USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > East Granby > Newgate of Connecticut : its origin and early history : being a full description of the famous and wonderful Simsbury mines and caverns, and the prison build over them > Part 10
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After the family had retired and were asleep, they were awakened by the barking of their dog, which manifested so much uneasiness as to induce Mr. Hayes to leave his bed, and with his dog, to seek for the cause. Supposing the disturbance to have proceeded from the incursion of cattle into the corn-field contiguous to his house, (an ordinary occurrence in those days,) and finding it unmolested, he again sought repose in sleep. But the dog continued restive, and plainly made known by his conduct, that there was some- thing wrong in the neighborhood of the house.
The next morning at an early hour, Mr. Hayes, taking with him a bridle, proceeded into the forests to find his horse. His route led him to pass Stoney Hill, a ridge of land stretching north and south about eighty rods westerly of Salmon Brook street. Upon turning round the south point of this hill, he was seized by three Indians, who sprang upon him from an ambush where they had secreted themselves from view. So suddenly and unexpectedly came this attack upon Hayes, that he was deprived of all power to make resistance, or even any attempt to escape. One Indian seized him by the throat-another enjoined silence by putting a hand over his mouth-whilst the other with a tomahawk raised over his head, enforced obedience and submission. They immediately bound his hands at his back, with the throat-latch of the bridle, and with their captive hastily left the place, taking their course in a northern direction.
Another account states that Hayes was accompanied by a Mr. Lamson, who being an agile and atheletic man, outran the Indians and effected his escape; that the number of Indians belonging to the party, amounted to five or more ; and that the transaction was witnessed by a Mrs. Holcomb, wife of Nathaniel Holcomb, who was in the fields that
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morning milking, but who, from considerations relating to her own safety, was deterred from returning home, or giving an alarm, until the Indians with their captive had left the place.
Very soon, however, the usual alarm was spread, and a force was raised sufficient to make pursuit. Immediate effort was made to relieve the captive, and punish the ag- gressors; and notice of the calamity having been sent to Windsor, a larger force came to the rescue from that town. The route taken by the Indians was found and traced, and at times the marks of their tracks appeared so fresh, that strong hopes were entertained of overtaking them. But their supe- rior cunning in such exploits, with their fleetness in passing through the wilderness enabled them to avoid their pursuers, and escape with their prisoner.
In the meantime Hayes, knowing that any symptoms of lagging on his part would probably cost him his life, and supposing, moreover, that in no event would his captors, if closely pursued, suffer him to live, exerted himself to keep up with them. And he soon found he could do this without much fatigue, for he was robust, and accustomed to such travelling. On one occasion during this journey, when his companions wished to test his fleetness, he outstripped them so far that they were on the point of shooting him to stop his progress. He might then have escaped, as he afterwards said, "if he had had his thoughts about him."
On the first night after his capture, the party encamped at the foot of Sodom mountain. Hayes was secured during the night, by being placed upon his back with each arm and ankle strongly fastened to a sapling, and with sticks so crossing his body as to be lain upon by an Indian on each side. He passed most of the nights bound in this manner, during his long march to Canada. On the second day the party crossed Connecticut river, by fording and swimming, and spent the ensuing night at the base of Mount Holyoke.
In this manner they proceeded from day to day, up the valley of Connecticut river and through the wilderness, on
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their route to Canada. Many incidents occurred which Hayes used to relate. One evening, the little savages belong- ing to a village where the party had stopped, annoyed him by tickling his feet as he lay before a fire with his arms pinioned as usual. Bearing this annoyance as long as his patience would allow, he attempted to get rid of his torment- ors by using his feet in self-defense-during which process some of them were kicked into the fire. He expected noth- ing short of death for this aggression, but was agreeably surprised when the fathers of the burnt children, instead of offering violence, patted him on his shoulders and exclaimed " boon ! "*
They were nearly thirty days on this journey, during all which time the sufferings of poor Hayes were excessive, and almost without intermission. Subjected to hard toil through each day, with no sustenance save what the forests and rivers furnished, and deprived at night of rest by the man- ner of binding his limbs, he had that to sustain which in most cases would have brought the sufferer to the grave. But Hayes if he must be a victim, determined that he at least would not voluntarily contribute to hasten the sacrifice. He possessed that happy faculty of making at all times, the best of his condition. His cheerfulness, though assumed- his ability to endure fatigue and hardships-and his apparent stoical indifference to his fate, secured the good opinion of his comrades, and tended to lighten his burdens, and possi- bly, to prolong his life. Indulgence in despondency could bring no relief, and would as he well knew, but render more bitter the cup of his afflictions. He very wisely therefore made up his mind "to make a virtue of necessity," by sub- mitting with the best possible grace to that fate which he too well knew awaited him.
The Indians told him, on the journey, of their lying about
*If this word is correctly handed down, it was intended probably, for the French word bon, and used on this occasion to express approbation. The northern Indians, at this time were in the habit of using a few words derived from the French.
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his house on the night before he was taken, and of overhear- ing the conversation relating to his intention to proceed, on the next morning, into the wilderness to find his horse ; which information, thus obtained, induced them to lie in wait at Stoney Hill in order to capture him.
When they arrived at the great Indian encampment on the borders of Canada, the prisoner was delivered over to the council of the nation, to be disposed of as they should adjudge. By their decision, he was doomed to undergo the painful ordeal of "running the gauntlet." Being stripped to his skin, and annointed according to custom, he commenced the course; and after many flagellations and hard knocks received, when approaching near the end of the line, being exhausted and faint, he bolted from the course to avoid a blow from an upraised war-club, and sought safety by fleeing into a wigwam, at the door of which sat a superannuated and infirm squaw. He was pursued, but the squaw proclaimed the house sacred, and its inmates protected from injury. By her intercession, and especially by the deference paid to a place thus sanctified according to the rites of Indian supersti- tion, " the appetite of the savage for blood was stayed."
The squaw, whose husband and only son had fallen in war, claimed the captive, and adopted him as her son. She was destitute, and so infirm as to be unable to walk. Haynes, in addition to minor duties, was compelled to provide for her sustenance and fuel. He administered to her wants, and devoted to her the kindest attentions,-and she, in return, evinced her gratitude, by calling him her son! He lived in this family about five years: and although, during this time, he fared better, perhaps, than most Indian captives, yet existence, in his then condition, had for him but few charms. and the future unveiled to his view no cheering prospect, He was in bondage, compelled to adopt the customs and modes of life of savages, and was deprived of almost every comfort deemed necessary by civilized people. Besides, he could entertain no reasonable hope of being restored to his home and kindred-and more than all, his life was at the mercy, whim, or caprice, of savage masters.
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One of the tasks imposed upon him in the winter season, was to draw upon a sled his Indian mother to such places as she wished to visit, and especially to the feasts and council assemblages of her tribe. Upon occasion of a "dog feast," which by the usages of her people, all were expected to attend, he proceeded with her, in this manner, until, ascend- ing a hill which was steep and slippery, he found his strength, when put to its utmost power, barely adequate to make any headway. By perseverance and exertion, however, he was enabled to reach nearly the summit of the hill, when he slipped and fell ; and either by design, or inability to hold on, left the sled, with its mortal load, to find the bottom of the declivity without a pilot-secretly wishing, no doubt, that her appetite for riding would be cured by this trip. In this perilous adventure, the sled struck a stump near the foot. of the hill, which capsized the squaw, who was severely injured by the fall. Whether an accident or not, Hayes professed much sorrow for the disaster, and managed the affair so adroitly, that he escaped every imputation of blame, and continued to retain the confidence and good opinion of the Indians.
Shortly after this event, he was sold to a Frenchman in Montreal, through the agency, it is said, of a Papist priest. His new master was very kind, and allowed him many of the necessaries, with some of the luxuries, of life, of which he had been so long deprived. Learning that Hayes was by trade a weaver, he started him in this business, and by allowing him a share of the profits, Hayes was enabled, in the course of about two years, to earn money enough to purchase his freedom. The good Frenchman not only emancipated him, but supplied him with clothes, provisions, and a half-breed guide to conduct him safely through the warring tribes on his journey homeward. The guide pro- ceeding with him as far as Mount Holyoke, pointed out to him the smoke of his friends, "the pale faces," wished him a happy return to his family, and departed in another direc- tion to wend his way back to Canada. In about twenty-five
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days after leaving Montreal, Hayes had the happiness to reach his home, and to exchange hearty greetings and con- gratulations with his friends, to whom he appeared almost "as one raised from the dead."
Thus, after an absence of about seven years, the captive was restored to freedom, a home, and a happy circle of relatives and friends. He had heard nothing from his family since his capture, nor had they received any tidings of him, though they either knew, or had good reason to suppose, that he had been taken and carried off by the Indians. His friends had flattered themselves, for a long while, that he would be spared to return to them, but his long absence had extin- guished every vestige of hope, and he had for some time been given up as lost.
With buoyant spirits, renovated courage, and unshaken resolution, he set himself to the task of making up for the lost time he had spent with the Indians. His constitution, naturally robust, had suffered nothing by his long captivity, and his ambition had lost none of its fire. He married, settled down upon a farm, and within a short time, became a thriving agriculturist. In 1720, he built a house on the east side of Salmon Brook Street, in the lower or southern part of the street, which was standing until within a few years past. In this house religious meetings were held during some four or five years before the erection of the first meet- ing-house of that society, in 1743.
Mr. Hayes became a prominent citizen, was often employed in civil affairs, and during many years, was a pillar in the church at Salmon Brook, of which he was a member at its organization. He lived to see the infant settlement, so long exposed to Indian barbarities, a populous village, with no crafty enemy to disturb its repose, and strong enough, had danger existed, to protect its inhabitants from plunder or capture. But, long before his death, all Indian difficulties had ceased.
He died, 1756, at the age of seventy-one, and was buried in the cemetery at the north end of the village. A red free-
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stone monument marks the spot of his last resting-place, on which is inscribed the following epitaph :
HERE LIES YE BODY OF MR. DANIEL HAYES, Who served his Generation in steady course of Probity and Piety, and was a lover of Peace, and God's Public Worship; And being satisfied with Long life, left this world with a Comfortable Hope of life Eternal, Sept. 3d, 1756, in ye 71 year of his Age.
In Oct. 1713 the General Assembly of the Colony voted as follows :
"Upon consideration of the petition of Daniel Hayes of Symsbury, having been taken by the Indian enemy and carried captive to Canada-praying for some relief: This Assembly do grant unto the petitioner the sum of seven pounds, to be paid him out of the public treasury of this Colony."
The Red-Men who, for unknown generations, roved among the forests and occupied the fine fisheries of Massaco are now departed forever. "Slowly and sadly they climb the distant mountains and read their doom in the setting sun," while the Pale-Faces follow in their wake, and transform their hunting-grounds into peaceful and pleasant abodes of a hap- pier civilization.
"'Tis not two centuries since they- The red-men-traversed here ; And o'er these pleasant hills and vales Pursued the bounding deer. Yet of their moral weal or woe No trace is left to-day, For, like the foam upon the wave, They all have passed away ! "
Some fifty or sixty years ago a straggling Indian and squaw were occasionally to be met with in this vicinity, depending mainly upon selling a few baskets and mats, or upon the charity of the inhabitants, for support. In the vicinity of Copper Hill and other parts of East Granby, and in neigh- boring towns there are often dug up Indian relics, such as arrow-heads, stone axes, stone pots, mortars and pestles for pounding corn, and rude weapons of war.
REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS.
East Granby's limits furnished-in proportion to her then
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sparse settlement-a full quota of patriotic soldiers for the War of the Revolution, and also for the war of 1812. Some thirty soldiers volunteered or were drafted in the Revolu- tion, and a number of them served during the entire war.
Colonel Andrew Hillyer, a native of East Granby, and father of General Charles T. Hillyer, of Hartford, was a sergeant in the Indian war and was at the siege of Havana, thirteen years before the Revolution. He then enlisted in that war-was a lieutenant, afterwards captain of dragoons, and served eight years. After the war he was colonel of the militia. He died at East Granby in 1828, aged 86.
One of the notables of East Granby was the Honorable Samuel Woodruff. At the age of 17, while at Yale College, hearing of the efforts of the Americans to capture Bur- goyne's army at Saratoga, he with several other students hastened with all possible speed to the scene of conflict, arriving there in time to participate in that decisive battle, and to witness the ceremonies of the surrender. He was for some years a judge of the court of Hartford county, and one of the overseers of Newgate prison. In 1828 he was ap- pointed a commissioner to distribute supplies to the suffering Greeks after their war with the Turks, and at the age of 70 crossed the Atlantic and accomplished that misson of charity. His remarkably retentive memory, stored with a fund of historic facts, together with his ready application of anec- dote and sallies of wit and humor, made his society instruct- ive and agreeable to all classes. He died at East Granby, in 1850, aged nearly 91.
Lemuel Bates was a captain during the Revolution, and par- ticipated in several battles. For many years Captain Bates kept a tavern in the north part of East Granby, in the house where his grandson, Wm. H. Bates, now lives. The merry old gentleman was fond of fighting his battles over again by relating his reminiscences of those interesting times. After the surrender of Burgoyne, with his once splendid army of 10,000 men, at Saratoga, several detachments of the British prisoners of war were marched through East Granby,
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and a portion of them bivouacked on the premises of Captain Bates. " The British had plenty of money," said Cap- tain Bates, " to pay for the best we had ; and my folks were kept busy in distributing pitchers and pails of cider among them. At night all the floors in my tavern were spread over with them."
Another portion of the British captives encamped on the premises of Captain Roswell Phelps,* near the centre of East Granby. These prisoners of war were an interesting sight, and excited an inspiring curiosity in all this region.
At one time several teams laden with specie, en route from Boston to Philadelphia, halted for the night at Captain Bates's. The specie had been borrowed from France ; which nation was then fraternally aiding us in our struggle. It was enclosed in strong plank boxes, drawn by thirteen teams, well guarded; and amounted to several millions of dollars.
Among those captives in Burgoyne's army was one by the name of Charles Stevens. He belonged to one of the com- panies of grenadiers who were selected as being the tallest and most martial in appearance of the British troops. He was about 6} feet in height, according to the author's recol- lection of him. In that connection he used to remark, "I was among the short men in my company, and so was placed on the left of the line."
It came to pass that Stevens took to himself a wife and settled in East Granby. Being under the necessity of "turn- ing his sword into a ploughshare and his spear into a pruning hook," he served as a day laborer for farmers in the neigh- borhood. He was particularly expert in digging ditches, and usually went by the name of " the ditcher." Two maidens of the neighborhood meeting him one day innocently saluted him with-" Good morning, Mr. Ditcher."
The old veteran turned upon the damsels with flashing
* Captain Phelps went into the service at the age of 16. His son, Roswell H., now fives upon a part of the same farm, at the age of 88, in robust health, and brings down the scales at 261; and his son (the author of this work) is the sixth generation that has resided on a part of said premises
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eye and informed tnem that he did not acknowledge that title, exclaiming with a haughty look " I am a grenadier of General Burgoyne's army and was a big man before you were born !"
One of East Granby's sons who rose to distinction was the Hon. Walter Forward .* When at the age of 20, his father removed with his family (in 1803) to Ohio; and young Forward, on foot, drove an ox-team laden with household goods, as was the custom of travelling then. He afterwards removed to Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the practice of law, became a Member of Congress, Secretary of the United States' Treasury, and Minister to Denmark. At the time of his death he was Chief Judge of the court in Penn- sylvania. He died at the age of 69.
The following is a list of those from East Granby who were engaged in the Revolution, and in the War of 1812-though there may have been others whose names are not herein enumerated :
REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS.
Col. Andrew Hillyer, Hon. Samuel Woodruff, Capt. Isaac Owen, Capt. Lemuel Bates, Capt. Matthew Griswold, Capt. Roswell Phelps, Sergt. Richard Gay, Joel Clark, Reuben Clark, Zopher Bates, John Forward, Hezekiah Holcomb, John Cornish, Asahel Holcomb, Thomas Stevens, Jesse Clark, Joseph Clark, John Thrall, Luke Thrall, David Eno, Reuben Phelps, Samuel Clark, Joseph Dyer.
WAR OF 1812.
Dan Forward, Joseph Cornish, Appollos Gay, Orson P. Phelps, Calvin Holcomb, Alex. Hoskins, Wm. K. Thrall, Eratus Holcomb, Gurdon Gould, Peultha Clark, Uriah Holcomb, Elihu Andruss, John G. Munn, Alex. Clark, Abiel Clark, Chandler Owen, Sardius Thrall, Charles Buck, Elihu Phelps, Ephraim Shaylor, William Rockwell, Jesse Clark, Jr.
* A sister of his, Mrs. Hannah Clark, now resides in East Granby, at the venerable age of 91-being the oldest person in town-and in fair enjoyment of her naturally strong mental faculties
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SOCIETY MATTERS.
The "Society of Turkey Hills," in East Granby, was formed in 1736, and comprised, at the time, forty-six families. The first church was built in 1738, the site having been previously fixed by a committee appointed by the General Assembly. There had been for several years previously such a bitter controversy over the formation of societies and location of sites for churches in Granby, and the societies had become so much disorganized that the Assembly refused to appoint any Justices of the Peace in the town for three years-1731 to 1734. The old church remained in a rough condition for about half a century when, in 1794, it was thoroughly repaired and a steeple built. In 1830 having stood for ninety-two years, it was taken down, and a hand- some one, built of stone, was erected on a new site, in 1831.
For several years previous to the removal of the prison from Newgate, the State united with the society of Turkey Hills in employing a chaplain to preach a part of each Sun- day in the prison chapel, where all who desired were allowed to assemble in the same room with the convicts.
It is interesting to look over the ecclesiastical records of East Granby just one hundred years ago, and note the prevailing habits and customs of those Revolutionary times. In 1776 it appears that Rev. Aaron Booge was settled* as a minister in that society, and the following is on the society records.
"Oct. 22d 1776-Voted to give Mr. Aaron Booge Two hundred Pounds as & settlement, to be paid in four Equal payments, to be paid in four yes after set- tlement .- Also voted to give Mr. Booge as a Sallery, Fifty Pounds a year for ye first four yes, and then to rise to Sixty pounds, and it is to be understood that ye people of sª Society shall have Liberty yearly, to Pay the one half of sd Sellery in Wheat, Rye, & Indian Corn, or either of them, at ye common market Price .- Voted also to give ye sª Mr. Booge, Twenty Seven Cords of good Siseable Wood a year, yearly ; and it is to be understood that Less answering the end, then the whole is not to be Required, and it is to be understood That the above Payments are to be equivalent to the Present Lawful money of the State of Coneccticut ; Silver being Six Shillings and eight Pence to the ounce, or to be pa in bills of
*As a fit preparation for the day of ordination the society voted to appoint seventeen tavernkeepers!
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Public credit, & grain as above mentioned equivalent thereto."-Two years later the price of Wheat was voted by the society "at 58, Rye at 38, and Corn at 2-6 a bushel."
This Rev. gentleman afterwards distinguished himself in the War of 1812, as Chaplain in the army under Gen. Jack- son. He was an enthusiastic admirer of the old hero, and was fond of relating his adventures while in the army.
THE WAY TO REACH COPPER HILL.
As the old caverns and vicinity will continue to be a place of classic interest, the tourist and visitor will ask how to reach there. The N. Y., N. H. & Hartford R. R., Shelburne Falls Branch, passes about one mile west, and the nearest station on that road being at Granby, two and one-fourth miles southwest. The Central New England R. R. passes through Tariffville about three miles south, and also East Granby, one and one-fourth miles distant, this being the nearest railroad station of any. Windsor Locks, seven miles east, is on the N. Y., N. H. & Hartford R. R. From either of these places, teams can be had to convey travellers to the mines.
There can be seen most of the old prison buildings,-the guardhouse, treadmill, and several of the workshops &c., all bearing marks of decay and dilapidation. The old stone- wall enclosure surmounted with watch-towers is standing, and the moat or ditch, once fourteen feet deep, still yawns above the subterraneous excavations. Were this weird place with all its eventful associations located in Europe, it would be a special and marked object for description in the writings of tourists; and the wonder is that people, even in this State know so little of the classic features of Newgate. Says Nordhoff, "There have been Americans who saw Rome before they saw Niagara." Upon the craggy rocks which overhang it on the east, there is a bold, magnificent view, of great scope to the north, south, and west, and if a few forest- trees were cleared away on the eastern slope of the ledge, a splendid panoramic view of great extent and beauty would be unfolded, the whole equalling, if not surpassing, the
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celebrated Wadsworth tower. The ascent to the cliff, a little south of it, is not difficult, and with little labor a more convenient flight of steps could be made out of the quanties of stones and rock, lying loosely along its sides and base.
The caverns, only about one hundred rods distant from the ledge, will remain for ages to come, and continue to grow in interest during the flight of years. Some of the buildings now falling to decay, could be repaired and preserved, and the old guard-house made a place for entertainment. If put in proper condition, the place would attract a large number to explore the mines, to view the romantic scenery in the vicinity and surrounding country, and enjoy the invigorating benefits of the pure mountain air. The piscatorian could indulge his sportive pastime at Southwick ponds, lying about four miles to the north, and comprising hundreds of acres in extent, where a small steamboat is employed during the summer, for the use of the numerous pleasure parties who meet there for fishing, clambaking, dancing, etc.
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