"'That noise is enough to make anyone ill,' said the white men. 'The air in the hut is heavy and very bad because there are so many people in it. Massasoit can never get well at this rate.'
"They got the crowd to leave the wigwam. Then they gave the sick chief the proper medicine for his illness. The fever soon left the chief and he believed that his white friends had saved his life.
"One day an Indian who did not belong to Massasoit's tribe came into Plymouth. He brought a snake-skin filled with arrows and laid it on the ground.
"'What is the meaning of this?' thought the chief men.
"'It means war,' said Squanto. 'The Indians who sent it are not your friends.'
"The arrows were taken out of the snake-skin. Then it was filled with bullets and sent back to the unfriendly Indians.
"This said as plainly as any words: 'If you come to attack us with your arrows, we will shoot you with our bullets.'
"When the savages saw the bullets they were afraid. They said, 'Ugh! Ugh!' but they did not dare to touch them. They at once sent the fearful things back to Plymouth. They changed their minds about fighting white people who used firearms."
Uncle Sam stopped and looked around.
"There's nothing like being brave," he said slowly. "The Pilgrims would not even think of giving up, and that is why they held out against all dangers. You remember I told you that only half of them lived through that first winter. They were very careful not to let the savages know how many of them had died. They were even careful not to make mounds to mark the places where their friends were buried. They thought the Red Men might count the mounds. They would know by that how few of the settlers were left.