Ring Philip, sachem of Pokanoket, youngest son of Massasoit, and the successor of his brother Alexander, killed at Mount Hope, R. I., Aug. 12, 1676. His Indian name was Pome-tacom, but his father was friendly to the English, and he received the name Philip. In 1662, immediately after he had been proclaimed sachem, he promised at Plymouth to continue the friendship heretofore existing with the English, to remain faithful to the king and colony, and not to dispose of any of his territory without giving them notice. In 1670-71 rumors began to prevail that he was inclined to break the treaty. The tribe was frequently assembled, war preparations were constantly going on, and wanton murders were sometimes committed. In the spring and summer of 1671 a general attempt was made to disarm the Indians, and caused great dissatisfaction. For three years after this there was no open disturbance, and it has been a doubtful point whether the storm which broke out so suddenly in 1675 was simply accidental, or the result of a real and deliberate plot. Sassamon, a converted Indian who had informed the colony of the preparations going on, was killed. His murderers were tried, convicted, and executed, and in revenge the Indians murdered eight or nine white men.

The war that ensued was of the most desolating character, the Indians never meeting the enemy in the open field, but rapidly passing from one exposed point to another, burning villages, cutting off by ambuscades detached parties of troops, and shooting down every one who ventured to stray outside of the places of protection. Philip also formed an alliance with the powerful tribe of Narragan-setts, and in December, 1675, 1,000 men under the command of Josiah Winslow invaded their territory, stormed a fort in which there were said to have been 4,000 Indians, and utterly destroyed their village with all its stores. The war raged during the first half of 1676 with unabated fury, but the conquests of the Nar-ragansetts and the complete destruction of his own tribe soon left Philip without' resources. Deserted by all, he was hunted from spot to spot, and at last, taking refuge at Mount Hope, was there attacked by a party under Capt. Church, and in attempting to flee was killed by an Indian. His body was cut in quarters, and his head was sent to Plymouth, where it was exposed on a gibbet for 20 years.

In this war 13 towns were completely destroyed and many others suffered severely; 600 buildings were burned, 600 of the colonists were slain, and the expenses were in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. The calamities of the war fell chiefly upon the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies, Connecticut suffering comparatively little. - See Church's " History of King Philip's War" (1716; last ed., Boston, 1865).