As I walked up the wooden planks to get on board, there were many already standing in front of us. Mr. Braxton was taking a role call for the group we were a part of. People called us Separatists, we had given ourselves the nickname "Saints."
My father yelled to Mr. Braxton letting him know we had arrived; father, mother, my older brother, my sister, and me. Mr Braxton waved his hand confirming he had heard my father's voice. He then signaled to a crewman at the entrance of the ship there were five of us. The man nodded his head and then shook his head ever so slightly as he wrote down something in a little book he was holding with his right hand. The left-handed crewman then looked down the line of people standing until he made eye contact with my father. He waved to my father wanting us to come on the ship. We moved through the crowd. Some greeted us with excitement of the voyage to the New World while a few seemed upset we were entering ahead of them.
As we got to the entrance, the crewman turned and walked into the ship, we followed. The hull of the ship had a musty smell of fermented grain and beer. To the right there were two barrels, one on top of the other, with a tap and a few cups hanging nearby. By the smell I knew it was small beer. Father had brought a few barrels for us, already loaded in the lower cargo load area.
The deck within the hull we entered seemed cramped already. There were a bunch of people bedded down in the right corner. My father bumped his head on a ceiling beam while looking around. As we followed the crewman, he pointed to the left across from some people already on board. They were staring at us. The smell of the air had changed from fermented grain and alcohol to the vulgar smell of human excretion. I looked and saw a chamber pot a few feet away. My mother started a conversation with a lady across from us. She began explaining to my mother they had boarded the Mayflower in July from London. The conversation was interrupted when a girl about my age coughed a few times and then laid her head on this lady's lap. The lady put her right hand gently on the girl's forehead as she continued to speak.
So this is home for a while? I looked around and saw nothing but bunk beds, three high with maybe a couple of feet in between. There were rods that held 6 foot lengths of various colored fabric. I guess the fabric were like walls to make a room and give each family a bit of privacy. What if I wanted to change my clothes...alone? Where do we bathe?
Father suddenly spoke " I prefer to be more in the middle of the ship than here. Let's take our belongings and move to that vacant spot," pointing in the direction he was wanting us to go. So we picked up our belongings and walked carefully following father to his desired spot. The floor of the deck had sawdust, wood chips, and various little pieces of wood.
The lady my mother was speaking with seemed a little sad as we grabbed our belongings, yet mother left a kind word saying she looked forward to hearing their story and plans for the New World. The girl still had her head on her mother's lap. It was obvious to me she wasn't feeling well.
As we put our bags on the bunk beds father had led us to, the crewman that had directed us to our first location within the deck, started yelling and cursing profusely. He was leading another family inside. They were the Brewsters! I knew them! They are a part of our group. I waved at their son Benjamin, who was my age.
My father stood up and waited for the confrontation to erupt. The crewman spoke insisting he was the one in charge of where each family was to be placed. He continued to curse my father for moving us from where he had assigned us. Father spoke and said to him " We are not going to sleep with our heads next to a chamber pot." He then spoke in a more quiet tone, "The family across from us are sick...they need to get some fresh air." The crewman looked at my father, pulled his pipe from his mouth, and laughed. He informed my father there were more chamber pots to be placed on the deck. " Before this voyage is over," the crewman now looking straight at my father, " you and a chamber pot will be the best of friends! And those over there, you will be joining them." He continued to laugh, throwing his hands in the air. He mumbled something about it doesn't matter where anyone sleeps down here, most of them won't live to see their precious New World, continuing to laugh as he directed the Brewsters to the place we had just come from.
As I looked around the area, there had to be at least a dozen families already settled in their designated spots. Some had actually built wooden walls and made little mini-cabins within the perimeters of their confined space. They had been on the Mayflower since late July. Now on August 5th, we are about to leave for the New World, and should be there by October! Certainly this was a message of hope to all those who have spent the last couple of weeks in these cramped conditions. There was another ship traveling with us...the Speedwell. It was having problems and caused delays.
Suddenly another crew member opens a hatch from above, giving us some much needed fresh air. He opened a few other hatches and a breeze began to blow through. It was extremely refreshing. I could hear some crew members on the upper deck talking with one another...saying how foolish we were. I remembered one raspy voice "Many down there think they will greet the New World soon. The only greeting they will receive is when their bodies are thrown overboard, sinking into the deep, with death riding them to their destination." Another spoke saying " I hope they brought all their valuables! We can use it to trade with the savages." Much laughter erupted...
My father yelled to Mr. Braxton letting him know we had arrived; father, mother, my older brother, my sister, and me. Mr Braxton waved his hand confirming he had heard my father's voice. He then signaled to a crewman at the entrance of the ship there were five of us. The man nodded his head and then shook his head ever so slightly as he wrote down something in a little book he was holding with his right hand. The left-handed crewman then looked down the line of people standing until he made eye contact with my father. He waved to my father wanting us to come on the ship. We moved through the crowd. Some greeted us with excitement of the voyage to the New World while a few seemed upset we were entering ahead of them.
As we got to the entrance, the crewman turned and walked into the ship, we followed. The hull of the ship had a musty smell of fermented grain and beer. To the right there were two barrels, one on top of the other, with a tap and a few cups hanging nearby. By the smell I knew it was small beer. Father had brought a few barrels for us, already loaded in the lower cargo load area.
The deck within the hull we entered seemed cramped already. There were a bunch of people bedded down in the right corner. My father bumped his head on a ceiling beam while looking around. As we followed the crewman, he pointed to the left across from some people already on board. They were staring at us. The smell of the air had changed from fermented grain and alcohol to the vulgar smell of human excretion. I looked and saw a chamber pot a few feet away. My mother started a conversation with a lady across from us. She began explaining to my mother they had boarded the Mayflower in July from London. The conversation was interrupted when a girl about my age coughed a few times and then laid her head on this lady's lap. The lady put her right hand gently on the girl's forehead as she continued to speak.
So this is home for a while? I looked around and saw nothing but bunk beds, three high with maybe a couple of feet in between. There were rods that held 6 foot lengths of various colored fabric. I guess the fabric were like walls to make a room and give each family a bit of privacy. What if I wanted to change my clothes...alone? Where do we bathe?
Father suddenly spoke " I prefer to be more in the middle of the ship than here. Let's take our belongings and move to that vacant spot," pointing in the direction he was wanting us to go. So we picked up our belongings and walked carefully following father to his desired spot. The floor of the deck had sawdust, wood chips, and various little pieces of wood.
The lady my mother was speaking with seemed a little sad as we grabbed our belongings, yet mother left a kind word saying she looked forward to hearing their story and plans for the New World. The girl still had her head on her mother's lap. It was obvious to me she wasn't feeling well.
As we put our bags on the bunk beds father had led us to, the crewman that had directed us to our first location within the deck, started yelling and cursing profusely. He was leading another family inside. They were the Brewsters! I knew them! They are a part of our group. I waved at their son Benjamin, who was my age.
My father stood up and waited for the confrontation to erupt. The crewman spoke insisting he was the one in charge of where each family was to be placed. He continued to curse my father for moving us from where he had assigned us. Father spoke and said to him " We are not going to sleep with our heads next to a chamber pot." He then spoke in a more quiet tone, "The family across from us are sick...they need to get some fresh air." The crewman looked at my father, pulled his pipe from his mouth, and laughed. He informed my father there were more chamber pots to be placed on the deck. " Before this voyage is over," the crewman now looking straight at my father, " you and a chamber pot will be the best of friends! And those over there, you will be joining them." He continued to laugh, throwing his hands in the air. He mumbled something about it doesn't matter where anyone sleeps down here, most of them won't live to see their precious New World, continuing to laugh as he directed the Brewsters to the place we had just come from.
As I looked around the area, there had to be at least a dozen families already settled in their designated spots. Some had actually built wooden walls and made little mini-cabins within the perimeters of their confined space. They had been on the Mayflower since late July. Now on August 5th, we are about to leave for the New World, and should be there by October! Certainly this was a message of hope to all those who have spent the last couple of weeks in these cramped conditions. There was another ship traveling with us...the Speedwell. It was having problems and caused delays.
Suddenly another crew member opens a hatch from above, giving us some much needed fresh air. He opened a few other hatches and a breeze began to blow through. It was extremely refreshing. I could hear some crew members on the upper deck talking with one another...saying how foolish we were. I remembered one raspy voice "Many down there think they will greet the New World soon. The only greeting they will receive is when their bodies are thrown overboard, sinking into the deep, with death riding them to their destination." Another spoke saying " I hope they brought all their valuables! We can use it to trade with the savages." Much laughter erupted...
No comments:
Post a Comment