Chief Sassacus and His Brother are Killed by Mohawks, Their Scalps Presented to Pilgrims as Peace Offerings

Sassacus and his followers had hoped to gain refuge among the Mohawk in present-day New York.

However, the Mohawk had seen the display of English power and chose instead to kill Sassacus and his warriors, sending Sassacus' scalp to Hartford, as a symbolic offering of Mohawk friendship with Connecticut Colony. Puritan colonial officials continued to call for the merciless hunting down of what remained of the Pequot months after war's end.

As Sassacus had carried with him in his flight a large quantity of wampum, a desire on the part of the Mohawk to possess this treasure may have led to the death of himself and his followers. Sassacus was spoken of by the commissioners in 1647 as "the malignant, furious Piquot," while, on the other hand, De Forest styles him "a renowned warrior and a noble and high-spirited man."