Your very loving friend,
THOS. WESTON.
London, July 6th, 1621.
This ship, called the Fortune, was speedily despatched, laden with good clapboard, as full as she could stow, and two hogsheads of beaver and otter skins, which they had traded in exchange for a few trifling commodities brought with them at first, being otherwise altogether unprovided for trading; nor was there a man among them who had ever seen a beaver skin till they came out, and were instructed by Squanto. The freight was estimated to be worth nearly £500. Mr. Cushman returned with the ship, as Mr. Weston and the rest had commissioned him, for their better information. And neither he nor the settlers doubted that they would receive speedy supplies, considering that, owing to Mr. Cushman’s persuasion, and to letters which they received from the congregation at Leyden, urging them to do so, they agreed to the aforesaid conditions, and signed them. But it proved otherwise, for Mr. Weston, who had made that large promise in his letter, that if all the rest should drop out, he would never quit the business, but would stick to them if they signed the conditions and sent some lading on the ship,—and of this Mr. Cushman was equally confident, confirming it by Mr. Weston’s own words and serious protestations to himself before he left,—all this, I say, proved but wind, for he was the first and only man that forsook them, and that before he had so much as heard of the return of the ship, or knew what had been done. So vain is confidence in man! But of this, more in its place.
A letter in answer to that written by Mr. Weston to Mr. Carver was sent from the Governor, of which so much as is pertinent to the thing in hand I will insert here:
Governor Bradford at New Plymouth to Mr. Weston in England:
Sir,
Your long letter written to Mr. Carver, and dated July 6th, 1621, I received on November 10th, wherein, after the apology made for yourself, you lay many imputations upon him and us all. Touching him, he is now departed this life, and is at rest in the Lord from all these troubles and incumbrances with which we yet strive. He needs not my apology; for his care and pains were so great for the common good, both ours and yours, that, as it is thought, he thereby oppressed himself and shortened his days; of whose loss we cannot sufficiently complain. At great expense in this adventure I confess you have been, and many losses may sustain; but the loss of his and many other industrious men’s lives cannot be valued at any price. Of the one there may be hope of recovery, but the other no recompense can make good. However, I will not confine myself to general statements, but will deal with your particular charges.
You greatly blame us for keeping the ship so long in the country, and then sending her away empty. She lay five weeks at Cape Cod, whilst with many a weary step, after a long journey and the endurance of many a hard brunt we sought out in the depth of winter a place of habitation. Then we set about, as well as we could, to provide shelter for ourselves and our goods upon which task many of our arms and legs can tell us to this day that we were not negligent! But it pleased God to visit us then with death daily, and with a disease so disastrous that the living were scarcely able to bury the dead, and the healthy not in any measure to tend the sick. And now to be so greatly blamed for not freighting the ship touches us near and discourages us much. But you say you know we shall plead weakness; and do you think we had not cause? Yes, you tell us you believe it—but that it was more weakness of judgment than of hands! Our weakness herein is great, we confess; therefore we will bear this rebuke patiently, with the rest, till God send us wiser men. But those who told you we spent so much time in discoursing and consulting, etc., their hearts can tell their tongues they lie. They care not, so that they salve their own sores, how they wound others. Indeed it is our calamity that we are, beyond expectation, yoked with some ill-disposed people, who, while they do no good themselves, corrupt and abuse others.
The rest of the letter stated that they had subscribed to the conditions according to his desire, and sent him the previous accounts very exactly; also how the ship was laden, and in what condition their affairs stood; that the arrival of the new people would bring famine upon them unavoidably, if they did not receive supplies, in time,—as Mr. Cushman could more fully inform him and the rest of the adventurers. Also that, seeing he was not satisfied in all his demands, he hoped offences would be forgotten, and he would remember his promise, etc.
After the departure of this ship, which did not stay above fourteen days, the Governor and his assistant having disposed the new arrivals among several families as best they could, took an exact account of all their provisions in store, and proportioned the same to the number of persons, and found that it would not hold out above six months at half allowance, and hardly that. They could not well give less this winter, till fish came in again. So they were presently put on half allowance, one as well as another. It became irksome, but they bore it patiently, hoping to receive fresh supplies.