our men fled, but the two Indians James and Eliazor pursued them so close, and firing upon the man that led the English youth, he was forced to leave his prisoner, and they rescued him and brought him to their captain;[1] also James the Indian recovered a musket from the enemy at the same time; this English youth, whose name was Christopher Muchin, was thus delivered from the barbarous enemy by the courage and activity of our Indians. This English so taken informed the Captain that those seven Indians with whom he was taken had seized him at Peter Bent's mill in Marlborough the day before, and had also seized and scalped a youth of about nine years old, that was his master Peter Bent's son, and left the lad at the mill as dead. Another good service that one of those Christian Indians did in this expedition, namely Thomas Quannapohit, (brother to James above mentioned,) this man had the use of his left hand only, for he lost the use of his other hand by a gun-shot in the beginning of the war at Mount Hope, as is before related. This fellow was witty and courageous, as may appear in the story following. After the former service done at Hassanemesit, the two English companies joined with Captain Daniel Henchman and Captain Joseph Syll. And after their conjunction they marched to a place called Packachooge, about ten miles distant from Hassanamesit towards the northwest, where was great plenty of good Indian corn, and in this place hoped to meet some of the enemy: coming to this place, they saw signs of Indians that had been lately there, but it seems were withdrawn upon the approach of the English. At this place our forces took up their quarters one night, there being two wigwams which was good shelter for our soldiers, the weather being wet and stormy. The next morn our forces searched about the cornfields to find the enemy, but could not discover them, though in all probability the enemy saw them in all their motions and concealed themselves; for this is their ordinary way, to lie hid in thick swamps and other secret places, and to move as our men do scatter themselves in small parties, and lie close observing all our men's motions. The English in their search found above
- ↑ "When our army marched to Wachusett, and a soldier was ready to shoot at three Indians, a child with them in the habit of an Indian papoos, the child at the very instant crying out he was an English boy, the soldier forbore to shoot, and so the child ran to the English and escaped."—MS. Narrative, Rev. T. Cobbet.
