Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-11-26
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY-A. d.
1922.


BY MRS. N. J. PRESTON.
And nov: said the Governor. gazing abroad on
Oi the sheaves that dotted the clearings. and
covered the meadows DER.
us , NEE. that we render praises because OF
It's meet that the Lord of the harvest be
thanked for his sun and rain.
And therefore l; William Bradford. by the
And the franchise of this good people,. Gov
ernor OF Plymouth say,
Inro wrsae OF vested power-ye shall gather
And hold. in the month of November, thanks
giving with the Lord
He hath granted us peace and plenty. and the
quiet We've sought so long:
he natn tnwarted the willy savage, and kept
him from doing us wrong:
And unto our Feast the Sachem shall be bid.
den that he may know
we WORSHIP his own Great Spirit who maketh
so shoulder your matchlocks, masters: there
Is hunting OF all degrees:
And fishermen, take your tackle and scour for
spoil the seas:
And matdens and danes OF Plymouth. your
DELEGATE crafts employ,
10 non4 9. our frst Thanksgiving, and make it
I'VE fail Of the fruits and dainties so close to
TO our hand in Devon:
All, they are the lightest losses we suffer for
but see; IN our open clearings. how golden the
Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give
us the Pumpkin Pie:"
So, bravely the preparations went on for the
autumn feast:
The dssr rn and fl the bear were slaughtered wild
was heaped in the Colony cabins; brown
nOmeorew served for wine
Anu .ne plum and the grape of the forest, for
orange and peach and pine.
At length came the day appointed; the snow
hau begun to fail.
BUT tine clang from the Westinghouse belfry
rang merrfly out for all.
Ana summoned the folk of Plymouth, who
To listen to Elder Brewster as he fervently
thanked the Lord.
In his seat safe Governor Bradford; men. ma
irons and maidens fair:
Miles Standish and all his soldiers with corse-
iet ana sword. were there:
And sobbing and tears and gladness had each
In Its turn the sway
For the grave Of the sweet Rose Standish DER
shauowed thanksgiving Day.
And when Massasoit the Sachem safe down
with his hundred braves. -
Ana ate OF the varied riches of gardens and
woods and waves
ana looked on the granaried harvest-with a
oiow on his brawny chest.
tie muttered The good Great Spirit loves hi.
white children best
And then: as the felst was ended with grave
ly Official air
The Governor drew his broadsword ON, fro,,
its scabbard there
Anu snitlng the trencher near him, he cried
Hail: Pie Of the Pumpkin. dub thee Prince
OF Thanksgiving Day
Wide A'eake for Noren,ber.
Thanksgiving.
1t is apparently an incongruous
fact that the observance of Thanks
giving day originated among the
Puritans, a people who lived most
simply. But it is because these
New Englanders were Puritans and
had so few distractions that there
was opportunity for the thought
to come into their minds that they
possessed great many blessings
for which they should be grateful.
There seems to be an absurdity
in the statement that the more
reason a people have to show graf
itude the less liable are they to do
SO. But if there had been nc
Thanksgiving day up to the pres.
ent year of 1895, there is every
reason to believe that there never
would have been. In this hurry
ing whats next" age, men and
women are not likely to deliberate
ly plan, taking day off in which
to sit down and calmly reckon III,
their mercies. Our Thanksgiving
day therefore should be fondl,
cherished as one of the most prec
ious heritages of a past forever
dead.