Friendship Between Captain Standish and Mr. Brewster.—Character of Mr. Brewster.—His Death and Burial.—Mode of Worship.—Captain’s Hill.—Difficulty with the Narragansets.—Firmness and Conciliation.—Terms of Peace.—Plans for Removal from Plymouth.—Captain Standish’s Home in Duxbury.—Present Aspect of the Region.
It is greatly to the credit of Captain Miles Standish, the puritan soldier, that his life-long friend was William Brewster, the puritan divine. Their farms in Duxbury were side by side. The scene upon which this noble Christian man looked, in the evening of his eventful life, must have been one full of peaceful beauty, as he stood, staff in hand, upon the threshold of his lowly, yet comfortable cottage. His peaceful home was situated about three miles across the bay from the village of Plymouth. By land it was a roundabout route of nearly eight miles. His farm was on a picturesque peninsula shooting out southerly into the placid waters of Plymouth Bay. In his life of fourscore years and four, he had witnessed the long reigns of three of the most remarkable of the English sovereigns.
The days of his early manhood were passed through333 scenes of persecution and suffering, whose vicissitudes were painful and agitating in the extreme. His mental energies had been strengthened by the discipline of adversity and severe afflictions. As an exile, he had encountered poverty and had been exposed to the most severe deprivations and toils. He had landed, with a feeble band, in this New World when it was but a howling wilderness, and where the utmost courage and prudence were requisite, to save the little colony from utter extinction by a savage foe.
He had lived to see the colony securely established, to see the Indians to a very great degree conciliated, and not a few of them brought under the influence of Christian example and instruction. From one little settlement, of seven log huts, he had seen others springing up all around, till eight flourishing towns were established, with eight churches, under eight pastors. He had seen the colony reduced to but fifty souls, men, women and children. And, ere he died, the census reported a population of eight thousand, with a well-defined government, a free constitution and established laws. Infant colonies were rising in various points to a vigorous manhood, and were uniting in a confederacy, already sufficiently powerful to repel all native foes, and which gave promise of being able, ere long, to maintain independence334 against the machinations of all foreign enemies.
A system of common schools was established, which even then was the glory of New England. Harvard University, modelled after the renowned university of Cambridge in England, was already beginning to train young men for the highest offices in the church and the state. Thus freedom, education and religion were walking hand in hand. In the retrospect of his path through life, this thoughtful, devout and hopeful man could contemplate the stern conflicts, the cruel errors, and the heroic deeds of one of the most important eras in the world’s history. Though he had sown in tears, he could hopefully look forward to the time when his children, and his children’s children should reap in joy. In speaking of the death of this eminent man, Governor Bradford writes, under date of the year 1643:49
“I am to begin this year with that which was a matter of great sadness and mourning unto them all. About the 18th of April died their reverend elder, and my dear and loving friend, Mr. William Brewster, a man who had done and suffered much for the Lord Jesus and the gospel’s sake, and had borne his part in weal and woe with this poor persecuted church335 above thirty-six years in England, Holland, and in this wilderness, and done the Lord and them faithful service in his place and calling. And notwithstanding the many troubles and sorrows he passed through, the Lord upheld him to a great age. He was near fourscore years of age, if not all out, when he died.50 He had this blessing added by the Lord to all the rest, to die in his bed, in peace among the midst of his friends, who mourned and wept over him, and ministered what help and comfort they could unto him, and he again recomforted them while he could.
“His sickness was not long, and till the last day thereof, he did not wholly keep his bed. His speech continued till somewhat more than half a day, and then failed him. About nine or ten o’clock that evening he died, without any pangs at all. A few hours before his death he drew his breath short, and some few minutes before his last he drew his breath long, as a man falling into a sound sleep, without any pangs or gaspings, and so sweetly departed this life unto a better. I would now demand of any, what was he the worse for any former sufferings? What do I say—worse? Nay, sure he was the better, and they now added to his honor. ‘It is a manifest token,’ saith the apostle, ‘of the righteous judgment of God, that336 ye may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer; seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.’ What though he wanted the riches and pleasures of the world in this life, and pompous monuments at his funeral, yet the just shall be blessed, when the name of the wicked shall rot, with their marble monuments.”
A very pleasing account is given by Prince, of the mode in which public worship was conducted by these Christians, who were anxious in all things to be conformed to the habits of the disciples in apostolic days. The customs they observed have been transmitted to the present times in our meetings for conference and prayer. On Thursday, the 25th of October, 1632, Governor Winthrop, with Mr. Wilson, who was pastor of the church in Boston, with several other Christian friends, made a visit to Plymouth. They were received with great hospitality. Governor Bradford, Rev. Mr. Brewster, the ruling elder, and several others of the prominent men of Plymouth, came some distance out from the village to meet their friends, who probably travelled on foot. They were conducted to the house of Governor Bradford, where most of them were entertained during their stay. They were,337 however, every day invited to dinner parties at the houses of the more opulent of the villagers.
On Sunday the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered, in the morning. The service occupied the whole time. In the afternoon devotions, the service was opened by Mr. Roger Williams, who propounded a question of theology, or of conscience, upon which he made sundry remarks. Rev. Mr. Smith, pastor of the Boston church, then spoke briefly upon the subject. Mr. Williams again spoke, quoting freely from the Bible in explanation of the question which he had proposed. Then Governor Bradford, who had studied Hebrew, and was familiar with all scriptural antiquities, expressed his views upon the subject. He was followed by Elder Brewster. His reputation, as a man of profound learning, caused all to listen attentively when he spake. Then, by special invitation from the Elder, Governor Winthrop spoke upon the question, followed by Mr. Wilson, pastor of the church in Boston. Deacon Fuller, who was also the physician of the colony at Plymouth, then called for the contribution for the support of public worship and of the poor. The Governor, and all the rest of the congregation rose from their seats and went to the deacon’s seat to deposit their gifts. The exercises were closed with the benediction.
This peculiarity of having various members of the338 church speak in public worship, one after another, they brought with them from Holland, such having been the practice adopted by Rev. Mr. Robinson, founded on the primitive practice of the church at Corinth, as recorded by St. Paul, in chapter xiii. of the Acts, 14th and 15th verses. But, as the community advanced in intelligence, it was found that study was essential to the teacher who, Sabbath after Sabbath, would interest a congregation. It was also remembered that such a practice was peculiarly adapted to the age of inspiration which had passed away. Thus the practice was gradually laid aside for the mode of worship now adopted by all the churches descended from the Puritans. The highly educated preacher, in the stated services of the sanctuary, brings from his treasury things new and old for the benefit of the church and congregation. But in frequent meetings for conference and prayer, all the brethren of the church have an opportunity of expressing their views upon all questions of faith and practice.
There was probably no more sincere mourner, at the grave of Elder Brewster, than his life-long companion and friend, Captain Miles Standish. As we have mentioned, their farms in Duxbury were side by side. They had gathered around them several men of congenial spirit, among whom we find the name of339 John Alden. From whatever direction one approaches the homes of these illustrious men, he sees looming up before him the remarkable eminence known as “Captain’s Hill.” It is an oval-shaped mound, rising to the height of about one hundred and eighty feet. This hill was on the farm of Captain Standish. From its summit, scenery of landscape and water was presented, in a calm summer’s day, such as can scarcely be surpassed in beauty in any country.
In a clear atmosphere one can discern, in the far distance of the eastern horizon, over the bay, the outline of the sand-hills of Cape Cod, with its sickle bend forming in the extreme north the harbor where the Mayflower first cast anchor; and where for five long weeks their shattered bark rested while the Pilgrims were in vain seeking for a home. Almost at one’s feet is to be seen the whole expanse of Plymouth Bay, with the entrance through which their storm-shattered shallop passed through the foaming breakers on either side. There was then no light-house on Gurnet’s Point to guide their endangered keel. Just before you is Clark’s Isle, under whose lee, in the midnight tempest, the Pilgrims found shelter, when every moment in danger of being submerged by the waves; and where they passed the ever-memorable Sabbath.
From the summit of the hill, all the land to the340 south belonged to Captain Standish. On the east, spreading out to the water’s edge, including what is called the Nook, were the acres allotted to Elder Brewster. Near the site of the humble house which he reared and occupied, are still to be seen the gray and decaying remains of a farm-house, and its outbuildings, erected by some one of his immediate successors. It was from this spot that the remains of the Elder were conveyed, in long procession winding around the western shore of the bay, to their final resting-place on Burial Hill.
It was in the midst of these peaceful scenes that Captain Miles Standish passed the evening of his days, mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits. But whenever serious trouble came, his energies were immediately called into requisition.
When the English commenced their settlements on Connecticut River, Uncas, sachem of the Mohegan Indians, acknowledged a sort of feudal submission to Sassacus, the powerful chief of the Pequot tribe. This chieftain had, as we have mentioned, twenty-six minor sachems, who paid him feudal homage. Uncas was a very ambitious, energetic man, and he was gradually bringing minor tribes under his sway. His territory was situated east of the Connecticut River and north of New London, Stonington and Norwich. Uncas, though a friend of the white men, was bitterly341 hostile to the introduction of Christianity among the Indians. Some occasion of war arose between the Narragansets and the Mohegans, and a very large force of the former fell upon Uncas, and slew a large number of his men, while they wounded more. This was in the year 1645, two years after the death of Elder Brewster. Many of the Narragansets had obtained muskets. Being superior in numbers to the Mohegans, and more powerfully armed, they gained an easy victory.
The English were not willing to see their friend and ally thus destroyed. They were bound by treaty to defend him, and sent to the Narragansets a remonstrance. The Narragansets, having engaged the co-operation of the Mohawks, and flushed with victory, returned an insulting and defiant answer. The Connecticut colonists immediately despatched forty well-armed men, for the protection of their ally, while commissioners from the several English colonies met, at Boston, to decide upon what further measures to adopt. Three messengers were sent to the Narragansets and to the Mohegans, calling upon both parties to appoint commissioners to confer with the English upon the points in dispute, and thus to settle the question by diplomacy and not by butchery. If the Narragansets refused to accede this proposal, which they were bound, by previous treaty,342 to respect, they were to be informed that the English had already sent forty armed men to Uncas, and a definite answer was demanded to the question whether they intended to abide by the treaty of peace, into which they had entered with the English, or whether they intended to make war upon them also.
To this perfectly just and friendly message, the Narragansets returned again a contemptuous and threatening reply. At the same time Roger Williams, who dwelt in the near vicinity, almost in the midst of the Narragansets, and who was familiar with all their operations, wrote to the Governors of Plymouth and of Massachusetts, stating that the war would soon break out far and wide, with great violence, and the whole country would be in flames. This was alarming tidings to the English. By the arts of peace alone could they be enriched, and for peace and friendship their hearts yearned.
The Narragansets were not far from Plymouth. The fiend-like warfare of the savages, with their hideous yells, tomahawks and firebrands, would first fall upon the scattered farm-houses of that colony. An immediate convention was called of the magistrates, elders and chief military commanders of the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies. They came unanimously to the following decisions, That they were bound, by treaty, to aid and defend Uncas; that this343 aid was not intended merely to defend him in his fort, or when attacked in his dwelling, but also to enable him to preserve his liberty and his estates; that this aid must be immediately furnished or Uncas would be overwhelmed and ruined by his enemies; that the war against the Narragansets being so manifestly just, the reasons for it ought to be proclaimed to the world; that a day of humiliation and prayer should be appointed to implore the Divine guidance and blessing; that three hundred men should be immediately sent to the aid of Uncas, of which Massachusetts should furnish one hundred and ninety, Plymouth forty, Connecticut forty, and New Haven thirty; that, considering the immediate danger of Uncas, forty men should be instantly sent to his succor from Massachusetts.
In accordance with the promptness which has ever characterized the Massachusetts colony, scarcely an hour elapsed, after the tidings reached Boston, ere the men were on the march. Governor Bradford, speaking of the insolent tone adopted by the Narragansets, writes,
“They received the English commissioners with scorn and contempt, and told them that they would have no peace with Uncas without his head. They also gave them this further answer,—that it mattered not who began the war, they were resolved to follow it up, and that the English should withdraw their garrison344 from Uncas, or they would bring down the Mohawks upon them. And withal they gave them this threatening answer, that they would lay the English cattle on heaps as high as their houses, and that no Englishman should step out of his door but that he should be shot.”
The English commissioners needed guides to lead them through the wilderness of the Narraganset country, to communicate the reply of the Narraganset chiefs to Uncas. They refused to furnish them with any guide. At last, in scorn they brought forward a poor, old, decrepit Pequot woman saying, with derisive laughter, that they might take her if they pleased. In addition to all these indignities the commissioners were seriously menaced with personal violence. As their interpreter was communicating his message to the sachems, three burly savages came and stood behind him, brandishing their tomahawks in the most insulting and threatening manner. The friendly Indians, w............