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May 19, 1676
Samuel Stagg and Eli Cass found more than a few savages hiding among the rock cliffs. After shooting each of them, the soldiers took a few minutes to reload their guns. Most of their victims were children, but they felt no remorse. They didn’t view savages as people. They viewed them as dangerous pests that needed to be eradicated. Samuel saw two old Indian men struggling to carry a heavy sack toward a canoe on the river bank. Samuel shot one of them and the other dropped the sack and jumped into the fast-moving river. He and Eli ran over and looked into the sack. Gold! The sack held a number of figurines and pieces of jewelry. “Let’s take this and head back to Boston!” said Samuel.
As they started to haul the sack up the hill, they heard gunshots nearby. Samuel felt a musket ball fly right by his head. They retreated back down to the rocky bank of the river, struggling to carry their heavy load. Eli looked back and saw two warriors running toward them. He dropped his end of the sack, turned, and fired his gun at one of them. That warrior fell, but the other came running at them shrieking and wielding a war club. He leapt at Eli, but Samuel hit him in the head with the butt of his rifle. Eli grabbed the warrior’s club and hit him in the head again. The warrior stopped moving.
Samuel and Eli grabbed the sack and ran down the riverbank until they came to another path that veered upward toward the hilltop. They struggled to drag the awkward load up the hill. Luckily, the sack was made of tough deer hide with strong stitching, and it remained intact. They continued along the hilltop until they could see the White Ash Swamp, down below. They saw small groups of soldiers being chased by warriors in the direction of the Green River ford. The warriors were coming from the south, the same direction in which Samuel and Eli were heading. Many of the retreating soldiers died in a barrage of gunfire from the savages. Those still running were screaming as they were set upon.
Samuel and Eli quickly shuffled along the hilltop path until they could see that no more Indians were approaching from the south. Tired of stumbling over tree roots, they turned and followed another path that led them down to the plain below. They trudgeded along the base of a small mountain with exposed cliffs of red rock. Suddenly, Eli screamed and fell, an arrow in his back. Samuel dropped the sack and saw a young Indian girl drawing an arrow. He realized that he hadn’t taken the time to reload his gun. He dove at the ground and rolled as she shot toward him. The arrow missed. He picked up his gun and ran at the girl as she drew another arrow out of her quiver. He barreled into her, knocking her down, then he thumped her in the head with his gun. She stopped moving. He ran over and checked on Eli, but he wasn’t breathing. This time, he took the time to reload, fumbling while watching for more savages. He continued to move along the base of the mountain, on a small path by a brook, dragging the heavy sack.
Samuel reached an area of impassable bramble, so he decided to head up a narrow rivulet that was flowing down the mountain. He continued to hear the voices of men in the distance, screaming as though they were being burned alive. He feared that he would die a painful death if he didn’t abandon the sack. At the mouth of the rivulet, he saw what looked like green stones shimmering in the flowing water. He thought he would be able to find that spot again. He measured twenty paces up the hill and dug down into the bed of the flowing stream with his knife and his hands. He pulled out rocks and clay, forming a hole deep enough to hold the sack. He pushed the sack under the water and into the hole, covering it with rocks until it was no longer visible. Then he ran.