The Mayflower Journey & The First Thanksgiving | Discover the History Behind the Holiday| Little Fox

Voyage to the New World My name is Mary Chilton. I am one of the original pilgrims to set sail for the New World in a ship called the Mayflower. A pilgrim is a person who makes a journey for a religious reason. The story of the pilgrims begins in Holland. Even though I am English, I was born in Leyden, Holland in 1607. My family lived in Holland because we were not free to practice our religion in England. But Holland wasn't our home. It was a strange and foreign land. I lived there with my parents for 12 years. In 1619, we returned to England to prepare for a voyage to the New World. My parents and many other adults packed trunks and barrels with all the things we would need to begin life in the New World. They hired two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, to take us to the New World. We were all very excited and a little scared. We left England on August 5, 1620, but we had to return to England because the Speedwell was leaking. We tried to fix the ship, but it was too old and tired. We were forced to abandon it, leaving behind our cooking oil and some other valuables. We all piled into the Mayflower. We finally set sail for the New World on September 6, 1620. There were 130 people aboard the Mayflower. There were 102 pilgrims and about 28 crew members. Three of the women were pregnant. It took us 66 days to reach the New World. Many of us became seasick when the Mayflower was tossed around by storms and strong waves. I spent many days being sick below deck because going above deck was dangerous. The wind, rain, and waves made the deck slippery, so it was easy to fall overboard. When it wasn't stormy and scary, the voyage was boring. At home, I was never bored, because I was busy helping my mother with the sewing, the laundry, or the cooking. But on the Mayflower, there was very little women's work that needed to be done. I could have died, not from seasickness, but from boredom. Luckily, I had two friends, Constance Hopkins and Elizabeth Tilly. They made me laugh with their stories. Elizabeth was in love with John Howland, but he took no notice of her. It was both funny and sad, but never boring to watch her unrequited love. When we weren't listening to Elizabeth, we were often trying to avoid Francis Billington. He was a bully who liked to pull our hair. He was such a troublemaker. Once he started a fire on board the Mayflower when he shot his father's gun below deck. Luckily, everyone heard the sound and put the fire out. The scariest moment aboard the Mayflower was when the ship was caught in a terrible storm for two whole days. In the single room below deck where we all lived, we huddled together and prayed to God to save us. We weren't sure that God was listening, however, because on the second day of the storm, one of the main beams below deck cracked. Many of the sailors were scared because they knew that the ship couldn't survive another storm. The passengers also feared they would die, but God was merciful. No other storms caught us, and only two men died on the voyage. On November 9th, 1620, we finally saw land. The ship's captain called the place Cape Cod, and he said it was many miles north of Virginia. We were all glad to see land after having spent 66 days in a small room with 102 seasick people. We were also looking forward to breathing fresh air because the Mayflower smelled most unpleasant. On November 13th, 1620, I was the first woman to step off of the Mayflower into the new world. I went ashore to help with the laundry. It was the only time in my life I was ever thankful to God for making laundry women's work because it allowed me to stand firmly on the ground. We wanted to continue south to Virginia because there were other Englishmen who had settled there, but our attempt to sail south failed. The ship didn't dare go far from shore because of the damage to the beam. So we decided to remain in Cape Cod. We sent the men out to explore, and on December 12th, 1620, the men returned. They had found a suitable place. They had also made contact with Native Americans. On December 15th, 1620, we went ashore and started our new life in the new world. It wouldn't be an easy life, but we were hopeful. Hi, I'm Mary Chilton, and I am one of the original pilgrims who survived a year of famine to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in the new world. After arriving in the new world, the first thing we needed to do was to write a document that would guide our new society. The men gathered together and wrote the Mayflower Compact. Every man who had traveled aboard the Mayflower signed the agreement on November 21st, 1620. Soon after the Mayflower Compact was signed, the men went exploring to find a place where we could build our new homes. After several days, We think we will find a place to settle soon, they told us hopefully. We were relieved. Oh, thank the Lord, we said. After six more weeks of exploration, our men sent word that they had found a place to settle. December 31st, 1620, was our first chance to see the place we would call home. We named it Plymouth. The weather in January was bad, but the men worked hard to cut logs for the settlement. First they built a common house to store our tools, furnishings and supplies. Then they built houses. The work went slowly because many people were ill and more than half died in the great sickness that winter. My family was one of the hardest hit. I lost both my father and my mother. My father was the oldest pilgrim to make the voyage to the New World and he died very quickly. My mother was a very strong woman, but she also died. I know in my heart that she died because she wanted me to live. She always made sure I ate first. She would give me some of her food because there wasn't really enough food for all of us to eat. By the end of the winter, more than half of those who had crossed on the Mayflower had died. But the older women were the hardest hit. Only 5 of the 18 original married women aboard the Mayflower survived. Although I was now an orphan with no mother or father, the other pilgrims took me in and treated me with kindness. With so many women dead, I found myself busier than ever. I had to help do the cooking and the laundry for the men and boys who had lost their wives and mothers. In March of 1621, a Native American came to our village. His name was Samoset. He walked into the village shouting, Welcome! Welcome, Englishmen! Even though it was a very cold and windy day, Samoset was naked except for a cloth around his waist and moccasins on his feet. The men talked to Samoset for a long time. Samoset left the next day after promising to return soon. After several days, Samoset did return with another Native American who amazed us all with his flawless English. His name was Squanto, and he said he was the last surviving member of the Patuset tribe. Squanto stayed with us that whole spring and summer. He taught our men how to hunt and how to fish. He taught the women how to plant and cultivate corn, squash, and beans. Squanto helped us to make friends with the neighboring tribes. With his help, we signed a peace treaty with King Massasoit. We learned that our seeds from England did not grow very well in the New World, but Squanto showed us that if we planted our seeds with herring, then they would grow. Squanto and other Native Americans also helped us with our crops. With their help, our corn, squash, and beans did very well that year. To celebrate our bountiful harvest, we invited the great King Massasoit and his advisors to our village. The feast lasted for three days. We ate duck, turkey, deer, clams, lobster, and many kinds of fish. There were lots of berries, nuts, and several kinds of fruit, but the best dish of all was an Indian pudding made from pumpkin and sweetened with the syrup from a maple tree. We thank God for the success of our harvest and for the kindness of the Native Americans who taught us the skills we needed to survive.