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 3
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t The Indictment alleged-' that the said Burroughs, late of Falmouth, ' Clerk, on the 9th day of May current, and divers days and times before ' and since at Salem, certain detestable acts, called witchcrafts and sorce- ' ries, wickedly and feloniously hath used, practised and exercised, in and ' upon one Mary Walcot of Salem village, singlewoman ; by which said ' wicked acts-she is tortured, afflicted, wasted and tormented-against ' the peace, and contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and ' provided.'-He pleaded, that he was " not guilty." -- On the trial the evidence was such as follows :- One witness said, upon oath, ' I have seen ' Burroughs put his finger into the muzzle of a gun and hold it out straight . ' and though he said an Indian present did the same, none of us could re- ' collect an Indian was present, and we supposed the being must have been ' the blackman, or the devil, who' (they swore they had no doubt) ' looks ' like an Indian.'
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A. D. 1693. though the evidence was of a most extraordinary and incredible character, the jury returned verdicts of GUILTY on each of them ; -and he was executed .* Fortunately, however, for the honor of humanity, he was among the last sufferers. The doors were soon thrown open to the wretched prisoners ; and all witchcraft, with the prosecutions ceased.
Gov. Phips recalled
Nov 17, 1694. H.s death.
The administration of Sir William Phips continued only about two years and a half. To answer for some personal violence done to Brenton, the collector of the customs, and to Short, cap- tain of the Nonesuch frigate in Boston-harbor, both of whom had refused to obey the Governor's orders, he was required to make his appearance at Court. He embarked for London Nov. 17, 1694,f where he died the ensuing February. He was a man of benevolent disposition and accredited piety, though sometimes unable to repress the ebullitions of temper. He was not only
Samuel Webber testified that he, while living at Casco bay, conversed with Burroughs about his great strength, when he said-" I have put my " fingers into the bunghole of a barrel of molasses, and lifted it up, and " carried it around me and set it down again."-Susannah Shelden swore, that ' Mr. Burroughs' apparition came and told her, he had killed both his ' wives, two of his own and three of his neighbors' children.'-Mercy Lewis testified thus-" Mr. Burroughs took me up on a high mountain " and shewed me all the kingdoms of the earth, and offered them to me if " I would write in his book ;"-declaring, he'd " throw me down and break " my neck, if I would not." ' I keep, (said he) the devil, a servant in my ' shop.'-Ann. Putman stated on the stand, to this purport .- ' On the 8th ' of May instant, I saw the apparition of Burroughs; it grievously tortured ' me and urged me to write in his book. Presently the forms of two women ' appeared to me in winding sheets with napkins about their heads. They ' looked very red and angry on Burroughs, and said their blood cried for ' vengeance against him ;- and they should be clothed in heaven with white ' robes, und he would be cast down to hell. His spectre then vanished away ; ' and they told me they were Burroughs' two wives-he had murdered them : . And Mrs. Lawson and her daughter told me this morning, he had murder- 'ed them.'-See 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 265-271 .- Also trials of witches in Suffolk (Eng.) published A. D. 1684 .- Mr. Burroughs was graduated at Harvard College, A. D. 1670, late in life for a man to close a classical course :- yet it seems his object was to qualify himself for the ministry.
* Neal's New-England .- 2 Hutch. Hist. 58-61 .- Sull. 208-12 .- One ac- count says he was 80 years old .- [6 Coll. Mass. His. Soc. 268 ;] but this must be a mistake .- 1 Doug. Sum. 450-1.
t Governor Phips was at Pemaquid in May, 1694, and there obtained from Madockawando, a deed of the lands at St. Georges' River .- 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 72.
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energetic and exceedingly persevering in his purposes; but he A. D. 1694. possessed good abilities, unsullied integrity and strong attachments. His unremitting assiduities to promote the best interests of Maine, the Province of his nativity, and to enforce measures devised for its defence and relief, are evidences, monumental of his pat- riotism and his high sense of obligation and duty.
The Acadi-
After his conquest of Nova Scotia, in 1690, Massachusetts Nova Sco- assumed the government of that Province; appointed John Nel- tia J. Nelson, son, Governor ; and gave commissions to judges, justices and Gov. other officers. But the Acadian Provincials consisted of a mixed . race, some born in the country,-some French emigrants-some ans. resident traders-some half breeds of Indian extraction, with a few English ; and the most of them were lamentably ignorant, poor and miserable. Naturally attached to the French interests, and bigoted to the Romish religion, they were under the des- potic influence of the Jesuit missionaries ; and though they took the oath of allegiance to the English crown, they had changed masters so many times, that no confidence could be placed in their fidelity. Required by both to obey and yet protected by neither ; they became dispirited,-and tamely obsequious to any power, that would permit them and their families to live. Even they had in a partial degree, corrupted their language with half-English words .*
Villebon, appointed Governor of the country, established him- self at St. John,{ seized Nelson and sent him to Quebec ;f or- Gov. at St. Villebon dering the English flag to be struck at Port-Royal, Nov. 26, John. 1691, and the French flag hoisted. He then opened a lucrative trade with the Indians; supplying them with arms, provisions and warlike stores, without which they could not have continued the war. In 1692 and 5, unsuccessful attempts were made to re- A. D. 1695. move Villebon ; as Massachusetts considered herself in virtual possession of the Province, especially the great peninsula. The people chose deputies, and in some places, selectmen-being officers borrowed from the New-England colonies ; yet there was no regular system of government. In case of a general disturb- ance, or any affair of public interest; a village or district was convened, a consultation had, and a messenger sent with prayers or complaints to their Governors,
* 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 13-37-93. t Called Naxoat .- 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 98. # 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 136, 3d Series.
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A. D. 1695.
Massachu- setts resigns Nova Sco- tia to the Crowu.
But after the capture of Fort William Henry, and a nominal repossession of Nova-Scotia, in 1696, by the French; Massachu- setts was convinced of her inability to recover or protect the country, though within her charter ; and therefore she suppli- cated the crown, to be relieved from any further expense in de- fending it ; praying that Port-Royal and St. John's might be gar- risoned at the national charge .* This was equivalent to a resig- nation of her jurisdictional rights to Nova-Scotia, which were never afterwards reclaimed by her. She permitted an inter- course with Port-Royal and other places, till she found, that ves- sels, under color of carrying provisions and necessaries to the suffering inhabitants, were actually freighted with military sup- plies,-when she forbade all trade whatever to that Province. t
Protects Maine.
On the contrary, Maine and Sagadahock, not only united with Massachusetts by the charter, but by the stronger ties of com- munity and attachment, were objects of her unremitting care and protection. Though she was herself in a distressed condition, her treasury exhausted, her public credit low, and her expendi- ture great ; and though perplexed with an uncommon maledic- tion, produced by the infatuations of witchcraft mentioned, she constantly exercised a provident liberality towards this eastern country. In the new and equal administration, she extended to it and its inhabitants, where any remained, all the favors of a good, a protective and a watchful government. Troops were sent hither from year to year, whose support and supplies incurred great expense. Besides the erection of Fort William Henry, Major Converse, in 1693, built a strong stone fort at Saco falls,ţ in which a small garrison was kept till the close of the war. The next year, the zeal of Gov. Phips carried him too far for his own reputation, in his endeavors to urge Short, captain of the None- such frigate, to cruise upon the eastern coast, in search of pica- roons and privateers. Every expedient was adopted to preserve and defend the country. A bounty of £50 was offered in 1695-6, for every Indian woman or child under 14 years, taken prisoner, or for an older Indian's scalp, produced at the board of war.§ For three years or more, the portion of the public or Province taxes assigned to Yorkshire were wholly remitted. Special en-
* 5 Mass. Rec. p. 579. + 1 Halliburton's N. Scotia, p. 79.
# Fort Mary.
§ 5 Mass. Rec. p. 437 .- 2 Hol. A. Ann. p. 10.
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couragements, in the midst of the war, were offered the people to A. D. 1696. abide in their habitations and defend their remaining possessions. The plantation of Newichawannock was revived in the very heart of the war. To encourage the pious settlers, so struggling with war and want, the General Court made them a gratuity towards the support of a gospel ministry ;- religion being pat- ronized as indispensable to the welfare of every new settlement. The emigration also of French protestants was much favored; who, fleeing from the sword of persecution, were received with open arms ; while those of that nation who were " of a contra- ry religion," had been, in 1692, forbidden by a legislative statute, to reside or be in any of the seaports or frontier towns in the Province, without license from the Governor and Council.
A few facts will show the indigence and distress of the re- Indigence maining inhabitants in Yorkshire towards the close of the war. shire. of York - They were even unable to pay their county taxes. Nor could they so much as repair their gaol, and render it sufficiently strong and secure to hold culprits, till the General Court had given or- ders to Joseph Curtis, the sheriff of the county, to expend the fine-money in his hands for that purpose. So feeble and strait- ened were the people of York, two or three years after the town was ravaged and despoiled by the enemy, that they, in their cor- porate capacity, contracted with a gentleman from Portsmouth, to erect a mill for grinding their corn ; giving him, as a reward, the site itself, the use of the stream, and a lot of land, with some peculiar privileges in cutting timber, and agreeing, that they and the inhabitants would always afterwards carry their corn and grain to that mill, so long as it were kept in repair .* A similar enterprize was undertaken, in 1693, by John Wheelwright of Wells, upon Cape-Porpoise river. He proposed to erect a saw- mill there, and the General Court thought it expedient to encour- age hi , by permitting him to take board-logs, from the public lands.} To persuade the people of Wells, either to rebuild or repair their principal garrison, all their taxes were remitted to them, in 1696-beside the supplies actually furnished for their support and defence.
The great interests which Massachusetts possessed in Maine,
* 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 8.
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+ 5 Mass. Rec. p. 287.
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A. D. 1696. were not only affected by the war,-they were indirectly, though Acts of Par- sensibly touched by Parliament. For that legislature enacted, liament as to lands and navigation.
Board of trade and plantations.
(in 1696) that no charter proprietor of lands in America, should sell them to any other than natural born subjects, without a license from the crown .* Another act of equal importance, though of a different character, renewedly required, that all ships in the plan- tation trade, should be English or plantation built, and their car- goes registered as English or plantation property. About the same time, the ' New Board of trade,' styled " The Lords Com- missioners for trade and plantations," was established in England consisting of seven members. To these the Provincial Governors were to make all their communications, and from them receive their instructions.
A. D. 1697. Sept. 11. 'Treaty of Ryswick. These colonial regulations were followed by the treaty of Rys- wick, Sept. 11, 1697, before mentioned, which happily put a speedy period to the war in America .- By the 7th article, it Nova Sco- was stipulated, that mutual restitution should be made of all the tia conceded In the French. countries, colonies and forts, taken by either party during the war ; in virtue of which, unfortunately, Acadia or Nova Scotia, without any definite boundaries, returned once more to the undis- puted possession of the French. Neither in the war, nor in the treaty, was any thing effectually done towards determining the western limits of that Province. Only in this, as in the treaty of Breda, provision was merely made for the appointment of com- missioners to settle that question. Meanwhile, the state of the case spontaneously revived the controversy ;-- France, by treaty, and Massachusetts, by charter, both strenuously claiming the Sagada- hock province, or country between Kennebeck and St. Croix. Moreover the French, not content with their territorial posses- sions eastward, presently undertook to make themselves sole pro- prietors of the eastern fisheries, and even proceeded to take pos- session of Louisiana.+
Both they and Massa- chusetts claim Saga- dahock.
A. D. 1698.
In the summer of 1698, a frigate on her passage from France to Port-Royal, meeting with an English colonial fishing vessel, near Cape Sable, gave the master a translated order from the French king, authorizing the seizure of all English vessels found
* 2 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 32.
+ Origin of the French claim to the river Mississippi. Country pur- chased by the United States, A. D. 1803.
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fishing on the coast. He was also told, to give all other vessels A. D. 1698. notice of the order ; Bonaventure, in the Enviux, soon afterwards boarding several and sending them to their homes, with a similar errand.
Sept. 5.
Governor Villebon was more definite. In his letter, Sept. 5, Villebon from St John,* to Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton, he stated, claims to that he was directed by his royal master, to maintain his claim -A chapel
Kennebeck. built there. to the country, as far westward as Kennebeck river from its source to its mouth-leaving the course of the river free to both nations ; that the Indians dwelling upon its banks, must no longer be considered subjects of the English crown but free natives ; and that all American fishermen, on the coast, or traders to the French ports, eastward of that river, will be seized : For, said he, you cannot be ignorant how plainly " it is prohibited by the treaty " between the two crowns, which you yourself sent to me." To strengthen the claim and secure the alliance of the Canibas tribe, the French this year built at Norridgewock, a catholic chap- el ; and this was followed by a frequent epistolary correspondence, between Ralle, the resident missionary, and the Governors of Canada and Nova Scotia.
When complaints of these encroachments were presented to Pemaquid the Lords of Trade and Plantations, they replied, that they should fort. always insist " on the English right as far as the river St Croix ;" and strongly urged the government of Massachusetts "to rebuild " the fort at Pemaquid ;"-a work, they said, " which ought " long before to have been done."
The controversy was renewed-proceeding upon the former The right to grounds taken by the disputants. The French still insisted, that Sagada- hock in dis- " Acadia" was expressly conceded to them by the treaties of pute. St. Germains, t of Breda,# and now of Ryswick-a country which in fact extended much farther westward than Kennebeck ; and that they had always claimed, and frequently occupied, as far as that river. But the English contended, that " Nova Scotia" was the Province resigned, and no more ; and that when the two crowns were in alliance, and Andros was Provincial Governor under James II, he established a garrison at Pemaquid, and took possession of Penobscot. It is true, the question was somewhat
* In 1700, the entire garrison and settlement removed to Port-Royal. t Ante, A. D. 1632. # Ante, A. D. 1668.
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A. D. 1699. embarrassed by Lord Cromwell's charter of the country, granted forty-two years before, to Sir Thomas Temple ;* by which the western limits were fixed at St. Georges' river, or perhaps Mus- congus. Even John Nelson, before mentioned, when a prisoner in Paris, wrote, January 26, 1698, that though the French and Indians should claim to Kennebeck, they might, without much difficulty, be restrained to the river St. Georges, " for," added he, " this was always the ancient boundary in my late uncle Thomas Temple's patent."+
May 26. Lord Bella- mont suc- ceeds Gov. Phips.
RICHARD earl BELLAMONT arrived at Boston, May 26, 1699, from New-York, of which he was the Governor, and now also the successor of Sir William Phips. Thoroughly acquainted with the nature and extent of the eastern claim, as pursued by the officers of the French, and knowing the intrigues of that cab- inet with the Stuart succession of kings, he in his speeches to the General Court expressed himself with warmth upon those subjects ; not failing at the same time to exalt his royal master. Divine Providence, (said the Governor,) in bringing to pass the late happy and wonderful revolution in England, has been pleased to make king William, the glorious instrument of our deliverance, from the odious fetters and chains of popery and despotism, which had been artfully used to enslave our consciences and subvert all our civil rights. It is too well known what nation that king favored, of what religion he died, and no less, what must have been the execrable treachery of him, who parted with Acadia or Nova Scotia and the noble fishery on that coast. But his present Majesty, a true English king, entirely in the interest of his people, has restored to our nation the character of valor and greatness, exposing his royal person, in the fronts of our battles.
J. Bridges, first Sur- eral.
In the short administration of Lord Bellamont, the public atten- veyor Gen- tion was particularly turned towards the Provinces of Maine and Sagadahock. By the charter, all timber trees upon the crown lands, two feet in diameter 12 inches from the ground, were re- served for the use of the royal navy ; and any person felling a tree of that size, without license, incurred a penalty of £100
* Ante, A. D. 1656-7, p. 363.
+ 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 136, 3d series .-- 3 Charlevoix's N. F. p. 348-9 .- He says Villieu and a British envoy, agreed upon St. Georges as the boun- dary. But quere ?
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sterling. The first surveyor-general was John Bridges. He was A. D. 1699. commissioned by the king, and came over with Lord Bellamont. His jurisdiction embraced New-England. He usually had four deputy surveyors ; and in a few years, the annual charge was about £800 sterling .* Often called in the course of their duties, to deal with wood cutters and rough men, they found the respon- sibilities of their trust great, and its performance sometimes diffi- cult.
But it was among the greatest anxieties prevailing on the re- turn of peace, to revive the wasted and weakened towns and set- tlements of this eastern country. Destitute of homes, yet attach- ed to the places of their birth, hundreds of freeholders, or the heirs of deserted realties, returned, during the season, and visit- ed former abodes, or half wilderness lands ; many repaired their dilapidated cottages, and more perhaps constructed new habita- tions. Men with their families removed to the peninsula of Cas- Falmouth, co, Purpooduck and Spurwink, in Falmouth ; to Black-point and Saco and Scarboro', Blue-point in Scarborough ; to Winter-Harbor and the Falls vived. in Saco; to Cape-Porpoise ; and to Cape-Neddock ;- and during the present and succeeding summer, those places were re- peopled with several abiding families. To assist York, Wells, and Kittery, "including the precinct of Berwick,"-towns which tery and Wells as- had survived the war, and were struggling with embarrassments ; sisted. the General Court, within the period of three or four years, grant- ed them more than £100, out of the public treasury, towards the support of a gospel ministry. Besides these encouragements, Wells in particular, was aided in building a meeting-house by a generous public donation. Settlements were also undertaken on both sides of Pejepscot Lower Falls,t by gentlemen of energy Pejepscot. and pecuniary ability ; and those, as well as the preceding towns, might have risen and flourished, had not some adventitious cir- cumstances soon prevented.
Arundel re-
York, Kit-
A false and malicious report was fabricated and sent into cir- The Indians culation among the Indians, representing, that though they, by false report. excited by a the late treaty, were the king's subjects, and had a pledge of his protection ; his Majesty's colonists were preparing to fall upon the tribes and utterly extirpate them. So much were they pro-
* 1 Doug. Surn. p. 484.
+ 3 Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 141 .- Especially Topshamn.
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A. D. 1699. voked and incensed by this story, that many of them strove to excite a general insurrection. The rumor probably originated among the French .* Callieres, successor of Count Frontenac, + now engaged in establishing a treaty with the Five Nations, or Mohawks, was determined to destroy, if possible, the subsisting harmony and peace between the English colonists and the eastern natives. These he intended to make his own steadfast and per- petual allies ; and his emissaries, more malevolent than himself, were the authors and heralds of the false and mischievous story.
The Gov- ernor's Pro- clamation.
As it could not be foreseen to what height this excitement might rise, the Governor issued his proclamation, cautioning the people, and requiring them to give the Indians no just provoca- tion ; to watch their motions and behavior ; and to adopt all prac- ticable means for their own safety and defence, if any injury should be offered .¿ Town-watches were also required, by stat- ute, to be kept from nine in the evening till morning. The pub- lic, however, being disturbed, nothing could fully allay their fears. They entertained strong suspicions, though without cause, that the frontiers were actually infested with hostile savages.
A. D. 1700. March. Prepara- In March, 1700, there was a special meeting of the General Court, when provision was made for a levy of soldiers, and for tions for de- holding the militia in constant readiness. Eliakim Hutchinsons was appointed purveyor of supplies,-30 soldiers were posted at York, 15 at Kittery, and 15 at Wells ; and the legislature allowed to 12 or 13 men in the county of York, £137 for their indefati- gable services during the late alarm. To terrify or remove the popish missionaries from the eastern parts, who were, by report, seducing the Indians from their allegiance to the king, and exciting them to a rupture ; a legislative act was passed, which required them to depart the Province, before the 10th of the ensuing Sep- tember, otherwise they would, if taken, be the subjects of exem- plary punishment.
fence.
Lord Bella- mont checks piracy.
Lord Bellamont, after a year's tarry in the Province, returned to New-York : and what rendered his administration memorable,
* 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 113.
t Frontenac died in 1698, aged 78. Į 6 Mass. Rec. p. 57.
§ Eliakim was the son of William Hutchinson, who came over to Boston in 1636, and who, in 1673, purchased of William Phillips, a large tract of land on the westerly side of the Saco, and owned mills at Newichawannock. In 1750, Eliakim sold the Saco estate to Mr. Allen, for £1,200.
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were his judicious measures and uncommon successes against the A. D. 1700. pirates and bucaneers. They had infested the coasts for thirty years, and now became bold, since the late war, to a fearful de- gree. The chief freebooters, Kidd and Bradish, also several other desperadoes, were seized, sent to England, and executed ; and happy it was for the eastern coasters and fishing vessels, that they were, at length, delivered from such a pestiferous annoyance. It was another proposition of the Governor's enlightened policy, to fortify Great Island in the mouth of the river Piscataqua. For Proposes to either if piracy were not wholly subdued, or war should be the Great Isl- fortify alternative ; or if there were a desideratum for a military depos- and. itory upon the eastern coast, or for a place of naval resort in peace ; he thought the Island when strongly fortified, would be of great public importance, especially a defence to New-Hampshire. But the latter considered it an enterprize of equal interest to Maine ; and as she had been impoverished by the late war, she felt herself inadequate to the undertaking, without the assistance of Massachusetts .*
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