It’s said that Miantonomo, chief of the Narraganset people, fled on foot from his enemies during a conflict that eventually turned into a war between the Narraganset and Mohegans.
In his attempt to escape, it’s rumored that he was cornered at the top of a cliff by Yantic Falls. He leaped over the falls and miraculously made it to the other side, but suffered a broken leg. The folk tale diverges here. Some stories say that Uncas (the Mohegan chasing him) also leaped over the gorge. Others say he found some other way to cross.
However, with a broken leg, Miantonomo couldn’t go on. When Uncas caught up to him, he found the chief hiding behind some rocks in Niantic, Connecticut, now the location of this monument.
After his capture, he was brought to Hartford to stand trial because he had also conspired to form an alliance against the English. However, the people didn’t want to deal with the politics of having inflicted capital punishment on the Narraganset tribe. He was turned over to the Mohegans, who executed the chief.
