The Heavy Cargo And Most Of The Lighter Was Of Course Stowed In The Hold, As The Main Deck (Or

"'tween decks") was mostly occupied as quarters for the male passengers, old and young, though the colonists' shallop, a sloop-

Rigged boat some thirty feet in length, had been "cut down" and stowed "between the decks" for the voyage. A glimpse of the weary life at sea on that long and dreary passage is given in Bradford's remark that "she was much opened with the people's lying in her during the voyage:" This shallop with her equipment, a possible spare skiff or two, the chests, "boxes," and other personal belongings of the passengers, some few cases of goods, some furniture, etc., constituted the only freight for which there could have been room "between decks," most of the space (aft) being occupied by cabins and bunks.

The provisions in use, both by passengers and crew, were probably kept in the lazarette or "runs," in the stern of the ship, which would be unusually capacious in vessels of this model; some - the bulkiest - in the hold under the forward hatch, as the custom was, and to some extent still is. The food supply of the Pilgrims, constituting part of the MAY-FLOWER'S Cargo, included, as appears from authentic sources: -

Breadstuff's, including, - Biscuits or ship-bread (in barrels). Oatmeal (in barrels or hogsheads). Rye meal (in hogsheads). Butter (in firkins). Cheese, "Hollands" and English (in boxes). Eggs, pickled (in tubs). Fish, "haberdyne" [or salt dried cod] (in boxes). Smoked herring (in boxes). Meats, including, - Beef, salt, or "corned" (in barrels). Dry-salted (in barrels). Smoked (in sacks). Dried neats'-tongues (in boxes). Pork, bacon, smoked (in sacks or boxes). Salt ["corned"] (in barrels). Hams and shoulders, smoked (in canvas sacks or hogsheads). Salt (in bags and barrels). Vegetables, including, - Beans (in bags and barrels). Cabbages (in sacks and barrels). Onions (in sacks). Turnips (in sacks). Parsnips (in sacks). Pease (in barrels), and Vinegar (in hogsheads), while, - Beer (in casks), brandy, "aqua vitae" (in pipes), and gin ["Hollands," "strong waters," or "schnapps"] (in pipes) were no small or unimportant part, from any point of view, of the provision supply.

Winslow, in his letter to George Morton advising him as to his preparations for the voyage over, says: "Be careful to have a very good bread-room to keep your biscuit in." This was to keep them from dampness. Winthrop gives us the memorandum of his order for the ship-bread for his voyage in 1630. He says: "Agreed with Keene of Southwark, baker, for 20,000 of Biscuit, 15,000 of brown, and 5,000 of white." Captain Beecher minutes: "10 M. of bread for the ship ARBELLA." Beecher's memorandum of "oatmeal" is "30 bushels." Winslow mentions "oatmeal," and Winthrop notes among the provisions bought by Captain William Pierce, "4 hhds. of oatmeal." Rye meal was usually meant by the term "meal," and Window in his letter to George Morton advises him: "Let your meal be so hard-trod in your casks that you shall need an adz or hatchet to work it out with;" and also to "be careful to come by [be able to get at] some of your meal to spend [use] by the way." Notwithstanding that Bradford' speaks of their "selling away" some "60 firkins of butter," to clear port charges at Southampton, and the leaders, in their letter to the Adventurers from that port (August 3), speak of themselves, when leaving Southampton in August, 1620, as "scarce having any butter," there seems to have been some left to give as a present to Quadrequina, Massasoit's brother, the last of March following, which would indicate its good "keeping" qualities.

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