Andrew Fribush

fig. 2.21.2: two accounts of the 1621 harvest, 151 and 149 words: only Winslow’s has guests at the table, and neither says thanksgiving

fig. 2.21.2 · two accounts of the 1621 harvest, 151 and 149 words: only Winslow’s has guests at the table, and neither says thanksgiving.
TWO ACCOUNTS OF THE 1621 HARVEST, 151 AND 149 WORDS: ONLY WINSLOW’S HASGUESTS AT THE TABLE, AND NEITHER SAYS THANKSGIVINGEACH PASSAGE PRINTED WHOLE. ACCENT: THE 52 WORDS WITH GUESTS AT THE TABLE, FROMMANY OF THE INDIANS TO THE CAPTAIN AND OTHERS. GREY: THE REST.WINSLOW · 151 WORDS · 52 AT TABLEOur harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a specialmanner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed asmuch fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst otherrecreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest theirgreatest king, Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and theywent out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation, and bestowed on our governor, andupon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us,yet by the goodness of God we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.BRADFORD · 149 WORDS · NO GUESTThey began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to prepare their houses for the winter, beingwell recovered in health and strength, and plentifully provisioned; for while some had been thus employedin affairs away from home, others were occupied in fishing for cod, bass, and other fish, of which theycaught a good quantity, every family having their portion. All the summer there was no want. And now, aswinter approached, wild fowl began to arrive, of which there were plenty when they came here first, thoughafterwards they became more scarce. As well as wild fowl, they got abundance of wild turkeys, besidesvenison, etc. Each person had about a peck of meal a week, or now, since harvest, Indian corn in thatproportion; and afterwards many wrote at length about their plenty to their friends in England,— notfeigned but true reports.THE ONE INDIAN IN BRADFORD’S PASSAGE IS CORN.THE WORD THANKSGIVING: 0 IN EITHER. FIRST ATTACHED TO THIS EVENT BY ALEXANDERYOUNG IN 1841, PAGE 231, FOOTNOTE 3.

Winslow’s text as printed by Alexander Young, Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers (Boston, 1841), pp. 230-231, spelling modernised there; Bradford’s in Harold Paget’s 1909 modern-English rendering (Project Gutenberg #69871), not the manuscript spelling. Words are whitespace tokens with the editors’ footnote marks removed: 151 and 149. Neither passage uses the word thanksgiving; Young’s footnote 3 on p. 231 is where “the first Thanksgiving” enters.

source: content/writing-sources/data/plymouth-1621/, winslow-1621-letter.txt line 1 (Young, Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1841, pp. 230-231) and bradford-1621-harvest.txt line 1 (Paget’s 1909 rendering, Gutenberg #69871); word counts and the 1841 footnote, SOURCES.md · twoHarvests.data.ts

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Andrew Fribush, software and computer engineer in Austin. I build consequential systems where software meets institutions: finance, healthcare, commerce, government data, and the mechanisms that govern AI agents. Taking new engagements: hello@andrewfribush.com.