THE PILGRIMS
"I think mother cooks the best Thanksgiving dinners in the world," said
Joe, with a sleepy yawn. "It seems as though I could never be hungry
again."
"It is no wonder you feel as you do. I don't see where in that small
body of yours you were able to stow away so much turkey and mince pie,
to say nothing of the squash and mashed potatoes, the cranberry sauce,
nuts and raisins," said Uncle Sam. "I wonder if you ever thought why we
celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The people of other countries do not have
this holiday. If you are not too sleepy I will tell you about it."
Uncle Sam had been spending the day with the parents of Joe and Lucy.
The children's mother had said, "Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving
without Uncle Sam to share it with us. Even if my sister Mary comes
with her whole family, we can make room at the table for our dear old
friend."
The great dinner had been eaten and cleared away. The short day was
coming to an end when Uncle Sam spoke of a reason for Thanksgiving Day.
"Sleepy! I guess not. A story is just the thing before the lamps are
lighted and we play games," said Lucy.
"Just the thing," repeated her cousin Mabel. She was a year younger
than Lucy and copied everything the older girl said and did.
"We all like stories," added Arthur, a tall boy of ten years. He was
quiet and fond of books—very different from noisy Joe, who loved him
the best of all his cousins.
"Once upon a time," began Uncle Sam, "there were some people who lived
in England. They were good and honest, but they could not do just as
they wished. The king said everyone in the country must worship God in
a certain way. That way must be the same in every church.
"It happened that some of his people did not agree with the king. They
said: 'Everyone ought to worship God, but all should be free to worship
in the way they like best.'
"These people gathered together, and every Sunday they met in their own
little churches. This did not please the king and he made their lives
very unpleasant.
"Of course they were not happy. They thought: 'Why should we stay here
in England where we are treated so badly? Holland is not far away and
the Dutch people are kind and friendly. They are willing that everyone
in their country should worship as he likes. Let us go to Holland where
we can be free.'
"The plan seemed good. A small company of men, women and children left
England for a home among the Dutch.
"At first, they were happy and contented in Holland. The boys and girls
became men and women. The babies grew up into boys and girls. One thing
grieved their parents. Their children were fast forgetting the English
language. There were no English schools where they could learn their
lessons.
"'This is not right,' said the older ones. 'No people could be kinder
than our Dutch friends, but we do not wish our own children to grow up
and forget their own country and the beautiful English language.'
"'I will tell you what we can do,' said one. 'We have heard a good
deal about America. Some of our people have settled in Virginia. They
write that it is a fine place and that the air is soft and pleasant
all the year. Let us go to America. We will seek a home not far from
Virginia.'
"The others thought these were wise words. They left their Dutch
friends and went back to England. They wished to visit it once more
before they bade it good-bye forever.
"Two ships were soon ready and one hundred pilgrims sailed for America
in the year 1620.
"'We are like pilgrims,' they had said to each other, 'for we travel
from place to place.' From that day to this they have been called by
the name of the 'Pilgrims.'
"They had not sailed far before one of the ships began to leak. Its
captain said: 'It is not safe to cross the ocean in such a poor boat.'
So he turned back to England.
"All the Pilgrims now crowded into the second ship. It was called the
'Mayflower.'
"A long voyage was before the travelers. They were tossed about by
storm and wind. Almost all of them were seasick. A hundred people in
the small cabin of the Mayflower must surely have had a hard time.
"Land was sighted at last. It was their first view of their future
home, America. How happy the children must have felt when they thought
of running and playing on dry land once more!
"It was in November when they sailed around the end of Cape Cod. The
Pilgrims had not meant to come so far north of Virginia.
"Some of the men left the ship and went on shore. They found a place
where the earth looked as though it had been lately dug up. Perhaps
something was buried in this spot. Sure enough! It was some dried corn
which the Indians had put there for safe keeping.
"The men were pleased at the goodly sight. They carried the corn to the
ship. 'We may have need of it,' they said. They were honest people, so
when they afterwards found out what Indians had stored the corn there,
they paid for it quite willingly.
"A brave man named Miles Standish had come with the Pilgrims. He was
English, like themselves. They first met him while they were living in
Holland. He had gone there to help the Dutch in a war against Spain.
"Miles Standish did not belong to the same church as the Pilgrims, yet
the more he knew them, the better he liked them. When they spoke of
coming to America he said:
"'I will go with you to your new home.'
"They were much pleased, for he was a brave and able soldier. He could
help them if they had trouble with the Indians.
"After they found the corn, some one proposed to go along the coast in
a small boat. It would be the best way of finding a place to settle. As
they moved along, they saw some huts covered with mats. They thought
these must be the homes of Indians.
"They went back to the ship without finding a place to settle. Some
days after that they started out again. It was a very cold day in
December. The spray froze as it fell on their clothing.
"When they were several miles from the ship they landed and made ready
to spend the night out of doors. They built a wall of logs. They said:
"'We can sleep behind this wall. Then if the Indians should creep upon
us, we can defend ourselves.'
"They had no trouble during the night, but in the morning there was a
terrible sound. It was not like anything they had ever heard before. It
was the warwhoop of the Indians.
"'The guns!' They were in the boat where the men had just carried them.
There was a quick rush to the shore, while arrows came whizzing about
their heads. Then 'Bang! bang!' went the guns, and the frightened
Indians ran back into the woods.
"The Indians thought the white men carried thunder and lightning in the
iron tubes. Although brave, they could not stand against such fearful
weapons.
"The explorers hastened away. After a while they came into a small
harbor. The land along the shore had been cleared of woods. Brooks
flowed through it into the sea.
"'This would be a good place for our people to live,' Miles Standish
thought. The others thought so too.
"John Smith had visited this very place before and had marked it on his
map. As soon as the men came back, the ship set sail and brought the
pilgrims to the chosen spot.
"'God's will has led us here,' thought the good people. 'It must be
the best place for our new home.'
"One hundred persons had left England, but one hundred and two landed
on Plymouth Rock. How was that?"
Uncle Sam smiled as he looked at the faces of the wondering children.
"This was the way of it. Two babies had come to the Pilgrims on their
way to America. One was born in mid-ocean, so they called him Oceanus.
The other was a little girl who first saw the daylight when her people
were near the shores of their new home.
"'We will name her Peregrine,' said her parents. 'Peregrine means
wanderer, and she is a little wanderer, without doubt.'
"How good it must have seemed to the women and children when they left
the small, close cabin and the dirty ship. They had to live on board,
however, until the men had built a long, rough house on the hillside.
The whole party would have to live in this till better homes could be
made for each family.
"Not long after the big house was done, the captain of the ship said:
"'I cannot wait around here any longer. I must go back to England. Take
all your goods from my ship as quickly as possible.'"
"I should think the Pilgrims would have hated to see the ship leave,"
said Joe. "If they got homesick they couldn't go back to England, no
matter how bad they felt."
"They were not the kind of people to give up," replied Uncle Sam.
"Before they went on shore they had a meeting in the cabin of the
Mayflower. They made some good laws for themselves. They all promised
to obey them. Those promises were very helpful when troubles came.
"And troubles did come, too! The first winter at Plymouth, which was
the name they gave their new town, seemed to them long and very cold.
It was not really a very hard winter for _New_ England, but the climate
from which they had come was much milder. In _Old_ England they were
not used to so much cold, snow and ice as they now had, and they did
not know how to protect themselves properly.
"The food was poor and scarce. The one big house was not made tight
enough. The freezing air, snow and rain came though the many cracks.
One brave Pilgrim after another was seized with fever or other illness.
Before the warm days of spring came to cheer them one-half of them had
died. Alas! little baby Oceanus was one of these.
"They did not sit still and think over their troubles. Everyone who was
able kept at work. The men cut down trees in the forest with which to
build houses and a little church. They caught fish and lobsters. They
dug clams.
"The women washed and cooked and spun, and made everything as homelike
as they could for their husbands and children. The men carried their
muskets with them wherever they went. Miles Standish had told them:
"'We do not know when the Indians may take us by surprise. We must be
always ready.'
"The very day when the Pilgrims first stepped on Plymouth Rock they saw
Indians peeking at them from over the hilltop. That was all, however.
In a few minutes the Red Men were out of sight. It was a long time
before any of them were seen again.
"One day early in the spring the white men were having a meeting to
talk over some plans. Suddenly an Indian came into their midst. He was
painted in the best style of his people. He wore a bear-skin over his
shoulders.
"The men hastily seized their muskets. The Indian calmly looked from
one face to another. He seemed in no hurry. Then he slowly said:
"'Welcome, welcome, Englishmen!'
"How good those words sounded! All were filled with wonder and delight.
They were puzzled to think where this savage had learned English words.
"'Welcome, welcome, Indian.'
"Then they led him to their house and gave him a good dinner. Samoset,
for that was his name, seemed in no hurry to leave. He stayed hour
after hour. When night came the Pilgrims made up a warm bed by the side
of the fireplace. He slept there all night, while the white men kept
watch. They were not yet sure whether he meant to be their true friend.
When morning came they gave him some presents and he went away proud
and happy.
"He soon came back, bringing with him his friend Squanto and some other
Indians.
"Squanto could talk more English than Samoset. He told the Pilgrims he
had seen white men before and had lived with them. He had crossed the
great ocean with a white captain who came to Plymouth with John Smith.
"The white people had treated him kindly and had afterwards brought him
back to his old home. It was the very place where the Pilgrims were now
living. When Squanto got back he found that his family had all died of
a dreadful sickness. Many of his tribe had died from it at the same
time. That was why the others had burned their homes and moved away
from Plymouth.
"Squanto was a good friend to the white men. He came to live with them.
He showed them how to plant corn so it would grow well. He put a dead
fish in each hill to make the ground rich. He taught them the Indian
ways of hunting and fishing. If it had not been for his kindness and
knowledge the rest of the Pilgrims might have died for want of food.
"'God has sent us this friend,' thought the good people of Plymouth.
"Not far away from them lived an Indian chief named Massasoit. Squanto
belonged to his tribe. 'We would like to see Massasoit,' said the chief
men of the Pilgrims. They thought they would be much safer from attack
if they made peace with the Indian chief who lived nearest them.
"One day the great chief came to Plymouth. He liked the white men.
Before he went away he promised to be friendly to them. Massasoit kept
his word and was a good and true friend to the Pilgrims until he died.
"One time news came to Plymouth that Massasoit was very sick. Some of
his white friends went to see him. They found him stretched on a rough
bed in his little hut. He had a fever. The hut was almost filled with
Indians. The medicine men were there. They were making a fearful noise.
They thought an evil spirit had taken hold of Massasoit. They were
trying to drive it away with the noise. Then the chief would get well.
"The Indians have great faith in their medicine men. They are their
priests, as well as their doctors.
"'That noise is enough to make anyone ill,' said the white men. 'The
air in the hut is heavy and very bad because there are so many people
in it. Massasoit can never get well at this rate.'
"They got the crowd to leave the wigwam. Then they gave the sick chief
the proper medicine for his illness. The fever soon left the chief and
he believed that his white friends had saved his life.
"One day an Indian who did not belong to Massasoit's tribe came into
Plymouth. He brought a snake-skin filled with arrows and laid it on the
ground.
"'What is the meaning of this?' thought the chief men.
"'It means war,' said Squanto. 'The Indians who sent it are not your
friends.'
"The arrows were taken out of the snake-skin. Then it was filled with
bullets and sent back to the unfriendly Indians.
"This said as plainly as any words: 'If you come to attack us with your
arrows, we will shoot you with our bullets.'
"When the savages saw the bullets they were afraid. They said, 'Ugh!
Ugh!' but they did not dare to touch them. They at once sent the
fearful things back to Plymouth. They changed their minds about
fighting white people who used firearms."
Uncle Sam stopped and looked around.
"There's nothing like being brave," he said slowly. "The Pilgrims would
not even think of giving up, and that is why they held out against all
dangers. You remember I told you that only half of them lived through
that first winter. They were very careful not to let the savages know
how many of them had died. They were even careful not to make mounds
to mark the places where their friends were buried. They thought the
Red Men might count the mounds. They would know by that how few of the
settlers were left.
"As soon as the spring came, corn was planted over the graveyard. The
tall stalks were soon waving to and fro, hiding it from sight."
"Now the people were very busy. Gardens were planted; fish and lobsters
were caught in plenty, and everyone was happy. In the summer wild
berries were to be had for the picking, and the gardens which had been
planted began to yield nice vegetables.
"Then came the beautiful days of the New England autumn. The harvests
ripened and fields of corn seemed to cry:
"'Come, gather the golden grain and store it away for the cold days of
winter.'
"Squashes and pumpkins and other good things were ready for the
picking. Men, women, and children were busy and joyous.
"When the governor looked on the glad sight, he said:
"'The Lord has blessed us. We should praise Him for His mercy to us in
this strange land.'
"He set aside a day for prayer and thanksgiving. Feasts should be
spread and all work given up. His orders were followed.
"That was the first Thanksgiving Day in America.
"What numbers of pies and puddings were made for that day! What
quantities of fish and wild turkeys were brought by the men and cooked
by the women!
"Thanksgiving morning came at last, and after a good breakfast everyone
went to church. In those days not even the babies were left at home,
but were carried to church in their mothers' arms.
"There was a long service in the church. A very long one it must have
seemed to the children, who kept thinking of the great dinner to come
soon. The last hymn was sung, the last prayer made, and all turned
their steps to the tables loaded with good things to eat and drink.
"The Pilgrims had invited Massasoit and some of his people to share
their feast. The Red Men were pleased when they received the invitation.
"'We will do our part,' they said.
"They took their bows and arrows and went out into the forest. They
shot some red deer. Early on Thanksgiving morning they arrived in
Plymouth, bringing the game they had killed.
"When the great dinner was ready at last, one hundred Indians with
hungry stomachs were ready to share it with the white people.
"It must have been hard to entertain the visitors. They could speak and
understand only a few words of English. Now and then they would give a
deep grunt to show they were well pleased.
"They stayed not only to dinner, but to supper, also. Even then they
were in no hurry to go home. Many of them spent the night with their
white friends. They seemed to think Plymouth was a very pleasant place."
It was quite dark outside before Uncle Sam finished the story of the
first Thanksgiving Day. But big logs were burning in the fireplace
and giving a soft light all over the room. The old man could see the
children's happy faces. He knew they were having a good time, though
they had kept so quiet.
"I am ready for blind-man's-buff," he said, suddenly jumping up "I'll
be the blind man. Come, we have been still long enough."
Lamps were quickly lighted. In a minute the room was filled with the
laughter of the Young folks as Uncle Sam dashed right and left trying
to catch them in his long arms.
"The little Pilgrims though they had a good time on Thanksgiving Day.
But their parents would no let them make much noise. Dear me! If
children are not allowed to make a noise, they can't be happy." Uncle
Sam was talking to himself as he walked home after the party.
Just then his big black cat rubbed against his legs. "Hullo, Buzz, is
that you. And did you think I was speaking to you? Here, smell of this
turkey bone. I brought it home so you could have a feast, too."
Uncle Sam bent down and rubbed the cat's soft fur. The he went into the
house, leaving Buzz outside to enjoy his Thanksgiving supper.