William Of Autun.pdf - GBLCreations

y the English, succeeded his b rother at his death. Philip formally renewed the treaties, but in 1675 , after the
Pilgrims made increasing demands for Native American land, Ph ilip led an uprising against the settlers in what is
now called King Phil ip's War.
The first Thanksgiving Day celebration was organized by Bradford i n 1621. Hare's "Five Kernels of Corn"
tells the story surrounding this ev ent:
"It was a cold, gray day on November 15, 1620. The Mayflower rode a t anchor near the shore, while a group
of eager men set out in a small bo at to explore the desolate, barren land to which they'd come. One of th e first
things they discovered near the beach was a deserted cornfield wh ere the dry, broken stalks rustled in the sharp
wind. Nearby they saw se veral strange mounds. Upon digging into one, they were amazed to find od d-looking,
yellow, red and blue Indian corn. They took some with them t o use of seed when they planted their crops in the
spring. They couldn' t know then how important that corn would prove to be to the colony's fut ure. They weren't
prepared for that first dreadful winter, and there wa s much sickness. Nearly half the colonists died before spring
finally ar rived. Of those who survived, about half were children not yet sixteen y ears old; and only five married
women remained. When spring came, the me n and boys planted 20 acres of Indian corn. Six additional acres
they pl anted with the seeds they'd brought from England - wheat, rye, barley an d peas - and there were vegetable
gardens near the houses. But to everyo ne's dismay, the seeds they'd brought failed to produce, being unsuited t o
the growing conditions in New England. The colonists worried whether th ey'd have enough food for the winter.
Grain crops were necessary for the ir survival, for they provided the bread and puddings that gave them th e
energy they needed to work and endure the harsh conditions in which the y lived, and the nourishment the
children needed for adequate growth. T o supplement their store of grain, they learned, with help from the India
ns, to catch the fish, to shoot the fowl and deer, and to harvest the wil d fruits and berries that the forest and sea
provided. They dried and pr eserved as muchas they could in anticipation of another long winter wit h little grain.
In late fall, despite their small corn harvest, they fel t confident and grateful for what they'd accomplished. They
decided to c elebrate what they called the Harvest Thanksgiving. They were joined b y 90 of their Indian friends
who stayed for three days enjoying their hos pitality. This was an unexpected drain on their food supplies, but the
y believed that, by careful management, they would have enough to last un til the next year. The ship Fortune
arrived a few days later. The happ y Pilgrims expected to welcome members of their families and friends wh o
had been left behind. They also believed the ship would bring food an d other provisions they needed. They
were distressed to learn, however , that it brought 35 colonists instead. Most of them were young men wh o
brought no tools, bedding, or food, possessing little more than what th ey wore. There was nothing for the
Pilgrims to do but to share their mea ger clothing, their homes and their precious food with the strangers. Th e
sailors aboard the Fortune, too, needed food for the long voyage back t o England, so again the Pilgrims shared
what they had. As the months pas sed, every colonist knew daily hunger. They lived on half rations for si x
months.... They might have perished had they not been able to obtain so me grain from the English fishing
villages along the coast of Maine... Wh ile the year before had been very bad, the Starving Time came upon the li
ttle colony the spring of 1623. Tradition tells us that each person rece ived only five kernels of parched corn a
day. Governor Bradford wrote th at they had neither bread nor corn for two or three months together, an d their
entire diet consisted of only fish and water. To add to their mi sery, the early summer weather was hot and dry,
and the corn began to wit her. In desperation they went one day to the top of the hill to pray t o God for relief.
That night a soft rain began to fall, and the drough t was broken. At harvest, every field produced an abundance
of corn, wit h enough for everyone. After nearly three years, the famine was over."
On 16 September 1633 William Wright, husband of Alice's sister Priscilla, appointed "his beloved friend and
brother William Bradford, to hav e an oversight of this will".
"The last Will and Testament Nunckupative of Mr. William Bradford se nir: Deceased May the Ninth 1657
and exhibited to the court held att Plym outh June 3d 1657.
"Mr. William Bradford senir: being weake in body but in prfect memor y haveing Defered the forming of his
Will in hopes of haveing the healp o f Mr. Thomas Prence therin; feeling himselfe very weake and drawing on t o
the conclusion of his mortall life spake as followeth: I could have Des ired abler then myselfe in the Desposing of
that I have; how my estate i s none knowes better then youerselfe, said hee to Lieftenant Southworth ; I have
Desposed to John and Willam alreddy their proportions of land wh ich they are possessed of;
"My Will is that I stant Ingaged to prforme to my Children and other s may bee made good out of my estate
that my Name Suffer not ;
"ffurther my Will is that my son Josepth bee made in some sort equal l to his brethern out of my estate ;
"My further Will is that my Deare & loveing wife Allice Bradford sha lbee the sole Exequitrix of my estate;
and for her future maintainance m y Will is that my Stocke in the Kennebecke Trad bee reserved for her Comf
ortable Subsistence as farr as it will extend and soe further in any suc h way as may bee Judgedbest for her ;
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