njamin Church, now commissioned a colonel by General
Winslow--was approaching an end. Using friendly savages as scouts,
Colonel Church gradually located and captured stray bodies of Indians
and brought them as captives to Plymouth. Finally, coming on the trail
of Philip himself, he first intercepted his followers, and then,
relentlessly pursuing the fleeing chieftain from one point to another,
tracked him to his lair at his old stronghold, Mount Hope. There the
great chief who had terrorized New England for nearly a year was slain
by one of his own race. His ornaments and treasure were seized by the
soldiers, and his crown, gorget, and two belts, all of gold and silver
of Indian make, were sent as a present to Charles II. With the death of
Philip, August 12, 1676, the whole movement collapsed, and the remaining
hostile Indians, dispersed and in flight, with their leaders gone and
starvation threatening, sought refuge among the northern tribes. Thus
the last effort to check the English advance in southern and central New
England was brought to an end. From this time on, the Indians in
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut lingered for a century and
a half, a steadily dwindling remnant, wards of the governments and
occupants of reservations, until they ceased to exist as a separate
people.

The havoc wrought by the war was a great blow to the prosperity of New
England. Probably more than six hundred whites had been slain or
captured, and hundreds of houses and a score of villages had been burnt
or pillaged; crops had been destroyed, cattle driven off, and
agriculture in many quarters brought to a complete standstill. In 1676,
there was little leisure to sow and less to reap. Provisions became
increasingly scarce; none could be had near at hand, for none of the
colonies had a surplus; and attempts to obtain them from a distance
proved unavailing. Staples for trade with the West Indies decreased; the
fur trade was curtailed; and fishing was hampered for want of men. To
add to the confusion, a plague vexed the colonies. It seemed to all as
if the hand of God lay heavily upon New England, and days of humiliation
and prayer were appointed to assuage the wrath of the Almighty. A
Massachusetts act of November, 1675, ascribed the war to the judgment of
God upon the colony for its sins, among which were included an excess of
apparel, the wearing of long hair, and the rudeness of worship, all
marks of an apostasy from the Lo