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 FROM 
 
 SCROOBY TO PLYMOUTH ROCK 
 
 OE 
 
 THE MEN OF THE MAYFLOWER 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY JOHNSON 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' UNTRUE TO HIS TRUST ' ETC. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY 
 
 56 Paternoster Row and 65 St Paul's Churchyard 
 
 1896
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 SPOmSWOODE AND CO., NKW-STBEKT SQUARE 
 
 LONDON
 
 PEEFACE 
 
 This book traces the great movement in English 
 History during the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies which culminated in the voyage of the May- 
 flower, and which did so much to develop spiritual life 
 in England, and which laid broadly and well the 
 foundation of religion in New England. The aim has 
 been to set forth in full clearly and impartially the 
 facts. Eecourse has been had all through to first 
 hand authorities, and ample guidance is given for any 
 readers who may wish to study these for themselves.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGK 
 
 I. Origin of the Free Church Movement . . 9 
 
 II. Centres of Influence 17 
 
 III. Exiles 29 
 
 IV. In Holland 35 
 
 V. The Voyage of the Mayflower ... 51 
 
 VI. Landing at New Plymouth 56 
 
 VII. Founding the Colony 66 
 
 VIII. Indian Allies 77 
 
 IX. Self-Defence and Reorganisation ... 86 
 
 X. Designs of the Merchant Adventurers . . 98 
 
 XI. Trade — Social and Religious Life . . . 105 
 
 XII. New Colonies 120 
 
 XIII. Confederation — American Congregationalism . 136
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 ScROOBY FROM THK RivER .... Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Bridge at Gainsborough on Site of Ford which 
 
 Pilgrim Fathers used 19 
 
 The Old Manor House, Scrooby 21 
 
 Tablet of Rev. John Robinson, M.A 26 
 
 Bradford's Cottage, Austerfield 27 
 
 Cells under the Guildhall, Boston . . , 31 
 
 The Town Hall, Leyden 37 
 
 Robinson's Farewell Address 48 
 
 Landing Place, Plymouth Rock 63 
 
 Visit of an Indian Chief 71 
 
 The Return of the Mayflower 75 
 
 The Fort at Plymouth 93 
 
 Plymouth in 1627 109 
 
 The Elms, Yale University 132
 
 FROM SCROOBY TO PLYMOUTH ROCK 
 
 OR 
 
 THE MEN OF THE MAYFLOWER 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 
 
 'Freedom to worship God according to the direction 
 of conscience was the principle for which the Pilgrim 
 ^Fathers persistently strove. The Word of God, in- 
 terpreted to the conscience by the Holy Spirit, formed 
 their only test for faith and conduct. The authority 
 of men — whether priests or kings — in matters of 
 religion they repudiated, unless teaching and dogma 
 coming from such a source seemed to be based on a 
 correct understanding of Scripture. This principle 
 of_raligiQusJiberJtx,wusjiewJoJhe^ world,, aiii clashed 
 wit]b4W3pularTieliet.oryXatlier, credulity. The Church, 
 as represented by pope and priests, had been regarded
 
 lo ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 
 
 as supreme and final in all spiritual concerns. Man, 
 and not God, was the infallible guide. But the de- 
 sire for religious freedom had been growing for 
 centuries. Often checked (and destroyed, as its 
 opponents imagined), it at length assumed definite 
 shape and aims with the struggle and migration of 
 the Pilgrim Fathers. But those who were the first 
 to lift their voice against papal tyranny, priestly 
 pretension, and the repression of free thought in 
 religion should not be forgotten. 
 
 The Weavers of Worcester. — As early as 1165 thirty 
 weavers in the diocese of Worcester suffered scourg- 
 ing, excommunication, and banishment because they 
 chose to worship God free from the trammels of 
 ecclesiastical control. Their sentiments awoke an 
 echo in many hearts, but no strong force roused 
 England for nearly two centuries. 
 
 William of Occam. — The ' Invincible Doctor,' born 
 at Occam, in Surrey, about 1270, joined the Fran- 
 ciscan order, but was excommunicated and condemned 
 by Pope John XXII. for vindicating the superiority of 
 the Scriptures to the claims and restrictions of the 
 Church, and repudiating papal authority in secular 
 affairs. The effect of his writings was widespread, 
 and he left an impression that helped to mould the 
 thought of the generation which followed him. 
 
 Piers the Plowman. — William Longland, or Lang- 
 land (1332-1400), wrote the Visionof Piers the Plowman 
 at a period when men's minds were turning to reli- 
 gion, partly from panic caused by the Black Death,
 
 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT ii 
 
 and partly from a desire to improve their social 
 condition. He describes in allegorical form the vices 
 of the age, and particularly those of the Church. 
 Righteousness is set forth as the prime object of 
 attainment, and the death and victory of Christ are 
 vividly depicted. The labouring and oppressed classes 
 eagerly read the Vision. It put into shape their 
 vague aspirations for freedom from the galling yoke 
 of political and ecclesiastical tyranny, and forecast 
 the dawn of brighter days. Its influence was great, 
 and it wrought powerfully in paving the way for the 
 work of the Reformation. 
 
 Wyclif and the Lollards. — Whilst the Vision of 
 Piers the Plowman was stirring England, John Wyclif 
 was preparing at Lutterworth the first complete 
 translation of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, thus 
 giving an impetus of incalculable force to the steadily 
 growing desire to form religious belief direct from 
 the Word of God. In many of the pamphlets and 
 sermons which he produced, he denied the doctrine 
 of transubstantiation, asserted the right of man to 
 appeal to God without priestly intervention, and 
 demanded the liberation of conscience from the thral- 
 dom of Rome. In order to spread his teaching he sent 
 out a number of poor 'preachers' (called 'Lollards' 
 after Wyclif 's death), supplying them with the English 
 Bible, or portions of it, as their text-book and guide. 
 These men went all over the kingdom, declaring 
 in the simplest language the leading truths of the 
 Gospel. In the open air and in churches crowds
 
 12 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 
 
 flocked to hear them, until at length their influence 
 so greatly alarmed the priesthood and Parliament 
 that an Act for the burning of heretics was passed. 
 The first martyr in England for religious opinions 
 suffered in 1401, and during the century and down 
 to 1534 — the era of the Reformation — many heretics 
 were burned alive. 
 
 Separatist Communities in the Reigns of Mary and 
 Elizabeth. — Those who dissented from the Church of 
 England, and worshipped apart from it, were called 
 Separatists. After the Eeformation, which was far 
 from being a complete measure, the Separatists, 
 from conscientious scruples, declined to conform to 
 the Church, and to partake of the communion from 
 the hands of the clergy. Even during the reign of 
 Edward VI. they were liable to be apprehended, 
 and in one case the persons arrested ' confessed the 
 cause of their assembly to be for talk of Scripture, 
 not denying that they had refused communion (at 
 the parish church) above two years upon very super- 
 stitious and erroneous purposes.' 
 
 On the accession of Mary the Separatists met 
 secretly in various parts of the country, as well as in 
 London, and many of their number perished at the 
 stake. The community in London, of which John Rough 
 was the pastor, commenced with about forty mem- 
 bers, but afterwards consisted of some two hundred. 
 Collections were made for the relief of the poor, 
 and also for those of their brethren who were pri- 
 soners at Newgate, the Marshalsea, and other places.
 
 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 13 
 
 The meetings were held m private houses, in order 
 to avoid arrest ; but in 1557 the pastor, and the 
 deacon, Cuthbert Symson, with other members, were 
 hurried off to gaol. Eough was burned at Smith- 
 field, and Symson, after being cruelly tortured, to 
 compel him to divulge the names of his brethren, 
 was also committed to the flames. But persecution 
 did not cause the dissolution of the community, and 
 when Elizabeth came to the throne the meetings were 
 still held, and sometimes openly. 
 
 Elizabeth, professedly a Protestant, treated the 
 Separatists — or Puritans, as they were now being called 
 — with great cruelty, and a fine of twenty pounds 
 a month was decreed for absence from the parish 
 church, and private meetings for Scripture reading 
 and religious conversation were also penal. In this 
 reign there was an independent church in White- 
 chapel Street, over which Eichard Fitz presided as 
 pastor. In Eastern England a man of considerable 
 power, Kobert Browne — sometimes wrongly styled 
 the founder of Independency or Congregationalism — 
 expounded the principles of the Separatists, was im- 
 prisoned thirty-two times, published several books 
 advocating the new tenets, but finally, in 1586, 
 became reconciled to the Church of England, and 
 accepted a living in Northamptonshire. Robert 
 Harrison, a Cambridge undergraduate, like Browne, 
 was also active in spreading Independency in Norwich 
 and other places. 
 
 Three other names must find honourable mention
 
 14 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 
 
 here — John Greenwood, Henry Barrowe, and John 
 Penry, men who testified fearlessly on behalf of 
 liberty of conscience. The first held a living in the 
 Church of England, but ' disliking ' * the Order of the 
 Book of Common Prayer,' he was dismissed from his 
 benefice, and in a short time joined the Separatist 
 Church in London. Barrowe— whom Lord Bacon 
 refers to as 'a gentleman of good house ' — the son 
 of wealthy parents, happened casually to hear one of 
 the despised preachers, and soon ' made a leap from a 
 vain and libertine youth ' into ' a life of preciseness 
 in the highest degree.' He became acquainted with 
 Greenwood, embraced the teachings of the Puritans, 
 and went further still by casting in his lot with the In- 
 dependents. In 1593 he, with four other brethren, was 
 executed at Tyburn — a fate which Queen Elizabeth 
 regretted when too late. Soon afterwards, John Penry, 
 the Welsh Martyr, as he is usually called, was hanged 
 in South London. In the same year the Conventicle 
 Act was passed, which imposed severe penalties 
 on all who attended private religious meetings. 
 Those who absented themselves from church for a 
 month together, or attacked the Established Church 
 in writing, were ordered to be ' committed to prison 
 without bail or mainprize.' If they failed to make 
 public submission within three months, banishment 
 was to follow ; and if they returned without leave, 
 they were to be punished with death. 
 
 Soon after the passing of the Act, Francis John- 
 son, the pastor of the community with which Green-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 15 
 
 wood and Barrowe had been connected, was thrown 
 into prison, where he remained till 1597. He was 
 originally a fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, 
 but having preached a sermon advocating Presby- 
 terianism he was sent to prison, and afterwards driven 
 out of the University. He then ministered to an 
 English church at Middleburgh in Zealand, but was 
 bitterly opposed to the Separatists, to such an extent, 
 indeed, that he procured the burning of Barrowe and 
 Greenwood's books, written in prison, taking care, 
 however, to save two copies from the flames. Then 
 he read one of these copies, with the result that his 
 opinions entirely changed. He went to London, 
 entered into fellowship with Barrowe and Green- 
 wood, joined their community, and was afterwards 
 chosen pastor. 
 
 From 1593 to the end of Elizabeth's reign, and 
 during that of James I., many Nonconformists lan- 
 guished in prison, whilst many others went to 
 Holland, where they were free to exercise their con- 
 scientious convictions without dread of repression or 
 punishment. James I. (1603-1625) was as hostile to 
 the Puritans as his predecessor. He could not endure 
 them, and was determined to make them conform, or 
 'harry them out of the land, or else worse.' 
 
 Thus, for more than four centuries, the struggle 
 for religious liberty went on without a distinct and 
 lasting triumph. But, although the public exercise of 
 religious belief was stifled again and again, yet the 
 sentiment of liberty was not destroyed. In the hearts
 
 1 6 ORIGIN OF THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT 
 
 of many thousands of English men and women it was 
 still cherished. In city, town, and village the work of 
 preachers, writers, and Reformers was still bearing 
 fruit, though in secret, and the prayer continually 
 went up that the dawn of freedom might not long 
 tarry. Popes, kings, queens, and prelates tried in 
 vain by fines, imprisonment, torture, gibbet, and 
 flames to annihilate the divinely implanted aspiration 
 to approach, worship, and think of God according 
 to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. ^
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 Puritans : Conformists, Presbyterians, and Indepen- 
 dents. — In the reign of Elizabeth the name of 
 Puritans had become the badge of a party ; but this 
 party was divided into sections. There were, first of 
 all, a number of Piintan ministers ami their j)eople, 
 who, although hol ding Cal vinistic views, and object- 
 ing to some of the ceremonials of the Reformed Eng- 
 lish Church, remained within her communion. Then 
 there were tJifi_Jio25i^i«4a/»% who . favaur^d^a^iaie^ 
 
 Churcjij but opposed Episcopacy. They desired the 
 
 government of the Church to be conducted by a synod 
 and an assembly, consisting of ministers and elders, 
 and sought to replace the Book of Common Prayer 
 with the Book of the Genevan Discipline. They also 
 believed that a church should include all baptised 
 persons in the parish, whether they had the character 
 of godliness or not. The_third section consisted ef 
 Xiide^endents, or Separatists^ They were hostile to 
 Episcopacy and a State Church, and believed that a 
 
 B
 
 1 8 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 church should be formed of Christian men and women 
 only, that its basis should be essentially a spiritual 
 one, and that ev c^ry mcmbe r_should stand in perjnrial_ 
 relationship.sitllJjX)d^ They further believed that a 
 ■'church should be self-governing; and that the Scrip- 
 tures were the only criterion, not only for conduct 
 and spiritual life, but also for Church government. 
 From this section of the Puritans the Pilgrim Fathers 
 sprang, and it will be seen with what tenacity they 
 adhered to their principles through the stress and 
 storm of future years. The counties from which 
 * their first migration took place were Nottinghamshire, 
 \ Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. Eound the original 
 leaders in the great movement, as well as round 
 the towns and villages where their influence was felt, 
 an interest gathers, which forms a landmark in the 
 religious history of the world. 
 
 Gainsborough. — John Smyth. — In the counties just 
 named Puritanism made considerable progress in 
 the latter years of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Some of 
 the Puritan clergy, though remaining in the Church, 
 promoted the cause of Puritanism by their teaching 
 and example. Others gave up, or were deprived of 
 their livings, rather than continue to countenance 
 ceremonies and doctrine which savoured of Eome. 
 It was in the old town of Gainsborough that the 
 first northern Separatist church was formed. For 
 years past a strong Puritan feeling had existed in the 
 town, and even in the days of Mary meetings were 
 held, with closed doors, for religious improvement.
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 19 
 
 John Smyth, of Christ's College, Cambridge, was the 
 pastor of the Gainsborough church, formed in 1602. 
 He had incurred the displeasure of the Vice-Chancellor 
 of the University for preaching a sermon at Cambridge 
 on Sunday-observance ; and after a season of mental 
 struggle and doubt separated from the Church of 
 England. It is possible, however, that he may have 
 
 BRIDGE AT GAINSBOROUGH 
 ON SITE OF FORD WHICH PILGRIM FATHERS USED 
 
 been a beneficed clergyman in Gainsborough before 
 the severance took place. The members of the 
 Puritan community came from many miles round — 
 from Scrooby, Austerfield, and other places. For 
 three or four years the numbers increased, and then 
 it was resolved to divide into two distinct bodies — one 
 to consist of members living in Gainsborough and the 
 
 B 2
 
 20 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 vicinity, and the other of those living at Scrooby 
 and near to it. Although not one of the men of the 
 Mayflower, Smyth was at length driven from Gains- 
 borough, and went into exile at Amsterdam, where he 
 practised medicine, and lived ' well-beloved of most 
 men.' 
 
 —^ Scrooby. — William Brewster, Richard Clyfton, John 
 Robinson.^ — Scrooby, about ten miles to the east of 
 Gainsborough, in the county of Nottingham, and 
 close to the Yorkshire border, was a place of some 
 ecclesiastical importance in the days before the 
 \ Eeformation. The Archbishop of York had a palace 
 here. Several monastic orders were represented in 
 the neighbourhood, and there was a hospital on the 
 outskirts, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, founded 
 and endowed by Eobert Morton in 1390 'to keep 
 hospitalitie for poore people, and to pray for the 
 Founder's Soule and all Christian Soules.' The 
 manor was held by the Archbishop of York, and in 
 the old manor house Cardinal Wolsey found welcome 
 retirement. 
 
 — In this old manor Taouse William Brewster, the 
 leader of the Pilgrim Fathers, was born in the 
 3^ear 1566, and here the meetings of the Scrooby 
 community were held. Brewster's father was 
 j. Master of the Postes,' and the son, after matricu- 
 lating at Cambridge, probably spent some years at 
 home. When about twenty years of age. he entered 
 the service of William Davison — a warm sympathiser 
 with the Puritan movement, and for a time elder of a
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 23 
 
 Puritan church at Antwerp — who was Elizabeth's 
 representative in the Netherlands in 1585. On 
 his return from the Netherlands, Davison assisted 
 Walsingham, Secretary of State, and had Brewster 
 with him at the court at Richmond. Of Brewster's 
 connection with Davison, Bradford, in his Ilistori/ 
 of the Plymouth Plantation, thus writes : ' After being 
 first seasoned with the seeds of grace and virtue he 
 went to the court, and served that religious and 
 godly gentleman, William Davison, divers years when 
 he was Secretary of State.' Davison ' esteemed him 
 rather as a son than a servant, and for his wisdom 
 and godliness (in private) he would converse with 
 him more like a friend and familiar than a master.' 
 
 Brewster's prospects at court seemed promising, but 
 Davison's fortunes suddenly turned, over the affair of 
 the warrant for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, 
 and he was dismissed from office, fined, and im- 
 prisoned in the Tower. Brewster then returned to 
 Scrooby (1587), none the worse for his brief experi- 
 ence of the gaieties and follies of the court, and helped 
 his father in his duties as * Post.' His father died in 
 1590, and after a short interval the son was appointed 
 * Master of the Postes,' which position he filled for 
 eighteen years. His Puritan preferences, which had 
 been fostered by Davison, now grew stronger. The 
 persecution of Separatists stirred his heart. His 
 study of the Scriptures showed him that intolerance, 
 priestcraft, and formal ceremonies were the product 
 of darkness, and incompatible with pure religion.
 
 24 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 The light revealed by Brewster's study and reflection 
 was further increased by Puritan influences around 
 him. Richard Clyfton, Rector of Babworth, a few 
 miles from Scrooby, seems to have contributed largely 
 in that direction, whilst Richard Bernard, of Worksop, 
 Thomas Toller, of Sheffield, and others, probably 
 helped to strengthen his principles. At last he de- 
 termined to shake off the ' yoke of anti- Christian 
 bondage,' and threw in his lot with the community at 
 Gainsborough, whither he journeyed, with some of his 
 neighbours, Sunday after Sunday, until the people 
 from Scrooby thought- it desirable to have a com- 
 munity of their own in that town. And here, until 
 driven into exile, or compelled, through the tactics of 
 spies and informers, to meet secretly in other houses, 
 he sheltered under his roof the members of the little 
 church, and was * a special stay and help unto them.' 
 
 Richard Clyfton, a grave and reverend preacher, 
 who was instituted to the rectory of Babworth in 1586, 
 had to renounce his living in 1603, owing to his 
 Puritanical views. He was elected to the pastorate 
 of the Scrooby community, and shared the exile of his 
 brethren in Holland, but was too aged to go forth with 
 them to the West. 
 
 The name of Jolm Robinson will ever hold a dis- 
 tinguished place amongst the leaders of Congrega- 
 tionalism. Born at Lincoln (or Gainsborough) in 
 1575, he spent a few years at Cambridge, where his re- 
 ligious opinions were shaped by the Puritan, William 
 Perkins, who held the post of afternoon lecturer
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 25 
 
 at St. Andrew's Church. At the close of his college 
 days ho took orders, and was appointed to a church 
 in Norfolk. But the question of vestments and 
 ceremonies soon began to trouble him. Separa- 
 tion from the National Church followed, and he 
 then, when about twenty-five years of age, became 
 pastor of a Congregational church at Norwich. Per- 
 secuted here, he went to Scrooby, and joined Clyfton 
 in the pastorate of the Pilgrim Church. He joined 
 the brethren in their exile to Holland, and was their 
 pastor at Ley den. On the departure of the Pilgrims 
 for New England, he remained at Leyden, and con- 
 tinued pastor until his death in 1625. He maintained 
 a close connection with his friends in the West, fre- 
 quently sending letters of counsel and sympathy, and 
 supplying fresh stimulus for prosecuting their labours 
 and encountering difficulties and dangers. He was 
 always looked up to by his people as their trusty 
 spiritual guide and devoted friend, whilst the Dutch 
 University was not slow to recognise his intellectual 
 abilities. 
 
 Kobinson will ever be regarded as one of the chief 
 representatives and exponents of Congregationalism, 
 and the Memorial Church now (1896) in course of erec- 
 tion at Gainsborough, in which Anglo-Saxons on both 
 sides of the Atlantic are taking part, testifies to the 
 widespread and permanent power which he exerted, as 
 well as to his personal character. He was the author 
 of numerous works, some of them setting forth com- 
 prehensively and clearly the grounds and the prin-
 
 26 
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 ciples of Nonconformity.' On the front of the build- 
 ing erected on the site of Eobinson's house at Leyden 
 a marble slab is placed with this inscription — ' On 
 
 this spot lived, taught, and died, John Robinson, 
 1611-1625.' 
 
 ' Dr. John Brown, in his Pilgrim Fathers of New England and 
 their Puritan Successors, gives an excellent analysis of John Eobin- 
 son's works.
 
 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 27 
 
 Austerfield. — William Bradford. — Austerfielcl, a 
 village in Yorkshire about three miles from Scrooby, 
 has no special interest connected with it beyond being 
 the birthplace of William Bradford, the biographer 
 and attached friend of William Brewster, as well as 
 the Governor of Plymouth Colony, and its historian. 
 He was born in 1590, thus being Brewster's junior by 
 about twenty-four years. His father belonged to the 
 
 BEADFOKD S COTTAGE, AUSTERFIELD 
 
 yeoman class, and the son was also dedicated to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He joined the Scrooby community 
 when a youth of about seventeen, and the preaching 
 and teaching of Clyfton and Eobinson, together with 
 Brewster's robust influence, must have taken deep 
 root in rich soil, for a few years later he was ready 
 without hesitation to leave kindred and fair prospects, 
 and go with the other exiles to a foreign land.
 
 28 CENTRES OF INFLUENCE 
 
 Boston. — In this Lincolnshire town a Puritan 
 leaven was at work at the beginning of the seven- 
 teenth century, and in 1630 many of its leading 
 men sailed for America, some of them taking a front 
 rank in the establishment, extension, and government 
 of New England. These successors of the Pilgrim 
 Fathei's included John Cotton, Puritan minister of 
 Boston Church, Richard Bellingham, Thomas and 
 John Leverett, Atherton Hough, Thomas Dudley, and 
 William Coddington. Linking the new with the old, 
 the chief place of their settlement was renamed after 
 the Lincolnshire town in 1630.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 EXILES 
 
 Bancroft's Campaign. — The accession of James I., 
 contrary to the expectations of many, brought no 
 rehef to the Separatists. Persecution rather increased 
 than diminished, for when Bancroft, a determined 
 foe to Nonconformity, became Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, in 1604, a fresh campaign against the Separatists, 
 seems to have commenced. The brethren at Scrooby 
 
 suffered with the rest. * ThAy P.nnld ud jnnty nnn- 
 
 tinue_ in any peaceable condition, but -were hunted 
 andj)ejcsecuted on every side. Some were taken and 
 clapt up in prison, others had their houses beset 
 and watched night and day, and hardly escaped 
 their hands ; and the most were fain to fly and leave 
 their houses and habitations and the means of their 
 livelihood.' 
 
 A Great Decision. — At length they decided tha^"] 
 the time had come to leave their native land and to 
 seek an asylum in a foreign country, where they 
 might worship God and attend to their secular duties
 
 30 EXILES 
 
 \_wi.thout the fear of fine or imprisonment. But how 
 could they carry this plan into execution ? By the 
 law of the land no person could leave England with- 
 out license, and to think of obtaining a license was 
 quite out of the question, writs having been issued 
 for the arrest of some of the leaders for the violation 
 of the Acts against Nonconformity. The only method 
 for getting to Holland — the place of their choice — was 
 to go secretly, and to cross the water in small parties, 
 
 I in order to avoid arousing suspicion. 
 I — Failure of Plans. — Again and again they attempted 
 
 / to carry out their plan, but betrayal and loss of goods 
 
 L^as the only result. Down-hearted, but not despairing, 
 they took counsel together and laid other plans. In 
 the autumn of 1607 it was decided to go in one com- 
 pany, instead of in parties, to hire a vessel for the 
 purpose, and to start from Boston. A vessel was 
 accordingly hired, and a secluded spot agreed upon for 
 the place of embarkation. All the company, with 
 their goods, were safely on board, and it seemed as if 
 their hopes were now certain of realisation ; but the 
 hope was only momentary. Strange men, with sinis- 
 ter looks, suddenly appeared upon the scene, and in- 
 stantly the long-suffering company knew they were be- 
 trayed. The captain, probably for a bribe, had conspired 
 to deliver his passengers into the hands of the officers 
 of the law, whom he had concealed in the ship. Eesist- 
 ance was useless, and the captives, after being searched, 
 were taken to Boston in small boats, deprived of their 
 money and goods, and lodged in gaol. They were
 
 EXILES 
 
 3» 
 
 brought before the magistrates, charged with attempt- 
 ing to escape from the country. The magistrates 
 * used them courteously and showed them what 
 favour they could, though they could not deliver them 
 till order came from the Council Table.' Two of the 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 Hi w 
 
 
 
 \ \ \ ' 1; 
 
 i ^^M^ ^ 
 
 ^E^^^iil 
 
 "•^^XX ■ 
 
 ;ll-> u.\iiJ:;i; the guildhall, boston 
 
 cells in which the prisoners were confined are still in 
 existence. They are about seven feet long and six 
 feet in width, with a low ceiling, and well secured, to 
 defy all attempts at escape. In such dungeons the 
 unfortunate company remained for a month, when 
 orders arrived from the Privy Council. All but
 
 32 EXILES 
 
 Brewster and six other leaders were dismissed to 
 their homes. These seven were committed to the 
 assizes, but there is no record of the trial extant. 
 Probably they were fined and then discharged. 
 
 Safe in Holland. — -A few months later yet another 
 attempt to escape was resolved upon. A Dutchman 
 agreed to take the Pilgrims in his vessel, and to ship 
 them near a quiet cove between Grimsby and Hull. 
 The men were to travel to the coast on foot, and the 
 women and children, taking the goods with them, by 
 boat down the Trent. Difficulties soon began again. 
 When the travellers arrived at the coast the ship was 
 nowhere to be seen. The boat was tossing on a rough 
 sea, and was therefore run into a creek for the night, so 
 that it might lie aground at low water. The thoughts 
 of the travellers through that night of anxiety may 
 easily be imagined. Was their hope again to be 
 frustrated? Were they to be once more betrayed, 
 and would the Dutchman prove as big a miscreant as 
 the captain who had previously delivered them to 
 justice ? Morning dawned, and soon the Dutch vessel 
 hove in sight. Another dilemma arose, for th'e boat, 
 loaded with women and children, had stuck fast, and 
 could not be moved till the tide came in. Rather 
 than waste time, the captain sent ashore for the men, 
 who had been waiting and watching impatiently 
 through the night. About half of them were safely 
 taken on board, and the ship's boat was being sent 
 back for the rest of the men, when, in a moment, con- 
 sternation seized everyone — from the poor women.
 
 EXILES 33 
 
 held fast in the creek, to the Wuff captain — for at 
 some distance off was seen, approaching the coast at 
 full speed, * a great company, both horse and foot, 
 with bills and guns and other weapons.' The Dutch- 
 man discreetly turned tail — he dared not encounter 
 that troop of soldiers — so, weighing anchor, he sailed 
 away with all celerity, with the one instalment of 
 exiles on board. 
 
 With moist and straining eyes the exiles watched 
 along the creek that fast-disappearing boat, which 
 contained not only their wives and children, but 
 all their worldly possessions. It was useless to 
 think that the captain might be prevailed upon to 
 take them back to the shore ; they must go forward 
 — and in the teeth of a great storm, which soon 
 broke upon them. As the last speck of land dropped 
 behind the horizon, and the hearts of these strong 
 men were cut to the quick, one cheering thought 
 arose. Amongst those who were left on shore, and who 
 would spare no effort to j)rotect the women and little 
 ones, were the well-tried friends, William Brewster, 
 John Robinson, and Eichard Clyfton. So the band 
 of exiles began to hope for the best, and committed 
 their beloved ones to God. The violence of the gale 
 increased ; the ship, tossed and battered, drifted far 
 up the North Sea, and every moment seemed on the 
 point of foundering. The sailors shrieked in despair, 
 but down in the lower part of the ship the exiles 
 lifted up their souls to the Euler of the storm. Four- 
 teen days passed, and at length the vessel rode into 
 
 c
 
 34 EXILES 
 
 port, to the amazement and joy of the captain's 
 friends, who never expected that she would weather 
 so fierce a tempest. 
 
 Meanwhile, the rest of the company, left near the 
 mouth of the Humber, with the soldiers pouncing 
 upon them, were faring badly enough. Some of the 
 men, sufficient for the protection of the women and 
 children, awaited the arrival of the troops, and the 
 rest escaped. It was a thankless task for these 
 soldiers to deal with captives who were mostly 
 weeping women and frightened children. The pri- 
 soners appear to have been haled before several 
 magistrates in succession, but no magistrate was 
 inclined to inflict punishment. At last they were 
 all liberated, and took refuge wherever they could, 
 awaiting a favourable opportunity for departing to the 
 land of hope. There is no precise record of their 
 departure, but it is certain that they went over to 
 Holland in small companies, and ' notwithstanding all 
 these storms of opposition they all got over at length, 
 some at one time and some at another, some in one 
 place and some in another,' and that they ' met to- 
 gether again according to their desires with no small 
 rejoicing.'
 
 CHAPTEK IV 
 
 IN HOLLAND 
 
 Amsterdam. — T]ie exiles f ound in HoUa nd full IjWf.y 
 of conscien cOj. Since the formation of the Nether- 
 lands Eepublic in 1579 and the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence in 1581, the Keformed Evangelical religion 
 prevailed in the land, whilst, at the same time, no 
 enquiries were ma de respecting any man's religious 
 belief. Several parties of English Separatists had 
 already sought refuge in Holland before the arrival of 
 the Scrooby Pilgrims, In 1593 some of the members 
 of the church in London, with which John Penry had 
 been identified, went to Amsterdam. Others of their 
 brethren who had been imprisoned followed in 1597, 
 and amongst these were Francis Johnson (the pastor), 
 George Johnson, and Daniel Studley. These men, 
 with John Clark, when in prison had obtained per- 
 mission to join an expedition to Canada, with the 
 intention of forming a religious community. But the 
 expedition met with disaster, and the Separatists 
 returned, as best they could, to England. 
 
 c 2
 
 36 IN HOLLAND 
 
 On arriving in Amsterdam, Francis Johnson was 
 re-chosen pastor of the little exiled community, and 
 Henry Ainsworth, chiefly known for his Annotations 
 on the Old Testament, was apj)ointed teacher. Num- 
 bers of exiles from var ious jparts of Enjjjjand also 
 joined this church, and in a^ few years it attained a 
 v ery prosperous conditi on. There was also another 
 Separatist church in existence at Amsterdam before 
 the landing of the Scrooby brethren. This was the 
 church from Gainsborough, under the pastorate of 
 John Smyth, which migrated in 1606. The Pilgrims 
 from Scrooby. formed a third church, with Richard 
 Clyfton as pastor, and John Robinson as teacher. In 
 a short time differences of opinion on questions of 
 church government and discipline arose amongst the 
 three churches, and, rather than be embroiled in con- 
 troversy, Robinson and his church decided to remove 
 to the now flourishing city of Ley den. Clyfton re- 
 mained at Amsterdam, for his sympathies began to 
 coalesce with those of Francis Johnson, whose prefer- 
 ences were in the direction of a Presbyterian form of 
 government. Having obtained permission from the 
 authorities of Leyden to settle there, pastor and people 
 removed thither to begin church life afresh. 
 
 Leyden (1609-1620). — It is not clear where the 
 brethren met for worship during the early days of 
 their life at Leyden ; but, in 1611, John Robinson and 
 three of the church-members bought a house and 
 garden in the Kloksteeg, near St. Peter's Church, for 
 8,000 guilders. It was in this house that the Pilgrim
 
 THE TOWN HALL, LEYDEN
 
 IN HOLLAND 39 
 
 Church held its meetings during the years of its sojourn 
 in Leyden. Its members continued * many years in 
 a comfortable condition, enjoying much sweet and 
 delightful society and spiritual comfort together in the 
 ways of God. So, as they grew in knowledge and 
 other gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, and lived 
 together in peace and love and holiness, many came 
 unto them from divers parts of England, so that they 
 grew a great congregation. If at any time differences 
 arose, as differences will arise, they were so met with 
 and nipt in the head betimes, or otherwise so well 
 composed that love, peace, and communion were still 
 continued.' The magistrates of Leyden also bore 
 witness to the orderly character of the Pilgrim Church. 
 * These English have lived among us now these twelve 
 years, and yet we never had any suit or accusation 
 come against any of them ; but your strifes and 
 quarrels [of the French] are continual.' They won 
 the trust and respect of all their neighbours — they 
 were proved to be men of honour and integrity — men 
 whose word was their bond. 
 
 Amongst those who joined this church or who 
 were in friendly relations with it, and whose names 
 became more or less famous, were Miles Standish, 
 Edward Winslow, John Carver, Eobert Cushman, and 
 Thomas Brewer. Standish, coming from a good Lan- 
 cashire family, had fought in one of the expeditions sent 
 by Queen Elizabeth to aid the Dutch, and afterwards 
 became the military leader of the Puritan settlers in 
 New England. Winslow, a young Englishman of
 
 40 IN HOLLAND 
 
 some wealth, was travelling on the Continent, and 
 visited Leyden. Here he became acquainted with 
 several of the Pilgrims, and was so impressed, not 
 only with their principles, but also with the harmony 
 prevailing amongst them, that he very soon joined the 
 community, and afterwards went with them to the 
 West. Carver, who was one of the first deacons in 
 the church, became leader of the Pilgrims across the 
 seas, and afterwards first Governor of New Plymouth. 
 Cushman rendered much assistance in the preliminary 
 arrangements connected with the Mayflower expedi- 
 tion, whilst Brewer, a Kentish Separatist — ' a gentle- 
 man of a good house, both of land and living' — proved 
 himself to be a man of sterling worth and courage. He 
 remained at Leyden when the Mayflower sailed, and 
 about 1625 settled again in England, where he was 
 imprisoned for his staunch fidelity to Puritan principles. 
 Trades and Occupations. — The question of how to 
 live does not seem to have troubled the Pilgrims much 
 on their departure for Holland. Again and again 
 they had been deprived of their money and goods, 
 and yet they landed in Holland with scarcely any 
 misgivings as to ways and means of livelihood. The 
 deep conviction that they were in the path of duty 
 was the antidote to anxiety, and with buoyant hearts 
 they set themselves to work to provide for daily 
 wants. Both in Amsterdam and in Leyden they soon 
 found employment, which, though not always con- 
 genial, helped to keep alive the spirit of sturdy 
 independence and strength of will. Alluding to their
 
 IN HOLLAND 41 
 
 life at Leyden, Bradford writes : ' Being now here 
 pitched, they fell to such trades and employments as 
 they best could, valuing peace and their spiritual 
 comfort above any other riches whatever.' 
 
 Brewster found himself able to earn money by 
 giving lessons in English to * many gentlemen, both 
 Danes and Germans . . . some of them being great 
 men's sons.' Later on, in partnership with Thomas 
 Brewer, he opened a printing establishment, and pro- 
 duced controversial and other books, the printing of 
 which was prohibited in England. These books found 
 their way to London, and two of them fell into the 
 hands of King James, who was so exasperated at their 
 contents that he instructed his ambassador at the 
 Hague to take prompt action against the printer. 
 The ambassador's officer arrested Brewer in mistake 
 for Brewster ; but Brewer volunteered to go to 
 England to give to His Majesty an account of himself 
 and of the printing office. No harm came to him 
 in London when engaged on this errand. His dark 
 days were in store for him, for, as already mentioned, 
 on returning to England for good, he was committed 
 to prison for his religious opinions, and there he 
 remained for fourteen years. Edward Winslow, also, 
 who had probably been cut off by his friends at home, 
 staved off poverty at the printing press. Bradford and 
 several others earned a living as fustian workers. 
 Eobert Cushman carded wool, and others were car- 
 penters, weavers, spinners, bakers, brewers, makers 
 of hats, gloves, &c., whilst two or three were merchants
 
 42 IN HOLLAND 
 
 in a small way. ' AtJ^engtlLJJifijL-came ^to raise a 
 coippp.tiP.nti iin(LcQmiQilable living, but with hard and 
 cont inual lab our.' But this ' hard and continual 
 labour ' began to tell upon the endurance and strength 
 of the company, so that manyLwere growing old before 
 t heir time, and some who were not able to work as 
 Jiari._ as in tjie_fi rst days of exile began to feel th e 
 ^^ginch of poverty. 
 
 Proposals and Reasons for a New Departure. — After 
 ^ some twelve years had passed the Pilgrims took a 
 review of their sojourn in Holland, surveyed their 
 existing circumstances, and weighed their prospects. 
 It is true their hopes of securing freedom of worship 
 had been satisfied, but there was an uneasy feeling, 
 and some amount of disappointment, which finally led 
 them to found a Puritan colony in the Far West. Fewer 
 than they expected had joined them from England, 
 and some of their brethren, having spent their 
 substance, and unable to face hardship and labour, 
 had returned home. Inability, from straitened cir- 
 cumstances, to provide their children with an ade- 
 quate education was also a source of trouble. And 
 a greater trouble still, * and of all sorrows most 
 heavy to be borne, was that many of their children, 
 by these occasions, and the great licentiousness of 
 youth in that country, and the manifold temptations 
 of the place, were drawn away by evil examples into 
 extravagant and dangerous courses, getting the reins 
 off their necks, and departing from their parents. 
 Some became soldiers, others took upon them far
 
 IN HOLLAND 43 
 
 voyages by sea, and others some worse courses, 
 tending to dissoluteness and the danger of their souls, 
 to the great grief of their parents and dishonour of 
 God. So that they saw their posterity would be in 
 danger to degenerate and be corrupted.' The twelve 
 years' truce between the Dutch and the Spaniards 
 would shortly lapse ; war might be renewed, and 
 Leyden again besieged, and the Pilgrim flock scattered. 
 A patriotic reason also increased the desire to depart ,' 
 to another country. If they remained in Holland ■ 
 much longer their identity as English men and women 
 would be lost ; with the elder members of the band 
 dying off, and their descendants marrying foreigners, 
 the community would become absorbed in the Dutch 
 nation. Yet another consideration prompted their 
 withdrawal. They had a great longin g to advance 
 thejG^spel,in_remotejiarts of the^ world, 'though they 
 should be but even as stepping-stones unto others 
 for the performing of so great a work.' Eeasons 
 for departing were therefore overwhelming, and the 
 question then arose, Whither should they go ? 
 
 West Indies or Virginia ? — The hearts of the 
 Pilgrims were bent on the West. For some time 
 Guiana seems to have been favourably considered. 
 The tales of travellers, picturing the fertility and 
 beauty of that country, made an impression on their 
 minds ; but its tropical climate and malarial dis- 
 eases, as well as the nearness of the Spaniards, led 
 them to abandon this proposal. Then Virginia was 
 discussed, and there appeared to be unanimous
 
 44 IN HOLLAND 
 
 agreement as to its suitability. Virginia had been 
 colonised in 1606 by a company of London mer- 
 chants, who obtained a patent from King James. 
 The first colonists consisted for the most part of men 
 who had failed in the mother-country, and the second 
 batch were little better, and Jamestown became a 
 refuge for ne'er-do-wells. By a charter granted by 
 the king, conformity to the Church of England was 
 necessary, and absurdly stringent regulations were 
 set down for the maintenance of religion. The 
 Pilgrims thought they might secure concessions from 
 the company and from the king which would enable 
 them to live as a distinct and independent colony. 
 
 With this object in view they sent Eobert Cushman 
 and John Carver to England, committing to their 
 charge, for submission to the king and council, seven 
 articles, drawn up by the church and signed by John 
 Eobinson and William Brewster, which embraced 
 assent to the Articles of the Church of England as 
 accepted by the Eeformed Churches of the Continent, 
 and obedience to the king's authority, ' if the thing com- 
 manded be not against God's Word.' The embassage 
 was favourably received by the council, and the two 
 brethren returned to Leyden. Then a document was 
 forwarded to London presenting the grounds and 
 reasons — ' instances of inducement ' — for granting 
 the petition of the church. In a later communica- 
 tion the petitioners state that they are willing to take 
 the Oath of Supremacy if necessary, and the Oath 
 of Allegiance be not sufficient. The king withheld
 
 IN HOLLAND 45 
 
 formal consent for freedom of worship, but did not 
 express disapproval of the Pilgrims' scheme. Sir 
 Edwin Sandys, Treasurer of the Virginia Company, 
 sought the assent of the archbishop to the migration 
 of the Separatists and the formation of a free colony 
 or state ; but the archbishop, backed by the bishops, 
 vigorously opposed the project. However, the Vir- 
 ginia Company advised the Pilgrims to carry out their 
 plan, assuring them that there was little probability 
 of either king or bishops interfering with their 
 religious freedom when once they were planted in 
 the new country. At length the brethren decided to 
 make the venture. 
 
 A special day of humiliation, thanksgiving, and 
 prayer was held, when John Piobinson preached a 
 notable sermon from 1 Sam. xxiii. 3, 4. Then 
 various arrangements were made for departure. It 
 was thought best that only part of the church should 
 leave^ — the youngest and the strongest ; that, if the 
 expedition failed, those left at Leyden should receive 
 back with brotherly love those who returned ; and that, 
 if the expectations of success were fulfilled, any of the 
 brethren at Leyden willing to join them should be 
 helped across the seas. It was further decided that, J 
 if a majority of the church determined to go, then 
 Eobinson, their pastor, should accompany them ; but 
 if only a minority, that the pastor should remain 
 behind, and Elder Brewster be appointed to take the 
 spiritual oversight of the voyagers. Although thus 
 divided, the church was still to be one.
 
 46 IN HOLLAND 
 
 But, after all, the Virginia Company raised diffi- 
 culties, and the original scheme had to be abandoned. 
 Then certain Dutch traders suggested a settlement at 
 New Amsterdam — now New York — but this proposi- 
 tion also fell to the ground. At length one of the 
 company of Merchant Adventurers, Thomas Weston, 
 offered to provide assistance and the necessaries for 
 the voyage to Virginia. This proposal was accepted, 
 and the Pilgrims at once prepared to depart, selling 
 their property and putting their money into a common 
 fund. As the majority were remaining behind, 
 Eobinson, according to previous agreement, stayed 
 with them. 
 
 From Leyden to Southampton. — More than two 
 years had passed since Cushman and Carver, in the 
 autumn of 1617, went to England to make the first 
 attempt to pave the way for a voyage to Virginia. 
 The suspense, difficulties, and disappointments of that 
 period would have daunted less determined men than 
 the Pilgrim Fathers, and dissipated for ever the 
 ambition to cross the seas. It is needless to give in 
 detail all the vexatious difficulties that continued to 
 spring up — as if in mockery of the Pilgrims' aspira- 
 tions — whilst effort after effort was put forth to make 
 satisfactory negotiations. The outline of these trials 
 and disappointments just given will suffice. It was 
 resolved to go, first of all, to Southampton by the 
 Speedwell — a sixty-ton pinnace — where the travellers 
 were to be joined by others, coming from London in 
 the Mayflower. And now the time of separation
 
 IN HOLLAND 49 
 
 arrived. Many of those who had Hved together in 
 Christian fellowship and peace for so long would_ 
 meet again no more. On a day of fasting and prayer 
 John Eobinson preached the last sermon (from Ezra 
 viii. 21) that the departing brethren would ever hear 
 from his lips. A portion of the day was spent in 
 ' pouring out prayers to the Lord with great fervency, 
 mixed with abundance of tears.' Then came farewells 
 to Dutch friends, whose trust and affection had met no 
 check since the Scrooby company first arrived ; and 
 then — on a bright summer's morning — with waving 
 of hands, and Godspeeds from picturesque groups 
 of people on the quay, the Pilgrims stepped into the 
 barges, which were to carry them by the canal as far 
 as Delftshaven. 
 
 Most of the Pilgrims' friends went with them 
 this first stage of the journey — a distance of fourteen 
 miles. At Delftshaven the Speedwell was awaiting 
 them, and on July 22, 1620, they set sail for England. 
 The final scene of leave-taking and departure is thus 
 quaintly narrated by Bradford. The passage is re- 
 produced with the original orthography, and in that 
 respect will serve as a specimen of the entire book. 
 * When they came to y"" place they found y'' ship 
 and all things ready ; and shuch of their freinds as 
 could not come with them followed after them, and 
 sundrie also came from Amsterdame to see them 
 shipte and to take their leave of them. That night 
 was spent with litle sleepe by y'^ most, but with 
 freindly entertainmente & Christian discourse and 
 
 D
 
 50 IN HOLLAND 
 
 other reall expressions of true Christian love. The 
 next day, the wind being faire, they wente a"borde, 
 and their freinds with them, where truly dolfull 
 was y^ sight of that sade and mournfull parting ; 
 to see what sighs and sobbs and praires did sound 
 amongst them, what tears did gush from every eye, 
 & pithy speeches peirst each harte ; that sundry of 
 y® Dutch strangers y* stood on y^ key as spectators, 
 could not refraine from tears. Yet comfortable & 
 sweete it was to see shuch lively and true expressions 
 of dear & unfained love. But y*^ tide (which stays for 
 no man) caling them away y* were thus loath to 
 departe, their Eeve*^: pastor falling downe on his 
 knees, (and they all with him,) with watrie cheeks 
 coinended them with most fervente praiers to the 
 Lord and his blessing. And then with mutuall 
 imbrases and many tears, they tooke their leaves one 
 of an other ; which proved to be y® last leave to many 
 of them.' Winslow tells us that, as the Speedwell 
 moved away, the Pilgrims fired a parting volley with 
 their muskets, which was followed by the boom of 
 shots from the ship's cannon. A fair wind soon 
 carried the party to Southampton, where the May- 
 flower was waiting with the other Separatists from 
 London, who had resolved to go with their brethren 
 to America.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF THE MAYFLOWER 
 
 Southampton. — Scarcely were greetings over when a 
 fresh crop of troubles arose. Debts were mcurred in 
 England by the brethren who had been sent from 
 Leyden to complete the arrangements for the voyage. 
 Some of these debts were considered unreasonable, 
 and, naturally, their payment from the little common 
 fund would tax the temper of the emigrants. Then 
 it was found that Cushman had taken it upon him- 
 self to consent to Weston's demand for alterations in 
 the contract with the Merchant Adventurers. Accord- 
 ing to the new article in the contract, the whole of 
 t he property in the new colony at the end of seven 
 years was to be equally divided between the immi- 
 g rants and the Adventurers. The former claimed that 
 their houses and gardens, after the care bestowed 
 upon them, and improvements made from time to 
 time, ought to belong to them at the end of seven 
 years. They also stipulated that the labour of two 
 out of six days should be entirely for the colonists' own 
 benefit, and should not be shared by the company. 
 Thomas Weston refused to agree to these demands. 
 
 D 2
 
 52 THE VOYAGE OF THE MAYFLOWER 
 
 High words arose, and then Weston went off without 
 the contract being signed, angrily telling them that 
 they must ' look to stand on their own legs.' Being 
 left to shift for themselves, they found they would 
 have to spend about a hundred pounds before sailing 
 in order to discharge their liabilities. To raise this 
 money they sold a quantity of their provisions, which 
 could ill be spared. The Pilgrims sent a letter to the 
 Adventurers, reminding them of the strain upon their 
 resources, that they had scarcely any butter or oil, or 
 even a sole to mend a shoe, that |jip.y w^rp . jll Rnpplipd 
 with muskets and swords, bnf. stil] wpvft willino; \c\ 
 
 p.Ypnsft thprnHplyPS to fln,np;PTH a.nrl t.n frnsf, to God's 
 
 Providence. Fresh courage was inspired by the reading 
 of a letter of counsel and sympathy from John Eobin- 
 son, and having appointed a governor and two or 
 three assistants for each vessel, the emigrants prepared 
 to depart. 
 
 ^ — Heading West. — On August 5 ^ (Bradford says 
 'about' August 5), 1620, the Mayflower and the 
 Speedwell left Southampton. The Mayflower was a 
 vessel of only one hundred and eighty tons, but her 
 behaviour on the Atlantic fully justified the confidence 
 placed in her. The accommodation, we may be quite 
 sure, was anything but sumptuous, and nowadays the 
 gallant little craft would be pronounced unfit even for a 
 cattle-boat. She carried ninetv persons^ who, happily, 
 were used to a rough life, and being, moreover, brimful 
 of hope and faith, would not grumble at the small cubic 
 
 ' (O.S.) August 15, N.S.
 
 THE VOYAGE OF THE MAYFLOWER 53 
 
 space allotted to each. The Speedwell (an inappro^ 
 priate name, as events proved) carried thirty persons. 
 Great things were expected of her, although only a 
 sixty-ton pinnace ; but her only satisfactory perform- 
 ance was to convey the Pilgrims safely from Holland 
 to England. After tacking for three or four days, she 
 was reported leaking by her captain, Eeinolds, who 
 further stated that she must be run into Dartmouth 
 for repairs. Accordingly, the two ships took refuge 
 in the pretty Devonshire harbour, where the Speedwell 
 was thoroughly overhauled at great expense. 
 
 In about three days another start was made ; but 
 in a few hours the grim announcement came from 
 the captain that the Speedwell had begun to leak 
 again, and could only be kept from sinking by inces- 
 santly using the pumps . This time "Ply-mmifVi Ty^f:^ j-,||n 
 p lace of refuge, and once there, the Pilgrims wisely 
 determined to have nothing more to do with the Sneed- 
 well ^ndto send her back to her owners, the Adventurers. 
 It is not surprising that some of her passengers lost 
 heart and courage. Eighteen of them, including 
 Cushman and his family, resolved to abandon the 
 expedition and return to London. The remaining 
 twelve were transferred to the Mayflower ; and how a 
 hundred and two persons (without reckoning captain 
 and crew) contrived to find room in her is a marvel. 
 Afterwards it turned out that the Speedwell's leakage 
 was not owing to bad construction, but to a simple, 
 though cunning, device of the captain and crew, who 
 wished to evade a clause of their contract stipulating
 
 54 THE VOYAGE OF THE MAYFLOWER 
 
 that they should stay a year in America with the 
 Pilgrims. 
 
 After receiving hospitality from some of the 
 Pl ymontVi ppoplp, thft Pilgrim Fathers made anothe r 
 s tart on September 6.^ With a favourable wind, they 
 made good progress for a week or two, and then con- 
 gratulations had to give way to alarm. Fierce storms 
 swept the Atlantic and had the ship at their mercy. 
 The upper timbers creaked and cracked, and let in the 
 water. One of the main beams got displaced, and the 
 situation became critical. Captain, crew, and pas- 
 sengers hastily consulted together, and the question 
 arose whether it would not be better to return to 
 England rather than attempt further progress. But 
 Captain Jones was sanguine of the ship's powers, and 
 that if the sprung beam could only be set right all 
 would go well. Fortunately, one of the passengers had 
 brought a powerful iron jackscrew with him ; with its 
 aid the beam was adjusted and made fast. Alarm, 
 for a time, was thus dispelled ; but other storms broke 
 out in quick succession, and the ship drifted under 
 bare poles before the terrific wind. Passengers were 
 packed below, drenched with water day after day — the 
 women trying to soothe the sobbing children, and the 
 men trying to fortify the women's hearts. 
 
 One of the passengers, venturing on deck for a 
 moment, was swept into the waves. He caught hold 
 of a loose topsail halyard, and the sailors at great risk 
 managed to save him. A servant of one of the pas- 
 
 ' (N.S. September 16.)
 
 THE VOYAGE OF THE MAYFLOWER 55 
 
 sengers died, and a child (promptly christened Oceanus) 
 was born to another. NinRWPp.lcs of hnrdship nnd ppril 
 hn.d passed, n.nd then n, point of land was seen far ahead . 
 Hope revived, and joyfulness shone on every face. 
 The land proved to be Cape Cod, and slowly the well- 
 wooded coast spread out before them. But Cape Cod 
 was not the place the Pilgrims desired for their 
 s&ttlement. Their preferences were directed to the' 
 Hudson Eiver, and so the ship was headed south. 
 But she soon got amongst treacherous shoals, and 
 had to return to Cape Cod. According to one/ 
 chronicler (Morton), the Dutch had set their hearts 
 on Manhattan (New York), and had instructed, or 
 bribed, the captain to keep clear of that part of the 
 coast, and he had, so far, skilfully carried out his part 
 of the plot. 
 
 The weary passengers were eager to step on to 
 dry land, and, after consultation, decided to forego 
 their wish to settle south, and to make for Cape Cod 
 Harbour, where they might explore the neighbour- 
 hood for a suitable spot on which to raise a colony. 
 Then they rounded the cape, and, on November 11,^ 
 anchored in the harbour of what is now called 
 Provincetown. * They fell upon their knees and 
 blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them 
 over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them 
 from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set 
 their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper 
 element.' 
 
 ' (N.y. November 21.)
 
 CHAPTEE VI 
 
 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 
 
 The Famous Compact. — The land on which the Pilgrim 
 Fathers first set foot was, practically, no-man's 
 land. The Virginia Company had no rights there, 
 and it was uninhabited, at least over a consider- 
 able area. There were, consequently, no laws, no 
 government, or recognised authority. A few of the 
 voyagers were men who had joined the Mayflower 
 from an adventuring spirit, and also to help to navi- 
 gate the ship ; but they had no religious sympathy 
 with the Pilgrims, and during the journey had caused 
 some trouble by ' discontented and mutinous speeches.' 
 But, once in America, they were disposed to remain 
 there. The Fathers consulted, and finally decided 
 that, not only for the sake of repressing license 
 
 amongst these men, but also fm- ma.intfl.im'ng n^r]pr_ 
 and disc i pline a.m ^ygpjti tliPiV oyTP l-»rnfViPvVinnrl^ f.lipy 
 ■mi ipt org f^,nipp fV»PrYigp1vpci irtin n hnr\y pAlif-,jfi, anrl 
 s ubmit to pnr'.h gf )YPrnmpr>t a,nd fro vernors as might 
 V>p ^.gvppfl iipnn They therefore drew up and signed
 
 "^^"^^^C^ LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 57 
 
 the memorable document which is given below, with 
 the signatures attached. 
 
 ' In y® name of God, Amen. We whose names 
 are vnderwritten, the loyall subjects of our dread 
 soveraigne Lord, King James, by y® grace of God, of 
 Great Britaine, Franc and Ireland King, defender of 
 y® faith, &c., haveing vndertaken for y® glorie of God 
 and advancemente of y^ Christian faith, and honour 
 of our King and countrie, a voyage to plant y^ first 
 colonie in y® Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these 
 presents solemnly and mutualy in y^ presence of God 
 and of one another, covenant and combine our selves 
 togeather into a civill body politick, for our better 
 ordering and preservation and furtherance of y^ ends 
 aforesaid ; and by vertue hearof to enacte, constitute 
 and frame such just and equall lawes, ordinances, 
 acts, constitutions and offices from time to time, as 
 shall be thought most meete and convenient for y® 
 generall good of y*" colonie, vnto which we promise all 
 due submission and obedience. In Witnes wherof 
 we have here-vnder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd 
 y^ 11 of November [N.S. November 21] in y® year 
 of y® raigne of our soveraigne lord, King lames of 
 England, France and Ireland y*^ eighteenth, and of 
 Scotland ye fiftie-fourth, Ano. Dom. 1620.' 
 
 John Carver John Turner 
 
 William Bradford Francis Eaton 
 
 Edward Winslow James Chilton 
 
 William Brewster John Crackston
 
 58 
 
 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 
 
 Isaac Allerton 
 Myles Standish 
 John Alden 
 Samuel Fuller 
 Christopher Martin 
 William Mullins 
 William White 
 
 ElCHARD WaUREN 
 
 John Howland • 
 Stephen Hopkins 
 Edward Tilley 
 John Tilley 
 Francis Cook 
 Thomas Eogers 
 Thomas Tinker 
 John Eigdale 
 Edward Fuller 
 
 John Billington 
 Moses Fletcher 
 John Goodman 
 Degory Priest 
 Thomas Williams 
 Gilbert Winslow 
 Edmund Margeson 
 Peter Brown 
 
 ElCHARD BrITTERIDGE 
 
 George Soule 
 ElCHARD Clarke 
 ElCHARD Gardiner 
 John Allerton 
 Thomas English 
 Edward Dotey 
 Edward Leister 
 
 On the same day that the compact was signed, 
 
 ■Tnim C^^^yif^r was plpf^f.Prl frnv^vrinr fm- fho oi-)c;i]jnfT 
 
 year, A few details respecting some of the signatories 
 of the document have been given in the earher pages 
 of this volume. There are two or three other pro- 
 minent men to whom reference may now be made. 
 Tsa.a.p, AHp.rton was a tailor, and joined the community 
 in Leyden. On the death of his wife in the colony 
 he married William Brewster's daughter, Fear. 
 Before long he occupied leading positions of useful- 
 ness, became the wealthiest man in the colony, and 
 was several times sent to England on business
 
 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 59 
 
 errands. But his love of money-making overran 
 the sense of duty and honour. In 1631 the Plymouth 
 church had to exercise discipline upon him, and in a 
 few months he left the colony. He died at New 
 Haven in 1659 insolvent, and was the only one of 
 the original Pilgrims whose reputation became tar- 
 nished. John Alden, by trade a cooper, joined the 
 travellers at Southampton, and for more than sixty 
 years was one of the most active and useful men in the 
 colony. He died in 1686 and was the last surviving 
 signatory of the famous compact. ' Samuel Fuller 
 was the physician of the colony. He is said to have 
 lived in London before throwing in his lot with the 
 church at Leyden, of which he was a deacon. He 
 rendered valuable service both to the New Plymouth 
 people and the Salem Colony, especially when epi- 
 demics broke out. He died in 1633, and his will is 
 the earliest in the records of Plymouth. 
 
 Exploring. — The Pi] ,Oi nms wptp pnt. rlisplpa.gprl wjfji 
 
 their nat 'i^'nl «n^T^nnnflir|gp! There was ' a good har- 
 bour and pleasant bay, circled round, except in the 
 entrance, which is about four miles over from land 
 to land, compassed about to the very sea with oaks, 
 pines, juniper, sassafras, and other sweet wood.' 
 Large numbers of wild-fowl had come to the bay for 
 winter shelter, whilst quantities of whales enlivened 
 the scene, making the sailors regret that they had 
 left their harpoons behind them. On Saturday, the 
 day of their anchoring, the Pilgrims sent a well- 
 armed party ashore for wood and fresh water. The
 
 6o LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 
 
 Sunday was spent on board, and on Monday the 
 question of looking for a suitable place for a settle- 
 ment was discussed. No time was to be lost. Cap- 
 tain Jones was anxious to sail back to England 
 speedily, lest his provisions should not hold out. He 
 declined to cruise about in search of a place for the 
 colony, but undertook to put them ashore at whatever 
 spot they might fix upon. The Pilgrims had brought 
 with them a shallop — a boat of about fifteen tons — 
 which had been taken to pieces and stowed away on 
 the Mayflower. A few days must elapse before the 
 carpenters could prepare it for its work, and in the 
 meantime it was resolved to send out a land exploring 
 party. 
 
 On Wednesday, sixteen well-armed men, headed 
 by Captain Standish, landed. Having marched about 
 a mile along the shore they saw five Indians, who 
 ran away at their approach. The explorers fol- 
 lowed them for some ten miles, but failed to get near 
 enough to parley with them. As night approached 
 they camped, making a barricade of logs, lighting 
 fires, and appointing sentinels. On the next day 
 they tried to track the Indians, explored the country 
 for ten or twelve miles, forcing a path through dense 
 underwood, and came suddenly upon clear springs 
 of water at a spot now called Truro. Then they saw 
 a deer, cornland, graves of Indians, and the remains 
 of a house, or small fort, and, close by, two canoes, a 
 large iron kettle, and a bow and arrows. A little 
 farther they came upon baskets of corn buried in the
 
 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 6i 
 
 sand. They carried away some of the corn, intendmg 
 to pay the owners, should they meet with them. 
 They went as far as the Pamet Kiver, and in that 
 neighbourhood saw some partridges and deer, and 
 plenty of geese and ducks. Then they returned 
 to the Mayflower, but only to prepare for another 
 expedition. 
 
 On Monday, November 27 (O.S.) (December 
 7 N.S.), twenty-four men started in the shallop 
 and the long boat, with Captain Jones as leader. 
 They experienced high winds, with blinding snow, 
 discovered the remains of a French vessel, wrecked 
 some years previously, came across some empty 
 wigwams, found more corn, wheat, and beans, but 
 discovered no suitable place for the Pilgrims' settle- 
 ment. Whilst the explorers were away, Peregrine 
 White was born on the Mayflower — the first of the 
 English who was born in New England. The most 
 practical result of these two expeditions was the 
 acquisition of some ten bushels of corn, as seed for 
 the next season. Captain Jones being so anxious to 
 depart for England, and pressing the Pilgrims to come 
 to a speedy decision as to the site for their colony, a 
 third expedition set off on December 6 (O.S.) (16 
 N.S.), with the object of thoroughly surveying the 
 bay. Some of the party kept in the shallop, whilst 
 others walked along the shore, keeping their comrades 
 in sight. 
 
 On the third day the party on shore were 
 fiercely attacked by Indians * About the dawning of
 
 62 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 
 
 the day, they heard a preat and strange cry, and one 
 of their company being on board came hastily in, 
 and cried " Indians ! Indians ! " and, withal, their 
 arrows came flying amongst them ; on which all their 
 men ran with speed [to the boat] to recover their 
 arms ; as by God's good providence they did. In 
 the meantime some of those that were ready dis- 
 charged two muskets at them, and two more stood 
 ready at the entrance of their rendezvous, but were 
 commanded not to shoot until they could take full 
 aim at them ; and the other two charged with all 
 speed, for there were only four that had arms there, 
 and defended the barricade which was first assaulted. 
 The cry of the Indians was dreadful, especially when 
 they saw their men run out of their rendezvous 
 towards the shallop to recover their arms ; the 
 Indians wheeling about upon them ; but some run- 
 ning out with coats of mail, and cutlasses in their 
 hands, they soon recovered their arms, and discharged 
 amongst them, and soon stayed their violence. Not- 
 withstanding, there was a lusty man, and no less 
 valiant, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot, 
 and let his arrows fly amongst them ; he was seen to 
 shoot three arrows, which were all avoided, and stood 
 three shot of musket, until one, taking full aim at 
 him, made the bark or splinters of the tree fly about 
 his ears ; after which he gave an extraordinary shriek, 
 and away they went all of them ; and so, leaving some 
 to keep the shallop, they followed them about a 
 quarter of a mile, that they might conceive that
 
 LANDING AT NEW PLYMOUTH 65 
 
 they were not afraid of them, or in any way dis- 
 couraged.' 
 
 None of the English party were injured, although 
 several had narrow escapes. Then they all took the 
 boat, followed the coast to the west and north, en- 
 countered a strong gale, with heavy snow and rain, 
 and were almost wrecked. In a freezing temperature 
 and at midnight they ran into Ply mouth HMvhnnr. 
 The next day (Saturday) they made good the damage 
 to the shallop ; on Sunday they rested, and the next 
 day, December 11 (N.S. 21), 'they sounded the har- 
 bour, and found it fit for shipping; and marched 
 into the land and found divers corn-fields and little 
 running brooks — a place (as they supposed) fit for 
 situation; at least it was the best they could find.' And 
 
 t his plaC A wn.s \x\ hp fhft Naw PlyTTionfTi r>f fj^ p Pnorvim 
 
 Fathers. It was a rock t hat the explorers landed 
 upon. In 1774 an attempt was made to remove it to 
 a more central position ; but it was split during the 
 operation. The upper portion was afterwards placed 
 near the Court House, and in later years a handsome 
 canopy was erected over it.
 
 • CHAPTEE VII 
 
 FOUNDING THE COLONY 
 
 Planning the Colony.— The explorers lost no time 
 in returning to the Mayflower and recommending the 
 place they had discovered as the permanent home of 
 the immigrants. For ^illiam Bradford, who had 
 accompanied the party, terrible news was waiting. 
 His wife, Dorothy, falling overboard, had been 
 drowned. The Pilgrims decided that the promising 
 site of the bay was suitable for their colony, and on 
 Christmas Day they weighed anchor, and, setting off 
 for their new quarters, landed on the third day. The 
 following is the journal, kept by one of the Pilgrims, 
 recording events from the time of arrival to the end 
 of the year. 
 
 'December 18 [O.S.] [28 N.S.].— Monday they 
 land with the master of the ship, and three or four 
 sailors ; march along the coast seven or eight miles, 
 but see neither wigwam, Indian, nor navigable river, 
 but only four or five brooks of sweet fresh water run- 
 ning into the sea, with choice ground formerly pos-
 
 FOUNDING THE COLONY 67 
 
 sessed and planted, and at night return to the ship. 
 Next day they go again to discover, some on land, 
 others in the shallop, find a creek, into which they 
 pass three miles, and return. 
 
 * December 20. — After calling to Heaven for 
 guidance, they go ashore to pitch on some place for 
 immediate settlement. After viewing the country 
 they conclude to settle on the main, on a high ground 
 facing the bay, where corn had been planted three or 
 four years before ; a sweet brook running under the 
 hill, with many delicate springs. On a great hill 
 they intend to fortify, which will command all round, 
 whence they may see across the bay to the cape. 
 And here, being in number twenty, they rendezvous 
 this evening ; but a storm rising, it blows and rains 
 hard all night, continues so tempestuous for two days 
 that they cannot get abroad, and have nothing to 
 shelter them. 
 
 ' Dec. 21. — Dies Richard Britteridge, the first who 
 dies in this harbour. 
 
 * Dec. 23. — Saturday. As many as can, go ashore, 
 cut and carry timber for a common building. 
 
 * Dec. 24.— Lord's Day. Our people ashore are 
 alarmed with the cry of savages, expect an assault, but 
 continue quiet ; and this day dies Solomon Martin, 
 the sixth and last who dies this month. 
 
 ' Dec. 25. — Monday they go ashore again, felling 
 timber, sawing, riding, carrying. Begin to erect the 
 first house, about twenty feet square, for their common 
 use, to receive them and their goods ; and leaving 
 
 E 2
 
 68 FOUNDING THE COLONY 
 
 twenty to keep a court of guard, the rest return 
 aboard at evening ; but in the night and next day, 
 another sore storm of wind and rain. 
 
 ' Dec. 28. — Thursday they go to work on the hill ; 
 reduce themselves to nineteen families ; measure 
 out their lots and draw for them. Many grew ill of 
 grievous colds, from the great and many hardships 
 they had endured. 
 
 ' Dec. 29 and 30. — Very cold and stormy again ; 
 and they see great smoaks of fires made by the 
 Indians about six or seven miles off. 
 
 ' Dec. 31. — Lord's Day. Though the generality 
 remain aboard the ship, almost a mile and a half off, 
 yet this seems to be the first day that any keep the 
 Sabbath in the place of their building ; at this time 
 we therefore fix the era of their settlement here.' 
 
 The division of the whole company into nineteen 
 families, assigning the single men to the various 
 households, was thought desirable, in order that 
 as few houses as possible might be required. Each 
 family was to build its own house, to which was 
 attached a plot of land for each of its members, 
 measuring three rods long and half a rod broad. The 
 houses were to be erected parallel with the stream, and 
 were to form a single street, now called Leyden Street, 
 leading up from Plymouth Eock. 
 
 Disease and Death. — And now the angel of death 
 wrought havoc in the colony, and it seemed as if not 
 one of the devoted band would be left. Exposu re 
 
 to the severe :giTltiPrj I'ng^Ar^nfl.l.A rliVf. anrl \}na I^T^rr
 
 FOUNDING THE COLONY 69 
 
 voyage ^nd its i mJi^^pUliy fondifinng l^Pgan ic\ wnv]^ 
 
 inevitable consequences. During January and Feb- 
 ruary the people died sometimes at the rate of two or 
 three a day. The sick were nursed in the first house 
 finished, and there were no fewer than thirty-one 
 deaths by the end of February. The dead were 
 buried on a hiU, now called Cole's Hill, and the graves 
 levelled, so that the Indians might not suspect 
 how greatly the numbers of the immigrants were 
 
 diminished. Qf th^ h nnrlrArl nnrl nrlrl ppvanna w1nr> 
 arrived by the M^ yflnwp.r, Hfarfply fifty nnw vp.mflinpxl. 
 
 Scurvy was the chief disease that plagued the 
 people, and added to this trouble were fears of attacks 
 from Indians and wolves. When the ravages of 
 disease were greatest, there were but six or seven 
 healthy persons able to minister to the wants of 
 the sick. The appearance of savages in the neigh- 
 bourhood led the colonists to mount the five 
 cannon brought from the Mayflower on the hill 
 close to their houses, where a rough fortification 
 was constructed. 
 
 Interviewing Indians.— One day in March, whilst the 
 Pilgrims were holding a conference about military mat- 
 ters, an Indian walked down the street, much to their 
 surprise, and entered their midst, greeting them with 
 the words, * Welcome, Englishmen — welcome, English- 
 men.' He told them in broken English that his name 
 was Samoset . that he belonged to the eastern part of 
 the country, and knew several English fishermen. 
 He spoke of another Indian, named Squanto, who
 
 70 FOUNDING THE COLONY 
 
 had visited England and could speak the language 
 well. The next day Samoset returned, and with him 
 were five other Indians. He came to announce the 
 approaching visit of Massasoit, the grand sagamore 
 of that region. He offered the Pilgrims a specimen 
 of Indian song and dance, but, the day being Sunday, 
 the offer was declined. Samoset had already informed 
 the Pilgrims that the Indian name of their settlement 
 was Patuset, and that, about four years before, nearly 
 all the inhabitants had died of some infectious disease. 
 On his next visit he brought with him Squanto, the 
 only man left of the Patuset tribe. 
 
 Squanto, who had lived more than three years in 
 London, brought the information that Massasoit was at 
 hand with his warriors. The Pilgrims realised the im- 
 portance of this visit, and anticipated that, if they could 
 only arrange a treaty of peace with the great chief, all 
 fears of attacks from the Indians would be at an end. A 
 messenger arrived, requesting that one of the English- 
 men should be deputed to visit the chief and confer 
 with him. g|(lwa.rd Win slow volunteered for the task. 
 Wearing armour and side arms, and taking gifts with 
 him, he proceeded on his way, crossing the ford, and 
 ascending the opposite hill. He was seen to enter the 
 midst of the sixty Indians, and then he disappeared. 
 Massasoit showed a childish longing to possess the 
 Englishman's sword and armour, and offered to buy 
 them ; but Winslow, with his usual discretion, de- 
 clined the offer. Winslow assured him of the good- 
 will of King James, and of the governor of the colony,

 
 FOUNDING THE COLONY 73 
 
 who wished to see him, and make a treaty of peace 
 and commerce with him. Massasoit agreed to visit 
 the governor with a body-guard, on condition that 
 Winslow remained as a hostage with the rest of the 
 warriors. The EngHshman promptly consented, and 
 then the chief set off for the settlement. He was 
 received with military honours, and every scrap of 
 carpet that could be collected was laid down in the 
 governor's house. He and Carver ate and drank 
 together, and then a treaty — offensive and defensive 
 — was drawn up and signed, and that trea ty was 
 ol i nrrvo d by both HJ d^ p f or more th anfiftv years. 
 Squanto, or Tisquantum, remained with the settlers, 
 and proved a true and useful friend. A little later 
 he taught them how to manure with fish the corn- 
 seed which they had found, and how to plant and rear 
 it. Without this corn they would have suffered from 
 famine, for all the seed of corn and vegetables brought 
 from England proved useless. He also showed them 
 where to find fish, and the best way of catching them, 
 and where to procure other provisions. He was their 
 pilot to unknown places, was continually furnishing 
 information regarding the natives and the geographical 
 features of the district, and remained with them until 
 his death. 
 
 Return of the Mayflower. — " With the advent of 
 spring the health of the colonv improved^ Had the 
 winter been severer and longer than it was, the settlers 
 would probably have become so reduced in numbers — 
 the hope of prosperity growing less as their numbers
 
 74 FOUNDING THE COLONY 
 
 diminished- -that the remnant of them would no 
 doubt have returned to the mother country, the 
 wreck of a noble enterprise. The Mayflower was still 
 in the bay, where she had been detained by the 
 sickness and death of many of the crew, by the sick- 
 ness amongst the colonists, and the necessity of 
 seeing the people housed before her departure. But 
 n o w prp p nrationr \^'^\^^ ma d f^ for, sailin g homp ,. If 
 a.ny of tbp iminig ra,nts — thp.ir hpa.rts failing them — 
 Wisbpd to flbflT^dnn thp.ir hrptbvp.n^ hprp was tbpir last 
 chance fo r a long time to come ^ But no one show ed 
 the smal lest dep^'^^ to y^t^n^" ^in stepg. Early in 
 April, the Mayflower, freighted with letters and loving 
 messages to friends in England and Holland, sailed 
 away, whilst a little group of men, women, and 
 children, now fully committed to their task, watched 
 her out of sight.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 INDIAN ALLIES 
 
 Death of Governor Carver, and Appointment of Brad- 
 ford. — A few days after the departure of the May - 
 flnwer, the colony lost its first governor . John Carver 
 had won the affection and esteem of all. He had 
 spent most of his substance in furthering the enter- 
 prise, bore his share of daily labour, was always 
 ready to do the meanest service for the poor and sick. 
 Returning from work in the corn-field, he was seized 
 with illness and died in two or three days. He was 
 buried with military honours, the men firing volleys 
 over his grave. Within six weeks his faithful wife 
 was laid beside him. There was but little hesitation 
 about the choice of a new governor. The elder 
 of the community was William Brewster, so that 
 he was scarcely eligible for the post. Passing over 
 him, William T^iyndford came next, and he, now 
 about thirty, was unanimously elected . Isaac Allerton 
 was appointed to assist him. We may be sure 
 that Bradford was ever to the front in the manual
 
 78 INDIAN ALLIES 
 
 work of the colony. There were now only twenty- 
 one men and six youths to do the work, yet in this 
 season twenty-one acres of corn-land were tilled, six 
 acres more were sown with wheat, barley, and rye, 
 and the gardens round the houses were cultivated. 
 
 Vf^]y rn.vftly wptp thpy e any murmurs of discon- 
 tent, or nnrnlinp-sR. There had been only one offence 
 against law and order, and this is worth noting 
 because of the curious punishment allotted to the 
 culprit. ' The first offence since our arrival,' says 
 the chronicler, 'is of John Billington, who came 
 on board at London, and is this month [March] 
 convented before the whole company for his con- 
 tempt of the captain's lawful command, with op- 
 probrious speeches ; for which he is adjudged to 
 have his neck and heels tied together ; but, upon 
 humbling himself and craving pardon, and it being 
 his first offence, he is forgiven.' A little later a 
 similar punishment was meted out to two young 
 duellists, servants of Stephen Hopkins, who, having 
 quarrelled, determined to settle the matter with swords 
 and daggers. Both were wounded, and then arrested 
 and tried before the whole community. * They are 
 adjudged to have their head and feet tied together, 
 and so to lie for twenty-four hours, without meat or 
 drink ; which is begun to be inflicted ; but within an 
 hour, because of their great pains, at their and their 
 master's humble request, upon promise of better 
 carriage, they are released.' T his nniqiiR and humi- 
 liating punishment had a most wholesome and deter-
 
 INDIAN ALLIES 79 
 
 rent effect, for this was the first and last duel ever 
 heard of in the colonY . 
 
 Expeditions. — It was now resolved to despatch 
 expeditions to the Indians in order to maintain 
 
 fl-fonrlly rplirfmns nnrl prnmotf. tra.dfi. Edward WinsloW 
 
 and Stephen Hopkins, with Squanto as interpreter, 
 were deputed for a mission to Massasoit, whose place 
 was about forty miles from Plymouth. They were 
 instructed to take careful note of the country through 
 which they passed, and of the number of persons in 
 the Indian encampment. They were received in a 
 friendly manner by the Wampanoags, the home- 
 tribe of Massasoit, and proceeded to Sowams— now 
 called Warren — the chief's principal seat. The chief 
 gave them a hearty greeting, and prepared to listen 
 to their message. They took their seats at his side, 
 whilst a crowd of Indians assembled to watch the 
 proceedings. The embassy presented the chief on 
 behalf of the governor with a soldier's gay coat, 
 trimmed with lace, and an ornamental chain of 
 copper, with a medal attached to it. The chain 
 was intended for the chief to lend to anyone whom 
 he might send to the Englishmen, as a token that 
 he wished kindness and hospitality extended to the 
 visitor. The chief promised to ascertain the owners 
 of the corn which the colonists found buried and 
 had taken away, so that payment might be made, 
 and various matters were discussed. Then the chief, 
 greatly to his own pleasure and the delight of his 
 people, arrayed himself in the soldier's coat, and
 
 8o INDIAN ALLIES 
 
 hung the chain round his neck, and thus attired 
 delivered a speech, which won loud applause from 
 the people. The rest of the evening was spent in 
 smoking and talking, the chief being most anxious 
 to learn all he possibly could about England and its 
 king. Winslow and Hopkins were somewhat amused, 
 not to say embarrassed, by the sleeping accommoda- 
 tion for the night. They found they had to sleep in 
 the chief's own bed, they at one end, and he and his 
 wife at the other, whilst two of the chief men also 
 occupied the same couch. This crowded arrangement 
 and the hardness of the bed was an experience 
 which the guests scarcely wished to have repeated. 
 On their way home they went through a country de- 
 populated by the plague. There were fields, once 
 cultivated, run to waste, and many signs of former 
 prosperity, and for several miles were strewn the 
 bleached bones of thousands of persons. 
 
 The second expedition was rendered necessary by 
 the disappearance of John Billington, the son of one of 
 the settlers — the man who had been condemned to have 
 his feet and neck tied together. These Billingtons ap- 
 pear to have been a somewhat turbulent and trouble- 
 some family. They had been ' shuffled ' into the com- 
 pany of the Mayflower, says Bradford, he knew not 
 how. The first record of their vagaries concerns another 
 son, Francis, who, when on board the Mayflower, 
 nearly blew up the ship by firing a fowling piece in a 
 cabin where gunpowder was stored. John, bent on ad- 
 venture, had lost his way in the woods, living on berries
 
 INDIAN ALLIES 8i 
 
 for several days, and at last found himself at Buzzard's 
 Bay, some twenty miles from Plymouth. It was 
 reported that the boy was in the camp of the Nanset 
 Indians, and accordingly ten armed men set off in 
 the shallop, and at length found the lad, profusely 
 decorated with beads, keeping company with the 
 sachem of the Nansets and his crowd of attendants. 
 
 A little later (August), it was rumoured that Cor- 
 bitant, the chief of the Pocassets, had made Massasoit 
 his prisoner, apparently because of the latter's friendly 
 disposition towards the English. Squanto and another 
 Indian, called Hobomok, were at once despatched to 
 learn if there was any truth in the rumour. They 
 were captured by Corbitant, and their lives threatened. 
 Whilst the chief pointed a long knife at Squanto' s 
 breast, the other Indian fled. On his arrival at Ply- 
 mouth, a council of war was immediately held. It 
 was decided that every possible means should be 
 taken to defend the colonist's ally and friend, Massa- 
 soit, that an armed party should be sent at once 
 to Corbitant, with instructions that, if they found 
 Squanto killed, Corbitant was to be forthwith be- 
 headed. On reaching Namasket, the party, led by 
 Captain Standish, surrounded Corbitant's house, and 
 gave warning that no one was to leave the building 
 until it had been searched. But Corbitant had fled, 
 and very soon Squanto appeared, alive and un- 
 injured. The party left a peremptory message for 
 the chief — that if he formed conspiracies against 
 the English, or offered violence to Massasoit or his 
 
 F
 
 82 INDIAN ALLIES 
 
 friends, his life would not be safe. Three of the 
 Indians, attempting to escape from the house, had 
 been wounded, and were carried to Plymouth to have 
 their wounds dressed. 
 
 These prompt measures had a beneficial effect. 
 Several sachems (or chiefs) came spontaneously to 
 make peace with the settlers and to acknowledge 
 the King of England. Even Corbitant, with much 
 discretion, showed a humble spirit, and went and 
 petitioned Massasoit to act as peacemaker between 
 him and the redoubtable English settlers. The 
 next expedition — -in September — was to Massachu- 
 setts Bay, with the object of forming a treaty of 
 peace and commerce with the Indians northwards. 
 Friendly relations were established with the tribe of 
 the Shawmuts, whilst the harbour (afterwards Boston 
 Harbour) greatly impressed the Englishmen, and to 
 such an extent that they wished they had fixed on 
 this neighbourhood for their settlement instead of 
 southwards. They collected a quantity of beaver 
 skins to send home to the Merchant Adventurers, and 
 then returned to Plymouth. 
 '>^ Thanksgiving Day. — As the year drew to a close 
 the Pilgrim Fathers, on taking a retrospect, saw much 
 reason for thankfulness, in spite of their numbers 
 having been so greatly reduced by sickness and death. 
 Seven dwelling-houses and four public buildings now 
 stood in the main street. The latter comprised a 
 building for public worship and general meetings, and 
 storehouses for food, clothing, and other supplies.
 
 INDIAN ALLIES 83 
 
 The general organisation of the infant colony had 
 been improved as the year passed on. There were no 
 rebellious spirits disturbing its peace or retarding its 
 prosperity. The yield of corn from the native seed 
 had been satisfactory ; and, with fish and birds of all 
 kinds, there had been no dearth of food. Friendly 
 relations existed with the red- skinned neighbours, 
 and the future in all respects seemed full of. promise. 
 To ex]3ress their thankfulness and their joy at tliQ 
 pro p ;ress mnir''^i ^^^^^ pnlnnist.H fl.ppmntfid p. day of 
 t hanksgiving — since known a.nd o.omrtiPTnorfl.ted as 
 Thnnkpfriving "H^y-, Massasoit, with ninety of his 
 people, came to join in the festival, and stayed for 
 three days. It was a time of recreation and amuse - 
 ment, as well as of praise for the mercies of the year. 
 Arrival of the Fortune. — One day, towards the end 
 of the year, some Indians brought word that a ship 
 had rounded Cape Cod, and was making for Ply- 
 mouth. A feeling of alarm at once ran through the 
 colony, for, England and France being at war, it was 
 conjectured that the ship was of French nationality, 
 and had come to put the little settlement to fire 
 and sword. A cannon was immediately discharged 
 from the fort, as a signal for the men working in the 
 fields to hurry into the town and shoulder arms. 
 Every man was soon at his post, ready to fight to the 
 death. But, as the vessel drew nearer, the alarm 
 quickly subsided, for the English flag was discerned 
 at the masthead. The visitor turned out to be the 
 Fnrt.iinp ^ and she brought with her thirty^ fiye 
 
 F 2
 
 84 INDIAN ALLIES 
 
 •^^^\\\(y\-\n\ polnm'ntn, amongst whom were Eobert 
 Cushman, the eldest son of Wilham Brewster, and a 
 brother of Edward Wmslow. The new arrivals were 
 wretchedly supplied with provisions and other stores, 
 partly owing to their prolonged voyage of about 
 eighteen weeks. Many of them, too, were not the 
 kind of men suitable for the Pilgrims' settlement. 
 The first difficulty was to provide food, for any length 
 of time, for both the old and the new colonists. 
 Temporary measures were taken, but the future, with 
 the approach of winter, appeared threatening. Thfi 
 
 "Fm-f.nnP brnngbt tVift Pilgrjrri'^ ^ ^'^'^^'" p^^o^^' of ^-'^Hv 
 
 InnrI fr^'n th" (^^nn^il nf N^w "Rnala.ndj drawn up in 
 the name of John Pierce and his associates. There 
 was also a letter from Weston, the man who had 
 arranged the departure of the original emigrants, 
 complaining that the Mayflower had brought back no 
 freight with her, in order to repay expenses incurred. 
 The letter was full of cruel insinuations as to mis- 
 management, and contained not a word of sympathy 
 for the Pilgrims in the hardships, sickness, and losses 
 endured between the arrival and the departure of the 
 Mayflower. Bradford sent a manly reply to this letter, 
 and, rather than be open to a similar attack again, 
 he took care that the Fortune was well freighted with 
 goods, to the value of about 500Z. including beaver 
 fur and prepared timber. The colony could ill spare 
 any of this cargo, but it was distinctly to its advantage 
 to remain on a friendly footing with the Adventurers. 
 The Fortune set sail in a fortnight, taking back
 
 INDIAN ALLIES 85 
 
 Cushman with her ; but she was seized by the French 
 off the English coast, and, although the ship and 
 crew were released, the cargo was appropriated. 
 
 Prospect of Famine. — The year closed gloomily. 
 It was a question whether food would hold out through 
 the winter. There would have been sufficient for fifty 
 mouths, but with the addition of thirty-five there 
 was a distinct prospect of very short commons. The 
 governor accordingly took measures to deal with the 
 difficulty in the only practicable way. Finding that 
 the provisions, at half allowance, would hold out 
 about six months, he at once put the whole colony 
 upon half allowance — * which began to be hard, but 
 they bore it patiently under hope of supply.'
 
 CHAPTEK IX 
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 
 
 ^ T>pniarat,i>" ^f ixTtjy^ — Soon after the Fortune had 
 gone, another cause of momentary alarm arose. The 
 Narrngflp^'^^'t — Tnrii'i^.T^;^^ numbering 30,000 people, 
 5,000_o f whom were warriors,"and whose headquarters 
 were in what is now called Ehode Island, sent a 
 messenger to Plymouth with ' a bundle of arrows tied 
 about with a great snake skin.' Squanto's help was 
 at once sought to interpret the significance of this 
 curious package. He had no doubt whatever that it 
 meant a ^pflavafion r>f wn.r. With men of less 
 sturdy courage and strength of purpose than the 
 Pilgrims possessed, the prospect of a war between 
 eighty men, women, and children, and five thousand 
 desperate warriors, of long experience and fine 
 physique, would have brought fear and quaking to 
 every heart. 
 
 But Governor Bradford, ever cool-headed and 
 tactful, and ever influencing his people by his vigorous 
 mind and fearlessness, sent back an answer which
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 87 
 
 could have come only from a brave man. ' The 
 governor, with the advice of others, sent them a 
 round answer, that if they had rather have war 
 than peace, they might begin when they would; 
 they had done them no wrong, neither did they fear 
 them, nor should they find them unprovided. And 
 by another messenger sent the snake skin back with 
 bullets in it ; but they would not receive it, but sent 
 it back again.' 
 
 So the five thousand warriors, burnmg to wipe 
 out the little English colony from the face of the 
 earth, had second and less sanguinary thoughts 
 aroused by the sight of the bits of lead and William 
 Bradford's bold reply. But it was desirable to be 
 well prepared for sudden surprises, and in a position 
 to give hostile Indians a warm reception, especially 
 as news had recently arrived of the wholesale massacre 
 by the Indians of the English settlers down in Southern 
 Virginia. A strong palisade was constructed along 
 the north side of the town, flanked with bastions, from 
 which the outside could be covered by fire-arms. In 
 these bastions were gates, locked at night and well 
 guarded. All the settlers able to bear arms — number- 
 ing about fifty — were thoroughly drilled by Captain 
 Standish, and places assigned to them for guarding 
 the town. 
 
 An Indian Conspiracy Thwarted. — In the course of 
 the year 1622 the intended massacre of the colony 
 was frustrated through one of those apparently trifling 
 circumstances upon which great events so often turn.
 
 88 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 
 
 Tidings reached Plymouth that Massasoit was dan- 
 gerously ill, and, in conformity with Indian custom, 
 it was arranged to send an embassy from the colony. 
 Winslow was selected for the work, and he set off to 
 the chief's place, accompanied by Hobomok as inter- 
 preter. Massasoit seemed sick unto death. His wig- 
 wam was packed with people, and the powahs, with 
 charms and incantations, were creating an insuffer- 
 able din. Though blind, the chief understood that 
 Winslow had arrived, and he asked him to come to 
 his side. After expressing the sorrow of the colony, 
 he told him the governor had sent some things which 
 would probably relieve him. The wigwam was then 
 cleared of the noisy crowd, and Winslow proceeded to 
 take the chief's case in hand. In a short time the 
 patient improved, and on his recovery from what he 
 believed would prove a sickness unto death, he ex- 
 claimed, * Now I see the English are my friends and 
 love me, and while I live I will never forget this kind- 
 ness they have shown me.' And very soon he kept 
 his word. Just as Winslow and Hobomok were pre- 
 paring to depart, he summoned the latter to his side, 
 and disclosed a plot for the massacre of numbers of 
 English settlers, including the Plymouth community, 
 by the Massachusett Indians. 
 
 Hobomok was charged to reveal the plot to Winslow 
 as they journeyed back to Plymouth. Some time 
 previously, Weston had settled a colony of rough 
 Englishmen at Wessagusset (now Weymouth), on 
 Boston Bay. They soon exhausted their resources,
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 89 
 
 and then began to rob the Indians of their corn, for 
 which offence they were punished by their governor. 
 Then the Indians refused to let them have food at any 
 price. The settlers, driven to extremities, proposed to 
 make a raid on the stores of the Indians, but, before 
 taking such a step, deemed it desirable to consult 
 Governor Bradford. As might be expected, Bradford 
 emphatically deprecated such unlawful proceedings. 
 
 The Wessagusset settlers seem to have relinquished 
 their design, but their condition became worse and 
 worse. Starving and half-naked, they aroused the 
 contempt of the Indians, who thought they might as 
 well take an easy method of ridding the country of 
 such fellows. They resolved to murder not only the 
 Wessagusset people, but the Plymouth colony as well, 
 for they knew that if the latter were spared they 
 would speedily avenge the slaughter of their fellow- 
 countrymen. They visited Massasoit, and pressed 
 him to join them in the plot. And thus this chief, 
 prompted by gratitude to Winslow, made known the 
 conspiracy to Hobomok, and suggested that the Ply- 
 mouth people should promptly take steps to seize and 
 execute the chief conspirators. Bradford consulted 
 with his people, and the decision was come to that, 
 although the idea of shedding the blood of these 
 Indians, whose highest welfare they had at heart, 
 should only be carried out as an absolute necessity, 
 to preserve many lives, that according to Massasoit 
 the necessity had now arrived, and that Captain 
 Standish should set off with an armed force, first warn
 
 90 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 
 
 the English at Wessagusset, and then attack the 
 leading conspirators. Standish proceeded to execute 
 this plan. 
 
 On reaching Wessagusset he found the settlers 
 scattered all over the place, fraternising with the 
 Indians as if there were no cause for alarm. He 
 called the men together, and ordered them not to 
 separate. But the Indians got scent of the captain's 
 design, and, assuming a threatening attitude, began 
 sharpening their knives as they stood around him. 
 Standish, however, by self-possession and skilful 
 diplomacy, contrived to get the leaders in the plot 
 into one building. Then he got an equal number of 
 his own men into the dwelling, and suddenly, at the 
 word of command, they fell upon the Indians. A fierce 
 fight followed, and in the end seven of the conspirators 
 lay stretched upon the ground. On the following day 
 a skirmish took place. The Indians let fly showers of 
 arrows from behind trees, when suddenly Hobomok 
 flung off his coat and ran towards them. The Indians 
 fled helter-skelter in all directions. Hobomok was 
 supposed to be in close communication with the sjDirit 
 of darkness, and hence the panic when he ran towards 
 them. The miserable settlers at Wessagusset were 
 invited to return with Standish to Plymouth, but they 
 preferred to leave the country. Thus the conspiracy 
 was frustrated, and the Indians cowed, at least for a 
 time. 
 
 When John Robinson heard of these transactions, 
 he wrote to the church at Plymouth ' to consider
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATWA 91 
 
 the disposition of their captain, who was of a warm 
 temper,' and thought * a tenderness for the Hfe of 
 man made after God's image ' was lacking. But 
 Standish, as the mihtary servant of the colony (he 
 seems never to have been in fellowship with the 
 church), was only carrying out his duty as a skil- 
 ful soldier, adopting the most effectual method, as 
 it appeared to him, to preserve the lives of both 
 the Plymouth and Wessagusset people. Perhaps 
 a less vigorous and more merciful policy might 
 have had the desired result ; but it is hard to 
 judge. 
 
 Church and Fort combined. — Captain Standish had 
 commenced some time back to construct a fort on the 
 hill above Plymouth. But the operations were stopped 
 by the peace-loving Pilgrims, on the ground that such 
 a menacing structure would appear ' vainglorious.' 
 But on the captain's return from his expedition he 
 received permission to finish the work, for the many 
 recent rumours of Indian raids had convinced the 
 Fathers that self-defence must be exercised to the 
 very best of their ability. The building was ' large 
 and square,' * strong and comely.' Upon the flat roof 
 were placed six cannon, behind battlements ; and 
 sentries were on the watch by day and by night. The 
 larger room of the building was used as the church, 
 or meeting-house, of the colony down to 1648, when a 
 church was erected on lower ground. It was also used 
 for town's-meetings and most civil purposes. A 
 smaller room was utilised for a storehouse, and the
 
 92 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 
 
 land around the building became the burial-place of 
 the community. 
 
 Isaac de Rassieres, agent for the Dutch colony at 
 Manhattan (founded 1G23), after visiting Plymouth 
 in 1627 thus described the Pilgrims' mode of assem- 
 bling for public worship. ' They assemble by beat 
 of drum, each with his musket or firelock, in front 
 of the captain's door ; they have their cloaks on, 
 and place themselves in order, three abreast, and are 
 led by a sergeant without beat of drum. Behind 
 comes the governor in a long robe ; beside him on the 
 right hand comes the preacher with his cloak on, and 
 on the left hand the captain with his side-arms and 
 cloak on, and with a small cane in his hand ; and so 
 they march in good order, and each sets his arms 
 down near him.' The * preacher ' was William 
 Brewster, who, though not administering the sacra- 
 ments, * taught twice every Sabbath, and that both 
 powerfully and profitably, to the great contentment of 
 the hearers, and their comfortable edification; yea, 
 many were brought to God by his ministry.' There 
 was no regular minister appointed until 1629. 
 
 The Communistic System unworkable. — T h^ Pilgrim . 
 Fathers started t h^i^ nnlnny nn q ^'-'i-nmunistip. bfl.siR. 
 Even before leavin g TiPyripn tb^y pnt all thei r money 
 
 i rito a common fn n^, W^i*^^ ^^« rlrqAvrt npr>n fpy the 
 
 general wants of '^^^, PTnij7V£^nf,p, When they com- 
 menced organising at New Plymouth, although each 
 family had a house allotted to their use (with single 
 men fairly distributed amongst them), yet the crops
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 95 
 
 were raised and shared in common. Four days of 
 each man's labour were devoted to the benefit of the 
 colony and for the interest of the Merchant Adven- 
 turers; the other two working days were for each 
 man's own benefit. But discontent arose, for, although 
 
 the C0I01I Y m R' whnlp wag I'ndngt.rimiH, ]innnnr^|)^]p^ 
 and godly, vet ^ Iia tpmpiai.i'nn to inflifFpTftnp.p a.nd to 
 sjp.pVp.ni'nrr of P^lPT^y bad HO]^-|pf,i>-ppH a. ha.npfnl offfr^f 
 
 The stronger men thought it unfair that they should 
 help to support the families of weaker men ; the elder 
 brethren were ill satisfied at having to work with 
 young men and boys ; whilst some of the married 
 men rather resented the regulation of their wives 
 having to moil and toil to provide domestic necessities 
 for single men. 
 
 * The experience,' says Bradford, * that was had 
 in this common course and condition, tried sundry 
 years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may 
 well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato and 
 other ancients, applauded by some of later times 
 — that the taking away of property, and bringing 
 in community into a commonwealth, would make 
 them happy and flourishing ; as if they were wiser 
 than God. For this community (so far as it was) 
 was found to breed much confusion and discontent, 
 and retard much employment that would have been 
 to their benefit and comfort. . . . Upon the point all 
 being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought 
 themselves in the like condition, and one as good as 
 another ; and so, if it did not cut off those relations
 
 96 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 
 
 that God hath set amongst men, yet it did at least 
 much diminish and take off the mutual respect 
 that should be preserved amongst them. And would 
 have been worse if they had been men of another 
 condition.' 
 
 The svs tm n npmi whit^h thf^y ntart^rl thfir new life 
 having proved a d istinot, fn.i1nrp., thft Fathers wisp.ly 
 resolved to make a n nltorfltimi. Before the sowing 
 time of 1623 it was arranged to allot to each family 
 for one year a parcel of land in the proportion of one 
 acre to each person. The land was to h e divirlp.d by 
 
 l ot, becaU «P^ ^f rlifFf^ypnr'pc! in ifg gnqlify. The effect 
 
 of the change was electric. A fresh and redoubled 
 spirit of activity spread itself at once through the 
 colony — even women and children catching the infec- 
 tion, and working industriously in the fields. As an 
 inevitable consequence, far more corn was planted 
 than in previous seasons, and the working of the 
 colony went more smoothly than it had ever gone 
 before. 
 
 Dearth and Drought. — But long before the corn 
 had grown and ripened, there was scarcity of food and 
 much suffering. For two or three months the people 
 had no bread, and knew not where their next meal 
 was to come from, and yet bore their privations with 
 patience and courage. They subsisted almost entirely 
 upon fish, but having only one boat and one net 
 amongst them all, the supply was by no means 
 abundant. The boat was constantly at work. As 
 soon as one party landed, another set off; and no
 
 SELF-DEFENCE AND REORGANISATION 97 
 
 party ever returned without bringing a fair haul, even 
 though they might have to be out five or six days 
 before securing it. During such times of weary 
 waiting, those on shore dug in the sands for shell- 
 fish, and others scoured the woods to find game. A 
 drought of seven weeks which began in June rendered 
 suffering and anxiety still more keen. Young plants 
 withered, the harvest threatened to be a failure, the 
 gaunt faces and hungry eyes of women and children 
 told a pitiful tale, and men staggered at noon-day for 
 want of food. But the patient and uncomplaining 
 spirit of William Brewster made its influence felt 
 everywhere. Sitting down to a platter of boiled clams 
 and a pot of water, he thanked God that he and his 
 were permitted to ' suck of the abundance of the seas, 
 and of the treasures hid in the sand.' A day of 
 humiliation and supplication was appointed, and on 
 the evening of that very day the clouds gathered and 
 the rain fell, continuing for several days. Then a 
 service of thanksgiving was held for the life-giving 
 rain, and the promise of an abundant harvest.
 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 DESIGNS OF THE EIERCHANT ADVENTURERS 
 
 Fresh Arrivals. — About the middle of 1623 two 
 ships — the Anne and f,h p. T.iti.lp .Tampj;^ — a nchored at 
 Plymouth, bringi nf y nearly one hundred new colonists . 
 They proved to be a mixed company — some being 
 friends from Leyden, and others little more than 
 adventurers, who came across the seas in search of 
 fortune denied them at home. The governor, finding 
 that a number of these people were altogether unfit 
 for colonial life, discreetly sent them back at his own 
 expense by the ships which brought them. Of the 
 remainder, some sixty identified themselves with the 
 colony, and about forty, calling themselves 'par- 
 ticulars,' wished to form a distinct colony of their 
 own within the existing colony. They came with fine 
 notions of * building great houses,' of ' pleasant 
 situations for themselves,' and of becoming ' great 
 men and rich all of a sudden ; ' but these notions 
 ' proved castles in the air.' The governor received 
 them in a friendly way, and agreed to allot them sites
 
 DESIGNS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS 99 
 
 for their houses. They were to be subject to the law 
 and order of the colony, and to assist in the common 
 defence, but to be exempt from the general employ- 
 ments of the community. They were debarred from 
 trade with the Indians in furs, and every male over 
 sixteen was to pay a bushel of wheat, or the value of 
 it towards the maintenance of government. "With 
 this new accession the number of those who are 
 usually termed Pilgrim Fathers, or Forefathers, or 
 First Comers is brought to an end. The total 
 number of emigrants arriving by the Mayflower, the 
 Fortune, the Anne, and the Little James was two 
 hundred and thirty-three ; but by the end of 1623 
 there were only one hundred and eighty survivors. 
 
 A Religious Plot. — These ' particulars ' did not 
 prove special blessings to the community, and were 
 sent out to Plymouth mainly for the purpose — as 
 the sequel showed — of undermining the free church 
 system organisation and replacing them with the 
 episcopal form of church government. The Adven- 
 kturers in London comprised two parties — those who 
 /were disposed to allow the Pilgrim Fathers to carry 
 J out their free church principles to any extent they 
 wished, and those who wished the Pilgrims to con- 
 form to the order and ceremonies of the Church of 
 England, whilst retaining their Puritan interpreta- 
 ^ tion of doctrine. In 1623 the Adventurers sent out 
 another company of settlers (who were unsuccessful 
 in their project), under Piobert Gorges, to Wessagusset. 
 An Episcopahan clergyman, named Wilham 
 
 G 2
 
 loo DESIGNS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS 
 
 Morrell, came out at the same time. He had powers 
 to regulate the rehgious affah'S of the country, and 
 to make what alterations he thought proper, even to 
 compel the Pilgrim Fathers to conform to the Church 
 of England. Happily, his mission was not known to 
 the Fathers until after his departure from the colony. 
 Happily, too, he was a man of common sense, wisely 
 concluding, on seeing the religious harmony of the 
 people, that it would be entirely useless to attempt 
 to carry out his mission, or even to announce 
 it. Instead of revolutionising church government, 
 he studied the habits of the Indians, and natural 
 history, and harmlessly employed spare moments in 
 writing a Latin epic on New England. The ' par- 
 ticulars,' however, were not so wise. As a prelimi- 
 nary step to subverting the Pilgrims' church, they 
 sent home to the Adventurers a string of complaints, 
 which made it appear that the colony was a hotbed 
 of religious controversy ; that worship, public and 
 private, was neglected, and that the children received 
 no religious instruction, and were not even taught to 
 read. 
 
 As a result of these complaints the Adventurers 
 sent out in 1624, by the Charity, an Episcopal 
 minister of Puritan sympathies, but strongly opposed 
 to free church government. A number of inquiries 
 were at the same time sent to the church respecting 
 the complaints, to which Bradford returned explicit 
 answers. This clergyman, by name John Lyford, 
 was as cunning a knave as ever set foot in Plymouth.
 
 DESIGNS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS loi 
 
 The Pilgrims seem to have been under the impression 
 that he had come as a sort of candidate for the 
 pastoral office. On his arrival he was hospitably 
 received. He, on his part, saluted the brethren 
 * with that reverence and humility as is seldom to be 
 seen, and indeed made them ashamed, he so bowed 
 and cringed unto them, and would have kissed 
 their hands if they would have suffered him ; yea, 
 he wept and shed many tears, blessing God who had 
 brought him to see their faces, and admiring the 
 things they had done.' He soon joined the church, 
 rejoicing in the privilege of being identified with a 
 church of free and pure principles, and declaring that 
 he would no longer regard himself as an ordained 
 minister until he received a call from the church. 
 
 But the continual effusiveness of Lyford put the 
 Pilgrims on their guard. Still, Lyford and a man 
 named John Oldham, one of the ' particulars,' were 
 taken into the counsels of the brethren. And, whilst 
 professing esteem and affection for the Pilgrims, they 
 were creating a faction, privately, against them. In 
 good time Governor Bradford became suspicious. He 
 heard that both of the men were sending letters to 
 the Adventurers, defaming the Pilgrim church, and 
 promptly took measures to checkmate them. The 
 ship containing the letters had started, and the 
 governor went off in a shallop and overtook her. He 
 procured from the captain all Lyford's and Oldham's 
 letters, and found they contained, as he suspected, a 
 tissue of slanders and lies against the church and the
 
 I02 DESIGNS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS 
 
 government. Lyford also stated in one of the letters 
 that he intended to set up worship according to the 
 Church of England as soon as the ship had sailed. 
 
 The two men had no knowledge for a time that 
 Bradford had outwitted them, and soon began to pick 
 quarrels with the Pilgrims, as the first step in the 
 accomplishment of their scheme. Oldham, when 
 called upon to take his turn as sentinel at the fort, 
 abused and assaulted Captain Standish, and threatened 
 him with his knife. He was arrested, and, after being 
 ' clapt up awhile, he came to himself.' Then the two 
 men, with the people they led, without a word to any- 
 body, held public worship apart from the others. The 
 governor forthwith called a court and summoned the 
 whole company. He charged Lyford and Oldham with 
 secretly plotting to destroy the government. They 
 warmly denied the charge, but when the letters were 
 produced they were dumb. Presently Oldham became 
 insolent, and Lyford confessed his misdoings with 
 contrition and tears. The court decided that Oldham 
 should leave the colony at once, and that Lyford 
 might remain six months longer. The latter con- 
 fessed his sin to the church ; his period of grace was 
 extended, and he was readmitted to teach in the 
 church. But he soon resumed his treacherous devices, 
 and though permitted to remain at Plymouth during 
 the winter, he joined Oldham at Nantucket in the 
 early part of 1625. In the same year Oldham re- 
 turned, and was more violent than ever. He was 
 ' clapt up ' again for a short time, and then igno-
 
 DESIGNS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS 103 
 
 miniously expelled from the colony. The miislveteers 
 formed a douhle line, ' which he was to pass through ; 
 and everyone was ordered to give him a thump . . . 
 with the butt end of his musket ; and then was con- 
 veyed to the waterside, where a boat was ready to 
 carry him away. Then they bid him go and mend 
 his manners.' 
 
 The section of the Adventurers hostile to free 
 church principles made a later attempt to compel 
 the Pilgrims to conform to the Church of England, 
 and, under the impression that John Robinson and 
 the portion of the church still at Leyden were 
 thinking of coming to Plymouth, they demanded that 
 they should sign a recantation of their Brownist 
 or Rejia rniist views before lieiuo ; allowe fj to do an, 
 Needless to say, the demand s of tb^ Advp.nt.nrpvs ba.d 
 n o effect whatever, except in a direction they had not 
 
 o.ny\wif^(\ upon — pnba.T^ping in iViP Pilgrims' pjah t.Vm^ 
 
 preciousness of freedom . 
 
 Everyone acquainted with the history of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers will acquit them from intolerance in 
 objecting so firmly to the setting up of episcopal 
 worship within their colony. Having suffered the 
 fires of persecution in England for maintaining the 
 rights of conscience, and having once escaped from 
 thraldom and tasted the delights of freedom, it would 
 have been the height of imprudence, and altogether 
 inconsistent with the sagacity the Pilgrims had in- 
 variably displayed, to consent to the exercise of 
 priestly assumption within the borders of Plymouth.
 
 [04 /)ES/Cr/VS OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS 
 
 Two matters helped to fortify the Pilgrims' resolve 
 — the tyrannical measures of Archbishop Laud in 
 England to compel conformity, and a rumour that a 
 company of emigrants — double the number of the 
 Pilgrim colonists — under promise to adhere to State 
 Church principles, would be sent out to overwhelm 
 and absorb the free Plymouth community. 
 
 ThuS^ the Pilgr iF*" ^"'^'^ ^^ Gafp(Tn!^,yf1 t.ViPir nolony 
 not only from Inr Jian rnifla hnt, fi-pm flip in va gi^n of foPH . 
 
 hnstilft to the exercise of liberty of conscience. Their 
 firmness, energy, and tact in adhering to convictions, 
 which led them into exile, established the community 
 on a stronger and more uncompromising basis than 
 ever, and bore fruit in generations to come in the 
 independent spirit of the great nation of which the 
 Pilgrims were the germ.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 TEADE — SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 The Adventurers. — The connection of the Pilgrhns with 
 the Adventurers drew gradually to a close. The 
 Adventurers originally undertook to finance the Pil- 
 grims and to furnish supplies. In return for this help 
 the Pilgrims were to send home cargoes of furs and 
 other goods. The contract between the parties was 
 to continue for seven years, during which period all 
 trading profits were to be held in common. At the 
 end of the period all the property in the colony, as 
 well as profits, were to be equally divided between the 
 Adventurers and the colonists. The latter appealed 
 for certain alterations in the agreement, but without 
 success ; and the contract was not signed until 1621. 
 The Adventurers shamefully neglected their part of 
 the agreement, and it was owing to their negligence 
 in not sending supplies that the Pilgrims suffered from 
 famine, and other hardships, during the early years 
 of their New England life. The Pilgrims performed 
 their part to the best of their ability ; but two, at
 
 io6 TRADE—SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 least, of the cargoes despatched to the company never 
 reached their destination, one, as we have seen, having 
 been captured by the French, whilst the other fell into 
 the hands of the Turks. Owing to their heavy lossesT"] 
 and the existence of factions in their midst, the days / 
 of the Adventurers' Company were numbered. At I 
 length the Pilgrims, in 1626, resolved to take a bold 
 course. They made an agreement to break off their 
 connection with the company by paying 1800Z. within 
 six years, and also 600L for their trading debts. The 
 company agreed to surrender, in consideration of 
 the sum named, all claim to stock, shares, land, 
 merchandise and chattels. In order to meet their 
 obligations, the Pilgrims reorganised the farming and 
 trading system of the colony, and by a supreme effort 
 they contrived to pay off the last instalment of their 
 debt in the year 1633. 
 
 A New Patent . — Two or three patents, vague and 
 unsatisfactory, had been issued from Ijondon to the 
 colony of New Plymouth ; but they proved of little or 
 no benefit. In 1629 the Council of New England, under 
 the presidency of the Earl of Warwick, granted a new 
 patent of a definite and useful character. It was 
 made out to William Bradford, his heirs, associates 
 and assigns, and defined the territory of the colony, 
 granting also fifteen miles of land on each side of 
 the Kennebec River, for the purpose of establishing 
 fisheries. 
 
 Co-operation. — In order to meet their indebtedness 
 to the Adventurers, the colonists formed a kind of co-
 
 TRADESOCTAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 107 
 
 operative society in which every member of the 
 colony was interested. In addition to somewhat 
 complicated details respecting certain rights of the 
 colonists in exchange for certain annual payments of 
 corn or tobacco, the land was divided into shares of 
 twenty acres each, and each unmarried man, who was 
 not a servant, was assigned one share, and each head 
 of a household one for himself, and one for each 
 member of his family. If the payments of corn and 
 tobacco fell short of the annual instalment to the 
 London company, the deficiency was to be made up 
 by each shareholder in proportion to his holding. 
 
 Cattle. — As further evidence of the neglect by the 
 Adventurers of the wants of the colony, it was not until 
 1624 that any cattle reached them— and then only 
 four. In 1627 there were twelve cows. These had 
 to be divided by lot amongst the people, who now 
 numbered one hundred and fifty-six, without counting 
 servants. This population comprised fifty-seven men, 
 thirty-four boys, twenty-nine matrons and thirty-six 
 girls. There being one hundred and fifty-six persons, 
 one cow had to serve the wants of each division of 
 thirteen persons. Each division was to have the use 
 of the cow for ten years, and then she was to be re- 
 stored to the common stock, with half her increase. 
 No provision appears to have been made in the event 
 of the death of any of the cows. This curious but 
 sensible arrangement seems to have given general 
 satisfaction. Some of the people, however, were 
 willing to give up their share of milk for a con-
 
 io8 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 sideration. Captain Standish, in 1628, bought out 
 his twelve partners, and for the rest of the term was 
 sole possessor of a cow. 
 
 ^(-Sources of Trade and Sustenance. — By slow degrees 
 the colony arrived at a state of comparative comfort. 
 Improvements in the harvests, extension of trade with 
 the Indians, and additional facilities for fishing were 
 some of the causes of the growth of prosperity. 
 Trading was also carried on with the Dutch colony 
 at Manhattan (New Amsterdam), founded in 1623, as 
 well as with ships calling at Plymouth from time to 
 time. A few years after settling, the colonists had 
 plenty of pigs and poultry, whilst wild birds and deer 
 furnished occasional means of support. 
 ■V* The Town. — Plymouth, in 1627, consisted of about 
 thirty or forty houses, constructed of logs, the crevices 
 plastered with clay, the roofs thatched, and the 
 chimneys built on the outside. Most of the houses 
 stood in a line along the street, at distances of fifty to 
 a hundred feet apart, the intervening spaces being 
 occupied by gardens, fenced in with rough planks. 
 They comprised from two to four rooms, but all on 
 one storey, and at the rear were outhouses. The 
 governor's house stood by itself, for a time at least, 
 on the opposite side of the street, with a strong en- 
 closure around it, and four small cannon mounted 
 in the front enclosure. The town was built on the 
 slope of a hill, on the summit of which was the fort, 
 and which commanded a fine view of the bay and the 
 surrounding country.
 
 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE in 
 
 A Pilgrim's Home. — The interior of the houses was 
 necessarily extremely rough, owing partly to lack of 
 proper appliances for house-building. The floor was 
 made of either uneven planks or dry earth, on which 
 were laid rushes, grass or sand. Here and there a 
 strip of carpet or a rug may have been seen. Glass 
 was an almost unknown luxury in the colony in the 
 early years of its existence, and, as a substitute, paper 
 soaked in linseed oil was used. The furniture, some 
 brought from England, and some turned out by the 
 industrious hands of the colonists, was of course of 
 the plainest description. The only adornments of the 
 walls were probably firearms, swords, and powder- 
 horns, with a few Indian curiosities, it may be. As 
 to books, the colony seems to have been fairly well 
 supplied, if we may conclude that those who had good 
 libraries lent their books to their brethren. We know 
 for a fact that Elder Brewster was possessed at his 
 death of about four hundred volumes, that Bradford 
 left four hundred and seventy-five, and that Fuller, 
 the physician, and Captain Standish had small 
 libraries. No doubt nearly every household possessed 
 a Bible, and the version used was probably the 
 Genevan, whilst for private and public praise they had 
 Henry Ainsworth's metrical version of the Book of 
 Psalms. 
 V Daily Occupations and Education. — X l?^ order o f 
 
 dailv OC ^npnfi^iTS Vf|]-ipfl hnf li'filp frnm tlinco r^\ g 
 
 rural household in Euglmirl vrhftr'^ ■^ ^t'^?'^^' ^'^g^ird for 
 religion prevails. In the early morning the men and
 
 112 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 youths went out to the fields to cut wood, to fish in 
 the bay or the streams, whilst the women and girls 
 attended to domestic duties. At the accustomed hour 
 (a nd we may be sure that punctuality was a rule in 
 every household) the family assembled for worship ; 
 then followed breakfast, which probably consisted 
 mainly of porridge and milk. Almost the onl y varia- 
 l,ir>n frriTn \ \\^. Qrd innry r ound of modern rural house - 
 b olds in England was the education of the chil - 
 dren^ rThere appears to have been no regular school 
 set up m New Plymouth until about 1662 ; but we 
 must not infer that the education of the young was 
 neglected. J There may have been private schools, or 
 perhaps the mothers or the elder daughters taught 
 the junior children, whilst the senior boys and girls 
 had their lessons in the evening from their parents. 
 In any case, we may be certain that the ' three E's,' 
 as well as other rudimentary knowledge, were regularly 
 taught in that quaint and simple little colony, and 
 the Fathers may well be forgiven for not including a 
 schoolmaster in the company on board the Mayflower, 
 especially at a time when a schoolmaster was as yet a 
 rarity in the mother-country, f In 1670 — twenty-seven 
 years after the league of the three states had been 
 formed — the fishing excise was offered any town that 
 would set up a free elementary and classical school. 
 Plymouth embraced this offer, and thus had the first 
 free school, established by law, in New England.Jl 
 
 Dress and Amusements. — There was nothing spe- 
 cially distinctive in the dress of the Pilgrims from
 
 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 113 
 
 that worn by the Puritans of England. The men 
 wore doublets or short coats, with broad linen collars 
 at the neck, cuffs at the wrists, and stout belts at the 
 waist. Felt hats with high crowns and broad brims, 
 loose cloaks, knee breeches, long frieze hose, and 
 buckled shoes, or jack-boots for rough weather, com- 
 pleted the costume. Bright coloured garments were 
 sometimes worn, for Brewster at his death owned a 
 green waistcoat and a violet coat. The women's dress 
 was of the plainest description, like the plainest of the 
 present day, and probably seldom varying from black, 
 white, or grey. The pictures of New England maids 
 and matrons thus attired, with the simple kerchief over 
 the shoulders and the hood over the head, are known 
 to everyone. It is impossible to believe that the 
 rising generation and the less grave among their 
 elders passed their days without amusements and 
 recreations of some kind or another ; and yet . the 
 records of New England give only a few hints on 
 the subject. We know that Thanksgiving Day was 
 largely a time of recreation and pleasure-seeking, and 
 we also know that dancing, dicing, and card-playing 
 were forbidden by law in New England. Bowling, 
 wrestling, stool-ball (or club-ball), the predecessor of 
 cricket, quoits, and pitching the bar were some of the 
 sports indulged in. 
 
 The New England Meeting-house. — The Pilgrims 
 called the first day of the week the ' Sabbath ' or the 
 ' Lord's Day,' and objected to the word ' Sunday ' 
 because of its heathen origin. All the colonists were
 
 114 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 expected to attend public worship on the Sabbath, but 
 no compulsion was used. Mcmber alii p of tlm nbnrr;] i 
 was optional, and t he Fathe rs were always ready t o 
 a dmit sober, industrious, and upriorht men into the 
 c olony without any obligation of joining the church. 
 The order of service in that curious fort-meeting- 
 house was probably much the same as prevails to-day 
 in congregational churches, with the difference that 
 the singing of psalms took the place of hymn-singing. 
 In course of time there was also a ' weekly lecture,' 
 which consisted of an address on some religious 
 or semi-religious topic, and praise and prayer. 
 There were no Sunday-schools or week-day prayer 
 meetings. Elder Brewster taught twice every Sab- 
 bath, * and that both powerfully and profitably,' but, 
 although often pressed to take the office of pastor, 
 declined to do so. In 1629 the Eev. Kalph Smith 
 came to Plymouth and was chosen pastor, and then, 
 for the first time since the Pilgrims' departure from 
 England, the sacraments were administered. Up to 
 that date the performance of marriages in the colony 
 was entirely of a civil nature. I n the same year the 
 su rviving members of the Pilgrim church at Leyden_ 
 j oinerl the iv bvp.thrpn at Plymonth, f.hns fulfilling an 
 arrflrij Off^Tinent which ha,d be ptn in fl.)i evance SO manv 
 years. 
 
 As years passed on, and the population extended, 
 and many hundreds of fresh colonists arrived in 
 America, and towns and villages sprang to life in 
 New England, it was enacted (1675) that a meeting-
 
 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 115 
 
 house should be erected in every town ; if the people^ 
 neglected this duty, the magistrates built a meeting- \ 
 place and charged the town with the cost. The 
 meeting-house became more and more the social 
 centre for miles round. Here the people congregated 
 from their distant homes, not only for worship, but also 
 to hear from each other the latest news. The notices 
 on the door also furnished a variety of topics of con- 
 versation. Coming marriages, stray cattle, rewards 
 for the heads of wolves, sales of property, the times 
 of departure of whaling vessels, taxes due, meetings 
 to be held, lists of town officials, warnings against 
 Sabbath-breaking and selling fire-arms and ammuni- 
 tion to Indians — such were a few of the subjects to 
 which the attention of the people was called. On 
 many meeting-houses the heads of wolves were nailed ; 
 for the destroyer of a wolf, in order to obtain his 
 bounty, must go through the gruesome formality of 
 bringmg the creature's head, nailing it to the meeting- 
 house, and giving due notice to the authorities. 
 
 The beating of drum and blowing of horn, sometimes 
 accompanied by the hoisting of a flag, as the summons 
 to worship was succeeded by a bell, hung at first on 
 some neighbouring tree, and afterwards in the turret 
 of the meeting-house. The seats in the building were 
 allotted to the congregation according to their social 
 rank, an arrangement which, naturally, was not an 
 infrequent source of dissatisfaction. In very cold 
 weather — there being no heating apparatus in the 
 meeting-houses — the women brought footstoves of hot 
 
 H 2
 
 ii6 TRADE^SOCIAL AND RFJJGIOUS LIFE 
 
 coals, or buried their feet in wolfskin bags ; but the 
 men, with stoical indifference, sat through the service 
 of the sharpest winter's day without adopting any 
 such preservatives, even though their attention and 
 patience might be taxed for three or four hours. 
 Those were not the days of twenty minutes' sermons ; 
 and the preacher often took no notice of the hour- 
 glass which was usually provided for his warning. 
 The people were kept from falling asleep by an official, 
 called a ' tithing man,' who diligently observed the 
 worshippers, arousing any drowsy ones by touching 
 them with a foxtail wand. 
 
 The service of praise was attended with difficulty, 
 and performed clumsily ; but in those days, when 
 psalmody was in its infancy, even in the old country, 
 it would be ungracious to make it the subject of harsh 
 criticism. For many years the starting or ' tuning ' a 
 psalm was left to some volunteer in the congregation. 
 Judge Sewall often undertook the task in the Boston 
 church, and he has left his experience on record. 
 Once he ' intended Windsor, and fell into High Dutch, 
 and then, essaying to set another tune, went into a key 
 much too high. So I prayed to Mr. White to set it, 
 which he did well, Litchfield tune. The Lord humble 
 me and instruct me, that I should be the occasion of 
 any interruption in the worship of God.' Again, ' In 
 the morning I set York tune, and, in the second going 
 over, the gallery carried it irresistibly to St. David's, 
 which discouraged me very much.' A little later he 
 says, ' I set York tune, and the congregation went out
 
 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 117 
 
 of it into St. David's in the very second going over. 
 They did the same three weeks before. This is the 
 second sign. It seems to me an intimation for me to 
 resign the precentor's place for a better voice. I have, 
 through the divine long-suffering and favour, done it 
 for twenty-four years, and now God in His providence 
 seems to call me off, my voice being enfeebled.' 
 
 The support of the minister was at first arranged 
 by voluntary contributions, but later on (1657) an 
 Act was passed in Plymouth for the levying of a rate 
 for this purpose. In other respects the minister 
 was treated with much consideration. A parsonage 
 was built for him, and the best land in the town 
 assigned for his use. He had free pasturage for his 
 horse, the first salmon caught every year, a portion 
 of every whale that happened to be captured, and fire- 
 wood supplied gratuitously. He often had to exercise 
 a variety of offices, including those of physician, sur- 
 geon, lawyer, and farmer. His influence was felt in 
 all departments of a town's life, and he was usually 
 looked up to with unstinted respect and reverence. 
 Breaches of respect were punished. One man was 
 punished for saying he ' received no profit from the 
 minister's sermons.' Two others were fined and 
 inhibited from the sacrament, the one for speaking 
 ' deridingly of the minister's powers,' and the other 
 for casting * uncharitable reflections ' on the minister.^ 
 
 Law and Order. — Down to the end of 1623 oft'ences 
 were tried at Plymouth before the whole community, 
 except servants. In December of that year it was
 
 ii8 TRADE—SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 
 
 decided that ' all criminal facts, and also all matters 
 of trespasses and debts between man and man, should 
 be tried by the verdict of twelve honest men, to be 
 impanelled by authority, in form of a jury, upon their 
 oath.' On the re-election of G overnor Bradford, in 
 1624, five assistants, instead of one, were chosen to 
 serve him in managing the affairs of the little demo- 
 cracy. A little later the number was increased to 
 seven. Until 1633 the people were their own police, 
 for it was only in this year that the first constable was 
 appointed. The tithing man of New England men- 
 tioned above (first appointed in 1694) was a sort of 
 Church-and-State policeman, who had multifarious 
 duties, besides the one named. He had ten families 
 under his charge, and had to * diligently inspect them,' 
 see that they attended public worship, and that the 
 children learned their catechism. He had also to 
 report to the magistrates all Sabbath-breakers, 
 swearers, and idle and dissolute persons, as well as 
 disorders and offences in licensed houses of entertain- 
 ment ; to see that keepers of taverns abstained from 
 supplying drink to persons who appeared to have taken 
 enough ; to administer the oath of fealty to new-comers ; 
 to warn out of the town suspicious additions, and to 
 prevent young people taking walks on Sabbath-eve. 
 Anyone caught committing any of these offences was 
 brought before the magistrate and severely repri- 
 manded ; and on repetition of the offence the culprit 
 was put in the stocks, or into the cage on the green. 
 Such, in roughest outline, were the conditions and
 
 TRADE— SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 119 
 
 circumstances of life, not only at Plymouth, but also in 
 other towns in the north and west — Boston, Salem, 
 Newhaven, and many others — that came into existence 
 with the growth of the parent town and the advent 
 of shiploads of fresh colonists from the old country. 
 New England homes, towns, and churches bore a 
 family impress. Differences in detail necessarily 
 existed, but simplicity of life, faith and doctrine, stood 
 out boldly wherever the Puritan fixed his dwelling and 
 raised an altar to his God.
 
 CHAPTEK XII 
 
 NEW COLONIES 
 
 Endicott, and Massachus etts "Rgy nnmpfljiy — Allusions 
 have been made in the previous chapter to the arrival 
 of large companies of emigrants, whose coming, and 
 subsequent union with Ptymouth brought about a 
 vast enlargement of interests, and led to the English 
 becoming the ruling race in America. Between 1628 
 and 1640 many hundreds of Puritan colonists landed, 
 and by the latter year the population of New England 
 had increased to about 26,000 persons. The example 
 set by the Pilgrim Fathers in seeking a free country 
 for the exercise of freedom of conscience roused a 
 number of godly people in Lincolnshire in 1627 
 to consider the question of forming a settlement in 
 the neighbourhood of Massachusetts Bay. Several 
 attempts had been made to raise a colony in this 
 locality, but with little effect. 
 
 At length the Lincolnshire people — some of whom 
 were wealthy — found a man who was willing to 
 go out with a small expedition. This was John
 
 NEW COLONIES 12 1 
 
 Endicott, a Dorchester man, and of strong Puritan 
 sympathies. A patent was obtained from the Council 
 of New England, dated March 19, 1628, granting 
 for the projected colony ' that part of New England 
 lying between the Merrimac river and the Charles river 
 on the Massachusetts Bay.' Endicott, with his party, 
 left Weymouth in June 1628, and reached Naumkeag 
 (afterwards Salem) in September. But sickness soon 
 carried off several of the party, and Endicott sent for 
 Samuel Fuller, the physician of Plymouth, to come 
 over. This event brought the new-comers and the 
 Plymouth people into friendly relationship, and be- 
 came the means of dispelling from Endicott's mind 
 incorrect ideas about the worship and principles of 
 the Pilgrims. 
 
 In due course Endicott sent home a favourable 
 account of his impressions of the country, and, before 
 long, many persons were inclined to assist the under- 
 taking. Amongst these persons were John Winthrop, 
 of Groton, Suffolk ; Matthew Cradock, a rich merchant, 
 and afterwards a member of the Long Parliament ; 
 Isaac Johnson, of Clipsham, Rutland, who had married 
 Lady Arabella, a sister of the Earl of Lincoln ; John 
 Humphrey, who had married another of the earl's 
 sisters ; Sir Pvichard Saltonstall, and Thomas Goffe. 
 It was these men who bought from Endicott's party 
 all their rights under the patent of 1628, and who 
 obtained a royal charter (March 4, 1629) constituting 
 them a legal corporation under the name of the 
 ' Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay
 
 122 NEW COLONIES 
 
 in New England.' Matthew Cradock was elected 
 governor, and then a second government was ap- 
 pomted to be resident in the colony, consisting of a 
 governor, deputy-governor, and twelve councillors. 
 Each shareholder was to have two hundred acres of 
 land for every 50/. invested, and every emigrant, not 
 a shareholder, was to have fifty acres. Keligious 
 wants were also provided for, and three ministers 
 were chosen — Samuel Skelton, a Cambridge man, who 
 had a church in Lincolnshire ; Francis Higginson, also 
 a Cambridge man, and formerly vicar of a church 
 at Leicester, but inhibited on account of his Puritan 
 sympathies ; and Francis Bright, of Eayleigh, Essex. 
 Men of various occupations and grades in life joined 
 the enterprise, including a surgeon, a barber-surgeon, 
 a land surveyor, and skilled mechanics. Explicit in- 
 structions, both on secular and religious matters, were 
 sent out by the company with them. The propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel was to be the chief aim ; no one 
 was to be allowed to injure the Indians ; any rights 
 claimed by the Indians were to be lawfully purchased. 
 In order that the Sabbath might be properly observed, 
 all employments were to cease at three o'clock on 
 Saturday afternoon, and the rest of that day was 
 to be spent in ' catechism and preparations for the 
 Sabbath, as the ministers shall direct.' If any of the 
 planters should prove disorderly and vicious, they 
 were to be shipped back to England promptly ; family 
 prayer was enjoined morning and evening, and a 
 watchful eye kept on the youth of every family.
 
 NEW COLONIES 123 
 
 Higginson's Party.— These planters numbered be- 
 tween two and three hundred, and they sailed m 
 five vessels, one of which was the renowned May- 
 flower, in the spring of 1629. On arriving at Salem, 
 Skelton was chosen pastor, apparently on the ground 
 of seniority, and Higginson teacher. These ministers 
 were then re-ordained, with the laying-on of hands, 
 but for what reason does not appear. They and 
 others conferred with Endicott, who told them that 
 his party were inclined to adopt the church prin- 
 ciples of the Plymouth colony. Skelton and Hig- 
 ginson favoured this idea, but Bright entirely dis- 
 approved of it, and removed to Charlestown. A 
 confession and covenant were drawn up, based on 
 the simplest evangelical principles, the acceptance 
 of which became the test of church membership. 
 
 But in the minds of others, besides Bright, dissatis- 
 faction arose. Two members of the Council, John 
 and Samuel Browne, strongly objected to the ministers 
 not using the Book of Common Prayer, not adopting 
 the ceremonies of the Church of England at the 
 sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, and 
 to their avowed intention of prohibiting scandalous 
 persons from partaking of the latter ordinance. 
 They then began conducting services according to the 
 Prayer Book, but were speedily stopped. Governor 
 Endicott, with the company's explicit instructions 
 regarding disorderly persons in his hands, summoned 
 the two leading malcontents before him. They 
 charged the two ministers with being Separatists ;
 
 124 NE^ COLONIES 
 
 but Skelton and Higginson replied^that they were not 
 Separatists, that they had not departed from the 
 Church of England, but only from its corruptions, 
 and had left England in order to get away from the 
 Prayer Book and sinful ceremonies. It was quite 
 clear that New England was no place for the two 
 brothers; why they left the old country at all was 
 a wonder. They were therefore sent back home, 
 much against their will, before the year was out. 
 
 State Church Sympathies. — It should be noted that, 
 although Skelton and Higginson and their party left 
 England hostile to Separatism, and warm friends of the 
 Church, yet on reaching Salem they adopted some of the 
 leading principles on which Separatism was grounded, 
 and became, at first sight, identical with the Pilgrim 
 Church at New Plymouth. But there was a difference. 
 The Pilgrims were uncompromising anti- State Church 
 people ; the Salem settlers were not. With the former, 
 non-membership with their church was no bar to 
 official position in their government ; but with the 
 latter, church fellowship was essential to political 
 franchise and to any office in the government ; and, 
 moreover, the formation of new churches came under 
 government supervision. The magistrate at Salem 
 also had powers in religious matters. When Higgin- 
 son drew up the confession of faith and covenant, 
 * because they foresaw that this wilderness might be 
 looked upon as a place of liberty, and therefore might 
 in time be troubled with erroneous spirits, therefore 
 they did put in one article into the confession of
 
 NFAV COLONIES 125 
 
 faith, on purpose, about the duty and power of the 
 magistrate in matters of rehgion.' ' 
 
 .Tf)Tin Wint,!]]'^)]!, and the Great Exodus of 1630. — 
 Seventeen ships — inchiding the Mayflower once more 
 — with about fifteen hundred passengers, sailed from 
 England for Massachusetts in 1630. The Bay Com- 
 pany appointed John Winthrop Resident Governor, 
 and with him went Sir Richard Saltonstall, Isaac 
 Johnson, and Thomas Dudley, as well as other 
 governors of the company. Other emigrants followed, 
 and in a short time Winthrop found himself governor 
 of some two thousand people at Salem. But Salem 
 not being * pleasing,' many of the planters dispersed ; 
 some went to Boston, others to Charlestown, Dor- 
 chester, Roxbury and other places, and before the end 
 of a year there were eight settlements along the sea- 
 board. Winthrop himself removed to Boston, which 
 thus became the chief town. Scarcity of food and 
 death caused great trouble during the first twelve 
 months, and two hundred people died. Questions of 
 government and representation arose, and the in- 
 dependent spirit of the colonists, which in religious 
 matters had led them to forsake their native land, 
 asserted itself in a demand for certain legislative rights 
 in the public affairs of the Bay Company. But John 
 Winthrop was equal to such emergencies, and yielded 
 to the claims of the freemen, so far as he saw they 
 were just and right. Winthrop was elected governor 
 eleven times, and his name stands in the front 
 ' Morton's l^ew Enqland^s Memorial, p. 14G.
 
 126 NEW COLONIES 
 
 rank amongst the pioneers of English influence in 
 America. 
 
 Connecticut Valley. — By the year 1634 ahout four 
 thousand Englishmen had come over ; and still they 
 came. Ahout twenty villages had been set up along 
 the shores of the bay. Trade in furs, timber, and 
 salted fish, and other articles rapidly increased, and 
 large herds of cattle and goats covered the pastures. 
 It was time for the colonists to extend their borders, 
 and in 1636 a number of them migrated a hundred 
 miles westward to the Connecticut Valley. The towns 
 of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield quickly sprang 
 up, and within twelve months they had a population 
 of about eight hundred. Municipal independence" 
 advanced to representative government, and in 1638 
 the three towns proclaimed themselves a common- 
 wealth. *" 
 
 Thomas Hooker, formerly lecturer and assistant 
 at Chelmsford, was the chief leader of this migra- 
 tion, and it is on the basis of the constitution which 
 he was the means of forming, that the present govern- 
 ment of the United States is founded. All free- 
 men, irrespective of church membership, had the 
 right of voting for the legislative deputies, and also 
 at the annual election of the governor and assistants ; 
 whilst church membership was essential for the post 
 of governor only. Before long these settlers were 
 attacked by the Indians, and suffered much loss. 
 Some time previously the Indians had more than 
 once been guilty of violence and murder on English
 
 NEW COLONIES 127 
 
 traders. To check such practices Endicott had 
 severely punished them, burning wigwams, sinking 
 canoes, seizing corn, and taking several lives. Re- 
 prisals followed, and the new-comers in the valley were 
 the chief su£ferers. Murder, mutilation, roasting a 
 man alive, and the abduction of English girls were 
 some of the crimes perpetrated. At last the English 
 applied to Boston and Plymouth for help, and then 
 dire vengeance was exacted. Nearly seven hundred 
 Indians were killed in their stronghold ; but after that 
 event no Indian tribe attacked the English for thirty- 
 eight years. 
 
 New Haven. — In 1638 a party of emigrants — 
 London merchants and their families — reached Boston, 
 under the leadership of Theophilus Eaton, a member 
 of the Bay Company, and John Da.venport, their 
 pastor, and formerly rector of a church in Coleman 
 Street, London. After looking about for a place of 
 settlement, the emigrants fixed on a spot, soon to 
 be known as New Haven. In a few months eighty 
 additional planters arrived, who bought land from the 
 Indians in the same locality, and built the towns of 
 Guildford and Milford. Two years later Stamford 
 was added, and in 1643 the four towns were made into 
 the republic of New Haven. 
 
 Leaders. — Many of the leaders in the exodus from 
 England between 1628 and 1640 have already been 
 mentioned, and there are others who should not be 
 forgotten. Amongst those who sailed with John 
 Winthrop in 1830 was Jolin Wilson, a son of a
 
 128 NEW COLONIES 
 
 Prebendary of St. Paul's, and grand-nephew of Arch- 
 bishop Grindal. He was trained at King's College, 
 Cambridge, and though at one time hostile to the 
 Puritans, he became an ardent sympathiser by acci- 
 dentally meeting with Eichard Kogers' Seven Treatises. 
 His next step was to hear Rogers preach. Then he 
 fraternised with the Puritans; and whilst holding a 
 living at Sudbury had to battle with the ecclesiastical 
 courts concerning his opinions, and at length decided 
 to leave England. He went with Winthrop from 
 Salem to Boston, at which place he was appointed 
 pastor. 
 
 Another Puritan clergyman who fled from Eng- 
 land in search of freedom wshsJohn Cotton, for twenty 
 years Vicar of Boston. Brought under Puritan in- 
 fluence whilst at Cambridge University, he was soon 
 known as a man * of great gravity and sanctity of 
 life,' ' of rare parts for his learning, eloquent and 
 well spoken.' His opinions and mode of conducting 
 worship gave rise to complaints, and for a time the 
 bishop had to silence him. Later, he openly taught 
 that bishops were only entitled to rule no larger 
 diocese than one congregation, and that the keys of 
 ecclesiastical government are given by Christ to each 
 separate church. Stricken by sickness, and harried 
 by his foes, he at length resigned his living. Writs 
 against him were issued, and leaving Lincolnshire in 
 disguise, he lay in hiding at the house of John Daven- 
 port, Vicar of St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, until 
 the opportunity offered to cross the seas. He arrived
 
 NEW COLONIES 129 
 
 at the New England Boston in 1633, and became the 
 colleague of John Wilson. 
 
 Another Cambridge man, Thomas She2Jard,vfhihta,t 
 Emmanuel College — the alma mater of John Robinson 
 and many other Puritan ministers — became imbued 
 with anti-Church of England teaching, and whilst hold- 
 ing the lectureship at Earl's Colne, Essex, incurred the 
 displeasure of Archbishop Laud. He records the brow- 
 beating inflicted when summoned into the great man's 
 presence. Laud was so angry that he ' looked as though 
 blood would have gushed out of his face, and did shake 
 as if he had been haunted with an ague fit.' He called 
 Shepard a prating coxcomb, and finished his harangue 
 by inhibiting him from working in his diocese. * If you 
 do,' he added, ' and I hear of it, I will follow you 
 wherever you go, in any part of the kingdom, and so 
 everlastingly disenable you.' He suffered many priva- 
 tions before leaving for New England, whither he was 
 followed by a number of his people from Essex. He 
 then became pastor of the church at Newtown, after- 
 wards named Cambridge. 
 
 In 1633 Richard Mather, holdinga living at Toxteth, 
 near Liverpool, was suspended for declining to perform 
 the ceremonies of the Church, and soon migrated to the 
 New Country. He was chosen minister of the church 
 at Dorchester, near Boston. The next two generations 
 of his family hold prominent places in the story of 
 Young America, for his son. Increase Mather, was a 
 president of Harvard College, and the chief instrument 
 in obtaining from William III. the removal of Governor 
 
 I
 
 I30 NEW COLONIES 
 
 Andros ; and his grandson, Cotton Mather, was the 
 author of Marjualia CJiristi Americana, an ecclesiastical 
 history of New England, and of more than three hun- 
 dred other publications. 
 
 JoJin Eliot, known the world over as ' the 
 Indian apostle,' was born in Hertfordshire in 1604. 
 He took orders in the Church of England ; but his 
 Nonconformist opinions led him to cast in his lot with 
 the Puritan emigrants. He landed at Boston in 1631, 
 became pastor of the church at Roxbury, and set him- 
 self to learn the Indian language. His first sermon 
 to the Indians in their native dialect was delivered in 
 1646. Believing it absolutely necessary to carry on 
 civility with religion, he set about the civilisation of 
 his converts, and established settlements, where indus- 
 trial occupations and schools were carried on. Great 
 interest was excited amongst his colonial brethren, as 
 well as in England, and considerable sums of money 
 were raised to support and extend Eliot's work. He 
 finished his translation of the Bible into the Indian 
 tongue in 1658. The printing of the work was not 
 completed until 1663, and this was the first Bible 
 printed on the American continent. Whilst visiting 
 the Indians at regular intervals he continued his 
 pastoral duties at Roxbury, where he remained till his 
 death in 1690. Eliot's name is also identified with 
 the ' Bay Psalm Book,' the first book printed in New 
 England, having, in conjunction with Richard Mather 
 and Thomas Weld, prepared this English metrical 
 version for the use of the churches.
 
 ^.. 
 
 I 2
 
 NEJV COLONIES 133 
 
 Amongst other men who helped to build up these 
 colonies were Peter Bulkely, the founder and first 
 minister of Concord ; Zachary Symmes, minister at 
 Charlestown, who formerly held a living at Dunstable ; 
 Samuel Whiting, who was cited before the Court of 
 High Commission for neglect of certain rites and 
 ceremonies, but quitted his native land and became 
 pastor of Lynn, named after the scene of his labours 
 in Norfolk ; Peter Hobart, born at Hingham, Norfolk, 
 and founder of Hingham, New England ; Charles 
 Chauncey, John Fisk, and John Norton. 
 ^ — Harvard and Yale Colleges.— Between 1630 and 
 1647 at least ninety university men went to 
 Massachusetts. Education and learning, fostered 
 by their influence, soon became great forces in the 
 progress of New England. In 1636 the General Court 
 of Massachusetts voted four hundred pounds towards 
 establishing a college or grammar school at Cam- 
 bridge. The following year, John Harvard, a gra- 
 duate of Emmanuel College, and a Nonconformist 
 minister, bequeathed to the college half his fortune, of 
 about 1,500Z., and his library of nearly three hundred 
 volumes. The seminary was named from that time 
 Harvard College. Not to be behind in providing a 
 centre of light and learning, the people of Connec- 
 ticut opened a college at Saybrook, which, on its 
 removal to New Haven, became the University of Yale. 
 Other schools and colleges were opened in the course 
 of years, and in 1647 it was ordered that schools of 
 two classes should be established in Massachusetts.
 
 134 ^^E^ COLONIES 
 
 In every place containing fifty householders there 
 was to be an elementary school ; and in places of a 
 hundred or more householders grammar schools were 
 tojje opened. 
 
 Intolerance. — The weakest points in these new 
 colonies, especially at Massachusetts Bay, were their 
 intolerance, and the severity of their penal code. 
 The Quakers, and others who did not share the 
 ecclesiastical and doctrinal views of the churches, and 
 made no secret of their opinions, were cruelly treated, 
 and this intolerance seemed to justify the saying 
 that people who have once been persecuted for their 
 religious opinions become persecutors themselves. It 
 is sickening to read the many crimes for which either 
 capital or corporal punishment was inflicted. The 
 return of a Komish priest after banishment upon the 
 first conviction was a capital offence ; also burglary 
 and theft on the Sabbath upon a third conviction, as 
 well as blasphemy, idolatry, and cursing one's father 
 or mother. The Puritan lawgivers thought they were 
 warranted by the Old Testament, as well as by the 
 customs of other countries, in assigning such penalties, 
 and forgot to consider the milder spirit of the New. 
 In these two matters, at least, the Plymouth colonists 
 stand out in favourable contrast with their Puritan 
 friends in the north and west. Quakers, and other 
 people with peculiar religious views, applied to 
 Plymouth for permission to settle within its bounds, 
 and it was readily granted. The town of Swansay, 
 also within the Plymouth jurisdiction, was inhabited
 
 jyew colonies 135 
 
 chiefly by Baptist refugees from Massachusetts, and 
 W'hen one of their ministers settled in the church at 
 Plymouth he was allowed to baptise by immersion, 
 providing he raised no objection to his brother 
 ministers baptising by sprinkling. Miles Standish, 
 although never a member of the church — indeed, in 
 some quarters it is assumed that he was a Catholic to 
 the end of his life — was allowed to take a prominent 
 part in the management of the affairs of the colony, 
 and no questions were raised as to his fitness for civil 
 and military duties. The laws of the Pilgrim Fathers, 
 although severe enough, were far in advance in their 
 merciful and liberal aspects, not only of those of 
 Massachusetts, but also of the penal code which they 
 left behind in the old country. So reluctant were 
 they to carry out the death penalty that, when John 
 Billington killed a man in 1630, they deemed it 
 desirable to consult with Governor Winthrop before 
 proceeding to hang the murderer. Persecution, in 
 their case, had taught them to be merciful.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 CONFEDEEATION AMEKICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 
 
 New England Confederacy. — While the three new 
 colonies were in process of formation, Plymouth was 
 gradually extending its borders. In 1632 Captain 
 Standish, William Brewster, and others removed five 
 miles to the north, for the sake of the more fertile 
 land in that locality, and named their town Duxbury, 
 after the captain's home in Lancashire. On Captain's 
 Hill, at this place, stands the monument to Standish 
 — a landmark for many miles round. Other towns 
 and churches were founded during the next ten years, 
 including Barnstable, Yarmouth, Sandwich, and 
 Scituate, and by 1643 Plymouth colony consisted of 
 eight separate towns. The friendly relations between 
 Plymouth and Massachusetts gradually led to the 
 creation of a Federal Union— the first on the American 
 continent. In 1643 Massachusetts, New Plymouth, 
 Connecticut, and New Haven became the United 
 Colonies of New England. The Articles of Confedera-
 
 AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 137 
 
 tion stated that the objects of the union were to con- 
 stitute a league of friendship for offence and defence^ 
 mutual advice and succour upon all just occasions, 
 both for preserving and propagating the truth and 
 liberties of the Gospel, and for mutual safety and 
 welfare. Each colony was to maintain its own juris- 
 diction ; all public charges to be met by contributions 
 levied on the colonies in proportion to the number of 
 their inhabitants ; and the affairs of the confederation 
 to be managed by commissioners from each colony. 
 For the next thirty-one years the colonies went on 
 prospering — trade and commerce extending, educa- 
 tion and religion moulding the race of the coming 
 America. 
 
 Then (1674-76) occurred the disastrous war with 
 the Indian ' King,' Philip, bringing mourning to nearly 
 every household in New England, and the destruction 
 of numerous towns. The next event of importance 
 was the interference of England in the affairs of the 
 colonies. In 1684 the charter of Massachusetts was 
 annulled, and Sir Edmund Andros appointed governor, 
 whose rule was execrated by all New Englanders. 
 When William III. came to the throne, Andros was 
 removed, and Governor Phipps sent out. He brought 
 a charter which united Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth 
 Colony, the Vineyard Archipelago, Maine and Acadia 
 into the one province of Massachusetts. From that 
 period the Puritans lose their existence as separate 
 political bodies ; and whilst their descendants spread 
 north, south and west, the way was being prepared
 
 138 AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 
 
 for the next great change — the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence in 1776, and the creation of the United 
 States. 
 
 Death of Veterans. — The chief men of the May- 
 flower lived long enough to see the promise of a great 
 nation growing out of their venture of courage and 
 faith. "William Brewster died in 1643, just before the 
 Articles of Confederation were signed, at the age of 
 eighty. Bradford speaks of his old friend as a man 
 * wise and discreet : of a very cheerful spirit, very 
 sociable and pleasant amongst his friends, of an 
 humble and honest mind ; of a peaceable disposition, 
 undervaluing himself and his own abilities, and some- 
 times overbalancing others ; inoffensive and innocent 
 in his life and conversation, which gained him the love 
 of those without as well as those within. Yet he 
 would tell them plainly of their faults and evils, both 
 publicly and privately, but in such a manner as usually 
 was well taken from him.' William Bradford passed 
 away in 1657, having been elected governor for thirty- 
 one years out of the thirty-six between his arrival 
 and his death, and leaving behind his valuable history 
 of the Plymouth Plantation. 
 
 Edward Winslow, governor, died at sea in 1655. 
 During his last visit to England he was appointed one 
 of the commissioners in Cromwell's disastrous expe- 
 dition against Hispaniola (San Domingo), and it was 
 on his voyage home that the end came. Miles Stan- 
 dish, after being engaged in military affairs and the 
 business of the colony even until within a short time
 
 AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 139 
 
 of his death, fell asleep in 1656, at the age of about 
 seventy-two.^ 
 
 ^ Results. — The Congregational Church of America 
 to-day is the complete and practical answer to the 
 question. Was the object of the Pilgrim Fathers' 
 migration accomplished ? Fully convinced of the 
 supremacy of conscience in matters of religion, and 
 unable to carry out their convictions, the Pilgrims 
 left their native country with the avowed object of 
 establishing ' a free church in a free state.' They 
 founded such a church at Plymouth, which, in 
 essentials, was Congregational according to the recog- 
 nised principles and methods of that denomination 
 at the present time. Only in matters of little more 
 than detail were there any differences. The office of 
 * teacher ' was merged in after years into that of 
 pastor, and the duties and authority of * elders ' were 
 curtailed, and elders replaced by deacons. 
 
 The wave of Puritan emigration between 1628 and 
 1640 threatened to overwhelm the little church at 
 Plymouth, for the new-comers were not Congrega- 
 tionalists. Professedly Churchmen, who desired to 
 set up Church of England worship without its cor- 
 ruptions, and who distinctly objected to be called 
 Separatists, they founded religious communities which 
 
 ' There is a considerable uncertainty as to the date of Standish's 
 birth, some authorities giving 1565, and others 1584. The balance 
 of probability inclines to the latter date. If born in 1565, he would 
 have been upwards of ninety at his death ; but it is scarcely likely 
 that such a veteran would have been busily occupied with state 
 matters within a short time of death.
 
 I40 AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 
 
 were neither Church of England, Presbyterian, nor 
 Congregational. They were of a mixed, hybrid 
 pattern ; in close union with the State, their prin- 
 ciples and mode of worship partook partly of the 
 Presbyterian and partly of the Congregational order. 
 Though friendly with the Plymouth people, and 
 gladly listening to their counsel and suggestions, 
 they forbore from adopting the Plj^mouth model in 
 the early years of their existence. 
 
 It seemed more than likely for a time that a 
 state church was to prevail in the new colonies, and 
 the free church of Brewster and Bradford to suffer 
 total extinction. But this was not to be. An anti- 
 state church feeling gradually developed in the new 
 colonies — the outgrowth of the democratic spirit which 
 the settlers brought with them from fettered England 
 to free America. The free air of the new country 
 fostered and stimulated the growth of that spirit until 
 it became a ruling force. The churches cut their an- 
 chorage to the state ; and then, with a few exceptions, 
 abandoned the rulership of pastors, elders, councils 
 and synods, and became entirely self-governing — in 
 fact. Congregational. They adopted the church method 
 to which Plymouth had adhered, and even went beyond 
 it by the abolition of the ruling eldership. 
 
 Thus the Pilgrim Fathers, besides being among 
 the early pioneers of the colonisation of the great con- 
 tinent by the English, were the founders of American 
 Congregationalism, and their real monument — the 
 actual triumph, so far, of their work — consists of
 
 AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISM 141 
 
 some five thousand churches with their more than 
 half a milHon of members of the present day. 
 
 The Pilgrim Fathers sought for the emancipation 
 of conscience from the control of individuals, or of any 
 bodies of men, and they obtained it, and have trans- 
 mitted the rights and privileges which they secured 
 and asserted to the millions now peopling the United 
 States. Little dreamed the Scrooby band when they 
 decided to leave Leyden and seek a home in the Far 
 West of the vast results of their venture. They felt 
 called by God to journey thither, and nothing could 
 turn them back, even though starvation and death 
 stared them in the face. The persistency, courage, 
 and faith of the venture are alone sufficient to crown 
 with a halo of lasting honour those invincible Chris- 
 tians, who will be remembered, in centuries to come, 
 as the Pilgrim Fathers — the Men of the Mayflower.
 
 BIBLIOGEAPHY 
 
 WORKS ON THE HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM 
 FATHERS AND THE FOUNDING OF NEW ENGLAND 
 
 OlUGINAL AUTHOKITIES 
 
 The early literature on the Separatists, the migration of the Pilgrim 
 Fathers, and their successors is, for the most part, inaccessible except 
 in the British Museum and a few other large libraries. The princi- 
 pal authorities upon which later works are based are as follows : — 
 
 History of the Plymouth Plantation. W. Bradford. 
 
 [The story of the disappearance and recovery of the manuscript of 
 this work is full of interest. Nathaniel Morton and others used the 
 manuscrii)t in the preparation of their narratives, and it was deposited 
 in the tower of the Old South Church, Boston, some time before the 
 siege of Boston in 1775. After that event it disappeared. In 1845 
 Bishop Wilberforce published his History of the Protestant EjnscojHil 
 Church in America, founded to a considerable extent on original 
 documents in the Bishop of London's library at Fulham. Ten years 
 later the Rev. John S. Barry, when preparing his History of Massachusetts, 
 consulted the bishop's book, and found in it many extracts which 
 corresponded with others which he had seen in Morton's work. This 
 incident led to the identification, recovery, and printing of the manu- 
 script ; but how it found its way from Boston to Fulham is only matter 
 of speculation.] 
 
 Neio England's Memorial. N. Morton. 
 
 Relation of Proceedings of the English Plantation of Plymouth. 
 
 G. Mourt. 
 Hunter's Collections concerning the Early History of the Founders 
 
 of Ncio Plymotith. 
 Prince's New England Chronology, and Annals of Neiv Englarid. 
 Justification of Separation. J. Eobinson. 
 History of Massachusetts Bay. T. Hutchinson. 
 History of Neio England (1630-1649). J. Winthrop. 
 The Generall Historic of Virginia, Neio England, and the Summer 
 
 Isles. John Smith. 1626. 
 The Ground of the First Planting of New England. 
 
 Later Woeks and Eepeints 
 
 Governor Bradford's Letter Book, dx. (Arber's reprints.) 
 
 New England's Trials. John Smith. 1622. Eeprint pubUshed 
 
 1873, Cambridge, Mass. 
 Magnalia Christi Americana. Cotton Mather. Ed. 1853.
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 
 
 Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers. Alexander Young. 1841. 
 
 Belknap's American Biography, ii. 217-251. 
 
 Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of Neio 
 
 England, i. 231. 
 Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Fourth Series, 
 
 vol. iii. 
 History of Boston. P. Thompson. 
 Governor BradforcVs Mamiscript History of Plymouth Plantation 
 
 and its transmission to our times. Justin Winsor. 1881. 
 History of Boston. Justin Winsor. 1882. 
 Narrative and Critical History of America. Justin Winsor. 
 
 Volume iii. of this great work is full of valuable information. 
 History of Diixbury. Justin Winsor. 
 The Mayfioicer Town. Justin Winsor. 1887. 
 The English in America. J. A. Doyle. 1883-1887. 
 Influence of English Universities in the Development of Neio 
 
 England. F. B. Dexter. 
 The Beginnings of New England. J. Fiske. 
 The Pilgrim Repuhlic. J. A. Goodwin. Boston, Mass. 
 History of Massachusetts. J. S. Barry. 
 
 Introduction to American Constitutional History. E. A. Freeman. 
 Mayflotver Essays. By G. Cuthbert Claxland (Ward & Downey.) 
 
 Amongst the most recent works are the following : — 
 
 The Pilgrim Fathers of Neiu England and their Puritan Suc- 
 cessors. John Brown, D.D. 1895. 
 The Story of the English Separatists. A. Mackennal ; and 
 The Early Independents. Both published by the Congregational 
 Union of England and Wales. 
 
 WORKS ON THE PURITANS, NONCONFORMITY, 
 THE DUTCH CHURCH, dc. 
 
 Neal's History of the Puritans. 
 
 History of Dissenters. Bogue and Bennett. 1833. 
 
 English Nonconformity. Dr. Eobert Vaughan. 18G2. 
 
 The First Two Stuarts and the Puritan Revolution. (1603-1660.) 
 
 ' Epochs of English History.' S. R. Gardiner. 1876. 
 The Puritans ; or, Court, Church, and Parliament under Edward VI. 
 
 and Elizabeth. Samuel Hopkins. New York, 1875-1876. 
 Spiritual Heroes : Sketches of the Puritans. Dr. Stoughton. 1850. 
 The Church of the Puritans, 1570-1660. 'Epochs of Church 
 
 History.' H. 0. Wakeman. 1888. 
 The Puritan Spirit. R. S. Storrs. 
 The Dutch Reformation : a History of the Struggle of the Sixteenth 
 
 Century. W. C. Martyn. 1868. 
 Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic, and United NetJierlands.
 
 THE PILGRIM FATHERS OF NEW ENGLAND 
 AND THEIR PURITAN SUCCESSORS. 
 
 By JOHN BROWN, B.A., D.D. 
 Autfior of ' Joh7i Bunyan, His Life, Times, and Work.' 
 
 Witli Illustrations by CllAllLES Whympbe. 
 
 8vo. 10*. Gd. cloth boards. 
 
 ' Dr. Brown tells the story with all the exact learning, the robust sense, the 
 genial charity which, joined with higher gifts, have given him his eminent position 
 in the religious community which he adorns.' — Daily News. 
 
 ' The book should have a pl.ace not only in the library of every Congregationalist, 
 but of everyone who really desires to get at the root of the religious controversies 
 ■which most divide us.' — Independent. 
 
 PRESENT DAY PRIMERS. 
 
 EARLY CHURCH HISTORY : a Sketch of the First Four Cen- 
 turies. By J. Vernon Bartlbt, M.A., late Scholar of 
 Exeter College. Is. cloth. 
 
 THE PRINTED ENGLISH BIBLE, 1525-1885. By the Rev. 
 Richard Lovett, M.A. Is. cloth. 
 
 HOW TO STUDY THE ENGLISH BIBLE. By Canon Girdle- 
 stone. Is. cloth. 
 
 A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO NEW TESTAMENT GREEK. 
 
 By Rev. Samuel G. Green, D.D. Is. cloth. 
 
 A PRIMER OF ASSYRIOLOGY. By A. H. Sayce, LL.D. 
 Is. cloth. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. By Rev. W. H. Beckett. 
 
 Is. cloth. 
 
 PLANTS OF THE BIBLE. By the Rev. George Henslow, 
 M.A., F.L.S., &c. Is. cloth. 
 
 HEBREW ANTIQUITIES. By Eev. 0. C. Whitehouse, M.A. 
 Illustrated. Is. cloth. 
 
 ROMAN CATHOLICISM; or, the Doctrines of the Church of Rome 
 briefly Examined in the Light of Scripture. By the Rev. 
 Charles H. H. Wright, D.D., Trinity College, Dublin, M.A. 
 of Oxford, &c. Is. cloth. 
 
 A PRIMER OF MODERN MISSIONS. Edited by Rev. R. Lovett, 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, 56 Paternoster Row, London."
 
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