Although "graciously received and maintained at the Government's expense," because they had arrived without the invitation of the King and had no letter of introduction from New York authorities, the Natives were met by the Lords of Trade instead of the King himself. 38 Nonetheless, the Secretary of State and the Lords of Trade viewed the Wappinger and their cause in a favorable light. On behalf of the King, Secretary Shelburne instructed Governor Moore to "take under your most serious consideration the case of these distressed people and turn your thoughts to every possible measure that may obtain for them a just and lasting satisfaction and that you will take on yourself as far as justice and the reason of the thing shall demand the office of their advocate and protector." 39

With this promising resolution Nimham and the rest of the group set sail to return home in late September, likely right around the time Prendergast had received his death sentence. On their return sometime in the fall of 1766, Nimham refiled his claim against the landlords' land grab. A trial was scheduled for March of 1767. Nimham struggled to find an attorney as all local attorneys had been put on retainer by Morris and Robinson. 40 Finally, just a week before the trial, Nimham was able to hire a bright young lawyer, a Yale graduate from Connecticut named Asa Spalding.

Considering the circumstances Spalding argued an impressive case for the Wappinger, bringing forth "clouds of witnesses," some of which gave quite damning evidence against the landlords. A Daniel Townshend stated how when he first moved on to the land in 1738 he had to reach an agreement with the Wappinger. Tenant farmer James Philips, "found a wigwam on his land" and was forced to make an