Assassination
In December 1674, Sassamon warned Josiah Winslow, the governor of the Plymouth Colony, about an impending Indian attack being planned by Metacomet, also known as King Philip. The Puritans discounted his warning. Soon afterward, Sassamon was reported missing. In January or February 1675, his body was discovered in Assawompset Pond. At first, the Puritans thought that he had drowned by accident; but the settlers learned that he was murdered and his neck broken. The Christian convert Patuckson claimed to have seen three of Metacomet's men kill Sassamon and put him in icy pond. The Puritans became convinced that Metacomet had ordered the killing.
Historians have differed in reasons for Sassamon's murder: as revenge for his having told the colonists about war plans, or because of his conversion and efforts to evangelize to other natives. Behind the varying explanations, as the historian Jill Lepore writes, is Sassamon's position as "cultural mediator," a man who was considered "neither English nor Indian, but negotiated with both peoples." In June 1675, the English colonists charged and tried three Pokanoket Indians for the murder of Sassamon. This trial was the first in Plymouth to include a mixed jury; there were 12 English colonists and six elders of the Indians. The jury found the three men guilty of murdering Sassamon, and they were sentenced to death and executed.
The Puritans became more agitated about Metacomet's role. Those Pokanoket who maintained the innocence of their three men were outraged that the Puritans had executed them. Both sides were becoming increasingly distrustful and frustrated at the other. Within a few days, more violence occurred and the war began.
Read more about this topic: John Sassamon