The gloomy fanatical prohibitionist is trying again and again to portray the enjoyment of a glass of beer or wine as something "un-American;" as a strange habit for which the "Dutch" are responsible in particular. But history exposes their lies in this respect, as well as many of their assertions in regard to facts and conditions. The old Puritans were indeed no prohibitionists! They were a very stubborn people in every way. They considered water as an unsanitary and ineffective beverage. This can be proven by hundreds of records of their time. Governor Bradford, for instance, complained bitterly, in 1629, that there was no beer or wine and he had to drink water. During the same year the Puritans asked for preachers, and likewise for vine-dressers, wheat, barley, rye, and roots of hops. England complied with their wishes and the next ship contained forty-five tons of beer, two barrels of malaga, twenty gallons of brandy, and six tons of water for drinking and cooking purposes.

A Reverend Higginson boasted in one of his letters to the old country: "My stomach could not stand anything but strong drinks, but the climate in New England is so hearty that I am now able to drink some New England water, and 2I do it once in a while." Wood wrote as follows: "It is generally believed that there is no better water in the whole world than that in New England, but I do not risk taking it instead of good wine, as some do. Those that drink it are just as healthy as those who drink beer." This man of God evidently thinks that the use of water is questionable. The colonists seemed to have well succeeded with the roots of hops they had imported from England, because one quart of beer was sold for one penny.

Judge Sewell lists the following beverages as being manufactured in New England: Ale, beer, mead, metheglin, cider, wine, rum, punch, brandy, etc. Everybody drank cider, which was made in abundance, but the chief beverage at those times was rum. They exported corn, meat, and lumber to the West Indian Islands and traded it for raw sugar and syrup, which were quickly changed into rum. This drink was very strong. It was called "killdevil."

The Puritans drank strong drinks at every opportunity. The harvest hands as well as the tradesmen demanded their rum. At every wedding and every funeral they would drink very freely. Even at the ordinations of preachers there was plenty of brandy, rum, wine, and beer consumed. At one of these festivals sixty-eight were assembled and only six of them drank tea.

At the dedication of a church in Medfield, Massachusetts, the following quantities were consumed: Four barrels of beer, forty-two gallons of West Indian rum, thirty gallons of New England rum, sixty pounds of sugar and four-hundred and sixty-five lemons.

A variety of drinks were offered free with every meal at taverns, etc., and there were alcoholic beverages in every family. It was a serious offense against custom and hospitality to let a visitor leave the house without offering him a drink. They certainly knew nothing about prohibition; nor have the foreigners introduced strong drinks in the United States.