lans to make
a terrible assault upon all the English settlements in the spring.
Whether Philip was present or not when the fort was attacked, his
genius reared the fortress and nerved the arms of its defenders.

The condition of the colonial army seemed now deplorable. Their
provisions were nearly consumed, and they could hardly hope for any
supply except such as they could capture from the savages. They knew
nothing of the entrances to the swamp, and were entirely unacquainted
with the nature of the fortification and the points most available for
attack. The ground was covered with snow, and they huddled around the
camp-fires by night, with no shelter from the inclemency of frost and
storm.

The morning of the 19th dawned cold and gloomy. The supper of the
previous night had utterly exhausted their stores. At break of day
they commenced their march. A storm was then raging, and the air was
filled with snow. But for the treachery of one of Philip's Indians,
they would probably have been routed in the attack and utterly
destroyed. A Narraganset Indian, who, for some cause, had become
enraged against his countrymen, deserted their cause, and, entering
the camp of the colonists, acted as their guide.

Early in the afternoon of the cold, short, and stormy winter's day,
the troops, unrefreshed by either breakfast or dinner, after a march
of eighteen miles, arrived at the borders of the swamp. An almost
impenetrable forest, tangled with every species of underbrush, spread
over the bog, presenting the most favorable opportunity for
ambuscades, and all the stratagems of Indian warfare. The English,
struggling blindly through the morass, would have found themselves in
a helpless condition, and exposed at every point to the bullets of an
unseen foe. The destruction of this army would have so emboldened the
savages and paralyzed the English that every settlement of the
colonists might have been swept away in an inundation of blood and
flame. The fate of the New England colonies trembled in the balance.

The Narraganset deserter guided them to the entrance of a narrow and
intricate foot-path which led to the island. The Indians, watching
their approach, were lying in ambush upon the edge of the swamp. They
fired upon the advancing files, and retreated. The English, returning
the fire, vigorously pursued. Led by their guide, they soon arrived at
the fort. It presented a formidable aspect. In addition to the
palisades, a hedge o