thought it necessary for our common preservation to hold a
Matchacomico of Ours and their great men together to con-
sult & advise upon some Expedient to be taken for Our
Defence against the Invasion & assaults of fforreigne Indians.
At a Councell held at Manahowickes Neck the 10th of
August 78 :
Prsent as Before
Ordered that a Lettr be sent the Lord Propry p Covill
adviseing his Ldpp of the late murdr and the result of the
Councell thereon wch was Accordingly done as foll: viz.
Maryland Augt the 10th 1678:
May it Please Yor Ldpp
Having this Oportunity of Covills Departure from Mary-
land within a weeke We thought it our Duty p the same to
acquaint yor Ldpp with a murdr lately (to say on the third
instant in the morning) committed on Daniel Conningham &
his ffamily neere the head of Pottuxen River p some Indians
strongly presumed to be the Pascattoways, the said Conning-
ham and another young man killed outright as they were in
the ffield at work Conninghams wife Tomohoaked in the
house where she was afterwards found lying prostrate in her
blood & not quite dead but rendred altogether speechless
and soe remained till her death wch happned yesterday morn-
ing, soe (that though she were a pson well knowing and
acquainted with most of those Indians) she could not declare
any thing, but by signes wch she made did plainly discover the
murderers to be Pascattoways for being asked how many
Indians had been there she held up her hand with her thumb
downe thereby (to say by her four fingers held up) intimating
four being then asked whither Wassetass (a Pascattoway
Indian knowne to vse those parts and whom the People sus-
pected guilty of the Murder) were there she immediately lift
up her hand to her head where she was wounded, from
whence and severall other circumstances concurring we
gather and are fully pswaded that the Pascattoway Indians
are the reall murderers. Whereupon yesterday we mett in
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