...And here is to be noted a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that here they got seed to plant them corn the next year, or else they might have starved, for they had none nor any likelihood to get any till the season had been past, as the sequel did manifest. Neither it is likely they had had this, if the first voyage had not been made, for the ground was now all covered with snow and hard frozen; but the Lord is never wanting unto His in their greatest needs; let His holy name have all the praise...
So they rested till about five of the clock in the morning; for the tide, and their purpose to go from thence, made them be stirring betimes. So after prayer they prepared for breakfast, and it being day dawning it was thought best to be carrying things down to the boat. But some said it was not best to carry the arms down, others said they would be the readier, for they had lapped them up in their coats from the dew; but some three or four would not carry theirs fill they went themselves. Yet as it fell out, the water being not high enough, they laid them down on the bank side and came up to breakfast.
But presently, all on the sudden, they heard a great and strange cry, which they knew to be the same voices they heard in the night, though they varied their notes; and one of their company being abroad came running in and cried, "Men, Indians! Indians!" And withal, their arrows came flying amongst them. Their men ran with all speed to recover their arms, as by the good providence of God they did. In the meantime, of those that were there ready, two muskets were discharged at them, and two more stood ready in the entrance of their rendezvous but were commanded not to shoot till they could take full aim at them. And the other two charged again with-all speed, for there were only four had arms there, and defended the barricade, which was first assaulted. The cry of the Indians was dreadful, especially when they saw the men run out of the rendezvous toward the shallop to recover their arms, the Indians wheeling about upon them. But some running out with coats of mail on, and cutlasses in their hands, they soon got their arms land let fly amongst them and quickly stopped their violence. Yet there was a lusty man, and no less valiant, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot, and let his arrows fly at them; he was seen [to] shoot three arrows, which were all avoided. He stood three shots of a musket, till one taking full aim at him and made the bark or splinters of the tree fly about his ears, after which he gave an extraordinary shriek and away they went, all of them. They' left some to keep the shallop and followed them about a quarter of a mile and shouted once or twice, and shot off two or three pieces, and so returned. This they did that they might conceive that they were not afraid of them or any way discouraged.
Thus it pleased God to vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance; and by His special providence so to dispose that not any one of them were either hurt or hit, though their arrows came close by them and on every side [of] them; and sundry of their coats, which hung up in the barricade, were shot through and through. Afterwards they gave God solemn thanks and praise for their deliverance, and gathered up a bundle of their arrows and sent them into England afterward by the master of the ship, and called that place the First Encounter...
By the Student,
This passage from 'Of Plymouth Plantation' shows the great tension and intolerance that the British and the Native Americans shared. Both were truly dedicated to their religions and believed that the other could not exist in harmony with their own and as a result, launched attacks upon each other.
This is chracteristically Puritan because of the focus on religion and God's devine will. The writing style also uses language out of the 16th century.
By a Puritan Bystander,
This all seems so brutal! It seems that God is giving our men a test of faith with these savages and their arrows. He did not hurt a soul either in the fight today so maybe it is a sign that we should save them and show them the way instead of trying to destroy them. I can only hope that the men may interpret His will the same way that I do for stains of blood are difficult to get out of clothes and the smell attracts strange animals at night.
Essential Question,
The unstoppable force of the Puritans trying to achieve their American Dream of worshipping God without persecution leads to the ironic destruction of the people from another religion. The men in this selection are fighting a holy war as God had told them. This war is against the comparatively helpless Native Americans who seemed to be quite content until these crazy, bloodthirsty when men came along, which exposes the irony of Puritans coming to America. The Puritans' dream is one of religious freedom because of a history of threats, suppressment, and persecution from Great Britain. They end up over in America to escape, but the Native Americans who choose to fight instead of fleeing like the Puritans did end up in an uncomfortable stalemate momentarily, which will later in history turn into the suppressment that the Puritans escaped. Running from problems and attacking a weaker civilization seem to be the best way to protect one's own culture and religion.
So they rested till about five of the clock in the morning; for the tide, and their purpose to go from thence, made them be stirring betimes. So after prayer they prepared for breakfast, and it being day dawning it was thought best to be carrying things down to the boat. But some said it was not best to carry the arms down, others said they would be the readier, for they had lapped them up in their coats from the dew; but some three or four would not carry theirs fill they went themselves. Yet as it fell out, the water being not high enough, they laid them down on the bank side and came up to breakfast.
But presently, all on the sudden, they heard a great and strange cry, which they knew to be the same voices they heard in the night, though they varied their notes; and one of their company being abroad came running in and cried, "Men, Indians! Indians!" And withal, their arrows came flying amongst them. Their men ran with all speed to recover their arms, as by the good providence of God they did. In the meantime, of those that were there ready, two muskets were discharged at them, and two more stood ready in the entrance of their rendezvous but were commanded not to shoot till they could take full aim at them. And the other two charged again with-all speed, for there were only four had arms there, and defended the barricade, which was first assaulted. The cry of the Indians was dreadful, especially when they saw the men run out of the rendezvous toward the shallop to recover their arms, the Indians wheeling about upon them. But some running out with coats of mail on, and cutlasses in their hands, they soon got their arms land let fly amongst them and quickly stopped their violence. Yet there was a lusty man, and no less valiant, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot, and let his arrows fly at them; he was seen [to] shoot three arrows, which were all avoided. He stood three shots of a musket, till one taking full aim at him and made the bark or splinters of the tree fly about his ears, after which he gave an extraordinary shriek and away they went, all of them. They' left some to keep the shallop and followed them about a quarter of a mile and shouted once or twice, and shot off two or three pieces, and so returned. This they did that they might conceive that they were not afraid of them or any way discouraged.
Thus it pleased God to vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance; and by His special providence so to dispose that not any one of them were either hurt or hit, though their arrows came close by them and on every side [of] them; and sundry of their coats, which hung up in the barricade, were shot through and through. Afterwards they gave God solemn thanks and praise for their deliverance, and gathered up a bundle of their arrows and sent them into England afterward by the master of the ship, and called that place the First Encounter...
By the Student,
This passage from 'Of Plymouth Plantation' shows the great tension and intolerance that the British and the Native Americans shared. Both were truly dedicated to their religions and believed that the other could not exist in harmony with their own and as a result, launched attacks upon each other.
This is chracteristically Puritan because of the focus on religion and God's devine will. The writing style also uses language out of the 16th century.
By a Puritan Bystander,
This all seems so brutal! It seems that God is giving our men a test of faith with these savages and their arrows. He did not hurt a soul either in the fight today so maybe it is a sign that we should save them and show them the way instead of trying to destroy them. I can only hope that the men may interpret His will the same way that I do for stains of blood are difficult to get out of clothes and the smell attracts strange animals at night.
Essential Question,
The unstoppable force of the Puritans trying to achieve their American Dream of worshipping God without persecution leads to the ironic destruction of the people from another religion. The men in this selection are fighting a holy war as God had told them. This war is against the comparatively helpless Native Americans who seemed to be quite content until these crazy, bloodthirsty when men came along, which exposes the irony of Puritans coming to America. The Puritans' dream is one of religious freedom because of a history of threats, suppressment, and persecution from Great Britain. They end up over in America to escape, but the Native Americans who choose to fight instead of fleeing like the Puritans did end up in an uncomfortable stalemate momentarily, which will later in history turn into the suppressment that the Puritans escaped. Running from problems and attacking a weaker civilization seem to be the best way to protect one's own culture and religion.
1 comment:
You might want to make the font for the selection you chose to use a bit bigger. Right now I can't read it.
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