Long before daybreak the soldiers of Connecticut put themselves in motion, having first commended themselves and their undertaking to God; and as the light of morning began to dawn, they made their attack on the principal fort, which stood in a strong position on the summit of a hill. “Then, commending themselves to God, they divided their men, there being two entrances into the fort which they intended to enter at the same moment, when Mason, leading up to that on the north-east side, a dog was heard to bark, and an Indian cried out ‘Owannox! Owannox!’ (the English! the English!)” The assailants leaped within the fort, and the Indians, thus suddenly awoke from profound sleep, fought desperately. The Indians were greatly superior in number, and for a moment victory was dubious, when Mason, exclaiming “We must burn them!” seized a flaming brand, which he held to the mats of the Indian wigwams. The fire commenced to the windward, and soon all the wigwams were in flames. Destruction was now inevitable; the assailants withdrew, and encompassed the burning village, and shot or cut down with their broadswords all who attempted to escape. Six hundred men, women, and children, within little more than one hour’s space, perished in that horrible conflagration and slaughter. Of the English, two only were killed, and about twenty wounded. This is a horrible and lamentable story, the second blot on the noble page of the history of the puritan settlement in New England; the first being the spirit of bigotry and intolerance, which introduced persecution into the haven of rest and peace which God had given them when the despotism of persecution made them exiles from their native land. But deploring that bloody stains have darkened what would otherwise have been a pure and glorious passage in the history of humanity, we must continue this sad story of the destruction of a whole race. In the full light of morning 300 or more Pequod warriors were seen in the distance advancing from the second village, anticipating the triumphs of their people. Proudly they advanced, when at once beholding the terrible scene, they made a stand, tore their hair, stamped on the ground in a transport of rage, “and then,” says Mason, “came in full career against us, who, as soon as they were within reach, fired upon them, many being shot, and the rest, maddened with rage and despair, kept running to and fro and shooting their arrows at random.”