Myles Standish Was Such a Shortie, the Americans Kidded Him About It
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PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: 1 “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” Sturdy Myles Standish was such a shortie, the Americans kidded him about it. He was described by Pecksuot as “a great Captain, yet ... but a little man” (shortly after this the white man would use his big knife to right-size the red man). Now his statue stands all of fourteen feet from the soles of its elevator boots to the crown of its big hat — and has been raised on a pedestal so high that its head was struck from its body by God’s lightning. “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY 1. A name supplied by Thomas Morton HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK A WEEK: In the words of the old nursery tale, sung about a hundred PEOPLE OF years ago, — A WEEK “He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide, And hardships they endured to quell the Indian’s pride.” In the shaggy pine forest of Pequawket they met the “rebel Indians,” and prevailed, after a bloody fight, and a remnant returned home to enjoy the fame of their victory. A township called Lovewell’s Town, but now, for some reason, or perhaps without reason, Pembroke, was granted them by the State. “Of all our valiant English, there were but thirty-four, And of the rebel Indians, there were about four-score; And sixteen of our English did safely home return, The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all must mourn. “Our worthy Capt. Lovewell among them there did die, They killed Lieut. Robbins, and wounded good young Frye, Who was our English Chaplin; he many Indians slew, And some of them he scalped while bullets round him flew.” Our brave forefathers have exterminated all the Indians, and their degenerate children no longer dwell in garrisoned houses nor hear any war-whoop in their path. It would be well, perchance, if many an “English Chaplin” in these days could exhibit as unquestionable trophies of his valor as did “good young Frye.” We have need to be as sturdy pioneers still as Miles Standish, or Church, or Lovewell. We are to follow on another trail, it is true, but one as convenient for ambushes. What if the Indians are exterminated, are not savages as grim prowling about the clearings to-day? — “And braving many dangers and hardships in the way, They safe arrived at Dunstable the thirteenth (?) day of May.” But they did not all “safe arrive in Dunstable the thirteenth,” or the fifteenth, or the thirtieth “day of May.” METACOM MYLES STANDISH BENJAMIN CHURCH CAPTAIN JOHN LOVEWELL HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK 1584 At about this point Myles Standish was born, presumably on the Isle of Man. The Standish family coat of arms there includes several “standing dishes” (items appearing to be plates) plus what looks very much like a line of dropping bombs plus a cartoonish owl that is clutching what appears to be a dead rat. The Standish motto translates as “I desire to do what I must, come what may.” Since the registries of this island contain no such given name as “Myles,” it has been suggested that initially the baby had been given the name “Mold” (a traditional island name), and that when he would emigrate to America as a soldier he would adopt “Myles,” which is after the Latin miles meaning “soldier.” HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK John Josselyn would in 1674 summarize the founding of New-England in the following manner: AN ACCOUNT OF TWO VOYAGES TO NEW-ENGLAND. New-England was first discovered by John Cabota 1514 and his son Sebastian in Anno Dom. 1514. A further discovery afterwards was made by the honourable Sir Walter Rawleigh Knight in Anno 1584. when as Virginia was discovered, which together with 1584 Maryland, New-England, Nova Scotia was known by one common name to the Indians, Wingandicoa, and to the year of Christ 1673. by Sir Walter Rawleigh in honour of our Virgin Queen, in whose name he took possession of it, Virginia. In King James his Reign it was divided into Provinces as is before named. In 1602 these north parts were further discovered by Capt. Bartholomew 1602 Gosnold. The first English that planted there, set down not far from the Narragansets-Bay, and called their Colony Plimouth, since old Plimouth, An. Dom. 1602. Sir John Popham Lord chief Justice authorized by his Majesty, King James, sent a colony of English to Sagadehock, An. 1606. Newfound-land was discovered by one Andrew Thorn an English man in From the year of World Anno 1527. Sir Humphrey Gilbert a west Countrey 1606 Knight took possession of it in the Queens name, Anno 1582. The first two Colonies in New-England 1527 failing, there was a fresh supply of English who set down in other parts of the Countrey, and have 1582 continued in a flourishing condition to this day. BY John Josselyn Gent. HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK NOBODY COULD GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT “Captain Shrimp” “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK 1620 July: The “Pilgrims”2 sailed out in their marginally seaworthy Speedwell from Leyden in the Netherlands toward England. Thomas Weston, assisted by John Carver and Robert Cushman, had hired this ship and the Mayflower to undertake to plant a colony in “Northern Virginia” (this would not have been farther to the north than the mouth of the Hudson River) and when this one would prove unseaworthy, would pack as many of the people aboard the Mayflower as it could possibly contain. Myles Standish from the Isle of Man had signed on as the military leader for the Brownist venture to the New World when he was 36 years old. “So they lefte that goodly & Pleasant citie, which had been ther resting place, nere 12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes, & looked not much on these things; but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest cuntrie; and quieted their spirits.” —William Bradford Bradford, William: Of Plymouth Plantation Chapter 9: Of their voyage, and how they passed the sea, and of their safe arrival at Cape Cod September 6. These troubles being blown over, and now all being compact together in one ship, they put to sea again with a prosperous wind, which continued divers days together, which was some encouragement unto them; yet according to the usual manner many were afflicted with sea sickness. And I may not omit here a special work of God’s providence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the sea-men, of a lusty, able body, which made him the more haughty; he would always be condemning the poor people in their sickness, and cursing them daily with grievous execrations, and did not let to tell them, that he hoped to help to cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey’s end, and to make merry with what they had; and if he were by any gently reproved, he would curse and swear most bitterly. But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard. Thus his curses light on his own head; and it was an astonishment to all his fellows, for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him. After they had enjoyed fair winds and weather for a season, they 2. These people were Brownists, separatists from the Anglican Church. Their congregation was from Scrooby in Nottinghamshire and had lived in exile in Holland for some years, first at Amsterdam and then at Leyden, and after this sail back to England aboard the Speedwell, they were going to sail toward the Virginia coast of the New World aboard the Mayflower. (Two-thirds of the settlers aboard the Mayflower, however, were actually not of this congregation but were mere economic refugees, with the religious separatists referring to them as “strangers.”) HDT WHAT? INDEX THE PEOPLE OF A WEEK: “CAPTAIN SHRIMP” PEOPLE MENTIONED IN A WEEK were encountered many times with cross winds, and met with many fierce storms, with which the ship was shroudly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky; and one of the main beams in the mid ships was bowed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voyage. So some of the chief of the company, perceiving the mariners to fear the sufficiency of the ship, as appeared by their mutterings, they entered into serious consultation with the master and other officers of the ship, to consider in time of the danger; and rather to return then to cast themselves into a desperate and inevitable peril. And truly there was great distraction and difference of opinion among the mariners themselves; fain would they do what could be done for their wages sake, (being now half the seas over,) and on the other hand they were loath to hazard their lives too desperately.