The Mayflower Letters, Part II
After a difficult start, writes Elizabeth Linscott, the Pilgrims’ Colony gradually became self-supporting.
Although Bradford’s History records the details of the Pilgrims’ landing at Cape Cod in 1620 and the disastrous first winter, Bradford includes no correspondence during the first year. Half of the company died. The others had built their houses and harvested small crops.
They were just beginning to be in better shape when in November 1621 the Fortune arrived from England. Their hopes that the ship might have brought some food were dashed. The only cargo was thirty-five ‘lusty and wild’ young men, without as much as a ‘biscuit-cake, nor pot nor pan.’
This brought them near famine again, and every person was put on half allowance of food. Robert Cushman was on this ship and brought a bad-tempered letter from Thomas Weston in London to John Carver, the first Governor of the colony, who had meanwhile died. Only part of the letter is quoted by Bradford who described it as full of complaints ‘and the keeping of the Mayflower so long.’
Part of Thomas Weston’s letter from London, July 6th, 1621, to the Pilgrims on Cape Cod.
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