Читать книгу A Beginner's History - William H. Mace - Страница 33
ОглавлениеINDUSTRIES, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS
The Pilgrims have a hard struggle
51. How the New England Colonists Lived. The Puritans and the Pilgrims had a hard struggle in their new homes. The winters were long and colder than in England. For the cold weather they had to build warm houses and barns, and store up much grain, hay, and provisions. The summers were cool and short; tobacco and even corn did not ripen so well as in Virginia. Most of the land was hilly and stony and hard to cultivate. But these things did not discourage the settlers, who merely worked so much harder. Soon they raised all the corn, wheat, cattle, and sheep they needed, and even had some left to sell. Where the streams had waterfalls they built mills with big water wheels. In these they ground their flour and meal and sawed their lumber.
While the men farmed the land, or ran mills, or fished, the women also did their share of the work. They made butter and cheese, spun and wove the wool into cloth, and made many other things which now we buy from stores.
The Pilgrims build towns and villages
Unlike the Virginia colonists, many people of New England lived in towns and villages. They built churches, schools, and town halls. All the people went to church. Most of the children attended school. Whenever any question arose in which every one was interested, they talked it over at the town meeting. In these ways the New England colonists differed from the Virginians.
SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL
The Leading Facts. 1. The Puritans first migrated to Holland to gain religious freedom. 2. Later they decided to go to America, where they planted the colony of Plymouth, made peace with the Indians, and began to worship in their own way. 3. John Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony of 700 Puritans. 4. He was such a good governor that he was elected almost every year until his death. 5. John Eliot converted many Indians and established several Christian Indian communities. 6. King Philip was goaded into a war with the whites of Massachusetts. 7. He was defeated and treacherously killed.
Study Questions. 1. Why did the Pilgrims decide to leave England? 2. What new danger threatened them in Holland? 3. Picture the Mayflower in a storm at sea. 4. Tell the story of Miles Standish and his little army. 5. What useful things did the Pilgrims learn from the Indians? 6. Why would putting dead fish in the hill help the corn to grow? 7. Why have Americans loved the Pilgrims so well? 8. How did the Pilgrims' treatment of the Indians compare with that of the Spaniards? 9. Tell the story of John Winthrop and the Puritans. 10. Tell the story of John Eliot. 11. What did he do before he began to teach the Indians? 12. Tell the story of King Philip.
Suggested Readings. Pilgrims and Puritans: Pumphrey, Pilgrim Stories; Warren, The Little Pioneers; Hart, Colonial Children, 136–140, 177–182; Glascock, Stories of Columbia, 69–81; Pratt, Early Colonies, 113–123; Drake, Making of New England, 67–87, 149–186; Hart, Source Book, 45–48; Higginson, American Explorers, 341–361.
John Eliot: Tappan, American Hero Stories, 59–72, 84–96.
