History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 13

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730

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CHAPTER XIII.

CONTINUATION OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

Sir William Phips-His Measures for prosecuting the War-Maj. Converse promoted to the Chief Command-Stone Fort erected in Biddeford-Depredations of the Indians-Lieut. Fletcher and his two Sons captured-Humphrey Scamman and his Family taken Captives-Continuation of the Struggle till the Peace of 1713.

THE new administration, under the charter of William and Mary, commenced in the spring of 1692. Sir William Phips was commissioned royal Governor. He was a native of Maine, born in Woolwich, upon the Sheepscot, Feb. 2, 1650, and was one of the youngest of his mother's twenty-six children, of whom twenty-one were sons. His wife was a daughter of Roger Spencer, of Saco. Bereaved of his father when a child, he passed his boyhood with his mother until he was eighteen, afterwards learning the trade of a ship-carpenter, and acquiring some education. About the time of King Philip's war he built a ship on the Sheepscot River, and, being driven away by the Indians, became a sea-faring adventurer.

* Mather's Magnalia, pp. 532-36 ; 2 Hutchinson, p. 67.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

In some of his voyages he heard that a Spanish ship, laden with silver, had been wrecked and sunk, half a cen- tury before, not far from the Bahama Islands. He told the interesting story to the Duke of Albemarle, and entering into an agreement with him, sailed twiee under his auspices from England, into those waters, in search of the wreck. During the second voyage, in 1687, after indefatigable efforts, he found it between forty and fifty feet under water, and took from it the immense treasure of thirty-four tons of silver, besides gold, pearls, and jewels, equivalent in value to one million three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Of this treasure his part exceeded seventy thousand dollars, be- sides a golden cup, worth four thousand dollars, presented to his wife by his noble patron. For his enterprise, success, and honesty King James II. eonferred upon him the order of knighthood, and appointed him high-sheriff of New England. This was during the administration of Governor Andros, with whom he differed so widely in politics that he declined the office. The conquest of Nova Scotia and the disastrous expedition against Quebec, at the beginning of the war, have already been noticed.

As royal Governor of Massachusetts under the new char- ter, Sir William took active measures to carry on the war against the French and Indians. He was authorized by the charter and advised by the Legislature, if necessary, to march the militia against the common enemy. A board of war was at once organized, consisting of three military wen, and Benjamin Church was commissioned major-command- ant of the forces. The Governor himself, attended by Maj. Church and four hundred and fifty men, embarked early in August for Pemaquid, where he had decided to establish a strong garrison. This was erected in a few months, under the direction of Capts. Wing and Ban- croft, with two companies retained to do the work, and was finished by Capt. March. It was a quadrangular structure of solid masonry, measuring seven hundred and forty-seven feet around the exterior walls, and containing within the inclosure a strong citadel. The height on the south side fronting the sea was twenty-two feet, and the great flanker, or round tower, at the southwest corner, was twenty-nine feet in height. Eight feet from the ground the walls were six feet in thickness, and there was a tier of twenty-eight port-holes. Eighteen guns were mounted, six of which were eighteen-pounders, and Fort William Henry, as it was called, was garrisoned by sixty men. The cost of the structure was about twenty thousand pounds.

The expedition of Maj. Church eastward was attended with no important results, the Indians in several places disappearing on his approach, and hiding themselves in the thickets of the forest. Madockawando, in August, made a journey to Quebec, and it was agreed with Count Frontenac that, upon his sending two ships of war and two hundred Canadians to Penobscot, they should he reinforced by three hundred Indians under Madockawando, and the whole force should proceed to destroy Wells, York, Kittery, Pis- cataqua, and the Isles of Shoals; and having done this, return and demolish Fort William Henry. This project leaked out through John Nelson, whom Sir William had made Governor of Nova Scotia, who bribed two French- men to convey the intelligence to Boston. Late in the

autumn, D'Iberville and the Chevalier Villebon, with two vessels of war and a great body of Indians, proceeded from Penobscot to attempt the reduction of Fort William Henry. But struck with its great strength, and finding an English vessel riding at anchor under its guns, the commanders concluded to abandon the enterprise. The Indians were so disappointed that they stamped the ground in rage.

In the spring of 1693 the intrepid Converse was com- missioned major and commander-in-chief of the eastern forces, including the garrison, soldiers, and three hundred and fifty new levies. He ranged the country in quest of the enemy ; was at Piscataqua, at Wells, at Sheepscot, at Pemaquid, at Teconnet ; and on the west side of the Saco, near the Falls ( Biddeford) he, with the aid of Maj. Hook and Capt. Hill, erected a very strong stone fort. The re- mains of this fort were visible on the high bank where the shops of the Water-Power Machine Company now stand when the excavations were made for these works in 1840. The remnant of the fort was demolished at that time. It is said to have been built with so much strength that the Indians never attempted to take it; of course, it afforded great security to the inhabitants. A number of soldiers were stationed here under the command of Capt. George Turfrey and Lieut. Pendleton Fletcher. So much energy was shown in the preparations for war in the early part of this year that the Indiaus became alarmed, sued for peace, and in August a treaty was made at Pemaquid, signed by the principal sagamores of all the Indians belonging to the several tribes of Penobscot and Kennebec, Androscoggin and Saco. The following summer, however, hostilities were renewed near the Piscataqua, at Spruce Creek, and in York. The leaders were fortunately seized,-Robin Doney and three others at Saco fort, and Boruazeen, at Pemaquid, in 1694. The latter was sent to jail in Boston.

The next Mareh two soldiers belonging to the fort in Saco fell into the hands of the enemy, one of whom was killed and the other earried into captivity. The savages appear to have lurked about the fort, watching an opportu- nity for mischief. Sergt. Haley was cut off in this manner, venturing carelessly out of the fort in the latter part of the summer. The next year five soldiers, in a similar way, lost their lives. They had discovered the enemy in season to make their escape, but not agreeing about the course to be taken (being at a considerable distance from the fort) they unfortunately fell into an ambush and were all slain.

Maj. Charles Frost, of Sturgeon Creek, in Kittery, was killed on Sunday, July 4, 1697, returning from public wor- ship at Berwick,-" to repair unto which," says Mr. Mather, " about five miles from his own house, he had that morning expressed such an earnestness that much notice was taken of it." Two others were killed at the same time ; but two sons of Maj. Frost, who were in the company, happily eseaped. The Indians had secreted themselves behind a collection of boughs lying near the road ; the place was open and level, and apparently much less likely to conceal an enemy than other parts of the road which they had passed. Maj. Frost had filled various offices of great respectability. In 1693 he was a member of the Council of Massachusetts, elected by the people under the provis- ions of the new charter. He had been an officer in King

CONTINUATION OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

Philip's war, and was much feared by the savages. His father, Nicholas Frost, heretofore mentioned, was one of the first settlers of Kittery, and died in 1663, at the age of seventy-one, leaving two other sons,-John and Nicholas.

The capture of Lieut. Fletcher and his two sons took place the same year. Of this Dr. Mather gives the follow- ing account :

" Three soldiers of Saco fort, cutting some firewood on Cow Island for the use of the fort, were by the Indians cut off while Lieut Flet- cher, with his two sons, that should have guarded them, went afowl- ing, and by doing so they likewise fell into a snare. The Indians carrying these three captives down the river in one of their canoes, Lieut. Larrabee, who was abroad with a scout, waylaid them, and firing on the foremost of the canoes, that had three meo ( Indians) in it, they all three fell and sank in the river of death. Several were killed aboard the other canoes, and the rest rao their canoes ashore and escaped on the other side of the river ; and one of the Fletchers, when all the Indians with him were killed, was delivered out of the hands which had made prisoners of him, though his poor father after- wards died among them."

About the same time Humphrey Scamman and his family were taken and carried to Canada. The story of their capture is thus related by an aged lady, a grand- daughter of Samuel, the youngest son of Mr. Seamman :

"When Samuel was about ten years old, as his granddaughter has often heard him relate, he was sent one day by his mother with a mug of beer to his father and brother, who were at work on a piece of marsh in the neighborhood of the lower ferry. He had not gone far from the house when he discovered a number of Indians at a distance, and immediately ran back to inform his mother. He regained the house and wished to fasten the doors and windows, but his mother prevented him, saying that the Indians would certainly kill them if he did. They soon came into the house and asked the good woman where her sanap (hnsband) was. She refused to inform them, when they threatened to carry her off alone; but promised, if she would discover where he was, to take them together without harm. She then told them. After destroying much of the forniture in the house, breaking many articles on a flat stone by the door, and emptying the feather-beds to secure the sacks, they went away with the prisoners towards the marsh, where they succeeded in capturing Mr. Scamman and his other son. A boy named Robinson had been for the team, and as he was returning he perceived the savages in season to make his escape. Mounting a horse, with only his garters for a bridle, he rode up to what is now Gray's Point, swam the horse to Cow Island, and, leaving him there, swam to the opposite shore, and reached the fort in safety. He found only a few old men and women in posses- sion of the place. The guns were immediately fired to alarm the soldiers belonging to the fort, who were at work some distance off. The women in the mean time put oo men's clothes and showed them- selves about the fort, so that they could be seen by the Indians, who had come up to the opposite island. Deceived by this stratagem (supposing the fort to be well manned, as they afterwards acknowl- edged), they did not venture an attack, but drew off with a number of prisoners besides Scamman and his family. As the peace took place soon after, the prisoners were all restored, having been probably about one year in captivity. Mr. Scamman, on his return, found his house in precisely the same condition in which it had been left; even the mug of beer, which Samuel had placed on the dresser, was found remaining there. This mug is still in existence, preserved by our venerable informant as a memorial of the dangers and sufferings to which her ancestors were exposed. It is a handsome article of brown ware, with the figure and name of King William stamped upon it. Its age is about one hundred and forty years."#

In 1698, the war between England and France being at an end, the Indians made new overtures for peace, and commissioners were sent to treat with them, who concluded a treaty at Mare Point, in Casco Bay, Jan. 7, 1699. Thus

ended a bloody war which had continued with little inter- mission for ten years.

The settlements enjoyed, however, but a short respite from the unspeakable miseries of savage warfare. The succession of Queen Anne to the English throne in 1702 was followed by a renewal of hostilities with France. The next year Governor Dudley appointed a conference with the eastern Indians at Falmouth. Delegates appeared from the different tribes, who declared to the Governor " that as high as the sun was above the earth, so far distant was their design of making war upon the whites." Yet in August, six weeks after the conference, a body of five hundred French and Indians fell upon the settlements between Casco and Wells, burning and destroying all before them. One hundred and thirty people were killed and taken pris- oners in the course of this devastation.} The garrison at Winter Harbor and the stone fort at Saco Falls were at- tacked by this party. The former, after a stout resistance, finally capitulated on favorable terms. In the assault on the fort at Saco eleven were killed and twenty-four taken prisoners, who were carried into captivity. At Spurwink twenty-two persons, all of the Jordan families resident there, were either killed or captured. The garrison at Scarborough this time held out against an attack. At Pur- pooduck (Cape Elizabeth) twenty-five were killed and eight taken. The inhabitants, having been lulled into security by the result of the conference at Casco, were taken by surprise, and became the easy victims of the perfidious cruelty of the savages.

Towards the close of the year five of the inhabitants of Saco who were getting home wood were surprised by the enemy, and three of them slain. The next month (January, 1704) a body of Indians attacked the garrison at Saco, at that time commanded by Capt. Brown, but were repulsed.}

In 1705, Capt. Joseph Hill, who had fallen into the hands of the enemy and been taken to Canada, was sent to obtain an exchange of prisoners. He reported that there were at that time with the French one hundred and four- teen captives, and seventy with the Indians. About this time Ebenezer (afterwards Deacon) Hill and his wife were taken captives and carried to Canada, where they remained three years. Their oldest son, Ebenezer, called in after- years " the Frenchman," was born either in Canada or while they were on their return. Mr. Hill's house was on the west side of Saco River, near the head of " Ferry Lane."§

In 1707 an engagement took place at Winter Harbor between a fleet of fifty canoes, manned by one hundred and fifty Indians, and two small vessels, in which were Capt. Austin, Sergt. Cole, Mr. Harmon, and six others. Seeing the canoes approaching in a hostile manner, the men fired upon them as soon as they came near enough, producing some confusion among the savages ; a brisk action ensued, in which the Indians captured one of the vessels, the men, however, making their escape to the other, with the loss of one man, Benjamin Daniel, who was shot through the bowels. As he fell he exclaimed, " I am a dead man ;"

* Folsom's Saco and Biddeford, written in 1830, p. 187.

t Penhallow's Wars of New England.

# Judge Sewall's MS. Diary.

¿ Folsom's Saco and Biddeford, p. 199.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

but recovering a little, he added, " Let me kill one before I die." His strength, however, failed him ere he could get his gun to his shoulder, and he sank down and expired.

In 1708 the General Court passed an order directing the removal of the forces from the stone fort at Saco Falls (Biddeford ) to Winter Harbor, where a new fort was built on the extremity of the point at the entrance of the Pool. Three hundred pounds were appropriated for this object, and Joseph Hammond and Capt. Lewis Bane were appointed to carry the order into effect. In 1710 one hun- dred pounds were granted by the court for the completion of the fortification, which was called Fort Mary. A supply of snow-shoes and moccasins was voted at the same time. The point where this fort stood is still called Fort Hill.

In August of that year about fifty French and Indians made an assault on Winter Harbor, killed a woman, and took two men, one of whom, Pendleton Fletcher, was cap- tured for the fourth time. The garrison redeemed him. The next week a large party came, killed three and carried away six. They barbarously stripped off the skin from one of the slain, and made girdles of it. Col. Walton, with one hundred and seventy men, soon after visited the place and marched up the Saco River, but succeeded in destroy- ing only two of the enemy and taking five prisoners. Corp. Ayers, of Fort Mary, about this time fell into the hands of the savages, but was liberated immediately, the Indians being weary of the war, which had reduced the number of their fighting men nearly one-half. They, therefore, sent a flag of truce to the fort and desired a treaty. But some of them committed depredations afterwards in Wells, York, Kittery, and Dover, N. H.

The year 1712 was, indeed, more calamitous and eventful to the people of Maine than several of the preceding years had been. About twenty-six persons were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners in York, Kittery, and Wells. The enemy first appeared at York, and in April or May shot Samuel Webber, between the village and Cape Neddick. Another party fell upon several men with teams in Wells, when three were killed and as many wounded. Among those who fell was Lieut. Littlefield, a brave and valuable man, whose death was deeply lamented .* He had for a long time commanded the militia company of his town, and was a skillful engineer, especially in waterworks. He had been taken a prisoner four years before, carried to Canada, and lately ransomed from his captivity. The Indians soon after were bold and daring enough to penetrate into the heart of the town, where they caught and hurried away two of its inhabitants with fiendish shouts of triumph. The repetition of these desperate adventures was enough to wither every hope and fill every heart with despair. No age, no condition, no place could enjoy the least rest or security. One boy was killed and another taken about this time at Spruce Creek, in Kittery.

As a scouting party was marching from the garrison in York towards Cape Neddick, May 14th, it was assailed by a body of thirty French and Indians. Nalton, the sergeant, was shot, and seven others seized and confined. The com- mander and others retreated and fought till they arrived at

a great rock, which sheltered them from the fire and fury of their pursuers, and enabled them to keep their ground till relieved by Capt. Willard and a " flying guard" from the fort. Every motion and movement of the inhabitants seemed to lie under the inspection of a lurking, malignant foe. John Pickernell, at Spruce Creek, was shot June 1st, as he was locking his door, on the way with his family to the garrison ; his wife was wounded and a child scalped. Seven weeks after this a man was killed at Berwick, another at Wells, and a negro taken captive.

The last memorable skirmish which occurred in York County (and indeed in Maine) before the close of this ter- rible war, happened in the autumn of 1712, at Wells. It was on the wedding-day of Capt Wheelwright's daughter. A considerable number of guests were present, some of whom had attended Mr. Plaisted, the bridegroom, from Portsmouth. When the marriage ceremonies were over, and the attendants were preparing to depart, they were informed that two of their horses were missing and could not be found. Several proceeded immediately in search of them, two of whom were shot down a few rods from the house, and others seized by the savages. Alarmed at the report of guns, Capts. Lane, Robinson, and Heard dis- patched twelve men from the garrison across lots to meet or intercept the assailants, while they themselves, in company with Mr. Plaisted and his friends, mounted the bridled horses and gave them whip and rein in pursuit. In a few minutes these all fell into an ambush ; Robinson was killed on the spot, the rest were dismounted, yet every one of them, except Plaisted, effected an escape. Plaisted was, however, in a few days, ransomed by his father, though the crafty savages required him to pay over three hundred pounds.t

This was the last act of savage barbarity in the county during the war. The treaty of Utrecht, which made peace between England and France, was signed March 30, 1713. The Indians, who had long been impatient for peace, but whose resentment had been kept alive by the French long after they were heartily sick of the war, now hastened to make peace with the English. By request of the sagamores, presented through Capt. Samuel Moody, of Falmouth, the Governor appointed a conference, to be held at Portsmouth on the 11th of July, at which the chiefs of the different tribes appeared and signed a treaty of perpetual peace and amity. Although they had inflicted terrible ravages upon the settlements, they themselves had been great sufferers by the war. More than a third of their fighting men had, within the ten years, wasted away or been killed, and pro- bably an equal or a greater portion of their women and children. The warriors of the Abenaques and Etechemins -the two most powerful tribes-had been reduced to three hundred, while three tribes-the Wowenocks, Sokokis, and Anasagunticooks-had lost their separate tribal distinction, and become mixed or blended with St. François and others. The force of the natives appeared in a great measure broken and their leaders disheartened.

+ 3 Mass. Hist. Coll., p. 140.

* Supposed to he the same Josiah Littlefield who represented Wells in the General Court in 1710.

CIVIL AFFAIRS UNDER THE CHARTER OF 1691.

CHAPTER XIV.

CIVIL AFFAIRS UNDER THE CHARTER OF 1691.

Territorial Extent of Maine-Government Formed under the Charter -Officers Appointed and Elected-Representation of the Towns in York County-Revision of the Judiciary System-Probate, Chan- eery, and Admiralty Courts Established-Militia Laws-Religious Toleration-Education.

HAVING followed the history of the struggle with the French and Indians up to the peace of Utrecht, July 30, 1713, we are now prepared to go back a few years and con- sider the civil affairs of the province under the charter of William and Mary. This famous instrument was granted to the colony of Massachusetts on the 7th of October, 1691. It was brought over by Sir William Phips, the first royal Governor under its provisions, and went into effect on the 14th of May, 1692.

By this charter the province of Maine, as to its terri- torial limits, was made to extend from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec, and all east of that, including Nova Scotia, was the province of Sagadahock. In 1696, Massachusetts surrendered the government of Nova Scotia to the crown, and at the peace of Utrecht it became a British province, which it has remained ever since.

The charter provided that three members of the Council -which was the upper house in the legislative body- should always be taken from the province of Maine, and one from Sagadahock. The whole number of councilors were at first by name inserted in the charter, and were charter members, to hold their places until the election in May, 1693. Those for Maine were Job Alcock, Samuel Donnell, and Samuel Hayman ; and for Sagadahock, Sil- vanus Davis. Mr. Alcock and Mr. Donnell were both resi- dents of York, and both were afterwards for some time justices of the Inferior Court, or Common Pleas. Mr. Alcock was one of the ancient, most respectable, and wealthy men of his town, and had been commander of the militia twenty years before ; nevertheless, being somewhat ad- vanced in years, he was never re-chosen to fill a position in the Council. Mr. Donnell was elected the next year, and once subsequently. He also represented his town two ycars in the House. Mr. Hayman, having an oversight and interest in public affairs at Berwick, received this mark of distinction on account of his personal worth ; yet, owing probably to his short residence in Maine, he is not known to have been a member of the Council after the expiration of his charter term, nor to have filled any other public office in the province. Mr. Davis was a gentleman of good capacity and great fidelity. He had been an in- habitant of Arrowsic, and in superintending the interests of Clark and Lake upon that island and in the vicinity had acquired an eminent character for integrity, business enter- prise, and prudence When that island was laid waste he removed to Falmouth, and was there in command of the garrison when it was attacked and taken by the combined force of French and Indians on the 20th of May, 1690. Mr. Davis was taken prisoner, and was twenty-four days marching through the country to Quebec, where he re- mained four months, and was exchanged on the 15th of October for a Frenchman who had been taken by Sir Wil-

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History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 13

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 730

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730