USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bremen > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 26
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bristol > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 26
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Thus was begun another fight with the Indians in New Eng- land, which has sometimes been called the Fourth Indian War. The people of Massachusetts were very reluctant to engage again in war, but as the Indians were in actual hostilities it was forced upon them; and Gov. Shute after some delay issued his proclamation to this effect. It was dated July 25, 1722.1 As Pemaquid still lay desolate, it of course had no part to act in the bloody tragedy which followed, but which requires men- tion here as it serves to explain the reasons why it so long re- mained in this condition. Several conferences with the Indian chiefs were held by the proper authorities, in which the diffi- culties between the parties were clearly seen and discussed, but no satisfactory adjustment could be made. This in the nature. of the case was clearly impossible. Whatever other causes of complaint the natives may have had, the one overshadowing all others, was the constant enlargement and increasing numbers of the English settlements on the coast, and on the navigable rivers. For this there was no remedy but for the English to abandon the country.
Of the Indian conferences referred to, the most important were that at Portsmouth, in 1713, that at Arrowsic, in 1717, already mentioned, and those at Falmouth, in 1636 and 1637. At each of these the chief topic of complaint was the continued encroach- ments of the English settlements upon their chosen hunting grounds ; and some extracts of what was said may be interesting.
At the Arrowsic conference, Gov. Shute and suite being pre- sent, the speaker for the Indians was Waourna, of one of the Kennebec tribes ; in the course of his remarks he said.
" This place was formerly settled and is now settling at our request ; and we now return thanks that the English are come to settle here, and will embrace them in our bosoms that come to settle our lands.
Gov. (to the interpreter). They must not call it their land, for the English have bought it of them and their ancestors.
Wi. We pray leave to proceed in our answer, and talk of this matter afterward. We desire there may be no more settlements made. We shan't be able to hold them all in our bosoms, and to take care and shelter them, if it be like to be bad weather, and mischief is threatened.
*
1 N. H. Hist. Coll., 1, 94.
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We are willing to cut off our lands as far as the mills, 1 and the coasts to Pemaquid.
Gor. Tell them we desire only what is our own, and that we will have. We will not wrong them, but what is our own we will be masters of.
Wi. It was said at Cusco Treaty, that no more forts should be made.
Gov. Tell them that the forts are not made for their hurt, and that I wonder they should speak against them, when they are for the security of both, we being all subjects of King George. King George buildls what forts he pleases in his own dominions, and has given me power to do it here, and they are for their security as well as ours, and the French do the like. They build what forts they please, and all kings have that power, and the governors they appoint do the same.
Wi. We can't understand how our lands have been purchased, what has been alienated was by our gift."
IIere an old deed of lands on the Kennebec, made by six In- dian Sagamores to Richard Wharton, was brought out and read, and the whole thing explained to them, but with what effect the record does not say.
" Wi. As for the west side of the Kennebec river I have nothing to say, but I am sure nothing has been sold on the east side.
Gov. I expect their positive answer and compliance in this matter, that the English may be quiet in the possession of the lands they have pur- chased.
Wi. We don't know what to think of the new forts built. *
We should be pleased with King George if there was never a fort in the eastern part."1
Much more than this was said, the Indians at times express- ing much dissatisfaction ; and the conference was closed without effecting anything of importance, unless the treaty agreed upon, only to be immediately broken, may be considered such.
If after this treaty was formed between the parties there was some cessation of actual hostilities for a very few years, there was no real peace. Soon the murderous attacks upon the set- tlers were renewed whenever opportunity occurred; and they in turn retaliated by bloody and ruinous attacks upon the In-
1 Probably mills are meant on some stream emptying into the Kennebec, not far from the place where the conference was held. They would not allow the English to form settlements further up the Kennebec than the mills referred to, por farther east on the coast than Pemaquid.
2 Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., IT, 361.
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dians, as in Lovewell's terrific fight, at Lovewell's pond, in the present town of Fryeburg, and the destruction of the Indian village at Norridgewock, in 1724.
Some two years before this the fishermen on the coast had been made the special objects of vengeance by the Indians, and more than twenty schooners had been seized by them, and many of the men killed. Most of the vessels were afterwards recaptured, and some redeemed. One was taken as she lay at Damariscove island, and the captain and a brother who was with him badly beaten, and otherwise abused. The men were kept on board firmly tied; but one of them, with great effort, succeeded in releasing himself unobserved, and then proceeded to release his brother; the two together, then fell upon their captors, threw one overboard, and killed or mortally wounded one or two more, and thus made their escape.
This condition of things was too dreadful to be endured ; and both parties could not but be anxious to be released from its horrors; but how to effect it was no easy matter. Treaty after treaty entered into, apparently in good faith, and under the most solemn sanctions, had proved of little avail; and if still another should be formed what benefit could be expected to result from it. The Penobscot tribe at this time, manifesting less hostility than any of the others, early in the summer of 1725, commissioners were sent down to St. George's river, by Lieut. Gov. Dummer, to learn whether anything could be done for the restoration of peace; and they found the Indians there alto- gether favorably disposed. As a result of their efforts, in the autumn of this year, four distinguished chiefs of the eastern tribes made their appearance in Boston, to negotiate with the Massa- chusetts authorities a permanent treaty of peace.
The discussion that followed was long and earnest, as the In- dians insisted that the English should abandon Fort Richmond, in the present town of Richmond, and also the block house at St. Georges ; propositions to which of course the English could not assent. At length a kind of compromise was agreed upon, and a treaty formed, which however required to be subsequently rati- fied by the various tribes concerned ; and a conference for this purpose was appointed to be held at Falmouth in May of the next year, 1726. When the time for the conference arrived, Lieut. Gov. Dammer, of Massachusetts, Gov. Wentworth, of New Hampshire, and Col. Paul Mascerene, as representative of Nova
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Scotia, repaired to Falmouth, but no Indians made their appear- ance. After a delay of several days, a message was received from the Indian chiefs at St. Georges requesting that the conference might be held at Pemaquid, as it was the busy season with them, and they desired not to go so far. This however was declined, and a sloop sent to St. Georges, with instructions to offer them a free passage to Falmouth. This invitation was accepted ; and in due time some forty Indians, representatives of all the eastern tribes except the Norridgewocks, made their appearance, and July 10th, the conference began.
Lieut. Gor. Dummer, on the part of the English, conducted the conference, and Loron, (alias Saguarum) of the Penobscot tribe, was the chief speaker for the Indians.
" Loron. As to the first motions of peace when we heard of it from the governor we were very glad of it, and was ready to join in the peace, and made proposals in order to effect it, and particularly about the lands, and the English quitting the two houses, viz., Richmond, and St. Georges, which the government did not see cause to come into ; if they had we, with the other Indians, should all have come into a peace before now, and there would be no difficulty with others ; not that the houses should be removed at a great distance, but that the house at St. Georges should be removed to Pemaquid, and that at Richmond to Arrowsic, for the trading houses."
Lieut. Gov. Dummer reminded them that the conference was held simply to ratify the Boston treaty, but still they (the English) had come prepared on their part to prove the rights the English had to the lands at St. Georges, if they insisted on it.
" Loron. Now we proceed to make answer to the second part of yester- day's discourse. Everything of the treaty is very plain to us, and there is nothing in the way excepting the two houses; in case they could be removed a little further in, as we mentioned yesterday. The governor was mentioning that he would settle no lands, but what good rights and titles might be set forth to, and in case the lands were sold, we have a number of young people growing up who never were acquainted of the lands being sold. The government is a great and rich government, and if the lands were sold, they were sold for a small matter, and cost but little, and it would be but a small matter for the government to make allowance for them, and give them up,
Lt. Gov. What do you mean by making allowance for the lands.
Loron. We desire that no houses or settlements may be made to the eastward of Pemaquid, or above Arrowsic. As for the Penobscot tribe,
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in particular, we don't know that ever they sold any lands. That is all we have to say."
This appeal was manly and to the point, and under other cir- cumstances would have been irresistible ; but the lands were needed by the English for settlement, and they were determined to have them, so the same reply was given as before. "Their fathers at some former time had sold these lands to the English."
" Loron. * * We insist upon the removal of those two houses which was mentioned last winter, we again make mention of them now, and if they were removed there would be no difficulty among the tribes. We can't find auy record in our memory, nor in the memory of our grand. fathers that the Penobscot tribe have sold any land. As to the deeds mentioned last winter, made by Madockawando and Sheepscot John, they were not Penobscot Indians, one, Madockawando, belonging to Machias, and the other towards Boston. ' If we could find in reality that the lands were purchased of the right owners, we should not have insisted on it, nor have opened our mouths, we would not pretend to tell a lie about it, for we know that God will be angry with the man that tells a lie. We do not remember of any settlements at St. Georges, we remember a pretty while, and as long as we remember, the place where the garrison stands was filled with great, long, grown trees."
Then they proceeded with the farce 1 by reading the deeds by which the English claimed the lands on St. Georges River. These of course were the deeds obtained by Governor, Sir. Wm. Phips, on the occasion of his visit to the place, May 9th, 1694, before mentioned, (ante, p. 203.)
After the reading of the deeds the Indians desired time to consider the matter, and the conference adjourned for the day. The next morning, on the assembling of the conference, Loron, in behalf of the Indians, made a dignified, but rather mournfal speech, giving a reluctant assent to the ratification of the treaty as it was, but expressing the hope that the English might con- sider their wishes, and not obtrude themselves further upon
1 At this very time the laws of Massachusetts declared all such deeds to be in- valid, and nobody knew it better than Lieut. Gov. Dummer, and those associated with him. And, in point of fact, those claiming under this deed never gained possession of the lands in dispute, in virtue of the deed, but only by uniting the claim with that of the grant to Beanchamp and Leverett by the Council of Ply. mouth, March 13, 1630 .-- Willis. Hist. of Portland, p. 63, 2d ed.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
their neighbors, the Indians, who desired, as brothers, to have a good understanding with them. The English, at the same time, gave some further assurances in regard to the goods which were to be supplied to the Indians at fair prices. Truck houses, which had been promised long before, were to be established at Fort Richmond and St. Georges river, for the special benefit of the Indians. In them supplies of goods, suitable for the Indians, were kept for sale, and exchanged at fair prices for furs and skins, and such other articles as they might have to dispose of. At each house the business was transacted under the direc- tion of an officer called a truck master. The business was done at the public expense ; but the goods being purchased at whole- sale prices, and sold at a moderate profit, the net loss to the government was not great. These houses were maintained many years.
Though the Indians, in negotiating this treaty, did not suc- ceed, as they desired, in securing themselves from the further encroachments of the English settlements, they sincerely rejoiced in the return of peace; and many kind and even grateful letters were subsequently written or dictated to Governor Dummer by prominent individuals. Sometimes a word of advice or request would be inserted. Among others our distinguished acquaint- ance, Loron, wrote, " Never let the trading houses deal in much rum. It wastes the health of our young men, it uufits them to attend prayers. It makes them carry ill both to your people and their own brethren. This is the mind of our chief men."
For some reason, not now understood, the Norridgewocks were not represented in this conference, and to give them op- portunity to identify themselves with this movement for peace, another conference was appointed at Falmouth, to be held in the summer of 1727. This was attended by about 100 Indians, who, with apparent good faith, ratified on their part the treaty of the preceding year, with an additional article, providing for a union of their forces with those of the English in case any re- fractory Indians should, in spite of the treaty, presume to dis- turb the peace.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
CHAPTER XXIII.
REBUILDING OF THE PEMAQUID FORT BY COL DUNBAR, AND CIR- CUMSTANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Col. David Dunbar, by direction and at the expense of the British Govern- ment, comes to rebuild Pemaquid Fort -By instruction (it is supposed) of his government he assumes that the fee of all the land here is in the Crown, and makes grants without regard to former owners or occupants -- Danbar also appointed surveyor of the King's woods - The fort called Fort Frederic - He gives the names Townsend, Walpole and Harrington to three townships laid out by him - Depositions of Samuel M. Cobb, Wm. Moore and John Beath - Opposition to Dunbar's proceedings, and his opponents at length effect his removal - The Attorney General decides against the Government as to the ownership of the soil - Names of some that settled under Dunbar.
The time for the rebuilding of the fort at Pemaquid was now drawing near ; the British government having failed in their efforts to coerce the province of Massachusetts Bay into the performance of this duty, at length resolved to do it themselves ; but it was to be under a new theory of the ownership of the soil in the territory of Sagadahoc.
At the first settlement of the place, as we have seen, there were only two sets of claimants to the lands here, Elbridge and Aldsworth, or their representatives, and those deriving their title from the Indian deed to John Brown ; but when the Duke of York assumed the government in 1677, no attention was paid to any of these claimants. His government continued only until the Spring of 1689; but during this time his repre- sentatives, by deed or perpetual lease, had reconveyed to actual settlers and others much of the soil, who held it for a time un- disturbed. When the Duke of York, on the death of Charles II, succeeded to the throne as James II, Sagadahoc of course became a royal province, dependant solely on the crown ; and ยท if his title, as the Duke of York, was valid, it would seem that the same title was now vested in the crown.
On the abdication of James, and the imprisonment of his representative, Gov. Andros, in Boston, in 1689, Massachu- setts peacefully resumed his former jurisdiction not only with-
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out opposition from the government, but with its assent. By the new charter, received in 1692, her jurisdiction was extended over the whole of the present state of Maine, and also Nova Scotia; but the government of the latter province, was, a few years later, voluntarily resigned to the crown.
Massachusetts, it must be admitted, was in this treated with much kindly consideration by the home government; but if any expected that the puritanical province could thus be iu- dueed to yield jot or tittle, of her own rights or liberties they were not a little mistaken. For some years after the accession of William and Mary to the English throne, and the reception of the new charter by Massachusetts, there was a tolerable . accord between the two governments ; but now a serious dis- agreement occurred on two points having no connection with each other, and brought together only in the arbitrary char- acter of the government which the British nation was seeking to establish over her colonies. These two points of difference were the rebuilding of the fort at Pemaquid, of which some- thing has already (p. 252-264) been said, and settling a fixed salary upon the governor of the colony, a matter which does not now concern us.
We cannot but admire the pluck of the Massachusetts people in refusing to be coerced into the adoption of measures their deliberate judgment did not approve; but, having recovered their ancient jurisdiction here by the special favor of the British government, it does not seem strange that the latter expected them to provide for the safety and protection of the territory thus submitted to their care. The controversy which ensued on this point has already been sufficiently discussed.
It being clearly seen that Massachusetts could not be brought to terms in regard to the rebuilding of the fort, the British gov- ernment at length determined to do it themselves, and at their own expense. What may have been the deliberations of the ministers we do not know, nor, so far as we can now find, was any notice given of their change of policy, but early in the spring of 1729, David Dunbar made his appearance here, with a royal commission, appointing him governor of the territory of Sagadahock, and authorizing him to rebuild the fort at Pema- quid. Hle is said to have been a native of Ireland, and for a time colonel of the army, but was now out of employment. poor and proud. Many years before this, laws had been passed
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in England to protect the timber, in these regions, deemed suitable for masts, and other purposes in the royal navy, and an officer appointed to have charge of the business, called surveyor general of the king's woods.
This office was then held by a Mr. Bridger; but Dunbar, with the aid of friends, found means to effect his removal, and his own appointment to the place. Some time before this, cer- tain politicians and others in England, had started a scheme for detaching the whole Sagadahock territory from Massachu- setts, and annexing it to Nova Scotia. There was at the same time a party who claimed that, in all this territory, ownership of the soil was legally vested in the crown, in opposition to all other claimants"; their argument was that the capture of Pem- aquid fort in 1696, by the French, was really a conquest of the whole territory of Sagadahock, which now became legally the property of France, and remained so until 1710, when by the capture of Port Royal by the English, the whole territory, as well as that of Nova Scotia, by the right of war, was recovered to the English, and the ownership of the soil thereafter vested in the crown.1 This right of the crown was confirmed by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, in which all this territory was form- ally retroceded to Great Britain. It was in this view that the general court was restrained from making any grants of these lands without the consent of the crown.
As we have seen, under the administration of the Duke of York, the government claimed ownership in the soil as well as civil jurisdiction, and made grants of land accordingly ; but why that ground of claim should now be given up, and a new theory started, does not clearly appear.
Dunbar arrived in this country in the spring of 1729, and very soon proceeded to the erection or repair of the Pemaquid fort, which however in all probability was not finished until the following year. Very probably the stone walls of the pre- vious fort may have been in tolerably good condition, and re- quired but few repairs. The work was done at the expense of the British government, to whom of course Dunbar made re- turn of his doings, giving some description of the works; but no such papers have been found.2
1 Hutchinson, Hist., II, 203, 339.
" These papers in all probability are still preserved among the British archives in London, and might be brought to light without very much research. They
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Having put the fort in good condition, he named it Fort Fre- derick, in honor of the young prince of Wales, and removed his family here. Next a royal proclamation appeared, (April 27, 1730), addressed to Col. Philips, governor of Nova Scotia, au- thorizing him to take possession of all the lands between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers, and especially to set off 300,000 acres of good mast and timber land for the benefit of the royal navy. A detachment of thirty men under proper officers was sent from Nova Scotia by him to garrison the fort, who held possession of it some time.1 Philips evidently was very will- ing to aid the schemes and fortune of Dunbar, perhaps expect- ing in some way to be benefited himself in return.
The repairs on the fort were begun in 1729, but probably were not completed until the next year. Having completed this work Dunbar formed a magnificent plan of operations for the improvement of the place, and began work upon it with great energy. Aided by a surveyor from Nova Scotia, by the name of Mitchell, he laid out the territory between the Muscongus and Sheepscott rivers into three townships, which he named after three English noblemen of the day, Townsend, Harrington and Walpole. Townsend included the present town of Boothbay, Harrington, the southern part of Bristol, and Walpole, the northwestern part of Bristol and a part of Nobleboro.2
In the meantime he caused proclamation to be made, in the king's name, of his magnificent intentions in regard to the place, inviting settlers from any part of the country, promising to supply them with lands on easy terms, and in some cases, at least, support for their families for a limited time.3
In the vicinity of Fort Frederick he laid out the plan of a city, and caused a considerable part of the territory in the three towns mentioned to be divided into lots of convenient size, which were to be appropriated to actual settlers. These drew
would now be of much interest, as would also Dunbar's commission or commis- sions, if they could be found.
' Doug. Sum., 1, 383 ; Will. Hist. Maine, II, 166.
" According to a deposition of Wm. Moore, given Oct. 23, 1772, Dunbar laid out four towns, Townsend, Newcastle, Walpole and Harrington, which were so situated that " they were to meet at a noted ledge of rocks in Damariscotta river."- Files, State House, Boston.
3 There were at this time only two newspapers published in New England, and some search has been made in them for Dunbar's proclamation, but without finding it.
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for their lots, each one having assigned to him a city lot, as it was called, of two acres, and another lot, at a distance of forty acres. In some cases it would appear that still another hundred acres was promised, " where they might choose." In Townsend the lands fronting on the water were divided into two acre lots, each twelve rods wide, and those farther back in lots of 100 acres. Patrick Rodgers and ----- McCobb received a large grant in this town upon condition of procuring a certain number of settlers. Here also, on the beautiful harbor, Dunbar proposed to build a city.
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