USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bremen > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 30
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bristol > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 30
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The name of Squadook is very frequently met with in the original documents pertaining to the history of these trying times; and it is gratifying to know that generally he was an earnest advocate of peace. He died of smallpox in 1756, and also a son and other relatives. This disease was very fatal this year among the Penobscots, and so many of the tribe perished that their strength was sensibly diminished. 2
It has been stated heretofore that the Indian tribe called Wawenocks had their chief residence in this place and vicinity, but now we find them associated with the Anasagunticooks, and the two together called the St. Francis tribe. This tribe,
1 Mass. Arch., vol. 32, p. 18 ; Do. p. 199.
? Do. p. 761.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
which took its name from that of the river on which they had, and still have, their residence, was made up entirely of emi- grants from the tribes on the coast in this region. The French very early acquired controlling influence over the Indians of these parts ; but occasionally a disposition was manifested by them to transfer their allegiance to the other party. This the French greatly dreaded ; and, as a means to preserve the hold they had gained over them, persuaded many to remove to the St. Francis river in Canada. This is about the last we hear of the Wawe- nocks who no longer constituted a separate people. Probably they and the Anasagunticooks (Androscoggins) formed the chief part of the new St. Francis tribe. It is to this people then we are to look for the descendants of the race who inhabited these shores, when the first settlers took up their residence here, and who roamed these forests for more than a century afterwards.
The year 1749 was rendered remarkable in Massachusetts, and, in fact, in all New England, by the wise course of the legis- lature in providing for the redemption in coin of the bills of credit, of which some €2,200,000 were in circulation. The oc- casion was furnished by the reception from the British govern- ment of nearly £200,000 in payment of their expenditures in the taking of Louisbourg, as before described. These bills of credit were of two kinds, old tenor and new tenor, as heretofore described, both of which had greatly depreciated in value; so that a Spanish milled, dollar, was now worth 45 shillings, old tenor, or 11s. 3d., new tenor. At this rate the bills were re- deemed by the treasurer of the colony, and received by the collectors of the taxes; and in a little more than a year they disappeared from circulation.
The next year, 1750, a law was enacted, which provided that in all future transactions, contracts should be payable in coin, at the rate of 6s. 8d. per ounce of silver. This, it will be per- ceived, is at the rate of 3 ounces of silver to the £. The Spanish dollar was then rated at 4s. 6d., sterling, and at 6s. lawful money; a phrase which soon came into general use in New England.
This return to specie payments was effected at this time by Massachusetts only ; but such was her leading position among the neighboring colonies, that very soon all were obliged to fall in with her, especially as it was made a penal offence for per- sons in Massachusetts to receive bills of credit of other colonies.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Thus was established what has been since known as the New England currency, in which the dollar is reckoned at 6 shillings. The province of Massachusetts Bay was the first to issue bills of credit, to circulate as money, but the other colonies soon fol- lowed her example. 'After struggling with the enormous evils, occasioned by this miserable, irredeemable currency, for more than half a century, Massachusetts was also the first to free herself from the incumbrance, by redeeming the old bills, and providing for her people a currency of the precious metals.
Others of the colonies were later in effecting the same change, and the value of the dollar, as it came to be regarded as the standard of value, was reckoned differently in their several currencies. Thus in Virginia the dollar was reckoned at 6s., the same as in New England, while in New York it was reckoned at Ss., and in Pennsylvania at 7s. and 6d.
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CHAPTER XXV.
PEMAQUID DURING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1750-'59).
The question whether England or France should take the lead, in the further colonization of North America could be determined only by the sword - Com- missioners appointed to determine the true boundaries of Acadia - The French or French and Indian War begun - Ebenezer Hall and family of Metinicus - Fort DuQuesne, Crown Point and Niagara - Capt. James Cargill and his com- pany - Discouraging condition of affairs in the Spring of 1756 - Loss of Fort William Henry on Lake George - A change in the British Ministry produces a great change in the aspect of affairs here - News of the capture of Quebec re- ceived at Fort Frederick.
The time was now rapidly approaching when a mighty ques- tion was to be settled, and the history of the preceding half century had fully shown that it could be settled only by the sword. The question was whether the English or French in- fluence should prevail in the further development of this vast continent ; whether England or France should take the lead
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
in shaping the institutions and controlling the destinies of the future inhabitants of a fifth part of this globe of ours.
The two nations could not act in concert in their schemes of colonization, nor would either consent to withdraw from the field. Both governments saw the value of the prize, to be con- tended for, as did also the chief men in the colonies, though these latter had before their minds, as the only immediate objects of the contest, their own political and pecuniary in- terests.
It was indeed only a very subordinate part which those feeble colonies, on the coast of Maine, were to act in the mem- orable drama; but we shall fail to estimate properly the other- wise trifling incidents of their history if we omit to notice their relation to other, and more imposing events transpiring else- where.
During the last half century projects for removing the French from Canada and Nova Scotia had occasionally been discussed in New England, and like plans for expelling the English from the New England coast, had been discussed in Canada and among the French, which have been sufficiently described in the preceding pages. As we have seen, once or twice exten- sive expeditions were fitted out by one party or the other, with some indefinite hope of striking a blow that should decide the contest, but now, at the middle of the eighteenth century, both parties stood firm and defiant as ever. England and France were nominally at peace, and diplomatically giving assurances of their earnest desire for continued peace, but each distrusted the other, and continued to make preparation for the mighty struggle that was seen to be inevitable.
By the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, (1748) Louisbourg and the island of Cape Breton had been restored to France, and provi- sion made for the settlement of questions in regard to the true boundary between the English and French territories at the east ; and in due time commissioners were appointed to meet in Paris for this purpose. Their labors were long continued and earnest, but had no favorable result. The real question was as to the true limits of Acadia, by which was meant, as all parties agreed, a territory somewhere to the east of the Kennebec river, but whether it included the whole country east of the river and south of the St. Lawrence, or only a part of it, had never been authoritatively determined.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
That the commissioners were unable to agree in settling so momentous and so indefinite a question is not surprising. It was an absurdity to suppose the thing possible. But while negotiations were in progress, there was good reason for delay, and this, probably, was all either party expected to result from it.1
The English now held possession of the whole Atlantic coast north of Florida quite to this disputed territory of Acadia, and farther east they were in possession also of Nova Scotia; their opponents or rivals, the French, held undisputed possession of both banks of the St. Lawrence, and were rapidly extending their dominions into the region of the great lakes, and even to the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. They were also nominally in possession of the territory between the Bay of Fundy and the Penobscot river, through which, in the winter season, they had access to their Canadian colonies. But their right to this territory was of course involved in the ques- tion in dispute as to the proper limits of the renowned territory of Acadia.
For some years past, in the great contest for colonizing this continent, the French had been losing ground on the Atlantic coast, northeast of us, but in Canada and the region of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and the country south and cast of the lakes, they were taking measures to extend their domain with astonish- ing boldness and success. Their right to the head waters of the Kennebec, where they formerly had a fortification, they had not formally renounced; while further west, at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, they showed their future determination and views, by erecting a fortress of considerable strength. At one time they felt so strong as to extend their hostile incursions southward from Lake Champlain, until even Albany was seriously threatened. At Niagara was another fort of theirs, which served as a depot of supplies, while they were industri- ously establishing their military posts south and southeast from this point, to the infinite annoyance and astonishment of their English rivals.
A French colony had long before been established in Louisiana, at the mouth of the Mississippi; and it now became
1 Mémoires des commissionaires du Roi et de Ceux de sa Majesté Britannique, sur les Possessions et les Droits Respectifs des Deux Couronnes en Amérique, avec les Actes publics et Pièces justificatives, 4 Tomes, Paris, 1755 -7.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
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apparent that the French government had conceived the bold idea of extending a line of fortifications quite through the val- leys of the Ohio and Mississippi, thus connecting their extreme northern and southern settlements. In fact the idea had been conceived long before, and the action upon ;it now begun, seemed likely to be successful.
This scheme of the French, so boldly initiated, showed that, at most, they intended to allow to the English only the narrow belt they then occupied on the Atlantic coast, if perchance they might be able to hold even this, when their colonies came to be entirely surrounded on the north and west by their powerful foc.
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The British government, and the people of the colonies were not entirely idle; and several plans to counteract these move- ments of their rivals were projected, one of which was to estab- lish a strong English colony on the Ohio river, for which a powerful company was formed in England, and 600,000 acres of land actually purchased. But for some reason nothing came of it. The plan was violently opposed by Pennsylvania, whose citizens feared it might-in some way interfere with their in- terests. Next a union of the colonies was suggested for the general protection against their combined foes, the French and the Indians; and in due time a convention of delegates from seven of the colonies met in Albany, for the purpose of estab- lishing such a union. A wise plan, as it seems to us, was adopted for presentation to the several colonies and to the English government ; but it was rejected by both parties; by the British government, because of their fear of the colonies, and by the colonies because of an absurd fear of establishing too strong a government over themselves.
Massachusetts, always active in the cause of the colonies, some time before this, had erected a pallisade fort at Oswego, on the south shore of Lake Ontario, much to the disgust of the French ; and now Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, alarmed by the bold and daring movements of the latter in establishing their military posts on the Ohio, and other places in the west, felt it necessary to take some more active measures to protect his dominions from these encroachments. A small number of soldiers and others was sent to construct a fort and establish a military post at the confluence of the Alleghany and Mononga- hela rivers (now Pittsburgh, Pa.), but the French were upon them at once, in great force, and drove them from the country.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Being now in possession of this important position, they (the French) immediately built a strong wooden fort, which they called Fort Du Quesne.1 This was in 1754. It was only the autumn before this that George Washington was sent with a message to the French commander on the Ohio river, protest- ing against the French encroachments, and urging the entire withdrawal of their forces.
The French general utterly denied any hostile intentions on the part of his government, but coolly claimed the country as belonging to the French crown, and declared his purpose to arrest every Englishman found trading with the Indians in that region.
Thus was really inaugurated, in these colonies, another war between France and England, though as yet no declaration of war had been made by either party. This has been called the French war, and the sixth Indian war.
Governor Shirley, who served as one of the British commis- sioners at Paris in the prolonged negotiations regarding the true boundary of Acadia (page 301), returned to Boston in 1753, and the next year, in the province frigate, Massachusetts, made a voyage to the eastward, visiting Falmouth, and the Kennebec, and the other settlements farther eastward. He was accompanied by several gentlemen of distinction ; and to con- vince the Indians of his power to enforce obedience to his commands, took with him some 800 men whom he had enlisted for this special purpose. At Falmouth a number of Indian chiefs met him by appointment, at which the usual expressions of good will towards each other, and promises of good in- tentions for the future were indulged in, and some of the old treaties renewed, but probably with little hope by either party that the treaty thus renewed would be any better obeyed than it had been previously. He then sailed up the Kennebec river, and ordered forts to be erected at Teconnet (Fort Halifax), at Cushnoc (Augusta) which he called Fort Western, and another at Frankfort (Dresden) which was named Fort Shirley. Several of the forts in other places were also repaired, as that at Bruns- wick, and that at St. Georges, but no mention is made in this connection of the fort in this place. It is easy to be seen that as the English settlements extended back from the coast, and
1 Pronounced Du Kane. The name was given in honor of a French general, of the time, of some distinction.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
fortifications began to be erected in the interior, those so far down on the coast as this at Pemaquid, at first so important, were gradually becoming of less consequence; and nothing re- quiring notice was done here, at this time, though a small garrison was still maintained.
The gradual extension of the English settlements into the in- terior, and especially the erection of the new forts just men- tioned, caused great annoyance to the Indians, who, in several of the conferences that had been held within the few years pre- ceding, had insisted that while the English should be allowed to occupy the coast, they should not extend their settlements "above where the salt water flows." The Indians never suc- ceeded in having this last restriction formally inserted in any treaty, and of course were at length obliged in fact, if not in form, to relinquish the claim. Fully persuaded that they were deeply wronged, in these constant extensions of the English settlements over territory they considered their own it is not surprising that they, "untutored savages " as they were, should sometimes manifest their resentment by unjustifiable modes; but it is painful to be obliged to admit that other provocations were not wanting, as we have already shown.
The following is an extract of a letter to Gov. Phips 1 (of Mass.,) from four Penobscot Indians in behalf of the tribe. It is dated April 25th, 1753.
" Brother, you did not hearken to us about the Englishman on the Island, he hunts us in our Seiling and fishing, its our livelihood and others too for what we get we bring to your Truck masters, we don't hinder him from fishing; if you don't Remove him in two months we shall be obliged to do it ourselves. We have writ to you before and have had no answer, if you dont answer we shant write again, its our custom if our letters are not answered not to write again. *
We salute you and all the Council.
In behalf of the Penobscot Tribe.
COSEMES, NOODOBT, CHEBENOOD, NUGDUMBAWIT." 2
! Spencer Phips, an adopted son of Sir Wm. Phips.
2 Muss. Arch., 32, p. 353.
39
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Ebenezer Hall at this time lived, with his family, at Metivi- cus island, employing several men, as is supposed, in the fishing business. In 1754, one James Clark, made an affidavit before the governor and council, that in the summer of 1751 he was em- ployed on the island by Hall, and lived with him. Sometime in the summer two Indians came upon the island, and Hall, aided by his son, shot both of them, and buried their bodies in his gar- den. He then burned the canoe which they came in, but pre- served their guns.
But the cowardly act did not pass unrevenged. Not in two months, as they threatened, but in a very few years, they effected Hall's removal with a vengeance. Early in June, 1757, a company of them made their appearance on the island, killed Hall, destroyed his house and everything he had, and took his wife and five or six children prisoners to the Penobscot. At this place Mrs. H. was separated from her children and taken to Quebec, but was redeemed by a generous friend, and put on -board a vessel bound to England ; and, in about 13 months from the time she was taken, found her way back to her former home.
But not one of her children could be found. She lived many years afterwards, and continued her assiduous inquiries, as far as her means allowed, for her children ; but no reliable report ever came to her of any one of them.1 .
In the spring of 1755, active preparations were made by the English government, aided also by the colonies, for a vigorous campaign against their rivals, but without a formal declaration of war. Four separate expeditions were resolved upon against as many fortified positions of the French ; but only a few words in regard to them will be required here.
The most important of these was commanded by the con- ceited Gen. Braddock, the history of which is familiar to all. It was designed to wrest from the French the important posi- tion of Fort Du Quesne, but ended in the general's inglorious defeat and death, and a decided increase of the French influence over the natives of that region.
Next in importance, perhaps, was the expedition against Crown Point, which was put in command of Col. Wm. John- son of Schenectady. This fortified position of the French gave them complete control of Lake Champlain, and also served as a
' Will. Hist. Maine, II, p. 326 ; Jour. HI. Represen., Feb. 7, 1760, p. 236.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
place of resort and a centre of supplies for the marauding par- ties of French and Indians, which were occasionally committing their depredations upon the frontiers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Though Johnson did not succeed in gaining- pos- session of this stronghold, he badly punished the French army that came out to meet him, and secured for himself great re- nown.
A third expedition against the French fort at Niagara, com- manded in person by Gov. Shirley, of Massachusetts, accom- plished nothing except to prove the incapacity of the commander for military achievement, though a worthy and popular governor.
The fourth expedition, to which allusion has been made, was directed against the French in Nova Scotia; and of course more immediately concerned the people of this region than any of the others. The French still asserted their right to the country as far west as the Kennebec ; and the result of the ex- - pedition might even decide the question whether they should still remain under the jurisdiction of Great Britain, or be trans- ferred to occupy a similar relation to the government of France. The expedition was undertaken by the British government, of course at its own expense, but the eastern provinces were called upon for troops; and such was the popularity of the movement that 2000 volunteers were enlisted in Massachusetts (including the district of Maine), in the short space of two months. It has not been ascertained whether or not any en- listed from this place. The force was commanded by the British General, Monkton, and soon succeeded in reducing all the French settlements on the Bay of Fundy and in Nova Scotia. Louisbourg, on the island of Cape Breton alone, of all the French settlements of the Atlantic coast, south of the St. Lawrence, remained under the jurisdiction of the French king.
It was in connection with this campaign that the " French Neutrals," as they were called, were removed from their settle- ments in Nova Scotia, to several of the English colonies. They were emigrants from France, or descendants of former emi- grants, who, since the conquest of the country by the English, had given the government much trouble by their insubordination and it was now determined to remove them from the country and confiscate their possessions. More than 7000 persons, old and young, were transported to the other British colonies, some being sent as far south as Georgia. Between 1000 and 1100
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
were allotted to Massachusetts to be supported at the public expense. Only 61 were allotted to the district of Maine, and these were distributed among the towns of York, Kittery, Ber- wick, Wells, Arundel, Biddeford, Scarboro, Falmouth, North Yarmouth, Brunswick and Georgetown.1 The story of these French neutrals has been made familiar by Longfellow's Evan- geline.
These successes of the British armies above mentioned were not without their favorable effects on the minds of the natives, but did not counteract the pernicious influence of the disasters in other directions just described. Besides this, as the French could not openly engage in acts of war against the English, the two nations being nominally at peace, they did not hesitate to urge on the savages in their acts of pillage and murder, hoping thus, by distressing the settlers, to furnish an additional motive for them to leave the country.
Formal treaties to which ignorant savages may be parties, generally avail little ; - so it was found by the early colonists, and so it was found at this time. The treaty of 1752, and that also of 175, were only re-enactments of that of Dummer in 1726 ; they were all equally good and equally worthless, for any practical purpose, for the reason that there was not, in the chiefs of the tribes, sufficient power to enforce any decisions the leaders might make, or to execute any agreement or treaty they might form. However honest a great majority of a tribe may have been, in agreeing upon terms of peace, if there remained only a small number disaffected, and determined to execute their plans of private revenge, little regard was likely to be paid to treaty arrangements.
This was well understood by the settlers, and the officers of government ; and therefore at the very time they were negotia- ting and establishing the most solemn treaties with the savages, for the preservation of peace, they were also careful to prepare for war. The forts were, therefore, kept in good condition, and numerous lesser fortifications constructedl at important points, usually called block-houses. One was placed on the east bank of the Damariscotta, one at Broad Bay (Waldoboro), and another at Meduncook (Friendship), besides others not in this vicinity. . All these, however, could not save the people from the treacherous savages, who this year (1755) renewed their mur- 1 Maine Hist. Coll., VI, p. 341.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
derous attacks at several places, as at Frankfort (Dresden), Newcastle, North Yarmouth and New Gloucester. At New- castle they seized five men, as they were plowing, and carried them captives to Canada. Only two of them lived to return.
These depredations, it will be noticed, were all to the west- ward of this place, and the fact plainly indicated that the Kennebec or Canada Indians were the perpetrators, and not the Penobscots, who probably were sincerely desirous to preserve the peace. But they could not be persuaded to join with the English, to make common cause with them, but chose to remain neutral. While the Penobscots were hesitating, in doubt what to do, the government of Massachusetts, in view of the late hostilities, felt obliged to declare war (June 11, 1755) against the perpetrators, but especially excepted this tribe, which how- ever was afterwards (Nov. 5), included, by a second proclamation. It is painful to be obliged to add that they also, again, offered large rewards for Indian scalps, and also for Indian captives.
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