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, and This letter I think was addressed to George Morton. See note on page 113. 2 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; 232 THE INDIANS WELL-DISPOSED. CHAP. of God we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.' XV. 1621. Dec. We have found the Indians very faithful in their 11. covenant of peace with us, very loving, and ready to pleasure us. We often go to them, and they come to us. Some of us have been fifty miles by land in the country with them, the occasions and relations whereof you shall understand by our general and more full declaration of such things as are worth the noting. Yea, it hath pleased God so to possess the Indians with a fear of us and love unto us, that not only the greatest king amongst them, called Massasoyt, but also all the princes and peoples round about us, have either made suit unto us, or been glad of any occasion to make peace with us; so that seven of them at once have sent their messengers to us to that end. Yea, an isle at sea, which we never saw, hath also, together with the former, yielded willingly to be under the protection and subject to our sovereign lord King James. So that there is now great peace amongst the Indians THE CLIMATE OF NEW ENGLAND. 233 XV. Dec. themselves, which was not formerly, neither would chap. have been but for us; and we, for our parts, walk as peaceably and safely in the wood as in the highways 1621. in England. We entertain them familiarly in our 11. houses, and they as friendly bestowing their venison on us. They are a people without any religion or knowledge of any God,' yet very trusty, quick of apprehension, ripc-witted, just. The men and women go naked, only a skin about their middles. For the temper of the air here, it agreeth well with that in England; and if there be any difference at all, this is somewhat hotter in summer. Some think it to be colder in winter; but I cannot out of experience so say. The air is very clear, and not foggy, as hath been reported. I never in my life remember a more seasonable year than we have here enjoyed; and if we have once but kine,2 horses, and sheep, I make no question but men might live as contented here as in any part of the world. For fish and fowl, we have great abundance. Fresh cod in the summer is but coarse meat with us. Our bay is full of lobsters3 all the summer, and affordeth variety of other fish. In September we can take a hogshead of eels in a night, with small labor, and can dig them out of their beds all the winter. We have muscles and othus at our doors. Oysters we have none The writer of this letter, Edward Winslow, afterwards corrected this statement in his Good News from New England. "Whereas," he says, "myself and others, in former letters, (which came to the press against my will and knowledge,) wrote that the Indians about us are a people without any religion, or knowledge of any God, therein I erred, though we could then gather no better." 2 The writer himself was the first to bring over cattle to the plantation, in 1624—a bull and three heifers. See Prince, p. 225. 3 See note 4 on page 164, and also page 205. 4 See note 1 on page 196. This I think a typographical error for other the word shellfish being accidentally omitted; or perhaps the word in the MS. was clams. 234 Dec. THE PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY. CHAP. near, but we can have them brought by the Indians when XV. we will. All the spring-time the earth sendeth forth na1621. turally very good sallet herbs. Here are grapes,' white 11. and red, and very sweet and strong also; strawberries, gooseberries, raspas, &c.; plums of three sorts, white' black, and red, being almost as good as a damson; abundance of roses, white, red and damask; single, but very sweet indeed. The country wanteth only industrious men to employ; for it would grieve your hearts if, as I, you had seen so many miles together by goodly rivers uninhabited;" and withal, to consider those parts of the world wherein you live to be even greatly burthened with abundance of people. These things I thought good to let you understand, being the truth of things as near as I could experimentally take knowledge of, and that you might on our behalf give God thanks, who hath dealt so favorably with us. Our supply of men from you came the 9th of November, 1621, putting in at Cape Cod, some eight or ten leagues from us. The Indians that dwell there See note on page 165. 2 Raspas, raspberries. See note on page 165. In the original with - an error of the press. 5 Winslow had observed this desolation on the banks of Taunton river. See page 206. The Fortune, a small vessel of 55 tons, brought over Robert Cushman and 35 persons, a part of whom no doubt were the 20 that put back in the Speedwell. See note on page 99. The Fortune sailed from London the beginning of July, but could not clear the channel till the end of August. She found all the colonists whom the Mayflower had left in April, "lusty and in good health, except six who had died; and she stays a month ere she sails for England." Bradford and Smith, in Prince,p.198. The Fortune brought a letter for Mr. Carver from Mr. Weston, dated London, July 6, wherein he writes, "We (the adventurers) have procured you a charter, the best we could, better than your former, and with less limitation." Judge Davis, in a note on Morton's Memorial, p. 73, says, this intimation refers to a patent from the President and Council of New England to John Pierce and his associates, which was in trust for the company. It was probably brought in this ship, and was a few years since found among the old papers in the Land Office at Boston, by William Smith, Esq. one of the Land Committee. It bears the seals and |