The First Thanksgivingby Terrell Smith

Cast of characters in the order they appear:Son (of William Bradford) Samoset (Indian who loved to travel) William Bradford (second governor) Squanto (Patuxet Indian) Dorothy Bradford (died on 1st day) Massasoit (Wampanoag Indian Chief)John Carver (first Governor) ChildEdward Winslow (first to meet Massasoit) Susanna White (later married Edward)Captain Christopher Jones (Captain of the Mayflower)

[scene - Dutch house. Table, tools, Dorothy sewing. Son, Bradford, Dorothy]Son: Father, tell me again why we came here to Holland from England. Bradford: Well my son, you were only two years old when we moved here

from England. That was back in 1609. They called us Separatists, because we did not wish to belong to King James’s Church of England. The leaders of the Church of England are more interested in their own power than the power of the Bible. They put some of our group in prison, and they persecuted us. The Church of England was not following the true way of the Bible. So, we got on a boat and came here to Leyden, Holland, so we could have religious freedom.

Son: So father, do we have religious freedom here? Bradford: Yes, son. Here we may worship God freely. Most of the time. There are some who do not

like us, even here. It has been difficult. We were farmers in England. But here, we have no place to farm. That’s why I’m a carpenter now. And some of our friends work as tailors making clothes, some make pipes for the Dutch to smoke, as they so love to do, and some work with wool. We may not earn as much as we did in England, but here we have freedom to worship God.

Son: Father, speaking of money, can I have some money? Bradford: If you want money, you need to work for it. What do you need money for, my son? Son: Well, all the other kids just ask their parents for money and they get it. And you know what?

My Dutch friends, they have a lot of new things. I need new things too. I need new ice skates. I need them! I want them! I want to be just like all the other kids.

Bradford: We must be thankful for the things God has given us, my son. And if you need money, you must earn it. [son leaves]

[wife sewing] Dorothy: I’m concerned about the children, dear William. There are so many temptations here in

Holland, and the children are wanting to do the same things as the Dutch children. They forget their duties. Many of their friends do not obey their parents. It is causing me great grief.

Bradford: I’ve been talking with some of the other men, dear Dororthy. With John Carver, Pastor Robinson, William Brewster, and Edward Winslow. We’re all concerned about the spiritual welfare of our children. We want to lay a good foundation in their lives. Pastor Robinson is suggesting we leave Holland, and go to the new lands. Then we can lay solid foundations in our children’s lives. Plus, we could share the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in the vast and unpeopled lands of America.

Dorothy: You mean – sail all the way to America? Bradford: Yes, my dear.

Dorothy: I would be greatly afraid to do that! The trip would take many weeks!Bradford: The difficulties will be many, but not too great. Through the help of God, by being strong and

patient, we can bear these difficulties and even overcome them.

[scene - outside (Holland). Carver, Bradford, Winslow, Captain]Carver: So, it is agreed then, as soon as we’re able, we will sail back to

England and pick up additional passengers, fellow saints who follow the way of truth, and some others who will help pay the costs of the journey for us.

Bradford: Yes, Mr. Carver. We will sail to those remote parts of the world. There we can have freedom to worship God, have farms, and raise our children to follow good practice and to follow God.

What do you say, Mr. Winslow?Winslow: Yes! I agree, Mr. Bradford. And our children will learn English!Bradford: And we can share God’s great love with the Indians in that land!Captain: Better write your will. You may never come back.

[scene - on the Mayflower. All]Captain: Land ho! I see land! Carver: Yes, but it does not look like Virginia, Captain Jones. We were hoping to

land there. Captain: We were blown far north by so many storms. And the sailors have been

fighting a strong current.Bradford: Let us be thankful to God that we have arrived, Mr. Carver! It must be the

will of God for us to land here. Winslow: It will be so good to get our feet back on dry land.Carver: And not have to wobble and sway all over when we walk! Feet are meant

for the firm and stable earth!

[scene - desk. Bradford]Bradford: For 65 days we were in our tiny vessel, the Mayflower. 102 of us.

We were so seasick! We experienced many storms as we crossed the Atlantic. In one especially strong storm, the cross beam which supports the main mast broke. Captain Jones and his men fixed it. A very strong current took us off our course. We did not land in Virginia as planned, but more than 100 miles to the north. It was November 9th, 1620. My dear wife Dorothy fell from the deck and drowned. I am left with my one year old son. We had no friends to welcome us, no inns to stay in, no houses and little food. But we knelt and prayed, thanking God for bringing us safely over the vast ocean. God and His Grace sustain us. The winter is cold. The wind is strong. Many are sick and dying. Eight people died in January. 17 more died in February. Ten of 17 husbands and fathers died with the first infection, and of the 17 married women, only four are still alive after three months.

[pause] It is now Spring. Nearly half of our original group have perished by disease or famine. I also was so sick I could do nothing. But thanks be to God, seven people were able to help the rest of us with their loving care. And thankfully, Captain Christopher Jones left his ship anchored in the harbor during the cold winter. Many of us lived in the ship since shelter was scarce and the winter was fierce.

[scene - boat in background. All]Captain: It’s finally April, and good weather for sailing. I’m going to

return back to England. Come, Mr. Bradford. All of you, come back to England with me. You are all dying. Look at all the graves up there on the hill. More than half of those who came are now dead. It’s time to go home.

Bradford: Captain Jones, thank you for your kind offer to take us back. But we feel a call of God deep within our hearts. We will stay here. We would rather die here and remain true to what our Lord has called us to do, than to turn our backs on Him and return to the warm fireplaces of England.

Carver: We will not lose heart. Our desires are set on the ways of God. We trust him.

[scene - desk. Bradford]Bradford: April 21, 1621, Captain Jones sailed back to England. Our dear

friend and Governor, Mr. John Carver has died. I have now been elected governor. We are thankful to have built seven houses now. We trust you, our Lord and our God, in every situation. You are our deliverer. We are thankful to You for everything.

[scene - inside the Common House. Winslow, Bradford. Later: Samoset, Squanto]Winslow: So men, we must be very careful. Today we want to talk about

defending ourselves against attack. We must be careful and watchful.

[Samoset suddenly enters]Samoset: Welcome Englishmen! May I have something to eat, please?Winslow: Ahh! Grab your weapons men! Wait! You speak English? But

you’re an Indian. Samoset: Yes. I am Samoset. I love to travel. I learned English while traveling with sea captains.Winslow: Amazing! What can you tell us about the land here? When we arrived, it was cleared for

planting.Samoset: This land belonged to the Patuxet [pah-tawksaht] Indians. They were a violent and

dangerous tribe and fought many battles. But four years ago they all died of plague. May I introduce a friend of mine to you?

[enter Squanto]Squanto: Hello Englishmen! Bradford: You also speak English? Squanto: Yes. I am a Patuxet. My name is Squanto.Winslow: Where did you learn English? Squanto: Five of my tribe were kidnapped and we were taken by ship to England. It was there that I

learned English. After nine years, I was able to return to America. But another sea captain kidnapped me and took me to Spain. I was sold as a slave. But some Christians bought me and set me free. They told me about Jesus Christ. I put my faith in Jesus. Then I became free not only of slavery to men, but also free of my slavery to sin. I became a new man. I was able to return to England and found a ship to take me back to America. But when I returned to my home right here just one year ago, I found that my entire tribe had died. I am the only one left. Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe has shown me kindness. I now

live with them. I will help you interpret and I will help you with the other Indians. Bradford: Praise be to God! God is looking after us and taking care of us. Please tell your Chief

Massasoit that we would like to sign a treaty of peace, friendship and mutual help.Squanto: I will. I see from your fields that you have almost no food. The kind of wheat you brought

from England won’t grow in this rocky ground. We can teach you how to plant corn, how to hunt and to fish here. And how to make warm clothing for the cold winters.

Winslow: Thank you so much. God is watching over us!

[scene - outside. All]Bradford: Praise God! God has given us an abundant harvest. Let us

have a time of feasting and thanksgiving. Let us give thanks to God, because the Lord has given us good rain and through his blessing, we have received a fruitful and generous harvest. So let us set aside a day of thanksgiving to God for His provision. And let us invite the Indians.

Winslow: Yes. Let us share our joy and thanksgiving with Chief Massasoit.

[scene - outside. All]Massasoit: Thank you for inviting us, Governor Bradford. As you can see,

I have brought some of our Wampanoag braves. Child: Look! There must be two hundred Indians with him!Massasoit: No little one, we’re just 90. And we brought five fresh deer for

the feast. Susanna: Then there will be plenty of food for all! Winslow: We have geese, ducks, and a great store of wild turkeys. Our

fishermen have collected lobster, clams, fish, and eels. And our farmers harvested beans, pumpkins, and corn.

Squanto: We also brought honey, grapes, and plums. Bradford: Although not every harvest is so plentiful as this harvest, by the goodness of God, we have

more than enough. Susanna: Wonderful! We will make salads of leeks and watercress, and bake corn cakes. We women

will cook - you men stay out of our way! Go play some games. Child: Yes! Let’s have shooting contests and play sports.Bradford: To all Ye Pilgrims! In as much as the great Father has given us this year an abundant

harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, He has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now, I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.