Declaration of Francis Card
Item
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Title
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Declaration of Francis Card
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Recipient
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John Leverett (MA Governor)
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MA Council
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Date
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22 January 1677
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Description
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Maine settler Francis Card reports that 14 Abenaki Indians killed three English settlers and briefly took him captive. Although Card was later freed by the French merchant Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin, his report underscored English fears that New France would send warriors, guns, and provisions to aid the Wabanaki Confederacy. This reflected their paranoia toward a French-Wabanaki alliance, and there is little to no documentary evidence of direct French involvement in King Philip’s War.
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Transcription
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Francis Card's Declaration.
[149] ffrancis Card his declaracion the first of ther begining Afifust the 14 the Indenes cam to richard hamand and there kiled richard hamanes Samell Smith Joshua grant ther parting ther company: 11 : mem cam up cenebek reuer to my house and ther tok me and my famelley prsnowes the rest of ther company went to rousek and ther toke the gareson. About a fortnet after they cam down cenebek reuer and so went downe to damrescoue and there burnt howses and kilet catell ther coming back parted ther company on party went to Jeweles Ileand and the other party went to Sakerehoke [150] being in number about 81 thoes that went to cakerehok toke a shalop from thence came to canebeke reuer and ther went to cib'ng and destroying of catel and howseing for they had intelegence of a catch and a sloop at damarascoue and going ther they toke the slope and ciled 1 man they being inunlier about 80 the nezt they mad up ther forces went out to black poynt being about 100 feyting men and is now at tow fortes about 60 at a place with 6 or 8 wigwames betwen the 2 forts I being cared to pemequed I herd a french man tell the Idenes that casten was uery thankful to them for what they had don and tould them that he and his men would help them in the spring and that he would se for pouder this winter.
four Inden wemen cam from canede and did tell the indenes that the gouerner of canedy did thank them for what they had don and tow^ld them that they would help them with 100 : men and amunesion now they be short of pouder as I her them thre relat onto another that they had about 2 galons and a halfe at that place whe I cam from now the best plae to land men is in casco bay and in cenebeke reuer the OH place being 8 miles the other about 14 miles from the fort wer I was kept and if the arme do not go now with sped they will be gone 40 miles further ny in the contrey at the first takeing of me they cared me up to taconet and the men coming down they browt downe me and 2 men mor for fer ot our ciling ther men and childr for thy kept ther women and children at taconet all the somer asson as the warme wether doth set in they do intend to go awa to taconet and ther to bild 2 fortes for ther is ther fishing places and planting grownd
Sqand doth inform them that god doth speak to him and doth tell him that god hath left our nacion to them to destroy and the indenys do tak it for a truth all that he doth tell them because they haue met with no afron now mog the rog he beins; com agan to the fort he doth mak his br[agj and laf at the english and saith that he [151] hath found the way to burn boston and doth make lafteres of your kind entertanement they mak ther brages how they do in tend to take ueseles and so to go to all the fish- mcr ilandes and so to driue all the contre befor them so even reckening to be agret noumber in the spring, ther is a gret many endenes at canedy that hath not ben out thes somer both of eanebeck and of damroscogin ther for aget many of thes do intend to go to canedy in the spring to call the indenes to eanebeck and they do giue giuftes both of cap- tiues and of goodes to the ester inendenes haue them go out with them but as yet I do not know what they do for dock- ewando and Sqando ar of seuerell Judgmentes and so have parted and dokewando doth pretend loue to the english they do use our english captiues as civilly as we can ezpect by such a pepell.
that this is the truth declared by mee
ffrancis Card
the 22 of Jeneuerv.
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[Lozier Diss., 229] Footnote #170: See Francis Card’s declaration in DHSM 6: 159-151 (compare with Hubbard, History, 2: 204). For other claims of French assistance, see MHSC, 1st ser., 6: 205; MHSC, 4th ser., 6: 307. On the necessity of powder for hunting and Canada as a source of powder, see also DHSM 6: 119; Hubbard, History, 2: 147, 152, 156, 210.
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Century
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17th Century
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Decade material covers
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1670s
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Subject
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Francis Card
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Richard Hammond
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Samuel Smith
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Joshua Grant
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Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
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Kennebec Indians
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Pemaquid
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Castine
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ME
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Type
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Letter
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War
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King Philip's War
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Point of Departure
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Boston, MA
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Point of Arrival
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Boston, MA
