Contents ▼▲
Front Matter Why This Story was Written The Leaking Speedwell Searching for a Home After the Storm Wash Day Finding the Corn Attacked by the Savages Building Houses Miles Standish The Sick People The New Home Master White and the Wolf Inside of the House A Chimney Without Bricks Building the Fire Master Bradford's Chimney Scarcity of Food A Timely Gift The First Savage Visitor Squanto's Story Living in the Wilderness The Friendly Indians Grinding the Corn A Visit From Massasoit Massasoit's Promise Massasoit's Visit Returned The Big House Burned The Mayflower Leaves Port Setting the Table What and How we Eat Table Rules A Pilgrim Goes Abroad Making a Dugout Governor Carver's Death Bradford Chosen Governor Farming in Plymouth Cooking Indian Corn The Wedding Making Maple Syrup Decorating the House Trapping Wolves and Pigeons Elder Brewster The Visit to Massasoit Keeping the Sabbath Holy Making Clapboards Cooking Pumpkins A New Oven Making Spoons and Dishes The Fort and Meeting-House The Harvest Festival How to Play Stoolball On Christmas Day When the Fortune Arrived Possibility of Another Famine On Short Allowance A Threatening Message Pine Knots and Candles Tallow From Bushes Wicks for the Candle Dipping the Candles When James Runs Away Evil-Minded Indians Long Hours of Preaching John Alden's Tubs English Visitors Visiting the Neighbors Why More Fish are not Taken How Wampum is Made Ministering to Massasoit The Plot Thwarted The Captain's Indian Ballots of Corn Arrival of the Ann Little James Comes to Port The New Meeting-House The Church Service The Tithingmen Master Winslow Brings Cows A Real Oven Butter and Cheese Settlement at Wessagussett The Village at Merrymount The First School Too Much Smoke Schools Comforts How Children Were Punished New Villages Making Ready for a Journey Clothing for Salem Food for the Journey Before Sailing for Salem Beginning the Journey The Arrival at Salem Sight-Seeking in Salem Back to Plymouth

Mary of Plymouth - James Otis




Evil-Minded Indians

It was during this summer that we had good cause for alarm. Word was brought by Samoset that a large party of Massasoit's people, being angry because of his having showed us white folks favor, were bent on attacking him and us, with the intent to destroy entirely our town of Plymouth

[Illustration] from Mary of Plymouth by James Otis

Captain Standish marched forth once more, this time with twelve men at his heels, and I heard John Alden tell my father that the brave soldier went directly to the village of those who would have murdered us, where, without the shedding of blood, they took from all the evil-minded Indians their weapons.

It seems more like some wild fancy than the sober truth, to say that twelve men could, without striking a blow in anger, overcome no less than sixty wild savages, and yet such was the case, for John Alden is known to be a truthful man, and Captain Standish one who is not given to boasting.

The long dreary winter passed slowly, and during a goodly number of days we of Plymouth were hungry, although having sufficient of food to keep us from actual starvation. Yet never once did I hear any repining because of our having been brought to such straits through the neglect of those who came in the Fortune, and who should have provided themselves with food sufficient for their wants until another harvest time had come.