The following are of the chief points of Mr. Weston’s comments on the foregoing letter:
Mr. Bradford, this is the letter I wrote you of, which to answer in every particular were needless and tedious. My own conscience and all our people can, and I think will, testify that my end in sending the ship Sparrow was your good.... Now I will not deny that there are many of our people rude fellows, as these men term them; yet I presume they will be governed by such as I set over them, and I hope not only to be able to reclaim them from their profaneness, but, by degrees, draw them to God.... I am so far from sending you rude fellows to deprive you either by fraud or violence of what is yours, that I have ordered the captain of the Sparrow to leave with you 2000 of bread, and a good quantity of fish.[4] ... But I will leave it to you to consider what evil this letter might have done, had it come to your hands and taken the effect its writers desired.
Now if you be of the same mind as these men, deal plainly with us, and we will seek our residence elsewhere. If you are as friendly as we have thought you to be, give us the entertainment of friends and we will take nothing from you, neither meat, drink, nor lodging, without in some way or other paying you for it.... I shall leave in the country a little ship, if God send her safe thither, with sailors and fishermen, to stay there to coast and trade with the savages and the old plantation. It may be we shall be as helpful to you as you will be to us. I think I shall see you next spring; so I commend you to the protection of God, Who ever keep you.
Your loving friend,
THOS. WESTON.
Thus all their hopes in regard to Mr. Weston were laid in the dust, and all his promised help turned into empty advice, which they saw it was neither lawful nor profitable for them to follow. And they were thus not only left destitute of help in their extreme want, having neither food nor anything to trade with, but others were preparing to glean up what the country might have afforded for their relief. As for the harsh censures and suspicions intimated in the former and following letters, they desired to judge them as charitably and wisely as they could, weighing them in the balance of love and reason; and though they came in part from godly and loving friends, they recognized that much might arise from over-deep jealousy and fear, or from provocation,—though they saw clearly that Mr. Weston pursued his own ends and was embittered in spirit. After the receipt of the former letters the Governor received one from Mr. Cushman, who went home in the ship and was always intimate with Mr. Weston,—as former passages prove. It had seemed strange that nothing was heard from him all this while; but it seems it was the difficulty of sending, for this letter was directed as if from a wife in England to her husband who was here, and was brought by him to the Governor. It was as follows.
Robert Cushman in England to Governor Bradford at New Plymouth:
Beloved Sir,
I heartily salute you, trusting you are well, and with many thanks for your love. By God’s providence we got home safely on the 17th Feb., being robbed by the French on the way and taken by them into France, where we were kept 15 days and lost all that we had that was worth taking. But thanks be to God we escaped with our lives and our ship. It does not seem to have discouraged any here. I purpose by God’s grace to see you shortly, I hope in June next or before. In the meantime consider well the following. Mr. Weston has quite broken off from our company, through some disagreement that arose between him and some of the other adventurers, and has sold all his adventurers and has now sent three small ships for his particular colony. Of the biggest of these, which is 100 tons, Mr. Reynolds is captain; Mr. Weston intends to come himself with the others,—why I know not.
The people they take are no men for us, so I beg you not to entertain them nor to exchange men with them, except perhaps some of your worst. He has taken out a patent for himself. If they offer to buy anything of you let it be such as you can spare and let them give full value for it. If they borrow anything of you let them leave a good pawn.... It is probable he will settle southward of the Cape, for William Trevor has lavishly told what he knew (or imagined) of Capawack, Monhegan and the Narragansetts. I fear these people will hardly deal as well with the savages as they should. I advise you therefore to signify to Squanto that they are a distinct body from us, and we have nothing to do with them; that we must not be blamed for their faults,—much less can we warrant their fidelity. We are about to recover our losses in France. Our friends at Leyden are well, and as many as can will come this time. I hope all will turn out for the best, so I pray you not to be discouraged, but to meet these difficulties cheerfully and with courage, in that place wherein God has set you until the day of refreshing come. And the Lord God of sea and land bring us comfortably together again, if it may stand with His glory.
Yours,
ROBERT CUSHMAN.