From the journal of William
Bradford... |
A description of the hard circumstances of the winter
of 1621 :
"In these hard & difficulte beginings they found some discontents &
murmurings arise amongst some, and mutinous speeches & carriags in other; but they
were soone quelled & overcome by ye wisdome, patience, and just & equall carrage
of things by ye Govr and better part, wch clave faithfully togeather in ye maine. But that
which was most sadd & lamentable was, that in 2. or 3. moneths time halfe of their
company dyed, espetialy in Jan: & February, being ye depth of winter, and wanting
houses & other comforts; being infected with ye scurvie & other diseases, which
this long vioage & their inacomodate condition had brought upon them; so as ther dyed
some times 2. or 3. of a day, in ye foresaid time; that of 100. & odd persons, scarce
50. remained. And of these in ye time of most distres, ther was but 6. or 7. sound
persons, who, to their great comendations be it spoken, spared no pains, night nor day,
but with abundance of toyle and hazard of their owne health, fetched them woode, made them
fires, drest them meat, made their beads, washed their lothsome cloaths, cloathed &
uncloathed them; in a word, did all ye homly & necessarie offices for them wch dainty
& quesie stomacks cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly & cherfully,
without any grudging in ye least, shewing herein their true love unto their friends &
bretheren. A rare example & worthy to be remembred. Two of these 7. were Mr. William
Brewster, ther reverend Elder, & Myles Standish, ther Captein & military comander,
unto whom my selfe, & many others, were much beholden in our low & sicke
condition." |
