when they landed the men went to find a place where they could live and grow crops. one of the first exploration missions included william bradford, john carver, myles standish , edward winslow, john howland, richard warren, stephen hopkins and edward doty. according to william bradford, they left in a small board in below freezing weather. many of the men were already ill. bradford wrote that when they set sail the salt spray froze on their coats, as if they had been glazed. of this group hopkins was the most experienced, having seen native americans during his time at jamestown. during this trip the "mayflower" men came upon some native americans who appeared to be cutting up a large whale. the natives ran when they saw the men. the men camped while trying to protect themselves and stay warm.