USA > Maine > Oxford County > Bethel > History of Bethel : formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-1890, with a brief sketch of Hanover and family statistics > Part 8
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It is recorded that the Androscoggin Indians were more implaca- ble than those tribes farther east, and generally refused to make terms with the white man. After the settlement of Canada by the
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French, the Indians here were completely under their control and took a prominent part in raids upon the English settlements along the coast. The Androscoggins always claimed that they never deeded away any of their lands above Rumford Falls. The deed from Worombo to Richard Wharton in sixteen hundred and eighty- four reads : "All the land from the falls to Pejepscot and Merry- meeting Bay to Kennebec, and toward the wilderness, to be bounded by a southwest and a northwesterly line to extend from the upper part of the said Androscoggin uppermost falls," etc. If Rumford Falls are here meant, the position of the Indians was entirely correct. It has been said that the principal cause of the raid upon the early Bethel settlers was the fact that they had never sold the land, and did not like to have it taken and settled upon by the whites. Be this as it may, the Indians continued to hang about Bethel after the first settlers came, and wintered here at the time Jonathan Keys left his boys here for several months with no white settler nearer than Fryeburg. As the deed to Worombo contains many references to land transactions, it is given verbatim below :
"To all to whom these Presents shall come : Know ye that whereas near three score years since Mr. Thomas Purchase, disceased came into this Country as we have been well informed, and did as well by Power or Pattent derived from the King of England as by Consent, Contract and Agreement with Sagamores and Proprietors of all the lands lying on the Easterly side of Casco Bay & on both sides of Androscogan River & Kennebec River ; enter upon and take possession of all the Lands, lying four Miles Westward from the uppermost falls, In sayd Androscogan River to Maqquait in Casco Bay on the lands on the other side Androscogan River from above said falls down to Pejepscott & Merrymeeting Bay to bee bounded by a South west & North west lyne, to rune from the Upper part of said falls to Kennebec River, & all the Land from Maqquait to Pejepscot & to hould the same breadth where your land will beare it, down to a place called Atkins his Bay near to Saggadahock on the westerly side of Kennebec River & the lands between the sd Atkins his Bay & Small poynt Harbour the Lands & Rivers & Ponds interiacent Contain- ing yr. in breadth about three english Miles more or less and whereas wee are well assured that Major Nichols Shapleigh in his life tyme, was both by purchase from the Indians Sagamores our Ancestors & Consent of Wm. Gorge Commissioner possessed and dyed seized of the Remaynder of all the Lands lying and Adjoying upon the Mayne, and all the Islands between the sd Small Point Harbour & Maqquait aforesaid & particularly of a neck of land called Meraconeg & an Island called Sabas- con Diggins, & whereas the relects & Heyrs of sd. Mr. Purchase and Major Nicholas Shepleigh have reserved accomodations for their several
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Familys should all the remainder of the aforesaid Lands, & Islands to Richard Wharton of Boston Merchant & for as much as the sd. mr. Pur- chase did personally possess, improve, & Inhabit, at Pejepscot aforesaid near the Centor or Middle of all the. Lands afors'd for near fifty years before the late unhappy war and whereas the sd. Richard Wharton hath desired an enlargement uppon & between the sd. Androscoggan & Kenne- becke River & to Incorage the sd. Richard Wharton to settle an English town & promote the Salmon & Sturgeon fishing by which we promise ourselves great Supplies and Relief Therefore & for other good Causes & Considerations & especially for in consideration of a valuable sume re- ceived from the sd Wharton in Merchandize Wee Warumbee, Darumkine, Wehickermett, Weedon, Damhegan, Neanongasett & Numbonewett, Chief Sagamore of all the afores'd & other Rivers and Lands adjacent, have in confirmation of the sd Richard Whartons title & Propriety fully freely & absolutely given granted ratified & confirmed to him the sd Richard Wharton all the aforesaid Lands from the upper most part of Androscog- gan falls foure miles, Westward & so down to Maqquit & by sd River of Pejepscot & from the other side of Androscoggan Falls, all the Land from the Falls to Pejepscott & Merrymeeting Bay to Kennebecke, & towards the wilderness to be bounded by a South west and Northwesterly direction to extend from the upper part of the sd Androscogan uppermost falls to the said River of Kennebecke and all the lands from Maqquait to Pejepscot & to rune & hould the same breadth where the land will beare it, unto Atkins his Bay & Kennebecke River & Small Paynt Harbour. In Casco Bay, and all the Islands In Kennebecke and Pejepscot River & Merrymeet- ing Bay and within aforesaid bounds especially the afores'd Necke of land called Merryconeage and island called Sabascon Diggin together with all the Rivers, Rivulets, brooks, ponds, pools, Waters, Water Courses, all the Wood Trees of timber or other trees and all mines minerals quarries, & especialy the soole Use and benefit of Salmon & Spurgeon fishing in all the Rivers Rivulets or Bays of aforesaid and in all Rivers, brooks, Creeks, or ponds within any of the bounds afores'd & also Wee the said Sagamores have upon the Consideration aforesaid given, granted, bargained, & souled enfeoffed & confirmed, And do by these presents give, grant, bargain, & sell, allience Interoff & confirm to him the sd Richard Wharton all the Land lying miles above the uppermost of the said Androscoggan Falls, in length and breadth houlding the same breadth from Androscoggan Falls to Kennebecke River, and to be bounded by the aforesaid Southwest & North East lyne & a parcell of Lands at five miles Distance to run from Androscoggan to Kennebec River as afores'd together with all the profit privileges Commodities, Benefits & advantages & particularly the soole property benefitts & advantages of the Salmon & Sturgeon fishing within bounds & lymits afores'd To have and hold to him the said Richard Whar. ton, his Heirs and assigns forever, all the aforenamed Land Priviledges & Premisses with all benefitts, rights appertenances or advantages y'r now do or hereafter shall or may belong unto any part or parcell of the prem- ises fully, freely & absolutely acquited & Discharged from all former &
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other gyfts, grants bargains & Sales Mortgage & encumbrances whatso- ever; and Wee the sd Worumbee, Darunkine, Whihhermete, Wedon, Dum- hegan, Neonongassett, & Nimbatsett, do covenant & gyant to & with the sd Richard Wharton, that Wee have in ourselves good Right & full power thus to confirm & convey the premises and that Wee our Heirs successors shall & will warrant and defend the s'd Richard Wharton his heirs and assigns forever in the Peaceable enjoyment of the Premises and every part thereof against all and every person or persons, that may legally claim any Right, Title, Interest or propriety in the Premises by from or under us the above named Sagamores, or and of our Ancestors or prede- cessors, Provided nevertheless that nothing in this Deede be construed to Deprive us the sd Saggamores successors or people from improving our Ancient Planting grounds, nor from hunting in and on the said lands being not Inclosed, nor from fishing for our own Provision, so long as no damage shall be to the English Fishery ; provided so that nothing herein contained shall prejudice and of the English Inhabitants or planters being at present actually possessed of any part of the Premises and legally deriving Right from sd Mr. Purchase, and-or Ancestors. In Witness whereof-We the aforenamed Sagamores well understanding the purport hereof do set to our hands and seals at Pejepscott the sevetenth day of July in the thirty-fifth year of the Reign Sovering Lord-King Charles the second one thousand six hundred eighty-four.
This Worombo seems to have been very prominent in the affairs of his tribe. He is said to have lived in a fortified place at Canton Point, though the description of the locality is somewhat indefinite, and it may have been either at Lisbon or Brunswick. He was a celebrated warrior and did much harm to the pioneer settlers of Maine. In sixteen hundred and eighty-nine, he with others, attacked Captain Church at Casco, killed seven of his men and wounded twenty more. Worombo's fort had been captured by the whites pre- viously, the same year, and the attack on Church was in retaliation.
Early in the eighteenth century, the authorities of Canada invited the Indians of Western Maine to move to Canada and make settle- ments upon the rivers Becancourt and the Saint Francois. Among the first tribes that responded, were the Pequakets and large num- bers of the Anasagunticooks. They settled upon the Saint Francois, gave up their ancient tribal names and became the Saint Francis tribe. In the subsequent Indian wars, this was the headquarters of the Indians that operated in Maine. The Androscoggins, however, did not entirely leave this region as a tribe until half a century later. Meantime, their numbers had become greatly diminished by war, and in seventeen hundred and fifty-five, most of those that had
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remained here, put out their council fires never again to be relighted on the upper Androscoggin and joined their brethren in Canada. They were henceforth as heretofore, the allies of the French, but only for four years, when French power in Canada received its death blow at the conquest of Quebec, and the Indians, many of them, moved westward, and others become subjects of the English.
In seventeen hundred and fifty-one the Sokokis Indians, whose families had been with the English, while they themselves were at Louisberg, had of choice, returned to their former places of abode and hunting grounds at Pequaket, satisfied with the treatment received, and much attached to their English friends. In seventeen hundred and fifty-four hostilities breaking out, a bounty of one hundred pounds was offered by the General Court for the scalp of any St. Francis Indian, and ten pounds more additional for any one taken alive ; such was public indignation against that tribe. In seventeen hundred and fifty-five the General Court declared war against the Anasagunticook Indians, and all the other tribes east- ward of Piscataqua, excepting those upon Penobscot river. In seventeen hundred and fifty-six, a small force of men was sent up the Androscoggin in whale boats, a distance of sixty-five miles, probably as far as Rumford Falls. They found no Indians, but measured distance and noted the features of the country. In seven- teen hundred and fifty-seven the Anasagunticooks, who originally inhabited the banks of the Androscoggin, still viewed the country as their own, and often visited it. They made an attack on a party of eight men near the fort in Topsham, and wounded two at the first onset. A severe skirmish ensued, in which the Indians, on seeing two of their number fall dead by their side, seized their bodies and fled. Two Englishmen were killed farther up the river. In seven- teen hundred and seventy-five Sabattis and Natanis accompanied Gen. Arnold to Quebec.
The Indians of New England had their ancient homes on the principal rivers. On the Connecticut were the Mohicans, and those at its source Nipmucs. On the Merrrimac were the Pennacooks ; on the Saco, the Sokokis, and towards its source the Pequakets. On the Androscoggin were the several sub-tribes of the Anasagun- ticooks ; on the Kennebec, the Canibis and the Norredgewogs, and on the Penobscot, the Tarratines. On the St. Georges river were the Wawenocks, on the St. Croix, the Passamaquoddy, and on the Saint John, the Marachites. These New England Indians belonged
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to the great Algonquin nation, all speaking one language, though broken up into several dialects. The Algonquins called themselves Leni Lenapes, meaning original men. They were also called Aben- akis or Abenaquois, meaning eastern men. The English called the Abenakis, Tarratines, though this name afterwards became restricted to the tribes on the Penobscot. The principal chief was called the Bashaba, who had control over all the subdivisions of his tribe.
There is something sad in the contemplation of this lost and almost forgotton tribe that once owned and occupied the fertile valley of the Androscoggin. The few scraps of their history that have come down to us, give us only vague ideas of their habits, their strength before the advent of the white man, and their legends and traditions. Having no written language, but for the little that is recorded of them by their conquerors, they would soon be entirely forgotten. Their implements turned up occasionally by the plow, or laid bare by the freshet, are even now the only substantial tokens we have that a rude and unlearned people occupied these lands long before the white race came here. These implements of a stone age show some, but not marked progress through a long cycle of years. In the older strata they are rough, while in the later they are polished, and this is the only material change. That they had some knowledge of metals, particularly of copper, before they came in contact with civilized people, is quite evident, though its use was limited mostly to ornaments. The stone age was nearly or quite universal. Arrow and spear heads, gouges, chisels, mortars, sinkers and numbers of other implements for domestic use, for the chase and for war, are widely distributed and vary but little in their form and manner of construction. Stone pipes are found in various places, and stone idols are peculiar to certain localities. The Indians on the Androscoggin were a brave and warlike race and exerted a powerful influence in the councils of the Maine tribes. Joseph Bane of York was captured by them in sixteen hundred and ninety-seven, and remained with them over six years. He adopted their way of living and learned their language, and probably would have remained with them but for a general exchange of prisoners. provided for by treaty. His services were subsequently very valua- ble to the government as an interpreter. He was familiar with the entire region of the Androscoggin, and with the different sub-tribes that dwelt upon it. But he was not a man of letters, and he left no account of his adventures and experiences. The Indians of New
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England have passed into history, and we have little to remind us of them save in the names of some of our lakes, rivers and moun- tains. It is much to be regretted that more of the old Indian names have not been preserved. Anasagunticook is applied to the highest mountain in this region, but it is generally called by the name of a settler. The Indian names are sometimes a little long and tedious, but many of them are euphonic, and all of them are expressive of some peculiarity or quality, or commemorate some incident. Not even in the Greek language, distinguished for its euphony, is there anything finer than "Allegash," "Meduxnekeag," "Aziscoos," "Ammonoosuc," and "Amariscoggin." That taste is certainly mor- bid that prefers for the names of mountains, "Old Spec," "Saddle- back," "Goose-eye" and "Waterspout," to such names as "Kineo," "Katahdin," "Ossipee," "Chocorua" and "Passaconaway."
Now that the Indians have left this region forever it is useless to moralize over their decay or to speak of their treatment. They may have been cheated and in some cases abused, but this is inevitable when the intellectually weak come in contact with the intellectually strong. In case of the aborigines of this country, history only repeats itself as it is ever doing. The original races have been driven out of every country in Europe, and some of them have been repeopled several times. The rude Briton, clothed in skins, living in caves and offering human sacrifices to his god, is hardly the type of the modern Englishman or American. It required the amalgamation of several races, and several centuries of time, to develop the present race of English speaking people. And to weld together these different races, so as to form a homogeneous people, has cost oceans of blood and cruelties too horrible to relate. But the race thus perfected has accomplished more in the way of human progress, and in the amelioration of the condition of mankind, than any that has preceded it, or any contemporary with it. The English came to America and found here a barbarous people, one that had made no progress for centuries, and in their intellectual develop- ment, but little above the brute creation. They could not live in harmony together, and they could not amalgamate, and so the weak must give way to the strong. That is just what happened, and just what always will happen under similar circumstances. The Andro- scoggin Indians enjoyed life in their way, but they lived at a poor dying rate. They hunted, fished and fought, and had a very few acres under cultivation. Their successors have filled the valley of
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the Androscoggin with pleasant homes, with school houses and churches, with green fields and broad pastures, and with everything that goes to make up a civilized community. We may have sympa- thy for the lost tribes, but we cannot deplore a change that has been productive of such grand results.
MOLLY OCKETT.
The name of this woman is well known to the older inhabitants of this vicinity. The Rokomeko Tribe at Canton Point in seventeen hundred and fifty-five, numbered several hundreds, but were visited about that time by the small pox, communicated by the French. It swept away nearly the whole tribe. It is probable that Molly Ockett, with the few remaining Indians on the Androscoggin river, left for Canada soon after, as she seems to have been called a St. Francis Indian by the early settlers of Bethel .. She came, according to Mr. Nathaniel Swan's account, in whose family she lived several years, from Canada to Fryeburg, where she became acquainted with Sabattis, who is supposed to be the same that Col. Rogers brought from Canada to Fryeburg when a boy in seventeen hundred and fifty-nine. He lived with her as his assumed, though not lawful wife, and had by her three children. She subse- quently refused to live with him on account of his intemperate habits and quarrelsome disposition. She came to Bethel soon after the settlement of the town, and claimed a right to the land as an original proprietor. The Indians probably never included the upper waters of the Androscoggin in any of their treaties or deeds. She was described by Mrs. Martha Rowe of Gilead, who knew her well, as a pretty, genteel squaw. She had a daughter, Molly Susup, previous to her acquaintance with Sabattis. She lived with her mother at Bethel, attended school with the whites, and spoke the English language fluently. She possessed a vigorous frame, and engaged in sports with the boys for whom she was frequently more than a match. A circumstance is still remembered when she and her antagonist clinched, and in the contest, both rolled down the bank of the river together. Capt. Swarson, an old Indian, was very anxious to marry her, but Molly Ockett was opposed to the match. She afterwards married a Penobscot Indian, who quarreled with her, and left her.
Molly Ockett was a good huntress and would often go into the woods and over to the lakes and shoot moose and bears, and return
-
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to the settlement for assistance in bringing in the most valuable portions of the game. She collected duck feathers sufficient to make a bed, which she presented to Mr. Swan. Like most of the Indians, she was fond of rum. She would drink a pint of beer emptyings with the greatest relish. She was well skilled in roots and herbs, and spent the latter portion of her life in going from place to place, and giving advice and medicine to the sick. She often boasted of her noble descent. Her father and grandfather were prominent chiefs in their tribe, and had passed through all the exciting scenes of warfare between the French and English during the last century.
When the Indians came from Canada and encamped in Bethel,. she refused to associate with them. At one time she had a camp of her own on the north side of the river near Curatio Bartlett's, which she had well covered and lined with bark, and where she had her bed and slept, but took her meals in some white family. She seemed to possess considerable ingenuity. A box made by her of birch bark more than seventy years ago, was once in the possession of Mrs. John Kimball of this town. Molly Ockett sympathized with the Methodists and professed to become a convert. She used to call them "drefful clever folks." She sometimes spoke in their meetings, but could not divest herself of the idea that she ought to make confession to the priest, and occasionally went to Canada for this purpose. She was easily offended. She had been out one time and gathered a pailful of blueberries, which she carried to her friend, the wife of Rev. Eliphaz Chapman, on Monday morning. Mrs. Chapman on emptying the pail, found them very fresh, and. told her that she picked them on Sunday. "Certainly," said Molly. "But you did wrong," was the reproof. Molly took offence and left abruptly, and did not make her appearance for several weeks, when, one day, she came into the house at dinner time. Mrs. Chapman made arrangements for her at the table, but she refused to eat. "Choke me," said she ; "I was right in picking the blue- berries on Sunday, it was so pleasant, and I was so happy that the Great Spirit had provided them for me." At this answer Mrs. Chapman felt more than half condemned for reproving her as she did. Who could harshly judge this child of nature by the same law that would condemn those more enlightened ?
The following paragraph respecting her is from Willey's White Mountain Sketches : "A Colonel Clark of Boston, had been in the
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habit of visiting annually the White Mountains, and trading for furs. He had thus become acquainted with all the settlers and many of the Indians. He was much esteemed for his honesty, and his visits were looked forward to with much interest. Tomhegan had formed the design of killing him, and, contrary to his usual shrewdness, had disclosed his plan to some of his companions. One of them, in a drunken spree, told the secret to Molly Ockett, a squaw who had been converted to Christianity, and was much loved and respected by the whites. She determined to save Clark's life. To do it, she must traverse a wilderness of many miles to his camp. But, nothing daunted, the courageous and faithful woman, setting out early in the evening of the intended massacre, reached Clark's camp just in season for him to escape. Tomhegan had already killed two of Clark's companions, encamped a mile or two from him. He made good his escape, with his noble preserver, to the settlements. Colonel Clark's gratitude knew no bounds. In every way he sought to reward the kind squaw for the noble act she had performed. For a long time she resisted all his attempts to repay her, until at last, overcome by his earnest entreaties and the difficulty of sustaining herself in old age, she became an inmate of his family in Boston. For a year she bore with a martyr's endur- ance, the restraints of civilized life, but at length she could do it no longer. She must die, she said, in the great forest, amid the trees, the companions of her youth. Devotedly pious, she sighed for the woods, where, under the clear blue sky, she might pray to God as she had when first converted. Clark saw her distress, and built her a wigwam on the Falls of the Pennacook, and there supported her the remainder of her days. Often did he visit her, bringing the necessary provision for her sustenance."
She afterwards lived in Andover, and was present at the birth of the first child in that town, she and the mother being the only females at that time residing there. She nursed the mother, and continued to reside in the town until her death, at the advanced age of more than one hundred years. The Rev. Mr. Strickland, pastor of the church in Andover, conducted the religious services at her funeral, and she was buried in the cemetery of that town.
A short distance south of the outlet of Umbagog Lake is a large smooth rock projecting into the water called Moll's Rock. Her name is also perpetuated by a mountain named after her in Wood- stock, where she had a camp. She seemed to be a person of more
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than ordinary ability, possessed a large frame and features, and walked very erect even in old age. She wore a pointed cap, but in other respects dressed in Indian style. She was very loquacious and entertained the inhabitants with stories and anecdotes. Her name was spelled and pronounced in several different ways, Mol- lockett, Molly Ockett, Mollyockett, Mollylockett, Mollyrockett and Mollynockett. These changes arose in consequence of the commu- tability of the liquids 1, n and r. Many apocryphal anecdotes have been handed down concerning her, but it is believed the foregoing sketch embodies all the leading facts of her history that can now be obtained.
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