Governor John Winthrop at Boston to the Governor of New Plymouth:
Worthy Sir,
I received your loving letter, and am anxious to express my affection for you, but lack of time forbids. My desire is to acquaint you with the Lord’s mercies towards us, in prevailing against His and our enemies, that you may rejoice and praise His name with us. About 80 of our men coasted along towards the Dutch plantation, sometimes by water but mostly by land, and met here and there with some Pequots, whom they slew or took prisoners. They captured two sachems and beheaded them, and not hearing of Sassacus, the chief sachem, they gave a prisoner his life to go and find him. He went and brought them word where he was; but Sassacus suspecting him to be a spy, fled, after he had gone, with some twenty more, to the Mohawks, so our men missed him. However, they divided themselves, and ranged up and down as the providence of God directed them, for their Indian allies had all gone, except three or four, who did not know how to guide them, or else would not.
On the 13th of the month they chanced upon a large band of the tribe, 80 men and 200 women and children, in a small Indian town close by a hideous swamp, which they all slipped into before our men could get to them. Our captains had not yet come up; but there were Mr. Ludlow and Captain Mason with some ten of their men, and Captain Patrick with some twenty or more of his, the noise of whose shooting attracted Captain Trask with fifty more. Then order was given to surround the swamp, which was about a mile round; but Lieutenant Davenport and some twelve more, not hearing the command, rushed into the swamp among the Indians. It was so thick with shrubwood, and so boggy, that some of them stuck fast, and were wounded by many shots. Lieutenant Davenport was dangerously wounded near the armhole, and another man was shot in the head, and they were so weak that they were in great danger of being captured by the Indians. But Sergeant Riggs and Jeffrey, and two or three more, rescued them, and killed several Indians with their swords. After they had been brought out, the Indians desired parley. Through Thomas Stanton, our interpreter, terms were offered: that if they would come out and yield they should have their lives, except such as had had their hands in English blood. Whereupon the sachem of the place came out, and an old man or two, and their wives and children, and after that some other women and children; and they parleyed for two hours till it was night. Then Thomas Stanton was sent to them again to call them out; but they said they would sell their lives there, and forthwith shot at him so fiercely that if he had not cried out and been rescued at once they would have killed him.
Then our men cleared the swamp with their swords, till the Indians were cooped up in so narrow a compass that they could kill them more easily through the thickets. So they stood all night about twelve feet apart from each other, the Indians coming close up to our men and shooting their arrows so that they pierced their hatbrims, their sleeves, their stockings, and other parts of their clothes; but so miraculously did the Lord preserve them that not one of them was wounded except the three who had so rashly entered the swamp. Just before day it grew very dark, and some of the Indians who were still alive got through between our men, though they stood not more than twelve or fourteen feet apart; but they were soon discovered, and some were pursued and killed. Upon searching the swamp next morning they found nine slain, and some they pulled up whom the Indians had buried in the mire; so they think that of all the band not twenty escaped. Afterwards they found some who had died of their wounds while in flight.
The prisoners were divided, some being sent to the people of the Connecticut River, and the rest to us. Of these we are sending the male children to Bermuda[11] with Mr. William Pierce, and the women and female children are distributed through the towns. In all, there have now been killed and taken prisoners about 700. The rest are scattered, and the Indians in all quarters are so terrified that they are afraid to give them sanctuary. Two of the sachems of Long Island came to Mr. Stoughton and offered themselves as tributaries, under their protection; and two of the Neepnett sachems have been here to seek our friendship. Among the prisoners we have the wife and children of Mononotto, the former a modest looking woman of good behaviour. It was by her mediation that the two English girls were spared from death and used kindly; so I have taken charge of her. One of her first requests was that the English should not abuse her body, and that her children might not be taken from her. Those that had been wounded were soon brought back by John Galop, who came with his shallop in a happy hour, to bring them food and take the wounded to the pinnace where our chief surgeon was, with Mr. Wilson, about eight leagues off. Our people are all in good health, the Lord be praised, and although they had marched in their arms all day and had been in the fight all night, they professed they were so fresh that they could readily have started off on another such expedition.
This is the substance of what I received, though I am forced to omit several considerable circumstances. So, being much pressed for time,—the ships sailing in four days, taking Lord Lee and Mr. Vane,—I will break off, and with hearty salutations, I rest
Yours assured,
JOHN WINTHROP.