The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-06-03
THE MAY FLOWER.
What a Clever New England Editor Has
J: to Say About Her.

HaC u CleVeF Ne" A-oA''A AAtA'
to Say About Her.
The following paragraph is clipped
from The Orangeburg, South Carolina,
TINES AND DEMOCRAT, of last week:
An indiscreet correspondent has STIR
red up a hornets nest by asking the
Hartford, Conn, sTimes "What became
of the Mayfower?" The Times in
gloriously lodges the question, and
pretends that it has no reliable infor-
Ihation. But the truth of history must
be vindicated. The st. Louis Republl-
can makes the point that the mer-
chants of the New England ports. out
stripped all others in the slave trade
and almost monopoliZed the business.
There is good reason to believe that the
Mayfower, after dumping Purltanlsm
on Plymouth Rock, devoted the re-
mainder Of it's existence to the slave
trade. If it didn't, let some New Eng
lander give us the true history OF the
vessel. Was the Puritan MaytloWer a
slave ship or not? Will Brother Riggs,
of the Bristol, Conn, Press answer the
question?
Now, Brother Sims, in the first place
the Mayhower didn't belong to the
Puritans, but was charted by them to
bring them across the big ditch and set
them down on New England soil, and
they were in no way responsible for
the use to which the little boat was put
afterwards. It was employed to carry
them supplies and raiment twice, and
then the Puritan element dropped out
of it entirely.
In the second place, Brother Sims,
the Mayhower was English property,
and if ever employed in transporting
"niggers' from Africa to American
soil it was so employed by its English
proprietors.
In the third place, Brother Sims, the
MayfoWer was slow old tub, requiring
Is days for it's first voyage from Eng
land to Cape Cod. You can judge from
that how we'll adapted it was to run over
from the African coast with hold full
of perspiring darkies.
In the fourth place, Brother Sims,
the Mayfower was so weak and un-
seaworthy when it brought over its
first Puritan cargo, that those on board,
when half seas over, seriously debated
whether to proceed or return. But
they sagely concluded. that as it was
just as far, one way us the other they
would waste no time in turning around.
In the fifth place, Brother Sims, if by
"slave trade is meant that with the
colonies on American soil, it is almost
certainty that few blacks were land
ed on our shores during the probable
lifetime of the May1oWer, as the very
first were imported only the year be-
fore the first band OF Pilgrims landed
at Plymouth.
In the sixth place, Brother Sims, it
isn't of any more consequence whether
the Mayhower was engaged in the
slave trade than it is whether Noah's
ark was so employed. And indeed it is
well authenticated fact that Noah's
ark did bring Ham over the high seas,
and he is accredited with being the
smoked original of the whole negro
race.
In the seventh place, Brother Sims,
this question was evidently raised to
cast opprobrium on the Pilgrim fathers,
as if they were so identified with the
Mayhower as to make them, their heirs
and assigns, responsible for the May
flowers after career. Not much. 1t
was all, these -eTnigrants. could do to
nI.idTe King Philip and his fellow cop
per-skinned braves, and they never had
time to give thought to the enslave-
ment of the far-off Africans, at least
while the Mayfower kept afoat. t.-Bris-
toll Press.