108 THE DORSET COLONY IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



since by the name of Weymouth, where these Westonians, who 

 were Church of England men, did not approve themselves like the 

 Plymouthians a pious, honest, industrious people- but followed 

 such bad courses as had like to have brought a ruin upon their 

 neighbours as well as themselves. Having by their idleness brought 

 themselves to penury, they stole corn from the Indians, and in many 

 other ways provoked them, although the Governor of Plymouth 

 writ them his very sharp disapprobation of their proceedings. To 

 satisfie the exasperated salvages divers of the thieves were stockt 

 and whipt, and one of them at last put to death, by this miserable 

 company, which did no other service than to afford an occasion for 

 a fable to the roguish Hudribras, &c." This is, of course, very 

 painful reading, and one would like to believe that the account 

 might have been painted in extra dark colours in consequence of 

 the fact that the Westonians were Church of England men. But 

 Talvi, in his "History of the Colonization of America," 1851, gives 

 an equally unflattering account of Weston and his myrmidons. 

 He states that "one Weston, a merchant, who had adventured 

 largely in this expedition (to Plymouth), and had now become 

 dissatisfied with his gains, resolved to commence a new settlement 

 on his own account, and, having got a letter of possession for a 

 piece of land in Massachusetts, sent thither 60 men in two ships 

 under the command of his brother-in-law." These men are described 

 by the historian as useless vagabonds, and were confessed by himself 

 (Weston) to be "tolerably rude and profane." Another writer 

 says " Mr. Weston's people are in the worst possible condition, and 

 to all appearance not calculated for the society of an honest man." 

 However, in spite of warning, they were received by the Plymouth- 

 ians and entertained for some months (a charitable and highly 

 creditable action on the part of the Puritans) whilst the strongest 

 of the party journeyed to Massachusetts, where they selected 

 Wessagussett, now Weymouth, as their place of settlement. These 

 men did not belie either their reputation or their looks, and earned, 

 as we have seen, both the hatred and contempt of the Indians. 

 Weston himself seems to have been worthy of his following. The 



