USA > New Hampshire > Gathered sketches from the early history of New Hampshire and Vermont, containing vivid and interesting account of a great variety of the adventures of our forefathers, and of other incidents of olden times > Part 2
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A long and sad journey now ensued, through the midst of a hideous desert, in the depth of a dread- ful winter. And who can enumerate the frights she endured before the end of her journey ! Once her master commanded her to loosen some of her upper garments, and stand against a tree while he charged his gun ; whereat the poor child shrieked out, "He "is going to kill me!" God knows what he was going to do ; but the villain having charged his gun, he called her from the tree, and forbore doing her lamage. Upon another time, her master or- dered her to run along the shore with some Indian girls, while he paddled up the river in his canoe. As the girls were passing a precipice, a tawny wench violently pushed her headlong into the river ; but so it fell out that in this very place of her fall the bushes from the shore hung over the water, so that she was enabled to get hold of them, and thus saved herself. The Indians asked her how she be- came so wet, but she did not dare to tell them, from
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OF MISS SARAH GERISH.
fear of the resentment of her that had so nearly deprived her of life already. And here it may be remarked that it is almost universally true that young Indians, both male and female, are as much to be dreaded by captives as those of maturer years, and in many cases much more so ; for, unlike culti- vated people, they have no restraint upon their mis- chievous and savage propensities, which they indulge in cruelties surpassing any examples here related. They often vie with each other in attempting exces- sive acts of torture.
Once, being spent with travelling all day, and lying down wet and exhausted at night, she fell into so profound a sleep that in the morning she waked not. Her barbarous captors decamped from the place of their night's rest, leaving this little captive girl asleep, and covered with a snow that in the night had fallen ; but at length awaking, what agonies may you imagine she was in on finding herself left a prey for bears and wolves, and without any suste- tenance, in a howling wilderness, many scores of leagues from any plantation ! In this dismal situa- tion, however, she had fortitude sufficient to attempt to follow them. And here again, the snow which had been her covering upon the cold ground, to her great discomfort, was now her only hope, for she could just discern by it the trace of the Indians. How long it was before she overtook them is not told us, but she joined them and continued her cap- tivity.
Now the young Indians began to terrify her by
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MISS SARAH GERISH.
constantly reminding her that she was shortly to be roasted to death. One evening much fuel was prepared between two logs, which they told her was for her torture. A mighty fire being made, her master called her to him, and told her that she should presently be burnt alive. At first she stood amazed ; then burst into tears ; and then she hung about her tiger of a master, begging of him, with an inexpressible an- guish, to save her from the fire. Thereupon the monster so far relented as to tell her " that if she would be a good girl she should not be burnt."
At last they arrived at Canada, and she was car- ried to the Lord Intendant's house, where many per- sons of quality took much notice of her. It was a week after this that she remained in the Indians' hands before the price of her ransom could be agreed
upon. But then the Lady Intendant sent her to the nunnery, where she was comfortably provided for ; and it was the design, as was said, for to have brought her up in the Romish religion, and then to have married her unto the son of the Lord In- tendant ..
She was kindly used there, until Sir William Phipps, lying before Quebec, did, upon exchange of prisoners, obtain her liberty. After sixteen months' captivity, she was restored unto her friends, who had the consolation of having this their desirable daughter again with them, returned as it were from the dead. But this dear child was not to cheer her parents' path for a long period ; for, on arriving at. her sixteenth year, July, 1697, death carried her off by a malignant fever,
THREE NARRATIVES
OF EXCESSIVE DISTRESS OF PERSONS TAKEN AT THE DESTRUC- TION OF SALMON FALLS, IN THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, ON THE 27TH OF MARCH, 1690; VIZ., THE CRUEL TORTURE OF ROBERT ROGERS, THE FIVE YEARS' CAPTIVITY OF MEHETABLE GOODWIN, AND THE FORTUNATE ESCAPE OF THOMAS TOOGOOD.
[From the Magnalia Christi Americana of Dr. Cotton Mather.]
WHEN the news of the destruction of Schenectady reached New England, it spread great alarm over the whole country. The wise men gave particular caution to all the frontier posts, urging them to keep strict watch, and to make strong their fortifi- cations ; but the people in the east did not their duty, and Salmon Falls, a fine settlement upon a branch of Pascataqua River, fell into the hands of an infuriated and cruel enemy.
But, as has been observed, notwithstanding these warnings, the people dreamed that while the deep snow of the winter continued, they were safe enough, which proved as vain as a dream of a dry summer. Near thirty persons were slain, and more than fifty were led into what the reader will by and by call . the worst captivity in the world. It would be a long story to tell what a particular share in this
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THREE NARRATIVES.
calamity fell to the lot of the family of one Clem- ent Short. This honest man, with his pious wife and three children, were killed, and six or seven others of their children were made prisoners. The most of these arrived safe at Canada, through a thousand hardships ; and the most of these were, with more than a thousand mercies, afterwards redeemed from Canada, and returned unto their English friends again. But, as we cannot take notice of all the individuals, we will pass to the notice of those named at the commencement of this narrative.
Among the prisoners was one Robert Rogers, with whom, as the Indians journeyed, they came to a hill, where this man, (being, through his corpu- lency, called Robin Pork,) being under such an intol- erable and unsupportable burden of Indian luggage, was not so able to travel as the rest ; he therefore, watching for an opportunity, made his escape. The wretches, missing him, immediately went in pursuit of him, and it was not long before they found his burden cast in the way, and the tracks of his feet going out of the way. This they followed, and found him hid in a hollow tree. They dragged him out, stripped him, beat and pricked him, pushed him forward with the points of their swords, until they got back to the hill from whence he had escaped. It being almost night, they fastened him to a tree, with his hands behind him, then made themselves a supper, singing and dancing around him, roaring, and uttering great and many signs of joy, but with
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THREE NARRATIVES.
joy little enough to the poor creature, who foresaw what all this tended to.
The Indians next cut a parcel of wood, and bring- ing it into a plain place, they cut off the top of a small red oak tree, leaving the trunk for a stake, whereunto they bound their sacrifice. They first made a great fire near this tree of death, and bring- ing Rogers unto it, bid him take his leave of his friends, which he did in a doleful manner, such as no pen, though made of a harpy's quill, were able to describe the dolor of it. They then allowed him a little time to make his prayers unto Heaven, which he did with an extreme fervency and agony ; where- upon they bound him to the stake, and brought the rest of the prisoners, with their arms tied each to the other, and seated them round the fire. This being done, they went behind the fire, and thrust it forwards upon the man, with much laughter and shouting ; and when the fire had burnt some time upon him, even till he was almost suffocated, they pulled it away from him, to prolong his existence.
They now resumed their dancing around him, and at every turn they did with their knives cut collops of his flesh out of his naked limbs, and throw them with his blood into his face. In this manner was their work continued, until he expired.
Being now dead, they set his body down upon the glowing coals of fire, and thus left him tied with his back to the stake, where he was found by some Eng- lish forces soon after, who were in pursuit of these Indians.
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THREE NARRATIVES.
MEHETABLE GOODWIN, another of the captives of this band of Indians, who, it will be proper to notice, were led by the renowned Indian chief Hopehood, had a child with her about five months old. This, through hunger and hardship, she being unable to nourish from her breast, occasioned it to make grievous and distressing ejaculations. Her Indian master told her that if the child were not quiet, he would soon dispose of it, which caused her to use all possible means that his netopship * might not be offended ; and sometimes she would carry it from the fire out of his hearing, when she would sit down up to her waist in the snow for several hours together, until it was exhausted and lulled to sleep. She thus for several days preserved the life of her babe, until he saw cause to travel with his own cubs farther afield ; and then, lest he should be retarded in his travel, he violently snatched the babe out of its mother's arms, and before her face knocked out its brains ; and having stripped it of its few rags it had hitherto enjoyed, ordered the mother to go wash them of the blood wherewith they were stained ! Returning from this sad and melancholy task, she found the infant hanging by the neck in a forked bough of a tree. She requested liberty to lay it in the earth, but the savage said, "It is better as it is, for now the wild beasts cannot come at it ; and you may have the comfort of seeing it again if ever you come that way."
. Netop is the Indian word for friend.
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THREE NARRATIVES.
The journey now before them was like to be very long -as far as Canada, where Mrs. Goodwin's master's purpose was to make merchandise of her, and glad was she to hear such happy tidings. But the desperate length of the way, and want of food, and grief of mind, wherewith she was now encoun- tered, caused her within a few days to faint under her difficulties ; when, at length, she sat down for some repose, with many prayers and tears unto God for the salvation of her soul, she found herself un- able to rise, until she saw her furious executioner coming towards her, with fire in his eyes, the devil in his heart, and his hatchet in his hand, ready to bestow a mercy stroke of death upon her. Then it was that this poor captive woman, in this extreme misery, got upon her knees, and, with weeping and wailing, and all expressions of agony and entreaty, prevailed on him to spare her life a little longer, and she did not question but God would enable her to walk a little faster. The merciless tyrant was prevailed with to spare her this time ; nevertheless, her former weakness quickly returning upon her, he was just going to murder her, when a couple of In- dians, just at this moment coming in, called suddenly upon him to hold his hand. At this such a horror surprised his guilty soul that he ran away from her ; but hearing them call his name, he returned, and then permitted these his friends to ransom his pris- oner.
After these events, as the party were seated by the side of a river, they heard several guns go off on 3 *
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THREE NARRATIVES.
the opposite side, which the Indians concluded was occasioned by a party of Albany Indians, who were their enemies ; whereupon this bold blade (her old master) would needs go in a canoe to discover what they were. They fired upon and shot him through, together with several of his friends, before the dis- covery could be made. Some days after this, divers of his friends gathered a party to revenge his death on their supposed enemies. With these they soon joined battle, and after several hours' hard fighting, were themselves put to the rout. Among the cap- tives which they left in their flight was this poor woman, who was overjoyed, supposing herself now at liberty ; but her joy did not last long, for these Indians were of the same sort as the others, and had been by their own friends thus, through a strange mistake, set upon.
However, this crew proved more favorable to her than the former, and went away silently with their booty, being loath to have any noise made of their foul mistake. And yet a few days after, such another mistake happened ; for meeting with another party of Indians which they imagined were in the English interest, they also furiously engaged each other, and many were killed and wounded on both sides ; but the conquerors proved to be a party of French In- dians this time, who took this poor Mrs. Goodwin, and presented her to the French captain of the party, by whom she was carried to Canada, where she continued five years, after which she was brought safely back to New England.
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THREE NARRATIVES.
THOMAS TOOGOOD'S short narrative is introduced . to relieve the reader from the contemplation of blood and misery. At the same time the other cap- tives were taken, three Indians hotly pursued this man, and one of them overtaking him, while the rest perceiving it, staid behind the hill, having seen him quietly yield himself a prisoner. While the Indian was getting out his strings to bind his prisoner, he held his gun under his arm, which Too- good observing, suddenly sprang and wrested it from him; and momentarily presenting it at the Indian, protested that he would shoot him down if he made the least noise. And so away he ran with it unto Quochecho. If my reader be now inclined to smile, when he thinks how simply poor Isgrim looked,* returning to his mates behind the hill, without either gun or prey, or any thing but strings, to remind him of his own deserts, I am sure his brethren felt not less so, for they derided him with ridicule at his misadventure. The Indians are sin- gularly excessive in the practice of sporting at the misfortunes of one another in any case they are outwitted, or have been guilty of committing any blunder.
* The only retaliation the baffled savage was able to make upon Toogood was to cry out Nogood, Nogood, as his intended victim disap- peared.
LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
A BALLAD. N. H. HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.
APRIL 18, 1725.
" THE story of Lovewell's Fight," says the North American Review, "is one of the nursery tales of New Hampshire. There is hardly a person that lives in the eastern and northern part of the state but has heard incidents of that fearful encounter repeated from infancy. It was on the 18th of April, 1725, that Captain John Lovewell, of Dunstable, Massachusetts, with thirty-four men, fought a famous Indian chief, named Paugus, at the head of about eighty savages, near the shores of a pond in Pe- ยท quawkett .* Lovewell's men were determined to conquer or die, although outnumbered by the In- dians more than one half. They fought till Love- well and Paugus were killed, and all Lovewell's men but nine were either killed or wounded dan- gerously. The savages having lost, as was supposed, sixty of their number out of eighty, and being con- vinced of the fierce and determined resolution of
* The Indian name of a considerable tract of country including Con- way, N. H., Fryeburg, Me., and the adjacent towns.
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LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
their foes, at length retreated and left them masters of the ground. The scene of this desperate and bloody action, which took place in the town which is now called Fryeburg, is often visited with interest to this day, and the names of those who fell, and those who survived, are yet repeated with emotions of grateful exultation."
What time the noble LOVEWELL came, With fifty men from Dunstable, The cruel Pequa'tt tribe to tame, With arms and bloodshed terrible.
Then did the crimson streams, that flowed, Seem like the waters of the brook,
That brightly shine, that loudly dash Far down the cliffs of Agiochook.
With Lovewell brave, John Harwood came ; From wife and babes 'twas hard to part ; Young Harwood took her by the hand, And bound the weeper to his heart.
" Repress that tear, my Mary dear," Said Harwood to his loving wife ;
" It tries me hard to leave thee here, And seek in distant woods the strife.
" When gone, my Mary, think of me,
* And pray to God that I may be Such as one ought that lives for thee, And come at last in victory,"
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LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
Thus left young Harwood babe and wife ; With accent wild, she bade adieu ; It grieved those lovers much to part, So fond and fair, so kind and true.
Seth Wyman," who in Woburn lived, (A marksman he of courage true,) Shot the first Indian whom they saw ; Sheer through his heart the bullet flew.
The savage had been seeking game ; Two guns and eke a knife he bore, And two black ducks were in his hand ; He shrieked, and fell, to rise no more.+
Anon, there eighty Indians rose,
Who'd hid themselves in ambush dread ; Their knives they shook, their guns they aimed, The famous Paugus at their head.
Good heavens ! they dance the powwow dance ; What horrid yells the forest fill ! The grim bear crouches in his den, The eagle seeks the distant hill.
* He was Lovewell's lieutenant. He distinguished himself in such a signal manner that, after his return, he was presented with a silver- hilted sword and a captain's commission.
t This Indian was no doubt placed there as a decoy. Suspecting this, the men concealed their packs and advanced with great caution. Meantime Paugus and Wahwa, with two parties of Indians, followed their trail till they found the packs. About these they placed them- selves in ambush, and when the Englishmen returned, rose and com- menced the attack.
LOVEWELL'S FIGHT. 35
" What means this dance, this powwow dance ?" Stern Wyman said ; with wondrous art He crept full near, his rifle aimed, And shot the leader through the heart.
John Lovewell, captain of the band, His sword he waved, that glittered bright, For the last time he cheered his men, And led them onward to the fight.
"Fight on, fight on," brave Lovewell said ; " Fight on, while Heaven shall give you breath !" An Indian ball then pierced him through, And Lovewell closed his eyes in death.
John Harwood died all bathed in blood, When he had fought till set of day ! And many more we may not name Fell in that bloody battle fray.
When news did come to Harwood's wife, That he with Lovewell fought and died, Far in the wilds had given his life, Nor more would in their home abide, -
Such grief did seize upon her mind, Such sorrow filled her faithful breast, On earth she ne'er found peace again, But followed Harwood to his rest.
'Twas Paugus led the Pequa'tt tribe ; As runs the fox would Paugus run ;
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LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
As howls the wild wolf would he howl ; A large bear skin had Paugus on.
But Chamberlain, of Dunstable, (One whom a savage ne'er shall slay,) Met Paugus by the water side, And shot him dead upon that day .*
Good heavens ! is this a time for prayer ? Is this a time to worship God ? When Lovewell's men are dying fast, And Paugus' tribe hath felt the rod ?
The chaplain's name was Jonathan Frye ; In Andover his father dwelt, And oft with Lovewell's men he'd prayed, Before the mortal wound he felt.
* The death of this celebrated Indian happened in this manner : Paugus and Chamberlain had been foes, and had met in bloody fray before the present battle. Towards the close of the day the guns of each had become foul from constant firing, and they came at the same time to the water's edge for.the purpose of washing them. Paugus was up stream and Chamberlain below. They immediately recognized each other. "Now, Paugus," said Chamberlain, " it is you or I." " Yes," answered the warrior, " it is you or I." Both then sprang to the water, and commenced cleaning their pieces. Each strained every nerve, conscious that to be last would be death. Almost with the rapidity of lightning the guns were washed out and dried. They be- gan loading at the same instant. The muskets were primed, the powder rammed home, the bullets thrown into the muzzles, and who could tell the issue ! But now appeared the advantage of Chamber- lain's position. Paugus, standing above Chamberlain, was obliged to follow his ball with a wad, to prevent its rolling out. Chamberlain dropped the ball down the muzzle of his piece, his eye glanced along the barrel, and with a yell the Indian chief leaped into the air and fell headlong into the brook.
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LOVEWELL'S FIGHT. 37
A man was he of comely form, Polished and brave, well learnt and kind ; Old Harvard's learned halls he left, Far in the wilds a grave to find.
Ah, now his blood-red arm he lifts, His closing lids he tries to raise, And speak once more before he dies, In supplication and in praise.
He prays kind Heaven to grant success, Brave Lovewell's men to guide and bless, And when they've shed their heart blood true, To raise them all to happiness.
" Come hither, Farwell," said young Frye, " You see that I'm about to die ; Now for the love I bear to you, When cold in death my bones shall lie, -
" Go thou and see my parents dear, And tell them you stood by me here ; Console them when they cry, Alas ! And wipe away the falling tear."
Lieutenant Farwell took his hand, His arm around his neck he threw, And said, " Brave chaplain, I could wish That Heaven had made me die for you. 4
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LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
The chaplain on kind Farwell's breast, Bloody and languishing he fell ; Nor after this said more, but this, " I love thee, soldier ; fare thee well."
Ah, many a wife shall rend her hair, And many a child cry, " Woe is me !" When messengers the news shall bear, Of Lovewell's dear-bought victory .*
With footsteps slow shall travellers go, Where Lovewell's Pond shines clear and bright, And mark the place where those are laid Who fell in Lovewell's bloody fight.
Old men shall shake their heads, and say, " Sad was the hour and terrible When Lovewell brave 'gainst Paugus went, With fifty men from Dunstable."
* Of the thirty-four men who belonged to Lovewell's party, but nine returned unhurt ; eleven came back wounded, and three had to be left behind on account of their severe wounds. Among these three was Ensign Robbins, who desired to have his gun charged and left by his side, that he might kill one more of them, should they return.
THE BOAR AND THE BEAR.
WRITTEN BY THE REV. GRANT POWERS, FOR THE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
1731.
THE town of Hollis, in the county of Hillsbor- ough, N. H., is one of the oldest towns in the county, and was first settled by Captain Peter Powers, and Anna, his wife, from Hampshire, Dunstable, in 1731. Those early settlers were accustomed to the rearing of many swine, by permitting them to run at large in the woods, and to subsist upon roots, acorns, and nuts, which were produced in great abundance in the place. In the fall of the year, or at the time of the first deep snow, the older members of the herd, that were originally tame, would lead their numer-
ous progeny into winter quarters, at a shed erected for that purpose some distance from the house, where the owner disposed of them as he pleased, although many of them were as untame and as ferocious as the beasts of the mountains. At that time bears were plenty, and very hostile to swine. It became necessary, therefore, to provide for the defence of the herd, by permitting one of the males to live
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THE BOAR AND THE BEAR.
several years beyond the period of life ordinarily assigned to that species by man ; at which time he became literally the master of the flock. His tusks protruded on either side, in nearly semicircles, to the distance of six or seven inches. He seemed conscious of his superiority and responsibility. He was fierce in the extreme, and courted danger ; and when the herd was assailed he instantly presented himself to the foe, with eyes darting fire, with tusks heated to blueness, and foaming at the mouth in a terrific manner. He roamed the forest, unconscious of danger ; he led the herd ; and but few of the untamed tribes had the temerity to dispute his title to supremacy.
It happened, however, on a certain day in autumn, when Anna stood in the door of her cabin, listening to the oft-repeated sound of the descending axe, or the crash of falling trees, while her husband was at his daily task, that she heard from a great distance the faint yet distinct cry of one of their herd. She thought it was the cry of expiring nature. She remained in this state of suspense but a short time before the herd came rushing from the forest in the greatest apparent trepidation. The oldest dams of the herd, much exhausted, and without their common leader and protector, seemed inclined to take refuge in the apartment which had been their retreat in former winters; but the younger branches of the family would not follow them. The dams, seeing this, dashed on through the cleared space, and dis- appeared in the forest on the north side. The cries
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