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Winthrop Family Papers

Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 2

mundaye 7:
Winthrop, John

1630-06-07

The winde one letter cancelled S: about 4: in the morninge we 259sounded and had grounde at 30: fath oms and was somewhat Calme, so we putt our shippe a stayes and tooke, in lesse then 2: howers, with a fewe hooks, 67: Coddfishe most of them, verye great fishe some 1: yd and ½ long and a yd in Compasse. this came verye seasonably for our salt fishe was now spent, and we were taking care for victualls this daye (beinge a fishe daye.1

After this we filled our sayles, and stood w n: w: with a smale substituted for handsome cancelled gale. we hoysed out a great boate to keepe our sounding the better The weather was now verye Colde: we sounded at 8: and had 50: fath oms and being Calme we heaved out our hookes againe and took 26: Coddes, so we all feasted with fish that daye.

A woman was deliuered of a Childe in our shippe still borne: the woman had diverse children before, but none liued, and she had some mischance now which caused her to come neere a monthe before her tyme, but she did verye well.

At one of the Clocke we had a freshe gale at n: w: and verye faire weather all that afternoone, and warme but the winde failed soone.

All the night the winde was w: and by S: a stiffe gale, which made vs stande to and againe, with smale advantage.

 1.

The only reason for Winthrop's calling Monday, June 7, 1630, a “fish day,” would be, perhaps, some methodical arrangement of the passengers' diet by calendar.
Teusday 8.
Winthrop, John

1630-06-08

The winde still w: and by S: faire weather, but close and colde. we stood n: n: w: with a stiffe gale, and about 3: in the afternoone we had sight of lande to the n: w: about ten: ten written above a cancelled figure 8 leagues which we supposed we supposed inserted later was the Iles of monhegen:1 but it proved mount mansell: 2 then we tacked and stood w: s: w: we had now faire sunneshine weather, and so pleasant a sweet ayre, as did muche refreshe vs, and there came a smell off the shore  two words cancelled like the smell of a garden.

there came a wild pigeon into our shippe and another small land birde.

1.

As originally written, the portion of this sentence, beginning with “about” and ending with “monhegen,” read: “about 8 leagues which was the Iles of monhegen.”

 2.

Winthrop wrote in, above the line, and probably later: “but it proved otherwise.” Later still he struck out “otherwise” and inserted the words “mount mansell.” Mount Mansell was named for Sir Robert Mansell (1573–1656), a member of the Council for New England. For the record of his promise to pay £110 for the “discovery and Survey of Mount Mansell,” see Proceedings , The American Antiquarian Society, 1866–1868, “The Records of the Council for New England,” 71. The Indian name was Pemetig, or according to Parkman, Pioneers of France, 276, note, Pemetic; Champlain called the island Mt. Desert. For a good account of it, see 1 Collections , Maine Historical Society, 26–27.

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