The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-11-24
THANKSGIVING DAY.


Copyright 1895. by Edward E. Hale)
Thanksgiving day is generally spoken Of
as If it were a New England invention. To
have an annual Thanksgiving, appointed
by authority" as the old phrase is-this is
certainly the New England plan. But the
Pilgrims brought over with them the recol-
l~ections of one or two special days of
Thanksgiving, appointed when there were
particular reasons for public rejoicing.
There were, for instance, recollections of a
day of public Thanksgiving especially ap-
pointed after the defeat of the Spanish
Armada, and a similar Thanksgiving after
the discovery of the gunpowder plot. But
these were probably the only Thanksgiving
Days which any of the handful of Pilgrim
fathers or Pilgrim mothers emembered-
The historical origin. therefore. of our
Thanksgiving day is that great occasion in
history when, at Plymouth. in ls21, "Our
harvest having been gathered in, our Gov
ernor sent four men on fowling. so that
we might. after a special manner, rejoice
together after we had gathered the fruit OF
our labors." The harvest had not been un-
satisfactory. and they were tolerably COM
Portable. They had built seven dwelling
houses. For provision for the people they
had planted twenty acres of Indian corn,
which Ibid prove WE'LL They had sowed
six acres of barley and pease; the barley
proved indifferent good" but the pease not
worth gathering.
All the summer, indeed. there had been
no want. There were about fifty people left,
after the terrible winter, which had taken
fifty away. They took good store of codd
and bass and other fish. And now began
to come in store of foule. And beside water
foule. ther was great store of wild turkies,
of which they tooke many. beside venison,"
etc. OF meal there was enough TO give
a peck a week to each person.
Thirty-six persons Joined them late in
November. but these seem to have arrived
after Thanksgiving day. They brought no
provision with them. and thus, after the
brave boast that In a day the party OF
four sportsmen brought in food enough for
a week, the Governor was obliged to put
the whole company on half allowance for
six months, so that the meal might hold out
It'll fish come in again."
It is to be observed in passing that, in
shooting game enough for the first Thanks
giving dinner, the sportsmen had the ad-
vantage that a turkey of that day some
times weighed sixty pounds.
We are to imagine Brewster at one end
L VI lDc nOdi4s anu DAa1AOAa a. I0 OA30f
carving each a sixty-pounder for the fifty
people who sit at the table. Two and a
quarter pounds of turkey for each. with
venison, mallards, red-heads, plover, wood
cock, cartridges and quail thrown in. and
cranberries, sweetened with maple sugar,
for the first time. Pretty we'll for Pilgrimsl
In the Bay, as we Massachusetts people
say, the first Thanksgiving was even more
dramatic. The experience Of Plymouth had
made the Bay sc ttlers careful TO sail early,
and the Governors ship arrived on the long
est day of the year, while the belated
Forefathers, ten years before. had landed
on the shortest. So they had all the sum-
mer and autumn to provide. But July and
August were poor seasons for planting In
our New England agriculture. And Win
throp had seen at once that he should need
food for his colony before Gne harvest OF
the next year. He had accordingly dis
patched the Lion" 10 England. with or
ders to bring back stores at whatever cost.
Sickness came down on these poor crea-
lures, as on the Plymouth fathers. AT Ply
mouth they lost half their company before
spring, as has been said; in the Bay, it
would seem as if a tenth part of the first
companies of emigrants died before twelve
months were over. LAS the winter OF 1850
came on, provisions began to be very scarce,
and the people were necessitated to live
upon clans, and mussels. and ground nuts,
and acorns. and these got with much diff
ficulty in the winter time. Upon which the
people were very much tired and dis
couraged, especially when they heard that
the Governor himself had the last batch OF
bread in the oven" Mather, two genera
tons after, says that Winthrop was dis
tributing 1.-The last handful of meal in the
barrel unto a poor man distressed by the
wolf at the door, when the lookouts spied
a vessel at the harbor's mouth, laden with
provisions for them all.
The vessel was the Lion" which Win
throp had sent back to provide for this
very emergency. 1t is recorded that the
captain in charge paid more money for
wheat than any man had ever heard of be-
fore, for there was almost famine in Eng
he was sent for. and had come back.
He arrived on the very day appointed Ito
seek the Lord by fasting and prayer" the
first fast day. so far as we know, in the
colony. The assistants were near at hand.
and Winthrop. the Governor, was able 10
change his proclamation, and he appointed
a day of thanksgiving, on the 2and of Feb
ruary. He divided his provisions among the
people, 'proportionable to their necessities
From every man according to his ability.
to every man according to his need" And
this was the first Thanksgiving day in Mas
sachusetts. EDWARD E. HALE.
He Was q Fighter.
Detroit Free Press.