That would be the weather; the harsh winters were brutal.
And what the weather didn't do, the many diseases certainly did.
No, it wasn't so much the native Americans -- like you were probably thinking.
The conflict in this excerpt creates suspense by making the reader wonder
Answer:
His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.
