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ROGER WILLIAMS

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SEP !9i9l7

Detail of Kogcr W illianis Statue,
Roger Williams Park, Providence

KOGER WILLIAMS

BY

MAY EMERY HALL /

Author of "Dutch Days," "Jan
and Betje," etc.

The Seal of Roger Williams

THE PILGRIM PRESS
BOSTON CHICAGO

GOPYRIQHT 1917

Bt frank M. SHELDON .

/

THE PILGRIM PRESS
BOSTON

©GI.A473575 "^ v [

FOREWORD

For much of the data contained in this
biography of Roger Williams, I am in-
debted to the following authorities :

Narragansett Club Publications;

Memoir of Roger Williams, by James D.
Knowles ;

Roger Williams: the Pioneer of Re-
ligious Liberty, by Oscar S. Straus;

Roger Wilhams, by Edmund J. Car-
penter;

Records of the Colony of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations ;

History of the State of Rhode Island, by
Samuel Greene Arnold;

Rhode Island: Its Making and Its
Meaning, by Irving Berdine Richman;

Providence in Colonial Times, by Ger-
trude Selwyn Kimball;

Annals of the Town of Providence, by
William R. Staples;

Winthrop's Journal.

My sincere thanks are due Mr. Howard

vi FOREWORD

M. Chapin, Librarian of the Rhode Island
Historical Society, for the illustrations of
the Charter House, statue of Roger Wil-
liams and the Roger Williams seal, also for
permission to photograph the Roger Wil-
liams compass, and for other substantial
assistance rendered in the preparation of
this little volume.

I desire, too, to express my thanks for
the story of the Roger Williams watch
given by Mr. Henry Russell Drowne of
New York City and photograph of the
same.

The Author.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

Foreword v

Introduction xi

I Out of the Shadows 3

II Westward, Ho! 15

III New Neighbors 23

IV The War of Words 38

V "A Corner for the Persecuted" . 52

VI The Pequot War 68

VII The Indian Key 80

VIII In Quest op the Charter ... 93

IX Narragansett Days 108

X The Charter on Trial 120

XI The Second Mission 128

XII Roger Williams as Colonial

President 142

XIII The Coming of the Quakers . . 156

XIV Roger Williams as Citizen . . . 169
XV King Philip's War 185

XVI Back to the Shadows 200

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Detail of Roger Williams Statue Frontispiece

FACINO PAGE

Entrance to Charter House, London . 10

The Roger Williams Tree 46

The Williams Street Monument ... 56

The First Baptist Church of Providence 78

Canonicus Bridge, The Betsey Williams

Cottage, Roger Williams Park . . 120

Statue of Roger Williams, Roger Wil-
liams Park 162

Roger Williams' Pocket-Compass, Sun-

DiAL AND Watch 206

INTRODUCTION

The new Life of Roger Williams is cer-
tain to receive a cordial welcome and a wide
reading. It has been eight years since Dr.
Edmmid J. Carpenter published his "Roger
Williams, a Study of the Life, Times and
Character of a Political Pioneer," and
twenty-three years since the admirable work
by Oscar S. Straus, entitled "Roger Wil-
liams, the Pioneer of Religious Liberty,"
appeared. In the meantime Irving B.
Richman has given to the public his able
volumes on "Rhode Island, its Making and
its Meaning," which naturally and inevit-
ably portrayed the character and service of
its great founder. Rhode Island was but
the incarnation of the views and principles
of Roger Williams.

In view of these recent biographies, added
to several which had been written previously
and the large place which Roger Williams
fills in all publications on New England his-
tory, it may be asked, "Is there a demand for

xii INTRODUCTION

a new Life?" It may be answered emphat-
ically, "Yes, if it is written in the attractive
and popular style in which Mrs. Hall has
done her work." She has made herself
familiar with the facts of Roger Williams'
life so far as known, with the spirit of the
Puritan age and the causes which led to his
banishment, with his advanced views of re-
ligious liberty, his courageous efforts to
defend them and his heroic self-denials and
sufferings to incorporate them in human
government, with the reasons which justify
the title now universally given to him as "the
pioneer and apostle of soul liberty," with
the evidences of his hmnane and forgiving
spirit toward those who had persecuted
him and his wonderful success in preserving
them more than once from slaughter by hos-
tile Indians, with his deep and abiding in-
terest in the native tribes and his labors for
their moral and spiritual elevation, with his
success in acquiring their barbarous lan-
guage, winning their confidence and turning
many of them from their idolatry and super-
stitions to the knowledge of the true God
and the acceptance of Christian truth, which

INTRODUCTION xiii

labors place him side by side with John
Eliot, the Puritan apostle to the Indians.
With all these things Mrs. Hall has made
herself familiar, and also with his noble ser-
vice, often rendered, as a wise statesman and
recognized peacemaker among the turbulent
elements in his little colony as well as be-
tween the natives and the Puritan settlers,
with his recognition by the British Parlia-
ment as a scholar of exceptional ability and
an eminent philanthropist, when they
granted his request for a charter for his im-
periled venture, and also with his intimate
acquaintance with some of the distinguished
leaders of the England^ of his day, viz.,
Cromwell, Milton and Sir Henry Vane, Jr.,
and she has told the wonderful story in a
manner that will chann and instruct readers,
both old and young.

The life of Roger Williams was sur-
rounded with not a little of romance — the
uncertainty of the date and place of his
birth, his discovery and patronage by the
eminent jurist, Sir Edward Coke, his un-
fortunate first-love experience, his migra-
tion to the wilderness of the new world, his

xiv INTRODUCTION

expulsion by his companions from their
primitive society, who found him a disturb-
ing element by reason of his advanced po-
litical opinions, his retention of the esteem
and friendship of some of the ablest men
who drove him out because of his "pestilen-
tial doctrines," as, for instance, the Win-
throps, father and son, with whom he kept
up an affectionate correspondence as long
as he lived (more than one hundred of his
letters to them have been preserved), and
the remarkable success of his "lively experi-
ment," which has given to him an honored
and conspicuous name with all modern his-
torians and has exerted kn influence upon
human government which is rapidly encir-
cling the globe. Roger Williams was
charged by his Puritan neighbors with hav-
ing "a windmill in his head." Not only
Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but the
whole nation, from ocean to ocean, is now
enjoying the priceless grist which that de-
spised windmill ground out. It looks as if
Roger Williams was fast coming into his
own. Prof. Romeo Elton said in his "Life
of Roger Williams," published sixty-three

INTRODUCTION xv

years ago, "His property, his time and his
talents were devoted to the promotion of
the temporal and spiritual welfare of man-
kind, and in conducting to a glorious issue
the struggle to unloose the bonds of the cap-
tive daughter of Zion." Charles Francis
Adams, in his "Massachusetts, its Histo-
rians and its History," frankly declares,
"Massachusetts, in the person of her minis-
ters and magistrates, missed a great destiny
by rejecting Roger Williams."

We of to-day undoubtedly look upon the
Puritans with more charity and a greater
appreciation of their spirit and excellences
than did those of a former generation. We
recognize their great virtues as well as their
glaring faults. They were men of sterling
character, of deep religious convictions, of
willingness to make painful sacrifices for the
sake of principle, of great reverence for the
Bible and the institutions of religion, of
purity of life in the home and in their social
relations. They believed that religion was
the supreme thing and that the command-
ments of God were of binding obligation
upon all intelligent moral beings. They

xvi INTRODUCTION

may have been too rigid in their interpreta-
tions and too severe in their application of
religion to life and conduct, as, for example,
in the observance of the Sabbath. But in
our day of extreme and dangerous neglect
men are saying, "There are some things that
are worse than a Puritan Sabbath." It
might be w^ell for modern life if we, the
descendants of the Puritans, had inherited
more of their virtues.

Of course in the matter of the separation
of church and state they were still in the
bonds of ignorance. Though they had
broken away from the persecuting hand of
the mother land and "the mother church,"
as they loved to call it, they had not broken
away from the belief which was the source
and instigator of the persecuting spirit. As
Prof. John Winthrop Platner has said re-
cently in his "King's Chapel Lecture" on
the Congregationalists, "The connection be-
tween church and state was also close, in
spite of their theoretical separation, so close
in fact that the government of Massachusetts
Bay has often been described as a theocracy.
. . . They believed that no human govern-

INTRODUCTION xvii

ment could be firmly established, unless
based upon the divine. . . . The mixture of
law and religion of course gave rise to dif-
ficulties, and aroused criticism. It was the
persistent exercise of jurisdiction over of-
fenses "against the first table of the law"
(i.e., against the first four commandments
of the decalogue) that provoked the open
hostility of Roger Williams against the au-
thorities, and caused him to protest that the
things of God and the things of Csesar
should not be confounded, a protest which
brought him into trouble."

The Puritans had hardly reached the
dawn of the glorious day which was to be
distinguished by absolute religious liberty.
Roger Williams was enveloped in its full
noonday splendor. Hon. James Bryce de-
nominates him "an orthodox Puritan."
True, if he means an intense, logically con-
sistent, fully ripened, radical Puritan, a Pil-
grim of the Pilgrims. In the memorable
words of Judge Storey, "In the code of
laws established by Williams and his com-
panions we read for the first time, since
Christianity ascended the throne of the

xviii INTRODUCTION

Caesars, the declaration that the conscience
should be free, and that men should not be
punished for worshiping God in the way
they were persuaded He requires." In
similar language Professor Masson declares
that Roger Williams organized "a commu-
nity on the unheard-of principles of absolute
religious liberty combined with perfect civil
democracy." Such is the unanimous testi-
mony of historians as to the character and
service of the founder of Rhode Island.
Mr. Oscar Straus expresses the hope "that
the time is not far distant when the civilized
people in the remotest corners of the earth
will recognize the truth and power of the
principles which throw around the name of
Roger Williams a halo of imperishable glory
and fame." May this new and popular biog-
raphy, charming in style, appreciative in
spirit and in harmony with the generally
accepted facts of history, hasten the realiza-
tion of this sublime hope.

Henry M. King,

Pastor Emeritus of the First Baptist Church
{The Roger Williams Church).

Providence, R. I.

ROGER WILLIAMS

xviii INTRODUCTION

Caesars, the declaration that the conscience
should be free, and that men should not be
punished for worshiping God in the way
they were persuaded He requires.'* In
similar language Professor Masson declares
that Roger Williams organized "a commu-
nity on the unheard-of principles of absolute
religious liberty combined with perfect civil
democracy." Such is the unanimous testi-
mony of historians as to the character and
service of the founder of Rhode Island.
Mr. Oscar Straus expresses the hope "that
the time is not far distant when the civilized
people in the remotest corners of the earth
will recognize the truth and power of the
principles which throw around the name of
Roger Williams a halo of imperishable glory
and fame." May this new and popular biog-
raphy, charming in style, appreciative in
spirit and in harmony with the generally
accepted facts of history, hasten the realiza-
tion of this sublime hope.

Henry M. King,

Pastor Emeritus of the First Baptist Church
{The Roger Williams Church).

Providence, R. I.

ROGER WILLIAMS

"ROGER WILLIAMS STEERED HIS LITTLE SHIP
OF STATE TO A SAFE HARBOR BY THE COMPASS
OF AN ENLIGHTENED CONSCIENCE."— Sr/?A[/S.

ROGER WILLIAMS

CHAPTER I

OUT or THE SHADOWS

Tucked away in the northeastern corner of
the -United States is the tiny state of Rhode
Island. "Little Rhody" she is often affec-
tionately called, although her full name is
"State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations." Such an overwhelming title
for such a small body! 'Yet not only in
length of name, but in the number of her
capital cities, has Rhode Island led her
sister states. Up to the year 1900 she
boasted two capitals, while every other state
in the Union was contented with one. From
the beginning, Rhode Island has made up
in interesting history what she has lacked in
size. '

Much of this history is hinted at in the
names found within her borders. Take the
name Providence, for example. It sounds
as if it had a story back of it — as, indeed, it

4 ROGER WILLIAMS

has. Other quaint and suggestive names
are found in the streets of the capital —
Benefit, Benevolent and Friendship — and
in the islands in Narragansett Bay —
Prudence, Patience, Hope.

Rhode Island's story is largely that of
Roger Williams, yet he was too great a man
to belong to one bit of the country alone.
He is one of the finest characters in United
States history, though people were long in
finding it out. Even to-day we do not
always remember the noble services he
rendered our country. Men who do spec-
tacular things have many biographers,
while quiet lives often remain unrecorded.
We are apt to forget that it may take as
much bravery to stand abuse and loss of
friends as to face the cannon's mouth, that
even more courage is required to fight for
disagreeable truths than to win battles. So
while Roger Williams never did anything
to startle the world, he will remain one of
the great moral soldiers of all time. Lack-
ing appreciation in the day in which he
lived, he deserves the honor of our own age.
It is time he came into his own.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS 5

The lives of most famous men begin with
a fixed date. Stories of family and boyhood
follow, with perhaps a clear description of
the great man himself. In this respect,
Roger Williams' life is different from the
others. We have not the faintest idea what
he looked like — whether he was tall or short,
stout or thin, dark or light, had blue eyes or
brown. No true portrait of him has ever
been discovered. The artists who have
attempted to give us his hkeness in bronze
or marble or on canvas have had to idealize
him.

Out of a shadowy past, largely from our
own imagination, we must make up for our-
selves a picture of his early days. Roger
Williams has left a very scant account of
his boyhood and he was too unpopular in the
seventeenth century for others to take the
trouble to record it. When later writers
did so, they made many mistakes. This is
not strange, as there were probably several
persons by the name of Roger Williams
living at the same time as our hero.

To begin with, the very date of Roger
Williams' birth is unknown. It is given

6 ROGER WILLIAMS

by different historians anywhere between
1599 and 1607. In his own writings, Roger
Williams referred once or twice to his age,
but in such an indefinite way that we are
led to think that he was not exactly sure
of his birthday. Thus in a letter written to
John Winthrop in 1632, he said he was
"nearer upwards of thirty than twenty-
five." Again, in 1679, he said he was "near
to fourscore years of age." Even with the
most careful aritlimetic, we shall have to be
content with the rather vague information
that he was bom near the beginning of the
seventeenth century.

As to his birthplace, on this point also
there has been much dispute. For many
years it was thought to be Wales, but now
it has been quite clearly proved that Roger
Williams was born in London. The ancient
court records that point to this fact show
that James Williams was the father of
Roger and a merchant tailor living in the
parish of "St. Sepulchres, without New-
gate, London." He was apparently in com-
fortable circumstances, for his will provided
not only for his wife and children, but

OUT OF THE SHADOWS 7

directed that gifts of money and bread be
distributed among the city poor.

Alice Williams, the mother of Roger,
who survived her husband, owned or leased
property in Cow Lane. In her will she
mentioned four children — ^Sidrach, the old-
est, Roger, "now beyond the seas," Kath-
erine, wife of John Davies, and Robert. To
Roger she bequeathed ten pounds, or about
fifty dollars, to be paid yearly for a term of
twenty years.

The oldest boy of the family, Sidrach,
after he grew up, became a merchant of
Turkey and other southern countries of
Europe. Roger Williams referred to him
as follows:

"Myself have seen the Old Testament of
the Jews, most curious writing, whose price
(in way of trade) was threescore pound,
which my brother, a Turkey merchant, had
and showed me."

Roger's younger brother Robert became,
like himself, a Rhode Island colonist. He
was one of the first settlers of Providence
and later became a schoolmaster at
Newport.

8 ROGER WILLIAMS

Like many another boy, Roger Williams
owed his start in life to a great man. Sir
Edward Coke was a brilliant English law-
yer when Roger was young. His friend-
ship for the lad is best described by Sir
Edward's daughter:

"This Roger Williams, when he was a
youth, would, in a short-hand, take sermons
and speeches in the Star Chamber, and
present them to my dear father. He, see-
ing so hopeful a youth, took such liking to
him that he sent him in to Sutton's Hos-
pital, and he was the second placed there."

The Star Chamber was a London Court,
so called because the room in which it met
had a ceiling decorated with gilt stars. The
school mentioned in the letter is better
known as the Charter House School. On
its roll of students are such famous names
as Addison, Steele, John Wesley and
Grote. That Roger Williams remembered
his early friend with gratitude is shown by
these words written in middle life :

"And I may truly say, that beside my
natural inclination to study and activity,
his example, instruction and encouragement

OUT OF THE SHADOWS 9

have spurred me on to a more than ordinary,
industrious and patient course in my whole
course hitherto."

There is, indeed, every reason to think
that Roger Wilhams proved to be the kind
of pupil Sir Edward hoped he would be,
for while at the Charter House he success-
fully prepared himself for college. Yet of
his real life as a schoolboy — his chums, his
sports, his pranks, his holidays — we know
almost nothing. One tiny bit of informa-
tion has come down to us, however, which
would seem to show that Roger Williams
was not very different from other boys.
Thackeray, the great novelist, who was
himself a scholar at the Charter House
School years later, once said^ in a lecture
in Providence, that he had found in a beam
of the old school the letters "R W" which
Roger Williams cut there as a boy. When-
ever Thackeray had to educate his boy
characters, he usually sent them to this ven-
erable old institution. This is the way he
pictures it in "The Newcomes":

"Under the great archway of the hospital
he could look at the old Gothic building;

10 ROGER WILLIAMS

and a black-gowned pensioner or two crawl-
ing over the quiet square, or passing from
one dark arch to another. The boarding-
houses of the school were situated in the
square, hard by the more ancient buildings
of the hospital. A great noise of shouting,
crying, clapping foi-ms and cupboards,
treble voices, bass voices, poured out of the
schoolboys' windows: their life, bustle and
gaiety contrasted strangely with the quiet
of those old men, creeping along in their
black gowns under the ancient arches yon-
der, whose struggle of life was over, whose
hope and noise and bustle had sunk into
that gray calm."

In all probability, Roger Williams con-
tinued his education at Pembroke College.
Being the college of the great man who had
interested himself in the boy, it was the one
that would most likely be chosen. After
graduating with a degree, Roger Williams
studied law for a time. Then, deciding to
become a minister, he took orders in the
Church of England and obtained a position
as chaplain in the household of Sir William
Masham of Otes, in the county of Essex.

^..Jta

OUT OF THE SHADOWS 11

A delightful and, at the same time, amus-
ing love story has come to light which re-
veals one of the last glimpses of Roger
Williams in the Old World. It seems that
the wife of his patron, Lady Masham, had
a cousin, Jane Whalley, with whom the
young chaplain fell in love. He proceeded
to write two letters to Miss Whalley's aunt
and guardian, Lady Barrington, asking for
the hand of her niece. In the first, he men-
tions the fact that the affair has caused con-
siderable talk and he hints that Miss Jane
returns his affection. Then he sums up his
worldly possessions — an expected trifling
legacy from his mother, a little money
("sevenscore pieces") and a small library
("a little yet costly study of books") . Piti-
ful means, indeed, for winning a young lady
of rank! Yet Roger Williams frankly
pointed out to the aunt that the advantages
were not all on one side, for in spite of Miss
Whalley's high birth, she had a most
passionate temper.

Everything considered, it is not strange
that the struggling minister was flatly re-
jected. The second letter addressed to

12 ROGER WILLIAMS

Lady Barrington is such as only a disap-
pointed, angry lover could write. He says
in plain language that the Lord is very
angry with her ladyship and that if she does
not repent, all sorts of dreadful things are
likely to happen to her. The lengthy ser-
mon-letter is filled with Scriptural quota-
tions. Still, although he asserts, "We hope
to live together in the heavens though the
Lord have denied that union on earth," time
proved a rapid healer. In less than two
years he had transferred his affection to a
Miss Mary Warnard, or Barnard, and made
her his wife.

The sequel of the unfortunate love affair
is rather interesting. Of course Miss Jane
married another man, but, as it happened,
he was a clergyman like her former sweet-
heart. In turn she came to know the
pioneer life of New England as did Roger
Williams, being located for some years in
Massachusetts and Connecticut. She later
returned to old England, where her husband
became chaplain to her cousin, Oliver Crom-
well, who was also a friend of Roger Wil-
liams. In fact, Cromwell's real family

OUT OF THE SHADOWS 13

name was Williams and some historians
have even asserted that he was related to
Roger Williams.

The correspondence with Lady Barring-
ton is of importance aside from the dis-
appointing love passages it records. For
here is given an early inkling of that mirest
and dissatisfaction in religious matters that
was to play so large a part in the futm*e
life of the youthful chaplain. Already be-
ginning to protest against the established
forms of worship, he writes, "A tender con-
science hath kept me back from honor and
preferment." Then follows the merest hint
of having received a call from New
England.

By this time Roger Williams had formed
the habit of thinking for himself and of
holding firmly to what he believed to be
right, whether others agreed with him or
not. During his stay in Essex, he used to
talk over religious subjects with his fellow-
clergymen and to explain why he differed
from them on certain points. Among these
companions were Thomas Hooker and John
Cotton, whose lives ran parallel to his on

14 ROGER WILLIAMS

both sides of the water. The three friends
rode through the countryside earnestly dis-
cussing the burning questions uppermost in
their minds. Little did they dream where
these same discussions would lead! Had
Master Hooker and Master Cotton been
told that the argumentative man who rode
by their side was to become one of the
makers of American history and a leader in
world thought, they would most likely have
said, "Oh, no. Roger Williams is our
friend, but he is really a very short-sighted
and very obstinate fellow." Indeed, he had
gained the reputation among his Sussex
neighbors of being "divinely mad."

These, then, are the few meager facts of
the beginnings of Roger Williams' exist-
ence before he set his face toward the New
World. His life in England will always
remain more or less of a mystery. Not so,
fortunately, his life in America. His hard-
ships, trials, adventures and sufferings have
become familiar history. And it is this part
of the story that is most important, for
Roger Williams is, first and last, a great
American.

CHAPTER II

WESTWARD, ho!

In order to understand why Roger Wil-
liams should have wanted to make his home
on this side of the water, we should know
a little something of tlie England in which
he lived. It was not then the free, liberal
country it is to-day. In many matters, es-
pecially those relating to religion, a man
could not do as he chose, but as he was told.
To-day, one can attend any church he
pleases; then he was forced by law to attend
the established church. The king was the
head of both church and state.

Now it was not siu-prising that all persons
of that day did not care to support the
same church. They Vv^ere not able to think
alike, any more than we who live to-day.
Curious, indeed, it would be if Vv^e held ex-
actly the same views as our neighbors and
worshiped in the same church. Some of
the men of Roger Williams' day objected

16 ROGER WILLIAMS

to the teachings of the national church,
others wished to do away with its forms and
ceremonies. And because they could not
conscientiously worship the way the sov-
ereign commanded, serious trouble arose.
Those who were independent enough to defy
the king were liable to be fined, banished
or imprisoned. And the prisons of those
days were anything but pleasant places in
which to spend one's time !

The persons who objected to the estab-
lished form of worship were of two classes.
On the one hand were chui'ch members who
believed in working for certain religious
reforms without separating from the church.
Their enemies nicknamed them Puritans.
The Puritans argued something like this:

"We do not think our ministers should
wear vestments. Neither do we believe it
right to make the sign of the cross in bap-
tism. Kneeling at sacrament is sinful in our
eyes, also the use of the organ in church.
These ceremonies are too much like those
of the Roman church from which we have
turned. But the established church is our
church. She is our own dear mother and

WESTWARD, HO! 17

we will not forsake her. At the same time,
while still remaining her children, we will
try to lead her to a hetter, purer life."

The Separatists went further than this.
In turn, they argued:

"The church is cori-upt and we will have
nothing to do with her. We will form
congregations of our own and worship
according to our own consciences."

It is easy to see that being a Separatist
was a far more dangerous thing than being
a Puritan. By remaining in the church, the
Puritan was shielded to an extent. The
Separatist, on the other hand, had no
protection.

When James, the first Stuart king, came
to the throne, he kept in mind the motto,
"No bishops, no king." For political pur-
poses, he determined on a course of perse-
cution. He said of all those who would not
support the national church, "I will make
them conform, or I will harry them out of
the land."

That is just what he did. A little band
of Separatists, who were later to become
world-famous, were glad to flee to Holland

18 ROGER WILLIAMS

Lo escape persecution. It was no small
thing, three hundred or more years ago, for
any European country to shelter a people
whose religion differed from that of the state
church and we therefore like to think of the
liberality of the Dutch. They and the Eng-
lish immigrants lived together like brothers
for a period of years. A thriving settlement
was founded at Leyden, and here, for about
twelve years, the fugitives knew the mean-
ing of peace and happiness. Many of them
learned to speak and write the Dutch lan-
guage, which one writer has called "the
sister language nearest to the English."
There were certainly marriages between the
two peoples and the English children were
doubtless sent to the free Dutch schools for
their education.

As Roger Williams was familiar with
Dutch, it may be that he studied the lan-
guage with the idea of making Holland his
home. However that may be, such a plan
was never carried out. At least once he had
occasion to address King James, though
what the occasion was, we are unable to
guess. He merely referred to the monarch

WESTWARD, HO! 19

briefly as "King James, whom I have spoke
with."

Why did the Enghsh in Holland begin
to long for still another home? Living so
contentedly, why were they not satisfied to
remain so? There seem to have been two
reasons for their feeling as they did. To
begin with, there was grave danger of their
becoming a part of the Dutch nation. They
were afraid of losing their speech, customs,
religion — everything that made them EfUg-
lish Separatists.

Then, too, when they had attempted to
spread their doctrines by means of printing,
King James had interfered and taken pos-
session of the types. When such tyranny
as this could exist even in kindly Holland,
they thought it was high time to seek a home
elsewhere.

" No home for these! — too well they knew
The mitered kin;? behind the throne;
The sails were set, the pennons flew,
And westward, ho! for worlds unknown."

The rest of the story of the "Pilgrim
Fathers" we all know — how they crossed

20 ROGER WILLIAMS

the water, battled against famine, disease
and poverty, and succeeded slowly but
surely in building up a settlement at

Pl^THOUth.

Years passed before they had any neigh-
bors. At last, in 1628, the little settlement
of Salem was formed by the Massachusetts
Bay Company. This was followed two
years later by a big migration of Puritans
to New England under John Winthrop
which led to the founding of Boston and
several smaller towns. The colony which
embraced these different settlements was
called Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Meanwhile, things had been going from
bad to worse in England. King Charles
was now on the throne and his subjects were
discouraged to find that he was even more
of a tyrannical master than James, his
father. How could anybody expect justice
or fairness from a ruler who believed that
because he was a king, he could do no
wrong? It grew more and more uncom-
fortable for the Puritans every day, even
in the established chiu-ch. One of Charles'
chief advisers, Archbishop Laud, was busy

WESTWARD, HO! 21

ridding the country of all "heretics" and
other offenders against the royal will and
law. If Roger Williams had now taken
notes in the Star Chamber as he did when
a boy, he would have recorded many unde-
served punishments, such as heavy fines,
whippings and worse. But he was now a
man and looking with longing eyes across
the ocean, as so many of his countrymen
had before him.

As to Roger Williams' true place among
the different sects of his time, he was with-
out doubt a Separatist. More than one
passage in his letters points to this as the
truth. There was no half-way to a man of
his decided character. Believing as he did,
there was only one tiling for him to do —
seek a refuge in the New World.

"And truly it was as bitter as death to
me," he wrote in after years, "when Bishop
Laud pursued me out of this land, and
my conscience was persuaded against the
national church, and ceremonies, and
bishops."

By the last of the year 1630, our pioneer
was ready to sail for America and on De-

22 ROGER WILLIAMS

cember 1st, he took passage in the ship
Lyon, commanded by Captain Pierce, at
Bristol. With him was his young wife
JMary. Very little is known about her early
history— far less than what has been dis-
covered about the fair Jane whom Roger
Williams failed to win. That she made a
good wife and mother and shared her hus-
band's troublous career with loving devotion
is quite certain.

For over two months, in the dead of
winter, the vessel battled with gales and
storms and ice. One passenger, a young
man, lost his life and at times probably
eveiybody aboard felt sure they would
never see land again. It must have been
with deep relief and thanksgiving that the
weary passengers finally landed safely at
Nantasket, near Boston, February 5, 1631.

In this stormy fashion, Roger Williams'
new life began.

CHAPTER III

NEW NEIGHBORS

We have seen that by the time Roger Wil-
liams had made up his mind to emigrate to
America, the most important colonies in
New England were Plymouth and the Mas-
sachusetts Bay Colony. Plymouth was
Separatist and the Bay Colony Puritan, but
every day growing farther and farther from
the English Church. We would expect
Roger Williams to decide upon the Plym-
outh settlement as a home, as its people
held similar views to his own and it was the
more liberal colony of the two. Why, in-
stead, he chose to live in Massachusetts
Bay Colony cannot be easily explained.
Possibly in far-away England he did not
rightly understand just how matters stood
in New England.

However, there was great rejoicing
when the young minister and his wife first
appeared in Boston. The talented stranger

24 ROGER WILLIAMS

was hailed as a "godly minister" and a wel-
come addition to the little colony. Far
different language was used a few years
later when he was turned out of that same
colony, a homeless fugitive, disgraced and
forbidden ever to return! The friendship
between Roger Williams and the Bay au-
thorities lasted only until each had an
opportunity to get better acquainted with
the other.

At first, the future loomed bright and
promising to Roger Williams. Hundreds
of miles behind him were tyrannical king,
heartless bishop, and all that had made life
on English soil a burden. Ahead were long
years of peace, freedom and usefulness
among new neighbors who were his own
people.

How different was to be the future from
what he imagined ! He had yet to learn that
here, in the wilds of New England, was a
tyranny, in some respects as narrow as that
of King Charles. Here, too, was unjust
persecution very much like that from which
he had fled. The Massachusetts Puritans
who had left the mother country because

NEW NEIGHBORS 25

they could not worship according to their
consciences now refused to let others wor-
ship according to their consciences. They
who had been made to suffer for thinking
as they pleased now caused their neighbors
to suffer for the same reason. They held
that while they had objected to the corrup-
tions of the established church, now that a
purer form of worship had taken its place,
it must and should be supported. They
had bitterly criticized the English Church,
but nobody must criticize theirs!

The accepted law was the Ten Com-
mandments. These were divided into "two
tables." The first four, or those which
summed up man's duty to God, were the
"first table," while the remaining six, which
covered the duties of man to man, were the
"second table." A person guilty of break-
ing any one of the Commandments was
liable to be pmiished by the magistrates.
The government of the colony was based
upon the old Mosaic Law. Severe and
heartless were the penalties meted out to
offenders — often more severe and more
heartless than those of England. Naturally

26 ROGER WILLIAMS

the world had progressed during the hun-
dreds of years that had elapsed since the
rigid code of the Hebrew law-giver was in
force.

Into this narrow body of believers came
Roger Williams, who was to become the
"apostle of soul liberty." From the very
start, he was looked upon as a trouble-
maker. A Boston clergyman, Cotton
Mather, writing about this period some
years later, said that Roger Williams had
a windmill in his head.

"In the year 1654, a certain windmill in
the Low Countries, whirling round with
extraordinary violence, by reason of a vio-
lent storm then blowing, the stone at length
by its rapid motion became so intensely hot
as to fire the mill, from whence the flames,
being dispersed by the high winds, did set
a whole town on fire. But I can tell my
reader that, about twenty years before this,
there was a whole country in America like
to be set on fire by the rapid motion of a
windmill, in the head of one particular
man."

Immediately upon his arrival, the earnest

NEW NEIGHBORS 27

young minister was given a chance to preach
in a Boston church, but he refused for two
reasons. First, the church members were an
"unseparated people" and would not con-
fess they were sorry for having had com-
munion with English churches. Now it
would seem that, on this first point, Roger
Williams was quite as narrow as his neigh-
bors. Yet he was at least consistent. Here
were his fellow-fugitives who had suffered
abuse and persecution for protesting against
the "corruptions" of the estabhshed church.
For the sake of their convictions they had
given up home and friends in the Old
World to face the trials and hardships
of the New. Yet they still persisted in
clinging fondly to the old church.

What Roger Williams practically said to
them was :

"You have left the old life behind and
have started in on the new. You have been
given a chance to found a church after your
own heart. Why, then, are you not a
separated people? I cannot preach to you,
for I have broken away forever from the
church that has persecuted me."

28 ROGER WILLIAMS

Roger Williams' second objection to
preaching in the Boston pulpit was that the
magistrates were allowed to punish sins of
the "first table." This foreshadowed the
principle of soul liberty, which denied the
right of civil power to interfere in spiritual
matters.

The whole trouble arose from the Puri-
tans confusing church and state. They
could not comprehend that the two should
be separate, independeait bodies. In the
spring of 1631, they passed a law providing
that only church members should have the
privilege of citizenship. They believed
that the magistrates had just as much right
to punish for spiritual offences as for civil
offences, or those which disturbed the well-
being of the community. When Roger
Williams had carried his views on the sub-
ject to a logical conclusion years later, he
made them clear in the form of a parable.

He said that the State was like an im-
mense ship carrying all kinds of passengers.
Among them are Catholics, Protestants,
Jews and Turks. Their different religions
are, of course, very unlike and the captain

NEW NEIGHBORS 29

should be sensible enough to understand
this and let each one worship as he pleases,
according to his own peculiar custom. This
is only fair, as long as the passengers remain
peaceful and orderly. If, however, any one
of them refuses to pay for his passage or
disturbs the peace, then and then only has
the captain a right to step in and punish
the offender. But he does not interfere be-
cause the culprit is a Jew or a Catholic or
a Protestant, but because he has not re-
spected the rights of others. In the same
way, the State has a right to see that its
citizens are well-behaved, but should leave
their religion alone.

From the very beginning, then, there was
trouble for Roger Williams. Not many
months passed before he received an ap-
pointment as assistant to the Reverend
Samuel Skelton of Salem. The General
Court of Massachusetts did not like the
choice of the Salem people and wrote a
letter to that effect. Nevertheless, the senti-
ment in favor of the outspoken minister
was such that he was allowed to take his
charge without difficulty.

30 ROGER WILLIAMS

At this settlement, matters progressed
more smoothly. Roger Williams' congre-
gation was well pleased with him and
showed their affection for him after he
ceased being their minister, as we shall see.
He was not permitted, however, to remain
here more than a few months, for the au-
thorities could not leave any man alone who
was believed to be such a mischief-maker.
By the close of summer, he was obliged to
move to Plymouth.

For two years he led a fairly peaceful life
in his new home, but it was not an easy
existence. "At Plymouth," he wrote, "I
spake on the Lord's days and week days
and wrought hard at the hoe for my bread."

During his ministry, Governor Winthrop
of Massachusetts, in company with others,
went to Plymouth for a little visit, going
afoot the latter part of the journey. They
were met outside the town, escorted to the
governor's house, and royally entertained
at different homes in the days that followed.
On Sunday, they attended church, of course.
Roger Williams was the preacher, although
the Plymouth governor, elders and guests

NEW NEIGHBORS 31

also took part in the service. The peaceful
Sabbath afternoon stands out in strange
contrast to the stormy scenes that came
after.

During this period, a little daughter was
bom, to whom was given the name of her
mother, Mary.

While Roger Williams was not perse-
cuted at Plymouth, he was very ready to
return to Salem and the good friends he had
left there when the opportunity came. Re-
ceiving a second call from the Salem church,
probably in the summer of 1633, he gave
up his ministry in Plymouth and made
preparations to go back to his old parish.
Some of his congregation were loath to have
him go — in fact, so closely had he endeared
them to him that several followed him to
Salem.

Before taking up Roger Williams' his-
tory in that town, let us pause for a moment
to see who some of the men were who had
already come in contact with the vigorous
preacher or who were to shape his future
course. Such a grim portrait gallery of
unflinching old Puritans they represent!

32 ROGER WILLIAMS

As we look at some of the stern, forbidding
faces, we cannot help being grateful that
we are living in the twentieth century
instead of the age of Roger Williams.

Occupying a central place on the dark
canvas is a Puritan of the Puritans — intel-
lectual, proud, superior. There is no mis-
taking him — John Cotton, of whom we have
had a glimpse before. His mouth seems
about to open, so eager is he for a learned
argument. He is the exact opposite of
Roger Williams and the two men are to be
pitted against each other all their lives.
The title of "unmitered pope of New Eng-
land" will be given him by future genera-
tions. Like his opponent, he follows what
he believes to be the path of right, but}
whereas with Roger Williams it leads to
liberty, with John Cotton it leads to perse-
cution. We pass to the next portrait with
a sigh of relief.

Thomas Hooker, also the friend of early
days, comes next. Milder, less learned,
perhaps, than John Cotton, he still has a
reputation for able argument. He is to

NEW NEIGHBORS 33

labor long and earnestly to make the
mischief-maker see the error of his ways.

Governor Bradford of Mayflower fame,
dignified and scholarly, comes next in order.
There is nothing of the tyrant in his
make-up. While believing Roger Williams
"unsettled in judgment," he is just enough
to say that he is "a man godly and zealous,
having many precious parts." Though he
does not entirely approve of him, he is
"thankful to him, even for his sharpest
admonitions and reproofs so far as they
agree with truth."

We linger long upon the next portrait —
a kindly face, that of a good friend. It is
another governor of Plymouth, Edward
Winslow. Fortunate, indeed, is Roger
Williams to have this "great and pious soul"
interested in him. Dark days are ahead and
his friendship — not to mention a welcome
piece of gold for needed family provisions
— will not come amiss.

We hardly believe that Elder Brewster,
the next in line, could bring himself to do
so gracious a deed. His conscience is too
sensitive. Thankful enough is he that the

34 IROGER WILLIAMS

call to the Salem church will prevent the
further spreading of "dangerous" doctrine
in Plymouth. It is the part of prudence
to bid Roger Williams Godspeed.

Who is that eager, restless person who
occupies the next place — whose flashing
eyes and open face tell as plainly as words
that he is the creature of impulse? He is
always doing hasty things, being sorry for
them, and then doing the next hasty thing
that presents itself! Big-hearted, reckless,
courageous, narrow John Endicott! It is
no wonder he is often in disgrace. Let us
not forget that more than once he champions
the cause of Roger Williams.

The finest Puritan of them all comes last,
Governor John Winthrop of the Bay
Colony. A splendid, noble face is his. He
is every inch a gentleman. He has brought
the best of old England into the crude life
of New England and is helping to build up
so sturdy a race that the generations which
follow will be proud of their descent from
him and Puritans like him. He does not
agree with Roger Williams, but a life-long
friendship springs up between the two.

NEW NEIGHBORS 35

"Mr. John Winthrop," said the younger
man, "tenderly loved me to his last breath."
Many of the quaint, old-fashioned letters
addressed to the Bay governor have come
down to us. "I sometimes fear," says the
writer, "that my lines are as thick and over-
busy as the mosquitoes." He discusses re-
ligious questions, talks over Indian troubles
and asks Winthrop 's advice, because, says
he, "of the frequent experience of your
loving ear, ready and open toward me."

These, then, were a few of Roger Wil-
liams' neighbors. There were still other
neighbors, who were friends as well. These
were the New England Indians. From the
very beginning of his new life in America,
Roger Williams had taken a deep interest
in them. For one thing, he held that as they
were the first-comers, the land belonged to
them and could not be rightly owned by
others, except by purchase. It is true that
most of the colonists did pay for the terri-
tory they occupied whatever the natives
thought it was worth, yet as soon as Roger
Williams gave his opinion on the subject,
he was accused of disloyalty. It was one

36 ROGER WILLIAMS

thing to bargain with the savages, quite an-
other to announce boldly that James, who
granted the first New England charter, was
not "sovereign lord" of the whole continent,
and that those who claimed land merely by
royal grant had no title to it whatever.

In spite of opposition, Roger Williams
had the courage of his convictions. He
wrote a treatise on the subject which he sent
to the governor and council of Plymouth.

No portion of Roger Williams' life is
more interesting than that which deals with
the red men. The Wampanoags or Pokano-
kets, whose chief was Massasoit, occupied
the Plymouth territory, while to the west
were the powerful Narragansetts, whose
sachems were Canonicus and Miantonomo.
To gain the friendship of the Indians,
Roger Williams endured all kinds of hard
and unpleasant experiences, for his "soul's
desire was to do the natives good." He vis-
ited them, he encouraged their visiting him,
he patiently studied their language. To
quote his own words: "God was pleased to
give me a painful, patient spirit to lodge
with them in their filthy, smoky holes (even

NEW NEIGHBORS 37

while I lived at Plymouth and Salem) to
gain their tongue."

It was a fortunate thing for the colonists
that Roger Williams took this trouble.
Otherwise he would not have been able to
act as interpreter and peacemaker in after
years, when Indian uprisings threatened the
settlements. It is not an exaggeration to
say that no one man prevented more blood-
shed in early New England than Roger
Williams.

The Indians, often suspicious and un-
trustworthy where other men were con-
cerned, always showed a child-like con-
fidence in their best friend. This was not
because he "took sides" with them. Often
he told them they were in the wrong and
urged them to do the right thing by their
white neighbors. It was the absolute justice
and sincerity of Roger Williams that won
their admiration. He could tell no lie. Of
that they felt sure, so they accepted what he
told them without argument or denial.

CHAPTER IV

THE WAR OF WORDS

Very little is known about Roger Williams'
home in Salem, beyond the fact that it was
the former residence of Francis Higginson,
a teacher of the Salem church. At his
death, the house passed to Mrs. Higginson,
but after occupying it but for a short time,
she allowed her husband's successor to take
possession of it. Roger Williams probably
bought it outright, for later he spoke of
mortgaging it to raise needed funds. If it
was like the usual Colonial dwelling of that
day, it was plain and rather bare, but com-
fortable and roomy to a degree, after the
early New England standard. A gabled
roof, generous open fireplaces, and windows
made up of many tiny panes of glass were
its most conspicuous features.

As to the church in which Roger Wil-
liams preached, even less information has
been gleaned than that relating to his home.

THE WAR OF WORDS 39

For many years a tradition has persisted
that it was a diminutive, raftered structure
with steep-pitched roof and clay floor — the
whole thing more nearly resembling a back-
woods cabin than a place of worship. There
is little reason to think that the Salem con-
gregations— with whom church-going was
a sacred duty — could have been housed in
such a rude chapel, which was no larger
than a good-sized room. Yet while the
First Church was an improvement on this,
it must have presented a striking contrast
to the beautiful Old World cathedral
churches, with which some of the parish-
ioners were familiar.

Back in Salem, Roger WiUiams soon
found himself in the midst of a war of words
far more serious than any that had gone
before. He was first called to account by
the governor and his assistants for the
pamphlet he had written in Plymouth de-
claring that the right of the Indians to the
territory they occupied was greater than
that of the King. Upon being censured for
his opinions, Roger Williams was, for once,
very humble. He said he had no intention

40 ROGER WILLIAMS

of causing trouble and even went so far as
to offer to burn a portion, or even the whole,
of the book if the authorities so desired.
The charge was dropped for the time being.
His accusers "found the matters not to be
so evil as at first they seemed." Yet scarcely
a year had passed before he was summoned
to appear before the court for persisting "in
teaching publicly against the King's patent,
and our great sin in claiming right thereby
to this country."

They were not always big questions that
occupied the attention of New England
congregations at this time. Roger Wil-
liams was guilty, with the others, of enter-
ing into lengthy discussions about what
would seem to us to-day very unimportant
trifles. He was no perfect hero, but had his
faults and weaknesses, like the best of men.
Some writers are of the opinion that he
often argued merely for the sake of differ-
ing from others. We should be charitable
to both him and his rigid neighbors, remem-
bering the narrow age in which they lived.

Think of the absurdity of a whole com-
munity getting wildly excited over the ques-

THE WAR OF WORDS 41

tion of women wearing veils in churches and
other public places! Roger Williams at-
tempted to show that no modest woman
would appear with face uncovered. John
Cotton, in an earnest sermon, taught just
the opposite. John Endicott of course
had a voice in the dispute — there were those
who said he was the one who started it — and
quoted much Scripture to show he was in
the right. Finally, the governor himself
had to step in and quiet them all. What a
puzzling existence it must have been for the
poor women of Salem! When their bril-
liant, learned ministers flatly contradicted
one another, yet all took the Bible for
authority, what course was open for a mere
woman of ordinary intelligence?

The veil controversy was, without ques-
tion, unimportant and even silly. Another
matter now came up, which was somewhat
more serious. John Endicott got into
trouble because he cut the red cross of St.
George out of the military colors. To him
it was an anti-Christian sign that ought not
to be retained by people who had broken
away from symbols and ceremonies. The

42 ROGER WILLIAMS

General Court punished him by depriving
him of public office for a year. What had
Roger Williams to do with it all? Abso-
lutely nothing, as far as can be found out.
Yet the blame has long rested on his
shoulders, because, it was claimed, if he had
not preached the doctrines he did, John
Endicott would never have thought of such
a thing !

Roger Williams was not regularly or-
dained until after the death of Mr. Skelton.
Then, in defiance of the magistrates, who
were greatly displeased, the Salem church
welcomed him as pastor. The people to
whom he ministered had something of his
own courageous spirit in holding out for the
appointment.

The Indian question was not the only one
for which the General Court rebuked Roger
Williams. On one charge or another, he
was repeatedly in disgrace. One of his
offences was the stand he took in regard to
oaths. He held "that a magistrate ought
not to tender an oath to an unregenerate
man." To us, this taking of an oath seems
a simple enough duty and one to which there

THE WAR OF WORDS 43

could be no objection. With Roger Wil-
liams, however, it meant an act of worship
and, as such, should not be forced upon any-
body, least of all upon one to whom it had
no real meaning. Believing as he did that
the Lord's name should never be taken in
vain, was it not wrong to require a man who
did not fear God to take such phrases on his
lips as, "I therefore do swear by the great
and dreadful name of the ever living God,"
and "So help me, God in the Lord Jesus
Christ"? To him this was nothing less than
profanity.

The solemn words quoted above are to be
found in what was known as the Freeman's
Oath, which was a pledge of loyalty and
support to the government. The person
taking the oath agreed to submit to the
"wholesome laws" established by that gov-
ernment. Now Roger Williams had found
some of these laws anything but wholesome.
Then, too, the Freeman's Oath seemed to
transfer allegiance from the King to the
government of Massachusetts and was,
therefore, contrary to the charter. Thus
there were reasons why Roger Williams ob-

44 ROGER WILLIAMS

jected to oath-taking in general and may
have objected to this oath in particular.

Heading the list of "divers dangerous
opinions" brought against the once "godly
minister" by the General Com't in July,
1635, was this:

"That the magistrates ought not to pun-
ish the breach of the first table, otherwise
than in such cases as did disturb the civil
peace."

The words have a familiar sound. Denial
of the civil power to exert authority over a
man's conscience — the true Roger Williams
principle! It was this, as we have seen,
which caused a breach with the authorities
almost as soon as the troublesome preacher
landed in New England. At this court,
he was plainly told that at the next court
he must either "give satisfaction or else
expect the sentence."

So things went from bad to worse. Roger
Williams became ill. He had traveled back
and forth, from Salem to Boston, from Bos-
ton to Salem, with weary limbs but daunt-
less courage, to argue questions that he
honestly believed were matters of conscience

THE WAR OF WORDS 45

and not of state. At first his church loyally
supported him. In return, the magistrates
treated the church like a naughty child who
has done wrong and must be deprived of
something it longs for until it makes up its
mind to be good again. In this case, the
withheld treasure was some land in Marble-
head Neck to which the church laid claim.
Both minister and congregation wrote sharp
letters to the Bay churches, protesting
against the persecution of their magistrate
members. Alas, the churches were not big
enough morally to range themselves against
the authorities and their injustice!

Feeble, discouraged, with a sense of in-
jury rankling within, Roger Williams with-
drew from them and refused to have any-
thing more to do with his own church unless
it did the same. It was an extreme measure,
but there was great provocation. Unfor-
tunately, the Salem church lost its brief
bravery and decided to "be good." Its
minister was left to fight his battle single-
handed.

A crisis rapidly approached. Of course
Roger Williams refused to change his views.

46 ROGER WILLIAMS

He could not conscientiously do so, and he
was not the coward to proclaim one thing
while believing another. In the autumn,
therefore, the following sentence of banish-
ment was passed, after Thomas Hooker had
vainly tried to open the eyes of the culprit:

"Whereas Mr. Roger Williams, one of
the elders of the church of Salem, hath
broached and divulged divers new and dan-
gerous opinions, against the authority of
magistrates, as also writ letters of defama-
tion, both of the magistrates and churches
here, and that before any conviction, and
yet maintaineth the same without retraction,
it is therefore ordered, that the said Mr.
Williams shall depart out of this jurisdic-
tion within six weeks now next ensuing,
which if he neglect to perform, it shall be
lawful for the governor and two of the mag-
istrates to send him to some place out of
this jurisdiction, not to return any more
without license from the com-t."

Only one voice was raised against this
decree — an unknown champion whose name
has never been found out. Yet the town of

■ 1 f-i

This photograph was taken on Roger Williams Avenue, 1 hilips-
dale, East Providence. A glimpse of the Seekonk River is seen
in the background. The house itself has no historical interest.

The tree is niarkfd wilh^a tablet bearing ihese words: "This
r oak tree marks the first dwelling place of Rrger' ^Villianis after
his banishment from Salem. Mass.. in 1636, which he abandont d
in the spring of that year by n quest of Governor \Mnslow of
Plymouth. The spring is 160 feet north. This tree was planted
April 27. 1901, by the Roger W illiams Association."

THE WAR OF WORDS 47

Salem, more merciful than its magistrates,
was in an uproar at the news.

It would be too tedious and wearisome to
wade through all the disputes of those
troublous days. After a lapse of nearly
three hundred years, it is not easy to decide
accurately who was in the right and who in
the wrong. There is still a great difference
of opinion on the subject. There was, with-
out doubt, something of right and wrong on
both sides. Some of the points Roger Wil-
liams fought for with vigor were not worth
the effort, others were big principles that the
world has long since adopted.

It will throw some light on the matter to
know just what the disgraced man himself
considered the true grounds of his banish-
ment. He tells us one of the magistrates
rightly summed up the offences under four
heads :

"First, that we have not our land by
patent from the King, but that the natives
are the true owners of it, and that we ought
to repent of such a receiving it by patent.

"Secondly, that it is not lawful to call a

48 ROGER WILLIAMS

wicked person to swear, to praj^ as being
actions of God's worship.

"Thirdly, that it is not lawful to hear any
of the ministers of the parish assemblies in
England.

"Fourthly, that the civil magistrates'
power extends only to the bodies and
goods, and outward state of men."

How harmless these opinions seem to-
day! Tinged perhaps with a bit of narrow-
ness, the}' are at the same time hardly
"crimes" for which a person should be cut
off from his fellow men.

In regard to the Indian question, the
colonists might have feared trouble with the
mother country as a result of Roger Wil-
liams' utterances. Puritanism was not popu-
lar with the King and he would not be in-
clined to look more kindly upon the Massa-
chusetts pioneers when one of their number
proclaimed boldly that his father had told
"a solemn public lie, because, in his patent,
he blessed God that he was the first Chris-
tian prince that had discovered tlie land."

As to the principle that the civil power
should have no authority over the con-

THE WAR OF WORDS 49

sciences of men, there can be no difference
of opinion. In this respect, at least, Roger
WilHams was far ahead of the men with
whom he associated. On the other hand,
they were smcere in their horror of any
theory that tended to divide chm*ch and
state. Little did they guess that the time
would come when the two would be entirely
separate and that the honor of blazoning the
way would be given to the banished Roger
Williams. Little did they dream that there
would be a United States Constitution with
the clauses: "No religious test shall ever be
lequired as a qualification to any office or
public trust under the United States," and
"Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof."

On account of Roger Williams' poor
health, the time limit of six weeks was ex-
tended to spring. He was a menace, and
yet there was something so lovable about
him that even his enemies could not hate
him very hard.

What a dreary outlook for the disgraced,
disappointed man at the beginning of the

50 ROGER WILLIAMS

new year! He had now been in New Eng-
land a little less than live years. Instead of
having gained a position as a wonderful
preacher with a brilliant future, he had lost
his church and even a place in the colony.
That same church, after upholding his cause
for a brief period, had deserted him. The
support of his dear ones was harder than
ever, for a new baby had come into the Wil-
liams household. With health broken down
under the strain of his trials, the husband
and father was yet forced to begin planning
for a new home in some unknown country
to the west.

The day of banishment was hastened when
it was discovered that Roger Williams was
holding meetings in his own house. "He
did use to entertain company," so the an-
cient records run, "and to preach to them,
even of such points as he had been censured
for." The rumor also went around that he
had decided to found a settlement on the
shores of Narragansett Bay and to take
along with him about twenty persons whom
he had won to his way of thinking. Imme-
diately the authorities were alarmed. It

THE WAR OF WORDS 51

would never do to have such unsettled men
for neighbors! They might continue to
spread their dangerous doctrines among the
other churches. Why not dispose of their
mischievous leader once and for all by ship-
ping him back to England? It was the
easiest way out of the difficulty, for a vessel
was even then lying at anchor, ready to sail.

For a last time poor Roger Williams was
again summoned to the Boston court. He
answered that he was not able to attend. A
captain by the name of Underbill was then
sent to Salem with a small sailing-vessel to
bring the ringleader back with him. He
landed in the town and made his way to the
home of the man he sought. A patient,
kindly woman appeared. Was her husband
at home? No. Where was he, then? She
did not know. How long had he been gone?
Three whole days.

Captain Underbill returned to Boston
without Roger Williams.

CHAPTER V

"a corner for the persecuted"

Roger Williams now faced an unknown,
untried future. He had left family and
home comforts behind and there was every
prospect of suffering, hardship, possible
hunger ahead. He must either wander
afoot through the snow-covered, trackless
forests or undertake an uncertain voyage by
sea. The latter course was altogether too
risky. By skirting the coast, he was liable
to run into the very men who were seeking
him.

Whither should he turn? Who would
befriend him? There was not much choice
in the matter. He must find shelter with
friendly Indians. There were four persons
who either shared his adventures from the
start or else joined him soon after he left
Salem — William Harris, John Smith, a
miller of Dorchester who was, like Roger
Williams, banished from the colony, and

" THE PERSECUTED " 53

two youths, Francis Wickes and Thomas

Angell.

The record of those winter months is very
brief, for Roger WiUiams had no idea he
was making history. But suppose we let
him tell the story in his own words:

"When I was unkuidly and un-Chris-
tianly, as I believe, driven from my house
and land and wife and children, (m the
midst of a New England winter, now about
thirty-five years past,) at Salem, that ever-
honored Governor, Mr. Winthrop, pri-
vately wrote to me to steer my .course to
Narragansett Bay and Indians, for many
high and heavenly and public ends encour-
aging me, from the freeness of the place
from any English claims or patents. I took
his prudent motion as a hint and voice from
God, and waiving all other thoughts and
motions, I steered my com'se from Salem
(though in winter snow, which I feel yet)
unto these parts, wherein I may say Peniel,
that is, I have seen the face of God."

The first place which the wanderer de-
cided upon as a good location for a new
home was a spot on the east bank of the

54 ROGER WILLIAMS

Seekonk River. The land, while included
in Plymouth territory, was obtained from
Massasoit, the Wampanoag sachem, whom
Roger Williams considered the true owner.
It seemed a favorable stopping-place.
Here, during the mild spring days, Roger
Williams alternately tended his garden and
worked upon his rude dwelling, all the time
dreaming of the day when his good wife
and babies in Salem should join him.

Alas! his plans for a permanent home
here were never to be realized. No sooner
were things well started when he received
a friendly hint from Governor Winslow that
if he wished to avoid further trouble, it
would be well for him to choose another
home site.

"I first pitched and began to build at
Seekonk, now Rehoboth, but I received a
letter from my ancient friend, Mr. Winslow,
then Governor of Plymouth, professing his
own and others' love and respect to me, yet
lovingly advising me, since I was fallen into
the edge of their bounds, and they were
loath to displease the Bay, to remove but
to the other side of the water, and then, he

" THE PERSECUTED " 55

said, I had the country free before me, and
might be as free as themselves, and we
should be loving neighbors together."

Discouraging news, indeed! Was there
never to be peace or rest for the banished
one?

"And surelj^ between those, my friends
of the Bay and Plymouth, I was sorely
tossed for one fourteen weeks, in a bitter
winter season, not knowing what bread or
bed did mean, beside the yearly loss of no
small matter in my trading with English
and natives, being debarred from Boston,
the chief mart and port of New England.
God knows that many thousand pounds
cannot repay the losses I have sustained."

With his face again set toward some
new, unknown home, Roger Williams began
reconnoitering. By this time (probably
June, 1636), he had been joined by a fifth
refugee from Salem, Joshua Verin — per-
haps several others. One day, embarking
in a canoe, Roger Williams sailed down the
Seekonk River and crossed to the opposite
shore. The story is told that at a jagged
pointj later called Slate Rock, the Indians

56 ROGER WILLIAMS

came down to the water's edge and greeted
him with the friendly cry, "What cheer,
Netop?" or, in other words, "How do you
do, friend?" Kindly words, even though
they came from the lips of savages! Best
of all, the voyager was not asked to "move
on." Was it not a good omen that in his
search for a permanent home, he should be
greeted first of all by the Indians with whom
he had labored so faithfully and lovingly?

Whatcheer Field, in the vicinity of the
rock, became the property of Roger Wil-
liams and was used by him for planthig.
The historic rock itself is now hidden under-
ground back from the shore, but the spot
has been marked by a monument dedicated
"to the memory of Roger Williams, the
Apostle of Soul Liberty." The story of the
meeting of the red men and theii* white
friend has been fm-ther preserved in the
form of the city seal of Providence.

Roger Williams did not, however, build
at this point. The Indians probably di-
rected him to better land at the west where
there was running water. With his com-
panions, he investigated the situation. Pad-

This ,u.„UM.u-nl. vvvvU-d in 1906, .s .UdK'ated • \n ..-, Memory
of HoK.T Williams, the \p.,stle of boul Liberty. 1 1 is at t lu
foot of Williams St.. Prox ideiice, m Roger Williams N,uar( ,
Siven to the eilv by the h.^irs of (ioverm.r James iM-nner
\ bronz.> bas-r.-lief shows the landing of Hoger W ill.ams and
his friends.

The m(,nnm.nl b.-ars these words: "Below this spot, then at
the water's edgv. sto.ul the roek <,n whuh, according to tradi-
tion, Hoger Williams, ari exile for his devotion to freedom ot
conscience, landed 16;?6. "

" THE PERSECUTED " 57

dliiig to the south, they rounded a point of
land, and then turned north until they
reached a river bearing the Indian name
Moshassuck. At a point near a pure, bub-
bling spring, the little company landed,
realizing that at last they had found a good
abiding-place. Moving day — or, more
likely, a series of moving days — followed.

It actually seemed as if the wanderer's
darkest days were over and, in gratitude to
God for his goodness, Roger Williams gave
the quaint name of Providence to the settle -
ment that was now begun. At first he had
no intention of founding an English com-
munit5^ "My soul's desire was to do the
natives good" are his own words, adding
that he had no inclination for other com-
pany. Out of the bigness of his heart, how-
ever, he let in a few distressed souls, then
welcomed a few more, until finally Provi-
dence became "a corner as a shelter for the
poor and persecuted."

In regard to Roger Williams' occupation
of the new land, only after he had purchased
it from the Indians did he take possession.
He practiced exactly what he had preached

58 ROGER WILLIAMS

about the simple justice of paying the na-
tives for the land which they rightfully
claimed. He was on Narragansett territory
and therefore negotiated with the sachems
of that tribe, Canonicus and his nephew,
Miantonomo. Having mortgaged his house
at Salem, he was able to make such a
purchase.

Only the close friendship between Roger
Williams and the Narragansett chiefs could
have brought about this transfer of property
thus easily. Though money and presents
paid for it, still both parties looked upon it
as a gift. "I was the procurer of the pur-
chase," said Roger Williams, "not by monies
nor payment, the natives being so shy and
jealous, that monies could not do it; but by
that language, acquaintance and favor with
the natives and other advantages which it
pleased God to give me. . . . Canonicus
was not to be stirred with money to sell his
lands to let in foreigners. 'Tis true he re-
ceived presents and gratuities many of me,
but it was not thousand nor ten thousands
of money could have bought of him an Eng-
lish entrance into the Bay. . , . And,

" THE PERSECUTED " 59

therefore, I declare to posterity that were
it not for the favor God gave me with
Canonicus, none of these parts, no, not
Rhode Island, had been purchased or
obtained, for I never got anything out of
Canonicus but by gift."

This steadfast and beautiful friendship
between Roger Williams and the Narra-
gansett sachems endured during the lifetime
of all, although Canonicus was "most shy
of all English to his last breath." Here
were neighboi's with whom there was no
quarrel. They and the founder of Provi-
dence gave and took, lent and borrowed, in
true neighborly fashion. Roger Williams
allowed them the use of his boats, made
them presents, loaned them his servant, gave
them freely of his time and services when-
ever needed, even lodging as many as fifty
natives at a time in his humble home. Was
it any wonder that the "barbarous heart"
of Canonicus loved him "as his son to his
last gasp"?

The earliest agreements with the Narra-
gansetts were probably by word of mouth,
for the first written deed, dated two years

60 ROGER WILLIAMS

later, refers to territory already bought
on the Moshassiick and Woonasquatucket
Rivers. It confirms this sale and continues :
"As also in consideration of the many kind-
nesses and services he (Roger Williams)
hath continually done for us, both with our
friends Massachusetts, as also as Quinicki-
cutt (Connecticut), and Apaum or Plym-
outh, we do freely give unto him all that
land from those rivers, reaching to Paw-
tuxet River, as also the grass and meadows
upon the said Pawtuxet River." This old
document bears the mark of Canonicus, a
bow, that of Miantonomo, an arrow, and
also the marks of two Indian witnesses.
Thus Roger Williams could truthfully say
that this land was "as truly his as any man's
coat upon his back." Later, he generously
divided the territory he had bought among
his associates, who then numbered twelve,
so that he and they each received an equal
share.

In the summer of 1636, Mrs. Williams
and her two small children succeeded in
reaching Providence. Once more the future

*' THE PERSECUTED " 61

looked bright to the patient husband and
father.

The government of Providence was of the
simplest kind. A compact was drawn up
and signed by the settlers, in which they
agreed to uphold every measure that was
for "the public good of the body," but "only
in civil things." What did this mean? That
at last a colony was founded in which church
and state were wholly independent of each
other. It was precisely the sort of agree-
ment we should expect Roger Williams to
provide for the new settlement. It pro-
claimed to the world, "Here is a real democ-
racy— a government by the people. Here
is religious liberty without interference from
the state. Here is a society in which nobody
need be a church member in order to vote."

The privilege of worshiping as one
pleased attracted many persons in the neigh-
boring settlements and even across the
water. As soon as they heard of Roger
Williams' daring venture, they were eager
to cast their lot with him.

Now while the new settlement was thus
broad and reasonable, the Massachusetts

62 ROGER WILLIAMS

Bay Colony grew even narrower than be-
fore. Differences of opinion in church mat-
ters continued to arise, for never in the
history of the world has it been possible
for all men to think alike. Punishments
for "heresy" were still the order of the day.
Banishments were frequent. Some of the
exiles thus disgraced were obliged to seek
new homes as Roger Williams had done.

Among these were William Coddington
and John Clarke, a learned physician, both
of whom had much to do with the history
of the new colony afterwards. With the
help of Roger Williams, the new-comers
purchased the island of Aquidneck in Nar-
ragansett Bay from Canonicus and Mian-
tonomo. It was this island, later called
Rhode Island, that gave its name to the
state. The Indians then residing on the
island agreed to vacate in return for ten
coats and twenty hoes.

Another exile from the Bay Colony was
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of bril-
liant and wonderful mind, who had offended
the magistrates for holding firmly to certain
religious opinions and teaching the same.

'' THE PERSECUTED " 63

She joined the little Aquidneck settlement
and as long as she remained there, enjoyed
peace and freedom from persecution.

To return to the colony at Providence.
It was an experiment in every sense of the
word. For one thing, mere existence was
to prove a struggle. Life was hard and
crude. The early settlers were unfitted, in
many ways, to meet the difficulties of build-
ing up a new community. Few were skilled
laborers, all were poor. Men of profes-
sional training were unknown. No doctor's
sign was in evidence and for many years,
whenever medical advice or medicine was
needed, Roger Williams had to send outside
the settlement for it.

Land was plentiful, it is true, but scarcely
anything else. Yet one early precaution
taken by Roger Williams did much to lessen
the hardships of those first years. He and
Governor Winthrop purchased the island of
Prudence in the Bay as a grazing-place for
goats and swine. Twenty fathom of wam-
pum and two coats was the price paid.
Roger Williams' curious description pic-
tures it as "spectacle-wise and between a

64 ROGER WILLIAMS

mile or two in circuit." This transaction
plainly showed his tact as well as the high
esteem in which he was held by Canonicus.
It seems that the sachem wished to reserve
half of the island, but was anxious to have
Roger Williams for a neighbor. Two short
extracts from Roger Williams' correspond-
ence with Winthrop tell the whole story of
the proceedings that followed. In the first
letter, he wrote, "I think if I go over, I shall
obtain the whole''; the second letter records
simply, "I have bought and paid for the
island."

The purchase indicated good judgment
and foresight, for here the live stock could
not stray far, it had good pasturage, and
was conveniently near salt marshes, which
were necessary to keep it in the best con-
dition. As one writer has put it, Prudence
Island was the stock-farm and market-
garden of Providence, supplies being carried
back and forth by canoes.

The early "home lots" of the Providence
settlers, as they were called, extended from
the main or Town Street eastward, up a
steep hill, and over back in the direction of

" THE PERSECUTED " 65

the Seekonk. They were generous in size,
at least five acres in extent, large enough
for house, garden, orchard and burial plot.
Roger Williams' house was not far from
the spring where he landed. In modern
Providence it is hard to find any trace of
the early village that was started on the
banks of the Moshassuck, yet now and then
a voice out of the past takes one back over
the centuries to the Providence of Roger
Williams. The main thoroughfare still runs
through the heart of the city and on an
ancient building in the street is a tablet
bearing the legend, brief but thrilling with
history: "Under this house still flows the
Roger Williams spring."

Hospitality and neighborliness were
common in early Providence days, for
everybody was dependent upon everybody
else. Roger Williams and his good wife
kept open house for all. Now they took
in a sick soldier and nursed him back to
health and strength, once they sheltered an
Indian with a hurt foot, and even went so
far as to allow Miantonomo to hold his
"barbarous court" under their roof!

66 ROGER WILLIAMS

The Indians, in fact, early found a way
to the Williams door. They frequently
came with messages from the other colonies
or carried letters from Roger Williams to
his neighboring friends. These were often
accompanied by simple gifts, such as some
chestnuts from Mrs. Williams for Mrs.
Winthrop or a Narragansett-woven basket
for the same lady from the Indian wife of
Miantonomo. The carriers themselves were
always rewarded, of course. Roger Wil-
liams must have kept on hand an extra
supply of coats, trousers, tools and trinkets
to satisfy their eager, childish desires.

Besides the struggle for a livinsr, there
were other matters which gave the founder
of Providence great concern. We should
like to record that his followers lived in
peace and harmony, that there was nf^ver
any discord, that they showed the Bay
Colony they were well-behaved, ideal neigh-
bors. This would not be true history, how-
ever. The colonists were only human.
Besides, not all were able to understand the
real meaning of the advanced principles for
which their leader stood. They mistook lib-

" THE PERSECUTED " 67

erty for license. Quarrels arose from time
to time and disturbances were sometimes
caused by troublesome persons who would
be called "cranks" to-day. Still the colony
was bound to outgrow these petty differ-
ences. No settlement in the New World
had a better right to a successful future,
for none was built upon a truer, surer
foundation.

CHAPTER VI

THE PEQUOT WAR

Shortly after the founding of Providence,
Roger Williams had an opportunity to
show the people of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony what he thought of them. It was in
his power to seriously injure them; to "pay
them back," as it were, for all he had suf-
fered at their hands. Instead, with his
usual sweetness of disposition, he returned
good for evil, "good measure, pressed down,
and running over." For injustice, he had
nothing but forgiveness, for ill-treatment,
only love and service. It required true
nobility of character to act as he did.

Grave danger threatened all New Eng-
land at this time — the possibility of a wide-
spread Indian outbreak. In reality, it was
more than a possibility — it was almost a
certainty. Already there had been several
indications that the savages meant to make
trouble. Of all the neighboring tribes,

THE PEQUOT WAR 69

the colonists had most to fear from the
Pequots. These were a powerful and
dreaded people who occupied territory at
the west of the Narragansetts in what is now
the eastern part of Connecticut. Some time
before this, they had been suspected of hav-
ing a hand in the murder of a number of
white traders on the Connecticut River.
Now, the same year that Roger Williams'
new settlement was begun, another English
trader, John Oldham by name, was killed
off Block Island under circimistances
similar to those of the first outrage.

At this point Roger Williams comes into
the story. He sent news of the tragedy to
Governor Vane of Massachusetts Bay and
thus hastened the preparations of that
colony to protect itself. A force under the
command of the doughty John Endicott was
sent into the Pequot country to bring the
natives to terms. The Massachusetts men
inflicted losses by burning wigwams and
destroying crops, but failed to punish with
any degree of thoroughness. The expedi-
tion had but one effect — to madden the
Pequots to further activity.

70 ROGER WILLIAMS

A feeling of alarm and insecurity spread
throughout all the settlements. The In-
dians had signed treaties, it is true, but it
was no longer safe to trust their word.
There was reason to think that the enmity
of the Pequots was only the first step
toward a general massacre. To better carry
out their purposes, the Indians tried to form
an alliance with their near neighbors and
former enemies, the Narragansetts.

What could be done ? Who had influence
enough to break up this proposed league —
to turn the friendship of the Narragansetts
from their red neighbors to their white
neighbors? One man, and one only, pos-
sessed that power. He was the "dangerous"
founder of Providence, who had been turned
out of Massachusetts in disgrace.

In spite of this fact, the magistrates of
the Bay Colony lost no time in appealing
to Roger Williams to save them. He re-
sponded promptly, willingly. The story of
his perilous mission among the Narragan-
setts reads more like a chapter from some
exciting book of imaginary adventure than
sober history:

THE PEQUOT WAR 71

"The Lord helped me immediately to put
my life into my hand, and, scarce acquaint-
ing my wife, to ship myself, all alone in a
poor canoe, and to cut through a stormy
wind, with great seas, every minute in
hazard of life, to the sachem's house. Three
days and nights my business forced me to
lodge and mix with the bloody Pequot am-
bassadors, whose hands and arms, me-
thought, reeked with the blood of my
countrymen, murdered and massacred by
them on Connecticut River, and from whom
I could not but nightly look for their bloody
knives at my own throat also. God won-
drously preserved me, and helped me to'
break to pieces the Pequots' negotiation and
design, and to make, promote and finish, by
many travels and charges, the English
league with the Narragansetts and Mohe-
gans against the Pequots."

So successfully indeed did Roger Wil-
liams risk his life that in the autumn of that
same year a party of Narragan setts, includ-
ing Miantonomo, journeyed to Boston to
form a treaty with the English. Among
other things, it provided for a peace between

72 ROGER WILLIAMS

the Narragansetts and the colonists and
contained a promise that neither party
should make peace with the Pequots without
the other's consent, or that, in case of war,
due notice should be given. The old records
say that after the treaty was concluded, the
visiting Indians were given a dinner, then
"conveyed out of town by some musketeers
and dismissed with a volley of shot."

Still the matter was not entirely closed,
for the colonists, lacking a thorough knowl-
edge of the Indian tongue, could not make
the Narragansetts understand certain parts
of the compact, which was written in Eng-
lish. An interpreter was needed, so a copy
of the treaty was sent to Roger Williams
that he might clearly and simply explain it
to the Narragansetts. He might be a dan-
gerous neighbor, but he was certainly a most
convenient one!

The Pequot War took place, after all, but
without the alliance of the Narragansetts.
Instead of resulting in the wholesale de-
struction of the whites, it marked the doom
of the tribe which was foolhardy enough to
attempt it. The three colonies, Massachu-

THE PEQUOT WAR 73

setts, Plymouth and Connecticut, united to
crush the Indian menace.

A detachment from the Bay Colony in
charge of General Stoughton marched to
Connecticut by way of Providence. Roger
Williams hospitably entertained them, giv-
ing the visitors of his best. Poor Mrs. Wil-
liams must have been put to her utmost
resources to act as hostess to one hundred
and twenty soldiers! As they continued on
their way, Roger Williams accompanied
them some distance in order to bring about
a meeting with their allies, the Narragan-
setts, and so establish good feeling.

Under Captain John Mason, the Con-
necticut settlers, aided by both English and
Indian allies, surprised the Pequots at Fort
Mystic, May, 1637, and with fire and sword,
practically wiped them out in an hour's
time. A swamp battle soon afterwards
completed the extermination of this once
brave and valiant tribe. The few who es-
caped were distributed as captives. The
very name Pequot disaj^peai'ed from thet
map of the Connecticut country. The Pe-
quot River became the Thames and the

74 ROGER WILLIAMS

town of that name was changed to New
London.

During the Pequot War and the period
just preceding it, Roger Williams was kept
busy. No one could give better advice than
he at this time, aided as he was by his friend-
liness with the Narragansetts. He became,
in fact, a news agency, continually sending
the latest bits of information to Massachu-
setts and in other ways serving as a valuable
go-between. He kept the English informed
of the Pequots' designs as far as he knew
them and once submitted a rude map
showing the positions of the Indians.

He occupied himself, too, with another
matter — keeping the Narragansett sachem,
Canonicus, in good humor. In one of the
interesting old letters of Roger Williams
written to his friends at the Bay, he tells
how he "sweetened the spirit" of the aged
chieftain in a very literal way. The super-
stitious Canonicus, it seems, had blamed the
English for sending the plague among his
people, but Roger Williams convinced him
of his mistake and then requested some
sugar for the sachem. "I find," said he.

THE PEQUOT WAR 75

"that Canonicus would gladly accept of a
box of eight or ten pounds of sugar, and in-
deed he told me he would thank Mr.
Governor for a box full."

There was great rejoicing throughout
New England when the Pequots were
finally disposed of. A day of solemn
thanksgiving and rejoicing was appointed
in Massachusetts, the successful warriors
were feasted, and services held in all the
churches. And what reward was given the
man who, more than anybody else, had
saved his countrymen from a dreadful mas-
sacre by winning over the Narragansetts ?
Winthrop and others debated whether it
would not be well to recall him from banish-
ment or show some other mark of favor.
Nothing came of the discussion. The de-
cree of banishment remained in force and
not so much as a vote of thanks was given
Roger Williams.

Still the main thought in his tender heart
at this time seems to have been that too
much severity had been used in dealing with
the Pequots. "I fear that some innocent
blood cries at Connecticut," he wrote his

76 ROGER WILLIAMS

friend Winthrop. Again, when hands of
the vanquished Indians were sent to Boston
and few, if any, of the Bay people protested
against this horrible custom, Roger Wil-
liams once more raised his voice. He feared
"those dead hands were no pleasing sight"
and regretted that he could not have pre-
vented such a display of barbarism without
offending the Indians. "I have always shown
dislike," he added, "to such dismembering
the dead."

After the war, Roger Williams repeat-
edly acted as peace-maker in lesser differ-
ences between the English and the natives.
To all he meted out the same measure of
fairness and justice. If the Indians in-
flicted injuries, he demanded that they
"make good" with the whites; if it was the
whites who ill-treated the Indians, he was
no less insistent that they do the right thing
in turn. No grievance of the red men was
too trivial for him to investigate. Thus he
straightened out a matter of some missing
kettles and a disputed canoe, concerning
which Miantonomo's feelings had been hurt.

THE PEQUOT WAR 77

with all the seriousness he would have given
a matter of state.

One interesting event of the year 1638
that meant much to Roger Williams was
the birth of his oldest son. He was the first
male child born within the limits of the new
colony and was therefore named Providence
after the settlement his father had founded.
An appropriate name, surely, but what a
curious one for a poor child to carry around !

There is no record that any church build-
ing existed in the earliest days of Provi-
dence. Poverty may have been one reason
for this lack. Meetings were held in differ-
ent homes, however, and as Roger Williams
was the only ordained minister, he con-
ducted the services. There was no persecu-
tion for non-attendance — of that we may be
sure. Among the people who came to
Providence because they could not enjoy
their religion unmolested elsewhere, were
the Anabaptists or Baptists, as their name
was shortened in later years. Their views
were much more liberal and attractive than
strict Puritanism and therefore interested
Roger Williams. He allowed one of their

78 ROGER WILLIAMS

number, Ezekiel Holliman, to baptize him
in the new faith and he then baptized Holh-
man and several others. For this public
profession, Roger Williams and his wife
were excommunicated from the Salem
church. He is generally regarded as the
first pastor of the Baptist Church, but he
was not actively connected with it for more
than a few months. No doctrine of the day
could quite satisfy a man of his open mind
and earnest determination to search for the
truth. He became what was then known as
a "seeker."

The Baptists, however, continued to pros-
per and increase in numbers. They still
claim Roger Williams as the founder of the
First Baptist Church of America. The an-
cient meeting-house bearing that name
(though it is not the original edifice of the
society) has a bell with a quaint inscription
which proclaims to the world the principles
upon which both the city and the Baptist
congregation were founded:

" For freedom of conscience the town was first
planted,
Persuasion, not force, was used by the people ;

The First Baptist Church of JVovidence is a digiiifiod
and venerahhj white structure on North Main Street, the
"Town Street" of Roger WilHanis' day. It is niodehnl
after St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London. Its hell still
rings the curfew at nine o'clock each evening.

The First Baptist Society, the first in America, was
founded in 163{}, and met eilhei in the open air or at the
homes of its members during the iirst si\l\-two years
of its existence. l\oger \\ illiams is generally considered
the first pastor of the church.

THE PEQUOT WAR 79

This church is the eldest and has not recanted,
Enjoying and granting bell, temple, and steeple."

To rightly understand the last line, we
must know that in England in the seven-
teenth century those worshippers who had
separated from the established church had
neither bell, temple nor steeple. This is
only another instance of the liberal spirit of
the early inhabitants of Providence.

CHAPTER VII

THE INDIAN KEY

As we have seen, the Indians had much to
do with Roger Wilhams' history from the
very beginning of his hfe in the New World.
He had lodged with them, befriended them,
studied their language, traded with them,
and had been their interpreter. All this was
of benefit to both natives and colonists.

In 1643, another opportunity came for
Roger Williams to be of still further service
to his countrymen and their red neighbors.
An important mission (about which we will
speak later) took him to England that year
and he made the most of the leisure afforded
by the long sea voyage to put into book
form what he had learned about the Indian
language and customs. "I drew the mate-
rials," he explained, "in a rude lump at sea,
that I might not lightly lose what I had so
dearly bought in some few years' hardship."

Roger Williams' purpose was to bring
about a closer relation between the whites

THE INDIAN KEY 81

and the natives. He believed they could be
mutually helpful if the book were used as
a guide.

"A little key may open a box where lies
a bunch of keys. . . . One candle will light
ten thousand, and it may please God to
bless a little leaven to season the mighty
lump of those peoples and territories."

The work was published in London be-
fore the close of the year under an odd and
lengthy title which indicated that the labor
put into it was at least thorough. It was
called "A Key into the Language of Amer-
ica; or, An help to the Language of the
Natives in that part of America, called
New-England. Together, with brief Ob-
servations of the Customs, Manners and
Worships, etc. of the aforesaid Natives, in
Peace and War, in Life and Death. On aU
which are added Spiritual Observations,
General and Particular by the Author, of
chief and special use (upon all occasions,) to
all the English Inhabiting those parts; yet
pleasant and profitable to the view of all
men." Let us hope that the persons who
asked for the volume in the London book-

82 ROGER WILLIAMS

shops did not attempt to give the title word
for word!

No man of that day was better fitted to
midertake such a task as the writing of the
Indian Key than Roger WiUiams, for no
man had lived so intimatelj'- with the New
England Indians. The quaint book is to-day
considered very valuable and very precious
among book-lovers. Of course most of the
history concerns the Narragansetts particu-
larly, but Roger Williams also made use of
the knowledge he had gained from other
tribes.

Suppose we take a few peeps into this
fascinating old volume, for nowhere can we
find a better picture of the author's "bar-
barians." We notice, first, that it is made
up something like a dictionary. On the left
side of each page are the Indian words and
phrases and, on the right, their meaning
in English. But what a difficult diction-
ary! Think of mastering such mouth-fill-
ing words as "Muckquachuckquemese" or
"Maumashinnaunamaiita." Only the pa-
tience of a Roger Williams could ever have
discovered that such enigmas meant "a little

THE INDIAN KEY 83

boy" and "Let us make a good fire." It is
interesting to know that the very first phrase
in the book is the famihar "What cheer,
Netop?" or the first greeting that reached
Roger WilHams' ears in the land of
the Narragansetts. Besides explaining the
commoner expressions of the Indians, the
author includes notes about their life and
habits. At the close of each chapter are a
few lines of simple, crude verse that sounds
for all the world like the pointed sermons
with which good old-fashioned stories used
to end.

As to the religion of the Indians, Roger
Williams tells his readers that he has been
given the names of thirty-seven different
gods which they solemnly worship. Among
these, Cautantouwit, the great god of the
southwest, was a general favorite. From
his field came their corn and beans and it is
to his abode theii* souls will go at death, pro-
vided they have lived good lives. All mur-
derers, thieves and liars, on the other hand,
must wander restlessly abroad. Besides
Cautantouwit, many other gods are men-
tioned, such as the Eastern, Western,

84 ROGER WILLIAMS

Northern and Southern Gods, the House
God, the Woman's God, the Children's
God, the Sun and the Moon Gods, and the
Fire God.

" The Indians find the sun so sweet,
He is a god, they say;
Giving them Hght and heat and fruit.
And guidance all the day.

" They have no help of clock or watch,
And sun they overprize.
Having those artificial helps, the sun
We unthankfully despise."

The superstitions of the Indians were
many and curious, as is seen by the follov/-
ing: Though crows frequently stole their
corn, yet scarcely one native in a hundred
would put them to death. Why? Because
they firmly believed that the crow first
brought them a grain of Indian corn in one
ear and an Indian bean in the other from
Cautantouwit's field. Another superstition
was theii' childlike faith in the power of
their priests and conjurers to work cures.
To Roger Williams' way of thinking, these
"wise men" did nothing but "howl and roar"
over them.

THE INDIAN KEY 85

Still, Roger Williams, always just, took
care to record the good points of the natives
as well as their failings. This was unlike
many Englishmen of his time, who looked
down upon the savages as little better than
animals. For one thing, hospitality was a
common virtue among them. Had it not
been so, Roger Williams could never have
found for his book such a list of friendly
expressions as "Warm you," "Sit by the
fire," "Come hither, friend," "Come in," "I
thank you," "I thank you for your kind
remembrance," and "I thank you for your
love."

" The courteous pagan shall condemn
Uncourteous Englishmen,
Who live Hke foxes, bears and wolves,
Or lion in his den.

" Let none sing blessings to their souls,
For that they courteous are :
The wild barbarians with no more
Than nature, go so far.

" If Nature's sons both wild and tame,
Humane and courteous be.
How ill becomes it sons of God
To want humanity! "

86 ROGER WILLIAMS

Again, Roger Williams tells us, "If any
stranger come in, they presently give him
to eat of what they have ; many a time, and
at all times of the night (as I have fallen
in travel upon their houses) when nothing
hath been ready, have themselves and their
wives risen to prepare me some refreshing.
In summer time I have known them lie
abroad often themselves, to make room for
strangers, English or others."

" I have known them leave their house and mat
To lodge a friend or stranger,
When Jews and Christians off have sent
Christ Jesus to the manger."

Family affection and loyalty were strong
in the Indian, while drunkenness was an al-
most unknown vice. As for such crimes as
robbery and murder, Roger Williams says
that the red men have as good, if not a bet-
ter, record than their white neighbors. In
war, too, the example set by the English
was hardly what we would expect from a
superior race :

" The Indians count of men as dogs,
It is no wonder then :

THE INDIAN KEY 87

They tear out one another's throats I
But now that Englishmen,

" That boast themselves God's children and
Members of Christ to be,
That they should thus break out in flames,
Sure 'tis a mystery! "

Roger Williams gave the natives credit,
too, for being punctual. "They are punc-
tual in their promises of keeping time; and
sometimes have charged me with a lie for
not punctually keeping time, though
hindered."

The Indians were exceedingly fond of
news. So eager were they to learn what was
going on around them that if any stranger
was able to satisfy their curiosity in their
own language, they called him a god.
Forming a circle about the news-brinjger
and silently puffing at their pipes, they
would listen with deep attention to what he
had to say.

Being children of nature and living
mostly in the open, they were far better ac-
quainted with the outdoor world than were
their white neighbors. Their five senses
were trained to a wonderful degree 0,nd

88 ROGER WILLIAMS

they were intimately familiar with the sun
and moon, the winds and weather.

" The very Indian boys can give
To many stars their name,
And know their course and therein do
Excel the Enghsh tame."

A good description of the Indian home is
furnished by Roger Williams. It consisted
of long poles covered and lined with mats.
Those on the inside were embroidered by
the women and took the place of hangings.
Mats often formed doors, too, though birch
and chestnut bark and even English boards
and nails were sometimes used for this pur-
pose. A large opening in the middle of the
house served as a chimney. "Two families
will live comfortably and lovingly in a little
round house of some fovu'teen or sixteen foot
over."

The principal occupations of the Indian
braves were hunting, fishing, trading, and
the manufacture of canoes, bows and ar-
rows. They raised some tobacco, but left
the planting and tending of other crops
wholly to their women folk. Tobacco was

THE INDIAN KEY 89

highly valued as a preventative against
toothache. While the Indians generally
bore torture uncomplainingly, a jumping
tooth would make a coward of the bravest.
Says Roger Williams, "The toothache is the
only pain which will force their stout hearts
to cry."

Canoes were fashioned from pine, oak and
chestnut trees. After being felled, the trees
were burned and hewed into shape. A
single Indian working by himself in the
forest could finish and launch his boat within
ten or twelve days. Some of the larger
canoes were big enough to hold thirty or
forty men. That they were not always the
safest craft for white men is shown by Roger
Williams' story:

"It is wonderful to see how they will ven-
ture in those canoes, and how (being oft
overset as I have myself been with them)
they will swim a mile, yea, two or more, safe
to land. I having been necessitated to pass
waters divers times with them, it hath
pleased God to make them many times the
instruments of my preservation: and when
sometimes in great danger I have questioned

90 ROGER WILLIAMS

safety, they have said to me, 'Fear not, if
we be overset, I will carry you safe to
land.' "

As to food, parched meal seems to have
been their main article of diet, mixed with
either hot or cold water. A little basket of
meal was commonly carried on the back or
in a hollow leather girdle. This would last
for three or four days.

There was also natural food at hand, of
which the Indians made good use. The
strawberry was greatly prized. To quote
from the "Key":

"This berry is the wonder of all the fruits
growing naturally in those parts. In some
parts where the natives have planted, I have
many times seen as many as would fill a
good ship within few miles' compass. The
Indians bruise them in a mortar and mix
them with meal and make strawberry
bread." The natives were also very fond of
a dish made of meal and dried currants
ground to a powder which was "as sweet to
them as plum or spice cake to the English."

Another natural source of food was the
clam-beds, for which New England, and

THE INDIAN KEY 91

Rhode Island especially, has always been
famous. Listen to Roger Williams' de-
scription of the clam:

"This is a sweet kind of shell-fish, which
all Indians generally over the country,
winter and sunmier, delight in, and at low
water the women dig for them. This fish
and the natural liquor of it they boil and it
makes theii- broth and their bread seasonable
and savory, instead of salt."

The Indian wampum, made from shells
found along the shores of New England,
took the place of money. Six small white
beads, or three black ones, were equal to one
English penny.

These glimpses into the Indian "Key"
give us a little idea of Roger Williams'
friends among the Narragansetts and other
tribes. Here and there in the book are
hints of his kindly dealings with these
savages. One story tells how he gladly
went two miles out of his way to visit
a Connecticut Indian on his death-
bed. The dying brave told Roger Wil-
liams he had never forgotten the words
in which he had preached the religion of the

92 ROGER WILLIAMS

white men, then added pitifully, "Me so big
naughty heart, me heart all one stone!"

In another place, Roger Williams re-
ferred to Canonicus, sachem of the Nar-
ragansetts and his steadfast friend, as
"a wise and peaceable prince." He tells
us how he had hard work to overcome
Canonicus' suspicions of the English. To
show he had cause to doubt the word of
the whites, the Indian chief picked up a
stick and broke it in ten pieces — one piece
for each time the English had been un-
trustworthy. It is not necessary to add
that Roger Williams did his best to so im-
prove conditions that the Indians could put
greater trust in the colonists.

The printer who published the "Key into
the Language of America" was Gregory
Dexter. He early emigrated to Providence
and became a leading citizen of the little
colony and also remained a "dear and faith-
ful friend" of Roger Williams.

CHAPTER VIII

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER

There was no doubt about it. The little
settlement of Providence was in disgrace —
deep disgrace. Massachusetts could forgive
neither Roger Williams for his unheard-of
opinions nor his companions who helped him
found the colony based upon such dangerous
principles.

She showed her displeasure in several
ways. First, she frowned upon all residents
of Providence who came within her borders.
If they still held that the magistrates were
unjust and that Roger Williams had been
persecuted, they were politely invited to
turn back home and threatened with im-
prisonment should they repeat the offence.
Another effect of the Bay Colony's severity-
was loss of trade, resulting in actual hard-
ship for the Providence settlers. As sup-
plies from England were received at Boston,
little Providence was badly handicapped in

94 ROGER WILLIAMS

securing the necessities of life. She must
either depend upon the more distant port
of New Amsterdam or go without.

As for Roger Williams himself, Massa-
chusetts obstinately refused to let him touch
her territory under any conditions. It is
hard to understand such a spirit of narrow-
ness and ingratitude after the noble part he
had played in the Pequot War. Still he
continued to help Massachusetts on any and
every occasion when his knowledge of the
Indians and their language could be of
service. They, as rej)eatedly, kept on ac-
cepting his kindnesses without, however,
annulling his decree of banishment. The
following incident shows this in striking
fashion :

At one time the Massachusetts people be-
came suspicious of Miantonomo, thinking
that he had entered into a league with the
Mohawks against them. Thereupon, they
summoned him to Boston to give an account
of himself. The Narragansett sachem was
perfectly willing to go — on one condition.
This was that Roger Williams might be his
companion. Well did the shrewd savage

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 95

know that if his trusted 'friend had a part in
the proceedmgs, right and justice would
prevail. Such would have been the case, but
Roger Williams was not given a chance to
say a word for either side. He was under
sentence of banishment. How, then, could
he be allowed to accompany Miantonomo?
The proposed meeting failed to take place.

Whenever a disturbance arose in Roger
Williams' colony, Massachusetts was only
too ready to cry out triumphantly, "I told
you so! This absurd theory of the separa-
tion of church and state is not working out
any better than we thought it would!" John
Winthrop solemnly recorded in his Journal,
"At Providence, also, the devil was not
idle." What Roger Williams' critics were
too short-sighted to see was that the trouble
lay, not with his principles, which were sane
and sound, but with his companions' misun-
derstanding of them. The Apostle of Soul
Liberty was far ahead of the age in which he
lived.

The time came when this attitude of
Massachusetts threatened Providence with
very real dangers. We are sorry to say that

96 ROGER WILLIAMS

not all the trouble in the infant colony came
from without, however. A few settlers at
Pawtuxet, near Providence, though occuj)y-
ing land over which Massachusetts had no
claim, placed themselves mider her protec-
tion. It was the very opportunity the Bay
Colony had been seeking to extend her
sway. Providence, having no government,
had no right to exist, she argued. Frankly
she acknowledged that Pawtuxet was worth
taking over. Was it wise to neglect any
chance that would serve as a wedge to
further extension of territory?

John Winthrop himself had the honesty
to reveal Massachusetts' real motives back
of her protection of the Pawtuxet malcon-
tents :

"This we did partly to draw in the rest in
those parts, either under ourselves or Plym-
outh, who now lived under no government,
but grew very offensive, and the place was
likely to be of use to us, especially if we
should have occasion of sending out against
any Indians of Narragansett and likewise
for an outlet into the Narragansett Bay,
and seeing it came without our seeking, and

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 97

would be no charge to us, we thought it not
wisdom to let it slip."

For a while, the outlook was most discour-
aging for the struggling settlement at the
head of Narragansett Bay. Things went
from bad to worse. The climax was reached
when, in the spring of 1643, Massachusetts,
Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven
joined to form "The United Colonies of
New England." Providence and Aquidneck
were left out. The chief purpose of the
federation was mutual protection against
the natives. The Pequot War, while it had
broken the power of one dreaded tribe, had
not settled all the Indian troubles of New
England. Every now and then rumors of
new dangers spread from settlement to set-
tlement. As in former years, a general mas-
sacre of white settlers was feared. There
was now a likelihood that such an attempt
might be more successful than before, for
the Indians had been receiving firearms
from English traders.

The league was based, then, upon the
principle that in union there is strength.
Two commissioners from eacli colony (both

98 ROGER WILLIAMS

of whom must be church members) were
elected to meet once a year to discuss the
questions of war and peace that affected
the general welfare of New England. The
Narragansett Bay settlements would have
been glad to send their representatives, too,
but were not allowed to do so. At first the
New England federation claimed it was be-
cause Providence had no charter. This
could not have been the real reason, for
when this obstacle ceased to exist, the colony
was still refused admission.

It is easy to see that it was thus placed
in an extremely dangerous position. It was
isolated, could hope for no co-operation
from its neighbor colonies and was in con-
stant dread of Indian outbreaks. What
were the little frozen-out settlements to do?
In some way they must make a place for
themselves in this unfriendly New England,
and that speedily. They must, in some way,
make their neighbors respect them — yes,
and keep their hands off of them. Their
very existence was imperiled.

There was only one course open. Acting
on the same principle as their more for-

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 99

tunate neighbors, they decided to unite and
to make that union firm and lasting by
appeahng to England for a charter. The
man best suited to undertake this delicate
mission was, of course, Roger Williams, and
he was appointed to visit the mother-country
for this purpose.

At the time he sailed (June, 1643), the
principal Narragansett Bay settlements
were Providence, those on the island of
Aquidneck — Portsmouth and Newport —
and the infant settlement of Warwick.
During the seven years of its existence.
Providence had continued to stand boldly
for religious freedom. Aquidneck, too,
while entirelj^ separate from her sister
colony, had been liberal from the beginning,
as is shown by her court record of 1641,
"that liberty of conscience in point of
doctrine is perpetuated."

Roger Williams would have preferred to
engage passage from Boston, but once more
the Massachusetts authorities refused to let
him enter their territory. He therefore de-
cided to embark from New Amsterdam.
Many persons in that Dutch settlement had

100 ROGER WILLIAMS

reason to be thankful for the happy provi-
dence that sent him their way. A fierce In-
dian uprising was in progress, due largely
to the ill-treatment of the savages by the
whites. Roger Williams' fame must have
gone before him, for the settlers pleaded
with him to save them. With his usual gra-
cious willingness, he became peace-maker
and with his customary success. Unhap-
pily, many frightful tragedies had already
occurred. Among these was the murder of
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and members of her
family who had moved from Aquidneck to
the Dutch colony.

The long, uncertain voyage that lay
ahead of Roger Williams was most unlike
the rapid crossings made in our modern
luxurious ocean steamers that can calculate
almost to an hour the length of the journey.
Heavy seas, storms, contrary winds all had
to be taken into accovmt. Realizing the
delay that might thus be caused, our traveler
used his leisure to put together the Indian
"Key," as we have seen.

It was a very different England which
Roger Williams found in 1643 from that

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 101

which lie had left thirteen years before.
Then royalty and bishops had been tri-
umphant; now the king was a fugitive and
the Star Chamber a thing of the past. The
country was passing through a dreadful
civil war. Parliament was fighting for its
rights, long trampled upon, and it was a
question whether that body or the king
would win out in the end. The struggle was
for both civil and religious freedom. Dis-
turbed though the kingdom was, it was the
very best occasion for Roger Williams to
present his request. Parliament needed all
the friends it could get on both sides of the
water. It therefore listened with attention
to what he had to say.

Without question Roger Williams num-
bered among his friends the most powerful
men of England at this time — Oliver Crom-
well, Sir Henry Vane, the former governor
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and per-
haps Milton. They greeted the pioneer
from over-seas with hearty welcome. Their
warm friendship must have meant much to
the outcast from Massachusetts. But his
patient heart must have been filled with a

102 ROGER WILLIAMS

still greater joy when a commission ap-
pointed by Parliament granted his colony
the much-desired charter. Massachusetts'
cold disapproval might continue, but the
Narragansett settlements were on their feet
at last! They had a future. Their star,
slow in rising, was now above the horizon.

During his stay in London, Roger Wil-
liams attended to other matters besides the
procuring of the charter. Often his own
personal concerns were pushed aside for the
sake of others. The poor of the city were
enduring great suffering due to a lack of
coal, for the war had interfered with mining.
Wood was very expensive. Roger Wil-
liams made it his business to do what he
could to obtain fuel and so lessen the
distress around him.

In addition, he made use of every spare
moment to write a great work on toleration
bearing the rather startling title of "The
Bloody Tenent of Persecution," which was
put together "in variety of strange houses,
sometimes in the fields, in the midst of
travel." It was in answer to a letter of his
old antagonist, John Cotton. Going back a

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 103

step further, this letter had been called forth
by a pamphlet on persecution composed by
a prisoner of Newgate. Being denied
writing materials, he had substituted milk
for ink, and for paper, had used the wrap-
pings of the milk bottles brought him. Such
writings, he knew, would, upon the applica-
tion of heat, become legible. To "the argu-
ments against persecution in milk," Roger
Williams now wrote "the answer in blood."
He was on familiar ground, and with clear
logic, good sense and strong English, he
shaped his ideas on religious liberty. Such
a book had never before been published.
Truth and Peace are represented as dis-
cussing this all-important subject.

"In what dark corner of the world, sweet
Peace," begins Truth, "are we two met?
How hath the present evil world banished
me from all the coasts and quarters of it?
And how hath the righteous God in judg-
ment taken thee from the earth?"

" 'Tis lamentably true, blessed Truth,"
answers Peace, "the foundations of the
world have long been out of course. . . .
With what a wearied, tired wing have I

104 ROGER WILLIAMS

flown over nations, kingdoms, cities, towns,
to find out precious Truth."

"The like inquiries," says Truth, "in my
flights and travels have I made for Peace,
and still am told she hath left the earth and
fled to Heaven."

"Dear Truth," then exclaims Peace,
"what is the earth but a dungeon of
darkness where Truth is not?"

In less fanciful language, arguments are
given to show that neither laws nor civil
magistrates should have authority over a
man's soul. Roger Williams did not mean
any disrespect to his old friend, John Cot-
ton, by thus openly taking opposite sides
with him. This he explained years after-
wards in a courteous letter to Cotton's son.
He was too tender-hearted to offend even his
enemies. Besides, public controversies were
very popular in Roger Williams' day.

The book was dedicated to Parliament,
but, unfortunately, the House of Commons
was so far from comprehending and appre-
ciating its worth, that it rather childishly
ordered that it be burnt. As if in such sim-

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 105

pie fashion truth could be wiped from the
earth !

The charter obtained by Roger Williams
provided that "Providence Plantations in
the N^arragansett Bay in New England"
should be given "full power and authority
to rule themselves and such others as shall
hereafter inhabit within any part of the said
tract of land, by such a form of civil gov-
ernment as by voluntary consent of all, or
the greater part of them, they shall find
most suitable to their estate and condition,
provided that the said laws, constitutions
and punishments for the civil government
of the said plantations be conformable to
the laws of England, as far as the nature
and constitution of the place will admit."
It was a most liberal document, without
a single word about restricting liberty in
religious matters.

The obtaining of this charter meant an
outlay in actual money of one hundred
pounds, or five hundred dollars. Roger
Williams had generously disposed of some
of his land in order to raise ready money to
carry through the project. This debt was

106 ROGER WILLIAMS

not collected without considerable trouble
and delay. The colonists, having secured
their object, did not seem over- anxious to
pay the bill.

The question suggests itself: How had
Roger Williams been able to make such a
complete success of his mission in England?
There were several reasons — among them,
the desire of Parliament to make and keep
friends in New England, as has been men-
tioned. But listen. In a letter sent by
Roger Williams from leading noblemen and
members of Parliament to Massachusetts,
we find these words: "As also of his great
industry and travels in his printed Indian
labors in your parts (the like whereof we
have not seen extant from any part of
America) and in which respect it hath
pleased both Houses of Parliament to grant
unto him, and friends with him, a free and
absolute charter of civil government for
those parts of his abode." The writers of
the letter did not hesitate to use very plain
language in expressing their disapproval of
the lack of harmony and neighborliness that
had marked the dealings between Massa-

IN QUEST OF THE CHARTER 107

chusetts and Roger Williams. The missive
gained him the privilege of landing in Bos-
ton on his return to America in the autumn
of the year 1644. There is nothing to show,
however, that the colony softened her heart
toward him.

The people of Providence, on the other
hand, heard of the coming of their leader
and prepared for him a truly royal welcome.
When he landed on the banks of the See-
konk, where, not many years before, nobody
had taken any interest in his doings except
possibly friendly Indians, now he was met
by a body of his townsmen who had turned
out in fourteen canoes to greet him.
Happy in the safe return of their friend and
neighbor, and rejoiced to think he had come
back with the precious charter, they escorted
him, with hearty expressions of joy, across
the river to the settlement he had founded.

CHAPTER IX

NARRAGANSETT DAYS

While Roger Williams was absent in Eng-
land, an event occurred at home which must
have sorely grieved his kindly heart when
he heard of it. This was the death of his
faithful friend and ally, the sachem Mian-
tonomo. Their friendship, as well as that
between Roger Williams and Miantonomo's
uncle, Canonicus, forms one of the most in-
teresting chapters in the life of our hero.
Brave, dignified, upright, true, Miantonomo
could give many a church elder of his time
a lesson in honor and sincerity. He
deserved a far better fate at their hands
than he received.

Ever since the Pequot War, there had
been trouble between the Mohegans and
the Narragansetts. Uncas, the powerful
sachem of the former tribe, was Mianto-
nomo's deadly rival. When, therefore, war
broke out between him and an ally of Mian-

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 109

tonomo, the Narragansett sachem took part
in the struggle. With a force of about a
thousand men, which greatly outnumbered
the Connecticut Indians, he took Uncas
completely by surprise. Unhappily, Mian-
tonomo was hindered by a heavy armor that
had been loaned him and this, together with
the sudden fury of Uncas' assault, cost him
the day. He was taken captive to Hart-
ford, after proudly refusing to plead for his
life.

When the commissioners of the United
Colonies next met, his case was put in their
hands. What should be done with the
silent, haughty prisoner? Should he be
condemned to death or receive a lighter
punishment' or — best of all — be set free?
Whatever Miantonomo's faults, he had al-
ways kept faith with his white allies and,
remembering his treaty at the time of the
Pequot War, had even asked permission of
Massachusetts before attacking Uncas.
The United Colonies hesitated. At length
they shifted the responsibility to certain
prominent mmisters of the gospel. Surely
they would be lenient. Without question

no ROGER WILLIAMS

they would grant him hfe and freedom.
Death! With one voice they pronounced
the awful sentence.

It is not difficult to imagine the savage
joy with which Uncas received his hated foe
back again. As Miantonomo was led forth
from Hartford, one of Uncas' men stole up
behind him and felled him to the ground
with a single blow of a hatchet. This heart-
less murder — for it can be called nothing
less — will always remain a dark blot on the
history of early New England. If only
Roger Williams had been at home! No
doubt the gloomy sachem said it to himself
more than once with childlike yearning.
To-day, nearly three hundred years after
the tragedy, we echo sadly, "If only Roger
Williams had been at home!"

The Narragansetts did not soon overlook
the cruel death of their favorite chief. They
meditated revenge — deep, thorough re-
venge. They would have the head of Uncas,
no matter what Massachusetts and the otlier
colonies might say. Such was the state of
affairs when Roger Williams returned from
England. The Narragansetts actually

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 111

commenced hostilities against the Mohegans
and threatened to cany the war against the
white colonists as well, except those of
Providence and Rhode Island, as the island
of Aquidneck was now called.

Roger Williams lost no time in doing his
utmost to quench "the flames of war raging
next door" to him. He sent word of the
plans of the Indians to a meeting of the
commissioners of the United Colonies held
at Boston. In consequence of this, Massa-
chusetts decided to take up arms against
the revengeful Narragansetts. Their
sachem, Pessicus, Miantonomo's brother,
then lost some of his former bravery. He,
like Massachusetts, depended upon Roger
Williams to get him out of his difficulties.
He had the same unquestioning confidence
in the friend of his tribe as had Miantonomo
before him. The result of the whole busi-
ness was that peace was arranged and the
Narragansetts pledged Massachusetts two
thousand fathom of wampum. A treaty
was concluded which patched up the differ-
ences between the two Indian tribes and
perhaps prevented, for a second time, a

112 ROGER WILLIAMS

widespread massacre of the whites. The
credit was entirely due to Roger Williams.

But to return to the personal alfairs of
the great peace-maker. We must not sup-
pose that all this time he was on the road
to riches. At no time in his career does he
seem to have had an abundance of worldly
goods. He was obliged to work in the open,
at hard manual labor, to earn a living for
himself and those dependent on him. Now,
upon his- return from England, he found
himself poorer than ever. His family num-
bered six children and it was a big problem
to clothe and feed them properl5\ Their
needs probably determined his next step —
his removal from Providence to Cawcawm-
quissick or Narragansett, some twenty miles
down the Bay, where he established a
trading-post.

The location had its advantages. It was
convenient for hunters and accessible to
Newport, at which port furs could be
shipped to England and needed supplies be
received in return. Here, in the heart of the
Narragansett country, Roger Williams
passed six busy years of his life, his busi-

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 113

ness yielding hiiii one luindred pounds
annually. He planted and harvested his
crops, continued to serve as mediator be-
tween the natives and the colonists, and to
take an active part in the affairs of the
colony.

He found at Narragansett a most con-
genial neighbor in the person of Richard
Smith, a prosperous trader and the owner
of a large estate. A fugitive from English
persecution, he had resided for a time in
Plymouth territory, and then, for the sake
of a still more liberal atmosphere, moved to
the Narragansett Bay region. His was the
first English house in that section, built a
few years after the settlement of Provi-
dence. Mrs. Smith was the soul of courtesy
and hospitality and the Williams family
was fortunate in having her and her good
husband within neighborly distance.

That Roger Williams, too, was the best
of neighbors, we have abundant proof. No
kindly service was too small for him to
undertake if he could thereby help those
about him, whether English or Indian.
Now he busied himself trying to find the

114 ROGER WILLIAMS

stray cattle of a friend, again he gave his
house over to Massachusetts soldiers who
had come to collect the v^ampum debt from
the Narragansetts. The savages were con-
tinually making excuses to Roger Williams
for their delay in settling the heavy account.
Many of these were genuine enough, no
doubt. He listened to the grievances of
both sides and, as usual, poured oil on the
troubled waters.

To the Narragansetts, he was friend,
peace-maker, adviser, physician. They
served in his household, for the early records
of the province show that he was granted
"leave to suffer a native, his hired household
servant, to kill fowl for him in his piece at
Narragansett about his house." Their bod-
ily ailments were ever a source of care
and anxiety to him. Though Providence
Plantations was a temperate colony, yet
Roger Williams was allowed to administer
"a little wine or strong water" "to the red
men in their illnesses. "I might have gained
thousands by that trade," he once said, "but
God hath graciously given me rather to
choose a drj^ morsel." When in need of

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 115

greater medical skill than his own, he wrote
his friend, John Winthrop the younger, of
Connecticut, for medicine and a "drawing
plaster," adding generously, "if the charge
rise to one or two crowns, I shall thankfully
send it."

The lack of good physicians was still
sorely felt in the colony. When the second
daughter of Roger Williams became ill, he
again asked Mr. Winthrop's advice — this
time, as to the best doctor in Massachusetts.
As late as 1660, however, Roger Williams
resorted to simple remedies — of necessity,
very likely — instead of consulting a doctor.
When his son Joseph "was troubled with a
spice of an epilepsy," he wrote, "We used
some remedies, but it hath pleased God, by
his taking of tobacco, perfectly, as we hope,
to cure him."

Correspondence and neighborly inter-
change of courtesies were kept up for years
between the Williams family and that of
John Winthrop, Jr. The affection and
kindliness of the former governor of Mas-
sachusetts for his banished friend descended
to his son, "Your loving lines in this cold,

116 ROGER WILLIAMS

dead season" — thus began one of Roger
Williams' letters to him — "were as a cup of
your Connecticut cider." Once Mrs. Wil-
liams sent Mrs. Winthrop a couple of
papers of pins, as this simple necessity ap-
peared to be scarce in Connecticut. Her
husband added the suggestion that if Mrs.
Winthrop herself did not need them, they
might "pleasure a neighbor." Writing
paper seemed to be as scarce in Providence
as pins were in Connecticut. One letter of
Roger Williams was written on the blank
side of an envelope addressed to himself by
Winthrop. He crossed out his own name
and wrote that of his correspondent in
blacker ink.

The monotony and hard work of the Nar-
ragansett existence were enlivened now and
then by the loan of a book. In this way,
Roger Williams kept in touch with the lat-
est thought in England. He eagerly read
all volumes that came his way bearing
upon religious subjects, but at one time he
expressed an earnest desire for a geography.
In turn, he supplied his friends with books
from his own limited library. We are sorry

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 117

to say they were not always returned
promptly. Thus he sent urgent word to
Connecticut for Winthrop to recover one of
these books which an Englishman of Long
Island had borrowed.

During Roger Williams' residence at
Narragansett, the aged chieftain Canonicus
died. Honorable and just in his dealings
with the colonists, always more inclined
toward peace than war, he stands out in
history as one of the wisest and best of New
England Indians. He picked out Roger
Williams as the object of his special favor.
Despite extreme age, he had laid out the
grounds of his neighbor's trading-house with
his own hands. The two men had the deep-
est respect and love for each other. Near-
ing his end, the Narragansett chieftain sent
for Roger Williams. He had a dying re-
quest to make — that he might be buried in
the "cloth of free gift" that was one of many
tokens of friendship from his great white
friend. "So he was," recorded Roger Wil-
liams simply. Thus the "prudent and
peaceable prince" was laid to rest with his
fathers.

118 ROGER WILLIAMS

One other event marked Roger Williams'
sojourn at Narragansett. A day came
when exciting news spread like wildfire
throughout the colony. Gold had been
found — rich, precious gold — yes, and silver,
too — on the island of Rhode Island. So the
word went round. What a future for the
poor, struggling little colony! Roger Wil-
liams, with the others, believed that a mine
of wealth was in their midst and wrote in
one of his letters that the ore had been tested
and found genuine. The arms of England
and of the Lord High Admiral were posted
over the mine and nobody allowed to
take possession. Unfortunately, the golden
dream soon changed to drab reality. A
more careful test showed that what was be-
lieved to be gold was not gold at all. The
disappointed dreamers, sadder but wiser, re-
turned to their plows to earn a living out of
the soil in the old humdrum but dependable
way.

What about Roger Williams' charter
money all this time? The colony had voted
him the hundred pounds to pay the expenses
of his trip across the water, but he had not

NARRAGANSETT DAYS 119

yet collected it all. After patiently waiting
several years, he gently hinted that Prov-
idence pay her share in goats!

"I have here (through God's providence)
convenience of miproving some goats; my
request is, therefore, that if it may be with-
out much trouble, you would be pleased to
order the payment of it in cattle of that
kind."

Let us hope that the "cattle" duly reached
Narragansett.

CHAPTER X

THE CHARTER ON TRIAL

Meanwhile, what of the charter itself
which Roger Wilhams had gained at the
expense of so much time and trouble ? Had
it succeeded in uniting the struggling set-
tlements? Were they now a harmonious,
happy family ? Alas ! No such miracle had
occurred. In fact, two years and a half
passed before any kind of union was
brought about.

Finallj^ in May, 1647, representatives
from the different towns met at Portsmouth.
The larger part of the colony, however, was
present at this first General Assembly.
Those persons from the mainland who at-
tended paddled to their destination in
canoes. In those days the water trip from
Providence to Portsmouth was looked upon
as quite an undertaking, though to-day a
steamer could easily make the same journey
in Jess than two hours. The delegates from

^

^^^^^^HpK»-^^^

'• '

CariDniciis Beid.;*'. llo^^cr Williams Park, I'lox idence, appro-
priately naiiicd after the Narragansett sachem who was the
steadfast friend of Roger \\illiams.

The Betsy Williams ('.otiage. Roger Williams I'^nk, Providence.
It is an old-fashioned red dwelling, well covered with vines in
summer, not far from the statue of Roger Williams. The
cottage is appropriately furnished with (.olonial relics.

THE CHARTER ON TRIAL 121

Providence, including Roger Williams and
his brother Robert, were bidden Godspeed
by the town in words as gravely serious as
might be used had the intended voyage been
across the ocean :

"We commit you unto the protection and
direction of the Almighty, wishing you a
comfortable voyage, a happy success, and a
safe return unto us again."

At this first representative meeting of the
colony, a simple form of government was
decided upon. It was agreed that the af-
fairs of the province should be managed by
a president, four assistants and six commis-
sioners from each town, or tweny-four in all.
Roger Williams was not chosen first presi-
dent, as we might suppose, but this may
have been because he declined the honor.
Surely the good and faithful man deserved
a rest. He did, however, serve twice as
an assistant and once as deputy-president
under the first charter.

The colonial body declared itself in favor
of "a democratical form of government" —
a truly startling novelty for the seventeenth
century. Then a clear, simple code of law§

122 ROGER WILLIAMS

was drawn up, far milder and more just
than any then in existence. They provided
that while burglary and theft were punish-
able crimes, still the penalty should not be
too extreme for poor persons who stole be-
cause of hunger. Debtors having no goods
or lands with which to settle their bills
were not to be sent to prison "to lie lan-
guishing to no man's advantage." The
destitute and infirm were to be provided
for in all the towns. No person was
to be required to take an out-and-out
oath, his solemn word or testimony be-
ing considered just as binding. The laws
concluded thus quaintly: "And otherwise
than thus what is herein forbidden, all men
may walk as their consciences persuade
them, every one in the name of his God.
And let the saints of the Most High walk in
this colony without molestation in the name
of Jehovah, their God, forever and ever."

Just how primitive was the life of these
early settlers is shown in that section of the
laws touching upon archery. It also gives
a glimpse of the constant danger which

THE CHARTER ON TRIAL 123

surrounded the pioneers of Providence
Plantations.

"Forasmuch, as we are cast among the
archers, and know not how soon we may be
deprived of powder and shot, without which
our guns will advantage us nothing; to the
end also that we may come to outshoot these
natives in their own bow; Be it enacted by
the authority of this present Assembly, that
that statute touching archery shall be re-
vived and propagated throughout the whole
colony; and that every person from the age
of seventeen years to the age of seventy,
that is not lame, debilitated in his body, or
otherwise exempted by the colony, shall
have a bow and four arrows, and shall use
and exercise shooting; and every father
having children shall provide for every man-
child from the age of seven years, till he
come to seventeen years, a bow and two
arrows or shafts to induce them and to bring
them up to shooting; and every son, servant,
or master, thus appointed and ordered to
have a bow and arrows, that shall be remiss
and negligent in the observance hereof and
shall be found to lack a bow and so many

124 ROGER WILLIAMS

arrows for the space of a month together
after the last of the fourth month, commonly
called June, shall forfeit three shillings and
four pence ; the father shall pay for the son,
the master for the servant, and deduct it out
of his wages."

At this first assembly, an anchor (to
which later was added the motto "Hope")
was chosen as the seal of the province. Ap-
propriate emblem, indeed! Many a storm
would the infant colony be called upon to
battle with before being grounded firmly in
good government. Never before had a
group of people greater need of hope and
courage than those who were trying out
their "lively experiment."

A law was passed, too, forbidding the sale
of firearms to the Indians under penalty of
a heavy fine.

Several years passed and still Providence
Plantations failed to become the settled,
united colony of Roger Williams' hopes and
dreams. It was a union in name only. As for
the position of the founder himself, it was
as if he were the head of an unruly school.
The four disturbing classes, instead of act-

THE CHARTER ON TRIAL 125

ing together for the good of the school, were
more intent on their own httle concerns and
differences. The people of Providence
quarreled among themselves, while Prov-
idence, Newport, Portsmouth and Warwick
quarreled with one another.

It is true that certain inhabitants of Prov-
idence made an agreement that for the com-
mon good they would forget their jealousies
and bickerings, but, unhappily, the very
persons who signed the paper were the ones
who had no need of such a pledge to begin
with. The liberal, brotherly spirit of Roger
Williams was plainly evident in their deter-
mination to let "love cover their differences
in the grave of oblivion."

At last matters reached a crisis. William
Coddington planned to detach the island of
Rhode Island and the neighboring island of
Conanicut from the rest of the colony and
sailed for England early in 1649 to obtain
a separate charter. And this even though
he had been honored by being elected presi-
dent of the province and owed his position in
the colony largely to Roger Williams'
kindness and helpfulness.

126 ROGER WILLIAMS

It looked very much as if Roger Wil-
liams' work would have to be done all over
again, especially as Coddington returned in
two years with the new charter which made
him governor of the two islands in the Bay
for life. Besides, the neighboring colonies
still had a covetous eye on their sister colony
of whom they had always disapproved.
Massachusetts still claimed Pawtuxet,
Plymouth declared she owned the Island of
Rhode Island, while poor Warwick had
been tossed back and forth between the two
very much like a baseball.

Finally, Providence and Warwick had
the good sense to unite and ask Roger Wil-
liams to go to England a second time to
have the original charter confirmed. Ports-
mouth and Newport, with equally good
sense, urged John Clarke, the good minister-
physician of the latter town, likewise to
appeal to the mother country to have the
Coddington charter annulled.

Roger Williams had to be urged twice to
undertake the task. The care of his sizable
family and lack of money probably had
much to do with his first refusal. At length.

THE CHARTER ON TRIAL 127

however, he came to the conclusion that his
duty to his fellow-colonists was of more
importance than his own private affairs.
The two towns promised to defray the ex-
penses of the trip and to make up whatever
was still owing for the former voyage.

Even so, Roger Williams sold his trad-
ing-post at Narragansett in order to finance
the venture. He found a purchaser in his
neighbor, Richard Smith, who paid him
fifty pounds in ready money for it. There
is no indication that, on the part of
the seller, this was an attempt to drive a
sharp bargain — far from it. The business
must have been worth far more than Roger
Williams realized on it, even though it was
a cash transaction.

There was one thing more to be done —
to "humbly pray Massachusetts that he
might inoffensively and without molestation
pass through her jurisdiction as a stranger
for a night." The request was grudgingly
granted and, in company with the Reverend
John Clarke, Roger Williams for tiie sec-
ond time set his face toward England, in
November, 1651.

CHAPTER XI

THE SECOND MISSION

After Roger Williams left for London, the
towns of Portsmouth and Newport sub-
mitted to the rule of Coddington, while
Providence and Warwick united and con-
tinued under the old charter. They held
their regular assemblies as usual, passed
laws, and acted, in general, as if there were
no split at all.

Many of their proceedings are of little
interest to-day, but one stands out from the
rest and deserves more than passing notice.
The law restricting slavery, under date of
May 18, 1652, was one of the very first of
its kind, not alone in New England, but in
the whole world. The purchase of negroes
was "a common course practiced among
Englishmen to that end they may have them
for service or slaves forever" and white men
were also held in similar bondage. Now
while the idea of universal freedom was far

THE SECOND MISSION 129

from the thoughts of mankind in Roger
Williams' day, the step taken by his little
colony was a big stride in the right direction.
It provided that no "black mankind or
white" should be made to serve for a longer
period than ten years. "And that man that
will not let them go free," the decree went
on, "or shall sell them away elsewhere, to
that end that they may be enslaved to others
for a long time, he or they shall forfeit to
the colony forty pounds."

Though Roger Williams was hundreds
of miles from home at the time this slavery
act was passed, it clearly shows his influence.
He was always the friend of the oppressed
and downtrodden. It is not likely that
many offenders were found after the law
became a fact. Two hundred dollars meant
too heavy a fine for the poor colonist of that
day to pay.

The England of Roger Williams' second
visit was as disturbed as the England of his
first trip. King Charles had paid a heavy
price for his tyrannical injustice — the loss of
his head — and the real ruler of the country
was Oliver Cromwell. Backed by his well-

130 ROGER WILLIAMS

disciplined, well-trained, invincible army, he
had swept everything before him. During
Roger Williams' stay, he usurped even more
power and was made the Lord Protector of
the Commonwealth of England. It was
well for Providence Plantations that it had
so influential a friend at court. Cromwell
was very gracious to the colony's representa-
tive, frequently having long talks with
Roger Williams and asking many questions
about the Narragansett province across the
sea. The Indians of that section interested
him especially. Roger Williams needed no
urging to impart all the information he
could on this topic so near his heart. Yet
not even Cromwell's friendship secured a
speedy settlement of the charter trouble.

The question was referred to the Council
of State. Meanwhile, Roger Williams kept
his colony informed from time to time as to
the results of his labors. First, he wrote
that the Council had given Jiim encourage-
ment and had decided that the charter was
binding until further orders were issued.
Next, he was able to send the welcome news
that the Coddington charter was annulled

THE SECOND MISSION 131

and that the towns were to unite as form-
erly. As we shall see, this was more easily
said than done.

Though much had been gained, the final
settlement was not yet reached. While
waiting, Roger WiUiams had his hands full
seeing to it that his strugghng province
across the water was not cheated out of its
rights. For one thing, war broke out be-
tween the Dutch and English. Naturally,
this national struggle caused less important
affairs to be pushed aside for the time being.
Then the friends of the charter had to fight
opposition among persons of high position
and influence. So the matter dragged on.

In one of his letters describing these
drawbacks, Roger Williams did not forget
to send his love to his Indian friends. The
correspondence was not all one-sided. The
people of Providence, in turn, kept Roger
Williams in touch with affairs at home.
Though they did not always appreciate the
great, whole-souled man while he lived
quietly among them, whenever they were
left to their own devices, they awoke to some
realization of his worth. They passed their

132 ROGER WILLIAMS

troubles on to him and asked his advice, as
if the poor man had not already enough
burdens of his own to carry! They did not
stop here. They wrote an earnest letter
asking him to accept the governorship of the
colony for a year in case the charter should
be confirmed.

A more ambitious man would eagerly
have grasped the opportunity thus offered.
He would have seen in it the possibility of
power, influence, perhaps riches. Not so
Roger Williams. In his own humble,
modest way, he was content to go on as be-
fore, sacrificing his own interests for those
of the colony, whether repaid for his efforts
or not.

Cromwell was not the only prominent
man in England with whom Roger Wil-
liams was on intimate terms. He renewed
his friendship with Sir Henry Vane and
was a frequent visitor at his house — either
in his lodgings at Whitehall or at his beau-
tiful country estate Belleau in Lincolnshire.
This tried and true friend, having lived in
both old and New England, could under-
stand and sympathize with Roger Williams

THE SECOND MISSION 133

as perhaps nobody else could. He was not
only his personal friend, but a friend of the
Providence colony as well. "The sheet
anchor of our ship," wrote Roger Williams,
"is Sir Henry, who will do as the eye of
God leads him."

John Milton was another brilliant man
with whom Roger Williams associated dur-
ing this period. He was the secretary of
the Council of State and later became
world-famous as the author of "Paradise
Lost." The condition of the great man at
this time was pitiable. He was fast grow-
ing blind. He said of his affliction in after
years :

"...., My light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent v/hich is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless "

He and Roger Williams exchanged lan-
guages, Roger Williams reading to him in
Dutch and receiving in return instruction
in other languages. Roger Williams'
familiarity with other tongues than his own
was truly remarkable. We have seen how
he had studied and conquered the Indian

134 ROGER WILLIAMS

dialects. Now during his stay in the mother
country, he practiced Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, French and Dutch.

The study of languages, however, was not
all that occujiied Roger Williams during
the two years and a half that he awaited
the triumph of his charter. He wrote sev-
eral books and pamphlets that represent
some of the best literary work of his life.
It will be remembered that when in Eng-
land before, he had published a book called
"The Bloody Tenent of Persecution," in
which he voiced his views on toleration.
This was later answered by John Cotton,
who, borrowing a portion of Roger Wil-
liams' title, added to it and called his work
"The Bloody Tenent Washed and Made
White in the Blood of the Lamb." Roger
Williams could not let the matter rest here
— he was too ardent an apostle of liberty of
conscience.

So now he took the opportunity to get
ready for publication a reply to his antag-
onist, this time under the overwhelming
heading of "The Bloody Tenent Yet More
Bloody by Mr. Cotton's Endeavor to Wash

THE SECOND MISSION 135

it White in the Blood of the Lamb." If the
controversy had been carried any further,
who knows what cumbersome and unwieldy
titles might not have been inflicted upon the
reading public! Roger Williams, in refer-
ring to the above book in its relation to Mr.
Cotton's arguments, said it had "unwashed
his washings."

England at this period was divided on the
question of toleration. There were those
who favored only partial religious liberty,
others who took the stand that Roger Wil-
liams had supported all these years — abso-
lute soul liberty without interference from
the civil power. These broad-minded men
argued that the Jews, who had been perse-
cuted time and again by the rulers of Eng-
land and had been excluded from the land
for several hundred years, should be allowed
to live freely and peaceably in the forbidden
country.

Here was a chance for Roger Williams
to strike another blow at oppression. The
despised race could have had no better
champion. Writing in their behalf, he said:

"I humbly conceive it to be the duty of

136 ROGER WILLIAMS

the civil magistrate to break down that
superstitious wall of separation (as to civil
things) between us Gentiles and the Jews,
and freely (without their asking) to make
way for their free and peaceable habitation
amongst us.

"As other nations, so this especially, and
the kings thereof, have had just cause to
fear that the un-Christian oppressions, in-
civilities and inhumanities of this nation
against the Jews have cried to Heaven
against this nation and the kings and princes
of it.

"For the removing of which guilt, and the
pacifying of the wrath of the Most High
against this nation, and for the furthering
of that great end of propagating the Gospel
of Christ Jesus; It is humbly conceived to
be a great and weighty duty which is upon
this state, to provide (on the Jews' account)
some gracious expedients for such holy and
truly Christian ends."

It may be that this stand taken by Roger
Williams influenced Cromwell in his later
treatment of the oppressed people. With-
out openly welcoming them back into Eng-

THE SECOND MISSION 137

land, he did, as one writer has put it, allow
them to enter by the back door.

Poverty was still a heavy handicap to
Roger Williams. To raise needed fmids,
he was not ashamed to turn to any kind of
employment so long as it was honorable.
Thus we read of his giving language lessons
to the sons of a member of Parliament. As
to his methods, they were both reasonable
and interesting. There was no forcing of
dry old set formulas upon his pupils to be
learned by heart. Instead, he substituted
what would be called to-day the "natural
method" — that is, he taught those words and
phrases in most common use by means of
easy conversations. Happy students, to
have a teacher who thought grammar rules
a "tyranny" ! So well did these lessons suc-
ceed that after Roger Williams returned to
America, he taught his own three boys in
the same way.

Once more the poor of London were his
debtors. His own wants were never of so
much importance as those of his neighbors.
As on the previous visit, he helped supply
the needy with fuel.

138 ROGER WILLIAMS

One episode of Roger Williams' stay in
London was amusing, yet pathetic as well.
All the years he had spent in New England
he had not forgotten the kind friend of his
youth, Sir Edward Coke. It therefore oc-
curred to him, now that he was in his native
land once more, to make inquiries after the
daughter of the famous judge, Mrs. Anne
Sadlier. He did so in a courteous letter,
at the same time sending her one of his dis-
courses that had recently been printed.
The good lady had the rudeness to return it,
saying that she read little beyond a few
standard religious works. That she looked
upon her father's former protege as a dan-
gerous advanced thinker is shown by her
saying bluntly that she believed his "new
lights would prove but dark lanterns." In
reply, Roger Williams referred her to the
volumes covering his late controversy with
John Cotton. Shocked beyond measure at
the mere title "Bloody Tenent," Mrs.
Sadlier did not attempt to read further and
tartly told her correspondent not to trouble
her again. With more persistence than
wisdom, Roger Williams did write still once

THE SECOND MISSION 139

more. Mrs. Sadlier was thoroughly roused
by the sermon-like epistle he sent and in
anything but lady-like language, told the
writer he had a "face of brass." Poor
Roger Williams was silenced at last.

With this spirited correspondence Mrs.
Sadlier left the following memorandum:
"Full little did he (Sir Edward Coke)
think that he ( Roger Williams ) would have
proved such a rebel to God, the king and his
country. I leave his letters, that, if ever he
has the face to return into his native
country, Tyburn may give him welcome."

In spite of his busy days and the im-
portance of the errand which was keeping
him in England, Roger Williams was very
homesick at times. He yearned to see the
faces of his sons and daughters. He longed,
too, for his gentle wife — his "dear yoke-
fellow"— and even proposed her joining
him over-seas in several of his letters. One
of the pamphlets he published while abroad
(the one that Mrs. Sadlier rejected) was
in the form of a letter addressed to Mrs.
Williams. It had been written some time

140 ROGER WILLIAMS

before on the occasion of her recovery from
a dangerous illness while he was absent from
home working among the Indians. Though
there is more of the sermon than love-letter
about it, still we find these exquisite lines:

"My dear love, since it pleaseth the Lord
so to dispose of me, and of my affairs at
present, that I cannot often see thee, I de-
sire often to send to thee. ... I send thee
(though in winter) an handful of flowers
made up in a little posy, for thy dear self
and our dear children, to look and smell on."

Rather flowery language, perhaps, to
apply to a religious tract, yet it affords a
satisfying glimpse of deep husbandly and
fatherly affection.

Roger Williams finally made up his mind
to return to New England, though the
charter matter was not yet closed. It was
not alone thoughts of his own immediate
family that induced him to make this deci-
sion. His larger family — his unruly, quar-
relsome colonial family — needed him quite
as badly. He therefore left the interests of
Providence Plantations in the hands of Mr.

THE SECOND MISSION 141

Clarke and turned homeward. The English
goveniment granted him a safe passage
through Massachusetts and, early in the
summer of 1654, he landed in Boston.

CHAPTER XII

ROGER WILLIAMS AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT

What the people of Providence Planta-
tions needed and deserved was a good round
scolding. They received it in the form of
a sharp letter addressed to the colony by
Sir Henry Vane and entrusted to Roger
Williams. He wrote:

"How is it that there are such divisions
amongst you? Such headiness, tumults,
disorders, injustice? The noise echoes into
the ears of all, as well friends as enemies,
by every return of ships from those parts.
. . . Are there no wise men amongst you?
No public self-denying spirits, that at least,
upon the grounds of public safety, equity
and prudence, can find out some way or
means of union and reconciliation for you
amongst yourselves, before you become a
prey to common enemies, especially since
this state, by the last letter from the Council
of State, give you your freedom, as sup-

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 143

posing a better use would have been made
of it than there hath been? Surely, when
kind and simple remedies are applied and
are ineffectual, it speaks loud and broadly
the high and dangerous distempers of such
a body, as if the wounds were incurable."

Then, calling upon their higher natm-e,
he concluded by saying kindly, "But I hope
better things from you."

Roger Williams, too, penned a strong let-
ter on the subject. He was weary at heart
because of the constant dissensions around
him. Now he gently reminded his friends
and neighbors of Providence that "Only by
pride cometh contention," and "Love cover-
eth a multitude of sins," but at the same
time he did not hesitate to rehearse the trials
he had been through for their good. In
plain, direct language, he said that for being
their "stepping-stone," he had received
nothing but grief, sorrow and bitterness.
Only a hard-hearted people could have
withstood such pathetic words as these :

"It hath been told me that I labored for a
licentious and contentious people; that I
have foolishly parted with town and colony

144 ROGER WILLIAMS

advantages, by which I might have pre-
served both town and colony in as good
order as any in the country about us. . . .
I was unfortunately fetched and drawn
from my employment, and sent to so vast
distance from my family, to do your work
of a high and costly nature, for so many
days and weeks and months together, and
there left to starve, or steal, or beg or bor-
row. But blessed be God, who gave me
favor to borrow one while, and to work an-
other, and thereby to pay your debts there,
and to come over with your credit and honor,
as an agent from you, who had, in your
name, grappled with the agents and friends
of all your enemies round about you."

For once, Providence Plantations had the
grace to be ashamed of itself. For a while,
at least, it was on its good behavior. The
citizens of Providence appointed Roger
Williams to send a reply to Sir Henry
Vane, their friendly critic across the water.
In this letter, they freely acknowledged
their shortcomings, but with this excuse :

"Possibly a sweet cup hath rendered
many of us wanton and too active, for we

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 145

have long drunk of the cup of as great
hberties as any people that we can hear of
under the whole heaven."

Forgetting their jealousies and differ-
ences, the four towns united and established
the government on the old basis. There was
peace for the time being, due largely to the
fact that on September 12, 1654, Roger
Williams was elected president of the colony
and continued to serve in that capacity for
two and a half vears. He would far rather
have preferred to remain a private citizen,
but was overcome by the wishes of others.
Once again he was guided by the watch-
word "Service."

The first problem with which Roger
Williams had to grapple concerned the In-
dians. The Narragansetts and the natives
of Long Island were at war, and the Com-
missioners of the United Colonies had tried
in vara to subdue the former. They sent
an armed force against the Narragansetts,
which, however, was unsuccessful. They
might have pushed the matter further had
it not been for Roger Williams' action at
this crisis. He sent a letter to ISIassachu-

146 ROGER WILLIAMS

setts calling the attention of that colony to
the following facts: that their families had
been allowed to grow up in peace among
the Indians; that the conversion of the sav-
ages was not possible so long as unnecessary
and cruel wars were waged against them;
that even so-called successful wars usually
resulted in fearful losses as well as gains.

He did not neglect to put in a good word
for his friends, the Narragansetts, who, he
said, had never stained their hands with
English blood. Through all their territory,
he added. Englishmen had frequently
traveled alone in perfect safety.

Whether or not Massachusetts was moved
by this appeal, she certainly acted as Roger
Williams hoped she would. She passed
the word round that hostilities would be
dropped. Thus again the prevention of
an Indian massacre was probably due to the
efforts of the gi-eat peace-maker.

One of the laws passed during Roger
Williams' term of office concerned the sale
of strong drink to the Indians. Though
laws had been passed before covering this
point, they had not been enforced. Now

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 147

the new statute provided that two "ordinary
keepers" in each town should be the only
persons authorized to sell liquor or wine to
the natives and that the amount should be
limited to a quarter of a pint a day. In
case the inn-keeper allowed any Indian cus-
tomers to become intoxicated, he was liable
to be fined twenty shillings for each person
found in such a condition. This regulation,
while not all that could be desired, doubtless
reduced the drink evil greatly and so
increased the safety of the colonists.

In spite of the good intentions of Provi-
dence Plantations, Roger Williams' path
continued to be a thorny one. Stubborn
and quarrelsome individuals caused him no
end of trouble by refusing to obey the exist-
ing form of government. The principles
for which their leader had worked and sac-
rificed were altogether too big for them to
comprehend. His parable of the ship meant
nothing to them. They misunderstood lib-
erty of conscience to mean license to do
whatever they pleased.

Now it is ti*ue that Roger Williams had
maintained from the first that religious lib-

148 ROGER WILLIAMS

erty should be enjoyed without interference
from the government. He had never
preached, however, that the government had
no business to put a stop to disturbances if
they threatened the general welfare of the
colony. In short, any community must
protect the rights of its members if it would
continue to exist.

Rumors of the above difficulties reached
the ears of Oliver Cromwell. Too occupied
with important affairs in old England to
trouble himself with the bickerings of a
small group of people in New England, he
yet took time to write a brief note to the
colony. He charged the inhabitants to pre-
serve peace and safety and to avoid dis-
honor to the Commonwealth and themselves
through differences at home or invasions
from outside.

This order from the Lord Protector was
the very weapon needed by Roger Williams
and others who were working for good gov-
ernment. It placed a wholesome restraint
upon several turbulent spirits and allowed
those in authority to enforce theii* just de-
mands. The most troublesome rebel, how-

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 149

ever, could not be kept in subjection very
long. He was William Harris, to whom
a legal dispute was as the very air he
breathed. For many years he was Roger
Williams' thorn in the flesh until that usu-
ally mild and forgiving individual had him
arrested on a charge of treason for his
persistent opposition to the government.

William Coddington, who, perhaps more
than any other person, had been to blame
for the discord that distressed Roger Wil-
liams, now came forward and promised
obedience. Much as we disapprove of his
disloyalty, we cannot help admiring his
simple and dignified behavior as he publicly
professed his allegiance:

"I, William Coddington, do freely submit
to the authority of his Highness in this
colony as it is now united, and that with all
my heart."

During Roger Williams' presidency,
Warwick and Pawtuxet continued to be a
source of vexation. Certain inhabitants of
those settlements still rebelled against their
proper authorities, claiming that they owed
allegiance to Massachusetts alone. Everi

150 ROGER WILLIAMS

the Indians used the name of the Bay
Colony to cover acts of lawlessness. Roger
Williams protested in writing to Massa-
chusetts against her encouragement of such
a state of affairs. Not receiving a satis-
factory answer to his first letter, he wrote a
second time.

One matter which he discussed in this
correspondence — the question of defence
against possible Indian outbreaks — was as
vital as land disputes. It was necessary
that his colony secure a supply of ammuni-
tion. Twice he asked Massachusetts for the
privilege of purchasing it from her, but she
flatly refused to sell it. Her action was both
unneighborly and unjust.

The condition of Providence Plantations
at this time was extremely dangerous. As
an exposed frontier colony, mishielded from
the Indians about her, her risk of attacks by
them was always greater than that of her
more protected sister colonies. Though the
natives, as a general thing, had a wholesome
respect for Roger Williams, yet it was not
safe to trust the best of them. Canonicus
and Miantonomo were both dead. There

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 151

was no knowing to what lengths their tribe
might go when equipped with firearms and
strong drink. There was no doubt that they
had been so supplied by unscrupulous
Dutclimen and the very same Englishmen
who had refused to sell to the colonists.
Roger Williams' indignant words showed
clearly what he thought of such practices:

"For myself ... I have refused the gain
of thousands by such a murderous trade,
and think no law yet extant . . . secure
enough against such villainy."

In addition to the possibility of Indian
attacks, there was also a chance that the
colony might go to war with the neighbor-
ing Dutch province. Such an outbreak
would indeed be a calamity, as many sup-
plies came by way of New Amsterdam;
still, as England and Holland were at war,
hostilities might easily extend to America.

Now Roger Williams and his colony were
firm believers in preparedness. Not being
able to keep ammunition and liquor entirely
out of reach of the natives, they resolved
upon the next best thing — to meet the
danger by having the colony ready to de-

152 ROGER WILLIAMS

fend itself should occasion arise. In such a
course alone lay safety. Instead of waiting
until actual attacks were begun, it was wise
to take tune by the forelock and prepare
beforehand.

A beginning had already been made along
this line years before. "Train bands" were
organized early in the history of the colony
for military drill, and in 1650 the towns
were required by law to have their guns in
good condition and to keep a magazine of
arms and ammunition. Newport's appor-
tionment was the greatest of all, as she was
the largest and most flourishing of the
settlements. Yet even her means of defence
was pitifully small — three barrels of pow-
der, one thousand pounds of lead, twelve
pikes and twenty-four muskets.

Another measure of defence was now
proposed — the erection of a fort at
Stampers' Hill, in Providence. The story
of the naming of this spot is too curious to
be passed by. One of the Rhode Island
historians tells the story thus:

"Soon after the settlement of Providence,
a body of Indians approached the town in a

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 153

hostile manner. Some of the townsmen, by
rmining and stamping on this hill, induced
them to believe that there was a large num-
ber of men stationed there to oppose them,
upon which they relinquished their design
and retired. From this circumstance the hill
was always called Stampers' Hill, or more
generally, the Stampers."

A street of this name is still to be found
on the map of Providence.

The same year that the fort was discussed,
a consignment of powder and shot was re-
ceived by the colony from John Clarke in
England. It was placed in the hands of
Roger Williams and distributed by him so
that each town received one barrel of pow-
der and two barrels of shot each. It was
ordered by the General Assembly that
money be raised to pay for it to the sum
of "ten pound in good and well-sorted
strung peage (wampum), after the rate of
eight white per penny, and four black per
penny, from each town." Clarke's assign-
ment was inadequate enough for the needy
colony, still it was something.

Happily, the worst of the threatened

154 ROGER WILLIAMS

troubles did not materialize. As a result of
Roger Williams' second letter to Massachu-
setts, John Endicott, then governor, invited
his old friend to Boston. Roger Williams
accepted the invitation and his trip did much
to lessen friction between the two colonies.
A curious record shows that stormy little
Warwick did her part to make the presi-
dent's mission a success. She voted forty
shillings out of her treasmy, provided a
horse for the journey, and also a pair of
"Indian breeches" for Roger Williams'
Indian.

The Dutch war cloud failed to burst.
Peace was declared between the warring
nations across the water before New Nether-
land and Providence Plantations came to
blows.

The fear of the Indians, too, gradually
lessened. The matter of fortifications was
apparently dropped and neither during
Roger Williams' term of office nor for many
years afterwards did the Narragansetts
spoil their record by shedding the blood of
their white neighbors. We like to think

AS COLONIAL PRESIDENT 155

that tlie colony's best safeguard at this time
was its president — a better defence than
firearms and forts, one that stood for justice
and harmony.

CHAPTER XIII

THE COMING OF THE QUAKERS

In the year 1656, Boston was in a fever of
excitement. Some Quakers had come to
town.

The sect had first put in an appearance in
England under the teachings of one George
Fox, an earnest, conscientious preacher who,
at the early age of nineteen, had felt called
upon to give up everything for religion.
How his disciples came to receive their curi-
ous name is not positively known. One
theory is that they were so-called because
they were given to excitable, nervous trem-
blings, but the Quakers themselves have
claimed a different origin. According to
them, at one time when Mr. Fox was ar-
rested and sent to prison in England, he
called upon those around him to tremble at
the word of the Lord. Thereupon the mag-
istrate who pronounced the sentence be-
stowed the term "Quakers" upon his

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 157

followers. In any case, it was a nickname,
a term of contempt in the seventeenth cen-
tury, and did not then, as later, carry with
it respect and honor.

But why should Massachusetts be
alarmed at the coming of this people? Did
she object to their habit of using "thee" and
"thou" in ordinary speech? Did she ^con-
sider that, by keeping their heads covered
even in the presence of the authorities, they
were lacking m proper respect? Or was it
that their refusal to take up arms even in
a just war was a dangerous doctrine? The
Bay Colony doubtless disapproved of all
these things. But there were other reasons
— and stronger ones — why she frowned
upon the newcomers.

First, the Quakers professed to be guided
by an "inner light." Whatever it directed
them to do, or they thought it directed them
to do, that they did, regardless of conse-
quences. It was their sole authority, higher
even than the commands of the Massachu-
setts magistrates and elders. The colony
decided to put an end to such unheard-of
thinking at once. They were all the more

158 ROGER WILLIAMS

resolved to do this because of the peculiar
actions of the Quakers. A few misguided
ones, professing to be led by this same "inner
light," did the most extravagant things in
their zeal to spread their faith. They used
rude, harsh language, they went about half-
naked, were disorderly in the streets, and in
other ways tried to attract attention. One
Quaker even created a disturbance in a
meeting-house in Boston. Entering with
two bottles in his hands, he crashed them
before the assembled congregation, crying,
"Thus will the Lord break you in pieces!"
In these frenzied disciples of Fox there was
almost no resemblance to the quiet, respect-
able, inoffensive Friends of to-day.

If such outbreaks had occurred in other
parts of New England, the offenders would
have been punished — yes, even in the liberal
colony planted by Roger Williams. For
being annoyed, Massachusetts cannot be
blamed. For resorting to the extreme
measures she did in dealing with the fol-
lowers of Fox, the Bay Colony had no ex-
cuse. It is one of the dark blots on her
history.

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 159

The very year the Quakers appeared, a
severe law was put into effect against them.
It provided that all ship -masters bringing
Quakers into the colony should be fined one
hundred pounds and should give security to
carry them back whence they came, that all
persons of this belief should be committed
to the House of Correction, first whipped
and then kept hard at work until trans-
ported. In addition, a fine of five pounds
was imposed for every Quaker book or writ-
ing found in the colony. The penalty for
defending Quaker opinions was forty shil-
lings for the first offence, four pounds for
the second, and banishment for the third.

Calmly, unresistingly, the persecuted ones
paid their fines, served their prison terms,
allowed themselves to be banished, and —
kept on doing the same things over and over
again I Massachusetts did not realize in the
least that she was using the very best means
of encouraging the faith that she wished to
stamp out. The Quakers wanted to be
martyrs. They gloried in suffering and
abuse. The more they were down-trodden,
the more they increased and prospered.

160 ROGER WILLIAMS

Now we come to the part played by the
httle colony of Providence Plantations in
the controversy. Roger Williams was still
president when the severities of Massachu-
setts began. When banished from that col-
ony, the Quakers had to seek a new home, of
course. What more convenient or attractive
refuge than that of Narragansett Bay,
where liberty of worship was not considered
a crime? So they flocked thither in increas-
ing numbers.

Roger Williams' great principle, upon
which the colony was founded, was now put
to a severe test, the most severe it had ever
known. Hitherto, all pilgrims of whatever
creed, or no creed at all, had been made
heartily welcome. But would a like invita-
tion be extended this strange, peculiar peo-
ple, who were in disgrace everywhere else?
The answer came boldly, courageously —
yes.

The United Colonies decided it was their
duty to show their liberal sister colony the
error of her ways. The commissioners,
therefore, informed her that as they con-
sidered they could not be too careful in pre-

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 161

serving themselves from such a pest as
"Quakers, ranters, and such notorious here-
tics," they would ask that all persons of the
despised sect be removed from the Colony
of Providence Plantations and in the future
be prohibited from entering it.

The reply to this command was exactly
what might be expected. Roger Williams'
term of office had expired, but his spirit was
still in the air. In two letters the brave lit-
tle colony placed herself on record as to the
stand she took in regard to the unpopular
Quakers.

"As concerning these Quakers which are
now among us," the first letter went on, "we
have no law among us whereby to punish
for only declaring by words, etc., their minds
and understandings concerning the things
and ways of God, as to salvation and an
eternal condition."

One shrewd bit of advice was also given,
which the other colony might well have
heeded. Providence Plantations pointed
out that if no attention was paid the Quak-
ers, they would quickly cease to be trouble-
some.

162 ROGER WILLIAMS

"And we moreover find," the writers ex-
plained, "that in those places where these
people aforesaid in this colony are most of
all suffered to declare themselves freely and
are only opposed by arguments in discourse,
there they least of all desire to come, and we
are informed that they begin to loathe this
place, for that they are not opposed by the
civil authority, but with all patience and
meekness are suffered to say over their pre-
tended revelations and admonitions, nor are
they like or able to gain many here to their
way; surely we find that they delight to be
persecuted by civil powers, and when they
are so, they are like to gain more adherents
by the conceit of their patient sufferings
than by consent to their pernicious sayings."

In the second letter penned by Providence
Plantations, the colony reminded the com-
missioners that she still prized "freedom of
different consciences as the greatest happi-
ness that men can possess in this world." If
the Quakers disturbed the civil peace, then,
and then only, would interference be justi-
fied. In that case, the matter would be re-

Statue of Roger Williams,
Roger W iiliaius I'ark, Providence

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 163

ferred to England and the offenders be sent
thither.

The United Colonies then replied, hinting
that Providence Plantations would be cut
off from all trade if disobedience was per-
sisted in. After this threatened boycott,
the colonists concluded it was wise to take
some steps for protecting themselves, but
recede from their position they would not.
They therefore sent a letter to their good
friend and agent in England, John Clarke,
asking that he use his influence in their
behalf.

"They seem secretly to threaten us," the
letter ran, "by cutting us off from all com-
merce and trade with them. . . . They make
the prices, both of our commodities and their
own also, because we have not English coin,
but only that which passeth among these bar-
barians and such commodities as are raised
by the labor of our hands, as com, cattle,
tobacco, and the like, to make payment in,
which they will have at their own rate, or
else not deal with us.

"So may it please you to have an eye and
care open in case our adversaries should seek

164 ROGER WILLIAMS

to undermine us in our privileges granted
unto us and to plead our case in such sort
as we may not he compelled to exercise any
civil power over men's consciences, so long
as humane orders in point of civility are not
corrupted and violated."

Brave, ringing words, that deserve to be
written in letters of gold!

'Massachusetts, meanwhile, continued in
her unfortunate course, which, happily, the
other colonies did not follow so severely.
Imprisonment, fines, and banishment were
followed by physical mutilation. As a final
step, profession of the Quaker faith was
made a capital offence. This law was not
popular with the people at large, who were
far more tender-hearted than their magis-
trates. Very few received this extreme sen-
tence. The only woman to pay the death
penalty was Mary Dyre, wife of one of the
leading citizens of Providence Plantations,
who refused to keep out of the forbidden
territory.

In 1661, Charles II, then the reigning
monarch of England, issued a decree put-
ting a stop to further persecution. Thus

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 165

closed the five dreadful years of Quaker
punishment in New England.

The Quakers, let alone, became useful and
respected citizens and contributed a large
share toward the well-being of the commu-
nities in which they lived. In the colony
of Providence Plantations, they steadily
gained followers and for over one hundred
j^'cars took an active part in public affairs.
They occupied positions of prominence and
influence, especially in Newport. For five
years, beginning 1672, Rhode Island had a
succession of Quaker governors.

The noble part played b}'^ the colony in
the dark days of Quaker history was due,
in large part, to the teachings of Roger Wil-
liams. The stand taken by him and his fel-
low colonists deserves all the more credit
because, personally, they disliked and dis-
approved of the Quakers. How easy, then,
it would have been to inflict punishment
upon them and to have found a perfectly
good excuse for so doing!

Roger Williams wrote John Winthrop,
Jr., his Connecticut correspondent, that he
rejoiced the latter's name was not blurred but

166 ROGER WILLIAMS

rather honored, for his prudent and moder-
ate hand in the Quaker trials.

For a moment we must skip a few years
to the date 1672, which brings us to the last
chapter of Quaker history which has to do
with Roger Williams. In view of that part
of the story that has gone before, the ad-
mirers of the great man are a bit sorry that
this chapter ever had to be written. It hap-
pened when George Fox, the noted leader
of the Quakers, visited the colony. Roger
Williams promptly challenged him to a de-
bate, religious discussions of this kind being
very common in that day. Failing to make
arrangements to carry out this plan, he de-
bated with three of Fox's most capable dis-
ciples instead. They argued three days in
Newport and one day in Providence. In
order to reach the first debating-place,
Roger Williams rowed all the way from
Providence to Newport, a distance of thirty
miles. It was an all day's work — no small
task for a man about seventy years of age.

The meeting was a heated one. Nearly
every one lost his temper and even Roger

COMING OF THE QUAKERS 167

Williams was unlike his usual kindly, char-
itable self. Nobody's opinion was changed
and both sides claimed the victory. Each
published a book presenting long, dry, un-
interesting arguments. That of Roger Wil-
liams was entitled "George Fox digged out
of his Burrows," while the Quaker volume
was called "A New England Firebrand
Quenched."

Whatever may be thought about Roger
Williams' part in these proceedings, he him-
self thought he was doing the colony a serv-
ice by arguing the matter in public. It
was probably his purpose to show that the
conmiunity did not approve of disorder
and disrespect of the authorities. He main-
tained that it was not persecution to pun-
ish moderately for such disrespect and
grotesque offences as had marked the advent
of the Friends in Massachusetts.

In spite of his views concerning the early
Quakers, Roger Williams numbered among
his friends many of this faith. He never
allowed his prejudices to govern him in his
dealings with them. Best of all — and to his

168 ROGER WILLIAMS

lasting glory be it said — he never lifted a
finger against them, and no page of the his-
tory of the colony he founded is stained with
Quaker blood.

CHAPTER XIV

ROGER WILLIAMS AS CITIZEN

Through all the ups and downs of her
troubled history, Providence Plantations
had remained loyal to England. The little
colony had allowed unusual liberty in many
ways — liberty unknown in other parts of
New England — but had never faltered in
her obedience to the mother country. Thus
when Oliver Cromwell was at the head of
affairs, she considered him her rightful ruler.
A like loyalty was paid his son Richard.
Again, when the country once more became
a monarchy, in 1660, she hastened to assure
Charles II that the inliabitants of the Nar-
ragansett Bay province were his true and
faithful subjects.

The news of his accession to the throne
was received with great enthusiasm. The
General Court appointed an hour for pro-
claiming "His Royal Majesty, King Charles
the Second, King of England, with all the

170 ROGER WILLIAMS

dominions and territories thereunto belong-
ing" and military officers were ordered to
rally the "train band" for the occasion. Be-
sides this, another special day was set apart
for solemnizing the event, which was also
carried out in true military fashion. All
children and servants were given a holiday.
The flowery and submissive language with
which Charles was acknowledged monarch
must sound curious enough to the demo-
cratic descendants of these same colonists.

In the midst of all the joyful festivities,
one concern filled the minds of everybody.
Their right to continued existence must be
confirmed. It was clear that Cromwell's
approval was out of date. It would have
no weight with the restored Stuart sover-
eign. A second charter must be obtained,
one that would bear the undeniable stamp
of royal authority. Thereupon Providence
Plantations sent word to her faithful agent,
John Clarke, asking him to secure the de-
sired charter. By this time the patient man
must have been prepared for any kind of
request from over the sea.

His success was announced in the year

AS CITIZEN 171

1663. It would seem that charters were go-
ing up in price. According to Roger Wil-
liams' testimony, this second one meant an
outlay of about a thousand pounds. It was
cheap at that, considering the great privi-
leges it carried with it. Under this precious
new document, the colony continued to live
for one hundred and eighty years, long after
the close of Roger Williams' life. When
finally abandoned, it was the oldest consti-
tutional chai-ter in the world.

A "very great meeting of the freemen"
of the colony was held to receive the royal
paper with due respect and honor. With
appropriate ceremony. Captain George
Baxter, the bearer, opened the box in which
it was kept and read the gracious words of
Charles to the assembly, after which the
charter was "held up on high and presented
to the perfect view of the people," then
safely locked up in the box again.

By virtue of this latest document, the
colony received a new name — or, rather, a
bulky addition to its old one. In this char-
ter it was called "The English Colony of
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,

172 ROGER WILLIAMS

in New England, in America." From now
on, the name "Rhode Island" became more
prominent and "Providence Plantations"
less so until, in common usage, it was
dropped altogether. In 1776, the word
"State" was substituted for "English
Colony."

Besides a change of name, the charter
also provided that henceforth governors
should take the place of presidents and the
first governor and his assistants were
named. Roger Williams was one of the lat-
ter and he repeatedly held this office in the
years following.

The most wonderful part of the whole
charter was that section granting perfect
liberty of conscience to the colony. It was
all the more remarkable and surprising, as
King Charles was not noted for either tol-
erance or liberality.

"Our royal will and pleasure is that no
person within the said colony any time here-
after, shall be any wise molested, punished,
disquieted, or called in question, for any dif-
ferences in opinion in matters of religion,
and do not actually disturb the civil peace of

AS CITIZEN 173

our said colony; but that all and every per-
son and persons may, from time to time,
and at all times hereafter, freely and fully
have and enjoy his and their own judgments
and consciences, in matters of religious con-
cernments, throughout the tract of land
hereafter mentioned."

The words might have been penned by
Roger Williams himself. Very likely they
never would have been written had it not
been for his persistent struggle for that same
liberty of conscience, about which he said,
"We must part with lands and lives before
we part with such a jewel."

The founder of Rhode Island and Prov-
idence Plantations was now approaching
the evening of life. He had carefully
watched and tended the infant colony so that
it could stand alone. He had raised it to a
position of respect and importance. For
his unselfish and loving labors, he surely de-
served a brief period of rest. Yet, contrary
to his wishes, he was drawn into public life
again. He wrote his friend Winthrop these
reluctant words: "I have since been occa-
sioned and drawn (being nominated in the

174 ROGER WILLIAMS

charter to appear again upon the deck)
from my beloved privacy; my humble de-
sires are to contribute my poor mite (as I
have ever, and I hope ever shall) to preserve
plantation and public interest of the whole
New England and not interest of this or
that town, colony, opinion, etc."

From this time on, both in and out of
office, Roger Williams showed what an im-
mense amount of good can be accomplished
by a public-spirited citizen if he is willing
to sacrifice selfish aims for the benefit of all.
Time and again there was occasion for him
to act as peace-maker, as in the years gone
by. Gentleness, tact, and forbearance were
the means he used. In a word, he was a
great diplomat. Because his victories were
bloodless ones, his fellow-citizens did not
appreciate his greatness.

For one thing, Roger Williams was
chosen to copy the charter into the records of
the colony. For di'awing up colonial docu-
ments of various kinds, his skill was con-
stantly in demand. In 1664, when a revision
of the laws was thought necessary, he was
appointed member of a committee to attend

AS CITIZEN 175

to this business. In the same year he was
named one of the agents to determine an
eastern boundary line between the colony
and Plymouth.

Indian troubles were never settled with-
out his intervention. Here he knew his
ground perfectly and could be trusted by
all parties concerned to give just decisions.
The Indians of Warwick, as we have seen,
caused endless trouble for the colonists,
claiming that as they had pledged allegiance
to Massachusetts, Providence Plantations
had no right to punish them for lawless acts.
Now the sachem Pumham, who occupied
Warwick Neck, had no legal right to the
land, as his superior sachem had sold it
years before. Again and again he stub-
bornly refused to budge an inch, though the
town of Warwick had paid him twenty
pounds to seek a home elsewhere.

About this time, four commissioners were
sent over to New England by King Charles
for the purpose of hearing complaints, set-
tling boundary disputes and like claims, and
establishing the peace and security of tlie
country. They now applied themselves to

176 ROGER WILLIAMS

the task of ousting the mulish Indian chief.

Before long Roger Williams took a hand
in the matter. He got in touch with Sir
Robert Carr, one of the royal agents, and
calmly and clearly reviewed for him the en-
tire history of the quarrel. Then, instead
of urging force and harshness, he explained
that very different means must be employed
with the natives. He likened them to oxen,
who, if treated with cruelty, will die rather
than yield, but with patience and gentleness,
can be made to give good and willing serv-
ice. "Lay all the blame on me," he con-
cluded, "and on my intercession and media-
tion, for a little further breathing to the
barbarians until harvest, in which time a
peaceable and loving agreement may be
wrought, to mutual consent and satisfac-
tion."

Roger Williams was a wise prophet. The
sensible commissioner took advantage of his
co-operation and finally the matter was
closed to everybody'^ satisfaction. And
this without a drop of blood being shed,
thanks to the man who believed that even
erring natives should be treated as human

AS CITIZEN 177

beings. "I respect not one party more than
the other," he once said in a similar quarrel,
"but I desire to witness truth; and as I de-
sire to witness against oppression, so, also,
against the slighting of civil, yea, of bar-
barous order and govermnent."

We are glad to know that the commis-
sioners of King Charles handed theii* royal
master a very favorable report of the Rhode
Island colony. They even had a good word
for the Narragansett Indians. The natives
had pledged their allegiance to the king and,
in token of their subjection, promised to
pay His Majesty two wolfskins a year.
They also sent Charles some truly barbarous
tokens of affection, including two wampum
caps, two clubs inlaid with wampum, and a
feather mantle, besides a porcupine bag for
the queen. It is a pity these gifts fell into
the hands of the Dutch and never reached
theii' destination. What a sensation they
would have made at court among the nobles
and ladies-in-waiting! But the giving was
not all on one side. Two coats were pre-
sented the sachems in the king's name, with
which they were greatly pleased. It would

178 ROGER WILLIAMS

not be surprising if Roger Williams had
made the suggestion, knowing the Indian
weakness in matters of dress.

An opportimity came for Roger Williams
to use his influence in behalf of John Clarke,
the good friend of the colony who had la-
bored in her interests in the mother country
for twelve long years. It had been voted to
pay him for his trouble, but due either to
poverty or unwillingness (probably both),
the required amount had not been forthcom-
ing. So the matter dragged on, long after
the charter affair was settled and the agent
had returned to America. Even back in
London days, Mr. Clarke was so short of
funds that he had been obliged to mortgage
his Newport home. Stung to the quick by
what he considered rank ingratitude, Roger
Williams wrote a sharp letter to Warwick,
the most backward town.

"It is no more honest," he wrote, "for us
to withdraw in this case than for men to
come to an ordinary [tavern] and to call
for the best wine and liquors, the best meats,
roast and baked, the best attendance, etc.,
and to be able to pay for all and yet most

AS CITIZEN 179

unworthily steal away and not discharge the
reckoning." Then changing his figure of
speech, he continued:

"Shall we say we are Christians ... to
ride securely in a troublous sea and time by a
new cable and anchor of Mr. Clarke's pro-
curing, and be so far from satisfying his en-
gagement about them, that we turn him
adrift to languish and sink, with his back
broke for putting under his shoulder to ease
us?"

The letter quickened the colony to further
action. The mortgaged home, was saved,
but, unfortunately, the debt was never paid
in full.

There were boundary disputes during
these years, both among the colonists them-
selves and with outsiders. In Providence,
troubles arose from the Indian grants made
so many years before. Mr. Harris, Roger
Williams' old enemy, and others interpreted
the language of the Indian deed to mean
that Canonicus and INIiantonomo had really
given away several hundred thousand acres
of land that had never been taken possession
of by the colonists. To-day, if a pretended

180 ROGER WILLIAMS

claim of a similar nature should come up,
we would very likely call it a case of clear
"graft." Roger Williams, ever on the de-
fensive when the Indians were concerned,
declared stoutly that the chiefs had meant
nothing of the kind. And, indeed, what
man was better informed on this subject
than Roger Williams himself? Had he not
dealt directly with the Narragansett sa-
chems? Had he not talked with them in
their own tongue? He so persistently
blocked and delayed every measure to ap-
propriate the territory in question that the
matter was never carried to a successful fin-
ish. Still the short-sighted grumblers called
his whole-hearted interest "meddling." With
saddened heart, he recorded their taunts:

"But some cried out, when Roger Wil-
liams had laid himself down as a stone in
the dust, for after-comers to step on in town
and colony, 'What is Roger Williams?
We know the Indians and the sachems as
well as he. We will trust Roger Williams
no longer. We will have our bounds con-
firmed us under the sachems' bands before
us; "

AS CITIZEN 181

The details of the other boundary quar-
rels make dry, difficult reading m these days.
They are interesting only as they bring out
the character of Roger Williams and the
part he played in tiying to adjust them.
The disputed land was principally the Nar-
ragansett country, or the southern half of
the present state of Rhode Island. Massa-
chusetts claimed territory here, so did Plym-
outh, and, added to their encroachments,
were those of Connecticut. If the land had
been divided up as they all wished, little
enough would have been left of tiny Rhode
Island to form a respectable state after-
wards !

Roger Williams saw in this desire to an-
nex territory a prevailing greed for land,
which he looked upon as one of the greatest
failings of New England. He could not
understand how his countrymen of the other
colonies "should not be content with those
vast and large tracts (like platters and
tables full of dainties ) , but pull and snatch
away their poor neighbors' bit or crust";
adding, "and a crust it is, and a dry, hard

182 ROGER WILLIAMS

one, too, because of the natives' continual
troubles, trials and vexations."

To Major Mason of Connecticut he
wrote a letter (which has since become fa-
mous) upholding the rights of Rhode Is-
land. That prominent man afterwards ad-
vised his colony that he hardly thought it
wise to attempt to acquire the land in ques-
tion. Thus we infer that Roger Williams'
diplomacy did much to avert further ag-
gression on the Connecticut side at least.

Not all Roger Williams' tasks were big
ones. He was not the man to say that be-
cause he was capable of great things, he
would let the little things slip by. He per-
formed numberless neighborly services of
a legal character, either as witness or execu-
tor. It fell upon him to take charge of the
house and lot of a certain John Clawson, a
Dutchman, whom he had befriended when
needy and employed as a household servant.
He had taught him to read and given him
a Dutch Testament. It is amusing to think
that this Providence real estate was valued
at eleven pounds. More amusing still were
the terms of its disposal. Roger Williams

AS CITIZEN 183

sold it for "current country pay" in three
yearly instalments of cloth, stockings, corn
and apples. Even on these easy terms, the
buyer took about double the time for pay-
ment that the agreement allowed.

Public spirit was sometimes at a low ebb
in early Providence. Thus there was no
end of trouble trying to erect a suitable
bridge near the center of the town and keep-
ing it in proper repair. The townspeople
argued, deliberated, debated, but nobody
seemed aggressive enough to push the work.
Finally Roger Williams stepped into the
breach. "I will, with God's help, take this
bridge unto my care." What a relief it
must have been to realize that somebody had
taken the initiative at last ! He made Provi-
dence a business-like proposition, whereby
the citizens were to donate their labor, the
amount being apportioned to the use they
would make of the bridge and whether they
had a team or not. This sharing of work
was only fair, for the inhabitants of the town
were to be exempt from toll, a moderate
sum being asked of strangers onlj^

There was nothing striking, nothing im-

184 ROGER WILLIAMS

pressive, about these public services of
Roger Williams and they did not win the
applause of the crowd. Sometimes they
gained for him nothing but unpopularity.
Yet at no other period in his long career do
we get a finer idea of the real nobility of the
man than in these latter years when old age
was coming on and his word was perhaps
not listened to with the respect of former
days. He cheerfully took up and faithfully
performed the local duties that came his
way, though he had been recognized by Par-
liament, had been on an intimate footing
with the greatest statesmen of England, and
was himself one of the wisest, most far-
sighted men of his age. This was citizenship
at its best.

CHAPTER XV

KING Philip's war

It is not easy to tell the true cause of King
Philip's War. There were probably many
causes, some of them dating years back.
Such a struggle was bound to come, sooner
or later, to determine who should remain
masters of New England — the first comers
or the white men from over the sea. More
than once Roger Williams had postponed
the evil day, but even his influence was not
great enough to prevent the smouldering
fires of jealousy, distrust and revenge from
finally bursting into a destructive con-
flagration.

Back in 1620, when the Pilgrims landed
in Plymouth, they had formed a treaty of
peace with Massasoit, chief of the Wam-
panoags. This faithful Indian sachem kept
his word during the remaining years of his
life.

The colonists were pot so fortunate in

186 ROGER WILLIAMS

their dealings with his son and successor,
Wamsutta or Alexander. Word was sent
to the governior that he plotted mischief
against the English and had asked the Nar-
ragansetts to aid him in his rebellion. De-
termining to put an end to such disloyalty
at once, the governor, after Alexander's re-
fusal to attend court, had him arrested and
taken to Plymouth. It was a most unfor-
tunate business, thus to humiliate a proud
chief on his own territory. Suddenly Alex-
ander became violently ill and died almost
immediately. The exact cause of his death
is not known, but probably extreme heat
and anger hastened the end. Bad feeling
between the Indians and their white neigh-
bors was the immediate result of this mis-
fortune. Some of Alexander's followers,
including his wife, even spread the report
that the sachem had been poisoned. This
was untrue, but it furnished one of the
causes of the hostilities that followed.

Metacomet or Philip, Alexander's
brother and the next chief of the Wam-
panoags, was not one to submit to wrongs
tamely. Plymouth and Massachusetts soon

KING PHILIP'S WAR 187

had occasion to suspect him of secretly plan-
ning war. In their uneasiness, they ap-
pealed to Roger Williams and he succeeded,
for the time being, in breaking up Philip's
designs. Largely through his influence, the
war was put off for four years. Outwardly
obedient, the Wampanoag chief gave up
about seventy guns to the English as proof
of his fidelity. There is no reason to think,
however, that he abandoned the idea of a
war when the time should be ripe. For sev-
eral years he merely "marked time" until
everything should be in readiness.

The struggle was finally begun in the
summer of 1675, sooner than Philip had
meant. One of his nearest advisers, a con-
verted Indian, betrayed his chief's plot to
the English. It was therefore necessary to
strike at once. To be just to King Philip,
he doubtless thought he had good and suf-
ficient reason for his action. He summed
up the causes of the conflict thus :

"By various means they [the English]
got possession of a great part of his [Mas-
sasoit's] territory. But he still remained
their friend till he died. My elder brother

188 ROGER WILLIAMS

became sachem. They pretended to suspect
him of evil designs against them. He was
seized and iconfined^ thereby thrown into
sickness and died. Soon after I became
sachem, they disarmed all my people. They
tried my people by their own laws ; assessed
damages against them, which they could not
j)ay. Their land was taken. At length a
line of division was agreed upon between
the English and my people, and I myself
was to be answerable. Sometimes the cattle
of the English would come into the corn-
fields of my people, as they did not make
fences like the English. I must then be
seized and confined, till I sold another tract
of my country for satisfaction of all dam-
ages and costs. Thus, tract after tract is
gone. But a small part of the dominions
of my ancestors remains. I am determined
not to live till I have no country."

There was grave danger of a Narragan-
sett alliance. Philip had been working for
it for a long time. The chief sachems of
the Rhode Island Indians at this time
were Pessicus, Miantonomo's brother, and
Canonchet, Miantonomo's son, and there-

KING PHILIP'S WAR 189

fore nephew of Pessicus. They were joint
rulers, much like Canonicus and Mian-
tonomo in the earlier days. But, whereas
Canonicus and Miantonomo had been in
favor of peace at ahnost any price, their
descendants were not so submissive. A far
different spirit fired them. Pessicus, it is
true, gave Roger Williams to understand
that he was peaceable enough, but had dif-
ficulty restraining the younger men of his
tribe. Canonchet, on the other hand (the
"hopeful spark" of Miantonomo, as Roger
Williams called him), was openly declared
the war sachem of the Narragansetts. The
cruel death of his father still rankled and he
would have been less than human had he
not longed to make the most of the oppor-
tunity for revenge that now came to him
without his seeking.

The colony of Rhode Island strongly op-
posed the war. The inhabitants had no just
quarrel with the Indians. Besides, they
were under Quaker influence and people
of this faith did not believe in taking up
arms.

Five Rhode Island citizens, probably

190 ROGER WILLIAMS

Friends, bent on a peaceful settlement of
the dispute, arranged for a meeting with
Philip. The story of their conference is
quaintly told by Mr. John Easton, the
deputy governor of the colony and the head
of the party:

"We sat very friendly together. We told
him [Philip] our business was to endeavor
that they might not ... do wrong. They
said that was well ; they had done no wrong,
the English wronged them. We said we
knew the English said the Indians wronged
them, and the Indians said the English
wronged them, but our desire was the quar-
rel might rightly be decided, in the best way,
and not as dogs decided their quarrels. The
Indians owned that fighting was the worst
way : then they propounded how right might
take place."

It was unfortunate for the warring colo-
nists, and the Indians as well, that nothing
came of this attempt at arbitration. There
was one hope left — Roger Williams. The
Boston authorities sent three men to Rhode
Island with the earnest request that he try
to bring the Narragansetts to terms. He

KING PHILIP'S WAR 191

answered the call with his usual prompt
willingness. Within half an hour, he had
left Providence and was on his way, with
the three messengers, to the Narragansett
country. He had no trouble in securing an
audience with Canonchet, Pessicus and
other leading Narragansetts. They greeted
him with fair, smooth words — altogether too
fair and smooth to be sincere. They agreed
to hand over any of Philip's men who fell
into their hands, to remain hostile to the
Wampanoag sachem, to deliver up all stolen
goods to the English, to refrain from
further theft, and to serve as a guard about
the Narragansett country for the protection
of the English.

Poor Roger Williams! Devotedly, un-
ceasingly he worked until, as he said, his old
bones and eyes were weary with travel and
writing. So constantly was his pen in use
that his stock of letter paper completely
gave out. Writing to the governor of Mas-
sachusetts, he said, "Since I am oft occa-
sioned to write upon the public business, I
shall be thankful for a little paper upon the
public account, being now near destitute."

192 ROGER WILLIAMS

And all the time he could not help but
"suspect that all the fine words from the
Indian sachems to us were but words of pol-
icy, falsehood and treachery." His fears
were well grounded. No sooner had the
Massachusetts men started on their home-
ward journey than one hundred armed Nar-
ragansetts appeared in Warwick and terri-
fied the town. Warning was received, too,
from Pessicus that the English in the Nar-
ragansett comitry would do well to be on
their guard and to keep strict watch. If
they could strongly fortify one or two
houses, so much the better; if not, then flight
was their only course.

It was plain that the Narrangansetts
could be held in leash no longer. The call
of their Indian allies — blood of their blood
— completely drowned out the gentle voice
of Roger Williams. The prayer of Canon-
icus — yes, and of Massasoit, too — that their
children after them might live in love and
peace with the English forever was not to
be realized. Sadly the best friend the Nar-
ragansetts ever had was forced to confess

KING PHILIP'S WAR 193

that the tribe must be subdued as wolves
who have attacked sheep.

Meanwhile, the settlement of Swansea,
near the boundary line between Rhode Is-
land and Plymouth, had been ravaged by
Philip's men and several persons killed and
wounded. The war then spread with light-
ning rapidity through the different towns
of Massachusetts. Connecticut, too, was in-
vaded, for the Indians of the Connecticut
River had thrown themselves into the strug-
gle. Rhode Island as a colony kept out of
the war, but she was not allowed to remain
untouched. The Narragansett country be-
came, in turn, a battle-ground in the winter
of 1675.

The Narragansetts were accused by the
English of having sheltered Philip's peo-
ple, and, as some of the young braves now
and then returned to their homes wounded,
it was considered proof that they had, too,
been on the war-path. Massachusetts,
Plymouth and Connecticut decided to break
the power of the Narragansetts before
they could join Philip in the spring. They
therefore raised a strong force of over a

194 ROGER WILLIAMS

thousand men and, strengthened by Rhode
Island volunteers, marched to a point in
the neighborhood of what is now South
Kingston.

The Indians had stoutly intrenched them-
selves in a foil; in the midst of a treacherous
swamp. Here, on a bleak, freezing Decem-
ber day, a desperate battle, commonly known
as the "Great Swamp Fight," was fought
to a bitter end. It was the dreadful mas-
sacre of Fort Mystic all over again. As in
the Pequot War of forty years before, the
attacking party forced an entrance into the
fort and completed their work of destruc-
tion by fire. Exposure and cold, added to
the flames, reduced the Indians quickly.
They sacrificed several hundred — either
slain outright or taken prisoners — but the
English also suffered severe losses.

Though the spirit of the Narragansetts
was broken, the people of the mainland
towns were greatly alarmed. The General
Assembly, meeting at Newport in the
spring of 1676, urged them to give up their
homes and take refuge on the Island of
Rhode Island. Newport and Portsmouth

KING PHILIP'S WAR 195

generously offered land for planting and
even proclaimed that the new-comers, "so
wanting a liberty, shall have a cow kept
upon the commons." Many families ac-
cepted the invitation with haste and thank-
fulness. The protected stretch of land in
Narragansett Bay became a perfect isle of
refuge. The entire town of Warwick moved
thither and remained until the war was over.
It was the safest thing that could be done,
for shortly afterwards, the settlement was
practically burned to the ground. Only one
dwelling remained standing.

Many Providence people emigrated also,
including Mrs. Williams. Of the five hun-
dred inhabitants, less than thirty remained
behind. Prominent in the list of those "who
stayed and went not away," is the name of
Roger Williams. He did not know the
meaning of fear and preferred to defend
his city rather than join the fugitives on the
island. He had not been able to turn aside
the savage tide of fury and hate, but at
least he could stem it as far as possible.
Though over seventy years old, he accepted
a commission as captain and faithfully

196 ROGER WILLIAMS

drilled the few defenders under his com-
mand. In addition, he started a subscrip-
tion list to pay for fortifying a house and
building a second defence and himself
pledged the largest sum of all — ten pounds.
And he was far from being a rich man, too.

On March 29, 1676, the city was attacked
by the Indians and twenty-nine dwellings
burned. The following tradition shows that
even at this late hour Roger Williams at-
tempted to change the will of the savages.

Leaning on his staff, he went to the
heights at the north of the town to meet
them and reason with them as he had done
so many times in the past.

"Massachusetts," said he, "can raise
thousands of men at this moment, and if you
kill them, the King of England will supply
their places as fast as they fall."

"Well," answered one of the chieftains,
"let them come. We are ready for them.
But as for you. Brother Williams, you are
a good man. You have been kind to us
many years. Not a hair of your head shall
be touched."

Quaker Rhode Island at last woke up

KING PHILIP'S WAR 197

and paid some attention to the question of
defence. It was all very well to hold theo-
ries about the wickedness of war, but these
ideas did not insure safety for one's family
or keep the natives at bay. The colony rec-
ords show that closely following the attack
upon Providence, a boat patrol was organ-
ized, a garrison provided, and ammunition
ordered. Care was taken that the duties of
the commander in charge should not inter-
fere with "Captain Williams' power in the
exercise of the train band."

Canonchet was captured in April. He
was surprised by some Connecticut men
and friendly Indian allies, and, in attempt-
ing to escape by wading a river, slipped and
fell an easy prey to a waiting Pequot on the
opposite bank. He was taken captive to
Connecticut. As his father Miantonomo
had lost his life at the hands of Uncas, so
now the son owed his death to Uncas' son.
In many ways the earlier tragedy was
enacted over again. Canonchet showed the
same disdainful pride that Miantonomo had
displayed. In answer to an Englishman
who questioned him, he replied scornfully,

198 ROGER WILLIAMS

"You much child! No understand matters
of war! Let your brother or chief come.
Him I will answer!" Being told that he
must die, he said calmly, "I like it well; I
shall die before my heart is soft, or I have
said anything unworthy of myself."

The tide had turned. It needed now but a
final struggle to convince the natives they
were fighting against hopeless odds. Phil-
ip's wife and son were taken captive in the
summer. Soon afterwards, a decisive bat-
tle took place near Mount Hope on August
12th. Philip, betrayed by one of his men,
was killed. This ended the war.

The citizens of Providence came back to
their partly burned town and took up their
daily duties once more, but with a greater
sense of security. Providence, son of Roger
Williams, took his mother home from New-
port in a sloop that belonged to him.

The Wampanoags were nearly extermi-
nated, while scarcely a hundred Narragan-
setts survived. Captives were sold into slav-
ery, either at home or abroad. With this
fate in store, Philip's young son of nine
years was shipped to BeiTnuda.

KING PHILIP'S WAR 199

The buying and selling of Indians was al-
lowed even within the borders of Hberal
Rhode Island. The people of that day were
not so enlightened as their descendants of a
later age and saw no wrong . in such a pro-
ceeding. Then, too, they doubtless looked
upon the subjection of the red men as a
means of safety. Yet this colony was far
more humane than her neighbors. The in-
habitants passed a law prohibiting Indian
slavery for life and those unfortunate war-
riors who were held as bondmen served a
limited term of years only.

CHAPTER XVI

BACK TO THE SHADOWS

After King Philip's War, Roger Wil-
liams, now an old man, gradually disap-
peared from public view. Only now and
then do we obtain fleeting glimpses of these
last years. We know that at one time he
was elected assistant, but declined to serve.
This by no means meant that his interest in
the colony had ceased, but rather that the
burden of years and physical ills had re-
duced his strength and endurance. He still
followed closely the course of events and
whenever a word from him could further
the cause of right, his voice was heard with
all its old-time vigor.

One of the last acts of his life was to
write an earnest letter to the town of Provi-
dence upholding the just levying of taxes.
Clearly, logically, he explained to the in-
habitants the necessity of supporting gov-
ernment and order, as they tended to the
peace and good of mankind. He also re-

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 201

minded them how fortunate they were to
live under such a charter as they possessed,
for, said he, "Our charter excels all in New
England, or in the world, as to the souls of
men."

Again, when the people of Providence
proposed to divide certain common lands
among themselves, he pleaded that they be
left untouched for the use of future new-
comers who might have to flee from persecu-
tion. To the very last, soul liberty was dear
to his heart.

"I have only 'one motion and petition,"
were his stirring words, "which I earnestly
pray the town to lay to heart, as ever they
look for a blessing from God on the town,
on your families, your corn and cattle, and
your children after you, it is this, that after
you have got over the black brook of soul
bondage yourselves, you tear not down the
bridge after you, by leaving no small pit-
tance for distressed souls that may come
after you."

Both before and after the war, he spent
considerable time preaching to the Enghsh
dwellers in the Narragansett country and

202 ROGER WILLIAMS

it is very probable that he had Indian con-
gregations also. Once a month, for many
years, he jom'neyed back and forth, between
his own home at Providence and Mr. Smith's
at Narragansett, for this purpose. It is re-
markable that a man of his advanced age,
handicapped by lameness and illness, could
have carried on such a work as long as he
did.

When he was finally forced to give up ac-
tive life, he then turned to profitable occu-
pation indoors. He valued time and made
the most of it. "One grain of its inestimable
sand," he once said, "is worth a golden
mountain." After such a long life of faith-
ful service, he could have been excused had
he chosen to sit still in the twilight of his
life with folded hands. Instead, by the
home fireside he put together the sermons he
had preached with an idea of having them
published. He never saw them in print.
The fact that he had to apply to those of his
friends in his own colony, Massachusetts,
Connecticut and Plymouth "who hath a
shilling and a heart to countenance such a
work" to meet the expenses of publication,

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 203

shows that he must have been poor at this
time. The written pages nmiibered but
thirty and the cost of their printing could
not have been an exorbitant sum.

There is every reason to think, in fact,
that Roger Williams and his wife were
partly dependent upon their son Daniel to-
ward the close of their lives. And he cared
for them with true filial devotion, too. "I
judge," he said in the quaint language of
that age, "they wanted nothing that was
convenient for ancient people." Instead of
saving for the proverbial rainy day, the
open-hearted founder of Rhode Island had
generously disposed of the best of his
worldly possessions for the good of others.
Give, give, give! It had been the motto of
his life. Said this same son, "He gave away
his lands and other estate to them that he
thought were most in want, until he gave
away all, so that he had nothing to help him-
self. ... If a covetous man had that op-
portunity as he had, most of this town would
have been his tenants, I believe."

The humble home in which Roger Wil-
liams spent his Providence days was very

204 ROGER WILLIAMS

likely much like that of his neighbors. They
were truly primitive dwellings — those early
houses — usually consisting of a single large
room down stairs, one end of which was
taken up by a generous stone chimney, and
a half-story loft above, reached by a steep,
ladder-like flight of stairs. As family needs
increased, a "lean-to" was added to the main
structure. Even so, there must have been
scarcity of elbow room in those days of
sizable families and free hospitality.

TsTeither the exact day nor month of
Roger Williams' death is known. Like the
date of his birth, it remains a mystery. The
nearest we can come to it is that it must have
been some time between January 16th and
May 10th, 1683. No reliable record has
ever been found, and the only facts tliat
have come down to us regarding the close
of this noble, self-sacrificing life consist of
two mere fragments of information. The
one, a brief extract from a letter written
by one John Thornton from Providence to
his friend, Samuel Hubbard, at Newport,
the other, a line from a Colonial historian,
are as follows:

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 205

"The Lord hath arrested by death our an-
cient and approved friend, Mr. Roger Wil-
hams."

"He was buried with all the solemnity
the colony was able to show."

Out of the shadows he came, back to the
shadows he returned. The death of the
Apostle of Soul Liberty was nothing more
than the slightest ripple on the surface of
the life of the community. The people with
whom Roger Williams lived had no concep-
tion of his real greatness. It remained for
a later age to appreciate him and his work.

Yet there is an interesting tradition which
would seem to show that nature at least did
her best to save him from oblivion. He was
buried in the family plot at the rear of his
dwelling on the slope of the hill which led
up from the bubbling spring where he first
landed. When, in the rapid growth of the
city, it became necessary to remove the
graves of the early settlers, there was found
in Roger Williams' last resting-place only
the spreading root of an apple tree which,
in the passing years, had taken on a curious
resemblance to the human form.

206 ROGER WILLIAMS

The personal belongings of Roger Wil-
liams at the close of his life must have been
few and, for the most part, of no great
value. Still at least two priceless relics may
be seen to-day which have survived the wear
and tear of time. One of these — a pocket-
compass — he used to "steer his course" on
that momentous journey from unfriendly
Massachusetts Bay to the shores of Narra-
gansett. At the base of the instrument are
the usual pivoted needle and points of the
compass. There is a sun-dial above, the
shadows being thrown upon hours cut in
the brass rim around the edge of the case.
The compass was mentioned in an inventory
made by Providence Williams in 1686. It
became a treasured family heirloom in the
years that followed until it found a perma-
nent home in the rooms of the Rhode Island
Historical Society.

What thrilling stories the little compass
might tell if it could only speak — of New
England woods bowed down with their
mantle of snow through which the weary
traveler plodded his way, of days and days
when the wintry sun made no record upon

Hoger W illianis' pocket-compass and sun-dial with cover. This
photograph was taken at the rooms of the Rhode Island His-
torical Society.

Hoger \\ iUiariis' watch. It is now kept at Fraunces
Tavern. New York City, but is thef)ersona! i)roperty
of Mr. Henry Hussell Drowne, whose family received
it from a lineal descendant of Hoger \\ illiams.

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 207

the sun-dial face, of lurking savages whose
suspicion was changed to glad greeting once
they recognized the fugitive, of welcome
wigwams where the fare was crude but hos-
pitably offered.

The other Roger Williams relic is an odd,
old-fashioned silver watch, with works of
Dutch, and case of French, manufacture.
It is heavy and cumbrous, measuring an inch
and a half in thickness, with rock crystal in
place of glass. The carved silver face has
hands of gold and the day of the month,
which changes every twenty- four hours.
The exterior case (for it is a double-case
watch) represents the familiar scene from
the "Iliad," where Hector takes an affec-
tionate farewell of Andromache and their
small son Astyanax:

" Thus having spoke, the illustrious chief of Troy
Stretched his fond arms to clasp the lovely boy.
The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast,
Scared at the dazzling helm and nodding crest.
With secret pleasure each fond parent smiled,
And Hector hasted to relieve his child.
The glittering terrors from his brows unbound.
And placed the beaming helmet on the ground."

208 ROGER WILLIAMS

It is believed that Roger Williams' wife
and childi'en survived him, but incidents
of Mrs. Williams' life are tantalizingly
meagre. There were six children — the old-
est daughter Mary, born in Plymouth, Free-
born, born in Salem, Providence, the first
male child in the new colony, a third daugh-
ter Mercy, and two other sons, Daniel and
Joseph.

Of the oldest child Mary — the little maid
of Plymouth and the first who came to glad-
den her mother's and father's heart — almost
nothing is known.

Fortunately, Freeborn's history is less
mysterious. She married a young shipmas-
ter by the name of Hart and made her home
in Newport with her four children. After
her husband's death, she had the courage to
marry Walter Clarke, who had been twice
a widower and was the father of seven
children.

Providence, a shop-keeper and shipmas-
ter of Newport, never married.

Mercy Williams became the wife of Re-
solved Waterman and the mother of five
children. She was married a second time

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 209

to Samuel Winsor. Their son Samuel be-
came minister of the Baptist Church in
Providence. In one point he agreed heart-
ily with his grandfather Roger — that minis-
ters should receive no pay for their services.
With something of his kinsman's spirit, he
refused invitations to Sunday dinners "for
fear they should be considerations for Sun-
day sermons."

Daniel Williams married Rebecca Power,
a widow whose husband had been killed in
the "Great Swamp Fight." It fell to Roger
Williams' lot to record the marriage, for he
was then town clerk. He described it as
"the first marriage since God mercifully
restored the town of Providence." Daniel's
children numbered five sons.

Joseph Williams, the youngest child,
married Lydia Olney, who survived him
only three weeks. They had three sons. In
Roger Williams Park, Providence, may be
seen the old family burial plot of Joseph
Williams and his descendants, containing
weather-beaten stones bearing old-fashioned
inscriptions. That of the head of the family
is quaint enough to be given a place here:

210 ROGER WILLIAMS

" In King Philip's War he courageously went

through,
And the native Indians he bravely did subdue;
And now he's gone down to the grave and he

will be no more,
Until it please Almighty God his body to restore
Into some proper shape as he thinks fit to be,
Perhaps like a grain of wheat, as Paul sets forth,

you see."

In all probability Joseph Williams did
his duty during the terrible Indian scourge,
yet we prefer to dwell upon those earlier,
pleasanter days when the friendship of the
red man had not turned to distrust and
hatred.

Roger Williams Park recalls that period,
for it was formerly the woodland and fields
given by Canonicus and Miantonomo to the
white neighbor and friend they always loved
and respected. In time it became the pos-
session of Miss Betsy Williams, who be-
queathed it to the city in memory of her fa-
mous and well-beloved ancestor. The hun-
dred acres have since been beautified and
added to until to-day the picturesque stretch
of park-land is one of the most attractive
in the United States — a fitting and beautiful

BACK TO THE SHADOWS 211

memorial to the great man whose name it
bears.

Miss Williams attached one condition to
l>er gift — that a statue of Roger Williams
should be erected by Providence. The con-
dition was met and to Mr. Franklin Sim-
mons of Rome was entrusted the important
but difficult task of trying to express in
granite and bronze something of the nobil-
ity of one of the greatest of Americans.

Roger Williams has also been awarded a
niche in the "Hall of Fame for Great Amer-
icans" at New York University. He is one
of an illustrious company of wonderful
characters who have made America — and
the world — better for their having lived.

But, after all, it is in the hearts of all true
Americans that Roger Williams should be
given the most cherished place. The prin-
ciples for which he stood have so long been
recognized and accepted by the world that
we are apt to forget there ever was a time
when they were new and startling. All the
more honor, then, is due him for having had
the courage of his convictions when it meant

212 ROGER WILLIAMS

unpopularity, misunderstanding and suf-
fering.

" Aye, let the Muse of History write
On a white stone his honored name,
Loyal to liberty and light.

First on Rhode Island's roll of fame.

" While Church and State would ' hold the fort '
With sword and scourge and penal fires,
His faith a broader haven sought.
The faith that welcomes and aspires.

" While credal watchwords rise and fall.
His banner to the winds unfurled.
Proclaimed on Freedom's outer wall.
Peace and Good-will to all the world.

" Well may the Muse of History place
Foremost among the just and free.
His honored name, wherein we trace
The soul of Law and Liberty."

H 11 78

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