and Captain John Mason, obtained a grant of the region lying between the Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers. After establishing some fishing villages they divided their claim, Mason taking the country west of the Piscataqua River, which he named

England. Gorges took the territory east of this river, and named it Maine (perhaps as the "main" land, to distinguish it from the coast islands).

Settlements in Maine.-A few settlements in addition to Pemaquid were made on the coast of Maine,-Saco and Biddeford in 1630, and Portland in 1632. But Gorges did not concern himself about the country, and his heirs sold

it to Massachusetts in 1652. It remained a part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it became a separate State.

New Hampshire.-The first settlement in New Hampshire was a fishing village at Little Harbor, near Portsmouth, in 1623. A settlement was made at Dover about the same time. Exeter was settled by followers of Mrs. Hutchinson in 1638, and Hampton by other people from Massachusetts. In 1641 these four towns were added to Massachusetts, but in 1679 Charles II. separated them, and made of them, with the country in the interior, the royal province of New Hampshire.

RHODE ISLAND.

Roger Williams.-We have already stated that Roger Williams, when banished from Massachusetts, made his way southward through the wilderness to what is now Rhode Island. He was joined by five friends, who in 1636 built themselves homes at the locality called by him Providence. Here, in 1639, Williams founded the first Baptist church in America.

Towns Founded.-In 1638, Mrs. Hutchinson, also banished for her religious opinions, founded with her friends the town of Portsmouth, on an island which soon gained the name of Rhode Island, afterward the name of the whole colony. William Coddington and others soon afterward founded the town of Newport, and in 1643, Samuel Gorton, a man of such odd ideas that no settlement would have him, started the town of Warwick.

The Rhode Island Charter.-Roger Williams made it known that there would be no religious persecution in Providence, and persons from all quarters made their way to his settlement. He shared with them the lands he had obtained from the Indians, reserving only two small fields

for himself. In. 1644 he went to England and obtained from the king a charter which united the various settlements into one province, entitled "The Incorporation of Providence Plantations in the Narragansett Bay of New England."

The New Charter.-A new charter was obtained from Charles II. in 1663, in which the name "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" is used. This charter was so liberal in its provisions, and gave such independent powers of legislation and suffrage, that no new form of government was asked for when the colonies became free, and it continued in force until 1843. It was then abrogated on account of its property qualification for suffrage.1

Religious Liberty Decreed.-On the return of Williams a new set of laws was adopted guaranteeing freedom of faith to all. It was "the first legal declaration of liberty of conscience ever adopted in Europe or America." The new laws protected "Papists, Protestants, Jews, or Turks" in their religious faith, a freedom which drew to the settlement not only many who wished for liberty, but some who wished for license. As a result Rhode Island had trouble from those who took advantage of its liberality.

The Charter Lost and Regained.-Andros, the tyrannical governor of New England, of whom we shall speak in the next section, obtained possession of the charter of Rhode Island, but after his expulsion the colony regained the rights given it by Charles II. and kept them until it obtained fuller rights as a result of the Revolution.2

1 Only the eldest sons of voters were given free suffrage. All others had to possess a certain amount of property. As a result two-thirds of the people were disfranchised.

2 Rhode Island, being formed of two colonies, had two colonial capitals, Providence and Newport. It retains these two capitals to

CONNECTICUT.

The Valley of the Connecticut.-The Connecticut (Indian for "Long River") attracted by the beauty and fertility of its valley both the Dutch of New Amsterdam and the English of Plymouth. The Dutch, who had formed the colony which afterward became New York, claimed this territory, established trading-posts along the river, and built a fort in 1633 where Hartford now stands.1 In the same summer a small ship from Plymouth came to the mouth of the river. The Dutch ordered the mariners to turn back or they would fire on them; but the Pilgrims sailed on and the Dutch did not fire. The Pilgrims built a house where Windsor now stands and began to trade with the Indians.

Settlements. It was the fur-trade which brought these settlers. Both parties wished a monopoly of this rich traffic, but the English succeeded in obtaining it. In 1635 immigration became active. Settlers from near Boston founded the towns of Wethersfield and Windsor. Hartford

was also founded after the Dutch had left.

The occasion of the Dutch leaving their fort was the following. The Earl of Warwick had obtained a grant of the Connecticut Valley. This he had assigned to Lord Sayand-Seal, Lord Brooke, and others. In 1635 these proprie

this day, being the only State with more than one capital. This is an interesting fact in view of the accompanying circumstance that Rhode Island is the smallest of the States. Connecticut, the next in size with the exception of Delaware, had two capitals till 1873.

1 The Connecticut River was discovered by Adrian Block, a Dutch captain, in 1614. Dutch traders soon sought its banks. They illtreated the Indians and were obliged to build a fort for their protection, on which they mounted two cannon. Future colonists suffered from the savages on account of this ill-treatment.

tors sent out John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, to form a settlement. He built a fort at the mouth of the river, which shut out the Dutch from their post at Hartford and obliged them to abandon it. This fort he called Saybrooke, after the names of his two patrons.

Settlers Come from Massachusetts.-The next year (1636) a party of more than one hundred started from Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, for what was then called "The West." They travelled on foot through the wilderness, driving one hundred and sixty head of cattle and a drove of hogs. They were led by their pastor, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, a Puritan leader who believed in government by the whole people, in opposition to Governor Winthrop, who believed in the government of the few. Two weeks through the woods, without roads or bridges, brought them to Hartford,' where they joined the small settlement already made.

The Pequot War.-The settlements named had been hardly formed before war with the Indians broke out. The Pequots were the leading tribe of that region, and were fiercely hostile to the whites, a number of whom they murdered. They tried to get the Narragansetts to join them in a general war against the English, but Roger Williams sought the chiefs of the Narragansetts and persuaded them to remain at home. The Pequots, therefore, began their work alone, selecting the exposed and weak settlements on the Connecticut for their murderous raids.

No general attack was made, but the savages skulked

1 It was called Newtown till 1637. when the name Hartford was adopted, after Hertford, in Englana.