USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bremen > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 2
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bristol > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 2
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! An old man who lived in the neighborhood was accustomed to call the trap peb- bles, maple stone», for the reason that, compared with granite or gneiss pebbles, they presented to his mind a dissimilarity not unlike that shown by maple and oak wood, these being the two common woods in this region.
2 Silliman's Journal, XLV, 260.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
selves at the surface. Among these are quartz and feldspar crystals, black tourmaline, beryl, olivine, hornblende, iron pyrites, and bog iron ore. The tourmalines occur in granite near Muscongus harbor, and thirty-five or forty years ago some persons put in several blasts with the view to remove them, upon the supposition that they were coal! Of course, if they had understood the merest alphabet of geology, they would have known that the occurrence of coal among granite rocks is im- possible. Many years ago it was reported that plumbago had been discovered in the southwest part of Bristol, but the report needs confirmation.
Dr. Jackson, when making his exploration of the state, dis- covered a small deposit of bog iron ore on the farm of Mr. Wm. McCobb, a little distance southeast of the Falls village, but the quantity to be obtained is small. The composition of the iron ore he found to be protoxide of iron 63 per cent, water 22 per cent, and silica 15 per cent. There are also indications of arsenic.1
Nearly all the swamps contain peat which however is better known among the people generally as swamp mud, or muck. In some places, as in the vicinity of Pemaquid pond, in Bre- men, deposits of peat are found many feet in thickness, but generally they are more shallow. They usually rest on sand. . It is probable that in connection with some, at least, of those peat deposits, beds of shell marl would be found by a proper examination. This is a valuable manure. Very often roots and trunks of large trees are found inclosed in the peat.
The deeper peat beds, especially those near large ponds, are constantly saturated with water, but the more shallow deposits, in seasons of drought, often become thoroughly dried, and, in several instances, have been known to become ignited and burn for many days. This was the case with several peat swamps, in the Long-cove neighborhood, about 1823 or 1824. The peat, in some places, was burned to the depth of two feet or more, and occasionally trees of considerable size were burned down. The fires continued many days, until at length extin- guished by the autumnal rains. The appearance of the surface at this time clearly indicated that similar fires had occurred in these beds at an earlier period, and the holes burned out at the time alluded to, remained plainly to be seen for many years.
1 Geology of Maine, 3d Annual Report, p. 59.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
If some enterprising individual or company should undertake the preparation of peat for the market, from some of these de- posits, it is by no means certain that it would prove an unprofit- able business.
CHAPTER II.
Wild Animals of the Region. The Native Tribes.
Among the wild animals found here, the moose, the deer, and bears and wolves, were the largest and the most important.
The moose disappeared entirely from this immediate vicinity, probably as early as the time of the Revolutionary war ; but the old men, fifty years ago, were accustomed to tell interesting stories of their exploits in shooting and capturing them. They were perfectly harmless animals, and their flesh was esteemed good food. In the summer season they wandered separately in the woods or fed about the brooks and swamps, frequently fol- lowing the channels of the streams, and cropping the grass from the banks. Their necks are so short, that, on the level ground, they can scarcely reach to crop the grass. In the win- ter they collected together in herds, from a kind of instinct- ive sociality, or perhaps the better to protect themselves against their enemies. When the snow was deep a herd would remain many days, very nearly in the same spot, treading the snow down over a space of many square rods, or even acres, and feeding entirely upon the twigs of such shrubs and trees as were within their reach.
At a distance of eighty or a hundred miles from the sea coast. . moose were occasionally seen as late as the beginning of the present century ; and the late Rev. Joshua Soule, D.D., one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and afterwards of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in the early days of his ministry, used to boast of his prowess in shooting a moose,
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when but a boy ! The family lived in the town of Avon where the exploit was probably performed.1
These animals were very timid and very fleet of foot, and could be approached only with the greatest caution. When alarmed they would make their way through the forest, and through the tangled thicket with a speed surpassing that of the swiftest race horse, their cloven hoofs all the time making a loud clicking noise. The immense horns of the male are shed every year. When heruns, these are laid back upon his neck and shoulders, so as to interfere as little as possible with his motion through the forest.
According to the description of the old men of the last gene- ration, his " mode of motion " was a peculiar trot, which would be scarcely broken as he passed, at full speed, over an ordinary, or even a high fence.
Some of the fathers of New England entertained the notion that the moose might be domesticated, and made serviceable to man; but the few attempts of the kind, that have been re- corded, were unsuccessful. A young one, taken in the town of Warren, became quite tame, so as to be allowed to go about without restraint. During the day, he generally remained quietly at home, but in the night he would seek his food in the neighboring swamps and marshes,2
Deer were common in Bristol as well as other parts of the state, but it is believed that they were never as plentiful as the moose. Their flesh was esteemed as excellent food ; and laws were passed, as early as 1764, by the legislature of Massachu- setts, for the protection both of deer and moose.3
From and after August 11th, of each year, until Dec. 21st, they might be hunted, but severe penalties were inflicted upon persons hunting them at other seasons ; and towns were required annually to appoint officers, called deer-reeves, whose special duty it was to see that the law was observed. In the town of Bristol these officers seem never to have been appointed.
Bears and wolves were abundant in Bristol and other places on the sea-coast, as well as in the interior of the state. Both were considered natural enemies of the settlers, and were, of course, hunted and destroyed without mercy. The bears remained con- stantly in the same region, apparently never wandering far from
1 Rev. F. A. Soule, relative of the Bishop.
2 Sibley's Hist. of Union, p. 390, 394.
3 Idem, p. 388.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
their dens. Sheep and calves, and even swine, were never se- eure from their attacks, and occasionally they made sad havoc among the herds of the settlers. Sometimes they would seize upon children, but it was only when suddenly fallen upon, or when disturbed while eating their prey, or attending upon their young.
The bear, in all ordinary circumstances, was always inclined to flee from the presence of man ; but the old people used to relate instances in which a man and a bear have been driven by circumstances to engage in single combat! In such a case, according to tradition, the bear would throw himself upon his hannches, and standing nearly erect, would defend himself with his fore paws so dexterously that the inan, though armed with an axe or club, could scarcely inflict upon him a serious blow.
Bears are fond of green corn, and the fields of the early set- tlers not unfrequently suffered from their depredations. To pro- tect the fields, traps were set, and snares laid, which often proved effectnal. A huge and ferocious bear, with one foot in a power- fu! trap, is said to become at once singularly pliable and docile. Mr. Alexander Fossett, who died in 1824, used to relate an in- stance, in which a man, having caught a large black bear in a trap, actually seized him by the shaggy hair of his neck, and led him a distance to a convenient place to dispatch him, the trap all the time dangling at his foot! Occasionally, loaded guns, were placed in the field, with a line attached to the trigger, and stretched to a distance directly in front, in such a manner that the animal pressing against it, or striking it with his feet, would cause a discharge, lodging the contents in his body. In oue case, a man had provided this means of defence for his cornfield, but was surprised to find in the morning that his cow, having bro- ken into the field, had received the shot intended for a bear. This practice was at length discontinued because of its obvious danger to innocent men, as well as to guilty bears.
The wolves were accustomed to wander over large tracts of country ; and, in any particular district, for many months, per- hips, no traces of them would be seen, but suddenly they would again make their appearance, often destroying several flocks of sheep in a single night. Generally, two or more would be to- gether ; and the havoc they would make in a neighborhood, on a single visit, was often astonishing. It was always observed, that, after committing their depredations at any point, they never re-
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
turned immediately to the same place. Having gorged their appetite, by a successful foray, at a particular place, it would be natural to expect their return again very soon, but such was not their mode of operating. The place of their attack one night, was sure to be unvisited, by the same individuals, for some nights afterward ; but their depredations would perhaps be heard of in another neighborhood, at the distance of several miles.
Soon after the incorporation of the town of Bristol, in 1765, a bounty of £2 was voted for wolves' heads ; and frequent en- tries in the records show that the law was not a dead letter. Some years they voted to give for the head of a full grown wolf £2, but for whelps only half as much. For a year or two, dur- ing the war of the revolution, the bounty offered was less. The bounty appears to have been discontinued about the close of the last century ; and the sight of a bear or wolf in the town, since that time, has probably been rare. It was reported late in the summer of 1825, that a bear was seen in some place in the north part of the town; and as extensive fires had prevailed in the woods of the interior a little previously, it is probable that the animal had been driven from his usual hiding places, and obliged to seek a place of greater safety. It is not known that any in a wild state, have been since seen in the town.
When the ships from Europe first visited the coast of Maine, beavers were abundant in the country ; but, as they cannot exist in the presence of civilized man, it is probable they became ex- tinet, at a very early period. Many remains of their dams are however still to be seen. Ponds of considerable extent were often produced by these dams ; but, generally, judging from the localities examined by the writer, the water in them must have been very shallow. Butit was sufficient to destroy the trees and underbrush previously growing on the land thus overflowed ; and when the beavers were driven away and the dams demol- ished, the wild grass, springing up luxuriantly, offered to the early settler advantages for securing a supply of hay not to be despised. The hay was indeed of a miserably poor quality, but it was eagerly sought after in those early times.
Capt. John Smith,1 whose history is so indissolubly connected with that of Pocahontas, whatever may be true in regard to particular transactions, came to this region early in the summer of 1614, and remained several months, himself engaged in trad-
1 Coll. Massachusetts Ilist. Soc., 3d series, VIII, p. 20.
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ing with the natives for beaver and other furs, while the sail- ors were laying in large stores of fish. His ship seems to have remained at the island of Monhegan; but he, with eight others, ranged the coast for a distance of 20 leagues or more, and obtained for trifles no less than 11000 beaver skins, 100 martins, and as many otters. The same year, the French adventurers ob- trined on the coast, farther northward, no less than 25000 beaver skins. Capt. Lovett 1 too, who visited Capmanwagan (now Southport), in the winter of 1623, and saw there numbers of the l'emaquid Indians, with Samosett their chief, frequently speaks of beaver and otter skins as common articles of trade.
Otters probably were not as abundant as the beaver, but they were taken in considerable numbers, and their fur was very highly esteemed. Though fewer in number than the beaver, the species was not so soon extirpated, and even in modern times, occasionally, a stray individual has been caught.
One of the earliest attractions to this region was the abund- ance of fish found everywhere on the coast, and, at certain sea- sons, in the streams running from the interior. Cod and haddock are frequently mentioned by the early travelers as being taken on the coast, and salmon, shad, and alewives, as being found in the spring in most of the rivers. These latter, being more easily taken than the cod and haddock, were greatly prized both by the natives and the early settlers ; and many skirmishes between the two parties took place at the fish streams.
Wild fowl, too, were common in those days. Besides the several kinds of ducks, that remained during the year, in the spring and autumn, wild geese tarried a few days to rest themselves after their long flight. Occasionally, in some retired spot, a single goose remained, during the summer, to rear her young brood, and less frequently, a small flock ventured to pass the winter here, in spite of the cold, and the snow and ice, which often in- terfered greatly to prevent them from procuring their daily sup- ply of food .?
It is not easy, at this day, to determine the exact location of the various tribes of Indians who inhabited the country, nor their relationship to each other. Very frequently the same tribe was known by several different names, or the same name was applied to different tribes. The latter mistake, however, was much less common than the former.
1 Coll. Maine ITist. Soc., II, p. S8. ? John Sproul, 1854.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
According to Williamson, 1 the aboriginal inhabitants of Maine were included in two great divisions, the Abenakis, and the Elechemines, the former of whom lived mostly in the western part of the state, and along the coast cast as far, at least, as the river St. George; while the latter had their residence farther east, between the Penobscot and the St. John rivers. As the same author suggests, it is very certain they originally were united as one people, as they had essentially the same language, and were characterized by the same peculiarities. At what time they became separated it is impossible now to de- termine, but a fierce war was carried on between them for some years, a little before the first settlement was commenced at Pemaquid.
Those who first became acquainted with the natives of this region speak of a bashaba, or great ruler, whose authority ex- tended over many tribes, and the sachems? of those several tribes acknowledging him as their common sovereign. The country over which he ruled was called Marooshen, and probably extended from the Piscataqua river to the Penobscot- or even farther east. The chief residence of the bashaba is said, by some, to have been at Pemaquid, but by others it is thought to have been somewhere on the Penobscot. If his residence was on the Penobscot, it is certain that he belonged to the Abenakis; and it is probable that he was slain, and his kingdom broken up, during the wars between the western and the eastern In- dians, about 1612-1617.
It is certain that he was living and in full possession of his acknowledged authority, in the autumn of 1607, when the Pop- ham expedition made their landing at the mouth of the Ken- nebec. They had been there only a few days when a large company of the natives, in nine canoes, made them a visit : and among them were Nahanada and Skidwares, both of whom had spent some time in England, having been kidnapped by Waymouth two years before. The Indians were desirous that the white men should make a visit to the bashaba, for whom
2 History of Maine, I, p. 463.
? ".At the head of every tribe was a sagamore or chief magistrate, whose council- lors or wise men were denominated sachems." Idem, 1, 495, Drake, in Book of the Indians, thinks that sachem, or sachemo, and sagamo, or sagamore are only differ- ent modifications of the same word, book II, p. 93. Sagamore, a chief of second rank among the American Indians. Worcester's Dictionary.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
they appeared to entertain great respect ; and it was arranged that Capt. Gilbert, commander of one of the ships of the expe- dition, with some attendants, should be sent as representatives of the colony. The matter being fully understood, as was sup- posed, the Indians took their departure for Pemaquid, where, as the English appear to have supposed, they were to remain un- til the arrival of Gilbert and his party. On account of several unfavorable circumstances, it was six days before Capt. Gilbert and company reached Pemaquid, when they found, to their great mortification, Nahanada, and the other Indians, whom he ex- pected to accompany him, had already departed for the Penob- scot, where the bashabe resided. They immediately followed, in the hope of joining their Indian friends in the immediate pre- cinct of the bashaba's court; but having spent two days in a vain search for the mouth of the river, and their supply of pro- visions failing, they turned again to the new settlement.
This failure in itself appears of little consequence, but, had the enterprise been successful, very probably important informa- tion, in regard to this half-mythical character, the bashaba, would have been obtained, that is now utterly lost.
Several weeks later, a brother of the bashaba, with suitable attendants, and some formalities, actually made the new colony a visit, where they were respectfully and kindly entertained ; but nothing further is said of the proposed visit to the august ruler.1
The Abenakis, according to the authority before mentioned, were divided into four tribes, viz : The Sekokis, or Saco Indians, the Anasagunticooks, the Canibas or Kennebec Indians, and the Wowenocks. The Anasagunticooks had their chief residence at Pejepscot (Brunswick) but the whole valley of the Androscog- gin was considered as their peculiar territory. They were at one time numerous and powerful, and were noted for their Latred of the English, though for a long time they were less interfered with by the settlers than any of the neighboring tribes.
The Canibas, or Kennebec Indians occupied the banks of the Kennebec above Merrymenting bay. The tribe consisted of several subdivisions, or political families. They were for a time more friendly to the English than the neighboring tribes.
! Maine Hist. Coll., III, 302-307. Popham Memorial, p. 296.
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Their chief residence was at Norridgewock ; and in later times the tribe in consequence came to be known by this name. .
But the tribe more especially interesting to us, in connection with this work, was the Wawenocks, whose territory extended along the coast, from the mouth of the Kennebec, on the west, to the river St. George, on the east, and perhaps quite to the Penobscot.
The great bashaba is believed to have been of this tribe. Their principal residence, when the European adventurers first became acquainted with them, was probably near Pemaquid, but, at a later period, it was at Sheepscott, and they became known as the Sheepscott Indians. According to Capt: Francis,1 a Penob- scot chief, the name Wanneocks, or Wawenocks signifies fear- ing nothing, very brave, which seems to accord well with their general character. Smith, who visited the place in 1614, says ; " they were active, strong, healthful, and very witty. The men had a perfect constitution of body, were of comely proportion, and quite athletic. They would row their canoes faster with five paddles than our own men would our boats with eight oars."
The people of this tribe were, like the Kennebec Indians, more mild and gentle in their dispositions, and less inclined to war than some of the neighboring tribes ; and for many years no serious difficulty occurred between them and the English. So far as is known, the Wawenocks and Kennebecs, were al- ways on good terms with each other, and in the Indian wars, they were always allies.
In the great and devastating Indian war, which, as we have seen, occurred about 1615 or 1616, the Wawenocks were greatly reduced ; and the dreadful epidemic 2 of 1617, affected them still more seriously. Nothing is heard of the great bashaba, after this period, and it is supposed that he was slain in the war. From this time, they gradually dwindled away ; and according to Douglass,3 in 1747, there were only two or three families remaining. These, a year or two afterwards, emigrated to Canada, and joined themselves with the St. Francis Indians.
The other great division of the Indian tribes, called the Etechemins, inhabited that part of the country between the
1 Williamson's Ilist. Maine, I, p. 467.
? We shall have occasion to refer to this again further on.
3 Summary, I, p. 184.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Penobscot and the St. John rivers. There were at least three tribes of Etechemins ; the Penobscots, or Turratines, the Openan- gos or Passamaquoddy (after contractod to Quoddy) Indians, and the Malecites or Souriquois.
Of these, the Penobscots were the most numerous and warlike ; and though living on the river of this name, they exerted a powerful influence on the tribes living west of them even as far as Massachusetts.
As is well known, a remnant of this tribe still remains, their residence being on an Island in the Penobscot some ten or twelve miles above the city of Bangor. It is understood that their number is gradually diminishing, and apparently the day is not distant when they will entirely disappear like most of the other tribes.
The other tribes of the Etechemins lived farther east, quite beyond the limit of the state of Maine, and do not require fur- ther notice here.
1 CHAPTER III.
Early Navigators on the coast - Beginning of the English and French rivalries for exclusive possession - The fisheries - Gosnold's voyage and discovery of Cape Cod - Capt. Pring.
The progress of discovery on the American continent, for a full century after the first voyage of Columbus, in 1492, was very slow ; at least, such is the appearance to us of the present day. The report of Columbus's great discovery produced a profound sensation in the maritime nations of Europe,1 and adventurers were not wanting to make explorations in the new world; but the records of their discoveries that have been pre- served, are few and meagre. John and Sebastian Cabot, under the patronage of Henry VII, of England, in 1497, discovered Newfoundland, and visited the adjacent coast from 38° to 56° of N. latitude. " The commission given them by the king," says
1 Ilist. and Gen. Reg., xv, 97.
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Sullivan,1 " contained pretended powers to sail to all countries and seas, to the east and west, and to the north, under his royal banners and ensigns, and with five ships and on the proper charge of the adventurers, to seek out, discover, and find, what- soever isles, countries, regions, or provinces of the heathen, and infidels, wheresoever they might be, which had before that time been unknown to all Christians, and to set up banners and en- signs in every village, isle and mainland, so newly discovered." Though the adventurer was to do everything at his own proper charge, the king was to receive one-fifth part of all the ore, mines and other profits of the enterprise !
Two years only, after the first voyage of Columbus, the kings of Spain and Portugal, with the approbation of Pope Alexander VI, and by his authority, agreed to divide the new world be- tween themselves, but England, whatever may have been the theories of the time in regard to the jurisdiction of the Pope, practically refused to acquiesce in this partition between the states, of a quarter at least of the earth's surface, and France,2 taking the same view, began also to assert her right of making discoveries by sending adventurers to the American coast. Verazzani, a native of Florence, but in the service of France, in 1524, explored the east of North America from Florida to New- foundland, giving it the name of Nouvelle France ( New France) ; but, in a subsequent voyage, he is said to have been killed by the natives.3
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