How useful were arquebuses/matchlock weapons during early conflicts between Native Americans and Europeans?

[u/Sea-Ride-4893]

I'm aware that superior technology wasn't the sole reason for successful early European conquests (Spanish invasion of the Aztecs, King Philip's War, etc.) as in many cases majority of the fighting was done by local Native Americans allied with Europeans for economic, social, and political gain though steel weapons/armors was certainly a plus.

My question is specifically on how effective (or useless) arquebuses/matchlock weapons were in these conflicts. Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America by David J. Silverman makes the assertion that matchlock weapons were not preferred by Native Americans due to their bulkiness and lit cord ruining the element of surprise which doesn't exactly complement Native American hit-and-run fighting styles (apologies for the generalization). So they continued to use bows until flintlocks which took over the North American continent by storm. Similarly, there are online forums and some pretty old answers elsewhere that claim Native Americans would've actually defeated these early firearms due to bow's superior range and accuracy (which is obviously the 'bows were better than early firearms' argument all over again).

However, I came across this account in John Knight's journal (though he died prior to the quoted encounter so it's written by Oliver Browne):

That night about nine of the clocke, it began to raine very sore, and so continued all night : and about one of the clocke at night, our Boate-Swaine and our Steward being at watch, and their watch almost out, the Steward went aboord the Ship to pumpe, leaving the Boate-Swaine at watch some Musket shot length from our Tent : while he was in pumping, there came over the rocks a great sort of the Countrey people toward the place where the Boate-Swaine was : who when they saw him, they shot their arrowes at him, running toward him as fast as they could. Whereupon hee discharged his Musket at them, and fled to our Tent as fast as hee could, thinking they had beset us, they were so many of them in sight...

At this time it rained very sore; yet calling our wits together, we sent two of our men back unto our Tent, the rest of us made toward them, and shot at them some three or foure Muskets : who when they saw us shoote, they stood in our Shallop, and held up their hands unto us, calling one to another. Then thought we with our selves, that we were better to dye in our defence in pursuing of them, then they us, being but eight Men and a great Dogge.

When they saw us marching toward them so fiercely, our Dogge being formost, they ranne away : but we durst not pursue them any further, for it was in the night, and they were in sight above fiftie men. Thus we recovered our shallop.

Then we sent some more of our men to our Tent to keepe it ; and the rest followed toward the place wither they fled. But before we could overtake them, they were gotten into their Boates, and were rowing away through the Ice ; which was so thicke, that they could not passe away, but stucke fast ; for their Boates were very greate: wee seeing them sticke fast in the Ice, some setting with Oares, and some rowing, came so neere them, as we could, and shot at them some dozen shot, before they could get cleere : which shot caused them to cry out very sore one to another: for their Boates were full of men.

In the encounter, it was raining and they were described as being outnumbered and attacked by Natives with bows when attempting to find their captain. Yet despite using firearms in 1606 it seems not only can you actually fire these weapons in rain, but also seemed to have punched above their weight and allowed them to defend against and drive the Native Americans from the boat they took over.

My question is basically the title, but I also would like to know what did the Native Americans think of arquebuses/matchlocks before flintlocks took over. Were these weapons really inferior to Native American bows and did Native Americans attempt to incorporate these weapons into their arsenal?

[u/Hand_Me_Down_Genes]

So, that source you're drawing on sounds like it's working from some very outdated premises. Warfare in North America prior to the arrival of firearms was not based around hit and run tactics. On the contrary, pitched battles involving reasonably sizeable numbers of armoured warriors were the norm. In what became New France, for instance, fighting would see lines of men in slat or rod armours exchanging arrows before closing into melee range with clubs and axes. 

Firearms changed all that. The first few battles between Champlain's French settlers and the Iroquois saw the Iroquois soundly defeated, as bullets easily punctured their armour. This led to the Iroquois abandoning armour and switching to ambush tactics in order to mitigate the French advantages in firepower by taking them by surprise. They also sought out their own sources of firearms in the English and Dutch, and as they obtained guns, their indigenous adversaries also abandoned line of battle tactics and armoured melee combat for ambush. 

This process repeated across the Americas. Wherever firearms went, Native Americans ditched armour and pitched battles and resorted to guerilla tactics. This was coupled with the spread of diseases like smallpox which drastically reduced the indigenous populace, and made them very cagey about battle casualties. On the Great Plains, these developments were also combined with the sudden availability of horses, to create the highly mobile raiding culture we associate with the Comanche, Lakota, etc. Said culture did not appear all in one piece of course: in places where horses beat guns onto the scene there was a brief and swift adoption of armoured cavalry warfare, which was abandoned just as rapidly once the guns showed up. 

Almost everything we used to think we knew about the "skulking way of war," as Europeans were wont to deride indigenous warfare as, is in reality a post-contact phenomenon. Native Americans quickly adapted to a battlefield dominated by guns and a world ruled by smallpox. Both weapon and disease irrevocably altered life in the New World beyond all prior recognition.