Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
RUTH OF BOSTON
A STORY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
BY
JAMES OTIS
NEW YORK -:- CINCINNATI -:- CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1910 BY
JAMES OTIS KALER
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON
FOREWORD
The purpose of this series of stories is to show the children, and
even those who have already taken up the study of history, the _home
life_ of the colonists with whom they meet in their books. To this end
every effort has been made to avoid anything savoring of romance, and
to deal only with facts, so far as that is possible, while describing
the daily life of those people who conquered the wilderness whether
for conscience sake or for gain.
That the stories may appeal more directly to the children, they are
told from the viewpoint of a child, and purport to have been related
by a child. Should any criticism be made regarding the seeming neglect
to mention important historical facts, the answer would be that these
books are not sent out as histories,--although it is believed that
they will awaken a desire to learn more of the building of the
nation,--and only such incidents as would be particularly noted by a
child are used.
Surely it is entertaining as well as instructive for young people to
read of the toil and privations in the homes of those who came into a
new world to build up a country for themselves, and such homely facts
are not to be found in the real histories of our land.
JAMES OTIS.
CONTENTS
PAGE
A PROPER BEGINNING 9
ON THE BROAD OCEAN 11
MAKING READY FOR BATTLE 13
THE REST OF THE VOYAGE 15
THE FIRST VIEW OF AMERICA 17
THE TOWN OF SALEM 19
OTHER VILLAGES 21
VISITING SALEM 22
MAKING COMPARISONS 25
AN INDIAN GUEST AND OTHER VISITORS 27
A CHRISTENING AND A DINNER 30
DECIDING UPON A HOME 33
A SAD LOSS 35
REJOICING TURNED INTO MOURNING 36
THANKSGIVING DAY IN JULY 38
LEAVING SALEM FOR CHARLESTOWN 39
OUR NEIGHBORS 40
GETTING SETTLED 42
THE GREAT SICKNESS 44
MOVING THE TOWN 46
MASTER GRAVES PROHIBITS SWIMMING 48
ANNA FOSTER'S PARTY 49
THE TOWN OF BOSTON 51
GUARDING AGAINST FIRES 53
OUR OWN NEW HOME 54
THE FASHION OF THE DAY 56
MY OWN WARDROBE 59
MASTER JOHNSON'S DEATH 60
MANY NEW KINDS OF FOOD 61
THE SUPPLY OF FOOD 64
THE SAILING OF THE "LYON" 66
THE FAMINE 67
THE SEARCH FOR FOOD 69
THE STARVATION TIME 70
A DAY TO BE REMEMBERED 73
THE COMING OF THE "LYON" 74
ANOTHER THANKSGIVING DAY 75
A DEFENSE FOR THE TOWN 78
THE PROBLEM OF SERVANTS 79
CHICKATABUT 80
BUILDING A SHIP 82
HOUSEHOLD CONVENIENCES 84
HOW THE WORK IS DIVIDED 86
LAUNCHING THE SHIP 88
MASTER WINTHROP'S MISHAP 90
NEW ARRIVALS 92
ANOTHER FAMINE 94
FINE CLOTHING FORBIDDEN 96
OUR FIRST CHURCH 97
A TROUBLESOME PERSON 100
THE VILLAGE OF MERRY MOUNT 101
PUNISHING THOMAS MORTON 102
PHILIP RATCLIFF'S CRIME 105
IN THE PILLORY 107
STEALING FROM THE INDIANS 108
THE PASSING OF NEW LAWS 110
MASTER PORMONT'S SCHOOL 112
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 114
OTHER TOOLS OF TORTURE 116
DIFFICULT LESSONS 118
OTHER SCHOOLS 119
RAISING FLAX 121
PREPARING FLAX 123
SPINNING, BLEACHING, AND WEAVING FLAX 125
WHAT WE GIRLS DO AT HOME 127
MAKING SOAP 129
SOAP FROM BAYBERRIES 132
GOOSE-PICKING 133
A CHANGE OF GOVERNORS 135
THE FLIGHT OF ROGER WILLIAMS 136
SIR HARRY VANE 138
MAKING SUGAR 140
A "SUGARING DINNER" 143
TRAINING DAY 146
SHOOTING FOR A PRIZE 149
LECTURE DAY 151
PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL-DOERS 152
THE MURDER OF JOHN OLDHAM 154
SAVAGES ON THE WAR-PATH 156
PEQUOT INDIANS 158
RUTH OF BOSTON
A PROPER BEGINNING
[Illustration]
Truly it seems a great undertaking to journey from London into the
land of America, yet I have done so, and because of there being very
few girls only twelve years of age who are likely to make such a
voyage, it seems to me well if I set down those things which I saw and
did that might be interesting to myself in the future, when I shall
have grown to be an old lady, if God permits, or to any other who may
come upon this diary.
Of course I must first set down who I am, in case strangers should
some day chance to find this book, and, growing interested in it--for
who can say that I may not be able to tell a story which shall be
entertaining, because of there being in it much which the people of
England have never seen--give me credit for having written a diary
without a proper beginning.
You must know, then, that my name is Ruth. In the year of our Lord,
1630, when, as I have said, I was but twelve years of age, my father
joined that company led by Master John Winthrop, whose intent it was
to go into America to spread the gospel, and there also build up a
town wherein should live only those who were one with them in the
worship of God.
This company was made up of four classes of people. First there were
those who paid a sum of money for their passage to America, and,
because of having done so, were to be given a certain number of acres
of land in the New World.
In the second class were those who, not having enough money to pay the
full price for their passage, agreed to perform a sufficient amount of
work, after arriving in America, to make up for the same.
In the third class were those called indentured servants, which is
much the same as if I said apprentices.
The fourth and last class had in it those people who were to work for
wages, at whatsoever trade or calling they were best fitted.
It needs not that I should say more by way of a beginning, for surely
all the people in England, if they do not know it now, will soon come
to understand why we, together with those who have gone before us,
and the companies that are to come after, have journeyed into
America.
ON THE BROAD OCEAN
It was decided that my parents, and, of course, myself, should sail in
the same ship with Master Winthrop, and the name of that vessel was
the _Arabella_, she having been so called in honor of Lady Arabella
Johnson, who journeyed with us.
My mother was sadly grieved because of Mistress Winthrop's deciding
not to go on the voyage with her husband, but to join him in the New
World later, and this decision was a disappointment to very many of
the company. I am in doubt as to whether the Lady Arabella would have
gone with us on this ship, had she not believed Mistress Winthrop also
was to go.
It was on the twenty-second day of March, in that year which I have
previously set down, that, having already journeyed from London to
Southampton, we went aboard the _Arabella_, counting that the voyage
would be begun without delay, and yet, because of unfriendly winds and
cruel storms, our ship, with three others of the company, lay at
anchor until the eighth day of April.
Then it was, after the captain of the ship had shot off three guns as
a farewell, that we sailed out on the broad ocean, where we were
tossed by the waves and buffeted by the winds for nine long, dreary
weeks.
[Illustration]
Had it not been for Master Winthrop's discourses day after day, we
should have been more gloomy than we were; but with such a devout man
to remind us of the mercy and goodness of God, it would have been
little short of a sin had we repined because of not being carried more
speedily to that land where was to be our home.
There was one day during the voyage, when it seemed verily as if the
Lord was not minded we should journey away from England.
We had not been out from the port many days, when on a certain morning
eight ships were seen behind us, coming up as if counting to learn
what we were like; and then it was that all the men of the company
believed these were Spanish vessels bent on taking us prisoners, for,
as you know, at that time England was at war with Spain.
It was most fearsome to all the children, but very much so to Susan, a
girl very nearly my own age, with whom I made friends after coming
aboard, and myself.
MAKING READY FOR BATTLE
When Susan and I saw the men taking down the hammocks from that
portion of the vessel which was called the gun deck, loading the
cannon, and bringing out the powder-chests, truly were we alarmed.
[Illustration]
Standing clasped in each other's arms, unheeded by our elders, all of
whom were in a painful state of anxiety or fear, we watched intently
all that forenoon the ships which we believed belonged to the enemy.
Then I heard one of the sailors say that the Spaniards were surely
gaining on us, and the captain of the vessel, as well as Master
Winthrop and my father, must have believed it true, for all
preparations were made for a battle.
The small cabins, leading from the great one, were torn down that
cannon might be used without hindrance, and the bedding, and all
things that were likely to take fire, were thrown overboard. The boats
were launched into the sea and towed alongside the ship so that when
the worst came we might fly in them, and then that which was most
fearsome of all, the women and children were sent down into the very
middle of the vessel, where they might not be in danger when the
Spaniards began to send iron balls among us, as it seemed certain they
soon would.
While we were huddled together in the darkness, many weeping, some
moaning, and a few women, among whom was my mother, silent in the
agony of grief, Master Winthrop came down to pray with us, greatly to
our comforting, after which, so I have been told since, he went up
among the men where he performed the same office.
It was not until an hour after noon that our people discovered that
those ships which we believed to be Spanish, were English vessels,
from which we had nothing to fear.
Then word was sent down to us in that dark place that we might come up
above, and once in the sunlight again, we found all the passengers
rejoicing and making merry over the fears which had so lately beset
them.
How bright the sun looked to Susan and me as we stood near the rail
of our ship, gazing at the vessels which only a few hours before were
a fearsome sight, but now seemed so friendly! It was as if we had been
very near to death, and were suddenly come into a place of safety.
THE REST OF THE VOYAGE
From that time until St. George's Day, which you all know is the
twenty-third of April, nothing happened deserving of being set down
here. Then it was, however, that during the forenoon the captain moved
our sails so that the ship would remain idle upon the waters, which is
what sailors call "heaving to," and the captains of the other vessels,
together with Master Pynchon and many more gentlemen, came on board
for a feast.
Lady Arabella and the gentlewomen of our company had dinner in the
great cabin, while the gentlemen partook of their good cheer in the
roundhouse, as the sailors call it, which is a sort of cabin on the
hindermost part of the quarter-deck.
By four o'clock in the afternoon the feast was at an end; the
gentlemen who had come to visit us went on board their own ships, and
again were the vessels headed for that country of America in which we
counted to spend the remainder of our lives.
Susan and I were much together during this voyage, for neither of us
made very friendly with the other children, and I do not remember that
anything of import happened until we were come, so the captain said,
near to the New World.
It is not needed I should set down that again and again were there
furious storms, when it seemed certain our ship would be sunk, for
there was so much of such disagreeable weather during the nine weeks
of voyaging, that if I were to make a record of each unpleasant day,
this diary would be filled with little else.
[Illustration]
I have set down, however, that on the seventh day of June, which was
Monday, we had come, so Master Winthrop said, off "the Banks," where
was good fishing to be found; but why this particular spot on the
ocean should be called the Banks, neither Susan nor I could
understand. The waves were much like those we had seen from day to
day; but yet, in some way, the captain knew that we had come to the
place where it would be possible to take fish in great numbers, and so
we did.
It is not seemly a young girl should set down the fact, with much of
satisfaction, that she enjoyed unduly the food before her, and yet I
must confess that those fish tasted most delicious after we had been
feeding upon pickled pork, or pickled beef, with never anything fresh
to take from one's mouth the flavor of salt.
It was a feast, as Susan and I looked at the matter, far exceeding
that which we had on St. George's Day, and surely more enjoyable to
us, for what can be better pleasing to the mouth than a slice of fresh
codfish, fried until it is so brown as to be almost beautiful, after
one has had nothing save that which is pickled?
THE FIRST VIEW OF AMERICA
Five days later, which is the same as if I said on the twelfth day of
June, early in the morning, when Susan and I came on deck, we saw
spread out before us the land, and it needed not we should ask if this
was the America where we were to live, for all the people roundabout
us were talking excitedly of the skill which had been displayed by the
master of the _Arabella_, in thus bringing us directly to the place
where we had counted on coming.
It can well be fancied that Susan and I overhung the rail as the ship
sailed nearer and nearer to the land, watching intently everything
before us; yet seeing, much to our surprise, little more than would
have been seen had we come upon the coast of England.
I had foolishly believed that even the shores of this New World would
be unlike anything to be found elsewhere, and yet they were much the
same. The rocks rising high above the waters, with the waves beating
against them, made up a picture such as we had before us even while we
lay at anchor off Cowes. The trees were like unto the trees in our own
land, and the grass was of no different color. Save that all this
before us was a wilderness, we might have been off the coast of
Cornwall.
I have said it was all the same, and yet because of the fears and the
anxieties regarding the future, was it different.
This was the land to which we had come for the making of a new home;
the place where our parents had pledged themselves to spread the
gospel as the Lord would have it spread.
We knew, because of what had been written by our friends who had
journeyed to this new world before us that here we were to find brown
savages, many of whom, like wild beasts, would thirst to shed our
blood. Here also could we expect to see fierce animals, such as might
not be met with elsewhere in the world; and, in the way of blessings,
we should meet those friends of ours who, for conscience sake and for
the will to do God's bidding, had come to prepare the land that it
should be more friendly toward us.
THE TOWN OF SALEM
I had not yet been able to discover any of the dwellings which marked
the town of Naumkeag, or Salem, when all the cannon on board our
vessel were set off with a great noise. Then, as we came around a
point of land, there appeared before our eyes a goodly ship lying at
anchor, and beyond her the town that was--much to my disappointment,
for I had fancied something grander--made up of a few log houses which
seemed rather to be quarters for servants than dwellings for
gentlemen's families, although we had been told that the habitations
would be rude indeed.
[Illustration]
A boat was put into the water from our ship, and as the sailors rowed
toward the vessel which was at anchor, I heard my father say to my
mother that they were going in quest of Master William Pierce, a
London friend of ours.
As we watched, I asked that question which had come often in my mind
during the voyage, which was, why this new town that Master Endicott
had built should have two names.
Mother told me that the Indians had called the place Naumkeag, and so
also did those men who first settled here; but when some of our people
came, and gathered around them several from the Plymouth Colony,
together with a number of planters who had built themselves homes
along the shore, it was decided to name the new town Salem, which
means peace, for here it was they hoped to gain that peace which
should be on this earth like unto the peace we read of in the Book,
which passeth all understanding.
And now before I set down that which we saw, and while you are
picturing our company on the deck of the _Arabella_ looking shoreward,
impatient to set their feet once more on the earth, let me tell you
what I had heard, since we left England; regarding this town of peace,
and those of our people, or of other faiths, who settled here two
years or more ago.
OTHER VILLAGES
Master Endicott, who was of our faith, had come to these shores in
March of the year 1628, with a company of thirty or forty people, and,
finding other men living at the head of this harbor which the
_Arabella_ had entered after her long voyage, decided to build his
home at this place.
In the next year, Master Higginson, coming over with six vessels in
which were eighteen women, twenty-six children, and three hundred men,
joined the little colony. These last brought with them one hundred and
forty head of cattle, and forty goats.
However, only two hundred of this last company remained at Salem, the
others having chosen to build for themselves a new town, which they
called Charlestown, on that large body of water which is set down on
the maps as Massachusetts Bay.
In addition to these two villages, it was said that there were five or
six houses at the place called Nantasket; that one Master Samuel
Maverick was living on Noddles Island, and one Master William
Blackstone on the Shawmut Peninsula.
I have set this down to the end that those who read it may understand
we were not come into a wild country, in which lived none but savages,
and I must also add that not so many miles away was the town of
Plymouth, where had been living, during ten years, a company of
Englishmen who had worked bravely to make for themselves a home.
And now since I am done with explaining, and since the boat which put
out from our vessel and which I left you watching, has come back from
that other ship, bringing Master William Pierce, let me tell you what
we did on the first day in this new world.
VISITING SALEM
[Illustration]
The gentlemen and ladies of our company were invited on shore to a
feast of deer meat, while the servant women and maids were allowed to
land on the other side of the harbor, where they feasted themselves on
wild strawberries, which were exceeding large and sweet.
It would be untrue for me to say that deer meat made into a huge pie
is not inviting, because of my having enjoyed it greatly, and yet I
could not give so much attention to the dainty as I would have done at
almost any other time, so intent was I upon seeing this village
concerning which Master Endicott had written so many words of praise.
Had Susan and I come upon it within an hour after leaving the city of
London, it would have looked exceedingly poor and mean; but now, when
we were on the land after a voyage of nine long weeks, verily it
seemed like a wondrous pleasant place in which to live.
More than an hundred dwellings, so my father said, had been built.
Some were of logs laid one on top of the other in a clumsy fashion,
with the places where windows of glass should have been, covered with
oiled paper, and doors that were so cumbersome and heavy it was a real
task for Susan and me to open and close them, but yet they had a
homely look.
Then there were what might be called sheds, made of logs, or the bark
of trees, and, in two cases, dwellings of branches laid up loosely as
a child would build a toy camp.
It was as if each man had built according to his inclination and
willingness to labor, the more thrifty having log dwellings, and the
indolent ones rude huts.
Even Susan and I could understand that whosoever had decided upon the
places where these homes should be built, had in mind the making of a
large town; for paths, like unto streets, led here and there, while
all around grew trees, not thickly, to be sure, but yet in such
abundance as to show that all this had lately been a wilderness.
[Illustration]
Even in these streets had been left the stumps of trees after the
trunks were removed, which served to give an untidy look to the whole,
making it seem as if one were in a place where had been built shelters
only for a little time, and which would shortly be abandoned.
The welcome which was given us, however, was even warmer than we would
have received at home in England, and little wonder that these
gentlefolk whom we had known there, should be overjoyed to see us
here.
Both Susan and I came to understand, not many months afterward, how
great can be the pleasure one has at seeing old friends whom he had
feared never to meet again in this world.
It was a veritable feast which these good people of Salem set before
us, and yet so strange was the cookery, that I am minded to describe
later some of the dishes at risk of dwelling overly long upon matters
of no importance.
MAKING COMPARISONS
Master Winthrop said, when we were going on board the ship again, that
although it was nothing but peas, pudding, and fish, quite coarse as
compared with what we would have had at home in England, save as to
the venison pie, it all seemed sweet and wholesome to him.
When the day was come to an end, we went into the ship once more, for
there were not spare beds enough in all the town to serve for half our
party, and you may be very certain that once we were gathered again in
the great cabin, all talked eagerly concerning what had been done; at
least our parents did, for it would have been unseemly in us children
to interrupt while our elders were talking.
Mother was not well satisfied with the houses, believing it would be
possible to make dwellings more like those we left behind; but father
bade her have patience, saying that a shelter from the weather was
the first matter to be thought of, and that the pleasing of the eye
could well come later, after we had more with which to work.
[Illustration]
She, thinking as was I at the moment, of the floor in the house where
we ate the venison pie, declared stoutly that there would be no more
of labor in laying down planks, at least in the living-room, than in
beating the earth hard, as it seemingly had been where we visited.
Then, laughingly, he bade her rest content, nor set her mind so
strongly upon the vanities of this world, saying that if God permitted
him to raise a roof, so that his wife and child might be sheltered
from the sun and from the rain, he would be satisfied, even though
the legs of his table stood upon the bare earth.
It was this conversation between my parents that caused the other
women to talk of how they would have a home built, until Lady Arabella
put an end to what was almost wrangling,--for each insisted that her
plan for a dwelling in this New World was the best,--by saying that
whatsoever God willed we should have, and that it would be more than
we deserved.
AN INDIAN GUEST AND OTHER VISITORS
Both Susan and I had gazed about us eagerly when we went on shore,
hoping to see a savage. We were not bent on meeting him near at hand,
where he might do us a mischief; but had the desire that a brown man
might go past at a distance, and we were grievously disappointed at
coming aboard the ship again without having seen one.
Therefore it is that you can well fancy how surprised and delighted we
were next morning when, on going on deck just after breakfast to have
another look at this new town, whom should we see walking to and fro
on the quarter-deck with Master Winthrop, as if he had been one of the
first gentlemen of the land, but a real Indian!
There were the feathers, of which we had heard, encircling his head
and ending in a long train behind. His skin was brown, or, perhaps,
more the color of dulled copper. He wore a mantle of fur, with the
skin tanned soft as cloth, and that which father said was deer hide
cunningly treated until it was like to flannel, had been fashioned
into a garment which answered in the stead of a doublet.
[Illustration]
I cannot describe his appearance better than by saying it would not
have surprised me, had I been told that one of our own people had
painted and dressed himself in this fanciful fashion to take part in
some revel, for truly, save in regard to the color of his skin, he was
not unlike the gentlemen who were on the ship.
As Susan and I learned later, he was the king, or chief man, among
those Indians who called themselves Agawams. Father said he was the
sagamore, which, as I understand it, means that he was at the head of
his people, and his name was Masconomo.
A very kindly savage was he, and in no wise bloodthirsty looking as I
had expected. He was a friend of Master Endicott as well as of all
those who lived with him in this town of Salem, and had come to
welcome our people to the new world, which, as it seemed to both Susan
and me, was very thoughtful in one who was nothing less than a
heathen.
The Indian sagamore stayed on board the ship all day, and our company,
together with the people of Salem, were as careful to make him welcome
as if he had been King James himself.
The reason for this, as father afterward explained to me, was because
of its being of great importance that we make friends with the
savages, else the time might come when they would set about taking our
lives, being in far greater numbers than the white men.
Neither Susan nor I could believe that there was any danger that these
people with brown skins would ever want to do us harm. Surely they
must be pleased, we thought, at knowing we were willing to live among
them, and, besides, if all the savages were as mild looking as this
Masconomo, they would never be wicked enough to commit the awful crime
of murder.
In the evening, after the Indian went ashore, the good people of Salem
came on board in great numbers, and, seeing that it was a time when he
might do good to their souls, Master Winthrop gathered us on deck,
where he talked in a godly strain not less than an hour and a half.
[Illustration]
It was indeed wicked of Susan to say that she would have been better
pleased had we been allowed to chat with the people concerning this
new land, rather than listen to Master Winthrop, who, so mother says,
is a most gifted preacher even though that is not his calling, yet way
down in the bottom of my heart I felt much as did Susan, although,
fortunately, I was not tempted to give words to the thought.
A CHRISTENING AND A DINNER
When another day came, we girls had a most delightful time, for there
was to be a baby baptized in the house of logs where are held the
meetings, and Mistress White, one of the gentlefolks who came here
with the company of Master Higginson, was to give a dinner because of
her young son's having lived to be christened.
To both these festivals Susan and I were bidden, and it surprised me
not a little to see so much of gaiety in this New World, where I had
supposed every one went around in fear and trembling lest the savages
should come to take their lives.
[Illustration]
The christening was attended to first, as a matter of course, and,
because of his having so lately arrived from England, Master Winthrop
was called upon to speak to the people, which he did at great length.
Although the baby, in stiff dress and mittens of linen, with his cap
of cotton wadded thickly with wool, must have been very uncomfortable
on account of the heat, he made but little outcry during all this
ceremony, or even when Master Higginson prayed a very long time.
We were not above two hours in the meetinghouse, and then went to the
home of Mistress White, getting there just as she came down from the
loft with her young son in her arms.
Mother was quite shocked because of the baby's having nothing in his
hands, and while she is not given to placing undue weight in beliefs
which savor of heathenism, declares that she never knew any good to
come of taking a child up or down in the house without having first
placed silver or gold between his fingers.
Of course it is not so venturesome to bring a child down stairs
empty-handed; but to take him back for the first time without
something of value in his little fist, is the same as saying that he
will never rise in the world to the gathering of wealth.
The dinner was much enjoyed by both Susan and me, even though the
baby, who seemed to be frightened because of seeing so many strange
faces, cried a goodly part of the time.
We had wild turkey roasted, and it was as pleasing a morsel as ever I
put in my mouth. Then there was a huge pie of deer meat, with baked
and fried fish in abundance, and lobsters so large that there was not
a trencher bowl on the board big enough to hold a whole one. We had
whitpot, yokhegg, suquatash, and many other Indian dishes, the making
of which shall be explained as soon as I have learned the methods.
It was a most enjoyable feast, and the good people of Salem were so
friendly that when we went on board ship that night, Susan and I were
emboldened to say to my father, that we should be rejoiced when the
time arrived for our company to build houses.
DECIDING UPON A HOME
[Illustration]
Then we learned for the first time that it had not been the plan of
our people to settle in this pleasant place. It was not to the mind of
Governor Winthrop, nor yet in accord with the belief of our people in
England, that all of us who were to form what would be known as the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, should build our homes in one spot.
Therefore it was that our people, meaning the elders among the men,
set off through the forest to search for a spot where should be made a
new town, and we children were allowed to roam around the village of
Salem at will, many of us, among whom were Susan and I, often
spending the night in the houses of those people who were so well off
in this world's goods as to have more than one bed.
Lady Arabella Johnson and her husband had gone on shore to live the
second day after we arrived, for my lady was far from well when she
left England, and the voyage across the ocean had not been of benefit
to her.
Our fathers were not absent above three days in the search for a place
to make our homes, and then Sarah and I were told that it had been
decided we should live at Charlestown, where, as I have already told
you, a year before our coming, Master Endicott had sent a company of
fifty to build houses.
It pleased me to know that we were not going directly into the
wilderness, as both Susan and I had feared; but that we should be able
to find shelter with the people who had already settled there, until
our own houses could be built.
It appeared that all the men of our company were not of Governor
Winthrop's opinion, regarding the place for a home. Some of them,
discontented with the town of Charles, went further afoot, deciding to
settle on the banks of a river called the Mystic, while yet others
crossed over that point of land opposite where we were to live, and
found a pleasing place which they had already named Rocksbury.
A SAD LOSS
Susan and I believed, on the night our fathers came back from their
journey, that we would set off in the ship to this village of
Charlestown without delay, and so we might have done but for my Lady
Arabella, who was taken suddenly worse of her sickness; therefore it
was decided to wait until she had gained her health.
But alas! the poor lady had come to this New World only to die, and it
was a sad time indeed for Susan and me when the word was brought
aboard ship that she had gone out from among us forever.
We had learned during the voyage to love her very dearly, and it
seemed even more of a blow for God to take her from us in this
wilderness, than if she had been at her home in England.
Although it is not right for me to say so, because, of course, our
fathers know best, yet would my heart have been less sore if some word
of farewell could have been said when we laid my Lady Arabella in the
grave amid the thicket of fir trees.
Mother says, that she is but repeating the words of Governor Winthrop,
that it is wrong to say prayers over the dead, or to utter words of
grief or faith. Therefore it was in silence we followed my lady in the
coffin made by the ship's carpenter, up the gentle slope to the
thicket of firs, the bell of the _Arabella_ tolling all the while; and
in silence we stood, while the body was being covered with earth,
little thinking how soon should we be doing a like service for another
who had come to aid in building up a new nation.
On the day after we left my Lady Arabella on the hillside, the ship
_Talbot_, which was one of the vessels that should have sailed in
company with the _Arabella_, arrived at Salem, and the grief which
filled our hearts for the dead, was lightened somewhat by the joy in
greeting the living who were come to join us.
[Illustration]
REJOICING TURNED INTO MOURNING
Governor Winthrop was among those who seemingly had most cause for
rejoicing, because of his son Henry's having arrived on the _Talbot_,
bringing news of his mother and of the remainder of the family.
Good Master Winthrop had so much of business to look after on this
day, that he could not spend many moments in talking with his son, and
mayhap he will never cease to regret that he did not give his first
attention to the boy, for, during the afternoon, while his father was
engaged with public affairs, Henry was moved by curiosity to visit
some Indian wigwams which could be seen a long distance along the
coast.
[Illustration]
Not being of the mind to walk so far, he cast about for a boat of some
kind, and, seeing a canoe across the creek, plunged into the water to
swim over that he might get it.
Susan and I were watching the brave young man when he sprang so boldly
and confidently into the water, never dreaming that harm might come to
him, and yet before he was one quarter way across the creek, he
suddenly flung up his arms with a stifled cry. Then he sank from our
sight, to be seen no more alive.
He had been seized with a cramp, while swimming most-like because of
having gone into the cold water heated, so my father said, for the day
was very warm; but however that may be, eight and forty hours later we
walked, a mournful procession, up the hill, even as we had done behind
the earthly clay of Lady Arabella, while the bells of the ships in the
harbor tolled most dismally.
Verily Governor Winthrop's strength is in the Lord, as my mother said,
for although his heart must have been near to bursting with grief, no
one saw a sign of sorrow on his face, so set and stern, as he stood
there listening to the clods of earth that were thrown upon the box in
which lay the body of his son.
Susan, who is overly given to superstition, I am afraid, declared that
it was an ill omen for us to have two die when we had but just come
into the new country, and when I told her that it was wicked to place
one's faith in signs, she reminded me that I found fault because of
Mistress White's baby's being taken out of the room for the first time
with neither gold nor silver in his hands.
THANKSGIVING DAY IN JULY
The ship _Success_, which was also of our fleet, having been left
behind when we sailed from England, came into the harbor on the sixth
of July, and then it was, although our hearts were bowed down with
grief because of the death of Lady Arabella and the drowning of Henry
Winthrop, that our people decided we should hold a service of
thanksgiving to God because of His having permitted all our company to
arrive in safety.
Word was sent to the people of Charlestown, and to those few men in
the settlement which is called Dorchester, that they might join with
us in the service of praise, and many came to Salem to hear the
preaching of Master Endicott, Master Higginson, and Governor Winthrop.
[Illustration]
LEAVING SALEM FOR CHARLESTOWN
Four days later, which is the same as if I said on the twelfth of
July, the fleet of ships sailed out of Salem harbor with those of our
people on board who could not bear the fatigue of walking, to go up to
the new village of Charlestown.
Before night was come, we were at anchor off that place where we
believed the remainder of our days on this earth would be spent.
Because of the labor performed by those men whom Master Endicott had
sent to this place a year before, there were five or six log houses
which could be used by some of our people, and the governor's
dwelling, which of course would be the most lofty in the town, was
partially set up; yet the greater number of us did not go on shore
immediately to live.
Governor Winthrop remained on board the _Arabella_, as did my parents
and Susan's, and now because there is little of interest to set down
regarding the building of the village, am I minded to tell that which
I heard our fathers talking about evening after evening, as we sat in
the great cabin when the day's work was done.
To you who have never gone into the wilderness to make a home, the
anxiety which people in our condition felt concerning their neighbors
cannot be understood. To us, if all we heard regarding what the
savages might do against us was true, it was of the greatest
importance we should know who were settled near at hand, if it so came
that we were driven out from our town.
OUR NEIGHBORS
Now you must know that many years before, which is much the same as if
I had said in the year of our Lord, 1620, a number of English people
who had been living in Holland because of their consciences not
permitting them to worship God in a manner according to the Church of
England, came over to this country, and built a town which was called
Plymouth.
[Illustration]
This town was not far by water from our settlement; indeed, one might
have sailed there in a shallop, if he were so minded, and, in case the
wind served well, perform the voyage between daylight and sunset.
It was, as I have said, settled ten years before we came to this new
world, and the inhabitants now numbered about three hundred. There
were sixty-eight dwelling houses, a fort well built with wood, earth
and stone, and a fair watch tower. Entirely around the town was a
stout palisade, by which I mean a fence made of logs that stand eight
or ten feet above the surface, and placed so closely together that an
enemy may not make his way between them, and in all respects was it a
goodly village, so my father declared.
Near the mouth of the Neponset river Sir Christopher Gardner, who was
not one of our friends in a religious way, had settled with a small
company, and farther down the coast, many miles away, it was said were
three other villages; but none among them could outshine Salem, either
in numbers of people, or in dwellings.
When we were on the shore in Charlestown, looking straight out over
the water toward the nearest land, we could see, not above two miles
away, three hills which were standing close to each other, and Master
Thomas Graves, who had taken charge of the people that first settled
in the town of Charles, had named the place Trimountain; but the
Indians called it Shawmut. There only one white man was living and his
name was Master William Blackstone, as I have already told you.
It seemed to me a fairer land, because of the hills and dales, than
was our settlement, and yet it would not have been seemly for me to
say so much, after our fathers and mothers had decided this was the
place where we were to live.
GETTING SETTLED
The days which followed our coming to Charlestown were busy ones, even
to us women folks, for there was much to be done in taking the
belongings ashore, or in helping our neighbors to set to rights their
new dwellings.
[Illustration]
The Great House, in which Governor Winthrop would live, was finished
first, and into this were moved as many of our people as it would
hold.
Then again, there were others who, not content with staying on the
_Arabella_ after having remained on board of her so long, put up huts
like unto the wigwams made by the Indians, which, while the weather
continued to be so warm, served fairly well as places in which to
live.
If I said that we made shift to get lodgings on shore in whatsoever
manner came most convenient for the moment, I should only be stating
the truth, for some indeed were lodged in an exceeding odd and
interesting fashion.
Susan's father, going back some little distance from the Great House,
cut away the trees in such a manner as to leave four standing in the
form of a square, and from one to another of these he nailed small
logs, topped with a piece of sail cloth that had been brought on shore
from the _Talbot_, finishing the sides with branches of trees, sticks,
and even two of his wife's best bed quilts. Into this queer home Susan
went with her mother, while my parents were content to use one of the
rooms in the Great House until father could build for us a dwelling of
logs.
[Illustration]
THE GREAT SICKNESS
It seemed much as if Susan was in the right, when she said that the
deaths of Lady Arabella and Henry Winthrop were ill omens, because no
sooner had all our people landed from the ships, or come up through
the forest from Salem, than a great sickness raged among us.
Many had been ill during the voyage with what Master Higginson called
scurvy, which is a disease that attacks people who have lived long on
salted food, and again many others took to their beds with a sickness
caused by the lack of pure, fresh water.
Our fathers had but just begun to build up this new town when it was
as if the hand of God had been laid heavily upon us, for, so it was
said, not more than one out of every five of our people was able to
perform any work whatsoever.
Those were long, dismal, dreadful days, when at each time of rising in
the morning we learned that this friend or that neighbor had gone out
from among us, and it seemed to Susan and me as if there were a
constant succession of funerals, with not even the tolling of bells to
mark the passage of a body from its poor home to its last resting
place on earth, for by this time the ships had gone out of the harbor.
The graves on the side of the hill increased tenfold faster than did
the dwellings, and all of us, even the children, felt that our only
recourse now was to pray God that He would remove the curse, for of a
verity did it seem as if one had been placed upon us.
Again and again did I hear men and women who had ever been devout and
regular in their attendance upon the preaching, ask if we had not
offended the Lord by breaking off from the English church, or if we
might not have committed some sin in thus abandoning the land of our
birth, thinking to ourselves that we would build up a new nation in
the world.
Therefore it was that even Susan and I felt a certain relief of mind,
when Governor Winthrop set the thirtieth day of July as a day of
fasting and of prayer; and in order that all the English people who
had come into this portion of the New World might unite with us in
begging God to remove the calamity from our midst, word was sent even
as far as Plymouth, asking that every one meet on that day with words
of devout petition.
MOVING THE TOWN
I have no doubt, because of mother's having said so again and again,
that the good Lord heard our fervent entreaties, although the sickness
was not removed from among us for near to six weeks.
[Illustration]
Then it was that Master William Blackstone came across from
Trimountain, and told Governor Winthrop it was his belief we should do
more toward aiding ourselves than simply praying. He advised, because
of there being plenty of good water in Trimountain, that we forsake
this village of Charlestown, and go across to the opposite shore.
I might set down many words, repeating what I heard our fathers say
concerning the wisdom of such a move, and yet this story which I am
telling would not be improved thereby, for the day finally came when
it was decided that, even at the cost of building new dwellings, we
should take all our belongings across the water to the cove, back of
which was a small hill, and, yet further behind, a circle of
mountains.
The cove would make an agreeable harbor for our boats; the hill
straight behind it would serve as a location for a fort, while here
and there were pleasant streams, or gushing springs, whereas in
Charlestown we had only the water of the river, or from the marsh.
That I may not weary you by much explaining, it is best I say that on
the seventeenth of September, when the sun had risen, we gathered at
the Great House to pray that God would bless us in this which was much
the same as our second undertaking, for without delay, and before
night had come, we were to go across the bay and make for ourselves
other homes.
And now lest it seem as if I were telling the same story twice, I will
not set down anything concerning the building of this second village,
because of that which we did in Trimountain being the same as had
been done in Charlestown.
The Great House was taken apart and carried across the water, as were
also the dwellings of logs, and while this was being done, the women
and children stayed in Charlestown, where Master Thomas Graves had
made, what seemed to Susan and me, odd rules and regulations.
MASTER GRAVES PROHIBITS SWIMMING
He had been placed in command of the settlement by Master Endicott,
and among his first acts was the appointment of tithing men, one of
whose duties it was to prevent the boys from swimming in the water, as
some lads of our company speedily learned when they would have enjoyed
such sport.
They were arrested straightway, and but for the fact of being
strangers, who were not acquainted with the rules of the settlement,
would have been fined three shillings each.
Susan and I had no desire to spend our time swimming, even had it been
seemly for girls so to do; but during very warm days it would have
pleased us much to go down into the water, properly clad, in order to
take a bath. Therefore did we believe Master Graves had done that
which was almost cruel, and it surprised us no little when, later,
our own fathers passed the same law.
ANNA FOSTER'S PARTY
There were good friends of ours in England who believed that we had
come into a wilderness where was to be found naught save savages and
furious beasts, and it would have surprised them greatly, I believe,
if they could have known how much of entertainment could already be
found.
[Illustration]
It was while we were waiting in Charlestown for the homes in
Trimountain to be built, that Anna Foster, whose father is one of the
tithing-men, invited all of us young girls who had come under Governor
Winthrop's charge, to spend an evening with her, and we had much
pleasure in playing hunt the whistle and thread the needle.
Anna was dressed in a yellow coat with black bib and apron, and she
had black feathers on her head. She wore both garnet and jet beads,
with a locket, and no less than four rings. There was a black collar
around her neck, black mitts on her hands, and a striped tucker and
ruffles. Her shoes were of silk, and one would have said that she was
dressed for some evening entertainment in London.
Neither Susan nor I wore our best, because of the candles here being
made from a kind of tallow stewed out of bayberry plums, which give
forth much smoke, and mother was afraid this would soil our clothing.
We were also told that because of there not being candles enough, some
parts of the house would be lighted with candle-wood, which last is
taken from the pitch pine tree, and fastened to the walls with nails.
This wood gives forth a fairly good light; but there drops from it so
much of a black, greasy substance, that whosoever by accident should
stand beneath these flames would be in danger of receiving a most
disagreeable shower.
This entertainment was not the only one which was made for our
pleasure while we remained in Charlestown; but because of the sickness
everywhere around, very little in the way of merrymaking was indulged
in, and it seemed almost a sin for us to be thus light-hearted while
so many were in sore distress.
THE TOWN OF BOSTON
The first thing which was done by the governor and his advisors, after
we had moved from Charlestown, was to change the name of Trimountain
to that of Boston.
As you must remember, Boston in England was near to the home of
Captain John Smith, who explored so much of this New World and planted
in Jamestown a prosperous settlement. It was also in Boston that the
Lady Arabella, and the preacher, John Cotton, who had promised to come
here to us, had lived; therefore did it seem as if such were the
proper name for a town which we hoped would one day, God willing, grow
to be a city.
It is true our new village is built in a rocky place, where are many
hollows and swamps, and it is almost an island, because the neck of
land which leads from it to the main shore, is so narrow that very
often does the tide wash completely over it; but yet, after that time
of suffering in Charlestown, it seems to us a goodly spot.