We all know what the Pilgrim Fathers wrote about themselves and their
settlements on the (not so) “stern and rockbound coast”; but how many
people know that they were visited thrice, between 1622 and 1627, by
outsiders who left on record candid accounts of what they saw? That is
the reason for this book. These three accounts—one by a gentleman from
Virginia, one by an Englishman straight from England, and the other by a
Dutchman from New Amsterdam—are brought together between two covers, so
that we can see how the Pilgrims and New Plymouth appeared to visitors
who shared neither their particular beliefs nor their intention to live
in New England.
John Pory’s, the Virginian account, was discovered early in this century
and published in a small limited edition, long since out of print. De
Rasieres’ Dutch account is best known; it was discovered in
mid-nineteenth century, was promptly translated, and has several times
been printed. Three of the Altham letters have never before been
printed. The manuscripts were purchased by the late Dr. Otto Fisher, who
kindly permitted us to publish this _editio princeps_. The fourth Altham
letter, printed some years ago, has been included, as it rounds out the
story.
Pory’s account is valuable for the vivid description of the bounties of
nature at Plymouth and along the coast of Maine. We are sorry he did not
have time to investigate the Indians’ tall tale of mammoth Massachusetts
oysters. He confirms Edward Winslow’s story about Governor Bradford’s
exchange of diplomatic messages (snakeskin and bullets) with Canonicus,
somewhat suggesting what now goes on between Washington and Moscow.
Bradford refers pleasantly to Pory’s visit in his _Of Plymouth
Plantation_ chapter xiii, and notes that he borrowed the Governor’s copy
of Henry Ainsworth’s _Annotations upon the Fourth Book of Moses_ for
shipboard reading on his passage to England.
The Altham letters provide the first new information about the Plymouth
Colony to appear in fifty years. Captain Emmanuel Altham of the pinnace
_Little James_, which arrived at Plymouth in 1623, gives us a fresh
description of the settlement, its meager resources in livestock, and
its abundant store of fish and timber. An important item for Pilgrim
lore is the description of Bradford’s marriage feast, which the Governor
was too modest to include in his History. Altham gives a vivid
characterization of Massasoit, the guest of honor, and notes the
delicacy of that chieftain in bringing only one of his five wives to the
party. And he corroborates Winslow’s story of Miles Standish’s
expedition against Wessagusset.
Altham, as one of the English Adventurers who financed Plymouth Colony,
adds appreciably to our knowledge of how that business was done. He
thoroughly disapproves of the faction among the Adventurers that was
responsible for inflicting the Rev. John Lyford on Plymouth. Altham’s
present to his brother of a “great king’s pipe” that “doth stink
exceedingly of Indian tobacco” makes a humorous postscript to this very
interesting series of letters.
De Rasieres’ letters, although well known, have never before been
printed in so full and accurate a translation. They open with a
description of Manhattan Island only three years after the settlement of
New Amsterdam, and of the shores of Long Island Sound. They describe
Algonkian Indian customs such as the making of wampum, the growing of
Indian corn, with recipes for corn bread and porridge, and methods of
dealing with unfaithful wives and roving husbands. Once arrived at New
Plymouth, De Rasieres describes the settlement with great care—the
clapboarded houses, the square fort on Burial Hill, and the Sabbath
church parade to beat of drum, which has become classic. Nor does he
neglect the government of the colony or the customs of the neighboring
Indians.
Detractors of the Pilgrim Colony will find no ammunition in these three
contemporary descriptions. The Virginian, the Englishman, and the
Dutchman found much to admire in the Colony and nothing to disparage.
They have given us fresh reason to respect the faith and fortitude of
that little band in its struggle to maintain a toe hold on the edge of
the American wilderness.