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The Settlers having superior fire power
soon quelled this uprising, Philip was captured and executed.
Philip had in his possession a Wampum
Belt around his neck, which was so large it touched his ankles
Quote:- It had two flags on the back part, which hung down on his back,
and another small belt with a star upon the end of it, which he used to
hang on his breast, and they were all edged with red hair.
This was confiscated by the Commanding
Soldier and passed over the the Governor of the Plymouth Colony in New
England, Josiah Winslow.
Josiah in turn handed this over to his brother-in law Waldegrave
Pelham, which he was to take back to the UK and hand over the Charles
11 as a momento of their success over the Indian uprising.
However by 1679 it never materialised in London with Charles 11 not best
pleased, we know the last person to have this belt was Waldegrave
Pelham
Waldegrave retreated to his family home called Ferriers, near Bures in
Essex, and died in 1699.
American literature quotes:- Where Philip's belts lie today remains
a mystery. Perhaps, they are buried in the ground near the old Pelham
manor in Essex.
So what did Waldegrave
do with this artifact ?
One tantalizing clue as to the belts' whereabouts
remains.
In the 1980s, Maurice Robbins of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society,
believing he may have located the belts, began negotiations with a small
museum in Great Britain for their return. Several members of the
society remembered discussion of a possible trade, as the corresponding
museum was interested in a particular type of artifact to add to its collection.
With Robbins' death in 1990, however, the negotiations broke off, and
members of the society today have no written record of Robbins' work or
remember the museum with which he was corresponding.
So where was this Museum ??
Update 15/07/2016
This seems to contradict Maurice Robbins dealing with a Small Museum
British Museum
However, there appears to be a Wampum belt stored in the archives at the
Museum
Quote from Michelle Coughlin, Massachusetts Historian
"In 1993 a photo was taken of some
Native American wampum belts that were on display at the British Museum
in the coinage room. The photos were investigated and it was determined
(based on Wampanoag history) to be in fact the famous "King Philip's
Belt" that has been unaccounted for three hundred years.
On March 2 1995 the Massachusetts House of Representatives adopted
a resolution requesting his excellency, British Prime Minister John Major,
to return the Wampanoag nation certain sacred artifacts. In response,
The British government promised to find the wampum belt. Spokesperson
(at that time) Teresa Evans for the British Consulate in Boston Mass.
stated "Prime Minister John Major has directed the Department of
National Heritage to search for the belt. They are having a hard time
locating it, it will take further investigation."
In 1996 a follow-up letter was sent by Representative Travis; who has
since left public office and no further action has been taken on this
matter."
Updated 13/07/2016
 Extract
taken from the "King Philips War" publications
ref:- http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/king-philips-war
ref:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/King-Philips-War-Americas-Forgotten/dp/0881504831
ref:- Acknowledement to Michelle Coughlin
from Boston, USA for bringing this story to my attention
Alan Beales 15/07/2016
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