[1]An immense body of literature, both popular and scholarly, has been
written on the story of the Pilgrims, and much of it is excellent.
One of the most comprehensive accounts is also one of the most
enjoyable; George F. Willison’s _Saints and Strangers_ (New York,
1945) combines exhaustive scholarship with style and wit.
[2]In the Biblical sense of “God’s chosen people,” or simply, “members
of a Christian church.”
[3]So-called because they were unknown to members of the Leyden
congregation, having been enlisted by the sponsors of the
expedition.
[4]The Pilgrims originally embarked in two ships at Southampton, 5
August 1620, but because the _Speedwell_ leaked dangerously they put
in at Dartmouth for repairs. When they returned to the open sea,
they discovered that she still shipped water. Turning to the nearest
port, they reluctantly decided to abandon the _Speedwell_ as
unseaworthy, and many of the party transferred to the already
crowded _Mayflower_, while a few decided to defer their emigration.
The successful voyage from Plymouth began 6 September, with their
third departure from the homeland.
[5]Thomas Prince, _A Chronological History of New England_ ... (Boston,
1736), vol. I, pt. 2, p. 71, fn. 38.
[6]Although portions of the book have been reprinted frequently, the
only other presentation of the full text was a facsimile in an
edition limited to 285 copies, prepared by Henry M. Dexter, and
entitled _Mourt’s Relation_ (Boston, 1865). It is a heavily
annotated volume, and Dexter’s monumental effort has aided a
generation of scholars, but his meticulous attention to “faithful
reproduction of the original, letter for letter” makes it formidable
to any but a dedicated student. The best known and most widely
available edition includes annotation and uniform spelling, but is
marred by some minor omissions and transpositions: Alexander Young,
_Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers_ (Boston, 1841), pp. 110-249.
[7]Presumably, the initials of John Peirce. Peirce was a London
businessman one of the “merchant adventurers” who had contributed to
the _Mayflower’s_ first voyage. It is possible that he underwrote
the printing of the book; it is certain that the patent to lands
occupied by the Pilgrims—as virtual squatters for almost a year—was
finally issued in his name, in trust for the settlers. They were
delighted to receive this confirmation of their legal rights, and
may have dedicated the book to him in gratitude. Only later did they
learn of the many devious ways in which he tried to cheat them.
[8]Acknowledging their indebtedness to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his
partners in the Council for New England, (formerly, the Second
Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company), who exercised legal
authority over the area, which had previously been called “Northern
Virginia.”
[9]Presumably a misprint for the initials of Robert Cushman. See
Introduction.
[10]The writer studiously avoids mentioning the grim fact that more than
half of the group who sailed on the _Mayflower_ had already died.
[11]Although they were pioneer settlers in New England, the Pilgrims had
not come to unknown territory. This portion of the coast had been
sailed by Giovanni de Verrazzano as early as 1524; probably the
first Englishman to visit the area was Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602.
In 1605, George Waymouth commanded a voyage of exploration and
trade, and kipnapped five Indians in Maine, of whom one, Squanto,
later befriended the Pilgrims. By 1608, Samuel de Champlain had even
charted the _Port du Cap de St. Louis_, which was to become Plymouth
Harbor. Capt. John Smith’s map of New England, prepared on a voyage
in 1614, already shows the site named “Plimouth.” Apparently two
mates (or pilots?) of the _Mayflower_ had sailed the coast
previously.
[12]Reasons for assuming that the writer is George Morton have been
discussed in the Introduction.
[13]Presumably, the initials of John Robinson, pastor of the Leyden
congregation. See Introduction.
[14]Bradford’s _Of Plymouth Plantation_ identifies this as the Hudson
River, where the New Netherlands Company had invited the Pilgrims to
settle. Ten leagues appears too short a distance from Cape Cod to
the Hudson: _ten_ may here be a misprint, or reference may be to the
appropriate latitude rather than to the mouth of the river.
[15]Presumably, Provincetown Harbor.
[16]to vomit and have diarrhea
[17]Members of the Leyden congregation were fearful of mutiny and other
abuses by some of the many “Strangers” who had joined the group in
England. The party had no patent for New England, so that they would
have been a people outside the law as soon as they disembarked, and
individual license could have posed a real threat.
[18]The following is the earliest known text of the famous “Mayflower
Compact”, the original document has never been found. John Quincy
Adams overstated the case when he said that “This is perhaps the
only instance in human history of that positive social compact which
speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source
of government.” As evidenced in the signatures, the distinction
between masters and servants remained, and women had no legal voice
but were still chattel. Nevertheless, it is an unusual document in
which the concept of self-government emerges so sharply during a
time when the divine right of kings was assumed. It is clearly
modelled on the “covenants” or “combinations” which characterized
most Separatist congregations, and is presaged in Rev. Robinson’s
farewell letter.
[19]The names of the signers were first printed in Nathaniel Morton’s
_New England’s Memorial_ (Cambridge, 1669). In alphabetical order,
they are:
John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Allerton, John Billington, William
Bradford, William Brewster, Richard Britteridge, Peter Brown, John
Carver, James Chilton, Richard Clark, Francis Cook, John Crackstone,
Edward Doten, Francis Eaton, Thomas English, Moses Fletcher, Edward
Fuller, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen
Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Leister, Edmond Margeson, Christopher
Martin, William Mullins, Digory Priest, John Ridgedale, Thomas
Rogers, George Soule, Miles Standish, Edward Tilley, John Tilley,
Thomas Tinker, John Turner, Richard Warren, William White, Thomas
Williams, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow.
[20]spade’s
[21]A large longboat which can be rowed, or fitted with a small mast and
sails.
[22]An indication of the overcrowded conditions aboard the _Mayflower_
is the fact that some passengers slept in the shallop, which had
been partially disassembled for easier storage.
[23]The frequent mention of sassafras is understandable in view of the
immense commercial value of that plant in the early seventeenth
century; the root and bark were sold as medicines throughout the Old
World.
[24]overturned
[25]Cf. note 2, p. 16.
[26]It is little wonder that the Indians later took the Pilgrims to task
for having appropriated dried corn from such caches where it had
been stored.
[27]Most of their guns were matchlocks.
[28]sapling
[29]artfully; skillfully
[30]A quaint touch of humor.
[31]hafting
[32]More likely, pneumonia.
[33]I.e., corn.
[34]Knowledge of Indian attacks on white settlers in the Spanish
colonies and in what is now Virginia had led the Pilgrims to expect
ill of them.
[35]I.e., the slow-burning wicks of their matchlock muskets.
[36][of a yard]
[37]a large strong needle used for sewing packages in stout cloth
[38]stakes
[39]simmer; boil
[40]Agawam; now, Ipswich, Massachusetts.
[41]harpoon
[42]swooned
[43]brooks
[44]I.e., 45 inches.
[45]saplings
[46]A kind of flintlock musket.
[47]This defies translation. It is probably less an accurate
transcription of specific Algonquian words than an Englishman’s
vague approximation of the incomprehensible sounds which seemed
threatening to him in such a context.
[48]The landing at Plymouth is reported here as having been almost
fortuitous, although some scholars believe that a few of the leaders
may long before have planned to settle at that site. Clearly there
is nothing here that can be construed as referring to “Plymouth
Rock.”
[49]hindered
[50]Presumably a misprint for _skate_.
[51]spade’s
[52]loose friable earth
[53]fertile; rich
[54]aspen
[55]The Pilgrims were in a situation far different from that of later
pioneers who settled elsewhere as independent farmers. According to
the terms of their stringent contract with the “merchant
adventurers,” their primary concern was to produce salable goods
(e.g., fish, lumber, furs) for their sponsors. This commitment was
to endure seven years, during which the sponsors were to continue
their support of the settlers. The English businessmen seem to have
taken full advantage of the dependent situation of the Pilgrims who
had no other sources of supply nor outlets for their goods.
[56]Clark’s Island, in Plymouth Harbor.
[57]guard-house; i.e., a shelter affording some security against
possible attack
[58]mistress of a household, (a title of respect)
[59]I.e., 8¼ by 49½ feet.
[60]The _Mayflower_ was a vessel of 180 tons.
[61]I.e., approximately 600 feet.
[62]hip-bone
[63]Presumably a misprint for _Carver_. There is no other mention of a
Leaver in the party.
[64]open
[65]fence-stave
[66]This may refer to mud used for plastering the inner side of
clapboard walls, typical of the frame houses which were among the
first permanent buildings at Plymouth. During these early months,
however, it may conceivably refer to a more fundamental structural
feature in temporary huts of wattle-and-daub construction, where mud
is the principal material, daubed over a framework of small
saplings.
[67]A cannon with 3¼ inch bore, firing a 4 pound shot.
[68]Presumably a misprint for _saker_, a cannon with 4 inch bore, firing
a 6 pound shot.
[69]small cannons with 1¼ inch bore, firing ½ pound shot
[70]beef’s
[71]hard; steadily
[72]On first encounter, the Pilgrims were hardly hospitable to Samoset,
whose friendly help in many respects was invaluable to them in later
years.
[73]Presumably, Monhegan Island, off southeastern Maine.
[74]I.e., 9 inches.
[75]A generic term for liquor.
[76]The fact that bubonic plague had recently decimated a major portion
of the indigenous population along the entire coast of New England
was interpreted by the Pilgrims as divine intervention, and served
as a convenient rationalization for English claims to the land.
[77]I.e., to the Wampanoag village where Massasoit was sachem.
[78]Actually members of a crew led by Capt. Thomas Dermer, on an
expedition sponsored by Gorges.
[79]Thomas Hunt, captain of a ship in Capt. John Smith’s company.
[80](in Spain)
[81]leggings
[82]Ireland was little better known than New England in the early
seventeenth century, and comparisons between Indians and Irishmen
are frequent in the descriptive accounts of English explorers of the
period.
[83]clowns
[84]smoked
[85]The adventures of Samoset, Squanto, and other Indians who had been
kidnapped and taken to Europe before whites settled in New England
are recounted with accuracy and appropriate color by Carolyn T.
Foreman, _Indians Abroad_, 1493-1938 (Norman, 1943).
[86]Presumably a misprint for _Williams_. There is no other mention of a
Williamson in the early Plymouth sources.
[87]This first American mutual security pact remained inviolate
throughout Massasoit’s life. He and his eldest son Wamsutta (named
“Alexander” by the English) signed such a treaty in Plymouth in
1639, and it was ratified and confirmed by the colonial government.
The peace was broken in 1675, for which most historians blame
Wamsutta’s brother and successor, Metacom (“King Philip”).
[88]deep
[89]mulberry
[90]The journey to Pokanoket took place in the summer of 1621. During
the preceding three months, which are unreported in this journal,
Bradford notes that almost half of the settlers died in the “General
Sickness.” None abandoned the enterprise, however, and the
_Mayflower_ returned empty to England.
[91]The derivation of this name is not clear. Six different spellings
occur even within this book: _Plimoth, and New Plimoth_ (both on the
title page!), _Plimouth_, _Plimmouth_, _New Plimmouth_, and _New
Plimmouth_. It is true that Plymouth was the town from which the
settlers had finally set sail from their native country, “... having
been kindly entertained and courteously used by divers friends there
dwelling.” Furthermore, the land company which granted their patent
had once been called the Plymouth Company. But we need evoke neither
sentimentalism nor commercial diplomacy on the part of the Pilgrims
to account for the name. In fact, this site was called “Plimouth” on
the map which they carried on the _Mayflower_, from Capt. John
Smith’s _Description of New England_ (London, 1616); supposedly it
was arbitrarily so designated by Prince Charles when Smith showed
him a draft of the map.
[92]Now, Middleborough, Massachusetts.
[93]Now, the Mount Hope area of Bristol, Rhode Island.
[94]cultivate; till
[95]admirably
[96]The wife of James I had died more than a year before the Pilgrims
sailed from England.
[97]fatigued; bruised
[98]Now, Barnstable, Massachusetts.
[99]Now, Eastham, Massachusetts.
[100]Now, Chatham, Massachusetts.
[101]In early seventeenth-century usage, this could imply anything from
disarming to kidnapping, from robbing to killing.
[102]small keg
[103]This passage defies interpretation. “Or Lemes” has no sense in
seventeenth-century English or local Indian languages. Most previous
editors have assumed this to be a misprint for _our allies_; I am
not altogether happy with that interpretation but have nothing
better to offer.
[104]Bradford’s _Of Plymouth Plantation_ sets the date of this
embarkation as 18 September 1621.
[105]I. e., Boston Harbor.
[106]Presumably, the Abnaki, an Algonquian tribe of eastern Maine.
[107]Presumably, the widow of Nanepashemet.
[108]The following appears to be a covering letter which may have
accompanied the manuscript journal when it was sent from Plymouth.
Perhaps the “loving and old friend” of the author is George Morton,
who presumably edited the relations for publication. See
Introduction.
[109]The _Fortune_, first to follow the _Mayflower_.
[110]I. e., the preceding five narratives.
[111]The following is the earliest description of the first
Thanksgiving. The dates are not specified, nor is there specific
mention of turkeys as comprising part of the feast, although they
doubtless did.
[112]The author here probably refers to the following document which was
printed in 1669, in Morton’s _New England’s Memorial_:
“September 13, Anno Dom. 1621.
“Know all men by these presents, that we whose names are
underwritten do acknowledge ourselves to be the loyal subjects of
King James, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of
the Faith, &c. In witness whereof, and as a testimonial of the same,
we have subscribed our names or marks, as followeth:
Ohquamehud, Cawnacome, Obbatinnua, Nattawahunt, Caunbatant,
Chikkatabak, Quadequina, Huttamoiden, Apannow.
[113]No such word occurs in either seventeenth-century English or local
Indian languages. It is presumably a misprint for “Ile,” i.e.,
_isle_, referring to Martha’s Vineyard.
[114]This also defies identification. Perhaps it is a misprint for
_others_.
[115]I.e., salad greens.
[116]raspberries
[117]Thirty-five new settlers arrived on the _Fortune_, of whom some had
set out with the original party but had to return to Plymouth,
England, with the disabled ship _Speedwell_. The newly arrived heads
of family were (in alphabetical order):
John Adams, William Basset, William Beale, Edward Bompasse, Jonathan
Brewster, Clement Briggs, John Cannon, William Conner, Thomas
Cushman, Stephen Dean, Philip de la Noye, Thomas Flavell, Widow
Ford, Robert Hicks, William Hilton, Bennet Morgan, Thomas Morton,
Austin Nicholas, William Palmer, William Pitt, Thomas Prence, Moses
Simonson, Hugh Stacie, James Stewart, William Tench, John Winslow,
William Wright.
Also aboard was Robert Cushman who presumably carried the manuscript
journal back to England with him on the _Fortune’s_ return trip a
month later.
[118]Bradford’s _Of Plymouth Plantation_ describes the _Fortune’s_ cargo
as comprising beaver skins, clapboards, and sassafras, all of which
was stolen by French privateers shortly before her arrival in
London.
[119]George Morton, to whom this letter was presumably written, did come
with the next party, on the ship _Anne_.
[120]advise
[121]Presumably, Edward Winslow. See Introduction.
[122]I.e., in England.
[123]shyness
[124]That is, the preceding journal.
[125]hindrance
[126]Presumably, Robert Cushman. See Introduction.
[Illustration: THE MAYFLOWER
Weighing about 180 tons, and only about 106 feet long, the
overcrowded _Mayflower_ must have had a rough voyage. The Pilgrims
sailed across the north Atlantic to avoid pirates who frequented the
more temperate latitudes. No one knows exactly what the original
_Mayflower_ looked like, but this reconstruction of a typical ship
of the time and class is probably very similar.]
[Illustration: THE SHALLOP
Small groups of Pilgrims explored Cape Cod and Clark’s Island before
selecting Plymouth as the site for their settlement. They plied
between the _Mayflower_ and the shore in a shallop, a large open
boat which could be rowed and/or fitted with sails.]
[Illustration: INDIAN WIGWAM
This reconstructed wigwam and its contents are like those
encountered by the Pilgrims during their first explorations. The
bark huts of their Algonquian Indian neighbors soon became familiar
shelters to the Pilgrims, whose descriptive accounts allow us to
understand much of the native way of life which fast disappeared in
New England.]
[Illustration: CONSTRUCTING A HOUSE AT PLYMOUTH
Members of the group early agreed that each family should build its
own house, “... thinking by that course men would make more haste.”
Roofs were thatched with bundles of rushes and grass, which provided
a good watershed but could easily be fired by a spark from the
chimney, as is graphically described in _Mourt’s Relation_.]
[Illustration: PILGRIM HOUSE IN WINTER
Pilgrim houses like this may have been almost as snug as log cabins
which were unknown in America until several years later. Clapboards
prepared by the Pilgrims also constituted a major portion of the
first shipment which was sent back to the sponsoring “merchant
adventurers” in England.]
[Illustration: A PILGRIM FAMILY
Everyone had to work at securing food during the first difficult
years in the new plantation. Corn, pumpkin, and turkey came to be
major items in the diet of the Pilgrims after they learned their
uses from the Indians.]
[Illustration: THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
It must have been a festive occasion when, “Our harvest being gotten
in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a
special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of
our labors.” Massasoit and ninety other Indians were welcomed and
contributed five deer to the three-day harvest festival.]
[Illustration: PILGRIMS GOING TO CHURCH
Most of the Pilgrims were Separatists who were opposed to the forms
of the Church of England, but spent most of the sabbath in informal
services combining social and religious activities. Fear of Indian
attack made the first settlers cautious, so they rarely traveled
unarmed, and in 1622-23 built a combined fort and meeting-house,
although they were fortunate in enjoying warm relations with
neighboring tribes for several years.]