3

2

learning, though not bred at any university, came from England to Boston,' in the year 1636; but his religious opinions not agreeing with the standard established there, he removed first to Plymouth, then to Rhode-Island, afterwards to Providence, and at last, he, and his partners, before-named, sat down at Warwick, and purchased the lands there. The Massachusetts government did not think fit to let them rest in quiet.To give their proceedings some colour, they induced Pomham, the petty sachem, who dwelt on the lands about Warwick, to come to Boston, and to put himself and his lands under their protection, although they knew very well he had before sold all his right to those lands, to the Warwick purchasers, and that the lands lay more than twenty miles without their jurisdiction.

Pomham's submission was made the 22d of the 4th month, 1643. Upon this Myantonomo, the great sachem of the Narragansetts, who was principal in selling the Warwick lands, was sent for to Boston, to shew what right he had to his kingdom, before the General Court of Massachusetts:*-He appeared, acknowledged his sale to the Warwick people, and averred his right to make it. The General Court were pleased to say, he had not made out his right to the Indian country, to their satisfaction. Having taken these previous steps, on the 12th of September, a summons was sent to the Warwick men, to appear before the General Court at Boston, to answer the complaint of Pomham and other Indians. To this the Warwick men answered, that they were not within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts colony, and therefore refused to obey the summons.---This answer was called a high contempt.—There

(1) "He landed at Boston in March, 1636-7," (Brayton, p. 9).

(2) See page 36.

(3) Gorton's purchase was made near the end of 1641. The "Narragansett patent" was issued Dec. 10, 1643. The "patent of Providence Plantations," March 14, 1643-4. Gorton's purchase fell withinboth of the latter, and this was made the occasion of interference by the Massachusetts government.

(4) "The session continued three weeks," in the spring of 1641-2. (Winthrop's Journal, II. 66

upon, on the 19th of the same month, forty armed men were sent under Captain George Cook, who, after a short siege, took Mr. Gorton, and eleven other principal inhabitants of the town of Warwick, and all their cattle, being eighty head, and such household goods as they could transport (destroying all the remainder) and carried them away to Boston, leaving their stripped and miserable families to the mercy of the more humane savages.' Mr. Gorton and his fellows, were confined in prison until the General Court sat at Boston, before whom they were brought for trial. But as they were now in safe custody, nothing is heard further of the complaint of Pomham, and the Indians :-Quite other matters are now laid to their charge, and after various altercations, the accusation against them was formed in these words,-"Upon much examination, and serious consideration of your writings, with your answers about them, we do charge you to be a blasphemous enemy of the true religion of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, and his holy ordinances; and also of all civil authority amongst the people of GOD, and particularly in this jurisdiction." Upon this ridiculous and general charge, in which there is not a single fact alledged, to which any answer could possibly be given, these twelve persons were tried for their lives.-Gorton's writings were produced as evidence against them.-These he explained in such a manner, that Governour Winthrop, in open court, declared he could agree with them: But all were not to be satisfied so easily; and when the hearing of the cause was concluded, whether they should suffer death, or not, was the question put, and passed in the negative by a majority of two voices only. Although Mr. Gorton and his companions escaped with their lives, they did not escape a severe and very cruel sentence; they were doomed, each to a different town in the neighbourhood of Boston, (Gorton's lot was Charlestown) there to remain during the pleasure of the court; each was to wear a great iron

(1) Gorton's "Simplicities defence,” (R. I. Hist. Soc. Collections, II. 116.) (2) As above, the Gazette is here torn, for about twenty lines.

chain bolted fast to his leg, and in this condition to get his living by his labour, or starve; for the people were strictly forbid to give them any kind of relief: They were not to speak to any person, on any account whatever, except an officer in either church or state, on pain of death; and were not to say anything to them about religion, or to complain of hard usage from the government, on pain of the same penalty. In this condition they were kept one whole cold winter, and then the court banished them out of their jurisdiction, not to return into it again, on pain of death.---That is, they were permitted to go home to Warwick, from whence they had been brought by violence, but none of their cattle, or other goods, were ever restored to them.1

Soon after the Warwick men were at liberty, they procured the Narraganset sachems to make a solemn submission of themselves, their people, and country, to King Charles the First, begging his protection.--- The instrument of submission bears date the 19th August, 1644.---For it seems these sachems, as well as the Warwick people, thought it necessary to apply to the British crown, for protection against the arbitrary proceedings of the Massachusetts government: But it was unhappy for Myantonomo, that the king of England was, at this time,3 unable to afford him any protection, and that their unhappy fates too much resembled one another. The submission of the Indians, together with a complaint against the Massachusetts government, was carried to England by Mr. Gorton, Mr. John Greene, afterwards deputy-governor of this colony, and one of its most considerable men, and Mr. Randal Holdon. They (1) Mr. Savage's comment is: "The story of the sufferers written more than twenty years after, in a short petition to the royal commissioners, may be seen in 2 Hist. Coll. [Mass.] VIII. 68-70, and Governour Hopkins still later by a hundred years, has embodied their wrongs in a very brief manner." "Both," he adds, "must be read by him who would know the whole truth." (Winthrop's Journal, II. 177, Note).

(2) The true date is April 19, 1644. See "Collections of the R. I. Historical Society," II. 160.

(3) The battle of Naseby, (June 14, 1645), was doubtless fought while Gorton,

Greene, and Holden were in England.

obtained an order from the Earl of Warwick, and the other commissioners for plantation affairs, directed to the Massachusetts colony, expostulating with them for want of charity, and for severity, and requiring them to give the Warwick people no further molestation, on account of their religion, or of their lands, and to permit them to pass peaceably through their government. This order was obeyed with great reluctancy by the Massachusetts authority, who also hereupon sent an agent' to England, to make answer to the complaints of Gorton and his friends; and this agent chiefly insisted, not that what they had acted was right, but that the doings of the Massachusetts colony were not subject to any re-examination3 in England.

About this time a war broke out between the Narraganset Indians, and a nation or tribe of Indians called Mohegins, who lived near the sea coast, on the lands between Connecticut River and Quinnibaug River. In an engagement between them, it happened that Myantonomo, the young king of the Narragansets, was taken prisoner by Uncas, king of the Mohegins. The savage soul of Uncas doubted whether he ought to take away the life of a great king, who had fallen into his hands. by misfortune; and to resolve this doubt, he applied to the Christian commissioners of the Four united colonies, who met at Hartford, in September, 1644: They were less scrup[u]lous, and ordered Uncas to carry Myantonomo out of their jurisdiction, and slay him; but kindly added, that he should not be tortured; they sent some persons to see execution done,

(1) This is printed in the "Collections of the R. I. Historical Society," II. 195-97.

(2) This was Edward Winslow. See Winthrop's Journal II. 359–67. (3) The ground taken by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, during this century, of which the above is a representative instance, has great interest from a constitutional point of view, and is very carefully traced by Mr. Charles Deane, in his admirable chapter on "The struggle to maintain the charter," in the "Memorial history of Boston," . I. 329-82. (4) The place of this meeting is wrong. This session of the commissioners was held at Boston, 1643. See Savage's note in Winthrop's Journal II. 161. The unfortunate Miantonomo, however, met his death somewhere in Connecticut, though the precise spot is not identified.

who had the satisfaction to see the captive king murdered in cold blood. This was the end of Myantonomo, the most potent Indian prince the people of New-England had ever any concern with; and this was the reward he received for assisting them seven years before, in their war1 with the Pequots. Surely a Rhode Island man may be permitted to mourn his unhappy fate, and drop a tear on the ashes of Myantonomo, who, with his uncle Conanicus, were the best friends and greatest benefactors the colony ever had: They kindly received, fed, and protected the first settlers of it, when they were in distress, and were strangers and exiles, and all mankind else were their enemies; and by this kindness to them, drew upon themselves the resentment of the neighbouring colonies, and hastened the untimely end of the young king.

The Narragansets were greatly and justly enraged at the death of their sachem, more especially as they affirmed they had paid Uncas a ransom for him before he was slain, and therefore now resolved to take vengeance of the Mohegins. This the united Colonies were determined to prevent; and first sent messengers, to ex[h]ort them to make peace with the Mohegins, and offered to become mediators between them :-The Narragansets rejected this offer, and resolutely answered, they would continue the war until they had Uncas's head. Upon this the united Colonies raised an army of three hundred men, part of which having marched, and being ready to enter their country, the Narragansets not thinking themselves able to support a war against both the English and Mohegins together, were forced to submit to the hard terms imposed on them by the commissioners; and which were,―That they should make peace with Uncas, and restore all they had taken from him;-that they should not hereafter make war with any people, without leave first obtained ;—that they should pay to the united Colonies two thousand fathom of wampum-peag, for the expences they had been at; and give hostages for the performance of these arti

(1) As before, the Gazette is torn for about fifteen lines.