History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 37

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

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There are conflicting accounts as to the loss of the troopers. Penhallow, who wrote a history of the Indian wars, and was a contemporary author, says that about one-half of the troopers were killed by the Indians, who had loaded guns on entering the fort ; while another and probably less reliable account says that no one save the trumpeter, who was blow- ing his horn in the attic when he saw the Indians en- tering, was shot fatally at the head of the stairway. The carelessness of the soldiers was very deservedly censured. Cummings, who was wounded outside, fled with a broken arm to the woods while the sav- ages were engaged in the house. That night he lay in a swamp a few rods south of the State line, and the next morning reached the garrison just above the

In the summer of 1706 a party of Mohawks, two present Tyngsborough village.

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The same night the Indians attacked the fortified house of Daniel Galusha, two miles westward, and near the present residence of Willard Cummings. The inmates were three men, one woman and one boy. They fought bravely, but finding that the Indians were kindling a fire outside, endeavored to escape. One account says that one man and the boy escaped, but Penhallow writes that only the woman escaped. When the assault grew dangerous she sought con- cealment in the cellar. Hastily plundering the house, and thinking they had killed all the inmates, the savages set fire to the house and immediately left. The woman, finding the house in flames, tried ; to escape by the cellar window, but found it too small. By effort she removed a stone, forced a pass- age, and crawling over burning cinders, reached the nearest bushes, from whence in the morning she fled to a neighboring garrison.

On the same night of the attack on the Weld and Galusha garrisons, the Indians, at a later hour, prob- ably past midnight, assaulted the house of Nathaniel Blanchard, three miles below Salmon Brook, and near the old cemetery in the south part of the town. It appears from the ancient town records that Nathaniel Blanchard, his wife, Susannah, his daughter, Susannah, and his brother's wife, Hannah, all four " died" by the hands of the savages on the night of the 3d of July, 1706. Captain Samuel Whiting was taken prisoner on Long Hill, and carried to Canada. He returned after several years of captivity, but for many years after was an invalid on account of his wounds and sufferings.

Three weeks later, on the 27th of July, Captain Butterfield and wife, mounted on the same horse, started to ride from Dunstable to Chelmsford. They were accompanied by the well-known friendly Indian, Joe English, and another soldier as a guard, English going before and the soldier in the rear of the mounted couple. They had just crossed the present State line, and reached Holden's Brook, when a party of Indians in ambush fired and killed the horse. Captain But- terfield and the soldier escaped, but his wife was taken prisoner. Joe English, however, was the chief object of pursuit, and they at once ran toward him. With his loaded musket he made all possible haste to reach the nearest thicket, when a ball struck the arm hold- ing the gun, which compelled him to drop it. Just as he reached the thicket another ball broke his thigh. Undaunted by tortures, he bravely met his death.

Joe English was an Agawam Indian, born in Ips- wich, Mass., the son of a noted sachem. He possessed unusual sagacity and on several occasions had noti- fied the white settlers of the terrific attacks about to be made on them. For this the northern savages had sworn a terrible revenge. Many traditional stories have been told of his ingenuity and prowess. Of his fidelity, courage, adventures and hairbreadth escapes there is no doubt. His death was lamented as a pub- lic loss. The General Assembly of Massachusetts

made a grant to his widow and two children " because he died in the service of the country." His memory was long cherished as one who fell by the hands of his own race on account of his friendship for the whites. A noted hill in New Boston, easy of ascent on the north and terminating in a precipice on the south side, perpetuates his name.

Queen Anne's War bore heavily on all the New Hampshire settlements, then numbering only five .- Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, Hampton and Dunstable. The scholarly Penhallow, who was an actor in this war and wrote a history of it, inscribed the title-page of his book with these sad words,-

" Nescio tu quibus es, Lector, lecturus oculis Hoc scio, quod siccis, scribere non potui.

(With what eyes, O reader, you will read this tale I know not- This I do know, mine were not dry when writing it)."

Feeble and suffering had been the condition of the settlers of Dunstable from its earliest years. Fear and desolation reigned everywhere. Compelled to dwell in garrisons, to labor at the constant peril of life, how could the settlers thrive? Dunstable was scarcely more advanced in 1714 than in 1680, so disastrous had been the effect of the long and bloody wars. Many of the most useful inhabitants had been slain or taken captive, especially heads of families. Some had re- moved to places more secure from Indian depredation. Very few would emigrate to what might be well termed " the dark and bloody ground." It was no time for marriage feasts when the bridal procession might at. every step become a funeral one, and the merry laugh be drowned by the crack of the rifle and the savage war-whoop.

The historian Bancroft says: "The war on the part of the Indians was one of ambushes and surprises." They were secret as beasts of prey, skillful marksmen, swift of foot, patient of fatigue, familiar with every path and nook of the forest, and frantic with the pas- sion for vengeance and destruction. The laborer in the field and the woodman felling trees were shot down by skulking foes who were invisible. The mother left alone in the house was in constant fear of the tomahawk for herself and her children. There was no hour of freedom from peril. The dusky red men hung upon the skirts of the colonial villages "like the lightning on the edge of the cloud."

In 1713 the "peace of Utrecht " closed the war be- tween England and France. The Indians, getting no supplies from their Canadian allies, were quiet. There was an increase of emigration from England, and permanent homes now for the first time began to extend beyond the long-exposed frontier settle- ment below the junction of the Nashna with the Mer- rimack River. As early as 1710 settlements were made in Hudson; Londonderry was settled in 1719; Litchfield and Chester in 1720; Merrimack and Pel- ham in 1722. In 1722 the Maine Indians, instigated, it was said, by the Jesuit missionary, Father Rasle, began depredations at Portsmouth, Dover and the

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farming settlements in the vicinity, the Pequawkets, under the lead of Paugus, joining them in plundering corn-fields and destroying cattle.

Early in the spring of 1724, Lieutenant Jabez Fair- banks, of Groton, took command of a scouting-party organized to protect the frontier settlers. Six of the scouts-Joseph Blanchard, Thomas Lund, Isaac Far- well, Ebenezer Cummings, John Usher and Jonathan Combs-belonged to Dunstable. They reported that no trace of a lurking foe could be discovered in the forests north and west of Dunstable. This news was encouraging, and several men at the Harbor went to work during the day on the north side of the Nashua River, planting corn and collecting turpentine. Dur- ing the summer they were not disturbed. This tran- quillity, however, was brief. On the morning of Sep- tember 4, 1724, Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard started from the Harbor and crossed the Nashua River to do a day's work in the pine forest growing on the northern bank, on land not far from the present Nashua Cemetery. The day was wet and drizzly. Reaching their destination, they placed their arms and ammunition, as well as their lunch and accom- panying jug, in a hollow log to keep them dry. Dur- ing the day they were surrounded by a party of In- dians from Canada, who hurried them into captivity.

Their protracted absence aroused the anxiety of their friends and neighbors, and a relief party of ten was organized the next morning to make a search for the absentees. Lieutenant Ebenezer French was chosen leader. When the party arrived at the spot where these men had been laboring they found the hoops of the barrels cut and the turpentine spread upon the ground. From certain marks upon the trees they inferred that the two men were captured and carried off alive.

While examining the premises, Josiah Farwell, who was an experienced ranger, noticed that the turpentine had not ceased spreading, and called the attention of the party to the circumstance. They decided that the Indians had been gone but a short time and must be near by. So they determined on immediate pursuit. Farwell advised the party to take a circuitous route to avoid an ambush; but, unfortunately, he and the commander were person- ally at variance. Lieutenant French imputed this advice to cowardice, and called out, "I am going to take the direct path; if any of you are not afraid, let him follow me." French led the way and the whole party followed, Farwell taking his position in the rear.

where, changing his course, he cluded his foes. He was the only one of the party who escaped. It is probable that Lieutenant French and his men were not aware of the strength of the enemy, but supposed it to be an ordinary foraging-party of eight or ten warriors, when in reality the Indians numbered seventy well-armed men. The next day a larger company was mustered, and proceeding to the fatal spot, found the dead bodies. Coffins were prepared for them, and eight were interred in one capacious grave at the ancient burial-ground near the present State line. The following epitaph, "spelt by the unlettered muse," tells the bloody tale. The inscrip- tion reads thus:

" Memento Mori. " Here lies the body of MR. THOMAS LUND, who departed this life Sept. 5th, 1724, in the 42d year of his age. " This man with seven more that lies in this grave was slew all in a day by The Indians."

Some of the fallen were leading and active citizens, whose loss was deeply felt. Among them were Oliver Farwell, Thomas Lund, Ebenezer French, Ebenezer Cummings and Benjamin Carter. The two captives, Cross and Blanchard, were taken to Canada. After a year's captivity they obtained a ransom and returned to Dunstable. The gun, jug and lunch-basket were found in the hollow log where they had been con- cealed the year before. The gun has been carefully preserved by the descendants of Mr. Cross; and recently one of them, Mr. Levi S. Cross, of this city, has presented it to the Nashua Natural History Society to be kept among their antiquarian relics.

It is related by Penhallow that another fight at this time took place somewhat above the mouth of the Nashua River, and that one white man was killed and four wounded. Tradition reports that it was the same Indians who captured Cross and Blanchard, and who had just vanquished Lieutenant French's party. They occupied the north and the whites the south bank of the river. The savages grew weary and retired. When the white soldiers went over the next day to the north side, they found conspicuously carved on the trunk of a pine-tree an Indian head, from which was derived the name afterwards given to that locality.

CHAPTER V. NASHUA-( Continued.)

Their route was up the Merrimack, and at the CAPTAIN JOHN LOVEWELL'S CAMPAIGNS. brook just above Thornton's Ferry they were waylaid. The Indians fired and killed the larger part instantly. The Hero of Peqnawket-Early Training-Petition Granted-Trip to the Lake A Successful Raid-March to Ossipee-Reach " Lovewell's Pond "-Fall into an Ambush-A Bloody Fight-Deaths of Lovewell and Paugus-Terrible Suffering-Deaths of Farwell and Frye-Noah Johnson-Results of the Campaign. The rest fled, but were overtaken. Lieutenant French was killed under an oak a mile from the ambush. Farwell in the rear sprang behind a tree, fired and fled. The Indians pursued him. The chase was LINGERING among us are a few aged persons who close and doubtful till Farwell reached a thicket, well remember that in their early childhood, while

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the family were gathered for a winter night around the ample hearths of that period, some old man told the story of the brave Captain Lovewell and his com- pany, their successes and their misfortunes, till an intense interest was awakened in the breast of every youthful listener. With the exception of General John Stark, no other name in the colonial annals of New England is so well known as that of Captain John Lovewell. Born and raised within the limits of Nashua, whatever relates to his history and achieve- ments deserves the especial attention of the people of this city.

Captain John Lovewell was born in that part of old Dunstable which afterward fell within the limits of Nashua, in a cabin, near Salmon Brook. He was the oldest son of John Lovewell, who came over from England about 1670. His grandfather served in the army of Oliver Cromwell. His father appears to have fought under the famous Captain Church during King Philip's War. He was a man of unusual courage and physical vigor. At the time of his death, in 1752, he was probably a centenarian, but not, as erroneously reported, one hundred and twenty years old,

Captain John Lovewell, Jr., was, like his father, a man of great courage and ready to engage in daring enterprises. During his boyhood Dunstable was con- stantly assailed by merciless savages, and at a very early age he began to engage in scouts, which required the exercise of the utmost caution, promptitude and bravery. At eighteen years of age he was actively engaged in exploring the wilderness, to find the lurk- ing-places of the Indians. Having the qualities of leadership, his ability was early recognized, and at the age of twenty-five he ranked as the best-equipped, most daring and versatile scout in the frontier settle- ments. This was no trivial compliment, for no town- ship in New England had, in the first half of the eighteenth century, a more experienced, adroit and courageous corps of Indian fighters than Dunstable.

The fate of Lieutenant French and his party, in September, 1724, had a dispiriting effect on the in- habitants of Dunstable. But Captain John Lovewell, Jr., then thirty years old, was determined to carry the war to the strongholds of the savages and destroy them, as Captain Church had destroyed the followers of King Philip. "These barbarous outrages must be stopped, and I am ready to lead the men who will do it," was his declaration to his comrades. Joined by Josiah Farwell and Jonathan Robbins, a petition was sent to the General Court of Massachusetts for leave to raise a company to scout against the Indians. The original petition, signed by them, is on file in the office of the Secretary of State in Boston, and is as follows:

" The humble memorial of John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, Jonathan Roberts, all of Dunstable, sheweth :

" That your petitioners, with near forty or fifty others, are inclinable to range and to keep out in the woods for several months together, in order to kill and destroy their enemy Indians, provided they can meet with Incouragement suitable. And your Petitioners are Imployed and desired by many others Humbly to propose and submit to your Honors consideration, that if such soldiers may be allowed live shillings per day,

in case they kill any enemy Indian, and possess his scalp, they will Im- ploy themselves in Indian hunting one whole year ; and if within that time they do not kill any, they are content to be allowed nothing for their wages, time and trouble.

" JOHN LOVEWELL, " JOSIAH FARWELL, " JONATHAN ROBBINS.

"Dunstable, Nov., 1724."

This petition was granted, with the change of the compensation to a bounty of one hundred pounds per scalp. Volunteers came forward with alacrity, the company was organized and the commission of eap- tain given to Lovewell.

With this picked company Captain Lovewell started on an excursion northward to Lake Winnipesaukee. On the 10th of December, 1724, the party came upon a wigwam, in which were two Indians,-a man and a boy. They killed and scalped the man and brought the boy alive to Boston, where they received the prom- ised bounty and two shillings and sixpence per day.

This success was small, but it gave courage, and the company grew from thirty to eighty-seven. They started the second time on January 27, 1725. Cross- ing the Merrimack at Nashua, they followed the river route on the east side to the southeast corner of Lake Winnipesaukee, where they arrived on the 9th of February. Provisions falling short, thirty of them were dismissed by lot, and returned home. The company went on to Bear Camp River, in Tam- worth, where, discovering Indian tracks, they changed their course and followed them in a southeast direc- tion till, just before sunset on the 20th, they saw smoke, by which they judged the enemy were en- camped for the night. Keeping concealed till after midnight, they then silently advanced, and discovered ten Indians asleep round a fire by the side of a frozen pond. Lovewell now resolved to make sure work, and placing his men conveniently, ordered them to fire, five at once, as quickly after each other as pos- sible, and another part to reserve their fire. He gave the signal by firing his own gun, which killed two of them; the men, firing as directed, killed five more on the spot ; the other three, starting up from their sleep, two were shot dead on the spot by the reserve. The other, wounded, attempted to escape across the pond, was seized by a dog and held fast till they killed him. In a few minutes the whole party was killed, and a raid on some settlement pre- vented. These Indians were coming from Canada with new guns and plenty of ammunition. They had also some spare blankets, moccasins and snow- shoes for the use of the prisoners they expected to take. The pond where this success was achieved is in the town of Wakefield, and has ever since borne the name of Lovewell's Pond. The company then went to Boston through Dover, where they displayed the scalps and guns taken from the savages. In Boston they received the bounty of one thousand pounds from the public treasury.

Captain Lovewell now planned the bold design of attacking the Pequawkets in their chief village, on

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the Saco River, in Fryeburg, Maine. This tribe was powerful and ferocious. Its chief was Paugus, a noted warrior, whose name inspired terror wherever he was known. To reach Pequawket was a task in- volving hardships and danger. There is no doubt that Captain Lovewell underestimated the perils of the march and the risk from ambuscades. One hun- dred and thirty miles in early spring, through a wilderness not marked by a trail, to a locality never visited by the invaders, but every rod familiar to the wily foe, were serious disadvantages. Besides this, the company at the start only consisted of forty-six men. They left Salmon Brook on the 16th of April, 1725. They had traveled but a few miles when Toby, an Indian, falling siek, was obliged to return, which he did with great reluctance.

At Contoocook (now Boscawen), William Cum- mings, of Dunstable, became so disabled by a wound received from the enemy years before that the cap- tain sent him back with a kinsman to accompany him. They proceeded on to the west shore of Ossipee Lake, where Benjamin Kidder, of Nutfield (now Lon- donderry), falling sick, the captain halted and built a rude fort, having the lake shore to the east and Ossipee River on the north side. This was intended as a refuge in case of disaster. Here Captain Love- well left with Kidder the surgeon, a sergeant and seven other men as a guard. He also left a quantity of provisions to lighten the loads of the men, and which would be a needed supply on their return.

With only thirty-four men, Captain Lovewell, not disheartened, proceeded on his march from Ossipee Lake to Pequawket village, a distance of nearly forty miles through a rough forest. None of the party were acquainted with the route. Of the thirty-four in the company, only eight were from that portion of Dunstable now included in Nashua. The others were from neighboring towns, largely from Groton, Bil- leriea and Woburn. Dunstable furnished the cap- tain, lieutenants and nearly all the minor officers of the expedition. The eight men from Dunstable were Captain John Lovewell, Lieutenant Josiah Farwell, Lieutenant Jonathan Robbins, Ensign John Har- wood, Sergeant Noah Johnson, Corporal Benjamin Hassell, Robert Usher and Samuel Whiting, privates.

sultation was held to determine whether it was better to venture an engagement with the enemy, or to make a speedy retreat. The men boldly answered : " We have prayed all along that we might find the foe; and we had rather trust Providence with our lives, yea, die for our country, than try to return without seeing them, and be called cowards for our con- duct."

Captain Lovewell readily complied, and led them on, though not without manifesting some appre- hensions. Supposing the enemy to be in front, he ordered the men to lay down their packs, and march with the greatest caution, and in the utmost readiness. In this way they advanced a mile and a half, when Ensign Wyman spied an Indian approach- ing among the trees. Giving a signal, all the men concealed themselves, and as the Indian came nearer several guns were fired at him. He at once fired at Captain Lovewell with beaver shot, wounding him severely, though he made little complaint, and was still able to travel. Ensign Wyman then fired and killed the Indian, and Chaplain Frye scalped him. They then returned toward their packs, which had al- ready been found and seized by the savages, who, in reality, were lurking in their rear, and who were elated by discovering from the number of the packs that their own force was more than double that of the whites. It was now ten oclock, and just before reaching the place, on a plain of scattered pines about thirty rods from the pond, the Indians rose up in front and rear in two parties, and ran toward the whites with their guns presented. The whites instantly presented their guns, and rushed to meet them.

When both parties came within twenty yards of each other they fired. The Indians suffered far the more heavily, and hastily retreated a few rods into a low pine thieket, where it was hardly possible to see one of them. Three or four rounds followed from each side. The savages had more than twice the number of our men and greatly the advantage in their concealed position, and their shots began to tell fear- fully. Already nine of the whites were killed and three were fatally wounded. This was more than one- third of their number. Among the dead were Cap- tain Lovewell and Ensign Harwood, and both Lieu- tenant Farwell and Lieutenant Robbins were injured beyond recovery. Ensign Wyman ordered a retreat to the pond, and probably saved the company from entire destruction, as the pond protected their rear.

On Thursday, two days before the fight, the com- pany were apprehensive that they were discovered and watched by the enemy, and on Friday night the watch heard the Indians rustling in the underbrush, and alarmed the company, but the darkness was such The fight continued obstinately till sunset, the savages howling, yelling and barking and making all sorts of hideous noises, the whites frequently shout- ing and huzzaing. Some of the Indians, holding up ropes, asked the English if they would take quarter, but were promptly told that they would have no quarter save at the muzzles of their guns. they made no discovery. Very early in the morning of Saturday, May 8th, while they were at prayers, they heard the report of a gun. Soon after they discovered an Indian on a point running out into Saco Pond. The company decided that the purpose of the Indian was to draw them into an ambush con- cealed between himself and the soldiers. The inter- About the middle of the afternoon the chaplain, Jonathan Frye, of Andover, who graduated at Har- ence was a mistake, and a fatal one to a majority of the party. Expecting an immediate attack, a con- vard in 1723, and who had fought bravely, fell terri-

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bly wounded. When he could fight no longer he prayed audibly for the preservation of the rest of the company.

The fight had lasted nearly eight hours, and at intervals was furious. The reader will understand that it was very unlike a battle between two parties of civilized infantry. In fighting these savages, who concealed themselves behind trees, logs, bushes and rocks, the whites were compelled to adopt similar tactics. In such a fight, while obeying general orders, each soldier fires at the foe when he can dis- cern an exposed head or body. This Peqnawket con- test lasted from ten in the morning till night, but it was not continuons. There were intervals of nearly or quite half an hour, which were hardly disturbed by the crack of a single musket. But in these intervals the savages were skulking and creeping to get a near view and sure aim at some white soldier, while our men were desperately on the alert to detect their approach and slay them. Noticing a lull among the warriors, Ensign Wyman crept up behind a bush and discovered a group apparently in council, and br a careful shot brought down their leader.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 37

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168