In The Sign of the Beaver, what did Matt learn about neighboring Indians from Ben?

In The Sign of the Beaver, the main character, Matt, is visited by a beaver trapper by the name of Ben.  Ben, a large and imposing figure, invites himself to dinner and Matt feels obliged to feed and invite him to spend the night. After dinner, Ben shares the following about Indians.  First he explains that most of the Indians have left the immediate area. "What wasn't killed off in the war got took...

In The Sign of the Beaver, the main character, Matt, is visited by a beaver trapper by the name of Ben.  Ben, a large and imposing figure, invites himself to dinner and Matt feels obliged to feed and invite him to spend the night. After dinner, Ben shares the following about Indians.  First he explains that most of the Indians have left the immediate area. "What wasn't killed off in the war got took with the sickness.  A deal of 'em moved on to Canada" (15).  Then, Ben explains that the only Indians left are the Penobscot. "The Penobscots stick like burrs, won't give up" (15).  Ben informs Matt that the Indians know how to speak a little bit of English.  He also lets Matt know that the Indians move around a lot in order to avoid bugs or find food.  "...they got enough sense to clear out of these parts when the bugs is bad.  They move off, the whole lot, down to the coast to get their year's mess of clams...they'll stay the summer and then go off for the big hunt come fall" (15).  Even though Ben takes advantage of Matt and ends up stealing his father's gun, Ben does learn from the experience.  He learns about the nearby tribe of Indians, and he learns to trust his instincts when it comes to sizing up visitors.