The first Thanksgiving calls to mind a slideshow of images: the “Mayflower,” Plymouth Rock, men in funny black hats, Indians, and turkey. Except for wild turkey, which may have been absent from the menu for that feast, these generalities ring true, but they cause us to forget that those men, women, and children we call Pilgrims were flesh-and-blood human beings.
Think of what they had done and endured. With many of them seeking escape from England’s harsh religious codes of the time, 102 passengers boarded a small English ship in Southampton on Sept. 26, 1620, sailed the rough Atlantic seas for 66 days, missed their intended destination by several hundred miles, and selected the place they deemed suitable for settlement just as the bitter New England winter was setting in. Before their Thanksgiving feast a year later, half of this company would die of disease, exposure to the elements, and malnutrition.
