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WHO ATE WILLIAMS ?
A H IS T O R IC A L Q U E B Y ?
T ho m em ory o f R o g e r W illiam s, tbe
ounder of R hode Isla n d , we.s long negected.
H e d ied in 1683, a fte r a long aud
ctiv e life, b u t for a long tim e hie grave
ay unm arked,
I n 1856 tbe Bov 3 . 0 . M 'O o itb y c ontriu
te d to tb e ‘ LadleB' R e pository' a series
f articles on Roger W illiam s, In one of
biob ho told the follow ing Interesting
to ry of tb e discovery o f tb e dead
u rita n 's grave, and h inted at tb e nncon1
cioue cannibalism of th e neighbors.
D uring a period o t o n e hundred aud
ighty throe years not even a rough stono
a s been set u p to mark* th e grave of the
o under ol R hode Isla n d , till th e precise
ocality of h is gravo h a d been alm ost
orgotten, and could only be ascertained by
b e m ost careful ioveutigatioD. Buf&co H
o e ey, how ever, tho «pot w as found, aud
b e exhum ation was m ado a short tim e ago
though there wen little to tx b a m e.
O n scraping off th o ta tf fro m tbo
surface of th e ground, tb e dim outlines of
seven graves, contained w ithin loss then
one square rod, revealed th e burial ground
of R oger i W illiam s. T he easterly
crave was identified as th a t of M ts
W illiam s.
O n digging down in to tho 'cb&rnol
b o o s e ' it w as found th a t everything had
passed into oblivion. T h e sh a p es of
th o coffins could only be traced by a
black earcenacoous m a tte r, the thickness
of th e odges of (the aides of tb e coffins,
w ith th e ir e n d s distinctly d efined. The
ru ste d rem ains of the binges end nails,
w ith a few fragm ents of wood and a single
rou&d knot, w&saII th a t could be gathered
from bis grave. In tbe grave of b is wifo
th e re was n o t a traco of cn y lh in g save &
einglo lock of b rsid id h a ir w hich bad
survived the Japro cf m ore th a n ono
hundred end eighty years.
N oer tho grave stood a venerable
apple tree, w hen and by w bam pla n ted is
no t know n. T his tree b a d sent tw o of
its m a la roots in to the g raves of M r and
M rs W illiam s.
T h e Jargor root bad pushed its
th ro u g h tbo earth till It reaohed the
preclee spot occupied by tho sk u ll ot
R oger W illiam s. There m aking a ta rn ,
SB if going round/the ekalJ, It /allow ed the
direction of tb e backbone to th e hips.
H e re it divided into tw o branches,
sending ono along each le g to th e heel,
w here th e y both turned upw&rflB to the
lOGB*
O ne of thoso roots form ed a slight
rook a t the knee, w hich m akes f
hole bear a close resem blance to
u m a n form.
T h ero w ere the graves, em ptied ol
very particle of h u m a n dual t N o t a
rac e of a n ything was i o f t ! I t is know n
o chem istry (h at all flesh, a n d the
elatinous m a tte r giving consistency to
h e bonce, are resolved in to carbonic acid
ee, w ater and air, whi/o tb e solid linjo
ual usually rem otes. B u t in th is case
ven tbo phosphate of lim e of tbo bones
f b o th graves was all gone I T here
stood t b e 4 guilty apple t r e e 1 as w as said
t th e tim e, caught in th e vory a c t of
1robbing tho gravo. ’
T o express tb e phenom enon Is n o t th e
design of this article. 6uoh a n explanation
ould b s given, and m a n y other sim ilar
ases adduoed. B ot Ibis fact m a s t be
adduced : th e organic m a tte r of Roger
W illiam s has been tran sm itte d in to tbe
apple tree ; it had passed Into tbo woody
ibre, a n d w as capable of propelling a
ste am engine j it had bloom ed in the
pple blossom s, and bad beoome pleasant
o th e eye , and m ere, It h a d gone in to the
ro lt from year to year, so th a t th e q u e s­
tion m ig h t bo a s k e d : Who ate Roger
illiam s 1
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