P.J. Manning age 12, of Haggerstown, Md., for his question:

HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ON THE MAYFLOWER?

Mayflower is the name of the ship in which the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in 1620. As originally planned, the expedition included another vessel, the Speedwell, but it proved unseaworthy. The Mayflower, about 180 gross tons and carrying 101 passengers, finally got under way from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620.

The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists had been authorized to settle. As a result of stormy weather and navigational errors, the vessel failed to make good its course, and on November 21 the Mayflower rounded the end of Cape Cod and dropped anchor off the site of present day Providencetown, Mass.

The Mayflower remained at anchor for the next few weeks while a party from the ship explored the area in search of a satisfactory site for the colony. Peregrine White, the first European child born in New England, was delivered on the Mayflower in the interim.

On December 21, an area having been selected, the 102 Pilgrims (including the new baby) disembarked from the Mayflower near the head of Cape Cod and founded Plymouth, the first permanent settlement in New England.