USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Picturesque Hampshire : a supplement to the quarter-centennial-journal > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
PICTURESQUE HAMPSHIRE
890
G844Ha W242p
HOLYOKE PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 7362 0006 6723 9
1890
4. 1
HISTORIC GROUND IN THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY. DRAWN AND ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK, BY ELBRIDGE KINGSLEY, SUBJECT TO JAPAN PROOFS.
HAMPSHIRE A
SUPPLEMENT TO THE QUARTER-CENTENNIAL- JOURNAL
NORTHAMPTON, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1890.
INTRODUCTORY.
0
0
Hail! gentle reader -and Good Morning! or Good Evening! as you find it - here we are on the "parting of the ways," the "Four Corners" of roads leading to all kinds of picturesqueness.
"Picturesque Hampshire?" yon ask inquiringly. Yes, why not? Is it not a part of "Picturesque America," and a considerable part too? If you have any doubt of it this volume must convince yon.
Here is not seen the wonderful power of a Niagara's torrent, the sublimities of the Rocky Mountains, or the
A WAYSIDE WATERING-TROUGH.
canons and gorges of the Yosemite; but show us, if you can, any fairer "Garden of the Gods" than that com- prised in the meadow lands, hills and vales of Hampshire! If the Supreme Power has given us here his wonderful works only in miniature, instead of duplication, let us be thankful that we are not surfeited, and that our love for the beautiful is in no danger of being satiated, but instead is left to "grow from what it feeds upon," and thus furnish "a joy forever."
THE OLD STAGE-COACH.
But to return to our "Four Corners." Here is a road which would take us over the hill, by the pretty little country church, of which you see the steeple in the title picture. Not one in fifty of our readers have used this
road, probably, but it will lead them to such wonderful scenes of beanty as they never dreamed of, if they know how to make good use of their eyes and are endowed with a fair share of art instinct. An hour out on that road, if you are a lover of nature-human and the other kind-and you will see pictures of nature's verdure, gen-
AN AUTUMN HILLSIDE.
eral beauty, quaint objects and character scenes in a country and people you would hardly know for those of your own county or state. Who would suppose such scenes as follow this page could all be Hampshire reali- ties? Yet we found them all, with our artists, in rides and strolls about the county, and they reveal the beau- ties of that every-day life which is close at hand and all about ns.
THE SPRING HOEING.
Suppose we were fairly started on our carriage-ride over that hill in the picture, one of our studies by the roadside might well be the watering-troughs for tired equine creation. The variety is remarkable. and would make an interesting series of pictures by themselves, had we room for them, but we can only instance one, of
common fashion, which is to be found on the road between Chesterfield hill and the "Hollow."
What sight more suggestive and touching than the JEPS old abandoned stage-coach, turned into the farm-yard, WORTHINGTON to fall to pieces after expo- HINS DALE 4 sure to a few winters' storms MOCLEERLO and the assaults of mischiev- ous boys! unless, forsooth, some one shall rescue it from rnin and convert it into a tally-ho coach. What stories the old stage could tell, of sad and merry journeys tak- en in its interior, and even on top, on its outside seats !
It was late in the fall when we took our first car- riage ride, hunting after views for our " Picturesque Hampshire," and the cres- THE FRIENDLY GUIDE. cent of the harvest moon shone over the corn-stacks on the hillside, as repre- sented in the picture. It was last spring when we went over the same country again, and saw men preparing the ground for this fall's harvest.
Next to watering troughs, guide-boards would be a study, and you can generally tell the character of a town by the care taken of them. Speaking about pie- turesque roads over the hills, the last sketch on this page shows us still another. There are a great many about the country that we were unable to sketeh or photograph, for lack of space to reproduce them.
Another book, and another still, would fail to com- plete the panorama of nature's attractions and the human character pictures that crowded upon onr atten- tion. Let any one who wishes to spend his next vacation pleasantly and profitably engage a horse and carriage, if he is not fortunate enough to have one of
sharon
A WINDING ROADWAY OVER THE HILL.
4
PICTURESQUE HAMPSHIRE.
his own, take his family or friends with him, and drive leisurely a few days in the direction of any of the four points of the compass, from the shire city, or any town in Hampshire connty. Oar word for it, he will surprise himself, and will come back more in love than ever with his own country. A single man will enjoy himself with a bicycle; in fact, it is only wheelmen, comparatively speaking, who have yet come to know and enjoy out- door life and travel within a fifty mile radins of the centre of Hampshire. They know every road, hill, valley and river, and you will find more than one of them enthusiastie when the subject of picturesqueness in Hampshire is touched npon; some of them have photographie apparatus, to preserve the pictures which fly before their eyes, and all of them can post yon as to the best roads. The horsehack ride is another pleasant way of reaching the country portrayed in these pages, but if any amount of baggage is to be carried, and the trip is to be a prolonged one, with companions, the carriage is indispensable.
Suppose now, that instead of driving out into the country, away from Hampshire's city, we turn our carriage back, over the pretty little bridge in the pie- ture, and first inspect the attractions of the "Meadow City," for she claims our chief attraction, as queen of the county-
"Fronting the sunrise and in beanty throned, With jeweled homes around her lifted brow, And coronal of ancient forest trees."
As a preliminary exercise, gentle reader, we ask you to view with us an old Indian battle-ground in Hadley, on our way through the meadows, first casting your eyes on the representation of it in the beautiful frontispiece of Elbridge Kingsley, on the apposite page. Then, after a review of this historie ground, with the Hadley pastor's wife, first in poem and then in prose, please listen to a few general preachments and explanations on the nature and scope of our work, etc., after which you can jump into the carriage with us, and take a drive about town - the "grand old town," of Northampton.
HADLEY'S DELIVERANCE.
Frontispiece Illustration by Elbridge Kingsley.
Oh, beautiful Hadley meadows! how fair you are to- night!
Partly in purple shadow, partly in amber light,
With shimmer of silver poplars, and pine trees' rieher green,
And the river winding slowly, your emerald banks be- tween.
Oh dear and sweet Connectient! in lands beyond the sea, Where is the storied river to be compared with thee? What fairest foreign landscape so the heart with pleas- ure fills,
As thon dost, charming valley, girt with eternal hills. Rippling over the bending grass, the West wind ling'ring goes,
He linds the shy arbutus, the sweet azalea knows.
The whippoorwill's cry in the swamp sounds near, then faint and far,
And the beacon on Mt. Holyoke shines like a steady star. Oh, lovely vale that smiles below! Oh, silent heights above!
For aye ye are the blest abode of tenderness and love. For aye? We may not say it, turn back two hundred years,
And read a page of history all dim with blood and tears; When, through this happy valley swept the scathe of Indian ire,
And marked its deadly footprints here, in massacre and fire.
So softly dark the night came down, two hundred years ago,
Only the wind among the pines, the river's murinnring flow,
When yonder, in their ancient fort, the council ring was set.
* And Philip's wily messenger, the Hadley Indians met ; His dark eye glitters fiercely, but his speech is smooth and slow :
" What word, Oh, braves of Nonotuck? what word before I go?
1 Ye know in Mache-Moodus the thunder rolls again,
'T'he red men's Gitchie Manitou has heard his sons complain :
Shall I say the Hadley pale-faces have built a pen of logs Where without bows to bring them food, they keep their Indian dogs?"
A low growl rolled around him and louder, fiercer grew He checked it with his lifted hand, "Did Cnchoy's ears tell true?
Or did they lie, my brothers, when they said at rise of
{ The Hadley men would take my brothers' bow, and knife and gun ?"
Black low'red the frown the circle round, yea, e'en the tawny hrow
That once had known the Christian sign, was dark with hatred now,
A hundred bows are quickly strung, a hundred knives flash bare.
A moment, and the fearful whoop shall thrill the mid- night air,
And sleeping Hadley waken in affright to deadly harm, But Cnshahoy has stilled them by the lifting of his arm.
The white man's eyes are blind with sleep, his ears are dull and dead,
He sees no dusky, gliding forms, he hears no stealthy tread :-
§ But when the morning brightens, and the Hadley townsmen come
To take the Indians' arms away, the empty fort is dumb, Yet speaks of plotted treason, for these tawny heathen eling
|į Close as serpents' eggs together, (Eggs will hatch and serpents sting.)
Oh, sighing pines of Sugar-loaf! Green elms of Deerfield vale ! Ye saw the Indian serpents coiled beside the narrow trail.
Oh, flower and crown of Essex yonth! the glory of our host,
** Ye are become the heathen's prey so miserably lost : And Essex's maids and matrons long shall mourn their gallant dead,
Like mourning Rachel shall they weep nor shall be comforted.
Had not the Lord been on our side, may poor New England say,
Our hearts had fainted utterly, after this dreadful day.
To the Lord of Hosts give glory ! Let the praise be His alone!
tt When He pleaseth to have merey, deliverance shall be shown.
## His marvelous Deliverance! we saw it with our eyes ! It was on a Fast-day morning, in time of exercise,
While worthy Mr. Russell did so faithfully expound
§§ Revelation xi. 3, with searchings most profound, --
Behold the time approacheth, and the sign is set on high,
Not longer shall His witnesses in sackcloth prophesy, It cometh! it is at the door, the great Day of the Lard! Which shall avenge His slaughtered saints, according to His word."
So rapt were we from things of sense, in holy fervor then,
Almost we saw the shining of the New Jerusalem !
When just beyond the door arose a wild and sudden cry, " The Indians! the Indians! the Indians are nigh !"
As when the fowler's net is cast above the trembling bird.
So stood we terror-smitten there, and no one spake or stirred,
Then rushed we at our savage foe, but vainly did we strive,
Not a house had stood in Hadley, nor soul been left alive,
|| Had God not sent to rescue us, His mighty Angel down,
To rally us, and lead us, save the people and the town. To the Lord of Hosts give glory ! Let the praise he His alone,
In time of our extremity was His Deliverance shown! MRS. J. S. BAYNE.
HADLEY, July, 1890.
NOTES.
* It appears that the Nipnet Indians were driven more westward into the woods between Hadley and Northfield, where they soon effected their design, viz., to leaven the In- dians on that side the country with the same prejudice and malice against the English with which they themselves were embittered .- [Narrative of the Indian Wars, page 100.
(This narrative was published by authority of the Governor and Conneil in 1677. Reprinted by same anthority in 1777.)
t Mache-Moodus or " place of noises." A place before the English settlements of extraordinary pow-wows, or where the Indians drove a prodigions trade at worshiping the devil. An old Indian said when asked the cause of the noises, that " Indians' god was very angry because Englishman's God was come here."-[Trumbull.
# Insomuch that the said Hadley Indians fell into great suspicion with the English, and for a proof of their fidelity were required to bring in their arms to the English, but upon that motion they delayed a little,-[Narrative of the Indian Wars, page 101.
§ That very night they fled away from their dwelling, which was in a wooden fortification within a mile of Hatfield, (then a part of Hadley.) whereby they plainly discovered that they had secretly plotted to join Philip's party .- [Narrative of the Indian Wars, page 101.
I! They all hanging together like serpents' eggs were easily persuaded to join with those of Hadley, (there being so near alliance between them.) for the Sachein of the Springfield In- dians was father of Hadley Sachem .- [ Narrative of the Indian Wars, page 109.
** The 18th of September, that most fatal day, the saddest that ever betel New England, which was the ruin of a choice company of young men. the very flower of the County of Essex; their dear relations at home mourning for them like Rachel for her children, and would not be comforted, because they were so miserably lost .- [Page 104.
At The time of our deliverance wasnot yet come. God had other trials to acquaint us with before he would turn His hand upon our enemies .- [Page 117.
## Bur the Lord of Hosts, who is wise in council and wonder. ful in working will find out some other way to destroy onr
enemies wherein the hand of His providence should more remarkably be seen, that so no fleshi should glory in its own wisdom or strength, but that salvation might appear to be from the Lord alone .- [ Page 202.
$$ These texts are marked in an old Commentary-publish- ed in 1685-belonging to the Pastor's Library in Hadley. It was believed by many that the " two witnesses " of Revelation were the two regicides then hiding in Hadley ; and there was a general expectation of the revolution which occurred some years later in England, and a looking upon it as a fulfillment of prophecy.
If11 The story of the appearance of Goffe as the ' 'Angel of Rescue in Hadley," is too well known to need repetition.
THE TOP-MOST CRAG ON MT. HOLYOKE.
Historic Ground in the Connecticut Valley. See Frontispiece.
There is hardly a note in history more pathetic and tonching than the experience of the exiled judges of Charles I. of England, while hiding from royal displeas- ure in the caves and woods of New England. While others had come to find homes and build a nation, they had come to find oblivion for every action, and finally unknown graves in the then great wilderness.
It is not necessary to go into minnte detail to attract interest to Old Hadley's vagne and beautiful legend of the mysterions appearance of Gen. Goffe as an angel of deliverance, during an attack of the Indians on Sept. 1, 1675. It is sufficient for our purpose to deal with it as tradition and call attention to a locality that has a suffi- ciency of facts within its bosom to echo this same old story of the past, like a well remembered dream.
Hadley, in the early days, consisted of a single wide street, stretching across a peninsula, made by a loop of the Connecticut river, just above Mt. Holyoke. Within the limits of the meadows formed by this sweep of the river to the west and back again, ocenrred some of the most stirring scenes of the early wars, and within a radius of tive miles are to be found the ruins of no less than three Indian forts.
The inevitable conflict of races commenced in this fair valley August 24, 1675, and resulted in the annihila- tion of the original owners of the soil as a people. They were incited to action, it is said, hy King Philip, who was driven from his home to find refuge with the Nip- nets east of the valley, this tribe being connected with the River Indians by ties of relationship. Signs of dis- content were in the air for a long time, and when, on the night of the 24th, the colonial soldiers marched down the big bend, to surround and disarm the Indians, they found the principal fort evacuated and the whole garri- son in full retreat to the north. Thereafter the war was mainly carried on by deadly amhnscade in the swamps, or by'sudden inenrsions from the northern hills, giving color to the theory that there could have been no attack on Hadley Sept. 1.
But the eastern horders of the valley being in the hands of the hostile_Nipnets and trails leading over eastern spurs of Mt. Holyoke directly to an Indian fort half a mile south-east of the village street, may offer another solution to the mystery. From the lay of the land it is easy to see that this direction of approach was the only one that the Indian would naturally take, either Tor surprise or retreat, as all other avenues were open ground or ent off by the river.
This region below the village has undergone few changes since the first settlement, save the annual ent- tings of the river into its banks, forming new channels for itself and leaving sand-bars and driftwood in the place of rich meadow land. The road follows the curve of the river as it bends to the south, along high sand banks till the land dips to a lower plain called Fort Meadow. A small mill stream, called Fort river, de- bouches ont upon this plain and joins the Connectient a half mile below.
On the eastern bank of this stream a high hinff, over- grown with pine, marks the site of the Indian fort: back of it the platean keeps the same high level and joins the foot hills of the mountain. It is plain that the savages would cross the small stream at this point, as it
5
PICTURESQUE HAMPSHIRE.
is nearest to the hill on the opposite side, and from the cover of this hill drop under the high banks of the Con- nectient, leading directly into the southern end of the village street, and also, if by watchfulness the foe was discovered in time, this sand hill would naturally be made use of in self-defense hy a soldier of the experience of Gen Golfe. The usually accepted impression of the legend, that the Indians actually reached the church, seems hardly possible, unless nearly the whole street was laid in ashes before reaching it. At all events, recent excavations in the same hill uncover Indian hones and relics in a profusion that seems to point to the spot as the unknown battle ground. If the English succeeded in driving the foe back over the hlulls, their dead would be buried on the ground, while the fallen of the whites would be taken to the cemetery west of the town.
It is a beautiful scene, this link to so many stirring memories. Below us the stream winds in and out of brush and swamp undergrowth, forming shallows and lagoons that are thick with rushes and lily-pads. Over- hanging trees are draped with festoons of wild grape vines, and the shadows are dense with fern and clematis.
The setting sun lights up the eastern shores of the stream and the whole side of Mt. Holyoke is a blaze of variegated greens. The white mountain house stands out against a purple background of clouds, like a beacon, overlooking the peace of the valley. And this is the only reminder that modern civilization is sweeping up
Quarter-Centennial Journal made the en- terprise a hold and hazardous one for a country newspaper publisher, and many predicted its pecuniary failure. But again it was proved that the public know a good thing when they see it The character of the work was not the highest from a literary standpoint, nor did it aim to be, but the publie spirit and enterprise-we trust we may be excused this little egotism -- was appreciated. The book had a hrisk sale but it was sold at a low price, and only for the advertising patronage of many kind friends the publishers would have been seriously out of pocket. As it was they obtained only a modest profit for several months of hard lahor and the expenditure of several thousand dollars, and this naturally led to caution and hesitation in the consideration of any fur- ther enterprises of the kind. Hints were often given that the people of Northampton and Hampshire county would appreciate a resumption of such work as the Quarter-Centennial hinted at, but the publishers did not
LOOKING TOWARDS THE CITY HALL ..
-as he rarely owns Boston & Albany railroad stock- and in this case he will not grumble if he is able to pay his bills and secure all parties from loss. Without a cent of profit he will then be proud of it, as a monument to his native town and county, and to all concerned in its
-
-
VIEW OF THE CITY OF NORTHAMPTON, LOOKING EAST, FROM SMITH COLLEGE TOWER.
like a vast sea, to capture these quiet nooks to its own uses. Soon there will be no traces left of relics and associations that connect the present with the begin- nings of the Nation. ELBRIDGE KINGSLEY.
Picturesque Hampshire.
[Entered at the Post-Office as second class matter.]
A SUPPLEMENT TO THE QUARTER-CENTENNIAL EDI- TION OF THE
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY JOURNAL.
CHAS. F. WARNER, Editor. WADE, WARNER & CO. Publ'rs. PRICE : Fifty cents in Paper Cover ; in { loth. $1.50; Russia Leather, Beveled Boards, Full Gilt, (Edition Limited, to one Indred copies,) $5 each.
Hampshire County Journal,
WADE, WARNER & CO., PROPRIETORS.
A FIRST-CLASS, FREE, INDEPENDENT FAMILY NEWSPAPFR Succeeding the Journal and Free Press.
Published every Friday Afternoon, in Jones' Block, Court St., NORTHAMPTON, MASS.
TERMS-Two dollars a year, but if paid in advance, or within six months of the time of subscription, $1.50.
EDWARD H. WADE. CHARLES F. WARNER.
WHY THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED.
In the Quarter-Centennial edition of the Hampshire Connty Journal-of which this work is a supplement - the editor stated that the material for illustration, read- ily available, to portray the beanties of Northampton and the surrounding country, was almost inexhaustible. This was in 1887, and he further said that it might be advisable at some future time to publish a book supple- mentary to the Quarter-Centennial, but while hoping that he might be called upon to do so, he was not at al sanguine of such an issue. The cost of publishing an edition of ten thousand copies of such a work as the
feel able to share all the risk and uncertainty of such an enterprise as this is, in addition to their regular business and during the summer of 1889 one of Northampton's mast public-spirited citizens came forward, urged the publication of this book, and declared his readiness to co-operate in launching the work, as a meritorious pub- lic enterprise.
But for this act of one who in numerous other ways has made himself a general public benefactor, the editor fears that he never should have felt able to undertake the work of gathering and culling so much material as was necessary for his ideal work.
It now remains for every son of Hampshire to show his appreciation of this enterprise-much more costly than was the Quarter-Centennial-by patronizing it lib- erally, for the benefit of the publishers, themselves and their friends. The editor desires, first of all, to pay the print- er, the paper-maker and engraver. If any- thing is left for him he will be glad to accept it, but a country editor is accustomed to work- ing for meagre income
production, while he would hope for the time when the sons of Hampshire would heartily appreciate the public spirit that prompted it- for it is surely not too much to claim that spirit for both, when the use of capital, time and lahor can never be fully compensated hy any pro- ceeds that can accrue from the sale, at so low a price, of such a limited edition as is given of this work. Only an edition of 20,000, or double the number of copies, could furnish to the editor and publishers such a profit as would be commensurate to its importance and worth, and hence they will have to take out a share of their satisfaction in glory instead of any great amount of hard cash, but, as noticed before, one of them at least is supposed to be chronically content with such returns for his labor-at least, so the paragraphers will have it.
THE PRICE OF THE WORK.
It will hardly be doubted that the eost of bringing ont "Picturesque Hampshire" would fully warrant ns in charging one dollar a copy for it, but on the other hand there are doubtless many who could not afford to pay this sum, who could pay fifty cents, and that is the reason for the popular price we have placed on this work. It is desired to bring its pos- session within the means of every citizen of the county. It is the first book of the kind in this or any other county, that we know of. The people of Hampshire have a right to be proud of it, but a higher price than fifty cents for it might make some feel that the enterprise was not such a publie- spirited one as it is. Now the editor and publishers of this work can claim at least that motive. They have published the book to glorify the beanties of their native city and connty, and every one else, for the small sum of fifty cents, can claim the credit of patronizing publie spirit and en- terprise and thus aid in satisfying the ob- ligation, if there is any, to the originators.
CRAFTS AVENUE.
6
PICTURESQUE HAMPSHIRE.
LOOKING FROM KING STREET TOWARD PLEASANT STREET.
For the convenience of those who prefer their "Pie- turesque" bound in cloth a special edition has been pub- lished and will be put on sale at $1.50 a copy. A very limited, choice edition de luxe, bound in Russia leather, with beveled boards and gilt edges, has also been issued and will be sold, only by subscription, at five dollars per copy.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.