In Massachusetts there is a cave known as Mag’s or Margaret’s Cave. This cave is believed to be an important part of Rhode Island history. Lore also connects it to the nearby Devil’s Rock, claiming that two rocks near the cave are the devil and his wife turned to stone. It surprised me to find that this historically interesting cave appears to be a secret to most of the community.
In October 1635, Roger Williams was tried by the General Court of Massachusetts and convicted of sedition and heresy. They felt that he was spreading “diverse, new, and dangerous opinions” and banished him from the state. His actual banishment was delayed due to the fact that he was ill, and winter was near. He was allowed the delay provided he ceased his agitation. Roger Williams did not cease, so in January 1636 the sheriff came to arrest him only to find he already had slipped away three days before, during a blizzard. He made the difficult journey of 105 miles from Salem to the head of Narragansett Bay during difficult winter weather. According to tradition, Roger Williams was very ill, and the local Wampanoags offered him shelter. They took him to the winter camp of their chief sachem, Massasoit. Here at what is now known as Margret’s Cave, Massasoit and another Indian known as Margaret cared for him for three month and nursed him back to health.
Margaret’s Cave/ Shelter
We also found several other interesting stories connected to the cave. These stories came from Mr. Frank Loring, a member of a company of Indians that visited Rhode Island in 1860. Mr. Loring went by the Indian Name “Big Thunder” and was said to be a descendent of the Wampanoag tribe. Big Thunder seemed very knowledgeable about Indian landmarks in the area. When speaking of Margaret’ Cave he mentioned a treasure of wampum hidden during King Philip’s War. Not only did he mention this hoard, but he also brought directions on where to find it. These directions were handed down through his tribe from father to son for many generations. Big Thunder spent three days looking for the buried wampum hoard. He dug many holes but found nothing. If the treasure was buried there it either had already been retrieved, or is still waiting for someone to find it.
When we headed out to the cave we found that the only access points to it had “No Trespassing” signs clearly posted. We didn’t let this deter us. We quickly found who owned the land and called to ask for access. The land owner was not only happy to let us visit the cave, but gave us a much easier path to access it directly from his farm land. He said we were welcome to use his property as an access point as much as needed.
The Petrified Devil and His Wife
We easily found the cave and were not very surprised to see that someone recently placed a marker near it. We were aware that the cave was known and that a historical organization had visited it in 2011. Though it is referred to as a cave it is actually a rock shelter about 15 feet in length. It lays on the south end of a quarter mile long ledge made of sandstone, graywacke, shale and conglomerate. To assure that the ledge did not harbor any other cave or shelter-like area, we examined it from end to end. The only other thing we found was an abundance of poison ivy.
We then tried to find the treasure. We really didn’t expect to find anything but thought we’d give it a try. We followed the direction given by Big Thunder and made a few exploratory digs and found nothing. Maybe on a follow up visit we might have better luck. As for the devil and his wife’s petrified bodies, we were able to easily find the two rocks as described near the cave.
On our next visit we hope to find the devil’s foot prints and another small cave east of Margret’s Cave. We’ll also spend a little time looking for the buried treasure. Though finding a hoard of wampum is not as exciting as discovering a pirate’s booty, it’s always fun to go on a treasure hunt!
~New England Explorers
Posted in Cave, Geological, Historical by Michael with 4 comments.
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