USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. I > Part 3
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ality appeared in the attitude of these stony- faced Indians until their spokesman shouted the greeting which Rhode Islanders have come to regard as the friendliest of wel- comes.
"What Cheer, Netop?" That greeting was the turning point in the fortunes of Roger Williams. It represented the corner stone of the State that was to evolve from the in- cident.
Williams answered the natives in their own tongue, and in conversation with them learned that he had come to the land of his friend, Canonicus, and his mighty tribe. This was cheering news to the wanderers, for Canonicus was still a close and trusted friend of Williams. They knew that a warm welcome awaited them wherever Canonicus' word was law. With smiling faces and lighter hearts they paddled back into the stream, and followed the shoreline south in search of a convenient landing place. This they found after rounding what is now known as Fox Point and coming up a short distance along the Moshassock River. At the point where three bodies of water converge, they disembarked and car- ried their goods ashore. Here again they were confronted with surprised natives who plainly showed their goodwill toward the white men. The Indians expressed a desire to have the strangers remain and settle among them, and, as a token of their friendly feeling, a meal of fish and corn was spread before them. Of this the red- men and their white brothers partook with a sincere spirit of mutual friendliness.
What was it that had guided Williams, the unpopular champion of the doctrine of brotherly love, to this place of happy abode, where no one begrudged the other his right to live and worship as he pleased? What great power brought him and his faithful associates to such a delightful place, far from the vicious tongues and unsympathetic regard of men who dog- gedly traveled the straight and narrow path of religious bigotry? Surely it could be nothing else but God's own providence. And so, fired by the desire to share relig- ious liberty with those who were oppressed and persecuted, he then and there estab- lished a harbor of refuge where liberty and freedom of thought might forever prevail, and he called this place Providence.
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THE OLD PIDGE TAVERN
T THE oldest house in the State of Rhode Island, the old "Pidge Tavern", stands near the Pawtucket end of North Main Street, between Pidge Avenue and Lafay- ette Street.
This historic landmark is said to have been erected in 1640 by the Sayles family and it remained in their possession until the beginning of the nineteenth century. There it stands with its huge fireplaces, hand-hewn timbers, low ceilings, narrow windows, quaint flower garden and old well. This age-old survivor of time presents a true picture of life in these same surroundings centuries ago when doors were locked with hardwood wedges, when men hunted with home-made bullets and when smoking on the streets of this city was strictly prohibited.
The statement is made that during the Revolutionary War, before Lafayette's troops were stationed at Newport, the French soldiers were encamped in the vicin- ity of the old Pidge House and that General
Lafayette occupied a suite of rooms on the second floor. When General Lafayette visited America in 1824 he passed along the Pawtucket turnpike en route to Boston and an infant was carried out to the distin- guished Frenchman by Mrs. Pidge. He was asked to name the child, which he did, be- stowing upon the boy the name of Lafayette Pidge. Rather singularly the next street south of Pidge Avenue is known as Lafay- ette Street.
In 1783 the old Pidge House was licensed as a tavern and the old "common-room", or barroom, of the tavern is still to be seen. In a corner of this room is the old fashioned bar closet where liquors and ale were kept and served to the patrons. This was defin- itely following the English custom, the closet having a half door, a narrow serving shelf, and a broader shelf within the closet. Through the wide shelf is a slot through which, tradition affirms, coins received were dropped into a half-bushel basket.
THE GREAT SWAMP FIGHT
L IFE wasn't such a humdrum existence back in the days when war-whoops pierced the air, perhaps in the very spot that is now your peaceful back-yard. There was a time when the warning beat of an Indian tom-tom sent shivers up and down the back of some Rhode Island duck-hunter
who lingered a little too long after dark on Narragansett Bay. Not many years after its founding in the 17th century, Providence found itself in the very thick of hostilities with the Indians in this surrounding ter- ritory. This was in spite of the fact that Roger Williams came to the region on excel-
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lent terms with the natives, and did his best to help them and teach them peaceful ways. It was not the leaders of Providence Planta- tions who made trouble with the Indians. The other New England Colonies, reinforced by that disorderly element that has always been found on the border between white civilization and the red men, caused the enmity that was gradually undermining and demoralizing the Wampanoags and Narragansetts, and finally caused their ex- tinction at the cost of fearful suffering to the whites.
Have you ever looked from the train win- dow just about a mile and a half south of the Kingston station and about a quarter of a mile to the west? There stands a huge, rough-hewn monument that towers above the dark and dismal swamp that sur- rounds it on all sides. This lonely marker stands on the site of the Great Swamp Fight that took place December 19, 1675-the bloody engagement that was the last stand of the red man in New England, and the beginning of the end of the white man's fear of the forest. The story of the Great Swamp and the glorious victory that took place within its marshy recesses sounds like the action of a dime novel, but it is very likely that words fail to do justice to the harrowing realities of the truth.
King Philip, son of Massasoit, the great Sachem, was King of the Wampanoag In- dians. The land which his father had held, including much of present Rhode Island, had passed into the hands of the colonists. The English were not only depriving them of their land but of their liberty as well. The Indians found themselves subject. to punishment for breaking English made laws. Philip resented these conditions and in his heart secretly planned to regain by force that which he believed rightfully be- longed to him and his people. News of Philip's plot to arouse the Indians reached the ears of the white settlers and he was finally summoned before the authorities. After repeated refusals he appeared at Taunton with a band of his braves and, con- fronted with the facts, was cornered into signing a peace treaty. The treaty was signed but it only served to quench for a while the fire that was sure to burn brightly again. It was only a short time before
Philip's radical activities became known to the whites and he was again summoned, this time to Plymouth. The colonists had no actual evidence against him and he was al- lowed to return to Mount Hope, the seat of his power. From this point on, Indian fighting took place almost continually, first in one place and then in another. The sav- ages would pounce upon an unprotected farmhouse, burn, plunder, murder and then disappear into the forest. They never could be drawn into open fighting. The English colonists declared war in November and a reward was offered for Philip, dead or alive. His whereabouts were unknown but some suspected that the heretofore friendly Nar- ragansetts were sheltering him in their fort in the Great Swamp.
Canonchet, King of the Narragansetts, re- fused to give up any one they might be harboring, and it was decided to attack the fort. The swamp was a lonely and dismal place where the trees grew so thickly that even at mid-day it was dark and gloomy. The fort was only accessible by a secret path that the Indians had built of logs. As the swamp could be traversed only when it was frozen over, the troops made their way into its maze on a stormy and wintry night. They reached the stronghold about noon the next day and prepared to make the attack. The fort was largely a group of wigwams sur- rounded by a rude hedge fence of dead bushes built in clumsy imitation of the whites. A huge tree-trunk closed the only gap in the barricade. Over the frozen ground and through the gap the troops leaped into the fort. They were driven out by the Indians and again advanced, and, after about three hours of fighting, some- one set the hedge on fire. A quickening wind fanned the flames and soon the entire huddle of wigwams was blazing. Dark figures burst out through the burning wall and into the open to be shot down by the attackers. No mercy was shown to any one. Many of the Indians were caught in the burning wigwams and could not escape, and their shrieks rose above the roar of the flames.
The whole swamp was a scene of horror. Soon darkness came and with it the dying down of the flames, and silence. Most of the Indians had been killed or taken prisoners,
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while some made their escape into the woods. The English colonists had won, but they paid dearly for their victory. Many officers and men lay dead about the fort and many more were desperately wounded. Afraid to remain within the swamp because of the danger of a renewed attack from the Indians the survivors decided to return to Wickford, whence the expedition had started. The trip back through ice and snow was even worse than the fight itself. Many men fell from exhaustion and were left there to die by their helpless compan- ions. The number of Indians lost in the battle will never be known. It is estimated
that over one thousand perished, of whom three hundred or more were burned. Eigh- teen whites were killed and fifty more died on the return trip to Wickford.
Thereafter, scattering bands of Indians waged war on the different settlements but their strength was gone-the white man had conquered. Canonchet refused to sign a treaty and was captured and shot. Philip, the fallen monarch of the mysterious forest, was shot four months after the death of Canonchet. The death of these two great chieftians ended the war between the white man and his red neighbor.
CAPTAIN MICHAEL PIERCE
T HE so-called Captain Pierce Massacre was to the State of Rhode Island what the Schenectady Massacre was to New York, the Battle of Bloody Creek to Western Mas- sachusetts, and Custer's Last Stand to the en- tire nation. A hundred white soldiers made a goodly company in those days over two hundred and fifty years ago. Of those who marched out from Rehoboth to disperse the redskins then gathering along the Paw- tucket and Blackstone Rivers, less than a dozen lived to tell the tale. Smarting under their defeat at the Great Swamp Fight in December, 1675, the Narragansetts, early the following year, began a series of re- prisals with the result that Captain Pierce was ordered to proceed against them. Cap- tain Michael Pierce (commissioned Cap- tain by the Colony Court in 1669) was born in England and emigrated to America about 1645.
The start was made March 25, when Cap- tain Pierce and a small detachment marched out of the settlement, now Rumford, to rec- onnoitre. Three miles north of the settle- ment they came upon a small band of In-
dians and easily routed them. Scouts then brought the information that the savages were gathering in large numbers in the vicinity of the settlement of Rev. William Blackstone, a recluse. Captain Pierce with- drew to his starting point and called his men together. They mustered that night near what is now East Providence Centre, and prepared to march on the following day, Sunday.
In the meantime, either as a result of his strict Puritan training or feeling a premoni- tion of impending evil, the Captain paused long enough in his military duties to com- plete certain personal transactions and draw up his will. This will he prefaced with the significant statement, "Being now by the appointment of God, going out to war against the Indians, doe make this my last will and testament." Timely indeed was this act, for the Plymouth Colony never again saw the courageous warrior. At dawn the next day (Sunday) Captain Pierce led his force of 63 whites and 20 Indian allies, and proceeded directly toward the Paw- tucket River. At the same time he dis-
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patched a messenger post-haste to Provi- dence, requesting Captain Andrew Edmonds to join him with reinforcements at Central Falls.
Then occurred what to modern minds seems almost inexplicable and which un- doubtedly sealed the doom of the Plymouth Colony troops. The messenger arrived in the Providence settlement shortly after the beginning of the Sabbath Day services. But so deep seated was his conception of the proper respect due the observance of the Lord's Day that he waited four hours for meeting to end before delivering his mes- sage. Even in the face of death, he dared not desecrate the Lord's Day by sounding an alarm or entering the meeting house, where Captain Edmonds and his soldiers were at worship.
The delay was fatal. Swiftly as Edmonds mustered his men and started them on a forced march through the woods and swamps separating Providence from the ap- pointed meeting place at Central Falls, his help came too late. The tide of battle had turned towards defeat. Confident that Ed- monds would reinforce him in due time, Captain Pierce marched his troops swiftly over the frozen swamps and fields to the east banks of the Blacktone, near the heart of what is now Central Falls. Not suspect- ing an ambush, he proceeded boldly along the bank seeking a place to ford. Hardly had he reached it when from his rear and flanks arose a mighty roar of warwhoops as the Narragansetts charged upon him. In- stantly seeing a stragetic advantage if he could cross the stream, Captain Pierce ordered his men into it, but only to find the west bank likewise swarming with savages. The ruse was complete.
Forming his little company into a circle with such mean shelter as trees and rocks afforded, Pierce bravely began what his sol- dier instincts must have told him was a hopeless fight. Surrounded on all sides, out- numbered ten to one, the whites kept their assailants at bay for two full hours. As one ancient chronicle relates, "Captain Pierce cast his 63 whites and 20 Indians into a ring and six fought back to back, and were dou- ble, double distance all in one ring, whilst the Indians were as thick as they could stand 30 deep."
Pierce fell early, but his comrades, bat- tling only as men can in the face of sure death, held the enemy off for two hours. Then as their ranks thinned and their am- munition was exhausted, the Narragansetts pressed closer. Clouds of arrows engulfed the whites, tomahawks whizzed through the noon air straight to their human marks, until with one mighty charge the Indians swept the survivors from their stand.
A few succeeded in breaking through the red ranks and fleeing northward and across the river, possibly hoping to reach the strong house of Mr. Blackstone, which, un- known to them, was already smouldering in ashes. Their flight proved useless, for they were shortly overtaken and ten made cap- tives. These the Indians led to a little dell on what is now the Cistercian Monastery farm, in Cumberland, where nine of them were tortured and put to death. The tenth managed to escape and to bring the story of their end back to the Colonies. According to historical authorities, the main fighting took place in Central Falls, on the present site of the Waypoyset Company's Athletic Stadium.
When Captain Edmonds arrived from Providence the woods were again quiet, the waters of the Blackstone were running calmly out to sea, the sun was shining, all as if nothing had happened. Indians and captives had disappeared. Only the heaps of dead, half-hidden by the thick under- brush, told the grim story of tragedy.
The next day the bodies of the nine tor- tured captives were found where the Indians had left them, scalped and mutilated. They were buried in a common grave marked by a large pile of stones to be known henceforth as "Nine Men's Misery". The stone-pile remains to this day, a mecca of historians and sightseers. While the battle ended in a victory for the Indians, it cost them 140 dead and an equal number of wounded, according to early writers. The battle aroused the Eng- lish to renewed efforts, and a few days later, troops from Connecticut Colonies in- flicted a crushing defeat on the Narragan- setts. Canochet, their Sachem, was captured and condemned to death, and gradually the white man gained in power.
There are one or two anecdotes illustra- ting the Indian strategy connected with the
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affair, which are interesting to relate. An Englishman and a friendly Indian agreed that the latter should pursue the former with uplifted tomahawk through the bands of hostile Indians, the Englishman apparently using every exertion to escape and the In- dian every endeavor to capture or kill. The ruse was successful and both escaped. A friendly Indian was pursued by an enemy and took refuge behind a rock. The enemy, keeping closest watch on the rock, presently perceived what he supposed to be the head of the friendly Indian appearing gradually above the rock, and fired upon the supposed head. Having thus drawn the fire of his enemy, the friendly Indian instantly sprang
up and shot his antagonist without further trouble and escaped.
One of Captain Pierce's friendly Indians by the name of Amos, who had continued the fight until affairs were utterly desperate, discovered that many of the enemy had blackened their faces with powder. He tried it on his own face and escaped among them without suspicion. Still another friendly Indian, pursued by the enemy, took refuge behind the roots of a large tree, which had been blown down, and carefully boring a small hole through the earth which still clung to the roots and gave him shelter, he fired upon his enemy and escaped.
THE WANTONS OF RHODE ISLAND
R HODE ISLAND owes much of its early history and traditions of valor and in- genuity to the Wanton family. Edward Wanton, the first of the line in America, is believed to have come from London with his mother. The first known about his life in this country was in Boston early in 1658. In his younger days Edward took part in the persecution of the Quakers, but he be- came so impressed with the tenacity of their faith and with their sublime resignation in the face of adversity that he eventually be- came Quaker himself and preached the doctrine.
William and John Wanton were the first of the family to participate in making Rhode Island history. When young men, they separated from their family because of religious differences, and came to New- port where they engaged in shipbuilding.
Something of the character of William Wanton, the elder of the two brothers, may
be gleaned from an anecdote told about his courtship of Ruth Bryant, daughter of Dea- con John Bryant. The Deacon was opposed to the marriage because of religious differ- ences. So one evening William called and in the presence of the Bryant family spoke as follows: "Ruth, I am sure we were made for each other and neither of us can live without the other. Now let us cut the knot of difficulty. I will leave the Quakers and thou shalt leave the Presbyterians. We will both go to the Church of England and to the devil together." Ruth agreed and they were married.
One of the exploits that gave William and his brother great prestige was as fol- lows: Before they had been very long in Newport, a piratical ship of 300 tons and 20 cannon appeared off Block Island and Point Judith and cruising up and down the coast worked havoc among coast shipping. The two Wantons, joined by thirteen other
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valiant young men, promptly set sail in a sloop of 30 tons, with supplies for a cruise and with only small arms for weapons. Most of the crew kept below decks. After cruising for a few days they sighted the pirate, which on their approach, fired a shot. The sloop immediately lowered the peak of its sail and luffed up as if to draw alongside. Instead, however, it luffed up under the stern of the pirate, wedged the rudder of that ship, and made fast with grappling irons. Then the crew of the sloop sprang on the deck of the pirate ship and calmly shot each pirate as he appeared on deck. Those of the pirate crew who remained alive, eventually surrendered and were taken to Newport, tried and hanged. At this time William was 24 and John was 22.
Later, in 1697, during the trouble with Count Frontenac, Governor of Canada, a French armed ship took several prizes in the bay and its depredations along the coast were numerous and disastrous. Wil- liam and John Wanton went to Boston; each fitted out a vessel and set sail after the Frenchman. When they finally encountered her they profited by their success with the pirate ship. William sailed under the stern of the French ship and wedged her rudder while John boarded and swept the enemy from the decks.
An interesting anecdote is told regarding the venerable Quaker, Edward's, views on the warlike activities of his two sons at this time. When he heard they were going to Boston he spoke in this way: "It would be a grief to my spirit to hear ye had fallen in a military enterprise, but if you will go, remember it would be a greater grief to hear ye were cowards."
In 1702 the two brothers visited the mother country and were promptly greeted as two of England's outstanding naval he- roes. Their portraits were painted by the court artist. Queen Anne granted them an addition to their family coat of arms, and with her own hands gave them two pieces of plate, a silver punch bowl and salver, suitably engraved.
In 1732 William was elected Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island, was re- elected the following year, and died in De- cember of the same year, claiming his father's faith. He was known not only as
a redoubtable warrior, but also as a pol- ished gentleman and a royal host.
John apparently was just as distinguished a personage as his brother in every way. He was known as a liberal patron of the arts, and collected a fine library and some rare philosophical papers. He was very hos- pitable and his house was known as the in- tellectual center of the colony.
In 1712 he became a Quaker. Being a very wealthy man he devoted the rest of his life to public and religious work. From 1712 he held some kind of public office con- tinually until he became Governor after his brother died. He was Governor for seven years, during which time England declared war against Spain. Governor John set ener- getically to work organizing defenses and recruiting expeditionary forces in support of the mother country, but died in 1742 be- fore his plans were completed.
The third Wanton to hold the office of Governor of Rhode Island was Gideon, a nephew of William and John. He first be- came Governor in 1745. One of the most noteworthy events during his term of office was in 1747 when he outfitted and organ- ized an expedition to Canada to assist the British in the capture and fortification of Louisburg.
The fourth Governor Wanton was Jo- seph, son of William, who became Gov- ernor in 1769. His portrait, now in Red- wood Library, Newport, shows that he was a very handsome man. He was a rich mer- chant and known as one of the most court- ly gentleman in the Colony.
During his term of office occurred what is believed to be the first open resistance against England in the Colonies, not refer- ing to the burning of the "Gaspee," al- though this also occurred during his term, but rather to the burning of the "Liberty." The "Liberty," like its successor, the "Gas- pee," was a revenue vessel commanded by an English Captain, Reid. At one time this vessel seized a brig and sloop belonging to Connecticut and brought them to New- port. Due to some minor altercation the Captain of the Connecticut brig was fired on by the "Liberty." Later, because of this outrage, a party said to be chiefly from Connecticut, boarded the "Liberty," and cut her cables. The ship drifted ashore near
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Long Wharf. The boarding party then cut her masts and threw the armament over- board. Later, the "Liberty" drifted to Goat Island and the first night thereafter a party from Newport burned her. The small boats of the vessel were run up to Long Wharf, up the Parade, through Broad Street and then burned.
As previously mentioned in March, 1772, also during Governor Joseph Wanton's term of office, the British ship, "Gaspee," was burned, which event is well known and oft repeated Rhode Island history.
Joseph Wanton was annually elected Gov- ernor until 1775, his last election being in
April of that year. He could not be sworn in, however, until the regular meeting of of the General Assembly on May Ist. Mean- while the Battle of Lexington occurred. The General Assembly passed a resolution to recruit and equip 1500 men for purposes of defense and to support the sister Colon- ies, if necessary. Governor Wanton was requested to sign a blank commission for officers. He refused because he could not conscientiously reconcile such an act with his allegiance to the Crown. Because of his stand in the matter he was eventually requested to withdraw from office. This ended the reign of the Wantons in Rhode Island public life.
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