USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. II > Part 10
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Noyes being also patronized by some fishmongers in London, A. D. 1716. entered largely into the sturgeon-fishery, which he carried on Sturgeon "in the several branches of the Sagadahock," seven or eight fishery. years. In some seasons, twenty vessels were taken into employ- ment ; and " many thousand kegs" were filled, which were esteem- ed equal "to any that ever came from Hamburgh or Norway." Also vast quantities of pine boards, plank,-hogshead, pipe and barrel staves, and all sorts of timber, were annually transported Lumber. from the river, as well to foreign places as to Boston.
The field for settlement was wide; the territory between the rivers Sagadallock and St. George, which had lain waste ever since it was depopulated by the savages in 1689, presented to settlers many attractions ; and various projects were devised and motives urged, to induce their return to the places formerly inhab- ited. Hitherto the county of Yorkshire had embraced only the old Province of Maine ; therefore, the General Court, in 1716, to render the administration of justice commensurate with its jurisdiction, ordered, that " all the lands, families and settlements extended to Yorkshire eastward of Sagadahock" within the limits of the Provincial St. Croix. Charter be annexed to Yorkshire ; and that York be the shire town for holding all the courts, and for keeping the registry of deeds .*
Governor Shute, who arrived, Oct. 4, 1716, took the reins at a critical period of public affairs. The Province was emerging from a long Indian war, which had oppressed the people with debt ; a depreciating paper currency had almost expelled specie from the country, and greatly embarrassed the trade; and the royal prerogative, as managed by the Governors under the char- ter, had wrought up the public jealousy to such a pitch, as would render the chair unpleasant to any one appointed to fill it .- The settlement of the eastern Provinces he found to be a popular and interesting topic ; and in the ensuing winter or spring, an order was passed for the repair of the fort and the re-establishment of a garrison at Pemaquid.
But the new settlements, the mills, and especially the forts, The natives had surprisingly awakened the animosity of the Indians, whom restless. the French missionaries eagerly inflamed, by telling them the
* 9 Mass. Rec. p. 95-262 .- The treaty of Utrecht had now extinguished the French claim to Sagadahock wholly.
Gov. Shute arrives.
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A. D. 1717. English had invaded their rights. What at the same time helped to fan and feed the fire, was a rumour, that there were apprehen- sions of a war between England and France.
As the best way to pacify the tribes, and keep them tranquil, it was determined to provide immediate and effectual means for instructing the older Indians in the christian religion, and the younger, in the elements of education, according to the practice of the fathers. The General Court therefore offered to pay any minister £150 annually, who would reside at fort George, learn the dialect of the tribe, and become their instructer. A young scholar was to be associated with him as a schoolmaster, and £10 placed in his hands to procure books and curiosities, which he was to distribute among the pupils according to their merits .*
In August, at Arrow- sick, the Gov. meets the Indians.
In the mean time, the Governor, attended by members of the Council from his several Provinces, met in August, according to previous appointment, " a great number of Indians with the Chiefs of every tribe," and conferred with them at Arrowsick. The Canibas Sagamores believing themselves the most aggrieved, took the lead in the conference. The Governor presented them with an English and Indian Bible, and told them it contained the true religion ; and Mr. Baxter, a missionary who had attended him, would explain its principles to them. All people, said they, love their own ministers. Your bibles, we do not care to keep ;- God has given us teaching, and should we go from that, we should offend God.
The confer- enco.
It being found they were immoveably attached to the Catholic creed, the rest of the parley was upon the respective rights of the parties. The Sagamores complained of encroachments. They thought, that though the lands westward of the Kennebeck might belong to the English ; surely no sale had been made of the country eastward of that river. But, replied the Governor, 'we ' shall never part with an inch of our lands in that quarter.' Thinking this to imply more than was expressed or intended, they instantly rose and departed without ceremony to their canoes, paddling away to another Island, the place of their head- quarters, and leaving their English flag upon the ground.
Rale's let- ter.
In the evening they returned, bringing a letter from Sebastian Rale, the apostle of Norridgewock, addressed to the Governor, and
* 9 Mass. Rec. p. 120.
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stating, ' that the French king had never by any treaty, conced- A. D. 1717. ' ed to the English the lands of the Indians, and that he would ' protect them against every encroachment.' The Governor then let them know how highly he resented the insolent interference of the Jesuit ; and the next morning, he made preparations to re- embark. The Indians were by no means ripe for war. The older men were loath to quit their villages at Norridgewock and Penobscot, where they were living at ease ; and dreaded to become dependent upon the French, by whom, as they often said, they were treated like dogs, when there was no immediate want of their services. Full of apparent regrets for the incivilities offered the day before, two messengers came and solicited the English colors they had slighted-also, a further interview with the Governor.
At night the conference was renewed. Pretending to be dis- satisfied with the words and conduct of their speaker yesterday, firmed. they appointed another. He confessed that some of their incon- siderate young men had been guilty of wrongs towards the English and were blameworthy .* But it is our wish, he said, ' to live in ' peace, and to be supplied at fair prices with necessaries in the ' way of trade ; and without talking at this time about lines and ' limits, we declare ourselves willing, that the English should set- " tle and occupy where their fathers did ; though we very much
* A part of the dialogue on the first day of the parley, follows :
Wiwurna .- We are willing to cut off our lands as far as the mills and the coasts of Pemaquid.
Governor .- Tell them we desire only what is our own, and that we will have. We will not wrong them, but will be masters of our own.
Wiwurna .- It was said at Casco treaty, that no more forts should be made.
Governor .- Tell them the forts are not made for their hurt; they are for the security of both-we being all subjects of king George.
Wiwurna .- We cannot understand how our lands have been purchased : -what has been alienated was by our gift. [The deed to Wharton signed by six Sagamores was then read to them.]
Wiwurna .- But surely nothing has been sold on the east side of Kenne- beck river.
Governor .- We expect the English will be quiet in the possession of all the lands they have purchased and what they own.
Wiwurna .- We are a little uneasy concerning these lands ; but are wil- ling the English shall possess all they have, excepting forts. We must have fishing and fowling where we will.
Governor .- It is freely assented to and allowed .- 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 199.
Treaty con-
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A. D. 1717.' dislike their forts.' At length, the treaty of Portsmouth, signed in 1713, was, with their former allegiance, renewed ; and the Sagamores in accepting the presents made to them, returned a belt of wampum, a lot of beaver, and a toast to the king's health .*
Timber- trees.
Next the timber-trees, and especially the white pines, in these eastern forests, were made a subject of great consideration ; and being connected with the king's prerogative, it soon drew the Gov- ernor into an unhappy controversy with the House. By the last paragraph in the Provincial Charter, " all trees of the diameter " of 24 inches-upwards of 12 inches from the ground, growing " upon any soil or tract of land within our said Province or terri- " tory not heretofore granted to any private persons"-' were re- ' served for masting the royal navy :- And all persons were for- ' bidden to fell, cut, or destroy any such trees without the royal ' license, first had and obtained, upon penalty of forfeiting £100 ' sterling, for every tree so felled, cut, or destroyed without such ' license.'
Bridger, Surveyor- General ac- cused.
In consequence of some mismanagement by the surveyor-gen- eral of the woods, John Bridger, Esq. ; t the extent both of his power and of the reservation in the charter, became the subject of discussion and scrutiny. It was contended that the original Province of Maine, which was purchased of Gorges by the Col- ony of Massachusetts, had never reverted to the crown ; and every part of it, which was not granted to individuals, was now the public property of the Province.} At any rate, all the trees within any township were either private property, or what was equivalent, according to another clause in the charter, they were owned by the townsmen collectively, as a " body politic" or cor- poration. With neither, had the king's surveyor any concern. Nay it was believed, he was commissioned only to survey the for- ests and preserve the mast pines and other timber ; whereas he was accused of granting tacit permits to cut trees, and even of conniving at trespasses-then of making enormous exactions for the logs ; pursuing the wrong-doers with vindictive violence, and sometimes encroaching upon the rights of others.
Mr. Elisha Cook of Boston, who was the Councillor for Saga- dahock this year, a man of good abilities and great influence
Pursued by Mr. Cook.
* Penhallow's Ind. war .- 1 Coll. N. H. Hist. Soc. p. 89.
+ His deputy for Maine, was first, Mr. Frazer; afterwards, Mr. Plaisted. a more popular man. # 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 229 .- Ed. 1795.
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among the people, entered warmly into this discussion. He said A. D. 1718 Bridger had no authority to grant any such licenses ; nor to com- pound with trespassers, for he had seen his commission .* He even went so far as to delineate to the House the malversation of that officer, and to charge him with betraying the trust committed to him.t In that body, Mr. Cook met with all the success he de- sired ; for his course was approved, and the proceedings of the surveyor-general were condemned.
On the other hand, Bridger presented a counter memorial to Bridger's the Council in justification of his measures ; when the Governor, defence. who made a merit of being a vigilant guardian of the royal in- terests, espoused his cause with great zeal, and transmitted the papers to the Lords of trade. The House, being thus indirectly censured by the Board, took an affront, and accused the Gov- ernor of sending home a partial statement of the facts ; and Cook, being quite censorious, had, by some unguarded expres- sion, so deeply wounded the Governor, that when the Councillors elect were, in the ensuing spring, presented to him, he by his negative, struck Mr. Cook's name from the list.
The surveyor-general also, among his duties, was instructed to inform the king's Navy Board, what oak timber suitable for ship duties. building,-what trees yielding tar, pitch or turpentine-and what land fit to rear hemp, could be found, which might be rendered useful to the fleet. In the discharge of this trust, as well as that of preserving the mast pines and ship-timber, he had the patron- age and aid of the Governor ; who said, he had a general super- intendance of the whole, given him in charge by the Lords of trade. The Governor likewise represented to the House, that the pitch and tar, made and exported in great quantities, were tar. adulterated with sand, and that an act of Parliament had lately been passed, requiring more strict examination into their qualities.} This evil, the General Court had no objection to rectify, if it had become an evil worthy of notice. But the House were in tem- per to assume at once the whole oversight of the eastern forests ;
His other
Pitch and
* 9 Mass. Rec. p. 280 .- Committees' Report, Nov. 1718, against Bridger. -9 Mass. Rcc. p. 367.
t It was said Bridger had received of one iran £50 for masts by him cut and sent to England ; and told the people they could cut, without incurring the penalty mentioned in the charter .- 9 Mass. Rec. p. 280.
Į Governor's Speech, A. D. 1719.
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A. D. 1718. and accordingly appointed a committee of seven to that trust ; A Commit- empowering them to take into possession all the logs found there- tee to over- see the east- in, and to direct the Attorney-General, when to institute or pur- ern forests. sue legal process, either for cutting trees, bleeding them for tur- pentine, or other trespasses .* This course deeply entrenched upon the authority of the Governor and the Surveyor-General ; and at the same time so sensibly touched the royal prerogative, as to occasion, the next year, an interposing act of Parliament. Trespasses triable in Admiralty By this, the penalties for trespasses in the royal woods, were re- coverable in a court of admiralty,; where there is no jury, Courts. and the judge only holds his office during the pleasure of the crown.
Soil of Sag- adahock in the crown. By other paragraphs in the charter, ¿ no grants of any lands lying eastward of Kennebeck river within the limits of the Province, which the Governor and Legislature might make or pass, should have any force or effect, until approved by the crown. But prior grants and all other estates, which were holden or ought to be enjoyed within the Province, under any act of the former governments, or by any other lawful right or title whatsoever, would be holden by the respective grantees and their heirs, ac- cording to the intent and interest of the grantors. Perceiving the fee of the ungranted lands in the Province of Sagadahock, to be in the sovereign, and the jurisdiction in the Provincial gov- Armstrong's ernment, William Armstrong and others, who had been officers project. and soldiers in the army, presented a petition to the board of trade and plantations, for a grant of those lands. The subject underwent several discussions before their Lordships, the petition- ers being strenuously opposed by the provincial agent. It was proposed, that if Massachusetts would resign her jurisdiction to the country eastward of the Penobscot, she should have the property in the soil westward of that river confirmed to her by the crown ; by which means her interest would be enlarged, and she would be enabled to effectuate more extensive settlements. But acquainted as she was entirely, with the value of her rights and
* 9 Mass. Rec. p. 510 .- In 1721, the Deputy or Surveyor-General gave license to cut the trees of the woods as belonging to the king ; and a Com- mittee was ordered to secure the logs cut under the license, for the use of the Province.
t See ante, " Courts," Chap. 1, vol. II, A. D. 1692-3-4.
# Ancient Charters, p. 26, 34.
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the importance of this eastern region to her, she instructed her A. D. 1719. agent to make no concessions ;- and consequently the project altogether failed.
Efforts were unabating through the year 1719, towards the Settlements between enlargement of the towns and settlements already begun, and the Kennebeck and St. establishment of others, especially eastward of Kennebeck river ; George's also some preparations were made for removals ; as proprietors river. were anxious to repossess themselves of their lands, through fear of being barred by the statute of limitations. Hence in the present and succeeding summer, two or three persons settled at Damariscotta, under the " Tappan Right," and made improve-
ments. Within the patent to Elbridge and Aldsworth, or " Drown Right," repairs were undertaken upon the fort at Pemaquid. William Hilton and John Brown were now residents at New- Harbor upon the " Brown Right ;" and in 1724, "a survey " was made of the lands granted to John Brown the elder, ac- " cording to the limits and boundaries of the Indian deeds." *_ For the purposes of settlement, the Waldo Patent was divided, in 1719, into ten shares,-and the " ten proprietors" assigned two thirds to the " twenty associates" formed,-and retained the rest. ' At this period, there was not a house between George- 'town and Annapolis, except a fish-house on Damariscove Isl- ' and, nor " until the time that St. George's fort was built," fort. in 1719-20. Here were erected a capacious and defensible building, on an elevation near the easterly edge of St. George's river, at the elbow, and a blockhouse at a short distance, having a large area between them enclosed by pallisades, and capable of receiving 250 men.# Another fortress, called Fort Richmond, Fort Rich- was built about this time on the west bank of Kennebeck river, mond. opposite to Swan Island.§
St. Georges'
* See ante, A. D. 1650 ; and post, A. D. 1729 .- Fort William Henry built at Pemaquid, 1692, destroyed, 1696 .- See in Commissioners' Reports, A. D. 1811, p. 15-18 .- Gatchell's Deposition, p. 95 .- Brown's Deposition, p. 109-115 .- Prescott's and Pearce's Deposition, p. 116-118 .- In 1730, there were, in what is now Bristol and the adjacent towns, "at least 150 set- tlers."-Col. W. Jones' testimony, ib. p. 144.
t P. Roger's Deposition, taken 1773, ib. p. 60 .- Probably the fort was finished in 1721 .- 10 Mass. Rec. p. 379.
į Memorial of J. Leverett and others .- 10 Mass. Rec. p. 380. The fort was in Thomaston, in front of the mansion-house of the late General Knox. § The Fort, situate near the water, was not large, nor very firmly con- VOL. II. 13
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Duty on lumber re- pealed.
A. D. 1719. The grateful expressions with which the Governor was saluted, on account of the share he had in obtaining a late Parliamentary repeal of the duty exacted on lumber imported from America, were almost the only political consolations he experienced this year. His approval of an impost, a twelve month before, was censured by the Lords-Justices, in the king's absence, be- cause English vessels and manufactures were not excepted ;- still the House were hardly induced to revise it .- To preserve the forest-trees, the surveyor-general sent out his deputies, who Mast-trees marked. marked an immense number of them with a capital R. and other- wise made a new display of his authority. This marking scheme was a novel expedient, as it was also unfortunate at this time, for upon no other subject than the timber, was the House more sen- sitive .; Yet the Governor, with a full knowledge of the public feeling, had the imprudence to declare to that body, his deter- minate purpose, conformably to a late instruction from home, to support the surveyor, at all lengths, in the discharge of his offi- cial duty. This opened the half-smothered embers, and the House sent in a protest, which so severely charged Bridger with mal-conduct, that the Governor declared it should not be printed ; adding with extreme indiscretion, "remember, I have the power of the press."
Dissensions of the Gov. and House.
So sacred and well understood were the sentiments of liberty in this age, that no royal Governor, however able and wise, could by possibility maintain his master's prerogative, and at the same time satisfy the people and their representatives. Suffice it to say, that during the residue of Gov. Shute's administration, through a period of three years, the dissensions between him and the House were continually increasing, till they rose to a lament- able height. In return for his negation of Councillors and Speaker of the House, and other arbitrary acts ; he was allowed a smaller salary than his predecessors ; agents were appointed to inspect the garrisons, though he by the charter was Commander- in-Chief; a duplicate of the records was taken ; and as though
structed. It was dismantled in 1754 .- It was in the present town of Richmond ;- ten miles below the mouth of Cobbisecontee. The site of Richmond Fort was not far from the margin of the river, on ground, 12 or 15 feet above the water; from which the land gradually ascends; and thereabouts, there was, in 1820, a hamlet of 15 or 20 houses, a few stores, and 2 or 3 wharves.
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his integrity was suspected, a motion was made to withdraw from A. D. 1719. him and the Council, the keys of the public chest.
Another perplexity of much greater moment, in fact, to the Indians in- community, was the insolence of the Abenaquis Indians, every solent. where noticeable since their return from the winter hunting .* Peo- ple acquainted with their character, thought their behavior was a strong indication of some hostile attack ; and therefore the Govern- or, soon after the spring session of the General Court, despatched forty men into Maine, to guard the frontiers, and watch the mo- tions of the savages. These were distributed, 15 to Falmouth, 10 to Scarborough, 10 to Arundel, and 5 to North-Yarmouth fort, though the resettlement of the latter place had not been un- dertaken in a regular defensible manner. The summer rather deepened than allayed the people's fears ; and at the November session, the General Court appointed three commissioners, Wil- Guards sent Nov. 4. liam Tailer, Edmund Quincy and William Dudley, with instruc- into Maine. tions to meet the chiefs of the Canibas Indians at Brunswick or some other convenient place ; to ascertain if possible, the grounds of complaint and difficulty ; to demand a reparation for the in- juries done,-and to propose a revision of the trade,-a limited occupancy of our own lands,-and an offer, that some of the chiefs, according to their desire, take a voyage to England ; as- suring the tribe at Penobscot, that the spirit of peace, which their letter breathed, had received a most acceptable welcome.
It being late in the season, the commissioners had no interview with the Sagamores, till the succeeding June ; when it seemed, June. by their report, that if the Kennebeck proprietors and the Cani- port. Their re- bas Indians could agree upon boundaries, the fearful difficul- ties might be reconciled.t A committee was then raised to con- sider the subject of boundaries; £223,15s. were appropriated towards the support of a garrison at fort George, on the Andros- coggin ; and 50 soldiers were continued in public pay till the au- Soldiers in tumn ; twenty of whom being . stationed at Richmond fort, and service. Swan-Island.
A. D. 1720.
* See letter, dated Merry-meeting bay, May 1, 1719, from Joseph Heath and John Minot, to Governor Shute. They say, the Indians called a coun- cil, and said the Jesuit spoke his mind, not theirs ; that they did not employ him to write for them, &c .- 8 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 265, New Series.
t The conduct of the commissioners did not please the House ; they did not get any pay for their services.
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A. D. 1720.
Coram's project for settling Sagada- hock.
In this critical posture of eastern affairs, Capt. Thomas Coram, a visionary theorist, promulgated a project for settling the Saga- dahock Province, and raising upon the lands a quantity of hemp and flax, sufficient for supplying the royal navy with cordage. It was proposed, that a large number of men should be incorporated with a capital of £100,000 sterling, and with a charter of privi- leges suited to the enterprize ; that the territory be granted by the crown to the corporation in fee ; and that the whole direction be entrusted to a board of seventeen managers. To remunerate Massachusetts for a surrender of her jurisdiction, she was to have the privilege of subscribing £20,000, and owning a fifth part of the interest. As the scheme, wild as it may appear, was not without its advocates, it was thought that the preferable way to frustrate it, would be to inflate the vain conceit of the projector. Hence he was induced to withdraw, in anticipation of something greater, or more entirely acceptable to all. But when he found the region between Kennebeck and Penobscot was not to be in- cluded, he fell into a fit of passion, exclaiming, " it is all a trick to save that fine country, for the villainous people of New-Eng- land."* The bubble burst; the fever for speculation in Ameri- can wilds about this time was greatly cooled by the severe ani- madversions of Parliament ; and Coram's project was laid aside for ten years.
Affairs of Nova Sco- tia.
An experiment of the same character, previously proposed by him in Nova-Scotia, met with no better fate.t That country, rendered interesting to us by its contiguity, had only in a small degree increased in numbers and wealth, since it had become a British province. During the administration of Samuel Vetch, four years from 1710, and of Francis Nicholson, five years from 1714, these Governors had been able to do nothing more, than bring the inhabitants into a state of nominal obedience. Nor did the country in any respect have a flourishing growth, even after Colonel Richard Phillips was appointed Governor in 1719. For though the executive Council, consisting of twelve members, were a respectable body ; yet the twenty-four deputies, chosen by the twelve districts into which the Province was divided, were of a nondescript character, being merely distributors of orders, and messengers of the people's wants and wishes ; as they never
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