[5]Thomas Prince, A Chronological History of New England ... (Boston, 1736), vol. I, pt. 2, p. 71, fn. 38.
[6]Although portions of the book have been reprinted frequently, the only other presentation of the full text was a facsimile in an edition limited to 285 copies, prepared by Henry M. Dexter, and entitled Mourt’s Relation (Boston, 1865). It is a heavily annotated volume, and Dexter’s monumental effort has aided a generation of scholars, but his meticulous attention to “faithful reproduction of the original, letter for letter” makes it formidable to any but a dedicated student. The best known and most widely available edition includes annotation and uniform spelling, but is marred by some minor omissions and transpositions: Alexander Young, Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers (Boston, 1841), pp. 110-249.
[7]Presumably, the initials of John Peirce. Peirce was a London businessman one of the “merchant adventurers” who had contributed to the Mayflower’s first voyage. It is possible that he underwrote the printing of the book; it is certain that the patent to lands occupied by the Pilgrims—as virtual squatters for almost a year—was finally issued in his name, in trust for the settlers. They were delighted to receive this confirmation of their legal rights, and may have dedicated the book to him in gratitude. Only later did they learn of the many devious ways in which he tried to cheat them.
[8]Acknowledging their indebtedness to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his partners in the Council for New England, (formerly, the Second Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company), who exercised legal authority over the area, which had previously been called “Northern Virginia.”
[9]Presumably a misprint for the initials of Robert Cushman. See [Introduction].
[10]The writer studiously avoids mentioning the grim fact that more than half of the group who sailed on the Mayflower had already died.
[11]Although they were pioneer settlers in New England, the Pilgrims had not come to unknown territory. This portion of the coast had been sailed by Giovanni de Verrazzano as early as 1524; probably the first Englishman to visit the area was Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. In 1605, George Waymouth commanded a voyage of exploration and trade, and kipnapped five Indians in Maine, of whom one, Squanto, later befriended the Pilgrims. By 1608, Samuel de Champlain had even charted the Port du Cap de St. Louis, which was to become Plymouth Harbor. Capt. John Smith’s map of New England, prepared on a voyage in 1614, already shows the site named “Plimouth.” Apparently two mates (or pilots?) of the Mayflower had sailed the coast previously.
[12]Reasons for assuming that the writer is George Morton have been discussed in the [Introduction].
[13]Presumably, the initials of John Robinson, pastor of the Leyden congregation. See [Introduction].
[14]Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation identifies this as the Hudson River, where the New Netherlands Company had invited the Pilgrims to settle. Ten leagues appears too short a distance from Cape Cod to the Hudson: ten may here be a misprint, or reference may be to the appropriate latitude rather than to the mouth of the river.