Evening star., 1894-12-15
FOREFATHERs' DAY.
Some Of the Adventures of Plymouth
Rock.

FOREFATHERy DAY.
Rock.
You have heard Of the Pilgrim Faith
ers." who, in 1920. sailed across the At
lantic in the Mayhower. and made their
home in this country and named 1t Ply
mouth. You have heard, too. of Plymouth
Rock, famous for having been used by
those first settlers in landing, and on that
account visited every year by thousands Of
strangers from far and near.
On a certain day in the year 1742. hum
dred and twenty years after the town be-
gan, the little Plymouth children trudging
to school or skipping to play would have
noticed great stir in the place. They
would have seen people hocking to the
shore and have heard them talking earnest
ly about Elder Faunce, and his request
for chair" and about what he was go
ing to do dov by the Rock.
Now. in 1T42. when Elder Faunce was a
very old man, far into the nineties, a re-
port reached him that wharf was to be
built which would rartly cover the rock
Think of IT.! A wharf on Plymouth Rock!
Elder Faunce did think of it, and so anX-
iously that he sent down asking that he
might be brought to the shore and have a
chair set for him on Coles HILL" close
by the rock. and he would then and there
Identify 1t as the one used by the pilgrims
in landing, and give proof thereof.
1t must have been an interesting scene;
men, women and children gathered on the
brow and slope of that hill of sacred men,
ories, looking down upon the actual spot
where first trod those pilgrim feet, or off
upon the blue sea where only 120 years
before lay anchored the Mayfiower. soon
to sail away to England. watched. no
doubt, from that very hill by the little
flock 1T left alone in the wilderness All
this was not very far back, and it was
no doubt brought vividly to mind, for the
venerable elder, sitting in the chair which
had been set for him, pointed to the rock
and declared to the assemblage that his
mother, one of the first colony, told him
the pilgrims used that rock in landing
HIS testimony was recorded and most care
fully preserved.
Removal of the Rock.
This remarkable event Of 1742 gave the
rock a sure Identification Thirty years
more brought our country to its second
beginning. the period of the revolutionary
war, which freed from England. Here
too. the rock bore it's part. The account
says that the Plymouth people were so
pervaded by the glorious spirit of liberty
that they resolved to consecrate anew the
sacred relic. and ''use 1t as fuel to in
crease the flame of indignation already
burning against the mother country"
They declared 1T should be removed to
Liberty Pole Square," in the center of the
town, where it would be continually in
spring the citizens with thoughts of free
dom.' Many yoke of oxen stood ready to
draw 1t. when, 10 and behold! the rock split
across! This calamity, however, was de-
clared sure sign of a coming separation
from England. and the upper portion,
Weighing some two or three tons, was con-
Veyed In triumph about a quarter of a
mile. to Liberty Pole Square, now Town
Square.
1t was no doubt the enthusiasm of those
rre,volutionary times which moved leading
Club, in 1859. few years before the war
From the formation Of this club came the
nrst Iorefathers' day celebration, on the
"a or December Of that year. There were
addresses, procession cannon firing and
public dinner.
Restored to It's Old Place.
But another change awaited our much
revered traveller. 1t occurred many years
after the revolution. By this time the
country had grown old enough to appreci-
ate Its beginnings and all connected there
with. and 1t came to be said in Plymouth
and elsewhere that "Forefathers' Rock
should no longer abide in the market place.
mid the common doings Of the common
crowd. and that the vacant space in front
or Pilgrim Hall. building which treasures
tnnunorable pilgrim relics-cabinets, arm
chairs, pewter platter. weapons, books
dishes, pictures, needlework, cooking uten-
sils. etc.-that here would be the most fit
ting resting place for the noblest relics of
them all"
The second removal took place on Inde-
pendence day Of 1885, The citizens formed
a long procession headed by the children
Of the schools.
The rock was afterward inclosed In a
symbolic iron railing, into which were
wrought the names OF the 'forty-one' Pill
grim Fathers who signed the original COM
pact in the cabin Of the Mayfiower previous
to landing.
Fifty years later that ruler of human af-