vndertakers here, for the joint stock of the company-And Mr. Vassall one of the Assistants, and his family; and also Mr. Bright, a minister sent hether the yeare before. The shipps beeinge gone, victualls wastinge, & mortallity increasinge wee held diverse fasts in our severall congregations, but the Lord would not yet bee depricated; for about the beginning of September, dyed Mr. Gager, a right godly man, a skillfull chirugeon and one of the deacons of our congregation. And Mr. Higginson, one of the ministers of Salem, a zealous & a profitable preacher; this of a consumption, that of a feaver; & on the 30th of September dyed Mr. Johnson, another of the 5 vndertakers (the lady Arbella his wife beeing dead a month before) This gentleman was a prime man amongst vs haueing the best estate of any, zealous for religion and the greatest furtherer of this plantacon. He made a most godly end, dying willingly, professing his life better spent in promoting this plantacon than it would have beene in any other way. He left to vs a loss greater than the most conceived. Within a month after dyed Mr. Rossiter, another of our assistants, a godly man and of a good estate which still weakened vs more so that there now were left of the 5 vndertakers but the Governour, Sir Richard Saltonstall and myselfe and 7 other of the Assistants—And of the people who came over with vs from the time of their setting saile from England in Aprili 1630. vntill December followinge there dyed by estimacon about 200 at the least-Soe lowe hath the Lord brought vs! Well, yet they who survived were not discouraged but bearing God's corrections with humilitye and trusting in his mercies, and considering how after a greater ebb hee had raised vpp our neighbours at Plymouth we beganne againe in December to consult about a fitt place to build a Toune vppon, leaveinge all thoughts of a fort, because vppon any invasion wce were necessarily to loose our howses when we should retire thereinto; soc after diverse meetings at Boston, Rocksbury and Waterton on the 28th of December wee grew to this resolucon to bind all the Assistants (Mr. Endicott & Mr. Sharpe excepted, which last purposeth to returne by the next shipps into England) to build howses at a place, a mile east from Waterton neere Charles river, the next Springe, and to winter there the next yeare, that soe by our examples and by removeinge the ordinance and munition thether, all who were able, might be drawne thether, and such as shall come to vs hereafter to their advantage bee compelled soe to doc; and soe if God would, a fortifyed Toune might there grow vpp, the place fitting reasonably well thereto. I should before haue menconed how both the English and the Indian corne becinge

at tenne shillinges a strike, and beaver beeinge vallued at 6 shilling a pound, wee made lawes to restraine the sellinge of corne to the Indians, and to leave the price of Beaver at libertie which was presently sold for tenne and 20 shillinges a pound. I should allsoe haue remembred how the halfe of our Cowes and allmost all our Mares and Goates sent vs out of England, dyed at sea in their passage hether, and that those intended to bee sent vs out of Ireland were not sent at all; all which together with the loss of our six months buildinge, occasioned by our intended removeall to a toune to bee fortifyed, weakened our estates, especially the estates of the vndertakers who were 3 or 4000's engaged in the joynt stock which was now not above soe many hundreds; yet many of vs laboured to beare it as comfortably as wee could, remembringe the end of our comeinge hether & knowinge the power of God who canne support and raise vs againe, and useth to bring his servants lowe, that the mecke may bee made glorious by deliverance, Psal. 112.

In the end of this December, departed from vs the shipp Handmaide of London by which wee sent away one Thomas Morton, a proud insolent man who had lived here diverse yeares and had beene an Atturney in the West Countryes while he lived in England. Multitude of complaintes wee received against him for iniuries doone by him both to the English and Indians, and amongst others for shootinge hail shott at a troope of Indians, for not bringing a Cannowe vnto him to cross a river withall, whereby hee hurt one, and shott through the garments of another; for the sattisfacon of the Indians wherein, and that it might appear to them and to the English that wee meant to doe iustice impartially, wee caused his hands to bee bound behind him and sett his feete in the bill-bowes, and burned his howse to the ground, all in the sight of the Indians, and soe kept him prisoner till wee sent him for England, whether wee sent him, for that my Lord Cheife Justice there soe required that hee might punish him cappitally for fowler misdemeaners there perpetrated as wee were informed.

I haue no leisure to review and insert thinges forgotten but out of due time and order must sett them downe as they come to memory. About the end of October, this year 1630 1 ioyned with the Governour & Mr. Maverecke in sendinge out our pinace to the Narragansetts to trade for corne to supply our wants, but after the pynace had doubled Cape Codd, shee putt into the next harbour shee found, and there meetinge with Indians who shewed their willingness to Truck, shee made her voyage their and brought vs 100 bushells of corne at about 4s a bushell which helped vs somewhat. From the coast where they

traded they saw a very large island, 4 leagues to the east which the Indians comended as a fruitefull place full of good vines and free from sharpe frosts haueing one only entrance into it, by a navigable river inhabitted by a few Indians, which for a trifle would leave the Island, if the English would sett them vppon the maine, but the pynace haueinge noe direction for discovery, returned without sayling to it, which in 2 hours they might haue done. Vppon this coast they found store of vines full of grapes dead ripe, the season beeing past-whether wee purpose to send the next yeare sooner, to make some small quantitie of wine if God enable vs, the vines growinge thinne with vs & wee not haueing yett any leasure to plant vineyards. But now haueing some leasure to discourse of the motiues for other mens comeinge to this place or their abstaining from it, after my breif manner I say this—That if any come hether to plant for worldly ends that canne live well at home hee comits an errour of which hee will soon repent him. But if for spirittuall and that noe particular obstacle hinder his removeall, he may finde here what may well content him: vizt: materialls to build, fewell to burn, ground to plant, seas and rivers to ffish in, a pure ayer to breath in, good water to drinke till wine or beare canne be made, which togeather with the cowes, hoggs and goates brought hether allready may suffice for food, for as for foule and venison, they are dainties here as well as in England. Ffor cloaths and beddinge they must bring them w'th them till time and industry produce them here. In a word, wee yett enioy little to bee envyed but endure much to be pittyed in the sicknes & mortalitye of our people. And I do the more willingly use this open and plaine dealeinge least other men should fall short of their expectacons when they come hether as wee to our great preiudice did, by means of letters sent vs from hence into England, wherein honest men out of a desire to draw over others to them wrote somewhat hyperbolically of many things here. If any godly men out of religious ends will come over to helpe vs in the good worke wee are about I think they cannot dispose of themselves nor of their estates more to God's glory and the furtherance of their owne reckoninge, but they must not bee of the poorer sort yett for diverse yeares. Ffor we haue found by experience that they haue hindred, not furthered the worke- And for profaine and deboshed persons their oversight in comeinge hether is wondred at, where they shall find nothing to content them. If there bee any endued with grace and furnished w'th meanes to feed themselues and theires for 18 months, and to build and plant lett them come into our Macedonia & helpe vs, and not spend themselves and their estates in a less profittable

employment: for others I conceive they are not yet fitted for this busines.

Touching the discouragement which the sicknes and mortality which every first year hath seized vpon vs, and those of Plymouth, as appeareth before, inay give to such who haue cast any thoughts this way (of which mortallity it may bee said of vs allmost as of the Egiptians, that there is not an howse where there is not one dead, and in some howses many) the naturall causes seem to bee in the want of warm lodginge, and good dyet to which Englishmen are habittuated at home; and in the suddain increase of heate which they endure that are landed here in somer, the salt meates at sea haueing prepared their bodyes thereto, for those onely theis 2 last yeares dyed of feavers who landed in June and July; as those of Plymouth who landed in winter dyed of the Scirvy, as did our poorer sort whose howses and bedding kept them not sufficiently warm, nor their dyet sufficiently in heart. Other causes God may have as our faithfull minister Mr. Wilsonne (lately handlinge that poynt) shewed vnto vs, which I forbeare to mention, leauing this matter to the further dispute of phisitions and divines. Wherefore to returne, vpon the third of January dyed the daughter of Mr. Sharpe, a godly virginne making a comfortable end, after a long sicknes. The plantacon here received not the like loss of any woman since wee came hether and therefore shee well deserves to be remembred in this place; and to add to our sorrowes vppon the 5th day came letters to vs from Plymouth advertizeing vs of this sadd accident followinge. About a fortnight before there went from vs in a shallop, to Plymouth 6 men and a girle, who in an houre or two before night on the same day they went fourth came near to the mouth of Plymouth Bay, but the wind then comeing strongly from the shore, kept them from entring and drove them to seawards, and they haueing no better meanes to help themselues lett down their killick that soe they might drive the more slowly, and bee nearer land when the storm should cease. But the stone slipping out of the killick and thereby they driveing faster then they thought all the night, to the morninge when they looked out, they found themselves out of sight of land, which soe astoni'ed them, the frost being extreme & their hands soe benummed w'th cold that they could not handle their oares, neyther had any compass to steare by, that they gave themselves for lost and lay doune to dye quietly, onely one man who had more naturall heate and courage remaininge then the rest, continued soe longe lookinge for land, that the morning waxing clearer, hee discovered land and with much difficulty hoysted the Saile, and soe the winde a little turninge 2

dayes after, they were driven from Plymouth bay; they arrived at a shore unknowne vnto them. The stronger helped the weaker out of the boate and takeing their saile on shore made a shelter thereof, and made a fire, but the frost had soc peirced their bodyes that one of them dyed about 3 dayes after their landinge, and most of the other grew worse, both in bodye and courage, noe hopes of releife beeinge within their veiw, well, yet the Lord pittyinge them and two of them who onely could vse their leggs goeing abroad, rather to seeke then to hope to find helpe, they mett first with 2 Indian women, who sent unto them an Indian man who informed them that Plymouth was within 50 miles and offered together to procure releife for them, which they gladly accepting hee perfourmed, and brought them 3 men from Plymouth (the governour & counsell of Plymouth liberally rewardinge the Indian & tooke care for the safety of our people) who brought them all aliue in their boate thether, saue one man who with a guide chose rather to goe over land but quickly fell fame by the way, and getting harbour at a trucking house the Plymotheans had in those partes, there hee yett abides. At the otherse landing at Plymouth, one of them dyed as hee was taken out of the boate, another (and hee the worst in the company) rotted from the feete vpwards where the frost had gotten most hold, and soe dyed within in a few dayes. The other 3 after God had blessed the chirurgeon's skill, used towards them, returned safe to vs. I sett doune this the more largely, partly because the first man that dyed was a godly man of our congregacon, one Richard Garrad, a shoemaker, who at the time of his death more feared hee should dishonour God than cared for his own life-As allso because diverse boates, have been in manifest perill this year, yett the Lord preserved them all this onely excepted. Amongst those who dyed about the end of this Jannuary, there was a girle of 11 years old the daughter of one John Ruggles, of whose family and kindred dyed soe many, that for some reason it was matter of observacon amongst vs; who in the time of her sicknes expressed to the minister and to those about her, soc much faith and assurance of salvation, as is rarely found in any of that age which I thought not unworthy here to comitt to memory, and if any taxe mee for wasting paper with recordinge theis small matters, such may consider that little mothers bring fourth little children small comon wealths; matters of small moment the reading whereof yett is not to be despised by the judicious, because small thinges in the beginning of naturall or politique bodyes are as remarkcable as greater in bodyes full groune.

Vpon the 5 of February arrived here Mr. Peirce with the