standing on a rock on the western bank of the river. That was the
Indian way of saying How do you do, and just then Roger Williams was
right glad to hear it. He landed on what is now called "What Cheer
Rock,"[7] and had a talk with the red men. They told him that there
was a fine spring of water round the point of land a little further
down. He went there, and liked the spot so much that he decided to
stop. His friend Canonicus owned the land, and he gladly let him have
what he needed. Roger Williams believed that a kind Providence had
guided him to this pleasant place, and for this reason he named it
PROVIDENCE.

Providence was the first settlement made in America which set its
doors wide open to every one who wished to come and live there. Not
only all Christians, but Jews, and even men who went to no church
whatever, could go there and be at peace. This great and good work
was done by Roger Williams. Providence grew in time to be the chief
city in the state of Rhode Island. When the Revolution began, every
man and boy in the state, from sixteen to sixty, stood ready to fight
for liberty.

[Footnote 6: Seekonk (See'konk).]

[Footnote 7: "What Cheer Rock" is on the east side of the city of
Providence.]


86. Summary.--Roger Williams, a young minister of Salem,
Massachusetts, declared that the Indians, and not the king of England,
owned the land in America. The governor of Massachusetts was afraid
that if Mr. Williams kept on saying these things the king would hear