Page:History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Bicknell).djvu/84

56 It is said that Gov. Winslow, on his return from a western tour, visited again his friend Massassoit, whom he solicited to accompany him to Plymouth. When they approached the settlement, the chief sent an Indian messenger privately to infom the whites that Winslow was dead. Great grief came over them at such tidings, until the arrival of the party, when to their happy surprise Winslow made his appearance with the rest. When asked why he sent such word, Massassoit replied, "That they might be the more glad to see him when they came." While Squanto and Hobbamock acted as agents for the colonists in their traffic, frequent visits were undoubtedly made by the leading men of Plymouth. Among these we may mention the names of Miles Standish, Thomas Willett, and John Brown, and we do not wonder that as they looked out upon the charming landscape and waterscape at Mattapoysett, Sowams and Popanomscutt, they should have selected these lands for occupation, in preference to the bleak shores of old Plymouth.

"As early as 1632, the Plymouth settlers had established a trading post at Sowams," says Mr. Miller in his story of the Wampanoags, which he says "was supposed to have been located on the Barrington side of the river, on the land known as Phebe's Neck." Hither the Dutch ships came to trade with the Indians and white settlers, bringing European wares to exchange for furs. So attractive was the natural scenery of this section, the soil was so rich, and the position of the lands as related to the Bay and its harbors so well adapted for commerce, that the business men of the Colony saw at Sowams their great opportunity, telling Mr. Williams and John Clarke that "this was the garden of their patent," and refusing to allow Mr. Clarke to settle his colony thereon. Had they done so, the first planting of Newport would have been on Barrington soil, and the city by the sea might not have been, in that century at least.

The Rhode Island Historical Society has made special note of this important visit of Winslow and Hampden to Massassoit at Sowams by asking the Providence, Warren