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Penacook Courier

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OWANUX!

                Chequocket, Nov. 11―A big boatloada Owanux landed here for a short time, an then sailed off in their big boat. Reports are that thwas about forty Owanux on the boat. It looked at first a bit like thwas gonnaby an invasion, but it dident come off that way. Still, th'alarm got sent to the Wampanoag national capital at Pokenoket.
                Mattaquesset, Dec. 13―The big Owanux boat that's been prowlin roun the shore for the last month finally went intath bay here an landed its passengers. The guard at Saquish, on th'endath sandbar guardin the bay, let em get by without makin no trouble. Th'Owanux―men an women too―got together buildin right away where they landed, on the south endath bay, an stuck up a big wooden fence roun the place. Tlooks like an invasion, but the Wampanoag people wanna give th'Owanux a chance to show it theyre friends or enemies, so they been watchin in sightath fence, but not so clost theyd get noticed.

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COMMUNICATIONS STARTED WITH OWANUX

                Pokenoket.―Massasolt, onath Wampanoag sagamores, finally got in touch with th'Owanux in their fenced town. Squanto, a courier who'd been down south to the Pottawatomie country an learned a bittath Owanux lingo, was used tasend em a welcome, nen th'other sagamore, Samoset, started conversations through this interpreter an offered friendship to th'Owanux.
                As they aingot enough food in their town (what they call Plymouth, bein's they say that means a town back over th'ocean where they come from), the Wampanoags sent em a lotta corn for the winter. It seems th'Owanux been dyin off fast from cold an starvation, an the Wampanoag sagamores been arrangin to teach how to get along over here in this country.
                When they landed at Chequocket, it seems they made an agreement to have a government an obey it, but theyre still fumlin roun with that problem. Samoset's tryinta teach em how to run a town like the red people do, by havin all the peoplath town meet together an the majority decides what to do do; but it somehow seems tabee hard for Owanux to learn all that. Looks like they canta ever done nothin like that wherever they came from.
                It seems like this buncha Owanux came over to our country cause the religion was a bit different from the others in their own country. People like that the Wampanoags'll always give shelter to long as they stay friends.
                Pawcatuck.―Canonius, a Narragansett sagamore, dont like th'idea this buncha strangers invadin these shores, an he thinks they dottaby taken an sent back where thay came from. He sent thOwanux, as a challenge to fight, a snake skin fulla arrowbeads, by a Wampanoag courier, who brought the skin back fulla some black dust an lumpsa some gray stuff that feels like copper. The Narragansetts still dont know what th'Owanux meant by that; but the Wampanoags aingonna let no trouble start while theyre in between.

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FEDERATION SUGGESTED

                Penacook.―Chocorua, the Bashaba's eldest son, thinks th'Owanux invasion might be dangerous, an suggests that the nations all around here should organise a federation like the Mohawks have. It'd help agin the Mohawks too. But his father, Passaconaway, Bashabara Penacook, would rather give th'invaders a chance tabee peaceful an friendly.

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SICKNESS

                This winter, from Quinnipiack to Passamaquoddy, thes been some queer sickness every place, an lotsa people have died from it, though it dont seem like it's bothered th'Owanux none. It started in Mattaquessett an Manonet, near the new Owanux town, an it's spread all over, an tlooks like th'Owanux started it somehow. Sompin'll haftaby done if this keeps up much longer.

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"WELCOME ENGLISHMEN!"

                Them was the words the courier Squanto greeted th'invadersa these shores, in th'Owanux language. Thes lotsa talk about fightin em, but if theyre refugees, an weak an helpless like the Wampanoags represent em, looks like all the nations round here dotta help em along an teach em the self-reliant an well-organised American waysa doin things, that they dont seemta understand. Then we hope theyll go back to their own country if it wont get em into no more trouble, an maybe they can teach their people back there how to help emselves, so they wont hafta keep on comin over here to learn.

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