After the Pilgrims returned from their explorations on November 15-17, they reported what they had found, and discussed what to do next.  The weather turned very cold and stormy, making trips to and from the shore very difficult.  They decided to wait until the shallop was completed before they sent out another exploration.  Finally, more than ten days later, the shallop was ready to go.  Twenty-four Pilgrims and ten of the Mayflower's crew were appointed to go on the expedition.  The Mayflower's master, Christopher Jones, showed an interest in participating, so he was appointed to lead the expedition.   Their goal was to further explore the Pamet River, which they had only very briefly looked at on their previous trip to Corn Hill.

The shallop and the longboat both set off from the Mayflower, but almost immediately the stormy weather and winds forced them to head for the nearest shore.  After struggling much of the day, the longboat made it ashore, but the shallop and those aboard were forced to spend the night anchored in the harbor.  Those on the land hiked about seven miles south towards the Pamet River; the shallop would meet up with them the next day.  It was windy, and snowed all night long.  About mid-day the next day, everyone went aboard the shallop and sailed further to the Pamet River, which they nicknamed Cold Harbor.  With six inches of snow now on the ground, they marched up the Pamet River several miles, through hills and valleys.  The evening falling and most tired from hiking through the snow, they made camp under a few pine trees and spent the night.  Luckily, they managed to kill three geese and six ducks, giving everyone plenty to eat.  In the morning, they decided this wasn't the best ground: too hilly, and a bad harbor for ships.  So they returned to the mouth of the Pamet river, intending to return to Corn Hill to see if they could dig up some more seed for planting.  Finding an Indian canoe at the bank of the Pamet River, they shot some geese and took the canoe to retrieve them.  Then they used the canoe to carry themselves across the river towards Corn Hill.  They dug up the rest of the corn they had found buried, and began digging into other mounds.  In one, they found some oil.  In another, they found more corn and some beans.  As the weather began turning bad, Master Christopher Jones decided he should be back on the Mayflower, so he returned to the ship with five others from the exploration party who were becoming sick or who were too weak to continue on. 

The remaining eighteen men stayed the night on Corn Hill, and the next morning they set out to look for some Indians to meet with.  They followed tracks and paths they found, but after six miles of marching they had found nothing.  Then they encountered a large mound, bigger than the others they had dug up previously.  Uncovering it, they first encountered a mat, then a bow and arrows, then another mat, some bowls and trays and other trinkets, and then some red powder--under which they found the bones and skull of a man with "fine yellow hair still on it, and some of the flesh unconsumed."  With it were a sailor's cassock.  Inside a smaller bundle, they found the remains of a small child.  They wondered who it could be.  They didn't think it could be an Indian, because the hair was blond--perhaps it was one of the French sailors that had been killed there in 1617 by the Nauset.  But then what about the baby?  They moved on, and dug into several more mounds they encountered, "but found no more corn, nor anything else but graves."

While they were looking at the grave, two sailors returned to the group to report they had found an Indian house.  They looked around and seeing nobody, entered the house.  It looked like it had been lived in recently, because their dishes, household items, and hunting remains were still there.  "Some of the best things we took away with us," they recorded, "intending to have brought some beads, and other things to have left in the houses, in sign of peace," but unfortunately the tide was receding and they had to make a hasty getaway--so they never left behind the "sign of peace." 

They returned to the Mayflower, and discussed their findings with everyone.  There was some controversy about what to do: should they settle at the Pamet River, or continue looking for a better place?  The season was getting late, the weather getting worse, and the supplies were running short.  The Pamet River was defensible, but not particularly good for anything but small boats.

In the end, it was decided to send out one more expedition, to round the Cape and explore the mainland, where they hoped to find a bigger, more navigable river upon which they could build their colony.

Corn Hill as it looks today.