The colonial governments not only sold the Indian captives themselves, but sometimes authorized their military commanders so to do. On January 15, 1676, the governor of Massachusetts issued instructions to Captain Benjamin Church to go against the Indians, and to distribute among his men the plunder and captives according to such agreement as captain and company might make. The instructions read: “And it shall be lawful, and is hereby warranted, for him to make sale of such prisoners as their perpetual slaves; or otherwise to retain them, as they think meet (they being such as the law allows to be kept)”.[521] On August 28, 1676, also, the governor of Plymouth wrote to the governor of Rhode Island that Captain Church had been chosen and authorized by Plymouth “to demand and receive of the governor of Rhode Island” all the captive Indians, and to guard and conduct them to Plymouth, or to sell and dispose of them, as he chose, to the “inhabitants or others for terms of life, or for shorter times, as there may be reasons”.[522] No exception to this custom of enslavement was made in the case of the Praying Indians. During the course of the war several of these Indians, “through the harsh dealings of the English”, and because of neglect to provide them with “sufficient shelter, protection and encouragement”, joined the warring Indians.[523] Such of these Indians as were taken in arms were declared by the Massachusetts general court to be in rebellion, and were tried and sentenced, some to be killed, but the most of them to be transported and sold as slaves.[524] Captives were also retained as slaves in the colony, especially the women and children. For instance, in 1675, in return for the privilege granted by Mr. Shrimpton of Noddle’s Island to quarter one hundred Indians upon that island free of charge, the general court of Massachusetts ordered five Christian Indian prisoners to be delivered to him to be employed on Noddle’s Island, “he returning them to the order of the council”.[525] It is very probable, as Gookin asserts, that instances are not lacking in which some of the Praying Indians were sold as slaves under accusations which were false.[526] Such happened also in the case of other Indians. Their promises were not considered sincere by the colonial authorities, for a result of the war was an intense hatred and suspicion of all Indians.[527] The Praying Indians were sufficiently numerous to be a dangerous factor, and the colonial authorities intended to give them no chance to gain the advantage.[528]