Kieft decided, against the advice of the council of Twelve Men, to punish the Indians who had taken refuge among the Netherlanders (their presumed allies), when fleeing raiding Mahican from the north, by attacking Pavonia and Corlear's Hook. The initial strike which he ordered on February 25, 1643, and took place at Communipaw, was a massacre: 129 Dutch soldiers killed 120 Indians, including women and children. Historians differ on whether or not the massacre was Kieft's idea. This is sometimes referred to as the Pavonia Massacre. The Native Americans call it "The Slaughter of the Innocents". This attack united the Algonquian peoples in the surrounding areas, to an extent not seen before. On October 1, 1643, a force of united "tribes" attacked the homesteads at Pavonia, most of which were burned to the ground. Many settlers were killed and those who survived were ordered to the relative safety of New Amsterdam. Pavonia was evacuated.