<P> Samoset (also Somerset, c. 1590--1653) was an Abenaki sagamore and the first American Indian to make contact with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony . He startled the colonists on March 16, 1621 by walking into Plymouth Colony and greeting them in English, which he had begun to learn from fishermen frequenting the waters of Maine . </P> <P> Samoset was a sagamore (subordinate chief) of an Eastern Abenaki tribe that resided in what now is Maine, and an English fishing camp had been established in the Gulf of Maine . Samoset learned some English from fishermen who came to fish off Monhegan Island and he knew most ship captains by name . </P>

Who was the first native american to greet the pilgrims