Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/508

 Gookin's History of  unto the Court to inform them the Wamesitt Indians were upon the way coming down to order, and that they might be there on the morrow ; withall he acquainted the Court that they were in number about one hundred and forty-five men, women, and children, whereof about thirty-three were men that were all unarmed ; that many of them were naked, and several of them decrepid with age, sundry infants, and all wanted supplies of food, for they were fain to leave most they had behind them, except some small matters they carried upon their backs. Upon this information, the Court took the matter into more deliberate consideration, and sent back Mr. Cook, with order to return all the women, and children, and old men back to their place, and to bring down only the able men ; which order was put into execution accordingly. And for the praying Indians belonging to Punkapog, which were by order brought down to Dorchester from their fort town, by Capt. Brattle and his troops, the Court (after they had spoken with William Ahaton and others of their principal men) received such satisfaction from them, that they were all returned back to their habitations, except three or four men that were suspected. But the Wamesit men, about thirty-three, were brought down to Charlestown, and secured in the townhouse several days, until the Court had leisure to examine them, and afterward the most of them were returned home again, some persons suspected being garbled from the rest. Upon the 26th of October, new clamors and reports were raised and fomented against the Christian Indians of Natick, upon pretence that some of them had fired a house or old barn at Dedham, (a poor old house not worth ten shillings, that stood alone far distant from the dwelling-houses.) This house, in all probability, was set on fire a purpose by some that were back friends to those poor Indians ; thereby to take an occasion to procure the removal of all those Indians from Natick ; the contrivers whereof well knew that the magistrates generally were very slow to distrust those poor Christians, this artifice was therefore used to provoke them. God (who knows all) will I hope one day awaken and convince the consciences of those persons that have been industriously active to traduce and afflict those poor innocent Christians, without cause ; for, as to the body of them, they were always true and faithful to the English ; and I never saw or heard any substantial evidence to