A brief history of the Pequot war: especially of the memorable taking of their fort at Mistick in Connecticut in 1637: Written by Major John Mason, a principal actor therein, as then chief captain and commander of Connecticut forces. With an introduction and some explanatory notes by the Reverend Mr. Thomas Prince

Prefatory Note

The increasing demand for full and accurate reprints of early narratives, contemporary with the events they describe, is an interesting feature of the present revival of interest in American history. The originals of many of these earlier narratives are, of course, now very rare, and to be found only in special collections or in the largest libraries. Much of the more valuable material has been reprinted from time to time by printing clubs and historical societies ; but these reprints themselves have, in many cases, become scarce or inaccessible. This may be said of the narratives brought together in this volume, of which only two have before been reprinted in full in separate form. They have, however, all been reprinted in various volumes of The Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, and it is from this source that the present publication is made, with the kind permission of the Society. The text, as found in the Collections, has been followed closely, and the order of publication preserved ; most of the notes have been retained and a few added, mainly in Mason's Narrative, to which prominence is given for apparent reasons. It was thought best to include the biographical sketch of Vincent for the reason

IV PREFATORY NOTE.

that at the time of the original publication of his account of the war nothing was known of its author, nor had anything been discovered up to the time of its publication in the Collections. The map is reproduced from George E. Ellis' Life of John Mason in Spark's Library of American Biography.

C. O.

Contents

Prefatory Note, .... iii

Introduction, ..... vii

Captain John Mason : Brief History of the Pequot War, . . 1