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THE 


NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY, 


FHOM     THB 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    CONTINENT 


NORTHMEN,     A.D.     986, 


PERIOD     WHEN     THE     COLONIES     DECLARED     THEIR 


INDEPENDENCE,    A.D.    1776. 


CHAELES  W.    ELLIOTT, 

MEM15EE  OF   THE  NEW    YOEK,    OHIO   AND   CONNECTICUT   IIISTOBICAL   SOCIETIES. 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 


NEW    YOEK: 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER,  377  &  379  BROADWAY ; 

BOSTON:  SANBORN,  CARTER,  BAZIN  &  CO.; 
LONDON:  TRUBNER  He  COMPANY. 

1857. 


v-/ 

E55 
\M 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1857,  by 

CHAELE3  W.  ELLIOTT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


8TERKOTYTED    BY  PRINTED    BY 

THOMA.SB.   SMITH,  QEO    RUSSELL  &  CO., 

82  &  84  Beekman  St.  N.  Y.  Beekman  Street 


PREFACE. 

I  AM  aware  that  much  has  been  written,  and  well  writ 
ten,  about  New  England  and  her  History.  Valuable  and 
minute  histories  of  towns,  counties,  and  colonies  exist, 
and  her  general  History  or  Chronology  has  been  incorpo 
rated  into  various  elaborate  works  ;  but  when,  some  years 
since,  I  undertook  to  :€~x&rnte  ,New  England  life,  with  a 
desire  to  trace  the  giowth'6f 'ideas  and  principles,  through 
her  active  struggles  and  unremitting  labors  from  the  be 
ginning,  I  met  with  difficulties.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
for  the  general  reader  the  local  histories  were  too  detailed, 
and  the  general  history  was  too  chronological  and  discon 
nected  :  it  seemed,  too,  that  the  peculiar  and  marked 
development  of  man  there  was  worthy  of  a  more  simple, 
compact,  and  picturesque  re-presentation  than  it  had  re 
ceived,  and  that,  if  it  could  be  so  re-presented  to  the  reader 
of  this  day,  it  would  be  a  commendable  work  to  do.  This 
is  what  I  have  attempted. 

Few  will  doubt  that,  however  well  History  may  have 
been  written,  it  is  desirable  that  it  should  be  re-written 
from  time  to  time,  by  those  who  look  from  an  advanced 


M103745 


IV  PREFACE. 

position ;  it  is,  of  course,  only  necessary  to  say,  that  I 
have  written  from  the  democratic  stand-point  of  to-day, 
believing  it  to  be  the  true  one  from  which  to  see  and 
judge  the  past.  With  no  conscious  wish  to  exalt  or  de 
press  the  Puritans,  it  has  been  my  aim  to  see  them  fairly, 
and  represent  them  truly,  while  I  have  not  hesitated  to 
praise  or  blame  when  truth  seemed  to  demand  it.  The 
historian  is  not  a  chronologer  only,  without  sympathy  for 
the  right,  or  hatred  of  the  wrong.  It  seems  to  me  that  he 
ought  to  feel  quickly,  and  appreciate  .justly,  and  to  state 
clearly  and  positively  ;  for  there  is  great  danger  that  what 
is  written  without  feeling  will  be  read  without  interest. 

It  is  altogether  possible  that  I  may  have  failed  to  give 
prominence  to  some  important  event — and,  of  course,  no 
writer  is  above  criticism — but  the  great  reading  public, 
I  trust,  will  pardon  a  slight  deviation  from  the  beaten 
track,  in  the  attempt  made;  to \grcup*; those  events  which 
have  a  natural  and  necessary  connection,  into  single  chap 
ters,  so  that  a  ccritinitous'/bHry'ative  may',  be!  presented, 
rather  than  a  broken  record  of  disconnected'  events.  At 
the  end  of  the  second  volume  will  be  found  a  chronological 
table,  containing  many  facts  which  did  not  fall  into  place 
elsewhere. 

Many  valuable  books  now  challenge  the  attention  of  the 
reader  ;  and  I  can  only  ask,  that  whatever  good  this  work 
may  contain  will  sooner  or  later  be  accepted. 

C.  W.  E. 

NEW  YORK,  January,  1857. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  NORTHMEN  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. — A.D.  986. 

PAGH 

THE  LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN — ICELAND — GREENLAND — SKALDS  AND  8AGAMEN — KIRIK 
THE  RED — BIORN'S  VOYAGE  TO  ICELAND;  TO  GREENLAND — HE  DISCOVERS  AMERICA — 
WHAT  LEIF  DID— HE  REACHES  AMERICA,  BUILDS  HOUSES,  FINDS  GRAPES,  NAMES  IT 
VINLAND — THORVALD — HE  DISCOVERS  INDIANS — THORSTEIN  GOES  TO  VINLANI)  AND 
DIES — THORFINN  KARLSEFNE  SAILS  FOR  VINLAND,  A.I).  1006. — INDIANS  AGAIN — THEY 
FIGHT — FREYDIS — HELGI,  FINNBOGI,  AND  FREYDIS  MAKE  A  VOYAGE  ;  THEY  QUARREL — 
FEEYDIS  KILLS  THEM — DIGUTON  ROCK — CONCLUSION — AUTHORITIES ...  IT 


CHAPTER    II. 

RISE   OF   THE   PURITANS   IN   ENGLAND. 

WIOKLIFFE — HENRY  VIII. — THE  BIBLE  A  CONSTITUTION — SKEPTICISM-^HUSS  AND  CALVIN 
—THE  NAME  "  PURITAN"— THE  CHARACTER  OF  AN  OLD  ENGLISH  "  PURITANS,"  OR 
NONCONFORMIST 38 

CHAPTER    III. 

TITE   PURITANS  BECOME   PILGRIMS. 

THE  STANDARD  SET  UP — PERSECUTION — EXPATRIATION  FORBIDDEN — 1602 — JOHN  ROBIN 
SON  AND  HIS  CHURCH — THE  BOOK  OF  SPORTS — 1607 — THE  PURITANS  TRY  TO  FLY — ARE 

BETRAYED — ARE   SEPARATED — THEY    REACH   HOLLAND AT    LEYDEN — 16li9 — REASONS 

FOR  LEAVING  HOLLAND — CUSHMAN,  CARVER,  AND  BREW8TER — THEY  OBTAIN  A  GEANT 
FROM  THE  VIRGINIA  COMPANY — THEY  PREPARE  TO  GO — BARGAIN  WITH  LONDON  MER 
CHANTS  45 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE   EMBARKATION. 

DELFT-HAVEN— THE  22D  OF  JULY,  1620— THE  SPEEDWELL— THE  PARTING— ROBINSON'S 
ADDRESS — SOUTHAMPTON — THE  MAYFLOWER — THE  5TH  OF  AUGUST,  1620 — THEY  SAIL 
— THEY  PUT  BACK— THEY  SAIL  AGAIN — THE  SPEEDWELL  PUTS  BACK — THE  MAYFLOWER 
SAILS  ALONK — 6TH  OF  SEPTEMBER,  1  620 .58 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE   VOYAGE. 

PACK 

THE  SHIP  BREAKS— THE  IRON  SCREW— SEA-SICKNESS— OCEANUS  HOPKINS— THEY  LOOK 
WESTWARD — THEY  SEE  LAND — 9TH  OF  NOVEMBER — CAPE  COD — THE?  EXPLORE — MILES 
6TANDISH — THEY  SEE  INDIANS— THEY  SEE  DEER — THEY  FIND  GRAVES — THEY  FIND 
INDIAN  CORN — WINTER  COMES — INDIAN  CRY  AND  ATTACK — FIRST  SABBATH 58 

CHAPTER    VI. 

THE   LANDING. 

FOREFATHERS'  DAY — FOREFATHERS'  ROCK — THE  HARBOR — THE  LAND— THE  MAYFLOWER 
SAILS  TO  PLYMOUTH  HARBOR — THE  COMPACT — THE  NEW  STATE  BEGUN 64 

CHAPTER    VII. 

WINTER  SETTLEMENT   OF    PLYMOUTH. 

JOHN  CARVER,  GOVERNOR — THEY  BUILD — THEY  DIVIDE  THEIR  COMPANY — JANUARY  21 ST, 
PUBLIC  WORSHIP — STANDISH  CHOSEN  CAPTAIN — THEY  MOUNT  THEIR  GUNS — PERE 
GRINE  WHITE,  FIRST-BORN  OF  NEW  ENGLAND — LYONS — WOLVES — THUNDER — BILLING- 
TON  NOT  SIFTED — THEY  MAKE  GARDENS — SPRING 66 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

WELCOME. 

SPRING THE  SHOUT — 6AMOSET — THEY   WATCH   HIM — HIS   DRESS — OTHER  INDIANS  WITH 

-MAS8A6OIT — HE  DRINKS  RUM — THE  ALLIANCE.  .  .  .70 


CHAPTER    IX. 

DEATH. 

MARCH.  1621 — THE  WOMEN  SUFFER — THEY  DIE — HOW  THEY  WERE  BURIED — THE  MAY- 
FLO  WEB  SAILS  AWAY — NONE  RETURN — GIPSEY  LIFE — DEATH  AND  FREEDOM 74 

CHAPTER    X . 

NEW   COMERS. 

THE  LAND  FLOWING  WITH  MILK  AND  HONEY — VAIN  EXPECTATIONS — SUFFERING — THE 
FORTUNE — ROBERT  CU6HMAN — HIS  REASONS — CANONICUS  THREATENS — FIRST-FRUITS 
LOST — WEST  COMES  AS  ADMIRAL — ROBERT  GORGES  AS  GENERAL — MORELL  AS  CHAP 
LAIN — FAMINE  AND  INDIAN? — SQUANTO  STILL  LIVES — MASSACRE  IN  VIRGINIA — THE 
LAST  OF  THE  "  FATHERS"  COME — THEIR  SHIPS  ARE  CAPTURED 78 

CHAPTER    XI. 

LANDS,    CATTLE,    ETC. 

WORKING  IN  COMMON  GIVEN  UP — "  DROWTH~ — FAST — RAIN — THEY  DIVIDE  THE  LANZI6 — 
THE  UNDERTAKERS — CATTLE — HORSES — JOHN  ALJ>EN-8  BULL — WEAIlH — THE  DUTCH 
AT  MANHADOES — WAMPUM — CONNECTICUT  RIVER.  . .  .84 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER    XII. 

WESTON'S  COLONY. 

PAGE 

THE  CHARITY  AND  SWAN — BAD  MEN  COME — THEY  STEAL  CORN — SETTLE  AT  WICHAGUS- 
CU8SET — THEY  STEAL  THE  INDIANS'  CORN — VOYAGE  ROUND  CAPE  COD — SQUANTO 
DIES...  .  8C 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIAN   EMBASSIES. 

MAS3ASOIT  RECEIVES   THEM — HIS   SPEECH — THE   ATTACK    UPON    CORBITANT — MAB8ASO1T 
SICK — WIN8LOW  VISITS  AND  CURES  HIM ...  91 


CHAPTER    XI  Y. 

WAR. 

PLOT  DISCOVERED— WESTON'S  PEOPLE  HANG  A  MAN— ARE  COMPLETELY  DEMORALIZED — 
THE  MASSACRE  IN  VIRGINIA — WAR  DECLARED — 8TANDI8H  SEIZES  THE  CHIEFS — KILLS 
PECKSNOT  AND  WETAWAMAT — INDIANS  PERISH  OF  FEAR  AND  WANT— ROBINSON'S 
REGRET — WESTON  RUINED — MORTON'S  COMPANY  AT  MT.  WOLLA8TON ...  .94 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE    GOVERNMENT. 

THE  PATENT — COLUMBUS — DE  GAMA — THE  POPE  DIVIDES  THE  WORLD — JOHN  CABOT — 
GO8NOLD — THE  LONDON  COMPANY  AND  THE  PLYMOUTH  COMPANY — NEW  ENGLAND, 
1614 — THE  MERCHANT  ADVENTURERS — PURITANS,  VAGABONDS,  AND  FUGITIVES — THEY 
HAD  NO  PATENT — THE  PATENT  OF  1629-30 — SIGNING  THE  COMPACT — DEMOCRACY — THE 
PROBLEM — RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES — SELF-GOVERNMENT — JOHN  CARVER — WILLIAM  BRAD 
FORD — EDWARD  WIN8LOW — MILES  8TANDISH — ISAAC  ALLERTON  AND  STEPHEN  HOP 
KINS — FANATICISM — THE  GOVERNOR  AND  COUNCIL — JURY  TRIAL — THEIR  CODE — NO 
CRIMES — POPULATION — THEIR  LEGISLATURE — RELIGIOUS  TEST — PLYMOUTH  JOINED  TO 
MASSACHUSETTS . .  . 


CHAPTER    XYI. 

THEIR   CHURCH. 

THE  FIRST  SABBATH — CALVINI8T8 — PERSECUTION — THEIR  CHURCH  CONSTITUTION — LY- 
FORD  AND  OLDHAM — THEIR  MINISTERS — MR.  ROGERS — RALPH  SMITH — ROGER  WILLIAMS 
—  JOHN  NORTON  —  JOHN  RAYNOR  —  CHARLES  CHAUNCEY  —  NO  SACRAMENTS— 'LAY 
PREACHING — JOHN  COTTON — WILLIAM  BREWSTER — JOHN  ROBINSON — PASTORS  AND 
TEACHERS — RULING  ELDERS — DEACONS — DEACONESSES — PROFESSORS — CHURCH  TAX — 
SALARIES — PRAYERS — WOMEN  BPEAKINC THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES — CHURCH  ADMIS 
SIONS —  CATECHIZINGS — FASTS  —  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  —  MIT8KETS — THE  SABBATH — 

"THANKSGIVING"— now  KEPT  AND  WHEN  BF,GUN — THE  FIRST  MEETING-HOUSE — HER- 

FJSIE8 — SEPARATIONS — PROTESTANTISM — QUAKERS — THE  DEVIL— THE  INDIANS— RELIG 
IOU8  DEMOCRACY...  .      IIS 


Till  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

MASSACHUSETTS  BAY. 

PAGE 

EOGEE  CONANT — THE  PATRIARCH  OF  DOBCHESTER — JOHN  ENDICOTT— WHITE  MEN  DIS 
COVERED — THOMAS  WALFORD — WILLIAM  BLACKSTONE — DAVID  THOMSON — SAMUEL 
MAVERICK — CHARLESTOWN — THE  ROYAL  CHARTER — CRADOCK — OLD  SETTLERS  JEAL 
OUS — TOBACCO — NEEDS  OF  A  NEW  COLONY — JOHN  HIGGINSON'S  COMPANY — NOT  SEP 
ARATISTS — ORDINATION — CHURCH  COVENANT — THE  BROWNS 139 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE   CIIAETER  TRANSFERRED   TO   NEW  ENGLAND. 

CROMWELL,  HAMl'DEN,  AND  VANE — THE  CHARTER — TRADING  CORPORATION — QUESTION 
DISCUSSED — AGREEMENT  OF  8ALTONSTALL,  WINTHROP,  ETC. — TRANSFER  DECIDED  ON 
— JOHN  WINTUROP  CHOSEN  GOVERNOR — EFFECT  OF  THE  TRANSFER 145 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

SETTLEMENT   OP   BOSTON. 

JOHN  WINTHROP — HIS  JOURNAL — HIS  SHIPS  SET  SAIL — ENGLAND  DID  NOT  REGRET — 
THEY  REACH  NEW  ENGLAND — LAND  AT  NAUMKEAG — SUFFERING  AND  HOPE — CHARLES 
RIVER — BOSTON — STARVATION — LADY  ARBELLA  JOHNSON — THOMAS  MORTON  IS  CAP 
TURED  AND  SENT  AWAY — BOAT  LOST — SIR  CHRISTOPHER  GARDINER — PHILIP  RATCLIFF 
— NIGHT  FRIGHTS — WINTHROP  LOST 149 

CHAPTER    XX. 

SETTLEMENTS   AT   THE   TIME   OF   WINTIIROP'S  COMING. 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST — THE  FRENCH  AT  ACADIA — MARYLAND — PLYMOUTH  TRADING- 
HOUSE  CAPTURED 157 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

FORTIFIED   TOWN. 

NEWTOWN— CAMBRIDGE— EMIGRATION— THE      SHIPS     STAYED— CHARTER      RECALLED  — 

NUMBERS   WHO    CAME— INDIAN   CORN— WINTER— CLIMATE 160 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

WINTHROP,    DUDLEY,    VANE,    AND   ENDICOTT. 

WINTHROP — HE  AND  DUDLEY  QUARREL — ROTATION  IN  OFFICE — THE  REPRESENTATIVE 
SYSTEM — DUDLEY — JOHN  HAYNES — THE  QUARREL  REVIVES — VANE  CHOSEN  GOVERNOR, 
1(536 — DANGER  OF  ELECTION  RIOTS— VANE  DEFEATED — SIR  HARRY  VANE — VANE  AD 
VOCATES  TOLERATION — MRS.  HUTCHINSON — VANE  RETURNS  TO  ENGLAND — TAKES  THE 
REPUBLICAN  SIDE — HE  AND  CROMWELL  QUARREL — VANE'S  CHARACTER — IS  BEHEADED 
— ENDICOTT 164 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    GOVERNMENT. 

THEOCRACY — THE  MINISTERS — PRIEST  AND  KING — THE  LAW  OF  ORDER — DEMOCRACY — 
WHO  OWNED  THE  LAND — JOINT  STOCK — COMMON  STOCK — GOVERNOR  AND  ASSISTANTS 
-FIRST  COURT— CHURCH  MEMBERS,  FREEMEN— TAXES— THE  FIRST  LEGISLATURE— 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PACK 

TWO  HOUSES — THE  BOW  BUSINESS — FOUR  COURTS — THE  BALLOT — WRITTEN  LAWS — 
*'  BODY  OF  LIBERTIES" — MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT — TOWN  MEETINGS — "  SELECT-MEN"" 
— MILITARY  AFFAIRS — "  TRAINING-DAY" 175 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

TOLEEATION. 

LAW  OF  THE  SIX  ARTICLES — BOSSCTET — THE  SCOTCH — THE  PRESBYTERIANS — CARTWRIGHT 
— LOCKE — LAW  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH — CRANMER  AND  THE  BIBLE — LIBERTY  GAINS — 
PURITANS  AND  JAMES  I. — HAMPTON-COURT  CONFERENCE — PURITANISM  DID  NOT  DIE — 
CHARLES  I.— LAUD 188 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

ROGER   WILLIAMS   AND   RHODE   ISLAND. 

THIRTY-TWO  YEARS  OLD — HIS  OPINIONS — PREACHES  AT  SALEM — AT  PLYMOUTH — THE 
INDIANS — TROUBLE  AT  SALEM — THE  STRUGGLE  BEGINS — PROGRESSIVES  AND  CON 
SERVATIVES — THE  FREEMAN'S  OATH — ENDICOTT  CUTS  THE  CROSS — PRESBYTERY — 

FREEDOM  OF  WORSHIP — DANGEROUS  OPINIONS — THE  STRUGGLE  GOES  ON — ENDICOTT 
IMPRISONED — WILLIAMS  IS  BANISHED — RUINED — HE  FLIES — PBOVIDENCE — INDIAN 
GRANTS — UNIFORMITY — MRS.  HUTCHIN8ON — NEW  EMIGRANTS— Ayb'ETN ECK — DANGERS 
—  CANONICUS — MASSACHUSETTS  UNGRATEFUL — CONSTITUTION — VERIN — LIBERTY  OF 
CONSCIENCE — DEMOCRACY — PROVIDENCE  CHARTER — GORTON — WILLIAMS  GOES  TO  EN 
GLAND — RETURNS — UNION — KING'S  DEATH — CODDINGTON — WILLIAMS  IN  ENGLAND — 
PRESIDENT — CHARTER  RENEWED — BAPTISTS-CONTROVERSIES— GEORGE  FOX — INDIANS 
SOLD — WORK — WILLIAMS  DIES — HIS  WRITINGS — CIVIL  LIBERTY — RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY 
— WILLIAMS'S  CHARACTER 196 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

MAINE   AND   NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

GORGES  —  POPHAM — CHALONG  —  SAGADEHOC  —  SETTLEMENTS  ATTEMPTED  —  CAPTAIN 
MASON — LACONIA — PROVINCE  OF  MAINE — THE  PLOW  PATENT — CLEAVES  AND  VINES 
— MASSACHUSETTS  TAKES  POSSESSION — KING'S  COMMISSIONERS — CONFUSION — THE  MAS 
SACHUSETTS  PURCHASE — NEW  HAMPSHIRE — PRING — THOMPSON  AND  THE  HILTON6 — 
DOVER — STRAWBERRY-BANK — BURDET  —  UNDEUIIILL — WHEELWRIGHT — ANNEXATION 
— CONTROVERSY — CUTT,  FIRST  PRESIDENT — ROYAL  PROVINCE — SWAMP  LAW — TRADE — 
INDEPENDENCE 281 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   HAVEN. 

DAVENPORT,  AND  EATON,  AND  HOPKINS — 1638 — QUINNIPIAC — HENRY  WHITFIELD — GUIL- 
FORD— MILFORD— STAMFORD— BRANFORD— COMMERCE— THE  GREAT  SHIP  LOST— THE- 
OPHILUS  EATON — HOPKINS — JOHN  DAVENPORT — FIRST  SABBATH — THE  STATE — CHAR 
TER — UNION — THE  DUTCH 238 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   CONNECTICtTi . 

QUONEHTACUT  RIVER — HOLMES  BEGINS  WINDSOR — JOHN  HOOKER — WEATHERSFIELD — 
IMMIGRATION — EARL  OF  WARWICK'S  GRANT — 8AYBROOK — HARTFORD— SPRINGFIELD 
— JOHN  HAYNES — ROGER  LUDLOW — FENWICK — WILLIAM  PYNCHEON — JOHN  WINTHEOP 
—•THE  UNION— CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONY 244 

1* 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE  PEQUOT   WAR. 

PACK 

MURDKR  OF  STONE  AND  OLDHAM — GALLOP  RUNS  DOWN  THE  PIKNACE — DESTROYS  THE 
INDIANS — CANONICU8  SENDS  MESSENGERS — ENDICOTT'S  EXPEDITION — ATTACKS  BLOCK 
ISLAND  AND  PEQUOT  HARBOR— UNION  OF  INDIANS— ROGER  WILLIAMS— ATTACK  ON 
THE  PEQUOT  FORT — SACHEM'S  HEAD — SAS8ACU8 — THE  FAIRFIELD  SWAMP  FIGHT — CAP 
TIVES  SOLD— PEQUOT8  ENDED 252 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE   DEATH    OF   MIANTONOMOH. 

PLOTS — MIANTONOMOH  GOES  TO  BOSTON — SEEKS  REVENGE — ATTACKS  UNCA8 — IS  DE 
FEATED  AND  SEIZED — IS  CARRIED  TO  HARTFORD — MAGISTRATES  AND  MINISTERS  PRO 
NOUNCE  HIS  DOOM— HE  IS  KILLED— WHY? 258 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

MRS.    HUTCHINSON. 

POSITIONS  OF  VANE,  COTTON,  AND  MRS.  HUTCHIN8ON — HER  BIRTH  AND  RISE — ANTINO- 
MIANI8M  AND  FAJIli.iSAl — WEEKLY  MEETINGS  FOR  WOMEN— THE  COVENANTS  OF  WORKS 
AND  OF  GRACE — THE  NEW  AND  THE  OLD — STATEMENTS  OF  DOCTKrNE— THE  QUARREL 
BEGINS — THE  MINISTERS  ENLIST — WHEELWRIGHT  AND  MRS.  HUTCHINSON  BROUGHT 
BEFORE  THE  COURT — HUGH  PETERS — THE  QUARREL  GROWS  WARM — VANE  DEFEATED.  .  262 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE   GREAT   CAMBRIDGE   SYNOD. 

THE  PRESS — THE  MINISTERS  GATHER — THE  EIGHTY-TWO  ERRORS — WHEELWRIGHT  AND 
OTHERS  BANISHED — MRS.  HUTCHINSON  TRIED  AND  BANISHED — SEVENTY-FIVE  DIS 
ARMED — MRS.  HUTCHINSON  CAST  OUT  BY  THE  CHURCH — THE  CONSERVATIVES  WIN — 
JOHN  COTTON — AN  OLD  FOOL — A  SCHOLAR — MRS.  HUTOHINSON'S  FRIENDS — WOMEN 

PUT  DOWN — WELD'S  "RISE,  REIGN,  AND  RUIN" — MRS.  HUTCHINSON  is  KILLED — ABOR 
TIONS  269 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

SAMUEL  GORTON. 

AT  BOSTON — AT  PLYMOUTH — AT  RHODE  ISLAND — AT  8HOWOMET — USURPATION  OF  MAS 
SACHUSETTS — GORTON  TAKEN  PRISONER — HE  OUGHT  TO  DIE — IS  PUT  IN  IRONS — HIS 
CATTLE  8EIZED-HE  IS  SET  AT  LIBERTY— HIS  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS 27T 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

THE   CONFEDERATION. 

MBW  HAVEN — CONNECTICUT — PLYMOUTH  AND  MASSACHUSETTS — RHODE  ISLAND  EX 
CLUDED 282 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE   VASSAL  AND   CHILDE  DISTURBANCE. 

THE  HINGHAM  ELECTION — VASSAL,  CHILDE,  MAVERICK,  AND  FOWLE  PETITION — RESISTED 
— SONS  OF  BELIAL — APPEAL  TO  ENGLAND — SEARCHES,  FINKS,  AND  IMPRISONMENT — 
WINSLOW  SAILS— POWER  OF  THE  COLONIES— WINTHROP'S  SPEECH...  ..  284 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTEK    XXXVI. 

PERSECUTION  OF  THE  QUAKERS. 

PAGE 

INTOLERANCE — NEW  DANGERS — MARY  FISHER  AND  ANN  AU8TO — QUAKERS  ARRIVE 
—ARE  TRIED  —  IMPRISONED  — WOE  !  WOE  !  —  BANISHED —  LAWS  PA86ED — DEATH — 
WOMEN  WHIPPED — CHILDREN  SOLD — EARS  CUT  OFF — ROBINSON  AND  STEVENSON  HUNG 
—MARY  DYER  HUNG— LEDRA  AND  CHRISTOPHER8ON— REPRIEVE— CHARLES  II.  STOPS 
PERSECUTION — WHAT  DID  THE  QUAKERS  BELIEVE? — GREAT  SOULS  KNOW — GEORGE 
FOX — THERE  IS  A  GOD — PRINCIPLES — PERSECUTIONS  IN  ENGLAND — EXCESSES  OF  THE 
QUAKERS — WALKING  ABOUT  NAKED — WILLIAM  PENN — THE  u  HOLY  EXPERIMENT.'1.  . .  288 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE   KING'S  JUDGES. — REGICIDES. 

CHARLES  I. — 6TRAFFORD  AND  LAUD — THE  COMMONS — CIVIL  WAR — CHARLES  BEHEADED 
— OLIVER  CROMWELL — THE  REGICIDES  FLY — WHALEY  AND  GOFFE — THEY  FLY  TO  NEW 
HAVEN  —  HUE  AND  CRY — KELLOND  AND  KIRK  —  THE  JUDGES'  CAVE — GOVERNOR 
LEETE — THE  JUDGES  DISAPPEARED — DIXWELL — GOFFE  DEFENDS  HADLEY — DEATH 299 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

THE   INDIANS. 

THE   COUNTRY  DESOLATE — WINSLOW  AND  COBATANT — THEIR  WOMEN — THEIR  CHILDREN 

— A   BELLE  SQUAW — BEGGARS — GAMBLING IN    SICKNESS — THEIR  SPEECHES — WAR — 

— THEIR  DRESB — THEIR  RELIGION — KIETAN  AND  HOBBAMOCK — THE  COMMANDMENTS — 
POWOW8 — ORIGIN  OP  EVIL — SACRIFICES — BURIAL — BELIEFS — THEIR  GOVERNMENT — 
SACHEMS  AND  SAGAMORES — DISEASES — THEIR  FOOD — DREAMS — THEIR  HOUSES — THKIR 
KINDNESS — GOOKIN'S  SUMMARY — TREATMENT  OF  INDIANS — MASON  AND  8A68ACUS — 
AGGRAVATION — NINIGRET — LANDS — PLOTS — SLAVES — WANALAUN8ET 305 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

ELIOT   AND    THE   INDIANS. 

THE  LOST  JEWS — 40,000 — ELIOT  BEGINS — A  DEMOCRAT — TRANSLATIONS — FIRST  CONVERT 
— ELIOT'S  FIRST  SERMON — WABAN — 1649 — CONTRIBUTIONS — MATERIAL  BASIS — TOTE- 
SWAMP'S  BOY —  DIFFICULTIES  —  NINIGRET  —  UNCAS — PHILIP — QUESTIONS — MOHAWK 
FIGHT — ELIOT'S  LETTERS — INDIAN  BIBLE — OTHER  MISSIONARIES — TOWNS  OF  PRAYING 
INDIANS  —  NATICK  -  SABBATH  EXERCISES  —  HATREDS  —  ELIOT  INSULTED  —  STOCK- 
BRIDGE  INDIANS — HAWLEY — DRUNKENNESS — CAPACITY  FOR  CIVILIZATION — INTEL 
LECTUAL  RELIGION — THE  INDIANS  VANISHED — WHY? — ELIOT'S  FAMILY — DEATH — 
"  WELCOME  JOY." 322 

CHAPTER    XL. 

KING  PHILIP'S   WAR. 

WAMSUTTA    AND    METACOM  —  UNCAS  —  ALEXANDER    TAKEN    PRISONER  —  DIES  —  KING 

PHILIP SIGNS  OF  TROUBLE — A  PARLEY— THE    INTERVIEW — NEW   TREATY — JOHN  8AS- 

8AMON — INDIANS  HANGED — INSULTS — PHILIP  A  COWARD  ? — PHILIP  INTRIGUES— PHILIP 
AN  IDEALIST — THE  INDIANS  GATHER — FIRST  BLOOD — 30,000 — CANONCIIET — SWANZEY 
ATTACKED — WEETAMORE — BAD  NEWS THE  COUNTRY  RAISED  —  SUPERSTITIONS — 

DEERFIELD  AND  HADLEY  DESTROYED — BEERS  AND  LATHROP  ARE  GUT  UP — THE  NAR- 
BAGAN8ETT  FORT  FIGHT — DESTRUCTION  FOLLOWS — CANONCHET  SHOT — INDIANS  SOLD 
— PHILIP  AGAIN — SLAUGHTERS  WADSWORTH — CAPTAIN  TURNER — GREAT  FIGHT — 
MARY  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY — EXASPERATION' — INDIANS  DISCOURAGED — RESULTS 
OF  THE  WAR — PHILIP  NOT  A  BARBARIAN — AT  HOME — III8  BOY  SOLD — PHILIP  FELL, 
8HOT  THROUGH  THE  HEART 841 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

RECALL   OF   THE   CHARTERS. 

PAGE 

VIRGINIA  CHARTER  CANCELED — MASON  AND  GORGES  IN  ENGLAND — CHARTER  OF  MASSA 
CHUSETTS  ORDERED  HOME — NOT  SENT — £600  VOTED  FOR  FORTIFICATIONS — THE  GREAT 
SHIP  DESTROYED — QUO  WARRANTO — NAVIGATION  ACT — THE  COLONIES  KEEP  THEIR 
CHARTERS 364 

CHAPTER    XLII. 

THE   KING'S   COMMISSIONERS. 

THE  RESTORATION— MAVERICK— THE  KING'S  LETTER— THE  MAGISTRATES1  ORDERS— THE 
FOUR  COMMISSIONERS  ARRIVE — GO  TO  WORK — DEAD  LOCK — MANHADOES  SURRENDERS 
— PLYMOUTH  VISITED — RHODE  ISLAND  AND  CONNECTICUT — MASSACHUSETTS  REFUSES 
— MAINE  VISITED — THE  COMMISSIONERS  RETIRE 868 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

ANDROS. — THE   REBELLION. 

HOW  TO  GOVERN  COLONIES — CHARTER  ANNULLED — EDWARD  RANDOLPH — JAMES  II. — 
EDMUND  ANDROS,  GOVERNOR — HIGH-HANDED  MEASURES — TITLES  TO  LAND  DESTROYED 

THE   CHARTER   OAK — THE    REVOLUTION — THE    REBELLION    IN    NEW    ENGLAND THE 

MOB   ACTED — THE  FORT   STORMED,    AND   ANDROS   MADE   PRISONER — THE    PROVISIONAL 
GOVERNMENT — THE   OTHER   COLONIES — THE   NEW   CHARTER   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 373 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

PURITAN    LAWS. 

BLUE  LAWS — PETERS — COTTON'S  DRAFT — WARD'S  DRAFT — BODY  OF  LIBERTIES— CAP 
ITAL  LAWS — VIRGINIA  LAWS — LUDLOW'8  CODE — THE  NEW  HAVEN  CODE — CODDING- 
TON'S  LAWS — FREEMEN — CHURCH  MEMBERS — DIVISION  OF  PROPERTY — SWEARING — 
DRUNKENNESS  —  LIQUOR  LAW  —  TOBACCO  —  PUNISHMENTS  —  UNCLEANNESS  — SUMP 
TUARY  LAWS — LAWYERS 381 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

CHURCH   MATTERS. 

NOT  SEPARATISTS — THE  CHURCH  COVENANT — FIRST  CHURCHES  BUILT — TAXATION — 
VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM— CONGREGATIONALISM— THE  MINISTERS— THEIR  PAY— THE  CAM 
BRIDGE  PLATFORM  —  THE  SABBATH— SATURDAY  NIGHT — MARRIAGE — NAMES — THE 
HALF-WAY  COVENANT — HERESY — WHIPPING  OF  BAPTISTS — SATAN — SPECIAL  PROVI 
DENCES — METEORS — EPISCOPACY — THE  MEETING-HOUSES — FASTING — SINGING — DEATH 
— FUNERALS — EPITAPHS  ...  .  .  397 


CHAPTER    XL  VI. 

COLLEGES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  BOOKS- 


NEW  LAW— HARVARD  COLLEGE— MASTER  DUNSTER— COLLEGE  RULES— DEGREES— FREE 
SCHOOLS — PENALTIES — "  THE  PECULIAR  INSTITUTION1' — SCHOOLMASTERS — YALE  COL 
LEGE — RECTOR  CUTLER— BISHOP  BERKLEY — ORTHODOX  TESTS — RANK — "SCHOLAR" — 
PUNISHMENTS  —  FAGS  —  THE  COMMONS — THE  BUTLER — DRUNKENNESS — DARTMOUTH 
COLLEGE— BROWN  UNIVERSITY — PRINTING  AND  BOOKS — "THE  BAY  PSALM  BOOK" — 
CENSORSHIP — TITLES  OF  BOOKS — "  THE  HEART  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  RENT1' — THE  PRIMER 

— POETRY — "THE    SIMPLE    COBBLER  OF  AGAWAM" — "THE  DAY    OF  DOOM" — ANNE 
BRADSTREKT — "  PIETAS  ET  GRATULATIo" — NEWSPAPERS  .  .  423 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

CHAPTER    XL  VI  I. 

MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

FAGu 

ARISTOCRACY GENTLEMEN      AND     FREEHOLDERS MAGISTRATES     FOR     LIFE TITLES  — 

THEIR    IIOUSKS — CLOTHES — OCCUPATIONS FARMING — MAIZE OTHER    CROPS — WHEAT 

AND     BERBERRIES — POTATOES — DRINKS TEA MONEY — SHIP-BUILDING — HUNTING — 

FISHING WHALES EXPORTS — FREE-TRADE TRAVELING  —  CARRIAGES — WINTERS  — 

THE  POOR — CHARACTERISTICS — MEADOW  LANDS — THE  HUSKING LOVE — "  TO  SALT1' — 

SPINNINGS — SLEIGH-RIDES — THE    SABBATH-DAY — THE    SAINTS — COURTING — CHASTITY 

— SELIGIOUS   MELANCHOLY — A   DUEL — THRIFT  AJ?D   PIETY — "THE   GOOD    OLD   TIMES"   451 


The 


FIRST     PAGE 


of 


AMERICAN     HISTORY. 


A.D.  986. 


THE 

NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  NORTHMEN  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

A.D.  986. 

THE  LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN — ICELAND — GREENLAND — SKALDS  AND  SAGAMEN — EIRIK  THE 
RED — BIOKN'S  VOYAGE  TO  ICELAND  J  TO  GREENLAND — HE  DISCOVERS  AMERICA — WHAT 
LEIF  DID — HE  REACHES  AMERICA,  BUILDS  HOUSES,  FINDS  GRAPES,  NAMES  IT  VINLAND 
— THORVALD — HE  DISCOVERS  INDIANS — TIIORSTEIN  GOES  TO  VINLAND  AND  DIES — THOR- 
FINN  KARL8EFNE  SAILS  FOR  VINLAND,  A.D.  1006 — INDIANS  AGAIN — THEY  FIGHT — 
FREYDIS — HELGI,  FINNBOGI,  AND  FREYDIB  MAKE  A  VOYAGE;  THEY  QUARREL — FREYDI8 
KILLS  THEM — DIGHTON  ROCK — CONCLUSION — AUTHORITIES. 

THE  first  page  of  American  History  is  nearly  obliter 
ated  ;  it  is  in  some  degree  mythical,  and  bears  the  marks 
of  a  wild  and  roving  state  of  Society  ;  yet  it  contains  fact 
and  truth  as  well  as  fiction,  which  the  reader  of  History 
should  know.  In  some  degree  I  have  re-presented  the 
History  in  the  language  of  the  Sagas,  and  have  prefaced 
it  with  a  brief  account  of  the  interesting  people  who  sailed 
out  from  Scandinavia. 

The  cold  and  silent  North-land  was,  to  the  more  civil 
ized  Greeks  and  Komans,  a  land  of  darkness  and  mystery  ; 
out  of  which  came  "  men  of  a  fair  complexion,  with  yel 
low  hair  and  tall  in  stature"  (says  Tacitus),  who  overran 
Italy,  a  century  before  the  Christian  Era,  and  made  the 
recollection  of  the  Cimbri  fearful. 

The  Northmen  cruized  with  their  oared-ships  in  the 
Baltic  Sea,  and  plundered  whom  they  would,  and  were 


18  NEW    ENGLAND     HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

called- by  the  suffering  tribes  Vserengers  (Veering-jar) — 
S'ea-Bbvers.  Kurik,  one  of  them,  penetrated  Kussia  (in 
the  ninth  century),  and  founded  the  first  Czars  at  Nov 
gorod  -;  while  other  bands  passed  on  southward  and  be 
came  the  famous  Body-guard  of  the  Emperors  at  Con 
stantinople,  which  sustained  the  tottering  Empire. 

The  home  of  the  Vaerengers  and  Northmen,  was  the 
rugged  Scandinavian  peninsula,  now  comprising  Sweden 
and  Norway. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  ninth  century  (A.D.  861),  Ice 
land,  lying  out  in  the  edge  of  the  ice-ocean,  was  discov 
ered  by  Naddod,  and  was  visited  by  roving  Vikings  ;  and 
in  the  year  874,  it  was  colonized  by  Ingolf,  to  whom 
many  fled  from  Norway,  to  escape  the  tyrannies  of  Har 
old  Haarfager,  who  ruled  the  Jaiis  and  Kings  with  rods 
of  iron.  In  his  time,  the  Sagas  say  there  was  much  sail 
ing  between  Norway  and  Iceland. 

In  the  ninth  century  the  Piratical  Expeditions  of  the 
Northmen  were  giving  way  to  trading  voyages,  and  many 
engaged  in  them  from  the  love  of  adventure,  and  a  wish 
for  wealth  : 

"  A  fool  is  the  Homebred  Child," 

"Heimskr  er  heirnalit  barn,"  was  a  northern  maxim 
which  they  believed  :  and  their  small  ships  pushed  out 
into  every  sea,  and  dared  unknown  danger  •  they  sailed 
without  compass,  guided  by  the  stars  and  the  magnet  sa 
gacity,  which  makes  the  Indian's  path  straight  and  wings 
the  wild-drake  to  his  northern  nest. 

It  was  not  long,  therefore,  before  the  bold  keel  of  the 
Northmen  left  a  track  of  Sea-light  (Moorilcl),  between 
Iceland  and  Greenland,  where  settlements  were  made  and 
continued  for  some  centuries.  Its  Eastern  and  Western 
shores  both  appear  to  have  been  settled,  and  the  great 
church  at  Stroamness  was  built,  as  well  as  others.  About 
the  year  1121,  Bishop  Eirik  sailed  thence  to  help  the 
Christians  in  Vinland  ;  and  we  catch  another  glimpse  of 


BKALD3    AND 
SAGA-MEN. 


A.D.  986.]  THE    NORTHMEN   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  19 

that  old  land  in  the  pages  of  the  historian  Torfasus,  who 
mentions  that  in  the  year  1406,  Gudride  Andreasson  was 
sent  Bishop  to  Greenland,  from  Norway.  From  this  time 
until  the  year  1721,  nothing  is  known  of  it  ;  then  Hans 
Egede,  pastor  of  Vaag,  in  Northern  Norway,  was  moved 
with  pity  for  those  deserted  Christians  and  savages,  and 
after  years  of  effort  he  at  last  sailed  to  Greenland,  deter 
mined  to  spend  his  life,  and  a  salary  of  £60  a  year,  to 
spread  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel.  No  remains  of  whites 
were  found  there,  and  after  fifteen  years  of  hardship  he  was 
compelled  to  return  to  civilization,  with  shattered  health 
and  drooping  spirits. 

The  earliest  History  was  of  course  unwritten, 
but  has  been  preserved  to  us  by  the  Skalds 
and  Saga-men,  the  oral  historians  of  that  day. 
They  were  a  class  who  supplied  the  place  of  books  and 
journals,  of  preachers  and  singers  ;  they  were  indispensa 
ble  at  the  festivals  of  Kings  and  Jarls,  and  were  welcomed 
in  every  hamlet  and  homi1,  where,  in  long  winter  nights, 
they  charmed  the  wandering  listeners.  From  them  are 
gathered  the  facts  hereinafter  given. 

The  Icelandic  Skalds  came  to  be  the  most  famous  ;  for 
that  land,  in  that  dark  time  was  foremost  in  its  love  for 
literature  and  poetry  ;  they  went  from  Iceland  to  Norway, 
England  and  France,  everywhere  seeking  praise  and  re 
ward  :  they  sang  their  own  songs,  and  they  chaunted  those 
of  others,  for  a  good  story  was  like  gold.  He  was  the  most 
famous  Saga-man  who  could  furnish  the  best  and  most 
entertainment.  The  Skald  stood  before  the  Chief,  whose 
deeds  he  was  to  recount ;  around  him  were  the  Compan 
ions  and  followers  of  the  leader.  Now  a  wise  Skald  was 
courtier  enough  to  embellish  those  deeds,  and  artful 
enough  to  weave  up  with  them  fancy  and  feeling,  but  he 
could  not  fabricate  the  facts,  for  it  would  have  covered  him 
and  his  patron  with  ridicule. 

We  may,  therefore,  rely  in  a  great  measure  upon  this 
unwritten  history,  which  has  reached  us  at  last. 


20  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTOKY.  [A.D.  980. 

Let  us  now  plunge  into  the  Past,  and  try  to  discover  an 
answer  to  the  question  : 

"  Who  discovered  America  ?" 

EIRIK-THE-KED,  son  of  "  Thorvald  hight-a-man,"  fled 
from  Norway  to  Iceland,  to  escape  vengeance  for  a  mur 
der  done  ;  there  he  lived  for  a  time  at  Eirikstadt,  near 
Vatshorn.  But  he  lent  to  Thorgest  his  seat-posts  j1  and 
when  he  wanted  them  he  could  not  get  them  back  again  ; 
so  there  were  disputes,  and  frays,  and  bitter  fights.  But 
Thorgest  and  his  friends  were  too  strong  for  Eirik,  who 
was  declared  outlaw  by  the  Thorsnes-thing.  Eirik  fitted 
up  his  ship  to  go,  for  there  were  other  lands  and  other 
seas  beside  Iceland  and  the  Ocean  which  roUed  between 
it  and  Norway.  He  said  to  Styr  Thorgrimson  and  the 
friends  who  bade  him  farewell  among  the  Islands  : 

"  I  will  go  —  I  will  go  to  the  land  which  Ulf  Krages  saw 
when  he  was  driven  Westward  in  the  Sea;  the  time  when 
he  found  the  rocks  of  Gunnbjorn." 

So  he  went,  and  he  promised  to  come  back 


MS-         if  he  found  the  land  :  he  found  it,   and  the 

COVERS  GKEEN-  .  . 

LAND.  third  summer  he  came  back  in  his  ship  to 

Iceland,  and  told  them  of  the  new  land  he  had 
found,  which  he  called  "  Greenland  ;"  because  he  said, 
"  the  people  will  go  thither  if  it  has  a  good  name."  And 
they  did  go,  thirty-five  ships  (as  they  were  called),  fourteen 
of  which  arrived.  In  one  of  these  was  Herjulf,  who 
settled  in  Greenland.  This  is  briefly  what  happened 
fifteen  winters  before  Christianity  was  established  by  law 
in  Iceland,  and  was  done  in  the  year  A.D.  985. 

This  Herjulf  was  a  kinsman  of  the  Norwegian  Ingolf, 
who  had  colonized  Iceland  many  winters  ago  (A.D.  874), 
and  through  him  he  had  lands  on  the  south-west  point  of 
the  Island. 

BIORN,  his  son,  was  "  a  very  hopeful  man/'     Biorn  had 


1  Setstokka;  these  were  tall  columns  attached  to  the  seats  of  chiefs,  OD 
which  were  carved  Thor  and  Odin,  or  other  gods. 


A.D.  98G.]          THE    NORTHMEN    IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  21 

earned  his  own  ship  and  had  sailed  to  Norway,  with  such 
cargo  as  Iceland  could  yield.  The  love  of  the  old  land 
was  strong  in  the  hearts  of  the  Northmen,  and  Biorn 
chaunted  as  he  steered  his  ship  toward  the  rising  sun  : 

"  There  's  a  flag  on  the  mast,  and  it  points  to  the  North, 

For  Norway 's  the  land  that  I  love, 
I  will  steer  back  to  North-land,  the  heavenly  course, 
Of  the  winds  guiding  sure  from  above." 

Eastward  steered  Biorn  toward  the  old  land  ;  but  after 
he  had  gone,  westward  went  Herjulf,  his  father,  with 
Eirik,  as  has  been  said  ;  and  a  Christian  man  in  his  ship 
sung  a  hymn,  which  went  thus  : 

"  Oh,  thou  who  tryest  holy  men 
Now  guide  me  on  my  way, 
Lord  of  the  Earth's  wide  vault  extend 
Thy  gracious  hand  to  me." 

Fourteen  of  Eirik's  thirty-five  vessels  reached  Green 
land,  and  there  Herjulf  lived,  and  "was  a  very  respecta 
ble  man." 

Biorn  lay  with  his  ship  in  one  of  those  secure  Friths,  or 
Fiords,  on  the  western  coast  of  Norway  (perhaps  at  Ber 
gen),  which  never  freeze  ;  he  had  sold  and  changed  his 
skins  and  Eider,  and  was  ready  to  sail  back  to  his  father 
and  to  Iceland.  He  said  : 

"  To-morrow  we  will  go."  One  of  his  men,  whose  eye 
brows  were  gray  with  age,  came  to  him  and  pointed  to 
ward  the  North.  The  Lysanigar  or  North-Light  streaked 
the  sky,  and  a  faint  tinge  of  copper  flamed  in  its  pale  beams. 

"  We  will  not  go  to-morrow,"  he  said,  "  for  there 's  blood 
in  the  sky,  and  there  '11  be  blood  on  the  sea." 

Biorn  stood  on  the  deck  of  his  little  vessel,  till  past  mid 
night,  and  watched  the  fitful  Aurora  which  streamed  up 
into  the  zenith,  portending  storm.  He  said  to  himself, 
"  Thor  is  mighty,  but  if  the  storm  does  not  come,  I  will 
go  to  my  father." 


22  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

The  next  day  the  tempest  came,  and  the  little  ship 
rode  safe  in  the  Fiord,  mid  the  sailors  lay  under  cover,  and 
listened  to  the  howling  of  the  wind,  and  to  wonderful  sea- 
tales. 

One  and  another  told  of  the  fearful  dangers  of  the  whirl 
ing  Mahlstrom,  and  these  stories  were  full  of  fascination, 
for  many  ships  and  many  men  had  sailed  away  and  had 
not  come  back,  and  where  were  they  ?  Some  of  the  crew 
had  sailed  in  sight  of  the  sucking  vortex,  and  had  heard 
the  shrieking  of  the  frightened  whales,  who  had  been 
swept  down  to  destruction.  They  forgot  the  howling  of 
the  storm,  they  forgot  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  in  the  re 
membrance  of  those  greater  dangers  ;  but  Biorn  did  not 
forget  the  purpose  in  hand,  and  he  listened  with  one  ear 
to  the  lull  which  told  that  the  storm  had  broke. 

The  voyage  to  Iceland  was  a  voyage  of  months,  beaten 
and  tossed  in  those  inclement  seas  ;  and  when  Biorn  had 
found  it  and  reached  it  (ato  Eyrar  in  the  summer"),  he 
was  told  his  father  had  gone  with  Eirik-the-Red,  west 
ward  to  Greenland.  Biorn  was  moody,  and  his  sailors 
asked  him  what  he  would  do  ?  He  said  he  would  spend 
the  winter  with  his  father  as  his  custom  was.  "  And  now 
I  will  bear  to  Greenland,  though  none  of  us  have  been 
there,  if  ye  will  give  me  your  company." 

To  this  they  agreed,  and  for  three  days  they  sailed 
westward  till  Iceland  was  out  of  sight  under  the  water, 
and  then  the  fair  wind  fell,  and  strong  north  winds  arose, 
and  fogs,  and  they  knew  not  where  they  were,  and  it  con 
tinued  many  days.  But  at  last  the  sun  broke  out,  and 
again  they  bent  their  sails ;  Biorn  loosed  a  Haven,  and  as 
he  rose  in  the  sky  and  flew  away,  he  watched  his  wings, 
and  followed  toward  the  land. 

Through  that  day  they  kept  their  course, 

BIORN  MB-        and  then  all  eyes  were  strained  upon  the  long 

ENGLAND.         low  line  of  coast,  and.  they  asked  Biorn  if  that 

was  Greenland  ?    He  said  it  could  not  be  ;  but 

he  said,  "  Sail  close  to  the  land." 


A.D.  986.]        THE    NORTHMEN   IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  23 

So  they  did,  and  found  it  covered  with  wood,  with  small 
hills.  What  land  was  it  ? 

They  left  the  land  and  sailed  two  days  before  they  saw 
another  land,  and  then  they  asked  Biorn  if  that  was  Green 
land  ?  He  said, 

"  No,  for  in  Greenland  they  have  very  high  ice-hills." 

Here  the  sailors  wished  to  land,  pretending  they  wanted 
wood  and  water  ;  hut  Biorn  said, 

"  Ye  have  no  want  of  either  of  the  two/' 

Then  they  turned  the  prow  into  the  open  sea,  and  sailed 
three  days  with  a  south-west  wind,  when  again  they  came 
to  land,  which  was  high,  and  covered  with  mountains  and 
ice-hills.  The  sailors  said, 

"  Is  this  Greenland,  and  shall  we  land  here  ?" 

Biorn  watched  the  shore  as  they  sailed  along  it,  and 
said,  "  To  me  this  land  is  little  inviting,  and  I  will  not 
stop  ;"  and  they  discovered  that  it  was  an  island. 

Once  more  they  struck  out  into  the  sea,  and  with  the 
same  south-west  wind,  sailed  four  days,  when  land  again 
appeared,  and  the  sailors  said, 

"  Now,  this  is  Greenland." 

Biorn  looked,  and  said,  "According  to  what  I  have 
been  told,  this  seems  most  like  Greenland,  and  here  will 
we  steer  for  land."  So  they  did,  and  landed  in  the  even 
ing  under  a  ness,1  where  they  found  a  boat,  and  near  by  a 
h-use,  and  just  here  lived  Biorn's  father,  and  from  him 
the  place  was  called  Herjulfsness. 

This  was  in  the  year  after  the  colonizing  of  Greenland, 
and  was  A.D.  986. 

Now  Biorn  had  seen  America,  but  he  was  not  after 
continents — he  was  seeking  his  father  whom  he  found  ; 
nor  does  any  glory  attach  to  him  as  a  discoverer,  nor  did 
he  care  the  weight  of  a  duck's  feather  for  it.  He  was  a 
brave,  determined  fellow,  who  did  what  he  had  in  hand, 
and  feared  nought. 

1  A  promontory. 


24  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTOKY.  [A.D.  986. 

LEIF,  eldest  son  of  Eirik-the-Ked,  was  another 
man,  and  he  heard  of  the  lands  Biorn  had  seen,  wnApro.LEIF 
for  there  was  much  talk  about  them,  and  about 
voyages  of  discovery.  So  he  came  down  to  Herjulfsness 
to  see  Biorn,  and  to  talk  with  him  ;  and  he  bought  his 
ship,  determined  to  see  and  know  what  these  new  lands 
were,  upon  which  Biorn  had  not  set  his  foot.  His  father 
Eirik  was  the  Jarl  of  the  country,  and  he  the  next  man  to 
him.  It  was  easy  enough  to  victual  his  ship,  for  Green 
land  then  produced  much  cattle  and  sheep  ;  and  it  was 
easy  enough  to  man  it,  for  the  Northmen  loved  adventure  ; 
and  thirty-five  men  soon  agreed  to  go,  and  some  say  Biorn 
was  among  them  ;  but  among  them  was  a  German, 
"  Tyrker  hight,"  who  had  come  from  a  southern  land,  and 
had  sung  its  praises,  and  of  the  golden  wine,  and  luscious 
grape.  Many  came  down  to  the  ness  to  see  the  adven 
turers  depart,  and  wives  and  women  dropped  some  tears  ; 
but  the  men  cheered,  and  the  boys  wished  that  they  were 
men  that  they  might  go.  Leif  stood  on  the  deck,  and 
steered  his  ship  southward  ;  he  waved  his  hand  to  his  fa 
ther,  and  shouted  to  him  that  he  would  return  ;  his  men 
turned  their  blue  eyes  upon  Greenland's  shores,  and  sang 
a  farewell  song,  which  ended  with  shouts  of  "  Courage  ! 
courage  !  hurrah  !" 

They  came  first  to  the  land  that  Biorn  had  seen  last, 
and  drew  near  it  and  anchored  ;  they  lowered  the  boats 
and  went  ashore,  but  found  only  a  plain  of  flat  stones 
lying  between  them  and  Ice-hills  (Joklar  Miklir)  ;  this 
was  not  inviting,  and  Leif  said, 

ft  Now  will  I  give  the  land  a  name  and  call  it  'Hellu- 
land/  "*  This  may  have  been  what  we  call  New-found- 
land  ? 

They  left  it  and  found  another  shore,  which  was  flat 
and  covered  with  wood — with  white  sand  all  about  them  ; 
and  Leif  said,  "  This  shall  be  called  Markland,  for  it  is 
woody." 

1  From  Hella — a  flat  stone. 


A.D.  986.]         THE    NORTHMEN    IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  25 

Again  they  struck  out  into  the  Sea,  and  sailed  two  days 
with  a  north-east  wind,  and  came  to  an  Island,  on  which 
they  landed  and  looked  around  them  ;  there  the  dew  on 
the  grass  was  sweet,  and  they  said  :  "  We  have  come  to  a 
good  land." 

This  may  have  been  Nantucket. 

They  went  to  the  ship  and  sailed  westward,  between 
the  Island  and  the  shore,  over  the  shallows,  so  that  as  the 
tide  ebbed  their  ship  was  left  on  the  sands,  and  they  ran 
to  the  shore  where  they  discovered  a  river  ;  with  the  re 
turn  of  the  tide  they  returned  to  the  ship,  and  floated  her 
up  the  inlet,  into  what  seemed  a  lake,  and  there  they 
anchored  and  brought  ashore  their  skin-cots,  and  made 
themselves  booths.  When  Leif  saw  the  glee  of  his  men, 
and  looked  around  at  the  fine  woods  and  green  pastures, 
his  heart  was  high,  and  he  said, 

"  This  is  a  good  land."  He  called  together  his  men  and 
took  counsel  with  them,  and  said,  "  Let  us  here  pass  the 
winter,  for  the  Rivers  are  full  of  Salmon,  and  the  country 
is  full  of  promise."  So  they  set  to  work  and  built  large 
houses,  which  remained  many  years,  and  were  called  Leif's- 
budir  (or  Booths),  for  his  they  were.  Leif  was  a  great 
and  strong  man,  grave  and  well-favored,  and  he  directed 
his  affairs,  not  they  him  ;  and  he  was  called  "  Leif-the- 
Lucky,"  because  he  did  this,  and  brought  things  to  pass. 
He  divided  his  men  into  two  parties  to  explore  the  coun 
try,  and  with  one  party  he  always  went  out.  But  one  day 
Tyrker,  the  German,  was  missing,  and  Leif  was  much  dis 
tressed,  and  swore  in  his  rage,  because  the  party  had  lost 
him,  and  then  he  went  out  to  seek  him.  Tyrker  soon  ap 
peared,  and  he  talked  German,  and  rolled  his  eyes  around, 
and  seemed  out  of  his  senses  ;  but  at  last  he  said  in 
Norsk,  "  I  have  not  been  far,  but  I  have  found  something 
to  tell  of;  I  have  found  vines  and  grapes." 

"  But  is  that  true,  my  fosterer  ?"  quoth  Leif. 

"  Surely  it  is,  for  I  came  from  the  land  of  vines  and 
grapes." 

2 


26  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

The  next  day  they  found  it  true,  and  they  gathered 
their  boat  full  of  them.  Then  they  went  to  work  to  cut 
and  hew  timber  for  loading  the  ship,  and  so  they  passed 
the  winter.  Here  they  found  but  little  frost,  and  the 
grass  did  not  altogether  wither,  and  the  days  and  nights 
were  more  equal  than  in  Greenland  ;  the  sun  being  in 
the  sky  on  the  shortest  day  from  half-past  seven  in  the 
morning  to  half-past  four  in  the  evening,  which  should  in 
dicate  a  north  latitude  of  about  41°,  24',  10".  But  the 
winter  was  ended,  and  the  ship  loaded  ;  then  the  strong 
Leif  sailed  away  to  Greenland,  where  he  had  earned  both 
riches  and  respect. 

When  he  went,  he  said,  "  Now,  oh,  land,  will  I  give 
you  a  name  worthy  of  you,  and  you  shall  be  called  VIN- 
LAND,  from  this  day."  And  so  it  is  called— the  land  about 
Mount-Hope,  the  land  of  King  Philip  of  the  Wampa- 
noags. 

There  are  those  who  will  wonder  at  the  charm  which 
the  Northmen  found  around  the  Narragansett-bay,  and  at 
the  ecstacy  of  the  German  Tyrker,  who  discovered  and 
ate  the  Fox-grapes  of  New  England  ;  but  those  who  won 
der  have  never  passed  a  winter  in  Iceland,  or  in  the  "more 
serene"  climate  of  Greenland,  as  Torfgeus  called  it. 

Leif  sailed  with  his  ship  to  Brattaahled,  where  Eirik, 
his  father,  yet  lived,  and  his  friends  and  neighbors  crowded 
down  to  see  the  great  timber- trees  which  he  had  brought, 
and  to  hear  of  the  new  Vinland  he  had  found  ;  and  all 
over  Greenland  his  sailors  told  the  story  of  the  voyage,  in 
the  long  winter  nights,  and  every  one  was  a  hero,  and  the 
fame  of  these  things  spread  over  the  country. 

That  winter  Eirik-the-red-headed  died,  being  old,  and 
Leif-the-Lucky,  the  grave  and  strong,  became  chief  in  his 
stead,  Leif  had  done  many  things,  and  his  father  Eirik, 
had  approved  of  him,  but  not  of  all  the  things  he  did,  for 
he  said,  "  You  have  brought  injurious  men  here — Chris 
tian  priests."  Nevertheless,  Leif  persuaded  his  father  to 
be  baptized,  and  most  of  the  people  were  then  easily  per- 


A.D.  986.]          THE    NOKTHMEN   IN    NEW  ENGLAND.  27 

suaded  to   become   Christians  too  ;    this   happened  A.D. 
1000;  according  to  the  History  of  Olaf  Tryggvason. 

Then  Thorvald,  Leif  s  brother,  wished  to  go 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery  ;  for,  he  said,  "  Where     THORVALD 
there  is  much,  there  is  more."   Leif  said  to  him,     VINLAND. 

"  Thou   canst  go   with  my  ship,  brother,  if 
thou  wilt,  to  Vinland. 

At  this  Thorvald  was  glad,  for  he  despised  the  life  of  an 
idle  man ;  and  he  took  counsel  of  Leif,  and  engaged  thirty 
of  his  men  and  sailed,  and  Leif  said, 

"  Go — and  may  the  Msir  (the  gods)  guide  you/' 

The  first  winter,  Thorvald  spent  in  Leif  ;s-booths,  at 
Vinland,  and  caught  many  fish.  But  in  the  spring  he 
went  West  and  South  in  his  boat,  found  the  shores  woody, 
with  many  Islands  and  much  shallow  water ;  but  no  men 
or  beasts,  and  no  works  of  man,  except  a  sort  of  corn-shed. 
The  next  summer  he  sailed  with  his  ship  Eastward  and 
Northward,  and  was  caught  in  a  great  storm,  and  was 
driven  ashore,  and  broke  the  keel  of  his  ship.  Much  time 
was  consumed  in  repairing  the  vessel,  and  they  set  up  the 
keel  on  the  point,  and  called  it  "  Keelness."  Then  they 
sailed  among  the  friths  and  points  to  the  East,  and  shoved 
out  a  plank  and  went  ashore  into  the  country,  and  Thor 
vald  said, 

"  Here  is  beautiful,  here  would  I  like  to  dwell." 

When  they  returned  to  the  shore  they  discovered  canoes 
and  men,  all  of  whom  they  caught,  except  one.  They 
killed  the  eight  they  caught.  Then  came  out  from  the 
inside  of  the  frith  an  innumerable  crowd  of  skin-boats, 
filled  with  Skrselings  (Indians),  and  Thorvald  said,  "  We 
must  put  out  the  battle-screen,  but  fight  little." 

The  Skrselings  shot  their  arrows  and  then  ran  away. 
Thorvald  inquired  of  his  men,  and  found  that  none  were 
hurt  ;  then  he  said, 

"  I  have  an  arrow  under  my  arm.  and  the  wound  will 
be  mortal ;  bury  me  on  the  beautiful  point  where  I  wished 
to  dwell,  and  set  up  a  cross,  that  it  may  be  called  Krossa- 


28  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

ness  in  all  time  to  come."  So  they  did,  and  then  sailed 
back,  and  told  the  tidings  to  Leif  at  Greenland. 

The  third  son  of  Eirik,  Thorstein,  who  had  married 
Ghidrid,  determined  to  go  after  the  body  of  his  brother,; 
so  he  chose  twenty-five  great  strong  men  for  his  crew,  and 
took  Gudrid  his  wife  and  sailed  away  ;  but  they  drove 
about  in  the  sea  all  summer,  and  knew  nothing  where 
they  were  ;  and  in  the  first  week  of  winter  they  at  last 
reached  the  western  shore  of  Greenland.  Thorstein-the- 
Black,  who  lived  there,  came  down  and  invited  Thorstein 
and  Gudrid  to  come  and  stay  with  him.  That  winter 
many  of  Thorstein  Eirikson's  men  died,  and  Grimhild, 
wife  of  Thorstein-the-Black,  died,  and  at  last  Thorstein 
Eirikson  himself  died.  Thorstein-the-Black  took  Gudrid 
from  the  chair  upon  his  knees,  and  sat  by  her  husband's 
body  and  comforted  her.  Then  Thorstein,  who  was  dead, 
sat  himself  up  on  the  bench,  and  said, 

"  Where  's  Gudrid  ?" 

Three  times  he  said  that,  but  she  answered  not. 

Then  Thorstein-the-Black  said,  "What  wilt  thou, 
namesake  ?" 

After  a  little  he  answered,  "  I  would  tell  Gudrid  her 
fortune,  that  she  will  be  the  better  reconciled  to  my  death, 
for  I  have  now  come  to  a  good  resting-place. 

"  I  tell  thee,  Gudrid,  that  thou  wilt  be  married  to  an 
Icelander,  and  have  many  children,  powerful,  sweet,  and 
well-favored.  Ye  shall  go  to  Norway,  thence  to  Iceland, 
and  after  his  death  wilt  thou  go  abroad  to  Home,  and 
come  back  again  to  Iceland  to  thy  house,  and  thou  wilt 
reside  there  and  become  a  nun,  and  there  wilt  thou  die." 

When  he  had  said  this  he  fell  back,  and  his  corpse  was 
set  in  order,  and  taken  to  his  ship, 

This  mixture  of  the  marvelous  is  consistent  with  the 
times,  and  with  older  accepted  histories  ;  and  to  most 
minds  will  not  affect  the  genuineness  of  the  credible  inci 
dents.  It  will  rather  be  a  proof  of  the  genuineness  of  the 
Sagas. 


A.D.  986.]         THE   NORTHMEN   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  29 

About  this  time  (A.D.  1006),  came  from  Iceland  Thor- 
finn  Karlsefne,  ThorcTs  son,  who  lived  at  Hofda,  in  Hofda- 
strand,  with  two  ships.  He  was  an  able  seaman,  and  a 
merchant,  and  he  traded  with  Leif — (Eirik  in  the  Saga, 
but  Eirik  was  dead).  He  spent  the  winter  in  Greenland, 
and  married  Gudrid  (or  Thurid),  widow  of  Thorvald, 
Eirik' s  son,  and  they  had  a  great  yule,  and  a  wedding-feast. 

But  there  was  much  talk  about  "  Vinland  the  Good," 
and  Thorfinn  determined  to  explore  it,  and  so  made  ready 
his  ships  :  a  hundred  and  sixty  persons  went  in  them, 
among  whom  was  FREYDIS,  daughter  of  Eirik  (married  to 
a  narrow-minded  man,  "  Thorvard  hight"),  and  Thorhall 
the  hunter,  who  was  a  large  man,  "  and  strong,  black,  and 
like  a  giant,  silent  and  foul-mouthed  in  his  speech,  and 
always  egged  on  Eirik  to  the  worst  ;  he  was  a  bad 
Christian/'  But  he  knew  wood-craft,  and  was  a  leader. 

When  they  had  sailed  two  days  they  came  to  Helluland, 
then  to  Markland,  where  they  killed  a  bear,  and  then  to 
Keelness,  and  then  they  passed  strands  which  they  called 
Furdurstrands,  and  came  to  a  land  indented  with  coves, 
where  they  ran  the  ships  to  shore.  But  they  sailed  further 
westward,  and  landed  on  an  island  (Straumney),  where 
were  so  many  Eider-ducks,  that  one  could  hardly  walk 
for  the  eggs.  The  country  was  very  beautiful,  and  there 
they  landed  with  their  cattle. 

During  the  winter  they  explored,  and  in  the  next  sum 
mer  the  fishing  was  poor,  and  they  were  in  danger  of  suf 
fering  hunger ;  then  Thorhall,  the  bad  Christian,  disap 
peared,  and  when  they  found  him  he  was  lying  on  a  rock, 
with  his  face  to  the  sky,  and  they  asked  him,  "  What  he 
did  there  ?"  and  he  said,  "  It  was  no  business  of  theirs." 
But,  the  next  day,  when  they  caught  a  whale  and  had 
food,  he  said,  "  The  Ked-bearded  (Thor)  was  more  hope 
ful  than  your  Christ  ;  this  have  I  got  for  the  verses  I  sung 
of  Thor  my  protector."  When  they  heard  this  they  threw 
the  rest  of  the  fish  into  the  sea  (for  it  had  made  them  very 
sick),  and  sailed  out  and  caught  other  fish. 


30  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

After  they  had  been  there  a  time,  they  decided  to  make 
two  parties  ;  one  to  go  Eastward,  and  one  to  go  West 
ward.  Thorhall,  the  hunter,  took  nine  men  and  went 
East,  and  as  he  went  he  chaunted  : 

"  Let  our  trusty  band, 
Haste  to  the  Fatherland, 
Let  our  vessel  brave, 
Plow  the  angry  wave, 
While  those  few  who  love 
Yinland,  here  may  rove, 
Or  with  idle  toil, 
Stinking  whales  may  boil, 
Here  on  Furdurstrand, 
Far  from  Fatherland." 

Thus  he  sailed  away,  and  they  saw  no  more  of  him  ever 
again,  and  some  said  his  boat  was  driven  ashore  at  Ireland, 
and  his  men  made  slaves.  No  man  now  knows. 

Thorfinn  and  his  company  sailed  Westward  into  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  and  called  the  place  Hop  ;  there  they 
found  fields  of  wheat  (maize),  and  vines,  and  fish  abund 
ant  ;  so  that  they  dug  holes  in  the  sand,  and  when  the 
tide  went  away  they  were  full  of  fish— Sacred  fish,  Floun 
ders  (Helgir  fiiskar),  which  tasted  well.  Rafn  and  others 
are  disposed  to  think  this  place  was  Mount-hope  Bay,  but 
it  is  certain  that  if  it  were  where  Leif  had  built  his  booths, 
they  would  not  have  escaped  mention. 

One  morning  early,  when  they  looked  around,  they  saw 
many  canoes,  and  poles  were  swung  in  them  so  that  it 
sounded  "  like  wind  in  a  straw-stack." 

Thorfinn  said,  "  What  may  it  mean  ?" 

Snorri  said,  "  Perhaps  peace." 

Then  he  took  a  white  shield  and  went  toward  them,  and 
they  came  toward  him,  and  looked  with  wonder  upon  these 
white  men  with  blue  eyes  and  flowing  beards.  Thy  were 
black  and  ill-favored,  and  had  coarse  hair,  with  large  eyes 
and  broad  cheeks. 

There  was  no  snow  that  winter,  and  the  cattle  fed  them 
selves  on  grass.  In  the  spring  the  Indians  came  again  and 


A.D.  980.]        THE   NORTHMEN   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  31 

the  sea  was  covered  with  canoes,  and  they  exchanged  an 
entire  fur  for  a  strip  of  red  cloth  ;  and  when  the  cloth  be 
gan  to  fail,  the  Northmen  cut  it  into  smaller  strips,  "and 
still  the  Skraelings  gave  just  as  much  for  that  as  before." 

For  the  Skraelings  were  not  merchants,  and  the  Norse 
were. 

Then  Thorium's  bull  ran  out  of  the  wood  and  bellowed, 
and  the  frightened  Skraelings  fled  to  their  canoes.  But 
when  they  came  again,  they  came  like  a  rushing  torrent, 
and  the  poles  were  whirled  the  other  way,  and  they  howled 
very  loud.  They  jumped  from  their  ships  (canoes)  and 
went  against  the  Northmen  and  fought.  Thorfinn's  peo 
ple  were  confounded,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  running 
away,  for  it  appeared  to  them  that  the  Skraelings  were 
about  on  every  side,  so  they  fell  back  along  the  river. 
Then  Freydis  said, 

"  Why  do  ye  run — stout  men  as  ye  are — against  these 
wretches  ?  Give  me  weapons  and  I  can  fight  better  than 
any  of  ye." 

She  could  not  keep  up  with  them  for  she  was  with  child, 
so  she  seized  the  sword  of  a  dead  man  who  lay  in  the 
path,  and  bared  her  breasts  and  dashed  the  sword  against 
them,  which  so  frightened  the  Skraelings  that  they  ran  to 
their  ships  and  rowed  away. 

Then  the  men  praised  her  for  her  courage,  but  she 
scoffed  them,  and  they  wondered  what  it  could  have  been 
that  so  pressed  upon  and  frightened  them,  and  believed  it 
must  have  been  a  delusion.  One  of  the  Indians  picked  up 
an  axe,  and  was  delighted  when  he  found  it  would  cut 
wood,  but  when  he  broke  it  in  trying  to  cut  stone,  he 
threw  it  away  in  disgust. 

Finding  the  country  unsafe,  Thorfinn  sailed  back  to 
Straumfjord,  and  found  every  thing  they  wanted  to  have. 
Thorfinn  now  determined  to  go  in  search  of  Thorhall-the- 
hunter ;  so  he  took  one  ship  with  a  part  of  the  people, 
and  the  rest  (some  say  one  hundred),  he  left  behind  with 
Biarni  and  Gudrid  ;  whether  they  remained  there  and  col- 


32  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

onized  the  country  no  man  certainly  knows.  During  the 
autumn  of  the  year  1007,  Gudrid,  wife  of  Thorfinn,  bore 
him  a  son,  who  was  called  Snorri,  from  whom  have  de 
scended  Thorwalsden,  the  sculptor,  and  other  noted 
men. 

Snorri  was  the  first  white  "  native  American"  known  in 
history,  and  should  before  this  have  been  canonized. 

Thorfmn  sailed  Eastward  in  search  of  Tborhall,  passed 
Keelness,  and  then  Northward  and  Westward,  but  found 
Thorhall  nowhere,  only  wild  woods  over  all  as  far  as  they 
could  see.  But  time  passed,  and  Thorfinn  sailed  away 
with  Gudrid  and  his  son  to  Iceland  (A.D.  1011),  and  his 
mother  thought  at  first  he  had  made  a  bad  match  :  after 
ward  she  changed  her  mind,  for  she  found  Gudrid  was  a 
distinguished  woman.  Many  great  men  in  Iceland  are 
descended  from  Karlsefne  and  Gudrid,  who  are  not  here 
mentioned.  So  ends  the  saga  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne — "  God 
be  with  us— Amen  !" 

Voyages  to  Vinland-the-Good,  began  to  be  profitable, 
and  men  talked  much  about  them.  Two  brothers,  Helgi 
and  Finnbogi,  had  come  from  Norway  to  Greenland  in 
1011,  and  lay  in  the  fiord.  Then  Freydis,  Eirik's  daugh 
ter,  went  from  her  home  at  Garde,  and  bade  the  brothers 
sail  to  Vinland,  and  go  halves  with  her  in  the  profit  they 
might  make.  She  went  to  the  grave  Leif,  and  begged  him 
to  give  her  the  houses  he  had  built ;  but  he  said  as  he 
had  said, 

"  I  will  lend  you  the  houses,  but  not  give  them." 

So  they  fitted  out  two  ships,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
Freydis  and  the  brothers  should  each  have  thirty  fighting 
men,  besides  women  ;  but  Freydis  broke  the  bargain,  and 
hired  five  more.  Helgi  and  Finnbogi  reached  Vinland 
first,  and  took  their  effects  to  Leif's  houses,  and  when 
Freydis  came,  she  said, 

"  Why  bring  ye  in  your  things  here  ?" 

11  Because  we  thought  the  bargain  should  be  good  be 
tween  us/'  they  answered. 


A.D.  986.]        THE    NORTHMEN   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  33 

"  To  me  lent  Leif  the  houses,"  quoth  she,  "  not  to 
you." 

Then  said  Helgi,  "  In  malice  are  we  brothers  easily  ex 
celled  by  thee  ;"  which  he  had  better  not  have  said,  for 
she  was  a  woman. 

They  took  away  their  goods,  and  built  a  separate  house, 
and  made  things  in  order,  and  passed  the  winter  in  pre 
paring  timber  for  loading  the  ships.  But  the  quarrel 
grew  between  the  brothers  and  Freydis,  so  that  none  went 
from  one  house  to  the  other,  and  there  was  an  end  to  the 
sports. 

Early  one  morning  Freydis  left  her  husband's  bed,  and 
putting  on  his  cloak  went,  without  shoes,  to  the  brothers' 
house,  and  stood  in  the  door  for  a  little,  in  silence.  Finn- 
bogi  lay  there  awake,  and  said, 

"  What  wilt  thou  here,  Freydis  ?" 

"  Get  up  and  go  with  me,"  she  said,  "  for  I  will  speak 
with  thee." 

So  he  got  up,  and  they  went  out  together,  and  sat  by  a 
tree  ;  then  she  said,  "  How  art  thou  pleased  here  ?" 

"  Well  like  I  the  country,"  he  said,  "  but  evil  and  un 
necessary  seems  to  me  the  discord  that  has  sprung  up 
between  us." 

"  Thou  sayest  as  it  is,"  said  Freydis  ;  "  but  what  I  wish 
with  you  is  to  change  ships,  for  ye  have  a  larger  ship  than 
I,  and  then  will  I  go  hence." 

"  Then  must  I  agree  to  it  if  it  is  your  wish,"  said  Finn- 
bogi. 

So  they  parted,  Finnbogi  to  his  bed,  and  she  to  hers. 
But  Thorvard  her  husband  woke  and  said,  "  Why  are 
you  wet  ?  Why  are  your  feet  like  ice  ?" 

Then  she  broke  out  vehemently,  and  said,  "  I  went  to 
bargain  with  the  brothers  about  the  ship,  and  they  beat 
me,  and  used  me  shamefully  ;  now  avenge  my  disgrace 
and  thy  own,  or,  miserable  creature,  I  will  leave  thee  and 
tell  thy  cowardice."  He  could  not  withstand  her  re 
proaches,  and  he  bade  Iris  men  get  up  quickly  and  take 

2* 


34  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

their  arms  ;  they  fell  upon  the  "brothers  sleeping,  and 
bound  them  and  led  them  out  ;  but  Freydis  had  each 
man  killed  as  he  came  out  ;  so  all  were  killed,  but  no 
man  would  kill  their  women.  Then  said  Freydis  scorn 
fully,  "  Give  me  an  axe  !"  so  was  done  ;  she  took  it;  and 
stopped  not  till  all  were  dead. 

After  this  evil  work  Freydis  was  calm  and  satisfied,  but 
she  said  to  her  people, 

"  Let  no  man  tell  of  this  when  we  come  to  Greenland, 
or  I  will  take  his  life.  Say  that  Helgi  and  Finnbogi 
stayed  behind  when  we  went  away."  But  she  forgot  the 
Norse  proverb,  which  runs  thus, 

"  A  secret  can  be  kept  by  one,  not  by  two  ;  what  three 
know  is  no  secret." 

She  loaded  the  large  ship  with  the  best  cargo,  and  had 
a  quick  voyage  to  Greenland,  where  the  thing  she  had 
done  was  whispered  about.  Then  Leif  took  three  of  the 
men  and  tortured  them,  and  they  told  the  story. 

Leif  said  to  Freydis, 

"  I  like  not  to  do  to  my  sister  what  she  has  deserved, 
but  I  will  predict  that  no  good  will  come  to  thee  or  to  thy 
posterity  ;"  and  from  that  day  she  was  thought  ill  of  and 
neglected  ;  as  was  inevitable  where  a  people  have  escaped 
the  corruptions  of  what  are  called  "  Civilized  Christian 
Courts." 


Here  we  leave  these  early  Sagas.  They  are  as  clear  and 
consistent  as  any  of  the  records  of  the  day,  and  have  in 
their  details  proofs  of  reality  which  could  not  well  be  in 
vented.  Some  collateral  evidences  tend  to  sustain  them. 

The  Assonet,  or  "  Dighton  Writing  Bock," 
is  thus  described  by  a  Committee  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Historical  Society,  who  visited  it  in 
1830  : — "  It  is  situated  six  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Taunton,  on  the  east  side  of  Taunton  River,  a  few  feet 
from  the  shore,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Assonet  Neck,  in 


THE  DIGHTON 
BOCK. 


A.D.  986.]        THE   NORTHMEN   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  35 

the  town  of  Berkley,  County  of  Bristol,  and  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts. 

ult  is  a  mass  of  well-characterized,  fine-grained,  gray- 
wacke.  Its  face  measured  at  the  base  is  eleven  feet  and  a 
half,  and  in  height  it  is  little  rising  of  five  feet.  The  up 
per  surface  forms,  with  the  horizon,  an  inclined  plane  of 
about  sixty  degrees.  The  whole  of  the  face  is  covered  to 
within  a  few  inches  of  the  ground  with  unknown  hierogly 
phics.  There  appears  little  or  no  method  in  the  arrange 
ment  of  them.  The  lines  are  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch 
in  width,  and  in  depth  sometimes  one  third  of  an  inch, 
though  generally  very  superficial." 

There  are  no  sure  examples  of  Indians  having  recorded 
thus ;  and  Professor  Kafn  thinks  the  Runic  Th  at  once 
stamps  its  Scandinavian  origin.  Both  he  and  Finn  Mag- 
nusen  believe  that  the  name  of  Thorfinn  is  made  out,  and 
the  number  of  his  associates,  CXXXI  (160).1 

This  is  found,  too,  in  the  country  called  Vinland-the- 
Good  ;  and  beside  it  there  are  other  marks  at  Tiverton 
and  Portsmouth,  which  help  to  sustain  the  view.  The 
rocks  may  go  for  what  they  are  worth  ;  some  think  Kafn, 
Magnusen,  and  the  R.  I.  Historical  Society,  are  easily  sat 
isfied,  and  that  time  has  had  a  peculiar  effect  on  this  rock, 
having  rendered  the  hieroglyphics  more  (?)  distinct.  The 
strongest  proof  is  in  the  Sagas,  which  are  here  briefly  re 
presented. 

There  is  certainly  no  improbability,  if  there  were  no 
Sagas,  that  the  hardy  and  adventurous  Northmen  should 
have  struck  the  shore  of  America  ;  with  them  there  is  no 
reasonable  doubt.  The  inscription  at  Dighton,  is  a  slight 
confirmation.  So  is  the  following  from  Pere  Charlevoix's 
History  of  Nouvelle  France,  quoted  by  Pontopoddian. 
The  Jesuit  reports  that  he  found  in  Newfoundland  a 
different  race  from  the  Indians  ;  a  degenerate  people  with 
beards  and  a  white  complexion  :  "  Les  cheveux  blonds, 

1  Their  100  was  120,  and  with  Thorhall's  9,  this  131  would  make  160, 
Thorfinn's  whole  number. 


36  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  986. 

leur  peau  assez  blanche,  et  ils  ont  de  la  barbe — etc.  ;  et 
pourroient  faire  croire,  qu'ils  sont  une  colonie  d'Europeens 
qui  ont  degenere  par  la  misere  et  par  le  manque  d'  in 
struction." 

Adam  of  Bremen,  a  German,  who  wrote  in  the  eleventh 
century,  also  gives  some  account  of  Vinland,  which  he  had 
from  Sven  Estridson,  King  of  Denmark,  nephew  of  Ca 
nute  the  Great,  of  England.1 

I  conclude  then,  that  the  Northmen  did  land  on  the 
shores  of  North  America  in  the  tenth  century,  and  that 
they  made  temporary  settlements  ;  but  I  think  he  must 
be  an  enthusiast,  who  fixes  the  places  of  their  landing  and 
living  with  so  much  precision,  as  some  scholars  are  in 
clined  to  do. 

I  leave  this  interesting  subject  with  the  reader,  trusting 
that  he  will  have  some  entertainment  in  reading  what  is 
written.  He  may  ask  what  authority  there  is  for  telling 
these  things,  in  this  old  time  of  the  world — and  where  he 
is  to  look  for  himself  ?  Many  books  are,  therefore,  recom 
mended  to  his  careful  and  attentive  perusal  ;  some  of  them 
he  will  find  in  the  Koyal  Library,  at  Copenhagen,  a  part 
of  which  he  may  read  if  he  will  in  the  old  Norse,  at  least 
in  Danish  characters  ;  the  rest  in  such  languages  as  he 
can  understand. 

There  is  also  a  large  and  valuable  collection  in  the  Astor 
Library,  New  York,  which  is  open  to  all. 


AUTHORITIES   THAT    MAY   BE    STUDIED. 

Somewhere  toward  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  Saemund,  a 
priest  (born  1056),  who  had  studied  in  France,  wrote  down  some 
of  the  Poems,  which  are  now  known  as  Saemund's,  or  the  Elder 
Edda. 

The  later  Edda,  in  prose,  supposed  to  have  been  written  in  the 

1  Keyser — Religion  of  the  Ns.,  p.  80. 


A.D.  986.]          THE    NORTHMEN   IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  37 

thirteenth  century,  by  Snorre  Sturleson,  was  found  in  Iceland,  by 
Arngrim  Jonsson,  in  1628.  These  may  be  called  the  Bible,  or 
Holy-Books  of  the  Northmen. 

Ari  Frode  began  in  the  early  part  of  the  twelfth  century  to  write 
down  past  and  present  events  ;  he  is  quoted  by  Snorre  Sturleson  in 
his  Heimskringla  (a  history  of  the  Northmen  for  three  hundred 
years),  written  in  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Olaf 
Tryggvason's  History,  written  in  Latin  by  two  monks,  in  the  end 
of  the  twelfth  century  exists ;  and  Professor  Rafn,  of  Copenhagen, 
has  translated  the  Flatobogen  manuscripts  collected  about  1390,  in 
his  Antiquitias  Americanse.  Most  of  the  remaining  proofs  of  their 
early  history  are  collected  at  Copenhagen,  and  from  these  works 
what  we  know  is  drawn. 

The  Sagas  of  Eirik-the-Red,  and  of  Thorfinn-Karlsefne,  are  a  part 
of  the  celebrated  Flatobogen  MSS  :  a  vellum  containing  copies  of 
Sagas,  executed  between  A.D.  1387,  and  1395,  found  in  the  mon 
astery  of  Flat-Island,  in  Iceland,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Royal 
Library  of  Copenhagen.  The  Saga  of  Eirik  was  probably  written 
in  Greenland,  that  of  Thorfmn,  in  Iceland. 

See  Antiquitates  Americanse,  by  C.  C.  Rafn. 

Memoire  sur  la  Decouverte  de  1'Amerique  au  dixieme  Siecle, 
par  Charles  Christian  Rafn.  Copenhagen,  1843. 

History  of  the  Northmen,  by  Henry  Wheaton.  Philadelphia,  1831. 

The  Discovery  of  America  by  the  Northmen,  by  North  Ludlow 
Beamish.  London,  1841. 

Pontopoddian's  Natural  History  of  Norway.     1753. 

Crantz's  History  of  Greenland.     London,  1767. 

Frithiofs  Saga,  by  Bishop  Tegner.     Stockholm,  1825. 

The  Religion  of  the  Northmen — by  Keyser.  Translated  by 
Barclay  Pennock.  New  York,  1834. 


CHAPTER    II. 

RISE    OF    THE    PURITANS    IN    ENGLAND. 

VFIOKLIFFE — HENRY  VIII. — THE  BIBLE  A  CONSTITUTION — SKEPTICISM — HUSS  AND  CALVIN 
— THE  NAME  "  PURITAN" — THE  CHARACTER  OF  AN  OLD  ENGLISH  "PUKITANE1'  OK  NON 
CONFORMIST. 

FROM  the  time  of  WICKLIFFE/  in  the  fourteenth  cen 
tury,  Puritanism  may  be  said  to  have  had  life  in  England.2 
This  great  man  could  feel,  think,  act.  He  knew  that 
power  and  security  had  made  the  Church  fearfully  corrupt. 
He  saw  that  the  "honors  of  the  Church  were  given  to 
unholy  men;  Priests  do  eat  up  the  people  as  though  it 
was  bread/'  He  saw  that  dignitaries  had  become  "  Bail 
iffs  rather  than  Bishops;"  that  religious  beggars — Monks 
and  Friars — swarmed  in  every  town  and  devoured  the 
earth.  His  great  soul  was  moved  at  these  things,  and  he 
called  for  Purity,  for  Reform,  in  the  Church  of  God.  He 
was  not  alone:  Rigge,  Chancellor  at  Oxford,  Bright  well, 
Reppington,  and  Hereford,  were  with  him;  and  John  of 
Gaunt — "  time-honored  Lancaster,"  son  of  Edward  Third 
— stood  by  him,  his  staunch  friend. 

WicklifTe  proceeded  to  Act:  he  demanded  simplicity 
in  worship.  He  asserted  that  "  man  can  only  be  excom 
municated  by  himself."  He  declared  that  the  Pope  and  the 
Church  had  nothing  to  do  with  political  and  temporal 
rule.  He  boldly  maintained,  that  "  a  Priest,  yea,  a 
Roman  Pope,  may  be  lawfully  accused  and  brought  to 
trial  by  Laymen."  He  translated  the  Bible  into  the  ver 
nacular,  and  held  that  it,  not  the  Church,  was  the  rule  of 
faith.  The  two-headed  Popedom  (Urban  in  Rome,  and 

1  Born,  1324;  died,  1384.        2  Eliot's  Passages  in  the  History  of  Liberty. 


A.D.  1533.]  PURITANS  IN   ENGLAND.  39 

Clement   in   Avignon,    A.D.    1380),    then    distracted  the 
Church  ;  which  in  a  degree  protected  this  Puritan. 

Protected  hy  Lancaster,  Wickliffe  could  not  be  burnt, 
nor  could  the  Lollards,  then  the  Puritans  of  England,  be 
"harried  out  of  England,"  as  they  were  in  James  the 
First's  day.  Wickliffe  was  popular  with  the  people,  and 
the  power  of  Royal  and  hereditary  honor  sustained  him. 
The  seed  of  Liberty  is  sown  in  the  heart  of  man;  Wick 
liffe  watered  it  and  made  it  to  bud. 

The  day  of  the  Great  Reformation  in  England  came. 
Little  did  HENRY  THE  EIGHTH  care  for  the  purity  of  the 
Church,  or  for  Liberty  of  Conscience.  His  quarrel  with 
Rome  was  as  to  power  and  patronage. 

WThether  Bluff  Harry  or  Pious  Paul  should  be  Pope  in 
England  ?  Whether  the  capricious  and  tyrannical  King 
should  lord  it  in  his  own  way,  or  after  the  way  of  some 
equally  willful,  but  weaker,  Pope  or  Council  at  Rome  ? 
In  the  struggle,  the  weaker  went  down,  and  England,  cut 
loose  from  Rome,  set  up  for  herself,  with  Henry  as  her 
spiritual  head.  Absurd  as  this  seems,  it  had  been  worse 
for  her  with  Rome  to  rule  her.  But  the  struggle  was  not 
this  time  a  losing  one;  perhaps  it  never  is,  for  wherever 
there  is  movement,  truth  is  developed  and  spread. 

Finding  the  old  standards  of  Orthodoxy  had 
become  rotten,  men  looked  for  something  that     BIBLE    THE 

.  -!  .  ,  .      .  OON8TITTT- 

might  not  be  altogether  arbitrary  and  capricious.  «ON. 
The  Puritans,  here  and  there  since  the  days  of 
Wickliffe,  had  appealed  to  the  Bible,  and  asserted  it  as 
the  standard,  and  the  only  one,  in  religious  things.  It 
was  a  sort  of  CONSTITUTION  or  Magna  Charta,  in  place  of 
the  despotic  and  uncertain  will  of  a  Pope  or  Council, 
which  might  be  good  or  bad,  or  right  or  wrong.  Although 
the  King  did  not  for  a  moment  allow  any  such  claim  to 
interfere  with  his  will,  yet  that  it  was  making  its  way,  was 
clear,  in  that  Vicar-General  Cromwell,  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year1  of  the  King's  reign,  signified  that  the  rites 

1  History  of  the  Puritans,  by  Eev.  H.  W.  Stowell. 


40  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1536. 

and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  should  be  reformed  accord 
ing  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Since  Wickliffe's  day,  the  Bible  had  been  read  and  pon 
dered  by  earnest  men,  and  the  appeal  to  G-od,  as  supreme 
over  any  and  all  earthly  power  and  law.  which  pervades 
it,  had  carried  strength  and  hope  to  those  who  had  suf 
fered  and  died  victims  of  spiritual  despotism.  But  what 
did  the  Bible  teach,  and  what  was  the  standard  it  set  up  ? 
Bold  men  like  Wickliife,  and  Huss,  and  Luther,  and  Cal 
vin,  looked  to  see.  They  read  and  thought,  and  used 
their  reason  and  experience,  as  men  do  now,  and  decided 
for  themselves.  Their  decision  was  thundered  in  speech 
and  action,  and  men  gathered  round  them  as  particles  to 
the  strong  magnet  ;  for  what  truth  they  had,  made  them 
powerful,  and  their  truth  was  fresh  and  clear,  not  smoth 
ered  with  the  ceremonial  and  formalism  of  an  old  organ 
ization,  which  tends  always  to  corruption  and  decay. 

This  Skepticism — this  questioning  of  existing  Grods  and 
of  past  standards — is  an  old  practice,  coincident  with  the 
mental  and  spiritual  action  of  man  in  all  times  ;  it  is  the 
spring  from  which  flows  among  the  mountains,  the  river 
which  is  to  enrich  both  mental  and  spiritual  growth.  The 
hardy  Enomaus,  ages  since,  thus  bearded  Apollo  in  his 
temple  :  "  What  dost  thou,  wretch  as  thou  art,  at  Delphi  ? 
muttering  idle  prophecies  !" 

The  indictment  of  Socrates  said  : — "  SOCRATES  is 
guilty  of  crime,  for  not  worshiping  the  gods  whom  the 
City  worships,  but  introducing  new  divinities  of  his 
own."  l 

And  we  all  know  that  Demetrius  was  shocked,  because 
Paul,  a  wandering  preacher  from  Tarsus,  spoke  against 
his  Diana.  That  these  Iconoclasts  were  then  called  "  In 
fidels,"  is  a  matter  of  course.  Such  was  the  cry  against 
Hooker  and  Hales,  Stillingfleet,  Cud  worth,  and  Taylor  ;2 
such  is  likely  to  be  the  cry  with  the  timid,  the  indolent, 
the  unthinking,  and  the  venal,  against  those  who,  faithful 

1  G-rote's  Greece.  2  Preface  to  "Warburton's  Divine  Legation. 


A.D.  1536.]  PURITANS   IN   ENGLAND.  41 

to  themselves,  go  boldly  forward,  using  the  Past  only  to 
show  them  what  the  present  is,  and  what  the  Future 
should  be. 

Huss  was  burnt ;  it  was  not  from  charity  that  Wick- 
liffe,  Luther,  and  Calvin  escaped,  for  the  Church  was 
ready.  The  impulse  to  intellect  given  by  Wickliffe  was 
distinct  through  a  century  ;  and  is  not  spent  yet.  Lu 
ther  was  a  poet,  and  appealed  to  the  intuitional  rather 
than  the  logical  faculty  ;  but  his  voice  penetrated  the 
depths  of  man's  nature,  and  shook  the  world.  Calvin 
lived  and  acted  in  the  intellectual  consciousness,  and  his 
logic  was  clear,  inflexible,  and  unmerciful.  The  essence 
of  Calvinism  was  intellectual  freedom  and  supremacy, 
for  which,  rather  than  for  his  theology,  the  world  owes 
him  thanks. 

It  may  be  well  to  say  again,  that  the  term  PURITAN 
was  applied  to  men  of  high  standing  in  the  Church  of 
England — men  of  the  truest  lives  and  loftiest  talents  ; 
they  held  by  the  Spirit  rather  than  the  Letter,  by  the 
substance  of  the  Church,  not  its  forms. 

HOOPER,  a  distinguished  divine  of  the  Church  of  En 
gland,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  had  refused  to  be  con 
secrated  to  the  office  of  bishop,  in  what  he  deemed  to  be 
the  superstitious  robes  of  the  Episcopal  order.  He  had 
been  an  exile  from  England  during  the  latter  part  of 
Henry  the  Eighth's  reign,  and  his  puritanism,  his  dislike 
of  formal  religion,  had  been  deepened  by  his  intercourse 
with  the  reformed  churches  on  the  continent. 

The  objection  to  ceremonies  was  not  confined  to  the 
Puritans  who  left  the  Church.  Jewel,  Grindal,  Sandys, 
Nowell,  eminent  Churchmen,  were  in  favor  of  leaving  off 
the  surplice,  and  many  of  what  were  called  Popish  Cere 
monies.1 

But  the  term  once  honorable  became  one  of  reproach 
and  ridicule,  on  the  accession  of  Charles  II.  (1660),  and 
was  eagerly  seized  upon  by  profane  and  unscrupulous 
1  Young's  note  in  Ch.  of  Ps.  vol.  11. 


42  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1607. 

men,  to  disgrace  those  who  made  any  pretensions  to  piety, 
or  to  wish  to  reform  abuses  in  either  Church  or  State. 
It  was  not  altogether  undeserved,  for  the  Puritans  of  the 
Commonwealth  comprised  many  venal,  corrupt,  canting 
men,  who  were  a  disgrace  to  any  party  or  Church  ;  and 
their  folly  and  wickedness  served  to  contaminate  the  cause 
they  pretended  to  favor. 

The  ministers  said,1  "  We  protest  before  the  Almightie 
God,  that  we  acknowledge  the  Churches  of  England  (as 
they  be  established  by  publique  authoritie)  to  be  true 
visible  Churches  of  Christ  :  that  we  desire  continuance 
of  our  Ministry  in  them  above  all  earthly  things  ;  and, 
'  Finally,  whatsoever  followeth  is  not  set  downe  in  an 
evill  mind  to  deprave  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  Ordin 
ation,  or  Homilies- ;  but  onely  to  show  some  reasons  why 
we  cannot  subscribe  to  all  things  contayned  in  the  same 
Booke/  " 

The  first  part  of  the  Book  is  taken  up  (226  pages)  in 
Objecting  to  Translations  "  Generall  and  Perticul." 

The  second  part  (243  pages)  is  a  detailed  objection  to 
the  Applications  of  Scripture,  etc.,  which  no  one  now  is 
forced  to  read. 

The  third  part  (166  pages)  treats  at  large,  and  in  sixteen 
various  positions,  the  unlawfulness  of  Kneeling,  and  goes 
into  "  An  examination  of  their  Pretences,  etc."  of  those 
who  advocate  it. 

A  superstitious  reverence  for  the  Prayer-book,  the 
Surplice,  the  use  of  the  Cross  in  Baptism,  Kneeling  at 
the  Sacrament,  was  common  and  was  encouraged  ;  and 
the  Ceremonies  of  the  Church,  harmless  enough  in  them 
selves,  had  reached  an  exaggerated  importance.  They 
had  usurped  the  place  of  Christ,  and,  like  the  broad  phy 
lacteries  of  the  Pharisees,  covered  a  dead  religion  and  a 
corrupt  church.  These  trifles,  therefore,  the  Puritans 
protested  against  loudly,  persistently,  and  bitterly  :  they 

1  A  Defence  of  the  Ministers'  Eeasons  for  refusall  of  subscription  to  the 
Booke  of  Common  Prayer,  and  of  Couformitie,  etc.  Imprinted  1607. 


A.D.  1649.  ]  PURITANS   IN   ENGLAND.  43 

were  merely  the  standards  around  which  they  fought  ; 
while  the  real  issues  were  Freedom,  and  Truth,  and 
Righteousness; 

"  The  Character  of  an  old  English  Puritane  or  Non- 
Conformist,"  is  thus  begun  to  be  described  by  "  John 
Geree,  M.A.,  and  late  preacher  of  the  Word  at  Saint 
Faiths."  ! 

"  The  Old  English  Puritane  was  such  an  one,  that 
honored  God  above  all,  and  under  God  gave  every  one 
his  due.  He  highly  esteemed  order  in  the  House  of 
God  :  but  would  not  under  colour  of  that  submit  to  su 
perstitious  rites.  He  reverenced  Authority  Keeping 
within  its  sphere.  He  made  conscience  of  all  Gode  ordin 
ances,  though  some  he  esteemed  of  more  consequence. 
He  was  much  in  praier  ;  with  it  he  began  and  closed  the 
day.  He  esteemed  reading  the  Word  and  ordinances  of 
God  both  in  private  and  publike,  but  did  not  account 
reading  to  be  preaching.  The  Word  read  he  esteemed 
of  more  authority,  but  the  Word  preached  of  more  effi 
cacy."  So  the  portrait  is  made  out,  and  fortified  by  num 
berless  references  to  Scripture  by  one  of  their  preachers. 

King  James  I.  said  of  the  same  men,  they  were  "  pests 
in  the  Church  and  Commonwealth,  Liars  and  Thieves." 

The  Non-Conformists  claimed  to  be  truly  Church  of 
England  men,  differing  only  respecting  some  ceremonies.2 

Among  the  questions  proposed  to  the  Lord  Prelates  in 
1587  was  this  one  : 

"  By  the  Statute  of  37  Henry  VIII.  c.  6,  Every  Person 
or  Persons  that  cut  out  or  maliciously  cause  to  be  cut 
out  the  tongue  of  any  person,  or  shall  maliciously  cut  off 
or  cause  to  be  cut  off  the  ear  or  ears  of  any  of  his  Majes- 
tie's  Subjects,  is  to  render  trible  damages  to  the  partie, 
and  to  forfeit  £10  sterling  for  every  such  offence  : 

1  London,  1649. 

2  See  "An  account  of  the  Principles  and  Practises  of  several  Non-Conform 
ists,  wherein  it  appears  that  their  religion  is  no  other  that  what  is  Profest 
in  the  Church  of  England,"  etc.     By  Mr.  John  Corbet. — London  1682. 


44  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1587. 

Whether  then  Our  Lord  Prelates  and  their  officers,  for 
cutting  out  faithful  ministers'  tongues,  and  closing  up 
of  their  mouths,  that  they  may  not  preach  God's  Word  to 
the  people,  and  cutting  off  some  Laymen's  ears,  that  they 
may  not  hear  God's  Word  (and  that  maliciously  against 
the  Laws,  etc.)  are  not  Fellons,  is  a  question  worthy  reso 
lution." 

The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  the  Puritans  represented 
the  movement  party  in  England,  and  the  bitter  persecu 
tions  they  met  with,  were  owing,  not  to  their  objections  to 
surplices  and  ceremonials,  but  to  their  persistent  protest 
and  resistance  to  abuses  in  the  Church ;  which  men  in 
place  knew  well  would  in  the  end  destroy  their  places  and 
limit  or  destroy  their  privileges.  They  were  feared  and 
hated  as  the  Ke-Formers  of  that  day. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    PURITANS    BECOME    PILGRIMS. 

THE  STANDARD  SET  TIP — PERSECUTION — EXPATRIATION  FORBIDDEN — 1602 — JOHN  ROBIN 
SON  AND  HIS  CHURCH — THE  BOOK  OF  SPORTS — 1607 — THE  PURITANS  TRY  TO  FLY — ARK 
BETRAYED — ARE  SEPARATED — THEY  REACH  HOLLAND — AT  LEYDEN — 1609 — 11EASON8 
FOR  LEAVING  HOLLAND — CUSHMAN,  CARVER,  AND  BREWSTER — THEY  OBTAIN  A  GRANT 
FROM  THE  VIRGINIA  COMPANY — THEY  PREPARE  TO  GO — BARGAIN  WITH  LONDON  MER 
CHANTS. 

IT  seems  to  be  a  law  of  human  nature  that  no  evil  is 
arrested  till  it  becomes  unbearable  ;  and  then  it  is  often 
too  late.  This  is  true  of  tyrannical  usurpation. 

Since  the  Law  of  the  Six  Articles  (1539),  till  the  acces 
sion  of  James  I.  (1603),  nigh  seventy  years  had  passed,  in 
which  the  Puritans  had  suffered  buffetings,  burnings,  and 
persecutions  in  England.  Men  had  been  burnt  in  Henry 
the  Eighth's  reign  for  asserting  the  doctrine  of  Transub- 
stantiation  ;  in  Mary's  reign  for  denying  it  ;  and,  again,  in 
Elizabeth's  for  maintaining  it.  Conformity  in  doctrino 
and  worship  had  been  urged  by  the  sword  and  faggot. 
Henry  set  up  his  headship,  the  Pope  his,  Elizabeth  hers  ; 
and  Archbishop  Whitgift  had  driven  persecution  home  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  James  I.  and  his  flatterer  Ban 
croft,  then  asserted  themselves  as  the  "  standard,"  and 
murder  or  exile  was  still  the  custom.  Barrow,  Greenwood, 
Penry,  and  a  host  more,  were  put  to  death,  and  yet  some 
of  these  sturdy  Englishmen  would  not  yield  the  God-given 
right  to  think  their  own  thoughts,  and  to  worship  their 
own  God  in  their  own  way.  In  view  of  this  freedom  and 
this  right,  kings  became  to  them  as  stubble,  laws  as  parch 
ment,  country  and  home  lost  their  charm,  and  even  life 
itself  was  risked  and  lost.  The  world  should  thank  them 


46  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1607. 

for  their  rebellion,  for  it  reaps  the  harvest  these  "  fanatics" 
sowed. 

The  love  of  father-land,  with  its  homes,  its  childhood, 
its  hallowed  lives,  and  holy  graves,  was  strong,  but  all 
these  were  overcome,  even  though  voluntary  expatriation 
had  been  made  illegal  and  disgraceful  by  some  of  En 
gland's  rulers. 

John  Eobinson  and  his  friends  decided  to  go.  Since 
the  year  1602,  this  small  body  of  Calvinists  and  Puritans 
had  been  wont  to  collect  in  the  north  of  England,  and 
listen  to  the  earnest  words  of  John  Smith,  Kichard  Clifton, 
and  lastly,  of  John  Eobinson,  their  chosen  pastor.  They 
gathered  themselves  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  with  difficulty, 
walking  for  miles,  and  changing  their  places  of  meeting. 
They  came  together  with  doubt,  and  parted  with  fear,  for 
they  knew  not  when  or  where,  the  unjust  laws  and  fierce 
soldiers  might  seize  them. 

Elizabeth  had  been  no  nursing  mother  to  them,  and 
James  was  a  father  bent  upon  their  destruction.  "  Pests 
in  the  Church  and  Commonwealth,  greater  liars  and  per 
jurers  than  any  border  thieves,"  he  called  them. 

In  1607  they  contracted  with  a  ship-master  to  carry 
them  from  Boston  (in  Lincolnshire)  to  Holland,  where 
they  could  be  tolerated.  A  part  of  them  embarked — it 
was  midnight ;  the  captain  betrayed  them,  and  they  were 
driven  back  to  mockery,  imprisonment,  poverty,  and  pun 
ishment.1  But  they  did  not  despair  ;  again  in  1608  a 
Dutch  captain  agreed  to  help  them  to  get  away  from  their 
country.  They  collected  stealthily  upon  England's  shore, 
in  a  desolate  place  between  Grimbse  and  Hull.  Most  of 
the  men  were  sent  aboard  in  small  boats,  while  the  women 
and  children,  aground  in  a  bark,  waited  the  rising  tide, 
ready  to  start  ;  but  busy  tongues  and  spiteful,  carried  the 
news  to  the  magistrates,  and  the  "  countrie  was  raised  to 
take  them."  "  Ye  Duchman  seeing  it  (says  Bradford), 
swore  his  countrie's  oath,  'sacrement,'  and  having  ye  wind 

1  Bradford's  History.     Young's  Chronicles  of  Ps. 


A.D.  1609.]  THE    PURITANS   PILGRIMS.  47 

faire,  weighed  his  anchor,  hoysed  sayles,  and  away/'1  The 
men  were  then  forced  to  leave  their  families,  and  the  wo 
men  and  children,  with  Robinson  and  a  few  others,  were 
led  back  again  to  prison  and  persecution.  Sore  was  the 
trial,  and  grievous  their  misery.  Those  in  the  ship  had  a 
sad  and  perilous  voyage  ;  they  were  driven  by  the  winds, 
and  nigh  shipwrecked  on  the  ragged  coast  of  Norway ; 
for  seven  days  and  nights  they  saw  no  sun,  no  moon,  no 
stars  ;  and  when  the  sailors  lost  heart,  the  Pilgrims  cried, 
"  Yet,  Lord,  thou  canst  save."  They  reached  Holland, 
and  in  the  following  year  the  women  and  children  were 
allowed  to  leave  England  (for  who  there  could  support 
them  ?),  and  with  Robinson  they  joined  their  friends  at 
Amsterdam.  In  1609  they  removed  to  the  fair  and  beau 
tiful  city  of  Leyden,  where  they  were  established  for  eleven 
years,  and  where  the  church  increased  to  three  hundred 
members. 

"These  English,"  said  tbe  Dutch  to  the  quarrelsome 
Walloons,  "  have  lived  among  us  now  these  twelve  years, 
and  yet  we  never  had  any  suit  or  accusation  brought 
against  them,  but  your  strifes  are  continual."2 

In  Holland,  the  Pilgrims  were  honorable  arid  industri 
ous — they  sought  work  with  the  Dutch  and  found  it,  and 
they  took  to  new  trades.  Brewster  was  a  man  of  prop 
erty,  not  an  idle  "  gentleman,"  and  he  learned  to  be  a 
printer  at  the  age  of  forty- five.  Bradford,  who  had  owned 
and  farmed  land  in  England,  became  a  silk-dyer.  They 
were  good  citizens  it  seemed  ;  good  in  Holland  if  not  in 
England,  and  Robinson  became  noted  as  a  scholar  and 
preacher,  one  of  the  first  there.3 

Why  then  did  they  leave  Holland  ?  Why  again  brave 
the  perils  of  the  sea  ?  Were  they  reckless  and  unsteady, 
as  the  churchmen  charged  ?  Were  they  desperate  and 
wilful,  as  the  king  asserted  ?  It  is  unmanly  to  assume 


1  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  p.  13.     M.  H.  C.,  1856. 

2  Cotton's  Account.  *  Cotton's  Account. 


48  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1619. 

bad  motives,  where  nobler  ones  are  at  hand.  Bradford 
enumerates  some  of  their  reasons  ;  and  they  were  :l 

First,  The  country  (Holland)  was  hard,  and  many  dis 
couraged  :  "  Grim  and  grissled  poverty  was  coming  on 
them  as  an  armed  man." 

/Second,  Old  age  was  coming  upon  them,  and  no  ameli 
oration  of  their  condition  came  with  it. 

Third,  Licentiousness  threatened  their  children,  who, 
in  another  generation  would  become  Dutchmen  ;2  and 
there  was  fear  that  they  would  take  the  bit  in  their  teeth. 
The  Sabbath,  too,  was  not  well  observed  there. 

fourth,  "  A  great  hope  and  inward  zeal  of  laying  some 
good  foundation  for  the  propagating  and  advancing  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  those  remote  parts  of 
the  world,"  was  strong  with  them. 

So  they  sent  Kobert  Cushman  and  John  Carver,  to  En 
gland,  with  a  petition,  signed  by  nearly  all  the  church, 
asking  for  privileges  in  the  wilderness  of  the  New  World.3 
Sir  Edward  Sandys,  a  man  of  influence,  befriended  them  ; 
they  were  encouraged  to  settle  in  Virginia,  but  got  little 
else,  for  James  was  then  enforcing  conformity,  or  "  harry 
ing  the  people."  They  returned  to  their  friends  disap 
pointed,  but  not  cast  down  ;  so  in  a  short  time  (1619), 
Cushman  and  Brewster  were  sent  to  England  to  beg  once 
more  for  liberty  to  live  and  worship  in  the  wilderness.4 
At  last  they  obtained  a  grant,  not  from  the  King,  but 
from  the  Virginia,  or  London  Company,  and  obliged  to  be 
content  with  this,  they  set  about  the  preparation  for  their 
departure.  This  grant  was  never  of  the  least  service,  for 
they  were  driven  on  the  coast  North  of  the  Virginia  patent, 
and  settled  themselves  there  with  a  charter  from  the  God 
of  the  free  ! 

1  Young's  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims,  page  47.    Brief  narrative,  do. 
a  Mauditt,  1774 

8  See  Robinson  and  Brewster's  letter  to  Sir  E.  Sandys,  in  Prince.  Young's 
Chronicles  of  Pilgrims. 

4  Cushman's  letter  in  Young's  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims,  page  68. 


A.D.  1619.]  THE   PURITANS   PILGRIMS.  49 

Cushman  and  Brewster,  both  men  of  parts  and  of  influ 
ence,  applied  themselves  diligently  in  preparing  the  way 
for  this  untried  and  nigh  desperate  voyage.  They  sounded 
the  Politicians  ;  they  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  friends  and 
well-wishers  ;  they  approached  the  Merchants.  Brewster 
was  a  stranger  in  London  and  in  England,  but,  with 
Cushinan,  he  was  diligent  and  persevering.  The  dangers 
were  great,  but  not  desperate,  and  the  difficulties  were 
many,  but  not  invincible.  Their  courage  "  was  answer 
able"  to  the  needs  of  the  time.  With  "  care,  the  use  of 
good  means,  fortitude,  and  patience/'  and  the  help  of 
Providence,  all  these  might  be  borne  or  overcome.1 

One  thing  was  to  be  clone — not  the  least  important — 
viz.,  to  provide  themselves  with  stores,  tools,  and  material 
aids  for  this  new  enterprise.  The  reports  of  Captain 
Smith,  and  the  eiforts  of  Gorges  and  others,  had  inspired 
a  belief  in  the  minds  of  some  English  Merchants,  that  the 
fisheries  on  the  American  coast  might  be  made  profitable 
—perhaps  largely  so.  The  Agents  of  the  Church  at 
Leyden  were  enabled,  therefore,  to  enlist  some  London 
Merchants,  and  to  have  a  Company  ("  The  Merchant 
Adventurers")  formed  for  the  supply  of  the  needed  capital. 
The  terms  were  deemed  exceedingly  severe — a  share  of 
ten  pounds  money  being  equal  to  a  man's  services — each 
share  and  man  being  entitled  to  draw  an  equal  amount  of 
the  entire  profits  for  seven  (7)  years.2  But  hard  as  these 
terms  were,  they  did  not  preclude  Civil  and  Religious 
rights,  and  the  Puritans  accepted  them,  although  some  of 
their  number  afterward  severely  blamed  Mr.  Cushman, 
and  wished  to  repudiate  the  bargain.  They  enlisted  their 
own  property  where  they  periled  their  lives,  and  so  all 
became  partners  in  a  great  business,  which  was  to  extend 
over  seven  years  of  time,  and  over  the  lands  and  seas  of  a 
new  State.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  was  no  fantastic 

1  Chronicles  of  Pa.,  pp.  48-50. 

a  Chronicles  of  Ps.,  p.  83.  Cheever's  Journal,  p.  131.  Bradford's  Hist.. 
M.  H.  Coll.,  1856. 


50  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1619. 

imitation,  as  has  been  asserted/  of  the  early  Christians, 
who  had  a  community  of  goods,  but  a  simple  partnership, 
such  as  is  now  of  daily  occurrence. 

So  much  being  accomplished,  Brewster  and  Cushman 
returned  to  their  friends  in  Holland. 

1  Robertson's  America. 


The 


VOYAGE  TO  NEW  ENGLAND, 


and 


Settlement  of 


NEW    PLYMOUTH 


A.  D.  1620. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    EMBARKATION. 

DELFT-HAVEN — THE  22D  OF  JULY,  1620 — THE  SPEEDWELL — THE  PARTING — ROBINSON'S  AD- 
DKES8 — SOUTHAMPTON — THE  MAYFLOWER — THE  5lH  OF  AUGUST,  1620 — THEY  SAIL — 
THEY  PUT  BACK — THEY  SAIL  AGAIN — THE  SPEEDWELL  PUTS  BACK — THE  MAYFLOWER 
SAILS  ALONE — 6TH  OF  SEPTEMBER,  1620. 

DELFT-HAVEN  is  an  unimportant  sea-port,  on  the  long 
line  of  the  Dutch  coast ;  yet  it  is  worthy  of  remembrance, 
for  it  marks  the  march  of  Man  toward  the  future,  and  to 
ward  Freedom.  On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  July,  of  the 
year  1620,1  a  few  persons,  on  the  quiet  key,  knew  that 
a  small  bark  of  sixty  tons,  called  the  "  Speeedwell,"  was 
prepared  for  a  voyage  ;  but  whither  and  for  what  ?  She 
was  no  merchantman  bound  for  gain,  no  privateer  for 
plunder,  no  holiday  sail  for  pleasure,  no  explorer  for  new 
continents.  Some  may  have  heard  that  she  sought  Kelig- 
ion  and  Freedom  !  Where  were  they  to  be  found  ? 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  July,  the  living  freight  of 
this  vessel  gathered  on  her  deck  :  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  some  old,  but  mostly  young.  They  had  come  from 
Leyden,  and  with  them  came  their  pastor,  John  Kobin- 
son  ;  they  were  English  born  and  English  bred,  though 
they  had  now  lived  in  this  foreign  land  some  twelve  years ; 
they  did  not  forget  the  land  of  their  birth,  yet  they 
thanked  the  Dutch  for  shelter,  when  they  were  driven  out 
from  their  homes,  and  the  places  they  loved  so  well.  They 
had  taken  counsel  of  their  hopes  and  of  their  fears — they 
had  already  met  together,  in  their  own  words,  "  that  we 
might  afflict  ourselves  before  our  God,"  as  in  the  days  of 

1  Bradford's  Journal  in  Prince. 


54  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

Ezra1 — "  To  seek  of  him  a  right  way  for  us  and  for  our  chil 
dren."  They  believed  they -had  found  the  right  way,  and 
were  now  to  go  forward  on  it,  leaving  behind  the  larger 
part  of  their  church,  and  their  minister,  for  all  could  not 
then  go.  They  were  serious,  and  sad,  yet  most  hopeful. 
The  little  children  gazed  upon  the  strange  ships  with  won 
der,  those  at  the  breast  rested  in  quiet  unconsciousness : 
none,  young  or  old,  knew  all  that  was  before  them  ;  and 
it  was  well  they  did  not.  The  Dutch  sailors  rested  from 
their  steady  labors  to  look  upon  this  singular  sight ; 
some  scoffed,  but  they  were  curious  to  see  what  this  thing 
meant.  Thus  was  gathered  on  the  deck  of  the 
o™™  "  Speedwell"  this  band  of  pilgrims,  then  at  the 
other  side  of  the  wide  ocean  ;  strangers  to  the 
perils  of  the  sea.  They  had  collected  together  their  little 
wealth,  and  their  goods  lay  heaped  in  confusion  upon  the 
narrow  deck ;  beds  and  chairs,  pots  and  packages,  chests 
and  cradles,  tools  and  implements,  were  mingled  with 
casks  of  water  and  provisions,  coils  of  cordage  and  other 
gear.  A  ready  oath  now  and  then  escaped  the  impatient 
sailors,  as  the  urgent  business  of  the  ship  went  on,  for  they 
were  to  sail  that  day. 

The  Pilgrims  stood  in  groups,  and  the  conversation,  if 
brief  and  low,  was  earnest.  Then  Kobinson  knelt  down 
on  the  deck,  and  with  him  knelt  his  friends  and  compan 
ions  ;  he  stretched  out  his  hands  and  cried  to  the  Lord, 
and  his  words  moved  all  hearts.  We  shall  do  well  to  re 
member  some  things  that  he  said  : 

"  Brethren,  we  are  now  quickly  to  part  from 
one  another,  and  whether  I  may  ever  live  to 
see  your  faces  on  earth  any  more,  the  God  of 
Heaven  only  knows  ;  but  whether  the  Lord  has  appointed 
that  or  no,  I  charge  you  before  your  God  and  his  blessed 
Angels,  that  you  follow  me,  no  further  than  you  have 
seen  me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  If  God  reveal  anything  to  you  by  any  other  instru- 
1  Ezra,  viil,  21. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   EMBARKATION.  55 

ment  of  his,  be  as  ready  to  receive  it  as  ever  you  were  to 
receive  any  truth  by  my  ministry  ;  for  I  am  verily  per 
suaded  the  Lord  has  more  truth  yet  to  break  forth  out 
of  His  holy  Word.  For  my  part  I  can  not  sufficiently 
bewail  the  condition  of  the  Keformed  Churches,  who  are 
come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  will  go  at  present  no 
further  than  the  instruments  of  their  reformation.  The 
Lutherans  can  not  be  drawn  to  go  beyond  what  Luther 
said  ;  whatever  part  of  his  will  our  God  has  revealed  to 
Calvin,  they  will  rather  die  than  embrace  it  ;  and  the 
Calvinists  you  see  stick  fast  where  they  were  left  by  the 
great  man  of  God,  who  yet  saw  not  all  things. 

"  This  is  a  misery  much  to  be  lamented  •  for  though 
they  were  burning  and  shining  lights  in  their  times,  yet 
they  penetrated  not  into  the  whole  council  of  God  ;  but 
were  they  now  living,  would  be  as  willing  to  embrace  fur 
ther  light  as  that  which  they  first  received  ;  I  beseech 
you  remember,  it  is  an  Article  of  your  Church  Covenant, 
'  That  you  shall  be  ready  to  receive  whatever  truth  shall 
be  made  known  to  you  from  the  written  word  of  God/ 
Kernember  that  and  every  other  Article  of  your  sacred 
Covenant.  But  I  must  herewithal  exhort  you  to  take 
heed  what  you  receive  as  Truth  ;  examine  it ;  consider  it, 
and  compare  it  with  those  Scriptures  of  Truth  before  you 
receive  it ;  for  it  is  not  possible  the  Christian  world  should 
come  so  lately  out  of  such  thick  Anti- Christian  darkness  ; 
and  that  perfection  of  Knowledge  should  break  forth  at 
once."  1  These  noble  and  generous  Counsels,  far — far  in 
advance  of  the  sectarian  bigotry  of  his  and  even  of  our 
days,  were  remembered  and  recorded  by  the  grateful 
Winslow.  But  the  time  had  come  to  part.  Captain 
Keynolds  gave  the  word,  and  with  lusty  arms  and  voices 
the  white  wings  of  the  ship  were  spread.  With  many 
tears  and  embraces  they  parted  ;  in  the  words  of  Brad 
ford,  "  they  knew  they  were  pilgrimes,  and  looked  not 

1  "Winslow's  Narrative.      See  note  in  Morton's  Memorial.     Neal's   His 
tory  of  Puritans.     Mem.  of  John  Robinson  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 


THE  MAY 
FLOWER. 


56  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

much  on  those  things,  but  lift  up  their  eyes  to  ye  heavens, 
their  dearest  countrie,  and  quieted  their  spirits."  l 

It  would  be  hard  to  say  which  were  the  most  bereft, 
those  who  went,  or  those  who  staid.  As  they  on  the  shore 
watched  the  departing  bark  with  streaming  eyes,  they 
were  borne  up  by  a  living  faith,  that  Liberty  and  Kight- 
eousness  should  one  day  prevail.  They  sailed 
for  Southampton,  in  England,  where  awaited 
them  another  small  band,  and  the  larger  ship, 
the  "  Mayflower/'  which  was  to  lead  the  way  to  a  new 
world.  After  some  disagreements  and  reproaches,  be 
tween  the  Pilgrims  and  Mr.  Cushman,  and  Mr.  Weston, 
their  agents  in  England,  the  final  arrangements  were  now 
made  ;  and  on  the  5th  of  August,  1620,  the  two  ships, 
with  some  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons,  stood  out  to 
sea.2 

The  "  Mayflower"  was  a  ship  of  a  hundred  and  eighty 
tons  ;  the  "  Speedwell"  was  about  sixty  tons.  Smaller 
vessels  had  again  and  again  explored  the  Ocean.  Co- 
lumbus's  "  Ships"  were  from  fifteen  to  thirty  tons  burden, 
and  without  decks.  Frobisher  had  traversed  the  watery 
waste,  with  a  vessel  of  twenty-five  tons  ;  and  Pring  had 
coasted  along  the  shores  of  New  England  in  a  bark  of 
fifty  tons.  Those  were  manned  by  hardy  seamen,  to 
whom  the  tempest  was  a  play-fellow  ;  but  these  men, 
women,  and  children,  knew  nothing  of  the  sea  ;  they  only 
knew  that  ships  sailed,  and  too  often  did  not  return  ;  they 
had  seen  the  sea,  even  along  the  coasts  of  England  and 
Holland,  lashed  into  fury.  To  trust  themselves  upon  it 
on  an  uncertain  voyage,  to  a  wilderness  harbor,  was  no 
light  matter.  Yet  they  went  out  with  courage  and  de 
termination  ;  and  at  once  began  to  arrange  themselves  to 
their  new  circumstances. 

They  had  hardly  begun  to  do  this,  when  signals  from 
the  "  Speedwell"  told  that  all  was  wrong,  that  evil  threat- 

1  Bradford's  History,  p.  59.     Young's  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims,  p.  89. 

2  Prince. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE    EMBARKATION.  57 

ened  them.  To  turn  back  was  the  only  alternative,  and 
then  to  learn  that  the  "  Speedwell"  was  leaking  badly, 
was  the  unwelcome  news.  To  old  England,  then,  they 
must  once  more  steer,  and  that  without  delay,  for  the 
water  made  fast,  so  that  when  they  arrived  at  Dartmouth, 
they  believed  that  in  three  hours  more,  the  ship  "  would 
have  sunk  right  down." 

After  eight  days  of  delay,  they  again  sailed  on  the  21st 
of  August  ;  but  before  long  the  signals  told  of  further 
trouble.  Although  God,  in  the  language  of  a  pious  his 
torian,  "had  sifted  three  kingdoms  to  get  the  pilgrim 
wheat  of  this  enterprise  ;"  it  needed  sifting  once,  if  not 
twice  more.1  There  were  timid  persons  among  the  hun 
dred  and  twenty,  and  now  their  small  courage  was  spent  ; 
they  were  urgent  to  go  back.  Cushman  wrote,  Dart 
mouth,  August  17,  "  Our  viage  hither  hath  been  as  full 
of  crosses  as  ourselves  of  crookedness/'  He  remained  be 
hind  in  England.  The  superstitious  element  was  then 
rife  in  the  land  ;  and  the  habit  of  tracing  every  event  to  a 
special  act  of  God,  led  some  to  fear  that  these  delays  and 
rebuffs  signified,  that  God  was  displeased  at  their  voyage  ; 
who  could  say  he  was  not,  who  could  prove  that  he  was  ? 
The  truth  is  that  the  "  Speedwell"  was  over-masted,  and  the 
captain  and  crew  were  sick  of  their  bargain  (for  a  whole 
year).  The  nineteen  timid  Pilgrims  had  the  fact  of  the 
leaky  condition  of  the  ship,  and  perhaps  the  voice  of  the 
captain  on  their  side  ;  so  it  was  decided  that  the  "  Speed 
well"  should  put  back  to  England,  and  the  rest  of  the  pas 
sengers  were  transferred  to  the  "  Mayflower  '"  which,  finally, 
on  the  6th  of  September,  set  sail  for  America,  solitary  and 
alone.2 

1  "Indeed,"  wrote  Cushman  (1621),  "it  is  our  callamitie  that  we  are  yoked 
with  some  ill-conditioned  people  who  will  never  doe  good,  but  corrupt  and 
abuse  others,"  etc. 

2  Morton's  Memorial,  p.  32.     Thacher's  History  of  Plymouth,  p.  16. 

3* 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE     VOYAGE. 

THE  SHIP  BREAKS — THE  IRON  SCREW — SEA-SICKNESS — OCEANtTS  HOPKINS — THEY  LOOK 
WESTWARD — THEY  SEE  LAND — 9TJI  OF  NOVEMBER — CAPE  COD — THEY  EXPLORE — MILES 
8TANDI8H — THEY  SEE  INDIANS — THEY  SEE  DEER — THEY  FIND  GRAVES — THEY  FIND 
INDIAN  CORN — WINTER  COMES — INDIAN  CRY  AND  ATTACK — FIRST  SABBATH. 

THE  voyage  of  the  pioneer  ship  was  long,  tempestuous, 
and  monotonous,  as  what  sea  voyage  is  not  ?  Yet,  with 
a  firm  purpose,  she  opened  a  way  through  the  buffeting 
ocean  toward  the  setting  sun.  Already  its  rays  came  to 
them  a  little  shorn,  the  autumn  solstice  was  at  hand,  .and 
winter  not  far  away.  In  religious  exercises,  in  hopeful 
conversation,  the  exiles  passed  the  weary  days  ;  these 
were  varied  by  storms,  and  once  by  a  great  danger.  In 
the  straining  of  the  ship  a  strong  timber  threatened  to 
break  ;  then,  among  the  lumber  which  they  had  brought, 
a  great  "  iron  screw  was  found,  and  the  ship  was  saved. " 
Their  faces  were  turned  westward,  but  who  can  wonder 
that  a  lingering  look  was  cast  behind,  and  that  pleasant 
memories  for  a  moment  dimmed  their  recent  sufferings, 
and  present  hopes  ?  Men,  women,  and  children  suffered 
the  "  sickness  of  the  sea/'  that  sickness  which  is  inexora 
ble,  which  weakens  the  knees,  enervates  the  heart,  and 
paralyzes  the  brain.  The  sailors  laughed  and  scoffed,  but 
to  them  it  seemed  that  death  was  nigh.  Yet  it  was  not  ; 
one  only  of  the  whole  number,  William  Butten,  died 
during  the  voyage,  and  one  was  born  to  take  his  place — 
the  son  of  Stephen  Hopkins,  named  Oceanus,  the  child 
of  the  sea. 

Daily  they  turned  their  eyes  westward,  hoping  for  a 
sight  of  the  new  land.  They  had  directed  their  course  to 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   VOYAGE.  59 

the  Hudson  River,  of  which  the  Dutch  navigators  had 
made  favorable  reports.  As  the  voyage  lengthened,  their 
longings  for  the  land  strengthened.  They  had  been  tossed 
on  the  sea  now  sixty-five  days,  when,  on  the  9th  of  Novem 
ber,  the  low  line  of  the  New  World  gladdened  their  eyes  ; 
they  thanked  God  for  the  sight,  and  took  courage.  On 
the  llth  of  November  they  came  to  anchor  within  Cape 
Cod.  Sixty-seven  days  they  had  passed  in  the  ship,  since 
their  first  departure  on  the  6th  of  September,  and  one 
hundred  and  twelve  since  the  embarkation  at  Delft  Haven 
on  the  22d  of  July.  They  were  weary — weary — many 
were  sick,  and  the  scurvy  had  attacked  some.  They  might 
well  rejoice  that  they  had  reached  these  shores.  But  they 
were  yet  far  away  from  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  and 
another  voyage  must  be  undergone  to  get  to  it. 

Captain  Jones  opposed  this,  and  saw  breakers  and 
dangers  ahead.  No  doubt,  he  too  was  glad  to  bring  the 
voyage  to  an  end.  Some  have  charged  that  the  Dutch 
bribed  him  to  deceive  the  Pilgrims.  Bradford  does  not 
mention  it,  and  the  Dutch  historians  deny  it.1 

Pines,  junipers,  sassafras,  and  other  sweet  woods  were 
growing  on  the  shores  ;  they  found,  too,  "  the  greatest 
store  of  fowl  that  ever  we  saw." 2  Whales  showed  them 
selves,  and  one  being  fired  at,  the  gun  exploded,  when 
the  whale  "  gave  a  sniff  and  away,  thanks  be  to  God." 
Bleak  and  barren  as  the  shore  was,  it  seemed  delightful 
after  the  long  voyage,  and  they  set  about  exploring.  On 
Monday,  the  13th  of  November,  sixteen  men  went 
ashore,  "  with  every  man  his  musket,  sword,  and  corslet/' 
headed  by  Miles  Standish.  He  had  come  of  fighting 
blood — one  of  the  Standishes  having,  long  ago,  put  his 
sword  "  into  Wat  Tyler's  belye."  Those  who  have  been 
on  Cape  Cod,  and  know  of  its  stunted  pines  and  heavy 
sand,  will  well  understand  how  poor  the  prospect  for  a 
settlement  must  have  been.  They  continued  their  explo- 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  309.  Gordon's  New  Jersey,  Morton's  Mem.,  p.  34. 
Grahame's  History,  vol.  i,  p.  226.  *  Pilgrims'  Journal. 


60  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

rations,  and  it  was  not  till  the  15th  of  November  that 
they  saw  signs  of  life  ;  then  they  saw  "  five  or  six  people, 
with  a  dogge,  who  were  savages."  They  all  ran  away,  "  and 
whistled  the  dogge  after  them  ;"  this  touch  of  human 
nature,  this  whistling  the  dog,  must  have  reassured  the 
wanderers.  Their  boat,  "  their  shallop,"  was  sent  ashore 
for  repairs  ;  and  while  these  were  going  on,  no  exploration 
along  the  coast  could  be  made  ;  yet  they  were  not  idle. 

No  period  in  American  History  is  more  interesting  than 
this,  and  no  one  can  tell  their  story  better  than  they  have 
themselves  done  it.  "Whenever  we  can,  let  us  read  their 
record. 

"  They  sent  parties  along  the  shore,  and  into  the  for 
ests,"  following  the  trails  of  Indians  ;  they  knew  nothing 
of  the  land,  or  its  inhabitants  and  wild  beasts  ;  but  they 
were  not  men  whom  small  matters  would  discourage. 
Returning  from  a  long  search  with  inadequate  provisions, 
"about  ten  a  clocke,"  says  one,  "we  came  into  a  deepe 
valley,  full  of  brush,  woodgaile,  and  long  grasse,  through 
which  we  found  little  paths  or  tracks,  and  there  we  saw  a 
deere,  and  found  springs  of  fresh  water,  of  which  we  were 
heartily  glad,  and  set  us  downe  and  drunke  our  first  New 
England  water,  with  as  much  delight  as  ever  we  drunke 
drinke  in  all  our  lives." * 

Again,  they  struck  inland,  and  following  a  track,  "  well- 
nigh  two  foote  broad,"  which  they  thought  might  lead  to 
some  village,  or  houses,  they  lighted  their  matches,  to  be 
ready  for  what  might  befall ;  but  they  now  discovered  that 
it  was  "  only  a  path  made  to  drive  deere  in  when  the 
Indians  hunt,  as  we  supposed."  After  a  march  of  five  or 
six  miles,  and  no  signs  of  people,  they  returned  by  another 
way,  and  on  the  plain,  came  to  what  looked  like  a  grave, 
only  larger.  "  Musing  what  it  might  be,"  they  resolved 
to  examine  :  they  found  "  first  a  Matt,  and  under  that  a 
fayre  Bow,  and  then  another  Matt,  and  under  that  a  board 
about  three  quarters  long,  finely  carved  and  paynted ; 

1  Journal  of  Pilgrims. 


THEY  FIND 
OOKN. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   VOYAGE.  61 

also  between  the  mats,  we  found  Bowles,  Trays,  Dishes, 
and  such  like  trinkets.  At  length  we  came  to  a  faire  new 
Matt,  and  under  that  two  bundles — one  bigger,  the  other 
lesse.  We  opend  the  greater  and  found  in  it  a  great 
quantity  of  fine  and  perfect  Bed  Powder,  and  in  it  the 
Bones  and  Scull  of  a  man.  We  opened  the  less  bundle 
likewise,  and  found  of  the  same  powder  in  it,  and  the 
bones  and  head  of  a  little  child."  "  There  was  also  by  it 
a  little  bow."  1  These  were  the  burial-places  of  savage 
and  untutored  men  ;  yet  they  told  to  the  Pilgrims  the  old 
story  of  human  suffering  and  human  love  !  Father  and 
child  lay  here  in  the  same  grave. 

"  After  this  we  digged  in  sundry  like  places,  but  found 
no  more  corne,  nor  any  thing  else  but  graves."  2 

"  Once,  when  examining  one  of  the  grave 
mounds,  they  found  a  little  old  basket,  full  of 
faire  Indian  Corne,  and  digging  further,  found 
a  fine  great  basket  full  of  very  faire  corne  of  this  yeare, 
with  some  thirty-six  goodly  eares  of  corne,  which  was  a 
very  goodlie  sight ;  the  basket  was  round,  and  narrow  at 
the  top  ;  it  held  about  three  or  four  bushels,  which  was 
as  much  as  two  of  us  could  lift  from  the  ground,  and  was 
very  handsomely  and  cunningly  made." 

They  delivered  in  the  Corn  to  the  common  stock,  to 
be  saved  for  seed,  "  proposing,  so  soon  as  we  could  meet 
with  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  to  make  them 
large  satisfaction." 

They  found  at  various  times  some  ten  bushels.  This 
Corn  they  afterward  mentioned  to  "  Massasoit,"  3  desiring 
to  pay  it  back  to  the  owners,  or  to  give  them  for  it  what 
ever  they  might  rather  need.  On  their  expedition  they 
led  soldiers7  lives,  and  partook  of  soldiers'  fare.  "  This 
night"  (they  say)  "  We  got  three  fat  geese  and  six  ducks 
to  our  supper,  which  we  eat  with  soldier  stomachs."  But 
their  long  voyage  had  diminished  their  strength,  and  ex- 

1  Journal  of  Pilgrims.  2  Journal  of  Pilgrims,  Nov.  30. 

8  Journal  of  Pilgrims.     Young's  Chron.  of  Pilgrims,  p.  204. 


62  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

posure  now  sowed  the  seeds  of  disease.  While  their  boat 
was  being  repaired,  they  had  been  obliged  to  wade  some 
distance  in  the  cold  water  (three  quarters  of  a  mile  to  the 
shore),  and  so  many  of  them  "  took  the  original  of  their 
death  here." l 

Winter  had  now  set  in  with  its  cheerless  skies  and  its 
bitter  winds.  December  had  come  before  their  shallop 
could  be  repaired,  "  so  as  a  party  of  explorers  could  ex 
amine  the  coast."  Then  Carver,  Bradford,  Winslow, 
Standish,  and  some  ten  more,  started  to  find  a  place  for 
settlement  (6th  Dec).  The  necessities  of  the  case  were 
urgent  ;  they  were  much  exposed  where  they  were,  both 
on  board  ship,  and  in  their  various  efforts  to  land.  The 
Captain,  too,  was  impatient,  and  threatened  to  leave 
them.  He  no  doubt  pitied  these  simple  souls,  but  could 
not  be  hindered  by  their  plans.  The  Speedwell,  which 
they  had  purchased,  and  intended  to  keep,  had  failed 
them,  and  they  could  not  stay  the  Mayflower.  On  this, 
their  most  important  and  final  search  for  a  place  of  set 
tlement,  they  were  much  exposed  and  in  danger.  The 
sea  broke  over  them,  covering  them  with  spray.  Edward 
Tilley  "was  like  to  have  sounded  (swooned)  with  cold." 
"  The  water  froze  on  our  clothes,  and  made  them  many 
times  like  coats  of  iron."  For  fifteen  leagues  the  party 
sought  in  vain  for  a  convenient  harbor  and  a  proper  site. 
It  seemed  as  though  God  was  against  them  ;  they  could 
not  have  landed  at  so  unfavorable  a  point  on  the  whole 
coast.  They  continue  :  "  We  espied  some  ten  or  twelve 
Indians,  very  busy  about  a  black  thing  ;  what  it  was  we 
could  not  tell,  till  afterward  they  saw  us  and  ran  to  and  fro, 
as  if  they  had  been  carrying  away  something."  This  was 
the  body  of  a  Grampus,  and  t^e  place  was  named  "  Gram 
pus'  Bay."  On  the  8th  of  December,  all  of  a  sudden  they 
heard  a  great  cry,  and  one  of  the  Company  came  running 
in,  shouting  "  Indians  !  Indians  !"  This  was  followed 
by  a  flight  of  arrows.  But  Captain  Standish  was  ready, 

1  Journal  of  Pilgrims,  Nov.  28.     Mourts's  Relation. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   VOYAGE.  63 

and  quickly  discharged  his  piece  ;  and  then  another  and 
another,  so  that  the  Indians  retreated,  and,  except  for  the 
fright,  no  harm  was  done.  "  The  cry  of  our  enemies  was 
frightful"  (so  the  Journal  says).  Their  note  was  after  this 
manner  :  "  Woath  wach  haha  hach  woach,"  sounds  which 
one  may  now  utter  with  safety,  if  he  can.  "  We  took 
up  eighteen  of  their  arrows,  which  we  had  sent  to  En 
gland  by  Master  Jones,  some  whereof  were  headed  with 
brass,  others  with  hart's  horn,  and  others  with  eagle's 
claws." 

The  leader  of  the  Indians  was  a  "  lusty  man,"  who 
stood  fire  well,  till  at  last,  one  taking  good  aim  at  him, 
"he  gave  an  extraordinary  cry,  and  away  they  all  went." 
This  spot  was  afterward  known  as  "  First  Encounter." 
This  was  not  the  end.  A  storm  of  snow,  rain,  and  wind 
came  on,  and  they  were  puzzled  to  know  which  way  to 
go  ;  but  one  of  their  sailors  (who  had  been  on  the  coast 
before)  Master  Kobert  Coffin,1  seemed  to  know  of  a  con 
venient  harbor,  to  which  they  crowded  sail,  when  the  mast 
was  shivered  by  the  wind,  and  they  were  in  danger  of 
perishing.  God  seemed  to  be  against  them,  but  they 
would  not  give  up  ;  their  end  was  not  yet  to  be.  They 
gained  the  land ,  and  found  the  place  to  be  a  small  island 
(now  Clarke's  Island)  secure  from  Indians  ;  and  this  being 
the  last  day  of  the  week,  they  here  dry  their  stuff,  fix 
their  pieces,  rest  themselves,  return  thanks  for  their  many 
deliverances  ;  and  next  day  keep  their  first  Christian 
Sabbath  ashore.  This  was  the  ninth  of  December,  1620. 

1  Mourts's  Eelation. 


CHAPTER    YI. 

THE    LANDING. 

FOREFATHERS'  DAT— FOREFATHERS'  ROCK — THE  HARBOR — THE  LAND — THE  MAYFLOWER 
SAILS  TO  PLYMOUTH  HARBOR — THE  COMPACT — THE  NEW  STATE  BEGUN. 

FOREFATHERS'  DAY,  llth  of  December,  1620  (0.  S.), 
22d  December  (N.  S.)  "  On  Monday,"  says  the  Old  Chron 
icler,  "  we  sounded  the  harbor  and  found  it  a  very  good 
harbor  for  our  shipping  ;  we  marched  also  into  the  land, 
and  found  divers  corn-fields  and  little  running  brooks — a 
place  very  good  for  situation  :  so  we  returned  to  our  ship 
againe  with  good  news  to  the  rest  of  our  people,  which  did 
much  comfort  their  hearts."  This  Monday  is  what  we 
now  know  as  Forefathers'  day.  It  is  hallowed  time,  and 
the  ground  they  trod  is  holy  ground.  Forefathers'  Kock, 
on  which  the  Pilgrims  landed,  is  now  inclosed  with  a 
wharf.  The  upper  part  of  it  was  drawn  to  the  public 
square  of  Plymouth,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  1834,  was  re 
moved  to  the  new  Pilgrim  Hall,  where  it  now  rests. 

"  This  harbor,"  they  said,  "  is  a  bay  greater  than  Cape 
Cod,  compassed  with  goodly  land,  and  in  the  bay  two  fine 
islands  (now  Clark's  Island,  and  probably  Saquish  penin 
sula),  uninhabited,  wherein  are  nothing  but  woods,  oaks, 
pines,  walnuts,  beech,  sassafras,  vines,  and  other  trees, 
which  we  know  not.  This  bay  is  a  most  hopeful  place, 
innumerable  store  of  fowl  and  excellent  food  ;  and  can 
not  but  be  of  fish  in  their  seasons  ;  skate,  cod,  turbot,  and 
herring,  we  have  tasted  of;  abundance  of  muscles,  the 
greatest  and  best  we  ever  saw ;  crabs  and  lobsters  in  their 
time,  infinite.  It  is  in  fashion  like  a  sickle  or  fish-hook.1 

1  Journal  of  Pilgrims.     Young's  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   LANDING.  65 

The  land  for  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  a  spit's  depth,  excel 
lent  black  mold,  and  fat  in  some  places  ;  and  vines  every 
where,  cherry-trees,  plum-trees,  and  many  others  which 
we  know  not.  Many  kinds  of  herbs  we  found  here  in  the 
winter,  as  strawberry-leaves  innumerable,  sorrel,  yarrow, 
carval,  brook-lime,  liverwort,  water-cresses,  great  store  of 
leeks  and  onions  (callium  canadense  ?),  and  an  excellent 
strong  kind  of  flax  or  hemp.  Here  is  sand,  gravel,  and 
excellent  clay,  no  better  in  the  world,  excellent  for  pots, 
and  will  wash  like  soap,  and  great  store  of  stone,  though 
somewhat  soft,  and  the  best  water  that  ever  we  drank, 
and  the  brooks  now  begin  to  be  full  of  fish." 

They  had  determined  to  look  for  the  good,  rather  than 
the  evil  of  their  new  portion  ;  and  they  found  it,  and  life 
was  thus  made  easier.  So  December  20th,  after  due  con 
sideration,  the  high  land  was  chosen,  much  of  which  was 
corn  ground  cleared  ;  where,  too,  was  a  "  very  sweet  brook" 
(now  called  Town-brook),  "  delicate  springs,"  a  fair  har 
bor,  a  good  hill  for  look-out  and  fort,  and  this  was  to  be 
their  rendezvous,  the  resting-place  for  the  wanderers.  Be 
fore  they  landed  they  signed  their  Compact,  which  will  be 
given  hereafter  (chapter  xv.)  They  landed  at  Plymouth 
on  the  llth  of  December1  (0.  S.),  (22d,  N.  S.),  they  arrived 
with  their  ship  in  the  harbor  of  Plymouth  on  the  16th 
(27th,  N.  S.),  and  on  the  25th  (5th  of  January,  N.  S.),  they 
began  to  build  the  first  house.2 

The  student  of  history  may  well  afford  to  remember 
the  day,  and  mark  the  spot,  where  the  Pilgrims  landed. 
On  the  wild  shore  of  a  continent  they  planted  the  small 
seed  of  a  new  idea  and  a  new  empire  :  the  Idea  of  indi 
vidual  liberty,  and  an  Empire,  in  which,  neither  force  nor 
fraud  rule,  as  in  the  old  world,  but  where  the  individual  is 
supreme,  and  every  man  sovereign.  The  extent  and  dura 
tion  of  that  kingdom,  no  man  can  yet  measure.  Nor  can 
any  altogether  foresee  its  dangers. 

1  Add  eleven  days  to  the  old  style  to  get  the  new. 

2  Morton's  Memorial,  page  49. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

WINTER    SETTLEMENT    OF    PLYMOUTH.* 

JOHN  CARVER,  GOVERNOR— TREY  BUILD— TITEY  DIVIDE  THEIR  COMPANY— JANUARY  21ST, 
PUBLIC  WORSHIP — 8TANDISH  CHOSEN  CAPTAIN — THEY  MOUNT  THEIR  GUNS — PEREGRINE 
WHITE,  FIRST-BORN  OF  NEW  ENGLAND — LYONS — WOLVES — THUNDER — BILLINGTON  NOT 
SIFTED — THEY  MAKE  GARDENS — SPRING. 

JOHN  CARVER  was  chosen  governor,  by  election,  for  one 
year,  a  man  of  character,  conduct,  and  property  ;  this  was 
all  the  machinery  of  law  they  then  needed. 

On  Monday  (December  25th),  a  party  went  ashore  to 
fell  timber,  to  saw,  to  rive,  to  carry,  and  prepare  for  the 
important  work  of  building  ;  and  that  day  every  man 
worked  with  a  will,  hopefully  and  heartily.  A  new  home, 
a  pleasant  refuge,  a  future  security  was  the  aim  of  every 
one,  and  while  they  cheered  one  another,  the  axes  rung 
out  in  harmony  with  their  hopes  ;  their  strokes  were  heavy 
as  their  hearts  were  light.  The  crowned  oaks  of  the  forest 
did  homage  and  yielded  their  riches  to  found  the  infant 
State.  On  Thursday  (the  28th),  many  went  to  work  on 
the  hill  (Fort-hill,  now  Burial-hill),  to  prepare  fortifica 
tions  ;  others  measured  and  allotted  the  lands  for  build 
ing,  for  every  person  "  half  a  pole  in  breadth  by  three  in 
length"  (8J-  feet  by  49±  feet  ?),in  lots  for  families. 

For  convenience  and  economy,  the  whole  com 
pany  was  divided  into  nineteen  families  ;  fewer 
houses  and  less  outlay  would  thus  be  required  ; 
and  it  was  agreed  that  every  man  should  build 
his  own  house,  so  that  more  haste  might  be  made,  than 
when  they  worked  in  common.     These  houses  were  built 
in  two  lines,  along  what  is  now  called  Leyden-street.    But 

1  Indian  name  of  Plymouth  was  Umpame  (Church). 


THEY  DIVIDE 
THE  COMPA 
NY. 


A.D.  1620.]      WINTER   SETTLEMENT    OF   PLYMOUTH.  67 

their  work  was  necessarily  slow  ;  the  weather  was  not 
severely  cold,  but  with  much  rain  and  storm  ;  the  journals 
reiterate  "  rain/'  "  rain  ;"  weather  disastrous  to  health, 
for  "  a  green  Christmas  makes  a  fat  church-yard."  There 
was  little  of  public  interest  during  these  first  few  months  ; 
for  the  necessities  of  the  position  engrossed  time  and 
thought.  But  among  a  few  recorded  incidents,  we  note 
that  on  the  21st, of  January,  they  kept  their  public  wor 
ship,  for  the  first  time  on  shore,  and  on  the  17th  of  Feb 
ruary,  Standish  was  chosen  their  captain,  and  all  were  ar 
ranged  in  military  orders.  This  may  be  called  their  first 
legislative  act ;  the  first  communal  life  of  men  who  be 
lieved  in  and  were  forced  to  act  out  the  principle  of  self- 
government  ;  every  man  could  vote,  and  Francis  Billing- 
ton's  voice  counted  the  same  as  Governor  Carver's.  A 
minion,  a  saker,  and  two  other  guns  were  mounted  on 
Fort-hill,  where  the  structure  for  the  fort  had  made  prog 
ress.  Births  and  deaths  varied  the  monotony  of  existence 
there  as  elsewhere.  Peregrine  White,  the  first-born  in 
New  England,  had  appeared  in  November,  and  six  persons 
had  died  in  December,  among  whom  was  Dorothy,  Brad 
ford's  wife,  who  was  drowned.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
a  mortality,  which  carried  dismay  and  destruction  into  the 
weakened  ranks.  We  gather  here  and  there  a  few  facts 
and  incidents,  which  will  best  illustrate  their  social  and 
moral  condition  during  their  first  winter. 

Upon  one  occasion  (January  12)  two  of  their 
men,    "having  a  great   mastiff  bitch,"   went      LYONS. 
some  way  after  a  deer,  and   forgetting  them 
selves  in  their  excitement,   became  lost,  and  wandered 
about  all  night,  much   to   their  discomfort  and   to  the 
anxiety  of  their  friends.     They  heard,  in  the   night,  as 
they  thought,  "  two  Lyons  roaring  exceedingly  for  a  long 
time  together,  and   a  third  that  they  thought  was  very 
nere  them.     Not   knowing  what  to  do,  they  resolved  to 
climbe  up  in  to  a  tree,  as  their  safest  refuge,  though  that 
would  prove  an  intolerable  cold  lodging  ;  so  they  stood  at 


68  NEW    ENGLAND     HISTORY.  [A.D.  1621. 

the  tree's  roote,  that  when  the  Lyons  came  they  might  take 
their  opportunity  of  climbing  up.  The  bitch  they  were 
faine  to  hold  by  the  neck,  for  sh'ee  would  have  been  gone 
to  the  Lyon ;  but  it  pleased  God  so  to  dispose,  that  the 
wilde  beasts  came  not ;  so  they  walked  up  and  down 
under  the  tree  all  night ;  it  was  an  extreme  cold  night " l— 
pleasanter  to  tell  of  than  to  experience.  It  is  curious  to 
note  how  their  long  ears  magnified  the  howling  of  the 
Foxes  or  Wolves  into  Lions,  thus  adding  to  their  miseries. 

Their  Journal  of  January  19  says,  "  John  Goodman  was 
much  frightened  this  day  :  he  went  abroad  for  a  little 
walk,  having  lame  feet,  with  his  little  spaniel.  Suddenly 
two  Great  wolves  ran  after  the  dog  ;  the  dog  ran  to  him 
and  betwixt  his  legs  for  succor.  He  having  nothing  with 
him,  threw  a  stick  at  one  of  them  and  hit  him,  and  they 
presently  ran  both  away,  but  came  again.  He  got  a  plain 
board  in  his  hand  ;  and  they  sat  both  on  their  tails,  grin 
ning  at  him  a  good  while  ;  and  went  their  way  and  left 
him." 

Again,  Saturday,  the  3d  March,  "at;  one  o'clock  it 
thundered."  "The  birds  sang  most  pleasantly  before 
this.  The  thunder  was  strong,  and  in  great  claps,  fol 
lowed  by  rain  very  sadly  till  midnight." 

"  God  not  only  sifted  three  Kingdoms  to  get  the  seed 
of  this  enterprise,  but  sifted  that  seed  over  again.  Every 
person  whom  he  would  not  have  to  go  at  that  time,  to 
plant  the  first  Colony  of  New  England,  he  sent  back  even 
from  mid-ocean  in  the  Speedwell  •" 2  notwithstanding  all 
this  care,  the  seed  was  not  cleansed  ;  John  Billington 
was  among  it,  having  "  slipped  in"  in  England  ;  who  now 
committed  an  offense,  giving  way  to  passion,  and  resorting 
to  foul  and  wicked  language,  in  a  quarrel.  He  was  the 
first  offender  against  good  order  in  the  Colony,  and  after 
ward,  in  1630,  came  to  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
hanged,  leaving  descendants. 

1  Young's  Chs.  of  Pilgrims.     PiJgrims'  Journal. 
9  Cheever's  Journal  of  Pilgrims. 


A.D.  1621.]       WINTER   SETTLEMENT    OF   PLYMOUTH.  69 

The  Journal  says,  "  The  Governor  with  five  more,  go  to 
the  great  ponds,  and  we  begin  to  sow  our  Garden  seeds/' 
Again  :  "  Monday  and  Tuesday,  March  19th,  20th, 
proved  fair  days.  We  digged  our  grounds,  and  sowed  our 
garden  seeds."  This  indicates  a  warm  and  early  spring. 
No  fearful  danger  had  threatened  them  from,  the  Indians  ; 
they  had  suffered  no  alarm  ;  indeed  the  place  seemed 
strangely  desolate.  The  Town-meeting,  if  such  it  can  be 
called,  held  in  February,  to  arrange  the  people  into  mil 
itary  order,  had  been  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of 
two  men  at  a  distance  ;  yet,  as  they  knew  savages  were 
there,  they  knew  that  sooner  or  later  they  must  meet 
them. 

The  spring  came.  On  the  16th  March,  "a  fayre 
warrne  day,"  birds  began  to  appear,  the  hearts  of  the 
settlers  warmed,  and  their  blood  flowed  as  the  air  once 
more  began  to  speak  of  life,  not  death,  and  the  snows 
began  to  run  in  murmuring  rills  toward  the  sea.  They 
had  had  a  grievous  time  through  the  winter  ;  colds  had 
been  followed  with  consumption  and  death  ;  but  they  had 
never  dreamed  of  discouragement,  and  now  this  "fayre 
warme  day"  was  a  harbinger  of  Hope.  Their  winter  was 
not  all  lost  time  ;  it  was  not  an  idle  time.  They  had 
examined  the  country,  had  hunted  for  Game,  and  had 
tracked  the  deer  through  the  snows.  They  had  tried  their 
new  circumstances  and  were  masters  of  them.  Their 
houses  had  been  built,  and  family  arrangements  completed. 
They  had  wintered  with  one  another.  On  "  Great  Hill," 
their  fortifications  were  begun,  and  now  bristled  with 
grim  artillery — deep-voiced  dogs  of  war — which,  they 
trusted  in  God,  might  not  be  let  loose  upon  the  Indians, 
of  whom  they  yet  stood  in  dread. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

WELCOME. 

8PKING — THE     SHOUT — SAMOSET — THEY    WATCH     HIM — HIS     PRESS — OTHER    INDIANS     WITH 
THEM — MA88ASOIT — HE   DRINKS    HUM — THE    ALLIANCE. 

ON  the  16th  of  March,  one  of  those  "  fayre  warm  days," 
a  party  of  grave  and  determined  men  gathered  on  the 
skirts  of  the  settlement  ;  Carver,  Bradford,  Winslow, 
Hopkins,  and  others  among  them.  They  felt  the  cheering 
influences  of  the  day  ;  dreary  winter  was  past,  and  preg 
nant  summer  was  before  them  ;  the  first  note  of  the  frog, 
and  the  sound  of  the  freed  rivulet,  were  heard  but  not 
heeded,  for  they  talked  of  their  plans,  and  speculated  as  to 
the  future.  A  strange  sound  in  that  solitary  place  came 
to  their  ears — who  was  it  that  shouted  "  WELCOME  ! 
WELCOME  !" 

A  single  dusky  figure  at  the  edge  of  the  forest  waved 
his  hand,  and  came  boldly  toward  them.  They  were 
startled,  astonished,  and  then  reassured,  for  he  seemed 
friendly,  and  that  hearty  word  "  Welcome  !"  was  full  of 
kindliness.  He  came  forward  and  greeted  them,  and 
seemed  a  friend.  They  responded  with  hospitality,  and 
gave  him  "  strong-water,  bisket,  butter,  cheese,  with  pud 
ding  and  a  piece  of  mallard/'  'Tis  said,  "  The  way  to  the 
heart  is  through  the  stomach" — his  they  reached.  He 
told  them,  that  he  had  learned  some  English  from  the 
fishermen — that  the  name  of  the  coast  was  Patuxet — that 
an  Englishman,  one  Hunt  (who  had  been  left  in  charge 
of  a  vessel  by  Captain  Smith  in  1614),  on  pretense  of 
trading,  had  enticed  twenty-seven  Indians  on  board  his 
vessel,  had  seized  them,  carried  them  off,  and  sold  them 


A.D.  1621.]  WELCOME.  71 

for  slaves,  "  like  a  wretched  man  (for  £20  a  man),  that 
cares  not  what  mischief  he  doth  for  his  profit/'  that  the 
Indians  were  exasperated,  and  would  repay  this  mercantile 
act  with  savage  cruelty  ;  that  the  whites  might  have 
looked  for  extermination,  but  that  a  pestilence  had  some 
years  before  (1617  ?)  swept  the  land  of  its  people  and 
they  were  weak  ~l  this  and  more  he  told  them.  The  Pil 
grims,  in  their  devout  way,  saw  the  finger  of  God  in  this 
desolation  ;  he  was  working  for  them,  no  doubt.  It  was 
well  that  they  saw  God  in  their  encouragements  more 
than  in  their  disasters. 

The    Indian   boldly  came,   "all   alone,  and 
along  the  houses  straight  to  the  rendezvous  ;     SAMOSET. 
and  refused  to  go  away  that  night  •  and  was 
ready  to  go  aboard  the  ship,  but  the  tide  being  out,  and 
the  wind  unfavorable,  it  could  not  be  done  ;  so  he  was 
lodged    in    Stephen    Hopkins'    house,    and    we    watched 
him,"  the  chronicler  says,  u  fearing  evil,  which  did  not 
come."     He  told  them,  too,  how  the  Indians  had  killed 
three  of  Gorges'  men,  and  of  the  huggery  (fight)  had  be 
tween  the  Whites  and  the  Indians.     He  was  kind  and 
friendly,  so  they  bade  him  farewell  in  the  morning,  and 
gave  him  "  a  knife,  a  bracelet,  and  a  ring." 

This  Indian  was  Samoset,  who  first  had  intelligent  in 
tercourse  with  the  pilgrims  ;  he  was  the  solitary  represen 
tative  on  that  solitary  shore,  of  the  wild  Red-man  once 
master  and  owner  of  the  land.  Our  hearts  are  drawn  to 
him  for  his  frank,  fearless,  and  manly  WELL-COME  !  a 
welcome  which  the  white  man  has  not  well  requited. 

Uninteresting  as  the  Indians  are,  we  may  well  spend  a 
few  moments  on  him.  "  He  was  a  man  free  in  speech,  a 
tall  straight  man,  the  haire  of  his  head  blacke,  long  be 
hind  only  short  before,  none  on  his  face  at  all  ;  he  was 
stark  naked  (this  was  the  16th  of  March),  only  a  leather 
about  his  waist,  with  a  fringe  about  a  span  long  or  a  little 
more  ;  he  had  a  bow  of  2  arrows,  the  one  headed,  the 

1  Hubbard's  History.     Thacher's  Plymouth,  p.  38. 


72  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1621. 

other  unheaded."     Such  was  the  appearance  of  an  Indian 
Sagamore  in  those  days.1 

A  few  days  after  this  he  returned,  and  with  him  five 
other  tall  proper  men  and  Squanto,  who  had  been  one  of 
those  Indian  slaves  ;  he  had  dwelt  in  Corn  hill  (London) 
with  one  John  Slanie,  a  merchant,  and  now  was  to  be,  as 
the  event  proved,  a  valuable  friend,  interpreter,  and  ally 
to  the  whites.  This  intercourse  was  soon  followed  by  a 
meeting  between  the  Pilgrims  and  the  great  King  Sachem 
of  those  parts. 

On  the  22d  of  March  the  first  interview  took 
MASSASOIT.  place  between  the  Pilgrims  and  the  Indians, 
with  their  great  chief  Massasoit,  Squanto  acting 
as  interpreter.  This  was  conducted  becomingly  on  all  sides, 
and  according  to  the  manner  of  the  time.  After  Governor 
Carver  had  drunk  some  "  strong  water"  (Bum)  to  the  Sa 
chem,  Massasoit  "  drunk  a  great  draught  that  made  him 
sweat  all  the  while  after."  The  result  of  the  Conference 
was  an  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  between  the  Gov 
ernor  and  the  Chief,  applauded  by  the  followers  of  both, 
and  Massasoit  was  received  as  an  ally  of  the  dread  King 
James.  He  is  thus  described  by  the  Journalist : 

"  In  his  person  he  is  a  very  lusty  man,  in  his  best  years, 
an  able  body,  grave  of  countenance,  and  spare  of  speech  ; 
in  his  attire,  little  or  nothing  differing  from  the  rest  of 
his  followers,  only  in  a  great  chain  of  white  beads  about 
his  neck  ;  and  at  it,  behind  his  neck,  hangs  a  little  bag 
of  tobacco,  which  he  drank,  and  gave  us  to  drink  (smoke). 
His  face  was  painted  with  a  sad  red  (like  Murrey)  and 
oiled  both  head  and  face  that  he  looked  greasily."  All 
his  followers  were  likewise  painted  red,  yellow,  black, 
white,  some  crossed,  "  and  other  antic  works,"  "  some 
naked,  and  some  with  skins,"  "  all  strong,  tall  men  in 
appearance." 

Massasoit  and  his  men  seemed  hungry,  and  were  grate 
ful  for  meat  and  kindness.  The  King  was  possessed  with 

1  Pilgrims'  Journal:  Cheever,  p.  58. 


A.D.  1621.]  WELCOME.  73 

fear  of  the  Guns,  and  motioned  them  away  ;  while  he 
sat  by  the  Governor  he  trembled,  whether  with  fear  or 
with  the  great  draught  of  "  strong  water"  they  had  given 
him  we  can  not  now  know.  The  Pilgrims  at  first  were 
fearful  of  him  ;  they  could  not  be  sure  against  treachery  ; 
but  they  soon  discovered  that  Massasoit  had  an  enemy, 
"  the  Narrowhigansets"  (a  rival  tribe)  which  he  feared, 
and  would  fain  have  the  strong  white  men  on  his  side. 
It  was  his  interest,  therefore,  to  make  friends,  and  time 
proved  that  it  was  his  nature  too. 

His  haunts  were  along  the  northern  shores  of  Narra- 
gansetts'  Bay,  between  Taunton  and  Providence,  one  of 
his  principal  seats  being  at  Mount  Hope.  This  interview 
was  satisfactory  ;  they  had  looked  one  another  in  the  face, 
the  Strangers  and  the  Savages,  and  had  not  perished. 

4 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DEATH. 

MAECH,    1621 — THE     WOMEN     SUFFER — THEY      DIE — HOW    THEY   WERE    BURIED — THE   MAY 
FLOWER    SAILS    AWAY — NONE    RETURN — GIPSEY    LIFE — DEATH    AND    FREEDOM. 

MARCH  had  come,  and  a  new  year  was  now  bursting  upon 
them  ;  but  the  Pilgrims,  where  were  they  ?  Death  had 
reaped  the  ripe  harvest,  and  of  the  one  hundred  and  two, 
scarce  fifty  now  remained.  Six  had  died  in  December, 
eight  in  January,  seventeen  in  February,  thirteen  in 
March.  Yet  they  had  borne  their  sad  afflictions  with  as 
much  patience  as  any  could,  and  they  had  no  thought  of 
retracing  their  steps.  They  had  been  exposed  to  a  long 
and  tempestuous  voyage  ;  sea  diet  had  weakened  them  ; 
the  new  untried  winter  had  borne  heavily  upon  them,  and 
they  had  no  warm  houses,  so  that,  "  the  searching  sharp 
ness  of  that  purer  climate  had  crept  into  the  crannies  of 
their  crazed  bodies,  causing  death/' 1 

The  beginnings  of  every  new  enterprise  are  hard  ;  in 
ertia  has  to  be  overcome  before  motion  begins,  for  a  change 
of  place,  at  once  throws  all  into  confusion,  and  time  is 
needed  for  the  law  of  gravitation  to  settle  again  the  rela 
tions  of  matter  ;  beside  matter,  Mind  must  re-arrange 
itself. 

Of  the   Pilgrims,  the  children  probably  suf- 
THE  WOMEN     fere(}  ieast  anj  the  women  most.     Few  women 

SUFFER. 

are   idealists,    and    the    facts    of    their   lives, 

their  homes,  their  friends,  their  churches,  and  all  their 

accustomed  ways,  become   a   part  of  themselves  ;   these 

are  supports,  and,  when   taken  away,  they  suffer  as  men 

1  Bradford's  Journal     Thacher's  Plymouth,  p.  3t. 


A.D.  1621.]  DEATH.  75 

do  not.  We  find  that  the  wives  of  Bradford,  Wins- 
low,  Allerton,  and  Standish,  all  died  in  the  first  winter, 
and  their  short  histories,  their  warm  hopes,  and  their 
poignant  sufferings,  were  ended.  Notwithstanding  the 
hardships  to  which  these  women  knew  they  were  to  be 
subject,  there  is  no  record  of  a  word  of  repining  or  doubt  ; 
strong  affection  carried  them  bravely  across  the  wide 
ocean,  and  into  sickness,  suffering,  and  death. 

Holmes,  in  his  annals,  tells  that  the  dead  were  buried 
in  the  bank,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  Plymouth  rock, 
and  lest  the  Indians  should  learn  the  weakened  condition 
of  the  settlers,  by  counting  the  graves,  they  were  leveled 
and  sown  with  grass.  The  tale  is  one  of  sorrow,  but  one 
also  of  encouragement,  for  the  living  nevertheless  trusted 
in  God  and  themselves. 

With  the  return  of  spring,  came  the  sailing  of  the  May 
flower.  They  had  struggled  through  the  winter,  and  the 
ship  had  always  been  in  sight,  a  place  of  refuge  and  relief 
in  any  desperate  emergency.  While  she  lay  in  the  bay, 
the  Pilgrims  had  a  hold  upon  friends,  civilization,  and 
Christianity ;  but  let  the  ship  once  depart,  and  on  the 
one  hand  there  would  be,  the  broad,  deep,  tempestuous 
sea,  on  the  other,  wide,  unknown  forests — peopled  by 
savages  and  wild  beasts.  Port  Koyal  was  the  nearest 
point  where  they  could  find  white  men,  and  that  was 
away  some  five  hundred  miles.  The  future  was  before 
them  with  all  its  uncertainties — which  they  must  march 
forward  to  meet ;  yet  not  one  of  the  number  returned  in 
the  ship  !  The  sailing  of  the  "  Mayflower"  surpasses  in 
dignity,  though  not  in  desperation,  the  burning  of  his 
ships  by  Cortez.  This  small  band  of  men,  women,  and 
children  were  grouped  on  the  shore,  watching  her  as  she 
slowly  set  her  sails,  and  crept  out  of  the  bay  and  from 
their  sight  ;  when  the  sun  set  in  the  western  forest,  she 
disappeared  in  the  distant  blue.  A  few  Indians  might 
have  been  hovering  on  the  neighboring  heights,  watch 
ing  the  departure  of  the  great  sea-bird,  but  the  last 


76  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1621. 

eyes  that  bade  farewell  to  the  "Mayflower"  were  those 
of  woman. 

But  the  sky  was  not  inky,  nor  was  their  fu- 
OIPSEY  LIFE,  ture  desperate  ;  the  sun  still  shone  gloriously, 
the  moon  still  bathed  the  earth  with  light,  and 
the  stars  kept  their  ceaseless  vigils.  Spring  here,  as  of  old, 
followed  winter,  the  murmuring  of  streams  was  heard, 
and  the  song  of  the  turtle  ;  birds  builded  their  nests,  the 
tender  grass  sprang  up  under  their  feet,  and  the  trees 
budded  and  burst  forth  into  wondrous  beauty.  God  was 
over  all — their  God — their  friend — their  protector  here  as 
in  the  Old  World  ;  why  should  he  not  be,  why  not  more 
their  friend  than  ever  before  ?  Life  had  not  been  alto 
gether  lovely  to  them  in  the  past ;  it  had  not  been  plea 
sant  in  England  to  be  put  into  dungeons,  or  to  have  one's 
ears  dug  out,  or  to  be  plundered  by  low-bred  policemen,  or 
to  be  hunted  like  wild  beasts  into  mountains  and  holes  of 
the  earth.  Here  there  was  freedom,  room.  He  only  can 
value  this  who  has  lost  it  ;  yet  no  man  lives,  however  low 
in  the  scale  of  civilization,  who  does  not  long  for  it,  and 
will  not  suffer  to  get  it  ;  will  suffer  danger,  pain,  and 
starvation  rather  than  not  be  FREE.  "  Here,"  said  one, 
"  all  are  freeholders — rent-day  does  not  trouble  us."1 
Here,  if  anywhere,  might  not  every  one  sit  under  his  own 
vine  !  Earth  and  sea  had  fruits,  and  they  were  free  ;  no 
monopolist,  with  subtle  alchymy,  gathered  the  earnings 
of  men — no  Church  collected  the  unwilling  tithes — no 
tax-gatherer  waited  on  them  with  hungry  coffers — no 
king,  no  pope,  no  soldier,  challenged  their  gratitude  for 
having  taken  their  money  to  govern  them  !  They  could 
govern  themselves  !  Social,  religious,  and  political  anom 
alies  and  technicalities  had  not  yet  become  grievous  bur 
dens,  bearing  down  soul  and  body  to  the  earth.  "  Here," 
said  Cushman,  "  we  have  great  peace,  plentie  of  the  Gos 
pel  and  many  sweet  delights  and  varietie  of  comforts."2 

1  Hilton,  in  Purchas's  Pilgrims. 

2  "A  Brief  Review,"  London,  1774.     Cushman's  Reasons. 


A.D.  1621.]  DEATH.  77 

Here  was  free  range  ;  trie  hunters'  instincts  could 
bourgeon  and  grow  ;  the  deer  that  browsed,  the  fish  that 
swam,  and  the  fowl  that  flew,  were  free  to  all  ;  might  be 
captives  to  each  man's  bow  and  spear.  "  Herring,  cod, 
and  ling,"  "  Salt  upon  salt,"  "  Beavers,  otters,  furs  of 
price,"  "  Mynes  of  gold  and  silver,"  "Woods  of  all  sorts," 
"  Eagles,  gripes,  whales,  grampus,  moos,  deere,"  "  Bears 
and  beavers,"  "  all  in  season  mind  you — for  you  can  not 
gather  cherries  at  Christmas  in  Kent."  Who  then  would 
live  at  home,  only  to  eat  and  drink  and  sleep  and  so  die  P1 
or  who  would  suffer  persecution,  scorn,  and  contumely, 
when  the  free  wilderness  was  before  him  where  to  choose. 
They  chose  death  here  rather  than  sloth,  degradation,  or 
slavery  elsewhere. 

1  Smith's  Description  of  New  England. 


CHAPTER    X. 

NEW    COMERS. 

THE  LAND  FLOWING  WITH  MILK  AND  HONEY — VAIN  EXPECTATIONS — SUFFERING — THE 
FORTUNE — ROBERT  CUSHMAN — HIS  REASONS — CANONICU8  THREATENS — FIRST-FRUITS 
LOST — WEST  COMES  AS  ADMIRAL — ROBERT  GORGES  AS  GENERAL — MORELL  AS  CHAP 
LAIN—FAMINE  AND  INDIANS— SQUANTO  STILL  LIVES— MASSACRE  IN  VIRGINIA— THB 
LAST  OF  THE  "  FATHERS"  COME — THEIR  SHIPS  ARE  CAPTURED. 

Too  flattering  accounts  of  the  riches,  and  wonders,  and 
delights,  of  the  New  World  had  been  sent  home — partly 
from  a  desire  to  tempt  over  others,  but  more  from  a  wish 
to  reassure  friends  at  home,  who  had  dissuaded  them  from 
this  quixotic  expedition.  The  new  comers,  therefore, 
trusted  much  to  the  resources  of  the  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,"  to  the  land  filled  with  Vines  and  Grains, 
to  the  sea  and  shores  abounding  with  fish.1  They  did  not 
lay  to  heart  the  story  of  the  foolish  Virgins,  and  they  too 
went  out,  having  no  oil  in  their  lamps,  no  meal  in  their 
chests.  "  Indeed  three  things  are  the  overthrow  and  bane 
of  Plantations,"  said  Winslow  : 

"1.  The  vain  expectation  of  present  profit. 

"  2.  Ambition  in  the  Governors,  etc. 

"3.  The  lawlessness  of  those  that  send  over  supplies  of 
men  unto  them,  not  caring  how  they  bee  qualified." 

These  flattering  stories  brought  improvident  men,  and 
there  was  blame  on  both  sides.  Suffering  and  starvation 
ensued.  No  "fowle"  came  in  the  summer,  and  the  nets 
for  fishing  were  insufficient.  Indians  too  began  to  be 
insulting  and  threatening ;  even  Massasoit  was  cool  ;  the 
fort  was  therefore  hastened. 

A  small  bark,  of  some  fifty  tons,  arrived  at  Plymouth 

1  Winslow's  Good  News.    London,  1624. 


A.D.  1621.]  NEW   COMERS.  79 

on  the  9th  of  November,  1621,  bringing  thirty-five  new 
settlers,  among  whom  were  some  who  had  been  forced  to 
put  back  with  the  Speedwell,  on  her  final  return  to  South 
ampton,  By  this  bark,  news  was  sent  of  a  charter,  granted 
to  the  Merchant  Adventurers  of  London  by  the  Plymouth 
Company,  in  the  name  of  John  Pierce,  which  was  never 
used.  ROBERT  CUSHMAN  was  one  of  the  passengers  in  the 
Fortune  ;  he  was  an  old  and  fast  friend  to  the  Pilgrims. 
Constrained  to  return  with  the  unfortunate  Speedwell,  he 
took  the  first  occasion  for  visiting  that  company  of  poor 
men,  who  looked  upon  him  as  a  friend.  But  death  had 
been  busy  ;  Carver  was  gone,  and  more  than  half  of  those 
whom  he  had  bade  God-speed  in  the  Mayflower,  were 
under  the  earth,  the  grass  growing  on  their  leveled  graves. 
Enough,  however,  yet  lived,  to  welcome  him  to  the  land 
of  the  oppressed  and  the  outcast. 

A  few  extracts  from  Cushman's  "  Reasons  for  removing 
from  England  to  America/'  may  give  some  insight  into 
the  time  when  he  lived.  Cushrnan  guards  against  the  too 
common  error  of  supposing,  as  the  Virginia  settlers  had 
not  done,  that  this  was  a  land  of  Gold.1 

He  continues  :  "neither  is  there  any  land  or  possession 
now,  like  unto  the  possession  which  the  Jews  had  in 
Canaan,  being  legally  holy,  and  appropriated  unto  a  holy 
people,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  in  which  they  dwelt  securely 
and  had  their  days  prolonged — it  being,  by  an  immediate 
voice,  said,  that  the  Lord  gave  it  to  them  as  a  land  of  rest 
after  their  weary  travels,  and  a  type  of  eternal  rest  in 
Heaven.  But  now  there  is  no  land  of  that  sanctity,  no 
land  so  appropriated,  none  typical,  much  less  any  that  can 
be  said  to  be  given  of  God  to  any  nation,  as  was  Canaan, 
which  they  and  their  seed  must  dwell  in,  till  God  sendeth 
upon  them  sword  or  captivity.  But  now  we  are  all,  in  all 
places,  strangers  and  Pilgrims,  travelers  and  Soujourners, 

1  Captain  Smith  describes  the  Virginia  settlers,  as  made  up  of  forty-eight 
needy  "gentlemen,"  to  four  carpenters,  who  were  come  to  do  nothing  else 
"but  dig  gold,  make  gold,  refine  gold,  and  load  gold." 


80  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOBY.  [A.D.  1622. 

most  properly ;  having  no  dwelling  but  in  this  earthly 
tabernacle,  our  dwelling  is  but  a  wandering,  and  our 
abiding  but  as  a  fleeting/'  etc.,  etc.,  more  of  which  we  are 
not  called  upon  to  read,  it  being  now  clear  enough  that 
America  is  a  good  and  proper  place  to  immigrate  to,  with 
rich  land,  if  not  holy.  He  well  says,  however,  "  The 
greatest  let  [hinclerance]  which  is  yet  behind,  is  the  sweet 
fellowship  of  friends  !"  but  this  was  being  removed,  for 
friends  were  now  on  either  hand. 

The  summer  of  this  year  had  been  unpropitious,  and 
their  crops  were  short.  The  Fortune  had  brought  no 
store  of  provisions,  and  winter  was  coming  upon  them 
again,  and  thirty-five  new  settlers  had  come,  with  mouths 
to  be  filled,  and  untried  courage  to  be  strengthened. 
Added  to  this,  an  Indian  messenger  had  appeared  [1622] 
among  them,  and  left  a  bundle  of  arrows,  tied  in  a  rattle 
snake's  skin.  His  going  was  as  swift  as  his  coming. 
Governor  Bradford  soon  learned  the  language  of  this  sym 
bol — it  was  WAR  !  but  he  also  knew  that  it  was  wise  to 
resist  beginnings,  as  so  few  do  know  ;  so  he  sent  back  the 
rattlesnake's  skin,  stuffed  with  powder  and  bullets,  to 
Canonicus,  chief  of  the  Narragansetts — chief  of  five  thou 
sand  warriors.  This  sufficed  ;  courage,  backed  by  these 
mysterious  symbols,  warned  the  powerful  sachem  to  stop. 
But  Bradford  could  not  know  this,  and  it  stood  the  Colo 
nists  in  hand  to  prepare  for  the  worst.  Their  cannon, 
then,  must  be  inclosed  and  protected  ;  a  stockade  must 
be  built  around  the  town  ;  their  men  be  divided  into 
parties  and  drilled  ;  no  precaution  must  be  neglected.  To 
be  free,  they  must  be  strong  and  alert :  such  they  were, 
and  such  they  determined  to  be  ;  and  their  descendants 
have  not  altogether  forgotten  their  example. 

Let  us  not  forget  the  little  Fortune.     She 
had   sailed    for  England,    freighted   with   the 
"first   fruits"  to   the   Merchant   Adventurers, 
consisting  of  some  five  hundred  pounds'  worth  of  Furs, 
Beaver  skins,    Clapboards,  and   Sassafras,  and  woods  of 


THE  "FIRST 
FEUITS"  LOST. 


A.D.  1622.]  NEW   COMEKS.  81 

various  sorts.  She  had  almost  reached  the  English  coast, 
when  she  was  clutched  by  a  French  Privateer,  taken  to  a 
French  port,  and  after  some  detention,  let  to  go  to  En 
gland,  with  an  empty  hold.  So  went  the  First-Fruits. 

In  this  year  (1622),  some  thirty-five  sails  went  to  the 
shores  of  New  England  for  fish.  The  Plymouth  Compa 
ny  in  England,  plead  their  monopoly  against  these,  which 
was  opposed  by  the  Commons,  but  confirmed  by  the  King. 
They  sent  out  Francis  West  (June,  1623),  as  Admiral  of 
New  England,  to  protect  their  privileges. 

He  was  followed  by  Sir  Kobert  Gorges  as  Lieutenant- 
General  of  the  country.  Neither  of  them  accomplished 
any  thing  ;  nor  did  Morrell,  who  came  to  establish  Episco 
pacy,  but  went  quietly  away.  Nature  was  too  strong  for 
them,  the  fish  swam  where  they  listed  and  men  caught 
them  where  they  could  ;  no  fleets  or  forts  were  there  to 
hinder  them,  so  conscience  and  honor  laughed  at  the  ex 
travagant  claims  of  the  monopolists. 

They  were  now  in  the  spring  of  1622,  in  the 
month  of  May,  "  at  which  time  our  store  of  vict 
uals  was  wholly  spent,  having  lived  long  before 
with  a  bare  and  short  allowance."1  Their  crops  were  in 
the  ground  ;  the  season  for  wild-fowl,  for  ducks  and  teal, 
was  passed,  and  what  now  was  before  them  ?  Tradition 
reports  that  the  last  pint  of  their  corn  being  distributed, 
yielded  five  kernels  to  each  person.  Matters  were  bad 
enough  surely,  but  they  were  not  at  their  worst.  Squanto, 
their  interpreter  and  friend,  had  not  been  killed  ;  he  was 
alive,  too  much  alive  to  his  own  importance,  pluming  him 
self  upon  his  intimacy  with  the  white  folks.  It  seems  he 
had  made  use  of  this  to  increase  his  consequence  among 
the  natives,  and  after  the  manner  of  an  ignorant  and 
child-like  man,  had  talked  big,  and  plotted,  and  counter 
plotted,  and  promised,  and  bragged,  so  that  there  was 
danger  of  destruction  to  the  Colony ;  among  other  things 
he  told  Hobbamock,  that  the  whites  had  the  plague 

1  Winslow's  Relation. 


FAMINE   AND 
INDIANS. 


82  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1625. 

(which  had  destroyed  so  many  of  them),  buried,  and  could 
at  any  moment  let  it  loose  upon  them.  Hobbarnock  asked 
of  the  Pilgrims  if  this  was  so  ?  and  discovering  Squanto's 
cheat,  he  and  Massasoit,  too,  were  determined  to  kill  him. 
It  was  only  after  much  remonstrance  and  persuasion,  that 
the  messengers  of  the  Sachem  could  be  persuaded  to  re 
turn  without  carrying  him  back  to  die.  It  is  likely  that 
Squanto  was  cured  of  his  bragging,  and  shorn  of  his  bor 
rowed  glory  thenceforward. 

About  this  time  a  boat  crossed  the  bay,  and  disappeared 
behind  a  headland.  What  did  this  portend  ?  War  with 
the  French  settlements  might  be  possible  ;  they  soon 
learned  that  it  contained  an  arrival  of  seven  new  colonists 
from  a  fishing-vessel,  the  Sparrow ;  a  letter,  too,  from 
Captain  Huddlestone  (Hudston  in  Morton),  told  of  the 
destruction  of  some  four  hundred  colonists  in  Virginia 
(22d  of  March,  1622),  by  the  exasperated  Indians.  Gov 
ernor  Bradford  returned  a  friendly  answer  to  Captain  H/s 
letter  •  and  as  there  was  no  alternative,  he  dispatched 
Winslow  to  the  fishing-ships,  to  purchase  provisions  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  colonists,  until  their  crops  could 
mature.  Winslow  found  some  thirty  ships  at  the  fishing 
stations,  and  was  received  with  much  kindness.  He  could 
purchase  but  few  stores,  yet  these  free-hearted  and  open- 
handed  fishermen,  freely  gave  what  they  could  spare,  and 
Winslow  returned  with  a  stock  that  furnished  a  scant  sup 
ply  till  the  harvest.  Thus  ended  the  second  year  of  the 
Plymouth  colony. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1625,  the  ship  Anne, 
followed  soon  after  by  the  Little  James,  brought 
the  rest  of  their  long-expected  friends,  some 
sixty  in  number  ;  wives  and  children  of  the  early  colonists 
were  among  them,  and  many  dear  old  friends.  These  are 
counted  among  the  "  Forefathers,"  and  rank  with  the  Pil 
grims  of  the  Mayflower.  But  one,  toward  whom  all  hearts 
yearned,  was  not  among  them :  John  Robinson,  their  pas 
tor,  had  died  in  March  of  this  year.  Opposition  of  one 


THE   LAST  OF 
THE  FATHERS. 


A.D.  1627.]  NEW   COMERS.  83 

kind  and  another  had  prevented  his  coming  to  them,  and 
now  he  was  dead.  He  was  but  thirty-two  years  of  age 
when  the  exiled  church  was  re-formed  at  Amsterdam.  He 
had  long  been  the  guide  of  the  exiles,  and  was  deservedly 
their  leader  and  friend. 

JOHN  JENNY  came  in  the  James,  "  who  was  a  godly, 
though  otherwise,  a  plain  man  ;  yet  singular  for  publick- 
ness  of  spirit,  setting  himself  to  seek  and  promote  the 
common  good  of  the  plantation  of  New  Plimouth."  To 
him  be  praise,  and  to  his  kind  forever. 

In  this  year,  the  most  important  event,  was  the  sending 
of  two  ships  laden  with  good  dry  fish  and  furs,  "  more  than 
eight  hundred  pounds/'to  the  company  in  England.  The 
ships  sailed  away  lovingly,  and  had  fair  weather ;  yet 
when  almost  in  sight  of  Plymouth,  in  England,  one  of 
them  was  seized  by  a  Turk,  the  master  and  men  sold  for 
slaves,  and  the  fine  beaver-skins  for  fourpence  apiece. 
This  was  discouraging,  and  the  Pilgrims  began  to  despair, 
and  think  that  God  was  indeed  wroth ;  but  such  a  con 
clusion  was  hardly  to  be  accepted  ;  it  was  better  to  say 
that  his  judgments  were  inscrutable  ;  and  so  they  said  it. 

In  the  larger  of  these  ships  (the  Anne  ?)  went  Miles 
Standish  to  negotiate  affairs  with  the  company  ;  the  plague 
raged  in  London,  and  he  could  only  put  matters  in  a  hope 
ful  way.  Among  all  the  evil  things,  one  good  happened  in 
this  year,  for  James  L,  King  of  England,  died,  whose  de 
parture  no  man  ought  to  have  regretted.  But  Robert 
Cushman  and  John  Robinson  also  died,  whom  men  justly 
loved  and  reverenced. 

In  the  year  1627,  a  ship  bound  for  Virginia,  was  cast 
ashore  to  the  north  of  Cape  Cod,  in  Mannamoiet  Bay ;  the 
Indians  soon  put  the  passengers  into  communication  with 
the  Pilgrims,  who  gave  them  assistance,  extending  their 
hospitality  to  some  for  more  than  a  year,  until  they  finally 
scattered ;  some  to  Virginia,  some  to  other  parts. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

LANDS,    CATTLE,    ETC. 

WORKING  IN  COMMON  GIVEN  UP — "  DKOWTH" — FAST — RAIN — THEY  DIVIDE  THE  LANDS — 
THE  UNDERTAKERS — CATTLE — HORSES — JOHN  ALDEN'S  BULL — WEALTH — THE  DUTCH 
AT  MANIIADOE8 — WAMPUM — CONNECTICUT  RIVERA 

IN  the  spring  of  1623,  the  Pilgrimp  agreed  that  every 
man  should  cultivate  for  himself,  and  pay  into  the  com 
mon  stock  only  such  portion  of  corn  as  was  necessary  to 
sustain  the  officers  and  fishermen.1  Bradford  distinctly 
says,  that  the  plan  of  working  in  common  and  sharing 
alike,  was  not  successful,  and  none  were  satisfied  with  it. 
So  they  began  to  set  their  corn,  each  man  for  himself, 
about  the  middle  of  April.  In  the  first  season,  they 
planted  twenty  acres  with  corn,  and  dressed  it  with  fish  ; 
in  the  second  season,  about  sixty  acres.  Distress  pursued 
them,  for  a  "  great  drowth,"  which  "  it  pleased  God  to 
send,"  almost  destroyed  their  crops.  "  Now  were  our 
hopes  overthrown  and  we  discouraged,  our  joy  being 
turned  into  mourning/'  said  Winslow.2  Parties  went  out 
summer  and  winter,  for  fish,  and  the  best  hunters  scoured 
the  woods  for  deer  and  game.  Still  they  did  not  despair 
— they  examined  themselves,  and  fasted  privately  and 
publicly,  hoping  that  God  would  be  moved  to  mercy. 
The  very  next  day  after  the  fast,  the  heavens  opened,  and 
"  distilled  soft,  sweet  and  moderate  showers  for  fourteen 
days."  A  crowning  and  an  especial  mercy  and  answer 
which  now  "  it  pleased  God"  to  grant. 

In  the  year  1627  they  made  a  division  of  lands,  five 
acres  by  the  water  side,  and  four  acres  in  breadth  ;  al 
though  a  single  acre  to  a  man  had  been  allowed  in  1624. 

1  Hubbard's  History,  p.  79.  a  Good  News,  p.  44. 


A.D.  1627.]  LANDS,    CATTLE,    ETC.  85 

In  the  allotment  of  lands,  there  was  a  grant  to  the 
Indian,  Hobbamock,  who  had  taken  the  place,  as  inter 
preter  of  the  lamented  Squanto.  He  seems  to  have  held 
by  the  Pilgrims  and  their  God,  in  spite  of  enticements 
and  obstacles,  and  to  have  died,  "  leaving  some  good 
hopes  in  their  hearts  that  his  soul  went  to  rest/' 

There  was  much  disappointment  felt  and  expressed, 
from  time  to  time,  by  the  Adventurers  in  England,  at  the 
failure  of  the  Pilgrims  to  send  home  good  cargoes,  and 
Mr.  Weston  charged  ttffem  with  weakness  of  judgment, 
rather  than  weakness  of  hands,  and  with  spending  their 
time  in  discoursing,0arguing,  and  consulting,  etc.  The 
leading  men  of  the  Colony  determined  to  be  free  of  this. 
Sometime  during  1627,  Mr.  Allerton  went  up 
on  this  business,  to  England,  carrying  with  him  ^AK^Rs11" 
nine  bonds  for  £200  each  ;  these  were  given 
individually  by  Governor  Bradford,  William  Brewster, 
Miles  Standish,  Isaac  Allerton,  Samuel  Fuller,  Edward 
Winslow,  John  Jenny,  John  Alden,  and  John  Howland,1 
who  thus  purchased  the  rights  of  the  "  Company  of  Mer 
chant  Adventurers/'  assumed  the  responsibilities  of  the 
Colony,  and  were  known  in  that  day  as  "  The  Undertak 
ers."2  He  returned  in  1628,  and  was  engaged  at  various 
other  times  in  the  public  business  of  the  Colony.  Sherley 
was  the  Agent  for  the  Undertakers  in  England,  and 
through  the  mismanagement  of  Allerton,  their  accounts 
became  involved,  and  infinite  trouble  ensued.  The  claims 
of  the  English  partners  were  finally  compromised  and 
paid  in  1642.  Governor  Bradford  and  his  associates  had 
the  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  Colony  for  six  years  ; 
agreeing  to  pay  for  it,  the  above  £1800,  and  the  whole 
debts  of  the  Colony,  amounting  to  £2,400  ;  and  to  bring 
them  £50  a-year  in  hoes  and  shoes,  to  sell  them  corn  at 
six  shillings  a  bushel,  and  to  bring  over  the  balance  of  the 

1  Bradford  mentions  but  eight,  and  places  Thomas  Prince  instead  of  Fullei 
and  Jenny.  To  these  parties  were  added,  James  Sherley,  John  Beauchamp, 
Richard  Andrews,  Timothy  Hatherly,  of  London.  2  Prince. 


86  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1627. 

Church  at  Leyden,  all  of  which  they  did.  In  the  year  1628, 
having  procured  a  patent  for  lands  at  Kennebeck,  they  es 
tablished  a  trading-house  there,  near  what  is  now  Augusta. 
It  was  afterward  seized  by  the  French,  and  the  trade 
was  broken  up  (1635).  In  1661,  their  rights  there  were 
sold  to  John  Winslow  and  three  partners  for  £400. * 

Edward  Winslow,  who  had  been  sent  to  En- 
CATTLE.        gland   upon   business  with  the   Company,   re 
turned  in  March,  16^4,  bringing  with  him  an. 
important  accession  to   the   Pilgrims — three  heifers  and 
one   bull — the  first  neat  cattle  that  came  into  New  En 
gland.2 

In  the  year  1627,  division  was  made  of  the  cattle 
(which  had  increased)  into  twelve  lots,  one  lot  to  each 
party  of  thirteen  :  to  Governor  Bradford  and  his  party, 
fell  "  an  heifer  of  the  last  year,  which  was  of  the  great 
white  back  cow,  that  was  brought  over  in  the  '  Ann/ 
and  two  she-goats."  In  such  manner  to  others.  In  May, 
1627,  it  was  further  agreed,  "  That  if  any  of  the  cattle 
should,  by  accident,  miscarry,  or  be  lost,  or  hurt,  that  the 
same  should  be  taken  note  of  by  indifferent  men,  and 
judged  whether  the  loss  came  by  the  negligence  or  default 
of  those  betrusted,  and  if  they  were  found  faulty,  that 
such  should  be  forced  to  make  satisfaction  for  the  com 
panies'  as  also  their  partners'  damage/' 

The  first  notice  of  horses  occurs  in  1644,  when  one  be 
longing  to  the  estate  of  Stephen  Hopkins,  was  appraised 
at  £6  sterling.  It  was  a  country  for  cattle,  rather  than 
horses,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a  not  uncommon  thing, 
to  ride  on  bulls.  When  John  Alden  went  to  Cape  Cod, 
to  marry  Priscilla  Mullins,  he  covered  his  bull  with  broad 
cloth,  and  rode  on  his  back  ;  when  he  returned  he  placed 
his  wife  there,  and  led  the  bull  home  by  the  ring  in  his 
nose.8  One  historian  thinks,  that  had  Isaac  gone  on  a 
bull  instead  of  a  camel,  Kebecca  might  not  have  said  as 

1  Moore's  Governors.  a  Baylie's  Mem. 

3  Thacher,  p.  111. 


A.D.  1627.]  LANDS,    CATTLE,    ETC.  87 

she  did,  "  I  will  go."  Yet  the  bull  is  the  handsomer 
beast.  It  is  told  that  Alden  at  first  went  to  ask  the  hand 
of  Priscilla  for  his  friend,  Miles  Standish  ;  the  father  re 
ferred  him  to  the  daughter,  who  listened  with  attention  ; 
but  fixing  her  eyes  on  Alden's  handsome  face,  she  said, 
"  Prythee,  John,  why  do  you  not  speak  for  yourself  ?" 
Such  frankness  John  could  not  resist  in  those  "  good  old 
colony  times." 

Not  long  after,  the  Colony  was  in  danger  ;  wealth  threat 
ened  its  inhabitants,  for  in  the  year  1632,  in  consequence 
of  the  demand  for  cattle  and  corn,  from  the  incoming  col 
onists  of  "  Massachusetts  Bay,"  the  Plymouth  settlers  be 
gan  to  grow  rich,  the  prices  of  these  things  having  so  much 
advanced.  In  1632  a  cow  came  to  be  worth  £20,  which  in 
1640  fell  to  £5.  More  land  became  necessary  for  them, 
so  that  the  town  was  being  deserted,  and  men  went  out 
to  look  for  and  settle  upon  better  farms.  •  Duxbury  grew 
into  a  town  of  importance,  and  a  new  church  there  drew 
away  many  from  Plymouth,  which  was  no  ways  agreeable 
to  the  settlers  of  the  old  town  ;  and  they  hit  upon  the 
plan  of  granting  lands  at  Green's  Harbor  (Marshfield),  to 
such  as  should  keep  their  houses  in  Plymouth. 

In  this  year,  too  (October,  1627),  Mr.  Isaac  THE  DUTCH 
de  Rozier,  Secretary  to  the  Dutch  settlement  MANHADOES. 
at  the  Hudson  Eiver  (Manhadoes),  visited  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  a  trade, 
which  promised  to  be  mutually  advantageous.1  He  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  to  introduce  to  their  notice  WAM 
PUM,  or  Wampumpeag,  the  Indian  money.  This  was 
manufactured  from  shells  of  either  the  whelk  (buccinum), 
or  the  quowhaug  (venus  mercatoria),  and  the  process  is 
thus  described  by  a  more  recent  traveler  :2  "  It  is  made  of  the 
clam  shell,  consisting  within  of  two  colors,  purple  and  white. 
It  is  first  clipped  to  a  proper  size,  which  is  that  of  a  small 
paralelopiped,  then  drilled,  and  afterward  ground  to  a 

1  Hubbard's  History,  p.  99.     Bradford's  Letters,  Historical  Collection. 
a  Burnaby's  Travels,  1760. 


88  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1633. 

round  smooth  surface  and  polished.  The  purple  wampum 
is  much  more  valuable  than  the  white,  a  very  small  part 
of  the  shell  being  of  that  color."  One  fathom  of  their 
stringed  money  was  rated  at  5  shillings.  With  this  money 
they  were  enabled  to  buy  guns,  powder,  etc.,  much  to  the 
danger  of  the  colonists,  who  made  laws  against  such  sales, 
without,  however,  being  able  to  stop  the  cupidity  of 
dealers. 

The  Plymouth  people  had  been  told  by  the 
30NKivCEK.CTTT  Dutch  of  a  river  to  the  westward,  which  fur 
nished  good  fish,  whose  banks  were  fat  with 
soils,  and  fertile  with  pastures  ;  the  Massachusetts  men 
declining  to  join  them  in  settling  it,  they  fitted  out  an 
expedition  by  sea,  led  by  Holmes,  on  their  own  account 
(1633).  The  Dutch  would  have  stopped  their  progress  at 
their  fort  of  Good  Hope  (Hartford),  and  stood  by  their 
guns  threatening  to  shoot.  But  the  Plymouth  men  told 
them  that  they  too  must  stand  by  their  orders  to  go  on, 
and  so  they  did,  and  the  Dutch  did  not  shoot.  They  went 
a  mile  or  so  above  the  Dutch  settlement,  and  planted  their 
house  at  Windsor,  buying  the  lands  of  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WESTON'S    COLONY. 

THE  CHARITY  AND  SWAN — BAB  MEN  COME — THEY  STEAL  CORN — SETTLE  AT  WICHAGTTS- 
CUSSET — THEY  STEAL  THE  INDIANS1  CORN — VOYAGE  BOUND  CAPE  COD — SQUANTO 
DIES. 

IT  was  toward  the  end  of  the  month  of  June  1622  that 
the  Pilgrims,  watching  from  their  Citadel  on  the  Hill, 
saw  two  vessels  bearing  down  from  Cape  Cod.  Let  ns  try 
to  sympathize  with  their  anxiety.  The  last  arrival  of 
seven  colonists  had  brought  a  letter  from  Mr.  Weston, 
one  of  the  English  Company,  whom  they  had  counted  on 
as  a  fast  friend,  saying  that  their  interest  was  no  longer 
his.  These  ships  proved  to  be  the  "  Charity"  and  "  Swan," 
having  on  board  some  sixty  emigrants,  sent  out  by  Mr. 
Weston  at  his  own  expense,  who  were  to  found  a  Colony 
for  his  benefit.  For  their  masters'  sake  they  were  kindly 
received  by  the  Plymouth  settlers  ;  the  sick  were  pro 
vided  for,  and  cured  by  the  Colony  surgeon  without  cost, 
and  their  scanty  stock  of  provisions  was  further  sub 
divided.  But  there  were  among  the  new  comers  men 
that  even  Mr.  Weston  owned  to  be  rude  and  profane  fel 
lows.  Kobcrt  Cushman  wrote  from  England,  warning 
against  these,  solicitous  that  Squanto  should  explain  to 
the  Indians  that  they  were  not  of  the  Plymouth  Com 
pany,  and  were  to  be  guarded  against.  They  sent  a 
coasting  party  upon  a  voyage  of  discovery,  leaving  of 
course  a  large  part  of  the  New  Comers  at  Plymouth  ;  but 
they  were  reckless,  lazy,  and  wasteful ;  they  stole  the  new 
green  Corn,  "  and  would  not  help  us  about  the  labor  of 


90  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1622- 

it."     Yet  they  were  borne  with,  for  the  old  kindnesses  of 
Mr.  Weston.1 

Their  coasting  party  returned,  having  decided  to  settle 
at  Wichaguscusset,  now  called  Weymouth,  whither  the 
party  then  went,  leaving  only  the  sick  at  Plymouth.  But 
a  short  time  had  passed,  when  the  Indians  became  loud 
in  their  complaints  of  these  men  ;  there  were  those  among 
them  who  cared  nothing  for  the  rule  of  Eight.  They 
stole  the  Indians'  corn,  and  otherwise  abused  their  confi 
dence,  and  trifled  with  their  friendship.  Autumn  came, 
and  they  were  short  of  stores,  when  it  seemed  necessary 
for  the  Plymouth  Colony  to  join  with  them  in  a  trading 
Voyage,  for  the  buying  of  corn  and  provisions,  to  save  all 
from  famine.  The  "  Charity"  had  sailed  in  the  end  of 
Autumn  for  England,  leaving  the  "  Swan"  for  the  use  of 
the  new  Colony.  Mr.  Richard  Green,  Governor  of  the 
new  settlement,  suddenly  died,  and  Captain  Standish, 
who  was  to  have  succeeded  him  in  command  of  the  trad 
ing  party,  being  taken  sick,  the  Governor  was  obliged  to 
take  his  place.  This  was  the  first  voyage  round  Cape 
Cod.  He  succeeded  in  procuring  a  good  stock  of  corn  and 
beans,  and  some  furs,  so  that  the  winter  was  got  through 
with.  This  Voyage  was  brought  to  a  sudden  termination 
by  the  death  of  poor  Squanto,  who,  in  spite  of  his  con 
ceit  and  extravagance,  had  proved  himself  their  fast  friend. 
He  bequeathed  his  ornaments  to  several  of  his  English 
friends,  and  trusted  that  he  might  go  to  their  God.  His 
death  was  regretted,  and  he  sincerely  mourned. 

1  "Winslow's  G-ood  News,  p.  14. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

INDIAN    EMBASSIES. 

MASSASOIT   EECEIVES  THEM — HIS   SPEECH — THE  ATTACK  UPON  CORBITANT — MA8SA8OIT  SICK 
— WINSLOW   VISITS   AND   CURES   HIM. 

IN  the  month  of  June  or  July,1  1621,  an  Embassy  was 
dispatched  to  Massasoit,  near  what  is  now  Bristol ;  Ed 
ward  Winslow  and  Stephen  Hopkins  were  selected  to  go, 
with  Indian  Squanto,  for  an  interpreter.  They  carried 
with  them  a  red  cotton  coat  for  the  King  himself,  beads 
and  jack-knives,  for  his  chiefs ;  thus  fortified  with  the 
persuasives  of  diplomacy,  they  set  forth,  and  met  with  favor 
among  the  Indians  on  their  way  ;  Massasoit  received  them 
with  friendship,  and  the  great  Sachem  invited  them  to 
share  his  bed  with  his  wife,  which  luxury  they  seem  not  to 
have  enjoyed,  for  Winslow  says,  "  they  were  worse  weary 
of  their  lodging  than  their  journey."  On  their  journey, 
they  had  been  obliged  to  lodge  in  the  fields  with  the  In 
dians,  and  on  their  return,  came  nigh  famishing  with 
hunger  :  added  to  this,  the  "  savages  barbarous  singing, 
lice  and  fleas  within  doores,  and  muskeetoes  without," 
made  it  a  disagreeable  mission.  But  Massasoit  assured 
them  that  he  would  gladly  continue  the  peace  and  friend 
ship,  "  and  for  his  men,  they  should  no  more  pester  us  as 
they  had  done  ;  also,  that  he  would  send  to  Paomet,  and 
would  help  us  with  corne  for  seed/' 

Massasoit  decked  his  kingly  person  in  the  red  coat,  and 
was  much  elated.  He  then  collected  his  men  about  him, 
and  "  made  a  great  speech  ;"  the  meaning  whereof  was 
thus  :  "  Was  not  he  Massasoit,  commander  of  the  country 

1  Bradford's  Journal.     Morton  says  2d  July. 


92  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1622. 

about  them  ?  Was  not  such  a  town  his,  and  the  people 
in  it  ?  and  such  other  towns  (naming  at  least  thirty  places), 
and  should  they  not  bring  their  skins  (to  sell)  to  us  (the 
English)  ?"  and  more,  "  so  that  as  it  was  delightful,  it 
was  tedious  unto  us." 

These  touches  of  humor  in  Winslow  are  delightful  unto 
us,  and  not  tedious.  Massasoit  desired  greatly  that  they 
should  prolong  their  stay,  but  they  wished  to  keep  the  Sab 
bath  at  home,  and  "feared  they  should  be  light-headed," 
for  want  of  sleep,  and  the  savages  singing,  etc. ;  so  they 
exchanged  courtesies  and  departed.  They  gained  much, 
knowledge,  and  were  cautioned  not  to  trust  the  Narragan- 
setts — a  rival  and  powerful  tribe,  who  occupied  what  is 
now  known  as  Khode  Island. 

Not  long  after   this,  hearing  that  Squanto, 
™oZmTl*T    ^eir  friend  and  interpreter,  had  been  killed  by 

Corbitant,  a  chief  of  these  Narragansetts,1  a 
party  of  ten  (10)  colonists  armed  themselves,  and  marched 
into  the  heart  of  the  forest,  surrounded  the  hut  where 
they  supposed  the  obnoxious  chief  to  be,  disarmed  the  In 
dians  who  came  to  the  rescue,  and  made  themselves  felt 
and  feared  by  this  dangerous  neighbor,  who  counted  some 
five  thousand  fighting  men  !  Happily  for  all,  Squanto 
was  not  murdered,  and  war  did  not  exist.  Ten  to  five 
thousand  !  these  were  brave  men  ;  and  this  daring  did 
much  to  give  to  the  Indians  that  respect  for  the  Ply 
mouth  men,  which  they  seem  to  have  entertained  for  no 
other. 

In  April,   1622,  Massasoit  was  dangerously 
MAScK°IT      sick-     -H-6  seems   never  to   have  failed  in   his 

friendship  to  the  Pilgrims,  nor  they  to  have 
abused  it.  So  soon  as  they  heard  of  his  sickness,  Winslow, 
in  company  with  Mr.  John  Hampden,  started  at  once  with 
such  medicines  as  they  had,  and  were  of  use  in  hastening 
his  recovery.  This  was  well,  for  their  absence  in  his  dis 
tress,  had  been  made  use  of  to  poison  his  mind  against 

;  Morton's  Memoir,  August  14,  1621. 


A.D.  1622.]  INDIAN   EMBASSIES.  93 

them.  Winslow,  Hampden,1  and  Hobbamock,  at  first 
heard  that  Massasoit  was  dead,  which  news  struck  them 
"  blank  ;"  Hohbamock  was  troubled,  and  cried,  "  My  lov 
ing  Sachem,  my  loving  Sachem  !  Many  have  I  known, 
but  never  any  like  thee."  Winslow  went  at  once  to  Mas- 
sasoit's  house,  which  they  found  filled  with  Indians,  "in 
the  midst  of  their  charms  for  him,  making  such  a  hellish 
noise,  as  it  distempered  us  that  were  well,  and  therefore, 
unlike  to  ease  him  that  was  sick/'2  Massasoit  could  not 
see,  but  he  grasped  his  hand  saying,  "Ob,  Winsnow  ! 
Winsnow  !"  Winslow  took  hold  of  the  case  vigorously  and 
intelligently  ;  washed  out  the  Sachem's  mouth,  and  ad 
ministered  such  help  as  he  could  ;  so  that  he  soon  mended, 
though  near  death  then.  At  his  request,  Winslow  prac 
ticed  his  skill  upon  other  sick,  and  earned  the  gratitude  of 
the  chief;  who  cried,  "Now  I  know  that  the  English  are 
my  friends,  and  love  me,  and  whilst  they  live,  I  will  never 
forget  this  kindness." 

1  Mr.  Baylies,  in  his  Memoirs  of  Plymouth,  assumes  that  this  was  the  great 
Hampden,  Vol.  I.,  p.  410.  I  find  no  reason  sufficient  to  sustain  that 
opinion.  2  Winslow's  Good  News. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

WAR. 

PLOT  DISCOVERED — WESTON'8  PEOPLE  HANG  A  MAN — ABE  COMPLETELY  DEMORALIZED — 
THE  MASSACRE  IN  VIRGINIA — WAR  DECLARED — STANDISII  SEIZES  THE  CHIEFS — KILLS 
PECK8DOT  AND  WETAWAMAT — INDIANS  PERISH  OF  FEAR  AND  WANT — ROBINSON'S 
REGRET — WESTON  RUINED — MORTON'S  COMPANY  AT  MT.  WOLLASTON. 

ONE  of  the  fruits  of  this  last  journey  to  Massasoit,  was 
the  discovery  of  a  plot  of  the  Indians  for  the  destruction 
of  Weston's  Colony,  at  Wessagusset. 

On  their  return  to  Plymouth,  Winslow  found  that  Cap 
tain  Standish  had  been  decoyed  from  the  colony  by  one 
of  the  Indians.  Contrary  winds  drove  him  back,  when 
the  Indian  was  dismissed  without  exciting  his  suspicion. 

Weston's  Colony  was  so  reduced,  that  one  of  their  num 
ber  in  trying  to  gather  clams,  got  fast  in  the  mud,  and 
had  not  strength  to  get  himself  out ;  he  was  found  there 
dead  ;  they  were  entirely  incapable  of  success,  being  des 
titute  both  of  principle  and  of  business  talent.  It  is  told, 
that  being  forced  by  the  Indians  to  take  measures  to  re 
strain  stealing  they  hanged  one  of  the  offenders,  but  took 
care  to  choose  one  whom  they  could  spare,  who  was  not 
likely  to  live  long,  rather  than  the  most  guilty.  This  is 
not  true  of  them,  but  is  reported  as  true  of  Captain 
Gorges  and  his  colony.1  (Note  in  Grahame's  U.  S.,  Vol.  I., 
p.  235.) 

The  men  of  Wessagusset  had  utterly  wasted  their  stores, 
and  were  driven  to  hire  themselves  to  the  Indians,  that 
they  might  share  their  food,  and  stave  off  starvation  ;  they 
ended  by  robbing  them.  Confusion,  distrust,  and  exas 
peration  ensued,  and  the  Indians  became  bitter.  Spring 

1  Morton's  Memorial.     Belknap's  American  Biography,  Yol.  II.,  p.  320. 


A.D.  1623.]  WAR.  95 

came  (1623),  and  they  wanted  seed  corn  ;  the  Indians  re 
fused  to  deal  with  them,  and  there  was  evidence  that  they 
had  determined  to  drive  the  colony  from  the  country  ;  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  why  they  should  not. 

Governor  Bradford  wrote  to  Saunders,  the  manager  of 
Weston's  Colony,  warning  him  against  violent  dealing, 
and  threatening  future  punishment,  which  checked  their 
desperate  projects.  Early  in  March,  Governor  Bradford 
had  received  intelligence,  that  the  exasperated  Indians 
had  determined  to  drive  these  base  men  from  their  shores, 
and  that  a  wide-spread  combination  or  conspiracy  had 
been  formed  for  the  purpose,  which  was  to  include  all  the 
Palefaces. 

This  was  fearful  news,  for  the  Indians  in  Virginia  had 
felt  the  stings  of  contempt  and  injury ;  they  had  seen 
their  lands  passing  away  from  them  :  they  felt  that  self- 
preservation  and  revenge  called  for  action ;  they  knew  the 
strength  of  the  whites,  so  they  used  craft  and  secresy,  in 
place  of  strength  and  courage  ;  silently  they  laid  their 
plans.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1622,  they  said  to  the 
whites,  "  Sooner  shall  the  sky  fall  than  peace  be  violated 
by  us."  On  the  22d  of  March,  they  fell  upon  the  unsus 
pecting  villages,  scattered  along  both  sides  of  the  James 
Kiver.  They  spared  none,  not  the  young,  not  the  old  ; 
the  good  and  the  bad  fell  together.  In  one  hour  nigh 
four  hundred  persons  were  cut  off,  and  the  Virginia  settle 
ment  received  a  blow  from  which  it  did  not  recover  for  years.1 

Nothing  but  the  treachery  of  one  of  the  Indians,  who 
revealed  the  plot,  saved  the  Virginians  from  total  de 
struction.  The  whites  thenceforth  waged  a  ruthless  and 
exterminating  war  upon  the  Indians,  which  was  continued 
by  law  till  the  year  1632.  The  whites  outsavaged  the 
savages,  and  their  cruelty  was  intense,  for  it  was  legal  as 
well  as  revengeful.  The  colonists  at  Plymouth  knew  of 
this  fearful  massacre,  and  thought  that  self-preservation 
required  a  sudden  and  stunning  blow. 
1  Bancroft,  Vol.  I,  p.  182. 


96  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1623. 


THEY   DE- 
CLAKE  WAE. 


On  the  23d  of  March,  1623,  being  assembled 
in  public  court,  the  governor  laid  the  evidences 
before  them,  when  the  unanimous  voice  declared 
for  WAR.1  'Twas  a  sad  business,  for  they  knew  Wes ton's 
men  to  be  in  the  wrong.  Eight  or  wrong,  having  decided, 
to  decide  was  to  act.  Captain  Standish,  with  four  others, 
watched  his  time,  and  having  got  the  Chiefs  of  the  con 
spiracy  into  a  wigwam,  gave  the  signal,  sprang  suddenly 
upon  them,  secured  the  door,  and  buried  his  knife  in  the 
heart  of  Pecksuot,  one  of  the  fiercest  of  the  chiefs.  The 
Indians  died  hard,  after  many  wounds  ;  and  one  Standish 
hanged.  Hobbamock  stood  by  and  meddled  not,  but 
praised  Standish  greatly  when  the  fight  was  done. 

They  returned  to  Plymouth  with  the  head  of  Weta- 
wamat,  which  was  set  up  on  a  pole  in  the  fort ;  one  of 
the  Indians  who  had  been  secured,  was  set  at  liberty  with 
a  defiant  and  threatening  message  ;  and  the  whole  fight 
carried  such  terror  among  the  Indians,  that  they  fled 
from  their  homes,  and  wandering  in  swamps  and  forests, 
many  perished  through  suffering  and  disease  ;  among 
these  were  the  Sachems  Canacum,  Aspinet,  and  lyan- 
ough.2  None  but  a  woman  durst  come  as  a  messenger,  to 
these  once  peaceful  pilgrims.  Robinson  wrote  them,  "  how 
happy  a  thing  had  it  been  that  you  had  converted  some 
before  you  killed  any."  One  can  regret  that  they  had  not 
the  courage  and  discretion  to  have  turned  their  hands 
and  arms  against  the  settlers  at  Western's  Colony,  and 
either  compelled  them  to  live  decently,  or  else  have  ex 
terminated  them  ;  rather  than  sanction  a  false  issue,  and 
rouse  a  hatred  in  the  Indians  against  all  white  men  and 
Christians. 

The  Colony  at  Wessagusset  wras  utterly  dissipated,  some 
were  hanged,  some  perished  by  the  Indians,  and  the  rest 
disappeared.  Weston  himself  came,  to  find  it  destroyed 
and  himself  ruined  ;  he  received  kindness  only  at  the  hands 
of  the  Pilgrims,  whom  he  had  been  the  means  of  injuring. 

1  Morton,  p.  90.     Winslow's  Good  News.     2  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims,  p.  341. 


A.D.  1631.]  WAR.  97 

This  was  the  fate  of  a  Colony  composed  of  common  men, 
and  founded  upon  no  higher  law  than  the  determination 
at  whatever  rate  to  make  money. 

In  1626,  a  settlement  had  been  begun  by 
Captain  Wollaston  (now  Braintree),  and  with 
him  had  come  one  Thomas  Morton.  He  was  a  MT- 
man  of  parts,  unscrupulous  and  crafty.  He  sup 
planted  his  captain  and  seduced  the  company.  They 
set  up  a  rollicking,  jolly  life  of  it,  at  Mount  Wollaston, 
having  strong  drink,  junkettings,  May-poles  (then  a  fla 
grant  abomination),  and  other  little  varieties  ;  so  that  they 
became  a  scandal  to  their  neighbors  and  to  all  good  livers. 
Morton  (page  137),  speaks  hardly  of  them,  as  no  better 
than  atheists,  as  "  quaffing  and  drinking,"  "  dancing  and 
frisking/'  and  even  worse.  But  this  kind  of  thing  could  not 
last,  and  Governor  Endicott,  coming  over  with  authority 
from  the  Patentees,  paid  these  roystering  fellows  a  visit 
(1628),  cut  down  their  May-pole,  and  administered  a  sharp 
rebuke.  This  failed  to  bring  them  to  a  serious  carriage, 
and  Miles  Standish  was  deputed  to  take  Morton  by  force 
of  arms  ;  which  he  did  :  and  that  time  he  was  sent  to  En 
gland  to  answer  for  his  misdeeds.  He  afterward  returned, 
and  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  Governor  Winthrop  in 
1631,  who  again  sent  him  to  England,  where  he  published 
a  sharp  and  scurrilous  book,  in  which  he  calls  Standish, 
Captain  Shrimp,  and  Endicott,  Captain  Littleworth,  and 
so  he  had  his  revenge.  The  assessment  among  the  dif 
ferent  settlements  for  this  service,  is  given  in  Governor 
Bradford's  letter-book,  as  amounting  to  £12,  7s.,  and  this 
was  not  all  that  it  cost.1 

1  Massachusetts  Historical  Collection,  and  Morton's  Memorial,  p.  136. 

5 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE     GOVERNMENT. 

THE  PATENT— COLUMBUS— DE  GAMA—THE  POPE  DIVIDES  THE  WORLD— JOHN  CABOT— 
GO8NOLD — THE  LONDON  COMPANY  AND  THE  PLYMOUTH  COMPANY — NEW  ENGLAND, 
1614 — THE  MERCHANT  ADVENTURERS — PURITANS  VAGABONDS  AND  FUGITIVES — THEY 
HAD  NO  PATENT — THE  PATENT  OF  1629-30 — SIGNING  THE  COMPACT — DEMOCRACY — 
THE  PROBLEM— RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES— SELF-GOVERNMENT— JOHN  CARVER— WILLIAM 
BRADFORD — EDWARD  WIN8LOW — MILES  STANDISH — ISAAC  ALLERTON  AND  STEPHEN 
HOPKINS — FANATICISM — THE  GOVERNOR  AND  COUNCIL — JURY  TRIAL — THEIR  CODE — 
NO  CRIMES — POPULATION — THEIR  LEGISLATURE — RELIGIOUS  TEST — PLYMOUTH  JOINED 
TO  MASSACHUSETTS. 

A  GRANT  from  the  Crown  was  believed  to  be 
THE  PATENT,  of  vital  importance  by  the  Pilgrims,  that  they 
might  make  a  safe  and  permanent  settlement. 
Political  science  had  not  shown,  that  the  Title  to  land 
consists  in  the  USE  of  it.  In  those  days,  the  man  who 
first  set  up  a  stake  on  a  Continent,  by  so  doing  was  be 
lieved  to  own  it  for  his  King.  Such  stakes  and  crosses 
were  planted  along  the  shores  of  America  ;  they  stood 
alone  in  their  solitude  for  years,  a  perch  for  the  Eagle, 
and  a  wonder  to  the  roving  savage  ;  but  in  some  sort  were 
respected  by  nations  and  explorers. 

In  1492,  Columbus  sailed  on  his  wonderful  voyage,  and 
Spain  claimed  to  own  his  discoveries,  and  assumed  to 
give  laws  to  the  maritime  world.  Vasco  de  Gama,  in  the 
service  of  Portugal,  turned  the  stormy  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  (1497)  and  claimed  the  sovereignty  of  Indian  Seas, 
and  the  ownership  of  Oriental  Continents.  Pope  Alex 
ander  VI.,  then  a  living,  not  a  galvanized  power,  by  an 
imaginary  line  through  the  Atlantic,  extending  from  pole 
to  pole,  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores,  divided 
the  unknown  world,  and  granted  all  discoveries  west  of 


A.D.  1629.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.  99 

it  to  the  kingdom  of  Spain,  all  east  of  it  to  Portugal.1  But 
Henry  VII.  of  England,  not  having  the  fear  of  damnation 
before  his  eyes,  in  1496  (hut  four  years  after  Columbus's 
voyage)  commissioned  John  Cabot,  a  Venetian  Merchant, 
and  his  three  sons  (of  Bristol,  England),  to  discover  and 
occupy  new  countries  in  the  name  of  the  English  king. 
Under  this  commission  the  northern  Continent  of  America 
was  discovered  by  him  in  1497. 

Bartholomew  Gosnold,  in  1602,  the  same  year  in  which 
the  Pilgrims  were  escaping  to  Holland,  sailed  across  to 
Cape  Cod,  and,  making  a  coasting  voyage,  returned  with 
a  good  cargo,  and  a  good  report  of  the  land.  Two  com 
panies  had  been  organized  in  England  in  1606.  First, 
the  "  LONDON  COMPANY"  of  Merchants  (or  Virginia  Com 
pany)  who  were  to  settle  Virginia,  ranging  between  34°  and 
41°  of  latitude,  under  which  Jamestown  was  settled  in 
1606-7.  Second,  the  "  PLYMOUTH  COMPANY"  in  1620,2 com 
posed  of  Merchants  of  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and  the  Western 
part  of  England,  who  had  power  over  a  country  ranging 
from  the  38th  to  the  45th  degree.  In  1614  the  name  of 
New  England  was  applied  to  this  territory  by  Captain 
John  Smith.3 

Under  the  patronage  of  the  "  London  Com 
pany  of  Merchant  Adventurers,"  the  Plymouth 
settlers  gained  some  sort  of  a  grant  of  privileges 
from  the  "  Virginia  Company"  first,  afterward 
from  the  "  Plymouth  Company  (1629-30).      These  Mer 
chant   Adventurers,  according   to    Captain   Smith,  were 
composed  of  some  seventy  stockholders,    comprising  not 
only  Merchants,   but  Handicrafts-men   and   others,  who 
advanced  about  £7000,  and  were  to  receive  returns  from 
the  Pilgrims,  in  the  produce  of  the  Colony,  whatever  it 
might  be.     Some  of  these  looked  to  the  profit  of  the  ad- 

1  Robertson's  America.     London,  1816. 

3  Baylie's  Mem.     Hubbard,  p.  85.     Cheever's  Journal  of  Pilgrims,  p.  5. 
Haven's  Introduction  to  Mass.  Records. 
8  "Wilson,  p.  356.    Bancroft,  vol.  i,  p.  270. 


TITE  MER 
CHANT  AD- 
VENTUREBB. 


100  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1629, 

venture,  an  very  properly  ;  otherwise  the  Pilgrims  could 
not  have  sailed.  This  Contract  between  them  and  the 
Colony  was  to  continue  seven  years  ;  hut  it  became  so 
vexatious  to  both  parties,  that  the  Pilgrims  were  glad  to 
purchase  a  release.  (See  ch.  xi.) 

The  Pilgrims  earnestly  sought  a  Patent,  liberty  from 
the  king  of  England,  to  go  to  a  bleak  and  howling  wilder 
ness,  there  to  suffer  cold,  hunger,  sickness,  and  death,  in 
order  that  they  might  at  least  lay  the  foundation  of  future 
homes  for  their  descendants  ;  they  asked  only  to  be  LET 
ALONE,  that  they  might  gain  a  hard  and  honest  living 
from  the  rugged  soil,  and  to  rule  themselves  as  they  could, 
and  to  worship  their  God  as  they  saw  fit — not  as  some 
other  men  thought  proper.  They  had  been  "  harried  out 
of  England,"  were  not  wanted  there,  and  their  request 
does  not  seem  exorbitant.  Yet  it  could  not  be  granted  ; 
the  "  divine  right"  of  the  King  and  the  Church  did  not 
coincide  with  the  divine  rights  of  the  Puritans  ;  and  as 
the  strong  hand  only  could  settle  these  things,  and  the 
King  had  the  strong  hand  (for  a  time),  his  rights  pre 
vailed,  and  the  Puritans  were  vagabonds  and  fugitives  on 
the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  most  they  could  get  was  a  Grant  from  the  Vir 
ginia  Company  to  settle  in  the  territory  which  that  Com 
pany  held  from  the  King.  This  grant  was  questionable 
in  many  respects.  Freedom  of  worship  might  be  suffered, 
but  it  was  not  secured.  The  Mayflower  touched  the  Con 
tinent  far  north  of  the  limits  of  the  Virginia  patent,  and 
the  matter  was  therefore  never  brought  to  a  test. 

The  Forefathers  took  possession,  in  their  own  right,  of 
an  unoccupied  country,  which,  as  soon  as  possible,  they 
bought  (and  paid  for)  from  the  native  inhabitants,  who 
still  claimed  the  right  to  roam  and  hunt  over  its  surface — 
the  right  of  Possession,  not  of  Use.  They  endeavored  to 
have  the  rights  thus  gained  guarantied  them  by  the 
English  Government,  but  without  success.  The  only 


A.D.  1629.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.^  101 

charter  whicn  Bradford  and  the  Settlor-^  at  Blyin<.»u,t&l'wese 
at  last  able  to  get,  was  one  from  the  Plymouth  Company, 
securing  them  all  the  rights  which  that  Company  held 
from  the  Crown.  This  was  given,  January  13,  1629-30, 
in  consideration  that  Bradford  and  his  associates  had  now 
for  nine  years  established  and  sustained  themselves  at 
their  own  charges,  and  by  care  and  industry  had  approved 
themselves  among  men.  It  secured  their  rights  to  lands, 
between  the  Cohasset  river  on  the  North  and  the  Narra- 
gansett  river  on  the  South,  and  also  lands  on  the  Kenne- 
beck  ;  privileges  to  make  and  execute  laws  ;  liberties  to 
fish  and  to  trade  ;  and  to  make  war  in  defense  of  these 
their  rights.1  At  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  they 
feared  its  loss,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Kichard  Bel- 
lingham  and  John  Leverett  for  safe-keeping.  In  1664, 
they  enrolled  all  above  sixteen  years  of  age,  "  except  tim 
orous  persons,"  into  the  militia,  and  required  them  to 
drill  eight  times  a  year. 

New  Plymouth  remained  a  separate  Government  till 
after  the  Ee volution  in  1688,  when,  by  King  William's 
Charter,  it  was  united  to  Massachusetts  Bay.  John  Pierce 
obtained  a  Patent  from  the  Plymouth  Company,  which 
he  afterward  sold  to  the  "  Merchant  Adventurers"  in  Lon 
don,  but  it  was  never  of  any  use  to  the  Pilgrims. 

Mutterings   were   heard   from   some   of   the 
smaller  grains  of  this  "  choice  seed,"  before  it     THE  SIGNING 
left  the  Mayflower.     Some  of  the  more  ignorant      ON  BOARD 
sort  said,   "It  is  all  very  well ;  but  when  we      ™OWEB." 
get  ashore,  there  is  plenty  of  room,  and  one 
man  will  be  as  good  as  another  ;  and  if  we  have  no  voice 
in  ordering  matters,  we  can  step  out  into  the  woods  and 
order  things  to  suit  ourselves."     Such  was  the  talk  which 
reached  the  ears  of  the  leading  men.     Bradford,  Brewster, 
and  Carver  were  not  only  men  of  Justice,  but  men  of 
SENSE,  and  they  saw  that  to  deny  these  men — though 

1  Prince's  ChroD.     Baylie's  Mem. 


NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 


wer,e  "jSer^aAt&'c-^a  voice  in  directing  their  own  com 
mon  affairs,  would  be  not  only  unjust,  but  unwise.  They 
foresaw  the  evils  and  dangers  of  division  to  the  infant  Col 
ony,  and  they  decided  to  anticipate  them  —  not  to  wait,  as 
most  men  do,  till  the  people,  stung  to  madness,  rush  into 
mischief1 

The  whole  body  of  the  Settlers  was  therefore  convened 
in  the  Cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  as  she  lay  within  Cape 
Cod.  All  were  serious,  wondering  what  was  now  to  be 
done  ;  for  it  was  evident  that  in  taking  this  second  great 
step,  some  important  plan  was  afoot.  Slowly  and  clearly 
the  following  simple  Compact  was  then  read  : 

"In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  We  whose  names  are 
underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  Sovereign 
King  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  etc.,  having  undertaken, 
for  the  Glory  of  God  and  advancement  of  the  Christian 
faith,  and  honor  of  our  King  and  Country,  a  voyage  to 
plant  the  first  Colony  in  the  Northern  parts  of  Virginia, 
do  by  these  presents  solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  God,  and  one  of  another,  Covenant  and  combine 
ourselves  together  into  a  Civil  body  politic,  for  our  better 
ordering  and  preservation,  and  furtherance  of  the  ends 
aforesaid  ;  and  by  virtue  hereof,  to  enact,  constitute,  and 
frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  constitu 
tions,  and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought 
most  meet  and  convenient  for  the  general  good  of  the 
colony,  unto  which  we  promise  all  due  submission  and 
obedience. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our 
names,  at  Cape  Cod,  the  llth  of  November,  in  the 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  lord,  King  James 
of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the  eighteenth, 
and  of  Scotland  the  fiftie-fourth,  Anno  Dom., 
1620."  2 

1  Mourt's  Relation.     London,  1622.     Maudit,  1774. 

a  The  names  of  those  who  organized  this  democracy,  should  live.     This 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  103 

Each  man  was  asked  to  sign  this  instrument,  and  thus 
by  granting  to  each  his  just  right,  all  ground  for  disunion 
and  revolution  was  removed.  The  Compact  was  signed 
by  forty-one  men,  who  with  their  families  constituted  the 
"  One  hundred  and  two/'1  "  the  proper  democracy"  that 
arrived  in  New  England.  "  This/'  says  a  historian,  "  was 
the  birth  of  popular  constitutional  liberty."  This  was 
the  birth  of  Individual  Liberty,  of  Democracy  !  and  thus 
were  ORGANIZED  the  Eights  of  Man.  Each  man — master 
and  servant — thenceforward  was  recognized  as  a  man,  felt 
the  responsibility  of  a  man,  and  voted  as  a  man  ;  his 
voice  counted  as  One  !  The  time  had  come  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  world,  when  in  a  civilized,  organized  commu- 

is  the  list  given  by  Prince,  as  signers  of  this  "  Compact,"  with  the  number 
in  each  of  their  families : 

Mr.  John  Carver,!  ...  8 
William  Bradford,  ...  2 

Mr.  Edward  Winslow,f  .  .  5 
Mr.  William  Brewster,f  .  .  .  6 
Mr.  Isaac  Allerton,f  .  .  6 

Capt.  Miles  Standish,f    ...     2 

John  Alden,  ...         1         John  Crackston,       ...         2 

Mr.  Samuel  Fuller,  .  .  .2  John  Billington,f  .  .  .4 
Mr.  Christopher  Martin,^  .  4  Moses  Fletcher, 
Mr.  William  Mullins,\  .  .  5  John  Goodman, 
Mr.  William  White  J  .  .  5  Degory  Priest, 
Mr.  Richard  Warren,  .  .  1  Thomas  Williams, 
John  Howland,  ...  0  Gilbert  Winslow, 
Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins,  f  .  .  8  Edward 
Edward  Tilly,  ...  4  Peter  Brown, 
John  Tilly,  ....  3  Richard  JBritteridge,  .  .  .  1 
Francis  Cook,  ...  2  George  Soule,  ...  0 
Thomas  Rogers,  ....  2  Pdehard  Clarke,  .  .  .  1 
Thomas  Tinker ,f  ...  3  Eichard  Gardiner,  .  .  1 

John  Ridgdale,\          .         .         .2         John  Allerton,      .         .  .    1 

Edward  Fuller, \     ...         3         Thomas  English,      .         .         .         1 
John  Turner,       ;         .         .         .3         Edward  Dotey,  .         .         .0 

Francis  Eaton, f      ...        3        Edward  Leister,      ...        0 
James  Chilton,\ .        .  .    3 

The  names  in  italics  indicate  those  who  died  before  the  end  of  March  ; 
those  indicated  by  the  f  brought  their  wives  with  them. 
1  Bradford's  History,  M.  H.  0.,  1856. 


104  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1620. 

nity,  at  Plymouth  on  the  Massachusetts  shore,  this 
recognition  of  individual  liberty  was  to  be  a  BIGHT.  A 
right  which  may  be  abused,  which  may  occasion  tempor 
ary  disorders,  but  which  must  be  asserted,  and  maintained, 
and  admitted,  and  established,  before  a  true  communal  life 
is  possible — one  which  works  together  for  the  good  of  the 
individual,  and  therefore  of  the  community;  which  neither 
seeks  nor  allows  superior  privileges  to  king,  or  priest,  or 
aristocracy ;  but  only  the  elevation  and  perfection  of  man 
whatever  may  be  his  condition  or  birth.  No  Society,  no 
Community,  no  Nation  can  last,  that  does  not  act  upon 
this  as  its  central  idea.  Society,  so  far,  has  not  been 
organized  upon  it,  and  so  far  society  has  gone  to  destruc 
tion.  We  have  here  the  idea,  and  we  have  action  under 
it  ;  shall  we  be  able  to  live  up  to  it  ?  It  is  the  problem 
that  is  to  be  solved. 

In  the  cabin  of  the  "  Mayflower"  we  have  presented  to 
us  one  of  those  small  but  significant  events  which  influ 
ence  the  destiny  of  man  through  all  succeeding  history. 
On  this  llth  day  of  November,  1620  (22d  November  1620 
N.  S.),  serving  men — villains — the  slave  class,  were  ac 
cepted  as  equals  in  political  rights.  Cirdumstances 
FORCED  the  superior  to  what  may  have  seemed  then  an 
unwise  admission.  The  men  of  birth  and  education 
among  the  pilgrims  did  not  intend  a  Democracy,  they  had 
not  faith  in  it ;  and  the  social  distinction,  between  "  Mr." 
and  "  Goodman"  continued  long  after  the  civil  had  been 
ground  to  dust  by  the  dynamic  force  of  their  unrecognized 
and  undeveloped  principle  of  religious  right  and  duty. 
But  the  act  was  done,  and  could  not  be  undone  :  the 
light  from  heaven  was  forced  in  upon  men,  and  they  saw. 
With  Bights  come  Duties,  and  the  rights  once  admitted 
and  assumed,  the  duties  must  be  done  :  time  alone  is 
needed,  perhaps  centuries,  to  ensure  harmony  between 
the  two.  But  the  duties  of  self-government  can  not  be, 
and  will  not  be  assumed,  so  long  as  the  rights  are  with 
held  :  as  well  expect  men  to  learn  to  swim  without  water, 


THEIR      GOV 
ERNMENT. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  105 

as  to  expect  them  to  be  self-governors  without  practice. 
Whatever  king  or  class  denies  the  intrinsic  rights  of  self- 
government,  sows  broadcast  the  seeds  of  envy,  hatred,  in 
justice,  degradation  and  confusion,  and,  sooner  or  later,  of 
destruction.  The  wise  king  or  governing  class,  will  there 
fore  urge  this  right  of  self-government  upon  the  lower 
class,  and  will  steadily  sustain  it :  thus,  and  thus  only, 
will  the  lower  class  everywhere  be  converted  into  true  men 
and  honest  citizens. 

Their  government  was  of  the  utmost  simplic 
ity — technically  it  was  nothing,  for  each  man 
was  free,  and  his  own  governor ;  there  was 
room  for  self-development,  and  every  one  naturally  gravi 
tated  to  his  place.  It  was  fortunate  that  no  Locke1  was 
there,  to  draw  up  a  full  and  scientific  scheme  of  govern 
ment  ;  no  Sieyes,2  to  construct  a  perfect  Constitution  ;  no 
lawyers  or  theorists,  to  destroy  the  simple  arrangements 
of  life. 

JOHN  CARVER  had  been  named  governor  before  they 
left  the  ship,  believing,  as  they  said,  that  "  One  Nehemiah 
was  better  than  a  whole  Sanhedrim  of  mercenary  She- 
maiahs."  Possessed  of  a  good  estate  in  England,  he  had 
spent  it  and  himself  in  the  service  of  what  he  believed  to 
be  true  religion,  and  the  interests  of  humanity.3  He  was 
a  man  of  quiet  dignity,  and  a  reliable,  honorable  friend. 
His  duties,  of  course,  were  those  of  a  father  living  among, 
and  working  with  and  for  his  children  ;  not  those  of  a 
Despot,  to  rule  his  subjects — or  a  Politician,  to  beguile 
them  by  craft  and  lying  words — not  those  of  an  Aristocrat, 
whose  life  is  spent  in  keeping  up  the  delusion,  that  he  is 
the  born  governor  of  his  fellow-men. 

At  the  meeting,  held  March  23d,  for  the  completion  of 
their  military  arrangements  (interrupted  by  Indians  in 
February),  he  was  chosen  Governor  for  the  year  by  all  the 
people.  A  few  days  after  this,  in  April,  returning  from 
work  in  the  fields,  to  which  labor  he  was  not  used,  he  was 

1  See  that  of  Carolina.     2  Study  the  French  Revolution.     3  Allen,  Biog.  Diet. 


106  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

seized  with  pains  in  the  head,  and  died,  and  was  "buried 
in  the  best  manner,  "  with  the  discharge  of  some  volleys 
of  shot  by  all  that  bore  arms."  Bradford  was  chosen 
Governor  in  his  stead,  which  office  he  held  almost  unin 
terruptedly  during  his  life. 

WILLIAM  BRADFORD  was  thirty-two  years  old  when  the 
Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth.  The  little  village  of 
Ansterfield,1  in  Yorkshire,  near  Scrooby,  in  the  North 
of  England,  was  the  home  of  this  farmer  boy.  His  na 
ture  was  earnest,  and  true,  and  steady,  and  early  in  life 
the  religious  spirit  in  him  was  waked  to  action.  Falling 
in  with  Robinson  and  his  friends,  he  joined  his  lot  to 
theirs,  and  in  1607  (then  eighteen  years  old)  was  among 
them,  in  their  efforts  to  escape  from  England  to  Holland. 
He  stood  by  them  with  head,  hands,  heart,  and  purse 
through  every  difficulty,  and  shared  every  suffering.  His 
property — not  large— was  discreetly  used,  not  to  forward 
the  selfish  purposes  of  William  Bradford  alone.  Having 
no  advantage  of  early  education,  he  applied  himself  to 
learn  what  books  can  teach.  He  mastered  several  lan 
guages,  and,  somewhat  of  their  literatures  and  history  ; 
was  able  to  express  himself  readily  and  properly,  and  did 
not  fear  a  disputant.  When  he  died  his  library  amounted 
to  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  volumes  ;  no  small  col 
lection,  when  we  remember  the  times,  and  his  adverse 
accidents.  From  a  sickly  boy,  Bradford,  working  in  the 
open  air,  at  his  business  of  a  farmer,  grew  to  be  a  healthy, 
robust  man.  This  is  the  key  to  his  character  ;  he  had 
health !  With  it,  a  man  may  do  and  be  much  ;  without 
it  he  is  no  man.  He  laid  his  hand  to  the  work  and  did  it. 
In  Holland  he  needed  a  new  trade,  and  he  learned  to  be 
a  dyer  ;  in  America  he  was  required  to  administer  the 
affairs  of  a  small  nation,  and  he  did  it — calmly,  and 
sagaciously,  and  bravely.  On  a  time  some  young  men  de 
clined  to  work  on  Christmas,  having  conscientious  scruples, 
as  they  thought,  superior  to  the  necessities  of  the  infant 

1  J.  Hunter  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.    4th  series. 


A.D.  1620.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  107 

state  ;  but,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  finding  their  scruples 
rather  burdensome,  they  indulged  themselves  in  a  game 
of  ball.  Bradford  told  them  that  their  conscientious 
scruples  might  be  urgent,  but  so  were  his,  and  he  could 
not  allow  them  to  play  while  others  were  at  work,  and 
for  their  benefit. 

When  Lyford  and  Oldham  (see  ch.  xvi.)  plotted  mis 
chief,  and  proceeded  toward  action,  the  Governor  met 
the  case  at  the  outset  face  to  face  ;  he  did  not  allow  the 
mischief  to  come  to  a  head,  through  any  squeamish  theo 
ries  or  fears.  His  business  was  to  watch  the  interests  of 
those  who,  engaged  in  other  ways,  had  entrusted  their 
public  affairs  to  him.  He  did  not  wait  for  mischief  to 
seek  him,  but,  finding  it,  he  put  it  out ;  knowing  that 
the  "  first  step  costs,"  he  lived  up  to  his  knowledge.  A 
man  of  nerve  and  public  spirit,  he  was  truly  a  Father  to 
the  Colony,  and  he  died  as  a  man  should  die,  lamented 
and  honored,  though  not  quite  in  the  fullness  of  years — 
A.D.  1659. 

EDWAKD  WiNSLOW1  was  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  men 
of  mark  among  the  Pilgrims,  being  twenty-six  years  old 
when  he  landed  from  the  "  Mayflower."  A  "  gentleman 
born,"  he  had  traveled  over  Europe,  and  falling  in  with 
Eobinson  at  Leyden,  his  truth  and  virtue  found  a  response 
in  the  character  of  young  Winslow  ;  who  joined  his 
Church,  and  was  through  life  a  friend  of  liberty  and 
struggling  manhood,  not  the  blind  and  bigoted  advocate 
of  the  privileges  of  his  Class.  His  address  and  activity 
made  him  of  the  first  value,  and  he  was  engaged  in  nearly 
all  negotiations,  with  Indians,  and  with  the  Company  and 
Government  in  England.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  Par 
liament  in  their  struggle  with  Charles  I.,  and,  returning 
to  England  from  time  to  time,  upon  business  of  the  col 
ony,  he  was  appointed,  in  1655,  one  of  the  Commissioners 
to  superintend  the  action  of  the  fleet,  sent  by  the  Protector 
Cromwell  to  the  West  Indies.  There  he  was  attacked 

1  Born  1594. 


108  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTOEY.  [A.D.  1620. 

with  a  fever,  and  lost  his  life.  His  wife  died  in  the  first 
winter  after  their  arrival  at  Plymouth  ;  and  he  afterward 
married  Mrs.  White — the  mother  of  Peregrine,  the  first 
born  in  New  England.  Winslow  was  a  man  of  parts,  and 
had  the  gift  of  speech.  While  in  England,  in  1635,  he 
was  imprisoned  by  Laud  for  having  taught  in  the  church, 
and  for  having,  as  a  magistrate,  performed  the  ceremony 
of  Marriage  ;  he  believing  it  to  be  a  civil  contract,  while 
Laud  was  urgent  that  it  was  a  sacrament. 

Winslow  was  the  author  of  various  pamphlets,  mostly 
written  in  explanation  and  defense  of  New  England  ;  of 
which  the  following  exist :  "  Good  Newes  from  New-En 
gland,"  "Eolation  about  Indians,  etc./'  "  Hypocrisie  un 
masked,"  "A  brief  Narrative  of  the  true  Grounds  or 
Cause  of  the  first  planting  of  New  England,"  "  The 
Danger  of  tolerating  Levellers,"  "  Glorious  Progress  of 
the  Gospell  among  the  Indians." 

Three  more  of  the  Pilgrims  deserve  notice,  because  of 
their  connection  with  the  public  affairs  of  the  Colony. 

MILES  STANDISH  was  a  Lancashire  man,  and  came  of 
fighting  ancestors  ;  so  that  in  those  fighting  days,  when 
history  is  a  succession  of  wars,  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  have  been  a  soldier,  and  have  served  in  the  Nether 
lands,  the  great  battle-ground  of  Western  Europe.  He 
joined  Eobinson  and  his  people  at  Leyden,  and  though  he 
was  never  a  member  of  the  Church,  his  sympathies  and 
connections  made  him  their  fast  friend,  while  his  character 
and  courage  rendered  him  so  valuable,  that  Church  Mem- 

O  7 

bership  was  not  exacted  of  him.  He  was  their  captain, 
and  fought  with  carnal  weapons,  and  his  name — "  The 
Stalwart  Standish" — has  become  a  household  word,  be 
cause  his  heart  was  strong  and  his  character  fearless  ;  not 
because  his  legs  were  long  and  his  shoulders  broad,  for  a 
ton  of  flesh  will  not  make  a  man  brave.  Standish  was  a 
small  man — so  that  Hubbard  speaks  sneeringly  of  him  as 
a  "  small  chimney  soon  fired."1  Bat  bold,  impetuous,  al- 

1  See  Hubbard's  History. 


A.D.  1624.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  109 

most  rash,  he  went  to  his  work,  and  by  his  daring  filled 
his  enemy  with  fear ;  he  always  conquered.  He  was  by 
no  means  a  man  seeking  to  be  embroiled  ;  whenever  he 
received  orders  from  the  Colonists  he  executed  them,  and 
then  retired  to  his  farm,  and  to  his  own  labors.  Being 
thirty-six  years  of  age  when  he  landed  at  Plymouth,  he 
died  at  Duxbury,  well  in  years,  in  1656  ;  and  Morton 
says  "  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,"  as  is  very  common  with 
"  great  men"  in  past  and  present  times. 

ISAAC  ALLERTON  and  STEPHEN  HOPKINS,  were  both 
men  of  character  and  courage  ;  and  were  both  intrusted 
with  public  business.  Allerton  was  sent  at  various  times 
to  England,  at  first  to  good  purpose  ;  but  at  last  he  fell 
under  the  displeasure  of  the  Colony — who  distrusted  his 
singleness  of  purpose,  and  found  him  dishonest.  (Bradford.) 

BREWSTER  and  ROBINSON,  the  min(Js  which  had  a  lead 
ing  influence  in  the  inception,  development,  and  success 
of  the  Colony,  are  spoken  of  in  the  Chapter  upon  the  Ply 
mouth  Church. 

CARVER,  BRADFORD,  BREWSTER,  STANDISH, 
WIN  SLOW,  ALLERTON,  HOPKINS,  and  ROBINSON, 
were  all  called  "  Fanatics"  (and  hated  as  such), 
when  subject  to  oppression  in  England  ;  they  were  all  kind 
and  good  citizens  in  Holland,  and  became  even  conserva 
tive  in  America,  where  they  could  be  free  to  make  their 
own  laws  and  to  obey  them ,  this  fact  is  invariable,  be 
cause  founded  upon  a  profound  element  of  human  nature. 
Let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  oppression  and  injustice  are 
sure  to  provoke  violence  and  revolution,  and  that  history 
shows  that  the  last  is  always  a  certain  consequence  of  the 
first.  If  we  will  but  remember  the  years  and  centuries  of 
scorn,  ignominy,  persecution,  and  suffering,  bestowed  upon 
the  reforming  party  in  the  church,  afterward  called  "Puri 
tans,"  we  shall  not  be  surprised  at  any  excesses  into  which 
they  might  have  been  betrayed,  but  the  contrary. 

The  Governor  was  chosen  annually,  by  gen-     THE  G 
eral  suffrage,  and  in  1624,  by  request  of  Brad- 


FANATICISM. 


JUBY-TKIAL. 


110  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.P.  1636. 

ford,  a  Council  of  five  (afterward,  1633,  increased  to  seven 
Assistants),  was  also  chosen.  In  this  Council  the  Gov 
ernor  had  but  a  double  vote.1 

Bradford  was  thirty-three  years  old  when  chosen  Gov 
ernor  in  1621.  He  was  annually  chosen,  so  long  as  he 
lived,  except  when  he  urgently  declined,  as  in  1633, 1636, 
and  1644,  when  Winslow  was  chosen  ;  and  in  1634  and 
1638,  when  Thomas  Prince  was  elected.2 

Whoever  was  the  man  disposed  to  shirk  his  duties,  we 
can  not  now  know  ;  but  a  curious  law  was  passed  in  1632  : 
That  whoever  should  refuse  the  office  of  Governor,  being 
chosen  thereto,  should  pay  twenty  pounds  ;  and  that  of 
Magistrate,  ten  pounds.3  Very  curious,  certainly  ;  and  we 
may  suppose  that  that  race  is  run  out  in  Massachusetts, 
as  well  as  in  other  States. 

As  early  as  December  17,  1623,  it  was  or 
dained  by  the  court,  that  "  all  criminal  facts, 
and  all  manner  of  trespass,  and  debts,  between 
man  and  man,  should  be  tried  by  the  verdict  of  twelve 
honest  men/'4  This  distinctive  peculiarity  of  northern  civ 
ilization  was  then  inaugurated  at  Plymouth :  a  practice 
which  educates  the  jurymen  and  the  whole  people,  into  a 
knowledge  of,  and  a  loyalty  to  the  laws,  and  so  makes 
every  man  a  lover  of  and  doer  of  that  justice,  to  which  he 
is  a  party. 

Their  laws  were  collected,  and  prefaced  with 
THEIB  CODE     &  Declaration  of  Eights,  in  1636.    They  were  at 
various  times  revised  and  added  to,  and  were 
printed  in  1671.     They  called  them   "  Their  Great  Fun 
damentals."5 

In  looking  through  the  laws,  passed  from  time  to  time 
in  Plymouth,  we  find  that  generally  they  were  such  as  the 

1  See  "Body  of  Laws."     Thacher's  Plymouth,  p.  78. 
*  Morton's  Memorial.     Allen's  Biog.  Diet. 

3  See  Thacher's  Plymouth,  i.,  p.  123.  Prince's  Annals.  J.  Prescott  Hall's 
New  England  Discourse.  1847.  4  Plymouth  Records;  Hazard,  vol.  i. 

5  Memoirs  of  American  Governors,  by  J.  B.  Moore,  New  York,  1846. 


A.D.  1656.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  Ill 

needs  of  the  people  called  for,  and  that  previous  to  1632, 
they  were  but  little  more  than  the  customs  of  the  people.1 

They  provided  for  schools  :  "  That  twelve  pounds  should 
be  raised  for  salary,  etc.;  that  children  should  attend 
schools." 

For  ordering  of  persons  and  distributing  the  lands  : 
That  Freemen  should  be  twenty-one  years  of  age  ;  sober 
and  peaceable  ;  orthodox  in  the  fundamentals  of  religion. 
That  Drunkards  should  be  subject  to  fines  and  stocks,  and 
be  posted  ;  and  sellers  forbid  to  sell  to  them. 

That  horse- racing  should  be  forbid ;  so,  too,  walking 
about  at  nights. 

That  the  Minister's  salary  should  be  paid  by  rate  upon 
all  the  inhabitants.  That  Sabbath  traveling  should  be 
forbid,  and  Sabbath  work  ;  also  going  to  another  town  to 
church,  and  visiting  on  that  day. 

That  every  wolf's  head  should  be  worth,  to  an  Indian, 
twelve  shillings,  or  a  "  coat  of  duffels  ;"  to  a  white  man, 
twenty  shillings. 

That  fowling,  fishing,  and  hunting  should  be  free. 

Profane  swearing  was  punished  by  "sitting  in  the 
stocks ;  lying,  by  the  stocks,  or  by  a  fine." 

Making  a  motion  of  marriage  to  any  man's  daughter,  if 
made  without  obtaining  leave,  to  be  punished  by  fine  or 
corporal  punishment,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Court,  so 
that  it  did  not  extend  to  life  or  limb.  It  was  ordered, 
too,  that  short  sleeves  (for  women)  should  not  be  worn, 
and  that  no  sleeves  should  be  more  than  half  an  ell  wide 
(22^  inches) !  Such  a  singular  law  seems  to  have  been 
needed  in  that  desolate  country  when  they  had  insuffi 
cient  food. 

Card-playing  was  afterward  forbid  ( 1656),  and  sitting 
about  too  much  at  alehouses  was  to  be  reformed  by  the 
church2  (1676). 

Marriage  was  at  a  premium — for   single   persons  were 

1  Book  of  Laws  of  New  Plymouth,  1636.     Revised,  1671. 
8  Thacher's  Plymouth,  p.  82.     Do.,  p.  276. 


112  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1639. 

forbid  to  live  by  themselves,  or  in  any  family  without  the 
consent  of  the  select-men,  and  we  can  not  believe  that  all 
young  men  and  women  enjoyed  that.  It  is  easy  to  see 
from  the  foregoing,  how  simple  their  arrangements  were, 
and  how  naturally  they  grew  out  of  their  needs,  their 
liberty,  and  their  imperfect  ideas  of  the  model  state. 

While  all  were  earnest,  and  elevated  by  en- 
NO  CRIMES,  thusiasm,  by  the  hope  of  realizing  their  idea  in 
their  new  home,  and  by  the  pressing  necessities 
of  the  hour,  offenses  were  few.  Bound  together  by  their 
principles,  their  sufferings,  and  their  hopes,  envy  ings  and 
ambitions  were  saved.  In  old  lands,  stealing  is  the  com 
mon  vice — but  here,  where  the  partnership  secured  a  share 
to  EVERY  one,  why  should  any  steal  or  cheat  ?  The  first 
offense  was  the  use  of  vile  speeches,  and  disobedience  to 
the  captain's  order,  by  one  Billington,  who  had  "slipt  in" 
in  London.  He  was  condemned  to  have  his  head  and  his 
heels  tied  together  for  an  hour,  but  penitence  secured  his 
pardon.  The  next  public  offense  was  a  duel  with  swords 
(June)  between  two  serving-men  !  who  copied  the  vices, 
not  the  virtues  of  "  men  of  the  world."  There  being 
plenty  of  room  for  every  one,  circumstances  favored  that 
virtue  which  their  principles  inculcated  ;  and  they  were 
too  busy  to  sin  much.  For  the  first  ten  years  the  popula 
tion  increased  slowly,  numbering  but  three  hundred  in  all 
in  1630. 

The  legislative  body,  at  first,  was  composed 
of  the  whole  body  of  freemen,  who  were  mem 
bers  of  the  church  j1  and  it  was  not  till  the 
year  1639,  that  they  established  a  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives.2  Narrow  as  the  restriction  of  civil  rights  to  church 
members  was,  it  is  easy  to  explain  it,  by  bearing  it  in 
mind  that  toleration,  in  any  large  sense,  was  hardly  enter 
tained  by  the  most  liberal  religionists  (see  chapter  on 
Toleration)  ;  by  remembering  that  the  one  idea  which 
inspired  this  emigration,  and  nerved  these  men  for  the 
1  Standish  was  not.  a  Grahame,  vol.  i.,  p.  230. 


THEIR  LEGI8- 
LATUBE. 


A.D.  1692.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.  113 

bitterest  sacrifices,  was  that  they  might  be  free  from  an 
ecclesiastical  tyranny,  which  if  it  followed  would  endan 
ger  them ;  by  recollecting,  too,  that  the  history  they 
studied,  and  the  guide  they  felt  bound  to  follow,  was  the 
Jewish  theocracy,  ordained  by  God,  as  they  doubted  not, 
a  model  in  Church  and  State  for  all  time,  and  that  under 
that  dispensation,  death  was  the  punishment  for  smaller 
errors  than  dissent.  These  facts  will  explain  and  excuse, 
the  religious  tyranny  which  was  afterward  practiced  in 
New  England.  But  we  shall  see  how  the  free  idea  with 
which  they  started,  has  gradually  grown  stronger  and  has 
overcome  the  evil  customs  of  the  time,  and  of  the  Pil 
grims  themselves. 

This  Church  test  of  Citizenship  prevailed  till  the  year 
1665,1  when  it  was  reluctantly  yielded,  at  the  requirement 
of  his  majesty's  commissioners,  and  was  entirely  abandon 
ed  about  the  year  1686.  As  a  matter  of  course  it  did  not 
work  well ;  the  more  unscrupulous  the  conscience,  the 
easier  it  was  and  is  to  join  the  Church  ;  and  abandoned 
men,  who  wanted  public  preferment,  could  join  the 
Church  with  loud  professions,  gain  their  ends,  and  make 
Church-membership  a  by-word.  They  do  it  to  this  day. 
Under  the  charter  granted  by  William  and  Mary  in  1691, 
Plymouth  was  incorporated  with  Massachusetts'  Bay.  The 
qualification  for  Electors  was  then  fixed  at  a  "  freehold 
of  40  shillings  per  annum,  or  other  property  of  the  value 
of  £40  sterling."2  Plymouth  Colony  joined  the  Confed 
eration  in  1643  ;  it  persecuted  the  Quakers,  but  ten 
derly  ;3  it  took  part  in  Philip's  war — but  these  and  other 
incidents  will  be  related,  in  connection  with  the  accounts 
of  Massachusetts'  Bay,  and  are  not  necessary  here. 

The  final  act  of  the  Plymouth  Court  was  the  appoint 
ment  of  the  last  Wednesday  of  August,  1692,  as  a  day 
of  solemn  fasting  and  humiliation,  previous  to  their  ex 
tinction  as  a  separate  State.  This  fast  day  was  not  at 

1  Thacher's  Plymouth.  *  Thacher,  p.  189. 

9  Prescott  Hall's  N.  E.  Discourse,  1847. 


114  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1692. 

the  usual  season,  but  was  beyond  question  duly  observed 
by  the  Elders  with  prayers  and  tears,  and  by  the  younger 
portion  in  researches  among  the  domestic  nests,  and  in 
stolen  enjoyment  of  the  surrounding  forests.  The  small 
seed  dropped  at  Plymouth  has  grown  into  a  noble  tree, 
and  the  oppressed  and  the  fugitive  from  other  lands  find 
shelter  under  its  branches,  Laus  Deo. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THEIR    CHURCH. 

THE  FIRST  SABBATH — CALVINISTS — PERSECUTION — THEIR  CHURCH  CONSTITUTION — LTFOBD 
AND  OLDIIAM — THEIE  MINISTERS — MR.  ROGERS — RALPH  SMITH — ROGER  WILLIAMS — JOHN 
NORTON — JOHN  RAYNOR — CHARLES  CHAUNCEY — NO  SACRAMENTS — LAY  PREACHING — 
JOHN  COTTON — WILLIAM  BREW8TER — JOHN  ROBINSON — PASTORS  AND  TEACHERS — 
RULING  ELDERS — DEACONS — DEACONESSES — PROFESSORS — CHURCH  TAX — SALARIES — 
PRAYERS — WOMEN  SPEAKING — THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES — CHURCH  ADMISSIONS — CATB- 
CHIZING8 — FASTS — THE  LORD'S  SUPPER — MUSKETS — THE  SABBATH — "  THANKSGIVING" — 
HOW  KEPT  AND  WHEN  BEGUN — THE  FIRST  MEETING-HOUSE — HERESIES — SEPARATIONS 
— PROTESTANTISM — QUAKERS — THE  DEVIL — THE  INDIANS — RELIGIOUS  DEMOCRACY. 

THE  Plymouth  Church  was  an  Idea  put  into  its  sim 
plest  form.  It  had  no  Ritual,  no  Cathedral,  no  Saints' 
days,  no  Organ  music,  no  Processions  or  Splendors.  None 
of  these  were  there,  on  that  dreary  barren  rocky  coast. 

THE  FIRST  SABBATH1  of  the  Pilgrims  was  passed  on 
the  Island  near  Plymouth  Rock,  where  their  hoat  was 
stranded.  There  their  Church  was  held,  their  prayers 
said  ;  their  vault  was  the  stormy  sky  ;  their  organ,  the 
sweeping  blast  ;  their  sacrifice,,  a  broken  heart  ;  their 
priests,  themselves  ;  their  altars,  their  own  hearts.  The 
People  were  the  Church.  A  few  particulars,  gathered  from 
the  past,  will  enable  us  to  see  how  they  realized  their  idea. 

None  will  doubt  that  Puritanism  was  strongly  attached 
to  the  intellectualism  of  John  Calvin,  which  became  and 
has  continued  to  be  the  corner-stone  of  the  New  England 
Churches  and  Theology.  Calvin  brought  God  from  the 
cloudy  realm,  of  spirit  into  the  clear  light  of  intellect. 
The  Logical  faculty  in  him  aimed  to  compass  the  Infinite, 
and  dared  to  attempt  to  express  the  inexpressible.  In  a 
degree  the  infinite  was  made  finite,  the  incomprehensible 
comprehensible.  In  all  things  MIND  asserted  itself,  and 

1  They  liked  the  word  Sabbath  instead  of  Sunday,  because  the  Jews  used  it. 


116  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

in  most  it  was  triumphant  ;  it  cleared  away  rubbish  and 
the  dark  clouds  of  superstition,  while  it  failed  to  express 
God.  To  such  a  body  of  brave  inquirers,  and  independ 
ent  thinkers,  as  had  gathered  at  Plymouth,  it  was  no 
easy  matter  to  find  a  Teacher  who  was  sufficient.  Yet, 
for  several  centuries  after  Mind  had  asserted  its  freedom 
from  the  intellectual  Slavery  of  the  Church,  and  had  cut 
loose  from  the  dogmas  and  statements  of  Truth  put,  out 
by  Holy  Councils  of  Eome,  the  Religious  World  held  fast 
by  those  put  forth  by  Paul,  and  John,  and  David,  and 
Isaiah  ;  partly  because  they  were  the  outpourings  of  ear 
nest,  burning,  living  souls,  and  partly  because  men  dared 
not  trust  their  own  souls.  The  views  and  aspirations  of 
these  inspired  men,  priests  and  poets,  were  limited  and 
comprehensible  to  many  who  feared  to  trust  themselves 
alone  in  the  vast  and  unexplored  region  of  spirit ;  so  they 
took  the  statements  that  they  found  already  made,  just  as 
others  accepted  the  statements  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  were  satisfied.  But  in  the  days  of  the  "  Pilgrim 
Fathers,"  few  doubted  that  there  was  an  expression  of 
Truth,  complete  and  final,  and  that  whoever  did  not  ac 
cept  it,  was  sure  of  damnation. 

So  no  church  organization  existed,  which  did  not  suffer 
and  indulge  in  persecution  for  opinion's  sake.  Free  as  it 
was,  the  Plymouth  Church  certainly  was  not  blameless, 
on  this  score  ;  yet  they  had  lived  in  Holland,  where  relig 
ious  worship  was  permitted,  and  there  they  had  learned 
something. 

Prince  gives  a  summary  of  the  religious  tenets  of  the 
Plymouth  church,  which  will  suffice  for  us  r1 

1.  It  held  that  nothing  is  to  be  accounted  true  religion 
but  what  is  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

2.  That  every  man  had  the  right  of  judging  for  himself; 
of  testing  his  own  belief  by  those  Scriptures,  and  of  wor 
shiping  God  in  the  way  that  those  Scriptures  directed,  and 
as  it  seemed  right  to  him. 

1  CHRONOLOGY.    Thacher's  Plymouth. 


A.D.  1624.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  117 

This  was  a  great  step,  from  the  Koman  Catholic  doctrine, 
surely  ;  it  was  putting  in  place  of  a  church,  with  its  Synods, 
and  Councils,  and  Cardinals,  who  were  to  say  from  day 
to  day  what  was  and  what  was  not  true  and  necessary  to 
salvation,  a  written  Constitution  !  and  not  only  so,  but  it 
erected  each  man's  conscience  and  intellect  into  a  Court, 
to  determine  what  that  constitution  meant  ;  each  man  for 
himself,  each  woman  for  herself.  A  leading,  and  earnest, 
and  honest  mind,  like  Robinson's,  could  give  form  and  ex 
pression  to  his  own  lofty  and  pure  ideas,  and  they  met  the 
wants  of  many  minds,  so  that  he  became  the  standard 
around  which  friends  gathered  ;  but  in  Theory,  no  man 
was  bound  to  belong  to  Robinson's  church,  for  one  hour, 
whenever  he  snould  hold  different  opinions.  Persecution 
for  a  time  will  keep  such  a  body  of  men  together,  for  self- 
preservation,  but  it  is  of  course,  intellectually  impossible 
for  free-thinking  minds  to  agree  in  opinion  upon  the  vast 
variety  of  physical,  historical,  intellectual,  and  spiritual 
matters  contained  in  the  wonderful  books  of  Jewish  history 
and  literature,  in  the  lives  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  Epistles 
and  writings  of  the  Apostles.  So  much  for  their  simple, 
yet  broad  platform. 

Mr.  Cushman  wrote  from  England,  in  1624, 
that  they  had  sent  a  carpenter,  a  saltman,  and 
a  preacher,  "  though  not  the  most  eminent."1 
The  carpenter  was  a  true  man,  who  soon  died  :  the  salt 
man  was  a  foolish  fellow,  who  spoiled  whatever  he  touched : 
the  preacher  was  John  Lyford,  who  seemed  bowed  to  the 
earth  with  humility ;  he  at  once  began  to  exercise  his 
gifts,  though  not  the  most  eminent — people  being  hungry 
for  "  ordained"  teaching.  Lyford  was  really  a  Church  of 
England  man,  and  was  forced  upon  the  Colony  by  the 
Episcopal  portion  of  the  Merchant  Adventurers  in  En 
gland.2  He  was  well  received  by  all,  and  Governor  Brad 
ford  appointed  him  one  of  his  Council.  He  seems  to  have 

1  Morton's  Memorial,  p.  111. 

1  The  Landing  at  Cape  Ann,  by  J.  W.  Thornton,  Boston,  1854. 


LYFOKD    AND 
OLDHAM. 


118  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1624. 

had  no  sympathy  with  those  rigid,  self-denying,  Puritans, 
and  Separatists  ;  or  if  he  once  had,  it  had  become  irksome  ; 
and  he  found  in  John  Oldham,  a  more  genial  companion. 
Oldham  was  a  robust,  active,  daring,  sensual,  passionate, 
hearty  materialist,  and  believed  a  good  deal  more  in 
beaver-skins  and  roast-beef,  than  in  the  "  five  points  ;" 
and  he  loved  a  game  with  the  Indians  of  a  Sunday  after 
noon,  rather  than  a  hard  bench  and  a  long  sermon.  To 
him  Puritanism  was  a  bore,  and  he  liked  a  "  jolly  parson," 
rather  than  a  sincere  precisian.  The  "  good  old  times" 
were  good  enough  for  him,  and  the  Prayer-book  and  Homi 
lies  answered  his  needs.  He  was  an  actor  rather  than  a 
thinker,  and  was  quite  ready  to  second  anybody,  in  un 
dermining  these  straitened  Calvinists.  With  him  Lyford 
intrigued,  and  together  they  sent  off  ridiculous  and  de 
famatory  letters  to  England.  Governor  Bradford  got 
wind  of  this  (1624),  boarded  the  ship  at  night,  examined 
the  letters,  and  finding  what  they  were,  retained  them  for 
future  use.  Growing  bold,  Oldham  proceeded  to  set  up 
a  meeting  in  his  own  house,  and  to  read  the  Prayer-book 
on  Sundays,  in  a  loud  and  dignified  voice,  sustained  by 
Lyford ;  things  were  coming  to  so  dangerous  a  pass,  that 
Bradford  called  the  people  together,  and  publicly  accused 
the  two  ;  they  protested  and  denied,  and  Oldham  blus 
tered,  but  Bradford  took  out  the  letters  and  read  them  to 
the  assembly,  and  so  they  were  confounded.  Lyford  con 
fessed  himself  a  reprobate,  and  with  tears,  prayed  for 
pardon.  It  was  granted  ;  but  he  was  not  staunch  ;  and 
being  a  second  time  convicted,  he  was  deposed  and  ban 
ished.  He  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  Colony,  henceforth, 
until  he  died  in  Virginia.  Oldham  being  forced  to  go, 
went  to  Nantasket,  and  was  engaged  there  and  at  Cape 
Ann,  trading  with  the  Indians,  until  he  lost  his  life  among 
them,  having  a  hatchet  sunk  into  his  head.1  (1636.) 

Lyford  was  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  ROGERS  as 
Minister,  who   "proved   crazed  in  the  brain," 
1  Morton's  Memorial     Cheever's  Journal,  p.  327,  etc. 


A.D.  1654.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  119 

and  was  sent  back  to  England  ;  and  in  the  year  1629, 
eight  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  Colony,  RALPH 
SMITH,  one  of  four  ministers  who  came  over  to  Salem,  was 
found  at  Nantasket  (now  Hull)  in  a  desolate  and  destitute 
condition ;  him  they  eagerly  seized  and  took  care  of,  and 
availed  themselves  of  his  gifts  (which  were  very  "low") 
for  some  five  or  six  years. 

Then  young  EOGER  WILLIAMS,  "  brilliant  but  unstable," 
as  some  thought,  ministered  to  them  some  three  years, 
till  he  concluded  to  go  to  Salem  in  1634,  to  which  the 
Church  consented. 

JOHN  NORTON,  who  afterward  was  at  Boston,  was  their 
next  Minister,  but  he  remained  only  a  short  time. 

At  last  "  it  pleased  the  Lord"  to  send  them  JOHN  EAY- 
NOR,  "  an  able  and  a  godly  man,"  whose  labors  they  en 
joyed  many  years. 

CHARLES  CHAUNCEY,  afterward  President  of  the  College 
at  Cambridge,  was  his  assistant  for  some  three  years 
[1638],  but  declined  settling.  He  had  views  about  Bap 
tism,  and  so  had  the  Church,  and  they  did  not  agree  : 
Chauncey  held  to  "  dipping/'  and  the  Church  did  not. 

John  Raynor  continued  with  them  till  1654,  some 
eighteen  years.  "  Unhappy  differences,"  and  "  unsettled- 
ness" — many  being  "leavened  with  prejudice  against  a 
learned  ministry,"  and  "sectaries"  becoming  epidemic — - 
were  believed  to  have  caused  his  departure,  which  was 
much  regretted. 

In  the  long  intervals  between  "consecrated 
ministrations,"   the   Church  was   not   without      THEY  HAD 
Gospel   teaching,  but   it  had   not   the   Sacra-        MENTS. 
ments.      Elder    Brewster  was   able   to   teach 
twice  every  Sabbath,  powerfully  and  profitably,  and  with 
out  stipend,  which  he  steadily  declined  ;  "  doing  more  in 
this  respect  in  a  year,"  so  John  Cotton  declares,  "than 
many  that  have  their  hundreds  per  annum  do  in  all  their 
lives."     It  seems  there  is  one  brilliant  exception  to  the 
Indian  axiom,  "  Poor  pay,  poor  preach."     Brewster  had  a 


120  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1697. 

singular  good  gift  in  Prayer  too,  "  yet  seldom  lengthy  or 
prolix/'  in  the  exercise  of  it,  which,  in  those  days,  as  in 
these,  was  a  virtue  much  to  be  commended.  Without  the 
afflatus  of  Ordination,  he  was  so  much  better  than  most 
of  their  ministers  with  it,  that  the  Colonists  felt  a  sensible 
relief  and  pleasure  in  getting  again  his  sterling  sense  and 
untortured  truth. 

The  absence  of  Sacraments  was  early  regretted.  The 
Church  record  says,  "The  more  is  our  grief,  for  we  used 
to  have  the  Lord's  Supper  every  Sabbath,  and  Baptism  as 
often  as  there  was  occasion,"  etc. 

We  discover  that  Winslow  (and  others  too) 
PKKACIHNG.  from  time  to  time  "exercised  his  gift  to  help 
the  edification  of  his  brethren,"  when  better 
could  not  be  had.1  Laud  had  him  up  for  this  when  he  was 
in  England — for  this  and  for  marrying,  and  he  not  a  Min 
ister.  Winslow  replied,  that  he  himself  had  been  married 
by  the  Magistrate  in  Holland,  and  that  so  far  as  he  could 
see,  the  Scripture  was  not  against  it  ;  and  besides,  it  must 
be  that  or  nothing,  or  worse,  for  they  had  had  no  Clergyman 
in  the  Colony  for  several  years.  But  this  did  not  satisfy 
Laud,  and  Winslow  was  clapped  into  prison,  and  lay  there 
some  four  months. 

Mr.  JOHN  COTTON  came  to  them  as  their  Minister  in 
1666,  and  remained  till  1697,  over  thirty  years,  and  until 
after  the  union  of  the  Colony  with  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Elder  Brewster  and  John  Eobinson  deserve  our  atten 
tion. 

WILLIAM  BREWSTER  was  nigh  sixty  years  old  when  he 
came  to  New  England  in  the  Mayflower.  In  the  church, 
while  at  Leyden,  he  had  been  a  Kuling  Elder,  and  was  a 
staunch  supporter  of  it  in  New  England.  In  the  con 
strained  absence  of  Mr.  Robinson,  their  pastor,  Elder 
Brewster  occupied  the  place  of  Lay  Preacher  to  the 
Colony,  and  was  worthy  of  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
minister  of  New  England.  He  had  been  at  Cambridge 

1  Hubbard,  p.  63. 


A.D.  1644.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  121 

University,  and  afterward  in  the  service  of  Davidson  at  the 
Court  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  On  the  disgrace  of  his  master 
he  had  returned  to  Lincolnshire,  had  done  much  service 
to  religion,  had  held  the  first  meetings  of  his  friends, 
and  organized  a  Church  in  his  own  house  at  Scrooby, 
Nottinghamshire. 1  He  was  foremost  among  those  who 
essayed  to  sail  from  Boston,  England,  and  in  Holland 
had  laid  his  hand  to  the  daily  tasks  of  life,  as  well  as 
spent  his  soul  in  trying  to  benefit  his  fellows.  Brewster 
declined  to  administer  the  Sacrament,  having  never  been 
ordained,  so  that  the  Plymouth  Colony  were  for  some 
years  without  them,  yet  always  growing  in  strength  and 
virtue.2  He  was  the  regular  and  stated  Preacher  of  the 
Church  until  about  1629,  working  for  his  bread  with  his 
own  hands,  and  so  bringing  himself  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  early  Christian  practices.  We  can  not  doubt  that  the 
words  of  such  a  man  had  weight,  and  that  for  years  the 
Pilgrims  found  him  an  acceptable  successor  to  Kobinson. 
Governor  Bradford  bears  honorable  testimony  to  his  ten 
der  and  compassionate  nature,  which  neither  his  religious 
tenets,  nor  adversity,  nor  injustice,  could  render  harsh  or 
sullen.  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  the  death  of  such  a 
man  was  in  a  green  old  age,  and  that  he  went  quietly  to 
his  future  without  a  pang,  nigh  eighty  years  of  honor  on 
his  head.  He  laid  himself  down  amid  loving  and  tried 
friends,  who  could  not  but  be  glad  that  he  "  so  sweetly 
departed  this  life  unto  a  better." 

It  was  in  April,  1644,  that  his  pilgrimage  here  was 
ended. 

JOHN  ROBINSON,  their  Moses,  who  led  them  out  of  En 
gland,  and  from  the  oppressions  which  years  had  not 
softened,  was  not  permitted  to  join  them  in  their  promised 
land.  At  the  sailing  of  the  "  Speedwell"  and  "  May 
flower"  he  remained  behind  with  the  larger  part  of  his 

1  Hunter  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series.     See  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims. 
3  Belknap's  Am.  Biog.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  257.     Cheever's  Journal.      Bradford's 
Journal. 


122  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  1644. 

people  at  Leyden ;  like  Moses  from  the  top  of  Pisgah, 
looking  into  the  promised  land,  but  not  entering  it.  He 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  about  forty-four  years  of  age, 
when  the  Pilgrims  sailed — a  life  remarkable  for  its  cour 
age,  constancy  and  truth.  When  quite  young,  the  base, 
time-serving  policy  of  leaders  in  the  English  Church  was 
a  thorn  in  his  side,  a  corruption  in  his  dish,  a  skeleton  in 
his  chamber — seeing  clearly,  and  feeling  keenly,  whither 
this  tended,  one  can  not  wonder  that  it  should  have  pois 
oned  the  sweet  fountains  of  his  nature,  and  that  then  the 
waters  flowed  harsh  and  bitter.  Time  was  needed  to 
show  to  him  too  that  the  god-like  in  man  can  never  be 
wholly  corrupted — that  in  spite  of  fearful  and  insidious 
temptations,  a  ray  of  the  divine  nature  still  illumined  the 
English  Church,  and  saved  it  and  the  English  nation  from 
degradation  and  contempt.  As  he  grew  older,  his  hu 
manity  increased,  and  his  vision  grew  stronger,  so  that  he 
bloomed  into  that  rare  flower  among  men,  and  rarer 
among  theologians — one  who  with  large  charity  and  faith, 
desiring  liberty  himself,  denied  it  not  to  others — who 
found  truth  for  himself,  and  doubted  not  that  others 
found  it.  He  was  a  man  of  Ideas,  rather  than  of  Action. 
He  may  be  called  the  planter  of  New  England,  for  he 
sowed  such  seed  as  germinated  at  Plymouth,  and  has 
been  borne  upon  the  winds  and  the  waters  to  every  part 
of  America.  His  love  of  liberty  led  him  to  choose  and 
cherish  the  congregational  practice  of  Church  discipline ; 
and  at  a  time  too  when  the  Brownists  had  brought  it 
into  disgrace.  Out  of  this  self-government  in  the  Church 
grew  self-government  in  the  State,  democracy  and  the  rep 
resentative  system. 

The  extract  from  his  address  to  the  Pilgrims  (heretofore 
quoted,  ch.  iv.)  shows  the  calm  yet  vigorous  character  of 
his  mind.  With  good  practical  talent,  he  combined 
scholarly  tastes  and  acquirements,  to  such  a  degree  that 
in  Holland,  in  1613,  he  was  chosen  to  defend  Calvinism 
against  Episcopus  and  the  Arminians,  at  the  University 


A.D.  1609.]  THEIE   CHURCH.  123 

of  Leyden,  and  as  his  friends  believed,  "  completely  foiled 
the  enemy."  Hubbard,  in  his  History,  speaks  of  him  thus  : 
"  A  man  of  good  learning,  of  polished  wit,  and  ingenious 
disposition,  and  courteous  behavior,  yet  not  without  too 
great  tinctures  of  the  sensorious  spirit  of  their  rigid  separ 
ation."1 

"  He  was  at  first  a  Puritan  only,  and  officiated  a  while 
in  the  national  church,"2  in  the  neighborhood  of  Norwich, 
England.  While  there,  his  mind  was  perplexed  respect 
ing  his  duty  in  relation  to  the  church.  So  much  was  his 
perception  and  judgment  overborne  by  the  opinions  and 
conduct  of  "  good  men,"  in  whom  he  had  much  confidence, 
that  it  was  long  before  his  own  mind  could  act  ;  and  he 
says,  so  much  was  the  light  of  truth  "  dimmed  and  over 
clouded  with  the  contradictions  of  these  men,  that  had  not 
the  truth  been  in  my  heart,  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in 
my  bones,  I  had  never  broken  these  bonds  of  flesh  and 
blood."  About  1604,  it  is  believed  he  joined  the  Separat 
ists  at  Scrooby.  When  they  escaped  from  England  (ch. 
iii.),  they  found  that  Mr.  Smith's  society  at  Amsterdam, 
which  had  removed  from  England  some  time  earlier  than 
Robinson  and  his  friends,  was  troubled  with  contentions ; 
so  Robinson's  congregation  sought  quiet  at  Leyden,  in 
1609. 

At  that  time,  regarding  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of 
England  as  a  "false  n/-m'stry,"  he  was  reordained  by  his 
own  church  ;  thus  endeavoring  to  restore  things  to  that 
state  which  he  thought  existed  among  the  early  Christians. 
Believing  the  truth  of  his  doctrines,  and  earnestly  wishing 
to  benefit  his  fellow-men,  and  finding  himself  restricted 
both  by  the  language  of  the  Dutch,  and  their  unwilling 
ness,  he  seconded  the  spontaneous  movement  which  led  to 
a  free  settlement  in  America. 

Among  his  recorded  principles  we  find  the  following : 
"  He  maintained  the  spirituality,  and  self-government  of 

1  Hubbard's  History  of  New  England,  page  42. 
a  Ashton's  Memoir,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  Seriea 


124  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1625. 

the  Church  of  Christ,  hut  allowed  the  interference  of  the 
magistrate  to  compel  attendance  on  public  worship,  though 
not  to  dictate  opinion."  He  said  also  :  "  Religion  is  not 
always  sown  and  reaped  in  one  age/'  as  the  whole  light  is 
not  received  in  one  day.  His  descendants  have  learned, 
what  he  had  not,  that  forced  attendance  upon  Sunday 
services,  is  as  pernicious  as  forced  opinions,  and  that 
safety  for  Church  or  State  consists  only  with  freedom. 

He  opposed  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  "by 
Brewster,  and  in  his  letter  to  him,  quoted  Rom.  xii.,  7,  8, 
and  1  Tim.  v.,  17,  against  it.  Possibly  his  expectation  to 
join  them  at  Plymouth,  influenced  his  opinions,  but  it  is 
more  likely,  that  large  and  liberal  as  he  was,  the  odor  ol 
sanctity  that  hung  about  the  priesthood  was  yet  dear  to 
him. 

We  must  now  leave  him :  "  He  fell  sick  Saturday  morn 
ing,  February  22d,  1625,  next  day  he  taught  us  twice,  in 
the  week  grew  weaker  every  day,  and  departed  this  life  on 
the  first  of  Ma.rch.  All  his  friends  came  freely 
™OTW™  *°  him,  and  if  prayers,  tears  or  means  could 
have  saved  his  life,  he  had  not  gone  hence."1 

Robinson  and  his  friends  began  by  being  Puritans,  re 
maining  in  the  English  Church  hoping  its  reform  ;  but 
they  found  they  could  do  more  without  than  within  it, 
and  at  last  separated  from  it,  were  driven  from  it,  and 
were  known  as  "  Brownists"  (a  te-m  of  reproach),  after 
ward  as  "  Independents,"  and  then  as  "  Congregational- 
ists." 

The  Church  at  Plymouth  never  saw  the  face  of  Robin 
son  in  New  England.  That  excellent  man — who,  in  an 
age  of  bigotry  and  religious  intolerance,  could  believe  the 
further  revelation  of  truth  ;  could  say,  as  he  did,  that 
Luther  and  Calvin  did  not  know  all  things  ;2  could  be 
modest  enough  to  believe  that  he  himself  had  not  pene 
trated  "  the  whole  council  of  God  ;"  who,  after  suffering 
indignity,  persecution,  and  expatriation  at  the  hands  of 

1  Eliot's  Biog.  Diet.  a  Winslow,  in  Young's  Chr.  of  Ps. 


PASTORS  AND 
TEAC1IEES. 


A.D.  1608.]  THEIR    CHURCH.  125 

the  English  Church,  came  again  to  have  charity  for  it, 
and  even  to  admit  that  it  might  be  a  Church  of  God — 
this  scholar  and  gentleman,  only  looked  into  the  promised 
land  :  his  bones  lie  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  neither 
bearing  nor  needing  sculptured  marbles  and  flattering 
epitaphs.1  Yet  he  had  this  satisfaction,  that  he  was  loved 
and  honored  by  his  own  people  in  life  and  in  death. 
Enemies,  and  over-cautious  friends  among  the  "  Adven 
turers"  in  London,  hindered  Robinson's  coming,  till  death 
cut  him  down  before  his  work  was  done.  Some  there 
feared  that  Robinson's  purity  and  strictness  might  be  in 
the  way  of  the  emigration  from  England,2  and  they  there 
fore  opposed  his  coming.  But  his  Truth  has  blossomed 
on  the  rocky  shores,  in  the  sheltered  valleys,  and  on  the 
breezy  hills  of  New  England,  and  borne  a  great  harvest. 

The  Holy  writings  furnished  the  Puritans,  as 
they  held,  sufficient  authority  for  all  they  did. 
Did  not  Paul  the  Apostle,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Ephesians,  expressly  mention  both  Pastors  and  Teach 
ers?  (ch.  iv.,  5, 11.)  Was  not  lay  Preaching,  too,  permitted? 
"  For  they  that  were  scattered  abroad,"  the  Epistle  said, 
"  went  everywhere,  preaching  the  word  ;  and  some  of  them 
were  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  ;  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
was  with  them."  3  And  in  Corinth,  too,  it  was  clear  that 
one  furnished  a  Psalm,  another  a  doctrine,  a  fourth  a  rev 
elation,  a  fifth  an  interpretation.4  Now,  they  reasoned, 
if  it  was  right  to  do  it  in  the  Apostles'  days,  when  Chris 
tians  were  persecuted,  why  not  now,  when  it  seemed  per 
secution  was  no  ways  slack  ? 

The  Officers  of  the  Church,  and  the  conduct  of  affairs, 
were  ordered  by  the  Members,  and,  if  possible,  upon 
Scripture  authority.  The  officers  were  a  PASTOR  and 
a  TEACHER  (sometimes  united  in  one  person),  who  were 
to  Preach,  administer  the  Sacraments,  and  rule  the 

1  It  is  not  certain  where  he  lies  buried;  George  Sumner  thinks  in  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Leyden.  a  Cotton's  Acct.,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  v.  4. 

8  Acts,  ch.  xi.,  5,  20.  «  1  Corinthians,  ch.  xiy.,  v.  26. 


126  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1668. 

Church ;  of  Buling  Elders  to  assist  the  Pastor ;  and  of 
Deacons,  who  were  to  hold  and  distribute  the  money,  and 
to  assist  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  For  these  they  quoted 
chapter  and  verse.1 

In  the  Amsterdam  Church,  an  ancient  widow  or  Dea 
coness  existed,  "  who  with  a  little  hirchen  rod,  kept  little 
children  in  great  awe/' 2 

Thomas  Morton  says  :  "  There  is  amongst  these  people 
a  Deakonesse,  made  of  the  sisters,  that  uses  her  guiffcs  at 
home  in  an  assembly  of  her  sexe,  etc." 

He  says  again  :  "  I  cannot  chuse  but  conclude,  that 
these  Separatists  have  special  gifts,  for  they  are  given  to 
envy  and  malice,  extremely." 

The  Church,  consisting  of  the  Professors 
PROFESSORS,  rather  than  the  "  Society"  (which  was  made  up 
of  all  who  paid  towards  its  support),  took  the 
lead  in  selecting  and  calling  the  Preachers.  In  getting 
the  sense  of  the  Church,  votes  were  called  for  by  the  lift 
ing  of  hands,  or  sometimes  by  calling  upon  one  and 
another  to  speak  ;  or  by  general  assent  after  some  had 
expressed  a  particular  one  ;  but  they  never  called  for  a 
negative  vote  ;  as  Cotton  quaintly  says,  "  it  would  be  the 
using  of  hammer  or  axe  in  temple  work." 

The  Church  seems  to  have  paid  liberally  (by  tax  on  all 
the  inhabitants)3 — Mr.  Cotton's  salary  having  been  £80 
in  1668  ;  payable,  one  third  in  wheat  or  butter  ;  one  third 
in  rye,  barley,  or  peas  ;  ami  one  third  in  Indian  corn  ;  the 
prices  for  which  were  fixed  as  follows  :  wheat,  4s.  6c?., 
barley,  4s.,  rye,  3s.  6d,  corn,  3s.,  peas,  3s.,  butter,  6c?.4 

As  the  average  pay  of  Clergymen  in  New  England  now 
is  about  four  hundred  dollars,  this  was  liberal  for  those 
days. 

But  can  we,  who  speak  and  write,  and  print  with  steam- 
fingered  presses — can  we  appreciate  the  luxury  of  being 
able  to  pray  without  a  book,  and  to  preach  as  long  and  as 

1  Thacher,  p.  265.    Eph.,  iv.,  11.  2  Gov.  Bradford.    Cheever,  p.  214. 

8  Book  of  Laws,  ch.  13.     Thacher,  p.  274.  4  Thacher,  p.  125. 


A.D.  1632.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  127 

many  sermons  as  they  chose,  and  "  to  speak  in  meeting," 
whoever  would — each  man  his  gospel,  or  his  revelation,  or 
his  interpretation,  and  no  James,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  to 
"  Harry  them,"  and  no  Laud  to  hang  them,  for  doing  it  ? 

"  Brown  bread  and  the  Gospel  is  good  fare/'  they  said 
to  one  another.1  Cushman  writes  :  "  But  we  have  here 
great  peace,  plentie  of  the  Gospell,  and  many  sweet 
delights  and  variety  of  comforts."  Indeed  there  is  reason 
to  believe,  not  only  that  men  spoke  as  the  spirit  moved 
them,  but  that  women,  and  even  children,  exhorted  in  the 
public  assemblies  ;  for  by-and-by2  [1744]  Josiah  Cotton 
presented  a  written  request,  that  the  Church  should  be 
assembled,  to  consider  as  to  the  propriety  of  women  doing 
so,  contrary  to  the  Apostolic  direction.  It  seems  from 
this,  that  the  sex  aspired  to  their  "  rights,"  even  in  the 
infancy  of  the  Church  and  the  country,  and  at  least 
spoke  ! 

Some  may  admire,  some  may  despise,  the  extreme  sim 
plicity,  and  democratic  inattention  to  "  law  and  order," 
which  pervaded  their  early  worship.  Any  one,  it  seems, 
could  speak  in  meeting,  and  not  be  censured.  Governor 
Winthrop,  in  his  Journal,  dated  October  25th,  1632, 
says  :8  "  The  Governor,  with  Mr.  Wilson,  Pastor  of  Boston, 
and  others,  went  on  foot  to  Plymouth  from  Massagascus. 
The  Governor  of  Plymouth,  Mr.  William  Bradford,  a  very 
decent,  grave  man,  with  Mr.  Brewster,  the  Elder,  and 
some  others,  came  forth  and  met  them  without  the  Town, 
and  conducted  them  to  the  Governor's  house,  where  they 
were  kindly  entertained  and  feasted  every  day  at  several 
houses.  On  the  Lord's  day  there  was  a  Sacrament,  which 
they  did  partake  in  ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Roger 
Williams,  according  to  custom,  propounded  a  question,  to 
which  the  Pastor,  Mr.  Smith,  spoke  briefly ;  then  Mr. 
Williams  prophesied,4  and  afterward  the  Governor  of 
Plymouth  spoke  to  the  question  ;  after  him  the  elder ; 

1  A  Brief  Review  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  N.  B.    London,  1774. 

2  Thacher,  p.  283.  3  Savage's  Winthrop,  p.  92.         *  Preached. 


128  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

then  some  two  or  three  more  of  the  Congregation.  Then 
the  Elder  desired  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  Mr. 
Wilson  to  speak  to  it,  which  they  did.  When  this  was 
ended,  the  Deacon,  Mr.  Fuller,  put  the  Congregation  in 
mind  of  their  duty  of  contribution  ;  whereupon  the  Gov 
ernor  and  all  the  rest  went  down  to  the  Deacon's  seat,  and 
put  into  the  box,  and  then  returned." 

The  following  brief  Notes  of  their  Religious  practices 
will  not  be  uninteresting  : 

At  first,  all  candidates  for  admission  to  the  Church, 
were  required  to  make  a  public  statement  of  their  belief 
and  experiences  ;  but  it  being  found  that  "  divers  of  low 
voice,  who  were  also  bashful/'  were  hindered  by  this,  it 
was  not  required  of  them,  or  of  women  ;  and  their  testi 
mony  wras  accepted  in  writing,  which  was  read  before  the 
assembled  church. 

About  the  year  1681,  the  practice  of  reading  the  lines 
for  singing,  was  begun  ;  which  is  now  called  "  Deaconing 
the  Psalm."  It  was  supposed  to  have  grown  out  of  the 
necessities  of  some  who  could  not  read,  but  who  could  and 
would  sing. 

CATECHIZINGS  of  the  boys  and  girls  early  prevailed  in 
the  Church  and  out  of  it ;  Perkins's  Catechism  was  at 
first  used,  afterward  the  Assembly's.  Private  family  meet 
ings,  for  spiritual  exercises,  were  introduced  later.  (1707.) 

FASTS  were  always  resorted  to  in  any  sore  affliction,  such 
as  droughts  or  sickness,  and  as  Cotton  and  others  state, 
in  some  cases  with  signal  success.  It  was  found,  too,  by- 
and-by  (1676),  that  some  of  the  brethren  were  prone  to  sit 
about  at  public  houses  "  with  vain  company  and  drink 
ing  ;"  painful  as  it  was,  they  had  to  be  taken  in  hand.  So 
easy  was  it  for  the  regenerate  even  to  fall  into  danger  and 
the  snare. 

Women  also,  church  members,  mothers,  in  that  poor 
and  desolate  country,  were  led  away  by  a  propensity  as 
wide-spread  as  it  is  lamentable,  to  make  parade  of  their 
hair,  and  to  deck  themselves  with  ribbons  and  other  such 


A.D.  1853.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  129 

finery,  clearly  inexpedient,  if  not  wicked  ;  and  it  was  or 
dered  that  they  should  not  do  it,  nor  should  they  wear 
sleeves  more  than  twenty-two  and  a  half  inches  wide.  In 
this  way  did  the  early  society  try  to  stem  a  gigantic  evil. 

THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  was  received  sitting  at  the  table. 
It  was  with  them  as  with  the  early  Christians,  a  "  Com 
munion/'  not  a  mystery ;  but,  unlike  the  early  Christians, 
it  never  degenerated  into  a  feast  for  eating  and  drinking. 

Twelve  persons  were  enjoined  to  bring  their  muskets  to 
meeting  every  Lord's-day,  with  their  swords,  in  case  that 
need  should  require  them.1 

The  SABBATH  was  a  great  and  Holy  day  to  them,  and 
more  especially  God's  time,  than  Monday  and  other  days. 
The  reverence  of  the  Sabbath  was  so  intense,  that  not 
even  physical  suffering  and  their  greatest  necessities  could 
induce  them  to  sacrifice  the  observance  of  their  first 
Sunday  on  Clark's  Island  ;  which  was  thenceforth  holy 
ground,  and  was  reserved  to  furnish  wood  and  pasture  for 
the  town's  poor ;  until  the  times  of  Andros,  when  Coun 
sellor  Clark  coveted  it  and  obtained  a  grant,  but  never 
got  possession  of  it. 

The  Sabbath  was  their  only  Holy-day,  until 
THANKSGIVING  came  to  be  the  Annual  Festival.  THA^Grv' 
Before  stating  the  small  and  accidental  origin 
of  this  Institution,  let  us,  in  order  to  understand  its  pres 
ent  importance,  leave  the  past  and  come  down  to  this 
present  time.  (1853.)  In  this  year  we  learn  that  the  pas 
sengers  on  the  great  railway  which  leads  into  New  En 
gland,  numbered  during  Thanksgiving-week,  twenty-five 
thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  and  a  half  !2  this 
half  being  the  odd  child.  This  great  army  of  people  were 
leaving  the  sweet  security  of  streets,  their  own  fire-sides, 
and  going  out,  not  into  the  wilderness,  but  into  the  bleak 
and  wintry  weather  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  to 
thank  God  for  all  things,  and  not  the  least,  for  this  great 
Thursday — the  Thanksgiving  of  the  year.  It  is  a  proper 

1  Plymouth  Colony  Kecords.  a  New  York  Tribune. 

6* 


130  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1623. 


thing  for  these  children  of  New  England  to  do.  Pleasant 
memories  of  childhood  and  youth  are  clustered  around  this 
November  time;  and  by  a  kind  of  magic  the  Past  is  made 
Present. 

The  corn  is  garnered,  the  crops  gathered,  the  work  is 
done  ;  the  Earth  has  put  on  her  rest,  and  the  husband 
man  is  in  harmony  with  her.  Again  are  heard  the  notes 
of  preparation  :  on  Sunday,  the  sounding  proclamation 
is  listened  to  with  attentive  ears  ;  how  "  the  year  has 
been  crowned  with  goodness,"  how  "  peace  is  upon  our 
borders,  and  plenteousness  in  our  palaces,"  how  "  the 
clouds  drop  fatness,"  and  how  "  servile  labor  and  vain 
recreation"  are  by  law  forbidden.  The  week  is  full  of 
bustle,  consecrated  to  the  mystic  rites  of  fire-worshipers  ; 
the  body  becomes  great — almost  god-like.  For  it,  are 
elaborated  "  the  great  chicken-pie,"  tarts  and  custards, 
and  seed-cakes,  adorned  with  unintelligible  characters — 
clearly  not  Hebrew.  Fires  are  burning,  the  hearth  is 
swept,  clean  caps  are  donned,  and  all  is  expectation. 
Fathers  and  mothers,  sisters,  cousins,  children,  and  even 
dogs  are  ready  to  welcome  to  the  old  homesteads  which 
adorn  New  England,  this  crowd  of  returning  children. 
Thursday  is  well-spent  (even  with  some  excesses),  for  all 
good  and  kindly  feelings  are  called  into  vivid  action ; 
hatred,  malice,  and  uncharitableness  are  banished  !  The 
day  then  is  a  holy-day,  and  as  such  is  to  be  cherished  and 
preserved.  It  is  one  of  the  "  peculiar  institutions"  of 
New  England,  fast  making  its  way  into  South  Carolina. 

When  and  by  whom  was  the  festival  instituted  ? 

It  is  easy  to  answer.  In  1623,  two  centuries  and  a 
half  ago,  Winslow,  writing  to  England,  mentions  that 
after  the  gathering  of  the  harvest,  the  Governor  (Brad 
ford)  sent  out  a  company  for  game,  that  they  might  fur 
nish  themselves  more  dainty  and  abundant  materials  for 
a  feast,  and  rejoice  together  after  they  had  gathered  the 
fruits  of  their  "  labors."1  So  they  got  their  game,  and 

1  Morton's  Meiu.,  p.  100. 


A.D.  1637.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  131 

they  cooked  it,  and  they  ate  of  it,  and  they  feasted  Mas- 
sasoit  and  ninety  of  his  Indians,  and  they  thanked  God 
with  all  their  hearts  for  the  good  world  and  the  good 
things  in  it.  So  they  kept  their  first  thanksgiving.  Gov 
ernor  Bradford  said,  "  Nor  has  there  been  any  general 
want  of  food  among  us  since  to  this  day"  (from  1623 
to  1646.) 

The  religious  services  of  the  Plymouth  Church 
were  held  in  the  Fort — upon  the  roof  or  deck      THE  FIRST 
of  which  were  mounted  the  great  guns  ;  and  it      MHOUSE. 
was  in  1648  that  a  "  meeting-house"  was  built. 
They  held  that  a  Church  was  a  body  of  Christians,  and 
the  place  where  they  met  was  a  "  meeting-house  ;"  so 
they  called  it  by  that  name.     Wherever  holy  men  met, 
there  God  was  sure   to  be,  and  there  he  could   be  wor 
shiped  ;    so  they  held,  and    so   they    practiced.      Their 
churches  were  therefore  likely  to  be  rude  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  around  them  did  not  gather  that  wealth  of  memo 
ries,   that  magic   of  association,   that  mystery  of  senti 
ment  which  hangs  upon  every  arch  and  angle  and  nook 
of  the  time-eaten,  moss-covered,  century-shadowed  coun 
try  churches  of  Old  England. 

The  dangers  at  that  incipient  stage,  from 
division  and  weakness  were  great ;  for  minds       HERESIES. 
were  seething  and  fermenting.      Roger  Wil 
liams  had  started  his  heresies  at  Plymouth,  much  to  their 
distress.     Mr.  Chauncey's  Anabaptist  tendencies  had  been 
hard  to  bear.     And,  alas  !  in  1637,  the  dreaded  Antino- 
mians  appeared  in  New  England,  and  several  young  peo 
ple  were  near  being  carried   away  "  into  the   paths  of 
darkness  ;"  and  John  Weeks  and  his  wife  did  go,  and 
were  cast  out  of  the  Church,  for  "  their  abominable  opin 
ions,"  as  the  Church  held  them  to  be.     Notwithstanding 
this,   sometime  after,   Samuel  Hicks  fell  to  questioning 
about   "  Baptizing  of   Infants,    Singing  of   Psalms,   the 
Ministry,   the   Sabbath,"  etc.  ;  and  though  the  Church 
gave  him  large  answers  in  writing,  he  could  not  desist, 


132  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1660. 

but  went  on-  and  on,  till  the  issue  was  as  Cotton  says, 
"  this  poor  unsettled  man  fell  yet  further  and  further, 
and  at  last  he  became  a  Quaker"  (!)i 

But  the  Church  of  Plymouth  could  not  always  have 
Halcyon  days,  though  the  wisdom  and  moderation  of 
Bradford  and  Brewster  secured  it  against  disaster.  Di 
vision,  disintegration,  being  one  of  the  inevitable  opera 
tions  of  nature  ;  in  order  that  reunion,  reformation,  man 
forever  be  going  on,  the  poor  Church  at  Plymouth  was 
separated  from  time  to  time,  much  to  the  sorrow  of  those 
remaining,  so  that,  before  the  close  of  the  century,  four 
(4)  new  congregations  had  grown  to  life,  from  the  blood 
of  her  throbbing  heart.  First,  was  Duxborough  ;  sec 
ond,  Green's-Harbor,  now  Marshfield  ;  third,  Eastham  ; 
fourth,  Plympton. 

PROTESTANTISM  asserts  the  right  of  the  Individual,  in 
opposition  to  the  authority  of  the  class — the  Priesthood. 
It  tends  to  separation,  to  the  isolation  of  each  man,  to 
anarchy  in  creeds  and  worship.  This  must  be — each  one's 
right  to  his  own  mind  and  conscience  must  be  insisted 
on,  at  whatever  cost,  equally  with  the  right  to  his  body. 
Whenever  this  shall  be  frankly  and  fully  established,  this 
state  of  denial  and  opposition  will  pass  away,  and  an 
AFFIRMATIVE  religious  condition  will  ensue,  which  will  be 
the  central  fire  of  the  new  and  true  Catholic  Church,  yet 
to  come.  In  those  days  the  cry  of  "  Quaker"  was  the 
cry  of  mad  dog,  equivalent  to  Unitarian  or  Transcen- 
dentalist,  or  Freethinker  now.  Few  Quakers  lived  long 
enough  in  New  England  to  prove  that  they  were  not 
children  of  the  devil.  From  1650  to  1660  New  England 
was  much  "  infested"  with  them  ;  and  it  must  be  admit 
ted  that  the  followers  of  the  profound  spiritualist,  George 
Fox,  and  the  calm,  wise  "  Friend,"  William  Penn,  did 
not  always  deport  themselves  with  propriety.  At  this 
day  even  it  would  be  indiscreet  for  men  or  women  to  go 
naked  about  the  streets  ;  it  would  not  be  harmonious  or 
1  Thacher'a  Plymouth. 


A.D.  1634.]  THEIR    CHURCH.  133 

quieting  to  have  the  Church  exercises  rudely  interrupted 
by  rash  persons,  crying  "  Woe  !  woe  !  woe  !"  and  u  hear 
ing  their  testimony"  when  it  was  not  asked  or  paid  for. 
When  we  remember,  that  with  many  now,  with  nearly  all 
then,  heretical  opinions  were  believed  to  lead  a  man 
straight  to  hell  and  its  horrors,  we  can  not  wonder  that 
the  coming  of  the  Quakers  into  Plymouth  caused  a  shud 
der.  Mary  Dyer  appeared,  but  she  was  not  murdered 
there  ;  they  sent  her  out  of  the  jurisdiction,  and  they 
never  enforced  sanguinary  laws  against  this  sect,  as  was 
done  elsewhere.  They  dismissed  General  Cudworth  and 
Thomas  Hatherly  from  being  Magistrates,  because  they  had 
entertained  Quakers  ;  but  the  Plymouth  Church  is  free 
from  blood.  Then  there  was  Laud  in  England,  always  a 
distant  but  dreadful  vision — a  poor  little  unhappy  man, 
with  his  own  troubles,  and  many  of  them  too,  but  one 
whom  distance  and  fear  exaggerated  into  a  monster  as 
terrible  as  Job's — which  made  all  his  bones  to  shake. 

LAUD'S  "  Commission,"  intended  to  rule  the  churches 
in  New  England,  which  would  have  made  "  the  country 
no  better  than  slaves"  (1635),  proved  unsuccessful,  the 
Lord  protecting  the  "poor  church  at  Plymouth  in  an 
especial  manner,  marvelous  in  one's  eyes,"  as  Secretary 
Morton  states.  It  never  left  England,  or  reached  New 
England.  The  old  woman  in  Edinburg,  who  threw  her 
stool  at  the  head  of  the  Priest,  who  presumed  to  read  the 
Prayer-book,  initiated  a  diversion  in  their  favor,  and 
Hampden  and  Cromwell,  at  the  head  of  the  Independents, 
the  free-thinkers  and  free-actors  in  England,  were  begin 
ning  about  this  time  to  furnish  Laud,  Stratford,  and 
Charles  with  occupation  at  home  ;  and  so  the  Colonies 
for  this  time  escaped.  But  this  fearful  Commission, 
though  they  escaped  it  for  that  time,  struck  chill  and 
dread  to  every  heart.  Power  was  granted  by  it  to  some 
ten  or  twelve  persons,  part  of  whom  were  Papists,  headed 
by  Laud,  who  knew  neither  fear  nor  pity,  to  revoke  all 
charters  and  grants,  to  appoint  new  Governors,  make  new 


134  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1634. 

laws,  and   establish  new  courts,  even  ecclesiastical  ones, 
and  the   Colonists  knew  well  what  the    Courts  of  Star 
Chamber  and  High  Commission  were.      Over  and  above 
all   these   was   the    Devil   himself,    constantly 
THE  DEVIL,     watching,  never   sleeping,   going  about  like  a 
roaring  lion  (roaring  silently  !)  seeking  to  de 
vour  all  good  people.     Now  and  then  he  was  visible — so 
they   thought  —and   certainly  was  hand  and   glove  with 
the  stupid  Indian  pow-wows. 

Morton,  in  his  Memorial,  says,  "  Behold  how  Satan 
labored  to  hinder  the  Gospel  from  coming  into  New  En 
gland.  It  was  in  this  way  :  before  the  Indians  came  to 
make  friendship  with  the  English,  they  collected  together 
all  the  powaws  in  the  country,  who  for  three  days  to 
gether  did  curse  and  execrate  them,  with  their  conjura 
tions,  and  this  they  did  in  a  dark  dismal  swamp."  l  For 
three  days  together  they  carried  on  this  protracted  meet 
ing,  in  a  very  disagreeable  place  certainly  ;  yet  the  Devil 
had  to  give  way,  as  he  always  does,  to  the  light  and  truth, 
which  Brewster  and  Bradford  carried  in  their  hearts. 
This  Devil  held  a  very  important  place  in  the  history  and 
Theology  of  New  England  ;  as  indeed  he  has  through  all 
the  darkness  of  the  past.  As  Typho,  he  disturbed  the 
world  in  Egypt,  as  Ahriman  in  Persia,  as  Siva  in  India  ; 
and  just  in  proportion  to  what  we  call  the  strength  of 
Heathenism,  has  the  positive  quality  of  Evil,  and  its 
power,  been  exalted  into  an  equality  or  superiority  to  that 
of  God,  who  is  positive  Good. 

With  the  Indians,  the  early  Plymouth  Church  did  but 
little.  The  Pilgrims  were  fighting  the  elements  for  phys 
ical  life,  they  were  struggling  against  foes  in  England, 
and  divisions  at  home,  and  had  no  strength  for  the  work 
of  Christianizing  Indians.  Robinson  regretted  this  ;  and 
when  Standish  killed  some  of  them,  that  the  conspiracy 
growing  out  of  the  wickedness  of  Weston's  colony  might 

1  Morton's  Mem.,  p.  63. 


A.D.  1620.]  THEIR   CHURCH.  135 

be  suppressed,  he  wrote,  "  How  much  better  it  would  have 
been  to  have  converted  some  first." 

They  supposed,  at  first,  that  the  Indians  had  no  re 
ligion,  their  rites  were  so  few.  It  was  found  afterward, 
that  their  root  ideas  were  the  same  as  the  whites,  and 
that  an  idea  of  a  God,  a  Supreme,  was  also  an  integral 
part  of  their  souls.  When  Winslow  explained  to  Corbi- 
tant  what  "  grace  before  meat"  meant,  and  what  the 
Pilgrim  idea  of  God  was,  Corbitant  said,  "  Just  so  we 
believe" — but  they  could  make  no  meaning  of  the  more 
ingenious  statements  of  theology,  and  they  doubted  the 
seventh  commandment  as  Winslow  explained  it — for  "to 
be  tied  to  one  wife  might  be  very  inconvenient  ;'n  which 
has  been  a  common  belief  with  all  nations  except  the 
Germanic. 

At  last,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
we  see  a  Church  with  no  priest,  with  no  hierarchy,  with 
no  forms,  with  no  past  (except  the  Jewish)  ;  none  like  it 
since  that  at  Corinth,  so  entirely  free  to  work  out  its  own 
ideas  into  life  and  action.  It  was  a  Keligious  Democracy! 
Its  doctrines  and  practices  were  the  outcome  of  the  time, 
and  were  decided  upon  or  discarded  by  the  votes  of  the 
members  as  men.  In  theory,  the  Majority  ruled  in  the 
Plymouth  Church.  It  is  a  noticeable  thing  in  the  history 
of  man,  and  has  had  its  influence  in  New  England,  both 
in  Church  and  State.  The  day  had  come  when  a  few 
brave  men  could  take  this  step,  in  the  advance  toward 
freedom,  and  not  be  swallowed  up  and  lost ;  the  day  had 
come  when  democracy  was  possible  in  the  Church,  fore 
telling  its  coming  in  the  State  ;  a  day  yet  certain  to  be, 
when  the  State  shall  assimilate  to  the  Church,  and  the 
true  religious  spirit  pervading  all  men  of  all  classes,  may 
leaven  even  politicians,  when  Church  and  State  shall  be 
as  One. 

1  Winslow's  Visit  to  Massasoit. 


The    Settlement 

X 

of 
MASSACHUSETTS    BAY. 

A.  D.  1628. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

MASSACHUSETTS    BAY. 

ROGER  CONANT — THE  PATRIARCH  OF  DORCHESTER — JOHN  ENDICOTT — WHITE  MEN  DIS 
COVERED —  THOMAS  WALFORD — WILLIAM  BLACKSTONE  —  DAVID  THOMSON — SAMUEL 
MAVERICK — CHARLESTOWN — THE  ROYAL  CHARTER — CRADOCK — OLD  SETTLERS  JEAL 
OUS — TOBACCO — NEEDS  OF  A  NEW  COLONY — JOHN  HIGGINSON'S  COMPANY — NOT  SEP 
ARATISTS — ORDINATION — CHURCH  COVENANT — THE  BROWNS. 

KOGER  CONANT,  a  brave  and  determined  man,  not 
liking  the  proceedings  at  Plymouth  during  the  Lyford 
troubles,  left  that  Colony,  and  in  his  pinnace  sailed  across 
the  bay  to  Nantasket,  in  1624  ;  and  the  next  year  re 
moved  to  Cape  Ann,  where  he  found  a  few  fishermen,1 
living  there  to  cure  fish  during  the  absence  of  the  vessels. 

Some  English  merchants,  wishing  to  station  men  to 
follow  the  business  of  fishing  continuously,  Conant  was 
appointed  their  agent,  and  by  his  direction  the  settlers 
moved  farther  down  the  bay  to  Naumkeag  (now  Salem.)2 

The  Adventurers  in  England  became  discouraged,  but 
Conant  sustained  his  men,  and,  few  as  they  were,  they 
remained  sentinels  of  Puritanism  on  the  northern  shore. 
To  the  eye  of  faith,  mountains  are  chrystal  and  oceans 
nothing  ;  and  old  John  White,  the  "  patriarch  of  Dor 
chester"  (England),  saw  these  watchmen  across  the  At 
lantic.  Zealous  to  spread  the  Gospel,  and  to  establish 
his  way,  which  was  not  tolerated  in  England,  he  set  him 
self  to  interest  others  in  the  little  Colony  at  Salem. 
Dudley,  Johnson,  Eaton,  Saltonstall,  Pyncheon,  Belling- 
ham,  and  others,  men  of  substance  and  ct  gentlemen 
born,"  agreed  to  co-operate  with  him.  So  they  purchased 

1  Hubbard  (1625). 

2  White's  Brief  Relation.  Young's  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims.    Bancroft's 
Hist.,  vol.  i.,  p.  339. 


JOHN  ENDI- 
COTT. 


140  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1628. 

of  the  "  Plymouth  Company  or  Council  for  New  England" 
(March  19,  1627-8),  a  strip  of  land,  in  width  three  miles, 
north  of  the  Merrimack,  and  three  miles  south  of  the 
Charles  Kiver,  and  extending  from  ocean  to  ocean  ;  and 
they  were  not  likely  to  be  crowded. 

But  who  should  lead  the  new  adventure  ? 
John  Endicott  was  just  the  man,  and  he 
agreed  to  go.  Firm,  rugged,  and  hopeful,  he 
took  his  wife  and  children,  and  went  into  the  New  World 
at  the  head  of  the  company,  numbering  nigh  one  hundred 
souls.1  (Sailed  June  20,  1628,  arrived  Sept.  6.) 

The  forests  were  just  beginning  to  dress  themselves  in 
their  autumn  brilliancy,  when  Endicott  stepped  from  his 
boat  to  receive  the  welcome  of  Roger  Conant.2  Glad 
enough  were  the  "  sentinels"  once  more  to  press  the  hands 
and  look  into  the  faces  of  civilized  men.  Their  hearts 
and  cabins  were  open. 

To  build  more  houses,  to  explore  the  country,  to  treat 
the  Indians  well,  and  not  to  plant  tobacco,  were  Endi 
cott' s  orders.3  His  parties  pierced  the  forests  and  coasted 
the  shores.  They  were  startled  at  Charlestown  Neck, 
when  they  came  upon  the  house  and  home  of  a  solitary 
white  man  ;  for  there  Thomas  Walford,  an  English  black 
smith,  had  taken  up  his  abode.  On  the  promontory 
(now  Boston)  they  found  another,  William  Blackstone, 
who  had  come  there  to  indulge  his  solitary  humor.  He 
was  an  English  clergyman,  fond  of  books  and  horticul 
ture,  and  from  him  the  settlers  afterward  purchased  all 
the  promontory,  except  his  garden.  He  was  a  Puritan 
and  liberalist,  but  he  declined  a  Church  connection. 
"  No,  no,"  he  said ;  "  I  have  not  fled  from  the  Lords 
bishops  to  be  subject  to  the  Lords  brethren  \"  So  he 

1  Johnson's  Wonder-working  Providence.     Belknap's  Biog.     Prince,   p. 
249.    Hubbard's  History.    Haven s's  Introduction. 

2  Memoir  of  John  Endicott,  by  Charles  M.  Endicott:  Salem,  1847. 

3  The  savages  were  believed  to  be  subjects  of  saving  grace.     Cradock's 
Letter  in  Young's  Chronicles. 


A.D.  1629.]  MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.  141 

afterward  moved  away  to  the  banks  of  the  Pautucket, 
where  he  died  (1675).  David  Thomson  was  at  Thomson's 
Island,  and  Samuel  Maverick  was  found  on  Nottles  (or 
Noddles)  Island,  in  Boston  Harbor. 

An  excess  of  individuality  marks  the  Teutonic  races. 
These  men  could  stand  ALONE,  and  in  no  other  way  ; 
they  did  not  gather  into  cities  because  they  were  weak, 
or  because  they  were  social  ;  but  went  out  from  men  be 
cause  they  were  strong,  and  could  brook  no  restraint,  not 
even  that  of  society  or  family.  This  quality,  when  prop 
erly  attempered,  makes  men  kings,  and  nations  great  ; 
it  explores  unknown  and  dreaded  continents,  and  colo 
nizes  savage  countries. 

In  June  (1629),  a  party  under  the  lead  of  Thomas 
Graves  removed  westward,  and  began  a  settlement  called 
Chaiiestown. 

After  much  expenditure  of  time  and  money, 
on  the  fourth  of  March,  1629,  a  Koyal  Charter 
for  the  "  Massachusetts  Bay  Company"  had 
been  obtained.1  Matthew  Cradock  was  chosen  Governor 
in  England,  and  John  Endicott  for  New  England.  The 
ship  which  carried  news  of  the  Charter  to  the  new  world, 
carried  also  full  instructions  to  Endicott,  reiterating  those 
already  mentioned  ;  commending  to  him  the  ministers 
Higginson,  Skelton,  and  Bright,  also  the  Browns  ;  Water 
man,  a  venison  hunter,  and  Wilson,  a  surgeon  ;  authoriz 
ing  him  to  use  force  when  necessary,  and  to  expel  the  in 
corrigible  ;  appointing  that  all  should  cease  their  labor  at 
"  three  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  to  pre 
pare  for  the  Sabbath,"  and  urging  kindness  and  honorable 
dealing  toward  the  Indians.i 

To  allay  the  jealousies  of  the  old  settlers  (Conant  and 
his  friends) — who  naturally  enough  feared  that  they  should 
sink  into  insignificance,  and  "  that  we  seek  to  make  slaves 
of  them" — it  was  directed  that  they  should  be  incorporated 
into  the  new  Society,  and  enjoy  all  its  privileges.  It  seems 

1  Prince,  N.  E.  Chron.,  p.  247.        a  Young's  Chron.,  p.  141.     Hazard,  vol.  i. 


THE  CHAE- 
TEB. 


142  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1629. 

too,  that  the  first  planters  had  an  earnest  desire  to  raise 
tobacco  :  Endicott  was,  therefore,  directed  to  allow  it  for 
the  present ;  though  it  was,  as  the  letter  strongly  says : 
"A  Trade  by  this  whole  Companie  generally  disavowed, 
and  utterly  disclaymed  by  some  of  the  greatest  Adventur 
ers  amongst  us,  who  absolutely  declared  themselves  unwil 
ling  to  have  Hand  in  this  Plantacion,  if  wee  intend  to 
cherish  or  permit  the  planting  thereof."  In  a  subsequent 
letter  this  is  reiterated  thus  :  "  We  esspecially  desire  you 
to  take  care  that  noe  Tobacco  bee  planted  by  any  of  the 
new  Planters,  under  your  Government,  unless  it  bee  some 
small  quantity  for  meer  necessity  and  for  Physick  for  Pre 
servation  of  their  Health,  and  that  the  same  bee  taken 
privately  by  Antient  Men  and  none  other."  One  other 
point  is  thus  urged  upon  Endicott :  "  And  wee  heartily 
pray  you  that  all  be  kept  to  Labor,  in  their  several  employ 
ments.  As  the  only  means  to  reduce  them  to  a  civil  1, 
yea  a  godly  life,  and  to  keepe  Youth  from  falling  into 
many  enormities  which  by  nature  wee  are  all  too  much 
inclyned  unto."  It  was  also  directed  that  a  Kegister 
should  be  kept  "  of  what  is  done  by  all  and  every  in 
each  Familye,"  so  that  "  noe  idle  Drone  be  permitted  to 
live  amongst  us." 

Some  idea  of  the  needs  of  a  new  country,  which  we  can 
now  hardly  appreciate,  may  be  got  from  this  memorandum. 
Among  the  articles  shipped  for  the  uses  of  the  colonists, 
we  find  enumerated — chalk,  bricks,  sea-coal,  iron,  lead, 
armor,  drums,  powder,  cannon,  soap,  clothing  of  great 
variety,  etc.,  etc.;  and  upon  the  Eecords  of  the  Company 
a  memorandum  of  things  to  be  sent,  which  runs  thus  : 

"  Ministers, 

"  Patent  under  Seal, 

"  Seal, 

"  Men  for  making  Pitch  and  Salt, 

"  Vine-dressers, 

"Wheat,  Rye,  Barley,  Currant-plants,  Tame  Turkeys, 
*  *  *  Brass-ladles,  Spoons,  OiTd  skins  of  leather, 


A.D.  1629.]  MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.  143 

Madder  seeds,"  etc.,  etc.  Such  a  list  shows  our  complex 
condition,  and  the  innumerable  things  needed  to  make 
up  a  civilized  community— beginning  with  Ministers  and 
ending  with  Madder  seeds  ! 

In  the  year  1629,  nigh  four  hundred  English  Puritans 
arrived  at  Salem  ( let  it  be  remembered  that  these  were 
still  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  though  Noncon 
formists),  among  them  four  ministers.  Higginson  and 
Skelton  were  settled  at  Salem,  and  Smith  afterward  at 
Plymouth.  Bright,  the  fourth,  was  a  Conformist,  and  re 
mained  not  in  the  new  country.  When  they  left  England 
they  forgot  their  sufferings  and  persecutions,  and  exclaimed 
— not  "  Farewell,  Babylon  !  farewell,  Kome  !"  but — 
"  Farewell,  dear  England."* 

Higginson  and  his  companions  found,  in  the  great  new 
country,  room,  and  "  A  good  company  more  of  honest 
Christians,"  with  their  horses,  kine,  and  sheep  ;2  they 
found  also  some  half  score  of  houses  ready  built,  and 
more  in  progress,  they  found  much  forests,  but  also  many 
acres  of  land,  which  had  been  cleared  by  the  Indians, 
planted  in  corn  ;  plenty  of  wild  turkeys,  partridges,  and 
other  game  ;  the  sea  stored  with  fish  of  many  kinds  ;  even 
the  air  was  good  to  them,  "  A  sup  of  it  being  better  than 
a  whole  draft  of  old  England's  ale !"  but  the  greatest 
comfort  was  that,  "  the  true  religion  and  holy  ordinances 
of  Almighty  God"  were  taught  among  them  ;  plenty  of 
preaching,  diligent  catechizing,  and  strict  exercise  might  be 
fully  enjoyed;  there  was  no  let  or  hindrance.  Among  their 
discomforts  were  "musketoes,  rattle-snakes,  and  Indians."3 

These  New  England  settlers  were  Puritans  ;  but  not 
Separatists,  like  those  at  Plymouth  ;  they  still  belonged 
to  the  Church  of  England  and  declined  the  services  of 
Smith,  because  he  was  a  Separatist.  But  Governor  Endi- 
cott  had  had  some  correspondence  with  Governor  Brad 
ford  of  Plymouth,  to  learn  their  views  and  usages  as  to 

1  Mather.  2  Forty  cows,  as  many  goats,  a  horse,  and  six  or  seven 

mares.     Young's  Chr.,  p.  260.  3  Young's  Chronicles,  p.  259. 


144  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1629. 

outward  worship,  which  he  approved.1  So  when  the  Min 
isters  came,  the  business  was  to  set  the  Church  in  order. 

For  this  purpose,  the  6th  of  August,  1629,  was  kept,  a 
day  of  fasting  and  high  solemnity.  Mr.  Skelton,  the 
pastor,  laid  his  hands  on  the  head  of  Mr.  Higginson,  the 
teacher,  and  so  blessed  him,  Mr.  Higginson  did  the  same 
to  Mr.  Skelton  ;  this  was  done  though  they  had  been  or 
dained  in  England.  In  the  afternoon  Governor  Bradford 
arrived,  and  gave  them  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  The 
Church  entered  into  a  Covenant  one  with  another,  brief, 
clear,  and  decided.  One  thing  was  made  plain  ;  that  they 
had  determined  to  stand  where  Bishop  Hooper  had  stood 
before  them — not  upon  a  Creed,  or  a  Council,  or  a  Tradi 
tion,  but  "  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  solely,  and  the  Apos 
tolic  Church  is  to  be  followed,  and  no  man's  authority, 
be  he  Augustine,  Tertullian,  or  even  Cherubim  or  Sera 
phim  !"2 

"  JOHN  and  SAMUEL  BROWN,  Gents,"  did  not  like  the 
look  of  things.  They  asked,  "  Why  is  not  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  used  ?"  "  Why  is  not  the  order  of  exer 
cises  the  same  as  in  the  English  Church  ?"  "  Why  a  new 
ordination  ?"  "  Why  this  ?"  and  "  Why  that  ?"— to  the 
disgust  of  the  Governor  and  Ministers.  The  Browns 
pressed  their  point,  and  insisted  upon  the  Prayer-book 
being  read,  which  the  settlers  did  not  love  ;  and  at  last 
Endicott  called  them  before  him.  Being  men  of  high 
spirit  and  bold  speech  (Lawyers  and  Merchants  in  En 
gland),  they  charged  that  the  Colonists  were  "  Separatists," 
if  not  even  "  Anabaptists,"  and  that  they  must  look  to  it. 
The  ministers  stoutly  denied  this,  and  claimed  to  be 
Church  of  England  men,  though  Nonconformists.  The 
Browns  would  not  be  quiet,  so  Endicott  sent  them  back 
with  the  ships  they  came  in,  and  got  the  matter  out  of 
New  England.3  Then  for  a  time  the  Church  had  rest. 

1  Hubbard,  p.  115.     Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  11. 

8  Prince,  189,  191.     Mather,  vol.  vi.     Cheever,  294     Young's  Chr.  p.,  61. 

3  Young's  Chr.,  p.  288.     Morton's  Memorial 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE  CHARTER  TRANSFERRED  TO  NEW  ENGLAND. 

CROMWELL,  HAMPDEN,  AND  YANE— THE  CHARTER— TRADING  CORPORATION— QUESTION 
DISCUSSED — AGREEMENT  OF  8ALTONSTALL,  WINTHROP,  ETC. — TRANSFER  DECIDED  ON — 
JOHN  WINTHROP  CHOSEN  GOVERNOR — EFFECT  OF  THE  TRANSFER. 

THE  good  news  from  New  England  stimulated  the 
Puritans  and  liberalists  all  over  Old  England.  Charles  I. 
and  Laud  were  carrying  things  with  a  high  hand.  The 
Star  Chamber  and  Ecclesiastical  Courts  were  rampant, 
and  the  King  determined  to  govern  without  a  Parliament, 
and  make  England  happy  in  spite  of  herself.  Some  of 
the  first  men  of  England  believed  that  liberty  must  flee. 
Cromwell,,  Hampden,  and  Vane  seriously  considered  the 
propriety  of  emigrating  to  New  England  ;  and  other  men 
of  property  and  breeding  believed  that  in  England,  relig 
ious  and  political  rights  were  untenable.  The  insignifi 
cance  of  the  Colony  was,  no  doubt,  the  reason  that  Charles 
allowed  it  the  privileges  of  a  Royal  Charter  (4th  March, 
1629),  the  securing  of  which  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the 
desires  and  plans  of  the  Puritans  ;  and  he  and  his  min 
isters  were  willing  to  be  rid  of  men  who  had  both  talents 
and  conscience.  This  Charter  empowered  the  Company 
(not  the  colonists)  to  transport  persons,  to  establish 
ordinances,  to  settle  Government  (not  contrary  to  English 
laws),  to  elect  officers,  to  punish  criminals,  etc.  It  was  a 
trading  corporation,  with  the  powers  of  Government.  It 
did  not  guaranty  religious  liberty,  nor  did  it  contemplate 
it ;  and  it  was  not  till  16621  that  the  English  King  granted 
that,  or  that  the  Massachusetts  Charter  was  made  to  favor 
freedom  of  worship  ;  nor  was  it  till  after  that  time  [1691] 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  344.     Hutcliinson's  Coll. 

7 


146  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1639. 

that  it  was  enjoyed  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony.  There 
was  nothing  to  hinder  the  Puritans  from  carrying  out  their 
principles  into  practices  ;  this  the  Browns  and  some  others 
saw,  and  that  they  would  proceed  to  do  it  ;  not  so  much 
upon  a  foregone  determination,  but  because  it  was  inev 
itable,  from  the  absence  of  a  hierarchy,  or  army,  or  other 
control ;  and  because  it  was  inherent  in  the  doctrine  of 
"  Private  Judgment,"  which  they  claimed  to  follow. 

But  the  point  of  interest  which  now  claims  attention,  is 
of  the  first  importance.  The  Charter  secured  to  the  Com 
pany  certain  rights.  Now  the  question  was  asked,  "  Why 
not  transfer  the  corporate  body  to  New  England  ?"  This 
was  a  novel  and  startling  proposition,  and  might  be  preg 
nant  of  much.  But,  why  not  ?  The  question  was  started, 
and  would  not  rest;  and  soon  it  engrossed  all  others. 
Finally  it  was  brought  before  the  Corporation.  The 
Kecords  of  the  Company,  held  at  Mr.  GofFs  house,  in 
London,  on  the  28th  August,  1629,  at  which  were  present 
twenty-five  members,  state  that,  in  full  Court,  two  com 
mittees  were  appointed,  of  three  each,  one  of  which  was  to 
present  the  next  day,  arguments  against,  and  the  other  in 
favor  of  settling  the  chief  Government  of  the  Company  in 
New  England. 

This  matter  had  been  brought  up  for  private  and 
serious  consideration,  a  month  before,  by  Mathew  Cradock, 
Governor  of  the  Company  ;  and  a  few  days  before  this 
action  of  the  28th  of  August,  an  agreement  had  been 
signed  at  Cambridge  by  Salton stall,  Winthrop,  Dudley, 
Johnson,  Humphrey,  Nowell,  Pincheon,  Sharpe,  Vassall, 
and  some  others,  that  they  would  embark  with  their  fami 
lies  for  New  England,  to  inhabit  there — provided,  the 
Government  and  the  Charter  should  be  legally  transferred 
and  established  in  the  Plantation.  This  proposed  act  cer 
tainly  was  a  bold  and  important  step  ;  the  consequences 
might  well  be,  as  they  have  been,  momentous.  Its  tech 
nical  legality  has  been  seriously  doubted  and  denied.  That 
the  intention  of  the  King  was  to  make  a  trading  corpora- 


A.D.  1629.]  TRANSFER   OF   CHARTER.  147 

tion  in  England,  there  is  no  doubt  ;  but  whether  the 
meetings  of  the  Company  could  not  as  well  be  held  in  New 
England  as  in  Old  England  ?  If  they  could,  then  such 
men  as  those  named  above,  were  ready  to  trust  their  lives 
there,  and  dying,  leave  their  children  in  the  new  Conti 
nent.1  On  the  29th  of  August,  1629,  the  Company  held 
a  full  meeting  to  hear  the  arguments,  and  to  decide  this 
question.  After  discussion  and  argument  on  both  sides, 
the  Deputy  (Mr.  GofT),  put  the  question,  when  by  the 
erection  of  hands,  "  it  appeared  by  the  general  consent  of 
the  Company,  that  the  Government  and  Patent  should 
be  settled  in  New  England,  and  accordingly  an  order  to 
be  drawn  up  to  that  effect/'3 

Having  signed  articles  of  agreement,  which 
were  to  govern  matters  between  the  settlers  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  Joint-stock  Adventurers 
at  home,  on  the  other,  the  Company  met  on  the  20th  of 
October,  1629,  to  elect  a  new  Governor  and  Officers,  from 
among  those  who  were  to  go  to  New  England.  Mr.  John 
Winthrop,  out  of  four  others  mentioned,  was  chosen  by 
a  general  vote,  as  one  every  way  worthy,  both  for  "  integ 
rity  and  sufficiency,"  for  this  first  and  most  exalted  post ; 
which  he  was  pleased  to  accept,  and  took  the  oath.  Mr. 
John  Humphrey,  or  Humfry,  was  chosen  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  with  eighteen  Assistants,  who  were  to  form  the 
Council.  Dudley  was  afterward  chosen  in  place  of  Mr. 
Humphrey. 

What  was  to  be  the  effect  of  this  transfer  of  the  Gov 
ernment  from  Old  to  New  England,  no  one  could  alto 
gether  foresee.  One  result,  and  one  of  the  greatest  was, 
that  it  converted  the  Colonists  slowly  and  imperceptibly 
from  Englishmen  to  Americans  ;  and  strengthened  in  them 
a  sturdy  independence  and  individuality,  so  inseparable 
from  Teutonic  nations.3 

1  See  G-rahame's  History  United  States.    Hutchinson's  History  Massachu 
setts,  vol.  i.,  p.  13. 

2  Young's  Chronicles,  p.  88.  Gervinua:  Introduction,  p.  2T. 


148  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1630. 

Some  of  the  best  and  purest  of  the  gentlemen  of  En- 
land,  only  waited  for  this  decision  to  confirm  their  wishes, 
and  the  emigration  in  the  year  following  (1630),  was  some 
fifteen  hundred.  They  came  to  possess  the  earth  and  civ 
ilize  it,  and  they  brought  with  them  much  good  and  little 
evil. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

•    THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    BOSTON". 

JOHN  WINTHROP — HT8  JOURNAL — HIS  SHIPS  SET  SAIL — ENGLAND  DID  NOT  REGRET — THEY 
BEACH  NEW  ENGLAND — LAND  AT  NATTMKEAG — SUFFERING  AND  HOPE — CHARLES1  RIVER 
—BOSTON— STARVATION— LADY  ARBELLA  JOHNSON— THOMAS  MORTON  IS  CAPTURED 
AND  SENT  AWAY — BOAT  LOST — SIR  CHRISTOPHER  GARDINER — PHILIP  RATCLIFF — NIGHT 
FRIGHTS — WINTHROP  LOST. 

JOHN  WINTHROP,  the  Father  of  Boston,  was  among 
those  who  came  in  1630.  His  Journal,  valuable  alike  to 
the  historian  and  to  the  reader,  opens  : 

"  Anno  Domini,  1630,  March  29th,  Monday"  "  Easter 
Monday,  Riding  at  the  Cowes,  near  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in 
the  Arbella,  a  ship  of  Three  hundred  and  fifty  tons/'  This 
vessel  was  so  named  in  honor  of  the  Lady  Arbella  John 
son,  daughter  of  the  noble  house  of  Lincoln  ;  who,  with 
her  husband,  was  a  passenger  in  the  ship. 

On  that  day,  the  29th  of  March,  1630,  they  weighed 
anchor,  spread  their  sails  from  Cowes,  and  sailed  down  the 
channel  to  Yarmouth  ;  where  they  were  joined  by  their 
consorts,  the  Talbot,  the  Jewel,  and  the  Ambrose.  Fin 
ally,  on  Thursday,  the  8th  of  April,  the  ships  sailed  from 
Yarmouth,  where  the  feet  of  those  Pilgrims  pressed  the 
soil  of  their  dear  Old  England  for  the  last  time.  Sadness 
was  in  their  hearts  and  tears  in  their  eyes,  for  they  loved 
the  Land  of  their  fathers  ;  and  they  could  not  forget  the 
tender  associations  of  youth,  nor  the  holier  associations  of 
manhood,  when  thus  leaving  it  forever.  But  as  the  hart 
panteth,  for  the  water-brooks,  so  their  souls  longed  for 
Liberty  and  God,  and  they  went  out  full  of  Hope.  With 
a  fair  wind  they  passed  the  Needles,  drew  steadily  away 
from  those  venerable  shores  ;  passed  St.  Albans,  Portland, 


150  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1630. 

Dartmouth,  the  Eddystone,  with  its  fiery  eye,  watching 
for  ships  over  the  broad  sea.  The  Lizard,  and  at  last  the 
Scilly  Islands  disappeared,  went  down  day  by  day  in  the 
blue  distance,  and  were  left  with  the  past,  till  on  Sunday, 
the  llth,  their  little  fleet,  of  nine  sail,  stood  out  bravely 
into  the  stormy  Atlantic.  They  were  prepared  to  buffet 
the  winds  and  the  waves,  they  knew  whither  they  were 
bound,  and  they  did  not  conceal  from  themselves  their 
dangers  and  hardships.  They  had  nerved  their  hearts, 
cleared  their  decks,  and  prepared  their  cannons  and  pow 
der-chests  ;  they  had  drilled  their  men  and  instructed  their 
women,  should  pirates  or  enemies  threaten.  They  had 
fasted  and  prayed,  and  then  they  went  forth  from  the 
Past,  where  was  knowledge  and  certainty,  to  the  dim  and 
shadowy  Future  ;  they  trusted  in  themselves,  and  they 
trusted  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  were  strong. 

England  did  not  regret  their  departure,  she  did  not 
know  her  best  men  !  What  nation  does  ?  To  material 
ists  and  politicians,  these  men  seemed  to  be  visionaries 
and  idealists  ;  impracticable,  and  in  the  way.  Yet  this 
class  is  always  the  life  of  a  nation.  We  can  look  BACK 
upon  them  and  surfeit  them  with  praise  ;  but  can  not 
easily  see  them  walking  amongst  us,  and  so  learn  to  cher 
ish  not  kill  the  Prophets.  Through  a  varied  but  stormy 
passage,  with  much  cold,  they  kept  on  their  way,  till  on 
Tuesday,  the  8th  of  June,  there  ccme  a  wild  pigeon  into 
their  ship,1  harbinger  of  land  ;  which  showed  itself  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  the  North-west  about 
ten  leagues.  Here  they  took  many  Codfish  and  Mackerel 
and  refreshed  their  palates,  after  their  long  voyage  of  sev 
enty  days. 

On  Saturday  (12th  June)   they  drew  near 
THEY  REACH     their  port — Salem — and  shot  off  two  pieces  of 

GLAND.       ordnance  as  a  signal  of  their  coming.     Shortly 

after  they  came  to  anchor,  and  their  eyes  dwelt 

upon  the  promised  land.     About  two  o'clock,  Mr.  Endi- 

1  Winthrop'a  Journal 


A.D.  1630.]  SETTLEMENT   OF   BOSTON.  151 

cott  the  Governor,  and  Mr.  Skelton  the  Minister,  with 
Captain  Levett,  came  aboard,  to  give  them  a  hearty  wel 
come  ;  for  they  had  common  hopes  and  fears,  were  united 
in  faith  and  practice,  and  pioneer-life  brings  out  hospital 
ity,  heartiness,  and  good  fellowship.  So  Winthrop,  who 
had  been  chosen  Governor  in  England,  went  on  shore  with 
Endicott,  accompanied  by  some  of  the  assistants  and 
the  women,  to  Nahumkeck  (or  Naumkeag),  where  they 
"  supped  with  a  good  venison  pasty  aud  good  beer,  and 
at  night  returned  to  their  ship."  In  the  mean  time, 
many  of  the  people  on  the  ship  went  ashore  at  Cape 
Ann,  "  and  gathered  store  of  fine  raspberries  ;"  and  at 
evening  an  Indian  came  aboard,  who  spent  the  night 
and  startled  them  by  his  dress  and  manners.  He  was 
their  first  savage,  the  wild  man  of  the  wilderness.  So 
passed  the  first  day  on  this  New  England  shore. 

Winthrop's  arrival  with  friends  and  stores  was  none 
too  soon.  He  found  the  colonists  reduced  to  their  last 
provisions  ;  many  weak  and  sick  ;  some  eighty  having 
died  in  the  winter  before.  The  presence  of  new  faces  in 
spired  their  tired  hearts  with  hope,  and  again  the  strug 
gling  Colony  moved  onward.  Its  beginning,  so  weak, 
might  yet  end  in  peace,  plenty,  and  power.  Who  could 
tell  P1  In  the  eleven  ships  starting  with  Winthrop,  there 
were  some  seven  hundred  persons.  It  was  necessary, 
therefore,  to  look  into  the  resources  of  the  country,  to 
discover  where  it  would  be  best  to  "set  down."  Salem 
was  well,  but  might  there  not  be  better  ?  A  party  of  ex 
plorers  went  up  the  bay  (now  Boston  Harbor,  June  14th, 
1630),  "  made  by  a  great  company  of  islands,  whose  high 
cliffs  shoulder  out  the  sea  ;"2  and  decided  at  last  upon  a 
spot  on  the  Charles  Kiver  (Newton  or  Cambridge),  as  a 
proper  place  to  build  a  city.  But  the  people  were  weak, 
and  sick  with  fevers  and  scurvy,  and  they  could  not  build 
a  city.  They  lay  in  tents  along  the  Charles  River,  and 

1  Winthrop's  Journal;  Young's  Chronicles,  p.  311 

8  Dudley's  Letter  to  the  Countess  of  Lincoln.    Hutchinson's  History. 


152  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1630. 

many  of  the  poorer  people  suffered ;  till  at  last  they 
planted  themselves  where  they  could,  some  at  Charles- 
town,  some  at  Medford,  others  at  Water  town,  Koxbury, 
Lynn,  Dorchester,  and  a  few  on  the  neck  now  called 
Boston,  which  name  they  had  intended  to  give  their  prin 
cipal  place  ;  for  this  simple  and  good  reason,  namely  : 
Among  the  Boston  men  who  came  to  New  England,  were 
Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Dudley,  Mr.  Bellingham,  Mr.  Leverett, 
Mr.  Coddington,  and  Mr.  Hough,  and  Boston  was  a  promi 
nent  town  in  Lincolnshire,  116  miles  north  of  London. 

So  Shawmut  or  Trimountain  was  named  BOS- 
BOSTON.       t°nj  which  name  it  bears  to  this  day  ;  and  the 

17th  of  September  (1630),  is  agreed  upon  as 
the  date  of  its  settlement.  They  set  themselves  to  work 
in  earnest  to  build  houses,  for  the  time  was  short  till  win 
ter  ;  but  their  trials  were  great ;  the  dead-weight  had  to 
be  overcome.  Some  cut  down  trees,  some  hewed  and 
shaped  the  timbers  ;  all  hands  were  turned  to  account. 
Yet  they  labored  under  great  disadvantages  ;  wanting 
every  thing,  tools,  materials,  carts,  and,  above  all,  carpen 
ters  :  for  the  carpenter  is  not  inferior  to  the  priest  or 
poet.  But  they  went  forward,  and  though  many  sick 
ened  and  died,  and  over  a  hundred,  discouraged  with  so 
dreary  an  outlook,  went  back  in  the  ships  to  England, 
the  brave  and  stout-hearted  staid  and  builded.  They 
contracted  with  Captain  Pierce,  that  he  should  return 
from  England  with  all  speed,  and  bring  provisions  and 
stores.  But  great  suffering  came  upon  them,  and  tradi 
tion  loves  to  tell  how  Winthrop  was  dividing  his  last  peck 
of  meal  with  a  starving  man,  when  the  white  wings  of  a 
ship  on  the  line  of  the  ocean  brought  light  and  life  to  the 
wayfarers.  Whether  true  or  not,  it  is  credible  of  noble 
human  nature,  such  as  Winthrop  had.  They  had  fasted 
in  body,  and  had  appointed  a  day  of  fasting  in  spirit  ; 
but  the  arrival  of  Captain  Pierce  changed  it  into  Thanks 
giving.1  (5th  February.) 

1  Hutchinson.  vol.  i.,  p.  23. 


A.D.  1630.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    BOSTON.  153 

The  ships  having  gone,  the  food  decreasing,  and  the 
mortality  increasing,  they  held  fasts  and  prayed  the 
Lord.1  But  he  would  not  yet  be  placated  ;  for  Mr.  Gager, 
a  surgeon,  a  "  right  godly  man,"  died  (Sept.,  1630)  ;  Mr. 
Higginson,  one  of  the  Ministers  of  Salem,  died  ;  the  Lady 
Arhella  Johnson  also  died  ;  and  at  last  died  Mr.  Johnson 
himself,  one  of  the  Undertakers,  and  one  of  their  foremost 
men.  From  the  time  of  their  setting  sail,  in  April,  1630, 
till  December  of  the  same  year,  there  died  about  two  hun 
dred  of  their  number.2  'Twas  a  fearful  affliction  ;  "  so 
IO\Y  had  the  Lord  brought  them  \"  For  it  was  in  this 
spirit  that  afflictions  were  borne  ;  the  right  spirit  too, 
provided  it  does  not  lead  to  fatalism,  despair,  and  death. 

A  halo  of  poetry  lingers  around  the  memory 
of  Lady  Arbella  Johnson,  wife  of  that  well- 
known  and  well-loved  Mr.  Johnson,  who  spent 
his  money  and  his  talents  in  the  service  of  the 
new  Colony.  The  settlers  had  a  respect  for  rank  and 
birth,  and  at  this  period  they  did  indicate  breeding  and 
superiority.  The  colonists  loved  her,  and  were  proud  of 
her  aristocratic  birth.  The  Lady  Arbella  was  a  daughter 
of  the  noble  house  of  Lincoln.  High  born  and  fair,  she 
came  to  the  wilderness,  a  beautiful  flower  driven  by  the 
wild  winds  from  her  sheltered  garden  to  this  desolate 
shore.  But  she  was  generous,  and  strong  in  her  love  and 
sympathy  for  those  with  whom  she  lived.  She  shared  in 
the  excitements  and  privations  incident  to  life  in  the 
wilderness,  and  though  one  of  the  first  buried  there,  has 
left  a  memory  that  is  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  the  gen 
tle  and  good. 

What  with  famine,  sickness,  deaths,  Church  organi 
zations  and  State  settlements,  building  of  houses  and 
allotting  of  lands,  hunting  of  deer  and  catching  of  fish, 
making  friends  of  the  Indians  and  trading  for  corn, 
thanksgiving  for  the  past  and  prayers  for  the  future — 
life  was  not  dull,  nor  were  the  bodies,  minds,  and  souls  of 

1  Dudley's  Letter  to  Countess  of  Lincoln.         2  Prince's  Chronology. 

7* 


154  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1630. 

the  people  idle.  Other  and  more  exciting  incidents  occa 
sionally  happened. 

THOMAS  MORTON,  who  had  settled  at  "  Merry-Mount," 
would  live  in  his  free,  reckless  way,  fearing  neither  man 
nor  God,  as  the  Pilgrims  thought  ;  he  would  sell  guns 
and  fire-water  to  the  Indians  ;  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
"  shoot  hail-shot"  into  them,  because  they  refused  to  bring 
him  a  canoe  to  cross  the  river.  By  doing  such  things  he 
was  discrediting  all  the  whites,  and  giving  the  Indiars 
both  a  cause  and  the  means  to  be  dangerous.  The  whole 
community  were  exercised,  and,  seizing  Morton,  they  set 
him  in  the  bilboes,  burned  his  house  to  the  ground  in 
sight  of  the  Indians,  and  sent  him  away  prisoner  to  En- 
gland.i 

So,  too,  the  story  (December,  1630)  went  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  how  a  company  of  six  men  and  a  girl,  going  in 
a  boat  to  Plymouth,  were  driven  out  to  sea  by  a  storm, 
and  losing  their  "  Killock-stone,"  could  not  bring  them 
selves  to  anchor  ;  the  next  morning  they  were  out  of  sight 
of  land,  and  the  cold  increasing,  there  was  nothing  for 
them  to  do  but  to  lie  down  and  die  ;  but  one  of  the  men, 
having  heart  and  courage,  kept  looking  for  land,  and 
spying  it,  he  set  the  sail,  and  they  were  driven  ashore 
about  fifty  miles  from  Plymouth  ;  and  meeting  there  with 
some  Indians,  got  help  toward  Plymouth,  where  they 
were  kindly  cared  for.  Three  of  them  died,  however,  and 
one  Garvard,  "  was  a  godly  man."  All  the  other  boats 
but,  this,  "  God  had  preserved."2 

Sir  CHRISTOPHER  GARDINER  too,  calling  himself  a 
Knignt  of  the  Sepulcher,  gave  occasion  for  much  gossip 
and  scandal ;  for,  instead  of  being  a  Knight,  "  he  had 
two  wives  living  in  London,"  both  of  whom  had  written 
the  Governor,  one  of  them  desiring  his  return  and  amend 
ment,  while  the  other  only  wished  his  destruction.  He 
was  an  agent  of  Gorges,  and  sent  by  him  to  look  into 
matters  pertaining  to  his  grants.  When  the  men  went  to 

1  Dudley's  Letter.  a  Dudley's  Letter.     Winthrop's  Journal. 


A.D.  1631.]  SETTLEMENT    OF   BOSTON.  155 

his  house;  some  seven  miles  away  to  fetch  him,  he  took 
his  gun  and  disappeared  in  the  woods  ;  hut,  sad  to  tell, 
there  was  living  with  him  one  called  his  kinswoman,  who 
was  believed  to  he  any  thing  hut  what  she  should  he, 
"  living  with  him  after  the  Italian  method."  She,  refus 
ing  to  confess  any  more  than  she  saw  fit,  much  distressed 
the  whole  people,  and,  as  no  better  way  was  hit  upon  for 
disposing  of  her,  she  was  sent  back  "  to  the  two  wives  in 
Old  England,  that  they  might  search  her  further/'1 

So  difficult  was  it  to  get  away  from  the  wickedness  of 
Satan,  who,  even  in  this  virgin  land,  and  among  these 
Puritan  people,  would  thrust  himself  in  where  his  com 
pany  was  no  ways  wanted.  It  was  discovered  that  Gar 
diner  was  a  papist,  which  was  worse  than  all ;  and  the 
Indians,  having  found  him,  came  in  to  ask  if  they  might 
kill  him  ;  but  it  was  thought  best  to  ship  him  away  to 
England,  where,  with  his  three  wives,  and  his  "  Italian 
method,"  and  his  popery,  he  would  not  poison  Massa 
chusetts.  In  1631,  Philip  Katcliff,  agent  for  Governor 
Craclock,  indulging  in  freedom  of  speech,  pronounced 
harsh  judgments  on  some  of  the  authorities  ;  also  against 
the  Churches.  This  could  not  be  borne,  and  he  was 
condemned  to  lose  his  ears.  They  were  cut  off.  He  was 
afterward  whipped  and  banished,  which  processes  did  not 
serve  to  increase  his  love  for  the  colonists.  He  hated 
them  bitterly,  and  did  them  mischief  in  England. 

And  in  March,  1631,  one  of  the  men  of  Watertown, 
having  lost  his  calf,  and  hearing  the  wolves  howling  in 
the  night,  got  up,  and  shot  off  his  musket  several  times 
to  frighten  wolves  ;  but  the  wind  carrying  the  report  to 
"  Rocksbury,"  much  frightened  the  people,  so  that  they 
roused  up  themselves  and  beat-up  their  drum,  and  sent 
off  to  Boston  for  more  help,  for  what  could  it  mean  ?  No 
doubt  the  Indians  were  coming !  But  next  morning  the 
calf  was  found  safe,  the  wolves  and  the  people  being  well 
frightened.  The  former  had  disappeared,  and  the  latter 

1  Winthrop's  Journal. 


156  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1631. 

went  "  merrily  to  breakfast."  This  was  a  good  joke,  and 
one  and  another  was  quaintly  rallied,  how  "  great  fear  and 
trembling  had  come  upon  him,  making  all  his  bones  to 
shake."1  (Job,  ch.  iv.,  v.  14.) 

And  one  afternoon  the  Governor  (Winthrop)  being  out 
at  his  farm  at  Mistick,  took  his  gun  for  a  short  walk ; 
but  it  becoming  suddenly  dark,  he  could  not  find  his  way 
back,  and  was  obliged  to  make  up  a  fire,  and  spend  the 
night  in  the  woods,  walking  up  and  down,  and  "  singing 
Psalms."  He  came  safe  home  again  the  next  morning, 
much  to  the  delight  of  his  servants,  who  had  spent  the 
night  in  hallooing,  and  shooting  off  guns,  hoping  that 
he  might  hear  them. 

These  are  among  some  of  the  unimportant  incidents, 
which  serve  to  show  what  the  first  life  in  the  new  world 
was. 

1  Dudley's  Letter.    Winthrop's  Journal 


CHAPTER    XX. 

SETTLEMENTS  AT  THE  TIME  OF  WINTHROP'S  COMING-. 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND    COAST— THE    FRENCH  AT  ACADIA— MARYLAND— PLYMOUTH  TEADING- 
HOUSE  CAPTURED. 

THE  Settlements,  when  Winthrop  arrived,  were  few 
and  small.1  Sir  John  Popham  had  attempted  one  in 
1607  at  Sagadehoc,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebeck  in 
Maine,  but  it  proved  a  failure.  Weston's,  at  Wessagus- 
set,  (now  Weymouth)  begun  in  1622,  had  dispersed,  as  had 
that  of  Gorges,  begun  at  the  same  place  in  1623.  Thomp- 

1  The  "  PLYMOUTH  COUNCIL  FOR  NEW  ENGLAND"  were  appointed  by  the 
King  (Nov.  3),  1620,  with  powers  to  make  grants  and  settlements  in  Amer 
ica,  1635.  They  seem  to  have  granted  with  little  care,  as  follows: 

9  March,  1621-2,  To  Captain  John  Mason,. from  Salem  River  to  Merri- 
mack  River,  called  Mariana. 

10  Aug.,  1622,  To  Mason  and  Ferdinando  Gorges,  between  Merrimack 
and  Sagadehock  Rivers,  called  Laconia. 

13  Dec.,  1622,  To  Robert  Gorges,  10  miles  by  30  miles  square  on  Mass. 
Bay.  (No  use  was  ever  made  of  this.) 

19  March,  1627-8,  To  the  "Massachusetts  Company,"  between  3  miles 
south  of  the  Charles,  and  three  miles  north  of  the  Merrimack  Rivers.  (Set 
tlements  were  attempted  upon  the  above  grants.) 

1630.  To  the  Earl  of  "Warwick  (what  is  now  Connecticut),  afterward  pur 
chased  by  Lords  Say  and  others.     (Title  questioned.) 

7  Nov.,  1629,  To  John  Mason,  between  Merrimack  and  Piscataqua 
Rivers. 

1631.  To  Mason  and  Gorges,  a  re -grant  of  portions  of  what  was  granted 
before. 

1635-6.  To  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  some  part  of  Connecticut. 

April,  1635.  To  John  Mason,  from  Naumkeag  to  Piscataqua  River  (New 
Hampshire.) 

1635.  To  Ferdinando  Gorges,  between  Kennebeck  and  New  Hampshire, 
(B.) 

1635.  The  Great  Patent  was  surrendered  to  the  Crown. 


158  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1632.. 

son's  settlement,  with  the  Hiltons,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Piscataqua,  New  Hampshire,  begun  in  1623,  had  come  to 
nothing.  There  was  a  small  settlement  at  Cape  Ann 
(Gloucester)  and  one  at  Nantasket  (Hull)  ;  both  begun 
in  1624.  Winisimet  (Chelsea)  was  begun  in  1627,  and 
Naumkeag  (Salem)  in  1627.  Wollaston's  Company,  who 
were  at  Quincey  in  1625,  held  on  for  some  time  after  the 
arrival  of  Endicott  in  1628,  under  the  lead  of  Thomas 
Morton.  Koger  Clap,  and  a  few  others,  had  been  set 
ashore  (May,  1630)  by  the  Captain  of  the  ship  "  Mary 
and  John/'  and  had  worked  up  to  the  Dorchester  fields, 
where  they  had  begun  a  settlement. 

The  Plymouth  Settlement  had  sustained  itself.  It  may 
be  well  to  remember,  that  none  of  the  settlements,  inspired 
merely  with  an  eye  to  trade,  had  been  able  to  sustain 
themselves  against  all  obstacles  and  reverses.  Both  the 
Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay  settlers  were  strong  in 
the  hope  of  establishing  their  religious  opinions  and  wor 
ship  ;  and  they  struck  their  roots  deep  and  grew  vigorous 
ly,  if  slowly. 

The  FRENCH  had  been  hovering  over  the  coast  since 
they  had  been  routed  from  Lacady  (Nova  Scotia — Acadia) 
in  1613,  by  Sir  Samuel  Argall,  but  with  small  results.1 
During  the  war  between  England  and  France,  in  1628, 
Port  Royal  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  and 
in  the  next  year,  Quebec  was  taken  by  them  ;  the  brave 
Champlain  welcoming  the  English  as  saviors  from  starva 
tion.  In  1632  news  came  of  the  selling  of  Canada  and 
Lacady,  by  Charles  I.  (in  1629)  to  the  King  of  France. 
Thus  Richelieu  came  to  possess  "  one  of  the  finest  prov 
inces  of  the  known  world  for  fishery,  masts,  and  harbors,"2 
while  Charles  was  busy  about  church  ceremonies  and 
court  tailoring. 

1  In  1603,  Henry  IV.  of  France  had  granted  to  De  Monts  the  territory 
of  L'  Acadie — extending  from  40°  to  46°  of  north  latitude,  with  power  to 
subdue  and  Christianize  the  inhabitants. 

3  Prince's  Annals.  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  28.  Bancroft,  vol.  L,  p.  325. 
Belknap's  Biography  and  Annals ;  De  Monts. 


A.D.  1632.]  FIEST    SETTLEMENT.  159 

Other  news,  too,  came  to  the  colonists,  how  the  king  had 
granted  to  Lord  Baltimore,  a  "  papist,"  a  large  seignory, 
to  be  called  Maryland,  with  power,  and  prerogatives 
greater  than  ever  before  bestowed.  These  were  grievous 
tidings,  foreshadows  of  evil.  But  mingled  with  them, 
came  the  sound  of  the  great  Gustavus's  guns,  who  fought 
in  Germany  for  the  Protestant  faith,  and  overran  Pome- 
rania,  Bavaria,  and  Swabia,  beating  the  conqueror  Tilly  in 
a  hundred  battles.  The  Calvinists  and  Protestants  gave 
thanks  and  praised  the  Lord  ]l  till  at  last,  at  the  fatal 
battle  of  Lutzen  (Nov.  6,  1632),  the  star  of  the  Swedish 
king  set  in  blood,  and  the  faces  of  the  Protestants  were 
darkened. 

The  French,  however,  gave  the  planters  but  little 
trouble,  till  a  party  of  them  (June  1632),2  in  a  small 
vessel,  came  down  to  the  trading-house  of  the  Plymouth 
Company,  at  Penobscot  ;  and  finding  most  of  their  men 
away,  after  many  "  congees"  and  soft  phrases,  borrowing 
the  guns  which  were  racked  there  meanwhile,  they  took 
violent  possession  of  some  £400  or  £500  of  beaver  and 
goods,  and  sailed  away,  leaving  their  respects  only  for  the 
master.  Prince  says  they  were  led  on  by  a  false  Scot  ("  I 
suppose  a  Papist"),  to  do  this  very  impolite  deed.  The 
French  commander  afterward  took  and  kept  possession  of 
the  place,  giving  the  Plymouth  men  "bills  for  the  goods," 
who  did  not  recover  the  place.3 

The  French  were  unable  in  the  end,  to  cope  with  these 
religious  English,  though  they  held  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia  for  more  than  a  century,  and  strung  a  chain  of 
forts  and  stations  westward,  along  the  Lakes  to  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi.4 

1  "Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  p,  90.  a  Prince's  Chron. 

3  Hubbard's  History,  p.  1 62. 

4  See  Chapter  on  the  French  in  America,  vol.  ii. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

FORTIFIED    TOWN. 

NJJWTOWN — CAMBRIDGE — EMIGRATION — THE    SHIPS     STAYED — CHARTER     RECALLED — NUM 
BERS   WHO   CAME— INDIAN   CORN— WINTER— CLIMATE. 

THERE  were  reasons  enough  why  the  Massachusetts  set 
tlers  should  build  an  inclosed  and  fortified  town.  They 
consulted  together  and  decided  to  do  it ;  for  what  might 
they  not  have  to  fear  from  Indians  and  enemies  ?  So  in 
the  winter  of  1630-31,  they  began  their  houses  at  New- 
town  (Cambridge).  Deputy-Governor  Dudley  framed  and 
finished  his  house  there,  and  Governor  Winthrop  began 
his  ;  but  time  brought  changes,  and  Winthrop  took  down 
his  frame  and  set  it  up  at  Boston  ;  which  was  a  disap 
pointment,  and  the  beginning  of  heart-burnings  between 
Dudley  and  Winthrop,  that  in  the  end  came  to  a  heat. 
Winthrop's  good  sense  led  him  to  think  that  Boston 
promontory  possessed  advantages,  and  that  it  was  unwise 
to  waste  their  little  strength  in  fortifications.  They  after 
ward  renewed  their  plan  and  palisaded  Newtown,  fearing 
the  Indians. 

The  tide  of  emigration  seemed  to  flow  and  ebb ;  through 
1630  it  was  at  the  flood  ;  in  1631  it  nearly  ceased.  Cli 
mate  and  the  sufferings  of  settlers  were  against  free  emi 
gration  ;  and  besides,  Morton,  Ratcliff,  and  Gardiner 
were  busy  in  England  against  the  Colonists.  In  1631 
only  ninety  persons  came  over.  But  again,  in  1632,  the 
current  set  westward  ;  the  colonists  not  having  been  mo 
lested,  and  Laud's  pesterings  in  England  increasing  in 
virulence,  many  ships  then  prepared  to  start,  and  some  of 
England's  best  men  were  about  deserting  her;  among  them 


A.D.  1632.]  FORTIFIED    TOWN.  161 

the  Lords  Say,  Seal,  and  Rich.  John  Hampden,  Salton- 
stall,  Pym,  Cromwell,  and  the  younger  Yane  ;  when,  on 
the  21st  February,  1633,  the  king  in  council  issued  an 
order  to  stay  the  ships,  and  directed  Mr.  Cradock  to  cause 
the  Chapter  to  be  returned.  It  might  have  been  well  for 
the  king  if  he  had  helped  them  to  go  ;  he  hindered,  but 
did  not  press  the  matter,  and  the  emigration  was  not  all 
stayed  ;  but  before  the  year  1640  the  prospect  of  reform 
in  England,  caused  men  to  stay  there,  "  in  hopes  of  a 
new  world/' 

By  the  year  1640  (when  the  flush  of  emigra 
tion  ceased)  some  four  thousand  families  and 

11  11  -XT 

twenty  thousand  persons,  had  come  into  New 
England,  as  was  supposed.1  False  and  narrow 
men  were  among  them,  but  the  quality  generally  was  good. 
The  persons  wanted  were :  first,  merchants  skilled  in 
commerce  ;  second,  seamen  ;  third,  husbandmen ;  fourth, 
all  manual  occupations,  "  only  printers  of  cards  and  dice- 
makers  I  could  wish  to  forbear."2  Drones  and  broken- 
down  gentlemen  and  scheming  adventurers,  were  not 
wanted  in  this  new  land,  and  the  temptations  at  first  were 
not  sufficient  to  bring  them  over.  No  doubt  the  troubles 
of  getting  under  way  were  hard  to  bear,  but  nothing  can 
stand  against  a  bold  determination.  Once  or  twice  they 
suffered  for  want  of  food,  but  the  bays  and  rivers  were 
full  of  fish  and  fowl,  and  their  resources  were  soon  ample. 
INDIAN  CORN  was  their  staple  grain.  They  found  some 
cleared  fields,  where  the  Indians  had  raised  it,  and  from 
them  they  learned  the  simple  methods  of  cultivation  ;  for 
some  years,  they  had  only  their  hands  and  their  hoes  with 
which  to  tear  up  the  stubborn  Massachusetts  soil,  but 
the  bounty  of  God  is  great,  and  this  grain  yielded  abund 
antly  even  with  such  scant  tillage.  Now  and  then  (1632) 
a  wet  and  dark  and  cold  summer  cut  it  short ;  when  a 
long  dreary  winter  opened  before  them,  like  the  Valley  of 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  93.     This  is  probably  an  over-estimate. 
8  Good  News  from  New  England :  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  4th  Series. 


162  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1632. 

the  Shadow  of  Death  ;  spring,  and  heaven,  and  sunshine, 
and  joy,  were  on  the  other  side,  but  how  should  they  reach 
them  ?  Few  of  them  turned  hack ;  they  trusted  in  their 
hands  and  hearts  and  went  forward  on  their  way. 

An  idea  prevailed  there,  that  WINTER  broke  up  on  the 
10th  day  of  February,  and  that  for  years  he  had  held  him 
self  to  this  day — unlocking  then  his  icy  jaws.  Every  tenth 
year,  too,  was  very  mild ;  so  the  Indians  said.1  All  the 
early  writers  found  it  necessary  to  show  how  good  the  cli 
mate  was. 

Upon  this  matter  of  climate,  a  strange  hallucination 
exists — most  persons  being  quite  certain,  that  somewhere 
there  exists  a  climate  whose  heat  is  freshness,  and  whose 
frost  is  mildness  ;  whose  winds  are  balmy  breezes,  whose 
dews  are  dropping  honey  ;  where  the  fever  of  life  is  tem 
pered,  the  throbbing  of  the  tender  nerves  stilled  ;  where 
sleep  is  sweet,  and  waking  cheery  ;  where  health  overflows, 
and  knowledge  and  control  are  unnecessary;  where  happi 
ness  is  a  satiety,  and  life  only  a  present  pleasure  and  a 
future  hope.  With  such  expectations,  no  one  finds  his 
own  climate  exactly  what  is  needed  for  perfect  develop 
ment,  and  of  course  all  his  short-comings  are  laid  on  its 
broad  shoulders. 

The  early  writers  of  New  England  did  not  take  such 
a  view  of  their  climate.  They  needed  settlers  and 
friends,  and  their  climate  seemed  almost  perfect.  Wood 
had  been  "  carefully  hatched,"  yet  had  pleurisy  and  dis 
ease  sapped  his  life  in  England  ;  while  in  New  England, 
"  scarce  did  I  know  what  belonged  to  a  day's  sickness." 3 
A  short  account  by  another  hand,  will  well  enough  illustrate 
the  different  eyes  of  observers.  A  Church  of  England 
man  says  :  "  In  New  England,  the  transitions  from  heat 
to  cold  are  short  and  sudden,  and  the  extremes  of  both  very 
sensible.  We  are  sometimes  frying,  and  at  others  freez 
ing  ;  and  as  men  often  die  at  their  labor  in  the  field,  by 
heat,  so  some  in  winter  are  froze  to  death  with  the  cold/' 

1  Wood's  N.  E.  Prospect,  p.  4  a  Page  11. 


A.D.  1632.]  FORTIFIED   TOWN.  163 

"  As  from  my  lands  (in  Eliode  Island)  I  can  see  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  I  have  seen  it  froze  as  far  as  the  human 
eye  could  reach  ;  and  'tis  common  in  a  beautiful  salt  lake 
that  fronts  my  farm,  to  have  the  ice  three  feet  thick  every 
winter." l 

The  Puritan  saw  the  good,  the  Churchman  the  evil,  of 
the  country. 

1  America  Dissected.      1752.      By  James  Macsparren,    "a  Clergyman 
there." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

WINTHROP,   DUDLEY,   YANE,    AND   ENDICOTT. 

WINTHROP — HE  AND  DUDLEY  QUARREL — ROTATION  IN  OFFICE — THE  REPRESENTATIVE 
SYSTEM — DUDLEY — JOHN  HAYNES — THE  QUARREL  REVIVES — VANE  CHOSEN  GOVERN 
OR,  1636— DANGER  OF  ELECTION  RIOTS— VANE  DEFEATED— SIR  HARRY  VANE— VANB 
ADVOCATES  TOLERATION — MRS.  HUTCHINSON — VANE  RETURNS  TO  ENGLAND — TAKES 
THE  REPUBLICAN  SIDE — HE  AND  CROMWELL  QUARREL — VANE'S  CHARACTER — IS  BE 
HEADED — ENDICOTT. 

JOHN  WINTHROP  was  the  model  man  of  Boston.  He 
was  rich,  well  educated,  gentlemanly  ;  he  was  dignified 
and  pure-minded.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  and  in  the 
fullness  of  his  powers,  when  he  came  to  Massachusetts  in 
1630 — being  forty-three  years  old.  He  had  some  knowl 
edge  of  the  Law,  and  had  been  chosen  Governor  by  the 
Company  in  England.  Possessed  of  an  estate  worth  some 
£700  a  year,  he  was  able  to  devote  his  time  and  talents  to 
the  service  of  the  State  ;  and  having  a  mild  and  generous 
disposition,  was  disinclined  to  harshness  and  severity,  and 
disposed  at  the  outset  to  leave  society  to  work  out  its  own 
shape — such  seeming  to  him  the  wiser  course.  But  this 
did  not  suit  the  more  rigorous  views  of  such  as  Dudley  and 
Endicott,  who  were  for  compelling  uniformity.  With  his 
accustomed  pliancy,  Winthrop  yielded  too  much,  and  gave 
way  to  others,  in  the  persecutions  which  were  carried  on 
against  Koger  Williams,  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  and  Minister 
Wheelwright.  But  his  kindness  of  heart  rarely  deserted 
him,  and  he  wrote  privately  to  Williams  to  sustain  and 
encourage  him,  after  he  had  fled.1  Winthrop  was  a  con 
servative,  and  feared  to  trust  the  people  far ;  which  will 
in  some  degree  serve  to  explain  his  readiness  to  acqui- 
1  See  Chap.  xsv. 


A.B.  1647.]  WINTHROP.  165 

esce  in  measures  which  his  heart  condemned.  Yet  he 
was  by  no  means  incapable  of  anger,  nor  always  weak  in 
an  emergency.  In  his  dispute  with  Dudley,  he  got  into 
a  round  passion,  and  used  as  high  words  as  Dudley  did  ; 
but  he  was  magnanimous  and  generous,  and  ready  to  for 
give  and  forget.  The  avidity  with  which  the  people  left 
him,  in  1636,  to  seize  upon  young  Sir  Harry  Vane,  to  ele 
vate  him  to  the  post  of  Governor,  mortified  and  disturbed 
him  ;  but  he  waited  his  time,  regained  his  place  in  the 
popular  favor,  and  through  life  was  the  first  man  in  Mas 
sachusetts.  His  private  life  was  charming,  and  his  letters 
to  his  wife,  who  remained  for  a  time  in  England,  are  full 
of  the  tenderest  sympathy  and  love.  But  she  died,  and  he 
afterward  [1647]  married  Martha  Coytemore,  the  relict  of 
Thomas  Coytemore.1 

1  The  inventory  of  the  property  of  the  rich  widow,  is  worth  preserving,  as 
a  sign  of  those  times : 
"A  parcell  of  books,  £7  8s.  8d,  a  feather  bed  and  boulster, 

£3,  together,  ......    £10     8     8 

"A  bed  steed,  trundle  bed,  with  roapes  and  mats,         .  .         1  10     0 

"2  pr.  striped  curtens,  and  valance,  and  green  rug,        .  .         2  10     0 

"  1  feather  bed,  flock,  boulster,  pillow,  blankets,  red  rug,  and 

trundle  bed,  .  .  .  .  .  1  15     0 

u  A  pr.  brass  hollow  andirons,  fire-shovell,  tongs,  and  creepers,  115  0 
"A  ciprus  chest,  £2  10s.,  7  pr.  Holland  sheets,  £10,  .  12  10  0 

"  3  diaper  table  cloathes,  3-^  duss.  napkins,  2  cold,  clothes,  and 

a  damask  napkin,      .  .  .  .  .  .7100 

"  4  pr.  Holland  pillow  bears,  3  cold,  clothes,  1  duss.  napkins,  2 

towels,          .  .  .  .  .  .  .350 

"  3^  duss.  napkins,  £1  125.  6d,  2  pr.  sheets  and  1  pr.  pillow 

beers,  £1  6s.,  .  .  .  .  .  2  18     6 

"1  pr.  striped  silke  curtens  and  valence,  5  windo  curtens,  2 

windo  cloths,  1  cold,  cloth,  and  chimney  do.,  .  .         500 

"  1  green  cloth  carpet,  1  cold,  do.,  1  chimney,  do.,  and  a  little 

table  cloth,  .  .  .  .  .  .  3  10     0 

"  1  silk  red  and  green  quilt,  £2  10s.,  a  little  Turkey  carpet, 

£1  6s.,  .  .  .  .  .  .  3  16     0 

"  A  suite  of  red  tabie,  £3,  54£  oz.  of  plate,  at  4s.  6d.,  being 

half—  whole,  £12  6s.  4d, 15     6     4 

"A  parcel  of  cheney  plates  and  saucers,  £1,  1  trunk,  2  flaskets, 

4  cases,  12s.,  .  .  .  .  .  1  12     0 

"A  meridian  compass,  and  etc.,  etc.,      .  .  .  1  14    0 


166  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1634. 

Winthrop  was  subject  to  many  griefs,  first  in  the  loss  of 
his  wife,  then  of  his  children,  and  then  of  his  property, 
through  unfaithful  agents  ;  he  died  at  the  early  age  of 
sixty-two.  He  left  us  the  most  faithful  and  valuable  his 
tory  of  that  early  time,  extending  from  1630  to  1648.  It 
is  well,  and  in  great  part,  fairly  written,  and  is  a  fitting 
monument  of  his  own  life.  The  following  sketch  of  his 
character,  by  Cotton  Mather,  will  show  how  fulsome  the 
praise  of  the  pulpit  was  : 

"  Our  New  England  shall  tell  and  boast  of  her  WIN 
THROP,  a  lawgiver  as  patient  as  Lycurgus,  but  not  admit 
ting  any  of  his  criminal  disorders  ;  as  devout  as  Numa, 
but  not  liable  to  any  of  his  heathenish  madnesses  ;  a 
Governour  in  whom  the  excellencies  of  Christianity  made 
a  most  improving  addition  unto  the  virtues,  wherein  even 
without  those  he  would  have  made  a  parallel  for  the  great 
men  of  Greece,  or  of  Rome,  which  the  pen  of  a  Plutarch 
has  eternized."  The  emphasis  to  this  character  is  here  pre 
served,  as  it  is  left  to  us,  in  the  Magnalia.  (Vol.  i.,  p.  109.) 

Winthrop  and  Dudley  were  for  some  years  the  two 
leading  men  in  the  settlement.  This  grew  out  of  their 
superior  wealth,  education,  and  talents.  The  first  had 
been  chosen  Governor,  and  the  other  Deputy,  which  places 
they  held  until  1634 ;  when  Dudley  was  advanced  to  be 
Governor.  Winthrop  was  the  calmer  man  of  the  two, 
from  temperament  as  well  as  from  his  discipline  ;  but 
Dudley  was  a  positive  man,  downright  and  upright,  and 
did  not  always  look  with  patience  upon  the  cautious,  if 
not  temporizing  ways  of  Winthrop. 


"An  old  coverlet  tent,  26£  Ibs.  powder,  at  20d.  per  lb.,  .  £2  18  2 
"  2  brasse  skellets,  2  spits,  1  jack,  1  stewpan,  £2  65.,  halfe  the 

farther  Mill,  £100,    .            .            .            .            .            .  102  6  0 

"Land  beside  all  apportioned  to  ye  child,  £12  10s.,  a  tapestry 

coverlet,  £1  65.,  .  .  .  .  .  13  16  0 

"  12  leather  chayres,  £1  10s.,  2  ould  coverlets,  etc.,  .  .  4  11  0 


And  so  on  in  detail,  amounting  in  all  to  .  .  £620  10     8 


A.D.  1632.]  DUDLEY.  167 

In  April,  1632,  Dudley  had  resigned  his  of 
fice  in  displeasure,  and  in  May  (1),  the  Gov-  ™™U°D- 
ernor  and  Assistants  met  at  Boston  to  consider  LEY|E£UAE~ 
of  it ;  they  all  maintained  that  he  could  not  do 
it,  except  by  consent  of  the  power  that  put  him  there, 
which  he  did  not  agree  to.  But  the  meeting  went  on  to 
discuss  Dudley's  bargains  ;  selling  seven  and  a  half  bush 
els  of  corn  to  receive  ten  for  it  at  harvest,  was  held  by  the 
Governor  and  others  to  be  usurious  ;  this  Dudley  resented 
sharply  ;  then  came  up  the  matter  of  Dudley's  house, 
which  Winthrop  had  cautioned  him,  about  adorning  and 
wainscotting  so  much,  in  the  beginning  of  a  new  Colony. 
This  was  before  dinner,  and  there  were  high  words.  After 
it,  a  hot  discussion  was  held  about  the  propriety  of  allow 
ing  the  whole  body  of  freemen  to  vote  in  the  election  of 
Governor.1  And  on  the  8th  of  May,  it  was  agreed  by  the 
General  Court,  that  the  Governor  and  Assistants  should 
be  chosen  anew  every  year,  by  the  General  Court.  At  this 
time,  Winthrop  and  Dudley  were  reconciled,  and  "  things 
were  carried  on  very  lovingly/'  and  the  "  people"  carried 
themselves  with  much  silence  and  modesty.  But  the  dif 
ferences  between  Winthrop  and  Dudley  were  not  so  ended. 
Dudley  brought  his  discontent  with  Winthrop  (who  he 
thought  took  too  much  upon  himself),  before  the  Minis 
ters  convened  at  Charlestown,  August  6,  1632.  After 
prayer,  the  Deputy  stated  his  grievances,  some  of  which, 
the  Ministers  allowed  against  Winthrop.  But  after  din 
ner,  when  Dudley  charged  that  he  had  exceeded  his 
authority,  the  Governor  claimed  that  the  Patent  gave 
him  whatever  belonged  to  a  Governor  by  Common-law,  or 
the  Statutes,  etc. ;  then  the  Deputy  began  to  be  in  a  pas 
sion,  "and  told  the  Governor  that  if  he  were  so  round  he 
would  be  round  too.  The  Governor  bade  him  be  round  if 
he  would.  So  the  Deputy  rose  up  in  great  fury  and  pas 
sion,  and  the  Governor  grew  very  hot  also,  as  they  both 

1  Winthrop's  Journal 


168  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

fell  into  bitterness  ;  but  by  mediation  of  the  mediators 
they  were  soon  pacified/'1 

In  May,  1634,  Dudley  was  chosen  Governor,  "rotation 
in  office"  beginning  to  assert  itself  as  the  rule.  At  this 
Court,  too,  it  was  voted  that  Towns  might  send  delegates 
to  three  of  the  four  General  Courts — the  whole  body  of 
freemen  only  being  required  to  vote  at  the  election  ;  thus 
arose  out  of  their  necessity  the  Representative  system. 

THOMAS  DUDLEY  had  reached  the  ripe  age  of  fifty-four 
when  he  came  to  New  England,  in  1630.  He  was  well  in 
years  to  undertake  such  a  strange  and  arduous  service  as  the 
planting  of  a  new  Colony.  But  he  was  a  robust  man,  had 
been  a  soldier ;  and  stimulated  by  the  principles  of  the 
Puritans,  he  took  hold  of  the  new  enterprise  with  vigor 
and  determination.  In  England  he  had  been  the  business 
man  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton,  and  had  restored  order 
to  his  disordered  estates,  and  ease  to  his  damaged  finances. 
Dudley  was  a  man  of  rugged  honesty  and  blunt  manners, 
impatient  of  control  or  opposition  ;  he  never  stooped  to 
conciliate  others,  but  drove  on  his  own  way,  and  was  what 
might  be  called  a  hard,  prejudiced  man  ;  but  he  was  in 
capable  of  deceit  or  meanness,  and  was  worth  a  thousand 
time-serving  politicians,  in  the  infancy  of  that  new  State. 
He  was  at  various  times  intrusted  with  the  highest  inter 
ests  of  the  Colony.  He  sternly  opposed  Mrs.  Hutchinson, 
and  was  ready  to  sacrifice  his  Minister,  Mr.  Cotton,  rather 
than  yield  to  those  who  claimed  religious  toleration.  Be 
ing  a  man  of  property,  he  was  much  respected,  but  not 
loved  by  his  fellow-citizens.  He  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of 
seventy-seven,  and  died  in  1653. 

To  continue  the  "  rotation/'  John  Haynes  was  chosen 
Governor  in  1635.  He  was  followed  by  Sir  Harry  Vane, 
1636,  who  had  shortly  before  came  to  the  country.  When 
Winthrop  was  succeeded  by  Dudley,  he  did  not  altogether 
escape  censure  ;  the  fact  that  Winthrop  was  then  exam 
ined  is  well,  for  no  man  need  be  so  great,  that  what- 

1  Winthrop's  Journal. 


A.D.  1635.]  SIR   HARRY   VANE.  169 

ever  he  does  is  presumed  to  be  right,  because  he  does  it. 
But  Winthrop  left  his  post  with  dignity  and  untarnished 
integrity  ;  and  he  might  have  torn  his  books  of  accounts, 
as  Scipio  Africanus  did,  and  said,  "  A  flourishing  Colony 
has  been  led  out  and  settled  under  my  direction.  I  have 
spent  myself  and  my  fortune  in  its  service.  Waste  no 
more  time  in  harangues,  but  give  thanks  to  God."  1 

The  old  differences  between  Winthrop  and  Dudley 
smoldered,  breaking  out  from  time  to  time  into  flame 
and  faction,  Sir  Harry  Vane  and  Hugh  Peters  (who 
came  over  in  Oct.  1635)  brought  them  and  the  authorities 
together,  when  it  seemed  the  difficulty  resolved  itself  into 
the  over-leniency  of  Winthrop,  and  over-severity  of  Dud 
ley.  The  matter  was  fully  discussed,  and  put  to  vote, 
and  the  vote  was  against  Winthrop.  Winthrop  express 
ed  himself  convinced,  and  promised  to  exercise  more 
strictness  hereafter.  Their  differences  were  satisfactorily 
settled,  and  they  lived  "lovingly  together"  after  that, 
Winthrop  continuing  (after  1636)  to  be  chosen  Governor 
till  his  death,  March  26th,  1649.2 

In  1635  came  over  Sir  Harry  Vane,  the  Minister  Mr. 
John  Cotton,  and  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson,  three  of  the 
most  remarkable  persons  in   the  early  clays  of  New  En 
gland,  between  whom  there  was  a  strong  sympathy,  es 
pecially  in  religious  tendencies.     The  advent  of  Vane  was 
looked  upon  with  great  favor  ;  for  he  was  a  man  of  birth, 
wealth,  and  decided  talent,  with    strong  religious  ideas 
tending  to   Puritanism,  and  reform  in  Church 
and  State.     His  manners  and  conversation  com-         VANE 
mended  him  to  the  people  in  the  Colony,  and       <^>B. 
he  was  at  once  elected  Governor  in  May,  1636. 
For  a  few  months  things  went  on  well,  till  Mrs.  Hutchin 
son,  "  the  masterpiece  of  woman's  wit,"  as  the  orthodox 
Johnson  called  her,  developed  her  doctrines,  and  found 
friends  and  supporters  in  Vane  and  Cotton.     A  powerful 
party  was  formed  against  her,  and  against  Vane  and  Cot- 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  4.0.  *  Mather's  Magnalia. 

8 


170  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

tori;  while  nearly  the  whole  of  Boston  town,  where  Cot 
ton  was  Minister,  were  staunch  in  his  support.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  went  down  before  the  tempest,  and  was  ban 
ished,  as  was  the  Minister  Wheelwright,  her  brother-in- 
law.1 

The  people  in  Boston  resented  this  severity,  and  at  the 
General  Court  in  May,  1637,  sent  up  their  petition  re 
garding  liberties,  which  Vane  the  Governor  proposed  to 
read  before  going  to  election.  Winthrop,  then  Deputy, 
objected,  because  it  would  consume  time,  and  lead  to  dis 
cussion  ;  but  Vane  persisted,  and  both  parties  grew  hot. 
Wilson,  the  Minister,  mounted  into  a  tree,  and  harangued 
the  people,  who  were  pretty  nearly  divided  between  the 
new  and  the  old  ;  but  many  came  from  a  distance,  and 
wished  to  have  done,  and  so  go  home,  and  they  cried  out, 
"  Election  !  election  !"  and  there  was  great  danger  of  a 
riot  that  day.  Yane  carried  himself  stiffly,  and  was  stung 
with  this  change  in  the  breeze  of  popularity.  Deputy 
Winthrop  declared  that  if  he,  Vane,  did  not  order  the 
election,  he,  Winthrop,  would  ;  whereupon  he  did,  and 
WTinthrop  was  elected  Governor.  This  defeat  mortified 
Vane,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  returned  to  England. 
It  is  a  singular  fact  in  the  history  of  New 
England,  that,  among  the  pioneers,  were  such 
men  as  Henry  Vane,  well-born,  well-bred, 
and  in  his  case  able  to  command  at  home  a  splendid 
career.  New  England  may  well  claim  him  as  one  who 
spoke  and  acted  there  the  doctrines  of  Civil  and  Re 
ligious  Liberty  ;  doctrines  in  advance  of  the  time,  but 
which  have  since  established  themselves  through  the 
whole  land.  When  in  1635  Vane  came  to  Boston,  he 
was  but  twenty-three  years  old,  and  though  his  father 
held  a  high  position  at  Court,  and  Vane  was  in  the  midst 
of  that  gay  life,  he  was  then  a  Puritan.  But,  more  than 
that,  at  that  early  age,  he  held  to  the  principles  of  Uni 
versal  Toleration,  and  full  liberty  to  all  religious  sects. 

1  See  ch.  xxxi. 


SIB  HAREY 

VANE. 


A.D.  1637.]  SIR   HARRY   VANE.  171 

Knowing  him  as  a  person  of  high  birth,  and  as  holding 
the  principles  of  the  Puritans  against  the  will  of  his 
father,  the  settlers  in  Massachusetts  Bay  welcomed  him 
among  them  with  open  arms.  As  they  knew  him  better, 
they  liked  him  better  ;  he  was  soon  the  most  popular  man 
of  Boston,  and  in  the  next  year  was  elected  Governor, 
over  the  heads  of  the  older  men,  such  as  Winthrop  and 
Dudley,  which  they  might  naturally  look  upon  as  a  freak 
of  popular  favor  quite  uncalled  for.  The  administration 
of  Governor  Vane  was  at  first  peaceable  and  regular 
enough  ;  but  an  opportunity  only  was  needed  to  develop 
the  seeds  of  jealousy  and  distrust.  The  first  question 
arose  upon  the  displaying  of  the  King's  flag  at  the  King's 
fort  in  the  harbor.  The  Ministers  and  most  of  the  Coun 
cil  opposed  it,  for  it  contained  the  Cross,  symbol  of  the 
idolatrous  popish  church  ;  and  only  Yane  and  Dudley 
favored  its  being  raised.  Vane  assumed  the  responsi 
bility,  and  ordered  the  colors  to  be  raised.  Vane  seems 
to  have  favored  the  plan  of  kindness  and  conciliation 
towards  the  Indians,  and  to  have  concerted  with  Koger 
Williams  to  continue  peace.  But  the  quarrel  was  al 
ready  begun,  which  never  was  quieted,  and  which  finally 
culminated  in  the  destructive  King  Philip's  war. 

But  it  was  in  the  famous  Antinomian  Controversy  with 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  (see  ch.  xxxi.  vol.  i.,)  that  Vane  was 
wrecked.  He  and  Cotton  both  sustained  her  in  some  of 
her  principal  views.  They  were  opposed  by  the  whole 
body  of  the  Clergy,  and  by  most  of  the  older  Magistrates, 
and  by  a  majority  of  the  people  ;  and  although  Boston 
supported  Vane  and  Cotton,  Vane  went  down  before  the 
violence  of  the  opposition,  and  Cotton  yielded.  Win 
throp  being  chosen  Governor,  a  singular  law  was  passed 
(1637)  forbidding  any  new  comer  to  inhabit  in  the 
Jurisdiction,  unless  he  should  be  allowed  by  some  one  of 
the  Magistrates.  Winthrop  felt  obliged  to  defend  this 
law  publicly.  Vane  wrote  against  it,  and  took  the  broad 
est  ground  for  freedom — positions  equal  to  those  of  Koger 


172  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1653. 

Williams  and  John  Milton.  But  party-spirit  ran  high, 
and  even  Winthrop  then  was  bitter,  though  afterward  his 
magnanimous  temper  led  him  to  do  justice  to  Vane. 

Vane  shortly  after  this  sailed  for  England,  believing  his 
opportunities  for  usefulness  in  the  Colony  at  an  end. 
But  it  was  not  until  the  meeting  of  the  Long  Parliament 
(Nov.  1640),  that  he  was  able  to  bring  his  talents  or  prin 
ciples  to  bear  in  England.  Then  he  enlisted  among  the 
opponents  of  the  arbitrary  plans  of  Charles  I.,  Strafford, 
and  Laud  ;  and  was  among  the  most  earnest  and  talented 
of  that  earnest  and  talented  band  in  which  Pym,  Eliot, 
and  Hampden,  were  conspicuous.  During  his  public 
career,  he  lost  no  opportunity  for  showing  his  interest  in 
the  Colonies,  and  to  him  Eoger  Williams  expressed  his 
thanks  for  the  favor  shown  him  in  England.  When  the 
civil  war  broke  out,  Vane  took  a  leading  part  in  all  nego 
tiations  and  public  matters  ;  always  on  the  republican 
side.  At  last,  when  it  was  clear  to  Cromwell  that  Charles 
would  be  restored  by  the  votes  of  the  Parliament,  he 
turned  it  out  of  doors — applied  the  "  Pride's  Purge,"  as  it 
was  called.  Although  Vane  opposed  the  king,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  oppose  this  action  also,  and  for  a  time  he  took 
no  part  in  public  affairs.  After  the  death  of  the  king, 
Cromwell  induced  him  to  use  his  talents  for  the  service  of 
the  government ;  where  he  was  indefatigable,  until  he  and 
Cromwell  quarreled  (1653).  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow 
him  step  by  step  to  his  death  on  the  scaffold. 

The  character  of  Vane  was  pervaded  by  a  profound 
religious  sensibility,  which  has  given  rise  to  the  most  ex 
travagant  charges.  His  tendencies  were  toward  Calvinism, 
but  he  seems  to  have  been  a  Spiritualist,  who  subordinated 
ordinances  and  forms  to  the  purer  instincts  of  the  soul ; 
when  under  the  influence  of  those  lofty  impressions,  his 
style  and  manner  were  liable  to  misconstruction,  and  by 
common-place  minds  he  was  called  an  enthusiast  and  a 
fanatic.  His  memory  has  been  traduced  by  royalist  his 
torians,  and,  as  with  Cromwell,  it  is  safe  for  us  not  to  de- 


A.D.  1666.]  ENDICOTT.  173 

pend  upon  them.  One  of  the  best  of  them  (Hallam)  thus 
speaks  of  Vane  : 

"  The  Royalists  have  spoken  of  Yane  with  extreme  dis 
like  ;  yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  he  was  not  only 
incorrupt,  but  disinterested  ;  inflexible  in  conforming  his 
public  conduct  to  his  principles;  and  averse  to  every  san 
guinary  and  oppressive  measure  ;  qualities  not  very  com 
mon  in  revolutionary  chiefs."  (  See  Upham/s  Life  of 
Vane.) 

He  perished  on  the  scaffold,  after  the  Restoration  of 
Charles  II.,  being  then,  June  1662,  fifty-two  years  old. 
He  died  a  victim  of  the  enemies  of  liberty,  but  as  a  royal 
ist  present  said  :  "He  died  like  a  prince;"  certainly  like  a 
brave  man  as  he  was,  and  as  princes  sometimes  are  not. 
Standing  on  the  scaffold,  he  said  :  "  Bless  the  Lord,  I  am 
far  from  being  affrighted  at  death.  Ten  thousand  deaths 
rather  than  defile  my  conscience,  the  chastity  and  purity 
of  which  I  value  beyond  all  the  world/'1 

Winthrop  died  in  1649  :  Dudley,  in  1653  :  then,  till 
his  death  (1665),  the  honors  of  Governor  fell  upon  the 
rugged,  but  kind  old  Endicott  :  then  on  Sir  Richard 
Bellingham  till  1672  ;  on  John  Leverett,  till  1678  ;  on 
Simon  Bradstreet,  till  the  shipwreck  of  the  Charters 
(about  16S5).2 

"  GOVERNOR  ENDICOTT  was,  undoubtedly,  the  finest 
specimen  of  the  genuine  Puritan  character  to  be  found 
among  the  early  Governors;  he  was  quick  of  temper,  with 
strong  religious  feelings  moulded  in  the  sterner  features  of 
Calvinism  ;  resolute  to  uphold  with  the  sword  what  ho 
had  received  as  Gospel  truth  ;  and  fearing  no  enemy  so 
much  as  a  gainsaying  spirit.  Cordially  disliking  the  En 
glish  Church,  he  banished  the  Browns  and  the  prayer-book; 
and,  averse  to  all  ceremonies  and  symbols,  the  cross  in  the 
king's  colors  was  an  abomination  he  could  not  away  with. 
He  cut  down  the  May-pole  at  Merry-mount,  published  his 
detestation  of  long  hair  in  a  formal  proclamation,  and  set 

1  Mather's  Magnalia,  vol.  i.,  p.  125  *  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  127. 


174  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1666. 

in  the  pillory  and  on  the  gallows,  the  returning  Quakers. 
Inferior  to  Winthrop  in  learning — in  comprehensiveness, 
to  Vane — in  tolerance,  even  to  Dudley — he  excelled  them 
all  in  the  keen  eye  to  discern  the  fit  moment  for  action, 
and  in  the  quick  resolve  to  profit  by  it,  and  in  the  hand 
always  ready  to  strike."  (Hubbard's  Remarks  in  Belknap's 
American  Biography.) 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE      GOVERNMENT. 

THEOCRACY — THE  MINISTERS — PRIEST  AND  KING THE  LAW  OF  ORDER — DEMOCRACY — WHO 

OWNED  THE  LAND — JQINT  STOCK — COMMON  STOCK — GOVERNOR  AND  ASSISTANTS — 
FIRST  COURT — CHURCH-MEMBERS,  FREEMEN — TAXES — THE  FIRST  LEGISLATURE — TWO 
HOUSES — THE  SOW  BUSINESS — FOUR  COURTS — THE  BALLOT — WRITTEN  LAWS — "  BODY 
OF  LIBERTIES" — MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT — TOWN  MEETINGS — "SELECT-MEN" — MILI 
TARY  AFFAIRS—"  TRAINING-DAY." 

THE  first  intention  of  government,  in  the  Massachusetts 
\  and  New  Haven  Colonies,  was  to  establish  a  Theocracy, 
•  to  insure  the  rule  of  the  saints  ;  and  the  first  legislation 
!  was,  in  a  good  degree,  intended  to  promote  religion. 
This  idea  was  not  peculiar  to  them  ;  the}7"  looked  to  the 
Mosaic  code,  and  found  the  model  which  they  intended  to 
follow  ;  but  they  slowly  came  to  learn  that  it  was  a  going 
backward.  But  this  idea  gave  to  the  clergy  a  mighty  influ 
ence  in  the  Colony,  and  stamped  the  character  of  the  State. 
The  colonists  appealed  to  God — to  the  highest  law  ; 
and  who  should  know  that  so  well  as  the  clergy  ?  The 
Ministers  were  above  the  average  in  education  and  moral 
worth  ;  yet  we  shall  see  how  regard  for  their  order,  jeal 
ousy  lest  it  should  be  weakened,  and  a  deference  to  the 
customs  of  the  Jews,  changed  them  at  times  from  kindly 
men  into  bloody  persecutors  ;  how  they  became  unjust, 
ungenerous  in  religious  matters,  and  how  they  urged  the 
persecutions  against  Williams,  and  Wheelwright,  and 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,  and  Gorton,  and  imbrued  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  the  Quakers,  and  of  those  poor  people  termed 
Salem  witches  ;  and  how  this  vitiated  their  intellects  and 
poisoned  their  sympathies.  They  were  in  a  false  position, 
and  were  themselves  the  victims  of  the  mistaken  notion, 
that  they  alone  knew  the  counsel  of  God. 


176  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1620. 

History  shows  us,  that  when  the  world  was  young,  Priest 
and  King  were  united  in  the  same  person  ;  and  that,  so 
soon  as  the  offices  were  separated,  a  struggle  for  power 
went  on  between  the  two — the  one  attempting  to  legis 
late  for  the  soul,  the  other  for  the  body  ;  till,  with  here 
and  there  a  rare  exception,  they  joined  hands  to  sustain 
one  another,  and  thus  keep  their  feet  on  the  necks  of  the 
poor,  the  ignorant,  and  the  laborious.  Nowhere  has  the 
power  and  duty  of  Self-G-overnment  in  Church  or  State 
been  forced  back  by  Priest  or  King  upon  the  people. 
Whfirever_^an  has  made  head  against  despotism,  and  as 
serted  the  rights  of  the  individual,  against  the  Camp, 
the  Court,  or  the  Church,  it  has  been  through  struggle, 
destruction,  and  death  •  through  Revolution,  not  through 
Conservatism.  But,  nevertheless,  the  rights  of  the  indi 
vidual  (Self-Government,  Democracy),  have  slowly  made 
their  way,  as  they  must  continue  to  do.  Thus  Cranmer, 
and  Hooker,  and  Jewel  asserted  their  independence  of  the 
Pope  ;  thus  the  Puritans  stood  up  against  the  English 
Church  ;  thus  Roger  Williams  refused  to  yield  to  the 
Churches  in  the  Bay  ;  and  thus  now — thanks  to  their  re 
bellious  fathers — is  it  the  unquestioned  right  of  every 
man  in  New  England  to  decide  for  fyimself  in  all  matters 
of  Church  or  State,  and,  having  decided,  to  ACT.  It 
seems  clear  that  this  is  the  inevitable  outcome  of  man 
hood,  and  that  there  can  be  no  other  way  of  working  to 
ward  a  sound  and  satisfactory  future. 

It  was  a  great  thing  in  the  march  of  freedom,  that  this 
fertile  and  varied  country  was  opened,  just  when  Luther 
and  the  Reformers  had  fulminated  their  ideas,  against  the 
old  superstitions  and  dying  despotism  of  Rome  ;  for  there 
were  here  no  rigid  customs  to  be  overcome,  no  foregone  con 
clusions  to  impede  a  progress  to  future  freedom,  sure,  if  slow. 
We  have  seen  at  Plymouth  how  the  better 
men,  on  board  the  Mayflower,  were  constrained, 
unwillingly,  to  grant  civil  rights  to  their  serv 
ants.  We  shall  see  how  the  people  (the  Church- mem- 


A.D.  1629.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.  177 

bers)  in  Massachusetts  came  to  take  and  keep  powers 
which  even  Winthrop  (the  most  liberal  of  the  Magis 
trates)  believed  to  be  dangerous  ;  and  how  the  people 
(the  mob)  have  taken  the  powers  from  the  Church- 
members  alone,  and  now  exercise  them  in  common ; 
and  yet  Massachusetts  has  not  gone  to  anarchy  !  For 
there  is  a  law,  higher  than  man's,  which  forbids  that ; 
it  is  God's  law  of  ORDER.  They  did  not  there  contem 
plate  a  government  by  all  the  people,  and  in  their  answers 
to  the  proposals  of  Lord  Say  and  others,1  they  say,  it  is 
clear  from  Nature  and  Scripture,  "  that  there  are  two 
ranks  of  men — one  (  gentlemen,'  and  the  other  i  freehold 
ers  ;'  and  that  the  principal  business  of  Governing 
should  belong  to  the  former."  The  Keverend  Cotton,  the 
leading  mind  at  one  time  in  the  Bay,  in  his  letter  to  Lord 
Say  (1636),  stated  clearly  : — "  Democracy,  I  do  not  con 
ceive  that  ever  God  did  ordeyne  as  a  fitt  Government, 
eyther  for  Church  or  Commonwealth.  If  the  people  be 
governors,  who  shall  be  governed  ?" 

It  is  a  question  of  some  consequence  to  ask, 
and  to  answer:  <:Who  owned  the  land?     In     ™£^ 
whom  was  the  title  vested  ?"      The  Charter 
granted  by  King  Charles  (March  4,  1629),  through  the 
intercession  of  Lord  Dorchester,  distinctly  gave  it  to  the 
patentees  called  the  Massachusetts  Company  : — "  To  be 
holden  by  them,  their  heirs  and  assignees,  in  free  and 
common  soccage,  as  of  the  manor  of  East  Greenwich : 
paying,  in  lieu  of  all  services,  one  fifth  of  the  gold  and 
silver  that  should  be  found." 

This  was  the  conventional  way  of  conveying  wild  lands 
to  the  subject  ;  and  was  then  held  and  believed  to  be  a 
good  and  sufficient  title.  The  Company  therefore  con 
sidered  themselves  the  owners  of  this  land,  fully  compe 
tent  to  sell  or  regrant  it,  at  pleasure.  It  should  be  re 
membered,  that  the  Puritans  took  pains  also  to  purchase 
a  title  from  the  Indian  occupants. 

1  See  Hutchinson's  Appendix,  vol.  i. 
8* 


178  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1629. 

To  carry  out  the  plans  of  the  Massachusetts 
JOINT"  TOOK  Company,  it  was  necessary  to  have  money,  and 
various  of  those  interested  in  England,  had  sub 
scribed  to  a  Joint-stock  for  that  purpose.  This  Joint- 
stock  Company  were  to  have  the  trade  in  Beaver  for  seven 
years,  to  reimburs'e  their  expenditures,  and  they  were  to 
pay  half  the  expenses  of  Fortifications  and  of  Ministers. 
The  business  of  this  Company  afterward  went  into  the 
control  of  some  ten  of  the  principal  men  interested,  who 
were  called  "  The  Undertakers."  These  were  John  Win- 
throp,  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  Isaac  Johnson,  Thomas 
Dudley,  John  Revell,  Mathew  Cradock,  Nathaniel  Wright, 
Theophilus  Eaton,  Thomas  GofT,  and  James  Young.  They 
were  to  transport  passengers  at  five  pounds  each,  and 
freights  at  four  pounds  per  ton.  They  were  also  to  fur 
nish  goods  to  planters  at  twenty-five  per  cent,  advance. 
Beside  this,  a  "  COMMON  STOCK"  was  raised  (February, 
1630)  by  subscription,  among  the  friends  of  the  enterprise, 
which  was  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  Ministers, 
to  the  transporting  of  poor  families,  to  the  building  of 
churches,  etc. ;  and  for  every  fifty  pounds  so  subscribed  and 
paid,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  allowed  in  the  Colony.1 

The  King's  Charter  provided  for  the  election  of  a  Gov 
ernor  and  Assistants,  called  Magistrates,  by  the  members 
of  the  Company,  or  the  Freemen.  This  body  was  to  be 
the  Law-maker  and  Executive  ;  and  the  formation  of  a 
Legislature,  or  a  body  of  delegates  from  the  people,  was 
not  contemplated. 

There  seems  to  have  been,  at  first,  a  doubt  as  to  the  rel 
ative  powers  of  the  Governors,  Endicott  and  Winthrop  ; 
and  it  was  not  until  August  that  Winthrop  began  to  ex 
ercise  authority.  Then  the  form  of  an  election  was  gone 
through  with  in  Massachusetts,  when  Winthrop  was  chosen 
Governor,  Dudley,  Deputy-Governor,  and  Bradstreet,  Sec 
retary. 

1  Drake's  History  of  Boston,  p.  76.  Company's  Records.  Young's  Chron 
icles. 


A.D.  1G31.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.  179 

The  FIRST  COURT  was  held  on  the  23d  of  August,  1630, 
at  Charlestown,  at  which  were  present,  Winthrop,  Dud 
ley,  Saltonstall,  Rossiter,  Nowell,  Sharp,  Pyncheon,  and 
Bradstreet.  They  took  order  as  to  the  support  of  Minis 
ters,  the  building  of  houses,  the  sending  for  Morton  at 
Mount  Wollaston,  and  the  wages  of  mechanics,  which  were 
fixed  at  two  shillings  a  day.1 

Such  was  the  first  Colonial  Legislation,  and  such  was 
the  first  Legislative  body.  No  heralds,  no  wigs,  no  pro 
cessions,  no  trumpets,  no  cannon,  no  gilding,  and  no  feath 
ers  were  necessary  to  impose  upon  the  senses,  or  give 
majesty  and  authority  to  law !  This  body  consisted  of 
the  Governor  and  Assistants,  and  for  the  first  three  years 
they  assumed  and  exercised  all  power.  But  at  the  first 
General  Court  held  in  Boston,  October  19th,  1630,  it  was 
decided  that  the  Freemen  were  to  choose  the  "  Assistants," 
and  the  Assistants  were  to  choose  the  "  Governor  and 
Deputy,"  from  among  themselves.2 

At  the  General  Court  in  May,  1632,  the  practice  was 
made  more  democratic,  and  the  whole  body  of  Freemen 
decided  to  participate  in  the  election  of  Governor  and 
Deputy,  as  well  as  of  Assistants.3  So  by  rapid  steps  the 
people  took  the  power  into  their  own  hands,  much  to  the 
dislike  of  the  Assistants  and  governing  class. 

At  the  Court  of  Election,  May  18th,  1631,  it 
was  ordered   that   once  every  year  a  General       CHURCH 
Court  should  be  held  for  the  election  of  Assist-      MEMBER8' 


FBBEMBN. 


ants,  and  that  no  man  was  to  be  admitted  to 
the  rights  of  freemen  who  did  not  belong  to  some  Church 
in  the  Colony.4    This  continued  until  1665,  and  was  finally 
discontinued  early  in  1691. 

The  question  of  the  right  of  the  "  Company"  to  lay 
Taxes,  came  up  on  the  refusal  of  some  of  the  Watertown 

1  Winthrop  and  Savage  in  W.     See  Colony  Records.     Hubbard's  History, 
p.  146. 

2  Hazard's  State  Papers.     Prince's  Chronology.     Hubbard's  Hist.,  p.  147. 

3  Winthrop's  Journal.  Hubbard's  History,  p.  148. 


THE   FIRST 
LEGISLATURE. 


180  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTOEY.  [A.D.  1643. 

people  to  pay  an  assessment.  They  were  cited  before  the 
Court ;  when  they  confessed  their  error  ;  and  the  follow 
ing  position  was  laid  down  :  "  That  this  Government  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  Parliament,  and  that  no  Assistant  could 
be  chosen  but  by  the  freemen,  who  had  power  likewise  to 
remove  the  Assistants,  and  put  in  others."1 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1634,  notice  was  sent  to 
the  towns,  that  the  freemen  should  appoint  two 
from  each  town,  to  meet  and  consider  affairs  at 
the  General  Court,  to  be  held  on  the  14th  of  May,  follow 
ing.  As  the  numbers  increased,  all  could  not  join  in  mak 
ing  laws,  and  this  plan  came  in  the  progress  of  things. 
They  were  not  to  make  new  laws,  but  only  to  reform  those 
which  were  amiss,  and  to  prefer  grievances  to  the  Assist 
ants.  Twenty-four  persons  met  on  the  day  appointed.2 
This  assembly  soon  began  to  exceed  the  powers  granted 
by  Winthrop,  and  became  competent  to  make,  as  well  as 
to  mend  laws.  This  year,  Dudley  was  chosen  Governor, 
in  place  of  Winthrop. 

In  Massachusetts  until  1644,  the  General  Court,  con 
sisting  of  the  Magistrates  and  the  Deputies,  sat  and  de 
termined  matters  together.  But  as  the  towns  increased 
in  number,  it  was  evident  that  the  Magistrates  would  be 
outvoted,  and  they  pressed  for  separate  houses,  so  that  no 
legislation  should  bo  valid,  unless  it  was  agreed  to  by  both 
houses.  This  was  carried  into  effect  ;8  and  in  all  New 
England  now  we  see  the  "  Commons  and  Peers"  modified 
into  "  Deputies  and  Council,"  which  has  now  become 
"  Representatives  and  Senate." 

As  early  as  1632,4  the  towns  sent  deputies  to  advise  with 
the  Governor  about  public  affairs  ;  but  in  1634,  the  Rep 
resentative  system  was  fully  established,  as  has  been  said. 
The  powers  of  the  Assembly  and  of  the  Magistrates  were 
not  well  defioed;  and  it  was  not  till  1643,  that  the  negative 

1  Winthrop's  Journal,  February  17,  1631. 

8  See  the  Colony  Records,  and  Winthrop.         8  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  449. 

*  F.  C.  Gray's  Essay.     M.  W.  C.,  3d  series,  voL  8. 


A.D.  1666.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  J.O1 

voice  of  the  Magistrates  was  established.  This  grew  out 
of  a  quarrel  about  a  sow,  which  Winthrop  mentions  as  the 
"  sow  business/'  and  which  kept  the  Court  and  the  Colony 
in  a  contest  from  1636  to  1643.  The  Deputies  favored 
one  side,  and  the  Governor  and  Magistrates  the  other,  and 
this  excited  the  Democratic  spirit,  so  that  some  of  the 
towns  urged  that  the  negative  voice  of  the  Magistrates  (or 
Upper  House)  should  be  revoked.  But  the  Magistrates 
held  their  own. 

In  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  the  Magistrates  were 
more  dependent  upon  the  people,  and  the  usage  was  more 
Democratic  than  in  Massachusetts. 

The  following  extract  will  indicate  the  way  they  then 
did  public  business  : 

The  General  Court  (or  Assembly)  met  in  7th  month, 
1666,  and  took  it  into  consideration,  how  the  King  might 
be  pacified  for  his  displeasure  at  the  failure  of  his  Com 
missioners.  The  Records  state  that  they  spent  the  fore 
noon  in  prayer,  for  short  prayers  were  not  then  in  fashion. 
"  These  prayed : 

Mr.  WILSON,  Mr.  WHITING, 

Mr.  MATHER,  Mr.  COBITT, 

Mr.  SYMMES,  Mr.  MITCHELL." 

And  then  they  had  a  discussion,  which  resulted  in  an 
address  to  his  Majesty,  which  was  loyal,  not  slavish. 
The  Massachusetts  Courts  always  adjourned  to  attend  the 
weekly  "  Thursday  Lecture."  In  Connecticut,  the  ses 
sions  of  the  Legislature  (in  1713)  lasted  ten  or  twelve 
days.  The  salary  of  the  Governor  was  £200  ;  and  the 
whole  cost  of  the  Government  was  less  than  £800  a  year.1 

Four(  Courts  were  appointed  to  be  holden  in  each  year, 
at  one  of  which,  only,  the  whole  body  of  freemen  were  to 
be  present  for  the  election  of  Magistrates.  The  Ballot 
also  was  introduced,  in  place  of  a  show  of  hands  ;  and  it 
was  decided  that  the  consent  of  the  people  was  necessary 
for  levying  taxes. 

1  Trumbull's  History,  vol.  i.,  471. 


182  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 


CONSTITU 
TION. 


In  the  next  year  [1635]  it  was  decided  to 
have  a  body  of  written  laws,  as  a  sort  of  Magna 
Charta,  or  Constitution  ;  they  were  established 
in  1641.  Ninety-eight  sections,  called  "  the  Body  of  Lib 
erties"  (compiled  by  Eev.  Nathaniel  Ward,  who  had  in 
England  been  a  "practicer  in  the  courts  of  the  common 
law"),  were  adopted,  which  continued  over  thirty  years.1 
Ecclesiastical  and  Admiralty  Courts  (always  dangerous) 
were  dispensed  with. 

The  prime  strength  of  New  England,  and  of 
MUNICIPAL  the  whole  Eepublic,  was,  and  is,  in  the  Muni- 
MENT.  cipal  Governments,  and  in  the  HOMES.  At  a 
meeting  of  leading  men,  called  by  Governor 
Vane,  in  1635,  among  other  things  decided  was  this  insig 
nificant  one,  thus  noted  :  "  That  trivial  things  should  be 
ended  in  Towns."  This  is  exactly  the  reverse  of  what  is 
practiced  by  Monarchists  and  men  with  Aristocratic 
instincts,  who  draw  to  themselves  EVERY  sort  of  ordering, 
denying  that  the  people  are  capable  of  self-government. 
They  are  sufficiently  answered  by  the  experience  of  New 
England,  also  by  the  experience  of  a  town  of  emancipated 
slaves  in  Russia,2  and  by  the  common  sense  of  men,  which 
tells  us,  that  nine  of  ten  men  can  order  their  own  affairs 
better  than  any  other  will  do  it,  and  that  experience  will 
correct  their  errors.  The  leaders  in  Massachusetts  were 
not  corrupted  by  the  long  possession  of  power,  and  thus 
were  willing  to  put  back  upon  the  people  the  settlement 
of  smaller  matters. 

Each  town  of  New  England  was,  and  is,  a  small  Eepub 
lic.  The  formation  of  towns  was  promoted  by  the  dread 
of,  and  danger  from,  Indians,  and  also  by  the  demand  for 
churches  and  schools.  People,  therefore,  did  not  scatter 
wide  upon  large  plantations,  but  collected  in  towns  and 


1  See  ch.  xliv.     Documents  of  the    Constitution,   by  Francis  Bowen. 
Cambridge,  1854. 
a  See  Haxthausen's  Travels  in  Russia. 


A.D.  1635.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  183 

villages,  with  their  farms  lying  out  around  them.     A  sens 
ible  writer  of  this  day  well  says  i1 

"  Accordingly,  whenever  land  was  granted  to  settlers,  it 
was  in  adjacent  tracts,  not  generally  more  than  two  hun 
dred  acres  each  ;  and  it  was  an  indispensable  condition  to 
the  license  for  settlement,  that  a  learned  and  faithful 
minister  should  be  provided  to  dispense  the  Word  of  Life. 
To  secure  constant  attendance  at  meeting,  and  to  prevent 
danger  from  Indians  by  dispersion,  the  Court  ordained 
that  no  dwelling  should  be  located  more  than  a  mile  from 
the  meeting-house.  This  clustering  system  prevailed  until 
after  the  extirpation  of  the  Indian  tribes,  and  the  establish 
ment  of  passable  roads.  Thus  New  England  grew  up  a 
congeries  of  towns." 

The  first  agreement  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  settlers 
was,  that  each  subscriber  to  the  "  Stock"  for  outfit,  should 
be  entitled  to  two  hundred  acres  of  land  ;  and  that  each 
settler  should  have  fifty  acres  at  any  rate.  But  new  towns 
made  their  own  arrangements  and  divisions. 

The  TOWN-MEETINGS  were  held  annually  (commonly  in 
the  spring),  when  it  was  expected  that  every  voter  would 
be  present  to  take  his  part  in  the  direction  of  affairs  ;  this 
was  looked  upon  as  a  prime  duty  ;  and  it  was  held  that  a 
man  who  would  not  use  his  liberty  and  do  his  duty,  was 
no  good  citizen.  In  Haverhill,  the  roll  of  voters  was 
called,  and  the  absentees  were  fined  eighteen  pence  ;  and 
so  it  was  elsewhere.  At  first  they  met  in  the  Church  ; 
but  in  course  of  time,  every  town  provided  itself  with  a 
Town-house,  in  which  to  conduct  its  meetings  and  hold  its 
courts.  The  meeting  came  to  order,  and  a  grave  and  good 
citizen  was  chosen  Moderator.  Then  all  town  business 
was  brought  up  in  order.  Motions  were  made,  briefly 
debated  in  a  business  manner,  and  voted  upon.  Matters 
passed  at  one  meeting  were  often  reversed  at  a  subsequent 
one,  and  the  minutes  read,  "  Ondone  next  meeting/' 
They  granted  Lands,  established  and  repaired  Mills, 

1  F.  H.  Underwood,  in  Putnam's  Magazine,  1855. 


184  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

Koads  ("  Paths"),  and  Ferries.  They  took  'order  as  to 
clearing  Common-lands,  paying  the  Schoolmaster,  raising 
the  salary  of  the  Minister,  and  they  elected  Deputies  to 
the  General  Court  or  Assembly.  In  every  town,  some 
"Prudentiall  men"  (from  three  to  seven),  called  afterward 
"  Select-men,"  were  appointed  to  administer  all  affairs  of 
the  town,  between  the  meetings.  They  held  small  Courts, 
and  decided  petty  offenses,  and  acted  as  referees  in  dis 
putes  about  bounds,  etc.  This  is  the  way  these  States 
grew  up,  and  their  growth  has  been  true  and  strong. 

The  GENERAL  COURT,  consisting  of  the  Governor  and 
Magistrates  and  the  Deputies,  attended  to  those  matters 
which  concerned  all  the  Towns,  and  which  could  only  be 
settled  by  the  towns  in  Convention.  The  TOWN  MEET 
INGS  provided  for  those  things  which  concerned  the  wel 
fare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns.  The  FAMILY  ar 
ranged  its  affairs  for  the  good  of  all  its  members  ;  and, 
lastly,  each  INDIVIDUAL  governed  himself  with  reference 
to  his  own  will,  and  the  needs  of  the  community.  So 
completely  was  Government  diffused  by  this  natural  and 
perfect  system  ;  and  at  this  day  the  Governors  of  some 
of  our  States  have  no  veto,  and  no  power  of  appointment 
to  office. 

The  danger  we  have  now  to  apprehend  is  from  the  in 
creasing  patronage  and  power  of  the  General  Government 
at  Washington,  which  within  a  few  years  has  been  rapid 
ly  centralizing.  If  the  States  of  New  England  are  willing 
to  pay  uncounted  millions  of  taxes,  in  the  shape  of  Cus 
tom  duties  ;  if  they  can  no  longer  make  their  own  roads 
and  bridges,  and  forts,  and  can  no  longer  protect  their 
own  borders  with  their  own  soldiers,  then  Despotism  is 
upon  her,  and  the  days  of  her  liberties  are  numbered. 
Whenever  the  people  see  this  danger,  they  will  stand 
firmly  upon  their  State  Eights,  demand  direct  taxation, 
and  the  danger  will  be  strangled. 

MILITARY  AFFAIRS  were  second  only  to  the  establish 
ment  of  Keligion  in  the  minds  of  the  best  men  in  Massa- 


A.D.  1650.]  THE   GOVERNMENT.  185 

chusetts.  They  early  set  about  building  fortifications, 
and  provided  themselves  with  cannon  and  other  munitions 
of  war.  Every  town  had  its  own  train-band,  and  every 
man  was  expected  to  be  a  soldier.  The  towns  were  re 
quired  to  keep  on  hand  a  supply  of  powder  and  shot,  and 
to  see  that  their  citizen  soldiery  were  exercised  to  arms. 

The  presence  of  bands  of  Indians  made  it  necessary  for 
every  man  to  be  familiar  with  the  use  of  arms,  which 
might  also  become  necessary  for  defense  against  civilized 
oppression.  Yet  the  singular  sagacity  and  sense  of  some 
of  the  leading  men  in  Massachusetts  is  shown  in  various 
ways  ;  in  this  among  others,  that  in  1637,  when  some  of 
the  "  gentlemen"  of  the  Bay  wished  to  be  incorporated  as 
a  military  company,  they  were  refused,  in  view  of  the 
Pretorian  Guard,  and  "  how  dangerous  it  might  be  -to 
erect  a  standing  authority  of  military  men,  which  might 
easily  in  time  overthrow  the  civil  power."  The  company 
then  formed  was  the  "  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery/' 
If  "  Training  day"  had  not  become  a  sort  of  popinjay 
show,  it  would  be  useful  and  desirable,  and  whenever  it 
shall  be  restored  to  its  proper  uses,  it  will  be  respectable. 

The  militia  law  was  full  and  complete  in  Connecticut 
(1650). 

Every  person  above  the  age  of  sixteen  years  was  to  pro 
vide  himself  with  a  good  serviceable  gun  or  musket, 
which  was  to  be  in  "  Continuall  readiness." 

The  soldiers  were  to  be  trained  at  least  six  times 
yearly. 

Soldiers  were  to  choose  their  officers,  subject  to  confirm 
ation  of  the  Court. 

Every  town  also  was  to  keep  on  hand  a  supply  of  pow 
der  (3  pounds  to  each  soldier)  and  lead. 

All  capable  of  bearing  arms  were  obliged  to  appear  "  to 
train."  The  Captain  began  and  ended  the  exercises  with 
prayer,  "  and  at  three  o'clock  we  had  a  very  noble  dinner, 
to  which  all  the  clergy  were  invited."  l 

1  John  D union's  Journal     M.  H.  C.,  vol.  12,  second  series. 


186  NEW     ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1653. 

In  1630,  at  Cambridge.,  a  field  was  set  apart  for  a 
"  Training  field/'  which  continued  so  as  late  as  1813. 
The  people  proposed  that  the  Trained  bands  might  choose 
their  own  officers  ;  but  Winthrop  gave  them  satisfactory 
reasons  against  it  for  that  time  ;  they  afterwards  succeed 
ed  in  doing  it.  When  the  fortification  on  Cornhill  (Bos 
ton)  was  building,  the  people  from  each  town  came  and 
worked  on  it — Charlestown  first,  then  Roxbury,  then  Dor 
chester,  etc.  In  1635  a  special  Commission  for  military 
affairs,  with  full  powers,  even  of  life  and  death,  was  ap 
pointed,  consisting  of  Winthrop,  Humphrey,  Haynes, 
Endicott,  Coddington,  Pyncheon,  Nowell,  Bellingham, 
and  Bradstreet.  In  1639  the  two  regiments  in  the  Bay 
mustered  one  thousand  able-bodied,  well-armed  men. 

"  We  learn,"  says  Winthrop,  "  at  one  training  (1641) 
there  were  1200  men  on  duty  at  Boston,  yet  not  one 
drunk,  though  there  was  plenty  of  wine  and  strong  beer 
in  the  town." 

In  giving  in  the  number  of  the  militia  to  the  Com 
missioners  in  1665,  the  secretary  of  Massachusetts  speaks 
of  5000  foot  soldiers  and  400  horse  ;  though,  as  all  were 
enrolled,  this  number  did  not  include  the  aged  and 
infirm. 

The  soldiers  had  plate  armor,  and  Joseph  Leverett,  dur 
ing  King  Philip's  war,  enumerated  as  necessary  "  blun 
derbusses  and  hand  granadoes,  and  armour,  and  if  it  may 
be,  at  least  armourers  to  mend  arms." 

In  1643  the  Commissioners  for  the  United  Colonies 
advised,  "  That  every  man  may  keep  by  him  a  good  gun 
and  sword,  one  pound  of  powder,  with  four  pounds  of 
shot,  with  match  or  flints  suitable,  to  be  ready  upon  all 
occasions,  etc."  "  They  are  all  very  diligent  in  training 
of  their  soldiers,"  Lechford  writes,  "and  military  exer 
cises,  and  all  except  magistrates  bear  arms,  or  pay  to 
be  excused."  In  1653  the  Commissioners  appointed 
Captain  Leverett  Commander-in-chief  for  the  United 
Colonies. 


A.D.  1653.]  THE    GOVERNMENT.  187 

The  wages  of  a  common  soldier,  on  duty,  were  not  to 
be  over  6  shillings  a  week. 

The  state  of  manners  and  morals  may  be  indicated  by 
the  following  extracts  from  the  articles  of  war  agreed  upon 
by  the  General  Court  during  King  Philip's  war  : 

1st.  "Let  no  man  presume  to  blaspheme  the  holy  and 
blessed  Trinity,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost,  upon  pain  to  have  his  tongue  bored  with 
a  hot  iron. 

12th.  "  Drunkenness  in  an  officer  shall  be  punished 
with  loss  of  place,  and  in  a  private  at  discretion. 

18th.  "  If  any  shall  negligently  lose,  or  sinfully  play 
away  their  arms  at  dice,  or  cards,  or  otherwise,  they 
shall  be  kept  as  prisoners  or  scavengers,  etc." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

TOLERATION. 

LAW  OF  THE  SIX  ARTICLES — BO88UET — THE  SCOTCH — THE  PRESBYTERIANS — CARTWRIGHT 
— LOCKE — LAW  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH — CRANMER  AND  THE  BIBLE — LIBERTY  GAINS — 
PURITANS  AND  JAMES  I. — HAMPTON-COURT  CONFERENCE — PURITANISM  DID  NOT  DIE 
CHARLES  I. — LAUD. 

THE  Puritans  in  New  England  repudiated  the  idea  of 
toleration  :  they  were  so  firmly  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
their  doctrines,  that  any  man  who  would  not  embrace 
them  was  deemed  worthy  of  punishment.  Few  anywhere 
comprehended  the  liberty  contained  in  the  teachings  of 
Jesus,  and  believing  that  the  Mosaic  code  was  God-given 
— without  fault — they  at  first  proceeded  to  extirpate 
heretics  with  unsparing  rigor.  They  were  most  sincere  in 
this  impracticable  plan,  which  was  often  applied  without 
personal  animosity  ;  even  toward  Roger  Williams.  Gov 
ernor  Winthrop  remained  his  fast  friend  for  life,  and  be 
tween  Williams  and  Cotton,  through  all  their  controver 
sies,  was  an  honorable  respect. 

The  leading  Minister,  Mr.  Cotton,  wrote  :  "  It  was  tol 
eration  that  made  the  world  anti-Christian,  and  the 
Church  never  took  hurt  by  the  punishment  of  heretics."1 
Few  seemed  to  consider,  that  the  attempt  to  make  all 
men  think  alike,  would  put  swords  into  the  hands  and 
murder  into  the  hearts  of  sects,  till  they  first  destroyed 
one  another,  and  then  individuals  themselves. 

Although  most  of  the  Puritans  opposed  freedom  of 
worship  in  New  England,  the  doctrines  they  held,  and  for 
which  they  suffered  and  expatriated  themselves,  contained 
seeds  of  both  religious  and  political  liberty,  as  we  shall  see. 

1  Bloody  Tenet. 


A.D.  1539.]  TOLERATION.  189 

Those  who  love  to  point  to  the  Puritans  of  New  En 
gland  as  peculiarly  intolerant,  are  probably  ignorant  of 
the  state  of  public  opinion  at  that  day.  It  may  be  inter 
esting  briefly  to  refer  to  it. 

Toleration  in  religious  matters  had  not  yet  existed 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  Low  Countries  and 
Holland,  it  was  an  accident  rather  than  a  principle, 
the  result  of  indifference  more  than  intention.  With  Re 
formers,  men  who  claimed  liberty  for  themselves,  it  was 
rare  that  it  meant  liberty  for  other  men  ;  they  claimed 
the  right  of  enforcing  their  doctrines  with  the  sword,  and 
of  punishing  heresy  with  death  ! 

The  law  of  the  Six  Articles,  passed  in  Henry  the  Eighth's 
reign  (1539),  was  intended  to  "  settle"  disputed  matters  ; 
it  established  "  Transubstantiation,"  "  Celibacy  of  Priests/' 
"  Auricular  Confession,"  etc.,  as  TRUTHS.  Parliament 
thanked  the  King,  and  enacted  that  whoever  spoke, 
preached,  or  wrote  against  them,  should  be  burned,  and  his 
estates  be  forfeited.  A  plentiful  holocaust  ensued,  and 
the  King's  coffers  were  replenished.  Archbishop  Tindal 
had  appealed,  not  to  the  Pope,  or  to  Councils,  or  to  the 
King,  but  to  the  Bible.  So  did  Latimer ;  so  did  the  Kid- 
leys  j  so  did  Cramner  ;  so  did  Bradford  :  yet  none  of  them 
believed  in  full  toleration ;  they  had  not  reached  it .  They 
accepted  what  was  behind  them,  but  feared  what  was 
in  advance  ;  were  tolerant  up  to  their  own  position,  no 
farther. 

BOSSUET,  the  Catholic,  maintained,  with  all  the  force 
of  his  eloquence,  that  the  State  was  bound  to  extirpate 
false  religions.  At  the  same  time,  the  Scotch  Commis 
sioners  in  London,  in  the  name  of  their  Church,  remon 
strated  against  "  sinful  and  ungodly  toleration."  The 
English  Presbyterian  clergy  protested  against  the  scheme 
of  Cromwell,  and  declared  that  they  "detested  and  ab 
horred  toleration."  "  My  judgment,"  said  the  moderate 
Baxter,  "  I  have  freely  made  known.  I  abhor  unlimited 
liberty,  or  toleration  for  all."  "  Toleration,"  said  Jona- 


190  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1677. 

than  Edwards,  "  is  the  grand  will  of  the  Devil,  his  mas 
terpiece  ;  it  is  the  most  compendious,  ready,  and  sure  way 
to  destroy  all  religion."  And  the  simple  Cobbler  of  Aga- 
wam  (Rev.  Mr.  Ward,  1647)  said  :  "He  that  is  willing  to 
tolerate  any  religion,  or  discrepant  way  of  religion,  be 
sides  his  own,  unless  it  be  in  matters  merely  indifferent, 
either  doubts  of  his  own  or  is  not  sincere  in  it/'1  He 
also  said  (1645)  :  "  To  authorize  an  untruth  by  a  tolera 
tion  of  State,  is  to  build  a  sconce  against  the  walls  of 
heaven,  to  batter  God  out  of  his  chair." 

CARTWRIGHT,  who  was  a  leader  of  the  more  moderate 
Puritans  in  England,  and  had  suffered  for  his  labors  in 
trying  to  bring  about  a  further  reformation,  seems  not  to 
have  comprehended  the  principle  of  liberty  of  conscience. 
He  said  :  "  The  Magistrates  ought  to  enforce  the  attend 
ance  of  Papists  and  Atheists,  in  the  services  of  the 
Church  ;  to  punish  them  if  they  did  not  profit  by  the 
teaching  they  might  hear  ;  to  increase  the  punishment  if 
they  gave  signs  of  contempt ;  and  if  at  last  they  proved 
utterly  impenitent,  to  cut  them  off,  that  they  might  not 
corrupt  and  infect  others."2 

Cartwright  said  (see  his  second  reply)  :  "  Hereticks 
ought  to  be  put  to  deathe  now.  If  this  be  bloudie  and 
extreme,  I  am  contente  to  be  soe  counted,  with  the  holie 
Ghoste."  "  I  denie  that  upon  repentance  there  oughte  to 
followe  any  pardon  of  deathe." 

Baylie,  one  of  the  Scottish  Commissioners,3  said  re 
proachfully  :  "  The  great  shot  of  Cromwell  and  Vane  is 
to  have  a  liberty  for  all  religions  without  any  exceptions." 

Dr.  Increase  Mather,  in  his  election  sermon  (May, 
1677),  said  :  "  The  Lord  keep  us  from  being  bewitched 
with  the  whore's  cup,  lest,  whilst  we  seem  to  detest  and 
reject  her  with  open  face  of  profession,  we  do  not  bring 
her  in  by  the  back-door  of  Toleration." 

1  Knowles's  Life  of  Roger  Williams,  p.  77.  "Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam :" 
1647.  a  Reply  to  Whitgift,  cited  by  Stowell. 

8  See  Brooks's  Lives  of  the  Puritans. 


A.D.  1540.]  TOLERATION.  191 

Even  in  1690,  when  Locke — one  of  the  most  liberal  and 
enlightened  men  of  England — wrote  his  Letters  on  Tol 
eration,  he  hesitated  about  granting  freedom  to  Papists, 
and  denied  it  to  Atheists. 

In  Queen  Elizabeth's  day  a  law  was  passed,  enacting 
that  any  person  above  the  age  of  sixteen,  who  refused  to 
attend  Church  for  a  month,  should  be  imprisoned  ;  if  he 
obstinately  persisted,  he  should  be  banished  the  kingdom  ; 
and  if  he  returned  he  should  suffer  death/'1 

These  references  will  serve  to  show  that  extreme  legisla 
tion  against  religious  liberty  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
Puritans  of  New  England. 

But  about  the  year  1540,  by  the  King's  most 
gracious  leave,  Archbishop  Granmer  issued  his  ™K  BIBLK- 
edition  of  the  Bible.  Copies  of  it,  though  rare, 
were  scattered  over  England,  and  men  read  its  words,  or 
heard  them  spoken.  The  great  truths  which  Jesus 
taught,  and  the  withering  rebukes  and  denunciations  of 
the  Prophets  against  false  priests  and  wicked  rulers,  shed 
light  and  gave  strength  to  the  people.  Chained  to  the 
desk,  as  the  book  was  that  it  might  not  be  stolen,  men, 
women,  and  children  gathered  round  any  one  who  could 
read,  and,  using  their  own  reason  and  understanding, 
tried  to  know  what  this  standard  did  teach  :  this  gave  an 
immense  impulse  to  intellectual  action.  The  life  of  the 
Carpenter's  son  touched  their  souls,  warmed  their  sympa 
thies,  and  enlisted  their  action.  Here  was  a  Man,  poor, 
despised,  and  neglected  ;  but  he  had  been  loyal  to  the 
truth,  had  lived  up  to  it,  and  had  died  on  the  Cross  a 
martyr  to  truth  and  courage  ;  a  victim  to  the  hatred 
which  Church  and  State  are  sure  to  extend  to  Reformers. 
Over  all  this  manhood  was  cast  the  mystic  hue  of  mir 
acle  ;  and  the  deepest  earthly  interest  was  awed  into  won 
der  by  the  belief  that  this  was  God  himself  incarnated  in 
an  earthly  form.  The  burning,  often  bitter  words,  of  the 
Poets,  of  Amos,  of  Ezekiel,  more  than  all,  of  Isaiah,  told 

1  Grakame,  vol.  i,  p.  214. 


192  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1571. 

them  that  no  sin,  no  wrong-doing  could  escape  its  punish 
ment  ;  that  God's  law  was  supreme,  and  no  man,  no 
King,  no  Priest,  no  Nation  could  disobey  and  live  ;  that 
no  "powers  that  be"  are  of  God,  unless  they  are  based 
upon  Justice  and  Truth  ;  that  wicked  rulers  and  wicked 
priests  ought  to  be  destroyed  ;  that  formal  worship,  new- 
moons,  and  fasts,  and  sacrifices,  are  an  abomination  to 
God ;  that  God  was  no  respecter  of  persons  ;  but  that 
before  him,  poor  and  rich,  weak  and  mighty,  fared 
alike. 

Such  teachings,  scattered  through  these  writings,  took 
strong  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  earnest  men,  and  led  to  ac 
tion.  Texts  were  printed  on  the  souls,  texts  which  told 
of  the  wickedness  of  oppressors,  and  the  vengeance  which 
visited  them  ;  which  showed  how  men  went  gladly  to  death 
rather  than  obey  wicked  laws ;  which  assured  them  that 
God  was  the  friend  of  the  righteous,  though  man  might  be 
his  foe. 

Through  many  years  this  growth  went  on,  and  was  not 
confined  to  the  common  people.  Archbishop  Grindal  wrote 
to  Queen  Elizabeth— "  I  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth 
but  for  the  truth.  I  consider,  also,  that  he  who  acts 
against  his  conscience,  resting  upon  the  laws  of  God, 
builds  for  Hell."1 

Religious  liberty  and  the  rights  of  conscience  were  stead 
ily  gaining  strength,  though  at  times  it  seemed  as  if  they 
were  crushed,  never  to  rise  again.  The  "  Law  of  the  Six 
Articles,"  made  burnings  and  murders  legal  ;  and  they 
went  on.  Under  Queen  Mary  (called  "  Bloody"  by  Prot 
estants,  for  no  reason  which  would  not  apply  the  title  to 
Henry  and  Elizabeth),  it  became  lawful  to  burn  such  as 
denied  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  and  asserted  that  of 
the  King — and  the  burnings  went  on.  In  Queen  Eliza 
beth's  day  (1571),  the  "Thirty-nine  Articles"  of  the 
Church  of  England,  were  passed,  and  only  some  two 
hundred  and  forty,  out  of  nine  thousand  four  hundred 
1  Strype's  Life,  cited  by  Stowell,  p.  212. 


A.D.  1604.]  TOLERANCE.  193 

Priests,  who  held  livings  under  Mary,  resigned  their  liv 
ings,  rather  than  subscribe  the  Articles.1  The  "  Act  of 
Uniformity"  was  proclaimed  in  1574,  and  large  numbers 
of  the  laity  forsook  the  parish  churches,  with  some  of  the 
clergy.  The  burnings,  banishments,  and  persecutions  still 
went  on.  Many  extreme  Puritans,  and  some  of  the  best 
citizens  and  men  of  England,  were  forced  to  fly  to  the 
Low  Countries. 

The  afflicted  Puritans  hoped  much  from  the 
accession  of  King  James  I.  (1603.)  He  had  de-  THE  PURI- 
clared  his  attachment  to  Puritan  doctrine  and  JAMBB  i. 
discipline,  had  twice  sworn  to  the  "  Covenant," 
in  Scotland,2  and  had  praised  God  that  he  was  born  to  be 
King  of  such  a  Church.  The  English  people — and  the 
Puritans  above  all — learned  that  ano  fool  is  perfect  unless 
he  knows  Latin,"  and  that  no  hatred  is  so  bitter  as  that  of 
the  Kenegade.  In  January,  1603-4,  was  held  the  "  Hamp 
ton  Court  Conference,"  a  kind  of  Theological  Convention, 
which  was  once  more  to  "  settle"  things.  This  pedantic 
King  presided  ;  four  Doctors  appeared  in  behalf  of  the 
Puritans  ;  various  Bishops  and  dignitaries  in  behalf  of  the 
Church  :  the  wishes  of  the  Puritans  were  presented  —were 
answered  by  the  Bishops  ;  the  King  then  took  up  his  par 
able,  and  with  much  Latin,  and  many  coarse  jests,  put  the 
Puritans  to  silence  ;  he  likened  himself  to  Christ,  declared 
that  he  would  have  but  one  opinion  and  one  discipline  ; 
that  he  would  be  the  father  and  guide  of  the  Church,  and 
that  if  the  Puritans  would  not  conform,  "  he  would  harry 
them  out  of  the  country."3 

The  Bishops  and  dignitaries  applauded  greatly,  for  it 
was  one  of  James's  maxims — "  No  King,  no  Bishop  ;" 
and  they  joined  hands  to  keep  their  power  and  revenues. 
Bancroft,  one  of  the  Bishops,  thanked  God  on  his  knees 
— "  for  such  a  King  as  since  Christ's  time  had  not  been 

J  Sto well's  Puritans,  p.  116.  a  Prince's  Chronology. 

3  Prince's  Chronology,     Bancroft's  History,  vol.  i.,  p.  296. 

9 


194  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1649. 

seen."  The  Doctors  went  home  with  sadness  on  their 
faces,  and  grief  in  their  hearts.  The  proclamation  of  Con 
formity  followed  (March,  1604),  and  more  than  one  thous 
and  five  hundred  ministers  were  suspended,  or  silenced, 
and  were  treated  with  harshness  ;  but  not  one  Bishopric 
was  vacated.  Decent  Puritanism  was  borne  down  and  had 
to  succumb,  die,  or  fly.  The  severities  and  urgencies  of 
the  King  and  Church,  drove  them  out  to  seek  refuge  in 
Holland,  in  America,  anywhere,  to  escape  the  hounds  of  a 
cruel  law.  Even  this  relief  was  afterward  denied  them, 
for  in  America,  it  was  feared  they  might  grow  too  strong, 
and  a  proclamation  (Charles  I.)  ordained  that  none  might 
go  without  the  King's  license.  But  the  "love  of  Liberty" 
is  strong,  and  Puritanism  did  not  die.  The  rigid  and 
painful  Archbishop  Laud,  found  it  a  file  which  broke  his 
teeth.  It  had  then  leavened  up  into  the  high-born  and 
educated  classes  of  England.  Hampden,  Eliot,  Pym, 
Vane,  Cromwell,  and  other  names  well  known  to  fame, 
were  with  them.  Freedom  in  Church  led  by  the  hand  its 
twin  brother,  Freedom  in  State,1  and  they  had  grown  in 
strength,  though  exposed  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wolf,  and  the  bitter  blasts  of  the  storm. 

CHARLES  I.  determined  to  rule  as  a  despot  in  State, 
and  Laud  to  lay  every  man  upon  the  Procrustean  bed  of 
his  own  narrow  theology.  The  persecutions,  and  burn 
ings,  and  imprisonments  then  went  on.  But  slowly  coming, 
the  crisis  at  last  arrived,  and  the  wind,  which  others  had 
sown  and  they  fanned,  came  upon  Charles  and  Laud,  a 
whirlwind.  Hampden  went  to  jail  rather  than  pay  an  un 
just  tax  of  twenty  shillings  ;  Eliot  lay  in  prison  ;  Leighton 
was  in  irons  in  Newgate  ;  Prynne's  ears  were  dug  out ; 
but  all  could  not  save  Charles  and  Laud  from  the  ven 
geance  of  an  indignant  people  ;  not  even  the  talent  of 
Sfrraftbrd  availed  ;  down  they  went  before  the  tempest 
they  had  raised — first  Wentworth,  then  Laud,  and  then 
Charles  himself  (1649),  victims  of  their  own  folly,  infidel- 

1  Laud's  Letters  to  Strafford. 


A.D.  1649.]  TOLERATION.  195 

ity,  and  love  of  despotism.     Liberty  raised  its  head,  and 
for  a  time  Puritanism  triumphed. 

Kings,  Bishops,  and  Courtiers,  discovered  that  they, 
too,  had  a  joint  in  their  necks,  and  the  lesson  then  taught, 
the  world  has  never  forgot. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ROGER  WILLIAMS  AND  RHODE  ISLAND. 

THIRTY-TWO  YEARS  OLD — HIS  OPINIONS — PREACHES  AT  SALEM  —  AT  PLYMOUTH — THB 
INDIANS — TROUBLE  AT  SALEM — THE  STRUGGLE  BEGINS — PROGRESSIVES  AND  CON 
SERVATIVES —  THE  FREEMAN'S  OATH  —  ENDICOTT  CUTS  THE  CROSS — PRESBYTERY — 

FREEDOM  OF  WORSHIP — DANGEROUS  OPINIONS — THE  STRUGGLE  GOES  ON — ENDICOTT 
IMPRISONED — WILLIAMS  IS  BANISHED  —  RUINED — HE  FLIES — PROVIDENCE — INDIAN 
GRANTS — UNIFORMITY — MRS.  HUTCHINSON — NEW  EMIGRANTS — AQUETNECK — DANGERS — 
CANONICU8 — MASSACHUSETTS  UNGRATEFUL — CONSTITUTION — VERIN — LIBERTY  OF  CON 
SCIENCE — DEMOCRACY — PROVIDENCE  CHARTER — GORTON — WILLIAMS  GOES  TO  ENGLAND 
— RETURNS — UNION — KING'S  DEATH — CODDINGTON — WILLIAMS  IN  ENGLAND — PRESI 
DENT — CHARTER  RENEWED — BAPTIST — CONTROVERSIES — GEORGE  FOX — INDIANS  SOLD — 
WORK — WILLIAMS  DIES — HIS  WRITINGS — CIVIL  LIBERTY — RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY — WIL- 
LIAMS'S  CHARACTER. 

WHEN  Eoger  Williams  reached  Nantasket,  with  Captain 
Pierce  in  the  ship  Lyon,  on  the  fifth  of  February,  1631, 
he  thanked  God  he  had  reached  a  country  where  there 
were  neither  lords  nor  bishops  ;  where  if  a  man  had  ideas, 
he  could  put  them  into  words  at  least,  and  as  he  hoped 
into  practice. 

He  was  then  a  bright  young  man  (some  thirty-two  years 
old)  with  quick-flowing  blood.  He  walked  into  Boston  town 
with  a  free  step,  and  wondered  what  the  future  of  that  new 
colony,  as  well  as  his  own,  was  to  be.  Nobody  knew,  and 
nobody  cared  where  he  was  born,  nor  is  it  of  much  moment 
now.  He  was  of  Welsh  birth  and  blood  (from  Carmarthen) ; 
and  a  "  godly  minister/'  with  great  activity.1  Much  as  the 
colonists  valued  godly  ministers,  the  arrival  of  the  good 
ship  Lyon  just  then,  with  two  hundred  tons  of  meal  and 
other  things  of  prime  necessity,  was  of  more  pressing  in 
terest  than  he.  The  colonists  during  the  winter  had  suf 
fered  great  distresses,  and  the  poorer  sort  of  people  who 

1  "Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  p.  41. 


A.D.  1631.]  ROGER   WILLIAMS.  197 

lay  long  in  tents,  were  afflicted  with  scurvy,  and  longed 
for  the  juice  of  lemons,  then  aboard  the  ship.  But  young 
Williams  at  once  made  his  way,  and  with  some  decision 
gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the  English  was  not  a  true 
Church,  and  that  the  congregation  at  Boston  ought  to 
make  a  public  declaration  of  repentance  for  having  com 
muned  with  it  in  England.  Many  of  the  Colonists  thought 
so  too  ;  but  the  times,  as  they  thought,  were  not  ripe  for 
such  decided  doctrines.  But  to  Williams,  if  it  was  right 
to  think  it,  then  it  was  right  to  act  it.  He  was  no  poli 
tician  :  so  he  refused  to  join  their  Church,  and  careful 
people  opened  their  eyes  at  the  rash  young  man,  and 
wondered  where  he  expected  to  preach.  But  besides  this 
he  had  another  opinion  quite  at  variance  with  one  held  by 
nearly  all  the  world.  It  was  :  "  That  the  magistrate 
should  restrain  and  punish  crime,  but  that  he  had  no 
right  to  interfere  in  matters  of  conscience  or  to  punish 
heresy/'1  He  said,  the  public,  or  the  magistrate,  may 
decide  what  is  due  from  man  to  man,  but  when  the  magis 
trate  attempts  to  prescribe  a  man's  duties  to  God,  he  is 
out  of  his  place  and  there  can  be  no  safety  ;  for  it  is  clear, 
that  if  the  magistrate  (or  king)  have  the  power,  he  may 
decree  one  set  of  opinions  or  beliefs  to-day  and  another 
to-morrow ;  as  has  been  done  in  England  by  different 
kings  and  queens,  and  by  different  Councils  in  the  Roman 
Church,  and  "  all  would  be  heaps  of  confusion."2  But, 
however  logical  he  might  seem,  careful  people  said,  it 
would  not  do  to  let  everybody  think  and  teach  just  what 
they  chose  ;  for  if  they  did  the  world  would  certainly 
come  to  an  end  :  at  least  God  and  his  Truth  could  not  be 
sustained. 

But  farther  he  said  :  "  Why  lay  such  stress  upon  your 
patent  from  King  James  of  England  ?  Your  patent  is 
but  a  parchment — James  has  no  more  right  to  give  away 
or  sell  Massasoit's  lands,  and  cut  and  carve  the  country, 

1  "  Breaches  of  the  First  Table" — the  first  four  Commandments — these 
offenses  were  called.  a  See  "  Hireling  Ministry." 


198  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1631. 

than  Massasoit  "has  to  sell  James's,  or  to  send  his  Indians 
to  colonize  Warwickshire." 

The  Colonists  had  tried  very  hard  to  get  the  patent, 
and  it  was  the  usual  way,  and  they  wanted  the  land,  and 
it  had  a  better  look  to  hold  it  with  a  patent  than  without 
it,  and  more  than  all,  it  protected  them  against  England, 
and  the  grasping  taxation  of  the  Court,  Camp,  and 
Church.  So  they  stuck  to  it,  and  put  logic  and  Williams 
out  of  their  way.1 

With  such  novel  and  unpopular  opinions,  what  was 
Williams  to  do  ?  Luckily  for  him,  young  ministers  were 
not  so  common  in  New  England  then  as  now,  and  more 
over,  Endicott  at  Salem — who  was  a  royal  man  (though 
he  did  strike  Goodman  Dexter,  provoked  to  do  it  "  by  his 
carriadge"  and  such  "daring  of  me")2 — had  a  sympathy 
for  his  bravery  and  his  opinions,  and  the  Salem  people, 
after  Mr.  Higginson's  death,  invited  Williams  to  come 
and  preach  for  them,  which  he  did  (April  1631).  This 
caused  a  commotion,  and  the  Court  took  the  matter  up, 
and  wrote  to  Mr.  Endicott — objecting,  and  "marvelled 
they  would  choose  him  without  advising  with  the  Council; 
and  withal  desiring  him  that  they  would  forbear  to  proceed 
till  they  had  conferred  about  it/'8 

The  Salem  people,  however,  liking  Williams,  chose  to 
hear  him  preach,  and  having  for  some  time  ruled  their 
own  affairs,  under  the  direction  of  Endicott,  did  not 
enough  stand  in  awe  of  the  new  authorities.  But  Wil 
liams  went  up  to  Boston,  and  took  the  oath  to  the  civil 
government  ;  and  on  the  same  day  (18th  May,  1631)  the 
Court  passed  the  celebrated  order  that  none  but  Church 
Members  should  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  the  body 
politic.4 

1  The  New  Englanders  bought  their  lands  from  the  Indians.  Knowles's 
Life.  Mather's  Magrialia.  Dwight's  Travels.  Williams's  Reply  to  Cotton. 

a  Endicott's  Letter  to  Winthrop,  in  Memoir,  p.  41. 

*  Winthrop's  Journal. 

4  Elton's  Life  of  Roger  "Williams.  This  continued  till  16G5.  Note  to 
Savage's  Winthrop,  vol.  ii.,  p.  171. 


HE  WENT    TO 
PLYMOUTH. 


A.D.  1633.]  ROGER   WILLIAMS.  199 

The  dissatisfaction  with   Williams   and  the 
Salem  Church,  grew  warmer,  with  the  advance 
of  summer,  and  the  displeasure  of  the  magis 
trates  was   so  great,  that  Williams  decided  to  go  to  Ply 
mouth,  and  assist  the  minister  Smith — whose  gifts  were 
not  great.1 

We  have  seen  how  the  Sunday  was  enjoyed  while  Wil 
liams  was  there,  in  the  sketch  of  the  Plymouth  Church 
(ch.  xvi.).  The  people  there  having  already  separated 
from  the  English  Church  were  not  afraid,  so  Williams 
was  well  received,  and  Governor  Bradford  says  his  teach 
ing  was  approved.2  But  the  active  mind  and  body  of  the 
man  were  at  work,  and  the  careful  Brevvster  was  watch 
ful  of  so  very  outspoken  a  man.  During  these  two  years 
Williams  began  his  intimacy  with  the  Indians,  and  friend 
ships  were  commenced,  which  resulted  in  his  preservation 
and  the  salvation  of  the  Colonies.  "  My  soul's  desire," 
he  said,  "  was  to  do  the  natives  good."  The  subtle  In 
dians  saw  it,  and  stood  by  him.  "  God  was  pleased,"  so 
he  said,  "  to  give  me  a  painful,  patient  spirit  to  lodge 
with  them  in  their  filthy  smoky  holes,  to  gain  their 
tongue,"  etc.  In  this  way  he  came  to  know  Massasoit, 
Canonicus,  and  Miantonomo,  bold  men,  chiefs  of  the 
powerful  Narragansetts.  So  things  continued  till  Au 
gust,  1633,  when,  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Skelton,  Wil 
liams  returned  to  Salem.8  The  people  there  liked  him 
and  wanted  him.  Endicott  received  him  with  rough, 
hearty  cordiality,  and  the  people  with  sincere  welcome. 
The  magistrates  at  Boston  wrote,  requesting  them  not  to 
settle  him,  but  they  would  do  it,  and  in  August  of  the 
following  year,  he  was  instituted  in  the  Church.4 

From  this  time  there  went  on  a  struggle  between  Wil 
liams  and  the  Government.  John  Endicott  was  one  of 
the  Assistants,  who  stood  by  Williams,  and  the  Court  was 
not  quite  ready  to  carry  matters  to  extremity.  On  a  day 

1  August,  1631.  a  Prince,  p.  377.     Winthrop. 

8  Nov.  1633.    Mem.  J.  Endicott,  p.  49.  <  Gammel's  Life,  p.  37. 


PROGRESS 
IVES     AND 
CONSERVA 
TIVES. 


200  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1633. 

when  Endicott  was  at  Boston,  the  Minister,  Mr.  Cotton 
took  occasion  to  preach  upon  the  subject  of  vails,  which 
were  worn  by  women  in  the  Church.  After  the  sermon 
Endicott  spoke  (as  was  the  custom),  and  took  the  ground, 
that  as  they  were  the  sign  of  submission,  and  were  Scrip 
tural,1  they  ought  to  be  continued.  Williams  sustained 
Endicott,  and  this  question  became  of  great  interest. 
Sermons  were  preached  and  rebutted,  and  at  last  Cotton 
came  down  to  Salem,  and  preached  against  them,  and  the 
women  inclined  to  his  view. 

In  every  society  there  are  Progressives  and 
Conservatives,  those  who  wish  to  go  forward, 
and  those  who  wish  to  move  slowly,  if  at  all. 
Williams  certainly  belonged  to  the  former 
and  there  seemed  no  sufficient  reason  to  him  to 
forbear  speaking  his  truth,  and  attempting  to  put  it  into 
practice.  There  will  be  occasions  enough  in  any  society 
for  this  difference  to  show  itself.  Williams  had  put  forth 
his  views  in  a  book,  claiming  that  they  could  have  no 
right  to  lands  under  this  grant  from  the  King,  "  nor  other 
wise,  except  they  compounded  with  the  natives,"  the  Doc 
trine  and  the  style  of  which  much  offended  "  the  Magis 
trates  and  Ministers."  Endicott  was  written  to,  and  it 
was  decided  to  censure  Williams  for  his  "  Errour  and 
presumption."  Williams  wrote  that  he  had  no  purpose 
to  have  stirred  further  in  the  matter,  and  offered  the  book 
to  be  burned,  and  so  the  difference  was  ended  for  the 
present. 

But  in  1633  trouble  seemed  brewing  in  England  against 
the  Colonists.  Charles,  Laud,  and  Wentworth,  hated 
Puritans  and  Reformers,  and  the  Privy  Council  ordered 
the  Colony  Charter  home  to  be  "  regulated."  Cradock 
wrote  for  it  in  1634,  and  in  1635  "  quo  warranto"  was 
issued.  The  Court  decided  to  reply  to  Cradock's  letter, 
but  not  to  se,nd  the  Charter.  Great  dread  of  the  threat 
ened  "Commission,"  for  regulating  the  plantations,  spread 

1  1  Corinthians,  xi.  5. 


A.D.  1635.]  ROGER   WILLIAMS.  201 

through  the  Colony,  and  resistance  was  seriously  contem 
plated,  and  to  "avoid  and  protract"  was  decided  on. 

In  this  state  of  things  the  FREEMAN'S  OATH  was  offer 
ed  to  the  people,  which  hound  them  to  allegiance  to  the 
Colony  rather  than  to  England.  Williams  could  not  be 
quiet  in  this  seething  world  ;  nor  could  Endicott.  Both 
of  them  saw  the  inevitable  tendencies  of  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church  to  despotism  ;  and  feeling  that  such  a 
church  was  dangerous  to  their  infant  liberties,  they  de 
cided  that  the  symbol  under  which  the  Pope  and  Laud 
marched  should  not  be  their  symbol  ;  so  Endicott  cut  the 
cross  out  of  the  King's  colors.1  This  made  trouble  ;  and 
Endicott,  at  the  next  Court,  was  "sadly  admonished/' 
and  disabled  from  office  for  a  year.  Williams  held  pecu 
liar  views  respecting  oaths,  and  cited  the  Scripture  com 
mand — "  Swear  not  at  all."  And  as  the  freeman's  oath 
clashed  with  the  oath  to  the  King  already  taken,  Wil 
liams  spoke  against  it,  and  dissuaded  some  from  accept 
ing  it.2 

He  early  foresaw,  too,  the  dangers  to  be  feared  from 
the  too  great  influence  of  the  Clergy  in  the  State,  and 
refused  to  attend  their  stated  meetings,  lest  they  might 
grow  to  be  a  sort  of  Presbytery ;  and  he  boldly  asserted 
the  startling  doctrine  that  "no  one  should  be  Abound  to 
maintain  a  worship  against  his  own  consent."3 

It  is  clear  that  to  them  he  held  novel  and  dangerous 
opinions,  and  that  his  activity  aggravated  the  Ministers 
and  Magistrates  ;  so  they  sent  for  him  to  come  to  Boston, 
to  see  what  could  be  done.  He  was  willing  to  go,  for  he 
feared  nothing  so  much  as  indifference  and  stupidity. 
He  felt  himself  strong  in  his  opinions,  though  they  were 
unpopular  ;  and  his  earnestness,  and  honesty,  and  straight 
forwardness  had  made  him  dear  to  the  Salem  people,  in 
spite  of  his  opinions  ;  for  character,  not  doctrine,  is  al 
ways  the  essence  of  manhood.  So  he  took  his  staff  in  his 

1  Hubbard,  p.  255.  a  Gammell,  p.  67. 

3  Hubbard  says  "he  had  a  fly-blown  imagination,"  p.  189. 

9* 


202  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

hand  and  went.  The  Magistrates  gave  him  a  hearing, 
and  the  Ministers  sat  by.  He  was  true  to  himself  that 
day,  and  spoke  for  Liberty  of  Conscience  and  Worship, 
and  for  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  ;  and  though 
the  Ministers  confuted  him  "  clearly"  (as  VVinthrop 
thought),  and  though  Endicott  "  gave  place  to  the 
truth,"1  Williams  maintained  his  position.  The  question 
was  not  ended,  and  in  July,  1635  (Haynes  then  Gover 
nor),  he  was  brought  before  the  Court  to  answer  for  these 
things — "  divers  dangerous  opinions." 

First,  that  the  Magistrate  ought  not  to  punish  the 
breach  of  the  First  Table,  otherwise  than  in  such  cases  as 
disturbed  the  civil  peace.  Second,  that  he  ought  not  to 
tender  an  oath  to  an  unregenerate  man.  Third,  that  a 
man  ought  not  to  pray  with  the  unregenerate,  though  wife, 
child,  etc.  Fourth,  that  a  man  ought  not  to  give  thanks 
after  the  sacrament  or  after  meat,  etc.2  Thus  the  grounds 
of  the  quarrel  are  stated  by  Winthrop,  in  the  terms  of 
the  day.  As  we  now  judge,  the  real  question  at  issue 
was,  the  right  of  the  Civil  Government  to  interfere  in 
matters  of  religion. 

On  the  one  side  were — the  usage  of  the  world,  the 
governor  and  the  magistrates,  the  clergy,  the  majority  of 
the  people  ;  on  the  other  side  was — Roger  Williams,  a 
man  of  blameless  life,  distinguished  talents,  and  deter 
mined  courage.  He  stood  alone3  in  the  universe  of  God, 
with  no  weapon  but  his  tongue,  and  no  power  but  truth, 
and  though  he  might — must  go  down,  yet  he  feared 
nothing. 

Uniformity,  the  ministers  said,  is  the  necessary  thing. 
Williams  replied  :  so  the  Pope  says,  and  so  said  Henry 
VIII.  arid  Bloody  Mary,  and  having  the  power,  they  tried 
to  enforce  it.  But,  said  the  Ministers,  if  the  magistrates 
not  intermeddle  to  hinder  a  Church  from  running  off 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  p.  158. 

2  Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  p.  163  ;  Morton's  Mem.,  p.  155. 
8  The  Salem  Church  finally  deserted  him. 


A.D.  1635.]  ROGER   WILLIAMS.  203 

to  heresy,  what  is  to  "become  of  true  religion  ?  Williams 
said  :  If,  with  a  fair  field,  truth  is  not  equal  to  error,  then 
Satan  must  be  stronger  than  God — which  I  do  not  believe. 
The  Ministers  urged,  that  the  people  needed  guides,  that 
they  were  not  yet  able  to  decide  for  themselves.  Nor  will 
they  ever  be,  if  you  keep  them  in  leading-strings,  an 
swered  Williams.  No,  he  continued,  when  you  force  the 
conscience  of  men,  you  invade  the  prerogative  of  God  ;  by 
no  dungeons,  or  whippings,  or  burnings,  can  you  compel  a 
man  to  see  the  truth  as  you  do.  It  has  been  tried — thou 
sands  have  perished  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Prince  of  Peace.1  Yourselves,  even  have  been  driven  from 
England,  at  the  peril  of  your  lives,  because  you  could  not 
worship  God  as  Laud  decreed  ;  and  now  I  am  in  peril 
because  I  hold  and  teach  what  you  do  not  believe  to  be 
true.  If  you  use  force  against  me  you  will  do  violence  to 
your  best  instincts  ;  you  may  imprison,  you  may  kill  me, 
but  you  can  not  destroy  a  grain  of  God's  truth. 

It  was  useless.  The  Ministers  thought  that  he  who 
should  obstinately  maintain  such  opinions  (before  cited) 
should  be  removed,2  and  he  was  sent  back  to  Salem,  that 
he  and  the  Church  might  consider  and  give  satisfaction  or 
else  expect  "  the  Sentence." 

A  few  days  after,  the  Salem  people  preferred  a  petition 
to  the  Court  about  some  land,  "  but  because  they  had 
chosen  Mr.  Williams  they  were  refused/'  etc.3  So  the 
Salem  people  must  go  without  their  lands  or  dismiss  Mr. 
Williams.  Now  they  loved  Mr.  Williams,  but  they  wanted 
the  land,  and  money-loving  Christians  began  to  think  the 
matter  had  a  serious  look,  if  it  was  to  interfere  with  their 
lands  ;  but,  at  first,  the  Church  was  incensed  at  this  legal 
tyranny,  and  sent  letters  of  admonition  to  the  other 
Churches,  which  only  made  matters  worse  ;  for  their  dep 
uties  were  deprived  of  their  seats  in  the  General  Court, 
and  tough  old  Endicott  was  imprisoned  for  a  day.4 

1  Bloody  Tenet.  3  "Wintbrop,  vol.  L,  p.  1 63. 

2  Kaotvles's  Life,  p.  71.          <  Knowles,  p.  71.     Winthrop,  voL  i.,  p.  166. 


HE     IS     BAN. 
ISIIED. 


204  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

At  last  in  October,  1635,  Williams  was  again  convented, 
all  the  Ministers  of  the  Bay  being  desired  to  be  present. 
He  justified  his  letters,  and  maintained  all  his  opinions  ; 
and  though  Mr.  Hooker  was  "  chosen  to  dispute  with  him/5 
yet  he  said :  "  What  I  believe,  I  believe,  and  I  can  not 
change  until  I  am  convinced.  What  I  think  and  believe, 
that  I  will  speak/'  So  the  Court  next  morning 
sentenced  him  :  "  To  depart  out  of  our  jurisdic 
tion  within  six  weeks,  all  the  Ministers,  save 
one,  approving  the  sentence/'1  Nov.  3d,  1635. 

In  consideration  of  his  family,  and  the  approach  of  Win 
ter,  he  was  allowed  to  remain  in  his  house  till  Spring.2 

Williams  was  now  a  ruined  and  disgraced  man  ;  some 
what  exasperated  too,  for  his  Church  at  last  deserted  him 
and  disclaimed  his  errors,  and  wrote  an  humble  submission 
to  the  Magistrates.  The  time,  no  doubt,  will  come  when 
men  of  Property  will  join  hands  with  men  of  Principle  ; 
but  it  was  too  soon  for  such  a  God-like  fact,  in  Salem,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1635,  by  several  centuries. 

Powerless  and  sick,  Williams  was  not  without  comfort. 
In  the  language  of  Job,  he  denied  that  he  was  wicked,  and 
said,  "  Though  I  die  I  will  maintain  my  integrity/'  Some 
twenty  of  his  Salem  friends  yet  stood  by  him,  and  re 
sorted  to  his  house  to  solace  him,  and  to  listen  to  his 
teachings.  Winthrop  (not  then  governor)  wrote  him 
privately,  expressing  sympathy,  and  advising  him  to  go  to 
the  Narragansett  country,  where  no  white  men  had  yet 
asserted  jurisdiction.3 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  pp.  171,  173.     Knowles,  p.  51. 

3  The  sentence  ran  thus :  "  Whereas,  Mr.  Roger  Williams,  one  of  the 
Elders  of  the  Church  at  Salem,  hath  broached  and  divulged  dyvers  newe 
and  dangerous  opinions  against  the  aucthoritie  of  magistrates,  also  write 
1'  ses  of  defam9on,  both  of  the  magistrates  and  churches  here  and  that 
before  any  conviccon  and  yet  maintaineth  the  same  without  retraccon.  It 
is  therefore  ordered  that  the  said  Mr.  Williams  shall  dep'te  out  of  this  Juris- 
diccon  within  sixe  weeks  nowe  next  ensuing,  wcl1  if  hee  neglect  to  p'forme, 
it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Gov'nr  and  two  of  the  magistrates  to  sende  him  to 
some  place  out  of  this  Jurisdiccon,  not  to  returne  any  more,  without  licence 
from  the  Cou^s."  3  Williams's  Letter  to  Mason.  M.  H.  C.,  vol.  i. 


A.D.  1635.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  205 

We  can  not  well  appreciate  the  bitterness  felt  by  the 
clergy  toward  him  ;  though  at  the  present  day  religious 
hatreds  are  not  quite  unknown  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  they  could  resist  Williams's  position  ;  for  Cotton  and 
Hooker  were  men  of  mind,  and  the  clergy  were  up  to  the 
average  of  men  in  sense  and  morality.  Yet  long  after 
time  had  softened  the  rancor  of  the  struggle,  Mather 
called  Williams,  the  "  Korah  of  New  England,"  and  de 
clared,  that  he  had  "  a  windmill  in  his  head  ;"  while 
Hubbard,  of  Ipswich  (died  1704),  was  glad  to  say,  that 
he  had  a  "  fly-blown  imagination,"  with  a  "  heady  and 
turbulent  spirit."  It  must  be  remembered,  that  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  religious  controversy  to  debauch  the  intel 
lect  and  to  paralyze  the  affections,  and  that  Williams  was 
himself  injured  by  it. 

Thus  matters  stood  in  January,  1635-6 ;  Williams  still 
in  his  own  house,  and  the  people  coming  to  him  and  lis 
tening  to  his  damnable  opinions.  Then  the  Magistrates 
fearing  the  founding  of  an  "  infectious"  colony  on  their 
borders,  sent  for  him  to  come  to  Boston,  intending  to  ship 
him  to  England;1  but  he  refusing  to  come,  Captain  Un 
derbill  was  sent  to  fetch  him,  in  a  small  sloop.  He  heard 
of  this,  and  in  the  dead  of  winter,2  fled  alone  through  the 
forest.  "  Bread  and  bed  I  knew  not  for  fourteen  weeks," 
he  said  ;  he  fled  from  Christians  to  savages,  through  snow; 
through  darkness,  through  forests,  till  he  reached  the 
kind-hearted,  but  stupid  Indian  and  heathen  Massasoit. 


RHODE    ISLAND. 
1635-6. 

HERE  begins  the  History  of  Rhode  Island,  and  for  forty 
years,  the  history  of  the  State  and  the  Man  are  one.  The 
"  heart's  desire"  of  Williams,  to  do  the  Indians  good,  was 
now  returned  to  him  many  fold.  Massasoit,  Chief  of  the 

1  Wintkrop,  vol.  i.,  p.  175.  2  January,  1635-6. 


206  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

Wampanoags,  was  his  friend.  So  were  Canonicus  and 
Miantoaomo,  Chiefs  of  the  Narragansetts,  who  numbered 
four  thousand  fighting  men.  The  Indians  were  his  friends, 
and  fortunately  knew  nothing  of  "  breaches  of  the  first 
table,"  or  the  delicate  dangers  of  the  Freeman's  Oath  ;  but 
they  were  open  to  the  influences  of  kindness  and  justice. 

Williams  planted  his  corn  at  Seekonk,  for  he  knew  that 
the  basis  of  every  good  State  and  Society,  is  Agriculture  ; 
but  learning  that  this  might  be  in  the  limits  of  the  Ply 
mouth  claim,1  he  removed  on  lands  purchased  by  him 
(not  stolen),  from  the  Narragansetts.2 

As  he  floated  in  his  canoe  down  the  river  Pautucket, 
and  drew  near  the  future  site  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Prov 
idence,  the  Indians  shouted  to  him, 

"  Wha-cheer,  friend,  Wha-cheer  ?"3  and  grasped  his 
hand  with  ready  sympathy,  as  he  stepped  ashore. 

On  the  hill,  the  forests  just  clothed  in  their  full  leafage, 
bowed  their  heads  to  this  fugitive — the  Hero  of  a  great 
idea,  and  whispered  "  FREEDOM."  Where  they  bourgeoned, 
the  huts  of  the  first  settlers  were  built,  and  where  Provi 
dence  now  stands,4  the  standard  of  Religious  Liberty  was 
first  planted  ;  there  it  has  stood,  and  there  it  will  stand. 
Hither  came  some  twenty  of  Williams's  friends  (and  his 
wife  and  two  children),  who  had  stood  by  him  through  all 
disasters,  and  who  were  now  to  begin  a  new  State.  Every 
man  put  his  hand  to  the  work,  and  Williams  planted  with 
corn  "  Whatcheer  and  Saxifrax  Hills,"  so  that  the  grateful 
Earth  yielded  to  them  her  fruits,  as  richly  as  to  those  of 
Orthodox  faith  ;  and  the  place  became  a  refuge  for  "  per 
sons  distressed  for  conscience."  5 

Hither  came  all  sorts  of  distressed  people — Free-think 
ers,  Anabaptists,  Visionaries,  men  with  one  idea,  or  with 

1  Letter  from  Governor  Winslow. 

3  See  Deed  in  Rhode  Island  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  iv.     Knowles,  p.  106. 

3  "  What  Cheer."  a  Poem  by  Judge  Durfee. 

4  Called  by  the  Indians,  Moshassuk. 

»  Those  who  first  came  were  William  Harris,  John  Smith,  Joshua  Yerin, 
Thomas  Angell,  and  Francis  Wickes.  Knowles,  p.  3. 


A.D.  1636.]  RHODE    ISLAND.  207 

many  ;  and  slow-minded,  sensible  people,  shook  their  heads 
at  the  hopelessness  of  combining  them  into  a  State.  Dis 
cord,  confusion,  and  anarchy,  are  sure  to  come,  they  said  ; 
for  a  while  they  may  come,  said  Williams  ;  let  them,  if  it 
must  be  ;  time  will  prove  the  truth  of  my  doctrine  :  that 
the  civil  power  has  no  jurisdiction  over  the  conscience. 
Time  has  done  it. 

But  a  few  years  had  elapsed,  when  Williams  was  able 
to  write  as  follows,  to  Sir  Harry  Vane,  (1654) :  "  We  have 
not  only  been  long  free  (against  whose  cruel  oppressions 
God  raised  up  your  noble  spirit  in  Parliament),  but  we 
have,  sitten  quiet  and  dry  from  the  streams  of  blood  spilt 
by  that  war  in  our  native  country.  We  have  not  felt  the 
new  chains  of  the  Presbyterian  tyrants,  nor  in  this  Colo 
ny  have  we  been  consumed  with  the  over-zealous  fire  of 
the  (so-called)  Godly  Christian  magistrates.  Sir,  we  have 
not  known  what  Excise  means.  We  have  almost  forgot 
what  tythes  are,  yea,  or  taxes  either,  to  Church  or  Com 
monwealth."1  Circumstances  forced  open  the  eyes  of  oth 
er  men  to  this  principle  of  religious  freedom.  Governor 
Haynes,  who  had  pronounced  Williams's  sentence,  and 
who  was  afterward  Governor  of  Hartford,  found  it  desira 
ble  to  leave  the  "  Bay"  with  Hooker  ;  and  he  admitted  to 
Williams,  "  that  the  most  wise  God  had  provided  tbis  part 
of  His  world  for  a  refuge  for  ALL  SORTS  of  consciences/' 
Thus  the  leaven  worked. 

But  there  were  eyes  then  and  afterward  which  could  not 
be  made  to  see,  such  as  Cotton  Mather  (a  man  of  great 
industry,  but  of  deep  and  passionate  vanity) ;  be  said  that 
the  Rhode  Island  Colony  was  "  a  colluvies  (a  sink)  of  An- 
tinomians,  Famalists,  Anabaptists,  An ti- Sabbatarians,  Ar- 
minians,  Socinians,  Quakers,  Ranters,  and  every  thing  but 
Roman  Catholics,  and  true  Christians — bono  terra,  malo 
gens  :  e  A  good  land  and  a  wicked  people/  "  Still,  in  the 
language  of  that  day,  the  Lord  permitted  the  Colony  to 
increase  and  prosper. 

1  Knowles's  Life,  p.  270. 


208  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

Williams  built  himself  a  house,  near  the  once-famous 
spring  called  by  his  name  (now  in  the  heart  of  Providence 
— Bowen-street);  but  his  first  planting,  at  Seekonk,  had 
been  abandoned,  and  he  was  an  impoverished  man  ;  so 
much  so  that  in  his  letter  to  Mason,  he  says  :  "  It  pleased 
the  Father  of  Spirits,  to  touch  many  hearts  dear  to  him, 
with  many  relentings  ;  amongst  which,  that  great  and 
pious  soul,  Mr.  Winslow,  melted,  and  kindly  visited  me  at 
Providence,  and  put  a  piece  of  gold  in  the  hands  of  my 
wife,  for  our  supply." 

The  grant  of  lands,  from  Canonicus  and  Miantonomo, 
was  large  and  valuable,  and  Williams  might  have  lived  as 
Lord-proprietor  ;  for  he  asserts,  and  we  may  believe  his 
positive  testimony,  that  the  land  was  obtained  by  his  own 
money,  and  through  the  regard  of  the  Indians  for  him  ; 
though  it  was  not  thousands  nor  tens  of  thousands  of  mo 
ney,  could  have  bought  of  Canonicus  an  English  entrance 
into  the  bay.1  But  with  whatever  other  faults,  Williams 
was  not  greedy  for  lands  or  power,  and  he  generously  con 
veyed  to  twelve  of  his  Associates,  equal  rights  to  the  lands, 
by  Deed,  in  1638,  confirmed  afterward  in  1661.  For  this 
he  received  thirty  pounds,  which  was  paid  out  of  the  pro 
ceeds  of  a  tax  of  thirty  shillings,  levied  upon  each  new 
settler  who  occupied  portions  of  the  land. 

But  uniformity  of  opinion  seemed  as  far  away,  after 
William s's  banishment,  as  before.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  had 
arrived  in  Boston,  in  1636,  "  holding  views."  She  had  a 
free  gift  of  speech,  and  having  the  sympathy  of  Governor 
Vane,  and  the  Reverend  Mr.  Cotton,  she  soon  stirred  up 
the  Theological  Waters.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done 
but  to  banish  her,  too  ;  for  they  had  not  learned  that 
Truth  is  the  only  weapon  that  can  pierce  Error,  and  that 
if  Mrs.  Hutchinson  spoke  the  truth,  no  amount  of  perse 
cution  could  silence  it  ;  and  that  if  she  had  been  let  alone, 
she  would  have  found  her  place,  and  the  public  quiet 

1  See  Deed  in  Knowles,  p.  107.  Rhode  Island  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  ix.,  March, 
1638.  Backus,  vol.  L,  p.  94.  Bancroft,  i.,  p.  380. 


A.D.  1638.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  209 

would  not  have  suffered.  In  August,  1637,  the  Ministers 
collected  at  Cambridge,  to  see  what  could  be  done  ;  they 
were  overwhelmnd  with  fear,  for  they  found  that  no  less 
than  eighty-two  damnable  heresies  had  crept  in.1 

With  Mrs.  Hutchinson,2  forcibly  or  freely,  came  great 
numbers  from  Massachusetts,  and  they  found  a  warm  wel 
come  and  a  ready  hand  with  Koger  Williams.  Through 
him,  the  Indians  were  induced  to  sell  the  beautiful  Island 
of  Aquitneck,  or  Aquiday,  or  Rhode  Island  (now  a  very 
un-Puritan  place),  where  they  prospered  so  well,  that  they 
were  willing  to  forget  the  fires  from  which  they  had  fled. 
"  It  was  not  price  nor  money,"  said  Williams,  "  that  could 
have  purchased  Rhode  Island  :  Ehode  Island  was  obtained 
by  Love — by  the  Love  and  favor  which  that  Honorable 
Gentleman,  Sir  Harry  Yane,  and  myself,  had  with  that 
great  Sachem,  Miantonomo." 

The  Island  was  bought  in  the  name  of  Mr.  William 
Coddington,8  the  leading  man  in  the  new  settlement  ;  and 
it  became  another  place  of  refuge  for  men  with  free  thoughts. 

Williams  was  indefatigable  in  his  endeavors  to  continue 
peace  between  Massasoit,  Canonicus,  and  Miantonomo, 
and  was  successful.  They  granted  what  he  asked,  for  they 
perceived  his  justice,  which  no  man,  of  whatever  color,  can 
possibly  withstand  ;  and  he  never  denied  them  what  they 
asked.  The  old  Chief  Canonicus  loved  him  as  his  own 
son  ;  and  Williams  went  safely  among  them,  when  most 
exasperated  and  frenzied  at  the  encroachments  and  inso 
lences  of  the  whites.  He  bore  a  charmed  life.  On  the 
west  of  Williams's  settlement  were  the  bold  and  warlike 
Pequots.  In  1634,  they  murdered  Captain  Stone  (an 
Indian  trader  who  probably  deserved  it),  and  in  1636, 
John  Oldham  was  killed  at  Block  Island.  Endicott  was 
sent  down  [August,  1636]  to  punish  and  revenge  these 
things,  which  only  exasperated  the  Indians,  and  brought 
about  a  league  against  the  whites.4 

1  Knowlcs,  p.  141.     (See  ch,  xxxi.,  xxxii.) 

9  1G38:  Winthrop.  c  March,  1637-8.  *  Chapter 


210  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

Governor  Vane  wrote  to  Williams  about  the  dangers  of 
the  conspiracy  ;  so  Williams  alone,  in  his  canoe,  hastened 
across  the  Bay  to  the  haunts  of  Canonicus  and  Mian- 
tonomo,  cutting  through  a  stormy  wind.  He  was  none  too 
soon,  for  there  were  the  Pequot  diplomats,  urging  the 
dark  dangers  which  hung  over  the  natives,  reiterating  the 
encroachments  of  the  whites,  the  chicanery,  and  insolence, 
and  cruelty  which  some  had  practiced,  and  appealing  to 
their  pride  of  possession  and  of  Race. 

For  three  days  and  nights,  Williams,  in  .the  Sachem's 
house,  mixed  with  the  bloody  Pequot  embassadors,  and 
pushed  his  dangerous  mission  ;  and  at  last  his  old  friend 
ship  and  superior  skill  prevailed  ;  Canonicus  and  Mian- 
tonomo  refused  the  Pequot  league,  and  remained  in  friend 
ship  with  the  whites.  Winthrop  was  in  favor  of  passing 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  Williams  for  what  he  had  done  ;  but 
Dudley  (a  born  bigot,  though  an  upright  man)  could  not 
allow  any  recognition  of  merit  in  a  man  who  held  such 
doctrines.1 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  in  spite  of  Winthrop's 
respect  for  Williams,  was  determined  to  cut  oft'  the  her 
etics  ;  so  they  forbad  all  dealings  ;  and  when  John  Greene 
(who,  as  Savage  quaintly  observes,  "  seems  not  to  have 
attracted  the  wrath  of  heaven  to  shorten  his  days," 
because  of  his  religious  opinions)  wrote  a  letter,  charging 
the  Magistrates  with  having  usurped  powers,  the  Court 
passed  an  order  [1638]  to  apprehend  ANY  of  the  Providence 
folk,  found  in  their  jurisdiction,  and  to  send  them  out  of 
the  bounds,  unless  they  would  disclaim  such  opinions. 
This  act  cut  them  off  from  the  trade  of  Boston,  and  they 
were  at  times  in  straits,  so  that  Williams  says  :  "  My  time 
was  spent,  day  and  night,  at  home  and  abroad,  on  the 
land  and  water,  at  the  hoe  and  at  the  oar,  for  bread/' 

The  action  of  the  Orthodox  Colonies  seemed  now  vin 
dictive,  and  it  must  have  severely  tried  the  forbearance  of 
Williams  and  his  friends  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  labors 

1  Williams's  Letter  to  Mason.     Elton's  Life,  p.  54. 


A.D.  1638.]  KHODE    ISLAND.  211 

of  Williams  to  protect  them  from  the  Indians,  when  in 
1643,  the  Confederacy1  (of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Connecticut,  and  New  Haven)  was  formed  for  mutual  pro 
tection  against  these  very  Indians,  Providence  and  Khode 
Island  were  rigorously  excluded — first  for  one  reason  and 
then  for  another  ;  and  rumors  even  reached  them,  that  the 
Confederation  entertained  the  idea  of  taking  action  against 
them,  as  Heretics,  dangerous  to  the  safety  of  the  religious 
colonists.2 

Hutchinson  says  :  "  After  all  that  has  been  said  of  the 
action  or  tenets  of  this  person,  while  he  was  in  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  it  ought  forever  he  remembered  to  his 
honor,  that  for  forty  years  after,  instead  of  showing  any 
revengeful  resentment  against  the  Colony  from  which  he 
had  been  banished,  he  seems  to  have  been  continually 
employed  in  acts  of  kindness  and  benevolence." 3 

RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY  produced  its  proper  fruits  in  the 
mind  of  Koger  Williams  ;  he  declared  ("  Bloody  Tenet"), 
u  Kings  and  Magistrates  must  be  considered  invested  with 
no  more  power  than  the  people  betrust  them  with."  "The 
sovereign  power  of  all  civil  authority  is  founded  in  the 
consent  of  the  people." 

The  Constitution  of  the  new  State  was  a  mod 
el  of  brevity  and  simplicity  ;  for  Constitutions 
become  manacles  and  fetters  when  not  founded 
upon  broad  and  simple  truths.  It  ran  thus  :  "  We,  whose 
names  are  hereunder  written,  being  desirous  to  inhabit  in 
the  Town  of  Providence,  do  promise  to  submit  ourselves 
in  active  or  passive  obedience  to  all  such  orders,  or  agree 
ments,  as  shall  be  made  for  public  good  of  the  body,  in  an 
orderly  way,  by  the  major  consent  of  the  present  inhabit 
ants,  masters  of  families,  incorporated  together  into  a 
Township,  and  such  others  whom  they  shall  admit  unto 
the  same — only  in  civil  things."4  This  Covenant  was  signed 

1  Confederation,  1643,  continued  till  1686.     a  Williams's  Letter  to  Mason, 

3  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  vol.  L,  p.  38. 

4  Knowles,  p.  120. 


212  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1656. 

by  the  citizens,  and  this  was  all  that  was  found  necessary 
in  a  true  and  simple  state  of  society.  Their  affairs  were 
conducted  by  the  whole  body,  assembled  in  Town-meeting, 
until  1640.  No  power  was  delegated  until  then.  So  jeal 
ous  were  they  of  their  religious  rights,  that  when  Joshua 
Verin  "  refused  to  let  his  wife  go  so  oft  as  she  was  called 
for  to  Mr.  Williams's — they  required  to  have  him  cen 
sured."! 

Verin  plead,  that  the  Scriptures  gave  him  the  right,  to 
prevent  his  wife  from  going  to  Church  ;  and  though  "  one 
Arnold,"  a  witty  man,  spoke  for  him,  it  was  voted  that, 
"for  breach  of  covenant  in  restraining  liberty  of  con 
science,  he  shall  be  withheld  the  liberty  of  voting,  until 
he  declare  the  contrary."2 

Here  was  an  early,  practical,  and  successful  assertion  of 
"  Woman's  rights  ;"  not  yet  thoroughly  understood. 

In  the  disputes  which  broke  out  in  Providence  (1640), 
about  "  metes  and  bounds"  of  lands,  they  reiterated  that 
they  "  still  held  forth  liberty  of  conscience  ;"  and  in  1641, 
the  Court  ordered  that  no  man  should  be  "  accounted  a 
delinquent  for  doctrine,"  and  that  the  law  should  be  per 
petuated.  In  1640,  the  Arbitrators  reported  :  "  We  agree, 
as  formerly  hath  been  the  liberties  of  the  Town,  so  still  to 
hold  forth  liberty  of  conscience."  An  act  passed  1641, 
says,  "  It  was  ordered  and  unanimously  agreed  that  the 
Government  which  this  body  politic  doth  attend  unto  in 
this  ISLAND,  is  a  Democracy,  etc." 

During  the  terrible  days  in  Massachusetts,  when  Quak 
ers  were  whipped  and  hanged  (ch.  xxxvii.),  (1656  to  1658).8 
Williams  was  steady,  and  remained  staunch  to  his  prin 
ciples.  When  the  Commissioners  sent  requests,  urging 
the  banishment  of  Quakers,  the  Rhode  Island  Assembly 
promptly  declined,  and  said,  "  We  find,  moreover,  that  in 
those  places  where  these  people  are  most  of  all  supposed  to 

1  Wlnthrop's  Journal. 

2  Annals  of  Providence.     Winthrop,  i.,  p.  283.     Staple'3  Hist,  p.  23. 
'  Charles  II.  sent  an  order  that  they  should  desist. 


A.D.  1644,]  RHODE   ISLAND.  213 

declare  themselves  freely,  and  are  only  opposed  by  argu 
ments  of  discourse,  there  they  least  of  all  desire  to  come.1" 

Three  times  the  United  Colonies  required  the  Rhode 
Island  Plantations  to  join  in  the  persecution,  but  three 
times  she  staunchly  refused.2 

Troubles  grew  up  (1642)  between  the  Au 
thorities  at  the  Bay,  and  Samuel  Gorton,  a  PROVIDENCB 
bold  and  positive  man — who  held  to  Liberty  of  OHAKO^ 
Conscience  as  strongly  as  Williams  did — who  • 
had  settled  at  Showomet,  afterward  called  Warwick, 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  town  of  Cranston.3  (Ch. 
xxxiii.)  Four  of  his  company  having  acknowledged  the 
Jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  politic  Magis 
trates  there  being  inclined  to  take  advantage  of  this,  to 
get  possession  of  the  country,  and  to  put  down  heresy, 
Williams  and  his  friends  thought  it  a  safe  precaution 
against  their  stronger  neighbors,  to  secure  a  Charter  from 
England.  It  was  decided  that  Williams  was  the  man  to 
go  to  England,  for  he  was  the  friend  of  Vane,  and  known 
to  Cromwell.  As  he  was  not  allowed  to  enter  Boston,  he 
sailed  from  New  York,  in  June,  1643.  In  England,  he 
found  all  in  a  flame,  civil  war  raging,  Hampden  just  killed, 
Charles  fled  from  London,  and  Parliament  in  possession 
of  the  city  and  the  power.  Parliament  was  favorable  to 
the  Colonies,  and  inclined  to  freedom  ;  so  with  the  power 
ful  aid  of  Vane,  he  was  successful  in  getting  from  the 
Commissioners  of  Plantations,  a  liberal  Charter,  which  was 
dated  March  14th,  1643-4.4 

He  returned  with  a  strong  letter,  also,  to  the  Massa 
chusetts  Magistrates,  which  secured  him  a  landing  at 
Boston  (September,  1644),  but  did  not  abate  their  resist 
ance  ;  for  now,  with  their  Charter,  these  Schismatics 
seemed  more  dangerous  to  them  than  before.  The  Colo 
nies  around  the  Narragansett  Bay,  were  at  this  time  beset 
with  dangers  from  without  as  well  as  from  within  ;  Ply- 

1  Hutchinson's  History.     Elton's  Life,  p.  127.  2  Knowles,  p.  295. 

3  Knowles,  p.  183.  <  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  121. 


214  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1640. 

mouth  laid  claim  to  Aquetneck,  and  sent  one  of  her 
Magistrates,  Mr.  Brown,  to  forbid  others  to  exercise  juris 
diction.  Massachusetts  claimed  to  own  Providence,  and 
the  parts  adjacent ;  and  Connecticut  sent  in  her  claims  on 
the  west  ;  so  that  Khode  Island  was  nigh  suffering  the 
fate  afterward  meted  to  Poland  ;  but  the  firmness  and 
judgment  of  Williams,  backed  by  his  friends,  sustained 
the  infant  Colonies.1 

The  news  of  Williams's  return  preceded  him,  and  quick 
ened  the  pulses  of  the  people.  They  met  him  at  Seekonk. 
A  fleet  of  canoes  crowded  the  river,  and  when  the  brave 
man  came  down  to  meet  them,  cheer  after  cheer  thrilled 
his  heart,  and  brought  tears  into  his  eyes.  He  embraced 
them,  in  silent  gratitude,  and  his  satisfaction  was  such  as 
patriots  and  single-hearted  philanthropists  only  can  feel. 
No  lines  of  soldiers  paid  him  a  drilled  homage,  no  parks 
of  cannon  belched  forth  noise  and  smoke,  no  shopkeepers 
hung  out  banners  inscribed  with  patronage  and  praise  ; 
but  the  sincere  gratitude  and  esteem  of  the  whole  people 
gave  him  such  a  reception,  as  Kings  might  long  for  and 
Gods  envy. 

CODDINGTON  and  his  friends,  on  Rhode  Island,  had 
founded  themselves  (1638)  as  a  separate  Colony  at  Ports 
mouth,  upon  the  idea  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  liberty  ; 
and  Coddington  was  chosen  Judge,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Israelites  ;  their  Constitution,  established  March  (1640), 
stated  That  the  Government  was  a  "  Democracie  or  popu 
lar  Government."  That  it  was  the  power  of  the  "  Major 
ity  of  the  freemen  to  make  Laws ;"  that  no  man  should 
be  made  criminal  "  for  Doctrines ;"  in  fine,  they  recog 
nized  and  appealed  to  the  good  rather  than  the  bad  in 
human  nature,  and  chose  for  their  seal  and  motto,  a  bun 
dle  of  Arrows,  and  AMOR  VINCET  OMNIA  :  Love  over 
comes  all  things.  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.2 

1  Winthrop.     Knowles,  p.  47. 

2  Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  393.  Providence  Records.  Hutckinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  73. 
Rhode  Island  Colony  Records,  Providence,  1856. 


UNION  OP  TffK 

"PROVIDENCE 
PLANTATIONS.  * 


A.D.  1649.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  215 

The  obtaining  the  Charter  was  followed  by  a 
Union  of  the  Plantations  (Providence,  Ports 
mouth,  Newport,  and  Warwick  ;  called  at  first 
"  The  Providence  Plantations")  around  Narra- 
gansett  Bay  (1647).     It  provided  for  an  Annual  President 
and  Legislative  Assembly  ;  and  the  code  of  laws  con 
cludes,  "  All  men  may  walk  as  their  conscience  persuades 
them,  every  one  in  the  name  of  his  God."     The  Union 
was  renewed  in  1654,1  and  at  the  first  general  election  held 
at  Warwick  (September,  1654),  Williams  was  chosen  Pres 
ident  of  the  Plantations. 

The  struggle  in  England,  between  the  King  and  the 
people,  excited  intense  interest  in  the  Colonies,  and  from 
time  to  time  great  news  reached  them.  Williams  wrote 
thus  to  John  Winthrop,  the  younger,  at  Nameag,  dated 
Narragansett,  26,  3,  1649  : 

"  SIR  :  Tidings  are  high  from  England,  many  ships  from 
many  parts  say,  and  a  Bristol  ship  came  to  the  Isle  of 
Shoals  within  few  days  confirms,  that  the  king  and  many 
great  lords  and  parliament  men  are  beheaded  ;  London 
was  shut  up  on  the  day  of  execution,  not  a  door  to  be 
opened,"  etc.  "  The  States  of  Holland  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange  (forced  by  them)  consented  to  proceedings  ;  It  is 
s"aid,  Mr.  Peters  preached  (after  the  fashion  of  England) 
the  funeral  sermon  to  the  king  after  sentence,  out  of  the 
terrible  denunciation  to  the  king  of  Babylon — Is.  xiv.?  18, 
etc.,  f  All  the  kings  of  the  nations,  all  of  them  lie  in  their 
glory,  every  one  in  his  own  house.  But  thou  art  cast  out 
of  the  grave  like  an  abominable  branch — the  raiment  of 
those  that  are  slain  thrust  through  with  a  sword,  that  go 
down  to  the  stones  of  the  pit ;  as  a  carcass  trodden  under 
feet.  Because  thou  hast  destroyed  thy  land/  "  etc.  This 
was  great  news  in  New  England. 

All  his  life  Williams  labored  for  peace,  peace ;  plead  for 
it  (see  Letter  to  Mass.  Magistrates,  Elton,  p.  118)  with 
Indians  and  with  whites.  But  his  hopes  and  plans  were 

1  Elton,  p.  115. 


216  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1651. 

endangered  by  the  action  of  Coddington  ;  and  the  safety 
of  the  Narragansett  Plantations  was  in  peril. 

WILLIAM  CODDINGTON  was  the  father  of  Aquetneck. 
He  had  been  a  Magistrate  in  Massachusetts,  a  merchant, 
a  man  of  substance  and  of  courage.  He  was  among  the 
few  who  strenuously  advocated  freedom  of  conscience  and 
worship.  He  stood  by  Vane  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  in  the 
great  Antinomian  Controversy,  and  went  down  with.  them. 
He  was  a  man  of  such  character  and  wealth,  that  Win- 
throp  and  others  made  eiforts  to  induce  him  to  stay  with 
them  at  Boston  ;  but  he  chose  to  sacrifice  his  business, 
and  his  estate  at  Braintree,  and  go  with  his  friends  to 
make  a  new  settlement. 

In  forming  their  new  State  they  decided  to  be  governed 
by  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  Coddington  was  appointed 
JUDGE.  But  this  did  not  work  well,  and  in  1640,  it  was 
changed  to  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  etc.,  etc.,  in 
the  regular  worldly  fashion.  Coddington  was  chosen  Gov 
ernor  till  the  Union ;  and  administered  justice  with  dis 
cretion.  He  went  to  England  in  1651,  obtained  a  charter 
for  Rhode  Island,  and  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Island  ;  but  it  excited  jealousy,  and  with  reason — lest  their 
laws  and  liberties  should  be  encroached  upon,  and  the 
opinion  was  so  strong  against  him,  that  he  was  forced  to 
resign,  when  a  new  union  was  formed.  For  a  time  he  had 
no  hand  in  public  affairs  ;  but  in  1674-75  he  was  again 
chosen  Governor.  In  his  later  years  he  held  the  doctrines 
of  the  Quakers,  and  was  always  a  warm  advocate  of  liberty 
of  conscience. 

Coddington  was  of  the  king's  party,  in  the  struggle 
which  was  going  on  between  Charles  I.  and  the  Parlia 
ment  of  England ;  and  the  new  charter  he  had  procured 
in  England  constituted  him  Governor  for  life.  This  caused 
much  anxiety;  and  again  Williams,  with  John  Clarke 
(a  noble  man)  was  obliged  to  go  to  England  (November, 
1651) ;  where  he  procured  the  recall  of  Coddington's  char 
ter,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  one  first  obtained.  To 


A.D.  1652.]  RHODE    ISLAND.  217 

procure  the  means  of  going,  "  he  sold  his  trading-house  at 
Narragansett,"  which  yielded  him  a  good  profit — for  in  his 
estimation,  true  patriotism  was  better  than  large  profits. 

While  Williams  was  in  England  (1652)  negotiating  for 
the  renewal  of  the  charter,  the  Court  wrote  to  him  from 
Providence,  that  it  might  tend  to  good  order,  "  if  it  might 
be  the  pleasure  of  that  honorable  State,  to  invest,  appoint, 
and  empower  yourself  to  come  over  as  Governor  of  this 
Colony." 

It  was  not  done,  and  so  the  choice  of  a  chief  officer  de 
volved  upon  the  people  of  the  colony.  We  can  but  rejoice 
that  this  was  so,  and  that  no  such  bad  precedent  crippled 
the  free  action  of  the  people.1 

He  enjoyed,  while  there,  the  society  of  such  men  as 
Milton,  Marvell,  Vane  ;  and  had  frequent  interviews  with 
Cromwell.  These  were  men  who  could  comprehend  the 
doctrine  of  freedom  of  conscience,  and  strengthen  his  head 
and  his  heart.  He  said  in  a  letter  to  Winthrop  (July, 
1664),  respecting  Cromwell's  idea  that  liberty  of  con 
science  should  be  maintained  in  all  American  Plantations  : 
"  Sir,  a  great  man  in  America  told  me  that  he  thought 
New  England  would  not  bear  it."2  Great  men  have  been 
saying  such  things,  since  the  foundation  of  society,  and 
distrusting  the  instincts  and  reason  of  men  ;  they  do  it 
now,  but  they  are  not  the  greatest. 

During  this  visit  he  also  had  a  singular  correspondence 
with  his  old  Master's  daughter — Lord  Coke's — then  Mis 
tress  Anne  Sadlier  of  Stoudon,  Puckridge.  Williams  was 
earnest  and  logical,  but  gentlemanly  ;  the  lady  cool  and 
bitter.  She  was  for  the  King,  and  read  "  the  Bible — the 
King's  Book  ('  Icon,'  not  written  by  him),  Hooker's 
Polity,  Andrews'  Sermons,  Jeremy  Taylor,  and  Dr.  Jack 
son  upon  the  Creed,  and  wanted  no  new  lights."  She  had 
no  doubt  that  God  had  begun  his  judgments  upon  Milton 
here,  and  that  "  his  punishment  will  be  hereafter  in  hell." 
Also,  that  Jeremy  Taylor's  plea  for  liberty  of  Prophesy- 

1  Staples's  Annals,  page  86.  a  Knowles,  page  264. 

10 


218  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1663. 

ing,  "  and  you  (Williams)  would  make  a  good  fire  ;"  also, 
"that  such  as  you  (Williams)  will  rise  devils."  All 
which  is  interesting,  showing  the  temper  of  the  times,  but 
is  not  profitable  for  present  reading. 

When  Williams  returned  from  England  in  1654,  he 
brought  a  letter  from  the  Lord  Protector's  Council,  which 
allowed  him  in  future  to  embark  or  to  land  in  any  of  the 
Colonies  ;  so  he  was  not  molested.  After  his  return 
he  was  elected  President  of  the  united  Settlements, 
and,  in  the  short  time  he  served,  came  into  collision 
with  William  Harris,  who  claimed  that  there  should  be 
"  No  lords — no  masters."  The  feud  between  him  and 
William's,  was  of  some  standing,  and  became  bitter,  so 
that  Williams  would  not  even  write  his  name,  but  desig 
nated  him  as  "  W.  Har."  Williams  held  the  office  of 
President  for  two  years,  when  he  was  superseded  by  Bene 
dict  Arnold,  then  an  honorable  name. 

On  the  accession  of  the  dissolute  but  good- 

THE         natured    Charles   II.,  it   was  thought  best  to 

CHARTEB 

RENEWED,  secure  a  renewal  of  their  Charter,  and  Dr. 
Clarke,  (one  of  the  best  of  men  of  Aquiday, 
or  Rhode  Island)  was  their  agent  to  get  it.  Charles  grant 
ed  it,  to  the  surprise  of  his  Ministers,  and  against  their 
wishes,  July,  1663.  "It  was  the  freest  that  ever  bore 
the  signature  of  a  King,  and  was  the  astonishment  of 
the  age.1  It  contained  this  clause  :  "  No  person  within 
the  said  Colony,  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be  in  any 
wise  molested,  punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in  question 
for  any  differences  of  opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  who 
do  not  actually  disturb  the  peace  of  said  Colony."  It  also 
provided,  expressly,  for  Representation  by  the  Freemen. 
Under  this  liberal  charter,  which  she  seemed  to  "bear" 
very  well,  notwithstanding  the  fears  of  a  "  great  man  in 
the  Bay,"  Rhode  Island  continued  to  flourish  till  the  year 
1843,  never  losing  sight  of  Williams's  cardinal  princi 
ple,  and  only  limited  in  a  physical  greatness  worthy  of 

1  Gamme],  p.  182.    Knowles,  p.  319.    "Williams's  letter  to  Mason. 


A.D.  1676.]  BHODE    ISLAND.  219 

this  free  principle,  by  her  territorial  bounds.  This  Charter 
was  seized  by  Andros,  1687,  but  was  never  legally  forfeited 
(ch.  xliv.  vol.  i.).  The  Colonial  Legislature  provided  that 
Freeholders  and  their  eldest  sons  only  should  be  freemen, 
which  worked  well  for  a  time,  but  in  this  century  has 
given  rise  to  serious  disturbance.1  The  condition  of 
the  people  there  was  good  ;  better  than  in  England.  In 
the  report  made  by  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  to 
Charles  II.,  they  say,  "  We  leave  every  man  to  walk  in 
religion  as  God  shall  persuade  his  heart,  and  as  for  beg 
gars  and  vagabonds  we  have  none  amongst  us."  An 
other  observer  said,  "  The  worst  cottages  of  New  En 
gland  are  lofted  ;  there  are  no  beggars,  and  not  three 
persons  are  put  to  death  annually  for  civil  offences." 

At  this  period  Evelyn,  in  his  Journal,  writes  as  follows : 
"  Went  to  Uppingham,  the  shire  town  of  Rutland  ; 
pretty,  and  well  built  of  stone,  which  is  a,  rarity  in  that 
part  of  England,  where  most  of  the  rural  villages  are 
built  of  MUD,  and  the  people  living  as  wretchedly  as  the 
most  impoverished  parts  of  France,  which  they  much 
resemble,  being  idle  and  sluttish.  The  country  (espe 
cially  Leicestershire)  being  much  in  common  ;  the  Gentry 
Free-drinkers." 

During  King  Philip's  war  (which  began  in  June,  1675, 
and  ended  in  August,  1676),  Rhode  Island  was  exposed 
to  attacks  from  the  Indians,  but  Williams  was  as  fearless 
as  ever  ;  he  trusted  to  his  long  life  of  justice,  and  was 
safe.  They  said,  "  But  as  for  you,  brother  Williams,  you 
are  a  good  man — not  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  be  touch 
ed."  He  remained  at  home  as  usual,  and  though  76 
years  old,  accepted  the  post  as  Captain  in  the  Militia, 
drilled  them  well,  and  held .  them  ready  for  active  service. 
The  war  occasioned  great  alarm  and  distress  over  all  the 
plantations,  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  fled  to  Newport 
for  safety.  But  the  Indians  attacked  Providence  in 
March  (26th),  1676,  which  was  of  course  weakly  protected, 

1  Hildreth,  vol.  ii. 


220  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

and  burnt  some  twenty-nine  houses,  and  fear  and  danger 
were  not  ended  till  the  death  of  Philip  in  August,  1676. 
(See  ch.  xli.) 

About   the  year  1638-9,  Williams  was   re- 

baptized  by  immersion,  as  Winthrop1  states,  by 
one  Holliman,  a  poor  man,  late  of  Salem;" 

and  that  he  was  persuaded  to  it  by  "  the  wife 
of  one  Scott,"  the  sister  of  the  great  Heresiarch  of  that 
day,  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  first 
Baptist  Church  in  America.  "  Anabaptist"  was  the  mad- 
dog,  infidel  cry  of  those  days  ;  and  had  become  so,  partly 
because  the  sect  had  developed  the  doctrine  of  Freedom 
of  Conscience,  and  partly  because  of  the  atrocities  and 
excesses  of  the  "  Kustic  war"  of  Munster.  The  Anabap 
tists  of  Munster  seem  to  have  been  as  much  misunderstood 
and  vilified  as  any  other  Reformers.  In  the  "  Rustic  war" 
provoked  by  tyranny  and  cruelty  [1535],  many  Anabap 
tists  (twice  baptized)  joined  ;  but  the  ferocity  and  despe 
ration  of  the  time  can  not  justly  be  charged  to  them  ; 
rather  upon  those  who  goaded  the  people  to  resistance. 
At  various  times  the  Anabaptists  have  admitted  that 
Magistracy  was  proper,  and  they  seem  to  have  anticipated 
Roger  Williams  in  his  doctrine  of  Freedom  of  Conscience  ; 
which  will  account  for  the  vilification  and  misrepresenta 
tion  of  the  Royalist  writers  of  that  day.2 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  any  elaborate  defense  of 
this  step  of  Williams,  when  we  remember  that  the  first 
and  second  Presidents  of  Harvard  College,  Dunster  and 
Chauncey,  held  the  same  views,  and  that  Baptists  now 
have  church  accommodation  in  the  United  States  for  over 
3,000,000  persons,  and  are  as  well-behaved  and  law-abid 
ing  as  any  citizens.  But  at  that  time  it  was  charged, 
that  Williams  and  the  Anabaptists  repudiated  all  laws  and 

1  Winthrop.     March,  1638-9. 

3  Note  in  Knowles's  Life  of  Williams.  See,  also,  Confessions  of  Seven 
Churches,  in  London,  1646.  Appendix  to  Neal's  Puritans.  See  Winchell's 
Discourses. 


A.D.  1638.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  221 

Magistrates,  and  were  going  straightway  to  destruction. 
Williams  continued  with  the  Baptists  some  three  or  four 
months,  and  after  that,  according  to  Eichard  Scott,  he 
belonged  to  no  Church  organization.  In  this  he  was  not 
unlike  many  remarkable  men  of  the  past  and  present  times, 
such  as  Milton  and  Cromwell.  From  having  considered 
the  English  Church  a  wicked  one — from  having  refused 
to  associate  with  it  or  with  the  New  England  Churches, 
unless  they  repudiated  it,  and  to  pray  with  unregenerate 
people — he  came  to  be  willing  to  preach  in  any  Church, 
and  to  consort  in  religious  practices  with  any  people. 

At  last  he  settled  upon  this,  "  That  every  one  should 
have  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  the  rights  of 
their  own  consiences ;  but  otherwise  not  owning  any 
Churches  or  ordinances  of  God  anywhere  upon  earth."1 

It  is  common,  and  to  some  extent  excusable, 
in  looking  at  remarkable  men,  especially  so  if 
they  have  been  champions  of  great  ideas,  to  see 
them  only  from  one  point  of  view,  and  to  glorify 
them,  to  the  injury  of  truth  and  the  rising  generation.  It 
is  safest,  it  is  most  manly,  to  see  men  fairly,  as  they  are, 
whoever  they  are,  whether  alive  or  dead.  There  are 
tender  souls  who  feel  that  after  death,  the  good  alone  lives, 
and  should  only  be  spoken  of;  and  in  a  degree  this  is 
true.  But  when  we  look  at  any  man,  let  us  endeavor  to 
take  courage  from  his  virtues,  and  warning  from  his  weak 
nesses  or  wickednesses,  so  we  shall  learn  to  be  equal  to 
present  demands,  and  fit  for  coming  times. 

In  his  controversy  with  Harris,  Williams  showed  him 
self  capable  of  bitterness  and  severity,  equal  to  any;  so, 
too,  in  his  clashing  with  Gorton.  The  Khode  Island 
Plantations  had  refused,  again  and  again,  to  join  in  the 
persecution  of  Quakers  ;  but  Williams  none  the  less  dis 
liked  their  principles,  and  champed  the  bit  till  he  could 
charge  upon  them.  There  were  at  least  three  reasons  for 
this  :  he  loved  a  theological  skirmish ;  he  believed  he 

1  Morton's  Mem.,  p.  154. 


222  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

could  prove  their  principles  wrong  ;  and  he  wished  to  clear 
his  Colony  from  the  charge,  that  because  it  tolerated  the 
Quakers,  it  therefore  admitted  the  truth  of  their  doctrines. 
So,  when  George  Fox,  their  remarkable  Apostle,  came  to 
Newport  [1672],  Williams  sent  down  to  him  a  challenge, 
to  discuss  publicly,  "  fourteen  propositions,  to  wit,"  which 
it  is  not  necessary  to  repeat. 

It  did  not  reach  Newport  till  after  Fox  had  left ;  and  it 
was  suspected  that  the  friends  of  Williams  might  have  pro 
longed  its  voyage  from  Providence  to  Newport  intention 
ally  ;  but  Williams  was  willing  to  charge,  that  the  "  Fox 
slily  slipped  away,"  and  Fox  had  no  hesitation  in  charging 
Williams  with  lying.  The  discussion,  however,  was  held 
between  Williams,  for  himself,  and  John  Stubs,  John 
Burnyeat,  and  William  Edmundson,  for  the  Quakers,  and 
continued  three  days  at  Newport,  and  one  at  Providence. 
Williams  went  down  in  his  boat,  thirty  miles  ;  he  says  : 
"  God  graciously  assisting  me  in  rowing  all  day  with  my 
old  bones,  so  that  I  got  to  Newport  toward  midnight, 
before  the  morning  appointed  ;"  and  he  was  then  73  years 
old.  The  great  discussion  brought  together  all  the  people, 
and  the  meeting-house  was  crowded.  Both  parties,  at  the 
outset,  were  confirmed  in  their  convictions,  and  both 
parties  went  in  to  win,  rather  than  to  be  enlightened. 
The  whole  thing,  of  course,  was  confusion,  subtle  thrust 
ing  and  parrying  ;  and  resulted  in  hatreds,  and  two  per 
nicious  Religious  books  :  one  by  Williams,  called  "  George 
Fox  digged  out  of  his  Burrowes  ;"  the  other  by  Fox  and 
Burnyeat,  called  "  New  England's  Firebrand  quenched  ;" 
in  which  all  show  up  themselves  and  one  another. 

Acting  upon  the  plan  of  presenting  whatever,  good  and 
bad,  may  illustrate  the  character  of  a  remarkable  man, 
and  the  times  in  which  he  worked,  we  come  to  the  sale  of 
Indians  following  the  Philip's  war.  In  August,  1676,  a 
Town-meeting  was  held  at  Providence,  and,  as  the  record 
has  it,  it  was  judged  that  certain  Indian  prisoners  ought 
to  be  delivered  as  slaves,  or  servants  for  a  term  of  years, 


A.D.  1676.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  223 

to  those  "  who  stayed,  and  went  not  away."  A  Commit 
tee  was  appointed,  who  adjudged  the  division,  and  Adver 
tisement  was  put  out  to — 

"  Inhabitants  wanting  to  have  Indians  at  the  price  they 
sell  at  Rhode  Island  or  elsewhere" — all  under  five  years  to 
serve  till  thirty,  above  five  and  under  ten  till  twenty- 
eight,  etc. 

To  this  notice  was  signed  the  name  of  Eoger  Williams, 
and  four  others.1 

All  regret,  and  some  are  surprised,  that  Williams  should 
have  had  a  hand  in  this  transaction  ;  he  is  to  be  judged, 
but  not  harshly;  there  were  many  excusing  circumstances, 
which  it  is  not  necessary  to  present. 

It  is  better  to  admit  the  probability  that,  Idealist  as 
Williams  was,  he  was  not  always  equal  to  himself,  and 
did  not  appreciate  either  the  folly  or  wrong  of  this  pro 
ceeding,  in  a  social  or  economic  point  of  view.  He  had 
the  authority  of  the  Jews  for  selling  their  captives,  and 
exasperated  at  the  fierce  onslaught  of  the  Indians,  his 
long-continued  kindness  and  justice  toward  them  was  pro 
voked  into  a  desire  to  punish,  as  well  as  to  render  them 
powerless.  The  result  could  only  be  wanton  destruction 
to  the  slaves,  and  a  weakened  moral  sense  in  the  commu 
nity. 

The  life  of  this  man  was  nigh  spent ;  he  had  had  faith 
in  the  doctrine  of  Religious  Liberty,  had  suffered  and 
labored  for  it,  and  had  sustained  it,  and  now  after  a 
long  and  active  life,  he  saw  it,  as  he  fully  believed,  fully 
established.  Yet  he  did  not  sit  down  in  sloth.  When 
past  seventy-seven  years  of  age,  he  continued  to  go  among 
the  Narragansetts  to  preach  ;  and  his  interest  in  the  Col 
ony  did  not  relax.  He  might  have  been  rich  ;  as  his  son 
said,  "  If  a  covetous  man  had  that  opportunity  as  he  had, 
most  of  this  town  would  have  been  his  tenants/'2  But  he 
freely  gave  away  and  parted  with  his  property,  so  that  he 

1  Knowles's  Life,  p.  348. 

a  See  bis  son's  letter  in  Knowles's  Life,  p.  10. 


224  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1683. 

had  to  ask  help  to  print  some  discourses.  And  now  with 
more  than  four-score  years  on  his  head,  he  went  down  to 
his  grave,  deserving  more  honor  than  if  he  had  gathered 
to  himself  the  wealth  of  the  Indies,  leaving  a  heritage  to 
this  nation,  richer  than  gold — the  possession  of  Religious 
and  Civil  Freedom. 

At  the  age  of  eighty-four  (1683) /  he  died,  and  was 
buried  on  his  own  land,  where  he  had  first  set  his  foot  in 
that  wilderness,  forty-seven  years  before ;  and  was  remem 
bered  by  the  people  many  days.  No  stone  now  marks  his 
grave. 

HIS  It  is  well  to  notice  that  Williams's  activity 

impelled  him  to  work  as  well  as  to  think,  and 
that  the  ACT  with  him  followed  the  thought,  as  the  thun 
der  does  the  lightning.  Whatever  his  hand  found  to  do,  he 
did  it  with  a  will,  and  no  work  to  him  was  mean.  We  can 
not  therefore  look  to  him  as  a  book-maker,  but  as  a  man 
who  wrote  his  thoughts  in  life  rather  than  words.  A  short 
account,  however,  of  his  writings  will  not  fail  to  interest. 

In  1643,  "  The  Key  to  the  Indians'  Language,"  was 
published  in  England.2 

It  contains  accounts  of  the  manners  and  usages  of  the 
Indians,  and  is  valuable.  Upon  one  point  he  confirms  the 
evidence  of  Winslow  ;  he  says,  "  He  that  questions  whether 
God  made  the  world,  the  Indians  will  teach  him  :  I  must 
acknowledge  I  have  received  in  my  converse  with  them, 
many  confirmations  of  those  two  points  :  1.  That  God  is  ; 
2.  That  he  is  a  rewarder  of  all  them  that  diligently  seek 
him." 

In  1644,  "  The  Bloody  Tenent  of  Persecution,"  was 
published. 

The  grand  doctrine  of  which  is,  that  the  obligation  to 
love  and  obey  God,  binds  the  heart  of  every  man  ;  but 
each  is  responsible  to  God  alone,  for  his  religious  opinions 
and  rites. 

1  Between  January  and  May ;  in  Knowles's  Life,  p.  354. 
3  See  B.  I.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i. 


A.D.  1652.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  225 

In  1652,  "  Experiments  of  Spiritual  Life  and  Health/' 
appeared. 

It  was  dedicated  to  Lady  Vane,  and  prefixed  with  a 
letter  to  his  wife  in  which  he  says  :  "  I  send  thee,  tho'  in 
winter,  a  handful  of  flowers  made  up  in  a  little  posy  for 
thyself  and  our  dear  children,  to  look  and  smell  on  when 
I,  as  the  grass  of  the  field,  shall  he  gone  and  withered." 

In  1652,  also  appeared  his  reply  to  Mr.  Cotton's  pam 
phlet  upon  the  Bloody  Tenent — the  title  to  which  is  a 
sample  of  the  times,  and  is  as  follows  : 

THE    BLOODY    TENENT 

yet 
MORE  BLOODY 

by 

MR.  COTTON'S  ENDEAVOURS  TO  WASH  IT  WHITE  IN  THE 
BLOOD  OF  THE  LAMBE. 

Of  whose  precious  Blood  spilt  in  the  Blood  of  his  Servants,  and 

Of  the  Blood  of  Millions  spilt  in  former  and  later  Wars  for 
Conscience'  Sake, 

That 

Moft  bloody  Tenent  of  Persecution  for  Cause  of  Conscience,  upon 

a  Second  Trial,  is  found  now  more  apparently 

and  notoriously  guilty. 

etc.,     etc. 

By  R.  WILLIAMS,  of  Providence  in  N.  E. 

LONDON  :  etc., 
1652. 

"  The  Bloody  Tenent"  grew  out  of  a  protest  against 
religious  persecution,  written  in  Newgate  with  MILK 
upon  sheets  of  paper,  which  were  smuggled  to  the  pris 
oner  by  the  woman  who  supplied  him  with  food.  This 
paper  was  transcribed  by  a  friend,  and  sent  to  Mr.  Cot 
ton  of  Boston,  who  answered  it. 

Then  Williams  wrote  the  "  Bloody  Tenent  of  Persecu- 

10* 


226  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1652, 

tion,"  and  dedicated  it  "  To  the  Right  Honorable  both 
Houses  of  the  High  Court  of  Parliament."  It  is  a  bold, 
clear,  and  manly  argument  against  the  persecution  of  men 
for  Conscience'  Sake.  He  believed  what  men  (with  ex 
ceptions)  now  all  believe, 

"  That  the  blood  of  so  many  hundred  thousand  souls 
of  Protestants  and  Papists  spilt  in  the  wars  of  pres 
ent  and  former  ages  for  their  respective  Consciences  is 
not  required  or  accepted  by  Jesus  Christ,  the  Prince  of 
Peace." 

That  human  laws  upon  Conscience  invade  the  preroga 
tive  of  G-od,  and  that  they  are  null,  and  no  man  is  bound 
to  obey  them. 

That  the  Early  Christians  held  what  we  hold  ;  as  Ter- 
tullian  expresses  it, 

"  It  is  the  natural  civil  right  of  every  man  to  worship 
whatever  he  pleases  ;  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  nature 
of  Religion  to  propagate  it  by  force,  for  it  must  be  receiv 
ed  by  voluntary  consent,  and  not  by  coercion.1 

That  the  duty  of  the  Magistrate,  in  relation  to  re 
ligion,  consists  in  the  impartial  protection  of  all  citizens 
in  the  exercise  of  their  religious  privileges,  whenever  these 
do  not  degenerate  into  an  active  disturbance  of  the  public 
good. 

That  laws,  making  men  ineligible  to  office,  or  making 
any  distinction,  because  of  Religion,  would  be  tyrannical 
and  pernicious. 

In  1652  also  appeared  "The  Hireling  Ministry  none 
of  Christ's,"  in  which  he  does  not  oppose  the  payment 
of  Clergymen,  but  the  LEGAL  establishment  of  Churches 
and  Compulsory  support  of  Ministers  by  tithes  or  taxa 
tion.2 

In  "  George  Fox  digged  out  of  his  Burro wes,"  he  in 
dulged  in  the  style  of  contemptuous  bitterness,  then  com 
mon  in  religious  controversies,  and  both  he  and  Fox 

1  Knowles's  Life  of  Williams,  p.  364.  »  Elton,  p.  88. 


A.D.  1647.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  227 

suffered  in  their  reputations,  and  in  their  own  integrity ; 
and  it  is  well  for  them  that  these  books  are  forgotten. 

The  greatness  of  Williams  consisted  in  First,  The 
clearness  with  which  he  recognized  a  Principle. 

Second,  The  fidelity  with  which  he  accepted  it  ;  and 

Third,  In  the  courage  and  patience  he  displayed  in 
putting  it  into  action.  He  was  no  infidel — as  so  many 
persons  termed  religious  are.  Whatever  was  true  he 
had  faith  in  it,  and  he  neither  feared  to  say  it,  nor  to  act 
it ,  and  this  is  his  crowning  glory. 

He  said — and  mark  his  logical  honesty,  so  rare  and  so 
noble — "  I  desire  not  that  Liberty  to  myself,  which  I 
would  not  freely  and  impartially  weigh  out  to  all  the 
Consciences  of  the  world  beside.  All  those  consciences — 
yea,  the  very  consciences  of  the  Papists,  Jews,  etc.,  ought 
freely  to  be  permitted  their  several  respective  worships, 
their  ministers  of  worship,  and  what  way  of  maintaining 
them  they  freely  chose." 

Williams  was  the  first  to  announce,  maintain,  and  es 
tablish  Freedom  to  all  men  in  opinion  and  worship, 
whether  Hindoos,  Jews,  Papists,  Atheists,  Turks,  or 
Christians. 

In  1644  the  Bloody  Tenet  was  published,  while  Jer 
emy  Taylor's  "  Liberty  of  Prophesying"  was  issued  in 
1647  ;  and  Bishop  Heber  admits  that  the  last  claims 
Liberty  for  Christians  ONLY. 

In  1634  Lord  Baltimore  settled  Maryland,  and  estab 
lished  freedom  of  religious  worship  for  Christians  only ; 
and  the  Assembly  of  Maryland  in  1649  enacted,  "that 
no  persons  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
molested  ;  while  any  one  speaking  reproachfully  against 
ths  blessed  Virgin  or  the  Apostles,  shall  forfeit  five 
pounds."  1 

But  two  years  before  that  [in  1647]  the  first  General 
Assembly  in  Rhode  Island,  following  the  principle  of 
Eoger  Williams,  concluded  their  code  of  laws  in  this  way: 

1  Chalmers's  Political  Annals.     Cited  by  Knowles,  p.  371. 


RELIGIOUS 
LIBERTY. 


228  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1671. 

"  Otherwise  than  thus  what  is  herein  forbidden,  all  men 
may  walk  as  their  consciences  persuade  them,  every  one 
in  the  name  of  God."  Williams's  idea  of  Ke- 
ligious  Liberty  bore  its  legitimate  fruits— Civil 
Liberty  and  Democracy — the  supremacy  of  the 
people.  He  said  more  than  two  centuries  ago 
in  the  wilderness  of  Rhode  Island,  "  Kings  and 
Magistrates  must  be  considered  invested  with  no  more 
rights  than  the  people  intrust  them  with."  "  The  Sov 
ereign  power  of  all  civil  authority  is  founded  in  the  con 
sent  of  the  people."  1 

The  Conservatives  and  the  timid  and  Class-Legislators 
then  (as  now)  said — "but,  Mr.  Williams,  the  people  are  not 
ready  for  this,  even  if  true  ;  we  shall  have  schisms  and  an 
archy,  and  the  world  will  go  to  destruction  I"  Williams  re 
plied,  I  do  not  fear  the  truth  ;  the  world  is  always  ready  for 
that,  and  you,  and  people  like  you,  who  dare  not  speak  it, 
and  act  it,  are  the  real  mischief-makers  ;  wise  as  you  are, 
you  do  not  know  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  and  you  will  do 
well  to  speak  out  what  you  do  know  ;  trust  the  God  which 
is  in  the  soul  of  every  man,  and  so  put  eveiy  man  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  to  learn  the  truth  and  to  do  it. 

But  they  could  not,  or  would  not,  accept  such  honest 
daring.  They  felt  bitterly,  and  accused  him  of  being 
worse  than  the  Quakers  and  Anabaptists,  and  of  advo 
cating  "  No  Government."  Williams,  therefore,  deliber 
ately  placed  on  the  Town-record  of  Providence,  his  protest 
against  this  charge. 

He  said  :  "  I  affirm  that  (in  case  of  a  ship  at  sea),  none 
of  the  Papists,  Protestants,  Jews,  or  Turks,  be  forced  to 
come  to  the  ship's  prayers  or  worships  ;  but  I  never  de 
nied  that  the  commander  of  the  ship  ought  to  command 
the  ship's  course  ;  and  compel  the  seamen  to  perform  their 
duty,  the  passengers  to  pay  their  freights,  etc."2 

When  some  one-sided  man  circulated  a  tract  saying, 
that  it  was  tyranny  to  execute  judgment,  even  "  against 

1  See  Bloody  Tenet  a  GammelTs  Life,  p.  165. 


A.D.  1665.]  RHODE   ISLAND.  229 

transgressors  of  public  or  private  weal,"  Williams  mot  him 
face  to  face,  the  champion  of  decent  law  and  order  ;  thus 
that  calumny  is  set  at  rest. 

Their  Constitution,  as  has  been  said,  was  the  first  that 
secured  entire  religious  liberty,  to  which  Rhode  Island 
has  remained  faithful ;  no  act  of  religious  intolerance  hav 
ing  disgraced  her  statute-books.  It  is  well  to  notice  two 
charges  which  have  been  made  ;  one  by  Chalmers,1  that 
Roman  Catholics  were  disfranchised.  Such  a  provision 
appears  in  an  edition  of  Laws  subsequent  to  1719  ;  but 
the  Honorable  Samuel  Eddy,  has  sufficiently  shown,  that 
it  was  a  spurious  insertion,  at  variance  with  the  Charter, 
the  Laws,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  people  of  Rhode  Island.9 
Francis  Brimly  has  said  also,  that  in  1665,  the  Quakers 
were  outlawed.  This  is  thus  disposed  of.  The  King  re 
quired  an  oath  or  agreement  ;  the  Quakers  refused  it,  be 
cause  it  bound  them  to  serve  in  the  militia  ;  and  so  they 
were  disfranchised,  not  by  an  act  of  Rhode  Island.  The 
next  year  this  was  modified,  and  one  of  their  number  was 
elected  Deputy  Governor.3 

The  rapidity  of  his  blood,  and  his  highly  or 
ganized  nervous  system,  are  the  key  to  Wil 
liams' s  character ;  for  his  quickness  of  insight, 
and  his  fervid  imagination,  though  they  led  him  to  see  and 
maintain  the  noblest  truths,  they  also  led  him  to  advocate 
opinions,  which  may  be  called  fantastic  ;  such  as  the  "gift 
of  tongues"  and  u  power  of  prophecy,"  in  the  true  min 
istry.  He  was  at  times  hasty,  rash,  changeable,  and  per 
tinacious,  but  he  was  also  generous,  brave,  prompt,  and 
disinterested  ;  a  man  to  respect  and  love.  He  was  a  free 
thinker,  a  free-speaker,  and  a  free-actor,  both  in  religious 
and  civil  things  ;  in  the  largest  sense,  a  free-man  ;  and 
the  world  has  come  to  his  principles.  Few  men  are  in 
spired  by  God,  with  so  large  a  perception  of  truth,  and  so 

1  Political  Annals. 

2  See  Walsh's  Appeal.     GammelTs  Life,  p.  209.     Elton's,  p.  135. 
8  Knowles,  p.  324. 


WILLIAMS'8 
CIIARACTEB. 


230  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1665. 

strong  a  faith  in  it,  and  the  memory  of  Koger  Williams, 
fidelity  to  his  principles,  and  respect  for  the  State  he 
founded,  so  loyal  to  Liberty,  should  be  cherished  by  every 
man,  who  has  faith  in  Truth,  Freedom,  and  the  Future.1 

1  For  List  of  Governors  of  Bhode  Island,  from  1647,  see  ch.  ii.,  vol.  il 


CHAPTER    XXYI. 

MAINE    AND    NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 

GORGES — POPHAM — CHALONG — SAGADEIIOC — SETTLEMENTS  ATTEMPTED — CAPTAIN  MASON — 
LACONIA — PROVINCE  OF  MAINE — THE  PLOW  PATENT — CLEAVES  AND  VINES — MASSA 
CHUSETTS  TAKES  POSSESSION — KING'S  COMMISSIONERS — CONFUSION — THE  MASSACHU 
SETTS  PURCHASE — NEW  HAMPSHIRE — PRING — THOMPSON  AND  THE  HILTON8 — DOVER — 
STRAWBERRY-BANK  —  BURDET — UNDERHILL — WHEELWRIGHT — ANNEXATION — CONTRO 
VERSY— CUTT,  FIRST  PRESIDENT— ROYAL  PROVINCE— SWAMP-LAW— TRADE— INDEPEND 
ENCE. 

SIR  FERDINANDO  GORGES,  like  Raleigh,  was  a  naval 
commander  ;  like  him,  he  was  fond  of  adventure  ;  sanguine 
and  indefatigable,  and  capable  of  intrigue.  When  Captain 
Weymouth  returned  to  England  from  an  unsuccessful  ef 
fort  to  discover  a  North-west  passage  to  India,  in  1605,  he 
brought  with  him  some  New  England  Indians  ;  three  of 
whom  were  taken  into  the  family  of  Gorges,  then  Com 
mander  at  Plymouth.  The  information  gained  from  them, 
stimulated  his  genius,  and  excited  in  Gorges  the  idea  of 
establishing  Colonies  ;  thus  pushing  both  his  fortune  and 
fame  in  the  New  World.  When  King  James  I.  granted 
the  two  patents  for  colonizing  Virginia,  Gorges  and  Sir 
John  Popham  (Chief  Justice  of  England),  were  the  two 
leading  men  in  the  Northern  or  Plymouth  Company  ;  and 
it  was  through  their  influence,  that  Henry  Chalong  was 
sent  out  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  in  1606.  But  in  1607, 
it  was  determined  to  make  a  settlement,  and  a  hundred 
men,  with  George  Popham,  as  President,  and  Raleigh 
Gilbert,  as  Admiral,  were  sent  out  (May  31,  1607).  They 
touched  the  Continent  at  the  Sagadehoc,  or  Kennebeck 
river  ;  and  immediately  giving  thanks  to  God,  as  the  cus 
tom  was,  set  to  work  to  get  up  houses,  and  to  organize  for 
furring  and  fishing ;  but  in  the  spring  of  1608,  Popham, 


232  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1640. 

the  President,  died,  and  Sir  John  Popham  died  in  En- 
land,  and  Gilbert's  brother  died,  so  that  he  had  to  return, 
and  the  settlement  came  to  an  end  ;  the  country  being 
branded  as  intolerably  cold.1  Gorges  was  not  easily  dis 
couraged  ;  he  sent  out  Richard  Vines,  who,  during  his  short 
stay,  made  some  discoveries.  He  was  followed  by  Henry 
Harley  (1614),  who  accomplished  nothing  toward  a  settle 
ment  ;  the  Expedition  sent  by  Gorges  and  Dr.  SutlifF,  in 
1615,  had  no  better  success.  Captain  Dermer,  too,  met 
with  ill-success ;  he  ranged  the  coast  from  Maine  to  Vir 
ginia,  and  was  the  first  who  passed  the  whole  length  of 
Long  Island  Sound  (1619).  But  he  died  of  wounds  re 
ceived  from  the  Indians  ;  and  Gorges  was  nigh  discour 
aged,  and  almost  determined  to  have  nothing  more  to  do 
with  these  courses. 

About  1622,  Gorges  struck  hands  with  Captain  John 
Mason,  and  they  procured  a  grant  from  the  Plymouth 
Company  of  a  large  tract,  between  the  Merrimack  and  the 
Sagadehoc,  extending  to  the  river  Canada  (or  St.  Law 
rence),  which  district  they  called  Laconia ;  out  of  which 
it  was  hoped  great  things  would  grow.  But  Gorges  spent 
large  sums  of  money,  for  which  he  got  no  returns  ;  yet  he 
persisted  in  his  plans,  and,  to  carry  them  out,  petitioned 
for  the  revocation  of  the  Grand  Charter  of  the  Plymouth 
Company,  through  whom  other  grants  had  been  made 
(ch.  xx.).  The  intention  then  was,  to  recall  all  smaller 
grants,  and  to  establish  one  general  government  from  St. 
Croix  to  Maryland.  The  Company  relinquished  their 
Charter  in  1635,  and  in  1637  the  King  appointed  Gorges 
(then  more  than  three-score  years  old)  Governor- General ; 
which  honor  he  was  not  able  to  exercise.  In  1639,  the 
Crown  confirmed  him  in  his  grant.  His  cousin,  Thomas 
Gorges,  came  over  in  1640,  and  remained  about  three  years, 
endeavoring  to  make  a  state  out  of  "  Chancellor,  Treasurer, 
Marshal,  Marshal's  Court,"  etc.,  etc.,  rather  than  out  of  men. 

This  territory  was  to  be  called  the  Province  or  County 

1  Hubbard,  p.  224.     Belknap's  Biography.     Gorges. 


A.D.  16G4.]  MAINE    AND   NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  233 

of  Maine — in  compliment  to  the  Queen,  who  held  a  prov 
ince  of  the  same  name  in  France  ; — and  Gorges  and  his 
heirs  were  to  be  lords  proprietors.1  He  was  elated,  and 
proceeded  to  organize  an  elaborate  form  of  government 
and  a  settlement ;  the  cardinal  idea  of  which  was,  that 
the  settlers  were  to  go  there,  and  he  was  to  govern  them  ; 
but  it  did  not  work. 

In  1643,  the  troubles  in  England  between  the  King 
and  Commons  grew  violent,  and  in  that  year  Alexander 
Kigby  bought  the  old  grant  called  Lygonia  or  "  Plow 
Patent/'  and  appointed  George  Cleaves  his  deputy-presi 
dent.  Governor  Thomas  Gorges  about  that  time  returned 
to  England,  and  left  Vines  in  his  place.  Between  Cleaves 
and  Vines  there  was  of  course  a  conflict  of  jurisdiction, 
and  Cleaves  appealed  for  aid  to  Massachusetts  ;  and  both 
parties  agreed  to  leave  their  claims  (1645)  to  the  decision 
of  the  Massachusetts  Magistrates,  who  decided — that  they 
could  not  decide  the  matter.  But  the  next  year  the 
Commissioners  for  American  plantations  in  England  de 
cided  in  favor  of  Rigby  ;  and  Vines  left  the  country.  In 
1647,  at  last,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  Sir  Ferdinando 
Gorges  died,  and  with  him  died  all  his  plans  for  kingdoms 
and  power  in  Maine. 

In  1651,  Massachusetts,  finding  that  her  patent,  which 
included  lands  lying  three  miles  north  of  the  head  waters 
of  the  Merrimack,  took  in  all  the  lower  part  of  Maine, 
began  to  extend  her  jurisdiction,  and  as  most  of  the  set 
tlers  favored  her  authority,  it  was  pretty  well  established 
till  the  time  of  the  Restoration  (1660). 

Upon  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II.,  the  heir  of  Gorges 
claimed  his  rights  to  Maine.  His  agent  in  the  province 
was  Edward  Godfrey.  Those  claims  were  confirmed  by 
the  Committee  of  Parliament,  and  in  1664  he  obtained 
an  order  from  the  King  to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
to  restore  him  his  province. 

In  1664,  the  King's  Commissioners  came  over,  and  pro- 
1  Hazard's  Coll. 


234  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1677. 

ceeded  through  the  Colonies,  and  among  the  rest  to  Maine  ; 
where  they  appointed  various  officers  without  the  concur 
rence  of  Massachusetts  :  so  that  for  some  years  Maine  was 
distracted  with  parties,  and  was  in  confusion. 

In  1668,  Massachusetts  sent  four  Commissioners  to 
York,  who  resumed  and  re-established  the  jurisdiction  of 
Massachusetts,  with  which  the  majority  of  the  people  were 
hest  pleased  ;  and  in  1669  the  Deputies  from  Maine  again 
took  their  seats  in  the  Massachusetts  Court. 

Her  jurisdiction  was,  however,  disputed  by  the  heirs  of 
Mason  and  Gorges,  and  it  was  not  finally  set  at  rest  till 
the  year  1677,  hy  the  purchase  of  their  claims  from 
them,  by  Massachusetts,  for  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  sterling.  By  King  William's  Charter  of  1691, 
Maine  was  incorporated  with  Massachusetts.1 

Martin  Pring,  in  1603,  in  coasting  along  New 
NTmnKEMP"  England,  with  the  "  Speedwell"  and  "  Discov 
ery"  (the  last  a  bark  of  twenty-six  tons),  seems 
to  have  touched  New  Hampshire,  and  to  have  entered  the 
Piscataqua  river.  But  no  settlements  were  attempted 
till  the  arrival  of  David  Thompson  and  the  Hiltons,  sent 
by  Mason  and  Gorges  (the  Laconia  Company)  in  1623.2 

They  had  been  fishmongers  in  London,  and  were  to 
make  much  money  by  preparing  fish  for  market.  The 
Hiltons  set  up  stages  on  the  river  at  Dover,  and  Thompson 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Little  Harbor.  In  1631, 
Williams  and  Chadburn,  men  of  ability,  with  a  number 
of  planters  and  traders,  came  over  and  established  them 
selves  at  Strawberry-bank,  now  the  flourishing  city  of 
Portsmouth.  Under  the  direction  of  Chadburn,  the 
"  Great  House"  was  built,  the  beginning  of  a  manor  or 
Lordship,  which  was  afterward  assigned  to  Captain  Mason, 
and  was  called  Mason-Hall. 

J  Belknap's  Biography.  Gorges.  Lucas's  Charters.  The  History  of  the 
State  of  Maine,  by  William  D.  Williamson  :  Hallowell,  1839. 

2  Hubbard,  p.  214.  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  103.  Adams's  Annals  of 
Portsmouth,  1825. 


A.D.  1641.]  MAINE    AND    NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  235 

Captain  Wiggan  and  the'  Kev.  Leveridge  came  over  in 
1633,  and  were  a  valuable  accession.  But  the  Rev.  Bur- 
det  seems  not  to  have  left  a  good  name  ;  he  undermined 
Wiggan  and  assumed  his  place  of  Governor.  In  his 
turn,  Burdet  was  undermined  by  Captain  Underbill, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  leave  Massachusetts.  Underbill 
had  considered  himself  one  of  the  elect — having  received 
assurance  u  over  a  pipe  of  that  good  creature,  Tobacco,"  1 
as  he  said  ;  and  that  he  should  hold  on  to  that  assurance, 
"  although  he  should  fall  into  sin."  But  he  was  thrust 
out  of  the  Bay,  because  he  was  a  fellow  who  would  speak 
his  mind,  and  who  was  strongly  suspected  of  loving  other 
good  creatures — having  confessed  that  he  "had  had  his 
will  of  the  Cooper's  wife  ;"  so,  going  to  Piscataqua,  and 
being  an  active  man  and  a  soldier,  he  was  chosen  Gov 
ernor,  and  Burdet  left.  Their  town  they  called  DOVER. 

In  1629  [May  17],  Rev.  John  Wheelwright  and  others 
bought  of  the  Indians  the  lands  lying  between  the  Pisca 
taqua  and  the  Merrimack.  Whatever  their  deed  was,  it 
was  disputed,  and  not  recognized  by  the  heirs  of  Mason.2 

After  the  expulsion  of  Mrs.  Hutchinsoh  from  Massachu 
setts,  Wheelwright  was  obliged  to  leave  there,  and  with 
his  friends,  settled  as  a  body  politic  on  the  south  side  of 
the  great  Bay,  up  Piscataqua  river,  and  called  their  place 
EXETER.  The  increase  there  was  very  slow — the  Massa 
chusetts  plantations  being  more  attractive  to  the  larger 
number  of  settlers.  Meanwhile  that  Colony  were  discov 
ering,  that  the  bounds  of  their  Grant  extended  north 
beyond  these  new  settlements  ;  and  in  1641,  their  Court 
passed  an  order  (with  the  consent  of  the  settlers  at  Dover 
and  Strawberry-bank,  on  the  Piscataqua),  "  That  from 
thenceforth,  the  said  people  inhabiting  there,  are  and 
shall  be  accepted  and  reputed  under  the  Government  of 
the  Massachusetts,"  8  etc.  Mason  had  died,  and  confusion 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  i.  a  Adams's  Annals  of  Portsmouth. 

8  Hutchinson,  voL  i.,  p.  109.     Winthrop,  vol.  ii.,  p.  38. 


236  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1669. 

ensued,  so  that  the  settlers  were  mostly  glad  of  the  trans 
fer. 

A  long  controversy  ensued  between  Mason's  heirs  and 
Massachusetts  as  to  the  right  of  Jurisdiction. 

The  History  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  at  this 
period,  was  much  the  same.  In  1660,  at  the  time  of  the 
Kestoration,  the  heirs  of  Mason  applied  to  the  Attorney- 
General  in  England,  who  decided  that  they  had  a  good 
title  to  New  Hampshire.  The  Commissioners  who  came 
over  in  1664,  attempted  to  re-establish  them  ;  but  as 
the  settlers  favored  Massachusetts,  she  resumed  her  gov 
ernment  when  they  left.  Mason's  heirs  renewed  their 
claim  in  1675,  and  in  1679,  it  was  solemnly  decided 
against  the  claim  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  although 
their  grant  technically  included  all  lands  extending  to 
three  miles  north  of  the  waters  of  the  Merrimack  river. 

John  Cutt  was  the  first  President  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  thenceforward  to  the  American  Kevolution,  New 
Hampshire  was  treated  as  a  Koyal  province — the  Gov 
ernors  and  Lieutenant- Governors  being  appointed  by  the 
King,  and  the  laws  made  by  the  people,  being  subject 
to  his  revision.1 

The  King  claimed  all  the  Forests  ;  and  no  persons  but 
his  officers  were  allowed  to  cut  the  grand  pine-trees  which 
covered  the  hill-sides,  and  crowned  her  mountain  tops. 
But  the  people  were  free,  and  there  was  no  standing  army 
in  New  Hampshire,  to  shoot  them  down,  and  the  "  loggers 
and  raftsmen"  took  the  liberty  which  the  king  claimed  as 
a  divine  right.  They  asserted  "  Swamp  Law/'  and  cut 
their  share.  They  persistently  resisted  Governor  Cran- 
field's  high-handed  plans  for  taxing  and  governing  them  ; 
and  he  at  last  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remove  "  from  these 
unreasonable  people/' 

In  this  Colony,  trade  was  mostly  in  the  exchange  of 
lumber,  beef,  fish,  oil,  and  live-stock,  for  rum,  sugar,  mo 
lasses,  and  coffee,  with  the  West  Indies. 
1  See  vol.  ii.,  ch.  ii. 


A.D.  1775.]  MAINE   AND   NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  237 

Ship-building  was  an  important  occupation  ;  and  ships, 
of  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  tons,  were  con 
structed,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  twelve  annually.  Great 
quantities  of  pine-tree  masts  and  spars  were  prepared  for 
England,  and  shipped  off  annually. 

It  was  not  insisted  on,  that  New  Hampshire  was  settled 
as  a  religious  Colony ;  and  under  the  Wentworths  Epis 
copacy  was  favored. 

One  of  the  New  Hampshire  Ministers,  reproached  the 
people  [1691]  that  they  had  left  the  first  purpose  of  their 
ancestors,  who  came  to  this  howling  wilderness,  to  enjoy 
without  molestation  the  exercise  of  their  pure  principles 
of  religion  ;  when  one  of  his  congregation  interrupted  him, 
saying :  "  Sir,  you  entirely  mistake  the  matter.  Our 
Ancestors  did  not  come  here  on  account  of  their  religion, 
but  to  fish  and  trade  ;"  which  was  true. 

A  long  step  now  takes  us  to  the  time  of  the  American 
Revolution. 

Then  a  Provincial  Congress  assembled  at  Exeter,  in 
New  Hampshire,  on  the  21st  of  December  [1775],  to 
devise  measures  to  secure  the  public  good.  They  agreed 
upon  an  Executive  and  a  Legislature,  to  consist  of  a 
Council  and  a  House  of  Representatives,  which  alarmed 
some  people,  who  remons-trated  strongly,  lest  it  should 
look  like  dissolving  the  Union  with  Great  Britain.  But 
the  Patriots  said  :  "  When  the  Union  becomes  a  tyranny, 
it  had  better  be  dissolved."  So  that  Union  was  then  dis 
solved,  and  New  Hampshire  joined  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW    HAVEN. 

DAVENPORT,  AND  EATON,  AND  HOPKINS — 1638 — QTTINNIPIAC — HENEY  WHTTFIF.LD — GUIL- 
FORD — MILFORD — STAMFORD — BRANFORU — COMMERCE — THE  GREAT  SHIP  LOST — TIIE- 
OPHILU8  EATON — HOPKINS — JOHN  DAVENPORT — FIRST  SABBATH — THE  STATE — CHAR 
TER — UNION — THE  DUTCH. 

THE  fierce  clash  about  religions  in  Old  England  from 
1630  to  1640,  was  like  the  confusion  of  tongues  in  the  old 
times  at  Babel  ;  it  scattered  men  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven,  and  colonized  New  England.  Mather  likened  the 
Puritans  to  the  "peculiar  people  whom  the  great  God 
had  carried  into  a  wilderness  to  establish  a  theocracy,  he 
himself  being  their  Lord  of  Hosts." 

In  the  Hector  (20th  June,  1637),  arrived  at  Boston,  the 
Eev.  John  Davenport,  and  with  him  came  Theophilus 
Eaton — his  old  schoolmate — and  Edward  Hopkins,  rich 
London  merchants.  Winthrop  and  his  associates  wel 
comed  them  heartily  to  the  New  World. 

They  reported  matters  to  be  growing  worse  rather  than 
better,  for  godly,  free-thinking  men  in  England,  and  the 
country  was  getting  to  be  no  better  than  Turkey  or  Kome. 
Many  persons — their  friends — were  sure  to  follow,  and  they 
looked  about  for  a  favorable  position,  where  would  be  room 
to  welcome  them.  The  Massachusetts  Magistrates  were 
exceedingly  desirous,  because  of  their  character  and  prop 
erty,  that  they  should  remain  near  Boston  ;  but  they,  hear 
ing  that  west  of  the  Connecticut  Plantations,  were  good 
situations,  sent  to  purchase  some  which  lay  to  the  south 
west,  toward  the  Hudson  River,  which  was  done. 

By  this  means  they  gained  much  fresh  virgin  soil,  and 
as  they  hoped,  were  beyond  the  reach  of  the  new  Gov- 


A.D.  1639.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW  HAVEN.  239 

ernor-General,  who  was  then  much  talked  of.  In  March, 
1638,  the  Ministers,  Davenport  and  Pruden,  with  many 
more,  went  round  by  water  to  Quinnipiac,  to  settle  there, 
and  began,  around  the  bay  which  runs  up  between  the 
two  brave  old  trap-rocks  (called  "East  and  West  Rocks"), 
the  town — which  has  grown  up  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
city  in  America — now  called  New  Haven.  A  company, 
mostly  young  men,  joined  them  from  the  southerly  parts 
of  England — Kentish,  Suffolk,  and  Surrey  men,  under  the 
ministry  of  the  Kev.  Henry  Whitfield,  among  whom  was 
young  William  Leete  ;  afterward  Governor  of  the  United 
Colonies  of  New  Haven  and  Connecticut.  These,  under 
the  lead  of  Whitfield  (1639),  settled  at  Guilford,  a  pleas 
ant  place  some  sixteen  miles  east  of  New  Haven  ;  the 
Indian  name  of  which  was  Menunkatuck.  The  land  was 
purchased  for  the  uses  of  the  town,  from  the  Sachem- 
squaw,  and  was  held  in  trust  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Whitfield, 
Eobert  Kitchell,  Wm.  Leete,  William  Chittenden,  John 
Bishop,  and  John  Caffinge  ;  and  consisted  of  the  lands 
between  Stoney  Creek  (Rutawoo)  and  East  (Aigicomock) 
Rivers.  The  Church  was  formed  in  1643,  when  the  lands 
were  divided ;  and  Whitfield  was  their  first  minister. 
He  was  rich,  and  built  the  "  Stone  House,"  now  standing 
and  in  good  condition,  which  was  used  at  times  for  a  fort. 
He  afterward  removed  to  England,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  John  Higginson. 

Milford  was  begun  by  Peter  Pruden,  and  his  friends  ; 
Stamford,  by  a  company  from  Weathersfield  ;  and  Bran- 
ford,  by  another  emigration  from  that  town,  where  there 
were  many  church  quarrels.  These  all  clustered  about 
New  Haven,  and  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  seeking  and 
cultivating  new  virgin  lands. 

The  New  1  Eaven  settlers  were  men  of  trade  and  money, 
they  built  great  houses  and  hoped  to  thrive  by  Commerce 
rather  than  Husbandry,  but  their  first  undertakings  were 
unsuccessful,  and  they  suffered  many  losses  ;  "  the  Lord," 
for  some  reason,  "  being  against  them  ;"  so  that  in  five  or 


240  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1639. 

six  years,  their  stock  was  much  wasted,  and  they  near  the 
bottom.1  But  they  determined  to  make  one  more  effort, 
against  what  seemed  destiny  ;  so  they  built  a  great  ship, 
of  which  "  the  godly  Mr.  Lamberton  went  Master,"  freight 
ed  her  with  corn,  and  furs,  and  plate,  and  much  property 
for  England.  In  her  went  Mr.  Grrigson,  and  sundry  other 
considerable  persons,  godly  people,  too.  But  it  was  all  to 
no  purpose,  for  she  was  "wait-sided,"  ill-built,  and  ill- 
laden  ;  they  cut  out  the  ice  in  the  harbor  with  saws  so 
that  she  could  get  to  sea,  and  she  was  never  heard  of 
afterward.  The  loss  was  grievous,  and  was  clearly  enough 
the  result  of  mismanagement,  rather  than  any  displeasure 
the  Lord  may  have  had  with  their  trading.  The  loss  was 
not  only  of  their  goods — which  for  a  time  paralyzed  their 
trade — but  of,  at  least,  ten  precious  Christians  ;  who,  as 
Cotton  said,  went  to  heaven  in  a  chariot  of  water,  rather 
than  of  fire  as  Elijah  did. 

As  the  older  men  died  or  removed,  the  younger  ones 
were  more  ready  to  bend  their  backs  to  the  labors  of  Agri 
culture,  and  as  the  Colony  was  not  able  to  remove  to  a 
more  promising  location,  it  began  to  thrive,  as  it  has  con 
tinued  to  do  from  that  day  to  this. 

Their  principal  man,  THEOPHILUS  EATON,  had  been  a 
Turkey  merchant  in  England,  where  he  gained  wealth  ; 
and  for  a  time  he  was  agent  for  the  King,  in  Denmark. 
When  his  friend  and  fellow  townsman,  the  Kev.  Dav 
enport,  was  forced  to  abandon  England,  he  decided  to 
come  to  the  strange  land  with  him.  Many  induce 
ments  were  held  up  for  them  to  settle  near  Boston  ; 
but  as  the  best  lands  there  were  taken  up,  and  as  they 
had  commerce  in  view,  they  decided  to  go  elsewhere, 
and  purchased  at  Quinnipiac.  Through  twenty  years 
Eaton  was  annually  chosen  governor,  which  is  good  proof 
of  his  ability  and  justice.  One  good  thing  of  his  is 
preserved  to  us  :  he  said,  "  Some  account  it  a  great  mat 
ter  to  die  welly  but  I  am  sure  it  is  a  great  matter  to 
LIVE  well."  Much  the  greater  of  the  two  indeed. 

i  Hubbard,  p.  321. 


A.D.  1638.]  SETTLEMENT    OF   NEW   HAVEN.  241 

The  New  England  divines  were  prone  to  try  their 
hands  at  poetry,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  serious  considera 
tion,  why  their  good  intentions  should  have  so  signally 
failed  in  the  execution.  They  put  upon  Eaton's  tomb 
these  lines : 

"  Eaton  so  meek,  so  fam'd,  so  just, 
The  Phoanix  of  our  world,  here  hides  his  dust ; 
His  name  forget  New  England  never  must." 

EDWARD  HOPKINS,  his  son-in-law,  was  also  a  successful 
merchant  in  England.  He  settled  at  Hartford,  and  was, 
with  Haynes,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  till  his  return  to 
England,  where  he  was  in  favor  with  Cromwell,  and  was 
appointed  Warden  of  the  fleet  ;  but  he  was  the  fast 
friend  of  New  England,  and  left  large  bequests  to  the 
Colonies,  when  he  died  in  1657. 

JOHN  DAVENPORT,  their  Minister,  was  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  intellect,  when  he  came 
to  settle  at  New  Haven,  being  then  41  years  old.  He 
had  been  a  distinguished  preacher  in  the  English  Church, 
and  had  been  forced  to  leave  for  Holland  under  the  iron 
discipline  of  Laud.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  and  decided 
views,  and  was  among  the  most  urgent  of  those  who  held 
to  the  Eule  of  the  Saints.  He  refused  to  participate  in 
the  indiscriminate  baptism  of  children  in  Holland  ;  and 
in  New  England  was  exceeding  strict  as  to  the  repent 
ance  of  those  admitted  to  church  membership.  He  was  a 
scholar,  a  gentleman,  an  excellent  preacher,  and  one  of 
the  most  intrepid  of  the  New  England  divines.  It  was 
his  mind  which  shaped  the  infant  legislation  of  New 
Haven.  On  the  18th  of  April  (1638)  the  band  of  Pil 
grims  were  collected  under  a  spreading  oak  (near  the 
corner  of  George  and  College-streets)  ;  around  them  was 
the  budding  forest,  in  which  the  spring  birds  were  just 
beginning  to  sound  their  notes  ;  and  under  its  shelter 
were  raised  the  frail  tents  of  the  wanderers.  It  was  Sun 
day — u  the  Lord's  day,"  and  the  voice  of  Davenport  rose  in 

11 


242  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1662. 

the  calmness  of  the  spring  morning — and  every  man  stood 
up  in  the  presence  of  God — as  he  gave  forth  his  first 
prayer  in  the  wilderness.  During  thirty  years  Davenport 
was  their  Minister,  and  was  among  the  first  in  New  En 
gland. 

During  the  first  year,  little  "  Government"  was 
THB  STATE,  needed  or  exercised.  Each  man  was  a  lord  to 
himself.  On  the  4th  of  June  (1638)  the  settlers 
met  in  Mr.  Newman's  barn,  and  bound  themselves  by  a 
sort  of  Constitution.  Afterward,  on  the  29th  of  October, 
the  "  Seven  Pillars,"  chosen  to  govern  the  Church,  con 
vened  the  Freemen  who  were  church  members,  and  they 
chose  Mr.  Eaton  for  Governor,  and  seven  Magistrates  or 
Assistants.  They  decided  to  make  the  Bible  their  law- 
book  ;  but,  by  and  by,  new  towns  were  made,  and  new 
laws  were  needed,  and  they  had  the  good  sense  to  make 
them. 

Their  State  was  founded  upon  their  Church,  thus  ex 
pressed  in  their  first  compact,  signed  by  one  hundred  and 
eleven  persons  :  "  That  Church  members  only  shall  be 
free  Burgesses,  and  that  they  only  shall  chose  Magistrates 
and  officers  among  themselves,  to  have  the  power  of 
transacting  all  publique  civil  affairs  of  this  plantation, 
of  making  and  repealing  laws,  dividing  of  inheritances, 
deciding  of  differences  that  may  arise,  and  doing  all  things 
or  businesses  of  like  nature/' 

New  Haven  did  a  brave  and  manly  thing  in  sheltering 
the  Regicides  (see  vol.  i.,  ch.  xxxvii.),  and  the  name  of 
John  Davenport  should  be  held  in  honor  there  and  else 
where. 

After  the  Connecticut  Charter  was  obtained  [in  1662] 
by  Governor  John  Winthrop,  it  was  proposed  that  New 
Haven  should  unite  with  Connecticut.  This  was  opposed 
by  many,  and  strongly  by  Rev.  Mr.  Davenport,  because 
he  believed  in  a  Government  of  Church  members  as  prac 
ticed  in  New  Haven,  which  rule  did  not  prevail  in  Con 
necticut.  But  circumstances,  and  their  many  natural 


A.D.  1650.]  SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   HAVEN.  243 

sympathies,  made  a  union  inevitable,  and  it  took  place  in 
May,  1665.  John  Winthrop  was  chosen  Governor  of 
the  two  united  Colonies.1 

The  New  Haven  and  Connecticut  people 
were  constantly  on  the  verge  of  a  quarrel  with  THE  DUTCH. 
the  Dutch  at  Manhadoes  (New  York).  They 
were  always  at  variance  about  their  bounds,  for  this  good 
reason,  because  there  were  none  ;  but  in  1650  it  was 
agreed  between  them,  that  the  line  of  division  should 
begin  at  Greenwich  bay,  some  four  miles  west  of  Stam 
ford.2  Irving  tells  us  how  the  Dutch  did  not  like  the 
smell  of  onions,  so  the  Yankees  planted  their  rows  a 
little  further  west  every  year,  and  the  Dutchmen  retired 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  so  the  New  England  men 
got  the  most  land. 

This  story  is  ingenious,  if  not  true. 

1  Trumbull's  Hist  Connect.,  voL  i.,  p.  289.       'Hazard,  vol.il 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    CONNECTICUT. 

QTJONEHTACUT    RIVER — HOLMES    BEGINS  WINDSOR — JOHN     HOOKER — WEATHERSFIELD — IM 
MIGRATION — EARL   OF    WARWICK'S    GRANT — SAYBROOK — HARTFORD — SPRINGFIELD — 

JOHN    HAYNE8— ROGER   LTJPLOW— FENWICK— WILLIAM  PYNCHEON— JOHN  WINTHROP— - 
THE  UNION— CONDITION  Of  THB   COLONY. 

As  early  as  April,  1631,  Wahgumacut  came  to  Boston 
from  the  Connecticut  River,1  and  offered  the  white  men 
corn  and  beans,  if  they  would  come  and  settle  in  his 
country.2  He  may  have  been  a  good  man,  but  if  he  had 
been  a  wise  Indian  he  would  have  distrusted  the  fire 
water,  the  guns,  and  the  energy  of  the  whites.  They 
were  too  weak  to  accept  his  offer  then,  but  the  report  of 
the  rich  and  beautiful  valleys  and  plains,  which  lie  along 
that  river  from  Bellow's  Falls  to  Haddam,  floated  in  the 
air.  In  1633  the  Plymouth  folks  prepared  a  house,  and 
shipped  it  round,  for  the  beginning  of  a  trading-post,  and 
for  securing  a  purchase  made  from  Attawauhutt,  and  to 
prevent  the  inroad  of  those  (by  no  means  dull)  Dutch 
from  the  Hudson,  who  had  already  got  a  footing,  called 
Good  Hope,  nigh  what  is  now  Hartford.  The  small 
Plymouth  enterprise  was  led  by  William  Holmes,  who 
paid  no  heed  to  the  threats  of  the  Dutch  fort,  but  sailed 
past  them,  threatening  to  shoot  back ;  and  pitched  his 
tents  at  Windsor.3 

Now  the  land  about  Boston  was  not  rich,  and  after 
three  or  four  years  of  cultivation,  it  became  spent  ;  even 
manuring  it  with  fish  would  not  keep  it  in  heart,  as  it 
will  not  any  land  ;  and  many  began  to  be  uneasy  at  the 

1  Spelled  by  Winthrop  "  Quonehtacut." 

a  Prince's  Chronology.  3  Morton's  Mem.,  p.  174. 


A.D.  1635.]  SETTLEMENT   OF   CONNECTICUT.  245 

prospects  in  the  future  ;  for  a  fertile  country  is  the  found 
ation  of  all  prosperity.  They  too  had  heard  of  the  rich 
valleys  of  the  Connecticut,  and  at  the  September  Court 
(1634)  the  principal  topic,  was  the  intention  of  the  Eev. 
Mr.  Hooker  (who  came  over  in  1633),  with  many  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Newtown — his  congregation — to  go  to  those 
better  lands.  In  this  year,  too,  some  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Watertown  seem  to  have  removed  to  Weathersfield.1 

The  Newtown  people  had  heard  much  good  of  the  new 
lands,  and  desiring  what  was  best,  and  moved  by  that  in 
stinct  which  drives  men  forward  to  the  utmost  verge,  and 
suspecting  "  that  two  such  stars  as  Mr.  Cotton  arid  Mr. 
Hooker  could  not  continue  in  one  orb  ;"2  for  these  and 
other  reasons,  they  desired  to  go.  But  whether  they 
should  have  leave  from  the  rest  ?  Considering  the  weak 
ness  of  the  Colony,  and  their  own  peril,  and  their  present 
advantages,  and  that  it  was  "  as  the  removing  of  a  can 
dlestick,  a  great  judgment,"  and  so  on,  ought  they  have 
leave  to  go  ?  The  Court  putting  it  to  vote,  after  much 
discussion,  there  was  found  to  be  fifteen  for  it  to  ten 
against  it.3  This  difference  grew  to  a  dissension,  so  that 
a  fast  became  necessary  ;  and  a  sermon  from  Mr.  Cotton, 
preached  from  Haggai,  llth  chapter,  4th  verse,  "  Yet 
now  be  strong,  oh  Zerubbabel,"  etc.,  tended  to  quiet  the 
matter  for  a  time.  In  this  discourse,  Cotton  held  that 
the  ultimate  resolution  of  matters  ought  to  be  in  the 
whole  body  of  the  people,  yet  that  the  Magistracy  and 
the  Ministry  ought  to  have  a  negative  voice  ;  so  there 
were  three  powers  in  the  State,  the  People,  the  Ministers, 
and  the  Magistrates :  such  seemed  to  be  Mr.  Cotton's  ele 
ments  for  the  making  of  a  State. 

But  in  1635,  some  of  Newtown  and  Watertown  gained 
leave  to  go  whither  they  would,  provided  they  continued 
under  the  government ;  so  in  October  (15th,  1635,  accord 
ing  to  Winthrop)  the  first  emigration  from  the  hardly 

1  Preface  to  Hinman's  Early  Settlers  of  Connecticut. 

a  Hubbard's  History,  p.  173.  3  Winthrop's  Journal. 


246  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1633. 

settled  vicinity  of  Boston  (Dorchester)  took  place,  con 
sisting  of  some  sixty  men,  women,  and  children,  with 
cows,  horses,  and  swine.  They  settled  at  Windsor,  and 
pushed  out  the  Plymouth  people. 

The  Earl  of  Warwick  seems  to  have  held  the 
8ATBEOOK.      first  grant  of  Connecticut  (1630),  from  whom 
it  passed  to  the  Lords  Say  and  Brook,  and  oth 
ers,  who  for  many  years  were  intent  upon  establishing  a 
new  Colony,  and  becoming  lords  proprietors.1 

Under  their  commission,  John  Winthrop  the  younger 
came  over  in  1635,  and  in  November2  he  sent  a  bark  of 
some  thirty  tons,  with  twenty  men  and  munitions,  to  take 
possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  commence  the 
fort  and  town  afterward  called  Saybrook. 

In  the  last  of  May,  of  the  next  year  (1636), 
BMIGEATOS  the  Prmcipal  Emigration  took  place.  It  con 
sisted  of  a  hundred  persons,  led  by  the  fervent 
Hooker,  and  the  large-minded  John  Haynes,  who  had  been 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  preceding  year.  Most 
of  the  Pilgrims  went  on  foot,  but  Mrs.  Hooker  was  carried 
in  a  "  horse-litter."  The  season  was  charming,  the  forests 
were  at  their  flush,  and  the  birds  sang  in  glad  surprise,  at 
this  singular  exodus  into  the  almost  unseen  wilderness. 
What  brave  people  there  were  in  those  days  !  The  settlers 
"  set  down"  at  various  points  on  the  river  ;  the  Roxbury 
people,  led  by  William  Pyncheon,  at  Springfield  (Aga- 
wam) ;  Mr.  Ludlow  and  the  Dorchester  folk,  at  Windsor 
(Mattaneaug) ;  Mr.  Hooker,  Mr.  Stone,  arid  Mr.  Haynes, 
with  the  Cambridge  Church,  at  Hartford  (Suckiaug), 
and  some  of  the  Watertown  men  were  below,  at  WTeathers- 
field  (Pauquiaug). 

JOHN  HAYNES,  the  principal  settler  of  Connecticut,  came 
to  Massachusetts  in  1633.  He  was  a  man  of  greater  wealth 
than  Winthrop,  being  possessed  in  England  of  an  estate 
of  a  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  he  was  a  man  of  equal 
talents  and  of  a  larger  nature  ;  he  was  at  once  made  an 

1  Hutchmson,  voL  i.,  p.  64.  9  Winthrop's  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  173. 


A.D.  1634.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    CONNECTICUT.  247 

Assistant,  and  in  1635,  was  chosen  Governor,  when  he  de 
clared  that  he  would  not  be  chargeable  to  the  people  for 
an  allowance.  He  joined  Mr.  Hooker's  congregation  at 
Newtown,  and  both  he  and  Hooker  grew  in  popularity  and 
influence.  The  petition  of  Hooker's  congregation,  to  be 
allowed  to  remove  to  Connecticut,  at  first  refused,  was  af 
terward  granted,  and  it  was  shrewdly  surmised  that  the 
rising  popularity  of  these  two  leaders  had  something  to  do 
with  the  ultimate  consent.1 

Haynes  was  the  leading  man  at  Hartford,  and  with 
Ludlow,  had  most  to  do  in  shaping  the  infant  State.  It 
is  well  to  note  that  Church  Membership  was  not  made  a 
test  of  Citizenship,  as  it  was  in  Massachusetts.  Haynes 
had  gone  through  a  severe  experience,  in  the  trial  and 
banishment  of  Roger  Williams,  and  it  is  probable  that  his 
sense  of  justice,  his  generosity  of  character,  and  his  better 
statesmanship,  were  all  shocked  by  it.  It  is  quite  certain, 
that  he  continued  to  be  upon  the  most  friendly  terms  with 
Williams. 

His  wise  management,  integrity,  and  liberality,  endeared 
him  to  the  people,  and  he  was  chosen  Governor  every 
alternate  year  (which  was  all  their  Constitution  allowed), 
until  the  day  of  his  death,  which  happened  in  1654. 

ROGER  LUDLOW  was  one  of  the  principal  men  in  Con 
necticut.  He  was  from  a  good  family  in  England,  was  full 
of  talent,  impetuosity,  and  ambition.  Failing  to  be  chosen 
Governor  in  Massachusetts,  in  1634 — which  he  felt  was 
due  to  him  in  the  natural  rotation — he  protested  that  the 
people  were  imposed  on,  and  that  the  elections  were  ar 
ranged  and  managed  by  the  Assistants,  which  is  not  im 
probable.  But  his  complaints  injured  him  in  public  esti 
mation,  and  he  was  left  out  of  the  Magistracy  also.  He 
then  removed  to  Connecticut,  where,  for  nineteen  years, 
his  talent  and  activity  were  of  great  value.  He  was  every 
year  Magistrate  or  Deputy  Governor,  and  found  more  room 
for  his  active  talent  than  in  Massachusetts.  He  com- 

1  Trumbull's  History. 


248  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

piled  the  Connecticut  Code,  often  called  "  Ludlow' s  Code," 
which  is  a  remarkable  and  valuable  collection  of  laws.  It 
was  first  printed  in  1672. 

In  1639,  he  removed  to  Fairfield,  which  was  then  a 
border-town,  and  much  in  danger  from  the  jealousies  of 
the  Dutch,  at  Manhadoes.  In  1653,  the  Commissioners 
of  the  New  England  Colonies,  agreed  to  make  war  upon 
the  Dutch  at  Manhadoes,  but  Massachusetts  refused  to 
stand  by  Connecticut,  which  greatly  exasperated  Ludlow 
and  his  friends ;  so  the  town  of  Fairfield  determined  to 
make  war  themselves,  and  chose  Ludlow  commander  ;  but 
the  New  Haven  Court  interfered,  and  punished  some  of  the 
recruiting  leaders.  Ludlow  was  aggravated,  and  shortly 
sailed  away  to  Virginia  ;  whereit  is  ^supposed  he  died. 

Colonel  George  Fenwick,  who  came  out  for  the  Lord's 
Say  and  Brook  (in  1639),  was  perplexed  to  know  how  to 
manage  these  people,  who,  ascertaining  that  they  were  be 
yond  the  bounds  of  the  Massachusetts  patent,  had  estab 
lished  the  most  liberal  political  society  that  the  world  had 
ever  seen.  At  last  the  inhabitants  purchased  the  title  of 
the  Lords  (December,  1644),  and  Mr.  Fenwick  was  chosen 
one  of  the  Assistants.  The  Colony  went  on  in  its  own 
way,  until  the  Kestoration  of  Charles  II.  John  Winthrop 
was  then  sent  to  England,  and  succeeded  in  gaining  a 
wonderfully  free  Charter,  which  was  and  is  remarkable, 
securing  as  it  did,  freedom  in  Church  and  State.  (1662.) 

Mr.  Pyncheon,  and  his  friends  at  Springfield,  were  found 
to  be  within  the  Massachusetts  limits,  and  were  received 
back  again  in  1641  ;  Mr.  Pyncheon  being  appointed  to 
hold  Court  there.1 

WILLIAM  PYNCHEON  was  the  leading  settler  of  Roxbury, 
where  he  continued  till  1636  ;  in  that  year,  when  there 
was  such  a  scattering  of  the  people,  he  led  a  party  to  the 
Connecticut  River,  and  settled  at  Springfield.  There  he 
was  the  Magistrate,  and  first  man,  there  he  built  himself  a 
fine  house  for  those  days,  which  stood  for  many  years,  and 

1  Hutchinson,  voL  L,  p.  100. 


A.D.  1676.]  SETTLEMENT   OF   CONNECTICUT.  249 

there  he  traded  with  the  Indians  and  grew  rich.  He  was 
a  man  of  cultivated  mind,  and  of  active  piety,  and  was 
held  in  great  respect  in  the  Colony,  till  he  wrote  and  pub 
lished  a  book  (1650)  called,  "  The  Meritorious  Price  of 
Man's  Redemption;"  altogether  too  liberal  for  the  Magis 
trates  of  the  Bay,  who  censured  him  severely  and  with 
out  scruple,  and  directed  his  book  to  be  burned  by  the 
hangman.  Conceiving  himself  to  be  ill-treated  by  persons 
in  authority,  with  his  son-in-law,  Captain  Smith,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Moxon,  he  left  for  England  (1652),  and 
never  returned.  His  descendants  have  owned  property  in 
Springfield,  and  have  held  places  of  honor  to  this  day. 

JOHN  WINTHROP  of  Connecticut,  possessed  the  sterling 
sense  and  manly  sincerity  of  his  father,  John  Winthrop 
of  Massachusetts.  The  younger  Winthrop  had  every  ad 
vantage  of  travel  and  education,  and  was  one  of  the  few 
early  settlers,  who  had  had  a  university  education  (at 
Cambridge  in  England),  yet  was  not  a  minister.  He  was 
the  favorite  of  his  father,  who  died  too  soon  to  see  the 
manhood  and  honor  to  which  his  son  arrived.  He  did  not 
sit  down  under  the  skirts  of  his  father,  at  Massachusetts 
Bay;  but  procuring  the  agency  of  Lord  Say  and  Company, 
he  established  a  new  Colony,  and  built  a  fort  at  Saybrook, 
on  the  Connecticut  river.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  pos 
sessed  as  he  was,  of  scholarly  and  scientific  tastes,  he  took 
resolutely  hold  of  the  material  life  of  a  new  colony,  and 
worked  to  shape  it  well,  for  the  superior  structure  which 
was  to  be  built  upon  it.  He  seemed  to  appreciate  what 
so  many  scholars  and  divines  forget,  the  prime  value  of  a 
good  material  base.  From  1659  to  1676  he  was  chosen 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  in  that  position  seems  to 
have  given  universal  satisfaction  ;  if  he  had  vices  or  ene 
mies,  they  are  forgotten.  He  was  too  large  a  man  to 
engage  in  the  persecution  of  Quakers,  which  he  every 
where  opposed  ;  and  if  he  believed  at  all  in  the  rank 
superstition  of  witchcraft,  then  so  common,  it  was  as  a 
query,  not  as  a  fact.  His  leisure  time  was  devoted  to 

11* 


250  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1680. 

science,  and  his  contributions  to  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  of  which  he  was  an  early  member,  were  highly 
valued.  Indeed,  Boyle  and  other  scientific  men,  at  one 
time,  had  a  plan  for  joining  him  in  the  New  World,  for 
the  investigation  of  natural  knowledge. 

The  Colony  of  Connecticut  had  managed  its  own  affairs 
for  a  long  time  without  a  Charter  (which,  after  all,  was 
but  a  piece  of  sheepskin),  in  its  own  way,  and  well.  The 
Charter,  which  Winthrop  was  able  to  secure  in 
1662,  included  in  its  limits  the  Colony  of  New 
Haven,  which,  up  to  this  time,  had  had  its 
own  Governor  and  laws.  When  the  Committee 
from  Connecticut  proposed  to  Governor  Leete 
of  New  Haven,  that  a  Union  should  be  formed,  he  sub 
mitted  the  question  to  the  Freemen  ;  which  awakened  a 
great  interest,  and  a  strong  opposition,  from  some  of  the 
principal  men,  such  as  Minister  Davenport.  The  discus 
sion  of  this  question  was  continued  with  much  heat, 
through  some  three  years,  and  the  Colony  of  New  Haven 
was  divided  into  two  parties,  one  for,  and  one  against  a 
Union.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  put  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  Connecticut,  and  refused  to  pay  taxes 
to  New  Haven  ;  and  there  was  danger  of  bloodshed  in 
Guilford,  in  an  attempt  to  make  forced  collections.  The 
wisdom  of  Governor  Leete,  who  lived  there,  alone  pre 
vented  it. 

The  King's  Commissioners,  who  came  over  in  1664, 
decided  that  the  Connecticut  Charter  included  New  Haven, 
and  as  the  authority  of  the  Magistrates  in  New  Haven  was 
daily  becoming  weaker,  it  was  at  last  agreed  that  a  Union 
should  take  place,  which  was  consummated  in  May,  1665, 

Since  the  year  1701,  the  General  Court,  or  Legislature, 
has  met  alternately  at  Hartford  and  New  Haven. 

Governor  Leete  for  Leate),  in  his  reply  to  the  English 
Commissioners  in  1680,  says,  "  We  have  two  General 
Courts,  and  two  Courts  of  Assistants  for  the  trial  of  capi- 

1  Trumbull's  Hist.  Conn.,  voL  i.     For  loss  of  Charter,  see  ch.  xlii. 


A.D.  1679.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    CONNECTICUT.  251 

tal  offenses."     "  We  have  four  principal  towns,  Hartford, 
New  London,  New  Haven,  and  Fairfield." 

"  The  commodities  of  the  country  are  provisions,  lum 
ber,  and  horses. 

"  We  have  no  need  of  Virginia  trade,  as  most  people 
plant  so  much  tobacco  as  they  need. 

"  The  value  of  our  annual  imports  amounts,  probably, 
to  £9,000. 

"  In  1671,  the  number  of  men  was        .        .     2,050. 
"  1679,  "  .        .     2,507. 

"  The  property  of  the  whole  Corporation  doth  not 
amount  to  £110,788  sterling. 

"  The  people  are  strict  Congregationalists.  There  are 
four  or  five  Seven-day-men,  and  about  as  many  Quakers. 

"  We  have  twenty-six  towns  and  twenty-one  churches. 
The  stipend  of  the  clergy  is  from  £50  to  £100.  Wages 
are  from  2s.  to  2s.  6d.  per  day,  for  laborers.  Wheat  is  4s. 
a  bushel  ;  pork  3d,  beef  2±d.  a  pound. 

"  Beggars  and  vagabonds  are  not  suffered,  but  are 
bound  out  to  service."  1 

Connecticut  never  indulged  in  the  religious  persecutions 
which  stain  the  History  of  nearly  every  other  State  of  that 
day.  She  early  established  and  sustained  schools  and  col 
leges.2  Her  people  have,  from  the  outset,  been  industri 
ous  and  honest.  Crime  has  not  abounded  ;  while  talent, 
and  character,  and  courage,  and  cleanliness,  have  been 
common  through  all  her  History.  Her  people  now  pro 
duce  as  much  as  any  people,  and  waste  less.  The  need  for 
money,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  it,  has  bred  in  her 
borders  a  small  army  of  base  Office-seekers,  who  are  her 
only  curse. 

1  M.  H.  C.,  vol.  iv.     Chalmers's  Pol.  A  nnnals.     Beside  these,  a  small  prop 
erty  qualification  (£20)  was  required  of  voters.     Hildreth,  vol.  ii.,  p.  460. 

2  See  chap.  xlvL 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE     PEQUOT     WAR. 

MURDER  OF  STONE  AND  OLDHAM — GALLOP  RUNS  DOWN  THE  PINNACE — DESTROYS  THB 
INDIANS — CANONICUS  SENDS  MESSENGERS — ENDICOTT'S  EXPEDITION — ATTACKS  BLOCK 
ISLAND  AND  PEQUOT  HARBOR — UNION  OF  INDIANS — ROGER  WILLIAMS — ATTACK  ON 
THE  PEQUOT  FORT — SACHEM'S  HEAD — 8A8SACUS — THE  FAIRFIELD  SWAMP  FIGHT — 
CAPTIVES  SOLD — PEQUOTS  ENDED. 

THE  rivalries  and  contentions  of  the  Narragansetts  and 
Pequots,  the  two  most  powerful  tribes  in  New  England, 
were  incessant,  and  kept  the  whites  in  constant  alarm. 
Now  and  then  a  collision  would  happen  between  some 
white  trader  and  the  Indians,  in  one  of  which1  Stone,  an 
Englishman,  had  been  killed. 

In  1636,  John  Gallop  discovered  some  mischief.  He 
was  coming  from  the  Connecticut,  in  July,  in  a  small 
vessel  of  twenty  tons,  manned  by  himself,  his  two  boys, 
and  one  other,  when,  seeing  a  pinnace  near  Block  Island, 
he  drew  toward  it,  and  hailed  ;  but  received  no  answer, 
and  soon  discovered  that  the  deck  was  filled  with  Indians. 
This  excited  suspicion,  and  especially  as  the  Indians  put 
up  sail,  and  tried  to  get  away  ;  but  Gallop,  with  his  one 
man  and  two  little  boys,  having  two  pieces,  two  pistols, 
and  only  duck  shot,  headed  them,  fired  into  them  ;  and 
although  the  Indians  stood  ready  with  guns,  pikes,  and 
swords,  he  drove  them  under  hatches.  The  wind  being 

1  Captain  Underbill  reports,  that  the  Indians  charged,  that  the  whites  had 
enticed  their  Sachem  abroad,  and  then  refused  to  give  him  up,  except  for  a 
ransom  of  a  bushel  of  wampum.  When  they  had  collected  it  and  sent  it 
aboard,  their  Sachem  was  sent  back  to  them,  but  killed  dead,  and  that  his 
son,  for  that,  had  slain  Captain  Stone,  finding  him  in  the  cabin,  drunk.  M. 
H.  C.,  3d  series,  vol.  vi. 


A.D.  1636.]  THE   PEQUOT    WAR.  253 

fresh,  Gallop  turned  upon  the  pinnace,  and  going  stem-on, 
nearly  upset  her,  which  so  frightened  the  Indians,  that  six 
of  them  jumped  overboard  and  were  drowned.  There 
being  too  many  Indians  for  him  to  venture  to  board  her, 
he  came  stem-on  again,  and  getting  fast  to  her,  shot  into 
her,  so  as  to  make  havoc  with  such  as  were  in  the  hold  ; 
none  of  the  Indians  appearing,  he  cleared  his  vessel  and 
stood  off,  when  four  or  five  Indians  more  jumped  into  the 
sea  and  were  drowned.  Gallop  now  boarded  the  pinnace 
(there  being  but  four  left  in  her),  when  one  of  the  Indians 
surrendered,  whom  Gallop  bound,  and  then  the  second. 
The  other  two  kept  their  swords  in  the  hold,  and  would 
not  come  up.  Gallop  knowing  that  where  two  Indians  are 
together,  they  could  untie  one  another,  was  puzzled  to 
know  what  to  do  with  the  second  one  whom  he  had  bound. 
He  resolved  his  doubts,  and  made  short  work  of  it,  by 
throwing  them  both  into  the  sea.  This  courage  and 
ferocity  of  Gallop  were  remarkable  ;  and  there  are  few 
instances  in  bush  or  border  warfare,  equal  to  it.  Fourteen 
men  were  opposed  to  two,  and  twelve  of  the  fourteen  were 
destroyed.  The  whites  must  even  then  have  come  to  hold 
an  Indian  very  cheap,  thus  to  attack  such  a  force,  and 
thus  to  dispose  of  prisoners.  Gallop  found  the  body  of 
John  Oldham  under  an  old  seine,  with  his  head  cleft,  his 
arms  and  legs  much  cut ;  he  committed  it  to  the  sea. 
Finding  no  traces  of  Oldham's  companions  (his  two  sons 
and  two  Indians),  and  that  he  could  not  get  at  the  two 
Indians  hidden  in  the  hold,  he  took  what  goods  and  sails 
remained,  and  towed  the  pinnace  away  ;  but  night  coming 
on,  the  wind  rose,  so  he  was  obliged  to  let  her  go,  and  she 
was  driven  to  the  Narragansett  shore. 

The  two  Indians  who  had  been  with  Oldham, 
and  one  other,  came  messengers  from  Canonicus, 
bearing  a  letter  to  Governor  Vane — written  by 
Roger  Williams,  who  lived  at  Providence,  was 
familiar  with  the  Indian  languages,  and  friendly  with  the 
natives — saying  that  they  were  sorely  grieved  at  the  busi- 


BNDICOTT'S 
EXPEDITION. 


254  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

ness,  and  that  Miantonomo  had  gone,  with  seventeen 
canoes,  and  a  great  force,  to  take  revenge.  Upon  exam 
ining  these  Indians,  the  Governor  became  satisfied  that 
nearly  all  the  Sachems  of  the  Narragansetts,  except  Ca- 
nonicus  and  Miantonomo,  had  been  concerned  in  this 
affair ;  and  so  he  wrote,  that  he  expected  them  to  send 
back  the  two  boys,  and  to  take  proper  revenge  upon  the 
Islanders.  The  boys  were  soon  sent  back,  and  afterward 
one  of  the  suspected  Indians  was  sent.  The  Colonists  did 
not  let  the  matter  rest  here,  but,  in  August,  sent  Lieu 
tenant  Edward  Gibbons  and  John  Higginson  to  treat  with 
Canonic  us.  He  received  them  with  great  state,  enter 
tained  them  royally,  with  boiled  chestnuts  and  blackberry 
pudding,  but  was  wise  and  wary,  and  careful  not  to  bind 
himself  with  conditions.1 

It  was  evident  that  trouble  was  brewing,  and 
that  the  Pequots  were  getting  fierce,  perhaps 
desperate.  This  the  Massachusetts  people  dis 
covered,  and  the  Governor  and  Council  decided  that  pun 
ishment  should  be  done  for  Oldham's  death  ;  not  that 
they  loved  Oldham,  but  that  a  stop  must  be  put  to  such 
things  ;  so  in  August,  Captain  John  Endicott  was  sent, 
with  a  force  of  some  ninety  men,  volunteers,  with  direc 
tions  to  attack  Block  Island,  and  to  put  to  death  all  the 
men,  but  to  spare  the  squaws  and  children.  They  landed 
and  marched  over  Block  Island,  but  could  discover  no  In 
dians  ;  so  they  burned  their  houses  and  corn,  and  sailed 
across  to  the  Pequot  Harbor,  where  they  held  a  parley  with 
the  Pequots,  but  could  get  no  speech  with  their  Sachem 
Sassacus.  The  Indians  gathered  in  numbers,  but  finally 
were  ordered  to  withdraw,  for  it  was  evident  their  par 
leying  meant  nothing.  Endicott  marched  his  forces  into 
their  country,  killing  and  wounding  some,  burning  wig 
wams,  and  spoiling  canoes.  Then  he  marched  back  to 
his  vessels,  and  sailed  for  Boston.  This  attack  seems  to 
have  served  to  exasperate  the  Indians  still  more  than  be- 

1  Wintkrop,  Journal,  August,  1636.     Hubbard's  Indian  Wars. 


A.D.  1637.]  THE   PEQUOT   WAR.  255 

fore,  and  not  to  have  intimidated  them.  The  Pequots 
now  spared  no  pains  to  gain  over  the  Narragansetts,  and 
were  artful  in  their  persuasions,  that  all  should  make 
common  cause  against  these  English  intruders,  who  were 
gradually  taking  up  their  corn  and  hunting-lands,  mo 
nopolizing  the  rivers,  and  spreading  themselves  along  the 
Coasts.  It  was  a  seductive  thought  to  be  rid  of  these 
white  men  (before  whom  they  were  powerless),  who  had 
made  them,  once  Chiefs  and  Kings  in  the  land,  now  de 
pendants  and  slaves,  hardly  free  in  their  own  camps  and 
wigwams.  Once  free  to  roam  over  the  boundless  plains 
and  forests — hunting  where  they  would,  planting  or  plun 
dering  where  they  would,  fighting  or  killing,  or  being 
killed,  when  they  would,  they  were  now  called  to  account 
for  any  brawl  or  breach  of  the  peace,  wherein  these 
white  men  were  often  the  aggressors.  They  were  held 
liable  for  any  losses  which  these  whites  might  incur,  of 
tools,  goods,  or  the  like.  They  who  had  gotten  their  lands 
for  a  song,  and  had  seduced  their  allegiance  by  arts  and 
strength,  now  cited  these  Ked  men  to  appear  at  their 
Courts,  and  show  reasons,  make  reparations,  conclude 
treaties  such  as  they  (the  whites)  might  require,  no  mat 
ter  how  unpalatable  to  the  proud  hearts  and  undisciplined 
habits  of  the  Indian.  The  time  had  come,  when  by 
Union  and  Effort  this  might  be  ended,  when  the  Cause 
might  be  removed.  This  talk  was  sweet  to  the  Narra- 
gansetts  ;  but  revenge  was  sweeter.  Might  not  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  now  join  these  few  but  powerful  white  men, 
and  satisfy  their  old  hatreds  against  their  rivals,  the  Pe 
quots,  by  a  bitter,  swift,  and  comprehensive  destruction  ? 
This  was  a  present  and  immediate  good  ;  the  other,  too, 
was  good,  but  it  was  further  off.  Child-like  and  Indian- 
like,  they  listened  to  the  present,  heeded  not  the  future, 
and  sided  with  the  whites  against  the  Pequots.  It  was 
during  this  doubt  and  danger,  that  Koger  Williams,  for 
getting  the  severities  of  the  whites,  went  alone  among  the 
Indians,  and  for  three  days  and  three  nights  worked 


256  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1637. 

against  the  Pequot  messengers,  to  hinder  the  league 
(ch.  xxv.)  But  the  Pequots  were  roused,  and  the  whites 
were  roused,  and  mischief  was  inevitable. 

The  Connecticut  Colony  was  nearest  to  the 

ATTACK  ON     danger,  and  she  raised  one  hundred  and  ten 

FOBT.        men,  who,  under  the  command  of  Captain  John 

Mason,  after  receiving  the  blessing  of  Minister 
Hooker,  sailed  out  of  Hartford  to  the  sound  of  fife  and 
drum.  Down  the  peaceful  Connecticut  they  wended  their 
way,  until  they  found  in  the  wild  country,  their  Indian 
ally  Uncas,  Chief  of  the  Mohegans,  in  waiting  with  his 
hundred  dusky  warriors.  They  rendezvoused  at  Say- 
brook,  and  then  proceeded  eastward  to  the  Mystic  river, 
were  was  the  strongest  fort  of  the  Pequots.  Before  day 
[May  26,  1637]  they  attacked  it  with  fury,  and  took  the 
Pequots  by  surprise,  asleep  ;  being  well  armed,  they  made 
an  onslaught,  and  drove  back  the  Indians,  killing  many. 
At  last  Mason  broke  into  the  palisades,  and  set  fire  to  the 
wigwams,  and  then  a  dreadful  destruction  began.  After 
the  wigwams  were  fired  the  Indians  ran,  "  and  indeed," 
said  Captain  Mason,  "  such  a  dreadful  terror  did  the 
Almighty  let  fall  upon  their  spirits,  that  they  would 
fly  from  us,  and  run  into  the  very  flames,  where  many 
of  them  perished."  Many  of  the  frightened  and  flying 
Indians  [about  one  hundred  and  fifty]  were  shot,  and 
many  rushed  into  the  fire  ;  among  them  women  and  chil 
dren,  and  old  men,  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  more.1 
The  power  of  the  Pequots  was  broken  from 
nour-2  Captains  Stoughton  and  Mason3 

followed  up   this    attack,    and    sailed   to   the 
West,  with  eighty  men,  in  pursuit  of  Sassacus.     At  a 

1"Wintlirop,  vol.  i.,  p.  225.    Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  80.     Hubbard  Hist. 

2  A  brief  History  of  the  Pequot  War,  by  Major  John  Mason,  Boston, 
1736. 

8  Mason  had  been  a  soldier  in  Netherlands  under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax. 
When  the  wars  between  the  King  and  Parliament  broke  out,  Fairfax  wrote 
to  him  to  return.  But  Mason  remained  in  New  England. 


A.D.  1637.]  THE   PEQUOT   WAR.  257 

point  east  of  New  Haven  he  caught  two  of  .their  Sachems, 
and  cut  off  their  heads,  leaving  them  on  poles,  a  prey  to 
the  ravens  ;  and  the  point  (now  a  well-known  watering- 
place)  has  been  famous  as  "  Sachem's  Head/'  since  that 
day.  Sassacus  and  the  remnant  of  his  tribe  fled  west  to 
the  Mohawks  ;  but  Mason,  following  them,  surrounded 
the  remnant  of  the  tribe,  entrenched  in  a  swamp  to  the 
west  near  Fairfield.  Through  a  day  and  night  the  fight 
went  on,  the  Indians  of  course  being  the  losers,  and  in 
the  morning  most  of  them  had  escaped  or  were  killed,  and 
some  two  hundred  women  and  children  were  left  prison 
ers.  With  these,  and  the  booty  of  trays,  kettles,  and 
wampum,  Mason  marched  back  again.  Sassacus  and 
twenty  of  his  men  were  treacherously  slain  by  the  Mo 
hawks,  and  his  hair  was  sent  as  a  trophy  to  the  whites. 
They  had  now  slain  and  taken  in  all  about  seven  hun 
dred  Indians.  It  was  a  fearful  destruction,  and  was 
ended  by  a  division  of  the  prisoners  between  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts.  Fifteen  of  the  boys  and  two  of  the 
women  were  sent  to  the  Island  of  Providence,  and  sold 
as  slaves  by  the  Massachusetts  authorities  ;  the  rest  were 
distributed  in  various  quarters  ;  and  that  was  the  way 
an  old  nation  was  ended.1 

1  "Winthrop,  vol.  i.    Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  80. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE    DEATH    OF    MIANTONOMO. 

PLOTS — MIANTONOMO  GOES  TO  BOSTON — SEEKS  KEVENGE — ATTACKS  UNO  AS — IS  DEFEATED 
AND  SEIZED — IS  CARRIED  TO  HARTFOED — MAGISTRATES  AND  MINISTERS  PEONOUNCH 
HD9  DOOM — HE  IS  KILLED — WHY? 

THE  result  of  this  extreme  destruction  of  the  Pequots, 
was  a  restless  dread  among  the  next  powerful  tribe — the 
Narragansetts,  whose  Chief  was  Miantonomo,  a  tall,  hand 
some,  and  sagacious  man.  The  Narragansetts  anticipated 
evil,  particularly  as  they  knew  that  Uncas  and  the  Mohe- 
gans  (on  the  west,  between  the  Thames  and  the  Connec 
ticut  rivers),  were  favorites  of  the  English,  and  under  their 
protection.  Letters  were  sent  to  Boston,  that  Miantonomo 
was  plotting  against  them  ;  that  the  whites  had  it  from 
various  Indians,  and  that  if  Massachusetts  would  send  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  to  Saybrook,  Connecticut  would 
send  as  many,  and  war  should  be  begun.  But  the  Massa 
chusetts  Magistrates  were  not  willing  to  launch  into  a  war 
upon  the  vague  reports  of  rival  or  malignant  Indians,  such 
as  Uncas  was  ;  so  they  sent  to  Miantonomo  to  come  to 
Boston.  He  came,  and  dared  his  accusers  to  meet  him 
face  to  face  ;  he  declared  that  his  accusers  deserved  death, 
and  that  this  mischief  was  made  by  Uncas  ;  he  said  he 
would  go  and  settle  it  with  him,  or  he  would  meet  him  in 
Boston.  He  put  his  hand  into  that  of  the  Gov- 
ernor,  and  satisfied  him  of  his  honesty.  But 
Miantonomo  went  back  wounded  and  indig 
nant  ;  he  knew  and  they  knew,  that  many  a 
time  he  had  befriended  the  whites,  and  had  refused  to 
join  the  Pequots.  Many  of  the  Indians  had  had  their 


A.D.  1643.]  TJIE    DEATH   OF   MIANTONOMO.  259 

arms,  which  they  had  fairly  bought  and  paid  for,  taken 
away  ;  and  in  Boston,  Miantonomo  was  treated  with  in 
dignity,  and  was  refused  a  se*at  at  the  Magistrates'  table. 
But  the  expectation  of  this  conspiracy,  through  some  years 
pervaded  all  men  in  the  Colonies,  so  that  a  man  could  not 
hallo  at  night,  to  frighten  the  wolves,  but  the  towns  were 
roused  with  the  suspicion  that  the  Indians  were  torturing 
somebody  ;  and  it  was  the  easiest  thing  to  work  upon  the 
minds  of  the  scattered  inhabitants.  The  proofs  of  a  con 
spiracy  were  at  that  time  declared  to  be  insufficient,  and 
now  they  seem  unworthy  of  any  but  cowards,  or  such  as 
owed  Miantonomo  a  grudge  ;  as  Uncas,  and  some  among 
the  Colonists  did.  Miantonomo  dared  not  revenge  his  in 
sults  upon  the  English,  but  he  watched  his  chance  against 
Uncas  ;  and  when  Uncas  quarreled  with  his  ally,  Sequas- 
son  (July,  1643),  Miartonomo  invaded  his  territory  with 
a  thousand  warriors.  He  had  given  notice  of  his  inten 
tion  to  Winthrop,  then  Governor,  and  was  not  forbidden. 

Uncas  was   surprised,  but  hastily  gathered 
some  five  hundred  of  his  warriors  together,  to     M™*™jl°*0 

*  IS    TAKEN. 

withstand  the  invaders.  Advancing  in  front  of 
his  men,  he  challenged  Miantonomo  to  single  battle,  which 
he  declined,  feeling  his  superiority  in  numbers  ;  then  Un 
cas  fell  flat  on  his  face,  and  his  men  poured  in  a  volley  of 
arrows,  and  charged  the  Narragansetts  with  their  toma 
hawks  and  the  war  whoop  ;  they  were  astounded,  and 
broke  in  dismay.  Miantonomo  found  it  impossible  to 
rally  them,  and  he  himself  was  seized  and  given  up  by  two 
of  his  own  men,  who  hoped  thus  to  save  their  lives.  That 
hope  was  vain,  for  Uncas  brained  them  on  the  spot.  Then 
the  haughty  Chief  stood  silent  before  his  captor,  and  Un 
cas  taunted  him,  and  said  :  "  Ha,  ha  !  why  do  you  not 
beg  for  life."  Miantonomo  answered — "  Kill  me,  I  have  no 
fear."  But  Uncas  feared  to  kill  him,  for  he  was  the  great 
est  King  of  all,  superior  by  far  to  Uncas  ;  so  he  carried 
him  prisoner  to  Hartford,  and  asked  leave  of  the  Magis 
trates  to  kill  him.  They  knew  not  what  to  answer,  and  he 


260  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

was  kept  prisoner  until  the  meeting  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  Colonies  at  Boston.  (September  16th,  1643.) 
Now  Miantonomo  had  been  the  friend  of  the  whites,  and 
had  sold  them  lands,  and  fed  them  (though  they  were 
heretics,  such  as  Roger  Williams  and  Samuel  Gorton,  but 
he  knew  it  not),  and  he  might  justly  look,  as  he  thought, 
for  fairness  and  justice  from  the  English.  The  Commis 
sioners  were  in  great  doubt,  for  they  declared  "  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  set  him  at  liberty,  neither  had  we  sufficient 
ground  for  us  to  put  him  to  death."  In  this  difficulty 
they  called  in  five  of  the  fifty  assembled  Ministers,  who 
soon  decided  the  matter,  and  quoted  Agag,  and  sundry 
other  cruel  doings  of  the  Jews,  toward  unarmed  enemies, 
and  pronounced  his  doom — Death.  Then  word  was  sent 
to  Hartford,  that  he  should  be  delivered  to  Uncas,  for 
death,  but  not  for  torture. 

In  the  mellow  autumn  weather,  when  the 
™K™r°  "brilliant  leafage  clothed  the  departing  year, 
Miantonomo  was  led  out  to  die.  He  was 
marched,  bound  with  cords,  along  the  east  bank  of  the 
river,  between  files  of  Uncas's  Indians,  with  a  few  white 
musketeers,  sent  to  sanction  the  bloody  act.  He  walked 
with  a  dignified  step,  not  knowing  his  fate;  and  as  his  face 
turned  toward  his  own  land  and  his  own  people,  it  was 
lighted  once  more  with  the  hope  of  life  and  freedom.  A 
few  hours  carried  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Connecti 
cut  Colony,  and  into  the  territories  of  Uncas  ;  then  the 
brother  of  Uncas,  marching  behind  him,  sunk  a  hatchet 
into  his  brain,  and  the  soul  of  the  great  sachem  was  free  ; 
his  blood  and  his  body  lay  along  the  sandy  plain  of  the 
Connecticut. 

It  seems  a  wicked,  wanton,  cruel  deed,  and  deserves  no 
apology.  It  was  advised  by  five  clergymen,  and  consented 
to  by  some  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  men,  such  as  Win- 
throp,  Winslow,  Fenwick,  and  Eaton  :  they,  too,  were 
the  victims  of  a  dark  suspicion,  and  an  unworthy  fear. 
Governor  Stephen  Hopkins  says  :  "  This  was  the  end  of 


A.D.  1643.]  THE    DEATH   OF   MIANTONOMO.  261 

Miantononao,  the  most  potent  Indian  prince  the  people  of 
New  England  ever  had  any  concern  with ;  and  this  was 
the  reward  he  received  for  assisting  them,  seven  years 
before,  in  their  war  with  the  Pequots.  Surely  a  Khode 
Island  man  may  be  permitted  to  mourn  his  unhappy  fate, 
and  to  drop  a  tear  on  the  ashes  of  Miantonomo,  who  with 
his  uncle,  Canonicus,  were  the  best  friends  and  greatest 
benefactors  the  Colony  ever  had  ;  they  kindly  received 
and  protected  the  first  settlers  of  it,  when  they  were  in 
distress,  and  were  strangers  and  exiles,  and  all  mankind 
else  were  their  enemies  ;  and  by  this  kindness  to  them, 
drew  upon  themselves  the  resentment  of  the  neighboring 
colonies,  and  hastened  the  untimely  end  of  the  young 
king."  Miantonomo  was  dead,  but  his  blood  was  like 
dragon's  teeth,  which  sprang  up  armed  men ;  who,  thirty 
years  later,  under  King  Philip,  worked  a  fearful  revenge.1 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  iL,  p.  130.     Hazard,  vol.  xi.,  p.  11.     Hubbard,  p.  450. 
2d  Hist.  Coll.,  p.  202. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

MRS.     HUTCHINSON. 

POSITIONS  OF  VANE,  COTTON,  AND  MRS.  HtJTCHINBON — HER  BIRTH  AND  RISE — AWTmv 
MIANISM  AND  FAMILI8M — WEEKLY  MEETINGS  FOR  WOMEN — THE  COVENANTS  OF  WOnJA 
AND  OF  GRACE — THE  NEW  AND  THE  OLD — STATEMENTS  OF  DOCTRINE — THE  Qi/A»iiEL 
BEGINS— THE  MINISTERS  ENLIST— WHEELWRIGHT  AND  MRS.  HUTCHIN80N  BROUGHT 
BEFORE  THE  COURT— HUGH  PETERS— THB  QUARREL  GROWS  WARM— VANE  DEFEATED. 

No  person  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony  created  so  pro 
found  a  sensation  in  so  short  a  time,  as  Mrs.  Ann  Hutch- 
inson,  who  had  come  over  with  Mr.  Cotton  and  Sir  Harry- 
Vane  in  1635  ;  and  between  whom  there  was  a  ready 
sympathy.  Mr.  Cotton  says  of  her,  "  that  she  was  well 
beloved,  and  all  the  faithful  embraced  her  conference,  and 
blessed  God  for  her  fruitful  discourses."  Others,  who  had 
no  sympathy  with  her  opinions,  speak  well  of  her  knowl 
edge  and  talents.1 

A  few  words  may  help  us  to  understand  the  positions 
which  Mr.  Vane,  Mr.  Cotton,  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  came 
to  hold  in  Boston.  Vane  was  at  once  chosen  Governor,  to 
the  neglect  of  older  and  more  conservative  men,  such  as 
Winthrop  and  Dudley.  Cotton,  by  his  talent,  took  a  first 
rank  in  the  Church,  and  was  made  Minister  in  Boston  ; 
and  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  claims,  endorsed  by  two  such  men, 
placed  her  in  a  peculiar  and  influential  position. 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  stands  in  New  England  History,  as 
the  representative  name  for  a  profound  and  bitter  struggle. 
She  was  born  in  England  ;  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Marbury, 
a  preacher  in  Lincolnshire  ;  and  was  the  wife  of  William 
Hutchinson,  who  came  to  Massachusetts  as  a  merchant. 
When  she  first  began  to  entertain  and  to  spread  her  re- 

1  Hubbard,  p.  283.    Winthrop.    Weld. 


A.D.  1635.]  MRS.   HUTCHINSON.  263 

ligious  views  is  not  certain  ;  but  on  board  snip,  it  is  known 
that  her  theories  excited  attention,  and  the  alarm  of  one 
clergyman,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Symmes.  In  that  time,  when 
spiritual  independence  was  asserting  itself  in  England,  it 
is  not  strange  that  a  woman  like  Mrs.  Hutchinson  should 
think  and  speak  for  herself.  There  were  two  words  then 
in  use,  which  expressed  a  vague  but  frightful  danger — the 
one  was,  "  ANTINOMIANISM,"  and  the  other,  "FAMILISM." 
Few  defined  them  in  their  own  minds,  but  they  were  words 
of  power,  and  could  be  used  with  effect  to  cry  down  obnox 
ious  theories  or  principles,  as  "  Infidel,"  "  Abolitionist," 
"  Socialist,"  "  Kevolutionist,"  etc.,  have  been  used  since. 

"Antinomianism"  had  come  into  notice  in  Germany, 
about  a  century  before  this  time,  and  meant,  "Against 
Law,"  that  is,  simply  that  the  Gospel  (Christ)  had  super 
seded  the  Law  (Moses)  Expressed  in  that  way,  there 
can  be  no  objection  to  it  ;  but  it  had  come  to  signify  a 
very  different  thing  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Under 
cover  of  the  name,  base  men  had  sheltered  themselves, 
and  excesses  had  been  committed,  which  had  been  eagerly 
seized  upon  by  the  Conservative — the  "  Church  and  State" 
— party,  to  discredit  and  disgrace  the  Antinomians  and 
their  doctrine,  and  now  the  word  had  come  to  mean  a 
cover  for  any  kind  of  license  or  wickedness. 

"  Faniilism"  was  another  word  which  had  been  adopted 
by  a  German  sect,  who  called  themselves  "  The  Family 
of  Love."  They  held  that  Love  was  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law,  and  that  among  true  believers  a  deep  and  all-absorb 
ing  feeling  of  love  towards  one  another  and  towards  God, 
was  superior  to  any  or  all  forms  and  creeds. 

Familism  was  originated  by  Henry  Nichols,  a  West- 
phalian  in  Holland,  in  1555,  and  he  claimed,  that  he 
had  a  commission  to  teach  men  that  the  Essence  of  Re 
ligion  consisted  in  Divine  Love.  Other  tenets  no  doubt 
grew  to  this  pure  and  lofty  idea,  and  his  followers  be 
came  objectionable,  being  charged  with  laxity  of  morals  ; 
but  this  was  not  essential  to  secure  them  persecution 


264  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

and  misrepresentation.  It  was  enough  that  they  sepa 
rated  themselves  as  more  holy,  and  did  not  go  in  the  "  old 
way."  l 

But  it  is  easy  to  see  how  these  simple  doctrines  might 
be  abused  by  deluded  or  deluding  men  ;  and  that  when 
they  presumed  to  set  up  their  immediate  revelations,  to 
set  public  opinion  and  law  at  defiance,  there  must  have 
been  a  fierce  struggle,  and  the  weaker  must  go  to  the 
wall. 

"  Antinomianism"  and  "  Familism"  had  much  to  do 
with  the  quarrel,  which  rose  around  Mrs.  Hutchinson, 
and  it  is  probable,  that  had  there  been  no  such  words, 
the  matter  might  have  been  ended  in  peace  and  sober 
ness.  These  words  produced  misapprehension  first  ; 
then  charges  were  made,  and  denied,  and  then  heat  and 
anger  took  possession  of  most  minds.  The  Intellect  of 
New  England  was  active  in  religious  things,  and  Sermons 
and  Lectures  were  the  staple  of  conversation.  It  was 
common  for  the  listeners  on  Lord's  day  to  take  notes,  and 
during  the  week  to  meet  once,  or  oftener,  and  discuss 
the  doctrines  advanced. 

The  vigorous  and  daring  mind  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
conceived  the  idea  of  supplying  a  want,  and  she  began  to 
hold  weekly  meetings  for  the  WOMEN.  Notwithstanding 
the  disgrace  which  has  been  heaped  upon  her  by  con 
temporary  writers,  it  is  easy  to  see  her  the  center  of  an 
interested  auditory,  and  to  believe  that  her  eloquence  and 
earnestness  greatly  moved  her  hearers.  She  at  once  col 
lected  all  the  best  women  in  the  town,  and  from  the 
country  round  about,  to  the  number  of  seventy,  and  her 
meetings  rivaled  even  "the  Great  and  Thursday  Lecture." 
Sustained  by  Governor  Vane,  by  the  great  Mr.  Cotton, 
and  by  her  brother-in-law,  the  Kev.  John  Wheelwright, 
it  is  plain  enough  that  she  might  have  presumed  upon 
her  position  and  talents,  and  have  ventured  to  pronounce 
unwise  and  unwarrantable  judgments.  Mrs.  Hutchinson 

1  See  Mosheim.     Note  to  Morton's  Mem.     Neal's  Puritans. 


A.D.  1635.]  MRS.   HTJTCHINSON.  265 

introduced  new  watchwords,  "  The  Covenant  of  Works," 
and  "  The  Covenant  of  Grace."  Under  these  she  and 
her  friends  classified  the  ministers  of  the  Bay.  In  the 
former  class  were  understood  to  be  those  who  relied  upon 
a  formal  and  methodical  piety,  and  a  rigid  observance  of 
religious  duties,  as  evidence  of  acceptance  with  God  ; 
while  in  the  latter,  those  who  held  to  and  preached  the 
higher  "  Covenant  of  Grace,"  were  included.  It  is  plain 
that  the  precisians,  pretty  sure  to  be  the  larger  class, 
would  be  severely  criticised,  and  that  they  would  severely 
resent  it.  Phrases  were  bandied  between  the  two  par 
ties  ;  "  Justification"  and  "  Sanctification"  were  in  all 
mouths  ;  children  even  jeered  one  another,  and  confusion 
seemed  imminent.  There  was  no  stemming  the  tide  of 
discussion  which  swept  on.  Mingled  with  these  Religious 
questions  was  also  a  political  one  ;  whether  the  "  New," 
led  by  Vane,  should  rule,  or  whether  the  "  Old,"  headed 
by  Winthrop,  should  prevail.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  Vane 
had  with  them  nearly  the  whole  of  the  people  of  Boston, 
and  the  sympathy  of  Cotton  ;  while  Winthrop's  strength 
lay  in  the  great  body  of  Magistrates  and  Ministers. 

Things  proceeded  so  far,  that  Stephen  Greensmith  was 
had  before  the  Court,  and  fined  heavily  for  having  said, 
that  all  Ministers,  except  Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Wheelwright, 
and  Mr.  Hooker,  taught  a  Covenant  of  Works. 

The  Church  in  Boston  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 
teachings  of  Mr.  Cotton,  and  was  remarkably  united. 

The  Rev.  Wheelwright  (brother-in-law  to  Mrs.  Hut 
chinson),  held  opinions  the  same  or  like  to  hers,  the 
principal  of  which,  briefly  stated,  were  : 

1st,  "  That  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in  a 
sanctified  person." 

2d,  "  That  no  Sanctification  can  help  to  evidence  to 
us  our  Justification."  1 

These  propositions  are  bald  and  meaningless  enough 
now,  and  were  a  sort  of  re-statement  of  the  doctrine  of 

1  "Winthrop,  vol.  i.,  p.  200. 
12 


266  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

Justification  by  Faith,  but  then  they  served  as  the  stand 
ard,  around  which  the  world  struggled.  The  New-Comers, 
fresh  from  Theological  skirmishing,  stood  by  Mrs.  Hut- 
chinson,  and  the  Old  Settlers  rested  stubbornly  on  their 
Church-and-State,  wishing  no  change.  Vane  and  Cotton 
led  one  party,  Winthrop  and  Minister  Wilson  the  other. 
The  town  and  country  were  distracted  with  subtleties,  and 
whoever  had  brains  or  words  enough,  fashioned  some  new 
statement,  and  "  Justification  and  Sanctification,"  "  Cov 
enant  of  Works,"  and  "  Covenant  of  Grace,"  were  heard 
at  every  hearth-stone. 

The  other  Ministers  of  the  Bay  came  into  Boston  to 
confer  with  Mr.  Cotton  and  Mr.  Wheelwright  about  these 
things  ;  yet  with  little  result.  Many  of  the  Church  in 
Boston,  wished  to  have  Mr.  Wheelwright  called  to  be  a 
teacher  there.  Winthrop  opposed  ifr,  and  as  Mr.  Cotton 
and  Mr.  Wilson  were  already  there,  it  was  not  carried  ;  but 
during  that  discussion  the  heat  increased,  so  that  as  Hut- 
chinson  says,1  "  the  fear  of  God  and  the  love  of  our  neigh 
bor  seemed  to  be  laid  by  ;"  at  which  the  Holy  Ghost  may 
well  have  been  surprised,  if  that  were  possible.  To  in 
crease  the  flame,  Mr.  Wheelwright  preached  a  sermon, 
inveighing  against  those  who  walked  in  a  Covenant  of 
Works  ;2  which  contained  also  some  expressions,  that 
were  seized  upon  as  tending  to  sedition  ;  for  it  must  be 
remembered,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  believer  opened  the  way,  indirectly,  to 
this  position — that  each  man  was  a  law  unto  himself,  and 
could  walk  safely  in  his  own  light,  and  as  the  "Law  and 
Order"  party  insisted,  was  in  danger  of  going  into  com 
plete  anarchy  and  destruction. 

Wheelwright  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  were  called  before 
the  Magistrates,  and  examined  upon  these  matters  ;  and 
Wheelwright  was  ordered  to  remove  out  of  the  jurisdic 
tion.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  met  her  examination  fearlessly, 
and  with  great  tact  and  presence  of  mind  ;  but  at  last 

1  History.  a  January,  1636. 


A.D.  1636.]  MBS.    HUTCHINSON.  267 

made  some  exposition  of  revelations  in  her  own  soul — 
"  vented  her  mind,"  as  they  reported  it ;  in  which  she 
clearly  stated,  that  God  had  revealed  it  to  her,  that  she 
should  come  to  New  England,  "  and  that  there  I  should 
be  persecuted,  and  suffer  much  trouble/'  etc.  Mr.  Cotton 
was  then  set  to  examine  her,  which  it  was  hard  for  him  to 
do,  and  bitter  for  her  to  endure  ;  for  she  had  been  his 
friend  and  follower. 

Vane,  the  Governor,  protested  against  these  proceed 
ings,  and  finding  how  things  were  going,  proposed  to  re 
sign  his  post,  which  the  Church  in  Boston  remonstrated 
against  :  they  also  sent  a  remonstrance  to  the  Court  for 
their  proceedings  against  Mr.  Wheelwright.  The  contest 
grew  more  serious,  sermons  were  preached,  discussions 
were  held,  tongues,  public  and  private,  ran  to  all  ex 
tremes.  Hugh  Peters  publicly  reproved  Vane,  and  ac 
cused  him  of  making  mischief.  Vane  assembled  the 
Court,  and  declared  the  necessity  of  his  departure  for 
England,  for  various  reasons  ;  but  the  Court  refused  to 
listen,  and  so  he  staid  till  his  year  expired.  The  Kever- 
ends  Cotton  and  Wilson  disagreed,  and  discussed  with 
Christian  asperity  ;  letters  were  written  and  replied  to  ; 
churches  were  disturbed  in  their  exercises  by  public  ques 
tions,  which  were  answered  and  replicated,  and  so  the 
fight  waged  toward  the  destruction  of  both  Church  and 
State,  there  so  woven  together.  Mr.  Wheelwright  and 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  went  onward  in  the  "  damnable  courses," 
and  many  people  in  the  congregation  of  Boston,  got  up 
and  went  out  of  meeting,  so  soon  as  Mr.  Wilson  began  his 
exercises,  and  there  was  ill-blood  and  confusion.  So  the 
Magistrates  decided  that  the  case  was  desperate,  and 
"  the  last  remedy  was  to  be  applyed,  and  that  without 
further  delay." 

This  thing  went  on  in  October,  through  November,  De 
cember,  and  so  till  the  elections  in  May  ;  when  parties 
were  so  divided,  that  the  public  business  could  not  pro 
ceed,  and  a  division  ensued  which  nearly  resulted  in  a 


268  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1637. 

tumult  and  blows  ;  but  the  majority  finally  elected  Win- 
throp  Governor,  and  left  Vane  out  of  all  place.  The 
Halberds,  who  had  acted  as  a  guard  of  honor  upon  the 
Governor,  now  laid  down  their  arms,  and  Boston  refused 
'to  the  new  Governor  the  usual  honors.  The  election  was 
ended,  but  Vane  afterward  refused  to  sit  with  the  Magis 
trates  in  the  Church,  and  went  down  to  the  Mount  to 
keep  the  fast  with  Mr.  Wheelwright.  Winthrop  (see 
Journal)  thought  this  wrangle  of  words  ought  not  to  have 
been,  and  that  being,  it  ought  to  be  composed.  But  there 
were  jealousies  and  envies  lying  beneath  it,  and  minds 
were  fermenting  ;  the  deepest  part  of  man's  nature — the 
spiritual — being  stirred,  and  there  being  no  possible  power 
of  expressing  these  aspirations  and  distinctions  in  words, 
there  could  be  only  fierce  contention,  or  mutual  forbear 
ance,  and  full  liberty  of  opinion  ;  for  which  the  time  had 
not  arrived. 

The  point  which  most  weakened  Wheelwright  and  his 
party  with  the  people,  was  the  threat  which  they  made, 
of  appealing  the  matter  to  England  ;  and  almost  to  a 
man,  even  then,  the  people  looked  upon  that  as  a  sort  of 
treason.  Winthrop  and  his  party  took  advantage  of  this, 
and  it  became  a  patriotic  duty  to  defeat  those  who  talked 
of  appeal  to  England,  rather  than  to  sustain  freedom  of 
discussion  in  the  persons  of  Mr.  Wheelwright  and  Mrs. 
Hutchinson.  We  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter  how  the 
matter  ended, 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  GREAT  CAMBRIDGE  SYNOD. 

THE  PRESS — THE  MINISTERS  GATHER— THE  EIGHTY-TWO  ERRORS — WHEELWRIGHT  AND 
OTHERS  BANISHED— MRS.  HUTCHINSON  TRIED  AND  BANISHED— SEVENTY-FIVE  DIS 
ARMED — MRS.  IIUTCHIN8ON  CAST  OUT  BY  THE  CHURCH — THE  CONSERVATIVES  WIN — 
JOHN  COTTON — AN  OLD  FOOL — A  SCHOLAR — MRS.  HITTCHINSON'S  FRIENDS — WOMEN 

PUT  DOWN— WELD'S  "  RISE,  REIGN,  AND  RUIN"— MRS.  HUTCHINSON  is  KILLED— ABOR 
TIONS. 

THE  press  groaned,  and  pamphlet  after  pamphlet  was 
issued,  so  that  in  the'  end  few  knew  how  the  matters 
growing  out  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  stood,  or  where  the  dif 
ference  was.  Even  the  dangers  of  the  Pequot  war  were 
not  enough  to  allay  the  excitement  ;  nor  could  fast-days 
do  it,  although  they  were  tried. 

The  crisis  seemed  so  imminent,  and  dangerous  doctrines 
became  so  numerous,  it  was  decided  that  a  grand  Synod 
or  Council  of  all  the  Ministers  should  assemble  at  New- 
town  (Cambridge),  to  get  matters  once  more  into  shape. 
So  from  every  part  of  New  England  (except  Providence), 
they  threaded  the  wilderness,  gathering  to  the  Council. 
Davenport  and  Hooker,  Wilson  and  Cotton,  Weld  and 
Wheelwright,  and  great  numbers  more,  were  there.  (Au 
gust,  1637.)  Mr.  Hooker  and  Mr.  Bulkley  were  chosen 
moderators  ;  and  after  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Shepard,  the 
confusion  began.  Three  long  weeks  were  "  spent  in  dis 
puting,"  and  then  EIGHTY-TWO  opinions  were  condemned 
— "some  as  blasphemous,  others  erroneous,  and  all  un 
safe  ;  by  all  the  assembly,  except  Mr.  Cotton/'1 

Antinomians  and  Familists  condemned  by  the  Synod  of  Elders,  etc. : 
London,  1644.  The  same  as  T.  "Weld's  "Short  Story  of  the  Rise,  Reign, 
and  Ruin  of  the  Antinomians,"  etc. :  1644. 


270  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1637. 

Among  the  eighty-two  errors  condemned  (Synod,  Aug. 
30,  1637)  are  such  as  these  : 

Error  9.  The  whole  letter  of  the  Scripture  holds  for  a 
covenant  of  works. 

Error  15.  There  is  no  inherent  righteousness  in  the 
saints,  or  grace  ;  and  graces  are  not  in  the  souls  of  be- 
leevers,  but  in  Christ  only. 

Error  19.  That  all  graces,  even  in  the  truely  regenerate, 
are  mortall  and  fading. 

Error  34.  We  are  not  to  pray  against  all  sinne,  because 
the  old  man  is  in  us,  and  must  be,  and  why  should  we 
pray  against  that  which  cannot  be  avoided  ? 

Error  49.  We  are  not  bound  to  keep  a  constant  course 
of  prayer  in  our  families,  or  privately,  unlesse  the  Spirit 
stirre  us  up  thereunto. 

Error  60.  A  man  may  not  prove  his  election  by  his  vo 
cation,  but  his  vocation  by  his  election. 

Error  72.  It  is  a  fundamentall  and  soule-damning 
errour  to  ma,ke  sanctification  an  evidence  of  justification. 

It  was  believed  that  the  Synod  would  have  put  matters 
to  rest,  but  such  was  not  the  case  ;  for  Mr.  Wheelwright 
and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  were  as  firm  in  their  opinions  as  be 
fore.  The  Court  decided  to  disfranchise  Aspiiiwall  and 
Coggeshall,  deputies  from  Boston,  who  had  been  foremost 
in  the  remonstrance  in  favor  of  Wheelwright.  He  also 
was  disfranchised,  and  banished.  Through  all  this  war  of 
words  and  principles,  Mrs.  Hutchinson  seems  to  have  kept 
on  her  way,  holding  her  meetings  and  spreading  her  opin 
ions  ;  but  now  Vane  was  gone  to  England,  and  Mr.  Cot 
ton  was  evidently  settling  back  to  his  old  associations, 
and  the  Court  thought  Mrs.  Hutchinson  should  be  stop 
ped.  So  they  cited  her  to  appear  (Nov.,  1637),  and  after 
many  "  speeches  to  and  fro,"  she  was  banished  the  Colony, 
but  allowed  to  remain  in  her  own  private  house  through 
the  winter.  Capt.  Underbill,  and  some  five  more  of  those 
who  had  subscribed  the  remonstrance  in  favor  of  Wheel 
wright,  were  disfranchised  ;  and  those  who  would  not  ac- 


A.D.  1638.]  THE   GREAT   CAMBRIDGE    SYNOD.  271 

knowledge  their  fault  (some  seventy-five  persons),  were 
disarmed,  with  much  trouble. 

In  March,  1638,  it  was  decided  to  deal  with  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  in  a  Church  way,  and  she  was  afflicted  with 
infinite  discussion,  but  upon  some  points — such  as  the 
truth  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Kesurrection  of  the  Body 
(which,  Roger  Williams  says,  the  Indians  disputed),  the 
eacredness  of  the  Sabbath,  and  others — she  maintained 
her  own  ;  and  as  she  could  not  be  brought  "  to  see  her 
Sin,"  as  they  termed  it,  the  Church,  with  one  consent, 
cast  her  out. 

That  a  whole  State  should  come  to  bitter  hostility,  al 
most  to  mutual  destruction,  for  differences  of  opinion  upon 
such  subordinate  and  abstract  theories,  is  incredible  of  the 
sense  of  that  people.  This  explanation  of  it  is  elsewhere 
suggested,  viz. : 

The  struggle  was  begun  in  New  England  between  the 
Old  and  the  New,  between  the  Conservatives  and  the  Re 
formers,  rather  than  with  the  individual,  Ann  Hutchinson; 
and  these  doctrines  were  simply  the  bones  about  which 
they  concluded  to  fight.  The  Conservatives,  headed  by 
Winthrop,  won  the  battle. 

Through  all  the  wranglings,  and  especially  at  their  be 
ginning,  Mr.  Cotton  was  claimed  by  the  New-Lights,  for 
he  was  powerful  among  the  Ministers,  and  with  the  people. 
Yet  the  Old  Party  were  loth  to  let  him  go,  and  by  much 
persuasion,  and  partly  because  of  his  own  flexibility,  and 
by  means  of  vague  expositions,  he  was  kept  in  his  place. 
He  was,  however,  in  danger,  and  was  borne  hard  upon  by 
Dudley  and  Hugh  Peters,  blunt  orthodox  leaders;  but  the 
influence  of  Winthrop  was  in  his  favor,  so  he  was  spared. 
In  a  sermon  preached  some  ten  years  after,  his  principles 
appear  to  have  been  almost  the  same  as  those  of  Mrs. 
Hutchinson. 

JOHN  COTTON. — No  young  man  at  the  Cambridge  Uni 
versity  of  England,  was  more  prominent  for  learning  and 
genius  than  John  Cotton,  who  afterward  became  famous 


272  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

among  the  New  England  Churches  ;  at  first  his  tastes 
and  ambitions  were  directed  to  literature  and  scholarship; 
but  by  and  by  his  spirit  was  troubled  with  the  fire  of  God, 
and  his  earnest  wish  then  was,  to  lead -away  the  hopes  of 
men  from  baser  things  to  the  things  of  the  Spirit;  to  a 
desire  for  holiness  rather  than  happiness. 

He  became  a  minister,  and  was  settled  at  Boston,  En 
gland,  where  his  preaching  was  acceptable.  But  he  was 
not  a  man  to  conform  to  evils  and  abuses,  in  the  Church 
or  out  of  it;  and  he  was  reported  to  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  and  for  a  time  suspended.  But  this  first 
blast  of  persecution  passed,  and  he  remained  in  his  parish 
some  twenty  years,  and  grew  stronger  and  more  decided 
in  his  Nonconformity.  At  last,  the  persecuting  Court  of 
High  Commission  cited  him  to  appear  before  it,  and  an 
swer  for  his  misbeliefs.  When  the  Archbishop  of  Canter 
bury  ordered  proceedings  against  him,  the  Earl  of  Dorset 
interceded,  till  he  found  matters  were  got  to  such  a  pass 
that  he  sent  Mr.  Cotton  word,  "  That  if  he  had  been 
guilty  of  drunkenness  or  uncleanness,  or  any  such  lesser 
fault  he  could  have  obtained  his  pardon  ;  but  inasmuch 
as  he  had  been  guilty  of  Nonconformity  and  Puritanism 
the  crime  was  unpardonable ;  and,  therefore,"  said  he, 
"  you  must  fly  for  your  safety."1 

Cotton  was  not  of  the  kind  to  seek  martyrdom  ;  he  put 
on  a  disguise,  and  sought  and  reached  New  England  (1633) 
where  he  was  warmly  welcomed — for  his  fame,  his  tal 
ents,  and  his  learning  made  him  acceptable.  He  received 
the  first  position  in  New  England  at  that  time,  and  was 
through  his  life  Minister  of  the  first  church  in  Boston. 
There  can  be  little  question  of  that  superiority,  which 
even  his  co temporaries  admitted.  Yet,  with  all  his  talent 
and  learning,  he  seems  to  have  preserved  the  mildness  and 
modesty  of  his  character. 

One  day  some  wild,  graceless  young  fellows  saw  him 
coming  down  the  street,  and  one  of  them  said, 
1  Backus's  History,  vol.  i.,  p.  55. 


A.D.  1638.]  THE   GREAT    CAMBRIDGE   SYNOD.  273 

"  There  comes  old  Cotton — I  '11  go  and  put  a  trick  upon 
him."  So  he  went,  and  said  in  his  ear  : 

"  Cotton,  though  art  an  old  fool  I" 

The  Minister  was  greatly  astounded,  for  it  was  probably 
the  first  time  that  such  a  thing  had  been  intimated  to 
him.  He  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then  replied  : 

"  I  confess  I  am  so  ;  the  Lord  make  both  me  and  thee 
wiser  than  we  are,  even  wise  unto  salvation."  He  then 
waited  quietly  until  the  young  scapegrace  hastily  retreated. 

Cotton  seems  to  have  been  more  scholarly  than  most  of 
the  New  England  divines,  and  open  to  good  influences. 
He  was  well  read  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  and  passed 
most  of  his  days  in  the  study  of  books  ;  he  was  averse  to 
the  rough  life  of  the  woodsmen,  and  to  the  exasperation 
of  theological  controversy.  He  continued  the  fast  friend 
of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  ;  and  her  followers,  with  his  in 
fluence,  to  back  up  her  talent,  were  strong  ;  but  it  is 
probable  that  they  pushed  Mr.  Cotton  too  far,  and  that  he 
himself  was  willing  to  remain  in  good-fellowship  with  the 
Churches,  rather  than  to  be  driven  away  again,  as  Wheel 
wright  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  were.  So  he  drew  off  from 
the  intimacy  which  had  existed,  and  joined  the  Ministers 
in  condemnation  of  their  heresies.  Both  parties  blamed 
him,  for  he  sided  fully  with  neither.  He  was  violently 
assaulted  by  the  clergy,  for  giving  any  countenance  to 
heresy,  and  for  not  standing  by  his  "order;"  and  he  was 
bitterly  reproached  by  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  friends,  for  join 
ing  with  those  who  appealed  to  the  civil  power  to  crush 
freedom  of  discussion,  when  in  England  he  had  felt  its 
weight,  and  inveighed  strongly  against  it.  Few  men  are 
strong  enough  to  stand  alone,  or  to  suffer  injustice  and 
contempt  for  opinion's  sake.  Cotton  temporized  and 
compromised,  and  succumbed.  He  suffered  in  his  own 
estimation  for  doing  so,  and  in  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  his  fellow-men.  But  his  talents,  his  virtues,  and  his 
friends  saved  him,  and  he  lived  and  died  honored  and 
respected. 

12* 


274  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

He  preached  against  forced  taxes  and  tythes  for  the 
support  of  the  clergy,  and  in  favor  of  the  "  Voluntary  Sys 
tem,"  which  has  worked  so  well  in  New  England. 

Cotton's  "  Milk  for  Babes,"  was  for  a  long  time  the 
catechism  upon  which  the  children  of  New  England  were 
fed.  Various  of  his  other  works  remain,  hut  are  now  read 
only  by  the  patient  student  or  the  curious  investigator. 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  in  the  first  rank  ;  his  voice  was 
sonorous  and  musical,  and  his  manner  was  calm,  but  clear 
and  direct.  No  minister  in  New  England  was  more  be 
loved  by  his  people,  and  when  hs  died,  no  man's  loss  was 
more  severely  felt. 

He  died  in  1652,  aged  57. 

After  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  Excommunication,  her  spirits 
revived — for  she  had  been  much  dejected — and  she  gloried 
in  her  sufferings. 

We  can  well  see,  how  her  woman's  nature  must  have 
been  shocked  at  the  harsh  and  bitter  controversy,  so  full 
of  injustice  and  misrepresentation,  into  which  she  seemed 
driven  ;  nor  can  we  doubt  that  she  was  betrayed  by  her 
own  enthusiasm,  and  the  exasperation  of  her  enemies,  into 
some  extremes,  which  were  a  surprise  to  herself.  It  was 
certainly  charged  upon  her  that  she  was  a  Familist,  and 
that  she  taught  doctrines  which  made  no  distinction  be 
tween  vice  and  virtue,  and  which  led  to  all  kinds  of  immo 
rality  and  to  the  rapid  ruin  of  society.  The  answer  to  this 
is,  that  Coddington,  Clark,  Aspinwall,  and  her  friends, 
who  went  to  Rhode  Island  [1638],  established  themselves 
as  a  State — a  "  Democraeie" — with  Liberty  of  Conscience, 
and  that  society  flourished  there  as  well  as,  if  not  better 
than  in  the  Bay.  Such,  too,  was  the  case  at  Piscataqua, 
whither  Wheelwright  led  another  party  of  their  friends  ; 
and  he  lived  long  enough  to  live  down  the  surprising 
charges  made  against  him  and  human  nature — which  can 
exist  only  with  "  Order"  and  with  "  Freedom." 

Vane  and  the  Movement  party,  were  put  down  and 
turned  out  of  power.  The  women  too,  who,  under  Mrs. 


A.D.  1638.]  THE   GREAT    CAMBRIDGE   SYNOD.  275 

Hutchinson,  "had  begun  to  aspire  to  a  voice  in  church 
matters  at  least,  were  also  put  down.  The  Synod  Re 
solved  : 

"  That  though  women  might  meet  (some  few  together) 
to  pray  and  edify  one  another  ;  yet  such  a  set  assembly 
(as  was  then  in  practice  in  Boston)  where  sixty  or  more 
did  meet  every  week,  and  one  woman  (in  a  prophetical 
way,  by  resolving  questions  of  doctrine,  and  expounding 
Scripture)  took  upon  her  the  whole  exercise,  was  agreed  to 
be  disorderly,  and  without  rule." 

Thomas  Weld,  in  his  "  Rise,  Reign,  and  Ruin  of  the 
Antinomians/'  etc.,  speaks  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  in  this 
strain  : 

"  But  the  last,  and  worst  of  all,  which  most  suddenly 
diffused  the  venom  of  these  opinions  into  the  very  veins 
and  vitals  of  the  people  in  the  country,  was  Mistress 
Hutchinson's  double  weekly  Lecture,  which  she  kept 
under  pretence  of  repeating  Sermons/'  etc.  He  continues: 
"Now — oh!  their  boldness,  pride,  insolency,  and  alien 
ations  from  their  old  and  dearest  friends,  the  disturbances, 
divisions,  contentions,  they  raised  amongst  us,  both  in 
Church  and  State,  and  in  families — setting  division  be 
twixt  man  and  wife  ! 

"  Now  the  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  must  have  dung 
cast  upon  their  faces,  and  be  no  better  than  legal  preach 
ers,  Baal's  priests,  Popish  factors,  Scribes,  Pharisees,  and 
opposcrs  of  Christ  himself!"  And  so  on  ;  and  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  he  was  one  of  the  ministers,  and  wrote 
as  he  and  they  felt — bitterly. 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  joined  her  friends  at  Rhode 
Island,  where  her  powerful  mind  influenced  all      MRS.  mrr- 

,  U  TT  V         1.          J     V         •  V     J          CHIN80N       18 

who  came  near  her.     Her  husband  having  died       KILLED. 
in  1642 — Randall  Holden1  says  :  "  Fearing  that 
Aquidneck  would  be  brought  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Massachusetts  when  what  might  she  not   suffer  ?" — she 
removed  westward  into  the  edge  of  the  Dutch  Country 
1  Letter  from  Randall  Holden.    B.  I.  H.  G.,  vol.  it 


276  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

(New  York),  where  she  and  her  family  (sixteen  persons), 
all  her  children,  except  one  daughter  who  was  carried  into 
captivity,  were  killed  by  the  Indians.  So  she  perished 
in  the  prime  of  her  years — she  who  was  fitted  to  adorn 
and  enlighten  any  society,  by  the  elevation  of  her  char 
acter  and  the  superiority  of  her  intellect.  Another  noble 
person  seems  to  us  to  have  been  wasted. 

But  death  was  no  protection  to  her.  Few  who  had 
opposed  her,  doubted  that  God  had  forgotten  his  majesty, 
and  had  instigated  the  Indians  to  punish  her  for  her  her 
esies.  Mr.  Hooker,  who  was  a  kind  man,  "  the  light  of 
the  Western  Churches,"  said,  "  The  expression  of  Prov 
idence  against  this  wretched  woman,  hath  proceeded  from 
the  Lord's  miraculous  mercy,  and  his  bare  arm  hath  been 
discovered." 

The  hatred  of  the  times,  is  shown  in  that  a  malformed 
birth  from  Mary  Dyer,1  one  of  Mrs.  Hutchmson's  friends, 
was  talked  of  through  the  settlement,  as  a  "  fearful  mon 
ster,"  and  elaborately  described  by  Winthrop,  who  was  a 
gentleman  and  a  Christian.  So,  too,  an  abortion  of  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  no  doubt  caused  by  the  anxiety  and  care  she 
had  undergone,  was  minutely  inquired  into,  and  minutely 
described  by  the  Keverend  Mr.  Cotton,  "in  open  assembly 
upon  a  lecture  day;"  and  these  things  were  believed  to  be 
God's  ways  to  condemn  the  errors  of  Antinomianism,  and 
of  Mrs.  Hutchinson.2 

The  Magistrates  proceeded  so  far  as  to  examine  the 
midwife,  and  to  dig  the  child  up  out  of  its  grave,  after  it 
was  much  corrupted,  to  make  the  matter  sure. 

1  The  description  of  Mary  Dyer's  child  is  curious.  The  father  and  mother, 
they  took  pains  to  state,  were  of  "  the  highest  forme  of  our  refined  Familists." 
"  It  had  no  head,  but  a  face,  which  stood  so  low  upon  the  breast,  that  the 
ears  (which  were  like  Apes'),  grew  upon  the  shoulders.  The  breast  and 
back  were  full  of  sharp  prickles.  It  had  upon  each  foot  three  claws,  with 
talons,  like  a  young  fowle.  Upon  the  back  it  had  two  holes  like  mouths.  It 
had  no  forehead,  but  in  the  place  thereof,  above  the  eyes,  four  homes,"  etc. 

a  Winthrop's  Journal.  Hubbard's  History.  Hutchinson's  History.  Ban 
croft's  History.  Weld's  "  Rise,  Reign,  and  Ruin." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

SAMUEL    GORTON. 

AT  BOSTON — AT  PLYMOUTH — AT  RHODE  ISLAND — AT  8HOWOMET — USURPATION  OF  MASSA 
CHUSETTS — GORTON  TAKEN  PRISONER — HE  OUGHT  TO  DIE — IS  PUT  IN  IRONS — HIS  OAT- 
TLE  SEIZED — HE  IS  SET  AT  LIBERTY — HIS  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS. 

SAMUEL  GORTON  arrived  in  Boston  in  1636.  He  had  a 
quick,  active  mind  ;  given  to  religious  things  ;  with  a  fan 
ciful  turn,  tending  to  spiritualize  all  things.  Enthusias 
tic,  extravagant,  and  mystical,  he  was  incapable  of  rest.  It 
was  inevitable  that  his  activity  should  impel  him  to  in 
terest  himself  in,  if  not  to  interfere  with,  the  course  of 
things.  The  discussion  of  religious  matters  being  a  ne 
cessity  of  life  in  Massachusetts,  Gorton's  speculations  and 
views — subtle  and  bold — made  him  a  marked  man.  Bos 
ton  soon  become  uncomfortable  to  him,  for  the  Ministers 
were  ready  and  determined  against  men  or  women,  who 
threatened  to  damage  their  authority,  or  that  of  the  nas 
cent  State  ;  and  nothing  was  more  dreaded  then  than 
new  opinions.  The  Ministers  felt  sure  they  were  right,  and 
Gorton,  too,  was  urgent  for  his  theories  ;  but  the  Churches 
and  Ministers  had  the  power.  Gorton  left  Boston  and 
went  to  Plymouth  ;  there  he  met  with  much  the  same 
treatment  as  at  Boston  ;  and  afterward,  at  Rhode  Island, 
he  and  Coddington  came  to  open  quarrel.  The  cause  of 
the  quarrel,  as  some  say,  being  about  some  swine  j1  it 
proceeded  to  violence  in  open  Court ;  Coddington  crying 
out,  "  You  that  are  for  the  King,  lay  hold  on  Gorton  ;" 
he  answering,  "  You  that  are  for  the  King,  lay  hold  on 
Coddington  !"  But  the  victory  was  with  Coddington, 

1  Lechford.     Savage,  in  Winthrop,  ii.,  59. 


278  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

Gorton  being  banished,  and,  as  some  assert,  whipped  ! 
Banished  men,  and  men  with  individual  and  peculiar 
opinions,  and  weak  Indians,  all  drew  toward  Koger  Wil 
liams,  at  Providence  ;  he  was  the  star  toward  which  the 
eyes  of  wanderers  ever  turned.  Here  Gorton  remained  for 
a  time,  but  afterward,  making  a  purchase  from  Mianto- 
nomo  and  two  other  Sachems,  of  lands  on  Narragansett 
Bay  (at  Showomet,  now  Cranston),  he  established  himself 
there,  with  such  as  chose  to  enjoy  his  way  of  thinking.1 
But  four  of  his  company  afterward  (1642)  complained  to 
the  Magistrates  of  Massachusetts,  that  they  could  not  con 
sort  with  Gorton  and  his  company,  and  offered  themselves 
and  their  lands  to  the  protection  of  that  Colony. 

They  were  accepted,  partly  to  protect  them,  but  more 
because  the  opinions  and  practices  of  Gorton's  company 
were  offensive,  and  "  because  the  place  was  likely  to  be  of 
use  to  us,  and  we  thought  it  not  wisdom  to  let  it  slip  °" 
so  Gorton  was  summoned  to  answer  at  the  Court  at  Bos 
ton.  He  agreed  to  leave  the  matters  in  dispute,  to  be 
settled  by  arbitrators,  which  was  refused.  At  last,  a  body 
of  forty  soldiers  was  sent  down  for  him,  and  after  some 
skirmishing — nobody  being  killed — he  and  some  of  the 
others  were  brought  to  Boston.  The  Indians  had  been 
sounded,  and  through  Benedict  Arnold  (one  of  Gorton's 
opposers),  two  Sachems  alleged  that  Miantonomo  had 
forced  them  to  sell  their  lands  to  Gorton.  The  Colony 
Commissioners  took  measures  to  convert  the  Indians  to 
Christianity  ;  they  agreeing  to  speak  reverently  of  the  En 
glishmen's  God,  not  to  swear  oaths,  not  to  work  on  Sun 
days  (they  said  abstinence  from  that  was  no  trial),  not  to 
kill,  to  obey  superiors,  etc.,  etc.;2  and  then  they  received 
them  under  their  protection,  and  gave  notice  of  it  to 
Miantonomo,  and  to  the  whites  in  those  parts.  About 
this  time  (1643),  Miantonomo  had  been  murdered  by  Un- 
cas,  with  the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  whites  (ch.  xxx.), 

1  Savage,  in  Winthrop,  voL  il,  p.  121.  See  copy  of  Deeds,  from  Trum- 
bull's  MSS.  a  Winthrop,  vol.  ii.,  p.  122. 


A.D.  1643.]  SAMUEL   GORTON.  279 

so  he  was  out  of  their  way  ;  his  brother,  Pesacus,  a  young 
man  of  twenty  years,  succeeding  him. 

The  case  of  Gorton  seemed  to  Massachusetts,  a  clear  one. 

1.  Some  of  the  whites  asked  protection. 

2.  Some  of  the  Indians  asked  protection. 

3.  Gorton's  opinions  were  offensive,  and  were  believed 
to  be  dangerous. 

4.  "  The  place  might  be  of  use  to  us  ;  and  it  was  the 
part  of  wisdom  not  to  let  it  slip." 

Gorton's  case  was  prejudged.  He  demanded 
of  the  Court  liberty  of  speech,  which  being  GORTOW 
granted,  he  held  forth,  after  the  manner  of 
those  days,  copiously,  ranging  hither  and  thither, 
in  all  directions,  mainly  in  a  religious  and  mystical  strain. 
This  did  not  help  his  cause  ;  and  all  the  Magistrates, 
except  three  (!)  were  of  opinion,  that  he  ought  to  die; 
but  the  deputies  (the  people)  would  not  listen  to  it  ;  what 
then  could  be  done  ?  Various  means  were  tried  to  con 
vert  him  to  true  opinions  (those  of  the  Magistrates),  but 
he  would  not  revoke  his  "  hellish  blasphemy.1  So  he 
and  six  of  his  friends  were  distributed  into  seven  towns, 
to  be  kept  at  work,  and  to  wear  irons  on  one  leg,  and  not 
to  maintain  their  blasphemous  errors  by  writing  ;  if  they 
did,  they  were  to  be  condemned  to  death,  and  to  be  exe 
cuted.2  Further  than  this,  finding  the  expenses  of  this 
matter  considerable,  amounting  to  some  £160,  which  in 
the  poverty  of  the  Colony  could  not  well  be  spared,  they 
sent  down  to  Gorton's  settlements,  and  took  his  cattle  to 
pay  for  his  own  defeat,  for  they  were  the  Victors.  This 
Napoleonic  abuse  of  power  now  meets  with  condemnation, 
and  provoked  then  only  hatred  and  bitterness  against  the 
Puritans.  But  such  things,  common  in  all  countries  in 
that  day,  were  rare  in  New  England.  Let  it  also  be  re 
membered,  that  men  were  then  held  to  be  responsible  for 
their  opinions — that  is,  they  could  believe  right  (as  the 

1  Hubbard's  History,  p.  403. 

2  Winthrop,  Journal.    See  2  Hist.  Coll.,  viii.,  68-70.    Governor  Hopkina. 


280  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1658. 

Church  or  State  ordered)  if  they  only  would  ;  and  if  they 
would  not,  they  were  heretics  and  dangerous,  and  ought 
to  be  cut  off.  Such  an  one  Gorton  seemed  to  them  ;  hut 
we  can  find  no  excuse  for  their  extension  of  Jurisdiction 
over  Gorton's  territory,  except  in  covetousness.  After  all 
this  the  matter  did  not  end  well,  for  the  sympathies  of 
the  people  were  alive,  and  cruelty  did  not  meet  with 
favor.  The  hearts  of  women  were  moved  towards  Gorton 
and  his  friends,  and  their  doctrines  insidiously  spread, 
and  converts  were  made,  "  so,  not  knowing  what  else  to 
do,  it  was  at  length  decided  to  set  them  at  liberty/'  and 
give  them  fourteen  days  to  get  out  of  the  Jurisdiction. 

A  great  deal  of  trouble  grew  out  of  this  effort  of  Mas 
sachusetts  to  extend  their  power  over  Gorton's  settle 
ment,  for  the  Plymouth  Colony  was  jealous,  and  Gorton 
carried  his  complaints  to  England.  Through  many  years 
this  continued,  till,  at  last,  in  1658,  Massachusetts  gave 
it  up,  and  relinquished  all  claim  for  jurisdiction. 

Gorton's  activity  plunged  him  into  all  movements,  and 
he  was  as  thoroughly  abused  as  any  man  in  New  England.1 
He  was  as  clear  and  logical  as  to  the  necessity  of  keeping 
the  duties  of  the  Magistrates  to  civil  things  as  Koger  Wil 
liams  was.2  His  religious  opinions  were  strongly  colored 
by  his  abundant  individuality,  so  that  no  other  person 
could  fully  comprehend  or  accept  them.  Yet  he  had 
followers  who  stood  by  him  through  good — rather  through 
evil  report.  The  last  of  these  Dr.  Styles  found  living  at 
Providence  in  1771 — not  a  Quaker,  or  a  Baptist,  or  any 
thing  but  a  Gortonist.  He  said,  "  Gorton  wrote  in  Hea 
ven,  and  beat  down  all  outward  ordinances  of  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  with  unanswerable  demonstra 
tion/'  as  Koger  Williams  did  not.  So  he  said,  "  that  his 
eyes  were  a  fountain  of  tears — that  he  wept  day  and 
night  for  the  sins  and  blindness  of  the  world." 


1  See  Gorton's  "  Simplicities  Defense." 
9  Khode  Island  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  15. 


A.D.  1658.]  SAMUEL   GORTON.  281 

This  method  of  water-cure  availed  little  then,  and  has 
always  failed. 

Gorton  seems  to  have  been  an  active  rather  than  a  great 
man,  and  was  a  skirmisher  in  the  van  of  the  Armies  of 
Liberty  and  Truth. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    CONFEDERATION. 

KWT  HAVEN — CONNECTICUT — PLYMOUTH  AND  MASSACHUSETTS — RHODE  ISLAND  EXCLUDED. 

THE  colonies  were  now  scattered  from  the  Kiver  Ken- 
nebeck  to  Long  Island  Sound.  They  were  in  danger  from 
the  Indians  ;  the  Dutch  at  Manhadoes  (New  York) 
claimed  Connecticut  and  New  Haven  ;  while  England  at 
the  same  time,  was  distracted  with  civil  wars.  As  early 
as  1637  some  of  the  Connecticut  people  proposed  a  CON 
FEDERATION,  and  from  time  to  time  the  plan  had  been 
revived  ;  but  it  was  not  till  1643  that  it  was  brought  to 
a  decision.  Commissioners  came  from  New  Haven,  and 
Connecticut,  and  Plymouth,  who,  with  some  of  the  princi 
pal  men  of  the  Bay,  agreed  upon  a  Confederation,  to  be 
called  "  The  United  Colonies  of  New  England,"  consist 
ing  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  Plymouth,  and  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  Khode  Island  being  rigidly  excluded.  It 
provided  for  an  appointment  of  two  Commissioners  from 
each  Colony,  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  to  the  general  de 
fense,  and  to  attend  to  such  matters  as  concerned  All, 
but  which  could  not  be  left  to  any  one,  and  it  continued 
in  force  with  some  intervals  till  1686,  when  James  II. 
vacated  the  Charters.  It  was  a  simple  and  sensible  agree 
ment,  and  grew  out  of  an  inevitable  necessity,  and  it 
forcibly  proves  how  well  men  can  and  do  govern  them 
selves,  when  saddles  are  not  put  on  their  backs  by  Kings, 
aristocracies,  or  pedantic  and  infidel  statesmen. 


A.D.  1643.]  THE   CONFEDERATION.  283 

This  confederation  was  the  child  which  grew  into  a 
youth  after  a  century  and  a  half,  and  now  waxes  toward 
manhood  as  the  United  States  of  America.1  (See  Ap 
pendix). 

1  Hazard,  vol.  ii.      Hubbard,  p.  465.      Winthrop,  vol.  ii.,  p.  101.       Hut- 
chinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  124.     Davis  in  Morton,  p.  229.     Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  423. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE    VASSAL    AND    CHILDE    DISTURBANCE. 

THE  HINGHAM   ELECTION — VASSAL,  CHILDE,   MAVERICK,  AND   FOWLE  PETITION — RESISTED 

SONS     OF     BELIAL — APPEAL    TO     ENGLAND — SEARCHES,     FINES,     AND     IMPRISONMENT — 
WIN8LOW   SAILS — POWER   OF  THE   COLONIES — WINTHROP?8   SPEECH. 

THE  Hingham  folks  had  had  some  trouble  about  the 
election  of  their  military  officers,  and  had  petitioned  the 
General  Court — referring  in  their  petition  to  English  law, 
and  had  been  fined  one  hundred  pounds  for  doing  so  ; 
for  the  Magistrates  put  down  all  threats  of  Appeal  to  En 
gland.  Out  of  this  matter  had  grown  ill  blood,  and  a  hos 
tile  and  suspicious  state  of  feeling. 

One  more  assault  upon  the  integrity  of  the  Colony,  soon 
came  from  within.  William  Vassal,  "  a  gentleman  of  a 
pleasant,  affable  disposition,"  "  one  of  the  best  and 
wealthiest  men  in  Scituate,"  t  who  came  first  in  1630,  and 
was  one  of  the  Patentees  and  Assistants,  had  returned  in 
1635,  and  settled  in  Scituate,  in  Plymouth  Colony.  With 
him  were  joined  Dr.  Eobert  Childe,  a  young  gentleman 
who  had  studied  in  Padua  ;  Samuel  Maverick,  an  Episco 
palian,  who  had  been  admitted  a  Freeman  before  the  con 
dition  of  church  membership  was  made  ;  Thomas  Fowle, 
a  merchant,  and  some  others.  These  sent  a  petition  to 
the  General  Court  [1646]  and  to  the  Plymouth  Court, 
stating  that  their  civil  and  religious  rights  were  denied 
them.  They  claimed  to  live  under  the  laws  of  ENGLAND, 
which  they  said  were  set  at  naught.  They  claimed  the 
right  of  Religious  Worship,  which  was  denied  them  ;  they 
claimed  the  rights  of  Freemen,  of  holding  office,  which 

1  Baylie's  Memoir. 


A.D.  1646.]  VASSAL   AND   CHILDE.  285 

were  denied  them,  unless  they  entered  through  some  of  the 
Churches  of  the  Colonies  ;  and  they  prayed  that  civil  and 
religious  liberty  might  forthwith  be  granted,  or  at  least  if 
it  were  not,  that  they  might  be  exempt  from  taxes,  and 
from  impressment  as  soldiers,  and  so  on,  in  a  positive  and 
aggravating  style,  as  the  Massachusetts  Kulers  thought. 
Now  all  this  was  founded  in  truth  and  reason,  and  could 
not  well  be  gainsaid  ;  but  the  first  and  last  necessity  of 
the  Magistrates,  was  to  preserve  the  unity  and  strength  of 
the  Colonies  against  the  politicians  of  the  Church  and 
State  of  England,  who  were  only  hindered  from  riding 
down  these  non-conforming  colonists,  by  distance,  and  by 
nearer  dangers  at  home.  It  seemed  plain  to  the  Magis 
trates,  that  all  dissent  and  division  must  be  put  down  in 
Massachusetts.  They  could  not  yet  see,  that  truth, 
where  it  has  a  fair  field,  is  stronger  than  error  ;  nor  that 
by  granting  these  men  their  individual  rights,  they  would 
have  taken  arms  out  of  their  hands,  and  by  necessity  have 
converted  them  into  loyal  citizens  to  the  New,  rather  than 
lingering  friends  of  the  Old  World.  As  it  was,  some  of 
the  Ministers  grew  warm,  and  called  the  Petitioners, 
"  Sons  of  Belial,"  "  Judases,"  "  Sons  of  Corah,"  and  the 
like.  The  Court  published  a  declaration  denying  their 
petition,  and  vindicating  the  Government  ;  and  then  Vas 
sal  and  his  friends  claimed  the  right  to  appeal  to  the 
Commissioners  for  Plantations  in  England  ;  but  this  was 
not  allowed.  Some  of  the  petitioners  then  prepared  to  go 
to  England,  when  their  papers  were  seized,  and  they  were 
detained.  Mr.  Cotton  preached  against  them  (Canticles, 
ii.,  15)  showing  how  God's  judgments  were  shown  upon 
such  as  were  going  to  England  for  mischief.  In  reply, 
they  told  how  Mr.  Winslow's  horse  had  died  under  him,  as 
he  was  coming  to  Boston,  on  his  way  to  England  to  act 
against  them,  and  so  God  was  surely  against  him  also. 
But  the  Court  fined  them  all,  from  ten  to  two  hundred 
pounds  each,  searched  their  houses  and  trunks,  and  im 
prisoned  them,  so  that  they  should  not  sail  in  the  ship,  or 


286  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1G46. 

till  such  time  as  their  fines  should  he  paid.  Mr.  Winslow 
went  on  his  way,  in  spite  of  the  warning  ^mentioned  (of 
God's  killing  his  horse),  and  made  interest  with  the  Par 
liament  for  the  Colonies.  Now,  if  the  petitioners  had 
gone,  they  .might  have  injured  the  Colony,  and  so  have 
hindered  its  progress  toward  an  Independent  State.  But  if 
the  Magistrates  and  Clergy  had  granted  those  rights  which, 
not  only  the  Charter,  hut  the  nature  of  man  demanded, 
all  cause  for  fear  would  surely  have  been  removed.  During 
the  trouble,  the  Magistrates  and  Clergy  held  a  conference 
with  closed  doors,  after  Mr.  Hubhard,  of  Hingham,  had 
been  requested  to  withdraw — he  being  "suspect" — to  con 
sider  their  powers  under  the  Charter.  They  concluded, 
that  they  owed  allegiance  to  England,  and  a  fifth  part  of 
the  gold  and  silver  found,  but  otherwise  had  full  powers 
for  self-government,  which  they  determined  to  exercise, 
"  and  wait  upon  Providence  for  the  preservation  of  their 
just  Liberties." 1 

Winthrop,  then  Deputy-Governor,  opposed  the  Petition 
of  Childe  and  others  for  Freemen's  privileges  ;  and  we 
may  gather  from  this  extract  of  his  speech,  about  the 
Hingham  trouble,  1645,  what  influenced  so  mild  and  just 
a  man  in  his  opposition  to  what  now  seemed  a  fair 
demand.  He  said  in  open  Court,  before  the  people,  who 
were  justly  tetchy  upon  their  individual  rights  :  "  Nor 
would  I  have  you  to  mistake  in  the  point  of  your  own 
liberty.  There  is  a  liberty  of  corrupt  nature,  which  is 
affected  by  both  men  and  beasts  to  do  what  they  list,  and 
this  liberty  is  inconsistent  with  authority — impatient  of 
all  restraint.  By  this  liberty,  sumus  omnes  deteriores  ; 
it  is  the  grand  enemy  of  truth  and  peace,  and  all  the 
ordinances  of  God  are  against  it.  But  there  is  a  civil,  a 
moral,  a  federal  liberty,  which  is  the  proper  end  and  ob 
ject  of  authority  ;  it  is  a  liberty  for  that  only  which  is 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  iL,  p.  261.  Hubbard,  p.  499.  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p. 
145.  N.  E.  Jonas  cast  up ;  M.  H.  C.,  2d  series,  voL  iv.  Puritanism,  or  a 
Churchman  Defense  (Coit). 


A.D.  1646.]  VASSAL   AND   CHILDE.  287 

just  and  good.  For  this  liberty  you  are  to  stand,  with  the 
hazard  of  your  very  lives,  and  whatsoever  crosses  it  is  not 
authority,  but  distemper  thereof.  This  liberty  is  main 
tained  in  a  way  of  subjection  to  authority  ;  and  the  au 
thority  set  over  you  will,  in  all  administrations  for  your 
good,  be  quietly  submitted  to  by  all  but  such  as  have  a 
disposition  to  shake  off  the  yoke,  and  lose  their  true  lib 
erty,  by  their  murmuring  at  the  honor  and  power  of  au 
thority."  So  Winthrop,  one  of  the  best  of  Patriots, 
spoke — he  being  in  authority  ;  and  it  is  correct,  that  men 
have  liberty  to  do  right — never  to  do  wrong.  But  what  is 
right  ?  and  shall  authority,  only,  decide  it  ?  Precisely 
this  doctrine  had  been  practiced  in  England,  to  justify  the 
persecution  of  the  Nonconformists,  and  had  been  held  to 
sustain  all  acts  of  tyranny,  from  the  foundation  of  society 
even  to  the  present  year.  Concentrated  into  a  few  words, 
it  is  simply  this  :  "  Authority  is  for  your  good,  and  is  to 
be  quietly  submitted  to,  because  it  maintains  a  civil,  a 
moral,  a  federal  liberty  ;  whereas  the  liberty  which  you 
want  is  beastly  and  corrupt ;  and  we  (the  Authorities) 
are  to  judge,  not  you." 

It  seems  that  the  claims  of  Vassal  and  Childe  were 
just ;  that  the  denying  of  those  claims  drove  them  to  ap 
peal  to  England  ;  that  it  became  necessary  then  to  crush 
them,  lest  the  Self-government  of  the  Colonies  should  be 
overthrown  by  England ;  and  so  they  were  put  down  by 
force. 

The  first  position  of  the  Magistrates  was  wrong ;  and 
other  grievous  wrongs  grew  out  of  it. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

PERSECUTION    OF    THE    QUAKERS. 

INTOLERANCE— NEW  DANGERS— MAKY  FISHER  AND  ANN  AUSTIN— QUAKERS  ARRIVE— ARK 
TRIED— IMPRISONED— WOE!  WOE  !— BANISHED— LAWS  PASSED— DEATH— WOMEN  WHIP 
PED — CHILDREN  SOLD — EARS  CUT  OFF — ROBINSON  AND  STEVENSON  HUNG — MARY  DYER 
HUNG — LEDRA  AND  CHRISTOPHER8ON — REPRIEVE — CHARLES  II.  6TOPS  PERSECUTION — 
WHAT  DID  THE  QUAKERS  BELIEVE? — GREAT  SOULS  KNOW — GEORGE  FOX — THERE  18  A 
GOD — PRINCIPLES — PERSECUTIONS  IN  ENGLAND — EXCESSES  OF  THE  QUAKERS — WALK 
ING  ABOUT  NAKED— WILLIAM  PENN— THE  "  HOLY  EXPERIMENT." 

TOLEKATION  in  religious  things  was  not  considered  prac 
ticable  in  the  seventeenth  century,  except  in  the  few  years 
when  Cromwell  controlled  the  power  of  England.1  Des 
potism  in  Church  or  State  needs  a  rigid  censorship,  for 
whatever  can  not  bear  examination  and  discussion  must 
be  sustained  by  force,  till  its  hour  of  destruction  comes. 
The  Koman  Catholic  Inquisition  presumed  to  punish  peo 
ple  for  their  THOUGHTS,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  bring 
further  proofs  of  the  common  belief  and  practices  of  that 
day.  The  magistrates  in  New  England  held  that  it  was 
not  only  their  right,  but  their  duty  to  punish  people  for 
open,  outspoken  heresy,  and  that  view  prevailed,  except 
with  a  few  individuals,  such  as  Koger  Williams,  Samuel 
Gorton,  Oliver  Cromwell,  George  Fox,  and  their  adherents. 
Thousands  at  the  present  day  are  not  aware  that  their 
own  religious  intolerance  leads  directly  to  the  perpetration 
of  cruelties,  which  shock  them  in  the  page  of  history;  and 
the  world  owes  it  to  a  free  press  which  appeals  to  a  free 
public  opinion,  that  such  cruelties  are  not  practiced  now. 
Kival  sects  find  satisfaction  in  the  fact,  that  the  Puritans 
indulged  in  religious  cruelties,  and  that  they  too  were 
bigots.  The  fact,  then  universal,  need  not  be  dwelt  upon 
with  pleasure. 

1  See  cb.  xxiv.,  Toleration. 


NEW 
DANGEB3. 


A.D.  1656.]          PERSECUTION   OF   THE    QUAKERS.  289 

We  have  seen  how  the  minds  of  people  and 
Ministers,  both,  had  been  disturbed  and  excited 
by  the  opinions  of  Koger  Williams,  Mrs .  Hutch- 
inson,  and  Samuel  Gorton;  and  now  a  new  danger  threat 
ened  them.  In  July,  1656,  Mary  Fisher  and  Ann  Austin 
came  to  Boston  from  Barbadoes  ;  and  shortly  after,  nine 
others,  men  and  women,  arrived  in  the  ship  Speedwell 
from  London.  It  was  at  once  known,  for  they  did  not 
wish  to  conceal  it,  that  they  were  "  FRIENDS/'  vulgarly 
called  "  Quakers  ;"  and  the  Magistrates  at  once  took  them 
in  hand,  determined  that  no  people  holding  (as  they  con 
sidered  them)  such  damnable  opinions,  should  come  into 
the  Colony.  A  great  crowd  collected  to  hear  them  ques 
tioned,  and  Boston  was  stirred  up  by  a  few  illiterate  en 
thusiasts.  They  stood  up  before  the  Court  with  their 
hats  on,  apparently  without  fear,  and  had  no  hesitation  in 
calling  Governor  Endicott  plain  "John."  That  seemed 
to  many  a  portentous  thing,  and  they  said  among  them 
selves  :  "  What  is  the  world  coming  to  ?"  "  Is  this  one  of 
the  fearful  '  vials'  foretold  in  the  Apocalypse  ?"  The  re 
plies  which  these  men  and  women  made,  were  direct  and 
bold,  and  were  considered  rude  and  contemptuous.  Num 
bers  of  Quaker  books  being  found  in  their  trunks,  those 
were  seized,  and  ordered  to  be  burned  ;  while  they  them 
selves  were  committed  to  prison,  for  their  "  Rudeness  and 
Insolence  ;  there  being  no  law  then  under  which  they 
could  be  punished  for  being  Quakers.  Shortly  after  that 
the  Governor  was  walking  solemnly  from  church  on  a 
Lord's  day,  with  several  gentlemen,  when  Mary  Prince 
called  out  to  him,  from  the  prison  window,  saying  : 

"  Woe  !  woe  !  Thou  vile  oppressor !  Thou  tyrant !  Thou 
who  killest  the  children  of  God,  as  Herod  did  !  Thy  day 
shall  come  when  the  Lord  will  smite  thee,  and  give  thy 
carcass  to  the  dung-hill !  Thou  shalt  be  devoured  by 
worms!"  and  so  on. 

When  the  Ministers  went  to  her,  she  reproached  them 
as  "  Hirelings,  Baal's  priests,  deceivers  of  the  people,  of 

13 


290  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1656. 

the  brood  of  Ishmael  ;"  and  such  like,  in  the  words  of  the 
Bible.  Nothing  seemed  to  intimidate  or  appease  these 
Quakers,  so  they  were  banished,  "  Thrust  out  of  the  juris 
diction." 

Laws  were  passed  against  them,  of  exceeding  severity 
(1656),1  and  published  by  beat  of  drum  ;  laying  a  penalty 
of  £100  for  bringing  any  Quaker  into  the  Colony  :  forty 
shillings  for  entertaining  them  for  an  hour  ;  Quaker  men 
who  came  against  these  prohibitions  were,  upon  first  con 
viction,  to  lose  one  ear,  upon  the  second,  the  other  ear ; 
and  women  were  to  be  whipped.  Upon  the  third  convic 
tion,  their  tongues  were  to  be  bored  with  a  hot  iron.2  But 
these  things  seemed  useless,  for  the  Quakers,  knowing  their 
fate,  swarmed  into  Massachusetts;  and  the  Magistrates 
were  fast  getting  more  business  than  they  could  attend  to. 
It  was  then  determined  to  try  greater  severity,  and  in 
October,  1658.  a  law  was  passed  in  Massachusetts  (resisted 
by  the  Deputies,  urged  by  the  Magistrates),  punishing 
Quakers  who  had  been  banished,  with  DEATH. 

Gorton,  in  1656,  wrote  to  the  four  Quakers,  who  arrived 
in  Boston,  expressing  his  sympathy,  and  wishing  them  to 
join  him  ;  he  said  :  "  I  marvel  what  manner  of  God  your 
adversaries  trust  in — who  is  so  fearful  of  being  infected 
with  error;  or  how  they  think  they  shall  escape  the  wiles 
and  power  of  the  Devil,  when  the  arm  of  flesh  fails  them," 
etc.3 

William  Brend,  Thomas  Thurston,  Christopher  Holder, 
and  John  Copeland,  wrote  "from  the  common  Jail  in 
Boston,  this  28  of  Seventh,  1656,"  in  reply,  how  "The 
Lord  is  coine  and  is  coming  to  Level  the  Mountains,"  "  to 
dwell  in  men,  so  that  they  shall  be  his  people  henceforth 
and  forever  ;"  that  they  were  unwilling  to  go  away  from 
Boston,  but  that  the  Magistrates  had  cast  the  Captain  of 
tho  ship  into  prison  because  he  refused  to  give  securities 

1  Hazard,  vol.  i. 

8  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  New  Haven,  adopted  these  laws ;  Rhode  Island 
refused,  though  strongly  urged.  3  E.  L  Hist  Coll.,  vol.  iL 


A.D.  1659.]         PERSECUTION    OF    THE   QUAKERS.  291 

to  land  them  again  in  England  ;  the  expense  of  which 
they  declined  paying. 

Ann  Burden  came  from  London  to  attend  to  some  busi-  I 
ness  in  New  England.  (1657.)  She  was  imprisoned  for 
some  three  months,  and  then  sent  back  to  England,  at  her 
own  expense.  Mary  Dyer  was  imprisoned,  but  finally  re 
leased,  at  considerable  expense  to  her  husband.  Mary 
Clark,  who  came  over  from  London  to  "  warn  the  perse 
cutors,"  was  whipped  on  her  naked  back  "  twenty  stripes 
of  a  whip  with  three  cords,  as  thick  as  a  man's  little  finger, 
having  each  some  knots  at  the  end/' 

Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  were  also  se 
verely  whipped  and  imprisoned.  Lawrence  and  Cassandra 
South  wick,  were  imprisoned  and  fined  for  having  enter 
tained  Holder  and  Copeland,  and  they  and  their  son  were 
afterward  whipped  and  fined,  for  attending  "  Quaker 
meetings."  Daniel  and  Provided  Southwick,  the  children 
of  Lawrence,  were  fined  ten  pounds  for  absenting  them 
selves  from  the  legal  meetings,  and  not  being  able  to  pay 
it,  and  refusing  to  work,  the  Court  ordered  that  they 
should  be  sold  in  Barbadoes,  or  Virginia.  This  order  was 
signed  by  Edward  Kawson,  Secretary  ;  but  no  shipmaster 
would  carry  them.  Sarah  Gibbons,  Dorothy  Waugh,  and 
Hored  Gardner,  were  whipped.  William  Leddra,  and 
William  Brend  (an  old  man),  were  imprisoned,  and  Brend 
was  whipped  with  a  rope,  by  the  jailor.  Twelve  persons 
were  fined  at  Salem,  for  not  coming  to  church.  John 
Rouse,  John  Copeland,  and  Christopher  Holder,  had  their 
right  ears  cut  off. 

William  Robinson  (merchant  of  London),  was  whipped 
in  Boston  streets,  and  then  banished,  with  Marmaduke 
Stevenson,  Mary  Dyer,  and  Nicholas  Davis.1 

The  three  first  returned,  and  Governor  Endicott  pro 
nounced  sentence  of  death  against  them.  They  were 
marched  to  prison  ;  and  on  the  27th  of  October,  in  the 
afternoon,  a  guard  of  two  hundred  men,  attended  with 

1  Sewall's  History  of  the  Quakers,  New  York,  1844.     W.  H.,  p.  282. 


292  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1660. 

a  drummer,  conducted  them  to  the  gallows.  Mary  Dyer 
walked  between  her  friends,  Stevenson  and  Robinson, 
clasping  their  hands.  Robinson  was  first  hanged,  protest 
ing  that  he  died  for  conscience'  sake  ;  then  Stevenson  was 
hanged  ;  and  then  Mary  Dyer,  having  the  rope  about  her 
neck,  and  her  face  covered  with  a  handkerchief,  lent  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  was  reprieved.  Her  mind  was  made 
up  for  death,  and  her  reprieve  brought  her  no  joy.  She 
was  taken  away  by  her  son. 

The  Quakers  charge,  that  Minister  Wilson  was  that  day 
insulting  and  cruel  to  these  poor  people. 

Mary  Dyer  was  a  "  comely  and  valiant  woman,"  and  in 
the  next  Spring,  she  returned.  What  now  was  to  be 
done  ? 

The  law  said  she  must  be  hung,  and  Endicott  again 
pronounced  sentence,  and  she  was  led  out  to  die  a  felon's 
death.  Some  scoffed  and  jeered  her,  but  the  most  pitied  ; 
she  died  bravely,  fearing  nothing. 

Then  came  Patience  Scott,  a  girl  of  but  eleven  years  of 
age,  who  said  she  too,  was  a  Quaker.  What  could  the 
Magistrates  do  ?  It  would  be  ridiculous  to  put  such  a 
child  to  death  ;  they,  therefore,  concluded  that  "  Satan 
had  employed  her,"  and  they  allowed  Captain  Hutchinson 
to  take  her  home  to  Providence. 

Few  can  appreciate  the  sad  duty  which  the  Magistrates 
felt  compelled  to  undertake,  in  killing  these,  because  they 
were  Quakers  ;  and  they  felt  it  necessary  to  publish  a  vin 
dication,  defending  themselves,  and  citing  the  practices 
against  Jesuits  in  England. 

But  there  seemed  no  end  ;  for  Quaker  after  Quaker 
came  ;  they  were  tried,  they  were  whipped,  and  the  prison 
was  full ;  so  much  did  their  sufferings  move  the  hearts  of 
the  common  people,  who  really  care  little  for  the  distinc 
tions  of  Theology,  that  a  guard  had  to  be  put  around  the 
prison,  to  protect  them  from  visiting  and  sympathizing 
with  the  prisoners. 

WILLIAM  LEDRA  came  back  (September    1660),  and 


A.D.  1661.]         PERSECUTION   OF    THE    QUAKERS.  293 

was  subject  to  death.     They  offered  him  his  life,  if  he 
would  go  away  and  promise  not  to  return  ;  he  said, 

"I  came  here  to  bear  my  testimony,  and  to  tell  the 
truth  of  the  Lord,  in  the  ears  of  this  people.  I  refuse  to 
go."  So  he  was  hanged  in  the  succeeding  March.  (14th.) 

WENLOCK  CHRISTOPHERSON,  or  CHRISTISON,  came,  and 
was  tried  and  condemned  to  die.  "  What  have  you  gained," 
he  said,  "  by  your  cruel  proceedings  ?  For  the  last  man 
that  was  put  to  death  here,  five  are  come  in  his  room,  and 
if  you  have  power  to  take  my  life  from  me,  God  can  raise 
up  ten  of  his  servants,  to  take  my  place,  and  so  you  may 
have  torment  upon  torment."  This  seemed  true,  and  for 
the  present  he  was  imprisoned. 

The  death  of  Ledra,  and  the  return  of  Wenlock  Chris 
tison,  brought  confusion  among  the  Magistrates,  and  some 
said,  "  Where  will  this  end  ?"  and  declared  it  was  time  to 
stop. 

Governor  Endicott  found  it  difficult  to  get  a  Court  to 
agree  to  sentence  Christison  to  death  ;  but  he  halted  not, 
and  pronounced  the  sentence,  and  Christison  was  led  back 
to  his  friends,  in  prison,  with  the  crown  of  Martyrdom  on 
his  head.  But  a  few  days  afterward,  the  jailor  opened  the 
prison  doors,  and  Wenlock  (with  twenty-seven  others),  was 
set  at  liberty,  much  to  his  and  their  surprise.  Peter  Pear 
son  and  Judith  Brown  only,  were  stripped  and  whipped  at 
the  cart's  tail,  through  the  quiet  streets  of  Boston. 

The  body  of  the  people  had  long  been  averse  to  these 
cruelties,  arid  were  growing  restive.  Persecution,  as  an 
epidemic,  had  for  a  time,  filled  their  hearts  and  blasted 
their  sympathies  and  affections  ;  but  it  was  past,  and  moral 
health  began  once  more  to  assert  its  power. 

The  friends  of  the  Quakers  in  England  were 
earnest,  and  they  prevailed  upon  King  Charles     CHARLES  n. 
II.  to  order  the  persecutions  to  cease  in  New    PERSECUTION 
England    [Sept.    1661].      Samuel  Shattock,  a      ° 
banished  Quaker,  was  sent  from  England  by 
Charles,  with  a  letter  to  Governor  Endicott,  commanding 


294  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1661. 

that  no  more  Quakers  should  be  hanged  or  imprisoned  in 
New  England,  but  should  be  sent  to  England  for  trial. 
This  ended  the  persecutions  ;  for,  on  the  9th  of  Decem 
ber,  1661,  the  Court  ordered  all  Quakers  to  be  set  at 
liberty.  The  order  was  obeyed,  not  so  much  because  it 
came  from  the  King,  as  because  Excess  had  cured  itself, 
and  the  cruel  and  wretched  punishments  were  then  abol 
ished  from  their  statute-book.  Let  us  give  our  attention 
for  a  few  moments  to  the  principles  and  practices  which 
made  these  people  so  obnoxious. 

WHAT  DID  THE  QUAKERS  BELIEVE?  The  Great  Prin 
ciples  and  Instincts,  upon  which  human  nature  rests,  are 
universal,  existing  in  every  race  and  clime,  and  are  active 
or  latent  in  every  individual.  But  individuals  appear 
from  time  to  time,  in  whom  these  instincts  shine  out 
clear  and  convincing,  and  occasionally  with  marked  re 
sults  upon  their  own  time  and  upon  coming  ages.  Most 
men  are  hedged  about  and  bounded  by  Custom  and 
Habit ;  they  say  "  this  is  proper,  because  others  do  it," 
or,  "  that  is  right  or  true,  because  some  one  has  said  so 
whom  we  trust/'  This  kind  move  in  masses,  unable  to 
stand  alone  ;  yet  they  gravitate  toward  the  truth,  and 
grow  better  unless  ruined  by  an  overwhelming  selfishness, 
which  vitiates  their  perceptions. 

The  Great  Souled  Men  trust  themselves,  and  most 
often  stand  alone ;  commonly  are  killed  or  crucified. 
They  appeal  to  God,  and  rest  upon  him  ;  they  must 
think,  speak,  and  live  what  they  know  to  be  true.  They 
listen  to,  and  hear  the  voice  of  God  in  their  souls,  and 
then  they  say, 

"  I  KNOW/' 

When  told  that  the  Church  or  the  King  says  "  this  or 
that  is  true/'  they  reply  "  Those  can  not  speak  for  me  ; 
I  must  ask  of  God  in  my  own  consciousness."  Socrates 
appealed  to  his  "  Daemon,"  Plato  to  his  "  Domestic  God," 
and  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  Quakers,  to  his 
"  Inner  Light."  These  men  restore  us;  as  the  Ages  rush 


A.D.  16G1.]          PERSECUTION    OF    THE    QUAKERS.  295 

by,  to  our  native  manhood,  and  Redeem  us  from  the  fol 
lies  and  falsehood  which  gradually  gather  upon  the  usages 
of  Life.  They  assert,  once  again,  that  the  Essence  of 
Manliness  consists  in  Truth,  Honor,  Kindness,  and  Cour 
age  ;  not  in  Titles,  Wealth,  Palaces,  and  Patronage  ;  and 
when  dead,  we  recognize  their  greatness,  and  thank  them. 

During  the  struggle  between  Charles  I.  and 
the  people  of  England  (headed  by  Hampden,     GEORGE  FOX. 
Eliot,  Pym,  and  Cromwell),  George  Fox  was 
a  poor    shoemaker's    apprentice.      It  was  a   time   when 
mind  and  conscience,  both  were  excited  to  action,  and 
men  were   everywhere  dealing   with  the  great   questions 
of  Life  and  Death.      George  Fox  arose  from  his  bench, 
and  asked, 

"  What  does  this  life  mean  ?"     "  What  is  Truth  ?" 

He  left  the  shop,  and  wandered  alone  in  the  fields,  to 
tend  his  master's  flocks,  and  he  asked  these  questions  of  all 
men.  He  went  to  the  priests,  and  they  told  him  to  be 
quiet,  to  dance  and  frolic,  and  all  would  be  well  with  him. 
This  did  not  answer  him.  He  would  not  seek  for  glory 
in  Cromwell's  army,  nor  for  wealth  ;  the  struggle  went  on 
in  his  soul,  and  at  last,  through  darkness,  came  a  voice, 
saying, 

"There  is  a  God." 

From  this  time  his  spiritual  life  began,  and  he  went 
among  men,  eager  to  reform,  to  raise  and  to  save  them. 
He  said  to  poor  and  rich,  learned  and  unlearned,  alike, 
"  Trust  not  the  Scholars,  trust  not  the  Church,  trust  not 
the  King,  trust  not  the  Magistrates. 

The  Scholar  is  a  rnan; 

The  Bishop  is  a  man, 

The  King  is  a  man. 

But  you  are  also  a  MAN.  God  speaks  to  them,  but 
he  also  speaks  to  you  ;  in  the  eye  of  man  you  may  be 
despised,  but  in  the  eye  of  a  just  God  you  are  the  equal 
of  any.  Stand  up,  then,  trust  yourself,  be  your  own  mas 
ter,  and  no  longer  a  slave."  He  spoke  bitterly  against 


296  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1661. 

the  Church  and  its  machinery  ;  against  hireling  priests, 
who  rolled  in  wealth,  shearing,  not  feeding  the  flock. 
He  spoke  against  Force  and  War,  saying  nothing  was 
gained  hy  it,  for  it  was  as  often  that  the  wrong  was  the 
strongest  in  Swords  as  the  right.  He  spoke  against  per 
secution,  for  in  all  sects  there  is  some  truth  ;  and  he  as 
serted  the  political  rights  in  England  of  the  Catholics, 
whose  theories  and  practices  he  abhorred.  He  spoke 
against  symbols  and  ordinances,  such  as  Baptism  and 
Priesthood,  saying  that  the  letter  killed,  the  spirit  alone 
gave  life.  He  scorned  titles  and  aristocracy,  and  said 
Kings  are  but  men  ;  and  when  he  stood  before  them, 
before  Cromwell  or  Charles,  he  kept  on  his  hat,  and  said 
"  thee"  and  "  thou,"  and  "  yea"  and  "  nay"  to  them,  as 
he  would  have  done  to  a  beggar.  Oaths,  he  said,  were 
wrong,  contrary  to  the  Bible,  which  said,  "  swear  not  at 
all."  He  accepted  the  Bible  (the  Constitution  of  Pro 
testants)  as  one  form  of  Eevelation,  but  to  be  judged  by 
the  Inner  Light,  and  binding  so  far  as  it  agreed  with 
that.  He  held  to  the  spiritual  equality  of  the  sexes,  and 
that  Women  had  as  much  right  to  preach  as  men  ;  he 
opposed  all  tricking  and  adorning  of  the  person,  and  es 
timated  lightly  the  advantages  of  learning  and  the  Fine 
Arts.  Such  were  some  of  the  positions  of  George  Fox. 
They  are  surprising  now  ;  they  were  considered  damnable 
then  ;  but  his  earnestness  and  fervor,  and  the  democratic 
tendency  of  his  teachings,  commanded  attention,  and  the 
common  people  heard  him  gladly.  His  doctrines  found 
favor,  and  crowds  resorted  to  him.  But  the  whole  power 
of  the  Church  and  State,  of  the  Clergy  and  Magistrates, 
of  the  titled,  and  of  the  learned,  of  the  rich  and  the  gay, 
bore  down  upon  him  and  his  followers,  for  his  doctrines 
destroyed  their  privileges  and  practices,  root  and  branch. 
His  followers  were  called  "  Quakers,"  in  derision  ;  they 
were  ridiculed  and  persecuted,  were  whipped,  cropped, 
maimed,  thrown  into  dungeons,  fined,  sold  to  slavery,  and 
killed  ;  but  these  things  availed  not. 


A.D.  1663.]          PERSECUTION   OF   THE   QUAKERS.  297 

Fox.  never  faltered  nor  feared,  the  number  of  his  disci 
ples  increased,  and  in  time  his  doctrines  were  accepted  by 
persons  of  wealth  and  standing,  like  Penn  and  Barclay. 
Their  eyes,  at  last,  turned  to  America,  as  a  refuge  for  the 
poor  and  persecuted,  and  their  missionaries  came  over  to 
New  England,  as  we  have  seen,  to  meet  with  persecution 
there — except  in  Khode  Island,  where  Eoger  Williams 
had  established  and  maintained  liberty  of  worship. 

In  the  enthusiasm,  excited  by  the  enunciation 
of  new  truths,  ill-balanced  minds  are  sure  to      EXCESSES 

OF        THE 

rush  to  excess,  and  thus  to  curse  the  cause  they  QUAKERS. 
wish  to  forward  ;  an  open  enemy  is  often  better 
than  an  unwise  friend.  This  was  especially  the  case 
among  the  first  followers  of  George  Fox.  Trusting  to  the 
"  Inner  light,"  forgetting  that  the  instincts  and  inspira 
tions  of  the  soul  are  always  to  be  examined  and  PROVED 
by  experience  and  reason,  ill-regulated  persons  yielded 
themselves  blindly  to  any  impulse  or  whim  of  the  moment, 
and  claimed,  that  that  was  an  inspiration,  and  therefore 
holy.  Under  such  excitements,  they  rudely  interrupted 
religious  exercises,  at  various  places  in  Massachusetts  ; 
they  went  through  the  streets,  crying,  "  Woe  !  woe  !"  and 
declaring  curses  ;  Thomas  Newhouse  went  into  meeting  at 
Boston,  and  dashing  together  two  glass  bottles  said  : 
"Thus  will  the  Lord  break  you  in  pieces:"  and  one 
woman  went  through  the  streets  of  Salem,  bearing  her 
testimony,  NAKED  as  when  she  came  into  the  world.  In 
1663,  Lydia  Wardwell,  aa  young  and  chaste  woman — 
being  given  up  to  the  leading  of  the  Lord,"  went  naked 
into  the  meeting  at  Newbury,  to  denounce  the  "  wicked 
ness  of  your  priests  and  rulers."  She  was  tied  up  to  a 
post  and  severely  whipped  for  it.  Such  things  caused 
confusion  and  scandal,  and  in  the  eyes  of  even  liberal  men 
excused  the  bitter  persecutions  which  were  practiced  against 
the  whole  body  of  Quakers,  and  not  toward  these  mono 
maniacs  only.  It  should  be  remembered  that  so  soon  as 
the  persecutions  ceased,  these  excesses  also  ceased  ;  so 

13* 


298  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1682. 

certain  is  it,  that  one  wrong  will  induce  another  one.  The 
"Friends"  everywhere,  then  became  peaceable,  industrious, 
honest  citizens,  remarkable  for  their  simplicity  and  truth. 
These  characteristics  have  remained  with  them,  though 
many  of  their  reforms  have  now  become  formulas,  and 
they  have  thus  lost  the  spirit  which  inspired  George  Fox. 
As  a  distinctive  sect,  they  will  not  continue,  for  the  reason 
above  given ;  and  because  they  undervalued  Art,  Litera 
ture,  Learning,  and  Amusement ;  and  because  the  world 
about  them  has,  in  a  great  degree,  accepted  their  great 
truths. 

But  the  Quakers  grew  in  numbers,  and  in  grace,  till  in 
1682,  William  Penn  at  their  head,  they  came  to  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware  to  try  their  "  HOLY  EXPERIMENT."  They 
brought  no  arms,  they  spoke  their  simple  theories  to  the 
Indians,  which  were  understood  and  well  received  ;  the 
Indians  said, 

"  We  will  live  in  love  with  William  Penn  and  his  chil 
dren,"  and  they  did. 

No  man  claimed  privileges  ;  people  were  to  tax  them 
selves  ;  to  make  their  own  laws,  and  to  elect  the  officers 
to  execute  them  ;  indeed  the  whole  power  was  in  the  peo 
ple.  It  was  an  organized  democracy,  except  that  the 
office  of  Lord-proprietor,  vested  in  Penn,  was  hereditary. 
Virtually  it  was  a  better  experiment  of  the  power  of  truth 
and  of  self-government,  than  the  world  had  before  seen, 
except  in  Ehode  Island ;  and  it  was  an  inevitable  result 
of  the  doctrines  of  G-EORGE  Fox  called  the  QUAKER.1 

1  Morton's  Memorial  Hutchinson's  Mass.  Bay,  vol.  i.  B.  I.  Hist.  Coll., 
vol.  ii.  Hazard's  H.  Coll. 

Lest  any  should  suppose,  that  these  persecuting  laws  were  peculiar  to 
New  England,  it  will  be  well  and  satisfactory  to  know,  that  the  laws  of 
Episcopal  Virginia  at  this  time,  were  as  follows:  £100  fine  for  bringing  a 
Quaker  into  the  Colony ;  Quakers  to  lie  in  prison  until  they  should  give 
security  to  depart;  if  they  returned  a  third  time  to  be  treated  as  Felons. 
Entertaining  Quakers,  subject  to  a  fine  of  £100;  and  all  Quaker  books 
positively  forbidden. — Anderson's  Colonial  Church,  vol.  ii.,  p.  27. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE    KING'S    JUDGES.— REGICIDES. 

CHARLES  I. — STRAFFORD  AND  LAUD — THE  COMMONS — CIVIL  WAK — CHARLES  BEHEADED — 
OLIVliK  CROMWELL — THE  REGICIDES  FLY — WIIALEY  AND  GOFFE — THEY  FLY  TO  NEW 
HAVEN — HUE  AND  CRY — KELLOND  AND  KIRK — THE  JUDGES'  CAVE — GOVERNOR  LEETE 
— THE  JUDGES  DISAPPEARED — DIXWELL — GOFFE  DEFENDS  HADLEY — DEATH. 

CHARLES  I.  in  England  determined  to  rale  without  law, 
and  to  lay  taxes  without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  The 
Earl  of  StrafTord  was  his  councillor  in  matters  of  State, 
and  Archbishop  Laud,  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  They 
were  determined  men,  and  their  word  was  "  Thorough." 
The  Commons,  led  by  Eliot,  Pym,  Coke,  Hampden,  Crom 
well,  and  others,  were  equally  determined  that  the  king  in 
England  should  not  be  a  despot.  The  struggle  in  Parlia 
ment  continued  in  words  for  many  years  ;  till,  in  1640, 
Charles  marched  his  soldiers  into  Parliament,  to  seize  the 
seven  obnoxious  members  ;  violating  the  privileges  of  the 
House,  and  his  own  solemn  pledge  to  his  ministers  that  he 
would  only  act  with  their  advice.  Then  Laud  and  Straf- 
ford  lost  their  heads,  and  the  country  was  plunged  into 
armed  strife.  The  result  was,  the  king  left  London.  The 
country  was  divided  into  the  King's  party  and  the  Parlia 
ment's  party,  and  Civil  War  (began  in  August,  1642) 
continued  till  Charles  was  taken  prisoner.  Then  various 
attempts  were  made  at  a  reconciliation,  but  Charles  (re 
spectable  as  he  was  for  private  virtues)  falsified  his  prom 
ises  ;  he  did  not  hold  his  word  as  binding,  and  repeatedly 
betrayed  those  who  trusted  his  public  pledges.  A  High 
Court  was  convened,  composed  of  some  sixty  members  of 
Parliament,  before  which  Charles  was  brought  to  trial, 
accused  of  crimes  against  the  nation,  and  sentenced  to 


TnK  KEGICIDE8 
FLY  FROM  EN 
GLAND  TO  ALL 

LANDS. 


300  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1660. 

death.  He  was  beheaded  in  front  of  Whitehall,  in  1649, 
and  for  a  few  years  the  government  was  in  the  stern  but 
steady  hand  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Bat  the  people  of  En 
gland  were  used  to  the  style  of  a  "  King,  Lords,  and  Com 
mons  ;" — they  were  not  used  to  the  rigid  discipline  of  the 
Puritans,  and  remembering  only  the  pleasant  things  of 
the  past,  they  sighed  for  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  as  the 
Jews  had  done  before.  The  aristocracy  saw  their  places 
usurped  by  unknown,  and,  in  some  cases,  ignoble,  men  ; 
and  after  Cromwell's  death,  the  nation  hastened  to  pros 
trate  itself  at  the  feet  of  Charles's  son — who  became  the 
most  dissolute  and  corrupt  king  that  England  had  ever 
enjoyed  or  suffered. 

When  that  time  came  (1660),  the  friends  of 
Cromwell  had  no  safety  in  England  ;  but  more 
than  all,  were  the  Kegicides  in  danger,  and 
many  fled.    Two  of  them,  Colonel  Whaley  and 
Colonel  GofFe,  arrived  in  New  England,  on  the  27th  of 
July,  1660,  and  with  Colonel  Dixwell,  who  came  after 
ward,  are  now  known  as  the  REGICIDES. 

The  sympathies  of  most  of  the  people  in  New  England 
had  been  with  the  Parliament,  not  with  the  King  ;  for 
they  had  felt  the  power  of  Church  and  State,  and  were 
hopeful  of  better  things,  from  the  stand  which  had  been 
made  against  it.  The  Regicides  made  no  attempt  at  con 
cealment  on  their  arrival,  but  waited  upon  Governor  En- 
dicott,  and  were  visited  and  well-received,  by  the  first 
men  in  Boston.  Even  the  children  knew  them,  and  as 
they  walked  in  the  streets,  said  to  one  another,  "There, 
look,  those  are  two  of  Cromwell's  men  !" 

They  were  grave,  serious,  and  brave,  and  knew  their 
danger,  though  they  were  not  the  most  obnoxious  to  the 
new  King's  friends  ;  but  the  trying  and  killing  of  a  King, 
was  a  strange  thing  in  History,  and  his  friends  could  not  be 
expected  to  spare  them,  when  they  got  power,  as  they  now 
had.  However,  Whaley  and  GofYe  lived  quietly  through 
the  Autumn,  and  walked  together  in  the  beautiful  woods, 


A.D.  1660.]  THE    KING'S   JUDGES — REGICIDES.  801 

which  crowned  the  hills  (now  Mount  Auburn),  and  fringed 
the  borders  of  Fresh  Pond,  speculating  as  to  what  might 
be  their  fate  ;  perhaps  an  act  of  indemnity  might  spare 
them  ;  but  if  not,  to  whom  could  they  fly  ?  On  Lord's- 
days  and  Fast-days,  they  went  publicly  to  meetings,  and 
sat  among  the  old  men  ;  many  looked  upon  them  with  re 
spect,  many  with  pity,  and  some  with  dislike.  GofTe  kept 
a  diary  through  seven  years,  from  which,  Hutchinson1  has 
preserved  some  facts.  In  November,  the  act  of  indemnity 
reached  the  Colony,  and  then  it  appeared  that  they  were 
NOT  pardoned  ;  some  of  the  leading  men  in  Boston  be 
came  alarmed,  and  spoke  among  themselves,  as  to  the 
harm  that  might  come  to  the  Colony  for  allowing  shelter 
and  protection,  to  these  condemned  men  ;  and  it  became 
a  question,  whether  the  Magistrates  were  not  bound  to 
secure  them.  In  February  (22d),  the  Court  of  Assistants 
was  called  together  by  the  Governor,  to  consider  the  mat 
ter  ;  but  the  policy  of  the  Magistrates  had  always  been, 
to  postpone  and  protract,  and  so,  in  the  end,  procure  their 
own  way  ;  and  now  some  said, 

"  It  will  be  time  enough  to  take  extreme  action,  when 
we  are  required  to  do  it."  And  there  the  matter  then 
rested.  But  Whaley  and  GrofTe  were  warned  that  they 
might  not  be  safe,  should  a  requisition  from  England  ar 
rive,  and  that  their  friends  might  not  be  able  to  protect 
them  ;  so,  on  the  26th  of  February,  they  left  Cambridge, 
and  for  the  next  two  weeks,  in  broken,  bitter  weather, 
made  their  way  South,  to  New  Haven.  They  had  hardly 
gone,  when  there  came  from  England,  a  "  Hue  and  cry," 
demanding  their  bodies,  as  Traitors,  and  the  Court  felt 
bound  to  issue  a  warrant,  and  to  make  some  effort  to  se 
cure  them  (March,  1660-61);  but  it  was  too  late,  they 
were  beyond  reach. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  Davenport,  the 
Minister  at  New  Haven,  received  them,  and 
stood  by  them,  and  so  did  the  people  there  ; 
they  believed  that  in  punishing  Charles,  justice 

1  YoL  i.,  214. 


302  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1661. 

was  done,  and  they  were  not  ready  to  deliver  these  fugi 
tives,  to  vindictive  and  sudden  death  for  the  part  they 
had  taken  against  him.  But  word  of  the  King's  Procla 
mation  came  through  the  wild  country,  and  reached  New 
Haven  in  course  of  a  month,  and  many  were  troubled  ;  so 
Whaley  and  GofFe  left  New  Haven,  and  showed  themselves 
in  Milford,  and  told  who  they  were,  and  then  disappeared. 
Toward  the  end  of  April,  news  came  to  Boston,  that  ten 
of  the  Kegicides  were  executed,  and  that  the  Magistrates 
there,  must  seize  and  send  over,  Whaley  and  GofFe  ;  and 
then  there  was  alarm.  To  save  themselves  from  accusa 
tion,  the  Magistrates  now  gave  a  Commission  to  Kellond 
and  Kirk,  two  zealous  young  royalists,  to  scour  the  coun 
try,  and  search,  and  seize,  the  fugitives  ;  with  their  guides 
they  made  their  way  through  the  untraveled  country,  to 
New  Haven,  where  they  had  reason  to  believe  they  should 
unearth  their  game.  Where  were  the  Kegicides  ?  Se 
curely  sheltered  and  cared-for,  in  the  house  of  the  Minis 
ter  John  Davenport,  at  New  Haven.  Fast  friends  had 
brought  them  word,  that  Kellond  and  Kirk  were  hot  in 
pursuit.  They  came,  they  searched,  they  brought  letters 
to  Governor  Leete,  at  Guilford,  who  showed  alacrity,  but 
did  not  discover  the  Kegicides  ;  they  offered  rewards,  they 
hired  Indians  to  catch  them.  The  fugitives  were  not  then 
in  the  cellar,  nor  in  the  garret,  of  Mr.  Davenport's  house  ? 
No,  they  had  slipped  away  with  Sperry  and  Burril ;  and 
as  the  story  goes,  had  once  a  narrow  escape,  being  under 
the  bridge  of  Mill-river,  when  Kirk  and  Kellond  spurred 
over  it. 

The  young  royalists  spared  no  pains  to  take 
them,  but  the  Kegicides  and  their  friends  were 
loo  subtle  to  be  caught ;  and  their  hiding-place 
was  the  nest  of  rocks  on  the  top  of  "  West 
Kock  ;"  known  to  this  day  as  "  The  Judges'  Cave."  There 
they  stayed  nigh  a  month,  food  being  brought  by  friends. 
The  pursuers  searched  the  country  as  far  as  Manhadoes 
(New  York),  and  then  returned  to  Boston,  threatening 


THE 

JUDGES' CAVE 

ON  WEST 
BOCK. 


A.D.  1664.]         THE    KING'S   JUDGES — REGICIDES.  303 

vengeance  against  Mr.  Davenport.  The  Minister  said, 
"  I  will  not  bewray  the  outcast,  nor  deliver  the  wanderer. 
A  few  men,  their  enemies,  may  declare  them  guilty  of 
death  ;  I  do  not  think  them  so.  I  will  judge  for  myself, 
and  I  will  not  help  deliver  them  to  destruction/'  He 
knew  that  he  might  be  condemned  to  fine,  imprisonment, 
and  even  death,  yet  he  would  not  yield  the  sacred  right 
and  duty,  of  judgment  and  action.  When  the  Kegicides 
heard  of  his  danger,  they  carne  down  and  showod  them 
selves  in  New  Haven,  and  privately  informed  Governor 
Leete  that  they  would  yield  themselves,  rather  than  any 
should  come  to  harm.  Through  some  months  they  lived 
a  dreary  life  in  the  Rocks,  and  then,  for  two  years,  were 
concealed  in  Thomkins's  house,  near  Milforcl,  their  only 
exercises  being  religious.  But  on  the  arrival,  in  1664,  of 
the  King's  Commissioners,  in  Boston,  they  again  sought 
their  cave  ;  where,  after  a  few  days,  some  hunting  Indians 
accidentally  discovered  them,  and  they  were  there  no  longer 
safe  ;  then  they  disappeared,  and  for  some  fifteen  years, 
few  persons  knew  where  they  were. 

They  themselves  read  in  some  English  papers,  that  they 
were  dead  in  Switzerland,  which  news  they  enjoyed  ; 
but  they  did  not  dare  leave  their  hiding-place,  for  the 
friends  of  the  King  were  every  day  grasping  more  and 
more  of  the  power  in  the  Colonies.  In  1664  [Feb.  10], 
Colonel  Dixwell,  another  of  the  Regicides,  joined  them  at 
their  hiding-place,  but  it  is  not  known  how  he  escaped 
from  England.  With  them  he  continued  for  some  years  ; 
and  then  there  came  to  New  Haven  one  James  Davids, 
Esquire,  who  married  and  lived  peacefully,  leaving  one 
son,  whose  descendants  now  respect  his  name,  which  was 
John  Dixwell.  A  handsome  monument  erected  by  one  of 
them,  marks  the  place  of  his  burial  on  the  New  Haven 
Green. 

During  the  King  Philip's  war,  the  people  of  the  town 
of  Hadley,  in  Massachusetts,  while  at  Church,  were  thrown 
into  consternation  by  the  onset  and  war-whoop  of  the  In- 


304  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1679. 

dians,  and  were  distracted,  having  no  leader.  Suddenly, 
a  grave,  elderly  man  appeared  among  them  ;  he  put  him 
self  at  their  head,  rallied,  encouraged,  and  instructed 
them,  and  the  Indians  were  repulsed.  Hadley  was  saved, 
hut  where  was  their  deliverer  ?  He  was  not  to  be  found. 
The  people  were  surprised  and  alarmed,  and  some  said 
that  he  was  a  supernatural  visitant.  It  was  Colonel  GofTe 
who  had  led  them  on  to  defense  and  victory.1 

He  and  Whaley  had  been  received  and  concealed  by 
Mr.  Kussell,  the  Minister  of  the  place.  G-offe  had  kept  up 
a  correspondence  with  his  wife  in  England,  through  which 
he  and  Whaley  received  money,  as  they  did  from  Richard 
Saltonstall  and  some  others  in  the  Colony.  There  GofTe 
lived  till  about  the  year  1679  (Whaley  having  died  some 
years  before),  banished  from  society  and  from  all  useful 
occupation.  Life  was  to  them  a  burden,  and  death,  when 
it  came,  a  relief. 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.    Stiles's  Judges.    Hazard,  vol.  ii. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

THE    INDIANS. 

THE  COUNTRY  DESOLATE  —  WIN8LOW  AND  COBATANT  —  THEIR  WOMEN  —  THEIR  CHILDREN  — 
A  BELLE  8QUAW—  BEGGARS—  GAMBLING—  IN  SICKNESS—  THEIR  SPEECHES—  WAR^THEER 
DRESS  —  THEIR  RELIGION  —  KIETAN  AND  HOBBAMOCK  —  THE  COMMANDMENTS  —  POWOWS 

—  ORIGIN      OF     EVIL  —  SACRIFICES  —  BURIAL  —  BELIEFS  —  THEIR      GOVERNMENT  —  SACHEMS 
AND   SAGAMORES  —  DISEASES  —  THEIR  FOOD  —  DREAMS  —  THEIR   HOUSES  —  THEIR    KINDNESS 

—  GOOKIN'S  SUMMARY—  TREATMENT  OF  INDIANS  —  MASON  AND  8A8SACU8  —  AGGRAVATION 

—  NLNIGRETT  —  LANDS  —  PLOTS  —  SLAVES  —  WANALAUNSET. 

HISTORY  says  that  two  things,  about  equally  potent, 
destroyed  the  Indian  nations  of  America  : 

First.  They  were  in  the  way  of  the  whites. 

Second.  They  learned  to  love  Hum. 

A  blazing  star  had  appeared,  some  four  years 
before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  which,  to      THE 
credulous  minds,  foreboded  dreadful   disaster. 

' 

A  plague  and  destruction  of  the  Indians  fol-  ARRIVED. 
lowed,  and  they  were  swept  off,  so  that  when 
the  Pilgrims  landed,  they  found  the  country  nigh  desolate; 
and  it  was  easy  for  some  of  the  Pilgrims  to  believe,  that 
God  had  killed  off  the  Indians  to  make  room  for  them  ;  so 
many  reasoned.  As  it  was,  the  weakness  of  the  Indians 
removed  one  obstacle  to  the  permanent  occupation  of  the 
country  by  the  whites.  Some  short  extracts  from  the 
writings  of  persons  who  were  among  them,  will  best  inform 
us  of  the  Indians  and  their  habits. 

Edward  Winslow,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  England, 
thus  speaks  of  the  untamed  children  of  the  New  England 
forests  :  "  We  have  found  the  Indians  very  faithful  in 
their  covenant  of  peace  with  us,  very  loving  and  ready  to 
pleasure  us.  We  often  go  to  them,  and  they  come  to  us. 
Some  of  us  have  been  fifty  miles  by  land  in  the  country 


LATE  WHEN 

THE  PILGRIMS 


306  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1622. 

with  them.  Yea,  it  hath  pleased  God  so  to  possess  the 
Indians  with  the  fear  of  us,  and  love  unto  us,  that  not 
only  the  greatest  King  amongst  them,  called  Massasoit, 
but  also  all  the  princes  and  people  round  about  us,  have 
either  made  suit  unto  us,  or  been  glad  of  any  occasion  to 
make  peace  with  us  ;  so  that  seven  of  them,  at  once,  have 
sent  their  messengers  unto  us,  to  that  end.  Yea,  an  isle 
of  the  sea,  which  we  never  saw,  hath  also,  together  with 
the  former  (  ?  ),  yielded  willingly  to  be  under  the  protec 
tion,  and  subject  to,  our  Sovereign  Lord,  King  James  ;  so 
that  there  is  now  great  peace  among  the  Indians  them 
selves,  which  was  not  formerly,  neither  would  have  been 
but  for  us  ;  and  we,  for  our  parts,  walk  as  peaceably  and 
safely  in  the  wood,  as  in  the  highway  in  England.  We 
entertain  them  familiarly  in  our  Houses,  and  they  are 
friendly  in  bestowing  their  venison  upon  us.  They  are  a 
people  without  any  religion,  yet  very  trusty,  quick  of  ap 
prehension,  ripe-witted,  just."  J 

Winslow  and  Hampden,  on  their  return  from  a  visit  to 
Massasoit,  spent  the  night  with  Cobatant,  at  Mattapuyst. 
Winslow  describes  it  thus  :  "  By  the  way,  I  had  much 
conference  with  him,  so  likewise  at  his  house — he  being  a 
notable  politician,  and  full  of  merry  jests  and  squibs,  and 
never  better  pleased  than  when  the  like  are  returned  upon 
him.  He  demanded  further,  how  we  durst,  being  but  two, 
come  so  far  into  the  country  ?  I  answered,  where  was 
true  love,  there  was  no  fear  ;  and  my  heart  was  so  upright 
towards  them,  that  for  mine  own  part  I  was  fearless  to 
come  amongst  them.  But  said  he,  if  your  love  be  such, 
and  it  bring  forth  such  fruits,  how  cometh  it  to  pass,  that 
when  we  come  to  Patuxet  [Plymouth],  you  stand  upon 
your  guard,  with  the  mouths  of  your  pieces  presented 
towards  us  ?  Whereupon,  I  answered,  it  was  the  honor 
able  and  respective  entertainment  we  could  give  them  ;  it 
being  an  order  amongst  us,  so  to  receive  our  best  respected 
friends  ;  but  shaking  his  head,  he  answered,  that  he  liked 

1  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims,  p.  232. 


A.D.  1672.]  THE   INDIANS.  307 

not  such  salutations."  Cobatant  was  no  fool,  and  Winslow 
was  not  quite  true  with  him.  He  liked  all  the  Command 
ments,  he  said,  but  the  seventh,  thinking  it  might  be  very 
inconvenient  to  be  tied  to  one  woman  ;  though  the  In 
dians,  for  savages,  were  remarkable  for  chastity.  Of  their 
Women,  we  read  as  follows  : 

In  the  "  Relation  of  our  voyage  to  Massachusetts/'  this 
little  incident  finds  a  place.  "  Having  well  spent  the 
day,  we  returned  to  the  Shallop,  almost  all  the  women 
accompanying  us  to  trucke,  who  sold  their  coats  from  their 
backs,  and  tied  boughs  about  them,  but  with  great 
shamefastness  (for  indeed  they  are  more  modest  than 
some  of  our  English  women  are),  etc."  Josselyn  says 
the  same  of  them.1  Their  women  were  their  drudges.3 
They  hoed  corn  ;  they  gathered  wood,  carried  the  lug 
gage,  etc. ;  yet  they  seem  not  to  have  been  subject  to 
cruelty,  unless  this  was  one.  But  they  throve  so  sur 
prisingly  under  it,  that  the  pains  of  child-birth  were  noth 
ing,  not  enough  to  excite  a  groan  (?),  and  in  two  days 
the  women  were  again  at  their  work.  Williams  states 
that  the  children  were  born  white,  neither  of  which  state 
ments  should  be  received  as  true.  Most  men  had  but  one 
wife  (though  polygamy  was  not  forbidden),  and  to  her 
they  were  constant.  Their  affections  toward  children  were 
strong,  so  that  Williams  says,  he  has  known  a  father  to 
cut  and  stab  himself  with  grief  and  rage,  at  the  loss  of  a 
child.  Josselyn,  in  his  New  England  Rarities  (London,  1672) 
thus  gives  his  account  of  what  he  saw  among  the  Indians  : 

"  The  men  are  somewhat  Horse  Fac'd,  and 
generally  Faucious  ;    that  is,  without  beards  ;     DESCRIPTION 
but  the  women,  many  of  them,  have  very  good     °FS<£TAI^LIJI 
Features,  seldom  without  a  Come  to  me  or  Cor 
Amoris  in  their  countenance  ;    all  of  them  black-eyed, 
having  even  short  teeth,  and  very  white  ;  their  hair  black, 
thick    and    long ;    broad-breasted ;    handsome,  straight 

1  Josselyn,  Voyages. 

a  Winslow's  Good  Newa     Higginson's  N.  E.  Plantation. 


NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOBT.  [A.!>.  1672. 

bodies,  and  slender,  considering  their  constant  loose 
habit  ;  their  limbs  cleanly,  straight,  and  of  a  convenient 
stature,  generally  as  plump  as  Partridges,  and,  saving 
here  and  there  one,  of  a  modest  deportment.  Their  gar 
ments  are  a  pair  of  sleeves  of  Deer  or  Moose-skin  drest, 
and  drawn  with  lines  of  several  Colours  into  Asiatic 
works,  with  Buskins  of  the  same,  a  short  Mantle  of 
Trading  Cloath,  either  Blew  or  Red,  fastened  with  a 
Knot  under  the  Chin,  and  girt  about  the  middle  with  a 
Zone,  wrought  with  white  and  blue  Beads  into  Pretty 
Works.  Of  these  Beads  they  have  Bracelets  for  their 
Neck  and  Arms,  and  Links  to  hang  in  their  Ears,  and  a 
fair  Table,  curiously  made  up  with  Beads  likewise,  to  wear 
before  their  Breast.  Their  Hair  they  Combe  backward, 
and  tye  it  up  short  with  a  Border,  about  two  handfulls 
broad,  wrought  in  Works  as  the  others  with  their  Beads." 
Such  was  the  appearance  of  a  belle  Squaw  in  1672. 
BEGGARS  and  neglected  children  were  not  known  among 
them.  Their  women  seem  to  have  been  peculiar,  in  that 
two  families  could  live  in  the  same  small  house  without 
quarreling.  The  principal  wife  of  the  Sachem  ruled  the 
rest;  she  was  equal  to  him  in  birth,  otherwise  " their  seed 
would  become  in  time  ignoble."  They  loved  Excitement 
of  all  kinds,  and  especially  that  of  GAMBLING,  which  they 
did  with  a  kind  of  dice  ;  and  villages  would  often  pit 
themselves  against  one  another.  Inveterate  gamblers 
asked  the  aid  of  the  gods,  and  were  fond  of  a  sort  of 
charm — a  chrystal,  which  they  believed  to  be  a  piece  of 
thunderbolt,  and  kept  it  by  them.  Williams,  in  his  sim 
ple  way,  says,  "  I  have  not  heard  any  of  these  prove 
losers."  "  It  happened,"  says  Winslow,  "  that  two  of 
their  men  fell  out  as  they  were  in  game  (for  they  use 
gaming  as  much  as  anywhere,  and  will  play  away  all, 
even  their  skin  from  their  backs  ;  yea,  and  for  their  wife's 
skins  also,  as  I  have  seen),  and,  growing  to  great  heat, 
killed  one  another,  etc." 1 

1  Winslow,  Good  News,  p.  22. 


•WHAT  WAS 
THEIR  MEN- 
TAJL  CAPACI- 


A.D.  1636.]  THE    INDIANS.  309 

IN  SICKNESS  the  Indians  were  very  attentive  to  one  an 
other,  till  their  death  or  recovery.  "  If  any  die,  night 
and  morning  they  mourn  for  them  many  days  in  a  c  most 
doleful  manner/  so  as  to  draw  tears  from  their  eyes,  al 
most  from  ours  also." 

Another  custom  is  thus  indicated  :  "  Now,  it  bein^  a 

o 

commendable  manner  of  the  Indians,  when  any  (especially 
of  note)  are  dangerously  sick,  for  all  that  profess  friend 
ship  to  them,  to  visit  them  in  their  extremity.1  When 
Massasoit  was  sick,  the  tenderness  and  sorrow  of  the  In 
dians  was  very  great.  Hobbamock  broke  forth,  "  My 
loving  Sachem,  my  loving  Sachem  !  many  have  I  known, 
but  never  any  like  thee."  "  He  was  no  lyar — he  was  not 
bloody  and  cruel,  like  other  Indians."  2 

Williams  concluded  that,  "in  quick  appre 
hensions  and  accurate  judgments,  to  say  no 
more,  the  most  high  and  sovereign  God  and  TALT°T?P 
Creator  hath  not  made  them  inferior  to  Eu 
ropeans."  They  delighted  in  news,  and  would  sit  around 
with  their  pipes,  listening  in  deep  silence  to  him  who 
spoke.  So  Paul  found  it  with  the  Athenians  and  Caesar 
with  the  Gauls.  These  circles  often  contained  a  thou 
sand,  and  their  speakers  were  copious  and  emphatic, 
using  action,  sometimes  for  an  hour  and  more  at  a  time. 
When  Williams  spoke  of  the  friendship  of  the  Whites, 
Cobatant  took  a  stick,  and  bioke  it  in  ten  pieces  ;  as  he 
laid  down  each  piece,  he  related  an  instance  which  gave 
him  cause  to  fear,  and  to  say  this  was  not  so  ;  and  Wil 
liams  could  not  wholly  answer  him.  Two  brief  speeches 
of  Indians  on  record  may  be  interesting  ;  but  it  is  evident 
th.vt  they  are  constrained,  and  are  not  such  as  they  made 
to  themselves. 

Boudinot3  describes  the  Speech  of  the  Indian  Chief  at 
New  York  to  General  Knox  in  1789.  He  seemed  much 
dejected  at  looking  at  the  City,  and  said, 

1  Winslow,  Good  Ne^vs,  p.  26.  2  Winslow,  Good  News,  p.  27. 

3  Star  of  the  West.     Trenton,  1816. 


310  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  IT "74. 

"  I  have  been  looking  at  your  beautiful  City — the  great 
Water — your  fine  country,  and  see  how  happy  you  all  are. 
But  then  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  this  fine  coun 
try,  and  this  great  water,  were  once  ours.  Our  ancestors 
lived  here — they  enjoyed  it  as  their  own  in  peace.  It 
was  the  gift  of  the  Great  Spirit  to  themselves  and  their 
children.  At  last  the  white  people  came  here  in  a  great 
canoe. 

"  They  asked  only  to  let  them  tie  it  to  a  tree,  lest  the 
waters  should  carry  it  away  ;  we  consented.  Then  they 
said  some  of  their  people  were  sick,  and  they  asked  per 
mission  to  land  them,  and  put  them  under  the  shade  of 
the  trees,  The  ice  came,  and  they  could  not  go  away. 
They  then  begged  for  a  piece  of  land  to  build  wigwams 
for  the  winter.  We  granted  it  to  them.  They  then 
asked  for  some  corn  to  keep  them  from  starving.  We 
kindly  furnished  it  to  them,  they  promising  to  go  away 
when  the  ice  was  gone. 

"  When  this  happened,  we  told  them  they  must  go 
away  with  their  big  Canoe  ;  but  they  pointed  to  their 
big  guns  round  their  wigwams,  and  said  they  would  stay 
there,  and  we  could  not  make  them  go  away. 

"  Afterward  more  came. 

"  They  brought  spirituous  and  intoxicating  liquors  with 
them,  of  which  the  Indians  became  very  fond.  They  per 
suaded  us  to  sell  them  some  land.  Finally,  they  drove 
us  back  from  time  to  time  into  the  wilderness,  far  from 
the  water  and  the  fish  and  the  oysters.  They  have  de 
stroyed  the  game — our  people  have  wasted  away,  and  now 
we  live  miserable  and  wretched,  while  you  are  enjoying 
our  fine  and  beautiful  country,  This  makes  me  sorry, 
brethren !  and  I  can  not  help  it." — p.  137. 

Such  was  the  speech  of  a  man  who  had  had  intercourse 
with  whites.  These  speeches  were  usually  sententious, 
and  full  of  metaphor. 

This  was  the  talk  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians  (1774). 

"  Brother !"  said  Uhpaunnouwaumet,  "  we  have  heard 


A.D.  1774.]  THE   INDIANS.  311 

you  speak  by  your  letter.  We  thank  you  for  it.  We 
now  make  answer  : 

"  Brothers  !  you  remember  when  you  first  came  over 
the  great  waters.  I  was  great,  and  you  was  little,  very 
small.  I  then  took  you  in  for  a  friend,  and  kept  you 
under  my  arms,  so  that  none  might  injure  you.  Since 
that  time  we  have  ever  been  true  friends.  There  has 
never  been  any  quarrel  between  us. 

"  But  now  our  Conditions  are  changed.  You  have  be 
come  great  and  tall.  You  reach  the  clouds.  You  are 
seen  all  around  the  world  ;  I  am  become  small,  veiy 
little.  I  am  not  so  high  as  your  heel.  Now  you  take 
care  of  me,  and  I  look  to  you  for  protection." 

He  can  not  understand  the  quarrel,  but  will  stand  by 
the  New  England  people  ;  but  he  says  : 

"  Brothers  !  one  thing  I  ask  of  you,  if  you  send  for 
me  to  fight,  that  you  will  let  me  fight  in  my  own  Indian 
way.  I  am  not  used  to  fight  English  fashion.  Therefore 
you  must  not  expect  me  to  train  like  your  men.  Only 
point  out  to  me  where  your  enemies  keep — that  is  what 
I  want  to  know." l 

IN  WAR,  it  was  the  part  of  a  brave  man  to  follow  his 
arrow  when  it  hit,  and  to  seize  and  cut  off  quickly  the 
head  of  his  enemy  ;  and  with  their  enemies'  heads  and 
hands  they  ornamented  their  dwellings.  Though  they 
were  subject  to  pestilences,  and  to  rheumatisms,  and  to 
the  tooth-ache,  yet  under  excitement  they  seem  to  have 
had  great  powers  of  body ;  as  Williams  states,  he  has 
known  many  to  travel  on  foot  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
miles  of  a  summer's  day,  and  without  injury.  "In  our 
first  war  with  the  Indians,"  says  Eliot,  "  God  pleased  to 
show  us  the  vanity  of  our  military  skill,  in  managing  our 
arms  after  the  European  method.  Now  we  are  willing  to 
learn  the  skulking  way  of  war,  and  what  God's  end  is" 
(quaintly  adds  the  Eeverend  Eliot),  "  in  teaching  us  such 
a  way  of  discipline,  I  know  not."2 

1  Ward's  History  of  Shrewsbury.     Boston,  1847. 
a  Letter  to  Robert  Boyle,  M.  H.  C.,  vol.  iii. 


312  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

War  was  the  only  noble  occupation  for  men  among 
them,  and  the  best  fighter  was  the  greatest  man  ;  as  to 
this  day  he  is  among  the  French  and  other  white  people. 
Their  war-dances  are  too  well  known  to  need  description. 
Among  them  a  man  is  not  accounted  a  man  until  he  doth 
some  notable  act.  The  men  take  much  tobacco,  "  but  for 
boys  so  to  do,  they  count  it  odious/'  Their  chastity  is 
remarkable.  They  keep  account  of  time  by  the  moon, 
and  know  divers  stars  by  name,  in  particular  the  north 
star,  which  they  call  "  maske,"  or  the  bear.  "  They  are 
weather-wise  also."1 

THEIR  DRESS  was  simply  a  waist-cloth  and  a  mantle  of 
skin  or  cloth,  which  was  commonly  laid  aside.  Yet  na 
kedness  did  not  result  in  indelicacy,  for  Williams  says,  "  I 
huve  never  seen  that  wantonness  among  them  as  with 
grief  I  have  heard  of  in  Europe/'  That  they  were  fond  of 
dress,  as  all  uncivilized  and  most  civilized  people  are,  is  a 
matter  of  course,  and  cheap  ornaments  of  glass  or  metal 
could  buy  from  them  their  choicest  furs.2 

Like  all  nations,  they  had  a  religion  and  a 
belief  of  a°d-  Winslow  saw  reason  to  change 
his  opinion,  "that  the  Indians  were  without 
religion  ;"  for  he  says,  "  therein  I  erred,  for  as  they  con 
ceive  of  many  divine  powers,  so  of  ONE,  whom  they  call 
KiEHTAN,8  to  be  the  principal,  and  maker  of  all  the  rest, 
and  to  have  been  made  by  none.  He,  they  say,  created 
the  heavens,  earth,  sea,  and  all  creatures  contained  there 
in  ;  also  that  he  made  one  man  and  one  woman,  of  whom 
they,  and  we,  and  all  mankind  came  ;  but  how  they  be 
came  so  far  dispersed,  they  know  not.  At  first,  they  say, 
there  was  no  sachem  or  king  but  Kiehtan,  who  dwelleth 
above  in  the  heavens,  whither  all  good  men  go  when  they 
die,  to  see  their  friends,  and  have  their  fill  of  all  things." 
"  Another  power  they  worship,  whom  they  call  Hobba- 
mock  ; — this,  so  far  as  we  can  conceive,  is  the  devil.  Him 
they  call  upon  to  cure  their  wounds  and  diseases." 

J  Winslow's  Good  News.  2  Roger  Williams's  Key. 

3  This  was  the  Manitou,  or  "  Great  Spirit." 


A.D.  1637.]  THE   INDIANS.  313 

"  Further,  observing  us  to  crave  a  blessing  on  our  meat, 
before  we  did  eat,  and  after  to  give  thanks  for  the  same, 
he  asked  us  what  was  the  meaning  of  that  ordinary  cus 
tom.  Hereupon  I  took  occasion  to  tell  them  of  God's 
works  of  creation  and  preservation,  of  his  laws  and  ordi 
nances,  especially  of  the  ten  commandments  :  all  of  which 
they  hearkened  unto  with  great  attention,  and  liked  well 
of:  only  the  seventh  commandment  they  objected  against, 
thinking  there  were  many  inconveniences  in  it,  that  a  man 
should  be  tied  to  one  woman  ;  about  which  we  reasoned  a 
good  time.  Also  I  told  them  that  whatsoever  good  things 
we  had,  we  received  from  God,  as  the  author  and  giver 
thereof,  and  therefore  craved  his  blessing  upon  that  we 
had,  and  were  about  to  eat,  that  it  might  nourish  and 
strengthen  our  bodies."  "  This  all  of  them  concluded  to 
be  very  well ;  and  said  they  believed  almost  all  the  same 
things,  and  that  the  same  power  we  called  God,  they 
called  Kiehtan."  So  writes  Winslow,  apparently  much 
pleased. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  their  belief  in  Manitou  or  Manit 
(or  Kiehtan),  the  Great  God,  and  to  him  some  seem  to 
have  referred  all  good,  because  he  was  pleased,  and  all 
evil,  because  he  was  angry  ;  a  solution  of  the  "  origin  of 
evil"  which  has  one  great  merit,  namely,  brevity.  But 
they  branched  their  gods  into  many  parts,  and  if  they  had 
been  a  Church-going  people,  would  have  been  split  into 
many  sects.  Their  powaws,  like  other  priests,  led  their 
invocations  with  strange  gestures,  even  unto  fainting,  and 
were  principally  useful  in  sickness.  "  They  do  bewitch 
the  people,"  Williams  says,  "  and  not  only  take  their 
money,  but  do  most  certainly,  by  the  help  of  the  devil, 
work  great  cures  :"  but  he  says,  "  commonly  they  die 
under  their  hands  ;"  so  they  or  the  devil  must  have  been 
poor  doctors.  In  modern  times,  division  of  labor  prevails, 
and  between  priests,  doctors,  and  the  devil,  we  may  well 
hope  that  the  latter  gets  no  more  than  his  share.  They 
laid  their  dead  by  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  and  then  sat 

14 


314  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

down  and  wept,  tears  running  down  the  faces  of  the  stout 
est  captains,  as  well  as  of  little  children.  "  The  principal 
office  of  the  poiuali  or  pow-wow  is  to  call  upon  the  devil, 
and  to  cure  diseases.  Many  sacrifices  the  Indians  use, 
and  in  some  cases  kill  children."1  (This  last  statement 
needs  confirmation.)  The  Narragansetts  make  great  of 
ferings  of  their  goods,  which  the  priests  burn  in  one  great 
holocaust.  The  devil  was  believed  to  strengthen  and  pro 
tect  the  chiefs,  and  to  appear  familiarly  to  them.  "  Their 
sachems  are  commonly  men  of  the  greatest  stature,  such 
as  will  endure  most  hardness,  yet  are  more  discreet,  cour 
teous,  and  humane  in  their  carriages  than  any  among 
them,  scorning  theft,  lying,  and  the  like  base  dealings  ; 
and  stand  as  much  upon  their  reputation  as  any  man." 
A  style  of  Kuler  not  then  extant  in  Europe. 

When  the  son  of  Canonicus  died,  all  his  favorite  weap 
ons  and  articles  were  buried  with  him,  and  then  the  father, 
in  sign  of  his  great  grief,  and  in  humble  expiation  to  the 
gods,  burned  down  his  palace,  and  all  his  goods  to  a  great 
value.  One  peculiarity  these  savages  had  which  may  well 
be  noted  : — "  A  modest  religious  persuasion,  not  to  dis 
turb  English,  Dutch,  or  any  in  their  conscience  or  wor 
ship."  They  believed  also,  in  the  after-life,  that  the  good 
would  go  to  the  South-west,  and  have  a  good  time ;  while 
murderers,  thieves,  and  liars,  would  wander  restless.2 

Their  society  was  clannish.  At  the  time  of 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  they  were  divided 
into  some  twenty  tribes,  extending  from  Maine 
to  New  York,  ranged  under  their  Chiefs  or  Sagamores  ; 
counting,  in  fighting  men,  from  twenty  up  to  some  hun 
dreds  to  each.  The  principal  of  these,  were  the  Tarra- 
tines,  about  the  Kennebeck  ;  the  Wampanoags,  in  ]\f  as- 
sachusetts  ;  the  Narragansetts,  the  Mohegans,  and  the 
Pequods,  on  Long  Island  Sound  ;  and  the  Senecas  and 
Mohawks,  to  the  West  and  North  of  these.3 

1  Winslow's  Good  News,  p.  55.  2  Roger  Williams's  Key. 

3  Hubbard's  History,  p.  33. 


THEIR     GOV 
ERNMENT. 


A.D.  1643.]  THE   INDIANS.  315 

Their  Government  was  a  simple  Monarchy,  or  rather  a 
patriarchal  state  ;  for  the  Sachem  concluded  no  important 
thing — wars,  laws,  or  subsidies — to  which  the  people  were 
decidedly  adverse.  As  murders,  robberies,  adulteries,  and 
such  like,  common  "  among  the  English,"  were  not  com 
mon  with  them,  the  duties  of  the  Sachem,  were  light. 
So  that  even  Indian  History  shows,  how  crimes  are  nearly 
all  offenses  against  property,  and  grow  out  of  that  hunger 
for  wealth  ;  every  man  wanting  to  get,  or  to  keep,  more 
than  his  share. 

Higginson  said,  "  The  greatest  Saggamores  among  us, 
can  not  make  above  three  hundred  men  (fighting  men), 
and  other  less  Saggamores,  have  not  above  fifteen  sub 
jects,  and  others,  near  us,  but  two."1 

From  MorelFs  Poem,  on  New  England,  we  take  as  fol 
lows: 

"  Their  Kings  give  laws,  rewards  to  those  they  give, 
That  in  good  order,  and  high  service  live; 
The  aged  widow,  and  the  orphans,  all 
Their  Kings  maintaine,  and  strangers,  when  they  call. 
The  next  in  order,  are  their  well-seen  men, 
In  herbs,  and  roots,  and  plants,  for  medicine, 
"With  which,  by  touch — with  clamours,  teares,  and  sweat, 
With  their  curst  magick,  as  themselves  they  beat, 
They  ease — but  when  they  cannot  save, 
But  are  by  death  surprised,  then  with  the  grave, 
The  devil  tells  them,  he  could  not  dispence ; 
For  God  hath  killed  them  for  some  great  offence."  2 

Their  poetry,  Morell  does  not  seem  to  have  enjoyed  ;  for 
he  says, 

"And  recall  Odes,  which  us  affect  with  griefe, 
Though,  to  their  minds,  perchance  they  give  relief." 

Before  the  English  came,  there  were  two  diseases,  of 

i  Higginson's  N.  B.  Plantation. 

3  Morell's  Poem  on  New  England.  Morell  was  an  Episcopal  Clergyman, 
como  over  in  1623,  with  Captain  Robert  Gorges,  who  intended  to  be  Gov 
ernor-General  of  New  England.  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i. 


316  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

which  the  Indians  usually  died  :  Consumption  and  Yellow 
Fever.1  The  Smallpox  became,  too,  a  terrible  scourge  ; 
and  they  suffered  greatly  from  Kheumatism  and  Tooth 
ache. 

Consumption  destroyed  many  of  those  Indian  youths 
who  were  being  educated  at  Harvard,  and  elsewhere,  for 
the  Ministry ;  this  destroyer  was  "  frequent  among  the 
Indians."  Some  of  them  turned  back  from  the  path  of 
learning,  and  loved  more  the  trail  of  the  hunter  ;  so  that 
there  seemed  to  be  "  awful  providences  of  God/7  designed 
to  prostrate  the  attempt  at  making  Indian  preachers  of 
the  Gospel.  Upon  the  theory,  that  every  disaster  or  dis 
couragement,  was  a  special  act  of  God,  this  conclusion 
was  inevitable. 

But  in  spite  of  this  theory,  the  good  sense  of  some  led 
them  to  conclude  these  disasters  were  incident  to  all  en 
terprises,  where  experience  has  not  taught  men  the  road. 
Further  than  that,  the  struggle  between  the  Devil  and 
the  God,  was  always  going  on,  and  there  was  no  certainty, 
that  in  some  way,  this  mischief  was  not  Satan's  work.2 

From  the  South-west  came  com  and  beans, 
THEiKFoon.  out  of  the  Great  God — Cowtantowit's — field. 
Corn  and  beans  were  their  principal  food,  pre 
pared  simply  (from  them  come  the  names  of  "  Samp," 
"  Succatash,"  etc.) ;  varied  with  the  produce  of  the  hunt 
and  the  sea.  Altogether,  they  were  good  livers,  when  pro 
visions  were  plenty,  but  were  improvident.  If  any  stranger 
came,  they  gave  the  best  they  had,  and  with  a  large  hos 
pitality,  common  among  barbarous  nations.  Tobacco  was 
universal,  every  man  carrying  his  pipe  and  bag  ;  and  in 
its  cultivation  only,  did  the  men  condescend  to  labor  ;  but 
occasionally  all  would  join,  the  whole  neighborhood,  men, 
women,  and  children,  when  some  one's  field  was  to  be 
broken  up,  and  then  they  made  a  loving,  sociable,  speedy 
time  of  it ;  but  the  men  would  not  submit  to  constant  act- 

1  Thomas  Cooper's  Fabulous  Traditions.     Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i. 
*  Gookin's  account.     Heb.  xiii.  5.     Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20- 


A.D.  1643.]  THE   INDIANS.  317 

ive  effort,  and  they  produced  no  results  to  themselves,  or 
to  mankind.1 

Dreams,  as  among  the  Jews,  and  all  uncivilized  nations, 
of  whom  we  have  histories,  were  supposed  to  proceed  from 
God,  and  if  bad,  inspired  fear,  and  provoked  prayer. 

"  THE  HOUSES  were  made  with  long,  young  saplings, 
bended,  and  both  ends  stuck  in  the  ground.  They  were 
round,  like  unto  an  arbor,  and  covered  down  to  the  ground, 
with  thick  and  well-wrought  nets  ;  and  the  door  was  not 
over  a  yard  high,  made  of  a  mat,  to  open.  The  chimney 
was  a  wide  hole  in  the  top  ;  for  which  they  had  a  mat  to 
cover  it  close,  when  they  pleased.  One  might  stand  and 
go  upright  in  them.  In  the  midst  of  them,  were  four  lit 
tle  tranches  (truncheons)  knocked  into  the  ground,  and 
small  sticks  laid  over,  on  which  they  hung  their  pots  and 
what  they  had  to  seethe.  Bound  about  the  fire  they  lay 
on  mats,  which  are  their  beds.  The  houses  were  double- 
matted  ;  for  as  they  were  matted  without,  so  were  they 
within,  with  newer  and  fairer  mats.  In  the  houses,  we 
found  wooden  bowls,  trays,  and  dishes,  earthen  pots,  hand- 
baskets,  made  of  crab-shells,  wrought  together,  also,  an 
English  pail  or  bucket ;  it  wanted  a  bail,  but  it  had  two 
iron  ears.  There  were,  also,  baskets  of  sundry  sorts,  big 
ger,  and  some  lesser,  finer,  and  some  coarser  ;  some  were 
curiously  wrought  with  black  and  white,  in  pretty  works, 
and  sundry  other  of  their  household-stuff'.  We  found  also, 
two  or  three  deer's-heads,  one  whereof  had  been  newly 
killed,  for  it  was  fresh.  There  was  also,  a  company  of 
deer's-feet,  stuck  up  in  the  horns,  harts'-horns  and  eagles'- 
claws,  and  sundry  such  like  things  there  was  ;  also,  two 
or  three  baskets  full  of  parched  acorns,  pieces  of  fish,  and 
a  piece  of  broiled  Herring.  We  found,  also,  a  little  silk 
grass,  and  little  tobacco-seed,  with  some  other  seeds,  which 
we  knew  not.  Without,  were  sundry  bundles  of  flags,  sud- 
ledge,  bullrushes,  and  other  stuffs,  to  make  mats.  There 
were  thrust  into  a  hollow  tree,  two  or  three  pieces  of  veni- 

1  R.  W.'s,  Key. 


318  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

son;  but  we  thought  it  fitter  for  the  dogs,  than  for  us. 
Some  of  the  best  things,  we  took  away  with  us,  and  left 
the  houses  standing  still  as  they  were."1 

Cushmaii  said  :  "  They  were  wont  to  be  the  most  cruel 
and  treacherous  people  in  all  these  parts,  even  like  lions  ; 
but  to  us  they  have  been  like  lambs,  so  kind,  so  submissive 
and  trusty,  as  a  man  may  say  ;  many  Christians  are  not 
so  kind  and  sincere/'2 

They  seem  to  have  been  gentlemen  ;  for  it  is  told  that 
Chickatabot,  being  at  Boston  upon  a  visit  of  amity  (1631), 
being  in  English  clothes,  the  Governor  set  him  at  his  own 
table,  where  he  behaved  himself  as  soberly  as  an  English 
man.  Of  course  he  did  not  get  drunk,  as  many  white 
folks  in  those  days  did,  and  more  Indians. 

Gookin,  who  was  many  years  among  them,  sums  up  his 
experience  somewhat  to  this  effect : 

They  were  idle — given  to  war  and  hunting,  rather  than 
tillage  : 

Kind  to  their  children  ;  very  hospitable  ;  fond  of  danc 
ing  and  reveling  ;  addicted  to  gambling  ;  fond  of  drink 
and  excitement  ;  revengeful  ;  proud. 

HOUSES  were  of  bark  or  mats,  sometimes  a  hundred  feet 
long. 

CLOTHING  was  of  skins. 

FOOD  was  Indian  Corn,  fish,  and  flesh  boiled.  Their 
vessels  of  clay. 

BODIES  straight,  rarely  deformed. 

GOVERNMENT  monarchical  and  autocratical. 

Mixed  RELIGION.  They  worship  for  God,  the  sun,  or 
the  moon,  or  the  earth  ;  but  had  two  chief  deities  (su 
preme)  called  Woonaud  or  Mannitt  (Good),  and  Mattand 
(Evil).  Their  POWAWS  were  a  kind  of  priests,  using  en 
chantments  and  spells,  with  which  to  propitiate  or  frighten 
the  evil  spirits.  To  most  of  the  whites  the  Indians  were, 
of  course,  hateful.3 

1  Pilgrim's  Journal.         3  Elder  Cushman's  Discourse,  Hazard,  vol.  i.,  p.  147. 
3  Gookin,  Mass.  H.  C.,  vol.  i. 


A.D.  1614.]  THE   INDIANS.  319 

It  is  a  very  common  notion,  that  all  the  white  men  were 
just,  merciful,  humane  Christians,  hecause  that  was  the 
name  of  them,  and  all  the  Indians,  bloody,  vindictive  sav 
ages.  It  is  well  to  set  this  matter  right,  and  to  vindicate 
God,  in  asserting  the  manhood  of  the  men  of  color — the 
Bed  Men  of  America.  The  action  of  the  governments  of 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut, 
was,  in  the  main,  just  and  honorable — but  there  were  in 
dividual  men  by  scores,  who  cared  nothing  for  the  Indian, 
nothing  for  Ideas,  nothing  for  perfection.  Such  were  they 
of  Weston's  Colony,  and  at  Merry-mount,  who  sold  rum, 
and  guns,  and  trash  of  any  kind,  to  the  Indians  ;  who 
cheated  them  in  all  ways  ;  who  treated  them  with  reckless 
brutality,  even  to  shooting  and  killing  them,  as  they  would 
wolves.  The  Indians  saw  and  felt  all  this — some  of  them 
keenly ;  and  the  fierce,  and  more  manly  Pequots  deter 
mined  to  resent  it  with  violence.  They  endeavored  to 
combine  all  in  a  plan  of  destruction  to  the  whites.  The 
justice  of  Williams  to  the  Narragansetts?  secured  him 
their  confidence,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy,  so 
that  he  was  able  to  prevent  their  joining  the  Pequots,  and 
also  to  give  information  to  those  who  had  banished  him. 
A  known  evil  is  curable  ;  so  the  whites  fell  upon  the 
Pequots,  and  at  last,  under  Major  Mason,  at  Fort  Mystic 
(May,  1637).  nearly  destroyed  the  tribe,  and  the  remainder 
(prisoners)  were  dispersed  among  the  other  tribes,  or  sold. 
Sassacus,  their  sachem,  was  treacherously  murdered  by 
the  Mohawks,  to  whom  he  had  fled.  This  was  the  begin 
ning  of  the  Indian  Extermination.1  A  few  incidents  and 
facts  will  show  how  and  why  the  Indians  were  aggravated. 

We  have  seen  how  Hunt,  one  of  John  Smith's  men, 
seized  and  carried  off  a  number  and  sold  them  as  slaves, 
in  the  year  1614.  When  Weston's  men  cheated  and 
abused  the  Indians,  and  stole  their  corn,  the  Indians  were 
not  allowed  to  fall  upon  and  destroy  them,  as  they  should 
have  done,  but  were  themselves  attacked,  and  some  killed, 
1  See  Chapter  xxix. 


320  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1637. 

by  a  party  from  Plymouth,  "headed  by  Standish.1  This 
injustice  aggravated  them  greatly. 

Miantonomo,  the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  one  of 
the  most  capable  Indians  in  New  England,  the  friend  and 
favorer  of  Koger  Williams,  was  taken  prisoner  by  Uncas ; 
who  referred  the  matter  to  the  Ministers  at  Hartford; 
they  decided  that  he  ought  to  be  put  to  death — not  for 
what  he  had  done,  but  because  they  feared  him — so  he 
was  murdered  in  cold  blood.2  Ninigrett  had  a  quarrel 
with  some  of  the  Long  Island  Indians  ;  the  whites  sent  a 
messenger,  to  tell  him  that  he  must  not  go  to  fighting. 
He  replied  that  it  was  his  own  affair,  and  concerned  him 
self  only,  and  that  he  should  take  his  own  course  ;  "  he 
doth  desire  that  the  English  will  let  him  alone,"  he  said  ; 
"  I  do  but  right  my  own  quarrel,  which  the  Long  Island 
ers  began  with  me."3  But  the  Colonists  sent  down  a  troop 
of  horse  and  foot,  and  forced  him  to  desist;  simply  because 
they,  the  whites,  desired  quiet.  The  Indians  saw  their 
lands  gradually  going  out  of  their  control,  and  though  the 
right  to  land,  consists  really  in  its  use,  not  in  its  possession, 
yet  they  felt  themselves  the  owners  of  it  ;  and  although 
there  was  a  show  of  buying  it,  still  shrewd  Indians,  like 
Miantonomo  and  Philip,  felt  that  it  was  a  farce,  and  were 
provoked  by  it. 

The  colonies  were  always  on  the  alert  as  to  plots  of  the 
natives.  When  they  heard  that  any  of  them  were  col 
lected,  they  sent  off  at  once  their  Captain  (Underbill),  with 
muskets,  with  orders  to  disperse  them,  which  was  done.4 
At  one  time,  some  five  or  six  Mohawks,  well  armed, 
having  appeared  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  hav 
ing  entered  a  house  to  get  food,  the  authorities  took  pos 
session  of  them,  seizing  their  arms,  and  cast  them  into 
prison  ;  not  for  what  they  had  done,  but  for  what  they 
might  do.  The  Massachusetts  Indians  (their  enemies) 
pressed  it  upon  the  whites,  that  they  should  at  least  be 

1  Chapter  xiv.  3  Chapter  xxx. 

*  Hazard,  voL  ii.  4  Prince's  Chron.,  p.  401. 


A.D.  1683.]  THE   INDIANS.  321 

given  up  to  them.  "  As  well  let  six  wolves  go  loose  as 
these,"  said  they.  And  indeed,  it  seemed  to  many  Chris 
tians,  that  the  Lord  had  delivered  them  into  their  hands. 
The  poor  fellows — young  men  who  had  come  far  to  gratify 
their  curiosity — were  in  the  Lion's  den.  But  more  hu 
mane  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  dis 
miss  them,  with  kind  words  and  careful  cautions,  lest 
hereafter  their  friends  should  retaliate  their  treatment 
upon  the  whites.1 

In  1683,  Eliot,  writing  to  Sir  Robert  Boyle,  states  that 
a  vessel  carried  away  a  great  number  of  our  surprised  In 
dians,  intending  to  sell  them  for  slaves,  but  that  the  na 
tions  whither  they  went  would  not  buy  them,  and  finally 
she  left  them  at  Tangier ;  "  there  they  be,  so  many  as 
live."  He  begs  of  him  that  some  means  may  be  used  to 
get  them  home,  "for  Christ  sake."2 

At  another  time,  Wanalaunset,  a  principal  Sachem, 
fled — the  wicked  English  youth  having  carelessly  and 
basely  killed  some  of  them  (the  "praying  Indians").  He 
was  persuaded  to  come  in  again  ;  but  the  English  having 
plowed  and  sowed  his  corn-land  with  rye,  there  was  noth 
ing  for  him  to  eat. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  instances  in  which  the 
strong  oppressed  the  weak,  or  to  explain  that  these  things 
provoked  bitterness,  violence,  murders,  and  finally  destruc 
tion,  in  King  Philip's  war,  elsewhere  recounted.3 

1  Gookin's  Hist.  Act.  a  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  voL  ill  3  Chap.  xL 

14* 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

ELIOT     AND    THE    INDIANS. 

TUB  LOST  JEWS — 40,000 — ELIOT  BEGINS — A  DEMOCRAT — TRANSLATIONS — FIRST  CONVERT — 
ELIOT'8  FIRST  SERMON  —  WABAN —  1649 — CONTRIBUTIONS  —  MATERIAL  BASIS — TOTE- 
SWAMP'S  BOY  —  DIFFICULTIES  —  NINIGRET —  UNCA8  —  PHILIP  —  QUESTIONS  —  MOHAWK 
FIGHT — ELIOT'S  LETTERS — INDIAN  BIBLE — OTHER  MISSIONARIES — TOWNS  OF  PRAYING- 
INDIANS — NATICK — SABBATH  EXERCISES — HATREDS — ELIOT  INSULTED — 8TOCKBRIDGE 
INDIANS — HAWLEY — DRUNKENNESS — CAPACITY  FOR  CIVILIZATION — INTELLECTUAL  RE 
LIGION  —  THE  INDIANS  VANISHED  — WHY  ?  —  ELIOT'S  FAMILY — DEATH  —  "  WELCOME 
JOY." 

THERE  was  much  speculation  in  the  early  times,  as  to 
who  the  Indians  were,  and  many  were  inclined  to  believe 
them  in  some  way  the  lost  Jews  ;  so  Eliot  thought. 

Gookin,  who  had  much  official  and  other  experience 
with  the  Indians,  evidently  inclined  to  the  hypothesis, 
that  they  were  an  emanation  or  branching  of  the  ten  tribes 
of  Israel,  which  Salamanasser  carried  away  captive.1  Not 
that  there  are  any  ethnological  data  for  it,  but  because 
men's  minds  seize  and  hold  any  hypothesis,  rather  than 
none.  He  concludes,  at  last,  that  they  are  "  Adam's  pos 
terity,  and  consequently  children  of  wrath,"  and  tc  objects 
of  Christian  pity  and  compassion."  2 

He  mentions  the  principal  tribes  in  New  England  :  1. 
Pequots ;  2.  Narragansetts ;  3.  Pawkunnawkuts ;  4. 
Massachusetts  ;  5.  Pawtacketts. 

Much  ingenuity  was  exercised  in  trying  to  show  a  re 
semblance  between  the  Indian  and  Jewish  languages. 
But  Eliot  said :  "  I  have  found  a  greater  affinity  in  it 
with  the  Greek  tongue  than  with  the  Hebrew."  There  is 
no  probability  that  their  dialects  had  any  connectiqn  with 

1  A.  M.  3277.     2  Kings,  ch.  xviii.,  vs.  9,  12.  2  Mass.  Hist.  ColL,  vol.  L 


A.D.  1646.]  ELIOT    AND   THE   INDIANS.  323 

either  ;  but  according  to  Eliot  and  Gookin,  there  was  a 
similarity  and  unity  in  their  own  languages  throughout 
New  England.  At  the  time  of  Eliot's  beginning  his 
labor  among  the  Indians,  their  numbers  in  New  England, 
loosely  estimated,  were  between  thirty  and  forty  thou 
sand,  much  divided  and  scattered.  These  are  classified 
as  a  part  of  the  Algonquin  race,  whose  languages  are 
similar. 

We  come  now  to  the  year  1646,  when  the  labors  of 
Eliot  among  the  Indians,  began,  remarkable  for  their 
faithfulness  and  unproductiveness — ending  only  with  his 
death.  But  though  the  Indians  were  not  civilized  or 
Christianized,  to  any  encouraging  extent,  and  though  they 
could  not  be  preserved  in  the  country,  those  single-hearted 
labors  were  not  lost  upon  Eliot  or  upon  us. 

JOHN  ELIOT,  of  Nasing,  in  England,  had  a  good  deal  of 
work  in  him,  and  he  came  to  New  England  in  the  year 
1631  [November  2],  to  do  it  ;  he  had  been  well  educated 
at  Cambridge,  in  England,  and  in  1632  (then  twenty-eight 
years  old),  was  settled  to  preaching  at  Roxbury,  near 
Boston. 

The  excellent  young  woman  to  whom  he  was  engaged, 
followed  him  to  New  England,  and  in  October,  1632,  they 
were  married,  and  lived  well  together  through  a  long  and 
useful  life. 

He  seems  to  have  been  inclined  toward  Democratic 
principles,  for  in  1634,  he  severely  blamed  the  Magistrates 
for  having  made  peace  with  the  Pequots,  without  consult 
ing  the  people  (" plebs  inconsulta")  ;  the  same  tendency 
came  more  fully  into  notice,  in  a  work  called  the  "  Chris 
tian  Commonwealth,"  published  in  1660,  which  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Council  formally  censured,  and  called  upon 
Eliot  to  retract  the  seditious  notions,  which  he  did. 

Besides  the  usual  labors  of  a  minister  and  teacher 
among  the  Indians,  he  was  engaged,  with  Weld  and 
Richard  Mather,  in  making  the  first  book  published  in 
America—"  The  Psalms  in  Meter  :"  1640.  Of  his  other 


324  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1646. 

literary  works,  "  The  Christian  Commonwealth"  was  pub 
lished  in  1660,  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament  in 
1661,  and  that  of  the  Bible  in  1663. 

About  the  year  1645,  he  became  interested  in  trying  to 
serve  "  those  ruins  of  mankind,"  the  Indians,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  work  from  that  time  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  He  believed,  beyond  doubt,  what  David  said 
(Ps.  ii.  8),  "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heath 
en  for  thine  inheritance."  He  believed  the  Indian,  with 
his  dusky  skin,  was  a  man  and  capable  of  salvation.  He 
framed  first,  two  catechisms  in  the  Indian  tongue.  His 
motives  were,  "  1.  The  glory  of  God  in  their  conversion. 
2.  His  compassion  and  affection.  3.  The  promise  of  the 
Colonists  to  the  King,  that  the  Gospel  should  be  ex 
tended."  He  translated  the  Catechisms,  Primer,  Sing 
ing-Psalms,  The  Practice  of  Piety,  Baxter's  Call,  the 
Bible,  and  some  other  things,  which  were  printed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Society  in  London. 

The  first  Indian  converted  in  the  new  Colonies,  or 
rather,  who  left  some  "  good  hopes  in  their  hearts  that 
his  soul  had  gone  to  rest,"  was  Hobbamock  (in  the  Set 
tlement  of  Plymouth),  "  who  was  transported  with  great 
wonderment  of  the  power  the  English  had  with  their 
God  j"1  because  when  they  prayed  to  him  for  rain,  it  did 
rain  ;  and  so  he  concluded  to  join  them  and  their  God. 
Little  seems  to  have  been  done  for  many  years  in  Chris 
tianizing  of  Indians  ;  for  the  reason  that  much  more 
pressing  work  was  at  hand.  And  when  Eliot  did  begin  to 
urge  it,  the  Indian  met  him  with  the  question  : 

"  If  Christianity  be  so  necessary,  why  for  so  many  years 
have  you  done  nothing  in  proving  it  to  us  ?" 

But  in  the  year  1646,  the  General  Court  passed  an 
order  to  promote  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  among  the 
Indians,  and  the  churches  were  requested  to  consider  how 
it  might  best  be  done.  Eliot's  thought  had  been  to  do 
something  ;  he  had  been  to  work  to  learn  their  language, 

1  nubbard,  p.  650. 


HIS   FIB8T 
8EBMON. 


A.D.  1651.]  ELIOT    AND   THE   INDIANS.  325 

and  he  now  applied  himself  with  his  usual  energy  and  de 
termination. 

On  a  day  in  October  (28th,  1646),  he  went 
out  into  the  wilderness,  to  seek  and  convert 
heathen  Indians.  He  was  met  by  a  grave  man 
(attended  by  five  or  six  others),  whose  name  was  Waban  ; 
and  to  them  he  preached,  in  a  wigwam,  at  Nonantum  ; 
which  is  near  Watertown,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Charles  river.!  He  preached  from  the  37th  chapter  of 
Ezekiel  :  "  Then  said  he  unto  me,  Prophesy  unto  the 
wind  ('  Waban'  is  said  to  mean  wind),  prophesy,  son  of 
man,  and  say  to  the  wind,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Come  from  the  four  winds,  0  Breath,  and  breathe  upon 
these  that  they  may  live  ;  so  I  prophesied  as  he  com 
manded  me,  and  the  breath  came  unto  them,  and  they 
lived  and  stood  upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding  great  army/' 
This  discourse  lasted  for  an  hour,  and  one  would  be  grati 
fied  now  to  know  what  Waban  thought  of  it  all. 

Waban  was  converted,  and  was  one  of  the  principal 
men  in  the  Indian  town  of  Natick,  to  which  the  Nonan 
tum  Indians  removed  (1651).  Eliot  could  get  but  little 
assistance  at  the  outset,  and  one  reason  no  doubt  was, 
that  the  Colonists  were  too  poor.  But  in  the  year  1649, 
an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  intended  to  promote  the 
spread  of  the  Christian  Gospel  among  the  Indians.  Large 
collections  also  were  made  in  England,  yielding  a  revenue 
of  five  or  six  hundred  pounds,  which  were  increased  by 
those  made  in  New  England  ;  Boston  alone  contributing 
five  hundred  pounds.  The  first  President  of  this  Society 
was  Judge  Steel.  The  Society  was  incorporated  in  1662, 
and  Kobert  Boyle  was  named  its  Governor.  After  this 
time,  much  effort  was  made,  with  some  result,  among  the 
Indians,  and  Eliot  organized  an  Indian  Church  at  Natick 
in  1651. 

The  Indians  were  in  some  cases  made  into  Magistrates 
and  teachers  in  the  towns  of  "  praying  Indians  ;"  and  the 

1  Homer'a  History  of  Newtown,  M.  H.  C. 


326  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1651. 

following  "  State  paper"  is  yet  extant,  curious  among 
such  writings  for  its  brevity  and  point.  It  is  a  warrant 
addressed  to  an  Indian  constable  : 

"  1.  I,  Hihoudi.  2.  You,  Peter  Waterman.  3.  Jere 
my  Wicket.  4.  Quick  you  take  him.  5.  Fast  you  hold 
him.  6.  Straight  you  bring  him.  7.  Before  me,  Hihoudi."i 

In  1674,  the  number  of  "  praying  Indians,"  as  they 
were  called,  amounted  to  some  thirty-six  hundred,  col 
lected  in  various  settlements  ;  mostly  in  Martha's  Vine 
yard,  Nantucket,  Plymouth,  and  Massachusetts.  But 
few  of  the  number  were  admitted  to  communion,  the 
strictness  of  examination  being  too  great  for  these  igno 
rant  and  uncivilized  men. 

They  were  children,  with  the  same  elements  as  the  rest 
of  men  ;  but  they  had  not  learned  to  subject  the  carnal 
to  the  spiritual  nature,  or  to  live  obedient  to  principle, 
rather  than  impulse  :  this  they  could  learn  only  by  living 
in  settled  communities,  with  some  of  the  necessities  of 
civilization  pressing  upon  them.  The  Indian  missionaries 
expected  too  much  from  the  preaching  of  love  to  man  and 
love  to  God.  They,  as  so  many  others  have  done,  forgot 
how  many  influences  work  together  to  make  up  the  civil 
ization  of  the  world.  Mr.  Bourne,  who  was  at  work 
among  the  Indians  at  Plymouth,  saw  and  noted  one  of 
these  things,  and  he  considered  it  as  vain  to  try  to  propa 
gate  Christianity  among  a  people  who  had  no  territory, 
where  they  might  remain  at  peace,  without  fear  of  being 
ousted.  Governor  Hinckley2  speaks  of  another  monstrous 
evil  which  stood  in  their  way,  which  has  long  stood  in  the 
way  of  all  effort  for  reform  and  amelioration  :  it  is  a 
Upas-tree,  and  deadly.  "  It  is  the  great  appetite  many 
of  the  young  generation  have  for  strong  liquors,  and  the 
contrary  evil  humor  of  sundry  of  our  English  in  furnish 
ing  them  therewith,  notwithstanding  all  the  Courts'  or 
ders  and  means  used  to  prohibit  the  same."  This  and 
another  cause,  the  presence  of  a  superior  race,  hastened 

1  Davis,  in  Morton.     Appendix.  2  Davis,  in  Morton.     Appendix. 


A.D.  1651.]  ELIOT    AND   THE   INDIANS.  327 

the  departure  of  the  native  tribes,  till  now,  after  two  cen 
turies,  they  vanish  from  sight,  almost  from  memory. 

Eliot  did  not  have  an  easy  time  of  it.  The  Indians 
bought  rum  of  the  bad  whites,  and  not  content  with  get 
ting  themselves  drunk,  they  gave  some  to  Toteswarnp's 
little  boy,  about  eleven  years  of  age,  and  got  him  drunk, 
so  that  he  lay  out  all  night,  and  then  they  fought  among 
themselves.  "When  Toteswamp  heard  this,  it  was  a 
great  shame  and  breaking  of  heart  unto  him,  and  he 
knew  not  what  to  doe."  "  Word  was  brought  to  me," 
says  Eliot,  "a  little  before  I  took  horse  to  go  to  Natick, 
to  keep  the  Sabbath  with  them  :  the  tidings  sunk  my  spirit 
extreamly;  I  did  judge  it  to  be  the  greatest  frowne  of  God 
that  ever  it  met  withall,  in  the  work.  I  could  read  noth 
ing  in  it  but  displeasure  ;  I  began  to  doubt  about  our 
intended  work.  For  one  of 'the  offenders  was  he  that  hath 
been  my  Interpreter,  whom  I  have  used  in  translating  a 
good  part  of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  in  that  respect  I  saw 
much  of  Satan's  venome,  and  in  God  I  saw  displeasure." 

The  men  were  set  in  the  stocks,  and  whipped  ;  and  the 
child  was  set  in  the  stocks,  and  whipped  by  his  father, 
Toteswamp,  "with  many  tears." 

"  When  I  returned  to  Roxbury,"  says  Eliot,  "  I  related 
these  things  to  our  Elder,  to  whom  I  had  before  related 
the  sin  and  my  grief;,  who  was  much  affected  to  hear  it, 
and  magnified  God." 

With  money  raised  in  England,  tools  and  various  useful 
things  were  sent  for  the  Indians,  to  encourage  them  to 
work  ;  schools  were  established  and  teachers  paid  ;  in  one 
place  we  learn  that  Eliot's  salary  (paid  by  the  Society) 
was  £50  ;  though  he  still  continued  to  preach  at  Roxbury. 
He  worked  in  all  directions,  he  preached,  he  'taught,  he 
catechized,  he  established  towns,  he  instituted  agriculture; 
in  addition  to  these  he  stirred  the  ministers  of  the  Colony 
to  action,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  that  others 
devoted  themselves  actively  to  the  work. 

We  may  well  suppose,  that   Eliot  found  difficulties, 


328  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1649. 

which  would  have  discouraged  a  weak  man.  He  began 
without  means,  with  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  lan 
guage,  with  no  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  whites.  The 
Indians  were  ignorant  and  undisciplined  ;  accustomed  to 
idleness,  and  a  wandering  life  ;  they  were  vitiated  with 
rum,  and  were  despised  or  feared  by  the  whites.  Their 
chiefs  opposed  the  new  religion  ;  and  the  sachem  Ninigret 
resolutely  and  persistently  declined  having  the  white  man's 
God  and  religion  introduced  among  his  people ;  saying : 
"  For  what  reason  ?  Let  me  see  that  your  religion  makes 
you  better  than  us,  and  then  we  may  try  it."  Uncas, 
sachem  of  the  Mohegans,  went  to  Hartford,  and  told  the 
Commissioners  his  extreme  dislike  to  having  Christianity 
introduced  among  his  people.  Philip,  chief  of  the  Wam- 
panoags,  holding  the  button  of  one  of  the  missionaries, 
said,  "  I  care  no  more  for  your  religion  than  for  this  button." 

Not  only  were  these  things  so,  but  they  put  to  Eliot 
subtle  questions,  which  each  man  finds  it  hard  to  answer  ; 
some  of  them  were  as  follows  : 

"  Why  did  not  God  give  all  men  good  hearts,  that  they 
might  be  good  ?"  and,  "  Why  did  not  God  kill  the  devil, 
that  made  all  men  so  bad — God  having  all  power."  "  If 
an  Indian  had  two  wives,  before  he  was  converted,  which 
should  he  put  away  ?" 

"  Whether  all  the  Indians  who  had  died  hitherto,  had 
gone  to  hell,  and  why  only  a  few  now,  at  last,  were  put  in 
the  way  of  going  to  heaven  ?'n 

"  How  can  we  reconcile  the  Scriptures  which  say,  '  Save 
yourselves  from  this  untoward  generation/  with,  '  We  can 
do  nothing  of  ourselves  ?' ' 

"  Why  did  Judas  sin  in  giving  up  Jesus,  when  it  was 
what  God  had  appointed  ?"2 

"  What  is  the  effect  of  your  religion  ?  WE  have  no 
contentions  about  property,  and  no  man  envies  his  neigh 
bor."3 

1  Francis's  Life  of  Eliot.  2  Hutchinson,  vol.  i. 

3  Gov.  Lincoln,  in  M.  H.  0.,  vol.  v. 


A.D.  1680.]  ELIOT   AND   THE   INDIANS.  329 

"  Whether  the  good  child  of  a  bad  man  would  be  pun 
ished,  because  the  second  Commandment  says,  c  He  visits 
the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  ?' ' 

"  If  I  do  that  which  is  a  sinne,  and  do  not  know  that  it 
is  a  sin,  what  will  God  say  to  that  ?" 

«  Why  must  we  be  like  salt  ?" 

"  Why  doth  God  say— I  am  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  ? 
Why?"1 

Koger  Williams  said,  that  when  he  discoursed  of  the 
creation  of  the  soul,  of  its  danger  and  need  of  salvation, 
they  assented — but  when  he  spoke  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body,  they  cried  out,  "  We  will  never  believe  that."2 

His  efforts  were  interrupted,  too,  by  such  affairs  as  this: 
In  1669,  the  Massachusetts  Indians  gathered  themselves 
(some  seven  hundred  men),  and  marched  away  into  the 
Mohawk  Country,  to  fight  their  enemies,  and  glut  their 
revenge.  Neither  Eliot  nor  Major  Gookin  could  dissuade 
them.  Their  principal  chief,  Chickatabut,  led  them,  and 
they  loitered  on  their  way,  and  boasted  ;  so  the  report  of 
them  reached  the  Mohawks  sooner  than  they  did.  They 
attacked  one  of  the  Mohawk  forts  but  did  nothing,  and 
when  after  a  few  days,  their  provision  being  spent,  they 
turned  homeward,  the  Mohawks  waylaid  them,  cut  them 
up,  and  killed  many  of  their  leaders  ;  this  was  their  last 
great  battle. 

But  Eliot's  labors  never  ceased,  and  although  many  of 
his  converts  were  Backsliders,  yet  he  kept  up  his  courage, 
and  worked  on ;  he  writes  to  his  friend,  Robert  Boyle 
(November  4th,  1680),  "  Our  praying  Indians,  both  in  the 
Islands  and  on  the  Main,  are,  considered  together,  numer 
ous  ;  thousands  of  souls,  of  whom,  some  true  believers, 

1  The  Day-breaking,  if  not  the  Sun-rising,  of  the  Gospell  with  the  Indians 
in  New  England.  London,  1647  (Eliot).  The  Clear  Sunshine  of  the  Gospel, 
etc.,  By  Thomas  Shepard,  Minister,  etc.,  London,  1648.  The  Glorious 
Progress  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  N.  E.  By  Edward  Winslow, 
London,  1649.  The  Light  appearing  more  and  more  toward  a  perfect  day. 
By  Henry  "Whitfield,  London,  1651.  A  late  and  further  manifestation  of 
the  Progress,  etc.  By  Eliot.  London,  1655.  2  Hutchinson,  vol.  i. 


330  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1685. 

some  learners,  and  some  are  still  infants,  and  all  of  them 
beg,  cry,  and  entreat,  for  Bibles."1 

As  be  grew  old  and  near  his  end,  his  urgency  to  com 
plete  the  Bible,2  was  so  great,  that  he  writes  his  patron 
Boyle,  to  "  change  tbe  object  of  your  bountiful  Charity 
from  their  Bodies  to  their  Souls."  "  My  age  makes  me 
importunate,"  he  says,  "and  my  heart  hath  much  ado  to 
hold  up  my  head,  but  both  daily  drive  me  to  Christ."  The 
sturdy  old  apostle  stood  by  his  darling  work  ;  yet  he  wished 
Sir  Robert  to  draw  a  Curtain  of  Love  over  his  failures,  if 
he  shall  have  been  too  urgent.  He  acknowledges  the  re 
ceipt  of  £460,  toward  the  work,  and  says,  "  the  work  goeth 
on,  I  praise  God."  Again  he  acknowledged  (April  22d, 
1684),  the  receipt  of  £400,  "  which  doth  set  a  diadem  of 
Beauty  upon  all  your  former  acts  of  pious  Charity."3 

Again  he  says,  "  The  great  work  that  I  travel  about,  is 
the  printing  of  the  whole  Testament,  that  they  may  have 
the  whole  Bible.  I  desire  to  see  it  done  before  I  die,  and 
I  am  so  deep  in  years,  that  I  can  not  expect  to  live  long  ; 
besides  we  have  but  one  man  (viz.,  the  Indian  printer), 
that  is  able  to  compose  the  sheets,  and  correct  the  press, 
with  understanding.4 

From  this  it  seems  that  Eliot's  principal  assistant  and 
right-hand  man,  was  an  Indian. 

His  translation  of  the  Bible,  is  a  wonderful 
HIS  BIBLE.  monument  of  Patience,  Industry,  and  Faith. 
He  labored  against  every  difficulty,  and  over 
came  all.  The  first  Edition  consisted  of  the  New  Testa 
ment,  of  1661,  and  the  Old  Testament,  of  1663.  The 
second  Edition  was  the  New  Testament,  of  1680,  and  the 
Old  Testament,  of  1685.  Of  the  first  Edition,  between 
one  and  two  thousand  copies  were  printed,  and  of  the 
second,  two  thousand  copies,  at  a  cost  of  £1,000. 

The  Language  and  the  Race,  are  extinct,  but  Eliot  and 
his  Bible  remain. 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  iii.  a  Second  Edition. 

3  This  must  have  been  from  the  Society.  4  Eliot  to  Boyle.  Roxbury,  1 682-3. 


A.D.  1680.]  ELIOT   AND   THE   INDIANS.  331 

To  illustrate  the  difficulty  of  making  the  first  transla 
tion,  it  is  told,  that  when  Eliot  read  to  the  Indians,  and 
described  the  verse,  "  The  Mother  of  Sisera  cried  through 
the  Lattice,"  and  they  gave  him  their  word  for  lattice  ;  he 
afterward  discovered,  that  it  read,  "  The  Mother  of  Sisera 
cried  through  the  Eel-pot/'  that  heing  as  near  his  descrip 
tion  of  Lattice,  as  they  could  get. 

Cotton  Mather  tries  to  exaggerate  the  wonder  of  Eliot's 
work,  by  saying,  that  the  whole  translation  was  written 
with  one  pen  ;  which  possibly  he  believed. 

The  title-page,  and  a  few  verses  of  the  First  Chapter  of 
Genesis,  are  here  given : 

M  A  MUSSE 

WUNNEETUPANATAMWE 
UP-BIBLUM   GOD 

NANEESWE 

NUKKONE     TESTAMENT 

KAH   WONK 

WUSKU    TESTAMENT. 

Ne  Quoshkinnumuk  Nashpe  wuttinnemoh  Christ 
Noh  Asoowesit 

JOHN    ELIOT. 

CAMBRIDGE  : 

Printeuoopnashpe  Samuel  Green  kah  Marmaduke  Johnson. 
1663. 


332  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1688. 

NEGONNE  OOSUKKUHWHONK  MOSES, 

NE    ASOWEETAMUK 

GENESIS. 

CHAP.    I. 

1.  Weske  kutchinik  ayum  God  kesuk  kali  Ohke. 

2.  Kah  Ohke  mo  matta  kuhkenauunneunkquttinnoo  kah 
monteagunninno,  kah  pohkenum  woskeche  moonoi,  kah 
Nashauanit  popomshau  woikeche  nippekontu. 

3.  Onk  noowau  God  wequi,  kah  mo  wequai. 

4.  Kah  wunnaumun  God  wequai  neen  wunnegen  ;  kah 
wutchadchanbeponumun  God  noeu  wequai  kah  noeu  poh 
kenum. 

5.  Kah  wutussowetamun  God  wequai  kesukod,  kah  poh 
kenum  wutussoweetamun  Nukon  :  kah  mo  wunnonkooook 
kah  mo  mohoompog  negonne  kesuk. 

6.  Kah  noowau  God  sepakehtumooudj  noeu  nippekontu, 
kah  chadchapemooudj  nathauweit  nippe  wutch  nippekontu. 

7.  Kah  ayimup  God  sepakehtamoonk,  kah  wutchadeha- 
beponumunnap  nashaueu  nippe  agwu  uttiyeu  agwu  se- 
pakehtamoonk,  kah  nashaueu  nippekontu  attiyeu  ongkou- 
we  sepakehtamoonk,  kah  monkonnih. 

8.  Kah  wuttidoweetamun  God  sepakehtamoonk  Kesuk- 
quath,  kah  mo  wunnonkooook,  kah  mo  mohtompog  nahoh- 
toeu  kesukok. 

9.  Kah  noowa   God  moemooidjnip  pe  ut  agwu  kesuk 
quathkan  pasukqunna,  kah  pahkemoidi  nanabpeu,  kah 
monkoninih. 

10.  Kah  wuttisoweetaman  God  nanabpiohke,  kah  moee- 
moonippe  wuttissoweetamun  Kehtoh,  &  wunnaumun  God 


July  7th,  1688,  Eliot  writes,  "  I  am  drawing  home," 
but,  as  ever,  his  desire  is  to  finish  his  work.      He  wishes 


A.D.  1651.]  ELIOT   AND   THE   INDIANS.  333 

to  dispose  of  30  pounds,  long  ago  entrusted  to  him  by  Sir 
Robert  Boyle,  and  he  hoped  the  honorable  corporation 
awill  print  Mr.  Shepherd's  Sincere  Convert  and  Sound 
Believer"  for  the  Indians.  Various  others  engaged  in  the 
work.  Mr.  Bourne  in  the  Plymouth  Colony  followed  his 
lead,  and  after  him  Mr.  John  Cotton  ;  the  May-Lew's 
father  and  son,  and  Mr.  Peter  Folger  labored  in  Nan- 
tucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard  ;  Mr.  Pierson  and  Mr.  Fitch 
in  Connecticut  about  Norwich  ;  and  Mr.  Leveredge  in  and 
about  Sandwich  ;  *  and  Roger  Williams,  as  has  been  said 
before,  was  active  in  Rhode  Island. 

The  principal  town  of  Converted  Indians  was 
Natick,   "  the   place  of  Hills/'      It  contained     THE  TOWNS 

,  -,  .  OF     PRAYING 

one  hundred  and  forty-two  persons,  with  some  INDIANS. 
six  thousand  acres  of  land,  established  1651. 
Eliot  gave  them  the  same  advice  as  to  government  that 
Jethro  gave  to  Moses  ;  so  they  assembled,  and  chose  their 
rulers  of  hundreds,  fifties,  and  tens,  and  proclaimed, 
"That  God  should  rule  over  all."  Their  houses  were 
Indian  huts,  built  of  bark,  except  their  meeting-house, 
which  was  after  the  fashion  of  the  whites.  In  this  Eliot 
had  a  room,  and  a  bed.  Their  fort  was  palisaded,  and 
strong  against  Indian  attacks  ;  but  they  had  more  to  fear 
from  Civilization  than  from  Barbarism.  Cupidity  and 
Rum  were,  from  the  beginning,  more  potent  forces  than 
the  tomahawk  or  sealping-knife.  An  enumeration  of  the 
more  important  of  these  settlements  of  "  Spoilt  Indians/' 
as  some  chose  to  think  them,  will  suffice  : 

Natick — No.  of  Indians, 145 

Pahemilt,  or  Punkapaog,  in  Stoughton,  ....  60 

Hassanamesitt,  G-rafton, 60 

Okommakamesit,  Maryborough,      .         ....  50 

"Wamesit,  Tewksbury, 75 

Nashobah,  Littleton, 50 

Magunkaguog,  Hopkinton, 55 

These  7  were  the  oldest  towns.     There  were  also  : 

1  Gookin;  Hist.  Coll. 


334  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1754. 

Manchage,  Oxford,  No.  of  Indians,        ....  60 

Chabauukongkomun,  Dudley, 45 

Maanexit,  Woodstock, 100 

Quantisset,  near  Norwich, 100 

Wabquisset,  in  Woodstock, 150 

Puckachoog,  in  Wooster, 100 

Waeuntmag,  in  Uxbridge, 50 

1100 

Besides  these  (in  the  year  1674)  they  numbered  in 
Martha's  Vineyard,  Plymouth,  and  Nantucket,  some  2,500 
more. 

Eliot  enumerated  to  Sir  Boyle  the  following  places 
where  the  Indians  meet  on  the  Sabbath  since  King 
Philip's  war  :  in  the  Massachusetts  only  four,  viz.,  Natick, 
Ponkipog,  Wamesit,  and  Chachaubunkkakowok  ;  which 
last  whosoever  can,  may  speak.  In  Plymouth  ten  places  ; 
in  Martyn's  (Martha's)  Vineyard  ten  places  ;  in  Nan- 
tucket  five  places.  The  usual  exercises  were  praying, 
reading  the  Bible,  and  preaching,  by  a  white  person,  or 
one  of  their  own  teachers.  Then  they  sang,  "  which  sun 
dry  are  able  to  manage  very  well ;"  and  some  were  called 
up  for  catechism.  Then  "  if  there  be  any  act  of  public 
discipline  (as  divers  times  there  are,  there  being  many 
failures  among  us)  the  offender  is  called  forth,  and  ex 
horted  to  give  glory  to  God,  and  confess  his  sin." 

The  Missionaries  all  found  some  material  encourage 
ment  necessary,  such  as  food  or  presents,  to  gain  the  ear 
of  the  Indians,  and  to  keep  them  in  orderly  ways.  They 
found  it  also  a  matter  of  imperative  necessity  that  their 
Converts  should  have  fixed  homes.1  Much  interest  was 
shown  till  the  breaking  out  of  King  Philip's  war  ;  that 
brought  out  the  hatred  of  Bace,  and  thenceforth  little 
sympathy  was  felt  for  the  Indians  ;  they  were  neglected 
and  hated,  and  rapidly  sunk  into  degradation  and  insignif 
icance.  Still  some  efforts  for  their  Conversion  continued 
as  far  down  as  the  year  1754.  The  excitement  against 
the  Indians  during  Philip's  war  ran  so  high  that  the  Mis- 

1  Clapp's  Letter,  1792,  M.  E.G.     Eliot's  Letter  to  Sir  Robert  Boyle. 


A.D.  1754.]  ELIOT   AND   THE   INDIANS.  335 

sionaries,  Eliot  and  Gookin,  were  insulted  in  the  streets, 
and  were  in  danger  of  corporal  harm. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hawley1  was  "  set  apart  to  the 
BT^™JGE  work  of  evangelizing  the  Western  Indians  of 
Massachusetts,  in  the  old  South  Meeting-house 
in  Boston,  in  July,  1754."  He  went  among  them,  and  fol 
lowed  them  alone,  through  the  forests  to  the  west  of  Al 
bany  ("  Schohary")  where  they  went  to  Summer,  Preach 
ing  and  Teaching.  Deacon  Woodbridge  and  Jonathan 
Edwards  were  at  that  time  enlisted  in  the  same  cause  ; 
and  the  Dutch,  then  strong  around  Albany,  had  es 
tablished  Colonists  and  Lutheran  Churches  among  them. 
But  with  most  men,  it  was  vastly  more  important  to  trade 
for  furs,  and  to  get  their  lands,  than  to  Christianize  the 
Indians  ;  so  it  ended  in  removing  most  of  them  fur 
ther  west.  Mr.  Hawley  went  into  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  conciliating  Colonel  Johnson  (the  Magistrate 
of  those  parts,  who  lived  near  the  Mohawk  towns,  36 
miles  from  Albany),  he  was  enabled  to  make  a  good  be 
ginning  with  the  Savages  ;  but  the  results  seem  to  have 
been  small ;  for  he  says,  "  there  is  rarely  a  male  professor 
of  the  Gospel,  who  will  not  falsify  his  word,  drink  to  ex 
cess,  and  commit  other  immoralities."  "  There  are  two 
instances  in  the  whole  Six  Nations,  and  two  only,  of  per 
sons  who,  since  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  have  not 
been  intoxicated."  He  observed  in  the  wilderness  no 
singing  birds,  and  concluded  that  they  only  haunted  about 
habitations.  On  one  occasion  (July  1,  1753)  he  was  in 
great  danger,  for  the  Indians  had  got  Rum,  and  were 
proceeding  to  hold  a  drunk  ;  the  women  and  children  were 
skulking  about,  secreting  hatchets  and  guns,  well  know 
ing  what  must  be  the  result.  Mr.  Hawley  and  Deacon 
Woodbridge,  with  their  Interpreter,  proceeded  at  once  on 
their  way  ;  were  pursued,  but  escaped,  after  being  well 
frightened  ;  and  with  reason,  for  a  drunken  Savage  is  as 
dangerous  as  a  drunken  white  man. 

1  Rev.  Gideon's  Hawley's  Account,  M.  H.  C.,  voL  iv. 


336  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1687. 

The  assertion,  so  often  made,  that  the  In- 
dians  could  not  be  tamed — that  they  were  fierce, 
natural  wild  beasts,  like  tigers  and  hyenas,  who 
could  live  only  in  riotous  liberty  and  carnage, 
who  died  when  tamed  and  brought  to  habits  of 
order — does  not  seem  to  be  true.  From  the  very  begin 
ning,  individual  Indians  accommodated  themselves  to  the 
manners  and  dress  of  the  whites  ;  and  under  the  direction 
of  Eliot  and  others,  they  formed  themselves  into  orderly 
assemblies.  Gookin  bears  witness  to  their  "  reverence,  at 
tention,  and  modesty,  in  their  religious  exercises — the  men- 
kind  sitting  by  themselves,  and  the  womenkind  by  them 
selves,  in  a  comely  manner."  Having  no  bells,  they  came 
together  at  beat  of  drum,  on  Lord's,  fast,  and  lecture 
days  ;  then  one  of  their  teachers,  either  Indian  or  white, 
led  them  through  the  usual  services,  in  which  (such  as 
singing)  they  joined  actively. 

They  seem  to  have  had  some  gifts  for  disputation  or 
discussion,  and  but  little  for  continuous  religious  discourse. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  they  were  pleased  with  the 
notice,  and  attention,  and  kindness,  which  these  efforts  at 
Christianizing  them  expressed.  Their  consequence  was 
on  the  wane,  and  they  were  fast  growing  to  be  despised, 
when  Eliot  revived  the  religious  zeal  of  the  Colonists  ;  for 
they  were  no  longer  feared  as  savages,  and  they  had  little 
land  to  give  or  to  sell.  That  the  hopes  and  expectations 
entertained  of  the  Indians  were  not  gratified,  is  true  ; 
but  it  seems  more  philosophical,  and  more  satisfactory 
now,  to  explain  this  disappointment,  upon  other  hy 
potheses,  than  that  they  were  different  from  the  whites  in 
kind  ;  or,  in  other  words,  not  human,  and  therefore  inca 
pable  of  civilization.  The  hard  pressure  of  hunger  and 
necessity,  had  not  forced  them  into  the  restrained,  and 
conventional,  and  drudging  habits  of  body  or  mind,  exist 
ing  among  the  English  ;  and  when  the  novelty  of  these 
new  ways  wore  off,  they  were  glad  to  escape  from  the  mo 
notony  and  work  of  routine  life,  to  the  free  life  of  the 


A.D.  1687.]  ELIOT   AND    THE   INDIANS.  337 

forest.  No  man  loves  to  hoe  corn  all  the  day  ;  the  man 
who  does  that,  and  only  that,  continually,  will  go  mad  or 
become  idiotic ;  so  the  Indians  thought.  Again,  it  may  be 
exciting  or  entertaining  to  discuss  or  dispute,  where  subtil- 
ty  meets  subtilty,  and  sharp  shot  is  returned  by  sharper 
thrusts.  But  set  an  Indian  youth  to  wade  through  the 
dreary  morass  of  theological  literature  of  that  day,  so  that 
he  may  reconcile  "  Free-will  and  pre-ordinatiou,"  or  to 
make  clear  the  statements  of  Dr.  Athanasius,  and  he  will 
certainly  flee  away  to  the  boundless  and  unexplored  forests. 
Such,  in  most  cases,  was  the  result  of  the  endeavors  to  con 
vert  Indian  boys  into  steady  teachers.  Gookin,  who  had 
many  years'  experience  as  their  Magistrate  and  Teacher, 
speaks  in  a  qualified  way  :  he  was  satisfied,  "according  to 
the  judgment  of  Charity,  that  diverse  of  them  do  feare 
God,  and  are  true  believers;  will  not  deny  that  there  may  be 
some  of  them  hypocrites,  that  profess  religion,  and  yet  are 
not  sound-hearted."  In  that  day  they  believed,  and  never 
doubted  it,  that  God  had  given  Jesus  "  the  heathen  for 
his  inheritance,"  and  that  Jesus  had  called  them  to  gather 
the  dusky  crop  for  him  ;  and  that  the  sickle  to  reap  this 
abundant  Harvest,  was  the  accepted  "theology  of  the 
Church,"  in  Massachusetts.1 

They  preached  moral  truths,  but  they  addressed  the 
intellect  with  subtle  propositions.  The  Indians  could  and 
did  receive  the  great  statements  of  a  first  cause — God,  and 
of  right  and  wrong,  and  of  their  obligation  to  these  ;  in 
other  words,  duty  to  one  another,  and  to  the  highest 
responsibilities  of  their  nature,  they  recognized  in  common 
with  all  mankind,  to  some  extent.  But  the  precedence 
of  Justification  or  Sanctification  ;  whether  a  Covenant 
of  Works  or  a  Covenant  of  Grace,  secured  Salvation? 
whether  the  word  "  Person"  could  be  applied  in  Trinity  ? 
whether  that  part  of  the  Trinity  called  the  Holy  Ghost, 
did  or  did  not  dwell  in  true  believers  ? — all  these  ques 
tions,  which  in  that  day  distracted  the  religious  mind, 
1  See  Eliot's  Life,  Catechism,  etc. 
15 


338  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1687. 

were  as  Greek  to  the  minds  of  the  unpedantic  Indians. 
Theology  would  not  move  them,  while  Goodness  would. 

The  people  of  New  England  were  not  the  only  people 
who  came  to  believe  that  the  essence  of  religion  is  in  the 
intellect,  rather  than  the  soul,  and  that  Christianity  con 
sists  in  the  assent  to  some  intellectual  doctrines,  rather 
than  in  the  aspirations  of  the  spirit. 

The  frightful  cruelties  and  unpitied  murders,  and  bitter 
injustice  and  untold  sorrows,  that  have  disgraced  the  name 
of  Keligion,  may  be  explained  by  the  fact,  that  the  intel 
lect,  instead  of  the  spirit  of  man,  has  been  appealed  to  ; 
and  therefore,  that  assent  to  certain  phrases  or  problems 
was  required,  or  a  man  "should  perish  everlastingly." 
The  Indians  at  once  detected  glaring  difficulties.  "  How 
is  it,  then,"  said  they,  "  that  Mr.  Wilson  is  ready  to  drive 
Mr.  Wheelwright  into  the  sea,  and  Mr.  Williams  is 
hunted  from  his  home  among  Christian  men,  and  Mrs. 
Hutchinson's  body  is  shut  up  in  prison,  and  her  character 
blackened  ?  Why  is  this  ;  for  do  not  all  appeal  to  the 
Bible,  and  stand  fast  upon  it  ?"  Few  in  that  day,  except 
"  fanatical  Quakers,"  appealed  to  the  Inner  Light — to  the 
voice  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  Some  of  the  praying 
Indians  were  slow  to  accept  the  beliefs  of  Eliot  and  their 
teachers ;  but  when  they  did,  they  followed  blindly. 
What  Mr.  Eliot,  or  Mr.  Bourne,  or  Mr.  Gookin  gave  for 
truth,  they  took  ;  and  they  could  not  be  converted  again. 
"  Trouble  us  no  further,"  they  said  to  the  Quakers,  "  with 
your  new  doctrine,  for  we  do  not  approve  it." 1 

But  notwithstanding  their  capacity  for  religious  educa 
tion  and  for  civilization,  they  faded  away  and  vanished 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  If  they  were  capable  of  civil 
ization  and  improvement,  if  they  were  truly  men,  why  was 
this  ?  This  is  the  answer :  Their  color  (as  with  the 
African)  marked  their  race  ;  they  were  in  the  way  of  the 
whites,  who  wanted  their  lands;  quarrels  grew,  and  the 
Indians  were  hated  ;  bows  and  arrows,  and  gladiatorship, 
1  Gookin,  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  voL  i. 


A.D.  1687.]  ELIOT   AND   THE   INDIANS.  339 

could  not  stand  against  combination  and  gunpowder;  the 
Indian  became  the  conquered  race  ;  his  color  checked  his 
assimilation  with  the  white  man,  and  insured  his  gradual 
extermination  ;  he  was  a  marked  man  and  race  ;  he  was 
beaten  and  cowed;  he  lost  his  own  strength  and  manhood, 
and  did  not  acquire  the  strength  of  civilization. 

What  little  self-respect  a  weak  and  overpowered  people 
might  have  had,  was  destroyed  by  Bum  ;  and  inherited 
vagrancy  was  brought  to  vagabondism  by  drunkenness.1 
Any  race,  White,  Black,  or  Red,  is  certain  to  disappear, 
when  its  courage,  and  energy,  and  self-respect,  are  broken 
by  defeat,  or  slavery,  or  degraded  habits.  History  has 
shown  this  to  be  the  law  of  God,  and  the  American  Indians 
confirm  this  law. 

Ceasing  to  hope,  the  Indian  no  longer  exists  ;  we  drop  a 
tear  over  the  extinction  of  a  race,  but  would  not  bring  it 
back,  for  it  made  the  world  no  wiser — no  better — and  no 
more  beautiful — and  we  bid  it  a  sorrowful  FAREWELL. 

Eliot  left  a  daughter,  and  one  son  ;  of  his  descendants, 
scattered  through  the  country,  some  sympathized  with 
him,  in  his  hatred  of  tobacco,  long  hair,  and  fine  clothes  ; 
and  some  are  like  him  in  yielding  too  easily  to  the  persua 
sions  of  policy,  and  the  frowns  of  power.  Many  of  his 
descendants  have  been  faithful  ministers,  but  none  did  so 
much  work  as  he. 

Three  years  before  his  death,  his  wife  died  (1687).  He 
stood  by  the  coffin  of  her  he  had  so  long  loved,  and  as  the 
tears  streamed  down  his  old  face,  he  said  to  the  people: 

"  Here  lies  my  dear,  faithful,  pious,  prudent,  prayerful 
wife — I  shall  go  to  her,  but  she  shall  not  return  to  me/' 
And  he  turned  away,  alone. 

He  sat  waiting  for  death  ;  and  when  Minister  Walton 
came  to  see  him,  he  said,  "  Brother,  you  are  welcome,  but 
retire  to  your  study,  and  pray  that  I  may  be  gone."  He 
spent  his  last  hours  in  teaching  some  negroes  and  a  little 
blind  boy;  for  nothing  in  his  character  was  more  beautiful 
1  Gov.  Shute's  Letter,  M.  H.  C.,  voL  v. 


340  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

than  his  ready  sympathy  for  children.  He  had  done  his 
work,  and  was  ready  to  go  ;  he  said  in  those  days,  "  My 
memory,  my  utterance,  fail  me — but,  I  thank  God,  my 
charity  holds  out  still." 

His  faithfulness,  perseverance,  tenderness,  and  courage, 
had  earned  him  the  title  of 

"  THE  APOSTLE/' 

He  was  called  so  in  his  own  day,  and  he  is  called  so  still. 

But  to  this  good  man,  the  end  here  was  come.  As  he 
sat  in  his  chair  on  the  20th  of  May,  1690,  full  of  peace  and 
hope,  Death  came  and  led  him  away,  as  a  little  child 
going  to  his  father  ;  and  his  last  words  were  : 

"  WELCOME  JOY." 


WORKS  CONSULTED — Francis's  Life  of  Eliot — Hutchinson,  Mass.  Hist. — 
Gookin,  in  Mass.  H.  C. — Eliot,  in  Mass.  H.  C. — Morton's  Memorial — Allen's 
Biog.  Diet. — Winthrop's  Journal — Mather's  Mag. — Graham's  Hist,  of  U.  S. 
— Mass.  Hist.  Colls. — Roger  Williams's  Key — Hubbard's  Hist. — Hazard  H. 
C. — Penhallow's  Indian  Wars. — Gov.  Shute's  Letter  to  Jesuit  Ralle,  M. 
H.  C.,  vol.  v. — Gyles's  Memoirs — Doolittle's  Account. 


CHAPTER     XL. 

KING    PHILIP'S    WAR. 

WAMSUTTA  AND  METACOM — UNCAS — ALEXANDER  TAKEN  PRISONER — DIES — KINO  PHILIP — 
SIGNS  OF  TROUBLE — A  PARLEY — THE  INTERVIEW — NEW  TREATY — JOHN  BASSAHON — 
INDIANS  HANGED — INSULTS — PHILIP  A  COWARD? — PHILIP  INTRIGUES— PHILIP  AH 
IDEALIST — TUB  INDIANS  GATHER — FIRST  BLOOD — 36,000 — CANONCHET — 8WANZEY  AT 
TACKED— WEETAMORE — BAD  NEWS — THE  COUNTRY  RAISED — SUPERSTITIONS — DEERFIELD 
AND  HADLEY  DESTROYED — BEERS  AND  LATHROP  ARE  CUT  UP — THE  NARRAGAN8ETT 
FORT  FIGHT — DESTRUCTION  FOLLOWS — CANONCHET  SHOT — INDIANS  SOLD — PHILIP 
AGAIN — SLAUGHTERS  WADSWORTH — CAPTAIN  TURNER — GREAT  FIGHT — MARY  ROW- 
LANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY — EXASPERATION — INDIANS  DISCOURAGED — RESULTS  OF  THB 

WAR— PHILIP     NOT    A     BARBARIAN— AT     HOME— HIS     BOY     SOLD— PHILIP     FELL    SHOT 
THROUGH   THE    HEART. 

MASSASOIT  (Ousamaquin)  died  somewhere 
about  1661,  near  eighty  years  old,  and  his  son, 
Wanisutta  (Alexander),  was  King  in  his  stead. 
Years  before  (1642)  he  and  Metacom  (Philip), 
then  young  men,  had  come  alone  into  Plymouth,  and  re 
newed  the  friendship  existing  between  their  father  and 
the  whites,  and  had  received  the  names  by  which  we  now 
know  them.  Both  of  these  Indians  seem  to  have  been 
bold  and  talented  men,  and  no  doubt  had  more  Indian 
ambition,  and  less  admiration  for  the  English,  than  then- 
father  ;  for  Hubbard  says,  Alexander  had  neither  fear  of 
them  nor  respect  for  their  religion;  and  Philip  told  Eliot, 
he  cared  nothing  for  it.  Alexander,  to  sustain  his  position, 
had  warred  against  Uncas,  Chief  of  the  Mohegans,  who 
lay  along  west  of  Rhode  Island  ;  and  Uncas  intrigued 
with  the  Hartford  Colonists  against  him;  so  that  from 
Boston  the  Plymouth  settlers  heard  that  Alexander  was 
plotting  against  them  with  the  Narragansetts.  They 
waited  for  no  more  proof,  but  at  once  sent  Winslow  with 
a  company  of  armed  men,  to  bring  him  to  the  Court.  This 


342  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1661. 

was  not  neighborly;  it  certainly  was  not  courteous,  nor 
kind  ;  for  Alexander  was  the  son  of  their  friend  ;  and  the 
sachem  of  a  tribe,  and  their  treaties  recognized  him  as  an 
equal. 

Winslow,  on  his  way  westward,  surprised  him  at  his 
hunting-lodge,  with  some  eighty  of  his  followers.  Alex 
ander  was  at  peace  and  at  ease  ;  he  looked  for  no  danger, 
and  reposed  in  his  house.  Winslow  was  a  man  of  action 
and  decision  :  he  secured  the  weapons  which  were  outside 
the  lodge  ;  he  entered  the  house,  and,  with  pistols  to  his 
breast,  required  the  presence  of  Alexander  at  Plymouth. 
The  Chief  was  astounded  and  excited  ;  he  consented  to 
go,  and  though  Winslow  offered  a  horse,  he  declined  it,  as 
the  women  of  his  party  must  walk.  But  the  exaspera 
tion  of  his  free  uncontrolled  nature  was  too  great,  and  his 
rage  and  indignation  threw  him  into  so  violent  a  fever, 
that  he  could  not  go  on,  and  he  asked  to  be  permitted  to 
return  home,  which  was  granted,  upon  certain  conditions. 
But  he  died  on  his  way — as  the  learned,  vain,  and  unjust 
Cotton  Mather  said,  of  "  the  inward  fury  of  his  own 
guilty  and  haughty  mind."  He  was  carried  home  on  the 
shoulders  of  men,  and  borne  to  his  silent  grave  near 
Mount  Hope,  in  the  evening  of  the  day  and  in  the  prime 
of  his  life,  between  lines  of  sad,  quick-minded  Indians, 
who  well  believed  him  the  victim  of  injustice  and  ingrati 
tude  ;  for  his  father  had  been  the  ally,  not  the  subject,  of 
England,  and  so  was  he,  and  the  like  indignity  had  not 
before  been  put  upon  any  sachem. 

Few  will  deny  to  his  brother  Philip  the  pos 
sum  PHILIP,  session  of  sagacity,  and  few  can  doubt  that 
this  insult  sank  deep  into  his  heart,  and  lay 
unextinguished,  like  the  smoldering  fire  of  the  volcano. 
He  would  have  been  dull,  not  to  see  that  the  whites  were 
encroaching  on  every  side,  and  that,  throwing  aside  their 
former  courtesies,  they  were  quite  ready  to  carry  matters 
toward  the  Indians  with  a  high  hand.  But  whatever  may 
have  been  his  thoughts,  he  kept  his  own  counsel,  and  re- 


A.D.  1671.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  343 

newed  the  league  with  the  Plymouth  Colonists.  By  his 
own  people,  he  was  accepted  with  unusual  rejoicing,  and 
no  honor  possible  to  give, was  withheld  from  the  youngest 
and  only  son  of  their  long-heloved  Ousamaquin. 

It  was  not  till  the  year  1671  that  there  was  a  troubled 
sign  in  the  peaceful  sky  ;  then  Philip  did  not  fear  to  com 
plain,  openly  and  bitterly,  of  the  encroachments  of  the 
whites  upon  his  hunting-grounds.  He  said  : 

"  My  father  gave  them  what  they  asked  ;  they  have 
had  townships  and  whole  Indian  kingdoms  for  a  few 
blankets,  hoes,  and  flattering  words;  but  they  are  not 
content  ; — the  white  man's  throat  is  wide  !" 

And  it  was  so  ;  for  they  were  greedy  for  good  lands, 
and  lay  out  far  to  find  and  possess  them.  The  Plymouth 
people  heard  this  of  Philip,  and  they  heard  that  Philip's 
men  were  sharpening  their  hatchets,  and  mending  their 
guns  ;  for  if  this  was  the  note  of  their  chief,  what  would 
be  the  song  of  his  children  ?  So  they  sent  messengers  to 
consult  the  Massachusetts  government,  and  they  sent 
men  to  confer  with  Philip. 

Philip  was  out  with  his  men,  in  the  early  spring  days, 
when  the  messengers  arrived.  He  listened  to  their  words, 
he  heard  their  inquiries  ;  but  he  spoke  little.  He  said  : 

"  What  have  I  done  ?  I  have  not  fought  with  Uncas 
as  Wamsutta  did,  that  I  should  answer  to  the  white 
man.  I  have  not  molested  any  ;  and  may  not  my  young 
men  prepare  their  weapons  and  follow  their  prey  as  in 
other  days  ?" 

He  declined  a  parley  then,  but  on  the  10th  of  April 
(1671)  he  sent  a  messenger  to  the  officers  of  the  Ply 
mouth  government,  inviting  them  to  a  conference.  They 
were  at  Taunton,  with  some  gentlemen  from  Massachu 
setts,  who  had  come  down  to  assist  in  preserving  peace. 
Philip  lay  at  Three-Mile  Kiver,  about  four 
miles  away.  Governor  Prince  urged  him  to 

* 

come  in,  and  guarantied  his  safety  ;  so  Philip 
and  his  followers  advanced  toward  the  village 


344  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1671. 

to  Crossman's-mill,  and  sent  in  another  messenger,  desir 
ing  a  meeting  there.  Both  parties  were  suspicious.  The 
Indians  posted  their  sentinels  on  the  hill,  and  were  wary 
and  watchful ;  the  towns-people  were  indignant,  and 
ready  to  fall  on  the  Indians.  So  the  Massachusetts  Com 
missioners  took  the  hazard,  and  went  out  to  confer  with 
Philip,  who  agreed  to  come  to  the  meeting-house  at 
Taunton,  one  half  of  which  was  to  be  occupied  by  him 
self  and  his  men. 

The  old  meeting-house  had  never  seen  such  a  sight. 
On  one  side  stood  the  serious,  stern,  determined  Puritans. 
The  Indian  warriors  marched  in,  not  with  the  martial 
tramp  of  armed  men,  but  with  the  soft,  silent  tread  of 
the  subtle  savage.  They  stood  on  the  other  side,  with 
their  long  hair  hanging  on  their  shoulders,  and  their  dark 
eyes  lighted  with  the  fire  of  latent  defiance.  No  man 
was  unarmed,  neither  Puritan  nor  Indian.  But  the  time 
for  blood  had  not  come. 

Philip  alone  was  their  orator.     He  said  : 

"  Why  should  there  be  war  between  the  white  man  arid 
the  Indian  ?  Was  not  my  father  the  friend  of  the  En 
glish  ?  Was  not  my  brother  at  peace  with  them  ?  and 
am  not  I  ?  Is  God  angry,  that  there  should  be  blood  on 
our  hatchets,  and  that  the  hearths  of  the  English  should 
be  red  ?  Let  there  be  justice  and  peace  between  us,  and 
let  Metacom  and  his  warriors  sharpen  their  hatchets  only 
against  the  fierce  Narragansetts,  who  hate  the  English  !" 
So  he  spake,  and  the  Puritans  listened,  while  the  Indians 
gave  their  peculiar,  almost  silent  assent. 

The  Commissioners  and  Governor  Prince  replied.  They 
cited  cases  of  aggression  on  his  part,  and  convinced  them 
selves,  if  not  him,  that  he  had  been  practicing  and  plot 
ting  mischief  against  them.  It  is  clear  that  Philip  was  a 
politician,  and  whatever  were  his  plans,  his  time  for  ac 
tion  was  not  yet  come.  He  seemed  to  yield  the  point, 
and  the  English  drew  up  a  paper  for  him  to  sign,  admit 
ting  that  "  through  my  indiscretion  and  the  naughtiness 


A.D.  1674.]  KING   PHILIP'S  WAR.  345 

of  my  heart,"  "  I  have  violated  and  broken  my  covenant/' 
etc.,  and  promising  to  give  up  his  English  arms.  If  his 
purpose  was  to  gain  time,  it  made  no  more  difference  what 
he  signed,  than  if  he  had  been  a  French  Emperor  or  a 
chivalrous  Diplomat.  He  signed,  and  gained  time.  The 
meeting  was  over,  but  the  Indians  kept  their  arms,  for 
the  present.  Fear  and  suspicion  were  not  lulled,  nor  was 
ill-will  allayed.  But  in  the  course  of  the  summer  (Au 
gust),  the  Plymouth  government  summoned  Philip  to 
appear  there  ;  he  went  to  Boston  instead,  and  strength 
ened  that  government  in  his  favor  ;  so  that  though  letters 
from  Plymouth  came  the  same  day,  declaring  in  favor  of 
war  forthwith,  the  Massachusetts  government  so  strongly 
opposed  it,  that  both  parties  consented  to  a  new  confer 
ence  at  Plymouth  ;  which  resulted  in  Philip's  agreeing  to 
pay  one  hundred  pounds  "in  such  things  as  he  had,"  and 
five  wolf's-heads  yearly,  "  if  I  can  get  them."  None  of 
which  he  did.  Yet  peace  continued  without  suspicion  for 
the  coming  three  years. 

One  of  the  principal  clauses,  of  the  Treaty  between 
Philip  and  the  Plymouth  Colony,  was,  that  the  whites 
should  not  buy,  nor  the  Indians  sell,  their  lands,  except 
by  mutual  consent  of  Philip  and  the  Governor.  But  noth 
ing  could  hinder  the  whites  from  buying,  or  cajoling  away 
the  farms  of  the  Indians.  Philip  saw  that  they  violated 
the  Treaty,  and  that  his  possessions  and  power  were  thus 
slipping  out  of  his  hand.  He  remonstrated  ;  he  wrote, 
"  If  any  English  or  Engians  speak  about  aney  land,  he 
pray  you  to  give  them  no  answer  at  all."  That  this  mat 
ter  was  serious,  is  evident,  for  Eliot  and  Gookin,  in  a  peti 
tion,  to  the  Massachusetts  Government,  in  1684,  about 
certain  fraudulent  purchases,  said,  "  Was  not  a  principal 
cause  of  the  late  war,  about  encroachments  on  Philip's 
land,  at  Mount  Hope  ?" 

Now,  at  this  time  (about  1674),  John  Sassamon,  who 
had  been  somewhat  educated  at  Cambridge,  and  had  been 
employed  as  a  teacher,  among  the  Indians,  was  Philip's 

15* 


346  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

Secretary  and  confidential  friend.  Hubbard  and  Mather, 
speak  of  him,  as  a  "  Cunning  Indian,"  who  left  Christian 
ity,  and  went  back  to  Sin  with  Philip,  "  like  a  heathen  ;" 
he  seems  to  have  been  an  Indian,  "  badly  spoilt/'  for  he 
deserted  Philip,  and  betrayed  his  secrets  to  the  English, 
and  went  to  preaching  and  praying  again,  under  Eliot,  at 
Natick.  Such  a  fellow,  no  decent  Indian  could  respect  ; 
yet  he  left  the  whites,  and  again  came  among  them,  and 
went  about  in  the  territory  of  his  Chief,  whom  he  had  so 
basely  served  ;  for  awhile  he  did  this,  and  then  disap 
peared.  The  whites  sought  for  him,  for  they  knew  the 
hatred  he  must  have  provoked,  and  they  at  last  found  him, 
a  dead  Indian,  at  the  bottom  of  Assawomset  Pond  (in 
Middleboro'),  his  hat  and  gun  lying  on  the  ice.  Now  had 
he  drowned  himself,  tired  of  this  miserable  mongrel  life  ? 
The  Plymouth  people  thought  not,  and,  on  the  testimony 
of  another  Indian,  "  found  by  a  strange  providence/'  who 
said  he  saw  from  the  top  of  a  hill,  the  murder  done,  they 
seized  three  Pokanoket  Indians,  one  of  them,  a  man  of 
distinction,  and  forthwith  hanged  them. 

Philip  brooded  over  these  things.  He  thought  of  the  many 
and  repeated  kindnesses  done  the  whites  by  his  Father,  he 
remembered  his  gifts  (for  in  fact  they  were  such),  of  lands, 
and  his  steady  refusal  to  join  in  their  extermination  (in 
Weston's  time),  when  they  were  weak  ;  he  thought  of  the 
indignity  and  death  of  his  brother  at  their  hands  ;  he  saw 
that  they  were  grasping,  that  his  corn-lands  and  hunting- 
grounds,  were  rapidly  growing  less  ;  that  the  Bum  intro 
duced  by  the  whites,  was  poisoning  his  warriors  ;  and  that 
his  men  were  seized,  and  now,  at  last,,  without  consulta 
tion  with  him,  were  put  to  death.  This  was  insult.  As 
he  walked  among  his  fighting  men,  they  begged  for  war. 
They  said,  "  that  will  be  better  than  this  ;  better  to  die 
bravely  than  perish  like  dogs,"  and  they  cursed  the  En 
glish.  But  Philip  continued  silent  and  moody ;  he  did  not 
restrain  their  anger,  yet  he  did  not  declare  war  ;  he  visited 
the  graves  of  his  fathers,  and  thought  of  the  past,  when 


A.D.  1675.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  347 

they  were  Chiefs  in  the  land  ;  he  stood  by  the  mound, 
yet  ungrassed,  where  the  body  of  Wamsutta  lay,  and  re 
membered  that  he  had  perished,  not  in  war,  and  by  the 
hand  of  a  brave  enemy,  but  that  insult  had  blasted  him  in 
his  prime,  and  that  women,  not  men,  had  sung  his  song 
of  death.  Philip's  Indian  heart  was  moved  with  pity,  in 
dignation,  and  revenge,  and  he  swore  before  his  God,  that 
he,  or  the  whites,  should  perish. 

There  were  those  among  the  Sachem's  own  tribe,  who 
said  "  Philip  is  a  coward,  Philip  dares  not  meet  the  En 
glish."  Philip  knew  this,  but  he  spoke  nothing  to  them  ; 
his  squaws  watched  him  fearfully,  and  his  Indian  boy 
played  no  longer  with  his  hatchet.  But  he  was  not  idle  ; 
that  subtle  brain  was  on  fire,  and  his  feet  knew  no  rest, 
nor  his  eyes  sleep.  Alone  he  threaded  the  forests,  and 
found  the  places  of  his  rivals,  once  his  enemies  ;  they  were 
such  no  longer,  if  they  had  Indian  hearts  and  Indian 
sympathies,  and  would  listen  to  his  story.  All  through 
1674-75,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Philip  was 
busy.  The  powerful  Narragansetts,  on  the  West,  gave 
him  their  hands  ;  the  Nipmucks  along  the  Connecticut, 
listened,  and  promised  aid  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
that  Philip's  lithe  and  dusky  figure  was  seen  further  West. 
Many  Indians  had  felt  the  same  iron  that  had  entered  his 
soul ;  and  only  waited  an  opportunity  for  revenge,  which 
came  too  soon.  But  the  Mohegans,  and  the  Pequots, 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  Sachem's  seductive  song  (perhaps 
they  remembered  the  bloody  destruction  at  Mystic  fort, 
ch.  xxix.) ;  and  the  "  Praying  Indians,"  then  numbering 
between  one  and  two  thousand,  stood  by  the  whites.1 

Philip  spent  his  strength  ;  he  spared  no  arts,  he  lived 
only  for  one  purpose,  and  that  was  to  unite  the  Indians  of 
New  England  (thus  far  split  into  clans),  into  one  body ; 
strong  enough  to  maintain  themselves  against  the  whites. 
He  was  now  become  an  Idealist — no  longer  a  dirty  sensual 
Indian,  bent  upon  gaining  wampum  (money),  and  Kum, 

1  Gookin's  Account  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i. 


348  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1675. 

and  scalps — and  his  idea  raised  him,  as  ideas  always  do, 
from  the  crowd  of  mercenaries  into  the  rank  of  Heroes.  A 
SPIRIT  now  possessed  him,  and  inspired  every  fiber  of  his 
brain,  and  every  muscle  of  his  body. 

There  was  a  slight  tremble  in  the  earth,  and  a  hush  in 
the  sky,  which  portended  danger  ;  but  the  whites  had  been, 
for  more  than  a  century,  at  peace  with  the  Indians,  and 
felt  themselves  to  be  their  masters  ;  and  it  was  not  likely 
now,  when  the  whites  had  grown  in  numbers,  and  in 
power,  that  a  Chief  of  six  hundred  warriors,  would  venture 
to  begin  the  struggle.  Still  the  minds  of  men  were  agi 
tated  and  anxions,  and  in  every  quarter  preparations  were 
made  for  war,  which  might  come,  none  knew  when. 

In  the  spring  of  1675,  Philip's  men  gathered 
fr°m  all  quarters  to  Mount  Hope  ;  they  came 
in  day  by  day  in  parties,  every  man  bearing  his 
arms,  ready  for  action.  None  of  them  feared  war,  and, 
as  their  numbers  swelled,  their  bitterness  and  fury  increas 
ed.  They  knew  not  policy,  nor  how  to  reserve  their 
anger,  as  Philip  did  ;  and  this  feverish  condition  could 
not  be  allayed.  The  Execution  of  the  three  Indians  for 
the  murder  of  Sassamon  was  not  forgotten  for  a  moment, 
and  that  served  to  fire  the  mine.  It  was  on  the  24th 
of  June,  1675,1  that,  in  a  discussion  at  Swansea,  the  In 
dians  expressed  themselves  so  as  to  exasperate  the  whites, 
one  of  whom  discharged  his  musket,  and  wounded  an  In 
dian.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed,  and  it  began  the 
King  PHILIP'S  WAR.  Philip  wept  when  he  heard  of  it, 
for  he  was  not  ready,  and  he  knew  that  when  he  struck 
the  blow,  it  must  be  with  destruction.  It  was  too  late 
for  tears  ;  blood  had  been  shed,  and  it  maddened  the 
Savages  beyond  the  control  of  the  Sachem. 

At  this  time,  according  to  loose  estimates,  there  may 
have  been  some  36,000  Indians,  and  60,000 2  whites  in 

1  Thatcher's  Indian  Biography. 

2  Holmes's  Annals  say  120,000.     Turnbull's  Hist.     Church's  Indian  War. 
Hildreth's  Hist.,  vol.  i. 


A.D.  1675.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  349 

New  England  ;  10,000  of  the  former  fit  for  war,  and 
15,000  of  the  latter  capable  of  bearing  arms.  But  the 
Indians  had  no  duties,  no  restraints,  and  no  property — 
nothing  to  hinder  them  from  war.  Still,  at  the  outset, 
the  Narragansetts,  numbering  2,000  warriors,  did  not 
actually  second  Philip's  resistance.  But  Canonchet,  their 
Sachem,  might  well  remember  the  death  of  his  father 
Miantonomo  (see  ch.  xxx.),  and  Philip  might  safely  hope 
that  some  wanton,  blundering  violence  would  drive  him  to 
exasperation.  The  whites  now  began  to  gather  their 
forces,  from  the  various  towns  to  Taunt  on,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Bradford  and  Captain  Cudworth,  assisted^ 
by  that  indefatigable  partisan,  Captain  Church  ;  and  il; 
was  not  long  before  a  party  of  Militia  from  Boston,  led 
by  Captain  Savage,  with  Hutchinson,  Prentice,  and 
Moesly  (the  old  Buccaneer)  joined  them  (28th  June),  and 
rendezvoused  at  Miles's  house  near  Mount  Hope,  Bristol, 
the  country  of  Philip  and  his  Wampanoags.  General 
Josias  Winslow,  of  Plymouth,  was  at  the  head  of  the 
whole  of  the  forces.  Major  Appleton,  of  Boston,  com 
manded  the  Massachusetts  men  ;  Major  Treat  the  Con 
necticut  men  ;  and  their  united  troops  numbered  between 
1,500  and  2,000  men.i  No  efforts  at  conciliation  seem  to 
have  been  made  by  either  party  ;  for  the  whites  felt  their 
superiority  [were  they  not  "  the  Lord's  chosen  people  ?"]  ; 
and  Philip  knew  the  desperate  nature  of  the  struggle  be 
tween  united  and  well-armed  whites,  and  divided  uncon 
trolled  savages  ;  yet  when  the  emergency  came  he  met  it, 
and  never  faltered  or  plead  from  that  day  forth. 

The  Indians  at  first  plundered  and  killed  cattle  ;  but 
soon  two  men  belonging  to  a  small  garrison  were  shot, 
which  was  followed  up  by  an  attack  upon  a  part  of  Swan- 
zey  [Swansea],  in  which  eight  whites  were  killed,  and 
their  heads  left  exposeVi  on  poles,  a  ghastly  sight  to  the 
coming  troops.  The  Indians  dispersed  in  parties  over  the 
Neck,  and  shot  the  whites  from  their  ambushes  ;  none 
1  Moore's  Governors. 


350  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1675. 

could  tell  where  the  Indians  might  not  be.  It  was  clearly 
Philip's  policy,  and  it  was  Indian  warfare  never  to  face 
the  enemy.  But  the  whites  soon  gathered  information 
and  confidence,  and  not  finding  Philip,  marched  away 
into  the  Narragansett's  country,1  (15th  July),  and  exacted 
pledges  from  them,  which  could  as  easily  be  broken  as 
given.  One  provision  of  this  treaty  was,  that  Philip's  head 
should  be  paid  for  with  twenty  good  trucking-coats,  and 
every  common  Indian's  head  the  Narragansetts  brought  in 
should  command  one  coat.  Captain  Church,  the  bush- 
fighter,  was  busy,  and  with  such  squads  of  men  as  he 
could  get,  he  kept  on  the  track  of  Philip,  who  he  dis 
covered  had  left  Mount  Hope  without  a  fight,  and  gone 
to  Pocasset  [Tiverton],  probably  to  join  the  squaw 
Sachem — Weetamore — and  her  Indians. 

She  stood  by  Philip  from  the  first  to  the  last  ;  and  he 
had  strong  men  with  him,  in  his  own  Chiefs  Anawon, 
Tiasq,  and  Akkompoin.2  Pumham,  too,  had  been  sup 
plied  with  arms  by  Massachusetts,  to  act  against  Gorton. 
He  now  joined  Philip,  and  turned  them  against  Massa 
chusetts  and  the  whites.  Philip  felt  confident  of  the 
Connecticut  Kiver  Indians — the  Nipmucks — and  had 
hopes  of  other  powerful  tribes. 

The  white  troops  from  Massachusetts,  Ply- 
GRKAT  mouth  and  Connecticut,  after  a  march  of  18 
V1  miles,  [July  16],  came  to  the  great  swamp, 
where  the  Indians  were,  and  immediately  en 
tered  it.  The  first  of  them  were  shot  down,  but  those 
behind  pressed  on  ;  the  ground  was  soft  and  the  cover 
tangled,  and  every  man  fought  on  his  own  judgment,  and 
shot  at  every  bush  where  he  thought  an  Indian  might  be 
concealed.  They  penetrated  to  the  Indian  houses  in  the 
center  of  the  swamp,  but  found  them  deserted  ;  and  night 
coming  on,  they  surrounded  the  swamp,  and  determined 
to  watch  the  prey,  so  nicely  caught.  The  game  being 
thus  trapped,  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  troops 

1  Hutchinson,  voL  L  *  Church's  History,  p.  210. 


A.D.  1675.]  KING   PHILIP'S  WAR.  351 

both  turned  their  steps  homeward,  and  left  the  Plymouth 
men  to  finish  the  work.i  But  the  game  was  not  yet 
taken,  and  on  the  first  of  August,  Philip  and  his  follow 
ers  ferried  themselves  over  the  great  Taunton  River  on 
Eafts,  and  in  great  triumph  marched  away  to  the  Nip- 
mucks,  around  Springfield  [5th  Aug.],  who  had  already 
attacked  Mendon  [37  miles  S.W.  from  Boston],  and  killed 
some  whites. 

One  easy  victory  could  be  easily  won  ;  but  a  warlike 
and  desperate  spirit  seemed  now  to  be  roused  in  the  In 
dians,  which  refused  to  stay  beaten  ;  and  they  had  a 
leader  in  Philip  as  determined  and  full  of  resource  as  the 
country  was  wide,  and  the  irritation  deep.  News  did  not 
then  travel  fast,  but  all  too  soon  it  came  through  the 
frightened  villages  to  Boston,  that  Mendon  was  taken  ; 
that  Captain  Hutchinson,  who  had  been  sent  from  Bos 
ton  to  make  a  league  with  the  River  Indians,  was  killed 
[Aug.  2],  with  a  large  part  of  his  twenty  horsemen  ;  that 
Brookfield  had  been  beset,  and  all  the  houses  but  one, 
where  the  people  had  gathered,  burned  ;  and  that  the 
Indians  had  pushed  up  to  that  a  cart  loaded  with  com 
bustibles  by  means  of  a  long  spliced  pole,  and  were  only 
prevented  from  consummating  the  destruction,  by  the 
arrival  of  Major  Willard  with  a  party  of  troopers  from 
Lancaster.  They  heard,  too.  that  the  Hadley  Indians  had 
joined  Philip  ;  and  the  timid  trembled,  while  the  strong 
men  roused  themselves,  and  girded  themselves  for  a  strug 
gle,  which  had  not  been  foreseen  nor  provided  for.  The 
Hartford  men  were  raised,  and  organized  under  Major 
Treat,  and  in  every  town  and  scattered  village,  young 
men  and  old  scoured  up  their  firelocks,  and  enrolled 
themselves  to  guard  their  homes,  and  the  lives  of  their 
frightened  women  and  children. 

Their  vague  dread  was  increased  by  the  wildest  fancies 
of  superstition,  which  converted  the  simplest  things  in  na- 

'  Trumbull's  Connecticut,  vol.  i.  Hutchinson  says  the  Massachusetts 
troops  were  stationed  around  the  swamp,  vol.  L,  p.  293. 


18  BURNED. 
HADLEY  18 
ATTACKED. 


352  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1615. 

ture  into  dire  omens.  The  thin  cloud  seemed  an  Indian's 
bow  ;  the  shadow  of  the  earth  in  an  eclipse,  a  white  man's 
scalp  over  the  sun ;  the  sighing  of  the  wind,  the  whistle 
of  bullets ;  other  sounds  seemed  the  gallop  of  invisible 
horsemen  ;  and  the  clergy,  by  no  means  cowards,  were 
ready  to  seize  the  moment  to  rouse  the  people  to  a  sense 
of  their  sins,  and  gather  them  into  the  Church.  Even  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  after  consulting  with  the 
Elders,  pronounced  the  war  a  special  judgment  of  God 
upon  them,  for  such  sins  as  wearing  long  hair,  profane 
swearing,  leaving  meeting  before  the  blessing  was  asked, 
Sabbath-breaking,  and  so  on — not  including  harshness  and 
injustice  in  dealing  with  the  Indians. 

But  the  judgment  was  come,  and  disaster  fol- 
lowed  fast.  Deerfield  was  attacked  and  burned 
[September  1,  1675],  and  on  the  same  day — 
and  that  Fast-day,  while  the  inhabitants  of 
Hadley  were  in  meeting,  imploring  the  protec 
tion  of  God — they  were  startled  by  the  whoops  and  shouts 
of  savages.  In  fearful  confusion,  not  knowing  where  to 
fly,  a  white-haired  stranger  put  himself  at  their  head  ;  his 
clear  voice  rallied  them  around  him,  and  leaving  the 
women  and  children  in  the  house,  they  rushed  against  the 
undisciplined  savages,  drove  them  back  and  dispersed 
them.  This  vigor  and  valor  still  lingered  in  the  person  of 
General  Goffe,  an  old  compatriot  of  Cromwell's,  who,  as 
one  of  the  Kegicides,  had  been  hunted  from  place  to  place, 
and  now  appeared  for  a  moment,  and  then  disappeared 
forever.1 

The  destruction  of  ISTorthfield  followed  ;  and  a  few  days 
after  [September  11],  Captain  Beers,  who  was  going  to  its 
relief,  was  slain  with  twenty  of  his  men.  On  the  18th 
September,  Captain  Lathrop,  with  a  party  of  nigh  a  hun 
dred  men,  convoying  a  large  quantity  of  grain  from  Deer- 
field  to  Hadley,  was  cut  off  almost  to  the  last  man.  On 
the  5th  of  October,  Springfield  was  attacked  and  fired,  but 
1  Stiles's  Judges. 


A.D.  1675.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  353 

was  saved  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  Major  Treat.  Then 
Hatfield  was  attacked  [October  19].  Not  only  were  these 
things  done  there,  but  the  fury  was  kept  alive  in  and 
about  Mount  Hope  by  Pumham  and  Weetamore.  The 
Narragansetts,  in  Rhode  Island,  too,  were  growing  restive. 
The  spark  spread  toward  the  East,  and  the  Indians  along 
the  Merrimack  began  to  attack  the  towns. 

Winter  now  drew  on  [1675-6].,  and  many  of  Philip's 
Indians  were  believed  to  have  returned  from  the  North, 
and  to  be  harbored  among  the  Narragansetts.  It  was  un 
certain  where  he  was  ;  but  as  he  was  alive,  and  as  there 
were  signs  of  hostility  among  the  Narragansetts,  it  was 
decided  to  crush  them  before  the  spring  should  come,  or  a 
new  league  be  formed.  So  a  thousand  men  were  raised 
(five  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  led  by  Major  Samuel  Ap- 
pleton,  from  Massachusetts ;  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight, 
led  by  Major  Bradford,  from  Plymouth  ;  and  three  hun 
dred  and  fifteen,  led  by  Major  Robert  Treat,  from  Connec 
ticut),  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  Governor  Winslow, 
of  Plymouth,  who  led  them  into  the  Narragansett  country. 
Whatever  had  been  the  hesitation  of  Canonchet  and  his 
Narragansetts,  the  news  of  this  expedition  told  them,  that 
the  whites  looked  upon  them  as  enemies.  Winslow  and 
his  troops  marched  through  the  snow,  to  the  great  Swamp- 
fort  of  the  Indians,  in  what  is  now  South  Kingston.  They 
reached  it  at  day-break,  and  pushed  on  to  the  entrance  of 
the  Fort.  It  was  the  "Lord's  day,"  and  the  19th  day  of  De 
cember.  Parties  of  Indian  scouts  waylaid  them,  and  were 
waylaid  by  parties  of  the  whites,  led  by  Church  and  other 
bush-fighters  ;  while  Davenport,  Gardiner,  Gallop,  and 
Marshall  (all  of  whom  were  killed)  assaulted  and  rushed 
into  the  fort.  The  destruction  was  frightful :  nigh  two 
hundred  whites  were  wounded,  eighty  killed  ;  and  of  the 
Indians  some  three  hundred  or  more  (Hubbard  reports, 
from  an  Indian,  seven  hundred),  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  perished,  and  "as  many  more  captivated."  The 
forts  and  wigwams  were  fired,  and  in  their  flames,  many 


354  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

old  men,  women,  and  children  perished.  Great  stores  of 
corn  were  consumed,  so  that  starvation  now  stared  in  the 
face  the  once  powerful,  now  broken,  tribe.  They  were 
houseless,  homeless,  and  hungry,  and  all  through  the  win 
ter,  lived  by  devastation,  or  died  in  despair.  The  whites 
had  broken  the  strength  of  the  tribe,  but  had  turned  loose 
on  their  own  villages  bands  of  desperate  men  ;  and  what 
was  the  result  ?  Lancaster  was  burned,  and  forty  of  the 
inhabitants  killed  [February  10th,  1676]  ;  Medfield  was 
partly  burned,  and  Weymouth  was  attacked  ;  Groton  and 
Warwick  were  destroyed  [17th  March],  and  Providence 
was  partly  burned  [28th  March],  in  spite  of  the  moral  in 
fluence  of  Koger  Williams  to  protect  it.  Captain  Den- 
ison,  of  Connecticut,  with  his  brave  volunteers,  swept  the 
Narragansett  country ;  but  the  Indians  doubled  upon 
their  track,  and  appeared  in  unexpected  places.  All  over 
the  Plymouth  country,  the  destruction  went  on;  town 
after  town  was  attacked  and  burned  ;  and  fear  and  horror 
everywhere  ruled,  till  even  Plymouth  Town  itself,  on  the 
llth  of  May,  was  attacked,  and  sixteen  houses  were  burned. 
In  the  spring,  Canonchet,  the  Sachem  of  the 
CANONCHET  Narragansetts,  came  down  from  the  Nipmuck 
AND  BHOT.  country,  to  get  seed  corn  from  his  own  land, 
and  was  surprised  by  Captain  Denison,  while 
telling  his  exploits  to  some  of  his  tribe.  He  fled,  was 
seized  by  a  swift  Pequot,  and  made  no  resistance,  but  re 
fused  to  answer  him  or  a  young  white,  who  next  came  up. 

"  You  too  much  child,"  he  said  ;  "let  your  Captain 
come."  When  told  "  he  was  to  die,"  he  said  :  "  I  like  it 
well  ;  I  shall  die  before  my  heart  is  soft,  or  I  say  any 
thing  unworthy  of  Canonchet."  He  was  shot  at  Stoning- 
ton,  and  died  as  he  had  lived,  simply  and  bravely,  refus 
ing  to  make  peace. 

Captain  Denison,  of  Connecticut,  and  Church,  of  Ply 
mouth,  carried  on  their  partisan  warfare  through  the  sum 
mer  [1676],  hunting  up,  dispersing  and  destroying  parties 
of  Indians,  and  sending  the  prisoners  (whom  they  took,  or 


A.D.  1676.]  KING  PHILIPS  WAR.  355 

who  surrendered  themselves)  to  Plymouth,  whence  they 
were  mostly  transported,  and  sold  as  slaves,  in  spite  of 
what  Mr.  Earl,  Captain  Els,  or  Church  "  could  say  or 
argue,  plead. or  beg  ;"  and  Church  avows  his  belief,  that 
in  a  great  degree,  it  hindered  the  pacification  of  the  In 
dians.  The  price  they  brought,  was  low,  for  Major  Brad 
ford,  in  a  letter,  says  :  "  That  day  [December  16],  we  sold 
Captain  Davenport  forty-seven  Indians,  young  and  old, 
for  £80  money/'  * 

Philip  led  the  Indians  in  their  attack  upon  Lancaster 
(Feb.  10),  and  in  their  furious  attack  upon  Sudbury  (18th 
April),  where  "  they  swallowed  up  the  gallant  Captain 
Wadsworth  and  all  his  men."  Then  the  Indians  appear  to 
have  gathered  to  the  Falls  of  the  Connecticut,2  where 
they  were  busy  in  taking  fish,  for  all  their  corn  was  cut 
off.  Captain  Turner,  of  Boston,  learned  where  the  Indians 
were,  and  that  they  felt  strong,  and  were  fearless  and  care 
less.  He  concerted  a  plan  of  attack  with  Captains  Holy- 
oke  of  Springfield,  Lyman  of  Northampton,  and  Kellogg 
and  Dickinson  of  Hadley.  They  hastily  gathered  one 
hundred  and  sixty  volunteers,  and  being  well  mounted, 
led  by  Benjamin  Wait  and  Experience  Hinsdale,  they 
started,  and  passed  through  Deerfield  at  midnight,  crossed 
the  river  at  Cheapside,  and  rode  on  through  the  meadows 
and  woods,  till  they  came  to  the  west  bank  of  Fall  River. 
Here  they  dismounted,  tied  their  horses,  and  left  them  in 
charge  of  a  guard.  The  Indians  were  encamped  above 
the  Falls,  half  a  mile  from  where  Turner  and  his  men 
dismounted.  He  then  gave  the  orders  : 

"  Every  man  to  see  to  his  priming — to  make  his  way  in 
silence — to  keep  together — and  not  to  fire  until  the  word 
was  given." 

Then  they  stole  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  it  was 
just  day-break  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Indian 
camp.  It  was  the  18th  of  May.  Turner  and  his  friends, 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i,  p.  301. 

3  Montague  Falls,  or  Great  Falls,  or  Turner's,  or  Miller's  Falls. 


356  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

sheltering  themselves  behind  the  trees,  listened  but  could 
hear  no  sound  ;  the  Indians  lay  about,  sleeping  in  their 
camp,  many  not  even  sheltered  with  tents  of  boughs.  It 
was  evident  that  they  had  had  a  grand  feast  the  night 
before  ;  and  indeed  some  of  the  settlers'  beef  had  helped 
them.  Turner  then  told  his  men  to  creep  up,  and  when 
he  fired,  to  mark  their  men  and  pour  in  a  volley.  No 
Indian  stirred — they  dreamed  of  plenty  of  fish,  and  plenty 
of  plunder. 

The  sharp  crack  of  Turner's  musket  broke  their  dreams 
in  the  stillness  of  the  morning,  and  then  a  rattling  volley 
carried  death  and  amazement  among  the  sleeping  Indians. 
Many  were  killed — many  were  wounded,  and  howled  with 
pain — the  rest  rushed  wildly  to  the  river,  shouting — 

"  Mohawks  !  Mohawks  !"  and  in  a  panic  of  fear,  threw 
themselves  into  their  canoes,  and  pushed  out  into  the 
river  ;  they  waited  not,  even  for  their  paddles  ;  the  swift 
current  caught  the  drifting  canoes  and  swept  them  over 
the  falls — dashing  them  in  pieces.  Turner,  Holyoke, 
and  their  men,  kept  up  this  murderous  attack,  and 
slew  the  bewildered  and  unarmed  savages.  Five  fell 
by  the  hand  of  Holyoke  alone.  More  than  a  hundred 
were  killed  in  the  camp,  and  nigh  two  hundred  were 
lost  in  the  falls — a  few  escaped  to  tell  the  dreadful 
tale. 

Turner  then  burned  the  huts  and  retired  ;  he  found  his 
guard  defending  their  horses  from  another  party  of  Indians; 
one  party  had  come  upon  them  from  above,  and  another 
from  below,  and  Turner's  work  seemed  yet  but  half  done. 
He  and  his  men  retired  fighting.  Holyoke  defended  the 
rear,  and  was  nigh  being  taken  prisoner  by  a  daring  In 
dian,  whom  he  shot.  Their  retreat  was  hastened  by  the 
report  of  one  of  their  captains,  that  King  Philip  was  in 
pursuit  with  a  thousand  Indians.  They  reached  Green 
River  and  crossed  it  ;  and  there  a  bullet,  with  "  Death" 
written  on  it,  struck  Captain  Turner ;  he  fell  from  his 
horse,  and  soon  died.  Captain  Holyoke  kept  up  his  re- 


A.D.  1675.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  357 

treat  fighting,  through  Green  River  meadows,  till  he  at 
last  reached  Hatfield,  with  a  loss  of  thirty-eight  men.1 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  in  this  war,  was  Mary  Kow- 
landson  ;  her  narrative  of  her  captivity  and  sufferings  was 
once  among  the  famous  books  of  New  England.  Some 
extracts  from  it  are  as  follows  :2 

"  On  the  10th  of  February,  1675,"  she  begins,  "  came 
the  Indians,  with  great  numbers,  upon  Lancaster  :  their 
first  coming  was  about  sun-rising ;  hearing  the  noise  of 
some  guns,  we  looked  out ;  several  houses  were  burning, 
and  the  smoke  ascending  to  heaven." 

A  few  short  extracts  will  serve  to  show  the  condition  of 
both  Indians  and  captives. 

"  It  is  not  my  tongue  or  pen  can  express  the  sorrows 
of  my  heart,  and  bitterness  of  my  spirit,  that  I  had  at 
this  departure  ;  but  God  was  with  me  in  a  wonderful 
manner,  carrying  me  along,  and  bearing  up  my  spirit, 
that  it  did  not  quite  fail.  One  of  the  Indians  carried  my 
poor  wounded  babe  upon  a  horse  ;  it  went  moaning  all 
along,  /  shall  die  !  I  shall  die !  I  went  on  foot  after  it, 
with  sorrow  that  can  not  be  exprest.  At  length  I  took  it 
off  the  horse,  and  carried  it  in  my  arms  till  my  strength 
failed,  and  I  fell  down  with  it." 

"  These  nine  days  I  sat  upon  my  knees,  with  my  babe 
in  my  lap  till  my  flesh  was  raw  again.  My  child  being 
even  ready  to  depart  this  sorrowful  world,  they  bid  me 
carry  it  to  another  wigwam  (I  suppose  because  they  would 
not  be  troubled  with  such  spectacles),  whither  I  went  with 
a  heavy  heart ;  and  down  I  sat  with  the  picture  of  death 
in  my  lap.  About  two  hours  in  the  night,  my  sweet  babe 
like  a  lamb  departed  this  life,  it  being  about  six  years 
and  five  months  old." 

They  keep  removing  from  place  to  place  thenceforward. 

1  Memoir  of  Williams  in  "  "Williams's  Redeemed  Captive."    Ed.  1853. 

3  A  Narrative  of  the  Captivity,  Sufferings,  and  Removes  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Eowlaudson,  who  was  taken  Prisoner  by  the  Indians,  etc.  "Written  by  her 
own  hand.  Boston,  1805. 


358  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

"  The  water  was  up  to  our  knees  and  the  stream  very 
swift,  and  so  cold  that  I  thought  it  would  have  cut  me  in 
sunder.  I  was  so  weak  and  feeble  that  I  reeled  as  I  went  along. 

"  My  master  had  three  squaws — living  sometimes  with 
one,  and  sometimes  with  another.  Onux,  the  old  squaw 
at  whose  wigwam  I  was,  and  with  whom  my  master  had 
been  then  three  weeks  :  another  was  Wettimore,  with 
whom  I  had  lived.  A  severe  and  proud  dame  she  was, 
bestowing  every  day  in  dressing  herself,  near  as  much 
time  as  any  gentry  of  the  land  ;  powdering  her  hair,  and 
painting  her  face,  going  with  her  necklaces,  with  jewels  in 
her  ears,  and  bracelets  upon  her  hands.  When  she  had 
dressed  herself,  her  work  was  to  make  girdles  of  wampum 
and  beads.  The  third  squaw  was  a  younger  one/' 

Mrs.  Rowlandson  passed  several  months  among  them, 
when  she  was  allowed  to  go  home,  for  some  small  ransom. 
"  So  I  took  my  leave  of  them,  and  in  going  along,  my 
heart  melted  into  tears,  more  than  all  the  while  I  was 
with  them  ;  and  I  was  almost  swallowed  up  with  the 
thoughts  that  ever  I  should  go  home  again." 

She  found  her  husband  at  Boston,  and  her  two  children 
were  afterward  ransomed  and  returned  to  her — but  one 
she  had  held  in  her  arms,  never  came  back  more. 

Up  to  the  spring  of  1676  (excepting  the  terrible  de 
struction  of  the  Narragansetts),  the  successes  of  Philip 
and  the  Indians  had  been  surprising  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  the  superstitious  fears  of  the  whites  led 
many  to  believe  that  God  had  consented  to  their  destruc 
tion.  But  there  were  men  among  them  who  were  not 
fatalists,  and  who  had  determined  to  die  hard,  and  their 
courage  and  determination  rose  with  the  emergency.  The 
exasperation  of  the  whites  toward  the  Indians  was  now 
extreme  ;  so  great  that  even  their  color  aroused  the  whites 
to  cruelty,  and  various  towns  of  the  peaceable  "  praying 
Indians"  were  driven  into  Boston,  and  confined  for  safety 
on  the  islands  in  the  harbor,  subject  to  wretched  shelter 
and  bad  food.  It  seemed  hardly  worth  while  to  observe 


A.D.  1G7G.]  KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  359 

even  honor  with  the  Indians  in  arms  :  parties  who  made 
terms,  and  were  sent  in  by  Church,  were  treated  as  spoil, 
not  as  friends,  and  were  sent,  part  to  the  gallows,  and 
part  to  slavery.  So  it  was  with  a  large  party  who  came 
together  to  treat  for  peace  at  Dover  (N.  H.)  ;  they  were 
seized  by  Major  Waldron  and  sent  to  Boston,1  Some 
men  of  Marblehead  had  been  killed,  and  shortly  after  it, 
two  Indians  were  brought  in  prisoners  on  a  Sunday ; 
WOMEN  then  coming  out  of  meeting  fell  upon  them  and 
murdered  them.2  One  concludes  it  were  pleasanter  to 
have  been  an  Indian  dead  than  a  woman  living. 

It  is  easy  enough  to  condemn  these  things,  and  they 
deserve  it,  but  due  allowance  ought  to  be  made  to  the 
desperate  nature  which  the  war  had  assumed.  The  whites 
believed  the  Indians  could  not  be  trusted,  and  that  heath 
en  who  refused  to  be  converted,  might  with  safety  be  ex 
terminated,  as  the  Amalekites  had  been.  The  hatred  of 
Philip  at  this  time  was  vindictive,  and  could  he  have  been 
taken,  he  would  have  had  no  mercy,  and  we  might  now 
be  forced  to  blush  for  our  ancestors.  "  Hell-hounds/' 
"  catiffs,"  "  dogs,"  were  applied  by  Mather  and  others  to 
Philip  and  the  Indians. 

Philip  withdrew  from  men,  and  wandered  on  the  banks 
of  the  beautiful  Connecticut  :  he  looked  at  the  past,  in 
which  he  had  made  desperate  efforts,  had  borne  untold 
fatigues,  and  had  escaped  death  and  capture  through  a 
thousand  dangers  ;  he  had  spared  no  arts  to  unite  the  In 
dians  and  to  destroy  the  overbearing  whites  ; — but  he  had 
not  succeeded  ;  and  the  Mpmucks  were  now  charging 
their  miseries  upon  him.  The  Indians  could  never  perse 
vere  in  a  continuous  war,  and  now  grew  weary  of  it. 
Their  stores  of  corn,  never  large,  were  consumed  or  de 
stroyed,  and  in  the  past  year  they  had  raised  none  ;  they 
could  not  fish  or  hunt  with  safety,  for  parties  of  whites 
were  falling  upon  them,  and  they  were  also  in  danger  from 

1  Hildreth,  vol.  i.,  p.  490. 

a  Letters  of  J.  Mather  to  C.  Mather.     Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  307. 


BESULTfi   OK 
TDB  WAK. 


360  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

prowling  bands  of  unfriendly  Indians.  Philip  saw  his 
danger,  and  that  destruction  must  come,  and  he  longed 
once  more  to  return  to  his  old  haunts,  once  more  to  look 
upon  the  sea,  and  to  die,  if  die  he  must,  by  the  graves  of 
his  fathers. 

His  determination  was  taken,  and  he  returned  to  the 
band,  yet  formidable,  who  held  by  so  determined  a  leader. 
He  spoke  to  them  ;  he  silenced  their  remonstrances  ;  he 
recapitulated  the  past,  and  praised  their  courage ;  he  said  : 
"  You  wish  for  peace.  I  consent.  We  have  done  what 
we  could,  and  the  white  man  is  too  strong  for  us  ;  but  as 
for  me  and  my  Wampanoags,  we  will  return  to  the  Land 
of  our  Fathers,  and  there  we  will  live  or  die  ;  but  we  will 
not  be  the  slaves  of  the  whites." 

And  what  had  been  the  results  of  this  war, 
inevitable  as  it  seemed,  and  so  lightly  under 
taken  ?  It  had  destroyed  the  Wampanoags, 
the  Narragansetts,  and  the  Nipmucks.  It  had  killed  off 
more  than  two  thousand  of  the  savages,  who  were  in  the 
way  of  the  advancing  civilization  ;  who  would  otherwise 
have  passed  away  quietly,  under  that  law  which  removes 
the  weak  without  violence,  to  make  room  for  the  strong. 
But  how  had  it  been  done  ?  With  what  peril — with 
what  suffering — with  what  cost — with  what  destruction  ? 
"Pis  true,  Pumham  was  dead,  and  Canonchet,  and  King 
Philip  was  nearly  spent ;  but  Turner  was  also  killed,  and 
Lathrop,  and  Beers,  and  Johnson,  and  Siely,  and  Wads- 
worth,  beside  six  hundred  more,  the  prime  strong  men  of 
the  Colonies  ;  and  war  had  done  what  war  always  does, 
unsettled  many,  and  debauched  many,  and  injured  all. 
Fear  had  made  young  women  old,  and  mourning  was  in 
every  heart  and  house  in  New  England.  The  destruction 
of  property  in  these  infant  States  was  fearful.  Some 
thirteen  towns  were  destroyed,  and  hard-earned  property 
to  the  amount  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.1 

1  Twelve  white  captains  had  been  killed.  Gallop  Siely  and  Marshall  (of 
Connecticut);  Hutchinson,  Beers,  Lathrop,  Davenport,  Gardner,  Johnson, 


A.D.  1676.]  KING  PHILIP'S   WAR.  361 

Yet  let  us  remember  that  the  Puritans  fought  it  through 
alone,  and  stood  by  their  principle  of  self-dependence  ; 
they  made  no  whine  to  England,  and  asked  no  help,  and 
received  none  from  her.  They  may  justly  be  charged  with 
cruelty  and  hard-heartedness  toward  the  irresponsible  na 
tives  ;  but  their  apparent  necessities  will  excuse  them  in 
a  large  degree  ;  yet  more  is  to  be  laid  to  their  belief,  that 
the  vindictive  barbarities  practiced  upon  the  Hivites  and 
the  Philistines  were  worthy  of  imitation.  Nor  is  it  neces 
sary  for  the  present  generation  —  who  have  stood  by  and 
aided  in  a  barbarous  war  against  Osceola  and  the  Semi- 
noles,  in  Florida,  who  have  been  quite  willing  to  take  pos 
session  of  the  Indians'  lands,  everywhere  —  to  be  righteous 
over  much,  in  condemning  the  Puritans. 

It  can  not  be  charged  that  Philip  was  cruel  or 
brutal  ;  he  did  not  murder  in  cold  blood.  There 
is  not  a  report  of  his  having  maltreated  a  cap- 
tive,  and  Mary  Kowlandson,  in  the  account  of 
her  "  doleful  captivity,"  shows  that  he  was  even  at  that 
time,  capable  of  humor.  He  spared  James  Brown,  of  Swan 
sea,  when  the  Indians  cried  out  that  he  should  be  killed  ; 
for  his  father  had  "  charged  him  to  show  kindness  to  Mr. 
Brown  ;"  and  he  gave  strict  orders,  that  his  friends,  the 
Leonards  (Blacksmiths  at  Kaynham)  should  be  spared,  as 
they  were  through  the  war. 

And  now  (about  July),  Philip  turned  his  face  home 
ward,  with  his  Chief,  Anawon,  and  the  remnant  of  his 
tribe.  The  Squaw-  Sachem,  Weetamore,  with  her  Indians, 
still  lurked  in  the  swamps  and  fastnesses  of  the  Plymouth 
country,  and  kept  up  a  feeble  struggle  ;  neither  flattery 
nor  fear  had  detached  her  from  Philip  ;  and  when  he  ap 
peared  once  more  in  his  old  places,  and  among  his  old 

"Wadsworth,  and  Turner,  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  Prince,  of  Plymouth.  Also 
about  six  hundred  men.  Twelve  hundred  houses  were  burnt,  eight  hun 
dred  head  of  cattle  killed,  and  some  three  thousand  Indians.  The  loss  to 
the  Colonists  was  computed  at  £150,000  sterling.  Backus's  History,  voL 
i.,  p.  433. 

16 


362  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1676. 

followers,  their  spirits  revived  ;  but  Philip  knew  that  sur 
render  would  end  in  Slavery,  and  War  must  end  in  De 
struction.  He  chose  DEATH  !  and  when  one  of  his  Indians 
stood  up  at  the  Council,  and  urged  peace,  Philip  sunk  his 
hatchet  in  his  skull. 

Word  came  down  to  Plymouth,  on  a  Sabbath  morning, 
in  the  last  of  July,  that  a  great  number  of  Indians  were 
gathered  toward  Taunton,  or  Bridgewater.  Governor  Wins- 
low  sent  for  Captain  Church,  to  come  out  of  meeting,  and 
to  get  together  what  company  he  could,  and  march  away 
at  once,  to  watch,  or  fight,  the  Indians.  Church  found, 
that  some  of  the  Bridgewater  men  had  shot  Akkompoin, 
the  old  Uncle  of  Philip,  as  he  was  crossing  a  river  on  a 
tree.  The  next  morning,  Church  being  out  on  a  scout, 
with  a  friend-Indian,  discovered  an  Indian  sitting  silently 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  ;  he  raised  his  gun  to 
shoot,  when  his  Indian  laid  his  hand  upon  his  arm,  saying, 
that  it  might  be  a  friend.  It  was  Philip — who  at  the  mo 
ment,  discovered  them,  and  bounded  down  the  bank ; 
Church's  lead  could  not  touch  him.  Church  and  his  party 
crossed  the  river,  and  dashed  among  the  Indians,  and  took 
some  prisoners,  among  whom,  was  Philip's  wife  and  son,  a 
boy  of  about  nine  years.  He  was  the  last  of  his  race,  ex 
cept  Philip,  and  was  sent  prisoner,  to  Plymouth,  and  was 
finally  shipped  to  Bermuda,  and  sold  as  a  slave,  against 
the  advice  of  Cotton,  and  some  Ministers,  who  said — 
"death." 

The  struggle  was  now  between  Philip  and  Church,  both 
skilled  in  Indian  War  ;  but  Philip  had  to  contend  with 
treachery,  also  ;  his  prestige  was  gone,  he  was  a  defeated 
man,  and  there  were  Indians,  base  as  any  white  men,  who 
worship  only  success  ;  they  tnrned  from  the  setting  sun, 
and  carried  news  of  every  movement  of  Philip's,  to  the 
whites ;  who  had  gathered  their  forces  at  Taunton,  Cap 
tain  Talcott,  with  the  Connecticut  troops,  among  them. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  these  odds,  he  kept  up  the  war  through 
July. 


THROUGH  THK 
HEART. 


A.D.  1676.]  KING  PHILIP'S  WAB.  363 

It  was  on  the  llth  of  August,  that  an  In 
dian  was  seen  on  Sandy  Point,  "  over  against 
Tripp's,"  who  hallooed  and  made  signs  to  he  fer 
ried  over  the  river.  He  reported  himself  from 
Mount  Hope,  and  had  fled  from  Philip,  who  bad  slain  his 
brother,  for  proposing  peace  ;  and  he  proposed  to  pilot 
Church,  to  where  he  might  find,  and  capture  the  Chief. 
Church  was  away  at  once,  for  his  blood  was  up,  and  Philip 
would  be  a  prize.  Before  day  he  stationed  his  men  in 
parties  around  the  swamp,  and  directed  one  party  to  rush 
in,  shouting,  so  as  to  drive  the  Indians  toward  his  ambush. 
This  was  done,  Philip  came  dashing  out,  and  then  fell, 
shot  through  the  heart  by  the  Indian  who  had  guided  the 
whites.  He  fell  near  the  foot  of  Mount  Hope,  his  old  seat, 
and  by  the  hand  of  one  of  his  own  tribe  (August  12, 1676). 
His  body  was  dragged  through  the  mire,  treated  with  in 
dignity,  and  was  quartered,  and  hanged  on  the  trees ; 
while  his  head  was  sent  to  Plymouth,  and  his  hand  to 
Boston.  They  were  afterward  shown  about  as  a  sight, 
whereby  Elderman  (the  Indian  who  shot  him),  "  got  many 
a  penny."  Few  doubted  whither  the  soul  of  Philip  went ; 
for  Doctor  Mather,  in  1790,  after  the  fury  of  the  war  had 
subsided,  could  write,  "  It  is  not  long  since  that  the  hand 
which  now  writes,  took  off  the  jaw  from  the  exposed  skull 
of  that  blasphemous  leviathan."  But  for  the  body,  the 
Earthly  Tabernacle,  this  was  the  end  of  Metacom,  King 
Philip,  Sachem  of  the  once  powerful  Wampanoags.1 

1  The  works  consulted  and  referred  to  for  the  account  of  Philip's  war,  are, 
Church's  Indian  Wars ;  S.  G-.  Drake's  Notes ;  Thatcher's  Indian  Biography ; 
Gookin ;  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i. ;  Trumbull's  Connecticut ;  Hubbard's  In 
dian  "Wars;  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.;  Records  of  United  Colonies,  Hazard,  vol.  ii.; 
Hist.  Coll.  of  Mass.  H.  S. ;  Hildreth's  U.  S.,  vol.  i. ;  Bancroft's  U.  S.,  vol.  ii. ; 
Anne  Rowlandson's  Captivity;  Knowles's  Life  of  Roger  Williams;  Penhal- 
low's  Wars  of  New  England;  Prince's  Annals ;  Holmes's  Annals. 


CHAPTER  ILL 

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SHIP  DESTROYED — QUO  WARRANTO — NAVIGATION  ACT — THE  COLONIES  KEEP  THEIR 
CHARTERS. 

THROUGH  the  years  1630  to  1640,  there  had  been  a  con 
stant  effort  on  the  part  of  the  enemies  of  the  Puritans, 
to  procure  a  recall  of  their  Charters.  As  early  as  1623, 
James  I.  bad  determined  to  cancel  tbe  Charter  of  Vir 
ginia,  and  agents  were  sent  there  to  look  after  the  affairs 
of  the  Colony,  which  were  rather  tumultuous.  Their 
General  Assembly  urged  the  rights  of  the  popular  legis 
latures,  and  of  imposing  their  own  taxes  ;  for  in  the  air 
of  freedom — freedom  grew  fast.  But  in  1624,  the  Courts 
in  England  decided  against  them,  and  their  patents  were 
canceled  ;  so  Virginia  became  a  royal  province,  subject 
to  the  laws  and  the  Church  of  England  ;  but,  being 
neglected  afterward,  she  gradually  took  her  own  shape. 

Sir  Fernando  Gorges  and  Captain  Mason  laid  claim  to 
a  large  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  they  made  use  of  Mor 
ton,  Katcliffe,  and  Gardiner,  who  had  been  sent  out  of 
the  Colony  in  a  rather  high-handed  manner,  and  owed 
the  Puritans  no  love.  Gorges  wrote  to  Gardiner  and 
Morton  [1631],  developing  his  designs,  which  letters  the 
Magistrates  took  possession  of,  and  so  were  forewarned. 
Humphrey,  Saltonstall,  Downing,  and  Cradock,  had  much 
trouble  in  counteracting  Gorges  in  England  ;  but  they 
were  persistent,  and  they  had  the  Earl  of  Warwick  on 
their  side  ;  however,  in  1633,  the  Privy  Council  ordered 
that  the  Charter  should  be  returned,  that  it  might  be 


A.D.  1636.]  RECALL   OF   THE   CHARTERS.  365 

regulated,  but  it  was  not  returned.  In  July,  1634,  Mr. 
Cradock  was  ordered  by  the  authorities  in  England  to  re 
turn  the  Charter,  and  wrote  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
in  Massachusetts  to  send  it  to  him.  They  decided  to 
answer  his  letter,  but  not  to  return  any  answer  to  this 
demand.  Afterward  they  decided  that  it  could  only  be 
done  by  order  of  a  General  Court.  At  the  Court  held  in 
May,  1634,  laws  were  made  against  tobacco,  immodest 
fashions,  extravagant  apparel,  etc.,  but  the  principal  thing 
done  was,  that  money  (£600)  was  voted  for  fortifications  ; 
for  word  had  come  that  a  Grand  Commission  was  granted  to 
the  two  Archbishops,  and  others — lords  and  gentlemen — 
to  regulate  all  plantations,  and  to  call  in  Patents,  and 
remove  Ministers  and  Governors,  and  to  inflict  punish 
ment,  even  death.  The  Colonists  were  advised  that  this 
was  intended  especially  for  them,  and  that  force  would  be 
used  to  compel' them  to  receive  a  new  Governor,  and  to 
accept  the  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England.  They, 
therefore,  hastened  their  fortifications,  and  took  measures 
"  to  discover  their  own  minds/'  * 

But  things  did  not  go  well  in  England — "  The  Lord 
frustrated  their  design."  In  June  [1635]  their  great  ship, 
built  to  bring  over  the  Great  Governor  of  all  the  Colonies, 
fell  in  sunder  in  the  midst  as  soon  as  she  was  launched, 
and  Ca.ptain  Mason,  the  chief  mover  against  them  in  En 
gland,  soon  after  died,  "  the  Lord  in  mercy  taking  him 
away,"  and  so  the  business  then  fell  asleep. 

A  "  Quo  Warranto"  was  brought  against  the  Charter 
in  1635,  and  judgment  was  given  against  them,  but  the 
Colonists  stood  firm  ;  and  the  Ministers  being  consulted, 
said,  "  We  ought  to  defend  our  lawful  possessions  if  we 
are  able — if  not,  to  avoid  and  protract."  Whenever  Com 
missions  were  sent  out,  the  Magistrates  simply  did  noth 
ing  ;  they  refused  even  to  examine  witnesses  upon  a 
Commission  from  the  Court  of  Chancery  [1636]  ;  and 
they  declined  in  1641  to  put  themselves  under  the  pro- 

1  Winthrop's  Journal,     gay's  Letter.     Hubbard,  p.  180. 


366  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

tection  of  the  Long  Parliament,  lest  "  it  might  prove 
prejudicial  to  us."  It  is  clear,  that  at  that  early  day,  the 
leading  minds  had  determined  to  govern  themselves. 

Again,  in  1639,  order  came  that  the  Charter  should  be 
returned.  The  Lords  Commissioners  averred,  that  they 
did  not  propose  to  take  away  the  Liberties  of  the  Colony, 
"  but  only  to  regulate,  etc.,  etc."  The  Court  refused  to 
listen  to  them,  decided  that  they  did  not  wish  to  be  reg 
ulated,  and  had  courage  to  abide  threats ;  so  they  went 
on,  as  though  they  had  never  any  knowledge  of  such  an 
order,  and  they  forbade  -the  messenger  to  write,  that  he 
had  delivered  to  them  the  letters.1 

In  1641  England  claimed  the  monopoly  of  the  Com 
merce  of  the  Colony,  which  the  Navigation  act  of  Charles 
II.  afterward  enforced,  and  then  began  a  dispute,  which 
never  ended  till  the  war  of  Independence  in  1776. 

The  Freeman's  Oath  [1634]  secured  fidelity  to  the 
Massachusetts  rather  than  to  England  ;  and,  in  1643, 
seeing  that  King  Charles  I.  had  violated  the  privileges 
of  Parliament,  and  had  made  war,  they  "  decided  for  the 
present"  not  to  include  the  declaration  of  allegiance  to 
him,  even  in  the  Governor's  Oath.2 

If  these  things  were  not  rebellion  and  independence  in 
that  early  day,  they  looked  quite  like  it.  When  Charles 
I.  and  the  Parliament  came  to  open  quarrel,  and  Charles 
fled  from  London,  the  New  England  Magistrates  declined 
to  take  part  in  it,  although  their  sympathies  were  with 
the  Parliament.  But  the  Colonists  were  not  the  more 
ready,  to  put  their  necks  into  the  yoke  prepared  for  them 
by  the  Long  Parliament.  It  may  well  be  suspected  how 
some  in  the  Colony,  whose  sympathies  were  with  the 
mother  country,  and  the  disaffected,  and  the  men  with 
free  democratic  ideas,  looked  jealously  upon  this  central 
izing  tendency  in  the  Magistrates  and  Clergy ;  which,  how 
ever,  by  securing  unity,  strengthened  the  Colony,  though 
it  tended  inevitably  to  despotism.  From  despotism  they 
1  Winthrop's  Journal.  a  Winthrop's  Journal. 


A.D.  1643.]  RECALL   OF   THE   CHARTERS.  367 

were  then  saved,  because  the  material  power  of  the 
Colony  was  in  the  Militia  of  the  towns,  and  not  in  a  Pre- 
torian  Guard  or  Standing  Army,  ready  to  work  the  will 
of  any  rulers.  They  were  also  guarantied  against  despot 
ism,  because  there  was  conscience,  and  honor,  and  a  fear 
of  God  in  the  hearts  of  the  Ruling  Class,  who  have  been 
a  prey  to  selfishness  and  ambition  everywhere  beside. 

Massachusetts  resisted  the  attempts  to  revoke  her 
Charter  for  half  a  century,  but  then  the  evil  day  came,  as 
we  shall  see. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE    KING'S    COMMISSIONERS. 

THB  RESTORATION — MAVERICK — THE  KING'S  LETTER — THE  MAGISTRATES'  ORDERS — THH 
FOUR  COMMISSIONERS  ARRIVE — GO  TO  WORK — DEAD  LOCK — MANHAttOES  SURRENDERS — 
PLYMOUTH  VISITED — RHODE  ISLAND  AND  CONNECTICUT — MASSACHUSETTS  REFUSES — 
MAINE  VISITED — THE  COMMISSIONERS  RETIRE. 

THKOUGH  the  Civil  War  in  England,  between  Charles  I. 
and  the  Parliament,  Massachusetts  prudently  recognized 
the  authority  of  Parliament,  and  afterward  of  Cromwell  ; 
at  the  Kestoration  of  Charles  II.  (1660)  she  tardily  pro 
claimed  him  king  (August,  1661);  and  the  people  waited 
for  assurances  that  the  Kestoration  was  certain.  Their 
sympathies,  however,  were  with  Cromwell  and  the  Inde 
pendents,  not  with  the  Court  and  Church  party.  This 
the  king  and  his  managers  knew;  though,  with  his  lazy 
good-nature,  he  cared  little  about  it,  so  long  as  he  could 
enjoy  his  wits  and  his  women.  But  there  were  courtiers 
who  hated  the  name  and  person  of  a  Sectary  or  Eeformer; 
whose  bitter  hands  they  had  found  so  heavy  in  the  Com 
monwealth-days  ;  there  were,  also,  disaffected  men  in  the 
Colonies,  who  had  been  harshly  treated  by  the  authorities 
there,  mainly  because  they  were  Church  of  England  men 
— of  these  Samuel  Maverick  was  one.  He  went  to  En 
gland,  and  used  his  influence  to  have  Commissioners  sent 
over,  to  put  things  to  rights,  and  to  protect  the  liberties 
and  privileges  of  British  subjects  in  the  Colonies,  even  if 
they  did  not  belong  to  the  Churches  there. 

The  king  sent  a  letter,  in  1662,  commanding  that  the 
Oath  of  Allegiance  to  him  should  be  taken,  and  that  peo 
ple  should  have  liberty  to  use  the  PRAYER-BOOK,  and  to 
worship  as  they  chose;  and  that  all  persons  of  honest  lives, 


A.D.  1664.]  THE    KING'S    COMMISSIONERS. 

orthodox  opinions  (not  Quakers),  and  of  good  estates, 
should  be  voters.  This  was  a  signal-gun,  and  gave  rise  to 
anxiety.  But  they  were  not  easily  moved,  and  no  conces 
sion  was  at  once  made  by  the  magistrates,  except  to 
administer  justice  in  the  king's  name.  Through  some 
thirty  years,  the  question  of  Religious  Toleration  was 
under  discussion,  and  it  was  not  established  till  after  the 
Revolution  in  England,  of  1688. 

As  the  king  required  it,  the  Magistrates  sent  over  Brad- 
street  and  Minister  Norton,  as  agents  to  England,  to  ex 
plain  and  report  about  matters  ;  the  result  of  which  was 
not  satisfactory,  either  to  the  Colony  or  to  the  king.  Then 
in  1664,  rumors  came  from  England,  that  ships  of  war 
were  coming  over,  and  that  great  men  were  coming  over, 
and  that  all  portended  danger  to  the  young  State,  yet  in 
the  milk  of  its  growth.  In  this  year  also,  there  was  a 
large  comet  in  the  heavens,  which  was  looked  upon  by 
most  of  the  people  as  a  bad  omen.  Although  Heaven 
might  be  against  them,  the  Magistrates  met  the  threat 
ened  danger  vigorously.  They  ordered  the  Captain  of  the 
Castle  in  the  harbor,  to  keep  a  sharp  watch,  and  to  give 
speedy  notice  of  any  signs  of  ships  ;  they  appointed  a 
committee  to  go  on  board  at  once,  and  to  receive  the  gen 
tlemen  courteously,  and  to  see  that  but  few  sailors  or 
soldiers  were  allowed  to  come  ashore  at  a  time  ("for/'  they 
said,  "  it  behooves  us  to  be  careful  of  the  morals  of  the 
town !");  they  appointed  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and 
they  ordered  the  Patent  to  be  copied,  and  to  be  deposited 
for  safe  and  secret  keeping,  with  four  members  of  the 
Court.  In  their  Petition  to  the  King,  they  said  :  "  Let 
our  government  live,  our  patent  live,  our  magistrates  live, 
our  laws  and  liberties  live,  our  religious  enjoyments  live — 
so  shall  we  all  have  further  cause  to  say  from,  our  hearts, 
Let  the  king  live  forever/'  These  things  toned  up  the 
public  mind  to  the  proper  key. 

In  March  of  this  year,  Charles  had  given  his  brother, 
the  Duke  of  York,  extensive  grants,  in  which  were  in- 

16* 


370  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1664. 

eluded  Long  Island  and  Manhadoes  (New  York),  then 
occupied  by  the  Dutch.  War  ensued  between  Holland 
and  England  in  March,  1665. 

At  last,  on  Saturday,  July  23d,  1664,  the  Royal  Com 
missioners  arrived  in  Boston  Harbor,  in  English  ships,  the 
sound  of  whose  guns  trembled  along  the  Massachusetts 
shores.  The  threatened  evil  was  upon  them  ;  but  no  evil 
is  so  great  when  it  comes,  as  an  anxious  imagination  pic 
tures  it ;  and  so  it  resulted  now.  The  Commissioners 
were — Colonel  Richard  Nichols,  George  Cartwright — Es 
quire,  Sir  Robert  Carr,  and  Samuel  Maverick — Esquire. 

The  Commissioners,  of  course,  went  to  their  work  at 
once  and  vigorously.  The  Magistrates  met  them  with 
great  courtesy,  coolness,  and  caution.  The  Commissioners 
said  :  We  suggest  this,  and  that ;  we  see  that  so,  and  so, 
and  so,  needs  reform  ;  and  that  such  and  such  things 
should  be  made  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  England.  The 
Magistrates  said  :  We  have  been  used  to  doing  thus,  and 
not  otherwise  ;  and  the  people  wish  things  as  they  are  now; 
and  finally  we  stand  by  our  Charter.  They  practiced  a 
masterly  inactivity;  and  they  pretended  that  they  doubted 
the  genuineness  of  the  king's  letter,  which  the  Commis 
sioners  had  brought  over. 

What  could  the  Commissioners  do  with  men  who  would 
not  move  ?  Things  were  at  a  dead  lock,  and  they  con 
cluded  to  leave  matters  there  till  their  return  from  Man 
hadoes,  which  place  it  was  their  business  to  take  from  the 
Dutch,  and  bring  under  English  rule,  by  negotiation  or 
by  force.  Massachusetts  voted  to  raise  two  hundred  men 
for  their  assistance,  and  sent  Thomas  Clark  and  John 
Pyncheon  to  act  as  Commissioners  of  the  Colony. 

The  Dutch  surrendered  without  fighting  (August,  1664), 
so  that  no  troops  were  needed.1  On  the  return  of  the 
Commissioners  from  the  reduction  of  Manhadoes,  they  en 
deavored  to  enforce  their  authority  in  Massachusetts,  but 
without  success  ;  then  they  went  to  Plymouth,  and  thence 
1  Valentine's  History  of  New  York. 


A,D.  1665.]  THE   KING'S   COMMISSIONERS.  371 

to  Rhode  Island.  These  last  treated  them  with  more 
consideration,  and  consented  to  their  demands,  for  they 
had  some  favors  to  ask  of  England.  They  were  also  well 
received  by  Governor  Winthrop  of  Connecticut,  and  the 
Assembly  there  complied  with  their  demands.  They  came 
again  to  Boston  (May,  1665),  where  they  had  many  con 
ferences  with  the  Magistrates,  not  always  amicable.  The 
Magistrates  reasoned  in  this  way  : 

"  We  will  stand  by  our  Charter,  and  retain  our  privi 
leges  and  liberties.  If  we  yield  them,  then  they  are  of 
course  lost ;  and  it  will  be  no  worse  if  they  should  be  taken 
away  by  force,  which  may  never  be  used/' 

So  they  did  not  yield  ;  and  their  courage  is  only  to  be 
spoken  well  of ;  for  the  effect  certainly  was  to  inspire  tho 
whole  community  with  moral  power. 

It  is  worth  while  to  notice,  with  what  tenacity  the  au 
thorities  in  Massachusetts  stood  by  their  customs  and 
rights.  They  received  the  Commissioners  politely,  and 
that  was  all ;  and  they  were  sustained  by  the  people. 
Rumors  flew  about  from  mouth  to  mouth,  how  the  Com 
missioners  had  come  over  to  raise  £5,000  for  the  King ; 
how  twelve  pence  was  to  be  collected  upon  every  acre  of 
improved  land  ;  and  how  all  liberties  and  privileges  were 
in  danger.  The  Commissioners  were  obliged  to  take  steps 
to  disabuse  the  people  of  these  fears,  and  even  to  try  to 
prove  to  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  that  they  really 
were  duly  authorized  by  the  King  ;  but  the  Magistrates 
declined  to  act  upon  their  authority,  and  refused  to  hear 
the  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm  he  never  so  wisely.  They 
obstinately  said  :  "  We  prefer  to  stand  by  our  Charter." 
They  declined  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Commissioners, 
or  to  appear  before  them  to  answer  complaints,  or  to  call 
the  people  together  at  their  instance  ;  and  when  the  Com 
missioners  proposed  to  settle  a  claim  for  damages,  the 
Magistrates  brought  the  same  case  before  themselves,  and 
so  took  it  out  of  their  hands.  There  was  an  evident  con- 


372  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOKY.  [A.D.  1665. 

flict  of  jurisdiction,  and  the  people's  government,  not  the 
king's,  prevailed. 

Finding  it  not  easy  to  accomplish  their  plans  in  Massa 
chusetts,  the  Commissioners  went  to  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire  ;  and  decided  there  in  favor  of  the  claims  of 
Mason  and  Gorges  j1  but  the  people  in  New  Hampshire 
did  not  favor  that  decision.  In  Maine,  they  overthrew  the 
jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  ;  but  it  was  resumed  [in 
1668]  after  they  had  left.  Colonel  Nichols  remained  in 
New  York  as  Governor.  The  other  Commissioners  soon 
left,  and  Cartwright  (bursting  with  wrath),  who  took  home 
the  minutes  and  papers,  was  captured  by  the  Dutch.  His 
papers  were  lost,  so  he  could  do  little  harm.  Besides  this, 
the  King  and  Court  had  their  hands  full  at  home  with  the 
Dutch  war.  and  with  various  intrigues  and  ambitions. 

So,  for  this  time,  the  Colonies,  though  shaken,  main 
tained  their  liberties  and  their  integrity.  They  were  not 
yet  rich  enough,  to  make  their  taxation  and  plunder  an 
object  worthy  of  much  trouble  or  tune,  and  so  they  were 
left  to  go  their  own  way.2 

1  See  chap.  xxvi. 

a  Morton,  Hutchinson,  Hildreth,  Hazard.  M.  EL  Coll.  Lucas's  Charters 
Valentine's  History  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER     XLIII. 

AN DUOS—  THE    REBELLION. 

HOW  TO  GOVERN  COLONIES— CHARTER  ANNULLED— EDWARD  RANDOLPH— JAMES  II.— ED 
MUND  ANDROS,  GOVERNOR — HIGH-HANDED  MEASURES — TITLES  TO  LAND  DESTROYED — 
THE  CHARTER  OAK — THE  REVOLUTION — THE  REBELLION  IN  NEW  ENGLAND — THE  MOB 
ACTED — THE  FORT  STORMED,  AND  ANDROS  MADE  PRISONER — THE  PROVISIONAL  GOV 
ERNMENT — THE  OTHER  COLONIES — THE  NEW  CHARTER  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

WHILE  Colonies  are  poor,  they  are  neglected  by  the 
parent  State  ;  when  they  are  able  to  pay  taxes,  then  she 
is  quite  ready  to  "  govern  them  ;"  she  is  willing  to  appoint 
various  dependants  to  important  offices,  and  to  allow  the 
colonies  to  pay  liberal  salaries  ;  she  likes  also  to  tax  them 
to  the  amount  of  the  surplus  production,  which  is  trans 
ferred  to  the  managers  in  the  Mother  Country.  Surpris 
ing  as  this  is,  it  is  what  many  call  "  Government,"  and  is 
common  everywhere.  England  has  been  no  exception  to 
this  ;  and  her  practice  in  New  England  was  of  this  char 
acter,  till  in  the  year  1776,  the  back  of  the  people  was  so 
galled,  that  it  threw  its  rider,  with  violence. 

We  have  seen  how,  at  various  times,  attempts  were 
made  to  destroy  the  Massachusetts  Charter.  At  the  res 
toration  of  Charles,  in  1660,  the  enemies  of  the  Puritans 
roused  themselves.  All  who  scented  the  breath  of  Liberty 
in  those  western  gales — all  who  had  been  disappointed  of 
fond  hopes  in  those  infant  States — all  who  had  felt  in  New 
England  too,  the  iron  hand  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  who 
chafed  in  the  religious  manacles  which  there,  as  every 
where  else,  were  imposed  upon  the  minority — all  united 
against  them  •  and  in  1664,  Commissioners  were  sent  over 
with  extraordinary  powers,  as  has  been  said.  The  Colony 
withstood  them  to  their  ability  ;  but  at  last,  in  1676,  a 


374  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1684. 

"  Quo  warranto"  was  issued,  and  judgment  was  obtained 
in  England,  against  the  Massachusetts  Charter. 

In  1683,  the  quo  warranto  was  brought  over,  by  Edward 
Randolph,  who  had  been  appointed  Collector  of  the  Port 
of  Boston  in  1681,  but  had  not  been  allowed  to  act.  He 
was  the  u  messenger  of  death"  to  the  hopes  of  the  Colony. 
The  Deputies  refused  to  appear  in  England,  and  plead, 
and  judgment  was  entered  up  against  them  at  last,  in 
1685,  and  the  Charter  was  abrogated.  Charles  died,  and 
the  bitter  and  bigoted  James  II.  came  to  the  throne  in 
1684.  The  Colonists  then  had  rumors  that  Colonel  Kirke, 
the  fiercest  hater  of  the  non-conformists  in  England,  was 
coming  over,  as  Governor ;  which  filled  them  with  dread. 
The  Colony  now  seemed  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  Church 
men,  or  worse  than  that,  of  the  Papists,  for  such  was 
James.  Mr.  Rawson,  Secretary  of  the  Colony,  about  this 
time  wrote,  "  Our  condition  is  awful/' 

Mr.  Joseph  Dudley  was  appointed  Governor, 
EDMUND  AN-  and  acted  for  a  short  time,  but  was  succeeded 
DREKNOR°V  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  who  arrived  (December 
19,  1686),  with  a  commission  from  James  II., 
to  take  upon  himself  the  absolute  government  of  all  New 
England.  Andros  was  supposed  to  be  a  bigoted  Papist, 
and  he  certainly  carried  matters  with  a  high  hand  ;  the 
poisoned  chalice  of  Religious  despotism,  which  these  Pil 
grims  had  commended  to  the  lips  of  Roger  Williams,  the 
Browns,  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  Gorton,  Clarke,  and  the  Quak 
ers,  was  now  offered  to  their  own  lips,  and  the  draught 
was  bitter. 

First,  THE  PRESS  WAS  MUZZLED  ;  then  marriage  was  no 
longer  free.  The  Minister  Moody  (1684),  was  imprisoned 
six  months  in  New  Hampshire,  for  refusing  to  administer 
the  Communion  to  Cranfield,  and  others,  according  to  the 
manner  and  form  set  forth  in  the  book  of  Common  Prayer.1 
The  Congregational  Ministers  were  as  mere  laymen,  and 
danger  menaced  public  worship  and  the  meeting-houses. 

1  Adams's  Annals  of  Portsmouth. 


A.D.  1687.]  ANDROS — THE    REBELLION.  375 

But  this  last  extremity  was  saved  them,  by  the  neces 
sity  which  James  was  under,  of  securing  the  triumph  of 
his  Church,  in  Protestant  England  ;  the  first  step  to 
ward  which,  was  the  proclamation  of  Religious  toleration. 
This,  of  course,  secured  the  Colonists,  and  the  Pilgrims 
were  saved  that  fearful  misery,  of  being  driven  out  from 
their  own  cherished  altars.  Andros  carried  things  with 
as  high  a  hand  in  Massachusetts,  as  his  master  did  in 
England  ;  absolute  subjection,  they  both  insisted  on.  Be 
sides  the  denial  of  political  and  religious  rights,  the  prac 
tice  of  arbitrary  taxation  was  asserted  by  Andros,  and  all 
titles  to  lands,  were  questioned  ;  in  the  brutal  phrase  of 
the  time,  it  was  declared,  that  u  the  calf  died  in  the  cow's 
belly  ;"  that  is,  having  no  rights  as  a  State,  they  had  none 
as  individuals  ;  so  fees,  fines,  and  expenditures,  impover 
ished  the  people,  and  enriched  the  officials.  All  seemed 
lost  in  Massachusetts. 

Andros  went  down  to  Hartford,  in  Connecti 
cut,  with  his  suite ;  and  with  sixty  troops,  took 
possession  of  the  Government  there,  and  de 
manded  the  Charter.  Through  the  day  (October  31,  1687), 
the  authorities  remonstrated,  and  postponed.  When  they 
met  Andros  again  in  the  evening,  the  people  collected, 
much  excited.  There  seemed  no  relief.  Their  palladium, 
their  Charter,  was  demanded,  and  before  them  stood 
Andros,  with  soldiers  and  drawn  swords,  to  compel  his 
demand.  There  was  then  no  hope,  and  the  roll  of  Parch 
ment — the  Charter,  with  the  Great  Koyal  Seal  upon  it — 
was  brought  forth,  and  laid  upon  the  table,  in  the  midst 
of  the  excited  people.  Suddenly,  without  warning,  all 
lights  were  extinguished  !  There  was  darkness  and  silence; 
followed  by  wonder,  movement,  and  confusion.  What 
meant  this  very  unparliamentary  conduct,  or  was  it  a  gust 
of  wind  which  had  startled  all  ?  Lights  were  soon  ob 
tained,  and  then — 

"  Where  is  the  Charter  ?"  was  the  question  that  went 
round  the  assembly. 


CIIARTKR  OAK. 


376  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1687. 

"  What  means  this  ?"  cried  Andros;  in  anger. 

But  no  man  knew  where  the  Charter  had  disappeared 
to  ;  neither  threats  nor  persuasions  brought  it  to  light. 
What  could  Andros  do  ?  Clearly  nothing,  for  the  Author 
ities  had  done  all  that  could  be  asked  ;  they  had  produced 
the  Charter  in  the  presence  of  Andros ;  and  now  it  had 
disappeared  from  his  presence.  He  had  come  upon  a  fool's 
errand,  and  some  sharp  Yankee  (Captain  Wadsworth), 
had  outwitted  him.  Where  was  the  Charter  ?  Safely 
hidden  in  the  heart  of  the  Great  Oak,  at  Hartford,  on  the 
grounds  of  Samuel  Wyllys.  There  it  remained  beyond 
the  reach  of  tyranny. 

The  Oak  stands  to  this  day,  and  is  known  as  the  "  Char 
ter  Oak."  The  Indians  had  always  prayed  that  the  tree 
might  be  spared  ;  they  have  our  thanks.1 

Anclros  wrote  on  the  last  page  of  their  Records,  FINIS, 
and  disappeared — but  that  was  not  the  end  of  Connecti 
cut. 

It  was  a  dark  time  for  Liberty,  in  New  England,  and  a 
dark  day  for  Liberty,  in  Old  England  ;  for  there  James  II. 

1  "  The  famous  old  Charter  Oak,  so  noted  in  song  and  history,  fell  with  a 
tremendous  crash,  during  the  great  storm,  at  quarter  before  1  o'clock,  on  the 
morning  of  August  21st,  1856.  This  famous  monarch  of  the  forest,  whose 
history  is  so  intimately  intwined  in  that  of  Connecticut,  was  supposed  to  be 
upward  of  a  thousand  years  of  age. 

"  Before  Governor  "Wyllys  came  to  America,  he  sent  bis  steward  forward,  to 
prepare  a  place  for  his  residence.  As  he  was  cutting  away  the  trees  upon 
the  hill-side,  of  the  beautiful  'Wyllys  place,'  a  deputation  of  Indians  came 
to  him,  and  requested  that  he  would  spare  that  old  hollow  Oak.  They  de 
clared  that  it  had  'been  the  guide  of  their  ancestors  for  centuries.' 

"  On  the  3 1st  of  October,  1687,  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  attended  by  members 
of  his  Council,  and  a  body-guard  of  sixty  soldiers,  entered  Hartford,  to  take 
by  force,  the  Charter  granted  to  the  Colony,  by  Charles  II.,  in  1662.  By 
stratagem,  however,  the  Charter  was  removed  from  the  Assembly-room,  and 
concealed  by  Captain  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  a  patriot  of  those  times,  in  the 
hollow  of  Wyllys'  Oak,  afterward  known  as  The  Charter  Oak. 

"In  1689,  King  James  abdicated,  and  on  the  9th  of  May,  of  that  year,  Gov 
ernor  Treat,  and  his  associate  officers,  resumed  the  government  of  Connec 
ticut,  under  the  Charter,  which  had  been  preserved  in  the  Old  Hollow  Oak'1 
—Guild. 


A.D.  1688.]  ANDROS — THE   REBELLION.  377 

and  his  unscrupulous  Ministers,  were  corruptly,  grossly, 
and  illegally  trampling  down  the  rights  of  manhood.  An- 
dros  was  doing  it  in  New  England,  and  he  found  in  Dud 
ley,  Stoughton,  Clark,  and  others,  sons  of  New  England, 
ready  feet.  In  1688,  Randolph  writes,  "  We  are  as  arbi 
trary  as  the  great  Turk;"  which  seems  to  have  been  true. 
The  hearts  of  the  best  men  in  both  countries,  sunk  within 
them,  and  they  cried  in  their  discouragement,  "Oh,  Lord, 
how  long  !" 

Thus  matters  stood,  when,  during  the  Spring  of  1688-9, 
faint  rumors  of  the  landing  of  William  Prince  of  Orange, 
in  England,  came  from"  Virginia.  Could  this  be  true  ? 
It  brought  Andros  up  to  Boston  (April),  where  he  gave 
orders  to  have  the  soldiers  ready,  against  surprise. 

"  Liberty  is  the  most  ardent  wish  of  a  brave 
and  noble  people  :"  and  is  too  often  betrayed     THE  KEBEL- 

,  ^     ,  .  1  ,   •  i         1  t        1  '  •  1  LION  IN  NEW 

by  confidence  in  cultivated,  and  designing,  and      ENGLAND. 
timid  men.    Liberty  was  the  wish  of  the  people 
of  New  England,  and  for  the  want  of  brave  men  then,  and 
since  then,  they  suffered. 

When,  on  the  4th  of  April,  John  Winslow  brought  from 
Virginia,  the  rumor  of  the  English  Revolution,  and  the 
landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  it  went  through  their 
blood  like  the  electric  current,  and  thrilled  from  the  city 
along  the  byways  into  every  home.  Men  got  on  their 
horses,  and  rode  onward,  to  the  next  house,  to  carry  the 
tidings,  that  the  Popish  King  was  down,  and  William  was 
up,  and  that  there  was  hope  ;  through  town  and  country 
the  question  was  eagerly  asked,  "  Shall  we  get  our  Old 
Charter  ?  Shall  we  regain  our  Rights  ?" 

"  What  is  there  for  us  to  do  ?"  cried  the  people. 

Andros  put  out  a  proclamation,  that  all  persons  should 
be  in  readiness  to  resist  the  forces  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
should  they  come.  But  the  old  Magistrates  and  leaders 
silently  prayed  for  his  success  ;  the  people,  less  cautious, 
and  more  determined,  said  one  to  another,  "  Let  us  do 
something.  Why  not  act  ?"  and  this  went  from  mouth 


378  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1689. 

to  mouth,  till  their  hatred  of  Andros,  and  the  remem 
brance  of  his  dastardly  oppressions,  blazed  into  a  consum 
ing  fire. 

"On  the  18th  of  April,  1689,"  wrote  an  onlooker,1  "I 
knew  not  any  thing  of  what  was  intended,  until  it  was 
begun,  yet  being  at  the  north  end  of  the  town,  where  I  saw 
boys  running  along  the  streets,  with  clubs  in  their  hands, 
encouraging  one  another  to  fight,  I  began  to  mistrust 
what  was  intended,  and  hasting  towards  the  Town-Dock, 
I  soon  saw  men  running  for  their  arms  ;  but  before  I  got 
to  the  Red  Lion,  I  was  told  that  Captain  George  and  the 
Master  of  the  frigate  were  seized,  and  secured  in  Mr. 
Colman's  house  at  the  North  End  ;  and  when  I  came  to 
the  Town-Dock,  I  understood  that  Bullivant,  and  some 
others,  were  laid  hold  of,  and  then  immediately  the  drums 
began  to  beat,  and  the  people  hastened  and.  ran,  some 
with  and  some  for  arms,"  etc. 

So  it  was  begun,  no  one  knew  by  whom  ;  but  men  re 
membered  yet  their  old  liberties,  and  were  ready  to  risk 
something  to  regain  them  ;  they  remembered,  too,  their 
present  tyrants,  and  longed  to  punish  them.  But  in  all 
this,  men  of  property  took  no  part — they  are  always  timid. 
It  was  the  "  mob"  who  acted. 

Governor  Andros  was  at  the  fort,  with  some  soldiers, 
and  sent  for  the  clergymen  to  come  to  him,  who  declined. 

The  people  and  train-bands  rallied  together  at  the 
Town-house,  where  the  old  Governor  Bradstreet,  and 
some  other  principal  men  met  to  consult  as  to  what  should 
be  done.  The  king's  frigate,  in  the  harbor,  ran  up  her 
flags,  and  the  lieutenant  swore  he  would  die  before  she 
should  be  taken,  and  he  opened  her  ports  and  ran  out  her 
guns  ;  but  the  captain  (prisoner  in  Boston)  sent  him 
word  not  to  fire  a  shot,  for  the  people  would  tear  him  in 
pieces  if  he  did.  In  the  afternoon  the  soldiers  and  people 
marched  to  the  fort,  took  possession  of  a  battery,  turned 
its  guns  upon  the  fort  and  demanded  its  surrender.  They 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.,  p.  374 


A.D.  1689.]  ANDROS — THE   KEBELLION.  379 

did  not  wait  for  its  surrender,  but  stormed  in  through  the 
port-holes,  and  Captain  John  Nelson,  a  Boston  merchant, 
cried  out  to  Andros,  "  I  demand  your  surrender/'  Andros 
was  surprised  at  the  anger  of  an  outraged  people,  and 
knew  not  what  to  do,  but  at  last  gave  up  the  fort,  and 
was  lodged  prisoner  in  Mr.  Usher's  house. 

The  next  day  he  was  forced  to  give  up  the  castle  in  the 
harbor;  and  the  guns  of  the  battery  from  the  shore,  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  frigate.  But  the  captain  prayed 
that  she  might  not  be  forced  to  surrender,  because  all  the 
officers  and  crew  would  thus  lose  their  wages;  so  she  was 
dismantled  for  present  security.  All  through  the  day 
people  came  pouring  in  from  the  country,  well  armed  and 
hot  with  rage  against  Andros  and  his  confederates;  and 
the  cooler  men  trembled,  lest  some  unnecessary  violence 
might  be  done  ;  so  Captain  Fisher,  of  Dedham,  led  Andros 
by  the  collar  of  the  coat,  back  to  the  fort  for  safety. 

On  the  20th,  Bradstreet,  and  other  leading 
men,   met,  and  formed  a  kind  of  Provisional     THE  PROVIS- 
Council.    They  carefully  abstained  from  resum-      EBNMBNT. 
ing  their  old  Charter,  partly  from  fear  and  part 
ly  from  doubt,  and  called  upon  the  towns  to  send  up 
deputies.     When  these  met,  on  May  22d,  1689,  forty,  out 
of  fifty-four  were  for  "  resuming,"  but  a  majority  of  the 
Council  opposed  it,  and  time  was  spent  in  disputes  ;  but 
at  last  the  old  Governor  and  Magistrates  accepted  the 
control  of  affairs,  though  they  would  not  consent  to  resume 
the  Charter.     Thus  the  moment  for  action  passed,  and  the 
Colony  lost  that  chance  for  re-establishing  its  old  rights. 

Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  resumed  their  Charters, 
which  had  never  been  legally  vacated.  Mr.  Treat  was 
OBLIGED  to  take  again  the  office  of  Governor  in  Connecti 
cut,  when  the  amazing  reports  of  the  Eevolution,  and 
seizure  of  the  Governor  in  Massachusetts,  reached  them. 
They  issued  loyal  addresses  to  William  and  Mary,  in  which 
they  said  :  "  Great  was  that  day,  when  the  Lord  who  sit- 
teth  upon  the  floods,  did  divide  his  and  your  adversaries 


THE   NEW 
CHARTER  OF 
MASSACHU 
SETTS. 


380  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1693. 

like  the  waters  of  Jordan,  and  did  begin  to  magnify  you 
like  Joshua,  by  the  deliverance  of  the  English  dominions 
from  Popery  and  slavery." 

Andros  escaped,  but  was  apprehended  at  Rhode  Island, 
and  sent  back  to  Boston,  and  in  February,  1689,  with 
Dudley  and  some  others,  he  was  sent  away  to  England. 

Mr.  Increase  Mather,  the  Agent  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay  Colony,  with  the  aid  of  friends 
in  England,  endeavored  to  gain  the  restoration 
of  the  old  Charter  from  King  William,  but  was 
unsuccessful ;  a  new  one  was  granted  (1691)  which  con 
tained  many  of  the  old  privileges ;  but  the  king  would 
not  grant  them  the  power  of  appointing  their  own  Gov 
ernor  ;  that  power  was  reserved  ;  and  appeals  from  the 
Colony  Courts  to  England,  were  allowed.  The  Governor 
and  the  King  both  had  a  veto  upon  all  colonial  legislation. 
By  it  all  religions,  except  the  Roman  Catholic,  were  de 
clared  free,  and  Plymouth  was  annexed  to  Massachusetts. 

Thus  two  important  elements  of  a  free  government  were 
lost  to  Massachusetts  ;  and  powers  which  had  been  exer 
cised  over  fifty  years  were,  for  nigh  a  hundred  years,  taken 
away.  In  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  they  continued 
to  elect  their  own  rulers  and  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of 
government. 

The  new  Charter  was  brought  over  by  Sir  William 
Phipps,  the  new  Governor  appointed  by  the  king,  who 
arrived  on  the  14th  of  May,  1692. 

Thus  ended  the  Rule  of  the  Theocracy  in  Massachu 
setts  ;  and  from  this  time  forward,  the  ministers  and 
church  members  possessed  no  more  power  than  the  rest 
of  the  people. 

The  first  period  of  Colonial  History  may  now  be  said  to 
have  passed,  and  before  entering  upon  the  next  century, 
we  may  pause  for  a  few  moments,  and  turn  our  attention 
to  some  matters  of  Church  and  State,  which  we  have  not 
been  able  to  dwell  upon  in  the  order  of  events. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

PURITAN    LAWS. 

BLUB  LAWS— PETERS— COTTON'S  DRAFT— WARD'S  DKAFT— BODY  OF  LTRERTIES— CAPITAL 
LAWB — VIRGINIA  LAWS — LUDLOW'S  CODE — THE  NEW  HAVEN  CODE — CODDINGTON'3 
LAWS — FREEMEN — CHURCH  MEMBERS — DIVISION  OF  PROPERTY — SWEARING DRUNK 
ENNESS — LIQUOR  LAW — TOBACCO — PUNISHMENTS — UNCLEANNESS — SUMPTUARY  LAWS 

— LAWYERS. 

IT  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  an  elaborate  explanation 
of  the  origin  and  working  of  the  Laws  of  New  England. 
Their  great  value  was,  that  they  were  mainly  the  growth 
of  the  time,  and  being  made  by  the  people,  were  as  good 
as  they  then  knew  how  to  make.  Those  who  are  dis 
posed  to  seek  for  erroneous  legislation,  will  find  it  in  New 
England,  and  they  will  find  it  wherever  they  look.  Errors 
of  legislation  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  traced  to  the  religious 
views  of  a  nation  alone,  but  also  to  its  want  of  intelli 
gence  and  virtue,  and  to  physical  causes. 

"THE  BLUE  LAWS,"  so  often  referred  to,  do  not  exist; 
most  of  the  scandalous  stories  and  libels  now  quoted, 
were  coined  by  Peters,  a  Eoyalist  Minister,  who  was  ex 
pelled  from  New  England,  and  wrote  a  history  to  revenge 
his  wounded  feelings.1  Among  his  laws  were  such  as  these  : 
"No  woman  shall  kiss  her  child  on  the  Sabbath  or 
Fasting  day."  "  No  man  shall  read  Common  Prayer, 
keep  Christinas  or  Saints'-days,  make  mince  pies,  dance, , 
play  cards,  or  play  on  any  instrument  of  music,  except 
the  drum,  trumpet,  or  Jew's  harp."  He  also  stated  that 
the  waters  of  the  Connecticut  river  were  so  compressed  in 
the  narrow  passage  at  Bellowsfalls,  that  they  became 

1  Peters's  History  of  Connecticut.  London,  1791.  New  Haven  Edition, 
1829. 


382  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

solid,  and   that  iron  would  float  on  the   surface.      His 
scientific  and  historical  statements  are  equally  true. 

The  Laws  of  a  Country  are  one  of  the  most  significant 
evidences  of  its  intelligence  and  civilization,  and  therefore 
demand  attention.  At  first  the  Magistrates  controlled 
the  Legislation,  but  the  people,  by  their  Representatives, 
steadily  gained  upon  them  ;  for,  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fobes, 
in  his  description  of  Raynham,1  says,  "  The  inhabitants 
of  this  town,  especially  those  who  attend  public  worship 
here,  have  been  distinguished  for  their  zealous  attach 
ment  to  Republican  Government,  to  learning,  to  military 
discipline,  and  Church  Music."  This  description  may 
apply  to  most  of  the  people  of  New  England,  if  we  except 
their  proclivity  to  music.  There  is  not  a  doubt,  that  they 
looked  in  the  Jewish  laws  for  the  model  of  many  of  their 
laws,  and  much  of  their  polity  ;  and  that  many  of  their 
mistakes  arose  from  an  attempt  to  adapt  the  customs  of 
a  foreign  climate  and  people  to  the  wants  of  New  En 
gland.  Slowly  they  have  learned  better. 

Punishments  at  first  were  arbitrary,  being  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  Magistrates  ;  sure  of  their  own  integrity, 
and  confident  of  their  own  wisdom,  they  were  averse  to  a 
written  "  Body  of  Liberties,"  and  quoted  Scripture  against 
it.  But  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  being  leavened  with 
a  spirit  of  Liberty,  and  moved  by  a  wholesome  fear,  as 
early  as  1635,  requested  the  Governor  and  Magistrates  to 
have  a  body  of  laws  prepared,  which  all  might  know,  and 
which  might  therefore  govern  each  man's  action.  No 
very  definite  steps  were  taken  in  the  business  till  1636  \ 
then  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton,  being  requested  to  assist  the  Mag 
istrates,  drew  up  and  presented  "  A  copy  of  Moses  his 
'  judicials."  These  are  printed  under  the  title  of  "  Ab 
stract  of  Laws  of  New  England,  published  in  London, 
1G41."2 

But  they  were  not  adopted  by  Massachusetts,  and  were 
never  the  laws  of  New  England. 

>  M.  H.  Coll.,  vol.  xiiL  *  M.  H.  ColL,  vol.  v. 


A.D.  1641.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  383 


THE  BODY  OF 
LIBEKTIE8. 


With  greater  variety  of  interests,  and  a  more 
complex  society,  came  more  difficult  questions, 
and  a  greater  need  of  referring  them  to  some 
settled  principles,  which  should  be  a  test  when  differences 
arose.  The  people  began  to  ask  for  this  in  the  year  1635, 
and,  against  the  wishes  of  the  Magistrates,  insisted  upon 
it;  till  it  was  done.  Efforts  were  made  to  arrive  at  a  Con 
stitution.  One  was  prepared  by  Minister  Cotton,  and  the 
one  drawn  up  by  Nathaniel  Ward,  Minister  of  Ipswich,  was 
accepted  in  1641.  It  contained  ninety-eight  laws  or 
statements,  which  were  called  "  Fundamentals."  These 
challenge  comparison  with  any  constitution  of  ,the  day, 
and  in  most  respects  are  up  to  the  standard  of  the  present 
time.  They  rest  in  some  cases  upon  the  laws  of  Moses, 
but  in  most  upon  the  Eights  of  Man.  They  recited  the 
Eights  of  the  Individual  as  they  were  then  understood, 
and,  in  the  main,  well  understood.  They  provided  for 
Legal  proceedings,  and  admitted  the  employment  of 
Pleaders,  who  were  not  to  be  paid.  Among  other  things, 
they  provided  that  no  man  should  be  "  beaten  above  40 
stripes,"  and  that  no  Gentleman  should  be  whipped,  un 
less  the  case  was  very  flagrant.  Trial  by  Jury  was  of 
course  established  (29).  Men  were  not  permitted  to  whip 
their  wives  (80),  which  was  allowed  by  the  laws  of  En 
gland.  Servants  flying  from  cruel  treatment  were  pro 
tected  by  law  (85).  Foreigners  and  strangers  were  to  be 
free  and  welcome,  provided  they  professed  "  the  true  Ee- 
ligion"  (89).  The  indenture  of  Servants  for  seven  years 
was  provided  for.  Slavery  and  a  Slave-trade,  based  upon 
the  Jewish  practices,  were  recognized  and  protected  (91). 
Church  censure  could  not  degrade  any  civil  officer  (60). 
Townships  were  to  make  their  own  laws  (66).  Primo 
geniture  was  forbidden  (81).  Private  meetings  of  all  sorts 
of  Christians  were  allowed  (95),  etc.,  etc.  (See  Ap 
pendix.) 

Their  capital  offenses  were  twelve  in  number,  and  were 
all  strongly  sustained  by  Scripture  texts. 


384  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1641. 

These  were  punished  with  death  : 

Idolatry ; 

Witchcraft  ; 

Blasphemy  ; 

Murder,  willful,  guileful,  or  in  passion  (3)  ; 

Buggery ; 

Sodomy  ; 

Adultery  ; 

Man-stealing  ; 

False  witness,  to  take  away  life  ; 

And  Treason. 

THE  BODY  OF  LIBERTIES  was  adopted  in  1641,  and 
copies  were  sent  to  the  towns,  to  be  tested  by  their  expe 
rience  for  three  years.  F.  C.  Gray,  LL.D.,  some  years  ago 
discovered  a  manuscript  copy  of  these,  which  is  printed  in 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections.1  Mr.  Gray  says 
truly : 

"  The  Body  of  Liberties  exhibits,  throughout,  the  hand 
of  the  practiced  lawyer,  familiar  with  the  principles  and 
the  securities  of  English  Liberty  ;  and  although  it  retains 
some  strong  traces  of  the  times,  it  is,  in  the  main,  far  in 
advance  of  them,  and  in  several  respects,  in  advance  of  the 
English  Common  Law  at  the  present  day.  It  shows  that 
our  ancestors,  instead  of  deducing  all  their  laws  from  the 
Books  of  Moses,  established  at  the  outset  a  code  of  funda 
mental  principles,  which,  taken  as  a  whole,  for  wisdom, 
equity,  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  their  community,  and 
a  liberality  of  sentiment,  superior  to  the  age  in  which  it 
was  written,  may  fearlessly  challenge  a  comparison  with 
any  similar  production  from  Magna  Charta  itself,  to  the 
latest  Bill  of  Rights  that  has  been  put  forth  in  England 
or  America/' 

With  regard  to  their  capital  offenses,  it  is  well  to  know, 

that  the  heads  of  the  law-makeis  were  harder  than  the 

hearts  of  the  people,  and  that  very  few  convictions  took 

place  under  them.     Lest  it  should  be  inferred,  that  these 

1  3d  Series,  vol.  viii. 


A.D.  1641.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  385 

New  England  laws  were  beyond  measure  severe,  it  will  be 
well  to  read  the  following,  which  preceded  them  but  a  few 
years. 

In  Virginia,  by  their  laws,  Death  was  the  punishment 
of  a  great  variety  of  offenses,  as  appears  from  the  copy 
published  1611.  These  laws  were  to  be  read  by  the  Cler 
gymen  every  Sunday  : 

1.  Speaking  impiously  against  the  Holy  Trinity. 

2.  Traitorous  words  against  His  Majesty. 

3.  Derision  of  God's  Holy  Word. 

4.  Sabbath- breaking  ;  death  upon  third  offense. 

5.  Murder. 

6.  Sodomy  and  Adultery. 

7.  Sacrilege. 

8.  Stealing. 

9.  False  witness. 

10.  Calumniating  the  Council  or  Magistrates. 

11.  Unlawful  trading  with  Indians. 

12.  Conspiracy  against  the  Government,  or  concealment 
of  it. 

13.  Eobbing  gardens  or  stealing  corn. 

14.  Deserting  with  vessels  to  another  country. 

15.  Kunning  away  to  the  Indians. 

16.  Robbing  Indians. 

17.  Officers  defrauding  the  Colony. 
So  far  was  death. 

Refusing  to  receive  the  instructions  of  the  Minister,  was 
punished  with  whipping. 

These  laws  were  approved  in  Virginia,  "  by  Sir  Thomas 
West,  Lord  Lawain,  Lord  Governour,  and  Captain  Gen 
eral,"  the  1st  of  June,  1610.1 

Though  well  satisfied  with  the  "  Fundament 
als,"  or  Body  of  Liberties,  the  people  desired 
to  have  the  laws  passed,  written  out  and  pub- 
lished  ;  and  though  Magistrates  opposed  it,  and 
urged  that  it  was  an  innovation,  and  dangerous,  it  was 
1  Peter  Force's  Tracts,  vol.  iii. 
17 


386  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1649. 

finally  done  [1649].  No  copy  of  this  code  exists,1  so  far 
as  is  known  ;  but  some  of  its  provisions  we  know. 

THE  CONNECTICUT  CODE  was  compiled  by  Roger  Lud- 
low,  who  had  one  of  the  best  legal  minds  at  that  time  in 
New  England.  This  was  in  1649. 

In  Ludlow's  Code,  the  capital  offenses  were  twelve  in 
number.  In  many  respects  it  is  the  same  as  the  Massa 
chusetts  Body  of  Liberties.  Among  other  things,  it  pro 
vided  that : 

Children  were  to  be  taught  to  read  the  "  Inglish 
toungue,"  and  also  some  "  shorte  orthodox  catechisrne  ;" 
they  were  also  to  be  brought  up  in  "  some  honest,  lawful 
calling,  labour,  or  employment." 

All  persons  were  to  attend  the  stated  exercise  of  wor 
ship  on  Sundays,  and  fast- days,  under  penalty  of  5s. 

Armed  Guards  were  stationed  at  meetings.  The  Court 
ordered,  that  twice  in  every  year,  one  of  the  Euling  Elders, 
accompanied  by  Thomas  Stanton,  should  go  among  the 
Indians,  "  to  convey  the  lighte  and  knowledge  of  God  and 
his  worde  to  the  Indians  and  natives  amongst  us/' 

That  the  people  should  provide  for  the  pay  of  the  Min 
isters,  by  voluntary  contribution  ;  but  if  any  refused  to 
pay,  they  were  to  be  taxed,  and  the  tax  to  be  collected  as 
was  customary  with  other  debts. 

A  person  swearing,  was  fined  10s.,  or  the  stocks. 

Tobacco  was  not  to  be  used  by  any  under  twenty,  ex 
cept  by  recommendation  of  a  physician  ;  and  every  public 
use  of  it  by  any  person,  was  fined  6d. 

THE  NEW  HAVEN  CODE,  compiled  by  Governor  Eaton,2 
has  the  same  general  character  as  the  Laws  of  the  other 
New  England  Colonies,  and  bears,  as  they  do,  the  marks 
of  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  Some  sixteen  crimes  were 
punishable  with  death  ;  and  there  is  no  evidence  that 

1  Hildretb,  vol.  L,  p.  369. 

2  In  "New  Havens  Settling  in  New  England,  and  some  Lawes  for  Gov 
ernment,  Published  for  the  use  of  that  Colony."    London.    Printed  by  M.  S.f 
for  Livewell  Chapman,  at  the  Crowne,  Pope's  Head  Alley,  1656.    MS.  Copy 
in  State  Library,  at  Hartford. 


A.D.  1650.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  387 

Trial  by  Jury  was  resorted  to.  The  testimony  of  two  wit 
nesses  was  sufficient  ;  yet  I  nowhere  find,  that  the  pun 
ishment  of  death  was  applied  for  the  large  number  of 
offenses  for  which  it  was  provided,  such  as  Adultery,  Blas 
phemy,  etc. 

Education  was  provided  for,  as  in  Connecticut,  as  were 
the  salaries  of  Ministers.  Absence  from  meeting  was  sub 
ject  to  5s.  fine.  Widows'  dowers  were  to  be  one  third  of 
the  Real  Estate.  Heresy  was  punishable  with  Banish 
ment  ;  and  intention  of  Marriage  was  to  be  openly  pub 
lished  three  times. 

In  1651  Coddington  assisted  in  preparing  the  Laws  of 
Ehode  Island. 

/•  In  Massachusetts,  Freemen  were  required  to 
be  members  of  the  Church,  and  of  course  large 
numbers  were  left  out.      Jugde  Story  thinks 
four  sixths  of  the  people  were  thus  disfranchised.1    Lech- 
ford,  in  his  "  Plain  Dealing/'  says,  "here  is  required  such 
confession  and  profession,  that  three  parts  of  the  people 
of  the  country  remain  out  of  Church." 

This  continued  in  force  till  Charles  II.  sent  instructions 
to  the  contrary  in  1662  ;  and  it  was  not  entirely  given  up 
till  the  new  Charter  of  1691. 

In  Connecticut,  by  Ludlow's  Code,  the  Church  qualifi 
cation  was  not  a  condition  of  citizenship. 

Chalmers  states  that  "  A  freeman  must  be  orthodox, 
above  twenty  years  old  ;  worth  £200.  2 

Those  who  paid  ten  shillings  taxes  to  a  single  rate,  ap 
pear  to  have  been  held  persons  of  competent  estate,  en 
titled  to  vote.s 

In  1650  a  vote  was  passed  in  town  meeting  at  Haver- 
hill,  that  the  Freeholders  should  attend  the  town  meet 
ings,  and  stay  them  out,  on  penalty  of  paying  half  a 
bushel  of  Corn. 

We  find,  that  before  the  Civil  War  in  England,  the 

1  Colt's  Puritans.  a  Chalmers's  Annals,  M.  H.  C.,  voL  iv. 

8  1665,  Com.  Letter,  M.  H.  C. 


388  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1630. 

people  of  Massachusetts  took  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
Commonwealth,  not  to  the  King.1  In  Connecticut  also, 
the  Freemen  took  the  Oath  to  support  the  Common 
wealth. 

By  King  William's  Charter  of  1691,  Liberty  of  Con 
science  was  allowed,  except  to  Papists  •  and  freeholders, 
who  had  forty  shillings  sterling  a  year,  or  £40  of  personal 
estate,  were  counted  freemen. 

All  Oaths  were  taken  standing,  holding  up  the  right 
hand.  Kissing  the  book  was  considered  idolatrous. 

Property  was  divided,  one  third  to  the  widow,  and  the 
balance  among  all  the  children  (male  and  female)  ;  the 
eldest  for  a  time  had  a  double  portion.  This  practice  was 
confirmed  by  the  English  Courts  in  1729.2 

The  Court  ordered  [1632]  that  "  no  person  shall  take 
tobacco  publicly,  and  that  every  one  shall  pay  a  penny 
sterling  for  every  time  of  taking  tobacco  in  any  place."  3 

Tobacco  seems  to  have  been  a  very  troublesome  thing  ; 
for, 

"Att  another  Session  of  the  G-enerall  Courte  of  Elec9ons 
held  at  Boston  ye  7m80.,  1646, 

"Itt  is  ordered,  y*  if  any  yson  shall  take  any  tobacco 
wthin  the  Koome  where  the  Courte  is  sitting,  he  shall 
forfeitejfor  evey  pipe  so  taken,  6d.,  and  if  they  shall  offend 
against  in  contemning  this  wholesome  order,  he  shall  be 
called  to  ye  bar  for  his  delinquency,  or  pay  double  his  fyne 
voted."4 

This  was  a  good  law,  and  was  also  contained  in  the 
Connecticut  Code. 

Some  brief  extracts  will  best  show  peculiarities,  and 
can  not  fail  to  interest : 

In  the  first  Court  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  August,  1630, 
it  was  ordered  that  the  Ministers  have  £30  and  £20,  their 
salaries  paid  at  the  public  charge,  and  that 

1  See  Freeman's  Oath,  M.  H.  C.,  2d  Series,  vol.  iv.  N.  England's  Jonas 
cast  up.  2  Hildreth,  vol.  ii.,  p.  348. 

*  Prince's  Chronology.  «  Colony  Records. 


A.D.  1632.]  PURITAN    LAWS.  389 

"  Carpenters,  Joiners,  Bricklayers,  Sawyers  and  Thatch 
ers,  take  no  more  than  2  shillings  a  day,"  This  legis- 
latio*n  was  afterward  revoked  to  be  again  resorted  to,  and 
again  revoked.  Severe  laws  were  made  against  Cursing 
and  Swearing.  Laws  against  Drunkenness  were  also  severe. 

March,  1631-2,  Ales  and  Kevels  were  forbidden  by 
law,  and  the  same  were  denounced  in  the  Churches. 
This  vexed  Laud,  as  the  Pilgrims  were  led  to  think,  and 
threats  were  made  ;  but  the  Colonists  were  not  to  be 
turned  or  dismayed.  Good  order  they  were  determined  to 
have,  if  in  their  wisdom  they  could  get  it. 

In  1639  the  Court  abolished  the  "Vain  Custom"  of 
drinking  healths — inasmuch  as 

It  was  a  thing  of  no  good  use. 

It  induced  drunkenness  and  quarreling. 

It  wasted  wine  and  beer. 

It  was  troublesome  to  many,  forcing  them  to  drink  more 
than  they  wished. 

At  the  Court  held  in  Boston,  July  2,  1633, 
it  was  ordered  that  "  no  man  shall  sell  wine  or     LIQUOR  LAW. 
strong  water  without  the  leave   of  the   Gov 
ernor  or  Deputy,  and  that  no  man  shall  sell  or  give  any 
strong  water  to  any  Indian."     The  same  law  was  passed 
in  Connecticut.     (See  Code  of  1649.) 

Every  town  was  required  to  provide  itself  with 
a  "  Whipping-post"  and  a  pair  of  "  Stocks  ;"   PUNXSHKENTO. 
and  also  with  a  drum,  which  at  first  was  used 
to  call  people  to  meeting.     The  maker  of  the  Shrewsbury 
Stocks  was  the  first  who  sat  in  them,  and  his  own  fine 
went  to  pay  his  own  bill.     The  Meeting-house,  Stocks, 
and  Whipping-post  stood  together  in  the  center  of  the 
settlements.1 

September  4th,  1632,  the  Court  ordered  a  man  to  be 
severely  whipped  for  cursing,  swearing,  justifying  the 
same,  and  glorying  in  it  ;  and  another  to  be  whipped 
and  branded  in  the  Cheek,  for  selling  arms  to  an  Indian. 

1  Ward's  Shrewsbury. 


390  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1638. 

Ratcliffe,  a  servant  of  Mr.  Cradock,  "  for  foul,  scan 
dalous  invectives  against  our  churches  and  government/' 
was  whipped,  cropped,  and  banished  the  Colony,  and  was 
afterward  active  against  it  in  England. 

A  young  man  in  1631  was  whipped  for  soliciting  a  squaw 
to  incontinency,  she  and  her  Indian  standing  by  to  see  it 
done. 

Henry  Linne  also  was  whipped  and  banished  for  writing 
slanderous  letters  to  England. 

Mrs.  Oliver,  of  Salem,  "  for  ability  of  speech  far  before 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,"  was  whipped  for  reproaching  the  Mag 
istrate.1  She  stood  without  tying,  and  bore  her  punish 
ment  bravely,  glorying  in  her  suffering.  She  had  also  a 
cleft  stick  put  on  her  tongue  for  half  an  hour. 

In  1663  Elizabeth  Webster  was  sentenced  at  Newbury 
for  taking  a  false  oath,  "  to  stand  at  the  Meeting-house 
dore,  next  lecture  day,  from  the  ringing  of  the  bell  until 
the  Minister  be  ready  to  begin  prayer,  with  a  paper  on 
her  head,  written  in  capitall  letters,  FOB  TAKING  A  FALSE 
OATH,"  or  to  pay  a  fine  of  five  pounds.  "  She  made  choice 
to  stand  at  the  doore." 

Ann  Walker  [in  1638]  was  cast  out  of  the  Church  for 
intemperate  drinking,  and  was  tied,  with  shoulders  naked, 
to  the  Whipping-post  ;  but  being  with  child  she  was  not 
whipped. 

Josselyn,  in  his  second  voyage,2  speaks  of  some  of  their 
laws  in  this  way;  but  he  is  not  to  be  relied  on.  "For  being 
drunk,  they  either  whip  or  impose  a-  fine  of  five  shillings — 
so  for  swearing  and  cursing. 

"  For  kissing  a  woman  in  the  street,  though  in  the  way 
of  civil  salute,  whipping  or  a  fine. 

"  For  single  fornication,  whipping  or  a  fine. 

"  Scolds  they  gag  and  set  them  at  their  doors,  for  all 
comers  and  goers  to  gaze  at. 

"  Stealing  is  punished  with  restoring  four-fold,  if  able  ; 
if  not,  they  are  sold  for  some  years,  as  are  poor  debtors." 

1  Winthrop's  Journal  a  1663,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 


A.D.  1651.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  391 

He  says  also  : 

"  There  are  none  that  beg  in  the  country." 

At  New  Haven  (1643)  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  Mag 
istrates  (Malbon)  was  publicly  whipped,  her  father  joining 
in  the  sentence.1  In  1644,  two  ministers'  sons,  students 
at  Cambridge,  robbed  a  house,  and  were  publicly  whip 
ped.  In  the  same  year,  a  drunken  man,  sitting  in  the 
stocks,  was  liberated  by  one  of  La  Tour's  Frenchmen, 
who  was  seized  by  the  constable,  and  after  a  struggle, 
made  to  sit  in  the  stocks  himself. 

It  was  thought  that  whipping  should  not  exceed  forty 
stripes — that  being  the  Scriptural  number. 

One  Plain  (of  Guilford,  near  New  Haven)  was  executed 
for  sodomy  (1646). 

One  Fairfield  was  sentenced  to  be  whipped  ;  and  if  he 
went  out  from  Boston  Neck,  to  have  his  nostrils  slit,  etc. 
This  was  for  forcing  a  child  eight  years  old. 

"  As  the  people  increased,  so  sin  abounded,"  said  one. 
So  it  became  necessary  in  one  case  to  punish  sensual  in 
tercourse  with  a  cow,  with  death,  and  it  was  done. 

Again,  a  man  and  woman,  for  adulterous  practices, 
were  carried  to  the  gallows,  with  ropes  round  their  necks, 
and  made  to  sit  upon  the  ladder  for  an  hour. 

At  New  Haven,  a  man  was  suspected  of  having  had 
connection  with  a  sow,  and  when  charged,  confessed  it. 
He  was  put  to  death  (1641). 

An  English  woman  admitting  some  unlawful  freedoms 
from  an  Indian  man,  was,  for  twelve  months,  obliged  to 
wear  "  an  Indian  cut  in  red  cloth"  upon  her  left  arm. 

Hugh  Bewett  was  banished  (1640),  upon  pain  of  death 
if  he  returned  to  the  Bay,  for  maintaining  that  he  was 
free  from  original  sin,  and  from  actual  sin  for  half  a  year 
before. 

In  the  records  of  York  (1651),  it  is  ordered,  "  That  Mrs. 
Batcheller,  wife  of  Kev.  Stephen  Batcheller,  Esq.,  for 
her  adultery,  shall  receive  forty  stripes,  save  one,  at  the 

1  Winthrop. 


392  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1642. 

first  town-meeting  held  at  Kittey,  six  weeks  after  her  de 
livery,  and  be  branded  with  the  letter  A."1 

"  One  Britton,"  not  being  able  to  pay  a  fine  for  speak 
ing  reproachfully  of  a  book  defending  the  Church,  was 
openly  whipped.2 

In  1 662,  the  town-meeting  at  Portsmouth  "  ordered 
that  a  cage  be  made,  or  some  other  means  be  invented,  to 
punish  such  as  sleep  on  the  Lord's  day/'  etc. 

In  1671,  the  Select-men  agree  with  John  Pinckey  to 
build  a  cage  twelve  feet  square,  with  stocks  in  it,  and  a 
pillory  on  the  top,  a  convenient  space  from  the  west  end 
of  the  meeting-house. 

Deputy-governor  Dudley  was  had  up  (1632)  for  sell 
ing  a  man  seven  and  a  half  bushels  of  corn,  to  receive 
ten  for  it  after  harvest.  Winthrop  and  others  thought  it 
usurious. 

All  this  was  in  character  with  the  time,  and  though 
much  of  it  was  barbarous,  brutal,  and  tyrannical,  it  was 
common  in  the  most  civilized  countries,  such  as  En 
gland  and  France.  Yet  some  people  say  there  is  no 
Progress  ! 

Even  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  Massachu- 
tra^^N"  setts  Colonies,  they  were  sore  troubled  with 
incontinence,  both  among  married  and  single 
people,  and  every  means  was  resorted  to,  to  stay  the  evil. 
Persons  were  whipped,  imprisoned,  fined,  set  on  the  gal 
lows,  and  compelled  to  wear  a  badge  telling  their  dis 
honor.  Drunkards  were  often  marked  with  a  red  letter 
D  ;  but  they  were  past  shame.  Sodomy  was  not  uncom 
mon.  Desponding  persons,  with  weak  digestion,  who  find 
it  hard  to  believe  that  society  does  improve,  will  be  inter 
ested  in  the  following  event,  which  happened  in  Plymouth 
in  1642,  and  which  is  impossible  of  to-day.  A  young 
man,  some  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  discovered  having 
intercourse  with  a  beast.  "  Horrible  it  is  to  mention,  but 
ye  truth  of  ye  history  requires  it,"  it  was  discovered  that 

1  Lewis's  History  of  Lynn.  2  Winthrop's  Journal  (1638). 


A.D.  1636.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  393 

he  was  guilty  of  intercourse  with  "  a  mare,  a  cow,  two 
goats,  five  sheep,  two  calves,  and  a  turkey/'1  He  was 
brought  for  trial  before  a  jury,  and  the  Ministers  were 
consulted,  and  he  was  condemned  to  die.  He  was  exe 
cuted  in  September,  1642 ;  and  before  his  eyes  were 
brought  all  the  animals  ;  first  the  mare,  and  then  the  rest 
were  killed,  and  cast  into  a  "  great  and  large  pitte,"  and 
then  he  was  put  to  death. 

These  fearful  abuses  and  crimes,  according  to  Winthrop, 
and  others,  seem  to  have  disappeared  in  fact,  when  they 
were  banished  from  the  Statute-book. 

The  following  sentence  will  show  what  was  meant  by 
whipping  at  the  cart's  tail : 

"  John  Browne  &  Peter  Peirson,  having  binn  indicted  at 
the  last  Court  of  Assistants,  for  Quakers,  &  there  stand 
ing  mute,  Kefusing  to  give  any  Answer,  being  bound  ouer 
to  this  Court  to  Ansr  theire  Contempt,  &  here  standing 
mute  also,  The  Court  Judgeth  it  meete  to  Order  that  they 
shall  by  the  Constable  of  Boston,  be  forthwith  taken  out 
of  the  prison  &  stript  from  the  Girdle  upwards  by  the  ex- 
ecutioner  &  tyed  to  the  Carts  Tayle  &  whipt  thro'  the 
Towne  w%  twenty  stripes,  &  then  Carried  to  Koxbury 
and  delivered  to  the  Constable  there,  who  is  also  to  tye 
them  or  cause  them  in  like  manner  to  be  tjed  to  a  Carts 
tayle  &  againe  whip  them  thro'  the  Towne  wlh  tenn 
stripes,  &  then  Carried  to  Dedham  &  deliuered  to  the 
Constable  there  who  is  Againe  in  like  manner  to  Cause 
them  to  be  tjed  to  the  Carts  Tayle  &  whipt  with  tenn 
stripes  thro'  the  Towne,  &  from  thenc  they  are  immedi 
ately  to  depart  this  Jurisdiction  at  theire  perrill."2 

Ornaments  of  Gold,  Silver,  Silk,  and  Thread, 
also  slashed  and  embroidered  garments,  silver    STT1^^EY 
girdles,  belts,  etc.,  were  forbidden  f  wearing  of 
laces,  etc.,  was  prohibited.  (1636.)     Sleeves  were  to  reach 
to  the  wrist,  and  not  to  be  more  than  half  an  ell  wide  ; 

1  Bradford. 

a  Mass.  Records,  vol.  vi.,  p.  380.     1661.  8  Mass.  Records.     1634. 

17* 


394  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1636. 

immoderate  great  breeches,  knots  of  ribbon,  double  ruffs, 
etc.,  were  discouraged  ;  churches  were  advised  to  deal  with 
all  offenders  against  simplicity  in  dress.1 

"  Although  severall  declarations  and  orders  have  binn 
made  by  this  Courte  against  Excesse  in  Apparel,  both  of 
men  and  women,  which  haue  not  taken  that  Effect  as  were 
to  be  desired  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  wee  cannot  but  to  our 
griefe  take  notice,  that  intolerable  excesse  and  bravery 
hath  crept  in  upon  us,  and  especially  among  people  of 
mean  condition,  to  the  dishonor  of  God,  the  scandall  of 
our  profession,  the  consumption  of  Estates,  and  altogether 
unsuitable  to  our  povertie  ;  and  although  we  acknowledge 
it  to  be  a  matter  of  much  difficultie,  in  regard  of  the  blind 
ness  of  men's  minds,  and  the  stubborness  of  their  wills,  to 
sett  down  Exact  rules  to  confine  all  sorts  of  persons,  yet 
wee  cannot  but  account  it  our  duty  to  commend  unto  all 
sorts  of  persons,  the  sober  and  moderate  use  of  those  bless 
ings  which  beyond  Expectation  the  Lord  hath  been  pleased 
to  afford  unto  us  in  this  wilderness,  &  also  to  declare  our 
utter  detestation  and  dislike  that  men  or  women  of  mean 
condition,  should  take  upon  them  the  garb  of  Gentlemen, 
by  wearing  gold  or  silver  lace,  or  buttons,  or  points  at 
their  knees,  or  to  walk  in  great  boots,  or  women  of  the 
same  rank  to  wear  silks,  or  tiffany  hoods,  or  scarfs,  which 
though  allowable  to  persons  of  greater  Estates  or  more 
liberal  Education,  yet  we  cannot  but  judge  it  intollerable 
in  persons  of  such  like  condition.  It  is,  therefore,  ordered 
by  the  Court  and  the  Authorities  thereof,  that  no  person 
within  the  Jurisdicgon,  or  any  of  their  relations  depend 
ing  upon  them,  whose  visible  Estates,  real  and  personal, 
shall  not  Exceed  the  true  and  Indifferent  value  of  Two 
hundred  pounds,  shall  weare  any  gold  or  silver  lace,  or  any 
bone  lace  above  two  shillings  per  yard,  of  silk  hoods  or 
scarfs,  upon  the  penalty  of  ten  shillings  for  Every  such 
offence." 

"  It  is  further  ordered  by  the  Authoritje  aforesajd,  that 

1  Yol.  i.,  pp.  261,  262.     1639. 


A.D.  1636.]  PURITAN   LAWS.  395 

the  select  men  of  every  town  *  *  are  hereby  enabled  and 
required  from  time  to  time  to  have  regard  and  take  notice 
of  apparel  *  *  *  and  whosoever  they  shall  judge  to  Ex 
ceed  their  ranks  and  abilities  in  Costumes  or  Fashion  of 
their  apparell  in  any  respect,  Especially  in  the  wearing  of 
Ribbons  or  great  Boots  (leather  being  so  scarce  a  commo 
dity  in  this  countrye),  lace  pointes,  silk  hoods  or  scarfs,  the 
Selectmen  aforesajd  shall  have  power  to  assesse  such  per 
sons  so  offending  *  *  *  in  the  Country  rates  at  Two  hun 
dred  poynds  Estates  *  *  *  provided  this  law  shall  not 
Extend  to  the  restraint  of  any  magistrate  or  public  office 
of  this  jurisdiction  their  wives  and  children,  who  are  left 
to  their  discretion  in  wearing  of  apparell,  or  any  settled 
millitary  officer  or  soldier  in  the  tjme  of  military  service, 
or  any  other  whose  education  and  Imployments  have  been 
above  the  ordinary  degree,  or  whose  Estates  have  been 
considerable  though  now  decayed."1 

The  proviso  at  the  conclusion  of  the  order  just  recited 
shows  the  animus  that  dictated  it,  and  comment  is  un 
necessary.  The  number  of  laws  on  this  subject  was  great; 
we  will  give  one  or  two  more  :  "  Whereas  there  is  manifest 
pride  openly  appearing  amongst  us,  in  that  Long  Haire 
like  woman's  Haire,  is  worn  by  some  men,,  either  their 
own  or  other's  Haire,  and  their  Cutting,  Curling,  and  Im 
modest  laying  out  there  Haire,  which  practice  doth  pre 
vail  and  increase,  especially  amongst  the  younger  sort. 
This  Court  does  declare  against  this  ill  Custom  as  offen 
sive  to  them  and  diverse  sober  Christians  amongst  us,  and 
therefore  do  hereby  exhort  and  advise  all  persons,  to  use 
moderation  in  this  respect  :  and  further  do  empower  all 
grand  jurys  to  present  to  the  County  Courts,  such  persons 
whether  male  or  female,  whom  they  shall  judge  to  exceed 
in  the  premises.  And  the  County  Courts  are  hereby 
authorized  to  proceed  against  such  delinquents  either  by 
admonition,  fine,  or  correction,  according  to  their  good  dis 
cretion."2 

1  Yol.  iv.,  pp.  57,  58.     1651.  a  Yol.  v.,  58,  1675. 


396  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1646. 

"Notwithstanding  the  wholesome  law  already  made  by 
this  Court,  for  restrayning  excess  in  Apparel  yet  through 
Corruption  in  many,  and  neglect  of  due  execution  of  those 
laws,  the  evil  of  pride  in  apparel,  both  for  Costlines  in  the 
poorer  sort,  and  vayne,  new,  strange  fashions  both  in 
poore  and  riche,  wth  naked  breasts  and  arms,  or,  as  it  were 
perceived  with  the  addition  of  superstitious  Ribbons,  both 
in  Haire  and  apparell,  for  redress  whereof,  It  is  ordered 
by  this  Court  that  the  County  Courts,  from  time  to  time 
doe  give  strict  charge  to  present  all  such  persons  as  they 
shall  judge  to  exceed  in  that  kind,  and  if  the  Grand  Jury 
shall  neglect  theire  duty  herein,  the  County  Court  shall 
impose  a  fine  upon  them  at  their  discretion." 

LAWYERS  were  unpopular,  and  for  the  first  half  century 
seem  hardly  to  have  existed  as  a  distinct  profession.  In 
1701,  an  oath  of  office  was  required  of  them,  upon  being 
admitted  to  practice.  In  1768,  there  were  but  twenty- 
five  barristers  in  Massachusetts.1 

In  1646,  a  fine  was  laid  in  Massachusetts,  of  twenty 
shillings  an  hour,  for  any  speech  more  than  one  hour  long, 
made  by  any  attorney  or  person  before  a  Court. 

Various  other  legal  provisions  will  be  found  in  the  next 
chapter,  on  Church  Matters. 

1  The  Judicial  History  of  Massachusetts.  By  Emory  Washburn.  Boston, 
1840. 


CHAPTER       XLV. 

CHURCH    MATTERS. 

NOT  SEPARATISTS — TUB  CHURCH  COVENANT — FIRST  CHURCHES  BUILT — TAXATION — VOL 
UNTARY  SYSTEM — CONGREGATIONALISM — THE  MINISTERS — THEIR  PAY — THE  CAMBRIDGE 
PLATFORM — THE  SABBATH — SATURDAY  NIGHT — MARRIAGE — NAMES — THE  HALF-WAY 
COVENANT — HERESY — WHIPPING  OF  BAPTISTS — SATAN — SPECIAL  PROVIDENCES — ME 
TEORS— EPISCOPACY— THE  MEETING-HOUSES— FASTING SINGING— -DEATH— FUNERALS- 
EPITAPHS. 

THE  Massachusetts  Bay  Colonists  were  afraid  of  the 
suspicion  of  being  Separatists,  "  Brownists."  They  were 
not  conscious  of  their  own  position,  and  how  completely 
they  had  cut  themselves  loose  from  the  Church  of  En 
gland.  It  would  have  prejudiced  the  authorities  in 
England,  and  many  of  their  own  friends  too,  against 
them,  had  they  avowed  themselves  Independents  ;  as  in 
reality  they  were,  though  they  had  not  taken  the  last 
step.  There  was  something  of  the  philosophy,  which 
a  would  run  with  the  hare,  yet  hold  with  the  hounds," 
lurking  among  them. 

To  guard  against  the  charge  of  being  Separatists,  Win- 
throp  and  his  friends,  before  sailing  for  Massachusetts, 
issued  (April  7,  1630)  from  the  Arbella  at  Falmouth, 
an  Address  to  the  people  of  England,  desiring  their  pray 
ers  and  blessings ;  cautioning  them  against  rumors,  and 
desiring  them  "  to  take  notice  of  the  principal  and  body 
of  our  Company,  as  those  who  esteem  it  our  honor  to  call 
the  Church  of  England,  from  whence  we  rise,  our  dear 
mother/'1 

But  this  feeling  was  soon  changed  by  the  projects  of 
Laud  and  the  Churchmen  for  establishing  a  hierarchy  in 

1  Hubbard's  Hist.,  p.  127.    Young's  Chronicles. 


398  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1688. 

New  England  (1635).  These  plans  were  never  forgotten, 
and  a  bill  for  the  purpose  was  prepared,  but  was  stopped 
by  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  in  1714  ;  to  be  again  revived 
before  the  Kevolution  (1768).1 

One  of  the  early  proceedings  of  the  Massa- 
TSmSlNTH    chusetts  Colony,  was  the  confirmation  of  it  as  a 
Keligious  Government  ;  a  Covenant  was  drawn 
up  which  ran  thus  : 

"  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  obe 
dience  to  his  holy  will  and  divine  ordinance — We,  whose 
names  are  here  underwritten,  being  by  his  most  wise  and 
good  providence  brought  together  into  this  part  of  Amer 
ica,  in  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts,  and  desirous  to  unite 
into  one  Congregation  or  Church,  under  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  our  head,  in  such  sort  as  becometh  all  those  whom 
he  hath  redeemed  and  sanctified  to  himself,  do  hereby 
solemnly  and  religiously,  as  in  his  most  holy  presence, 
promise  and  bind  ourselves  to  walk  in  all  our  ways,  ac 
cording  to  the  rule  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  all  sincere  con 
formity  to  his  holy  ordinances,  and  in  mutual  love  and 
respect  to  each  other,  as  near  as  God  shall  give  us  grace." 

This  was  signed  by  Governor  Winthrop,  Deputy-Gov 
ernor  Dudley,  Mr.  Johnson,  and  the  Kev.  Mr.  Wilson,  in 
the  name  of  the  whole  community,  at  Charlestown,  on  the 
30th  July,  1631. 

The  First  Church,  or  Meeting-house,  in  Boston,  was 
begun  in  1632,2  on  Cornhill.  In  1639,  a  new  one  was 
built,  which  in  1711  was  destroyed  by  fire  ;  in  1712,  the 
"  Old  Brick"  was  raised,  and  in  it  was  the  first  organ  ad 
mitted  into  a  Congregational  church  in  the  town.  In  this 
church  was  a  good  bell  and  a  town  clock.3 

The  first  Episcopal  church  was  a  wooden  building  in 
Tremont-street,  called  King's  Chapel  (1688);  before  that 
time  the  society  had  met  at  the  house  of  their  minister, 

1  Backus,  vol.  it,  p.  28.    De  Berdt's  Letter,  Mass.  State  Papers. 

a  Winthrop's  Journal. 

3  See  List  of  Ministers,  in  M.  H.  C.,  vol.  iii.    Description  of  Boston. 


A.D.  1693.]  CHURCH    MATTERS.  399 

John  Eatcliffe.  The  corner-stone  of  the  New  Hewn  Stone 
Chapel,  was  laid  by  Governor  Shirley,  in  1749.  In  1785 
it  adopted  a  Unitarian  Liturgy  which  it  still  continues. 

The  first  Baptist  church  was  built  in  1679,  and  rebuilt 
in  1771. 

In  1710,  the  Quakers,  or  Friends,  erected  a  meeting 
house.  Few  of  the  sect  remain  now  in  Boston. 

The  Congregations  were  called  together,  and  each  man 
put  down  what  he  was  willing  to  pay  toward  the  support 
of  the  Church,  the  rest  was  raised  by  tax.  Those  who 
paid  were  entitled  to  vote  in  settling  the  minister,  though 
they  might  not  be  "  Professors/'1 

Mr.  Cotton,  in  a  Sermon  preached  in  1639,2  showed  how 
the  Churches  were  in  a  declining  condition,  "  when  the 
Magistrates  are  forced  to  maintain  the  Ministers  '"  and 
how  this  should  be  done,  not  by  revenues  or  tithes,  but  by 
the  voluntary  contribution  of  the  Members. 

So  "  the  Lord,"  says  Winthrop,  "  directed  him  to  make 
it  clear  by  the  Script  are,  that  the  Minister's  maintenance, 
and  the  charges  of  the  Church  should  be  paid  out  of  a 
fund  raised  by  weekly  contributions." 

The  County  Courts  of  Massachusetts  were  empowered 
in  1654  to  assess  a  rate  for  the  support  of  the  Ministers, 
when  the  voluntary  contribution  was  not  enough  ;  but  the 
Churches  in  Boston  were  always  supported  by  voluntary 
contributions  (weekly),  and  many  of  the  Clergy  were 
doubtful  of  the  lawfulness  of  receiving  support  in  any 
other  way.3 

In  1692,  a  law  was  made  in  Massachusetts,  that  every 
town  should  support  an  orthodox  Minister.  The  voters  of 
the  town  had  the  power  of  appointment,  not  the  Church 
members  only.  In  1693,  this  was  modified  so  as  to  allow 
the  Church  members  to  select  the  Minister,  and  present 
him  to  those  voters  who  were  to  pay  taxes  to  support  him 
for  confirmation.4 

1  Knowles,  p.  317.     Trumbull's  Connecticut,  ch.  xiii. 

2  Winthrop's  Journal.  3  Hutchinson,  vol.  i.;  p.  427.  *  Backus. 


400  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1653. 

In  case  the  Professors  and  congregation  did  not  agree;  a 
Court  of  Ministers  was  to  decide  it  [1695]. 

Cotton  Mather  advocated  the  plan,  practiced  in  some 
towns,  of  involving  the  Minister's  salary  in  the  general 
town  tax.  There  was  no  law  exempting  Baptists  and 
other  sects  from  paying  taxes  to  support  the  orthodox 
ministers,  till  1728.1 

In  1692,  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  in 
Boston,  had  never  been  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  Con 
gregational  Ministers.2 

In  1727,  was  passed  the  Five-mile  Act,  which  provided, 
that  taxes  paid  by  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  resid 
ing  within  five  miles  of  an  Episcopal  Church,  should  be  ap 
plied  to  the  support  of  that  Church.  At  that  time,  there 
were  but  three  Episcopal  Churches  in  the  Province,  be 
sides  those  of  Boston.  Before  1734,  Anabaptists,  and 
Quakers  also,  were  exempted  from  taxation  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Congregational  Churches.3  It  seems  however,  at 
that  time,  in  the  Colony  of  New  York,  Presbyterians, 
both  people  and  Clergymen,  were  taxed  to  support  the 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  Democratic  tendency  of  the  Puritans, 
SlSsi"  showed  itself  first  in  the  Church  organization, 
as  has  been  said  before  ;4  and  the  first  planters, 
with  Endicott,  agreed  that  the  authority  for  ordination 
rested  not  in  the  Ministers,  but  in  the  congregations,  and 
each  of  these  was  competent  to  call  and  ordain  its  own 
Ministers,  and  to  make  its  own  rules.5  But  when  this 
came  to  be  exercised,  it  was  found  rather  too  Democratic 
for  the  Magistrates  and  Ministers  ;6  and  the  General  Court 
then  ordered,  that  no  Church  should  call  a  Minister, 
without  the  approbation  of  some  of  the  Magistrates,  as 
well  as  of  some  neighboring  churches.  In  1653,  the  au 
thorities  forbade  the  North  Church  of  Boston,  to  choose 

1  Backus.  a  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.     Rev.  Andrew  Eliot's  Account. 

9  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  4  See  chap.  xvi.     The  Plymouth  Church. 

s  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  ix.          6  See  Salem  Church  and  Roger  Williams. 


A.D.  1653.]  CHURCH    MATTERS.  401 

Mr.  Powel;   "  a  man  of  sense   and   character"  for  their 
teacher,  because  he  had  not  had  a  learned  education. 

Cotton  Mather,  writing  in  the  year  1718,  says:  "The 
only  declared  basis  for  union  among  them  (the  Congrega 
tional  Churches)  is  that  solid,  vital,  substantial  piety, 
wherein  all  good  men  of  different  forms  are  united  ;  and 
Calvinists  with  Lutherans,  Presbyterians  with  Episcopa 
lians,  Pedobaptists  with  Anabaptists,  beholding  one  an 
other  to  fear  God,  and  work  righteousness,  do  with  delight 
sit  down  together  at  the  same  table  of  the  Lord." 1 

It  is  well  to  know  that  the  laws  against  Anabaptists 
and  Quakers  were  not  then  repealed,  and  that  Cotton  Ma 
ther  is  one  of  the  most  unreliable  of  historians. 

At  an  assembly  of  Ministers  and  others,  held  at  New- 
town,  1635,  the  question  was  brought  up  by  Mr.  Shepard, 
as  to  the  number  which  make  up  a  Church  ?  It  was 
agreed  that  three  (3)  was  too  small  a  number,  but  that 
seven  persons  might  do  ;  still,  as  there  was  no  rule  laid 
down  in  Scripture,  it  might  fairly  be  considered  a  matter 
non-essential. 

Some  took  these  positions  : 

"In  Adam's  and  Noah's  time,  there  was  not  above 
seven  or  eight.  Will  you  deny  them  the  being  of  a 
Church  T' 2 

"  A  visible  Church,  in  the  New  Testament,  consists  of 
no  more  in  number  than  may  meet  in  one  place,  in  one 
congregation."  3 

There  is  not  a  doubt  that  the  Ministers  of 
New  England  were  the  steady  encouragers  of      MIN™TERS. 
education,  the  friends  of  goodness,  and  the  ad 
vocates  of  piety.      They  made  mistakes,  had   quarrels, 
were  too  urgent  for  class-legislation,  jealous  of  their  influ 
ence,  and  among  them  were  base  men  ;  yet  with  all  their 

1  Cotton  Mather's  Letter  to  Lord  Barrington,  1718.     Mass.  Hist.  Coll., 
vol.  i. 

2  A  Defense  of  Sundry  Positions,  etc. ;  by  Samuel  Eaton,  Teacher,  and 
Timothy  Taylor,  Pastor,  etc.  London,  1645.         3 1  Cor.  xi.,  20,  and  xiv.,  23. 


402  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1653. 

faults,  they  may  well  ask  comparison  with  the  clergy  of 
any  sect  anywhere.  They  were  men,  with  common  weak 
nesses,  follies,  and  vices,  and  are  to  be  judged  like  other 
men ;  their  occupation  was  their  only  difference.  But 
any  community  will  be  the  better,  safer,  and  richer,  which 
can  secure  a  good  pulpit  (and  a  good  press) ;  that  of  New 
England  was  equal,  at  least,  to  the  intelligence  and  virtue 
of  the  time.  The  clergy  ought  to  lead  in  the  right  way, 
and  should  belong  to  the  advancing,  moving  party. 

Some  of  the  New  England  ministers  were  bigots  and 
ascetics,  but  not  all.  That  some  were  kindly  and  warm 
hearted  men,  who  loved  the  world  and  the  things  of  the 
world,  properly,  is  probable.  Some  indeed  were  jocose, 
and  Mather  Byles  (born  1706)  is  known  to  this  day  as  a 
wit,  rather  than  a  clergyman.  An  old  picture  exists  in 
Massachusetts  (date  lost),  painted  on  a  panel,  divided  in 
the  center  :  one  half  shows  a  pleasing  landscape — such  as 
could  probably  be  seen  from  the  windows — and  the  other 
half  presents  a  meeting  of  ministers,  in  wigs  and  gowns, 
met  for  conference.  They  are  well  supplied  with  pipes 
and  tankards,  and  sit  in  easy  positions,  as  though  bent 
upon  having  a  pleasant  time. 

The  practice  of  reordaining  ministers  who  had  been 
episcopally  ordained,  was  common,  if  not  universal,  and 
was  consistent  with  the  doctrine,  that  their  authority  was 
derived  from  the  people,  rather  than  the  Church. 

We  find  that  in  the  preaching  of  early  days,  they  were 
freer  than  now  to  speak  upon  the  worldly  interests  of 
the  day. 

The  laity,  too,  were  at  liberty,  and  were  expected,  to 
speak  in  Church,  as  they  are  not  now. 

We  meet  with  such  notices  as  this  from  time  to  time  : 
"  The  Governor  went  on  foot  to  Agawam,  and  because  the 
people  there  wanted  a  minister,  spent  the  Sabbath,  and 
exercised  by  way  of  prophecy  [preaching],  and  returned 
home  on  the  10th."1 

1  Winthrop's  Journal,  1634. 


A.D.  1646.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  403 

The  pay  of  ministers  was  not  large,  but  was  at  least 
equal  to  the  ordinary  incomes  of  men  then.  The  salaries, 
mentioned  in  a  list  of  twenty-six  towns  of  New  England, 
published  in  1648,  were  from  £20  to  £90  ;  which  list  in 
cludes  such  men  as  Mr.  Cotton  in  Boston,  and  Hugh 
Peters  at  Salem.1 

In  the  year  1713,  it  appears  that  there  were  forty-three 
Ministers  in  Connecticut,  or  about  one  to  every  four  hun 
dred  people. 

The  Colony  Records  of  Connecticut  inform  us,  that  in 
the  year  1676  the  Court  recommended  Ministers  to  see  to 
it  as  to  the  observance  of  family  worship,  and  in  case  per 
sons  obstinately  refused,  that  the  Grand  Jury  should  pre 
sent  them  for  trial.2 

The  Ministers  of  New  England  also  took  an  active  and 
leading  part  in  matters  of  State,  and,  as  has  been  said 
elsewhere,  often  erred  in  their  attempts  to  make  the 
necessities  of  the  people  of  New  England,  bend  to  the 
practices  and  laws  of  Moses.  The  Churches  followed  the 
example  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  who  provided 
themselves  with  a  Civil  Constitution  ;3  and  after  several 
meetings,  agreed  upon  a  Church  Constitution,  called  the 
Cambridge  Platform. 

The  first  steps  for  holding  this  Synod  were  taken  in 
1646  ;  the  Massachusetts  Churches  having  invited  the 
Churches  of  the  other  Colonies  to  unite  with  them  in  the 
work.  It  was  not  till  1648  that  it  was  finally  agreed 
upon.  Eather  than  draw  up  a  new  Confession  of  Faith, 
they  adopted  that  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Di 
vines  (of  1643),  and  then  proceeded  to  agree  upon  their 
Platform.  Afterward,  in  1680,  the  "  Savoy  Confession" 
was  adopted,  which  does  not  greatly  differ  from  the  West 
minster. 

1  Good  News  from  New  England.     Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  Series. 

a  Trumbull's  Records  of  Connecticut.     See  vol.    ii.,    "  The  Ministers." 

•  See  Body  of  Liberties,  ch.  xliv.,  vol.  I 


404  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

Hubbard,  who  knew  many  of  the  Ministers  present, 
speaks  of  them  in  this  way  : 

"  They  were  men  of  great  renown  in  the  nation  (En 
gland)  from  whence  the  Laudian  persecution  exiled  them. 
Their  learning,  their  holiness,  their  gravity  struck  all  men 
that  knew  them,  with  admiration.  They  were  Timothies 
in  their  houses,  Chrysostoms  in  their  pulpits,  and  Augus- 
tines  in  their  disputations."  We  may  bear  it  in  mind 
that  Mr.  Hubbard  was  one  of  them,  and  make  due  allow 
ance  for  his  brotherly  affection.  Among  them  were  such 
men  as  Wilson  and  Cotton  of  Boston,  Norton  of  Ipswich, 
Eliot  of  Eoxbury,  Shepard  of  Cambridge,  Mather  of  Dor 
chester,  Allen  of  Dedham,  Rogers  of  Rowley,  and  Par 
tridge  of  Duxbury. 

The  composing  of  the  Platform  has  been  attributed  to 
the  Reverend  Richard  Mather  of  Dorchester.  It  met  with 
almost  universal  acceptance  in  New  England,  and  was  the 
rule  of  the  Churches  in  government  and  discipline,  till 
the  Say  brook  Platform  was  adopted  in  Connecticut  in 
1708.1  It  was  recognized  as  such  by  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts,  and  has  not  been  formally  superseded, 
though  in  the  course  of  events  it  has  ceased  to  have  any 
binding  force. 

When  the  business  of  making  the  platform  was  ended, 
the  Synod  closed,  "  with  the  singing  the  Song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb,  recorded  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the 
Revelations" — Thus,  says  Scotto,  "the  ravening  Wolves 
of  Heresy,  and  the  Wild  Boars  of  Tyranny,  being  chained 
up  from  Devouring  the  Lord's  poor  Flock,  and  from 
Rooting  up  his  Heritage."  2 

They  early  dropped  the  Heathen  name  for 

THE  SABBATH.     Sunday,  and  called  it  Sabbath,  or  Lord's  day. 

In  "  Lechford's  Plain  Dealing," 3  is  an  inter- 

1  See  vol.  ii.,  ch.  vii. 

2  A  Narrative  of  the  planting  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  by  Joshua 
Scotto.     London,  1694. 

*  Published  in  London,  1641.     Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  voL  iii. 


A.D.  1641.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  405 

esting  account  of  how  they  spent  Sunday  in  Boston  in 
those  "  good  old  colony  times." 

"  Every  Sabbath,  or  Lord's  day,  they  came  together  at 
Boston  by  ringing  of  a  Bell,  about  nine  of  the  Clock  or 
before.  Their  pastor  begins  with  solemn  prayer,  continu 
ing  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  teacher  then  read- 
eth  and  expoundeth  a  Chapter  ;  then  a  psalm  is  sung, 
whichever  one  of  the  ruling  elders  dictates.  After  that 
the  pastor  preacheth  a  sermon,  and  sometimes  extempore 
exhorts.  Then  the  teacher  concludes  with  prayer  and  a 
blessing.  Once  a  month  is  a  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  whereof  notice  is  usually  given  a  fortnight  be 
fore,  and  then  all  others  departing,  except  the  Church 
[which  is  a  great  deal  less  in  number  than  those  that  go 
away],  they  receive  the  Sacrament,  the  Minister  and 
ruling  Elders  setting  at  the  table,  the  rest  in  their  seats, 
or  upon  forms.  About  two  in  the  afternoon  they  repair 
to  the  meeting-house  again,  when  the  services  are  much 
the  same  as  in  the  morning.  After  that  ensues  Baptism, 
one  of  the  parents  being  of  the  Church,  no  sureties  are 
required,  which  ended,  follows  the  contribution,  one  of 
the  deacons  saying,  '  Brethren  of  the  Congregation,  now 
there  is  time  left  for  contribution,  wherefore,  as  God  has 
prospered  you,  so  freely  offer/  The  Magistrates  and  chief 
gentlemen  first,  and  then  the  Elders,  and  all  the  Con 
gregation  of  them,  and  most  of  them  that  are  not  of  the 
Church,  all  single  persons,  widows,  and  women  in  absence 
of  their  husbands,  came  up,  one  after  another  one  way, 
and  bring  their  offerings  to  the  deacon  at  his  seat,  and 
put  it  into  a  box  of  wood  for  the  purpose,  if  it  be  money 
or  papers  ;  if  it  be  any  other  chattel,  they  set  or  lay  it 
down  before  the  deacons,  and  so  pass  another  way  to  their 
seats  again,  which  money  and  goods  the  deacons  dispose 
toward  the  maintenance  of  the  Minister  and  the  poor  of 
the  Church,  and  the  Church's  occasions,  without  making 
account  ordinarily."  Again — prophesying  is,  "  When  a 
Brother  Exerciseth  in  his  own  congregation,  taking  a  text 


406  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTOBY.  [A.D.  1661. 

of  Scripture,  and  handling  the  same  according  to  his 
ability  ;  notwithstanding,  it  is  generally  held  in  the  Bay 
by  some  of  the  most  grave  and  learned  men  among  them, 
that  none  should  undertake  to  prophesy  in  public,  unless 
he  intend  the  work  of  the  ministry."  But  Lay  preach 
ing  for  a  long  time  was  permitted  ;  for  "  Gifted  men, 
viz.  [so  reputed  by  competent  judges,  though]  not  called 
to  the  ministry,  nor  intended  for  it,  may  preach." 1 

Thus,  in  this  simple  and  natural  way,  did  they  carry 
on  their  worship,  and  their  Teaching,  and  their  Lord's- 
days,  in  the  early  time  of  the  Puritan  Church. 

In  1668  it  was  ordered  by  the  Court  in  Connecticut 
that  all  unnecessary  traveling  or  playing  during  public 
worship,  or  staying  away  unnecessarily,  should  be  punish 
ed  with  a  fine  of  five  shillings. 

The  Law  .of  Connecticut,  laying  a  fine  of  10  shillings 
for  neglect  of  public  worship,  was  repealed  in  1770.2 

There  was  high  authority  for  this  Sabbath  Legislation  ; 
for,  by  the  35th  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  staying  away  from 
Church  was  punished  with  severe  penalties.3 

To  avoid  all  sympathy  with  Heathenism,  they  dropped 
the  old  names  for  days  and  months,  and  used  numbers  ; 
beginning  with  Sunday,  which  was  the  "  first"  day,  and 
March,  which  was  the  "  first"  month.4 

A  singular  order  exists  in  the  Kecords  of  Hampton 
[1661] — A  fine  of  five  shillings  was  imposed  upon  any 
person  who  shot  off  a  gun,  or  led  a  horse  into  the  Meet 
ing-house.5 

The  keeping  of  Saturday  night,  a  custom  peculiar  to 
New  England,  dates  back  to  the  early  days  of  the  Colony. 
It  seems  to  have  originated  in  a  wish  to  prepare  thoroughly 
for  Sunday  ;  and  we  find  in  one  of  the  Company's  letters 
to  Endicott,  at  the  very  founding  of  the  Colony,  a  direc 
tion  to  cease  labor  early  on  Saturday  afternoon.  The 

1  Acts  ii.,  19,  and  viii  14.  2  Backus,  vol.  ii.  p.  42. 

3  Kingsley's  Historical  Discourse.     New  Haven,  1838. 

4  Lechford,  Plain  Dealing,  M.  H.  C.,  3d  series.  5  Coffin's  Newbury. 


A.D.  1692.]  CHURCH    MATTERS.  407 

Reverend  Mr.  Cotton,  gave  to  this  the  weight  of  his  char 
acter,  talents,  and  reputation ;  and  they  found  it  practi 
cable  to  quote  Scripture  to  sustain  it — for  the  Bible  said, 
"the  Evening  and  the  Morning  were  the  first  day."  Noth 
ing  then  was  more  easy,  than  to  believe  that  Sunday  be 
gan  with  the  sunset  of  Saturday.  When  that  hour  came, 
the  cattle  were  housed,  tools  were  laid  up,  arid  doors  and 
gates  were  carefully  closed  ;  the  chickens  went  to  roost, 
and  the  singing  of  birds  was  no  longer  heard  ;  a  universal 
hush  settled  upon  New  England,  as  the  shadows  of  even 
ing  came  over  the  landscape.  Then,  after  six  days  of 
labor,  old  men  and  women,  young  men  and  children,  sat 
down  to  rest ;  and  the  stillness  of  the  hour  penetrated 
their  hearts.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that  the  thoughts 
of  all  were  turned  inward,  only  to  religious  things,  and 
that  in  silence  they  bewailed  the  corruption  of  their  hearts; 
but  it  was  the  hour  for  self-communion,  and  the  steady 
voice  of  the  old  man,  repeating  the  earnest  words  of  the 
prophets,  or  trembling  in  prayers  toward  Heaven,  recalled 
wandering  thoughts.  The  Sabbath  was  at  hand,  and  when 
at  nine  o'clock,  the  Curfew  tolled  through  the  forest,  every 
one  went  quietly  to  bed,  and  slumbered  till  the  Sabbath 
morning  broke  ;  disturbed,  if  at  all,  only  by  dreams  of  the 
sweet  voice  of  love,  premonition  of  the  coming  Sabbath 
night ;  or  of  rushing  rains  destructive  to  the  new-cut  hay  ; 
or  of  the  shrill  savage  whoops,  and  the  cries  of  frightened 
women.  But  the  morning's  sun  dispelled  fearful  fancies, 
and  strengthened  shadowy  hopes. 

MARRIAGE  was  looked  upon,  by  the  Puritans,  as  a  Civil 
Contract,  and  not  as  a  Sacrament  at  all ;  and  the  cere 
mony,  at  first,  was  performed  only  by  the  Magistrates,  or 
by  some  Civil  person,  duly  appointed.  But  in  1692,  the 
General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  passed  a  resolve,  that 
Ministers  might  marry,  as  well  as  Justices  of  the  Peace, 
u  which  hath  Encouraged  me  (said  the  Eev.  Bailey),  to 
do  it  at  the  Importunity  of  friends." 1 

1  Kev.  Bailey's  Memo.     See  Francis's  "Watertown.     Appendix,  p.  141. 


408  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1657. 

Bradford  says  they  followed  "  ye  laudable  Custom  of  ye 
Low-Countries  in  which  they  had  lived — and  nowhere  in 
the  Gospel  was  it  layed  on  the  Ministers." 

The  Connecticut  Code  said,  "  For  as  much  as  many  per 
sons  intangle  themselves  by  rashe  and  inconsiderate  con 
tracts/'  etc.,  persons  should  not  entertain  a  motion  in  way 
of  Marriage,  without  knowledge  of  their  parents  or  guard 
ians.  And,  also,  that  all  contracts  should  be  PUBLISHED 
in  some  public  meeting  in  their  town,  at  least  eight  days 
before  the  time  of  marriage." 

This  custom  has  prevailed  there,  till  within  a  few  years  ; 
and  was  called  "  Publishing  the  Banns." 

There  was  a  great  fondness  for  Scripture  NAMES,  and 
for  such  as  expressed  a  virtue  or  good  habit.  The  names  of 
Brewster's  children  were,  "  Fear,"  "  Love,"  and  "  Wrest 
ling  ;"  the  two  first  were  women.  And  the  names  of  Joy, 
Mercy,  Thankful,  Prudence,  Patience,  Hope,  Charity,  etc., 
were  common.  It  is  even  said  that  some  men  were  bap 
tized  "  Hateful,"  which  needs  confirmation. 

"  THE  HALF-WAY  COVENANT,"  grew  out  of  the  discus 
sion,  in  1656,  about  Infant  baptism.  Some  persons  said, 
if  there  were  any  use  of  Baptism,  it  seemed  cruel  to  de 
prive  children  of  its  benefits,  because  their  parents  were 
not  members  of  the  Church,  as  had  been  the  custom.  The 
pressure  of  public  opinion  was  such,  that  the  Ministers 
felt  obliged  to  act ;  so  in  1662,  at  Boston,  they  contrived  a 
way,  called  the  "  Half-way  Covenant."  It  provided,  that 
all  persons  of  sober  life  and  correct  sentiments,  without 
being  examined  as  to  a  change  of  heart,  might  profess  re 
ligion,  or  become  members  of  the  Church,  and  have  their 
children  baptized,  though  they  did  not  come  to  the  Lord's 
table.1 

Great  confusion  and  discussion  resulted,  and  the  Coun 
try  was  in  a  ferment ;  but  public  opinion  sustained  the 
"  Half-way  Covenant." 

Such  questions  as  this  were  thus  answered  : 
1  Knowles's  R.  W.,  p.  315. 


A.D.  1662.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  409 

Quest.  1.  Who  are  the  subjects  of  Baptisme  P1 
Ans.  1.  They  that  according  to  Scripture  are  members 
of  the  Visible  Church,  are  the  subjects  of  Baptisme. 

2.  The  members  of  the  Visible  Church,  according  to 
Scripture,  are  Confederate  visible  Believers  in  particular 
Churches,  and  their  infant  seed,  i.  e.,  children  in  minority, 
whose  next  parents,  one  or  both,  are  in  Covenant. 

3.  The  Infant-seed  of  confederate  visible  Believers,  are 
members  of  the  same  Church  with  their  parents,  and  when 
grown  up  are  personally  under  the  Watch  Discipline  and 
Government  of  that  Church. 

4.  These  Adult  persons  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  admit 
ted  to  full  Communion,  meerly  because  they  are  and  con 
tinue  members,  without  such  further  qualifications  as  the 
Word  of  God  requireth  thereunto. 

5.  Church   members  who  were  admitted  in  minority, 
understanding  the  Doctrine  of  Faith,  and  publickly  pro 
fessing  their  assent  thereto  ;   not  scandalous  in  life,  and 
solemnly  owning  the  Covenant  before  the  Church,  wherein 
they  give  up  themselves  and  their  children  to  the  Lord, 
and  subject  themselves  to  the  Government  of  Christ  in  the 
Church,  their  Children  are  to  be  Baptised. 

6.  Such  Church  Members,  who,  either  by  death  or  some 
other  extraordinary  Providence,  have  been  inevitably  hin 
dered  from  publick  acting  as  aforesaid,  yet  have  given  the 
Church  cause  in  judgment  of  Charity,  to  look  at  them  as 
so  qualified,  and  such  as  had  they  been  called  thereunto, 
would  have  so  acted,  their  children  are  to  be  Baptised. 

7.  The  Members  of  Orthodox  Churches  being  sound  in 
the  Faith  and  not  scandalous  in  life,  and  presenting  due 
testimony  thereof;  these   occasionally  coming  from  one 
Church  to  another,  may  have  their  children  baptised  in 
the  Church  whither  they  come,  by  virtue  of  a  communion 
of  Churches  ;  but  if  they  remove  their  habitation  they 

1  From  the  Answer  of  the  Elders  and  other  Messengers  of  the  Churches 
assembled  at  Boston,  in  the  year  1662,  to  the  Questions  propounded  to  them 
by  Order  of  the  Honoured  General  Court.  Cambridge,  1662. 

18 


410  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1652. 

ought  orderly  to  Covenant  and  subject  themselves  to  the 
Government  of  Christ  in  the  Church  where  they  settle 
their  abode,  and  so  their  children  to  be  Baptised.  It  be 
ing  the  Churches  duty  to  receive  such  into  Communion, 
so  far  as  they  are  regularly  fit  for  the  same. 

By  the  Code  of  Massachusetts,  the  following  persons 
were  deemed  worthy  of  banishment  :  Whoever  "  shall  go 
about  to  subvert  and  destroy  the  Christian  faith  and 
religion,  by  broaching  and  maintaining  any  damnable 
heresies  ;  as,  denying  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  or  the 
resurrection  of  the  body/'  "  or  denying  that  Christ  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  our  sins,  or  shall  deny  the  morality 
of  the  fourth  commandment,  or  oppose  the  baptizing  of 
infants,  or  shall  purposely  depart  the  congregation  at  the 
administration  of  that  ordinance,  or  shall  deny  the  ordi 
nance  of  the  Magistracy,  or  their  lawfull  authority  to  make 
war,  or  to  punish  the  breaches  of  the  first  table/'  etc.1 

It  was  decreed  that  whoever  should  carry  himself  con 
temptuously  against  the  "Word  of  God/'  or  the  Ministers, 
should,  on  the  second  offense,  be  obliged  to  stand  two  hours 
openly,  upon  a  block,  four  foot  high,  on  a  lecture  day, 
with  a  paper  fixed  on  his  breast  written  in  capital  letters, 

"AN  OPEN  AND  OBSTINATE  CONTEMNER  OF  GOD'S  HOLY 
ORDINANCES." 

Clarke,  Crandall,  and  Holmes,  Baptists,  and 
leading  men  at  Newport,  went  to  visit  a  brother 
at  Salem,  and  gave  a  public  exhortation  at  his 
house  ;  they  were  arrested  and  taken  to  hear  the  proper 
preacher  in  the  afternoon.  They  were  afterward  carried 
to  Boston,  imprisoned,  fined,  and  Holmes  was  whipped, 
"  The  man  striking  with  all  his  strength  (yea,  spitting  in 
his  hand  three  times),  as  many  affirmed/'2 

Sir  Kichard  Saltonstall  wrote  from  England  to  Mr. 
Cotton  and  Mr.  Wilson,  after  these  doings  against  Dr. 
Clarke,  Mr.  Holmes,  and  Mr.  Crandall :  "  It  doth  not  a 

1  Hazard,  vol.  i. 

2  See  111  News  from  New  England,  by  John  Clarke.  London,  1652. 


WHIPPING 
THE     BAP 
TISTS. 


A.D.  1638.]  CHUECH   MATTERS.  411 

little  grieve  my  spirit,  to  hear  what  sad  things  are  reported 
daily  of  your  tyranny  and  persecution  in  New  England, 
as  that  you  fine,  whip,  imprison  men  for  their  conscience," 
etc.  Cotton,  who  was  a  mild  man,  replied  very  sharply  : 
"  If  our  ways  (rigid  ways,  as  you  call  them)  have  laid  us 
low  in  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  yea,  and  of  the  saints 
(as  you  style  them),  we  do  not  believe  it  is  any  part  of 
their  saintship.  Nevertheless  I  tell  you  the  truth,  we 
have  tolerated  in  our  churches  some  Anabaptists,  some 
Antinomians,  and  some  Seekers,  and  do  so  still  this  day; 
we  are  far  from  arrogating  infallibility  of  judgment  to 
ourselves,  or  affecting  uniformity.  Uniformity,  God  never 
required;  infallibility,  He  never  granted  us/'1 

When  Turner,  Gold,  Drinker,  Osborne,  and  their  friends 
(in  1665),  were  prosecuted  for  holding  meetings,  and  for 
being  Anabaptists,  and  were  imprisoned  and  banished,  the 
effect  was  the  reverse  of  what  was  intended,  for  sympathy 
and  publicity  made  more  converts. 

These  things  were  unfortunately  turned  against  the 
Puritans  in  England,  when  remonstrance  was  made  against 
the  persecution  there  of  the  Independents.  The  bishops 
replied  :  "  Why,  you  persecute  in  New  England  those 
who  differ  with  you." 

Satan  was  always  a  large  power  in  the  Old 
Colonies;  at  any  and  all  seasons,  he  seems  to 
have  been  busy.  "  He  stirred  up  a  spirit  of 
jealousy  at  Charleston,  between  Mr.  James  and  his  people; 
he  was  very  busy  with  Mr.  Williams/'  etc.  "  At  Provi 
dence  also,  the  devil  was  not  idle"  (1638),  for  the  rights 
of  conscience  having  been  there  asserted,  people  went  to 
churches  and  meetings  as  often  as  they  would  ;  and  the 
women  would  not  be  restrained  by  their  husbands. 

"  Another  pest  the  old  Serpent  had  against  us,  by  sow 
ing  jealousies  and  differences  between  us  and  our  friends 
at  Connecticut."  It  is  so  much  easier  to  lay  the  fault  to 

1  Knowles's  Life  of  R.  W.,  p.  245. 


THE   DEVIL. 

SATAN. 


412  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1635. 

the  devil  than  to  ourselves,  that  to  this  day  some  persons 
find  it  difficult  to  get  along  without  him. 

"  The  devil  would  never  cease  to  disturb  our  peace," 
for  "  One  Mrs.  Oliver,  for  appearance  and  speech  far  before 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,"  claimed  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  stood  up  in  meeting  to  plead  for  her  right. 
This  was  contrary  to  all  custom,  and  she  was  had  before 
the  Court  to  answer  for  her  audacity,  and  was  put  in 
prison,  till  her  husband's  bond  liberated  her.  But  she 
still  held  to  her  opinions — imprisonment  did  not  give  her 
any  new  light — which  devilish  opinions  were  : 

"  1.  That  the  Church  is  the  heads  of  the  people,"  etc. 

"  2.  That  all  who  dwell  in  the  same  town  and  will  pro 
fess  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  ought  to  be  received  to 
the  Sacraments  : 

"3.  That  Excommunication  is  no  other,  but  when 
Christians  withdraw  private  communion  from  all  that 
hath  offended/'1 

In  December,  1638,  "  Satan  persuaded  Dorothy  Tabbye 
to  break  the  neck  of  her  child,  that  she  might  free  it  from 
future  misery."  The  Puritans  hanged  her  !  though  they 
judged  her  crazed. 

SPECIAL  PROVIDENCES  seem  to  have  been  universally  be 
lieved  in,  in  that  day  ;  but  they  were  considered  as  such, 
only  under  peculiar  circumstances.  When  any  misfor 
tunes  happened  to  those  who  opposed  the  Magistrates  or 
the  Church,  they  were  counted  as  certain  Judgments  of 
God  against  them.  But  such  misfortunes  happening  to 
themselves,  were  usually  counted  as  Griefs  or  "  Tryalls" — 
and  did  not  stop  them  from  going  on  as  they  wanted  to. 

"  We  can  not  but  all  take  notice,"  wrote  Mr.  Shirley, 
"  how  the  Lord  hath  been  pleased  to  cross  our  proceedings, 
and  caused  many  disasters." 

The  following  were  remarkable  judgments  of  God  : 

In  1633,  John  Edy,  a  religious  man,  went  distracted. 

In  1635.  August  15,  was  a  terrible  storm  of  wind  and 

1  Winthrop's  Journal,  1638. 


A.D.  1719.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  413 

rain,  the  like  of  which  never  was  known  ;  it  worked  great 
destruction  to  all,  godly  and  ungodly. 

In  1633,  Mr.  Peirse's  ship  was  lost  on  the  coast  of  Vir 
ginia,  which  caused  great  injury  to  the  Colonists  ;  where 
by  some  concluded  that  "  many  are  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous,  and  that  in  outward  things  all  things  come  like 
to  all."1  ' 

A  man,  lighting  his  pipe  in  a  boat,  set  fire  to  a  barrel 
of  gunpowder,  and  blew  himself  and  the  whole  up  ;  he 
had  scoffed  at  their  ways,  so  he  was  destroyed,  and  it  was 
looked  upon  as  a  remarkable  judgment  of  God. 

Two  men  were  after  oysters,  and  the  boat  drifting 
away,  they  were  drowned.  This,  too,  was  a  judgment, 
because  one  of  them  before  that,  being  desired  not  to  do 
something  for  fear  of  Hell,  said  "  he  would  do  it  if  Hell 
were  ten  times  hotter." 

Two  men,  going  for  wood  to  Noddles  Island,  were  lost ; 
they  were  much  lamented,  were  counted  very  religious, 
so  that  apparently  they  could  not  have  been  destroyed  by 
God's  anger.  Morton  repeatedly  attributes  various  phy 
sical  evils  to  spiritual  sins.  A  fiery  meteor  appeared  in 
1664,  which  he  thought  was  an  exhalation  or  natural  ap 
pearance,  but  was  sent  by  God  "  to  awake  the  secure 
world."  Newton  and  Halley  had  not  then  shown  that 
Comets  are  some  of  the  natural  appearances,  and  govern 
ed  by  laws.  Morton  gives  an  account  of  the  dreadful 
evils  which  had  followed  or  attended  upon  Comets,  which 
is  entertaining  and  instructive,  showing,  as  it  does,  how 
untrustworthy  the  unscientific  and  uncultivated  mind 
must  be,  even  in  its  capacity  for  observation. 

Meteors. — A^  wonderful  meteor  appeared  on  the  night 
of  December  llth  1719,  which  surprised  and  alarmed 
the  people.  What  was  singular  about  it  beyond  its  red 
light,  was  its  appearing  and  disappearing  three  times 
in  the  same  night.  It  was  described  as  "  somewhat 
dreadful."  "The  dreadfulness,  as  well  as  the  strangeness 

1  Hubbard's  History,  p.  202.     (This  smacks  of  Neology.) 


414  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1G42. 

of  this  appearance,  made  one  think  of  Mr.  Watts's  descrip 
tion  of  the  day  of  judgment,  in  English  sapphick. 

"  '  When  the  fierce  north  wind  with  his  airy  forces 
Rears  up  the  Baltic  to  a  foaming  fury,  etc.'  " 

But  rememher  how  open  to  credulity  the  world  then 
was,  and  then  note  the  bravery  of  the  writer,  who  adds, 
"  as  to  prognostications  from  it,  I  utterly  abhor  and  de 
test  them  all,  and  look  upon  these  to  be  but  the  effect  of 
ignorance  and  fancy." 1 

Dr.  Increase  Mather  said  in  his  discourse,  that,  "  when 
blazing  stars  have  been  seen,  great  mutations  and  miser 
ies  have  come  upon  mortals/'  and  many  believed  him. 

God  manifested  his  displeasure  this  year  against  New 
England,  Morton  says,  by  striking  three  men  dead  in  Marsh- 
field  by  a  "  Blow  of  Thunder,"  as  well  as  cattle  ;  so  that 
the  historian  in  his  perplexity  rather  quaintly  said,  "  how 
doth  the  Lord  go  on  gradually,  first  by  striking  cattle, 
and  then  one  person  at  a  time,  and  this  year  seven, 
besides  some  cattle  also." 

When  the  ship  "  Mary  Rose"  was  blown  up  with  her 
own  powder,  Winthrop  thought  the  judgment  of  God  was 
in  it,  because  they  "  were  scoffers  at  us  and  the  ordinances 
of  religion  here." 

Winthrop  also  mentions  as  a  singular  fact,  that  in  his 
son's  room  was  a  book  containing  the  Greek  Testament, 
psalms,  and  "  Common  Prayer  ;"  the  mice  ate  every  leaf 
of  the  Common  Prayer,  but  touched  not  the  other  parts 
of  the  book. 

He  also  mentions,  that  in  a  great  storm  of  1638,  which 
blew  down  some  strong  new  houses,  God  "  miraculously 
preserved  old  weak  cottages."  The  inference  is,  that  he 
blew  down  the  others.  He  mentions  how  Magistrate 
Humphrey  and  three  Ministers,  returning  to  England 
[1642],  were  caught  in  a  great  storm  ;  how  they  had 
spoken  against  the  Churches  and  Colony,  and  how  they 
1  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  ii. 


A.D.  1669.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  415 

now  confessed  their  sin  in  so  doing  ;  and  then  that  "  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  turn  the  wind,  so  as  they  were  carried 
safe  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  by  St.  Helens." 

Episcopacy  always  hung  over  them,  full  of  threaten- 
ings.  That  they  feared  the  Hierarchy  of  the  English 
Church,  and  dreaded  its  interference,  is  plain  on  every 
page  of  New  England  History  ;  and  this  will  sufficiently 
explain  their  stubborn  opposition  to  insignificant  things, 
such  as  organs,  ceremonies,  keeping  Christmas  and  saints' 
days,  and  especially  to  praying  with  a  book. 

In  the  answer  to  the  King's  letter  [1662]  Governor 
Endicott  of  Mass.,  says,  concerning  Liberty,  to  use  the 
Common  Prayer  Book,  "  none  as  yet  among  us  appear  to 
have  desired  it  ;"  he  carefully  abstaining  from  saying, 
that  its  use  will  or  will  not  be  admitted ;  various  other 
things  were  carefully  touched  upon,  but  were  not  ans 
wered  satisfactorily  to  the  King. 

Andros  took  possession  of  the  old  South  Meeting 
house  in  Boston,  and  the  Episcopalians  at  last  succeeded 
in  establishing  a  Church  of  Worship  in  Boston  [1686]. 
Kings'  Chapel  was  built  in  1688.1 

The  Churches  or  Meeting-houses  were  cold,  desolate- 
looking  places  ;  and  quite  down  to  our  own  day  the  warm 
ing  them  has  been  considered  a  questionable  matter, 
whether  indeed  it  was  not  a  concession  to  the  carnal  man, 
and  so  sinful  ?  We  little  know  what  our  religious  an 
cestors  suffered.  Judge  Sewall  in  his  Diary  writes  : 

January  24,  Sunday  [1686],  "  So  cold,  that  the  Sacra 
mental  bread  is  frozen  pretty  hard,  and  rattles  sadly  into 
the  plates." 

The  people  were  seated  in  the  Meeting-house  yearly 
by  a  Committee,  and  there  were  no  pews.  Every  person 
was  expected  to  sit  in  his  own  seat  ;  and,  in  1669,  John 
Walcott  and  Peter  Toppan  were  fined  £27  4s.  for  being 
disorderly,  and  "  Sitting  on  a  seat  belonging  to  others." 

The  children  sat  by  themselves,  and  a  man  was  ap- 
1  For  accounts  of  Ministers  and  Episcopacy,  see  vol.  ii. 


416  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  167*7. 

pointed  to  keep  them  in  order,  which  was  no  easy  matter 
to  do.  He  carried  a  staff  of  office,  with  a  knob  at  one  end 
and  a  feather  brush  at  the  other.  With  the  knob,  he 
knocked  the  heads  of  the  men  who  slept,  and  with  the 
feathers,  he  tickled  the  faces  of  the  women. 

One  day,  the  officer  got  himself  into  serious  difficulty, 
for  rapping  the  head  of  a  man  who  seemed  nodding  with 
sleep,  while  in  truth  he  was  only  signifying  his  assent  to 
the  preacher,  It  behooved  him  thereafter  to  classify  the 
nods.  In  1643,  Roger  Scott,  of  Lynn,  struck  the  man 
who  waked  him  up,  and  was  afterward  severely  whipped, 
to  cure  him  of  his  sleeping  habit. 

The  women  and  the  men  sat  separately,  as  they  do  still 
in  most  of  the  Methodist  Churches.  In  1677,  it  appears 
that  the  Selectmen  of  Salem,  gave  a  few  young  women 
permission  to  build  a  "pew/'  in  the  women's  gallery.  For 
some  reason,  this  excited  the  anger  of  some  young  men,  so 
that  they  broke  the  window  of  the  meeting-house  "in 
pessis,"  and  demolished  the  pew,  and  were  fined  ten 
pounds  a  piece  for  it. 

FASTING  was  a  resource  in  every  kind  of  trial  and 
adversity;  and  when  things  seemed  at  the  worst,  solemn 
appeal  was  made  to  the  Lord.  This  was  tried  when  the 
weather  was  unfavorable  for  crops  ;  when  it  was  too  wet 
or  too  dry  ;  when  the  caterpillars  were  bad  ;  also  when 
danger  threatened  the  Charter  ;  when  the  Bishops  were 
plotting  Episcopacy ;  when  the  Indians  were  restless  ; 
when  the  Churches  and  ministers  quarreled  ;  when  Sec 
taries  broke  in — "  that  God  would  prevent  ye  spread  of 
errors  in  this  place,  especially  the  errors  of  the  Quakers." 
And  there  was,  beside  these  small  and  private  Fasts,  a 
great  Annual  Fast,  in  which,  by  appointment,  the  whole 
people  joined.  I  come  upon  this  curious  incident,  illus 
trative  of  one  peculiarity.  For  some  public  sin,  a  vener 
able  lady  and  her  daughter  decided  to  hold  a  day  of  fast 
ing  on  their  own  account.  The  record  states,  that  they 
began  after  breakfast,  of  a  crisp  September  day,  and  went 


A.D.  1723.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  417 

on  well  till  past  tlie  dinner  hour ;  when  the  elder  lady 
sought  her  daughter  and  said  to  her  :  "  Mary,  I  feel  faint 
and  weak,  and  I  begin  to  doubt  whether  we  shall  do  the 
Indians  much  good,  after  all  ;  I  think  we  had  better  have 
something  to  eat ;"  to  which  the  young  woman  assented. 

There  was  an  abiding  faith  that  prayer  and  fasting 
would  move  the  purposes  of  God  ;  yet  this  belief  seems  not 
to  have  paralyzed  human  effort.  They  themselves  put  the 
shoulder  to,  and  whipped  the  horse,  as  the  Greeks,  before 
them,  were  wont  to  do. 

SINGING  was  at  first  done  by  the  congregation — some 
one  person  leading  them.  The  tunes  were  few  ;  such  as 
York,  Hackney,  Saint  Mary's,  Windsor,  and  Martyrs.1 
But  about  1714,  Rev.  John  Tuffts  published  a  singing- 
book,  containing  twenty-eight  tunes.  It  created  great  in 
terest  and  some  dismay.  One  writer  in  the  New  England 
Chronicle  [1723]  said  :  "  Truly  I  have  a  great  jealousy, 
that  if  we  once  begin  to  sing  by  rule,  the  next  thing  will 
be  to  pray  by  rule  and  preach  by  rule,  and  then  comes 
popery."  And  though  it  did  not  result  in  popery,  it 
brought  to  pass  singing-men  and  singing-women  in  New 
England  ;  and  a  singing-gallery,  in  which  they  stood  on 
Sundays,  to  "  praise  the  Lord."  A  singing-school  fol 
lowed,  where  in  the  cold  winter  nights,  hard-handed  young 
farmers  sat  by  the  side  of  tender-eyed  girls,  and  holding 
the  book  between  them,  they  chaunted  "Mere"  and 
"  Wells,"  till  their  soft  young  hearts  were  attuned  to  har 
mony.  Hand-in-hand,  they  walked  homeward,  and  felt 
that  that  was  bliss.  The  Puritans  resisted  church-organs, 
even  to  the  present  day  ;  but  now  a  few  sound  their 
pipes  in  Congregational  Churches. 

The  prejudice  against  organs  extended  to  other  instru 
ments  of  music  ;  and  this  seems  strange,  too,  when  they 
read  in  the  Old  Testament  how  David's  minstrels  played 
on  the  "cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltrey,  dulci 
mer,  and  all  kinds  of  music."  How  Moses  provided 

1  Coffin's  Newbury 
18* 


418  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1123. 

horns  for  the  Temple,  and  David  himself  played  upon  a 
Harp.  The  pitch-pipe  seems  to  have  been  the  first  petard> 
after  the  singing-book  had  lulled  the  garrison  ;  this  was  a 
sort  of  wooden  whistle,  made  no  doubt  by  the  chorister, 
with  which  a  faint  approximation  to  a  key-note  could  be 
had.  A  small  squeak  from  this  warned  the  audience  to 
be  ready,  and  then  the  chorister  stood  up  in  his  place,  and 
led  his  band  through  the  Psalm,  all  the  while  beating 
tune  with  his  arm,  and  singing — now  bass,  now  treble, 
now  falsetto,  in  the  face  of  the  Lord  and  his  people.  Next 
to  the  Minister,  the  Chorister  was,  on  Sundays,  the  great 
est  man — by  far  before  the  Deacon  or  the  Tything-man. 
During  the  singing,  little  boys  were  still,  and  the  Tything- 
man  could  close  his  eyes  in  peace,  and  rest  from  his  im 
possible  labor — the  keeping  boys  quiet  for  three  hours  on 
hard  benches,  who  could  not  keep  quiet.  The  Flute,  and 
Bass-viol  [Violincello],  and  Fiddle,  and  Clarionet,  gradu 
ally  crept  in  after  the  Pitch-pipe  ;  and  at  this  day,  the 
Sunday  bands  of  the  New  England  meeting-houses  are 
sometimes  startling. 

DEATH  was  always  a  serious  matter  in  New  England, 
for  two  reasons  : 

First  :  the  people  had  many  plans — work  to  do — and 
much  to  live  for. 

Second  :  they  feared  Hell  and  the  terrors  of  the  Lord. 

When  they  heard  the  bell  slowly  tolling,  they  listened 
and  counted,  and  said  :  "  There  's  another  soul  departed ; 
whose  turn  comes  next?" 

The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  sacred,  and  were  cared  for; 
to  protect  them  from  all  possible  outrage,  the  custom  was 
to  bury  them  around  the  church  in  the  center  of  the  town; 
where  even  to  the  present  day  they  lie,  in  some  of  the  vil 
lages  of  New  England.  When  the  solemn  sound  of  the 
bell,  tolling  slowly,  struck  the  hour  for  interment,  the 
minister  came  to  the  house  of  the  dead  ;  the  whole  peo 
ple  suspended  their  labors,  and,  decently  clad,  came  also 
to  show  respect  for  the  departed,  or  to  mingle  their  tears 


A.D.  1*736.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  419 

with  the  living.  Every  word  of  the  prayer,  or  exhortation, 
went  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  the  air  of  the  town 
was  heavy  and  sad. 

Funerals  were  not  performed  on  the  Sabbath.  It  was 
customary  to  give  wigs  and  gloves  to  the  Ministers  and 
pall-bearers  ;  and  a  supper  was  provided  for  the  company. 
The  funeral  expenses  of  the  Kev.  Thomas  Cobbett,  Min 
ister  of  Lynn  and  of  Ipswich,  who  died  in  1680,  were  as 
follows  : 

"1  Barrel  Wine, £680 

2  "  Cider, 0  11  0 

82  Ibs.  Sugar 210 

I  Cord  of  Wood, 040 

4  Doz.  Prs.  of  Gloves,  for  Men  and  Women,  .  .540 
And  some  Spice  and  Ginger  for  the  Cider." 

Those  of  Kobert  Ward,  a  cooper  of  Charlestown,  who 
died  1736 — and  whose  estate  was  worth  but  £241  17s.  3d. 
— were  : 

"Funeral  Expenses  in  part,  17  prs.  Gloves,       .        .  £5  10    6 

Wine, 0  18     0 

1  pint  Stomach  Water, 018 

Paid  the  Porters, 1  10     0 

Use  of  the  Pall, 0  10     0 

Tolling  the  Bell, 030 

Mourning  Scarfs  for  3  Heirs, 30    0     0 

£38  13     2 

These  expenses  were  so  great  that  in  the  time  of  the 
Kevolution  they  were  forbidden,  as  was  the  use  of  mourn 
ing  garments  ;  which  greatly  relieved  the  poor.1 

The  brown  slabs  which  mark  the  graves  of  that  early 
day,  bore  on  them  the  most  frightful  engravings  of  the 
departed,  intended  to  represent  them  as  cherubs  risen  to 
everlasting  bliss.  If  their  feelings  were  faithfully  repre 
sented  by  the  funereal  artists,  their  torments  must  have 
been  past  description,  and  one  could  but  shudder  at  their 
future  state.  These  gravestones  perpetuated  the  honors 

1  Ward's  Shrewsbury. 


420  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1789. 

and  titles,  which  the  buried  had  borne  in  his  day  on  earth; 
and  we  find  engraved,  those  of,  Esquire,  Deacon,  Captain, 
Ensign,  Sargent,  and  Corporal.  Some  lines,  broken  up 
into  poetry,  were  often  engraved  ;  and  the  making  of 
epitaphs  was  quite  an  art.  One  of  the  best  I  have  seen 
is  upon  the  tombstone  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Russell,  of 
Branford  (1731)  ;  as  follows  : 

"  From  vulgar  dust  distinguish'd  lies, 
The  active  herald  of  the  skies, 
Whose  voice  salvation  did  attend, 
Could  comfort  to  the  seeker  send, 
And  make  the  stubborn-hearted  bend; 
With  honor  watch  his  urn  around 
And  ne'er  forget  the  silver  sound, 
Till  trumpets  bid  the  final  day, 
And  laboring  angels  rouse  his  clay. 
By  Heaven  dismissed,  you  '11  shine  his  crown, 
And  bow  his  head  with  glory  down,"  etc. 

"  In  slumber  bound  fast  by  his  side, 
The  tender  part,  his  pious  bride, 

Reclines  her  head. 
So  round  the  oak,  the  ivy  twines, 
With  faithful  bands  in  spiral  lines, 

Though  both  are  dead." 

On  the  Rev.  Samuel  Newel's  tomb,  at  Bristol  (1789), 
we  find : 

"  Death !  Great  Proprietor  of  all !  'tis  thine 
To  tread  out  Empires,  and  to  quench  ye  Stars." 

But  whether  Mr.  Newel  is  complimented  as  an  empire,  or 
a  star,  the  sorrowing  reader  is  left  to  decide. 

Rev.  Mr.  Bailey's  (of  Watertown)  epitaph  of  his  wife, 
was  as  follows  : 

"Pious  Lydia  made  and  given   by  God,  as  a  most  meet  help  to  John 
Bailey,  Minister  of  the  Gospel : 

Good  Betimes — Best  at  Last. 
Lived  by  Faith — Died  in  Grace, 
Went  off  Singing — Left  us  Weeping ; 

"  Walked  with  God  till  translated,  in  the  39th  year  of  her  age,  April 
16,  1691. 

"Read  her  epitaph  in  Prov.  1,  10,  11,  12,  28,  29,  30,  31." 


A.D.  1764.]  CHURCH   MATTERS.  421 

Added  to  Governor  Eaton's  monument,  was  this  : 

"T?  attend  you,  sir,  under  these  framed  stones, 
Are  come  your  honored  Son  and  daughter  Jones, 
On  each  hand  to  repose  their  weary  bones." 

Of  Deacon  Joseph  Kingsbury  (Farmington),  it  was  en 
graved  : 

"  Here  lies  a  man,  no  one  prized  Religion  more, 
The  same  our  fathers  brought  from  Europe's  shore, 
A  strict  supporter  of  the  good  old  ways 
Of  Puritans,  in  their  most  early  days." 

On  the  tomb  of  "  The  truly  honorable  and  pious  Koger 
Newton,  Esq.,  an  officer,"  etc.  (1771),  was  the  following  : 

"  His  mind  returned  to  God,  intombed  here  lies 
The  part  the  Hero  left  beneath  the  skies. 
Newton  as  steel,  inflexible  from  right, 
In  Faith,  in  Law,  in  Equity,  in  Fight." 

Upon  the  tomb  of  a  young  girl  (1792),  was  : 

"  Molly,  tho'  pleasant  in  her  day, 
"Was  suddenly  seized  and  sent  away. 
How  soon  she's  ripe,  how  soon  she 's  rotten, 
Laid  in  the  grave,  and  soon  forgott'n." 

Upon  another  in  Middletown  (1736),  we  find  : 

"  EPITAPH. 

"  So  fair,  so  young,  so  innocent  so  sweet — 
So  ripe  a  judgment  and  so  rare  a  wit, 
Require  at  least  an  age  in  one  to  meet ; 
In  her  they  met,  but  long  they  could  not  stay, 
'T  was  gold  too  fine  to  mix  without  allay." 

Another  one  (1764)  : 

"  A  loving  wife  and  tender  mother, 
Left  this  base  world  to  enjoy  the  other." 

Mr.  Daniel  Noyes's  epitaph  ran  thus  : 

"  As  you  are,  so  was  I, 
God  did  call  and  I  did  dy. 
Now  children  all,  whose  name  is  Noyes, 
Make  Jesus  Christ 
Your  only  choice." 


422  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1662. 

At  Windsor  this  epitaph  exists  : 

"Here  lyeth  Ephraim  Hvit  sometimes 
Teacher  to  ye  Chvrch  of  Windsor,  who  dyed 

September  4th,  1644. 

"  Who  when  hee  lived  wee  drew  ovr  vitall  breath, 
Who  when  hee  dyed  his  dying  was  ovr  death, 
Who  was  ye  stay  of  state,  ye  chvrches  staff, 
Alas,  the  times  forbid  an  epitaph." 

The  judicious  reader  will  observe  that  the  last  line  was 
kept  till  the  last. 

The  inscription  to  Captaine  Kichard  Lord  (1662),  has 
a  brusque,  crisp  sound  : 

"  Bright  starre  of  ovr  chivallrie  lyes  here 
To  the  state  covnsillovr  fvll  deare 
And  to  ye  trvth  a  friend  of  sweete  content 
To  Hartford  Towne  a  silver  ornament 
Who  can  deny  to  poore  he  was  reliefe 
And  in  composing  paroxyies  he  was  chiefe 
To  Marchantes  as  a  patterne  he  might  stand 
Adventuring  dangers  new  by  sea  and  land." 

The  knowledge  of  the  virtue  of  "composing  paroxyies" 
the  Historian  is  deficient  in,  he  can  therefore  only  com 
mend  it  to  the  attention  of  the  virtuous  reader. 

To  so  great  a  pass  had  this  writing  of  epitaphs  come, 
that  a  rather  dull  fellow,  named  Calef,  took  it  up,  and  no 
dead  person  escaped  him.  Some  neighbor  complained  of 
this  seriously,  in  print :  and  said  that  even  the  "  neat 
cattle"  had  taken  up  the  practice,  and  a  "  calf"  in  their 
neighborhood  was  carrying  it  to  an  alarming  extent.  It 
is  possible  that  the  fear  of  an  epitaph  will  go  far  to  explain 
the  dread  of  death  in  New  England,  and  if  so,  should  be 
added  to  the  two  reasons  already  laid  down.  It  is  plain 
that  elegiac  poetry  had  not  in  those  early  days  reached 
the  dignity  of  a  fine  art  in  New  England. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

COLLEGES,   SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS. 


NEW    LAW — HARVARD    COLLEGE — MASTER    DUN8TER — COLLEGE    RULES — DEGRI 

SCHOOLS — PENALTIES — "THE  PECULIAR  INSTITUTION1' — SCHOOLMASTERS — YALE  COL 
LEGE — RECTOR  CUTLER — BISHOP  BERKLEY — ORTHODOX  TESTS — RANK — "  SCHOLAR" — 
PUNISHMENTS — FAGS — THE  COMMONS — THE  BUTLER — DRUNKENNESS — DARTMOUTH  COL 
LEGE — BROWN  UNIVERSITY — PRINTING  AND  BOOKS — "THE  BAY  PSALM  BOOK" — CEN 
SORSHIP — TITLES  OF  BOOKS — "THE  HEART  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  RENT1' — THE  PRIMER — 
POETRY— "THE  SIMPLE  COBBLER  OF  AGAWAM"— "THE  DAY  OF  DOOM"— ANNB  BRAD- 
STREET — "PIETAS  ET  GRATULATIO" — NEWSPAPERS. 

THE  Encouragement  of  Education  from  the  beginning 
of  the  New  England  Colonies  was  second  only  to  that  of 
Keligion.  It  is  so  still,  and  the  last  year  [1855]  was  sig 
nalized  in  Connecticut  by  the  passage  of  a  law,  requiring 
applicants  for  citizenship  to  be  able  to  read  the  laws  they 
are  to  obey.  No  false  oath  can  make  a  voter  of  him  who 
can  not  read. 

In  1636  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
gave  four  hundred  dollars  toward  a  public 
school  at  Newtown,  to  which  grant  was  after 
ward  added  the  income  of  Charlestown  Ferry.  Mr.  Har 
vard,  one  of  the  liberal  and  noble  men  of  the  Colony,  died 
in  1638,  leaving  for  it  £800  ;  and,  in  1639,  by  order  of 
the  Court,  the  name  was  changed  to  Harvard  College  ;  and 
Newtown  was  thenceforth  called  Cambridge. 

Master  Dunster  was  the  first  President  (1640),  a 
"  learned,  conscionable,  and  industrious  man."  1  There 
were  twelve  overseers  appointed,  six  from  among  the 
Magistrates,  who  were  "  to  see  that  every  one  be  diligent 
and  proficient  in  his  proper  place."  The  rules  clearly 

1  New  England's  first  fruits.     M.  H.  C.,  vol.  i. 


HARVARD 
COLLEGE. 


424  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D,  1644. 

provide  for  a  religious  training,  without  which,  in  those 
days,  there  could  be  no  proper  public  education. 

1.  Every  scholar  was  to  understand  Tully  or  some  Latin 
classic  before  entering,  and  something  of  Greek. 

2.  Every  student  was  to  be  plainly  instructed,  that  the 
main  end  of  his  life  is  to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ, 
which  is  life  Eternal. 

3.  Every  student  was  to  exercise  himself  in  reading  the 
Bible. 

4.  They   were  not  to  profane   the  Word  or  the  ordi 
nances,  or  the  Worship,  or  the  Name  of  God. 

5.  They  were  to  be  studious,  modest,  and  punctual. 

6.  They  were  to  shun  the  society  of  dissolute  men. 

7.  They  were  to  attend  prayers  and  lectures  carefully. 
Their  studies  were  Logic,  Physics,  Ethics,  Politics,  Ar 
ithmetic,  Geometry,  Astronomy ;  Greek,  Latin,  and  He 
brew  Languages  ;  Divinity,  Khetoric,  and  Declamations. 

"  Every  schollar,  that  on  proof  is  found  able  to  render 
the  originals  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  into  the 
Latine  Tongue,  and  to  resolve  them  Logically,  withall 
being  of  Godly  life  and  conversation,  and  at  any  public 
act  hath  the  approbation  of  the  overseers  and  masters  of 
the  Colledge,  is  fit  to  be  dignified  with  his  first  degree." 

Whoever  presented  and  defended  a  system  of  Logic, 
Philosophy,  Arithmetic,  Geometry,  and  Astronomy,  and 
had  the  above  other  qualifications  and  endorsements,  was 
worthy  of  the  second  degree. 

"  If  any  scholar  shall  be  found  to  transgress  any  of  the 
Laws  of  GOD  or  the  SCHOOL,  after  twice  admonition,  he 
shall  be  liable,  if  not  adultus,  to  correction  ;  if  adultus, 
his  name  shall  be  given  up  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Col- 
ledge,  that  he  may  be  admonished  at  the  public  monthly 
act." 

The  Commissioners  in  1644  recommended  the  Ministers 
to  stir  up  their  people,  to  contribute  toward  the  mainte 
nance  of  "  Poor  Schollars  at  the  Colledge  at  Cambridge," 
if  only  a  peck  of  corn  from  each  family. 


A.D.  1650.]        COLLEGES,   SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  425 

So  in  1645,  by  agreement,  each  family  in  the  Colonies 
gave  one  peck  of  Corn,  or  one  shilling  in  cash,  to  Cam 
bridge  College. 

A  collection  was  made  in  1672  for  rebuilding  Harvard 
College,  amounting  to  £1895  2s.  9d. ;  and  a  £100  was 
given  by  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  "  as  true  a  gentleman  as 
ever  sat  foot  in  America." 1 

The  Treasurer's  report  for  the  year  1855  stated  that  the 
pecuniary  affairs  of  the  College  were  in  a  prosperous  con 
dition,  its  property  well  invested,  and  that  its  expenses 
during  the  past  year  had  not  exceeded  the  income. 

The    Boston    Records  of   1635   show  that 
Philemon    Purmont    wa8    appointed    school-     FREE  SCHOOLS. 
master  there  ;  but  in  1645  a  number  of  Free 
Schools  were  organized  at  Roxbury  and  Boston,  and  other 
towns  followed  their  example  ;  to  be  supported  by  a  vol 
untary  contribution  or  by  tax.     These  were  legalized  in 
1649. 

In  1665  the  Secretary  of  Massachusetts,  in  a  note  to 
the  Commissioners — Nichols  and  others— said,  beside 
Harvard  College,  "  there  is  by  law  enjoined  a  school  to 
be  kept  and  maintained,  in  every  town,  and  for  such 
towns  as  have  one  hundred  families,  they  are  required  to 
have  a  Grammar  School."  Dr.  Belknap,  in  answer  to 
Judge  Tucker  (1795),  wrote,2  "  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  for 
the  children  of  the  poorest  families  here  to  acquire  a  com 
mon  education,  not  only  at  public,  but  even  at  private 
schools."  In  some  cases  the  school-mistress,  in  the  in 
tervals  of  reading,  set  the  children  to  putting  wires  into 
wool-cards,  thus  paying  her  own  expenses,  and  teaching 
them  both  reading  and  card  making. 

The  practice  of  Connecticut  and  Plymouth  was  mainly 
the  same  as  Massachusetts  ;  and  thus  "  Free  Schools" 
have  grown  to  be  the  security  and  pride  of  New  England, 
and,  with  some  slight  exceptions,  of  all  these  United 
States.  The  Connecticut  Code  of  1650  specified,  that 

1  Hutchinson,  vol.  i. 


426  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1691. 

every  township  of  fifty  householders,  should  provide  a 
teacher  for  the  children,  and  that  towns  of  one  hundred 
householders  should  provide  for  a  grammar  school,  to  fit 
persons  for  the  University.  It  also  directed  the  select 
men  of  every  town  to  see  to  it,  that  no  "  families  should 
suffer  so  much  barbarism,"  as  not  to  have  their  children 
and  apprentices  taught  to  read  and  write,  as  well  as  to 
know  some  orthodox  catechism. 

Connecticut  ordained  [1677],  that  every  town  which 
neglected  to  keep  a  school,  "  above  three  months  in  the 
yeare,"  should  forfeit  five  pounds  for  every  defect. 

And  that  every  County  town  which  neglected  to  keep  a 
Latin  school  should  forfeit  ten  pounds.1 

And  it  was  ordered,  that  they  should  be  maintained  by 
way  of  Rate  (tax),  unless  the  town  otherwise  provided. 
Until  1768,  they  were  supported  partly  by  voluntary  con 
tributions,  and  partly  by  taxes.2 

One  instance  will  show  the  way  they  took  to  introduce 
and  support  common  schools.  The  Magistrates  [in  1644] 
of  Salem,  ordered  notice  to  be  given  on  Lecture  day,  that 
all  should  hand  in  the  names  of  their  children,  who  were 
fit  for  school,  "and  what  they  will  give  for  one  whole 
year  ;"  also  that  the  children  of  poor  bodies  should  be 
paid  for  by  rate  on  the  town. 

In  1647,  the  penalty  exacted  from  towns  not  providing 
schools,  was  five  pounds,  which  was  increased,  till  in  1718, 
it  was  30  to  40  pounds.3 

In  1745,  schools  in  Norwich  were  supported  by  County 
rate — 40s.  on  £1,000 — and  by  payments  from  parents  be 
side. 

Women  teachers  were  paid  half  the  wages  of  men.4 

In  1691,  the  town  of  Dedham  was  indicted  for  not  keep 
ing  a  grammar-school.5 

The  Grand  Jury  said  .  "  We  present  the  Selectmen  of 

1  Colonial  Kecords.  2  Felt's  Salem,  vol.  i.,  p.  428. 

3  Holland's  West.  Mass.  4  Calkins's  Norwich. 

s  Worthington's  History  of  Dedham.     Boston,  1827. 


A.D.  1705.]         COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  427 

the  town  of  Kittery,  for  not  taking  care  that  their  chil 
dren  and  youth  be  taught  the  Catechism,  and  Education, 
according  to  law.1 

Various  towns  early  made  public  appropriations  of 
moneys  to  sustain  schools  [1656].  Massachusetts  repre 
sented  to  the  Commissioners,  that  Plymouth  was  wanting 
in  a  due  acknowledgment  of,  and  encouragement  to,  the 
Ministers  of  the  Gospel.  So  the  General  Court  of  Ply 
mouth  passed  a  law  [1657]  requiring  towns  to  tax  them 
selves  for  the  support  of  Churches  and  schools.2  The 
salary  of  Schoolmaster,  1693  to  1700,  is  mentioned  at 
thirty-three  pounds  a  year  ;  in  1765  at  fifty-three  pounds. 

About  the  year  1705,  there  was  a  regulation  at  Ply 
mouth,  that  children  sent  to  school,  not  subscribers  to  the 
school  fund,  living  within  one  mile  of  the  school,  were  to 
pay  four  pence  the  week  for  being  taught  Latin,  writing, 
and  ciphering  ;  those  who  lived  beyond  one  mile,  half 
that — the  poor  only  excepted,  who  were  to  come  free.  A 
school  fund  was  formed,  after  the  year  1705,  from  the  sale 
of  lands. 

The  little  brown,  one  story  school-house,  was 
a  "  peculiar  institution"  of  New  England,  for  a 
century  ;  and  was  then  transformed,  by  paint, 
into  a  red  one.  Travelers  on  horseback,  would 
notice  tfonfc  institutions  standing  in  the  villages,  and  at 
the  forks  of  roads  in  the  most  out-of-the-way  places  ;  but 
when  the  hour  of  nine  o'clock  came,  from  every  wood-road 
and  lane,  little  children,  with  their  books  and  dinners, 
were  seen  flowing  to  the  school-house  like  rills  to  a  lake  ; 
and  when  the  windows  were  opened,  there  came  forth  at 
times,  a  confused  sound  of  voices,  like  the  murmur  of 
many  waters  ;  this  was  the  result  of  a  habit  which  then 
prevailed  of  studying  the  lessons  aloud,  which  has  now 
given  way  to  a  quieter  method.  The  simple  branches, 
Beading,  Writing,  and  Arithmetic,  were  taught  to  all,  and 
it  was  not  respectable  to  be  ignorant  of  these  ;  but  other 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vol.  i.  a  Hildreth,  vol.  i.,  p.  394. 


THE  PECULIAR 
INSTITUTION 
OF  NEW  EN 
GLAND. 


428  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1640. 

studies  were  also  pursued  ;  and  now  the  High  Schools 
(common  too),  furnish  an  education  sufficient  for  the 
highest  position  of  life. 

When  four  o'clock  came,  the  lessons  were  over,  and  boys 
and  girls  poured  out  of  the  modest  doorway,  shouting  and 
dashing  about,  free  as  their  own  mountain -streams. 

The  Synod  of  1679,  discourses  in  this  way  of  Education 
as  one  of  the  remedies  for  the  evils  which  afflict  the  State  ; 
and  they  fortify  their  position  by  Scripture  citations,  and 
examples  new  to  most  readers  of  this  day. 

They  say,  "  The  interest  of  Eeligion  and  good  Literature 
have  been  wont  to  rise  and  fall  together.  We  read  in  the 
Scripture  of  Masters  and  Scholars,  and  of  Schools  and  Col- 
ledges.1  Was  not  Samuel  (the  great  Keformer),  President 
of  the  Colledge  at  Najoth,2  and  is  thought  to  be  one  of 
the  first  founders  of  Colledges.  Did  not  Elijah  and  Elisha 
restore  the  Schools  erected  in  the  land  of  Israel  ?" 

In  1640,  Kev.  Eobert  Lenthel,  was  called  to  keep  a  pub 
lic  School,  in  Kho.de  Island,  and  one  hundred  acres  of  land 
were  given  to  him,  besides  four  acres  in  Newport,  to  en 
courage  him  ;  and  one  hundred  acres  more  were  set  apart 
for  the  use  of  the  School.8 

Khode  Island  adopted  the  New  England  School-system 
more  slowly,  but  adopted  it.  So  did  New  Hampshire, 
Maine,  and  Vermont.  In  all  these  States,  Ereg^Schools 
are  universal  ;  lying  at  the  base  of  honest  labor,  and  Free 
thought  and  Speech. 

In  the  early  days,  the  Schools  were  kept  by  men ;  for 
few  women  then  could  write,  though  most  could  read.  The 
Legal  papers  executed  in  the  first  century,  by  well-to-do 
women,  were  mostly  signed  with  a  +. 

The  Schoolmasters  became  a  breed  in  New  En 
gland  ;  they  were  apt  to  be  long,  loose-jointed, 
young  men,  with  high,  nervous  organizations  ; 
not  strong  enough  for  the  rough  work  of  the 

1  1  Chron.  xxv.,  8.     Mai.  ii.,  12.     Acts  xix.,  9,  and  xxii.,  3. 

3  1  Samuel,  xix.,  18,  19.  3  Peterson's  Rhode  Island,  p.  30. 


THE 

BCnOOLMAS- 

TEK8  OF   NEW 

ENGLAND. 


A.D.  1717.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  429 

farm,  or  the  chase,  or  the  sea  ;  too  shy  for  the  pulpit ;  too 
awkward  to  bask  in  the  smiles  of  beauty,  and  too  un 
worldly  to  drive  sharp  bargains,  and  grow  rich  by  trade. 
But  they  were  clear-headed  and  faithful  teachers,  and  in 
the  School-room,  their  shyness  vanished,  and  there  they 
reigned  supreme.  Next  to  the  Minister,  the  Schoolmaster 
was  entitled  to  respect,  for  in  New  England  too,  they 
wondered, 

"  How  one  small  head  could  carry  all  he  knew." 

It  was  the  custom  for  him  to  be  "  boarded  'round,"  in 
the  families  of  his  pupils  ;  and  every  week  he  took  his 
pocket-handkerchief  full  of  "  Luggage,"  to  new  quarters  ; 
where  he  slept  in  new  beds,  fed  on  new  Dough-nuts,  gos- 
sipped  with  the  Elders,  talked  of  the  wonders  of  Geogra 
phy  with  the  children,  and  sang  Psalms,  and  perturbed 
the  hearts  of  New  England's  fair  daughters. 

Many  of  them  lived  and  died  Schoolmasters. 

Private  schools  were  established  from  the  first,  and  have 
always  continued. 

In  the  year  1698,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pierpont,  of 
New  Haven,  Andrew  of  Millford,  and  Russel,     YALE  COL- 

0  T>  P        i  ,  •  .     .  n     11  LEGKATNEW 

of  Branford,  were  active  in  organizing  a  College       HAVEN. 
in  Connecticut,  for  the  Education  of  young  men 
for  the  Ministry,  and  various  departments  of  civil  life.    It 
resulted  in  starting  with  Ten  Trustees,  in  the  year  1700. 
Each  gentleman  gave  some  books,  and  as  he  laid  them  on 
the  table,  said,  "  I  give  these  books  for  the  founding  of  a  Col 
lege  in  this  Colony."  The  College  was  incorporated  in  1701, 
and,  at  first,  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be  established  at 
Saybrook  ;  but  as  the  Rector,  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  lived 
at  Killingworth  (now  Clinton),  it  was  begun  there. 

The  name  of  "  Yale"  College,  came  to  be  applied  in  an 
ticipation  of  gifts  (£800),  which  were  made  by  Elihu  Yale 
(1716),  a  rich  London  merchant,  who  was  born  in  the 
Colony.  In  the  year  1717,  its  location,  after  violent  op 
position  at  Saybrook,  was  fixed  at  New  Haven,  where  a 


430  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1731. 

building  had  already  been  begun  ;  and  in  1718,  a  Grand 
Commencement  was  held,  at  which  all  the  Clergy,  the 
Governor,  and  other  dignitaries  assembled,  to  take  part  in 
an  inspiriting  inauguration.  The  College  was  in  favor, 
and  donations,  at  various  times,  have  been  made  by  private 
individuals,  while  the  State  had  made  grants  amounting 
to  $71,582,  up  to  the  year  1816.1  The  College  has  stead 
ily  increased  in  popularity,  and  is  extending  the  basis  of 
Instruction  to  matters  of  Practical  life.  In  1722,  the 
whole  Colony  was  moved  by  the  revolt  of  Hector  Cutler 
(with  Daniel  Brown,  the  Tutor),  against  Independency, 
and  his  conversion  to  Episcopacy.  It  was  found  impossi 
ble  to  convince  him  of  his  Error,  though  Governor  Salton- 
stall  himself,  held  a  dispute  with  him,  and  was  thought  by 
the  majority  to  have  the  best  of  it.  So  the  Hector  was 
quietly  excused  from  further  service,  and  took  his  place 
among  the  Clergy  of  the  Church  of  England. 

One  of  the  benefactors  of  Yale  College  was 
George  Berkley,  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  in  Ireland, 
who  came  to  America  in  1729,  with  the  vague 
but  benevolent  purpose  of  converting  the  Indians  to 
Christian^,  by  founding  a  College  for  their  education  in 
one  of  the  Bermuda  Islands.  He  waited  at  Newport, 
Khode  Island,  for  the  action  of  the  English  Ministry,  and 
for  some  two  years  seems  really  to  have  believed  that  they 
would  keep  their  promises  made  to  liim.  While  there,  he 
purchased  a  fine  farm,  on  which  he  lived,  devoted  to  lit 
erary  pursuits.  There  he  wrote  out  his  "  Minute  Philoso 
pher,"  published  in  1732. 

His  character  was  charming,  and  his  influence,  during 
the  short  time  he  remained,  was  good  and  civilizing  upon 
all  those  who  came  within  his  reach.  Finding  his  expecta 
tions  hopeless,  he  returned  to  England  in  1731.  He  gave 
his  farm  to  Yale  College  (he  was  an  Episcopalian  him 
self),  to  support  and  encourage  scholars,  and  he  made  it  a 
present  also  of  a  thousand  volumes. 

1  Annals  of  Yale  College,  by  Baldwin. 


BISHOP 
BERKLEY. 


A.D.  1768.]         COLLEGES,   SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  431 

He  was  industrious,  scholarly,  enthusiastic,  generous, 
subtle,  and  visionary,  but  altogether  lovely. 

A  new  charter  for  the  College  was  granted  in  1745, 
and  in  1792  an  amendment  was  made,  which  introduced 
some  members  of  the  State  government  into  the  Board  of 
Fellows.  This  was  a  wise  provision. 

The  distraction  of  Religious  things  which  grew  up  after 
the  "  Great  Revival"  [1740  to  1750]  induced  the  founding 
of  a  Professorship  of  Divinity,  and  a  College  Church  in 
1755  ;  and  Napthali  Daggett  was  the  first  Professor  who 
filled  that  chair.  Rector  Cutler's  defection,  in  1722,  had 
given  great  cause  for  fear,  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  Professors  should  be  tested.  In  1753, 
this  was  carried  into  operation  by  a  resolution,  which  pro 
vided  that  they  and  the  Fellows  (the  Board),  should  give 
their  assent  to  the  Westminster  Catechism  and  the  Con 
fession  of  Faith,  which  was  afterward  modified  into  an  as 
sent  to  the  "  Saybrook  Platform/'  Those  who  think  there 
is  no  progress,  and  especially  none  in  College  Boards,  will 
be  glad  to  know  that  this  test  was  abrogated  in  1823.1 

Some  notices  of  the  manners  and  customs  which  pre 
vailed  in  Yale  College  (much  the  same  in  Harvard)  will  be 
interesting. 

As  late  as  1768,  students  were  entered  in  the  catalogues, 
according  to  the  rank  of  their  fathers.  Descendants  of 
Noblemen  and  Knights  had  the  first  place  ;  then  of  Gov 
ernors,  then  of  the  Councillors  ;  then  of  Ministers  ;  and 
so  on  ;  and  it  was  a  punishment  to  degrade  a  boy  below 
his  father's  rank  ;  all  which  was  upset  by  the  breeze  of 
Republicanism  which  the  Revolution  raised. 

To  pass  through  the  four  years  of  College  life  safely,  and 
to  get  a  "  Degree,"  was  to  take  high  rank  at  once  ;  and 
ever  after,  however  great  the  Dunce,  he  was  known  and 
called  "  Scholar/'  for  he  was  College-bred,  and  knew 
Latin. 

In  both  Yale  and  Harvard,  bodily  punishments  (boxing 
1  President  Woolsey's  Discourse,  1850. 


432  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  1742. 

and  whipping)  prevailed,  as  they  do  yet  in  some  English 
schools.  But  with  us,  these  barbarisms  have  given  way, 
before  a  decent  regard  to  public  opinion  ;  and  a  young 
man  who  needs  to  be  whipped,  soon  discovers  that  he  is 
not  fit  for  the  University  Hall,  and  so  disappears. 

The  most  rigorous  marks  of  respect  were  then  required 
from  the  Students  toward  the  Officers  of  the  College. 
They  were  always  to  stand  in  their  presence  ;  to  remain 
uncovered  and  silent  ;  and  in  the  College  yard  were  to  go 
bare-headed  if  any  Officer  was  present. 

But  the  treatment  of  Freshmen  was  both  gross  and 
brutal ;  they  were  the  slaves,  the  Fags,  of  the  Seniors, 
The  Seniors  could  order  up  a  Freshman,  or  the  whole 
class,  for  reprimand  "as  to  manners,"  or  instruction  in 
College  rules.  The  Freshman  was  always  to  remain  un 
covered  in  their  presence,  and  to  stand  ;  not  to  go  through 
a  gate  or  door,  if  a  Senior  was  coming  within  three  rods 
of  it ;  he  could  not  play  with  them  unless  he  was  invited  ; 
he  was  to  run  of  errands  for  them,  and  was  responsible  for 
any  damage  done  to  articles  intrusted  to  him  to  carry. 
And  these  rules  applied,  not  only  at  the  College,  but  any 
where  within  the  City  limits  of  New  Haven.1 

It  was  long  the  custom  for  the  students  to  board  in 
common,  which  conduced  neither  to  good  manners  nor 
morals.  A  public  Hall  was  provided,  where  they  did  their 
eating.  The  following  rations,  ordered  by  the  Trustees  in 
1742,  will  show  their  fare  :  "  For  breakfast,  the  Steward 
shall  provide  one  loaf  of  bread  for  four,  which  (the  dough) 
shall  weigh  one  pound.  For  dinner  for  four,  one  loaf  of 
bread,  as  aforesaid,  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  beef,  veal,  or 
mutton,  or  one  and  three  quarter  pounds  of  salt  pork 
about  twice  a  week  in  the  summer  time,  one  quart  of  beer, 
two  pennyworth  of  sauce  (vegetables).  For  supper  for 
four,  two  quarts  of  milk  and  one  loaf  of  bread,  when  milk 
can  be  conveniently  had  ;  and  when  it  can  not,  then  ap 
ple  pie,  which  shall  be  made  of  one  and  three  quarter 
1  Freshman  Laws  of  1764. 


A.D.  1769.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  433 

pounds  dough,  one  quarter  pound  hog's  fat,  two  ounces 
sugar,  and  half  a  peck  apples." 

President  Woolsey  states,  that  during  the  Kevolution- 
ary  war,  the  Steward  was  quite  unable  to  procure  food, 
and  the  students  were  obliged  to  disperse  into  various 
towns. 

For  a  long  time,  there  existed  an  officer  called  the  But 
ler,  who  had  the  monopoly  of  sales  to  the  students,  of 
cider,  metheglin,  strong  beer  (to  the  amount  of  not  more 
than  twelve  barrels  per  annum),  loaf-sugar,  pipes,  tobacco, 
books,  stationery,  and  fresh  fruits,  which  the  students 
were  not  at  liberty  to  buy  elsewhere  ;  still  they  did  do  it, 
and  drunkenness  and  riot  were  not  uncommon,  even  down 
to  very  recent  times.  As  early  as  1737,  the  trustees  en 
deavored  to  prevent  the  excessive  use  of  wines  and  liquors 
on  commencement  days  ;  but  the  evil  grew  so  alarmingly 
— the  seniors  in  1760  having  brought  in  such  quantities 
of  rum  and  produced  so  much  mischief — that  the  com 
mencement  exercises  were  suspended,  and  their  degrees 
were  not  given,  till  after  a  public  confession  of  the 
class. 

DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE  grew  out  of  a  project  of  John 
Sergeant  (a  missionary  among  the  Indians  at  Stockbridge, 
who  died  1749)  for  a  school  to  educate  and  drill  the  In 
dian  children.  It  was  revived  by  Dr.  Eleazer  Wheelock 
of  Lebanon  in  Connecticut ;  who  found  these  children 
tractable,  and  was  encouraged  to  push  the  plan  forward. 
Efforts  were  made  to  collect  money  in  Scotland  and  En 
gland,  with  success,  and  a  board  of  trustees  there  was 
appointed,  of  which  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  was  head. 
A  remarkable  Indian  preacher,  Sampson  Occum,  visited 
England,  and  excited  great  attention. 

The  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  invited  Dr.  Wheelock 
to  remove  to  that  State,  and  in  view  of  valuable  grants 
of  land  (some  44,000  acres),  and  a  charter  for  a  univer 
sity  (1769),  Dr.  Wheelock  removed  his  family  and  school, 
consisting  of  eighteen  whites  and  six  Indians,  into  that 

19 


434  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1759. 

wilderness  in  the  year  1770.     It  now  stands  secure  and 
prosperous  in  the  beautiful  town  of  Hanover.1 

BROWN  UNIVERSITY,  of  Khode  Island,  originated  with 
James  Manning,  a  Baptist  minister,  who  came  from  New 
Jersey  to  Newport  in  1763.  In  1764  a  charter  was  obtained, 
and  the  first  commencement  was  held  (1769)  at  Warren, 
where  the  president,  Mr.  Manning,  resided.  In  1770  it 
was  removed  to  Providence,  where  it  is  now  presided  over 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Wayland.  Its  name  was  given  in  honor  of 
Nicholas  Brown,  whose  donations  began  in  1804,  and  con 
tinued  to  the  time  of  his  death,  1841.  His  heart  was 
large  and  his  generosity  was  ample.  At  "  Brown,"  the 
university  system  prevails  ;  the  students  select  their  own 
studies,  and  are  not  all  put  through  the  same  courses. 
Three  degrees  are  given,  according  to  the  studies  which 
have  been  pursued. 

March  1,  1638,  "  a  printing  house  was  begun 
Jiro  BOWU.  at  Cambridge,  by  one  Daye,  at  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Glover,  who  died  on  sea  hitherward.  The 
first  thing  which  was  printed  was  the  Freeman's  Oath ; 
the  next  was  an  Almanack  made  for  New  England  by 
Mr.  William  Pierce,  mariner ;  the  next  was  the  Psalms 
newly  turned  into  meter."2 

"  In  1640  this  American  book  was  published  in  Cam 
bridge  (it  being  the  first  published  in  what  are  now  the 
United  States),  which  was  soon  after  reprinted  in  En 
gland,  where  it  passed  through  no  less  than  eighteen  edi 
tions,  the  last  being  issued  in  1754  ;  thus  maintaining  a 
hold  on  English  popularity  for  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
years  \" 

This  was  the  "  Bay  Psalm  Book."  It  passed  through 
twenty-one  editions  in  Scotland,  where  it  was  extensively 
known,  the  last  bearing  date  in  1759  ;  and  as  it  was  re- 

1  Belknap,  vol.  ii.,  p.  271.  "A  Plain  and  Faithful  Narrative  of  the  Orig 
inal  Design,  Rise,  Progress,  etc.,  of  the  Indian  Charity  School  at  Lebanon, 
Connecticut.  By  Eleazer  Wheelock,  A.M.  Boston  :  1763."  Continuation 
of  the  Same.  Boston:  1771.  a  Winthrop's  Journal. 


A.D.  1640.]         COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  435 

printed  without  the  compiler  enjoying  pecuniary  benefit 
from  its  sale,  we  have  irrefutable  proof  that  England 
pirated  the  first  American  book,  being  in  reality  the  orig 
inal  aggressor  in  this  line.  The  first  American  work  en 
joyed  a  more  lasting  reputation,  and  had  a  wider  circula 
tion,  than  any  volume  since  of  American  origin,  having 
passed  in  all  through  seventy  editions — a  very  remarkable 
number  for  the  age  in  which  it  flourished. 

These  Psalms  were  put  into  verse  by  the  Revds.  Mr. 
Weld  and  John  Eliot  of  the  Koxbury  Church,  they  being 
acquainted  with  the  original  Hebrew.1 

The  title,  and  a  few  of  the  verses,  are  here  given : 

"  The  whole  Booke  of  Psalmes,  faithfully  translated 
into  English  Metre  :  Whereunto  is  prefixed  a  Discourse 
declaring  not  only  the  Lawfulness,  but  also  the  Necessity 
of  the  heavenly  Ordinances  of  singing  Scripture  Psalmes 
in  the  Churches  of  God."  Imprinted,  1640. 

"  If,  therefore  [concludes  the  Introduction],  the  verses 
are  not  always  so  smooth  and  elegant  as  some  may  desire 
or  expect ;  let  them  consider  that  God's  Altar  needs  not 
our  pollishing  (Ex.  xx),  for  wee  have  respected  rather  a 
plaine  translation,  than  to  smooth  our  verses  with  any 
paraphrase,  and  soe  have  attended  conscience  rather  than 
elegance,  fidelity  rather  than  poetry,  in  translating  the 
hebrew  words  into  english  language,  and  David's  poetry 
into  English  Meetre  ;  that  soe  wee  may  sing  in  Sion  the 
Lord's  songs  of  prayse  according  to  his  oune  will ;  untill 
hee  take  us  from  hence  and  wipe  away  all  our  teaers,  and 
bid  us  enter  into  our  master's  ioye  to  sing  eternall  Hal- 
leluias." 

PSALM  I. 

0  Blessed  man,  that  in  th'  advice 

of  wicked  doth  not  walk : 
nor  stand  in  sinners  way  nor  sit 

in  chayre  of  scornful!  folk — 

*  Thomas's  History  of  Printing.     Worcester  :  1810.     Vol.  L,  p.  232. 


436  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1648. 

But  in  the  law  of  lehovah 

is  his  longing  delight : 
and  in  his  law  doth  meditate 

by  day  and  eke  by  night. 

And  he  shall  be  like  to  a  tree 

planted  by  water-rivers : 
that  in  his  season  yields  his  fruit, 

and  his  leafe  never  withers. — &c. 

Verse  10  in  Psalme  li.  may  be  properly  quoted  as  one 
of  the  "  tmpollish'd"  ones  : 

"  Create  in  mee  cleane  heart  at  last, 
God  :  a  right  spirit  in  mee  make, 
Nor  from  thy  presence  quite  me  cast, 
thy  holy  Spright  nor  from  me  take." 

Sternhold's  and  Hopkins'  edition  of  1648  renders  the 
same  verse  as  follows  : 

"  Make  new  my  heart  within  my  breast, 

and  frame  it  to  thy  holy  will : 
Thy  constant  Spirit  in  me  let  rest, 
which  may  these  raging  enemies  kill." 

PSALM  CXXVin. 

A    SONG    OP    DEGREES. 

1.  Blessed  is  every  one 

that  doth  lehovah  feare : 
that  walks  his  wayes  along. 

2.  For  thou  shall  eate  with  cheere 

thy  hand's  labour : 
blest  shalt  thou  bee, 
it  well  with  thee 

shall  be  therefore. 

3.  Thy  wife,  like  fruitful  vine, 

shall  be  by  thine  house  side : 
the  children  that  be  thine 
like  olive  plants  abide 
about  thy  board. 


A.D.  1750.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,   AND    BOOKS.  437 

4.  Behold,  thus  blest 
that  man  doth  rest 

that  feares  the  Lord. 

5.  lehovah  shall  thee  blesse 

from  Sin,  and  shall  see 
Jerusalem's  goodnesse 

All  thy  life's  days  that  bee. 

6.  And  shall  view  well 
thy  children  then 
with  their  children, 

peace  on  Isr'ell. 

It  is  not  easy  to  explain  the  popularity  of  such  verses. 
A  simple  incident,  however,  may  help  us  to  a  comprehen 
sion  of  it,  if  we  can  apply  it.  It  is  hut  a  few  years  ago 
that  a  memher  of  a  small  congregation  of  "  Gome-outers," 
describing  the  perplexity  to  which  they  were  subject,  said: 
They  had  tried  a  good  many  ministers  but  none  suited. 
"  The  truth  is,"  he  continued,  "  we  are  an  ignorant  con 
gregation,  and  we  want  an  ignorant  preacher;  those  we 
have  had,  shot  too  high" — that  charge  can  not  with  safety 
be  made  of  the  verses  of  the  "  Bay  Psalm  Book." 

Eliot's  Indian  Bible  was  completed,  and  printed  in  New 
England,  in  1664 ;  while  the  first  English  edition  of  the 
Bible,  in  America,  appeared  in  1752. 

"  Wherever  American  enterprise  penetrates,  the  print 
ing-press  is  found.  We  have  shown  that  printing  was 
exercised  in  America  in  1639.  The  first  typography  ex 
ecuted  in  Rochester,  Kent — the  seat  of  an  English  bish 
opric — bears  date,  1648,  or  nine  years  after  the  art  was 
introduced  into  the  forests  of  Massachusetts  •  and  the 
earliest  printing  done  in  the  great  manufacturing  city  of 
Manchester,  was  in  the  year  1732,  or  nearly  one  hundred 
years  subsequent  to  the  establishment  of  a  press  in  America. 
The  art  was  first  practiced  in  Glasgow  and  Cambridge  in 
the  same  year ;  at  Exeter,  thirty  years  later  than  in  the 
United  States,  and  not  in  the  great  commercial  city  of 
Liverpool  until  after  the  year  1750  (one  hundred  and 


438  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  164T. 

eleven  years  later  than  in  the  United  States),  where  the 
population  was  not  far  short  of  25,000,  nor  was  a  news 
paper  printed  there  before  May,  1756 — New  York,  Phila 
delphia,  and  Boston,  were  immensely  in  advance  of  her 
then  (as  they  are  now),  with  fewer  inhabitants."1 

In  1662,  the  General  Court  appointed  two  persons 
Licensers  of  the  Press,  without  whose  consent  no  books 
were  allowed  to  be  published  ;  and  in  1667,  it  directed 
"  a  book  that  imitates  Christ,  written  by  Thomas  Kempis, 
a  popish  minister,"  to  be  revised  by  the  Licensers,  and  the 
printing  of  it  not  to  proceed  further  then. 

LITERATURE  for  the  first  century  was  mainly  devoted 
to  religious  writings,  and  to  controversial  theology.  The 
titles  of  books  will  sometimes  show  the  state  of  society. 
These  are  two  of  that  day  : 

NEW  ENGLAND'S  SALAMANDER 

DISCOVER  ED, 

BY  AN  IRRELIGIOUS    AND    SCORNEFULL    PHAMPLET    CALLED   NEW 

ENGLAND'S  JONAS  CAST  UP  AT  LONDON,  &c.,  &c.,  OWNED 

BY  MAJOR  JOHN  CHILDE,  BUT  NOT  PROBABLE 

TO  BE  WRITTEN  BY  HIM, 

or, 

A  Satisfactory  Answer  to  many  Aspersions  cast  upon  New  England 

therein  ; 

Wherin  our  Government  there  is  showed  to  be  legall  and  not 
Arbitrary,  being  as  near  the  Law  of  England  as  our  Conditions 
will  permit, 

Together 

With  a  Brief  Reply  to  what  is  written  in  Answer  to  certain  Passages 
in  a  late  Book  called  Hypocrosie  Unmasked. 

BY  EDW.  WINSLOW. 

London,  1647. 

i  Trabner's  Bibliographical  Guide  to  American  Literature.    London. 


A.D.  1651.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  439 

THE  HEART  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

RENT  AT  THE 
BLASPHEMIES 

OF  THE  PRESENT 

GENERATION, 

or, 

A  Brief  TRACTATE  concerning  the  Dodlrine  of  the  Quakers,  Demon- 

ftrating  the  destructive  nature  thereof,  to  Religion,  the  Churches, 

and  the  State,  with  Considerations  of  the  Remedy  againft  it. 

Occasional   Satisfaction    to    Objections  and    Confirmation    of  the 
contrary  Truth. 

By  JOHN  NORTON, 

TEACHER  OF  THE  CHRIST  CHURCH  AT  BOSTON, 

Who  was  appointed  thereunto  by  the  Order  of  the  General  Court. 

CAMBRIDGE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 
1651. 

A  glance  into  "  The  Heart  of  New  England  rent,"  shows 
something  of  the  state  of  religious  feeling  and  opinion  in 
New  England,  two  centuries  ago.  The  purpose  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Norton  is  to  expose  the  absurdities  of  the  Quak 
ers  and  the  viciousness  of  their  doctrines,  and  of  course  he 
proceeds  to  do  that  in  the  best  way  he  can. 

"  What  is  Truth  ?"  is  not  germain  to  his  argument.  He 
states  "  that  Apollo  (that  is,  Satan)  caused  the  pythoness 
to  quake,  as  he  has  at  various  times  others  in  a  strange 
manner  as  he  now  does  the  Indian  Powows  ;"  therefore,  it 
is  clear  to  him,  that  it  is  the  devil  who  is  quaking  the 
Quakers.  They  replied  that  Isaiah  (ch.  xx.,  2)  went  about 
three  years  naked,  and  that  Ezekiel  smote  and  stamped 
(ch.  vi.,  11),  and  that  Daniel  (ch.  x.,  7)  had  a  great  quak 
ing,  when  moved  with  the  Spirit ;  therefore,  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  believe  that  the  Spirit  of  God  still  moves 
men.  But  Norton  said  their  cases  were  "  divine  circum- 


440  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1651. 

stances  to  Edification,  Extraordinary/'  but  the  Quakers 
were  surely  moved  with  the  devil.  There  was  no  other 
way  for  him  to  get  along  with  the  case.  The  Tract  then 
proceeds  to  argue  the  Trinity  at  large — "  personal  God"— 
the  necessity  for  the  Scripture  after  Moses's  time,  though 
not  before,  and  that  the  "  inner  light/'  "  which  lighteth 
every  man,"  will  not  do.  He  then  shows  that  the  presence 
of  the  Quakers  is  a  sign  that  God  is  about  to  inflict  ven 
geance  upon  such  as  do  not  receive  "the  Truth  in  the 
Love  of  it  ;"  says  much  about  false  prophets  (the  Quakers, 
of  course,  being  such,  in  his  opinion),  goes  on  to  prove 
the  "  destructiveness  of  their  doctrines  unto  Keligion,  the 
Churches,  and  Christian  states,"  and  the  great  necessity 
for  the  Magistrates  putting  a  stop  to  the  teaching  of 
Heresy  and  Blasphemies,  at  whatever  cost,  "  with  weapons 
and  punishment,"  etc.  All  of  which  was  objected  to  by 
Eoger  Williams,  and  some  others,  at  that  day,  and  is  now 
repudiated  by  all,  except  the  Holy  Koman  and  some  few 
other  Keligious  sects. 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND  PRIMER  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  curious  books  published  in  New  England.  There  is 
an  advertisement  of  a  second  impression,  as  early  as  1691. 
This  small  book  contained  matter  for  small  children,  be 
ginning  with  the  Alphabet,  and  ending  with  a  very  strange 
poetic  dialogue,  between  "  Christ,  A  Youth,  and  the  Devil." 
A  few  fearful  illustrations  illuminate  the  text ;  among 
them,  the  burning  of  Mr.  John  Rogers  ;  whose  wife,  with 
"nine  small  children  and  one  at  the  breast,"  followed 
him  to  the  stake,  "  with  which  sorrowful  sight  he  was  not 
in  the  least  daunted."1  It  contains  the  Assembly's  Shorter 
Catechism,  and  Mr.  Cotton's  Milk  for  Babes,  in  both  of 
which  the  children  of  New  England  were  sorely  exercised, 
both  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays.  The  Assembly's  Cate 
chism  is  so  important  a  document,  and  was  for  so  long  a 
period  the  guide  to  a  religious  education,  that  it  deserves 
to  be  preserved  in  History. 

1  Many,  with  such  a  family,  would  have  gone  gladly. 


A.D.  1647.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  441 

The  people  were  too  much  occupied  with  the  hard  strug 
gle  of  life,  and  in  resolving  religious  doubts,  to  pay  much 
attention  to  Literature  or  Art. 

Neither  Poetry  nor  the  Fine  Arts  flourished  during  the 
early  days  of  New  England.  With  the  exception  of  the 
"  Bay  Psalm  Book/'  we  find  but  little  poetry  of  any  kind, 
and.  but  little  of  that  worthy  of  notice.  Many  of  the  Min 
isters  tried  their  hand  at  it,  and  left  verses,  some  of  which, 
survived  their  sermons  ;  but  nearly  all  of  both  are  forgot 
ten  now. 

One  curious  book  in  verse,  was — 

"The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggawam,  in  America,  willing 
to  help  mend  his  native  country,  lamentably  tattered,  both 
in  the  upper  leather  and  sole,  with  all  the  honest  stitches 
he  can  take.  And  as  willing  never  to  be  paid  for  his  work 
by  old  English  wonted  pay. 

"  It  is  his  trade  to  patch  all  the  year  long  gratis, 
Therefore,  I  pray,  Gentlemen,  keep  your  purses. 

"  By  Theodore  de  la  Guard.     In  rebus  arduis  ac  tenui 
spe,  fortissimo,  quoque  consilia  tutissima  sunt. — Cic. 
In  English, 

"  When  bootes  and  shoes  are  torne  up  to  the  lefts, 
Coblers  must  thrust  their  awls  up  to  the  hefts ; 
This  is  no  time  to  feare  Appelles  gramm  : 
Ne  Sutor  quidem  ultra  crepidam. 

"London  :  Printed  by  J.  D.  &  B.  J.,  for  Stephen  Bow- 
tell,  at  the  signe  of  the  Bible,  in  Pope's  Head  Alley. 
1647." 

Such  is  the  title  of  one  of  the  quaintest  and  most  cu 
rious  books  that  appeared  in  New  England.  It  was 
written  by  Nathaniel  Ward,  Minister  of  Ipswich.  It  is  a 
satire,  and  is  aimed  at  what  the  old  Minister  considered 
follies,  and  mostly  at  those  rife  in  England  ;  full  of  bar 
barisms  and  affected  words  ;  it  is  not  now  worth  much 

19* 


442  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1647. 

attention,  though  many  things  are  well  hit.     The  follow 
ing  little  poem  in  it  is  good,  addressed  to  King  Charles  : 

Their  lives  cannot  be  good,  No  Earthly  man  can  be 
Their  faith  cannot  be  sure,  True  subjects  to  this  state, 

Where  truth  cannot  be  quiet,  Who  makes  the  Pope  his  Christ, 
Nor  ordinances  pure.  And  heretique  his  mate. 

No  King  can  King  it  right,  Then  peace  will  go  to  war, 

Nor  rightly  sway  his  rod,  And  silence  make  a  noise, 

Who  truly  loves  not  Christ,  When  upper  things  will  not 

And  truly  fears  not  God.  With  nether  equipoise. 

He  cannot  rule  a  land  The  Upper  world  shall  rule 
As  lands  should  ruled  been,  While  stars  will  run  their  race ; 

That  lets  himself  be  ruled  The  nether  world  obey, 

By  a  ruling  Roman  queen.  While  people  keep  their  place. 

As  Michael  Angelo's  "  Last  Judgment"  arrests  the  at 
tention  of  the  curious  in  Italy,  so  Michael  Wigglesworth, 
A.  M/s  "  Day  of  Doom/'  or  A  poetical  description  of  the 
great  and  last  Judgment,  demands  our  attention  in  New 
England.  He  opens  with  a  description  of  the  world  be 
fore  Christ's  coming  to  Judgment : 

1. 

"  Still  was  the  night,  Serene  and  Bright, 

when  all  men  sleeping  lay ; 
Calm  was  the  season,  and  carnal  reason 

thought  so  't  would  last  for  ay. 
Soul  take  thine  ease,  let  sorrow  cease, 

much  good  thou  hast  in  store  : 
This  was  their  Song,  their  Cups  among, 

the  Evening  before. 

2. 

"  Wallowing  in  all  kind  of  Sin, 
vile  wretches  lay  secure,"  &c. 

They  are  much  surprised  with  the  coming  of  Christ, 
which  is  described  ;  and  then  comes  the  Trump  : 


A.D.  1647.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  443 

It. 

"Before  his  Throne  a  Trump  is  blown,  1  Thes.  iv.  16. 

proclaiming  the  day  of  Doom : 
Forthwith  he  cries,  Ye  dead  arise, 

and  unto  judgment  come. 
No  sooner  said,  but  't  is  obeyed,  John  v.  28,  29. 

sepulchers  opened  are : 
Dead  bodies  all  rise  at  his  call, 

and  's  mighty  power  declare." 

Then  they  all  gather  to  the  throne. 

22. 

"  At  Christ's  right  hand  the  Sheep  do  stand, 
his  holy  Martyrs,  who" — &c.,  &c. 

27. 

"  At  Christ's  left  hand  the  Groats  do  stand 

all  whining  hypocrites,  &c. 
Who  Sheep  resembled,  but  they  dissembled,"  &c. 

The  various  wicked  are  then  described  quite  in  detail. 
Jesus  then  calls  the  Elect,  and  speaks  to  them  : 

40. 

"  These  men  be  those  my  father  chose 

before  the  world's  foundation, 

And  to  me  gave,  that  I  should  save  Job  xvii.  6. 

from  Death  and  condemnation."  Eph.  i.  4. 

They  are  received  into  joy  ;  and  the  wicked  are  brought 
forward,  who  plead  all  sorts  of  excuses  ;  and  the  hypo 
crites  say  : 

82. 

"  "We  did  believe,  and  oft  receive 

the  precious  promises :         Acts  viii.  13.  Isa.  Iviii.  Heb.  vi.  45. 
"We  took  good  care  to  get  a  share 
in  endless  happiness. 

"  "We  pray'd  and  wept,  we  Fast-days  kept, 

lewd  ways  we  did  eschew ; 
"We  joyful  were  thy  word  to  hear, 
we  form'd  our  lives  anew. 


444  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  1647. 

83. 

"  We  thought  our  Sin  had  pardon'd  been, 

that  our  Estate  was  good, 
Our  debts  all  paid,  our  peace  well  made, 
our  Souls  washed  with  thy  Blood,  &c. 

84. 

14  The  Judge  incensed  at  their  pretenced 
self- vaunting  Piety," 

proceeds  to  expose  them,  and   refuses  to  listen  to  their 
prayers  and  excuses. 

92. 

"  Then  were  brought  nigh  a  Company 

of  Civil,  honest  Men, 

That  lov'd  true  dealing,  and  hated  stealing, 
ne'er  wrong'd  their  Bretheren ;" 
&c. 

But  they  were  rejected  with  the  rest. 

107. 

"  A  wondrous  crowd  then  'gan  aloud 

thus  for  themselves  to  say, 
We  did  intend,  Lord,  to  amend, 

and  to  reform  our  way. 
Our  true  intent  was  to  repent,         Prov.  xxvii.,  ] .  Jam.  iv.  13 

and  make  our  peace  with  Thee  ; 
But  sudden  Death,  stopping  our  breath, 

left  us  no  Libertie." 

Then  others  came  ; 

"  They  argued,  We  were  misled, 

as  is  well  known  to  Thee, 
By  their  Example,  who  had  more  ample 
abilities  than  we." 
&c. 

130. 

41  Others  Argue,  and  not  a  few, 

is  not  God  gracious  ? 
His  Equity  and  Clemency 
are  they  not  marvellous? 


A.D.  1647.]        COLLEGES,   SCHOOLS,   AND   BOOKS.  445 

Thus  we  believe :  are  we  deceived  ? 

cannot  his  mercy  great, 
(As  hath  been  told  to  us  of  old) 

asswage  his  anger's  heat  ?" 

To  all, 

147. 

"  Christ  readily  make  this  Reply, 

I  damn  you,  not  because 
You  are  rejected,  or  not  elected, 

but  you  have  broke  my  laws  ;"  Luke  xiii.  27. 

&c. 

148. 
""Whom  G-od  will  save,  such  he  will  have    Acts  iii.  19,  &  xvL  31. 

the  means  of  life  to  use ; 

Whom  he'll  pass  by,  shall  chuse  to  dy  1  Sam.  ii.  25. 

and  ways  of  life  refuse." 


The  Heathen  plead : 


157. 


"  Thy  written  "Word  (say  they),  good  Lord, 

we  never  did  enjoy ; 
We  nor  refus'd,  nor  it  abus'd ; 
Oh!  do  not  us  destroy  1" 

To  whom  Christ  replies  : 

164. 

"  You  sinful  Crew  have  not  been  true  Rom.  i.  20. 

Unto  the  Light  of  Nature, 
Nor  done  the  good  you  understood, 
Nor  owned  your  Creator." 

"Keprobate  Infants  plead  for  themselves,"  who  had 
been  born  but  to  die.  These  were  condemned  because 
Adam,  their  federal  head,  had  sinned  ;  but, 

181. 

"  A  crime  it  is,  therefore  in  bliss 
you  may  not  hope  to  dwell  ; 
But  unto  you  I  shall  allow 
the  easiest  room  in  Hell." 


446  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1650. 

The  Judge  pronounceth  the  sentence  of  condemnation  : 

201. 

"  Ye  sinful  wights  and  cursed  sprights, 

that  work  iniquity, 
Depart  together  from  me  forever, 

to  endless  Misery; 
Your  portion  take  in  yonder  Lake, 

where  Fire  and  Brimstone  flameth ; 
Suffer  the  smart,  which  your  desert 

as  its  due  wages  claimeth." 

The  wicked  are  then  cast  in  with  the  Devils. 

209. 

"  With  Iron  bands  they  tied  their  hands 

and  cursed  feet  together, 
And  cast  them  all,  both  great  and  small, 

into  that  Lake  forever, 
Where  day  and  night,  without  respite, 

they  wail,  and  cry,  and  howl,      Matt.  Trxii.  13,  &  xxv.  46. 
For  torturing  pain  which  they  sustain, 

in  body  and  in  soul." 

The  versification  of  the  Reverend  poet  is  careful  and 
satisfactory,  and  his  theology  is  as  unmitigated  in  verse  as 
in  prose. 

The  following  title-page  introduces  us  to  Anne  Brad- 
street  : 

"  Several  Poems,  compiled  with  great  variety  of  Wit 
and  Learning,  full  of  delight ;  wherein  especially  is  con 
tained  a  Compleat  Discourse  and  Description  of  the  Four 
Elements,  Constitutions,  Ages  of  Man,  and  Seasons  of  the 
Year,  together  with  an  Exact  Epitome  of  the  Three  First 
Monarchies,  viz.,  the  Assyrian,  Persian,  and  Grecian  ;  and 
the  beginning  of  the  Roman  Commonwealth  to  the  end 
of  their  last  King,  with  divers  other  Pleasant  and  Serious 
Poems  :  By  a  Gentlewoman  of  New  England."  Printed  at 
Boston,  1640  ;  at  London,  1650,  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Tenth  Muse  lately  sprung  up  in  America." 

This  "  Gentlewoman  of  America"  was  Anne  Bradstreet, 


A.D.  1650.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  447 

daughter  of  old  Governor  Dudley,  and  wife  of  one  who 
was  afterward  the  Governor  of  the  Colony.  Her  poems 
are  full  of  delicate  touches,  and  indicate  a  fine  poetic 
nature,  and  are  remarkable  as  the  productions  of  a  woman 
at  a  time  when  most  women  did  not  know  how  to  write 
their  own  names  :— 

EXTRACT    FROM    CONTEMPLATIONS. 

Under  the  cooling  shadow  of  a  stately  elm, 

Close  sat  I  by  a  river's  goodly  side, 
Where  gliding  streams  the  rocks  did  overwhelm  ; 

A  lovely  place  with  pleasures  dignified. 
I,  once  that  loved  the  shady  woods  so  well, 
Now  thought  the  rivers  did  the  trees  excel, 
And  if  the  sun  would  ever  shine,  there  would  I  dwell 

While  on  the  stealing  stream  I  fixed  mine  eye, 
Which  to  the  longed-for  ocean  kept  its  course, 

I  marked  nor  crooks  nor  rocks  that  there  did  lie, 
Could  hinder  aught,  but  still  augment  its  force. 

"0  happy  flood,"  quoth  I,  "that  hold'st  thy  race, 

Till  thou  arrive  at  thy  beloved  place, 

Nor  is  it  rocks  or  shoals  that  can  obstruct  thy  pace. 

"  Nor  is't  enough  that  thou  alone  mayst  slide, 
But  hundred  brooks  in  thy  clear  waves  do  meet : 

So  hand  in  hand  along  with  these  they  glide 
To  Thetis'  house,  where  all  embrace  and  greet. 

Thou  emblem  true  of  what  I  count  the  best — 

0  could  I  leave  my  rivulet  to  rest ! 

So  may  we  press  to  that  vast  mansion  ever  blest. 

"Ye  fish  that  in  this  liquid  region  'bide. 

That  for  each  season  have  your  habitation, 
Now  salt,  now  fresh,  when  you  think  best  to  glide 

To  unknown  coasts  to  give  a  visitation, 
In  lakes  and  ponds  you  leave  your  numerous  fry: 
So  Nature  taught,  and  yet  you  know  not  why — 
You  wat'ry-folk,  that  know  not  your  felicity  I" 

Look  how  the  wantons  frisk  to  taste  the  air, 

Then  to  the  colder  bottom  straight  they  dive, 
But  soon  to  Neptune's  glassy  hall  repair, 

To  see  what  trade  the  great  ones  there  do  drive, 


448  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1761. 

"Who  forage  o'er  the  spacious  sea-green  field, 

And  take  their  trembling  prey  before  it  yield, 

Whose  armor  is  their  scales,  their  spreading  fins  their  shield. 

While  musing  thus,  with  contemplation  fed, 

And  thousand  fancies  buzzing  in  my  brain, 

The  sweet-tongued  Philomel  perched  o'er  my  head, 

And  chaunted  forth  a  most  melodious  strain, 
Which  wrapt  me  so  with  wonder  and  delight, 
I  judged  my  hearing  better  than  my  sight, 
And  wished  me  wings  with  her  a  while  to  take  my  flight. 

"0,  merry  bird,"  said  I,  "that  fears  no  snares; 

That  neither  toils  nor  hoards  up  in  thy  barn ; 
Feels  no  sad  thoughts,  nor  cruciating  cares 

To  gain  more  food,  or  shun  what  might  thee  harm : 
Thy  clothes  ne'er  wear,  thy  meat  is  everywhere ; 
Thy  bed  a  bough,  thy  drink  the  water  clear, 
Eeminds  not  what  is  past,  nor  what's  to  come  dost  fear. 

"  The  dawning  morn  with  songs  thou  dost  prevent ; J 

Sets  hundred  notes  unto  thy  feathered  crew  ; 
So  each  one  tunes  his  pretty  instrument, 

And  warbling  out,  the  old  begins  anew, 
And  thus  they  pass  their  youth  in  summer  season, 
Then  follow  thee  into  a  better  region, 
Where  winter's  never  felt  by  that  sweet  airy  legion." 

After  a  few  verses  of  reflection,  she  closes — 

So  he  that  saileth  in  this  world  of  pleasure, 

Feeding  on  sweets  that  never  bit  of  the  sour, 
That's  full  of  friends,  of  honor,  and  of  treasure — 

Fond  fool !  he  takes  this  earth  e'en  for  heaven's  bower. 
But  sad  affliction  comes,  and  makes  him  see 
Here's  neither  honor,  wealth,  nor  safety: 
Only  above  is  found  all  with  security. 2 

"  Pietas  et  Gratulatio  Collegii  Cantabrigiensis,  Apud 
Novanglos.  Boston!,  Massachusettensium,  Typis  J.  Green 
&  J.  Russell,  M.DCCLXI."  was  a  book  of  poetical  ad 
dresses  to  George  III.  upon  his  accession.  It  was  printed 
and  bound  in  a  superb  style — in  a  style  which  Boston  at 
this  day  can  hardly  rival.  It  abounds  in  the  fulsome 

1  Anticipate.  a  G-riswold's  Female  Poets  of  America 


A.D.  1704.]        COLLEGES,    SCHOOLS,    AND   BOOKS.  449 

flatteries  common  to  such  works,  which  have  too  long  dis 
graced  literature  and  literary  men  ;  and  is  now  almost 
forgotten,  for  the  King  and  his  flatterers  were  shortly  after 
this  hated  and  despised. 

NEWSPAPEKS.     In  1704,  the  first  newspaper  was  begun 
in  Boston.     This  was  its  style  : 


1) 


N.    <&.  Numb.  1. 

oston    N*io0-Cetter, 


PUBLISHED     BY     AUTHORITY. 


From  MONDAY,  April  17,  to  MONDAY,  April  24,  1704. 

It  is  printed  on  half  a  sheet  of  pot-paper,  with  a  small- 
pica  type,  folio. 

The  first  page  is  filled  with  an  extract  from  "  The 
London  Flying  Post,"  respecting  the  Pretender's  sending 
Popish  Missionaries  into  Scotland  ;  then  comes  the  Queen's 
(Anne's)  Speech  to  Parliament  ;  then  a  few  Boston  items, 
and  four  from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  New  London. 
This,  with  one  advertisement,  formed  the  whole  of  its  con 
tents.  The  advertisement  is  as  follows  : 

"  This  News-Letter  is  to  be  continued  Weekly  ;  and  all 
Persons  who  have  any  Houses,  Lands,  Tenements,  Farmes, 
Ships,  Vessels,  Goods,  Wares,  or  Merchandizes,  &c.,  to  be 
Sold  or  Lett  ;  or  Servants  Runaway  ;  or  Goods  Stoll  or 
Lost,  may  have  the  same  Inserted  at  a  Eeasonable  Rate  ; 
from  Twelve  Pence  to  Five  Shillings,  and  not  to  exceed. 
Who  may  agree  with  Nicholas  Boone,  for  the  same,  at  his 
Shop,  next  door  to  Major  Davis's  Apothecary,  in  Boston, 
near  the  Old  Meeting-House. 

"  All  persons  in  Town  or  Country,  may  have  said  News- 
Letter,  Weekly,  upon  reasonable  tearms,  agreeing  with 
John  Campbell,  Post  Master,  for  the  same." 


450  NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY.  [A.D.  1771, 

It  was  printed  by  B.  Green.1 

In  1719,  the  second  newspaper,  in  New  England,  was 
started  by  J.  Franklin  ;  it  was  called  the  Boston  Gazette. 

The  New  England  Courant,  was  started  in  1721,  by 
James  and  Benjamin  Franklin.  It  satirized  Keligious 
Knaves  ;  was  censured  by  the  Ministers,  and  suspended 
by  the  Assembly,  in  1723. 

The  Khode  Island  Gazette  was  begun  in  1731. 

In  1748,  the  number  of  papers  in  Boston,  had  increased 
to  five.2 

The  Connecticut  Gazette,  was  first  published  in  1755. 

The  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  was  started  in  1756. 

In  1771,  Dr.  Franklin  states,  that  twenty-five  newspa 
pers  were  printed  in  America  ;  but  at  the  opening  of  the 
Revolution,  there  appears  to  have  been  thirteen  newspa 
pers  printed  in  New  England,  as  follows  : 

In  Massachusetts,      .....  7 

In  New  Hampshire,         ....  1 

In  Rhode  Island,       .  .  2 

In  Connecticut,  ....  3 

Total, 13 

In  all  the  Colonies,  Thirty- four.3 

1  Thomas's  History  of  Printing,  vol.  ii.,  p.  191. 

1  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


CHAPTER   XLVII. 

MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

AKI8TOCRACY — GENTLEMEN  AND  FREEHOLDERS — MAGISTRATES  FOR  LIFE — TITLES — THETB 
HOUSES — CLOTHES — OCCUPATIONS — FARMING — MAIZE — OTHER  CROPS — WHEAT  AND  BER 
BERRIES  —  POTATOES  —  DRINKS — TEA — MONEY —  SHIP-BUILDING — HUNTING — FISHING 

WHALES  —  EXPORTS  —  FREE-TRADE  —  TRAVELING CARRIAGES — WINTERS — THE  POOR — 

CHARACTERISTICS — MEADOW  LANDS — THE  HUSKING — LOVE — "TO  SALT" — SPINNINGS — 
SLEIGH-RIDES  —  THE  SABBATH-DAY — THE  SAINTS  —  COURTING — CHASTITY — RELIGIOUS 
MEJLANCUOLY — A  DUEL — THRIFT  AND  PIETY — "THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES." 

THOSE  who  came  first  to  New  England,  were  not  of  the 
kind  described  thus  by  Captain  John  Smith — "who  would 
live  at  home  idly  (or  think  himself  of  any  worth  to  live), 
only  to  eate,  drink,  and  sleep,  and  soe  die  ?  Or  by  con 
suming  that  carelessly,  his  friends  got  worthily  ;  or  for  be 
ing  descended  nobly  fine,  with  the  vaine  vaunt  of  great 
kindred,  in  penurie  ;  or  to  maintain  a  silly  shew  of  Brave 
ry,  toyle  out  thy  heart's  soule  and  time  basely  by  shifts, 
tricks,  cards,  and  dice  ?"1  No,  they  were  men  who  came 
to  work,  and  were  able  to  do  it.  The  occupations  of  new 
countries  are  mainly  the  same — Farming,  Hunting,  and 
Fishing  ;  and  such  they  were  in  New  England. 

"If  he  have  nothing  but  his  hands  he  may  set  up  his 
trade,"  wrote  Captain  Smith.  These  things  he  may  get, 
"  Herring,  Cod,  and  Ling,  the  Triplicity  ;  Salt  upon  Salt  ; 
Beavers,  Otters,  Martens,  and  furres  of  price.  Mines  of 
Gold  and  Silver,  Woods  of  all  sorts,  Eagles,  Gripes,, 
Hawkes,  &c.,  Whales,  Grampus,  Haddock,  &c.  ;  Moose, 
Deere,  Beares,  Beavers,  &c.  ;  all  in  their  season  ;  for  you 
cannot  gather  cherries  at  Christmas,  in  Kent." 

The  feeling  of  class,  held  on  among  the  Puri 
tans  for  a  long  time.     The  well-bred  and  well    ARISTOCRACY. 
born  were  entitled  to  be  called  Gentlemen,  and 

1  Smith's  Description  of  New  England,  p.  31. 


452  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1639. 

these  had  the  prefix  of  Mr.;  the  common  folk  "being  called 
Goodman  and  Goody.  So  much  was  the  title  of  Mr. 
valued,  that  Josias  Plaistow,  in  1631,  for  stealing  corn 
from  the  Indians,  was  fined  five  pounds,  and  forbidden  to 
be  called  Mr.  Thenceforth  he  was  plain  Josias. 

In  1636,  Lords  Say,  Brook,  and  other  "  persons  of  qual 
ity,"  proposed  to  emigrate  to  New  England,  upon  certain 
conditions ;  which  were  briefly — 

"  That  there  should  be  two  distinct  ranks  of  men"  in 
the  Colonies,  one  Gentlemen,  and  the  other  Freeholders. 

That  the  Gentlemen  should  make  one  house  in  the 
Legislature,  and  the  Freemen  the  other ;  that  none  should 
be  admitted  to  the  first  rank,  except  by  vote  of  both 
houses  ;  that  they  should  sit  separately  ;  and  that  the 
Governor  should  always  be  chosen  from  the  first  rank. 
To  all  of  which  the  reply  was,  that  to  these  things  the 
Colonists  in  Massachusetts  agreed,  and  that  in  most  things 
their  practices  were  conformed.  But  Church-membership 
was  the  condition  of  citizenship,  rather  than  property  or 
blood,  as  Lords  Say  and  Brook  proposed. 

Mr.  Cotton,  in  his  letter  to  them  (1636),  said  : 

"  As  for  monarchy  and  aristocracy  they  are  clearly  ap 
proved  and  directed  in  Scripture,  yet  so  as  referreth  the 
sovereignty  to  himself  and  setteth  up  Theocracy  in  both."1 

But  although  clearly  approved  in  Scripture,  as  Mr. 
Cotton  said,  the  people  were  on  the  alert,  and  refused 
stubbornly  to  elect  a  Governor  for  life  ;  and  in  1639  re 
scinded  an  order,  which  confirmed  some  of  the  magistrates 
for  life. 

"  What  is  this  but  Aristocracy  ?"  they  said  ;  "  Why 
should  we  put  riders  on  our  backs  ?"  and  so  they  entirely 
refused  to  do  it.  The  community  steadily  grew  more 
democratic,  insisting  that  every  man  should  have  political 
rights,  and  should  exercise  them  as  his  own  judgment  and 
conscience  (not  as  any  man  or  class)  should  dictate. 

1  Hutchinson,  Append. 


A.D.  1639.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.        453 

"  Honorable,"  was  applied  to  Governors  after 

1685.  TITLES. 

"  Esquire,"  was  applied  to  a  few  persons  in 
the  early  days  ;  and  in  the  country  towns  is  now  used  to 
designate  persons  connected  with  legal  matters — to  law 
yers  and  judges. 

"  Gent."  or  "  Gentleman"  was  applied  to  some  few,  who 
were  of  good  birth  in  England. 

"  Mr."  was  the  common  title  of  well-born  and  well-bred 
persons. 

"  Yeoman,"  was  the  common  designation  of  well-to-do 
men. 

"  Goodman,"  and  "  Goody,"  "  Gammer,"  and  "  Gaffer," 
were  applied  to  the  working  classes,  who  had  no  preten 
sions  to  education  or  superiority. 

"  Major/'  "  Corporal,"  and  all  military  titles  were  much 
valued,  and  were  engraved  on  the  tombstones. 

"  Rev."  and  "  Deacon,"  were  also  prized. 

Winthrop,  Dudley,  and  some  of  good  estate, 
in  the   Colonies  of  Massachusetts    Bay,    New          iJSSL 
Haven,  and  Connecticut,  very  early  built  fine 
houses  ;  but  at  first  the  people  mostly  built  with  logs  ; 
then  there  soon  grew  up  all  over  New  England,  comfort 
able  double  houses  with  a  long,  sloping  roof  behind,  which 
covered  a  kitchen  and  closets.     It  is  one  of  the  striking 
peculiarities  of  New  England  that  the  people  there  would 
not  then  live  shabbily  or  in  dirt,  and  that  they  will  not 
now. 

The  houses  at  first  were  of  one  story,  but  soon  were 
built  of  two  stories,  the  upper  one  projecting  about  a 
foot.  Great  timbers  were  used,  and  showed  on  the  inside 
in  the  rooms.  Some  of  these  houses  are  still  in  good  pre 
servation.  They  commonly  faced  the  south,  so  that  the 
sun  might  shine  square,  and  then  they  could  tell  when 
noon-time  came.  The  windows  were  small,  with  diamond- 
shaped  glass.  A  great  stone  chimney  reared  itself  in  the 
middle  of  the  house  ;  in  which,  wood  four  and  six  feet  long 


454  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1643. 

was  used,  and  thirty  to  sixty  cords  a-year  was  a  fair  allow 
ance.  In  those  great  chimneys  the  bacon  was  hung,  and 
in  the  corners  the  children  sat ;  and,  looking  up,  saw  the 
stars  shine  in  the  day-time.  Along  the  joists  were  hung 
strings  of  dried  apples  and  ripe  pumpkins  ;  and  on  the 
hooks  hung  a  "  king's  arm"  and  a  spontoon.  Many  a  copy 
of  "  King  Charles's  Twelve  G-ood  rules"  were  preserved  on 
the  walls,  though  they  had  transgressed  the  second. 

THE  TWELVE  GOOD  RULES. 

Profane  no  divine  ordinance. 
Touch  no  State  matters. 
Urge  no  Healths. 
Pick  no  Quarrels. 
Encourage  no  Vice. 
Kepeat  no  Grievances. 
Keveal  no  Secrets. 
Maintain  no  ill  Opinions. 
Make  no  Comparisons. 
Keep  no  bad  Company. 
Make  no  long  Meals. 
Lay  no  Wagers. 

Dress,  always  a  matter  of  prime  necessity  in  a  cold 
country,  was  so  in  New  England — and  in  such  a  country 
the  question  early  came  up,  "  How  was  it  to  be  had  ?" 
"  You  are  like  to  want  clothes  hereafter,"  etc.;  to  which  it 
was  answered,  "  First,  Linen  fustians  ;  Dimities,  we  are 
making  already  ;  secondly,  sheep  are  coming  on  for  wool 
en  cloth  ;  thirdly,  in  meantime  we  may  be  supplied  by 
way  of  trade  with  other  parts  ;  fourth,  Cordevant,  deere, 
seale,  and  moose  skins  (which  are  beasts  as  big  as  oxen, 
and  whose  skins  are  buff)  are  there  to  be  had  plentifully, 
which  will  help  this  way  esspecially  for  servants'  clothing." 
In  New  England's  First-fruits,"1  the  following, 
among  other  blessings,  are  enumerated  :  "  In 

1  London,  1643,  Mass.  H.  CoU.  Yol.  i. 


A.D.  1638.]        MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.       455 

prospering  hempe  and  flaxe  do  well,  that  its  frequently 
sowen,  spun,  and  woven  into  Linen-Cloth  ;  (and  in  a 
short  time  may  serve  for  cordage)  ;  and  so  with  Cotton 
Wool  (which  we  may  have  at  very  reasonable  rates  from 
the  islands)  ;  and  our  linen  yarn  we  can  make  dimittics 
and  fustians  for  our  Summer  Clothing,  and  having  a  mat 
ter  of  1,000  sheep  which  prosper  well,  to  begin  withall, 
in  a  Competent  time,  we  hope,  to  have  woollen  cloth 
there  made.  And  great  and  small  cattel,  being  now  very 
frequently  killed  for  food,  their  skins  will  afford  us  leather 
for  Boots  and  shoes  and  other  uses  ;  so  that  God  is  lead 
ing  us  by  the  hand  into  a  way  of  Clothing." 

But  sad  to  say,  some  soon  ran  into  Expenditures,  which 
were  in  excess  ;  and  as  early  as  1631,  the  Court  sent  for 
the  Elders,  and  Charged  them  to  urge  it  upon  the  con 
sciences  of  the  people,  that  they  should  avoid  this  Costli 
ness  of  Apparel  and  following  of  new  Fashions  :  which 
they  indeed  promised  to  do.  It  was  a  rash  thing,  for 
"  divers  of  the  Elders'  wives  were  partners  in  the  general 
disorder,"  and  the  Court  did  not  enough  consider  what 
was  to  befall  the  Elders,  who  took  this  thing  in  hand. 
Winthrop  quietly  ends  this  matter  by  saying  that  little 
was  done  about  it.1 

Broad  Skirted  Coats  were  worn,  with  great  pockets. 
Small  clothes  were  the  full  dress,  for  boys  as  well  as  men. 
Shoe-buckles  and  a  ring  were  highly  prized.  The  men 
often  wore  red  cloaks  ;  and  scarlet  broad-cloth  cloaks  of 
domestic  manufacture  were  used  by  women  subsequently 
to  the  Kevolution.  Trains  or  trails  were  in  use  from  the 
Earliest  days.  And  hooped  skirts  of  the  amplest  dimen 
sions  appeared  in  the  18th  century. 

Ultimately,  several  laws  were  passed  against  excessive 
expenditure  and  Extravagant  Fashions,  which  are  men 
tioned  in  another  place.2 

Governor  Eaton's  Estate  at  New  Haven  was  £1440  15  7, 
some  portions  of  which  were  as  follows  : 

'Journal,  Oct.  1638.  2  See  cb.  XLY.  Puritan  Laws. 


458  NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1629. 

Wearing  Apparel,  .  .  .          £50     0     0 

Item  in  Plate,  ....     107  11     0 

Item  in  a  piece  of  Gold,  20s.        ) 
and  Silver,  25s.  5d.  ] 
Item  in  two  signet  rings  of  gold,       .  .         2  12     0 

The  value  of  money  may  be  judged  by  this  :  John  Win- 
throp  bought  one  of  the  best  houses  and  Lots  in  New 
Haven  for  £100.* 

Most  of  the  men  wore  Short  hair  and  Long  beards. 

Drunkenness  soon  prevailed  to  an  alarmiug  extent,  and 
various  laws  were  made  to  restrain  it.  Tobacco  was 
chewed  and  smoked  in  excess  ;  and  various  efforts  were 
made  to  restrain  this.  In  1669  the  Massachusetts  Court 
ordered  that  any  persons  found  smoking  tobacco  on  the 
Lord's-day,  going  to,  or  coming  from  Church,  should  be 
fined  twelve  pence.  And  it  is  asserted  that  they  even 
smoked  in  meeting. 

Farming,  Fishing,  and  Hunting,  as  before 
^UioNs.11"  stated,  were  the  three  principal  occupations  for 
the  men.  The  women  were  busied  with  house 
hold  matters.  Idleness  was  not  popular,  and  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  magistrate  to  see  to  it.  The  Grand  Juries, 
among  other  presentments,  made  these  : 

"  We  present  Charles  Potrom  for  living  an  idle,  lazy 
life."  "  We  present  Adam  Goodwine,  for  denying  the  mo 
rality  of  the  fourth  commandment." 

Their  staple  crop  was  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  which  they 
found  rudely  cultivated  by  the  Indians,  and  which  they 
soon  came  to  like  ;  but  English  grains  and  other  crops 
were  at  once  introduced.  Squanto  showed  them  how  to 
cultivate  It,  and  how  to  manure  it  with  fish,  as  is  done 
now.  At  first  their  ground  was  prepared,  and  their  crops 
put  in  with  hoes  ;  till  they  could  get  cattle  and  plows. 
CATTLE  were  brought  to  Plymouth  in  1624,  and  nigh 
100  head  were  brought  over  in  1629  for  the  Massachu 
setts  Bay  Company.  Many  losses  were  had,  and  the 

1  Bacon's  Disc.  Appen. 


X 
A.D.  1664.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         457 

prices  of  Cows  in  1636  were  from  £25  to  £30  each  ; 
yet  a  quart  of  milk  could  then  he  bought  for  a  penny. 
Of  course,  Cattle  were  not  then  used  for  eating. 

In  the  year  1630,  food  was  at  great  prices.  Wheat- 
meal  cost  fourteen  shillings  ;  Peas,  eleven  shillings.  In 
1632,  Corn  was  sold  at  4s.  6d.  a  hushel,  These  are  enu 
merated  as  food  (1631)  :  "  fat  hogs,  kids,  venison,  poultry, 
geese,  partridges,  &c."  Again  it  is  mentioned,  that  two 
or  three  hoys  brought  in  a  hushel  of  eels,  and  sixty  great 
lobsters.  In  one  of  Winthrop's  Letters  to  bis  son,  the 
following  articles  in  use  are  mentioned  :  "  Meal,  Peas. 
Oatmeal,  Malt,  Beef,  Prunes,  and  Aquavitas." 

Farmers  had  their  troubles  then,  as  they  have  now  ; 
Frosts  sometimes  killed  their  unripened  crops,  and  drought 
shortened  them  greatly.  In  the  year  1633  (May),  great 
numbers  of  "  a  sort  of  flies,  like  for  bigness  to  humble- 
bees,"  came  out  of  the  ground,  eating  up  every  green 
thing,  and  making  "  such  a  constant  yelling  noise"  as  to 
deafen  the  hearers.  These  were  what  we  now  call  locusts. 

Pumpkins,  Squashes,  Melons,  and  Beans,  which  they 
found  in  the  country,  they  soon  came  to  love  ;  and  from 
the  Indians  they  learned  the  ways  of  raising  and  cooking 
them. 

In  1674  the  Luxury  of  Molasses  became  common. 

About  the  year  1664,  Wheat  began  to  blast,  which 
greatly  perplexed  the  farmers.  Every  theory  as  to  the 
cause  and  cure  seemed  to  fail ;  and,  at  last,  for  want  of  a 
better  cause,  it  was  laid  to  the  Berberry  bushes,  which, 
brought  from  Europe,  were  beginning  to  grow  along  every 
fence  and  hedge-row.  Unsparing  war  was  made  upon 
the  beautiful  shrub  for  nigh  two  centuries,  and  the  belief 
in  their  malignity  yet  prevails. 

Mills  were  not  common,  and  families  were  provided 
with  a  large  mortar,  in  which  Indian  Corn  could  be 
pounded  for  use. 

Potatoes  were  introduced  by  Emigrants  from  Ireland, 
and  were  raised  by  Mr.  Nathaniel  Walker  of  Andover. 

20 


458  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1720. 

Their  popularity  grew  very  slowly  ;  and,  as  late  as  1750, 
a  crop  of  five  bushels  would  glut  the  market.1 

Breakfast,  Dinner,  and  Supper,  were  hearty  meals,  and 
went  with  the  Sun  :  at  Sun-rise — Mid-day — and  Sun 
down  ;  and  when  Nine  o'clock  came,  the  Meeting-house 
bell  rung  the  Curfew,  and  then  most  people  went  to 
bed. 

The  DRINK  of  the  people  was  Water,  which  is  good 
throughout  New  England  —  Beer,  which  every  family 
brewed  from  its  own  Barley  Malt,  as  was  the  custom  then 
in  England — Milk,  which  their  Cows  and  Goats  yielded— 
Cider,  which  after  a  few  years  was  ground  out  of  their 
apples. 

Tea,  "  the  Cup  which  cheers,  but  not  inebriates"  the 
female  heart,  and  imperceptibly  brings  the  nerves  to  the 
finest  condition  of  excruciating  sensibility,  appears  to  have 
crept  in  from  England  about  1720,2  though  it  was  used 
here  and  there  in  New  England  in  the  beginning  of  the 
century. 

In  the  Old  Country  it  was  used  only  by  the  rich,  and 
was  much  longed-for  by  the  poor.  For  a  time  the  suffer 
ings  of  those  in  the  Colonies  who  attempted  to  use  it 
were  fearful.  They  only  knew  that  it  was  fashionable, 
and  of  course  desirable  ;  but  how  to  use  it  few  knew,  and 
many  experiments  were  tried  ;  among  others,  the  leaves 
were  boiled,  and  eaten  with  butter,  like  "  Greens."  Its 
use,  however,  was  soon  learned,  and,  before  the  Revolu 
tion,  smuggled  Tea  was  in  almost  every  house.  When 
the  Excise  laws  were  enforced,  we  shall  see  that,  dear 
as  it  had  became  to  the  tired  nerves,  and  delicious  as  the 
stimulant  was  felt  to  be,  women  then  equaled  men  in 
their  devotion  to  the  cause,  and  formed  voluntary  asso 
ciations,  pledging  themselves  against  the  use  of  any  which 
had  paid  duty  to  England.  Its  production  and  importa 
tion  have  now  come  to  be  immense  ;  while  Beer  and  Cider 
have  nearly  gone  out  of  use  in  New  England.  "  A  Tea 

1  Coffin's  Newbuiy.  *  Holmes. 


A.D.  1648.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         459 

Equipage"  of  Silver  was  highly  prized  ;  and  it  was  com 
mon  in  those  early  days  for  women  to  carry  their  own 
china  cup,  saucer,  and  spoon  to  visiting  parties,  and  the 
"  Chancy"  of  that  day  was  prettier  than  that  of  to-day. 

The  high  prices  of  Food  depended  somewhat  upon  the 
scarcity  of  money,  as  well  as  upon  the  scarcity  of  food. 
In  1626,  when  Mr.  Allerton  went  to  England  upon  "busi 
ness  for  the  Plymouth  Company,  he  was  obliged  to  bor 
row  there  £200,  for  which  he  paid  30  per  cent,  interest.1 
In  "  New  England's  First  Fruits"  we  find  it  said, 

"But  you  have  no  money  there  ?" 

Ans. — "  It  is  true  we  have  not  much,  though  some  there 
is,  hut  we  have  those  staple  commodities  named,  that  will 
fetch  money  from  other  parts.  Ships,  fish,  iron,  pipe 
staves,  corne,  hever,  oyle,  etc.,  will  keep  us  with  money 
and  other  things  also."  "  We  can  trade  among  ourselves 
by  way  of  Exchange,  one  commodity  for  another,  and  soe 
doe  usually."  Yet  the  greed  for  gold  was  so  great  even 
then  (1624),  that  Bradford  says,  "  it  makes  men  rave  and 
cry  out,"  and  Eoger  Williams  said  much  the  same  thing. 
The  first  money  coined  in  New  England  was  struck  in 
the  year  1652  ;  this  was  the  Pine-tree  shilling,  a  few  of 
which  are  extant. 

SHIP-BUILDING  was  begun  early,  Governor  Winthrop's 
Bark,  called  the  "  Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  being  launched 
July  4,  1631.  In  1648  there  were  trading  to  Virginia 
seven  ships  from  New  England,  beside  some  twelve  from 
England,  and  twelve  from  Holland.2 

The  Hunters  at  once  grew  into  a  class  in 
New  England.      They  were  a  breed  by  them-    HUNTING. 
selves,  a  kind  of  cross  between  the  Puritan  and 
Indian,  with  all  the  "grit"   of  the  one,  and  lawless  love 
of  liberty  of  the  other.     They  were  at  first  the  friends  of 
the  savages,  lived  with  them  in  their  cabins,  and  with 
them  learned  the  ways  and  haunts  of  the  beasts  of  the 

1  Bradford's  Letter  Book,  M.  H.  0.,  vol.  iii. 

3  Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  210,  M.  H.C.,  vol.  i.,  p.  118. 


460  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1640. 

Forest.  Bear,  Deer,  Beaver,  Wolves,  and  Foxes  abound 
ed,  and  the  hunters  tracked,  trapped,  and  shot  ;  the  car 
cases  furnished  them  with  food,  and  the  pelts  brought 
them  money,  or  its  equivalent  in  powder,  lead,  brandy, 
and  clothes.  The  towns,  also,  paid  a  bounty  for  wolf's 
scalps,  which  were  nailed  up  on  the  Meeting-house.  Be 
sides  the  wild  beasts,  the  streams  and  ponds  then  abound 
ed  with  ducks,  geese,  and  fish,  and  it  was  not  easy  to 
starve  those  hardy  fellows.  Hunters'  blood  is  impatient 
of  routine  and  drudgery,  and  flows  quick  at  the  mention 
of  the  chase  or  adventure.  This  class  of  men  is  not  the 
kind  that  builds  houses,  and  hoards  wealth,  and  gathers 
in  cities,  and  divides  labor,  and  fosters  science,  and  loves 
Art  and  Literature.  The  hunter  is  competent  for  all  his 
wants  ;  he  builds  his  own  house  ;  he  raises  his  own  food  ; 
he  makes  his  own  clothes,  nets,  and  tools  ;  he  does  his 
own  thinking  ;  knows  nothing  of  books,  but  every  thing 
of  trees,  brooks,  mountains,  and  woodcraft  •  and  every 
foot-track  fires  his  imagination,  and  tells  a  story,  which 
keeps  his  eyes  from  sleep.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
boundless  free  forest,  developed  all  the  hunter  instincts  in 
this  class  of  men,  and  that  they  ranged  wide,  regardless 
of  Public  Opinion,  of  Schools,  and  of  "  Church  Privileges." 

Out  of  this  class  came  Captains  Stone  and  Oldham, 
who  were  killed  by  the  Indians — Captain  Underbill,  who 
kissed  his  neighbor's  wife,  and  "  got  his  religion  over  a 
pipe  of  tobacco" — Thomas  Morton,  of  Merry-mount,  and 
afterward  the  Bush-Bangers,  such  as  Stark,  and  Putnam, 
and  Allen,  and  Baker. 

The  Indians  merely  possessed  the  Continent  ;  the 
Hunters  were  the  pioneers  of  civilization,  who  cleared  the 
way  for  new  and  increasing  nations.  The  nations  came, 
to  put  all  things  to  USE,  for  the  support  of  man,  and  his 
ultimate  complete  and  perfect  development.  The  Hunt 
ers,  at  first  fraternized  with  the  Indians  ;  but  when  the 
interests  of  Whites  and  Indians  clashed,  they  turned  all 
their  skill  to  the  destruction  of  Indians,  which  before  had 


A.D.  1690.]      MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         461 

been  devoted  to  Bear  and  Deer  ;  and  their  superior  energy 
overcame  the  Red-man.  From  out  this  Hunter  class  came 
some  of  the  most  wary  and  indefatigable  bush-fighters, 
men  inured  to  danger,  so  that  when  war  came  in  the  next 
century,  bearing  down  upon  them  in  the  white-winged 
navy  of  England,  they  were  not  afraid  to  meet  it. 

The  Banks  which  stretch  along  the  New  En 
gland  coast,  beyond  Newfoundland,  abounded  FISHING. 
with  Cod,  Halibut,  and  Mackerel ;  and  in  catch 
ing  and  curing  these,  the  first  enterprises  were  engaged. 
The  Fishermen  were  brothers  to  the  Hunters  ;  one  ranged 
over  the  land,  the  other  over  the  seas.  Rude  huts  were 
clustered  along  the  coast,  sheds  were  made,  and  racks 
raised,  where  the  harvests  of  fish  could  be  dressed  and 
cured  for  the  European  markets.  Smacks  and  fishing- 
boats  were  built  in  every  bay,  and  when  the  fishing  season 
came,  swarmed  out  bold  and  reckless,  to  catch  their  finny 
prey.  The  Hunters  have  disappeared  from  New  England, 
but  the  Fishermen  still  inhabit  along  the  coast,  from  New 
Bedford  to  Cape  Race.  They  are  an  open-handed,  open- 
hearted,  free,  manly  set,  half  farmer,  half  fisherman,  am 
phibious,  often  reckless,  but  almost  always  honest.  They 
weaken  neither  New  England  nor  this  Nation. 

In  1793,  in  March,  a  codfish  was  sold  in  Newbury, 
weighing  ninety-eight  pounds,  five  and  a  half  feet  in  length, 
and  girth  at  the  thickest  part,  three  feet  four  inches.1 

WHALES  were  often  found  on  the  coasts,  and  were  at 
tacked  and  killed  by  people  in  boats.  The  Whale  Fishery 
originated  at  Nantucket  in  1690,  in  boats  from  the  shore. 
It  increased  steadily,  and  the  vessels  extended  their  ad 
ventures  to  the  coasts  of  G-uinea,  Brazil,  and  the  West 
Indies,  while  their  returns  varied  from  five  thousand  to 
thirty  thousand  barrels  annually.2 

Captains  David  Smith  and  Gamaliel  Collings,  of  Truro, 
were  the  first  who  adventured  to  the  Falkland  Islands  in 
pursuit  of  them  :  this  was  in  1774. 

1  Coffin's  Newbury.  *  Mass.  Hist.  ColL,  voL  iiL 


462  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1640. 

The  first  exports  were  mainly  furs  and  fish, 

EXPORTS       which  grew  steadily  in  importance  till  the  time 

ENGLAND,      of  the  Revolution.     "  The  best  sort  of  fish  is 

sent  to  Spain,  Portugal,  and  the  Straits  ;  the 

nett  proceeds  of  which  are  remitted  to  England.     Oil, 

Bone,    Masts  for  the  Royal  navy,    timber   of  all  kinds 

(which  is  now  sent  home  in  rafts),  ships  of  every  kind, 

pot-ash,  furs,  etc.,  etc.  ;   many  of  which  England  was 

obliged  to  other  nations  for  (before  New  England  was 

known),  are  the  immediate  exports  to  Great  Britain.     In 

return  for  all,  they  receive  the  manufactures  of  England, 

and  thereby  give  bread  to  thousands  of  British  Subjects. 

Thus  all  their  labor  centers  in  England,  except  their  daily 

food."1 

In  1648,  Winthrop  writes  to  his  son  that  the  iron  works 
go  on  well,  and  that  they  are  making  seven  tons  a  week, 
mostly  out  of  brown  earth  which  lies  under  the  bog  mine, 
and  that  "  their  bar  iron  is  as  good  as  Spanish." 

FREE  TRADE  seemed  little  understood  in  those  days. 
In  1639,  Robert  Keaine,  merchant,  was  fined  £200  for 
taking  too  large  profits  on  his  goods — "  sixpence  in  the 
shilling,  and  in  some  small  things,  above  two  for  one." 
He  was  thought  to  hold  false  principles,  such  as  : 

That  if  a  man  lost  in  one  commodity,  he  might  make  it 
up  in  another : 

That  a  man  might  buy  as  cheap  as  he  can,  and  sell  as 
dear  as  he  can,  etc. 

And  Mr.  Cotton  preached  a  sermon  upon  the  matter, 
which  apparently  did  nothing  to  clear  things  up. 

"  One  Taylor,  of  Linne,"  on  his  passage  over,  sold  the 
milk  of  his  cow  at  twopence  the  quart,  and  after  hearing 

sermon  upon  extortion,  went  distracted. 

WAGES  of  mechanics  were  fixed  by  the  Court  in  1630 
at  two  shillings  a  day ;  but  again  left  free,  by  order  of 
Court,  March  22,  1631.  When,  in  1640,  it  was  found 
that  workmen  would  move  to  where  their  wages  were 

1  A  Brief  Review,  &c.     London, 


a 


A.D.  1639.]        MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.      463 

better,  the  legal  limitation  was  removed,  and  towns  fixed 
their  own  rates,  if  they  pleased. 

In  1649,  the  municipal  regulations  of  Springfield,  in 
Massachusetts,  provided  that  the  wages  of  laborers  in 
winter  months  should  not  be  beyond  sixteen  pence,  and 
in  summer  twenty  pence  a  day ;  and  tailors  were  to  re 
ceive  but  twelve  pence.  It  was  also  a  fineable  offense  to 
stay  away  from  town  meetings,  or  to  refuse  to  receive 
office. 

When  John  Dunton  went  out  to  visit  the  Indians,  "  he 
carried  Madame  Brick,"  the  flower  of  Boston,  "  behind 
him  on  his  horse  ;"  who,  "  in  this  case,  proved  but  a  beau 
tiful  sort  of  luggage  to  me."  The  usual  way  of  going  from 
place  to  place,  was  on  foot  or  on  horseback. 

Very  few  wheeled  carriages  existed  till  near  the  time  of 
the  Revolution  ;  where  now  they  are  manufactured  by 
the  thousand,  and  sent  abroad  over  the  world. 

Rum  and  tobacco  seem  to  have  held  their 
usual  place  in  this  Colony  too  ;  a  boat-load  of 
stores  was  blown  up  in  1632  by  a  man  who  was  lighting 
his  pipe,  and  "  some  in  the  boat  were  so  drunk"  that  they 
did  not  wake.     In  1630,  Governor  Winthrop,  in  view  of 
the  "  inconveniences"  resulting  in  England  from  drinking 
of  healths,  restrained  it  at  his  own  table,  and  wished  oth 
ers  to  do  the  same,  and  it  grew  into  disfavor.     In  1639  a 
law  was  made  against  the  practice.     But  spite  of  all  laws 
drunkenness  increased  fearfully. 

The  Connecticut  laws  provided  that  no  man  should  be 
allowed  above  half  a  pint  of  wine  at  a  time,  or  should 
tipple  over  half  an  hour,  or  after  nine  of  the  clock  at 
night. 

Thomas  Morton's  song  at  the  raising  of  the  May-pole 
ran  thus  : 

"THE   SONGE. 

"  Drink,  and  be  merry,  merry,  boyes, 
Let  all  your  delight  be  in  the  Hymen's  joyes, 
So  to  Hymen  now  the  day  is  come, 
About  the  merry  May-pole  take  a  roome. 


464  NEW  ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1*729. 

Make  green  garlans,  bring  bottles  out, 
And  fill  sweet  nectar  freely  about ; 
Uncover  thy  head,  and  fear  no  harm, 
For  here  is  good  liquor  to  keepe  it  warme. 
Then  drink  and  be  merry,"  etc. 

They  soon  sent  this  roystering  blade  out  of  the  Colony. 
Besides  consumption,  which  prevailed  from 

DISEASES. 

the  beginning,  the  small-pox  raged  at  times, 
and  when  Cotton  Mather  introduced  inoculation,  and 
Doctor  Boylston  had  the  courage  to  inoculate  his  family, 
the  startled  public  cried  out,  "  That  they  should  wait 
their  Maker's  will  concerning  it,  and  not  force  a  disease 
upon  themselves  which  perhaps  they  might  otherwise 
escape."1  Vaccination  has  taken  the  place  of  inoculation, 
and  the  small-pox  is  almost  banished. 

In  Chalmers's  Political  Annals  is  a  "  curious 
BOSTON  IN      paper?"  and  in  it  such  facts  as  these  about 
Massachusetts  in  1673  : 

"  There  be — five  hundred  persons  worth  each  £3,000 — 
about  fifteen  hundred  families  in  Boston.  No  beggars  (!) 
Not  three  persons  put  to  death  for  theft  (annually). 
There  are  no  musicians  by  trade.  A  dancing-school  was 
set  up,  but  put  down."  Which  things  indicate  a  primi 
tive,  simple  state  of  society,  growing  naturally  toward 
strength  and  vigor. 

Some  of  the  WINTERS  seem  to  have  been  exceedingly 
severe,  such  as  are  now  quite  unknown. 

In  the  Winter  of  1741,  Francis  Lewis  drove  his  horse 
on  the  ice,  all  the  way  from  New  York  to  Barnstable.2  In 
the  year  1717,  the  year  of  the  great  snow,  it  fell  to  the 
depth  of  from  ten  to  twenty  feet.  Deers  were  killed  by 
wolves  ;  and  Winthrop  says,  "  we  lost  at  the  island  1,100 
sheep,  horses,  and  cows."  Twenty-eight  days  after  the 
storm,  two  sheep  were  taken  out  alive,  having  fed  on  the 
wool  of  the  others. 

In  1729,  was  a  great  snow  storm,  which  was  strangely 
varied  with  much  thunder  and  lightning. 

1  Description  of  Boston,  M.  H.  C.,  vol.  iii.          8  Boston  Post-Boy. 


1 1 


A.D.  1729.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.        465 

POVERTY  is  no  crime,  but  it  has  never  been  considered 
an  evidence  of  merit  in  New  England.  Every  person  was 
expected  to  support  himself,  by  industry  and  economy  ; 
and  nearly  all  did  it.  But  the  people  recognized  their  ob 
ligation  to  protect  paupers  from  outright  suffering' — no 
more  ;  and  each  town  took  such  action  as  it  saw  fit,  to 
provide  for  its  own  poor.  A  house  was  commonly  provided 
by  the  town,  and  an  overseer ;  or  some  person  in  the  town 
was  paid  a  sum  for  taking  care  of  the  poor,  he  making 
what  use  he  could  of  their  labor. 

It  was  the  practice  at  Lynn,  to  warn  every  new-comer, 
out  of  the  town,  formally.  Not  because  it  was  wished  or 
expected  that  they  would  go,  but  to  secure  the  town 
against  the  support  of  other  towns-poor,  in  case  they  should 
become  paupers.  But  sometimes  it  must  have  created 
surprise  ;  and  one  old  gentleman,  upon  being  warned  off 
from  Lynn,  consoled  his  wife,  by  saying, 

"It  is  not  so  very  desirable  a  place,  after  all  !" 

Thrift,  Chastity,  and  Sabbath-keeping,  were 
the  three  cardinal  virtues  of  New  England,  in     CHA*AOT**- 

o  /  I8TIC8. 

those  "  good  old  Colony  times."  That  the  peo 
ple  who  came  to  New  England,  were  bent  on  improving 
their  worldly  condition,  as  well  as  enjoying  their  religious 
worship,  no  one  need  doubt  ;  they  would  not  have  lain  out 
so  far,  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  the  Piscataqua, 
and  the  Kennebeck,  had  they  not  wanted  good  Meadow- 
land.  They  did  want  it,  and  they  were  right  in  wanting 
it  ;  and  the  desire  for  it  is  essential  to  a  healthy  individ 
ual  and  natural  growth.  The  individual  or  the  nation 
which  devotes  its  energies  to  the  pursuit  of  gold  alone,  or 
to  the  engrossing  hazards  and  demands  of  Trade,  will 
surely  come  to  naught.  Let  the  forced  and  unnatural  lives 
of  the  money-dealing  Jews,  witness  this  ;  and  let  the  fate 
of  Tyre  and  Venice,  warn  us  at  this  day,  not  to  forget  the 
true  basis  of  Civilization.  Cut  off  from  the  associations 
of  land  and  farms,  men  lose  sight  of  the  Real  sources  of 
wealth,  and  forget  the  bountiful  mother,  who  bears  all  and 

20* 


466  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

nourishes  all.  Men  engaged  in  trade,  pride  themselves,  if 
by  any  art  or  combination,  they  succeed  in  gathering 
thousands  to  their  coffers,  rather  than  in  doing  fair  work 
for  fair  wages  ;  while  the  Farmer,  if  honest  and  true,  re 
joices,  when  by  skill  and  industry,  he  persuades  the  rugged 
earth  to  yield  her  fruits  in  abundance,  for  his  own  susten 
ance,  and  that  of  his  toiling  fellow-men.  He  knows  the 
times,  and  the  seasons,  the  sunshine  and  the  shower,  and 
does  not  forget  the  relations  of  man  to  nature  ;  so  also  does 
the  Fisherman — and  the  Miner,  though  less  perfectly.  They 
learn  that  Nature,  with  her  wealth  of  growth  and  variety 
of  beauty  is  not  naught ;  that  the  Forests  and  the  Mount 
ains,  the  Oceans  and  the  Tempests,  and  the  Plains  and 
the  Valleys,  are  something,  and  that  Gold  is  not  all  of 
Life.  Therefore,  let  every  man,  as  soon  as  he  can,  own  a 
little  land,  and  let  him  cultivate  it  well ;  as  they  did  in 
the  early  days  of  New  England. 

The  Meadow-lands,  which  lie  along  the  New  England 
rivers,  tempted  the  settlers  away  from  Boston  and  Ply 
mouth,  where  the  ground  is  not  fertile,  but  sterile  ;  and 
there  through  a  century,  they  cultivated  their  corn,  with 
the  hoe  in  one  hand,  and  the  musket  in  the  other.  Now 
and  then  the  war-whoop  startled  them,  and  a  life  was 
lost ;  but  was  not  even  this  better  than  hopeless  poverty, 
and  spiritual  starvation,  in  England  ? 

So  at  least  the  Puritans  thought.  There  was  manhood 
enough  then,  to  risk  something  to  gain  all,  and  to  secure 
a  better  future.  They  did  risk  and  they  did  gain  what 
they  wished. 

The  yellow  Indian-corn  shot  up  on  their  small  but  fertile 
plains,  the  grass  waved  in  their  eyes,  and  their  cattle 
lowed  on  a  thousand  hills  Spring  loosed  the  ice-bound 
earth,  and  all  men  went  to  their  labors  as  to  a  work  of 
love,  for  they  saw  their  reward  before  them.  Young  and 
old  worked  in  the  fields  ;  women  and  children  converted 
the  grassy  pastures  into  golden  butter ;  and  wove  the 
fleecy  wool  into  warm  clothing  for  winter.  The  summer 


A.D.  1690.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         467 

sun  shone  fiercely,  but  it  was  to  bless  them  with  ripened 
harvests  ;  and  when  the  autumn  came,  and  yellow  crops 
were  heaped  in  their  barns,  every  man  had  his  reward  ; 
and  he  knew  that  the  greater  share  would  not  be  taken 
for  taxes,  as  in  England,  to  support  the  army,  and  the 
court,  and  the  church  of  the  aristocracy  of  England. 

This  was  no  small  good,  and  the  student  of  New  En 
gland  history,  can  not  but  note  how  jealous  the  people 
were,  even  of  Winthrop,  fearing  lest  in  some  way  an 
upper-class  might  fix  itself  on  their  necks. 

When  the  corn  was  gathered,  the  heaviest 
work   was   done,    and   anxious   fear  was  past.       HUSKING. 
Then  in  every  neighborhood,  the  good  custom 
was,  for  the  young  men  and  the  blooming  girls  to  gather 
in  troops,  and  under  the  roof-tree,  on  the  broad  barn- 
floors,  to  strip  the  husks  from  the  ripened  ears. 

"  Many  hands  make  light  work/'  was  their  proverb  ; 
and  their  hearts  were  as  light  as  their  work  ;  both  were  in 
harmony  with  the  glorious  autumn  world.  In  the  clear, 
crisp,  November  days,  this  went  on  from  house  to  house. 
Does  the  reader  of  to-day  suppose  that  it  was  done 
with  long  faces,  sad  eyes,  and  straitened  and  distressed 
consciences  ?  That  they  began  with  prayer,  and,  sitting 
stiff  and  straight  on  the  barn-floors,  they  then  enlivened 
the  monotony  of  their  work,  with  texts  of  Scripture,  and 
mutual  exhortations  to  godliness  ?  That  these  determined 
Puritans  were  indeed  no  longer  human  ? 

Such  was  not  the  case — by  no  means,  Jokes,  broad 
and  rich,  went  round  the  company  ;  and  the  dusky  light 
in  the  old  barn-roof,  was  purified  with  peals  of  laughter, 
and  flashes  of  wit ;  there  the  hay  could  not  grow  musty, 
but  was  sweet,  and  carried  its  sweetness  through  the  rich 
udders,  till  at  last  it  came  home  again,  and  clustered 
around  the  hearts  of  those  boys  and  girls  to  keep  their 
sympathies  and  memories  young. 

At  this  distance  along  the  way  of  time,  it  will  do  no 
harm  to  mention  a  fact,  which  some  seem  to  have 


468  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

forgotten,  in  thinking  or  writing  of  the  Puritans — it  is 
this  : 

Most  of  these  young  people  were  in  love  with  one  an 
other  !  Startling  as  this  may  seem,  to  those  who  consid 
ered  the  Puritans  as  made  of  oak  and  iron,  strung  together 
with  sinews  drawn  from  Calvin's  Institutes,  it  is  neverthe 
less  true  ;  and  researches  into  the  past  prove  to  me,  that 
Cupid  shot  his  shafts  right  and  left  in  New  England,  and 
that  they  quivered  in  hearts  as  soft  and  as  true,  as  if  they 
had  beat  in  "  Merry  Old  England."  Here  and  there,  one 
more  awkward,  or  more  ugly,1  or  more  shy  than  the  rest, 
stood  alone  ;  but  every  bird  finds  its  mate,  and  there 
every  one  found  his  fellow.  Every  one — for  land  was 
plenty,  and  marriage  easy. 

When  the  work  was  done,  and  the  supper-table,  spread 
by  clean  and  industrious  hands,  loaded  with  loaves  of 
bread  and  cake,  with  seed-cakes  and  dough-nuts,  with 
pies  and  with  tarts — sustained  with  pitchers  of  milk,  and 
flagons  of  beer — when  this  table  needed  their  presence, 
then  they  went  to  do  justice  to  it ;  and  many  a  sweet 
thing  was  whispered  behind  a  dough-nut,  and  many  a 
"  sentiment"  lurked  in  a  pie.  Good,  "  round,  romping 
games"  closed  up  the  Husking  and  the  evening,  and  then 
the  sweethearts  wended  their  way  homeward,  in  the  soft 
light  of  the  autumn  moon.  To  tell  the  whispered  words, 
and  explain  the  singular  sounds  made  in  the  shadows  of 
those  old  Puritan  "  stoops,"  is  not  the  province  of  the 
Historian  ;  he  must  dwell  upon  Politics  and  War,  and 
leave  such  things  to  the  imaginations  of  the  young,  and 
the  memories  of  the  old. 

Nor  can  the  Historian  dwell  long  upon  the  holiday, 
which  in  the  summer  or  autumn  weather,  those  Puritan 
farmer  families  loved  to  enjoy,  in  a  trip  to  the  shores  of 
the  sea.  They  went  to  it  as  the  buffaloes  went  to  the 
licks — to  salt  ;  and  the  sea  yielded  of  its  fruits  ;  oysters 
and  clams,  fish  and  lobsters,  were  pleasant  to  the  palates 

1  New-English  for  "homely." 


A.D.  1690.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         469 

of  Puritans.  And  the  wonders  of  the  broad  and  great 
deep,  were  home  in  upon  the  souls  of  the  little  children, 
who  spent  the  day  well  among  the  rude  rocks,  and  along 
the  sandy  beaches. 

The  reader  would  hardly  excuse  the  Historian  who 
should  devote  his  pages  to  a  full  description  of  those 
"  Spinnings,"  where  every  woman,  bearing  her  "wheel/' 
went  forth  to  a  neighbor's,  and  sitting  together,  in  a  single 
afternoon  spun  out  knots  upon  knots  of  thread,  to  be 
woven  into  linen,  and  whitened  into  sheets,  for  the  outfit 
of  the  coming  bride.  Nor  will  his  assertion  be  fully  be 
lieved,  that  without  the  stimulating  cups  of  fragrant  tea, 
the  noise  of  tongues  silenced  the  hum  of  revolving  wheels 
the  live-long  day. 

Time  would  fail,  too,  to  describe  at  large  the  sleigh- 
rides  which  jingled  all  over  New  England,  in  those  winter 
days  and  nights.  Eude  sledges  made  of  saplings,  an 
swered  every  purpose  ;  and  wrapped  in  blankets,  and  bed 
ded  in  straw,  sweethearts  and  wives  enjoyed  the  exhilara 
tion  of  New  England  winter  weather,  and  aired  their 
charms. 

These  things  are  touched  upon,  not  because  they  are 
worthy  the  attention  of  that  singular  myth,  called  "  The 
Dignity  of  History,"  whom  all  respect,  but  because  they 
serve  to  show,  that  the  straitened  New  England  Puri 
tans  were  fellow-creatures,  with  large  and  ready  sym 
pathies. 

The  New  England  "  Thanksgiving"  has  been  men 
tioned  ;*  and  a  few  words  may  here  be  given  to  their 
weekly  holy-day — to  Sunday,  THE  SABBATH  DAY. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  work — week-day  labor — 
was  ended.  The  struggle  and  anxiety  for  the  supply  of 
daily  bread,  were  suspended,  and  both  body  and  mind 
subsided  from  the  six  days'  activity,  and  found  rest  and 
strength  in  change.  The  coming  day  was  holy  time,  sa 
cred  to  the  Lord,  and  was  to  be  devoted  to  his  service  in 

1  Vol.  i.,  ch.  xvi.   . 


470  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

customary  religious  exercises.  Prayers,  in  most  houses, 
began  the  day,  and  no  more  work  was  done  than  barely  to 
prepare  food  for  themselves  and  their  cattle.  Few  steps 
were  taken,  and  there  was  little  talking,  and  that  in  a 
subdued  voice.  Personal  cleanliness,  and  a  decent  garb, 
were  universal  in  New  England  on  Sunday  ;  and  all  peo 
ple,  when  the  sound  of  drum  or  stroke  of  bell  called  them 
to  the  meeting-house,  went  out  of  their  homes,  serious, 
quiet,  and  clean. 

They  went  twice  on  Sunday  to  meeting,  and  they  lis 
tened  reverently  to  prayers  an  hour  long,  and  to  the 
hymns  of  the  Bay  Psalm-book,  and  to  sermons  of  two 
hours  in  duration  ;  because  they  earnestly  wished  to 
praise  the  Lord,  and  to  save  their  souls.  If  any  fell 
asleep,  as  some  did,  it  was  because  tired  nature's  demands 
could  not  be  resisted.  They  laid  aside  their  hay  and  their 
harvest,  their  cares  and  their  bargains,  and  attended  to 
the  intellectual  and  spiritual  exercises  of  the  day. 

The  Puritans  believed,  as  the  Jews  did,  that  they  were 
a  peculiar  people,  dear  to  God  ;  and  they  loved  to  see,  in 
the  History  of  the  Jews,  experiences  like  their  own,  and 
to  comfort  themselves  in  the  successes  of  that  nation. 
However  each  individual  might  have  bewailed  his  own 
unworthiness,  he  held  that  he  was  eminently  capable  of 
salvation  ;  and  that  the  Puritans  were  the  Saints,  and 
that  the  Saints  should  rule  the  earth ;  and  they  based 
their  State  upon  that  idea.  Whatever  Formality,  or  Nar 
rowness,  or  Phariseeism,  or  Persecution,  grew  out  of  it, 
there  is  no  question  that  this  idea  elevated  the  whole 
body  in  their  own  estimation,  inspired  them  with  strong 
individuality  and  self-respect,  and  impelled  them  so  to 
conduct  themselves,  as  to  be  worthy  of  their  position  and 
their  God. 

•  This  is  the  key  to  the  New  England  character,  and  has 
produced  in  New  England  both  bad  and  good  results  j 
but  few  in  this  day  will  doubt  which  preponderates. 

These  Sabbath  sermons  sharpened  the  intellect,  and  led 


A.D.  1642.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         471 

to  infinite  talk  and  discussion  ;  tedious  and  strange  as 
many  of  them  now  seem,  they  kept  alive  the  better  part 
of  man,  and  saved  them  then  from  degenerating  into  the 
groveling  Materialism,  which  even  yet  sinks  the  masses  of 
Europe  below  the  influences  of  improvement  and  true 
civilization. 

With  the  sunset  of  Sunday  the  Sabhath  ended,  and 
stillness  and  silence  were  past.  The  subdued  and  tired 
children  burst  forth  and  ran  like  colts  ;  the  boys  to  the 
pasture-lot  to  bring  home  the  cows,  and  the  girls  to  the 
kitchen  to  prepare  the  cheerful  supper.  The  old  spent  the 
evening  in  discussing  the  sermons,  or  their  neighbors  ; 
and  the  youth  welcomed  it,  for  it  was  the  time  when 
"  courting"  was  indulged  in,  and  then  every  swain,  with 
rose  in  buttonhole,  sought  his  sweetheart. 

With  this  exalted,  even  exaggerated  value  of  the  indi 
vidual  entertained  in  New  England,  it  was  not  possible 
that  men  or  women  entertaining  it  should  yield  them 
selves  to  corrupt  or  debasing  practices.  CHASTITY  was, 
therefore,  a  cardinal  virtue,  and  the  abuse  of  it,  a  crying 
sin,  to  be  punished  by  law,  and  by  the  severe  reproof  of 
all  good  citizens.  Among  the  better  people,  this  virtue 
was  of  the  first  water,  though  its  absence  was  too  common 
among  the  poor  and  reckless,  there  as  elsewhere. 

Winthrop  gives  some  instances  of  melancholy  and  dis 
traction,  growing  out  of  an  excessive  anxiety  about  the 
future  state  of  the  soul  and  the  fear  of  hell,  which  in 
some  cases  produced  disastrous  results  ;  such  as  the  fol 
lowing  : 

In  1642  a  cooper's  wife  of  Hingham,  having  been  long 
in  a  "  sad  melancholic  distemper/'  carried  her  little  child, 
three  years  old,  to  the  creek,  and  threw  it  into  the  mud 
and  water.  The  child  scrambled  out,  and  taking  up  its 
clothes,  came  to  its  mother,  who  was  sitting  by.  She 
again  threw  it  in,  as  far  as  she  could,  but  "  it  pleased 
God,"  that  a  young  man  coming  by,  saved  it.  The  rea 
son  she  gave  was,  that  she  herself  had  sinned  against 


472  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

the  Holy  Ghost,  and  she  wished  to  save  her  child  from 
misery. 

An  excess  of  spiritual  consciousness  is  sure  to  produce 
disease  and  mischief,  visible  in  the  present  as  well  as  in 
the  past. 

In  contrast  to  this,  it  is  mentioned  that  there  was  a 
public  duel  of  WIT  (1756)  between  Jonathan  Go  wen  of 
Lynn,  and  Joseph  Emerson  of  Keading.  It  was  held  out 
of  doors,  and  was  attended  by  crowds.  Dr.  Perkins  says 
Gowen's  wit  "  was  beyond  all  human  imagination  ;"  and 
Emerson  was  completely  foiled.  They  were  a  pair  of 
those  wags  which  may  be  found  in  almost  any  village  of 
New  England. 

A  singularly  large  number  of  the  people  of  New  En- 
glur.d  seem  to.  have  inherited  from  their  ancestors  a  sort  of 
arrested  development  of  the  nasal  organs.  So  many  of 
their  speakers,  public  as  well  as  private,  indulge  in  an 
unmelodious  intonation,  that  one  is  led,  for  want  of  a 
better  reason,  to  conclude  that  the  nose  in  New  England 
does  not  reach  perfection.  Surely  no  preacher  who  should 
hear  himself  preach  "  through  his  nose,"  would  consider 
it  a  superior  method.  But  why  this  peculiarity  should 
have  come  in  with  Puritanism,  no  one  now  can  tell. 

Another  peculiar  trait  of  New  England  character,  which 
seems  to  date  far  back,  has  grown  out  of  the  caution  of 
the  people.  They  say,  "  I  guess"  rather  than  "  I  know." 
Those  who  have  been  in  England  know  well  the  dogmatic 
character  and  conversation  of  the  people  :  their  descend 
ants  in  New  England  may  be  no  less  positive  in  their 
opinions,  but  they  have  come  to  a  habit  of  guessing  at  the 
truth,  which  is  almost  infallible.  Guessing  matches  once 
prevailed,  when  he  who  guessed  nearest  to  the  weight  of 
a  good  fat  hog,  won  the  prize. 

A  proclivity  to  trade  seems  to  have  been  developed 
among  this  people  to  a  singular  degree  ;  and  sharp  bar 
gains  are  now  often  described  as  Yankee  practice.  Many 
curious  stories  exist  about  the  "  swopping"  and  trading 


A.D.  1690.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         473 

habits  of  New  England,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  re 
peat  here.  One  such  is  told  of  a  "  remarkably  conscien 
tious"  man.,  who  rarely  missed  his  bargain  ;  but  he  said 
"  that  if  any  body  cheated  him,  his  conscience  would  not 
let  him  rest  till  he  had  made  it  right,  and  cheated  some 
body  else  i  abeout'  the  same  amount."  Widely  as  the 
Jews  are  scattered,  their  absence  from  New  England  has 
been  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  in  that,  highly  gifted  as 
they  are  in  bargains  and  trade,  their  superiors  exist  there, 
and  they  must  surely  come  to  want. 

The  Thrift  and  Piety  of  the  New  England  Character 
may  be  illustrated  by  a  simple  incident,  which  happened 
within  this  century. 

It  was  near  the  neck  of  Cape  Cod,  that  a  woman,  dressed 
in  profound  mourning,  got  into  the  stage-coach.  She  said 
nothing,  and  seemed  absorbed  in  grief.  After  a  time,  one 
of  the  passengers,  a  woman  with  active  sympathies  and  a 
keen  spirit  of  investigation,  said  to  the  mourner  : 

"  Appear  to  be  in  affliction,  ma'am  ?" 

"  Yes,"  was  the  brief  reply. 

"  Recent  affliction  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Loss  of  relatives  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Perhaps  your  father  's  dead  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Your  husband,  too,  may-be  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  And  your  only  son  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Were  they  lost  at  sea  ?" 

"  No." 

"  Where  did  they  die  ?" 

"  At  the  South." 

"  Were  they  all  three  hopefully  pious  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  We]l,  have  you  got  their  chests  home  ?" 


474  NEW   ENGLAND    HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

"  Yes." 

"  Now,  then,  if  they  were  hopefully  pious,  and  you  have 
got  their  chests  home,  you  have-a-great-deal-to-be-thank- 
ful-for  !" 

There  was  not  a  smile  in  the  coach,  for  all  respected  the 
mourner's  tears. 

We  have  now  passed  over  three  quarters  of  a 
Century  of  the  good  old  times  of  New  England. 
We  have  seen  the  hunted  Puritans  established 
through  much  suffering,  along  the  Atlantic 
shore  j  their  churches  formed,  their  laws  established,  their 
circle  completed.  Heresy  has  been  grappled  with,  and 
Eoger  Williams,  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  and  Samuel  Gorton  are 
banished  ;  the  Quakers  hanged,  and  driven  away  ;  the 
English  Hierarchy  have  not  been  able  to  establish  their 
rule  in  New  England  ;  but  Massachusetts  has  lost  her  old 
independence,  and  for  another  three  quarters  of  a  century 
is  to  be  wrestling  with  the  domineering  Ministry  of  En 
gland,  and  to  grow  strong  in  the  struggle.  Those  ancient 
copper-colored  tribes  have  disappeared  ;  Miantonomo  and 
Canonicus,  and  lyanough  and  Philip  are  dead,  lying  in 
unknown,  unhonored  graves. 

But  through  all  this  jar  and  friction,  the  people  of  New 
England  have  steadily  improved  in  knowledge,  and  wealth, 
and  strength,  and  virtue.  Their  homes  are  the  best  in  the 
world,  and  education  and  decency  exist  as  they  exist  nowhere 
else  in  the  known  world.  Yet  justly  as  her  past  has  been 
praised,  who  would  wish  now  to  go  backward  to  that  time? 
It  is  a  glorious  fact  of  the  human  mind,  that  it  forgets 
the  evils  and  discomforts  of  the  past,  and  remembers  its 
enjoyments  and  good  things  :  it  is  because  the  Good  is  of 
God,  is  perennial,  and  is  positive  ;  while  Evil  is  only  the 
absence  of  Good,  and  cannot  poison  the  Memory  of  a 
healthy  mind.  Feeling  acutely  present  struggles  and  mean 
nesses,  minds  of  a  certain  sentimental  cast  are  apt  to 
sigh  for  the  good  old  times.  History  everywhere  shows, 
that  there  were  no  such  times  ;  and  even  in  full  view  of 


A.D.  1690.]       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         475 

our  own  mercenary  and  time-serving  politicians,  and  Chris 
tians,  and  cotton-spinners,  no  one,  "  sitting  clothed,  and 
in  his  right  mind,"  will  mourn  for  the  past  of  Old,  or  of 
New  England.  He  will  be  resolute  in  the  Present  time, 
and  hope  and  work  for  the  better  Future. 

No — we  look  at  the  present  of  New  England,  and  do 
not  regret  the  past,  however  full  of  promise  it  may 
have  been.  Good  morals,  and  good  manners,  and  good 
living,  have  steadily  grown  with  her  growth,  and  are  now 
common  there  and  strong.  Gross  crimes  against  nature 
are  no  longer  known  ;  drunkenness,  with  poverty  and  its 
army  of  evils  and  vices,  have  almost  disappeared.  Comfort 
is  universal,  and  the  homes  of  the  workmen  are  musical 
with  the  voices  of  civilized  children,  in  harmony  with  the 
strings  of  the  piano  or  guitar.  The  commonest  houses 
are  painted,  and  carpeted  floors  welcome  the  soft  tread  of 
their  owners  ;  the  rose-bush  and  honey-suckle  bloom  in 
the  door-yard,  where  once  was  the  pig-pen  or  wood-pile  ; 
the  time  of  labor  is  reduced  to  ten  hours  a  day,  and  wages 
of  men  are  good  ;  the  rights  of  women  are  more  and  more 
respected  ;  every  one  can  read  and  write,  and  Literature 
and  Art  are  beginning  to  assert  their  powers,  as  superiors 
to  greed  and  gold  ;  few  exaggerated  fortunes  curse  New 
England,  and  they  are  soon  dissipated  by  just  laws  of  in 
heritance,  which  now  refuse  a  bounty  to  the  luck  of  being 
first  born  ;  a  liberal  state  of  feeling  toward  sects  (except, 
perhaps,  the  Catholic)  prevails  ;  the  bitterness  of  religious 
rivalry  is  passed,  and  everywhere  more  genial  and  hearty 
and  kindly  feelings  are  overcoming  the  reserved  and  stiff 
manners  presented  to  strangers.  Surely  no  one  should  re 
gret  that  his  home  in  New  England  is  in  the  present  day, 
rather  than  in  the  past  ;  and  no  sound-hearted,  strong- 
minded  man  will  forget  the  good  lessons  of  the  past,  and 
that  he  too  must,  as  her  fathers  did,  jealously  and  per 
sistently  watch  the  encroachments  of  Despotism,  and  de 
fend  his  rights,  at  whatever  cost,  against  the  centralizing 
tendencies  of  Place-hunters,  and  the  National  Executive. 


476  NEW   ENGLAND   HISTORY.  [A.D.  1690. 

The  present  is  better  than  the  past,  as  the  future  must 
be  better  than  the  present. 

In  the  coming  volume  we  shall  therefore  see  the  fur 
ther  struggles  of  this  people  toward  Liberty  and  Independ 
ence. 


END  OF   VOL.   I. 


BOOKS  CONSULTED  OR  QUOTED. 


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American  Archives. 

A  Defense  of  the  Ministers'  Refusal  of  Sub 
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etc.  Imp.  1607. 

Allen's  Biographical  Dictionary. 

Ashton's  Memoir — Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 

Annals  of  Providence. 

Adams's  Annals  of  Portsmouth. 

Anderson's  History  of  Colonial  Church. 

A  Review  of  the  Military  Operations  in 
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Allen's  Narrative  of  his  Capture,  1779. 

Adams's  Diary. 

A  Narrative  of  the  Excursion  ard  Ravages 
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Aldeu's  American  Epitap'hs. 

Beamish's  Discovery  of  North  America  by 
the  Northmen. 

Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation 
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Bancroft's  History  of  United  States. 

Baylie's  Memoir. 

Bradford's  Letters— M.  H.  Coll. 
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Belknap's  American  Biography. 

Belknap's  History  of  New  Hampshire. 

Bowen's  Documents  of  the  Constitution. 

Boudinot's  Star  of  the  West. 

Baldwin's  Annals  of  Yale  College. 

Bay  Psalm  Book. 

Boston  "  News  Letter,"  1704. 

Bacon's  Historical  Discourses. 

Boston  "  Post  Boy." 

Barstow's  History  of  New  Hampshire. 

Brattle's  Candid  Account  of  the  Salem 
Witchcraft— M.  H.  Coll. 

Barry's  History  of  Harvard. 

Barber's  Historical  Collections. 

Bushnell's  Speech  for  Connecticut,  1837. 

Beverly's  Virginia. 

Boston  Evening  Post,  1755. 

Botta's  History  of  the  War  of  Independ 
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Bishop's  New  England  Judged. 

Backus's  History  of  New  England. 

Bradford's  History  of  Boston. 

Crantz's  History  of  Greenland,  1767. 
Corbett — An  Account  of  the  Principles  and 

Practices  of  several  Nonconformists,  etc., 

1682. 

Cotton's  Account— M.  H.  Coll. 
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Cradock'8  Letter— M.  H.  Coll. 


Chalmers's  Political  Annals. 

Coit's  Puritanism,  or  a  Churchman's  De 
fense. 

Clapp's  Letter— M.  IT.-  Coll. 

Church's  Indian  Wars. 

Coffin's  History  of  Xewbury. 

Clarke's  "111  News  from  New  England," 
165-2. 

Calkins's  History  of  Norwich. 

Calef's  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World. 

Campbell's  Historical  Account  of  New 
York. 

Carver's  Travels. 

Chauncey's  Thoughts  on  the  State  of  Re 
ligion  in  New  England. 

Connecticut  Journal.  1775. 

Cooper's  Election  Sermon,  1756. 

Copley's  History  of  Slavery. 

Clarkson's  Essay :  London,  1786. 

Chandler's  Appeal,  1758. 

Curwen's  Journal. 

Colonial  Records. 

Colton's  Way  of  the  Churches,  1645. 

Calender's  Discourse  on  Rhode  Island,  etc. 

Cushing's  History  of  Newburyport. 

Chalmers's  History  of  Revolt  of  American 
Colonies. 

Dudley's  Letter  to  the  Countess  of  Lincoln. 

D  wight's  Travels. 

Doolittle's  Narrative. 

Drake's  History  of  Boston. 

Dunton's  Journal— M.  H.  Coll. 

Drake's  Notes. 

Dwisht's  Discourse  on  Slavery.  1794. 

Dearborn's  Bunker  Hill  Battle. 

Eliot's  Passages  in  History  of  Liberty. 

Eliot's  Biographical  Dictionary. 

Elton's  Life  of  Roger  Williams. 

Endicott's  Life  of  Endicott. 

Eliot— "The  Day-breaking  if  not  the  Sun- 
rising  of  the  Gospel,  etc.,"  1647. 

Eliot— "A  Late  and  Further  Manifesta 
tion,  etc."  1655. 

Eliot's  Indian  Bible. 

Eaton — "A  Defense  of  Sundry  Positions, 
etc.,"  1645. 

Eccentric  Biography :  Worcester,  1804. 

Edwarde's  Works.     Ed.  1808. 

Elliott's  Toussaint  1'Ouverture. 

Emerson's  English  Traits. 

Everett's  Life  ^of  John  Stark. 

Francis's  Life  of  Eliot, 
Force's  Tracts. 

Francis's  History  of  Watertown. 
Felt's  History  ot%  Salem. 


478 


BOOKS  CONSULTED  OK  QUOTED. 


Franklin's  Autobiography. 
Felt's  Massachusetts  Currency. 
Frothingham's  Siege  of  Boston,  1849. 
Farmer  and  Moore's  Historical  Collections. 

Gorton's  Works,  1646. 

Gorge's  America,  1659. 

Grote's  History  of  Greece. 

Gordon's  History  of  New  Jersey. 

Grahame's  History  of  United  States. 

Gervinus's  Introduction. 

Gray's  Essay. 

Gammers  Life  of  Williams. 

Gorton's  "  Simplicities  Defense." 

Gookins's  Account— M.  II.  Coll. 

Gyles's  Memoirs. 

Griswold's  Female  Poets  of  America. 

Godwin's  Lives  of  the  Necromancers,  1834. 

Godwin  and  Granville's  Sadducismus  Tri- 

umphans,  17'26. 
Greene's  Life  of  General  Greene. 

Hubbard's  History  of  New  England. 

Havens's  Int.  to  Mass.  Records. 

Hunter's  Letter  in  M.  II.  Coll. 

Hall's  New  England  Discourse,  1847. 

Hazard's  Collection. 

Hutchinson's  Collection. 

HutHiinson's  History  of  Mass.  Bay. 

Hildreth's  History  of  United  States. 

Hinman's  Early  Settlers  of  Connecticut. 

Hubbard's  Indian  Wars. 

Iligginson — New  England  Plantation. 

Homer's  History  of  Cambridge. 

Ilolmes's  Annals. 

Holland's  History  of  Western  Massachu 
setts. 

Hutchinson's  Essay  Concerning  Witchcraft, 
1718. 

Hobby's  Inquiry  into  the  Itineracy  of  Mr. 
George  Whitefield,  etc.,  1785. 

Hollister's  History  of  Connecticut. 

Higginson's  New  England's  Plantation. 

Humphrey's  Life  of  Putnam. 

Johnson's  Wonder-working  Providence. 

Josselyn — Voyages. 

Journals  of  Congress. 

Johnson's  History  of  New  England. 

Keyser's  Religion  of  the  Northmen. 
Knowles's  Life  of  Roger  Williams. 
Kingsley's  HistoricalDiscourse,  1838. 

Lucas's  Charters. 
Lechford's  Plain  Dealing,  1641. 
Lewis's  History  of  Lynn. 
Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution. 
Lord  Bishops  none  of  the  Lord's  Bishops, 
1640. 

Mather's  Apology  for  the  Liberties  of  the 

Churches,  1738. 
Mauditt's  Brief  Review.  1774. 
Morton's  Memorial  of  New  England. 
Massachusetts  Historical  Collection. 
Mourt's  Relation,  1622. 
Moore's  Governors. 
Mather's  Magnalia. 

Macsparren's  America  Dissected,  1752. 
Mason's  History  of  Pequot  War,  1736. 
Morell's  Poem  onNew  England— M.  H.Coll. 


!  Mather's  Letter  to  Lord  Barrington,  1718. 

Mather's  Memorable  Providences,  1689. 
1  Mather's  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World. 
,  McGregor's  Progress  of  America. 
•  Minot's  History  of  Massachusetts. 
;  Mayhew's  Discourse  upon  Non-Resistance, 
1750. 

Macpherson's  Annals. 

Massachusettensis,  1776. 

Neal's  History  of  New  England. 

"New  Haven's  Settling  in  New  England 
I      etc.,"  1656. 

j  "  New  England's  Jonas  Cast  Up." 
I  New  England  Courant,  1721. 
I  New  England  Magazine. 
'  Norton— Heart  of  New  England  Rent. 

Old  Men's  Tears  for  their  own  Declension, 

1691. 
Oldmixon's  British  Empire  in  America. 

Pontopoddian's  History  of  Norway,  1753. 

Prince's  Chronology. 

Purchas's  Pilgrims. 

Plymouth  Records. 

Plymouth  Book  of  Laws,  1671. 

Penhallow's  Indian  Wars. 

Peters's  History  of  Connecticut. 

Peterson's  History  of  Rhode  Island. 

Philip's  Life  of  Whitefleld. 

Pitkin's  Statistics. 

Palfrey's  Life  of  Palfrey. 

Philogathos — A  Poem   Commemorative  of 

Gone,  Whaley  and  Dixwell,  1793. 
Price's  Boscawen. 

Quincy's  History  of  Harvard  College. 

Rafn's  Antiquitates  Americans. 

Rafn's  Memoir  sur  la  Decouverte  de  1'Amer- 

ique  au  dixieme  Siecle,  1843. 
Robertson's  America. 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Collections. 
Rhode  Island  Colony  Records. 
Rowlandson's  Narrative  of  Her  Captivity, 

etc. 

Records  of  the  United  Colonies. 
Rogers's  North  America,  1765. 
Ramsay's  American  Revolution. 
Randolph's  Memoirs  of  Jefferson,  1829. 

Stowell's  History  of  Puritans. 

Staples's  History  of  Rhode  Island. 

Sewall's  History  of  the  Quakers. 

Stiles's  Judges. 

Shepard— The  Clear  Sunshine  of  the  Gos 
pel,  1648. 

Shute's  Gov.  Letter— M.  II.  Coll. 

Scotto— A  Narrative  of  the  Planting  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  1694. 

Smith's  Description  of  New  England. 

Smith's  History  of  New  York. 

Shirley's  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
1746. 

Stillman's  Election  Sermon,  1770. 

Sargent's  History. 

Slide's  Vermont  State  Papers. 

Sumner's  White  Slavery. 

Sparks's  Franklin. 

Sabine's  American  Loyalists,  1847. 

Sparks's  American  Biography. 


BOOKS    CONSULTED    OR    QUOTED. 


479 


Swett's  Bunker  Hill  Battle.  1827. 
Secret  Journals  of  Congress. 
Sparks's  Washington. 
Snow's  History  of  Boston. 
Stoddard's  Appeal  to  the  Learned,  1709. 

The  Stone-throwing  Devil,  169S. 
Tegner's  Frithiofs  Saga,  1825. 
Tbacher's  History  of  Plymouth. 
Thornton's  Landing  at  (Jape  Ann,  1854. 
TrumbuH's  History  of  Connecticut. 
Thatcher's  Indian  Biography. 
Thomas's  History  of  Printing. 
Traits  of  the  Tea  Party. 
The   Testimony  of  the   President,  etc.,  of 

Harvard  Colfege  against  the  Rev.  George 

Whitefield,  1744. 

The  Tyrannical  Libertyman,  1795. 
Tudor's  Life  of  Otis. 
Trumbull's  Reminiscences,  1841. 

Updyke's    History    of    the    Narragansett 

Church. 
Upham's  Second  Century  Discourse. 

Valentine's  History  of  New  York. 

Warhurton's  Divine  Legation. 

Wheaton's  History  of  the  Northmen,  1831. 

Winslow's  Relation. 

Window's  Good  News,  1624. 

Winslow's  "  Glorious  Progress  of  the  Gos 
pel,  etc.,"  1649. 

Winslow'j*  "New  England's  Salamander," 
1647. 


Wilson. 

Winthrop's  Journal. 

White's  Brief  Relation— Chron.  of  Pil. 

Wood's  New  England  Prospect. 

Ward's  Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam. 

Williams's  "Bloody  Tenent." 

Williams's  Letter  to  Mason— M.  H.  Coll. 

Williams' b  Fox  digged  out  of  his  Burrow. 

Williams's  Key. 

Walsh's  Appeal. 

Williamson's  History  of  Maine. 

Weld's  Rise,  Reign,  and  Ruin  of  the  Anti- 
nomians,  1644. 

Ward's  History  of  Shrewsbury. 

Whitfield  — "The  Light  Appearing  More 
and  More,  etc.,"  1651. 

Williams's  Redeemed  Captive. 

Washburn's  Judicial  History  of  Massachu 
setts. 

Worthington's  History  of  Dedham. 

Woolscy's  Discourse,  1850. 

Wheelo'ck's  Plain  and  Faithful  Narrative  of 
the  Indian  School  at  Lebanon,  1763. 

Wigstlesworth's  "Day  of  Doom." 

Wright's  Sorcery  and  Magic,  1851. 

Williams's  History  of  Vermont. 

Whitefield's  Journals. 

Whitefield's  Letter  to  the  President  of 
Harvard  College,  1745. 

Whittier's  Old  Portraits. 

Webster's  Discourse  on  Slavery. 

Weld's  Churches  of  New  England,  1692. 

Young's  Chronicles  of  Pilgrims. 
Young's  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 


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