Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans (11 page)

Myles Standish walked up to us and asked, “What catches your eye out there, Tommy?” Tommy gripped the railing as he stared at the passing wilderness. “Oh, well, I was just wondering what might be in those woods,” he said, sounding a little bit nervous.

Myles answered, “All the things that will sustain us. Wood, berries, animals, water, and soil.”

“And Indians?” asked Tommy.

“Yes, probably Indians,” Myles said. “We will do what we must
to protect ourselves. We have swords and muskets and cannons if need be.”

“That’s good to know,” said Tommy.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to use them,” said William.

As I looked ahead along the coast I wondered if Captain Jones had ever sailed these waters. Surely, every coastline is different and there’s always a chance of hidden dangers.

Suddenly, a sailor yelled from above, “Shoals ahead! Turn port side!”

“Aren’t shoals like a sandbank or sandbar out in the open water?” Tommy asked.

“Yes,” I said to Tommy softly. “And if I’m not mistaken this place is called Pollock Rip—it’s a ship’s graveyard. If the captain doesn’t avoid the shoals the
Mayflower
could get pinned or even shipwrecked. A direct hit could smash the ship’s hull.”

Waves crashed against the shoals as water swirled up and over the threatening sandbars. The wind died down to almost nothing but the
Mayflower
drifted dangerously closer to the roaring breakers.

“We are in great danger!” said Captain Jones with urgency. His eyes were fixed on the shoals ahead. “A southern wind would be especially helpful right now!”

Calmly, William said, “We’ve not come this far to shipwreck now. What must we do?”

“Watch for shoals,” said Captain Jones. “And keep your people away from my sailors so they can do their jobs.”

“With God all things are possible,” said Elder Brewster from behind me.

I turned and asked, “Do you have any counsel, any advice?”

“Pray,” he said, smiling. “God will make up the difference. He
created the heavens and the earth. Surely, He can steer a ship to safety.”

Remarkably, the wind began to blow, a southern wind! The sails shifted and the
Mayflower
turned just in time, missing the shoals by only a few feet.

“I’m afraid we won’t be landing at the Hudson River. This coastline is too dangerous,” said Captain Jones. “Now that the wind has changed directions our best chance is to sail north, back around Cape Cod to New England.”

William gave a worried look at Myles, who said, “The Strangers will not like it.”

William looked deep in thought and said, “Yes, the Strangers will insist we land at the Hudson.”

“Then they can jump off my ship and swim if they want to,” said Captain Jones. “I will go and explain to them the situation. I will not have a mutiny on my ship.”

“Captain Standish and I will go with you,” said William. “Rush and Tommy, you’re welcome to come but please don’t feel like you have to.”

I eagerly replied, “We’re right behind you. If there’s anything you need, just ask.”

“Thank you, Rush Revere, for all the support you’ve given.”

We climbed down from the poop deck to the quarterdeck and then climbed down again to the upper deck. Several passengers climbed up from the tween deck. Liberty was waiting for us on the upper deck.

As Myles predicted, the Strangers were in an uproar when they heard the news. Shouts could be heard from above and below deck. It sounded like a mob. Children were crying and even the giant mastiff was barking at everyone and everything.

“Please,” pleaded William, trying to calm both Stranger and Saint. “I’m sure we can work this out. We’ve shared the same boat for sixty-five days. We’ve had our differences but we’ve come to know each other. We’ve both suffered and survived together. We’ve shared our provisions and our stories and our dreams knowing that we, all of us, would be a new colony.”

Captain Jones added, “I’ve seen firsthand how Saint and Stranger have worked together for the good of all. When we were mid-ocean and that monstrous wave cracked one of the ship’s core beams, I witnessed how you rallied to find a solution. In desperation, you collectively used a screw jack to help my carpenter repair the fractured beam.”

One of the Strangers stepped forward and raised his hands to speak.

“Who is that?” Tommy asked. “Is he a Stranger or a Saint?”

Myles leaned over to us and whispered, “That’s Stephen Hopkins, a Stranger. His wife gave birth to a baby boy during our voyage. They named him Oceanus.”

Tommy raised his eyebrows and whispered back, “Oceanus?”

Myles shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

“It’s an odd name, for sure,” I said, “But when the other kids ask him about it he can always say, ‘It’s because I was born aboard the
Mayflower.
’ ”

“Yeah,” Tommy agreed, “not many people can say that.”

Stephen Hopkins spoke boldly: “We agreed to help and use the screw jack because we all had a common goal. We all agreed to settle at the Hudson River. And now we’re headed in the opposite direction.” He pointed at William Bradford, Myles Standish, Elder Brewster, and the other Puritan members and
shouted, “Land where you want, but when we come ashore we’ll use our own liberty, for none have the power to command us!”

“Did he just say they’ll use their own horse named Liberty?” whispered Liberty. “What are the odds that there are two horses with the same name on the same ship?”

“They weren’t referring to a different horse, they said—”

Liberty interrupted: “Well, if they think they’re going to use me they better think again. I’m not another man’s property. I mean, I used to be but that was in the eighteenth century and just because we’re in the seventeenth century doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my twenty-first-century freedoms.”

Liberty’s mouth was so close to my face that his whiskers tickled my ear. I whispered back, “Nobody is going to use you. They might as well try to tame a thousand wild horses with nothing but a whistle.”

“Shh,” Liberty hushed. “I’m trying to listen to what’s happening.”

I resisted the urge to strangle my horse and continued listening.

William said, “I understand your frustration. I do. We all have advantages by settling at the Hudson River. However, right now that’s not an option. The truth is the only way for this new colony to succeed financially is if we all stay together and work together.”

Stephen Hopkins turned to discuss the matter with his fellow Strangers. Before long, they reluctantly agreed that a union with the Saints or Puritans was important for the colony to survive and thrive.

William turned to Captain Jones and said, “Captain, I request
that we set anchor at Cape Cod so that we might compose an agreement, something that would bind us all together.” He turned to the large crowd of passengers on the upper deck and continued: “We need a document that will help create just and equal laws in our new colony. We’ll need a government and a governor, but more important, we must choose this by common consent where majority rules. Once this agreement is composed, I propose that we sign it as a promise to obey and support the rules and laws which we agree to.”

I whispered to Tommy, “This is a key moment of American history. The agreement that William Bradford is proposing is the Mayflower Compact. It is said to be just as important to American history as the Declaration of Independence.”

The passengers agreed to creating the agreement and Captain Jones offered William Bradford his personal cabin and desk to compose the agreement.

I approached William and said, “That was a difficult situation but you handled it well.”

“Thank you,” said William. “It was the mutinous speeches that made me determined to find a solution.”