to extol his own power and glory.

'Am I not,' he exclaimed, in a loud voice, 'Masasoyt, the great king?
Am I not lord of all the people of the Lowsons; and of such and such
places? And he enumerated nearly thirty uncouth Indian names of places
over which he claimed sovereignty, his wild subjects uttering a yell of
joy and exultation in answer to each word he uttered. The savage
monarch then proceeded to ratify and augment the agreement into which
he had already catered with Edward Winslow, and promised to guarantee
to the English settlers an exclusive trade with his tribe; at the same
time entreating them to prevent his powerful enemies, the
Narragansetts, from carrying on a commercial intercourse with the
French colonists.

Notwithstanding the boasted power of this 'Chief of chiefs,' the
scarcity of provisions was so great in his village of Packanokick at
the time of this embassy, that he was only able to offer his white
friends one meal during their visit to him, which lasted a day and two
nights; and this solitary display of regal hospitality consisted of two
large fishes just caught in a neighboring lake, and which were divided
amongst forty hungry persons. In spite of this temporary distress, he
pressed the deputation to remain longer with him; but the object of
their mission having been attained, they were glad to leave the
residence of the Sagamore, which possessed far less of comfort and
civilization than were to be found in the picturesque summer camp of
his son and inferior Sachem, Mooanam.

This lovely spot continued to be much frequented by the settlers,
between whom and their copper-colored neighbors a strong feeling of
mutual regard became established; and this friendship proved a great
advantage to both parties, in a social as well as a political point of
view. The Wampanoges found the benefit of their alliance with the
mighty English during the autumn of that year, when the dread which
their name and power had inspired proved a safeguard to the friendly
Indian tribe, and preserved them from a combined attack of several
other tribes who had, by some mysterious means, been instigated to
unite for their destruction.

The intelligence of this conspiracy reached the settlers when a party
of them were on the peninsula of Cape Cod, whither they had gone to
bring back a young English boy, named Francis Billington, who had lost
himself in the forest some time previously, and, after having subsisted
for seve