You make a conclusive case for why OPP wasn’t collected by Bernhisel! I hadn’t realized it was published so late. It did reach Utah soon after publication, though, judging by how often Josiah F. Gibbs used a parody of one of your quoted lines. In his complaints about the ill-treatment of Indians, he often wrote, “The Pilgrims first fell on their knees … and then fell on the Indians.”

The passage you quote is beautiful — in fact, I think I’ll memorize it. I wonder if it has been cited by Mormons in connection with the pioneer crossing of the continent? In any case, it’s a beautifully written passage, and thanks for posting it.

The short answer is that it wasn’t published until 1856.

The long answer is a fascinating story and is told in bare bones in a Wikipedia article: the manuscript stayed in the Bradford family for a century and eventually ended up in London. After it was discovered and published in 1856, international diplomatic efforts finally returned the manuscript to the United States, where it is now in the possession of the State of Massachusetts.

For a little flavor of American history, here’s a passage from OPP. It’s a favorite of my family and we read it each year before Thanksgiving dinner.

Being thus arived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought them over ye vast & furious ocean, and delivered them from all ye periles & miseries therof, againe to set their feete on ye firme and stable earth, their proper elemente. …
But hear I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amased at this poore peoples presente condition; and so I thinke will the reader too, when he well considers ye same. Being thus passed ye vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembred by yt which wente before), they had now no freinds to wellcome them, nor inns to entertaine or refresh their weatherbeaten bodys, no houses or much less townes to repaire too, to seeke for succoure…
Let it also be considred what weake hopes of supply & succoure they left behinde them, yt might bear up their minds in this sade condition and trialls they were under; and they could not but be very smale. … What could not sustaine them but ye spirite of God & his grace? May not & ought not the children of these fathers rightly say : Our faithers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this willdernes; but they cried unto ye Lord, and he heard their voyce, and looked on their adversitie, &c. Let them therfore praise ye Lord, because he is good, & his mercies endure for ever….

I’ve almost finished keying the basic catalog, so soon we can start posting much bigger swaths of it, ready for anybody who likes puzzles to help find Googlebooks scans or author bios or anything else we want to incorporate into this.

Second, I see a couple of works by one of my favorite historians of all time. I finished Prescott’s Conquest of Peru last year in June. Now that is how history should be told. His description of one of the battles in Conquest of Mexico is one of the greatest passages of any literature anywhere. It’s amazing what a person can do when they don’t let a little thing like blindness get in the way of their life’s mission.

Third, [I'll have to ask for Ardis' permission here to give points on her blog]: ten points extra credit for anyone who knows why Bernhisel didn’t include Of Plymouth Plantation in his collection.

Thanks for the latest installment, Ardis! It’s always interesting to look through the list.