 Arnold had a good relationship with the native people, and in the words of Elisha Stephen Arnold, author of the family genealogy (1935), "he felt for the Indians a conscientious kindliness and in his dealings with them was actuated by a sense of strictest justice." Also, like Roger Williams, he made an effort to learn their language and acted as interpreter many times, being paid, in one instance, 26 shillings for his services. Being able to communicate with the Indians, he was able to buy large tracts of land from them, and soon he and his sons owned nearly 10,000 acres (40 km2). In 1650 he paid more than three and a half pounds and his son Benedict paid five pounds, the highest taxes paid in the colony, implying that the Arnold family was among the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, families in the colony in terms of land holdings.
