ht meet with the white chief (Governor Carter). They agreed after an exchange of gifts that neither group, Indian or Pilgrim would "do the other no hurts." Yellow Feather agreed that all weapons would be left behind when visiting and the Pilgrims the same. Squanto had become famous in Europe in 1605. He returned to Europe in one of the ships and enjoyed meeting both royalty and wealth. Squanto was not a scholar, but he was a survivor who learned enough English to get by and developed enough polish to be accepted in the royal court.
Squanto returned to America in 1614 with Capt. John Smith only to find that the Patuxet tribe had been wiped out by disease. At this time he and Samoset became friends with the Pilgrims. (There also was a period of time that he was taken as a slave with others to Europe and escaped to return.)
From the day he met the Pilgrims, Squanto became their friend and voice among the Indian nations.
Squanto with skills and know how of farming showed the Pilgrims how to plant and care for the new world food plants and seeds. He showed them how to store it, in order to have a mininimum of rodent and parasite loss and how to prepare it for the table. Squanto instructed the Pilgrims how to plant com (maize), to fertilize it with fish by placing the fish head first around the hill of com in spoke wheel fashion.
For weeks the corn hills were to be guarded day and night so that wolves, who could smell the fish below ground would not dig up the fertilizer. He instructed them to make noise makers to keep the birds away from the underground seeds and to watch the fields from a platform high enough to see the rows to scare off deer that might want to browse on the corn plants. He instructed the Pilgrims in what to say and how to negotiate in trading with Indians, and how to maximize their purchases. Squanto was killed before he could celebrate the first harvest with the Pilgrims. He was visiting a neighboring tribe and through a skirmish or jealous plan he was slain. The Pilgrims wrote "we lost our trusted voice in a new land."
Indian summer came to the Pilgrims new town. Squanto's advice had shown wisdom in planting and harvesting. Fall rations of food were increased for the people. The twenty acres of com had been a success, the wheat, the barley and the peas so-so. A day of harvest was planned, men were sent out to shoot additional waterfowl. Massasoit (Yellow Feather) was invited to the feast. He brought ninety hungry warriors with him. The bogs were full of cranberries, but it took several years for the colonists to develop a cranberry dish from the bitter sweet berry. Also, there is no mention of the traditional "pumpkin pie." The harvest festival was a success. The year of survival and bounty had come and gone and the Pilgrims gave Thanks. A similar event was held the next year, the next and the next as the crops increased.
In time, the tradition of harvest celebration was taken westward and south with each family and area celebrating at the close of the growing season in their own way.
In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving holiday. The last Thursday in November would be set aside to give thanks for God's gift to this nation and for the bounty of our national wealth.
Relayers, cancer survivors (anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer), community leaders, team captains and hard workers are all needed to help plan the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. We will be Kicking Off our 2015 event for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Millbrook on January 26th at 5:30 pm, at the Millbrook Community Center Building. At this time we will begin planning the event designed to raise funds and awareness of the fight against cancer.Read more...
Photo: (L-R) Johnny Montgomery (Assistant Chief) and P.K. Johnson (Millbrook Chief of Police). Millbrook Independent Columnist Sarah Morrison Stephens spent her New Year's Eve with the Millbrook Police Department, and offers her insights into an exciting, and at times dangerous, evening tha