I must intercede at this point of the story. As a child, I grew up with a picture of the saints (pilgrims) coming over from Europe to the New World without facing the problems I now realize. I imagined the Mayflower being a prototype cruise ship, landing on the harbors of Cape Cod with welcome. I envisioned the saints on the upper deck waving to Native Americans as they prepared to dock. The friendship between Native Americans and saints was immediate, and construction for their new village quickly began.
Dressed in hats with large buckles and shoes to match, the saints sang hymns, prayed for hours during the day, and established long lasting friendships with the natives. Together with other Native Americans joining their group, they planted crops and built their homes, everyone set to live happily ever after. Then in the fall of 1621, the saints welcomed all the Native Americans they had met to a Thanksgiving feast. This feast was dedicated to the God of the saints for all He had done for them and the bounty they had received. It was a beautiful celebration. Everyone went to their homes that night filled with harmony and peace.
Yea right. What planet am I from? I will continue...
As the Mayflower set out for the New World, it would be 66 days before she would see shorelines again. The voyage would be approximately 3200 miles.
I was happy to see us on our way and equally anxious to get to the New World. I think many felt the same way...let's get this thing done and over with.
Everyone in our group spent much time in prayer. We didn't have a lot more we could do. Most of our families were farmers with wives who tended to the home like gardening, sewing, cleaning, cooking and doing laundry. Now we just sit in the dark and wait.
I thought about the extra clothing and food we brought with us. Father and mother had received a check list prior to this journey and brought the items listed. I knew I had some extra clothing along and asked mother if I could go down to the cargo deck and find our bags. The clothes I was wearing were dirty, they stank, and I needed to bathe...bad! She brought up the infestation of lice, the fact I will get the clothes I brought with me dirty, and many of the things like bedding and food supplies...will all be thrown away. She thought it best I just make the best of what we have now, and try to use some of the bad water to wash up the best I could.
You didn't know water can go bad?...sour...like my father describes.
The water had become brackish, meaning there was a mixture of salt and fresh water in our water supply. We could not drink it because of the high salt content. It would make us deathly sick and even more thirsty.
The Mayflower was a "sweet ship." Wine had been transported from France to England in its past voyages, leaving the aroma of her cargo within the ship. As we left England and began our journey to the New World, the sweet aroma dissipated and the putrid smells of body order, sickness, and chamber pots filled the air. The worse as we set sail for the open seas was sea sickness. People were vomiting everywhere. Their clothes, bedding, missed pots splattered with vomit on the floors, caused horrendous odors. When the hatches were shut, the smells intensified. I would stick my face near a drafty gun portal to breath in fresh air.
Our living arrangements became nothing more than beds of horror. Because of the hatches shut and no windows, everything was dark, musty, and so very, very boring. The Mayflower was a cargo ship and was never intended to carry passengers, let alone 102 of us with children on board.
Three ladies were pregnant and not far from birth. A number of the children were indentured servants. Their fathers had died or left their mothers. and as a result, the mothers could not raise their children for lack of finances. They gave them to other families with stable incomes...in hopes they would have a better life. Little Mary More, only four years of age, was an indentured servant. Actually, Mary, her two sisters Jasper and Elinor along with their brother Richard were all indentured servants to various families. I even heard their real mother was unaware their father had given them to other families and now were on the Mayflower. But then I heard he wasn't the real father anyway.
The weather seemed cooperative as the Mayflower made its way to the North Atlantic. The hatches were open on a number of days but that didn't stop many from becoming sea sick. The crewmen made fun of the people who were sick, calling them " glib-gabbety puke-stockings." As the chamber pot would be hauled up to the upper deck and its content tossed into the sea, the crewmen were relentless in making fun of us, particularly one crew member.
He would curse people as they made their way to the upper deck. Other times he would open a hatch and yell obscenities just to harass us. He was ruthless with his choice of words and had no respect to our belief in God. He loved to make fun of those who had become sea sick. He would tell them to die, or at least hoped they would. He announced how he would take their belongings after they had died and use them for his own personal delight. He would say these derogatory remarks to both parents and children. He would paint pictures with his evil words of us being thrown overboard after our deaths and eaten by the great fishes of the sea, going into detail on how our limbs would be ripped from our bodies etc. This crew member would awake each day to humiliate and discourage all of us waiting to arrive in the New World.
Our group would spend much time in prayer each day, and our Sunday services would last the entire day. We had nothing else to do. Prayers were said for this evil man yet he continued to blaspheme God and wish us deathly harm...that is, until one day God answered our prayers.
This man had suddenly turned sick. He had respiratory infection which led to pneumonia...and he died. He was the first person to die on the voyage. I remember the other crew members throwing his body overboard into the sea. I was both relieved and happy. We no longer were subject to hearing wicked words and discouragement coming from his filthy mouth. I think all of us felt a little better that day, watching his rotten body splash as it sunk deep into the depths of the sea.
After that, the crew members seemed to be more pleasant toward us. They no longer taunted us with evil words. I think God had sent them a clear message...
Dressed in hats with large buckles and shoes to match, the saints sang hymns, prayed for hours during the day, and established long lasting friendships with the natives. Together with other Native Americans joining their group, they planted crops and built their homes, everyone set to live happily ever after. Then in the fall of 1621, the saints welcomed all the Native Americans they had met to a Thanksgiving feast. This feast was dedicated to the God of the saints for all He had done for them and the bounty they had received. It was a beautiful celebration. Everyone went to their homes that night filled with harmony and peace.
Yea right. What planet am I from? I will continue...
As the Mayflower set out for the New World, it would be 66 days before she would see shorelines again. The voyage would be approximately 3200 miles.
I was happy to see us on our way and equally anxious to get to the New World. I think many felt the same way...let's get this thing done and over with.
Everyone in our group spent much time in prayer. We didn't have a lot more we could do. Most of our families were farmers with wives who tended to the home like gardening, sewing, cleaning, cooking and doing laundry. Now we just sit in the dark and wait.
I thought about the extra clothing and food we brought with us. Father and mother had received a check list prior to this journey and brought the items listed. I knew I had some extra clothing along and asked mother if I could go down to the cargo deck and find our bags. The clothes I was wearing were dirty, they stank, and I needed to bathe...bad! She brought up the infestation of lice, the fact I will get the clothes I brought with me dirty, and many of the things like bedding and food supplies...will all be thrown away. She thought it best I just make the best of what we have now, and try to use some of the bad water to wash up the best I could.
You didn't know water can go bad?...sour...like my father describes.
The water had become brackish, meaning there was a mixture of salt and fresh water in our water supply. We could not drink it because of the high salt content. It would make us deathly sick and even more thirsty.
The Mayflower was a "sweet ship." Wine had been transported from France to England in its past voyages, leaving the aroma of her cargo within the ship. As we left England and began our journey to the New World, the sweet aroma dissipated and the putrid smells of body order, sickness, and chamber pots filled the air. The worse as we set sail for the open seas was sea sickness. People were vomiting everywhere. Their clothes, bedding, missed pots splattered with vomit on the floors, caused horrendous odors. When the hatches were shut, the smells intensified. I would stick my face near a drafty gun portal to breath in fresh air.
Our living arrangements became nothing more than beds of horror. Because of the hatches shut and no windows, everything was dark, musty, and so very, very boring. The Mayflower was a cargo ship and was never intended to carry passengers, let alone 102 of us with children on board.
Three ladies were pregnant and not far from birth. A number of the children were indentured servants. Their fathers had died or left their mothers. and as a result, the mothers could not raise their children for lack of finances. They gave them to other families with stable incomes...in hopes they would have a better life. Little Mary More, only four years of age, was an indentured servant. Actually, Mary, her two sisters Jasper and Elinor along with their brother Richard were all indentured servants to various families. I even heard their real mother was unaware their father had given them to other families and now were on the Mayflower. But then I heard he wasn't the real father anyway.
The weather seemed cooperative as the Mayflower made its way to the North Atlantic. The hatches were open on a number of days but that didn't stop many from becoming sea sick. The crewmen made fun of the people who were sick, calling them " glib-gabbety puke-stockings." As the chamber pot would be hauled up to the upper deck and its content tossed into the sea, the crewmen were relentless in making fun of us, particularly one crew member.
He would curse people as they made their way to the upper deck. Other times he would open a hatch and yell obscenities just to harass us. He was ruthless with his choice of words and had no respect to our belief in God. He loved to make fun of those who had become sea sick. He would tell them to die, or at least hoped they would. He announced how he would take their belongings after they had died and use them for his own personal delight. He would say these derogatory remarks to both parents and children. He would paint pictures with his evil words of us being thrown overboard after our deaths and eaten by the great fishes of the sea, going into detail on how our limbs would be ripped from our bodies etc. This crew member would awake each day to humiliate and discourage all of us waiting to arrive in the New World.
Our group would spend much time in prayer each day, and our Sunday services would last the entire day. We had nothing else to do. Prayers were said for this evil man yet he continued to blaspheme God and wish us deathly harm...that is, until one day God answered our prayers.
This man had suddenly turned sick. He had respiratory infection which led to pneumonia...and he died. He was the first person to die on the voyage. I remember the other crew members throwing his body overboard into the sea. I was both relieved and happy. We no longer were subject to hearing wicked words and discouragement coming from his filthy mouth. I think all of us felt a little better that day, watching his rotten body splash as it sunk deep into the depths of the sea.
After that, the crew members seemed to be more pleasant toward us. They no longer taunted us with evil words. I think God had sent them a clear message...
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