[Sidenote: =The Pilgrims have a hard struggle=]
=51. How the New England Colonists Lived.= The Puritans and the
Pilgrims had a hard struggle in their new homes. The winters were long
and colder than in England. For the cold weather they had to build
warm houses and barns, and store up much grain, hay, and provisions.
The summers were cool and short; tobacco and even corn did not ripen
so well as in Virginia. Most of the land was hilly and stony and hard
to cultivate. But these things did not discourage the settlers, who
merely worked so much harder. Soon they raised all the corn, wheat,
cattle, and sheep they needed, and even had some left to sell. Where
the streams had waterfalls they built mills with big water wheels. In
these they ground their flour and meal and sawed their lumber.
While the men farmed the land, or ran mills, or fished, the women also
did their share of the work. They made butter and cheese, spun and wove
the wool into cloth, and made many other things which now we buy from
stores.
[Sidenote: =The Pilgrims build towns and villages=]
Unlike the Virginia colonists, many people of New England lived in
towns and villages. They built churches, schools, and town halls.
All the people went to church. Most of the children attended school.
Whenever any question arose in which every one was interested, they
talked it over at the town meeting. In these ways the New England
colonists differed from the Virginians.