Editing Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) (section)

====First contact====
Explorations resumed on December 6/16. The shallop party headed south along the cape, consisting of seven colonists from Leiden, three from London, and seven crew; they chose to land at the area inhabited by the [[Nauset]] people (the area around [[Brewster, Massachusetts|Brewster]], [[Chatham, Massachusetts|Chatham]], [[Eastham, Massachusetts|Eastham]], [[Harwich, Massachusetts|Harwich]], and [[Orleans, Massachusetts|Orleans]]) where they saw some people on the shore who fled when they approached. Inland they found more mounds, one containing acorns which they exhumed, and more graves, which they decided not to disturb. They remained ashore overnight and heard cries near the encampment. The following morning, they were attacked by Indians who shot at them with arrows. The colonists retrieved their firearms and shot back, then chased them into the woods but did not find them. There was no more contact with them for several months.<ref name="bradford_1_10">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 10.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

The Indians were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before ''Mayflower'' arrived. In the Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by [[Thomas Hunt (slaver)|Thomas Hunt]]. Hunt kidnapped 20 people from Patuxet (the site of Plymouth Colony) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. One of the Patuxet men was [[Squanto]], who became an ally of the Plymouth Colony. He had escaped slavery and made his way to England, where he became fluent in English. He ultimately returned to America, only to discover that his entire village had died from plague.<ref name="bradford_2_1620" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bradford and Winslow|(1865)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC&pg=PA90 90–91].|Ref=Bradford_Winslow_1865}}</ref>