Anne: The larger issue (diets aside) is whether English and Indian children (and others?) would've engaged in such friendly socializing in 1609, or any other time. 1609 is a bad year to select for your story: the English settlement was on the brink of dissolution and torn by internal power struggles; and the relations between the local Indians and the colonists were not good, to put it mildly. See chapter 6 of James Horn's new book, A Land As God Made It. He describes, among other things, an abortive attempt by the English in 1609 to purchase a small island from the Nansemond Indians' "king," who had no interest in selling it (it was one of their holy places with graves, etc.). The Nansemonds had "sacrifysed" the two English messengers who had visited the island to negotiate its transfer; their "Braynes [were] cut and scraped out of their heades with mussell shelles." The English, upon hearing this, ordered the island taken by force, and George Percy (one of the group's leaders) reported afterwards that they had "Beate the Salvages outt of the Island," burning their houses, ransacking their temples, pillaging the corpses of their dead kings in their tombs. They had also "caryed away their pearles, Copper and braceletts, wherewith they do decore their kings funeralles." (Horn, p.165) Doug Deal To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html