What must it be like to be among the first to set foot in a wilderness land? Fourteen-year-old Dickon Whitcomb and his sister Patience were soon to find out that day in early November, 1620, as they sighted the low, barren dunes of Cape Cod from the good ship Mayflower.
This sandy spit of land would be the Pilgrims' home, for the square-rigger Mayflower—"high-pooped, deep bellied, able and seaworthy"— had run upon the treacherous New England coastal shoals and, after the strain of two months' heavy seas, dared not proceed.
Near famine plagued the Whitcomb family that first winter, and Dickon's days were spent hunting for deer Indian-style—a pastime that eventually led to trouble when he was unjustly accused of hiding the kill.
Spring came at last and out of the forest came Massasoit, powerful chief of the Wampanoags. Quickly, the Pilgrims prepared for attack, as Edward Winslow and Dickon were chosen to hold council with Massasoit and his warriors.
A pact was made that day. For Dickon and Patience there was at last a secure place in a New World.
We Were There books are easy to read and provide exciting, entertaining stories, based upon true historic events. Each story is checked for factual accuracy by an outstanding authority on this particular phase of our history. Though written simply enough for young readers, they make interesting reading for boys and girls well into their teens.
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