by Liam Sullivan
The Pilgrims started as people known as "Separatists" in England. Separatists were people who had their own ideas about doing exactly what the Bible wanted. King James was the leader of England at that time, and he was also the head of the church. He thought people should obey him instead of the Bible. He made rules for church that the Separatists broke.
For a long time, the Separatists would worship in their own way, get caught, and get thrown into jail. They hated it, but still they continued. They believed they would get in trouble with God if they didn't do what the Bible told them to do.
"Help us! Help us!" you could hear from the jails. You couldn't blame them. The jail was a dark and gloomy place that smelled like a mixture of rust and dirt. There were rats running around, and cobwebs. It was obviously not very nice. If you got close, you could hear people screaming. Well, they did not have fun in that dark and gloomy jail. It was probably as uncomfortable as a bed of nails! Sometimes, the Separatists would talk about what they would do.
"Let's beat up King James," said John Billington. John Billington was a nasty, mean person sometimes.
"Never, John, " said William Brewster.
"Chicken!" muttered John Billington.