USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. III > Part 13
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of scouts, reconnoitered around the nearby woods on horseback and came upon a lonely Indian camp. Prentice suddenly attacked the surprised natives, took about forty prisoners and dragged them back to the English headquarters. There under threats of torture and death the frightened prisoners not only told where a great supply of corn was buried, but they also divulged the greatest secret among the Narragansetts - the location of their fort.
Having this important information, the entire force set out, on December 18th, from Major Smith's garrison house, now known as Cocumcussoc. The determined marchers spent the night at Pettaquam- scutt, sleeping upon the frozen ground, and started off the following morning in the face of a driving snowstorm. Near what is now Tower Hill a lone Indian named Peter was captured and ques- tioned. The questioners threatened to hang him from the nearest tree if he refused to guide them to the hidden fort, and, terrified beyond description, Peter reluctantly started out to lead the legion of heavily-armed troops to the mysterious stronghold of his own people. It was Sunday, a day when Puritans usually rested, worshipped and meditated, but, quoting from an original account, the 'men thought they could not serve God better than to require Justice of the Indi- ans for the Innocent Blood which had so oft by those savages shed." After buffet- ting blinding snow, deep drifts and tangled underbrush for nearly six hours, the head of the column came upon a great swamp where, fortunately, the ice was strong enough to bear the weight of the marchers without cracking - a condition unheard of before or since. Within this swamp area they approached what has been described as an island surmounted by a half-finished enclosure or wall of stones, clay and brush. Peter had not deceived his white captors; he had brought them directly to the well-concealed head- quarters of the Narragansetts. The white men had discovered the lonesome strong- hold of those who, strong in power and great in numbers, had withdrawn into the frozen wilderness, yielding their seaside lands to their enemies.
Within the rude barricade were several
hundred wigwams, a rickety blockhouse and a surprised assembly of Indians, of all ages, said to have numbered between three and four thousand. Very likely the whites deployed into attack formation and surrounded the island while spokes- men for the English approached the wall and demanded that King Philip be turned over as a prisoner. Philip was thought to have been within the fort, but, as it hap- pened, he was then hundreds of miles away. Failing in this demand, the unwill- ing guide, Peter, was forced to tell the location of the only unguarded entrance to the fort across which a huge tree was felled. Inside, the panic-stricken Indians quickly organized their warriors and manned the walls to repel the invaders. Showers of arrows rained upon the at- tackers who gradually closed in upon the defenders. Charge after charge failed to dislodge the red men until by a quick thrust an entrance was forced into the enclosure at the point where the tree lay across the entrance. At the same time nearly the entire English force surged forward, clambered over the insecure defence wall and fell upon the weakening natives.
Then followed one of the most bloody and brutal massacres recorded in the history of mankind. The victory-crazed troops shot hundreds of disarmed natives in their tracks, set fire to the wigwams and blockhouse, seized the women, little children and old people and drove them back into the scorching flames to die. Wild shrieks resounded through the smoke-filled forest, while the white snow, stained crimson by human blood, was covered with squirming, groaning, dying humans mercilessly cut down in an attempt to defend their own lands and families. This horrible slaughter, its intimate details beyond the powers of imagination or too savage to think of describing in detail, lasted from three in the afternoon until nightfall, when the English had either dispersed or killed every living soul within the enclosure. "Our chiefest joy," one of the whites afterward said, "was to see they were mortal, as hoping their death will revive our tranquillity, and once more restore us to a settled Peace which (through the
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Blessing of God) we have so long en- joyed."
A roll-call taken hurriedly among the English ranks disclosed that more than two hundred were dead, missing or badly wounded, and it will never be known exactly how many of the Indians died in the massacre. Fearing a counter-attack from some of the Indians who might have escaped, the soldiers reassembled in marching formation, and turning their backs upon the smoldering remains of the fort, then strewn with freezing corpses, and, according to one man's account "left the flying enemy to take care of our wounded and carry off our dead." The expedition then headed back in the di- rection of Wickford, foot-sore, cold and weary, and after an exhausting tramp of sixteen miles, arrived at the Smith Garri- son House some time after midnight. About forty died from wounds and ex- posure during the return trip from the swamp and the bodies were buried in a common grave near the garrison. The spot of this interment is today marked with a tablet attached to a large boulder where it can be viewed by visitors to the famed Cocumcussoc estate.
Among the comparatively few survivors of this cruel affair was Canonchet, the ranking sachem of the Narragansetts and who commanded the forces in the Swamp fort. In March of the following year, 1676, the Colonists learned that Canon- chet, with a force of about three hundred men, was planning to attack Plymouth and adjacent communities, whereupon, Captain Michael Pierce of Scituate was dispatched with seventy men to prevent this Indian attempt at revenge. Pierce's disastrous defeat in the conflict that took place on the banks of the Blackstone River, in what is now Central Falls, is a tragic episode in the account of this struggle of races. All of the English were either killed or captured by Canonchet's men, and Pierce, the leader, was one of those slain in battle. According to tradi- tion, nine of the captives were taken to a swamp in Cumberland and there put to death by their captors. This spot has since been referred to as "Nine Men's Misery" and is marked with a pile of stones and a memorial tablet.
The United Colonies then redoubled their efforts to vanquish the Indians, once and for all, and took less than a month for a large contingent of Connecticut troops to be on their way through the Narra- gansett country with the vicinity of Pawtucket as the destination. In the meantime Canonchet had descended upon Rehoboth and burned most of the houses in the town. Then he turned his attention to Providence. Roger Williams went out alone to meet the chief and sought to persuade him to spare the town. Canon- chet declined to heed the entreaties of his old friend, but he did add "as for you, brother Williams, you are a good man, you have been kind to us many years, not a hair of your head shall be touched." The Indians then put the torch to Provi- dence and burned more than a hundred dwellings and buildings. Following this episode, Canonchet went north into Massachusetts, and later returned to Rhode Island to procure seed corn.
Accompanied by only seven of his warriors, the last of the Narragansett chieftains was captured near Pawtucket; he was taken to Stonington, Connecticut, where he was shot to death. His head was cut off and taken to Hartford and exhib- ited there as a choice trophy, and the body was burned by tribesmen who had become allies of the English. His death marked the actual end of the power of the Narra- gansetts; their lands were ravaged, laid waste and practically depopulated. A few surviving leaders attempted to pro- long the struggle, but their courageous efforts availed them nothing more than the satisfaction of carrying-on in a lost cause. King Philip was still at large, and, after months of harrowing experiences in the wilderness, darting from one hiding place to another, he arrived back at his ancestral home, Mount Hope. Long since his wife and child had been sold into slavery by the white men, his brother had been slain at his side in the fighting; no longer could he call to his side a vast horde of enthusiastic fighting braves.
Captain Benjamin Church, whose prow- ess had at last been recognized by the English and who had been given the com- mand of operations that he justly de- served, heard that Philip had returned to
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his favorite haunts. No time was lost by Church in crossing over to Mount Hope with a band of white soldiers and Indian renegades. Philip was cornered in the woods at the foot of the summit. As the weary, hungry, hunted commander-in- chief of a defeated race knelt to slake his thirst from the cooling waters of a bub- bling spring, a shot rang out, and Philip,
son of Massasoit, fell dead. One of his own race had fired the bullet that closed the career of a noble character, not the "savage beast" as he was often called in those days and by most historians, but a true patriot in every sense of the word. After all, patriotism is love of one's own country and the willingness to protect it, with life, if needs be.
QUAKERS IN RHODE ISLAND
R HODE ISLAND suffered greatly from the effects of the Indian Wars, although this colony had taken little part in the struggle that had been brought upon Rhode Island and the rest of New Eng- land, principally by Connecticut and Massachusetts. Rhode Island had been the scene of much of the fighting; many of her promising villages scattered through the countryside had been reduced to ashes; farms had been stripped of their tools and stores; cattle had been driven away; planting fields despoiled; homes bereaved by death; families separated; and desolation on all sides remained as mute evidence of a vicious, tragic struggle of two desperate races of mankind. Provi- dence was in ruins; the safety of the Colony was threatened from within and from without.
At the time King Philip made his first warlike move in the Spring of 1675, the political control of Rhode Island hap- pened to be in the hands of Newport Quakers, with the elderly and troublesome William Coddington as Governor. Com- paratively secure, surrounded by water as they were at the lower end of Narragan- sett Bay, the island towns were not con- cerned with the safety of the settlements on the mainland, and so, did not exert any of their energy in aid of the endangered communities. In answer to an urgent re- quest that the entire Colony unite to provide an ample protective force to oppose attacks by the Indians, the Gen- eral Assembly, composed almost entirely of Island men, voted that each town coun- cil should provide for its own military affairs, and, therefore, should meet the
danger individually. Later when Provi- dence and Warwick petitioned to the Assembly to establish adequate garrisons in those towns, the usual ineffective pro- cedure of appointing a committee was followed, and this group took the simple course of recommending that all Rhode Islanders on the mainland, who were afraid of Indians, should leave home and go down to Portsmouth and Newport for safety. Many did follow this suggestion, while a few of the more courageous re- mained behind, determined to protect life and property at any cost. Canonchet, last of the Narragansett sachems, pro- ceeded to destroy Providence and other settlements and most historians agree that this would have been avoided if the Newport-controlled legislature had disre- garded the Quaker scruples of its mem- bers, put aside political jealousies for the time being, and had met the issue by placing strong, fighting garrisons, at colony expense, in both Providence and Warwick. Whether it was political enmity, Quaker antipathy for war or fighting of any kind, or a selfish desire to protect only their own homes, the action on the part of the Island legislators in such a crisis received general condemnation, and did much to foster an alienation be- tween the mainland and the Island, a deplorable condition that stood in the way of united colony growth for many years.
George Fox, the son of an English weaver, was the founder of the Quakers, and he began to preach in 1648, long after the arrival of the Pilgrims in America. He soon surrounded himself with many
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followers, and by the year 1655, about seventy-five preachers were propounding the Quaker doctrine whenever and wher- ever they could find an audience. The early doctrine of the Quakers is difficult to describe since the sect had no outlined creed or articles of religious worship. Evidently, they believed that the best form of worship was the patient waiting upon God in silence. Naturally their views underwent many changes with the passing of time, but it was not their reli- gious point of view, their creed, or the absence of creed, that frequently led to persecution. Rather, it was their man- ners. Quakers adopted the simple saluta- tion in addressing an individual, however exalted; and the "thee" or "thou," used to a magistrate or a judge, was often the cause for great irritation. They refused to say "good morning," "good day," or "good night," and they used numbers instead of names for the months of the year and the days of the week. They refused point blank to bow or to take off their hats, and for this Quakers suffered. Likewise, Quakers adopted a remarkable simplicity in their marriages and their funerals; their houses, furniture and dress were extremely plain. Both men and women were readily identified as Quakers by their simple attire, and none wore marks of mourning after the death of a relative. Otherwise, the Quakers believed in the common doctrines of Christianity, especially that the scriptures proceeded from the spirit of God. Their simplicity, their refusal to adhere to common cus- toms, their independence and antagonism toward rules and regulations accepted willingly by the general public, caused their difficulties here and in England, and often brought severe persecution upon their heads.
The first Quakers to come to New Eng- land arrived in Boston in 1656, and, of course, they were soon the objects of special Massachusetts legislation. Impris- onment, fines, branding, mutilation, ban- ishment and death were all meted out to these sincere Christians until the bigotry of the magistrates seemed to spend itself by its force. Rhode Island, at that time known throughout the colonies as a safe haven for persons driven away for reli-
gious beliefs, soon became a refuge for these persecuted people. The Commis- sioners of the United Colonies, perceiving this, wrote to Rhode Island in 1657, asking her to banish the Quakers already there and to prohibit any more arrivals. The Rhode Island General Assembly answered immediately : "We have no law among us whereby to punish any, for only declaring by words their minds concerning the things and ways of God," and that is a weighty, immortal phrase denoting, con- clusively, the practical application of Rhode Island's policy in respect to reli- gious freedom. Urged again the follow- ing year, and even threatened with com- mercial excommunication, Rhode Island steadfastly adhered to her principles of toleration. A letter was sent to John Clarke, then in England on colony busi- ness, asking him to plead "that we may not be compelled to exercise any civil power over men's consciences, so long as human orders in point of civilization are not corrupted and violated."
The result of Quaker persecution out- side of Rhode Island, and the toleration of them within, was the attainment of great political influence by Quakers on the shores of Narragansett Bay. Newport became a Quaker stronghold, and in that Island town, they gained many converts to their belief. For five years in succession - from 1672 to 1676 - Quakers filled the governor's chair at the southern end of the colony, and in the northern section, several important men, including William Harris, found much good in adopting their principles. Roger Williams, although strongly opposed to manners and activi- ties of Quakers, but thoroughly consistent in his ideas of religious toleration, re- garded them as his political equals. He declined to enter into any discussions or controversies with the Quakers until Fox, the founder of the Quakers, came to America and finally to Rhode Island, where he succeeded in winning over many of the citizens to his ideas. Fox was enter- tained officially in Newport by Governor Nicholas Easton and his meetings in that town were crowded with people who flocked from all parts of the Island to hear the speaking. Fox later held two meetings in Providence, and it is believed that he
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sensed some opposition to his views since he is reported to have made the following remark: "The people here (that is, Providence) were above the priests in high notions, but they went away mightily satisfied, and said that they had never heard the like before."
A few days after the return of the Quaker group to Newport, Roger Williams challenged Fox to a public discussion of fourteen points of Quaker doctrine, seven to be debated in Newport and seven in Providence. For some reason the supreme Quaker leader declined to accept the challenge, and Fox appointed three of his followers to defend the faith. Roger Williams then made his famous journey to Newport by water, either paddling a canoe or rowing a boat, all alone, and there in Newport with great vigor engaged in an open debate with the Quaker spokes- men, the sessions lasting three days. The parties then adjourned the meetings, and came to Providence, where the discussions were completed, both sides claiming victory. Soon after, Roger Williams pub- lished his immortal treatise with the humorous title "George Fox Digged Out of His Burrowes," and which was an- swered by Fox in the essay having an
equally graphic title "A New England Firebrand Quenched."
At this point some may think they see an evidence of inconsistency in the action of Roger Williams when he challenged a religious group to debate. A brief expla- nation will clear the founder of Providence of such an accusation. Not once, directly or indirectly, did Roger Williams seek to deny the Quakers the right to worship God as they saw fit. He simply did not agree with them and desired an opportunity to express himself, like any independent thinker, upon a religious subject that was highly controversial at the time. Ques- tioning and analyzing another man's religious beliefs and convictions is not necessarily bigotry, nor is a challenge to any one form of dogma an evidence of intolerance. All during his distinguished career, Roger Williams respected a man's right to think, act and worship according to his own dictates, but he consistently demanded his privilege of trying to con- vince another of unsound beliefs and illogical convictions. Williams was always fair, liberal, tolerant and broadminded, but he did love to argue his side of any question and win others over to his way of thinking.
GOVERNOR ANDROS
R HODE ISLAND originally consisted of four towns, Providence, settled in 1636; Portsmouth, in 1638; Newport, in 1639; and Warwick in 1642. The execu- tive heads of Portsmouth and Newport were known as "judges," but in 1640 when these two towns were united, the chief officer was thereafter called Governor. William Coddington was the first judge of both Portsmouth and Newport, and also the first Governor of the union of these island towns. William Hutchinson was the second judge of Portsmouth, serving the year that Coddington acted as chief executive of Newport.
In 1643, Roger Williams went to Eng- land and secured a charter from Parlia- ment. Under this charter Williams served as chief officer until 1647, when the union
of the four towns became official and John Coggeshall of Newport was elected first president. Coggeshall was followed in office by Jeremy Clarke of Newport, John Smith of Warwick, and Nicholas Easton of Newport, the latter completing his term in August 1651. In that year, a separation occurred between the towns of Providence and Warwick on one side, which continued the government estab- lished under the charter of 1643, and Portsmouth and Newport on the other, under a new, independent, or rather, insurgent government established under the commission secured by the politically ambitious William Coddington. The presidents, in order of election, of the Providence-Warwick combination were Samuel Gorton of Warwick, John Smith
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of Warwick and Gregory Dexter of Providence. At the same time the Ports- mouth-Newport union had both a Gov- ernor, William Coddington, of course, and a President, John Sanford.
In 1654, the union of the four towns was re-established and the following presidents served in the order named; Nicholas Easton, Roger Williams, Bene- dict Arnold, William Brenton and Bene- dict Arnold. Then came the charter of 1663 secured by Roger Williams with the able assistance of John Clarke, and under this precious instrument of authority the following Governors held office : Benedict Arnold, 1663 to 1666, William Brenton, to 1669, Benedict Arnold, to 1672, Nicholas Easton, to 1674, William Coddington, to 1676, Walter Clarke, to 1677, Benedict Arnold, to 1678, William Coddington, for a short period until his death on Novem- ber 1, 1678, John Cranston, to 1680, Peleg Sanford, to 1683, William Codding- ton, Jr., to 1685, Henry Bull, to 1686, Walter Clarke, from May 1686 to June 29, 1686, and that brings the review to an important political change in the history of Rhode Island.
James II had become king of England following the death of his brother Charles. This change of rulership inaugurated a change of royal policy both as to home government and to government among the English colonies. And, to make a long story short, the charters of the American colonies, including Rhode Island, were revoked, and the government of the New England Colonies put under one head. A council with Joseph Dudley as president came over to this country, and, in June 1686, assumed the government of Nar- ragansett, or King's Province. Dudley sent Edward Randolph, secretary of the council, and formerly a most unpopular royal tax collector in Massachusetts, to Newport with the council's order upon the quo warranto and a summons requiring the freemen of the colony to act upon it. The freemen left the matter up to the Central Assembly then meeting for ad- journment. The assembly decided not to oppose the will of King James, described as a narrow-minded tyrant, and so passed an act providing for the local government of the several towns by the citizens.
After this, during the reign of King James II, there was no session of the Rhode Island legislature; the charter was practically suspended, and the towns of the Colony were thrown back, so far as self-government went, upon the general system that prevailed before the issuing of the first charter secured by Roger Wil- liams forty-three years previous. Massa- chusetts and Connecticut suffered like- wise ; the hopes and ambitions of fearless pioneers and militant seekers of true free- dom were dashed aside. A great and successful experiment in political science was suddenly checked, while the pro- visional government by royal command sought to prepare the colonies for their new life. In Narragansett, or the King's Province, Kingston, the largest town, was called Rochester; Westerly became Haver- sham, and East Greenwich had its name changed to Dedford.
However, the provisional government by the council was soon superseded by the appointment of Sir Edmund Andros, in 1686, as Royal Governor of New England, with power to take Rhode Island under his control and demand the surrender of the charter. Andros arrived in Boston in December of that year and he came in a ship of the royal navy accompanied by two companies of the royal army, the first regular troops that had ever been seen in Massachusetts. He entered upon his unwelcome task of transforming constitu- tional government into despotism. Mas- sachusetts came first and the rest of the colonies had their turn, but since we are particularly interested in Rhode Island, we shall see how Andros carried out his orders in this land of ours.
Towards Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Governor Andros was espe- cially kind and courteous. He sustained her rights against neighboring colonies that had long sought to claim portions of Rhode Island as their own. He appointed five Rhode Islanders to his council of nineteen, and all laws that did not conflict with the laws of England, he allowed to be retained. He demanded the surrender of the Rhode Island charter in an extremely polite manner, and Governor Clarke answered with equal politeness, but this is what happened when Andros journeyed
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