"9. If hee haue engaged against us to aske vpon what grounds and what wrong wee haue donn him?
"10. Whether hee thinks it meet to com or send his messengers to give satisfaction concerning these queries?
"11. Whether hee hath hiered the Mohakes to healp him against us?"
The answer of Mexham, as reported by the messengers, to the first question, was thus. "I speak vnfeignedly from my hart without Dessimulation that I know of noe such plott that is intended or ploted by the Duch Governour against the English my frinds. Though I bee poor it is not goods guns powder nor shott that shall draw mee to such a plott." Pessacus said, "I am very thankfull to these two men that came from the Massachusetts and to you Thomas and to you Poll and to you Mr. Smith that are come soe fare as from the Bay to bring vs this message, and to enforme vs of these things wee knew not of before."
To the second, Mexham answered "No." Pessacus said, "that for the Governor of the Duch, wee are loth to Inuent any fakehood of him, though we bee far off from him, to please the English or any other that bring these Reports. The Duch Governor did never propound such a thing." He also represented the evident folly of his leagueing with a remote people against his nearest neighbors. He gave a negative to the fifth question. The sixth he supposed to be already answered. To the seventh, he said, "wee desire to keeps it [peace] feirmly to our dieing day as neare as we can." The eighth and ninth, Mexham and Pessacus thought they had answered already. As to the tenth, they replied, that Pessacus was too old [FN] to "trauell two daies together, but they would send some men into the Massachusetts to speak with [tell] the Sachems that they had sent to Mr. Smith and Voll his man to speake to Mr. Browne that they loved the English sachems and all English in the Bay." The charge implied in the last query they absolutely denied.
[FN] Probably meant for too ill.
The answers of Ninigret, which were given separately, are the more worthy of notice that he was known to have visited New York during the previous winter, and had been accused by various Indians, including some of the Mohegans, of having formed an alliance with the Dutch against the English. He utterly disclaimed such conduct. "But," he added, "whiles I was there att the Indian Wigwames there cam som Indians that told mee there was a ship com in from Holland, which did report the English and Duch were fighting together in theire owne countrey, and theire were severall other shippes cominge with amunition to fight against the English heer, and that there would bee a great blow given to them, but this (said he,) I had from the Indians, and I cannot tell how true it is." Next, four queries were answered in the negative. As to the sixth, "What shall I answare these things over and over again? What doe the English thinke that I thinke they bee asleep and suffer mee to do them wronge? Doe we not know they are not a sleepy people? The English make queries for gunpowder, and shot and swords. Do they thinke wee are mad to sell our liues and the liues of all our wiues and children and all our kindred, and to haue our countrey destroyed for a few guns powder shott and swords? What will they doe vs good when wee are dead?" The eighth, ninth, and eleventh, were denied. To the seventh he replied, that he knew no reason for breaking his league with his old friends the English; and why should he ally himself to a few Dutchmen, so far off when he lived next door to them? The answer to the tenth would puzzle the most mystifying politician of modern times. "It being indifferently spoken whether hee may goe or send yet bee knowing nothing by himselfe wherein hee hath wronged the English but that hee may goe yet being Indifferently spoken hee would send to speak with the English." [FN]
[FN] We copy punctuatim, from the Records of the United Colonies, as preserved in Hazard's Collections. Perhaps the Interpreter was to blame for this problematical sentence.