 In November 1621 , a Narragansett messenger arrived in Plymouth and delivered a bundle of arrows wrapped in a snakeskin . The Pilgrims were told by Tisquantum and Hobbamock that this was a threat and an insult from the Narragansett sachem Canonicus . The Narragansetts lived west of what is now known as Narragansett Bay in present @-@ day Rhode Island , and were one of the more powerful tribes in the region . Bradford sent back the snakeskin filled with gunpowder and shot in an effort to show that they were not intimidated . 
