. Our pioneer heroes and their daring deeds . ill be readily seen. While they were stillalarmed about the rumor, a strange Indian one day entered thetown and asked for Squantum. The answer that he was not thereseemed to relieve him of some fear, and he was about to depart,after having left for him a bundle of arrows tied with a rattle-snakes skin, when Captain Standish, at the governors request,detained him. He was evidently a Narragansett, but was so ter-rified that it was only with difficulty that they could make himspeak. Gradually gaining confidence, he told them that Canon-icus, enraged a
. Our pioneer heroes and their daring deeds . ill be readily seen. While they were stillalarmed about the rumor, a strange Indian one day entered thetown and asked for Squantum. The answer that he was not thereseemed to relieve him of some fear, and he was about to depart,after having left for him a bundle of arrows tied with a rattle-snakes skin, when Captain Standish, at the governors request,detained him. He was evidently a Narragansett, but was so ter-rified that it was only with difficulty that they could make himspeak. Gradually gaining confidence, he told them that Canon-icus, enraged at their having made peace with his enemies, thetribes to the north, despising the meanness of their presents tohim, and well aware of their weakness, had determined to makewar upon them, and that this was his challenge. The messenger was, by the rules of war, entitled to safe con-duct ; nor had they any desire to detain him. Say to Canonicus that we wish to live at peace with all him that we have done him no harm, and would not have. CAPTAIN MILES STANDISH. 129 injured him j but we are not afraid of his power, and will soonmake him regret that he threatened us. Such was the message with which he was entrusted. Eefusingall offers of food, or of shelter, he left the village as soon as hecould do so, and disappeared in the forest. In the council that washeld immediately afterwards, tradition has it that it was CaptainStandish that jerked the arrows from the rattlesnakes skin, andfilling it to the very jaws with powder and shot, sent it to Canon-icus as his answer. Certain it is that such a reply was despatchedto the chiefs declaration of war, and who so likely to send it asthe hot-blooded descendant of the old crusader ? Canonicus re-ceived it, and was struck with terror. Squantum had told himthat the Englishmen kept the plague shut up in a box and couldlet it loose \ipon those that offended them; this might be, foraught he knew, a symbol of destruction as sure as the i^e
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectindiansofnorthamerica, bookyear1887
