Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 302, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1920 — THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS [ARTICLE]

THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

! “Mother! 0 Mother! Tell us & story,” cried the children, as they came scampering in from play. I “What kind of a story, my children?” she asked. I “Oh, a story of long ago,” they answered. “All right,” said Mother, and she began: “Once upon a time there was a wicked ruler in England who made the people all worship as he did. Now the Pilgrims or people who roamed about, didn’t like his way of worshiping. Some disobeyed it | and were thrown into prison; others escaped into Holland; these were the Pilgrims. ; “Now the Pilgrims didn’t • want their children to marry into, the Dutch families, so they decided to come to America. They set out in two small boats but one broke down and they had but one, the Mayi flower, in which to "make the long journey. It was a small boat and they were crowded but they sang and tried to be cheerful. Al- ! though many times the boat was swallowed up in a large wave, it was not destroyed. The Pilgrims kept up their courage and bravely went on. Many, many days they ; sailed until at last land was discovered. There they landed at Plymouth Rock. It was late in the fall and they built rude huts for the winter. They had little food and many starved to death, yet they still clung to their cojirage and 1 kept on. Often times hostile tribes of Indians would kill some of them, and some times friendly Indians, would give them food. But, at last, spring came, and they planted corn as they had been taught by the In- _ dians. “All during the summer they kept on until the harvest. They had corn and other food enough to last all winter. They were so happy that they planned a Thanksgiving, a day of giving thanks to God for the bountiful harvest they had had. They invited all the friendly Indians and all the Pilgrims were there. They had three days of feasting. f —Ester McColly. Grade 8-A.