Wednesday, October 24, Plimouth Plantation

Due Friday: vocabulary 3
In class: short vocabulary quiz and five questions on the background reading, Religion in Colonial America.
  Reading  William Bradford's Plimouth Plantation. handout / copy below.
Homework: finish reading Plimouth Plantation for tomorrow / Thursday, October 25


Journal of the beginning and proceedings

of the English Plantation settled at Plymouth in NEW

ENGLAND, by certain English Adventurers both

Merchants and others.

With their difficult passage, their safe arrival, their

joyful building of, and comfortable planting themselves

in the now well defended town

of NEW PLYMOUTH.

 

Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith,

and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern

parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and

one of another, covenant, and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our

better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue

hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts,

constitutions, offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for

the general good of the colony: unto which we promise all due submission and

obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names Cape Cod 11 of

November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord King James, of England,

France, and Ireland 18 and of Scotland 54. Anno Domini 1620.

 

About midnight we heard a great and hideous cry, and our sentinels called, Arm, Arm. So we bestirred

ourselves and shot off a couple of muskets, and noise ceased; we concluded, that it was a

company of wolves or foxes, for one told us, he had heard such a noise in Newfoundland.

About five o'clock in the morning we began to be stirring, and two or three which

doubted whether their pieces would go off or no made trial of them, and shot them off,

but thought nothing at all, after prayer we prepared ourselves for breakfast, and for a

journey, and it being now the twilight in the morning, it was thought meet to carry the

things down to the shallop: some said, it was not best to carry the armor down, others

said, they would be readier, two or three said, they would not carry theirs, till they went

themselves, but mistrusting nothing at all: as it fell out, the water not being high enough,

they laid the things down upon the shore, and came up to breakfast. Anon, all upon a

sudden, we heard a great and strange cry, which we knew to be the same voices, though

they varied their notes, one of our company being abroad came running in and cried,

They are men, Indians, Indians; and withal, their arrows came flying amongst us, our

men ran out with all speed to recover their arms, as by the good providence of God they

did. In the meantime, Captain Myles Standish, having a snaphance ready, made a shot,

and after him another, after they two had shot, other two of us were ready, but he wished

us not to shoot, till we could take aim, for we knew not what need we should have, and

there were four only of us, which had their arms there ready, and stood before the open

side of our barricade, which was first assaulted, they thought it best to defend it, lest the

enemy should take it and our stuff, and so have the more vantage against us, our care was

no less for the shallop, but we hoped all the rest would defend it; we called unto them to

know how it was with them, and they answered, Well, Well every one, and be of good

courage : we heard three of their pieces go off, and the rest called for a firebrand to light

their matches, one took a log out of the fire on his shoulder and went and carried it unto

them, which was thought did not a little discourage our enemies. The cry of our enemies

was dreadful, especially, when our men ran out to recover their arms, their note was after

this manner, Woath woach ha ha hach woach: our men were no sooner come to their

arms, but the enemy was ready to assault them.

There was a lusty man and no whit less valiant, who was thought to be their

captain, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot of us, and there let his arrows fly at

us; he was seen to shoot three arrows, which were all avoided, for he at whom the first

arrow was aimed, saw it, and stooped down and it flew over him, the rest were avoided

also: he stood three shots of a musket, at length one took as he said full aim at him, after

which he gave an extraordinary cry and away they went all, we followed them about a

quarter of a mile, but we left six to keep our shallop, for we were careful about our

business: then we shouted all together two several times, and shot off a couple of muskets

and so returned: this we did that they might see we were not afraid of them nor

discouraged. Thus it pleased God to vanquish our enemies and give us deliverance, by

their noise we could not guess that they were less than thirty or forty, though some

thought that they were many more yet in the dark of the morning, we could not so well

discern them among the trees, as they could see us by our fireside, we took up 18 of their

arrows which we have sent to England by Master Jones, some whereof were headed with

brass, others with harts' horn, and others with eagles' claws many more no doubt were

shot, for these we found were almost covered with leaves: yet by the especial providence

of God, none of them either hit or hurt us, though many came close by us, and on every

side of us, and some coats which hung up in our barricade, were shot through and

through. So after we had given God thanks for our deliverance, we took our shallop and

went on our journey, and called this place, The First Encounter.

Saturday and Sunday reasonable fair days. On this day came again the savage,

and brought with him five other tall proper men, they had every man a deer's skin on him,

and the principal of them had a wild cat's skin, or such like on the one arm; they had most

of them long hosen up to their groins, close made; and above their groins to their waist

another leather, they were altogether like the Irish-trousers; they are of complexion like

our English gypsies, no hair or very little on their faces, on their heads long hair to their

shoulders, only cut before some trussed up before with a feather, broad-wise, like a fan,

another a fox tail hanging out: these left (according to our charge given him before) their

bows and arrows a quarter of a mile from our town, we gave them entertainment as we

thought was fitting them, they did eat liberally of our English victuals, they made

semblance unto us of friendship and amity; they song and danced after their manner like

antics; they brought with them in a thing like a bow-case (which the principal of them

had about his waist) a little of their corn pounded to powder, which put to a little water,

they eat; he had a little tobacco in a bag, but none of them drunk but when he listed, some

of them had their faces painted black, from the forehead to the chin, four or five fingers

broad; others after other fashions, as they liked; they brought three or four skins, but we

would not truck with them at all that day, but wished them to bring more, and we would

truck for all, which they promised within a night or two, and would leave these behind

them, though we were not willing they should, and they brought us all our tools again

which were taken in the woods, in our men's absence, so because of the day we dismissed

them so soon as we could. But Samoset our first acquaintance, either was sick, or feigned

himself so, and would not go with them, and stayed with us till Wednesday morning: then

we sent him to them, to know the reason they came not according to their words, and we

gave him an hat, a pair of stockings and shoes, a shirt, and a piece of cloth to tie about his

waist.

The Sabbath day, when we sent them from us, we gave every one of them some

trifles, especially the principal of them, we carried them along with our arms to the place

where they left their bows and arrows, whereat they were amazed, and two of them began

to slink away, but that the other called them, when they took their arrows, we bade them

farewell, and they were glad, and so with many thanks given us they departed, with

promise they would come again.

 

Questions pertaining to "Of Plimouth Plantation"“Of Plimouth Plantation” questions Use specific textual evidence to respond to the following
1. List three reasons why the Pilgrims of Plimouth “plant[ed] the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia”.


2. What is the purpose of a covenant?


3. Why did the Pilgims of Plimouth “enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws?”


4. (thinking question; not in the text) Why was “the water not being high enough?”


5. What were the Indian’s weapons?

6. Why did the Pilgrims shoot “off a couple of muskets?”


7. (analysis question; not in text) What is the significance of some of the Indian’s weapons being “headed with brass?”


8. Why were “none of [the Pilgrims] either hit or hurt?’


9. List five descriptors of the “savage”.


10. (synthesis question) What do the following words signify in terms of the Plilgrim’s relationship with the Indians?
“…they did eat liberally of our English victuals, they made semblance of friendship and amity.”