The warm and constant friendship of the two sachems for Williams himself, is a sufficient indication of noble natures. Canonicus was suspicious of him at first; "but with Miantunnomu," writes Mr. Williams soon after his removal, "I have far better dealing. He kept his barbarous court lately at my house. He takes some pleasure to visit me, and sent me word of his coming over some eight days hence." When the treaty of 1636 was negotiated at Boston, Miantonomo not being able to understand perfectly all the articles, or perhaps not placing entire confidence in the Massachusetts government, desired that a copy should be sent to his friend Williams--if _he_ was satisfied, it was intimated, no objection or difficulty would arise upon his own part. The conveyances of land heretofore spoken of, were made to him in the same feeling. "It was not price or money," says the grantee, "that could have purchased Rhode Island; but 't was obtained by love, that love and favor which that honored gentleman, Sir Henry Vane, and myself, had with the great sachem, Miantunnomu, about the league which I procured in the Pequod war. The Indians were very shy of _selling_ lands to any, and chose rather to make a grant [gift] of them, to such as they affected." It might be supposed, that Mr. Williams had peculiar facilities for instructing the sachems in the doctrines of Christianity; but he did not attempt a great deal in this way, and his reasons for it are given in his Key to the Languages. [FN] He observes, that he once heard Miantonomo conversing with several of his chief warriors about keeping the English Sabbath. At another time, a Connecticut Indian undertook, in Miantonomo's presence, to dispute Mr. Williams' doctrine, that the souls of the good should up to heaven, and those of the wicked to hell. Our Fathers have told us, said he, that all go to the South-West, and this I believe. "And why so," asked the sachem, "did you ever _see_ a soul go to the South-West?" To this the other rejoined, that the evidence was the same in this respect for the Indian doctrine as for that of Mr. Williams. "Ah!" answered Miantonomo, "but he has books and writings, and one which God himself has made; he may well know more than we or our fathers." The anecdote certainly shows a great confidence of the sachem in his English acquaintance. * * * * * [FN] In 1654, (Mass.) he writes--"at my last departure for England, I was importuned by ye Narigansett sachims, and especially by Nanekunnat, to pressent their petition to ye high sachims of England, yt they might not be forced from their religion, and for not changing their religion be invaded by war; for they said they were daily visited by threatenings by Indians yt came from about ye Massachusetts yt if they would not pray they should be destroyed by war." Ms. Letters.