ony,
and to undermine all its foundations of growth and happiness. The
Mohican Indians, on the east side of the North river, and whose
territory extended to the Connecticut, were allies of the English.
Uncas, the chief of this tribe, declared that Governor Stuyvesant was
plotting to arm the Narragansetts against New England. At the same
time nine chiefs from the vicinity of Manhattan, sent a messenger to
Stamford, who said:

"The Dutch governor has earnestly solicited the Indians in
these parts, to kill all the English. But we have all
refused to be hired by him, for the English have done us no
harm."

The New England colonists were by no means satisfied that these
charges were true. Veracity was not an Indian virtue. Cunning was a
prominent trait in their character. An extraordinary meeting of
commissioners was held in Boston, in April, 1653. Two messengers had
been previously sent by the Massachusetts council, to interrogate
three of the principal Narragansett chiefs, respecting the conduct of
Governor Stuyvesant. They reported at the meeting, that the
Narragansett chiefs utterly denied that Governor Stuyvesant had ever
approached them with any such proposition. One of them, Ninigret,
said:

"It was winter when I visited the Dutch governor. I stood
the great part of a winter's day, knocking at his door. He
would neither open it nor suffer others to open it, to let
me in. I found no proposal to stir me up against the
English, my friends."

Mixam, another of these chiefs, replied, "I do not know of any plot
that is intended by the Dutch governor against the English, my
friends."

The third of the chiefs, who was conferred with, Pessacus, was still
more emphatic in his denial. "Though I am far away," he said, "from
the governor of the Dutch, I am not willing for the sake of pleasing
the English, to invent any falsehood against him."

The result of these investigations led some to suppose that
individuals among the English had originated these rumors, and had
bribed some of the Indian chiefs to false charges that they might
instigate the governors to send out an expedition for the capture of
New Netherland.

Still the Council was unsatisfied, and retained its suspicions.
Governor Stuyvesant. hearing of the charges against him, wrote at once
to the governors of Massachusetts and New Haven, unequivocally denying
the plot, and offering to come himself to Boston "to con