Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/563

Rh  a thorough but unsuccessful search was made for Lieut. Charles W. Chipp and his party. Nindemann has invented a tong for the gaff of fore-and-aft rigged vessels, which was patented in 1883, and is the author of a pamphlet entitled &ldquo;Eines deutschen Matrosen Nordpolfahrten,&rdquo; edited by Karl Knortz (Zürich, 1885).

NINEGRET, Indian sachem, lived in the 17th century. He was the uncle of Miantonomo, and his name was written in several ways. He was first known to the English settlers as Janemo, and was sachem of the Niantics, a tribe of the Narragansetts. He did not participate in the Pequot war of 1632, but aided the English in that of 1637. About a year after the death of ../Miantonomo/ (q. v.) he formed a plan for expelling the English, and sent a messenger to Waiandance, the Long Island sachem, to engage him in it. Instead of listening to the messenger, this chieftain bound and sent him to Saybrook fort, whence he was despatched to Hartford under guard. On their way the party was forced to put in at Shelter island, and here Ninegret's deputy escaped. Having passed the winter of 1652-'3 among the Dutch in Manhattan and the western Indians, he was suspected of plotting with them against the English, and after a special meeting of the commissioners in Boston, in April, 1653, they declared war with him, but, owing to the opposition of Massachusetts, it was not prosecuted. Meanwhile Ninegret waged war against the Long Island Indians, who had placed themselves under the protection of the English. In September, 1654, the commissioners sent a message to the chief demanding his appearance in Hartford, where they were convened, and also the payment of tribute that had long been due. He refused to appear, and sent them a haughty answer. War was again declared against him, and 270 infantry and 40 horsemen were raised, and placed under the command of Maj. Samuel Willard, whose instructions were to go to Ninegret's quarters, demand the tribute, and insist upon a cessation of the war with the Long Island Indians. On the approach of the troops Ninegret fled to a distant swamp, and was not pursued. On 13 Oct., 1660, with other chiefs, he mortgaged his territory to the colonists, and he gave them possession at Pettequamscot in 1662. He took no part in King Philip's war in 1675-'6, and so escaped the ruin that overtook the other tribes. The date of his death is not known, but it is said that he was buried at a place near Charleston, R. I., called &ldquo;Burying Hill.&rdquo; His daughter succeeded to the sachemdom, and was inaugurated with all the pomp and ceremony of the Indians. At her death she was succeeded by her half-brother Ninegret, who in 1709 granted a large portion of his people's lands to the colony of Rhode Island, which grant gave great trouble to the Indians in after years. This chief died about 1722, leaving two sons, Charles Augustus and George. The former, dying shortly afterward, left an infant son, who was acknowledged by some of the tribe as their sachem, while another portion adhered to his uncle, who assumed the entire government in 1735. George's son, Thomas Ninegret, who became chief in 1746, made further sales of the Niantic lands to Rhode Island, which caused discontent among his people, some of whom tried to depose him. One appeal to Sir William Johnson, superintendent of the Indians, takes the ground that the lands sold were necessary for the support of the families of many whose lives had been lost in the king's service during the French war of 1754-'61. In one of their letters to Sir William Johnson, in answer to an

objection, that the Indians had no power to depose a sachem, they replied: &ldquo;As it was in the power of the nation to put him in, we think it in the power of the nation to turn him out.&rdquo; The controversy continued for several years, and Rhode Island ultimately obtained the lands. In a letter to Sir William Johnson, Ninegret speaks of having paid £500 sterling to a subordinate chief, when going to the war, for the quit-claim of his land, the money being intended for the support of his mother in the event of his fall. Little impression was made upon the Narragansetts or Niantics by the Puritans. Roger Williams spoke with discouragement about this, and, when Mayhew requested Ninegret to allow him to preach to his tribe, he replied: &ldquo;Go and make the English good first.&rdquo; A small remnant of the Niantics were living in Rhode Island in 1812.

NIÑO, Andres (neen'-yo), Spanish navigator, b. in Moguer in 1475; d. about 1530. From early youth he navigated vessels for the Portuguese government to the coast of Africa and the East Indies, and he went in 1515 to Panama, where he acquired the reputation of a skilled pilot. When in 1521 Gil Gonzalez-Davila received a commission from the crown of Spain to explore and conquer the Pacific coast north of Panama, he constructed four vessels with timber that was transported with immense labor across the isthmus from the Atlantic, and, appointing Niño chief pilot, sailed on 21 Jan., 1522, from Tararegui, in the Bay of San Miguel. Gonzalez landed on the coast in the Bay of San Vicente with part of his forces to explore the country, and sent Niño further north to discover a passage to the Atlantic of which the Indians had told him. The latter followed the coast to latitude 17º 50' north, and, finding no passage, returned to the south, where he found the Adelantado besieged by an army of 4,000 Indians, whom he helped to disperse. They then continued to explore the coast of Cape Blanco, the Bay of Papagayos, Posesion river, and a gulf which they called Fonseca, in honor of the president of the council of the Indies. They landed in the possessions of a cacique called Nicarao, and, after many encounters with the warlike tribes, penetrated to the interior and discovered there a large fresh-water lake, which they called Mar Dulce, or sweet lake (now Lake Nicaragua), and the volcano of Masaya. After exploring the country thoroughly they sailed again for Panama, where they arrived, 29 Dec., 1532, laden with treasure. They gave a glowing description of the country, which for its wealth they called the paradise of Mohammed. Gonzalez sailed in the following year to Spain to solicit the commission of governor of the country and fit out a new expedition, and Niño returned with him to enjoy his riches, but, his health being shattered by the fatigues of his frequent voyages, he did not survive many years.

NIÑO, Pedro Alonso, called, b. in Moguer, Spain, in 1468; d. about 1505. He travelled on the coasts of Africa, and was a companion of Christopher Columbus in his third voyage, in which they discovered the island of Trinidad, 1 Oct., 1498, the mouths of the Orinoco, and the coast that Columbus called Tierra Firme. Returning to Spain he resolved to go to the Indies on his own account in search of the gold and pearls that the Indians had in great abundance. The council of Castille gave him permission to discover new countries, on condition that he should not touch at those that had been already discovered by Columbus, and that he should keep the fifth part of his profits for the king. Louis and Cristopher de la