^ [;•'•£' \\\\ W" -^ r=±//ri .H^l UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Special Collections & Rare Books ILLUSTRATED ^ ^ . GUIDE" • TO HISTORIC PLYMOUTH MASSACHUSETTS 1921 BOSTON Compiled , Arranged and Published by THE UNION NEWS COMPANY COPYRIGHT 1921 BY THE UNION NEWS COMPANY Written by WALTER F. WHEELER Arranged by REGINALD CHANDLER CONTENTS Arrival in Cape Cod Bay Beginnings of the Colony Burial Hill Byways, Old Churches . Clam Raising Cole's Hill Common House, The . "Compact," The . Cordage Works Crowe House Departure for America Documents, Old Early Portraits Epitaphs . First Winter, The Fort, Old . Growth of Manufacturing Growth of Plymouth Harlow, Sgt. Wm., House Heirlooms Historical Paintings Holmes, Kendall, House Homes of the Pilgrims HOWT.AND House. Indians, Relations with the Landing of the Pilgrims . Page 37 50 21 73 77 69 58 54 39 68,69 13, 32 74 19 25 55 58 68 60 9 16 18 58 42 CONTENTS CON'T'D Leach House Leyden St. Library, Public Life on the Mayflower Mayflower, The Mayflower Company, The "Meersteads" . Migration from England to Holland Monument, National Pilgrim Hall Pilgrim Spring . Plymouth Harbor Plymouth Rock . Preliminary Explorations Public Buildings Registry Building Relics of the Mayflower Religious Faith Schools, Public Shipping, Importance of Shurtleff House "Standish Guards" . Standish House Tombstones, Old Town Brook Wars, Plymouth in the Watch Tower . WiNSLOw House Page 9 52 71 34 34 36 55 31 11 11 21 49 29,46 40 76 74 15 78 71 V 65 9 71 9 23 48,50 71 59 16, 74 J N ILL US T RAT ED GUIDE TO HISTORIC PLYMOUTH OLD PLYMOUTH "Here are places and objects so intimately associated with the world's greatest men or with mighty deeds, that the soul of him who gazes upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it listens to the voice that speaks from the past." Governor Roger Wolcctt PLYMOUTH is one of those magical names which so call to mind events or periods in American history, that the places themselves constitute patriotic shrines. Independence Hall, Valley Forge, Mt. Vernon, Lexington and Yorktown are all names, the mere mention of which recalls happenings that render the places themselves historic ground. Among these, Plymouth may justly lay claim to a rank which is particularly its own. New England, as a whole, might seem to be a more appre- ciative guardian of historic shrines and fanes than certain other sections of the country; there has been less of the destruction of historic landmarks in the cities of Massa- chusetts, perhaps, than in most of what were the 13 original OLD PLYMOUTH colonies. Much has perished, of course, but much yet re- mains, to be treasured more carefully and guarded more zealously by each succeeding generation. Old Homes Of the original buildings erected by f til P*l * ^^^ Pilgrims very little remains after the lapse of three centuries. The Pilgrims themselves, accustomed to homes of at least a fair degree of comfort, probably intended that their first rude and primitive huts of logs should give way, as soon as cir- cumstances made it possible, to homes of a more permanent nature. Pilgrim homes still exist, however, in the Crowe house (built 1664) and the Howland house (1666), and both houses were built and lived in by members of the original Mayflower colony. Other homes of the same period, or only very slightly later, are the Kendall Holmes house on Winter The Crowe House The oldest house in North Plymouth Built in 1664 OLD PL Y MO U TH The William Harlow House Built in 1677 Street (1666), the Leach house on Summer Street (1679), the Shurtleff house (1698) and the Sergeant WilHam Harlow house, built in 1677. Of these houses those built by the Crowe and Harlow families are said to have been built largely from material taken from the Old Fort on Burial Hill, when it was dismantled after King Philip's War. One of the early houses, which may be seen just across the bay, is the Standish house, built in 1666 by the son of Myles Standish. Architecturally these old houses, when they have not yet been "modernized," are extremely pleasing and many of them illustrate well the use of the gambrel roof as developed in New England, which was quite different from the gambrel which was popular in the Dutch district around New York, Of these earlier Plymouth houses the Howland and Harlow homes are open to the public at certain times, 10 OLD PL Y MO UTH National Monument to the Forefathers Dedicated 1889 OLD PLYMOUTH 11 for in one Instance the house Is the property of the Rowland Descendants and In the latter case the house belongs to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society. Monument to the The National Monument to the T? e t u c. Forefathers constitutes, perhaps, the poreiciiners . ,, i«i most important memorial which posterity has raised to the Pilgrims. The project of build- ing the monument was undertaken In 1820, while the dedi- cation of the completed monument took place in 1889. Upon a large octagonal pedestal of solid granite stands the figure of Faith; one foot rests upon Forefathers' Rock and In the left hand she holds the Bible, while the right hand points to Heaven. The four seated figures grouped about the main statue represent the chief principles upon which the Pilgrims founded their commonwealth — Moral- ity, Law, Education and Freedom. Below these four figures are alto relievos representing scenes from Pilgrim history — the Departure from Delft Haven in Holland on the journey to America; the First Treaty with the Indians; the Signing of the Compact in the cabin of the Mayflower, and the Land- ing of the Pilgrims. A panel at the front of the monument bears the inscription: "National Monument to the Fore- fathers. Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty." Other panels bear the names of those who came over in the Mayflower. The figure of Faith, 36 feet high, is said to be the largest granite statue in the world. Piltyrim Hall ^^^ ^^ ^^^ most Important of the historical buildings In Plymouth is Pilgrim Hall, into which have been gathered relics and other treasures which are closely connected with Pilgrim history. Erected In 1824 and extensively remodeled In 1880, Pilgrim Hall is a plain and solid structure of stone, of interesting pro- 12 OLD PLYMOUTH portions and of the period which architects know as the Greek Revival, somewhat resembHng many of the old churches which face various "commons" or "greens" throughout New England. Its classic portico is adorned with six Doric columns. Within the vestibule hangs a large painting of the Landing of the Pilgrims and near it is a por- trait of King James I, and various maps and views of Ply- mouth from which the growth and history of the colony may be studied. Above the doorway from the vestibule into the main hall is a large gilded copy of the seal of the colony, reproduced from the Book of Laws of 1685. The original seal, which was adopted in 1625, disappeared during the ad- ministration of Governor Andros. The Hall, as might be supposed, includes among its his- torical treasures many documents and papers of various The Elder Brewster Chair and Peregrine White Cradle OLD PLYMOUTH 13 A C orner in Pilgrim Hall kinds which bear upon the history of the Pilgrims and the colony which they established. Among them is the com- mission granted by Cromwell to Edward Winslow, appoint- ing him as one of the arbitrators between England and the States General of the United Provinces in the matter of ships and goods detained within the King of Denmark's dominions after May, 1652. Another document of high his- torical value and interest is the colonial patent or charter, dated June 1, 1621, which is certainly by far the oldest state paper in New England, if not the oldest document in Ameri- ca which is connected with American history. The paper, which is written in the style characteristic of the period, bears the names of the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl of Warwick, Sir Ferdinand© Gorges and 14 OLD PLYMOUTH OLD PLYMOUTH 15 one other name which is not legible. A clock in Pilgrim Hall was once the property of John Hancock, famous in American history in many ways, not the least being the fact that his was the first signature to be placed upon the Declaration of Independence. r» 1. ^ «f tV.o Of the reHcs of many different sorts xi-ClICS OI liiC ... 1*1 TT 11 , , ^, which are treasured m the Hall, per- *^ haps those most mterestmg to the average visitor are the small belongings which were once part and parcel of the daily lives of the Pilgrims, and which were doubtless used during the journey on the Mayflower, as well as during the first days of their living in Plymouth. Peregrine White, the first child born to the Pilgrims in America, was born on the Mayflower after the arrival in Cape Cod Bay. The Hall contains the cradle in which he was rocked, made, according to the custom in Holland, of woven reeds or "osiers," and recalling the work of the craftsmen which is still seen in Holland. Perhaps the cradle formed part of the scanty household possessions of the Pil- grims when they first left Delft for America, by way of England. There are other relics too, connected with the life of Peregrine White — the shoes which he wore during his baby days, and — oddly enough — his will, made when he was old and so feeble that it is signed with a cross. It must not be supposed, however, that he could not write, for here is also treasured a bond, written as well as signed by him some years earlier. Arranged in Pilgrim Hall are various cases, in which are displayed relics relating to many of the original families. Amorg the most interesting of these cases is that wherein are gathered the various articles connected with the history of the Winslow family. Here are the tiny shoes which were worn in babyhood by Josiah Winslow, son of a Governor and destined one day to be a Governor himself. The inlaid 16 OLD PL YMO UTH ;tp'- • " The Myles Standish Sword, Pewter Platter and Iron Kettle This shows the famous Damascus blade, probably antedating the Crusades cabinet and beaded purse which belonged to Penelope Winslow suggest that some of the women of early Plymouth valued the small trivialities of life, as is also evidenced by the careful preservation of certain slippers which were worn by "Madame Governor Winslow," — slippers of gray, embroidered with silver, and of the kind which the French know as a mule, having a high Louis XIV heel, but covering only the instep and the toes. It might be that the Winslows were rather more opulent than most of the Pilgrim colonists, for the Winslow mansion, which is mentioned elsewhere in these pages, was built with a frame imported to Plymouth from England. Colonial Heirlooms New England has always been par- ticularly fond of the samplers upon which young women wrought tangible and enduring proof of their skill with the needle by working upon squares of canvas or other fabrics, in stitches of various kinds, the letters of the alphabet, sundry ornamental borders or other designs, the name of the owner, of course, and OLD PLY M OUTH 17 very often her age or the date of her birth. Added to all this there was generally a verse or two from scripture, or sometimes a poem, obviously "home made," which was often of a sternly pious nature. A sampler worked by Lorea Standish, daughter of Myles Standish, bears these lines which record sentiments that well become a daughter of the Pilgrims: "Lorea Standish is my name. Lord, guide my hart that I may doe Thy will; Also fill my hands with such convenient skill As will conduce to virtue void of shame, And I will give the glory to thy name." A Chair Which Was the Property of Gov. Bradford, and an Old Spinning Wheel 18 OLD PLYMOUTH Other relics, relating in one way or another to the prom- inent Standish family, are the pot and platter and the famous sword which belonged to Myles Standish. The sword was probably forged in Damascus before the Christian Era, and is thought to have come down to Captain Myles Standish from the crusaders: "Spake in the pride of his heart, Myles Standish, the Captain of Plymouth, 'Look at these arms,' he said, ' the warlike weapons that hang here, Burnished bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection, This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders'." Lon gj ellow Another relic, later to be sure, but nevertheless a part of Pilgrim history, is the original manuscript of the well known poem by Mrs. Felicia Hemans on the Landing of the Pil- grims. Its lines which used to be in every "Fourth Reader" — or was it the "Fifth"? — give a vivid idea of life during the times "When a band of exiles moored their bark, By the wild New England shore." TT. ^ . 1 T» • ^. Manv of the visitors who come to Historical Faintmgs n-i '• tt n /= i i r • . " rilgrim Hall nnd much oi mterest m the paintings of various kinds which hang upon the walls of this Plymouth museum. There are several paintings of his- torical scenes, several of which are mentioned or referred to elsewhere in these pages. Within the vestibule which leads into the Hall proper hangs a large picture, done in distemper, of the "Landing," w^hich w^as presented to Pilgrim Hall by Robert G. Shaw of Boston. Another painting of the Landing of the Pilgrims hangs within the Hall, at the east end. This painting, which is of considerable size, was painted by Henry Sargent and given by him in 1834. Upon OLD PLYMOUTH 19 ■jt 4 -^^H ■i^*' jffK d ^^^^H I^E j|L^I I^^^B^^ m •«^ ^^'^H H 1^, 4 K &.:^HH iMHtiib i^dim ^^^ ^mm^^^^^^g H^^^^^^HKoeK^.-!! . ^H m HesI^^^^HB "The Departure from Delft Haven," by Charles Lucy the south wall is hung a copy of the painting in the capitol at Washington of the Embarkation of the Pilgrims at Delft Haven. Another historical painting of considerable interest, the gift of Ex-Governor Rice of Massachusetts, is Charles Lucy's large painting of the Departure of the Pilgrims, while still another is the fine historical scene by W. F. Halsall, showing the Mayflower in the Harbor at Plymouth. Early Portraits Other paintings are in the forrn of portraits of men or women from the Pilgrim company, or the immediate descendants of the Pilgrims. Among them there are several portraits of mem- bers of the Winslow family — Edward Winslow, of the May- flower migration, who was Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, and Josiah Winslow, his son, who was the first of the native Governors and who ruled from 1673 to 1680. These two portraits are said to have been painted in 1651 in 20 OLD PL Y MO UTH London by Robert Walker. Other portraits of the Winslow family are those of Penelope Winslow, the wife of Governor Josiah Winslow, and General John Winslow, the great-grand- son of the first of the Governors of the family. He is pic- <*i V ^Ife ^ MTi^^^^l !• ^^ .JHm 1 ^m^^^^--:f^ *^.J,^ tnk,^ IL •Jl^KP* ^^ J A Picture of the Embarkation of the Pilgrims, showing the "Mayflower's Shallop" tured in the scarlet uniform of the British army, and was csecond in command of the expedition which removed the Arcadians from Nova Scotia in 1755. Mention has already been made of the portrait of King James I which hangs within Pilgrim Hall ; during his reign the Pilgrims made their journey to America. It is interest- ing to note the wording of the "Compact," which was signed upon the Mayflower, written by "the loyal subjects of our dread sovereigne Lord, King James." The Pilgrims, although they had departed from England, evidently had OLD PLYMOUTH 21 no idea of considering themselves as anything other than faithful subjects of the British crown, and therefore still a part of the realm. Plymouth is so literally filled with relics of the Pilgrims, that merely to give a list of what still exist today would mean a catalogue considerably larger than this little Guide. The visitor to Plymouth, however, should be sure to drink from the Pilgrim Spring, the water of which is now pumped to a granite fountain, which will easily be found where Main Street suddenly becomes Tow^n Square, shaded by elms planted in 1784. Burial Hill ^^ almost any old town one of the most interesting of all its historical shrines is its old graveyard, and the curious, archaic monu- ments and tombstones which it is quite sure to contain. Wier's Painting of "The Embarkation," at Washington, D. C. Depicting the "Speedwell" leaving Holland 22 OLD PLYMOUTH Elsewhere in this Guide mention has been made of Cole's Hill, not far from the water, which was the earliest of the Plymouth burying grounds, and w^here during the winter of 1620-21 more than half the Mayflower Pilgrims found their graves. Burial Hill, however, was the first permanent bury- 1 lie r;;iiui,jal Approach to Burial Hill near Town Square. The "Church of the First Parish" can be seen at the left ing ground and here rest many of the men and women who survived the first winter, as well as many of their imme- diate descendants. It must not be forgotten that Burial Hill, probably on account of its lofty and commanding position, was the site of the Old Fort and Watch Tower before it be- came a burying ground, so that it possesses a two-fold his- torical interest. Tablets mark the locations of the Fort and Tower, and many old monuments and gravestones mark the resting places of the first settlers. OLD PLYMOUTH 23 In these days, when the trappings of death are not often made as gruesome and funereal as possible, it is interesting to note the way in which the 17th century seemed to dwell upon the full horror of death, and to surround the grave with everything which would make the most of all its terrors. Old tombstones abound with sculptured cross-bones and with skulls — often with wings attached — hourglasses, skeletons, Father Time with his scythe, and sometimes seat- ed upon an hourglass, and numerous other emblems which were probably calculated to induce sober thought. In ad- dition to giving the names and enumerating the full honors of those buried beneath, the tombstones usually bear epitaphs — frequently in verse, and sometimes more or less "labored" — which are apt to give the visitor considerable pause. Here Lyes V'' Budy of IVancis Lebarran, Phyucian, Who Departed this Life, Aug. Ye 8, 1704, in Ye 36 Year of His Age" 24 OLD PL Y MO U TH 03 O H fcJO G O o OLD PLYMOUTH 25 Befitting his high station in Plymouth Colony, Governor William Bradford rests beneath a marble obelisk which bears a text in Hebrew, now much worn, which is said to mean "Jehovah is the help of my Hfe," and a Latin inscription which may be translated "Do not basely relinquish what the Fathers with difficulty attained." The Governor's monument bears his name and the names of his parents and that of his birthplace, giving also the years during which he served the colony. About him lie many other Bradfords. Other early tombstones near at hand are those of Edward Gray (1681), William Clark (1697), and John Cotton (1699). T» . 1 TT.ii T- . 1 The monument of an eminent judge Burial Hill Epitaphs , ^u • ^• ^ ^ bears the mscription: "This stone is erected to the memory of that unbiased judge, faithful officer, sincere friend, and honest man, Col. Isaac Lothrop, who resigned his life on the 26th day of April, 1750, in the forty-third year of his life. Had Virtue's charms the power to save Its faithful votaries from the grave, This stone had ne'er possessed the fame Of being marked with LOTHROP'S name." Elsewhere the grave of a child, aged 25 days, is marked : "What did the little hasty sojourner find so forbidding and dis- gustful in our upper World to occasion its precipitant exit?" Above the grave of Mrs. Ellen Lothrop is this epitaph: "To name her Virtues ill befits my grief, What once was bliss can now give no relief; A Husband mourns — the rest let friendship tell, Friends knew her worth; a Husband knew it well." This in memory of William Rider: "Our life is ever on the wing. And death is ever nigh; The moment when our lives begin. We all begin to die." 26 OLD PLY MOUTH In memory of Miss Patience Warren, age 74, is this solemn verse, which is also part of a hymn: "Hark, from the tomb a doleful sound; - My ears attend the cry. Ye mortal men, come view the ground Where ye must shortly lie." To Mrs. Elisabeth Clarke: "Though the pale corpse is in the Grave Confined, She leaves a Pattern for her Sex behind. The sun of Virtue never can decay; It shines in Time, and gives eternal day." And above the graves of several children: "Sleep on, m.y babes and take your rest, 'Twas God who called you when he thought it best." On another tombstone, to a woman with a child by her side : "Come view the scene, 'twill fill you with surprise. Behold the lov^eliest form in nature dies; At noon she flourished, blooming, fair and gay; At evening an extended corpse she lay." Above the grave of a revolutionary soldier. Captain Jacob Taylor; died 1788: "Through life he braved her foe, if great or small And marched out foremost at his Country's call." Over the tomb of Mrs. Tabitha Flasket; 1807: "Adieu, vain world, I've had enough of thee; And I am careless what thou sayest of me; Thy smiles I wish not. Nor thy frowns I fear, I am at rest; my head lies quiet here." Mrs. Flasket, during her widowhood, kept a private school for little children and at the same time did her own spinning, according to the custom in Plymouth. It is said that her favorite method of punishing her pupils was to pass skeins of yarn under their arms and hang them upon pegs! To most visitors who have a sense of values, Burial Hill, with its graves, tombs and moss-grown monuments, rep- OLD PL Y MO UTH 27 The < daw of Elder Thomas Faunce, Who Died in 1745 resents the Plymouth of the Pilgrims. The Hill, which is about 8 acres in extent, is the highest point in the locality and is the first spot in Plymouth to see the rising sun and the last to see the sun set, and here, upon its very summit, sleep the men and women whose lives and example are worth more to present-day America than almost anything else could well be. An old "Pilgrim Almanac" contains these words on Burial Hill : "Stranger! As from this sacred spot, hallowed by the remembrance of the true-hearted who sleep beneath its turf, you cast your eyes around and view scenes unsurpassed in interest and beauty, — while you behold flourishing towns and buildings abounding in industry, prosperity, and hap- piness, where once all was dreary, inhospitable and desolate; think of the self-sacrificing Forefathers, learn to emulate their virtues, and firmly resolve to transmit unimpaired, to latest posterity, the glorious lessons of their noble example." 28 OLD PLYMOUTH OLD PLYMOUTH 29 „, ^1 T» 1 Naturally, the most interesting thins: Plymouth Rock . ^, \u ( ^ v •^ in rlymouth, tor most visitors, is Plymouth Rock, upon which the Pilgrims made their per- manent landing in America. The Rock itself might be described as a boulder of sienitic granite, weighing some seven tons, and the theory which has been advanced for its being upon the sandy shores at Plymouth is that it was placed there by some prehistoric upheaval or by some un- usual action of nature. In 1775, when enthusiasm over the war of the revolution was at its height, it was decided to move the Rock to a more suitable site. In attempting to pry it from its foundation a large portion was split off, the splitting of course being in- terpreted at the time as prophetic of the split between the colonies and the mother country. By 20 yoke of oxen the Rock was dragged to a spot in Town Square and set at the foot of a liberty pole upon which was flying a flag bearing the words, "Give me Liberty or give me Death." In 1834 the Rock was again moved, this time to an area In front of Pilgrim Hall where it was surrounded by an iron fence, which bore the names signed to the Compact of the May- flower. Another moving of the Rock was undertaken in 1880, when it was removed to its original site, — now some little distance from the actual water, — cemented to its original base, and covered by a stone on marble canopy — a sort of baldachino — of a rather impressive design. Here the rock rested until the spring of 1921 when it was moved, for what will probably be the last time, to a site at the water's edge, the present-day equivalent for its position when the Pilgrims first stepped upon it. A suitable covering for the famous Rock has been planned, which it is hoped will be built. In this final setting the Rock may be seen by visi- tors in much of its original setting, washed by the waves which brought the Pilgrims, to whom the Rock was indeed the "stepping stone to Hberty." 30 OLD PLYMOUTH ^ THE PILGRIMS AND THE "MAYFLOWER" IF Faneuil Hall, in Boston, be regarded as the "Cradle of Liberty," Plymouth may well lay claim to being the place where American Religious Liberty had its birth. There were earlier settlements of Europeans made in America. Hendrick Hudson and hi§, crew, for example, had sailed on March 20, 1609, from Amsterdam, in Holland, to found a New Amsterdam beyond the seas, upon an island purchased at a paltry price from the Indians. Such a voy- age, however, and a settlement such as New Amsterdam, were merely two details in the history of the commerce of a commercial people. New Amsterdam was founded as a colony for the purpose of trading — never as a refuge for those seeking freedom from religious persecution. The story of the Pilgrims and their wanderings in search of liberty of conscience are well known, and have been made the subjects of literature without end. The reformation of the 16th century, to be sure, had freed England from what some thought to be the religious despotism of the Catholic Church, but it had resulted only in setting up in England the authority of the Church of England as by law established. It meant only the exchange of one form of authority for an- other, which seemed to men and women in search of wide religious freedom to be equally intolerable. The rule of Rome had indeed been thrown off, only to yield place to that of the Tudor or Stuart sovereigns. Migration From^^^"^ England to Holland, then the 17 1 J * xj 11 J refuge in Europe for those oppressed Eneland to Holland . , , r^^ r • tor the sake oi ireedom oi conscience, was the first stage in the journeyings of the Pilgrims. The Lowlands, it will be recalled, had been delivered from the yoke of Spain, and into the thriving towns of that corner of 32 THE P I LGRI MS Europe were being gathered all those who were willing to migrate to a new home where religious peace and liberty were to be found. Perhaps some of the Pilgrims themselves had witnessed the departure for America of Hudson and his band, and what more alluring to a persecuted people than the glorious vision of laying, in a virgin land, the foun- dations of a new state, the very corner stone of which should be freedom of conscience, the liberty of each man to worship God in his own way? A journey to the opposite side of the world, in the early part of the 17th century, was by no means a venture to be lightly entered upon, and particularly when it involved the migration of a colony which had been slowly growing during the ten or twelve years of its sojourn in Holland. It meant the securing of passage, upon a ship about to make such a voyage, for the number of people who were willing to make the venture, and the engaging, as well, of space suffi- cient for such belongings and household possessions as must be taken with them to make possible their establishing them- selves in a primeval wilderness. Departure When such an opportunity at last f^ A . arose, the ship upon which necessary ror America rr i ^ -i ^ passage was onered was to sail, not from Holland but from the English port of Southampton, which involved, of course, at least a brief stay in the country from which the Pilgrims had come. Of the 102 people — men, women, and children — who undertook this hazard of new fortunes, history relates that only two — William Brew- ster and William Bradford — are to be traced to the original migration from England into Holland. During the years of residence in Holland, however, the little band had steadily increased to about 300 in number, so that without entirely wiping out the small congregation which they had built up at Leyden, 35 of its members set out by canal for Delft AND THE MAYFLOWER S3 Haven, the port of Delft, and a ship called the Speedwell was taken for England, where they were joined by 67 others, finally sailing from the English seaport, Plymouth, since after the Mayflower left Southampton it became necessary to put into Plymouth for repairs. The history of the Pilgrims and the voyage of the May- flower have been so idealized and glorified during the past 300 years, that it is rather difficult now to view them in what might be called their "true perspective." Shorn of the romance which legend and tradition have cast about it, the migration of the Pilgrims probably differed little, if at all, from the coming of many little bands of brave and loyal souls who have come to these shores during the past few centuries. America, in fact, might be said to have been peopled by countless such migrations, of which the coming of the Pil- grims to Plymouth was merely the earliest. View from Beach Point At the extreme right of picture may be seen Captain's Hill in Duxbury and the shaft of the Stand ish Monument 34 THE PILGRIMS The Mayflower could have been but little larger than a canal boat such as are used today upon the Erie Canal, — about 90 feet long, some 24 feet wide, and served by a crew of from 15 to 20 men. Of her three masts those fore and aft have been described as being "square rigged and without jibs," while the "mizzen" mast carried a "lateen" sail. The body of the vessel included a high forecastle and a high poop deck, which left the middle of the ship low. History describes the Mayflower as being "broad of beam, short in the waist, low between decks and not tight in her upper works," she was, in other words, what seamen know as a "wet" ship, and being heavily loaded was "low in the water." The crew occupied the quarters fore, and here were stored such scanty possessions of different kinds as the Pil- grims were taking with them, while the passengers — 102 — were placed aft "in bunks and cabins." Life on the ^^ ^^ rather difficult to understand Mayflower ^^^"^^^ ^^^^ number of people — men, women and children — could have been crowded into the "bunks and cabins" of a vessel of the Mayflower's size. It is even more difficult to understand how existence could have been maintained under such cir- cumstances during the long period between the time of their leaving Southampton in England and the day of their arrival in Cape Cod Bay. Life in America, during the first few years, was such as to test the mettle of even such doughty men and women as the Pilgrims, and perhaps the hardships of the voyage on the Mayflower were merely reckoned as part of the price which they were to pay for the liberty which awaited them beyond the seas. The food for the journey was simple in the extreme, and is described by historians of the period as consisting of "bacon, hard tack, salt beef, smoked herring and cheese, together with ale or beer." For "luxuries," there were "butter, AND THE MAYFLOWER 35 (/; o 36 THE PILGRIMS THE "MAYFLOWER" COMPANY John Carver Henry Sampson Resolved White Katherine Carver, Humility Cooper Peregrine White His wife John Tilley His wife Elizabeth Tilley William Holbeck Desire Minter Edward Thompson John Howland Roger Wilder Stephen Hopkins WiUiam Latham Francis Cooke Elizabeth Hopkins, Maid Servant John Cooke His wife Jasper More Thomas Rogers Giles Hopkins Constance Hopkins William Brewster Joseph Rogers Damarius Hopkins Mary Brewster, His wife Love Brewster Thomas Tinker His wife Oceanus Hopkins Edward Dotey Edward Leister Wrestling Brewster His son Richard More John Rigdale Edward Fuller His Brother Alice Rigdale, His wife Edward Winslow His wife Samuel Fuller Elizabeth Winslow, James Chilton John Turner His wife George Soule Elias Story His wife Mary Chilton His son Another son Ellen More Samuel Fuller Francis Eaton Sarah Eaton, William Bradford John Crackston His wife Dorothy Bradford, His wife John Crackston, Jr. Samuel Eaton Isaac Allerton Miles Standish Rose Standish, Moses Fletcher Mary Allerton, His wife Thomas Williams His wife Deigory Prist Bartholomew Allerton Christopher Martin John Goodman Remember Allerton His wife Edmund Margeson Mary Allerton vSolomon Power Richard Britteridge John Hooke John Langemore Richard Clarke Richard Warren William Mullins Richard Gardner Gilbert Winslow John Billington Alice Mullins, Peter Browne Eleanor Billington, His wife John Billington His wife Joseph Mullins Robert Carter John Alden Thomas English John Allerton Francis Billington Priscilla Mullins William Trevore Edward TiUey William White m.. iL\y Ann Tilley, Susanna White, William Butten, His wife His wife Who died at sea AND THE MAYFLOWER 37 vinegar, mustard, lemons, and prunes," not to mention "gin, brandy and Dutch schnapps." Such cooking as was done at all was over a fire set upon a small area filled with sand, on the Mayflower's open deck, but little cooking seems to have been attempted, and probably for the most part the food was eaten cold; and there were but two meals each day, for food was precious and must be used with care. The relations which existed between the captain and the Pilgrims were no doubt strained during the greater part of the Mayflower's voyage. Since the Pilgrims were unable to afl^ord the cost of chartering a ship for the expedition, the journey was "financed" by the Merchant Adventurers, who expected to derive a certain profit from the merchan- dise from America, such as salt fish, shingles and clapboards, which the colonists would send to England on future trips of the Mayflower. The captain probably regarded his pas- sengers as hardly a profitable company, and life under such circumstances, and for so long a period, doubtless involved more than a little friction. It has long been maintained that this friction resulted in the captain's purposely steering the Mayflower away from the port to which she was to sail, — the mouth of the Hudson or the Delaware, — which ended in the Pilgrims being steered into what we know today as Cape Cod Bay. The charter under which the settlement was to be made was to be within the domain of the Virginia Company; New England was under the jurisdiction of an entirely different company. A ^ ^ { ,7 o 1 ; ^ Under these circumstances it may r r H R have been felt by some of the leaders of the Pilgrims that what had been attained was probably the best that could be had, while others maintained that Heaven had brought about the event and that Providence was directing their pilgrimage, particularly as the bleak shores about Cape Cod Bay, even in November, seemed to be not wholly without certain very solid advan- 38 THE P I LGRI M S tages. The "Compact," signed in the cabin of the May- flower on November 11, 1620, as she rode at anchor, and to which were signed the names of the Pilgrims, speaks of their desire of planting "the first colonic in the Northerne parts of Virginia," but the Mayflower's captain refused to take them thither, and their settlement was accordingly made upon the shore near "Cape Codd." With an apparently endless stretch of coast to choose from, the matter of selecting the spot most favorable for a permanent settlement was naturally a matter of the first importance, and not lightly to be regarded. For a month the neighboring coast was explored by parties which put out from the Mayflower in the ship's shallop ; different coves and bays were explored and their relative advantages probably discussed, but the sandy beaches and shallow water about Provincetown, where they first landed, seemed to be hardly adapted for the use of even such vessels as the Pilgrims were apt to employ. Perhaps it was the excellence of the harbor which led the Pilgrims to select the spot where they reared their settlement. Stripped of all the romance which tradi- tion has cast about it, the " Landing of the Pilgrims," which is recorded as taking place at Plymouth on December 21, 1620, was not the landing of the full body but the landing of the exploring party which had been cruising around the bay, and which had come again to examine anew the shores of what we know as Plymouth Harbor, and to select one of the several favorable spots which had already been discovered and discussed. This exploring party was made up of "ten of their princi- pal men," according to Bradford, whose names, as given in "Mourt's Relation," were Captain Myles Standish, Gover- nor Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Til- ley, Edward Tilley, John Rowland, from Leyden; with Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Dotey from London, and also two of the Pilgrim's seamen, John Aller- AND THE MAYFLOWER 3^ The Compact Signed on board the "May- flower," Nov. 11th (Nov. 21st, New Style), 1620 "In the name of God, amen, we whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, Franc and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advancem.ente of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and coun- trie, a voyage to plant the first colonic in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these pres- ents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering and preservation and fur- therence of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, constitute and frame such just and equall laws, ordenances, acts, constitutions and offices, from tim.e to time as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the general good of the colonic, unto which we prornise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cap- Codd the 11 of November, in the year of the raigne of our soveraigne lord. King James of England, Franc and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fiftv-fourth, ANO DOM 1620." 40 THE P I LGRI M S ton and Thomas English. Along with them Captain Jones of the Mayflower sent three of his seamen, with a mate and a pilot and the master gunner of the ship, making 18 in all — 12 of the Pilgrims and 6 of the Mayflower's crew. The cir- cumstances of this landing are also fully described in "Mourt's Relation." The exploring party having landed upon the Rock, "marched also into the land and found di- vers cornfields and little running brooks, a place very good for situation. So we returned to our ship again with good news to the rest of the people, which did much comfort their hearts." „ ,. . T- 1 ^- It would seem that although Freliminary Explorations ^, i u ^ t^i ^i •^ ^ the shores about Plymouth Harbor had finally been decided upon as the site of the Pil- grim's settlement, the precise spot had yet to be agreed upon. Nevertheless, the Mayflower sailed into Plymouth Harbor on December 26, 1620, and dropped anchor not far from the shore, not to be disturbed until the time came for her return to England in the spring. To some of the men who had examined the several avail- able sites in Plymouth Harbor it seemed wise to select Clark's Island, where they had spent one Sunday, as the place for the settlement. It was surrounded by water, they argued, and could therefore be defended more easily from the attacks of the Indians, which were always possible. To others it seemed that the most suitable place for a permanent settlement would be the spot where Jones River emptied its waters into the bay. " So in the morning, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolution, to go pres- ently ashore againe ; and to take a better view of two places which we thought most fitting for us ; for we could not now take time for further search or consideration, our vituals being much spent, especially our beer, and it being now the 19th of December (old style). After our landing and visit- ing the places, so well as we could, we came to a conclusion, AND THE MAYFLOWER 41 by most voices, to set on a high ground where there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn three or four years ago; and there is a very sweet brook round under the hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as could be drunk, and where we could harbor our shallops and boats exceedingly well; and in this brook fish in their season ; on the further side of the river also much corn ground cleared. In one field is a great hill on which we point to make a platform, and plant our ordnance, which will command all around about. From there we may see into the bay, and far into the sea, and we may see thence Cape Cod. Our greatest labor will be the fetching of our wood, which is half a quarter of an English mile; but there is enough so far off. What people inhabit here we yet know ^«- Pilgrims Watching the Mayflower Leave Plymouth Harbor Bound for England, April 16, 1621 42 THE P I LG RI M S not, for as yet we have seen none. So there we made our rendezvous, and a place for some of our people, about 20, resolving in the morning to come all ashore and to build houses." All this agrees with what the present site of Plymouth must have been in 1620. The ''brook" and at least one of the "many delicate springs" yet exist, and the "great hill" upon which the Pilgrims pointed "to make a platform" undoubtedly refers to Burial Hill where they soon built the "Old Fort," and from Plymouth one may still "see thence Cape Cod." Captain Jones of the Mayflower was anxious to sail for England. The voyage to America had undoubtedly been for him a rather unprofitable venture, and it would seem to have been, from the first, a series of disagreements between captain and crew on the one hand and the 102 Pilgrims upon the other. Upon the whole, however, relations towards the end of the period seem to have been more agreeable. Cap- tain Jones seems to have permitted unlimited use of the Mayflower's small shallop for much exploring, which must necessarily be done, of the numerous coves and inlets along the coast of Cape Cod Bay, and, as already said, had sent the men of his crew to aid in the exploring; he even offered to take back to England any of the Pilgrims who cared to re- turn, but this offer seems to have been unanimously de- cHned. Landint^ of With the site of the settlement now , p. I . determined, and with the day of the Mayflower's departure for England close at hand, it became necessary in the spring for the entire Pilgrim company to take leave of the ship and to establish themselves in their rude cabins, already well under way upon the shore. This actual landing of the company would seem therefore to correspond more literally to the idea which most people have of the "Landing of the Pilgrims" than the AND THE MAYFLOWER 43 landing of the exploring party which has already been mentioned. This event, which for centuries has engaged the attention of painters of historical scenes, may be studied in countless pictures everywhere, not to mention several presentments in Plymouth today. Artists, quite naturally, are apt to make strict and literal historical exactitude some- what subordinate to the requirements of a good picture, but upon the whole it may well be agreed that in dealing with this particular subject the painters have taken few liberties, if any at all. It is recorded, and generally believed, that John Alden was the first of the Pilgrims to step from the shallop upon the plain gray boulder, which perhaps seemed to be the obvious spot upon which to land, and that he next assisted Mary Chilton to plant her foot upon the Rock. The name of Alden is not unknown in the annals of Plymouth chivalry, and it cannot be that he would have permitted Miss Mary Chilton to step unaided from a rocking boat to terra firma. After them there disembarked the others of the company, and it may well be that many other trips of the shallop were necessary before all of the Pilgrims and their possessions had been safely and finally landed. John Alden, who was the first of the Pilgrims to step upon the Rock, according to general belief, when the general com- pany of the Mayflower's travelers took permanent possession of Plymouth, is also known to fame through another tradi- tion. It will be recalled that when the Pilgrims undertook the building of the first log cabins, which were to be their homes, all single men were expected to 'join themselves" to families, that the number of houses built need not be larger than was necessary. John Alden therefore joined the house- hold of Captain Myles Standish, and continued to live with them until his marriage, which occurred in the early part of 1621. Within a very short time after the death of Mrs. Standish, who w^as evidently among those members of Plymouth Col- 44 THE PILGRIMS ony who died during the first winter, the Captain was led to suppose that if he could procure the hand of the lovely Miss Priscilla MuUins, the daughter of Mr. William MulHns, one of the first comers and a worthy man, the breach in his family would be happily healed. "Captain Standish, therefore, according to the manner of his times, sent to ask of the father, permission to visit his daughter. The person chosen by the Captain to perform this delicate embassy was Mr. John Alden, then an inmate of his family, and who, although a Pilgrim, was young and comely. The father did not object, as he might well have done, on account of the recency of the Captain's bereave- ment, but readily gave his consent, saying however, that the young lady must first be consulted. The damsel having been called into the apartment, Mr. Alden, who is said to have been of a most excellent form, and of a fair and ruddy complexion, arose and in a courteous and prepossessing manner, delivered his errand." The young lady listened with respectful attention and at last, after considerable pause, fixing her eyes on him, replied with perfect naivete, "Prithee, John, why do you not speak for yourself?" Tradition fails to record the means which Mr. John Alden employed to explain the situation to his constituent, who had every reason for resentment, but it is chronicled in Ply- mouth history that he rode to his nuptials on the back of a bull, and that he afterwards returned to his home with Mrs. Alden seated on the bull, which her husband led by a rope fastened to a ring in the bull's nose. John Alden is said to have been the last member of the Mayflower company to die, but that distinction is also claimed by some for Mr. John Rowland. Considerable disagreement exists among histor- ians regarding dates, and even sometimes regarding names, and some historical questions defy settlement. Such, in brief, were the migrations of the Pilgrims and their search for religious freedom. It may well be that they AND THE MAYFLOWER 45 ■Priscilla" (From the painting by G. H. Boughton) 46 THE P ILGRI M S compared their wanderings to the journeyings of ancient Israel and, like the Israelites, they found their faith justified by the results. Vicissitudes ^^ might be supposed that a relic f ih Ro k ^^ important as Plymouth Rock would have been possessed of a fame of such continuity that questions regarding its identity — or shall we say its authenticity? — would not be possible. But prophets are said to be not without honor save in their own countries, and if the plain and somewhat disappointing truth must be told, it must be confessed that Plymouth has not always held the rock in the high veneration which it deserves. As the actual shore line shifted in the course of time, and the Rock came to be farther and farther from the water's edge, popular interest, it would seem, was not strong enough to save the famous Rock from something closely akin to profanation. If it w^as not actually built upon it was at least used as a sort of stepping stone for a structure of some kind, and in view of all these conditions it is perhaps hardly to be wondered at that in the course of time there should grow up a tradition of skepticism as to the Rock's actual identity. All these doubts w^ere disproved and dispelled by Elder Thomas Faunce. Having been born in 1647, and being the son of John Faunce, who came to Plymouth in 1623 in the *'Ann," he must have been raised in the actual company of many who had themselves landed upon the Rock from the Mayflower's shallop. At the age of 95, when he heard that the Rock which had been venerated from his youth was about to be disturbed, he visited the spot, related the his- tory of the Rock as it had been told to him by his father and numerous members of the Pilgrim company, and in the pres- ence of many witnesses declared it to be the identical Rock upon which the Forefathers had landed in 1620. The vicis- AND THE MAYFLOWER 47 situdes of the Rock have been described in another part of this little Guide, and the visitor who looks upon it may well hope that it will be forever treasured and venerated in Plymouth in memory of the Pilgrims of whom it is the most famous relic. Proposed Setting for the Rock at the Water's Edge Designed by McKim, Mead & White, Architects 48 THE PILGRIMS THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT "The toils we bore Your ease have wrought; We sowed in tears, In joy you reap. That birthright we so dearly bought, Here guard, till you with us shall sleep." THE departure of the Mayflower upon her return trip to England in the spring of 1621, which meant for the Pilgrims the breaking of the last remaining link which bound them to the old world, saw them actively at work building up a settlement in the new. Plymouth Harbor is protected upon one side by a natural sea wall of sand which is known as Plymouth Beach, and The John Howland House (Built in 1666) 50 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT The Gen. John Winslow House upon the other by another sea wall, somewhat similar, so that the harbor is fully guarded from the part of Massa- chusetts Bay known as Cape Cod Bay. Between these two extended and sheltering arms the Mayflower had found a safe anchorage as she had passed the point of Duxbury Beach known as the "Gurnet." Just inside the Gurnet is Clark's Island, upon which one of the bands of exploring Pilgrims landed one Sunday and gave thanks to God for His guidance. Across Cape Cod Bay, upon clear days, it is possible to see the tall granite monument at Province- town, at the extreme end of Cape Cod, which was built in 1912 to commemorate the first Landing of the Pilgrims. The Beginnings of the Colony The topography of Plymouth itself is easily described. Near the Rock, which lay at the water's edge, there emptied a little stream which is still known as Town Brook; just ahead was the rather slight eminence which soon became THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 51 52 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT known as Cole's Hill, and farther along was the steeper height which is even yet called Burial Hill, and which was the place mentioned on another page where the Pilgrims "pointed to make a platform and plant their ordnance," while not far away there is at least one of the "many deli- cate springs of as good water as can be drunk." Cole's Hill and the Plymouth Rock House With the settlement of any town which is being made from a virgin wilderness, the first thing to do is obviously to lay out a street; so leading directly from the harbor, up toward Burial Hill, the settlers staked out what was known as First Street, but later on changed to Leyden Street, in memory, no doubt, of the hospitable town in Holland from which they had come. Along First Street, upon both sides, there were laid out lots which were distributed among the different families, the lots upon the left, as one leaves the THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENI 53 54 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT harbor, extending down to the edges of Town Brook. These lots were originally called "meersteads." Mourt's Relation supplies an interesting record: "Thursday, the 28th (old style) of December, so many as could went to work on the hill, where we proposed to build our platform for our ordnance, and which doth command all the plain and the bay, and from whence we may see far into the sea, and might be easier impaled, having two rows of houses and a fair street. So in the afternoon we went to measure out the grounds; and first we took notice how many families there were, willing all single men that had no wives to join with some family, as they thought fit, so that we might build fewer houses; which done, and we reduced them to 19 families. To greater families we alloted larger- plots; to every person half a pole in breadth and 3 in length, and so lots were cast where every man should lie; which was done and staked out." This was the beginning of what is now Leyden Street, and in old records of Plymouth which are kept at the Registry of Deeds, and described more fully in another chapter, there may still be seen a rough map of the original survey where each lot is marked with the name of one of the Pilgrim families. The plot "alloted" to Gov- ernor Bradford is shown as fully four times the size of any of the others, perhaps as a recognition of his exalted position. The Common House The first structure to be built, the "Common House," was apparently built before the entire company left the Mayflower; as its name implies, it was a general shelter and in- tended to be used only until a house could be built for each family on its plot. All of these early Pilgrim buildings, if one may accept the testimony of old drawings and pic- tures of various sorts, were very much alike, differing only in size. They were made of logs which were had from trees felled in the nearest forest, and the spaces between the logs THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 55 Original Allotments on Town Brook known as " Meersteads " were filled with clay, which was perhaps made into a form which somewhat resembled plaster; the floors of the houses were also of logs, made as nearly smooth as possible, and the roofs were of thatch. Even the Common House and the Old Fort were of this description, though larger than the houses occupied by the "19 families." The First Year in Plymouth It soon became evident, however, that any hardships and privations which had been endured by the Pil- grims during the voyage from England, or upon the May- flower as she lay in Cape Cod Bay, were merely the begin- ning of the many trials which were to come to them. There was, first of all, the scarcity of food, for although the forests supplied game, and the waters of Cape Cod Bay then, as now, abounded in fish of various kinds, it took months to 56 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT The Myles Standish Monument and Grave and House. House erected by His Son in 1666, Captain's Hill, Duxbury THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 57 raise corn from which to make bread, and food of other kinds which they had brought from England had either run dan- gerously low or was wholly exhausted. Infinitely worse than the trials which came to them in other forms was the great loss which came by reason of the deaths of so many of the little company. The disease known as scurvy, which for ages has been the bane of armies and emigrants, and also of people in other classes, broke out not long after the Pilgrims had reached America. This disease is said to be the result of lack of sufficient food, and parti- cularly of lack of proper sanitation. In the early Pilgrim records there appears abundant evidence of the small amount of food available during the Mayflower voyage and for some time thereafter. It is not difficult to picture the conditions, both on shipboard and in Plymouth, which were the result of overcrowding so large a company into such small spaces as the Mayflower's bunks and cabins, or the Common House afforded. Due to the ravages of this disease, fully one-half of the Pilgrims died during their first winter in Plymouth. The old chronicles say that with so many deaths, and the con- stant progress of the disease, there were at times scarcely enough left to bury the dead and nurse the sick. Early days in Plymouth, and particularly the hardships and suf- ferings of the Pilgrims during their first winter in the colony, have been vividly described by a number of early writers. After telling of some of their vicissitudes during the voyage of the Mayflower to America, and even after the arrival of the vessel in Cape Cod Bay, one narrator goes on to tell of the rapid dwindling of the number of the Pil- grims. During March "13 of our company died, and in 3 months past dies half our company — the greatest part in the depth of winter, wanting houses and other comforts, being afflicted with the scurvy and other diseases which their long voyage and unaccommodate condition brought upon 58 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT them, so that there die sometimes 2 or 3 a day. Of 100 per- sons scarce 50 remaining, the Hving scarce able to bury the dead ; the well not sufficient to tend the sick, there being in their time of greatest distress, but 6 or 7, who spare no pains to help them." Burials were many on Cole's Hill, near the Rock, but little evidence of the actual conditions was allowed to appear. The graves of the Pilgrims were hastily leveled and left unmarked, that the Indians, noting the rapidly growing number of mounds, might not guess the corresponding dwindling in the number of the colonists — "lest they should count the graves, and see how many already have perished." These early Pil- grim graves, being unmarked, were quickly lost, and several times during the past three centuries necessary excavations on Cole's Hill, or even the washing away of portions of the bank by heavy rains, have brought to view the poor bones of these brave pioneers. "Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The. . . .Forefathers of the hamlet sleep." Relations With While hostilities with the Indians ^ , T J • seemed often about to break out, no the Indians i , r i important trouble from that source was experienced during the earliest days. Various treaties were made at different times with the chiefs, and the Pil- grims well knew the necessity of propitiating and dealing fairly with these important and powerful neighbors. Per- haps, too, the fact that the Pilgrims well understood the value of ''preparedness" had much to do with their living in peace, for while hoping for the best, the early Governors fully believed in being prepared for the worst. The Old Fort on Burial Hill, among the first of the buildings erected in Plymouth, was not intended to be merely an ornament, THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 59 and the men of Plymouth were well trained in the methods of defense, should necessity for their use arise. "When they met for service on Sundays or holidays they assembled by beat of drum, each with musket or firelock, in front of the Captain's door. Then in order, three abreast, led by a Sergeant and without drum beat, they march up the hill to the Fort. Behind come the Governor, on his right the Preacher with his cloak and on his left the Captain with his side arms. And they are constantly on guard, day and night." Even the prayers of the Pilgrims were said with their ears ready for the war-whoop of the Indians, and with their muskets within easy reach. In addition to the Fort which was built during the early Plymouth days upon Burial Hill, a brick Watch Tower was built in 1643, probably because from a tower built upon an eminence as lofty as the Hill the country could be surveyed for many miles in every direction. In the records of Plymouth, on September 23, 1643, it is noted : " It is agreed upon the whole that there shall be a watch house forthwith, built of brick, and that Mr. Grimes will sell us the brick at eleven shillings a thousand." No earlier mention of the use of brick in Plymouth is known, and perhaps about that time brickyards and kilns were being introduced; the Pilgrims were no doubt accustomed to the use of brick as a building material, for during centuries it had been much used in England, while in Holland it had been for ages — and is to- day — one of the chief materials for building. While this brick "watch house" has long ago disappeared, its brick foundations still exist upon Burial Hill, a foot or two below the surface, and were discovered years ago in digging a grave. Not far away is the hearthstone upon which the Pil- grims built their watch fires. Another structure of defense was built upon Burial Hill in 1676, this being a fortification "with palisadoes ten and one- half feet high, with 3 pieces of ordnance planted on it." 60 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT With Nathaniel Southworth a contract was made to build a watch house "16 feet in length, 12 feet in breadth, and 8 feet stud, to be walled with boards, and to have 2 floors, the upper floor to be 6 feet above the tower, to batten the walls and make a small pair of stairs in it, the roof to be covered with shingles, and a chimney to be built in it. For the said work he is to have 8 pounds, either in money or other pay equivalent." Some historians think that this latter watch tower of wood was a sort of super-structure built upon the brick watch tower which has just been described, and which in 1676 would have been 33 years old — not too old, surely, to have been still useful. When war with the powerful Narragansett tribe once seemed certain, their chief sent messengers to Governor Bradford bearing a rattlesnake skin wrapped about a bunch of arrows. Friendly Indians interpreted the message for the Pilgrims as signifying a declaration of war. The mes- sengers from the Narragansetts were sent back by the Gov- ernor of Plymouth Colony with the same rattlesnake skin filled with gunpowder and ball. Thus was answered a threat of a breach of the public peace ; a prompt acceptance of a challenge from lawlessness, such as later Governors in Massachusetts have not been slow to follow. During the first year of their occupation of Plymouth the leaders of the colony entered into a treaty with the neigh- boring tribe of the Wampanoags, who were represented by their sachem Massasoit, and the treaty was kept faithfully for more than half a century. Not until " King Phihp," the son and successor of Massasoit, went upon the warpath, did the Indians of Massachusetts Bay commit any serious de- predation at Plymouth. Plymouth After Some years later — in 1627 — Isaac Seven Years DeRaiseres, an officer belonging to the Dutch colony, New Amsterdam (New York), paid a visit to Plymouth and found a settle- THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 61 62 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT ment which agrees well with what one might expect to see after a period of seven years of development. In a letter to Holland the visitor thus describes Plymouth at that time : "New Plymouth lies in the slope of a hill stretching east toward the sea coast, with a broad street about a cannon shot of 800 (yards) long, leading down the hill, with a (street) crossing in the middle. The houses are constructed of hewn planks, with gardens also enclosed behind and at the sides The Russell Memorial Library with hewn planks, so that their houses and courtyards are arranged in very good order, with a stockade against a sud- den attack; and at the ends of the street are 3 wooden gates. In the center, on the cross street, stands the governor's house, before which is a square enclosure, upon which 4 patereros are mounted, so as to flank along the streets. Upon the hill they have a large square house, with a flat roof, made of thick sawn planks, stayed with oak beams, THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT 63 upon the top of which they have 6 cannons, which shoot iron balls of 4 and 5 pounds, and command the surrounding coun- try." Such was Plymouth after seven years of labor by the small remnant of the Mayflower company which survived the hardships of the first winter upon the bleak shores of Cape Cod Bay. The Mayflower made other later trips and brought other colonists from England, and doubtless from the small congregation which the Pilgrims left behind at Leyden, in Holland. The little colony grew slowly, but steadily perhaps, and later became a part of Massachusetts, which at a still later date became the beginning of the State of Massachusetts as it is today. Plymouth Post Office and Custom House 64 THE PILGRIMS' SETTLEMENT MODERN PLYMOUTH WHILE by no means forgetful of her distinguished past, Plymouth is working steadily to a position of rank among the thriving smaller cities of Massachu- setts. She has "grown old gracefully," and bears her years and her honors as well befits the oldest settlement in conser- vative New England. The passing of three centuries has left a town considerably modernized and with all the usual com- forts and conveniences of the age, but none the less per- vaded by a spirit of old fashioned charm and animated by a pardonable pride in her noble traditions. Importance The excellence of Plymouth Har- of Shipping bor attracted the Pilgrims in 1620, and the harbor today has reached the point where it is second only to that of Boston in importance among the Massachusetts ports of entry. Here there are received each year foreign imports to the value of more than $7,000,000, for at Plymouth are the largest cordage mills in the country, and possibly the largest in the world, and they require vast quantities of sisal and manila, which are had from various countries, chiefly from Yucatan and the Philippines. An able and enlightened municipal govern- ment years ago equipped Plymouth with all the customary improvements which belong to a modern city. Adequate water supply systems have long been established, the source being various fresh water "ponds" just to the south of the town. An excellent sewage system includes the use of dis- charge pipes which extend 1500 feet into deep water in Cape Cod Bay. In addition to being served by the transportation facihties of the N. Y. N. H. & H. Ry., and an excellent street railway or trolley system, Plymouth is reached during a 66 MODERN PLYMOUTH large part of the year by steamers which ply to and from Boston across Massachusetts Bay. Motorists may reach Plymouth from Boston over a well traveled state road. Until some fifty years ago the fishing industries, which centered at Plymouth, constituted a source of wealth to the people, but of late years, the importance of the fisheries has Plymouth County Court House declined on all parts of the New England coast. As this in- dustry became yearly less and less remunerative, commerce and manufacturing became increasingly important, more than compensating for the diminishing revenue from the fishing industry. The development of the usefulness of the Cape Cod Canal, which was cut directly across Cape Cod, connecting Buzzard's Bay with Cape Cod Bay, seems des- tined to exert a helpful influence upon Plymouth, which pos- sesses the harbor which is nearest the canal. MODERN PLYMOUTH 67 68 MODERN PLYMOUTH Growth of Among the thriving industries »^ ft* which add to the wealth of Ply- mouth, and which uphold the fame of the old town of the Pilgrims, are those devoted to the manufacture of insulated wire for electrical uses; zinc and copper in various forms; boxes, barrels, kits and kegs. Oth- er large plants are required for furnishing the electric power for the operation of numerous plants, and for the lighting of the streets and highways, the residences and business struc- tures of the entire region. Because these and other modern business developments require a large number of operatives, there have come to modern Plymouth vast numbers of later day "pilgrims," — laborers from many of the countries of Southern Europe. In connection with the shipping which centers in Ply- mouth Harbor, mention has already been made of the cord- age works in which more than 2000 workmen are employed. The business of this one concern is said to amount to more than $10,000,000 each year, and the factories or mills, to- gether with the necessary houses of these workers, form a small city in themselves. Other large factories are required for the manufacture of woolen fabrics, carpets and rugs of different kinds, tacks, nails and rivets. A large iron foundry is devoted to the industry of stove making and one entire village, on the outskirts of Plymouth, centers about the large plant of the Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Co. The entire country looks to the neighborhood of Cape Cod, and particularly to the district surrounding Plymouth, for a large part of its supply of cranberries, and this industry is being carried on upon a constantly increasing scale; it is reported that the output of cranberries from this region amounts to a value of about $400,000 each year, with a grow- ing demand for these ancient products of the Cape Cod region. MODERN PLYMOUTH 69 Clam Raising While, as has been already said, the fishing industries along the New- England coast have decreased greatly in value during the past few years, a newer water industry has been developed around Plymouth, which to some extent is taking its place. The broad, sandy beaches near the Cape Cod shore are being used for the raising of clams and already, it is said, more than 1000 acres are in use for this purpose. The clams are raised, or "cultivated," in a highly scientific manner, and are "graded" as carefully as the apples which come from certain famous U'Cstern orchards. The sale of clams is not the only source of revenue which this industry aftords, for the shells are made into by-products for poultry feeding or else made into materials suitable for use in making roads, so that from $500 to $750 per acre is being realized annually from the clam raising industry around Plymouth. Plant of the Plymouth Cordage Company 70 MODERN PLYMOUTH MODERN PLYMOUTH 71 For generations one of the unfailing sources of revenue for the district around Plymouth, and farther along ex- tending over the whole of Cape Cod, has been the entertain- ment of summer visitors. The broad, sandy beaches which are numerous along the shores of "the Cape" attract visi- tors from every part of the country. In Plymouth itself there are several excellent hotels, and there, as well as elsewhere, are many boarding places — large and small — where guests are received. Public Schools '^^^ public school system, in all of ^^A t:k«««.. the different grades, has been care- a n Q L-ziDrary r n 11 1 11 1 i* i- fully developed and the public li- brary, which is one of the most attractive of the later build- ings in Plymouth, was founded almost half a century ago. Almost all the more important religious bodies are repre- sented by numerous churches, while two newspapers, five banking institutions and a well organized fire department add to the fullness of the equipment of the town of the pre- sent day. Plymouth in From the first day of its history, the Wars Plymouth has realized the necessity of having available suitable forms of military defense. Perhaps the spirit of vigilance personified during the early days by Captain Myles Standish is still alive. His name, too, has been perpetuated in the annals of Plymouth's military life, for the "Standish Guards" were chartered more than a century ago and were long one of the foremost companies in the 5th Regiment, doing notable duty in the civil war, and serving also in the war with Spain. In 1861 the "Standish Guards" were" minutemen," and on April 16 with their regiment, then the "3rd Massachusetts," were the very first of the Federal troops, either national or volunteer, to penetrate within the Confederate lines, as they did when on the gunboat "Pawnee" they ran the Confed- 72 MODERN PLYMOUTH erate batteries and destroyed the Norfolk Navy Yard, and saved the ''Cumberland" on April 20, 1861. In the late war with Germany, the "Standish Guards," as part of the Na- tional Guard, were mustered into the service of the United States on August 8, 1917, under the command of Captain A. J. Carr, and 141 strong, encamped at Framingham where The Samoset House a consolidation was made of the 5th and the 9th Regiments, the result being the 101st U. S. N. G. Infantry, in the 26th Division, which left for European service on September 7, 1917. In the first chapter of this little Guide to Plymouth con- siderable mention has been made of the historical spots in which visitors are apt to be interested and of the relics of the Pilgrims which are still contained in the old town which they founded. The visitor to Plymouth of the present day will find a pleasant, old fashioned New England town, or MODERN PLYMOUTH 73 small city, which in many respects is somewhat similar to other towns in New England. The buildings are not disposed in just the way which makes Marblehead, for example, inter- esting to visitors, nor has Plymouth the wealth of fine old colonial mansions, the relics of a high degree of commercial prosperity, which still abound in Salem. The Plymouth houses, nevertheless, are placed upon the ground in a way which is quite their own. They are not apt to exactly face the streets, neither are they always parallel to the street lines; they are placed, apparently, in accordance with no rule which prevails anywhere else, and it would seem that they were built entirely according to the whims of their original owners. Old Byways Many of Plymouth's streets are shaded by the old elms which are characteristic of many New England towns and villages. Sometimes the trees are lindens instead of elms. At the % Hotel Pilgrim 74 MODERN PLYMOUTH corner of North and Winslow Streets stands the well known Winslow house which is shaded by spreading lindens, planted in 1760. The trees have been developed from tiny saplings — which must have been mere twigs — said to have been brought from England, growing in a raisin box. In this old house, which has seen considerable history, Ralph Waldo Emerson was married to his second wife in the autumn of 1835. One of the most interesting of the Plymouth buildings is the structure known as the Registry Building which con- tains the various departments of record and the Registry of Deeds. In this latter department are kept records of Ply- mouth which go back to the very earliest days of the colony, and here in their actual handwriting are records and docu- ments of different kinds made by almost all of the men who helped to establish Plymouth. Registry Bull dine Visitors to a town of such histori- cal interest as Plymouth are some- times interested in examining old charters, codes of laws, and other such documents, and it may be of interest to know that in Plymouth's Registry Building there are ancient papers written in the languages of the Indian tribes, signed by the Indians by marks in the forms of snakes, animals, or bows and arrows, and an order in the handwriting of Gover- nor Bradford which sets forth the form of trials by jury. Another document of historic interest is the second patent, granted in 1629 and signed by the Earl of Warwick. The charter still bears its large wax seal, which is said to have been made for the purpose, and the charter is still kept within the box in which it originally came from London. Those who have examined these old records say that many of them are quite legible after the passing of 300 years. Among these ancient documents there is the original map of Leyden Street, which extended in earliest times — and ex- MODERN PLYMOUTH IS 76 MODERN PLYMOUTH tends today — from the water up through the town to Burial Hill. The old map gives the names of the first owners of these lots, upon which the original houses in Plymouth were built. Here are also listed the original laws by which Plymouth was governed. Public Buildings The Plymouth Post^ Office and Custom House, which is perhaps the most interesting of the more modern buildings, occupies the site which was assigned to Elder William Brewster when Leyden Street was originally laid out. Visitors are not often interested in such necessary details of a modern town as its prisons, but if anyone cares to examine the chief in- stitution of this kind in Plymouth, it may be found just back of the Court House. At the south end of the town there is maintained another prison for those being detained for short terms. Of course a live town or small city must have the usual county and city courts, and these departments in Plymouth Hotel Mayflower at Manomet MODERN PLYMOUTH 77 are well provided for. Not far from Pilgrim Hall, the re- pository of many relics of the Mayflower company, which has been described in another chapter, stands the Plymouth Court House, surrounded by a little park. This building, of course, contains such usual of^ces as those of the County Treasurer, County Commissioners, Clerk of the Court and various court rooms, while upon an upper floor there is maintained a law library. Historic Churches The First Parish Church, which faces Main Street, is claimed to be the origi- nal church of the Pilgrims, and an ofTshoot from the little con- gregation in Leyden, Holland, which was presided over by the Rev. John Robinson. This church is said to have an un- The First Parish Church 78 MODERN PLYMOUTH broken record from the very beginnings of Plymouth to the present time. The present house of worship of the First Par- ish Church is a stone building in the Norman style, and its entrance doorway is a reproduction of the arched portal of the ancient church at Austerfield, England, where Governor Bradford was baptized. At the right of the First Church, as one approaches it, is the flight of stone steps which leads up to Burial Hill. The religious faith of the Pilgrims, — the faith to hold and practice which they made such heroic sacrifices and en- Church of the Pilgrimage MODERN PLYMOUTH 79 dured untold hardships, — was a somewhat broad form of Protestant Christianity, and is said to be best expressed to- day, by the CongregationaHst form of beUef. Religious worship, both public and private, was the common practice of the Pilgrims, and it would be difficult to study the history of Plymouth with this highly important factor omitted. The Congregational Church in Plymouth is known as the "Church of the Pilgrimage," and the present building, which was erected in 1840, is not far from the spot where the Pilgrims built the First Meeting House in Plymouth in 1638. The Pil- grims called their churches "meeting houses" to distinguish them from the places of worship of the Church of England. As a visitor to Plymouth will see, the old and the new are not separated into two distinct districts, one being the Ply- The Plymouth Country Club mouth of the Pilgrims and the other the Plymouth of today. On the contrary, the town has grown surely but slowly for 300 years about very much the same center, and the old and the new are really together; one may find a building of the first historic interest next to, or near, one of the newer buildings in the town. 80 MODERN PLYMOUTH The Visitor to Plymouth Visitors to Plymouth's historic spots are apt to receive considerable atten- tion from small boys — of several na- tionalities — who stand by reciting rapidly some of the well known poems which deal with the spot. A visitor to the Rock must expect to be surrounded by small urchins reciting, in unison, perhaps, some parts of Mrs. Hemans' ''Landing of the Pilgrims," for example. This might be tolerated, possibly, if the reciting of the stanzas, from memories well trained, fostered patriotism or encouraged interest in the Rock or veneration for it — but alas, 'tis not so, and the attention is directed toward the visitor rather than toward the Rock, and the effort is made wholly in the hope of gratuities! In discouraging these attentions, which the wise and expe- rienced traveler will most assuredly do, it need not be feared that the enthusiasm of patriotic youth will suffer a rebuff. The Headlands of Manomet POINTS OF INTEREST TO BE SEEN BY THE VISITOR TO PLYMOUTH The Landing Place of the Pilgrims is about opposite the easterly end of North Street, where the famous Plymouth Rock will eventually repose with a fitting architectural setting. Burial Hill, the resting place of most of the Pilgrims who died after the first winter, is practically in the middle of the town, a block west of Main Street. Many are the quaint stones to be found here. The National Monument to the Forefathers stands on a rise of ground reached by Cushman or Allerton Street from Court Street, which is the main artery running north through the town. Pilgrim Hall, which houses the collection of Pilgrim relics, stands at the corner of Chilton and Court Streets, about ten minutes' walk from the town centre. Here may be found many interesting and historical objects well worth seeirig. The First Parish Church was the original church of the Pilgrims, and is located at the head of Town Square. 82 POINTS OF I NTEREST The Congregational Church, known as the "Church of the Pilgrimage," stands at the foot of Burial Hill. The Gen. John Winslow House stands on the corner of Main and North Streets. Gen. Winslow was at one time an officer in the service of the crown. James Warren, President of the Provincial Congress, also lived here at one time. The old HowLAND House, built in 1666, on Sandwich Street, was purchased by the Howland Descendants and completely restored for annual meetings. It is open to the public at specified times. The Winslow House, a good example of colonial ar- chitecture, was built about 1754 by Edward Winslow, a great-grandson of Gov. Winslow of the colony. The house is situated on Winslow Street off North Street. Some ad- ditions have been made to the original structure. The Sgt. William Harlow House was built in 1677, of timbers from the Old Fort on Burial Hill. This house stands on Court Street and is now owned by the Plymouth An- tiquarian Society and is open to the public. The William Crowe House is about two miles north of Market Square and was built in 1664. POINTS OF I N TEREST 83 The Kendall Holmes House was built in 1666 and stands on Winter Street. The Leach House, built in 1689, is on Summer Street, west of the town's centre. Leyden Street, originally called "First Street," ran from Water Street to Burial Hill. A short distance below the water front is the site of the first house. Morton Park is an attractive spot lying about a mile out, reached by Summer Street. It is a natural park, con- sisting of nearly 200 acres of beautiful open country, brooks, ponds, hills and valleys. Little Pond and Billington Sea are not far beyond from this reservation. Long Beach reaches into the bay, forming a shelter or inner harbor, behind which the Mayflower dropped her anchor. To reach Long Beach, follow Sandwich Street to Jabez corner, to Warren Ave., approximately two miles from Town Square. Electric cars cover the greater part of the distance. The Myles Standish Monument, and House built by the famous Captain's son in 1666, are to be found in Dux- bury, which is about twelve miles from Plymouth and conveniently reached by the shore division of the N. Y. N. H. & H. R. R. 84 POINTS OF INTEREST The John Alden House, one of the two famous old Pil- grim houses, still stands in Duxbury. The Plymouth Cordage Company plant in North Ply- mouth is the largest concern of its kind in the entire world. Great cargoes of fibre are brought in ships direct from Yuca- tan to Plymouth. The Company has opened a miniature plant where every operation which takes place can be viewed within a small space by the visitor. The plant can be reached by electric car to North Plymouth. ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY THE FEDERAL ENGRAVING & PUBLISHING COMPANY, BOSTON TOURISTS BY RAIL AND BOAT will find an excellent choice of fiction, post cards, novelties and souvenirs at convenient points en route. Ask for the interesting pictorial— VIEW BOOK OF BOSTON Price, 25 cents; by mailf jo cents Our stands are to be found at the SOUTH TERMINAL STATION, and at RO WES WHARF, BOSTON; aboard the PLYMOUTH BOAT and at the PLYMOUTH R. R. STATION