 Purred: Sat Nov 17, '07 4:32am PST |
 | |  | | Dolly’s Journal of History – Speedwell
Hi, it’s me again, Dolly, with another wonderful story about cats and history. In December of 1620, a ship named The Mayflower lay in an English port and took on provisions for an historic voyage to the New World which was named America. Amid all the activity of hurriedly loading supplies for the long trip and special equipment for building houses and establishing a colony in the New World, two cats surreptitiously crept aboard looking for the mice and rats that swarmed through all the ships in the harbor.
On the morning of September 21st the ship set sail with 44 Pilgrims, 66 other passengers and crew members, plus two dogs, and the two hitchhiking cats. It wasn’t long before the cats were discovered by the crew and treasured for their skill at catching the mice that scampered amidst the ship’s supplies. They soon came under the care of a young Pilgrim girl named Mary Allerton who supervised their activities throughout the voyage. One of the first orders of business was to name them and a crew member suggested Speedwell for the large male tabby, which was the name of the other ship that had been scheduled to sail with them to America but had to turn back when a large leak mysteriously appeared. The other cat was a black and white stray and was named Leiden after the Dutch town where the Pilgrims had once settled but had left to seek a new life, a new beginning in a new land.
The trip encountered several nearly disastrous events. A main beam on the ship cracked midway in their voyage and Speedwell watched as the carpenters among the passengers made a giant iron screw to repair it using a piece of house construction equipment. Then the ship encountered a Nor’Easter, a raging ocean storm that tossed the ship mightily as passengers indelicately tossed some of their recently devoured food. Speedwell and Leiden felt the wildly churning waves raise, lower, and toss the boat about so they sought the lowest part of the ship to hide and cling to such support as they could find.
During the storm, a passenger named John Howland was washed overboard by a strong spray of water and a gusty wind but he grabbed a rope as he went overboard and clung to it while crewmen tugged on the rope and hauled him back on board. Thereafter, Howland preferred to stay below deck and sleep nearby the cats. The storm ceased and favorable winds returned to the sea as the ship cruised towards America. Speedwell was at the bedside of Elizabeth Hopkins when she gave birth to a healthy squalling baby girl promptly named Oceanus.
On November 20th a crewmember shouted out the traditional sailor’s cry of “Land Ho!” when he spied the shores of what is now known as Cape Cod. Speedwell and Leiden hurried on deck and vied with the passengers for a favorable spot to view the new land that was before them. Not sure where to land, they sailed the ship south towards the Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam and then reversed course, rounded the tip of Cape Cod, looked for harbor and dropped anchor off the coast of what is now known as Massachusetts.
On the morning of December 21st, 1620, several crewmen and passengers set out in a skiff to set foot on land and explore for a suitable site to build some homes. Speedwell was so excited about finding land that he hopped on board the skiff as it was pulling away from the ship. The crew rowed into a shallow bay and as they prepared to touch land, Speedwell darted to the bow and leaped onto a rock, whereupon he turned and looked at the crew as they attempted to fasten the skiff to the rock and he welcomed them into the New World, America.
When others were brought ashore, someone asked who was the first to land at the rock and the crew members were too embarrassed at first to admit that it was the one of the ship’s cats, Speedwell, who had earned that honor, but later it became common knowledge. John Carver who became the first governor of the settlement gave his first edict that no one was to ever mention that Speedwell, a mere cat, was the first of the passengers to set foot on the rock now known as Plymouth Rock. However, no one else in the party wanted to take that honor away from a cat, so it was never recorded and it is nowhere stated in the history books that Speedwell was the first to land.
As luck would have it, the first winter in the Plymouth settlement was cold, snowy, and beset with several horrendous blizzards. Not even half of the original 110 people who set sail from England survived the winter. Among those who succumbed to the freezing weather, the barest of shelter, and the scarcity of food was Speedwell. Those who knew him grieved as though he was a Pilgrim who had braved the voyage to seek a better life. Leiden, though famished and weary, survived and took on the chore of patrolling for mice and other vermin as houses were built, and crops were planted at springtime.
Blizzards gave way to a warming spring, which preceded a summer perfect for growing crops, followed by a bountiful autumn. Those who had survived turned their thoughts to giving thanks for what they had, despite the anguish over the friends and families they had lost. A feast was planned to express their thanks.
This was the story of Speedwell and Leiden who arrived with a group of people determined to find a new home in a new land and were about to celebrate their fortune.
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