Chapter 5: 1620-1621, Plymouth

John Howland was intrigued by the possibilities afforded by England’s outpost in America as he walked along the streets of Fen Stanton (a small parish located a short distance from the Ouse River in Huntingdonshire, England). At present, he was the younger son of a large family with limited prospects for the future. Although he loved his parents and siblings, life in England seemed to him too predictable and dreary.

2 Even though he was particularly attached to his brothers Henry and Arthur, he simply could not forgo the opportunity afforded to him by an offer to embark on an exciting life in a strange new world. Thus, John contracted himself to be the manservant of Mr. John Carver and accompany him and his wife to found a new colony in northern Virginia. The decision had been made. The hard part would be explaining it to his family.

3 “There is nothing for me here,” he told his father. “I can make something of myself there.” His father stared at his son without saying anything, and his mother continued to wash the dishes.

4 “Won’t you be bound to Mr. Carver?” his mother finally asked with her back still facing her husband and son. “That will only be for a few years, and then I will be free to make a life for myself,” John replied. “Have you told your brothers yet?” his father asked him. “Not yet,” he answered with a sigh. “I think you’d better do that,” his mother added as a tear rolled down her cheek.

5 He found Henry and Arthur by the river and proceeded to tell them about his decision. “What an adventure!” Arthur exclaimed.

6 Nevertheless, it had already dawned on Henry what this trip to Virginia would entail. “Will we ever see you again?” he asked.

7 “I honestly don’t know,” John admitted. The brothers then embraced each other and tried to swallow the enormous lumps in their throats.

8 “God bless you on your way, John,” Arthur finally managed to say. “Yes, may God bless you,” Henry agreed.

9 It was August of the year 1620 that John, the Carvers and the other passengers gathered at Southampton and loaded themselves and their belongings onto two ships: Speedwell and Mayflower. In John’s case, he mostly loaded himself onto the ship – he didn’t have many personal belongings to take aboard. Nevertheless, in addition to the foodstuffs and seed, Mr. Carver and his wife (along with most of the other passengers) brought many furnishings and tools onto the ship with them.

10 As a consequence, the area assigned to the passengers on the ships was closely packed and straightly divided between them and didn’t leave them much space to move around. They didn’t realize it at the time, but their living space was about to become even more cramped than it already was.

11 Their journey did not have an auspicious beginning. They sailed from Southampton on the twenty-third day of the month; but they had to put in at Dartmouth the following day as the Speedwell began to take on water almost immediately. After an unsuccessful attempt to repair the smaller ship, it was decided that they would load as many of the passengers (and as much of the cargo) as possible onto the Mayflower and proceed without the other ship.

12 The passengers were of two sorts: Those who were deeply religious and those of the more common sort of Howland’s countrymen. It wasn’t long, however, until both sorts of people were suffering from that sickness which is common to those lovers of land who venture out onto the seas. This, together with their ordinary bodily functions, soon produced a rather unpleasant and stale air within the bowels of the ship that proved to be quite suffocating at times.

13 In fact, it was just such a state of affairs that led to one of the greatest adventures of the voyage. They were in the midst of a great tempest, being tossed to and fro and battered by the wind and waves. Many of John’s friends were sick, and he suddenly felt the necessity of fresh air. Even so, the storm was so severe that he had a difficult time climbing the ladder to the upper deck.

14 As his head emerged from below deck, the sight of mountainous waves of foaming water quickly negated the benefits of the fresher air that he had been seeking. “Careful Howland!” shouted John Clark, one of the ship’s pilots; but it was already too late.

15 The wind suddenly pushed one side of the ship into the air, and he slid down toward the other. He tried to grab hold of the rail, but the momentum was just too much. John was in the air for just a moment, and the next instant he found himself in the open sea amid the heaving waves.

16 Nevertheless, the Lord was with him that day. One of the ropes used to hoist the sails into place had also been washed overboard and was trailing along in the water beside him. He grabbed it and clung to it with all his strength.

17 Meanwhile, on the ship, Clark and Master Jones had seen him go overboard. “Smith, help Clark pull him back into the ship,” Jones shouted to one of his crewmen.

18 Together, they pulled on the rope and began to draw him back toward the ship. Even so, he was under water more than he was above it. As a consequence, he wasn’t able to offer much help in the way of his own rescue. They were, however, soon joined by another sailor who assisted Tom Smith on the rope while Clark fetched one of the boat hooks to hoist him back onto the deck of the great ship.

19 The next thing John knew, he was lying on his back staring up into the grey sky, sputtering and trying to catch his breath. By that time, half a dozen sailors had gathered around him and several of them pulled him back over to the hatch and lowered him into the waiting hands of his fellow passengers still below deck.

20 He was sick for several days thereafter, and Mr. and Mrs. Carver began to fear that he might join young Will Butten in being buried at sea. The Lord, however, had other purposes in mind for John, and he gradually recovered from the ordeal.

21 Even so, the same storm that had almost claimed John’s life had cracked one of the ship’s main support beams. In fact, it was so severely splintered and damaged that they had to use the screw to lift it back into place so that the carpenter could make the necessary repairs.

22 Nevertheless, in the midst of these trials, Mr. Stephen Hopkins and his wife Elizabeth were delivered of a son whom they fittingly named Oceanus. Then, with the beam repaired, they continued on their way toward their new home.

23 “Land ahoy!” one of the sailors shouted. Edward, Solomon, Mr. Standish and John were the first ones to reach the rail and begin scanning the horizon ahead. It was the ninth day of November when they sighted land.

24 After observing the coastline for above an hour and consulting with his maps and crew, Master Jones announced that he believed them to be in the vicinity of Cape Cod. “We’re too far north,” he grimly proclaimed. “We’ll turn south and travel along the coast for a while,” he announced to the people gathered at the rail as he turned and headed back to discuss the situation with his pilots.

25 At first, they made easy progress along the coast. Their circumstances, however, were soon so altered that they all feared that the ship would be dashed to pieces. They had quite suddenly found themselves in the midst of numerous shoals and roaring waves and forward progress came to an abrupt halt.

26 Nevertheless, with more than a little effort and no small amount of determination, Master Jones steered the ship away from the shoals and returned her to the calmer waters of Cape Cod. When they finally reached safe harbor, the saints all fell to their knees and thanked the God of Heaven for their deliverance from the dangerous shoals.

27 “We will have to be content with what the Lord has given us,” the captain announced. He then proceeded to drop anchor and prepare the ship and passengers to spend their first night in the harbor of their new home.

28 It wasn’t long until they had reassembled the shallop and started exploring the coastline of the new land. Robert Coppin and John Clark piloted a small party ashore on one of these ventures. They chose John Carver, William Bradford, Myles Standish, Stephen Hopkins, Richard Warren, Edward Winslow, John and Edward Tilley and Howland to accompany them. It was so cold, however, that the sea spray froze on their coats like a sugar glaze as they made their way across the bay.

29 When they reached the shore, they immediately secured the shallop and warily began to explore the coastline. As they walked along the beach, Stephen Hopkins was the first to spot a large dark object in the distance with what appeared to be some people moving around it. “What is that?” he asked pointing down the shoreline.

30 At about the same instant, the natives took note of the approaching Englishmen and fled toward the forest. When the men finally reached the spot, they discovered that the natives had been working on a small whale which they had somehow managed to capture (or had been washed ashore by some accident of nature).

31 Unsettled by this encounter with the natives, they quickly put some distance between themselves and the carcass. They then proceeded to construct a small barricade out of fallen trunks and branches for their defense. Next, they gathered a large quantity of twigs and built a nice fire on shore to serve against the cold and approaching night. And, although they posted guards and slept in watches, none of them got very much sleep that night.

32 The following day, they paired off and scouted the area for a settlement site without much success. When they came back together at the end of the day, they again constructed a barricade on the beach and proceeded as on the previous evening.

33 About midnight, however, a great and hideous sounding howl was heard from the direction of the forest. “To arms, to arms!” Master Standish shouted. In the next instant, several of their muskets were being fired into the forest. As they nervously waited for sunrise, the saints earnestly prayed for their deliverance from the “savages.”

34 Nevertheless, before the darkness broke, there was another blood curdling howl from the forest. “Indians, Indians!” someone shouted.

35 This was followed by a hail of arrows from the same direction. John Howland dipped one of his matches into the embers of their dying fire and discharged his weapon in defense of himself and his comrades.

36 Shortly thereafter, they realized that John and Edward Tilley (who had gone out to examine the shallop just prior to the attack) were now pinned down behind their small vessel close to the water. “Are either of you hurt?” Master Standish shouted. “We are well!” they shouted back. “Courage men!” Standish returned.

37 Then, without even thinking, John Howland reached down and pulled one of the logs out of the fire and ran it out to the shallop so that they could fire their muskets. After that, the Indians retreated; and the Englishmen pursued them for a short distance into the forest.

38 After reassembling at the shallop, they decided to explore along the southern edge of Cape Cod. Although they were never far from the shore, the weather began to rapidly deteriorate.

39 Thus it wasn’t long before the wind, sleet and freezing cold began to overwhelm them. The mast of their small boat was splintered into many pieces, and they were forced to go to shore and build a fire. It continued to get colder and colder, and they were soon enveloped in a hard freeze.

40 The following morning, John realized that they were on an island. Even so, as the island was covered in a dense growth of trees, they quickly set about the task of fashioning a new mast for the shallop. Then, on the Lord’s Day, they rested from their labors and made themselves ready to recommence their exploration on the following day.

41 It was the eleventh of December when they finally found an excellent location for their new home. The place was near a large rock and was also close to a field of Indian corn and a running brook of fresh water. On the morrow, they sailed back to their waiting friends and loved ones on the Mayflower. Even so, the joy of their good report was quickly negated by the news that Master Bradford’s wife had drowned in their absence.

42 Those events would prove to be a harbinger of the winter ahead. They simply did not have enough time to erect adequate dwelling places on land to protect them from the elements. As a consequence, they were all packed tightly together, and sickness had free reign among them. In a word, they were miserable.

43 Indeed, their suffering was so great that they had lost about half of their folk by the following spring. Moreover, most of the people who remained were thoroughly disheartened and dangerously weakened by the ordeal which many of them now realized they had just barely survived.

44 Nevertheless, enough faith remained among the saints (and enough hopeful signs for those of a more secular nature) that the survivors quickly set about the task of building a new home for themselves in the wilderness. Houses were erected, seeds were planted and a local native named Samoset (who happened to understand some English from a previous encounter with Europeans) was able to begin to overcome the barrier that had existed relative to communication with the natives.

45 In fact, Massasoit (the principal chief of the Wampanoag) was responsible for one of the most hopeful developments that the Pilgrims had witnessed since leaving England. He allowed his people to show the Englishmen how to plant corn and fertilize the plants with herrings and shads. Together with the seed that they had brought with them, this crop would prove to make a significant contribution to the survival of the community the following winter.

46 Unfortunately, Mr. Carver died in April. Ironically, he was working in one of the fields when he was overcome by the heat. He felt a sharp stab of pain in his head and went back to his house to lie down. He then lapsed into an unconscious state and died a few days later. His poor, brokenhearted wife followed him within a matter of weeks.

47 John was overwhelmed with grief and sadness, but he was now a free man. He was no longer under any obligation to serve the Carvers. Thus, out of this terrible tragedy, John Howland’s horizons suddenly appeared to be very broad and bright. Simply by virtue of his survival, he had gone from being an indentured servant to one of the leading men of the community!

48 Hope had also survived the terrible winter. That fall, Governor Bradford decided to have a feast of thanksgiving to celebrate their survival and the bounty with which God had seen fit to bless them.

49 Toward that end, he sent John out with three other men to hunt for fowl. They returned with several turkeys, which the women folk quickly set about the task of plucking and preparing to roast. Massasoit and his braves showed up with five deer and stayed to participate in the feasting.

50 After so much hardship and deprivation, the festivities seemed like a breath of fresh air and lasted for several days. They ate with their fingers and their knives, but they were all well satisfied with themselves and their circumstances at the end of the feast.

51 “I haven’t eaten that much since we left England,” John thought to himself. “God’s hands have fashioned this abundance for the benefit of His people!” the governor proclaimed. “A-men,” the saints agreed with broad smiles on their faces.

52 Now these are the generations of the sons of Henry Howland and Margaret Aires: John, Arthur and Henry.

53 John was the forefather of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Joseph Smith, Humphrey Bogart, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, George Herbert Walker Bush, and many others.

54 Arthur was the forefather of Winston Churchill and many others.

55 Henry married Mary Newland, and they were the parents of Samuel, Abigail, Zoeth, Joseph, John, Sarah, Elizabeth and Mary.

56 Abigail married John Young, and they were the ancestors of Bing Crosby, Norman Rockwell and many others.

57 Zoeth was the forefather of Gerald Rudolph Ford.

58 Elizabeth married Jedediah Allen, and they were the ancestors of Allen Haines, Johnny Carson and Richard Milhous Nixon.