USA > Maine > Hancock County > Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert island, Maine > Part 27
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Somewhere around 1882 some small boys were digging for snakes among the trees on the point of land at Seawall now known as Wonderland and a part of Acadia National Park. They unearthed a quantity of old coins, discolored and corroded. Not realizing that there was any value in their find, they amused themselves by "skipping" the coins on the ledges into the sea. Only one or two were overlooked in the pockets of the children.
One boy told his story at home that evening and produced a coin. His father went the next morning to see the location of the discovery and perhaps explore some more, but on his arrival at the place, it was evident that the other children had also told of their discovery and exploration had been made at once, as the ground was dug up in all directions.
Some of the rescued coins are in possession of persons in town. One is an English piece and the half obliterated date is either 1720 or 1730. Doubtless the money belonged to one of the passengers of the Grand Design, who died without revealing the hiding place of his wealth.
The passengers were known to be "people of account" and what could be more likely than that they should secret their store
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of money rather than keep it about their persons. They died without divulging their secret.
For many years it was thought that all trace had been lost of the survivors of the Grand Design shipwreck save only Isabel Galloway and her child and Mary Scherer, but recent years have yielded tidings of others. The rescued women had been scat- tered through the thinly settled region from Warren to Damaris- cotta wherever shelter could be found for them. Among them it seems were two children-one Robert Paul and also a baby girl by the name of Patterson. These children were taken to Bristol where they grew up and were married. Their sons and two daughters went up to the Sandy River Valley, as Farming- ton, New Sharon and Mercer were then called and they have many descendants in that locality.
Recently another survivor has been traced in the person of Sarah Porterfield who after her rescue married John Hutchings and went to live at Georgetown, now Phippsburg, Maine. Her descendants claim that she kept a diary or journal of the happen- ings of that terrible winter and fragments of its contents have been handed down, though the journal itself has long since disappeared. Her story was much the same as that told by the others, though differing in some details. The births of the chil- dren of John and Sarah Porterfield Hutchings are recorded in the Vital Statistics of Georgetown, Maine.
HADLEY AND THE BEARS or THE BEAR HUNTERS OF 1836
'Twas in December's dreary month, The snow lay on the ground, When Wasgatt travelling through the woods A track of bear he found.
Not being armed he turned back And told two other men, Who soon with him espied the track Which led them to the den.
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Hadley and Seavey were the two With Wasgatt and his son, Who armed themselves for the pursuit With axes, ball and gun.
They travelled on for three long miles, O'er mountains and through snow, Determined if possible To overtake the foe.
When to a mountain's craggy side, This little band drew near, Then Asa Wasgatt did espy The den both dark and drear.
Hadley first entered with his gun; No room had he to spare, When two fierce eyeballs he beheld With fierce and hideous glare.
So little air was in this den, Hadley could scarce get breath ; But shot his gun at the old one And laid her low in death.
He then retreated from the den To calm the others' fears; But soon did enter in again And clinched her by the ears.
Now those who were outside the den In spite of wind and weather, Took hold of Hadley by the legs And hauled both out together.
Now two fierce bears did yet remain Within this gloomy cave, And when the torches were all lit Young Wasgatt did prove brave.
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With torch in hand he did go in And found them in their lair ; Then Hadley entered with his gun And fairly killed the pair.
These three fierce bears were all brought out And sent into the town; And these brave men who did the deed Have gained a great renown.
Had this been done in ancient times And by historians told, Not Putnam's story could exceed This same adventure bold.
The cave where the bears were found is in the cliffs of Mount Bernard near the village of Southwest Harbor. Descendants of these men still live on Mount Desert Island.
THE LEGEND OF THE JESUIT'S RING
In March of 1613 a small vessel, the Jonas, lay at anchor in the harbor of Honfleur, France. About her was the bustle of departure. Her cargo had been very carefully selected and the ship very carefully fitted for a long and perilous voyage across the ocean to the new land of America. Captain La Saussaye had had ample means and experienced advisors at his disposal and he had omitted nothing that would be wanting in a new colony. It was not for gold or adventure that the Jonas was sailing toward the west, but under the auspices of the great and powerful Society of Jesus, she was sailing for the purpose of founding a new settlement on the far flung shores of Acadia, and there to convert the inhabitants to their faith. They were to seek the wonderful city of Norumbega described by the Indians to those who had previously made the voyage, and there to build a church and found their belief in the new country.
Just as the ship was about to sail, Madame de Guercheville, the noble lady who had furnished the funds for the expedition, had summoned Brother Gilbert du Thet, one of the priests who
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was to go forth on the mission, for a final interview with her in Paris. She well knew the devotion of this young man to the faith of his choice and she felt that on him depended the success or failure of the venture.
During the interview, Madame de Guercheville unlocked a small casket and took from it a curious ring. It was of gold and of antique shape and set in it was a beautiful red stone. She told the young priest that the ring had always been worn by men of gentle blood and was one of the prized possessions of her family. The stone had been brought from Jerusalem by the famed ancestor who distinguished himself in the First Crusade and was said to have come from Solomon's Temple. The stone was a sardius, mentioned in Holy Writ and bore a strange device which no one had been able to describe with certainty but em- bodied therein were two Hebrew characters, signifying "Hope" and "Faith". She put the ring on his finger, which was wasted from self denial, and asked him to wear it, because he was going, forgetful of self, to labor in a cause which was dear to her heart and in which her interest would cease only with her life. As the Jesuit attempted to express his gratitude she checked him and said that supernatural powers had been credited to the ring ; that to him who should rightfully wear it, tradition claimed it would bring fulfillment of his dearest hopes, wishes and aims. On the other hand, if, by accident or crime it should come into posses- sion of those who had no right thereto it would not long remain there. It would, in such case, be lost and not again found except by one worthy to wear it. She told of several instances which seemed to prove the truth of the tradition.
So, when the Jonas sailed out of the harbor of Honfleur a few days later, the sunlight fell on the glowing red stone on the finger of Gilbert du Thet, who pondered on what he had heard as to the ring bringing the fulfillment of hope to the wearer and he said reverently, "So be it then with me. May this be my last farewell to my native land. May I, in the far-off land to which I am going, die the death of the righteous while laboring for the salvation of souls."
It is recorded on other pages of this volume how the little ship crossed the sea, sighted the Mount Desert hills and, landing at what is now Fernald Point, started the foundations of a settle-
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ment on that beautiful situation with the two springs of clear, cold water, one on the eastern side of the point and one on the western, which were covered with the sea at high tide. To the east, across the Sound was an Indian encampment and the young priest had visions of bringing those people of the wild into his own faith. A little chapel was built before any other work was undertaken and the Indians came readily at the sound of the clear tones of its bell and crowded around these strange white men, eager to see what next would be done.
Gardens were laid out, and the houses partly completed when disaster came. Capt. Samuel Argall, from the English settle- ment at Virginia, sailed into the peaceful harbor with drums beating and flags flying and in answer to a friendly hail from the little band on shore, sent a rattling fire of musketry into their midst, killing several of the French and wounding others. Among those to die was the devoted lay brother Gilbert du Thet.
Capt. Argall allowed some of the French at their own re- quest, to take a boat which he stocked with provisions, and go eastward to the French settlement at St. Croix. The others, including Father Biard, were taken to Virginia. When the Governor at Jamestown heard of the encounter and learned that Capt. Argall had not entirely destroyed the little settlement at Fernald Point, he was filled with anger and the next summer Capt. Argall was ordered to return and obliterate entirely every vestige of the attempted occupation of English lands by the hated French. So Argall's ship again sailed into Southwest Harbor and her crew burned all the houses, and the chapel, levelled the meager fortifications which had been begun and even cut down the wooden crosses over the graves of du Thet and his companions and left no sign of the hand of man on the spot.
After the work had been completed two sailors were going down to the beach on the eastern side of the point when one stopped at the cold spring which bubbled out of the sand and pebbles and began looking carefully about, turning over the stones and when asked by his companion what he was doing he said, "I was with Argall when he destroyed this settlement and killed some of the beggarly Frenchmen; served them right too, with their Popish mummeries. I helped to bury one of them-
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a priest and when no one was looking I drew a curious looking ring off his finger and put it in my pocket. It was just my luck to lose it that same afternoon, not far from here. I looked for it then for hours but in vain and it is no use to waste any more time over it." Just then the signal for recall was sounded and the sailors hurried to obey. It was nearly a century and a half before any white man again attempted to make a permanent home on Mount Desert Island.
Bar Harbor in the eighteen eighties. We are introduced to two young men; one a hero endowed with all the virtues and attributes which heroes are supposed to possess, the other, his classmate and close friend, afflicted with an incurable disease which is wasting him away. The invalid has spent much time in France and has delved into history and become greatly inter- ested in the story of Madame de Guercheville and her attempt to assist in the conversion of the inhabitants of North America and especially in the story of the lost ring. He has traced its history from the time it was brought back from Jerusalem and has become obsessed with the idea that the ring can be found and that his hero friend is the one to find it. The friend is amused at the idea, but wishes to humor the invalid as he is so much in earnest. Finally the two young men come to Fernald Point and with a copy of the Jesuit Relations they trace the probable location of the settlement. They find the two springs of water on the shore and they stop to rest by the one on the eastern side of the point.
The invalid announces that here is the place where the ring will be found. When he sees that his friend is skeptical he says earnestly, "Please do as I say. I am so near the other world that I have an insight into things that are denied to most men. You remember that the sailor lost the ring near to the eastern- most spring and history records that once before it was lost by a spring and found again after a century. You are the one to find it. Look here. Do you know what this is?" and he drew from his satchel a stout twig shaped like a Y.
"It is witch hazel", he said. "Take it in your hands".
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"Why not use it yourself?" asked the hero. But the answer was "No, it is you that must find the ring", and so the twig was grasped according to directions. Even in modern times there are those who believe in the magic properties of the divining rod of witch hazel for locating springs of water or precious minerals.
"Now" said the invalid eagerly, "walk slowly along this chan- nel, holding the end horizontal and low down."
The young man did so, half amused, half curious. He walked deliberately and had gone but a short distance when, to his aston- ishment, the twig turned in his hands. Hold it firmly as he would, he was powerless to prevent and down went the end until it pointed to a certain spot in the pebbly channel.
The invalid had watched with extreme eagerness; now his face was flushed and his eyes glistened. But eager as he was he would not lift a finger himself.
He commanded his companion to dig and so he dropped the twig and began to search among the pebbles. He lifted the stones, carefully searching the sand, but found nothing. "Try the twig again" urged his friend.
It was done and again it pointed downward at the exact spot which it had previously designated, and to make a long story short, after considerable exploration the search was rewarded and there, blackened by its long burial of two hundred and seventy-two years, lay the ring, its red stone glowing in un- dimmed brilliancy.
As the ring brought to Gilbert du Thet his dearest wish, which was to die in the new land in the effort to save souls, so it brought to our hero his dearest wish and the ring was before long placed on the finger of the girl of his choice as a pledge of their engagement.
MOUNT DESERT PIONEERS
It was a raw, cold day in the latter part of November about 1763 that Thomas Richardson entered his house, at Bass Harbor, Mount Desert Island, a rough log cabin of two rooms with earth well piled up for a banking to keep out the cold wind. Deposit- ing an armful of wood near the fireplace to dry he said, "Wife, I like not the roar of the ocean on the seawall or the flight of
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the seagulls over the land this afternoon. To me it foretells a long storm on this bleak coast."
"Why shouldst thou worry Thomas?" answered his good helpmate. "We have a good shelter in this snug cabin; wood can be easily gotten and you know the vessel has just brought the winter's store of food for all four families. The children are well. So what care we for the storm?"
"That is just it, Mary. It is the load of provisions which causes me so much uneasiness, thinking that the weather will be so severe that several days may go by before we can let Brother James know of its arrival, and he probably has very little besides his vegetables. Between-the-Hills (now Somesville) is a long distance from here and in a storm the road would be hard to travel."
"Well, I always thought it was a woman's place to worry, and that a man had no idea of the meaning of the word. But since you seem so very anxious, I have a plan."
"I thought you would. That is why I left my work, when this minute I ought to be sawing wood so as to go out fishing when the sea is smooth again. But what is your plan ?"
"Well Tom, we will do up the chores, have an early supper, put the children to bed and go up to James' for the evening and tell them of the arrival of the vessel. Besides, I want very much to see sister Rachel again before the winter sets in for good. It may be hard to break through the snow later on."
"I like your plan very well", said Thomas, "and while the ox is eating his supper we will make our preparations."
So Mr. Richardson set about doing the nightly chores and making things as snug as possible, considering their many dis- advantages. When all was done outside he opened the door to find the rude table set with a snowy cloth, delicious golden corn- bread and beans and tea with the accompanying molasses-jack instead of the present day sugar bowl.
Although their outdoor life made them hungry, they were not long eating supper and making ready for the journey of about nine miles over a rough ox-trail that was but little used. Mr. Richardson decided it would be wise to take with them some flour and molasses and leave the rest for James to come after as soon as convenient.
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With many directions to their two children, Tommie and Puah, as to keeping warm and not to be afraid and to go to bed early, they rode away in the ox-cart for their evening visit as happy as though it were an automobile.
Their journey led them over what is now the Mckinley road, then into a wood road to the west of Southwest Harbor. Some- times it would merge into what is now the "Back of The Village" trail, and then away again back of Norwood's Cove, until it took the path up over Beech Hill.
James Richardson and his wife Rachel were very glad to see them, also to know that the vessel had brought the winter stores and in the future they could have a few luxuries. As the social life of the two families was limited, an hour or two soon passed away, for they had much to tell about plans for the future, and what to do if the people from the mainland came over to cut any more hay or timber or if they brought over their cattle for pasturage.
"Mr. Somes thinks we ought to petition the Governor for assistance" said James. "We who live on this island all the time cannot sit idly by and see those people come over the bay and steal our rightful possessions."
"Yes, James", said Thomas, "but we, all told, are only a handful and will the Governor give us any attention?"
"It is certainly worth trying for, Tom, and it may bring us a great amount. I should not have had hay enough to feed my cow through the winter if Col. Goldthwait had not appeared here just at haying time and they did not dare to cut any more. Besides, the trees are large here, and it makes me almost green with rage to see those mainland people cut them down in spite of us."
"They cut a great quantity of hay last summer at Bass Harbor", said Thomas, "but there are only Brother Stephen and myself to oppose them on our part of the island."
"I would like to hear from dear old Gloucester, Rachel. The faces of the old home town grow dimmer and dimmer every year as our cares and interests multiply here", said her sister Mary.
"I cannot forget easily the home back in Londonderry, Ire- land", said James.
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"The chickens and my cat are as plain to me now as though it were but yesterday and I was only eight years old when I left old Ireland. It was a bright, warm day in spring and I remem- ber going on board the ship; but you, Tom, were not born until after we had settled in Gloucester."
"No, I missed the trip, but I am glad to say that free America is my birthplace. But Mary, don't you think we had better be going home. We have a long road to travel and Bright is none too swift." So, with much care in wrapping up, for the night was cold, they set out for their long journey home.
II.
That the reader may better understand the characters of this tale, it seems wise to give a brief historical sketch of some of them.
James, Stephen and Thomas Richardson, together with their wives, all three sisters by the name of Gott, came to the Island of Mount Desert in the year 1763. James, the eldest, who was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1730, settled in Somesville, called by them Between-the-Hills ; Stephen at West Bass Harbor, now Bernard, and Thomas, the hero of our tale, on the east side of Bass Harbor, now Mckinley, near where P. W. Richardson's store and the William Underwood canning factory are now located. Their brother-in-law, Daniel Gott, settled on an island near Bass Harbor which has ever since been called Gott's Island.
These first settlers of Mount Desert were a plain, industrious people, cultivating the soil, caring for their few cattle, and catch- ing fish in summer which were cured for winter ; also shooting the migratory birds which pass over these shores in spring and fall.
The home life was bleak and bare with no amusements and the children early learned to depend upon themselves. The struggle was for a livelihood, complicated by the instance already mentioned, when people living on the mainland came over to the island to cut timber and hay and carry it off for their own use. Some years they even brought their cattle over for pasture, regardless of the protests of the settlers. The Mount Desert people, therefore, petitioned to Governor Bernard of
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Massachusetts for redress. The petition is recorded in Bangor Historical Magazine and also in Street's History of Mount Desert.
III.
Thomas and his wife were well on the way home after the evening spent with their relatives and were happy with thoughts of the old home life back in Gloucester and that they were so near their brother James whose cabin was among the first at Somesville and whose son George, born August 16, 1763, was the first white child born on Mount Desert Island. Thomas' and Stephen's log cabins were the only ones on the southern part of the island.
"I hope the children got to bed early before the fire got low, for this is a very cold night, Tom, and the wind is strong", said Mrs. Richardson as she huddled her cloak about her.
"Yes, but we shall soon be over Beech Hill and then it will be warmer on the lowland through the wood."
On they travelled, Bright making as much headway as an ox could. Suddenly Mrs. Richardson exclaimed, "Oh Tom! What is that light in the distance?"
Mr. Richardson's face grew pale. There was no mistaking what it was. "It certainly looks like a fire but let us hope it is not our cabin."
"But", cried the mother, "what else can it be? Stephen's cabin we know is far to the southwest and ours is the only one on that point and in that direction."
"Well, well, we must hope it is the ox shed or something else. Let us not give up too easily."
"But we are six or seven miles from home now and what are those poor, dear children doing? Will they be burned in their beds or will they get out and freeze to death this cold night?"
On and on they travelled, urging the ox to his best speed, hoping against hope, praying for the lives of their children and yet in despair. An ox-team is very slow at best on a calm sum- mer day but when it is conveying distracted parents toward their burning home which holds their little children it is beyond pen to describe. Everything passed through the mother's mind.
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Oh, if she had only remained at home while her husband went to Somesville, this might not have been.
"Hark, Tom. What was that?"
"Nothing but the wind howling through the bare branches." "No, no. I am sure I heard voices."
"Mary, you are making yourself sick. Don't think you hear voices when you know we are a long distance even now, from our home, but keep good courage so you will be able to work when we do get there."
"But Tom, I did hear voices. There. Don't you hear that ? Why, Tommie! Where did you and sister come from and what has happened ?"
There, sure enough, were the two children in the road. The father lifted up the little girl while Thomas, Jr., climbed in and as Mr. Richardson encouraged Bright for a little more speed, Tommie and his sister told what had happened.
The children had gone to bed early and were not long in getting to sleep beneath the heavy quilts. It must have been some hours later that the boy was awakened by the snapping of wood. The room was very light. He aroused his sister, told her that the house was on fire and they must dress as quickly as possible. So the little girl did what she could while Tommie hurriedly got his clothes on and then helped her. In the excitement they could find only one of her shoes and one stocking; so with quickness of mind characteristic of the pio- neers, Tommie put the shoe on one of her feet and the stocking on the other and then both children started on their journey toward their uncle's home Between-the-Hills where their parents were.
"Oh, my dears. How thankful I am that your lives were spared. Isn't it a wonder, Tom, that these children were not hurt or burned? How can we be thankful enough for all God's mercies ?"
"That is so, Mary. Let us not murmur or complain at the loss of our home although it is all we have."
Mrs. Richardson huddled her children near her and took her own wraps to cover them and it was not long before they were in sight of the burning logs. Nothing was saved. All the pro-
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