USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, from its first discovery to the year 1830; with dissertations upon the rise of opinions and institutions, the growth of agriculture and manufactures, and the influence of leading families and distinguished men, to the year 1874; > Part 33
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In Winthrop's History of New England, we find the following narrative :
"One Darby Field, an Irishman, living about Piscataquack, being accom- panied by two Indians, went to the top of the white hill. He made the
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journey in eighteen days. His relation, at his return, was, that it was about one hundred miles from Saco, so that after forty miles' travel he did for the most part ascend; and within twelve miles of the top there was neither tree nor grass, but low savins which they went upon the top of sometimes; but a continual ascent upon rocks, on a ridge between two valleys filled with snow, out of which came two branches of the Saco river, which met at the foot of the hill, where was an Indian town of some two hundred people."
This first ascent was made in June, 1642. Another party, led by Thomas Gorges and Mr. Vines from Maine, ascended the mountains in August of the same year. They also found a large Indian town on the Saco, near the base of the mountains. From this settlement "they went up hill about thirty miles, in woody lands. Then they went about seven or eight miles upon shat- tered rocks, without tree or grass, very steep all the way. At the top is a plain, three or four miles over, all shattered stones, and upon that is another rock or spire about a mile in height, and about an acre of ground at the top. On the top of the plain arise four great rivers," among them the Connecticut. These explorers were dazed by the awful grandeur of the scenery, and their eyes were confused by their imaginations.
The first printed account of the White Mountains is found in John Josselyn's "New England's Rarities Discovered," published in 1672. The description here given partakes of the errors and exaggerations of the first discoverers. They gave a glow- ing account of the precious stones in these "everlasting hills," and among other things "rich and rare " they found sheets of "Muscovy glass or mica, forty feet long !" To their excited minds, the mountains seemed to cover one hundred leagues in extent. The next account we have of explorations in the moun- tains was in April, 1725. "A ranging company ascended the highest mountain on the northwest part." This is thought to be the first ascent from the west side. Another party, who made a similar tour in March, 1746, were alarmed by repeated explo- sions as of the discharge of muskets. On examination they found that the noises were made by rocks falling from a cliff in the south side of a steep mountain.
The Notch was discovered in 1771, by Timothy Nash, a pio- neer hunter who had made a home for himself in this inhospi- table region. Climbing a tree on Cherry Mountain, in search of a moose, he discovered, far to the south, this gate of the moun- tains. He at once directed his steps to this narrow defile, and passed through it to Portsmouth. " Here he made known his discovery to Governor Wentworth. The wary governor, to test the practicability of the pass, informed Nash that if he would bring him a horse down through the gorge from Lancaster, he would grant him a tract of land." Nash took with him a kin- dred spirit named Benjamin Sawyer, and by means of ropes
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they let down the horse over a precipice, then existing at the gate of the Notch, and delivered him in safety to the governor. The tract of land thus earned was named "Nash and Sawyer's Location." "It still has a local habitation and a name." A road was soon after opened by the proprietors of land in "the upper Cohos," through this rugged defile, and settlers began to make their homes in the vicinity of the mountains. Jefferson, White- field, Littleton and Franconia were dotted with houses within a few years after the Notch was made passable. In 1774, a road was constructed through Pinkham Notch, on the east side of the mountains, and Shelburne, which then included Gorham, be- gan to be settled. The tenth New Hampshire turnpike was in- corporated in 1803, extending from the west line of Bartlett through the Notch, a distance of twenty miles. The original cost of the road was forty thousand dollars. This turnpike be- came a thoroughfare for all the northern towns of New Hamp- shire and Vermont, for the conveyance of their produce to Port- land. Sometimes, it is said, a hundred sleighs passed the Notch in a single day.
Scientific parties visited these mountains for the purpose of discovery, in 1784 and in 1804. They published the results of their investigations, containing valuable information respecting the flora and fauna of those regions, and some observations con- cerning the topography, geology and altitudes of the mountains. The following account of the first permanent settlements in the vicinity of the White Mountains is abridged from the first vol- ume of the Geology of New Hampshire, by Professor Charles Hitchcock.
Eleazar Rosebrook removed from Grafton, Mass., to Lancas- ter in 1772. He finally settled in Monadnock, now Colebrook. He was then more than thirty miles from any white man's cabin, and the only path to his home was by blazed trees. During the Revolutionary war he removed to Guildhall, Vt., to secure pro- tection to his family during his absence in the service of his country. In 1792, he sold his cultivated farm in Vermont and again sought the wilderness. He came to Nash and Sawyer's Location in the depth of winter. Here he soon built a large two-story house at the base of what is known as "the giant's grave," occupying nearly the same site as the present Fabyan* House. He also erected a saw-mill and grist-mill, with barns, stables and sheds for the accommodation of travelers. He did not long enjoy the fruit of his patient toil. After years of in- tense suffering from a cancer he died in 1817. Mr Rosebrook was one of nature's noblemen, renowned for his heroism in war and for his enterprise in peace.
Abel Crawford, known as "the patriarch of the mountains,"
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also came from Guildhall, a few years later, and settled twelve miles farther south, near the site of the present Crawford House. He married the daughter of Mr. Rosebrook. In 1819 he opened a path to Mount Washington, which follows the southwestern ridge from Mount Clinton. Three years later his son, Ethan Allen Crawford, opened a new foot-path along the course of the Ammonoosuc. In 1840 Abel Crawford, at the age of seventy- five, made his first horseback ascent to the top of Mount Wash- ington. Dr. O. T. Jackson, the first state geologist, accompanied him. Prior to that date visitors and their guides went up on foot. For sixty years he entertained and escorted travelers in these mountain regions. He died at the advanced age of eighty- five. In the spring months of his last years he longed for the coming of visitors as the young boy longs for the return of the swallow. "He used to sit, in the warm spring days, supported by his daughter, his snow-white hair falling on his shoulders, waiting for the first ripple of that large tide which he had seen increasing in volume for twenty years. Not long after the stages began to carry their summer freight by his door, he passed away." His son, Ethan Allen Crawford, succeeded to the estate of Capt. Rosebrook, but the ample buildings reared by the latter were soon after burned. For many years the Crawfords alone enter- tained strangers at the mountains. All the bridle-paths on the west were opened by them. In 182 1 ladies first ascended Mount Washington. The Misses Austin of Portsmouth spent four days in a small stone cabin near the summit, in order to obtain a good prospect. During the first quarter of this century the number of visitors averaged about twelve each year.
The Crawfords were bold, fearless, athletic men and their strong arms have sustained many a fainting pilgrim in his am- bitious struggle to go up higher. Ethan Allen Crawford, known as "the giant of the mountains," was nearly seven feet in height. He kept a journal of his adventures about the mountains. Many of the wisest and most distinguished men of the country were hospitably entertained under his rude roof. He would come home from a bear hunt to find in his house, perhaps, a member of congress. Daniel Webster once desired his assistance on foot to the top of Mount Washington. Ethan says: "We went up without meeting anything worthy of note, more than was com- mon for me to find ; but to him things appeared interesting, and when we arrived there Mr. Webster spoke as follows : 'Mount Washington, I have come a long distance and have toiled hard to reach your summit, and now you give me a cold reception. I am extremely sorry that I cannot stay to view this grand pros- pect which lies before me ; and nothing prevents but the uncom- fortable atmosphere in which you reside.'" A storm of snow over-
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took them in their descent, which almost chilled their life-blood. The statesman was much interested in his guide, for Ethan adds : "The next morning, after paying his bill, he made me a hand- some present of twenty dollars." Though Ethan was an honest and moral man, he was imprisoned for debt, which came upon him by losses through fire and flood. He acted well his part where Providence placed him, and by his labor and sufferings contributed to the safety and happiness of others.
In 1803 Mr. Davis built a house three miles below the Notch, which was afterwards occupied by Mr. Willey who perished with his family, in 1826, by an avalanche from a mountain since call- ed Mount Willey. These are the most noted of the early set- tlers about the White Mountains. The six or seven visitors who sought these regions in 1803 have now increased to as many thousands.
NOTE .- The altitudes of the highest mountain peaks in New Hampshire are given by Prof. Hitchcock in his Geology of New Hampshire, as follows: Mt. Washington, 6,293 feet ; Mt. Adams, 5794 feet ; Mt. Jefferson, 5714 feet; Mt. Clay, 5,553 feet; Mt. Monroe, 5384 feet ; Mt. Madison, 5365 feet ; Mt. Franklin, 4904 feet; Mt. Webster, 4,000 feet ; White Moun- tain Notch, 1,914 feet ; Moosilauke, 4,811 feet ; Kearsarge, 2,943 feet ; Mt. Cuba, 2,927 feet; Moose Mountain, 2, 326 feet ; Mt. Chocorua, 3,540 feet ; Mt. Cardigan, 3, 156 feet ; Red Hill, North Peak, 2,038 feet.
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
THE RIVERS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The true source of the Connecticut river has been accurately determined by Mr. J. H. Huntington, Assistant State Geologist. He describes it as follows : "Almost on the very northern bound- ary of New Hampshire, and nearly on the very summit of the dividing ridge that separates the waters of the St. Lawrence from those that flow southward, there is a small lake containing only a few acres, and this is the source of the Connecticut. It has an elevation of two thousand five hundred and fifty-one feet, and is only seventy-eight feet below the summit of Mount Pros- pect ; and so remote is it from the habitations of men, that it is rarely seen. A place more solitary I know not in northern New Hampshire. The outlet of this lake is a mere rill ; this flows into 'Third Lake,' which has an area of three-fourths of a square mile." This lake discharges its waters, with those of a tributary which it receives five miles below, into "Second Lake." The area of this lake is about one and three-fourths square
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miles. The scenery about it is exceedingly attractive. "Its outlet is on the west side, near its southern limit, and is forty feet in width, and has a depth of eighteen inches. Twenty rods from the lake it has a fall of eighteen feet or more; then its descent is quite gradual, but forms here and there deep eddies. A mile from the lake it becomes more rapid and rushes down between precipitous walls of rocks, in a series of wild cascades,' which continue for half a mile. It receives two tributaries from the west before it flows into Connecticut Lake. This is a sheet of water exceedingly irregular in outline. Its length is four miles, and its greatest width two and three-fourths, and it contains about three square miles .: Its general direction is east and west, but near its outlet it turns towards the south. The water at the outlet flows over a rocky barrier, the stream falling abruptly nearly thirty-seven feet. The fall is quite rapid for two miles and a half; then the flow is more gentle for about four miles. It is nowhere a sluggish stream, until it passes the falls of North- umberland. The fall from Connecticut Lake to Lancaster is seven hundred and eighty-five feet." Were it not for the sever- ity of the climate, the water-shed which supplies the sources of the Connecticut river would furnish homes and subsistence for a large population.
The streams that feed the Connecticut are thus enumerated by Mr. Huntington : "In New Hampshire, below Connecticut Lake, the river receives three large tributaries, Perry's stream, which rises near Third Lake and has a rapid descent, including two falls three and five miles from its confluence ; Indian stream, which rises on the boundary and has a very rapid descent for five or six miles, when it is a very quiet stream until it flows into the Connecticut, about eleven miles from the lake ; and Hall's stream, which rises, also, on the boundary, and is the dividing line between New Hampshire and the Province of Quebec. Be- sides these there are several smaller streams. The principal trib- utaries from the east are Cedar stream in Pittsburg, Labrador brook and Dead Water stream in Clarksville, Bishop brook in Stewartstown, the Mohawk in Colebrook, Sim's stream and Ly- man brook in Columbia, Bog brook in Stratford, the Upper Am- monoosuc in Northumberland, Israel's river in Lancaster and John's river in Dalton."
South of Dalton the other tributaries of the Connecticut are Lower Ammonoosuc at Bath, Oliverian brook at Haverhill, Eastman's brook at Piermont, Mascoma river at Lebanon, Sugar river at Claremont, Cold river at Walpole, Partridge brook at Westmoreland and Ashuelot river at Hinsdale. It also receives, from Vermont, Nulhegan river at Brunswick, Passumpsic river at Barnet, Wells river at Newbury, Wait's river at Bradford,
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Pompanoosuc at Norwich, White river at White River Junction, Quechee river at Hartland, Black river at Springfield, William's river at Rockingham and West river at Brattleboro.
The western bank of the Connecticut at low water mark is the boundary line between New Hampshire and Vermont through the entire length of the latter state. The length of the Con- necticut as it bounds New Hampshire is two hundred and eleven miles. It drains about three-tenths of the entire state and about four-tenths of Vermont, making an area of 6,800 square miles in both states.
One of the oldest explorers of the Connecticut, farther south, was John Ledyard, an eccentric individual who entered Dart- mouth College in 1772, and after a brief stay of four months became a wanderer. One of his exploits is thus described by President Sparks :
"On the margin of Connecticut river, which runs near the college, stood many majestic forest trees, nourished by a rich soil. One of these Ledyard contrived to cut down. He then set himself at work to fashion its trunk into a canoe, and in this labor he was assisted by some of his fellow-students. As the canoe was fifty feet long and three wide, and was to be dug out and constructed by these unskillful workmen, the task was not a trifling one, nor such as could be speedily executed. Operations were carried on with spirit, however, till Ledyard wounded himself with an axe and was disabled for several days. When he recovered he applied himself anew to his work; the canoe was finished, launched into the stream, and by the further aid of his companions equipped and prepared for the voyage. His wishes were now at their consummation, and bidding adieu to these haunts of the Muses, where he had gained a dubious fame, he set off alone to explore a river with the navigation of which he had not the slightest acquaintance. The distance to Hartford was not less than one hundred and forty miles, much of the way was through a wilderness, and in several places there were dangerous falls and rapids.
With a bear-skin for his covering and his canoe well stocked with provis- ions, he yielded himself to the current and floated leisurely down the stream, seldom using his paddle, and stopping only in the night for sleep. He told Mr. Jefferson in Paris, fourteen years afterward, that he took only two books with him, a Greek Testament and Ovid, one of which he was deeply engaged in reading when his canoe reached Bellows Falls, where he was suddenly aroused by the noise of the waters rushing among the rocks in the narrow passage. The danger was imminent, as no boat could go down that fall without being instantly dashed in pieces. With difficulty he gained the shore in time to escape such a catastrophe, and through the kind assistance of the people in the neighborhood, who were astonished at the novelty of such a voyage down the Connecticut, his canoe was drawn by oxen around the fall and committed again to the water below. He reached Hartford in safety, and astonished his friends not more by the suddenness of his return than by the strange mode of navigation by which he accomplished it."
Rivers are historical. The first towns and cities are built upon their banks ; the first explorations of the interior follow their currents. Rivers, therefore, reflect the character of the people as they mirror in their waters the surrounding scenery.
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The history of the United States is associated with the Missis- sippi, the Ohio and James rivers. The banks of the Connecti- cut and Merrimack are eloquent of the pioneers of New Eng- land. These rivers, with their rich intervals, attracted to them the first dwellers in the wilderness; and in subsequent years their clear waters were often dyed with their blood. Says Elihu Burritt, speaking of the Connecticut : "Its scenery in itself is as picturesque and pleasing as any American river can show. If it is not so bold and grand as that of the Hudson, its pictures of beauty are hung in a softer light and longer gallery, with no blank or barren spaces between them. * *
* For nearly a hundred miles of its winding course the Connecticut hems the opposite shores of Vermont and New Hampshire with a broad seam of silver, which each state wears as a fringe of light to its green and graceful border."
The Merrimack river is formed by the confluence of the Pem- igewasset and Winnipiseogee rivers, at Franklin. The source of the Pemigewasset is Profile Lake, in the Franconia moun- tains. The Franconia Notch is a defile of about five miles in length and half a mile in width, between Lafayette and Mount Cannon. It contains, probably, as many objects of interest to travelers as any other mountain pass in the world. The most attractive object in this natural museum of curiosities is the "Great Stone Face" or "Old Man of the Mountain," which like a lone sentinel keeps perpetual watch and ward over the "un- sunned treasures" which nature has buried beneath the rocky ramparts that surround him. Here the hand of God sculptured this antetype of the human countenance, ages before he created man of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life. Oh! if the stony lips of this changeless form could be made vocal, its history would be worth more to the world than all the discoveries that "proud science " has made, or all the theories that "old philosophy " has invented. Fifteen hundred
feet below those jutting rocks that form the profile of "the Old Man of the Mountain," nestles a beautiful and picturesque little lake, which is the source of the Pemigewasset river, which plunges over rocky precipices and hurries through smiling mead- ows, descending more than sixteen hundred feet, till it joins the Winnipiseogee river at Franklin; and then under the new name of Merrimack, rolls quietly on to turn the wheels and spindles of Manchester, Lawrence and Lowell, and thus give employ- ment and bread to thousands of operatives. This river drains nearly four tenths of the whole area of New Hampshire. It passes through the central portion of the state; and in relation to agriculture and manufactures, is perhaps the most important river of New Hampshire. It leaves the state at the southeast
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corner of Hudson, and, bending to the northeast, flows into the Atlantic, in a channel three miles south of the southern boundary of Rockingham County. Its entire length is about one hundred and fifty-four miles. The following streams flow into it : Baker's river at Plymouth ; Newfound river at Bristol ; Smith's river at Bristol ; Webster Lake brook at Franklin ; Contoocook, the larg- est tributary in New Hampshire, at Fisherville* ; Piscataquog at Manchester ; Souhegan at Merrimack ; Nashua river at Nashua ; East Branch at Woodstock; Mad river at Campton ; Beebe river at Campton ; Squam river at Ashland ; Winnipiseogee river at Franklin; Soucook river at Pembroke; Suncook river at Allenstown ; Brown's brook at Hooksett; Cohas brook at Man- chester ; Beaver brook at Dracut, Mass. ; Spiggot river at Law- rence, Mass. ; and Powwow river at Amesbury.f
The Merrimack is one of the most remarkable rivers of New Hampshire, both for its beautiful scenery and its abundant water power. "It is said to contain double the available power of all the rivers of France. It turns more spindles, in addition to a vast amount of other machinery, than any other river on the face of the globe." Still the greater portion of its waters is un- employed.
The Salmon Falls river and the Cocheco unite at Dover to form the Piscataqua. The Salmon Falls river and the Piscata- qua, throughout their entire course, form a portion of the east- ern boundary of the state. The Piscataqua is a short river,
* NOTE .- On the 17th of June, 1874, a monument was ereeted, with due ceremonies, on Duston Island, at the mouth of Contooeook river, Concord, N. H., to the memory of Han- nah Duston, whose wonderful exploits are deseribed as follows :
"On the 15th of March, 1697, the Indians made a deseent on the town of Haverhill, Mass., killed twenty-seven of the inhabitants, burned nine dwellings, and took Mrs. Hannah Duston, her babe only six days old, her nurse, Mary Neff, and eight or nine other prisoners, and car- ried them all into New Hampshire, exeepting the infant, who was killed by having its head dashed against a tree. After fifteen days of fearful suffering, especially on the part of Mrs. Duston, who was taken from ehild-bed, the Indians and part of their eaptives arrived at the Island at the junetion of the Contoocook and Merrimack rivers. Mrs. Duston, Mary Neff, and an English boy named Samuel Leonardson, who had been captured at Worcester, were assigned to the care of two Indian men and three women, who had seven ehildren, mostly half-grown Indians, with them. Mrs. Duston and her nurse were told by their convoy that they would have to run the gauntlet through their village when they arrived there, and that they must be deprived of most of their clothing. Mrs. Duston, aware of the horrible tortures this threat included, formed the design of exterminating her eaptors, old and young, and managed to prevail on her nurse and the boy to assist her in their clestruetion. A little before daylight, on the 30th of March, finding the Indians asleep around their fire, Mrs. Duston and her associates armed themselves with their tomahawks, and despatehed ten of the twelve. One woman, who had been believed to be killed made her eseape, and one of the Indian youths Mrs. Duston and her associates designedly left unharmed. They then scalped the dead, took one of the tomahawks and a gun belonging to the Indians, crossed the river in a canoe and made their escape. After enduring great hardships from want of food, and run- ning much risk from meeting with Indians, the fugitives arrived at Boston with their scalps and their booty on the 21st day of April. The general court was in session at the time, and voted Mrs. Duston fifty pounds in sterling money, and a similar sum to be divided between her nurse and the boy Leonardson. Presents were sent them from many quarters; among other givers was the governor of Maryland. Forty years afterward, in appreciation of the act of Mrs. Duston, the colonial legislature voted eertain valuable lands to her deseendants, in testimony of their appreciation of her wonderful bravery."
t Many faets in the chapters descriptive of rivers, climate and scenery have been compiled with the author's consent, from Prof. Hitchcock's Geology of New Hampshire.
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which, with its tributaries, drains only about one eleventh of the state ; but it is deemed of priceless value to the state on account of the excellent harbor, safe, broad and deep, which is formed by its banks as it enters the Atlantic Ocean. The tide flows to Dover and South Berwick. Between the towns of Durham, Greenland and Newington, there is an immense tidal basin which receives the waters of several rivers. The area of this estuary, including Great and Little Bays, is about nine square miles. Bellamy river at Dover, Oyster river at Durham, Lamprey river at Newmarket, and Exeter river at South Newmarket, flow into Great Bay, and thus indirectly increase the current of the Piscat- aqua and prevent the harbor from freezing in the winter. The Cocheco and Salmon Falls rivers rise near the southern extrem- ity of Lake Winnipiseogee ; and the ponds that feed them have nearly the same altitude as that lake, which is five hundred feet above the sea.
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