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The Indians acted on the defensive ; they felt jealous of their rights, and did not admit the justice and equity of the claim set up by the pale faces, to the soil which they had received as a grant from the Great Spirit,-and it is no way surprising that Philip and his tribe displayed a hostile attitude towards the enemy of their peace, when they perceived that their domain was passing into other hands, and that they would soon melt away before a superior force. This is a sufficient apology for the course which they pursued towards the colonists; and instead of our exulting and triumphing over their weakness, it should rather be a matter of grief and sorrow, that the posses- sion of this continent was purchased at the expense of the destruction of the Indians.
PHILIP OF MOUNT HAUP.
(BY MISS CASS.)
Philip's head was sent to Plymouth, where it was exposed on a gibbet twenty years, and one of his hands to Boston, where it was exhibited in savage triumph, and his mangled body was denied the right of sepulture, it having been quartered, and hung upon four trees, where it was left, a monument of shock- ing barbarity.
" To say the least of Philip's humanity, it was as great towards captives, so far as we have any knowledge, as that of the English towards the captive Indians."-Drake's Biography of Indians.
" Ye write the white man brave, When on his native sod, He lifts his sword to guard and save His heritage of God. And earth rings loud, with the deep startling cry- Of patriots, warring for their liberty.
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PHILIP OF MOUNT HAUP
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Ye bid the marble rise, To shrine his sacred fame ; And loud winds bear along the skies, His high and holy name. And ever your children's hearts beat full and strong, All freedom shout, and glorious triumph sing.
The outrag'd Indian rears His madden'd battle brand ; And tracks with flame, and blood, and tears, The oppressors of his land. And he is savage ! and ye give his name To wear his curse, and be a word for shame.
And even his soulless clay, Finds not a quiet bed ; The storms may waste it, birds of prey Feast on the helpless dead- As if the poor insensate dust could be A thing for hate, and fiendish mockery.
The gentle Quaker came, With justice in his hand ; And the whoop lay hush'd, the war-knife's flame Gleam'd not within the land. But spread the Calumet's soft incense wide, And rose the olive of the wigwam's side.
Wo! for the red man's wail, 'Sweeps o'er New England's hills ; It rides her haughty ocean gale, And tunes her forest rills. One jarring echo in the grand old strain, That ne'er can die along her hallow'd plain."
THE DEATH OF MIANTUNOMU.
As we have noticed the death of Cannonicus, we will also allude to the sad fate of Miantunomu, as they were the two Sachems who conveyed the island of Aquedneck to Mr. Cod. dington and his friends. Miantunomu was uncle to Cannonicus, and they exercised an important part in the government of the great nation of the Narragansetts.
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
In 1642, Connecticut became suspicious of Miantunomu, and urged Massachusetts to join them in a war with Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans. The broil had long existed ; but the open rupture was brought on by Uncas making war upon Sequesson, one of the Sachems under Miantunomu. The English accounts say, (and we have no other,) that about 900 warriors were raised by Miantunomu, and about 500 or 600 Mohegans. The Sachem of the former, Miantunomu, intending to chastise Uncas for his adherence to the English, secretly advanced into his country with an army ; but Uncas was aware of his ap- proach, and met him on this plain, where both parties halted. Uncas resorted to a stratagem ; he stepped forward alone, and challenged Miantunomu to decide the quarrel single-handed. This, as he expected, was refused, and, while his enemies were unprepared, he gave 'a signal by falling down, when his men instantly set up a yell, discharged their arrows, and rushed forward.
The Narragansetts fled, and many of them were killed. Uncas captured Miantunomu hiinself, but the haughty Indian would not ask for quarter nor speak a word. He was taken to Hartford, and, after a trial, was delivered to Uncas for execution. He was brought back to this place, and while marching across the fields was tomahawked, on a spot a little east of the road, where a heap of stones for many years marked the place of his burial.
" The place where the battle was fought, was in the eastern part of the town of Norwich, and the place to this day is called the Sachem's Plain."-Note, from Winthrop's Journal.
The sorrowful part of this tale is yet to be told. The Com- missioners of the United Colonies having convened at Boston, " who, taking into serious consideration what was safest and best to be done, were all of the opinion, that it would not be safe to set him at liberty ; neither had we sufficient ground for us to put him to death."
The awful design of putting to death their friend, they had not yet fixed upon, but calling to their aid in council-whom ? -- and must it be told ?- it has been told before-" five of the most judicious elders ;" such as we read of in the apochrypha, who condemned Susannah to death ; " they all agreed that he ought to be put to death." This was the final decision, and to
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DEATH OF MIANTUNOMU.
complete the deed of darkness, secrecy was enjoined upon all, and their determination was to be made known to Uncas pri- vately, with directions that he should execute him within his own jurisdiction, and without torture.
Dr. Trumbull says that " Uncas cut out a large piece of his shoulder and ate it in savage triumph, saying it was the sweet- est morsel he ever ate, it made his heart strong-" Thus closed a tragedy, which, for infamy, has never been exceeded. And by whom was it effected ? Puritans-men calling themselves the friends and the advocates of Him who prayed to his Father to "forgive his enemies, for they know not what they do." He was one who had been their friend, according to their own show- ing, and yet delivered up to the miserable paltroon, Uncas, who by treachery had overcome his enemy. But the conduet of the savage is purity itself, when compared to the vile and disgrace- ful conduct of those, who having no bowels of compassion, could thus sacrifice a fellow-being on the altar of hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. But what could we expect better of such men, whose views of God's character, led them to believe that he delighted in misery ! For an example, examine Dr. Increase Mather's. (Magnolia,) " Prevalence of Prayer," ibid 7. In speaking of the efficacy of prayer in bringing about the destruc- tion of the Indians, he says, " Nor could they cease crying to the Lord against Philip, until they had prayed the bullet into , his heart." And in speaking of the slaughter of Philip's people at Narragansett, he says : "We have heard of the two and twenty Indians slain, all of them, and brought down to hell in one day.". This is Christianity with a vengeance.
On the death of Miantunomu, Canonchet, his son, became by inheritance, Chief Sachem of the tribe. In "the great swamp fight," as it was familiarly known, he was intercepted and secured by the whites, delivered over to the Mohegan Sachem, Oneco, the son of his father's murderer, and by him put to death by order of the English captors. He was the last who exercised the supremacy over the Narragansett tribe, and now all that is left to call to remembrance these noble warriors is their names, emblazoned on the wheel-house of the steamboats which navigate the Narragansett Bay.
We bless God that we had our birth and education in the State of Rhode Island, where intolerance, bigotry, and cruelty,
------- ---
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
never flourished ; and though our characters have been assailed by " Simon pures," of Massachusetts, as being destitute of true religion, which merely means orthodoxy in the head and not in the heart, we yet have cause to rejoice that charges such as we have enumerated, have never been laid at our door.
Richard Borden, one of the first settlers of Portsmouth, died 25th of third month, 1670, aged seventy years. He was father of Matthew Borden, who was the first white child born on Rhode Island.
THE FIRST CHARTER OF INCORPORATION FROM THE BRITISH CROWN.
" In 1643, Mr. Williams, an agent of the Colonies of Narragan- sett Bay, obtained a Charter of Incorporation, from the British crown, granting their permission to make laws for themselves, so far as the nature and constitution of the place would admit, subject to the laws of England."
This charter is for civil government only. There is not one word in it about religion or liberty of conscience. Backey, Vol. 1, page 91. This he says he copied from the original manuscript in Mr. Williams' own handwriting, dated Providence 25th, sixth month, 1658.
" That forasmuch as Mr. Roger Williams has taken great pains, and expended much time in obtaining a charter for this pro. vince, we do freely give and grant unto the said Roger Williams, £100, to be levied out of the towns, viz., £50 out of Newport, £30 out of Portsmouth, and £20 out of Providence, which rate is to be levied and paid in by the last of November."
Mr. Williams returned with the charter, September 17, 1644. We have no wish or desire to take from Mr. Williams the praise which justly belongs to him-" honor to whom honor is due"-but we do feel conscious that far more has been said of his merits than they well deserve. He has been held up as the oracle of liberty of conscience, and many have been misled into the belief that Rhode Island is indebted to him more than to any other man, for its civil and religious liberties. But we shall have occasion to convince them to the contrary, when we bring forward a man whose character has been neglected, and whose memory nearly
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FIRST CHARTER OF INCORPORATION.
forgotten. And this has arisen from the relative position which Providence and Newport occupies. While the former has had a rapid growth, owing to the crowd of adventurers who have resorted there for the purpose of gain, which has, however, sen- sibly changed its moral character, the latter has declined in com- mercial prosperity, which has produced a state of supineness, and an entire indifference to her lawful claims, and permitted matters of a highly important nature to be entirely overlooked.
Providence has aimed to exalt Roger Williams, at the ex pense of his superior, until his name has become as common as household words. We see it emblazoned on banks, insurance companies, and even steamboats which ply in the Narragansett Bay. His name has been canonized as the ne plus ultra, and to call in question his character and merits, would be viewed as sacrilegious.
Every author who has attempted to write his biography, has been very careful to keep out of sight his defects, and to publish his virtues to the world, as the originator of civil and religious liberty, until the public have been made to believe that to Roger Williams, and to no one else, Rhode Island is indebted for her privileges.
Now, every writer who has treated on his character, has stood in fear lest an influence should be brought to bear against him, hence they follow in the same track, and continue to eulo- gize his name. Mr. Williams was not perfect, and a more eccentric man never lived. He had not a well-balanced mind, which his religious career fully proved.
The Rev. Mr. Adlum, in a pamphlet, which he has recently published, showing the origin of the first Baptist church in Newport, and the first in Providence, says of Mr. Williams, that "he was a Baptist only four months. After he left the Baptists, he lived forty-three years, and yet from the records you would not suspect but he was a Baptist to the day of his death. Here was a man, who in the space of four months, had fully made up his mind that there was neither a true ministry, nor true church upon earth ; a conviction so strong that he never wavered in it for the forty-three years of his after life. He had been bred in the belief that a regular succession from the apostles downwards, was necessary to a true church and a true ministry."
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
The manner of his baptism by a layman, we should have thought would have led him to doubt of its validity, and equally so his ordination, which was wholly unauthorized by ecclesiasti- cal usages.
There is evidence that Mr. Williams was not as Catholic as were some of the first settlers ; though he had fled from Mas- sachusetts, owing to persecution, yet he is charged with in- tolerance towards the Quakers, which illustrates and sets forth poor human nature, as it really is. We should not have animadverted on the character of Mr. Williams, had there not been such an effort made by writers, to exalt him above his equals and even superiors.
The united colonies were not content with using compulsion themselves, towards the Quakers, but wished to draw Rhode Island into their measure-and it is on record that Roger Wil- liams favored the measure-but the people of Portsmouth, on Rhode Island, disowned all connection in such arbitrary doings to- wards their brethren. Portsmouth has ever been an asylum for Quakers from the earliest period of their coming to this country.
A Quaker, Richard Scott, who had been a neighbor of Mr. Williams for thirty-eight years, says of him, that " he was un- settled in his opinions, that which took most with him was, to get honor amongst men. After his society and he, in a church way, were parted, he went to England and got a charter, and coming from Boston to Providence, at Seekonk, the neighbors of Providence met him with fourteen canoes, and carried him to the town. And the man being hemmed in the middle of the canoes, was so elevated and transported out of himself, that I was condemned in myself, that amongst the rest, I had been an instrument to set him up in his pride and folly. Though he pro- fessed liberty of conscience, and was so zealous for it at the first coming home of the charter, that nothing in government must be acted till that was granted, yet he could be the forwardest to persecute against those that could not join with him in it."
About the beginning of 1677, came out Mr. Williams' account of his dispute with the Quakers, upon which Mr. Coddington wrote over to his friend Fox, and said : " Here is a lying, scan- dalous book of Roger Williams', of Providence, printed at Cam- bridge, New-England. I have known him about fifty years, a mere weather-cock, constant only in inconstancy ; poor man, that
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CHARACTER OF ROGER WILLIAMS.
doth not know what should become of his soul, if this night it should be taken from him. He was for the priests, and took up their principles to fight against the truth, and to gratify them and bad magistrates, that licked up his vomit, and wrote the said scurrilous book, and so has transgressed for a piece of bread. One while he is a Separatist, at New-Plymouth, joining with them till they are weary of him ; (as appears from Morton's Memorial,) another time you may have him a teacher or a mem- ber of the church at Salem. O! then a great deal of devotion is pleaded in women's wearing of veils in their assemblies, as if the power of godliness was in it ; and to have the cross out of the color ; and then be against the king's patent and authority, and writeth a large book in quarto against it. And another time he is hired for money, and gets a patent from Long Par- liament, so that it is not long but he is off and on it again. One time for water baptism-men and women must be plunged into water-and then throws it all down again; one time for men's wearing caps, and not hats, for covering their faces-and again hats and caps ; so that Cotton said of him, that ' he was a hab- berdasher of small questions against the power.'"
Mr. Williams, on the 1st of February, 1657-8, issued a war- rant against Mr. William Harris, for the alleged crime of op- posing the Protector's government. The warrant ordered his arrest and imprisonment, for the purpose of sending him to Eng- land, in accordance, probably, with the act of June, 1665. How far this strong measure was deserved by the conduct of Mr. Har- ris, we cannot now determine. It has been inferred that it was not sustained by public opinion, because at the next election Mr. Williams was superseded as President, by Mr. Benedict Arnold. It is not improbable that he was urged too far, by a zeal to up- hold the charter, and the Protector's authority, and perhaps by personal hostility towards Mr. Harris, between whom and him- self, there was for many years a very acrimonius feud.
" It appears that Mr. Williams so disliked Mr. Harris, that he would not write his name at length, but abbreviated it thus, 'W. Har.' This mode of writing is seen in the fac simile prefixed to this volume."-Knowles' Memoirs of Williams.
" Mr. Harris soon after went to England to endeavor to settle the dispute between himself and Roger Williams, but the vessel was captured by an Algerine corsair, and he was sold for a
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
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slave. His family, in Rhode Island, redeemed him by the sale of a part of his property. He arrived in England, but died there. He was an able man, and we may hope a good man, notwithstanding some infirmities. His quarrels with Roger Williams were discreditable to them both-on which side the most blame lay, we cannot now decide."-Backus, volume 1., page 421.
We should rather be inclined to think that Williams was the most in fault, from the fact of his proneness to get into difficulty. The family of Harris are highly respectable in Rhode Island ; some of the original land of William Harris, is still in possession of the family.
Roger Williams was the pioneer in the settlement of Provi- dence, and had he possessed the amiable traits of character which distinguished John Clarke, of Newport, he would un- doubtedly have been a public blessing to the Colony. But un- fortunately, his disposition was irritable, which often led him into trouble. He had the bump of combattiveness largely deve- loped, and was ever ready to enter into disputation; (this seemed to be his forte.) In 1672, George Fox, the founder of the sect called Friends, or Quakers, arrived in Rhode Island, and commenced preaching at Newport. Roger Williams visited Newport, and held public disputations with George Fox and others. He had a.zeal, not always tempered with knowledge, or otherwise he would have left to each sect, the right to enjoy their own sentiments undisturbed, and never have been guilty of persecution in the least degree. But it shows that he was fallible, like all other men, and had not attained to Christian perfection.
And yet it seems passing strange, that one who had felt the power of oppression, and who had been compelled to flee from Massachusetts' tyranny, did not extend the hand of fellowship to all, of whatever name or sect, who desired to settle within his jurisdiction. But few, however, are properly qualified to exercise power aright-the passions of the human mind, when not restrained, are apt to break forth in a manner which conflicts with the "higher law," of which so much is said at the present day. Some allowance must, however, be made for the period in which he lived. Undoubtedly, there were difficulties to be encountered, and trials to be borne, which required a large
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LONGEVITY OF THE FIRST SETTLERS.
share of philosophy to overcome, and if his temperament was ardent and impetuous, he is to be pitied and not severely con- demned.
We have been strongly inclined to the belief, that the impress left by Mr. Williams on the Plantations, has had an influence in forming the character of its inhabitants, for liberty of opinion has been far less enjoyed there, than in Newport and the south counties. In secular matters, there has been a disposition to coerce and to bring the people under the ban of the law in mat- ters, too, which were unconstitutional in their nature, which it behoves every patriot and friend to human rights, to condemn.
It must be conceded that the inhabitants of the Island of Rhode Island, were the most active in procuring the inestimable privileges of civil and religious liberty. Here, true Republican- ism existed, without aristocratic domination, and it should be the duty of every citizen, to guard against every encroachment attempted to be made against their dearest rights, and heaven- born privileges. Let them glory in the names of Clarke and .Coddington, for to them belongs the honor of rearing the stand- ard of Liberty and Independence.
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LONGEVITY OF THE FIRST SETTLERS OF THE ISLAND.
Mr. Nicholas Easton, who came, in 1638, from Hampton to Newport, lived to 1675, when he died a very ancient man. His son, Mr. John Easton, who as his father was divers times Gov. ernor of the Colony, died in 1705, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Mr. H. Bull, one of the eighteen that incorporated themselves at the first, was Governor of the Colony, and lived to an advanced age. Mr. Edward Thurston, who was assistant in 1675, and many times deputy for Newport, died 1786-7, aged ninety years.
Many such instances might be given, and many of the second generation, such I mean as were born within the first twenty or twenty-five years, reached to fourscore and some ninety years. If we consider the longevity of many of the first-comers, notwith- standing the hardships and distresses they underwent, and the change of climate, diet, &c., and to this add the great age of
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HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND.
many of their children, we cannot call the country unhealthy, or the inhabitants short-lived ; and to this day, perhaps, there is no spot that can be compared to the island for the duration of human life.
SHORTNESS OF PROVISIONS.
January 22d, 1639, it was found that there were but one hundred and eight bushels of corn, to supply ninety-six per- sons, which, at the proportion of one bushel and half-a-peck to each, was not then sufficient to supply them for six weeks ; and yet it was then more than so many months to harvest. But there was plenty of fish, fowl, and renison, and soon after, even to this day, the necessaries of life have been plentiful.
Some of the principal persons who came at first to the island, removed again in a little time, some to Long Island for larger accommodations, and some to Massachusetts again, where three of those families have made a considerable figure ever since, to this day, viz. : Hutchinson, Dunmow, and Savage.
Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, of whom mention has been made, after being banished from Massachusetts, came to Rhode Island. From thence she went with her family to East Chester, in New-York, where they were all killed by the Indians, except one daughter, who, after remaining some time among the In- dians, was redeemed, and married to Mr. Cole, and lived to old age. A similar account is given in a history of the Indian wars, written by Mr. Niles.
Edward Hutchinson, jun., was mortally wounded in Philip's war. William Hutchinson came over from England in 1634, and died in Newport in 1642. His wife, Anne, was killed by the Indians in 1643. In the records of the old or first church in Boston, we find Edward Hutchinson, senior, admitted a mem- ber in 1663, and Edward Hutchinson, junior, and William Hutchinson, merchant, in 1634. Several of the Hutchinson family came to Newport, in consequence of the religious perse- cutions in Massachusetts. They owned land both in Newport and Narragansett, and their names are frequently found on the records.
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BRENTON, WM., PRESIDENT OF TIIE COLONY.
William Hutchinson, jun. (second,) Edward Hutchinson, sen., and Edward Hutchinson, jun., were among the first purchasers of Newport, about 1636, to which allusion has been already made. We also find land allotted there to Samuel Hutchinson, in 1638. Some of the family, as before remarked, returned to Boston. See " Bull's Extracts from the State Records."
Capt. Edward Hutchinson, by his will, proved in Boston, 1675, gave all his Narragansett lands to his daughters, Eliza- beth Winslow, Ann Dyre, and Susanna Hutchinson. Susanna afterwards married Nathaniel Coddington, of Newport. Ann afterwards married Daniel Verner, the ancestor of the present family of Vernon, of Newport. See "Deeds in Secretary's office, book 1, 442 ; Records at Wickford, book 2, 121, 123. Updike's History." There is none of the name now to be found in Newport, although numerous in many of the New England States.
Thomas Clifton was one of the carliest settlers. From him the Clifton burial place takes its name. It is situated at the head of Golden-street ; it is an ancient ground.
William Brenton was a native of England, and previous to his removal, was a respectable merchant of Boston. He came to Rhode Island soon after the first settlement. He was Deputy-Governor from 1640 to 1646 ; President of the Colony from 1660 to 1662, and Governor from 1665 to 1669. He was one of the largest proprietors of land on Rhode Island, and owned the whole of the land called Brenton's Neck. He died in 1674, at an advanced age, leaving three sons and four daughters.
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