Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1847-08-05

built for a cider mill, as that the old stone md
was erected for a Baptistry, or place Of re
N HgiOus BOrship. There is not the least evi
dencc either historical or traditional, that th,
| old ruin was in existence subsequent To th,
H settlement Of .9cgaetneok, now Rhode Island
! The inference he draws from what he cali
"lndian Inscriptions upon lis interior surface
which he says were distinctly traced by CHIT
lterUord, and others, is no evidence ut all tha
the inscriptions referred 10, wAH-SirA, UNA
II ATA-wis," must have been the work Of the
English settlers, for the Indians had no, the
knowledge of letters. "Antiquarian" says
"lIad it as claimed, been erected by Governor
Arnold, it would have descended in record OF
\ tradition" What better record could be re-
quired than the bequest in Gov. Arnold's will
emphaically expressed" my tract Of land
containing by estimation sixteen acres, upon
which standeth my dwelling, or mansion house,
and other buildings thereon adjoining or be-
longing as ALSO 'my stone buih Wind mn, &c.
or what better traditionary evidence, than
that of his grandson Josiah Arnold, who died
long since the revolutionary war, and that of
his great grandson, Sanford Arnold, who has
been deceased but a few years, who both spoke
of it as the old stone mill, built by their ances-
tor Benedict Arnold, as has been heretofore
stately but disregarded. 1t was never dis
puted that Governor Arnold built the dwelling
or mansion house, which remained in the pos
session Of his descendants until near the ter
mination Of the revolution, when it was pulled
down, Of which there is no other record of its
origin than the bequest in the same will, in
which he bequcaths his stone buiH toind mill ::
why, then, dispute its origin and the use for
which it was erected, except it be for interest
ed and unholy purposcs' IL is Of little conse-
qucnce TO any indiridual whether the old ruin
htt,I hxtE al lar thnr
mong the early settlers, after the occupation
of the Island by the subjects of Great Britain,
but it is of vast consequence to the world in
general, in Historical point Of view, to as
certain declsively and without deception,
whether II lodSor ioas not erected by the North
men, because IL involves the important Qucs-
ton, Of "what Nation has the merit of the
first discovery Of the New World ?" and il il
the duty Of the Historian to seek for and es.
tablish the fact, without fraud aud deceit, on
the firm foundation Of truth otherwise hsto.
ry is but fraud on posterity. The very e1.
traordinary reason given by "Antiquarian" as
evidence, That it was not intended as
mill, is evident" he says, "for at the period
claimed for its erection there was not in that
settlement, or those adjacent, a wind mill OF
any description. The corn used was ground a
mong the weathier classes, in small hand mills
Of foreign manufacture while the poorer classes
were content with using two fiat stones. -
This will strike every one as the most forcibe
reason that could be adduccd, that it was bull,
for wind mill, for there was undoubtedly O
necessity for one.
The question has been asked, why build il
with stone when the land was covered with
trees and why build it on pillars and open be-
low' To the first answer, because at that
period there were no saw-mils to saw the tim.
ber into plank and boards, and the stone OF
which it was built was on the land near where
it was erected; the shells TO make the lime,
and the sand and gravel to make the mortar
were on the beach within three quarters of q
mile ; and the wood to burn the shells to lime
was on the spot. To the second question ]
answer, because it was built by people Just
from Europe, where the Wind Mills at that
time were built, and have been from that time
to this, Of the same material, and in the same
form. In the Penny Magazine of the Society
for the diffusion of useful Wedge, for No
vember, 1896, page 4S0, there is an engrav.
ing of Wind Mill at Chestcrton, Warwick.
shire, England, erected after design of lni.
go Jones, which, without the roof and vancs,
show exact fac simie of the old mill at
Newport. An aged ship master of this town,
of the first responsibility, and Of undoubted in
tegrty, who has been many voyages to the
there more than forty Wind NILS of the same
material and construction as the old Wind Mill
here, and he had the curiosity once TO ask, at
one of them, why they were built on pillars
and open between them and was informed
that on this construction, the wind having n
free passage through, there was no eddy wind
caused, to make n back sail, and lessen the
power. gentleman just returned from two
years tour in Europe, informs friend who
feels an interest in the present discussion, that
in his travels he has seen in different parts Of
Europe more than hundred Wind Mills Of
the same material and construction. gen.
tleman few days since procured quantity of
the cement or mortar from the wall of the old
stone house in Spring street, which was built
by Henry Bull, one OF the first purchasers
Of the Island, Immediately after the first set
tlement Of the town in 1858, and specimens
from several other ancient buildings and stone
chimneys,-and some from the tombs of Gov.
ernor Arnold and his wife, and from the stone
mill, and ana'yzed and compared them, and
found them of the same quality, and composed
OF shell lime, sand and gravel, ,-and considered
it very strong evidence that they were built
not far from the same time, all probably with
in a period of thirty or forty years from each
other. feel no enmity towards " Antquari-
an, because | consider him under delusion,
as it respects the OLD ruin. should be pleas.
ed TO hear a lecture from him on the Antiqui-
ties of Rhode Island, and the adjacent States,
illustrated ifyou please by drawings and dia
grams from the Royal College at Copenhagen
and the British Museum. But If he should at.
tempt, after reading this communication, to
prove the correctness of the report attributed
to Professor Scrobein, which every body here
knows TO be entirely without foundation in
truih,-or to prove anything from the decisions
of the Royal College at Copenhagen founded
on the deception, he will fail TO alter the uni
versally expressed opinion of the citizens of
Newport, as well as that of many of the stran.
gers now here, on the subject, and render him.
self at the same time suprcmely ridiculous.
One Of the oldest Inhabitants.