tied round with a rattlesnake skin, to Governor Bradford: that meant
that he dared the governor and his men to come out and fight. Governor
Bradford threw away the arrows, and then filled the snake-skin up
to the mouth with powder and ball. This was sent back to Canonicus.
When he saw it, he was afraid to touch it, for he knew that Myles
Standish's bullets would whistle louder and cut deeper than his
Indian arrows.

[Illustration: ARROWS BOUND WITH SNAKE-SKIN.]

But though the Pilgrims did not believe that Canonicus would attack
them, they thought it best to build a very high, strong fence, called
a palisade, round the town.

[Illustration: THE PALISADE BUILT ROUND PLYMOUTH.]

They also built a log fort on one of the hills, and used the lower
part of the fort for a church. Every Sunday all the people, with
Captain Standish at the head, marched to their meeting-house, where
a man stood on guard outside. Each Pilgrim carried his gun, and set
it down near him. With one ear he listened sharply to the preacher;
with the other he listened just as sharply for the cry, Indians!
Indians! But the Indians never came.

[Footnote 11: Canonicus (Ka-non'i-kus).]

[Footnote 12: Narragansett (Nar'a-gan'set): see map, paragraph 84.]


71. The new settlers; trouble with the Indians in their neighborhood;