200 



RHODE ISLAND 



insurgents, wto had fled into the State of New York, appeared again in force in Berkshire, and 

 plundered the town of Stockbridge. They were attacked by a corps of mihtia at Sheflield, 

 and a smart action ensued, in which the rebels were repulsed. Shays, meanwhile, had retreated 

 from post to post, as fast as he was pursued, until driven out of the State. The rebels never 

 made any effectual head, after their route at Petersham. One after another they laid down their 

 arms. Tranquihity was soon restored, and at the end of the season the militia were disbanded. 

 It is honorable to the character of the Massachusetts government, that not an individual fell upon 

 the scaffold, in consequence of this rebellion. Shays himself received a pardon the following 

 vear 



CHAPTER IX. RHODE ISLAND. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Rhode Island is situated between 4P 15' and 42° N. lat., and 

 between 71° 8' and 71° 52' W. Ion. It is bounded on the N. and E. by Massachusetts ; on 

 the S. by the Atlantic ; and on the W. by Connecticut. The average length of the State, 

 from north to south, is about 42 miles ; its mean breadth is about 29 n;iles, comprising an area 

 of 1,225 square miles, including the waters of Narragansett Bay, which contain about liiO square 

 miles. Rhode Island is the smallest State in the Union. 



2. Rivers. There are no rivers of importance ; the largest is the Pau-tucket, which, at its 

 entrance into Narragansett Bay, forms part of the harbor of Providence ; it is but a mill-stream, 

 and is occupied by numerous manufactories. The Paictuxet, which flows into the Narragansett 

 5 miles below Providence, has also a large number of manufactories upon its waters. The 

 Pawcatuck., in the southwestern extremity of the State, is navigable for 5 or 6 miles from its 

 mouth. 



3. Islands. Rhode Island, in Narragansett Bay, is 15 miles long from northeast to south- 

 west, and has a mean breadth of 2J miles, containing about 37 square miles ; it is a very beau- 

 tiful island ; the air is pure and salubrious, and the climate milder than on the continent, render- 

 ing it a very desirable residence for invalids in summer. The surface of the island is agreeably 

 diversified, but it is destitute of trees, the whole island having been laid waste by the British in 

 the revolutionary war. It aftbrds excellent pasturage, and maintains a large number of sheep. 

 The town of Newport is in the south part. 



Conanicut is an island Ivine on the west side of Rhode Island ; it is 8 miles long, and about 



one in breadth. This is also a 

 beautiful island, and has a fer- 

 tile soil ; it contains the town 

 of Jamestown. At the south- 

 ern extremity is a lighthouse. 

 In the same part may be seen 

 the ruins of an ancient circular 

 fortificati-on, which once defend- 

 ed the passage up the bay. 



Prudence Island, further up 

 Narragansett Bay, is 6 miles in 

 length. Block Island lies 10 

 miles out at sea, and is 8 miles 

 long, and from 2 to 4 broad ; it 

 has an uneven surface, but pro- 

 duces maize and other grain. A 

 hghthouse stands upon it. 



4. Bays and Harbors. ,N'ar- 

 ragansett Bay extends more 

 than 30 miles into the State, and affords great advantages for ship navigation ; it has many ex- 

 cellent harbors, and contains 15 islands. It is about 10 miles wide at the lower part; but a 

 large portion of this space is occupied by the islands already described. Ships ascend this bay 

 to Providence, 36 miles above Point Judith. Newport Harbor, in the channel between Co- 

 nanicut and Rhode Island, is one of the finest harbors in the world, being safe, deep, capacious, 



.Ancient Fortification, Conanicut. 



