There was no defined property line in the early New England colony, causing animals to roam freely becoming an issue between the two societies. Ultimately the Indians were unprepared for European cattle to enter their borderless property. Animals not only entered their land, but ate their resources and grass along the way. The destruction caused by livestock to Native American land led to a sharp boundary line between them and Europeans, creating further tension rather than assimilation. Cattle were trapped in Indian hunting traps, causing both a problem for the Indians' hunting rituals and for the Europeans' livestock supply. These land division problems ultimately led to the acceleration of land expansion by settlers during the 1660s and 1670s. Before King Philip's War, Plymouth officials approached the Indians at least twenty-three times to purchase land. The author argues that by this point the previous mutual consideration for the needs of both societies had diminished and the sale of the land would eliminate the Indian's independence. Whenever livestock was involved, settlers ignored the property rights of the Indians