A treaty with the Lamanites could still possibly be trusted, but a treaty with the Gadianton robbers was not dependable since they were servants of Satan (v. 28). The narrow passage must have been much farther south than it was five years before. The Nephites appeared to have been driven a great distance to the north. The narrow passage may be different than the narrow neck, although they are sometimes used interchangeably. The land northward and the land southward were separated by a narrow neck of land (see Alma 22:32; 63:5). The narrow passage was between the land of Bountiful in the south, and the land of Desolation in the north (see Alma 50:34; 52:9). It too led into the land northward, but may have been separate from the narrow neck. The large plates of Nephi will give us more knowledge of the geography mentioned here.