lead as it were, crushing my heart." He felt he was going to die. The two ships left Dartmouth and sailed more than 300 miles, but then they again had to turn back, this time to Plymouth in Devon, because of trouble on the Speedwell. The Speedwell had to be abandoned because she would never have survived the voyage. The trade-off for a safer passage was the reduction of the 120 passengers to about 100, who then had to be squeezed aboard a single ship. Among those from the Speedwell who did not board the Mayflower was the family of Cushman, who stated he expected at any moment to become meate for ye fishes. After the decision to abandon the Speedwell, Cushman and his family had priority to sail on the Mayflower but they declined – probably because of Robert's illness. Arrival in Plymouth in 1621 Robert Cushman and his son Thomas traveled to Plymouth Colony aboard the Fortune in 1621. Cushman carried with him a patent to the New Plymouth colony in the name of Mr John Pierce of London, one of the Merchant Adventurers. Robert Cushman remained but a few weeks. His mission was to convince the settlers to accept the terms of their contract imposed by Thomas Weston and the London investors. This contract had incurred the resentment and anger of the Leiden contingent and they had angrily rejected it on 5 August 1620, the date of departure from Portsmouth. But Cushman found at Plymouth that the settlers had finally come to realise their situation and their need for assistance from London. Cushman did complete his mission, but left Plymouth on 13 December 1621, having already spent four months at sea, and left his son Thomas in the care of Governor Bradford. Bradford later reported on Cushman's visit to Plymouth that he "stayed not above fourteen days" and that the ship Fortune was "speedily dispatched away laden with (cargo) estimated to be worth near £500." On the voyage back to England, the Fortune was attacked by French pirates and was robbed of its valuable cargo, along with the possessions of crew and passengers. Cushman back in London 1622 Cushman arrived back in London, 17 February 1622. He was carrying with him a valuable document known as the Bradford-Winslow "Relation" – (or historically known as 'Mourt's Relation') the detailed journal-account, that is, day-to-day written record of the exploration