USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. III > Part 3
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strata of oyster, clam and quahog shells, known as shell-heaps; and in the immedi- ate vicinity of ancient quarries and native work centers, most of them as yet undis- covered.
The objects showing actual Indian workmanship that are most commonly found today in Rhode Island are pieces of chipped flinty stone, not flint, as this is not common hereabouts, fashioned into arrowheads, knife blades and spear-heads. They vary in length from one inch up to seven inches or more. There appears to be no definite line of demarkation between arrowheads, blades and spear-heads, the three classes grading one into another and in many instances being indistin- guishable as regards appearance, and per- haps interchangeable as regards use. Experts have come to the belief that many of the so-called arrowheads and spear-heads were more probably knife blades. Some of the tiny arrowheads were undoubtedly used in hunting birds and small animals, and the long and slender types appear practical for spearing fish.
There is one stone implement that the uninformed would probably discard should he happen upon it, the Indian drill or punch, used for all sorts of perforation
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work. These are usually about an inch and one half long, sharp at one end and fashioned with a knob at the other. They are crude but extremely efficient when twisted by hand to bore a hole through skin or wood. Then there are various sizes and styles of axe-heads, vary- ing in length from 3}" to 10}" long. The smaller ones are generally labelled toma- hawks but they were actually used by the natives as hatchets. The larger axes may have been found useful in splitting logs, but it is more likely that they were used for ceremonial purposes. The cruder and smaller specimens of axes found here are merely notched, but the larger ones have two deep grooves on each side. The sinews used to attach the stone head to the handle lay snugly in these grooves.
Occasionally some lucky collector or amateur searcher will hit upon a native adze, but most of the finds have included the implements heretofore mentioned and such things as gouges, chisels, hammers and anvil stones, all necessary in the tool kit of an Indian craftsman; mortars and pestles, very practical instruments used for the grinding of corn; and plummet stones or pendants, that may have been used for the sinking or anchoring of fish nets. Ceremonial stones, household idols, incised, ornamented or notched specimens of unknown purposes about complete the list of hard stone articles found in this region and definitely traced to the age of stone implement manufacture in Indian history. The two important soapstone quarries, one in Johnston discovered in 1878, and the other in Westerly probably furnish many of the bowls, pipes and other shaped utensils that continually appear in opened graves, shell-heaps and other native depositories.
Besides, such interesting relics as deer- skin bags, pouches, quivers, colored beads, wampum, fragments of pottery, bangles, fishhooks, hair ornaments, sections of blankets and raiment have been found within the past century, and it is certain that much more will be discovered as men learn to recognize articles of definite Indian origin and the desire to reconstruct aboriginal civilization gains in general popularity. It must be remembered that all specimens to be found are not made of
hard stone. The Indian in these parts learned to use copper, horn, bone, brass and shells in the manufacture of articles for use at home, in war and for the chase.
The people who once made and used these and many other articles of practical and ornamental value were great hunters of beasts and birds, an abundance of which fell before the crude but swift arrows and the heavy, sharp-pointed spears. Curiously enough the Indians held to a tradition which saved the lives of crows - scarcely one native in a hundred would kill them. It was accepted "That the crow brought them first a kernel of corn, and a bean at a later date, and that these came from the fertile fields of the Great God Kautantouwit in the far southwest, whence came all of Nature's bounties." Chestnuts were a choice delicacy for the Indians. They also dried acorns and made a tasty dish by boiling them. Not only did they eat wal- nuts, but they made an excellent oil from these nuts, good for many uses, especially for anointing the hands. They ate every- thing available in the way of fish and shell- fish, and cultivated keen tastes for wild cherries, grapes, huckleberries, barberries, cranberries and strawberries. Nets were stretched and weighted down across inlets or coves, and when the tide ebbed, the imprisoned fish were dispatched with arrows or clubs. Whether the white man inherited the craving for seafood from his predecessor, or residents of the Narra- gansett shores from time immemorial have been born with the desire, the fact is evident that the Indians as well as their white successors have always looked upon the clam as a favorite delicacy. This humble, low-tide treasure was the choice tid-bit for Indians in these parts, winter and summer.
Many local natives were engaged in the making of wampum or Indian currency. These manufacturers of money lived by the seashore, and were prudent men, gathering shells during the summer from which they made wampum during the winter. The money of the Indians con- sisted of certain parts of two shells. These two varieties were the one white, the other black, inclining to blue. The white was made from the shell of the peri-
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winkle, as we now call the shellfish. The outer shell was broken off and the inner shell was cut into small pieces, or beads, in which a hole was bored, whereby the "money" might be collected on a string or sinew. The black was made from the shell we now call a quahog.
They were great tobacco smokers. The Narragansetts made stone pipes, but the most extraordinary pipes came from the Mohawks. Some were two feet long with men or beasts carved so big or mas- sive that a man would have been mortally hurt by a blow from one of them. All the men had tobacco bags containing tobacco and pipes, hanging at their backs. What we call smoking was, in those days, often called "drinking tobacco."
One of the most interesting customs took place on the traditional Indian Saturday night. An Indian bath house or sweat house was usually built near a stream whereon an Indian village was invariably situated. A fire was built in the center, and the smoke hole closed, and made tight with mud. Stripped naked the natives ranged themselves in a circle around the fire; the door was closed and plastered with mud from the outside. Then they began a dance, going round and round the fire until they were in a state of profuse perspiration. This kept up until they were obliged to stop from exhaustion; then out the door they rushed for a re- freshing plunge into the neighboring stream.
Assuming that the Narragansetts con- formed with other Eastern and Mid- western tribes in their games and ath- letics we can note that the most important of the Indian games was called "ball- play" and it survives today with some changes in the Canadian national sport, Lacrosse. Whatever served for goals were usually several hundred yards apart, and the players numbered from eight or ten up to hundreds on a side. The paraphernalia included crude implements similar to the modern lacrosse racquets, made of bent wood and netted with rawhide. The ball was probably made of deerskin stuffed with moss, and the object of the game was to drive the ball, using the racquets, under the goal of the opposing team. The ball
was thrown with the racquets and was supposed not to be touched, although rules in certain cases allowed the contend- ers to run with the ball in their hands. It was a thoroughly strenuous game as the Indians played it, and men were kept in training for the pastime. Children also had their games, but most of these were small-scale imitations of the sports in- dulged in by their elders. The youngsters had one game that might be considered quite characteristic - a breath-holding contest. Indian children were taught to make designs with string wound about their fingers, from which the "cats- cradle" trick has come down to us.
The burial service of the local tribes was curious. The corpse was wrapped in blankets or mats, and this final act of dressing the body was considered a sacred duty, performed only by some person in official capacity. Following the Indian form of committal service, the body was taken to the shallow grave and deposited usually in a sitting posture. Then all the mourners would squat in a circle around the place of interment and indulge in lamentations for the loss sustained. Oftentimes, many of the personal effects of the deceased were buried with him, and this fact has been evidenced many times when the contents of an Indian grave have been brought to light and studied. An iron kettle enclosed the head of the chieftain Massasoit when he was laid to rest and several other specimens of his personal property were discovered when his grave in Warren, Rhode Island, was opened several years ago. When some distinguished Indian died, the cere- monies are believed to have been most imposing; friends blackened their faces and continued to keep them in that con- dition for a year or more as badges of sympathy.
In personal appearance the local Indians were usually tall and erect, strong in physical proportions, with high cheek bones and dark piercing eyes, and the hair was straight and black. Their com- plexion was the usual dark brown or copper color, and their language was distinguished by phonetic combinations and phrasing unknown to any other race.
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RHODE ISLAND AND THE VIKINGS
M UCH as Rhode Islanders would wel- come reason to believe that Ameri- can history began with the chance visit by wandering Norsemen to these shores, the fascinating, romantic tale of "long keels with Vikings bold" tarrying for several months in the new-found Vinland must be looked upon as nothing more than a legend. And what startling news it would be if some evidence of Viking occupation, however small but undisputed, could be chanced upon, substantiating the theories and deductions of many reputable per- sons, and giving the poet and the roman- ticist unlimited avenues for literary fancies, to say nothing of the widespread interest in the pre-Columbian period that would be revived by any significant dis- closure. But, not a thing has yet been found in or near Rhode Island, in fact, anywhere in New England, that can be linked with Norsemen and their supposed expeditions to this side of the Atlantic about the year 1000 A.D. Interesting as it is, the oft-repeated story of bold, fair- haired adventurers sailing up Narragan- sett Bay into the waters of Mount Hope Bay must be classed as a legend, although the original account was not presented to the world with that intention.
The idea of associating Vikings with Rhode Island land and waters originated a little more than a century ago. Then, Charles Christian Rafn of Denmark was undertaking an extensive reproduction and translation of all the Icelandic manu- scripts that contained references to the Norse discovery of America, and in the course of his research wrote to the Rhode Island Historical Society for information. In a letter dated June 15, 1829, Rafn re- quested the local Society to inform him of any suspected remains of Norse occupa- tion anywhere along the American coast. This request developed into a long ex- change of correspondence resulting in Rafn's acquiring considerable data includ- ing a drawing of the inscription on the world-famous Dighton Rock, located on the east bank of the Taunton River, at the head waters of Mount Hope Bay near
Assonet Neck. Subsequently, Rafn de- ciphered the Dighton Rock markings according to his own theories, definitely linking the Vikings with the origin of the inscriptions. The distinguished Danish scholar published the results of studies in 1837, in an impressive volume entitled "Antiquitates Americanae," a monu- mental piece of scientific research filled with priceless translations and reproduc- tions of ancient manuscripts. In this pub- lication he proceeded to match up local- ities vaguely described in the Icelandic manuscripts; therein he attempted to prove conclusively that the Vikings did the inscribing on Dighton Rock; and at a later date he took steps to prove that the Old Stone Mill in Newport, and "The Skeleton in Armor," celebrated by Long- fellow, and discovered on the shores of Mount Hope Bay, in Fall River, in 1831, were relics of the Norsemen. As a result, the translated accounts of Norse explora- tion and adventure in respect to the American coast became associated partic- ularly with Narragansett Bay, and the story has held on well in spite of the fact that it has been proved quite untrue.
Professor Edmund B. Delabarre of Providence has done more than any other authority to disprove the claims that the Norsemen were responsible for writings on Dighton Rock and on other marked rocks in this vicinity. His book, "Dighton Rock," published in 1928, covers the sub- ject from every angle and includes Profes- sor Delabarre's own conclusions as to the origin of the inscribed characters on the side of Dighton Rock, and on several other marked rocks in this vicinity.
However, writers, poets and many his- torians have accepted the belief that these roving sailors from Iceland and there- abouts paid one or more visits to Narra- gansett Bay many years before the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492, and so widespread is this belief even among informed Rhode Islanders, and because the story has such a wealth of dramatic interest, and since it appeals to the imagination of most people, it should
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and probably will be included in all gen- eral histories of the State. As a matter of fact most authentic histories of races, continents or states grow out of a certain amount of mythology and legend, there- fore is it not right and proper for a state such as Rhode Island with its splendid known history, its virtually unmatched record of contributions to the progress of civilization, to have in the background a colorful legend, one that appeals to the imagination, as long as children are taught that it is a legend and nothing more? Regardless of that opinion Vikings will probably never become disassociated with Rhode Island. The Norsemen's own accounts of their journeys here, as trans- lated and interpreted by others, is related as follows in its generally accepted form.
In the year 985 A.D. a courageous Viking named Biarne sailed away from the shores of Iceland on a journey to Greenland where other Icelanders dared not venture without help of maps, charts or other navigation guides. Hurried onward by fair winds, the tiny craft soon left Iceland far behind and the men could see nothing but the great expanse of heaving ocean and the lofty dome of the sky above. After several days on the choppy North Atlantic, a thick fog enveloped the craft and bearings were soon lost. Then the wind changed suddenly and soon rose to a gale, and, although sails were quickly furled Biarne and his frightened crew were driven farther and farther to the south. Finally, the fog lifted, and wind subsided and once again the men could see sky and ocean about them. For a day and a night they sailed not knowing where they were. On the second morning, a great shout arose among them, "Land, Land," they cried. There, off to the east along the horizon they could see the dim outline of a coast line, hazy, indistinct like a low, blue cloud. The excited sailors crowded the rail of the ship pointing and wonder- ing. Knowing that this land was too far south to be Greenland, Biarne changed course and sailed as close to the shore as he dared. He decided not to allow his men to land for fear of wild beasts or wild men, and since the journey had already taken much longer time than he had planned, turned about and sailed northward leav-
ing behind that mysterious and pleasant stretch of unknown country.
Biarne related his discovery to the astonished inhabitants of Greenland, none of whom had ever suspected the presence of land to the south. Among those who heard the tale was one who regarded the information with more than passing interest, and his name was Leif Ericsson, a Viking of great courage and ability. No sooner had he heard the report than he began to dream of finding this fair land to the south and of exploring it. For fifteen years he toiled and saved for the expedition and finally completed his plans by purchasing the very ship that had belonged to Biarne. Many stories are told of why Leif left Iceland hurriedly to escape the wrath of Eric the Red, but the important part of the saga is that Leif Ericsson's expedition finally got under way, that he eventually reached the fair lands first encountered by Biarne.
Landing, Leif and his men found a country destitute of attractions and call- ing it Helluland, or the land of flat stones, they returned to the ship and continued their journey to the south. After a short sail another land was sighted and again they went ashore to investigate. This place proved to be well wooded, with a wide sandy beach, and the translation holds that Leif said, "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 before a northeast breeze and were two days out before they saw land again. They sailed toward this land and came to an island which lay to the eastward of the mainland. They ventured into a channel between the island and a promontory which ran out to the eastward from the mainland. Holding on their course they saw wide mud flats laid dry at ebb tide and at last went on shore at a place, as they described it, where a river flowing from a lake joined the waters of the sea. The ship went up the river into the so-called lake and the long journey came to an end. The men decided to remain there for the winter (it was estimated to be the year 1000 or 1001), and to build some shelters on the protected shore.
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It is at this point that the Rhode Island suggestion first appears. By the process of deduction, some scholars have decided in their own minds that the landing place of Leif and his band was somewhere on the shores of Mount Hope Bay, possibly on the shores of Mount Hope itself. Con- tinuing with the legend, the Norsemen found nuts ripening on the trees, the leaves turning brown and red, plenty of fish in the waters and an abundance of game in the forests. They described the land as rich and fertile and the place was named Vinland because of the clusters of luscious grapes they found and enjoyed. The story goes that these strangers fished, hunted and explored for a whole year and then set sail for home carrying with them a great cargo of lumber and other treasures.
Thorwald, Leif's brother, followed the same course in 1002 and passed a winter in the shelters erected by Leif. For two years he explored the new country and during the summer of 1004, while sailing northward, his ship was driven ashore in a storm. Thorwald was said to have been
killed in a skirmish with the Indians, and his party later returned to Greenland. Thorfinn of Iceland later visited the lands now famous in the households of the Vikings. Thorfinn had married the widow of Thorstein, another brother of Leif Ericsson, and it was to Thorfinn that Rafn in his "Antiquitates Americanae" attrib- uted the markings on Dighton Rock.
According to the translations and interpretations of the old manuscripts Thorfinn and his party remained in Vin- land for three years, hunting, exploring, fishing, trading, and sometimes fighting with the Indians, and, at the end of that time, they all returned to Greenland. Around the foregoing theme of Norse exploration, based entirely on the findings of Rafn of Denmark just about one hundred years ago, the greatly embel- lished tale of Vikings in Rhode Island, on Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vine- yard, and on the lonely island called Noman's Land, has been woven. It is to be regretted that such a good story cannot be substantiated by established facts.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
S INCE the long-disputed claim that the Vikings, or Norsemen, were the first white men to set foot upon what is now Rhode Island soil has been fairly well disproved, it will be necessary to consider another theory before turning to the record of one who was known to have been present in these parts early in the six- teenth century. And this theory comes from the same authority whose exhaustive studies of the Dighton Rock inscriptions, and of markings on other rocks in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay, probably eliminate all possibility that Leif Ericsson or any other of his race recorded presence here by cutting words, dates or pictures on Dighton and other rocks. Professor Edmund B. Delabarre of Providence has gained international fame, including decoration by an important foreign na- tion, for his translations and interpreta- tions of the Dighton Rock markings, and
if Professor Delabarre is correct in his deductions, and no one has yet come forth with facts to upset his startling theory, a Portuguese explorer by the name of Miguel Cortereal was the author of the rock writings at the head waters of Mount Hope Bay. And if so, Miguel Cortereal, in 1511, must have been the first white man, or the leader of the first band of white men, to sail upon Rhode Island waters and to gaze upon these shores. Therefore, since a recognized authority has awarded first honors to one of a family of intrepid Portuguese adventurers, and without attempting to review, even briefly, the reasons why Professor Dela- barre believes that Miguel Cortereal was the one who left his signature and other information in rock markings not far from Providence, following is related a general outline of this Cortereal theory. Until facts to the contrary are produced, if ever,
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no history of Rhode Island can be con- sidered complete without this recently constructed chapter.
In 1500, or thereabouts, Gaspar, or Gaspard Cortereal, member of a noble Portuguese family, sailed from Lisbon, landed on the coast of Labrador and, having named the country, returned home with some of the natives whom he had captured. In the following year he under- took a second voyage to the Arctic seas from which he did not return. Several months later his brother Miguel led an expedition for the purpose of discovering him, but he also never returned. The king, Emmanuel, sent out two ships hop- ing to find the brothers, but no traces of either could be found. If Miguel finally reached Narragansett Bay and settled among the Indians at Assonet Neck, he must have made the journey from the vicinity of Newfoundland in the lone remaining ship of his expedition. Other- wise, he must have covered that great distance in a makeshift sailboat con- structed from the wreckage of his ship, and it is quite possible that he met with some sort of accident in the storm areas along Labrador or off Newfoundland. If Miguel Cortereal and a handful of his men escaped alive from a shipwreck some- where far up north and the trip down the coast was made by land through the wilderness it would have taken many years.
Following the theory that Miguel and his party eventually sailed into Narragan- sett Bay and arrived in the Taunton River, some of the men were sent ashore for water. At the spring a skirmish with the Indians ensued, ending with deaths on both sides, including the local Indian sachem. For some reason the voyage came to an end there; perhaps the ship had become disabled, or there were too few left to handle it. Perhaps they were all held captive for a while by the natives, or it may be that the crew, after passing a winter or more there, moved on and were lost elsewhere. Cortereal, then about sixty years old, it is believed, remained and in some manner became the leader of the Indians, holding the place of the dead sachem. His name on Dighton Rock, as Professor Delabarre reads it, was in-
scribed to attract the attention of other explorers who might chance that way. A few traditions handed down by the Indians lend strength to the belief that white men were present in the vicinity of Dighton Rock several years after the disappearance of Miguel Cortereal. The whole story is based upon a logical theory, that awaits further confirmation or rejec- tion; continued research brings about surprising changes in knowledge of his- torical facts.
And now we turn to a series of facts concerning an early exploration of the land and waters comprising what is today Rhode Island. In 1523, Europe was dis- turbed by a war between Francis I of France and Charles V of Spain. Inas- much as the latter had established regular trade and communication between his newly discovered lands in America and Spain, Francis I sought to harass his enemy by preying on the ships which brought the spoils of the West Indies to the Spanish ports. He commissioned Giovanni da Verrazzano for the work be- cause of the latter's great ability as a navigator. Verrazzano was born in Florence, Italy, about 1486, and although his family was one of noble Italian blood, he did not remain at home to enjoy the ancestral lands, but took to the sea at an early age. He gained his first experience in navigation in the Mediterranean, making trading voyages to Egypt 'and Syria, and, in 1505, joined the maritime service of France.
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