Published: November 28, 2009 03:04 pm      

JOHNSON: The Original Thanksgiving Story

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final part of a two-part series.



The Pilgrim colony was in danger of failing. The settlers had arrived in the New World at the worst possible time, in late December of 1620. Unprepared for the harsh New England winter, short on provisions, with many too sick to work, and otherwise ill-prepared for their great adventure, almost half of the one hundred and two colonists died before spring. The Mayflower set sail for England in April, leaving the survivors stranded on the coast, huddled together in a few hastily constructed log cabins.

The fledgling colony needed a miracle if they were going to make it. They got one. His name was Squanto.

It was an accident of history that Plymouth was founded on the site of Pawtuxet, the seaside village where Squanto was born and raised. English ships had been cruising up and down the coast of New England for decades, trading with the natives, fishing, and exploring the land. One of these traders invited Squanto to sail with him to England sometime around 1605. He agreed, over the objections of his mother.

Squanto created a sensation when he arrived in England. He met King James, and many of the most wealthy and powerful people in England. He became the star attraction of a London stage show/museum. He learned to speak fluent English, became familiar with English customs, and in the most important decision of his life, became a follower of Jesus Christ.

After nine years in England, Squanto was ready to return to his native land. Arranging to act as an interpreter in exchange for passage on a trading vessel, he fulfilled his duties and was dropped off on a beach not far from his home. Before he could get back to Pawtuxet, he was kidnapped by another English trader, who took him to Spain and sold him into slavery.

The story is told that as he stood on the slave block in Malaga, Squanto cried aloud, asking the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver him. This attracted the attention of monks who happened to be passing by. They were amazed that a native of the New World not only spoke fluent English, but also knew Christ as his Savior. They purchased Squanto, set him free, and invited him to live at their monastery. He stayed with them for a time, but home was calling.

Making his way from Spain to England, Squanto once again agreed to act as an interpreter for a trader sailing to New England. He finally arrived back in his village in 1619, only to discover that his people had been wiped out by a great plague a few years earlier. Thousands of Indians throughout southern New England had died of European diseases. As a result, hundreds of villages were abandoned, including Squanto’s home. With no member of his family or his village left alive, Squanto went to live with the nearby Wampanoag tribe.

News about the new settlers had gotten around. Unfortunately for the Pilgrims, their reputation among their neighbors was not good. They had managed to alienate the Nauset nation on Cape Cod when they stole their seed corn and desecrated several graves ... and as far as the Wampanoag nation was concerned, the jury was still out.

Chief Massasoit sent Samoset, an Abenaki from Maine, to visit the Pilgrim settlement and learn all he could about them. Samoset’s visit was a success, helping to calm fears on both sides, and preparing the way for future good relations between the Pilgrims and their neighbors.

Samoset’s command of the English language was shaky at best, so when he returned from Plymouth, he asked Squanto to come with him on his next visit. Curious about the people now occupying his former home, Squanto agreed to go. The date was March 22, 1621.

After meeting the colonists and assessing the precarious condition of their settlement, Samoset and Squanto arranged for Chief Massasoit to visit Plymouth. During Massasoit’s visit, a treaty was negotiated with Squanto’s assistance that allowed the two peoples to peacefully co-exist for the next fifty years.

When the Wampanoag departed, Squanto decided to stay with the Pilgrims. In the months that followed, he taught the colonists the skills they needed to thrive in their new home. He showed them how to fish. He taught them how to grow corn ... and he showed them how to build homes that would withstand the rigors of the coastal New England winter. He also helped them make peace with the Nauset tribe they had offended.

In short, Squanto saved the Pilgrim colony. While some history books give him the credit that he deserves, most fail to mention his two cross-Atlantic voyages ... highly unusual in his day. You will also have to dig hard and deep to find any reference in the history books to his Christian faith.

Squanto died in 1622. He was remembered by the colonists as a man of honor who loved peace ... and who reached out to strangers in their time of need.

What were the odds that a native tribesman would walk out of the woods into the starving colony one day who could speak fluent English? What were the odds that he, like the Pilgrims, would also be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Was it only a coincidence that someone like Squanto, a native American possessing unique skills, experience, and a generous nature, should appear on the scene during a critical moment that eventually led to the birth of a new nation? Or was it, as the colonists came to believe, a divine appointment?

William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Plantation summed it up years later, when he wrote that Squanto was “ ... a special instrument sent by God for their good beyond their expectations ...”

I would like to see Squanto remembered in our history books not as a brief footnote, but as the important figure that he was; a man deserving of our honor, our respect ... and our gratitude. A hero, and a man of faith.



Johnson is executive director of Christian Formation Ministries. His organization has numerous volunteer opportunities available. For information, e-mail richard@christian-formation.org, or call 812-945-0886.