Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation': From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to MassachusettsBradford, William
History
Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation': From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts
Bradford, William
Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
This year, y^e 14. or 15. of August (being Saturday) was such a mighty
storme of wind & raine, as none living in these parts, either English or
Indeans, ever saw. Being like (for y^e time it continued) to those
Hauricanes and Tuffons that writers make mention of in y^e Indeas. It
began in y^e morning, a litle before day, and grue not by degrees, but
came with violence in y^e begining, to y^e great amasmente of many. It
blew downe sundry [211] houses, & uncovered others; diverce vessells
were lost at sea, and many more in extreme danger. It caused y^e sea to
swell (to y^e southward of this place) above 20. foote, right up &
downe, and made many of the Indeans to clime into trees for their
saftie; it tooke of y^e borded roofe of a house which belonged to the
plantation at Manamet, and floted it to another place, the posts still
standing in y^e ground; and if it had continued long without y^e
shifting of y^e wind, it is like it would have drouned some parte of y^e
cuntrie. It blew downe many hundered thowsands of trees, turning up the
stronger by the roots, and breaking the hiegher pine trees of in the
midle, and y^e tall yonge oaks & walnut trees of good biggnes were wound
like a withe, very strang & fearfull to behould. It begane in y^e
southeast, and parted toward y^e south & east, and vered sundry ways;
but y^e greatest force of it here was from y^e former quarters. It
continued not (in y^e extremitie) above 5. or 6. houers, but y^e
violence begane to abate. The signes and marks of it will remaine this
100. years in these parts wher it was sorest. The moone suffered a great
eclips the 2. night after it.
Some of their neighbours in y^e Bay, hereing of y^e fame of Conightecute
River, had a hankering mind after it, (as was before noted,) and now
understanding that y^e Indeans were swepte away with y^e late great
mortalitie, the fear of whom was an obstacle unto them before, which
being now taken away, they begane now to prosecute it with great
egernes. The greatest differances fell betweene those of Dorchester
plantation and them hear; for they set their minde on that place, which
they had not only purchased of y^e Indeans, but wher they had builte;
intending only (if they could not remove them) that they should have but
a smale moyety left to y^e house, as to a single family; whose doings
and proceedings were conceived to be very injurious, to attempte not
only to intrude them selves into y^e rights & possessions of others, but
in effect to thrust them out of all. Many were y^e leters & passages
that went betweene them hear aboute, which would be to long here to
relate.
I shall here first inserte a few lines that was write by their own
agente from thence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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