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Title: The Mayflower and Her Log; July 15, 1620-May 6, 1621 — Complete
Author: Ames, Azel
Language: English
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THE MAY-FLOWER AND HER LOG
July 15, 1620--May 6, 1621
Chiefly from Original Sources
By AZEL AMES, M.D.
Member of Pilgrim Society, etc.
\x93Next to the fugitives whom Moses led out of Egypt, the little
shipload of outcasts who landed at Plymouth are destined to
influence the future of the world.\x94
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL
INTRODUCTORY
O civilized humanity, world-wide, and especially to the descendants of
the Pilgrims who, in 1620, laid on New England shores the foundations of
that civil and religious freedom upon which has been built a refuge for
the oppressed of every land, the story of the Pilgrim \x93Exodus\x94 has an
ever-increasing value and zest. The little we know of the inception,
development, and vicissitudes of their bold scheme of colonization in the
American wilderness only serves to sharpen the appetite for more.
Every detail and circumstance which relates to their preparations; to the
ships which carried them; to the personnel of the Merchant Adventurers
associated with them, and to that of the colonists themselves; to what
befell them; to their final embarkation on their lone ship,--the immortal
MAY-FLOWER; and to the voyage itself and to its issues, is vested to-day
with, a supreme interest, and over them all rests a glamour peculiarly
their own.
For every grain of added knowledge that can be gleaned concerning the
Pilgrim sires from any field, their children are ever grateful, and
whoever can add a well-attested line to their all-too-meagre annals is
regarded by them, indeed by all, a benefactor.
Of those all-important factors in the chronicles of the \x93Exodus,\x94--the
Pilgrim ships, of which the MAY-FLOWER alone crossed the seas,--and of
the voyage itself, there is still but far too little known. Of even this
little, the larger part has not hitherto been readily accessible, or in
form available for ready reference to the many who eagerly seize upon
every crumb of new-found data concerning these pious and intrepid
Argonauts.
To such there can be no need to recite here the principal and familiar
facts of the organization of the English \x93Separatist\x94 congregation under
John Robinson; of its emigration to Holland under persecution of the
Bishops; of its residence and unique history at Leyden; of the broad
outlook of its members upon the future, and their resultant determination
to cross the sea to secure larger life and liberty; and of their initial
labors to that end. We find these Leyden Pilgrims in the early summer of
1620, their plans fairly matured and their agreements between themselves
and with their merchant associates practically concluded, urging forward
their preparations for departure; impatient of the delays and
disappointments which befell, and anxiously seeking shipping for their
long and hazardous voyage.
It is to what concerns their ships, and especially that one which has
passed into history as \x93the Pilgrim bark,\x94 the MAY-FLOWER, and to her
pregnant voyage, that the succeeding chapters chiefly relate. In them the
effort has been made to bring together in sequential relation, from many
and widely scattered sources, everything germane that diligent and
faithful research could discover, or the careful study and re-analysis of
known data determine. No new and relevant item of fact discovered,
however trivial in itself, has failed of mention, if it might serve to
correct, to better interpret, or to amplify the scanty though priceless
records left us, of conditions, circumstances, and events which have
meant so much to the world.
As properly antecedent to the story of the voyage of the MAY-FLOWER as
told by her putative \x93Log,\x94 albeit written up long after her boned lay
bleaching on some unknown shore, some pertinent account has been given of
the ship herself and of her \x93consort,\x94 the SPEEDWELL; of the difficulties
attendant on securing them; of the preparations for the voyage; of the
Merchant Adventurers who had large share in sending them to sea; of their
officers and crews; of their passengers and lading; of the troubles that
assailed before they had \x93shaken off the land,\x94 and of the final
consolidation of the passengers and lading of both ships upon the
MAY-FLOWER, for the belated ocean passage. The wholly negative results of
careful search render it altogether probable that the original journal or
\x93Log\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER (a misnomer lately applied by the British press,
and unhappily continued in that of the United States, to the recovered
original manuscript of Bradford\x92s \x93History of Plimoth Plantation \x93), if
such journal ever existed, is now hopelessly lost.
So far as known, no previous effort has been made to bring together in
the consecutive relation of such a journal, duly attested and in their
entirety, the ascertained daily happenings of that destiny-freighted
voyage. Hence, this later volume may perhaps rightly claim to present
--and in part to be, though necessarily imperfect--the sole and a true \x93Log
of the MAY-FLOWER.\x94 No effort has been made, however, to reduce the
collated data to the shape and style of the ship\x92s \x93Log\x94 of recent times,
whose matter and form are largely prescribed by maritime law. While it is
not possible to give, as the original--if it existed--would have done,
the results of the navigators\x92 observations day by day; the \x93Lat.\x94 and
\x93Long.\x94; the variations of the wind and of the magnetic needle; the
tallies of the \x93lead\x94 and \x93log\x94 lines; \x93the daily run,\x94 etc.--in all
else the record may confidently be assumed to vary little from that
presumably kept, in some form, by Captain Jones, the competent Master of
the Pilgrim bark, and his mates, Masters Clarke and Coppin.
As the charter was for the \x93round voyage,\x94 all the features and incidents
of that voyage until complete, whether at sea or in port, properly find
entry in its journal, and are therefore included in this compilation,
which it is hoped may hence prove of reference value to such as take
interest in Pilgrim studies. Although the least pleasant to the author,
not the least valuable feature of the work to the reader--especially if
student or writer of Pilgrim history--will be found, it is believed, in
the numerous corrections of previously published errors which it
contains, some of which are radical and of much historical importance.
It is true that new facts and items of information which have been coming
to light, in long neglected or newly discovered documents, etc., are
correctives of earlier and natural misconceptions, and a certain
percentage of error is inevitable, but many radical and reckless errors
have been made in Pilgrim history which due study and care must have
prevented. Such errors have so great and rapidly extending power for
harm, and, when built upon, so certainly bring the superstructure
tumbling to the ground, that the competent and careful workman can render
no better service than to point out and correct them wherever found,
undeterred by the association of great names, or the consciousness of his
own liability to blunder. A sound and conscientious writer will welcome
the courteous correction of his error, in the interest of historical
accuracy; the opinion of any other need not be regarded.
Some of the new contributions (or original demonstrations), of more or
less historical importance, made to the history of the Pilgrims, as the
author believes, by this volume, are as follows:--
(a) A closely approximate list of the passengers who left Delfshaven on
the SPEEDWELL for Southampton; in other words, the names--those of Carver
and Cushman and of the latter\x92s family being added--of the Leyden
contingent of the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims.
(b) A closely approximate list of the passengers who left London in the
MAY-FLOWER for Southampton; in other words, the names (with the deduction
of Cushman and family, of Carver, who was at Southampton, and of an
unknown few who abandoned the voyage at Plymouth) of the English
contingent of the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims.
(c) The establishment as correct, beyond reasonable doubt, of the date,
Sunday, June 11/21, 1620, affixed by Robert Cushman to his letter to the
Leyden leaders (announcing the \x93turning of the tide\x94 in Pilgrim affairs,
the hiring of the \x93pilott\x94 Clarke, etc.), contrary to the conclusions of
Prince, Arber, and others, that the letter could not have been written on
Sunday.
(d) The demonstration of the fact that on Saturday, June 10/20, 1620,
Cushman\x92s efforts alone apparently turned the tide in Pilgrim affairs;
brought Weston to renewed and decisive cooperation; secured the
employment of a \x93pilot,\x94 and definite action toward hiring a ship,
marking it as one of the most notable and important of Pilgrim
\x93red-letter days.\x94
(e) The demonstration of the fact that the ship of which Weston and
Cushman took \x93the refusal,\x94 on Saturday, June 10/20, 1620, was not the
MAY-FLOWER, as Young, Deane, Goodwin, and other historians allege.
(f) The demonstration of the fact (overthrowing the author\x92s own earlier
views) that the estimates and criticisms of Robinson, Carver, Brown,
Goodwin, and others upon Robert Cushman were unwarranted, unjust, and
cruel, and that he was, in fact, second to none in efficient service to
the Pilgrims; and hence so ranks in title to grateful appreciation and
memory.
(g) The demonstration of the fact that the MAY-FLOWER was not chartered
later than June 19/29, 1620, and was probably chartered in the week of
June 12/22--June 19/29 of that year.
(h) The addition of several new names to the list of the Merchant
Adventurers, hitherto unpublished as such, with considerable new data
concerning the list in general.
(i) The demonstration of the fact that Martin and Mullens, of the
MAY-FLOWER colonists, were also Merchant Adventurers, while William
White was probably such.
(j) The demonstration of the fact that \x93Master Williamson,\x94 the
much-mooted incognito of Bradford\x92s \x93Mourt\x92s Relation\x94 (whose existence
even has often been denied by Pilgrim writers), was none other than the
\x93ship\x92s-merchant,\x94 or \x93purser\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER,--hitherto unknown as
one of her officers, and historically wholly unidentified.
(k) The general description of; and many particulars concerning, the
MAY-FLOWER herself; her accommodations (especially as to her cabins),
her crew, etc., hitherto unknown.
(1) The demonstration of the fact that the witnesses to the nuncupative
will of William Mullens were two of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S crew (one being
possibly the ship\x92s surgeon), thus furnishing the names of two more of
the ship\x92s company, and the only names--except those of her chief
officers--ever ascertained.
(m) The indication of the strong probability that the entire company of
the Merchant Adventurers signed, on the one part, the charter-party of
the MAY-FLOWER.
(n) An (approximate) list of the ages of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S passengers and
the respective occupations of the adults.
(o) The demonstration of the fact that no less than five of the Merchant
Adventurers cast in their lots and lives with the Plymouth Pilgrims as
colonists.
(p) The indication of the strong probability that Thomas Goffe, Esquire,
one of the Merchant Adventurers, owned the \x93MAY-FLOWER\x94 when she was
chartered for the Pilgrim voyage,--as also on her voyages to New England
in 1629 and 1630.
(q) The demonstration of the fact that the Master of the MAY-FLOWER was
Thomas Jones, and that there was an intrigue with Master Jones to land
the Pilgrims at some point north of the 41st parallel of north latitude,
the other parties to which were, not the Dutch, as heretofore claimed,
but none other than Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Warwick, chiefs
of the \x93Council for New England,\x94 in furtherance of a successful scheme
of Gorges to steal the Pilgrim colony from the London Virginia Company,
for the more \x93northern Plantations\x94 of the conspirators.
(r) The demonstration of the fact that a second attempt at stealing the
colony--by which John Pierce, one of the Adventurers, endeavored to
possess himself of the demesne and rights of the colonists, and to make
them his tenants--was defeated only by the intervention of the \x93Council\x94
and the Crown, the matter being finally settled by compromise and the
transfer of the patent by Pierce (hitherto questioned) to the colony.
(s) The demonstration of the actual relations of the Merchant Adventurers
and the Pilgrim colonists--their respective bodies being associated as
but two partners in an equal copartnership, the interests of the
respective partners being (probably) held upon differing bases--contrary
to the commonly published and accepted view.
(t) The demonstration of the fact that the MAY-FLOWER--contrary to the
popular impression--did not enter Plymouth harbor, as a \x93lone vessel,\x94
slowly \x93feeling her way\x94 by chart and lead-line, but was undoubtedly
piloted to her anchorage--previously \x93sounded\x94 for her--by the Pilgrim
shallop, which doubtless accompanied her from Cape Cod harbor, on both
her efforts to make this haven, under her own sails.
(u) The indication of the strong probability that Thomas English was
helmsman of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S shallop (and so savior of her sovereign
company, at the entrance of Plymouth harbor on the stormy night of the
landing on Clarke\x92s Island), and that hence to him the salvation of the
Pilgrim colony is probably due; and
(v) Many facts not hitherto published, or generally known, as to the
antecedents, relationships, etc., of individual Pilgrims of both the
Leyden and the English contingents, and of certain of the Merchant
Adventurers.
For convenience\x92 sake, both the Old Style and the New Style dates of many
events are annexed to their mention, and double-dating is followed
throughout the narrative journal or \x93Log\x94 of the Pilgrim ship.
As the Gregorian and other corrections of the calendar are now generally
well understood, and have been so often stated in detail in print, it is
thought sufficient to note here their concrete results as affecting dates
occurring in Pilgrim and later literature.
From 1582 to 1700 the difference between O.S. and N.S. was ten (10) days
(the leap-year being passed in 1600). From 1700 to 1800 it was eleven
(11) days, because 1700 in O.S. was leap-year. From 1800 to 1900 the
difference is twelve (12) days, and from 1900 to 2000 it will be thirteen
(13) days. All the Dutch dates were New Style, while English dates were
yet of the Old Style.
There are three editions of Bradford\x92s \x93History of Plimoth Plantation\x94
referred to herein; each duly specified, as occasion requires. (There
is, beside, a magnificent edition in photo-facsimile.) They are:--
(a) The original manuscript itself, now in possession of the State of
Massachusetts, having been returned from England in 1897, called herein
\x93orig. MS.\x94
(b) The Deane Edition (so-called) of 1856, being that edited by the late
Charles Deane for the Massachusetts Historical Society and published in
\x93Massachusetts Historical Collections,\x94 vol. iii.; called herein \x93Deane\x92s
ed.\x94
(c) The Edition recently published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
and designated as the \x93Mass. ed.\x94
Of \x93Mourt\x92s Relation\x94 there are several editions, but the one usually
referred to herein is that edited by Rev. Henry M. Dexter, D. D., by far
the best. Where reference is made to any other edition, it is indicated,
and \x93Dexter\x92s ed.\x94 is sometimes named.
AZEL AMES.
WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS,
March 1, 1901.
THE MAYFLOWER AND HER LOG
\x93Hail to thee, poor little ship MAY-FLOWER--of Delft Haven
--poor, common-looking ship, hired by common charter-party for
coined dollars,--caulked with mere oakum and tar, provisioned
with vulgarest biscuit and bacon,--yet what ship Argo or
miraculous epic ship, built by the sea gods, was other than a
foolish bumbarge in comparison!\x94
THOMAS CARLYLE
CHAPTER I
THE NAME--\x93MAY-FLOWER\x94
\x93Curiously enough,\x94 observes Professor Arber, \x93these names [MAY-FLOWER
and SPEEDWELL] do not occur either in the Bradford manuscript or in
\x91Mourt\x92s Relation.\x92\x94
[A Relation, or Journal, of the Beginning and Proceedings of the
English Plantation settled at Plymouth in New England, etc. G.
Mourt, London, 1622. Undoubtedly the joint product of Bradford and
Winslow, and sent to George Morton at London for publication.
Bradford says (op, cit. p. 120): \x93Many other smaler maters I omite,
sundrie of them having been already published, in a Jurnall made by
one of ye company,\x94 etc. From this it would appear that Mourt\x92s
Relation was his work, which it doubtless principally was, though
Winslow performed an honorable part, as \x93Mourt\x92s\x94 introduction and
other data prove.]
He might have truthfully added that they nowhere appear in any of the
letters of the \x93exodus\x94 period, whether from Carver, Robinson, Cushman,
or Weston; or in the later publications of Window; or in fact of any
contemporaneous writer. It is not strange, therefore, that the Rev. Mr.
Blaxland, the able author of the \x93Mayflower Essays,\x94 should have asked
for the authority for the names assigned to the two Pilgrim ships of
1620.
It seems to be the fact, as noted by Arber, that the earliest authentic
evidence that the bark which bore the Pilgrims across the North Atlantic
in the late autumn of 1620 was the MAY-FLOWER, is the \x93heading\x94 of the
\x93Allotment of Lands\x94--happily an \x93official\x94 document--made at New
Plymouth, New England, in March, 1623--It is not a little remarkable
that, with the constantly recurring references to \x93the ship,\x94--the
all-important factor in Pilgrim history,--her name should nowhere have
found mention in the earliest Pilgrim literature. Bradford uses the
terms, the \x93biger ship,\x94 or the \x93larger ship,\x94 and Winslow, Cushman,
Captain John Smith, and others mention simply the \x93vessel,\x94 or the
\x93ship,\x94 when speaking of the MAY-FLOWER, but in no case give her a name.
It is somewhat startling to find so thorough-paced an Englishman as
Thomas Carlyle calling her the MAY-FLOWER \x93of Delft-Haven,\x94 as in the
quotation from him on a preceding page. That he knew better cannot be
doubted, and it must be accounted one of those \x91lapsus calami\x92 readily
forgiven to genius,--proverbially indifferent to detail.
Sir Ferdinando Gorges makes the curious misstatement that the Pilgrims
had three ships, and says of them: \x93Of the three ships (such as their
weak fortunes were able to provide), whereof two proved unserviceable and
so were left behind, the third with great difficulty reached the coast of
New England,\x94 etc.
CHAPTER II
THE MAY-FLOWER\x92S CONSORT THE SPEEDWELL
The SPEEDWELL was the first vessel procured by the Leyden Pilgrims for
the emigration, and was bought by themselves; as she was the ship of
their historic embarkation at Delfshaven, and that which carried the
originators of the enterprise to Southampton, to join the MAY-FLOWER,
--whose consort she was to be; and as she became a determining factor
in the latter\x92s belated departure for New England, she may justly claim
mention here as indeed an inseparable \x93part and parcel\x94 of the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S voyage.
The name of this vessel of associate historic renown with the MAY-FLOWER
was even longer in finding record in the early literature of the Pilgrim
hegira than that of the larger It first appeared, so far as discovered,
in 1669--nearly fifty years after her memorable service to the Pilgrims
on the fifth page of Nathaniel Morton\x92s \x93New England\x92s Memorial.\x94
Davis, in his \x93Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth,\x94 makes a singular error for
so competent a writer, when he says: \x93The agents of the company in
England had hired the SPEEDWELL, of sixty tons, and sent her to
Delfthaven, to convey the colonists to Southampton.\x94 In this, however,
he but follows Mather and the \x93Modern Universal History,\x94 though both are
notably unreliable; but he lacks their excuse, for they were without his
access to Bradford\x92s \x93Historie.\x94 That the consort-pinnace was neither
\x93hired\x94 nor \x93sent to Delfthaven\x94 duly appears.
Bradford states the fact,--that \x93a smale ship (of some 60 tune), was
bought and fitted in Holand, which was intended to serve to help to
transport them, so to stay in ye countrie and atend ye fishing and such
other affairs as might be for ye good and benefite of ye colonie when
they come ther.\x94 The statements of Bradford and others indicate that she
was bought and refitted with moneys raised in Holland, but it is not easy
to understand the transaction, in view of the understood terms of the
business compact between the Adventurers and the Planters, as hereinafter
outlined. The Merchant Adventurers--who were organized (but not
incorporated) chiefly through the activity of Thomas Weston, a merchant
of London, to \x93finance\x94 the Pilgrim undertaking--were bound, as part of
their engagement, to provide the necessary shipping,\x92 etc., for the
voyage. The \x93joint-stock or partnership,\x94 as it was called in the
agreement of the Adventurers and Planters, was an equal partnership
between but two parties, the Adventurers, as a body, being one of the
co-partners; the Planter colonists, as a body, the other. It was a
partnership to run for seven years, to whose capital stock the
first-named partner (the Adventurers) was bound to contribute whatever
moneys, or their equivalents,--some subscriptions were paid in goods,
--were necessary to transport, equip, and maintain the colony and provide
it the means of traffic, etc., for the term named. The second-named
partner (the Planter body) was to furnish the men, women, and children,
--the colonists themselves, and their best endeavors, essential to the
enterprise,--and such further contributions of money or provisions, on
an agreed basis, as might be practicable for them. At the expiration of
the seven years, all properties of every kind were to be divided into
two equal parts, of which the Adventurers were to take one and the
Planters the other, in full satisfaction of their respective investments
and claims. The Adventurers\x92 half would of course be divided among
themselves, in such proportion as their individual contributions bore to
the sum total invested. The Planters would divide their half among
their number, according to their respective contributions of persons,
money, or provisions, as per the agreed basis, which was:
[Bradford\x92s Historie, Deane\x92s ed.; Arber, op. cit. p. 305.
The fact that Lyford (Bradford, Historie, Mass. ed. p. 217)
recommended that every \x93particular\x94 (i.e. non-partnership colonist)
sent out by the Adventurers--and they had come to be mostly of that
class--\x93should come over as an Adventurer, even if only a ser vant,\x94
and the fact that he recognized that some one would have to pay in
L10 to make each one an Adventurer, would seem to indicate that any
one was eligible and that either L10 was the price of the Merchant
Adventurer\x92s share, or that this was the smallest subscription which
would admit to membership. Such \x93particular,\x94 even although an
Adventurer, had no partnership share in the Planters\x92 half-interest;
had no voice in the government, and no claim for maintenance. He
was, however, amenable to the government, subject to military duty
and to tax. The advantage of being an Adventurer without a voice in
colony affairs would be purely a moral one.]
that every person joining the enterprise, whether man, woman, youth,
maid, or servant, if sixteen years old, should count as a share; that a
share should be reckoned at L10, and hence that L10 worth of money or
provisions should also count as a share. Every man, therefore, would be
entitled to one share for each person (if sixteen years of age) he
contributed, and for each L10 of money or provisions he added thereto,
another share. Two children between ten and sixteen would count as one
and be allowed a share in the division, but children under ten were to
have only fifty acres of wild land. The scheme was admirable for its
equity, simplicity, and elasticity, and was equally so for either
capitalist or colonist.
Goodwin notes, that, \x93in an edition of Cushman\x92s \x91Discourse,\x92 Judge Davis
of Boston advanced the idea that at first the Pilgrims put all their
possessions into a common stock, and until 1623 had no individual
property. In his edition of Morton\x92s \x91Memorial\x92 he honorably admits his
error.\x94 The same mistake was made by Robertson and Chief Justice
Marshall, and is occasionally repeated in this day. \x93There was no
community of goods, though there was labor in common, with public
supplies of food and clothing.\x94 Neither is there warrant for the
conclusion of Goodwin, that because the holdings of the Planters\x92 half
interest in the undertaking were divided into L10 shares, those of the
Adventurers were also. It is not impossible, but it does not necessarily
follow, and certain known facts indicate the contrary.
Rev. Edward Everett Hale, in \x93The Pilgrims\x92 Life in Common,\x94 says:
\x93Carver, Winslow, Bradford, Brewster, Standish, Fuller, and Allerton.
were the persons of largest means in the Leyden group of the emigrants.
It seems as if their quota of subscription to the common stock were paid
in \x91provisions\x92 for the voyage and the colony, and that by \x91provisions\x92
is meant such articles of food as could be best bought in Holland.\x94 The
good Doctor is clearly in error, in the above. Allerton was probably as
\x93well off\x94 as any of the Leyden contingent, while Francis Cooke and
Degory Priest were probably \x93better off\x94 than either Brewster or
Standish, who apparently had little of this world\x92s goods. Neither is
there any evidence that any considerable amount of \x93provision\x94 was bought
in Holland. Quite a large sum of money, which came, apparently, from the
pockets of the Leyden Adventurers (Pickering, Greene, etc.), and some of
the Pilgrims, was requisite to pay for the SPEEDWELL and her refitting,
etc.; but how much came from either is conjectural at best. But aside
from \x93Hollands cheese,\x94 \x93strong-waters\x94 (schnapps), some few things that
Cushman names; and probably a few others, obtained in Holland, most of
the \x93provisioning,\x94 as repeatedly appears, was done at the English
Southampton. In fact, after clothing and generally \x93outfitting\x94
themselves, it is pretty certain that but few of the Leyden party had
much left. There was evidently an understanding between the partners that
there should be four principal agents charged with the preparations for,
and carrying out of, the enterprise,--Thomas Weston and Christopher
Martin representing the Adventurers and the colonists who were recruited
in England (Martin being made treasurer), while Carver and Cushman acted
for the Leyden company. John Pierce seems to have been the especial
representative of the Adventurers in the matter of the obtaining of the
Patent from the (London) Virginia Company, and later from the Council for
New England. Bradford says: \x93For besides these two formerly mentioned,
sent from Leyden, viz., Master Carver and Robert Cushman, there was one
chosen in England to be joyned with them, to make the provisions for the
Voyage. His name was Master Martin. He came from Billerike in Essexe;
from which parts came sundry others to go with them; as also from London
and other places, and therefore it was thought meet and convenient by
them in Holand, that these strangers that were to goe with them, should
appointe one thus to be joyned with them; not so much from any great need
of their help as to avoid all susspition, or jealosie, of any
partialitie.\x94 But neither Weston, Martin, Carver, nor Cushman seems to
have been directly concerned in the purchase of the SPEEDWELL. The most
probable conjecture concerning it is, that in furtherance of the purpose
of the Leyden leaders, stated by Bradford, that there should be a small
vessel for their service in fishing, traffic, etc., wherever they might
plant the colony, they were permitted by the Adventurers to purchase the
SPEEDWELL for that service, and as a consort, \x93on general account.\x94
It is evident, however, from John Robinson\x92s letter of June 14, 1620, to
John Carver, that Weston ridiculed the transaction, probably on selfish
grounds, but, as events proved, not without some justification.
Robinson says: \x93Master Weston makes himself merry with our endeavors
about buying a ship,\x94 [the SPEEDWELL] \x93but we have done nothing in this
but with good reason, as I am persuaded.\x94 Although bought with funds
raised in Holland,
[Arber (The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers, p. 341) arrives at the
conclusion that \x93The SPEEDWELL had been bought with Leyden money.
The proceeds of her sale, after her return to London, would, of
course, go to the credit of the common joint-Stock there.\x94 This
inference seems warranted by Robinson\x92s letter of June 16/26 to
Carver, in which he clearly indicates that the Leyden brethren
collected the \x93Adventurers\x94 subscriptions of Pickering and his
partner (Greene), which were evidently considerable.]
it was evidently upon \x93joint-account,\x94 and she was doubtless so sold, as
alleged, on her arrival in September, at London, having proved
unseaworthy. In fact, the only view of this transaction that harmonizes
with the known facts and the respective rights and relations of the
parties is, that permission was obtained (perhaps through Edward
Pickering, one of the Adventurers, a merchant of Leyden, and others) that
the Leyden leaders should buy and refit the consort, and in so doing
might expend the funds which certain of the Leyden Pilgrims were to pay
into the enterprise, which it appears they did,--and for which they would
receive, as shown, extra shares in the Planters\x92 half-interest. It was
very possibly further permitted by the Adventurers, that Mr. Pickering\x92s
and his partners\x92 subscriptions to their capital stock should be applied
to the purchase of the SPEEDWELL, as they were collected by the Leyden
leaders, as Pastor Robinson\x92s letter of June 14/24 to John Carver,
previously noted, clearly shows.
She was obviously bought some little time before May 31, 1620,--probably
in the early part of the month,--from the fact that in their letter of
May 31st to Carver and Cushman, then in London, Messrs. Fuller, Winslow,
Bradford, and Allerton state that \x93we received divers letters at the
coming of Master Nash and our Pilott,\x94 etc. From this it is clear that
time enough had elapsed, since their purchase of the pinnace, for their
messenger (Master Nash) to go to London,--evidently with a request to
Carver and Cushman that they would send over a competent \x93pilott\x94 to
refit her, and for Nash to return with him, while the letter announcing
their arrival does not seem to have been immediately written.
The writers of the above-mentioned letter use the words \x93we received,\x94
--using the past tense, as if some days before, instead of \x93we have your
letters,\x94 or \x93we have just received your letters,\x94 which would rather
indicate present, or recent, time. Probably some days elapsed after the
\x93pilott\x92s\x94 arrival, before this letter of acknowledgment was sent. It is
hence fair to assume that the pinnace was bought early in May, and that
no time was lost by the Leyden party in preparing for the exodus, after
their negotiations with the Dutch were \x93broken off\x94 and they had \x93struck
hands\x94 with Weston, sometime between February 2/12, 1619/20, and April
1/11, 1620,--probably in March.
The consort was a pinnace--as vessels of her class were then and for many
years called--of sixty tons burden, as already stated, having two masts,
which were put in--as we are informed by Bradford, and are not allowed by
Professor Arber to forget--as apart of her refitting in Holland. That
she was \x93square-rigged,\x94 and generally of the then prevalent style of
vessels of her size and class, is altogether probable. The name pinnace
was applied to vessels having a wide range in tonnage, etc., from a craft
of hardly more than ten or fifteen tons to one of sixty or eighty. It
was a term of pretty loose and indefinite adaptation and covered most of
the smaller craft above a shallop or ketch, from such as could be
propelled by oars, and were so fitted, to a small ship of the SPEEDWELL\x92S
class, carrying an armament.
None of the many representations of the SPEEDWELL which appear in
historical pictures are authentic, though some doubtless give correct
ideas of her type. Weir\x92s painting of the \x93Embarkation of the Pilgrims,\x94
in the Capitol at Washington (and Parker\x92s copy of the same in Pilgrim
Hall, Plymouth); Lucy\x92s painting of the \x93Departure of the Pilgrims,\x94 in
Pilgrim Hall; Copes great painting in the corridor of the British Houses
of Parliament, and others of lesser note, all depict the vessel on much
the same lines, but nothing can be claimed for any of them, except
fidelity to a type of vessel of that day and class. Perhaps the best
illustration now known of a craft of this type is given in the painting
by the Cuyps, father and son, of the \x93Departure of the Pilgrims from
Delfshaven,\x94 as reproduced by Dr. W. E. Griffis, as the frontispiece to
his little monograph, \x93The Pilgrims in their Three Homes.\x94 No reliable
description of the pinnace herself is known to exist, and but few facts
concerning her have been gleaned. That she was fairly \x93roomy\x94 for a
small number of passengers, and had decent accommodations, is inferable
from the fact that so many as thirty were assigned to her at Southampton,
for the Atlantic voyage (while the MAY-FLOWER, three times her tonnage,
but of greater proportionate capacity, had but ninety), as also from the
fact that \x93the chief [i.e. principal people] of them that came from
Leyden went in this ship, to give Master Reynolds content.\x94 That she
mounted at least \x93three pieces of ordnance\x94 appears by the testimony of
Edward Winslow, and they probably comprised her armament.
We have seen that Bradford notes the purchase and refitting of this
\x93smale ship of 60 tune\x94 in Holland. The story of her several sailings,
her \x93leakiness,\x94 her final return, and her abandonment as unseaworthy,
is familiar. We find, too, that Bradford also states in his \x93Historie,\x94
that \x93the leakiness of this ship was partly by her being overmasted and
too much pressed with sails.\x94 It will, however, amaze the readers of
Professor Arber\x92s generally excellent \x93Story of the Pilgrim Fathers,\x94 so
often referred to herein, to find him sharply arraigning \x93those members
of the Leyden church who were responsible for the fitting of the
SPEEDWELL,\x94 alleging that \x93they were the proximate causes of most of the
troubles on the voyage [of the MAY-FLOWER] out; and of many of the deaths
at Plymouth in New England in the course of the following Spring; for
they overmasted the vessel, and by so doing strained her hull while
sailing.\x94 To this straining, Arber wholly ascribes the \x93leakiness\x94 of
the SPEEDWELL and the delay in the final departure of the MAYFLOWER, to
which last he attributes the disastrous results he specifies. It would
seem that the historian, unduly elated at what he thought the discovery
of another \x93turning-point of modern history,\x94 endeavors to establish it
by such assertions and such partial references to Bradford as would
support the imaginary \x93find.\x94 Briefly stated, this alleged discovery,
which he so zealously announces, is that if the SPEEDWELL had not been
overmasted, both she and the MAY-FLOWER would have arrived early in the
fall at the mouth of the Hudson River, and the whole course of New
England history would have been entirely different. Ergo, the
\x93overmasting\x94 of the SPEEDWELL was a \x93pivotal point in modern history.\x94
With the idea apparently of giving eclat to this announcement and of
attracting attention to it, he surprisingly charges the responsibility
for the \x93overmasting\x94 and its alleged dire results upon the leaders of
the Leyden church, \x93who were,\x94 he repeatedly asserts, \x93alone
responsible.\x94 As a matter of fact, however, Bradford expressly states
(in the same paragraph as that upon which Professor Arber must wholly
base his sweeping assertions) that the \x93overmasting\x94 was but \x93partly\x94
responsible for the SPEEDWELL\x92S leakiness, and directly shows that the
\x93stratagem\x94 of her master and crew, \x93afterwards,\x94 he adds, \x93known, and by
some confessed,\x94 was the chief cause of her leakiness.
Cushman also shows, by his letter,--written after the ships had put back
into Dartmouth,--a part of which Professor Arber uses, but the most
important part suppresses, that what he evidently considers the principal
leak was caused by a very \x93loose board\x94 (plank), which was clearly not
the result of the straining due to \x93crowding sail,\x94 or of \x93overmasting.\x94
(See Appendix.)
Moreover, as the Leyden chiefs were careful to employ a presumably
competent man (\x93pilott,\x94 afterwards \x93Master\x94 Reynolds) to take charge of
refitting the consort, they were hence clearly, both legally and morally,
exempt from responsibility as to any alterations made. Even though the
\x93overmasting\x94 had been the sole cause of the SPEEDWELL\x92S leakiness, and
the delays and vicissitudes which resulted to the MAY-FLOWER and her
company, the leaders of the Leyden church--whom Professor Arber arraigns
--(themselves chiefly the sufferers) were in no wise at fault! It is
clear, however, that the \x93overmasting\x94 cut but small figure in the case;
\x93confessed\x94 rascality in making a leak otherwise, being the chief
trouble, and this, as well as the \x93overmasting,\x94 lay at the door of
Master Reynolds.
Even if the MAY-FLOWER had not been delayed by the SPEEDWELL\x92S condition,
and both had sailed for \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94 in midsummer, it is by no means
certain that they would have reached there, as Arber so confidently
asserts. The treachery of Captain Jones, in league with Gorges, would as
readily have landed them, by some pretext, on Cape Cod in October, as in
December. But even though they had landed at the mouth of the Hudson,
there is no good reason why the Pilgrim influence should not have worked
north and east, as well as it did west and south, and with the
Massachusetts Bay Puritans there, Roger Williams in Rhode Island, and the
younger Winthrop in Connecticut, would doubtless have made New England
history very much what it has been, and not, as Professor Arber asserts,
\x93entirely different.\x94
The cruel indictment fails, and the imaginary \x93turning point in modern
history,\x94 to announce which Professor Arber seems to have sacrificed so
much, falls with it.
The Rev. Dr. Griffis (\x93The Pilgrims in their Three Homes,\x94 p. 158) seems
to give ear to Professor Arber\x92s untenable allegations as to the Pilgrim
leaders\x92 responsibility for any error made in the \x93overmasting\x94 of the
SPEEDWELL, although he destroys his case by saying of the \x93overmasting:\x94
\x93Whether it was done in England or Holland is not certain.\x94 He says,
unhappily chiming in with Arber\x92s indictment: \x93In their eagerness to get
away promptly, they [the Leyden men] made the mistake of ordering for the
SPEEDWELL heavier and taller masts and larger spars than her hull had
been built to receive, thus altering most unwisely and disastrously her
trim.\x94 He adds still more unhappily: \x93We do not hear of these inveterate
landsmen and townsfolk [of whom he says, \x91possibly there was not one man
familiar with ships or sea life\x92] who were about to venture on the
Atlantic, taking counsel of Dutch builders or mariners as to the
proportion of their craft.\x94 Why so discredit the capacity and
intelligence of these nation-builders? Was their sagacity ever found
unequal to the problems they met? Were the men who commanded confidence
and respect in every avenue of affairs they entered; who talked with
kings and dealt with statesmen; these diplomats, merchants, students,
artisans, and manufacturers; these men who learned law, politics, state
craft, town building, navigation, husbandry, boat-building, and medicine,
likely to deal negligently or presumptuously with matters upon which they
were not informed? Their first act, after buying the SPEEDWELL, was to
send to England for an \x93expert\x94 to take charge of all technical matters
of her \x93outfitting,\x94 which was done, beyond all question, in Holland.
What need had they, having done this (very probably upon the advice of
those experienced ship-merchants, their own \x93Adventurers\x94 and townsmen,
Edward Pickering and William Greene), to consult Dutch ship-builders or
mariners? She was to be an English ship, under the English flag, with
English owners, and an English captain; why: should they defer to Dutch
seamen or put other than an English \x93expert\x94 in charge of her
alterations, especially when England rightfully boasted the best? But
not only were these Leyden leaders not guilty of any laches as indicted
by Arber and too readily convicted by Griffis, but the \x93overmasting\x94 was
of small account as compared with the deliberate rascality of captain and
crew, in the disabling of the consort, as expressly certified by
Bradford, who certainly, as an eye-witness, knew whereof he affirmed.
Having bought a vessel, it was necessary to fit her for the severe
service in which she was to be employed; to provision her for the voyage,
etc.; and this could be done properly only by experienced hands. The
Pilgrim leaders at Leyden seem, therefore, as noted, to have sent to
their agents at London for a competent man to take charge of this work,
and were sent a \x93pilott\x94 (or \x93mate\x94), doubtless presumed to be equal to
the task. Goodwin mistakenly says: \x93As Spring waned, Thomas Nash went
from Leyden to confer with the agents at London. He soon returned with a
pilot (doubtless [sic] Robert Coppin), who was to conduct the Continental
party to England.\x94 This is both wild and remarkable \x93guessing\x94 for the
usually careful compiler of the \x93Pilgrim Republic.\x94 There is no warrant
whatever for this assumption, and everything contra-indicates it,
although two such excellent authorities as Dr. Dexter and Goodwin
coincide--the latter undoubtedly copying the former--concerning Coppin;
both being doubtless in error, as hereafter shown. Dexter says \x93My
impression is that Coppin was originally hired to go in the SPEEDWELL,
and that he was the \x91pilott\x92 whose coming was \x91a great incouragement\x92 to
the Leyden expectants, in the last of May, or first of June, 1620 [before
May 31, as shown]; that he sailed with them in the SPEEDWELL, but on her
final putting back was transferred to the MAY-FLOWER.\x94 All the direct
light any one has upon the matter comes from the letter of the Leyden
brethren of May 31 [O.S.], 1620, previously cited, to Carver and Cushman,
and the reply of the latter thereto, of Sunday, June 11, 1620. The
former as noted, say: \x93We received diverse letters at the coming of
Master Nash [probably Thomas] and our pilott, which is a great
incouragement unto us . . . and indeed had you not sente him [the
\x91pilott,\x92 presumably] many would have been ready to fainte and goe
backe.\x94 Neither here nor in any other relation is there the faintest
suggestion of Coppin, except as what he was, \x93the second mate,\x94 or
\x93pilott,\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER. It is not reasonable to suppose that, for
so small a craft but just purchased, and with the expedition yet
uncertain, the Leyden leaders or their London agents had by June 11,
employed both a \x93Master\x94 and a \x93pilott\x94 for the SPEEDWELL, as must have
been the case if this \x93pilott\x94 was, as Goodwin so confidently assumes,
\x93doubtless Robert Coppin.\x94 For in Robert Cushman\x92s letter of Sunday,
June 11, as if proposing (now that the larger vessel would be at once
obtained, and would, as he thought, be \x93ready in fourteen days\x94) that the
\x93pilott\x94 sent over to \x93refit\x94 the SPEEDWELL should be further utilized,
he says: \x93Let Master Reynolds tarrie there [inferentially, not return
here when his work is done, as we originally arranged] and bring the ship
[the SPEEDWELL], to Southampton.\x94 The latter service we know he
performed.
The side lights upon the matter show, beyond doubt:--
(a) That a \x93pilott\x94 had been sent to Holland, with Master Nash, before
May 31, 1620;
(b) That unless two had been sent (of which there is no suggestion, and
which is entirely improbable, for obvious reasons), Master Reynolds was
the \x93pilott\x94 who was thus sent;
(c) That it is clear, from Cushman\x92s letter of June 11/21, that Reynolds
was then in Holland, for Cushman directs that \x93Master Reynolds tarrie
there and bring the ship to Southampton;\x94
(d) That Master Reynolds was not originally intended to \x93tarrie there,\x94
and \x93bring the ship,\x94 etc., as, if he had been, there would have been no
need of giving such an order; and
(e) That he had been sent there for some other purpose than to bring the
SPEEDWELL to Southampton. Duly considering all the facts together, there
can be no doubt that only one \x93pilott\x94 was sent from England; that he was
expected to return when the work was done for which he went (apparently
the refitting of the SPEEDWELL); that he was ordered to remain for a new
duty, and that the man who performed that duty and brought the ship to
Southampton (who, we know was Master Reynolds) must have been the
\x93pilott\x94, sent over.
We are told too, by Bradford,
[Bradford\x92s Historie, as already cited; Arber, The Story of the
Pilgrim Fathers, p. 341. John Brown, in his Pilgrim Fathers of New
England, p. 198, says: \x93She [the SPEEDWELL] was to remain with the
colony for a year.\x94 Evidently a mistake, arising from the length of
time for which her crew were shipped. The pinnace herself was
intended, as we have seen, for the permanent use of they colonists,
and was to remain indefinitely.]
that the crew of the SPEEDWELL \x93were hired for a year,\x94 and we know, in a
general way, that most of them went with her to London when she abandoned
the voyage. This there is ample evidence Coppin did not do, going as he
did to New England as \x93second mate\x94 or \x93pilott\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER, which
there is no reason to doubt he was when she left London. Neither is
there anywhere any suggestion that there was at Southampton any change in
the second mate of the larger ship, as there must have been to make good
the suggestion of Dr. Dexter.
Where the SPEEDWELL lay while being \x93refitted\x94 has not been ascertained,
though presumably at Delfshaven, whence she sailed, though possibly at
one of the neighboring larger ports, where her new masts and cordage
could be \x93set up\x94 to best advantage.
We know that Reynolds--\x93pilott\x94 and \x93Master\x94 went from London to
superintend the \x93making-ready\x94 for sea. Nothing is known, however, of
his antecedents, and nothing of his history after he left the service of
the Pilgrims in disgrace, except that he appears to have come again to
New England some years later, in command of a vessel, in the service of
the reckless adventurer Weston (a traitor to the Pilgrims), through whom,
it is probable, he was originally selected for their service in Holland.
Bradford and others entitled to judge have given their opinions of this
cowardly scoundrel (Reynolds) in unmistakable terms.
What other officers and crew the pinnace had does not appear, and we know
nothing certainly of them, except the time for which they shipped; that
some of them were fellow-conspirators with the Master (self-confessed),
in the \x93strategem\x94 to compel the SPEEDWELL\x92S abandonment of the voyage;
and that a few were transferred to the MAYFLOWER. From the fact that the
sailors Trevore and Ely returned from New Plymouth on the FORTUNE in
1621, \x93their time having expired,\x94 as Bradford notes, it may be fairly
assumed that they were originally of the SPEEDWELL\x92S crew.
That the fears of the SPEEDWELL\x92S men had been worked upon, and their
cooperation thus secured by the artful Reynolds, is clearly indicated by
the statement of Bradford: \x93For they apprehended that the greater ship
being of force and in which most of the provisions were stored, she would
retain enough for herself, whatever became of them or the passengers, and
indeed such speeches had been cast out by some of them.\x94
Of the list of passengers who embarked at Delfshaven, July 22, 1620,
\x93bound for Southampton on the English coast, and thence for the northern
parts of Virginia,\x94 we fortunately have a pretty accurate knowledge.
All of the Leyden congregation who were to emigrate, with the exception
of Robert Cushman and family, and (probably) John Carver, were doubtless
passengers upon the SPEEDWELL from Delfshaven to Southampton, though the
presence of Elder Brewster has been questioned. The evidence that he was
there is well-nigh as conclusive as that Robert Cushman sailed on the
MAY-FLOWER from London, and that Carver, who had been for some months in
England,--chiefly at Southampton, making preparations for the voyage, was
there to meet the ships on their arrival. It is possible, of course,
that Cushman\x92s wife and son came on the SPEEDWELL from Delfshaven; but is
not probable. Among the passengers, however, were some who, like Thomas
Blossom and his son, William Ring, and others, abandoned the voyage to
America at Plymouth, and returned in the pinnace to London and thence
went back to Holland. Deducting from the passenger list of the MAYFLOWER
those known to have been of the English contingent, with Robert Cushman
and family, and John Carver, we have a very close approximate to the
SPEEDWELL\x92S company on her \x93departure from Delfshaven.\x94 It has not been
found possible to determine with absolute certainty the correct relation
of a few persons. They may have been of the Leyden contingent and so
have come with their brethren on the SPEEDWELL, or they may have been of
the English colonists, and first embarked either at London or at
Southampton, or even at Plymouth,--though none are supposed to have
joined the emigrants there or at Dartmouth.
The list of those embarking at Delfshaven on the SPEEDWELL, and so of the
participants in that historic event,--a list now published for the first
time, so far as known,--is undoubtedly accurate, within the limitations
stated, as follows, being for convenience\x92 sake arranged by families:
The Family of Deacon John Carver (probably in charge of John Howland),
embracing:--
Mrs. Katherine Carver,
John Howland (perhaps kinsman of Carver), \x93servant\x94 or \x93employee,\x94
Desire Minter, or Minther (probably companion of Mrs. Carver,
perhaps kinswoman),
Roger Wilder, \x93servant,\x94
\x93Mrs. Carver\x92s maid\x94 (whose name has never transpired).
Master William Bradford and
Mrs. Dorothy (May) Bradford.
Master Edward Winslow and
Mrs. Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow,
George Soule a \x93servant\x94 (or employee),
Elias Story, \x93servant.\x94
Elder William Brewster and
Mrs. Mary Brewster,
Love Brewster, a son,
Wrestling Brewster, a son.
Master Isaac Allerton and
Mrs. Mary (Morris) Allerton,
Bartholomew Allerton, a son,
Remember Allerton, a daughter,
Mary Allerton, a daughter,
John Hooke, \x93servant-boy.\x94
Dr. Samuel Fuller and
William Butten, \x93servant\x94-assistant.
Captain Myles Standish and
Mrs. Rose Standish.
Master William White and
Mrs. Susanna (Fuller) White,
Resolved White, a son,
William Holbeck, \x93servant,\x94
Edward Thompson, \x93servant.\x94
Deacon Thomas Blossom and
----- Blossom, a son.
Master Edward Tilley and
Mrs. Ann Tilley.
Master John Tilley and
Mrs. Bridget (Van der Velde?) Tilley (2d wife),
Elizabeth Tilley, a daughter of Mr. Tilley by a former wife(?)
John Crackstone and
John Crackstone (Jr.), a son.
Francis Cooke and
John Cooke, a son.
John Turner and
---- Turner, a son,
---- Turner, a son.
Degory Priest.
Thomas Rogers and
Joseph Rogers, a son.
Moses Fletcher.
Thomas Williams.
Thomas Tinker and
Mrs. ---- Tinker,
---- Tinker, a son.
Edward Fuller and
Mrs. ---- Fuller,
Samuel Fuller, a son.
John Rigdale and
Mrs. Alice Rigdale.
Francis Eaton and
Mrs. ---- Eaton,
Samuel Eaton, an infant son.
Peter Browne.
William Ring.
Richard Clarke.
John Goodman.
Edward Margeson.
Richard Britteridge.
Mrs. Katherine Carver and her family, it is altogether probable, came
over in charge of Howland, who was probably a kinsman, both he and
Deacon Carver coming from Essex in England,--as they could hardly
have been in England with Carver during the time of his exacting
work of preparation. He, it is quite certain, was not a passenger
on the Speedwell, for Pastor Robinson would hardly have sent him
such a letter as that received by him at Southampton, previously
mentioned (Bradford\x92s \x93Historie,\x94 Deane\x92s ed. p. 63), if he had been
with him at Delfshaven at the \x93departure,\x94 a few days before. Nor
if he had handed it to him at Delfshaven, would he have told him in
it, \x93I have written a large letter to the whole company.\x94
John Howland was clearly a \x93secretary\x94 or \x93steward,\x94 rather than a
\x93servant,\x94 and a man of standing and influence from the outset.
That he was in Leyden and hence a SPEEDWELL passenger appears
altogether probable, but is not absolutely certain.
Desire Minter (or Minther) was undoubtedly the daughter of Sarah, who,
the \x93Troth Book\x94 (or \x93marriage-in-tention\x94 records) for 1616, at the
Stadtbuis of Leyden, shows, was probably wife or widow of one
William Minther--evidently of Pastor Robinson\x92s congregation--when
she appeared on May 13 as a \x93voucher\x94 for Elizabeth Claes, who then
pledged herself to Heraut Wilson, a pump-maker, John Carver being
one of Wilson\x92s \x93vouchers.\x94 In 1618 Sarah Minther (then recorded as
the widow of William) reappeared, to plight her troth to Roger
Simons, brick-maker, from Amsterdam. These two records and the
rarity of the name warrant an inference that Desire Minter (or
Minther) was the daughter of William and Sarah (Willet) Minter (or
Minther), of Robinson\x92s flock; that her father had died prior to
1618 (perhaps before 1616); that the Carvers were near friends,
perhaps kinsfolk; that her father being dead, her mother, a poor
widow (there were clearly no rich ones in the Leyden congregation),
placed this daughter with the Carvers, and, marrying herself, and
removing to Amsterdam the year before the exodus, was glad to leave
her daughter in so good a home and such hands as Deacon and Mistress
Carver\x92s. The record shows that the father and mother of Mrs. Sarah
Minther, Thomas and Alice Willet, the probable grandparents of
Desire Minter, appear as \x93vouchers\x94 for their daughter at her Leyden
betrothal. Of them we know nothing further, but it is a reasonable
conjecture that they may have returned to England after the
remarriage of their daughter and her removal to Amsterdam, and the
removal of the Carvers and their granddaughter to America, and that
it was to them that Desire went, when, as Bradford records, \x93she
returned to her friends in England, and proved not very well and
died there.\x94
\x93Mrs. Carver\x92s maid\x94 we know but little about, but the presumption is
naturally strong that she came from; Leyden with her mistress. Her
early marriage and; death are duly recorded.
Roger Wilder, Carver\x92s \x93servant;\x94 was apparently in his service at Leyden
and accompanied the family from thence. Bradford calls him \x93his
[Carver\x92s] man Roger,\x94 as if an old, familiar household servant,
which (as Wilder died soon after the arrival at Plymouth) Bradford
would not have been as likely to do--writing in 1650, thirty years
after--if he had been only a short-time English addition to Carver\x92s
household, known to Bradford only during the voyage. The fact that
he speaks of him as a \x93man\x94 also indicates something as to his age,
and renders it certain that he was not an \x93indentured\x94 lad. It is
fair to presume he was a passenger on the SPEEDWELL to Southampton.
(It is probable that Carver\x92s \x93servant-boy,\x94 William Latham, and
Jasper More, his \x93bound-boy,\x94 were obtained in England, as more
fully appears.)
Master William Bradford and his wife were certainly of the party in the
SPEEDWELL, as shown by his own recorded account of the embarkation.
(Bradford\x92s \x93Historie,\x94 etc.)
Master Edward Winslow\x92s very full (published) account of the embarkation
(\x93Hypocrisie Unmasked,\x94 pp. 10-13, etc.) makes it certain that
himself and family were SPEEDWELL passengers.
George Soule, who seems to have been a sort of \x93upper servant\x94 or
\x93steward,\x94 it is not certain was with Winslow in Holland, though it
is probable.
Elias Story, his \x93under-servant,\x94 was probably also with him in Holland,
though not surely so. Both servants might possibly have been
procured from London or at Southampton, but probably sailed from
Delfshaven with Winslow in the SPEEDWELL.
Elder William Brewster and his family, his wife and two boys, were
passengers on the SPEEDWELL, beyond reasonable doubt. He was, in
fact, the ranking man of the Leyden brethren till they reached
Southampton and the respective ships\x92 \x93governors\x94 were chosen. The
Church to that point was dominant. (The Elder\x92s two \x93bound-boys,\x94
being from London, do not appear as SPEEDWELL passengers.) There is,
on careful study, no warrant to be found for the remarkable
statements of Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p. 33), that, during the
hunt for Brewster in Holland in 1619, by the emissaries of James I.
of England (in the endeavor to apprehend and punish him for printing
and publishing certain religious works alleged to be seditious),
\x93William Brewster was in London . . . and there he remained until
the sailing of the MAYFLOWER, which he helped to fit out;\x94 and that
during that time \x93he visited Scrooby.\x94 That he had no hand whatever
in fitting out the MAYFLOWER is certain, and the Scrooby statement
equally lacks foundation. Professor Arber, who is certainly a
better authority upon the \x93hidden press\x94 of the Separatists in
Holland, and the official correspondence relating to its proprietors
and their movements, says (\x93The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers,\x94
p.196): \x93The Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Church was, for more than a
year before he left Delfshaven on the SPEEDWELL, on the 22 July-
1 August, 1620, a hunted man.\x94 Again (p. 334), he says: \x93Here let
us consider the excellent management and strategy of this Exodus.
If the Pilgrims had gone to London to embark for America, many, if
not most of them, would have been put in prison [and this is the
opinion of a British historian, knowing the temper of those times,
especially William Brewster.] So only those embarked in London
against whom the Bishops could take no action.\x94 We can understand,
in light, why Carver--a more objectionable person than Cushman to
the prelates, because of his office in the Separatist Church--was
chiefly employed out of their sight, at Southampton, etc., while the
diplomatic and urbane Cushman did effective work at London, under
the Bishops\x92 eyes. It is not improbable that the personal
friendship of Sir Robert Naunton (Principal Secretary of State to
King James) for Sir Edward Sandys and the Leyden brethren (though
officially seemingly active under his masters\x92 orders in pushing Sir
Dudley Carleton, the English ambassador at the Hague, to an
unrelenting search for Brewster) may have been of material aid to
the Pilgrims in gaining their departure unmolested. The only basis
known for the positive expression of Goodwin resides in the
suggestions of several letters\x92 of Sir Dudley Carleton to Sir Robert
Naunton, during the quest for Brewster; the later seeming clearly to
nullify the earlier.
Under date of July 22, 1619, Carleton says: \x93One William Brewster,
a Brownist, who has been for some years an inhabitant and printer at
Leyden, but is now within these three weeks removed from thence and
gone back to dwell in London,\x94 etc.
On August 16, 1619 (N.S.), he writes: \x93I am told William Brewster is
come again for Leyden,\x94 but on the 30th adds: \x93I have made good
enquiry after William Brewster and am well assured he is not
returned thither, neither is it likely he will; having removed from
thence both his family and goods,\x94 etc.
On September 7, 1619 (N.S.), he writes: \x93Touching Brewster, I am now
informed that he is on this side the seas [not in London, as before
alleged]; and that he was seen yesterday, at Leyden, but, as yet, is
not there settled,\x94 etc.
On September 13, 1619 (N.S.), he says: \x93I have used all diligence to
enquire after Brewster; and find he keeps most at Amsterdam; but
being \x91incerti laris\x92, he is not yet to be lighted upon. I
understand he prepares to settle himself at a village called
Leerdorp, not far from Leyden, thinking there to be able to print
prohibited books without discovery, but I shall lay wait for him,
both there and in other places, so as I doubt but either he must
leave this country; or I shall, sooner or later, find him out.\x94
On September 20, 1619 (N.S.), he says: \x93I have at length found out
Brewster at Leyden,\x94 etc. It was a mistake, and Brewster\x92s partner
(Thomas Brewer), one of the Merchant Adventurers, was arrested
instead.
On September 28, 1619 (N.S.), he states, writing from Amsterdam:
\x93If he lurk here for fear of apprehension, it will be hard to find
him,\x94 etc.
As late as February 8, 1619/20, there was still a desire and hope
for his arrest, but by June the matter had become to the King--and
all others--something of an old story. While, as appears by a
letter of Robert Cushman, written in London, in May, 1619, Brewster
was then undoubtedly there, one cannot agree, in the light of the
official correspondence just quoted, with the conclusion of Dr.
Alexander Young (\x93Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers,\x94 vol. i.
p. 462), that \x93it is probable he [Brewster] did not return to
Leyden, but kept close till the MAYFLOWER sailed.\x94
Everything indicates that he was at Leyden long after this; that he
did not again return to London, as supposed; and that he was in
hiding with his family (after their escape from the pursuit at
Leyden), somewhere among friends in the Low Countries. Although by
July, 1620, the King had, as usual, considerably \x93cooled off,\x94 we
may be sure that with full knowledge of the harsh treatment meted
out to his partner (Brewer) when caught, though unusually mild (by
agreement with the authorities of the University and Province of
Holland), Brewster did not deliberately put himself \x93under the
lion\x92s paw\x94 at London, or take any chances of arrest there, even in
disguise. Dr. Griffis has lent his assent (\x93The Pilgrims in their
Homes,\x94 p, 167), though probably without careful analysis of all the
facts, to the untenable opinion expressed by Goodwin, that Brewster
was \x93hiding in England\x94 when the SPEEDWELL sailed from Delfshaven.
There can be no doubt that, with his ever ready welcome of sound
amendment, he will, on examination, revise his opinion, as would the
clear-sighted Goodwin, if living and cognizant of the facts as
marshalled against his evident error. As the leader and guide of
the outgoing part of the Leyden church we may, with good warrant,
believe--as all would wish--that Elder Brewster was the chief figure
the departing Pilgrims gathered on the SPEEDWELL deck, as she took
her departure from Delfshaven.
Master Isaac Allerton and his family, his wife and three children, two
sons and a daughter, were of the Leyden company and passengers in
the SPEEDWELL. We know he was active there as a leader, and was
undoubtedly one of those who bought the SPEEDWELL. He was one of
the signers of the joint-letter from Leyden, to Carver and Cushman,
May 31 (O.S.) 1620.
John Hooke, Allerton\x92s \x93servant-lad,\x94 may have been detained at London or
Southampton, but it is hardly probable, as Allerton was a man of
means, consulted his comfort, and would have hardly started so large
a family on such a journey without a servant.
Dr. Samuel Fuller was, as is well known, one of the Leyden chiefs,
connected by blood and marriage with many of the leading families of
Robinson\x92s congregation. He was active in the preparations for the
voyage the first signer of the joint-letter of May 31, and doubtless
one of the negotiators for the SPEEDWELL. His wife and child were
left behind, to follow later as they did.
William Butten, the first of the Pilgrim party to die, was, in all
probability, a student-\x93servant\x94 of Doctor Fuller at Leyden, and
doubtless embarked with him at Delfshaven. Bradford calls him
(writing of his death) \x93Wm. Butten, a youth, servant to Samuel
Fuller.\x94 Captain Myles Standish and his wife Rose, we know from
Bradford, were with the Pilgrims in Leyden and doubtless shipped
with them. Arber calls him (\x93The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers,\x94
p. 378) a \x93chief of the Pilgrim Fathers\x94 in the sense of a father
and leader in their Israel; but there is no warrant for this
assumption, though he became their \x93sword-hand\x94 in the New World.
By some writers, though apparently with insufficient warrant,
Standish has been declared a Roman Catholic. It does not appear
that he was ever a communicant of the Pilgrim Church. His family,
moreover, was not of the Roman Catholic faith, and all his conduct
in the colony is inconsistent with the idea that he was of that
belief. Master William White, his wife and son, were of the Leyden
congregation, both husband and wife being among its principal
people, and nearly related to several of the Pilgrim band. The
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. White is duly recorded in Leyden. William
Holbeck and Edward Thompson, Master White\x92s two servants, he
probably took with him from Leyden, as his was a family of means and
position, though they might possibly have been procured at
Southampton. They were apparently passengers in the SPEEDWELL.
Deacon Thomas Blossom and his son were well known as of Pastor
Robinson\x92s flock at Leyden. They returned, moreover, to Holland
from Plymouth, England (where they gave up the voyage), via London.
The father went to New Plymouth ten years later, the son dying
before that time. (See Blossom\x92s letter to Governor Bradford.
Bradford\x92s Letter Book, \x93Plymouth Church Records,\x94 i. 42.) In his
letter dated at Leyden, December 15, 1625, he says: \x93God hath taken
away my son that was with me in the ship MAYFLOWER when I went back
again.\x94
Edward Tilley (sometimes given the prefix of Master) his wife Ann are
known to have been of the Leyden company. (Bradford\x92s \x93Historie,\x94
p. 83.) It is doubtful if their \x93cousins,\x94 Henry Sampson and
Humility Cooper, were of Leyden. They apparently were English
kinsfolk, taken to New England with the Tilleys, very likely joined
them at Southampton and hence were not of the SPEEDWELL\x92S
passengers. Humility Cooper returned to England after the death of
Tilley and his wife. That Mrs. Tilley\x92s \x93given name\x94 was Ann is not
positively established, but rests on Bradford\x92s evidence.
John Tilley (who is also sometimes called Master) is reputed a brother of
Edward, and is known to have been--as also his wife--of the Leyden
church (Bradford, Deane\x92s ed. p. 83.) His second wife Bridget Van
der Velde, was evidently of Holland blood, and their marriage is
recorded in Leyden. Elizabeth Tilley was clearly a daughter by an
earlier wife. He is said by Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p. 32) to
have been a \x93silk worker\x94 Leyden, but earlier authority for this
occupation is not found.
John Crackstone is of record as of the Leyden congregation. His daughter
remained there, and came later to America.
John Crackstone, Jr., son of above. Both were SPEEDWELL passengers.
Francis Cooke has been supposed a very early member of Robinson\x92s flock
in England, who escaped with them to Holland, in 1608. He and his
son perhaps embarked at Delfshaven, leaving his wife and three other
children to follow later. (See Robinson\x92s letter to Governor
Bradford, \x93Mass. Hist. Coll.,\x94 vol. iii. p. 45, also Appendix for
account of Cooke\x92s marriage.)
John Cooke, the son, was supposed to have lived to be the last male
survivor of the MAY-FLOWER, but Richard More proves to have survived
him. He was a prominent man in the colony, like his father, and the
founder of Dartmouth (Mass.).
John Turner and his sons are also known to have been of the Leyden party,
as he was undoubtedly the messenger sent to London with the letter
(of May 31) of the leaders to Carver and Cushman, arriving there
June 10, 1620. They were beyond doubt of the SPEEDWELL\x92S list.
Degory Priest--or \x93Digerie,\x94 as Bradford calls him--was a prominent
member of the Leyden body. His marriage is recorded there, and he
left his family in the care of his pastor and friends, to follow him
later. He died early.
Thomas Rogers and his son are reputed of the Leyden company. He left
(according to Bradford) some of his family there--as did Cooke and
Priest--to follow later. It has been suggested that Rogers might
have been of the Essex (England) lineage, but no evidence of this
appears. The Rogers family of Essex were distinctively Puritans,
both in England and in the Massachusetts colony.
Moses Fletcher was a \x93smith\x94 at Leyden, and of Robinson\x92s church. He was
married there, in 1613, to his second wife. He was perhaps of the
English Amsterdam family of Separatists, of that name. As the only
blacksmith of the colonists, his early death was a great loss.
Thomas Williams, there seems no good reason to doubt, was the Thomas
Williams known to have been of Leyden congregation. Hon. H. C.
Murphy and Arber include him--apparently through oversight alone
--in the list of those of Leyden who did not go, unless there were
two of the name, one of whom remained in Holland.
Thomas Tinker, wife, and son are not certainly known to have been of the
Leyden company, or to have embarked at Delfshaven, but their
constant association in close relation with others who were and who
so embarked warrants the inference that they were of the SPEEDWELL\x92S
passengers. It is, however, remotely possible, that they were of
the English contingent.
Edward Fuller and his wife and little son were of the Leyden company, and
on the SPEEDWELL. He is reputed to have been a brother of Dr.
Fuller, and is occasionally so claimed by early writers, but by what
warrant is not clear.
John Rigdale and his wife have always been placed by tradition and
association with the Leyden emigrants but there is a possibility
that they were of the English party. Probability assigns them to
the SPEEDWELL, and they are needed to make her accredited number.
Francis Eaton, wife, and babe were doubtless of the Leyden list. He is
said to have been a carpenter there (Goodwin, \x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p.
32), and was married there, as the record attests.
Peter Browne has always been classed with the Leyden party. There is no
established authority for this except tradition, and he might
possibly have been of the English emigrants, though probably a
SPEEDWELL passenger; he is needed to make good her putative number.
William Ring is in the same category as are Eaton and Browne. Cushman
speaks of him, in his Dartmouth letter to Edward Southworth (of
August 17), in terms of intimacy, though this, while suggestive, of
course proves nothing, and he gave up the voyage and returned from
Plymouth to London with Cushman. He was certainly from Leyden.
Richard Clarke is on the doubtful list, as are also John Goodman, Edward
Margeson, and Richard Britteridge. They have always been
traditionally classed with the Leyden colonists, yet some of them
were possibly among the English emigrants. They are all needed,
however, to make up the number usually assigned to Leyden, as are
all the above \x93doubtfuls,\x94 which is of itself somewhat confirmatory
of the substantial correctness of the list.
Thomas English, Bradford records, \x93was hired to goe master of a [the]
shallopp\x94 of the colonists, in New England waters. He was probably
hired in Holland and was almost certainly of the SPEEDWELL.
John Alderton (sometimes written Allerton) was, Bradford states, \x93a hired
man, reputed [reckoned] one of the company, but was to go back
(being a seaman) and so making no account of the voyages for the
help of others behind\x94 [probably at Leyden]. It is probable that he
was hired in Holland, and came to Southampton on the SPEEDWELL.
Both English and Alderton seem to have stood on a different footing
from Trevore and Ely, the other two seamen in the employ of the
colonists.
William Trevore was, we are told by Bradford, \x93a seaman hired to stay a
year in the countrie,\x94 but whether or not as part of the SPEEDWELL\x92S
Crew (who, he tells us, were all hired for a year) does not appear.
As the Master (Reynolds) and others of her crew undoubtedly returned
to London in her from Plymouth, and her voyage was cancelled, the
presumption is that Trevore and Ely were either hired anew or--more
probably--retained under their former agreement, to proceed by the
MAY-FLOWER to America, apparently (practically) as passengers.
Whether of the consort\x92s crew or not, there can be little doubt that
he left Delfshaven on the SPEEDWELL.
--- Ely, the other seaman in the Planters\x92 employ, also hired to \x93remain
a year in the countrie,\x94 appears to have been drafted, like Trevore,
from the SPEEDWELL before she returned to London, having, no doubt,
made passage from Holland in her. Both Trevore and Ely survived
\x93the general sickness\x94 at New Plimoth, and at the expiration of the
time for which they were employed returned on the FORTUNE to England
Of course the initial embarkation, on Friday, July 21/31 1620, was at
Leyden, doubtless upon the Dutch canal-boats which undoubtedly brought
them from a point closely adjacent to Pastor Robinson\x92s house in the
Klock-Steeg (Bell, Belfry, Alley), in the garden of which were the houses
of many, to Delfshaven.
Rev. John Brown, D.D., says: \x93The barges needed for the journey were
most likely moored near the Nuns\x92 Bridge which spans the Rapenburg
immediately opposite the Klok-Steeg, where Robinsons house was. This,
being their usual meeting-place, would naturally be the place of
rendezvous on the morning of departure. From thence it was but a stone\x92s
throw to the boats, and quickly after starting they would enter the
Vliet, as the section of the canal between Leyden and Delft is named, and
which for a little distance runs within the city bounds, its quays
forming the streets. In those days the point where the canal leaves the
city was guarded by a water-gate, which has long since been removed, as
have also the town walls, the only remaining portions of which are the
Morsch-gate and the Zylgate. So, gliding along the quiet waters of the
Vliet, past the Water-gate, and looking up at the frowning turrets of the
Cow-gate, \x91they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their
resting-place near twelve years.\x92 . . . Nine miles from Leyden a
branch canal connects the Vliet with the Hague, and immediately beyond
their junction a sharp turn is made to the left, as the canal passes
beneath the Hoom-bridge; from this point, for the remaining five miles,
the high road from the Hague to Delft, lined with noble trees, runs side
by side with the canal. In our time the canal-boats make a circuit of
the town to the right, but in those days the traffic went by canal
through the heart of the city . . . . Passing out of the gates of
Delft and leaving the town behind, they had still a good ten miles of
canal journey before them ere they reached their vessel and came to the
final parting, for, as Mr. Van Pelt has clearly shown, it is a mistake to
confound Delft with Delfshaven, as the point of embarkation in the
SPEEDWELL. Below Delft the canal, which from Leyden thither is the
Vliet, then becomes the Schie, and at the village of Overschie the
travellers entered the Delfshaven Canal, which between perfectly straight
dykes flows at a considerable height above the surrounding pastures.
Then finally passing through one set of sluice gates after another, the
Pilgrims were lifted from the canal into a broad receptacle for vessels,
then into the outer haven, and so to the side of the SPEEDWELL as she lay
at the quay awaiting their arrival.\x94
Dr. Holmes has prettily pictured the \x93Departure\x94 in his \x93Robinson of
Leyden,\x94 even if not altogether correctly, geographically.
\x93He spake; with lingering, long embrace,
With tears of love and partings fond,
They floated down the creeping Maas,
Along the isle of Ysselmond.
\x93They passed the frowning towers of Briel,
The \x91Hook of Holland\x92s\x92 shelf of sand,
And grated soon with lifting keel
The sullen shores of Fatherland.
\x93No home for these! too well they knew
The mitred king behind the throne;
The sails were set, the pennons flew,
And westward ho! for worlds unknown.\x94
Winslow informs us that they of the Leyden congregation who volunteered
for the American enterprise were rather the smaller fraction of the whole
body, though he adds, as noted \x93that the difference was not great.\x94
A careful analysis of the approximate list of the Leyden colonists,
--including, of course, Carver, and Cushman and his family,--whose total
number seems to have been seventy-two, indicates that of this number,
forty-two, or considerably more than half (the rest being children,
seamen, or servants), were probably members of the Leyden church. Of
these, thirty, probably, were males and twelve females. The exact
proportion this number bore to the numerical strength of Robinson\x92s
church at that time cannot be determined, because while something less
than half as we know, gave their votes for the American undertaking, it
cannot be known whether or not the women of church had a vote in the
matter. Presumably they did not, the primitive church gave good heed to
the words of Paul (i Corinthians xiv. 34), \x93Let your women keep silence
in the churches.\x94 Neither can it be known--if they had a voice--whether
the wives and daughters of some of the embarking Pilgrims, who did not go
themselves at this time, voted with their husbands and fathers for the
removal. The total number, seventy-two, coincides very nearly with the
estimate made by Goodwin, who says: \x93Only eighty or ninety could go in
this party from Leyden,\x94 and again: \x93Not more than eighty of the
MAY-FLOWER company were from Leyden. Allowing for [i.e. leaving out]
the younger children and servants, it is evident that not half the
company can have been from Robinson\x92s congregation.\x94 As the total
number of passengers on the MAYFLOWER was one hundred and two when she
took her final departure from England, it is clear that Goodwin\x92s
estimate is substantially correct, and that the number representing the
Leyden church as given above, viz., forty-two, is very close to the
fact.
\x93When they came to the place\x94 [Delfshaven], says Bradford, \x93they found
the ship and all things ready; and such of their friends as could not
come with them [from Leyden] followed after them; and sundry also came
from Amsterdam (about fifty miles) to see them shipped, and to take their
leave of them.\x94
Saturday, July 22/Aug. 1, 1620, the Pilgrim company took their farewells,
and Winslow records: \x93We only going aboard, the ship lying to the key
[quay] and ready to sail; the wind being fair, we gave them [their
friends] a volley of small shot [musketry] and three pieces of ordnance
and so lifting up our hands to each other and our hearts for each other
to the Lord our God, we departed.\x94
Goodwin says of the parting: \x93The hull was wrapped in smoke, through
which was seen at the stern the white flag of England doubly bisected by
the great red cross of St. George, a token that the emigrants had at last
resumed their dearly-loved nationality. Far above them at the main was
seen the Union Jack of new device.\x94
And so after more than eleven years of banishment for conscience\x92 sake
from their native shores, this little band of English exiles, as true to
their mother-land--despite persecutions--as to their God, raised the
flag of England, above their own little vessel, and under its folds set
sail to plant themselves for a larger life in a New World.
And thus opens the \x93Log\x94 of the SPEEDWELL, and the \x93Westward-Ho\x94 of the
Pilgrim Fathers.
THE SPEEDWELL\x92S LOG
Sunday, July 23/Aug. 2.
On the German Ocean. Wind fair. General
course D.W., toward Southampton. sails
set, running free.
Monday, July 24/Aug. 3.
Fair. Wind moderate. Dover Straits
English Channel. In sight Dover Cliffs.
Tuesday, July 25/Aug. 5
Hugging English shore. Enters Southampton
Water.
Wednesday, July 26/Aug. 5.
Came to anchor in Port of Southampton near
ship MAYFLOWER of Yarmouth, from London (to
which this pinnace is consort), off the
north of the West Quay.\x92
Thursday, July 27/Aug. 6.
At anchor in port of Southampton.
Friday, July 28/Aug. 7.
Lying at anchor at Southampton.
Saturday, July 29/Aug. 8.
Lying at Southampton. MAY-FLOWER ready for
sea, but pinnace leaking and requires
re-trimming.
Sunday, July 30/Aug. 9.
Lying at Southampton.
Monday, July 31/Aug. 10.
Ditto.
Tuesday, Aug. 1/11.
Ditto.
Wednesday, Aug. 2/22.
Ditto. Pinnace leaking. Re-trimmed again.
Thursday, Aug 3/13.
Ditto. Receiving passengers, etc. Some of
principal Leyden men assigned to SPEEDWELL.
Friday, Aug. 4/14
Southampton. Making ready to leave.
Saturday, Aug. 5/55.
Dropped down Southampton Water and beat
down Channel. Wind dead ahead. Laid general
course W.S.W.
Sunday, Aug. 6/16.
Wind baffling. Beating down Channel.
Monday, Aug. 7/17.
Ditto.
Tuesday, Aug. 8/18.
Ditto. Ship leaking.
Wednesday, Aug. 9/19.
Ship leaking badly. Wind still ahead.
Thursday, Aug. 10/20.
Ship still leaking badly. Gaining on
pumps. Hove to. Signalled MAY-FLOWER, in
company. Consultation with Captain Jones
and principal passengers. Decided vessels
shall put back, Dartmouth, being nearest
convenient port. Wore ship and laid course
for Dartmouth with good wind.
Friday, Aug. 11/21.
Wind fair. Ship leaking badly.
Saturday, Aug. 12/22.
Made port at Dartmouth MAY-FLOWER in
company. Came to anchor near MAY-FLOWER.
Sunday, Aug. 13/23.
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
Monday, Aug. 14/24.
Moving cargo and overhauling and retrimming
ship.
Tuesday, Aug. 15/25.
Lying at Dartmouth. At on ship.
Wednesday, Aug. 16/26.
Ditto. Found a plank feet long loose and
admitting water freely, as at a mole hole.
Seams opened some.
Thursday, Aug. 17/27.
Lying at Dartmouth. Some dissension among
chief of passengers. Ship\x92s \x93Governor\x94
unsatisfactory.
Friday, Aug. 18/28.
Lying at Dartmouth. Still at work on ship.
Saturday, Aug. 19/29.
Still lying at Dartmouth.
Sunday, Aug. 20/30.
Lying at Dartmouth.
Monday, Aug. 21/31
Still at Dartmouth. Overhauling completed.
Cargo relaced. Making ready to go to sea.
Tuesday, Aug. 22/Sept. 1.
Still at Dartmouth. Lying at anchor ready
for sea.
Wednesday, Aug. 23/Sept. 2.
Weighed anchor,\x92 as did also MAY-FLOWER,
and set sail. Laid general course W.S.W.
Wind fair
Thursday, Aug. 24/Sept.3.
Fair wind, but ship leaking.
Friday, Aug. 25/Sept. 4.
Wind fair. Ship leaking dangerously.
MAY-FLOWER in company.
Saturday, Aug. 26/Sept. 5.
About 100 leagues [300 miles] from Land\x92s
End. Ship leaking badly. Hove to.
Signalled MAY-FLOWER, in company.
Consultation between masters, carpenters,
and principal passengers. Decided to put
back into Plymouth and determine whether
pinnace is seaworthy. Put about and laid
course for Plymouth.
Sunday, Aug. 27/Sept. 6.
Wind on starboard quarter. Made Plymouth
harbor and came to anchor. MAY-FLOWER in
company.
Monday, Aug. 28/Sept. 7.
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Conference
of chief of Colonists and officers of
MAY-FLOWER and SPEEDWELL. No special leak
could be found, but it was judged to be the
general weakness of the ship, and that she
would not prove sufficient for the voyage.
It was resolved to dismiss her the
SPEEDWELL, and part of the company, and
proceed with the other ship.
Tuesday, Aug. 29/Sept. 8
Lying at Plymouth. Transferring cargo.
Wednesday, Aug. 30/Sept. 9
Lying at Plymouth. Transferring cargo.
Saturday, Sept. 2/12
Ditto. Reassignment of passengers. Master
Cushman and family, Master Blossom and son,
Wm. Ring and others to return in pinnace to
London.
Sunday, Sept. 3/13
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead.
Monday, Sept. 4/14
Weighed anchor and took departure for
London, leaving MAY-FLOWER at anchor in
roadstead.
Saturday, Sept. 9/19
Off Gravesend. Came to anchor in Thames.
THE END OF THE VOYAGE AND
OF THE LOG OF THE
MAY-FLOWER\x92S
CONSORT
From Bradford we learn that the SPEEDWELL was sold at London, and was
\x93refitted\x94, her old trip being restored, and that she afterwards made for
her new owners many and very prosperous voyages.
CHAPTER III
THE MAY-FLOWER\x92S CHARTER AND THE ADVENTURERS
The ship MAY-FLOWER was evidently chartered about the middle of June,
1620 at London, by Masters Thomas West Robert Cushman acting together in
behalf of the Merchant Adventurers (chiefly of London) and the English
congregation of \x93Separatists\x94 (the \x93Pilgrims\x94), at Leyden in Holland who,
with certain of England associated, proposed to colony in America.
Professor Arber, when he says, in speaking of Cushman and Weston, \x93the
hiring of the MAY-FLOWER, when they did do it, was their act alone, and
the Leyden church nothing to do with it,\x94 seems to forget that Cushman
and his associate Carver had no other function or authority in their
conjunction with Weston and Martin, except to represent the Leyden
congregation. Furthermore, it was the avowed wish of Robinson (see his
letter dated June 14, 1620, to John Carver), that Weston \x93may [should]
presently succeed in hiring\x94 [a ship], which was equivalent to hoping
that Carver and Cushman--Weston\x92s associates representing Leyden--would
aid in so doing. Moreover, Bradford expressly states that: \x93Articles of
Agreement, drawn by themselves were, by their [the Leyden congregation\x92s]
said messenger [Carver] sent into England, who together with Robert
Cushman were to receive moneys and make provisions, both for shipping,
and other things for the voyage.\x94
Up to Saturday, June 10, nothing had been effected in the way of
providing shipping for the migrating planters though the undertaking had
been four months afoot--beyond the purchase and refitting, in Holland, by
the Leyden people themselves, of a pinnace of sixty tons (the SPEEDWELL)
intended as consort to a larger ship--and the hiring of a \x93pilott\x94 to
refit her, as we have seen.
The Leyden leaders had apparently favored purchasing also the larger
vessel still needed for the voyage, hoping, perhaps, to interest therein
at least one of their friends, Master Edward Pickering, a merchant of
Holland, himself one of the Adventurers, while Master Weston had, as
appears, inclined to hire. From this disagreement and other causes,
perhaps certain sinister reasons, Weston had become disaffected, the
enterprise drooped, the outlook was dubious, and several formerly
interested drew back, until shipping should be provided and the good
faith of the enterprise be thus assured.
It transpires from Robinson\x92s letter dated June 14., before quoted (in
which he says: \x93For shipping, Master Weston, it should seem is set upon
hiring\x94), that Robinson\x92s own idea was to purchase, and he seems to have
dominated the rest. There is perhaps a hint of his reason for this in
the following clause of the same letter, where he writes: \x93I do not think
Master Pickering [the friend previously named] will ingage, except in the
course of buying [\x91ships?\x92--Arber interpolates] as in former letters
specified.\x94 If he had not then \x93ingaged\x94 (as Robinson intimates), as an
Adventurer, he surely did later, contrary to the pastor\x92s prediction, and
the above may have been a bit of special pleading. Robinson naturally
wished to keep their, affairs, so far as possible, in known and
supposedly friendly hands, and had possibly some assurances that, as a
merchant, Pickering would be willing to invest in a ship for which he
could get a good charter for an American voyage. He proved rather an
unstable friend.
Robinson is emphatic, in the letter cited, as to the imperative necessity
that shipping should be immediately provided if the enterprise was to be
held together and the funds subscribed were to be secured. He evidently
considered this the only guaranty of good faith and of an honest
intention to immediately transport the colony over sea, that would be
accepted. After saying, as already noted, that those behind-hand with
their payments refuse to pay in \x93till they see shipping provided or a
course taken for it,\x94 he adds, referring to Master Weston: \x93That he
should not have had either shipping ready before this time, or at least
certain [i.e. definite] means and course, and the same known to us, for
it; or have taken other order otherwise; cannot in [according to] my
conscience be excused.\x94
Bradford also states that one Master Thomas Weston a merchant of London,
came to Leyden about the same time [apparently while negotiations for
emigration under their auspices were pending with the Dutch, in February
or March, 1620], who was \x93well acquainted with some of them and a
furtherer of them in their former proceedings.... and persuaded them....
not to meddle with the Dutch,\x94 etc. This Robinson confirms in his letter
to Carver before referred to, saying: \x93You know right well we depend on
Master Weston alone,.... and when we had in hand another course with the
Dutchman, broke it off at his motion.\x94
On the morning of the 10th of June, 1620, Robert Cushman, one of the
Leyden agents at London, after writing to his associate, Master John
Carver, then at Southampton; and to the Leyden leaders--in reply to
certain censorious letters received by him from both these sources
--although disheartened by the difficulties and prospects before him,
sought Master Weston, and by an urgent appeal so effectively wrought upon
him, that, two hours later, coming to Cushman, he promised \x93he would not
yet give it [the undertaking] up.\x94 Cushman\x92s patience and endurance were
evidently nearly \x93at the breaking point,\x94 for he says in his letter of
Sunday, June 11, when success had begun to crown his last grand effort:
\x93And, indeed, the many discouragements I find here [in London] together
with the demurs and retirings there [at Leyden] had made me to say, \x91I
would give up my accounts to John Carver and at his coming from
Southampton acquaint him fully with all courses [proceedings] and so
leave it quite, with only the poor clothes on my back: But gathering up
myself by further consideration, I resolved yet to make one trial more,\x94
etc. It was this \x93one trial more\x94 which meant so much to the Pilgrims;
to the cause of Religion; to America; and to Humanity. It will rank with
the last heroic and successful efforts of Robert the Bruce and others,
which have become historic. The effect of Cushman\x92s appeal upon Weston
cannot be doubted. It not only apparently influenced him at the time,
but, after reflection and the lapse of hours, it brought him to his
associate to promise further loyalty, and, what was much better, to act.
The real animus of Weston\x92s backwardness, it is quite probable, lay in
the designs of Gorges, which were probably not yet fully matured, or, if
so, involved delay as an essential part. \x93And so,\x94 Cushman states,
\x93advising together, we resolved to hire a ship.\x94 They evidently found one
that afternoon, \x93of sixty last\x94 (120 tons) which was called \x93a fine
ship,\x94 and which they \x93took liking of [Old English for trial (Dryden),
equivalent to refusal] till Monday.\x94 The same afternoon they \x93hired
another pilot . . . one Master Clarke.\x94--of whom further.
It seems certain that by the expression, \x93we have hired another pilot
here, one Master Clarke,\x94 etc.; that Cushman was reckoning the \x93pilott\x94
Reynolds whom he had hired and sent over to them in Holland, as shown--as
at the first, and now Clarke as \x93another.\x94 It nowhere appears that up to
this date, any other than these two had been hired, nor had there been
until then, any occasion for more than one.
If Cushman had been engaged in such important negotiations as these
before he wrote his letters to Carver and the Leyden friends, on Saturday
morning, he would certainly have mentioned them. As he named neither, it
is clear that they had not then occurred. It is equally certain that
Cushman\x92s appeal to Weston was not made, and his renewed activity
aroused, until after these letters had been dispatched and nothing of the
kind could have been done without Weston.
His letter-writing of June 10 was obviously in the morning, as proven by
the great day\x92s work Cushman performed subsequently. He must have
written his letters early and have taken them to such place as his
messenger had suggested (Who his messenger was does not appear, but it
was not John Turner, as suggested by Arber, for he did not arrive till
that night.) Cushman must then have looked up Weston and had an hour or
more of earnest argument with him, for he says: \x93at the last [as if some
time was occupied] he gathered himself up a little more\x94 [i.e. yielded
somewhat.] Then came an interval of \x93two hours,\x94 at the end of which
Weston came to him,
[It would be highly interesting to know whether, in the two hours
which intervened between Cushman\x92s call on Weston and the latter\x92s
return call, Weston consulted Gorges and got his instructions. It
is certain that he came prepared to act, and that vigorously, which
he had not previously been.]
and they \x93advised together,\x94--which took time. It was by this evidently
somewhat past noon, a four or five hours having been consumed. They then
went to look for a ship and found one, which, from Cushman\x92s remark, \x93but
a fine ship it is,\x94 they must (at least superficially) have examined.
While hunting for the ship they seem to have come across, and to have
hired, John Clarke the \x93pilot,\x94 with whom they necessarily, as with the
ship\x92s people, spent some time. It is not improbable that the approach
of dusk cut short their examination of the ship, which they hence \x93took
liking of [refusal of] till Monday.\x94 It is therefore evident that the
\x93refusal\x94 of the \x93sixty last\x94 ship was taken, and the \x93pilot\x94 Clarke was
\x93hired,\x94 on Saturday afternoon, June 10, as on Sunday, June 11, Cushman
informed the Leyden leaders of these facts by letter, as above indicated,
and gave instructions as to the SPEEDWELL\x92S \x93pilott,\x94 Master Reynolds.
We are therefore able to fix, nearly to an hour, the \x93turning of the
tide\x94 in the affairs of the Pilgrim movement to America.
It is also altogether probable that the Pilgrims and humanity at large
are still further (indirectly) indebted to Cushman\x92s \x93one more trial\x94 and
resultant Saturday afternoon\x92s work, for the MAY-FLOWER (though not found
that day), and her able commander Jones, who, whatever his faults, safely
brought the Pilgrims through stormy seas to their \x93promised land.\x94
Obligations of considerable and rapidly cumulative cost had now been
incurred, making it imperative to go forward to embarkation with all
speed, and primarily, to secure the requisite larger ship. Evidently
Weston and Cushman believed they had found one that would serve, when on
Saturday, they \x93took liking,\x94 as we have seen, of the \x93fine ship\x94 of 120
tons, \x93till Monday.\x94 No less able authorities than Charles Deane, Goodwin,
and Brown, with others, have mistakenly concluded that this ship was the
MAY-FLOWER, and have so stated in terms. As editor of Bradford\x92s history
\x93Of Plimoth Plantation,\x94 Mr. Deane (in a footnote to the letter of
Cushman written Sunday, June 11), after quoting the remark, \x93But it is a
fine ship,\x94 mistakenly adds, \x93The renowned MAYFLOWER.--Ed.,\x94 thus
committing himself to the common error in this regard. John Brown, in
his \x93Pilgrim Fathers of New England,\x94 confuses the vessels, stating
that, \x93when all was ready for the start, a pilot came over to conduct the
emigrants to England, bringing also a letter from Cushman announcing that
the MAYFLOWER, a vessel of one hundred and eighty tons, Thomas Jones,
Master, would start from London to Southampton in a week or two,\x94 etc.
As we have seen, these statements are out of their relation. No pilot
went for that purpose and none carried such a letter (certainly none from
Cushman), as alleged. Cushman\x92s letter, sent as we know by John Turner,
announced the finding of an entirely different vessel, which was neither
of 180 tons burden, nor had any relation to the MAY-FLOWER or her future
historic freight. Neither was there in his letter any time of starting
mentioned, or of the port of Southampton as the destination of any vessel
to go from London, or of Jones as captain. Such loose statements are the
bane of history. Goodwin, usually so accurate, stumbles unaccountably in
this matter--which has been so strangely misleading to other competent
men--and makes the sadly perverted statement that, \x93In June, John Turner
was sent, and he soon returned with a petulant (sic) letter from Cushman,
which, however, announced that the ship MAYFLOWER had been selected and
in two weeks would probably leave London for Southampton.\x94 He adds, with
inexcusable carelessness in the presence of the words \x93sixty last\x94 (which
his dictionary would have told him, at a glance, was 120 tons), that:
\x93This vessel (Thomas Jones, master) was rated at a hundred and eighty
tons . . . . Yet she was called a fine ship,\x94 etc. It is evident
that, like Brown, he confused the two vessels, with Cushman\x92s letter
before his eyes, from failure to compute the \x93sixty last.\x94 He moreover
quotes Cushman incorrectly. The great disparity in size, however, should
alone render this confusion impossible, and Cushman is clear as to the
tonnage (\x93sixty last\x94), regretting that the ship found is not larger,
while Bradford and all other chroniclers agree that the MAY-FLOWER was of
\x939 score\x94 tons burden.
It is also evident that for some reason this smaller ship (found on
Saturday afternoon) was not taken, probably because the larger one, the
MAY-FLOWER, was immediately offered to and secured by Masters Weston and
Cushman, and very probably with general approval. Just how the
MAY-FLOWER was obtained may never be certainly known. It was only on
Saturday, June 10, as we have seen, that Master Weston had seriously set
to work to look for a ship; and although the refusal of one--not wholly
satisfactory--had been prudently taken that day, it was both natural and
politic that as early as possible in the following week he should make
first inquiry of his fellow-merchants among the Adventurers, whether any
of them had available such a ship as was requisite, seeking to find, if
possible, one more nearly of the desired capacity than that of which he
had \x93taken the refusal\x94 on Saturday. It appears altogether probable that,
in reply to this inquiry, Thomas Goffe, Esq., a fellow Adventurer and
shipping-merchant of London, offered the MAY-FLOWER, which, there is
ample reason to believe, then and for ten years thereafter, belonged to
him.
It is quite likely that Clarke, the newly engaged \x93pilot,\x94 learning that
his employers required a competent commander for their ship, brought to
their notice the master of the ship (the FALCON) in which he had made his
recent voyage to Virginia, Captain Jones, who, having powerful friends at
his back in both Virginia Companies (as later appears), and large
experience, was able to approve himself to the Adventurers. It is also
probable that Thomas Weston engaged him himself, on the recommendation of
the Earl of Warwick, at the instance of Sir Ferdinando Gorges.
As several weeks would be required to fit the ship for her long voyage on
such service, and as she sailed from London July 15, her charter-party
must certainly have been signed by June 20, 1620. The SPEEDWELL, as
appears from various sources (Bradford, Winslow et al.), sailed from
Delfshaven, Saturday, July 22. She is said to have been four days on the
passage to Southampton, reaching there Wednesday, July 26. Cushman, in
his letter of Thursday, August 17, from Dartmouth to Edward Southworth,
says, \x93We lay at Southampton seven days waiting for her\x94 (the SPEEDWELL),
from which it is evident, both that Cushman came on the MAY-FLOWER from
London, and that the MAY-FLOWER must have left London at least ten days
before the 26th of July, the date of the SPEEDWELL\x92S arrival. As given
traditionally, it was on the 15th, or eleven days before the SPEEDWELL\x92S
arrival at Southampton.
By whom the charter-party of the MAY-FLOWER was signed will probably
remain matter of conjecture, though we are not without intimations of
some value regarding it. Captain John Smith tells us that the Merchant
Adventurers (presumably one of the contracting parties) \x93were about
seventy, . . . not a Corporation, but knit together by a voluntary
combination in a Society without constraint or penalty. They have a
President and Treasurer every year newly chosen by the most voices, who
ordereth the affairs of their Courts and meetings; and with the assent of
most of them, undertaketh all the ordinary business, but in more weighty
affairs, the assent of the whole Company is required.\x94 It would seem
from the foregoing--which, from so intelligent a source at a date so
contemporaneous, ought to be reliable--that, not being an incorporated
body, it would be essential that all the Adventurers (which Smith
expressly states was their rule) should \x93assent\x94 by their signatures,
which alone could bind them to so important a business document as this
charter-party. It was certainly one of their \x93more weighty affairs,\x94 and
it may well be doubted, also, if the owner of the vessel (even though one
of their number) would accept less than the signatures of all, when there
was no legal status by incorporation or co-partnership to hold them
collectively.
If the facts were indeed as stated by Smith,--whose knowledge of what he
affirmed there is no reason to doubt,--there can be little question that
the contract for the service of the MAY-FLOWER was signed by the entire
number of the Adventurers on the one part. If so, its covenants would be
equally binding upon each of them except as otherwise therein stipulated,
or provided by the law of the realm. In such case, the charter-party of
the MAY-FLOWER, with the autograph of each Merchant Adventurer appended,
would constitute, if it could be found, one of the most interesting and
valuable of historical documents. That it was not signed by any of the
Leyden congregation--in any representative capacity--is well-nigh
certain. Their contracts were with the Adventurers alone, and hence they
were not directly concerned in the contracts of the latter, their
\x93agents\x94 being but co-workers with the Adventurers (under their
partnership agreements), in finding shipping, collecting moneys,
purchasing supplies, and in generally promoting the enterprise. That
they were not signing-parties to this contract, in particular, is made
very certain by the suggestion of Cushman\x92s letter of Sunday, June 11,
to the effect that he hoped that \x93our friends there [at Leyden] if they
be quitted of the ship-hire [as then seemed certain, as the Adventurers
would hire on general account] will be induced to venture [invest] the
more.\x94 There had evidently been a grave fear on the part of the Leyden
people that if they were ever to get away, they would have to hire the
necessary ship themselves.
There is just the shadow of a doubt thrown upon the accuracy of Smith\x92s
statement as to the non-corporate status of the Adventurers, by the loose
and unwieldy features which must thereby attach to their business
transactions, to which it seems probable that merchants like Weston,
Andrews, Beauchamp, Shirley, Pickering, Goffe, and others would object,
unless the law at that time expressly limited and defined the rights and
liabilities of members in such voluntary associations. Neither evidences
of (primary) incorporation, or of such legal limitation, have, however,
rewarded diligent search. There was evidently some more definite and
corporate form of ownership in the properties and values of the
Adventurers, arrived at later. A considerable reduction in the number of
proprietors was effected before 1624--in most cases by the purchase of
the interests of certain ones by their associates--for we find their
holdings spoken of in that year as \x93sixteenths,\x94 and these shares to have
sometimes been attached for their owners\x92 debts. A letter of Shirley,
Brewer et als., to Bradford, Allerton et als., dated London, April 7,
1624, says: \x93If it had not been apparently sold, Mr. Beauchamp, who is of
the company also, unto whom he [Weston] oweth a great deal more, had long
ago attached it (as he did other\x92s 16ths),\x94 etc. It is exceedingly
difficult to reconcile these unquestionable facts with the equal
certainty that, at the \x93Composition\x94 of the Adventurers with the Planters
in 1626, there were forty-two who signed as of the Adventurers. The
weight, however, of evidence and of probability must be held to support
the conclusion that in June, 1620, the organization was voluntary, and
that the charter-party of the MAY-FLOWER was signed--\x94 on the one part
\x93--by each of the enrolled Adventurers engaged in the Leyden
congregation\x92s colonization scheme. Goodwin\x92 alone pretends to any
certain knowledge of the matter, but although a veracious usually
reliable writer, he is not infallible, as already shown, and could hardly
have had access to the original documents,--which alone, in this case,
could be relied on to prove his assertion that \x93Shortly articles were
signed by both parties, Weston acting for the Adventurers.\x94 Not a
particle of confirmatory evidence has anywhere been found in Pilgrim or
contemporaneous literature to warrant this statement, after exhaustive
search, and it must hence, until sustained by proof, be regarded as a
personal inference rather than a verity. If the facts were as appears,
they permit the hope that a document of so much prima facie importance
may have escaped destruction, and will yet be found among the private
papers of some of the last survivors of the Adventurers, though with the
acquisition of all their interests by the Pilgrim leaders such documents
would seem, of right, to have become the property of the purchasers, and
to have been transferred to the Plymouth planters.
This all-important and historic body--the company of Merchant
Adventurers--is entitled to more than passing notice. Associated to
\x93finance\x94 the projected transplantation of the Leyden congregation of
\x93Independents\x94 to the \x93northern parts of Virginia,\x94 under such patronage
and protection of the English government and its chartered Companies as
they might be able to secure, they were no doubt primarily brought
together by the efforts of one of their number, Thomas Weston, Esq., the
London merchant previously named, though for some obscure reason Master
John Pierce (also one of them) was their \x93recognized\x94 representative in
dealing with the (London) Virginia Company and the Council for the
Affairs of New England, in regard to their Patents.
Bradford states that Weston \x93was well acquainted with some of them the
Leyden leaders and a furtherer of them in their former proceedings,\x94
and this fact is more than once referred to as ground for their gratitude
and generosity toward him, though where, or in what way, his friendship
had been exercised, cannot be learned,--perhaps in the difficulties
attending their escape from \x93the north country\x94 to Holland. It was
doubtless largely on this account, that his confident assurances of all
needed aid in their plans for America were so relied upon; that he was so
long and so fully trusted; and that his abominable treachery and later
abuse were so patiently borne.
We are indebted to the celebrated navigator, Captain John Smith, of
Virginia fame, always the friend of the New England colonists, for most
of what we know of the organization and purposes of this Company. His
ample statement, worthy of repetition here, recites, that
\x93the Adventurers which raised the stock to begin and supply this
Plantation, were about seventy: some, Gentlemen; some, Merchants; some,
handicraftsmen; some adventuring great sums, some, small; as their
estates and affections served . . . . These dwell most about London.
They are not a corporation but knit together, by a voluntary combination,
in a Society, with out constraint or penalty; aiming to do good and to
plant Religion.\x94 Their organization, officers, and rules of conduct, as
given by Smith, have already been quoted. It is to be feared from the
conduct of such men as Weston, Pierce, Andrews, Shirley, Thornell,
Greene, Pickering, Alden, and others, that profitable investment, rather
than desire \x93to do good and to plant Religion,\x94 was their chief interest.
That the higher motives mentioned by Smith governed such tried and
steadfast souls as Bass, Brewer, Collier, Fletcher, Goffe, Hatherly,
Ling, Mullens, Pocock, Thomas, and a few others, there can be no doubt.
[Weston wrote Bradford, April 10, 1622, \x93I perceive and know as well
as another ye disposition of your adventurers, whom ye hope of gaine
hath drawne on to this they have done; and yet I fear ye hope will
not draw them much further.\x94 While Weston\x92s character was utterly
bad, and he had then alienated his interest in both Pilgrims and
Adventurers, his judgment of men was evidently good.]
No complete list of the original \x93seventy\x94 has ever been found, and we
are indebted for the names of forty-two, of the fifty who are now known,
to the final \x93Composition\x94 made with the Pilgrim colonists, through the
latter\x92s representatives, November 15/25, 1626, as given by Bradford,
and to private research for the rest. The list of original members of the
company of Merchant Adventurers, as ascertained to date, is as follows.
More extended mention of them appears in the notes appended to this list.
Robert Allden, Thomas Fletcher, Emanuel Altham, Thomas Goffe, Richard
Andrews, Peter Gudburn, Thomas Andrews, William Greene, Lawrence Anthony,
Timothy Hatherly, Edward Bass, Thomas Heath, John Beauchamp, William
Hobson, Thomas Brewer, Robert Holland, Henry Browning, Thomas Hudson,
William Collier, Robert Keayne, Thomas Coventry, Eliza Knight,
John Knight, John Revell, Miles Knowles, Newman Rookes, John Ling, Samuel
Sharpe, Christopher Martin(Treasurer pro tem.), James Shirley
(Treasurer), Thomas Millsop, William Thomas, Thomas Mott, John Thornell
William Mullens, Fria Newbald, Matthew Thornell William Pennington,
William Penrin. Joseph Tilden, Edward Pickering, Thomas Ward, John
Pierce, John White, John Pocock, John Wincob, Daniel Poynton, Thomas
Weston, William Quarles, Richard Wright.
Shirley, in a letter to Governor Bradford, mentions a Mr. Fogge and a Mr.
Coalson, in a way to indicate that they might have been, like himself,
Collier, Thomas, Hatherly, Beauchamp, and Andrews, also of the original
Merchant Adventurers, but no proof that they were such has yet been
discovered. It has been suggested that Sir Edwin Sandys was one of the
number, at the inception of the enterprise, but--though there is evidence
to indicate that he stood the friend of the Pilgrims in many ways,
possibly lending them money, etc.--there is no proof that he was ever
one of the Adventurers. It is more probable that certain promoters of
Higginson\x92s and Winthrop\x92s companies, some ten years later, were early
financial sponsers of the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims. Some of them were
certainly so, and it is likely that others not known as such, in reality,
were. Bradford suggests, in a connection to indicate the possibility of
his having been an \x93Adventurer,\x94 the name of a \x93Mr. Denison,\x94 of whom
nothing more is known. George Morton of London, merchant, and friend of
the leaders from the inception, and later a colonist, is sometimes
mentioned as probably of the list, but no evidence of the fact as yet
appears. Sir George Farrer and his brother were among the first of the
Adventurers, but withdrew themselves and their subscriptions very early,
on account of some dissatisfaction.
It is impossible, in the space at command, to give more than briefest
mention of each of these individual Adventurers.
Allden. Was at one time unfriendly to the Pilgrims,--Bradford calls him
\x93one of our powerfullest opposers,\x94--but later their ally. Little
is known of him. He appears to have been of London.
Altham. Was Master of the pinnace LITTLE JAMES, belonging chiefly to
Fletcher, and apparently expected to command her on her voyage to
New Plymouth in 1623, as consort of the ANNE, but for some reason
did not go, and William Bridge went as her Master, in his stead.
Andrews (Richard). Was one of the wealthiest and most liberal of the
Adventurers. He was a haberdasher of Cheapside, London, and an
Alderman of the city. He became an early proprietor and liberal
benefactor of the Massachusetts Bay Company, but most illogically
gave the debt due him from Plymouth Colony (L540) to the stronger
and richer Bay Colony. He had been, however, unjustly prejudiced
against the Pilgrims, probably through the deceit of Pierce, Weston,
Shirley, and Allerton.
Andrews (Thomas). A Lord Mayor of London, reputed a brother of the
last-named. Never very active in the Adventurers\x92 affairs, but
friendly, so far as appears.
Anthony. Little or nothing is known concerning him.
Bass. Was one of the enduring friends of the struggling Colony and
loaned them money when they were in dire straits and the prospect of
recovery was not good. He was of London, and considerable is known
concerning him.
Beauchamp. Was one of the most active of the Company for many years.
Generally to be relied upon as the Colony\x92s friend, but not without
some sordid self seeking. Apparently a wealthy citizen and \x93salter\x94
of London.
Brewer. Is too well-known as long the partner of Brewster in the conduct
of the \x93hidden press\x94 at Leyden, and as a sufferer for conscience\x92
sake, to require identification. He was a wealthy man, a scholar,
writer, printer, and publisher. Was of the University of Leyden,
but removed to London after the departure of the chief of the
Pilgrims. Was their stanch friend, a loyal defender of the faith,
and spent most of his later life in prison, under persecution of the
Bishops.
Browning. Does not appear to have been active, and little is known of
him.
Collier. Was a stanch and steadfast friend. Finally cast in his lot
with the Pilgrims at New Plymouth and became a leading man in the
government there. His life is well known. He was a \x93brewer.\x94
Coventry. Appears only as a signer, and nothing is known of him.
Fletcher. Was a well-to-do merchant of London, a warm friend and a
reliance of the Pilgrims. The loss of the LITTLE JAMES was a severe
blow to him financially.
Greene. Appears to have been a merchant and a partner in Holland (and
perhaps at London) of Edward Pickering. They were well acquainted
personally with the Pilgrims, and should have been among their most
liberal and surest friends. Facts indicate, however, that they were
sordid in their interest and not entirely just.
Goffe. Was a London merchant and ship-owner, as else where appears.
He was not only a Merchant Adventurer, but a patentee and
deputy-governor of the Massachusetts Company, and an intimate
friend of Winthrop. He lost heavily by his New England ventures.
There is, as shown elsewhere, good reason to believe that he was
the owner of the MAY-FLOWER on her historic voyage, as also when
she came over in Higginson\x92s and Winthrop\x92s fleets, ten years
later.
Gudburn. Appears only as a signer, so far as known.
Hatherly. Was a well-to-do friend of the Pilgrims, and after many
complaints had been made against them among the \x93Purchasers\x94
--arising out of the rascality of Shirley and Allerton--went to New
England on a mission of inquiry. He was perfectly convinced of the
Pilgrims\x92 integrity and charmed with the country. He made another
visit, and removed thither in 1633, to remain. He became at once
prominent in the government of New Plimoth Colony.
Heath. Does not appear to have been active, and naught is known of him.
Hobson. Is known only as a signer of the \x93Composition.\x94
Holland. Was a friend and ally of the Pilgrims, and one of their
correspondents. He is supposed to have been of the ancient house of
that name and to have lived in London.
Hudson. Was not active, and appears as a signer only.
Keayne. Was a well-to-do citizen of the vicinity of London, a friend, in
a general way, of the Pilgrims. He came to Boston with Winthrop.
Was prominent in the Massachusetts Colony. Was the founder and
first commander of the early Artillery Company of Boston, the oldest
military organization of the United States, and died at Boston,
leaving a large estate and a very remarkable will, of which he made
Governor Winslow an \x93overseer.\x94 He was an erratic,--but valuable,
citizen.
Knight (Eliza). Seems to have been the only woman of the Adventurers, so
far as they are known, but no thing is known of her. It has been
suggested that the given name has been wrongly spelled and should be
\x93Eleazar,\x94--a man\x92s name,--but the \x93Composition\x94 gives the signature
as Eliza, clearly, as published.
Knight (John). Finds no especial mention. He was probably a relative of
Eliza.
Knowles. Appears only as a signer of the \x93Composition.\x94
Ling. Was a wealthy friend of the colonists and always true to them. He
lost his property and was in poverty when the Pilgrims (though not
yet well on their feet), in grateful remembrance of his fidelity,
sent him a generous gift.
Martin. Was the first treasurer of the colonists and also a MAY-FLOWER
Pilgrim. Mention of him appears later. He was no credit to the
Company, and his early death probably prevented much vexation.
Millsop. Appears only as a signer of the \x93Composition.\x94
Mott. Has no especial mention, but is believed to have sent some of his
people to Plymouth Colony at an early day.
Mullens. Was, as appears elsewhere, a well-conditioned tradesman of
Surrey, England, who was both an Adventurer and a MAY-FLOWER
Pilgrim, and Martin and himself appear to have been the only ones
who enjoyed that distinction. He died, however, soon after the
arrival at Plymouth. That he was an Adventurer is but recently
discovered by the author, but there appears no room for doubt as to
the fact. His record was brief, but satisfactory, in its relation to
the Pilgrims.
Newbald. Finds no especial mention.
Pennington. Appears only as a signer. It is a London name.
Penrin. Appears only as a signer of the \x93Composition.\x94
Pickering. Is introduced to us first as a Leyden merchant, through John
Robinson\x92s letters. He appears to have been a shrewd, cold-blooded
calculator, like his partner-Adventurer, Greene, not interested
especially in the Pilgrims, except for gain, and soon deserting the
Adventurers. His family seem to have been in favor with Charles II.
(See Pepys\x92 \x93Diary.\x94)
Pierce (John). Although recognized by the Virginia Companies and Council
for New England, as the representative of the Adventurers, he has
only been recently generally reckoned a chief man of the
Adventurers. A Protean friend of the Pilgrims, never reliable, ever
pretentious, always self-seeking, and of no help. He was finally
ruined by the disasters to his ship, the PARAGON, which cost him all
his interests. Having attempted treacherously to secure to himself
the Patent granted in the Colony\x92s interest, he was compelled by the
Council to surrender its advantages to the Adventurers and
colonists.
Pocock. Was a stanch and firm supporter of the Pilgrims and their
interests, at all times, and to the end. He was also a financial
supporter and deputy-governor the Massachusetts Company, under
Winthrop. A correspondent of Bradford. A good man.
Poyton. Finds no especial mention. He appears as a signer only.
Quarles. Appears only as a signer of the \x93Composition.\x94
Revell. Was a very wealthy citizen, merchant, and ship owner of London,
and a good man. He became also ardently interested in Winthrop\x92s
Company. Was an \x93assistant\x94 and one of the five \x93undertakers\x94
chosen to go to New England to reside. He went to New England on
the JEWELL of Winthrop\x92s fleet, and was part owner of the LADY
ARBELLA. He evidently, however, did not like the life, and returned
after a few weeks\x92 stay.
Rookes. Appears only as a signer.
Sharpe. Was also a friend of both Pilgrim and Puritan. He came to New
England in 1629, and settled first at Salem, in the Massachusetts
Company. He died in 1658, having long been a ruling elder of the
church there. He met with many enemies, but was a valuable man and
an able one. He was Governor Cradock\x92s New England agent.
Shirley. Requires little mention here. The perfidious friend of the
Pilgrims,--perhaps originally true to them,--he sunk everything for
hope of gain. He was treasurer of the Adventurers, one of their
most active and intelligent men, but proved a rascal and a canting
hypocrite. He was a \x93citizen and gold-smith\x94 of London.
Thomas. Has nowhere been enumerated in any list of the Adventurers
(though occasionally mentioned as such by recent writers), which is
strange, as repeated letters of his to Bradford, and other data,
show him to have been one of the best and truest of them all. He
sold his interests before the \x93Composition\x94 and became a colonist
after 1630. He was the fifth of the Adventurers to come to New
England to remain, and cast in his lot with the Pilgrims at New
Plimoth--Martin, Mullens, Collier, and Hatherly preceding him. A
wealthy and well-informed man, he became a power in the government.
Probably Welsh by birth, he was a London merchant when the
Adventurers were organized. His home at Marshfield, Massachusetts,
has since become additionally famous as the home of Daniel Webster.
Thornell (John). Is sometimes confounded with another Adventurer,
Matthew Thornhill, as his name is some times so spelled. There is
reason to believe they were related. He was not a friend to the
Pilgrims.
Thornhill (or Thornell), (Matthew). Little is known concerning him.
Tilden. Was of an old family in Kent, \x93a citizen and girdler of London,\x94
as his will declares, his brother (Nathaniel) later coming to New
England and settling near Hatherly at Scituate. Nathaniel\x92s son
Joseph--named for his uncle--was made his executor and heir. The
uncle was always a firm friend of the Pilgrims. Mr. Tilden\x92s will
is given by Waters (\x93Genealogical Gleanings,\x94 vol. i. p. 71), and
is of much interest.
Ward. Appears only as a signer.
White. Probably the Rev. John White, a stanch friend of the Pilgrims,
although not a \x93Separatist,\x94 and intimately connected with the
upbuilding of New England. His record was a broad and noble one.
Goodwin says: \x93Haven thinks White was that Dorchester clergyman
reputed to be the author of the Planters\x92 Plea.\x94 Probably, but
not certainly, William White of the Pilgrims was also an Adventurer.
Wincob (?). Was a gentleman of the family of the Countess of Lincoln,
and the one in whose name the first patent in behalf of the
Adventurers and Pilgrims (which, however, was never used) was taken.
It is only recently that evidences which, though not conclusive, are
yet quite indicative, have caused his name to be added to the list,
though there is still a measure of doubt whether it belongs there.
Weston. Requires little mention here. Once a friend of the Pilgrims and
unmistakably the organizer of the Adventurers, he became a graceless
ingrate and rascal. An instrument of good at first, he became a
heartless and designing enemy of the Planters. He was a \x93citizen
and merchant [ironmonger] of London.\x94 It is altogether probable
that he was originally a tool of Sir Ferdinando Gorges and was led
by him to influence the Leyden brethren to break off negotiations
with the Dutch. He died poor, at Bristol, England.
Wright. Perhaps came to New Plimoth and married a daughter of the
MAY-FLOWER Pilgrim, Francis Cooke. If so, he settled at Rehoboth and
became its leading citizen. He may possibly have been the settler
of that name in the Bay-Colony, and the weight of evidence rather
favors the latter supposition.
Of the Adventurers, Collier, Hatherly, Keayne, Mullens, Revell, Pierce,
Sharpe, Thomas, and Weston, probably Wright and White, possibly others,
came to America for longer or shorter periods. Several of them were back
and forth more than once. The records show that Andrews, Goffe, Pocock,
Revell, Sharpe, and White were subsequently members of the Massachusetts
(Winthrop\x92s) Company.
Professor Arberl finds but six of the Pilgrim Merchant Adventurers who
later were among the Adventurers with Winthrop\x92s Company of Massachusetts
Bay, viz.:--Thomas Andrews, John Pocock, Samuel Sharpe, Thomas Goffe,
John Revell, John White.
He should have added at least, the names of Richard Andrews and Robert
Keayne, and probably that of Richard Wright.
Of their number, Collier, Hatherly, Martin, Mullens, Thomas, and
(possibly) Wright were Plymouth colonists Martin and Mullens, as noted,
being MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims. Nathaniel Tilden, a brother of Joseph Tilden
of the Adventurers, came, as previously mentioned, to the Colony from
Kent, settling at Scituate. Joseph, being apparently unmarried, made his
nephew, Joseph of Scituate, his residuary legatee, and his property
mostly came over to the Colony.
Collier, Hatherly, and Thomas all located within a few miles of one
another, were all wealthy and prominent men in the government of the
Colony, were intimate friends,--the first and last especially,--and lent
not a little dignity and character to this new dependency of King James
the First. The remaining twenty or thereabouts whose names are not
surely known--though a few of them are pretty safely conjectured, some
being presumably of the Holland Pilgrims and their friends--were probably
chiefly small contributors, whose rights were acquired from time to time
by others of larger faith in the enterprise, or greater sympathy or
means. Not all, however, who had ceased to hold their interests when the
\x93Composition\x94 was made with Allerton in behalf of the colonists, in 1626,
were of these small holders. Weston was forced out by stress of
circumstances; Thomas moved to New England; Pierce was ruined by his
ventures by sea; Martin and Mullens died in 1621; Pickering and Greene
got out early, from distrust as to profits; Wincob alone, of this class,
was a small investor, if he was one at all.
By far the greater portion of the sums invested by the Adventurers in
behalf of the Colony is represented by those whose names are known, those
still unknown representing, doubtless, numbers rather than amounts. It
is, however, interesting to note, that more than four sevenths of the
original number, as given by Captain John Smith, continued to retain
their interests till the \x93Composition\x94 of 1626. It is to be hoped that
it may yet be possible to increase considerably, if not to perfect, the
list of these coadjutors of the Pilgrims--the Merchant Adventurers--the
contracting \x93party of the second part,\x94 to the charter-party of the
MAY-FLOWER.
Who the Owner of the MAY-FLOWER was, or who his representative, the
\x93party of the first part,\x94 to the charter party of the Pilgrim ship,
cannot be declared with absolute certainty, though naturally a matter of
absorbing interest. There is, however, the strongest probability, as
before intimated, that Thomas Goffe, Esq., one of the Merchant
Adventurers, and always a stanch friend of the Pilgrims, was the owner of
the historic vessel,--and as such has interwoven his name and hers with
the histories of both the Pilgrim and Puritan hegiras from Old to New
England. He was, as previously stated, a wealthy \x93merchant and ship
owner of London,\x94 and not only an Adventurer with the Leyden Pilgrims,
but--nearly ten years later--a patentee of the Massachusetts Company and
one of its charter officers.
We are told in the journal of Governor Winthrop of that Company--then on
board the LADY ARBELLA, the, \x93Admiral\x94 or flagship of his fleet, riding
at Cowes, ready to set sail for New England--that on \x93Easter Monday
(March 29), 1630, the CHARLES, the MAY-FLOWER, the WILLIAM AND FRANCIS,
the HOPEWELL, the WHALE, the SUCCESS, and the TRIAL,\x94 of his fleet, were
\x93still at Hampton [Southampton] and are not ready.\x94 Of these seven ships
it is certain that Mr. Goffe owned at least two, as Governor Winthrop--in
writing, some days later, of the detention of his son Henry and his
friend Mr. Pelham, who, going ashore, failed to return to the governor\x92s
ship before she sailed from Cowes, and so went to the fleet at
Southampton for passage--says: \x93So we have left them behind and suppose
they will come after in one of Mr. Goffe\x92s ships.\x94 It is clear,
therefore, that Mr. Goffe, who was an intimate friend and business
associate of Governor Winthrop, as the latter\x92s correspondence amply
attests, and was a charter deputy-governor of the Massachusetts Company,
and at this time \x93an assistant,\x94 was the owner of at least two (probably
not more) of these seven belated ships of the governor\x92s fleet, riding at
Southampton. Bearing in mind that the MAY-FLOWER and the WHALE were two
of those ships, it becomes of much importance to find that these two
ships, evidently sailing in company (as if of one owner), arrived
together in the harbor of Charlestown, New England, on Thursday, July 1,
having on board one of them the governor\x92s missing son, Henry Winthrop.
If he came--as his father expected and as appears certain--\x93in one of Mr.
Goffe\x92s ships,\x94 then evidently, either the MAY-FLOWER or the WHALE, or
both, belonged to Mr. Goffe. That both were Goffe\x92s is rendered probable
by the fact that Governor Winthrop--writing of the vessels as if
associated and a single interest--states that \x93most of their cattle [on
these ships] were dead, whereof a mare and horse of mine.\x94 This
probability is increased, too, by the facts that the ships evidently kept
close company across the Atlantic (as if under orders of a common owner,
and as was the custom, for mutual defence and assistance, if occasion
required), and that Winthrop who, as we above noted, had large dealings
with Goffe, seems to have practically freighted both these ships for
himself and friends, as his freight bills attest. They would hence, so
far as possible, naturally keep together and would discharge their
cargoes and have their accountings to a single consignee, taken as nearly
together as practicable. Both these ships came to Charlestown,--as only
one other did,--and both were freighted, as noted, by one party.
Sadly enough, the young man, Henry Winthrop, was drowned at Salem the
very day after his arrival, and before that of either of the other
vessels: the HOPEWELL, or WILLIAM AND FRANCIS (which arrived at Salem the
3d); or the TRIAL or CHARLES (which arrived--the first at Charlestown, of
the last at Salem--the 5th); or the SUCCESS (which arrived the 6th);
making it certain that he must have come in either the MAY-FLOWER or the
WHALE. If, as appears, Goffe owned them both, then his ownership of the
MAY-FLOWER in 1630 is assured, while all authorities agree without cavil
that the MAY-FLOWER of Winthrop\x92s fleet in that year (1630) and the
MAY-FLOWER of the Pilgrims were the same. In the second \x93General Letter
of Instructions\x94 from the Massachusetts Company in England--dated London,
May 28, 1629--to Governor Endicott and his Council, a duplicate of which
is preserved in the First Book of the Suffolk Registry of Deeds at
Boston, the historic vessel is described as \x93The MAY-FLOWER, of Yarmouth
--William Pierse, Master,\x94 and Higginson, in his \x93Journal of a Voyage to
New England,\x94 says, \x93The fifth ship is called the MAY-FLOWER carrying
passengers and provisions.\x94 Yarmouth was hence undoubtedly the place of
register, and the hailing port of the MAY-FLOWER,--she was very likely
built there,--and this would remain the same, except by legal change of
register, wherever she was owned, or from what ever port she might sail.
Weston and Cushman, according to Bradford, found and hired her at London,
and her probable owner, Thomas Goffe, Esq., was a merchant of that city.
Dr. Young remarks: \x93The MAYFLOWER Of Higginson\x92s fleet is the renowned
vessel that brought the Pilgrim Fathers to Plymouth in 1620.\x94 Hon.
James Savage says \x93The MAYFLOWER had been a name of renown without
forming part of this fleet [Winthrop\x92s, 1630], because in her came the
devoted planters of Plimouth [1620] and she had also brought in the year
preceding [1629] some of Higginson\x92s company to Salem.\x94 Goodwin\x92 says:
\x93In 1629 she [the Pilgrim MAY-FLOWER] came to Salem with a company of the
Leyden people for Plymouth, and in 1630 was one of the large fleet that
attended John Winthrop, discharging her passengers at Charlestown.\x94 Dr.
Young remarks in a footnote: \x93Thirty-five of the Leyden congregation with
their families came over to Plymouth via Salem, in the MAY-FLOWER and
TALBOT.\x94
In view of such positive statements as these, from such eminent
authorities and others, and of the collateral facts as to the probable
ownership of the MAY-FLOWER in 1630, and on her earlier voyages herein
presented, the doubt expressed by the Rev. Mr. Blaxland in his \x93Mayflower
Essays,\x94 whether the ship bearing her name was the same, on these three
several voyages, certainly does not seem justified.
Captain William Pierce, who commanded the MAY-FLOWER in 1629, when she
brought over part of the Leyden company, was the very early and intimate
friend of the Pilgrims--having brought over the ANNE with Leyden
passengers in 1623--and sailed exclusively in the employ of the Merchant
Adventurers, or some of their number, for many years, which is of itself
suggestive.
To accept, as beyond serious doubt, Mr. Goffe\x92s ownership of the
MAY-FLOWER, when she made her memorable voyage to New Plimoth, one need
only to compare, and to interpret logically, the significant facts;
--that he was a ship-owner of London and one of the body of Merchant
Adventurers who set her forth on her Pilgrim voyage in 1620; and that he
stood, as her evident owner, in similar relation to the Puritan company
which chartered her for New England, similarly carrying colonists,
self-exiled for religion\x92s sake, in 1629 and again in 1630. This
conviction is greatly strengthened by the fact that Mr. Goffe continued
one of the Pilgrim Merchant Adventurers, until their interests were
transferred to the colonists by the \x93Composition\x94 of 1626, and three
years later (1629) sent by the MAY-FLOWER, on her second New England
voyage, although under a Puritan charter, another company from the
Leyden congregation. The (cipher) letter of the \x93Governor and deputies
of the New-England Company for a plantation in Massachusetts Bay\x94 to
Captain John Endicott, written at Gravesend, England, the 17th of April,
1629, says: \x93If you want any Swyne wee have agreed with those of Ne[w]
Plimouth that they deliver you six Sowes with pigg for which they a[re]
to bee allowed 9 lb. in accompt of what they the Plymouth people owe
unto Mr. Goffe [our] deputie [Governor].\x94 It appears from the foregoing
that the Pilgrims at New Plymouth were in debt to Mr. Goffe in 1629,
presumably for advances and passage money on account of the contingent
of the Leyden congregation, brought over with Higginson\x92s company to
Salem, on the second trip of the MAY-FLOWER. Mr. Goffe\x92s intimate
connection with the Pilgrims was certainly unbroken from the
organization of their Merchant Adventurers in 1619/20, through the
entire period of ten years, to 1630. There is every reason to believe,
and none to doubt, that his ownership of the MAY-FLOWER of imperishable
renown remained equally unbroken throughout these years, and that his
signature as her owner was appended to her Pilgrim charter-party in
1620. Whoever the signatories of her charter-party may have been, there
can be no doubt that the good ship MAY-FLOWER, in charge of her
competent, if treacherous, Master, Captain Thomas Jones, and her first
\x93pilot,\x94 John Clarke, lay in the Thames near London through the latter
part of June and the early part of July, in the summer of
1620, undergoing a thorough overhauling, under contract as a
colonist-transport, for a voyage to the far-off shores of \x93the
northern parts of Virginia.\x94
In whatever of old English verbiage, with quaint terms and cumbersome
repetition, the stipulations of this contract of were concealed, there
can be no doubt that they purported and designed to \x93ingage\x94 that \x93the
Good ship MAY-FLOWER of Yarmouth, of 9 score tuns burthen, whereof for
the present viage Thomas Joanes is Master,\x94 should make the \x93viage\x94 as a
colonist-transport, \x93from the city of London in His Majesty\x92s Kingdom of
Great Britain,\x94 etc., \x93to the neighborhood of the mouth of Hudson\x92s
River, in the northern parts of Virginia and return, calling at the Port
of Southampton, outward bound, to complete her lading, the same of all
kinds, to convey to, and well and safely deliver at, such port or place,
at or about the mouth of Hudson\x92s River, so-called, in Virginia
aforesaid, as those in authority of her passengers shall direct,\x94 etc.,
with provision as to her return lading, through her supercargo, etc.
It is probable that the exact stipulations of the contract will never
transpire, and we can only roughly guess at them, by somewhat difficult
comparison with the terms on which the LADY ARBELLA, the \x93Admiral,\x94 or
flagship, of Winthrop\x92s fleet, was chartered in 1630, for substantially
the like voyage (of course, without expectation or probability, of so
long a stay on the New England coast), though the latter was much the
larger ship. The contract probably named an \x93upset\x94 or total sum for the
\x93round voyage,\x94 as was the of the case with the LADY ARBELLA, though it
is to be hoped there was no \x93demurrage\x94 clause, exacting damage, as is
usual, for each day of detention beyond the \x93lay days\x94 allowed, for the
long and unexpected tarries in Cape Cod and Plymouth harbors must have
rolled up an appalling \x93demurrage\x94 claim. Winthrop enters among his
memoranda, \x93The agreement for the ARBELLA L750, whereof is to be paid in
hand [i e. cash down] the rest upon certificate of our safe arrival.\x94
The sum was doubtless considerably in excess of that paid for the
MAY-FLOWER, both because she was a much larger, heavier-armed, and
better-manned ship, of finer accommodations, and because ships were, in
1630, in far greater demand for the New England trade than in 1620,
Winthrop\x92s own fleet including no less than ten. The adjustments of
freight and passage moneys between the Adventurers and colonists are
matter of much doubt and perplexity, and are not likely to be fully
ascertained. The only light thrown upon them is by the tariffs for such
service on Winthrop\x92s fleet, and for passage, etc., on different ships,
at a little later day. It is altogether probable that transportation of
all those accepted as colonists, by the agents of the Adventurers and
\x93Planters,\x94 was without direct charge to any individual, but was debited
against the whole. But as some had better quarters than others, some
much more and heavier furniture, etc., while some had bulky and heavy
goods for their personal benefit (such as William Mullen\x92s cases of
\x93boots and shoes,\x94 etc.), it is fair to assume that some schedule of
rates for \x93tonnage,\x94 if not for individuals, became necessary, to
prevent complaints and to facilitate accounts. Winthrop credits Mr.
Goffe--owner of two of the ships in 1630--as follows:--
\x93For ninety-six passengers at L4, L384.
For thirty-two tons of goods at L3 (per ton).
For passage for a man, his wife and servant, (3 persons)
L16/10, L5/10 each.\x94
Goodwin shows the cost of transportation at different times and under
varying conditions. \x93The expense of securing and shipping Thos. Morton
of \x91Merry Mount\x92 to England, was L12 7 0,\x94 but just what proportion the
passage money bore to the rest of the account, cannot now be told. The
expense of Mr. Rogers, the young insane clergyman brought over by Isaac
Allerton, without authority, was, for the voyage out: \x93For passage L1.
For diet for eleven weeks at 4s. 8d. per week, total L3 11 4\x94
[A rather longer passage than usual.] Constant Southworth came in the
same ship and paid the same, L3 11 4, which may hence be assumed as the
average charge, at that date, for a first-class passage. This does not
vary greatly from the tariff of to-day, (1900) as, reduced to United
States currency, it would be about $18; and allowing the value of
sterling to be about four times this, in purchase ratio, it would mean
about $73. The expenses of the thirty-five of the Leyden congregation
who came over in the MAY-FLOWER in 1620, and of the others brought in the
LION in 1630, were slightly higher than these figures, but the cost of
the trip from Leyden to England was included, with that of some clothing.
In 1650, Judge Sewall, who as a wealthy man would be likely to indulge in
some luxury, gives his outlay one way, as, \x93Fare, L2 3 0; cabin expenses,
L4 11 4; total, L6 14 4.\x94
CHAPTER IV
THE MAY-FLOWER--THE SHIP HERSELF
Unhappily the early chroniclers familiar with the MAY-FLOWER have left us
neither representation nor general description of her, and but few data
from which we may reconstruct her outlines and details for ourselves.
Tradition chiefly determines her place in one of the few classes into
which the merchant craft of her day were divided, her tonnage and service
being almost the only other authentic indices to this class.
Bradford helps us to little more than the statement, that a vessel, which
could have been no other, \x93was hired at London, being of burden about 9
score\x94 [tons], while the same extraordinary silence, which we have
noticed as to her name, exists as to her description, with Smith,
Bradford, Winslow, Morton, and the other contemporaneous or early writers
of Pilgrim history. Her hundred and eighty tons register indicates in
general her size, and to some extent her probable model and rig.
Long search for a reliable, coetaneous picture of one of the larger ships
of the merchant service of England, in the Pilgrim period, has been
rewarded by the discovery of the excel lent \x93cut\x94 of such a craft, taken
from M. Blundeville\x92s \x93New and Necessarie Treatise of Navigation,\x94
published early in the seventeenth century. Appearing in a work of so
high character, published by so competent a navigator and critic, and
(approximately) in the very time of the Pilgrim \x93exodus,\x94 there can be no
doubt that it quite correctly, if roughly and insufficiently, depicts the
outlines, rig, and general cast of a vessel of the MAY-FLOWER type and
time, as she appeared to those of that day, familiar therewith.
It gives us a ship corresponding, in the chief essentials, to that which
careful study of the detail and minutiae of the meagre MAY-FLOWER history
and its collaterals had already permitted the author and others to
construct mentally, and one which confirms in general the conceptions
wrought out by the best artists and students who have attempted to
portray the historic ship herself.
Captain J. W. Collins, whose experience and labors in this relation are
further alluded to, and whose opinion is entitled to respect, writes the
author in this connection, as follows \x93The cut from Blundeville\x92s
treatise, which was published more or less contemporaneously with the
MAYFLOWER, is, in my judgment, misleading, since it doubtless represents
a ship of an earlier date, and is evidently [sic] reproduced from a
representation on tapestry, of which examples are still to be seen (with
similar ships) in England. The actual builder\x92s plans, reproduced by
Admiral Paris, from drawings still preserved, of ships of the MAYFLOWER\x92S
time, seem to me to offer more correct and conclusive data for accurately
determining what the famous ship of the Pilgrim Fathers was like.\x94
Decidedly one of the larger and better vessels of the merchant class of
her day, she presumably followed the prevalent lines of that class, no
doubt correctly represented, in the main, by the few coeval pictures of
such craft which have come down to us. No one can state with absolute
authority, her exact rig, model, or dimensions; but there can be no
question that all these are very closely determined from even the meagre
data and the prints we possess, so nearly did the ships of each class
correspond in their respective features in those days. There is a
notable similarity in certain points of the MAY-FLOWER, as she has been
represented by these different artists, which is evidence upon two
points: first, that all delineators have been obliged to study the type
of vessel to which she belonged from such representations of it as each
could find, as neither picture nor description of the vessel herself was
to be had; and second, that as the result of such independent study
nearly all are substantially agreed as to what the salient features of
her type and class were. A model of a ship [3 masts] of the MAY-FLOWER
type, and called in the Society\x92s catalogue \x93A Model of the MAY FLOWER,
after De Bry,\x94 but itself labelled \x93Model of one of Sir Walter Raleigh\x92s
Ships,\x94 is (mistakenly) exhibited by the Pilgrim Society at Plymouth.
It is by no means to be taken as a correct representation of the Pilgrim
bark. Few of the putative pictures of the MAY-FLOWER herself are at all
satisfactory,--apart from the environment or relation in which she is
usually depicted,--whether considered from an historical, a nautical,
or an artistic point of view. The only one of these found by the author
which has commanded (general, if qualified) approval is that entitled
\x93The MAY-FLOWER at Sea,\x94 a reproduction of which, by permission, is the
frontispiece of this volume. It is from an engraving by the master hand
of W. J. Linton, from a drawing by Granville Perkins, and appeared in the
\x93New England Magazine\x94 for April, 1898, as it has elsewhere. Its
comparative fidelity to fact, and its spirited treatment, alike commend
it to those familiar with the subject, as par excellence the modern
artistic picture of the MAY-FLOWER, although somewhat fanciful, and its
rig, as Captain Collies observes, \x93is that of a ship a century later than
the MAY-FLOWER; a square topsail on the mizzen,\x94 he notes, \x93being unknown
in the early part of the seventeenth century, and a jib on a ship equally
rare.\x94 Halsall\x92s picture of \x93The Arrival of the MAY-FLOWER in Plymouth
Harbor,\x94 owned by the Pilgrim Society, of Plymouth, and hung in the
Society\x92s Hall, while presenting several historical inaccuracies,
undoubtedly more correctly portrays the ship herself, in model, rig,
etc., than do most of the well-known paintings which represent her.
It is much to be regretted that the artist, in woeful ignorance, or
disregard, of the recorded fact that the ship was not troubled with
either ice or snow on her entrance (at her successful second attempt) to
Plymouth harbor, should have covered and environed her with both.
Answering, as the MAY-FLOWER doubtless did, to her type, she was
certainly of rather \x93blocky,\x94 though not unshapely, build, with high poop
and forecastle, broad of beam, short in the waist, low \x93between decks,\x94
and modelled far more upon the lines of the great nautical prototype, the
water-fowl, than the requirements of speed have permitted in the carrying
trade of more recent years. That she was of the \x93square rig\x94 of her
time--when apparently no use was made of the \x93fore-and-aft\x94 sails which
have so wholly banished the former from all vessels of her size--goes
without saying. She was too large for the lateen rig, so prevalent in
the Mediterranean, except upon her mizzenmast, where it was no doubt
employed.
The chief differences which appear in the several \x93counterfeit
presentments\x94 of the historic ship are in the number of her masts and
the height of her poop and her forecastle. A few make her a brig or
\x93snow\x94 of the oldest pattern, while others depict her as a full-rigged
ship, sometimes having the auxiliary rig of a small \x93jigger\x94 or
\x93dandy-mast,\x94 with square or lateen sail, on peak of stern, or on the
bow sprit, or both, though usually her mizzenmast is set well aft upon
the poop. There is no reason for thinking that the former of these
auxiliaries existed upon the MAY-FLOWER, though quite possible. Her 180
tons measurement indicates, by the general rule of the nautical
construction of that period, a length of from 90 to 100 feet, \x93from
taffrail to knighthead,\x94 with about 24 feet beam, and with such a hull
as this, three masts would be far more likely than two. The fact that
she is always called a \x93ship\x94--to which name, as indicating a class,
three masts technically attach--is also somewhat significant, though the
term is often generically used. Mrs. Jane G. Austin calls the
MAY-FLOWER a \x93brig,\x94 but there does not appear anywhere any warrant
for so doing.
At the Smithsonian Institution (National Museum) at Washington, D. C.,
there is exhibited a model of the MAY-FLOWER, constructed from the ratio
of measurements given in connection with the sketch and working plans of
a British ship of the merchant MAY-FLOWER class of the seventeenth
century, as laid down by Admiral Francois Edmond Paris, of France, in his
\x93Souvenirs de Marine.\x94 The hull and rigging of this model were carefully
worked out by, and under the supervision of Captain Joseph W. Collins
(long in the service of the Smithsonian Institution, in nautical and
kindred matters, and now a member of the Massachusetts Commission of
Inland Fisheries and Game), but were calculated on the erroneous basis of
a ship of 120 instead of 180 tons measurement. This model, which is upon
a scale of 1/2 inch to 1 foot, bears a label designating it as \x93The
\x91MAYFLOWER\x92 of the Puritans\x94 [sic], and giving the following description
(written by Captain Collins) of such a vessel as the Pilgrim ship, if of
120 tons burthen, as figured from such data as that given by Admiral
Paris, must, approximately, have been. (See photographs of the model
presented herewith.) \x93A wooden, carvel-built, keel vessel, with full
bluff bow, strongly raking below water line; raking curved stem; large
open head; long round (nearly log-shaped) bottom; tumble in top side;
short run; very large and high square stern; quarter galleries; high
forecastle, square on forward end, with open rails on each side; open
bulwarks to main [spar] and quarter-decks; a succession of three
quarter-decks or poops, the after one being nearly 9 feet above main
[spar] deck; two boats stowed on deck; ship-rigged, with pole masts
[i.e. masts in one piece]; without jibs; square sprit sail (or water
sail under bowsprit); two square sails on fore and main masts, and
lateen sail on mizzenmast.\x94
Dimensions of Vessel. Length, over all, knightheads to taffrail, 82
feet; beam, 22 feet; depth, 14 feet; tonnage, 120; bowsprit, outboard, 40
feet 6 inches; spritsail yard, 34 feet 6 inches; foremast, main deck to
top, 39 feet; total length, main [spar] deck to truck, 67 feet 6 inches;
fore-yard, 47 feet 6 inches; foretopsail yard, 34 feet 1 2 inches;
mainmast, deck to top, 46 feet; total, deck to truck, 81 feet; main yard,
53 feet; maintopsail yard, 38 feet 6 inches; mizzen mast, deck to top, 34
feet; total, deck to truck, 60 feet 6 inches; spanker yard, 54 feet 6
inches; boats, one on port side of deck, 17 feet long by 5 feet 2 inches
wide; one on starboard side, 13 feet 6 inches long by 4 feet 9 inches
wide. The above description \x93worked out\x94 by Captain Collins, and in
conformity to which his putative model of the \x93MAY FLOWER\x94 was
constructed, rests, of course, for its correctness, primarily, upon the
assumptions (which there is no reason to question) that the \x93plates\x94 of
Admiral Paris, his sketches, working plans, dimensions, etc., are
reliable, and that Captain Collins\x92s mathematics are correct, in reducing
and applying the Admiral\x92s data to a ship of 120 tons. That there would
be some considerable variance from the description given, in applying
these data to a ship of 60 tons greater measurement (i.e. of 180 tons),
goes without saying, though the changes would appear more largely in the
hull dimensions than in the rigging. That the description given, and its
expression in the model depicted, present, with considerable fidelity, a
ship of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S class and type, in her day,--though of sixty
tons less register, and amenable to changes otherwise,--is altogether
probable, and taken together, they afford a fairly accurate idea of the
general appearance of such a craft.
In addition to mention of the enlargements which the increased tonnage
certainly entails, the following features of the description seem to call
for remark.
It is doubtful whether the vessels of this class had \x93open bulwarks to
the main [spar] deck,\x94 or \x93a succession of three quarter-decks or poops.\x94
Many models and prints of ships of that period and class show but two.
It is probable that if the jib was absent, as Captain Collins believes
(though it was evidently in use upon some of the pinnaces and shallops of
the time, and its utility therefore appreciated), there was a small
squaresail on a \x93dandy\x94 mast on the bowsprit, and very possibly the
\x93sprit\x94 or \x93water-sail\x94 he describes. The length of the vessel as given
by Captain Collins, as well as her beam, being based on a measurement of
but 120 tons, are both doubtless less than they should be, the depth
probably also varying slightly, though there would very likely be but few
and slight departures otherwise from his proximate figures. The
long-boat would be more likely to be lashed across the hatch amidships
than stowed on the port side of the deck, unless in use for stowage
purposes, as previously suggested. Captain Collins very interestingly
notes in a letter to the author, concerning the measurements indicated
by his model: \x93Here we meet with a difficulty, even if it is not
insurmountable. This is found in the discrepancy which exists between
the dimensions--length, breadth, and depth--requisite to produce a
certain tonnage, as given by Admiral Paris and the British Admiralty.
Whether this is due to a difference in estimating tonnage between France
(or other countries) and Great Britain, I am unable to say, but it is a
somewhat remarkable fact that the National Museum model, which was made
for a vessel of 120 tons, as given by Admiral Paris who was a Frenchman,
has almost exactly the proportions of length, depth, and breadth that an
English ship of 180 tons would have, if we can accept as correct the
lists of measurements from the Admiralty records published by Charnock
. . . In the third volume of Charnock\x92s \x91History of Marine
Architecture,\x92 p. 274., I find that a supply transport of 175 tons,
built in 1759, and evidently a merchant ship originally, or at least a
vessel of that class, was 79.4 feet long (tonnage measure), 22.6 feet
beam, and 11.61 feet deep.\x94 The correspondence is noticeable and of
much interest, but as the writer comments, all depends upon whether or
not \x93the measurement of the middle of the eighteenth century materially
differed in Great Britain from what it was in the early part of the
previous century.\x94
Like all vessels having high stems and sterns, she was unquestionably \x93a
wet ship,\x94--upon this voyage especially so, as Bradford shows, from being
overloaded, and hence lower than usual in the water. Captain John Smith
says: \x93But being pestered [vexed] nine weeks in this leaking,
unwholesome ship, lying wet in their cabins; most of them grew very weak
and weary of the sea.\x94 Bradford says, quoting the master of the
MAY-FLOWER and others: \x93As for the decks and upper works they would caulk
them as well as they could, . . . though with the working of the ship,
they would not long keep staunch.\x94 She was probably not an old craft, as
her captain and others declared they \x93knew her to be strong and firm
under water;\x94 and the weakness of her upper works was doubtless due to
the strain of her overload, in the heavy weather of the autumnal gales.
Bradford says: \x93They met with many contrary winds and fierce storms with
which their ship was shrewdly shaken and her upper works made very
leaky.\x94 That the confidence of her master in her soundness below the
water-line was well placed, is additionally proven by her excellent
voyages to America, already noted, in 1629, and 1630, when she was ten
years older.
That she was somewhat \x93blocky\x94 above water was doubtless true of her, as
of most of her class; but that she was not unshapely below the water-line
is quite certain, for the re markable return passage she made to England
(in ballast) shows that her lower lines must have been good. She made
the run from Plymouth to London on her return voyage in just thirty-one
days, a passage that even with the \x93clipper ships\x94 of later days would
have been respectable, and for a vessel of her model and rig was
exceptionally good. She was \x93light\x94 (in ballast), as we know from the
correspondence of Weston and Bradford, the letter of the former to
Governor Carver--who died before it was received--upbraiding him for
sending her home \x93empty.\x94 The terrible sickness and mortality of the
whole company, afloat and ashore, had, of course, made it impossible to
freight her as intended with \x93clapboards\x94 [stave-stock], sassafras roots,
peltry, etc. No vessels of her class of that day were without the high
poop and its cabin possibilities,--admirably adapting them to passenger
service,--and the larger had the high and roomy topgallant forecastles so
necessary for their larger crews. The breadth of beam was always
considerably greater in that day than earlier, or until much later,
necessitated by the proportionately greater height (\x93topsides\x94), above
water, at stem and stern. The encroachments of her high poop and
forecastle left but short waist-room; her waist-ribs limited the height
of her \x93between decks;\x94 while the \x93perked up\x94 lines of her bow and stern
produced the resemblance noted, to the croup and neck of the wild duck.
That she was low \x93between decks\x94 is demonstrated by the fact that it was
necessary to \x93cut down\x94 the Pilgrims\x92 shallop--an open sloop, of
certainly not over 30 feet in length, some 10 tons burden, and not very
high \x93freeboard\x94--\x93to stow\x94 her under the MAY-FLOWER\x92S spar deck. That
she was \x93square-rigged\x94 follows, as noted, from the fact that it was the
only rig in use for ships of her class and size, and that she had
\x93topsails\x94 is shown by the fact that the \x93top-saile halliards\x94 were
pitched over board with John Howland, and saved his life. Bradford says:
\x93A lustie yonge man (called John Howland) coming upon some occasion above
ye grattings, was with a seele of ye shipe throwne into ye sea: but it
pleased God yt he caught hould of ye top-saile halliards which hunge over
board & rane out at length yet he held his hould . . . till he was
haled up,\x94 etc. Howland had evidently just come from below upon the
poop-deck (as there would be no \x93grattings\x94 open in the waist to receive
the heavy seas shipped). The ship was clearly experiencing \x93heavy
weather\x94 and a great lurch (\x93seele\x94) which at the stern, and on the
high, swinging, tilting poop-deck would be most severely felt,
undoubtedly tossed him over the rail. The topsail halliards were
probably trailing alongside and saved him, as they have others under
like circumstances.
Whether or not the MAY-FLOWER had the \x93round house\x94 under her poop-deck,
---a sort of circular-end deck-house, more especially the quarters, by
day, of the officers and favored passengers; common, but apparently not
universal, in vessels of her class,--we have no positive knowledge, but
the presumption is that she had, as passenger ships like the PARAGON (of
only 140 tons), and others of less tonnage, seem to have been so fitted!
It is plain that, in addition to the larger cabin space and the smaller
cabins,--\x93staterooms,\x94 nowadays,--common to ships of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S
size and class, the large number of her passengers, and especially of
women and children, made it necessary to construct other cabins between
decks. Whether these were put up at London, or Southampton, or after the
SPEEDWELL\x92S additional passengers were taken aboard at Plymouth, does not
appear. The great majority of the men and boys were doubtless provided
with bunks only, \x93between decks,\x94 but it seems that John Billington had a
cabin there. Bradford narrates of the gunpowder escapade of young
Francis Billington, that, \x93there being a fowling-piece, charged in his
father\x92s cabin [though why so inferior a person as Billington should have
a cabin when there could not have been enough for better men, is a query],
shot her off in the cabin, there being a little barrel of powder
half-full scattered in and about the cabin, the fire being within four
feet of the bed, between the decks, . . . and many people gathered
about the fire,\x94 etc.
Whatever other deductions may be drawn from this very badly constructed
and ambiguous paragraph of Bradford, two things appear certain,--one,
that Billington had a \x93cabin\x94 of his own \x93between decks;\x94 and the other,
that there was a \x93fire between decks,\x94 which \x93many people\x94 were gathered
\x93about.\x94 We can quite forgive the young scamp for the jeopardy in which
he placed the ship and her company, since it resulted in giving us so
much data concerning the MAY-FLOWER\x92S \x93interior.\x94 Captain John Smith\x92s
remark, already quoted, as to the MAY-FLOWER\x92S people \x93lying wet in their
cabins,\x94 is a hint of much value from an experienced navigator of that
time, as to the \x93interior\x94 construction of ships and the bestowal of
passengers in them, in that day, doubtless applicable to the MAY-FLOWER.
While it was feasible, when lying quietly at anchor in a land-locked
harbor, with abundance of fire-wood at hand, to have a fire, about which
they could gather, even if only upon the \x93sand-hearth\x94 of the early
navigators, when upon boisterous seas, in mid-ocean, \x93lying . . . in
their cabins\x94 was the only means of keeping warm possible to voyagers.
In \x93Good Newes from New England,\x94 we find the lines:--
\x93Close cabins being now prepared,
With bred, bief, beire, and fish,
The passengers prepare themselves,
That they might have their wish.\x94
Her magazine, carpenter\x92s and sailmaker\x92s lockers, etc., were doubtless
well forward under her forecastle, easily accessible from the spar-deck,
as was common to merchant vessels of her class and size. Dr. Young, in
his \x93Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers\x94 (p. 86, note), says: \x93This vessel
was less than the average size of the fishing-smacks that go to the Grand
Banks. This seems a frail bark in which to cross a stormy ocean of three
thousand miles in extent. Yet it should be remembered that two of the
ships of Columbus on his first daring and perilous voyage of discovery,
were light vessels, without decks, little superior to the small craft
that ply on our rivers and along our coasts . . . . Frobisher\x92s fleet
consisted of two barks of twenty-five tons each and a pinnace of ten
tons, when he sailed in 1576 to discover a north-west passage to the
Indies. Sir Francis Drake, too, embarked on his voyage for
circumnavigating the globe, in 1577, with five vessels, of which the
largest was of one hundred, and the smallest fifteen tons. The bark in
which Sir Humphrey Gilbert perished was of ten tons only.\x94 The LITTLE
JAMES, which the Company sent to Plymouth in July, 1623, was \x93a pinnace
of only forty-four tons,\x94 and in a vessel of fifty tons (the SPEEDWELL),
Martin Pring, in 1603, coasted along the shores of New England. Goodwin
says: \x93In 1587 there were not in all England\x92s fleet more than five
merchant vessels exceeding two hundred tons.\x94 The SPARROW-HAWK wrecked
on Cape Cod in 1626 was only 40 feet \x93over all.\x94 The Dutch seem to have
built larger vessels. Winthrop records that as they came down the
Channel, on their way to New England (1630), they passed the wreck of
\x93a great Dutch merchantman of a thousand tons.\x94
The MAY-FLOWER\x92S galley, with its primitive conditions for cooking,
existed rather as a place for the preparation of food and the keeping of
utensils, than for the use of fire. The arrangements for the latter were
exceedingly crude, and were limited to the open \x93hearth-box\x94 filled with
sand, the chief cooking appliance being the tripod-kettle of the early
navigators: This might indeed be set up in any part of the ship where the
\x93sand-hearth\x94 could also go, and the smoke be cared for. It not
infrequently found space in the fore castle, between decks, and, when
fine weather prevailed, upon the open deck, as in the open caravels of
Columbus, a hundred years before. The bake-kettle and the frying-pan
held only less important places than the kettle for boiling. It must have
been rather a burst of the imagination that led Mrs. Austin, in \x93Standish
of Standish,\x94 to make Peter Browne remind poor half-frozen Goodman--whom
he is urging to make an effort to reach home, when they had been lost,
but had got in sight of the MAY-FLOWER In the harbor--of \x93the good fires
aboard of her.\x94 Moreover, on January 22, when Goodman was lost, the
company had occupied their \x93common-house\x94 on shore. Her ordnance
doubtless comprised several heavy guns (as such were then reckoned),
mounted on the spar-deck amid ships, with lighter guns astern and on.
the rail, and a piece of longer range and larger calibre upon the
forecastle. Such was the general disposal of ordnance upon merchant
vessels of her size in that day, when an armament was a \x91sine qua non\x92.
Governor Winslow in his \x93Hypocrisie Unmasked,\x94 1646 (p. 91), says, in
writing of the departure of the Pilgrims from Delfshaven, upon the
SPEEDWELL: \x93The wind being fair we gave them a volley of small shot and
three pieces of ordnance,\x94 by which it seems that the SPEEDWELL, of only
sixty tons, mounted at least \x93three pieces of ordnance\x94 as, from the form
of expression, there seem to have been \x93three pieces,\x94 rather than three
discharges of the same piece.
The inference is warranted that the MAY-FLOWER, being three times as
large, would carry a considerably heavier and proportionate armament.
The LADY ARBELLA, Winthrop\x92s ship, a vessel of 350 tons, carried
\x93twenty-eight pieces of ordnance;\x94 but as \x93Admiral\x94 of the fleet, at a
time when there was a state of war with others, and much piracy, she
would presumably mount more than a proportionate weight of metal,
especially as she convoyed smaller and lightly armed vessels, and
carried much value. There is no reason to suppose that the MAY-FLOWER,
in her excessively crowded condition, mounted more than eight or ten
guns, and these chiefly of small calibre. Her boats included her
\x93long-boat,\x94 with which the experience of her company in \x93Cape Cod harbor\x94
have made us familiar, and perhaps other smaller boats,--besides the
Master\x92s \x93skiff\x94 or \x93gig,\x94 of whose existence and necessity there are
numerous proofs. \x93Monday the 27,\x94 Bradford and Winslow state, \x93it
proved rough weather and cross winds, so as we were constrained, some in
the shallop and others in the long-boat,\x94 etc. Bradford states, in
regard to the repeated springings-a-leak of the SPEEDWELL: \x93So the
Master of the bigger ship, called Master Jones, being consulted with;\x94
and again, \x93The Master of the small ship complained his ship was so
leaky . . . so they [Masters Jones and Reynolds] came to
consultation, again,\x94 etc. It is evident that Jones was obliged to
visit the SPEEDWELL to inspect her and to consult with the leaders, who
were aboard her. For this purpose, as for others, a smaller boat than
the \x93long-boat\x94 would often serve, while the number of passengers and
crew aboard would seem to demand still other boats. Winthrop notices
that their Captain (Melborne) frequently \x93had his skiff heaved out,\x94 in
the course of their voyage. The Master\x92s small boat, called the \x93skiff\x94
or \x93gig,\x94 was, no doubt, stowed (lashed) in the waist of the ship, while
the \x93long-boat\x94 was probably lashed on deck forward, being hoisted out
and in, as the practice of those days was, by \x93whips,\x94 from the
yardarms. It was early the habit to keep certain of the live-stock,
poultry, rabbits, etc., in the unused boats upon deck, and it is
possible that in the crowded state of the MAY-FLOWER this custom was
followed. Bradford remarks that their \x93goods or common store . . .
were long in unlading [at New Plimoth] for want of boats.\x94 It seems
hardly possible that the Admiralty authorities,--though navigation laws
were then few, crude, and poorly enforced,--or that the Adventurers and
Pilgrim chiefs themselves, would permit a ship carrying some 130 souls
to cross the Atlantic in the stormy season, without a reasonable boat
provision. The capacity of the \x93long-boat\x94 we know to have been about
twenty persons, as nearly that number is shown by Bradford and Winslow
to have gone in her on the early expeditions from the ship, at Cape Cod.
She would therefore accommodate only about one sixth of the ship\x92s
company. As the \x93gig\x94 would carry only five or six persons,--while the
shallop was stowed between decks and could be of no service in case of
need upon the voyage,--the inference is warranted that other boats were
carried, which fail of specific mention, or that she was wofully
lacking. The want of boats for unlading, mentioned by Bradford, suggests
the possibility that some of the ship\x92s quota may have been lost or
destroyed on her boisterous voyage, though no such event appears of
record, or is suggested by any one. In the event of wreck, the Pilgrims
must have trusted, like the Apostle Paul and his associates when cast
away on the island of Melita, to get to shore, \x93some on boards and some
on broken pieces of the ship.\x94 Her steering-gear, rigging, and the
mechanism for \x93getting her anchors,\x94 \x93slinging,\x94 \x93squaring,\x94 and
\x93cockbilling\x94 her yards; for \x93making\x94 and \x93shortening\x94 sail; \x93heaving
out\x94 her boats and \x93handling\x94 her cargo, were of course all of the crude
and simple patterns and construction of the time, usually so well
illustrating the ancient axiom in physics, that \x93what is lost [spent] in
power is gained in time.\x94
The compass-box and hanging-compass, invented by the English cleric,
William Barlow, but twelve years before the Pilgrim voyage, was almost
the only nautical appliance possessed by Captain Jones, of the
MAY-FLOWER, in which no radical improvement has since been made.
Few charts of much value--especially of western waters--had yet been
drafted, but the rough maps and diagrams of Cabot, Smith, Gosnold,
Pring, Champlain and Dermer, Jones was too good a navigator not to have
had. In speaking of the landing at Cape Cod, the expression is used by
Bradford in \x93Mourt\x92s Relation,\x94 \x93We went round all points of the
compass,\x94 proving that already the mariner\x92s compass had become familiar
to the speech even of those not using it professionally.
That the ship was \x93well-found\x94 in anchors (with solid stocks), hemp
cables, \x93spare\x94 spars, \x93boat-tackling\x94 and the heavy \x93hoisting-gear\x94 of
those days, we have the evidence of recorded use. \x93The MAY-FLOWER,\x94
writes Captain Collins, would have had a hemp cable about 9 inches in
circumference. Her anchors would probably weigh as follows: sheet anchor
(or best bower) 500 to 600 lbs.; stream anchor 350 to 400 lbs.; the spare
anchors same as the stream anchor.
\x93Charnock\x92s Illustrations\x94 show that the anchors used in the MAY-FLOWER
period were shaped very much like the so called Cape Ann anchor now made
for our deep-sea fishing vessels. They had the conventional shaped
flukes, with broad pointed palms, and a long shank, the upper end passing
through a wooden stock. [Tory shows in his diagrams some of the anchors
of that period with the space between the shank and flukes nearly filled
up in the lower part with metal.] Such an anchor has the maximum of
holding powers, and bearing in mind the elasticity of the hemp cables
then used, would enable a vessel to ride safely even when exposed to
heavy winds and a racing sea: There is no doubt, according to the
British Admiralty Office,--which should be authority upon the matter,
--that the flag under which the MAY-FLOWER, and all other vessels of the
merchant marine of Great Britain, sailed, at the time she left England
(as noted concerning the SPEEDWELL), was what became known as the \x93Union
Jack,\x94 as decreed by James the First, in 1606, supplanting the English
ensign, which had been the red cross of St. George upon a white field.
The new flag resulted from the \x93union\x94 of the crowns and kingdoms of
England and Scotland, upon the accession of James VI. of Scotland to the
English throne, as James I. of England, upon the death of queen
Elizabeth. Its design was formed by superimposing the red cross of St.
George upon the white cross of St. Andrew, on a dark blue field; in other
words, by imposing the cross of St. George, taken from the English
ensign, upon the Scotch flag, and creating there by the new flag of Great
Britain.
In a little monograph on \x93The British Flag--Its Origin and History,\x94 a
paper read by its author, Jona. F. Morris, Esq., before the Connecticut
Historical Society, June 7, 1881, and reprinted at Hartford (1889), Mr.
Morris, who has made much study of the matter, states (p. 4): \x93In 1603,
James VI. of Scotland was crowned James I. of England. The Scots, in
their pride that they had given a king to England, soon began to contend
that the cross of St. Andrew should take precedence of the cross of St.
George, that ships bearing the flag of the latter should salute that of
St. Andrew. To allay the contention, the King, on the 12th of April,
1606, ordered that all subjects of Great Britain travelling by sea shall
bear at the maintop the red cross of St. George and the white cross,
commonly called the cross of St. Andrew, joined together according to a
form made by his heralds besides this all vessels belonging to South
Britain or England might wear the cross of St. George at the peak or
fore, as they were wont, and all vessels belonging to North Britain or
Scotland might wear the cross of St. Andrew at the fore top, as they had
been accustomed; and all vessels were for bidden to wear any other flag
at their peril. The new flag thus designed by the heralds and proclaimed
by this order was called the \x91King\x92s Colors.\x92 For a long period the red
cross had been the colors of English navigators, as well as the badge of
English soldiery . . . . No permanent English settlement in America
was made until after the adoption of the \x91King\x92s Colors.\x92 Jamestown,
Plymouth, Salem, and Boston were settled under the new flag, though the
ships bringing over settlers, being English vessels, also carried the red
cross as permitted.\x94 Mr. Barlow Cumberland, of Toronto, Canada, has also
given, in a little monograph entitled \x93The Union Jack\x94 (published by
William Briggs of that city, 1898), an admirable account of the history
of the British jack, which confirms the foregoing conclusions. The early
English jack was later restored. Such, roughly sketched, was the Pilgrim
ship, the renowned MAY-FLOWER, as, drafted from the meagre but fairly
trustworthy and suggestive data available, she appears to us of to-day.
HER HISTORY:
In even the little we know of the later history of the ship, one cannot
always be quite sure of her identity in the records of vessels of her
name, of which there have been many. Dr. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, of
Boston, says that \x93a vessel bearing this name was owned in England about
fifteen years or more before the voyage of our forefathers, but it would
be impossible to prove or disprove its identity with the renowned
MAY-FLOWER, however great such a probability might be. It is known,
nevertheless, that--the identical famous vessel afterwards hailed from
various English ports, such as London, Yarmouth, and Southampton, and
that it was much used in transporting immigrants to this country. What
eventually became of it and what was the end of its career, are equally
unknown to history.\x94 Goodwin says: \x93It does not appear that the
MAY-FLOWER ever revisited Plymouth, but in 1629 she came to Salem,\x94 with
a company of the Leyden people for Plymouth, under command of Captain
William Peirce, the warm friend of the Pilgrims, and in 1630 was one of
the large fleet that attended John Winthrop, under a different master,
discharging her passengers at Charlestown. Nothing is certainly known of
her after that time. In 1648 a ship [hereinafter mentioned by Hunter]
named the MAY-FLOWER was engaged in the slave trade, and the ill-informed
as well as the ill-disposed have sometimes sneeringly alleged that this
was our historic ship; but it is ascertained that the slaver was a vessel
of three hundred and fifty tons,--nearly twice the size of our ship of
happy memory. In 1588 the officials of Lynn (England) offered the
\x93MAY-FLOWER\x94 (150 tons) to join the fleet against the dreaded Spanish
Armada. In 1657, Samuel Vassall, of London, complained that the
government had twice impressed his ship, MAY-FLOWER, which he had
\x93fitted out with sixty men, for the Straits.\x94 Rev. Joseph Hunter,
author of \x93The Founders of New Plymouth,\x94 one of the most eminent
antiquarians in England, and an indefatigable student of Pilgrim history
among British archives, says: \x93I have not observed the name of MAY
FLOWER [in which style he always writes it] before the year 1583 . . .
But the name soon became exceedingly popular among those to whom
belonged the giving of the names to vessels in the merchant-service.
Before the close of that century [the sixteenth] we have a MAY-FLOWER of
Hastings; a MAY-FLOWER of Rie; a MAY-FLOWER of Newcastle: a MAY FLOWER
of Lynn; and a MAY-FLOWER Of Yarmouth: both in 1589. Also a MAY-FLOWER
of Hull, 1599; a MAY FLOWER of London of eighty tons burden, 1587, and
1594, Of which Richard Ireland was the master, and another MAY-FLOWER of
the same port, of ninety tons burthen, of which Robert White was the
master in 1594, and a third MAY-FLOWER of London, unless it is the same
vessel with one of the two just spoken of, only with a different master,
William Morecock. In 1587 there was a MAY-FLOWER Of Dover, of which
John Tooke was the master. In 1593 there was a MAY-FLOWER of Yarmouth
of 120 tons, of which William Musgrove was the master. In 1608 there
was a MAY-FLOWER of Dartmouth, of which Nicholas Waterdonne was the
master; and in 1609 a MAY-FLOWER of Middleburgh entered an English
port.\x94
Later in the century we find a MAY-FLOWER of Ipswich, and another of
Newcastle in 1618; a MAY-FLOWER of York in 1621; a MAY-FLOWER of
Scarborough in 1630, Robert Hadock the master; a MAY-FLOWER of Sandwich
the same year, John Oliver the master; a MAY-FLOWER of Dover, 1633,
Walter Finnis, master, in which two sons of the Earl of Berkshire crossed
to Calais. \x93Which of these was the vessell which carried over the
precious [Pilgrim] freight cannot perhaps be told [apparently neither,
unless perhaps the MAY-FLOWER of Yarmouth of 1593, in which case her
tonnage is incorrectly given], but we learn from Mr. Sherley\x92s letter to
Governor Bradford\x92 that the same vessel was employed in 1629 in passing
between the two countries, a company of the church at Leyden, who had
joined in the first emigration, intending to pass in it to America; and
in the same author we find that the vessel arrived in the harbour of
Charlestown [N. E.] on July 1, 1630. There was a MAY-FLOWER which, in
1648, gained an unenviable notoriety as a slaver. But this was not the
MAY-FLOWER which had carried over the first settlers, it being a vessel
Of 350 tons, while the genuine MAY-FLOWER was of only 180 tons.\x94 Of the
first of her two known visits, after her voyage with the Pilgrim company
from Leyden, Goodwin says: \x93In August, 1629, the renowned MAY-FLOWER came
from England to Salem under Plymouth\x92s old friend [William] Peirce, and
in her came thirty-five Leyden people, on their way to Plymouth.\x94 The
number has been in dispute, but the large cost of bringing them, over
L500, would suggest that their families must have also come, as has been
alleged, but for the following from Governor Bradford\x92s Letter Book:
\x93These persons,\x94 he says, \x93were in all thirty-five, which came at this
time unto us from Leyden, whose charge out of Holland into England, and
in England till the ship was ready, and then their transportation hither,
came to a great deal of money, for besides victuals and other expenses,
they were all newly apparelled.\x94 Shirley, one of the Adventurers,
writing to Governor Bradford in 1629, says: \x93Here are now many of your
friends from Leyden coming over. With them also we have sent some
servants, or in the ship that went lately (I think called the TALBOT),
and this that these come in is the MAY-FLOWER.\x94 All that Higginson\x92s
journal tells of her, as noted, is, that \x93she was of Yarmouth;\x94 was
commanded by William Peirce, and carried provisions and passengers, but
the fact that she was under command of Captain Peirce of itself tells
much. On her next trip the MAY-FLOWER sailed from Southampton, in May,
1630, as part of Winthrop\x92s fleet, and arrived at Charlestown July 1.
She was, on this voyage, under command of a new master (perhaps a Captain
Weatherby), Captain Peirce having, at this time, command of the ship
LYON, apparently in the service of Plymouth Colony. A vessel of this
name [MAY-FLOWER] was sailing between England and Boston in 1656. Young
says: \x93The MAY-FLOWER is a ship of renown in the history of the
colonization of New England. She was one of the five vessels which, in
1629, conveyed Higginson\x92s company to Salem, and also one of the fleet
which, in 1630, brought over his colony to Massachusetts Bay.\x94
October 6, 1652, \x93Thomas Webber, Mr. of the good shipp called the
MAYFLOWER of the burden of Two hundred Tuns or there abouts . . . .
Rideing at Ancor in the Harber of Boston,\x94 sold one-sixteenth of the ship
\x93for good & valluable Consideracons to Mr. John Pinchon of Springfield
Mrchant.\x94 The next day, October 7, 1652, the same \x93Thomas Webber, Mr, of
the good Shipp called the MAY FLOWER of Boston in New England now bound
for the barbadoes and thence to London,\x94 acknowledges an indebtedness to
Theodore Atkinson, a wealthy \x93hatter, felt-maker,\x94 and merchant of
Boston, and the same day (October 7, 1652), the said \x93Thomas Webber, Mr.
of the good shipp called the MAY FLOWER of the burthen of Two hundred
tuns or thereabouts,\x94 sold \x93unto Theodore Atkinson felt-maker
one-sixteenth part as well of said Shipp as of all & singular her masts
Sails Sail-yards Ancors Cables Ropes Cords Gunns Gunpowder Shott
Artillery Tackle Munition apparrell boate skiffe and furniture to the
same belonging.\x94 It is of course possible that this was the historic
ship, though, if so, reappearing twenty two years after her last known
voyage to New England. If the same, she was apparently under both new
master and owner. From the facts that she is called \x93of Boston in New
England\x94 and was trading between that port, \x93the Barbadoes\x94 and London,
it is not impossible that she may have been built at Boston--a sort of
namesake descendant of the historic ship--and was that MAY-FLOWER
mentioned as belonging, in 1657, to Mr. Samuel Vassall; as he had large
interests alike in Boston, Barbadoes, and London. Masters of vessels
were often empowered to sell their ships or shares in them. Although we
know not where her keel was laid, by what master she was built, or where
she laid her timbers when her work was done, by virtue of her grand
service to humanity, her fame is secure, and her name written among the
few, the immortal names that were not born to die.
CHAPTER V
THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE MAYFLOWER
The officers and crew of the MAY-FLOWER were obviously important factors
in the success of the Pilgrim undertaking, and it is of interest to know
what we may concerning them. We have seen that the \x93pilot,\x94 John Clarke,
was employed by Weston and Cushman, even before the vessel upon which he
was to serve had been found, and he had hence the distinction of being
the first man \x93shipped\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S complement. It is evident
that he was promptly hired on its being known that he had recently
returned from a voyage to Virginia in the cattle-ship FALCON, as certain
to be of value in the colonists\x92 undertakings.
Knowing that the Adventurers\x92 agents were seeking both a ship and a
master for her, it was the natural thing for the latter, that he should
propose the Captain under whom he had last sailed, on much the same
voyage as that now contemplated. It is an interesting fact that
something of the uncertainty which for a time existed as to the names and
features of the Pilgrim barks attaches the names and identity of their
respective commanders. The \x93given\x94 name of \x93Master\x94 Reynolds, \x93pilott\x94
and \x93Master\x94 of the SPEED WELL, does not appear, but the assertion of
Professor Arber, though positive enough, that \x93the Christian name of the
Captain of the MAY-FLOWER is not known,\x94 is not accepted by other
authorities in Pilgrim history, though it is true that it does not find
mention in the contemporaneous accounts of the Pilgrim ship and her
voyage.
There is no room for doubt that the Captain of the FALCON--whose release
from arrest while under charge of piracy the Earl of Warwick procured,
that he might take command of the above-named cattle-ship on her voyage
to Virginia, as hereinafter shown--was Thomas Jones. The identity of
this man and \x93Master Jones\x94 who assumed command of the MAY-FLOWER--with
the former mate of the FALCON, John Clarke, as his first officer--is
abundantly certified by circumstantial evidence of the strongest kind, as
is also the fact that he commanded the ship DISCOVERY a little later.
With the powerful backing of such interested friends as the Earl of
Warwick and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, undoubtedly already in league with
Thomas Weston, who probably made the contract with Jones,
as he had with Clarke, the suggestion of the latter as to the competency
and availability of his late commander would be sure of prompt approval,
and thus, in all probability, Captain Thomas Jones, who finds his chief
place in history--and a most important one--as Master of the MAY-FLOWER,
came to that service.
In 1619, as appears by Neill, the Virginia Company had one John Clarke in
Ireland, \x93buying cattle for Virginia.\x94 We know that Captain Jones soon
sailed for Virginia with cattle, in the FALCON, of 150 tons, and as this
was the only cattle ship in a long period, we can very certainly identify
Clarke as the newly-hired mate of the MAY-FLOWER, who, Cush man says
(letter of June 11/21, 1620), \x93went last year to Virginia with a ship of
kine.\x94 As 1620 did not begin until March 25, a ship sailing in February
would have gone out in 1619, and Jones and Clarke could easily have made
the voyage in time to engage for the MAY-FLOWER in the following June.
\x93Six months after Jones\x92s trip in the latter\x94 (i.e. after his return
from the Pilgrim voyage), Neill says, \x93he took the DISCOVERY (60 tons) to
Virginia, and then northward, trading along the coast. The Council for
New England complained of him to the Virginia Company for robbing the
natives on this voyage. He stopped at Plymouth (1622), and, taking
advantage of the distress for food he found there, was extortionate in
his prices. In July, 1625, he appeared at Jamestown, Virginia, in
possession of a Spanish frigate, which he said had been captured by one
Powell, under a Dutch commission, but it was thought a resumption of his
old buccaneering practices. Before investigation he sickened and died.\x94
That Jones was a man of large experience, and fully competent in his
profession, is beyond dispute. His disposition, character, and deeds
have been the subject of much discussion. By most writers he is held to
have been a man of coarse, \x93unsympathetic\x94 nature, \x93a rough sea-dog,\x94
capable of good feeling and kindly impulses at times, but neither
governed by them nor by principle. That he was a \x93highwayman of the
seas,\x94 a buccaneer and pirate, guilty of blood for gold, there can be no
doubt. Certainly nothing could justify the estimate of him given by
Professor Arber, that \x93he was both fair-minded and friendly toward the
Pilgrim Fathers,\x94 and he certainly stands alone among writers of
reputation in that opinion. Jones\x92s selfishness,
[Bradford himself--whose authority in the matter will not be
doubted--says (Historie, Mass. ed. p. 112): \x93As this calamitie,
the general sickness, fell among ye passengers that were to be left
here to plant, and were basted ashore and made to drinke water, that
the sea-men might have ye more bear [beer] and one in his sickness
desiring but a small can of beare it was answered that if he were
their own father he should have none.\x94 Bradford also shows (op.
cit. p. 153) the rapacity of Jones, when in command of the
DISCOVERY, in his extortionate demands upon the Plymouth planters,
notwithstanding their necessities.]
threats, boorishness, and extortion, to say nothing of his exceedingly
bad record as a pirate, both in East and West Indian waters, compel a far
different estimate of him as a man, from that of Arber, however excellent
he was as a mariner. Professor Arber dissents from Goodwin\x92s conclusion
that Captain Jones of the DISCOVERY was the former Master of the
MAY-FLOWER, but the reasons of his dissent are by no means convincing. He
argues that Jones would not have accepted the command of a vessel so much
smaller than his last, the DISCOVERY being only one third the size of the
MAY-FLOWER. Master-mariners, particularly when just returned from long
and unsuccessful voyages, especially if in bad repute,--as was Jones,
--are obliged to take such employment as offers, and are often glad to get
a ship much smaller than their last, rather than remain idle. Moreover,
in Jones\x92s case, if, as appears, he was inclined to buccaneering, the
smaller ship would serve his purpose--as it seems it did satisfactorily.
Nor is the fact that Bradford speaks of him--although previously so well
acquainted--as \x93one Captain Jones,\x94 to be taken as evidence, as Arber
thinks, that the Master of the DISCOVERY was some other of the name.
Bradford was writing history, and his thought just then was the especial
Providence of God in the timely relief afforded their necessities by the
arrival of the ships with food, without regard to the individuals who
brought it, or the fact that one was an acquaintance of former years.
On the other hand, Winslow--in his \x93Good Newes from New England\x94
--records the arrival of the two ships in August, 1622, and says, \x93the one
as I take [recollect] it, was called the DISCOVERY, Captain Jones having
command thereof,\x94 which on the same line of argument as Arber\x92s might be
read, \x93our old acquaintance Captain Jones, you know\x94! If the expression
of Bradford makes against its being Captain Jones, formerly of the
MAY-FLOWER, Winslow\x92s certainly makes quite as much for it, while the fact
which Winslow recites, viz. that the DISCOVERY, under Jones, was sailing
as consort to the SPARROW, a ship of Thomas Weston,--who employed him for
the MAY-FLOWER, was linked with him in the Gorges conspiracy, and had
become nearly as degenerate as he,--is certainly significant. There are
still better grounds, as will appear in the closely connected relations
of Jones, for holding with Goodwin rather than with Arber in the matter.
The standard authority in the case is the late Rev. E. D. Neill, D. D.,
for some years United States consul at Dublin, who made very considerable
research into all matters pertaining to the Virginia Companies,
consulting their original records and \x93transactions,\x94 the Dutch related
documents, the \x93Calendars of the East India Company,\x94 etc. Upon him and
his exhaustive work all others have largely drawn,--notably Professor
Arber himself,--and his conclusions seem entitled to the same weight here
which Arber gives them in other relations. Dr. Neill is clearly of
opinion that the Captains of the MAY-FLOWER and the DISCOVERY were
identical, and this belief is shared by such authorities in Pilgrim
literature as Young, Prince, Goodwin, and Davis, and against this
formidable consensus of opinion, Arber, unless better supported, can
hardly hope to prevail.
The question of Jones\x92s duplicity and fraud, in bringing the Pilgrims to
land at Cape Cod instead of the \x93neighbor-hood of Hudson\x92s River,\x94 has
been much mooted and with much diversity of opinion, but in the light of
the subjoined evidence and considerations it seems well-nigh impossible
to acquit him of the crime--for such it was, in inception, nature, and
results, however overruled for good.
The specific statements of Bradford and others leave no room for doubt
that the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims fully intended to make their settlement
somewhere in the region of the mouth of \x93Hudson\x92s River.\x94 Morton states
in terms that Captain Jones\x92s \x93engagement was to Hudson\x92s River.\x94
Presumably, as heretofore noted, the stipulation of his charter party
required that he should complete his outward voyage in that general
locality. The northern limits of the patents granted in the Pilgrim
interest, whether that of John Wincob (or Wincop) sealed June 9/ 19,
1619, but never used, or the first one to John Pierce, of February 2/12,
1620, were, of course, brought within the limits of the First (London)
Virginia Company\x92s charter, which embraced, as is well-known, the
territory between the parallels of 34 deg. and 41 deg. N. latitude.
The most northerly of these parallels runs but about twenty miles to the
north of the mouth of \x93Hudson\x92s River.\x94 It is certain that the Pilgrims,
after the great expense, labor, and pains of three years, to secure the
protection of these Patents, would not willingly or deliberately, have
planted themselves outside that protection, upon territory where they had
none, and where, as interlopers, they might reasonably expect trouble
with the lawful proprietors. Nor was there any reason why, if they so
desired, they should not have gone to \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94 or its vicinity,
unless it was that they had once seemed to recognize the States General
of Holland as the rightful owners of that territory, by making petition
to them, through the New Netherland Company, for their authority and
protection in settling there. But even this fact constituted no moral or
legal bar to such action, if desirable First, because it appears certain
that, whatever the cause, they \x93broke off\x94 themselves their negotiations
with the Dutch,--whether on account of the inducements offered by Thomas
Weston, or a doubt of the ability of the Dutch to maintain their claim to
that region, and to protect there, or both, neither appears nor matters.
Second, because the States General--whether with knowledge that they of
Leyden had so \x93broken off\x94 or from their own doubts of their ability to
maintain their claim on the Hudson region, does not appear--rejected the
petition made to them in the Pilgrims\x92 behalf. It is probable that the
latter was the real reason, from the fact that the petition was twice
rejected.
In view of the high opinion of the Leyden brethren, entertained, as we
know, by the Dutch, it is clear that the latter would have been pleased
to secure them as colonists; while if at all confident of their rights to
the territory, they must have been anxious to colonize it and thus
confirm their hold, increase their revenues as speedily as possible,
and
Third, because it appears upon the showing of the petition itself, made
by the New Netherland Company (to which the Leyden leaders had looked,
doubtless on account of its pretensions, for the authority and protection
of the States General, as they afterward did to the English Virginia
Company for British protection), that this Company had lost its own
charter by expiration, and hence had absolutely nothing to offer the
Leyden people beyond the personal and associate influence of its members,
and the prestige of a name that had once been potential. In fact, the
New Netherland Company was using the Leyden congregation as a leverage to
pry for itself from the States General new advantages, larger than it had
previously enjoyed.
Moreover it appears by the evidence of both the petition of the Directors
of the New Netherland Company to the Prince of Orange (February 2/12,
1619/20), and the letters of Sir Dudley Carleton, the British ambassador
at the Hague, to the English Privy Council, dated February 5/15, 1621/22,
that, up to this latter date the Dutch had established no colony
[British State Papers, Holland, Bundle 165. Sir Dudley Carleton\x92s
Letters. \x93They have certain Factors there, continually resident,
trading with savages . . . but I cannot learn of any colony,
either I already planted there by these people, or so much as
intended.\x94 Sir Dudley Carleton\x92s Letters.]
on the territory claimed by them at the Hudson, and had no other
representation there than the trading-post of a commercial company whose
charter had expired. There can be no doubt that the Leyden leaders knew,
from their dealings with the New Netherland Company, and the study of the
whole problem which they evidently made, that this region was open to
them or any other parties for habitation and trade, so far as any prior
grants or charters under the Dutch were concerned, but they required more
than this.
To Englishmen, the English claim to the territory at \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94
was valid, by virtue of the discovery of the Cabots, under the law of
nations as then recognized, not withstanding Hudson\x92s more particular
explorations of those parts in 1609, in the service of Holland,
especially as no colony or permanent occupancy of the region by the
Dutch had been made.
Professor John Fiske shows that \x93it was not until the Protestant England
of Elizabeth had come to a life-and-death grapple with Spain, and not
until the discovery of America had advanced much nearer completion, so
that its value began to be more correctly understood, that political and
commercial motives combined in determining England to attack Spain
through America, and to deprive her of supremacy in the colonial and
maritime world. Then the voyages of the Cabots assumed an importance
entirely new, and could be quoted as the basis of a prior claim on the
part of the English Crown, to lands which it [through the Cabots] had
discovered.\x94
Having in mind the terrible history of slaughter and reprisal between the
Spanish and French (Huguenot) settlers in Florida in 1565-67,
[Bancroft, History of the United States, vol. i. p. 68; Fiske,
Discovery of America, vol. ii. p. 511 et seq. With the terrible
experience of the Florida plantations in memory, the far-sighted
leaders of the Leyden church proposed to plant under the shelter of
an arm strong enough to protect them, and we find the Directors of
the New Netherland Company stating that the Leyden party (the
Pilgrims) can be induced to settle under Dutch auspices, \x93provided,
they would be guarded and preserved from all violence on the part of
other potentates, by the authority, and under the protection of your
Princely Excellency and the High and Mighty States General.\x94
Petition of the Directors of the New Netherland Company to the
Prince of Orange.]
the Pilgrims recognized the need of a strong power behind them, under
whose aegis they might safely plant, and by virtue of whose might and
right they could hope to keep their lives and possessions. The King of
England had, in 1606, granted charters to the two Virginia Companies,
covering all the territory in dispute, and, there could be no doubt,
would protect these grants and British proprietorship therein, against
all comers. Indeed, the King (James I.) by letter to Sir Dudley
Carleton, his ambassador at the Hague, under date of December 15, 1621,
expressly claimed his rights in the New Netherland territory and
instructed him to impress upon the government of the States General his
Majesty\x92s claim,--\x93who, \x91jure prime occupation\x92 hath good and sufficient
title to these parts.\x94 There can be no question that the overtures of
Sandys, Weston, and others to make interest for them with one of these
English Companies, agreed as well with both the preferences and
convictions of the Leyden Pilgrims, as they did with the hopes and
designs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. In the light of these facts, there
appears to have been neither legal nor moral bar to the evident intention
of the Pilgrims to settle in the vicinity of \x93Hudson\x92s River,\x94 if they so
elected. In their light, also, despite the positive allegations of the
truthful but not always reliable Morton, his charges of intrigue between
the Dutch and Master Jones of the MAY-FLOWER, to prevent the settlement
of his ship\x92s company at \x93Hudson\x92s River,\x94 may well be doubted. Writing
in \x93New England\x92s Memorial\x94 in 1669, Morton says: \x93But some of the Dutch,
having notice of their intentions, and having thoughts about the same
time of erecting a plantation there likewise, they fraudulently hired the
said Jones, by delays while they were in England, and now under pretence
of the shoals the dangers of the Monomoy Shoals off Cape Cod to
disappoint them in going thither.\x94 He adds: \x93Of this plot between the
Dutch and Mr. Jones, I have had late and certain intelligence.\x94 If this
intelligence was more reliable than his assertion concerning the
responsibility of Jones for the \x93delays while they were in England,\x94 it
may well be discredited, as not the faintest evidence appears to make him
responsible for those delays, and they are amply accounted for without
him. Without questioning the veracity of Morton (while suggesting his
many known errors, and that the lapse of time made it easy to
misinterpret even apparently certain facts), it must be remembered that
he is the original sponsor for the charge of Dutch intrigue with Jones,
and was its sole support for many years. All other writers who have
accepted and indorsed his views are of later date, and but follow him,
while Bradford and Winslow, who were victims of this Dutch conspiracy
against them, if it ever existed, were entirely silent in their writings
upon the matter, which we may be sure they would not have been, had they
suspected the Dutch as prime movers in the treachery. That there was a
conspiracy to accomplish the landing of the MAY-FLOWER planters at a
point north of \x93the Hudson\x94 (in fact, north of the bounds defined by the
(first) Pierce patent, upon which they relied), i.e. north of 41 deg. N.
latitude,--is very certain; but that it was of Dutch origin, or based
upon motives which are attributed to the Dutch, is clearly erroneous.
While the historical facts indicate an utter lack of motive for such an
intrigue on the part of the Dutch, either as a government or as
individuals, there was no lack of motive on the part of certain others,
who, we can but believe, were responsible for the conspiracy. Moreover,
the chief conspirators were such, that, even if the plot was ultimately
suspected by the Pilgrims, a wise policy--indeed, self-preservation
--would have dictated their silence. That the Dutch were without
sufficient motive or interest has been declared. That the States General
could have had no wish to reject so exceptionally excellent a body of
colonists as subjects, and as tenants to hold and develop their disputed
territory--if in position to receive them and guarantee them protection
--is clear. The sole objection that could be urged against them was their
English birth, and with English regiments garrisoning the Dutch home
cities, and foreigners of every nation in the States General\x92s employ, by
land and by sea, such an objection could have had no weight. Indeed, the
Leyden party proposed, if they effected satisfactory arrangements with
the States General (as stated by the Directors of the New Netherland
Company), \x93to plant there [at \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94] a new commonwealth, all
under the order and command of your Princely Excellency and their High
Mightinesses the States General:\x94 The Leyden Pilgrims were men who kept
their agreements.
The Dutch trading-companies, who were the only parties in the Low
Countries who could possibly have had any motive for such a conspiracy,
were at this time themselves without charters, and the overtures of the
principal company, made to the government in behalf of themselves and the
Leyden brethren, had recently, as we have seen, been twice rejected.
They had apparently, therefore, little to hope for in the near future;
certainly not enough to warrant expenditure and the risk of disgraceful
exposure, in negotiations with a stranger--an obscure ship-master--to
change his course and land his passengers in violation of the terms of
his charter-party;--negotiations, moreover, in which neither of the
parties could well have had any guaranty of the other\x92s good faith.
But, as previously asserted, there was a party--to whom such knavery was
an ordinary affair--who had ample motive, and of whom Master Thomas Jones
was already the very willing and subservient ally and tool, and had been
such for years. Singularly enough, the motive governing this party was
exactly the reverse of that attributed--though illogically and without
reason--to the Dutch. In the case of the latter, the alleged animus was
a desire to keep the Pilgrim planters away from their \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94
domain. In the case of the real conspirators, the purpose was to secure
these planters as colonists for, and bring them to, the more northern
territory owned by them. It is well known that Sir Ferdinando Gorges was
the leading spirit of the \x93Second Virginia Company,\x94 as he also became
(with the Earl of Warwick a close second) of \x93The Council for the Affairs
of New England,\x94 of which both men were made \x93Governors,\x94 in November of
1620, when the Council practically superseded the \x93Second Virginia
Company.\x94 The Great Charter for \x93The Council of Affairs of New England,\x94
commonly known as \x93The Council for New England,\x94 issued Tuesday, November
3/13, 1620, and it held in force till Sunday, June 7/17, 1635.
Although not its official head, and ranked at its board by dukes and
earls, Sir Ferdinando Gorges was--as he had been in the old Plymouth (or
Second) Virginia Company--the leading man. This was largely from his
superior acquaintance with, and long and varied experience in, New
England affairs. The \x93Council\x94 was composed of forty patentees, and
Baxter truly states, that \x93Sir Ferdinando Gorges, at this time [1621]
stood at the head of the Council for New England, so far as influence
went; in fact, his hand shaped its affairs.\x94 This company, holding--by
the division of territory made under the original charter-grants--a strip
of territory one hundred miles wide, on the North American coast, between
the parallels of 41 deg. and 45 deg. N. latitude, had not prospered, and
its efforts at colonization (on what is now the Maine coast), in 1607 and
later, had proved abortive, largely through the character of its
\x93settlers,\x94 who had been, in good degree, a somewhat notable mixture of
two of the worst elements of society,--convicts and broken-down
\x93gentlemen.\x94
\x93In 1607,\x94 says Goodwin, \x93Gorges and the cruel Judge Popham planted a
colony at Phillipsburg (or Sagadahoc, as is supposed), by the mouth of
the Kennebec. Two ships came, \x91THE GIFT OF GOD\x92 and the \x91MARY AND JOHN,\x92
bringing a hundred persons. Through August they found all delightful,
but when the ships went back in December, fifty five of the number
returned to England, weary of their experience and fearful of the cold
. . . . With spring the ships returned from England; \x93but by this time
the remainder were ready to leave,\x94 so every soul returned with Gilbert
[the Admiral] . . . . For thirty years Gorges continued to push
exploration and emigration to that region, but his ambition and
liberality ever resulted in disappointment and loss.\x94 The annals of the
time show that not a few of the Sagadahoc colonists were convicts,
released from the English jails to people this colony.
Hakluyt says: \x93In 1607 [this should read 1608], disheartened by the death
of Popham, they all embarked in a ship from Exeter and in the new
pynnace, the \x91VIRGINIA,\x92 built in the colony, and sett sail for England,
and this was the end of that northern colony upon the river Sachadehoc
[Kennebec].\x94
No one knew better than the shrewd Gorges the value of such a colony as
that of the Leyden brethren would be, to plant, populate, and develop his
Company\x92s great demesne. None were more facile than himself and the
buccaneering Earl of Warwick, to plan and execute the bold, but--as it
proved--easy coup, by which the Pilgrim colony was to be stolen bodily;
for the benefit of the \x93Second Virginia Company\x94 and its successor,
\x93the Council for New England,\x94 from the \x93First (or London) Company,\x94
under whose patent (to John Pierce) and patronage they sailed. They
apparently did not take their patent with them,--it would have been
worthless if they had,--and they were destined to have no small trouble
with Pierce, before they were established in their rights under the new
patent granted him (in the interest of the Adventurers and themselves),
by the \x93Council for New England.\x94 Master John Wincob\x92s early and silent
withdrawal from his apparently active connection with the Pilgrim
movement, and the evident cancellation of the first patent issued to him
in its interest, by the (London) Virginia Company, have never been
satisfactorily explained. Wincob (or Wincop), we are told, \x93was a
religious Gentleman, then belonging to the household of the Countess of
Lincoln, who intended to go with them [the Pilgrims] but God so disposed
as he never went, nor they ever made use of this Patent, which had cost
them so much labor and charge.\x94 Wincob, it appears by the minutes of the
(London) Virginia Company of Wednesday, May 26/June 5, 1619, was
commended to the Company, for the patent he sought, by the fourth Earl of
Lincoln, and it was doubtless through his influence that it was granted
and sealed, June 9/19, 1619. But while Wincob was a member of the
household of the Dowager Countess of Lincoln, mother of the fourth Earl
of Lincoln; John, the eldest son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, had married
the Earl\x92s daughter (sister ?), and hence Gorges stood in a much nearer
relation to the Earl than did his mother\x92s friend and dependant (as
Wincob evidently was), as well as on a much more equal social footing.
By the minutes of the (London) Virginia Company of Wednesday, February 2/
12, 1619/20, it appears that a patent was \x93allowed and sealed to John
Pierce and his associates, heirs and assigns,\x94 for practically the same
territory for which the patent to Wincob had been given but eight months
before. No explanation was offered, and none appears of record, but the
logical conclusion is, that the first patent had been cancelled, that
Master Wincob\x92s personal interest in the Pilgrim exodus had ceased, and
that the Lincoln patronage had been withdrawn. It is a rational
conjecture that Sir Ferdinando Gorges, through the relationship he
sustained to the Earl, procured the withdrawal of Wincob and his patent,
knowing that the success of his (Gorges\x92s) plot would render the Wincob
patent worthless, and that the theft of the colony, in his own interest,
would be likely to breed \x93unpleasantness\x94 between himself and Wincob\x92s
sponsors and friends among the Adventurers, many of whom were friends of
the Earl of Lincoln.
The Earl of Warwick, the man of highest social and political rank in the
First (or London) Virginia Company, was, at about the same time, induced
by Gorges to abandon his (the London) Company and unite with himself in
securing from the Crown the charter of the \x93Council of Affairs for New
England.\x94 The only inducements he could offer for the change must
apparently have resided in the promised large results of plottings
disclosed by him (Gorges), but he needed the influential and unscrupulous
Earl for the promotion of his schemes, and won him, by some means, to an
active partnership, which was doubtless congenial to both. The \x93fine
Italian hand\x94 of Sir Ferdinando hence appears at every stage, and in
every phase, of the Leyden movement, from the mission of Weston to
Holland, to the landing at Cape Cod, and every movement clearly indicates
the crafty cunning, the skilful and brilliant manipulation, and the
dogged determination of the man.
That Weston was a most pliant and efficient tool in the hands of Gorges,
\x93from start to finish\x94 of this undertaking, is certainly apparent.
Whether he was, from the outset, made fully aware of the sinister designs
of the chief conspirator, and a party to them, admits of some doubt,
though the conviction strengthens with study, that he was, from the
beginning, \x91particeps criminis\x92. If he was ever single-minded for the
welfare of the Leyden brethren and the Adventurers, it must have been for
a very brief time at the inception of the enterprise; and circumstances
seem to forbid crediting him with honesty of purpose, even then. The
weight of evidence indicates that he both knew, and was fully enlisted
in, the entire plot of Gorges from the outset. In all its early stages
he was its most efficient promoter, and seems to have given ample proof
of his compliant zeal in its execution. His visit to the Leyden brethren
in Holland was, apparently, wholly instigated by Gorges, as the latter
complacently claims and collateral evidence proves. In his endeavor to
induce the leaders to \x93break off with the Dutch,\x94 their pending
negotiations for settlement at \x93Hudson\x92s River,\x94 he evidently made
capital of, and traded upon, his former kindness to some of them when
they were in straits,--a most contemptible thing in itself, yet
characteristic of the man. He led the Pilgrims to \x93break off\x94 their
dealings with the Dutch by the largest and most positive promises of
greater advantages through him, few of which he ever voluntarily kept (as
we see by John Robinson\x92s sharp arraignment of him), his whole object
being apparently to get the Leyden party into his control and that of his
friends,--the most subtle and able of whom was Gorges. Bradford recites
that Weston not only urged the Leyden leaders \x93not to meddle with ye
Dutch,\x94 but also,--\x93not too much to depend on ye Virginia [London]
Company,\x94 but to rely on himself and his friends. This strongly suggests
active cooperation with Gorges, on Weston\x92s part, at the outset, with the
intent (if he could win them by any means, from allegiance to the First
(London) Virginia Company), to lead the Leyden party, if possible, into
Gorges\x92s hands and under the control and patronage of the Second (or
Plymouth) Virginia Company. Whatever the date may have been, at which
(as Bradford states) the Leyden people \x93heard, both by Mr. Weston and
others, yt sundrie Honble: Lords had obtained a large grante from ye king
for ye more northerly parts of that countrie, derived out of ye Virginia
patents, and wholly secluded from theire Governmente, and to be called by
another name, viz. New England, unto which Mr. Weston and the chiefe of
them begane to incline;\x94 Bradford leaves us in no doubt as to Weston\x92s
attitude toward the matter itself. It is certain that the governor,
writing from memory, long afterward, fixed the time at which the Honble:
Lords had obtained \x93their large grante\x94 much earlier than it could
possibly have occurred, as we know the exact date of the patent for the,
\x93Council for New England,\x94 and that the order for its issue was not given
till just as the Pilgrims left Leyden; so that they could not have known
of the actual \x93grante\x94 till they reached Southampton. The essential
fact, stated on this best of authority, is, that \x93Mr. Weston and the
chiefe of them [their sponsors, i.e. Weston and Lord Warwick, both in
league with Gorges] begane to incline to Gorges\x92s new Council for New
England.\x94 Such an attitude (evidently taken insidiously) meant, on
Weston\x92s part, of necessity, no less than treachery to his associates of
the Adventurers; to the (London) Virginia Company, and to the Leyden
company and their allied English colonists, in the interest of Sir
Ferdinando Gorges and his schemes and of the new \x93Council\x94 that Gorges
was organizing. Weston\x92s refusal to advance \x93a penny\x94 to clear the
departing Pilgrims from their port charges at Southampton; his almost
immediate severance of connection with both the colonists and the
Adventurers; and his early association with Gorges,--in open and
disgraceful violation of all the formers\x92 rights in New England,--to say
nothing of his exhibition of a malevolence rarely exercised except toward
those one has deeply wronged, all point to a complete and positive
surrender of himself and his energies to the plot of Gorges, as a full
participant, from its inception. In his review of the Anniversary Address
of Hon. Charles Francis Adams (of July 4, 1892, at Quincy), Daniel W.
Baker, Esq., of Boston, says: \x93The Pilgrim Fathers were influenced in
their decision to come to New England by Weston, who, if not the agent of
Gorges in this particular matter, was such in other matters and held
intimate relations with him.\x94
The known facts favor the belief that Gorges\x92s cogitations on colonial
matters--especially as stimulated by his plottings in relation to the
Leyden people--led to his project of the grant--and charter for the new
\x93Council for New England,\x94 designed and constituted to supplant, or
override, all others. It is highly probable that this grand scheme
--duly embellished by the crafty Gorges,--being unfolded to Weston, with
suggestions of great opportunities for Weston himself therein, warmed and
drew him, and brought him to full and zealous cooperation in all Gorges\x92s
plans, and that from this time, as Bradford states, he \x93begane to
incline\x94 toward, and to suggest to the Pilgrims, association with Gorges
and the new \x93Council.\x94 Not daring openly to declare his change of
allegiance and his perfidy, he undertook, apparently, at first, by
suggestions, e.g. \x93not to place too much dependence on the London
Company, but to rely on himself and friends;\x94 that \x93the fishing of New
England was good,\x94 etc.; and making thus no headway, then, by a policy of
delay, fault finding, etc., to breed dissatisfaction, on the Pilgrims\x92
part, with the Adventurers, the patent of Wincob, etc., with the hope of
bringing about \x93a new deal\x94 in the Gorges interest. The same \x93delays\x94 in
sailing, that have been adduced as proof of Jones\x92s complicity with the
Dutch, would have been of equal advantage to these noble schemers, and if
he had any hand in them-which does not appear--it would have been far
more likely in the interest of his long-time patron, the Earl of Warwick,
and of his friends, than of any Dutch conspirators.
Once the colonists were landed upon the American soil, especially if late
in the season, they would not be likely, it doubtless was argued, to
remove; while by a liberal policy on the part of the \x93Council for New
England\x94 toward them--when they discovered that they were upon its
territory--they could probably be retained. That just such a policy was,
at once and eagerly, adopted toward them, as soon as occasion permitted,
is good proof that the scheme was thoroughly matured from the start. The
record of the action of the \x93Council for New England\x94--which had become
the successor of the Second Virginia Company before intelligence was
received that the Pilgrims had landed on its domain--is not at hand,
but it appears by the record of the London Company, under date of Monday,
July 16/26, 1621, that the \x93Council for New England\x94 had promptly made
itself agreeable to the colonists. The record reads: \x93It was moved,
seeing that Master John Pierce had taken a Patent of Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, and thereupon seated his Company [the Pilgrims] within the limits
of the Northern Plantations, as by some was supposed,\x94\x92 etc. From this
it is plain that, on receipt by Pierce of the news that the colony was
landed within the limits of the \x93Council for New England,\x94 he had, as
instructed, applied for, and been given (June 1, 1621), the (first)
\x93Council\x94 patent for the colony. For confirmation hereof one should see
also the minutes of the \x93Council for New England\x94 of March 25/April 4.,
1623, and the fulsome letter of Robert Cushman returning thanks in behalf
of the Planters (through John Pierce), to Gorges, for his prompt response
to their request for a patent and for his general complacency toward them
Hon. James Phinney Baxter, Gorges\x92s able and faithful biographer, says:
\x93We can imagine with what alacrity he [Sir Ferdinando] hastened to give
to Pierce a patent in their behalf.\x94 The same biographer, clearly
unconscious of the well-laid plot of Gorges and Warwick (as all other
writers but Neill and Davis have been), bears testimony (all the stronger
because the witness is unwitting of the intrigue), to the ardent interest
Gorges had in its success. He says: \x93The warm desire of Sir Ferdinando
Gorges to see a permanent colony founded within the domain of the
Plymouth [or Second] Virginia Company was to be realized in a manner of
which he had never dreamed [sic!] and by a people with whom he had but
little sympathized, although we know that he favored their settlement
within the territorial limits of the Plymouth [Second] Company.\x94 He had
indeed \x93favored their settlement,\x94 by all the craft of which he was
master, and greeted their expected and duly arranged advent with all the
jubilant open-handedness with which the hunter treats the wild horse he
has entrapped, and hopes to domesticate and turn to account. Everything
favored the conspirators. The deflection north-ward from the normal
course of the ship as she approached the coast, bound for the latitude of
the Hudson, required only to be so trifling that the best sailor of the
Pilgrim leaders would not be likely to note or criticise it, and it was
by no means uncommon to make Cape Cod as the first landfall on Virginia
voyages. The lateness of the arrival on the coast, and the difficulties
ever attendant on doubling Cape Cod, properly turned to account, would
increase the anxiety for almost any landing-place, and render it easy to
retain the sea-worn colonists when once on shore. The grand advantage,
however, over and above all else, was the entire ease and certainty with
which the cooperation of the one man essential to the success of the
undertaking could be secured, without need of the privity of any other,
viz. the Master of the MAY-FLOWER, Captain Thomas Jones.
Let us see upon what the assumption of this ready and certain accord on
the part of Captain Jones rests. Rev. Dr. Neill, whose thorough study of
the records of the Virginia Companies, and of the East India Company
Calendars and collateral data, entitles him to speak with authority,
recites that, \x93In 1617, Capt. Thomas Jones (sometimes spelled Joanes) had
been sent to the East Indies in command of the ship LION by the Earl of
Warwick (then Sir Robt. Rich), under a letter of protection from the Duke
of Savoy, a foreign prince, ostensibly \x91to take pirates,\x92 which [pretext]
had grown, as Sir Thomas Roe (the English ambassador with the Great
Mogul) states, \x91to be a common pretence for becoming pirate.\x92\x94 Caught by
the famous Captain Martin Pring, in full pursuit of the junk of the Queen
Mother of the Great Mogul, Jones was attacked, his ship fired in the
fight, and burned,--with some of his crew,--and he was sent a prisoner to
England in the ship BULL, arriving in the Thames, January 1, 1618/19. No
action seems to have been taken against him for his offences, and
presumably his employer, Sir Robert, the coming Earl, obtained his
liberty on one pretext or another. On January 19, however, complaint was
made against Captain Jones, \x93late of the LION,\x94 by the East India
Company, \x93for hiring divers men to serve the King of Denmark in the East
Indies.\x94 A few days after his arrest for \x93hiring away the Company\x92s men,
Lord Warwick got him off\x94 on the claim that he had employed him
\x93to go to Virginia with cattle.\x94 From the \x93Transactions\x94 of the Second
Virginia Company, of which--as we have seen--Sir Ferdinando Gorges was
the leading spirit, it appears that on \x93February 2, 1619/20, a commission
was allowed Captain Thomas Jones of the FALCON, a ship of 150 tons\x94 [he
having been lately released from arrest by the Earl of Warwick\x92s
intercession], and that \x93before the close of the month, he sailed with
cattle for Virginia,\x94 as previously noted. Dr. Neill, than whom there
can be no better authority, was himself satisfied, and unequivocally
states, that \x93Thomas Jones, Captain of the MAY-FLOWER, was without doubt
the old servant of Lord Warwick in the East Indies.\x94 Having done Sir
Robert Rich\x92s (the Earl of Warwick\x92s) \x93dirty work\x94 for years, and having
on all occasions been saved from harm by his noble patron (even when
piracy and similar practices had involved him in the meshes of the law),
it would be but a trifling matter, at the request of such powerful
friends as the Earl and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, to steal the Pilgrim
Colony from the London Virginia Company, and hand it over bodily to the
\x93Council for New England,\x94--the successor of the Second (Plymouth)
Virginia Company,--in which their interests were vested, Warwick having,
significantly, transferred his membership from the London Company to the
new \x93Council for New England,\x94 as it was commonly called. Neill states,
and there is abundant proof, that \x93the Earl of Warwick and Gorges were in
sympathy,\x94 and were active coadjutors, while it is self-evident that both
would be anxious to accomplish the permanent settlement of the \x93Northern
Plantations\x94 held by their Company. That they would hesitate to utilize
so excellent an opportunity to secure so very desirable a colony, by any
means available, our knowledge of the men and their records makes it
impossible to believe,--while nothing could apparently have been easier
of accomplishment. It will readily be understood that if the
conspirators were these men,--upon whose grace the Pilgrims must depend
for permission to remain upon the territory to which they had been
inveigled, or even for permission to depart from it, without spoliation,
--men whose influence with the King (no friend to the Pilgrims) was
sufficient to make both of them, in the very month of the Pilgrims\x92
landing, \x93governors\x94 of \x93The Council for New England,\x94 under whose
authority the Planters must remain,--the latter were not likely to voice
their suspicions of the trick played upon them, if they discovered it,
or openly to resent it, when known. Dr. Dexter, in commenting on the
remark of Bradford, \x93We made Master Jones our leader, for we thought it
best herein to gratifie his kindness & forwardness,\x94 sensibly says,
\x93This proves nothing either way, in regard to the charge which Secretary
Morton makes of treachery against Jones, in landing the company so far
north, because, if that were true, it was not known to any of the company
for years afterward, and of course could not now [at that time] impair
their feelings of confidence in, or kindness towards, him. Moreover,
the phraseology, \x93we thought it best to gratifie,\x94 suggests rather
considerations of policy than cordial desire, and their acquaintance,
too, with the man was still young. There is, however, no evidence that
Jones\x92s duplicity was suspected till long afterward, though his
character was fully recognized. Gorges himself furnishes, in his
writings, the strongest confirmation we have of the already apparent
fact, that he was himself the prime conspirator. He says, in his own
\x93Narration,\x94 \x93It was referred [evidently by himself] to their [the London
Virginia Company\x92s] consideration, how necessary it was that means might
be used to draw unto those their enterprises, some of those families that
had retired themselves into Holland for scruple of conscience, giving
them such freedom and liberty as might stand with their liking.\x94 When
have we ever found Sir Ferdinando Gorges thus solicitous for the success
of the rival Virginia Company? Why, if he so esteemed the Leyden people
as excellent colonists, did he not endeavor to secure them himself
directly, for his own languishing company? Certainly the \x93scruple of
conscience\x94 of the Leyden brethren did not hinder him, for he found it no
bar, though of the Established Church himself, to giving them instantly
all and more than was asked in their behalf, as soon as he had them upon
his territory and they had applied for a patent. He well knew that it
would be matter of some expense and difficulty to bring the Leyden
congregation into agreement to go to either of the Virginia grants, and
he doubtless, and with good reason, feared that his repute and the
character and reputation of his own Company, with its past history of
failure, convict settlers, and loose living, would be repellent to these
people of \x93conscience.\x94 If they could be brought to the \x93going-point,\x94
by men more of their ilk, like Sir Edwin Sandys, Weston, and others, it
would then be time to see if he could not pluck the ripe fruit for
himself,--as he seems to have done.
\x93This advice,\x94 he says, \x93being hearkened unto, there were [those] that
undertook the putting it in practice [Weston and others] and it was
accordingly brought to effect,\x94 etc. Then, reciting (erroneously) the
difficulties with the SPEEDWELL, etc., he records the MAY-FLOWER\x92S
arrival at Cape Cod, saying, \x93The . . . ship with great difficulty
reached the coast of New England.\x94 He then gives a glowing, though
absurd, account of the attractions the planters found--in midwinter
--especially naming the hospitable reception of the Indians, despite the
fact of the savage attack made upon them by the Nausets at Cape Cod, and
adds: \x93After they had well considered the state of their affairs and
found that the authority they had from the London Company of Virginia,
could not warrant their abode in that place,\x94 which \x93they found so
prosperous and pleasing [sic] they hastened away their ship, with orders
to their Solicitor to deal with me to be a means they might have a grant
from the Council of New England Affairs, to settle in the place, which
was accordingly performed to their particular satisfaction and good
content of them all.\x94 One can readily imagine the crafty smile with
which Sir Ferdinando thus guilelessly recorded the complete success of
his plot. It is of interest to note how like a needle to the pole the
grand conspirator\x92s mind flies to the fact which most appeals to him
--that they find \x93that the authority they had . . . could not warrant
their abode in that place.\x94 It is of like interest to observe that in
that place which he called \x93pleasant and prosperous\x94 one half their own
and of the ship\x92s company had died before they hastened the ship away,
and they had endured trial, hardships, and sorrows untellable,--although
from pluck and principle they would not abandon it. He tells us \x93they
hastened away their ship,\x94 and implies that it was for the chief purpose
of obtaining through him a grant of the land they occupied. While we
know that the ship did not return till the following April,--and then at
her Captain\x92s rather than the Pilgrims\x92 pleasure,--it is evident that
Gorges could think of events only as incident to his designs and from his
point of view. His plot had succeeded. He had the \x93Holland families\x94
upon his soil, and his willing imagination converted their sober and
deliberate action into the eager haste with which he had planned that
they should fly to him for the patent, which his cunning had--as he
purposed--rendered necessary. Of course their request \x93was performed,\x94
and so readily and delightedly that, recognizing John Pierce as their
mouthpiece and the plantation as \x93Mr. Pierces Plantation,\x94 Sir Ferdinando
and his associates--the \x93Council for New England,\x94 including his
joint-conspirator, the Earl of Warwick--gave Pierce unhesitatingly
whatever he asked. The Hon. William T. Davis, who alone among Pilgrim
historians (except Dr. Neill, whom he follows) seems to have suspected
the hand of Gorges in the treachery of Captain Jones, here demonstrated,
has suggested that: \x93Whether Gorges might not have influenced Pierce, in
whose name the patent of the Pilgrims had been issued--and whether both
together might not have seduced Capt. Jones, are further considerations
to be weighed, in solving the problem of a deviation from the intended
voyage of the MAYFLOWER.\x94 Although not aware of these suggestions,
either of Mr. Davis or of Dr. Neill, till his own labors had satisfied
him of Gorges\x92s guilt, and his conclusions were formed, the author
cheerfully recognizes the priority to his own demonstration, of the
suggestions of both these gentlemen. No thing appears of record,
however, to indicate that John Pierce was in any way a party to Gorges\x92s
plot. On the contrary, as his interest was wholly allied to his patent,
which Gorges\x92s scheme would render of little value to his associate
Adventurers and himself he would naturally have been, unless heavily
bribed to duplicity beyond his expectations from their intended venture,
the last man to whom to disclose such a conspiracy. Neither was he
necessary in any way to the success of the scheme. He did not hire
either the ship or her master; he does not appear to have had any
Pilgrim relations to Captain Jones, and certainly could have had no such
influence with him as Gorges could himself command, through Warwick and
his own ability--from his position at the head of the \x93New England
Council\x94--to reward the service he required. That Gorges was able
himself to exert all the influence requisite to secure Jones\x92s
cooperation, without the aid of Pierce, who probably could have given
none, is evident. Mr. Davis\x92s suggestion, while pertinent and potential
as to Gorges, is clearly wide of the mark as to Pierce. He represented
the Adventurers in the matter of patents only, but Weston was in
authority as to the pivotal matter of shipping. An evidently hasty
footnote of Dr. Neill, appended to the \x93Memorial\x94 offered by him to the
Congress of the United States, in 1868, seems to have been the only
authority of Mr. William T. Davis for the foregoing suggestion as to the
complicity of Pierce in the treachery of Captain Jones, except the bare
suspicion, already alluded to, in the records of the London Company.
Neill says: \x93Captain Jones, the navigator of the MAY-FLOWER, and John
Pierce, probably had arranged as to destination without the knowledge of
the passengers.\x94 While of course this is not impossible, there is, as
stated, absolutely nothing to indicate any knowledge, participation, or
need of Pierce in the matter, and of course the fewer there were in the
secret the better.
Unobservant that John Pierce was acting upon the old adage, \x93second thief
best owner,\x94 when he asked, a little later, even so extraordinary a thing
as that the \x93Council for New England\x94 would exchange the patent they had
so promptly granted him (as representing his associates, the Adventurers
and Planters) for a \x93deed-pole,\x94 or title in fee, to himself alone, they
instantly complied, and thus unwittingly enabled him also to steal the
colony, and its demesne beside. It is evident, from the very servile
letter of Robert Cushman to John Pierce (written while the former was at
New Plymouth, in November-December, 1621, on behalf of the MAY-FLOWER
Adventurers), that up to that time at least, the Pilgrims had no
suspicion of the trick which had been played upon them. For, while too
adroit recklessly to open a quarrel with those who could--if they chose
--destroy them, the Pilgrims were far too high-minded to stoop to flattery
and dissimulation (especially with any one known to have been guilty of
treachery toward them), or to permit any one to do so in their stead.
In the letter referred to, Cush man acknowledges in the name of the
colonists the \x93bounty and grace of the President and Council of the
Affairs of New England [Gorges, Warwick, et als.] for their allowance and
approbation\x94 of the \x93free possession and enjoyment\x94 of the territory and
rights so promptly granted Pierce by the Council, in the colonists\x92
interest, upon application. If the degree of promptness with which the
wily Gorges and his associates granted the petition of Pierce, in the
colony\x92s behalf for authority to occupy the domain to which Gorges\x92s
henchman Jones had so treacherously conveyed them, was at all
proportionate to the fulsome and lavish acknowledgments of Cushman,
there must have been such eagerness of compliance as to provoke general
suspicion at the Council table. Gorges and Warwick must have \x93grinned
horribly behind their hands\x94 upon receipt of the honest thanks of these
honest planters and the pious benedictions of their scribe, knowing
themselves guilty of detestable conspiracy and fraud, which had
frustrated an honest purpose, filched the results of others\x92 labors, and
had \x93done to death\x94 good men and women not a few. Winslow, in
\x93Hypocrisie Unmasked,\x94 says: \x93We met with many dangers and the mariners\x92
put back into the harbor of the Cape.\x94 The original intent of the
Pilgrims to go to the neighborhood of the Hudson is unmistakable; that
this intention was still clear on the morning of November 10 (not 9th)
--after they had \x93made the land\x94--has been plainly shown; that there was
no need of so \x93standing in with the land\x94 as to become entangled in the
\x93rips\x94 and \x93shoals\x94 off what is now known as Monomoy (in an effort to
pass around the Cape to the southward, when there was plenty of open
water to port), is clear and certain; that the dangers and difficulties
were magnified by Jones, and the abandonment of the effort was urged and
practically made by him, is also evident from Winslow\x92s language above
noted,--\x93and the mariners put back,\x94 etc. No indication of the old-time
consultations with the chief men appears here as to the matter of the
return. Their advice was not desired. \x93The mariners put back\x94 on their
own responsibility.
Goodwin forcibly remarks, \x93These waters had been navigated by Gosnold,
Smith, and various English and French explorers, whose descriptions and
charts must have been familiar to a veteran master like Jones. He
doubtless magnified the danger of the passage [of the shoals], and managed
to have only such efforts made as were sure to fail. Of course he knew
that by standing well out, and then southward in the clear sea, he would
be able to bear up for the Hudson. His professed inability to devise any
way for getting south of the Cape is strong proof of guilt.\x94
The sequential acts of the Gorges conspiracy were doubtless practically
as follows:--
(a) The Leyden leaders applied to the States General of Holland, through
the New Netherland Company, for their aid and protection in locating at
the mouth of \x93Hudson\x92s\x94 River;
(b) Sir Dudley Carleton, the English ambassador at the Hague, doubtless
promptly reported these negotiations to the King, through Sir Robert
Naunton;
(c) The King, naturally enough, probably mentioned the matter to his
intimate and favorite, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the leading man in American
colonization matters in the kingdom;
(d) Sir Ferdinando Gorges, recognizing the value of such colonists as the
Leyden congregation would make, anxious to secure them, instead of
permitting the Dutch to do so, and knowing that he and his Company would
be obnoxious to the Leyden leaders, suggested, as he admits, to Weston,
perhaps to Sandys, as the Leyden brethren\x92s friends, that they ought to
secure them as colonists for their (London) Company;
(e) Weston was dispatched to Holland to urge the Leyden leaders to drop
the Dutch negotiations, come under English auspices, which he guaranteed,
and they, placing faith in him, and possibly in Sandys\x92s assurances of
his (London) Virginia Company\x92s favor, were led to put themselves
completely into the hands of Weston and the Merchant Adventurers; the
Wincob patent was cancelled and Pierces substituted;
(f) Weston, failing to lead them to Gorges\x92s company, was next deputed,
perhaps by Gorges\x92s secret aid, to act with full powers for the
Adventurers, in securing shipping, etc.;
(g) Having made sure of the Leyden party, and being in charge of the
shipping, Weston was practically master of the situation. He and
Cushman, who was clearly entirely innocent of the conspiracy, had the
hiring of the ship and of her officers, and at this point he and his acts
were of vital importance to Gorges\x92s plans. To bring the plot to a
successful issue it remained only to effect the landing of the colony
upon territory north of the 41st parallel of north latitude, to take it
out of the London Company\x92s jurisdiction, and to do this it was only
necessary to make Jones Master of the ship and to instruct him
accordingly. This, with so willing a servant of his masters, was a
matter of minutes only, the instructions were evidently given, and the
success of the plot--the theft of the MAY-FLOWER colony--was assured.
To a careful and candid student of all the facts, the proofs are
seemingly unmistakable, and the conclusion is unavoidable, that the
MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims were designedly brought to Cape Cod by Captain
Jones, and their landing in that latitude was effected, in pursuance of
a conspiracy entered into by him, not with the Dutch, but with certain
of the nobility of England; not with the purpose of keeping the planters
out of Dutch territory, but with the deliberate intent of stealing the
colony from the London Virginia Company, under whose auspices it had
organized and set sail, in the interest, and to the advantage, of its
rival Company of the \x93Northern Plantations.\x94
It is noteworthy that Jones did not command the MAY-FLOWER for another
voyage, and never sailed afterward in the employ of Thomas Goffe, Esq.,
or (so far as appears) of any reputable shipowner. Weston was not such,
nor were the chiefs of the \x93Council for New England,\x94 in whose employ he
remained till his death.
The records of the Court of the \x93Council\x94 show, that \x93as soon as it would
do,\x94 and when his absence would tend to lull suspicion as to the parts
played, Captain Jones\x92s noble patrons took steps to secure for him due
recognition and compensation for his services, from the parties who were
to benefit directly, with themselves, by his knavery. The records read:
\x93July 17, 1622. A motion was made in the behaffe of Captaine Thomas
Jones, Captaine of the DISCOVERY, nowe employed in Virginia for trade and
fishinge [it proved, apparently, rather to be piracy], that he may be
admitted a freeman in this Companie in reward of the good service he hath
there [Virginia in general] performed. The Court liked well of the
motion and condiscended thereunto.\x94 The DISCOVERY left London at the
close of November, 1621. She arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, in April,
1622. She reached Plymouth, New England, in August, 1622. Her outward
voyage was not, so far as can be learned, eventful, or entitled to
especial consideration or recognition, and the good store of English
trading-goods she still had on hand--as Governor Bradford notices--on
her arrival at Plymouth indicates no notable success up to that time, in
the way of a trading-voyage, while \x93fishing\x94 is not mentioned. For
piracy, in which she was later more successful, she had then had neither
time nor opportunity. The conclusion is irresistible, that \x93the good
service\x94 recognized by the vote recorded was of the past (he had sailed
only the MAY-FLOWER voyage for the \x93Council\x94 before), and that this
recognition was a part of the compensation previously agreed upon, if,
in the matter of the MAY-FLOWER voyage, Captain Jones did as he was
bidden. Thus much of the crafty Master of the MAY-FLOWER, Captain Thomas
Jones,--his Christian name and identity both apparently beyond dispute,
--whom we first know in the full tide of his piratical career, in the
corsair LION in Eastern seas; whom we next find as a prisoner in London
for his misconduct in the East, but soon Master of the cattle-ship FALCON
on her Virginia voyage; whom we greet next--and best--as Admiral of the
Pilgrim fleet, commander of the destiny freighted MAY-FLOWER, and though
a conspirator with nobles against the devoted band he steered, under the
overruling hand of their Lord God, their unwitting pilot to \x93imperial
labors\x94 and mighty honors, to the founding of empire, and to eternal
Peace; whom we next meet--fallen, \x93like Lucifer, never to hope again\x94
--as Captain of the little buccaneer,--the DISCOVERY, disguised as a
trading-ship, on the Virginian and New England coasts; and lastly, in
charge of his leaking prize, a Spanish frigate in West Indian waters,
making his way--death-stricken--into the Virginia port of Jamestown,
where (July, 1625), he \x93cast anchor\x94 for the last time, dying, as we
first found him, a pirate, to whom it had meantime been given to
\x93minister unto saints.\x94
Of JOHN CLARKE, the first mate of the MAY-FLOWER, we have already learned
that he had been in the employ of the First (or London) Virginia Company,
and had but just returned (in June, 1620) from a voyage to Virginia with
Captain Jones in the FALCON, when found and employed by Weston and
Cushman for the Pilgrim ship. Dr. Neill quotes from the \x93Minutes of the
London Virginia Company,\x94 of Wednesday, February 13/23, 1621/2, the
following; which embodies considerable information concerning him:--
\x93February 13th, 1621. Master Deputy acquainted the Court, that one Master
John Clarke being taken from Virginia long since [Arber interpolates,
\x93in 1612\x94] by a Spanish ship that came to discover the Plantation, that
forasmuch as he hath since that time done the Company presumably the
First (or London) Virginia Company good service in many voyages to
Virginia; and, of late [1619] went into Ireland, for the transportation of
cattle to Virginia; he was a humble suitor to this Court that he might be
a Free brother of the Company, and have some shares of land bestowed upon
him.\x94
From the foregoing he seems to have begun his American experiences as
early as 1612, and to have frequently repeated them. That he was at once
hired by Weston and Cushman as a valuable man, as soon as found, was not
strange.
He seems to have had the ability to impress men favorably and secure
their confidence, and to have been a modest and reliable man. Although
of both experience and capacity, he continued an under-officer for some
years after the Pilgrim voyage, when, it is fair to suppose, he might
have had command of a ship. He seems to have lacked confidence in
himself, or else the breadth of education necessary to make him trust his
ability as a navigator.
He is not mentioned, in connection with the affairs of the Pilgrims,
after he was hired as \x93pilot,\x94--on Saturday afternoon the 10th of June,
1620, at London,--until after the arrival at Cape Cod, and evidently was
steadily occupied during all the experience of \x93getting away\x94 and of the
voyage, in the faithful performance of his duty as first mate (or
\x93pilot\x94) of the MAY-FLOWER. It was not until the \x93third party\x94 of
exploration from Cape Cod harbor was organized and set out, on Wednesday,
December 6, that he appeared as one of the company who put out in the
shallop, to seek the harbor which had been commended by Coppin, \x93the
second mate.\x94 On this eventful voyage--when the party narrowly escaped
shipwreck at the mouth of Plymouth harbor--they found shelter under the
lee of an island, which (it being claimed traditionally that he was first
to land there on) was called, in his honor, \x93Clarke\x92s Island,\x94 which name
it retains to this day. No other mention of him is made by name, in the
affairs of ship or shore, though it is known inferentially that he
survived the general illness which attacked and carried off half of the
ship\x92s company. In November, 1621,--the autumn following his return from
the Pilgrim voyage,--he seems to have gone to Virginia as \x93pilot\x94 (or
\x93mate\x94) of the FLYING HART, with cattle of Daniel Gookin, and in 1623 to
have attained command of a ship, the PROVIDENCE, belonging to Mr. Gookin,
on a voyage to Virginia where he arrived April 10, 1623, but died in that
colony soon after his arrival. He seems to have been a competent and
faithful man, who filled well his part in life. He will always have
honorable mention as the first officer of the historic MAY-FLOWER, and as
sponsor at the English christening of the smiling islet in Plymouth
harbor which bears his name.
Of ROBERT COPPIN, the \x93second mate\x94 (or \x93pilot\x94) of the MAY-FLOWER,
nothing is known before his voyage in the Pilgrim ship, except that he
seems to have made a former to the coast of New England and the vicinity
of Cape Cod, though under what auspices, or in what ship, does not
transpire. Bradford says: \x93Their Pilotte, one Mr. Coppin, who had been
in the countrie before.\x94 Dr. Young a suggests that Coppin was perhaps on
the coast with Smith or Hunt. Mrs. Austin imaginatively makes him, of
\x93the whaling bark SCOTSMAN of Glasgow,\x94 but no warrant whatever for such
a conception appears.
Dr. Dexter, as elsewhere noted, has said: \x93My impression is that Coppin
was originally hired to go in the SPEEDWELL, . . . that he sailed with
them [the Pilgrims] in the SPEED WELL, but on her final putting back was
transferred to the MAY-FLOWER.\x94 As we have seen in another relation,
Dr. Dexter also believed Coppin to have been the \x93pilot\x94 sent over by
Cushman to Leyden, in May, 1620, and we have found both views to be
untenable. It was doubtless because of this mistaken view that Dr.
Dexter believed that Coppin was \x93hired to go in the SPEEDWELL,\x94 and, the
premise being wrong, the conclusion is sequentially incorrect. But there
are abundant reasons for thinking that Dexter\x92s \x93impression\x94 is wholly
mistaken. It would be unreasonable to suppose (as both vessels were
expected to cross the ocean), that each had not--certainly on leaving
Southampton her full complement of officers. If so, each undoubtedly had
her second mate. The MAY-FLOWER\x92S officers and crew were, as we know,
hired for the voyage, and there is no good reason to suppose that the
second mate of the MAY-FLOWER was dismissed at Plymouth and Coppin put in
his place which would not be equally potent for such an exchange between
the first mate of the SPEEDWELL and Clarke of the MAY-FLOWER. The
assumption presumes too much. In fact, there can be no doubt that
Dexter\x92s misconception was enbased upon, and arose from, the unwarranted
impression that Coppin was the \x93pilot\x94 sent over to Leyden. It is not
likely that, when the SPEEDWELL\x92S officers were so evidently anxious to
escape the voyage, they would seek transfer to the MAY-FLOWER.
Charles Deane, the editor of Bradford\x92s \x93Historie\x94 (ed.1865), makes,
in indexing, the clerical error of referring to Coppin as the
\x93master-gunner,\x94 an error doubtless occasioned by the fact that in the
text referred to, the words, \x93two of the masters-mates, Master Clarke
and Master Coppin, the master-gunner,\x94 etc., were run so near together
that the mistake was readily made.
In \x93Mourt\x92s Relation\x94 it appears that in the conferences that were held
aboard the ship in Cape Cod harbor, as to the most desirable place for
the colonists to locate, \x93Robert Coppin our pilot, made relation of a
great navigable river and great harbor in the headland of the Bay, almost
right over against Cape Cod, being a right line not much above eight
leagues distant,\x94 etc. Mrs. Jane G. Austin asserts, though absolutely
without warrant of any reliable authority, known tradition, or
probability, that \x93Coppin\x92s harbor . . . afterward proved to be Cut
River and the site of Marshfield,\x94 but in another place she contradicts
this by stating that it was \x93Jones River, Duxbury.\x94 As Coppin described
his putative harbor, called \x93Thievish Harbor,\x94 a \x93great navigable river
and good harbor\x94 were in close relation, which was never true of either
the Jones River or \x93Cut River\x94 localities, while any one familiar with
the region knows that what Mrs. Austin knew as \x93Cut River\x94 had no
existence in the Pilgrims\x92 early days, but was the work of man,
superseding a small river-mouth (Green Harbor River), which was so
shallow as to have its exit closed by the sand-shift of a single storm.
Young, with almost equal recklessness, says: \x93The other headland of the
bay,\x94 alluded to by Coppin, was Manomet Point, and the river was probably
the North River in Scituate; but there are no \x93great navigable river and
good harbor\x94 in conjunction in the neighborhood of Manomet, or of the
North River,--the former having no river and the latter no harbor. If
Coppin had not declared that he had never seen the mouth of Plymouth
harbor before (\x93mine eyes never saw this place before\x94), it might readily
have been believed that Plymouth harbor was the \x93Thievish Harbor\x94 of his
description, so well do they correspond.
Goodwin, the brother of Mrs. Austin, quite at variance with his sister\x92s
conclusions, states, with every probability confirming him, that the
harbor Coppin sought \x93may have been Boston, Ipswich, Newburyport, or
Portsmouth.\x94
As a result of his \x93relation\x94 as to a desirable harbor, Coppin was made
the \x93pilot\x94 of the \x93third expedition,\x94 which left the ship in the
shallop, Wednesday, December 6, and, after varying disasters and a narrow
escape from shipwreck--through Coppin\x92s mistake--landed Friday night
after dark, in the storm, on the island previously mentioned, ever since
called \x93Clarke\x92s Island,\x94 at the mouth of Plymouth harbor.
Nothing further is known of Coppin except that he returned to England
with the ship. He has passed into history only as Robert Coppin, \x93the
second mate\x94 (or \x93pilot\x94) of the MAY-FLOWER.
But one other officer in merchant ships of the MAY-FLOWER class in her
day was dignified by the address of \x93Master\x94 (or Mister), or had rank
with the Captain and Mates as a quarter-deck officer,--except in those
instances where a surgeon or a chaplain was carried. That the MAY-FLOWER
carried no special ship\x92s-surgeon has been supposed from the fact of Dr.
Fuller\x92s attendance alike on her passengers and crew, and the increased
mortality of the seamen--after his removal on shore.
[The author is greatly indebted to his esteemed friend, Mr. George
Ernest Bowman, Secretary-General of the Society of MAY-FLOWER
Descendants, for information of much value upon this point. He
believes that he has discovered trustworthy evidence of the
existence of a small volume bearing upon its title-page an
inscription that would certainly indicate that the MAY-FLOWER had
her own surgeon. A copy of the inscription, which Mr. Bowman
declares well attested (the book not being within reach), reads as
follows:--
\x93To Giles Heale Chirurgeon,
from Isaac Allerton
in Virginia.
Feb. 10, 1620.\x94
Giles Heale\x92s name will be recognized as that of one of the
witnesses to John Carver\x92s copy of William Mullens\x92s nuncupative
will, and, if he was the ship\x92s-surgeon, might very naturally appear
in that relation. If book and inscription exist and the latter is
genuine, it would be indubitable proof that Heale (who was surely
not a MAY-FLOWER passenger) was one of the ship\x92s company, and if a
\x93chirurgeon,\x94 the surgeon of the ship, for no other Englishmen,
except those of the colonists and the ship\x92s company, could have
been at New Plymouth, at the date given, and New England was then
included in the term \x93Virginia.\x94 It is much to be hoped that Mr.
Bowman\x92s belief may be established, and that in Giles Heale we shall
have another known officer, the surgeon, of the MAY-FLOWER.]
That she had no chaplain goes without saying. The Pilgrims had their
spiritual adviser with them in the person of Elder Brewster, and were not
likely to tolerate a priest of either the English or the Romish church on
a vessel carrying them. The officer referred to was the representative
of the business interests of the owner or chartering-party, on whose
account the ship made the voyage; and in that day was known as the
\x93ship\x92s-merchant,\x94 later as the \x93purser,\x94 and in some relations as the
\x93supercargo.\x94 No mention of an officer thus designated, belonging to the
MAY-FLOWER, has ever been made by any writer, so far as known, and it
devolves upon the author to indicate his existence and to establish, so
far as possible, both this and his identity.
A certain \x93Master Williamson,\x94 whose name and presence, though but once
mentioned by Governor Bradford, have greatly puzzled Pilgrim historians,
seems to have filled this berth on board the MAY-FLOWER. Bradford tells
us that on Thursday, March 22, 1620/21, \x93Master Williamson\x94 was
designated to accompany Captain Standish--practically as an officer
of the guard--to receive and escort the Pokanoket chief, Massasoit,
to Governor Carver, on the occasion of the former\x92s first visit of state.
Prior to the recent discovery in London, by an American genealogist, of a
copy of the nuncupative will of Master William Mullens, one of the
MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims, clearly dictated to Governor John Carver on board
the ship, in the harbor of New Plymouth (probably) Wednesday, February
21, 1620 (though not written out by Carver till April 2, 1620), on which
day (as we learn from Bradford), Master Mullens died, no other mention
of \x93Master Williamson\x94 than that above quoted was known, and his very
existence was seriously questioned. In this will, as elsewhere noted,
\x93Master Williamson\x94 is named as one of the \x93Overseers.\x94 By most early
writers it was held that Bradford had unwittingly substituted the name
\x93Williamson\x94 for that of Allerton, and this view--apparently for no
better reasons than that both names had two terminal letters in common,
and that Allerton was associated next day with Standish on some military
duty--came to be generally accepted, and Allerton\x92s name to be even
frequently substituted without question.---Miss Marcia A. Thomas, in her
\x93Memorials of Marshfield\x94 (p. 75), says: \x93In 1621, Master Williamson,
Captain Standish, and Edward Winslow made a journey to make a treaty
with Massasoit. He is called \x91Master George,\x92 meaning probably Master
George Williamson,\x94 etc.
This is certainly most absurd, and by one not familiar with the
exceptional fidelity and the conscientious work of Miss Thomas would
rightly be denounced as reckless and reprehensible fabrication. Of
course Williamson, Standish, and Winslow made no such journey, and made
no treaty with Massasoit, but aided simply in conducting, with due
ceremonial, the first meeting between Governor John Carver and the Indian
sachem at Plymouth, at which a treaty was concluded. There is no
historical warrant whatever for the name of \x93George,\x94 as appertaining to
\x93Master William son.\x94 The fact, however,--made known by the fortunate
discovery mentioned,--that \x93Master Williamson\x94 was named in his will by
Master Mullens as one of its \x93Overseers,\x94 and undoubtedly probated the
will in England, puts the existence of such a person beyond reasonable
doubt. That he was a person of some dignity, and of very respectable
position, is shown by the facts that he was chosen as Standish\x92s
associate, as lieutenant of the guard, on an occasion of so much
importance, and was thought fit by Master Mullens, a careful and
clear-headed man as his will proves,--to be named an \x93Overseer\x94 of that
will, charged with responsible duties to Mullens\x92s children and
property. It is practically certain that on either of the
above-mentioned dates (February 21, or March 22) there were no human
beings in the Colony of New Plymouth beside the passengers of the
MAY-FLOWER, her officers and crew, and the native savages. Visitors, by
way of the fishing vessels on the Maine coast, had not yet begun to
come, as they did a little later. It is certain that no one of the name
of \x93Williamson\x94 was among the colonist passengers, or indeed for several
years in the colony, and we may at once dismiss both the passengers and
the savages from our consideration. This elimination renders it
inevitable that \x93Master Williamson\x94 must have been of the ship\x92s
company. It remains to determine, if possible, what position upon the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S roster he presumably held. His selection by \x93Master\x94
Mullens as one of the \x93Over seers\x94 of his will suggests the probability
that, having named Governor Carver as the one upon whom he would rely
for the care of his family and affairs in New England, Mr. Mullens
sought as the other a proper person, soon to return to England, and
hence able to exercise like personal interest in his two children and
his considerable property left there? Such a suggestion points to a
returning and competent officer of the ship. That \x93Master Williamson\x94
was above the grade of \x93petty officer,\x94 and ranked at least with the
mates or \x93pilots,\x94 is clear from the fact that he is invariably styled
\x93Master\x94 (equivalent to Mister), and we know with certainty that he was
neither captain nor mate. That he was a man of address and courage
follows the fact that he was chosen by Standish as his lieutenant, while
the choice in and of itself is a strong bit of presumptive proof that he
held the position on the MAY-FLOWER to which he is here assigned.
The only officer commonly carried by a ship of the MAY-FLOWER class,
whose rank, capacities, and functions would comport with every fact and
feature of the case, was \x93the ship\x92s-merchant,\x94 her accountant, factor,
and usually--when such was requisite--her \x93interpreter,\x94 on every
considerable (trading) voyage.
It is altogether probable that it was in his capacity of \x93interpreter\x94
(as Samoset and Tisquantum knew but little English), and on account of
what knowledge of the Indian tongue he very probably possessed, that
Standish chose Williamson as his associate for the formal reception of
Massasoit. It is indeed altogether probable that it was this familiarity
with the \x93trade lingo\x94 of the American coast tribes which influenced
--perhaps determined--his employment as \x93ship\x92s-merchant\x94 of the
MAY-FLOWER for her Pilgrim voyage, especially as she was expected to
\x93load back\x94 for England with the products of the country, only to be had
by barter with the Indians. It is evident that there must naturally
have been some provision made for communication with the natives, for
the purposes of that trade, etc., which the Planters hoped to establish.
Trading along the northern coast of Virginia (as the whole coast strip
was then called), principally for furs, had been carried on pretty
actively, since 1584, by such navigators as Raleigh\x92s captains, Gosnold,
Pring, Champlain, Smith, Dermer, Hunt, and the French and Dutch, and
much of the \x93trade lingo\x94 of the native tribes had doubtless been
\x93picked up\x94 by their different \x93ship\x92s-merchants.\x94 It appears by
Bradford\x92 that Dermer, when coasting the shores of New England, in Sir
Ferdinando Gorges\x92s employ, brought the Indian Tisquantum with him, from
England, as his interpreter, and doubtless from him Dermer and other
ship\x92s officers \x93picked up\x94 more or less Indian phrases, as Tisquantum
(Squanto) evidently did of English. Winslow, in his \x93Good Newes from
New England,\x94 written in 1622, says of the Indian tongue, as spoken by
the tribes about them at Plymouth, \x93it is very copious, large, and
difficult. As yet we cannot attain to any great measure thereof, but
can understand them, and explain ourselves to their understanding, by
the help of those that daily converse with us.\x94 This being the case,
after two years of constant communication, and noting how trivial
knowledge of English speech Samoset and Tisquantum had, it is easy to
understand that, if Williamson had any knowledge of the native tongue,
Standish would be most anxious to have the benefit of it, in this prime
and all-important effort at securing a permanent alliance with the
ruling sachem of the region. Bradford, in \x93Mourt\x92s Relation,\x94 speaking
of the speech of Governor Carver to Massasoit, says: \x93He [Massasoit]
liked well of the speech and heard it attentively, though the
interpreters did not well express it.\x94 Probably all three, Tisquantum,
Samoset, and Williamson, had a voice in it.
That \x93Master Williamson\x94 was a veritable person at New Plymouth, in
February and March, 1620/21, is now beyond dispute; that he must have
been of the ship\x92s company of the MAY-FLOWER is logically certain; that
he was one of her officers, and a man of character, is proven by his
title of \x93Master\x94 and his choice by Standish and Mullens for exceptional
and honorable service; that the position of \x93ship\x92s-merchant\x94 alone
answers to the conditions precedent, is evident; and that such an officer
was commonly carried by ships of the MAY-FLOWER class on such voyages as
hers is indicated by the necessity, and proven by the facts known as to
other ships on similar New England voyages, both earlier and later. The
fact that he was called simply \x93Master Williamson,\x94 in both cases where
he is mentioned, with out other designation or identification, is highly
significant, and clearly indicates that he was some one so familiarly
known to all concerned that no occasion for any further designation
apparently occurred to the minds of Mullens, Carver, or Bradford, when
referring to him. In the case of Master John Hampden, the only other
notable incognito of early Pilgrim literature, the description is full,
and the only question concerning him has been of his identity with John
Hampden, the English patriot of the Cromwellian era. It is, therefore,
not too much to assert that the MAY-FLOWER carried a \x93ship\x92s-merchant\x94
(or purser), and that \x93Master Williamson\x94 was that officer. If
close-linked circumstantial evidence is ever to be relied upon, it
clearly establishes in this case the identity of the \x93Master Williamson\x94
who was Governor Bradford\x92s incognito, and the person of the same name
mentioned a month earlier in \x93Master\x94 Mullens\x92s will; as also the fact
that in him we have a new officer of the MAY FLOWER, hitherto unknown as
such to Pilgrim literature. If Mr. Bowman\x92s belief as to Giles Heale
(see note) proves correct, we have yet another, the Surgeon.
The Carpenter, Gunner, Boatswain, Quartermaster, and \x93Masters-mates\x94 are
the only \x93petty officers\x94 of the Pilgrim ship of whom any record makes
mention. The carpenter is named several times, and was evidently, as
might be expected, one of the most useful men of the ship\x92s crew. Called
into requisition, doubtless, in the conferences as to the condition of
the SPEEDWELL, on both of her returns to port, at the inception of the
voyage, he was especially in evidence when, in mid-ocean, \x93the cracking
and bending of a great deck-beam,\x94 and the \x93shaken\x94 condition of \x93the
upper works\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER, gave rise to much alarm, and it was by
his labors and devices, and the use of the now famous \x93jack-screw,\x94 that
the bending beam and leaking deck were made secure. The repairs upon the
shallop in Cape Cod harbor also devolved upon him, and mention is made of
his illness and the dependence placed upon him. No doubt, in the
construction of the first dwellings and of the ordnance platform on the
hill, etc., he was the devising and principal workman. He undoubtedly
returned to England with the ship, and is known in history only by his
\x93billet,\x94 as \x93the carpenter\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER.
The Master Gunner seems to have been a man with a proclivity for Indian
barter, that led him to seek a place with the \x93third expedition\x94 at Cape
Cod, thereby nearly accomplishing his death, which indeed occurred later,
in Plymouth harbor, not long before the return of the ship.
The Boatswain is known, by Bradford\x92s records, to have died in the
general sickness which attacked the crew while lying in Plymouth harbor.
The brief narrative of his sickness and death is all that we know of his
personality. The writer says: \x93He was a proud young man, and would often
curse and scoff at the passengers,\x94 but being nursed when dying, by those
of them who remained aboard, after his shipmates had deserted him in
their craven fear of infection, \x93he bewailed his former conduct,\x94 saying,
\x93Oh! you, I now see, show your love like Christians indeed, one to
another, but we let one another lie and die like dogs.\x94
Four Quartermasters are mentioned (probably helmsmen simply), of whom
three are known to have died in Plymouth harbor.
\x93Masters-mates\x94 are several times mentioned, but it is pretty certain
that the \x93pilots\x94 (or mates) are intended. Bradford and Winslow, in
\x93Mourt\x92s Relation,\x94 say of the reappearance of the Indians: \x93So Captain
Standish, with another [Hopkins], with their muskets, went over to them,
with two of the masters-mates that follow them without [side?] arms,
having two muskets with them: Who these \x93masters-mates\x94 were does not
appear.\x94 The language, \x93two of the masters-mates,\x94 would possibly suggest
that there were more of them. It hardly seems probable that both the
mates of the MAY-FLOWER would thus volunteer, or thrust themselves
forward in such a matter, and it seems doubtful if they would have been
permitted (even if both ashore at one time, which, though unusual, did
occur), to assume such duty. Whoever they were, they did not lack
courage.
The names of the petty officers and seamen of the MAY-FLOWER do not
appear as such, but the discovery of the (evidently) nuncupative will of
William Mullens--herein referred to--has perhaps given us two of them.
Attached to John Carver\x92s certificate of the particulars of this will,
filed at Somerset House, London, are the names, \x93Giles Heale\x94 and
\x93Christopher Joanes.\x94 As Mr Mullens died Wednesday, February 21, 1620,
on board the MAY-FLOWER in Plymouth harbor, on which day we know from
Bradford\x92 that \x93the Master [Jones, whose name was Thomas] came on shore
with many of his sailors,\x94 to land and mount the cannon on the fort, and
as they had a full day\x92s work to draw up the hill and mount five guns,
and moreover brought the materials for, and stayed to eat, a considerable
dinner with the Pilgrims, they were doubtless ashore all day. It is
rational to interpret the known facts to indicate that in this absence of
the Captain and most of his crew ashore, Mr. Mullens, finding himself
failing fast, sent for Governor Carver and--unable to do more than speak
--dictated to him the disposition of his property which he desired to
make. Carver, noting this down from his dictation, undoubtedly called in
two of the ship\x92s company (Heale very likely being the ship\x92s-surgeon),
who were left aboard to \x93keep ship,\x94 to hear his notes read to Mullens
and assented to by him, they thus becoming the witnesses to his will, to
the full copy of which, as made by Carver (April 2), they affixed their
names as such. As there were then at Plymouth (besides savages) only the
passengers and crew of the MAY-FLOWER, and these men were certainly not
among the passengers, it seems inevitable that they were of the crew.
That \x93Christopher Joanes\x94 was not the Master of the ship is clear,
because Heale\x92s is the first signature, and no man of the crew would have
dared to sign before the Captain; because the Captain\x92s name was (as
demonstrated) Thomas; and because we know that he was ashore all that
day, with most of his men. It is by no means improbable that Captain
Jones had shipped one of his kinsmen in his crew, possibly as one of the
\x93masters mates\x94 or quartermasters referred to (and it is by no means
certain that there were not more than two), though these witnesses may
have been quartermasters or other petty officers left on board as
\x93ship-keepers.\x94 Certain it is that these two witnesses must have been
of the crew, and that \x93Christopher Joanes\x94 was not the Captain, while it
is equally sure, from the collateral evidence, that Master Mullens died
on shipboard. Had he died on shore it is very certain that some of the
leaders, Brewster, Bradford, or others, would have been witnesses, with
such of the ship\x92s officers as could aid in proving the will in England.
It is equally evident that the officers of the ship were absent when
Master Mullens dictated his will, except perhaps the surgeon.
The number of seamen belonging to the ship is nowhere definitely stated.
At least four in the employ of the Pilgrims were among the passengers
and not enrolled upon the ships\x92 lists. From the size of the ship,
the amount of sail she probably carried, the weight of her anchors,
and certain other data which appear,--such as the number allowed to
leave the ship at a time, etc.,--it is probably not a wild estimate to
place their number at from twenty to twenty-five. This is perhaps a
somewhat larger number than would be essential to work the ship, and than
would have been shipped if the voyage had been to any port of a civilized
country; but on a voyage to a wild coast, the possibilities of long
absence and of the weakening of the crew by death, illness, etc.,
demanded consideration and a larger number. The wisdom and necessity
of carrying, on a voyage to an uninhabited country, some spare men,
is proven by the record of Bradford, who says: \x93The disease begane to
fall amongst them the seamen also, so as allmost halfe of their company
dyed before they went away and many of their officers and lustyest men;
as ye boatson, gunner, 3 quarter maisters, the cooke, and others.\x94
The LADY ARBELLA, the \x93Admiral\x94 of Governor Winthrop\x92s fleet, a ship of
350 tons, carried 52 men, and it is a fair inference that the MAY-FLOWER,
of a little more than half her tonnage, would require at least half as
many. It is, therefore, not unlikely that the officers and crew of the
MAY-FLOWER, all told, mustered thirty men, irrespective of the sailors,
four in number (Alderton, English, Trevore, and Ely), in the Pilgrims\x92
employ.
CHAPTER VI
THE MAY-FLOWER\x92S PASSENGERS
The passenger list of the SPEEDWELL has given us the names of the Leyden
members of the company which, with the cooperation of the associated
Merchant Adventurers, was, in the summer of 1620, about to emigrate to
America.
Though it is not possible, with present knowledge, positively to
determine every one of those who were passengers in the MAY-FLOWER from
London to Southampton, most of them can be named with certainty.
Arranged for convenience, so far as possible, by families, they were:--
Master Robert Cushman, the London agent of the Leyden company,
Mrs. Mary (Clarke)-Singleton Cushman, 2d wife,
Thomas Cushman, son (by 1st wife).
Master Christopher Martin, treasurer-agent of the colonists,
Mrs. Martin, wife,
Solomon Prower, \x93servant,\x94
John Langemore, \x93servant.\x94
Master Richard Warren.
Master William Mullens,
Mrs. Alice Mullens, wife,
Joseph Mullens, 2d son,
Priscilla Mullens, 2d daughter,
Robert Carter, \x93servant.\x94
Master Stephen Hopkins,
Mrs. Elizabeth (Fisher?) Hopkins, 2d wife,
Giles Hopkins, son (by former wife),
Constance Hopkins, daughter (by former wife),
Damaris Hopkins, daughter,
Edward Dotey, \x93servant,\x94
Edward Leister, \x93servant.\x94
Gilbert Winslow.
James Chilton,
Mrs. Susanna (2) Chilton, wife,
Mary Chilton, daughter.
Richard Gardiner.
John Billington,
Mrs. Eleanor (or Helen) Billington, wife,
John Billington (Jr.), son,
Francis Billington, son.
William Latham, \x93servant-boy\x94 to Deacon Carver.
Jasper More, \x93bound-boy\x94 to Deacon Carver.
Ellen More, \x93little bound girl\x94 to Master Edward Winslow.
Richard More, \x93bound-boy\x94 to Elder Brewster.
------- More, \x93bound-boy\x94 to Elder Brewster.
There is a possibility that Thomas Rogers and his son, Joseph, who are
usually accredited to the Leyden company, were of the London contingent,
and sailed from there, though this is contra-indicated by certain
collateral data.
It is possible, also, of course, that any one or more of the English
colonists (with a few exceptions--such as Cushman and family, Mullens and
family, the More children and others--known to have left London on the
MAY-FLOWER) might have joined her (as did Carver and Alden, perhaps
Martin and family) at Southampton, but the strong presumption is that
most of the English passengers joined the ship at London.
It is just possible, too, that the seamen, Alderton (or Allerton),
English, Trevore, and Ely, were hired in London and were on board the
MAY-FLOWER when she left that port, though they might have been employed
and joined the ship at either Southampton, Dartmouth, or Plymouth.
It is strongly probable, however, that they were part, if not all, hired
in Holland, and came over to Southampton in the pinnace.
Robert Cushman--the London agent (for more than three years) of the
Leyden congregation, and, in spite of the wickedly unjust criticism
of Robinson and others, incompetent to judge his acts, their brave,
sagacious, and faithful servant--properly heads the list.
Bradford says: \x93Where they find the bigger ship come from London,
Mr. Jones, Master, with the rest of the company who had been waiting
there with Mr. Cushman seven days.\x94 Deacon Carver, probably from
being on shore, was not here named. In a note appended to the
memoir of Robert Cushman (prefatory to his Discourse delivered at
Plymouth, New England, on \x93The Sin and Danger of Self-Love\x94) it is
stated in terms as follows: \x93The fact is, that Mr. Cushman procured
the larger vessel, the MAY-FLOWER, and its pilot, at London, and
left in that vessel.\x94 The statement--though published long after the
events of which it treats and by other than Mr. Cushman--we know to
be substantially correct, and the presumption is that the writer,
whoever he may have been, knew also.
Sailing with his wife and son (it is not probable that he had any
other living child at the time), in full expectation that it was for
Virginia, he encountered so much of ungrateful and abusive
treatment, after the brethren met at Southampton,--especially at the
hands of the insufferable Martin, who, without merit and with a most
reprehensible record (as it proved), was chosen over him as
\x93governor\x94 of the ship,--that he was doubtless glad to return from
Plymouth when the SPEEDWELL broke down. He and his family appear,
therefore, as \x93MAY-FLOWER passengers,\x94 only between London and
Plymouth during the vexatious attendance upon the scoundrelly Master
of the SPEEDWELL, in his \x93doublings\x94 in the English Channel. His
Dartmouth letter to Edward Southworth, one of the most valuable
contributions to the early literature of the Pilgrims extant,
clearly demonstrates that he was suffering severely from dyspepsia
and deeply wounded feelings. The course of events was his complete
vindication, and impartial history to-day pronounces him second to
none in his service to the Pilgrims and their undertaking. His
first wife is shown by Leyden records to have been Sarah Reder, and
his second marriage to have occurred May 19/June 3, 1617, [sic]
about the time he first went to England in behalf of the Leyden
congregation.
Mrs. Mary (Clarke)-Singleton Cushman appears only as a passenger of the
MAY-FLOWER on her channel voyage, as she returned with her husband
and son from Plymouth, England, in the SPEEDWELL.
Thomas Cushman, it is quite clear, must have been a son by a former wife,
as he would have been but a babe, if the son of the latest wife,
when he went to New England with his father, in the FORTUNE, to
remain. Goodwin and others give his age as fourteen at this time,
and his age at death is their warrant. Robert Cushman died in 1625,
but a \x93Mary, wife [widow?] of Robert Cushman, and their son,
Thomas,\x94 seem to have been remembered in the will of Ellen Bigge,
widow, of Cranbrooke, England, proved February 12, 1638
(Archdeaconry, Canterbury, vol. lxx. leaf 482). The will intimates
that the \x93Thomas\x94 named was \x93under age\x94 when the bequest was made.
If this is unmistakably so (though there is room for doubt), then
this was not the Thomas of the Pilgrims. Otherwise the evidence is
convincing.
Master Christopher Martin, who was made, Bradford informs us, the
treasurer-agent of the Planter Company, Presumably about the time of
the original conclusions between the Adventurers and the Planters,
seems to have been appointed such, as Bradford states, not because
he was needed, but to give the English contingent of the Planter
body representation in the management, and to allay thereby any
suspicion or jealousy. He was, if we are to judge by the evidence
in hand concerning his contention and that of his family with the
Archdeacon, the strong testimony that Cushman bears against him in
his Dartmouth letter of August 17, and the fact that there seems to
have been early dissatisfaction with him as \x93governor\x94 on the ship,
a very self-sufficient, somewhat arrogant, and decidedly contentious
individual. His selection as treasurer seems to have been very
unfortunate, as Bradford indicates that his accounts were in
unsatisfactory shape, and that he had no means of his own, while his
rather surprising selection for the office of \x93governor\x94 of the
larger ship, after the unpleasant experience with him as
treasurer-agent, is difficult to account for, except that he was
evidently an active opponent of Cushman, and the latter was just
then in disfavor with the colonists. He was evidently a man in the
prime of life, an \x93Independent\x94 who had the courage of his
convictions if little discretion, and much of that energy and
self-reliance which, properly restrained, are excellent elements
for a colonist. Very little beside the fact that he came from
Essex is known of him, and nothing of his wife. He has further
mention hereafter.
Solomon Prower is clearly shown by the complaint made against him by the
Archdeacon of Chelmsford, the March before he sailed on the
MAY-FLOWER, to have been quite a youth, a firm \x93Separatist,\x94 and
something more than an ordinary \x93servant.\x94 He seems to have been
summoned before the Archdeacon at the same time with young Martin
(a son of Christopher), and this fact suggests some nearer relation
than that of \x93servant.\x94 He is sometimes spoken of as Martin\x92s
\x93son,\x94 by what warrant does not appear, but the fact suggests that
he may have been a step-son. Bradford, in recording his death,
says: \x93Dec. 24, this day dies Solomon Martin.\x94 This could, of
course, have been none other than Solomon Prower. Dr. Young, in his
\x93Chronicles,\x94 speaking of Martin, says, \x93he brought his wife and two
children.\x94 If this means Martin\x92s children, it is evidently an
error. It may refer to age only. His case is puzzling, for
Bradford makes him both \x93servant\x94 and \x93son.\x94 If of sufficient age
and account to be cited before the Archdeacon for discipline, it
seems strange that he should not have signed the \x93Compact.\x94 Even if
a \x93servant\x94 this would seem to have been no bar, as Dotey and
Leister were certainly such, yet signers. The indications are that
he was but a well-grown lad, and that his youth, or severe illness,
and not his station, accounts for the absence of his signature. If
a young foster-son or kinsman of Martin, as seems most likely, then
Martin\x92s signature was sufficient, as in the cases of fathers for
their sons; if really a \x93ser vant\x94 then too young (like Latham and
Hooke) to be called upon, as were Dotey and Leister.
John Langemore; there is nothing (save the errors of Dr. Young) to
indicate that he was other than a \x93servant.\x94
Richard Warren was probably from Kent or Essex. Surprisingly little is
known of his antecedents, former occupation, etc.
William Mullens and his family were, as shown, from Dorking in Surrey,
and their home was therefore close to London, whence they sailed,
beyond doubt, in the MAY-FLOWER. The discovery at Somerset House,
London, by Mr. Henry F. Waters, of Salem, Massachusetts; of what is
evidently the nuncupative will of William Mullens, proves an
important one in many particulars, only one of which need be
referred to in this connection, but all of which will receive due
consideration. It conclusively shows Mr. Mullens not to have been
of the Leyden congregation, as has sometimes been claimed, but that
he was a well-to-do tradesman of Dorking in Surrey, adjacent to
London. It renders it certain, too, that he had been some time
resident there, and had both a married daughter and a son (William),
doubtless living there, which effectually overthrows the \x93imaginary
history\x94 of Baird, and of that pretty story, \x93Standish of Standish,\x94
whereby the Mullens (or Molines) family are given French (Huguenot)
antecedents and the daughter is endowed with numerous airs, graces,
and accomplishments, professedly French.
Dr. Griffis, in his delightful little narrative, \x93The Pilgrims in
their Three Homes, England, Holland, America,\x94 cites the name
\x93Mullins\x94 as a Dutch distortion of Molines or Molineaux. Without
questioning that such it might be,--for the Dutch scribes were
gifted in remarkable distortions of simple names, even of their own
people,--they evidently had no hand in thus maltreating the patronym
of William Mullens (or Mullins) of the Pilgrims, for not only is
evidence entirely wanting to show that he was ever a Leyden citizen,
though made such by the fertile fiction of Mrs. Austin, but Governor
Carver, who knew him well, wrote it in his will \x93Mullens,\x94 while two
English probate functionaries of his own home-counties wrote it
respectively \x93Mullens\x94 and \x93Mullins.\x94
Dr. Grifs speaks of \x93the Mullens family\x94 as evidently [sic] of
Huguenot or Walloon birth or descent, but in doing so probably knew
no other authority than Mrs. Austin\x92s little novel, or (possibly)
Dr. Baird\x92s misstatements.
A writer in the \x93New England Historic-Genealogical Register,\x94 vol.
xlvii, p. 90, states, that \x93Mrs. Jane G. Austin found her authority
for saying that Priscilla Mullens was of a Huguenot family, in Dr.
Baird\x92s \x91History of Huguenot Emigration to America,\x92 vol. i.
p. 158,\x94 etc., referring to Rev. Charles W. Baird, D. D., New York.
The reference given is a notable specimen of very bad historical
work. Of Dr. Baird, one has a right to expect better things, and
the positiveness of his reckless assertion might well mislead those
not wholly familiar with the facts involved, as it evidently has
more than one. He states, without qualification or reservation,
that \x93among the passengers in the SPEEDWELL were several of the
French who had decided to cast in their lot with these English
brethren. William Molines and his daughter Priscilla, afterwards
the wife of John Alden and Philip Delanoy, born in Leyden of French
parents, were of the number.\x94 One stands confounded by such a
combination of unwarranted errors. Not only is it not true that
there \x93were several of the French among the passengers in the
SPEEDWELL,\x94 but there is no evidence whatever that there was even
one. Those specifically named as there, certainly were not, and
there is not the remotest proof or reason to believe, that William
Mullens (or Molines) and his daughter Priscilla (to say nothing of
the wife and son who accompanied him to America, whom Baird forgets)
ever even saw Leyden or Delfshaven. Their home had been at Dorking
in Surrey, just across the river from London, whence the MAY-FLOWER
sailed for New England, and nothing could be more absurd than to
assume that they were passengers on the SPEEDWELL from Delfshaven to
Southampton.
So far from Philip Delanoy (De La Noye or Delano) being a passenger
on the SPEEDWELL, he was not even one of the Pilgrim company, did
not go to New England till the following year (in the FORTUNE), and
of course had no relation to the SPEEDWELL. Neither does Edward
Winslow--the only authority for the parentage of \x93Delanoy\x94--state
that \x93he was born in Leyden,\x94 as Baird alleges, but only that \x93he
was born of French parents . . . and came to us from Leyden to
New Plymouth,\x94--an essential variance in several important
particulars. Scores and perhaps hundreds of people have been led to
believe Priscilla Mullens a French Protestant of the Leyden
congregation, and themselves--as her descendants--\x93of Huguenot
stock,\x94 because of these absolutely groundless assertions of Dr.
Baird. They lent themselves readily to Mrs. Austin\x92s fertile
imagination and facile pen, and as \x93welcome lies\x94 acquired a hold on
the public mind, from which even the demonstrated truth will never
wholly dislodge them. The comment of the intelligent writer in the
\x93Historic-Genealogical Register\x94 referred to is proof of this. So
fast-rooted had these assertions become in her thought as the truth,
that, confronted with the evidence that Master Mullens and his
family were from Dorking in England, it does not occur to her to
doubt the correctness of the impression which the recklessness of
Baird had created,--that they were of Leyden,--and she hence
amusingly suggests that \x93they must have moved from Leyden to
Dorking.\x94 These careless utterances of one who is especially bound
by his position, both as a writer and as a teacher of morals, to be
jealous for the truth, might be partly condoned as attributable to
mistake or haste, except for the facts that they seem to have been
the fountain-head of an ever-widening stream of serious error, and
that they are preceded on the very page that bears them by others as
to the Pilgrim exodus equally unhappy. It seems proper to suggest
that it is high time that all lovers of reliable history should
stand firmly together against the flood of loose statement which is
deluging the public; brand the false wherever found; and call for
proof from of all new and important historical propositions put
forth.
Stephen Hopkins may possibly have had more than one wife before
Elizabeth, who accompanied him to New England and was mother of the
sea-born son Oceanus. Hopkins\x92s will indicates his affection for
this latest wife, in unusual degree for wills of that day. With
singular carelessness, both of the writer and his proof-reader, Hon.
William T. Davis states that Damaris Hopkins was born \x93after the
arrival\x94 in New England. The contrary is, of course, a well
established fact. Mr. Davis was probably led into this error by
following Bradford\x92s \x93summary\x94 as affecting the Hopkins family. He
states therein that Hopkins \x93had one son, who became a seaman and
died at Barbadoes probably Caleb, and four daugh ters born here.\x94
To make up these \x93four\x94 daughters \x93born here\x94 Davis found it
necessary to include Damaris, unmindful that Bradford names her in
his list of MAY-FLOWER passengers. It is evident, either that
Bradford made a mistake in the number, or that there was some
daughter who died in infancy. It is evident that Dotey and Leister,
the \x93servants\x94 of Hopkins, were of English origin and accompanied
their master from London.
Gilbert Winslow was a brother of Edward Winslow, a young man, said to
have been a carpenter, who returned to England after \x93divers years\x94
in New England. There is a possibility that he was at Leyden and
was a passenger on the SPEEDWELL. It has been suggested that he
spent the greater part of the time he was in New England, outside of
the Pilgrim Colony. He took no part in its affairs.
James Chilton and his family are but little known to Pilgrim writers,
except the daughter Mary, who came into notice principally through
her marriage with John Winslow, another brother of Governor Edward,
who came over later. Their name has assumed a singular prominence
in popular regard, altogether disproportionate to either their
personal characteristics, station, or the importance of their early
descendants. Some unaccountable glamour of romance, without any
substantial foundation, is probably responsible for it. They left a
married daughter behind them in England, which is the only hint we
have as to their home just prior to the embarkation. There has been
a disposition, not well grounded, to regard them as of Leyden.
Richard Gardiner, Goodwin unequivocally places with the English colonists
(but on what authority does not fully appear), and he has been
claimed, but without any better warrant, for the Leyden list.
John Billington and his family were unmistakably of the English
colonists. Mrs. Billington\x92s name has been variously given,
e.g. Helen, Ellen, and Eleanor, and the same writer has used them
interchangeably. One writer has made the inexcusable error of
stating that \x93the younger son, Francis, was born after the arrival
at New Plymouth,\x94 but his own affidavit shows him to have been born
in 1606.
William Latham, a \x93servant-boy\x94 of Deacon Carver, has always been of
doubtful relation, some circumstances indicating that he was of
Leyden and hence was a SPEEDWELL passenger, but others--and these
the more significant--rendering it probable that he was an English
boy, who was obtained in London (like the More children) and
apprenticed to Carver, in which case he probably came in the
MAY-FLOWER from London, though he may have awaited her coming with
his master at Southampton, in which case he probably originally
embarked there, with him, on the SPEEDWELL, and was transferred
with him, at Plymouth, to the MAY-FLOWER. There is, of course,
also still the possibility that he came with Carver\x92s family from
Leyden. Governor Carver\x92s early death necessarily changed his
status somewhat, and Plymouth early records do not give much beyond
suggestion as to what the change was; but all indications confirm
the opinion that he was a poor boy--very likely of London or
vicinity--taken by Carver as his \x93servant.\x94
The More children, Jasper, Richard, their brother (whose given name has
never transpired), and Ellen, their sister, invite more than passing
mention. The belief has always been current and confident among
students of Pilgrim history that these More children, four in
number, \x93put\x94 or \x93indentured\x94 to three of the Leyden leaders, were
probably orphaned children of some family of the Leyden
congregation, and were so \x93bound\x94 to give them a chance in the new
colony, in return for such services as they could render to those
they accompanied. If thus of the Leyden contingent they would,
of course, be enumerated as passengers in the SPEEDWELL from
Delfshaven, but if of the English contingent they should probably be
borne on the list of passengers sailing from London in the
MAY-FLOWER, certainly should be reckoned as part of the English
contingent on the MAY-FLOWER at Southampton. An affidavit of
Richard More, perhaps the eldest of these children, indentured to
Elder Brewster, dated in 1684., found in \x93Proceedings of the
Provincial Court, Maryland Archives, vol. xiv. [\x91New England
Historic-Genealogical Register,\x92 vol 1. p. 203 ),\x94 affirms the
deponent to be then \x93seaventy years or thereabouts\x94 of age, which
would have made him some six years of age, \x93or thereabouts,\x94 in
1620. He deposes \x93that being in London at the house of Mr. Thomas
Weston, Iron monger, in the year 1620, he was from there transported
to New Plymouth in New England,\x94 etc. This clearly identifies
Richard More of the MAY FLOWER, and renders it well-nigh certain
that he and his brothers and sister, \x93bound out\x94 like himself to
Pilgrim leaders, were of the English company, were probably never in
Leyden or on the SPEEDWELL, and were very surely passengers on the
MAY-FLOWER from London, in charge of Mr. Cushman or others. The
fact that the lad was in London, and went from thence direct to New
England, is good evidence that he was not of the Leyden party. The
fair presump tion is that his brothers and sister were, like
himself, of English birth, and humble--perhaps deceased--parents,
taken because of their orphaned condition. It is highly improbable
that they would be taken from London to Southampton by land, at the
large expense of land travel in those days, when the MAY-FLOWER was
to sail from London. That they would accompany their respective
masters to their respectively assigned ships at Southampton is
altogether likely. The phraseology of his affidavit suggests the
probability that Richard More, his brothers, and sister were brought
to Mr. Weston\x92s house, to be by him sent aboard the MAY-FLOWER,
about to sail. The affidavit is almost conclusive evidence as to
the fact that the More children were all of the English colonists\x92
party, though apprenticed to Leyden families, and belonged to the
London passenger list of the Pilgrim ship. The researches of Dr.
Neill among the MS. \x93minutes\x94 and \x93transactions\x94 of the (London)
Virginia Company show germanely that, on November 17, 1619, \x93the
treasurer, council, and company\x94 of this Virginia Company addressed
Sir William Cockaine, Knight, Lord Mayor of the city of London, and
the right worthys the aldermen, his brethren, and the worthys the
\x93common council of the city,\x94 and returning thanks for the benefits
conferred, in furnishing out one hundred children this last year
for \x93the plantation in Virginia\x94 (from what Neill calls the
\x93homeless boys and girls of London\x94), states, that, \x93forasmuch as we
have now resolved to send this next spring [1620] very large
supplies,\x94 etc., \x93we pray your Lordship and the rest . . . to
renew the like favors, and furnish us again with one hundred more
for the next spring. Our desire is that we may have them of twelve
years old and upward, with allowance of L3 apiece for their
transportation, and 40s. apiece for their apparel, as was formerly
granted. They shall be apprenticed; the boys till they come to 21
years of age, the girls till like age or till they be married,\x94 etc.
A letter of Sir Edwin Sandys (dated January 28, 1620) to Sir Robert
Naunton shows that \x93The city of London have appointed one hundred
children from the superfluous multitude to be transported to
Virginia, there to be bound apprentices upon very beneficial
conditions.\x94 In view of the facts that these More children--and
perhaps others--were \x93apprenticed\x94 or \x93bound\x94 to the Pilgrims
(Carver, Winslow, Brewster, etc.), and that there must have been
some one to make the indentures, it seems strongly probable that
these four children of one family,--as Bradford shows,--very likely
orphaned, were among those designated by the city of London for the
benefit of the (London) Virginia Company in the spring of 1620.
They seem to have been waifs caught up in the westward-setting
current, but only Richard survived the first winter. Bradford,
writing in 1650, states of Richard More that his brothers and sister
died, \x93but he is married [1636] and hath 4 or 5 children.\x94 William
T. Davis, in his \x93Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth\x94 (p. 24), states,
and Arber copies him, that \x93he was afterwards called Mann; and died
at Scituate, New England, in 1656.\x94 The researches of Mr. George E.
Bowman, the able Secretary of the Massachusetts Society of
MAY-FLOWER Descendants, some time since disproved this error,
but Mores affidavit quoted conclusively determines the matter.
The possible accessions to the company, at London or Southampton, of
Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper, cousins of Edward Tilley and wife,
would be added to the passengers of the pinnace rather than to the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S, if, as seems probable, their relatives were of the
SPEEDWELL. If Edward Tilley and his wife were assigned to the MAY
FLOWER, room would doubtless also be found for these cousins on the
ship. John Alden, the only positively known addition (except Carver)
made to the list at Southampton, was, from the nature of his engagement
as \x93cooper,\x94 quite likely assigned to the larger ship. There are no
known hints as to the assignments of passengers to the respective
vessels at Southampton--then supposed to be final--beyond the remarks of
Bradford that \x93the chief [principal ones] of them that came from Leyden
went on this ship [the SPEEDWELL] to give the Master content,\x94 and his
further minute, that \x93Master Martin was governour in the biger ship and
Master Cushman assistante.\x94 It is very certain that Deacon Carver, one
of the four agents of the colonists, who had \x93fitted out\x94 the voyage in
England, was a passenger in the SPEEDWELL from Southampton,--as the
above mentioned remark of Bradford would suggest,--and was made
\x93governour\x94 of her passengers, as he later was of the whole company, on
the MAY-FLOWER. It has sometimes been queried whether, in the interim
between the arrival of the SPEEDWELL at Southampton and the assignment
of the colonists to their respective ships (especially as both vessels
were taking in and transferring cargo), the passengers remained on board
or were quartered on shore. The same query has arisen, with even better
reason, as to the passengers of the SPEEDWELL during the stay at
Dartmouth, when the consort was being carefully overhauled to find her
leaks, the suggestion being made that in this case some of them might
have found accommodation on board the larger ship. The question may be
fairly considered as settled negatively, from the facts that the
colonists, with few exceptions, were unable to bear such extra expense
themselves; the funds of the Adventurers--if any were on hand, which
appears doubtful--were not available for the purpose; while the evidence
of some of the early writers renders it very certain that the Leyden
party were not released from residence on shipboard from the time they
embarked on the SPEEDWELL at Delfshaven till the final landing in the
harbor of New Plimoth. Just who of the Leyden chiefs caused themselves
to be assigned to the smaller vessel, to encourage its cowardly Master,
cannot be definitely known. It may be confidently assumed, however, that
Dr. Samuel Fuller, the physician of the colonists, was transferred to
the MAY-FLOWER, upon which were embarked three fourths of the entire
company, including most of the women and children, with some of whom, it
was evident, his services would be certainly in demand. There is little
doubt that the good Elder (William Brewster) was also transferred to the
larger ship at Southampton, while it would not be a very wild guess--in
the light of Bradford\x92s statement--to place Carver, Winslow, Bradford,
Standish, Cooke, Howland, and Edward Tilley, and their families, among
the passengers on the consort. Just how many passengers each vessel
carried when they sailed from Southampton will probably never be
positively known. Approximately, it may be said, on the authority of
such contemporaneous evidence as is available, and such calculations as
are possible from the data we have, that the SPEEDWELL had thirty (30),
and the MAY-FLOWER her proportionate number, ninety (90)--a total of one
hundred and twenty (120).
Captain John Smith says,
[Smith, New England\x92s Trials, ed. 1622, London, p. 259. It is a
singular error of the celebrated navigator that he makes the ships
to have, in less than a day\x92s sail, got outside of Plymouth, as he
indicates by his words, \x93the next day,\x94 and \x93forced their return to
Plymouth.\x94 He evidently intends to speak only in general terms, as
he entirely omits the (first) return to Dartmouth, and numbers the
passengers on the MAY-FLOWER, on her final departure, at but \x93one
hundred.\x94 He also says they \x93discharged twenty passengers.\x94]
apparently without pretending to be exact, \x93They left the coast of
England the 23 of August, with about 120 persons, but the next day [sic]
the lesser ship sprung a leak that forced their return to Plymouth; where
discharging her [the ship] and twenty passengers, with the great ship and
a hundred persons, besides sailors, they set sail again on the 6th of
September.\x94
[Dr. Ames, so stringent in his requirements of other authors, for
example Jane Austin, has to this point been pathetically naive as to
the opinions of Captain John Smith. Captain Smith\x92s self-serving
and very subjective narratives of his own voyages obtained for him
the very derogatory judgement by his contemporaries. One of the
best reviews of John Smith\x92s life may be found in a small book on
this adventurer by Charles Dudley Warner. D.W.]
If the number one hundred and twenty (120) is correct, and the
distribution suggested is also exact, viz. thirty (30) to the SPEEDWELL
and ninety (90) to the MAY-FLOWER, it is clear that there must have been
more than twelve (the number usually named) who went from the consort to
the larger ship, when the pinnace was abandoned. We know that at least
Robert Cushman and his family (wife and son), who were on the MAY-FLOWER,
were among the number who returned to London upon the SPEEDWELL (and the
language of Thomas Blossom in his letter to Governor Bradford, else where
quoted, indicates that he and his son were also there), so that if the
ship\x92s number was ninety (90), and three or more were withdrawn, it would
require fifteen (15) or more to make the number up to one hundred and two
(102), the number of passengers we know the MAY-FLOWER had when she took
her final departure. It is not likely we shall ever be able to determine
exactly the names or number of those transferred to the MAY-FLOWER from
the consort, or the number or names of all those who went back to London
from either vessel. Several of the former and a few of the latter are
known, but we must (except for some fortunate discovery) rest content
with a very accurate knowledge of the passenger list of the MAY-FLOWER
when she left Plymouth (England), and of the changes which occurred in it
afterward; and a partial knowledge of the ship\x92s own complement of
officers and men.
Goodwin says: \x93The returning ones were probably of those who joined in
England, and had not yet acquired the Pilgrim spirit.\x94 Unhappily this
view is not sustained by the relations of those of the number who are
known. Robert Cushman and his family (3 persons), Thomas Blossom and his
son (2 persons), and William Ring (1 person), a total of six, or just one
third of the putative eighteen who went back, all belonged to the Leyden
congregation, and were far from lacking \x93the Pilgrim spirit.\x94 Cushman
was both ill and heart-sore from fatigue, disappointment, and bad
treatment; Ring was very ill, according to Cushman\x92s Dartmouth letter;
but the motives governing Blossom and his son do not appear, unless the
comparatively early death of the son--after which his father went to New
England--furnishes a clue thereto. Bradford says: \x93Those that went back
were, for the most part, such as were willing to do so, either out of
some discontent, or fear they conceived of the ill success of the Voyage,
seeing so many crosses befallen and the year time so far spent. But
others, in regard of their own weakness and the charge of many young
children, were thought [by the Managers] least useful and most unfit to
bear the brunt of this hard adventure.\x94 It is evident from the above
that, while the return of most was from choice, some were sent back by
those in authority, as unfit for the undertaking, and that of these some
had \x93many young chil dren.\x94 There are said to have been eighteen who
returned on the SPEEDWELL to London. We know who six of them were,
leaving twelve, or two thirds, unknown. Whether these twelve were in
part from Leyden, and were part English, we shall probably never know.
If any of them were from Holland, then the number of those who left
Delfshaven on the SPEEDWELL is increased by so many. If any were of the
English contingent, and probably the most were,--then the passenger list
of the MAY-FLOWER from London to Southampton was probably, by so many,
the larger. It is evident, from Bradford\x92s remark, that, among the
twelve unknown, were some who, from \x93their own weakness and charge of
many young children, were thought least useful and most unfit,\x94 etc.
From this it is clear that at least one family was included which had a
number of young children, the parents\x92 \x93own weakness\x94 being recognized.
A father, mother, and four children (in view of the term \x93many\x94) would
seem a reasonable surmise, and would make six, or another third of the
whole number. The probability that the unknown two thirds were chiefly
from England, rather than Holland, is increased by observation of the
evident care with which, as a rule, those from the Leyden congregation
were picked, as to strength and fitness, and also by the fact that their
Leyden homes were broken up. Winslow remarks, \x93the youngest and
strongest part were to go,\x94 and an analysis of the list shows that those
selected were mostly such. Bradford, in stating that Martin was \x93from
Billericay in Essex,\x94 says, \x93from which part came sundry others.\x94 It is
quite possible that some of the unknown twelve who returned were from
this locality, as none of those who went on the MAY-FLOWER are understood
to have hailed from there, beside the Martins.
All the colonists still intending to go to America were now gathered in
one vessel. Whatever previous disposition of them had been made, or
whatever relations they might have had in the disjointed record of the
exodus, were ephemeral, and are now lost sight of in the enduring
interest which attaches to their final and successful \x93going forth\x94 as
MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims.
Bradford informs us--as already noted--that, just before the departure
from Southampton, having \x93ordered and distributed their company for
either ship, as they conceived for the best,\x94 they \x93chose a Governor and
two or three assistants for each ship, to order the people by the way,
and see to the disposing of the provisions, and such like affairs. All
which was not only with the liking of the Masters of the ships, but
according to their desires.\x94 We have seen that under this arrangement
--the wisdom and necessity of which are obvious--Martin was made \x93Governor\x94
on the \x93biger ship\x94 and Cushman his \x93assistante.\x94 Although we find no
mention of the fact, it is rendered certain by the record which Bradford
makes of the action of the Pilgrim company on December 11, 1620, at Cape
Cod,--when they \x93confirmed\x94 Deacon John Carver as \x93Governor,\x94--that he
was and had been such, over the colonist passengers for the voyage (the
ecclesiastical authority only remaining to Elder Brewster), Martin
holding certainly no higher than the second place, made vacant by
Cushman\x92s departure.
Thus, hardly had the Pilgrims shaken the dust of their persecuting
mother-country from their feet before they set up, by popular voice
(above religious authority, and even that vested by maritime law in their
ships\x92 officers), a government of themselves, by themselves, and for
themselves. It was a significant step, and the early revision they made
of their choice of \x93governors\x94 certifies their purpose to have only
rulers who could command their confidence and respect. Dr. Young says:
\x93We know the age of but few of the Pilgrims,\x94 which has hitherto been
true; yet by careful examination of reliable data, now available, we are
able to deter mine very closely the ages of a considerable number, and
approximately the years of most of the others, at the time of the exodus.
No analysis, so far as known, has hitherto been made of the vocations
(trades, etc.) represented by the MAY-FLOWER company. They were, as
befitted those bent on founding a colony, of considerable variety, though
it should be understood that the vocations given were, so far as
ascertained, the callings the individuals who represented them had
followed before taking ship. Several are known to have been engaged
in other pursuits at some time, either before their residence in Holland,
or during their earlier years there. Bradford tells us that most of the
Leyden congregation (or that portion of it which came from England, in or
about 1608) were agricultural people. These were chiefly obliged to
acquire handicrafts or other occupations. A few, e.g. Allerton,
Brewster, Bradford, Carver, Cooke, and Winslow, had possessed some means,
while others had been bred to pursuits for which there was no demand in
the Low Countries. Standish, bred to arms, apparently followed his
profession nearly to the time of departure, and resumed it in the colony,
adding thereto the calling which, in all times and all lands, had been
held compatible in dignity with that of arms,--the pursuit of
agriculture. While always the \x93Sword of the White Men,\x94 he was the
pioneer \x93planter\x94 in the first settlement begun (at Duxbury) beyond
Plymouth limits. Of the \x93arts, crafts or trades\x94 of the colonists from
London and neighboring English localities, but little has been gleaned.
They were mostly people of some means, tradesmen rather than artisans,
and at least two (Martin and Mullens) were evidently also of the Merchant
Adventurers.
Their social (conjugal) conditions--not previously analyzed, it is
thought--have been determined, it is believed, with approximate accuracy;
though it is of course possible that some were married, of whom that fact
does not appear, especially among the seamen.
The passengers of the MAY-FLOWER on her departure from Plymouth
(England), as arranged for convenience by families, were as appears by
the following lists.
While the ages given in these lists are the result of much careful study
of all the latest available data, and are believed, when not exact, to be
very close approximates; as it has been possible to arrive at results,
in several cases, only by considerable calculation, the bases of which
may not always have been entirely reliable, errors may have crept in.
Though the author is aware that, in a few instances, the age stated does
not agree with that assigned by other recognized authority, critical
re-analysis seems to warrant and confirm the figures given.
The actual and comparative youth of the majority of the colonist leaders
--the Pilgrim Fathers--is matter of comment, even of surprise, to most
students of Pilgrim history, especially in view of what the Leyden
congregation had experienced before embarking for America. Only two of
the leaders exceeded fifty years of age, and of these Governor Carver
died early. Of the principal men only nine could have been over forty,
and of these Carver, Chilton, Martin, Mullins, and Priest (more than half
died within a few months after landing), leaving Brewster, Warren (who
died early), Cooke, and Hopkins--neither of the latter hardly forty--the
seniors. One does not readily think of Alden as but twenty-one, Winslow
as only twenty-five, Dr. Fuller as about thirty, Bradford as only
thirty-one when chosen Governor, Allerton as thirty-two, and Captain
Standish as thirty-six. Verily they were \x93old heads on young
shoulders.\x94 It is interesting to note that the dominant influence
at all times was that of the Leyden contingent.
Of these, all except William Butten, who died upon the voyage, reached
Cape Cod in safety, though some of them had become seriously ill from the
hardships encountered, and Howland had narrowly escaped drowning. Two
were added to the number en voyage,--Oceanus Hopkins, born upon the sea,
and Peregrine White, born soon after the arrival in Cape Cod harbor.
This made the total of the passenger list 103, before further depletion
by death occurred, though several deaths again reduced it before the
MAY-FLOWER cast anchor in Plymouth harbor, her final haven on the
outward voyage.
Deacon John Carver\x92s place of birth or early life is not known, but he
was an Essex County man, and was probably not, until in middle life,
a member of Robinson\x92s congregation of \x93Independents.\x94 His age is
determined by collateral evidence.
Mrs. Katherine Carver, it has been supposed by some, was a sister of
Pastor Robinson. This supposition rests, apparently, upon the
expression of Robinson in his parting letter to Carver, where he
says: \x93What shall I say or write unto you and your good wife, my
loving sister?\x94 Neither the place of Mrs. Carver\x92s nativity nor her
age is known.
Desire Minter was evidently a young girl of the Leyden congregation,
between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, who in some way (perhaps
through kinship) had been taken into Carver\x92s family. She returned
to England early. See ante, for account of her (probable)
parentage.
John Howland was possibly of kin to Carver and had been apparently some
years in his family. Bradford calls him a \x93man-servant,\x94 but it is
evident that \x93employee\x94 would be the more correct term, and that he
was much more than a \x93servant.\x94 It is observable that Howland
signed the Compact (by Morton\x92s List) before such men as Hopkins,
the Tilleys, Cooke, Rogers, and Priest, which does not indicate much
of the \x93servant\x94 relation. His antecedents are not certainly known,
but that he was of the Essex family of the name seems probable.
Much effort has been made in recent years to trace his ancestry,
but without any considerable result. His age at death (1673)
determines his age in 1620. He was older than generally supposed,
being born about 1593.
Roger Wilder is also called a \x93man-servant\x94 by Bradford, and hardly more
than this is known of him, his death occurring early. There is no
clue to his age except that his being called a \x93man-servant\x94 would
seem to suggest that he was of age; but the fact that he did not
sign the Compact would indicate that he was younger, or he may have
been extremely ill, as he died very soon after arrival.
William Latham is called a \x93boy\x94 by Bradford, though a lad of 18. It is
quite possible he was one of those \x93indentured\x94 by the corporation
of London, but there is no direct intimation of this.
\x93Mrs. Carver\x92s maid,\x94 it is fair to presume, from her position as
lady\x92s-maid and its requirements in those days, was a young woman of
eighteen or twenty years, and this is confirmed by her early
marriage. Nothing is known of her before the embarkation. She died
early.
Jasper More, Bradford says, \x93was a child yt was put to him.\x94 Further
information concerning him is given in connection with his brother
Richard, \x93indentured\x94 to Elder Brewster. He is erroneously called
by Justin Winsor in his \x93History of Duxbury\x94 (Massachusetts) a child
of Carver\x92s, as Elizabeth Tilley is \x93his daughter.\x94 Others have
similarly erred.
Elder William Brewster\x92s known age at his death determines his age in
1620. He was born in 1566-67. His early life was full of interest
and activity, and his life in Holland and America no less so. In
early life he filled important stations. Steele\x92s \x93Chief of the
Pilgrims\x94 is a most engaging biography of him, and there are others
hardly less so, Bradford\x92s sketch being one of the best.
Mrs. Mary Brewster\x92s age at her death determines it at the embarkation,
and is matter of computation.
Love Brewster was the second son of his parents, his elder brother
Jonathan coming over afterwards.
Wrestling Brewster was but a \x93lad,\x94 and his father\x92s third son.
Richard More and his brother, Bradford states, \x93were put to him\x94 (Elder
Brewster) as bound-boys. For a full account of their English
origin, Richard\x92s affidavit, etc., see ante. This makes him but
about six, but he was perhaps older.
Governor Edward Winslow\x92s known age at his death fixes his age at the
time of the exodus, and his birth is duly recorded at Droitwich, in
Worcester, England. (See \x93Winslow Memorial,\x94 David Parsons Holton,
vol. i. p. 16.)
Mrs. Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow, the first wife of the Governor, appears
by the data supplied by the record of her marriage in Holland, May
27, 1618, to have been a maiden of comporting years to her
husband\x92s, he being then twenty-three. Tradition makes her slightly
younger than her husband.
George Soule, it is evident,--like Howland,--though denominated a
\x93servant\x94 by Bradford, was more than this, and should rather have
been styled, as Goodwin points out, \x93an employee\x94 of Edward Winslow.
His age is approximated by collateral evidence, his marriage, etc.
Elias Story is called \x93man-servant\x94 by Bradford, and his age is unknown.
The fact that he did not sign the Compact indicates that he was
under age, but extreme illness may have prevented, as he died early.
Ellen More, \x93a little girl that was put to him\x94 (Winslow), died early.
She was sister of the other More children, \x93bound out\x94 to Carver and
Brewster, of whom extended mention has been made.
Governor William Bradford\x92s date of birth fixes his age in 1620. His
early home was at Austerfield, in Yorkshire. Belknap (\x93American
Biography,\x94 vol. ii. p. 218) says: \x93He learned the art of
silk-dyeing.\x94
Mrs. Dorothy (May) Bradford\x92s age (the first wife of the Governor) is
fixed at twenty-three by collateral data, but she may have been
older. She was probably from Wisbeach, England. The manner of her
tragic death (by drowning, having fallen overboard from the ship in
Cape Cod harbor), the first violent death in the colony, was
especially sad, her husband being absent for a week afterward. It
is not known that her body was recovered.
Dr. Samuel Fuller, from his marriage record at Leyden, made in 1613, when
he was a widower, it is fair to assume was about thirty, perhaps
older, in 1620, as he could, when married, have hardly been under
twenty-one. His (third) wife and child were left in Holland.
William Butten (who died at sea, November 6/16), Bradford calls
\x93a youth.\x94 He was undoubtedly a \x93servant\x94-assistant to the doctor.
Isaac Allerton, it is a fair assumption, was about thirty-four in 1620,
from the fact that he married his first wife October 4, 1611, as he
was called \x93a young man\x94 in the Leyden marriage record. He is
called \x93of London, England,\x94 by Bradford and on the Leyden records.
He was made a \x93freeman\x94 of Leyden, February 7, 1614. Arber and
others state that his early occupation was that of \x93tailor,\x94 but he
was later a tradesman and merchant.
Mary (Norris) Allerton is called a \x93maid of Newbury in England,\x94 in the
Leyden record of her marriage, in October, 1611, and it is the only
hint as to her age we have. She was presumably a young woman. Her
death followed (a month later) the birth of her still-born son, on
board the MAY-FLOWER in Plymouth harbor, February 25/March 7, 1621.
Bartholomew Allerton, born probably in 1612/13 (his parents married
October, 1611), was hence, as stated, about seven or eight years old
at the embarkation. He has been represented as older, but this was
clearly impossible. He was doubtless born in Holland.
Remember Allerton, apparently Allerton\x92s second child, has (with a
novelist\x92s license) been represented by Mrs. Austin as considerably
older than six, in fact nearer sixteen (Goodwin, p. 183, says,
\x93over 13\x94), but the known years of her mother\x92s marriage and her
brother\x92s birth make this improbable. She was, no doubt, born in
Holland about 1614--She married Moses Maverick by 1635, and Thomas
Weston\x92s only child, Elizabeth, was married from her house at
Marblehead to Roger Conant, son of the first \x93governor\x94 of a
Massachusetts Bay \x93plantation.\x94
Mary Allerton, apparently the third child, could hardly have been much
more than four years old in 1620, though Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim
Republic,\x94 p. 184) calls her eleven, which is an error. She was
probably born in Holland about 1616. She was the last survivor of
the passengers of the MAY-FLOWER, dying at Plymouth, New England,
1699.
John Hooke, described by Bradford as a \x93servant-boy,\x94 was probably but a
youth. He did not sign the Compact. Nothing further is known of him
except that he died early. It is quite possible that he may have
been of London and have been \x93indentured\x94 by the municipality to
Allerton, but the presumption has been that he came, as body-servant
of Allerton, with him from Leyden.
Captain Standish\x92s years in 1620 are conjectural (from fixed data), as is
his age at death. His early home was at Duxborough Hall, in
Lancashire. His commission as Captain, from Queen Elizabeth, would
make his birth about 1584. Rose Standish, his wife, is said by
tradition to have been from the Isle of Man, but nothing is known of
her age or antecedents, except that she was younger than the
Captain. She died during the \x93general sickness,\x94 early in 1621.
Master Christopher Martin, as previously noted, was from Billerica, in
Essex. From collateral data it appears that he must have been
\x93about forty\x94 years old when he joined the Pilgrims. He appears to
have been a staunch \x93Independent\x94 and to have drawn upon himself the
ire of the Archdeacon of Chelmsford, (probably) by his loud-mouthed
expression of his views, as only \x93a month before the MAY-FLOWER
sailed\x94 he, with his son and Solomon Prower of his household
(probably a relative), were cited before the archdeacon to answer
for their shortcomings, especially in reverence for this church
dignitary. He seems to have been at all times a self-conceited,
arrogant, and unsatisfactory man. That he was elected treasurer
and ship\x92s \x93governor\x94 and permitted so much unbridled liberty as
appears, is incomprehensible. It was probably fortunate that he
died early, as he did, evidently in utter poverty. He had a son,
in 1620, apparently quite a grown youth, from which it is fair to
infer that the father was at that time \x93about forty.\x94 Of his wife
nothing is known. She also died early.
Solomon Prower, who is called by Bradford both \x93son\x94 and \x93servant\x94 of
Martin, seems from the fact of his \x93citation\x94 before the Archdeacon
of Chelmsford, etc., to have been something more than a \x93servant,\x94
possibly a kinsman, or foster-son, and probably would more properly
have been termed an \x93employee.\x94 He was from Billerica, in Essex,
and was, from the fact that he did not sign the Compact, probably
under twenty-one or very ill at the time. He died early. Of John
Langemore, his fellow \x93servant,\x94 nothing is known, except that he is
spoken of by Young as one of two \x93children\x94 brought over by Martin
(but on no apparent authority), and he did not sign the Compact,
though this might have been from extreme illness, as he too died
early.
William White was of the Leyden congregation. He is wrongly called by
Davis a son of Bishop John White, as the only English Bishop of that
name and time died a bachelor. At White\x92s marriage, recorded at the
Stadthaus at Leyden, January 27/February 1, 1612, to Anna [Susanna]
Fuller, he is called \x93a young man of England.\x94 As he presumably was
of age at that time, he must have been at least some twenty-nine or
thirty years old at the embarkation, eight years later. His son
Peregrine was born in Cape Cod harbor. Mr. White died very early.
Susanna (Fuller) White, wife of William, and sister of Dr. Fuller (?),
was apparently somewhat younger than her first husband and perhaps
older than her second. She must, in all probability (having been
married in Leyden in 1612), have been at least twenty-five at the
embarkation eight years later. Her second husband, Governor
Winslow, was but twenty-five in 1620, and the presumption is that
she was slightly his senior. There appears no good reason for
ascribing to her the austere and rather unlovable characteristics
which the pen of Mrs. Austin has given her.
Resolved White, the son of William and Susanna White, could not have been
more than six or seven years old, and is set down by Goodwin and
others--on what seems inconclusive evidence--at five. He was
doubtless born at Leyden.
William Holbeck is simply named as \x93a servant\x94 of White, by Bradford.
His age does not appear, but as he did not sign the Compact he was
probably \x93under age.\x94 From the fact that he died early, it is
possible that he was too ill to sign.
Edward Thompson is named by Bradford as a second \x93servant\x94 of Master
White, but nothing more is known of him, except that he did not sign
the Compact, and was therefore probably in his nonage, unless
prevented by severe sickness. He died very early.
Master William Mullens (or Molines, as Bradford some times calls him) is
elsewhere shown to have been a tradesman of some means, of Dorking,
in Surrey, one of the Merchant Adventurers, and a man of ability.
From the fact that he left a married daughter (Mrs. Sarah Blunden)
and a son (William) a young man grown, in England, it is evident
that he must have been forty years old or more when he sailed for
New England, only to die aboard the ship in New Plymouth harbor.
That he was not a French Huguenot of the Leyden contingent, as
pictured by Rev. Dr. Baird and Mrs. Austin, is certain.
Mrs. Alice Mullens, whose given name we know only from her husband\x92s
will, filed in London, we know little about. Her age was (if she
was his first wife) presumably about that of her husband, whom she
survived but a short time.
Joseph Mullens was perhaps older than his sister Priscilla, and the third
child of his parents; but the impression prevails that he was
slightly her junior,--on what evidence it is hard to say. That he
was sixteen is rendered certain by the fact that he is reckoned by
his father, in his will, as representing a share in the planter\x92s
half-interest in the colony, and to do so must have been of that
age.
Priscilla Mullens, whom the glamour of unfounded romance and the pen of
the poet Longfellow have made one of the best known and best beloved
of the Pilgrim band, was either a little older, or younger, than her
brother Joseph, it is not certain which. But that she was over
sixteen is made certain by the same evidence as that named
concerning her brother.
Robert Carter is named by Bradford as a \x93man-servant,\x94 and Mrs. Austin,
in her imaginative \x93Standish of Standish,\x94 which is never to be
taken too literally, has made him (see p. 181 of that book) \x93a dear
old servant,\x94 whom Priscilla Mullens credits with carrying her in
his arms when a small child, etc. Both Bradford\x92s mention and Mr.
Mullens\x92s will indicate that he was yet a young man and \x93needed
looking after.\x94 He did not sign the Compact, which of itself
indicates nonage, unless illness was the cause, of which, in his
case, there is no evidence, until later.
Richard Warren, as he had a wife and five pretty well grown daughters,
must have been forty-five or more when he came over. He is
suggested to have been from Essex.
Stephen Hopkins is believed to have been a \x93lay-reader\x94 with Mr. Buck,
chaplain to Governor Gates, of the Bermuda expedition of 1609 (see
Purchas, vol. iv. p. 174). As he could hardly have had this
appointment, or have taken the political stand he did, until of
age, he must have been at least twenty-one at that time. If so, he
would have been not less than thirty two years old in 1620, and was
probably considerably older, as his son Giles is represented by
Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p. 184) as being \x93about 15.\x94 If the
father was but twenty-one when the son was born, he must have been
at least thirty-seven when he became a MAY-FLOWER Pilgrim. The
probabilities are that he was considerably older. His English home
is not known. Professor Arber makes an error (The Story of the
Pilgrim Fathers,\x94 p. 261) in regard to Hopkins which, unless noted,
might lead to other and more serious mistakes. Noting the
differences between John Pierce and a Master Hopkins, heard before
the Council for New England, May 5/15, 1623, Arber designates Master
Hopkins as \x93Stephen\x94 (on what authority does not appear), and leaves
us to infer that it was the Pilgrim Hopkins. On further inquiry it
transpires that the person who was at variance with Master John
Pierce over the matter of passage and freight money, on account of
the unfortunate PARAGON, was a Rev. Master Hopkins (not Stephen of
the MAY-FLOWER), who, we learn from Neill\x92s \x93History of the Virginia
Company,\x94 was \x93recommended July 3, 1622, by the Court of the Company
to the Governor of Virginia, . . . being desirous to go over at
his own charge. He was evidently a passenger on both of the
disastrous attempts of the PARAGON under Captain William Pierce, and
being forced back the second time, apparently gave up the intention
of going.
Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, nothing is known concerning, except that she was
not her husband\x92s first wife. Sometime apparently elapsed between
her husband\x92s marriages.
Giles Hopkins we only know was the son of his father\x92s first wife, and
\x93about 15.\x94 An error (of the types presumably) makes Griffis (\x93The
Pilgrims in their Three Homes,\x94 p. 176) give the name of Oceanus
Hopkins\x92s father as Giles, instead of Stephen. Constance (or
Constantia) Hopkins was apparently about eleven years old in 1620,
as she married in 1627, and probably was then not far from eighteen
years old. Damaris Hopkins, the younger daughter of Master Hopkins,
was probably a very young child when she came in the MAY-FLOWER, but
her exact age has not been as certained. Davis, as elsewhere noted,
makes the singular mistake of saying she was born after her parents
arrived in New England. She married Jacob Cooke, and the
ante-nuptial agreement of his parents is believed to be the
earliest of record in America, except that between Gregory
Armstrong and the widow Billington.
Edward Dotey is called by Bradford \x93a servant,\x94 but nothing is known of
his age or antecedents. It is very certain from the fact that he
signed the Compact that he was twenty-one. He was a very energetic
man. He seems to have been married before coming to New England, or
soon after.
Edward Leister (the name is variously spelled) was a \x93servant,\x94 by
Bradford\x92s record. He was doubtless of age, as he signed the
Compact.
Master John Crackstone, being (apparently) a widower with a son, a child
well grown, was evidently about thirty five years old when he
embarked for New England. He left a daughter behind. He died early.
John Crackstone, Jr., was but a lad, and died early.
Master Edward Tilley (sometimes spelled Tillie) and his wife Ann seem to
have been without children of their own, and as they took with them
to New England two children who were their kindred, it may be
inferred that they had been married some little time. It is hence
probable that Mr. Tilley was in the neighborhood of thirty. His
wife\x92s age is purely conjectural. They were, Bradford states, \x93of
the Leyden congregation.\x94
Henry Sampson was apparently but a young English lad when he came over in
the MAY-FLOWER with his cousins the Tilleys. As he married in 1636,
he was probably then about twenty-one, which would make him five or
six when he came over. Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p. 184) says he
was \x93six.\x94
Humility Cooper is said by Bradford to have been a \x93cosen\x94 of the
Tilleys, but no light is given as to her age or antecedents. She
was but a child, apparently. She returned to England very soon
after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Tilley, and \x93died young.\x94
Master John Tilley, having twice married, and having a daughter some
fourteen years old, must have been over thirty-five years old when
he sailed on the Pilgrim ship. His birthplace and antecedents are
not known, but he was \x93of the Leyden congregation.\x94
Mrs. Bridget (Van der Velde) Tilley was just possibly a second wife.
Nothing is known concerning her except that she was of Holland, and
that she had, apparently, no child.
Elizabeth Tilley is said by Goodwin (op. cit. p. 298) and others to have
been fourteen years old at her parents\x92 death in 1621, soon after
the arrival in New England. She was the child of her father\x92s first
wife. She married John Howland before 1624. Historians for many
years called her the \x93daughter of Governor Carver,\x94 but the recovery
of Bradford\x92s MS. \x93historie\x94 corrected this, with many other
misconceptions, though to some the error had become apparent before.
Her will also suggests her age.
Francis Cooke\x92s age in 1620 is fixed by his known age at his death
(\x93about 81\x94) in 1663. He was from the north of England, and long a
member of Robinson\x92s congregation, both in England and in
Holland(?).
John Cooke, son of Francis, is known to have been about ten years old
when he sailed with his father for America, as his parents did not
marry before 1609. He was undoubtedly born at Leyden. He was long
supposed to have been the last male survivor of the original
passengers (dying at Dartmouth in 1695.)
James Chilton\x92s antecedents and his age are quite unknown. He must have
been at least fifty, as he had a married daughter in Leyden,
according to Bradford. He died among the first, and there is
nothing of record to inform us concerning him, except Bradford\x92s
meagre mention. He may have lived at Leyden.
Mrs. Chilton\x92s given name is declared by one writer to have been Susanna,
but it is not clearly proven. Whence she came, her ancestry, and
her age, are alike unknown.
Mary Chilton was but a young girl in 1620. She married, before 1627,
John Winslow, and was probably not then over twenty, nor over
fourteen when she came with her parents in the MAY-FLOWER.
Thomas Rogers appears, from the fact that he had a son, a lad well-grown,
to have been thirty or more in 1620. His birthplace, antecedents,
and history are unknown, but he appears to have been \x93of the Leyden
congregation.\x94 His wife and children came later.
Joseph Rogers was only a \x93lad\x94 aboard the MAY-FLOWER, but he left a
considerable posterity. Nothing is surely known of him, except that
he was Thomas\x92s son.
Degory Priest had the distinction of being \x93freeman\x94 of Leyden, having
been admitted such, November 16, 1615. He was by occupation a
\x93hatter,\x94 a man of some means, who left a wife and at least two
children in Holland when he embarked for America. His known age at
death gives his age at sailing but a few months previous. At his
marriage in Leyden, October 4, 1611, he was called \x93of London.\x94 He
was about thirty-two when he married. His wife (a widow Vincent)
was a sister of Isaac Allerton, who also was married at the same
time that he was. Goodwin (\x93Pilgrim Republic,\x94 p. 183) also gives
his age as \x93forty-one.\x94 His widow remarried and came over later.
Dexter (\x93Mourt\x92s Relation,\x94 p. 69, note) states, quoting from Leyden
MS. records, that \x93Degory Priest in April, 1619, calling himself a
\x91hatter,\x92 deposes that he \x91is forty years of age.\x92\x94 He must,
therefore, have been about forty-one when he sailed on the
MAY-FLOWER, and forty-two years old at his death.
John Rigdale and his wife Alice afford no data. They both died early,
and there is no record concerning either of them beyond the fact
that they were passengers.
Edward Fuller and his wife have left us little record of themselves save
that they were of Leyden, that he is reputed a brother of Dr. Samuel
Fuller (for whom they seem to have named the boy they brought over
with them,--leaving apparently another son, Matthew, behind), and
that both died the first winter. He must have been at least
twenty-five, judging from the fact that he was married and had two
children, and was perhaps somewhat older (though traditionally
represented as younger) than his brother. Neither his occupation
nor antecedents are surely known.
Samuel Fuller--the son of Edward Fuller and his wife--is called by
Bradford \x93a young child.\x94 He must have been some five or six years
of age, as he married in 1635, fifteen years later, and would
presumably have been of age, or nearly so.
Thomas Tinker\x92s name, the mention of his \x93wife\x94 and \x93son,\x94 the tradition
that they were \x93of the Leyden congregation\x94 (which is not sure), the
certainty that they were MAY-FLOWER passengers,--on Brad ford\x92s
list,--and that all died early, are all we know of the Tinker
family.
John Turner and his two sons we know little about. He seems to have been
a widower, as no mention is found of his wife, though this is not
certain. He was of the Leyden congregation, and evidently a man of
some standing with the leaders, as he was made their messenger to
Carver and Cushman in London, in June, 1620, and was apparently
accustomed to travel. He appears to have had business of his own in
England at the time, and was apparently a man of sober age. As he
had three children,--a daughter who came later to New England, and
two sons, as stated by Bradford,--it is probable that he was thirty
or over. He and both his sons died in the spring of 1621.
Francis Eaton was of Leyden, a carpenter, and, having a wife and child,
was probably a young man about twenty five, perhaps a little
younger. He married three times.
Mrs. Sarah Eaton, wife of Francis, was evidently a young woman, with an
infant, at the date of embarkation. Nothing more is known of her,
except that she died the spring following the arrival at Plymouth.
Samuel Eaton, the son of Francis and his wife, Sarah, Bradford calls \x93a
sucking child:\x94 He lived to marry.
Gilbert Window was the third younger brother of Governor Edward Winslow,
and is reputed to have been a carpenter. He was born on Wednesday,
October 26, 1600, at Droitwitch, in Worcester, England. (\x93Winslow
Memorial,\x94 vol. i. p. 23.) He apparently did not remain long in
the colony, as he does not appear in either the \x93land division\x94 of
1623 or the \x93cattle division\x94 of 1627; and hence was probably not
then in the \x93settlement,\x94 though land was later allowed his heirs,
he having been an \x93original\x94 voyager of the Plymouth colony. He was
but twenty years and fifteen days old when he signed the Compact,
but probably was--from his brother\x92s prominence and his nearness to
his majority--counted as eligible. Bradford states that he returned
to England after \x93divers years\x94 in New England, and died there. It
has been suggested that he went very early to some of the other
\x93plantations.\x94
John Alden was of Southampton, England, was hired as \x93a cooper,\x94 was
twenty-one years old in 1620, as determined by the year of his
birth, 1599 (\x93Alden Memorial,\x94 p. 1), and became the most prominent
and useful of any of the English contingent of the MAY FLOWER
company. Longfellow\x92s delightful poem, \x93The Courtship of Miles
Standish,\x94 has given him and his bride, Priscilla Mullens,
world-wide celebrity, though it is to be feared that its historical
accuracy would hardly stand criticism. Why young Alden should have
been \x93hired for a cooper at Southampton,\x94 with liberty to \x93go or
stay\x94 in the colony, as Bradford says he was (clearly indicating
that he went to perform some specific work and return, if he liked,
with the ship), has mystified many. The matter is clear, however,
when it is known, as Griffis shows, that part of a Parliamentary Act
of 1543 reads: \x93Whosoever shall carry Beer beyond Sea, shall find
Sureties to the Customers (?) of that Port, to bring in Clapboard
[staves] meet [sufficient] to make so much Vessel [barrel or
\x93kilderkin\x94] as he shall carry forth.\x94 As a considerable quantity of
beer was part of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S lading, and her consignors stood
bound to make good in quantity the stave-stock she carried away,
it was essential, in going to a wild country where it could not be
bought, but must be \x93got out\x94 from the growing timber, to take along
a \x93cooper and cleaver\x94 for that purpose. Moreover, the great demand
for beer-barrel stock made \x93clapboard\x94 good and profitable return
lading. It constituted a large part of the FORTUNE\x92S return freight
(doubtless \x93gotten out\x94 by Alden), as it would have undoubtedly of
the MAY-FLOWER\x92S, had the hardship of the colony\x92s condition
permitted.
Peter Browne we know little concerning. That he was a man of early
middle age is inferable from the fact that he married the widow
Martha Ford, who came in the FORTUNE in 1621. As she then was the
mother of three children, it is improbable that she would have
married a very young man. He appears, from certain collateral
evidence, to have been a mechanic of some kind, but it is not clear
what his handicraft was or whence he came.
John Billington (Bradford sometimes spells it Billinton) and his family,
Bradford tells us, \x93were from London.\x94 They were evidently an
ill-conditioned lot, and unfit for the company of the planters, and
Bradford says, \x93I know not by what friend shuffled into their
Company.\x94 As he had a wife and two children, the elder of whom must
have been about sixteen years old, he was apparently over
thirty-five years of age. There is a tradition that he was a
countryman bred, which certain facts seem to confirm. (See land
allotments for data as to age of boys, 1632.) He was the only one
of the original colonists to suffer the \x93death penalty\x94 for crime.
Mrs. Ellen (or \x93Elen\x94) Billington, as Bradford spells the name, was
evidently of comporting age to her husband\x92s, perhaps a little
younger. Their two sons, John and Francis, were lively urchins who
frequently made matters interesting for the colonists, afloat and
ashore. The family was radically bad throughout, but they have had
not a few worthy descendants. Mrs. Billington married Gregory
Armstrong, and their antenuptial agreement is the first of record
known in America.
John Billington, Jr., is always first named of his father\x92s two sons, and
hence the impression prevails that he was the elder, and Bradford so
designates him. The affidavit of Francis Billington (Plymouth
County, Mass., Deeds, vol. i. p. 81), dated 1674, in which he
declares himself sixty-eight years old, would indicate that he was
born in 1606, and hence must have been about fourteen years of age
when he came on the MAY-FLOWER to New Plymouth. If John, his
brother, was older than he, he must have been born about 1604, and
so was about sixteen when, he came to New England. The indications
are that it was Francis, the younger son, who got hold of the
gunpowder in his father\x92s cabin in Cape Cod harbor, and narrowly
missed blowing up the ship. John died before 1630. Francis lived,
as appears, to good age, and had a family.
Moses Fletcher was of the Leyden company, a \x93smith,\x94 and at the time of
his second marriage at Leyden, November 30/December 21, 1613, was
called a \x93widower\x94 and \x93of England.\x94 As he was probably of age at
the time of his first marriage,--presumably two years or more before
his last,--he must have been over thirty in 1620. He was perhaps
again a widower when he came over, as no mention is made of his
having wife or family. He was possibly of the Amsterdam family of
that name. His early death was a great loss to the colony.
A Thomas Williams is mentioned by Hon. Henry C Murphy (\x93Historical
Magazine,\x94 vol. iii. pp. 358, 359), in a list of some of Robinson\x92s
congregation who did not go to New England in either the MAY-FLOWER,
FORTUNE, ANNE, Or LITTLE JAMES. He either overlooked the fact that
Williams was one of the MAY-FLOWER passengers, or else there were
two of the name, one of whom did not go. Nothing is known of the
age or former history of the Pilgrim of that name. He died in the
spring of 1621 (before the end of March). As he signed the Compact,
he must have been over twenty-one. He may have left a wife, Sarah.
John Goodman we know little more about than that he and Peter Browne seem
to have been \x93lost\x94 together, on one occasion (when he was badly
frozen), and to have had, with his little spaniel dog, a rencontre
with \x93two great wolves,\x94 on another. He was twice married, the last
time at Leyden in 1619. He died before the end of March, 1621.
As he signed the Compact, he must have been over twenty-one.
Edward Margeson we know nothing about. As he signed the Compact, he was
presumably of age.
Richard Britteridge affords little data. His age, birthplace, or
occupation do not transpire, but he was, it seems, according to
Bradford, the first of the company to die on board the ship after
she had cast anchor in the harbor of New Plymouth. This fact
negatives the pleasant fiction of Mrs. Austin\x92s \x93Standish of
Standish\x94 (p. 104), that Britteridge was one of those employed in
cutting sedge on shore on Friday, January 12. Poor Britteridge died
December 21, three weeks earlier. He signed the Compact, and hence
may be accounted of age at the landing at Cape Cod.
Richard Clarke appears only as one of the passengers and as dying before
the end of March. He signed the Compact, and hence was doubtless
twenty-one or over.
Richard Gardiner, we know from Bradford, \x93became a seaman and died in
England or at sea.\x94 He was evidently a young man, but of his age or
antecedents nothing appears. He signed the Compact, and hence was
at least twenty-one years old.
John Alderton (sometimes spelled Allerton), we are told by Bradford,--as
elsewhere noted,--\x93was hired, but was reputed one of the company,
but was to go back, being a seaman and so, presumably, unmindful of
the voyages, for the help of others.\x94 Whether Bradford intended by
the latter clause to indicate that he had left his family behind,
and came \x93to spy out the land,\x94 and, if satisfied, to return for
them, or was to return for the counsel and assistance of Robinson
and the rest, who were to follow, is not clear, but the latter view
has most to support it. We learn his occupation, but can only infer
that he was a young man over twenty-one from the above and the fact
that he signed the Compact. It has been suggested that he was a
relative of Isaac Allerton, but this is nowhere shown and is
improbable. He died before the MAY-FLOWER returned to England.
Thomas English (or Enlish), Bradford tells us (\x93Historie,\x94 Mass. ed.
p. 533), \x93was hired to goe Master of a [the] shallop here.\x94 He,
however, \x93died here before the ship returned.\x94 It is altogether
probable that he was the savior of the colony on that stormy night
when the shallop made Plymouth harbor the first time, and, narrowly
escaping destruction, took shelter under Clarke\x92s Island. The first
three governors of the colony, its chief founders,--Carver,
Bradford, and Winslow,--with Standish, Warren, Hopkins, Howland,
Dotey, and others, were on board, and but for the heroism and prompt
action of \x93the lusty sea man which steered,\x94 who was--beyond
reasonable doubt--English, as Bradford\x92s narrative (\x93Morton\x92s
Memorial\x94) shows, the lives of the entire party must, apparently,
have been lost. That English was, if on board--Bradford shows in
the \x93Memorial\x94 that he was--as Master of the shallop, properly her
helmsman in so critical a time, goes without saying, especially as
the \x93rudder was broken\x94 and an oar substituted; that the ship\x92s
\x93mates,\x94 Clarke and Coppin, were not in charge (although on board)
fully appears by Bradford\x92s account; and as it must have taken all
of the other (four) seamen on board to pull the shallop, bereft of
her sail, in the heavy breakers into which she had been run by
Coppin\x92s blunder, there would be no seaman but English for the
steering-oar, which was his by right. Had these leaders been lost
at this critical time,--before a settlement had been made,--it is
certain that the colony must have been abandoned, and the Pilgrim
impress upon America must have been lost. English\x92s name should, by
virtue of his great service, be ever held in high honor by all of
Pilgrim stock. His early death was a grave loss. Bradford spells
the name once Enlish, but presumably by error. He signed the
Compact as Thomas English.
William Trevore was, according to Bradford, one of \x93two seamen hired to
stay a year in the countrie.\x94 He went back when his time expired,
but later returned to New England. Cushman (Bradford, \x93Historie,\x94
p. 122) suggests that he was telling \x93sailors\x92 yarns.\x94 He says:
\x93For William Trevore hath lavishly told but what he knew or imagined
of Capewock Martha\x92s Vineyard, Monhiggon, and ye Narragansetts.\x94 In
1629 he was at Massachusetts Bay in command of the HANDMAID
(Goodwin, p. 320), and in February, 1633 (Winthrop, vol. i. p. 100),
he seems to have been in command of the ship WILLIAM at Plymouth,
with passengers for Massachusetts Bay. Captain Standish testified
in regard to Thompson\x92s Island in Boston harbor, that about 1620 he
\x93was on that Island with Trevore,\x94 and called it \x93Island Trevore.\x94
(Bradford, \x93Historie,\x94 Deane\x92s ed. p. 209.) He did not sign the
Compact, perhaps because of the limitations of his contract (one
year).
--- Ely (not Ellis, as Arber miscalls him, \x93The Story of the Pilgrim
Fathers,\x94 p. 377) was the other of the \x93two seamen hired to stay a
year,\x94 etc. He also returned when his time expired. (Bradford,
Hist. Mass. ed. p. 534.) He did not sign the Compact, probably for
the reason operative in .Trevore\x92s case. A digest of the foregoing
data gives the following interesting, if incomplete, data (errors
excepted):--
Adult males (hired seamen and servants of age included)... 44
Adult females (including Mrs. Carver\x92s maid).............. 19
Youths, male children, and male servants, minors.......... 29
Maidens, female children.................................. 10
-------
102
Married males............................................. 26
Married females........................................... 18
Single (adult) males (and young men)...................... 25
Single (adult) females (Mrs. Carver\x92s maid)............... 1
Vocations of adults so far as known (except wives, who are presumed
housekeepers for their husbands):--
Carpenters................................................ 2
Cooper.................................................... 1
Fustian-worker and silk-dyer.............................. 1
Hatter.................................................... 1
Lay-reader................................................ 1
Lady\x92s-maid............................................... 1
Merchants................................................. 3
Physician................................................. 1
Printers and publishers................................... 2
Seamen.................................................... 4
Servants (adult).......................................... 10
Smith..................................................... 1
Soldier................................................... 1
Tailor.................................................... 1
Tradesmen................................................. 2
Wool-carders.............................................. 2
Allowing for the addition of Wilder and the two sailors, Trevore and Ely,
who did not sign it, the number of those who signed the Compact tallies
exactly with the adult males. Besides these occupations, it is known
that several of the individuals representing them were skilled in other
callings, and were at some time teachers, accountants, linguists,
writers, etc., while some had formerly practised certain handicrafts;
Dr. Fuller, e.g. having formerly been a \x93silk-worker,\x94 Brad ford (on the
authority of Belknap), a \x93silk-dyer,\x94 and others \x93fustian-workers.\x94
Hopkins had apparently sometime before dropped his character of
\x93lay-reader,\x94 and was a pretty efficient man of affairs, but his
vocation at the time of the exodus is not known.
The former occupations of fourteen of the adult colonists, Browne,
Billington, Britteridge, Cooke, Chilton, Clarke, Crackstone, Goodman,
Gardiner, Rogers, Rigdale, Turner, Warren, and Williams are not certainly
known. There is evidence suggesting that Browne was a mechanic;
Billington and Cooke had been trained to husbandry; that Chilton had been
a small tradesman; that Edward Tilley had been, like his brother, a
silk-worker; that Turner was a tradesman, and Warren a farmer; while it
is certain that Cooke, Rogers, and Warren had been men of some means.
Of the above list of fourteen men whose last occupations before joining
the colonists are unknown, only five, viz. Browne, Billington, Cooke,
Gardiner, and Warren lived beyond the spring of 1621. Of these, Warren
died early, Gardiner left the colony and \x93became a seaman;\x94 the other
three, Billington, Browne, and Cooke, became \x93planters.\x94 Thomas Morton,
of \x93Merry Mount,\x94 in his \x93New Eng land\x92s Canaan\x94 (p. 217), gives
Billington the sobriquet \x93Ould Woodman.\x94
The early deaths of the others make their former handicrafts--except as
so much data pertaining to the composi tion and history of the colony--
matters of only ephemeral interest.
CHAPTER VII
QUARTERS, COOKING, PROVISIONS
Probably no more vexatious problem presented itself for the time being to
the \x93governors\x94 of the two vessels and their \x93assistants,\x94 upon their
selection, than the assignment of quarters to the passengers allotted to
their respective ships. That these allotments were in a large measure
determined by the requirements of the women and children may be
considered certain. The difficulties attendant on due recognition of
social and official station (far more imperative in that day than this)
were in no small degree lessened by the voluntary assignment of
themselves, already mentioned, of some of the Leyden chief people to the
smaller ship; but in the interests of the general welfare and of harmony,
certain of the leaders, both of the Leyden and London contingents, were
of necessity provided for in the larger vessel. The allotments to the
respective ships made at Southampton, the designation of quarters in the
ships themselves, and the final readjustments upon the MAY-FLOWER at
Plymouth (England), when the remaining passengers of both ships had been
united, were all necessarily determined chiefly with regard to the needs
of the women, girls, and babes. Careful analysis of the list shows that
there were, requiring this especial consideration, nineteen women, ten
young girls, and one infant. Of the other children, none were so young
that they might not readily bunk with or near their fathers in any part
of the ship in which the latter might be located.
We know enough of the absolute unselfishness and devotion of all the
Leyden leaders, whatever their birth or station,--so grandly proven in
those terrible days of general sickness and death at New Plymouth,--to be
certain that with them, under all circumstances, it was noblesse oblige,
and that no self-seeking would actuate them here. It should be
remembered that the MAY-FLOWER was primarily a passenger transport, her
passengers being her principal freight and occupying the most of the
ship, the heavier cargo being chiefly confined to the \x93hold.\x94 As in that
day the passenger traffic was, of course, wholly by sailing vessels, they
were built with cabin accommodations for it, as to numbers, etc.,
proportionately much beyond those of the sailing craft of to-day. The
testimony of Captain John Smith, \x93the navigator,\x94 as to the passengers of
the MAY-FLOWER \x93lying wet in their cabins,\x94 and that of Bradford as to
Billington\x92s \x93cabin between decks,\x94 already quoted, is conclusive as to
the fact that she had small cabins (the \x93staterooms\x94 of to-day), intended
chiefly, no doubt, for women and children. The advice of Edward Winslow
to his friend George Morton, when the latter was about to come to New
England in the ANNE, \x93build your cabins as open as possible,\x94
is suggestive of close cabins and their discomforts endured upon the
MAY-FLOWER. It also suggests that the chartering-party was expected in
those days to control, if not to do, the \x93fitting up\x94 of the ship for her
voyage. In view of the usual \x93breadth of beam\x94 of ships of her class and
tonnage, aft, and the fore and aft length of the poop, it is not
unreasonable to suppose that there were not less than four small cabins
on either side of the common (open) cabin or saloon (often depicted as
the signing-place of the Compact), under the high poop deck. Constructed
on the general plan of such rooms or cabins to-day (with four single
berths, in tiers of two on either hand), there would be--if the women and
girls were conveniently distributed among them--space for all except the
Billingtons, who we know had a cabin (as had also doubtless several of
the principal men) built between decks. This would also leave an after
cabin for the Master, who not infrequently made his quarters, and those
of his chief officer, in the \x93round house,\x94 when one existed, especially
in a crowded ship.
Cabins and bunks \x93between decks\x94 would provide for all of the males of
the company, while the seamen, both of the crew and (some of) those in
the employ of the Pilgrims--like Trevore and Ely--were no doubt housed in
the fore castle. Alderton and English seem to have been counted \x93of the
company.\x94 The few data we have permit us to confidently assume that some
such disposition of the passengers was (necessarily) made, and that but
for the leaky decks, the inseparable discomforts of the sea, and those of
over crowding, the wives of the Pilgrims (three of whom gave birth to
children aboard the ship), and their daughters, were fairly \x93berthed.\x94
Bradford is authority for the statement that with the \x93governor\x94 of the
ship\x92s company were chosen \x93two or three assistants . . . to order
[regulate] the people by the way [on the passage] and see to the
disposition of the provisions,\x94 etc. The last-named duty must have been a
most difficult and wearisome one. From what has been shown of the
poverty of the ship\x92s cooking facilities (especially for so large a
company), one must infer that it would be hopeless to expect to cook food
in any quantity, except when all conditions favored, and then but slowly
and with much difficulty. From the fact that so many would require food
at practically the same hours of the day, it is clear that there must
have been distribution of food (principally uncooked) to groups or
families, who, with the aid of servants (when available), must each have
prepared their own meals, cooking as occasion and opportunity indicated;
much after the manner of the steerage passengers in later days, but
before those of the great ocean liners. There appears to have been but
one cook for the officers and crew of the ship, and his hands were
doubtless full with their demands. It is certain that his service to the
passengers must have been very slight. That \x93the cook\x94 is named as one
of the ship\x92s crew who died in Plymouth harbor (New England) is all the
knowledge we have concerning him.
The use of and dependence upon tea and coffee, now so universal, and at
sea so seemingly indispensable, was then unknown, beer supplying their
places, and this happily did not have to be prepared with fire. \x93Strong
waters\x94--Holland gin and to some extent \x93aqua vitae\x94 (brandy)--were
relied upon for the (supposed) maintenance of warmth. Our Pilgrim
Fathers were by no means \x93total abstainers,\x94 and sadly bewailed being
deprived of their beer when the supply failed. They also made general
and habitual (moderate) use of wine and spirits, though they sharply
interdicted and promptly punished their abuse.
In the absence of cooking facilities, it became necessary in that day to
rely chiefly upon such articles of food as did not require to be prepared
by heat, such as biscuit (hard bread), butter, cheese (\x93Holland cheese\x94
was a chief staple with the Pilgrims), \x93haberdyne\x94 (or dried salt
codfish), smoked herring, smoked (\x93cured \x93) ham and bacon, \x93dried neat\x92s
tongues,\x94 preserved and \x93potted\x94 meats (a very limited list in that day),
fruits, etc. Mush, oatmeal, pease-puddings, pickled eggs, sausage meats,
salt beef and pork, bacon, \x93spiced beef,\x94 such few vegetables as they had
(chiefly cabbages, turnips, and onions,--there were no potatoes in that
day), etc., could be cooked in quantity, when the weather permitted, and
would then be eaten cold.
Except as dried or preserved fruits, vegetables (notably onions), limes,
lemon juice, and the free use of vinegar feebly counteracted, their food
was distinctively stimulant of scorbutic and tuberculosis disease, which
constant exposure to cold and wet and the overcrowded state of the ship
could but increase and aggravate. Bradford narrates of one of the crew
of the MAY-FLOWER when in Plymouth harbor, as suggestive of the wretched
conditions prevalent in the ship, that one of his shipmates, under an
agreement to care for him, \x93got him a little spice and made him a mess of
beef, once or twice,\x94 and then deserted him.
Josselyn, in his \x93Two Voyages to New England,\x94 gives as the result of the
experience and observations had in his voyages, but a few years later,
much that is interesting and of exceptional value as to the food and
equipment of passengers to, and colonists in, this part of America. It
has especial interest, perhaps, for the author and his readers, in the
fact that Josselyn\x92s statements were not known until after the data given
in these pages had been independently worked out from various sources,
and came therefore as a gratifying confirmation of the conclusions
already reached.
Josselyn says as to food, as follows:--\x93The common proportion of
victuals for the sea to a mess (being 4 men) is as followeth:--
\x932 pieces of Beef of 3 lb. 1/4 apiece. Pork seems to have been
inadvertently omitted.
\x93Four pounds of Bread [ship-bread].
\x93One pint & 1/2 of Pease.
\x93Four Gallons of Bear [Beer], with mustard and vinegar for 3 flesh days
in the week.\x94
\x93For four fish days to each mess per day:--
\x93Two pieces of Codd or Haberdine, making 3 pieces of a fish, i.e. a
dried salt cod being divided into three pieces, 2 of those pieces were to
be a day\x92s ration for 4 men.
\x93Four pounds of Bread.
\x93Three-quarters of a pound of cheese.
\x93Bear as before.\x94
\x93Oatmeal per day for 50 men 1 Gallon [dry], and so proportionable for
more or fewer.\x94
\x93Thus you see the ship\x92s provision is Beefe and Porke, Fish, Butter,
Cheese, Pease, Pottage, Water-Gruel, Bisket, and six shilling Bear.\x94
\x93For private fresh provision you may carry with you (in case you or any
of yours should be sick at sea):--
\x93Conserves of Roses, Clove-Gilliflowers, Wormwood, Green-Ginger,
Burnt-Wine, English Spirits, Prunes to stew, Raisons of the Sun,
Currence [currants], Sugar, Nutmeg, Mace, Cinnamon, Pepper and Ginger,
White Bisket, Butter, or \x91Captains biscuit,\x92 made with wheat flour or
Spanish Rusk, Eggs, Rice, Juice of Lemons, well put up to cure or
prevent the Scurvy, Small Skillets, Pipkins, Porringers and small
Frying Pans.\x94
Josselyn further gives us an estimate for:--
\x93Victuals for a whole year to be carried out of England for one man and so
for more after this rate.\x94 He annexed also their current prices:--
\x93Eight bushels of Meal [Rye meal probably intended]
Two bushels of Pease at 3/s
Two bushels of Oatmeal at 4s/6d
One Gallon of Aqua Vitae
One Gallon of Oyl
Two Gallons of Vinegar
[No estimate of Beef or Pork, or of vegetables, is included.]
A Hogshead of English Bear
A Hogshead of Irish Bear
A Hogshead of Vinegar
A bushel of Mustard seed
A Kental [Quintal] of fish, Cod or Haberdine, 112 lb.\x94
Edward Window, in his letter to George Morton before mentioned, advising
him as to his voyage, says: \x93Bring juice of lemons and take it fasting.
It is of good use.\x94
It is indeed remarkable that, totally unused to any such conditions, wet,
cold, poorly fed, overcrowded, storm-tossed, bruised and beaten, anxious,
and with no homes to welcome them, exposed to new hardships and dangers
on landing, worn and exhausted, any of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S company survived.
It certainly cannot be accounted strange that infectious diseases, once
started among them, should have run through their ranks like fire, taking
both old and young. Nor is it strange that--though more inured to
hardship and the conditions of sea life--with the extreme and unusual
exposure of boat service on the New England coast in mid winter, often
wading in the icy water and living aboard ship in a highly infected
atmosphere, the seamen should have succumbed to disease in almost equal
ratio with the colonists. The author is prepared, after careful
consideration, to accept and professionally indorse, with few exceptions,
the conclusions as to the probable character of the decimating diseases
of the passengers and crew of the MAY-FLOWER, so ably and interestingly
presented by Dr. Edward E. Cornwall in the \x93New England Magazine\x94 for
February, 1897--From the fact that Edward Thompson, Jasper More, and
Master James Chilton died within a month of the arrival at Cape Cod (and
while the ship lay in that harbor), and following the axiom of vital
statistics that \x93for each death two are constantly sick,\x94 there must have
been some little (though not to say general) sickness on the MAY-FLOWER
when she arrived at Cape Cod. It would, in view of the hardship of the
voyage, have been very remarkable if this had not been the case. It
would have been still more remarkable if the ill-conditioned,
thin-blooded, town-bred \x93servants\x94 and apprentices had not suffered
first and most. It is significant that eight out of nine of the male
\x93servants\x94 should have died in the first four months. It was impossible
that scurvy should not have been prevalent with both passengers and
crew.
CHAPTER VIII
THE MAY-FLOWER\x92S LADING
Beside her human freight of one hundred and thirty or more passengers and
crew, the lading of the MAY-FLOWER when she sailed from Plymouth
(England), September 6/16, 1620, was considerable and various. If
clearing at a custom-house of to-day her manifest would excite no little
interest and surprise. Taking no account of the ship\x92s stores and
supplies (necessarily large, like her crew, when bound upon such a
voyage, when every possible need till her return to her home port must be
provided for before sailing), the colonists\x92 goods and chattels were
many, their provisions bulky, their ordnance, arms, and stores (in the
hold) heavy, and their trading-stock fairly ample. Much of the cargo
originally stowed in the SPEEDWELL, a part, as we know, of her company,
and a few of her crew were transferred to the MAY-FLOWER at Plymouth, and
there can be no doubt that the ship was both crowded and overladen.
It is altogether probable that the crowded condition of her spar and main
decks caused the supply of live-stock taken--whether for consumption upon
the voyage or for the planters\x92 needs on shore--to be very limited as to
both number and variety. It has been matter of surprise to many that no
cattle (not even milch-cows) were taken, but if--as is not unlikely--it
was at first proposed to take a cow or two (when both ships were to go
and larger space was available), this intent was undoubtedly abandoned at
Plymouth, England, when it became evident that there would be dearth of
room even for passengers, none whatever for cattle or their fodder (a
large and prohibitive quantity of the latter being required for so long a
voyage), and that the lateness of the season and its probable hardships
would endanger the lives of the animals if taken. So far as appears the
only domestic live-stock aboard the MAY-FLOWER consisted of goats, swine,
poultry, and dogs. It is quite possible that some few sheep, rabbits, and
poultry for immediate consumption (these requiring but little forage) may
have been shipped, this being customary then as now. It is also probable
that some household pets--cats and caged singing-birds, the latter always
numerous in both England and Holland--were carried on board by their
owners, though no direct evidence of the fact is found. There is ample
proof that goats, swine, poultry, and dogs were landed with the colonists
at New Plymouth, and it is equally certain that they had at first neither
cattle, horses, nor sheep. Of course the she-goats were their sole
reliance for milk for some time, whether afloat or ashore, and goat\x92s
flesh and pork their only possibilities in the way of fresh meat for many
months, save poultry (and game after landing), though we may be sure, in
view of the breeding value of their goats, poultry, and swine, few were
consumed for food. The \x93fresh meat\x94 mentioned as placed before
Massasoit\x92 on his first visit was probably venison, though possibly kid\x92s
meat, pork, or poultry. Of swine and poultry they must have had a pretty
fair supply, judging from their rapid increase, though their goats must
have been few. They were wholly without beasts of draft or burden (though
it seems strange that a few Spanish donkeys or English \x93jacks\x94 had not
been taken along, as being easily kept, hardy, and strong, and quite
equal to light ploughing, hauling, carrying, etc.), and their lack was
sorely felt. The space they and their forage demanded it was doubtless
considered impracticable to spare. The only dogs that appear in evidence
are a large mastiff bitch (the only dog of that breed probably seen on
these shores since Pring\x92s \x93bigge dogges\x94 so frightened the Indians\x92 in
this region seventeen years before)
[Captain Martin Pring had at Plymouth, in 1603, two great \x93mastive
dogges\x94 named \x93Fool\x94 and \x93Gallant,\x94 the former being trained to carry
a half-pike in his mouth. \x93The Indians were more afraid of these
dogs than of twenty men.\x94 American Magazine of History; Goodwin,
Pilgrim Republic, p. 3.]
and a small spaniel, both the property of passengers, though there may
have been others not mentioned. Speaking of the venison found in a tree
by one of the exploring parties, Winslow says: \x93We thought it fitter for
the dogs than for us,\x94 perhaps suggesting by his word \x93the\x94 their own
dogs aboard ship and provision for them. There is an intimation as to
the ownership of these two dogs in the facts that on certainly two
occasions John Goodman was accompanied by the little spaniel (once when
alone), from which it may perhaps be inferred that he was the dog\x92s
master; while the big mastiffs presence when only Peter Browne and
Goodman were together suggests that Browne was her owner. The goats,
swine, rabbits, and poultry were doubtless penned on the spar-deck
forward, while possibly some poultry, and any sheep brought for food, may
have been temporarily housed--as was a practice with early voyagers--in
the (unused) ship\x92s boats, though these appear to have been so few in
number and so much in demand that it is doubtful if they were here
available as pens. The heavy cargo and most of the lighter was of course
stowed in the hold, as the main deck (or \x93\x91tween decks\x94) was mostly
occupied as quarters for the male passengers, old and young, though the
colonists\x92 shallop, a sloop-rigged boat some thirty feet in length, had
been \x93cut down\x94 and stowed \x93between the decks\x94 for the voyage. A glimpse
of the weary life at sea on that long and dreary passage is given in
Bradford\x92s remark that \x93she was much opened with the people\x92s lying in
her during the voyage:\x94 This shallop with her equipment, a possible spare
skiff or two, the chests, \x93boxes,\x94 and other personal belongings of the
passengers, some few cases of goods, some furniture, etc., constituted
the only freight for which there could have been room \x93between decks,\x94
most of the space (aft) being occupied by cabins and bunks.
The provisions in use, both by passengers and crew, were probably kept in
the lazarette or \x93runs,\x94 in the stern of the ship, which would be
unusually capacious in vessels of this model; some--the bulkiest--in the
hold under the forward hatch, as the custom was, and to some extent still
is. The food supply of the Pilgrims, constituting part of the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S Cargo, included, as appears from authentic sources:--
Breadstuff\x92s, including,--
Biscuits or ship-bread (in barrels).
Oatmeal (in barrels or hogsheads).
Rye meal (in hogsheads).
Butter (in firkins).
Cheese, \x93Hollands\x94 and English (in boxes).
Eggs, pickled (in tubs).
Fish, \x93haberdyne\x94 [or salt dried cod] (in boxes).
Smoked herring (in boxes).
Meats, including,--
Beef, salt, or \x93corned\x94 (in barrels).
Dry-salted (in barrels).
Smoked (in sacks).
Dried neats\x92-tongues (in boxes).
Pork, bacon, smoked (in sacks or boxes).
Salt [\x93corned\x94] (in barrels).
Hams and shoulders, smoked (in canvas sacks or hogsheads).
Salt (in bags and barrels).
Vegetables, including,--
Beans (in bags and barrels).
Cabbages (in sacks and barrels).
Onions (in sacks).
Turnips (in sacks).
Parsnips (in sacks).
Pease (in barrels), and
Vinegar (in hogsheads), while,--
Beer (in casks), brandy, \x93aqua vitae\x94 (in pipes), and gin [\x93Hollands,\x94
\x93strong waters,\x94 or \x93schnapps\x94] (in pipes) were no small or
unimportant part, from any point of view, of the provision supply.
Winslow, in his letter to George Morton advising him as to his
preparations for the voyage over, says: \x93Be careful to have a very good
bread-room to keep your biscuit in.\x94 This was to keep them from
dampness. Winthrop gives us the memorandum of his order for the
ship-bread for his voyage in 1630. He says: \x93Agreed with Keene of
Southwark, baker, for 20,000 of Biscuit, 15,000 of brown, and 5,000 of
white.\x94 Captain Beecher minutes: \x9310 M. of bread for the ship ARBELLA.\x94
Beecher\x92s memorandum of \x93oatmeal\x94 is \x9330 bushels.\x94 Winslow mentions
\x93oatmeal,\x94 and Winthrop notes among the provisions bought by Captain
William Pierce, \x934 hhds. of oatmeal.\x94 Rye meal was usually meant by the
term \x93meal,\x94 and Window in his letter to George Morton advises him: \x93Let
your meal be so hard-trod in your casks that you shall need an adz or
hatchet to work it out with;\x94 and also to \x93be careful to come by [be
able to get at] some of your meal to spend [use] by the way.\x94
Notwithstanding that Bradford\x92 speaks of their \x93selling away\x94 some \x9360
firkins of butter,\x94 to clear port charges at Southampton, and the
leaders, in their letter to the Adventurers from that port (August 3),
speak of themselves, when leaving Southampton in August, 1620, as
\x93scarce having any butter,\x94 there seems to have been some left to give
as a present to Quadrequina, Massasoit\x92s brother, the last of March
following, which would indicate its good \x93keeping\x94 qualities. Wood, in
his \x93New England\x92s Prospect\x94 (ch. 2), says: \x93Their butter and cheese
were corrupted.\x94 Bradford mentions that their lunch on the exploration
expedition of November 15, on Cape Cod, included \x93Hollands cheese,\x94
which receives also other mention. There is a single mention, in the
literature of the day, of eggs preserved in salt, for use on shipboard.
\x93Haberdyne\x94 (or dried salt cod) seems to have been a favorite and staple
article of diet aboard ship. Captain Beecher minutes \x93600 haberdyne for
the ship ARBELLA.\x94 Wood says: \x93Their fish was rotten.\x94 Smoked
\x93red-herring\x94 were familiar food to all the MAY-FLOWER company. No
house or ship of England or Holland in that day but made great
dependence upon them. Bacon was, of course, a main staple at sea. In
its half-cooked state as it came from the smoke-house it was much
relished with their biscuit by seamen and others wishing strong food,
and when fried it became a desirable article of food to all except the
sick. Mention is made of it by several of the early Pilgrim writers.
Carlyle, as quoted, speaks of it as a diet-staple on the MAY-FLOWER.
Salt (\x93corned\x94) beef has always been a main article of food with seamen
everywhere. Wood\x92 states that the \x93beef\x94 of the Pilgrims was \x93tainted.\x94
In some way it was made the basis of a reputedly palatable preparation
called \x93spiced beef,\x94 mentioned as prepared by one of the sailors for a
shipmate dying on the MAY-FLOWER in Plymouth harbor. It must have been a
very different article from that we now find so acceptable under that
name in England. Winthrop\x92 gives the price of his beef at \x9319 shillings
per cwt.\x94 Winslow advises his friend Morton, in the letter so often
quoted, not to have his beef \x93dry-salted,\x94 saying, \x93none can do it
better than the sailors,\x94 which is a suggestion not readily understood.
\x93Smoked\x94 beef was practically the same as that known as \x93jerked,\x94
\x93smoked,\x94 or \x93dried\x94 beef in America. A \x93dried neat\x92s-tongue\x94 is named
as a contribution of the Pilgrims to the dinner for Captain Jones and
his men on February 21, 1621, when they had helped to draw up and mount
the cannon upon the platform on the hill at Plymouth. Winthrop paid
\x9314d. a piece\x94 for his \x93neats\x92 tongues.\x94 The pork of the Pilgrims is
also said by Wood\x92 to have been \x93tainted.\x94 Winthrop states that his
pork cost \x9320 pence the stone\x94 (14 lbs.).
Hams seem to have been then, as now, a highly-prized article of diet.
Goodwin mentions that the salt used by the Pilgrims was (evaporated)
\x93sea-salt\x94 and very \x93impure.\x94 Winthrop mentions among his supplies,
\x93White, Spanish, and Bay salt.\x94
The beans of the Pilgrims were probably of the variety then known as
\x93Spanish beans.\x94 The cabbages were apparently boiled with meat, as
nowadays, and also used considerably for \x93sour-krout\x94 and for pickling,
with which the Leyden people had doubtless become familiar during their
residence among the Dutch. As anti-scorbutics they were of much value.
The same was true of onions, whether pickled, salted, raw, or boiled.
Turnips and parsnips find frequent mention in the early literature of the
first settlers, and were among their stock vegetables. Pease were
evidently staple articles of food with the Plymouth people, and are
frequently named. They probably were chiefly used for porridge and
puddings, and were used in large quantities, both afloat and ashore.
Vinegar in hogsheads was named on the food-list of every ship of the
Pilgrim era. It was one of their best antiscorbutics, and was of course
a prime factor in their use of \x93sour krout,\x94 pickling, etc. The fruits,
natural, dried, and preserved, were probably, in that day, in rather
small supply. Apples, limes, lemons, prunes, olives, rice, etc., were
among the luxuries of a voyage, while dried or preserved fruits and small
fruits were not yet in common use. Winslow, in the letter cited, urges
that \x93your casks for beer . . . be iron bound, at least for the first
[end] tyre\x94 [hoop]. Cushman states that they had ample supplies of beer
offered them both in Kent and Amsterdam. The planters\x92 supply seems to
have failed, however, soon after the company landed, and they were
obliged to rely upon the whim of the Captain of the MAY-FLOWER for their
needs, the ship\x92s supply being apparently separate from that of the
planters, and lasting longer. Winthrop\x92s supply seems to have been large
(\x9342 tons\x94--probably tuns intended). It was evidently a stipulation of
the charter-party that the ship should, in part at least, provision her
crew for the voyage,--certainly furnish their beer. This is rendered
certain by Bradford\x92s difficulty (as stated by himself) with Captain
Jones, previously referred to, showing that the ship had her own supply
of beer, separate from that of the colonists, and that it was intended
for the seamen as well as the officers.
Bradford mentions \x93aqua vitae\x94 as a constituent of their lunch on the
exploring party of November 15. \x93Strong waters\x94 (or Holland gin) are
mentioned as a part of the entertainment given Massasoit on his first
visit, and they find frequent mention otherwise. Wine finds no mention.
Bradford states in terms: \x93Neither ever had they any supply of foode from
them [the Adventurers] but what they first brought with them;\x94 and again,
\x93They never had any supply of vitales more afterwards (but what the Lord
gave them otherwise), for all ye company [the Adventurers] sent at any
time was allways too short for those people yt came with it.\x94
The clothing supplies of the Pilgrims included hats, caps, shirts,
neck-cloths, jerkins, doublets, waistcoats, breeches (stuff and leather),
\x93hosen,\x94 stockings, shoes, boots, belts (girdles), cloth, piece-goods
(dress-stuff\x92s), \x93haberdasherie,\x94 etc., etc., all of which, with minor
items for men\x92s and women\x92s use, find mention in their early narratives,
accounts, and correspondence. By the will of Mr. Mullens it appears that
he had twenty-one dozen of shoes and thirteen pairs of boots on board,
doubtless intended as medium of exchange or barter. By the terms of the.
contract with the colonists, the Merchant Adventurers were to supply all
their actual necessities of Clothing food, clothing, etc., for the full
term of seven years, during which the labors of the \x93planters\x94 were to be
for the joint account. Whether under this agreement they were bound to
fully \x93outfit\x94 the colonists before they embarked (and did so), as was
done by Higginson\x92s company coming to Salem in 1628-29 at considerable
cost per capita, and as was done for those of the Leyden people who came
over in 1629 with Pierce in the MAY-FLOWER and the TALBOT to Salem, and
again in 1630 with the same Master (Pierce) in the LION by the Plymouth
successors to the Adventurers (without recompense), does not clearly
appear. No mention is found of any \x93outfitting\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER
passengers except the London apprentices. There is no doubt that a
considerable supply of all the above-named articles was necessarily sent
by the Adventurers on the MAY-FLOWER, both for the Pilgrims\x92 needs on the
voyage and in the new colony, as also for trading purposes. There seems
to have been at all times a supreme anxiety, on the part of both Pilgrim
and Puritan settlers, to get English clothes upon their red brethren of
the forest, whether as a means of exchange for peltry, or for decency\x92s
sake, is not quite clear. There was apparently a greater disparity in
character, intelligence, and station between the leaders of Higginson\x92s
and Winthrop\x92s companies and their followers than between the chief men
of the Pilgrims and their associates. With the former were titles and
considerable representation of wealth and position. With the passengers
of the MAY-FLOWER a far greater equality in rank, means, intelligence,
capacity, and character was noticeable. This was due in part, doubtless,
to the religious beliefs and training of the Leyden contingent, and had
prompt illustration in their Compact, in which all stood at once on an
equal footing. There was but little of the \x93paternal\x94 nature in the form
of their government (though something at times in their punishments), and
there was much personal dignity and independence of the individual.
An equipment having so much of the character of a uniform--not to say
\x93livery\x94--as that furnished by Higginson\x92s company to its people
suggests the \x93hedger and ditcher\x94 type of colonists (of whom there were
very few among the Plymouth settlers), rather than the scholar,
publisher, tradesman, physician, hatter, smith, carpenter, \x93lay reader,\x94
and soldier of the Pilgrims, and would certainly have been obnoxious to
their finer sense of personal dignity and proportion. Doubtless an
equivalent provision existed--though in less \x93all-of-a-pattern\x94
character--in the bales and boxes of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S cargo for every
need suggested by the list of the Higginson \x93outfit,\x94 which is given
herewith, both as matter of interest and as affording an excellent idea
of the accepted style and needs in dress of a New England settler (at
least of the men) of 1620-30. One cannot fail to wonder at the
noticeably infrequent mention of provision in apparel, etc., for the
women and children. The inventory of the \x93Apparell for 100 men\x94 furnished
by Higginson\x92s company in 1628-29 gives us, among others, the following
items of clothing for each emigrant:--
4 \x93peares of shoes.\x94
4 \x93peares of stockings.\x94
1 \x93peare Norwich gaiters.\x94
4 \x93shirts.\x94
2 \x93suits dublet and hose of leather lyn\x92d with oyld skyn leather, ye hose
& dublett with hooks & eyes.\x94
1 \x93sute of Norden dussens or hampshire kersies lynd the hose with skins,
dublets with lynen of gilford or gedlyman kerseys.\x94
4 bands.
2 handkerchiefs.
1 \x93wastecoat of greene cotton bound about with red tape.\x94
1 leather girdle.
1 \x93Monmouth cap.\x94
1 \x93black hatt lyned in the brows with lether.\x94
5 \x93Red knitt capps milf\x92d about 5d apiece.\x94
2 \x93peares of gloves.\x94
1 \x93Mandiliion lynd with cotton\x94 [mantle or greatcoat].
1 \x93peare of breeches and waistcoat.\x94
1 \x93leather sute of Dublett & breeches of oyled leather.\x94
1 \x93peare of leather breeches and drawers to weare with both there other
sutes.\x94
In 1628 Josselyn put the average cost of clothing to emigrants to New
England at L4 each. In 1629 good shoes cost the \x93Bay\x94 colonists 2s/7d
per pair. In his \x93Two Voyages to New England\x94 previously referred to,
Josselyn gives an estimate (made about 1628) of the \x93outfit\x94 in clothing
needed by a New England settler of his time. He names as \x93Apparel for
one man--and after this rate for more:--\x94
One Hatt
One Monmouth Cap
Three falling bands
Three Shirts
One Wastcoat
One Suite of Frize (Frieze)
One Suite of Cloth
One Suite of Canvas
Three Pairs of Irish Stockings
Four Pairs of Shoes
One Pair of Canvas Sheets
Seven ells of coarse canvas, to make a bed at sea for two men,
to be filled with straw
One Coarse Rug at Sea
The Furniture of the Pilgrims has naturally been matter of much interest
to their descendants and others for many years. While it is doubtful if
a single article now in existence can be positively identified and
truthfully certified as having made the memorable voyage in the
MAY-FLOWER (nearly everything having, of course, gone to decay with the
wear and tear of more than two hundred and fifty years), this honorable
origin is still assigned to many heirlooms, to some probably correctly.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes in his delightful lines, \x93On Lending a Punch
Bowl,\x94 humorously claims for his convivial silver vessel a place with
the Pilgrims:--
\x93Along with all the furniture, to fill their new abodes,
To judge by what is still on hand, at least a hundred loads.\x94
To a very few time-worn and venerated relics--such as Brewster\x92s chair
and one or more books, Myles Standish\x92s Plymouth sword, the Peregrine
White cradle, Winslow\x92s pewter, and one or two of Bradford\x92s books--a
strong probability attaches that they were in veritate, as traditionally
avowed, part of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S freight, but of even these the fact
cannot be proven beyond the possibility of a doubt.
From its pattern and workmanship, which are of a period antedating the
\x93departure from Delfshaven,\x94 and the ancient tradition which is traceable
to Brewster\x92s time, it appears altogether probable that what is known as
\x93Elder Brewster\x92s chair\x94 came with him on the ship. There is even
greater probability as to one of his books bearing his autograph.
The sword of Myles Standish, in possession of the Pilgrim Society, may
claim, with equal probability, MAY-FLOWER relation, from its evident
antiquity and the facts that, as a soldier, his trusty blade doubtless
stayed with him, and that it is directly traceable in his descendants\x92
hands, back to his time; but an equally positive claim is made for
similar honors for another sword said to have also belonged to the
Captain, now in the keeping of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
The Peregrine White cradle \x93is strongly indorsed as of the MAY-FLOWER,
from the facts that it is, indubitably, of a very early Dutch pattern and
manufacture; that Mrs. White was anticipating the early need of a cradle
when leaving Holland; and that the descent of this one as an heirloom in
her (second) family is so fairly traced.\x94
The pewter and the silver flask of Winslow not only bear very early
\x93Hallmarks,\x94 but also the arms of his family, which it is not likely he
would have had engraved on what he may have bought after notably becoming
the defender of the simplicity and democracy of the \x93Pilgrim Republic.\x94
Long traceable use in his family strengthens belief in the supposition
that these articles came with the Pilgrims, and were then very probably
heirlooms. One of Governor Bradford\x92s books (Pastor John Robinson\x92s
\x93Justification of Separation\x94), published in 1610, and containing the
Governor\x92s autograph, bears almost \x91prima facie\x92 evidence of having come
with him in the MAY-FLOWER, but of course might, like the above-named
relics, have come in some later ship.
In this connection it is of interest to note what freight the MAY-FLOWER
carried for the intellectual needs of the Pilgrims. Of Bibles, as the
\x93book of books,\x94 we may be sure--even without the evidence of the
inventories of the early dead--there was no lack, and there is reason to
believe that they existed in several tongues, viz. in English, Dutch, and
possibly French (the Walloon contribution from the Huguenots), while
there is little doubt that, alike as publishers and as \x93students of the
Word,\x94 Brewster, Bradford, and Winslow, at least, were possessed of, and
more or less familiar with, both the Latin and Greek Testaments. It is
altogether probable, however, that Governor Bradford\x92s well attested
study of \x93the oracles of God in the original\x94 Hebrew, and his possession
of the essential Hebrew Bible, grammar, and lexicon, were of a later day.
Some few copies of the earliest hymnals (\x93psalme-bookes\x94)--then very
limited in number--there is evidence that the Holland voyagers had with
them in the singing of their parting hymns at Leyden and Delfshaven, as
mentioned by Winslow and in the earlier inventories: These metrical
versions of the Psalms constituted at the time, practically, the only
hymnology permitted in the worship of the \x93Separatists,\x94 though the grand
hymn of Luther, \x93Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,\x94 doubtless familiar to
them, must have commended itself as especially comforting and apposite.
Of the doctrinal tracts of their beloved Pastor, John Robinson, there is
every probability, as well as some proof, that there was good supply, as
well as those of Ainsworth and Clyfton and of the works of William Ames,
the renowned Franeker Professor, the controversial opponent but sincere
friend of Robinson: the founder of evangelical \x93systematic theology,\x94
[method--Methodist? D.W.] whom death alone prevented from becoming the
President of Harvard College. We may be equally sure that the few cases
of books in the freight of the Pilgrim ship included copies of the
publications of the \x93hidden and hunted press\x94 of Brewster and Brewer, and
some at least of the issues of their fellows in tribulation at Amsterdam
and in Scotland and England. Some few heavy tomes and early classics in
English, Dutch, Latin, and Greek were also presumably among the goodly
number of books brought in the MAY FLOWER by Brewster, Bradford, Winslow,
Fuller, Hopkins, Allerton, Standish, and others, though it is probable
that the larger part of the very considerable library of four hundred
volumes, left at his death by Brewster (including sixty-two in Latin),
and of the respectable libraries of Fuller, Standish, and others, named
in their respective inventories, either were brought over in the later
ships, or were the products of the earliest printers of New England. One
is surprised and amused that the library of the good Dr. Fuller should
contain so relatively small a proportion of medical works (although the
number in print prior to his death in 1633 was not great), while rich in
religious works pertinent to his functions as deacon. It is equally
interesting to note that the inventory of the soldier Standish should
name only one book on military science, \x93Bariffe\x92s Artillery,\x94 though it
includes abundant evidence to controvert, beyond reasonable doubt, the
suggestion which has been made, that he was of the Romanist faith. Just
which of the books left by the worthies named, and others whose
inventories we possess, came with them in the Pilgrim ship, cannot be
certainly determined, though, as before noted, some still in existence
bear intrinsic testimony that they were of the number. There is evidence
that Allerton made gift of a book to Giles Heale of the MAY-FLOWER
(perhaps the ship\x92s surgeon), while the ship lay at Plymouth, and Francis
Cooke\x92s inventory includes \x931 great Bible and 4 olde bookes,\x94 which as
they were \x93olde,\x94 and he was clearly not a book-buyer, very probably came
with him in the ship. In fact, hardly an adult of the Leyden colonists,
the inventory of whose estate at death we possess, but left one or more
books which may have been his companions on the voyage.
Some of the early forms of British and Dutch calendars, \x93annuals,\x94 and
agricultural \x93hand-books,\x94 it is certain were brought over by several
families, and were doubtless much consulted and well-thumbed \x93guides,
counsellors, and friends\x94 in the households of their possessors. The
great preponderance of reading matter brought by the little colony was,
however, unquestionably of the religious controversial order, which had
been so much a part of their lives, and its sum total was considerable.
There are intimations, in the inventories of the Fathers, of a few works
of historical cast, but of these not many had yet been printed.
\x93Caesar\x92s Commentaries,\x94 a \x93History of the World,\x94 and a \x93History of
Turkey\x94 on Standish\x92s shelves, with the two Dictionaries and \x93Peter
Martyr on Rome\x94 on Dr. Fuller\x92s, were as likely to have come in the first
ship, and to have afforded as much satisfaction to the hungry readers of
the little community as any of the books we find named in the lists of
their little stock. It is pathetic to note, in these days of utmost
prodigality in juvenile literature, that for the Pilgrim children, aside
from the \x93Bible stories,\x94 some of the wonderful and mirth-provoking
metrical renderings of the \x93Psalme booke,\x94 and the \x93horne booke,\x94 or
primer (the alphabet and certain elementary contributions in verse or
prose, placed between thin covers of transparent horn for protection),
there was almost absolutely nothing in the meagre book-freight of the
Pilgrim ark. \x93Milk for Babes,\x94 whether as physical or mental pabulum,
was in poor supply aboard the MAY-FLOWER.
The most that can be claimed with confidence, for particular objects of
alleged MAY-FLOWER relation, is that there is logical and moral certainty
that there was a supply of just such things on board, because they were
indispensable, and because every known circumstance and condition
indicates their presence in the hands to which they are assigned, while
tradition and collateral evidence confirm the inference and sometimes go
very far to establish their alleged identity, and their presence with
their respective owners upon the ship. A few other articles besides those
enumerated in possession of the Pilgrim Society, and of other societies
and individuals, present almost equally strong claims with those named,
to be counted as \x93of MAY-FLOWER belonging,\x94 but in no case is the
connection entirely beyond question. Where so competent, interested, and
conscientious students of Pilgrim history as Hon. William T. Davis, of
Plymouth, and the late Dr. Thomas B. Drew, so long the curator of the
Pilgrim Society, cannot find warrant for a positive claim in behalf of
any article as having come, beyond a doubt, \x93in the MAY FLOWER,\x94 others
may well hesitate to insist upon that which, however probable and
desirable, is not susceptible of conclusive proof.
That certain articles of household furniture, whether now existent or
not, were included in the ship\x92s cargo, is attested by the inventories of
the small estates of those first deceased, and, by mention or
implication, in the narratives of Bradford, Winslow, Morton, and other
contemporaries, as were also many utensils and articles of domestic use.
There were also beyond question many not so mentioned, which may be
safely named as having very certainly been comprised in the ship\x92s
lading, either because in themselves indispensable to the colonists, or
because from the evidence in hand we know them to have been inseparable
from the character, social status, daily habits, home life, or
ascertained deeds of the Pilgrims. When it is remembered that
furnishings, however simple, were speedily required for no less than
nineteen \x93cottages\x94 and their households, the sum total called for was not
inconsiderable.
[Bradford, in Mourt\x92s Relation (p. 68), shows that the colonists
were divided up into \x93nineteen families,\x94 that \x93so we might build
fewer houses.\x94 Winslow, writing to George Morton, December 11/21,
1621, says: \x93We have built seven dwelling-houses and four for the
use of the plantation.\x94 Bradford (Historie, Mass. ed. p. 110)
calls the houses \x93small cottages.\x94]
Among the furniture for these \x93cottages\x94 brought on the Pilgrim ship may
be enumerated: chairs, table-chairs, stools and forms (benches), tables
of several sizes and shapes (mostly small), table-boards and \x93cloathes,\x94
trestles, beds; bedding and bed-clothing, cradles, \x93buffets,\x94 cupboards
and \x93cabinets,\x94 chests and chests of drawers, boxes of several kinds and
\x93trunks,\x94 andirons, \x93iron dogs,\x94 \x93cob-irons,\x94 fire-tongs and \x93slices\x94
(shovels), cushions, rugs, and \x93blanckets,\x94 spinning wheels, hand-looms,
etc., etc. Among household utensils were \x93spits,\x94 \x93bake-kettles,\x94 pots
and kettles (iron, brass, and copper), frying-pans, \x93mortars\x94 and pestles
(iron, brass, and \x93belle-mettle\x94), sconces, lamps (oil \x93bettys\x94),
candlesticks, snuffers, buckets, tubs, \x93runlets,\x94 pails and baskets,
\x93steel yards,\x94 measures, hour-glasses and sun-dials, pewter-ware
(platters, plates, mugs, porringers, etc.), wooden trenchers, trays,
\x93noggins,\x94 \x93bottles,\x94 cups, and \x93lossets.\x94 Earthen ware, \x93fatten\x94 ware
(mugs, \x93jugs,\x94 and \x93crocks \x93), leather ware (bottles, \x93noggins,\x94 and
cups), table-ware (salt \x93sellars,\x94 spoons, knives, etc), etc. All of the
foregoing, with numerous lesser articles, have received mention in the
early literature of the Pilgrim exodus, and were undeniably part of the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S lading.
The MAY-FLOWER origin claimed for the \x93Governor Carver chair\x94 and the
\x93Elder Brewster chair\x94 rests wholly upon tradition, and upon the
venerable pattern and aspect of the chairs themselves. The \x93Winslow
chair,\x94 in possession of the Pilgrim Society at Plymouth (Mass.), though
bearing evidence of having been \x93made in Cheapside, London, in 1614,\x94 is
not positively known to have been brought on the MAY-FLOWER. Thacher\x92s
\x93History of Plymouth\x94 (p. 144.) states that \x93a sitting-chair, said to
have been screwed to the floor of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S cabin for the
convenience of a lady, is known to have been in the possession of
Penelope Winslow (who married James Warren), and is now in possession of
Hannah White.\x94 There are certain venerable chairs alleged, with some
show of probability, to have been the property of Captain Standish, now
owned in Bridgewater, but there is no record attached to them, and they
are not surely assignable to either ship or owner. That some few tables
--mostly small--were brought in the MAY-FLOWER, there is some evidence,
but the indications are that what were known as \x93table-boards\x94--long and
narrow boards covered with what were called \x93board-cloths\x94--very largely
took the place of tables. The walnut-top table, said to have once been
Governor Winslow\x92s and now in possession of the Pilgrim Society, is not
known to have come over with him, and probably did not. It was very
likely bought for the use of the Council when he was governor. The
\x93table-boards\x94 mentioned were laid on \x93trestles\x94 (cross-legged and folding
supports of proper height), which had the great merit that they could be
placed in any convenient spot and as easily folded up, and with the board
put away, leaving the space which a table would have permanently occupied
free for other use.
Bradford mentions that when the fire of Sunday, January 14., 1621,
occurred in the \x93common house,\x94 the \x93house was as full of beds as they
could lie one by another.\x94 There is a doubt, however, whether this
indicates bedsteads or (probably) \x93pallets\x94 only. Beds, bedding of all
sorts, pillow-\x93beers,\x94 pillow-cases and even \x93mattrises,\x94 are of most
frequent mention in the earliest wills and inventories. (See Appendix.)
\x93Buffets,\x94 \x93cupboards,\x94 and \x93cabinets,\x94 all find mention in the earliest
writers and inventories, and one or two specimens, for which a MAY-FLOWER
history is claimed, are in possession of the Pilgrim Society and others.
The \x93White\x94 cabinet, of putative MAY-FLOWER connection, owned by the
Pilgrim Society, is a fine example of its class, and both its \x93ear marks\x94
and its known history support the probable truth of the claim made for
it. Of \x93chests\x94 and \x93chests-of-drawers\x94 there were doubtless goodly
numbers in the ship, but with the exception of a few chests (or the
fragments of them), for which a MAY-FLOWER passage is vaunted, little is
known of them. The chest claimed to be that of Elder Brewster, owned by
the Connecticut Historical Society, was not improb ably his, but that it
had any MAY-FLOWER relation is not shown. A fragment of a chest claimed
to have been \x93brought by Edward Winslow in the MAY-FLOWER\x94 is owned by
the Pilgrim Society, and bears considerable evidence of the probable
validity of such claim, but proof positive is lacking. Boxes of several
kinds and sizes were part of the Pilgrims\x92 chattels on their ship, some
of them taking the place of the travellers\x92 \x93trunks\x94 of to-day, though
\x93trunks\x94 were then known by that name and find early mention in Pilgrim
inventories, and there were no doubt some upon the Pilgrim ship. A few
claiming such distinction are exhibited, but without attested records of
their origin.
\x93Andirons, fire-dogs, and cob-irons\x94 (the latter to rest roasting spits
upon) were enumerated among the effects of those early deceased among the
Pilgrims, rendering it well-certain that they must have been part of
their belongings on the MAY-FLOWER. Fire-tongs and \x93slices\x94 [shovels]
are also frequently mentioned in early Pilgrim inventories, placing them
in the same category with the \x93andirons and fire-dogs.\x94
In \x93Mourt\x92s Relation,\x94 in the accounts given of the state reception of
Massasoit, \x93a green rug and three or four cushions\x94 are shown to have
performed their parts in the official ceremonies, and were, of course,
necessarily brought in the MAY-FLOWER.
Spinning-wheels and hand-looms were such absolute necessities, and were
so familiar and omnipresent features of the lives and labors of the
Pilgrim housewives and their Dutch neighbors of Leyden, that we should be
certain that they came with the Pilgrims, even if they did not find
mention in the earliest Pilgrim inventories. Many ancient ones are
exhibited in the \x93Old Colony,\x94 but it is not known that it is claimed for
any of them that they came in the first ship. It is probable that some of
the \x93cheese fatts\x94 and churns so often named in early inventories came in
the ship, though at first there was, in the absence of milch kine, no
such use for them as there had been in both England and Holland, and soon
was in New England.
Among cooking utensils the roasting \x93spit\x94 was, in one form or another,
among the earliest devices for cooking flesh, and as such was an
essential of every household. Those brought by the Plymouth settlers
were probably, as indicated by the oldest specimens that remain to us, of
a pretty primitive type. The ancient \x93bake-kettle\x94 (sometimes called
\x93pan\x94), made to bury in the ashes and thus to heat above and below, has
never been superseded where resort must be had to the open fire for
cooking, and (practically unchanged) is in use to-day at many a
sheep-herder\x92s and cowboy\x92s camp fire of the Far West. We may be sure
that it was in every MAY-FLOWER family, and occasional ancient specimens
are yet to be found in \x93Old Colony\x94 garrets. Pots and kettles of all
sorts find more frequent mention in the early inventories than anything
else, except muskets and swords, and were probably more numerous upon
the ship than any other cooking utensil. A few claimed to be from the
Pilgrim ship are exhibited, chief of which is a large iron pot, said to
have been \x93brought by Myles Standish in the MAY-FLOWER,\x94 now owned by
the Pilgrim Society.
Hardly an early Pilgrim inventory but includes \x93a mortar and pestle,\x94
sometimes of iron, sometimes of \x93brass\x94 or \x93belle-mettle\x94 (bell metal).
They were of course, in the absence of mills, and for some purposes for
which small hand mills were not adapted, prime necessities, and every
house hold had one. A very fine one of brass (with an iron pestle), nine
and a half inches across its bell-shaped top,--exhibited by the Pilgrim
Society, and said to have been \x93brought in the MAY-FLOWER by Edward
Winslow,\x94--seems to the author as likely to have been so as almost any
article for which that distinction is claimed.
The lighting facilities of the Pilgrims were fewer and cruder than those
for cooking. They possessed the lamp of the ancient Romans, Greeks, and
Hebrews, with but few improvements,--a more or less fanciful vessel for
oil, with a protuberant nose for a wick, and a loose-twisted cotton wick.
Hand-lamps of this general form and of various devices, called
\x93betty-lamps,\x94 were commonly used, with candlesticks of various metals,
--iron, brass, silver, and copper,--though but few of any other ware.
For wall-lighting two or more candle sockets were brought together in
\x93sconces,\x94 which were more or less elaborate in design and finish. One
of the early writers (Higginson) mentions the abundance of oil (from
fish) available for lamps, but all tallow and suet used by the early
colonists was, for some years (till cattle became plentiful),
necessarily imported. Some of the \x93candle-snuffers\x94 of the \x93first
comers\x94 doubtless still remain. We may be sure every family had its
candles, \x93betty-lamps,\x94 candlesticks, and \x93snuffers.\x94 \x93Lanthorns\x94 were
of the primitive, perforated tin variety--only \x93serving to make darkness
visible\x94 now found in a few old attics in Pilgrim towns, and on the
\x93bull-carts\x94 of the peons of Porto Rico, by night. Fire, for any
purpose, was chiefly procured by the use of flint, steel, and tinder, of
which many very early specimens exist. Buckets, tubs, and pails were,
beyond question, numerous aboard the ship, and were among the most
essential and highly valued of Pilgrim utensils. Most, if not all of
them, we may confidently assert, were brought into requisition on that
Monday \x93wash-day\x94 at Cape Cod, the first week-day after their arrival,
when the women went ashore to do their long-neglected laundrying, in the
comparatively fresh water of the beach pond at Cape Cod harbor. They
are frequently named in the earliest inventories. Bradford also
mentions the filling of a \x93runlet\x94 with water at the Cape. The
\x93steel-yards\x94 and \x93measures\x94 were the only determiners of weight and
quantity--as the hour-glass and sun dial were of time--possessed at
first (so far as appears) by the passengers of the Pilgrim ship, though
it is barely possible that a Dutch clock or two may have been among the
possessions of the wealthiest. Clocks and watches were not yet in
common use (though the former were known in England from 1540), and
except that in \x93Mourt\x92s Relation\x94 and Bradford\x92s \x93Historie\x94 mention is
made of the time of day as such \x93o\x92clock\x94 (indicating some degree of
familiarity with clocks), no mention is made of their possession at the
first. Certain of the leaders were apparently acquainted at Leyden with
the astronomer Galileo, co-resident with them there, and through this
acquaintance some of the wealthier and more scholarly may have come to
know, and even to own, one of the earliest Dutch clocks made with the
pendulum invented by Galileo, though hardly probable as early as 1620.
Pocket watches were yet practically unknown.
Except for a few pieces of silver owned by the wealthiest of their
number, pewter was the most elegant and expensive of the Pilgrims\x92
table-ware. A pewter platter said to have been \x93brought over in the
MAY-FLOWER\x94 is now owned by the Pilgrim Society, which also exhibits
smaller pewter formerly Edward Winslow\x92s, and bearing his \x93arms,\x94 for
which, as previously noted, a like claim is made. Platters, dishes,
\x93potts,\x94 ladles, bottles, \x93flaggons,\x94 \x93skelletts,\x94 cups, porringers,
\x93basons,\x94 spoons, candlesticks, and salt \x93sellars,\x94 were among the many
pewter utensils unmistakably brought on the good ship.
The wooden-ware of the colonists, brought with them, was considerable
and various. The Dutch were long famous for its fabrication. There was
but very little china, glass, or pottery of any kind in common use in
western Europe in 1620; some kinds were not yet made, and pewter, wood,
and leather largely filled their places. Wooden trenchers (taking the
place of plates), trays, \x93noggins\x94 (jug or pitcher-like cups), cups, and
\x93lossets\x94 (flat dishes like the bread-plates of to day), were of course
part of every housewife\x92s providings. Some few of Pilgrim origin
possibly still exist. As neither coffee, tea, nor china had come into
use, the cups and saucers which another century brought in--to delight
their owners in that day and the ceramic hunter in this--were not
among the \x93breakables\x94 of the \x93good-wife\x94 of the MAY-FLOWER. The
\x93table-plenishings\x94 had not much variety, but in the aggregate the
(first) \x93nineteen families\x94 must have required quite a quantity of
spoons, knives, salt \x93sellars,\x94 etc. Forks there were none, and of the
accessories of to-day (except napkins), very few. Meat was held by the
napkin while being cut with the knife. Josselyn\x92 gives a list of
\x93Implements for a family of six persons\x94 going to New England.
Kitchen utensils:--
\x931 Iron Pot.
1 Great Copper Kettle.
1 Small Kettle.
1 Lesser Kettle.
1 Large Frying pan.
1 Brass Mortar.
1 Spit.
1 Gridiron.
2 Skillets.
Platters, dishes, and spoons of wood.
A pair of Bellows.
A Skoope, etc.\x94
Among the implements of husbandry, etc., and mechanics\x92 tools we find
evidence of hoes, spades, shovels, scythes, \x93sikles,\x94 mattocks,
bill-hooks, garden-rakes, hay-forks (\x93pitch-forks\x94), besides seed-grain
and garden seeds. Axes, saws, hammers, \x93adzs,\x94 augers, chisels, gouges,
squares, hatchets, an \x93iron jack-scrue,\x94 \x93holdfasts\x94 (vises),
blacksmiths\x92 tools, coopers\x92 tools, iron and steel in bar, anvils,
chains, etc., \x93staples and locks,\x94 rope, lime (for mortar), nails, etc.,
are also known to have been in the ship. Francis Eaton, the carpenter,
seems to have had a very respectable \x93kit,\x94 and Fletcher, the smith, was
evidently fairly \x93outfitted.\x94
The implements of husbandry were of the lighter (?) sort; no ploughs,
harrows, carts, harness, stone-drags, or other farming tools requiring
the strength of beasts for their use, were included. In nothing could
they have experienced so sharp a contrast as in the absence of horses,
cattle, and sheep in their husbandry, and especially of milch kine.
Bradford and Window both mention hoes, spades, mattocks, and sickles,
while shovels, scythes, bill-hooks (brush-scythes, the terrible weapons
of the English peasantry in their great \x93Mon mouth\x94 and earlier
uprisings), pitchforks, etc., find very early mention in inventories and
colonial records. Josselyn, in his \x93Two Voyages to New England,\x94 gives,
in 1628, the following very pertinent list of \x93Tools for a Family of six
persons, and so after this rate for more,--intending for New England.\x94
This may be taken as fairly approximating the possessions of the average
MAY-FLOWER planter, though probably somewhat exceeding individual
supplies. Eight years of the Pilgrims\x92 experience had taught those who
came after them very much that was of service.
5 Broad Howes [hoes].
6 Chisels.
5 Narrow Howes [hoes].
3 Gimblets.
5 Felling Axes.
2 hatchets.
2 steel hand saws.
2 frones (?) to cleave pail! (Probably knives for cleaving pail stock.)
2 hand saws.
2 hand-bills.
1 whip saw, set and files with box.
Nails of all sorts.
2 Pick-axes.
A file and rest.
3 Locks and 3 paire fetters.
2 Hammers.
2 Currie Combs.
3 Shovels.
Brands for beasts.
2 Spades.
A hand vice.
2 Augers.
A pitchfork, etc.
2 Broad Axes.
Unhappily we know little from contemporaneous authority as to what grain
and other seeds the Pilgrims brought with them for planting. We may be
sure, however, that rye, barley, oats, wheat, pease, and beans were the
bulkiest of this part of their freight, though Bradford mentions the
planting of \x93garden seeds\x94 their first spring.
While we know from the earliest Pilgrim chronicles that their mechanics\x92
implements embraced axes, saws, hammers, \x93adzs,\x94 augers, hatchets, an
\x93iron jack-scrue,\x94 \x93staples and locks,\x94 etc., we know there must have
been many other tools not mentioned by them, brought over with the
settlers. The \x93great iron-scrue,\x94 as Bradford calls it in his original
MS., played, as all know, a most important part on the voyage, in forcing
the \x93cracked and bowed\x94 deck-beam of the ship into place. Governor
Bradford tells us that \x93it was brought on board by one of the Leyden
passengers,\x94 and one may hazard the guess that it was by either Moses
Fletcher, the smith, or Francis Eaton, the \x93carpenter.\x94 \x93Staples\x94 and
\x93locks\x94 found their place and mention, as well as the \x93chains,\x94
\x93manacles,\x94 and \x93leg-irons\x94 named in the list of accoutrements for
offence or defence, when it became necessary to chain up the Indian spy
of the Neponsets (as narrated by Winslow in his \x93Good Newes from New
England\x94) and other evil-doers. The planters seem to have made stiff
\x93mortar,\x94 which premises the use of lime and indicates a supply.
Among the fishing and fowling implements of the MAY FLOWER colonists are
recorded, nets, \x93seynes,\x94 twine, fish hooks, muskets (for large game),
\x93fowling pieces,\x94 powder, \x93goose-shot,\x94 \x93hail-shot,\x94 etc.
Such early mention is found of the nets, \x93seynes,\x94 etc., of their fishing
equipment, as to leave no room for doubt that store of them was brought
in the ship. They seem to have been unfortunate in the size of their
fish-hooks, which are spoken of as \x93too large\x94 even for cod. They must,
as Goodwin remarks, \x93have been very large.\x94 Window also says, \x93We wanted
fit and strong seines and other netting.\x94
They seem to have relied upon their muskets to some extent for wild fowl
(as witness Winslow\x92s long and successful shot at a duck, on his visit to
Massasoit), as they undoubtedly did for deer, etc. They were apparently
fairly well supplied with them, of either the \x93matchlock\x94 or \x93snaphance\x94
(flintlock) pattern, though the planters complained to the Merchant
Adventurers (in their letter of August 3, from Southampton), that they
were \x93wanting many muskets,\x94 etc. That they had some \x93fowling-pieces\x94 is
shown by the fact that young Billington seems (according to Bradford) to
have \x93shot one off in his father\x92s cabin\x94 aboard ship in Cape Cod harbor,
and there are several other coeval mentions of them.
The arms and accoutrements (besides ordnance) of the MAY-FLOWER Pilgrims,
known on the authority of Bradford and Winslow to have been brought by
them, included muskets (\x93matchlocks\x94), \x93snaphances\x94 (flintlocks), armor
(\x93corslets,\x94 \x93cuirasses,\x94 \x93helmets,\x94 \x93bandoliers,\x94 etc.), swords,
\x93curtlaxes\x94 (cutlasses), \x93daggers,\x94 powder, \x93mould-shot,\x94 \x93match\x94
(slow-match for guns), \x93flints,\x94 belts, \x93knapsacks,\x94 \x93drum,\x94 \x93trumpet,\x94
\x93manacles,\x94 \x93leg-irons,\x94 etc., etc. \x93Pistols\x94 (brass) appear in early
inventories, but their absence in the early hand-to-hand encounter at
Wessagussett indicates that none were then available, or that they were
not trusted. It is evident from the statement of Bradford that every one
of the sixteen men who went out (under command of Standish) on the \x93first
exploration\x94 at Cape Cod had his \x93musket, sword, and corslet;\x94 that they
relied much on their armor, and hence, doubtless, took all possible with
them on the ship. They probably did not long retain its use. In the
letter written to the Adventurers from Southampton, the leaders complain
of \x93wanting many muskets, much armour, &c.\x94
Josselyn gives\x92 the equipment he considers necessary for each man going
to New England to settle:--
\x93Armor compleat:--
One long piece [musket] five feet or five and a half long.
One Sword.
One bandoleer.
One belt.
Twenty pounds of powder.
Sixty pounds of shot or lead, pistol and Goose-shot.\x94
\x93Another list gives an idea of \x91complete armor.\x92\x94
Corselet
Breast [plate or piece].
Back [ditto].
Culet (?).
Gorget [throat-piece].
Tussis [thigh-pieces].
Head-piece \x93[morion skull-cap].\x94
Bradford states that they used their \x93curtlaxes\x94 (cutlasses) to dig the
frozen ground to get at the Indians\x92 corn, \x93having forgotten to bring
spade or mattock.\x94 \x93Daggers\x94 are mentioned as used in their celebrated
duel by Dotey and Leister, servants of Stephen Hopkins. Bradford
narrates that on one of their exploring tours on the Cape the length of
guard duty performed at night by each \x93relief\x94 was determined by the
inches of slow-match burned (\x93every one standing when his turn came
while five or six inches of match was burning\x94), clearly indicating that
they had no watches with them. The \x93drum\x94 and \x93trumpet\x94 are both
mentioned in \x93Mourt\x92s Relation\x94 in the account given of Massasoit\x92s
reception, the latter as eliciting the especial attention of his men, and
their efforts at blowing it.
The Ordnance (cannon) brought in the ship consisted (probably) of ten
guns, certainly of six. Of these, two (2) were \x93sakers,\x94--guns ten feet
long of 3 to 4 inches bore, weighing from fifteen to eighteen hundred
pounds each; two (2) were \x93minions\x94 (or \x93falcons\x94),--guns of 3 1/2 inch
bore, weighing twelve hundred pounds (1200 lbs.) each; and two (2) were
\x93bases,\x94--small guns of 1 1/4 inch bore, weighing some three hundred
pounds (300 lbs.) each. These were mounted on \x93the Hill\x94 fort or
platform. It is probable that besides these were the four smallest
cannon, called \x93patereros\x94 (or \x93murderers\x94), which, at the time of De
Rasiere\x92s visit to Plymouth in 1627, were mounted on a platform (in front
of the Governor\x92s house), at the intersection of the two streets of the
town, and commanded its several approaches. It is not likely that they
were sent for after 1621, because the Adventurers were never in mood to
send if asked, while Bradford, in speaking of the first alarm by the
Indians, says, \x93This caused us to plant our great ordnance in places most
convenient,\x94 leaving a possible inference that they had smaller ordnance
in reserve. With this ordnance was of course a proper supply of
ammunition adapted to its use. The \x93sakers\x94 are said to have carried a
four-pound ball, the \x93minions\x94 a three-pound ball, and the \x93bases\x94 a ball
of a pound weight. There is not entire agreement between authorities, in
regard to the size, weight, and calibre of these different classes of
early ordnance, or the weight of metal thrown by them, but the above are
approximate data, gathered from careful comparison of the figures given
by several. There is no doubt that with this heavy ordnance and
ammunition they stowed among their ballast and dunnage (as was the case
in Higginson\x92s ships), their \x93spare chains and anchors, chalk, bricks,
sea-coal (for blacksmithing), iron, steel, lead, copper, red-lead, salt,\x94
etc.; all of which they also necessarily had, and from their bulk,
character, and weight, would stow as low in the ship as might be.
That a considerable \x93stock of trading goods\x94 was included in the
MAY-FLOWER\x92S lading is mentioned by at least one writer, and that this
was a fact is confirmed by the records of the colonists\x92 dealings with
the Indians, and the enumeration of not a few of the goods which could
have had, for the most part, no other use or value. They consisted
largely of knives, bracelets (bead and metal), rings, scissors,
copper-chains, beads, \x93blue and red trading cloth,\x94 cheap (glass) jewels
(\x93for the ears,\x94 etc.), small mirrors, clothing (e. g. \x93red-cotton
horseman\x92s coats--laced,\x94 jerkins, blankets, etc.), shoes, \x93strong
waters,\x94 pipes, tobacco, tools and hard ware (hatchets, nails, hoes,
fish-hooks, etc.), rugs, twine, nets, etc., etc. A fragment of one of
the heavy hoes of the ancient pattern--\x93found on the site of the
Pilgrim trading house at Manomet\x94--is owned by the Pilgrim Society, and
speaks volumes of the labor performed by the Pilgrims, before they had
ploughs and draught-cattle, in the raising of their wonderful crops of
corn. Such was the MAY-FLOWER\x92S burden, animate and inanimate, whe
--the last passenger and the last piece of freight transferred from the
SPEEDWELL--her anchor \x93hove short,\x94 she swung with the tide in Plymouth
roadstead, ready to depart at last for \x93the Virginia plantations.\x94
CHAPTER IX
THE JOURNAL OF THE SHIP MAY-FLOWER
Thomas Jones, Master, from London, England, towards \x93Hudson\x92s River\x94 in
Virginia
[The voyage of the MAY-FLOWER began at London, as her consort\x92s did
at Delfshaven, and though, as incident to the tatter\x92s brief career,
we have been obliged to take note of some of the happenings to the
larger ship and her company (at Southampton, etc.), out of due
course and time, they have been recited only because of their
insuperable relation to the consort and her company, and not as part
of the MAY-FLOWER\x92S own proper record]
SATURDAY, July 15/25, 1620
Gravesend. Finished lading. Got
passengers aboard and got under way for
Southampton. Dropped down the Thames to
Gravesend with the tide.
[Vessels leaving the port of London always, in that day, \x93dropped
down with the tide,\x94 tug-boats being unknown, and sail-headway
against the tide being difficult in the narrow river.]
Masters Cushman and Martin, agents of the
chartering--party, came aboard at London.
SUNDAY, July 16/26
Gravesend. Channel pilot aboard. Favoring
wind.
MONDAY, July 17/27
In Channel. Course D.W. by W. Favoring
wind.
TUESDAY, July 18/28
In Channel. Southampton Water.
WEDNESDAY, July 19/29
Southampton Water. Arrived at Southampton
and came to anchor.
[Both ships undoubtedly lay at anchor a day or two, before hauling
in to the quay. The MAY-FLOWER undoubtedly lay at anchor until
after the SPEEDWELL arrived, to save expense]
THURSDAY, July 20/30
Lying at Southampton off north end of \x93West
Quay.\x94
FRIDAY, July 21/31
Lying at Southampton. Masters Carver,
Cushman, and Martin, three of the agents
here. Outfitting ship, taking in lading,
and getting ready for sea.
SATURDAY, July 22/Aug 1
Lying off Quay, Southampton.
SUNDAY, July 23/Aug 2
Lying off Quay, Southampton.
MONDAY, July 24/Aug 3
Lying off Quay, Southampton.
TUESDAY, July 25/Aug 4
Lying off Quay, Southampton. Waiting for
consort to arrive from Holland.
WEDNESDAY, July 26/Aug 5
Lying off Quay, Southampton. Pinnace
SPEEDWELL, 60 tons, Reynolds, Master, from
Delfshaven, July 22, consort to this ship,
arrived in harbor, having on board some 70
passengers and lading for Virginia. She
came to anchor off north end \x93West Quay.\x94
THURSDAY, July 27/Aug. 6
Lying at Quay, Southampton, SPEEDWELL
warped to berth at Quay near the ship, to
transfer lading.
[Some of the cargo of the SPEEDWELL is understood to have been here
transferred to the larger ship; doubtless the cheese, \x93Hollands,\x94
and other provisions, ordered, as noted, by Cushman]
FRIDAY, July 28/Aug. 7
Lying at Quay, Southampton, Much parleying
and discontent among the passengers.
[Bradford gives an account of the bickering and recrimination at
Southampton, when all parties had arrived. Pastor Robinson had
rather too strenuously given instructions, which it now began to be
seen were not altogether wise. Cushman was very much censured, and
there was evidently some acrimony. See Cushman\x92s Dartmouth letter
of August 17 to Edward Southworth, Bradford\x92s Historie, Mass. ed.
p. 86.]
SATURDAY, July 29/Aug. 8
Lying at Quay, Southampton. Some of the
passengers transferred from SPEEDWELL and
some to her. Master Christopher Martin
chosen by passengers their \x93Governour\x94 for
the voyage to order them by the way, see to
the disposing of their pro visions, etc.
Master Robert Cushman chosen \x93Assistant.\x94
The ship ready for sea this day, but
obliged to lie here on account of leakiness
of consort, which is forced to retrim. Ship
has now 90 passengers and consort 30.
SUNDAY, July 30/Aug. 9
Lying at Southampton.
MONDAY, July 31/Aug. 10
Lying at Southampton. Letters received for
passengers from Holland. One from the
Leyden Pastor [Robinson] read out to the
company that came from that place.
TUESDAY, Aug. 1/Aug. 11
Lying at anchor at Southampton. SPEEDWELL
retrimmed a second time to overcome
leakiness.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2/Aug. 12
Lying at anchor at Southampton. Master
Weston, principal agent of the Merchants
setting out the voyage, came up from Lon
don to see the ships dispatched, but, on
the refusal of the Planters to sign certain
papers, took offence and returned to London
in displeasure, bidding them \x93stand on
their own legs,\x94 etc.
[The two \x93conditions\x94 which Weston had changed in the proposed
agreement between the Adventurers and Planters, the Leyden leaders
refused to agree to. Bradford, op cit. p. 61. He says: \x93But they
refused to sign, and answered him that he knew right well that these
were not according to the first Agreement.\x94 Dr. Griffis has made
one of those little slips common to all writers--though perfectly
conversant with the facts--in stating as he does (The Pilgrims in
their Three Homes, etc. p. 158), with reference to the new
\x93conditions\x94 which some blamed Cushman for assenting to, as \x93more
fit for thieves and slaves than for honest men,\x94 that, \x93nevertheless
they consented to them;\x94 while on p. 169 he says \x93The SPEEDWELL
people [i.e. the Leyden leaders would not agree with the new
conditions, without the consent of those left behind in Leyden.\x94
The fact is that the Pilgrims did not assent to the new conditions,
unwarrantably imposed by Weston, though of small consequence in any
view of the case, until Cushman came over to New Plymouth in the
FORTUNE, in 1621, and by dint of his sermon on the \x93Sin and Danger
of Self-Love,\x94 and his persuasion, induced them (they being also
advised thereto by Robinson) to sign them. All business up to this
time had been done between the Adventurers and the Pilgrims,
apparently, without any agreement in writing. It was probably felt,
both by Robinson and the Plymouth leaders, that it was the least
reparation they could make Cushman for their cruel and unjust
treatment of him, realizing at length that, through all
vicissitudes, he had proven their just, sagacious, faithful, and
efficient friend. There does not appear to be any conclusive
evidence that any articles of agreement between the Adventurers and
colonists were signed before the MAY-FLOWER Sailed.]
THURSDAY, Aug. 3/Aug. 13
Lying at anchor at Southampton. After
Master Weston\x92s departure, the Planters had
a meeting and resolved to sell some of such
stores as they could best spare, to clear
port charges, etc., and to write a general
letter to the Adventurers explaining the
case, which they did. Landed some three
score firkins of butter, sold as
determined.
FRIDAY, Aug. 4/Aug. 14
Lying at anchor at Southampton. Consort
nearly ready for sea. Heard that the
King\x92s warrant had issued to Sir James
Coventry, under date of July 23, to prepare
a Patent for the Council for the Affairs of
New England to supersede the Plymouth
Virginia Company, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and
Sir Robert Rich the Earl of Warwick among
the Patentees.
SATURDAY, Aug. 5/Aug. 15
Weighed anchor, as did consort, and in
company dropped down Southampton Water.
Took departure from Cowes, Isle of Wight,
and laid course down the Solent to Channel.
Winds baffling. General course S.W. by S.
SUNDAY, Aug. 6/Aug. 16
Head winds. Beating out Channel.
SPEEDWELL In Company. Passed Bill of
Portland.
MONDAY, Aug. 7/Aug. 17
Wind contrary. Beating out Channel.
SPEEDWELL In company.
TUESDAY, Aug. 8/Aug. 18
Wind still contrary. Beating out Channel.
SPEEDWELL in company.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 9/Aug. 19
Wind ahead. Beating down Channel. Consort
in company.
THURSDAY, Aug. 10/20
Wind fair. All sail set. SPEEDWELL in
company. Signalled by consort, which hove
to. Found to be leaking badly. On
consultation of Masters and chief of
passengers of both ships, it was concluded
that both should put into Dartmouth, being
nearest port. Laid course for Dartmouth
with wind ahead.
THURSDAY, Aug. 11/21
Wind ahead. Bearing up to Dartmouth.
SATURDAY, Aug. 12/22
Made port at Dartmouth. SPEEDWELL in
company, and came to anchor in harbor.
[Bradford, op. cit. Deane\x92s ed. p. 68, note. Russell (Pilgrim
Memorials, p. 15) says: \x93The ships put back into Dartmouth, August
13/23.\x94 Goodwin (op. cit. p. 55) says: \x93The port was reached
about August 23.\x94 Captain John Smith strangely omits the return of
the ships to Dartmouth, and confuses dates, as he says \x93But the next
day after leaving Southampton the lesser ship sprung a leak that
forced their return to Plymouth,\x94 etc. Smith, New England\x92s Trials,
2d ed. 1622. Cushman\x92s letter, written the 17th, says they had
then lain there \x93four days,\x94 which would mean, if four full days,
the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th.]
SUNDAY, Aug. 13/23
Lying at anchor with SPEEDWELL leaking
badly in Dartmouth harbor. No passengers,
except leaders, allowed ashore.
[Cushman in his letter to Edward Southworth, written at Dartmouth,
August 17, says that Martin, the \x93governour\x94 of the passengers in
the MAY-FLOWER, \x93will not suffer them the passengers to go, ashore
lest they should run away.\x94 This probably applied especially to
such as had become disaffected by the delays and disasters, the
apprenticed (\x93bound\x94) servants, etc. Of course no responsible
colonist would be thus restrained for the reason alleged.]
MONDAY, Aug. 14/24
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
SPEEDWELL at Quay taking out lading for
thorough overhauling.
TUESDAY, Aug. 15/25
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 16/26
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
SPEEDWELL being thoroughly overhauled for
leaks. Pronounced \x93as open and leaky as a
sieve.\x94 Much dissatisfaction between the
passengers, and discontent with the ship\x92s
\x93governour\x94 Master Martin, between whom
and Mr. Cushman, the \x93assistant,\x94 there is
constant disagreement.
[Cushman portrays the contemptible character and manner of Martin
very sharply, and could not have wished to punish him worse for his
meannesses than he has, by thus holding him up to the scorn of the
world, for all time. He says, \x91inter alia\x92: \x93If I speak to him, he
flies in my face and saith no complaints shall be heard or received
but by himself, and saith: \x91They are froward, and waspish,
discontented people, and I do ill to hear them.\x92\x94]
THURSDAY, Aug. 17/27
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor. Consort
being searched and mended. Sailors offended
at Master Martin because of meddling.
[Cushman\x92s letter, Dartmouth, August 17. He says: \x93The sailors also
are so offended at his ignorant boldness in meddling and controling
in things he knows not what belongs to, as that some threaten to
mischief him . . . . But at best this cometh of it, that he
makes himself a scorn and laughing stock unto them.\x94]
FRIDAY, Aug. 18/28
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor. Consort
still repairing. Judged by workmen that
mended her sufficient for the voyage.
SATURDAY, Aug. 19/29
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
SPEEDWELL relading.
SUNDAY, Aug. 20/30
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor.
MONDAY, Aug. 21/31
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor. Consort
relading.
TUESDAY, Aug. 22/Sept. 1
Lying at anchor, Dartmouth harbor. Both
ships ready for sea.
[Bradford, Historie, Deane\x92s ed. p. 68. He says: \x93Some leaks were
found and mended and now it was conceived by the workmen and all,
that she was sufficient, and they might proceed without either fear
or danger.\x94 Bradford shows (op. cit. p. 69) note that they must
have left Dartmouth \x93about the 21st\x94 of August. Captain John Smith
gives that date, though somewhat confusedly. Arber (the Story of
the Pilgrim Fathers, p. 343 says: \x93They actually left on 23 August.\x94
Goodwin (Pilgrim Republic, p. 55) says : \x93Ten days were spent in
discharging and re-stowing the SPEEDWELL and repairing her from stem
to stern,\x94 etc.)]
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 23/Sept. 2
Weighed anchor, as did consort. Laid
course W.S.W. Ships in company. Wind
fair.
THURSDAY, Aug. 24/Sept. 3
Comes in with wind fair. General course
W.S.W. Consort in company.
FRIDAY, Aug. 25/Sept. 4
Comes in with wind fair. Course W.S.W.
SPEEDWELL in company.
SATURDAY, Aug. 26/Sept. 5
Observations showed ship above 100 leagues
W.S.W. of Land\x92s End. SPEEDWELL signalled
and hove to. Reported leaking dangerously.
On consultation between Masters and
carpenters of both ships, it was concluded
to put back into Plymouth--Bore up for
Plymouth. Consort in company.
SUNDAY, Aug. 27/Sept. 6
Ship on course for Plymouth. SPEEDWELL in
company.
MONDAY, Aug. 28/Sept. 7
Made Plymouth harbor, and came to anchor in
the Catwater, followed by consort.
TUESDAY, Aug. 29/Sept. 8
At anchor in roadstead. At conference of
officers of ship and consort and the chief
of the Planters, it was decided to send the
SPEEDWELL back to London with some 18 or 20
of her passengers, transferring a dozen or
more, with part of her lading, to the
MAY-FLOWER.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30/Sept. 9
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead off the
Barbican. Transferring passengers and
lading from consort, lying near by.
Weather fine.
[Goodwin notes (Pilgrim Republic, p. 57) that \x93it was fortunate for
the overloaded MAY-FLOWER that she had fine weather while lying at
anchor there, . . . for the port of Plymouth was then only a
shallow, open bay, with no protection. In southwesterly gales its
waters rose into enormous waves, with such depressions between that
ships while anchored sometimes struck the bottom of the harbor and
were dashed in pieces.\x94]
THURSDAY, Aug. 31/Sept. 10
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead.
Transferring cargo from SPEEDWELL.
FRIDAY, Sept. 1/Sept. 11
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead.
Transferring passengers and freight to and
from consort. Master Cushman and family,
Master Blossom and son, William Ring, and
others with children, going back to London
in SPEEDWELL. All Of SPEEDWELL\x92S
passengers who are to make the voyage now
aboard. New \x93governour\x94 of ship and
assistants chosen. Master Carver
\x93governour.\x94
[We have seen that Christopher Martin was made \x93governour\x94 of the
passengers on the MAY-FLOWER for the voyage, and Cushman
\x93assistant.\x94 It is evident from Cushman\x92s oft-quoted letter (see
ante) that Martin became obnoxious, before the ship reached
Dartmouth, to both passengers and crew. It is also evident that
when the emigrants were all gathered in the MAY-FLOWER there was a
new choice of officers (though no record is found of it), as Cushman
vacated his place and went back to London, and we find that, as
noted before, on November 11 the colonists \x93confirmed\x94 John Carver
as their \x93governour,\x94 showing that he had been such hitherto.
Doubtless Martin was deposed at Southampton (perhaps put into
Cushman\x92s vacant place, and Carver made \x93governour\x94 in his stead.)]
SATURDAY, Sept. 2/Sept. 12
At anchor, Plymouth roadstead. Some of
principal passengers entertained ashore by
friends of their faith. SPEEDWELL sailed
for London. Quarters assigned, etc.
SUNDAY, Sept. 3/Sept. 13
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead.
MONDAY, Sept. 4/Sept. 14
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead. Some Of
company ashore.
TUESDAY, Sept. 5/Sept. 15
At anchor in Plymouth roadstead. Ready for
sea.
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 6/Sept. 16
Weighed anchor. Wind E.N.E., a fine gale.
Laid course W.S.W. for northern coasts of
Virginia.
THURSDAY, Sept. 7/Sept. 17
Comes in with wind E.N.E. Light gale
continues. Made all sail on ship.
FRIDAY, Sept. 8/Sept. 18
Comes in with wind E.N.E. Gale continues.
All sails full.
SATURDAY, Sept. 9/Sept. 19
Comes in with wind E.N E. Gale holds.
Ship well off the land.
SUNDAY, Sept. 10/Sept. 20
Comes in with wind E.N.E. Gale holds.
Distance lost, when ship bore up for
Plymouth, more than regained.
MONDAY, Sept. 11/Sept. 21
Same; and so without material change, the
daily record of wind, weather, and the
ship\x92s general course--the repetition of
which would be both useless and wearisome
--continued through the month and until the
vessel was near half the seas over. Fine
warm weather and the \x93harvest-moon.\x94 The
usual equinoctial weather deferred.
SATURDAY, Sept. 23/Oct. 3
One of the seamen, some time sick with a
grievous disease, died in a desperate manner.
The first death and burial at sea of the
voyage.
[We can readily imagine this first burial at sea on the MAY FLOWER,
and its impressiveness. Doubtless the good Elder \x93committed the
body to the deep\x94 with fitting ceremonial, for though the young man
was of the crew, and not of the Pilgrim company, his reverence for
death and the last rites of Christian burial would as surely impel
him to offer such services, as the rough, buccaneering Master (Jones
would surely be glad to evade them).
Dr. Griffis (The Pilgrims in their Three Homes, p. 176) says \x93The
Puritans [does this mean Pilgrims ?] cared next to nothing about
ceremonies over a corpse, whether at wave or grave.\x94 This will
hardly bear examination, though Bradford\x92s phraseology in this case
would seem to support it, as he speaks of the body as \x93thrown
overboard;\x94 yet it is not to be supposed that it was treated quite
so indecorously as the words would imply. It was but a few years
after, certainly, that we find both Pilgrim and Puritan making much
ceremony at burials. We find considerable ceremony at Carver\x92s
burial only a few months later. Choate, in his masterly oration at
New York, December 22, 1863, pictures Brewster\x92s service at the open
grave of one of the Pilgrims in March, 1621.]
A sharp change. Equinoctial weather,
followed by stormy westerly gales;
encountered cross winds and continued
fierce storms. Ship shrewdly shaken and
her upper works made very leaky. One of
the main beams in the midships was bowed
and cracked. Some fear that the ship could
not be able to perform the voyage. The
chief of the company perceiving the
mariners to fear the sufficiency of the
ship (as appeared by their mutterings) they
entered into serious consultation with the
Master and other officers of the ship, to
consider, in time, of the danger, and
rather to return than to cast themselves
into a desperate and inevitable peril.
There was great distraction and difference
of opinion amongst the mariners themselves.
Fain would they do what would be done for
their wages\x92 sake, being now near half the
seas over; on the other hand, they were
loath to hazard their lives too
desperately. In examining of all opinions,
the Master and others affirmed they knew
the ship to be strong and firm under water,
and for the buckling bending or bowing of
the main beam, there was a great iron scrue
the passengers brought out of Holland which
would raise the beam into its place. The
which being done, the carpenter and Master
affirmed that a post put under it, set firm
in the lower deck, and otherwise bound,
would make it sufficient. As for the decks
and upper works, they would caulk them as
well as they could; and though with the
working of the ship they would not long
keep staunch, yet there would otherwise be
no great danger if they did not overpress
her with sails. So they resolved to
proceed.
In sundry of these stormes, the winds were
so fierce and the seas so high, as the ship
could not bear a knot of sail, but was
forced to hull drift under bare poles for
divers days together. A succession of
strong westerly gales. In one of the
heaviest storms, while lying at hull, [hove
to D.W.] a lusty young man, one of the
passengers, John Howland by name, coming
upon some occasion above the gratings
latticed covers to the hatches, was with
the seel [roll] of the ship thrown into the
sea, but caught hold of the topsail
halliards, which hung overboard and ran out
at length; yet he held his hold, though he
was sundry fathoms under water, till he was
hauled up by the same rope to the brim of
the water, and then with a boathook and
other means got into the ship again and his
life saved. He was something ill with it.
The equinoctial disturbances over and the
strong October gales, the milder, warmer
weather of late October followed.
Mistress Elizabeth Hopkins, wife of Master
Stephen Hopkins, of Billericay, in Essex,
was delivered of a son, who, on account of
the circumstances of his birth, was named
Oceanus, the first birth aboard the ship
during the voyage.
A succession of fine days, with favoring
winds.
MONDAY Nov. 6/16
William Butten; a youth, servant to Doctor
Samuel Fuller, died. The first of the
passengers to die on this voyage.
MONDAY Nov. 7/17
The body of William Butten committed to the
deep. The first burial at sea of a
passenger, on this voyage.
MONDAY Nov. 8/18
Signs of land.
MONDAY Nov. 9/19
Closing in with the land at nightfall.
Sighted land at daybreak. The landfall
made out to be Cape Cod the bluffs [in what
is now the town of Truro, Mass.]. After a
conference between the Master of the ship
and the chief colonists, tacked about and
stood for the southward. Wind and weather
fair. Made our course S.S.W., continued
proposing to go to a river ten leagues
south of the Cape Hudson\x92s River. After
had sailed that course about half the day
fell amongst dangerous shoals and foaming
breakers [the shoals off Monomoy] got out of
them before night and the wind being
contrary put round again for the Bay of
Cape Cod. Abandoned efforts to go further
south and so announced to passengers.
[Bradford (Historie, Mass. ed. p. 93) says: \x93They resolved to bear
up again for the Cape.\x94 No one will question that Jones\x92s assertion
of inability to proceed, and his announced determination to return
to Cape Cod harbor, fell upon many acquiescent ears, for, as Winslow
says: \x93Winter was come; the seas were dangerous; the season was
cold; the winds were high, and the region being well furnished for a
plantation, we entered upon discovery.\x94 Tossed for sixty-seven days
on the north Atlantic at that season of the year, their food and
firing well spent, cold, homesick, and ill, the bare thought of once
again setting foot on any land, wherever it might be, must have been
an allurement that lent Jones potential aid in his high-handed
course.]
SATURDAY Nov. 11/21
Comes in with light, fair wind. On course
for Cape Cod harbor, along the coast. Some
hints of disaffection among colonists, on
account of abandonment of location
[Bradford (in Mourt\x92s Relation) says: \x93This day before we come to
harbor Italics the author\x92s, observing some not well affected to
unity and concord, but gave some appearance of faction, it was
thought good there should be an Association and Agreement that we
should combine together in one body; and to submit to such
Government and Governors as we should, by common consent, agree to
make and choose, and set our hands to this that follows word for
word.\x94 Then follows the Compact. Bradford is even more explicit in
his Historie (Mass. ed. p. 109), where he says: \x93I shall a little
returne backe and begin with a combination made by them before they
came ashore, being ye first foundation of their governments in this
place; occasioned partly by ye discontent & mutinous speeches that
some of the strangers amongst them [i.e. not any of the Leyden
contingent had let fall from them in ye ship--That when they came
ashore they would use their owne libertie: for none had power to
command them, the patents they had being for Virginia, and not for
New-England which belonged to another Government, with which ye
London [or First Virginia Company had nothing to doe, and partly
that such an acte by them done . . . might be as firm as any
patent, and in some respects more sure.\x94 Dr. Griffis is hardly
warranted in making Bradford to say, as he does (The Pilgrims in
their Three Homes, p. 182), that \x93there were a few people I
\x91shuffled\x92 in upon them the company who were probably unmitigated
scoundrels.\x94 Bradford speaks only of Billington and his family as
those \x93shuffled into their company,\x94 and while he was not improbably
one of the agitators (with Hopkins) who were the proximate causes of
the drawing up of the Compact, he was not, in this case, the
responsible leader. It is evident from the foregoing that the
\x93appearance of faction\x94 did not show itself until the vessel\x92s prow
was turned back toward Cape Cod Harbor, and it became apparent that
the effort to locate \x93near Hudson\x92s River\x94 was to be abandoned, and
a location found north of 41 degrees north latitude, which would
leave them without charter rights or authority of any kind. It is
undoubtedly history that Master Stephen Hopkins,--then \x93a
lay-reader\x94 for Chaplain Buck,--on Sir Thomas Gates\x92s expedition to
Virginia, had, when some of them were cast away on the Bermudas,
advocated just such sentiments--on the same basis--as were now
bruited upon the MAY-FLOWER, and it could hardly have been
coincidence only that the same were repeated here. That Hopkins
fomented the discord is well-nigh certain. It caused him, as
elsewhere noted, to receive sentence of death for insubordination,
at the hands of Sir Thomas Gates, in the first instance, from which
his pardon was with much difficulty procured by his friends. In the
present case, it led to the drafting and execution of the Pilgrim
Compact, a framework of civil self-government whose fame will never
die; though the author is in full accord with Dr. Young (Chronicles,
p. 120) in thinking that \x93a great deal more has been discovered in
this document than the signers contemplated,\x94--wonderfully
comprehensive as it is. Professor Herbert B. Adams, of Johns
Hopkins University, says in his admirable article in the Magazine of
American History, November, 1882 (pp--798 799): \x93The fundamental
idea of this famous document was that of a contract based upon the
common law of England,\x94--certainly a stable and ancient basis of
procedure. Their Dutch training (as Griffis points out) had also
led naturally to such ideas of government as the Pilgrims adopted.
It is to be feared that Griffis\x92s inference (The Pilgrims in their
Three Homes, p. 184), that all who signed the Compact could write,
is unwarranted. It is more than probable that if the venerated
paper should ever be found, it would show that several of those
whose names are believed to have been affixed to it \x93made their
\x91mark.\x92\x94 There is good reason, also, to believe that neither
\x93sickness\x94 (except unto death) nor \x93indifference\x94 would have
prevented the ultimate obtaining of the signatures (by \x93mark,\x94 if
need be) of every one of the nine male servants who did not
subscribe, if they were considered eligible. Severe illness was, we
know, answerable for the absence of a few, some of whom died a few
days later.
The fact seems rather to be, as noted, that age--not social status
was the determining factor as to all otherwise eligible. It is
evident too, that the fact was recognized by all parties (by none so
clearly as by Master Jones) that they were about to plant themselves
on territory not within the jurisdiction of their steadfast friends,
the London Virginia Company, but under control of those formerly of
the Second (Plymouth) Virginia Company, who (by the intelligence
they received while at Southampton) they knew would be erected into
the \x93Council for the Affairs of New England.\x94 Goodwin is in error
in saying (Pilgrim Republic, p. 62), \x93Neither did any other body
exercise authority there;\x94 for the Second Virginia Company under Sir
Ferdinando Gorges, as noted, had been since 1606 in control of this
region, and only a week before the Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod (i.e.
on November 3) King James had signed the patent of the Council for
New England, giving them full authority over all territory north of
the forty-first parallel of north latitude, as successors to the
Second Virginia Company. If the intention to land south of the
forty-first parallel had been persisted in, there would, of course,
have been no occasion for the Compact, as the patent to John Pierce
(in their interest) from the London Virginia Company would have been
in force. The Compact became a necessity, therefore, only when they
turned northward to make settlement above 41 deg. north latitude.
Hence it is plain that as no opportunity for \x93faction\x94--and so no
occasion for any \x93Association and Agreement\x94--existed till the
MAY-FLOWER turned northward, late in the afternoon of Friday,
November to, the Compact was not drawn and presented for signature
until the morning of Saturday, November 11. Bradford\x92s language,
\x93This day, before we came into harbour,\x94 leaves no room for doubt
that it was rather hurriedly drafted--and also signed--before noon
of the 11th. That they had time on this winter Saturday--hardly
three weeks from the shortest day in the year--to reach and
encircle the harbor; secure anchorage; get out boats; arm, equip,
and land two companies of men; make a considerable march into the
land; cut firewood; and get all aboard again before dark, indicates
that they must have made the harbor not far from noon. These facts
serve also to correct another error of traditional Pilgrim history,
which has been commonly current, and into which Davis falls
(Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth, p. 60), viz. that the Compact was
signed \x93in the harbor of Cape Cod.\x94 It is noticeable that the
instrument itself simply says, \x93Cape Cod,\x94 not \x93Cape Cod harbour,\x94
as later they were wont to say. The leaders clearly did not mean
to get to port till there was a form of law and authority.]
for settlement on territory under the
protection of the patent granted in their
interest to John Pierce, by the London
Virginia Company.
[The patent granted John Pierce, one of the Merchant Adventurers,
by the London Virginia Company in the interest of the Pilgrims,
was signed February 2/12, 1619, and of course could convey no rights
to, or upon, territory not conveyed to the Company by its charter
from the King issued in 1606, and the division of territory made
thereunder to the Second Virginia Company. By this division the
London Company was restricted northward by the 41st parallel, as
noted, while the Second Company could not claim the 38th as its
southern bound, as the charter stipulated that the nearest
settlements under the respective companies should not be within one
hundred miles of each other.]
Meeting in main cabin of all adult male
passengers except their two hired seamen,
Trevore and Ely, and those too ill--to make
and sign a mutual \x91Compact\x94
[The Compact is too well known to require reprinting here (see
Appendix); but a single clause of it calls for comment in this
connection. In it the framers recite that, \x93Having undertaken to
plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia,\x94 etc.
From this phraseology it would appear that they here used the words
\x93northern parts of Virginia\x94 understandingly, and with a new
relation and significance, from their connection with the words \x93the
first colony in,\x94 for such declaration could have no force or truth
except as to the region north of 41 deg. north latitude. They knew,
of course, of the colonies in Virginia under Gates, Wingfield,
Smith, Raleigh, and others (Hopkins having been with Gates), and
that, though there had been brief attempts at settlements in the
\x93northern plantations,\x94 there were none there then, and that hence
theirs would be in a sense \x93the first,\x94 especially if considered
with reference to the new Council for New England. The region of
the Hudson had heretofore been included in the term \x93northern parts
of Virginia,\x94 although in the southern Company\x92s limit; but a new
meaning was now designedly given to the words as used in the
Compact, and New England was contemplated. ]
to regulate their civil government. This
done, they confirmed Master Carver their
\x93governour\x94 in the ship on the voyage,
their \x93governour\x94 for the year. Bore up
for the Cape, and by short tacks made the
Cape [Paomet, now Provincetown] Harbor,
coming to an anchorage a furlong within the
point. The bay so circular that before
coming to anchor the ship boxed the compass
[i.e. went clear around all points of it].
Let go anchors three quarters of an English
mile off shore, because of shallow water,
sixty-seven days from Plymouth (Eng.),
eighty-one days from Dartmouth, ninety-nine
days from Southampton, and one hundred and
twenty from London. Got out the long-boat
and set ashore an armed party of fifteen or
sixteen in armor, and some to fetch wood,
having none left, landing them on the long
point or neck, toward the sea.
[The strip of land now known as Long Point, Provincetown (Mass.)
harbor.]
Those going ashore were forced to wade a
bow-shot or two in going aland. The party
sent ashore returned at night having seen
no person or habitation, having laded the
boat with juniper wood.
SUNDAY, Nov. 12/22
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor. All hands
piped to service. Weather mild.
MONDAY, Nov. 13/23
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor, unshipped the
shallop and drew her on land to mend and
repair her.
[Bradford (Historie, Mass. ed. p. 97) says: \x93Having brought a large
shallop with them out of England, stowed in quarters in ye ship they
now gott her out and sett their carpenters to worke to trime her up:
but being much brused and shatered in ye ship with foule weather,
they saw she sould be longe in mending.\x94 In \x91Mourt\x92s Relation\x92 he
says: \x93Monday, the 13th of November, we unshipped our shallop and
drew her on land to mend and repair her, having been forced to cut
her down, in bestowing her betwixt the decks, and she was much
opened, with the peoples lying in her, which kept us long there: for
it was sixteen or seventeen days before the Carpenter had finished
her.\x94 Goodwin says she was \x93a sloop-rigged craft of twelve or
fifteen tons.\x94 There is an intimation of Bradford that she was
\x93about thirty feet long.\x94 It is evident from Bradford\x92s account
(Historie, Mass. ed. p. 105) of her stormy entrance to Plymouth
harbor that the shallop had but one mast, as he says \x93But herewith
they broake their mast in 3 pieces and their saill fell overboard in
a very grown sea.\x94]
Many went ashore to refresh themselves, and
the women to wash.
TUESDAY, Nov. 14/24
Lying at anchor. Carpenter at work on
shallop. Arms and accoutrements being got
ready for an exploring party inland.
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15/25
Lying at anchor in harbor. Master and
boat\x92s crew went ashore, followed in the
afternoon by an armed party of sixteen men
under command of Captain Myles Standish.
Masters William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins,
and Edward Tilley being joined to him for
council. The party to be gone from the
ship a day or two. Weather mild and ground
not frozen.
THURSDAY, Nov. 16/26
Lying at anchor in harbor. Exploring party
still absent from ship. Weather continues
open.
FRIDAY, Nov. 17/27
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Weather open.
Saw signal-fire on the other side of bay
this morning, built by exploring party as
arranged. The Master, Governor Carver, and
many of the company ashore in afternoon,
and met exploring party there on their
return to ship. Hearing their signal-guns
before they arrived at the shore, sent
long-boat to fetch them aboard. They
reported seeing Indians and following them
ten miles without coming up to them the
first afternoon out, and the next day found
store of corn buried, and a big ship\x92s
kettle, which they brought to the ship with
much corn. Also saw deer and found
excellent water.
SATURDAY, Nov. 18/28
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Planters
helving tools, etc. Carpenter at work on
shallop, which takes more labor than at
first supposed. Weather still moderate.
Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Nov. 19/29
At anchor, Gape Cod harbor. Second Sunday
in harbor. Services aboard ship. Seamen
ashore. Change in weather. Colder.
MONDAY, Nov. 20/30
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Carpenter and
others at work on shallop, getting out
stock for a new shallop, helving tools,
making articles needed, etc.
TUESDAY, Nov. 21/Dec. 1
At anchor in harbor. Much inconvenienced
in going ashore. Can only go and come at
high water except by wading, from which
many have taken coughs and colds.
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22/Dec. 2
At anchor in harbor. Weather cold and
stormy, having changed suddenly.
THURSDAY, Nov. 23/Dec. 3
At anchor in harbor. Cold and stormy.
Work progressing on shallop.
FRIDAY, Nov. 24/Dec. 4
At anchor in harbor. Continues cold and
stormy.
SATURDAY, Nov. 25/Dec. 5
At anchor in harbor. Weather same. Work
on shallop pretty well finished and she can
be used, though more remains to be done.
Another exploration getting ready for
Monday. Master and crew anxious to unlade
and return for England. Fetched wood and
water.
SUNDAY, Nov. 26/Dec. 6
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Third Sunday
here. Master notified Planters that they
must find permanent location and that he
must and would keep sufficient supplies for
ship\x92s company and their return.
[Bradford, Historie, Mass. ed. p. 96. The doubt as to how the
ship\x92s and the colonists\x92 provisions were divided and held is again
suggested here. It is difficult, however, to understand how the
Master \x93must and would\x94 retain provisions with his small force
against the larger, if it came to an issue of strength between Jones
and Standish.]
MONDAY, Nov. 27/Dec. 7
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Rough weather
and cross winds. The Planters determined
to send out a strong exploring party, and
invited the Master of the ship to join them
and go as leader, which he agreed continued
to, and offered nine of the crew and the
long-boat, which were accepted. Of the
colonists there were four-and-twenty,
making the party in all four-and-thirty.
Wind so strong that setting out from the
ship the shallop and long-boat were obliged
to row to the nearest shore and the men to
wade above the knees to land. The wind
proved so strong that the shallop was
obliged to harbor where she landed. Mate
in charge of ship. Blowed and snowed all
day and at night, and froze withal.
Mistress White delivered of a son which is
called \x93Peregrine.\x94 The second child born
on the voyage, the first in this harbor.
TUESDAY, Nov. 28/Dec. 8
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Cold. Master
Jones and exploring party absent on shore
with long-boat and colonists\x92 shallop. The
latter, which beached near ship yesterday
in a strong wind and harbored there last
night, got under way this morning and
sailed up the harbor, following the course
taken by the long-boat yesterday, the wind
favoring. Six inches of snow fell
yesterday and last night. Crew at work
clearing snow from ship.
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 29/Dec. 9
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Cold. Foul
weather threatening. Master Jones with
sixteen men in the long-boat and shallop
came aboard towards night (eighteen men
remaining ashore), bringing also about ten
bushels of Indian corn which had been found
buried. The Master reports a long march,
the exploration of two creeks, great
numbers of wild fowl, the finding of much
corn and beans,\x92 etc.
[This seems to be the first mention of beans (in early Pilgrim
literature) as indigenous (presumably) to New England. They have
held an important place in her dietary ever since.]
THURSDAY, Nov. 30/Dec. 10
At anchor in harbor. Sent shallop to head
of harbor with mattocks and spades, as
desired by those ashore, the seamen taking
their muskets also. The shallop came
alongside at nightfall with the rest of the
explorers--the tide being out--bringing a
lot of Indian things, baskets, pottery,
wicker-ware, etc., discovered in two graves
and sundry Indian houses they found after
the Master left them. They report ground
frozen a foot deep.
FRIDAY, Dec. 1/11
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. Carpenter
finishing work on shallop. Colonists
discussing locations visited, as places for
settlement.
SATURDAY, Dec. 2/12
At anchor in harbor. Much discussion among
colonists as to settlement, the Master
insisting on a speedy determination.
Whales playing about the ship in
considerable numbers. One lying within
half a musket-shot of the ship, two of the
Planters shot at her, but the musket of the
one who gave fire first blew in pieces both
stock and barrel, yet no one was hurt.
Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Dec. 3/13
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor. The fourth
Sunday here. Scarce any of those aboard
free from vehement coughs, some very ill.
Weather very variable.
MONDAY, Dec. 4/14
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor. Carpenter
completing repairs on shallop. Much
discussion of plans for settlement. The
Master urging that the Planters should
explore with their shallop at some
distance, declining in such season to stir
from the present anchorage till a safe
harbor is discovered by them where they
would be and he might go without danger.
This day died Edward Thompson, a servant of
Master William White, the first to die
aboard the ship since she anchored in the
harbor. Burying-party sent ashore after
services to bury him.
TUESDAY, Dec. 5/15
At anchor in harbor. Francis Billington, a
young son of one of the passengers, put the
ship and all in great jeopardy, by shooting
off a fowling-piece in his father\x92s cabin
between decks where there was a small
barrel of powder open, and many people
about the fire close by. None hurt.
Weather cold and foul.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 6/16
At anchor in harbor. Very cold, bad
weather. This day died Jasper More, a lad
bound to Governor Carver. The second death
in the harbor. The third exploring party
got away from the ship in the afternoon in
the shallop, intent on finding a harbor
recommended by the second mate, Robert
Coppin, who had visited it. Captain
Standish in command, with whom were
Governor Carver, Masters Bradford, Winslow,
John Tilley and Edward Tilley, Warren and
Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Dotey, and
two of the colonists\x92 seamen, Alderton and
English, and of the ship\x92s company, the
mates Clarke and Coppin, the master-gunner
and three sailors, eighteen in all. The
shallop was a long time getting clear of
the point, having to row, but at last got
up her sails and out of the harbor. Sent
burying-party ashore with body of little
More boy, after services aboard.
THURSDAY, Dec. 7/17
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor. This day
Mistress Dorothy Bradford, wife of Master
Bradford, who is away with the exploring
party to the westward, fell over board and
was drowned.
FRIDAY, Dec. 8/18
At anchor in harbor. A strong south-east
gale with heavy rain, turning to snow and
growing cold toward night, as it cleared.
This day Master James Chilton died aboard
the ship. The third passenger, and first
head of a family; to die in this harbor.
SATURDAY, Dec. 9/19
At anchor in harbor. Burying-party sent
ashore after services aboard, to bury
Chilton. Fetched wood and water.
[The death of Chilton was the first of the head of a family, and it
may readily be imagined that the burial was an especially affecting
scene, especially as following so closely upon the tragic death of
Mrs. Bradford (for whom no funeral or burial arrangements are
mentioned?? D.W.)]
SUNDAY, Dec. 10/20
At anchor in Cape Cod harbor. The fifth
Sunday in this harbor. The exploring party
still absent. Four deaths one by drowning;
very severe weather; the ship\x92s narrow
escape from being blown up; and the absence
of so many of the principal men, have made
it a hard, gloomy week.
MONDAY, Dec. 11/21
At anchor in harbor. Clear weather.
TUESDAY, Dec. 12/22
At anchor in harbor. Exploration party
still absent.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13/23
At anchor in harbor. Exploration party
returned to ship, where much sad
intelligence met them (especially Master
Bradford), as to his wife\x92s drowning. The
exploring party report finding a
considerable Indian burying-place; several
Indian houses; a fierce attack on them by
Indians on Friday morning, but without
harm; a severe gale on the same afternoon,
in which their rudder-hinges broke, their
mast was split in three pieces, their sail
fell over board in a heavy sea, and they
were like to have been cast away in making
a harbor which Master Coppin thought he
knew, but was deceived about. They landed
on an island at the mouth of the harbor,
which they named for Master Clarke, the
first mate, and spent Saturday and Sunday
there, and on Monday examined the harbor
they found, and are agreed that it is the
place for settlement. Much satisfaction
with the report among the colonists.
THURSDAY, Dec. 14/24
At anchor, Cape Cod harbor. The colonists
have determined to make settlement at the
harbor they visited, and which is
apparently, by Captain John Smith\x92s chart
of 1616, no other than the place he calls
\x93Plimoth\x94 thereon. Fetched wood and water.
FRIDAY, Dec. 15/25
Weighed anchor to go to the place the
exploring party discovered. Course west,
after leaving harbor. Shallop in company.
Coming within two leagues, the wind coming
northwest, could not fetch the harbor, and
was faine to put round again towards Cape
Cod. Made old anchorage at night. The
thirty-fifth night have lain at anchor
here. Shallop returned with ship.
SATURDAY, Dec. 16/26
Comes in with fair wind for Plymouth.
Weighed anchor and put to sea again and made
harbor safely. Shallop in company. Within
half an hour of anchoring the wind changed,
so if letted [hindered] but a little had
gone back to Cape Cod. A fine harbor.
Let go anchors just within a long spur of
beach a mile or more from shore. The end of
the outward voyage; one hundred and two days
from Plymouth (England to Plymouth New
England). One hundred and fifty-five days
from London.
THE SHIPS JOURNAL WHILE SHE LAY IN
PLYMOUTH HARBOR
SUNDAY, Dec. 17/27
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Services on
ship. This harbor is a bay greater than
Cape Cod, compassed with goodly land. It is
in fashion like a sickle or fish-hook.
MONDAY, Dec. 18/28
At anchor, Plymouth harbor: The Master of
the ship, with three or four of the sailors
and several of the Planters, went aland and
marched along the coast several miles.
Made careful examination of locality. Found
many brooks of fine water, abundant wood,
etc. The party came aboard at night weary
with marching.
TUESDAY, Dec. 19/29
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. A party from
the ship went ashore to discover, some
going by land and some keeping to the
shallop. A creek was found leading up
within the land and followed up three
English miles, a very pleasant river at
full sea. It was given the name of \x93Jones
River\x94 in compliment to the Master of the
ship. A bark of thirty tons may go up at
high tide, but the shallop could scarcely
pass at low water. All came aboard at
night with resolution to fix, to-morrow,
which of the several places examined they
would settle upon.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20/30
At anchor, Plymouth harbor, many ill. Dec.
After service the colonists decided to go
ashore this morning and determine upon one
of two places which were thought most
fitting for their habitation. So a
considerable party went ashore and left
twenty of their number there to make a
rendezvous, the rest coming on board at
night. They reported that they had chosen
by the most voices the site first looked at
by the largest brook, near where they
landed on the 11th on a large rock
[Plymouth Rock].
[The \x93Rock\x94 seems to have become the established landing place of
the Pilgrims, from the time of the first visit of the third
exploring party on December 11/21. The absurdity of the claims of
the partisans of Mary Chilton, in the foolish contention which
existed for many years as to whether she or John Alden was the first
person to set foot upon the \x93Rock,\x94 is shown by the fact that, of
course, no women were with the third exploring party which first
landed there, while it is also certain that Alden was not of that
exploring party. That Mary Chilton may have been the first woman to
land at Cape Cod harbor is entirely possible, as it is that she or
John Alden may have been the first person to land on the \x93Rock\x94
after the ship arrived in Plymouth harbor. It was a vexatious
travesty upon history (though perpetuated by parties who ought to
have been correct) that the Association for building the Pilgrim
Monument at Plymouth should issue a pamphlet giving a picture of the
\x93Landing of the Pilgrims, December 21, 1620,\x94 in which women are
pictured, and in which the shallop is shown with a large
fore-and-aft mainsail, while on the same page is another picture
entitled, \x93The Shallop of the MAY-FLOWER,\x94 having a large yard and
square-sail, and a \x93Cuddy\x94 (which last the MAY-FLOWER\x92S shallop we
know did not have). The printed description of the picture,
however, says: \x93The cut is copied from a picture by Van der Veldt,
a Dutch painter of the seventeenth century, representing a
shallop,\x94 etc. It is matter of regret to find that a book like
Colonel T. W. Higginson\x92s \x91Book of American Explorers\x92, intended
for a text-book, and bearing the imprint of a house like Longmans,
Green & Co. should actually print a \x93cut\x94 showing Mary Chilton
landing from a boat full of men (in which she is the only woman)
upon a rock, presumably Plymouth Rock.]
THURSDAY, Dec. 21/31
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. Wet and
stormy, so the Planters could not go ashore
as planned, having blown hard and rained
extremely all night. Very uncomfortable
for the party on shore. So tempestuous
that the shallop could not go to land as
soon as was meet, for they had no victuals
on land. About eleven o\x92clock the shallop
went off with much ado with provision, but
could not return, it blew so strong. Such
foul weather forced to ride with three
anchors ahead. This day Richard
Britteridge, one of the colonists, died
aboard the ship, the first to die in this
harbor.
FRIDAY, Dec. 22/Jan. 1
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. The storm
continues, so that no one could go ashore,
or those on land come aboard. This morning
goodwife Allerton was delivered of a son,
but dead-born. The third child born on
board the ship since leaving England,--the
first in this harbor.
SATURDAY, Dec. 23/Jan. 2
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Sent body of
Britteridge ashore for burial, the storm
having prevented going before, and also a
large party of colonists to fell timber,
etc. Left a large number on shore at the
rendezvous. Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Dec. 24/Jan. 3
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. Second Sunday
here. This day died Solomon Prower, one of
the family of Master Martin, the treasurer
of the colonists, being the sixth death
this month, and the second in this harbor.
A burying-party went ashore with Prower\x92s
body, after services aboard.
MONDAY, Dec. 25/Jan. 4
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Christmas
Day, but not observed by these colonists,
they being opposed to all saints\x92 days,
etc. The men on shore Sunday reported that
they \x93heard a cry of some savages,\x94 as they
thought, that day. A large party went
ashore this morning to fell timber and
begin building. They began to erect the
first house about twenty feet square for
their common use, to receive them and their
goods. Another alarm as of Indians this
day. All but twenty of the Planters came
aboard at night, leaving the rest to keep
court of guard. The colonists began to
drink water, but at night the Master caused
them to have some beer.
TUESDAY, Dec. 26/Jan. 5
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. A violent
storm of wind and rain. The weather so
foul this morning that none could go
ashore.
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 27/Jan. 6
At anchor in harbor. Sent working party
ashore. All but the guard came aboard at
night.
THURSDAY, Dec. 28/Jan. 7
At anchor. All able went ashore this
morning to work on a platform for ordnance
on the hill back of the settlement,
commanding the harbor. The Planters this
day laid out their town-site and allotted
ground to the several families. Many of
the colonists ill from exposure. All but
the guard came off to the ship at night.
FRIDAY, Dec. 29/Jan. 8
At anchor in harbor. No working-party went
aland. The Planters fitting tools, etc.,
for their work. The weather wet and cold.
SATURDAY, Dec. 30/Jan. 9
At anchor in harbor. Very stormy and cold.
No working-party sent aland. The Planters
fitting tools, etc. Great smokes of fires
visible from the ship, six or seven miles
away, probably made by Indians.
SUNDAY, Dec. 31/Jan. 10
At anchor in harbor. The third Sunday in
this harbor. Sailors given leave to go
ashore. Many colonists ill.
MONDAY, Jan. 1/Jan. 11
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. This day
Degory Priest, one of the colonists, died
aboard the ship. A large party went ashore
early to work. Much time lost between ship
and shore, the ship drawing so much water
as obliged to anchor a mile and a half off.
The working-party came aboard at nightfall.
Fetched wood and water.
TUESDAY, Jan. 2/Jan. 12
At anchor in harbor. Sent burying-party
ashore with Priest\x92s body. Weather good.
Working-party aland and returned to ship at
night.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3/Jan. 13
At anchor in harbor. Working-party aland,
returned at night. They report seeing
great fires of the Indians. Smoke seen
from the ship. Have seen no savages since
arrival.
THURSDAY, Jan. 4/Jan. 14
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Captain
Standish, with four or five men, went to
look for savages, and though they found
some of their old houses \x93wigwams\x94 could
not meet with any of them.
FRIDAY, Jan. 5/Jan. 15
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Working-
party went aland early. One of the sailors
found a live herring upon the shore, which
the Master had to his supper. As yet have
caught but one cod.
SATURDAY, Jan. 6/Jan. 16
At anchor in harbor. In judgment of
Masters Brewster, Bradford, and others,
Master Martin, the colonists\x92 treasurer,
was so hopelessly ill that Governor Carver,
who had taken up his quarters on land, was
sent for to come aboard to speak with him
about his accounts. Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Jan. 7/Jan. 17
At anchor in harbor. Fourth Sunday here.
Governor Carver came aboard to talk with
Master Martin, who was sinking fast.
MONDAY, Jan. 8/Jan. 18
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. A very fan
fair day. The working-party went aland
early. The Master sent, the shallop for
fish. They had a great tempest at sea and
were in some danger. They returned to the
ship at night, with three great seals they
had shot, and an excellent great cod.
Master Martin died this day. He had been a
\x93governour\x94 of the passengers on the ship,
and an \x93assistant,\x94 and was an Adventurer.
One of the Master-mates took a musket, and
went with young Francis Billington to find
the great inland sea the latter had seen
from the top of a tree, and found a great
water, in two great lakes [Billington Sea,]
also Indian houses.
TUESDAY, Jan. 9/Jan. 19
At anchor in harbor. Fair day. Sent
burying-party ashore after services aboard,
with the body of Master Martin, and he was
buried with some ceremony on the hill near
the landing-place. The settlers drew lots
for their meersteads and garden-plots. The
common-house nearly finished, wanting only
covering.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10/Jan. 20
At anchor in harbor. Party went aland from
ship. Frosty.
THURSDAY, Jan. 11/Jan. 21
At anchor in harbor. A fair day. Party
ashore from ship and coming off at night,
reported Master William Bradford very ill:
Many ill aboard.
FRIDAY, Jan. 12/Jan. 22
At anchor in harbor. Began to rain at noon
and stopped all work. Those coming aboard
ship at night reported John Goodman and
Peter Browne, two of the colonists,
missing, and fears entertained that they
may have been taken by Indians. Froze and
snowed at night. The first snow for a
month. An extremely cold night.
SATURDAY, Jan. 13/Jan. 23
At anchor in harbor. The Governor sent out
an armed party of ten or twelve to look for
the missing men, but they returned without
seeing or hearing anything at all of them.
Those on shipboard much grieved, as deeming
them lost. Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Jan. 14/Jan. 24
At anchor in harbor. About six o\x92clock in
the morning, the wind being very great, the
watch on deck spied the great new
rendezvous on shore on fire and feared it
fired by Indians, but the tide being out,
men could not get ashore for three quarters
of an hour, when they went armed. At the
landing they heard that the lost men were
returned, some frost-bitten, and that the
thatch of the common-house only was burnt
by a spark, but no other harm done the
roof. The most loss was Governor Carver\x92s
and Master Bradford\x92s, both of whom lay
sick in bed, and narrowly missed being
blown up with powder. The meeting was to
have been kept ashore to-day, the greater
number of the people now being there, but
the fire, etc., prevented. Some of those
sick in the common-house were fain to
return aboard for shelter. Fifth Sunday in
this harbor.
MONDAY, Jan. 15/Jan. 25
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Rained much
all day. They on shipboard could not go
ashore nor they on shore do any labor, but
were all wet.
TUESDAY, Jan. 16/Jan. 26
At anchorage. A fine, sunshining day like
April. Party went aland betimes. Many ill
both on ship and on shore.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17/Jan. 27
At anchorage. Another fine, sunshining
day. Working-party went aland early. Set
on shore some of the Planters\x92 goods.
[Mourt\x92s Relation, Dexter\x92s ed. p. 77. Bradford states (op. cit.
Mass. ed. p. 110) that they were hindered in getting goods ashore
by \x93want of boats,\x94 as well as sickness. Mention is made only of
the \x93long-boat\x94 and shallop. It is possible there were no others,
except the Master\x92s skiff]
THURSDAY, Jan. 18/Jan. 28
At anchorage. Another fine, bright day.
Some of the common goods [i.e. belonging
to all] set on shore.
FRIDAY, Jan. 19/Jan. 29
At anchorage. A shed was begun on shore to
receive the goods from the ship. Rained at
noon but cleared toward night.
[Cleared toward evening (though wet at noon), and John Goodman went
out to try his frozen feet, as is recorded, and had his encounter
with wolves.]
SATURDAY, Jan. 20/Jan. 30
At anchorage. Shed made ready for goods
from ship. Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Jan. 21/Jan. 31
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Sixth Sunday
in this harbor. Many ill. The Planters
kept their meeting on land to-day for the
first time, in the common-house.
MONDAY, Jan. 22/Feb. 1
At anchorage. Fair day. Hogsheads of meal
sent on shore from ship and put in
storehouse.
TUESDAY, Jan. 23/Feb. 2
At anchorage. The general sickness
increases, both on shipboard and on land.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24/Feb. 3
At anchor in harbor. Fair weather. Party
on shore from ship and returned at night.
THURSDAY, Jan. 25/Feb. 4
At anchorage. Weather good. Party set
ashore and came aboard at night.
FRIDAY, Jan. 26/Feb. 5
At anchorage. Weather good. Party set
ashore. The sickness increases.
SATURDAY, Jan. 27/Feb. 6
At anchorage. Weather fair. Good working
weather all the week, but many sick.
Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Jan. 28/Feb. 7
At anchorage, Plymouth harbor. Seventh
Sunday in this harbor. Meeting kept on
shore. Those of Planters on board who were
able, and some of the ship\x92s company, went
ashore, and came off after service.
MONDAY, Jan. 29/Feb. 8
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. Morning cold,
with frost and sleet, but after reason ably
fair. Both long-boat and shallop carrying
Planters\x92 goods on shore. Those returning
reported that Mistress Rose Standish, wife
of Captain Standish, died to-day.
TUESDAY, Jan. 30/Feb. 9
At anchorage. Cold, frosty weather, so no
working-party went on shore from ship. The
Master and others of the ship\x92s company saw
two savages that had been on the island
near the ship [Clarke\x92s Island]. They were
gone so far back again before they were
discovered that could not speak with them.
The first natives actually seen since the
encounter on the Cape.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31/Feb. 10
At anchor in harbor. Still cold and
frosty, with sleet. No party went on
shore. Eight of the colonists have died
this month on the ship and on shore.
THURSDAY, Feb. 1/Feb. 11
At anchor in harbor. Weather better, and
some of those on board the ship went on
shore to work, but many ill.
FRIDAY, Feb. 2/Feb. 12
At anchorage. The same.
SATURDAY, Feb. 3/13
At anchorage. Weather threatening. Fetched
wood and water.
SUNDAY, Feb. 4/14
At anchor, Plymouth harbor. The eighth
Sunday in this harbor, and now inexpedient
to think of getting away, till both Planters
and crew in better condition as to health.
[Bradford, Historie, p. 92; Young, Chronicler, p. 198. Bradford
says (op. cit. Mass. ed, pp. 120, 121): \x93The reason on their parts
why she stayed so long was ye necessitie and danger that lay upon
them, for it was well toward ye ende of December before she could
land anything here, or they able to receive anything ashore. After
wards, ye 14 of January the house which they had made for a general
randevoze by casulty fell afire, and some were faine to retire
aboard for shelter. Then the sickness begane to fall sore amongst
them, and ye weather so bad as they could not make much sooner
dispatch. Againe, the Governor & chiefe of them seeing so many dye,
and fall down sick dayly, thought it no wisdom to send away the
ship, their condition considered, and the danger they stood in from
ye Indians, till they could procure some shelter; and therefore
thought it better to draw some more charge upon themselves & friends
[\x93demurrage?\x94] than hazard all. The Mr. and sea-men likewise;
though before they hasted ye passengers a shore to be goone [gone],
now many of their men being dead, and of ye ablest of them [as is
before noted, and of ye rest many lay sick & weake, ye Mr, durst not
put to sea till he saw his men begine to recover, and ye hart of
winter over.\x94]]
A very rainy day with the heaviest gusts of
wind yet experienced. The ship in some
danger of oversetting, being light and
unballasted.
MONDAY, Feb. 5/15
At anchor in harbor. Clearing weather.
TUESDAY, Feb. 6/16
At anchor in harbor. Cold and clear.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7/17
At anchor in harbor. Much colder.
THURSDAY, Feb. 8/18
At anchorage. Hard, cold weather.
FRIDAY, Feb. 9/19
At anchorage. Cold weather continues.
Little work possible. The little house for
the sick people on shore took fire this
afternoon, by a spark that kindled in the
roof. No great harm done. The Master
going ashore, killed five geese, which he
distributed among the sick people. He also
found a good deer the savages had killed,
having also cut off his horns. A wolf was
eating him. Cannot conceive how he came
there.
SATURDAY, Feb. 10/20
At anchor in harbor. Getting goods on
shore, but sickness makes both Planters and
crew shorthanded. Fetched wood and water.
SUNDAY, Feb. 11/21
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. Ninth Sunday
in this harbor.
MONDAY, Feb. 12/22
At anchorage. Getting goods on shore.
TUESDAY, Feb. 13/23
At anchorage. Rainy.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 14/24
At anchorage. More sickness on ship and on
shore than at any time, and more deaths.
Rainy, clearing.
[The sickness and mortality had rapidly increased and was now at its
height]
THURSDAY, Feb. 15/25
At anchorage. Northerly wind and frost.
FRIDAY, Feb. 16/26
At anchorage. Northerly wind continues,
which continues the frost. Those from
shore reported that one of the Planters,
being out fowling and hidden in the reeds,
about a mile and a half from the
settlement, saw twelve Indians marching
toward the plantation and heard many more.
He hurried home with all speed and gave the
alarm, so all the people in the woods at
work returned and armed themselves, but saw
nothing of the Indians. Captain Standish\x92s
and Francis Cooke\x92s tools also stolen by
Indians in woods. A great fire toward
night seen from the ship, about where the
Indians were discovered.
SATURDAY, Feb. 17/27
At anchorage. All the colonists on the
ship able to go on shore went this morning
to attend the meeting for the establishment
of military orders among them. They chose
Captain Standish their captain, and gave
him authority of command in affairs. Two
savages appeared on the hill, a quarter of
a mile from the plantation, while the
Planters were consulting, and made signs
for Planters to come to them. All armed
and stood ready, and sent two towards them,
Captain Standish and Master Hopkins, but
the natives would not tarry. It was
determined to plant the great ordnance in
convenient places at once. Fetched wood
and water.
SUNDAY, Feb. 18/28
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. The Feb.
tenth Sunday in this harbor. Many sick,
both on board the ship and on shore.
MONDAY, Feb. 19/Mar. 1
At anchorage. Got one of the great guns on
shore with the help of some of the
Planters.
TUESDAY, Feb. 20/Mar. 2
At anchorage. Getting cannon ashore and
mounted.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21/Mar. 3
At anchorage. The Master, with many of the
sailors, went on shore, taking one of the
great pieces called a minion, and with the
Planters drew it up the hill, with another
piece that lay on the shore, and mounted
them and a saller and two bases--five guns
--on the platform made for them. A hard
day\x92s work. The Master took on shore with
him a very fat goose he had shot, to which
the Planters added a fat crane, a mallard,
and a dried neat\x92s tongue (ox tongue), and
Planters and crew feasted together. When
the Master went on shore, he sent off the
Governor to take the directions of Master
Mullens as to his property, as he was lying
near to death,--as also Master White.
Master Mullens dictated his will to the
Governor, which he noted down, and Giles
Heale, the chirurgeon, and Christopher
Joanes, of the crew, witnessed, they being
left aboard to care for the sick, keep the
ship, etc. Master Mullens and Master White
both died this day. Two others also died.
Got the men aboard about nightfall.
THURSDAY, Feb. 22/Mar. 4
At anchorage. Large burial-party went
ashore with bodies of Masters Mullens and
White, and joined with those on shore made
the chief burial thus far had. The service
on shore, the most of the people being
there, Master Mullens being one of the
chief subscribing Adventurers, as well as
one of the chief men of the Planters, as
was Master White. Their deaths much
deplored.
FRIDAY, Feb. 23/Mar. 5
At anchorage. Party from the ship went on
shore to help finish work on the ordnance.
SATURDAY, Feb. 24/Mar. 6
At anchorage. Same. Fetched wood and
water.
SUNDAY, Feb. 25/Mar. 7
At anchorage in Plymouth harbor. Eleventh
Sunday in this harbor. Mistress Mary
Allerton, wife of Master Isaac Allerton,
one of the chief men of the colonists, died
on board this day, not having mended well
since the birth of her child, dead-born
about two months agone.
MONDAY, Feb. 26/Mar. 8
At anchor in harbor. Burying-party went
ashore to bury Mistress Allerton, services
being held there.
TUESDAY, Feb. 27/Mar. 9
At anchorage. The sickness and deaths of
the colonists on shore have steadily
increased, and have extended to the ship,
which has lost several of its petty
officers, including the master gunner,
three quarter-masters, and cook, and a
third of the crew, many from scurvy.
[There can be no doubt that both planters and ship\x92s crew suffered
severely from scurvy. The conditions all favored it, the sailors
were familiar with it, and would not be likely to be mistaken in
their recognition of it, and Dr. Fuller, their competent physician,
would not be likely to err in his diagnosis of it. Tuberculosis was
its very natural associate.]
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28/Mar. 10
At anchorage. The last day of the month.
The fifty-third day the ship has lain in
this harbor, and from the present rate of
sickness and death aboard, no present
capacity or prospect of getting away, those
better being yet weak. The Planters have
lost seventeen this month, their largest
mortality.
THURSDAY, Mar. 1/11
At anchorage. Blustering but milder
weather.
FRIDAY, Mar. 2/12
At anchorage. Same.
SATURDAY, Mar. 3/13
At anchorage. Wind south. Morning misty
[foggy]. Towards noon warm and fine
weather. At one o\x92clock it thundered. The
first heard. It rained sadly from two
o\x92clock till midnight. Fetched wood and
water.
SUNDAY, Mar. 4/14
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. The twelfth
Sunday in this harbor. Cooler. Clear
weather.
MONDAY, Mar. 5/15
At anchorage. Rough weather.
TUESDAY, Mar. 6/16
At anchorage. Same.
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 7/17
At anchor in harbor. Wind full east, cold
but fair. The Governor went this day with
a party of five, to the great ponds,
discovered by one of the ship\x92s mates and
Francis Billington. Some planting done in
the settlement.
THURSDAY, Mar. 8/18
At anchor in harbor. Rough easterly
weather.
FRIDAY, Mar. 9/19
At anchorage. Same. Many sick aboard.
SATURDAY, Mar. 10/20
At anchorage. Same. Fetched wood and
water.
SUNDAY, Mar. 11/21
At anchorage, Plymouth harbor. The
thirteenth Sunday the ship has lain in this
harbor. Many of crew yet ill, including
boatswain.
MONDAY, Mar. 12/22
At anchorage. Easterly weather.
TUESDAY, Mar. 13/23
At anchorage. The sickness and mortality
on ship and on shore continue.
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 14/24
At anchorage. Same.
THURSDAY, Mar. 15/25
At anchorage. Same.
FRIDAY, Mar. 16/26
At anchorage. A fair, warm day, towards
noon. The Master and others went ashore to
the general meeting. The plantation was
startled this morning by a visit from an
Indian who spoke some English and bade
\x93Welcome.\x94 He is from Monhiggon, an island
to the eastward some days\x92 sail, near where
Sir Ferdinando Gorges had a settlement. He
was friendly, and having had much
intercourse with Englishmen who came to
fish in those parts, very comfortable with
them. He saw the ship in the harbor from a
distance and supposed her to be a fishing
vessel. He told the Governor that the
plantation was formerly called \x93Patuxet\x94
[or Apaum], and that all its inhabitants
had been carried off by a plague about four
years ago. All the afternoon was spent in
communication with him. The Governor
purposed sending him aboard the ship at
night, and he was well content to go and
went aboard the shallop to come to the
ship, but the wind was high and water scant
[low], so that the shallop could not go to
the ship. The Governor sent him to Master
Hopkins\x92s house and set a watch over him.
SATURDAY, Mar. 17/27
At anchor in harbor. The Master and others
came off to the ship. Samoset the Indian
went away back to the Massasoits whence he
came. A reasonably fair day. Fetched wood
and water.
SUNDAY, Mar. 18/28
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. The
fourteenth Sunday the ship has lain at this
anchorage. A fair day. The sickness
stayed a little. Many went on shore to the
meeting in the common-house. Samoset the
savage came again, and brought five others
with him.
[This Sunday visit was doubtless very much to the dislike of the
good brethren, or at least of the leaders, but policy dictated every
possible forbearance. Their consciences drew the line at trade,
however, and they got rid of their untimely visitors as soon as
possible without giving offense. Massasoit\x92s men seem to have
shown, by leaving their peltry with them, a confidence in their new
white neighbors that is remarkable in view of the brevity of their
friendship.]
They left their bows and arrows a quarter
of a mile from the town, as instructed.
The Planters gave them entertainment, but
would not truck with them.
[\x93Truck--to trade.\x94 All early and modern lexicographers give the
word, which, though now obsolete, was in common use in parts of New
England fifty years ago.]
They sang and danced after their manner,
and made semblance of amity and friendship.
They drank tobacco and carried pounded corn
to eat. Their faces were painted. They
brought a few skins which they left with
the Planters, and returned the tools which
Captain Standish and Francis Cooke left in
the woods. The Planters dismissed them
with a few trifles as soon as they could,
it being Sunday, and they promised soon to
return and trade. Samoset would not go
with them, feigning sick, and stayed.
Those on shore from the ship came off to
her at night.
MONDAY, Mar. 19/29
At anchorage. A fair day. The Planters
digging and sowing seeds.
TUESDAY, Mar. 20/30
At anchorage. A fine day. Digging and
planting of gardens on shore. Those sick
of the crew mending.
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 21/31
At anchorage. A fine warm day. Beginning
to put ship in trim for return voyage.
Bringing ballast, etc. Some, including
the Masters-mates, went on shore, who on
return reported that the Planters sent the
Indian Samoset away. A general meeting of
the Planters was held at the common-house,
to conclude laws and orders, and to confirm
the military orders formerly proposed, and
twice broken off by the savages coming, as
happened again. After the meeting had held
an hour or so, two or three savages
appeared on the hill over against the town,
and made semblance of daring the Planters.
Captain Standish and another, with their
muskets, went over to them, with the two
Masters-mates of the ship, who were ashore,
also armed with muskets. The savages made
show of defiance, but as our men drew near
they ran away. This day the carpenter, who
has long been ill of scurvy, fitted the
shallop to carry all the goods and
furniture aboard the ship, on shore.
THURSDAY, Mar. 22/Apr. 1
At anchorage. A very fair, warm day.
At work on ship getting ready for sea,
bringing ballast aboard, etc. Another
general meeting of the Planters which all
able attended. They had scarce been an
hour together when Samoset the Indian came
again with one Squanto, the only native of
Patuxet (where the Planters now inhabit)
surviving, who was one of the twenty captives
carried away from this place by Captain Hunt,
to England. He could speak a little English.
They brought three other Indians with them.
They signified that their great Sagamore,
Masasoyt, was hard by, with Quadequina his
brother, and all their men. They could not
well express what they would in English,
but after an hour the king came to the top
of the hill, over against the plantation,
with his train of about sixty men. Squanto
went to him and brought a message that one
should be sent to parley with him, and Master
Edward Winslow went, to know hisnmind, and
signify the wish of the Governor to have
trading and peace with him, the Governor
sending presents to the king and his brother,
with something to eat and drink.
[Edward Winslow gives us here another proof of that rare
self-sacrifice, that entire devotion to his work, and that splendid
intrepidity which so signally characterized his whole career. At
this most critical moment, the fate of the little colony trembling
in the balance, when there was evident fear of treachery and
surprise on the part of both the English and the savages; though the
wife of his youth lay at the point of death (which came but two days
later), and his heart was heavy with grief; forgetting all but the
welfare of his little band of brethren, he goes forward alone, his
life in his hand, to meet the great sachem surrounded by his whole
tribe, as the calm, adroit diplomatist, upon whom all must depend;
and as the fearless hostage, to put himself in pawn for the savage
chief.]
The king, leaving Master Winslow with
brother, came over the brook, with some
twenty of his men, leaving their bows and
arrows behind them, and giving some six or
seven of their men as hostages for Master
Winslow. Captain Standish, with Master
Williamson, the ship\x92s-merchant, as
interpreter,
[It would seem from the frequent mention of the presence of some of
the ship\x92s company, Master Jones, the \x93Masters-mates,\x94 and now the
\x93ship\x92s-merchant,\x94 that the ship was daily well represented in the
little settlement on shore. The presence of Master Williamson on
this occasion is perhaps readily accounted for. Every other meeting
with the Indians had been unexpected, the present one was
anticipated, and somewhat eagerly, for upon its successful issue
almost everything depended. By this time Standish had probably
become aware that Tisquantum\x92s command of English was very limited,
and he desired all the aid the ship\x92s interpreter could give. By
some means, the sachem and the colonists succeeded in establishing
on this day a very good and lasting understanding.]
and a guard of half a dozen musketeers, met
the king at the brook,
[The guard was probably made thus small to leave the body of the
colonists as strong a reserve force as possible to meet any surprise
attack on the part of the Indians. Colonel Higginson, in his Book
of American Explorers, gives a cut of this meeting of Massasoit and
his pineses with Standish and his guard of honor, but it is
defective in that the guard seems to have advanced to the hill
(\x93Strawberry,\x94 or later \x93Watson\x92s\x94) to meet the sachem, instead of
only to \x93the brook;\x94 and more especially in that there are but two
officers with the \x93six musketeers,\x94 where there ought to be three,
viz. Standish, in command, Edward Window, as the envoy and hostage
(in full armor), and \x93Mr. Williamson,\x94 the ship\x92s-merchant or
purser, as interpreter, perhaps acting as lieutenant of the guard.
It is always matter of regret when books, especially text-books,
written by authors of some repute, and published by reputable
houses, fail, for want of only a little care in the study of the
available history of events they pictorially represent, to make
their pictures and the known facts correspond.]
and they saluted each other, and the guard
conducted the Sagamore to one of the new
houses then building, where were placed a
green rug and three or four cushions. Then
came the Governor with drum and trumpet,
and a guard of musketeers, and they drank
to each other in some strong waters, and
the Governor gave the king and his
followers meat, and they made a treaty in
King James\x92s name, and drank tobacco
together. His face was painted a sad red,
and his head and face were oiled, which
made him look greasy. All his followers
were more or less painted. So after all
was done, the Governor conducted him to the
brook, and his brother came, and was also
feasted, and then conveyed him to the
brook, and Master Winslow returned.
Samoset and Squanto stayed in the town and
the Indians stayed all night in the woods
half a mile away. The last of the
colonists on board the ship went ashore to
remain to-day.
FRIDAY, Mar. 23/Apr. 2
At anchor. A fair day. Some of the ship\x92s
company went on shore. Some of the Indians
came again, and Captain Standish and Master
Allerton went to see the king, and were
welcomed by him. This morning the Indians
stayed till ten or eleven of the clock, and
the Governor, sending for the king\x92s
kettle, filled it with pease, and they went
their way? Making ready for sea, getting
ballast, wood, and water from the shore,
etc. The Planters held a meeting and
concluded both of military orders and some
laws, and chose as Governor, for the coming
year, Master John Carver, who was
\x93governor\x94 on the ship.
SATURDAY, Mar. 24/April 3
At anchorage. The ship\x92s company busy with
preparations for the return voyage,
bringing ballast, wood, and water from the
shore, etc., the ship having no lading for
the return. This day died, on shore,
Mistress Elizabeth Winslow, wife of Master
Winslow. Many still sick. More on the
ship than on shore.
SUNDAY, Mar. 25/April 4
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. The
fifteenth Sunday in this port. Many of the
crew dead and some still sick, but the
sickness and mortality lessening.
MONDAY, Mar. 26/April 5
At anchor. Bringing ballast from shore and
getting ship in trim.
TUESDAY, Mar. 27/April 6
At anchorage. Getting ballast, overhauling
rigging, getting wood, water, etc., from
shore.
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 28/April 7
At anchorage. Same.
THURSDAY, Mar. 29/April 8
At anchorage. The Master offered to take
back any of the colonists who wished to
return to England, but none desired to go.
Getting in stores and ballast.
FRIDAY, Mar. 30/April 9
At anchorage. Hastening all preparations
for sailing. Getting ballast, etc. Water
butts filled.
SATURDAY, Mar. 31/April 10
At anchorage. Setting up rigging, bending
light sails, etc. Getting ballast and wood
from the beach and island. The colonists
have lost thirteen by death the past month,
making in all half of their number.
SUNDAY, April 1/11
At anchor in Plymouth harbor. The
sixteenth Sunday the ship has lain at
anchor here, and to be the last, being
nearly ready to sail. Most of the crew
ashore on liberty. In the sixteen weeks the
ship has lain here, half of her crew (but
none of her officers) have died, and a few
are still weak. Among the petty officers
who have died have been the master gunner,
boatswain, and three quartermasters, beside
the cook, and more than a third of the
sailors. A bad voyage for the owner,
Adventurers, ship, and crew.
MONDAY, April 2/12
Still at anchor, but making last
preparations for voyage. Ship\x92s officers
made farewells on shore. Governor Carver
copied out, and Giles Heale and Chris.
Jones witnessed, Master Mullens\x92s will, to
go to England.
TUESDAY, April 3/13
Still at anchorage, but (near) ready to
sail with a fair wind. Master Williamson,
the ship\x92s-merchant [purser], appointed by
Master Mullens an overseer of his will,
takes copy of same to England for probate,
with many letters, keepsakes, etc., etc.,
to Adventurers and friends. Very little
lading, chiefly skins and roots. Make
adieus to Governor Carver and company.
WEDNESDAY, April 4/14
Still at anchor in Plymouth harbor. Sails
loosened and all ready for departure except
Governor\x92s letters. Last visits of shore
people to ship. Sail with morning tide, if
wind serves. One hundred and ten days in
this harbor.
THURSDAY, April 5/15
Got anchors, and with fair wind got
underway at full tide. Many to bid adieu.
Set colors and gave Planters a parting
salute with the ensign and ordnance.
Cleared the harbor without hindrance, and
laid general course E.S.E. for England
with a fine wind. Took departure from Cape
Cod early in the day, shook off the land
and got ship to rights before night. All
sails set and the ship logging her best.
And so the MAY-FLOWER began her speedy, uneventful, homeward run,
of but thirty-one days, arriving in England May 6, 1621, having been
absent, on her \x93round voyage,\x94 from her sailing port, two hundred and
ninety-six days.
THE END OF THE VOYAGE
AND OF THIS
JOURNAL
AUTHOR\x92S NOTE. Of the \x93Log\x94 Of the MAY-FLOWER, the author is able to
repeat the assurance given as to the brief Journal of the SPEEDWELL, and
is able to say, in the happy phrase of Griffis, \x93I have tried to state
only recorded facts, or to give expression to well grounded inferences.\x94
APPENDIX
In view of the natural wish of many of \x93restricted facilities,\x94 to consult
for themselves the full text of certain of the principal letters and
documents which have imparted much of the most definite and valuable
information concerning the Pilgrim movement, it has been thought well to
include certain of them here verbatim, that they may be of ready
availability to the reader. The list comprises copies of--
I. The Agreement of the Merchant Adventurers and Planters;
II. The Letter of the Leyden Leaders to John Carver and Robert Cushman
(at London), May 31/June 10, 1620;
III. The Letter of Robert Cushman to John Carver (then at Southampton),
Saturday, June 10/20, 1620;
IV. The Letter of Robert Cushman to the Leyden Leaders, June 10/20,
1620;
V. The Letter of Robert Cushman to the Leyden Leaders, Sunday, June
11/21, 1620;
VI. The Letter of Rev. John Robinson to John Carver at London, June
14/24, 1620;
VII. The Letter of the Planters to the Merchant Adventurers from
Southamp ton, August 3, 1620;
VIII. The Letter of Robert Cushman (from Dartmouth) to Edward
Southworth, Thursday, August 17,1620;
IX. The MAY-FLOWER Compact;
X. The Nuncupative Will of Master William Mullens; and
XI. The Letter of \x93One of the Chiefe of ye Companie\x94 (The Merchant
Adventurers), dated at London, April 9, 1623--
Many other early original documents frequently referred to in this volume
are of no less interest than those here given, but most of them have
either had such publication as to be more generally known or accessible,
or involve space and cost disproportionate to their value in this
connection.
I
THE AGREEMENT OF THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS AND PLANTERS
Anno: 1620, July 1.
1. The adventurers & planters doe agree, that every person that goeth
being aged 16. years & upward, be rated at 10li., and ten pounds to be
accounted a single share.
2. That he goeth in person, and furnisheth him selfe out with 10li.
either in money or other provisions, be accounted as haveing 20li. in
stock, and in ye devission shall receive a double share.
3. The persons transported & ye adventurers shall continue their joynt
stock & partnership togeather, ye space of 7 years, (excepte some
unexpected impedimente doe cause ye whole company to agree otherwise,)
during which time, all profits & benifits that are gott by trade,
traffick, trucking, working, fishing, or any other means of any person or
persons, remaine still in ye comone stock untill ye division.
4. That at their coming ther, they chose out such a number of fitt
persons, as may furnish their ships and boats for fishing upon ye sea;
imploying the rest of their severall faculties upon ye land; as building
houses, tilling, and planting ye ground, & makeing shuch comodities as
shall be most usefull for ye collonie.
5. That at ye end of ye 7 years, ye capitall & profits, viz. the
houses, lands, goods and chatels, be equally devided betwixte ye
adventurers, and planters; wch done, every man shall be free from other
of them of any debt or detrimente concerning this adventure.
6. Whosoever cometh to ye colonie hereafter, or putteth any into ye
stock, shall at the ende of ye 7. years be alowed proportionably to ye
time of his so doing.
7. He that shall carie his wife & children, or servants, shall be alowed
for everie person now aged 16. years & upward, a single share in ye
devision, or if he provid them necessaries, a duble share, or if they be
between 10. year old and 16., then 2. of them to be reconed for a person,
both in trasportation and devision.
8. That such children as now goe, & are under ye age of ten years, have
noe other shar in ye devision, but 50. acers of unmanured land.
9. That such persons as die before ye 7. years be expired, their
executors to have their parte or sharr at ye devision, proportionably to
ye time of their life in ye collonie.
10. That all such persons as are of this collonie, are to have their
meate, drink, apparell, and all provissions out of ye comon stock & goods
of ye said collonie.
Governor Bradford adds:--
\x93The chief and principal differences betwene these & the former
[original] conditions, stood in those 2. points; that ye houses, & lands
improved, espetialy gardens & home lotts should remaine undevided wholy
to ye planters at ye 7. years end. 2ly, yt they should have had 2. days
in a weeke for their owne private imploymente, for ye more comforte of
themselves and their families, espetialy such as had families.\x94
[Apparently, as has been noted, neither these articles of agreement, nor
their predecessors which received the approval of the Leyden leaders,
were ever signed by the contracting parties, until Robert Cushman brought
the later draft over in the FORTUNE, in 1621, and the planter body
(advised thereto by Pastor Robinson, who had previously bitterly opposed)
signed them. Much might be truly said on either side of this
controversy--indeed was said at the time; but if the Pilgrims were to
abandon their contention, whatever its merits, in a year\x92s time, as they
did, it would seemingly have been much better not to have begun it, for
it undoubtedly cost them dear.]
II
LETTER OF THE LEYDEN LEADERS TO JOHN CARVER AND
ROBERT CUSHMAN, AT LONDON
May 31/June 10, 1620.
To their loving freinds John Carver and Robart Cushman, these, &c.
Good bretheren, after salutations, &c. We received diverse letters at ye
coming of Mr. [Thomas] Nash & our pilott, which is a great incouragmente
unto us, and for whom we hop after times will minister occasion of
praising God; and indeed had you not sente him, many would have been
ready to fainte and goe backe. Partly in respecte of ye new conditions
which have bene taken up by you, which all men are against, and partly in
regard of our owne inabillitie to doe any one of those many waightie
bussineses you referr to us here. For ye former wherof, wheras Robart
Cushman desirs reasons for our dislike, promising therupon to alter ye
same, or els saing we should thinke he hath no brains, we desire him to
exercise them therin, refering him to our pastors former reasons, and
them to ye censure of ye godly wise. But our desires are that you will
not entangle your selvs and us in any such unreasonable courses as those
are, viz. yt the marchants should have ye halfe of mens houses and lands
at ye dividente; and that persons should be deprived of ye 2. days in a
weeke agreed upon, yea every momente of time for their owne perticuler;
by reason wherof we cannot conceive why any should carie servants for
their own help and comfort; for that we can require no more of them than
all men one of another. This we have only by relation from Mr. Nash, &
not from any writing of your owne, & therfore hope you have not proceeded
farr in so great a thing without us. But requiring you not to exseed the
bounds of your comission, which was to proceed upon ye things or
conditions agred upon and expressed in writing (at your going over it),
we leave it, not without marveling, that your selfe, as you write,
knowing how smale a thing troubleth our consultations, and how few,
as you fear, understands the busnes aright, should trouble us with such
matters as these are, &c. Salute Mr. Weston from us, in whom we hope we
are not deceived; we pray you make known our estate unto him, and if you
thinke good shew him our letters, at least tell him (yt under God) we
much relie upon him & put our confidence in him; and, as your selves well
know, that if he had not been an adventurer with us, we had not taken it
in hand; presuming that if he had not seene means to accomplish it, he
would not have begune it; so we hope in our extremitie he will so farr
help us as our expectation be no way made frustrate concerning him.
Since therfor, good brethren, we have plainly opened ye state of things
with us in this matter, you will, &c. Thus beseeching ye Allmightie, who
is allsufficiente to raise us out of this depth of difficulties, to
assiste us herin; raising such means by his providence and fatherly care
for us, his pore children & servants, as we may with comforte behould ye
hand of our God for good towards us in this our bussines, which we
undertake in his name & fear, we take leave & remaine
Your perplexed, yet hopful
bretheren,
June 10, New Stille
Ano: 1620. SAMUEL FULLER, EDWARD WINSLOW,
WILLIAM BRADFORD, ISAAC ALLERTON.
III
THE LETTER OF ROBERT CUSHMAN (AT LONDON), TO
JOHN CARVER (AT SOUTHAMPTON)
Saturday, June 10/20, 1620.
To his loving freind Mr. John Carver, these, &c.
Loving freind, I have received from you some letters, full of affection &
complaints, & what it is you would have of me I know not; for your
crieing out, Negligence, negligence, negligence, I marvell why so
negligente a man was used in ye bussines: Yet know you yt all that I have
power to doe hear, shall not be one hower behind, I warent you. You have
reference to Mr. Weston to help us with money, more then his adventure;
wher he protesteth but for his promise, he would not have done any thing.
He saith we take a heady course, and is offended yt our provissions are
made so farr of; as also that he was not made aquainted with our
quantitie of things; and saith yt in now being in 3. places, so farr
remote, (i.e. Leyden, London, and Southampton) we will, with going up &
downe, and wrangling & expostulating, pass over ye sourer before we will
goe. And to speake ye trueth, they is fallen already amongst us a flatt
schisme; and we are redier to goe to dispute, then to sett forwarde a
vaiage. I have received from Leyden since you wente (to Southampton) 3.
or 4. letters directed to you, though they only conscerne me. I will not
trouble you with them. I always feared ye event of ye Amsterdamers
(members of Rev. Henry Ainsworth\x92s church there) striking in with us.
I trow you must excomunicate me, or els you must goe without their
companie, or we shall wante no quareling; but let them pass.
We have reckoned, it should seeme, without our host; and, count upon a
150. persons, ther cannot be founde above 1200li. & odd moneys of all ye
venturs you can reckone, besids some cloath, stockings, & shoes, which
are not counted; so we shall come shorte at least 3. or 400li. I would
have had some thing shortened at first of beare (beer) & other
provissions in hope of other adventurs, & now we could have, both in
Amsterd & Kente, beere inough to serve our turne, but now we cannot
accept it without prejudice. You fear we have begune to build & and
shall not be able to make an end; indeed, our courses were never
established by counsell, we may therfore justly fear their standing.
Yea, then was a schisme amongst us 3. at ye first. You wrote to Mr.
Martin, to prevente ye making of ye provissions in Kente, which he did,
and sett downe his resolution how much he would have of every thing,
without respecte to any counsell or exception. Surely he yt is in a
societie & yet regards not counsell, may better be a king then a
consorte. To be short, if then be not some other dispossition setled
unto then yet is, we yt should be partners of humilitie and peace, shall
be examples of jangling & insulting. Yet your money which you ther
[Southampton] must have, we will get provided for you instantly. 500li.
you say will serve; for ye rest which hear & in Holand is to be used, we
may goe scratch for it. For Mr. Crabe, of whom you write, he hath
promised to goe with us, yet I tell you I shall not be without feare till
I see him shipped, for he [i.e. his going] is much opposed, yet I hope
he will not faile. Thinke ye best of all, and bear with patience what is
wanting, and ye Lord guid us all.
Your loving freind,
ROBART CUSHMAN.
London June 10.
Ano: 1620.
IV
THE LETTER OF ROBERT CUSHMAN TO THE LEYDEN LEADERS
(Probably written at London, Saturday, June 10/20, 1620.)
Brethern, I understand by letters & passagess yt have come to me, that
ther are great discontents, & dislike of my proceedings amongst you.
Sorie I am to hear it, yet contente to beare it, as not doubting but yt
partly by writing, and more principally by word when we shall come
togeather, I shall satisfie any reasonable man. I have been perswaded by
some, espetialy this bearer, to come and clear things unto you; but as
things now stand I cannot be absente one day, excepte I should hazard all
ye viage. Neither conceive I any great good would come of it. Take
then, brethern, this as a step to give you contente. First, for your
dislike of ye alteration of one clause in ye conditions, if you conceive
it right, ther can be no blame lye on me at all. For ye articles first
brought over by John Carver were never seene of any of ye adventurers
hear, excepte Mr. Weston, neither did any of them like them because of
that clause; nor Mr. Weston him selfe, after he had well considered it.
But as at ye first ther was 500li. withdrawne by Sr. Georg Farrer and his
brother upon that dislike, so all ye rest would have withdrawne (Mr.
Weston excepted) if we had not altered yt clause. Now whilst we at
Leyden conclude upon points, as we did, we reckoned without our host,
which was not my faulte. Besids, I shewed you by a letter ye equitie of
yt condition, & our inconveniences, which might be sett against all Mr.
Rob: [Robinson\x92s] inconveniences, that without ye alteration of yt
clause, we could neither have means to gett thither, nor supplie wherby
to subsiste when we were ther. Yet notwithstanding all those reasons,
which were not mine, but other mens wiser than my selfe, without answer
to any one of them, here cometh over many quirimonies, and complaints
against me, of lording it over my brethern, and making conditions fitter
for theeves & bondslaves then honest men, and that of my owne head I did
what I list. And at last a paper of reasons, framed against yt clause in
ye conditions, which as yey were delivered me open, so my answer is open
to you all. And first, as they are no other but inconveniences, such as
a man might frame 20. as great on ye other side, and yet prove nor
disprove nothing by them, so they misse & mistake both ye very ground of
ye article and nature of ye project.
For, first, it is said, that if ther had been no divission of houses &
lands, it had been better for ye poore. True, and yt showeth ye
inequalitie of ye condition; we should more respect him yt ventureth both
his money and his person, then him yt ventureth but his person only.
2. Consider whereaboute we are, not giveing almes, but furnishing a
store house; no one shall be porer then another for 7. years, and if any
be rich, none can be pore. At ye least, we must not in such bussines
crie, Pore, pore, mercie, mercie. Charitie hath it[s] life in wraks, not
in venturs; you are by this most in a hopefull pitie of makeing,
therefore complaine not before you have need.
3. This will hinder ye building of good and faire houses, contrarie to
ye advise of pollitiks. A. So we would have it; our purpose is to build
for ye presente such houses as, if need be, we may with litle greefe set
a fire, and rune away by the lighte; our riches shall not be in pompe,
but in strength; if God send us riches, we will imploye them to provid
more men, ships, munition, &c. You may see it amongst the best
pollitiks, that a comonwele is readier to ebe then to flow, when once
fine houses and gay cloaths come up.
4. The Govet may prevente excess in building. A. But if it be on all
men beforehand resolved on, to build mean houses, ye Govet laboure is
spared.
5. All men are not of one condition. A. If by condition you mean
wealth, you are mistaken; if you mean by condition, qualities, then I say
he that is not contente his neighbour shall have as good a house, fare,
means, &c. as him selfe, is not of a good qualitie. 2ly. Such retired
persons, as have an eie only to them selves, are fitter to come wher
catching is, then closing; and are fitter to live alone, then in any
societie, either civil or religious.
6. It will be of litle value, scarce worth 5li. A. True, it may not be
worth halfe 5li. If then so smale a thing will content them, (the
Adventurers) why strive we thus aboute it, and give them occasion to
suspecte us to be worldly & covetous? I will not say what I have heard
since these complaints came first over [from Leyden].
7. Our freinds with us yt adventure mind not their owne profite, as did
ye old adventurers. A. Then they are better than we, who for a little
matter of profite are readie to draw back, and it is more apparente,
brethern looke too it, that make profit your maine end; repente of this,
els goe not least you be like Jonas to Tarshis. Though some of
them mind not their profite, yet others doe mind it; and why not as well
as we? venturs are made by all sorts of men, and we must labour to give
them all contente, if we can.
8. It will break ye course of comunitie, as may be showed by many
reasons. A. That is but said, and I say againe, it will best foster
comunion, as may be showed by many reasons.
9. Great profite is like to be made by trucking, fishing, &c. A. As it
is better for them, so for us; for halfe is ours, besids our living still
upon it, and if such profite in yt way come, our labour shall be ye less
on ye land, and our houses & lands will be of less value.
10. Our hazard is greater than theirs. A. True, but doe they put us
upon it? doe they urge or egg us? hath not ye motion & resolution been
always in our selves? doe they any more then in seeing us resolute if we
had means, help us to means upon equall termes & conditions! If we will
not goe, they are content to keep their moneys.
Thus I have pointed at a way to loose those knots, which I hope you will
consider seriously, and let me have no more stirr about them.
Now furder, I hear a noise of slavish conditions by me made; but surly
this is all I have altered, and reasons I have sent you. If you mean it
of ye 2. days in a week for perticuler, as some insinuate, you are
deceived; you may have 3. days in a week for me if you will. And when I
have spoken to ye adventurers of times of working, they have said they
hope we are men of discretion & conscience, and so fitt to be trusted our
selves with that. But indeed ye ground of our proceedings at Leyden was
mistaken, and so here is nothing but tottering every day, &c.
As for them of Amsterdam, [i.e. the members of Rev. Henry Ainsworth\x92s
church there] I had thought they would as soon gone to Rome as with us;
for our libertie is to them as ratts bane, and their riggour as bad to us
as ye Spanish Inquisition. If any practise of mine discourage them, let
them yet draw back; I will undertake they shall have their money againe
presently paid hear. Or if the Company think me to be ye Jonas, let them
cast me of before we goe; I shall be content to stay with good will,
having but ye cloaths on my back; only let us have quietnes, and no more
of these clamors; full little did I expect these things which are now
come to pass, &c.
Yours,
R. CUSHMAN.
V
THE LETTER OF ROBERT CUSHMAN TO THE LEYDEN LEADERS, LONDON
(Sunday, June 11/21, 1620.)
Salutations, &c. I received your letter [of May 31/June 10] yesterday,
by John Turner, with another ye same day from Amsterdam by Mr. W.
savouring of ye place whenc it came. And indeed the many discouragements
I find her,[London] togeather with ye demurrs and retirings ther,[Leyden]
had made me to say, I would give up my accounts to John Carver, & at his
comeing aquainte him fully with all courses, and so leave it quite, with
only ye pore cloaths on my back. But gathering up my selfe by further
consideration, I resolved yet to make one triall more, and to acquainte
Mr. Weston with ye fainted state of our bussines; and though he hath been
much discontented at some thing amongst us of late, which hath made him
often say, that save for his promise, he would not meadle at all with ye
bussines any more, yet considering how farr we were plunged into maters,
& how it stood both on our credits & undoing, at ye last he gathered up
him selfe a litle more, & coming to me 2. hours after, he tould me he
would not yet leave it. And so advising togeather we resolved to hire a
ship, and have tooke liking of one till Monday, about 60. laste, for a
greater we cannot gett, excepte it be tow great; but a fine ship it is.
And seeing our neer freinds ther are so streite lased, we hope to assure
her without troubling them any further; and if ye ship fale too small, it
fitteth well yt such as stumble at strawes already, may rest them ther a
while, least worse blocks come in ye way ere 7. years be ended. If you
had beaten this bussines so throuly a month agoe, and write to us as now
you doe, we could thus have done much more conveniently. But it is as it
is; I hope our freinds they, if they be quitted of ye ship hire, will be
indusced to venture ye more. All yt I now require is yt salt and netts
may ther be boughte, and for all ye rest we will here provid it; yet if
that will not be, let them but stand for it a month or tow, and we will
take order to pay it all. Let Mr. Reinholds tarie ther, and bring ye
ship to Southampton. We have hired another pilote here, one Mr. Clarke,
who went last year to Virginia with a ship of kine.
You shall here distinctly by John Turner, who I thinke shall come hence
on tewsday night. I had thought to have come with him, to have answered
to my complaints; but I shal lerne to pass litle for their censurs; and
if I had more minde to goe & dispute & expostulate with them, then I have
care of this waightie bussines, I were like them who live by clamours &
jangling. But neither my mind nor my body is at libertie to doe much,
for I am fettered with bussines, and had rather study to be quiet, then
to make answer to their exceptions. If men be set on it, let them beat
ye eair; I hope such as are my sinceire freinds will not thinke but I can
give some reason of my actions. But of your mistaking aboute ye mater,
& other things tending to this bussines, I shall nexte informe you
more distinctly. Mean space entreate our freinds not to be too bussie in
answering matters, before they know them. If I doe such things as I
canot give reasons for, it is like you have sett a foole aboute your
bussines, and so turne ye reproofe to your selves, & send an other, and
let me come againe to my Combes. But setting aside my naturall
infirmities, I refuse not to have my cause judged, both of God, & all
indifferent men; and when we come togeather I shall give accounte of my
actions hear. The Lord, who judgeth justly without respect of persons,
see into ye equitie of my cause, and give us quiet, peacable, and patient
minds, in all these turmoils, and sanctifie unto us all crosses
whatsoever. And so I take my leave of you all, in all love & affection.
I hope we shall gett all hear ready in 14. days.
Your pore brother,
ROBART CUSHMAN.
[London]
June 11. 1620 [O.S.].
VI
A LETTER OF MR. JOHN ROBINSON TO JOHN CARVER,
JUNE 14. (N.S.), 1620
[Professor Arber (\x93The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers,\x94 p. 317) has
apparently failed to notice that in the original MS. of Bradford,
this letter is dated \x93June 14, 1620, N. Stile,\x94 which would make it
June 4., O.S., while Arber dates it \x9314/24 June,\x94 which is
manifestly incorrect. A typographical error in Arber (p. 317)
directs the letter to \x93Leyden\x94 instead of to London. ]
June 14. 1620. N. Stile.
My dear freind & brother, whom with yours I alwaise remember in my best
affection, and whose wellfare I shall never cease to comend to God by my
best & most earnest praires. You doe throwly understand by our generall
letters ye estate of things hear, which indeed is very pitifull;
espetialy by wante of shiping, and not seeing means lickly, much less
certaine, of having it provided; though withall ther be great want of
money & means to doe needfull things. Mr. [Edward] Pickering, you know
before this, will not defray a peny hear; though Robert Cushman presumed
of I know not how many 100li. from him, & I know not whom. Yet it seems
strange yt we should be put to him to receive both his & his partners
[William Greene\x92s] adventer, and yet Mr. Weston write unto him, yt in
regard of it, he hath drawne upon him a 100li. more. But they is in this
some misterie, as indeed it seems ther is in ye whole course. Besids,
wheras diverse are to pay in some parts of their moneys yet behinde, they
refuse to doe it, till they see shiping provided, or a course taken for
it. Neither doe I thinke is ther a man hear would pay anything, if he
had againe his money in his purse. You know right well we depended on
Mr. Weston alone, and upon such means as he would procure for this
commone bussines; and when we had in hand an other course with ye
Dutchmen, broke it of at his motion, and upon ye conditions by him
shortly after propounded. He did this in his love I know, but things
appeare not answerable from him hitherto. That he should have first have
put in his moneys, is thought by many to have been but fitt, but yt I can
well excuse, he being a marchante and haveing use of it to his benefite;
whereas others, if it had been in their hands, would have consumed it.
But yt he should not but have had either shipping ready before this time,
or at least certaine means, and course, and ye same knowne to us for it,
or have taken other order otherwise, cannot in my conscience be excused.
I have heard yt wen he hath been moved in the bussines, he hath put it of
from him selfe, and referred it to ye others; and would come to Georg
Morton [in London] & enquire news of him aboute things, as if he had
scarce been some accessarie unto it. Wlether he hath failed of some helps
from others which he expected, and so be not well able to goe through
with things, or whether he hath feared least you should be ready too
soone & so encrease ye charge of shiping above yt is meete, or whether he
hath thought by withhoulding to put us upon straits, thinking yt therby
Mr. Brewer and Mr. Pickering would be drawne by importunitie to doe more,
or what other misterie is in it, we know not; but sure we are yt things
are not answerable to such an occasion. Mr. Weston maks himselfe mery
with our endeavors aboute buying a ship, [the SPEEDWELL], but we have
done nothing in this but with good reason, as I am perswaded, nor yet
that I know in any thing els, save in those tow: ye one, that we imployed
Robart Cushman, who is known (though a good man & of spetiall abilities
in his kind, yet) most unfitt to deale for other by reason of his
singularitie, and too great indifferancie for any conditions, and for (to
speak truly) that we have had nothing from him but termes & presumptions.
The other, yt we have so much relyed, by implicite faith as it were, upon
generalities, without seeing ye perticuler course & means for so waghtie
an affaire set down unto us. For shiping, Mr. Weston, it should seeme,
is set upon hireing, which yet I wish he may presently effecte; but I see
litle hope of help from hence if so it be. Of Mr. [Thomas] Brewer, you
know what to expecte. I doe not thinke Mr. Pickering will ingage,
excepte in ye course of buying [ships?] in former letters specified.
Aboute ye conditions, you have our reason for our judgments of what is
agreed. And let this spetially be borne in minde, yt the greatest pane
of ye Collonie is like to be imployed constantly, not upon dressing they
perticuler land & building houses, but upon fishing, trading, &c. So as
ye land & house will be but a trifell for advantage to ye adventurers,
and yet the devission of it a great discouragmente to ye planters, who
would with singuler care make it comfortable with borowed houres from
their sleep. The same consideration of comone imploymente constantly by
the most is a good reason not to have ye 2, daies in a week denyed ye few
planters for private use, which yet is subordinate to comone good.
Consider also how much unfite that you & your liks must serve a new
prentishipe of 7. years, and not a daies freedome from taske. Send me
word what persons are to goe, who of usefull faculties, & how many, &
perticulerly of every thing. I know you wante not a minde. I am sorie
you have not been at London all this while, but ye provissions could not
want you. Time will suffer me to write no more; fare, you & yours well
allways in ye Lord, in whom I rest.
Yours to use,
JOHN\x92 ROBINSON.
VII
THE LETTER OF THE PLANTERS TO THE
MERCHANT ADVENTURERS (FROM SOUTHAMPTON)
Aug. 3. Ano. 1620.
Beloved freinds, sory we are that ther should be occasion of writing at
all unto you, partly because we ever expected to see ye most of you hear,
but espetially because ther should any difference at all be conceived
betweene us. But seing it faleth out that we cannot conferr togeather,
we thinke it meete (though brefly) to show you ye just cause & reason of
our differing from those articles last made by Robert Cushman, without
our comission or knowledg.
And though he might propound good ends to himselfe, yet it no way
justifies his doing it. Our maine diference is in ye 5.& 9. article,
concerning ye deviding or holding of house and lands; the injoying
whereof some of your selves well know, was one spetiall motive, amongst
many other, to provoke us to goe. This was thought so reasonable, yt
when ye greatest of you in adventure (whom we have much cause to
respecte), when he propounded conditions to us freely of his owne
accorde, he set this downe for one; a coppy wherof we have sent unto you,
with some additions then added by us; which being liked on both sids, and
a day set for ye paimente of moneys, those in Holland paid in theirs.
After yt, Robert Cushman, Mr. [John] Pierce, & Mr. [Christopher] Martine,
brought them into a better forme, & write them in a booke now extante;
and upon Robarts [Cushmans] shewing them and delivering Mr. [William]
Mullins a coppy thereof under his hand (which we have), he payed in his
money. And we of Holland had never seen other before our coming to
Hamton, but only as one got for him selfe a private coppy of them; upon
sight wherof we manyfested uter dislike, but had put of our estats & were
ready to come, and therfore was too late to rejecte ye vioage. Judge
therefore we beseech you indifferently of things, and if a faulte have
bene comited, lay it where it is, & not upon us, who have more cause to
stand for ye one, then you have for ye other. We never gave Robart
Cushman comission to make any one article for us, but only sent him to
receive moneys upon articles before agreed on, and to further ye
provissions till John Carver came, and to assiste him in it. Yet since
you conceive your selves wronged as well as we, we thought meete to add a
branch to ye end of our 9. article, as will allmost heale that wound of
it selfe, which you conceive to be in it. But that it may appeare to all
men yt we are not lovers of our selves only, but desire also ye good &
inriching of our freinds who have adventured your moneys with our
persons, we have added our last article to ye rest, promising you againe
by leters in ye behalfe of the whole company, that if large profits
should not arise within ye 7. years, yt we will continue togeather longer
with you, if ye Lord give a blessing.--[Bradford adds in a note, \x93It is
well for them yt this was not accepted.\x94]--This we hope is sufficente to
satisfie any in this case, espetialy freinds, since we are asured yt if
the whole charge was devided into 4. parts, 3. of them will not stand
upon it, nether doe regarde it, &c. We are in shuch a streate at
presente, as we are forced to sell away 60li. worth of our provissions to
cleare ye Haven [Southampton] & withall put our selves upon great
extremities, scarce haveing any butter, no oyle, not a sole to mend a
shoe, nor every man a sword to his side, wanting many muskets, much
armoure, etc. And yet we are willing to expose our selves to shuch
eminente dangers as are like to insue, & trust to ye good providence of
God, rather then his name & truth should be evill spoken of for us. Thus
saluting all of you in love, and beseeching ye Lord to give a blesing to
our endeavore, and keepe all our harts in ye bonds of peace & love, we
take leave & rest,
Yours, &c
Aug. 3. 1620.
[\x93It was subscribed with many names of ye cheefest of ye company.\x94
--Bradford, \x93Historie,\x94 Mass. ed. p. 77.]
VIII
THE LETTER OF ROBERT CUSHMAN (FROM SOUTHAMPTON)
TO EDWARD SOUTHWORTH
To his loving friend Ed[ward] S[outhworth] at Henige House, in ye Duks
Place [London], these, &c.
Dartmouth [Thursday] Aug. 17, [Anno 1620.]
Loving friend, my most kind remembrance to you & your wife, with loving
E. M. &c. whom in this world I never looke to see againe. For besids ye
eminente dangers of this viage, which are no less then deadly, an
infirmitie of body Hath seased me, which will not in all licelyhoode
leave me till death. What to call it I know not, but it it is a bundle
of lead, as it were, crushing my harte more & more these 14. days, as
that allthough I doe ye acctions of a liveing man, yet I am but as dead;
but ye will of God be done. Our pinass [the SPEEDWELL] will not cease
leaking, els I thinke we had been halfe way at Virginia, our viage hither
hath been as full of crosses, as our, selves have been of crokednes. We
put in hear to trime her, & I thinke, as others also, if we had stayed at
sea but 3. or 4. howers more, shee would have sunke right downe. And
though she was twice trimed at Hamton, yet now shee is open and lekie as
a seine; and ther was a borde, a man might have puld of with his fingers,
2 foote longe, wher ye water came in as at a mole hole. We lay at Hamton
7. days, in fair weather, waiting for her, and now we lye hear waiting
for her in as faire a wind as can blowe, and so have done these 4. days,
and are like to lye 4. more, and by yt time ye wind will happily turne as
it did at Hamton. Our victualls will be halfe eaten up, I thinke, before
we goe from the coaste of England, and if our viage last longe, we shall
not have a months victialls when we come in ye countrie. Near 700li.
hath bene bestowed at Hamton upon what I know not. Mr. Martin saith he
neither can nor will give any accounte of it, and if he be called upon
for accounts he crieth out of unthankfulness for his paines & care, that
we are susspitious of him, and flings away, and will end nothing. Also
he so insulteh over our poore people with shuch scorne and contempte, as
if they were not good enough to wipe his shoes. It would break your hart
to see his dealing, and ye mourning of our people. They complaine to me,
& alass! I can doe nothing for them; if I speake to him, he flies in my
face, as mutinous, and saith no complaints shall be heard or received but
by him selfe, and saith they are forwarde, & waspish, discontented
people, & I doe ill to hear them. Ther are others yt would lose all they
have put in, or make satisfaction for what they have had, that they might
departe; but he will not hear them, nor suffer them to goe ashore, least
they should rune away. The sailors also are so offended at his ignorante
bouldnes, in medling & controuling in things he knows not what belongs
too, as yt some threaten to misscheefe him, others say they will leave ye
shipe & goe their way. But at ye best this cometh of it, yt he maks him
selfe a scorne & laughing stock unto them. As for Mr. Weston, excepte
grace doe greatly swaye with him, he will hate us ten times more then
ever he loved us, for not confirming ye conditions. But now, since some
pinches have taken them, they begine to reveile ye trueth, and say Mr.
Robinson was in ye falte who charged them never to consente to those
conditions, nor chuse me into office, but indeede apointed them to chose
them they did chose. But he and they will rue too late, they may now
see, & all be ashamed when it is too late, that they were so ignorante,
yea, & so inordinate in their courses. I am sure as they were resolved
not to seale those conditions, I was not so resolute at Hamton to have
left ye whole bussines, excepte they would seale them, and better ye
vioage to have bene broken of then, then to have brought such miserie to
our selves, dishonour to God, & detrimente to our loving freinds, as now
it is like to doe. 4. or 5. of ye cheefe of them which came from Leyden,
came resolved never to goe on those conditions. And Mr. Martine, he said
he never received no money on those conditions, he was not beholden to ye
marchants, for a pine [pennie], they were bloudsuckers, & I know not
what. Simple man, he indeed never made any conditions wth the marchants,
nor ever spake with them.
But did all that money flie to Hamton, or was it his owne? Who will goe
lay out money so rashly & lavishly as he did, and never know how he comes
by it, or on what conditions? I tould him of ye alteration longe
agoe, & he was contente; but now he dominires, & said I had betrayed them
into ye hands of slaves; he is not beholden to them, he can set out 2
ships him selfe to a viage. When, good man? He hath but 50li. in, & if
he should give up his accounts he would not have a penie left him,
--[\x93This was found true afterwards.] W[illiam] B[radford]]--as I
am persuaded, &c. Freind, if ever we make a plantation, God works a
mirakle; especially considering how scante we shall be of victualls, and
most of all ununited amongst our selves, & devoyd of good tutors and
regimente. Violence will break all. Wher is ye meek & humble spirite of
Moyses? & of Nehemiah who reedified ye wals of Jerusalem, and ye state of
Israell? Is not ye sound of Rehoboams braggs daly hear amongst us? Have
not ye philosophers and all wise men observed yt, even in setled comone
welths, violente governours bring either them selves, or people, or
boath, to ruine; how much more in ye raising of comone wealths, when ye
mortar is yet scarce tempered yt should bind ye wales [walls]. If I
should write to you of all things which promiscuously forerune our ruine,
I should over charge my weake head and greeve your tender hart; only
this, I pray you prepare for evill tidings of us every day. But pray for
us instantly, it may be ye Lord will be yet entreated one way or other to
make for us. I see not in reason how we shall escape even ye gasping of
hunger starved persons; but God can doe much, & his will be done. It is
better for me to dye, then now for me to bear it, which I doe daly, &
expect it howerly; haveing received ye sentance of death, both within me
& with out me. Poore William Ring & my selfe doe strive who shall be
meate first for ye fishes; but we looke for a glorious resurrection,
knowing Christ Jesus after ye flesh no more, but looking unto ye joye yt
is before us, we will endure all these things and accounte them light in
comparison of ye joye we hope for. Remember me in all love to our
freinds as if I named them, whose praiers I desire earnestly, & wish
againe to see, but not till I can with more comforte looke them in ye
face. The Lord give us that true comforte which none can take from us.
I had a desire to make a breefe relation of our estate to some freind.
I doubte not but your wisdome will teach you seasonably to utter things
as here after you shall be called to it. That which I have writen is
treue, & many things more which I have for borne. I write it as upon my
life, and last confession in England. What is of use to be spoken of
presently, you may speake of it, and what is fitt to conceile, conceall.
Pass by my weake maner, for my head is weake, and my body feeble, ye Lord
make me strong in him, and keepe both you & yours.
Your loving freind,
ROBART CUSHMAN.
Dartmouth, Aug. 17, 1620.
IX
THE MAY-FLOWER COMPACT
In ye name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, the loyall
subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by ye grace of God, of
Great Britaine, Franc, & Ireland king, defender of ye faith, &c., haveing
under taken, for ye glorie of God, and advancemente of ye Christian
faith, and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to plant ye first
colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly
& mutualy in ye presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine
our selves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering
& preservation & furtherance of ye ends aforesaid: and by vertue hearof
to enacte, constitute, and frame such just & equall lawes, ordinances,
actes, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought
most meete & convenient for ye generall good of ye Colonie, unto which we
promise all due submission and obedience. In witnes wherof we have here
under subscribed our names at Cape-Codd ye 11. of November, in ye year of
ye raigne of our soveraigne lord, King James, of England, France, &
Ireland ye eighteenth, and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano. Dom. 1620
X
A COPY OF THE NUNCUPATIVE WILL OF MASTER WILLIAM MULLENS
[Undoubtedly taken by Governor Carver on board the MAY-FLOWER.]
[Although the dictation must, apparently, have been taken on the day
of Master Mullens\x92s death, February 21/March 3, 1620, Governor
Carver evidently did not write out his notes, and have them
witnessed, till April 2, 1621, some weeks later.]
\x93April, 1621.
In the name of God, Amen: I comfit my Soule to God that gave it and my
bodie to the earth from whence it came. Alsoe I give my goodes as
followeth: That fforty poundes wch is in the hand of good-man Woodes I
give my wife tenn poundes, my sonne Joseph tenn poundes, my daughter
Priscilla tenn poundes, and my eldest sonne tenn poundes. Alsoe I give to
my eldest sonne all my debtes, bonds, bills (onelye yt forty poundes
excepted in the handes of goodman Wood) given as aforesaid wth all the
stock in his owne handes. To my eldest daughter I give ten shillinges to
be paied out of my sonnes stock Furthermore that goodes I have in
Virginia as followeth To my wife Alice halfe my goodes. 2. to Joseph and
Priscilla the other halfe equallie to be devided betweene them. Alsoe I
have xxi dozen of shoes, and thirteene paire of bootes wch I give into
the Companies handes for forty poundes at seaven years end if they like
them at that rate. If it be thought to deare as my Overseers shall
thinck good. And if they like them at that rate at the devident I shall
have nyne shares whereof I give as followeth twoe to my wife, twoe to my
sonne William, twoe to my sonne Joseph, towe to my daughter Priscilla,
and one to the Companie. Allsoe if my sonne William will come to
Virginia I give him my share of land furdermore I give to my two
Overseers Mr. John Carver and Mr. Williamson, twentye shillinges apeece
to see this my will performed desiringe them that he would have an eye
over my wife and children to be as fathers and freindes to them, Allsoe
to have a speciall eye to my man Robert wch hathe not so approved
himselfe as I would he should have done.
This is a Coppye of Mr. Mullens his Will of all particulars he hathe
given. In witnes whereof I have sette my hande John Carver, Giles Heale,
Christopher Joanes.\x94
XI
THE LETTER OF \x93ONE OF THE CHIEFE OF YE COMPANIE\x94
[THE MERCHANT ADVENTURERS]
DATED AT LONDON, APRIL 9, 1623
Loving friend, when I write my last leter, I hope to have received one
from you well-nigh by this time. But when I write in Des: I little
thought to have seen Mr. John Pierce till he had brought some good
tidings from you. But it pleased God, he brought us ye wofull tidings of
his returne when he was half-way over, by extraime tempest, werin ye
goodnes & mercie of God appeared in sparing their lives, being 109.
souls. The loss is so great to Mr. Pierce &c., and ye companie put upon
so great charge, as veryly, &c. Now with great trouble & loss, we have
got Mr. John Pierce to assigne over ye grand patente to ye companie,
which he had taken in his owne name, and made quite voyd our former
grante. I am sorie to writ how many hear thinke yt the hand of God was
justly against him, both ye first and 2. time of his returne; in regard
he, whom you and we so confidently trusted, but only to use his name for
ye company, should aspire to be lord over us all, and so make you & us
tenants at his will and pleasure, our assurance or patente being quite
voyd & disanuled by his means. I desire to judg charitably of him. But
his unwillingness to part with his royall lordship, and ye high rate he
set it at, which was 500li. which cost him but 50li., maks many speake
and judg hardly of him. The company are out for goods in his ship, with
charge aboute ye passengers, 640li., &c.
We have agreed with 2 merchants for a ship of 140 tunes, caled ye Anne,
which is to be ready ye last of this month, to bring 60 passengers &
60 tune of goods, &c--[Bradford, Historie, Mass. ed. p. 167.]
ADDENDA
Governor Winslow, in his \x93Hypocrisie Unmasked\x94 (pp. 89,90), indicates
that the representatives of the Leyden congregation (Cushman and Carver)
sought the First (or London) Virginia Company as early as 1613. It is
beyond doubt that preliminary steps toward securing the favor, both of
the King and others, were taken as early as 1617, and that the Wincob
Patent was granted in their interest, June 9/19, 1619. But the Leyden
people were but little advanced by the issue of this Patent. They became
discouraged, and began early in 1620 (perhaps earlier) negotiations with
the Dutch, which were in progress when, at the instance of Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, Thomas Weston undertook (February 2/12, April 1/11, 1620) to
secure the Leyden party, avowedly for the London Virginia Company, but
really for its rival, the Second Virginia Company, soon to be merged in
the \x93Council of Affairs for New England.\x94 It was then, and under these
influences, that the Leyden leaders \x93broke off,\x94 as Bradford puts it,
their negotiations with the Dutch authorities, who, however, apparently
about the same time, determined to reject their propositions. While the
renewal of the Leyden leaders\x92 negotiations, through Weston, were, \x93on
their face\x94 (and so far as the Pilgrims were concerned), with the First
Virginia Company, with whom, through Sir Edwin Sandys and other friends,
their original efforts were made, they were, as stated, subverted by
Gorges\x92s plans and Weston\x92s cooperation, in the interest of the Second
Virginia Company. The Merchant Adventurers were represented, in the
direct negotiations for the Patent only, by John Pierce, who, at that
time, was apparently dealing honestly, and was not, so far as appears,
in Gorges\x92s confidence, though later he proved a traitor and a consummate
rascal, albeit he always acted, apparently, alone. The so-called \x93Pierce
Patent\x94 (which displaced the Wincob) was rendered worthless by the
landing of the Pilgrims north of 41 deg. north latitude. The third
Patent (Pierce\x92s second) was from the Council for New England to Pierce,
for the colonists, but was exchanged by him for a \x93deed-pole\x94 to himself,
though at last surrendered to the colony under stress.
ETEXT EDITOR\x92S BOOKMARKS:
All business without any agreement in writing
Anxiety to get English clothes upon their red brethren
As 1620 did not begin until March 25
Borowed houres from their sleep
Crime--for such it was, in inception, nature, and results
Forks there were none
Genius,--proverbially indifferent to detail
Lanterns--only \x93serving to make darkness visible\x94
Malevolence rarely exercised except toward those one has wronged
Meat was held by the napkin while being cut with the knife
Not to be too bussie in answering matters, before they know them
Old Style and the New Style dates
Personal inference rather than a verity
Redier to goe to dispute, then to sett forwarde
Sorie I am to hear it, yet contente to beare it
The old adage, \x93second thief best owner\x94
Theft of the MAY-FLOWER colony
Thinke ye best of all, and bear with patience what is wanting
Transplantation to the \x93northern parts of Virginia\x94
Welcome lies acquired a hold on the public mind
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