THE PILGRIMS IN MILTON. 227 XIV. Not far from hence, in a bottom, we came to a fort, CHAP. built by their deceased king; the manner thus. There were poles, some thirty or forty feet long, stuck in the 1621. Sept. ground as thick as they could be set one by another; 21. and with these they enclosed a ring some forty or fifty foot over;' a trench, breast high, a trench, breast high, was digged on each side; one way there was to go into it with a bridge. In the midst of this palisado stood the frame of a house, wherein, being dead, he lay buried.2 About a mile from hence we came to such another, but seated on the top of a hill. Here Nanepashemet was killed, none dwelling in it since the time of his death. At this place we stayed, and sent two salvages to look [for] the inhabitants, and to inform them of our ends in coming, that they might not be fearful of us. Within a mile of this place they found the women of the place together, with their corn on heaps, whither we supposed them to be fled for fear of us; and the more, because in divers places they had newly pulled down their houses, and for haste in one place had left some of their corn covered with a mat, and nobody with it. With much fear they entertained us at first; but seeing our gentle carriage towards them, they took heart and entertained us in the best manner they could, capital of a great sachem, much reverenced by all the plantations of Indians round about. and to him belonged Naponset, (Milton,) Punkapog, (Stoughton,) Wessagusset, (Weymouth,) and several places on Charles river, where the natives were seated. The tradition is, that this sachem had his principal seat upon a small hill or rising upland, in the midst of a body of salt marsh in the township of Dorchester, [perhaps Savin Hill] near to a place called Squantum." Hutchinson's 228 XIV. Sept. THEY DISCOVER MYSTIC RIVER. CHAP. boiling cod and such other things as they had for us. At length, with much sending for, came one of their men, shaking and trembling for fear. But when he saw we intended them no hurt, but came to truck, he promised us his skins also. Of him we inquired for their queen; but it seemed she was far from thence;' at least we could not see her. 21. Here Tisquantum would have had us rifle the salvage women, and taken their skins and all such things as might be serviceable for us; for, said he, they are a bad people, and have oft threatened you. But our answer was, Were they never so bad, we would not wrong them, or give them any just occasion against us. For their words, we little weighed them; but if they once attempted any thing against us, then we would deal far worse than he desired. Having well spent the day, we returned to the shallop, almost all the women accompanying us to truck, who sold their coats from their backs, and tied boughs about them, but with great shamefacedness, for indeed they are more modest than some of our English women are. We promised them to come again to them, and they us to keep their skins. 2 Within this bay the salvages say there are two rivers; the one whereof we saw, having a fair entrance, but we had no time to discover it. Better harbours At the entrance for shipping cannot be than here are. 1 The residence of the squa sachim of Massachusetts is variously conjectured to have been at Concord, and in the neighbourhood of the Wachusett mountain. There seems, however, no sufficient reason for placing it so remote. See Shattuck's Hist. of Concord, p. 2, and Drake's Book of the Indians, b. ii. p. 40. The Mystic and the Charles, the former of which they saw. 3 The Graves and the Brewsters are the principal rocks at the en THEY RETURN TO PLYMOUTH. 229 XIV. fishing-ground.' Many, yea most of the islands have CHAP.. been inhabited, some being cleared from end to end. But the people are all dead, or removed. 1621. Our victual growing scarce, the wind coming fair, and having a light moon, we set out at evening, and through the goodness of God came safely home before Sept. noon the day following.3 trance of Boston bay. It is supposed that in this or some subsequent voyage the three Brewsters were named in honor of their venerable elder, and Point Alderton, the head-land of Nantasket, after Isaac Allerton. See note on page 195. The neighbourhood of these rocks is excellent fishing-ground. 2 They had been swept off by the pestilence mentioned on page 184. 3 Governor Bradford adds, "with a considerable quantity of beaver, and a good report of the place, wishing we had been seated there." Prince, p. 198. They were absent on this expedition four days. Winslow was probably one of the party, and wrote this account. "All the summer no want. While some were trading, others were fishing cod, bass, &c. We now gather in our harvest; and as cold weather advances, come in store of water fowl, wherewith this place abounds, though afterwards they by degrees decrease; as also abundance of wild turkeys, with venison, &c. Fit our houses against winter, are in health, and have all things in plenty." Bradford, in Prince, p. 198. 22. CHAPTER XV. A LETTER SENT FROM NEW ENGLAND TO A FRIEND IN CHAP. LOVING AND OLD FRIEND,' XV. ALTHOUGH I received no letter from you by this 1621. ship, yet forasmuch as I know you expect the perform11. ance of my promise, which was, to write unto you truly Dec. and faithfully of all things, I have therefore at this time. sent unto you accordingly, referring you for further satisfaction to our more large Relations.3 4 You shall understand that in this little time that a few of us have been here, we have built seven dwelling-houses and four for the use of the plantation, and have made preparation for divers others. We set the last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn,5 and This letter I think was addressed to George Morton. See note on page 113. The Fortune, in which this The preceding narrative. help, showing us how to set, fish, dress, and tend it." Bradford, in Prince, p. 190. The Indians' season for planting the maize was "when the leaves of the white oak are as big as the ear of a mouse." See Belknap's Hist. of New Hampshire, iii. 70. THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. 231 XV. Dec. sowed some six acres of barley and pease; and accord- CHAP. ing to the manner of the Indians, we manured our ground with herrings, or rather shads,' which we have 1621. in great abundance, and take with great ease at our 11. doors. Our corn did prove well; and, God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our pease not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed; but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor2 sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation, and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness Or rather alewives. Morton, in his New English Canaan, b. ii. ch. 7, says, "There is a fish, by some called shads, by some allizes, that at the spring of the year pass up the rivers to spawn in the ponds; and are taken in such multitudes in every river that hath a pond at the end, that the inhabitants dung their ground with them. You may see in one township a hundred acres together set with these fish, every acre taking a thousand of them; |