Narrator: With land clearly in sight, brownish bluffs and treetops on the horizon, the Mayflower sailed slowly up the coastline, staying out to sea far enough to avoid the treacherous shoals and rocks nearer shore. The passengers eagerly eyed what they could see of what is now the northern tip of Cape Cod.
Because of the difficult seas they had encountered, the pilgrims had made their landfall about 60 miles north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. The leaders on board wondered what to do. Should they sail back to the south where their charter with the Virginia Company would be in effect? Or should they find a suitable harbor and settle here? Had God, in His Providence, led them to this spot?
After much debate and prayer, they decided to stay and build their settlement in "New England." When all of the passengers heard of this decision, confusion and some dissension broke out. The bonded servants aboard argued that this plan changed the terms of their work agreement. Fear arose that these men would declare their independence and leave the pilgrims with a depleted labor supply. Something needed to be done to bring about unity.
For an entire day, November the 10th, 1620, a discussion went on in the main cabin of the Mayflower.
Pilgrim: Mr. Bradford, sir, this land we have come upon, Ship's Master Jones saith not to be in the Virginias at all.
William Bradford: True enough, Mr. Travor, we knoweth not with certainty what land God has set us upon, but we believe it to be a good land called "Plymouth," by the Cape of Cod.
Pilgrim: Best for us if it is a fat land, for our stores are well nigh eaten through already.
Pilgrim: And if our stores be depleted, we who must do the work are better served in the Virginias. We know but little of this land nor the people thereof nor whether our labors will be blessed here.
Pilgrim: Methinks you'll do the labor for which you have been indentured, as you have so signed in troth.
Pilgrim: We'll do no labor outside the king's protection, which we have not here in Plymouth.
William Bradford: Good men, good men, peace be among us all. Our quarrels must not divide us.
Pilgrim: Master Bradford, we have no quarrel with you, but that contract, which united us, is of no good effect without the king's awareness.
William Bradford: Thou hast given thy pledge for one year's service.
Pilgrim: Not outside the Virginias.
William Bradford: Good men, we must see that these issues, which divide us, will undo us. The land at the Hudson River hath eluded our grasp by the Providence of God. Is it not? The Lord has driven us by His power to this land of Plymouth. Therefore, being here, we must remain here at present for the winter is upon us, and whether we be of the saints or the strangers, we must make a new agreement.
Pilgrim: Under whose authority?
William Bradford: Under the authority we carry as Christian Englishmen, and with a clear conscience …
Narrator: As the ship worked its way around the tip of the Cape, searching for a coastal inlet to enter and drop anchor, the debate continued. Finally, several of the leaders drafted an agreement – the Mayflower Compact, which was to become one of the more important documents in American history.
The major points of the agreement were explained to the passengers, and all adult males were asked to sign the Compact before the ship dropped anchor.
Pilgrim: It is settled then? We covenant together one and all? Therefore, in the name of God …
Narrator: The key clauses contained these words – "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, we do, by these present, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and of one another covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid." With the Compact signed, a hedge against revolt was in place.
Next, the last bit of business was conducted – the election of John Carver as governor of the colony for a one-year term. By this time the Mayflower had sailed beyond the end of the Cape and turned into a bay. The pilgrims saw more clearly the landscape of sandhills and thickets of short piney woods.
At 10 a.m. Captain Jones ordered the anchor dropped. It was Saturday morning, November the 11th, 1620. William Bradford wrote later of this moment …
William Bradford: I cannot but stand half amazed at this poor people's present condition. Being thus passed the vast ocean and a sea of troubles, they have now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weatherbeaten bodies. What could have now sustained them but the spirit of God and His grace?
Narrator: Bradford also noted the custom of the pilgrims to honor God and give thanks in all things.
William Bradford: 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 all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element.
Narrator: A party of men armed with muskets and axes were sent ashore to explore the land and secure firewood, since they had none left on the ship. The group returned in the afternoon with juniper logs, which soon were burning in cooking fires on board. The pilgrims enjoyed their first hot meal in weeks.
Although everyone was eager to go ashore and begin construction of the settlement, because the next day was Sunday, all work stopped and the Sabbath was observed, as usual, with prayer, meditation, singing of Psalms, and a sermon by William Brewster. It was a custom they observed faithfully every week in all circumstances in allegiance to the Fourth Commandment.
In the days that followed several expeditions were made to explore the area to seek the best location for a settlement. Winter weather now made this effort miserable. The pilgrim men and the sailors who chose to go along, endured freezing rain and rough waves as they rode across the bay. One day they met Indians onshore without incident, but the next day were attacked. Though many arrows were shot at the men and musket fire was returned, no one was injured. Again, the pilgrims gave thanks to God for His protection and deliverance. They called the place "First Encounter," as it is still called to this day.
In spite of these difficulties the men were successful, having slowly made their way by land and by sea around the interior of the Cape, they eventually found an ideal spot on the mainland that had fertile soil, four spring-fed creeks, and a large section of ground already cleared and ready for planting. The men rejoiced at their discovery.
During these explorations, many colonists back on board the Mayflower became gravely ill, and a few died, including William Bradford's young wife, Dorothy May. There was little time for mourning and sadness. Their desperate condition demanded that they all work, especially the men, to establish the colony. It wasn't until December the 11th, a month after they had first dropped anchor, that a landing was made at what was to become the permanent settlement.
Plans had been made to first build a meeting house, and then 19 family dwellings, the unmarried men having been assigned to live with families. These buildings were to be simple, one-room, frame houses, about 18 by 14 feet in size with a fireplace and sleeping loft. There was no glass for the windows, and the roofs were made of thatch, which the settlers had used in England. Construction finally began in late December.
A disheartening setback occurred in mid-January when the thatch roof of the newly completed meeting house caught fire. Fortunately, the settlers put out the flames before the whole building burned. By the end of January, several family dwellings were partially built, but most of the pilgrims were still living in temporary quarters – in the meeting house and on the Mayflower.
Captain Jones had graciously agreed to delay his return with the Mayflower to England. He knew that the settlers needed its protection. Perhaps the pilgrims had felt that the worst was over when they finally set foot on solid ground again, but their relief was only momentary. Though they were hard workers, they couldn't build their dwellings quickly enough, and they could only endure the harsh winter weather without ill effect for so long.
As the weeks went by, the weather grew worse. In the coldest stretch of winter, after many had suffered long with head colds, a flu-like illness swept through the colony. This disease, called "the general sickness," had made much of the community desperately ill. Coughing and gasping for breath, most of the settlers were unable to leave their beds. Few were spared. William Bradford, Governor Carver, and other leaders fell sick, too.
During the worst of the epidemic, on any given day, only six or seven out of the 100 colonists might be strong enough to help tend the sick. The pilgrims began to die in alarming numbers, often two or three each day. The men strong enough to work carried the bodies out for burial at night. This was a tactic to hide the worsening situation in the colony from any Indians who might be spying from the nearby woods.
One of the men who remained healthy and tirelessly helped the others was the military leader, Captain Miles Standish. Even after his own wife, Rose, died on January the 21st, Standish continued to serve the others faithfully. The epidemic also struck the sailors on board the Mayflower. Those pilgrims still on their feet ministered to the sick sailors, too, prompting one of the sailors, a man who had ridiculed and cursed the God-fearing passengers during the sea crossing to say, "You, I now see, show your love like Christians, indeed, one to another. But we let one another lie and die like dogs."
February brought the worst of the weather and the sickness. Freezing rains pounded the crude dwellings, stripping much of the clay from the cracks between boards and allowing the wailing cold wind to penetrate the houses. Both the sick and healthy struggled to stay warm. Seventeen persons died during the month.
Indians were sighted on several occasions. Since the intentions of the native people were unknown, the colonists were very fearful. Under the leadership of Captain Standish, the men who were not too ill practiced military drills and shared guard duty at night.
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