still occupied by the real owners of the soil, who held their title by grant from the King of kings. Oan we wonder that they were jealous of the aggressions and encroachments that had al- ready driven them from their ancestral domains into hopeless exile and into weak and scattered bands among the mountains? Does it seem strange that seeking retaliation for their many wrongs, and fearing lest they be driven even from this last foothold in their native land, they should be found allied with the French as against their ancient and implacable foe, the English?
From the Indians alone, after the death of their great war chief, Kan-ca-ma-gus, just previous to 1700, the settlers of New Hampshire would have had but little to fear even among the unguarded outer settlements, for the red and white hunters were frequent com- panions, and the red men, their wives and their children were often seen at the fireside of the pr.le-face ; but insti- gated by the French through offers of reward, love of revenge and fear' of punishment, they were influenced to dastardly deeds.
During the peaceful reign of Wan- nalancet, the son and immediate suc- cessor of Passaconaway, who was Sag- amore of the Merrimack river confed- eracy when the English first com- menced the settlement of the country, the Indians had been shorn of their strength and had now become a mere remnant of a once powerful nation.
After the massacre at Cocheco in 1689, which was instigated and carried forward by the wily Kancamagus in revenge for repeated wrongs to himself and family and tribes, he with his fol- lowers fled north, and, says Judge Potter, "joined the bands at the sources of the Saco, Amarescoggin and Connecticut," and the "royal residence of the Pennecooks at Namaoskeag be- came comparatively deserted."
The small tribe upon the Saco was known as the Pequaukies under a sav- age chieftain, but they were routed and most of their warriors slain in 1725, by Capt. Lovewell and his party, and
��the feeble remnant fled north of the mountains, and afterward, says the same authority as above, "joined their friends at St. Francis."
It was these reunited remnants of the once powerful Abenekies tribes of Maine and New Hampshire, who were used by the French in after years as instruments to carry the fire and toma- hawk into the border settlements of the state, the ancient homes of these revengeful wild men of the woods.
It was from these expatriated surviv- ors of their race, perhaps under direc- tion of their allies, the French, that came to Capt. Stevens at Charlestown, the protest against the further advance- ment of English colonization into the " Cowass " country, as alluded to by Belknap and Saunderson, and embod- ied in a communication dated March 19th, 1753, from Capt. Israel Williams to Lieut. Gov. Phips, of Massachusetts.
Perhaps in view of certain contro- versies that have grown out of allusions of different writers to this letter, it may be of interest to the public to here in- troduce it in full, or as far as is neces- sary to illustrate our sketch.
"Hatfield, March 19th, 1753. Sir:
. Capt. Stevens, of No. 4, was lately at my house and gave me the following acc't, which I thought it my duty to transmit to your honour, it appearing to me to be of importance to the pub- lic : viz. — That the beginning of Jan'y last, six Indians of the St. Francois tribe came to No. 4 Fort under a Flag of truce : the first thing they asked after was. Whether it was all well? To which he answered Yes, and asked whether they had not heard of the late Treaty at the Eastward ? Their answer was No, they knew of no such thing. He told them there was no doubt but some of their tribe was present at the Treaty. They said none of their Chiefs, for it they had any treaty with the English, it would be at Albany or in some of these parts. They further said to the Capt.. You well know what vou heard from our chief men last
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