SO long as the settlements of New England clustered around Massachusetts Bay, and occupied territory from which the Indians had been swept by the terrible plague Of 1616 — 17, the con?ict for the possession Of the more fertile country to the west was deferred; but when in 1636 the emigrants from Watertown, Dorchester and Newton had pushed their way through the dense forests, and occupied the Connecticut Valley, a struggle for existence became inevitable. For these settlers found the country dominated by the Pequots, the most dreaded Of all the tribes of New England, and who had driven away the weaker tribes or held them under subjection.