Virginia Baker

“ During the white men’s stay at Sowams many of Massasoit’s friends and allies came to visit him, “some by their report from a place not less than a hundred miles.” To all comers one of the sachem’s chief men related the story of Massasoit’s illness, “how near he was spent; how, amongst others his friends the English came to see him; and how suddenly they recovered him to this strength they saw; he being now able to sit upright by himself.” But it was not by words alone that the “good folk” of Sowams showed their appreciation of the Englishmen’s services to them. ”

“ The Narragansetts who were so fortunate as to escape the plague, took advantage of the weakness of their ancient foes, wrested from them one of the fairest portions of their domain the island of Aquidneck, (Rhode Island) and compelled Massasoit to subject “himself and his lands,” to their great sachem Canonicus. In 1620, the Pokanoket chieftain could summon to his aid only about 300 fighting men, sixty of whom were his immediate followers. Yet Massasoit, despite his weakness, contrived to maintain his supremacy over the petty sachems of the various clans of the Wampanoag confederacy. ”

“ It was no ordinary man who, undaunted by misfortune, endured the yoke patiently till the opportunity to throw it off presented itself, and then quietly taking advantage of the auspicious moment accomplished the liberation of himself and his people from a servitude more bitter than death itself. ”

“ In 1746, that section of Swansea now occupied by the two towns of Barrington and Warren was ceded to Rhode Island, incorporated as a township, and given the name of Warren in honor of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, the hero of Louisburg and Cape Breton. Warren’s proximity to the ocean, and its excellent harbor facilities, early led the inhabitants to engage in maritime pursuits; and, in course of time, the wharves, and shops, ship yards and dwelling houses of a flourishing seaport sprang up to replace the vanished wigwams of Massasoit’s town, Sowams in Pokanoket. ”

“ From 1652 until the death of Massasoit in 1660, peace between the white men at English Sowams and the red men at Indian Sowams remained uninterrupted. The civilized farmer and the savage warrior appear to have each dwelt quietly under the shadow of his “own vine and fig tree.” Doubtless the inhabitants of Massasoit’s town were more or less affected by every day intercourse with their white neighbors. They must have learned many things unknown to the savages of districts remote from English settlements. ”

“ A little thought will convince anyone familiar with the Sowams region that the trading house would never have been placed in Barrington, for the reason that a wide, deep, and unfordable river lay between Phebe’s Neck and Massasoit’s town which the white men would have been compelled to constantly cross and recross in their traffic with the Indians. ”

“ The Englishman infuriated, snatched up his gun and fired, seriously injuring one of the savages. The Indians immediately retired, bearing the wounded warrior with them, and breathing threats of vengeance. Back through Sowams they swiftly wended their way to their own territory. Tradition says that at Kickemuit Spring they met Philip, who wept when he heard their story, and there seems little reason to doubt the truth of the tradition. Though he had long meditated war, the sachem was not yet fully prepared for it. ”

“ Warren is situated midway between Barrington and Bristol, on an arm of Narragansett Bay, and is bounded on the north and east by the State of Massachusetts. A glance at the map of Rhode Island will show the reader that, at Warren, which is farther inland than either of its sister towns, the Wampanoags were, in a great measure, protected from the danger of sudden attack by their enemies, the Narragansetts who dwelt upon the opposite shore of the bay, [2] and that, in case of hostile invasion, they were easily able to retire to less exposed portions of their domains. ”

“ In the afternoon, Winslow again sallied forth, gun in hand, to gratify the desire of the king for more “pottage” of fowl. He shot an “extraordinary fat” duck and with it prepared a broth of which Massasoit, despite all warnings, “ate as much as would well have satisfied a man in health.” ”

“ But it was at the moment of his guests’ departure that Massasoit demonstrated the depth of his gratitude to his preservers. Calling Hobbamock, the guide, aside he, in the presence of two or three of his most trusted counsellors, charged him to acquaint Winslow with the existence of a plot originated by the Massachusetts Indians against Weston’s colony at Wessagusset and the settlement at Plymouth. ”

“ This “shooting at a mark” is the first instance of target practice by a white man within the limits of Rhode Island of which we have any record.
On Friday morning Winslow and Hopkins took their departure from Sowams, carrying with them some seed corn which Massasoit had given them. The sachem earnestly entreated them to prolong their stay; but the Englishmen “desired to keep the Sabbath at home,” so declined the invitation. They reached Plymouth, on Saturday night, “wet, weary, and surbated,” indeed, yet with the satisfaction of feeling that the object of their mission had been attained. ”

“ The Narragansetts feared and disliked the white men. The Old Indian Chronicle states that they were jealous of Massasoit “because he had, from the first, been in high favor with the English.” Naturally they would have viewed the establishment of an English trading post at Sowams with displeasure. Whether their hostility to the whites led to the “broil” at Sowams, or whether, as has been suggested, [9] they invaded Pokanoket for the purpose of compelling Massasoit and his warriors to assist them in repulsing the Pequots, may be only conjectured. ”

“ At the period when the Mayflower came to anchor in Plymouth harbor, Massasoit exercised dominion over nearly all the south-eastern part of Massachusetts from Cape Cod to Narragansett Bay. The south-western section of his kingdom was known as Pokanoket, Sowams, or Sowamsett. It included what now comprises the towns of Bristol, Warren, Barrington, and East Providence in Rhode Island, with portions of Seekonk, Swansea, and Rehoboth in Massachusetts. ”

“ Like the Narragansetts, the Wampanoags were considerably advanced in civilization. They built permanent villages, and cultivated corn, beans, pumpkins, and squashes. They manufactured cooking utensils of stone and clay, [5] and rude implements for domestic and war-like purposes from shells, stone, and bone. They prepared the greater part of their food by the aid of fire and their cookery was, by no means, unpalatable. The famed Rhode Island Johnny cake and still more famous Rhode Island clam bake each claim an Indian origin. ”

“ On the west bank of the river, near the site of the old boundary line of Warren and Bristol, is a living spring still known as Kickemuit Spring. [13] The soil in the vicinity of this spring is mixed with oyster, clam, and quahaug shells to the depth of several feet, and from it various aboriginal implements have at different periods been exhumed. It is evident that an Indian village once occupied the locality. [14]
The main trail winding from Kickemuit to Sowams was intersected by shorter paths leading to various sections of Pokanoket. ”

“ Every one familar with Warren River is aware of the fact that, with the arrival of cold weather, great quantities of frost fish appear in its waters, swarming close to both the Barrington and Warren shores. ”

“ In common with the other native tribes of North America, they worshipped various gods, peopling earth, air, sky, and sea with deities; yet they acknowledged one supreme being, and believed in the immortality of the soul. ”

“ The Indians were always particular to locate their permanent villages in the vicinity of springs of running water. Warren abounds in such springs. Its soil is generally fertile and its climate agreeable and healthy, as, owing to its somewhat inland position, it escapes the full rigor of the fierce winds, that, during the winter months, sweep the unsheltered shores of Bristol. In the days when the Wampanoags inhabited its territory, it was well timbered, and grapes, cherries, huckleberries, and other wild fruits grew abundantly in field and swamp. ”

“ Governor Bradford states that the Narragansetts and Pequots grew “rich and potent” by the manufacture of wampum and, presumably, wealth contributed in no small degree towards establishing the prestige of the Wampanoags.
This tribe, properly speaking, was a confederation of clans each clan having its own headman who was, however, subservient to a chief sachem. The Wampanoags, or Pokanokets as they were also called, were originally a populous and powerful people and it is said that, at one period, their chief was able to rally around him no less than 3,000 warriors. ”

“ After the close of Philip’s war, the remnant of the Wampanoags fled to Maine, and ultimately became merged in the Penobscot tribe. Up to half a century ago, parties of Penobscot Indians were in the habit of making periodical visits to Warren, camping for several days in various parts of the town. Before returning to Maine, they invariably paid a visit of a few hours to what is known as the “Hicks’ Farm” on Touiset Neck, though for what purpose this particular locality was visited they never divulged. ”

“ Indian relics have been exhumed from its soil, and, perhaps an Indian village was once located upon it. April 10, 1673, Tottomommuck, sachem of Seaconnet (Little Compton, R. I.) , sold “land in Swansea called Towsett,” [26] to Nathaniel Paine. In the early records of Swansea Touiset is generally termed “The Sheep Pasture.” It was laid out in 106 lots which were divided among the Swansea proprietors in 1686. In July 1675, a great concourse of Philip’s warriors gathered at Touiset, near the “narrows” of the Kickemuit River, “to eat clams, other provisions being scarce.” ”

“ Moreover, as early as 1652, an English settlement had been planted in what now constitutes the north-easterly portion of Warren on the banks of the Kickemuit River, and it seems only reasonable to suppose that the colonists placed their homes in close proximity to the trading house, which, probably, was also a fort. ”

“ Edward Winslow was again selected as the government’s messenger, having for a “consort” a certain Master John Hamden, “a gentleman of London” (supposed by some to be the famous parliamentarian of that name) and for a guide, the friendly native Hobbamock. ”

“ The purchasers of these “Sawomes Lands,” which included the greater part of Pokanoket were Thomas Prince, Thomas Willett, Miles Standish, Josiah Winslow, William Bradford, Thomas Clark, John Winslow, Thomas Cushman, William White, [17] John Adams and Experience Mitchell. The price paid was thirty-five pounds sterling, and the reader scarcely needs to be told that the Englishmen “got the best of the bargain.” Why Massasoit consented to “sell his birthright,” is a question more easily asked than answered ”

“ A niche in the eastern side of Mount Hope in which, according to tradition, King Philip was accustomed to sit for the purpose of reviewing his warriors, practicing target shooting, etc. Near the “chair” is a spring of pure water. ”

“ Winslow’s party arrived at Sowams on the afternoon of July 4th, but Massasoit proved to be absent from home. Messengers were immediately dispatched after him, and he shortly appeared being greeted by a discharge of his white visitors’ guns. He welcomed the Englishmen cordially and invited them into his wigwam, where they delivered a lengthy message from Governor Bradford and presented the gifts they had brought with them. The sachem at once donned the coat and hung the chain about his neck. “He was not a little proud,” says Winslow, “to behold himself ”