Who was R. G.? At the time this Journal was sent over from Plymouth, in Dec. 1621, the only person there whose initials were R. G. was Richard Gardiner. He was one of the signers of the Compact on board the Mayflower, as will be seen hereafter. In that list it is apparent that the 41 names are, for the most part, subscribed in the order of the reputed rank of the signers. The two last, Dotey and Leister, were servants; the two next preceding, Allerton and English, were seamen; then comes Richard Gardiner. Now it is very unlikely that such an obscure person as this, No. 37, of whom nothing is known, whose name does not appear in the assignment of the lands in 1623, nor in the division of the cattle in 1627, and occurs no where subsequently in the records of the Colony, should be selected and deputed by the leading men in it to endorse "the recommendation" of their Journal. Such a person, even had he been chosen for this purpose, would not have presumed to speak of his superiors as having written their narrative "after their plain and rude manner," and apologize for "their ignorance," by saying they were "better acquainted with planting

R. G.'

than writing." Such language would be used only by one of their compeers.

R. G. (or R. C. as I think it should be,) was Robert Cushman, their active and efficient agent, who being prevented from coming over in the Mayflower, came in Nov. 1621, in the Fortune, and returned in her the next month. Cushman brought the intelligence that a charter had been procured for them by the merchant adventurers from the President and Council of New England, "better than their former, and with less limitation." It was very natural, under these circumstances, that the leading colonists should request him to write a letter in their behalf, enclosing a copy of their Journal, to Pierce, in whose name the charter had been taken; and it was no less natural, that in writing it, he should render a deserved tribute of acknowledgment to the Company, for their "bounty and grace" in allowing them the free possession and enjoyment of the land on which they had involuntarily settled. See Prince, p.

198.

This letter of Cushman is followed in the original by Robinson's parting Letter of Advice, which has already been printed on page 91.

That is, in Cape Cod or Provincetown harbour.

This is just the distance from Long Point to the nearest land in Truro.

3 Few trees are now left round Cape Cod harbour. That they were once common, appears from the name Wood End, given to a part of the coast, and from the stumps that are still found along the shore, particularly at the west end of the harbour,below the present high water mark, just above what is called "the rising." There is quite a grove of pines, called Mayo's Wood, near Snow's hill, at the eastern end of the village. There are dwarf oaks, too, grow ing on High Hill. The young trees would thrive if they were enclosed and protected from the cows, who now get part of their living by browsing on them. There are a few sassafras bushes, but no juniper. The juniper was probably the red cedar. Josselyn, in his New England's Rarities, published in 1672, says, page 49, “Cardan says juniper is cedar in hot countries, and juniper in cold countries; it is here very dwarfish and shrubby, growing for the most part by the sea-side." And Wood, in his New England's Prospect, printed in 1639, says, p. 19, "the cedar tree is a tree of no great growth, not bearing above a foot and a half at the most, neither is it very high. This wood is of color red and white, like yew, smelling as sweet as juniper." In 1740 there was a number of oaks in the woods northwest of East Harbour.

1

Cape Cod harbour is formed by the spiral bending of the land, from Pamet river to Long Point, nearly round every point of the compass; it is completely landlocked. "It is one of the finest harbours for ships of war on the whole of our Atlantic coast. The width, and freedom from obstructions of every kind, at its entrance, and the extent of sea-room upon the bay side, make it accessible to vessels of the largest class in almost all winds. This advantage, its capacity, depth of water, excellent anchorage, and the complete shelter it affords from all winds, render it one of the most valuable ship harbours upon our coast, whether considered in a commercial or military point of view." See Major J. D. Graham's Report, pp. 2 and 13, No. 121 of Executive Documents of the 25th Congress, 2d Sess. 1837-8, vol. 5.- Major Graham was employed by the government of the United States, during portions of the years 1833, 1834, and 1835, assisted by seven engineers, to survey the extremity of Cape Cod, including the townships of Provincetown and Truro, with their sea-coast, and the harbour of Cape Cod. This survey was executed with the greatest accuracy and precision, and a large and beautiful map, on a scale of six inches to a mile, was projected from it and published by order of Congress in 1838. It is very desirable that the whole Cape should be surveyed in the same manner.