Chapter 10

[42] Being thus put to sea they had not gone farr, but M^r. Reinolds y^e master of y^e leser ship complained that he found his ship so leak as he durst not put further to sea till she was mended. So y^e m^r. of y^e biger ship (caled M^r. Jonas) being consulted with, they both resolved to put into Dartmouth & have her ther searched & mended, which accordingly was done, to their great charg & losse of time and a faire winde. She was hear thorowly searcht from steme to sterne, some leaks were found & mended, and now it was conceived by the workmen & all, that she was sufficiente, & they might proceede without either fear or danger. So with good hopes from hence, they put to sea againe, conceiving they should goe comfortably on, not looking for any more lets of this kind; but it fell out otherwise, for after they were gone to sea againe above 100. leagues without the Lands End, houlding company togeather all this while, the m^r. of y^e small ship complained his ship was so leake as he must beare up or sinke at sea, for they could scarce free her with much pumping. So they came to consultation againe, and resolved both ships to bear up backe againe & put into Pli[=m]oth, which accordingly was done. But no spetiall leake could be founde, but it was judged to be y^e generall weaknes of y^e shipe, and that shee would not prove sufficiente for the voiage. Upon which it was resolved to dismise her & parte of y^e companie, and proceede with y^e other shipe. The which (though it was greevous, & caused great discouragmente) was put in execution. So after they had tooke out such provission as y^e other ship could well stow, and concluded both what number and what persons to send bak, they made another sad parting, y^e one ship going backe for London, and y^e other was to proceede on her viage. Those that went bak were for the most parte such as were willing so to doe, either out of some discontente, or feare they conceived of y^e ill success of y^e vioage, seeing so many croses befale, & the year time so farr spente; but others, in regarde of their owne weaknes, and charge of many yonge children, were thought least usefull, and most unfite to bear y^e brunte of this hard adventure; unto which worke of God, and judgmente of their brethern, they were contented to submite. And thus, like Gedions armie, this small number was devided, as if y^e Lord by this worke of his providence thought these few to many for y^e great worke he had to doe. But here by the way let me show, how afterward it was found y^t the leaknes of this ship was partly by being over masted, and too much pressed with sayles; for after she was sould & put into her old trime, she made many viages & performed her service very sufficiently, to y^e great profite of her owners. But more espetially, by the cuning & deceite of y^e m^r. & his company, who were hired to stay a whole year in y^e cuntrie, and now fancying dislike & fearing wante of victeles, they ploted this strategem to free them selves; as afterwards was knowne, & by some of them confessed. For they apprehended y^t the greater ship, being of force, & in whom most of y^e provissions were stowed, she would retayne enough for her selfe, what soever became of them or y^e passengers; & indeed shuch speeches had bene cast out by some of them; and yet, besids other incouragments, y^e cheefe of them that came from Leyden wente in this shipe to give y^e m^r. contente. But so strong was self love & his fears, as he forgott all duty and [43] former kindnesses, & delt thus falsly with them, though he pretended otherwise. Amongest those that returned was M^r. Cushman & his familie, whose hart & courage was gone from them before, as it seems, though his body was with them till now he departed; as may appear by a passionate letter he write to a freind in London from Dartmouth, whilst y^e ship lay ther a mending; the which, besids y^e expressions of his owne fears, it shows much of y^e providence of God working for their good beyonde man's expectation, & other things concerning their condition in these streats. I will hear relate it. And though it discover some infirmities in him (as who under temtation is free), yet after this he continued to be a spetiall instrumente for their good, and to doe y^e offices of a loving freind & faithfull brother unto them, and pertaker of much comforte with them.

The letter is as followth.

To his loving friend Ed: S.[Z] at Henige House in y^e Duks Place, these, &c.

Dartmouth, Aug. 17.

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 y^e eminente dangers of this viage, which are no less then deadly, an infirmitie of body hath ceased me, which will not in all lie^{c}lyhoode leave me till death. What to call it I know not, but it is a bundle of lead, as it were, crushing my harte more & more these 14. days, as that allthough I doe y^e acctions of a liveing man, yet I am but as dead; but y^e will of God be done. Our pinass 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 tri[=m]e 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 twise tri[=m]ed at Hamton, yet now shee is open and leakie as a seive; and ther was a borde, a man might have puld of with his fingers, 2 foote longe, wher y^e 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 y^t time y^e wind will happily turne as it did at Hampton. 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 y^e countrie. Neare 700^li. hath bene bestowed at Hampton, 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 unthankfullnes for his paines & care, that we are susspitious of him, and flings away, & will end nothing. Also he so insult[=e]h over our poore people, with shuch scorne & contempte, as if they were not good enough to wipe his shoes. It would break your hart to see his dealing,[AA] and y^e 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 y^t 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 y^t some threaten to misscheefe him, others say they will leave y^e shipe & goe their way. But at y^e best this cometh of it, y^t he maks him selfe a scorne & laughing stock unto them. As for M^r. Weston, excepte grace doe greatly swaye with him, he will hate us ten times more then ever he loved us, for not confirming y^e conditions. But now, since some pinches have taken them, they begine to reveile y^e trueth, & say M^r. Robinson was in y^e 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.[AB] But he & they will rue too late, they may [44] 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 Hampton to have left y^e whole bussines, excepte they would seale them, & better y^e 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 y^e cheefe of them which came from Leyden, came resolved never to goe on those conditions. And M^r. Martine, he said he never received no money on those conditions, he was not beholden to y^e marchants for a pine, they were bloudsuckers, & I know not what. Simple man, he indeed never made any conditions w^th the marchants, nor ever spake with them. But did all that money flie to Hampton, 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? 2^ly. I tould him of y^e alteration longe agoe, & he was contente; but now he dominires, & said I had betrayed them into y^e 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 50^li. in, & if he should give up his accounts he would not have a penie left him, as I am persuaded,[AC] &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 & regimente. Violence will break all. Wher is y^e meek & humble spirite of Moyses? & of Nehemiah who reedified y^e wals of Jerusalem, & y^e state of Israell? Is not y^e sound of Rehoboams braggs daly hear amongst us? Have not y^e philosophers and all wise men observed y^t, even in setled co[=m]one welths, violente governours bring either them selves, or people, or boath, to ruine; how much more in y^e raising of co[=m]one wealths, when y^e morter is yet scarce tempered y^t should bind y^e wales. 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 y^e Lord will be yet entreated one way or other to make for us. I see not in reason how we shall escape even y^e 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, & expecte it howerly; haveing received y^e sentance of death, both within me & without me. Poore William King & my selfe doe strive[AD] who shall be meate first for y^e fishes; but we looke for a glorious resurrection, knowing Christ Jesus after y^e flesh no more, but looking unto y^e joye y^t is before us, we will endure all these things and accounte them light in comparison of y^t joye we hope for. Remember me in all love to our freinds as if I named them, whose praiers I desire ernestly, & wish againe to see, but not till I can with more comforte looke them in y^e 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 forborne. I write it as upon my life, and last confession in England. What is of use to be spoken [45] of presently, you may speake of it, and what is fitt to conceile, conceall. Pass by my weake maner, for my head is weake, & my body feeble, y^e Lord make me strong in him, & keepe both you & yours.

Your loving friend, ROBART CUSHMAN.

Dartmouth, Aug. 17. 1620.

These being his conceptions & fears at Dartmouth, they must needs be much stronger now at Plimoth.

The 9. Chap.

_Of their vioage, & how they passed y^e sea, and of their safe arrivall at Cape Codd._

SEPT^R: 6. These troubls being blowne over, and now all being compacte togeather in one shipe,[AE] they put to sea againe with a prosperus winde, which continued diverce days togeather, which was some incouragmente unto them; yet according to y^e usuall maner many were afflicted with sea-sicknes. And I may not omite hear a spetiall worke of Gods providence. Ther was a proud & very profane yonge man, one of y^e sea-men, of a lustie, able body, which made him the more hauty; he would allway be contemning y^e poore people in their sicknes, & cursing them dayly with gre[=e]ous execrations, and did not let to tell them, that he hoped to help to cast halfe of them over board before they came to their jurneys end, and to make mery with what they had; and if he were by any gently reproved, he would curse and swear most bitterly. But it plased God before they came halfe seas over, to smite this yong man with a greeveous disease, of which he dyed in a desperate maner, and so was him selfe y^e first y^t was throwne overbord. Thus his curses light on his owne head; and it was an astonishmente to all his fellows, for they noted it to be y^e just hand of God upon him.

After they had injoyed faire winds and weather for a season, they were incountred many times with crosse winds, and mette with many feirce stormes, with which y^e shipe was shroudly shaken, and her upper works made very leakie; and one of the maine beames in y^e midd ships was bowed & craked, which put them in some fear that y^e shipe could not be able to performe y^e vioage. So some of y^e cheefe of y^e company, perceiveing y^e mariners to feare y^e suffisiencie of y^e shipe, as appeared by their mutterings, they entred into serious consulltation with y^e m^r. & other officers of y^e ship, to consider in time of y^e danger; and rather to returne then to cast them selves into a desperate & inevitable perill. And truly ther was great distraction & differance of opinion amongst y^e mariners them selves; faine would they doe what could be done for their wages sake, (being now halfe the seas over,) and on y^e other hand they were loath to hazard their lives too desperatly. But in examening of all opinions, the m^r. & others affirmed they knew y^e ship to be stronge & firme under water; and for the buckling of y^e maine beame, ther was a great iron scrue y^e passengers brought out of Holland, which would raise y^e beame into his place; y^e which being done, the carpenter & m^r. affirmed that with a post put under it, set firme in y^e lower deck, & otherways bounde, he would make it sufficiente. And as for y^e decks & uper workes they would calke them as well as they could, and though with y^e workeing of y^e ship they [46] would not longe keepe stanch, yet ther would otherwise be no great danger, if they did not overpress her with sails. So they co[=m]ited them selves to y^e will of God, & resolved to proseede. In sundrie of these stormes the winds were so feirce, & y^e seas so high, as they could not beare a knote of saile, but were forced to hull, for diverce days togither. And in one of them, as they thus lay at hull, in a mighty storme, a lustie yonge man (called John Howland) coming upon some occasion above y^e grattings, was, with a seele of the shipe throwne into [y^e] sea; but it pleased God y^t he caught hould of y^e top-saile halliards, which hunge over board, & rane out at length; yet he held his hould (though he was sundrie fadomes under water) till he was hald up by y^e same rope to y^e brime of y^e water, and then with a boat hooke & other means got into y^e shipe againe, & his life saved; and though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after, and became a profitable member both in church & co[=m]one wealthe. In all this viage ther died but one of y^e passengers, which was William Butten, a youth, servant to Samuell Fuller, when they drew near y^e coast. But to omite other things, (that I may be breefe,) after longe beating at sea they fell with that land which is called Cape Cod; the which being made & certainly knowne to be it, they were not a litle joyfull. After some deliberation had amongst them selves & with y^e m^r. of y^e ship, they tacked aboute and resolved to stande for y^e southward (y^e wind & weather being faire) to finde some place aboute Hudsons river for their habitation. But after they had sailed y^t course aboute halfe y^e day, they fell amongst deangerous shoulds and roring breakers, and they were so farr intangled ther with as they conceived them selves in great danger; & y^e wind shrinking upon them withall, they resolved to bear up againe for the Cape, and thought them selves hapy to gett out of those dangers before night overtooke them, as by Gods providence they did. And y^e next day they gott into y^e Cape-harbor wher they ridd in saftie. A word or too by y^e way of this cape; it was thus first named by Capten Gosnole & his company,[AF] Anno: 1602, and after by Capten Smith was caled Cape James; but it retains y^e former name amongst seamen. Also y^t pointe which first shewed those dangerous shoulds unto them, they called Pointe Care, & Tuckers Terrour; but y^e French & Dutch to this day call it Malabarr, by reason of those perilous shoulds, and y^e losses they have suffered their.

Being thus arived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed y^e God of heaven, who had brought them over y^e vast & furious ocean, and delivered them from all y^e periles & miseries therof, againe to set their feete on y^e firme and stable earth, their proper elemente. And no marvell if they were thus joyefull, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on y^e coast of his owne Italy; as he affirmed,[AG] that he had rather remaine twentie years on his way by land, then pass by sea to any place in a short time; so tedious & dreadfull was y^e same unto him.

But hear I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amased at this poore peoples presente condition; and so I thinke will the reader too, when he well considers [47] y^e same. Being thus passed y^e vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembred by y^t which wente before), they had now no freinds to wellcome them, nor inns to entertaine or refresh their weatherbeaten bodys, no houses or much less townes to repaire too, to seeke for succoure. It is recorded in scripture[AH] as a mercie to y^e apostle & his shipwraked company, y^t the barbarians shewed them no smale kindnes in refreshing them, but these savage barbarians, when they mette with them (as after will appeare) were readier to fill their sids full of arrows then otherwise. And for y^e season it was winter, and they that know y^e winters of y^t cuntrie know them to be sharp & violent, & subjecte to cruell & feirce stormes, deangerous to travill to known places, much more to serch an unknown coast. Besids, what could they see but a hidious & desolate wildernes, full of wild beasts & willd men? and what multituds ther might be of them they knew not. Nether could they, as it were, goe up to y^e tope of Pisgah, to vew from this willdernes a more goodly cuntrie to feed their hops; for which way soever they turnd their eys (save upward to y^e heavens) they could have litle solace or content in respecte of any outward objects. For su[=m]er being done, all things stand upon them with a wetherbeaten face; and y^e whole countrie, full of woods & thickets, represented a wild & savage heiw. If they looked behind them, ther was y^e mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a maine barr & goulfe to seperate them from all y^e civill parts of y^e world. If it be said they had a ship to sucour them, it is trew; but what heard they daly from y^e m^r. & company? but y^t with speede they should looke out a place with their shallop, wher they would be at some near distance; for y^e season was shuch as he would not stirr from thence till a safe harbor was discovered by them wher they would be, and he might goe without danger; and that victells consumed apace, but he must & would keepe sufficient for them selves & their returne. Yea, it was muttered by some, that if they gott not a place in time, they would turne them & their goods ashore & leave them. Let it also be considred what weake hopes of supply & succoure they left behinde them, y^t might bear up their minds in this sade condition and trialls they were under; and they could not but be very smale. It is true, indeed, y^e affections & love of their brethren at Leyden was cordiall & entire towards them, but they had litle power to help them, or them selves; and how y^e case stode betweene them & y^e marchants at their coming away, hath allready been declared. What could now sustaine them but the spirite of God & his grace? May not & ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: _Our faithers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this willdernes;[AI] but they cried unto y^e Lord, and he heard their voyce, and looked on their adversitie, &c. Let them therfore praise y^e Lord, because he is good, & his mercies endure for ever._[AJ] _Yea, let them which have been redeemed of y^e Lord, shew how he hath delivered them from y^e hand of y^e oppressour. When they wandered in y^e deserte willdernes out of y^e way, and found no citie to dwell in, both hungrie, & thirstie, their sowle was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before y^e Lord his loving kindnes, and his wonderfull works before y^e sons of men._

The 10. Chap.

_Showing how they sought out a place of habitation, and what befell them theraboute._