USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > The history of Concord, Massachusetts > Part 7
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spring opened they could provide things more durable. It is said, however, that even the first winter Parson Bulkeley had provided for him a frame house.
As to the food supply, we may make no mistake in sup- posing that it was scant in quantity and altogether unsuit- able for either hard work or good health; for commercial relations with other places were few, and but little corn could be obtained from the natives. Besides, there was inconvenience in the preparation of what food material they had. Corn may have had to be ground after the Indian fashion of pounding it with a pestle in a mortar of wood or stone, or if a few families were fortunate enough to own a "querne", before the erection of the "Bulkeley grist mill", and also in seasons of drought afterward, they may have been put to the hardship of grinding their corn by hand.
We may also believe that the clothing was unsuited to the climate, for, doubtless, they wore the garments they brought with them across the ocean, and the change from the equable temperature of England to the inconstant cli- mate of Massachusetts Bay, and the encountering of the malarial exhalations and damp meadow mists of the Mus- ketequid, together with the snowfalls and floods that go with great forest growths in an unreclaimed country, would naturally result in much suffering. If we may believe the writer, Johnson, some of the people were at times only partially clad in anything, for, he states, that "at the first, many of the people in the season of frost and snow went barefooted and barelegged." The same writer says that "some of their cattle, for which they paid five and twenty pounds a cow, died," and, also, that "for want of wheat, barley and rye, the Indian meal proved a sore affliction to some stomachs."
The late autumnal days following the arrival were busy ones. There was much to be done before the setting in of a winter which to the settlers was all untried, and whose severity at its mildest might if unprepared to meet it sub- ject them to hardship.
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Besides the building and banking up of their houses, a supply of food and fuel was to be provided ; shelter was to be made for the cattle, and fodder laid by for them when they could no longer feed upon the brown meadows nor browse upon the brushwood. To perform these tasks was not easy ; the forest being of the "first growth," as it was termed when no woodman's axe had been used upon it, would not readily fall before the rude implements that were used for wood-cutting in those days ; and the tall bluejoint, the juiceless lute grass, the "pipes" and the "flags" had all lost some of their summer sweetness, and were tough and woody, and in some places standing half high in water.
Furthermore, the time for gathering these was short. Any week, any day, might bring the snow, and any night the ground might freeze, so that not so much as a fence post could be set. The summer birds had all flown, and the late stragglers from the north flew low down, as if laden with an apprehension that they were late. The leaves had fallen, and the wind blew through the bare branches with a melancholy wail, and rustled coldly through the coarse sedge in the runways ; while in the morning, thin ice cov- ered the meadow lands, all betokening the near approach of cold weather, and admonishing the settler to make haste in preparing for it; perhaps, too, predisposing him to homesickness, and causing solicitude for things ahead.
What was thus indicated soon occurred. The last honk of the gray wild goose was heard over the bay at the river bend, as if croaking back a note of disappointment at not finding open water in which to rest itself. The dusky duck, the hardiest and latest of the wild waterfowl that fre- quents the rivers and ponds about Concord, had days before taken its departure because the water was frozen ; and nothing remained of the bird kind but a flock of quer- ulous robins, which still lingered about the swamp near the mill brook, as if to discover what the strangers were there for, and to finish eating a few alder berries.
Soon, "announced by all the trumpets of the sky," and
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prognosticated by bird and beast, the snow came. It filled up the paths and dropped heavily upon the cabin roofs, and lodged gloomily upon the drooping tree branches. Easy access with the outer world was closed, and the colonists were left to themselves, with wild animals and wild men in a wild wood, with no promise of any visitors before spring, except the winds and the storm clouds. But, although thus exposed to the hardships of the wilderness we may well conjecture that they were not idle, for there was much that could be done in the winter season by way of preparation for the spring. Seed was to be obtained of the natives ; spots suitable for planting it were to be selected ; and fencing stuff was to be split out ; for the for- est had plenty of marauders ready to break into the plant- ing fields and claim the crops. Besides these things, there were farming tools to be made, daily chores to be done, and divers contrivances to be adopted, whereby the settlers might adjust themselves to their new circumstances.
As to just how that first winter was passed, and what were the painful and pleasurable details of each family's experience, we have no certain knowledge. The records do not inform us, tradition gives no hint of it, and we have no faithful Bradford's Journal, as concerning the planters of Plymouth, to lift the curtain and let in the light. The writer Johnson informs us, in a general way, that they suffered from exposure, from fear, and from a lack of many necessary things ; while, as to things spe- cific and personal, he is mostly silent.
But, although left to conjecture, we may, perhaps, fairly assume that there was both tragedy and comedy on that strange stage of human action, and that of the former class death came, and that a grave was opened in the town's first burial place that winter. That such was the case is prob- ยท able, for although there were in the first arrival the names of only about a dozen heads of households that have come down to us, yet these may represent several scores of indi- viduals, as wives, children and servants, besides stragglers,
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who are sometimes found attendant upon adventurous undertakings, as in the case of the Plymouth plantation, where there were several persons not signers of the original compact, and of whom posterity has had small reason to be proud.
The severity of the climate, the scant accommodation for warmth and shelter, the stinted food supply,-all these would naturally superinduce disease and perhaps death, to reckon nothing upon casualties arising from special expos- ure, accident, and a variety of other causes and mishaps incident to life in a new country. The first monument to bear record to a death in Concord is that of Joseph Meriam. It stands in the old hill burial ground where for two hundred and twenty-six years it has faithfully borne the following inscription :
"Joseph Meriam, aged 47 years. Died the 20 of April, 1677."
It is a simple tombstone, unpretentious and time-worn ; but a special interest is attached to it in that it has for so many years stood as a sentinel between the known and unknown of Concord's dead. It is on the line of demark- ation, beyond which, no tombstone deposeth and none durst venture. What names of persons who may have died the first winter would be inscribed on other tombstones, had all of those whose bodies resting in "that thick peopled ground" had a stone to bear record of them, none can declare ; but, there is large opportunity to conjecture that some would be there, and for the following reasons, if for no other.
It is supposed that the earliest meeting house at Concord was built on what now might be called the hill burial place, within a year or two or perhaps three of the first arrival ; for it is stated, that by its first recorded vote, Feb. 5, 1636, the town decided that the meeting house "stand neare the brook in the east side of Goodman Judson's lott ;" and tradition has always located that spot in or near the old burying ground. As a church organization at Concord
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was not effected till April 6, 1637, there may have been a little delay in erecting the meeting house; it being deemed, perhaps, less consequential to have a church build- ing before the family going into it was constituted.
But, however this may be, the query naturally arises, why was this spot selected for a meeting house? It was not adjacent to the parsonage, for tradition fixes the site of that, as we have seen, on the present Lowell street; neither was it most accessible to all the houses. It was not there, as we believe, for a defensive purpose, for, with exceptional amity existing between the white and the red men, there was no necessity of placing the meeting house on the top of a hill for the purpose of better watch and ward; we conclude, therefore, it was built there because about that spot was their burial place, and because the settlers decided that God's house should be upon God's acre. If this be true, then death may have occured the first year.
In the few years next following 1635, some few records of deaths have come down to us. 4 These may be found together with a list of births in what have been termed "the Boston Records." The earliest date of a death in this list is 1639, and the record is as follows : "Richard Harvy had two daughters burried 1638, Marga- ret his wife dyed 1639." The day and the month of the births and deaths in this list is given in the quaint method of the period.
The occurrence of any comedy amid circumstances of so grave a character as existed the first winter, it may be hard to conceive of, but human nature will usually assert itself, even among adverse surroundings, so we believe it did here. There were, doubtless, many accidents and incidents where mirth and even hilarity found vent. There were old songs to be sung, old stories to be told and jokes to be cracked ; strange customs were to be inaugurated, queer costumes to be worn, and things to be done quite different from any- thing done in old England ; for instance, bullocks or kine harnessed tandem to suit the narrow wood path ; coon skin
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caps instead of Puritan hats, loose leggins in place of boots, and first attempts at wearing snowshoes. As for events of a humorous nature, it might be hard to avoid them. For instance, a person lost in the woods at Nashoba, and led home with a sprained ancle by a couple of squaws ; another dropping his doublet when treed by a bear, which doublet was instantly devoured because made of goatskin with the hair on ; and still another starting from Beaver pond with a string of fish, and sowing them by the way as he ran homeward because he heard wolves following him. Many such like things may have occurred to excite merriment, and as they were recited about the evening fireside when the wind blew and the snow drifted, why should they not laugh ; they were men and women such as we are, and although called Puritans, they were not too pure to do what Providence designed them to do, and Providence designed them to laugh sometimes.
Their practices were far from being what some have rep- resented. They did not carry firearms to kill harmless savages, neither did they sell them firewater for a six pence to buy powder and shot to shoot them with. They did not go to meeting on Sunday to learn about Divine decrees, which would lead them to leave duties undone during the week, nor to act in a manner inconsistent with the fullest exercise of a free will. But they were rational agents of the Almighty to help colonize a new country ; and how well they did it history tells.
As to what was done in the long evenings we can only guess. There were few books, no papers, and as yet little or no material for spinning or knitting ; neither was there much corn to be shelled ; no apples to be pared, and no pumpkins to be cut and sliced. The men might do some coarse carpentry, perhaps, also some rough shoemaking from green hides, and it may be, turn a hand to some small coopering or rude basket making ; so, for the most part there was tediousness, lightened by the thought that winter
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would not always last, and spring would come bringing brighter things.
And spring did come. The settlers soon saw signs that winter was on the wane. The sun rose higher and shone brighter. The days grew longer and longer ; and at length spring burst upon them with a novelty known only to such as have colonized a new country. Indeed it was as if they were introduced into a veritable wonderland ; every day was a new revelation. Some bird came from the south ; some insect spread its wings and chirped at them ; some animal crawled from its winter hiding place; and these were for the most part unlike what they had ever seen before.
In the floral world also there were surprises. Along the meadows, by the brookside, in the springy places, were the marsh marigolds ; in the "pine dark glen" and along the hillside were the star flower and the ferns ; while in the runways and by the rivulets a variety of violets lifted their modest heads as if to welcome them. Amid this scene of animate beauty there also awaited the settlers a melody, which was as new to the ear as these were to the eye; the lark whistled from a tall tree between the river and the ridgeway ; the song sparrow sang sweetly by the wayside ; a score or more of gay warblers twittered and trilled in the brushwood; and the robins which were so complaining the autumn before, no longer stood aloof with discordant note and shy presence, but acted as if desirous of being neigh- borly.
But the scene of greatest change, it may be, was along the course of the Musketequid and by the ponds ; all of which from the setting in of the cold weather till now had been as silent as the fishes that swarmed within them. The icy covering that closed over them in November had remained unbroken until March, during which time but little of animate life had been audible or visible ; while the cone- shaped nests of the musquash might, by their look of aban- donment, have made the landscape look even more desolate. But now, all was changed. From Nashawtuc to Punkatas-
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sett, life appeared. The air was alive with wild water fowl : the wood duck and teal flew low down as if seeking nesting places, while, high above them, the "cloud cleaving geese' sent down their harsh, querulous honk, as if to say such places were too tame for them. Upon the soft grass of the meadow uplands the snipe stopped in his zigzag flight to find a feeding ground; the sheldrake oiled herself con- tentedly on a hassock ; while in the reedy coves by the river bend the returning bittern sent forth his booming note no longer lonely, admonishing the settlers to "mend fence."
But of more interest than anything else was the wealth of meadow grass giving promise of plenty of hay. And this promise proved true, for Johnson informs us that the settlers along the river had not only hay sufficient for their own cattle, but took in cattle from other towns.
There was no time, however, for idle enjoyment ; oppor- tunities were passing which would not return for another twelve month, and they should be promptly improved.
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CHAPTER X.
Capture of Fish - Breakfast Table of Timothy Wheeler - Morning Walk Through the Woods - Visit at the Simon Willard Homestead - Historic Sketch of Major Simon Willard - Description of Colonial Farm Houses - Domestic Products.
T HE first thing to be done was to capture fish, which were to be used for food and fertilization. In the long winter evenings the settlers doubtless obtained from the Indians a knowledge of the best methods of maize culture ; that it should be planted in the month of green leaves at a time when the oak leaf was the size of a mouse's ear or a squirrel's paw, and that each hill should contain an alewife. They also learned how and when the alewives were to be captured. The fish were al- ready ascending the Musketequid and pushing their way up the north and south branches for spawning purposes, and the season would soon be over. The Indians were gathering in their harvest, working by day with a scoop net at the wier, and at night watching with a flaming flambeau in one hand, and a long sapling with a stone point in the other, ready to capture the fish as it swam in sight. We can conjecture that the English were not far behind, and that there was soon seen starting from every house on the "little strate strete" a man with a basket, or two men carry- ing a basket between them, suspended from a stout pole on their shoulders. Soon there came in sight perhaps John Meriam, from the corner, with a clumsy cart of spokeless wheels drawn by a bullock, in which were some scoop nets, and several spears, and sundry other articles. As he stop- ped before the house of William Judson, near the burying
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THE LIBRARY OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
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ground, perhaps Goody Judson brought out a basket in which was some boiled venison, a dish of samp and a large pone cake. Truth Temple may have come soon after, with a half cheese. We infer that the fishing season was a lively one. The fishing places were famous resorts ; and about them the Indians were accustomed to gather by fami- lies and by clans for feasting and for tribal greetings.
Another early work of importance was that of fencing; as, however, this subject properly belongs to that of land allotments and the common planting fields we will leave it to be considered later.
Such was the commencement of the colonization of Con- cord, and such we conceive may have been some of the scenes incident to it.
The cause of the colonization it is unnecessary to further consider. Every circumstance as well as record and tradi- tion assert it to have been at the dictation of duty, and a desire to reach a place, remote though it might be, where they could worship God as a spirit in spirit and in truth.
"What sought they thus afar Bright jewels of the mine ? The wealth of seas ? the spoils of war ? They sought a faith's pure shrine."
And the shrine of truth which they sought, they kept. Through all the vicissitudes that followed them, of the wilderness, of church dissensions, and divers other difficulties and dangers, they always adhered to their noble intent and righteous endeavor. No wonder that the sons of such sires have added greatly to the world's worth, that their homes are Meccas which many a pilgrim visits, and that about their burial places are ever the fresh imprints of pil- grim footsteps.
But the bright disk of the harvest moon was now fast descending over the distant Wachuset mountain, and, long ago, the candle in the saveall had sputtered and gone out, leaving us in the darkness with our thoughts, which like
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the gray embers on the now cold hearthstone had about spent their vitality, for we were weary ; we had seen, and heard, and thought so much, it was a relief that the sparks had spoken no farther, so, lest the sprites reappear we retired. A moment, and the rising wind rattled rudely the loose window frame; another, it dropped down the chim- ney with a low, weird sigh, the next we were asleep.
At an early hour in the morning we were astir, and, descending the narrow stairway, we perceived a savory smell of fried flitch (a strip of smoked pork) which was all the more satisfactory inasmuch as the light living at the manse, while all sufficient for parsonage purposes, had proved inadequate for our more active pursuits. Hardly was our simple toilet completed in the "back room", (for it was there that everybody washed) when a horn was blown, and, soon after, we were all seated at the breakfast table devouring with appreciative appetites the morning meal.
This meal consisted in addition to the aforesaid flitch, of the remnant of a pan dowdy which, though made the day previous, had been so banked with hot ashes in the brick oven that this delicious dish of quartered apple cooked in a rich cream crust was still hot. As steam issued from every crevice in the crisp covering, and as Goody Wheeler stirred a rich sauce to spread over it, we felt that farm fare after all had its advantages.
We would state in passing, that meeting the hired man led us to inquire of Goodman Wheeler what he paid him, to which he replied, "Ten and six a week and his diet." The meal ended, and the settle hitched back, for some of us had sat on it while eating, Goodman Wheeler took from the stand a small Bible, thoroughly time stained and finger worn, and having read a long chapter from the book of Judges invoked the Divine blessing with great fervor. In his reading there were oral interpolations of an expository as well as hortatory character, and in his prayer nothing was omitted that was practical, he being especially earnest in his petition for his pastor and the king of England.
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When they arose, for all knelt in Timothy Wheeler's domicile even to little Cerinthy and Charity, all was bustle, getting in readiness for the day's work.
Timothy had planned for the hired man and chore boy to go to the south meadow for some sedge, while he went with two of his neighbors to cut corn. The two neighbors we ascertained were swapping work with him, Timothy to work a like time for them a little later ; a custom much prevailing in that period, not only as related to work, but to other commodities ; as, for example, if one householder killed a hog, neighbors would borrow of it and the piece would be returned when a like animal was slaughtered by them. In the present instance Timothy Wheeler was harvesting corn for his annual husking, which he said was to take place the following week.
But, beside the haste occasioned by the husking, he was pressed for time in other ways; one of which was that it was his custom on a "growing moon" to kill his hogs, in order, as he stated, to prevent a shrinkage of the pork. He informed us that this principle likewise applied to other things, as the planting of garden seeds ; they doing much better if planted on the moon's increase.
Other signs he was about speaking of when the hired man came with the "hay riggin'," and inquired whether he should take the sedge from the stack by the meadow border or from that on the river brink; and upon being instructed to take it from the latter, we inferred that even after the September storms, the broad meadows would admit of the hauling of hay over them, something not always possible at the present time.
We had now, as we believed, learned all we could from a short tarry with Timothy Wheeler, and grateful for his hospitality proffered payment. This he refused ; and, as if the obligation was on the other side, remarked that he would "call it square" if we would come to his husking ; at the same time promising that if we would do so and stop over night he would tell us more about "signs and
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sich," for, continued he, "I've seen a good many in my day and some's sartin to tarn true."
Nothing could have suited us better, so, with a promise to accept his invitation we parted, steering for Major Simon Willard's, a lad leading the way.
The walk through the woods was a wonderful one, for everything was massive, primitive, and grand. There was no underbrush to impede our progress, and the tall tree trunks towering upwards with their branches expanding in the upper air and sunlight, like things of beauty as they were, formed a safe hiding place for the pigeons and crows, which almost constantly cooed and cawed over us. So impressive was the spectacle, and so reverent our feelings, that we instantly recalled the words of Bryant in his "Forest Hymn :"
"Father ! Thy hand
Hath reared these venerable columns. Thou Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth ; and, forthwith rose All these fair ranks of trees. They in Thy sun Budded, and shook their green leaves in Thy breeze, And shot towards heaven. The century living crow Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died Among their branches, till, at last, they stood, As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark, - Fit shrine for humble worshipper to hold Communion with his Maker !"
To such an extent did the gigantic trees interrupt our direct passage that we felt convinced that the primitive wood paths led the traveler a much longer distance from place to place than if he walked direct as the bee flies.
Beneath the oaks was a profusion of acorn mast, and in the precincts of farm houses were swine busily crunching it; the custom of the settlers being to feed them in this way until the time for fattening. In one place several Indian women were picking hickory nuts, while at the foot of the tree were a couple of papooses cunningly clad in musquash skins.
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We crossed the South branch of the river at the cart bridge near the upper meadows, and, following a path along the upland, where the purple grape and rich alder berry mingled alike their fragrance and their beauty to make the walk a delight, we soon saw the smoke wreaths of Major Willard's farm house. The very surroundings of the place were at once suggestive of the large hearted- ness of the owner, and of an estate of a more than well-to- do farmer of the times. There was upon the premises besides the ordinary buildings a smoke house; and the sweet odor of smouldering corn cobs and green hickory wood that came from it reminded us of the juicy flitch at Timothy Wheeler's breakfast table.
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