“[the king] has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

which best describes the colonists' attitude toward american indians?

fearful and mistrusting

sad and resigned

optimistic but wary

empathetic and understanding

The conflict between the colonists and the natives was very harsh. When the Americans were first invaded, the violent invasion shook the lives of many native Americans. They were also looted by the colonists for food and land.

In this particular excerpt, the language suggests a lot about the attitude of the colonists towards the natives of the land. Words such as "merciless Indian" and "savages" suggest how fearful the colonists are after knowing the abilities of the Americans and understand that the natives can attack more easily in their area. Other annotations like "undistinguished destruction", "warfare" portray the picture of how much mistrust is created between the two groups. The colonists note that invading the American Indians was not a good idea and are now fearful of what could happen next.

fearful and mistrusting.