John Alderman was a Praying Indian who shot and killed Metacomet (also known as King Philip) in 1676 as part of an expedition led by Captain Benjamin Church.
As a reward, Alderman received King Philip’s head and one hand. The rest of King Philip’s body was quartered and hung on trees. Alderman later sold the severed head to the Fort Plymouth authorities for 30 shillings, a standard rate for Indian heads during King Philip’s War. The head was then placed on a stake in the fort, where it remained for the next 25 years. Reportedly Alderman would exhibit the scarred hand of Philip for a fee.
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Now Benjamin wasn’t a contractor, but he sure did partake in the business of selling heads for 30 shillings a piece. lol Just another example of how free markets were used back in the early days of this country. Privateers look pretty tame compared to this practice.
Could you imagine Church’s Rangers going after today’s Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and with that kind of a free market warfare mechanism in place? If they were to kill him, we could put his head under glass and sell tickets to see the thing. The money made from that, could go towards the families of the victims of this vile organization. That would be cool.
The sad thing is, that if someone was to kill him and bring back his head to collect that 25 million dollars or whatever it is, more than likely that individual would be thrown in jail and scorned for such a thing. They probably wouldn’t even pay the hero that did it. –Matt
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Woodcut print of Benjamin Church
Major Benjamin Church (c. 1639-January 17, 1718) was an American carpenter, military officer, and Ranger during America’s Colonial era, and specifically, King Philip’s War.
Biography
Born in Plymouth Colony in about 1639, Church married Alice Southworth on December 26, 1667 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. He resided for a time in Duxbury and later moved to Bristol, Rhode Island.
Church was the principal aide to Governor Josiah Winslow of Plymouth Colony. Holding the rank of captain, he fought during King Philip’s War (1675–1678) on the New England frontier against the Wampanoag, Nipmuck and Podunk tribes of Indians. He is best known for his actions during this time in commanding a company of men independent of the governor’s direct command. Church’s men were the first colonial force successful in raiding the Indians’ camps in forests and swamps. During previous decades, colonists were on the defense against the Natives, although relations were generally peaceful until 1675.