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Hi! I have made up a pilgrim character that came on the Mayflower. If you haven’t heard of it, the Mayflower was a ship that the Pilgrims came on in 1620. Listen to the recording (there are lots of recordings) called “Samuel Fletcher” (that’s the character’s name) now, because it has something to do with the next paragraph.

Have you listened to the recording yet? If you have, you should know that Samuel left his mother behind when he went on the Mayflower. What? You didn’t listen to it? Well, now you know. He’s written a letter to her from Plymouth. Please note that the Pilgrim year started on 3/25, so “the ninth month” as it says in the letter, is really November.

Dear Mother,

I have gone on The Mayflower and arrived very far north of Jamestown! We have landed in a place that they call “Cape Cod”. We have made a new set of laws , for the laws in Jamestown no longer exist for us. We call this new set of laws “The Mayflower Compact”. It says that all have equal rights. On the ship, the main mast cracked. We all thought we were lost until we found a screw from the printing press, and be the mast held. And then, in the ninth month, we saw land in the new world. We are building a village in a place that we call Plymouth, in honor of Plymouth, England, the place we set sail from. The Billington boys are getting into lots of trouble. On the ship, they almost set aflame gunpowder, and if they had, thou would not be receiving this letter. Our cabin had not much space, for if we move a small distance, we hit our neighbor.  We are now living in a “common house” that everyone lives in.

Your loving son,

Samuel

Poor Samuel.  The common house was blown up by some sparks.

Dear Mother,

The common house is no more!  It was exploded by some sparks.  We are building individual homes now.  Father is struggling to make one.  If I go to heaven from this, I’ll tell God to save the rest of us.

Your loving and endangered son,

Samuel

Many died, but Samuel was lucky.

Dear Mother,

Praise God, I have survived!  There is lots to hunt in Plimouth.  William Bradford got caught by one leg in an Indian fox trap!  He had to wait for his friends to cut the rope and set him free.

Your loving son and pilgrim who has not written a very long letter this time,

Samuel