13. The native Americans were hostile towards each other at the time of the settlement
Massasoit and his followers had enemies surrounding them long before the arrival of the Pilgrims. During the brutal first winter, while Mayflower anchored in the bay and the settlers struggled to survive, the Indian chieftain struggled with a decision. Hostile Narragansetts in and around Rhode Island posed the greatest threat to Massasoit, who also knew of the power and deadliness of the English guns. His indecision during the first winter likely saved the settlement from being wiped out. Other than the brief, hostile encounter in January there was no further contact between the Indians of Massachusetts and the English settlers. Squanto used the time to tell Massasoit of his experiences in England, and the power of the British.
An alliance between the English and Massasoit appealed to the chieftain, as a means of countering the threat from the Narragansetts. Squanto urged Massasoit to consider such an alliance, supported by Samoset, an Abenaki who had also earlier been kidnaped and taken to England, before returning to New England. As for the Pilgrims, fear of an Indian attack led them to take steps so as not to reveal how weak the settlement had become. On March 16, 1621, a Friday, Samoset entered the settlement at Plymouth, where he asked the Pilgrims for beer. Another visit on Sunday was declined by the Pilgrims, since it was the Sabbath, when trading and negotiations were proscribed by the Separatists’ religious beliefs. Squanto did not enter the settlement until March 22, for the expressed purpose of arranging for a treaty between the English and Massasoit.