 Word quickly spread among the Native American tribes of Standish 's attack ; many Native Americans abandoned their villages and fled the area . As noted by Philbrick : " Standish 's raid had irreparably damaged the human ecology of the region .... It was some time before a new equilibrium came to the region . " Edward Winslow reports in his 1624 memoirs Good News from New England that " they forsook their houses , running to and fro like men distracted , living in swamps and other desert places , and so brought manifold diseases amongst themselves , whereof very many are dead " . Lacking the trade in furs provided by the local tribes , the Pilgrims lost their main source of income for paying off their debts to the Merchant Adventurers . Rather than strengthening their position , Standish 's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony , as attested by William Bradford in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers : " [ W ] e had much damaged our trade , for there where we had [ the ] most skins the Indians are run away from their habitations " . The only positive effect of Standish 's raid seemed to be the increased power of the Massasoit @-@ led Wampanoag tribe , the Pilgrims ' closest ally in the region . 
