Add some wild Indians, some Pilgrims, some arrows and some
muskets...some boiled sassafras root to cure backed-up stool...and you pretty
much have every American Thanksgiving...
Good Newes from
New-England tells that ongoing tale of Englishmen taming the wilds of
America and bringing the light of Jesus to the Savages...who's souls are in
need of British salvation.
Written by Edward Winslow, Good Newes is a sequel. Mourt’s Relation, also written, in part,
by Winslow, precedes it and is an account of the Pilgrims right up to the first
Thanksgiving celebration with Squanto and the rest of the Red men. I'm wondering if the Natives would see the "newes" as good...they should have killed off every last one of
those dirty, nasty, disease ridden White men when they had the chance. For all the "Good Newes" this volume peddles,
junk about saving souls, unselfish motives or whatever, what is plainly
clear through its early 17th century printed linguistics is this...the Natives
are going to get the shaft. Hindsight is
20/20, especially when viewed through a 21st century lens, but good God...even
I can smell the English duplicity.
In reading the original early 17th century copy, you should
pick up the language fairly quickly, after a few pages it becomes a fairly easy
read. Enjoy your turkey while you ponder
that pilgrim squatting over a hole, sipping sassafras tea...it just says it
all...
Happy Thanksgiving!
You can read the rare and wondrous 1623/24 volume, in all
its first edition glory right here:
Make sure you read the handwritten notes at the beginning of
the volume, you'll find a goody or two...
Should you want to read Mourt's,
you'll have to settle for the later facsimile edition printed in 1865...