Chapter New England of Index by Simonds History of American Literature

Significance of the Chronicles.

Through these straightforward, plain-spoken men we get our clearest vision of the rugged, hazardous pioneer life, its heroism, its fortitude,its romance, its curiously contradictory display of self-sacrificing sympathy and fanatical intolerance ; its superstition and narrowness ; its petty trails and large tribulations ; its splendid faith, its aggressive energy of zeal. It is well for the student of literature, as for the student of history, to feel the spirit of these early New England histories. Just as the Virginia settlers developed on the fertile plantations of the South a civilization which reflected the aristocratic traditions of the Cavaliers, so on the rock-bound coasts of Massachusetts Bay these northern colonists stamped their descendants with the grave, stern, persistent type of Puritan character.

Early Descriptive Writers.

There were not wanting in the colony those who found delight in studying and describing the natural wonders of this new land. The impressive grandeur of the forest, the fertility of the virgin soil, nature's luxuriant abundance redeemed from the wilderness, the strange picturesqueness of the savage natives, the wild things of the woods -- so much that was new and wonderful in their environment -- all this made its appeal to the imagination of some among these hard-headed, practical pioneers. Such an one was Rev. Francis Higginson (1567-1630), a gifted and eloquent man, who came from England in 1629 to serve the community at Salem as its minister. It was in June that the voyagers landed, and the glories of a New England summer colored the impressions of the newly arrived clergyman with a primeval splendor. He had written a narrative of his voyage, and now he began a description of the country itself. His little book of observations is a bright and genial picture, poetically framed. Under the title New England's Plantation, it was published in London in 1630. "A sup of New England's air is better than a whole draught of Old England's ale," declares its author. The woods, the flowers, the plants, delighted him. "Here are also abundance of other sweet herbs," he wrote, "delightful to the smell, whose names I know not, and plenty of single damask roses, very sweet." Even the stern rigidity of the Puritan could bend above the beauty of the sweetbriar and gratefully inhale its fragrance. The chill breath of the New England winter does not blight his enthusiasm. The great hearth-fires in the cabins, and the inexhaustible supply of wood to feed the flames rejoice his heart. "There is good living for those who love good fires!" he exclaims.

William Wood.

Something of a naturalist was William Wood, who published in 1634 his New England's Prospect, an interesting description of the country in which he had made his home. A little of a poet, also, he enlivened his account by putting some of his observations into verse -- as, for example:--

"The beasts be as followeth:

"The kingly Lion and the strong-armed Bear,
The large-limbed Mooses, with the tripping Deer;
Quill-darting Porcupines and Raccoons be
Castled in the hollow of an aged tree;
The skipping Squirrel, Rabbit, purblind Hare,
Immurëd in the self-same castle are.

"Concerning lions I will not say that I ever saw any myself, but some affirm that they have seen a lion at Cape Ann, which is not above six leagues from Boston; some likewise being lost in woods have heard such terrible roarings as have made them much aghast: which must either be devils or lions; there being no other creatures which use to roar saving bears, which have not such a terrible kind of roaring."

Merrymount.

No record of early New England life can fail to take account of the experiences of Thomas Morton, a royalist who, in 1626, established himself with some thirty boon companions on an estate¹ not far from the Plymouth settlement. The presence of this lively neighbor proved anything but agreeable to the strict and godly residents of Plymouth and of Boston, who were scandalized by the goings-on at Merrymount. Here were sports and revelings which were viewed by the Puritans with consternation, and then with