The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-28
Manhattan's Part In the Success
OF the Pilgrims.

the triumph of a handful Of men and
women over q savage wilderness on a
desolate shore that opened the eyes
of Englishmen to possibilities beyond
the Atlantic. This Led even to the
great Puritan emigration which set
tied Salem and Boston. Between 1929
and 1914 10000 English and Welsh
made homes, with social order, where
before it was not known in Great
Britain that white men with families
could live.
In the ATTITUDES north Of New Meth
erlands there were not the fertile soil,
the navigable rivers making easy ac-
cess to both the interior and the ocean,
and the climate which in Virginia
made mere existence a delight. In
New England from the first step of a
buckled shoe on the rock it was mani
fest that the sea rather than the soil
must furnish both food and trade.
The resources in corn, fish and furs
of the aboriglnes must be quickly and
permanently utilized or the colony
must end In poverty and starvation.
Note how BRADFORD in his journal
bewails the loss to the Pilgrims of the
Speedwell, companion ship to the May
flower. Hitherto colonization and
starvation" In many n yoked prece-
dent had become almost an English
proverb. In any event, 1t was the
three starts and turnings back Of the
Speedwell to Dartmouth, to Plymouth
and to Plymouth again that wrought
two fearful disasters, nearly wrecking
the enterprise.
Through the delays Of many weeks.
involving enormous and unexpected
expense because Of tonnage and har-
Dor dues, the Pilgrims were mulcted
out Of their reserves and capital. All
their cheese, their butter and some
other necessaries of life had to be
sold to pay the sum total Of nearly
one thousand pounds sterling, or over
$1,000 as expressed in values OF our
time before the late war. Little In
deed was left for either barter or de-
fence. Because OF this stripping from
them OF their property, as BRADFORD
complains, the Pilgrims We're virtu-
ally marooned on a desolate shore.
Even more destructive to the morale
OF the colony was the defamation of
the original Leyden company because
of the disreputable and even criminal
characters "shufIled In" with them on
the Mayflower, thus injecting an I'M
expected virus into the body polite on
the ship and in the colony. These
people, gunman, two duelllsts and
other lawless folk, furnished the chief
occasion for the compact.
The captain Of the Mayflower hav-
ing missed his way and brought his
ship too far north, much time was
again lost In three trips Of explora-
ton and in repairing the shallop. As
soon as the dreadful winter was over
trucking OF trade with the Indians
began. The necessary method Of az
riculture by fish fertilization was
taught TO these town bred men by the
Indians; but what OF cash TO pay
their staggering debts7 As mouths
multiplied when the immigrants on
the other four Pilgrim ships arrived
the situation grew critical. Communal
methods failed under Individual own
ershlp of land affairs improved, but
still the debt to their London hackers
doomed.
1t ives all the more depressing that
sundry and very worldly gentlemen
under MoRroN at Merrymount were
luxuriously living in riotous license
near by. How the Pilgrim police,
under MILES STANDrsH, put the Mer-
rymount settlement out Of commission
with no bloodshed except from the
nose of one drunken defender, set
bleeding by his own sworde forms one
Of the funny episodes in the history
Of Plymouth plantation. It's nara
ton by BRADFORD shows both the wit
and the humor OF this first predeces-
sor OF MARK TWAIN: for our first
Colonial historian dearly loved fun. a
lively Joke and good story. MOTLEY
made this episode the occasion OF his
novel of "Merrymount." 1t Is true
that OLIVER WENDELL Holmes informs
us that "a merciful oblivion" fell ON
the famous historians first essay in
romance. We confess, however, that
while far from considering MoTLEY's
"Merrymount" a masterpiece, we en-
ioyed its perusal. "Nllles in name and
leagues in valor" our first captain
and his little army certainly were.
But what next to Pilgrim pluck and
industry set these pioneers up fnan-
cially? Fish and game would never
have made n surplus fund. A clrcu-
lating medium Of exchange, cur
rency, which Is the life blood Of trade,
was necessary, but where could they
get it7
it was the walloons at Orania--
Fort Orange, now Albany, New York