Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH COLONIAL LITERATURE
not long bring their wives & children to ye publick worship & church meetings
here, but with such burthen, as, growing to some competente number, they sued
to be dismissed and become a body of them selves; and so they were dismiste
(about this time), though very unwillingly. But to touch this sadd matter, and
handle things together that fell out afterward. To prevent any further scatering
from this place, and weakning of ye same, it was thought best to give out some
good farms to spetiall persons, yt would promise to live at Plimoth, and lickly to
be helpfull to ye church or comonewelth, and so tye ye lands to Plimoth as farmes
for the same; and ther they might keepe their catle & tillage by some servants,
and retaine their dwellings here. And so some spetiall lands were granted at a
place generall, called Greens Harbor, wher no allotments had been in ye former
divission, a plase very weell meadowed, and tt to keep & rear catle, good store.
But alass! this remedy proved worse then ye disease; for wthin a few years those
that had thus gott footing ther rente them selves away, partly by force, and partly
wearing ye rest with importunitie and pleas of necessitie, so as they must either
suer them to goe, or live in continuall opposition and contention. And others
still, as yey conceived them selves straitened, or to want accomodation, break
away under one pretence or other, thinking their owne conceived necessitie, and
the example of others, a warrente sucente for them. And this, I fear, will be ye
ruine of New-England, at least of ye churches of God ther, & will provock ye Lords
displeasure against them.
Chapter XXVII
In ye year 1634, the Pequents (a stoute and warlike people), who had made
warrs with sundry of their neigbours, and puft up with many victories, grue now
at varience with ye Narigansets, a great people bordering upon them. These
Narigansets held correspondance and termes of freindship with ye English of ye
Massachusetts. Now ye Pequents, being conscious of ye guilte of Captain-Stones
death, whom they knew to be an-English man, as also those yt were with him,
and being fallen out with ye Dutch, least they should have over many enemies at
once, sought to make freindship with ye English of ye Massachusetts; and for yt
end sent both messengers & gifts unto them, as appears by some letters sent from
ye Govr hither.
Dear & worthy Sr: &c. To let you know somwhat of our aairs, you may
understand that ye Pequents have sent some of theirs to us, to desire our
freindship, and oered much wampam & beaver, &c. The rst messengers
were dismissed without answer; with ye next we had diverce dayes conferance,
and taking ye advice of some of our ministers, and seeking the Lord in it, we
concluded a peace & freindship with them, upon these conditions: that they
should deliver up to us those men who were guilty of Stones death, &c. And if
we desired to plant in Conightecute, they should give up their right to us, and
so we would send to trade with them as our freinds (which was ye cheefe thing
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