Document E/MS I-2: Excerpts from Mourt's Relation or Journal of the Proceedings of the Plantation Settled at Plymouth in New England, 1622.

This section of the book commonly known as Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth describes the first time men from the Mayflower explored the area around what is now Provincetown.

[S]ixteen men were set out with every man his musket, sword, and corslet, under the conduct of Captain Miles Standish, unto whom was adjoined, for counsel and advice, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Tilley.

[GROUP 1] Wednesday, the 15th of November [1620], they were set ashore, and when they had ordered themselves in the order of a single file and marched about the space of a mile, by the sea they espied five or six people with a dog, coming towards them, who were savages, who when they saw them, ran into the wood and whistled the dog after them, etc. First they supposed them to be Master Jones, the master, and some of his men, for they were ashore and knew of their coming, but after they knew them to be Indians they marched after them into the woods, lest other of the Indians should lie in ambush; but when the Indians saw our men following them, they ran away with might and main and our men turned out of the wood after them, for it was the way they intended to go, but they could not come near them. They followed them that night about ten miles by the trace of their footings, and saw how they had come the same way they went, and at a turning perceived how they ran up a hill, to see whether they followed them. At length night came upon them, and they were constrained to take up their lodging, so they set forth three sentinels, and the rest, some kindled a fire, and others fetched wood, and there held our rendezvous that night.

[GROUP2] In the morning so soon as we could see the trace, we proceeded on our journey, and had the track until we had compassed the head of a long creek, and there they took into another wood, and we after them, supposing to find some of their dwellings, but we marched through boughs and bushes, and under hills and valleys, which tore our very armor in pieces, and yet could meet with none of them, nor their houses, nor find any fresh water, which we greatly desired, and stood in need of…

[W]e went on, and found much plain ground, about fifty acres, fit for plow, and some signs where the Indians had formerly planted their corn…. [Later] we found a little path to certain heaps of sand, one whereof was covered with old mats, and had a wooding thing like a mortar whelmed on the top of it, and an earthen pot laid in a little hole at the end thereof. We, musing what it might be, digged and found a bow, and, as we thought, arrows, but they were rotten. We supposed there were many other things, but because we deemed them graves, we put in the bow again and made it up as it was, and left the rest untouched, because we thought it would be odious unto them to ransack their sepulchers.

[GROUP3] We went on further and found new stubble, of which they had gotten corn this year, and many walnut trees full of nuts, and great store of strawberries, and some vines. Passing thus a field or two, which were not great, we came to another which had also been new gotten, and there we found where a house had been, and four or five old planks laid together; also we found a great kettle which had been some ship's kettle and brought out of Europe. There was also a heap of sand, made like the former—but it was newly done, we might see how they had paddled it with their hands—which we digged up, and in it we found a little old basket full of fair Indian corn, and digged further and found a fine great new basket full of very fair corn of this year, with some thirty-six goodly ears of corn, some yellow, some red, and others mixed with blue, which was a very goodly sight. The basket was round, and narrow at the top; it held about three or four bushels, which was as much as two of us could lift up from the ground, and was very handsomely and cunningly made. But whilst we were busy about these things, we set our men sentinel in a round ring, all but two or three which digged up the corn. We were in suspense what to do with it and the kettle, and at length, after much consultation, we concluded to take the kettle and as much of the corn as we could carry away with us; and when our shallop came, if we could find any of the people, and come to parley with them, we would give them the kettle again, and satisfy them for their corn. So we took all the ears, and put a good deal of the loose corn in the kettle for two men to bring away on a staff; besides, they that could put any into their pockets filled the same. The rest we buried again, for we were so laden with armor that we could carry no more….

[GROUP4] [In a river] we saw two canoes, the one on the one side, the other on the other side; we could not believe it was a canoe, till we came near it…. [We] came that night back again to the fresh water pond, and there we made our rendezvous that night, making a great fire, and a barricade to windward of us, and kept good watch with three sentinels all night, every one standing when his turn came, while five or six inches of match was burning….

In the morning we took our kettle and sunk it in the pond, and trimmed our muskets, for few of them would go off because of the wet, and so coasted the wood again to come home, in which we were shrewdly puzzled, and lost our way. As we wandered we came to a tree, where a young sprit was bowed down over a bow, and some acorns strewed underneath. Stephen Hopkins said it had been to catch some deer. So as we were looking at it, William Bradford being in the rear, when he came looked also upon it, and as he went about, it gave a sudden jerk up, and he was immediately caught by the leg. It was a very pretty device, made with a rope of their own making and having a noose as artificially made as any roper in England can make, and as like ours as can be, which we brought away with us….

[When we returned to the Mayflower, we] delivered in our corn into the store, to be kept for seed, for we knew not how to come by any, and therefore were very glad, purposing, so soon as we could meet with any inhabitants of that place, to make them large satisfaction. This was our first discovery, whilst our shallop was in repairing.

From Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, by William Bradford, originally published in 1622 by John Bellamie, London, as A Relation or Journal of the beginnings and proceedings of the English plantation settled at Plymouth in New England, by certain English adventurers both merchants and others (Applewood Books, 1963).

Document E/MS I-3: Friend or Foe? Excerpt from Roger Clapp’s Journal, 1630

In May 1630, while the first shipload of Puritans were still en route to Massachusetts aboard theArabella, an exploring party of Englishmen came ashore at what is now Watertown. Roger Clapp recorded their experiences:

We went up Charles River, until the river grew narrow and shallow, and there we landed our goods with much labour and toil, the bank being steep; and night coming on, we were informed that there were hard by us 300 Indians. One Englishman, that could speak the Indian language, (an old planter) went to them, and advised them not to come near us in the night; and they harkened to his counsel and came not out. I myself was one of the sentinels that night… In the morning some of the Indians came and stood at a distance off, looking at us, but came not near. But when they had been awhile in view, some of them came and held out a great bass towards us; so we sent a man with a biscuit, and changed the cake for the bass. Afterwards, they supplied us with bass, exchanging a bass for a biscuit cake, and were very friendly unto us… Had they come upon us, soon they might have destroyed us! I think we were not above ten in number. But God caused the Indians to help us with fish at very cheap rates. We had not been there many days but we had an order to come away from that place, which was about Watertown, unto a place called Mattapan, now Dorchester.

Quoted in “Memoirs of Captain Roger Clap,” in Chronicles of the First Planters of Massachusetts Bay, ed. by Alexander Young ( Little & Brown Co., 1846).