*What Is Death To An Ahteist*?

[Skull Pilot]

No, but do you believe enough has been found to say by now if there were transitional fossils shouldn't we have found one by now ?

Obviously since there haven't been any then no there has not been enough excavation.

So your belief is based on faith, thank you for the honesty.

there is a fossil record that one can logically extrapolate from. You offer no such record as to the existence of your god.

I also realize that we may never obtain a complete fossil record because of the rarity of the perfect conditions necessary for fossils to form. We may never fully understand how the universe and we came into existence. I don't have a problem with that so I don't have to make up stories to give me the answers.

 

[Skull Pilot]

The root of racism is based out of fear and hate or both.

I have talked with two older brothers who both happen to be psychologist and said it is a learned condition driven by hate and fear or both. It has nothing to do with evolving.

You don't wake up someday and decide you don't like someone that looks different it's something that is driven into the brain over time.

You've never had to live in a world where you literally had to fight a life and death battle for resources to survive have you?

That's exactly the kind of world our ancestors evolved in. In that world anyone not of your tribe was a threat. The easiest way to determine whether or not one was of your tribe was by differences in appearance. The more different one was from a your tribe then the more of a threat they were to your tribe's survival.

There was no hate involved in the struggle to survive.

You can't seem to discern the differences between worlds of modern and prehistoric man.

I am an american indian, my ancestors surely had to fight for survival and it was a learned survival ,because of hate and fear.

Our tribe had to fight other tribes for protection and survival but what does this have to do with evolution ?

The struggle to obtain resources for survival is not based in hate. It was based in pure necessity. If you were going to steal my food, I would have killed you because i had to in order to survive. There is no hate involved.

If you don't know how the ability to survive is related to evolution then I suggest you start studying.

The most successful animals, the ones that are best at surviving, are the ones that pass on their genes. It's the very definition of natural selection.

 

[Youwerecreated]

There seems to be an enormously unbalanced burden of proof being placed on a science that has millions of REAL examples of evidence in the form of fossilized remains withe SOME holes in the sequence or chain of evolution. On the other hand the only source of counter to this science is an extremely questionable myth documented hundred of years after the fact with no scientific proof of it's theories whatsoever.

Faith is not a scientific method. It has no standing.

On either side correct,i am sure you were reading the give and take from skull and i.

 

[Youwerecreated]

Obviously since there haven't been any then no there has not been enough excavation.

So your belief is based on faith, thank you for the honesty.

there is a fossil record that one can logically extrapolate from. You offer no such record as to the existence of your god.

I also realize that we may never obtain a complete fossil record because of the rarity of the perfect conditions necessary for fossils to form. We may never fully understand how the universe and we came into existence. I don't have a problem with that so I don't have to make up stories to give me the answers.

Evidence of design is proof enough for God,and only someone in denial would deny the evidence for design on this planet and in our universe. There is plenty of evidence of design to where you logically extrapolate from ,to come to the conclusion of a creator.

 

[Youwerecreated]

You've never had to live in a world where you literally had to fight a life and death battle for resources to survive have you?

That's exactly the kind of world our ancestors evolved in. In that world anyone not of your tribe was a threat. The easiest way to determine whether or not one was of your tribe was by differences in appearance. The more different one was from a your tribe then the more of a threat they were to your tribe's survival.

There was no hate involved in the struggle to survive.

You can't seem to discern the differences between worlds of modern and prehistoric man.

I am an american indian, my ancestors surely had to fight for survival and it was a learned survival ,because of hate and fear.

Our tribe had to fight other tribes for protection and survival but what does this have to do with evolution ?

The struggle to obtain resources for survival is not based in hate. It was based in pure necessity. If you were going to steal my food, I would have killed you because i had to in order to survive. There is no hate involved.

If you don't know how the ability to survive is related to evolution then I suggest you start studying.

The most successful animals, the ones that are best at surviving, are the ones that pass on their genes. It's the very definition of natural selection.

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

 

[JScott]

I am an american indian, my ancestors surely had to fight for survival and it was a learned survival ,because of hate and fear.

Our tribe had to fight other tribes for protection and survival but what does this have to do with evolution ?

The struggle to obtain resources for survival is not based in hate. It was based in pure necessity. If you were going to steal my food, I would have killed you because i had to in order to survive. There is no hate involved.

If you don't know how the ability to survive is related to evolution then I suggest you start studying.

The most successful animals, the ones that are best at surviving, are the ones that pass on their genes. It's the very definition of natural selection.

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

Fighting for survival is an innate ability.

 

[Skull Pilot]

So your belief is based on faith, thank you for the honesty.

there is a fossil record that one can logically extrapolate from. You offer no such record as to the existence of your god.

I also realize that we may never obtain a complete fossil record because of the rarity of the perfect conditions necessary for fossils to form. We may never fully understand how the universe and we came into existence. I don't have a problem with that so I don't have to make up stories to give me the answers.

Evidence of design is proof enough for God,and only someone in denial would deny the evidence for design on this planet and in our universe. There is plenty of evidence of design to where you logically extrapolate from ,to come to the conclusion of a creator.

What you call design can just as easily be called chance. And we understand so little of the universe that it is hubris of the worst sort to claim to understand any design that may or may not be there.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I am an american indian, my ancestors surely had to fight for survival and it was a learned survival ,because of hate and fear.

Our tribe had to fight other tribes for protection and survival but what does this have to do with evolution ?

The struggle to obtain resources for survival is not based in hate. It was based in pure necessity. If you were going to steal my food, I would have killed you because i had to in order to survive. There is no hate involved.

If you don't know how the ability to survive is related to evolution then I suggest you start studying.

The most successful animals, the ones that are best at surviving, are the ones that pass on their genes. It's the very definition of natural selection.

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

 

[Youwerecreated]

there is a fossil record that one can logically extrapolate from. You offer no such record as to the existence of your god.

I also realize that we may never obtain a complete fossil record because of the rarity of the perfect conditions necessary for fossils to form. We may never fully understand how the universe and we came into existence. I don't have a problem with that so I don't have to make up stories to give me the answers.

Evidence of design is proof enough for God,and only someone in denial would deny the evidence for design on this planet and in our universe. There is plenty of evidence of design to where you logically extrapolate from ,to come to the conclusion of a creator.

What you call design can just as easily be called chance. And we understand so little of the universe that it is hubris of the worst sort to claim to understand its design

Really , a few questions for you,just a simple honesty test.

1. Is a t.v. a product of design or a product of chance ?

2. Is a home a product of design or chance ?

3.Is a car a product of design or chance ?

4. Is a computer a product of design or chance ?

Each and everyone of these items are complex products of design , they could not of happened by chance.

Now lets consider far more complex items.

1. The human brain a product of design or chance ?

2. Any eye a product of design or chance ?

3. The heart a product of design or chance ?

4. A cell a product of design or chance ?

5 . The earth having the sun and moon for light by design or chance ?

6. The earth containing the right amount of gravity a product of design or chance ?

7. Humans exhaling carbon dioxide what plants need to breathe and plants breathing off oxygen what humans need to breathe a porduct of design or chance ?

8. Four seasons for the earth a product of design or chance ?

9. The earth continues to spin on it's axis without any help that can be seen a product of design or chance ?

10. What would happen if the earth stopped rotating on it's axis ?

Answer


Earth is rotating at a speed of about 1100 miles per hour. If our planet suddenly stopped rotating, the atmosphere would still be in motion at that speed. The atmosphere would be moving so fast it would literally sweep the land masses clear of anything not anchored to bedrock, this would mean rocks, soil, trees, buildings, people and animals. All would be swept up into the atmosphere.

If the Earth's rotation slowed down gradually over millions of years, and this is the most likely scenario, it would be a very different story. If the Earth slowed down to one rotation every year, called synchronous rotation, every area on Earth would be in either sunlight or darkness for one year. This would be similar to what the Moon goes through where for two weeks the front side of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun followed by the front side being in darkness for two weeks.

But what if the Earth stopped rotating completely? In that case, one half the Earth would be in daylight for half the year while the other side would be in darkness. The second half of the year it would be reversed. Temperature variations would be far more extreme then they are now. The temperature gradient would affect the wind circulation also. Air would move from the equator to the poles rather then in wind systems parallel to the equator as they are now.

Even stranger would be the change in the Sun's position in the sky. In the above scenario, Sun would just have a seasonal motion up and down the sky towards the south due to the orbit of the Earth and its axial tilt. You would see the elevation of the Sun increase or decrease in the sky just as we now see the elevation of the Sun change from a single point on the Earth due to the Earth's daily rotation.

As an example, say we live at 30 degrees North latitude. In the Summer, at a longitude where the Sun was exactly overhead, it would slide gradually to the horizon as Fall approached, but since the Sun has moved 90 degrees in its orbit, it would now be due west. As Winter approached, you would now be located on the dark side of the Earth. You would have to move to a longitude 180 degrees around the Earth to see the Sun 1/2 way up the sky because in the Winter, the Sun is 50 degrees south of its summer location in the sky.

There would be other effects of the Earth's rotation slowing also. The magnetic field of the Earth is generated by a dynamo effect that involves its rotation. If the Earth stopped rotating, the magnetic field would no longer be regenerated and it would decay away to some low, residual value due to the very small component which is 'fossilized' in its iron-rich rocks. There would be no more 'northern lights' and the Van Allen radiation belts would probably vanish, as would our protection from cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. Losing this protection would cause serious health issues.

Be glad for our Earthly rotation, without it we would be much worse off !

Product of design or chance ?

 

[Youwerecreated]

The struggle to obtain resources for survival is not based in hate. It was based in pure necessity. If you were going to steal my food, I would have killed you because i had to in order to survive. There is no hate involved.

If you don't know how the ability to survive is related to evolution then I suggest you start studying.

The most successful animals, the ones that are best at surviving, are the ones that pass on their genes. It's the very definition of natural selection.

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

Then why didn't the indians attack the pilgrims of the mayflower if what you say is true ?

The truth is they only felt fear of something that never happened.

 

[idb]

Transitional fossil?
Archaeopteryx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambulocetus

 

[idb]

Just a thought.
The universe is a vast place.
Who can imagine the other stuff and creatures that are out there?
If this was all invented and constructed by some super-being, and he's somehow managing it all, why would he give a toss about a few tiny animals on this one small planet?

 

[JScott]

Evidence of design is proof enough for God,and only someone in denial would deny the evidence for design on this planet and in our universe. There is plenty of evidence of design to where you logically extrapolate from ,to come to the conclusion of a creator.

What you call design can just as easily be called chance. And we understand so little of the universe that it is hubris of the worst sort to claim to understand its design

Really , a few questions for you,just a simple honesty test.

1. Is a t.v. a product of design or a product of chance ?

2. Is a home a product of design or chance ?

3.Is a car a product of design or chance ?

4. Is a computer a product of design or chance ?

Each and everyone of these items are complex products of design , they could not of happened by chance.

Now lets consider far more complex items.

1. The human brain a product of design or chance ?

2. Any eye a product of design or chance ?

3. The heart a product of design or chance ?

4. A cell a product of design or chance ?

5 . The earth having the sun and moon for light by design or chance ?

6. The earth containing the right amount of gravity a product of design or chance ?

7. Humans exhaling carbon dioxide what plants need to breathe and plants breathing off oxygen what humans need to breathe a porduct of design or chance ?

8. Four seasons for the earth a product of design or chance ?

9. The earth continues to spin on it's axis without any help that can be seen a product of design or chance ?

10. What would happen if the earth stopped rotating on it's axis ?

Answer


Earth is rotating at a speed of about 1100 miles per hour. If our planet suddenly stopped rotating, the atmosphere would still be in motion at that speed. The atmosphere would be moving so fast it would literally sweep the land masses clear of anything not anchored to bedrock, this would mean rocks, soil, trees, buildings, people and animals. All would be swept up into the atmosphere.

If the Earth's rotation slowed down gradually over millions of years, and this is the most likely scenario, it would be a very different story. If the Earth slowed down to one rotation every year, called synchronous rotation, every area on Earth would be in either sunlight or darkness for one year. This would be similar to what the Moon goes through where for two weeks the front side of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun followed by the front side being in darkness for two weeks.

But what if the Earth stopped rotating completely? In that case, one half the Earth would be in daylight for half the year while the other side would be in darkness. The second half of the year it would be reversed. Temperature variations would be far more extreme then they are now. The temperature gradient would affect the wind circulation also. Air would move from the equator to the poles rather then in wind systems parallel to the equator as they are now.

Even stranger would be the change in the Sun's position in the sky. In the above scenario, Sun would just have a seasonal motion up and down the sky towards the south due to the orbit of the Earth and its axial tilt. You would see the elevation of the Sun increase or decrease in the sky just as we now see the elevation of the Sun change from a single point on the Earth due to the Earth's daily rotation.

As an example, say we live at 30 degrees North latitude. In the Summer, at a longitude where the Sun was exactly overhead, it would slide gradually to the horizon as Fall approached, but since the Sun has moved 90 degrees in its orbit, it would now be due west. As Winter approached, you would now be located on the dark side of the Earth. You would have to move to a longitude 180 degrees around the Earth to see the Sun 1/2 way up the sky because in the Winter, the Sun is 50 degrees south of its summer location in the sky.

There would be other effects of the Earth's rotation slowing also. The magnetic field of the Earth is generated by a dynamo effect that involves its rotation. If the Earth stopped rotating, the magnetic field would no longer be regenerated and it would decay away to some low, residual value due to the very small component which is 'fossilized' in its iron-rich rocks. There would be no more 'northern lights' and the Van Allen radiation belts would probably vanish, as would our protection from cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. Losing this protection would cause serious health issues.

Be glad for our Earthly rotation, without it we would be much worse off !

Product of design or chance ?

You can not compare man made items to biologic items.

 

[JScott]

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

Then why didn't the indians attack the pilgrims of the mayflower if what you say is true ?

The truth is they only felt fear of something that never happened.

Indians did attack the pilgrims. They also attacked Jamestown, the first American settlement.

 

[Youwerecreated]

Just a thought.
The universe is a vast place.
Who can imagine the other stuff and creatures that are out there?
If this was all invented and constructed by some super-being, and he's somehow managing it all, why would he give a toss about a few tiny animals on this one small planet?

Because life is unique in the universe. The bible also said that heoves his creations and he created us in his image.

 

[Youwerecreated]

What you call design can just as easily be called chance. And we understand so little of the universe that it is hubris of the worst sort to claim to understand its design

Really , a few questions for you,just a simple honesty test.

1. Is a t.v. a product of design or a product of chance ?

2. Is a home a product of design or chance ?

3.Is a car a product of design or chance ?

4. Is a computer a product of design or chance ?

Each and everyone of these items are complex products of design , they could not of happened by chance.

Now lets consider far more complex items.

1. The human brain a product of design or chance ?

2. Any eye a product of design or chance ?

3. The heart a product of design or chance ?

4. A cell a product of design or chance ?

5 . The earth having the sun and moon for light by design or chance ?

6. The earth containing the right amount of gravity a product of design or chance ?

7. Humans exhaling carbon dioxide what plants need to breathe and plants breathing off oxygen what humans need to breathe a porduct of design or chance ?

8. Four seasons for the earth a product of design or chance ?

9. The earth continues to spin on it's axis without any help that can be seen a product of design or chance ?

10. What would happen if the earth stopped rotating on it's axis ?

Answer


Earth is rotating at a speed of about 1100 miles per hour. If our planet suddenly stopped rotating, the atmosphere would still be in motion at that speed. The atmosphere would be moving so fast it would literally sweep the land masses clear of anything not anchored to bedrock, this would mean rocks, soil, trees, buildings, people and animals. All would be swept up into the atmosphere.

If the Earth's rotation slowed down gradually over millions of years, and this is the most likely scenario, it would be a very different story. If the Earth slowed down to one rotation every year, called synchronous rotation, every area on Earth would be in either sunlight or darkness for one year. This would be similar to what the Moon goes through where for two weeks the front side of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun followed by the front side being in darkness for two weeks.

But what if the Earth stopped rotating completely? In that case, one half the Earth would be in daylight for half the year while the other side would be in darkness. The second half of the year it would be reversed. Temperature variations would be far more extreme then they are now. The temperature gradient would affect the wind circulation also. Air would move from the equator to the poles rather then in wind systems parallel to the equator as they are now.

Even stranger would be the change in the Sun's position in the sky. In the above scenario, Sun would just have a seasonal motion up and down the sky towards the south due to the orbit of the Earth and its axial tilt. You would see the elevation of the Sun increase or decrease in the sky just as we now see the elevation of the Sun change from a single point on the Earth due to the Earth's daily rotation.

As an example, say we live at 30 degrees North latitude. In the Summer, at a longitude where the Sun was exactly overhead, it would slide gradually to the horizon as Fall approached, but since the Sun has moved 90 degrees in its orbit, it would now be due west. As Winter approached, you would now be located on the dark side of the Earth. You would have to move to a longitude 180 degrees around the Earth to see the Sun 1/2 way up the sky because in the Winter, the Sun is 50 degrees south of its summer location in the sky.

There would be other effects of the Earth's rotation slowing also. The magnetic field of the Earth is generated by a dynamo effect that involves its rotation. If the Earth stopped rotating, the magnetic field would no longer be regenerated and it would decay away to some low, residual value due to the very small component which is 'fossilized' in its iron-rich rocks. There would be no more 'northern lights' and the Van Allen radiation belts would probably vanish, as would our protection from cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. Losing this protection would cause serious health issues.

Be glad for our Earthly rotation, without it we would be much worse off !

Product of design or chance ?

You can not compare man made items to biologic items.

Says who ? Someone who rejects the idea that someone is out there greater then man and he gave man the ability to design and create as well. But truly you can't bring yourself to admit the evidence provided shows design.

 

[Skull Pilot]

You are right it was a necessity to survive but there was plenty of hate between tribes .

Would you not hate the one that would rape your women and murder your loved ones ?

You're are grasping at straws to explain your weak theory.

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

Then why didn't the indians attack the pilgrims of the mayflower if what you say is true ?

The truth is they only felt fear of something that never happened.

Maybe they should have. The fact that they didn't eventually led to their downfall. They did not fare well in their bid to survive as a people.

 

[Youwerecreated]

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

Then why didn't the indians attack the pilgrims of the mayflower if what you say is true ?

The truth is they only felt fear of something that never happened.

Indians did attack the pilgrims. They also attacked Jamestown, the first American settlement.

I have read they didn't and they did,but What was the purpose of the thanksgiving meals ? Now I know we Indians did attack the white but it was for the same reasons we attacked other tribes.

 

[idb]

Just a thought.
The universe is a vast place.
Who can imagine the other stuff and creatures that are out there?
If this was all invented and constructed by some super-being, and he's somehow managing it all, why would he give a toss about a few tiny animals on this one small planet?

Because life is unique in the universe. The bible also said that heoves his creations and he created us in his image.

What does that first sentence even mean?

 

[Youwerecreated]

Tribes of prehistoric people routinely killed any strangers that wandered into their proximity whether or not those strangers were trying to rape their women.

One hunting party would kill the people of another hunting party if they could not because they hated them but because it increased their chance to procure food for their tribe.

Violence born of necessity is not hate.

Then why didn't the indians attack the pilgrims of the mayflower if what you say is true ?

The truth is they only felt fear of something that never happened.

Indians did attack the pilgrims. They also attacked Jamestown, the first American settlement.

The Pilgrims Land at Plymouth

For almost five months the Mayflower lay offshore Provincetown while expeditions went ashore under the command of Myles Standish. He was from an English family and had won a commission in the English army in Holland. Believing in the Pilgrims, he joined them and for the next thirty-six years, until his death in 1656, was their most courageous associate. Being one of the foremost Pilgrim Fathers, Standish served as a captain, magistrate, engineer, explorer, interpreter, merchant and physician.

On his first scouting trip, Standish and his men discovered Indian corn, and brought back the seeds, which probably saved the colonists from starvation, as corn was their sole support at the time. Now that winter had set in, and with no home site found as yet, the cramped conditions on the Mayflower gave rise to unhealthy conditions, and sicknesses increased, killing Edward Thompson and Jasper More. But also, there were happier occasions, as the first Caucasian child to be born in New England was to William White and his wife, who they named Peregrine.

On December 17 expeditions continued to find a suitable place to build their settlement. As they approached an area along Great Meadow Creek (Herring River) in Eastham, they decided to camp there for the night. The following morning they awoke to the ringing bells from the Pilgrim guards watching over the camp. "They are Men! Indians!" They shouted. This led to a quick skirmish, and the Indians disappeared into the forest. This first "fight" is known as the First Encounter with the Red Men.

Undaunted, Standish and his men continued their scouting and reached an island in Plymouth Harbor. Five years earlier, Captain John Smith, the leader of the Virginia Colony, had visited this same harbor and named it Plymouth. Smith had made a map of the area; a map that the Pilgrims had with them and this discovery was a well-known fact in England. They landed here on December 21, the day now observed as Forefathers' Day.

As the water here was too shallow for their heavy boat to go ashore, they pulled close to shore, and stepped onto a large boulder, now called Plymouth Rock.

Being gone for a week, Standish returned to the Mayflower at Provincetown and informed the others of the good news, that a site had been found for their new settlement. But sadness too was learned. While Standish was away, several people had died of illness, including Mrs. Bradford and James Chilton, and many others remained very ill. Using all haste, the Mayflower set sail for Plymouth, but heavy winds forced her to drop its anchor. On December 26, 1620, they set sail again, and this time was successful. Arriving at Plymouth, on January 2, 1621, the Mayflower stayed in the harbor until all the Pilgrims and supplies were safely ashore; an activity that took four months. With all safely on land, the Mayflower set sail for its return to England, leaving Plymouth on April 15, 1621.

Upon arriving at Plymouth in January, the Pilgrims went ashore, and began cutting down trees for the building of their settlement. The first building was constructed of hand-squared logs, with a roof made of swamp grass. It was used as a common building, then later as a meeting place.

The Pilgrims were divided into nineteen families, with the single men being assigned to different selected households. Each family was given a plot of land, and each family was to build their own house. As bad luck would have it, one of the first homes that was built had to be converted into a hospital, as exposure to the cold winter, lack of proper food, and the cramped living previously aboard the ship undermined the Pilgrims. During this first hard winter, half the population died, and was laid to rest on Cole's Hill. However, fearing that the Indians might attack, and seeing that half their strength had died, the Pilgrims sowed grain over the burial ground.

Fearing a possible attack by the Indians, the Pilgrims decided to form a military organization, adopted on February 27. Myles Standish was chosen as its captain, a post he held for thirty-five years. As a defensive measure, five cannons were placed on Fort Hill, and the men regularly drilled. However, although Standish was an excellent soldier, he believed it better not to fight with the Indians, but rather was wise enough to establish a friendship with them instead.

On March 26, 1621, Samoset, sachem (chief) of the Monhegan Tribe, entered the Pilgrims' village. Extending his arm, he exclaimed, Welcome! The Pilgrims, accepting his friendship, feasted and entertained him for two days. From him they learned that many of the Indians around Plymouth had died of a plague four years earlier. Through him they were introduced to Tisquantum (Squanto), who became a long and devoted friend of the Pilgrims. The Indians taught the Pilgrims how and when to plant corn. They said that when the oak leaves were as big as mouse-ears it was time to plant. They were also taught how to catch fish and to use them not only as food, but as fertilizer for the soil. In early spring, on April 1, Massasoit, the grand chief of the Pokanoket tribes, along with his warriors appeared at Watson's Hill, opposite Plymouth. One of the Pilgrims, Edward Winslow took gifts to the great chief. As they approached Plymouth, the Pilgrim guard saluted the great chief and his men. Following a grand ceremony and feasting, Massasoit and Governor Carver entered into a treaty of peace that was faithfully adhered to for more than fifty years.

Now that spring and warmer weather was here, much of the sickness ceased and the planting began. The Pilgrims entire male working force consisted of twenty-one men and six of the older, stronger boys. With this small force, they tilled and planted with heavy hoes, ( having no horses nor domestic animals), twenty acres of Indian corn, six acres of wheat, rye and barley, as well as small gardens near the homes consisting of peas and other small vegetables. While working in the fields, Governor Carver was overcome with sunstroke and died. William Bradford was chosen to succeed Carver. With the exception of five years when he did not want to serve in this position, Bradford remained as governor until his death on May 19, 1657.

The First Thanksgiving

When the first autumn arrived, the Pilgrims homes and storage buildings were filled with provisions. By this time, their village consisted of seven houses, and four public buildings, one for worship and town meetings and the other three for provisions. As the waters were overflowing with fish, and the forests abundant with deer and wild turkeys, the Pilgrims celebrated and gave thanks for their good fortune.

For the feast and celebration, Massasoit and ninety of his people came and stayed for three days, joining the Pilgrims in rounds of entertainment, amusements and feasting, thus heartily inaugurating the first New England Thanksgiving. In later years, on November 26, 1789, Thanksgiving was celebrated as a National Holiday.

In the years that followed, other colonies were formed. In 1643, the four colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven formed the confederation of The United Colonies of New England.

We all owe the Pilgrims, these strong men and women, who through their greatness of mind and heart, dared the risks of an unknown land and wilderness, so that their children, the descendants of those of us today, might enjoy religious and political liberties. We owe them an undying debt of gratitude for the ideas they fostered, and the independence they sought. As we all enjoy our Thanksgiving dinners, we must remember to give thanks. The Pilgrims truly were the very foundation of American liberty and democracy we enjoy today.

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