{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3495", "width": "2288", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3281", "width": "1877", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3281", "width": "1877", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "HISTORICAL SKET MIES\\nOF THE\\nDISCOVERY, SETTLEMENT,\\nAND\\nPROGRESS OF EVENTS\\nIN THE\\nCOOS COUNTRY AND VICINITY,\\nPRINCIPALLY INCLUDED\\nBETWEEN THE YEARS 1754 AND 1785\\nBY REV. GRANT POWERS, A.M., C.H.S.\\nHAVERHILL, N. H.\\nPUBLISHED BY J. F. C. HAYES.\\n1841.", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "U 4\\nDistrict of Connecticut^ ss.\\nBe it remembered, that on the ninth day of March, A.U,\\n1840, Grant Powers, of the said district, hath deposited ia\\nthis office tJie title of a book, the title of which is in the words\\nfollowing, to wit\\nHistorical Sketches of the Discovery, Settlement, and\\nProgress of Events in the Coos Country and Vicinity, princi-\\npally included between the years 1754 and 1785. By Rev\\nGrant Powers, A. M., C. H. S.\\nThe right whereof he claims as author, in conformity with\\nan act of Congress, entitled An act to amend the several\\nacts respecting copj rights.\\nCHARLES A. INGERSOLL,\\nClerk of the District of Connecticut.\\nDistrict of Connecticut, ss.\\nThe foregoing is a true copy of the original record of copy\\nright, recorded March 9th, A. D. 1840,\\nittest, CHARLES A. INGERSOLL,\\nClerk of the District.\\nA true copy of copy right.\\nGRANT POWERS.\\nSTEREOTYPED BY\\nMORRILL, SILSBY, CO. CONCORD, N. H.", "height": "3317", "width": "1913", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "PREFACE.\\nThe history of our nation is peculiar in a number\\nof things, but in none more than in this that it re-\\ncords its own origin. There is no other nation that\\ndaes this, the Jews excepted. No one of the present\\nnations of Europe can tell us a word of their earliest\\nancestors, or even specify the century in which their\\nterritory was first taken possession of by them, but\\nall is involved in obscurity as are the years before the\\nflood. But it is far different with our early history as\\na nation. We know the men who said they would be\\nfree, and who laid the foundation of this mighty re-\\npublic. We know whence they came, the object for\\n-which they cam-e, the spot to which they came, and\\nthe year, the month, and the day they took possession.\\nOur nation owes a lasting debt of gratitude to our\\nancestors for their fidelity in recording the incipient\\nsteps taken by th^m in settling this new \\\\\\\\orld. But\\nwith regret must we say that their descendants soon\\nbegan to relax in their fidelity in this respect, and they\\ncontinued to decline.^ until their delinquency was al-\\nmost entire. It may well be doubted, whether more\\nthan one half of the towns in New England have any\\nwell-authenticated history of their early settlement,\\nand had not the attention of the people been called to\\nthis subject by recently organized Historical Societies,\\nand centennial addresses, a very few years had buried", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "IV PREFACE.\\nall in oblivion with those towns w^hose history was not\\nalready recorded. There seems, truly, an anomaly\\nin the human character, inasmuch as man delights to\\nretrace the line of his descent to his remotest ancestry,\\nand has a strong passion to live in the memory of his\\ndescendants, and yet possesses very little inclination to\\ndo any thing directly to furnish the means to his pos-\\nterity of knowing that he ever existed.\\nOne reason for the indifference manifested towards\\nrecording present events, is the general impression that\\nthey can have no important bearing upon what is to\\ncome, unless they are such events as greatly interest\\nthe community in present time the result of a great\\nbattle, a revolution in a kingdom, or a destructive\\nearthquake. But nothing is more delusive than such\\nan impression. What would the inhabitants of the\\ncity of London now give for the year, the month, and\\nday, in which the first man pitched his tent on that\\nground What would they give if they could know\\nhis name, his origin, whence he came, the circum-\\nFtances in w^hich he ctime, the object for his coming,\\nand, withal, a minute description of the place as it\\nthen was An octavo pamphlet of ten pages, con-\\ntaining well-authenticated facts of this kind, would be\\nworth millions sterling to the author or proprietor.\\nAnd the history of our ancestors landing at Plymouth\\nis infinitely more important in our history than the\\nhistory of the surrender of Burgoyne s army, or that\\nof Cornwallis. And even those occurrences which\\ndo not seem to stand intimately connected w^ith any\\ngreat results, time will often vest with peculiar interest,\\nin the view of posterity. How unhappy is the refiec-", "height": "3317", "width": "1913", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "PREFACE. V\\nlion, then, that the early settlement of our towns\\nshould be permitted to be forever lost through the apa-\\nthy or indifference of their inhabitants, since the time\\nwill certainly arrive when the subject will be duly ap-\\npreciated, and our descendants will reproach us for\\nour stupidity and sloth in this respect\\nIt was in view of these and kindred considerations,\\nthat the author of the following Sketches commenced,\\nsixteen years ago, visiting the survivors among the first\\nsettlers in the Coos country, and in some towns in the\\nvicinity. He was careful to take down their state-\\nments in their presence, and they were interrogated\\nupon almost all subjects here introduced. Some made\\nfurther communications unt^ir their own hand-writing,\\nand he has obtained written and published documents,\\nas far as he was able, to aid him in this work. But as\\nit has been his main design to go back of written and\\npublished documents, and to bring to light things\\nwhich would never have appeared, unless they were\\ntaken up in a work of this kind, he could avail him-\\nself of those documents but in a limited degrree and\\nin general, they are introduced as corroborative testi-\\nmony, or explanatory, merely. But he fears he has\\nalready raised, by his remarks, expectations which he\\nwill by no means be able to satisfy and yet he has\\ndone what he could with his means. He could not\\ncreate means, and yet had procured so many, that he\\ncould hardly feel justified in permitting them to perish\\nwith himself It will be perceived that he writes\\nthings grave, things trivial, and things important, and\\nthis with a view to present as nearly as possible, to\\nthe present and future generations, the circumstances.", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "Tl PREFACE.\\nviews, feelings, habits and customs of our ances-\\ntors.\\nBefore he concludes these remarks, he beofs leave\\nto suggest what he views to be important for every\\nfamily, and for every town in this nation. 1. Let\\nevery family obtain as full and as correct a record of\\ntheir ancestry as is now possible, and every child take\\na copy, and make additions as time furnishes the means\\n2. Let every town have its stated historian, who shall\\ndelight in his duty, whose object will be to collect\\nfacts of the aged, and by all other means which Pro-\\nvidence may afford him and to record passing events\\nof an interesting nature. Let this record be examined\\nannually by the town authorities and certified by the\\ntown clerk, and then preserved in the archives of the\\ntown. Extracts from these documents might furnish\\nannually interesting materials in every state for a vol-\\nume of Historical Collections. And these volumes\\nwould in a few years furnish matter for the richest\\nhistory that ever was possessed by a nation on earth\\nHe suggests it to his brethren in the ministry, of all\\ndenominations, to aid in this cause. No class of men\\nin the community enjoy so many facilities for making\\nsuch a record none would derive more benefit from\\nit, and it is by no means foreign to their appropriate\\nduties. Brethren, think of it think seriously, and\\nthen act.\\nGRANT POWERS.\\nGoshen, Ct., Jan. 1st, 1840.", "height": "3317", "width": "1913", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "LIST OF AUTHORITIES\\nAMOSQ THE FIRST SETTLERS USED IN THESB SKETCHES.\\nCol. Joshua Howard.\\nHon. James Woodward.\\nHon. Ezekiel Ladd.\\nMrs. Ruth Ladd.\\nMr. Charles Wheeler.\\nMrs. Annis Wheeler.\\nMr. John Page.\\nMrs. Ruth Johnston.\\nCol. Joshua Bailey.\\nMrs. Mary Kent.\\nMr. Jonathan Tyler.\\nAndrew B. Peters, Esq.\\nJohn Mann, Esq.\\nCol. Otis Freeman, Esq.\\nRev. Asa Burton, D. D.\\nMr. Richard Wallace.\\nMr. Joel Strong.\\nCol. Jonathan Elkins.\\nOTHER AIDS.\\nBelknap s History of New Hampshire.\\nGazetteer of New Hampshire.\\nGazetteer of Vermont.\\nEastman s History of Vermont.\\nMarshall s Life of Washington.\\nCapt. Powers Journal.\\nRev. Jared Sparks certified Copies.\\nDavid Johnson^s Letters and Extracts.\\nRev. Clark Perry s Sketches.\\nJohn Farmer s Extracts.\\nMrs. Abigail Cross.\\nMrs. Hannah Pearson.\\nMrs. Sally Johnston.", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3317", "width": "1913", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nOF THE\\nCOOS COUNTRY AND VICINITY,\\nSo late as 1760, there was no settlement by\\nthe English, in the Connecticut Valley, above\\nthe town of Charlestown, in New Hampshire,\\nwhich was then called No. 4. Nor were\\nthere more than three towns settled south of\\nCharlestown, in the valley within the present\\nlimits of New Hampshire. Hinsdale, or Fort\\nDummer, was settled in 1683. Westmoreland,\\nor No. 2, was settled in 1741 Walpole in\\n1752.\\nThese towns, with the exception of Walpole,\\nwere all settled by Massachusetts men for,\\nuntil 1741, it was supposed the north line of\\nMassachusetts would include these towns.\\nAt Hinsdale and Charlestown, forts were built\\nat an early period of their settlement, and sol-\\ndiers were stationed there for the double purpose\\nof affording protection to the settlers, and arrest-\\ning the progress of the Indians from Canada,", "height": "3282", "width": "2085", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "10 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nwhile meditating incursions upon the frontier\\ntowns in Massachusetts.\\nAnd so little interest did New Hampshire feel\\nin the settlement of the Connecticut Valley\\nwhich has been very justly denominated the\\nGarden of New England, that in 1745, when\\nthe Governor recommended to the Assembly of\\nNew Hampshire the taking and sustaining their\\nnewly-acquired Fort Dummerj which fell to\\nthem upon the establishment of the line between\\nthe two colonieSj the lower House declined the\\nacceptance of this place and that of No. 4\\nalleging that the fort was fifty miles distant\\nfrom any towns settled by New Hampshire\\nthat they did not own the territory and that\\nthey were unequal to the expense of maintaining\\nthose places.\\nNoljvas it until 1T52, that the Governor of\\nNew ilampshire was permitted to adopt any\\nmeasures to secure to that colony this invaluable\\ntract of country. He then made several grants\\nof townships on both sides of the Connecticut\\nRiver, and a plan was laid for taking possession\\nof the Rich Meadows of Cohos, of which\\nthey had heard by hunters and captives returned.\\nThe original design was to cut a road from\\nNo. 4 to the Cohos; to lay out two town-\\nCoo3 waa spelt Cohos and Cowass by our anceetors.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRf. ll\\nships, one on each side of the river, and opposite\\nto each other, where Haverhill and Newbury\\nnow are. They were to erect stockades, with\\nlodgements for two hundred men, in each town-\\nship, enclosing a space of fifteen acres in the\\ncentre of which was to be a citadel, containing\\nthe public buildings and granaries, which were\\nto be large enough to receive all the inhabitants\\nand their movable effects, in case of necessity.\\nAs an inducement for people to remove to this\\nnew plantation, they were to have courts of\\njudicature, and other civil privileges, among\\nthemselves, and were to be under strict military\\ndiscipline.\\nIn pursuance of this plan, says Dr. Belknap,\\nvol. ii. p. 215, a party was sent up, in the spring\\nof 1752, to view the meadows of Cohos, and lay\\nout the proposed townships. It seems that this\\nproject embraced the two objects of possessing\\nthe Cohos country, and establishing a military\\npost there. It was to be partly civil and partly\\nmilitary, and a number of adventurers were\\nabout to enlist in the enterprise. But the whole\\np lan was defeated by the timely remonstrance\\nof the Indians of the St. Francis tribe. And\\nnotwithstanding Mr. Belknap says, A party was\\nsent up, in the spring of 1752, to view the mea-\\ndows of Cohos, and lay out the proposed town-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "12 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nships/ it is extremely doubtful whether that\\nparty ever reached their destination, if they ever\\nleft No. 4. There were no returns made of\\nthis tour. They certainly did not lay out the\\ntownships. And we find in the Life of General\\nStark, that in 1754, the General Court of New\\nHampshire determined to send a party to explore\\nthis hitherto unknoion region^ referring to the\\nCohos country.\\nNoWj if this country had been explored by\\nthe party of 1752, it could not have been called\\nthe hitherto unexplored region* in 1754, seeing\\nthat, in each instance, the General Court is re-\\npresented as the principal mover in those explor-\\ning parties. And by the kindness of the late\\nMr. Farmer, of Concord, N. H., I have been\\nfurnished with the extract from Col. Israel Wil-\\nliams letter, to which Dr. Belknap refers for his\\nauthority in saying what he does of the explor-\\ning party of 1752. And with the additional\\nevidence which has been obtained upon these\\ntransactions since Dr. Belknap s time, I should\\nfeel that Col. Williams letter was insufficient to\\nauthorize the assertion, that a party was actually\\nsent into the Cohos country in 1752. It is but\\na mere allusion to such a thing, or to such an\\nintention.\\nThe letter of Col. Williams was written to", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "OF TUE COOS COUNTRY. 13\\nthe Governor of Massachusetts, dated at Hat-\\nfield, 19 March, 1753, and speaks of our people\\ngoing to take a view of the Cowass meadows\\nlast spring. This by no means says they did\\ngo to view them but were going, or were\\npreparing to go, and view them. And doubtless\\nthis was fact. A party might hdve been sent on\\nby the Governor as far as No. 4, and even\\nfarther but the Indians remonstrating and\\nthreatening, they relinquished their object. Dr.\\nBelknap states that the Indians came to No. 4,\\nand made this threat that it was communicated\\nto the Governor of Massachusetts, and he sent\\nthe information to the Governor of New Hamp-\\nshire, and the project was laid aside. The only\\ndiscrepancy in all this testimony is found in Dr.\\nBelknap s understanding Col. Williams to say\\nthat the party of 1752 did go into the Cohos\\ncountry, when he did not say it and as the\\nevidence is now exhibited, we must think he\\ndid not mean to say it.\\nBut notwithstanding this project of exploring\\nthe Cohos from No. 4 was suspended, yet the\\nGovernor and House of Assembly did by no\\nmeans abandon the idea of a future possession\\nof those meadows, and events hastened their at-\\ntempt to explore and possess the Cohos country.\\nIn the spring of 1752, John Stark, afterward\\n2", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "14 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nGeneral Stark, Amos Eastman^ afterward oi\\nHoUis, N. H., David Stinsoiij of Londonderry r\\nand William Stark, were hunting upon Baker s\\nRiver, in the town of Rmnney. They were\\nsurprised by a party of ten Indians. John Stark\\nand Amos Eastman were taken prisoners, Stinson\\n\\\\vas killed, and William Stark escaped by flight.\\nJohn Stark and Eastman were carried into cap-\\ntivity to the head-quarters of the St. Francis\\ntribe in Canada, and were led directly through\\nthe Meadows,* so much talked of in Massa-\\nchusetts and New Hampshire.\\nThese men returned from their captivity in\\nthe summer of 1753, and gave an interesting\\naccount of Cokos and as the country was ex-\\npecting that the War with the French and In-\\ndians would soon be renewed, and that the\\nFrench would be desirous of taking the Cohos\\ncountry for a military post, the General Court of\\nNew Hampshire determined to send a company\\nto explore the region not to attempt to ascend\\nthe Connecticut from No. 4, but to pursue the\\ntrack of the Indians as they came from the great\\nvalley to Baker s River and the Pemigewasset,\\nand returned again with their prisoners.\\nAccordingly, in the spring of 1754, Col. Love-\\nwell, Maj. Tolford, and Capt. Page, were sent\\nout at the head of a company, with John Stark", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 15\\nfor their guide. They left Concord, March 10,\\n1754, and in seven days made Connecticut River\\nat Piermont. They spent but one night in the\\nvalley, and made a precipitate retreat to Co\u00c2\u00bbcord,\\nat vvrhich place they arrived on the thirteenth\\nday from their departure.*\\nThe cause of this failure to explore the region\\nto which they were sent, I have not learned\\nbut that it was a failure, we must know for\\none night spent in the woods at Piermont could\\nhave returned to the government no information\\nconcerning the Coos meadows. The probability\\nwas, they feared an Indian foe superior to their\\nown force.\\nBut the government was not discouraged by\\nthis failure, and the same season, 1754, Capt.\\nPeter Powers, of Hollis, N. H., Lieut. James\\nStevens, and Ensign Ephraim Hale, both of\\nTownsend, Mass., were appointed to march at\\nthe head of a company to effect, if possible, what\\nhad hitherto been attempted in vain. The com-\\npany rendezvoused at Concord, which was then\\ncalled Rumford, and commenced their tour on\\nSaturday, June 15, 1754\\nIt may not be improper to state in this place,\\nthat there is no record of this tour in the state\\npapers of that day, and no reference to it in any\\nStark s Life.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "16 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\npapers of subsequent date, as I can learn. The\\nevidence of its having been performed consists,\\nat this day, in the tradition among the descend-\\nants of Capt. Powers, that he was the first to\\nexplore the Coos country, and in his manuscript\\njournal kept by himself during his tour, recently\\nfound among papers on file, preserved by the\\nlate Samson Powers, of HoUis, youngest son of\\nthe said Peter Powers. I have also the same\\ntin safe, of ample dimensions, which contained\\nhis journal, and a piece of his tent-cloth which\\nwas spread over him at night, on this very ex-\\npedition.\\nThe only rational explanation that can be\\ngiven for the silence of all public records in re-\\nlation to this exploring tour, may be found in the\\nloose manner in which such things were trans-\\nacted at that day, and in the commotion which\\nimmediately followed Capt. Powers return for\\nalready war was renewed in Europe between\\nFrance and England, and the intelligence of it\\nhaving reached Quebec, the Indians renewed\\ntheir incursions upon our frontier towns, and\\nmade a descent upon Boscawen a few days after\\nthe return of the exploring company. This sus-\\npended all further thought of settling the Coos\\ncountry during the war that was then raging,\\nand Capt. Powers report was not called for, or", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "or THE COOS COUNTRY. 1/\\nIt was lost during that war, or the war of the\\nRevolution, which followed hard upon the resto-\\nration of peace between Prance and England.\\nCapt. Powers journal is not entire some\\npages of the returning expedition are lost, and,\\nprobably, some prefatory remarks. I should\\nthink, also, that it is not as full in description\\nas he would have returned to government, but\\ngeneral facts noted to enable him to make out a\\ncorrect statement in things essential and, final-\\nly, it is an interesting document of antiquity, and\\nmust be \u00c2\u00abo, especially, to the people of Coos,\\nwho have for a long time felt an earnest desire to\\nknow who first explored that part of the Great\\nValley, I shall give the journal as it is found,\\nonly correcting some of the orthography, and\\noffering some explanation in notes.\\nJOURNAL.\\nSaturday, June 15th, 1754. Tiiis day left\\nRumford, (now Concord,)- and marched to\\nContoocook, which is about eight miles, and\\nhere tarried all night.\\n[The original Indian name of Concord was\\nPenacooic. Prom 1733, it bore the name of\\nRumford, until 1762, and then took the name\\nConcord.]\\n2*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "18 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nSunday June 16th. This day tarried at\\nContoocook, and went to meeting, and tarried\\nhere all this night.\\n[Contoocook was present Boscawen. The Rev.\\nPhinehas Stevens was minister in this place at\\nthat time.]\\nMonday, June \\\\7th. This morning fair\\nweather, and we fixed our packs, and went and\\nput them on board our canoes, about nine of the\\nclock, and some of the men went in the canoes,\\nand the rest on the shore. And so we marched\\nup the River Merrimack to the crotch, or parting\\nthereof; and then up the Pemigewasset about\\none mile and a half, and camped above the car-\\nrying-place, which carrying-place is about one\\nhundred rods long and the whole of this day s\\nmarch is thirteen miles.\\nTuesday, June iSth. This day marched\\nup the Pemigewasset River, about eight miles, to\\nSmith s River, and then east one hundred rods,\\nand then north, two hundred and twenty rods,\\nto the long carrying-place on Pemigewasset Ri-\\nver, and there camped.\\n[This encampment, I think, must have been\\non or near the present line which divides Bristol\\nfrom New-Chester upon the Pemigewasset. It\\nmight be interesting to the present inhabitants\\nof those towns to mark out the spot which was", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 19\\nthus occupied by swords and bristling bayonets\\nin 1754, whilst the whole country around re-\\nmained an unbroken wilderness. And what may\\nbe true in this case, may be true of others in re-\\nspect to all places hereafter to be named by tho\\nexploring party.]\\nWednesday y June 19th. We marched on\\nour journey, and carried across the long carrying-\\nplace on Pemigewasset River two miles north-\\neast, which land hath a good soil, beech and\\nmaple, with a good quantity of large masts.\\nFrom the place where we put in the canoes, we\\nsteered east, north-east, up the river about one\\nmile, and then we steered north-east one mile,\\nand north six miles up to Sawheganet Falls,\\nwhere we carried by about four rods and from\\nthe falls we steered about north-east, to Pemige-\\nwasset interval, two miles, and from the begin-\\nning of the interval we made good our course\\nnorth four miles, and there camped on a narrow\\npoint of land. The last four miles the river\\nwas extremely crooked.\\nThursday, June 20th. We steered our\\ncourse, one turn with another, which were great\\nturns, west, north-west, about two miles and a\\nhalf, to the crotch, or parting of the Pemigewas-\\nset River, at Baker s River mouth thence from\\nthe mouth of Baker s River, up said river, north-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "20 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nwest by west, six miles. This river is extraor-\\ndinary crooked, and good interval. Tlience up\\nthe river about two miles north-west, and there\\nwe shot a moose, the sun about a half an hour\\nhigh, and there camped.\\n[This must have been in the town of Rum^\\nney.]\\nFriday^ June ^\\\\st. We steered up the said\\nBaker s River with our canoes about five miles\\nas the river ran, which was extraordinary crook-\\ned. In the after part of this day, there was a\\ng:reat shower of haile and raine, which pre-\\nvented our proceeding any further, and here we\\ncamped and here left our canoes, for the water\\nin the river was so shoal that we could not go\\nwith them any further.\\n^aturdmj, June 22d. This morning was\\ndai k and cloudy weather but after ten of the\\nclock, it cleared off hot, and we marched up the\\nriver near the Indian carrying-place, from Baker s\\nRiver to Connecticut River, and there camped,\\nand could not go any further by reason of a great\\nshower of rain, which held almost all this after-\\nnoon.\\nSunday^ June 23d This morning dark and\\ncloudy weather, and we marched up this river\\nabout one mile, and came to the Indian carrying-\\nplace, and, by reason of the dark weather, we", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 21\\nwere obliged to follow the marked way, that\\nway marked by Major Lovewell and Capt.\\nTolford, and others, from Baker s River to Con-\\nnecticut River. And this day s march was but\\nabout six miles and we camped between the\\ntwo first Baker Ponds. And it came on a great\\nstorm of rain, which prevented our marching\\nany further. And on this day s march we saw\\na considerable quantity of white pine timber,\\nand foun^ it was something large, fit for thirty-\\ninch masts, as we judged. But before this day s\\nmarch, we saw no white pine timber, that was\\nvery large, on this Baker s River, but a great\\nquantity of small white pine, fit for boards and\\nsmall masts. And on this river there is a great\\nquantity of excellent interval, from the begin-\\nning of it to the place where we left this river.\\nAnd it layeth of a pretty equal proportion from\\none end to the other and back of the inter-\\nval, there is a considerable quantity of large\\nmountains.\\n[Those more familiarly acquainted with the\\nserpentine course of Baker s River than the wri-\\nter, may fix on the several encampments in\\nRumney and Wentworth with tolerable accu-\\nracy but we shall all agree that, at this last\\ndate, they were encamped between the Baker\\nPonds, lying in the north-east part of the present", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "23 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntown of Orford. It is a little singular that it\\nshould not have been discovered until recently,\\nthat the south-western branch of Baker s River\\nafforded greater facilities for communication be-\\ntween the Connecticut Valley and Pemigewasset\\nthan those routs which have been hitherto im-\\nproved, seeing the Indians had given their pre-\\nference to this south branch, and it was improved\\nby the first English parties which explored the\\ncountry.]\\nMonday, June 2Ath. This morning it rained\\nhard, and all the night past, and it held raining\\nall this day, and we kept our camp, and here we\\nstayed the night ensuing, and it rained almost\\nall night.\\nTuesday, June 25th. This morning fkir\\nweather, and we swung our packs, the sun about\\na half an hour high, and we marched along the\\ncarrying-place, or road marked, about two miles,\\nand then steered our course north, twelve de-\\ngrees west, about twelve miles, and came to that\\npart of the Coos interval that is called Moose\\nMeadow. And then steered our course up the\\nriver by the side of the interval, about north-\\neast, and came to a large stream that came into\\nthe interval, which is here about a mile wide.\\nThis stream came out of the east, and we camped\\nhere this night. There are on this river the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 23\\nbest falls and conveniences for all sorts of mills.\\nThese falls are nearly twenty feet perpendicu-\\nlar.\\nMoose Meadoiv^^ must have been the In-\\ndian name for that part of Coos which they\\nmade first, and I am quite confident that some\\nof the old people whom I consulted relative to\\nthe first settlements, called the meadow owned\\nby Major Merrill, in Piermont, Moose Meadow\\nbut I have no minute of it, and as at that time\\nI had no knowledge of this document, I was not\\nparticular to retain the locality of Moose Meadoic.\\nBut we at length find the company encamped\\nupon the banks of the Oliverian in Haverhill,\\nwhich river was then without a name, as well\\nas Haverhill itself. They passed along, he says,\\nby the side of the interval that is, at the\\nfoot of the hill where the meadows commence.\\nHe says, the interval was here about a mile\\nwide. He meant on both sides of the river.\\nHe calls the Oliverian a large stream. The\\nheavy rains, he has already described, rendered it\\nsuch. The falls, I should think, were accurately\\ndescribed. He does not tell us on which side of\\nthe Oliverian he made his encampment probably\\nsouth, upon the elevated platform formerly owned\\nby Richard Gookin or, if he crossed the river\\nthat night, he would select the dry spot where", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "24 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nStands the dwelling-house of the late Capt. Jo-\\nseph Pearson. Permit me, kind reader, to add\\na reflection. How dark is the future with all to\\nwhom God has not revealed what his future\\nProvidences shall be Capt. Powers, when he\\ncamped upon the banks of the Oliverian, must\\nhave marched in his meandering course at least\\nseventy miles without seeing a human habita-\\ntion And what had been his astonishment, if\\nit had been revealed to him that night, that his\\nfirst-born son should be the minister of a church\\nand people in that place, in a less time than\\neleven years that he should sustain that relation\\nnearly twenty years and that his grandson,\\nby his own youngest son, should hold the same\\nstation about fifteen years, from the fifty-seventh\\nto the seventy-second year after his decease\\nThis would have been an astounding vision,\\nbut no more than what time has fulfilled.]\\nWednesday^ June 2Qth. This morning fair\\nweather, and we marched up the interval to the\\ngreat turn of clear interval, which is the upper-\\nmost part of the clear interval, on the westerly\\nside of Connecticut River, and there came a\\ngreat shower of rain, which held almost all this\\nafternoon and we camped by the river on the\\neasterly side, above all the clear interval and\\nthis day s march was about six miles, and very\\ncrooked.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 25\\n[It will appear, as we advance in these sketches,\\nthat the Little Ox Bow on Haverhill side, and\\nthe Great Ox Bow on Newbury side, were cleared\\ninterval when the first settlers came in. They\\nhad been cleared and cultivated to some extent\\nby the Indians, and this is the fact to which the\\njournal alludes. Their encampment was on the\\nwell-known Porter place.]\\nThursday^ June 27th. This morning it was\\ncloudy weather, and it began to rain, the sun\\nabout an hour high, and we marched, notwith-\\nstanding, up the river to Amonoosuck River,\\nand our course was about north, distance about\\nfive miles and we camped here, for the River\\nAmonoosuck was so high we could not go over\\nit without a canoe for it was swift water, and\\nnear twenty rods wide. This afternoon it cleared\\noff fair, and we went about our canoe, and partly\\nbuilt it. Some of our men went up the River\\nAmonoosuck, to see what discoveries they could\\nmake and they discovered excellent land, and\\na considerable quantity of large white pines.\\nFriday, June 28th. This morning fair wea-\\nther, and we went about the canoe, and completed\\nthe same by about twelve of the clock this day,\\nand went over the river and we concluded to\\nlet the men go down the river in the canoe,\\nwho were not likely to perform the remaining\\n3", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "26 Historical sketches\\npart of the journey, by reason of sprains in th\\nankles, and weakness of body. They were four*\\nin number and we steered our course for the\\ngreat interval about east, north-east and we\\nthis day inarched, after we left the river, about\\nten miles. And the land was exceedingly good\\nupland, and some quantity of white pine, but\\nnot thick, but some of them fit for masts.\\n[These four men, it would seem, were about\\nto take their chance upon the river, and to re*\\nturn by the way of Charlestown.]\\nfi ^Saturday, June 29th. This morning was\\ncloudy, but we swung our packs, and steered\\nour course about north-east, ten miles, and\\ncame to Connecticut River. There it came on\\nrainy, and we camped by the side of the river,\\nand it rained all this afternoon, and we kept our\\ncamp all this night. The land was, this day s\\nmarch, very good, and it may be said, as good\\nas ever was seen by any of us. The common\\ngrowth of wood was beech and maple, and not\\nthick at all. It hath a great quantity of small\\nbrooks. This day and the day past, there were\\nabout three brooks fit for corn-mills and these\\nwere the largest of the brooks that we saw.\\n[It seems that the march of the two last days\\nwas made between the valley of the Connecti-\\ncut, and that of the Amonoosuck, upon the high", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "op THE COOS COUNTRY. 27\\nlands of Bath, Lyman, and Littleton, and we\\nnow find them encamped in the southern part\\nof Dalton.]\\nSunday^ June 30th. This morning exceed-\\ning rainy weather, and it rained all the night\\npast, and continued raining until twelve of the\\nclock this day; and after that, it was fair wea-\\nther, and we marched along up Connecticut Ri-\\nver and our course we made good this day, was\\nabout five miles, east by north, and there came\\nto a large stream, which came from the south-\\neast. This river is about three rods wide, and\\nwe called it Starless River, by reason of Ensign\\nJohn Stark s being found by the Indians at the\\nmouth of this river. This river comes into the\\nConnecticut at the foot of the upper intervaJ, and\\nthence we travelled up the interval about seven\\nmiles, and came to a large river which came\\nfrom the south-east and it is about five rods\\nwide. Here we concluded to go no further with\\nthe full scout, by reason of our provisions being\\nalmost all spent and almost all our men had worn\\nout their shoes. This river we called Poicers^\\nRiver, it being the camping place at the end of\\nour journey and there we camped by the river.\\n[It seems that John Stark had been taken\\ntwice by the Indians while on his hunting expe-\\nditions once on Stark s River, and once on", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "28 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nBaker s River. The river which they named\\nStark s River runs through Dalton, and is now\\ncalled John s River, because Stark s name was\\nJohn, perhaps but I think they had better pre-\\nserved the original name, and this would have\\nperpetuated a historical fact, and borne up a\\nname that the whole town would delight to\\ncherish among them but who is to know whe-\\nther this is John Stark s River, or John Smith s\\nRiver, or any other John s River? The river\\nthey called Poioers^ River is in Lancaster, and\\nis now called Israel s River. This, too, I think,\\nought to bear the name they gave it, instead of\\na wandering, and perhaps a worthless hunter.\\nCapt. Powers was the first man of English de-\\nscent, who ever visited that town for discovery.\\nHe did it in imminent peril, and for the good\\nof his country. How much more gratifying it\\nwould be to the present inhabitants of that town,\\nand to all future generations of theirs, did they\\nbear upon their river the name of the first man\\nwho ever by authority discovered their town\\nThere has been much wrong in these things in\\nmany of our towns. Our worthy ancestors, who\\nbore the toils and went through the perils of\\nexploring and settling our forests, and of subdu-\\ning them, richly merited this cheap method of\\nperpetuating a memorial of themselves. I do", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 29\\niiot attach blame to the people of Lancaster for\\nthis for they may not know, to this day, that\\nsuch a company ever visited their town, or that\\ntheir river was ever formally named by persons\\nunder authority but these are the facts. There\\nis no record in the journal of any transaction on\\nthe first day of July. It w\u00c2\u00a3is probably spent in\\ninactivity and rest.]\\nTuesday^ July 2d. This morning fair wea-\\nther, and we thought proper to mend our shoes,\\nand to return homeward and accordingly we\\nwent about the same and whilst the men were\\nthis way engaged, the captain, with two more\\nof his men, marched up the river to see what\\nfurther discoveries they could make, and they\\ntravelled about five miles, and there they dis-\\ncovered where the Indians had a large camping\\nplace, and had been making canoes, and had not\\nbeen gone above one or two days at most and\\nso they returned to the rest of the men again\\nabout twelve of the clock and then we return-\\ned, and marched down the river to Stark s River,\\nand there camped. This afternoon it rained\\nhard, but we were forced to travel for want of\\nprovisions. This interval is exceedingly large,\\nand the farther up the larger. The general\\ncourse of this river is from north-east by east, ag\\nfar as the interval extends*\\n3*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "30 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\n[The captain and his two men penetrated,\\nprobably, as far as present Northumberland, and\\nmust have travelled nearly one hundred and forty\\nmiles after they left the habitations of civilized\\nmen. At Northumberland they first fell upon\\nthe trail of Indians, where they had, probably,\\nbeen preparing themselves canoes to enable them\\nto descend upon our frontier settlements.]\\nWednesday, July 3d. This morning cloudy\\nweather, and thundered and after the sun an\\nhour high, it rained hard, and continued about\\nan hour, and then we swung packs, and steered\\nour course west-south-west, aiming for Amonoo-\\nsuck River and this day we marched about\\nfourteen miles, and camped.\\n[Wfe shall perceive that, for the last twelve\\ndays of their march, the rain had fallen in unu-\\nsual abundance for that season of the year and\\nit would not be strange if they spoke of some\\nsmall streams as larger than they are ordinarily\\nfound, especially since the clearing of the coun-\\ntry but as far as my knowledge extends, they\\nwere not far from present truth concerning them\\nand as it regards distances, they were remarkably\\naccurate, seeing they were in a wilderness, fol-\\nlowed the course of streams, and did not carry a\\nchain.]\\nThursday, July Mh. We marched on our", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 31\\ncourse west-south-west, and this day we marched\\nabout twenty miles, and camped.\\n[This was the day on which the Delegates\\nfrom six of the Colonies signed, at Albany, arti-\\ncles of union for mutual government and defence,\\nanticipating the renewal of war between France\\nand England, exactly twenty-two years before\\nthe declaration of American independence.\\nBelknap.]\\nFriday^ July 5th. We marched about\\nthree miles to our packs at Amonoosuck, the\\nsame course we had steered heretofore and we\\nafterwards went over Connecticut River, and\\nlooked up Wells River, and camped a little be-\\nlow Wells River this night,\\n[At the west end of the bridge, perhaps, lead-\\ning from Haverhill to Wells River.]\\nSaturday, July 6th. Marched down the\\ngreat river to Great Coos, and crossed the river\\nbelow the great turn of clear interval, and there\\nleft the great river, and steered south by east\\nabout three miles, and there camped. Here was\\nthe best of upland, and some quantity of large\\nwhite pines.\\n[I think they crossed into Haverhill at the\\nDow Farm, so called, and the three miles\\nbrought them to Haverhill Corner, and their de-\\nscription of it answers to the description given", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "32 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nby the first settlers. I would say to the people\\nof Haverhill Corner, that eighty-five years ago,\\non the sixth of July last, (1839,) your Common\\nwas the encampment of an exploring company,\\nsent out by the government of England that\\nthis company felt themselves surrounded by a\\nvast wilderness and, while the towering trees\\nof the forest formed their canopy, they confided\\nin their own vigilance and prowess, under God,\\nto protect them from beasts of prey and savage\\nmen. Well may you exclaim, while in your\\nceiled houses, and while surveying from your\\nwindows your ample fields and meadows, What\\nhath God loroiight\\nI must inform the reader that, at this point of\\ntime, the journal ceases to speak of their home-\\nward march, and no trace of the remainder can\\nbe found. We are left to suppose that they re-\\ntraced their steps the way they came, with hos-\\ntile Indians pressing hard in their rear for we\\nleaxn from Belknap, that by the fifteenth of Au*\\ngust, of that year, they were at Bakerstown and\\nvicinity, (now Salisbury,) killing and taking cap-\\ntive the inhabitants.\\nFrom this time until the fall of (Quebec into\\nthe possession of the British in 1759, no more\\nefforts were made to discover and settle new ter-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 33\\nritories, but every man had as much as he could\\ndo to retain what he ah*eady had in possession.\\nNor does it appear that any steps were taken\\ntowards the settlement of the Connecticut Val-\\nley in 1760 for our men were still employed in\\nCanada in gathering up the fragments of the\\nFrench armies which were stationed in different\\nplaces, and had not as yet surrendered to the\\nEnglish. But in 1761, when the Colonies no\\nlonger feared the incursions of the French and\\nIndians upon their frontier towns, the spirit of\\nemigration from the older settlements, and of\\nextending their possessions, revived, and sur-\\npassed all that had been before witnessed. Men\\nfrom Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New\\nHampshire were now preparing to transplant\\nthemselves into the then great western valley\\nof the Connecticut, and the Governor of New\\nHampshire did not let slip the golden oppor-\\ntunity of filling his coffers. In every town-\\nship granted to petitioners, five hundred acres\\nof land were reserved for the Governor, without\\nfees or charges, and he was well rewarded by\\npetitioners for his services. No less than sixty\\ntownships were granted on the west side of Con-\\nnecticut River, and eighteen on the east side, in\\nthe year 1761. At this time. New Hampshire\\nclaimed all the land west to New York line.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "34 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThe reason which Mr. Belknap gives for the\\ngreat rush into the Connecticut Yalley at this\\ntime isj that the continual passing of troops\\nthrough these lands during the war, caused the\\nvalue of them to be more generally known.\\nThis was undoubtedly true, especially after the\\nsuccesses of the English at Ticonderoga, Crown\\nPoint, and in Canada, in 1759. There was then\\nno danger to be apprehended from the enemy,\\nand it is not reasonable to suppose that Massa-\\nchusetts and New Hampshire men, returning\\nfrom those successful campaigns, would make\\nthe tour of Lake Champlain and North River to\\nAlbany, rather than cross the highlands of Ver-\\nmont, and descend the Connecticut River, a tour\\nwhich some of them must have previously made\\nwhile captives to the French and Indians.\\nThis fact, in connection with Capt. Powers\\njournal of an earlier date by some years, con-\\nvinces me that the traditionary tales which have\\nbeen so long rife in the Coos country, that their\\nfathers were indebted for the discovery of their\\ncountry to Major Rogers famished men, as they\\nfled from the infuriated Indians of the St. Fran-\\ncis tribe in 1759, are all apocryphal. The truth\\nis, when Major Rogers disbanded his men for\\ntheir greater safety, he appointed them to ren-\\ndezvous at the Upper Coos, says Belknap which", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY.\\n35\\ncould not have been done, if the place had not\\nbeen known. Some of Rogers men, no doubt,\\nmade the Coos, and some passed through it,\\nwhilst others there perished, whose remains were\\nfound by the first settlers but those who sur-\\nvived that disastrous retreat were the last men in\\nthe world to give a description of the country-\\nthrough which they passed, whilst hunger, like\\nan armed man, was threatening them with disso-\\nlution at every step.\\nThe tradition, that speaks of a company of\\nmen sent up the river as far as Coos, for the re-\\nlief of Rogers men, and of their returning just\\nwhen Rogers men came up to witness the yet\\nliving embers of the fires they had left behind\\nthem, must also be fabulous. Rogers left Crown\\nPoint with two hundred rangers on the thirteenth\\nof September, 1759, to destroy the Indians at St.\\nFrancis, who had committed so many depreda-\\ntions and cruelties upon our border inhabitants.\\nThey were sent out with the utmost secrecy.\\nOn the 5th of October he struck the fatal blow,\\nand commenced his retreat, which terminated\\ndisastrously to many. How could the people of\\nNew Hampshire know of this expedition How\\nin time to make this provision And how could\\nthey know that their aid would be needed, or\\nwhere it would be needed i", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "36 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThe probability is, that the Indians discovered\\nthe exploring party of Captain Powers in 1754,\\nand related the fact to the early settlers, and\\nimagination soon connected the two events of\\nPowers exploration and Rogers retreat, giving\\nthe latter as the cause of the former. My view\\nof this subject is, that the first information which\\nour people received of the Coos Meadows was\\nderived from Indians, hunters, and captives.\\nThe second source of intelligence was from\\nCaptain Powers and his company. And the\\nthird was from the soldiers of the old French\\nwar. But it is time that I proceed to the settle-\\nment of the Cohos Meadow s.^^\\nThere were two men who were the principal\\nagents in the first settlement of Haverhill and\\nNewbury in the Coos country, Col. Jacob Bai-\\nley, of Newbury, Mass., and Capt. John Hazen,\\nof Haverhill, Mass. They were both officers in\\nthe old French war, and stood high in the esti-\\nmation of government. It is supposed that they\\nwere taught to expect each a charter of a town-\\nship in the Coos, if they went on and com-\\nmenced settlements therein. They agreed to\\nact in conjunction, and to proceed harmoniously\\nin the undertaking. Hazen was to go on first,\\nand take possession of the east side of the river,\\nand Bailey was to take possession of the west", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTEV. gy\\nSide as soon as he could find per^om i. 7\\nand come on himself as soon as hTs ^ff\\nhome would permit\\nwiu:rS;;2^;, ^---onu.omen\\nfrom Haverhill, Mass., by No 4 Ch\\nand then up the Conn eetLt Rte W t\\npossession of the Little O^\\nside of the riv^r I east\\nMl, N.H tI:;. /f P^ ^f Haver-\\nGreat OxBo^o nthT ^\u00c2\u00b0-S- -d the\\nclear.1 JI^V tj^rt/^\\nWs states in ^is joZ f J ^X^^^-\\nformer years h^pn ^,,t.- 5^\\nthe growti of I\u00e2\u0080\u009ed fi r\\nsiuwm or Indian corn. Thp iniii\\nswarded over, and a tall ^vild ^rass\\nneously and luxuriantly so thlt r\\nof fodder for the cattip w f abundance\\nThe Mans L ;rt P\u00e2\u0080\u0094 J-\\ndows, east and weslof th\\ncable. The loss of .l! ^mi-\\n-dthellrLr.^^i ^^^r\\nupon their brethren at Tt J\\ntheir ardor, and rendered thT\\ntaking possession of hi:, ^r\\nacceptable to them than\\nthey threatened ZX 1 H, ^^^2 -hen\\n^a case the country was", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "3g HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nexplored for the purpose of settlement It waS\\nnot wonderful that the Indians should feel deep\\nrepugnance at the idea of losing this country.\\nIt was a fine country for them. It was easy of\\ncultivation, and suited to their imperfect means.\\nThe soil was rich. The river abounded m sa^\\n\u00e2\u0080\u009e,on, and the streams in trout, and the whole\\ncountry was plentifully supplied with game, hear,\\nde Lose, aird fowls. It was the half-^vay\\nresting place between the Canadas and the shore,\\nof the Atlantic; and while this was retained i\\nwas the key that opened the door to, or shut U\\nagainst, the most direct commumcation between\\nn\u00e2\u0080\u009em,in And what was\\nthe Oolomes and the Canadas. Anu\\nmore than all to the Indians, it was their fathers\\nfcannot bttt marvel somewhat at the conelu^\\n.ion oftheKev.ClarkPerry,in his Annals\\nand Historical Sketches of Newbury, Vt., 1831.\\nHe savs p 24, It does not appear that this sec-\\ntion orcountry was ever the permanent abode\\nof Indians. But why it should not have been,\\nI cannot conjecture. Certainly there was no\\nspot in New England which could have present-\\ned to the Indian greater inducements for a per-\\nmanent abode and we know of no one ptece n\\nNew England which has exhibited stronger in-\\ndications of Indian settlements.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 30\\nI have a communication from David Johnson,\\nEsq., of Newbury, touching this point, and I\\nthink the evidence he gives of an old Indian\\nsettlement in that place is conclusive. No man\\nis better qualified to judge impartially and cor-\\nrectly in this matter than Mr. Johnson. He has\\nalways lived on the place of which he speaks,\\nand he is a gentleman who feels the liveliest\\ninterest in antiquities has been accumulating\\nfacts of this kind for many years and I would\\nembrace this opportunity to express my obliga-\\ntions to him for his prompt and persevering aid\\nin the work before me. I shall put down his\\ncommunication as I have received it.\\nOn the high ground, east of the mouth of\\nCow Meadow Brook, and south of the three large\\nprojecting rocks, were found many indications\\nof an old and extensive Indian settlement. There\\nwere many domestic implements. Among the\\nrest were a stone mortar and pestle. The pestle\\nI have seen. Heads of arrows, large quantities\\nof ashes, and the ground burnt over to a great\\nextent, are gome of the marks of a long resi-\\ndence there. The burnt ground and ashes were\\nstill visible the last time it was ploughed. On\\nthe meadow, forty or fifty rods below, near the\\nrocks in the river, was evidently a burying\\nground. The remains of many of the sons of", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "40 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthe forest ^re there deposited. Bones have fre-\\nquently been turned up by the plough. That\\nthey were buried in the sitting posture, peculiar\\nto the Indians, has been ascertained.\\nWhen the first settlers came here, the re-\\nmains of a fort were still visible on the Ox Bow,\\na dozen or twenty rods from the east end of\\nMoses Johnson s lower garden, on the south side\\nof the lane. The size of the fort was plain to\\nbe seen. Trees about as large as a man s thigh\\nwere growing in the circumference of the old\\nfort. A profusion of white flint-stones and\\nheads of arrows may yet be seen scattered over\\nthe ground. It is a tradition which I have fre-\\nquently heard repeated, that after the fight with\\nLovewell, the Indians said they should now be\\nobliged to leave Coossuck.\\nIt will appear in the sequel of these sketches,\\nthat at a remote period, there was an intimate\\nconnection between the Indians of Coos, of\\nMaine, and of the St. Francis. The connection\\nbetween the Coos and St. Francis tribe contin-\\nued until the last.\\nWe now return to Johnston and Pet tie, whom\\nwe have left on the Little Ox Bow. They mad^\\nthemselves a booth, and built a shed for their\\ncattle, and spent the subsequent winter in feed-\\nOur Coos.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 41\\ning out the hay they had gathered daring sum-\\nmer. One would suppose that these mdividuals\\nmust have felt themselves sufficiently solitary\\nfrom November, 1761, to June, 1762, not having,\\nfor a great part of this time, a white man within\\nsixty miles of them, yet surrounded with In-\\ndians, and their cattle a temptation for the latter\\nto massacre them, that they might seize upon the\\nbooty. But they survived the winter unharmed,\\nand in the spring of 1762, Capt. Hazen came to\\ntheir relief, with hands and materials for building\\na grist-mill and saw-mill, where the Swazey\\nmills now stand.\\nBut before Capt. Hazen arrived, a family had\\ncome into Newbury, by the name of Sleeper.\\nIn March, 1762, Glazier Wheeler, from Shutes-\\nbury, Mass., came up with a brother of his, to.\\nhunt near the head of Connecticut River, and\\nwhile on the way, they fell in with Samuel\\nSleeper and his family, at Charlestown. They\\nwere from Hampton, N. H. Slee})\u00e2\u0082\u00acr was a Q,ua*\\nker preacher, but was now employed by General\\nJacob Bailey to proceed to Newbur^^, and take\\npossession until the general could come on in\\nperson. Sleeper contracted with Wheeler to\\ntake him and his family on to his semi-sleigh\\nand semi-sled, and carry them to Newbury,\\nSleeper pitched his tent a little south of where\\n4*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "42 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthe Kents now live, and have long lived. Tho-\\nmas Chamberlain next came on from Dunstable,\\nN. H., and settled on Musquash Meadow/*\\nsouth of the Great Ox Bow, and a little at\\nthe north-west of the ferry at the Dow farm.\\nRichard Chamberlain came on next from Hins-\\ndale, N. H., and settled on Musquash Meadow.\\nChamberlain landed at the ferry about noon with\\nhis family. Before night, a hut was erected of\\nposts and bark, which served them three months\\nfor a habitation. In the centre stood a large\\nstump, which was their table. The house he\\nafterward erected stood near Josiah Little s barn,\\nnot far from the river. The old cellar may yet\\nbe seen.\\nThese two Chamberlains were not in the in-\\nterest of Hazen or Bailey, but were employed to\\ncome on and take possession for one Oliver Wil-\\niard, of Northfield, Mass., who was endeavoring\\nto supplant Bailey and Hazen. But the latter\\nbeing united in their petitions for grants being\\nalso in favor with the Governor, and having\\ntaken possession by their agents prior to Wil-\\nlard, succeeded, and Willard failed. Willard s\\ndisappointment was great, and his anger violent.\\nHe gave out vaunting threats that if he could\\ncatch Hazen out of the settlement, he would\\nflog him to his heart s content. Hazen, how-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 43\\never, had seen too many tomahawks and bristling\\nbayonets around the walls of (Quebec to be\\ngreatly disquieted by a threat of this kind. But\\nthese two men afterward met in Charlestown,\\nand upon Willard s attempting to execute his\\npromise, he caught the severest flogging that\\nany man need receivCj and this terminated the\\nmatter.\\nThis same year, 1762, John Hazleton, from\\nHampstead, N. H., moved into Newbury, and first\\nhved at the foot of the hill, south of the Johnson\\nvillage, but afterward settled in the south part\\nof the town, where Col. Moody Chamberlain\\nnow lives, near the south bridge. In this family,\\nin 1763, before they moved from the Ox Bow,\\nthe first English child was born in this town\\nBetsey Hazleton, now the Widow Lovewell, of\\nthe north parish in Haverhill, in her 77th year.\\nThe same year, the first male child of English\\ndescent was born in the family of Thomas\\nChamberlain, and was called Jacob Bailey Cham-\\nberlain. The parents of this son received a\\nhundred acres of land, as a bounty, according to\\na promise of the original proprietor, that the first\\nmother of a son born in that settlement should\\nreceive one hundred acres of land.\\nI now return to Hazen and his party. I have\\nsaid he came on in the spring of 1762, with men", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "44 Historical sketches\\nand materials for building a saw-mill and grist-\\nmill, where the Swazey mills now stand. With\\nHazen came Col. Joshua Howard, of Haverhill,\\nMass., born April 24, 1740. He was then 22\\nyears of age, and lived in Haverhill until Janu-\\nary 7th, 1839, almost 99 years of age. He was\\na man of strict veracity, and at the time when he\\ngave his narration of events in the early settle^-\\nment of these towns, (July 27, 1824,) he was\\nof sound mind and good memory. I am much\\nindebted to him for materials in these sketches.\\nHoward labored that first season in preparing\\nthe timbers for the mills, and was present at the\\nraising of them. He relates one providential es-\\ncape from death at the raising of those mills,\\nwhich deserves notice. One of their company,\\nJohn Hughs, an Irishman, fell from the frame,\\nsixteen feet, and struck perpendicularly upon the\\nmud-sill, head downwards, without any thing to\\nabate the force of the fall. He was taken up\\nwithout signs of life but Glazier Wheeler, from\\nNewbury, found a penknife with the company,\\nand opened a vein, and after the loss of blood,\\nhe revived, and soon recovered from the tremen-\\ndous blow. Physicians and surgeons, those com-\\nfortable adjuncts to an improved state of society,\\nwere then out of the question, and every mind,\\nin such an emergency, was put upon its own", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 45\\nresources. But I have a tale more melancholy\\nto relate.\\nJohnston and Pettie, who had spent the winter\\nin solitariness, now thought of visiting their\\nfriends at the east and preparing themselves a\\ncanoe, they took their departure in June, in-\\ntending to descend the river to Charlestown.\\nThey made their way pleasantly until they came\\nnear the mouth of White River, in Lebanon.\\nHere they were drawn into a whirlpool their\\ncanoe was upset, and they were plunged into the\\nriver. Johnston made every effort to reach the\\nshore, but sunk into the arms of death. Pettie,\\nbeing the better swimmer, gained the shore, and\\nwas enabled to bear the melancholy tidings of\\nJohnston s death to his friends.\\nSome time after this event, a stranger, passing\\nup the river in a boat, discovered the body of a\\nman lying upon the shore of a small island in\\nthe river, between Lebanon, N. H., and Hartford,\\nVt. Not knowing any thing of Johnston or of\\nhis fate, and being far from any settlement, he\\nperformed the kindest office to a stranger corpse\\nwhich remained in his power. He digged a\\ngrave in the best manner he could, interred the\\nbody, and left it the sole proprietor of the island.\\nIt now bears his name, Johnston s Island.^\\nHe is still the only occupant, and will probably", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "46 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nremain such, until the Great Proprietor of the\\nworld shall assert his claim, recall the dead, and\\nextinguish all earthly titles. Col. Charles John-\\nston, brother of Michael Johnston, after he came\\nto Haverhill, and learned the resting place of his\\nbrother, went down to the island, found the\\nlonely grave, bedewed it with his tears, erected\\na monument to his brother s memory, and re-\\nsigned all into the keeping of Him who had\\ngiven and taken. Capt. Michael Johnston, now\\nof Haverhill, was so called to bear up and per-\\npetuate the name of that uncle who found this\\nearly grave.\\nCol. Howard relates that he and two others\\nwere the first among the settlers who came from\\nSalisbury in a straight course to Haverhill.\\nThey came on in April, 1762. Howard, Jesse\\nHarriman, and Simeon Stevens employed an old\\nhunter at Concord to guide them through. They\\ncame west of Newfound Pond, in Hebron, fol-\\nlowed up the north-west branch of Baker s River\\ninto Coventry, and down the Oliverian to the\\nConnecticut. They performed the journey in\\nfour days from Concord.\\nIn June, of this year, the first family moved\\ninto Haverhill. Uriah Morse, and Hannah, his\\nwife, came from Northfield, Mass., and settled\\nupon the bank of Poole Brook, west of the bridge", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY.\\non the main road, and a little south-west of the\\nhouse where David Merrill lived for many years.\\nThey boarded Capt. Hazen s men, while they\\nwere building the mills, and other adventurers\\nas they came into the settlement. The first\\nchild of English descent had its birth in this\\nfamily, in the spring of 1763 but we hear of iv\\nbounty bestowed upon the parents, as m New-\\nbury, the same year, nor do we learn whether it\\nwas male or female. Indeed, it survived its\\nbirth but a few days. The first death of an\\nadult occurred in this family, also\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Polly Har-\\nriman died of consumption, aged 18 years. She\\nwas buried a little south-west of the present\\nmeeting-house in the north parish of Haverhill,\\nbetween the meeting-house and the Southards.\\nHer death was much lamented.\\nPoole Brook derived its name from a man\\nwhose name was Poole, who lived fifty or sixty\\nrods north of Uriah Morse s house. Poole was\\ndrowned one mile above the Narroivs, in Con-\\nnecticut River, above Wells River. Glazier\\nWheeler and his son Charles found the body of\\nPoole, seven days after drowning, and it was\\nbrought down to the great Ox Bow and interred.\\nPolly, the only child of Mr. Poole, married John\\nJohnson, of Newbury, and was drowned in the\\nConnecticut, near where her father was buried.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "48 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThomas Johnson, Timothy Bedel, Capt. Hazen,\\nand Jesse Harriman boarded in the family of\\nUriah Morse in the autumn of 1762. Johnson\\nwas now in his 21st year. He was born March\\n22d, 1742, and came into the settlement in the\\nservice of General Bailey but the first season he\\nboarded on the east side of the river. He origi-\\nnated in Haverhill, Mass. Thomas Johnson s\\nfirst purchase in Newbury bears date October 6,\\n1763. It is the united testimony of the first\\nsettlers, that at that early period, moose, bear,\\ndeer, beaver, otter, mink and sables were nu-\\nmerous and that salmon enriched and adorned\\nthe river. Trout was not so abundant in the\\nstreams as salmon in the river, and shad never\\nappeared above Bellows Falls, in Walpole.\\nWe now come to speak of the events of 1763,\\nin those settlements. This was the year of\\ncharters with them. Newbury s charter bears\\ndate March 18th, 1763, signed by Benning Went-\\nworth, and I think Haverhill charter bears the\\nsame date.\\nThe first town meeting under the charter was\\nheld by the freemen of Newbury, June 13, 1763,\\nand not less than 100 miles from the location of\\ntheir grant, viz., at Plaistow, N. H. And before\\nthis meeting was adjourned, they voted to unite\\nwith Haverhill in paying a preacher for the term", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 49\\nof two or three months, this fall or winter,\\na very worthy example, while they were yet so\\nfew and feeble.\\nThis was a year of enlargement with Haver-\\nhill and Newbury. Benjamin Hall, from Massa-\\nchusetts, came in and settled near the Porter\\nplace, where the Southards now live. Jonathan\\nSaunders and Sarah Rowell, both from Hamp-\\nton, N. H., came and settled near the present\\nhouse of Dr. Carleton, late deceased. Jacob\\nHal], from Northfield, Mass., came and settled on\\nthe Dow farm, so called. Hon. James Wood-\\nward, of Hampstead, N. H., came and settled on\\nhis place at the age of twenty-two years. He\\npurchased his farm at twenty cents per acre.\\nMr. John Page, father of the present governor\\nof New Hampshire, came into Haverhill this\\nyear from Lunenburg, Mass. He was employed\\nby his uncle, David Page, to assist in driving up\\nhis cattle to Lancaster, and this was the begin-\\nning of the settlement of that town David\\nPage s son having been up in the preceding June\\nof that year, and marked out a way for them\\nfrom Haverhill. John Page returned from Lan-\\ncaster, and bought his farm in Haverhill, but\\nspent the subsequent winter in taking care of\\nGen. Bailey s stock in Newbury, which arrived\\nthat season, and not in 1762, as many have sup-\\n5", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nposed. This was Mr. Pagers account, Captain\\nHoward s, and Col. Joshua Bailey s, who came\\nwith his father to Newbuiy in 1764, at eleven\\nyears of age. Page continued to labor for Gen.\\nBailey until he was able to pay for his farm. He\\nthen came to Haverhill, married Abigail Saun-\\nders, daughter of the first settler south of him,\\nand lived to the age of eighty-two, and departed\\nthis life in 1823.\\nThis year Noah White came into Newbury\\nwith his family, and settled. Thomas Johnson\\nestablished himself in the Ox Bow, and Col. Ja-\\ncob Kent came into Newbur}^, November 4, 1763,\\nthe twelfth family in both towns. There were\\na number of young men boarding in those fami-\\nlies. Col. Kent was born at Chebacco, Mass., June\\n11, 1726, and Mary White, his wife, was born,\\nat Plaistow, N. H., August 14, 1736. Mrs. Kent\\nsurvived her husband many years, and lived to a\\ngreat age. She was nearly ninety years of age\\nwhen I visited her to obtain information relative\\nto the first settlers, and I found her memory good\\nupon subjects of ancient date. In answer to the\\nquestion, Were there many wild animals in the\\ntown when you first came here, such as bears\\nand wolves? she replied, O, yes there were\\nenough of them creatures I was once fright-\\nened almost out of my wits by them. It was", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 51\\non a Sabbath day. The colonel was gone to\\nmeeting, and I was left alone, and there came\\nthree great bears to the door, and looked right\\nin upon me I expected nothing but they would\\ncome in and devour me but after looking at me\\nawhile, they turned away, and trotted off, and\\nglad was L Ladies of Newbury and Haver-\\nhill, how would you like, at this time, to have\\nyour devotions interrupted, or your domestic con-\\ncerns thus unceremoniously iiL~pected, by stran-\\nger gentlemen, such as these Mum\\nIn this year, says Col. Joshua Bailey, John\\nForeman and several others of Pennsylvania, hav-\\ning enlisted into the British army near the com-\\nmencement of the old French war, and having\\nbeen retained in Canada after peace was restored,\\ndeserted and made through the woods until they\\ncame upon the head waters of the Connecticut,\\nand following down the stream, they came into\\nthe north part of Haverhill. But here they found\\nthemselves famishing through lack of sustenance,\\nand as they knew not that there was an English\\nsettlement within a hundred miles of them,\\nthey were prepared to seize upon any thing which\\ncould satisfy the demands of hunger. They\\nunexpectedly came in sight of a horse upon the\\nplain north of the north parish meeting-house,\\nand supposing it to be wild, or one that had gone", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "52 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nfar astray, they shot it, and fed themselves upon\\nits flesh. Replenishing their packs with the\\nresidue of the meat, they proceeded south, but\\nsoon discovered smokes ascending from chimneys\\non the Ox Bow and vicinity. They were alarm-\\ned at the idea of falling into the hands of hostile\\nIndians, especially since they had killed one of\\ntheir horses. But after some consultation, they\\nconcluded that one of their number should cross\\nthe river, make what discoveries he could, and\\nthen return and report. He accordingly swam\\nthe river, and, to his great joy, found these were\\nEnglish settlements. The news and a boat were\\nsoon carried back to his companions. They\\nwere brought on to the Ox Bow, where they\\nfound food, a shelter, and sympathizing friends.\\nCol. Bailey says, this fact of their kilUng the\\nhorse on that plain gave the name Horse Mea-\\ndow to that section of the town, and not the\\ntraditionary story of horses finding a rush-grass\\nthere sooner in the spring than elsewhere.\\nAt this time, 1763, we are told, there were no\\nroads in any direction, and that their bread-stuffs\\nwere brought from Charlestown in boats. It is a\\nlittle extraordinary that none of the first settlers\\nmake mention of the great drought which pre-\\nvailed in the Colonies for the years 1761 and 1762.*\\nSee Belknap, vol. ii. p. 238.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "or THE coos COUNTRY. 53\\nIt must have affected them whatever were their\\nseasons at Coos for as 3^et they were depending\\non foreign suppHes.\\nWe now come to speak of the progress of these\\nsettlements in 1764. This was a year of increase,\\nand they realized an accession which seemed to\\ngive character to the settlements for many years.\\nDeacon Jonathan Elkins with his family, from\\nHampton, N. H., came into Haverhill, and set-\\ntled near Doctor Carleton s. Deacon Elkins was\\na valuable acquisition to the town but he re-\\nmained here but little more than ten years, be-\\nfore he removed to Peacham, Vt., and was one\\nof the first settlers, and most efficient, in that\\ntown. Col. Timothy Beedel, from New-Salem,\\nmoved his family to this place, and settled on\\nPoole Brook, where David Merrill long lived.\\nHon. Ezekiel Ladd came in and settled on the\\nplace where he lived fifty-four years, and died at\\nthe advanced age of eighty years, fl818.^ He\\nmarried Ruth Hutchins. They both belonged\\nto Haverhill, Mass. Mrs. Ladd died 1817, aged\\nseventy-six,\\nNewbury was enlarged and blessed, also, this\\nyear by the arrival of Gen. Jacob Bailey with\\nhis family. He had been from the first the prin-\\ncipal mover in the settlement. His influence\\nwas felt in every proceeding, and now he had\\n5*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "54 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ncome to bless himself, and to save much people\\nalive, in the approaching contest between Great\\nBritain emd her Colonies. He arrived in New-\\nbury, October, 1764. He lived, at that time,\\nsouth of the Johnson Village, and north of the\\nhill, on the east side of the road. He was thirty-\\neight years of age when he came to Newbury,\\nand lived until March, 1815, when he resigned\\na long life, that had been devoted to his country,\\nto his town, and, for a considerable length of\\ntime, to his God. He died at eighty-nine years\\nof age.\\nThis same year came the Rev. Peter Powers,\\nof Hollis, N. H., to labor with this people in\\nholy things. Mr. Powers was born in Dunsta-\\nble, N. H., November 29, 1728, moved to HolHs\\nwith his father, January, 1731, which was the\\nfirst settlement in that town. He graduated at\\nHarvard College in 1754, the year his father\\nexplored the Coos country. He was first settled\\nin the ministry at Newent, then a parish in Nor-\\nwich, Con., now the town of Lisbon, where he\\nlabored some years but taking a dismission\\nfrom that charge, he came to Newbury at thirty-\\nsix years of age. Through his instrumentality a\\nchurch was gathered and organized in Newbury,\\nin the fall of 1764, composed of members from\\nboth sides of the river. The two settlements", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 55\\nunited, also, in forming an ecclesiastical society,\\nwhich union continued nearly twenty years.\\nWe now enter upon the transactions and events\\nof 1765. During this year, the settlements at\\nCoos began to have some neighbors. One or\\ntwo settlements were made at Bradford, Orford,\\nLyme, Thetford, Hanover, Lebanon, and Ply-\\nmouth but more of these hereafter.\\nOn the 24th of January, 1765, the Rev. Mr.\\nPowers received a call to take the spiritual charge\\nof this newly constituted church and society in\\nthe wilderness. He gave his answer in the af-\\nfirmative, February 1, 1765. They then voted\\nthat the installment be on the last Wednesday\\nof this instant, and voted, that the Reverend\\nMessrs. Abner Bailey, Daniel Emerson, Joseph\\nEmerson, Henry True, and Joseph Goodhue, with\\ntheir churches, be a council for said installment.\\nVoted, that Jacob Bailey, Esq., shall represent the\\ntown of Newbury at the council, which was voted\\nto meet for said installment doion country where\\nit is thought best. Jacob Kent, Town Clerk.\\nThere is, to us, some novelty in this vote for\\ninstallment somewhere but the necessity of the\\ncase explains the whole affair. There were no\\nministers or churches in all the region, and they\\nmust go by their delegation until they found\\nthem. The ministers selected for the council", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "56 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nbelonged in Hollis and vicinity, and the Rev.\\nMr. Powers was installed at Hollis, February 27,\\n1765, as the title page to the sermon that W3ls\\npreached on the occasion showeth, which is as\\nfollows\\nA Sermon preached at Hollis, February 27,\\n1765, at the Installation of the Rev. Peter Pow-\\ners, A. M., for the Towns of Newbury and Ha-\\nverhill, at a Place called Coos, in the Province\\nof New-hampshire. By Myself Published at\\nthe desire of many who heard it, to whom it is\\nhumbly dedicated by the unworthy Author.\\nThen saith he to his servants, the wedding is\\nleady- Go ye therefore into the high ways, and\\nas many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.\\nMatt. xxii. 8, 9. Portsmouth, in New-hampshire,\\nPrinted and sold by Daniel and Robert Fowie,\\n1765.\\nThere is novelty in the circumstance of Mr.\\nPowers preaching his own installation sermon,\\nbut it was nothing uncommon at that day and\\nthere is room for doubt whether the moderns\\nhave made an improvement in this particular.\\nMr. Powers goods were brought from Charles-\\ntown to Newbury upon the ice on the river, the\\nlast of February, by the people of Newbury and\\nHaverhill but the family did not arrive until.\\nApril of that year.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "or THE coos COUNTRY. 57\\nA circumstance occurred on the journey with\\ntJhe goods, which gave rise to an anecdote which\\nwas rife among the old people, down to a late\\nperiod. It has been related to me by persons\\nbelonging to several different towns. There was\\na man living in Newbury, and a member of the\\nchurch, by the name of Wa^. He was an ec-\\ncentric character, and would on some occasions\\nspeak unadvisedly, yet was a very friendly man,\\nand was held in general esteem. He was one\\nwho volunteered his services to bring up the\\ngoods upon the ice. It was so late in February,\\nthat in some places, especially where tributaries\\ncame in, the ice was thin and brittle. They,\\nhowever, made their way without serious diffi-\\nculty, until they came to the mouth of Ompom-\\npanoosuc, at the north-east part of Norwich,\\nwhere Way s sled broke through, and had like\\nto have gone down, sled, team. Way and all.\\nBut by timely eifort on the part of his travelling\\ncompanions, they were all extricated. As soon\\nas Way and his team reached firm footing, he\\nturned around and surveyed the danger he had\\nbeen in and, as he saw the waters boiling and\\neddying with a frightful aspect, he said to his\\ncompanions, That is a cursed hole. When the\\nparty had arrived at Newbury, and they were re-\\nlating the trials and dangers of the way, some", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "58 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\none mentioned what Mr. Way said of Ompom-\\npanoosuc. It was not long before this came to\\nthe ears of Mr. Powers, and he resolved to go, as\\nhis custom was in like cases, and have a conver-\\nsation with Mr. Way, and admonish him, if he\\nshould be found to have been delinquent. He\\naccordingly went and told Mr. Way that he had\\nbeen told he had been speaking unadvisedly and\\nwickedly. What, what is it said Mr. Way.\\nWhy, they say you said of Ompompanoosuc,\\nthat it icas a cursed hole.^ Well, it is a cursed\\nhole, said Way I say, it is a cursed hole, and\\nI can prove it. O no, you cannot, said Mr.\\nPowers, and you have done very wrong you\\nmust repent. Why, said Way, did not the\\nLord curse the earth for man s sin? Yes,\\nsaid Mr. Powers. Well, replied Way, do\\nyou think that little divilish Ompompanoosuc\\nwas an exception Mr. Powers turned away,\\nand exclaimed, O, Mr. Way, Mr. Way, I stand\\nin fear for you, and recording his nolle prosequi^\\ndeparted.\\nMr. Powers lived in a house a little north of\\nthe house of Gen. Bailey, and south of Thomas\\nJohnson s. He preached for a time at Gen.\\nBailey s house, and, in the mean time, they\\nbuilt a log meeting-house, south of Gen. Bai-\\nley s, and north of the hill, where they wor-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 59\\nshipped some years. This was the house voted\\nto be buih, 28 feet by 25 feet, in October, 1764,\\nas stated by the Rev. Mr. Perry in his manuscript\\n6f 1831, but Vv^hich he conckides never was\\nbuilded, pp. 14 and 16, in manuscript. The\\ntruth is, Mr. Perry was laboring under a mistake\\nin regard to meeting-houses. The first meeting-\\nhouse stood where I have located it. A framed\\nmeeting-house was some years afterward erected\\nnear where the present Congregational meeting-\\nhouse stands but as there was dissatisfaction in\\nregard to its location, it was pulled down, and\\nre-erected on the spot where Mr. Perry speaks\\nof the first meeting-house standing, viz., west\\nof the burying ground but it was not for a\\nmeeting-house that it was erected there, but\\nfor a court-house and jail still, divine service\\nmight have been maintained there after the\\nfirst house had become too small to accommo-\\ndate the congregation, and before the present\\nmeeting-house was erected in 1790.\\nI wish here to be indulged with a single\\nremark in respect to Brother Perry s manuscript.\\nIt was a very laudable undertaking. I am not\\naltogether unaided by it but he was in too\\nmuch haste in preparing it depended too much\\non common report, and did not compare notes\\nsufficiently. It will not guide us safely through", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "60 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthe labyrinth of the twenty-five first years, in\\nthese settlements. But as I have said, they\\nworshipped at the Ox Bow some years, and\\nHaverhill people assembled with them, with\\ngreat punctuality. There was a foot-path lead-\\ning from Judge James Woodward s late resi-\\ndence, north-westerly, to the river, where was\\na log canoe to set them across, and from the\\npoint of landing, a serpentine path through tall\\ngrass, bushes, and sometimes towering trees,\\nled them to the place of worship. They had\\nanother canoe at the Dow farm, and another at\\nthe Porter place.\\nAt that day it was a sin and disreputable in\\nthe view of all, for persons to absent themselves\\nfrom the place of worship without valid cause\\nand parents were seen uniformly carrying their\\nchildren in their arms from Dr. Carleton s j^lace\\nto the Johnson Village and back again, the same\\nday, and sometimes when the grass and bushes\\nwere wet, and the trees from above dropped upon\\nthem their dewy blessings and all this, that they\\nmight hear the word of life dispensed. Going\\nand returning in their meandering course could\\nnot have been a less distance than twelve miles,\\nand sometimes each parent had one to carry.\\nNor was the attendance at worship less uniform\\nand punctual with those on the west side of the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 61\\nriver. Some females walked from Moretown,\\nnow Bradford, and others from Ryegate, a dis-\\ntance of ten miles. Those from the latter place,\\nwhen they came to Wells River, (there being\\nno canoe,) would bare their feet, and trip it\\nalong as nimbly as the deer. The men gene-\\nrally went bare-footed the ladies, certainly,\\nwore shoes.\\nTlie wife of Judge Ladd related to me her\\nextreme mortification on the first Sabbath she\\nattended meeting at the Ox Bow. She and her\\nhusband had been recently married. They\\ncame from Haverhill, Mass., and had seen and\\ntasted some of the refinements of life. She\\nthought she must appear as well as any of them,\\nand put on her wedding silks, with muffled cuffs,\\nextending from the shoulder to the elbow, and\\nthere made fast by brilliant sleeve-buttons.\\n(Ladies of the toilet of eighty years experience\\nwill understand all this.) She wore silk hose\\nand florid shoes. Her husband appeared, also,\\nin his best, and they took their seats on benches\\nearly in the sanctuary. But she remarked that\\nthey went alone, sat alone, and returned alone\\nfor it was not possible for her to get near enough\\nto any one of the females to hold conversation\\nwith them and she was so home-sick, she\\nthought she should die, and would have gi^\\n6", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "CQ HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nany thing coald sjhe have formed some acquaint\\nance with those who were to be her female\\nneighbors, but they were actually afraid of her.\\nand each sat, or stood, at a proper distcince, lest\\nthey should soil her dress. On their return\\nhome, she told her husband she had learned one\\nlesson, and that was, Whe7t among Romans y\\nconform to Romans. The next Sabbath she ap-\\npeared in a clean check-linen gown, and other\\narticles in accordance, and she found very socia-\\nble and warm-hearted friends.\\nBut their worship v/as destined to interrup-\\ntions in the summer of 1765. I have already\\nspoken of Samuel Sleeper, the first settler in\\nNewbury, in 17G2 that he was a Quaker preach-\\ner, and that he came on to take possession for\\nGen. Bailey. We do not hear of any irregu-\\nlarities practised by Sleeper until after the settle-\\nment of Mr. Powers. Then he claimed the\\nright to hold forth at any time, and on all occa-\\nsions, when the Spirit moved him; and while\\nMr. Powers was speaking, he would sometimes\\nsay Thee lies, friend Peter. And at other\\ntimes he would vociferate False doctrines\\nfalse doctrines Then again ^Glorious truths\\nGlorious truths! The principal men used all\\nmeans to dissuade him from such a course of\\nconduct but he grew more insolent and boistet^", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTUr. t o\\nous, and they at length incarcerated him in a\\ncellar on Musquash Meadow; but as soon as\\nSleeper was disposed of, one Benoni Wright, a\\nconvert and pupil of Sleeper, volunteered to fill\\nthe vacated seat of his master, and if Sleeper\\nhad chastised the sinners with whips, Wright\\nwould do it with scorpions. He permitted hi;s\\nbeard to grow at full length, and by this, he be-\\ncame a professed prophet of the Lord, and deliv-\\nered his messages in the most boisterous and\\nfrantic manner. But he gained no converts, and\\nas he resisted every remonstrance of the people,\\nthey adopted a summary course with him. Tlie\\nelders of the people in both settlements took\\nhim on to the meadow, near where Sleeper was\\nin duress, held a court upon him, convicted him,\\nand doomed him to receive ten lashes, well\\nlaid on.* Wright was stripped and received the\\njudgment of the court upon the spot, and the\\nsame self-constituted court passed a decree, and\\nsent it to Sleeper, that if he appeared again after\\nconiiuement, to make the least disturbance, he\\nshould rcceiv^e thirty lashes in full tale. This\\nwas decisive, and these prophets concluded to\\nsacrifice their consciences at the shrine of their\\nbodies. Peace and order were restored.\\nBut the next season, 1766, Sleeper and Wright\\nleft the settlement in Newbury, and removed", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "64 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ninto Bradford, and settled on the meadow, north\\nof Mr. Hunkins, and east of what was Johnson s\\ntavern, in the north of Bradford. Here Wright\\nundertook to sustain a fast of forty days, and\\nwithdrew to a cave in a mountain, at the north-\\nwest part of Bradford. And that he might gird\\nhimself for his conflict with hunger and the\\nPrince of the power of the air, he procured him\\na strap with forty holes in it, and was to buckle\\nhimself up one hole each day but long before\\nhe had attained to a good degree, he was so\\npressed upon by hunger, that he concluded to\\nreturn home to his wife, and get her to prepare\\nhim a good supper. She did so, and just as\\nWright was sitting down to his repast, in bolted\\nSleeper, who exclaimed, Friend Wright, dost\\nthou break thy fast Wright was moon-struck\\nfor a time but his appetite prevailed, and he\\nreturned not to the mountain, which has from\\nthat time borne his name, Wrighfs Mountain.\\nFrom this time these two men wholly disappear\\nfrom our history.\\nCol. Joshua Howard related to me in 1824,\\nand confirmed the same in 1832, that the origin\\nof Sleeper s opposition Avas this Qen. Bailey\\nfound it somewhat difficult to procure a man to\\ncome on and take possession of that land amidst\\nthe Indians, who would not like as well to take", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "OF THE coos COUNTRY, 65\\npossession for himself, as for another and such\\na man he did not want. He at length came\\nacross Sleeper, who promised he would go on,\\nprovided he might become their Quaker preacher,\\nwhen they had obtained their grant, and had\\nformed a Christian society. Bailey, willing to\\nindulge his whim, said to him pleasantly, O\\nyes, Sleeper, you shall be our minister. Sleep-\\ner took it all for specie, and in process of time,\\nBailey found there was more of Quakerism than\\npoetry in Sleeper,\\nIn Jhe fail of this year, 1765, Judge Wood\\nward was married to Hannah Clark, and it was\\nthe first marriage ceremony ever performed in\\nthe county of Grafton and as there were some\\nthings attending it out of the ordinary course,\\nand as I had the particulars from the judge him-\\nself, I will relate them, as they will serve to\\nshow that some things could be done then, as\\nwell as at this time. I have stated that Judge\\nWoodward came into Haverhill in 1763, and\\nbought his meadov/ farm. He built his first tent\\nupon the meadow, as nearly all the first settlers\\ndid in Newbury, and some in Haverhill, not\\nknowing that they would be in danger from\\nfloods; but being driven ofi by a flood in 1771,\\nthey afterwards built upon more elevated ground.\\nBut Woodward was now enjoying single bless-\\n6*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "66 HI!9T0RICAL SKETCHES\\nedness in his tent. He felled trees by day,\\nwent to the Dow farm for his meals, and slept\\non the meadow at night. And although he\\nsometimes dreamed of fairy forms, of sparkling\\neyes, and ruby lips, yet he knew not that Provi-\\ndence had any thing of this kind in reserve for\\nhim, and if he had, he knew not where it might\\nbe found for young females, in those dai/s,\\nwere duly appreciated. But the next year, when\\nJudge Ladd came on, he brought with him a\\nblooming little maid, Hannah Clark, of fifteen,\\nto live in his family a year or two, and then, in\\nthe mind of Judge Ladd and wife, she would\\nbecome the wife of John Ladd, a brother of\\nJudge Ladd. Woodward went to see his neigh-\\nbor Ladd, and there he saw the object, which\\ntook, at once, full possession of his soul and he\\ncould not see why he might not enjoy it, as well\\nas John liadd and from that moment, he re-\\nsolved to secure Hannah Clark for his wife, if it\\nwas in his power. He called at Judge Ladd s\\noccasionally, and had some brief opportunities\\nfor conversation with Hannah, enough to satisfy\\nhim that his views and feelings were reciproca-\\nted, before Judge Ladd or his wife suspected the\\nchoice or intention of either; but as soon as\\ntheir suspicions were awakened, Woodward was\\nprohibited the privilege of visiting at the house,", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 6/\\nand a strict watch was maintained over this httle\\nbhishing girl. But after all, they had their\\nfriends, and billets, and flowers, and compliments\\npassed between them and occasionally an in-\\nterview was obtained through the intervention\\nof friends. This kind of innocent conspiracy\\nwas carried on against Judge Ladd and wife one\\nfull year, and then the parties thought seriously\\nof deciding the controversy by a clandestine\\nmarriage. The plan was laid and executed in\\nthe following manner\\nWoodward went to Newbury, and told all his\\nheart to Ephraim Bailey, son of Gen. Bailey,\\nand brought him to espouse his cause, and to co-\\noperate with him. Woodward told Bailey they\\nmust have one female enlisted in their interests.\\nBailey said he believed he could find one that\\nwould sustain that part. He was then paying\\nhis addresses to a young girl by the name of\\nHannah Fellows, and he could initiate her into\\nthe secret, and secure her aid. It was accord-\\ningly confided to her, and it was so arranged\\nthat Hannah Fellows was to pass over to Haver-\\nhill, and spend the afternoon in visiting Hannah\\nClark, tell her what was expected of her, and\\nthe sun about an hour high, she was to solicit\\nthe favor of Mrs. Ladd to have Hannah Clark\\nwalk with her as far as the river on her return", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "6S HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nto Newbury. In the mean time, the Rev. Mr.\\nPowers was to be requested to be upon the west\\nbank of the river precisely at such an hour, and\\nEphraim Bailey was to set him across in the\\ncanoe, and then all were to step into Wood-\\nward s tent, and the marriage ceremony be per-\\nformed. Woodward had already taken out li-\\ncense from under the king to authorize his being\\nmarried without publishment, and every thing\\nsucceeded according to previous arrangement.\\nThe moment the two Hannahs came on to the\\nmeadow, Mr. Powers and Ephraim Bailey were\\nseen coming up from the river. They all en-\\ntered into Woodward s tent, and in a short time\\nWoodward and Hannah Clark were joined in\\nlawful marriage. Those who belonged to New-\\nbury returned forthwith, and Hannah Clark, now\\nHannah Woodward, ran for Judge Ladd s. She\\nhad not been absent long enough to excite suspi-^\\ncion in the mind of any one. Hannah continued\\nto do for Judge Ladd as heretofore, and Wood-\\nward labored on the meadow.\\nAt length, it was reported by Mr. Powers^\\nthat he had married Woodward to Hannah Clark,\\nnot knowing that there was any secret to be\\nkept. After some little time, a woman came\\nover to pay a visit to Mrs. Ladd, and told her\\nwhat a kind of a story was going the rounds in", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "OF TUB COOS COUNTRY. 69\\nNewbury, that James Woodward was married to\\nHamiah Clark. Mrs. Ladd told her, There was\\nnot a word of truth in the story that Wood-\\nward had been endeavoring to court Hannah,\\nbut they would not hear to it. The woman\\nreplied, It was a little extraordinary that such\\na story should be made from nothing, and she\\nhad understood that it came from Mr. Powers.\\nAnd do you knoio,^^ said she, that it is not\\ntrue? Why, yes, said she, it cannot be\\ntrue. At that moment she paused and reflect-\\ned, as though Hannah s walk with Hannah Fel-\\nlows had just streaked across her mental horizon.\\nBut, said she, if I don t know, I will, rising\\nup at the same time, and making for the kitchen,\\nwhere Hannah was carding wool or tow Han-\\nnah, said she, they say you are married to\\nJames Woodward is it true? Yes, ma am,\\nsaid Haimah. Then I have nothing more for\\nyou to do, replied Mrs. Ladd I shall not part\\nman and wife. Hannah put her cards together,\\nlaid them into her basket, rose up, and ran for\\nthe meadow, and lived happily with her husband\\nforty years, and departed this life Oct. 21, 1805.\\nHon. James Woodward lived to the advanced\\nage of eighty, and departed this life 1821.\\nI perceive that Thompson, in his Gazetteer\\nof Yermont, states that the crank for the first", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "70 HISTORICAL SKETCHEI\\nsaw-mill in Newbury was drawn upon a hand-\\nsled from Concord, N. H., to Newbury, Vt.\\nDistance seventy miles. I suppose it could not\\nhave been much less than seventy miles from\\nConcord to Newbury, since it is seventy-two\\nmiles from Haverhill Corner direct to Concord.\\nThey would have been much nearer the true\\ndistance at that time, had they stated it at eighty\\nmiles. But the whole of this tour I have in\\nminutes from the lips of two of the adventurers\\nthemselves. Judge Woodward and John Page.\\nI do not know the precise number of men who\\nwent for the irons, but I think as many as six.\\nThey prepared a rude hand sleigh, I do not re-\\ncollect the technical name for it. They split a\\nhard wood sapling, and shaved the two flat\\nsides, as the cooper would do a hoop for a hogs-\\nhead. The flat and wide side was the bottom\\nof the runner, and it was bent up forward, and\\nthe end being shaved down small, it entered a\\nhole in a thick ribbon and the runner and rib-\\nbon were supported apart by studs entering the\\nrunner and ribbon, or nave, at short distances\\nfrom each other, from end to end. The cross-\\nbars rested upon the ribbons. This vehicle se-\\ncured several advantages. It was light the\\nrunners were wide, and would not readily cut\\nthrough the snow the beams were high from", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 71\\nthe ground, so that rocks and stubs were not\\nUkely to strike the cross-beams. Being thus\\nequipped, they took in their provisions and set\\nsail with Hght hearts. There was more sport,\\nhowever, in going to Concord with an empty\\nsled, than in returning with a ponderous freight.\\nfacilis descensus Averni\\nSed revocare gradum,\\nHoc opus, hie labor est.\\nThe snow was deep, and it proved to be\\nrery cold week, and before one half the distance\\nwas gained on their return voyage, they felt\\nthemselves exhausted by fatigue, and benumbed\\nwith the cold. They came through Hebron^\\nand came on to Newfound Pond^ because th\u00c2\u00a9\\nway was more level, yet the cold more severe,\\nfor they had not the forest to break the force of\\nthe wind. Having gained somewhat more than\\nmid way of the pond, which is six miles in\\nlength, they made a halt, and took their seat*\\nupon their sled for rest. Page arose and went\\nsome little distance to a glade, or opening in the\\nice, to drink, and when he returned, he found\\nall his companions sinking down into a sleep,\\nfrom which, if it had been indulged, no power\\nshort of Omnipotence could have aroused them.\\nPage was not lost to a sense of his or their\\ndanger j the thought of which proved the ne-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "72 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ncessary stimulus to excite him to effort in re-\\ndeeming them from death. He cried out to\\nthem that they were all dead men, if they did\\nnot instantly awake, and bestir themselves. He\\nseized them by their shoulders, shook them, and\\nmade them stand up and he so preached terror\\nto their auditory nerves, that they revived, and\\nresolved to make every possible effort to reach a\\ncamp in the woods and they were successful,\\nand thus saved themselves alive.\\nI speak of their reaching a camp. It may be\\nproper for me to state in this place, that our fa-\\nthers had taken the precaution to build camps\\non the route from Haverhill to Salisbury, one\\ncamp in every twelve or fifteen miles, and each\\nwas supplied with fireworks and fuel, so that a\\ntraveller could soon kindle him a fire and he\\nhad the boughs of the hemlock for his bed.\\nBut this same party came near perishing when\\nthey had arrived in sight of Haverhill, in the\\nnorth-east part of Piermont and had it not been\\nfor Woodward to perform, for Page, in that in-\\nstance, what Page had done for them upon the\\npond, they would have given up the ghost. But\\nthey were told it required but one effort more,\\nand all danger was past but they gave way\\nto sleep for a few minutes, as one of them pro-\\nposed, they never would awake in the body.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "OF THE coos COUNTRY. 73\\nThey were induced to persevere, and they came\\nin to Haverhill, where they found the blessings\\nof a fireside, of food, comfortable lodgings, and\\nanxious friends to sympathize with them.\\nThis saw-mill crank was the one which was\\nso long in use at At wood s mills in Newbury,\\nbut I know not its location or its use at this\\ntime. But what hardships were these above\\nrelated How unlike the condition of their\\nchildren and grand-children How unequal are\\ntheir descendants to such services Many of\\nour young men would now groan under the task\\nof travelling on foot from Haverhill to Plym-\\nouth, a distance of thirty-two miles, on a road\\nwhich may be passed over in safety, by horse\\nand carriage, at the rate of ten miles per hour.\\nBut the memory of one man will carry him\\nback to a different generation. There he will\\nsee a hardy race, minds trained to deeds of\\ndaring, and muscular powers seldom, if ever,\\nsurpassed. And these qualities did not appertain\\nto the first settlers of Coos exclusively, but they\\ncharacterized those several generations which\\nfelled our forests, subdued our soil, conquered\\nsavage men, destroyed the beasts of prey, made\\nroads, built habitations, mills, school-houses,\\nchurches, supported the gospel, founded colleges\\nand academies, sustained a war of eleven years\\nr", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "74 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nwith the combined forces of French and In-\\ndians, and finally gained our national independ-\\nence. They had a great work assigned them,\\nand Providence fitted them, in an eminent de-\\ngree, for the discharge of their duties.\\nI will here mention, that roads direct from\\nHaverhill to Boston were not opened until after\\nthe war of the revolution I mean such as\\nwould admit the passing of heavy teams, and\\nuntil then, the freight of goods from our sea-\\nports was very expensive. Heavy articles which\\nwere not brought up from Charlestown upon tlie\\nice, in winter, were brought on pack-horses\\nfrom Concord through the woods, and ten bush-\\nels of wheat have been exchanged for one of\\nsalt. The glass for Col. Thomas Johnson s\\nhouse was brought across the woods in this\\nmanner and Col. Robert Johnson, Avho opened\\nthe first tavern in Newbury, in a house a little\\nsouth of where his son Robert now lives, sup-\\nplied his bar with spirits imported in the same\\nway. This being the state of things in re-\\nspect to roads, we shall readily conceive that\\nthe means for communicating between this iso-\\nlated settlement and the eastern part of the\\nstate were rery limited, and were not an every\\nday occurrence. A passenger arriving in the\\nsettlement with packages direct from friends in", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY.\\nthe east created a more lively interest in the\\nsettlers, than the arrival of the British Q^ueeii\\nsteamer now does in the great emporium of this\\nnation. I will give an anecdote from Mr. Perry s\\nsketches, illustrative of the state of things in\\nthese respects. The story comes from Richard\\nChamberlain, one of the first settlers.\\nEarly in the settlement of the Coos, it so\\nhappened that the annual Thanksgiving was\\npassed, before intelligence of it arrived here.\\nBut soon after, a Dr. White came up to visit his\\nfriends at Newbury, and brought with him a\\nproclamation. This proclamation was read pub-\\nlicly on the Sabbath by Mr. Powers, and by\\nhim it was proposed they should keep a thanks-\\ngiving, notwithstanding the time specified by\\nthe governor was passed. And he proposed the\\nnext Thursday, Upon this a member arose,\\nand gravely proposed that it might be deferred\\nlonger; *-for, said he, there is not a drop of\\nmolasses in the town and we know how impor-\\ntant it is to have molasses to keep Thanksgiving.\\nMy boys have gone to No. 4, and will be back,\\nprobably, by the beginning of next week, and\\nthey will bring molasses and it had better be\\nput off till next week Thursday. It was\\nunanimously agreed to. But the molasses not\\ncoming, it was deferred another week and", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "76 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nfinally, Thanksgiving was kept without mola^\\nses. This, which is enough to provoke a smile,\\nwill nevertheless show us the simplicity and\\ndestitution of those days.\\nBut from 1766 to 1769, we have no special\\noccurrences to relate. The settlements contin-\\nued to increase, society to improve, and the\\nmeans of subsistence rewarded the hand of in-\\ndustry most bountifully. Indeed, the Coos\\nmeadows became to other infant settlements,\\nnorth and south of them, what the granaries of\\nEgypt were to Canaan and surrounding nations,\\nin the days of the seven years^ famine. An\\naged gentleman in Lyme, N. H., says, he can\\nvery well recollect when they used to carry up\\ntheir silver shoe-buckles to the Coos, and ex-\\nchange them for wheat.*\\nAs to the state of religion in those years, we\\ndo not learn of any powerful revivals among the\\npeople, such as had been experienced in Whit-\\nfield s time, in many parts of New England or\\nsuch as have since been experienced in those\\nsettlements. There are no church records to\\nguide our bark in these polar seas but if\\nthere were revivals, in the modern sense of the\\nterm, the ancients would have told us of them.\\nThere were additions to the church from time\\nto time, from both sides of the river, until it", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 77\\nconsisted of a goodly number of members. The\\nRev. Mr. Powers was a serious, godly man, and\\nmore distinguished, I should think, for his plain,\\nfaithful, and pungent preaching, than for grace\\nin style or diction. He preached mostly with-\\nout notes, and yet he generally studied his ser-\\nmons. Those I have seen in print exhibit\\nthought, arrangement, a deep knowledge of the\\nScriptures, and a soul full of the love of Christ\\nand of the souls of men. His labors were\\nabundant. As there were no ministers north\\nof Charlestown, for some years after Mr. Powers\\nsettled at Coos, he was frequently called to\\nattend funerals, weddings, and to preach lectures\\nat infant settlements upon the river. Until\\nthere was a foot-path marked out upon the bank\\nof the river for passengers, Mr. Powers used to\\nperform his journeys up and down the river in\\nhis canoe. When he saw young men felling\\ntrees near the river, he would call to them, and\\nsay, if Providence favored him. he would preach\\nto them in that place, on such a day, and at\\nsuch an hour. These were welcome proposi-\\ntions, generally and if there were other settle-\\nments near, they were informed of the appoint-\\nment and Mr. Powers, at the hour specified,\\nwould find his hearers seated on stumps and\\nlogs, all ready to receive the word. Mr. Powers\\n7*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "7b HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nwas characterized by his punctuality in meeting\\nhis appointments, and seldom, if ever, disap-\\npointed the assembly.\\nJohn Mann, Esq., of Orford, told me that Mr.\\nPowers passed down the river at a certain time,\\nand gave out an appointment to preach at a par-\\nticular hour, on a subsequent day. But during\\nhis absence, there fell a great rain, which swelled\\nthe river, and increased the rapidity of the cur-\\nrent very much. The people generally felt that\\nhe could not meet his appointment but they\\nassembled notwithstanding, and waited to know\\nthe result. One man was very confident Mr.\\nPowers would not, and could not return, and\\nwas disposed to charge their assembling to a\\nstupid credulity in the people. But another man\\nseemed to be confident he would return to his\\nappointment and finally, a bet was made be-\\ntween them. Neither one was pious. This\\naltercation had awakened some interest in the\\naudience generally, and all eyes were directed\\ndown the river. The appointed hour now drew\\non, and not more than twenty-five or thirty\\nminutes remained in which Mr. Powers could\\nmake good his appointment, and he who bet\\nagainst his return felt sure of his prize, for, if\\nhe v/as already in sight, he could not gain the\\nground within the time allotted but, more than", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 79\\nthiSj no man or boat appeared in the river. But\\nwhile all were anxiousj and looking, the boat,\\non a sadden, rode into full view, as by magic,\\nand not half the distance from them as was the\\nspot on which their eyes were fixed. He had\\nkept so near the shore next to them, to avoid\\nthe force of the current, that they could not\\nsee him until he threw his boat into the stream\\nto pass an obstruction and when he did appear\\nso suddenly and so near, the assembly could not\\nsuppress their surprise and gladness, but wel-\\ncomed him with a shout which rebounded from\\nhill to valley. Mr. Powers stood before them at\\nthe appointed moment.\\nCol. Otis Freeman, of Hanover, related to me\\nthe particulars of the first marriage ceremony\\nthat was ever performed in that town. It was\\nin 1767, and Mr. Powers officiated. Col. Otis\\nFreeman attended the wedding. A transient\\nman came into the town of Hanover, by the\\njiame of Walbridge, and made suit to Hannah\\nSmith, daughter of a Mr. Smith, who lived on\\nthe place which Timothy Smith improved some\\nyears ago, and, for aught I know, does at this\\ntime. The parents of Hannah were very much\\naverse to their daughter s connection with that\\nman but she resolved, and so was resolved.\\nWalbridge happened to see Mr. Powers one day", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "80 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ndescending the river in his canoe, and he hailed\\nhim, and desired to know if he could return by-\\nsuch a day, and marry him at the house of Mr.\\nSmith. Mr. Powers said he would do so, if\\nProvidence prospered him. He accordingly ap-\\npeared at the house a little after sunset the\\nguests were assembled the house being lighted\\nup, the couple presented themselves, handed in\\ntheir certificate, and wished Mr. Powers to pro-\\nceed.\\nIt was Mr. Powers practice to call on the\\nparents of the candidates for marriage to know\\nif they had anght to object to the marriage and\\nwhen, in this case, he called for the parents of\\nthe bride, behold, they were not there Mr.\\nPowers wished to know if they were not living.\\nYes, they were living, they supposed. He\\nasked, if they were not in town. They sup-\\nposed they were but they did not know.\\nHow long since they were seen here Just\\nat night. Are the parents averse to this mar-\\nriage They supposed they were, some.\\nCould they not be brought to attend there that\\nnight If they could not, he should not pro-\\nceed to the marriage ceremony that night.\\nThis was an unpleasant predicament for all par-\\nties. But a lantern or a torch was found, and a\\nscout was sent forth in search of the old folks.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "or THE coos COUNTRY-. 81\\nThey were found at the nearest neighbors, which\\nwas not very near, and after much persuasion,\\nthey were prevailed on to return home.\\nAll parties were by this time cool and col-\\nlected. The parents took their seats in the\\nmiddle of the room, between the minister and\\nthe anxious couple. Mr. Powers arose, and ad-\\ndressing himself to the parents, said, Is this\\nyoung lady your daughter? They bowed as-\\nsent. Are you willing I should proceed to\\njoin this couple in marriage The father fixed\\nhis eyes full on Mr. Powers some time, and a\\ndead silence reigned, until Freeman saw the\\ntears swelling in the old man s eyes, and his\\nchin shook like an aspen leaf, and then came a\\nsudden and convulsive response Ym! which\\nelectrified the whole of them. The a in yea\\nwas sounded as broad a in hall, and the e not\\nsounded at all. All sympathized with the old\\npeople, and Mr. Powers could scarcely proceed\\nV\\\\^ith the ceremony but it was performed, and\\nthe connection proved an unhappy one. Wal-\\nbridge was a worthless character. But this was\\nthe first marriage in Hanover, as Judge Wood-\\nward s was the first in Haverhill the results\\nwidely different.\\nMr. Powers being thus known, and being\\ngenerally loved and respected, did much to in-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "82 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ncrease the settlement at Coos. Persons often\\nattended worship there from Thetford, Orford.\\nBradford, and Piermont. There was one Deacon\\nHoward, who Hved near the river in Thetford,\\nwho used to ride to Newbury often with his wife\\nto hear Mr. Powers, and he loved him as his\\nown soul.\\nAt this time there were no taverns between\\nCharlestown and Coos, and adventurers were\\nnecessitated to stop at such houses as they could\\nfind for refreshment and lodgings. They had\\ncalled on this Deacon Howard, some making him\\ncompensation, and some not, until his means for\\nsubsistence were running low and he had re-\\nsolved that it was not his duty to entertain any\\nmore strangers and this he could do more con-\\nscientiously, as there was a sort of an inn opened\\nfor their accommodation three miles north of him.\\nMr. Powers, at a certain time, passed down\\nthe river on horseback, undiscovered by the dea-\\ncon, and as he was on his return home, he found\\nhe should be overtaken by the darkness of night\\nbefore he could reach the inn, and as it began to\\nrain just before he came to Deacon Howard s, he\\nthought he would there stop and spend the night.\\nHe accordingly rode up to the door, in the dusk\\nof the evening, and tapped with his whip upon\\nthe door. The deacon came to the door, and", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 83\\nasked what he wished for. Mr. Powers replied,\\nthat he was journeying up the river that he\\nwas overtaken hy the night and by rain and\\nhe should Hke to put up with him for the niglit.\\nThe deacon answered in an abrupt and gruiT\\ntone of voice, I cannot keep you. Folks have\\ncome here until they have eaten me out of house\\nand home, and we cannot consent to take you\\nin. Mr. Powers replied that he was much\\nfatigued, and he knew not how to proceed far-\\nther he would pay him whatever he was dis-\\nposed to charge him. No, said the deacon.\\n*I cannot keep you. There is a house for en-\\ntertainment three miles ahead, and you must go\\nthere.\\nBy this time, the old lady had come forward,\\nand was looking over her husband s shoulder,\\nlistening to the conversation as it proceeded\\nand as Mr. Powers began to turn his horse away\\nfrom the door, she said to her husband, It\\nseems to me, that man speaks like Mr. Powers\\nof Newbury. Mr. Powers! no, he don t,\\nsaid he. But why don t you ask him who he\\nis said she. I don t care who he is, said\\nhe I can t keep him but, at the same time,\\nstepping from his door, and advancing along after\\nMr. Powers, he said, Where are you from, sir\\nNewbury, replied Mr. Powers. From Neic-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "84 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nbury 7^ ^Yes, sir. Well, you know the\\nRev. Mr. Powers, then, don t you? Yes,\\nvery well. And he is a very good man, aint\\nhe Some have a good opinion of him,\\nsaid Mr. Powers, much better than I have.\\nWell, you may go along.\\nBy this time, the old lady had come up to her\\nhusband in the rain, and as the deacon was turn-\\ning to go into the house, she said, Husband,\\nI verily believe that is Mr. Powers. On hear-\\ning this, he turned suddenly on his heel, and\\nmaking rapid strides after the stranger, he cri^d\\nout, Sir, what is your name My name is\\nPowers, was the reply. You rascal ex-\\nclaimed the deacon and seizing him by one leg,\\ndrew him from his horse, held him fast until he\\ngot him into his house, and there he made all\\nconcessions to the man whom he loved above\\nall others. A very happy interview they had\\nof it, and the deacon continued to relate the par-\\nticulars of this adventure with peculiar emotions\\nuntil the close of life. He related them to Dr.\\nBurton, and the doctor to myself.\\nMr. Powers spent nearly twenty years at New-\\nbury and Haverhill, and with the exception of\\nthe troubles which grew out of the revolutionary\\nwar, I believe their union was a happy and\\nprosperous one.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 85\\nMr. Powers was a high whig, and by his\\npreaching and efforts for the common cause of\\nthe colonies, he drew upon him the fierce re-\\nsentment of the tories, and they threatened his\\nlife, which induced him to remove over into\\nHaverhill, in the spring of 1781. This dis-\\npleased many of his friends in Newbury, and\\nalthough he continued to preach in Newbury\\none half of the time, for a year or two, yet it\\nresulted in his dismission from the church in\\nNewbury, some time in 1782. But he preached\\nstill a year or two in Haverhill, and sometimes\\nin Newbury, to particular friends but he finally\\nleft, and went and settled on Deer Isle, Me.,\\nwhere he closed his labors by his decease ia\\nMay, 1800, aged 72. He died of a cancer.\\nWhen told by his son Jonathan, who was then\\na settled minister at Penobscot, Me., that he\\nwas dying, he looked around on his family, and\\nreplied, The will of the Lord be done, and\\nyielded up the ghost. Mrs. Powers was Martha\\nHale, of Sutton, Mass. She was an intelligent,\\npious, and superior woman. She survived her\\nhusband until January, 1802, and died suddenly\\nwhile on a visit to her children in Newbury.\\nTo those who sat under the ministry of Mr.\\nPowers, of whom there are some still living,\\nand those who have looked upon him as their\\n8", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "gg HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nspiritual father, it will be pleasing to learn by\\nwhat means their minister was prepared to\\npreach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ.\\nThe facts which I shall here record I received\\nfrom an eye and ear witness of what she related.\\nIt was the sister of the Rev. Peter Powers.\\nI have already related that Mr. Powers was\\nthe oldest child of Capt. Peter Powers and\\nAnna, his wife that they were the first settlers\\nin the town of HoUis. I now relate that for\\nabout two years their nearest neighbor was at\\nthe travelling distance of ten miles, and this\\nsolitary family sustained all the privations and\\nhardships which were incident to pioneers in\\nthese New England settlements. For about\\ntwelve years they had neither schools, or a\\npreached gospel; but they carried with them\\nthe Holy Scriptures and the love of God m their\\nhearts. Their children were instructed in the\\nprinciples of the gospel, and they witnessed the\\nHessedness of godliness in the daily walk of\\ntheir parents. At an early age, Peter became\\na devoted child of the Lord Jesus, and was en-\\ndeared to his parents by a thousand ties for\\nthey looked to him as their first helper, under\\nGod, and fondly hoped he would be their sup-\\nport and solace in old age. But as Peter grew\\nin years, a flame was kindled in his breast which", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 87\\ncould neither be extinguished nor suppressed,\\nand his parents often heard him say, He had\\nan ardent desire to enjoy the advantages of an\\nacademic and a collegiate education. But as\\nthese seemed altogether incompatible with their\\ncircumstances, and militated against all their\\nprevious arrangements, those desires of the son\\nwere treated by the parents as visionary and\\ninadmissible, and for a time no human ear was\\noffended by the importunities of the son and\\nthe parents hoped that the subject was relin-\\nquished and forgotten by him, until it was re-\\nvived to them in the following manner\\nThese parents were of Puritan strictness in\\nthe government of their family, and neither\\ntheir sons nor their daughters were allowed in\\nordinary cases to be absent from the family at\\nnine o clack in the evening, which was the hour\\nof prayer. But it appeared on a calm summer s\\nevening that Peter was absent at the hour of\\nprayer nor did he appear when it was necessary\\nto close and secure the house against the intru-\\nsion of the Indians. The parents passed the\\nnight in agitation of spirits. At one moment,\\nthey trembled in view of his liaving fallen a\\nvictim to Indian treachery and violence, and\\ntheir imaginations presented him pierced and\\nlacerated upon the ground, or hurried away into", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "88 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\na captivity more appalling than death. At an-\\nother, time they were vexed with the apprehen-\\nsion that their son had for the first time absented\\nhimself in wanton disregard of their views and\\nfeelings. The night was at length spent, and\\nthe father rose at the dawn of day and as he\\nunbarred the door, he saw his young son emer-\\nging from the forest, and approaching the dwell-\\ning with a solemn and down-cast look. The\\nfather beheld his son with the mixed emotion\\nof joy and resentment -joy^ because he had re-\\nceived him safe and sound resentment^ because\\nhe supposed there could be no adequate cause\\nto justify the elopement yet he restrained him-\\nself, and called for no explanation until the hour\\nof prayer, when he was accustomed to adminis-\\nter reproof, if it was necessary. The family\\nbeing seated, and a portion of Scripture having\\nbeen read, the father paused, and fixing a reprov-\\ning look upon Peter, said, Where did you\\nspend the night, Peter? The son was exceed-\\ningly embarrassed, and did not return a prompt\\nand explicit answer. The father more sternly\\nrepeats, Peter, where did you spend the night\\nTne son faintly and meekly replied, while the\\ntears coursed down his cheeks, I spent it in\\nthe woods, sir. In the woods said the\\nfather; Aoi^? did you spend it? In prayer.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 89\\nsir. A pause of a moment succeeded, and the\\nsubdued soul of the father rushed to the eye,\\nto seek the reUef whicli utterance now denied.\\nBut soon the father resumed the inquiry, and, in\\nan altered and subdued tone, said, My son,\\nwhat were you praying for, during the night\\nThat I might go to college. What would\\nyou go to college for, Peter That I might\\nbe prepared to preach the gospel to sinners.\\nThe father turned and looked upon Anna, his\\nwife, in the deepest emotion, but could not\\nspeak. As soon as he possessed the power of\\nutterance, he led in devotion, and as soon as\\nPeter had gone out, the father said to Anna, in\\na soft and tremulous voice, I do not see but\\nwe must give up the matter,^ and let Peter go to\\ncollege. The result was a collegiate course, a\\nlife of eminent usefulness, a triumphant death,\\nand that eternal reward which is promised to\\nthose who turn many to righteousness.\\nMr. Powers dismission from Newbury church\\nwas the first step towards a dissolution of the\\nunion between Haverhill and Newbury in all\\necclesiastical concerns; and it does not appear\\nthat they ever assisted each other in supporting\\nthe gospel afterwards. And the probability is\\neach town was beginning to feel itself able to\\nsupport preaching independent of the other. We\\n8*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "30 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nfind a proposition coming from Mr. Powers to\\nNewbury church and society, so early as Decem-\\nber, 1781, for an agreement between the town\\nof Haverhill and the town of Newbury to be\\nseparate parishes. This proposition was un-\\ndoubtedly from the people of Haverhill, and\\ntherefore we find a vote of Newbury, December\\n31, 1781, That the above committee treat with\\nthe town of Haverhill, relative to the Rev. Peter\\nPowers. They also vote to make a settlement\\nwith Mr. Powers for all arrearages. Mr. Samuel\\nPowers, of Newbury, son of the Rev. Peter\\nPowers, and a very worthy citizen, says, he\\ncan well remember the time of his father s dis^\\nmission from Newbury that Newbury church\\ndid not unite in the council for his dismission,\\nand the council sat in Haverhill. But the\\nchurch in Haverhill was not constituted a sepa-\\nrate church until some years after the sitting of\\nthis council, an event to be noticed hereafter.\\nI will in this place relate an extraordinary\\ncase of instinct in a cow, as related to me by\\nCapt. Howard, and I relate it here, before I pro-\\nceed to the events of 1769, because it occurred\\nhi the first years of these settlements. Col.\\nJohn Hurd came into Haverhill at an early\\nperiod of the settlement, from Portsmouth, and\\nlived a little north of Moses Southard s, or the old", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 91\\nPorter place, at Horse Meadow. He came first\\nto Charlestown, and then up the river, as most\\nothers did. With him he brought a vakiable\\ncow, which he turned upon the meadow, where,\\nfor aught that appeared, she was well content to\\nabide but, after the lapse of a few weeks, the\\ncow was on a sudden among the missing, and\\nnothing could be found of her. They went\\nthrough both settlements, and searched in vain\\nno one had seen her. The colonel then em-\\nployed Indian runners to go in pursuit of her\\nthey were out one full week, and returned with-\\nout her, but reported that they had been on her\\ntrail in Coventry but east of that, they could\\ndiscover no trace of her. Hurd gave her up as\\nlost. But the next autumn, there came a man\\nfrom Portsmouth, bearing letters from friends,\\nand in one of them it was stated that on such a\\nmorning, the old cow was found in the barn*\\nyard from which she took her departure some\\nmonths before. She was in good keeping. Now,\\nwe must consider, that from Portsmouth to\\nCharlestown is at this day, in the most direct\\nroute, ninety-six miles from Charlestown to\\nHorse Meadow nearly seventy miles and from\\nHorse Meadow to Portsmouth cannot be less\\nthan one hundred miles, for it is the hypotenuse\\nof the triangle, which has Portsmouth, Charles-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "92 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntown, and Haverhill for its angles. The cow\\nunquestionably travelled all three sides of tho\\ntriangle and what seems most surprising is,\\nthat after travelling more than one hundred\\nmiles, as the roads then were, north of west,\\nand much of that distance was woods, then\\nmore than seventy miles east of north, all woods,\\nthe cow should have kept in her mind the direct\\nbearing of Portsmouth, and that she should have\\nmade the journey from Haverhill to Portsmouth,\\nan entire wilderness, and have reached her old\\nhome in safety, without guide or protector. She\\nmight have fallen in with Barrington or Strat-\\nford, twenty miles north-west of Portsmouth,\\nbut she did not do it, probably, or she would\\nhave been taken up yet she performed her tour,\\nand gained her destination.\\nI now come to speak of events of 1769, and\\nonward. It was in April, of this year, that Col.\\nCharles Johnston came into Haverhill, and set-\\ntled at the Corner. Col. Johnston was born at\\nHampstead, N. H., 1737. He married Ruth\\nMarsh, of Londonderry, N. H., and came to\\nHaverhill at thirty-two years of age.\\nCol. Johnston had departed this life prior to\\nmy coming to Haverhill, and I am wholly de-\\npendent upon others for the information I have\\nrespecting him. But no man s character could", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 93\\nbe better established in the pubUc mind, and\\nseldom can we find greater unanimity with the\\npubUc in bestovv^ing on one man the meed of\\ncommendation. There is still a blessed savor\\nof him remaining in Haverhill and vicinity.\\nI am in possession of an interesting occurrence\\nwdiich took place on the journey of Col. Charles\\nand his family from Hampstead to Haverhill. I\\nhave it in the hand-writing of Mr. Richard Wal-\\nlace, of Thetford, Yt., who was born in Nova\\nScotia, in 1753, and, at the age of sixteen years,\\naccompanied Mr. Johnston to Haverhill. I shall\\ngive it in his own words, with the correction\\nof some errors in orthography and grammatical\\nconstruction of sentences. Mr. Wallace s early\\nopportunities for an education were limited, as\\nnearly all were at that day but he sustained a\\ncharacter above suspicion for veracity, and had\\nbeen a professed disciple of Christ many years\\nwhen he wrote me this statement. He says\\nOn the second da^^ s journey from Hamp-\\nstead, N. H. (this was in April, 1769, in the\\nafternoon of this day) my feet became tender\\nand swollen, and much parboiled, as was the\\ncommon phrase at that day. This caused me\\nto fall in the rear of the family many rods. I\\nthen concluded I would take off my shoes and\\nstockings, and travel bare-footedj expecting by", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "94 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthis means to be able to overtake the family.\\nBut my feet being swollen, and stockings wet, I\\nwas hindered in drawing them a good while,\\nand I fell far in the rear. I then hastened my\\nsteps forward as fast as I could, the sun being\\nabout a half an hour high at night, as near as I\\ncan recollect. After wading a large brook, I\\nentered the eleveii-inile-ivoods, for the first time,\\nin the upper part of Boscawen. I had not tra-\\nvelled far before I came to ice in the sled road,\\nboth in the middle and at the sides, although the\\nsnow was for the most part gone in the woods.\\nBut I made all the speed I could, till it was al-\\nmost dark, when I came to a brook or stream,\\nthat I dared not attempt to ford without day-\\nlight, nor could I find any tree fallen across the\\nstream, on which I might pass over. But con-\\ncluding I must stay there for the night, I went\\nin immediate search of a convenient place to\\nrest. I soon found a large tree fallen on the side\\nof a knoll, the butt end lying up from the ground,\\nleaving just room enough for me to crawl under.\\nI took my long stockings, and drew the dry part\\nof them on to my feet, and crawled under the\\ntree, and being very tired, I soon fell asleep and\\nI think it likely I slept two or three hours, or\\nmore 1 cannot tell exactly. But my anxiety\\ndid not leave me when asleep; and when I", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 95\\nawoke, I was very cold, as there was a hard\\nfrost that night. Besides this, I found myself\\nsaUited from all parts of the solitary and dreary\\nwilderness, by all the animal inhabitants of the\\nforest, like a band of instrumental music, the\\nwolves taking the chief lead, and carrying the\\nhighest notes or something like a bass-viol and\\nbassoon in their different strains. They did not\\nappear to be far off, but did not come near me to\\noffer any violence yet their noise was some\\nalarming, and very disagreeable, since the whole\\nregion of the forest seemed to be alive with these\\ndifferent kinds of animals. By and by, some-\\nbody cried out over my head, and barked like a\\nlittle dog, then again screamed in the voice of\\nwomen, and laughed out like parrots. I had not\\nlearned their grammar, nor to raise and fall their\\nnotes, for I was but a boy from the sea coast,\\nand had never heard the like before. But I\\nthought I would not make any disturbance with\\nthem, if they would let me alone until morning.\\nBut as soon as morning appeared, I crawled out\\nfrom under the tree, and suddenly screamed with\\nall my might, Stop your noise I was im-\\nmediately obeyed. And behold, the noisy crea-\\ntures over my head were no other than great\\nowls, roosting upon a branch of a tree But I\\nsoon made ready to decamp, though my shoes", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "96 HISTORICAL SKtiTCHES\\nand stockings were so frozen, that I could only\\nget on my shoes shpshod. After some search, I\\nfound a log which enabled me to get over the\\nbrook, and I found the road, and I walked and\\nran as I could, some miles, and I reached Favor s\\ntavern in New-Chester, that now is, just as the\\nsun arose. Some of the company were up, and\\nsome getting up, and friends never came toge-\\nther in greater joy. I never shall forget how\\nCol. Charles looked when he told me what con-\\ncern he had had for me through the night.\\nRICHARD WALLACE.\\nI would, in conclusion of this narration, raise\\nthe inquiry of those youth of sixteen, into whose\\nhands the above statement may come, whether\\nthey would covet such a night s rest and whe-\\nther such a serenade from the beasts of the wil-\\nderness would be to them some alarming, and\\nvery disagreeable\\nWhen Col. Johnston arrived at Haverhill, he\\npurchased the ground where Haverhill Corner\\nnow is, and located himself on the ground where\\nCapt. Powers pitched his camp for the night, in\\nJuly, 1754, and wrote in his journal, Here\\nwas the best of upland, and some quantity of\\nlarge white pines/\\nI had it from the widow of Col. Johnston,\\nwho survived the death of her husband several", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "OF THE eOOS COUNTRY. 97\\nyears, and died, in 1816, at the age of seventy-\\nfive, that when they came to Haverhill, and\\nfound themselves hemmed in on every side by\\nthose towering trees and a dense underwood, she\\nbecame very much discontented, and endured\\nfor some time all the melancholy and depression\\nwhich arise from home-sickness. When suffer-\\ning from the strongest paroxysms of this malady,\\nshe would sometimes go out to her husband,\\nwhile he was felling trees upon what is now the\\ncommon, and relate her distresses to him, in\\nhopes that he might be induced to relinquish his\\nhold on Coos, and return to their friends at the\\neast. But the colonel, to amuse her, and to dis-\\nsipate her melancholy, would seat her upon a\\nlarge stump, and then begin to describe to her\\nthe future village which they should erelong wit-\\nness in that place. On such a line would be\\nthe main street on such a spot the court-house\\nwould stand the academy would occupy such\\na site, and the meeting-house stand there For\\nthe moment, she would seem to fancy it a real-\\nity but the next sober thought would dissipate\\nher relief, and she would excleum, Mr. John-\\nston, there can t be any such thing I know\\nthere can t. It never will be in this world\\nIt is probable that the colonel thought as little\\nof this ever being reahzed by them as she did\\n9", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "93 HISTORICAL SKETCfiES\\nand yet they both hved to witness^ almost to\\na jot and tittle, those very predictions fulfilled.\\nAud no man in that town ever contributed more\\ntowards converting that wilderness mto a Jq-\\nhghtful village than Col. Johnston. He was\\nlaborious and prudent, yet generous and brave.\\nHe accumulated a handsome estate and by\\nhis beneficence, he often caused the poor, the\\nwidow, and the fatherless to sing for joy, and\\ntheir blessings came u}X)n him.\\nHe was a man of great muscular jx)wers, and\\nhe often put them forth, not to foment quarrels\\nand broils, as is often the case in a rude state of\\nsociety, but to suppress outbreakings and fight-\\nings and those who were acquainted with him,\\nrefrained from those hostile attacks in his pre-\\nsence, for they knew the colonel would imme-\\ndiately stand between the parties, the advocate\\nof eace and good order.\\nIt IS related of him that he was passmg the\\ninn at the Corner, at a certain time, just when\\ntwo strangers, who had met there, fell into a\\nviolent contention, and came to blows. The\\nrencounter was sharp and bloody but, as the\\ncolonel s custom was, he walked up to the com-\\nbatants, and placing his hands gently upon their\\nshoulders, began to expostulate with them in\\nthe kindest manner, when they mutually left", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 99\\nbeating each other, and commenced deahng\\nblows at him, who would have set them as one\\nagain. Upon this, the colonel held one in each\\nhand firmly by the shoulder, and suddenly ex-\\ntending his arms to the right and left, he threw\\nthe assailants apart, but brought them agani in\\ncontact, face to face, in front of him, with such\\npower, that before this was repeated the third\\ntime, they called out for quarter, nor did he let\\ngo of them until they promised to be at j^ixce\\nwith each other.\\nIt was said in his day, and is said to this day,\\nthat Col. Johnston was a peace-maker, both in\\nciiurch and state. I have one instance of this,\\ngiven by Mr. Wallace, who lived with the colonel\\nafter they came to Haverhill. He says, in a\\nletter bearing date December 25, 1828, Esquire\\nCharles was the only justice of tlie poace in\\nHaverhill prior to 1773. I will relate one anec\u00c2\u00ab\\ndote of liim in honor to his memory, and for a\\npious example for his descendants and others.\\nSoon after his appointment for justice of the\\npeace, there came a man to him with an earnest\\nrequest for a writ against one of his neighbors.\\nEsquire Johnston put him off by relating to him\\nthe unhappy consequences of neighbors gomg\\nto law with each other and recommended that\\nhe should go home and see his neighbor in a", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "100 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nsubdued temper of mind, and see if he would\\nnot pay him. The man went away, but soon\\nreturned with a bitter complaint, and demanded\\na wi it^ The colonel left his business, called for\\nhis horse to be saddled, and said to the man, I\\nam going with you to see if this matter cannot\\nbe settled without expense and strife. When\\nthey came to the man so much complained of,\\nthe colonel told him his business, and that he\\neame for the salce of peace. The man told him\\nhe was ready to settle the account, and ahvays\\nhad been and before they separated, all mat-\\nters were adjusted, and the men parted in friend-\\nship. How much expense and strife might be\\navoided annually, if all our magistrates were of\\nthe same stamp f We say, Blessed are the\\npeace-makers.\\nI have another anecdote of the colonel, related\\nto me by Esquire Jonathan Hale, of Coventry,\\nN. H., who was knowing to the story. A poor\\nman of Coventry bought a cow of Col. Johnston\\nupon credit. The cow was the principal support\\nof the family; but after she had been kept\\nthrough the winter, she sickened and died at the\\nopening of spring. The man was distressed in\\nview of the wants of his family, for he saw no\\nway of relief He knew it would be next to\\nimpossible for him to purchase a cow at that", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY 101\\nseason, as it was generally known that he was\\nstill owing for the cow that he had lost and he\\nhad nothing to pay for that, or another. He\\nfelt that he could not go to Col. Johnston for\\nanother, while he was still owing him for the\\nfirst but as it is said, Hunger will break\\nthrough a stone wall. so the distresses of his\\nfamily impelled him to return to Col. Charles, as\\nhe was the only njan living who inspired him\\nwith a gleam of hope. He went, and found the\\ncolonel at labor in his field. He related to him\\nhis disaster, and his distresses. The colonel\\nsympathized with him deeply, and knew not\\nwhat he could do. The poor man then told him\\nhis object m visiting him. which was to see if\\nhe could not obtain another cow of him. The\\ncolonel told him, He did not see how he could\\nsupply him, for they had but two cows that\\nseason, and they were going to building, must\\nhave an unusual number of laborers, and they\\nshould need all that could be afforded by two\\ncows. The poor man replied, I did not come\\nto you, colonel, with this request, supposing that\\nyou could relieve me without great inconve-\\nnience to yourself, and a sacrifice of interest, yet\\nI was emboldened to make known my necessity.\\nTl*e colonel paused in silence for a time, and\\nmanifested that there v%^as a deep conflict be-\\n9*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "102 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntween his sympathies and his circumstances. At\\nlength he said, I will go to the house and see\\nwhat Mrs. Johnston says, They went to the\\nhouse, and the colonel related to his wife what\\nhad befallen the man, and what was his present\\nobject. Mrs. Johnston very naturally exclaimed,\\nYou are not a going to let one of our cows go,\\nare you? And here she related what a de-\\nmand they would have that season for both\\ncows. The colonel heard her through patiently,\\nand then said, Do you not think that we can\\ndo better with one cov/, than this poor man can\\ndo, with his young children, without any\\nMrs. Johnston was silent. The colonel turned\\nto the man, and said, You will take my cow.\\nThe poor man took his cow, and returned joy-\\nously with her to his family. How blessed is\\nfellow-feeling and still more blessed, when it\\nis cherished by true piety and benevolence If\\nI know my own heart, I would rather have this\\nwritten of my son, than leave him in possession\\nof the most splendid crown in Europe. I have\\nwondered a thousand times, and still wonder,\\nwhy men of wealth do not secure to themselves,\\nmore frequently than they do, the happiness\\nwhich Col. Johnston experienced in sending that\\nman home with a light and grateful heart. We\\nhave no means of knowing whether that poor", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRV. 103\\nman was ever able to remunerate the colonel or\\nnot. No matter. If he did not, the Lord has\\ndone it, a thousand fold, and verily, there i$ a\\nreward for the righteous.\\nI hav\u00e2\u0082\u00ac spoken of the extraordinary muscular\\npowers of Col. Johnston. I must relate one\\nmore event in his life, illustrative both of his\\nphysical power and of his courage. At the\\ntime when the New Hampshire troops signalized\\nthemselves at the battle of Bennington, under\\nGen. Stark, Col. Johnston was there, and su^\\ntained a part in the brilliant achievements of\\nthat ever-memorable day. After Col. Baum had\\nsurrendered to the American troops, and the\\nbattle was renewed by the arrival of Col. Brey^\\nman. Col. Johnston, in obedience to orders from\\nGen. Stark, was necessitated to pass through a\\nnarrow strip of woods on foot and a]one, to bear\\nsome orders to another division of the American\\narmy. He had no weapon of defence but a\\nstout staff, which he had cut in the woods that\\nday, as he was passing on to Bennington from\\nNew Hampshire. Thus equipped, he came sud-\\ndenly upon a British scout, in ambush, placed\\nthere to intercept communications between the\\ndifferent divisions of the Americans. The party\\nin ambush was commanded by a Hessian heu-\\ntenant. As Johnston came up, this offioer stepped", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "104 HirrORiCAL SKEtCHES\\nforth, sword in hand, and claimed him as his\\nprisoner. The word was no more than uttered,\\nbefore the sword was struck from the hand of\\nthe officer by Johnston s staff, and as soon did\\nJohnston have possession of that sword, and\\n}X)inting it at the breast of the Hessian, declared\\nto him, that he was that moment a dead man,\\njf he and his party did not throw down their\\namis. The officer turned to his men and said,\\nWe are prisoners of war. The soldiers threw\\ndown their arms, and Johnston marched them\\nbefore him to the American lines, where they\\nwere received by our troops.\\nThe colonel returned with the sword to his\\nfamily, and presenting it to his only son, Capt.\\nMichael Johnston, now of Haverhill, said, This\\nsword was won by valor let it never be retaken\\nthrough cowardice. The sword I have seen.\\nIt was a splendid article of the kind. There\\nwas a good deal of writing upon it, formed by\\netching, and the officer s name, which I do not\\nnow recollect. This sword, I have been told,\\nwas brought forth and exhibited for the mourn-\\nful gratification of spectators on the day of the\\ncolonel s funeral solemnities. I am told that\\nIt was the colonel s expressed wish, before his\\ndeath, that that sword might descend from him\\nin the hne of the oldest male heir, and that it", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "Ot THE COGS COUNTRY. 105\\nhas already gone into the possession of the Rev.\\nCharles Johnston; of the town of Locke, Cayuga\\nCounty, N. Y.\\nCol. Johnston was the first captain in the\\ntown of Haverhill was for many years a justice\\nof the peace a colonel, a representative of the\\ntown many years; a judge of probate, and a\\ndeacon in the church. Col. Johnston s house\\nwas surrounded by a fort at Haverhill Corner,\\nduring the revolutionary war, as was Judge\\nLadd s, a little north of the old meeting-house,\\non Ladd street also, Capt. Timothy Barns*.\\nwho lived near the tavern, opposite the meeting-\\nhouse, in the north parish in Haverhill. Col,\\nJohnston departed this life, March 5, 1813, aged\\nseventy-six.\\nIn the summer of 1770, this whole section\\nof country was visited by an extraordinary cala-\\nmity, such a one as this country never experi-\\nenced before or since, beyond what I shall here\\nspecify. It was an army of worms, which extend-\\ned from Lancaster, N. H., to Northfield, in Mas-\\nsachusetts. They began to appear the latter part\\nof July, 1770, and continued their ravages until\\nSeptember. The inhabitants denominated them\\nthe Northern Army, as they seemed to advance\\nfrom the north, or north-west, and to pass east\\nand south, although I do not learn that they ever", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "106 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\npassed the high lands between the Connecticut\\nand Merrimack Rivers, They were altogether\\ninnumerable for multitude. Dr. Burton, of Thet-\\nford, Tt, told me that he had seen whole pastures\\nso covered that he could not put down his finger\\nm a single spot, without placing it upon a worm.\\nHe said, he had seen more than ten bushels in\\na heap. They were unlike any thing which the\\npresent generation have ever seen. There was\\na stripe upon the back like black velvet on\\neither side^ a yellow stripe from end to end\\nand the rest of the body was brown. They\\nwere sometimes seen not larger than a pin but\\nin tlieir maturity, they were as long as a man s\\nfinger, and proportionably large in circumference.\\nThey appeared to be in great haste, except when\\nthey halted to devour their food. They filled\\nthe houses of the inhabitants, and entered their\\nkneading-troughs, as did the frogs in Egypt.\\nThey would go up the side of a house, and over\\nit. in such a compact column, that nothing of\\nboards or shingles could be seen They did not\\ntake hold of the pumpkin-vine, peas, p\u00c2\u00bbotatoes,\\nor flax but wheat and com disappeared before\\nas by magic They would climb up the stalks\\nof wheat, eat off the stalk just below the head,\\nand almost as soon as the head had fallen upon\\nthe ground, it was devoured. To prevent this.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 107\\nthe men \u00e2\u0096\u00a0would draw the rope, as they termed\\nit that is, two men would take a rope, one ai\\neach end, and pulling from each othe: until it\\nwas nearly straightened, they would then pass\\nthrough their wheat fields, and brush off the\\nworms from the stalks, and by jjerpetual action\\nthey retarded the destruction of their wheat\\nbut it was doomed, finally, to extinction.\\nThere were fields of corn on the meadows in\\nHaverhill and Newbury standing so thick, large,\\nand tall, that in some instances it was difficult\\nto see a man standing more than one rod in the\\nfield from the outermost row but in ten days\\nfrom the first appearing of the Northern Army,\\nnothing remained of this com but the bare stalks\\nEvery expedient was resorted to by the inhabi-\\ntants to protect their fields of corn, but all in\\nvain. In the first place, they dug trenches\\naround their fields, a foot and a half deep, hopmg\\nthis might prove a defence but they soon filled\\nthe ditch, and the millions that were in the rear\\nwent over on the backs of their fellows in the\\ntrench, and took possession of the interdicted\\nfood.\\nThe inhabitants then adopted another expe-\\ndient to save those fields yet standing. They\\ncut a trench as before then took round and\\nsmooth sappling sticks, of six or eight inches", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "108 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ndiameter, and six or eight feet in length, sharp-\\nened them to a point, and with these made holes\\nin the bottom of the ditch, once in two or three\\nfeet and, as their meadows were bottom lands,\\nthey experienced no difficulty in extending these\\nholes to two and three feet in depth, below the\\nbottom of the trench. The sides of these holes\\nwere made smooth by the bar or lever which\\nmade the holes, and as soon as the worm stepped\\nfrom the precipice, he landed at the bottom, and\\ncould not ascend again indeed, he was soon\\nburied alive by his unfortunate fellows, who suc-\\nceeded him in his downfall. Now, those who\\nmade these holes to entrap their invaders, went\\naround their fields, and plunged these pointed\\nlevers into the holes filled with worms, and de-\\nstroyed every one of them at a single thrust,\\nwhether it was a peck or half a bushel. By\\nunremitting effort in this way, some reserved to\\nthemselves corn enough for seed the next year.\\nAbout the fii*st of September, the worms sud-\\ndenly disappeared and where they terminated\\ntheir earthly career is unknown, for not the car-\\ncass of a worm was seen. In just eleven years\\nafterward, in 1781, the same kind of worm ap-\\npeared again, and the fears of the people were\\nmuch excited but they were comparatively few\\nin number, and no one of the kind has ever been\\nseen since.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 109\\nThis visitation, which destroyed the principal\\ngrains of that year, was felt severely by all the\\nnew settlements for it not only cut off their\\nbread-stuffs, but it deprived them of the means of\\nmaking their pork to a great degree, and reduced\\nthe quantity of fodder for their cattle. The set-\\ntlements at Haverhill and Newbury did not feel\\nthis calamity quite so much as those infant set-\\ntlements in the towns north and south of them.\\nThey had been longer in their settlements, had\\nsome old stock of provisions on hand, and had\\nmore means to procure supplies from Charles-\\ntown, or by the way of Charlestown. Jonathan\\nTyler, of Piermont, related to me, that the set-\\ntlements in that town were left without the\\nmeans of subsistence from their own farms. His\\nfather drew hay on a hand-sled upon the ice,\\nfrom the great Ox Bow in Newbury, to support\\nhis cow the following winter. And had it not\\nbeen for two sources opened for their support,\\nthey must have deserted the tov/n. One was\\nthe extraordinary crop of pumpkins in Haver-\\nhill and Newbury. The corn being cut off, and\\nthe pumpkins remaining untouched by the North-\\nern Army, they grew astonishingly, and seemed\\nto cover the whole ground where the corn had\\nstood, and the yield was great. The people of\\nHaverhill and Newbury gave the settlers in\\n10", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "110 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nPiermont the privilege of carrying away, gratis,\\nas many pumpkins as they would. They went\\nup, made a kind of raft, and transported them\\nby water to Piermont. Their raft was a novelty\\nin its kind, and will show us how truly neces-\\nsity is the mother of invention. They cut\\nthem two straight trees from forty to fifty feet\\n111 length, and from fifteen to eighteen inches in\\ndiameter and enough of these were generally\\nfound, already felled and dry, to answer their\\npurpose. They bored holes near the ends of\\nthese trees, and introduced slats to hold them\\ntogether at each end, in the manner that the long\\nbody of a hay-cart is made, only at twice or\\nthrice the distance from each other that the sides\\nof a hay-cart are placed. These two sides were\\nfirst placed in the water, and then joined toge-\\nther. The pumpkins were then brought from\\nthe fields, which were contiguous to the river^\\nand placed in the water, in this oblong square,\\nuntil it was filled the pumpkins, being buoyant,\\nwould not sink, and could not escape from their\\npen. Two men in a skiff would then weigh\\nanchor, and tow the raft of tons weight to Pier-\\nmont shores, where the freight was landed, and\\nconveyed to the habitations of men\\nAnother source of support was opened to them\\nin the immense number of pigeons which Provi-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. lil\\ndence sent them immediately upon the disap-\\npearance of the Northern Army. Nothing could\\nequal their number, unless it was the worm^\\nwhich had preceded them. The Tylers of Piei-\\nmont, Daniel, David, and Jonathan, commenced\\ntaking pigeons on the meadow, west of Haver-\\nhill Corner, and in the space of ten days, they\\nhad taken more than four hundred dozen They\\ncarried them to Piermont, and made what\\ndefined, in the Yankee vocabulary, a bee, for\\npicking pigeons and two or three times a week\\nthe people of Haverhill were invited down to\\nMr. Tyler s to pick pigeons. Those who weni\\nhad the meat of all they picked, and the Tylers\\nhad the feathers and they made, says Jonathan\\nTyler, four very decent beds of those feathers.\\nThe bodies of those pigeons, when dressed, dried,\\nand preserved for the winter, were very palatable\\nand nutritious, and proved a good substitute for\\nother meats, of which the inhabitants had been\\ndespoiled by the Huns and Goths of the north.\\nAnd we are bound to recognize the Divmc\\nGoodness in this providential supply, when the\\nordinary means of subsistence were cut off. It\\ngenerally characterizes the Divine Government,\\nwhen He has tried his people.\\nI have already stated that the first settlers at\\nGoos, a number of them, at least, pitched their", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "112 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntents upon the meadows, with a view of making\\ntheir permanent residence there, but were driven\\noff by a flood in 1771. Mr. Wallace, of Thet-\\nford, has furnished me with some particulars\\nrelative to that freshet. He says, this was a\\ndestructive flood to many of the settlers. Some\\nof their fields were buried in sand to the depth\\nof two and three feet, and they not only lost\\nmore or less of their crops for that year, but\\ntheir soil for a number of years. Some of their\\nhabitations were invaded and taken possession\\nof by the water. Wallace went to the relief of\\na family in Bradford, who lived on the place\\nnow owned by Mr. Hunkins. It was the family\\nof Hugh Miller. His wife was the sister of the\\nfar-famed Robert Rogers, the hero of St. Fran-\\ncois. When Wallace reached this habitation, he\\nrowed his canoe into the house as far as the\\nwidth of the house would receive it, took the\\nfamily from the bed whereon they stood, and\\nbore them to a place of safety. But Mrs. Miller,\\nthe next day seeing their few sheep standing on\\na small eminence on the meadow, surrounded by\\nwater, her husband being absent, resolved or\\nrescuing them from their perilous situation. She\\npressed into her service a young man by the\\nname of George Binfield, and they took a canoe,\\nand set sail for the sheep. They reached the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0116.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOB COINTRY.\\n113\\nplace, caught the sheep, tied their legs, placed\\nthem on board, and set out on their return voy-\\nage to the high lands; but when they came\\ninto a strong current, they were carried down\\nstream, until the canoe struck a pine stub, and\\nwas capsized. All were precipitated into the\\nwater of the depth of ten feet. When our\\nheroine arose, and her companion in adventures,\\nthey caught hold of a stub standing about fivp\\nfeet out of the water, and manitained their grasp\\nuntil another boat was obtained, and they were,\\nliberated from their perilous situation but the\\nwrecked canoe and sheep were never heard from\\nmore. From this time, the people sought a\\nmore elevated situation for their habitations.\\nJonathan Tyler, of Piermont, related an ex-\\ntraordinary fact which occurred in this great\\nfreshet. He said, a horse was tied to a log in a\\nstack-yard, upon the great Ox Bow, in Newbury,\\nand when the water arose, it took away the\\nhorse and the log to which he was made fast,\\nand the horse was taken out of the river in\\nHanover alive, but soon died upon reaching the\\nshore. He would, doubtless, have perished soon\\nafter breaking from his moorings in Newbury\\nbut the log to which he was tied kept his head\\nabove water, and prolonged his life many hoars.\\nCol. Howard told me^ that in this same freshet\\n10*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0117.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "114 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nsome swine were taken away by the water in\\nthe north part of Haverhill, and were carried\\ndown to the Ox Bow, where they made good\\ntheir standing upon the top of a hay- stack,\\nwhere they remained capering about until the\\nwaters subsided, and the owners procured their\\nproperty again. This calamity was not of equal\\nextent with that of the Northern Army but it\\nwas so intimately connected with it, it was se-\\nverely felt, and it seemed as though God had a\\ncontroversy with these people.\\nWe m.ay learn something of the facilities for\\ntravelling south and east from Haverhill Corner,\\nso late as 1771, by the following facts. Jona-\\nthan Tyler came into Piermont in the autumn\\nof 1768, and he says, They seldom attempted\\nto ride on horseback to Haverhill for several\\nyears after they came to Coos, owing to the\\nbadness of the road and I have heard it said\\nby Judge Ladd and others, that a man from\\nCharlestown came to Haverhill, and mired his\\nhorse so deeply on Haverhill Common, near\\nTowle s tavern, that was, that he had to procure\\nassistance to extricate the animal and the horse\\nwas rendered so lame as to be unable to proceed\\non the journey for some days.\\nAbout this time, Col. Charles Johnston and\\nseveral others had been to Plymouth, and thought", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0118.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 115\\nthey would return by Tarleion s Pond. They\\nwere retarded by the roughness of the traveUing.\\nbeyond their expectations, and they were over-\\ntaken by night-fall. They made their way for\\na time by feeling of the trees to see if they\\nwere spotted but they at length could feel no\\nspots, and despaired of finding a settlement, or\\ncamp, that night and making a virtue of neces-\\nsity, they resolved to stand upon their posts like\\ngood soldiers, and wait for the return of day. It\\nwas a long night but day at length dawned upon\\nthem, and, to their surprise and joy, they found\\nthemselves posted near the little brook, east of\\nthe establishment of Andrew Martin, one hun-\\ndred and fifty rods, perhaps, east of the colonel s\\nown habitation For this reason, and because.\\n1 think, the brook is yet nameless, I would call\\nIt Happy Brook, we and our ciiildren, forever\\nIn the autumn of 1772, John McConnel and\\nfamily left Pembroke, N. H., for the Coos, and\\nwhen they came upon Baker s River, the intelli-\\ngence reached Haverhill that they were advan-\\ncing. Upon this, Jonathan McConnel, brother\\nof John, went forth on horseback to meet them,\\nand to render them assistance. The next morn-\\ning early, Richard Wallace left Col. Johnston^s,\\non horseback, to go out and render them still\\nfurther aid, taking in a freight of provisions.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0119.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "116 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nJonathan McConnel met the family sixteen miies\\nfrom Haverhill, took one of the children and\\nftome baggage, and set out for Haverhill. Wal-\\nlace met Jonathan returning near the height of\\nlandj and he promised to stop at the camp near\\nEastman s Brook, and wait until Wallace and the\\nfamily should come up, and all spend the night\\ntogether. Wallace proceeded on, and met the\\nfamily near night. They were in a miserable\\nplight. They were all on foot, without shoes\\nor stockings, and an old beast, a mere apology\\nfor a horse, staggering under the weight of a few\\nnecessary articles for the family some scolding,\\nsome crying, and some laughing. It was soon\\nagreed that Wallace should take tvv^o of the chil-\\ndren, one a huge girl of twelve years, and ano-\\nther of two years, (which would have been the\\ninfant, had there not been another younger,) and\\nreturn to Easiman s Brook, and the rest of the\\nfamily was to reach there, if possible.\\nBut in carrying this resolve into effect, Wal-\\nlace n et with an unexpected embarrassment. It\\nwould be impossible for the girl of twelve to\\nhold on, in passing the sloughs and over logs, to\\nnde in the usual manner of females. But as\\nWallace was at his wit s end to know how to\\narrange matters to his mind, the mother stepped\\nforwaKl, and, by a single flash of her genius, cut", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0120.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "OF TEF COOS COU^?TRY. I IT\\nthe Gordian knot. In fa th, said she, there\\nmust be a leg on each side o the horse/ And\\nso the girl came into Haverhill.\\nBut as Wallace ascended the height of land.\\nhe became pretty well convinced that the family\\ncould not make Eastman s Brook that night, and\\nas there was a camp on the height of land, which\\nthey must pass, he dismounted, took a loaf of\\nbread, run a pole through it, and raised it above\\nthe top of the camp outside, for the double pur-\\npose of keeping it from the wolves, and of\\nexhibiting it to the family but, by some fatali-\\nty, they did not see it, and passed on but as\\nthey did not reach the camp at Eastman s Brook,\\nthey laid out all night, without food or covering.\\nWallace had a hard task of it, likewise for\\nwhen -he came to the camp at Eastman s Brook,\\nwhere Jonathan McConnel proposed to stop, and\\nto have a fire for their comfort, he found no\\nMcConnel, no fire, and not any thing to make\\none of. McConnel had concluded to make Ha-\\nverhill that night, and leave the rest to shift for\\nthemselves, Wallace now found himself under\\nthe necessity of pursuing his journey under cir-\\ncumstances somewhat alarming, and very dis-\\nagreeable, as he said in a prior adventure.\\nBeside this great lump of animated nature hold-\\ning on to him in the rear, he carried the child", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0121.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "118 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nof two years before him and as the night (\\\\iew\\non. it became drowsy, and sunk down into his\\narms very heavily. For a time, he kept it awake\\nby calUng its attention to the howhng of the\\nwolves in the vicinity but at length nature\\nwas overpowered, and the child sunk down mto\\na profound slumber, and he bore it mto the\\nCorner in this condition. They arrived at Col.\\nCharles house at twelve at night, a fall moon\\nfavoring them. The colonel was up, and had a\\ngood fire, some expecting them, from what Jona-\\nthan McConnel had told him. But Wallace wa^\\n\u00c2\u00abo much exhausted by fatigue, and benumbed\\nby the cold, that he fainted on coming to ihe\\nfire. The family arrived the next day, and m\\njust six months from that time the girl whom\\nWallace bjousht im was married to Jonathan\\nTyler, of Piermont, at the age of twelve years;\\njtnd six mofiths. The Rev. Peter Powers mar-\\nried them. This was the first marriage in Pier-\\nmont.\\nAt the time when these events, already stated,\\noccurred, and for some years afterwards, it was\\nnot the expectation of the people at Coos, that\\nthey should ever have a road through to Plym-\\nouth for loaded teams, but their hopes rested on\\nCharlestown for heavy articles and the first\\ntime an ox-team went through,, it was effected", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0122.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 119\\nby a company, who went out expressly for the\\npurpose, with Jonathan McConnel at their head.\\nIt was an expedition that excited much interest\\nwith the inhabitants at home, and the progress\\nof the adventurers was inquired for from day to\\nday and when they were making Haverhill\\nCorner upon their return, the men went out to\\nmeet and congratulate them and, as they came\\nin, the cattle were taken possession of in due\\nform, and conducted to sweet-flowing fountains\\nand well-stufFed cribs for the night. Their\\nmetsters were served in the style of lords, sind\\ntheir narrations of the feats of Old Broad at\\nthe sloughs, the patient endurance of Old Ber-\\nry at the heights, and the stiff hold-back of\\nOld Duke at the narrows, were listened to\\nby their owners, with the liveliest demonstra-\\ntions of joy.\\nWhat feeble impressions do the children and\\ngrand-children of those early adventurers have\\nof the difficulties which their ancestors sur-\\nmounted to put their descendants into their pre-\\nsent inheritance Nor is the change greater in\\nthe face of the country, and in the condition of\\nthe roads, than it is in many other things. Con-\\ntemplate the then state of schools. Mr. Wal-\\nlace, to whom I am indebted for so many facts\\nm respect to the first settlers, writes, that when", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0123.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "1*20 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nhe came to Haverhill, in 1769, at the age of six-\\nteen, he did not know his alphabet, could not\\nwrite his name, and his first attempt at writing\\nwas upon birch bark, with a turkey s quill. He\\nfurther thinks that in 1772, not more than one\\nschool could be found in every ten miles, on\\neither side of the river, from Orford to the Up-\\nper Coos. These were generally constituted by\\na few neighbors combining and hiring an in-\\nstructor for a few weeks in the winter their\\nteachers being very inadequate, and their only\\nbooks the Psalter and Primer. Compare these\\nmeans with those now enjoyed by the rising\\ngeneration and let those who have made them-\\nselves merry by reciting the grammatical errors\\nand orthographical blunders of their ancestors,\\nperform a more splendid part in the great drama\\nof human life or let them ingenuously confess\\nthat they are debtors to those who received little,\\nbut did much, and left an example worthy of\\nimitation by all their descendants for it is to be\\nhad in lasting remembrance, that by these men,\\nthus educated, our freedom was obtained, and\\nthose institutions founded, which are our bless-\\ning and our boast, and are the admiration of the\\nworld.\\nSpeaking of the first settlers, Mr. Wallace\\nfurther says, Those who first settled Haverhill", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0124.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 121\\nand Newbury were, for the most part, men of\\nsome property, and were able to furnish them-\\nselves with land, some stock, and tools, to hire\\nlaborers, and, in a short time, their houses were\\nwell furnished, for that day. They were labo-\\nrious, prudent; and economical, but were very\\nkind to the poor and sick. They Avere strict in\\ntheir religious principles, and all attended reli-\\ngious worship on the Sabbath, neither men nor\\nwomen esteeming it a hard service to travel on\\nfoot, four or six miles, with children in their\\narms, to hear the gospel.\\nAnother class of persons, he mentions, that\\nwere in more indigent circumstances. They\\nlabored hard in the house and in the field, and\\nwhose earthly fare was coarse, and sometimes\\nscanty. Their beds consisted principally of\\nstraw, and it was no unconmion thing for fami-\\nlies to lie on the floor, and some on the ground,\\nbefore the fire. Their bowls, dishes and platen\\nwere all of wood, although in a few families, a\\nlittle pewter was seen. This class of persons,\\nhe relates, more generally settled in Piermont\\nand Bradford, although there were families there\\nm more eligible circumstances. The style of\\nliving in all the settlements was similar where\\nthey possessed the means. Boiled meat, peas\\nor beans, and potatoes, formed their repast at\\n11", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0125.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "122\\nHISTORICAL SKETCHEg\\nnoon at night and morning, pea or bean broth,\\nand sometimes milk porridge but/ says Mr.\\nWallace, we never thought of having meat\\nmore than once a day, and I never drank a cup\\nof tea during the three years and a half that\\nI lived at Coos. Many wore Indian stockings\\nand moccasons of raw hide, when tanned leather\\ncould not be obtained; and some of the wealthier\\nhad Indian blankets cut into box coats, and\\nwore huff caps. Their clothing, in general, con-\\nsisted of linen.\\nI will now leave the settlements at Coos for a\\ntime, in their peaceful and thriving situation,\\nand proceed to give a concise history of some\\nof the settlements in towns south of them,\\nwhich brought neighbors to Haverhill and New-\\nbury, and opened the wilderness between them\\nand Charlestown. For seven years subsequent\\nto the settlement of Coos, there was no inhab-\\nitant in the town of Piermont. But in the\\nspring of 1768, Ebenezer White, Levi Root,\\nand Daniel Tyler, came into the town, and set-\\ntled on the meadows. In the autumn of that\\nyear, David Tyler, wife, and son Jonathan came\\non from Lebanon, in Connecticut. This is that\\nJonathan Tyler, who married Sarah McConnel,\\nas already related. Tyler relates that wild game", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0126.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "OP TUE COOS COUNTRY. 123\\nwas exceedingly abundant in Piermont ni the\\nwinter of 1769. Moose yarded upon the mea-\\ndows that winter. Bears, wolves, and deer were\\never present, and some of them quite officious.\\nSeveral years after David and Jonathan Tyler\\ncame into the town, a bear came into their barn-\\nyard at different times, while men slept, and\\ndestroyed their sheep. This was sport for Bruin,\\nbut death to the Tylers. At length, Jonathan\\nTyler was aroused to a just sense of the injury\\nand indignity inflicted upon them, and he re-\\nsolved on revenge. He procured three guns,\\nand charged them heavily with powder and ball,\\nand retained them as minute men, for any\\nemergency. A few nights after this array of\\ndefence, Tyler heard the cry of distress in his\\nyard. He sprang from his bed. threw on some\\nlight article of dress, seized his guns, and sallied\\nforth, breathing slaughter and death. As soon\\nas he came near the yard, he saw his bearship\\ndevouring his prey beneath his feet. Without\\npreamble or apology, the three guns were let\\noff in rapid succession, and every ball took ef-\\nfect. One penetrated his heart, and the assassin\\nfell dead upon liis prey, a huge enemy to the\\nfleecy fold.\\nAt this time, Tyler says, they went to Gen.\\nMorey s mill at Orford, for grinding, which mill", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0127.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "124 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nStood near where Capt. Baton s mill now stands.\\nHe had been to Charlestown for seed corn and\\nto Northfield, Mass., in a canoe, for bread-stuffs.\\nBut this must have been when the crops were\\ncut off at Coos.\\nAt one period of this settlement, the greater\\nportion of the inhabitants bore some one of the\\nfollowing catalogue of names: Root, Crook, Cox,\\nStone, Daley, and Bailey. They employed Dr.\\nSamuel Hale, of Orford, for their physician. He\\nwas a high free-liver, and a facetious character,\\nand used to amuse himself by speaking of his\\npatrons in Piermont in the following couplet\\nThe Roots, and Crooks, and Elijah Daley,\\nCoxes and Stones, and Solomon Bailey.\\nBut the merry doctor had to bear the expense\\nof his own amusement for when these families\\ncame to learn the use he made of their names,\\nthey took it in high dudgeon, and would never\\nafterward employ him as their physician.\\nJonathan Tyler, of whom I have spoken re-\\npeatedly, served his country in the time of the\\nrevolutionary war, and when our troops retreated\\nfrom Ticonderoga, at the approach of Burgoyne s\\narmy, he was taken captive, but did not remain\\nlong in captivity. The manner of his escape\\nwas on this wise He was held as a prisoner", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0128.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 125\\nof war for a time on the west side of Lake\\nGeorge, now called Lake Horican. For a time,\\nhe and two or three others of his fellow-prison-\\ners were kept in durance vile, and were\\nwatched with the utmost vigilance but as they\\nmanifested no uneasiness themselves in their\\nnovel circumstances, their masters began to vtr-\\nlax their vigilance, and they were permitted to\\ngo among the British troops, and to labor with\\nthem. At length, tlie British determined on\\nbuilding a block-house on the east side of the\\nlake, and Jonathan Tyler, Daniel Bean, and an-\\nother by the name of Cowdry, volunteered to\\ngo and help build it. After laboring a day or\\ntwo, their axes needed grinding, and they were\\npermitted to go to a spring of v/ater just over a\\nrise of ground, to bring water for grinding, and\\nfor other uses of the company. A bark had\\nbeen laid down into the fountain, which con-\\nducted the water off, and rendered it very con-\\nvenient in taking water at the lower end of the\\nspout. Tyler hung his pail on the end of this\\nspout, and while it was filling, he, Bexm, and\\nCowdry, concluded to take Fre^ick leave, and\\ncid so and Tyler says, He don t know but\\nhis pail hangs there yet. But the poor fellows\\nhad like to have penshed with hunger. They\\nleft without a particle of food, ^nd without", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0129.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "!26 BISTORICAL SKETCHES\\narms and ammunition, and the first four days\\nafter their elopement, while they were hid in\\nthe woods west of the Hudson River, they had\\nnothing to satisfy the cravings of hunger but\\nleaves, buds, and twigs of trees, and the roots\\nwhich they dug out of the ground. And be-\\ntween the Hudson and the Connecticut, they\\nsustained a like fast but when they came to\\nsettlements in the Connecticut Yalley, they were\\nthe happiest of mortals, and concluded they had\\ndone their part towards the achievement of our\\nindependence. David Tyler and wife, the pa-\\nrents of Jonathan Tyler, both lived to a great\\nage. They attained to nearly ninety-five years.\\nThe Congregational church was constituted\\nin this town in 1771. The Rev. John Richards\\nwas settled as their pastor in 1776, and labored\\nwith them twenty-six years, and took a dismis-\\nsion in 1802. The Rev. Jonathan Hovey was\\nsettled over them in 1810, and continued his\\nlabors five years. Rev. Robert Blake com-\\nmenced his labors among them in 1819, and\\ncontinued them, with some interruptions, until\\n1836. The statement in the Gazetteer of New\\nHampshire, that the first settlement in Piermont\\nwas in 1770, is an error.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0130.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 127\\nORFORD.\\nThe town of Orford, which is ten miles south\\nof Haverhill, and seventeen north of Hanover,\\nwas first settled in 1765. Daniel Cross and wife\\nwere the first who came into the place, from\\nLebanon, Conn. They came in June of this\\nyear, and pitched their tent near where the Saw-\\nyers afterward settled, upon the river road, south\\nof Orford village. John Mann, Esq. and wife,\\nwhose maiden name was Lydia Porter, both of\\nHebron, Conn., came into Orford in the autumn\\nof 1765. Mann was twenty-one years of age,\\nhis wife seventeen years and six months. They\\nleft Hebron on the 16th of October, and arrived\\nin Orford on the 24th of the same month. They\\nboth mounted the same horse, according to Pu-\\nritan custom, and rode to Charlestown, N. H.,\\nnearly one hundred and fifty miles. Here Mann\\npurchased a bushel of oats for his horse, and\\nsome bread and cheese for himself and wife, and\\nset forward Mann on foot wife, oats, bread\\nand cheese, and some clothing, on horseback.\\nFrom Charlestown to Orford there was no road\\nbut a horse-track, and this was frequently hedged\\nacross by fallen trees and when they came to\\nsuch an obstruction, which could not be passed\\nround, Mann, who was of a gigantic stature,\\nwould step up, take the young bride, and set", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0131.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "128 HISTORICAL S-KHTCHES\\nher upon the ground then the oats, bread and\\ncheese and, lastly, the old mare was made to\\nleap the windfall when all was reshipped, and\\nthe voyage was resumed. This was acted over,\\ntime and again, until the old beast became impa-\\ntient of delay, and coming to a similar obstruc-\\ntion, while Mann was some rods in the rear, she\\npressed forward, and leaped the trunk of a large\\ntree, resisting all the force her young rider could\\nexert and when Mann came up, which he did\\nin a trice, there lay the bride upon tlie ground,\\nv:\\\\i\\\\i all the baggage resting upon her. The old\\ncreature, however, had the civility not to desert\\nthem in this predicament, and as no bones were\\nbroken, and no joints dislocated, they soon re-\\nsumed their journey Mann, for the rest of the\\nway, constittited the van instead of tlic rear\\nguard.\\nWhen they arrived in Orfurd, they very natu-\\nrally made Daniel Cross tent their first resting\\nplace. They were received with all that cor-\\ndiality and hospitality which characterize tliose\\nwho are separated from all friends, and are en-\\nclosed by the solitudes of a vast wilderness.\\nGross had reared a shelter for his cow adjoining\\nbi-s own tent, and for that night the cow was\\nejected, and Cross aiid his wife occupied her\\naptartment, while Mann and his v.ife improved", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0132.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 129\\nthe parlor. But they were doomed to a sad\\nadventure that night. Cross had felled a large\\ntree, the butt end of which constituted no incon-\\nsiderable portion of one side of his house. Into\\nthis log he had bored two holes, about four feet\\napart, and sharpening two sappling poles, he had\\ndriven them horizontally into the log, to form\\nthe two side pieces of a bedstead. The other\\nends o( the poles were supported by two perpen-\\ndicular posts, in the manner of ordinary bed-\\nsteads. Elm bark served for cord and sacking.\\nThis rigging was adequate to sustain Cross and\\nhis companion, a light couple but when Mann\\nand his partner came into possession, it was\\nanother affair. Mann was of gigantic stature.\\nSoon after all had retired to rest, this frail fabric\\nof a bedstead suddenly gave way with a loud\\ncrash, which frightened the tenants of both\\napartments prodigiously. Mrs. Mann screamed,\\nand this was suddenly responded to from Cross\\napartment, What is the matter But after\\nmutual explanations and apologies, Mann and\\nhis wife resumed a recumbent position upon the\\nfloor, and enjoyed a refreshing sleep, with the\\nexception of an occasional interruption from a\\nsudden burst of laughter in the cow apartment,\\nwhere Cross and his wife lay, reflecting upon the\\nstartling scene through which they had passed", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0133.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "130 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nunscathed. Esquire Mann related this adven-\\nture after he was more than eighty years of age,\\nand he did it with that impassioned emotion,\\nwhich tended to impress the mind of the hearer\\nas though it was an event that had recently\\ntranspired.\\nvSoon after Mann came to Orford, he took a\\nlog-canoe near where Cross lived, and ascended\\nthe river to the place where Orford bridge now\\nis. He went ashore to reconnoitre and to spy\\nout the land. The soil supported a huge growth\\nof wood and a dense underbrush. The surface\\nwas covered with a tall, thick, and white moss,\\nand had every appearance of being boggy. Mann\\nthought he would penetrate a little way into the\\nforest, and take some care and not needlessly\\nwet his feet. He accordingly stepj^ed with cau-\\ntion^ jumped from one little mound to another,\\nand when he got upon a windfall, he would im-\\nprove the whole length of it. But while thus\\nmaking his way, he lost the centre of gravity.\\nwhen on an old log, and fell to the ground. But\\ninstead of plunging into a bog, as he expected,\\nhe came plump on to hard and dry soil, that\\nbeautiful bottom land which he and others have\\nso long cultivated to great advantage.\\nMrs. Mann, after they were settled in their\\nown tent, went to the river, and brought all the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0134.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "or THE C003 COUNTRY. ISI\\nwater they used in a three-pint basin, with the\\nexception of washing days.\\nJohn Mann, Jan., Esq., was the first EngUsh\\nchild born in the town, May 21, 1766, and if\\nnow living, must be in his seventy-fourth year.\\nThe same autumn in which Mann came into Or-\\nford, Jonathan and Edward Sawyer, Gen. Israel\\nMorey, and a Mr. Caswell, all from Connecticut,\\ncame in and settled.\\nThe first church in Orford was constituted in\\n1770. The Rev. Oliver Noble, their first minis-\\nter, was ordained, November 5, 1771, and was\\ndismissed, December 31, 1777. Then there\\nwas an interregnum of about ten years, and the\\nRev. John Sawyer was ordained over them, Oc-\\ncober 22, 1787. He continued with them but\\nabout eight years, and was dimissed, 1795. Rev.\\nSylvester Dana was ordained over them, May\\n20, 1801. He continued their pastor twenty-one\\nyears dismissed, April 30, 1822. Rev. James\\nD. Farnsworth was ordained, January 1, 1823.\\nMr. Farnsworth has been dismissed, and he has\\na successor, Mr. Campbell but the dates of\\nthose events I must leave to my successor in\\ngathering statistics.\\nMr. Mann relates that when he came into the\\ntown, and for some years after, deer and bear\\nwere very numerous, and some moose in the", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0135.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "132 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\neast part of the town. He has been up on the\\nelevated ground, east of the river road, after a\\nnew-fallen snow, and seen deer tracks almost\\nas plentifully imprinted as we see sheep tracks\\nwhere the latter are yarded.\\nAs Mann came on from Charlestown, he found\\nin the town of Claremont, two openings by\\nyoung men of the name of Dorchester. In\\nCornish there was but one family, that of Moses\\nChase. In Plainiield there was one family,\\nFrancis Smith. The wife was terribly home-\\nsick, and she declared she would not stay\\nthere in the woods. In Lebanon, there were\\nthree families, Charles Hill, son, and son-in-law,\\na Mr. Pinnick. In Hanover there was one fam-\\nily, Col. Edmund Freeman, and several young\\nmen, who were making settlements. In Lyme,\\nthere were three families, all by the name of\\nSloan John, William, and David. This state-\\nment diflers materially from what we find in the\\nGazetteer of New Hampshire in respect to the\\nfirst settlers in those towns. But I have long\\nsince lost all confidence in gazetteers, when\\nthey attempt to give facts anterior to recorded\\nfacts, and they never can be depended upon, so\\nlong as no better means are employed than those\\nwhich have been used to gain information. The\\nmethod has ordinarily been to write to some", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0136.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 133\\npost-master, justice of the peace, or some other\\nman, and request him to furnish them with the\\nearly settlement of the town, both recorded\\nfacts and traditionary tales. But where is there\\na man, who, upon such an application, will de-\\nvote one week to the examination of records, or\\nto visit the aged to gain information? Not one,\\nwe believe, in fifty, if there is one in a hundred.\\nAnd in most cases, it would require all of one\\nmonth to make a correct report. In general^\\nthere is not one line on record in regard to first\\nsettlers. Their records begin with the charter,\\nwhich might have come into existence years\\nbefore the settlement, or years afterward but\\nmost persons are ready to take it for granted,\\nthat their town was settled the year it was char-\\ntered, and that some of the first names specified\\nin the charter were the first settlers. But no-\\nthing can be more uncertain than this. Besides,\\nevery town has its favorite stories derived from\\ntradition, which they wish to establish and\\nalmost every man wishes to bring forward his\\nancestors to figure as principal characters, which\\nnever were such, and, it may be, never were\\ndistinguished for any thing, unless it were stu-\\npidity or knavery. But this application fur-\\nnishes him with an opportunity to palm upon the\\npublic a bloated account of his pedigree, and,\\n12", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0137.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "J34 HISTOP.ICAL SKETCHES\\ninstead of going to the ancient records, if there\\nare any, or to tlie aged, he sits down and writes\\nwhat is most satisfactory to himself, and it soon\\nappears as matter of history. I need not specify\\nparticular instances of this fraud. They are\\nmany. Almost every town, if they should\\nmake a thorough investigation, will find that\\nthey have been misrepresented, and in some in-\\nstances grossly insulted. I invite the attention\\nof the ueople of Haverhill, especially, to these\\nremarks. I would not diminish the interest\\nwhich the public may feel in Farmer and Moore s\\nGazetteer of New Hampshire. They have done\\nwell Every family ought to possess it. It is\\nworth a million of Thompson s Gazetteer of\\nVermont but they ought to have sent a com-\\npetent agent into every town in the state to\\ncollect statistics, before they had published.\\nLebanon is made the first town settled north\\nof Oharlestown, before Haverhill or Newbury,\\ncontrary to the united testimony of the first\\nsettlers in all the towns above them. Esquire\\nMann and Esquire Otis Freeman agree in their\\nstatement in respect to Lebanon. Has Lebanon\\nauthentic documents to show that their town\\nwas settled as early as 1760, or the spring of\\n1761 They can show that their town was\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0^Martered then but can they show that it", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0138.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRV. 136\\nwas settled 7 If they can, let the truth stand.\\nPlainfield, Mann and Freeman tell us, had one\\nfamily m it in 1765 our Gazetteer shows us\\ntwo men there, L. Nash and J. Russell, in 1764,\\nand the next year, when Mann and Freeman\\ncame through, 1765, it tells us of a church or-\\nganized, and a settled minister. Rev. Abraham\\nCarpenter. Has the town these documents?\\nIf they have, it is the first instance in which I\\nhave found the first settlers deviating from tlie\\ntruth but they harmonize with wonderful ex-\\nactness when we compare all their statements.\\nI have nothing further to speak of Lyme, that\\nis prior to what is recorded and published. The\\nchurch, according to the Gazetteer, was consti-\\ntuted in 1772. Rev. William Conant was set-\\ntled as their pastor in 1773. Rev. Nathaniel\\nLambert, previously settled at Newbury, Vt.,\\nwas settled in Lyme in 1811. Rev. Baxter\\nPerry was settled, 1821. The Rev. Erdix Ten-\\nney is their present pastor.\\nThe first family which came into Hanofer\\nwas that of Col. Edmund Freeman, who lived\\nin the east part of the town. He came in May.\\n1765, from Mansfield, Conn. He brought with\\nhim a wife and two children, and his brother,\\nOtis Freeman, then of the age of seventeen.\\nSeveral other young men came in the same", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0139.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "136 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nseason. Deacon Jonathan Curtis and son came\\nbut he did not move his family until 1766. Col.\\nEdmund Freeman gave the name of Hanover\\nto the town.\\nI have already related the circumstances of\\nthe first marriage in the town. The first death\\nwhich occurred was that of a child in the family\\nof Deacon Benton it died of consumption at\\nthe age of fourteen months. The first meeting-\\nhouse was built of logs, and stood near the river,\\nbetween Timothy Smith s and Mr. Tisdale s.\\nThe proprietors of the town first employed the\\nRev. Knight Saxton, of Colchester, Conn., to\\npreach to these settlers in the summers of 1766\\nand 1767. Subsequently, Dr. McClure, of Bos-\\nton, was employed to preach to the people and\\nEden Burroughs, D. D., of Stratford, Conn., who\\nhad been previously settled at Killingly, Wind-\\nham Co., Conn., was installed over this church\\nand people in 1772. Dr. Burroughs was dis-\\nmissed in 1809, and Rev. Josiah Towne was\\nordained, June, 1814. Mr. Towne has been\\ndismissed, and another clergyman has been set-\\ntled but I know not his name.\\nA full and satisfactory account of the origin\\nof Dartmouth College, in the town of Hanover,\\nof its progress and prosperity, has been given to\\nthe public through different channels, and is so", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0140.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 137\\nfar above my feeble praise, it needs not to be\\nfurther noticed in these sketches.\\nI now pass on to the west side of the river.\\nand speak of the settlement of Norwich. Vt. 1\\nshall relate a plain story, which I took from the\\nlips of Rev. Asa Burton, D. D., of Thetford. Yt..\\nwhen he was at the age of 72, and sound botli\\nin mind and body. He relates that his father,\\nJacob Burton, of Stonington, Conn., came to\\nNorwich first in the summer of 1764, and viewed\\nthe country for the purpose of locating himself,\\nprovided he was suited with appearances, At\\nthat time, he says, there was no inhabitant in\\nthe town. The next year, 176.5, his father\\nreturned to Norwich, and laid out a part of the\\ntown into lots and in June, 1766, he came with\\nAsa, his son, then in his fourteenth year, and\\nsome other hands, and built a saw-mill, a little\\nwest of Norwich Plain. Dr. Burton says, There\\nwere then but two families in the town one by\\nthe name of Messenger, who lived at the west\\nend of the present bridge leading from Hanover\\nto Norwich and a Mr. Hutchinson, who lived\\nnear where the Military Academy now stands.\\nHanover Plain was at this time a thick pine\\nforest. Messenger and Hutchinson came into\\nNorwich either in 1765, or the sprhig of 1766.\\n12*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0141.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "138 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nHe further says, There was no minister; at\\nthat time, nearer than Newbury and Haverhill-\\nat Coos but in a few years Mr. Conant settled\\nat Lyme, Dr. Burroughs at Hanover, Mr. Isaiah\\nPotter at Lebanon, and Mr. Lyman Potter at\\nNorwich. Where, now, is Rev. Mr. Carpenter\\nof Plainfield, in 1765, at the distance of twelve\\nor fourteen miles from Norwich\\nBut now for Thompson s Gazetteer of Ver-\\nmont, published at Montpelier, in 1824. He\\nhas it, that in 1763, Jacob Fenton, Ebenezer\\nSmith, and John Slafter, came into Norwich\\nfrom Mansfield, Conn.; that at this time, there\\nwere two men settled in Hanover that in July,\\nSmith and Slafter left Fenton on Wednesday,\\nfor the purpose of hoeing com in Lebanon, and\\nthat on their return on Saturday, at evening,\\nthey found Fenton dead in their camp. It ap-\\npeared afterwards, that a Mr. Freeman, of Han-\\nover, happened over at Norwich, and found\\nFenton sick, tarried with him until he died, and\\nthen went to Lebanon to procure help to bury\\nhim, and he was buried, July 15, 1765 that\\nthere were four families moved into Norwich in\\n1764, and from that time, the settlement ad-\\nvanced mpidly. Novv^, for the correctness of\\nthis statement. He says, that in 1763; there\\nwere two men in Hanover, and one of them, at", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0142.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 139\\nleast; Avas a Mr. Freeman. But the very Mi\\nFreeman here alkided to, which was Col. Otis\\nFreeman, gave me the particulars of his finding\\nFenton sick in his tent he had had a fit and\\nthat it was the same year he and his brother\\ncame into Hanover, viz., 1765. Thompson\\nfurther states, that Fenton was taken sick, and\\ndied in July, 1763, and was buried, July 15,\\n1765. According to this, there were but three\\nyears which intervened between his death and\\nburial But this might be OAving to his sudden\\ndeath, and the extreme warmth of the season.\\nAgain, four families moved into Norwich in 1764.\\nand from this period the settlement advanced\\nwith considerable rapidity. But in 1765, when\\nthey concluded to bury Fenton, they had to de-\\npend on Freeman, of Hanover, to go after Smith\\nand Slafter to Lebanon, to procure help for the\\nburial, and Fenton is left alone in the town!\\nNow, let us take this which way we will, it is\\nnothing but jargon and it shows conclusively\\nthat there was not one moment given to the\\nexamination of dates by the compiler of this\\nwork, but whatever was sent to him in the\\nform of a statistic, was received as authentic.\\nI notice these egregious blunders to confirm\\nwhat I have already said, that gazetteers cannot\\nbe relied upon for statements which are not sup-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0143.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "i40 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nported by written documents. And I have an-\\nother object in view, which is, to show those\\nwho would be compilers of gazetteers, that they\\nhave something to do besides calling for crude\\npapers, and publishing them. No man ought to\\nthink of publishing another gazetteer, either of\\nNew Hampshire or Vermont, in a less compass\\nthan nine hundred pages of large octavo, first\\nexpending three thousand dollars in collecting\\nand arranging materials, and then giving it to\\nthe public at three dollars per copy.\\nThere is but one apparent discrepancy be-\\ntween Dr. Burton s statement, and Col. Otis\\nFreeman s. I say apparent, because it can be\\neasily reconciled. Dr. Burton says there were\\nbut two families in the town when he came in\\n1766 whilst Freeman says. Smith and Slafter\\nwere there in 1765, and the families mentioned\\nby Burton bore the name. Messenger and Hutch-\\ninson. But suppose Smith and Slafter were\\nthere in 1766, Burton was not speaking of single\\nmen, but ot men with families. I find the first\\nsettlers made this distinction in all their state-\\nments. Again, nothing was more common than\\nfor young men to come in, and labor one sea-\\nson, and then retire, and we never hear of them\\nagain they have sold out to another or they\\nwere in the service of another man. Smith and", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0144.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 141\\nSlafter might have been in Norwich in 1765.\\nand not in 1766, but there again in 1767. But\\nwe must keep in mind that Mr. Jacob Burton,\\nfather of Asa, said there was no one in the town\\nin 1764.\\nI again take up the thread of history. Asa\\nBurton continued to labor for his father until he\\nwas twenty-one years of age, at Avhich time he\\nentered upon his studies preparatory for college,\\nunder the tuition of Mr. John Smith, subse-\\nquently the professor of the learned languages\\nin Dartmouth College, and he entered college in\\na little more than one year from the commence-\\nment of his studies.\\nThere was one adventure of young Burton.\\nat the age of eighteen years, which deserves a\\nplace in these sketches, and which cannot fail\\nto call the attention of the people of Norwich to\\ntimes gone by. A large female bear had fol-\\nlowed a cow belonging to Jacob Burton, until\\nthey both came near the house when the bear\\nwas discovered by one of the sons of Jacob\\nBurton, and was driven off from the cow on to\\na ledge of rocks, north of Norwich Plain, and\\neast of the road which runs north and south.\\nBut the young man was not content with releas-\\nmg the cow from danger, but he determined to\\nworry the bear and as he saw she was clamber-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0145.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "142 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\niiig up the rocks to pass over the ledge, he ran\\nround, and gained the top of the ledge first\\nand here he hallooed Asa, who was chopping on\\nthe plain south of them. As soon as Asa heard\\nthe call, he ran at the top of his speed with his\\naxe to the scene of action. By this time, the\\nbear had ascended to the verge of the rocks,\\nwhere Asa s brother stood, and she seemed in-\\nclined to contest for a prior claim she had to a\\npassage that way. Asa saw the predicament of\\nhis brother, and fearing he should lose his game,\\nif the bear made good her standing on the top\\nof the precipice, he pressed up the rocks in the\\nrear of the bear with all the haste he could pos-\\nsibly make. This inspired his brother aloft with\\nfresh resolution to keep the bear from gaining\\nthe top, and with kicks and thrusts he succeed-\\ned in keeping her below the precipice. And so\\nsharp was this contest, that the bear did not ap-\\npear to notice the approach of her assailant in\\nthe rear, until Asa drew upon her with the head\\nof his axe, and laid the blow upon her rump,\\nwhich knocked her down and as he was un-\\nacquainted with the hardiness and strength of\\nthe bear, he supposed the victory was already\\nachieved but she soon found her legs again,\\nand plied them with greater diligence than ever\\nin making her escape. The bear now relin-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0146.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRV. 143\\nquished her hope of ascending the precipice, and\\ncommenced descending the hill in an oblique\\ndirection, with Asa pressing hard upon her rear.\\nBut in his endeavors to surmount some wind-\\nfalls over which the bear had passed, he fell\\nbackwards upon the ground at which mo-\\nment the bear turned back, sprang upon the log,\\nshowed her terrific teeth, and appeared in the\\nvery attitude of leaping upon him. This was\\nthe first moment that taught young Burton his\\ndanger, and it brought him upon his feet with\\nnew inspiration, and he resolved that henceforth\\nhe would neither give or take quarter. He\\nmade at the bear with redoubled fury, and com-\\npelled her to retreat down the hill, and as she\\ncame near the base, she became entangled among\\nthe logs, and here our young hero made a second\\nonset, and fetched her to the ground then turn-\\ning the edge of the axe, he sunk it into her\\nthroat to the very bone, and the victory was his.\\nThis bear was of the largest class, and gave\\ntokens that she was then employed in rearing\\nher young. My only remark in the conclusion\\nis, that others may kill bears, and I will record\\ntheir deeds.\\nThe Rev. Lyman Potter was ordained over\\nthe church and congregation in Norv/ich, in\\n1775, and was dismissed, 1800. Rev. James", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0147.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "144 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nWoodward was installed over this church and\\nsociety, 1804. Previous to 1820, a new church\\nand society was formed upon Norwich Plain,\\nand the Rev. Rufus W. Bailey was settled over\\nthem in 1820, and was dismissed in 1824. Rev.\\nJames Woodward was dismissed from the north\\nchurch, and the Rev. Samuel Goddard was in-\\nstalled their pastor, 1822. The Rev. Thomas\\nHall has been settled over the church and society\\nupon the Plain, but is now dismissed from that\\ncharge.\\nThetford was first settled, in 1764, by John\\nChamberlain, from Hebron, Conn. And in 1765,\\nat the time when Esquire Mann came into Or-\\nford, there were two other families, one by the\\nname of Baldwin, and the other by the name\\nof Hosford. Chamberlain was very industrious,\\nand somewhat parsimonious withal, and soon\\nrose to a kind of independence of his neighbors,\\nwhich he, as well as they, seemed to be fully\\nconscious of. Chamberlain did not rise, how-\\never, above the reach of envy, and the wags of\\nthat day selected him for their butt, at which\\nthey aimed their pointed arrows of wit and sar-\\ncasm. It was not long before Chamberlain was\\nfurnished with a penultima to his gift name, as\\nhe seemed to feel that his parents had wronged", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0148.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 145\\nhim in infancy by deciding that he should bear\\nthe undignified appellation John^ it being only\\na monosyllable. He was, therefore, dubbed\\nQuail John J for what reason I have never\\nlearned but it adhered to him through life.\\nAnd in proof of the fact that the Muses either\\npreceded in their flight to this section of coun-\\ntry the first settlers, or very soon followed their\\ntrail, I will put down some lines which were\\ncomposed, and often repeated in the hearing of\\nhim whose praises they would celebrate\\nOld Quail John was the first that came on,\\nAs poor as a calf in the spring\\nBut now he is rich as Governor Fitch,\\nAnd lives like a lord or a king.\\nFitch, to whom reference is here made, was\\none of the governors of Connecticut about these\\ndays. But Chamberlain was destined to higher\\nand less perishable honors than the simple elon-\\ngation of his name. To him was born the first\\nEnglish child that was ever born in the town\\nhis name was Samuel.\\nThetford did not settle a minister until the\\nsummer of 1773, when a man by the name of\\nClement Sumner was installed their pastor. We\\nknow not the place of his nativity. He gradu-\\nated at Yale College in 1758, settled in Keene,\\nN. H., June 11, 1761, and was dismissed, April\\n13", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0149.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "14(3 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\n30, 1772. He remained in Thetford but little\\nmore than two years. He became a tory, left\\nthere without asking for a dismission, and went\\nto Swanzey, N. H., \\\\vhere he became a Univer-\\nsalist preacher, and continued in that persuasion\\nuntil his death. He was the source of much\\ntrouble to the town of Thetford. He took from\\nthem a fine right of land which fell to him by\\nsettlement, and divided the church and town.\\nWallace says, He was no more fit to preach\\nthan a fox is to make a gold watch. We do\\nnot learn that there was ever any lack of fellow-\\nship between him and his Universalist brethren\\nat Swanzey.\\nWallace settled in the west part of Thetford,\\nsix miles from the river, where he lived to an\\nadvanced period of life. He relates a distressing\\nscene which was occasioned by an alarm that\\nwas spread through the country in the summer\\nof 1777. Wallace was at Charlestown, N. H.,\\nwhen an American scouting party came in with\\na British scouting party, as prisoners of war,\\nfrom Burgoyne s army. Upon these prisoners\\nwere found papers, purporting that three detach-\\nments of British soldiers and tories were to be\\nsent out to the Connecticut valley one to New-\\nbury, one to Royalton, and one to Charlestown,\\nN. H. This was nothing but a stratagem of", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0150.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY.\\nBurgoyiie s to divert the Americans from his\\narmy, and the scout was sent out for the purpose\\nof being taken with these papers on their hands\\nand it succeeded wonderfully. The news spread\\nthrough the country hke electricity.\\nWallace made all speed for Thetford, and\\nfound on his arrival that the people liad gamed\\nthe imelligence that they were to be invaded Dy\\nthe enemv, and they were pressing m for the\\nriver from Strafford and other settlements, m the\\nutmost consternation. This was done by order\\nof the Committee of Safety. Strafford was lite\\nrally emptied. There were a number of tones\\nin that town. There were eight brothers in one\\nfamily went over to the British at once, and\\nthey carried some others with them and their\\nproperty was all taken and sold for public use.\\nThose who remained true to their country s\\ncause expected to feel the vengeance of these\\nenemies; and when Wallace cam.e home, he\\nmet, between the place where Thetford meeting-\\nhouse now stands and his habitation, men, wo-\\nmen and children, who had forsaken houses and\\nlands, and every thing which they could not\\nconveniently carry some in carts, some on sleds,\\nsome in sleighs, in mid-summer, and some on\\nfoot. They had their hands full of light arti-\\ncles of clothing, and packs stuffed upon their", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0151.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "148 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nbacks, and were driving before them cattle,\\nhorses, sheep, and swine. The mixed noise of\\nthese different kinds of animals, and the cries\\nof women and children, who expected to be\\novertaken every minute, murdered and scalped\\nby the infuriated Indians, tories, and British,\\nwere enough to affect the stoutest heart. Wal-\\nlace was looking out for his wife, whom he sup-\\nposed to be in the caravan but they all passed\\nhim, and he saw nothing of his beloved Creusa.\\nSeveral times he was confident that bright image\\nappeared to his view in the motley throng but,\\nas they advanced, behold it was another, and\\nnot she\\ntenuesque recesslt in auras.\\nWallace now put spurs to his steed, that he\\nmight the sooner dissolve the doubts which had\\narisen in his own breast, and allay the anxiety\\nhe felt for his better self. When he arrived at\\nhis hut, he found his wife sticking by the stuff.\\nHaving no horse or oxen to aid her in trans-\\nporting the goods to the river, she had resolved\\nto wait and see if there was cause for all this\\ntrepidation and flight. She had, however, com-\\nmenced carrying their household stuff into the\\nwoods, and covering it with bushes, that it might\\nnot fall into the hands of the invaders, should\\nthey suddenly appear. They both completed", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0152.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 149\\nthe work which his wife had so heroically com-\\nmenced, and then both mounted their horse, and\\nrode for the settlements at the river. The next\\nday, Wallace and another took a team, and went\\nand brought in the goods and as soon as they\\nwere disposed of, Wallace enlisted to go in pur-\\nsuit of Burgoyne and his army, wisely conclu-\\nding it best so to press the lion in his den,\\nthat his whelps should not feel at liberty to go\\nabroad and devastate the surrounding country.\\nAnd this was the effect of Burgoyne s strata-\\ngem generally. It returned upon his own head.\\nAfter the surrender of Burgoyne and his army,\\nOctober 17, 1777, Wallace returned to his hut\\nin December, where he and his wife lived through\\nthe succeeding winter, without any chimney,\\nhearth, or floor, except three or four loose boards\\nto set their pole bedstead upon, that was corded\\nwith elm bark.\\nMrs. Wallace deserves distinct notice in this\\nplace. At the time of the alarm, Wallace had\\ncorn, oats, and potatoes growing on his newly-\\ncleared land. After he had gone in pursuit of\\nBurgoyne, and the alarm had somewhat sub-\\nsided, Mrs. Wallace travelled out six miles to\\nsee to their crops. She found the oats ripe for\\nharvesting, and many of them lodged. She was\\nall alone, and no man could be procured to assist\\n13*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0153.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "150 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nher in gathering them, for all that could be spared\\nhad gone to the field of battle. Nothing daunt-\\ned at this, she took a scythe and mowed them,\\ndried them, raked them into bunches, bound\\nthem, and stacked them in good style. She\\nthen took an axe, cut poles, fenced them about,\\nand then went back to the river. When her\\ncorn-stalks were ripe for cutting, she went out,\\ncut them, bound them, and put them on the top\\nof her stack of oats. In like manner she went\\nout and gathered the corn, and dug her potatoes,\\nand secured both. She then went to work at\\nclearing some ground which had been felled, and\\nwas burnt over the year before and when her\\nhusband returned from the army, she had cleared\\nand sown one acre of wheat and during the\\nabsence of her husband she had travelled, in\\ngoing to and from the river, seventy-two miles\\nThe following year they procured some sheep,\\nwhich they had to yard in a pen near the house\\nevery night, to preserve them from the wolves,\\nwhich were numerous. Wallace being at work\\nat the river on a certain time, Mrs. Wallace could\\nnot find her sheep to yard them at evening, and\\nas soon as it came on dark, the wolves set up a\\nfrightful howling, as it seemed, within twenty\\nrods of the house. What to do for the safety of\\nher sheep, she did not know but on examina-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0154.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUxNTRY. 151\\ntion she found the gun was loaded she at once\\nsalUed forth and discharged the gun, to inform\\nthe wolves that something was there besides\\nmutton. At twelve at night, she reloaded, and\\nwent forth and discharged her piece a second\\ntime. And before daylight, they heard from her\\nthe third time and at sunrise, she went out and\\nfound all her sheep near the pen, safe and sound,\\nand the wolfish gentry swift on the retreat.\\nThis woman became the mother of eleven\\nchildren, nine of whom lived to enter into the\\nmarried state, and to have families. In 1828,\\nthese parents had fifty grandchildren, and five\\ngreat-grandchildren.\\nBut the best part remains to be told. This\\nwoman served as an accoucheuse forty-five years,\\nrode in seven towns, was present at the birth of\\ntwenty-one pair of twins, and one thousand, six\\nhundred and twenty-four single births making,\\nin all, one thousand, six hundred and sixty-six,\\nand never lost a mother of whom she had the\\ncare.\\nGentlemen and ladies of 1840, sitting in your\\nbroadcloth, silks, and satins, what say you to\\nthese things Could not some things be done\\nwithout steam, rail-road, or piano forte I would\\nleave you to pleasant reflections. Fidelity in a\\nhistorian is a jewel.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0155.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "152 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThere is one adventure of Wallace which\\nmust be recorded before we take leave of him.\\nIt took place in the fall of 1777, a little time\\nbefore he returned to Thetford from the pursuit\\nof Burgoyne, as I have already stated. I receive\\nthe facts in this case from two sources, viz. from\\nDavid Johnson, Esq. of Newbury, Vt., to whom\\nWallace and Webster both related the story, and\\nfrom the Hon. Simeon Short, Esq. of Thetford,\\nwho was Wallace s a^ent in procuring a pension,\\nand who had, in behalf of Wallace, transmitted\\nthe following particulars to the Pension Office at\\nWashington.\\nIt will be recollected by those who are ac-\\nquainted with the history of the war of the revo-\\nlution, that as soon as the battle was fought at\\nBennington, and the Americans began to hope\\nthat Burgoyne s army would fall into their hands,\\nthey set about retaking the forts of Ticonderoga\\nand Mount Independence, on the shores of Lake\\nChamplain, which forts Burgoyne had left in\\nhis rear, supplied with troops for their defence.\\nTiconderoga was taken, and Mount Indepen-\\ndence was straitly besieged for some time. There\\nwas a good deal of hard fighting, and it was\\nconfidently looked for, that Mount Independence\\nwould surrender but they did not. The Brit-\\nish shipping had full possession of the lake.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0156.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 153\\nTiconderoga was upon the west side of the lake,\\nand Mount Independence on the east side. Our\\ntroops on the west side could hold no communi-\\ncation with those who had invested Mount In-\\ndependence, and of course they could have no\\nconcert in action. It was at this time, when\\nthe greatest solicitude was felt by the two\\nAmerican commanders to know each others\\nminds, that the following expedient was adopted\\nby the commander at Ticonderoga. He called\\non his men to know if there were any two of\\nthem who would volunteer to swim the lake in\\nthe evening, and carry despatches to Gen. Lin-\\ncoln, near Mount Independence. For a time,\\nnone offered to undertake the hazardous enter-\\nprise but when informed how much was pro-\\nbably depending upon it, Wallace of Thetford\\nstepped forward, and said he would attempt it\\nand then followed him Ephraim Webster, of\\nNewbury, who originated in New-Chester, N. H.\\nThe documents were made out, and about sun-\\ndown, an officer took these two men on to an\\neminence which overlooked the lake, and he\\npointed out to them the course they must take\\nto avoid discovery by the British shipping, and\\nthen about where they would probably find the\\nAmerican camp. At dusk of evening, the same\\nofficer attended them to the margin of the lake,", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0157.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "154 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nassisted them to prepare for the voyage, and saw\\nthem set sail, httle expecting, probably, ever to\\nhear from them again for as they had to swim\\nup and dov\\\\-n the lake, in a zigzag course, to\\navoid the enemy, they must swim more than\\ntwo miles before they could make terra firma,\\nand it was so late in the season the water was\\nquite cold. They rolled their despatches in\\ntheir clothes, and bound tlieir clothes upon the\\nback part of their neck, by cords passing round\\ntheir foreheads and their clothes. As soon as\\nthey entered the water, Wallace said to Webster,\\nWe shall never reach shore, it is so cold but\\nthis he said without any thought of relinquishing\\nthe enterprise. When about midway of the lake,\\nthe cords which fastened Wallace s clothes to\\nhis neck slipped down from his forehead to his\\nthroat, and it cut him so hard as almost to stran-\\ngle him. He made several attempts to replace\\nthe string upon his forehead, but failed, and he\\nwas on the point of giving up all for lost. The\\nthought, howev^er, of the importance of his un-\\ndertaking seemed to inspire him with new life\\nand vigor, and he succeeded in replacing the\\nstring, and passed on without saying a word to\\ndishearten Webster. They passed so near the\\nBritish shipping as to hear the oft-repeated cry,\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2\u00e2\u0080\u00a2All s well They took no care to contradict", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0158.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRV. 155\\nthat report, but buffeted the waves with stout\\nhearts and sinewy Hmbs. They kept in com-\\npany until they came near the eastern shore of\\nthe lake, when Webster seemed to fall into the\\nrear, a few rods at the north of Wallace and\\njust as Wallace struck the twigs of a tree which\\nlay extended into the lake, he heard Webster\\nsay, Help, Wallace, I am drowning! Wal-\\nlace sprung to the shore, caught a stick, and\\nrushed into the water, and extended it to Web-\\nster in the act of sinking, and drew him ashore.\\nWebster could not stand but Wallace rubbed\\nhim briskly, and got on lys clothes, and he soon\\nrecovered so as to walk. How aptly the poet s\\ndescription of Ulysses, when cast upon the coast\\nof Phseacia, will apply to Webster, as drawn\\nashore by Wallace, the reader will judge\\nFrom mouth and nose the briny torrent ran,\\nAnd lost in lassitude, lay all the man\\nDeprived of voice, of motion, and of breath,\\nThe soul scarce waking in the arms of death.\\nWebster was so full of expressions of gratitude\\nto Wallace for the preservation of his life, that\\nWallace had to caution him not to speak so loud,\\nfor the enemy would hear them.\\nBut new difficulties now presented themselves.\\nIt was now dark, and they were in a strange\\nplace. The enemy was near, and had their", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0159.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "156 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nsentinels on shore as well as the iVmericans.\\nAnd, what was worst of all, they knew not the\\ncountersign of the Americans on that side of the\\nlake. They started, however, in quest of the\\nAmerican camp, and after travelling about nearly\\none hour, they were hailed by a British sentinel,\\nand did but just make their escape. They then\\ntook a different direction, and Wallace gave both\\ndespatches into Webster s hands, and told him\\nto keep in the rear, and he would go forward,\\nand if he should happen to fall into the hands\\nof the enemy, Webster might have opportunity\\nto escape with the despatches. But they had\\nnot proceeded a great ways before Wallace was\\nhailed by a sentinel Who comes there ^A\\nfriend.- says Wallace. A friend to whom?\\nsays the sentinel. Advance and give the coun-\\ntersign. This was a fearful moment. Wallace\\nhesitated for an instant, and then replied by way\\nof question Whose friend are you? The\\nsentinel responded A friend to America!\\nSo am I, said Wallace, and have important\\ndespatches for your general. They were im-\\nmediately conducted to the general s quarters,\\nthe despatches were delivered, and Wallace and\\nWebster were received with every mark of sur-\\nprise and gratitude, and every thing was done to\\nrender them comfortable and happy. But Wal-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0160.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 157\\nlace never enjoyed the degree of health after-\\nwards that he did prior to that chill and almost\\nincredible effort. Wallace departed this life,\\nFebruary 7, 1833, aged eighty. Mrs. Wallace\\ndied, May, 1831, aged eighty-one.\\nWebster s subsequent history is worthy of a\\npassing notice. The last time he visited New-\\nbury, he was residing among the Oneida Indians,\\nNew York. They had adopted him as their\\nbrother, promoted him to be chief in their tribe,\\nand, to render the tie indissoluble, they had\\ngiven him one of the black-haired maidens of\\nthe forest. Webster s health was not perma-\\nnently injured by his dangerous adventure.\\nThe church and people in Thetford remained\\nin a divided state more than three years after\\nSumner left them, until Dr. Burton came among\\nthem, in 1778, at the age of twenty-seven years.\\nHe graduated at Dartmouth College in 1777, read\\ndivinity with Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, president\\nof the college, until he was licensed to preach\\nthe gospel, and he then went and read with Dr.\\nHart, of Preston, New London Co., Conn. As\\nsoon as Dr. Burton came into Thetford, the un-\\nhappy divisions which had existed among them\\nwere all dissipated as by enchantment. They\\nwere all united in him, and all reconciled to\\neach other. They gave him a unanimous call\\n14", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0161.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "158 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nto settle with them in the gospel ministry, and\\nhe was ordained their pastor, January 19, 1779.\\nThere were fifty- seven families in the town\\nwhen Dr. Burton settled among them. There\\nwere but two families then living west of the\\npresent meeting-housoy viz. Richard Wallace, and\\na Mr. Osborn, living near Mr. Wallace. They\\nhad no meeting-house and in the summer they\\nheld their meetings in a barn, and in a private\\ndwelling in the winter. The first meeting-house\\nwas built of logs, and stood near the place where\\nDr. Solomon Heaton used to live, from half to\\nthree fourths of a mile north-east of the present\\nmeeting-house, on the road leading from Thet-\\nford to East Fairlee and Orford. The seats in\\nthis meeting-house were movable forms, or\\nbenches, like those often found in school-houses\\nfor children to sit upon, and they were ranged\\non each side of the house, the ends pointing\\ntowards one broad aisle in the centre.\\nDr. Burton related, in much good humor, one\\nincident which occurred in that house, that was\\nof a stirring quality. The doctor had a parish-\\nioner by the name of John Osman, and he was\\nan abominable sleeper in the house of God. His\\nhabit in this was so inveterate as to resist all\\nremonstrance. It so happened, on a very warm\\nSabbath in mid-summer, that Osman was seated", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0162.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 159\\non the end of one of those benches next to the\\naisle. He was facing the aisle, and, in order to\\nfind secure repose, he placed his elbows upon his\\nknees, folded his arms, and leaned forward and\\nin this position he fell into a profound slumber.\\nThe doctor saw him paying his devotions to\\nSomnus, by now and then a significant nod and\\na reel of the body, but said nothing to disturb\\nhis repose. At length, Osman lost his balance,\\nand pitched his whole length on to the floor,\\nwhere he lay in the middle of the aisle^ sprawled\\nout like a spider The shock with the audience\\nwas electrical. Many sprang upon their feet, and\\nsome females shrieked out but when they saw\\nOsman gathering up his limbs in the most delibe-\\nrate manner, rubbing his eyes, and scratching his\\nhead, the transition from surprise to risibility was\\nso sudden and powerful, that the impulse was\\nirrepressible, and for a few moments the speaker\\nhimself labored to maintain the dignity and gra-\\nvity of his station. But it proved a specific in\\nOsman s case, for he was never known to sleep\\nin meeting after that event. It might be well,\\nperhaps, for some of our modern sleepers at the\\nhouse of God, if they were to descend as low in\\nthe Valley of Humiliation as Osman did, provi-\\nded their resurrection should be as triumphant.\\nAt the settlement of the town of Thetford.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0163.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "160 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nand for a number of years subsequently to that\\nperiod; bears, deer, and sables were numerous\\nbut we hear of no moose. Joel Strong, of He-\\nbron, Conn., came into the town on the 7th of\\nMay, 1768, and found twelve families in the\\ntown. He first settled on the bottom lands of\\nthe Ompompanoosuc, and as soon as he began to\\nraise corn, he was exceedingly annoyed by bears\\nin his field, devouring his unripe corn. For a\\ntime he bore these injuries with all the meekness\\nwhich necessity laid upon him but seeing in-\\ncreasing waste and destruction, he arose and\\nshook himself, and resolved he would seek re-\\nprisal. And now the waxing moon smiled on\\nhis enterprise. He loaded his gun with two\\nballs, took his powder-horn and bullet-pouch,\\nand sallied forth to reconnoitre the position of\\nhis enemies. He had not proceeded far before\\nhe heard the ears of corn snap from their parent\\nstalks, as though there were a husking with the\\nBruin gentry. Strong advanced slowly and cau-\\ntiously until he secured a good shot, and then\\nhe let off, and brought one huge fellow to the\\nground. This was a signal for others to retreat,\\nand without looking to him whom he had dis-\\nposed of, he pursued the flying foe as fast as his\\nlegs would carry him and two others ascended\\na large tree which stood near the border of the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0164.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 161\\nfield. It was not sufRciently light for him to\\ndistinguish his game in the boughs, and he\\nstruck him up a fire at the foot of the tree, and\\nthere waited for the return of day. The return-\\ning sun showed him two sleek and lusty fellows,\\nsitting in appropriate angles of the tree, formed\\nby the union of large branches with the trunk.\\nStrong now took deliberate aim at the heart, and\\ndown came his bearship from a goodly height,\\nwhich made the ground tremble again. With all\\nexpedition he charged his gun the third time, and\\nin a few moments the remaining bear joined his\\ncomrade upon the ground, and as they had been\\nlovely in the eyes of each other in life, so they\\nwere not divided in their death. Strong was\\nnow at liberty to visit the one that was slain the\\nnight before, and he found them all bears of the\\nfirst class, which remunerated him for all previ-\\nous losseS; and their death secured his field from\\nfurther depredations.\\nI have said Dr. Burton was ordained, January\\n19, 1779. The ministers called to ordain him\\nwere the following Rev. Messrs. Powers of\\nNewbury, Conant of Lime, Burroughs of Hano-\\nver, Potter of Lebanon, and Potter of Norwich.\\nThe last-named gentleman preached the sermon.\\nBut those who imposed hands, and he who re-\\nceived hands, have alike gone down to the dust.\\n14*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0165.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "162 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nA new order of things has arisen and how for-\\ncibly are we impressed with the words of the\\napostle, For ivhat is your life 7 It is even a\\nvapor J that appear eth for a little tiine, and then\\nvanisheth away.\\nBut very few clergymen labored longer in\\ntheir profession than Dr. Burton did very few\\nhave been more successful in bringing sinners to\\nsalvation and there are very few whose influ-\\nence has been more extensively realized than\\nhis. He prepared more than a hundred young\\nmen for the ministry and his Book of Essays,\\npublished in 1824, is rich iiv ideas, and although\\nwe may differ from him in our metaphysics, yet\\nwhen men come to pay more regard to ideas\\nthan to their dress, and when they shall prefer\\nthinking to light reading, Dr. Burton will be\\nread with profit by every student in theology.\\nDr. Burton departed this life, May 1, 1836, in\\nthe eighty-fourth year of his age, and in the\\nfifty-seventh of his pastoral relation to the\\nchurch and people of Thetford. The memory\\nof the just is blessed.\\nFAIRLEE.\\nOf Fairlee, East or West, I have little to say.\\nIn 1766, Mr. Baldwin, who is mentioned as\\none of the families settled in Thetford in 1765,", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0166.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 163\\nmoved from Thetford to East Fairlee, and com-\\nmenced a settlement about a half a mile south\\nof the present meeting-house, near where they\\nturn off from the river road to go to Fairlee or\\nMorey s Pond. Mr. Thompson in his Gazetteer\\ndates the settlement of this town in 1768, and\\nthen he finds six men on the ground to begin\\nthe settlement. Esquire Mann, of Orford, says,\\nBaldwin was his first neighbor west of him, and\\nhe is sure he came into Fairlee the year after\\nMann came to Orford. They both came from\\nHebron, Conn. Mann knew that Baldwin spent\\na year or so in Thetford, and then came up to\\nFairlee, and he tells us the very spot where he\\ncommenced. Mann could not mistake in this.\\nI find that a new neighbor, in those days, was\\nnot looked upon as a trivial affair, and the time\\nof its occurrence was retained with great accu-\\nracy. It ma}^ be there were six men in Fairlee\\nin 1768 but Baldwin had been there two years\\nprevious.\\nBRADFORD.\\nBradford was first settled in 1765, by a man\\nby the name of John Osmer. He settled near\\nthe mouth of Wait s River, on the north bank,\\nand I have been told there were traces of this\\nsettlement so late as 1824. This town was ori-", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0167.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "164 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nginally called Moretown but afterward it was\\nchanged to Bradford. This Osmer, or Hosmer,\\nwas a facetious character, and would make him-\\nself sport at the expense of others. In 1765, soon\\nafter Hosmer moved into Bradford, there came to\\nhis hut a transient Irishman, and spent several\\ndays, laboring what he would for his board. It\\nturned out, however, that the Irishman was deep-\\nly infected with a cutaneous eruption, which in\\nsome modern languages has been denominated\\nthe itch. Osmer, resenting the exposure of\\nhimself and family to this vile disease, by the\\nmtrusion of this Hibernian, resolved on being re-\\nvenged, and, at the same time, have som.ething to\\nrelate which would secure him mirth at another\\ntime. Osmer, accordingly, restrained all appear-\\nance of resentment, and gravely told the fellow\\nthat he knew a sure remedy for his loathsome\\ndisease but it was a secret, and he did not\\nwish to divulge it. The poor fellow became\\nvery importunate for Osmer to prescribe for liim.\\npromising to follow the prescription to the letter,\\nand swearing by the blessed Virgin that he would\\nnever reveal the secret. Osmer at length took\\nthe man out on to the meadow, where grew a\\nforest of nettles, and told him if he would strip\\nhimself, and run through those weeds, it would\\ninsure him healing. No sooner said than done.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0168.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 165\\nPaddy went through them with a lion s heart\\nbut his misery for a time was excruciating.\\nThis, together with the mortification of seeing\\nhow well Osmer enjoyed his suffering, opened\\nhis eyes to the fact that he had been imposed\\nupon, and he immediately took up his line of\\nmarch, calling on the Virgin to redress his wrongs.\\nBut this was not the last of it with Osmer. As\\nsoon as Osmer s neighbors were made acquainted\\nv/ith the fact, they dubbed him Doctor and he\\nbore this adjunct title with him to the grave.\\nThe next year, viz., in 1766, Samuel Sleeper\\nand Benoni Wright came into Bradford, and\\npitched their tent a little north-east of Mr. Hun-\\nkins dwelling, in the north part of Bradford, as\\nI have already stated in my history of Newbury.\\nIn 1771, Andrew B. Peters, Esq., born in He-\\nbron, Conn., January 29, 1764, came into this\\ntown. He came with his father to Thetford in\\n1766; in 1769, he moved into Piermont and\\nin 1771, he came into Bradford, at which time\\nthere were but ten families in the town.\\nEsquire Peters relates that the first grist-mill\\nin the town vv^as built by John Peters, in 1772,\\nand that it stood on the south side of Wait s\\nRiver, just above the bridge on the great river\\nroad. The first saw-mill was built by Benjamin\\nBaldwin, Esq., in 1774, and stood on Wait s", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0169.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "166 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nRiver, where Baldwin s mills now stand, or did\\nstand, a few years since. Esquire Peters relates\\na long-standing tradition, which went to account\\nfor the name Wait being given to the principal\\nriver of Bradford. It states that a man by the\\nname of Wait belonged to Col. Rogers party,\\nwhich marched to the St. Francois in 1759\\nthat this man and some others, in their hasty\\nretreat, came upon the northern branch of Wait s\\nRiver, and in a famishing state, they followed\\ndown this river in quest of game. Just as they\\nentered what is now Bradford, Wait and one or\\ntwo others proposed to go in advance of the\\nrest, and see if they could not find something\\nto satisfy their hunger. They had not gone but\\ntwo or three miles before they shot a deer, and\\nwhen they had satisfied their appetites, they\\nhung up the rest of the savory meat upon a tree\\nfor the relief of their suffering companions in\\nthe rear and that they might know who killed\\nthe deer, and for what purpose the meat was\\nthere suspended, Wait cut his name in the bark\\nof the tree on which the meat hung. When\\nthe rear came up, and found the rich supply of\\nfood in readiness for them, they expressed their\\ngratitude to Wait by giving his name to the\\nstream they were then upon, and designed it as\\na remembrancer in all after-time, of the deliver-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0170.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 167\\nance which was there wrought for them. There\\nis nothing extravagant or unnatural in this nar-\\nration and if the town cannot give a more\\nsatisfactory account of the origin of this name\\nto their river, it may stand for the true one.\\nAbout sixty years ago, a Httle son of Absalom\\nFifield, who lived in the easterly part of Corinth,\\nstrayed from home, and was lost. As is usual\\nin such cases, there was a very great excitement\\nin the public mind, as well as in the minds of\\nthe parents, and multitudes went in search of\\nthe child. They sought for him unremittingly\\nthree days, and began to despair of the child,\\nfor they thought he must perish with hunger,\\nif he was not already drowned, or devoured by\\nwild beasts. But just at the close of the third\\nday, he was discovered on an island in Wait s\\nRiver, about five miles from the Connecticut,\\nand three miles from his father s. When he\\nwas discovered, he was in company with a little\\nlamb, and was picking tall blackberries, without\\nany apparent anxiety. The boy was four or\\nfive years of age. He and the lamb were the\\nonly tenants of the island. They had contracted\\na friendship for each other, and the lamb fol-\\nlowed in the footsteps of the boy wherever he\\nwent. But how either of them ever got on to\\nthe island remains a mystery.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0171.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "168 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThe Rev. Gardner Kellogg was the first set-\\ntled minister in the town ordained, 1795 dis-\\nmissed, 1809. The Rev, Silas McKeen was his\\nsuccessor but I have not the date of his set-\\ntlement or dismission. I might here notice\\nsome of the errors of Thompson s Gazetteer in\\nrespect to the first settlers but it is useless.\\nThere is no end to them.\\nPLYMOUTH, N. H.\\nI shall now pass into New Hampshire again,\\nand state a few particulars in regard to the set-\\ntlement of Plymouth, seeing it was one of the\\nfirst towns settled in the county of Grafton, after\\nHaverhill. This was the first town settled be-\\ntween Haverhill and Salisbury Lower Village.\\nI received the following particulars from Samuel\\nDearborn, one of the first settlers, and from the\\nRev. Drury Fairbanks, who consulted the pro-\\nprietors records, and the church records, for my\\nassistance. Samuel Dearborn originated in Old\\nChester, April 15th, 1745, and came into Plym-\\nouth, September, 1764. The two first families\\nwhich came into the place, were Capt. James\\nHobart and Lieut. Zachariah Parker. They\\ncame from Hollis, N. H., in June, 1764. Hobart\\nmarried Hannah Cummings, of Hollis, sister of\\nthe Rev. Dr. Cummings, of Billerica, Mass.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0172.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 169\\nParker married Betsey Brown, of Hollis, niece\\nof Benjamin Farley, Esq., late of Hollis. Ho-\\nbart settled on Col. Edmunds place, and Parker\\nsettled where Capt. Moses George did live, and\\nperhaps does at this time. In September of\\nthis same year, (1764,) came Capt. Jotham Cum-\\nmings, Col. David Webster, Lieut. Josiah Brown,\\nEphraim Weston, James Blodgett, Deacon Ste-\\nphen Webster, and Samuel Dearborn, all from\\nHollis, with the exception of Weston and Dear-\\nborn. At this time there was no bridge across\\nany stream between Plymouth and Salisbury\\nLower Village, and no road but spotted trees.\\nThe first settlers from HoUis passed over the\\nMerrimack into the town of Litchfield, and kept\\non the north side of the Merrimack until they\\ncame into the town of Holderness, and then\\ncrossed the Pemigewasset into Plymouth, a little\\nsouth of Baker s River. Some of the early\\nsettlers of Haverhill and Newbury took the same\\nroute from Pembroke, kept on the north side of\\nBaker s River, into Coventry, and then down\\nthe Oliverian.\\nThe proprietors of the town of Plymouth\\nvoted at Hollis, April 16, 1764, to hire Mr.\\nNathan Ward, of Newtown, Mass., to preach to\\nthe settlers at Plymouth, four days this spring\\nthis meant four Sabbaths. It appears that the\\n15", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0173.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "170 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nproprietors expected that the settlement would\\nbe made sooner than it was; but Mr. Ward\\nwent on with the settlers, and preached the time\\nspecified, and dwelt with them in their tents,\\nMr. Ward received a call from them, which he\\naccepted, and was ordained at Newburyport, in\\nthe meeting-house of the Rev. Jonathan Pear-\\nsons. July 10, 1765. At this time, there were\\nbut eight families in the town of Plymouth.\\nThe proprietors voted to give the Rev. Mr. Ward\\none hundred and fifty ounces of silver for his\\nsalary, until there were one hundred families in\\nthe town, and then his salary was to be increased\\nfive ounces annually, until it amounted to tico\\nhundred ounces, and at that it was to remain as\\nhis permanent salary, with thirty cords of wood.\\nHe drew, also, one right of land, as the first\\nsettled minister, and they voted him one hundred\\nand twenty dollars, as an additional settlement.\\nBut what was the amount of Mr. Ward s salary\\nI find in Belknap s History of New Hampshire,\\nvol. i. p. 151, in note, that an ounce of silver\\nwas estimated at six shillings and eight pence,\\nlawful money and accordingly, Mr. Ward s\\nsalary at the first was equal to one hundred and\\nsixty-six dollars and fifty cents and that at the\\nlast it amounted to two hundred and twenty-\\ntwo dollars, exclusive of the wood. This, at", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0174.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 17|\\nfirst thought, was a hmited salary for a minister.\\nBut upon a more thorough inspection of the\\nmatter, I think, we shall find it was better than\\nmost ministers receive at the present day. That\\nmoney would purchase more bread-stuffs, takin-\\none year with another, at that day, than twice\\nand perhaps thrice that amount, would purchase\\nat this day. They had little, and next to no\\ncompany. Their style of living was all differ-\\nent, and less expensive. Then he had a settle-\\nment, and a full right of land, which was enough\\nto make two good farms. And I think we shall\\nall agree that there is not a minister in the whole\\ncounty of Grafton at this day, whose means of\\nliving from the people are as diiiple as were Mr.\\nWard s on the day of his settlement.\\nMr. Ward labored in the ministry in Plymouth\\ntwenty-nine years; was dismissed, April 22d,\\n1794; died in June, 1804, aged eighty-three!\\nA man of God, and a great blessing to the town.\\nTheir first meeting-house was built of logs, and\\nstood a little west of the Rev. Jonathan Ward s\\nlate dwelling-house, at the foot of the hill, east\\nof the old meeting-house.\\nIn April, 1765, Lydia Webster was born,\\ndaughter of Stephen and Lydia Webster. She\\nwas the first English child born in the town.\\nAt this birth, every woman was present in the", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0175.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "172 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntown, and every husband attended his wife as\\nfar as the premises, and there remained until the\\nvote v/as declared This was a great day in\\nPlymouth. That child is dead but the mother\\nwas living with her third husband in Rumney,\\nthe last I heard from her. She was the wife of\\nJoseph Dearborn. Josiah Hobart was the first\\nmale child born in the town but he is dead,\\nalso. These first settlers went to Concord, N. H.,\\nfor their meal, for one or two years after they\\ncommenced their settlement, and drew it up on\\na hand- sled but they soon raised an abundance,\\nfor their meadows were very fertile.\\nEphraim Lund built the first saw and grist-\\nmill near where Cochran s mills now are. Mr.\\nDearborn says that in 1765, James Heath, from\\nCanterbury, Daniel Brainard, Esq., and Alex-\\nander Craig, made settlements in Rumney. Soon\\nafter, a Mr. Davis moved into Wentworth, and\\nJoseph Patch into Warren. Mr. Dearborn says\\nhe knows that these were the first settlers in\\nthese towns, but will not be positive as to the\\nyear they made their entrance. Joseph Hobart\\nwas the first who settled in Hebron, and a Mr.\\nBennet first settled in Groton. Both of these\\ntowns were settled by people from Hollis. About\\nthe same time William Piper came into Holder-\\nness. It was certainly as late as 1765. The", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0176.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. l7o\\nsame year, Isaac Fox and a Mr. Taylor settled\\nin Campton and Benjamin Hoit from Old Ches-\\nter settled Thornton in 1770.\\nMr. Dearborn says that when Plymouth was\\nfirst settled, and for some years, moose, bears,\\ndeer, and wolves were numerous. We may re-\\ncollect that here Capt. Powers and his company\\nshot a moose, in 1754. Mr. Dearborn relates\\none anecdote of one Josiah Brown, who was\\nfamous for hunting at that early period of the\\nsettlement. He was well acquainted with\\nBrown. He went out with snow-shoes. Hunt-\\ner started some deer, and in the progress of the\\nchase the deer crossed the river into New Hampr\\nton, and Brown attempted to follow but in\\ndoing so where there was swift water, he broke\\nthrough, and fell in up to his arms. He labored\\nto throw himself on to the ice but the water\\nhad so much power upon his snow-shoes that his\\nfeet were carried down stream in an instant, and\\nhe would have to catch hold of the edge of the\\nice to keep himself from being drawn immedi-\\nately under. Finding all his efforts ineffectual,\\nand feeling himself nearly exhausted, he began\\nto despair of life for more than a few minutes\\nlonger but at this critical moment, who should\\nappear but his true and faithful Hunter, who\\ncame directly up to him Brown with one\\n15*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0177.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "174 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nhand seized Hunter by the tail, and with the\\nother he helped himself. Hunter drew for his\\nlife, and as the ice was rough, so that he had\\ngood foot-hold, he drew powerfull}^, and they\\nhoth were enabled to overcome the force of the\\nwater, and Brown regained his standing upon\\nthe ice, happy in the reflection that both he and\\nhis anticipated game were still at liberty to make\\nthe best use of their feet.\\nMr. Dearborn tells us an affecting story of a\\nlost child in this town, in the time of the revo-\\nlutionary war. A Mr. James Barnes sent his\\nlittle son of seven or eight years of age, on an\\nerrand to a neighbor s but he lost his way, and\\ndid not return at the time he was expected. The\\nfather went in pursuit of him, but not finding\\nhim, the neighbors were called on to go in search\\nof him and as the news spread that a child\\nwas lost, the whole town came together, and\\nvery many from other towns in the vicinity, and\\nalthough the search was continued eight days,\\nno trace of the child was ever discovered. It is\\nvery extraordinary, that if this child perished by\\nhunger, his remains were never discovered and\\nif he was drowned, it seems that his body would\\nhave been ultimately found afloat. But the\\ngreat day will disclose the facts in the case.\\nMuch has been said in Plymouth and vicinity", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0178.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 175\\nin respect to the naming of Baker s River. It\\nwas called Baker s River when the first settlers\\ncame on, and it was called so in the journal of\\nCapt. Powers, in 1754. They have a tradition\\nm the town, and they have ahvays had from its\\nfirst settlement, which explains the how and the\\nlohci^efore^ in this case. It is said that while\\nMassachusetts was claiming the province of New\\nHampshire, prior to the old French war, Massa-\\nchusetts sent a Capt. Balder, from Old Newbury,\\nat the head of a company to ferret out the In-\\ndians, who had their encampment somewhere\\nupon the waters of the Pemigewasset. Baker\\nprocured a friendly Indian, who led them on to\\nPlymouth. When Baker and his party had ar-\\nrived on these meadows, the friendly Indian\\nsignified it was now time for every man to gird\\nup his loins, and they did so, moving forward\\nwith all possible circumspection. When they\\nhad reached the south bank of Baker s River,\\nnear its junction with the Pemigewasset, they\\ndiscovered the Indians on the north bank of\\nBaker s River, sporting in great numbers, secure,\\nas they supposed, from the muskets of all pale\\nfaces. Baker and his men chose their position,\\nand opened a tremendous fire upon the Indians,\\nwhich was as sudden to them as a clap of thun-\\nder. Many of the sons of the forest fell in", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0179.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "176 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ndeath in the midst of their sports. But the\\nhving disappeared in an instant, and ran to call\\nin their hunters. Baker and his men lost no\\ntime in crossing the river in search of booty.\\nThey found a rich store of furs deposited in\\nholes, dug into the bank of the river horizon-\\ntally, in the manner bank-swallows make their\\nholes. Having destroyed their wigwams, and\\ncaptured their furs. Baker ordered a retreat, fear-\\ning that they would soon return in too great\\nforce to be resisted by his single company and\\nthe Indians were fully up to his apprehensions\\nfor notwithstanding Baker retreated with all\\nexpedition, the Indians collected, and were up\\nwith them, when they had reached a poplar\\nplain in Bridge water, a little south of Walter\\nWebster s tavern. A smart skirmish ensued\\nbut the Indians were repulsed with loss. Mr.\\nDearborn has visited that plain, and seen and\\nexamined a number of skulls, which he supposed\\nfell in that engagement. One or two of them\\nwere perforated by a bullet. But notwithstand-\\ning the Indians were repulsed, the friendly In-\\ndian advised Baker and his men to use all dili-\\ngence in their retreat, for he said their number\\nwould increase every hour, and that they would\\nreturn to the attack. Accordingly, Baker pressed\\non the retreat, with all possible despatch, and", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0180.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 177\\ndid not allow his men to take refreshment after\\nthe battle. But when they came into New\\nChester, having crossed a stream, his men were\\nexhausted through abstinence, forced marches,\\nand hard fighting, and they resolved they would\\ngo no further without food, saying to their com-\\nmander, They might as well fall by the toma-\\nhawk as by famine. The captain acquresced,\\nand they prepared to refresh themselves but\\nhere was a call for Indian stratagem. The\\nfriendly Indian told every man to build as many\\nfires as he could in a given time for the Indians,\\nif they pursued them, would judge of their num-\\nber by the number of their fires. He told them,\\nalso, that each man should make him four or five\\nforks of crotched sticks, and use them all in\\nroasting a single piece of pork then leave an\\nequal number of forks around each fire, and the\\nIndians would infer, if they came up, that there\\nwere as many of the English as there were\\nforks, and this might turn them back. The\\nIndian s counsel was followed to the letter, and\\nthe company moved on with fresh speed. The\\nIndians, however, came up while their fires\\nwere yet burning, and counting the fires and\\nforks, the warriors whooped a retreat, for they\\nwere alarmed at the number of the English.\\nBaker and his men were no longer annoyed by", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0181.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "ITS HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthose troublesome attendants, and he attributed\\ntheir preservation to the counsel of the friendly\\nIndian. Now, it is said that Baker s River was\\nso called, to perpetuate the brilliant affair, by-\\nBaker, at its mouth.\\nThere was formerly another token of the\\npresence or influence of a Mr. Baker, not very\\nremotely connected with Baker s River. Salis-\\nbury was originally chartered by Massachusetts,\\nprior to the old French war, and it was called\\nBakerstown. As this was the last chartered\\ntown in the direction from Massachusetts to-\\nv/ards Plymouth, where Baker is said to have\\nhad his adventure, it would not be very unnat-\\nural for Massachusetts to honor his memory by\\ncalling this township after him.\\nThe Rev. Drury Fairbanks was settled in\\nPlymouth, January 8, 1800, and was dismissed,\\nMarch 18, 1818. Rev. Jonathan Ward was in-\\nstalled, August, 1818, and was dismissed about\\nthe year 1829,\\nI am now prepared to return to Haverhill and\\nNewbury, and to relate some events which oc-\\ncurred there at a later period of their history.\\nAnd as I have a sad tale to relate of the Indians,\\nwho lived at Coos for many years after the settle-\\nment by the EngHsh, I will here commence it.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0182.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 179\\nI have already stated the evidence we have,\\nthat Newbury was an old Indian encampment,\\nand that it was with great reluctance the Indians\\nyielded up their interest in the Coos. That was\\na fatal step with the Indians, when they con-\\nnected their destiny with that of the French\\nfor they became identified with the enemy.\\nThey were greatly reduced in number, and when\\nthe French were subdued, the Indians fell with\\nthem, and they lost their remaining possessions,\\nprincipally in New England. But after the old\\nFrench war, there were some of the St. Francois\\ntribe returned to the Coos, and lived until a\\nmore recent date, when they became entirely\\nextinct.\\nAmong those who returned, there were two\\nfamilies of special distinction John and /oe, or\\nCaptain John, and Captain Joe, as they pre-\\nferred to be called. John belonged to the St.\\nFrancois tribe, and had been a chief of some\\nnote with them. He was at the battle of Brad-\\ndock s defeat, and used to relate how he shot a\\nBritish officer, after he had been knocked down\\nby the officer and how he tried to shoot young\\nWashington, but could not. He had repeatedly\\nused the tomahawk and scalping knife upon\\nthe defenceless inhabitants of Massachusetts and\\nNew Hampshire and when he was excited by", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0183.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "180 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nspirit, he would relate his deeds of barbarity\\nwith fiendish satisfaction. He related how he\\nmutilated a woman by cutting off her breasts, at\\nthe time of an assault upon the inhabitants near\\nFort Dummer, and he would imitate her shrieks\\nand cries of distress. He was present at Bos-\\ncawen, N. H., at the time the Indians surprised\\nthe inhabitants of that place. It must have\\nbeen m 1746, or 1754. He related how they\\ntook an old woman, and as they found she could\\nnot travel as fast as they wished to retreat, lie\\nstmck her on the head with a tomahawk, and\\nhe said she made a noise like a calf that is\\nwounded on the head. He was a fierce and\\ncruel Indian, and was the terror of the boys at\\nCoos as long as he lived. He was, however, a\\nstaunch friend to the Colonies during the war\\nof the revolution. He received a captain s com-\\nmission, raised a part of a company of Indians,\\nand marched with the Yankees against Bur-\\ngoyne.\\nJohn had two sons Pi-al, and Pi-al-Soosup,*\\nboth very different from their father in their\\ndisposition, being mild and inofi ensive in their\\ndeportment. Pi-al-Soosup was in the company\\ncommanded by Capt. Thomas Johnson, near\\nFort Independence, in 1777, and as it was his\\nFrench sound of t, like e.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0184.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 181\\nfirst essay in arms, he was a good deal terrified\\nwhen the battle commenced, on account of the\\ntremendous roar of cannon from the fort and a\\nBritish ship in the lake but as the firing from\\nthe ship and fort went over them, and did not\\nmuch execution, except among the tops of the\\ntrees, Pi-al became reassured, and turning to\\nCapt. Johnson, said, Is this the way to fight\\nYes, said Johnson; fire! fire! I say,\\nsaid he, this is good fun; and, raising his\\ngun, fired.\\nCaptain Joe was a young man when he came\\nto Coos. He belonged to a tribe in Nova Sco-\\ntia but when Louisburg was taken, his tribe\\nwas scattered when he was very young, and a\\nremnant, he among the rest, made their way to\\nthe St. Francois tribe, and he grew up with\\nthem. This will show that there was some\\nconnection between the eastern Indians and\\nthose of the north and it confirms the tradition\\nwith the Indians at Coos, that when their fathers\\nheard of Lovewell s fight, they said, They\\nmust soon leave Coossuck. Undoubtedly, Co-\\nossuck was the connecting link between Canada\\nand all south and east in New England.\\n.foe was a very difi erent character from John.\\nHe was amiable, and never sought a quarrel. It\\nused to be his boast, that he never pointed the\\n16", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0185.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "i^i HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ngun meaning, at his fellow man. Joe s wife\\nwent by the name of Molly and she had two\\nsons by a former husband when they came to\\nCoos. The history of this affair is, that Joe was\\na great favorite among the fair daughters of St.\\nFrancois^ and that Molly proved unfaithful to her\\nfirst husband, and eloped with her two children^\\nin order to enjoy the society of Joe in the States.\\nHer sons^ names were Toomalek and Muxa-\\nWuxal. Muxa-Wuxal died without causing Joe\\nand Molly an^^ more grief than they experienced\\niw his loss but it was far different with Too-\\nmalek. He Avas literally a child for the fire.\\nHe was low in stature, wanting two inches of\\nfive feet, but had broad shoulders and haunches,\\nand possessed extraordinary muscular powers.\\nHis thick, stiff hair grew down upon his fore-\\nhead within one inch of his eyes, and his coun-\\ntenance was truly fiendlike. He had a murder-\\nous disposition, as the sequel will show. As he\\ngrew up, he became enamored of a young squaw,\\nnamed Lewa but another Indian, named Mitch-\\nel, was his successful rival, and married Lewa.\\nBut Toomalek determined on murdering Mitchel,\\nand taking his wife. He accordingly prepared\\nhis gun, and watched for an opportunity to exe-\\ncute the horrid deed. It was not long before\\nToomalek discovered Mitchel and his wife seated", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0186.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 183\\nby a fire in the evening, at the upper end of the\\nOx Bow in Newbury, at the foot of the hill, just\\nwhere the river turns north. They were seated\\nside by side, happy for the present, and happy\\nin anticipations, to ail human view. Toomalek\\ntook aim, and discharged his gun at Mitchel\\nbut Lewa received the ball in her breast, and\\nexpired that evening. Mitchel was wounded,\\nalso, by the same ball which killed Lewa, or\\nthere were two balls discharged but he soon\\nrecovered from his wound. Toomalek was tried\\nfor his crime by his Indian peers, Old John pre-\\nsiding, and he was acquitted upon the ground\\nthat he did not mean to kill Lewa, but Mitchel\\nand as he did not kill Mitchel, he was no mur-\\nderer This was making nice distinctions, and\\nit shows that these untutored beings were adepts\\nin the science of casuistry. But Old John was\\nthe sole means of his acquittal.\\nBut Toomalek still cherished a rancorous\\nenmity towards Mitchel, and his escape from\\njustice, in the first instance, encouraged him to\\nm.ake a second attempt upon the life of Mitchel,\\nwho had taken another wife as attractive as\\nLewa. Toomalek took a bottle of rum and a\\nwhite man, Ebenezer Olmsted by name, and\\nwent to the wigwam of Mitchel, and commenced\\ntreating the company. Olmsted observed that", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0187.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "184 HISTORICAL SKETCIIE.\\nToomalek drank but little, whilst Mitchel in-\\ndulged freely in his potations. When Mitchel\\nbegan to be excited by the spirit he drank,\\nhe commenced upbraiding Toomalek for the\\nmurder of his wife, and for the wound inflicted\\non him. After much crimination and recrimina-\\ntion, promoted and aggravated by Toomalek for\\na specific purpose, Mitchel drew his knife upon\\nhis foe, and made a feeble pass at him. Too-\\nmalek then drew his knife on Mitchel, and gave\\nhim his death-wound at once For this offence,\\nToomalek had his trial, and was acquitted, be-\\ncause Mitchel made the first assault, and Too-\\nmalek argued that he killed Mitchel in self-\\ndefence yet all were satisfied that Toomalek\\nwas the sole means of promoting the quarrel,\\nand that he did it that he might have an excuse\\nfor killing Mitchel.\\nBut Old John, who delighted in blood, was\\nstill using his influence to preserve the life of\\nToomalek and he did it, as Providence over-\\nruled it, to bring upon himself and family a\\nterrible calamity nothing less than the murder\\nof his elder son, Pi-al and he did it on this\\nwise. Toomalek, Pi-al, and several others, were\\nover on Haverhill side, and called at Charles\\nWheeler s house, son of Glazier Wheeler, on\\nthe little Ox Bow, about eleven o clock in the", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0188.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 185\\nforenoon. They were disposed to be somewhat\\nnoisy and turbulent at that time, and manifested\\nthat they had been drinking spirit. They asked\\nfor some there, but obtained none. They left\\nWheeler s before noon, and proceeded eastward.\\nSometime in the afternoon, they came along\\nnear where the old court-house stood in the\\nnorth parish in Haverhill, west of Major Mer-\\nrill s house, now Mr. Hibbard s, where they met\\na young squaw from Newbury, who began to\\nrally Pi-al on some past acts of gallantry. Pi-al\\nreturned upon her measure for measure, wliich\\nthe young lady took in dudgeon. She could\\ngive, but not receive a joke. Perhaps Pi-al\\njested too near the truth. She turned aside,\\nand held a brief conversation with Toomalel\\nin a low voice, a.nd then passed on. Toomalek\\nthen stepped back to his companions, and walked\\nsouth by the side of Pi-al; and in a few mo-*\\nments he drew his long knife, and by a back-\\nhand stroke, plunged it into Pi-aPs throat, it\\nentered at the top of the sternum, and descended\\nto the lungs. Pi-al ran with the blood spouting\\nfrom the wound a few rods, and fell lifeless upon\\nthe ground. It was supposed that in this in-\\nstance, Toomalek killed Pi-al in obedience to\\nthe expressed wish of tlie young squav/ but he\\nnever criminated her. His companions ran and\\n16*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0189.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "186 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ncarried the news of the murder to their English\\nneighbors, and Toonialek was taken into custo-\\ndy, without resistance, or an attempt to escape^\\nand was carried across the river into Newbury^\\nfor his trial the next day. When the news came\\nto Old John, that Toomalek had killed his son\\nPi-al, he was overwhelmed with it, and his con-\\nscience awoke to its duty. He was almost fran-\\ntic through agony. He confessed his sin in\\nsparing the life of a murderer in the two previous\\ninstances already stated. He said, God had\\nbrought this calamity upon him for his sin and\\nboth he and his wife spent the whole night in\\nloud lamentations and self-reproaches.\\nThe next day, in the forenoon, a court was\\ncalled to try Toomalek, and after all the evi-\\ndence Vv^as obtained, they unanimously gave\\nverdict aga,inst him, and said he must be shot.\\nThey appointed, however, a deputation to wait\\non the Rev. Mr. Powers, to know whether that\\ndecision was agreeable to the word of God.\\nAfter hearing the evidence, he told them he\\nbelieved it was, and they immediately set about\\ncarrying it into effect. By Indian law, Old John\\nmust be the executioner, as he was the nearest\\nby blood to the slain, and he must avenge the\\nblood of his son. The ground floor of the old\\ncourt-house, standing opposite the burying ground", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0190.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 187\\nat the west, was the place designated for the\\nexecution. Toomalek came to the place him-\\nself, without guard or attendance, where John\\nstood in readiness with his loaded musket. He\\nseated himself upon the floor, said his Catholic\\nprayers, covered his eyes, and said Mack\\nbence that is, Kill me quick John\\nstepped forward, put the muzzle of the gun near\\nhis head, and he was dead in an instant Joe\\nand Molly were both present at the execution\\nof her son and as soon as it was over, Joe took\\none arm, and Molly the other, and they dragged\\nthe body from the house and buried it. Molly\\nhad mourned and wept bitterly for the death of\\nMuxa-Wuxal, which happened the same season\\nbut she never shed a tear over the grave of\\nToomalek, nor was she ever heard to speak his\\nname afterward. Old John was afterward found\\ndead by the side of a log, at the foot of the\\nhill, near the present garden of William Johnson.\\nOld Joe ^vas a staunch whig, although he had\\nno predilection for war himself. The red coats\\nhad broken up and dispersed his tribe in NoVja\\nScotia, and he never would forgive them. He\\nrejoiced in every success of the Colonies. He\\nand Molly paid a visit to General Washington, at\\nhis head-quarters on North River, and he was re-\\nceived with marked attention. It was his boast", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0191.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "188 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nto the lastj that he had shook hands with Gen.\\nWashington, and he and Molly were invited to\\nsit at the general s table, after he and the other\\nofficers had eaten. And so great was his anti-\\npathy to the king of England, that he never\\nV7ould enter his dominions after the war. Some\\nof his friends of the 4S.t. Francais tribe came\\ndown to Newbury on purpose to persuade him\\nand Molly to return but Captain Joe would hear\\nnothing to it. He would take his huntin2r ex-\\ncursions at the extreme north of Vermont, but\\nnot pass into Canada. He and Molly went to\\nDerby one season for a hunt, and built them a\\nwigwam. The Indians of St. Francois heard\\nof it, and came out and stole Molly, when Joe\\nwas hunting, and carried her off to their quar-\\nters, in hopes that Joe would follow but he\\nwould not. And having followed a moose two\\ndays in full expectation of taking him, when he\\ncame to find that the moose had crossed into\\nCanada, he stopped short and said Good bye.\\nMr. Moose turned upon his heel, and sought\\nhis repose in the states.\\nJoe and Molly have each a pond called after\\nthem in the town of Cabot. Joe s Pond empties\\nHself into the Passumpsic by Joe s Brook. Mol-\\nly s Pond discharges its waters into Lake Cham-\\nplain b^T* Onion River. Joe survived Molly many", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0192.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "OF THE coos COUNTRY. 18t)\\nyears. When he became old, and was unable to\\nsupport himself, the legislature of Vermont voted\\nhim a pension of seventy dollars annually. He\\nspent his last years with Mr. Frye Bailey, of\\nNewbury. He departed this life, February 19,\\n1819, aged about 79 years. Report made him\\nmuch older than that but it could not be true,\\nif he was so young at the taking of Louisburg\\nthat he could not recollect the name of his tribe.\\nAt his funeral, the principal men of the town\\nattended. He was buried in the south-eastern\\ncorner of the burying ground. His gun, which\\nwas found loaded after his death, was discharged\\nover his grave. His snoiv-shoes are with Mr.\\nFrye Bailey. With Capt. Joe fell the last of the\\nIndians at Coossuck, that once fairy land of\\nlong-slumbering generations\\nWe have already spoken of the war of the\\nrevolution when upon individual character, forti-\\nfied houses, and commanders of companies, (fee.\\nBut these times require more distinct considera-\\ntion in these annals, because they form an epoch\\n\\\\n our history and because they embrace many\\nthings which serve to develop causes which for\\na long period have lain concealed from general\\nobservation which causes cannot fail to interest\\nthe descendants of those who bore the burden", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0193.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "190 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nand heat of the day, in which our independence\\nwas achieved. The first settlers at Coos sus-\\ntained, in common with their brethren, all the\\nhardships which were brought on the Colonies\\nby the war of the revolution and, owing to\\ntheir peculiar circumstances, they were called\\nto additional burdens, almost too grievous to be\\nborne. They were yet struggling with the pri-\\nvations and inconveniences necessarily attendant\\nupon new settlements, remote from old towns\\nand a ready market. They were frontier settle-\\nments. They were contiguous to the strong-\\nholds of the enemy, and were continually exposed\\nto their savage incursions. And what was worst\\nof all, Vermont was not an acknowledged state,\\nalthough she had often requested to be received\\ninto the Union. This was owing to conflicting\\nclaims to these Grants, set up by the states of\\nNew York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.\\nNo two of them could agree who should have\\nthem, yet all could agree to oppose in Congress\\nthe admission of Vermont into the Union as an\\nindependent state and so influential were those\\nthree states at that time, that Congress did not\\ndare to decide contrary to their wishes, although\\nthey might see manifest injustice in their oppo-\\nsition. The British were fully aware of the\\nexcited state of feeling in Vermont in regard to", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0194.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "OF THE coos COUNTRY. 191\\nthis subject, and as Yermont was rejected by her\\nsister Colonies, they entertained strong hopes\\nthat they should detach her from the common\\ninterest of the Colonies, and bring her to espouse\\nthe cause of the mother country. To this end\\nthe British made every possible effort by promises\\nand threats. Their scouts traversed the whole\\nterritory, promising the most liberal rewards to\\nall who would befriend them, and threatening\\nvengeance upon the lives and property of those\\nwho should adhere to the interests of the Co-\\nlonies.\\nYermont had a difficult part to sustain in the\\ngrand drama then being acted. She stood be-\\ntween two or more fires, and it required all her\\nphysical powers, and all her finesse, not to foun-\\nder in Scylla or Charybdis. The alluring pro-\\nmises of the British had actually brought many\\nto feel favorably inclined to their cause, and it\\nis thought that there were some of this descrip-\\ntion in high places. Others would listen to\\nthese proposals of the British for self-preserva-\\ntion for now these Grants were left to repel all\\ninvasions single handed. It was also true that\\ntories from other states sought a retreat in the\\nGrants, where they were less liable to arrest, and\\nwhere they could with greater facility maintain\\ncorrespondence with the British. And so it was,", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0195.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "192 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthat the British came in possession of all the\\nmovements of the Americans, as soon as any\\nplan was matured against the enemy. But we\\nought here to state that there were many true-\\nhearted Americans in the Grants men who were\\nready to sacrifice their property and to lay down\\ntheir lives in defence of their country and those\\nwho took the field did nobly, and, by their heroic\\ndeeds, they gained the distinctive appellation,\\nthe Green Mountain Boys, a title which their\\ndescendants are proud to bear to this da3^\\nThe policy which the leading men of that\\nday adopted was, not to declare, either that they\\nwould or would not be independent of the mo-\\nther country intending thereby to save them-\\nselves from an invasion by the British, and, at\\nthe same time, to present motives to Congress\\nfor receiving them into the Union. This was a\\ndifficult part to perform, owing to the ardor with\\nwhich the British pressed the subject for an im-\\nmediate decision but it was maintained, and\\nVermont finally seciu ed her utmost wishes.\\nBut while these things were transacting, there\\nwere men, in almost every town, who had ren-\\ndered themselves very obnoxious to the displea-\\nsure of the British and tories, and they were\\nunwearied in their endeavors to get them into\\ntheir hands. The tories were relied upon by", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0196.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 193\\nthe British for those captures, and they were by\\nfar the most dangerous foe that our men had to\\ncontend with. They would intrude themselves\\ninto the families of the whigs under the mask\\nof friendship, draw forth the secrets of their\\nbreast, convey them to the British, and then lead\\non a scouting party to the threshold of their\\nneighbor, or, in his absence, kill his cattle or set\\nfire to his dwelling in the dead hour of night.\\nWe can hardly conceive how distressing such\\na state of suspense and watchful anxiety must\\nhave been during the long period of eight years.\\nBut Newbury was annoyed by these means far\\nmore than Haverhill, for those scouts of the\\nenemy had not the temerity to cross the river\\nwell knowing that a retreat would be next to\\nimpossible.\\nThere were several men in Newbury who\\nhad, by their devotion to their country, excited\\nthe enmity of the British and tories to a high\\ndegree, and they were resolved on taking them\\nOne was the Rev. Peter Powers, who had preach-\\ned and done every thing in his power to sustain\\nthe_ cause of the Colonies, and he had already\\nburied his oldest son, Peter, in the army. But\\nas I have previously stated, Mr. Powers moved\\non to Haverhill side for his security. Gen. Jacob\\nBailey was another of these men. He was a\\n17", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0197.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "194 HISTOBICAL SKETCHES\\nvery prominent man at that day. He possessed\\ngreat influence with his countrymen, and the\\nIndians looked up to him as a father. He acted\\nas quarter-master-general to the troops stationed\\nat Newbury and in the vicinity, and the Indians\\nwere not overlooked in the distribution of the\\ndaily rations. He retained their friendship dur-\\ning the war. The British felt it so important\\nto secure Gen. Bailey, that they offered a heavy\\nreward for his person, and many plans were con-\\ncerted for his capture but they never succeeded.\\nCol. Thomas Johnson was another man whom\\nthey considered as a notorious rebel, as he had\\ndistinguished himself at the taking of Ticonde-\\nroga and I he siege of Mount Independence, in\\nthe autumn of 1777. At that time, Johnson\\nwent out as captain of a volunteer company from\\nNewbury but he acted, a part of the time, as\u00c2\u00ab\\naid to Gen. Lincoln. When the British surren-\\ndered at Ticonderoga, one hundred of the prison-\\ners were given in charge to Col. Johnson, and\\nhe marched them back into the country, where\\nthey would not be exposed to a recapture, and\\nwhere they would not diminish the rations of\\nour men at the fort. The British, of course,\\nwere desirous of taking Col. Johnson but he\\neluded all their vigilance until the spring of\\n1781, when they succeeded in capturing him.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0198.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 195\\nIt was on this wise. Col. Johnson had contract-\\ned to build a grist-mill in Peacham, and when\\nhe went up with the mill-stones in March, he\\nput up at the house of Deacon Jonathan Elkins,\\nin Peacham, which house was surrounded in the\\nnight by some British and tories, was broken\\nopen, and Johnson, Jacob Page, Jonathan and\\nMoses Elkins, sons of Deacon Elkins, were\\ntaken prisoners. But as I have Col. Johnson s\\njournal of this date, it may be more interesting\\nto give the journal itself,\\nMarch 5, 1781. This morning early, went\\nover to Haverhill with my teams for my mill-\\nstones. Returned before dinner, shod my oxen,\\ntook dinner, and set out for Peacham at 2. P. M.\\nThis night put up at Orr s, in Ryegate.\\nTuesday, 6th. This day, being thawy and\\nbad going, I was obliged to leave one of my\\nmill-stones within one mile of the place where\\nwe lodged. This night arrived at Peacham\\nwith the other mill-stone. Lodged at Mr. Elkins\\nWednesday, 1th. This morning, finding\\nmy oxen lame, I sent Mr, Josiah Page, with the\\noxen, home. Hired Jonathan Elkins, with his\\noxen, and went back, and took the other mill-\\nstone, and returned to Peacham. Should have\\nreturned home myself this evening, but was a\\nlittle unwelL", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0199.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "196 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nThursday, Sth. This morning, about twelve\\nor one o clock, I awaked out of my sleep, and\\nfound the house beset with enemies. Thought\\nI would slip on my stockings, jump out of the\\nwindow, and run. But before that, came in\\ntwo men with their guns pointed at me, and\\nchallenged me for their prisoner, but did not find\\nmyself the least terrified. Soon found two of the\\nmen old acquaintances of mine. I saw some mo-\\ntions for tying me, but I told them that I submit-\\nted myself a prisoner, and would offer no abuse.\\nSoon packed up, and marched, but never saw\\npeople so surprised as the family was. When\\nwe came to Mr. Davis I found the party to con-\\nsist of eleven men, Capt. Prichard commanding.\\nThen marched seven or eight miles, when day-\\nlight began to appear. I found Moses Elkins\\nlooked very pale. I told the captain he had bet-\\nter let him go back, for he was drowned when\\nhe was small, and that he would not live through\\nthe woods. He said he would try him further\\nbut on my pleading the pity it would be to lose\\nsuch a youngster, he sent him back. We soon\\nhalted for refreshment. To my great surprise,\\nI found John Gibson and Barlow of the party.\\nThen marched about four miles, and obtained\\nleave to write a letter and leave on a tree,\\nthen marched. I was most terribly tired and", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0200.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. T\\nfaint. Camped down on the River Lamci.^e\\nthis night.\\nFriday, 9th. This day marched down .lo\\nRiver Lamoille, about twelve miles below the\\nforks. One of the finest countries of land that\\never I saw. Camped about eleven o clock at\\nnight.\\nSaturday^ 10th. This day marched to the\\nlake. Underwent a great deal by being faint\\nand tired. The captain and men were very kind\\nto us. A stormy and uncomfortable night.\\nSunday, 11th. This morning went on to\\nthe lake ten miles, north of the mouth of the\\nRiver Lamoille; marched fifteen miles on the\\nlake, then crossed the Grand Isle marched ten\\nmiles to Point Au Fer. Dinner being on the\\ntable, I dined with the commandant of that fort,\\nand supped with him. Was well treated.\\nMonday, 12th. This day marched to the\\nIsle Au Noix, went into the fort, into a baii-ack,\\ngot a cooking but the commandant ordered the\\nprisoners out of the fort to a block-house but\\nsoon had sent me a good dinner and a bottle of\\nwine. Then Capt. Sherwood called on me to\\nexamine me. In the evening, Capt. Sherwood\\nand Capt. Prichard waited on me to Mr. Jones,\\nwhere we drinked a bottle of wine. Captain\\nPrichai d and I slept there.\\n17*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0201.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "196 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nTuesday, 13th. This day marched to St.\\njolin s. Col. St. Leger took me to his house,\\nand gave me a shirt, gave me some refreshment,\\nw liich I much needed. Told me I was to dine\\nwith him. Major Rogers and Esq. Marsh and\\nothers dined there. Then gave me my parole,\\nwhich I am told is the first instance of a prisoner\\nhaving his parole in this fort without some con-\\nfinement. Lodged with Esq. Marsh.\\nWednesday, lAth. This morning, Esquire\\nMarsh and I were invited to Capt. Sherwood s\\nto breakfast. Then Capt. Sherwood took the\\ncharge of me, and I lived with him. To my\\ngreat satisfaction, this evening came Mr. Spardain\\nto see me, who v^ras a prisoner to me at Ti. He\\nsaid, on hearing that I was a prisoner, he went\\nto the commandant to inform him of the good\\ntreatment he and others had from me while they\\nwere prisoners to me. The commandant sent\\nhim to my quarters to inform me that my good\\ntreatment of them was much to my advantage.\\nIn this same journal, under date of June 14th.\\nwe have the colonel s impressions from witness-\\ning a Roman Catholic procession, and his views\\nof the Canadians. He was at this time at Three\\nRivers.\\nJune l^th. This day there was a Roman", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0202.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 199\\nCatholic procession. Their walks, their shows,\\nvety extraordinary. Their carrying God Al-\\nmighty about the streets is something new\\nme. I think it is a curse to the land, and a cu, se\\nto their king, to have such a miserable set of\\nmhabitants as these Canadians. They are the\\nmost ignorant, superstitious, idle, and careless\\nset of people that can be thought of, spending\\nhalf of their time in holidays and going to mass.\\nThe women wear riding-hoods the hottest wea-\\nther.\\nThis journal of Col. Johnson will show clearly\\nthe policy of the British towards different indi-\\nviduals of the Grants, treating those of some\\ndistinction with great urbanity and kindness, in\\nhopes of winning them over to their cause,\\nand treating others with needless severity. Col.\\nJohnson was treated with marked attention dur-\\ning his whole stay in Canada but it fared dif-\\nferently with Page and Elkins. Johnson was\\nfor some time kept at St. John s, and was allowed\\nhis parole not a parole to go where he pleased,\\nbut a parole known in the military profession,\\nwhich distinguishes between friends and enemies\\nin camp and it is a privilege granted to certam\\nindividuals every day, and proclamation of it is\\nmade every day by a certain officer.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0203.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "5:00 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nPage was sent directly down to Montreal, and\\nwe never hear of him afterwards. Jonathan\\nElkins was carried directly down to (Quebec,\\nand was there imprisoned, and suffered immense-\\niy from want until late in the fall of 1781, when\\nhe and one hundred and fifty others were put on\\nboard a ship and sent to England, where they\\nwere confined in Mill Prison from February 9,\\n1782, till the 24th of June following. They\\nhad but two thirds the allowance of a common\\nsoldier, and they were miserably clad, most of\\nthem. Dr. Franklin, who was then our minister\\nat France, hearing of their poor condition, sent\\neach prisoner one shilling sterling per week, in\\naddition to their allowance from the British\\ngovernment, and this was a great relief to them.\\nCol. Elkins says to me under his own hand\\nThere were among us forty captains of vessels,\\nand many others who had some learning and\\nwhen we got our shilling a week from Dr. Frank-\\nlin, it was proposed that we, who had no learn-\\ning, should pay four coppers a week for school-\\ning, and soon many schools were opened. Among\\nthe rest, I procured paper, pen and ink, and a\\nslate, and paid my four coppers per week for\\ntuition. By this means, many who could nei-\\nther read nor write, got so much learning, that\\nthey were capable of transacting business for", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0204.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 201\\nthemselveSj and a number of us learned the\\nmariner s art, so as to be capable of navigating\\na ship. On the 24th of June, 1782, there wer\u00e2\u0082\u00ac\\none thousand seven hundred and thirty-three\\nprisoners put on board a cartel, and sent to Ame\\nrica in exchange for Lord Corn wal lis grenadier\\nand light infantry. And I returned with then\\nto my native country.\\nJONATHAN ELKTNS.\\nPeacham, Vt., Dec. 8, 1832.\\nWe return again to see how it resulted wit\\nJohnson. Notwithstanding Johnson was treate.\\nwith so much apparent respect, he could not bi;i\\nobserve that he had his quarters often shiftr\\nfrom St. John s to Montreal, then to Chambl\\nthen to Three Rivers, and at each place he wouL i\\nbe interrogated by different officers relative\\nthe views and feelings of the inhabitants of tL...\\nGrants, and what he thought of the prospe\u00c2\u00ab:i;\\nof the Colonies. To all these and similar\\nquiries he replied with as much apparent inc\\nference to the cause of America as he corad\\nshow, never relating to them an untruth, tind\\nstill reserving to himself whatever he thou;;hi\\nmight be advantageous to them, and detrimei\\nto America. And he had cause to congratu ito\\nhimself for having adhered to this unifc\\ncourse for he found out, after a while, that", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0205.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "302 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nhis conversation with these different officers, at\\ndifferent places, was penned down and sent to\\nthe supreme commandant, to be inspected by him,\\nto see if his statements agreed. He canght the\\nreading of a note, also, which was sent from one\\nin high command to the young officer who had\\nthe charge of him. The purport of it was this\\nI take you to be a person of too much sense\\nand intelUgence to be imposed upon by the\\nprisoner. The young man s sense and intelU-\\ngence were not enough to restrain him from\\noccasional hard drinking, and at one of those\\nseasons, he left this note exposed to Johnson s\\ninspection. These things taught Johnson that\\nafter all their show of confidence in him, they\\nwere still suspicious of him and he thought, if\\nthey weie disposed to play Yankee with him,\\nhe would take a game with them at that. He\\naccordingly affected more and more indifference\\nto tlie cause of the Colonies, until they began\\nto feel that if he was in other circumstances, he\\nwould render them essential service. Accord-\\ningly, after retaining him between seven and\\neight months, they told Johnson that if he would\\ngive them information of the movements of the\\nAmericans, supply their scouts with provision if\\ncalled upon, and return to them when they de-\\nmanded, he might return home upon his parole.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0206.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. :3(.U5\\nJohnson assented to these stipulations, and signed\\nthe following instrument\\niC\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0^5\\nI, Lieut. Col. Johnson, now at John s,\\ndo hereby pledge my faith and word of honor\\nto his excellency, Gen. Holdimand, whose per-\\nmission I have obtained to go home, that I shall\\nnot do or say any thing contrary to his majesty s\\ninterest or government and that whenever re-\\nquired so to do, I shall repair to whatever place\\nhis excellency or any other his majesty s com-\\nmander-in-chief in ximerica shall judge expe-\\ndient to order me, until I shall be legally ex-\\nchanged, and such other person as shall be agreed\\nupon, sent in my place.\\nGiven under my hand at St. John s, this\\nfifth day of October, one thousand seven\\nhundred and eighty-one.\\nCol. THOMAS JOHNSON.\\nUpon Col. Johnson s signing this instrument,\\nhe returned home to his family at Newbury,\\nand neither received any intelligence from the\\nBritish, nor gave any, until January following,\\nas we learn from a communication of Col. John-\\nson to Gen. Washington, bearing date, May 30,\\n1782. In January, Col. Johnson received a let-\\nter from Capt. Prichard, by the hand of Levi\\nSylvester, of Newbury, and one from George", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0207.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "204 IIISTORIGAL SKETCHES\\nSmith, in Canada. In February, 1782, Col.\\nJohnson wrote a letter to Gen. Holdimand and\\none to Prichard, and sent them by Sylvester.\\nHe sent, also, two newspapers containing the\\naccount of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. A\\ncopy of those letters was sent to Gen. Washing-\\nton the May following, and a copy of Smith s\\nletter to Johnson was also enclosed. Sylvester\\ninformed Col. Johnson that Major Rogers had\\ncome into the Grants at the head of a strong\\nscout, and was then at Mooretown, now Brad-\\nford, and wished to see him that night but\\nJohnson was detained, and did not go until some\\ndays after, and then he did not find Rogers, and\\ndid not see him at all.\\nAt this time Col. Johnson, feeling oppressed\\nwith his peculiar situation, bemg liable, on the\\none hand, to be viewed and treated as a traitor\\nby the British, and on the other, to be numbered\\nwith the enemies of his country, determined to\\ncommunicate to Gen. Washington all he had\\nlearned in his captivity, all he had done to obtain\\nhis liberty, and all he had done from the time of\\nhis leaving Canada, and his motives for doing so,\\nand solicit the general s advice in respect to the\\ncourse he had better pursue. He accordingly\\nwrote a detailed account^ covering about nine\\npages of common-sized paper, too long to be", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0208.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 205\\ninserted in these sketches, agreeing, to wonderful\\nexactness, with the statement the colonel made\\nto me, near the close of life, although he did not\\nknow at that time that a single line of it was in\\nexistence, and expressed the deepest regret that he\\nhad not kept copies of his letters to Washington,\\nand of Washington s letter to him. They have,\\nhowever, since come to light, having been found\\namong Washington s private papers, and are now\\nin the possession of the Rev. Jared Sparks, of\\nCambridge, Mass., and have been by him tran-\\nscribed and certified, at the request of Mr. David\\nJohnson, of Newbury. This first paper to which\\nI allude is an interesting document, and, would\\nmy limits permit, I should be pleased to give it\\nentire to my readers but the letter accompany-\\ning, and those which followed, this communica-\\ntion, will explain this whole affair, and revive\\nmany interesting facts which have lain dormant,\\nperhaps, in the minds of the aged for many\\nyears. The letter accompanying the document\\nbeajs the same date of the document itself, and\\nis as follows\\ntHOS. JOHNSON TO GEN. WASHINGTON.\\nNewbury, 30 May, 1782.\\nMay it please your excellency to indulge\\nme while I say, that in the month of March,\\ni8", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0209.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": ":^0G HISTORICAL SKETCflES\\n1781, I was taken a prisoner, as set forth in rar\\nnarrative, continued in Canada until September;\\nwhen I obtained liberty to return home on\\nparole, which I could effect only by engaging\\nto carry on a correspondence with them. This\\nwas my view, to get what intelligence I was\\nable respecting their plans and movements, and\\nin hopes to be exchanged, that I might be able.\\n~m a regular way, to have given some important\\nintelligence. I have taken such measures a\u00c2\u00bb\\nap})eared most likely to eifect the same but as\\nthese have hitherto failed, I find the season so\\nfar advanced as not to admit of further delay\\nwithout acquainting your excellency.\\nThe proposed plans of the enemy for the last\\ncampaign were frustrated for want of provisions\\nbut they determined to pursue them this spring\\nas early as possible. To this end, they have\\nused their most unwearied endeavors with Ver-\\nmont to prepare the way, which they have, in a\\ngreat and incredible degree, brought to pass, and\\nis daily increasing and unless some speedy stop\\nis put to it, I dread the consequences. I entreat\\nyour excellency, that if possible, by a regular\\nexchange, I may be enabled to give all the in-\\ntelligence in my power without hazarding my\\ncharacter, which, otherwise, I am determined to\\ndo, at the risk of my honor, my all and, per-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0210.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "or THE coos COUNTRY. 207\\nhaps, to the great injury of hundreds of poor\\nprisoners now in their hands. Having had ex-\\nperience, I am grieved to think of their situation.\\nThis infernal plan of treachery with Vermont\\n(as I have often heard in Canada) was contrived\\nbefore Ethan Allen left the British, and he was\\nengaged on their side. It ran through the coun-\\ntry Hke a torrent, from New York to Canada,\\nand the present temper of Vermont is a piece of\\nthe same. Were the people in general upon the\\nGrants, on this side the mountains, to declare for\\nNew Hampshire or New York, it would be con-\\ntrary to the agreement of their leading men\\nand, unless protected by your excellency, the\\ninnocent with the guilty would share a misera-\\nble fate. This part of the country being sold\\nby a few designing men, of whom a large\\nnumber are very jealous, a small number have\\nby me their informer, or otherwise, got the cer-\\ntainty of it, and it puts them in a most disagree-\\nable situation. They are desirous of declaring\\nfor New Hampshire but many of their leaders\\nearnestly dissuading them from it, it keeps us in\\na tumult, and I fear the enemy will get so great\\nan advantage as to raise their standard to the\\ndestruction of this part of the country. They\\nkeep their spies constantly in this quarter with-\\nout molestation, and know every movement, and", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0211.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "20S HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\ntransmit the same directly to Canada and when\\nmatters take a turn contrary to their minds, Ave\\nare miserably exposed to their severest resent-\\nment. I am entirely devoted to your excellency s\\npleasure. Should my past conduct meet your\\nexcellency s approbation, my highest ambition\\nwill be satisfied if not, deal with me as your\\nwisdom shall dictate. I most earnestly entreat\\nyour excellency to meditate a moment on my\\ncritical and perplexing situation, as well as that\\nof this part of the country, and that I may re-\\nceive by Capt. Bailey, the bearer, who will be\\nable to give you further information, your excel-\\nlency s pleasure in this affair. I beg leave to\\nsubscribe myself your excellency s most sincere\\nand most devoted servant,\\nTHOS. JOHNSON.\\nCol. Johnson stated in this letter what he\\nverily believed to be true of the men in the\\nGrants, who were carrying on a correspondence\\nwith the British. He viewed it just as it was\\nviewed by the British, and he had no means of\\nknowing any thing to the contrary but it ulti-\\nmately appeared that some of these men, who\\nwere considered friends to the British, were play-\\ning a deep game, in which the British, the\\nContinental Congress, and themselves, were dis-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0212.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 20U\\nlinct parties. These men were determined that\\nVermont should be a distinct and independent\\ncommunity, like the other states but as Con-\\ngress would not receive them, and had withdrawn\\ntheir troops that had been sent for their defence,\\nthey managed as they could with the British to\\npreserve the Grants from invasion. There is no\\ndoubt but the British Avere completely deceived\\nby them, and Ethan Allen procured an engage-\\nment, on the part of the British, that no hostili-\\nties should be carried on against Vermont. The\\nprincipal men in this understanding were Thomas\\nChittenden, Moses Ptobinson, Samuel Safford.\\nEthan Allen, Ira Allen, Timothy Brownson, Johiv\\nFasset, and Joseph Fay. But at the same time,\\nthe British correspondence with them was trans-\\nmitted to Congress, by these men, to operate as\\nan inducement for Congress to receive them into\\nthe Union, and Ethan Allen wrote to Congress\\nin the following bold and impassioned language\\nI am as resolutely determined to defend the\\nindependence of Vermont, as Congress are that\\nof the United States, and rather than fail, will\\nretire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into\\nthe caverns of the mountains, and wage war\\nwith human nature at large. But surely there\\nwas enough seen and heard in Canada, at the\\ntime CoL Johnson was prisoner there, to make\\nIS*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0213.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "210 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nany friend of his country tremble for the con-\\nsequences. But we have Gen. Washington s\\nanswer to Col. Johnson s letter of the 30th\\nMay, 1782.\\nTo Capt, Thomas Johnson^ Exeter, N. H.\\nf Sir Head-Quarters, 14 June, 1782.\\nI have received your favor per Capt. Bailey,\\nand thank you for the information contained,\\nand would beg you to continue your communi-\\ncation whenever you shall collect any intelli-\\ngence you shall think of importance. It would\\ngive me real pleasure to have it in my power to\\neffect your exchange but some unhappy cir-\\ncumstances have lately taken place, which, for\\nthe present, cut off all exchaiige. If you can\\nfall upon any mode to accomplish your wishes,\\nin which I can with propriety give you my\\nassistance, I shall be very glad to afford it.\\nI am, sir, c.\\n**G. WASHINGTON.\\nTHOS. JOHNSON TO GEN. WASHINGTON.\\nExeter, July 20, 1782.\\nI am obliged by your excellency s favor of\\nthe 14th June, to acknowledge your excellency s\\ngoodness in offering your assistance in my ex-\\nchange, I think it proper to give a more parti-", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0214.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRV. 211\\ncular account of my situation, and have enclosed\\na copy of my parole for your perusal. I think,\\nagreeable to the parole, they cannot refuse a\\nman in my room, although there is no exchange\\nagreed on. Your excellency will determine on\\nmy rank. I was held at Canada a lieutenant-\\ncolonel in the militia. I was a captain, and\\nafterwards chosen a lieutenant-colonel in the\\nmilitia, agreeable to the order of the Assembly\\nof New York but being at a great distance,\\nbefore my commission could reach me, Vermont\\nclaimed jurisdiction, and I never had the com-\\nmission, and I told them the same but I was\\nobliged to acknowledge myself as such in my\\nparole, or I could not have accomplished my\\ndesign. My situation grows more distressing. I\\nhave been exposed by the infirmity or impru-\\ndence of a gentleman, one that we could not\\nhave expected it from. I have received nothing\\nof much importance since my last. I have since\\nreceived a confirmation of their intentions to\\nexecute rigorous measures against the opposers\\nof Vermont. I have fears of an invasion on that\\npart of New Hampshire by the imprudence above\\nmentioned. I have fears of the correspondence\\nbeing stopped have wrote to Canada since\\nwhich, by agreement, Capt. Prichard was to\\nmeet on Onion River, the 10th of this instant.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0215.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "212 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nPrivate concerns brought me here at this time.\\nIf suspicion don t prevent, I expect something\\nof importance waiting for me should it pre-\\nvent, shall stand in the greatest need of a man\\nto send in exchange for me.\\nI am, sir, your most humble servant,\\nTHOS. JOHNSON.\\nWe have another letter from Col. Johnson\\nto Gen. Washington, dated at Atkinson, N. H.,\\nSeptember 20, 1782. This is a letter of four\\npages, and as it differs not materially from the\\ntwo former, I omit it in these sketches.\\nI give place to a letter of Meshech Weare to\\nGen. Washington on the subject of Col. John-\\nson s peculiar circumstances. This Mr. Weare\\nwas governor of New Hampshire in 1784.\\n^\u00e2\u0080\u00a2MESHECH WEARE TO GEN. WASHINGTON.\\nic gjj, Hampton Falls, Nov. 25, 1782.\\nThe bearer, Col. Thomas Johnson, of whose\\nconduct with respect to procuring intelligence\\nfrom the enemy, your excellency has been in-\\nformed, now waits on you to communicate some\\nthings which appear to be important. From\\nevery information I have been able to obtain, I\\nhave no reason to suspect his honesty or fidelity.\\nHis situation at this time is very difficult, as he", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0216.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 213\\nwill fully inform you, and requests your assist-\\nance in such way as you may think proper. I\\ncannot help expressing my fears of what may\\nbe the consequence of the negotiations carrying\\non between Vermont and Canada, of which there\\nseems now to be scarce a doubt.\\nI have the honor to be, with the greatest\\nrespect, yours, c,\\nMESHECH WEARE.\\nWe have one other interesting letter on this\\nsubject. It is from Nathaniel Peabody, of At-\\nkinson, N. H. Mr. Peabody was a member of\\nthe council in New Hampshire in 1785, and\\nsubsequently a member of Congress.\\nnATH. peabody to gen. WASHINGTON.\\nAtkinson, State of New Hampshire,\\nNov. 27, 17S2.\\nSir I take the liberty to address your\\nexcellency respecting the unhappy situation of\\nLieut. Col. Johnson, of Newbury, Coos, who will\\ntake charge of this letter, and do himself the\\nhonor to wait on your excellency in person. CoL\\nJohnson is desirous of giving to your excel-\\nlency every information in his power, relative to\\nthe situation, strength, and designs of the enemy\\nat the northward, the embarrassed state of affairs", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0217.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "214 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nin the country where he lives, and more particu-\\nlarly the ineligible circumstances in which hii\\nown person, family, and domestic concerns are\\nunhappily involved.\\nI have no doubt he hath been ungenerously\\ndeceived, injured, and betrayed by some persons\\nwith whom he found it necessary to intrust cer-\\ntain secrets, to him of great importance, and\\nfrom whom he had a claim to better treatment.\\nThe latter end of last month I received a\\nletter from Col. Johnson, the contents of which\\nhe will make known to you and I should have\\nthen done myself the honor of transmitting the\\nsame, with some other information, to your ex-\\ncellency but on a conference I had with the\\npresident of this state, it was concluded that in-\\ntrusting aftairs of that nature by common post-\\nriders would be unsafe for the public, and dan-\\ngerous for Col. Johnson, and that it was inexpe-\\ndient to despatch an express on purpose, as it\\nwas adjudged probable your excellency had such\\na variety of other channels for information, that\\nthere was little prospect of giving new and im-\\nportant intelligence. From the best information\\nI have been able to obtain, my own observation,\\nand the personal knowledge I have had for some\\nyears past, of Col. Johnson, I am led without\\nhesitating to conclude that he is a faithful and", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0218.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY,\\n215\\nsincere friend to the independence of these United\\nStates that he would contribute every thing in\\nbis power to promote the political salvation of\\nthis, his native country and that he is a gentle-\\nman on whose declaration your excellency may\\nplace full dependence.\\nI have the honor to be yours, \u00c2\u00abfcc.\\nNATH. PEABODY.\\nTlie above have been copied from the originals\\nnow in my possession.\\nCambridge, Se;pt. 17, 1835.\\nThere is nothing on paper to show the result\\nof Col. Johnson s interview with Gen. Washing-\\nton but it is well known with what feeling\\nand interest the colonel related the particulars\\nof that interview until the close of life. It is\\nnot probable that Gen. Washington was at that\\ntime in circumstances to effect an exchange of\\nprisoners, so as to set Johnson at liberty, nor\\ndoes this seem to be the main object of his visit\\nbut he obtained the full approbation of Wash-\\nington, and enjoyed his sympathies, as he had\\npreviously expressed in his letter. But the treaty\\nof peace, which was signed on the 20th of Janu-\\nary, 1783, in less than two months after Col.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0219.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "216 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nJohnson s visit to Washington, set Johnson at\\nliberty, dissipated all anxieties, and conveyed\\npeace and independence to the states.\\nI have given place to the preceding documents\\nfor two reasons one is, they give the present\\ngeneration a more lively and distinct idea of the\\ntrials and dangers which the inhabitants of Coos\\nsustained in the revolutionary struggle, than any\\ngeneral history of those times gives, or can\\ngive the other is, to do justice to the injured.\\nAll know what aspersions were heaped upon\\nCol. Johnson for the part he was said to per-\\nform at that eventful period, and what pain it\\ninflicted on him through life, although conscious\\nof innocence in respect to those charges. He\\nsupposed time and Providence had forever de-\\nprived him of the means to demonstrate his inno-\\ncence and under this apprehension, he resigned\\nthis life, January 4th, 1819, aged seventy-seven\\nyears. But it seems that Providence designed\\nultimately to refute all those charges and what\\nGod undertakes is thoroughly done. If ever\\nmortal man was vindicated in any supposed case,\\nand his character set above all suspicion, that\\nman is Col. Thomas Johnson, touching his patri-\\notism in the day that tried men s souls.\\nI have already stated how desirable an object\\nit was with the British to get in possession of", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0220.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "OP THE COOS COUNTRY. 217\\nGen. Jacob Bailey. A bold and determined\\neffort to effect this was made on the 17th of\\nJune, 1782, while Col. Johnson was at home on\\nparole. Gen. Bailey lived at the Johnson vil-\\nlage, in a house where now stands the brick\\nhouse of Josiah Little. Capt. Prichard and his\\nscout, to the number of eighteen men, lay upon\\nthe heights west of the Ox Bow, and they made\\na signal for Col. Johnson to visit them. Johnson\\nwent, as he was bound to do by the terms of his\\nparole, and he learned that they had come to\\ncapture Gen. Bailey that evening. Johnson was\\nnow in a great strait. Bailey was his neighbor,\\nand a host against the enemy, and Johnson could\\nnot have him go into captivity and yet he must\\nseem to conform to the wishes of Prichard, or\\nhe would be recalled to Canada himself, and hi\\nall probability have his buildings laid in ashes.\\nJohnson returned to his house, and resolved to\\ninform Bailey of his danger, at the hazard of\\nevery thing to himself But how was this to\\nbe done? Bailey, with two of his sons, was\\nploughing on the Ox Bow. Prichard s elevated\\nsituation on the hill enabled him to look down\\nupon the Ox Bow as upon a map. The secret\\nwas intrusted to Dudley Carle ton, Esq., the bro-\\nther of Col. Johnson s wife. Johnson wrote on\\na slip of paper this laconic sentence\u00e2\u0080\u0094 The\\n19", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0221.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "218 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nPhilistines be upon thee. Samson He gave it\\nto Carleton, and instructed him to go on to the\\nmeadow, pass directly by Bailey without stop-\\nping or speaking, but drop the paper in his view,\\nand return home by a circuitous rout. Carleton\\nperformed the duty assigned him well. Gen.\\nBailey, when he came to the paper, carelessly\\niook the paper and read it, and as soon as he\\ncould, without exciting suspicion in the minds\\nof lookers on, proposed to turn out the team, and\\nsaid to his sons, Boys, take care of yourselves\\nand went himself down to the bank of the river.\\nand the sons went up t the house, to carry the\\ntidings to the guard that was stationed there.\\nThe guard consisted of Ct*pt. Frye Bailey, com-\\nmandant, Ezra Gates, Jacob Bailey, Jun., Joshua\\nBailey, Sergeant Samuel Torrey, a hired man\\nof Gen. Bailey, three boys John Bailey, Isaac\\nBailey, and Thomas Metcalf and a hired maid,\\nSarah Fowler.\\nAlthough the guard was apprised of the gene-\\nral s apprehensions, yet it would seem they\\nthought his fears were groundless, for they were\\ntaken by surprise at early twilight, while they\\nwere taking their evening grog or, we might\\nmore significantly say, perhaps, that they were\\ntaking in a freight of prowess to be tested at a\\nlater hour of the night. The enemy were not", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0222.jp2"}, "223": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 219\\ndiscovered until they were within a few rods of\\nthe front door. Sergeant Torrey met them at\\nthe door, and levelled his piece at them but\\nPrichard knocked aside the gun, made Torrey\\nliis prisoner, and the enemy rushed in. The\\nguard dispersed in all directions. Ezra Gates\\nwas wounded in the arm by a ball, as he ran\\nfrom the south front door, and a gun was dis-\\ncharged at John Bailey, as he was jumping the\\nfence to run for the Ox Bow, and two balls\\nlodged in the fence close to him. Thomas Met-\\ncalf reached the meadow, where he tarried all\\nnight. Gates was brought in and laid on the\\nbed, where he lay bleeding and groaning, whilst\\nthe enemy were searching the house for prison-\\ners and papers.\\nBut there was one belonging to the house,\\nwho displayed great presence of mind and intre-\\npidity. It was woman woman, who, in ten\\nthousand instances, has risen superior to danger,\\nand performed astonishing deeds of heroism,\\nwhen man, her lord by constitution, has forfeited\\nhis claim to superiority by timidity and flight\\nSarah Fowler, the servant-maid spoken of, re-\\nmained upon the ground with a babe of Mrs.\\nBailey in her arms, undismayed at the sight a(\\nloaded muskets and bristling bayonets, and re-\\npeatedly extinguished a candle, which had been", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0223.jp2"}, "224": {"fulltext": "220 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nlighted for the purpose of searching the house..\\nNot succeeding with a candle, one of the party\\ntook a firebrand, and attempted to renew the\\nsearch this the dauntless maid struck from his\\nhand, and strewed the coals around the room.\\nThis was too much for British blood and one\\nof the soldiers swore, by a tremendous oath, that\\nif she annoyed them any more, he would blow\\nout her brains, showing at the same time how\\nhe would do it. She then desisted, as she had\\ngood reason to believe he would execute his\\nthreat.\\nMrs. Bailey had, at the moment of the onset,\\nescaped through an eastern window, and lay\\nconcealed in currant bushes in the garden. The\\nenemy, having destroyed one gun. and taken\\nwhat papers they could find, commenced their\\nretreat, greatly disappointed in respect to the\\nmain object of their pursuit, for the general was\\nresting securely on Haverhill side. They took\\nwith them prisoners, Gates and Pike, the hired\\nman of Gen. Bailey, and proceeded south. An\\nalarm was given, but not in time to arrest the\\nenemy. About a half a mile south, they met\\nJames Bailey, son of Gen. Bailey, whom they\\ntook prisoner, and kept until the close of the\\nwar. They took also Pelatiah Bliss, who lived\\nnear where Harry C. Bailey now lives. Bliss", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0224.jp2"}, "225": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 221\\nwljined and cried, and made so mucli ado about\\nhis wife and babes, and exhibited so many\\nsymptoms of a weak mind. that, after consulta-\\ntion, they permitted him to escape. They called\\nat one other house, Andrew Carter s, drank all\\nthe pans of milk the old lady had. and then pro-\\nsecuted their march into Canada, to report the\\nfailure of their expedition. But, says CoL\\nElkhis, of Pcacham, in his letter of December 7\\n1832, this failure of the British, iii the main\\nobject of their expedition, brought fresh trouble\\nU[X)n CoL Thomas Johnson. The tories in thtt\\nvicinity, who had laid the plan for taking Gen.\\nBailey, learning that he was not at home that\\nnight, and knowing that he was not in the habit\\nof being absent from his family over night, un-\\nless on business out of town, said at once, John-\\nson was a traitor to their cause, for he must have\\ngiven Bailey information of his danger. This\\nrumor went Vv ith the party back to Canada, and\\nproduced strong sensations of jealousy and\\nsentment there. Johnson was now the man to\\nbe obtained, and his buildings were to be de-\\nstroyed by fire the next spring, if not before.\\nBut tiie disposition to peace in the mother coun-\\ntry, and the actual treaty before the year came\\nabout, saved Johnson from the calamities threat-\\nened upon him.\\n10*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0225.jp2"}, "226": {"fulltext": "2*22 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nFrom this time the people of Goos moved on\\nin the even tenor of their way to ease and inde-\\npendejice in their circumstances. But even at\\nthe late period of which we have been speaking..\\n1 one-horse pleasure carriage had never been\\nseen at Coos. The first that was ever seen in\\nNewbury, was brought into the place by a Rev.\\nMr. Goddard, who was preaching as a candidate\\nto the people there, after the dismission of the\\nRev. Mr. Powers. He rode up to Gen. Bailey s\u00e2\u0080\u009e\\nas he came into town, in a chaise or sulkey\\nThere was living at the general s a young miss,\\nwho happened to be in at a neighboring house\\nto visit an aunt^ at the time Mr. Goddard passed.\\nSo strange a vehicle greatly excited her curi-\\nosity, and she called out to her aunt, O, come\\nhere, aunt come here, and see a man riding in\\na cart with two tongues On horseback in\\nsummer, and in sleighs in winter, were the only\\nmethods of riding at that day.\\nI have previously said that Haverhill and New-\\nbury were never one ecclesiastical society after\\nthe dismission of the Rev. Mr. Powers. The Rev.\\nJacob Wood was the successor of Mr. Powers\\nin Newbury. He was ordained on the second\\nWednesday m January, 1788 departed this life,\\nFebruary 10, 1790, aged 33. Rev. Nathaniel", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0226.jp2"}, "227": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. ^I ^-i\\nLambert was ordained, November 17, 1790\\ndismissed, April 4, 1809. Rev. Luther Jewett\\nwas ordained, February 28, 1821 ceased to\\nofficiate, February 3, 1825 dismissed, February\\n19. 1828. Rev. Ciark Perry was ordained, June\\n4. 1828 dismissed, June 15, 1835. Rev. George\\nCampbell was installed, January 27, 1836, and\\nremains their pastor. Let us hope for a long,\\nsuccessful, and happy union.\\nFrom the time Mr. Powers closed his labors\\nat Haverhill, the people enjoyed but little preach-\\ning until the year 1790. There was no organ-\\nized church in Haverhill, as they had belonged\\nto Newbury church, and there were but two\\nmales, members of Newbury church, who be-\\nlonged on Haverhill side, viz. Col. Charles John-\\nston and the Hon. James Woodward. The\\nprospects of Haverhill were at that time very\\ngloomy in respect to religion, and for nine months\\npreceding the spring of 1790, there had not been\\na sermon preached in the place. But in the\\nspring of that year, a melancholy death of a\\nwoman occurred in the house now occupied by\\nCapt. Uriah Ward, which seemed to impress all\\nminds with solemnity. She had lived far from\\nrighteousness, and died in great agony of soul\\nin view of her endless ruin. And now the pre-\\ncious grain, sown by the Rev. Mr. Powers, which", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0227.jp2"}, "228": {"fulltext": "224 HISTORICAL SKETCnES\\nhad Iain buried long, being watered by the dews\\nand rains of divdne grace, and warmed by the\\nvivifying rays of the Sun of righteousness, be-\\ngan to germinate and to appear, to the great joy\\nof those few who had waited and prayed for\\nconsolation in Israel. The holy and blessed\\nSpirit seemed to come down upon them as a\\nrushing, m.ighty vv^ind and it was but a short\\ntime before there was but one house, from the\\nDow farm to Piermont line, in which there was\\nno special awakening with the occupants. That\\nhouse was at the Avers place. In all other\\nhabitations there were wailings for sin. People\\npressed together for prayer and instruction, and\\ncJergym^n, hearing of the wonders of God at\\nHaverhill, came to obtain and to impart a bless-\\ning. The Rev. Dr. Burton, of Thetford, and\\nRev. Dr. Burroughs, of Hanover, were peculiarly\\nhelpful, and their labors are remembered with\\ngratitude to this day by those who obtained the\\nearl of great price, and still survive. During\\nthat season, more than seventy persons became\\nhopeful subjects of renewing grace. And al-\\nthough that church and people have witnessed\\nrepeated revivals of religion with them since\\nthat period, yet the elders among the people have\\nnever witnessed, as they think, the power of\\ndivine grace in equal degree. I have myself,", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0228.jp2"}, "229": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNTRY. 225\\nwhile rejoicing with the newly converted m that\\nplace, and feeling that we witnessed great things,\\nbeen reminded of the different feelings that were\\nexperienced by the Jews at Jerusalem, at the\\nlaying of the foundation of the second temple,\\non their return from captivity, when I heard the\\nold saints speak of what they had witnessed. It\\nwill be recollected that the younger Jews, who\\nhad never seen the first temple, rejoiced greatly\\nm the prospect of having a temple for worship.\\nThe older Jews rejoiced also but when they\\ncontrasted their then present circumstances with\\nwhat they had been in the glory of the first\\ntemple, for a time grief preponderated in their\\nbreasts, and there was a mixed shout of joy and\\ngrief. So it has repeatedly been at Haverhill.\\nThe converts of 1790 have ever been disposed\\nto meditate on the power of divine grace of that\\nyear and although they could rejoice in the day\\nof small things, yet they have longed to see one\\nmore day of the right hand of the Most High.\\nOn the i3th of October, 1790, the church was\\nfirst organized. Rev. Dr. Burton, Rev. Dr. Bur-\\nroughs, and Rev. Mr. Ward, of Plymouth, offi-\\nciated. Twenty-two members constituted the\\nchurch at its organization. Rev. Ethan Smith\\nwas their first pastor. He was ordained, January\\n25, 1792, and continued their pastor a little more", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0229.jp2"}, "230": {"fulltext": "226 HISTORICAL SKETCHES\\nthan seven years; dismissed, June 23, 1799.\\nThe Rev. John Smith succeeded Mr. Ethan\\nSmith, and was ordained, December 23, 1802,\\nand continued their pastor a Uttle more than four\\nyears dismissed, January 14, 1807. From this\\ntime to January 4, 1815, the church and eccle-\\nsiastical society had no pastor, nor had they\\nuninterrupted preaching, but had many candi-\\ndates and occasional preaching. And here we\\nhav\u00e2\u0082\u00ac a melancholy exhibition of the mutable\\nstate of every church on earth. The church\\nthat was so flourishing in 1792, was reduced in\\nJuly, 1814, at the time when I commenced my\\nlabors among them, to twelve members in the\\nsouth parish, three males, and nine females,\\nand a covering of sackcloth was spread upon\\nthe tent of Zion. But eight persons within the\\nlimits of the parish had made a public profession\\nof religion for the last twenty-two years. Two\\nwere received under the Rev. Ethan Smith, from\\n1792 to 1799 two under the Rev. John Smith,\\nfrom 1802 to 1807 and four under the Rev.\\nDavid Sutherland, of Bath, their moderator, from\\n1807 to 1814. In the same time there were one\\nhundred and eight baptisms, four of whom were\\nadults.\\nIn the autumn early of 1814, the people be-\\ngain again to flow together to hear the word of", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0230.jp2"}, "231": {"fulltext": "OF THE COOS COUNIEY. 227\\nlife, and a still, small voice was heard by many,\\nsaying, This is the way walk ye in it. Many\\nobeyed tiiat voice. It was impressively true,\\nthat the Lord did not advance, in this instance,\\nin a great and strong wind, nor in the earth-\\nquake, nor in the fire; but his coming was\\nas the ushering in of day. The first evidence\\nof the King s presence was seen in the profound\\nstillness which reigned in the worshipping as-\\nsembly, and the fixed attention of the hearer.\\nChristians began to feel that they were newly\\nanointed from on high, and they prayed with\\ntenderness and fervor, and sinners would drop a\\ntear, when pointedly addressed upon the con-\\ncerns of their souls. Soon we were told that\\nthis one, and that one, were deeply anxious for\\ntheir spiritual interest. And these instances were\\nmultiplied until very many were pricked in heart,\\nand would inquire to know what they must do\\nto be saved. In a short time, some began to\\nrejoice in hope and this solemn and joyful state\\nof things continued through the remaining part\\nof 1814, and more or less through 1815. On\\nthe 4th of January, 1815, I received ordination,\\nand before the close of that year, I think, more\\nthan sixty were added to the church some be-\\ncame pillars, and remain so to the present day,\\nalthough some have fallen asleep.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0231.jp2"}, "232": {"fulltext": "228 HISTORICAL sketches\\nIn 1822, we were blessed with another revi-\\nval, but not so extensive as the former. Some\\nwere called and added to the church in 1826\\nand at the close of my ministry in this place,\\nwhich occurred, April 28, 1829, nearly fifteen\\nyears after I came among them, there had been\\nadded to the church one hundred and nineteen\\nmembers. There had been one hundred and\\nninety-one baptisms, thirt^^ -five of whom were\\nadults.\\nThe Rev. Henry Wood was installed their\\npastor, December 14, 1831, and was dismissed,\\nMarch 3, 1835. The Rev. Joseph Gibbs was\\nordamed their pastor, June 16, 1835, and depart-\\ned this life, April 11, 1837. Rev. Archibald\\nFleming was installed, June 27, 1838, and still\\nremains their pastor.\\nWith my best wishes and my pmyers for their\\nmutual prosperity and final salvation, I close\\nthese Sketches.\\nYour much obliged and ever grateful friend,\\nGRANT POWERS.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0232.jp2"}, "233": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX.\\nThe two following anecdotes were originally written for\\nnewspaper publication but the publishers of the Historical\\nCollections of New Hampshire, learning through the late\\nJesse Worcester, Esq., of Hollis, the historical accuracy of\\nthe two pieces in point of fact, adopted them both, as I have\\nunderstood, into their Collections. But as comparatively few\\nwill ever read them in those Collections, and as the writer\\nof the present Sketches was the author of those two commu-\\nnications, he feels that he has an undoubted right to append\\nthem to this work and when we consider the peculiar agency\\nand interest the two individuals, who are the hero and heroine\\nin the anecdotes, had in the discovery and settlement of the\\nCoos, we cannot but feel that our readers will be gratified in\\nthe perusal of those adventures. The writer often heard the\\naged widow of Capt. Powers relate the facts as here stated\\nthe language is, of course, his own.\\nTHE BOAR AND THE BEAR.\\nThe town of Hollis, in the county of Hillsborough, N. H.,\\nis one of the oldest towns in the county, and was first settled\\nby Capt. Peter Powers and Anna, his wife, from Hampshire\\nDunstable, in 1831. Those early settlers were accustomed to\\nthe rearing of many swine, by permitting them to run at large\\nin the woods, and to subsist upon roots, acorns, and nuts,\\nwhich were produced in great abundance in the place. In\\nthe fall of the year, or at the time of the first deep snow, the\\nolder members of the herd, that were originally tame, would\\nlead their numerous progeny into winter quarters, at a shed\\nerected for that purpose some distance from the house, where\\nthe owner disposed of them as he pleased, although many of\\n20", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0233.jp2"}, "234": {"fulltext": "230 APPENDIX.\\nthem were as untame and as ferocious as the beasts of the\\nmountains. At that time, bears were plenty, and very hostile\\nto swine. It became necessary, therefore, to provide for the\\ndefence of the herd by permitting one of the males to live\\nseveral years beyond the period of life ordinarily assigned ta\\nthat species by man at which time he became literally the\\nmaster of the fiock. His tusks protruded on either side, in\\nnearly semicircles, to the distance of six or seven inches. He\\nseemed conscious of his superiority and responsibility. He\\n^as fierce in the extreme, and courted danger and when the\\nherd was assailed, he instantly presented himself to the foe,\\nwith eyes darting fire, with tusks heated to blueness, and\\nfoaminp at the mouth in a terrific manner. He roamed the\\nforest, unconscious of danger he led the herd and but few\\nof the untamed tribes had the temerity to dispute his title to\\nsupremacy.\\nIt happened, however, on a certain day in autumn, when\\nAnna stood in the door of her cabin, listening to the oft-\\nrepeated sound of the descending axe, or the crash of falling\\ntrees, while her husband was at his daily task, that she heard\\nfrom a great distance the faint, yet distinct, cry of one of their\\nherd. She thought it was the cry of expiring nature. She\\nremained in this state of suspense but a short time, before the\\nherd came rushing from the forest in the greatest apparent\\ntrepidation. The oldest dams of the herd, much exhausted,\\nand without their common leader and protector, seemed in-\\nclined to take refuge in the apartment which had been their\\nretreat in former v/inters but the younger brandies of the\\nfamily would not follow them. The dams, seeing this, dashed\\non through the cleared space, and disappeared in the forest\\non the north side. The cries of the wounded were still heard,\\nbut grew fainter and fainter, until wholly lost in death. But\\nthe anxious Anna had not removed from her position, before\\nthe old boar came rushing through the bushes in eager pursuit\\nof his charge, which had eloped and left him in the rear by\\nmany a rood. He was fresh from the field of combat. He", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0234.jp2"}, "235": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX. 231\\nwas bathed in blood, foaming at the mouth, gnashing his\\ntusks, and exhibited a terrific aspect. Regardless of home,\\nhe approached a field of corn which grew near the cabin, and\\nleaped the fence, not touching the topmost knot, although it\\nwas proof against horses which strayed through the woods\\nfrom neighboring towns in Massachusetts. He passed di-\\nrectly through the field without touching a kerne! of corn,\\nand leaping the fence on the opposite side, disappeared in the\\nwoods. Not long after, the wished-for husband, whose pre-\\nsence the gathering shades of evening, the deep solitude of\\nthe place, and the stirring events of the afternoon, had ren-\\nrlered peculiarly inviting to the young partner of his toils and\\nhopes, returned with his axe upon his shoulder, enlivening\\nthe forest with his evening whistle, and driving his old bell-\\ncow before him, which summoned Anna with her milk-naii to\\nher evening task-\\nScarcely had he secured the topmost rail to his yard enclo-\\nsure, when Anna from the window of her cabin saw her\\nhusband held in anxious suspense. For some moments he\\npaused and listened but turned and called, Anna, Anna,\\nbring me my gun and ammunition in a minute, for the Old\\nMaster himself is worsted, They were at his hand in a\\ntrice. Look to yourself, said the husband,* and bounded\\ninto the forest. Pursuing with great speed the course whence\\nthe sound proceeded, which alone broke the silence of the\\nevening, our adventurer soon found himself at the distance\\nof about a mile and a half from his cabin, surrounded with\\nblack alders, so thickly set as to be almost impenetrable to\\nman and beast. Before him lay Long Pond, so called, about\\none mile in length, and from a quarter to a half a mile, per-\\nhaps, in width. He was near midway of the pond, and the\\nsound from the laboring boar and his antagonist (a mixed,\\nfrightful yell) proceeded directly from the opposite shore.\\nNothing now remained but for him to plunge into the pond,\\nladians were then numerous in the town.", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0235.jp2"}, "236": {"fulltext": "232 APPEN-DIX.\\nand make the opposite shore by beating the waves, or to divide\\nhim a passage amidst the alders around one of the extremities\\nof the pond, which could not be done short of travelling the\\ndistance of another mile. But no time was to be lost. The\\ncries of the boar bespoke the greatest need, and the latter\\ncourse was adopted and in a space of time, and with the\\ncourage and energy which are scarcely conceived by the\\npresent generation, he arrived at the scene of action. Whose\\nheart does not now misgive him, while nearing the battle\\nground, alone, in darkness, and all uncertain as to the nature\\nof the foe But young Powers advanced with undaunted\\nfirmness. He was under the necessity of approaching near\\nto the belligerents before he could make any discovery, by rea-\\nson of the darkness of the night, rendered more dark by the\\ntowering trees, which mingled their branches at some sixty\\nor seventy feet from the ground, and a dense underwood,\\nwhich stood like a hedge continually before him. But as\\nsoon as he entered the area which had been beaten down\\nduring the action, he discovered the boar seated upon the\\nground, and still defending himself against the furious as-\\nsaults of the hugest bear his eyes ever beheld She was like\\nhis old bell-coic for magnitude He drew his gun to an am,\\nwhen he perceived, obscurely, that the bear was on a line\\nwith him and his hog, and he could not discharge his piece\\nwithout putting the life of the latter in jeopardy and, as he\\nwas moving in a circular direction, to procure a safe discharge,\\nhe was discovered by the bear, and she bounded into the\\nbushes. Powers now came up to the boar, and witnessed\\nBuch tokens of gladness as surprised him. It was, however,\\ntoo solemn an hour with the swine to lavish upon his deliverer\\nUnmeaning ceremonies. As soon as he found himself released\\nfrom his too powerful antagonist, he prostrated himself upon\\nthe ground, and lay some time, panting and groaning in a\\nmanner truly affecting to his owner. Powers now discharged\\nhis gun, with a view to terrify the beasts of prey, and keep\\nthem off during the night. He struck and kindled a fire,", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0236.jp2"}, "237": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX.\\n233\\nand upon a slight examination, he found that his hog was\\nlacerated in his rear in a shocking manner. He was utterly\\ndisabled from rising, except upon his fore feet. But to show\\nthe indomitable nature of the animal, I will relate that the\\nboar, after some little time, recovered in a degree from hie\\nextreme exhaustion, and gaining the same position he had\\nwhen his owner found him, began to beat a challenge for a\\nrenewal of the combat. Again his eyes flashed with rage,\\nJie stamped with his fore feet, he chafed, gnashed with his\\ntusks, and foaming at the mouth, he looked around with the\\ngreatest apparent firmness for his antagonist. Our adven-\\nturer now drew together fallen wood sufficient to support a\\nfire through the night, burnt powder around his swine, an\\nreturned to his cabin, where he was never more joyfully\\nreceived by the young wife, who, during all this while, hau\\nremained listening at the window in painful solicitude.\\nThe next day, some help was obtained, as one family* had,\\nprior to this, moved in and settled in the south-west part of\\nihe town, and the battle ground was revisited. The boar had\\nnot moved out of his place, hut was still weltermg in his\\nblood. With much labor he was conveyed home in a cart,\\nand, as he never could becom.e the defence of the herd again,\\nhe was yarded, fattened, and killed, and helped by his death\\n10 promote that existence to the family which he could no\\nlonger do by his life.\\nWith a view to account for the melancholy fate cf the\\nboar. Powers and his associates v/ent in search of the swiinf\\nthat was destroyed in the afternoon of the preceding day.\\nThey found one of their largest hogs slain by a bear, and,\\nnear to, a large bear was as evidently slain by the boar. From\\nthis they inferred that the first hog was mortally wounded by\\na bear in the absence of the boar but the cries of the\\nwounded soon brought the Master^ when a battle ensued, in\\nwhich the bear was slain, not, however, without loss cf blood\\nEleazer Flagg.\\n20*", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0237.jp2"}, "238": {"fulltext": "234 APPENDIX.\\nwith the boar that during this first action, the rest of the\\nherd fled, and that the boar was in pursuit of them when be\\npassed the cabin through the field that after running some\\nmiles, at the point of exhaustion, he fell in with a still more\\npowerful antagonist, when his fight was comparatively feeble^\\nand he fell overpowered^ but not subdued, as it has fallen out\\nwith many a Greek and Roman hero.\\nAN ADVENTUROUS VISIT.\\nWhen Capt. Peter Powers and Anna, his wife, first pitched\\ntheir tent in Hollis, 1731, which was a little north-west of\\nthe present meeting-house, the traces of which are still visi-\\nble, their nearest neighbor lived in the south-eastern part of\\nDunstable, N. H., a distance, probably, at this time, often\\nmiles, and could not be made at that period at a less travelling\\ndistance than twelve miles, as they had no road but a single\\ntrack, and spotted trees for their guide.\\nThis journey could not be made in the summer season\\nwithout fording the Nashua, which was done a little south-\\neast of a small island, visible at your left, as you now pass\\nthe bridge, going from Hollis, N. H., to Dunstable, Mass.\\nand here the river was fordable only when the streams were\\nlow. Of course, these lonely adventurers made their visits\\nbut seldom, and never with a view to be absent from their\\nhabitation during the night, as they were then the parents\\nof two children, whom they were necessitated to leave at\\nhome, in a cabin surrounded with Indians. Indeed, never\\ndid both parents leave their children and perform this rout\\nin company.\\nNow, it happened on a summer s morning, in the month\\nof August, that the wife, Anna, found it convenient to visit\\nher neigkbar, and mounting at an early hour a fine Narra-\\nganset, a faithful and tried companion in adventures, the river", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0238.jp2"}, "239": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX. 235\\nwas soon forded; and the whole distance was made, long ere\\nit was high noon. The interview was such as characterized\\nthe first settlers in this new country, where warmth of affec-\\ntion more than supplied the place of a thousand ceremonies,\\nand a sense of dependence prompted to the discharge of\\nkinder offices than mere refinement would recognize as obli-\\ngatory on her.\\nThe hours passed swiftly away they lived fast they ate,\\nthey drank, they talked much, and blessed God and their\\nking. Nor did a single occurrence tend to interrupt their\\nfestivity until about three past meridian, when all were\\nsuddenly aroused by a distant, though heavy, discharge of\\nheaven s artillery. All rushed to the door to witness the\\naspect of the elements, when, lo it was most threatening\\nand appalling! Nature all around slept, or seemed to be\\nawed into a deathlike silence. Not a leaf moved but when\\nthe foundations of the earth responded to the voice of heaven.\\nAlready, from north to sonth, the whole western horizon was\\nmantled in black, and the gathering tempest moved forward\\nas slowly and sublimely as though conscious of its power to\\nderide all resistance Not until this moment did anxious\\nconcern possess the breast of Anna for the objects of her\\naffections, whom she had left in that lone, dear cell. In a\\nkind of momentary distraction, she demanded that Narragan-\\nset should be pannelled, for she must return to her family that\\nafternoon, whatever might be the consequences to herself.\\nShe had rather brave the tempest returning, than endure her\\nforebodings with her sheltered friends. But a sudden change\\nm the elements did more to dissuade her from so rash an at-\\ntempt than the entreaties and expostulation of her friends.\\nFrom an apparent calm, nature now awoke and seemed to be\\nrushing into ruin. As though the north called unto the south,\\nand the west unto the east, the four winds came on to the\\nconflict. Clouds were driven hither and thither in angry\\nyelocity, and all seemed to be propelled in directions counter", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0239.jp2"}, "240": {"fulltext": "236 APPENDIX\\nto each other. The tempest soon burst upon them, and on\\nthe whole adjacent country, in an unparalleled torrent. No-\\nthing was heard but the crack or roll of thunder, and the roar\\nof winds and waters nothing seen but the successive blaze\\nof lightning\\nIntonuere poli, et crebris micat ignibus aether.\\nThe said Anna lived until rising somewhat of ninety years,\\nand could remember distinctly more than eighty years but,\\nin all this time, she never witnessed such a scene, nor could\\nshe relate any thing which seemed to raise such sublimity\\nof feeling iTi her mind as this.\\nThe tempest lay upon them with unabated force several\\nhours, nor did it appear to spend itself until the sun was just\\nKinking below the horizon, when it broke in upon drowned\\nnature in all its smiles, and reflected its golden beams upon\\nthe black cloud at the east, in the most enchanting manner.\\nThis was the moment for Anna to renew her resolve of re-\\nturning to her family that night and, contrary to all reason-\\ning and persuasions, she instantly put it in execution. She\\nmounted her horse, and bidding adieu to her friends, she\\nentered the twelve-mile forest just as the sun took his leave\\nof her. She calculated upon a serene and star-light evening,\\nand the extraordinary instinct of her beast, as well as her\\nexperience in the way and at the fords. But in regard to the\\nformer, she was wholly disappointed. The wind soon shifted,\\nand rolled the same cloud back again the rain recommenced\\nas the night set in, and the wind ceased.\\nAt that season of the year, the time of twilight was short\\nthe earth being warm and moistened, evaporation was rapid,\\nand a dense fog arose, which scon obstructed vision, and, long\\nere she arrived at the fords, she was enveloped in total dark-\\nness. Her only guide now was her faithful Narraganset, and\\nthe beasts of the forest her companions. She, however, made\\nthe best of her circumstances. She entered into conversation", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0240.jp2"}, "241": {"fulltext": "APPENDIX. 237\\nwith her mare, as was her custom when riding alone and\\nwhen her beast stopped suddenly and tossed up her head, and\\nsnorted at some wild animal crossing her track, as was sup-\\nposed, Anna would exliort her to possess courage, assuring\\nher that nothing could harm her, for the beasts were mere\\ncowards in the presence of a brave horse, c.\\nAfter this manner, the long way to the fords was passed\\nover in Egyptian darkness nor had the thought once oc-\\ncurred to Anna that so considerable a river as now rolled\\nbefore her would be materially affected by a thunder storm\\nof a few hours whereas, so great was the fall of water in\\nthis time that the river, although wide at this place, was\\nbank full, and swept on with great rapidity. Nor could the\\nrushing of the waters be heard by reason of the rain still\\npouring upon the forest around her. She therefore deter-\\nmined to give the rein to her experienced beast, believing\\nthat she would keep the ford, and land her on the opposite\\nshore at the proper place. The horse entered the stream as\\nsoon as at the bank, and in a moment lost her foot-hold on\\nterra firma, and was plunging in the waves at a full swim.\\nSuch, however, was Anna s presence of mind, that she made\\nno exertion to rein her beast, but endeavored simply to retain\\nher seat, which was now under water, whilst the waves beat\\nagainst her waist. The faithful animal made for the opposite\\nshore but so strong was the current, that she was either\\ncarried below the ford, or, in her exertions to resist it, she\\noveracted and went above it, where, at one sweep of her fore\\nfeet, she struck upon a rock in the bed of the river, which\\nsuddenly raised her somewhat from the water forward but\\nshe as soon plunged again, for the rock was cleared the\\nsecond sweep. This plunge was so deep that Anna was\\nborne from her pannel by the gravity of the water but\\npitching forward, she seized Narraganset s mane as she roee,\\nnor did she quit her grasp, until they were both safely landed\\non the happy shore I Adjusti ng her clothes, she remounted,", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0241.jp2"}, "242": {"fulltext": "238 APPENDIX.\\nand soon found that her beast was in her accustomed track,\\nand, in little more than one hour, she alighted at the door of\\nher peaceful cabin, where, by her well-known signal,* she\\nbroke the slumber of her husband and babes, and on entering\\nrelated, in no purer gratitude or greater joy than they expe-\\nrienced in hearing, the result of that adventurous night.\\nCapt. Powers and wife agreed on a peculiar rap, which served\\nas a kind of countersign to inform the one within that the other\\nbad arrived and desired admission. This was necessary to prevent\\nthe intrusion of Indians, who would often rap at different hours of\\nthe nisjht.", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0242.jp2"}, "243": {"fulltext": "INDEX.\\nPage.\\nBailey, Gen, Jacob, .36, 53,\\n193, 194, 217\u00e2\u0080\u0094220\\nBailey, Col. Joshua, 51\\nBaker s River, 175\u00e2\u0080\u0094178\\nBarnes, J., lost son, 174\\nBradford, Vt 163\u00e2\u0080\u0094168\\nBrook, Poole, 47\\nBrown, Josiah, 173\\nBurton, D. D. Rev. Asa, .84,\\n92\u00e2\u0080\u009496, 137\u00e2\u0080\u0094143, 157\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\n159, 161, 162\\nCanipton, 173\\nCart with two tongues, .222\\nChamberlain, John,. .144,145\\nCharters, 48\\nClareraont, 132\\nConnel, John Mc, ..115\u00e2\u0080\u0094118\\nCornish, 132\\nCow, instinct of a, .90 92\\nCrank, saw-mill, 70 73\\nDearborn, Samuel, 168 174\\nEastman, Amos, 14\\nElkins, Col. Jonathan, ..195,\\n200, 221\\nElkins, Dea. Jonathan, .53\\nFairlee, East, 162, 163\\nFifield s, A., lost son, .167\\nFlood, 112\u00e2\u0080\u0094114\\nFreeman, Col. Otis, 79\\nPage.\\nForeman, John, 51\\nGroton, 172\\nHanover,. .79\u00e2\u0080\u009481, 132, 135\\nHarriman, Polly, 47\\nHazen, Capt. John,. 36, 37, 43\\nHebron, 172\\nHobart, Capt. James, .168\\nHolderness, 172\\nHoward, Col. Joshua,. .44, 46\\nHoward, Deacon, 82 84\\nHughs, John, 44\\nIndians, 175 189\\nInstinct of a Cow, 90\u00e2\u0080\u009492\\nJohnston, Capt. Michael, ..46\\nJohnston, Col. Charles,. .46,\\n92, 96\u00e2\u0080\u0094105\\nJohnston, Michael, .37, 40, 45\\nJohnson, Col. Thomas, 48,\\n180, 181, 194\u00e2\u0080\u0094221\\nKent, Col. Jacob, 50\\nKent, Mary, 50, 51\\nLadd, Hon. Ezekiel, 53\\nLadd, Mrs. Ruth, 61, 62, 68, 69\\nLancaster, 49\\nLebanon, 132\\nLiving and Dress, .120\u00e2\u0080\u0094122\\nLyme, 132\\nMann, Esq., John,. .127\u00e2\u0080\u0094 130\\nMorse, Uriah, 46", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0243.jp2"}, "244": {"fulltext": "St40\\nINDEX.\\nPage.\\nNorwich, Vt., 137-144\\nOrford, 127\\nOsmer, John, 163 165\\nOx Bow, Great, old Indian\\nsettlement, 37 40\\nPage, John, 49, 70\u00e2\u0080\u009473\\nParker, Lieut. Z 168\\nPeabody, Nathaniel, 213\\nPeters, Esq., Andrew B. .165\\nPettie, John, 37, 40, 45\\nPierraont, 122\\nPigeons, 110, 111\\nPlainfield, 132\\nPlymouth, 105, 163\u00e2\u0080\u0094178\\nPlymouth, first ox-team\\nfrom, 118,119\\nPowers, Capt. Peter, .15\u00e2\u0080\u009432,\\n86\u00e2\u0080\u009489\\nPowers, Rev. Peter,. .54\u00e2\u0080\u009458,\\n77\u00e2\u0080\u009499\\nRevivals, 223\u00e2\u0080\u0094225\\nRogers, Col. Robert,. .34, 35\\nRumney, 172\\nSleeper, Samuel, ..41,62\u00e2\u0080\u009465\\nSparks, Jared, 215\\nStark, Gen. John, 13, 14\\nPage.\\nStrong, Joel, 160, 161\\nThanksgiving, 75\\nThetford, Vt., 144\u00e2\u0080\u0094162\\nThornton, 173\\nTyler, Jonathan,. .122\u00e2\u0080\u0094 126\\nWait s River,...-. 166\\nWalbridge, 79\u00e2\u0080\u009481\\nWallace, Mrs 149\u00e2\u0080\u0094151\\nWallace, Richard,. .93\u00e2\u0080\u009496,\\n115\u00e2\u0080\u0094121, 146\u00e2\u0080\u0094157\\nWarren, 172\\nWashington, Gen.. .204\u00e2\u0080\u0094 215\\nWard, Rev. Nathan, .169, 170\\nWay, Mr 57,58\\nWeare, Meshech, .212\\nWebster, Ephraim, .153\u00e2\u0080\u0094157\\nWebster, Lydia, 171\\nWentworth, 172\\nWheeler, Charles, 184\\nWheeler, Glazier, 41, 44\\nWiUard, Oliver, 42,43\\nWoodward, Hon. James,.. 49,\\n65\u00e2\u0080\u009472\\nWorms, 105\u00e2\u0080\u0094108\\nWright, Benoni, 63, 64\\n\\\\v^\\\\\\nLE JL", "height": "3307", "width": "1933", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0244.jp2"}, "245": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3282", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0245.jp2"}, "246": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3520", "width": "2261", "jp2-path": "historicalsketch00power_0246.jp2"}}