by A Cooper

Created on: October 22, 2009   Last Updated: October 29, 2009

The first winter the pilgrims faced was a mild one by New England's standards, however it was a long and cold one, taking with it about half of the original colonists. The culprits in their demise were cold, starvation and disease. Lack of planning could have been a factor as well, because their supplies had been sufficient for a landing in Virginia, their original destination, not Cape Cod.

Inclement weather steered them well off course, and they spotted the Cape on November 10th, however they did not settle until they reached an area of land that had been named and mapped out by Captain John Smith six years earlier known as Plymouth. The land was in a good location because it had been described by Smith as being on high ground, near a sweet brook full of much good fish and land full of corn that had been planted by the Indians.

The pilgrims started building in December and three weeks after it was started, the common building had all four walls up. This room had been intended as a storage area for the supplies from the ship, however it was pressed into use as a family shelter. For a short period of time it was used as a hospital. The builders stayed in small huts made of sod and branches that surrounded the first structure.

A street, leading from the beach towards a hill was built, and a wooden platform constructed on it. Lots were sectioned off along the street, each one 8 feet wide and 50 feet deep.

The other colonists stayed on the ship until they had a place to stay on land. Construction of family homes was slowed considerably, due to bouts of rain, sleet and snow, but despite the obstacles, several buildings were finished in the first few weeks. By March of 1621 everyone was able to leave the Mayflower and move into their own homes.

Life for the pilgrims improved greatly when, on March 16, 1621, a brave Indian known as Samoset came into their lives. He and another Indian, named Squanto, both of the Wampanoag tribe, had learned English while they had been held captive on English sailing vessels. They taught the pilgrims how to plant corn, as well as which plants were medicinal and which were poisonous. It is an understatement to say that without the help of the Native Americans, most if not all of the remaining settlers would have died their second winter in the New World.

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