USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Houlton > History of the town of Houlton, Maine, from 1804 to 1883 > Part 2
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Those drovers made this trade in stock an object of speculation. They not only understood, with Yankee shrewdness how to buy and sell animals, but they soon evinced not a little sagacity in the manner of transport- ing goods, which they did by fastening packs upon the neck and horns of the oxen, as well as upon the backs of horses, which proved a successful device. Their goods sold at a greater profit than the stock, and doub- loons, $16 pieces, were as common and current as $5 bills are now.
In 1813, Wm. Williams and his family removed from the Province of New Brunswick to Houlton, and settled in that vicinity, and are esteemed as respectable, enter- prising inhabitants.
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HISTORY OF HOULTON.
In the winter Joshua G. Kendall, Samuel Houlton, Phineas Stevens and Jacob Haskell left Houlton for New Salem, with packs of sable fur, which they bought of the Indians. The snow deep and the weather ex- tremely cold, without a guide, save a pocket compass, they took their direction towards the Mattawamkeag, with their heavy packs and eight or ten days' provision, traveling upon snow-shoes, to which they were unac- customed, climbing over the fallen trees, dodging the snow-loaded branches-their snow-shoes catching the un- derwood and snags that obstructed their passage, pitch- ing them headfirst-their moccasins losing foothold - cast-bonded, tangled up, and for the loss of locomotive power, thrust down their hands to keep their heads, perchance, some way horizontal with their heels, lest forsooth they should find themselves in rather a sad pre- dicament, with their unwieldy packs wagging them first one way and then the other, in the struggle to right ship and cargo. Thus traveling twenty-five miles to the Mattawamkeag, they were all jaded out, where they sought fuel and camping. Suffering from fatigue and cold,-fingers cramped and fireworks damp,-it was with much effort they obtained fire. Their refuge for lodg- ing was upon the snow, covered with layers of fir boughs and pillows of the same, with a fire of logs, six or eight feet long, and as many inches through, one upon another, with a forestick supported by short cuts for andirons, protected by no shelter but the forest. After partaking of their homely fare, each with his blanket wrapped around him, in real Indian style, they lay themselves down in the fond embrace of Morpheus.
Where they, in the shadowy moonlight slept, The sparkling sentinels their vigils kept, " At early morn their daily task renewed, Their journey onward, onward they pursued.
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After they arrived at Belfast, they shipped for Boston, whence they soon reached New Salem,
Where sable fur a ready market won, For muffs and tippets then were all the ton,
And those of large dimensions, too, were sought, And ladies paid full well for all they bought.
The writer well recollects the facetious account they gave of their rude effort upon snow-shoes, and their traveling down the Mattawamkeag and Penobscot rivers on the ice, of crossing the track of some wonderful wild animal, where the creature leaped more than twenty feet at a bound. If, while we relate this fact, we can divest ourselves of the possibility of its reaching the magnitude of a " fish story," we must suppose that the wilds of the Penobscot were once the home of the panther.
The inhabitants of Houlton, retaining the Puritan character, duly estimating the advantages of early mental culture, procured a room for a school, in the house of Joseph Houlton, Esq., and employed Samuel Kendall, Jr., for their teacher.
September 7, 1814, Dea. Samuel Kendall and family left New Salem for Houlton, accompanied by Edwin Townsend. It being in time of war, we came by land, with wagons to Bangor. On our passage, in many places, we met families removing from Maine, in wagons, drawn by four and six oxen, plodding their way patiently along, where their heavy-loaded teams had beaten the roads, in many sections, to one common bed of mortar ; all bound for Ohio. Many of them disposed of their property at great sacrifice, leaving their now fertile lands and com- fortable homes, venturing their all upon the hazardous enterprise, without even previously making a location. So great was the rush then for Ohio, that the taverns were crowded with emigrants, who on inquiry learning that we were bound for the eastward, their attention
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was at once arrested, and the interrogatories to which we were subjected, were marshaled with the scrutiny of an inquisition. They exclaimed to us, "You are wrong -what! going into the wilds of the interior of Maine ? the very jumping off place of all creation !" After lis- tening to their unqualified salutations, we must confess we felt some twitching qualms of conscience that our father did not accept the offer of his nephew, James Prentiss of Boston, who said he would give him all the land himself and sons would improve in the State of Kentucky, if he would remove there ; but in the Provi- dence of God, our destiny was in Aroostook. However, not long after those families whom we met, reached their destination in Ohio, we were credibly informed that many were attacked with the fever, and sighed for the salubrious air of New England; yea, would have been glad had they never left Maine.
But to pursue our journey, we sold our horses and wagons at Bangor, where we arrived ten days after it was besieged by the British. The vessels then being built were burnt on the stocks, the buildings here and there were perforated with grape-shot and shattered, the academy windows broken, and the place, though but a village, presented the habiliments of mourning. The children, as if unconscious of their devastated homes, were at play in the streets with the cannon balls.
At Old Town, twelve miles above Bangor, we hired seven men, five of whom were Indians, with bark canoes, to convey the family and goods, accompanied by Messrs. Marshall and Butterfield, making nine loaded canoes, all bound for the River St. John. We had what might be called a social time. Camping out nights was a novel thing to us, and an Indian we had never seen before ; and they were rather frolicsome, though we gave them no stimulant to excite them. They were joking and singing with the playfulness and innocence of children.
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Young Peeopold, of about 18 years, gave a specimen of the Indian dance, shaking his shot-horn and singing in a varied, gutteral tone, el-ba-took, took-take-take-moha, repeating their (to us unmeaning) monosyllables, hopping up and down, alternating on each foot, his body inclining forward, with projecting elbows, which gave him a most ludicrous appearance, until from this monotonous gam- boling, he became exhausted, then he would close his fandango with hue-cha! on a high key-note.
Old Mattannis was a brawny, clear-blooded Aboriginal who, though not so much of a comedian, yet sustained his part to admiration, while the other Indians appeared equally to enjoy the comic repast. Peeopold was distin- guished for vivacity, intrepidity, symmetry of form and manly beauty. He came in the same bark with the writer, and we believe the history of the same Peeopold has recently been published, whose life, if carried out as commenced, must prove a fit subject for a romance. On the first night after leaving Old Town, we stopped at the house of Samuel Wheeler, who received us kindly. Our lodging consisted of a field bed, which covered the floor, and somewhat crowded at that. In the morning we pushed our heavy laden barks up the smooth water of the Penobscot, taking our lunch at 12 o'clock, before a fire which the Indians made for boiling the tea ; we were soon under way with our pilot ahead, with sturdy hands our paddles measured with equal pace, until the sun cast the long shadow of the superb elm from the island to the shore, which warned us to prepare for the night ; when we arrived at Mr. A. Haynes', whose se- questered cabin stood a few rods from the river, as we ascended its western bank, where we were cordially re- ceived. After an early breakfast we left our hospitable friends, who were the uppermost settlers on the river, and worked our way a day's journey onward, where on the eastern bank we landed our frail craft, and made our
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bed of boughs before a crackling fire, by which we, with keen appetite, partook of our simple fare, and lay down, particularly bidding adieu to surrounding objects, Somnus presiding over our motley group until the day star rose, when with eager haste we prepared our frugal meal, of which we all ate with thankful hearts, and loading our canoes, we resumed our onward course. After a fatiguing day, forcing our way against a strong current, we arrived at what was called Gordon's Falls, on the Mattawam- keag, where we stopped for the night, under an old roof, the rafters of which stood on the ground; expecting to find more ample accommodations than where we had no shelter, save the forest and the broad blue canopy of heaven; but to our utter disappointment, we were an- noyed all night with myriads of insects, which, for the time being, were as bad, or worse than the ten plagues of Egypt. The next morning, after a sleepless, and, I might say restless night, we poked our way along, follow- ing the meanderings of the Mattawamkeag, every now and then losing our whereabouts, from the perpetual windings of the dead waters, but were delighted with the beauty of the surrounding scenery, in the stillness of a clear October moonlight; the elm here and there, with its bending top, though recently shorn of its foli- age, still appeared as if planted by the hand of art ; and the banks elevated to secure the table-lands from freshet tide, with shrubbery enough to give it the appearance of a tastefully cultivated garden; where the autumnal leaf in its golden hue, carpeted the spongy surface, and fringed the alluvial shore. From the Mattawamkeag we came to the Baskahegan, where at the falls we caught a supply of the largest, fattest trout we ever saw. Whence we followed the stream to the portage at the Schoodic Lake, where we tarried for the night. It being late, Old Mattannis went astray, and it was quite dark before he found the company. Being asked what he would
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have done had he not found the camp, he said, " Oh, spoze me starve three days, then, eatum sable," as if by that time nothing would come amiss. In the morning, having carried our canoes and baggage to the western shore, we launched our flotilla in the waters of the lim- pid lake, which then, to us inlanders, appeared rather oceanic. In the afternoon we encountered a squall that beat against our frail bark, occasionally dashing over the gunwale upon us; at times we feared the boats would fill and sink with their valuable freight, but we ventured to follow our pilot, one after another in true Indian file. It is astonishing to see with what dexterity the Indians control their canoes, propelling them so steadily and safely against the surging waves, and the whirling, foaming current. From the lake we passed down Eel river to the carrying place, as it is called, to the St. John, where we were obliged to lug all our baggage four or five miles, dodging along the windings of a bridle path. After six weeks journeying through the country, up the rivers and over lakes, we arrived at Houlton, happy to see our old friends and neighbors, who met us with affectionate salutations. Truly thank- ful were we to Him who guided our footsteps and led us gently through this laborious, perilous journey, and safely landed us at our long-sought, anticipated home.
In autumn, James U. Taylor and family removed from the Province of New Brunswick to Houlton. In the winter following Messrs. Carr and Carle, from Ken- nebec, came to Houlton and built a flour-mill at the dam of A. Putnam. Mr. Carr was a millwright and vocalist, who taught school evenings, and was patron- ized by the youth and adults. A primary school for the common branches was taught by Samuel Kendall, Jr., in an apartment of a large house built by Dr. S. Rice. Messrs. Reed and Tilton of Kennebec, came to Houlton where, for six months, they manufactured scythe
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HISTORY OF HOULTON.
snaths, fitting the irons to the wood, for which they found a ready market at Houlton, and in the Province, at $1.50 per stick.
In the summer of 1815 Joshua Putnam, 2d, a propri- etor of Houlton, and Edmund Cone, came from New Salem to reside at Houlton. At this time, with the exception of three families, the inhabitants of Houlton consisted principally of Houltons and Putnams; if not all of those names, they were connected by marriage. Dea. S. Kendall and Dr. S. Rice married sisters, the daughters of Joshua Putnam, Sr., who, with two broth- ers, Amos and Ziel, were among the primitive inhabitants of New Salem, and whose native place was Danvers, Mass.
Here, for want of dates we depart from chronological order. Samuel Cook, Esq., married Sally Houlton ; Eb- enezer Warner married Polly Houlton ; Isaac Smith of the Province of New Brunswick, married Lydia Houlton ; Jesse Thompson of New Salem, married Louisa, daugh- ter of Joseph and Sarah Houlton ; James Houlton mar- ried Sally Haskell of New Salem; Samuel Houlton married Sarah Kendall; Joseph Houlton, Jr., married Elmira Ray ; Amos Putnam married Priscilla Worm - wood ; Stillman J. Putnam married Betsey Broad ; Ly- sander Putnam married widow Ruth Fall ; Aaron Putnam, Jr., married Maria Burleigh. From these and other kindred marriages, descended a numerous offspring, to the second and third generation, who at this day con- stitute a considerable portion of the inhabitants of Houlton, though some have, as must be expected, re- moved to other States and territories, scattered from Minnesota to Australia, which is but a miniature of the common lot of Adam's posterity; marrying and inter- mingling in social alliance, as if to fulfill the destined mission of disseminating light and knowledge universal, which amicable intercourse is a prominent feature of the long-prophesied millennium.
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HISTORY OF HOULTON. 1
In 1816 the British and American Commissioners, Beauchet, Campbell, Johnson and Turner, with some sixty men, came to survey the boundary line between Maine and the Province of New Brunswick, according to the treaty of 1783, commencing at the monument at the source of the St. Croix, running the line due north to the highlands which separate the waters that flow into the Atlantic, from those that empty into the St. Lawrence. Having run the line some fifty miles from the monument to Mars Hill, cutting an avenue sixteen feet in width, twenty miles of the distance, the British commissioners, Messrs. Beauchet and Campbell, con- tended for Mars Hill as the said highlands, but Messrs. Johnson & Turner non-concurred with them. They erected a temporary observatory on Parks Hill, on the east line of Houlton, where, with their theodolites and instruments, they measured distances and altitudes. The men were equipped with axes, knives, canteens and knapsacks well stored. Houlton being their place of rendezvous, having an excellent violinist and the choicest liquors, which at that time seemed indispensable to festive entertainments, they occasionally met the citizens of Houlton in friendly, social pastime, whose kind atten- tions were reciprocated with cordial salutations by our limited circle.
A young Indian invited a youth of Houlton to accom- pany him on a hunting expedition. The young man, pleased with this son of the forest, accepted the invita- tion, delighted as he was with the prospect of such a novel excursion ; with spirits buoyant with the anticipa- tion of inexperienced youth, on a beautiful September morning started off, with his Indian friend, for the hunt, with the entire equipage for the outfit, with gun, hatchets, knives, blankets, and provision. After a hard day's tramp, with packs nearly as weighty as themselves, they came to a stream which, for a distance was still water,
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where they found it expedient to procure some water . craft to proceed. Finding it difficult to construct a raft which they could propel up-stream, and far from the growth of the birch, the bark of which canoes were made, the next morning, after a night's lodging upon the bank, listening to the music of the owls and mos- quitos, with which, however, the Indian, too familiar, lost no sleep, they found a large spruce which they felled, and with Indian application and skill, peeled off the bark some fifteen feet in length, which, with cedar splits and spruce roots for thread, they constructed a thing which carried them over the smooth and rough waters to the hunting ground. Before they reached this place their miniature ark became leaky, from the shoal places over which they hauled it, and their only remedy was to bail it out with a dipper, which was no desirable pastime, while hunted by the flies and mosquitos. In fact, this inexperienced youth, whose fair complexion and tender skin was a rare bait for those bloodthirsty legions to feast upon, was probably not aware that while on this anticipated tour of pleasure, he would be game for such a pestilential swarm of insignificants which neither give or ask for quarter.
While paddling their rough, shapeless bark over the still water which, mirror-like reflected the varied colors of the trestled foliage, pendent from the bending tops, which marked the irregular windings of the stream, they proceeded slowly and stealthily, lest they should frighten the game, both on the land and water; for the Indian was so expert with the gun that he would shoot game on the land, ducks on the wing or the water, while upon his seat in that ticklish spruce.
The manner of taking the beaver is with the utmost cunning and caution. They set and fasten the traps under water, near their only ingress and egress to their houses. While setting them they are careful not to speak
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HISTORY OF HOULTON.
a word, except to whisper, lest they be heard, and be as expeditious as possible, lest they be seen ; and where they have trodden or handled anything they wash or wet with water, to prevent their scenting them, for if they discover any marks of the approach of man to their houses, they forsake them at once. Beavers sepa- rate in families by pairs, leaving the homestead for new and favorable locations, for if they remain together until they become numerous and crowded families, they, like certain bipeds, grow churlish and quarrelsome, and not unfrequently leave marks of violence which they inflict upon each other. Upon separating for new homes they seek places where, by building a dam, they can flow a large surface for their sphere of operations and security ; building their houses of sticks, (the bark of which is their food,) about a foot long, and from one to five inches through, which they lay in a mixture of mud and grass; the Indians say their masonry is done with their wide, flat tails. When their houses are finished, being of various sizes, they resemble the form of a haycock. The inside is divided into upper and lower apartments, in order to suit the convenience of those amphibious animals at high or low water, always making . their entrance under water, for safety from the approach of enemies above.
Their flesh is excellent, when well prepared, but they are seldom taken in a manner to bleed them properly ; they are so exceedingly shy, they are rarely caught ex- cepting in steel traps, which are so fastened as to drown them. When in the winter the Indians find their dams, they cut holes and drain off the water. Finding their dams broken they venture out nights by families, on the ice, to seek an asylum from the marauders. The Indians, anticipating their removal, lie in ambush for them, but when thus assaulted they often prove desperate antago- nists, for if some are shot dead, others finding they can
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make no escape, will turn upon their pursuers, and as there are generally a family or more together, they fight a bloody battle. The Indians get badly wounded when they slip and fall on the ice, as they sometimes do in their encounter, for their broad, incisive teeth cut wher- ever they take hold. Those that were taken in this manner and well bled, the Indians sometimes brought to Houlton, where they found a ready market. The tail of a large, fat beaver is esteemed a luxury for an epi- cure.
Sometimes they found families consisting of large and small beavers; after catching the old ones they would break their houses and take the little ones, bring them to Houlton and give them to boys to domesticate and sport with ; but the poor captives made such ado and pined so for their dams, that the owners were glad to release and trust them to their native element.
But to return to our juvenile hunters who, for several days, traveled the forest in pursuit of various kinds of game, trapping the beaver, which was their principal object, then left for home, pretty well bled by the flies, and not a little fatigued from the jaunt, but proud of the trophies of their chase.
The gnats, or, as the Indians call them, all-feel-em no- see-ems, black flies and mosquitos, were a sore annoy- ance to the first settlers, during the summer months. They were obliged to make smokes in their door-yards, two or three hours before night to drive them from their houses and secure repose and sleep. The woodman, while felling the trees, prepared cedar-bark smoke, in the form of a cigar, about two feet long, fastened to their hats, lighted at one end, which served as a porta- ble defense against them. At dry times, when dangerous to carry fire, they used fresh butter where most exposed to their bites; the Indians applied bear's oil, which, though offensive, was allowed the best protection. The
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HISTORY OF HOULTON.
large horse-flies were so troublesome that it was not safe to leave horses fastened so that they could not defend themselves, except in the shade or stable. In pastures where there was no shelter, people put up temporary coverings to shield them from the heat of the sun, but left open to the circulation of the air on every side.
During the heat of summer, the horses, cattle and sheep would feed in the cool of the morning, then flee to those shades where they would remain till four or five o'clock P. M. It was found expedient to make smoke for the poor dumb beasts, to which they would flee, as if by instinct, where they had no other protection from those troublesome insects.
It is said there is nothing made in vain, but to finite man many things appear quite irreconcilable,-yes, to poor microscopic man, of few and evil days, of compli- cate mechanism, a miracle to himself, doomed to death, yet indestructible, naturally depraved, meeting in his fellow his co-equal foe; prone to doubt his divine origin, and, paradoxical to say, at war with his own constitu- ent elements.
In 1816 the series of cold seasons commenced, when, it was said, spots were discovered on the sun's disk. Those frosty summers reduced the inhabitants to severe privations. At Houlton it even snowed in June. The birds sought shelter wherever they could, but many died of the cold. Wheat and other crops, except rye, were cut off by untimely frosts-potatoes were but half grown, -wheat, our principal staff for bread, was so badly smitten as to produce an unsavory odor to the olfactory nerves, instead of ripening to the accustomed golden harvest, and proving more than a remuneration for the labor of falling and clearing of the forest. These were trying times,-yea, enough to produce despondence upon the spirits of the most resolute and stout-hearted ; but kind Providence, ever mindful of His dependent creatures,
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did not leave us to perish with hunger. The creek, which now wears the same channel and winds it way, dividing the village, then abounded with salmon, that were easily caught, (of which we shall say more here- after,) and partridges were numerous and tame as do- mestic fowls, and very good. The wild ducks, though shy, were frequent captives of the hunter ; and the sugar maple, with which the forest abounds, contributed not a little to our comfort and support, and yielded an ample supply of sap, from which was made syrup, candy and sugar of a pure, refined quality, being wholesome, nutri- tive and delicious. Cows that had no pasture, save the woods, which furnished a supply of Solomon's seal and adder tongue during the summer months, gave a pail of milk at night and morning, from which were made one pound of butter per day, and of good quality.
When rye flour sold at Woodstock for $17 per barrel, the inhabitants were obliged to adopt a simple regimen, changing new milk to curd, mixing it with cream and sugar, which was both nutritious and palatable, a good substitute for custard. During the hard times, lumber- ing, however delusive, absorbed the capital and con- trolled the enterprise of the people of the country. Eighteen inch shingles were three dollars per thou- sand, boards ten and twelve dollars per thousand, and hewed ton timber found competition at a high price. From the signal failure of crops, the farmers, as an alternative, changed their occupation for a time, and became lumbermen, consequently their farms were neg- lected.
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