nov 25, 1621 - Thanksgiving, Squanto

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Tisquantum (Squanto) was kidnapped by English explorer Thomas Hunt who carried him to Spain. He eventually traveled to England, and then returned to America in 1619 to his native village, only to find that his tribe had been wiped out by an epidemic infection; Tisquantum was the last of the Patuxets. When his tribe died, he went to live with the Wampanoags.

The Pilgrim fathers had settled in land abandoned when all but on of the Patuxet Indians died in a disease outbreak (Squanto). A harsh winter killed half of the Pilgrim fathers. Squanto, who had learned English, was the first Native American to encounter the Pilgrims. He taught them how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter for then until he succumbed to the disease a year later. The Wampanoag leader (Massasoit) also gave food to the colonists during the first winter when supplies brought from England were insufficient.

In gratitude for this help, the colonists held the first Thanksgiving, which is still celebrated today in the United States, by inviting Massasoit and ninety of his men to share a meal at which turkeys and pigeons were offered.

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