“Peppermint candy,” I said. “You’ll need to take off the wrapper, then place it on your tongue and suck it. It’s sweet like honey.”
Squanto translated my words and Massasoit placed the hard candy on his tongue. His eyebrows raised and he nodded at the warriors next to him. He smiled and spoke briefly as he continued to suck.
Squanto said, “He says your gift is good. He likes it very much.”
Then Massasoit spit the candy into his palm and offered it to the warrior on his right, who took it and placed it on his tongue. One by one, the Indians surrounding Massasoit each took a turn sucking the candy and tasting the peppermint until it made its way back to the Pokanoket leader. Obviously, no one in the seventeenth century was familiar with germs or bacteria and how they can be passed along by the food we eat, the surfaces we touch, and even by the air we breathe. But they knew good candy when they tasted it!
William spoke. “Squanto, please tell Massasoit that our home is his home. And thank him, again, for the five deer that he brought to our celebration.”
As Squanto translated, I turned to see the many deer, ducks, and wild turkeys that turned on wooden spits, roasting over the outdoor fires. Meats and vegetables were thrown into large metal pots similar to Dutch ovens and were simmering over hot coals.
“It smells delicious,” I said.
“Squanto, Massasoit, if you’ll excuse me. I’d like to show Rush Revere our settlement,” said William.
Squanto translated and Massasoit nodded.
As William and I walked away, Squanto stepped alongside me and said, “I have a gift for Freedom. If it is acceptable to you, I would give it to her before she leaves.”
“I think that would be wonderful,” I said.
“Very good,” Squanto nodded. “I will get it to her. Thank you, Rush Revere. You have been a good friend to William.”
“And Squanto has been a good friend to me and our settlement,” said William. “He taught us where to hunt and fish, how to plant and grow the best crops, what herbs to use for medicines, and how to trade for supplies with other tribes. We believe he’s been sent from God as an instrument to help us grow and prosper.”
“You are too kind, William,” said Squanto. “God, as you say, rescued me from slavery in Spain. The Catholic friars, holy men, helped me escape. They risked their lives to free me so that I could return to my native land. I have much to be grateful for. And I choose to show my gratitude by serving my new friend and holy man, William Bradford.”
I could see how Squanto would consider William to be holy. The Puritans prayed many times a day and they never worked on the Sabbath. They tried to show compassion to all men and women and looked for solutions to their problems without violence.
With great admiration I turned to William and said, “Mr. Bradford, I must thank you so much for inviting me. I am beyond honored.”
Map of private land in Plymouth Colony, including the home of William Bradford.
William replied, “Tommy is a good lad. I wasn’t sure if I would see you at the Common House, but I knew he would find a way to get my letter to you. I wanted you to be here to celebrate with us. We all have so much to be grateful for on this day.”
“Yes,” I agreed, “everyone seems so joyous, far different than a short while ago.”
“It’s true,” said William. “But the real difference came when every family was assigned its own plot of land to work. That was the turning point! They were permitted to market their own crops and products. This had very good success. Men and women worked harder and much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.”
“The turnaround to success is truly extraordinary,” I said. “And you say that it all happened soon after you stopped sharing the profits that gave every man a common share or equal amount?”
“Yes, at first we really had great expectations and high hopes that all the people would embrace the idea of a commonwealth. But it didn’t work. In fact, it almost ruined us. We learned that it wasn’t actually fair at all.”
“But William is a smart man,” said Squanto. “He gave people their own land. He made people free. No more slaves to a common house. They set up trading posts and exchanged goods with Indians.”
William nodded and said, “In no time we found that we had more food than we could eat ourselves. We realized that our profits would soon allow us to pay back the people that sponsored our voyage to America. In fact, we expect more Puritans to arrive and surely more Europeans will come to trade with us.”
I smiled at what William was saying. This, of course, is something that America has long since learned, but I marveled at how quickly the Pilgrims figured it out. When people have individual freedom to work, build, create, market, and make a profit for themselves, the community prospers faster than it would when these freedoms aren’t available to men and women. It was obvious that this first Thanksgiving wouldn’t be possible if William Bradford hadn’t boldly changed the way the Pilgrims worked and lived.
“If you’ll excuse me,” said Squanto. “I must check on Massasoit. And then I will find Freedom and give her my gift.”
“Again, it’s a great honor to meet you,” I said.
We said goodbye and Squanto slipped back into the crowd at the exact same time as Myles Standish walked up to us. He said, “He’ll make a fine military man.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, confused.
“Your boy, Tommy,” said Myles. “I found him by the brook. He’s quick as a snake and light on his feet. I was very impressed. He’s a natural. I hope you don’t mind that I gave him a gift.”
“A gift? I’m sure he was thrilled to get a gift from you,” I said.
“Indeed he was! He said his mother might be worried and I told him, ‘Nonsense!’ He should wear it proudly, day and night.”
“Thank you, Myles,” I said. “And, um, exactly what was it that you gave . . .”
My words were drowned out by the sudden sound of pounding drums and the loud shrieks coming from near the outside fires. I turned to see Indians dancing around a fire ring, their faces streaked with paint. Both Indians and Pilgrims smiled as they watched the performing Pokanokets twirl and bend and wave their arms as they sang and chanted to the drums. After several minutes the mesmerizing dancers finally stopped and several Indians whooped and hollered for more.
I turned toward William, who handed me a plate of food. “I’m sure you haven’t had time to eat yet,” he said. “Myles won’t be joining us. As you may know, he, too, lost his wife last winter and is eager to find someone to marry. He fancies a young lady and has gone to court her. Please, sit, join me.”
I thanked him and took my plate, which was loaded with food, including sliced turkey, a stew of meat and vegetables, and bread pudding. We ate until my belt felt like it was two sizes too small.
“Come,” said William. “We will walk off this fine meal. I have something I want to show you.”
We walked along the row of houses toward the harbor. When we reached the shore at Plymouth Bay we walked south along the sandy beach and then followed a trail that led slightly uphill toward a giant granite boulder the size of a large elephant. We climbed until the ground was level with the boulder, which stuck out of the side of the hill and into the ocean. My natural instinct was to step onto the rock and look out over the shoreline. The breeze was cool to my face. The waves were soothing as they rocked back and forth along the beach. Sandpipers pecked for sand crabs just before running from the approaching waves.
“You are standing on Plymouth Rock,” said William. “We used this rock to guide the Mayflower back to this place after we found it on one of our discovery expeditions.”
I had heard of Plymouth Rock since I was a little boy. I imagined a shallop or small boat could have used this rock at half tide as a dock for the Pilgrims to step onto dry ground rather than wading through frigid waters.
“I have tried to be like this granite boulder, steadfast and immovable,” said William. “I
t has not been easy. But God has made the impossible possible. The Bible says we should build our house upon the rock. I have thought about this since we arrived. I have thought about this through each of our trials in the New World. Though the winds may blow and the storms may rage, the rock does not cower in fear. Do you know why?”
I waited for William’s response, eager to know the answer.
He continued, “It is fearless because it knows where it belongs.”
I paused before I said, “And you know that the Pilgrims belong here at Plymouth Bay.”
“Yes,” William said, nodding. “And each of us can be fearless and strong like this rock when we know, without a doubt, where we belong and what we should do. God helps us to know these things. I knew we would make it to the New World. I knew we would find a home like Plymouth Plantation. I knew, eventually, that I would need to give each family their own piece of land and allow them the freedoms to enjoy the profits of their labor. And I know, today, that this land will prosper and become a great nation. And it will remain a great nation as long as we are one nation under God.”
“Thank you, William,” I said. “I have treasured our time together and I will do my best as a history teacher to make sure that people across America never forget you or the Pilgrims.”
Before we turned back toward the festival, I slipped out my phone and discreetly took a picture while William was distracted by several seals playing in the harbor below.
When we arrived back at the first Thanksgiving I said, “Thank you, again, William. I wish you the very best in everything you do.”
“The same to you,” said William.
He clasped my shoulder and we embraced. We said goodbye and I decided to head over to the brook to find Tommy and Freedom.
Several children were playing a variety of games like keepaway and leapfrog and hide-and-seek. Some Pilgrim children were playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt. Another pair was playing checkers with an old, water-damaged checkerboard and two different-colored stones. Finally, I saw two children sitting on tree stumps and in between them on a third stump was a very pristine but old-looking chessboard with elaborately carved chess pieces. Oddly, one was a Pilgrim boy with a sword hanging from his belt and the other was an Indian girl with a deerskin dress trimmed with fur and matching moccasins. She also wore a necklace of shimmering shells and two hawklike feathers in her hair. An odd pair of chess opponents, I thought. Both had their heads down intently studying the chessboard.
The next second the girl moved her queen to its final resting place and said, “Checkmate.”
The boy was motionless, apparently stunned.
As the girl raised her head I quickly stopped the video on my smartphone and asked, surprised, “Freedom, is that you?”
“Hi, Mr. Revere,” said Freedom. “Is it time to go?”
“Where did you learn to play like that,” said Tommy.
“Playing chess is a lot like tracking animals,” said Freedom. “I hunted you. And you stepped right into my traps.”
“Huh?” asked Tommy, completely bewildered. “Let’s play again,” he said, determined.
“Not now,” I said. “We need to head back to the modern day. Has anyone seen Liberty? Oh, and by the way, where did you get the Indian dress?”
“It was a gift from Squanto,” said Freedom. “We talked for a little while. He said I should be proud of who I am and that I shouldn’t care what people think of me. He knows a lot.”
I thought, I’m sure he does.
“Yeah, and Myles Standish gave me this awesome sword!” Tommy unsheathed it and sliced it through the air. “We practiced for like an hour. It was so fun!”
“I bet it was. But let’s not do that when we get back to the classroom, okay?” I asked politely.
I jumped when whiskers tickled my ear and I heard, “I sure wish they had a livery here.”
“What’s a liberty?” Tommy asked.
“Not a liberty,” said Liberty. “I said a livery. It’s like a spa for horses.”
“Oh, yeah, I thought you said liberty, not livery. Hey, that’s sort of a tongue-twister,” said Tommy. “Try and say ‘livery liberty’ ten times really fast!”
“Oh, that’s easy,” said Liberty. “Livery liberty, liverty libery, libery livery, oh, hogwash.”
As we walked to the place in the forest where we first arrived, I told Tommy, Freedom, and Liberty about my conversation with William Bradford.
“That’s awesome that you got to stand on Plymouth Rock!” Tommy said.
I looked back at Plymouth Plantation and marveled at what the Pilgrims had accomplished. These people accomplished the impossible. They survived the unthinkable. And they started a new way of living that would influence the making of the greatest country in the world. The Pilgrims taught us that religious freedom comes with a price. They paid it with their lives while others lost the people they loved the most. But their sacrifices would not be in vain. I would miss my time with William Bradford. He was an exceptional American and someone who truly made a difference in the making of the United States of America. Of course, he would never fully see how the Mayflower Compact influenced the future lawmakers who ultimately created the Constitution. But I was excited to return to class and review what we had learned with the other students.
“So where are we going to go on our next time-travel adventure, Mr. Revere?” asked Freedom.
“Eager to go already?” I asked.
“Absolutely!” said Tommy.
“I’ve decided to visit Liberty’s hometown and home time,” I said.
“Really?” asked Liberty, excitedly.
“It’s time to experience the history of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
“There’s no place like home!” Liberty said. “Unless your home is in a country ruled by a ruthless king or sitting under a lightning storm or on top of an active volcano or in the path of stampeding elephants or on top of a termite farm or in the path of a falling comet or . . .”
Tommy, Freedom, and I simply smiled at each other as we listened to Liberty’s endless list. My life has never been the same with a time-traveling horse, I thought. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!
A Final Note from the Author
Can you imagine being on the Mayflower, crossing a wide-open ocean with crashing waves shaking the boat? What about landing in a place you have never been and needing to build everything in your town from scratch? The Pilgrims truly were an amazing group of people who risked everything in order to be free and live as they thought best.
William Bradford, Myles Standish, William Brewster, Squanto, and Samoset were all brave and courageous figures! These were ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things. Our country’s history is filled with just these kinds of people. Their stories are both unbelievable and fascinating! I am really looking forward to sharing more of that with you in future books.
My buddy, Rush Revere, and his horse, Liberty, can go anywhere in American history anytime they want. How cool is that? I really hope you join us all for the next great adventure!
Quick, who taught Tommy how to swordfight?
Acknowledgments
For years, people were telling me I should write another book. I would shrug them off, giving one excuse after the other. I just wasn’t inspired to write more political commentary.
Then, in early 2013, my wife, Kathryn, suggested an entirely different idea. She reminded me how often I talked about the importance of young people learning the truth about American history. She knew my frustration with what many kids are learning today and suggested that I tell the amazing stories of our country’s founding in an easy-to-understand way. This concept did excite me and changed my entire attitude about writing another book! Suffice it to say, Kathryn was indefatigable in shepherding the entire thing, creating, coordinating, and assembling all elements. Thank you, Kathryn, for being an exceptionally bright, talented, loyal, and wonderful person to share my
life with.
After hearing about the idea, my good friend the late Vince Flynn put me in touch with Louise Burke at Simon & Schuster, who helped to bring this all to life. Thank you to Vince, Louise, and everyone at Simon & Schuster, especially Mitchell Ivers.
Thank you sincerely to Jonathan Adams Rogers for being an instrumental part from the very beginning. He spent long dedicated hours helping to develop this concept from infancy.
My sincere appreciation goes out to Christopher Schoebinger for providing considerable assistance with writing, editing, and reaching a younger demographic. Spero Mehallis worked closely with Chris Hiers to create tremendously impressive illustrations, allowing history to be told in a creative way.
My brother, David Limbaugh, is an unwavering source of support. He is there for me at all times in all endeavors, and I am extremely grateful.
Liberty Asks . . .
“How Smart Are You?”
(Beware—He Thinks He Can Stump You!)
1. What was the name of the boat the Pilgrims used to cross over the wide Atlantic Ocean?
2. Where did the Pilgrims start their journey?
3. Where did Rush Revere, Tommy, and your favorite horse time-travel to first?
4. Who was the main leader on the boat?
5. Where did the Pilgrims land?
6. What color were my shoes in Holland?
7. What did we all say before we traveled back in time?
8. Who showed Tommy how to sword fight?
9. What did Squanto teach Freedom to do?
10. Who invited Rush Revere to the “First Thanksgiving”?
11. What was the name of the house where the town gathered?
12. Why did the Pilgrims brave the crashing waves to reach a new land? What were they searching for?
13. Were there any children on the boat? If so, who?
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans Page 14
