Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 39

Test Bank for Essential Environment

The Science Behind the Stories, 4th


Edition : Withgott
Go to download the full and correct content document:
https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-essential-environment-the-science-beh
ind-the-stories-4th-edition-withgott/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Test Bank for Environment The Science Behind the


Stories, 4th Edition : Withgott

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-environment-the-
science-behind-the-stories-4th-edition-withgott/

Test Bank for Environment: The Science Behind the


Stories, 6th Edition, Jay H. Withgott, Matthew Laposata

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-environment-the-
science-behind-the-stories-6th-edition-jay-h-withgott-matthew-
laposata/

Test Bank for Biology The Dynamic Science, 4th Edition

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-biology-the-
dynamic-science-4th-edition/

Solution Manual for Biology The Dynamic Science, 4th


Edition

https://testbankmall.com/product/solution-manual-for-biology-the-
dynamic-science-4th-edition/
Test Bank for Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science
of the Mind, 4/E 4th Edition David Buss

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-evolutionary-
psychology-the-new-science-of-the-mind-4-e-4th-edition-david-
buss/

Test Bank for The Essential World History 9th Edition


Duiker

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-the-essential-
world-history-9th-edition-duiker/

Test Bank for The Essential Listening to Music, 1st


Edition

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-the-essential-
listening-to-music-1st-edition/

Test Bank for America The Essential Learning Edition,


High School Edition

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-america-the-
essential-learning-edition-high-school-edition/

The Essential Elements of Public Speaking 5th Edition


DeVito Test Bank

https://testbankmall.com/product/the-essential-elements-of-
public-speaking-5th-edition-devito-test-bank/
1) How many citizens of Mexico does it take to equal the ecological footprint of the average
citizen of the United States?
A) They are essentially equal.
B) Two citizens of Mexico equal the ecological footprint of one average citizen of the United
States.
C) It takes nearly three Mexican citizens to equal the ecological footprint of the average U.S.
citizen.
D) It takes just over eight Mexican citizens to equal the ecological footprint of the average U.S.
citizen.
E) It takes about 12 Mexican citizens to equal the ecological footprint of the average U.S.
citizen.
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

2) Nearly 50% of the land on our planet is currently used for agriculture. If everyone on the
planet had an ecological footprint the size of the average citizen of the United States, then
________.
A) we would have 50% more food to go around
B) we would be able to provide for everyone without much difficulty, using the other 50% of the
land currently not being used
C) we would need at least two more planet Earths to feed and support everyone
D) we could support 50% more people on our planet
E) about 50% of the people would starve
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

3) The world's average footprint per person is about 2.7 hectares per person. At that size, we are
depleting our renewable resources 30% faster than they can replenish. The U.S. average footprint
is 9.4 hectares, which is ________ times larger than the average world footprint.
A) 2
B) 2.5
C) 3.5
D) 5
E) 6.7
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

4) The average footprint per person has increased from 2.2 to 2.7 since 2008, and the footprints
of many developing nations, such as India and China, have also increased. This means that
________.
A) our collective lifestyle is even more unsustainable than before
B) our collective lifestyle is slightly more sustainable than before
C) the ability of the planet to sustain human beings has increased
2
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
D) some nations no longer have a measurable footprint
E) the populations of both India and China have decreased since 2008
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

3
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
1.2 Matching Questions

Match the following.

A) environmentalism
B) independent variable
C) prediction
D) paradigm
E) quantitative data
F) hypothesis
G) ecology
H) Social Science
I) qualitative data
J) theory
K) dependent variable
L) Interdisciplinary science

1) A scientific field of study


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.2 The Nature of Environmental Science

2) Information expressed with numbers


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

3) The variable that is manipulated


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

4) Expectations of experimental outcome


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

5) Widely accepted , well-tested explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationships


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

6) Type of discipline describing environmental science


Diff: 1
Objective: 1.2 The Nature of Environmental Science

Answers: 1) G 2) E 3) B 4) C 5) J 6) I

4
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
1.3 Multiple-Choice Questions

1) A paradigm ________.
A) is a group of several hypotheses that can be tested together
B) is a dominant world view in science
C) can only come from qualitative data
D) is synonymous with the scientific method
E) is a means of evaluating scientific hypotheses
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

2) Advances in agriculture ________.


A) did not increase the amount of food per person from a global perspective
B) do not rely on ecosystem services
C) are always sustainable, since they are based on natural ecosystems
D) have resulted in a smaller global population
E) have often resulted in alteration and destruction of natural systems
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

3) The scientific process and knowledge is based on ________.


A) observation alone
B) a systematic process of learning about and testing our understanding of the world
C) the fact that all hypotheses can be proven true
D) quantitative data alone
E) guesses based our personal feelings about the subject under enquiry
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

4) Scientific inquiry is based on ________.


A) an expanding knowledge based on observation, questioning, testing and discovery
B) facts that can be proven true without experimental manipulation
C) the production of technological advances
D) designing experiments that have never been done before
E) making huge leaps of knowledge with scientific insights
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

5
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
5) A hypothesis is ________.
A) a prediction about something that has not yet been observed
B) a testable proposition that explains an observed phenomenon or answers a question
C) an instrument that is used to examine environmental conditions
D) the design of an experiment that can be used in scientific enquiry
E) a proven scientific fact
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

6) Sachiko and Fred are having a discussion about the scientific method. Sachiko makes the
comment that every time she sees people carrying open umbrellas, she also sees several small car
accidents. This is a(n) ________.
A) hypothesis
B) theory about umbrellas
C) theory about car accidents
D) scientific study
E) observation
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

7) An experiment ________.
A) is an activity designed to test the validity of a hypothesis
B) often involves manipulating as many variables as possible
C) does not need to be repeated if well designed
D) involves only collection of quantitative data
E) is designed to generate new scientific hypothesis
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

8) In a manipulative experiment ________.


A) researchers manipulate the independent variable
B) researchers manipulate as many variables as possible
C) replication of the experiment is not necessary
D) the motive is economic gain
E) the peer review process is bypassed
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

6
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
9) A(n) ________ is best defined as one who considers the impacts on the whole ecosystem, both
the living and non-living, when considering an action
A) biocentrist
B) ecocentrist
C) anthropocentrist
D) ethnocentrist
E) relativist
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

10) John Muir, a great American environmentalist, felt that ________.


A) resources should be exploited wherever they were found to the greatest economic benefit
B) the only true value of wilderness was its ability to provide national economic growth
C) pristine wilderness should be preserved because "We need beauty as well as bread"
D) national parks violated the principles of environmental justice
E) is best known for his book, A Sand County Almanac
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

11) In general, natural resources ________.


A) should not be used
B) should be used efficiently and conserved
C) belong only to those on whose property they exist
D) are evenly divided among all countries
E) should be used by everyone equally
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

12) Environmental problems whose dimensions include differential exposure to risk from toxic
wastes and air pollution or lack of access to the natural beauty of parks based on ethnicity or race
are issues of ________.
A) environmental justice
B) ecocentrism
C) anthropocentrism
D) moral relativism
E) paradigm shifts
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

7
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
13) Ruben has a new puppy and wants to feed it the best possible food. He decides on an
experiment where he will feed it the very best canned food plus a dietary supplement of vitamins
recommended by a veterinarian. Which of the following best describes Ruben's project?
A) This is an example of an excellent, controlled experiment as it is written.
B) Ruben needs to take careful measurements of the puppy's weight and height at least once a
week for it to be a good experiment.
C) Ruben needs to control for the amount of exercise, sunshine, water, and care that the puppy
gets each week, so that they are equal from week to week.
D) Ruben needs to use his mother's 6-year-old chocolate Sharpei to feed a standard diet so he can
compare his puppy with a control dog.
E) This is not an experiment–there are no controls or replicates.
Answer: E
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

14) The process by which several researchers review another researcher's manuscript prior to
publication to ensure research quality is referred to as ________.
A) hypothesis testing
B) investigative inquiry
C) peer review
D) quality control
E) critical analysis
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

15) Geothermal energy, wind and solar radiation are all examples of ________.
A) non-renewable resources
B) renewable environmental factors
C) biotic environmental factors
D) biodiversity
E) biodegradable materials
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

16) Which of the following is the best description of a sustainable system component?
A) one which can appropriate increasing amounts of energy from other components
B) one which is in balance with the system as a whole
C) one in which all species have rapidly increasing populations
D) a component that requires increasing amounts of materials from surrounding components
E) a component that does not need to interact with other components
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

8
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
17) Ecosystem services ________.
A) contribute to keeping ecosystems productive
B) are not necessary to sustainable systems
C) economically valuable services provided by natural systems
D) valuable to natural systems but not to human-created systems
E) required to rebalance natural systems that we have disturbed
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

18) Today, in 2011, the human population totals about ________.


A) the same as for the past six years, 5.35 billion
B) 9 billion
C) 10 billion
D) 7 billion
E) 2% less that it did in 2010
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

19) You have read about the mistakes made on Easter Island. On Tikopia, another small island,
the people acted in other ways. When they realized that the pigs they had imported were
damaging the environment, they killed them all. They had to have permission from a chief to
fish, which prevented overfishing. They practiced contraception. These all indicate that
________.
A) they believed in full resource utilization
B) they felt that everything was a nonrenewable resource
C) they felt that everything was a renewable resource
D) they were concerned with only one year at a time
E) they truly practiced sustainability
Answer: E
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

20) Ethicists who believe that the guidelines for making environmental decisions are context-
specific, depending on the cultures, social issues and other factors framing the decision are
________.
A) universalists
B) conservationists
C) following Leopold's land ethic
D) relativists
E) preservationists
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

9
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
21) The Endangered Species Act, passed by Congress nearly four decades ago, has spawned a
continuous series of debates between those who feel the ethical necessity to protect species at the
brink of extinction and others who feel that if we have to protect every habitat of every species at
risk, then there will be a loss of jobs and a blow to an already shaky economy. This boils down to
a conflict between ________.
A) economists and environmental scientists
B) anthropocentrists and ecocentrists
C) universalists and ecofeminists
D) relativists and environmental justice advocates
E) social scientists and conservationists
Answer: B
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

22) Sustainable development ________.


A) ensures an economy that will decline over time
B) means consuming resources without compromising future availability
C) is impossible to accomplish
D) is beyond our current technology and attitudes
E) is possible given our increased use of fertilizers and technology for agriculture
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

23) Credited for articulating the conservation ethic and for founding the U.S. Forest Service.
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) John Muir
C) Ralph Waldo Emerson
D) Gifford Pinchot
E) Aldo Leopold
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

24) In a controlled experiment, ________.


A) the researcher has several hypotheses, one of which will be proven correct
B) the researcher knows the outcome before beginning the experiment
C) the researcher controls for the effects of all variables except one
D) the experimental organisms have all been used before and given good results
E) you need only a single experimental organism which is tested again and again
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

10
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
25) Qualitative data ________.
A) are data that are expressed as numbers and tested using statistics
B) can be acquired in the detailed examination of personal interviews or observations
C) have variables that may not have been properly manipulated
D) cannot be used to support or disprove hypotheses
E) cannot be replicated
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

26) A pharmaceutical company wishes to study a possible new headache medicine. They are
doing human trials with 1,000 volunteers and need to ________.
A) have 10 volunteers in the control group
B) put all women in the control group and all men in the experimental group
C) divide the groups by level of health
D) give both control and experimental groups the same amount of the new medication
E) control for the type of headache–stress, migraine, or other causes
Answer: E
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

27) A study's results are deemed worthy of acceptance into the body of scientific knowledge if
they are published in journals which ________.
A) use the peer review process
B) charge a high fee for acceptance
C) are funded by corporations funding the research
D) meet guidelines advocated by environmentalists or consumer groups
E) conform to current political and religious views
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

11
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
1.4 Essay Questions

1) Why is it important to understand our interactions with the environment? What will studying
environmental science enable you to do?
Answer: We depend on the environment for air, water, food, shelter, and everything else. We
are capable of modifying the environment whether we intend to or not. Understanding our
interactions with the environment is the essential first step toward devising positive, sustainable
solutions. Studying environmental science will give us the tools we need to evaluate information
on environmental change and to think critically and creatively about possible actions to take in
response.
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.2 The Nature of Environmental Science

2) Compare and contrast the philosophies of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot.
Answer: Both men were active in the early 1900s and both aimed to protect the North American
wilderness by opposing rapid deforestation and unregulated land development. Muir was a
preservationist and a true ecocentrist and preservationist who believed that nature should be
protected for its own inherent value and who maintained that the experience of natural beauty
was as important to us as the physical necessities of food and materials. He believed from his
personal experience that nature provided spiritual renewal and met recreational needs. Pinchot
was a conservationist who favored sustainable use of resources for the benefit of present and
future generations. He was a utilitarian, meaning that he believed humans should use resources in
a way that provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people for the longest time.
He leaned closer to anthropocentrism than Muir.
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.4 Environmental Ethics

3) Differentiate between environmental science and environmentalism. Define each term and
explain how they are similar and how they differ.
Answer: Environmental science is the pursuit of knowledge about the workings of the
environment and our interactions with it. Environmentalism is a social concern focused on
protecting the natural environment and, by extension, humans, from undesirable changes brought
about by certain human choices. Environmental scientists and environmentalists study the same
issues, but environmental scientists use an objective scientific approach to understanding
environmental problems. Environmentalists, on the other hand, may use dramatic and often
emotional approaches to alter the political and social understanding or to educate the public
about environmental problems.
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.2 The Nature of Environmental Science

12
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
4) Name two transformative events of the past 10,000 years that caused human population size to
increase? Describe each, briefly explaining the contributions that each made to human
population growth. Include pros and cons of each.
Answer: The agricultural revolution included transition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an
agricultural lifestyle. Then, during the industrial revolution, there were shifts from rural life,
animal-powered agriculture, and manufacture by craftspeople to an urban society powered by
fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Students should describe the benefits and problems associated
with each transformative event.
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

5) Compare and contrast the types of knowledge gained and the research methods of natural and
social sciences when considering environmental problems. Why do both types of disciplines
need to be a part of environmental science?
Answer: The natural sciences are made up of disciplines that study the physical and biological
facets of the natural world and their interactions with each other. These disciplines rely on all
types of studies that generate mainly quantitative data, allowing scientists to acquire and interpret
information about the natural world. The social sciences are made up of disciplines that study
human attitudes, behaviors, and interactions. The scientists in these disciplines mainly collect
qualitative data using a variety of research techniques that are similar to natural scientists.
Studies that examine how cultures perceive an environmental concept may be used to implement
environmental policy. Because environmental problems involve accurate assessment of the scope
of the problem by which policy that affects humans is devised, both types of sciences are needed
to be a part of environmental science.
Diff: 1
Objective: 1.2 The Nature of Environmental Science

6) What qualities would be present in an sustainable enterprise?


Answer: A sustainable enterprise is one which allows future generations to carry it on at the
same level of productivity that we do at present. Whatever natural capital is required will remain
equally available in the future as it is now. The environmental effects of the enterprise will not
damage, degrade or deplete the systems with which it interfaces. Materials and energy will be
used efficiently, wastes will be minimal and non-toxic, and the ecological footprint of the
enterprise will remain unchanged, or may diminish as better technology becomes available.
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.5 Sustainability and the Future of our World

7) Discuss the differences between a manipulative and a natural experiment.


Answer: In a manipulative experiment, the researcher chooses and manipulates the independent
variable, but in a natural experiment the researchers records differences in variables as they are
expressed in the natural environment, such as the mean weight of tomatoes grown in dry versus
wet climates.
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

13
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
8) Several states in the United States and Mexico remove water from the Colorado River for a
variety of purposes. Every year, California has typically removed more than its fair share of
water as mandated by the Colorado River Compact of 1922. How is this action a "tragedy of the
commons"?
Answer: The Colorado River holds water in common for seven states in the western U.S. and
the two northwestern states of Mexico. If California removes more than its share from the river,
it leaves less water for the other users, tempting them to do likewise and scramble to compete for
a limited resource. This poses a threat to the entire riverine system and is thus a "tragedy of the
commons."
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.1 Our Island, Earth

1.5 Scenario-Based Questions

Read the following scenario and answer the question(s) below.

Pablo and Johanna have to do a yearlong study for their biology course. After some discussion,
they decide to try comparing their dogs and the diet that they feed them. Each has a dog from the
pound, and both dogs are less than one year old. Pablo feeds his shepherd-mix dog a special diet
of wet and dry foods from the local vet, while Johanna uses generic dry kibble from the
supermarket for her bulldog. They want to see which diet results in bigger, healthier, faster-
growing dogs.

1) The independent variable in this study will be ________.


A) the age of the dogs
B) the sex of the dogs
C) the type of food the dogs receive
D) how much the dogs grow
E) the breed of the dogs
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

2) According to the information given, one dependent variable in this study will be ________.
A) the age of the dogs
B) the sex of the dogs
C) the type of food the dogs receive
D) how much the dogs grow
E) the breed of the dogs
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

14
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
3) When they write up their initial proposal, the instructor will probably ________.
A) give them an A for thoroughness and allow them to proceed with the experiment
B) tell them that they need at least 100 dogs to do the study
C) tell them that the proposal is impossible and that such a study cannot be done at all
D) give them an F and tell them to start over–it would take many years to do such a study
E) tell them they have some serious problems with the proposal, but it is possible to fix
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

4) The reason the instructor gives them will include the fact that they have too many ________.
A) variables that they didn't control and not enough replicates
B) replicates and not enough variables
C) controlled variables and not enough uncontrolled variables
D) dependent variables and not enough independent variables
E) independent variables and not enough dependent variables
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

Read the following scenario and answer the question(s) below.

After meeting with their instructor, Pablo and Johanna know that they need to change their
experimental design. They contact a local puppy farm and arrange to do their study with 3-
month-old litters of pups from four Irish setters, a total of 24 puppies, consisting of 12 females
and 12 males.

5) In order to have two sets of puppies, one set to be the control group and one set to be the
experimental group, Pablo and Johanna should ________.
A) put the 12 females in one group and the 12 males in the other group
B) flip a coin for each dog to see which group it will be in
C) randomly choose one dog for the control group and use the other 23 in the experimental group
D) put six males and six females in each group, with some from each litter in each group
E) put all the puppies from two of the litters in one group and all of the puppies from the other
two litters in the other group
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

15
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
6) Pablo and Johanna should probably run the experiment ________.
A) for one month, weighing and measuring the pups before and after
B) for several months, weighing and measuring the pups before and after
C) for several months, weighing and measuring the pups twice every day
D) for several months, weighing and measuring the pups every week
E) for at least 3 years, weighing and measuring the pups every week
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

7) If the puppies in the experimental group gain, on average, 3 pounds more than those in the
control group over a 4-month period and seem healthier and more energetic, then ________.
A) they have proven the veterinary diet is best for all dogs
B) there is a probability that the veterinary diet is better than kibble for puppies
C) there is a probability that the veterinary diet is better than kibble for all dogs
D) there is a probability that the kibble is better for puppies
E) they have proven that the kibble diet is best for female dogs
Answer: B
Diff: 3
Objective: 1.3 The Nature of Science

16
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of In old
Narragansett; romances and realities
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: In old Narragansett; romances and realities

Author: Alice Morse Earle

Release date: October 13, 2023 [eBook #71873]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1898

Credits: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at


https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN OLD


NARRAGANSETT; ROMANCES AND REALITIES ***
THE IVORY SERIES

Each, 16mo, gilt top, 75 cents

AMOS JUDD. By J. A. Mitchell, Editor of “Life”


IA. A Love Story. By Q. [Arthur T. Quiller-Couch]
THE SUICIDE CLUB. By Robert Louis Stevenson
IRRALIE’S BUSHRANGER. By E. W. Hornung
A MASTER SPIRIT. By Harriet Prescott Spofford
MADAME DELPHINE. By George W. Cable
ONE OF THE VISCONTI. By Eva Wilder Brodhead
A BOOK OF MARTYRS. By Cornelia Atwood Pratt
A BRIDE FROM THE BUSH. By E. W. Hornung
THE MAN WHO WINS. By Robert Herrick
AN INHERITANCE. By Harriet Prescott Spofford
THE OLD GENTLEMAN OF THE BLACK STOCK. By
Thomas Nelson Page
LITERARY LOVE LETTERS AND OTHER STORIES. By
Robert Herrick
A ROMANCE IN TRANSIT. By Francis Lynde
IN OLD NARRAGANSETT. By Alice Morse Earle.
SEVEN MONTHS A PRISONER. By J. V. Hadley.

Other Volumes to be announced


IN OLD NARRAGANSETT

ROMANCES AND REALITIES

BY
ALICE MORSE EARLE

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS


NEW YORK, 1898
Copyright, 1898, by
Charles Scribner’s Sons

TROW DIRECTORY
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY
NEW YORK
FOREWORD
Some of these stories of old Narragansett are familiar fireside
tales to those who have lived in that picturesque land; some are but
vague traditions, others summer dreams; a few are family chronicles;
still others are outlined in that interesting memoir, Thomas R.
Hazard’s “Recollections of the Olden Times,” or in Updike’s
“Narragansett Church.” Old Narragansett was, properly, all the lands
occupied by the Narragansett Indians at the coming of the English.
Narragansett is now, popularly, the coast sweep of the western shore
of Narragansett Bay from Wickford to Point Judith. In 1685
Narragansett was made a separate government apart from Rhode
Island, and was called the Kings Province. When reunited with
Rhode Island this was changed to King’s County. For many years,
and by some old people to-day, it is called the South County, but its
legal name is Washington County, which was given it in 1781;
Washington being a more agreeable and tolerable name at that date
to loyal Americans than King’s. Narragansett was owned by a
comparatively small number of persons, and estates were large, one
family owned a tract nine miles long and three wide. Thomas
Stanton had a “lordship” four and a half miles long and two wide.
Colonel Champlin owned two thousand acres, Thomas Hazard
twelve thousand acres. Farms of five, six, even ten miles square
existed.
Thus the conditions of life in colonial Narragansett were widely
different from those of other New England colonies. The
establishment of and adherence to the Church of England, and the
universal prevalence of African slavery, evolved a social life
resembling that of the Virginian plantation rather than of the Puritan
farm. It was a community of many superstitions, to which the folk-
customs of the feast-days of the English Church, the evil
communications of witch-seeking Puritan neighbors, the voodooism
of the negro slaves, the pow wows of the native red men, all added a
share and infinite variety. It was a plantation of wealth, of vast flocks
and herds, of productive soil, of great crops, of generous living; all
these are vanished from the life there to-day, but still the fields are
smiling and the lakes and the bay are blue and beautiful as of yore;
and a second prosperity is dawning in the old Kings Province in the
universal establishment therein of happy summer-homes.
In memory of many perfect days spent on Narragansett roads and
lanes, of days in Narragansett woods or on the shore, these pages
have been written.
Alice Morse Earle.
Wickford, Rhode Island,
Midsummer Eve, 1897.
CONTENTS
PAGE
A Narragansett Elopement 1
Narragansett Weavers 23
Where Three Towns Meet 51
Tuggie Bannocks’s Moonack 63
A Black Politician 77
The Witch Sheep 103
The Crusoes of the Noon-House 121
The Doctor’s Pie-Plates 139
My Delft Apothecary Jars 151
The Dancing Turkey 169
Cuddymonk’s Ghost 181
A NARRAGANSETT ELOPEMENT
Four miles north of Narragansett Pier lies the old South Ferry, from
whence for over a century ran ferry-boats to a landing on Conanicut
Island. About a mile farther north there stands on Boston Neck an
ancient willow-shaded, gambrel-roofed, weather-beaten house which
in the latter part of the eighteenth century was the scene of a sadly
romantic event. It was built by Rowland Robinson in the first half of
the century—in 1746—and was originally one hundred and ten feet
long, as the stone foundations still show. The kitchen and negro
quarters have been demolished, and the present structure has a
front of sixty feet. The rooms within are models of the simple style of
architecture of that day. The staircase is specially beautiful with its
gracefully turned balusters and curious drop ornaments, and its
deep-worn steps of bass-wood. The walls of all the rooms are
wainscoted in a substantial manner, and the fireplaces are
ornamented with blue and white Dutch tiles. The heavy timbers and
rafters—all cut on the place—have not sagged an inch with the
weight of years. Over the fireplace in the dining-room is a panel
bearing a smoke-darkened painting which represents a deer-hunt
that occurred on the Robinson place while the house was being built.
The riders in this picture appear to be standing in their stirrups
instead of sitting on their saddles. The great attic in which the slaves
are said to have slept contains now a picturesque litter of old sea-
chests, spinning-wheels, clock-reels, wool-cards, flax-brakes, yarn-
winders, saddles, and pillions; and in the beams of the roof are great
iron hooks to which—it is whispered—the slaves of olden times were
tied when they received their floggings. They are with much more
probability the loom-hooks which were used by weavers when
weaving cloth on an old hand-loom. The handsome great west room
is known as the Lafayette Chamber, it having been occupied for
some weeks by the Marquis de Lafayette during the Revolutionary
War; and on panes of glass, still whole after a century’s use, are the
names of French officers, scratched on with the writers’ diamond
rings.
The house abounds in cupboards—tall, narrow cupboards high up
over the chimney, low, broad cupboards under the window-seats,
medicine cupboards and pot cupboards, triangular corner
cupboards, and, in the parlor, one beautifully proportioned apse-
shaped china-cupboard which is ornamented with carved “sunbursts”
and scalloped and serrated shelves, and is closed with glass doors
to show the treasures and beauties within. But in “Unfortunate
Hannah’s” chamber is the most famous cupboard of all, for in that
narrow and shallow retreat a beautiful daughter of Rowland
Robinson hid her lover when she heard the approaching footsteps of
her irascible father on the staircase leading to her room.
Rowland Robinson was a typical Narragansett planter—wealthy,
proud, and imperious. Tall and portly, ruddy of face, he showed in his
dress and carriage his great wealth and high position. A coat of fine
dark cloth or velvet with silver buttons was worn over a long yellow
waistcoat with great pockets and flaps; violet or brown velvet knee-
breeches with handsome top-boots, or silk stockings with buckled
shoes; lace-frilled shirts; a great beaver cocked hat looped up with
cords over his powdered hair—this attire gave him a comely and
elegant presence. His character may be given in a few words by
quoting the wife of Hon. William Hunter, minister to Brazil. She wrote
in her diary sixty years ago her personal recollection of him. “He was
of violent passions, which was characteristic of the Robinsons, but of
benevolent, noble nature.” Many stories are told of his impetuous
generosity and kindly impulsiveness, none being more characteristic
than his action when his first cargo of slaves came from the Guinea
coast. Slave-dealing was such a universal practice at that date
among wealthy residents of Narragansett and Newport that it was a
commonplace business enterprise for Rowland Robinson, when he
was building his new house, to send a ship to Africa for a cargo of
negroes, intending to keep the most promising ones for his own
household and farm servants, and to sell the remainder. But when
the ship landed at South Ferry, and the forlorn, wretched, feeble men
and women disembarked, he burst into tears and vowed that not one
should be sold. He kept them all in his own household, where they
were always kindly treated. He never again sent a vessel to Africa to
engage in the slave-trade, though one negro of royal birth—Queen
Abigail—was so happy in her Narragansett home, that with Rowland
Robinson’s consent and his liberal assistance she returned to her
home in Africa, found her son—the negro prince—and brought him
to America, where he became Mr. Robinson’s faithful body-servant.
The wealthy planter had other sources of income than slave-
trading. He owned great ships that engaged in general commerce.
He had an immense dairy and made fine Rhode Island cheese from
the milk of his beautiful “blanket-cows.” It was his ambition to have
one hundred of these lovely black-and-white animals, but it is a
matter of tradition that, while he could keep ninety-nine readily
enough, when he bought or raised the hundredth cow, one of the
ninety-nine sickened and died, or was lost through accident, and
thus the number still fell short. Great quantities of grain and hay did
he also raise on his fertile farm; and besides the grain and cheese
that he shipped to the West Indies he also sold to the wealthy
colonists many Narragansett pacers—swift horses of the first
distinctively American breed. These pacers all came from one sire,
“Old Snip,” who it is said was of Andalusian birth and was found
swimming in the ocean off the coast of Africa, was hauled on board a
trading-ship and was carried to Narragansett, where he was allowed
to run wild on the Point Judith tract. These sure-footed pacers had a
peculiar gait; they did not sway their rider from side to side, nor jolt
him up and down, but permitted him to sit quietly, and thus endure
without fatigue a long journey. In those carriageless days, when
nearly all travel was by saddle and pillion, the broad-backed, easy-
going Narragansett pacers were in such demand that they brought
high prices and proved a good source of income.
Three children were born to the builder of this beautiful colonial
home: William Robinson, who died in Newport in 1804, in a house on
the corner of Broadway and Mann Avenue, and two daughters, Mary
and Hannah. Gay festivities had these young people in the
hospitable great house, especially when a demure young Quaker
cousin was sent to them to live for awhile in order to break up a
romantic love-affair of hers with a young French officer. Count
Rochambeau was a guest at her father’s house, and too many
opportunities for love-making were found when the young
Frenchman came to report to his commanding officer.
Gayest and loveliest of all the beauties throughout Narragansett
was fair Hannah Robinson—Unfortunate Hannah. Much testimony of
her extraordinary beauty has descended to us, one story being of
her meeting with Crazy Harry Babcock, that reckless dare-devil of a
soldier whose feats of valor by land and sea were known all over
Europe as well as in America. This extraordinary man, during a visit
to England, was invited to the palace and introduced to the royal
family. When the queen extended her hand to him to be kissed, he
sprang briskly from his knees, exclaiming: “May it please your
majesty, in my country, when we salute a beautiful woman we kiss
her lips, not her hand,” and with the words he seized the astonished
queen by the shoulders and impressed on her lips a rousing smack.
Upon his return to America he went to Narragansett for the avowed
purpose of “seeing the prettiest woman in Rhode Island.” As he
entered the parlor of Rowland Robinson’s house fair Hannah rose to
meet him, and the crazy colonel, as she extended her hand to greet
him, dropped on his knee with a look of intense admiration, saying,
in the stilted words of the times: “Pray permit one who has kissed
unrebuked the lips of the proudest queen on earth to press for a
moment the hand of an angel from heaven!”
The great wealth and luxurious manner of living of the opulent
Narragansett planters was shown in no way more plainly than in the
manner in which they educated their children. They spared no pains
nor expense to obtain the best masters and teachers. Rowland
Robinson sent his daughter to Newport to receive instruction from
Madame Osborne, whose fame as a teacher was known throughout
America, and whose “Memoirs” form the dullest book in the English
language. At this school Hannah met the handsome lover who was
to have such an influence over her life. Pierre Simond, or Peter
Simons as was most unromantically Anglicized his name, was a
scion of a French Huguenot family, who taught music and French in
Madame Osborne’s school. From the moment the young couple met
they were lovers. Both knew, however, how hopeless it was to think
of obtaining Mr. Robinson’s consent to a marriage which would
appear to him so unequal; they therefore kept their love a secret.
As the time approached for Hannah’s return to her home in
Narragansett, the lovers were in despair at the thought of separation,
for they knew their unhappiness could not be mitigated even by the
exchange of love-letters. At this juncture the young music-teacher
managed to obtain a position as private tutor in the family of Colonel
Gardiner, who lived only two miles from Hannah’s home and who
was her uncle.
It can easily be divined that when once in Narragansett the happy
lovers found many opportunities of meeting, which were frequently
brought about by the romantic and easy-going colonel, and were not
hindered by Hannah’s mother when she discovered her daughter’s
love-affair. Though Mrs. Robinson would not give her approval she
tacitly gave her aid by helping to conceal the lovers’ meetings from
Rowland Robinson; and it was with her knowledge that the lover
came to Hannah’s chamber, where he often had to be concealed in
the friendly cupboard.
When Peter Simons could not enter the Robinson house he stood
by his true-love’s window under a great lilac-bush, which is still
growing, sturdy and unbroken under the weight of a century of years.
In the concealing shadow of the lilac-bush words of love might be
whispered to the fair girl who leaned from the window, or letters
might be exchanged with comparative safety.
But true love ran no smoother in the eighteenth century than in the
nineteenth, and when one night a fair hand dropped a tender billet
into the gloom of the lilac-bush, old Rowland Robinson chanced to
open the door of his house and he saw the white messenger
descend. Speechless with suspicion and rage he rushed to the lilac-
bush and thrust his buckthorn stick into it with vigorous blows until a
man ran out into the darkness, whom the irate father in the second’s
glimpse recognized as the “wretched French dancing-master” who
taught his nephews.
The horrified and disgusted anger of Rowland Robinson and the
scene that ensued within doors can well be imagined; little peace or
happiness was there for Hannah after her father’s discovery. Updike,
in his “History of the Narragansett Church,” says of her life at this
time: “If she walked, her movements were watched; if she rode, a
servant was ordered to be in constant attendance; if a visit was
contemplated, her father immediately suspected it was only a pretext
for an arranged interview; and even after departure, if the most
trifling circumstance gave color to suspicion, he would immediately
pursue and compel her to return. In one instance she left home to
visit her aunt in New London; her father soon afterward discovered
from his windows a vessel leaving Newport and taking a course
toward the same place. Although the vessel and the persons on
board were wholly unknown to him, his jealousies were immediately
aroused. Conjecturing it was Mr. Simons intending to fulfil an
arrangement previously made, he hastened to New London, arrived
a few hours only after his daughter, and insisted on her instant
return. No persuasions or argument could induce him to change his
determination, and she was compelled to return with him.”
Though Rowland Robinson was firm in his determination and
constant in his action to prevent the lovers from meeting, Hannah—
the true daughter of her father—was equally determined not to give
up her sweetheart; and as the Narragansett neighbors, like the rest
of the world, “dearly loved a lover,” they gladly assisted the romance
by exchanging letters and arranging meetings for the lovers. Months
of harassing suspicions and angry words at home, and frightened
meetings with her lover away from home, told so upon Hannah’s
health that her mother finally permitted to be carried into execution a
long-planned scheme of elopement. It was finally arranged through
the agency and assistance of a young friend of Hannah’s—Miss
Belden—and the ever sentimental colonel-uncle.
Invitations for a great ball had been sent out all over Narragansett,
and to many in Boston, Providence, and Newport. It was to be given
by Mrs. Updike, Hannah’s aunt. She lived eight miles north of
Rowland Robinson’s home, in the old historic house which is still
standing and is now known as Cocumcussuc. A portion of it was the
first house or fort built by the English in Narragansett in the year
1636. Though Hannah’s father was unwilling to allow his daughter
out of his sight, he at last consented that both Hannah and Mary
should go to their aunt’s ball. They set out on horseback,
accompanied by faithful Prince, the son of Queen Abigail, and were
met, as had been arranged, in the thick woods on the top of Ridge
Hill, by Mr. Simons with a closed carriage. Into this conveyance
Hannah entered with her lover, in spite of her sister’s tears and
Prince’s frantic appeals, and rode off to Providence, where the
eloping couple were married.
When the news of Hannah’s disobedience came to the knowledge
of Rowland Robinson, his rage and disgust knew no bounds. He
forbade his family ever to communicate with Hannah again; and
knowing well that she must have been assisted in carrying out her
plans to elope, he offered a large reward to anyone who would make
known to him the names of the persons who had aided her escape.
It would seem that the fair bride should be called Fortunate
Hannah, since she managed to evade her father’s vigilance and wed
her ardent French lover, but alas! Peter Simons, like many another
hero of an elopement, did not prove worthy of the great sacrifice.
Disappointed through the implacable anger of Rowland Robinson in
the hope of obtaining any of his wealth, the unprincipled husband
soon neglected his lovely wife and at last deserted her for days and
weeks. Broken-hearted, alone, and poor, the unfortunate girl began
to fail rapidly in health, and spent many weary, lonely days in her
wretched home in Providence, having for her only companion her
dog Marcus, that had been secretly sent to her by her mother from
her Narragansett home.
In the meantime her sister, Mary Robinson, had died of
consumption; and her mother, worn out by grief, had completely
failed in health. Her father, though outwardly stern and unforgiving,
was evidently exceedingly unhappy at the alarming news of his
daughter’s state of health; and at last, of his own accord, sent to live
with her and care for her the negro maid who had attended her in her
happy girlhood. He also conveyed to her the message that she might
come home and would be warmly welcomed, provided she would
reveal to him the names of those who assisted in her elopement. Her
compliance with this condition was, he said, absolutely imperative.
On receiving this message Hannah wrote in answer, with trembling
hand, a most affectionate letter, stating firmly that the sentiments of
honor which he himself had both taught and transmitted to her
forbade her betraying the confidence of those who had aided her
and offended him. Mr. Robinson eagerly opened the letter, but his
face changed when he read her decision, and he tossed the sheet to
her mother with the contemptuous remark, “Then let the foolish thing
die where she is!”
As weeks passed the accounts of Hannah’s health grew more
alarming still, and it was evident that a fierce struggle between love
and pride was taking place in the unhappy father’s breast; one day
he rose suddenly from the dinner-table, jumped upon his horse, and
saying to his wife that he should be away from home for a day or
two, started on the thirty-five-mile ride to Providence. He remained
overnight at the Updike farm and reached his daughter’s house in
Providence at noon. Without dismounting he rapped on the door with
his riding-whip. Full of joy at the sight of her old master and at the
thought of the happy reconciliation, the negro maid hastened to the
door with the entreaty that the welcome visitor would come at once
to the poor invalid’s chamber. “Ask your mistress,” said Rowland
Robinson, “whether she is now ready to comply with her father’s
request to know the names of her fellow-conspirators, and say that if
she is, he will come in, but on no other conditions.” Poor Hannah,
torn with a thousand emotions, still clung to her decision not to
betray her friends, and her father, without another word, rode away
to the Updike farm. For several weeks the stubborn and unhappy
father, unable to live without news of his sick daughter, rode at
intervals of two or three days from Narragansett to Providence,
knocked at Hannah’s door, asked for her health, and left without
another word.
At last, her friends who had helped in her elopement, hearing of
her father’s firm decision, which barred all reconciliation, insisted
upon her revealing to him their names and the true story; and when
Rowland Robinson next rode up to his daughter’s door he received
the welcome message that she would see him and tell him all. When
he entered that barren chamber all thought of discovering her closely
guarded secret fled at once from his thoughts as he gazed at the
wasted form of the once beautiful girl. He knelt by her bedside and
wept aloud in anguish and remorse. As soon as he recovered his
composure he at once rode to his home, from whence he
despatched to Providence in a fast-sailing sloop four of his strongest
and trustiest negro men, and a hand-litter for the sick, which was, at
that time of rough roads and few carriages, an indispensable article
in every well-appointed Narragansett household. Dusty, travel-
stained, and tired, without waiting for a night’s rest he at once
jumped upon a fresh horse and, attended by Prince, who was
mounted and led a horse for Hannah’s maid, poor Rowland
Robinson started for the last time to ride to his sick daughter’s door.
Upon a lovely morning in June, the four strong negroes, bearing
the litter upon which lay the sick girl, with her father and faithful
Prince riding on either side, slowly wended their way to poor
Hannah’s early home. Those who know the beauty of sunny
Narragansett in early June, when the roads are everywhere
overhung with the graceful, sweet-scented blossoms of slender
locust-trees, when the roadsides are one luxuriant, blooming garden
of lovely wild flowers, and the fields are sweet with rich clover, can
feel the strong and painful contrast which the sad figure of the dying
girl must have formed to the glowing life around.
When the spot was reached on Ridge Hill where Hannah had seen
for the last time her sister Mary, Prince saw that she covered her
face with her hands and cried. One other pathetic incident is told by
“Shepherd Tom” of the homeward journey. Though on every side lay
a glory of spring flowers, poor Hannah, with thoughts that no one can
fathom, asked her father to pick for her and lay on her breast a
withered sprig of the pale blossom called life-everlasting, which had
bloomed and died the year before.
At last the painful journey was ended; of the sad meeting between
mother and daughter, and of the sorrowful faces of the faithful
servants, it is needless to write in detail.
That night a whip-poor-will—the bird believed throughout
Narragansett to be the harbinger of death—perched on the lilac-bush
under the window of the chamber where once again slept
Unfortunate Hannah; and throughout the long dark hours sounded
gloomily in the father’s ears the sad, ominous cry of “Whip-poor-will!
Whip-poor-will!” The following day poor Hannah died.
Again did four strong men bear on their shoulders the form of the
once beautiful girl, as they passed under the branches of the sweet-
scented lilac to the grave near the old house where still is shown the
headstone that marks the last resting-place of Unfortunate Hannah
Robinson.

You might also like