oyage in American history,
after that of Columbus. The colonists she carried, about a hundred in
number, Separatists from the Church of England, have come down through
history as the "Pilgrim Fathers." Among them was one destined to rule
the fortunes of the colony for more than a quarter of a century. His
name was William Bradford, and he was at that time thirty years of age.

Bradford was born in 1590 at Austerfield, in Yorkshire, England, and at
the age of sixteen, joined a company of Puritans or Separatists, which
met for a time at the little town of Scrooby, but, being threatened with
persecution, resolved to remove to Holland. Most of the congregation got
away without interference, but Bradford and a few others were arrested
and spent several months in prison. As soon as he was released, he
joined the colony in Amsterdam, and afterwards, in 1609, removed with it
to Leyden. But the newcomers found themselves out of sympathy with Dutch
customs and habits of thought, and after long debate, determined to
remove to America and found a colony of their own. A patent was
obtained, the Mayflower chartered, the congregation put aboard, and the
voyage begun on the fifth day of September, 1620.

The colonists expected to settle somewhere near the mouth of the Hudson,
but, whether by accident or design, their captain brought up off Cape
Cod, and it was decided to land there. After some days' search, a
suitable site for a settlement was found, work was begun on houses and
fortifications, and the place was named New Plymouth.

Jonathan Carver had been chosen the first governor and guided the colony
through the horrors of that first winter; the story of Jamestown was
repeated, and by the coming of spring, more than half the colonists were
dead. Among them was Carver himself, and William Bradford was at once
chosen to succeed him. There can be no doubt that it was to Bradford's
wise head and strong hand the colony owed its quick rally, and its
escape from the prolonged misery which makes horrible the early history
of Virginia. He seems to have possessed a temper resolute, but
magnanimous and patient to an unusual degree, together with a religion
sincere and devoted, yet neither intolerant nor austere. What results
can be accomplished by a combination of qualities at once so rare and so
admirable is shown by the work which William Bradford did at Plymouth,
over which he ruled almost continuously until his death, thirty-seven
years