appeals for settling their peace and security.” An elaborate letter to the Governor and Council was sent by the King explaining his reasons for sending the Commissioners. He commanded that his letter should be communicated to the “Council and to a General Assembly to be called for that purpose, and while desiring their co-operation and assistance he declared that he doubted not they would give his Commissioners proper reception and treatment.” Strong opposition, however, awaited them on their arrival in Piscataqua; there was a suspicion abroad that the Colonies were to be taxed for the support of the Crown, and wagers were freely laid that the Commissioners would never sit in Boston. Rather than risk open defiance these gentlemen decided that it would be wiser to visit the other three Colonies first, “as they thought if they had good success there Massachusetts would also give them a good reception.” Their visitation extended over two years, when they were recalled. The King expressed his satisfaction with the reception given to his Commissioners except in the case of Massachusetts, and express commands were issued to the “Governor and others of that Colony to attend the King and answer their proceeding.” These commands were never obeyed, one excuse being that “Governor Bellingham was nearly eighty years of age and had many infirmities.”
Elizabeth Hooton’s account, as given in the following letter, is an interesting contribution to the history of the controversy. She writes as follows:[85]