"Having seen several articles in your paper, relating to the Marshpee tribe, we perceive that your paper is free, not muzzled. Marshpee Indians speak for themselves. It is not to be doubted but that the public would like to hear the Indians speak for themselves. It has been represented that the Indians were troublesome, and war-like movements were among us. If to make an inquiry into our rights by us, is war-like, so it is. Otherwise than this we know nothing about it, and we know of none that has a disposition to shed blood. It is true that the day the Hon. J.J. Fiske, of the Governor's Council, was present with us, in a council at the meeting-house, the Indians, three in number, were out in the morning, hunting deer, and when they came to the meeting-house, they had their business to attend to, and could not conveniently go four or five miles to put up their muskets, neither did we see the propriety of their so doing. We believe that a just man would not have trembled at an old rusty musket. We are hard to believe, that any people, served as we have been here, would more kindly submit to it, than we have. We think now we have submitted long enough, and we thought it no crime to look, or ask after our rights. But we found our white neighbors had thrown their chains of interest around our principal stock, so much so that we began to think they soon would drag both interest and principal all away. And no wonder they began to cry out, when they saw that the Indians were likely to unhook their chains, and break their hold. We believe white men had more war in their hearts than any of the Indians.