De Rasieres’ letters, although well known, have never before been printed in so full and accurate a translation. They open with a description of Manhattan Island only three years after the settlement of New Amsterdam, and of the shores of Long Island Sound. They describe Algonkian Indian customs such as the making of wampum, the growing of Indian corn, with recipes for corn bread and porridge, and methods of dealing with unfaithful wives and roving husbands. Once arrived at New Plymouth, De Rasieres describes the settlement with great care—the clapboarded houses, the square fort on Burial Hill, and the Sabbath church parade to beat of drum, which has become classic. Nor does he neglect the government of the colony or the customs of the neighboring Indians. Detractors of the Pilgrim Colony will find no ammunition in these three contemporary descriptions. The Virginian, the Englishman, and the Dutchman found much to admire in the Colony and nothing to disparage. They have given us fresh reason to respect the faith and fortitude of that little band in its struggle to maintain a toe hold on the edge of the American wilderness. Samuel Eliot Morison February 1963 Editor’s Preface Letters which have survived over three hundred years, escaping the ravages of fire, water, vermin, and people who wanted to wrap fish, have a claim to our respect. All the more so if they shed light on a subject of as widespread interest as early Plymouth. As editor of the letters presented here, therefore, I had better explain what has happened to them in my hands and make it known that my intentions were honorable. In order to win as many readers for these letters as possible, I have put them into modern style in certain respects. To those written originally in English, the letters by Emmanuel Altham and John Pory, I have given modern spelling without changing the words, and punctuation to make them into sentences and paragraphs in twentieth-century fashion as much as possible. I have followed the general approach described by Samuel Eliot Morison in the preface to his edition of William Bradford’s _Of Plymouth Plantation_ (New York, 1952), pp. vii-ix. I have also followed his example in many details, such as spellings. However, anything Pory or Altham wrote which is acceptable to modern usage has been left alone, regardless of consistency within this book. I have standardized proper names ruthlessly, except for some which have no modern or official form, as is the case with most old Dutch place names. Since Isaack De Rasieres’ Dutch has been translated directly into modern English, it has not needed the same treatment.