Here’s an old tale from Rhode Island,
A scary one to say the least;
Of a young Indian maiden,
And her encounter with the beast.

The devil came to her village,
He was looking for a fresh soul;
Searching for someone innocent,
And he was being very bold.

He avoided the warriors,
They put up too much of a fight;
He’d take an Indian maiden,
Even if it took him all night.

He started checking the tee pees,
In one he found a girl alone;
But she felt his presence at once,
The feeling chilled her to the bone.

She turned to see him standing there,
A sinister grin on his face;
She didn’t hesitate at all,
Quickly, she ran out of that place.

She ran south as fast as the wind,
With the devil right at her back;
She knew she’d have to keep running,
To avoid his vicious attack.

She ran through most of Rhode Island,
Into a place named North Kingstown;
A Minister there saw the chase,
He stepped in and slowed Satan down.

The devil became furious,
Stomped his foot on a granite ledge;
He knew he had lost the maiden,
God had claimed her pure soul instead.

The next time you’re in Rhode Island,
Take a look at Devil’s Foot Rock;
Right near the entrance to Quonset,
It bears the devils cloven mark.

That Indian girl, she did just fine,
She soon became the Minister’s wife;
They lived in a cottage by the sea,
Happily for the rest of their lives.


THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MYSTERY - There are a great many legends about the devil and Indian maidens. The History behind this tale however, may have taken place in the early to mid eighteen hundreds in the state of Rhode Island.
In this particular story it was said that a young Indian girl murdered a white man somewhere near Wickford. As she was trying to escape capture by witnesses, a strange man appeared and asked her to walk along with him for a bit. She refused but the man grabbed her around the waist or maybe the arm.
(This is unclear as the stories do vary somewhat.)
Either way she cried out for Hobomoko to help her. (Hobomoko was the Indian word for “devil”)
The gentleman then revealed himself to be the devil, stomped
the ground in anger and mystically transported her to Purgatory Chasm and threw her viciously into its waters.

This original story ends with, “To this day it (the foot prints) may be seen near Wickford, the footprints of Satan on the ledge near the road. One has the form of a cloven hoof and the other has exactly the shape and
size of a human foot, even to the mark of the great toe.”