December 3, 1620
Cape Cod Harbor
Dear Imp,
Have not written because nothing to write. There be unending discussions as to whether a third exploration party should be set out to find another possible place for our settlement. There is talk of another great good harbor beyond the headland. With winter closing in they must come to agreement quickly.
Many colds and coughs. I worry about Mam. She looked peaked and I hear a burr in her chest when she coughs.
Love,
Mem
December 5, 1620
Cape Cod Harbor
Dear Imp,
It is decided. The men shall be leaving tomorrow to sail in a northerly direction. Weather has turned bitter and wet. I see ice on the rigging making the halyards appear like cords of glass.
Hummy and I think that Lark is sweet on John Alden. Either that or she has developed a passion for the skills of barrel repair. Whenever he goes to check the water and beer barrels she is with him.
Love,
Mem
December 6, 1620
Cape Cod Harbor
Dear Imp,
The men, including Father, left in the shallop this morning. Although proud that he be chosen once more, Mam and I were not without real fear this time as the ten men set forth in the foulest of weather. The hard rain was turning to ice as soon as it hit anything and I could see my father's coat and hat begin to shimmer like the rigging. It would not only be cold but the clothes must weigh so heavy. And with these fierce winds 'tis easy to imagine disaster striking the shallop. Any man thus iced would sink like a stone. I pray they be safe and not gone for long.
I go below and try to amuse Blessing with some of the finger games Will taught me. But I am not as clever as Will nor are my fingers so nimble.
Love,
Mem
December 7, 1620
Cape Cod Harbor
Dear Imp,
The first New World baby is born here this evening. Peregrine White slipped into life just a few moments before midnight. He be a dear little thing with a thick thatch of unruly black hair, and he be our first New World baby!
Love,
Mem
December 8, 1620
Midnight
Cape Cod Harbor
Dear Imp,
A terrible accident has happened. Dorothy Bradford is dead. Her body was pulled from the water shortly before midnight on December 7. She slipped on the ice-glazed upper deck and went over. And what is the worst is that I perhaps could have helped her had I been more alert for I, too, was on the upper deck. You see the poor woman has been so distracted by her grief over missing her dear son that she does not pay attention, and on a ship in a winter sea like this, one must always pay heed.
YOU ARE READING
Dear America A Journey to the New World Diary of Remember Patience Whipple
Teen Fiction"A Journey to the New World, the Diary of Remember Patience Whipple," is a two part dairy of a young girl who with her family and others traveled across seas in hopes of new lands for religious freedom. The first part of Remember's diary tells the s...
