Setting The Record Straight About Thanksgiving In America Part 6 God's Providence And An Indian Named Squanto!
I am reposting lessons about the factual truth of Thanksgiving in America because this has been ignored and obscured by our culture.
The truths contained in these lessons are applicable for Christians around the world.
Bob
Photo of Bronze statue of Massasoit, Squanto's friend.
Life of Squanto
"Squanto was a Native American who learned the English language while working as a guide. He was later captured by Spanish slavers. He was freed by monks who bought him out of slavery. “Estas libre (es-TAS LEE-bray)! You are free.” Squanto looked into the clear eyes of this man of God. Though he knew no Spanish, he understood."
"Squanto was a Native American who learned the English language while working as a guide. He was later captured by Spanish slavers. He was freed by monks who bought him out of slavery. “Estas libre (es-TAS LEE-bray)! You are free.” Squanto looked into the clear eyes of this man of God. Though he knew no Spanish, he understood."
"Over the next few weeks he pieced it together. Their love for Jesus had prompted these Christian brothers to buy Indian slaves and teach them the Christian faith. As the monks nursed him back to health, Squanto began to love this Jesus, too."
"Yet he longed for home. The Indian used his command of English to find a fishing boat headed for London, where he rejoined his explorer friends. Again, Squanto became a guide for explorations of the New World. Years passed. The day finally came when he saw the familiar coastlands of home. Once more he was granted permission to go ashore."
"No one greeted Squanto at the beach. He ran to his village. The bark-covered round-houses were empty. Not even a dog barked. Graves outside the village told the story. Samoset (SAM-o-set), his friend from a neighboring tribe, could bring little comfort. “A white man’s sickness struck your people. One week, all dead. Many villages lie silent like Patuxet.”
"Squanto’s emptiness overwhelmed him. Parents, brothers, sisters, forever gone. He wandered the forests for weeks in his grief. Finally he went to live with his friend Samoset."
"Yet he longed for home. The Indian used his command of English to find a fishing boat headed for London, where he rejoined his explorer friends. Again, Squanto became a guide for explorations of the New World. Years passed. The day finally came when he saw the familiar coastlands of home. Once more he was granted permission to go ashore."
"No one greeted Squanto at the beach. He ran to his village. The bark-covered round-houses were empty. Not even a dog barked. Graves outside the village told the story. Samoset (SAM-o-set), his friend from a neighboring tribe, could bring little comfort. “A white man’s sickness struck your people. One week, all dead. Many villages lie silent like Patuxet.”
"Squanto’s emptiness overwhelmed him. Parents, brothers, sisters, forever gone. He wandered the forests for weeks in his grief. Finally he went to live with his friend Samoset."
"One cold December morning, six months after he returned, Squanto watched the white sails of a ship grow on the stormy horizon. This time he hid as the men came ashore. Their clothes looked different from those worn by sailors and the fancy English officers he had seen on other ships."
"Broad hats and great black capes shielded them from the biting wind. He could glimpse white caps and long dresses of women aboard the ship anchored in the bay. Often he saw children playing on deck. As green leaves came to clothe barren trees, the settlers began to build houses on the very place where his village had stood. Day after day Squanto watched intently, never seen."
"Samoset urged him to meet these settlers. A cry went up as the Indians strode into the settlement. Men grabbed for their muskets. The Native Americans lifted their hands in greeting. “My name is Squanto. This is Samoset. We come in peace.” The settlers were astounded. An Indian who spoke clear English? The Pilgrims lowered their muskets and invited the Indians to share their meager food.
"The sun had set by the time Samoset got up to leave, but Squanto hesitated. Many of the settlers had already died from disease and winter’s bitter cold. There was little food. Yet they weren’t giving up. He thought of his old village’s battle with death. “You go,” Squanto told his friend in their Indian tongue, “I’m staying. This is my home, my village. These will be my new people.”
"Squanto turned to the leaders. “May I stay with you? I can help you. I know where you can find foods in the forest.” The white men studied the Indian carefully. Could he be trusted? Still, the struggling colony was in no position to refuse help. “Yes. Please stay.”
"That spring and summer Squanto proved his worth many times over. He led them to brooks alive with herring beginning their spring migration upstream. He showed the settlers how to fish with traps."
"Samoset urged him to meet these settlers. A cry went up as the Indians strode into the settlement. Men grabbed for their muskets. The Native Americans lifted their hands in greeting. “My name is Squanto. This is Samoset. We come in peace.” The settlers were astounded. An Indian who spoke clear English? The Pilgrims lowered their muskets and invited the Indians to share their meager food.
"The sun had set by the time Samoset got up to leave, but Squanto hesitated. Many of the settlers had already died from disease and winter’s bitter cold. There was little food. Yet they weren’t giving up. He thought of his old village’s battle with death. “You go,” Squanto told his friend in their Indian tongue, “I’m staying. This is my home, my village. These will be my new people.”
"Squanto turned to the leaders. “May I stay with you? I can help you. I know where you can find foods in the forest.” The white men studied the Indian carefully. Could he be trusted? Still, the struggling colony was in no position to refuse help. “Yes. Please stay.”
"That spring and summer Squanto proved his worth many times over. He led them to brooks alive with herring beginning their spring migration upstream. He showed the settlers how to fish with traps."
"He taught them where to stalk game in the forest. The children learned what berries they could pick for their families. Twenty acres of corn grew tall after Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant fish with the native corn seeds from a local tribe.
"Once, a hostile tribe captured Squanto. “If he is killed,” shouted their chief, “the English have lost their tongue.” A small Pilgrim force arrived just in time, firing their muskets in the air. The terrified chief released his captive and fled. Squanto repaid the Pilgrims’ favor. His bargaining skills kept neighboring tribes from attacking the small Plymouth colony."
"In the fall the Pilgrims planned a feast to celebrate God’s merciful help. Squanto was sent to invite friendly Chief Massasoit (MASS-a-soit) and his braves."
"Once, a hostile tribe captured Squanto. “If he is killed,” shouted their chief, “the English have lost their tongue.” A small Pilgrim force arrived just in time, firing their muskets in the air. The terrified chief released his captive and fled. Squanto repaid the Pilgrims’ favor. His bargaining skills kept neighboring tribes from attacking the small Plymouth colony."
"In the fall the Pilgrims planned a feast to celebrate God’s merciful help. Squanto was sent to invite friendly Chief Massasoit (MASS-a-soit) and his braves."
"They gathered around tables spread with venison, roast duck and goose, turkeys, shellfish, bread, and vegetables, with woodland fruits and berries for dessert. Before they ate, the Pilgrim men removed their wide-brimmed hats and Indians stood reverently as the governor led them in solemn prayer."
"Two years passed. Squanto lay mortally ill, struck by a raging fever while scouting east of Plymouth. He turned over in his mind the events of his strange life. It almost seemed that a plan had led him."
"Two years passed. Squanto lay mortally ill, struck by a raging fever while scouting east of Plymouth. He turned over in his mind the events of his strange life. It almost seemed that a plan had led him."
"The first time he was captured he learned English. The second time, he was freed by gentle Christians who taught him to trust in Jesus. And though his own people had died of sickness, God had sent him to a new people who built their colony where his old village once stood."
"Pilgrim leader William Bradford knelt at his bedside. “Pray for me, Governor,” the Indian whispered, “that I might go to the Englishmen’s God in heaven.” Squanto breathed his last November 1622, gone from the New World, but entering a heavenly one."
Descendants of the Wampanoag tribe of which Massasoit was chief, have verified accounts of Squanto's life as recorded in the above account.
"Pilgrim leader William Bradford knelt at his bedside. “Pray for me, Governor,” the Indian whispered, “that I might go to the Englishmen’s God in heaven.” Squanto breathed his last November 1622, gone from the New World, but entering a heavenly one."
Descendants of the Wampanoag tribe of which Massasoit was chief, have verified accounts of Squanto's life as recorded in the above account.
I hope that this account of a man whose life was providentially guided by God is a source of encouragement and hope for you.
Bob
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