USA > Maine > The history of Maine, from the earliest discovery of the region by the Northmen until the present time; including a narrative of the voyages and explorations of the early adventurers, the manners and customs of the Indian tribes, the hardships of the first settlers, etc > Part 31
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1 Summary of British Settlements in North America, by William Douglass, vol. i. p. 304.
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committee of the Massachusetts Legislature. After conferring with the chiefs, they made the following report, which we give slightly abbreviated : -
" The Indians have unquestionably possessory rights to the lands in the extensive wilderness where they dwell. This has often been recognized by the purchases which have been made. In the year 1694, Madockawando ceded to Sir William Phips lands on both sides of the St. George's River, as far as the upper falls, but no farther. The chiefs acknowledge that they have consented to have English settlements made as far as the falls; and they claim that the English have no right to take possession of the lands above the falls until they have fairly purchased them." 1
The report was accepted. A present of five hundred pounds was sent from the government, by the hands of the chiefs, to the tribe, and they returned to their homes very happy. In the year 1737, Brunswick was incorporated, the eleventh town in the State. It was originally called Pegypscot,2 and its first inhabitant was Thomas Purchas. In 1735 there were between thirty and forty men in the settlement. After the lapse of half a century it contained a population of thirteen hundred and eighty-seven.
The governor generally visited Maine every year. He had frequent and friendly interviews with the Indians. He was deeply impressed with the value of the harbor at Pemaquid, and repeatedly urged upon the legislature the importance of putting it in a better state of defence. He arranged for a con- ference with a large delegation of Indians, at Falmouth. The meeting took place in the month of July, 1732. The governor, with a large retinue of gentlemen, took passage from Boston to Falmouth in a man-of-war.3
Soon after the governor's arrival, about two hundred Indians
1 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 191.
2 Mr. Willis spells this name Pejepscot; it is also so spelled by Coolidge and Mansfield; but we follow here the orthography of Mr. Williamson, who seems to have taken it from the Journal of the House of Representatives, p. 23.
8 Mr. Williamson gives the year 1739 as the date of this council. Mr. Willis thinks this a mistake. He writes, "The misa prehension of Mr. Freeman, in re- gard to the year, led Williamson into an error in his History of Maine, vol. ii. p. 201, in assigning to this year a treaty with the Indians at Falmouth. This took place in 1732, and there was no conference here or occasion for it in 1739." - Jour- nal of Rev. Thomas Smith, p. 90.
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came. They were all well clad, seemed friendly, and professed the most ardent wishes to perpetuate amicable relations. But they brought with them, floating at the head of their canoes, a French flag, which excited some suspicions of their sincerity. It is, however, not improbable, that as they had no flag of their own, and as the English always appeared under their flag, they considered this merely as an ornament, which they regarded as an accompaniment of their fringes and their plumes. If they had meditated treachery, they certainly had too much shrewd- ness to commence operations by flaunting an obnoxious banner in the eyes of those whom they wished to deceive.
The Indians encamped on Hog Island. Each morning they. paddled, in their fleet of canoes, to Munjoy's Hill, where the council was held under an immense tent. The signal for the meeting was the firing of a gun from a man-of-war in the har- bor, and the raising the royal Jack at the maintop. As the English objected to the display of the French flag, the Indians laid it aside, and raised an English banner at the head of their leading canoe. A renowned Penobscot chief, by the name of Loron, was the principal captain and speaker of the Indians. In accordance with their custom, they brought presents of furs as pledges of the sincerity of their speech. A chief by the name of Toxus spoke first. Addressing the governor, he said, -
" It is God who has the overruling power over all things. He has brought us here at this time. The reason of our coming is our hearty desire for love and friendship. As a token of our being glad to see your Excellency, I shake hands, and offer these furs as our money."
The governor urged them to dismiss their French religious teachers, and to accept English missionaries in their stead. Loron requested a little time to consider the matter. The next day, with diplomatic skill which would have honored Talley- rand, he replied, -
" Friend, we have been thinking of what your Excellency said to us yes- terday. As to prayers, it was mentioned in the treaty, that there should be no dispute about religion. It would be trifling on our part to attempt to answer what you have said on that subject. We are too few to enter upon
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this question, which is a weighty matter. There are other tribes to be con- sulted. When we have ascertained their minds, we shall be better able to answer you. We had the advice of the other tribes with regard to the peace: we therefore think it proper to seek their advice in this affair."1
The interview was in all respects cordial and friendly. The governor assured them of his good-will, and made them some valuable presents. At the close of the council they partook together of a public dinner in the tent. .
Gov. Belcher, after a stormy administration of ten years, was succeeded as governor of Massachusetts and Maine, by William Shirley. About five years before this, in 1734, the town of Windham was laid out and settled mainly by a colony from Marblehead, Mass. The township consisted of twenty-five thousand five hundred acres on the eastern bank of the Pre- sumpscot River. Each man had a farm of a hundred and twenty acres. There were also sixty-three compact ten-acre lots surveyed, that the settlers, for the advantage of protection, schools, and religious privileges, might dwell in something like a village.2
In the year 1741, the renowned George Whitefield visited Maine. He went to York, Wells, Biddeford, Scarborough, Fal- mouth, and North Yarmouth, preaching the gospel of salvation through faith in an atoning Saviour, with wonderful power. Large numbers were influenced to commence a new and better life. He was indefatigable in his labors, having been known to preach sixteen times, and to travel over those rough roads a hundred and seventy miles, in a single week.
Gov. Shirley was an Englishman by birth, and a lawyer by profession. He had resided in Maine six or seven years, and had thus become acquainted with the manners of the people. His ability and integrity had secured their confidence. England and Spain were then fighting each other. By the promise of . large pay and a share in the booty, between five and six hun- dred men were recruited from the Province of Maine, for an
1 Journal of Rev. Thomas Smith, p. 76. Mr. Smith was at that time the honored pastor of the church in Falmouth. For many years he kept a daily record of passing events.
2 History of Windham, by Thomas Laurens Smith, p. 51.
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expedition to Cuba. But few of them ever saw their homes again.1
During this conflict the British commenced impressing inhab- itants of Maine, and forcing them on board their men-of-war. This infamous course, persisted in, led to the war of 1812. The continued encroachments of the settlements in Maine led many Indians of the diminishing tribes of the Saco, the Androscog- gin, and the Kennebec, to withdraw to the unbroken forests of Canada, where they were sure of a cordial welcome from the French authorities.
This excited alarm in Boston. The governor, with a large escort from both legislative branches, repaired to St. George's, . to hold a council with the sagamores of the Etechemin tribes. These Indians, as has been mentioned, occupied the country between the Penobscot and the St. John, both inclusive. The Indians were prompt in their attendance. They came in a large fleet of canoes, and entered the harbor, not with the French, but with the British flag at the head of their fleet. This would seem to indicate that the French flag, under which they had previously entered the harbor at Falmouth, was intended merely as an ornament, not as a menace. The meeting was harmoni- ous. Both parties were exceedingly anxious for peace. But the English wanted, and felt that they must have, the lands of the Indians. On the other hand, the Indians clung tenaciously to the homes of their fathers ; and yet they despairingly felt that influences, quite beyond their control, were each year driv- ing them farther away from their ancient hunting grounds, and that, ere long, all their possessions would pass into the hands of strangers.
This was evident alike to both parties. Agitating questions which could lead to no good results were avoided. The time was passed in the interchange of courtesies ; and the governor made valuable presents to the Indians, of powder and shot, and of other articles which had become to them necessaries of life. It was deemed very important to prevent their applying to the French for such purchases.
1 Summary of British Settlements in North America, by William Douglass, vol. i. p. 554.
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On this excursion the governor made a careful examination of the country. In his address to the legislature, on his return, he said, -
" The inexhaustible supplies of wood and lumber, and the several kinds and great quantities of naval stores which this region is capable of produ- cing, no less than the navigable rivers, the numerous harbors, and good soil it possesses, render it highly deserving the encouragement and protection of government."
By the census of 1743, it appeared that there were in Maine eleven towns, and a probable population of twelve thousand inhabitants. The poor Indians were fast dwindling away by death and by emigration to Canada.
The Spanish war raging in Europe drew France into an alliance with Spain, against Great Britain.1 This, of course, led to a conflict between the French and English colonists on these shores. Each party exerted its utmost endeavors to engage the Indians as allies. The French, as was to have been expected, were the more successful. Again horrid war recommenced its ravages of shrieks, misery, blood, and death. The war was commenced by an attack made by the French and Indians upon an English settlement at Canseau, in Nova Scotia. The French governor of Cape Breton sent several armed vessels, with about nine hundred men, and took possession of the island. Soon after, three hundred Indians, led, it is said, by a French missionary, M. Luttre, attacked Annapolis. They laid siege to the place ; but, re-enforcements arriving from Bos- ton, they were compelled to retire.
War is the most expensive of all earthly employments. New forts were reared, and the old ones strengthened. A hundred and twenty-one men were sent to be distributed to the garrisons at Fort George, Pemaquid, Richmond, Brunswick, and Saco. Three hundred men were organized into scouts, which parties, ever on the move, were generally led by friendly Indian guides.
1 This famous war for the Austrian succession, commenced by Frederick II. of Prussia, not only drew all Europe into its vortex, but also led French Canadians and English colonists and savage Indians to cutting each other's throats, who had not the slightest idea of what they were fighting for.
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Ninety-six barrels of gunpowder were sent to be distributed among the towns.
A delegation was appointed by the governor to visit St. George, and ascertain the feelings of the Penobscot Indians. They met many of the chiefs in council, and received from them the assurance of their continued desire for peace. It was decided to commence a vigorous war against the Indians of Nova Scotia. The tribes residing in Maine were forbidden, by the government of Massachusetts, from holding any intercourse with the tribes east of Passamaquoddy Bay. A hundred pounds was offered for the scalp of every male Indian over twelve years of age. Fifty pounds was offered for that of a child younger than twelve, or for that of a woman.1
The Indians still continued peaceful. But a vagabond band of white men fell upon an unoffending band of Indians on the eastern side of St. George's River, killing one, and severely wounding others. The government did all in its power to atone for this crime. Forty pounds in money, a blanket, and many other articles were given to the widow. The wounded were furnished with medical aid, and were carefully conveyed to their homes on the Penobscot.
According to the Dummer treaty, the chiefs engaged to join fifty of their men to every band of a hundred and fifty of the English, raised to subdue any refractory Indians who might attempt to disturb the peace. To test the Indians, the English now demanded that the sagamores should furnish their quota of warriors to march against the tribes in Nova Scotia. This demand was made with the not very courteous menace, that, if it were not complied with within forty days, the government of Massachusetts would declare war against the Indians of Maine.
The sagamores were in great perplexity and distress. Several councils were held, and the subject was earnestly discussed. The result was, that in January they sent an express to Boston to inform the government that they found it impossible to induce their young men to take up arms against their brother Indians of the St. John.
1 Summary, by Douglass, p. 320; Williamson, vol. ii. p. 218.
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For carrying on the war against the French and their allied Indians, two regiments were raised in Maine. One, from the vicinity of Kittery, consisted of fifteen hundred and sixty-five men, under Col. William Pepperell; the other, of twelve hun- dred and ninety men, was formed from the towns adjoining Falmouth, and was commanded by Col. Samuel Waldo.
Louisburg, upon the island of Cape Breton, was one of the most important and best fortified of the posts of the French. With its ramparts, its ditches, its batteries, one of them mount- ing twenty-eight forty-two pounders, it was justly considered the Gibraltar of America. The labor of twenty-five years had been expended upon these fortifications, and they had cost the French crown thirty million livres.1 It would seem that all the English colonies embarked with great enthusiasm in the enter- prise of making the conquest of Louisburg.2 Col. Pepperell, with the rank of lieutenant-general, was first in command. Though trained to war, he was a devout man. He applied to Rev. Mr. Whitefield, then preaching in Maine, for his opinion of the enterprise. He replied, --
" The scheme is not very full of encouragement. The eyes of all will be upon you. Should you not meet with success, the widows and orphans will utter complaints. Should you be successful, many will look upon you with envy, and endeavor to eclipse your glory. You ought, therefore, to go with a ' single eye; ' then you will receive strength proportioned to your neces- sities."
Mr. Whitefield, at the earnest suggestion of Col. Pepperell, gave him a motto for his flag. It was “ Nil desperandum, Christo duce." 3 An army of four thousand men was embarked in a fleet of thirteen vessels, besides transports and store-ships. The . vessels carried two hundred guns. On the 24th of March, 1745, the squadron sailed. Before casting anchor in the waters of Louisburg, the fleet was joined by ten other British ships of war, mounting four hundred and ninety guns.
1 Haliburton's History of Nova Scotia, vol. i. pp. 98-112.
2 " All the talk is about the expedition to Louisburg. There is a marvellous zeal and concurrence through the whole country with respect to it. Such as the like was never seen in this part of the world." - Smith's Journal, p. 116; date Feb. 11, 1745.
8 Nothing is to be despaired of, Christ being the leader.
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Early in the morning of the 30th of April, the squadron appeared before the doomed city. The men, with the heavy guns and ammunition, were landed with scarcely any opposition. The assault and the defence were conducted with like bravery and skill. For forty-four days the battle raged, with scarcely a moment's intermission. We have no space here to enter into its details. On the 15th of June, the French capitulated, and Louisburg passed into the hands of the English. There were four thousand one hundred and thirty inhabitants within the defences. Of these, two thousand were able to bear arms. According to the terms of the capitulation, they were trans- ported to France, where, in the extreme of impoverishment, they were left to struggle against life's dire adversities.
Nine thousand cannon-balls and six hundred bombs were thrown into the city before the surrender. During the conflict, the English lost a hundred and thirty men, and the French three hundred. It now seemed to be inevitable that there was . to be a fifth Indian war. The refusal of the Indians of Maine to march against their brethren in Nova Scotia was considered, by the English, as indicative of hostile intentions, and almost equivalent to a declaration of hostilities.
No more trading-masters were appointed, and trade with the Indians ceased. Thus they were constrained to resort to the French for their supplies. The English made vigorous prepara- tions for the conflict. Block-houses were built, ramparts were thrown up; parties were organized as scouts, to be continually perambulating the country ; and almost every able-bodied man was converted into a soldier. The English were strong ; the Indians were weak. The Indians had nothing to hope for from the war. The English, who could have no doubt of success in contending against so feeble a foe, could add to their territorial possessions vast regions of fertile lands which they greatly coveted.
On the 23d of August, 1745, the government of Massachu- setts declared war against all the eastern tribes of Maine with- out exception. Large bounties were offered for captives or scalps.1 It would seem that the Indians were entirely unpre-
1 Williamson, p. 240; Smith's Journal, p. 120.
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pared for this outbreak. In terror they abandoned their homes to seek the protection of the French. Rev. Mr. Smith, of Fal- mouth, in his valuable Journal, writes, under date of Oct. 2, 1745, that not an Indian had been seen or heard of on the eastern frontier, for nearly a month. He says, that, immediately upon the announcement of hostilities, they fled away to Canada.
It was a miserable war. There was no such thing as a battle between the English and the Indians. There was no array of forces against each other. Scouting parties of the English ranged the woods, hunting Indians, as they would hunt wolves or bears. Prowling bands of savages killed cattle and swine, occasionally burned a house, and shot at the white men when- ever they could get a chance to do so unseen. To describe these events would only be to repeat what has already been recorded. But terror reigned in every lonely farmhouse. Every few days the tidings would be heard of some man shot, or some family massacred. These reports were often greatly exagge- rated. The great desire of the English was to capture Canada. Mr. Williamson writes, -
" In none of the Indian wars were the savages more subtle and inveterate, yet in none less cruel. They despaired of laying waste the country, and expelling the inhabitants. They rather sought to satiate their revenge upon particular individuals or families; to take captives and scalps, for the sake of the price or premium paid them therefor by the French, and to satisfy their wants by the plunder of houses or slaughter of cattle; a cow or an ox being frequently killed by them, and nothing taken but the tongue." 1
The English trained furious dogs to chase the Indians, and to tear them down, women and children, with bloody fangs. Orders were issued for the organization of troops to drive all the Indians and the French settlers out of Nova Scotia.2 Amidst these horrors, it is pleasant to record an occasional act of human- ity. A few Indians, by stratagem, captured Capt. Jonathan Williamson, of Wiscasset. He was one of the most prominent men in the settlement. In his capture they were careful not to wound him. Two others, whom they might have killed, they allowed to escape. He inquired the reasons for this conduct.
1 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 244.
2 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 247.
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" We have been requested," they said, " by the governor of Quebec, to secure an intelligent prisoner, who is capable of giving information respecting the plans of the English."
In conducting him through the wilderness to Quebec, they treated him with the utmost kindness, liberally sharing with him all the provisions they could procure.1 Winter came, with unusual severity, and great depth of snow. Military expeditions had engrossed the energies of the people. There was almost a famine. The whole civilized world was thrown into commotion by this miserable war, commenced by that scourge of humanity, Frederick of Prussia. Hundreds of thousands perished on the battle-field and in the gloomy hospital. More homes were des- olated, and widows and orphans made, than can be numbered. There was miscry everywhere, happiness nowhere; and all this merely to decide whether one individual or another should sit upon the throne of Austria. The imagination could scarcely create a more astonishing record of folly and of crime, than the history of the human race presents.
The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed Oct. 7, 1748, gave peace to the world. Several of the chiefs of the Maine Indians met the governor in the council chainber at Boston, on the 23d of June, 1749. There was quite a numerous delegation, rep- resenting mainly the Kennebec and the Penobscot tribes. One of the chiefs, addressing the governor, said, -
" We speak from our hearts the words of sincerity and truth. We have brought with us other credentials than our own hearts. These brothers present know that the voice of peace makes the Indians everywhere smile and rejoice." 2
A general council of the chiefs to meet the Massachusetts commissioners was appointed to assemble in Falmouth. The commissioners, five or six in number, were attended by a mil- itary guard of about fifty men. We know not how many Indians attended. Nineteen chiefs signed the treaty of peace. It was essentially the same as the " Dummer Treaty." It was called the " Submission and Agreement " of the tribes.
When such a storm has been raging over life's ocean, it takes
1 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 253. 2 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 268.
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some time for the billows to subside. Vagabond white men continued to shoot the Indians. In vain the natives appealed to the legal tribunals for redress. "Certain it is, that whenever a white person was tried for killing an Indian, even in times of profound peace, he was invariably acquitted, it being impossible to impanel a jury on which there were not some who had suffered by the Indians, either in their persons, families, or estates." 1
Predatory bands of savages from Canada, accustomed to plunder, continued for a time their banditti excursions, killing, plundering, and burning. "But it was manifest that the in- stances of mischief were principally acts of mere revenge com- mitted by stragglers and renegadoes, unencouraged probably by any tribe. The sagamores of Penobscot, and even of Nor- ridgewock, declared that they had no share in the late rupture, and expressed strong desires of immediately renewing their former trade and connections with the English." 1
The intelligent Indians could not look upon the continued encroachments of the English without anxiety. Though con- scious that this could not be prevented by any force of arms which they could wield, they made frequent and earnest appeals to the government, in vindication of what they deemed their rights. Permanent and steadily increasing settlements were established at Woolwich, Edgecomb, Bath, Dresden, Bowdoin- ham, Topsham, and many other places. Strong fortifications were arising at many important points.
It is supposed that the whole population of Maine, in 1744, was from twelve to fifteen thousand.2 Falmouth was the largest town in the Province. The hunting grounds and fishing sites of the natives were fast passing from them. Soon after this, the English claimed all the land from the Kennebec River east to the Sheepscot, and as far up the Kennebec as Norridgewock. They were taking possession of the territory, and strengthen- ing themselves in it. Gov. Shirley, with several commissioners, met a number of the sagamores at Fort Richmond. There is something pitiable in the tone of the chief Indian speaker on this occasion. He said, -
1 Williamson, vol. ii. p. 272.
2 Smith's Journal, p. 137.
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