Re: Thanksgiving

["Spirit One Email" <laurel@spiritone.com>]

Hi,
   Andrea's family went to see her husband's relatives, Moro Bay and Yuma,
AZ.  Couldn't have them here anyway because of germs.

    Some of you old-timers may remember that in past Thanksgivings I have
sent the correct historical story of the Pilgrims.   I tried to bite my
tongue  this year, but when I received yet another message of the abundant
1621 Thanksgiving, I couldn't stand it any longer.  Since I sent the last
message, I have done some more reading up from the materials we bought while
at Plymouth.   Here is some more:
"From late 1620 until the Spring of 1623, largely because the Pilgrims had a
common debt to the Englishmen who financed their expedition, everything in
the colony was community property."  This then, is another reason the
Pilgrims were hard put to have enough for themselves.  I do read in the fall
of 1621 "They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit
up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in
health and sgtrength, and had all things in good plenty; for as some were
thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about
cod, and bass, and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every
family had their portion.  All the summer there was no want.   And now began
to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did
abound which they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees).  And
besides water, fowl, there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they
took many, besides venison, etc.  Besides they had about a peck of meal a
week to a person or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. "

"... Massasoit with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and
festerd.  And they went out and killed five deer which they brought to the
plantation and bestowed on our Governor and upon the Captain and others."
Edward Winslow

Those 90 Indians for 3 days must have made a real dent in their food stores.
Some of the above mentioned foods could be preserved.  But in the dead of
winter, the game was not abundant and they suffered.   Seed had to be saved
for planting for next Spring for their families and for paying back part of
the harvest to the English company.


 It does such a disservice to the suffering they endured to ignore the two
years of starvation, sickness, and misery.   My husband had 4 ancestors
among them.
Laurel


----- Original Message -----
From: <DSinc39156@aol.com>
To: <sinclair@quarterman.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 2:41 PM
Subject: Re: Thanksgiving


> Dear Laurel, it's good to hear from you. Your absence from the list lately
> was not expected. I privately wondered if you might have gone to see your
> daughter. I remember it was this time of the year when she lived in
> Indianapolis and we all had dinner together.
>

[ Excess quotations omitted. ]

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