1621, I have received y^e 10. of Novemb^r, wherin (after y^e apologie
made for your selfe) you lay many heavie imputations upon him and us
all. Touching him, he is departed this life, and now is at rest in y^e
Lord from all those troubls and incoumbrances with which we are yet to
strive. He needs not my appologie; for his care and pains was so great
for y^e commone good, both ours and yours, as that therwith (it is
thought) he oppressed him selfe and shortened his days; of whose loss we
cannot sufficiently camplaine. At great charges in this adventure, I
confess you have beene, and many losses may sustaine; but y^e loss of
his and many other honest and industrious mens lives, cannot be vallewed
at any prise. Of y^e one, ther may be hope of recovery, but y^e other no
recompence can make good. But I will not insiste in generalls, but come
more perticulerly to y^e things them selves. You greatly blame us for
keping y^e ship so long in y^e countrie, and then to send her away
emptie. She lay 5. weks at Cap-Codd whilst with many a weary step (after
a long journey) and the indurance of many a hard brunte, we sought out
in the foule winter a place of habitation. Then we went in so tedious a
time to make provission to sheelter us and our goods, about w^{ch}
labour, many of our armes & leggs can tell us to this day we were not
necligent. But it pleased God to vissite us then, with death dayly, and
with so generall a disease, that the living were scarce able to burie
the dead; and y^e well not in any measure sufficiente to tend y^e sick.
And now to be so greatly blamed, for not fraighting y^e ship, doth
indeed goe near us, and much discourage us. But you say you know we will
pretend weaknes; and doe you think we had not cause? Yes, you tell us
you beleeve it, but it was more weaknes of judgmente, then of hands. Our
weaknes herin is great we confess, therfore we will bear this check
patiently amongst y^e rest, till God send us wiser men. But they which
tould you we spent so much time in discoursing & consulting, &c., their
harts can tell their toungs, they lye. They cared not, so they might
salve their owne sores, how they wounded others."
Two problems quickly confronted the new chief magistrate, and they were
surely serious enough: the problem of a bare subsistence, and of
defense against hostile invasion by the natives.
New Plymouth was not new as a plantation. This was the site of the
Indian village of Patuxet, whose occupants had worked its somewhat
restricted area of tillage, until about four years previously, when they
and other settlements of the aborigines were desolated by plague. A
survivor of these Patuxets, Tisquantum or Squanto, showed himself to the
Englishmen, and became their valued friend and helper. Doubtless glad to
return to his old home, he instructed the colonists in the cultivation
of the maize, or Indian corn, an indigenous American product which has
become appreciated over the world wherever it thrives. It was the
Pilgrims' dependence, and a staple article of trade. The wheat and peas
they brought with them failed, and without the corn, threatening
starvation must soon have closed their career. As it was, during the
first two years they had a veritable battle for existence. Though
distemper did not return to them after the horrors of the first winter,
they became emaciated under reduced rations; but regulations in severity
here were merciful, saving the Colony from annihilation, from one
planting time to another.
Squanto lightened this task of the authorities by his lessons in hunting
venison, snaring rabbits, catching wild fowl, and fishing, especially
during the yearly herring run in the town brook up to the lovely pond
called Billington Sea because its discoverer, young Francis Billington
mistook it for a salt inlet.
Also the faithful shallop was in constant use by successive parties, who
went out into the bay and came not back without a haul of lobsters, cod,
or other fish, though at first they were poorly provided with deep-sea
tackle and proper nets. Clams afforded a further help, the people
treading and digging the flats at low tide, while eels and crabs
supplemented this. They were grateful for these means of nourishment
from sea and shore, preventing their extinction; yet such could not
suffice for permanent living.
Bradford did all in his power to relieve the shortage of food supply.
Little could be procured from abroad, and in the case of a visiting
ship, the captain's price was cruelly prohibitive. A generous captain of
different character, in a fishing fleet to the north, persuaded his
fellows to spare from their own allowance enough to load the Pilgrim
boat. But the most of the required amount of corn was obtained by
bartering various utensils and beads with the Indians, though their
natural improvidence usually left them without much of a surplus in
crops. In trading expeditions by land and water, Standish and Bradford
were both active. And each of them at times was alone, of white men,
among the natives. Bradford once left a boat and walked fifty miles
back to Plymouth from the south, for the friendly neighboring tribes
were not long in discovering his inherent gentleness and fairness.
But firm discipline was necessary in times of dire need. A few
unreliable persons had become mixed in the original company, and
colonists new or old were punished by flogging, for the theft of corn,
some of which was occasionally abstracted even before it was ripe.
Bradford's appreciative quotation of Seneca's fine affirmation, that a
man is free who has control of his stomach, in this near famine would
seem to apply where self-denial meant malnutrition, to prevent
starvation.
Weakness and numerical smallness hindered the cultivation of the soil,
and the climax was a severe drouth from the last of May, 1623, till
about the middle of July, when the stalks nearly perished in the
excessive heat. A day of prayer was appointed, in which the Pilgrims
engaged earnestly for eight or nine hours, until a general cloudiness
overspread the sky. This was followed that night by a gentle shower,
which was renewed again and again, with intervals of sunshine,
throughout a fortnight. The planting was saved, to the astonishment of
the Indians and the deep gratitude of the Christian community. Famine
fled for ever. And as the spared crop matured, a Day of Thanksgiving was
ordered by the Governor and concurring Council, a season which has been
observed annually ever since, and finally throughout the nation.
Bradford did not show favor to the industrial policy of holding all
things in common, which was at first attempted and which, because of its
early apostolic connection, was supposed to be under divine sanction. If
he tolerated the idea at first, he gives no sign of approval; and when
it was abandoned he observed: "The experience that was had in this
comone course and condition, tried sundrie years, and that amongst godly
and sober men, may well evince the vanitie of that conceite of Plato &
other ancients, applauded by some of later times; that y^e taking away
of propertie, and bringing in comunitie into a comone wealth, would make
them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser then God."
This farsighted judgment applied equally to the communistic concept of
that time and the present idea of a short working day, a living wage
whether earned or not, and an absolute democratic control over all
individual rights, which is the perversion of civil liberty, and more
potent than despotism because imposed by a multitude.
Under private ownership of land, which superseded the common stock plan,
there was better incentive to toil, and the Governor with pleasure
observed that even the women and children went willingly afield.
Assignments came to be made of one acre to a family, near the palisaded
hamlet for convenience and better security. But on petition of the
planters, Bradford directed that the allotments should be for continuous
use, rather than for one year as heretofore. This encouraged those who
had achieved good success on their area, to go forward still in their
agricultural accomplishments. They raised the more, as soon as numbers
and strength allowed, because they found a corn market among the
half-hundred fishing vessels which annually visited the northern coasts.
The story is familiar, how the distressed new-comers at first smoothed
the graves of their plague-smitten members, to hide the number of deaths
from the savages, whose derisive shouts from the forests mingled with
their lamentations. But this local Indian menace was comparatively
slight. All the Cape Indians, including those whom the Pilgrim explorers
had unintentionally aroused, became before long their permanent good
neighbors. This desirable outcome was facilitated by a singular
circumstance, the roaming of a boy who lost his way. John Billington,
Jr., wandered in the woods until the Cummaquid Indians found him twenty
miles down the coast. They carried him farther, to the Nausets, the very
tribe of the first encounter. Bradford sent notice of the missing lad to
Massasoit, who inquired for him among his subjects. On ascertaining his
whereabouts, ten colonists and two interpreters were dispatched in the
shallop to Nauset, who received the boy bead-laden and well, and held a
friendly parley with Chief Aspinet and his men. These natives forwarded
peace delegates to Plymouth, a course not actually required but
acceptable after their conflict of 1620.
The whole region of Plymouth was offered free and empty to the white
men, through the ravages of previous pestilence. This providential
visitation extended as far west as the confines of Narragansett Bay in
present Rhode Island, depleting the population where it did not wholly
destroy. And further, these Pokanokets, the Sunrise tribes in a
confederacy under Massasoit, were the more willing to heed their lord's
pacific injunctions concerning the English, because they themselves in
their weakened condition were threatened with invasion and conquest by
the powerful Narragansetts. Self-preservation, as well as commercial
advantage, prompted the never broken treaty made that spring. It was an
idea mutually welcome, a most happy plan for both afflicted parties.
Only one chief, Corbitant in the Taunton valley, was displeased and
jealous, and threatened trouble; but a prompt expedition to the interior
frightened him away back home. He sued for favor through Massasoit, and
affixed his mark below those of eight other chiefs, in a covenant of
loyalty to King James across "the big water."
The Rhode Island Indians were irritated by this unprecedented alliance
of natives with foreigners, and knowing the English losses they sent the
famous rattlesnake skin with its challenging arrows, to Plymouth. But
its speedy return filled with powder and balls and accompanied by a
friendly but warning message, punctured their pride and put for a while
a complete quietus on their warlike aspirations.
The most serious peril arose in 1623, from the populous Massachusetts
tribes along the northern bay which, with the later state, adopted their
name. These were never over-friendly, and the later Salem and Boston
colonists found their own numerical strength was a needed preventive of
further native hostilities after the first had been suppressed. The
wrath of the red northerners was fanned into fury by the wicked and
abusive conduct of sixty Wessagusset settlers, a worthless and
improvident lot which Thomas Weston imposed upon Plymouth in the time of
scarcity, until they went up the coast by themselves. Even then
Standish, and later Bradford, took command of their pinnace the Swan in
attempts to procure corn for distribution in both colonies; and the
efficient Squanto died in one of these voyages, despite tender nursing
by the Governor.
But the Wessagusset men repaid the terribly taxed hospitality and
courtesy of the Pilgrims by attempted thefts of corn and insolent
demeanor while at Plymouth; then they provoked their heathen neighbors,
with whom they competed in bad behavior; and finally their remnant
accepted the guidance of Myles Standish to the fishing fleet off the
Maine coast, whence they returned to England for the good of America.
It was in situations like these that the coolness of the Governor
greatly helped to prevent the note of dismay, for the exasperated
Massachusetts, in hope of exterminating every foreigner, sent far and
near for concerted action of all tribes, and many joined in the
conspiracy. In view of an uprising so wide-spread, it was natural that
some in the little Colony should feel apprehensive, for the peril of
extinction was real. Approximately between twenty-five and fifty
thousand Indians occupied New England. Supported by limited artillery
and musketry, the wooden palisade was hardly adequate against the
firebrands, hatchets and arrows of bloodthirsty swarming thousands; yet
it never came to the test. This is less surprising when we recall the
fact that, in addition to showing an almost complete lack of
organization, all the Atlantic coast natives were numerically weaker and
socially inferior to the inland tribes. White immigrants to the Old
Colony found them especially weak there; and in Patuxet, or Plymouth,
they were extinct, except for friendly Squanto.
At this time the people revealed their trust in Bradford's judgment by
leaving him to decide what measures should be taken in a crisis so
acute, of which he informed them on the annual court day. Captain
Standish was sent to Wessagusset, with only eight men, as more would
excite suspicion; and they equipped the shallop for trading. But one day
when two ringleaders and a couple of followers were in a hut with the
whites, Standish gave the word, the door was shut and a struggle ensued,
three red men being soon cut down, fighting to the last, while a fourth
was taken alive and afterward hung. Three more warriors in the
neighborhood were killed. This summary execution of only seven persons
quickly prepared the way for finishing the disagreeable but necessary
business without that further and abundant bloodshed, which would
inevitably have ensued but for this stern action. A force of Indians who
hastened to the scene were turned to flight without loss after a few
shots, and the heart of opposition failed. The sudden collapse of
warfare so carefully planned, is explained not only by the loose
organization of those rude folk among themselves, but by the fact, as
often in ancient history, that dependence upon leaders was extremely
strong, and the fall of a hero caused consternation and despair. Also
the terror of Standish, with his decisiveness and daring, was universal
among all disaffected natives, who regarded him as invulnerable, for he
had repeatedly escaped the plots of intending assassins; and he
surprised his foes by his quick penetration of their deadly designs
though covered by amicable professions.
This perception of sinister purposes was also well developed in
Bradford, as the following instance will show, though out of
chronological order; and it was well for the Colony that both men
possessed such a faculty, the impetuous Captain and amiable Governor,
who in their respective dispositions may fairly be compared with
Christ's leading disciples, Peter and John. When the Massachusetts Bay
Colony was at its full inception in 1630, there appeared the greatest
threat of native opposition up to that time, considering its extent. It
aimed at the annihilation of all New England settlements, north and
south along the coast where they had obtained, or were securing, a firm
footing. The older community was to be attended to first.
The scheme was to request another grand sporting festival at Plymouth,
natives and whites together, such as had been allowed to Massasoit and
his men in 1621, the year of the treaty. Though this pleasant precedent
was shrewdly cited with all openness and apparent amity, Bradford
refused the petition. Then the red men, realizing that they were
understood, declared wrathfully and with unwonted boldness, "If we may
not come with leave, we will come without."
They rallied near Charlestown, whose people were also warned by their
constant native friend, Sagamore John. Therefore the English, including
women and children, hastily erected earthworks and built a small fort on
top of the town hill. But the slightly older settlement of Salem made
use of what cannon it possessed, and the booming reverberations struck
such panic in the dusky breasts, that they immediately abandoned their
campaign, although, as later in New England's interior, it might, if
once started, have proved no farce even against explosive weapons. Thus
ended the troubles with aborigines of martial mind in William Bradford's
time.
Within a year, lacking one day, after the Mayflower had cast anchor in
Provincetown harbor, the Fortune had brought an accession of thirty-five
souls, mostly men, who replaced the male losses of the first winter.
They were somewhat heedless youth, with more of adventurous ardor than
judgment, yet such as could be controlled, and useful in the shortage of
masculine muscle and total absence of horses and oxen. They stood ready
for work or warfare, in those uncertain years before colonial
establishment. Then, just after the drouth of 1623, the Anne and the
Little James arrived in August with sixty persons, some of whom,
however, proved so undesirable that the Colony, financially burdened
though it was, willingly sent them back at its own charge. The most of
them, both Separatists and others, were very worthy and welcome; and
they included women and children, who had been left behind until they
could expect an assured settlement to occupy. Elder Brewster received
his two daughters, Doctor Samuel Fuller and Francis Cooke rejoiced to
greet their wives, and there were brides to be.
Besides these sixty, certain prospective planters were accepted who did
not wish to join Plymouth's colonial organization bound in partnership
with the company in England. Specifications regarding them were drawn
up, and mutually agreed upon. The opening article was thus generous in
its spirit:
"First, that y^e Gov^r, in y^e name and with y^e consente of y^e
company, doth in all love and frendship receive and imbrace them; and is
to allote them competente places for habitations within y^e towne. And
promiseth to shew them all such other curtesies as shall be reasonable
for them to desire, or us to performe."
A letter came with these ships, from the general company in England,
subscribed by thirteen names representing those who in that body were
friendly toward the Pilgrims and were sending them this accession of
people. The missive concluded in this tenor of sympathy and
encouragement, which doubtless did the recipients much good:
"Let it not be greeveous unto you y^t you have been instruments to
breake y^e ise for others who come after with less difficulty, the
honour shall be yours to y^e worlds end....
"We bear you always in our brests, and our harty affection is towards
you all, as are y^e harts of hundreds more which never saw your faces,
who doubtles pray for your saftie as their owne, as we our selves both
doe & ever shall, that y^e same God which hath so marvelously preserved
from seas, foes, and famine, will still preserve you from all future
dangers, and make you honourable amongst men, and glorious in blise at
y^e last day. And so y^e Lord be with you all & send us joyfull news
from you, and inable us with one shoulder so to accomplish & perfecte
this worke, as much glorie may come to Him y^t confoundeth y^e mighty by
the weak, and maketh small thinges great. To whose greatnes, be all
glorie for ever & ever."
Edward Winslow was appointed to return with the Anne, for the procuring
of needed supplies and especially to report the truth about the Colony,
whose enemies had maligned it. This gifted and honorable man rendered a
valuable service to Plymouth at that day, and to posterity ever since,
by his detailed journal of events to that time, entitled Good Newes from
New-England. He and Bradford, unnamed, had previously prepared a Journal
of the Plantation through June of the first full year, which was printed
in 1622. That and the longer account were embodied in "Purchas his
Pilgrims" in 1625.
In the feminine contingent of these latest arrivals, there appeared one
who was to share her life for thirty-three years with the Governor of
the Old Colony. She was previously well acquainted with him, and born
in the same year. Alice Carpenter was the widow of Edward Southworth a
descendant of Sir Gilbert Southworth, knight of Lancaster. When a maiden
of seventeen, she had cast in her lot with the Puritans and lived a
while as an exile in Holland, with her father. She became a woman of
devout mind and great force of character.
Alice must often have seen William Bradford in the Separatist community
at Leyden. And in her widowhood, two years after the tragic decease of
Dorothy May Bradford, she received with favor his suit for marriage,
which was happily consummated at Plymouth on August fourteen, Old Style.
She brought over considerable property with her. Dorothy Bradford's son
John, a lad under seven then, did not come till a few years later. He
himself though married died childless, after threescore years of life;
and he was given the position of Deputy to the General Court, before his
father passed away. He received a house and land from a paternal will.
Goodwife Southworth's own sons Thomas and Constant Southworth rejoined
her within seven years, meeting their half-brothers, the Plymouth family
having then been blessed with three little ones, William, Mercy and
Joseph. The Bradford household, of parents and children, therefore
comprised eight persons, residing in the Governor's assigned homestead
at the south-west corner of the square in the intersection of the two
main streets.
Mrs. Bradford engaged earnestly and long in labors for the young people
at Plymouth.
Though she survived her life-partner by nearly thirteen years, he had
the joy of knowing some of the fifteen children of his son and namesake
William, the Deputy Governor and Major, and several of his other son
Joseph's seven children. His only daughter, Mercy, married and was
living in 1650. The grandmother's name was repeated in Alice, daughter
of William Junior.
Following a long debility, on April 5, 1670, shortly before the dark
days of King Philip's war, the Governor's consort closed, at her home of
peace, her course of almost fourscore years; and a relative, Nathaniel
Morton, Secretary of Plymouth Colony, writing verses which are copied on
the first original leaf of Bradford's History, "Upon the life and death
of that godly matron Mistris Alice Bradford," said of her that after the
obsequies of her husband,
"E'r since that time in widdowhood shee hath
Lived a life in holynes and faith
In reading of God's word and contemplation."
IV
THE GOVERNOR: LATER ADMINISTRATION
_In thanking God for the mercies extended to us in the past, we
beseech Him that He may not withhold them in the future, and
that our hearts may be roused to war steadfastly for good and
against all the forces of evil, public and private. We pray for
strength and light, so that in the coming days we may with
cleanliness, fearlessness and wisdom do our allotted work on the
earth._
THEODORE N. ROOSEVELT,
_in National Thanksgiving Proclamation_.
_It is much better to keepe a good conscience and have y^e
Lord's blessing, whether in life or death._
WILLIAM BRADFORD.
As Plymouth's third summer displayed its saved harvest which, with a
fresh food supply from the Anne, promised enough by prudent management
for the increased Colony, a sense of security and content was justified.
The new-comers, who had wept to see the founders' leanness and scanty
clothing, were glad to help as they could, and consoled their much tried
spirits in the reunited and new families. The lingering experimental
stage had passed. Establishment was in sight. With only a few
exceptions, every settler had done his part and would continue to do so,
toiling for the general good as for his private welfare. The Governor
performed his share of responsibility, as he had willingly taken his
equal portion in the emergency restrictions. He would not himself avoid
in any degree what he had been obliged to impose upon others. And in
appreciation of his true democratic feeling they cordially co-operated
with him, and were pleased to support him still as their civil head. But
an external authority was to try the genuine quality of his humility;
and well it stood this test.