THE OXFORD SETTLEMENT 139 



now it would be the story of how some isolated farmhouse 

 had been attacked in the middle of the night and its 

 sleeping occupants butchered ; or again, it would be the 

 tale of a whole settlement put to the tomahawk. During 

 the latter part of the summer the appearance of several 

 bands of savages compelled the French colonists to take 

 refuge in their fort. But though they were safe from 

 actual danger within the confines of their strong stock- 

 ade, yet they were made to suffer greatly through the 

 destruction of their crops and a large number of their 

 cattle, which left them in a feeble condition to meet the 

 rigorous winter which followed. As soon as they thought 

 it prudent to leave the protection of the fort, several of 

 the Huguenots made their way to Boston, being under 

 the strong impression that their isolated settlement would 

 not be able to maintain itself in the face of the roving 

 bands of marauders, who being perfectly at home in the 

 woods had every advantage of their civilized opijonents. 

 Among the number who left was du Tuffeau, who had 

 been called to account by Bernon for mismanagement of 

 his property. 



Nothing further happened to disturb the peace of i6g6 Johnson 

 Oxford until the summer of 1696. The home of the Eug- fa^cked' ^*" 

 lishman Johnson, who had married Susanne Sigourney, 

 stood a little removed from the other houses of the town 

 in the midst of a level stretch still known as Johnson's 

 Plain. On August 5th, a band of Indians approached 

 this dwelling while Johnson was some distance off, seized 

 his three small children, Andre, Pierre and Marie, who 

 were playing about the door-step, and dashed their brains 

 out on the stones of the fireplace. The dazed and agonized 

 mother made her escape and started out to warn her hus- 

 band, but failed to find him. Johnson, unsuspecting the 

 fate that had befallen his home, returned soon after the 

 atrocity had taken place and was felled to the ground as 

 he crossed the threshold. As the news of this massacre 

 spread through the outlying districts the inhabitants were 



