Some years ago Plymouth and Provincetown engaged in a harmless tiff
over the rightful ownership of the title, “Birthplace of American
Liberty.” The late Will Rogers, cowboy humorist, who was of Indian
descent, was drawn into the controversy via the radio. Said Will:
“What makes my Cherokee blood boil is that the Pilgrims were allowed to
land anywhere. As a race the Pilgrims could never be compared with the
Indians. I’m sure that it was only through the extreme generosity of my
ancestors that the Pilgrims were allowed to land at all.
“Anyhow, Provincetown says the Pilgrims found some corn buried there,
and that this saved them from starving to death. Then they shot the
Indians. That was because they had not stored any more corn.
“Next they prayed. You know one thing the Pilgrims always did was to
pray, but you never saw a picture of a Pilgrim who didn’t have a gun
beside him. That was to see that he got what he was praying for!”