. The history of Springfield in Massachusetts, for the young; being also in some part the history of other towns and cities in the county of Hampden. xcept a few old men, like DeaconChapin, who was then in his last sickness, and boys undereighteen. Springfields defenceless condition and importance gavePhilip his opportunity. Through spies he knew what wasgoing on. The blow was not to fall on Hadley, after all. Tojoin forces with the Agawams, in the Long Hill stockade,was easy. He had only to hurry his light-footed braves downthe line of the desolate Wilbraham hills and no one would bethe wiser
. The history of Springfield in Massachusetts, for the young; being also in some part the history of other towns and cities in the county of Hampden. xcept a few old men, like DeaconChapin, who was then in his last sickness, and boys undereighteen. Springfields defenceless condition and importance gavePhilip his opportunity. Through spies he knew what wasgoing on. The blow was not to fall on Hadley, after all. Tojoin forces with the Agawams, in the Long Hill stockade,was easy. He had only to hurry his light-footed braves downthe line of the desolate Wilbraham hills and no one would bethe wiser until it was too late. The farm houses of the opencountry were few and scattered and the occupants had fledinto the villages for protection. By what defences had Springfield been made ready for anIndian onslaught? Major Pynchon and his fellow townsmenhad their own way in this respect and they were fairly Pynchon house, by its construction, being of brick withwalls two feet in thickness, was in itself a good were two other houses in the lower part of the street,which, although built of wood, were especially protected. KING PHILIPS WAR 73 against assault. Into these the inhabitants could flee. Theordinary means of garrisoning houses was by palisades. A palisade was made in this way. Trees of convenient sizewere cut to such a length that whenplaced firmly in the ground they wouldrise above it to the length of ten ortwelve feet. Having been roughly hewnto a post-like form, or, if the work washurried, perhaps not hewn at all, they palisaded houses. were then set close together around the house to be were also fastened together by a rude rail, held, it may be,by nails or withes. Sometimes several houses, or as at North-ampton, a whole hamlet, were thus enclosed. Loopholes weremade here and there through which those from within couldfire at an approaching enemy without much danger that abullet or arrow would enter the loophole itself. At the
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