Still their lives had been providentially preserved, and they were deeply grateful to the Divine power which had been exerted for their rescue.  And faith and courage, and bodily strength were their portion likewise:  and they did not despair.  They slept long and soundly; and the following morning, having ascertained that the boat was too seriously injured to be repaired by any means at their command, they resolved on abandoning it, and recommenced their journey on foot.

The extreme difficulty of reaching Plymouth by land, and the wide circuit from the course that he wished ultimately to pursue that must be traveled in order to reach the settlement of the Pilgrim Fathers, caused Williams to relinquish that part of his plan, and decide on striking at once into the forest, and pursuing a south-westerly course until he should arrive at Narragansett Bay.  This would lead him through the trackless woods, and the dreary wilds, inhabited only by the barbarous and untutored red men.  But from them he hoped to meet with that hospitality and succor which was denied him by his fellow-countrymen and fellow-Christians.

CHAPTER XXI.

’...Alas! to see the strength that clings
Round woman in such hours!...A mournful sight,
Though lovely! an o’erflowing of the springs,
The full springs of affection, deep and bright! 
And she, because her life is ever twined
With other lives, and by no stormy wind
May thence be shaken; and because the light
Of tenderness is round her, and her eye
Doth weep such passionate tears—­therefore,
She thus endures.’  HEMANS.

Without any guide, Roger and his faithful friend Seaton wandered through the wilderness.  They took from the stranded boat as much of food and other useful articles as they could carry; but the provision did not last long, and before they reached any Indian encampment they were seduced to extreme want and suffering.  Their clothes were drenched by the frequent heavy rain, which so completely saturated the ground and the dead branches that lay strewed upon it, as often to preclude all possibility of lighting a fire.  Their nights were passed on the damp ground, or beneath any sheltering rock that they could find and once a hollow tree afforded them a refuge from the storm that raged around them, when no other was at hand.

At length, after fourteen weeks of trial and hardship, they reached the village of Packanokick, where dwelt Masasoyt, the aged Sagamore of the Wampanoges.  During the time that Williams had resided at Plymouth, he had learnt the language of the natives; and on some of his visits to the village of Mooanam, he had become acquainted with his father, Masasoyt, the chief Sachem of the divided tribe.  The regard and respect with which his eloquence and his attractive manners had inspired the younger Chieftain were fully shared by the Sagamore; and both prince and people learnt to love and reverence the man who honored their rights, respected their prejudices, and prayed to his God for their welfare.