tt their carpenters to worke to trime her up; but being much
brused & shatered in y^e shipe w^th foule weather, they saw she would be
longe in mending. Wherupon a few of them tendered them selves to goe by
land and discovere those nearest places, whilst y^e shallop was in
mending; and y^e rather because as they wente into y^t harbor ther
seemed to be an opening some 2. or 3 leagues of, which y^e maister
judged to be a river. It was conceived ther might be some danger in y^e
attempte, yet seeing them resolute, they were permited to goe, being 16.
of them well armed, under y^e conduct of Captain Standish, having shuch
instructions given them as was thought meete. They sett forth y^e 15. of
Nove^br: and when they had marched aboute the space of a mile by y^e sea
side, they espied 5. or 6. persons with a dogg coming towards them, who
were salvages; but they fled from them, & ra[=n]e up into y^e woods, and
y^e English followed them, partly to see if they could speake with them,
and partly to discover if ther might not be more of them lying in
ambush. But y^e Indeans seeing them selves thus followed, they againe
forsooke the woods, & rane away on y^e sands as hard as they could, so
as they could not come near them, but followed them by y^e tracte of
their feet sundrie miles, and saw that they had come the same way. So,
night coming on, they made their randevous & set out their sentinels,
and rested in quiete _y^t night_, and the next morning followed their
tracte till they had headed a great creake, & so left the sands, &
turned an other way into y^e woods. But they still followed them by
geuss, hopeing to find their dwellings; but they soone lost both them &
them selves, falling into shuch thickets as were ready to tear their
cloaths & armore in peeces, but were most distresed for wante of
drinke. But at length they found water & refreshed them selves, being
y^e first New-England water they drunke of, and was now in thir great
thirste as pleasante unto them as wine or bear had been in for-times.
Afterwards they directed their course to come to y^e other [49] shore,
for they knew it was a necke of land they were to crosse over, and so at
length gott to y^e sea-side, and marched to this supposed river, & by
y^e way found a pond of clear fresh water, and shortly after a good
quantitie of clear ground wher y^e Indeans had formerly set corne, and
some of their graves. And proceeding furder they saw new-stuble wher
corne had been se