On a fair Friday in the middle of March, change was in the air. The men were gathered in the common house for military instruction when they heard the cry, “Indian coming!’ A tall Indian man strode down their main street, wearing nothing but a leather loincloth. He addressed the Pilgrims in perfect English. “Have you got any beer?”
As Samoset’s story unfolded, they learned that he was a chief of the Algonquins, and had explored the east coast for the English. He told them the story of the plague that had wiped out the barbarous Patuxets who had previously lived in this area. The land literally now belonged to no one. Later that week he returned with Squanto, one of those Patuxets, who had been sold into slavery. His story might remind us of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Squanto was taken captive to England, then managed to return to Massachusetts, but later was sold again into slavery in Spain. There a group of friars led him to Faith. When he once more worked his way back to Cape Cod, he discovered that his whole tribe had been annihilated by the plague. He seemed to have lost all reason for living.
More to come…