Nor should we pass over the kindness of Philip to the Leonard family, who resided near Fowling Pond, in what is now Raynham. Philip, who wintered at Montaup,--for the convenience of fishing, perhaps,--was accustomed to spend the summer at a hunting-house, by this pond. There he became intimate with the Leonards, traded with them, and had his arms repaired by them frequently. On the breaking out of the war, he gave strict orders that these men should never be hurt, as they never were; [FN] and, indeed, the whole town of Taunton,--as it then was,--remained almost entirely unmolested throughout the war, and amid all the ravages and massacres which daily took place upon its very borders. How much of provocation and humiliation he was himself enduring meanwhile, we have already seen. All his relations were killed or captured, and a price set upon his own life. * * * * * [FN] A forge is still in operation upon the site of the one here mentioned. The original Leonard-House, where tradition says that Philip's head was deposited for some time, is represented in the Vignette prefixed to this volume. It is still occupied by one of the family, of the sixth generation from the builder, and, so far as we are informed, is the oldest mansion now standing in this country. The vane, at one of the gable-ends is inscribed with the date 1700; but there is little doubt of the house having been erected at least thirty years previous. The workmanship, especially within, is remarkably massive and sound. It is apparently modelled after an English fashion of the eighteenth century, with some modifications proper for defence against the Indians. It was garrisoned during the war.--The Fowling Pond, still so called, has become a thick swamp. An aged gentleman was living not many years since, who in boyhood had frequently gone off in a canoe, to catch fish in its waters. Indian weapons and utensils are still found on its borders.