Part 7

The pilgrim voyagers found themselves on a bleak and inhospitable coast, and much farther to the northward than they intended to go. In agreement with their wishes, an attempt was made, by the master of the ship, to proceed to the Hudson. But either finding, or affecting to believe the passage to be dangerous, he readily seized on the fears which had been excited, probably by himself, to return to the cape, with a view to make a landing there. It afterwards appeared that he had been bribed by the Dutch, who intended to keep possession of the Hudson river, to carry the adventurers quite to the northward of their place of destination. They arrived in Cape Cod harbor on the 11th of November, "and, being brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees, and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from many perils and miseries." At this time, "it was thought meet for their more orderly carrying on their affairs, and accordingly by mutual consent they entered into a solemn combination, as a body politic, to submit to such government and governors, laws and ordinances, as should by general consent from time to time be made choice of and assented unto."[7] Forty-one persons signed this compact. It contained the essential principles of a free government, such as have since been embodied in the institutions of republican America. John Carver was immediately chosen their governor, "a man godly and well-approved among them."

Severe were the trials which awaited this small and lone band of pilgrims. The necessity of selecting a more commodious place for living was obvious, and, in the efforts which were made for this purpose, several of them well nigh perished. The excursions of an adventurous band of men, on several occasions, were extremely hazardous; and, though generally at the places where they landed, no Indians were found, yet, in one instance, they came in contact with the latter, and a hostile collision took place between them. By the kind providence of God, however, they were preserved. During one of their excursions into the country, they found a quantity of corn, which they took, with the intention of remunerating the owners, which intention they were afterwards happily enabled to fulfil. This was a providential discovery, which supplied their present wants, and served as seed for a future harvest. An entire month was occupied with these explorations. At last, they found a tract where they concluded to consummate their enterprise. Having sounded the harbor in front, they ascertained it to be fit for shipping. Going on shore, they explored the adjacent land, where they saw various corn-fields and brooks. They then returned to the ship, with the agreeable intelligence that they had found a place convenient for settlement. This was on Monday, the 11th of December, answering to the 22nd day, new style, the day now celebrated in commemoration of the landing of the pilgrims at _Plymouth_. The company had kept the Christian Sabbath, the day before, on an island in the harbor. The ship arrived at the newly-discovered port on the 16th. Several days were spent in disembarking, and it was not until the 25th that they began to build the first house. This was a structure for common use, to receive them and their goods. The undertaking, however, was preceded by united prayer for Divine guidance. The building having been completed, they began to erect "some cottages for habitation, as time would admit, and also consulted of laws and order, both for their civil and military government, as the necessity of their present condition did require. But that which was sad and lamentable, in two or three months half their company died, especially in January and February, being the depth of winter, wanting houses and other comforts, being infected with the scurvy and other diseases, which their long voyage and their incommodate condition brought upon them."[8] Their reduction, by sickness, would have rendered them an easy prey to the Indians; but the providence of God had so ordered it, that but few of this fierce people existed, at that period, in the neighborhood of the settlers, and those few were kept back from inflicting any injury, by the dread which had almost supernaturally, so to speak, been inspired in their hearts. The paucity of the Indians has been accounted for, from a wasting sickness, of an extraordinary character, which had visited the region some few years before.

Some time in March of 1621, an agreeable and unexpected occurrence took place at the rendezvous of the whites. It was a visit of an Indian sagamore, named Samoset, with professions of friendship for them, and satisfaction at their arrival in the country. His kind greeting to them was, "Welcome, Englishmen! Welcome, Englishmen!" He spoke in broken English, which he had learned from English fishermen on the eastern coast. This was an event of great consequence to the settlers, as they learned from him many things in respect to the region around, and the Indians that inhabited it. He came to the English settlement again, with some other natives, and advised the emigrants of the coming of the great sachem, named Massasoit. In a short time this chief made his appearance, in company with his principal associates, particularly an Indian named Squanto, who proved to be of signal service to the whites. He had learned the English language, in consequence of having been carried to England by an English adventurer. Mutual fear and distrust took place between the parties, as Massasoit came in sight on the hill which overlooked the place. After they each had taken proper precautions against surprise, through the agency of Squanto they came together, and the result of the interview was a league of peace, which was kept inviolate more than fifty years.

The visit was not much prolonged. "Samoset and Squanto stayed all night with us, and the king and all his men lay all night in the wood, not above half an English mile from us, and all their wives and women with them. They said that within eight or nine days they would come and set corn on the other side of the brook, and dwell there all summer, which is hard by us. That night we kept good watch, but there was no appearance of danger."[9] The plantation at Plymouth enjoyed the benefit of Squanto's presence with them, after the departure of the others. He was a native or resident of the place, and almost the only one that was left; and being acquainted with every part of it, his information was made highly useful to the colonists. They learned from him the method of cultivating corn, and where to take their fish, and procure their commodities. He continued among them until the day of his death. In the spring of 1621, Mr. Carver was confirmed as governor for the succeeding year, but his death occurred soon afterwards. Mr. William Bradford was chosen his successor, and Mr. Israel Allerton his assistant. The intercourse of the colonists with the Indians continued to be of a friendly character, the former having, during the summer, made several excursions into the country around, particularly one to Shawmut (Boston), where they had an interview with Obbatinnua, one of the parties to the submission signed a short time before at Plymouth. He renewed his submission, receiving, at the same time, a promise of defence against his enemies.

The small number of the colonists was increased before the end of the year by an accession of thirty-five persons, among whom was a very active and pious agent, Mr. Robert Cushman. He became eminently useful to the plantation. Upon the departure of the ship conveying this latter company, the colony received a threatening token from the Narraganset tribe of Indians--a circumstance which induced them to fortify their little settlement as well as they were able, and to keep a constant guard by day and by night. Happily, no attempts at that time were made to disturb their peace. This event occurred in the year 1622. In the following year, a vigorous and successful attempt, under the brave Captain Miles Standish, was made to defeat a conspiracy formed by the Massachusetts tribe, with several others, against a recent English settlement at Wessagusset (Weymouth). This settlement had been formed under Mr. Thos. Weston on his own account, and consisted of sixty men. The slaughter of several of the conspirators so terrified the Indian tribes concerned in the conspiracy, that they fled from their homes into swamps and desert places, where many of them perished. This generous service, on the part of the Plymouth colony, towards a neighboring plantation, redounded greatly to their credit, especially as the latter were merely a company of adventurers, and had been guilty of injustice towards the Indians.

The present year proved to be a year of suffering, in consequence of the scarcity of food. The following affecting account is given by Bradford: "But by the time our corn is planted, our victuals are spent, not knowing at night where to have a bit in the morning; we have neither bread nor corn for three or four months together, yet bear our wants with cheerfulness, and rest on Providence. Having but one boat left, we divide the men into several companies, six or seven in each, who take their turns to go out with a net, and fish, and return not till they get some, though they be five or six days out; knowing there is nothing at home, and to return empty would be a great discouragement. When they stay long, or get but little, the rest go a digging shellfish, and thus we live the summer; only sending one or two to range the woods for deer, they get now and then one, which we divide among the company; and in the winter are helped with fowl and ground-nuts."[10] It is recorded that, after a drought of six weeks, the government set apart a solemn day of humiliation and prayer, which was almost immediately followed by a copious supply of rain. In the language of the chronicles of the times, it is thus spoken of: "Though in the morning, when we assembled together, the heavens were as clear, and the drought as like to continue as it ever was, yet (our exercise continuing some eight or nine hours) before our departure, the weather was overcast, the clouds gathered together on all sides, and, in the morning, distilled such soft, sweet, and moderate showers of rain, continuing some fourteen days, and mixed with such seasonable weather, as it was hard to say, whether our withered corn or drooping affections were most quickened or revived, such was the bounty and goodness of our God." Soon after, in grateful acknowledgment of the blessing, a day of public thanksgiving was observed. This, by a judicious historian, (Thomas Robbins, D. D.) is believed to be the origin of the annual thanksgiving of New England.

Towards the close of the summer, two ships arrived at Plymouth, bringing sixty emigrants, some of them the wives and children of such as were already in the colony. Those who came in the first three ships--the Mayflower, the Fortune, and the Ann--are distinctively called the old comers, or the _forefathers_. In 1624, Plymouth contained thirty-two dwellings and about one hundred and eighty inhabitants. Bradford was rëelected governor, and four assistants to him were also chosen. To each person and his family an acre of land was given in perpetuity. The first neat cattle in New England were brought over this year by Edward Winslow. The colonists had at that time no small trouble with several of the new comers, particularly with one John Lyford, a minister, and another by the name of Oldham, who were disposed to act in opposition to the laws and order of the colony. The persons above mentioned, however, soon perished, Oldham having first become apparently a penitent.

The congregation of the Puritans at Leyden was broken up on the death of their pastor, Mr. Robinson, in 1627. They desired to remove to New England, but only a part of them were enabled to come. The others settled in Amsterdam. Mr. Robinson had hoped to emigrate, but the expense of the undertaking could not well be met, and his death now preventing, only his wife and children came with the portion of the congregation that crossed the water. His place in the colony was supplied by Mr. William Brewster, a ruling elder in the church, and a man every way qualified as a spiritual guide of the people.

The foundation of the colony of MASSACHUSETTS was laid in the year 1628. It was styled the _Colony of Massachusetts bay_, the territory of which had been purchased by the Plymouth company--by Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, and several others. The patent included all that part of New England lying between three miles to the northward of Merrimack river, and three miles to the southward of Charles river, extending in length from the Atlantic ocean to the South sea. The leader of the expedition was Mr. John Endicot, whose character may be summed up by saying, that he was a fit person to found that noble commonwealth. He came with one hundred emigrants, and was appointed governor of the colony. Mr. White, an eminent minister, was one of the company. Three years previously, a small company of adventurers had emigrated to a place in the Massachusetts bay, afterwards called Mount Wollaston, after the name of their leader; but, having no religious object in view, they fell into shameful irregularities. Upon the arrival of Endicot, however, a check was put on these proceedings, and their leader, Morton, was finally sent to England. These pious non-conformists under Endicot, like the Plymouth colonists, sought a refuge from oppression in their religious concerns, and desired to build up a community on the true principles of Christianity. They located themselves at Numkeag, (Salem,) where the first permanent town in Massachusetts was constituted. In the following year, they were joined by about two hundred others from England, making in the whole three hundred; of which number one hundred removed the same year, and settled themselves, with the consent of Governor Endicot, at Mishawam, now Charlestown. At this period, on the petition of the Massachusetts company, King Charles by charter confirmed the patent of the Massachusetts colony. By this instrument, they were empowered to elect a governor, deputy governor, and eighteen assistants, out of the freemen of said company, by the greater part of the company. The first governor, under this renewed charter, was Matthew Cradock. The company being desirous of establishing their plantation in the order of the Gospel, engaged two eminent divines, Mr. Higginson and Mr. Skelton, to go out for the spiritual service of the colony. Soon after their arrival at Salem, they were placed over the church there with all due solemnity, the one as teacher, the other as pastor. These excellent men, however, lived but a short period, sharing largely, as they did, in the sickness and suffering that diminished the strength and shortened the lives of a large number of their people.

Among the many persons of distinction who left England the ensuing year, on account of the stringent measures of the government in regard to affairs both of church and state, are found the names of Isaac Johnson, John Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, and Sir Richard Saltonstall. These gentlemen, by their persuasions, were the means of having the charter and government of the company transferred to New England. They left with fifteen hundred other persons, in a fleet of seventeen sail, Winthrop having been chosen governor under the new order of things. They arrived in safety, eleven ships at one time, and six at another; and before the conclusion of the season, commenced settlements in several places; which, at present, constitute some of the fairest towns of New England. Governor Winthrop, and a portion of the company, laid the foundation of Boston. Several most highly esteemed ministers accompanied the expedition just spoken of; Mr. Wilson, Mr. Warham, and others. These were placed over the several churches that soon began to be formed in this vicinity. The first general court of Massachusetts, was held in Boston this year, on the 19th of October, at which time many of the planters attended, and were made freemen of the colony. The winters of 1630 and 1631, were very fatal to the Massachusetts colony. Frost and sickness carried off a number, and famine at length threatened the suffering survivors. They were, however, providentially relieved by the arrival of a ship from England with provisions, the day previously to a public fast, which had been appointed on account of the alarming state of things. This circumstance turned the intended fast into a general thanksgiving. The colony continued to increase by fresh accessions of emigrants till the year 1640, up to which time, it is computed that four thousand families had arrived in New England. From this small beginning have arisen the population, power, wealth, piety, and freedom of the New England states.

In the year 1633, the Plymouth colony suffered from a pestilential disease, which not only thinned their number, but, extending to the neighboring territory, swept off many of the Indians. In the same year, arrived those lights of the New England church, Mr. John Cotton, Mr. Thomas Hooker, and Mr. Samuel Stone, and that model of a magistrate, Mr. William Collier, whose services, to the Plymouth colony, were so considerable. Generally, the emigrants of this period were actuated by the same spirit of opposition to tyranny in church and state, and of love to the institutions of Christianity, which had characterized their predecessors. The men placed at the head of the new colonies were, universally, men of sterling worth of character.

The first settlers of CONNECTICUT came from the eastern shore of Massachusetts. They were a portion of the emigrants who constituted the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts bay. The emigration from England continuing to be large, and likely to increase from year to year, more room was wanted, and especially locations where the soil was rich and could be easily cultivated, became an object of desire. This consideration, and, probably, others pertaining to their tranquillity and increase as churches, had influence on the resolution to seat themselves again in the wilderness. It had happened, as early as the year 1631, that their attention was directed to the beautiful and rich tract of land, on the Connecticut river, by Wahcuimacut, a sachem living upon the river. He made a journey to Plymouth and Boston, with a view to enlist the governors of those colonies in the project of making settlements in his country. The proposition was not formally accepted, but the governor of Plymouth was sufficiently interested in it to make a voyage to the coast, in which excursion he discovered the river and the adjacent territory; thus precluding the title of the Dutch to any part of it, as they had neither "trading-house, nor any pretence to a foot of land there."[11] The subject of settling Connecticut was not lost sight of during one or two subsequent years; but, occasionally, vessels were sent from Plymouth to the river, for the purposes of trade, and, in one instance, several men, from Dorchester, traveled through the wilderness thither for the same object, as also to view the country.

In 1633, when the Plymouth colony had determined to commence the work of settlement, they commissioned William Holmes, and a chosen company with him, to proceed to Connecticut. They took with them the frame of a house, which they set up in Windsor. They achieved their object, notwithstanding the threatened opposition of the Dutch at Hartford, where the latter, after learning that the Plymouth people intended to settle on the river, had erected a slight fort. The Plymouth people, also, were successful in defending their trading-house subsequently, both against the Dutch and the Indians. The Dutch erected a trading-house at Hartford the same year, the house at Windsor having preceded it, perhaps, by a few months. The actual settlement of the region, however, was deferred for a time, from the fact of divided opinions on the subject in the Massachusetts court. No vote could be obtained in favor of the project. In the mean time, individuals were determined to prosecute the enterprise, and a number of the people of Watertown came, in 1634, to Connecticut. They erected a few huts at Pyquag (Wethersfield), in which they contrived to pass the winter. In the spring of 1635, the general court of Massachusetts bay assented to the plan of emigration to Connecticut, and, accordingly, preparations were made in several places. The Watertown people gradually removed, and added to their settlement at Wethersfield. Mr. Warham, one of the ministers of Dorchester, accompanied by a great part of the church, settled at Mattaneang (Windsor). A company from Newtown began a plantation, between those two settlements, at Suchiang (Hartford). In the course of the year, a large body of settlers, sixty in number, came together--men, women, and children, with their horses, cattle, and swine. It being somewhat late in the season, and their journey proving to be long and difficult, winter came upon them before they were prepared. They were but indifferently sheltered, and their food was scanty--a large portion of their furniture and provisions, having been put on board of several small vessels, never reached them. The vessels were lost, and some lives with them. A part of their domestic animals they were obliged to leave on the other side of the river. Famine and its fearful effects were now to be encountered. It was impossible for all to stay where they were. Some, attempted to return to the east through the wilderness; others, went down to the mouth of the river, in order to meet their provisions, and, being disappointed, were obliged, finally, to embark on board of a vessel for Boston. In both instances they suffered greatly, but were providentially preserved to arrive at their former home. The portion of the settlers who remained were subjected to much distress. The resources of hunting and food from the Indians being exhausted, they had recourse to acorns, malt, and grains for subsistence. Large numbers of their cattle perished. Their condition was indeed most trying and perilous, in their solitude and separation from others, at the mercy alike of the elements of nature, and the power of savage foes. But their God, in whom they trusted, carried them through in safety.

The Connecticut planters held courts of their own, though they were settled under the general government of the Massachusetts. These courts consisted of two principal men from each town, joined sometimes by committees of three additional persons, as occasion might require. The first court was held at Hartford, April 26th, 1636. At this season of the year, both those who had left Connecticut in the winter and many others proceeded to take up their residence on the river. At length, about the beginning of June, a company of an hundred men, women, and children, under Messrs. Hooker and Stone, took their departure from Cambridge, and traveled to Hartford through the pathless wilderness that lay between the two places. Over mountains, through ravines, swamps, thickets, and rivers, they made their way, submitting to incredible fatigue and many privations. These trials, to a portion of the new comers, must have been peculiarly severe, as they were a class of society who, having enjoyed all the comforts and elegancies of life, knew little of hardship and danger.