Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

The harsh New England winter set in quickly upon the Pilgrims. By the time the Mayflower returned to England in April 1621, only half of those who made the voyage were still alive, yet they wanted to stay in the New World and did not return with the crew. They worked to construct a blockhouse that also served as a meetinghouse. Eventually, at the founding of each new community, one of the first structures to be built was the meetinghouse. They believed that their covenant with God and with their fellow men was the basis of their colony. Apparently, this is exactly what God wanted from them, because miracle after miracle attested to God's favor. One of the strangest events regarding this new settlement involved their acquaintance with the Indians. One day, as the men were meeting in the blockhouse, one Indian approached the compound. To their amazement, he spoke English. His name was Samoset and he was a chieftain among the Algonquin tribe that lived in Maine. He had learned English from men on fishing expeditions off the coast of Maine. When asked about the local Indians, Samoset told a story that shocked the Pilgrims. According to Samoset, the territory the Pilgrims were occupying had belonged to a hostile tribe known as the Patuxets. They had cleared the land, but about four years before the Pilgrims had arrived, a mysterious sickness swept through and killed all of the tribe. The neighboring tribe, fearing some supernatural reason for this devastation, would not venture near the area. So the land the Pilgrims were occupying did not belong to anyone. It seems that God had dispossessed the previous owners in favor of the Pilgrim believers. The Lord had done the same thing for Israel many years before. In the book of Joshua, the Lord told Israel through Joshua: "I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards that ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth..." (Joshua 24:12-14). The Pilgrims discovered that the nearest tribe was the Wampanoags, who were some distance away. Their chief was Massasoit, who was probably the only chief along the Northeastern seaboard who would befriend the white men. The hand of God was evident as He provided the ideal place for the Pilgrims to live. Incredibly, one Patuxet named Squanto had been in England 68