A Special Instrument of Blessing—The Settlement—Part I
By Tonda Gainey Siders

Those who survived the long, harsh winter months gratefully welcomed the coming of spring. And this spring brought them more than just warmer weather and the opportunity to plant food. God, in His good providence, sent them a friend, who in turn introduced them to another friend who became very special to them indeed.

It was an ordinary day when a cry suddenly went out among the settlement of “Indian!” Everyone became on guard. The figure of a lone Indian came walking towards them. What could this Indian want? They were all shocked when the Indian began speaking to them in English! How had this Indian from this wild land come to know English? He introduced himself as Samoset and told them his story: Samoset was a chief of the Algonquins of Maine. He had been exploring these parts for the Council of New England, having begged a ride with a Captain Thomas Derman, an English sea captain. Samoset had learned English over the years from the various sea captains who had ported in Maine, and he had a love for travel.

It was Samoset who told the Pilgrims of the Patuxet tribe who had lived on the very place the Pilgrims had settled but had been wiped out by a mysterious illness four years before. It was they who had cleared the land. No other tribe would live on this ground because of how the Patuxets had been wiped out. Their nearest neighbors were the Wampanoags, fifty miles west. The Pilgrims then wondered who it was that had attacked them upon their landing on the shore. Samoset told them it was the Nausets. They hated the white man because of the trickery of an English sea captain named Thomas Hunt. Hunt had deceived several Patuxets into coming aboard his ship. He then took them to Spain to be sold into slavery.

Samoset left the Pilgrims but returned a week later with yet another English-speaking Indian. This Indian’s name was Tisquantum, or Squanto, as he is better known. Squanto had quite a story to tell the Pilgrims: He had been taken captive, along with four other Indians, by Captain George Weymouth. They were taken to England and taught English so they could be questioned as to the best places to settle in the New World. Squanto spent nine long years in England until he met a Captain John Smith of Jamestown,VA. Captain Smith returned Squanto to his village on his 1614 voyage. The former mentioned Thomas Hunt was sailing with Smith on a separate vessel. Smith had ordered Hunt to stay behind while Smith attended to some business elsewhere. But, alas, Thomas Hunt had something else up his sleeve! No sooner had Squanto returned home than he was captured again! Squanto, along with 19 other Patuxets were of those who were lured aboard Hunt’s ship under the pretense of trading beaver pelts only to be captured again! So once again Squanto was taken to Spain and sold into slavery. How discouraging it must have been for Squanto. But God’s providence was at work. Some local friars bought (rescued) a few of the Indians, including Squanto. They introduced them to the Christian faith. Squanto later left the monastery, found a way to England, and attached himself to a wealthy merchant there. He lived there until he departed with a Captain Dermer in 1619. It was on this trip that he first met Samoset, who was traveling with Dermer. They were both dropped off at Plymouth just six months before the Pilgrims would be arriving. But it was then that Squanto learned of the tragic end of his tribe. Squanto, having no one, attached himself to the neighboring Wampanoag tribe. However, once he found the Pilgrims, he had found a new home and family. He stayed with the Pilgrims and as Bradford wrote, “was a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation.” (1) It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims many things about living in the wilderness, such as planting corn with fish for fertilizer, hunting, and many other life-saving skills.

You may be recognizing that this story is similar to the story of Joseph in the Scriptures. Things must have looked so bleak and lost for Squanto, just as they had for Joseph-- being in a strange land, learning foreign ways, without friends or family. Yet all along, a plan was being devised and worked out. They were both being prepared for a special role to fill. May we all learn this when trials come into our lives! We can’t always see what God is preparing for us!

Five Kernels of Corn—The Settlement—Part II

The Pilgrims had a bountiful harvest that fall. It was so bountiful that they decided to have a celebration of thanks to God for His provision. They invited the Indians to join them, and the celebration lasted three whole days filled with fun, food, and games! How thankful they were that there would be plenty of food for all this winter. This celebration is what we know as the First Thanksgiving.

But little did the Pilgrims know that soon their rejoicing would turn into sorrow. Something was around the corner--yet another trial that would bring a great challenge to the community. At first there was great excitement at the sight of the ship coming on the horizon on that December day. How exciting it must have been for them to think of having more friends and loved ones among them! But their joy was soon dampened when they learned that the new group had come without any provisions! They certainly did not have enough food to sustain the newcomers as well as themselves. Thus began the “starving time.” It became so desperate that at one time the settlers were reduced to eating only five kernels of corn each. Can we imagine living on only five small kernels of corn per day? But, amazingly, by God’s grace, not one person died that winter. And God graciously ended the starving time by sending a ship unexpectedly into the harbor that was willing to trade beaver pellets for corn.

The following summer brought another trial their way—drought. It was so dry that the Pilgrims were not going to have any crops. Being the God-centered people that they were, they took this drought as a possible warning from the Lord and started examining their ways. Did they have hidden sins that needed to be confessed? Had they sinned before God that would cause Him to remove His hand of blessing upon their community? Pilgrim Edward Winslow writes, “Now were our hopes overthrown, and we discouraged, our joy turned into mourning…because God which hitherto had been our only shield and supporter, now seemed in His anger to arm Himself against us. And who can withstand the fierceness of His wrath?” (2) The Pilgrims needed to seek His face, so they called an assembly to pray for rain and to repent before God. They prayed for many hours, and by the time they were leaving the meeting house, an amazing thing started to happen. Great clouds filled the sky. By morning, it had started to rain! And what a rain it was! Not a torrential downpour, but a soft, gentle rain which lasted for 14 days! What a witness to the Indians of the goodness of God! Bradford wrote, “…and all of them admired the goodness of our God towards us, that wrought so great a change in so short a time, showing the difference between their conjuration and our invocation on the name of God for rain.” (3)

That winter there was another bountiful harvest. The pilgrims decided to have another day of Thanksgiving as they had done before. But, this time there was something added to the table—a reminder: five kernels of corn were set at each place to remind them of how their God had delivered them!*

*Try starting a new family tradition by placing five kernels of corn at each place at your Thanksgiving table. It’s a wonderful way of teaching our Christian heritage and the providence of God to our families!

(1)
(2) Young’s Chronicles, p. 347-350
(3) Young’s Chronicles, p. 350