He got a pale-board in his hand, but they both sat on their tails
a good while, grinning at him, and then went their way and left him."
Such little touches show what the care of families must have been in the
woodland picnics, and why the ship was, on the whole, the safest refuge
for the women and children.
We are told, moreover, how the party who had struck off into the
wilderness, "having marched through boughs and bushes and under hills and
valleys which tore our very armor in pieces, yet could meet with no
inhabitants nor find any fresh water which we greatly stood in need of,
for we brought neither beer nor water with us, and our victual was only
biscuit and Holland cheese, and a little bottle of aqua vitae. So we were
sore athirst. About ten o'clock we came into a deep valley full of brush,
sweet gaile and long grass, through which we found little paths or
tracks; and we saw there a deer and found springs of water, of which we
were heartily glad, and sat us down and drunk our first New England water
with as much delight as we ever drunk drink in all our lives."
Three such expeditions through the country, with all sorts of haps and
mishaps and adventures, took up the time until near the 15th of December,
when, having selected a spot for their colony, they weighed anchor to go
to their future home.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112