USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. I > Part 2
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Biarne first discovered America by acci- dent. He was sailing from Iceland to Greenland at the time. The story of what happened is somewhat as follows: They set out to sea as soon as they were ready, and sailed for three days until they had lost sight of land. But when the wind failed, a north wind set in with the fog and they knew not where they were sailing, and this lasted many days. At last they saw the sun and could distinguish the quarters of the sky; so they hoisted sail again and travelled a whole day and night, when they saw land. They wondered what land this might be, and Biarne said that in his opinion it could not be Greenland.
They sailed close up to the land and saw that is was without mountains, covered with woods and inland with small hills. They left the land on the left and sailed two days and two nights before they sighted land again, this land being flat and covered with trees. Biarne thought this also could not be Greenland. Refusing to go on shore, Biarne ordered the sails to be hoisted, and turning the ship's bow from the land, they sailed for three days and three nights with a fine breeze from the southwest. Then they saw a third land which was high and mountain- ous. Coasting along this shore they found that it was an island.
Then they turned from the land and stood out to sea with the same breeze. But the gale increased and Biarne ordered a reef to be taken and that they should not sail harder than the ship and her tackle could bear. After sailing for four days,
for the fourth time they made land. This shore seemed to answer the description of Greenland, and so they came to anchor and found themselves among friends.
Now a day's sail with a fair wind is not far from 100 miles. If the direction of the wind, which in each case was the general direction taken by the ship, and the sailing time of Biarne from one point to another are traced on a map of the North Atlantic, it is not hard to believe that the first three places sighted by the bewildered mariner were: first, some section of the New Eng- land coast, second stop, Nova Scotia and the last stop, Newfoundland.
Fifteen years after Biarne's voyage, about the year 1000, Lief Ericson determined to make a voyage of exploration. The account of his voyage seems to strengthen the be- lief that New England, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are the locations mentioned in the narratives. They sailed out into the sea when they were ready and found that land first which Biarne had found last. On landing they found a country destitute of attractions, and calling it Helluland, or the land of flat stones, they returned to their ship and sailed out to sea and saw another land. Going on shore they found this ter- ritory flat, well wooded, with white sands far around where they went, and a low shore. Then, said Lief, "This land shall be named for its qualities, and it shall be called Markland or Woodland."
Then they returned to the ship and sailed into the open sea with a northeast wind and were two days at sea before they saw land. and they sailed thither and came to an island which lay to the eastward of the mainland. Returning from the island to their ship they sailed into a channel be- tween the island and a promontory which ran out to the eastward from the mainland. Holding on their course they saw much ground laid dry at ebb tide, and at last went on shore at a place where a river which came from a lake fell into the sea. They brought the ship through the river into the lake and anchored. Here they de- cided to remain for the winter and build their crude booths.
Scholars who have carefully studied this narrative in conjunction with a map have
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come to the conclusion that the final des- tination of Lief and his companions was Mount Hope Bay, Rhode Island. This be- lief is further strengthened by information the narratives give regarding the climate, the time of sunrise and sunset, and the fact that grapes were discovered. (Consequently the country was called Vinland.)
Thorwald, Lief's brother, visited America in 1002, and passed the winter of 1002- 1003 in the booths which had been erected by Lief near Mount Hope Bay. For two summers, thereafter, Thorwald explored the surrounding country. During the sum- mer of 1004, while sailing northward the ship was driven by a storm upon a land, which from all accounts appears to have been Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Here Thor- wald was finally killed by the natives, an arrow having penetrated under his arm, and in the spring of 1005 the party return- ed to Greenland.
Thorfinn of Iceland sometime later visit- ed America. He had married the widow of Thorstein, another brother of Lief Ericson. Thorfinn's description of the land he found again confirms the belief that he ap- proached Cape Cod. From there he sailed southward evidently (from the description) to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's Bay, Seaconnet Passage, Pocasset River and Mount Hope Bay. Thor- finn and his companions remained three years in this neighborhood hunting, explor- ing, fishing, trading, and sometimes fight- ing with the natives, and at the end of that time returned to Greenland.
"I was a Viking Bold! My deeds, tho manifold, No Skald in song has told, No Saga taught thee! Take heed that in thy verse Thou dost the tale rehearse,
Else dread a dead man's curse; For this I sought thee."
THE OLD STONE MILL
ATOT only is Rhode Island rich in his- tory but it also has a background stirring to the imagination and full of mysterious legends. Although some people are quite convinced of the truth of the theory, yet there remains only legend, for instance, to tell of the ancient mound-build- ers who lived and worshipped in this pleasant land, now known as Rhode Island. These prehistoric mound-builders were driven out (according to Indian stories) by the more powerful savage tribes found here by the earliest explorers. The mound builders were said to have thrown up earth altars in several parts of the Narragansett country, and on the slopes of these mounds they gathered to worship the great invisible spirit and repeat their simple rituals.
These mounds are still pointed out to travelers by historians who cling to the
fantastic theory. And the stories of the daring Vikings, who first tasted the sweet berries and fruits on the shores of Mount Hope Bay, furnish colorful legends that appeal to our credulous imaginations.
But there is one historic relic in our midst which in the minds of some, links the legendary past with the romantic pres- ent. The Old Stone Mill, in Newport, stands as a stalwart monument to this past about which there is no written record, and around which fertile imaginations have woven a much-disputed narrative. There the old relic stands, a familiar landmark resting quietly in the golden sunshine of a summer afternoon, framed by the friendly foliage of the trees in Touro Park, its se- cret securely locked within a stony breast.
Of course, there are many disbelievers who take little stock in the popular idea
PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS
THE FIRST BANK BUILDING OF THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS. ERECTED IN 1854 ON THE SITE OF THE PRESENT MAIN BUILDING OF THIS SAVINGS BANK.
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that the Newport curiosity was once .a temple of worship for the adventurous Vikings who came to this shore, but there are many more who prefer to adhere to this theory. Some say that it was erected by Governor Benedict Arnold, who pat- terned his stone mill after one he had seen or heard of in England. But one insistent devotee to the Viking legend refutes the Arnold theory in this way: It was a Peter Easton who built the first windmill-just an ordinary wooden windmill. If a man as prominent as Benedict Arnold, Governor of the Colony, had built a windmill as elaborate as the Old Stone Mill, isn't it re- markable that some record was not kept of that? This same enthusiast's father once told him of a man who had hunted up an old deed, which stated that the boundary line of his property was fixed as so many lots from the old stone tower. The deed was correct and was dated in 1642. He is logic- ally correct when he calls attention to the fact that Benedict Arnold was a member of the colonial settlement in Providence, and didn't journey down to Newport until 1653. How could he have built the Old Stone Mill eleven years before he set foot in Newport? So much for the Arnold theory. Here's what is claimed in support of the Viking theory.
In the first place, the Mill is of old Roman architecture, pure and simple. It is supported by eight pillars, each one being located exactly on cardinal points. In the east side of the structure, above the arches, is a fireplace. If Benedict Arnold had built a windmill, why should he want a fireplace upstairs? Within this fireplace are two flues, one towards the north and the other on the south side. It was an old religious custom never to per- mit the fires in the altars to go out, and the ancients looked to the east for light and knowledge. This fireplace is in the exact east, and it is so high above the floor that it seems reasonable to regard it as an altar rather than as a cooking or heating contrivance. Who knows, perhaps, long years ago, a fire was kept burning there at all times, and religious articles were stored in the recesses that are built into the walls nearby?
Although these unusual details of con- struction and style are not conclusive evi- dence, yet they lead one to believe that there may be some basis for the Viking claim. Moreover, there are other facts about the relic that attract attention. On the southwest side of the tower, about half- way up, is a white flintstone. It can be seen from the sea, and was probably put there as a sighting spot. It is the only one of its kind in the whole tower. Just to the right of the stone is another one with marks on it that have a remarkable re- semblance to an early Masonic emblem. These marks are neither cut nor scratched on the stone, but appear to have been made with some powerful acid.
If you have never examined this old mystery from the past, a visit to it is worth the time and effort. If your imagination is not inclined to stretch, just picture the giant arms of a colonial windmill slowly revolving to grind out the grain for Bene- dict Arnold and his hardy followers; or be content with the belief that Judah Touro, who made a donation of the land and Mill to the city of Newport, erected the Mill himself at some time during his career.
But if you care for a beautiful conception of the origin of this, the oldest of the old in Rhode Island, read the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who, in his poem, The Skeleton in Armor, tells of a bold Vik- ing lad who wooed a prince's daughter. When refused her hand by the prince, her father, the Viking fled with the blue-eyed maid, and put to sea :
"Three weeks we westward bore, And when the storm was o'er, Cloudlike we saw the shore Stretching to leeward; There for my lady's bower Built I the lofty tower, Which, to this very hour, Stands looking seaward.
"There lived we many years; Time dried the maiden's tears; She had forgot her fears, She was a mother; Death closed her mild blue eyes, Under that tower she lies; Ne'er shall the sun arise On such another."
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INDIAN ATHLETICS
B ACK in the days when the United States was plains, woods, prairies, and mountains, when tribes of Indians inhabited perhaps the very spots where some of our great athletic stadiums are now located, games were being played just as they are now. It is commonly known that the In- dians had great prowess in physical feats, and there have been stories relating how these aborigines captured wild horses by running them to exhaustion. As a rule, however, the Indians kept their athletics on a milder basis.
The records of Indian social and eco- nomic life do not attach much importance to their games, and information concerning them is rather difficult to find. It has be- come known, however, that their games were universally the same, that the games played by one nation on the Pacific Coast, for in- stance, were virtually identical with those played in the Middle West. We in Rhode Island may therefore assume that the Nar- ragansetts conformed with other tribes in their athletics.
When we consider that no single tribe was acquainted with any others outside of a 500-mile radius, or thereabouts, this simi- larity of games seems to be a strange co- incidence. It has not been fully explained, but games had a much greater significance then than they do now. They were part of the Indians' religion, and it is through this channel that the relation seems most apparent.
The most important of the Indian games was called "ball play," and it survives today with some changes, in the Canadian na- tional game, lacrosse. The goals were usually several hundred yards apart, and the players numbered from eight or ten up to hundreds on a side. The implements were much like the modern lacrosse rackets, be-
ing made of bent wood and netted with raw- hide. The ball was usually made of deer- skin stuffed with moss, or buffalo hair, and the object was to drive the ball, by means of the rackets, under the goal of the opposing team. The ball was thrown by the rackets and was never supposed to be touched, though rules in some quarters allowed the contenders to run with the ball in their hands. It was a thoroughly strenuous game as the Indians played it, and they kept men in training for it.
Great sport as it was, the playing was not done for recreation nor for any special dis- tinction, though the contenders usually rep- resented two different tribes. The game was an integral part of a religious ceremony. The Great Spirit was being invoked, or was being distracted, perhaps, preliminary to giving his attention to the medicine-man who was about to heal a sick tribesman. Or perhaps rain was needed, or the Indians wanted their cattle to multiply. The medi- cine-man was invested with powers to in- voke directly the Great Spirit, but games were always a part of these ceremonies. Accompanying them, were chants and the beatings of the tom-tom, instead of cheers.
As far as known, these games origin- ated with the Indians. They borrowed nothing except, perhaps, card-playing after the invasion of the whites. Nor was ball play their only game. There was football, for instance, which was played by the women, the sole object being to keep the ball off the ground. (A game more allied to our modern football is said to have existed among the Eskimos.)
Racing was also practiced among the In- dians, both afoot and on horse. The racing was usually made useful, such as when, in the Far West, two Indians would race around a field kicking sticks to protect the
"THE OLD STONE BANK"
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ground from being ravaged by a sand- storm.
Practically every Indian game was sym- bolic in one way or another, and success in the playing of them lay either in dexterity or in chance. They played no games which required pure calculation, such as chess. In their games of chance, they were not gam- bling for personal gain. Rather, they were letting the Great Spirit "in on it." He was perhaps telling them things. One very com- mon game of this type was called "hidden ball", and had some significance in regard to war, though we can not be certain what it was. It was played with four hollow sticks and a ball. The ball would be hidden in one of these sticks, and the player was
required to guess in which one the ball might be. The ball, in all of the games, is supposed to have symbolized the earth, and the number four as in the above game, oc- cured in many others and represented the four quarters of the earth. Perhaps these were related to war in that they might signify the location of hostile tribes.
The children, also, were not without their games, and though most of these were small- scale imitations of their elders', the young- sters had one in particular which was very characteristic - a breath-holding contest. They were also taught how to make designs with string wound about their fingers, from which the "cat's cradle" trick has come down to us.
ROGER WILLIAMS
Tr was one of those dreary, gray Febru- ary days in the year of 1631 when a small English ship suddenly appeared in Massachusetts waters and stolidly made her way into Boston harbor. The same "rock- bound coast and woods against a stormy sky" that had met the wondering gaze of their Pilgrim forerunners lay before the eyes of the little group of people that huddled on the deck of this stranger from the seas. These people had sailed westward from England to come to the Colonies, where they might escape persecution be- cause of their religious beliefs. Here in this new land they sought liberty and the free- dom to worship God in the way they pleased.
Of this band of Puritans there was one who received an unusually warm welcome from the members of that sect which had already settled in New England. He was Roger Williams, a young clergyman. He was known to the colonists, who had often heard him referred to as "a godly minister."
Roger Williams was born in London about 1603, the son of James and Alice
(Pemberton) Williams; his father was a merchant tailor. He was graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1626, and immediately thereafter became deeply in- terested in theology. To Cambridge, where Williams attended college, there had mi- grated from Holland many Anabaptists and Mennonites who had preached the doctrine of severance of Church from State. This idea appealed to him strongly and soon he was completely won over to that belief, in spite of almost universal opposition to its tenets. His extremely radical views on this momentous question of the times brought him into great disfavor with his friends and associates, and presently he began to con- sider that unknown land across the Atlan- tic, whither the Nottinghamshire Pilgrims had embarked on their great adventure sev- eral years before. Now, the Winthrop com- pany of Puritans were soon to set out for the land of Massachusetts Bay, and Williams turned his eyes in the same direction, de- termined to renounce forever the land of his birth with its associations.
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Shortly after his arrival he went with his wife to Salem, Massachusetts, where he ac- cepted the pulpit in the local church. Be- cause he had completely left the English church, and since the Boston church had never separated entirely from the Church of England, Williams was able to retain his ap- pointment in Salem but a very short time.
From the very beginning-even before Williams had left his mother country-he had had a warm spot in his heart for the American Indian. In England, he had read of these unfortunate red-men in the new land across the sea. He had heard of the miserable way in which they lived, know- ing little or nothing about God and reli- gion; he felt sorry for them and made up his mind that some time he would do his best to assist them.
Here in Massachusetts among the Indi- ans, his love for them and his interest in their welfare provoked increasing criti- cism, and it was but a short time after his arrival that the colonists pointedly cen- sured him for his radical activities. There were but few men in Massachusetts who believed that this country rightfully be- longed to those who first were here. Roger Williams was one of those who had that opinion and his ideas were a great offence to the Puritans. It seemed like treason to him to say that the land rightfully belonged to the King, and that the heathen savages had no right to it. In spite of the colonists' great terror of the Indians who lived about them, Williams felt no fear of the savages. He spent days and weeks at a time among them learning their ways and language; he tried to teach them about God and how to live better and cleaner lives. His whole life was devoted to helping them and lifting them above the station in which the white man seemed willing to have his red neigh- bors remain.
The Indians in New England belonged to one large main tribe known as Algon- quins, and this tribe was subdivided into several smaller tribes, of which the Narra- gansetts were the most friendly. Among the Narragansetts Williams spent most of his time, where he developed a warm friend- ship for the powerful but very bashful Canonicus. All this increased his unpopu- larity with the Puritans, and more so, per-
haps, because he disagreed with them in regard to all their ideas of church and gov- ernment. He was always quarrelling with them over some point of law or religious belief. On the subject of punishment for breaking church laws, Williams was at sword's point with the Puritan fathers. He believed that the magistrates had no power to punish people for not attending church or for breaking the Sabbath day.
Hatred of Williams and his views in- creased until it was decided that the Colony no longer had room for him; he was such a trouble maker that the Colony could never hope to have peace as long as he was per- mitted to remain and air his disturbing doctrines. Finally an order was issued that he must leave and take abode elsewhere, far from the Massachusetts Colony. Be- cause of illness at the time the order arrived, the annoying crusader was not deported at the time specified, and was allowed to re- main at his home until the spring of 1636.
In the meantime he continued his radical preaching and campaigning, and many colonists became his ardent followers. This news eventually reached the ears of those who had permitted him to extend his period of grace, and they decided to end matters then and there. He was to be kidnapped secretly and sent away on a ship to Eng- land where the authorities would make sure that he ceased his mischief. Luckily Wil- liams got wind of the plot, and, at a min- ute's notice, he disappeared into the wilder- ness accompanied by one lone companion, his faithful servant, Thomas Angell. Leav- ing behind him home, family and his few friends, he cast his lot with Angell, and the two wandered about from place to place for nearly fourteen weeks.
Most of this time the two refugees plodded through the snow and ice on foot, and at times they paddled aimlessly along New England streams in native canoes. Starvation and death by freezing faced them at every turn during the cold wintry months of lonely wandering in search of food and shelter. They managed to exist until spring, when the two found it easier to procure food, but still Williams feared to make his appearance in Massachusetts. The only way out seemed to be to make a settlement in some place where he might build a home
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for his wife and family, and where. he might live in peace among his beloved Indians, far from the discordance of Eng- lish life.
At last he decided to locate his settle- ment on the east bank of what is now the Seekonk River, somewhere in the present town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. A short while after he had established himself, five of his devoted followers came out to join him and make their homes in more pleasant and peaceful surroundings. It is said that this handful of pioneers found conditions in the Colonies about as distasteful as had Williams, and for much the same reason.
Hopefully they went to work to improve living conditions in the home of their adop- tion. Lumber was hewn for the homes that they had planned, gardens were laid out, and the soil was prepared for sowing the seed. Everywhere about them lived friendly Indians who tolerated their pres- ence without the slightest sign of hostility. Williams' friends in the forest seemed to value his friendship and take an interest in his good fortune and safety. About the time he decided to send for his wife and children, an event occurred which made it seem as though nothing but ill luck stood in the way of the "godly minister," who loved Indians better than he did his white brothers. Williams was advised in a letter from Governor Winslow of Plymouth that the place selected for a settlement was in territory under the jurisdiction of Plymouth Colony. Expressing his regret over the cir- cumstance, the Plymouth Governor ordered Williams to break up his settlement and depart.
Sad of heart and disappointed, the plucky little band gathered together their few be- longings and loaded them into the one canoe they owned. Forsaking their half- built homes, the seeded gardens and crude wilderness improvements, they reluctantly paddled out into the lonely river which marked the western boundary of the Colony from which they had just been ejected. Where to go they did not know, so they paddled the heavily loaded canoe toward the opposite shore. Outlined against the sky like a painted scene, a motionless and form- idable group of warriors loomed suddenly before the gaze of the startled strangers as they approached the shore. Little hospit-
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