TO HIS MUCH RESPECTED FRIEND, MR. I. P.' GOOD FRIEND, SO As we cannot but account it an extraordinary blessing of God in directing our course for these parts, after we came out of our native country, for that we had the happiness to be possessed of the comforts we receive by the benefit of one of the most pleasant, most healthful, and most fruitful parts of the world, must we acknowledge the same blessing to be multiplied upon our whole company, for that we obtained the honor to receive allowance and approbation of our free possession and enjoying thereof, under the authority of those thrice honored persons, The President and Council for the Affairs of New England; by whose bounty and grace, in that behalf, all of us are tied to dedicate our best service unto them, as those, under his Majesty, that we owe it unto; whose noble endea These are probably the initials of John Pierce, in whose name their second patent was taken. See Prince, p. 204. The Pilgrims by coming so far north, had got beyond the limits of the Virginia Company, and accordingly their patent was of no value. On the return of the Mayflower in May, 1621, the merchant adventurers applied, in their behalf, to the President and Council of New England, for a grant of the territory on which they had unintentionally settled. This, it seems, was readily accorded. The Presi dent and Council put forth in 1622, "A Brief Relation of the Discovery and Plantation of New England," which is reprinted in the Mass. Hist. Coll. xix. 1 — 25. ROBERT CUSHMAN'S LETTER. vours in these their actions the God of heaven and earth multiply to his glory and their own eternal comforts. As for this poor Relation, I pray you to accept it as being writ by the several actors themselves,' after their plain and rude manner. Therefore doubt nothing of the truth thereof. If it be defective in any thing, it is their ignorance, that are better acquainted with planting than writing. If it satisfy those that are well affected to the business, it is all I care for. Sure I am the place we are in, and the hopes that are apparent, cannot but suffice any that will not desire more than enough. Neither is there want of aught among us 'This constitutes its great value, and confers on it the highest authority. George Morton, in his Preface, alludes to the same fact. Edward Winslow, in a postscript to his "Good News from New England," printed in 1624, states that this Relation was "gathered by the inhabitants of this present plantation at Plymouth, in New England," and in the body of his work alludes to "former letters written by myself and others, which came to the press against my will and knowledge." The Journal, too, directly and by implication, repeatedly testifies to the same point. Under Dec. 6, in mentioning their third excursion, it says, "the narrative of which discovery follows, penned by one of the company." I do not hesitate to ascribe this Journal to Bradford and Winslow, chiefly to the former. They were among the most active and efficient leaders of the Pilgrims; and one or the other of them went on almost every expedition here recorded, and were therefore cognizant of the facts as eye-witnesses. They were also the only practised writers among them. We are not aware that any of the other colo- 115 116 ROBERT CUSHMAN'S LETTER. but company to enjoy the blessings, so plentifully be- Yours, in the way of friendship, From Plymouth, in New England. Who was R. G.? At the time this Journal was sent over from Plymouth, in Dec. 1621, the only person there whose initials were R. G. was Richard Gardiner. He was one of the signers of the Compact on board the Mayflower, as will be seen hereafter. In that list it is apparent that the 41 names are, for the most part, subscribed in the order of the reputed rank of the signers. The two last, Dotey and Leister, were servants; the two next preceding, Allerton and English, were seamen; then comes Richard Gardiner. Now it is very unlikely that such an obscure person as this, No. 37, of whom nothing is known, whose name does not appear in the assignment of the lands in 1623, nor in the division of the cattle in 1627, and occurs no where subsequently in the records of the Colony, should be selected and deputed by the leading men in it to endorse "the recommendation" of their Journal. Such a person, even had he been chosen for this purpose, would not have presumed to speak of his superiors as having written their narrative "after their plain and rude manner," and apologize for "their ignorance," by saying they were "better acquainted with planting ROBER R. G.' than writing." Such language would be used only by one of their compeers. R. G. (or R. C. as I think it should be,) was Robert Cushman, their active and efficient agent, who being prevented from coming over in the Mayflower, came in Nov. 1621, in the Fortune, and returned in her the next month. Cushman brought the intelligence that a charter had been procured for them by the merchant adventurers from the President and Council of New England, "better than their former, and with less limitation." It was very natural, under these circunstances, that the leading colonists should request him to write a letter in their behalf, enclosing a copy of their Journal, to Pierce, in whose name the charter had been taken; and it was no less natural, that in writing it, he should render a deserved tribute of acknowledgment to the Company, for their "bounty and grace" in allowing them the free possession and enjoyment of the land on which they had involuntarily settled. See Prince, p. 198. This letter of Cushman is followed in the original by Robinson's parting Letter of Advice, which has already been printed on page 91. CHAPTER IX. OF THE FIRST PLANTERS' COMBINATION BY ENTERING IX. Sept. 9. WEDNESDAY, the 6th of September, the wind com- CHAP. ing east-north-east, a fine small gale, we loosed from Plymouth, having been kindly entertained and cour- 1620. teously used by divers friends there dwelling; and 6. after many difficulties in boisterous storms, at length, by God's providence, upon the 9th of November fol- Nov. lowing, by break of the day, we espied land, which we deemed to be Cape Cod, and so afterward it proved. And the appearance of it much comforted us, especially seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the brink of the sea. It caused us to rejoice together, and praise God that had given us once again to see land. And thus we made our course south-southwest, purposing to go to a river ten leagues to the south of the Cape.' But at night the wind being contrary, we put round again for the bay of Cape Cod ; and upon the 11th of November we came to an anchor This river was the Hudson. Little was known at that time about distances on this unsurveyed coast. Ten may possibly be an Nov. 11. 118 Νον. CAPE COD WELL WOODED. CHAP. in the bay,' which is a good harbour and pleasant bay, IX. circled round, except in the entrance, which is about 1620. four miles over from land to land, compassed about to 11. the very sea with oaks, pines, juniper, sassafras, and other sweet wood.3 It is a harbour wherein a thousand sail of ships may safely ride. There we relieved ourselves with wood and water, and refreshed our people, while our shallop was fitted to coast the bay, to search 'That is, in Cape Cod or Provincetown harbour. This is just the distance from Long Point to the nearest land in Truro. 3 Few trees are now left round Cape Cod harbour. That they were once common, appears from the name Wood End, given to a part of the coast, and from the stumps that are still found along the shore, particularly at the west end of the harbour,below the present high water mark, just above what is called "the rising." There is quite a grove of pines, called Mayo's Wood, near Snow's hill, at the eastern end of the village. There are dwarf oaks, too, growing on High Hill. The young trees would thrive if they were enclosed and protected from the cows, who now get part of their living by browsing on them. There are a few sassafras bushes, but no juniper. The juniper was probably the red cedar. Josselyn, in his New England's Rarities, published in 1672, says, page 49, "Cardan says juniper is cedar in hot countries, and juniper in cold countries; it is here very dwarfish and shrubby, growing for the most part by the sea-side." And Wood, in his New England's Prospect, printed in 1639, says, p. 19, "the cedar tree is a tree of no great growth, not bearing above a foot and a half at the most, neither is it very high. This wood is of color red and white, like yew, smelling as sweet as juniper." In 1740 there was a number of oaks in the woods northwest of East Harbour. Cape Cod harbour is formed by the spiral bending of the land, from Pamet river to Long Point, nearly round every point of the compass; it is completely landlocked. "It is one of the finest harbours for ships of war on the whole of our Atlantic coast. The width, and freedom from obstructions of every kind, at its entrance, and the extent of sea-room upon the bay side, make it accessible to vessels of the largest class in almost all winds. This advantage, its capacity, depth of water, excellent anchorage, and the complete shelter it affords from all winds, render it one of the most valuable ship harbours upon our coast, whether considered in a commercial or military point of view." See Major J. D. Graham's Report, pp. 2 and 13, No. 121 of Executive Documents of the 25th Congress, 2d Sess. 1837-8, vol. 5. - Major Graham was employed by the government of the United States, during portions of the years 1833, 1834, and 1835, assisted by seven engineers, to survey the extremity of Cape Cod, including the townships of Provincetown and Truro, with their sea-coast, and the harbour of Cape Cod. This survey was executed with the greatest accuracy and precision, and a large and beautiful map, on a scale of six inches to a mile, was projected from it and published by order of Congress in 1838. It is very desirable that the whole Cape should be surveyed in the same manner. |