45. The Mayflower Compact, 1620.
45.《“五月花”號公約》(1620年)
All the passengers on the Mayflower were not Pilgrims. Some of them were servants sent out by the London merchants to work for them. These men said that as they were outside of Virginia, the leaders of the expedition would have no power over them as soon as they got on land. This was true enough, so the Pilgrims drew up and signed a compact which obliged the signers to obey whatever was decided to be for the public good. It gave the chosen leaders power to make the unruly obey their commands.
并非“五月花”號上的所有乘客都是朝圣者,他們當中有些人是倫敦商人派出去為他們干活的雇傭工,這些人說,由于他們走出了弗吉尼亞,探險隊的首領在他們登上陸地之后就沒有了管束他們的權(quán)力。他們說的一點也不假,因此,朝圣者草擬并簽訂了一個公約,這個公約要求簽約者服從所有為公共利益而做出的決定,并授權(quán)選出的首領們管制不服從他們命令的人。
46. The First Winter at Plymouth.
46.普利茅斯的第一個冬天
For nearly a month the Pilgrims explored the shores of Cape Cod Bay. Finally, on December 21, 1620, a boat party landed on the mainland inside of Plymouth harbor. They decided to found their colony on the shore at that place. About a week later the Mayflower anchored in Plymouth harbor. For months the Pilgrims lived on the ship while working parties built the necessary huts on shore. It was in the midst of a cold New England winter. The work was hard and food and clothing were not well suited to the worker's needs. Before the Mayflower sailed away in the spring one-half of the little band was dead.
朝圣者在科德角海灣的探險經(jīng)歷了大約一個月,最后,在1620年的12月21日,一支小船組成的船隊到達普利茅斯港,他們決心在這個地方的海濱建立殖民地。大約一周后,“五月花”號船在普利茅斯港拋錨。為了等待工人在海岸上構(gòu)筑必要的棚屋,朝圣者連續(xù)幾個月生活在船上,這時已經(jīng)是新英格蘭冬天最冷的季節(jié)。構(gòu)筑房屋的工作非常艱難,食物和衣服供給不能滿足工人的需要,在春天“五月花”號離開普利茅斯時,岸上的工人有一半已經(jīng)死去。
47. New Plymouth Colony.
47.新普利茅斯殖民地
Of all the Indians who once had lived near Plymouth only one remained. His name was Squanto. He came to the Pilgrims in the spring. He taught them to grow corn and to dig clams, and thus saved them from starvation. The Pilgrims cared for him most kindly as long as he lived. Another and more important Indian also came to Plymouth. He was Massasoit, chief of the strongest Indian tribe near Plymouth. With him the Pilgrims made a treaty which both parties obeyed for more than fifty years. Before long the Pilgrims' life became somewhat easier. They worked hard to raise food for themselves, they fished off the coasts, and bought furs from the Indians. In these ways they got together enough money to pay back the London merchants. Many of their friends joined them. Other towns were settled near by, and Plymouth became the capital of the colony of New Plymouth. But the colony was never very prosperous, and in the end was added to Massachusetts.
在所有生活在普利茅斯附近的印第安人中只有一個幸存下來,他的名字叫斯匡托。斯款托春天加入到朝圣者當中,他教朝圣者種植谷物和掏挖蛤肉,這樣使得他們免于被餓死。從此,朝圣者悉心照料斯款托,直到他去世。另一個更為重要的印第安人馬薩索易特也來到普利茅斯,他是普利茅斯附近最強大的印第安部族首領,朝圣者與馬薩索易特簽訂一個協(xié)定,雙方遵守這個協(xié)定達十五年以上。不久之后,朝圣者的生計得到相對的改善,他們非常努力,自種自食、出海打漁、向印第安人購買皮貨。這段時間里他們攢夠了用以償還倫敦商人的錢,他們的許多朋友加入他們的隊伍,在附近建起了其他城鎮(zhèn),普利茅斯成為新普利茅斯殖民地的首府。但是,這個殖民地從來都沒有非常的繁榮,最終它被并入馬薩諸塞。