The governor of Canada held a constant correspondence with this Jesuit, and received through his hands information of every thing that transpired among the tribes in that quarter. From these individuals the savages received every encouragement to assert their title to lands occupied by the English, and to molest the settlers, by killing their cattle, burning their haystacks, and robbing and insulting them. Many of the inhabitants, alarmed by these demonstrations of hostility, removed from the frontiers in 1720. The garrisons were reinforced, and scouting parties were sent abroad, which checked for a time the hostile movements of the Indians, who were compelled, the same year, to give hostages for their good behaviour. This last requisition was highly disrelished by the governor of Canada, who renewed his efforts to keep up the quarrel, and secretly promised to supply the Indians with arms and ammunition, although, as Great Britain and France were not then at war, he could not openly assist them. The New England governments obtained information of these intrigues; yet, though highly incensed, they judged it best not to rush into hostilities. The main dispute lay between the Indians and the proprietors of the eastern lands, and the public were not directly concerned in it. No blood had as yet been shed within the limits of the English territory. Rasle was considered the principal instigator of the Indians, and it was thought, that, if he were removed, all would be quiet. A proposal was made to send the sheriff of York County with a posse of a hundred and fifty men, to seize him and bring him to Boston, but this bold stroke was not ventured upon. In the summer of 1721, Rasle, in company with the Count de Castine from Penobscot, and Croisil from Canada, appeared at one of the English garrisons, and presented a letter, written in the name of the several Indian tribes to Governor Shute of Massachusetts, declaring, that, “if the English did not remove in three weeks, they would kill them and their cattle, and burn their houses.” The lands in question were comprehended within the limits of the English patents, and the settlers were considered the only legal proprietors. They had been accustomed to obtain regular deeds of sale from the Indians, and pay them a valuable consideration; but some of these titles were from an obscure and questionable source; and the memory of such transactions is soon lost among people possessing no written records. The Indians easily forget the sales made by their ancestors, or imagine that such bargains are not binding upon their posterity.