4CT THINK mother cooks the best Thanksgiving dinners in the world," said Joe, with a sleepy yawn. "It seems as though I could never be hungry again."

"It is no wonder you feel as you do. I don't see where in that small body of yours you were able to stow away so much turkey and mince pie, to say nothing of the squash and mashed potatoes, the cranberry sauce, nuts and raisins," said Uncle Sam. "I wonder if you ever thought why we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The people of other countries do not have this holiday. If you are not too sleepy I will tell you about it."

Uncle Sam had been spending the day with the parents of Joe and Lucy. The children's mother had said, "Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Uncle Sam to share it with us. F.ven if my sister Mary comes with her whole family, we can make room at the table for our dear old friend.

109

HO THE COMING OF

The great dinner had been eaten and cleared away. The short day was coming to an end when Uncle Sam spoke of a reason for Thanksgiving Day.

"Sleepy ! I guess not. A story is just the thing before the lamps are lighted and we play games," said Lucy.

"Just the thing," repeated her cousin Mabel. She was a year younger than Lucy and copied every- thing the older girl said and did.

"We all like stories," added Arthur, a tall boy of ten years. He was quiet and fond of books very different from noisy Joe, who loved him the best of all his cousins.

"Once upon a time," began Uncle Sam, "there were some people who lived in England. They were good and honest, but they could not do just as they wished. The king said everyone in the country must worship God in a certain way. That way must be the same in every church.

"It happened that some of his people did not agree with the king. They said: 'Everyone ought to worship God, but all should be free to worship in the way they like best.'

"These people gathered together, and every Sun- day they met in their own little churches. This

THE WHITE MEN m

did not please the king and he made their lives very unpleasant.

"Of course they were not happy. They thought : 'Why should we stay here in England where we are treated so badly? Holland is not far away and the Dutch people are kind and friendly. They are willing that everyone in their country should worship as he likes. Let us go to Holland where we can he free.'

"The plan seemed good. A small company of men, women and children left England for a home among the Dutch.

"At first, they were happy and contented in Hol- land. The boys and girls became men and women. The babies grew up into boys and girls. One thing grieved their parents. Their children were fast forgetting the English language. There were no English schools where thev could learn their K

O J

sons.

"'This is not right/ said the older oiu 'Xo people could be kinder than our Dutch friends, but we do not wish our own children to grow up and forget their own country and the beautiful English language.'

T will tell you what we can do,' -aid one. 'We

"

H2 THE COMING OF

have heard a good deal about America. Some of our people have settled in Virginia. They write that it is a fine place and that the air is soft and pleasant all the year. Let us go to America. We will seek a home not far from Virginia.'

"The others thought these were wise words. They left their Dutch friends and went back to England. They wished to visit it once more before they bade it good-bye forever.

"Two ships were soon ready and one hundred pilgrims sailed for America in the year 1620.

" 'We are like pilgrims/ they had said to each other, 'for we travel from place to place.' From that day to this they have been called by the name of the 'Pilgrims.'

"They had not sailed far before one of the ships began to leak. Its captain said : 'It is not safe to cross the ocean in such a poor boat.' So he turned back to England.

"All the Pilgrims now crowded into the second ship. It was called the 'Mayflower.'

"A long voyage was before the travelers. They were tossed about by storm and wind. Almost all of them were seasick. A hundred people in the

TIIK VVI1ITK MFA ! i .

small cabin of the Mayflower must surely have had a hard time.

"Land was sighted at last. It was their fir>t view of their future home, America. How happy the children must have felt when they thought of running and playing on dry land once m< >re !

"It was in November when they sailed around the end of Cape Cod. The Pilgrims had not meant to come so far north of Virginia.

"Some of the men left the ship and went on shore. They found a place where the earth looked as though it had been lately dug up. Perhaps something was buried in this spot. Sure enough ! It was some dried corn which the Indians had put there for safe keeping.

'The men were pleased at the goodly sight. They carried the corn to the ship. '\Ye may have need of it,' they said. They were honest people, so when they afterwards found out what Indians had stored

/

the corn there, they paid for it quite willingly.

"A brave man named Miles Standish had come with the Pilgrims. lie was English, like them- selves. They first met him while they were living 1 in Holland. lie had gone there to help the Dutch in a war against Spain.

114 THE COMING OF

"Miles Standish did not belong to the same church as the Pilgrims, yet the more he knew them, the better he liked them. When they spoke of coming to America he said :

'I will go with you to your new home.'

"They were much pleased, for he was a brave and able soldier. He could help them if they had trouble with the Indians.

"After they found the corn, some one proposed to go along the coast in a small boat. It would be the best way of finding a place to settle. As they moved along, they saw some huts covered with mats. They thought these must be the homes of Indians.

'They went back to the ship without rinding a place to settle. Some days after that they started out again. It was a very cold day in December. The spray froze as it fell on their clothing.

"When they were several miles from the ship they landed and made ready to spend the night out of doors. They built a wall of logs. They said :

" 'We can sleep behind this wall. Then if the Indians should creep upon us, we can defend our- selves/

"They had no trouble during the night, but in

THE WHITE MEN II5

the morning there was a terrible sound. It \\ not like anything they had ever heard be!"< .re. It wa> the warwhoop of the Indians.

"'The guns!' They were in the boat where the men had just carried them. There was a quick rush to the shore, while arrows came whiz/ing about their heads. Then 'Bang! bang!' went the guns, and the frightened Indians ran back into the woods.

"The Indians thought the white men carried thunder and lightning in the iron tubes. Although brave, they could not stand against such fearful weapons.

'The explorers hastened away. After a while they came into a small harbor. The land al the shore had been cleared of woods. Brooks flowed through it into the sea.

'This would be a good place for our people t" live/ Miles Standish thought. The others thought so too.

"John Smith had visited this very place before and had marked it on his map. As soon as the men came back, the ship set sail and brought the pil- grims to the chosen spot.

" 'God's will has led us here,' thought the good

Il6~ THE COMING OF

people. 'It must be the best place for our new home/

"One hundred persons had left England, but one hundred and two landed on Plymouth Rock. How was that?"

Uncle Sam smiled as he looked at the faces of the wondering children.

'This was the way of it. Two babies had come to the Pilgrims on their way to America. One was born in mid-ocean, so they called him Oceanus. The other was a little girl who first saw the day- light when her people were near the shores of their new home.

'We will name her Peregrine/ said her parents. 'Peregrine means wanderer, and she is a little wan- derer, without doubt/

"How good it must have seemed to the women and children when they left the small, close cabin and the dirty ship. They had to live on board, however, until the men had built a long, rough house on the hillside. The whole party would have to live in this till better homes could be made for each family.

"Not long after the big house was done, the cap- tain of the ship said :

THE WHITl, MIA

" 'I cannot wait around here any longer. I go back to England. Take all your goods from my ship as quickly as possible.'

"I should think the Pilgrims would have hated to see the ship leave," said Joe. "If they got home- sick they couldn't go back to England, no matin- how bad they felt."

'They were not the kind of people to give up," replied Uncle Sam. "Before they went on shore they had a meeting in the cabin of the Mayflower. They made some good laws for themseh They all promised to obey them. Those promises were very helpful when troubles came.

"And troubles did come, too! The first winter at Plymouth, which was the name they gave their new town, seemed to them long and very cold. It was not really a very hard winter for New England, but the climate from which they had come v. much milder. In Old England they were not ti-ed to so much cold, snow and icc as they now had. and they did not know how to protect themselves pr erly.

'The food was poor and scarce. The one big house was not made tight enough. The free -ing air, snow and rain came through the many crae!

Ii8 THE COMING OF

One brave Pilgrim after another was seized with fever or other illness. Before the warm days of spring came to cheer them one-half of them had died. Alas ! little baby Oceanus was one of these.

'They did not sit still and think over their trou- bles. Everyone who was able kept at work. The men cut down trees in the forest with which to build houses and a little church. They caught fish and lobsters. They dug clams.

'The women washed and cooked and spun, and made everything as homelike as they could for their husbands and children. The men carried their muskets with them wherever they went. Miles Standish had told them :

" 'We do not know when the Indians may take us by surprise. We must be always ready/

"The very day when the Pilgrims first stepped on Plymouth Rock they saw Indians peeking at them from over the hilltop. That was all, how- ever. In a few minutes the Red Men were out of sight. It was a long time before any of them were seen again.

"One day early in the spring the white men were having a meeting to talk over some plans. Sud- denly an Indian came into their midst. He was

THK WHITK MFA

tig

painted in the best style of his people. lie wore a bear-skin over his shoulders.

'The men hastily seized their musket-. The Indian calmly looked from one face to another. He seemed in no hurry. Then he slowly said: 'Welcome, welcome, Englishmen!'

"How good those words sounded! All were filled with wonder and delight. They were puzzled to think where this savage had learned English words.

" 'Welcome, welcome, Indian.'

'Then they led him to their house and gave him a good dinner. Samoset, for that was his name, seemed in no hurry to leave. He stayed hour after hour. When night came the Pilgrims made up a warm bed by the side of the fireplace. lie slept there all night, while the white men kept watch. They were not yet sure whether he meant tn be their true friend. When morning came they gave him some presents and he went away proud and happy.

"He soon came back, bringing with him his friend Squanto and some other Indians.

"Squanto could talk more Knglish than Sanio- I He told the Pilgrims he had seen \\hite men before

120 THE COMING OF

and had lived with them. He had crossed the great ocean with a white captain who came to Plymouth with John Smith.

'The white people had treated him kindly and had afterwards brought him back to his old home. It was the very place where the Pilgrims were now living. When Squanto got back he found that his family had all died of a dreadful sickness. Many of his tribe had died from it at the same time. That was why the others had burned their homes and moved away from Plymouth.

"Squanto was a good friend to the white men. He came to live with them. He showed them how to plant corn so it would grow well. He put a dead fish in each hill to make the ground rich. He taught them the Indian ways of hunting and fishing. If it had not been for his kindness and knowledge the rest of the Pilgrims might have died for want of food.

'God has sent us this friend/ thought the good people of Plymouth.

"Not far away from them lived an Indian chief named Massasoit. Squanto belonged to his tribe. 'We would like to see Massasoit/ said the chief men of the Pilgrims. They thought they would be much

TIIK WHITE Mi;\ [21

safer from attack if they made- peace with the Indian chief who lived nearest them.

"One day the great chief came to Plymouth. I l<- liked the white men. He fore he went away 1 it- promised to be friendly to them. Ma^a-oit kept his word and was a good and true friend to the Pil- grims until he died.

"One time news came to Plymouth that Ma-sa- soit was very sick. Some of his white friends went to see him. They found him stretched on a rough bed in his little hut. He had a fever. The hut was almost filled with Indians. The medicine men were there. They were making a fearful noise. They thought an evil spirit had taken hold of Massasoit. They were trying to drive it away with the noise. Then the chief would get well.

"The Indians have great faith in their medicine men. They are their priests, as well as their doc- tors.

" 'That noise is enough to make anyone ill.' -aid the white men. The air in the hut is heavy and very bad because there are so many people in it. Massasoit can never get well at this rate.'

"They got the crowd to leave the wigwam. Then they gave the sick chief the proper medicine

122 THE COMING OF

for his illness. The fever soon left the chief and he believed that his white friends had saved his life.

"One day an Indian who did not belong to Massa- soit's tribe came into Plymouth. He brought a snake-skin filled with arrows and laid it on the ground.

'What is the meaning of this?' thought the chief men.

'It means war/ said Squanto. 'The Indians who sent it are not your friends.'

'The arrows were taken out of the snake-skin. Then it was filled with bullets and sent back to the unfriendly Indians.

'This said as plainly as any words : 'If you come to attack us with your arrows, we will shoot you with our bullets.'

'When the savages saw the bullets they were

afraid. They said, 'Ugh ! Ugh !' but they did not dare to touch them. They at once sent the fearful things back to Plymouth. They changed their minds about fighting white people who used fire-

arms.'

Uncle Sam stopped and looked around. 'There's nothing like being brave," he said slowly. "The Pilgrims would not even think of

TIIK \vnrn-: MKN [23

giving up, and that is why they held out against all dangers. You remember 1 told von that only half of them lived through that first winter. Thev \\rn- very careful not to let the savage- know how many of them had died. They were even careful not to make mounds to mark the places where their friends were buried. 'They thought the N'ed Men might count the mounds. Thcv would know by

o *

that how few of the settlers were left.

"As soon as the spring came, corn was planted over the graveyard. The tall stalks were soon waving to and fro, hiding it from sight."

"Now the people were very busy. Gardens were planted; fish and lobsters were caught in plenty, and everyone was happy. In the summer wild berries were to be had for the picking, and the gardens which had been planted began to yield nice vegetables.

"Then came the beautiful days of the Xew F.ng- lancl autumn. The harvests ripened and field- corn seemed to cry :

"'Come, gather the golden grain and store it away for the cold days of winter.'

'Squashes and pumpkin- and other good things

i

124 THE COMING OF

were ready for the picking. Men, women, and children were busy and joyous.

'When the governor looked on the glad sight, he said :

'The Lord has blessed us. We should praise Him for His mercy to us in this strange land.'

"He set aside a day for prayer and thanksgiv- ing. Feasts should be spread and all work given up. His orders were followed.

"That was the first Thanksgiving Day in Amer- ica.

"What numbers of pies and puddings were made for that day! What quantities of fish and wild turkeys were brought by the men and cooked by the women !

"Thanksgiving morning came at last, and after a good breakfast everyone went to church. In those days not even the babies were left at home, but were carried to church in their mothers' arms.

'There was a long service in the church. A very long one it must have seemed to the children, who kept thinking of the great dinner to come soon. The last hymn was sung, the last prayer made, and all turned their steps to the tables loaded with good things to eat and drink.

TIIK WIIITK MF.\ 125

"The Pilgrims had invited Massasoil and some of his people to share their feast. The Red Men were pleased when they received the invitation. " 'We will do our part/ they said. "They took their bows and arrows and went out into the forest. They shot some red deer. Early on Thanksgiving morning they arrived in Plym- outh, bringing the game they had killed.

"When the great dinner was ready at last, one hundred Indians with hungry stomachs were ready to share it with the white people.

"It must have been hard to entertain the visitors. They could speak and understand only a few words of English. Now and then they would give a dee]) grunt to show they were well pleased.

"They stayed not only to dinner, but to supper, also. Even then they were in no hurry to home. Many of them spent the night with tlu-ir white friends. They seemed to think Plymouth was a very pleasant place."

It was quite dark outside before Uncle Sam fin- ished the story of the first Thanksgiving Pay. P.ut big logs were burning in the fireplace and giving a soft lio-ht all over the room. The old man could

o

see the children's happy laa 1 le knew they were

126 THE COMING OF

having a good time, though they had kept so quiet.

"I am ready for blind-man's-buff," he said, sud- denly jumping up "I'll be the blind man. Come, we have been still long enough."

Lamps were quickly lighted. In a minute the room was filled with the laughter of the young folks as Uncle Sam dashed right and left trying to catch them in his long arms.

'The little Pilgrims thought they had a good time on Thanksgiving Day. But their parents would not let them make much noise. Dear me! If children are not allowed to make a noise, they can't be happy." Uncle Sam was talking to him- self as he walked home after the party.

Just then his big black cat rubbed against his legs. "Hullo, Buzz, is that you. And did you think I was speaking to you? Here, smell of this turkey bone. I brought it home so you could have a feast, too."

Uncle Sam bent down and rubbed the cat's soft fur. Then he went into the house, leaving Buzz outside to enjoy his Thanksgiving supper.