Show 04 lu 1 i P uzi W M diw birj A u W biaco T by ELMO SCOTT WATSON I 1 HIS DIS years celebration of american indian d day a y which Is observed on the fourth friday in september finds plans under way for honoring a great amyy indian famous for his war against the whites but bat a man of outstanding abilities and one who judged by any just standard was a patriot and a hero Met acom his father massasoit sachem of 0 the called him but the whites who alto felt the force of his wrath knew him as king philip or philip of they all hut but exterminated his fits people they hunted him to earth and killed him and they subjected his body to indignities as barbarous as any inflicted by their savage enemies and now nearly three hundred years later his fits memory Is to be perpetuated in a shrine to be erected by descendants of some of tile the men who fought his tribesmen A massachusetts archaeologist archeologist arclie arche and historian R F I 1 jr of f fall river eiver has purchased the historic ridge to in rhode island known as mt hope the home of king philip and there will be built a fireproof memorial tor for housing indian relies relics a veritable shrine of new england E indian history the BIL hope reservation is a tract of more than acres and contains many points of historic interest among them are the spring where king philip drank the rocky throne on a hillside where the warn want leader held his councils with life his braves and the swamp where he was killed by the men led by capt benjamin church in this reservation too Is the ground where 30 bushels of corn were raised by the indian women and given to the starving pilgrims by massasoit who lies burled buried on a hilltop a few miles away the story of king philip Is the story etory of the leader of a lost cause a champion of a weaker race whose attempt to stay the onrush of the conquering whites was waa foredoomed fore doomed to failure he was the first great indian chief to attempt a confederacy of the tribes to resist the whites and he came nearer succeeding in his bis plan than did Pont lac tecumseh or any other red leaders who followed in his footsteps history has made him king philip to commemorate the heroism of bli bis life and death says one historian he almost made him self belt it king by his marvelous energy and statecraft put forth among the new england tribes had the opposing power been a little weaker he might have founded a temporary kingdom on the ashes of the colonies col onles notwithstanding repeated eions upon his bis lands and liberties massasoit continued in ills role of frient friend of the white man ilan to the day of his death in 1002 near kear the close of his life he had taken his two sons sutta and Met acom to PJ plymouth mouth and requested the governor in token of to give them english names to TO sutta was given the name baltic ot of alexander and to Met blet acom the name of philip and massasoit charged both of them to continue his policy of fi lend liness to the english but alexander who succeeded massa soft bolt as sachem found that difficult for as tile the number of white settlers increased their desire for more land increased and the saw their territory passing rapidly into the hands of the whites more thun than that the kindly feelings that bad prevailed between the two races began to give ille way to suspicion and ha both sides and to harsh creati treatment nent of the red men at tile the lands hands of the white alexanders friendship became noticeably tice ably less and lie he was summoned ta to plymouth to answer to charges of plotting against the rn anglish glish alexander refused to come and lie he was brought by force this indignity threw him into a rage and ho he become became seriously III 11 rising upon his return trip to the lands in rhode island his wife We tamee and tits his brother philip Ill ilip both bell believed elied that he had been poisoned by the english and to avenge his death den th but philip who succeeded him as sachem clearly understood the power fit the english and did not intend to make the mistake of acting too hastily for nine years after his elevation to sachem he devoted his energies to observation and preparation for the impending struggle fuggle st philip made eiery effort to accumulate guns and ammunition tor for ills warriors and eien een tried to obtain tile formula for making gunpowder ile he succeeded in getting a large number of firearms fire arins and many of liis ills men became expert marksmen maiks nien all of these preparations had not pone gone unnoticed by tte the colonists who were uneasily aware that a dark cloud of disaster was hovering over them finally in 1671 philip was summoned to a counell council at taunted to explain the suspicious acts of his tribesmen lie he asserted that he was preparing for defense against the ts denied any hostile intent toward the english signed a new treaty and agreed to surrender all his guns he did give up some 70 of the weapons owned by hla his tribe but immediately after his return to mt lit hope continued to go forward with his bis preparations for war for the next three years peace prevailed but still the uneasy feeling that they were on the verge of war troubled the colonists by this time philips plans had matured and he had determined upon opening hostilities in tile the spring of 1676 he become more independent and bold in his attitude and when the governor of massachusetts summoned him to another council to make a new treaty philip sent gent back this haughty reply your governor is but a 0 subject of king charles of england I 1 shall not treat with a subject I 1 shall only treat with tile the king my brother when lie comes 1 I am ready at about this thia time too a rhode island settler who was a good friend of the indian leader tried to dissuade liim jilin from war philips reply Is historic lie ile said the english who cattle came first to this country were but a handful of people forlorn poor and distressed sly my father did all in tits hla power to serve them teem others came their increased my fathers fat liera nere ivere donned they urged I 1 hiu to detroy the english before they I 1 became e strong enough to gie ghe law to the indians rn dais and take away their coun 1 try sly itly father was RISO also to the english ue he remained their friend j experience shows that ills counselors tile the Engli english sli disarmed people they tried them by their own laws and assessed damages my people could nut not pay sometimes the cattle of the english would come into the co infields of my people for they did not make fences like the Eng english lIBIL I 1 must then be seized and confined till I 1 sold another tract of my country for damages and costs thus trait after tract Is gone cut but a small part of the dominion of my anc ancestors estori remains I 1 am determined not to the ahe till I 1 have no country despite philips plans to open tin war in the spring of 1670 the conflict was precipitated in the summer of if 1073 with the famous attack by the indians on tile town of swansea for or the next fourteen months the war raged with great fury of 00 90 english lowns lons in the war area 52 were attacked anil and 12 were destroyed for a time it looked as though philips dream of extinction of tile the hated white ln invaders aders of tits his country was to be realized but I 1 ut as the colonists began to from the havoc which philip had wrought in the early weeks of tho war the tide turned in their favor some of his allies were defeated others othera deserted him and began to help the english 1 1 lie fie appointment of capt benjamin church a brave and skillful soldier as commander of the col forces added to several acts of treachery by his own people spelled doom for the indian louder leader philip became a fugitive hunted from place to place like a wild ant inal ills his wife and only son were captured and sold as slaves slates in the west indies 11 Iles sly heart breaks said philip when he heard of tills this now I 1 am ready to die finally his hiding place was betrayed to the english by the brother of an indian whom philip had slain for proposing to seek pence peace with will the english finding tits camp surrounded the chief attempted to flie e along a path guarded by a soldier and the indian traitor the soldiers gun missed fire but that of the indian filled with two bullets and a double charge of powder brought the chief down as lie ran I 1 philips conquerors proved that they were viere but little less savage than he had been an indian executioner was ordered to cut off tits his head and quarter his bis body ills head was sent to plymouth and there exhibited on a gibbet tor for 20 years such was the fate of philip flip wrote edward everett Kv erett lie ile had ought fought a relentless war but he fought for his native land for the mound that covered the bones of his parents he fought for his squaw and papoose no I 1 will not defraud them thein of the sacred names which our hearts understand lie he fought for his wife and child today a monument stands at plymouth erected there during tile the pilgrim tercentenary celebration in 1620 which perpetuates the fame of massasoit as the friend 01 of f tile white men man soon another ine memorial forlai la I 1 to rise to ills son soil king 11 philip whose fanie fame also deserves to be ba even though lie was the chem enemy y oatha 07 the white man for king philip was a lighting fighting man aud and a patriot and the kindlier judgment of a later day will no longer deny him the honor due him |