USA > Maine > Somerset County > Skowhegan > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 5
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Canaan > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 5
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Bloomfield > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 5
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Starks > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 5
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Norridgewock > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 5
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Harman crossed the river at the great eddy
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in Skowhegan, with sixty men, for the purpose of cutting off those who might be at work in the corn fields on the Sandy river, while after leaving ten men at Skowhegan with the bag- gage, Moulton proceeded with the remaining ninety-eight men for the Indian village. He divided his company into three bands, and by stealthily pursuing a circuitous route, screened by the woods, he at length, August 24, 1724, (O. S., August 12th,) stood on the highlands, within a few feet of the village. The Indians, to the number of sixty men, were all in their huts, and the foe advanced unobserved. An old Indian accidentally came out of his wig- wam, and discovering their presence, he gave the war-whoop, which aroused the warriors, and, seizing their guns, they rushed to meet their assailants. The Indians made the first discharge, and overshot the English, who im- mediately returned a volley which did great execution. The Indians fired a second time, and fled with great haste to the river after their wives and children.
Many of the canoes had been scuttled by the whites, and as the Indians entered the river in them, they immediately sunk. Some, in their haste, forgot their pad- dles. Several were shot as they were swim- ming across. About fifty escaped through the river, and one hundred and fifty through the woods. Mogg Megone would not retreat, but continued to fight until he wounded a Mohawk,
when the brother of the wounded man rushed upon him and destroyed his life, and the soldiers massacred his wife and children.
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There were thirty warriors slain, and fourteen wounded, - according to Father de la Chasse, superior general of the missions to New France, who declares that there were eleven hundred* English, and about fifty Indians. He says that those who fought did so only to allow the aged and the children opportunity to escape. He adds, that Father Rale ran out in sight imme- diately, hoping to draw attention to himself, and thus preserve the lives of his converts, and that he fell at the foot of a cross in the middle of the village.
The battle-scene is appropriately described by Whittier.
" Hark ! what sudden sound is heard In the wood and in the sky,
Shriller than the scream of bird, - Than the trumpet's clang more high ? Every wolf-cave of the hills - Forest-arch and mountain-gorge, Rock, and dell, and river-verge -
With an answering echo thrills. Well does the Jesuit know that cry, Which summons the Norridgewock to die, And tells that the foe of his flock is nigh. He listens, and hears the rangers come With loud hurra, and jar of drum,
And hurrying feet, (for the chase is hot,)
And the short, sharp sound of the rifle-shot, And taunt, and menace, answered well, By the Indians' mocking cry and yell, The bark of dogs, the squaw's mad scream, The dash of paddles along the stream, The whistle of shot as it cuts the leaves Of the maples around the church's eaves, And the gride of hatchets, at random thrown On wigwam-log, and tree, and stone."
And while the priest in his chapel is building
* This wide discrepancy is inexplicable.
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hopes of a grand union of the tribes, in the de- fence of the Catholic faith, -
" Black with the grime of paint and dust, Spotted and streaked with human gore, A grim and naked head is thrust Within the chapel-door.
' Ha, Bomazeen ! in God's name say, What mean these sounds of bloody fray ? '
Silent the Indian points his hand To where, across the echoing glen, Sweeps Harmon's dreaded ranger band, And Moulton with his men."
" Thro' the chapel's narrow doors, And thro' each window in the walls, Round the priest and warrior, pours The deadly shower of English balls - Low on his cross the Jesuit falls ; While at his side the Norridgewock, With failing breath essays to mock And menace yet the hated foe - Shakes his scalp-trophies to and fro, Exultingly before their eyes -
Till, cleft and torn by shot and blow,
The mighty sachem * dies." - MOGG MEGONE.
NOTE. - There are several discrepancies be- tween this poem and fact. Bomazeen was not in the battle at Norridgewock, -he was shot at Taconnet.t Mogg Megone was not killed by John Bonython ; he was slain at Norridge- wock .¿ There are no proper walnut trees in the vicinity of Norridgewock.§
Râle, according to the English account, bar- ricaded himself in his house, and animated his tawny friends by his voice, while he con- tinued to fire on his assailants. He succeeded in wounding a soldier, when Lieut. Jaques,
* Bomazeen. į Ib.
+ Drake, B. iii., c. ix. § A well known fact.
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of Newbury, shot him, notwithstanding Moul- ton had forbidden his death. However Râle may have forgotten the sacred injunction, to war only with spiritual weapons ; however his mistaken views may have led him into the carnal fight, too much blame cannot easily be laid to the English. Their ministers were active soldiers in most of the Indian wars, and they very much excelled the Jesuits in warlike deeds. Though there seems to have been no English clergyman in this engagement, yet the English conducted with the greatest barbarity. They slaughtered women and children indis- criminately, and after Father Râle was slain, he was scalped and shockingly mutilated. Those who coolly shot little children and wo- men, as they were seeking safety by swimming, could not with great propriety charge cruelty upon French priests or savage Indians.
The church was robbed of the sacred ves- sels, and then wantonly set on fire. The bell was not melted, but seems to have been buried by the Indians after they re- turned. A few years since it was disclosed by the blowing down of a tree, and was car- ried to Brunswick, and presented to the cabi- net of Bowdoin College. It weighed 64 lbs. At different periods other aboriginal relics have been exhumed ; such as wampum, arrow- heads, mortars and various implements of rude aboriginal husbandry and household labor. Three captives were taken away, and among them was a little boy fourteen years old. Char- levoix, agreeing with La Chasse, declares that 7
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Râle, knowing the hatred the English had of him, presented himself to them, for the single purpose of drawing their vengeance upon him, and allowing his disciples to escape. Seven Indians who endeavored to shield him with their bodies, were slain at his side. The Eng- lish fired about 2,000 muskets, and killed thirty and wounded forty* men, women and children. The burning of the church has been ascribed to one of the Mohawks.
The night after the battle, the English forti- fied themselves in the Indian huts under a guard of forty men, and returned the following day. Charlevoix relates that they were seized with a panic, and retreated homeward with great precipitation. The Indians returned to their village immediately, and found everything laid waste. The women endeavored to heal the wounded, and all joined in lamenting the loss of their spiritual Father. "They found him pierced with a thousand shot, his scalp taken off, his skull fractured with hatchets, his mouth and eyes filled with dirt, the bones of his legs broken, and all his members mutilated in a hundred different ways." Besides Boma- zeen, who was shot at Taconnet, as the English were ascending the river, and Mogg, shot by Jaques, Wissememet, Job, Carabesett t and a son-in-law of Bomazeen were among the slain.
* The English account.
+ " Carabasset the best and bravest of the Norridgewocks," seems to have been a sagacious and merciful chief. He was accustomed to treat his captives with mercy. Deering says with historical accuracy :--
" who can say
That Carabasset slew except in battle ?
Oft, through the snows for many a weary day,
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r Although Harman was general in the expe- dition, he did not arrive at the village, from his excursion to find those at work in the field, till nearly nightfall, after Moulton had planned the battle, and accomplished the victory .* The English reached Fort Richmond without the loss of a man, on the 27th. It was a splendid achievement. Moulton, when a small boy, was taken prisoner at the destruction of York, in 1692. He died at York, July 20, 1765, aged 77.
The Norridgewogs never recovered from the effects of this blow. They soon deserted their village, and emigrated north.
Negociations were immediately put in motion to effect a treaty. When these advances were first made, the Indians said, " Demolish your forts, - move one mile west of Saco river, build the church at Norridgewock, and give us back Father Râle, and we will be brothers." But necessity soon compelled them to recede from these hard conditions.
In 1726, Loron and Ahanquid were in Bos- ton, and through their influence the Eastern Indians empowered them, and Arexus, Francis Xavier, and Meganumba to frame a treaty. This was done December 15, 1725. in Boston. The Norridgewogs and others of the Abena-
The trembling, helpless captive have I borne Back to its mother's arms, nor asked for ransom. Oft struck aside the tomahawk's keen edge, That the red warrior brandished o'er their young. Ay, plunged into their dwellings, wrapped in flames, And drawn them forth to life and liberty. " * Hutchinson, ii., 313.
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quies joined the St. Francis Indians, and peace prevailed on the Eastern frontiers.
MOGG MEGONE* was an old sachem at the time Norridgewock was destroyed. He ruled the village for many years previous to 1724. He seems to have been guided and moulded in all his movements by Râle. The best Amer- ican historical poem bears his name. Who has not read Mogg Megone ?
Râle was 67 years of age at the time of his death. There is a foolish story told of a slain half-breed having been found on the field of battle, and it has been suggested that he bore a striking resemblance to Râle, and might have been his child by an Indian woman. This slanderous supposition rests on no authority, and when we remember the great number of gallant French officers who were stationed among the Abenakies, such a supposition is not at all necessary.
It is also said that Râle shot and stabbed an English boy who was a prisoner in his house. This story is related on the authority of an irresponsible soldier, and when we remember the manner in which he ran out of his house, and was shot down immediately, the statement that the boy was wounded to prevent him from falling into the hands of the English, seems incredible.
Among Râle's effects, a letter to his superior at Montreal, was found, bearing date the very
* He was quite a friend of " John Bonython, sagamore of Saco,
Who lived a rogue, died a knave, and went to Hockamocko!"
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day he was slain. It sounds strangely in these temperance times.
He mentions several recent exploits of his people with much relish, returns many thanks to his Rev. Father and others for blessings re- ceived, and closes thus: "Since thou hast sent me some wine, I take a glass after my mass, but I don't find it keeps me so well as a dram of brandy ! " This does not well accord with these words in La Chasse's account of him : " He interdicted himself the use of wine even among the French."*
Pere De la Chasse's account, dated October 29th, 1729, differs widely from that of the Eng- lish. In addition to statements already record- ed from his pen, he says,t " The Father Rasles, missionary to the Abnakis, had become ex- ceedingly odious to the English. Convinced that his industry in strengthening the Indians in their faith, constituted the greatest obstacle to the design they had formed of encroaching upon their lands, they set a price upon his head; and, on more than one occasion, en- deavored either to capture or destroy him. At last they have effected their object."
La Chasse continues, į - " It is by so pre- cious a death that this apostolical man finished, on the 23d of August of this year, a career of thirty-seven years, passed in the painful toils of this mission. His fasts and continual fa- tigues had latterly enfeebled his constitution. During the last nineteen years he had dragged
* Early Jesuits, p. 75. į Ib. p. 69. # Ib. p. 72.
7*
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himself with difficulty, in consequence of a fall, in which he broke his right thigh and left leg. It happened, that the fractured parts having badly united, it became necessary to . break the left leg anew. While they were drawing it most violently, he sustained this painful operation with extraordinary firmness and admirable tranquillity. Our physician who was present, appeared so astonished, that he could not forbear saying to him: "Ah, my Father, permit at least some groans to escape you, for you have cause for them."
La Chasse represented his dangers to him, and advised him to take precautions for safety. He replied, - " My measures are taken. God has committed this flock to my care, and I will share its lot, being too happy if permitted to sacrifice myself for it." When his neo- phytes made the same representations to him, his constant answer was, - " Your salvation is dearer to me than my life."
Charlevoix says :* " The noise and tumult gave Father Râle notice of the danger his con- verts were in. Not intimidated, he showed himself to the enemy, in hopes to draw all their attention to himself, and secure his flock at the peril of his own life. He was not disappointed. As soon as he appeared, the English set up a great shout, which was followed by a shower of shot; when he fell down dead near to a cross which he had erected in the midst of the village, seven Indians, who had sheltered
* Hist. de la Nouvelle France, vol. ii., p 120.
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his body with their own, falling around him. Thus died this kind shepherd, giving his life for the sheep, after a painful mission of thirty- · seven years. Moved by the greatest conster- nation at his death, the Indians fled. The English finding they had nobody left to resist them, fell to pillaging and then burning the wigwams. They spared the church, so long as they thought proper to profane the image of the adorable Savior, and the sacred vessels, and then they set it on fire. At length they with- drew in so great precipitation, that it was rather a flight; and they seemed to be struck with a perfect panic. The Indians immediately re- turned to their village, when they made it their first care to weep over the body of their holy missionary ; whilst their women were looking for plants and herbs to heal the wounded. They found him shot in a thousand places, scalped, his skull broke to pieces with the blows of hatchets, his mouth and eyes full of blood, the bones of his legs fractured, and all his mem- bers mangled in a hundred different ways. After his converts had raised up and oftentimes kissed the precious remains, so tenderly and justly loved by them, they buried him in the same place where he had the evening before celebrated the sacred mysteries ; - namely, where the altar stood before the church was burnt."
The romantic history of the Abenakies, the residence of the Jesuits among them, their swift and sudden destruction, have been immor-
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talized in prose and poetry. Among other poems and tales may be mentioned
" Isadore, or the Captives of the Norridgewocks. A Tale of Real Life. By W. W. Murray." 37 pp. In the "Legendary," a volume edited by N. P. Willis, is a Tale written by Mrs. L. M. Child, entitled " The Church in the Wilderness," founded on the labors of Râle. 23 pp. " Car- ribassett,"* a five act Tragedy by N. Deering, Esq., is located at Norridgewock, Skowhegan and vicinity. It was a candidate for the prize when Metamora was written, and received many eulogiums. It is a very creditable performance. " Mogg Megone," emphatically the best histori- cal poem in American Literature, by J. G. Whittier, is founded on the destruction of Nor- ridgewock.
Old Point has been thus described by a gifted pen :
" There is a solitary spot, in a remote part of Maine, known by the name of Indian Old Point. The landscape has no peculiar beauty, save the little sparkling river, which winds gracefully and silently among the verdant hills, as if deeply contented with its sandy bed ; and fields of Indian corn, tossing their silken tresses to the winds, as if conscious of rural beauty. Yet there is a charm thrown around this neg-
* Mr. Deering when a young man, resided in Canaan. Mrs. Child, then Miss Francis, who lived in Norridgewock, wrote the following neat and felicitous epigram on his name :
" Whoever weds the young lawyer at C- --- , Will surely have prospects most cheering ;
For what must his person and intellect be,
When even his name is N. Dearing ?"
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lected, and almost unknown place, by its asso- ciation with some interesting passages in our early history. The soil is fertilized by the blood of a murdered tribe. Even now, the spade strikes against wampum belts, which once covered hearts as bold and true as ever beat beneath a crusader's shield ; and gaudy beads are found, which once ornamented bos- oms throbbing with as deep and fervent ten- derness as woman ever displayed in the mild courtesies of civilized life." - L. Maria Child.
Whittier, in his Mogg Megone, gives a de- scription of the village, on the return of the scattered Indians after the battle.
" No wigwam smoke is curling there ; The very earth is scorched and bare ; And they pause and listen to catch a sound Of breathing life, but there comes not one, Save the fox's bark, and the rabbit's bound ; And here and there, on the blackening ground, White bones are glistening in the sun. And where the house of prayer arose, And the holy hymn at daylight's close, And the aged priest stood up to bless The children of the wilderness,
There is nought save ashes, sodden and dank, And the birchen boats of the Norridgewoc, Tethered to tree, and stump, and rock, Rotting along the river bank !"
Râle was a man of remarkable powers of endurance - of great physical and moral forti- tude. Otherwise, his journeys, his depriva- tions, and his great labors would, long before his death, have broken him down. His suc- cess among the keenly discriminating sons of nature, as well as the testimony of his contem- poraries, bears witness to his unwearied zeal,
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his great knowledge of human nature, his distinguished talent, his power of thought, per- suasive eloquence, and his commanding man- ners ; - while the respect entertained for him by those who never fail to detect and despise hypocrisy, announces that his life among the Indians, despite the slanders of others, was
pure and above reproach. Indeed, we know it was. Not only did he relinquish the luxuries of civilized life, but he endured famine and death, in his single desire for the spiritual inter- ests of the Indians, when, like Castein, he might have become rich among them. Besides his talents and industry, he spoke several In- dian dialects fluently, wrote a chaste, elegant Latin, and was, in a word, a finished scholar. These, added to his self-denial, adherence to principle, and purity of life, write him down as one of the most remarkable men of his age. Well did his superior in Canada, M. de Belle- mont, when requested to put up masses for his soul, reply in the words of St. Augustine : "It would be wronging a martyr to pray for him !" (" Injuriam facit martyri qui orat pro eo.")
In Deering's " Carabasset" the French por- traiture of Râle is sustained, and the author represents the priest as replying to the sugges- tions of a soldier, who demands war, -
" No more ! no more ! the thought is horrible. If France, in order to regain her rights, Must have recourse to arms, let her engage In honorable war. Alas ! e'en then Its pathway ever is incarnadin'd. Oh, why increase its horrors ? why let loose A wild, revengeful race, to fire at night The widow's humble cot, and steep their hands In the life-blood of helpless innocence ?"
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And when Ravillac would excite anger and revenge in his breast, in return for the intended injuries of the English, and asks, -
And canst thou then, Thus hunted and traduced, look calmly on, Nor think of retribution ?"
Râle replies, -
" Yes ! and can
Forgive them too. They little know my heart.
I am a pilgrim of the holy cross,
And that enjoins good will to all mankind.
No worldly views induced me, else had I Clung to the happy shores that gave me birth.
My aim, I trust, was higher, and for this I dared the dangers of the sea, nay, dared
Pursue my lonely route through pathless woods, Teeming with savage beasts, and man more savage, So I might draw one wandering soul to Heaven."
And when he is taunted with his slight suc- cess, he refers to the great wrongs they had re- ceived, and speaks of that change in the people of his charge, which History mentions.
" I will confess I have not realized what fancy painted. And yet have gained enough to check despair. How did I find them ? Desperate and wild, Goaded by frequent wrongs almost to madness, And panting for revenge. Their crops consumed, Robbed of their heritage, and, worse than all, The robber's footsteps on their fathers' graves. And yet they can show mercy to the captive, - Thus wrong'd, yet manifest redeeming virtues, That man more civilized but slightly values."
It is but just to observe, that while the Eng- lish view of Râle is too forbidding, the above is rather too flattering. If we should receive both accounts of Râle, we should have an
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anomaly indeed. The one declares him to be a perfidious, cruel, blood-thirsty monster ; the other, a peaceful, tender-hearted, honorable man. The one pictures a demon, the other an angel. The English attributed all the enormi- ties committed by the French and Indians to him, -nay, they even accused him of being in the habit of taking the dark-eyed Indian squaws to his cabin, as a substitute for mar- riage,* while the French elevated him above the frailties and sins that flesh is heir to. It is evident that he was a great man, and that he had the misfortune of great men, to make his opposers hate him. To the dispassionate, un- prejudiced mind of this age, his character may be summed up in one line : He was an accom- plished Jesuit. He commenced and finished his life in defence of his church; and with a consciousness that he was performing a holy work, in endeavoring to advance the kingdom of God on the earth, he believed that the great end would sanctify the means, and thus was able to count all things honorable, that looked to that result. A holy fraud in defence of Mother Church, and for the propagation of the truth, either in the conversion of a heathen, or the destruction of an heretical Englishman, lost its fraudulent character, in his eyes, by its asso- ciation with a righteous end. In a word, he was perfectly unscrupulous what measures he adopted, if they would destroy supposed error, and build up truth. To this rule of action may
* It is well known that the Catholic Priest is not allowed to marry.
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be traced all the objectionable deeds of the life of this remarkable man. If he deceived the Indians, it was for the sake of the church; if he wronged an Englishman, it was for the sake of the church ; if he laid down the crozier and lifted the sword, it was to smite the enemies of God. Judged in the light of to-day, he is found wanting ;- compared with the great men of to-day, he is sadly deficient. Beside those of that distant generation, he towers above his fellows, and reaches the full stature of a man.
It is true that the men of that day, the good and the great, reviled him, but they had better held their peace. While the Jesuit Rale was peaceably tending his spiritual flocks, and lead- ing them beside the still waters of peace, and into the green pastures of salvation, New Eng- land's Protestant Mathers, and Parrises, and Noyeses were fanning the accursed flame of witchcraft, or the worse fire of Religious Intol- erance and Persecution. And if Rale, when attacked in his peaceful domain, forgot the · spirit of Christ, and in accordance with the spirit of his times, used carnal weapons, he did no more than Frye, who joined Lovewell in his lawless, piratical journey after scalps, and not so much as others who, having taken the same sacred office, fought as violently as did he. The clergy of that day ought to have re- membered themselves, and remained silent, while their descendants and partisans ought to do justice to a great man, judge him by his light, measure him by the standard of his times, and place him where he of right belongs. 8
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A rude monument has since marked the spot where Râle fell, and while the Indians have always regarded his grave with sacred affec- tion, the Catholics have cherished it with a commendable pride. The area of Old Point is about two hundred and fifty acres, at present constituting several rich farms. In 1833, Bishop Fenwick, of Boston, purchased an acre of land around the grave of Râle, including the site of the old church, the sacristy and Râle's house, and caused an appropriate monument to be erected.
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