USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Incidents in White Mountain history, together with many interesting anecdotes illustrating life in the backwoods > Part 15
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boats with game from its well-stocked shores, and, reaching at last the pond; could shoulder their canoes, and, ere the long " file" should be formed, their chief would be in his wigwam. The distance between the pond and their settle- ment was called a " carrying-place."
It seems that, at the time of which we write, Paugus, with eighty of his men, had been scouting down the river, and had arrived, on the Saturday morning above referred to, at their landing-place on the pond.
This Saturday morning had dawned none too soon for the excited men of Lovewell. All night they had listened through the dense darkness to the distant barking of the dogs and the silent creeping of the Indians, till they grew eager for the light. Breakfasting, they were assembled upon the beach for their accustomed morning devotion.
" Then were men of worth, Who by their prayers slew thousands, angel like."
And their chaplain had scarcely uttered the significant words, " We came out to meet the enemy ; we have all along prayed God we might find them. We had rather trust Providence with our lives, yea, die for our country, than try to return without seeing them, if we might, and be called cowards for our pains," when a gun was fired, and they espied an Indian on a point of land that ran into the pond on the opposite side from them. A hurried consultation was held, and they con- cluded that the design of the gun and the Indian discov- ering himself was to draw them that way; but that the main body of the enemy was to the north of the pond. Clamoring now eagerly to be led forward, the " Captain readily complied, though not without manifesting some ap- prehensions." Their march lay along the margin of the
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pond, just glistening in the first rays of the rising sun. Near the north-western shore they crossed the Indians' " carrying-place." At the north-east end of the pond the land rises very gradually to a slight elevation, and then falls off again to the north into a thickly-wooded morass, covered with high brakes. Here, on this slightly elevated plain, where the trees were thin and the brakes small, they divested themselves of their packs, and commenced a more cautious march. They had gone but a short distance, when " Ensign Wyman discovered an Indian, who was out hunting, having in one hand some fowls he had just killed, and in the other two guns .?? Immediately a signal was given, and they all " squatted." He came unsuspectingly towards them, and, when near enough, "several guns were fired at him, but missed him. Seeing that sure death was his lot, this valiant Indian resolved to defend himself to his last breath ; and the action was as speedy as the thought. His gun was levelled at the English, and Lovewell was mortally wounded. En- sign Wyman, taking deliberate aim, killed the poor Indian.". Mr. Samuel Whitney was also wounded by the shot of the Indian. The operation of scalping the Indian was performed by the chaplain, Mr. Frye, and another man. From this point they commenced their return to where they had left their packs. Paugus, as we have said, had arrived with his warriors at their landing-place on the shores of the pond ; and scarcely had Lovewell crossed the " carrying-place," in search of his foe, when the wily sachem, pursuing the well- beaten path to his village, came upon signs of the white man's moccasons. Instantly, the long "file" was hushed, and,
" With a slow and noiseless footstep,"
they followed the track. Coming upon the packs, they were
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counted, and the number of the whites was known. Adopt- ing their usual mode of warfare, they instantly sprang into the morass as an ambush. Thus concealed, they could bring their whole force to bear in an instant upon the whites, and, by the celerity of the movement, could so surprise them as to cause them to surrender at once. This undoubtedly was the thought of Paugus. Scarcely had the last brake ceased to move above the crouching forms of the Indians, when Lovewell and his men came up, and commenced searching for their packs. Now is the time; and, springing from the thicket, with a horrid yell, the savages fired their guns directly over the heads of the whites, and ran towards them with ropes, demanding if they would have quarter.
" Only at the muzzles of their guns," replied the intrepid Lovewell and his men, and the fight commenced.
" Wild and more wild the tumult grew Amid the crazed, demoniac crew ; Knives flashed, and man to man opposed."
Lovewell and his party, seizing the advantage, "rushed towards the Indians, fired as they pressed on, and, killing many, drove them several rods." But they soon rallied, and, maddened by the unexpected resistance, rushed furiously on, killing nine, and wounding three with their first fire. Cap- tain Lovewell, Mr. Fullam (only son of Major Fullam, of Weston), Ensign Harwood, John Jefts, Jonathan Kittridge, Daniel Woods, and Josiah Davis, were killed, and Lieuten- ants Farwell and Robbins, and Robert Usher, wounded by the assault. The English, thus in number reduced, and see- ing the Indians about to surround them, commenced to retreat. It was done in good order, fighting bravely all the way, and manfully contesting each inch of ground. Directly
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back of them was a point of rocks which ran into the pond, and a few large pine trees standing on a sandy beach. Here they came to a stand. On their right was the mouth of a large brook, at this time unfordable ; on their left, this sharp ridge of rocks, while the pond guarded them in the rear. Here " the fight continued, very furious and obstinate, till towards night ; the Indians roaring, and yelling, and howl- ing like wolves, barking like dogs, and making all sorts of hideous noises ; the English frequently shouting and huz- zaing, as they did after the first round." Thus they fought from ten in the morning "till the going down of the sun, and till but nine of their company remained uninjured. Wahwa could lead but twenty Indians uninjured from the field; and, though they had the advantage, at sunset they fled, leaving the dead unburied. Paugus, the brave chief, had been slain, and thirty-nine of his bold followers had been killed and wounded. Paugus had been killed in single combat, by one Chamberlain, of Groton. Wearied by the protracted contest, each had come to opposite sides of the brook to quench their thirst and wash their guns, which had become foul by so frequent firing. Their guns could almost touch, so narrow was the space between them. As they washed their guns, conversing familiarly with each other, Chamberlain assured Paugus that he should kill him. Pau- gus returned the threat, and bade him defiance. Carefully drying their guns, they commenced loading at the same time. Their movements exactly corresponded, and the balls of each were heard as they were sent home by the rods at the same instant. But the gun of Chamberlain primed itself, and Paugus' did not. Striking the breech upon the ground, it primed, and, raising it with deliberate aim, he fired, and Paugus fell dead upon the bank, and, as he fell, the well-
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aimed ball from his rifle passed through the thick locks on the top of Chamberlain's head, but left him unwounded.
About midnight, it being certain the Indians would not renew the contest, the shattered remnant of the brave English assembled themselves together to examine into their situation. Nine of their company, including their captain, were dead. Three were unable to move on account of their wounds ; eleven, though wounded, thought themselves able to travel. Nine remained untouched.
What now should be done ? To remain in the very centre of an enemy's country, maddened by the loss of their brave chief, and destitute of all food, was impossible ; but to return, they must leave, not only their dead unburied, but their wounded companions unprotected, to die by the torture of the savages. Farrar, one of the wounded, expired during the
consultation. Robbins and Usher urged and commanded their companions to return, and leave them to their fate. " Lieutenant Robbins even desired his companions to charge his gun and leave it with him, which they did, he declaring that, 'as the Indians will come in the morning to scalp me, I will kill one more of them, if I can.' "> As the moon was rising they bade adieu to their companions, and, taking a last look of the scene of their dreadful encounter, commenced their memorable return. They had gone but a mile and a half, when four of the men, Farwell, Frye, Davis and Jones, declared themselves unable to go on; and, like the brave fellows they had already left, they were unwilling to detain the company, and desired them to proceed. Their number, now reduced to sixteen, they divided into three parties, fear- ing to make too large a track, by which the Indians might pursue them. One of these parties reached the fort at Ossi- pee, but found it deserted. "The coward, who fled in the
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beginning of the battle, ran directly to the fort, and gave the men posted there such a frightful account of what had happened, that they all fled from the fort, and made the best of their way home." The main party of eleven, leaving the Ossipee fort, continued on, and reached Dunstable, May 13th, in the night.
Let us now return to those we have left by the way. One Solomon Kies " had fought in the battle till he received three wounds, and had become so weak, by the loss of blood, that he could not stand ; he crawled up to Ensign Wyman, in the heat of the battle, and told him he was a dead man ; ' but,' said he, 'if it be possible, I will get out of the way of the Indians, that they may not get my scalp.' Kies then crept off by the side of the pond, where he providen- tially found a canoe, when he rolled himself into it, and was driven by the wind several miles towards the fort. He gained strength fast, and reached the fort as soon as the eleven before mentioned ; and they all arrived at Dunstable on the 13th of May, at night.
" On the 15th of May, Ensign Wyman and three others arrived at Dunstable. They suffered greatly for want of provisions. They informed that they were wholly destitute of all kinds of food from Saturday morning till the Wednes- day following, when they caught two mouse-squirrels, which they roasted whole, and found to be a sweet morsel. They afterwards killed some partridges and other game, and were comfortably supplied till they got home."
Farwell and Davis, Frye and Jones, whom we left but a short distance from the scene of the encounter, remained some time in the helpless condition in which they were left ; but at length, "though their wounds were putrefied and stank, and they were almost dead with famine, yet they all
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travelled on several miles together, till Mr. Frye desired the others not to stop on his account, for he found himself dying, and he laid himself down, telling them he should never rise more ; and charged Davis, if it should please God to bring him home, to go to his father, and tell him that he expected in a few hours to be in eternity, and that he was not afraid to die. They left him; and this amiable and promising young gentleman, who had the journal of the march in his pocket, was not heard of again."
He was a young man of a liberal education, who took his degree at college in 1723, and was chaplain to the company, and greatly beloved by them for his excellent performances and good behavior, and who fought with undaunted courage till he was mortally wounded. But when he could fight no longer, he prayed audibly, several times, for the preser- vation and success of the residue of the company.
Jones, being separated from his companions by some acci- dent, " traversed Saco river, and, after a fatiguing ramble, arrived at Saco (now Biddeford), emaciated, and almost dead through the loss of blood, the putrefaction of his wounds, and the want of food. He was kindly treated by the people of Saco, and recovered from his wounds."
Farwell and Davis suffered exceedingly from hunger. They were entirely destitute of provisions, and subsisted upon the spontaneous vegetables of the forest. "Lieutenant Farwell held out, on his return, till the eleventh day, during which time he had nothing to eat but water and a few roots, which he chewed; and by this time, through his body he was so mortified, that the worms made a thorough passage. On the same day, Davis, who was with him, caught a fish, which he broiled, and was greatly refreshed by it; but the lieutenant was so much spent that he could not taste a bit.
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Then, at Farwell's earnest entreaties that he would provide for his own safety, he left him to his own fate. Previous to this, he had taken Farwell's handkerchief and tied it to the top of a bush, that it might afford a mark by which his re- mains could the more easily be found. After going from him a short distance, Farwell called him back, and requested to be turned upon the other side. Davis being now alone, in a melancholy, desolate state, still made toward the fort, and the next day came to it; there he found some pork and bread, sustained by which, he was enabled to reach Berwick, and then Portsmouth, where he was carefully provided for, and had a skilful surgeon to attend him."
Thus ends the battle of Lovewell's Pond. After the fear had subsided, Colonel Tyng, with a small company, went to the place of action, and buried the dead. Paugus and a few other Indians had been buried.
Trees perforated by the balls may be seen to this day on the shore of the pond; and the older citizens of Fryburg will relate to the visitor the bloody engagement of early Pequawket with all the ardor of youth.
Standing upon the summit of Pequawket Mountain, one sees before him the pond, so peacefully glittering in the rays of the sun, near the quiet village of Fryburg. But the Indians are gone. The bold Paugus no longer raises the shrill war-whoop, starting the echoes of the hills, and Wahwa no longer leads the scout upon the beautiful windings of the Saco.
" Where is their home, - their forest home ? the proud land of their sires ? Where stands the wigwam of their pride ? where gleam their council-fires ? Where are their fathers' hallowed graves ? their friends, so light and free ?
Gone, gone, - forever from our view ! Great Spirit ! can it be ? "
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The following ballad stanzas were printed originally in the work entitled "Collections, Historical and Miscellaneous, and Monthly Literary Journal," published at Concord, N. H., and edited by J. Farmer and J. B. Moore. The author's name is not given ; but it is conjectured that they were writ- ten by a personal friend of the learned and excellent editors, who was then young and not much practised in writing, and who is said to be still living somewhere in the State of Maine :
" 'T was Paugus led the Pequot tribe : ยท As runs the fox, would Paugus run ; As howls the wild wolf, would he howl ; A huge 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.
What time the noble Lovewell came, With fifty men from Dunstable, The cruel Pequot tribe to tame, With arms and bloodshed terrible.
With Lovewell brave John Harwood came ; - From wife and babes 't was 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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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.
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 his 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.
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 hid themselves in ambush dread ; Their knives they shook, their guns they aimed -- The famous Paugus at their head.
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.
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' 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.
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.
7
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's 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,'
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Lieutenant Farwell took his hand, His arms around his neck he threw, And said, ' Brave chaplain, I could wish That Heaven had made me die for you.'
The chaplain on kind Farwell's breast, Bloody and languishing, he fell ; Nor after that said more but this, ' I love thee, soldier ; fare thee well !'
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.
' 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.
Then did the crimson streams that flowed Seem like the waters of a brook, That brightly shine, that loudly dash Far down the cliffs of Agiochook.
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 low 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.' " 19*
CHAPTER XVI.
GILEAD.
SITUATION OF GILEAD. - SOIL. - WILD RIVER. - EARLY SETTLERS. - MINIS- TERS. - FIRST CHURCH. - SLIDE. - BEARS. - ENCOUNTER OF ONE BEAN. - YORK'S WARM RECEPTION BY A BEAR. - OLIVER PEABODY'S LOOSE OX. - FAMINE AMONG BEARS. - BEAR AND HOG STORY. - HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.
" My wife ! my wife ! What wife ? I have no wife ; O, insupportable ! O, heavy hour ! Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse Of sun and moon."
GILEAD, formerly called Peabody's Patent, took its name from a great Balm of Gilead tree, still standing near the centre of the town. It lies on both sides of the Androscog- gin river, which runs through its entire length from east to west, the town being six miles long, and three wide. On the borders of this river is some of the best land in the region, producing very bountiful crops. One farm, some years since, under the cultivation of a very skilful, indus- trious farmer, when a premium was offered by the State of Maine for the best crop of wheat on a given portion of land, secured the premium. Large crops of corn and potatoes have been raised on it. Some of the former have equalled one hundred bushels to the acre. The more usual crop is from forty to sixty bushels. Potatoes have gone up as high
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as one thousand six hundred bushels to the acre; and one man, for a number of years in succession, raised one thou- sand five hundred bushels to the acre.
The town is so situated as to escape almost entirely the early frosts of autumn. Ranges of high mountains bound the valley in which it is situated, completely shutting it in on the east and west. A continual current of air is thus formed, preserving the crops in the valley and on the hill- sides, while the frost is busily at work in the adjoining towns. Shaggy and rude in the extreme are the mountains which so completely wall in this fertile valley. One has remarked that " the expense of transportation of fuel down the mountains, in a slippery time, is very trifling."
Wild river, one of those impetuous mountain streams, empties into the Androscoggin in this town. "It is a child of the mountains ; at times fierce, impetuous and shadowy, as the storms that howl around the bald heads of its parents, and bearing down everything that comes in its path ; then again, when subdued by long summer calms, murmuring gently in consonance with the breezy rustle of the trees, whose branches depend over it. An hour's time may swell it into a headlong torrent ; an hour may reduce it to a brook that a child might ford without fear."
This town was settled about the time Shelburne was, whose brief history we have just given. The settlers came generally from Massachusetts and the southern part of New Hampshire. They were Thomas Peabody, Capt. Joseph Lary, Isaac Adams, Eliphalet Chapman, Capt. Eliphalet Burbank, George Burbank, Ephraim and Seth Wight, John Mason, Stephen Coffin, and Samuel Wheeler. After this soon came Phineas Kimball, Henry Philbrook, Peter Coffin, and Joseph Lary, jr. These were all exemplary good men,
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giving a character of energy to the place. They regarded religious institutions, and helped sustain them by their prop- erty and example. They were a church-going people, always attending the worship of God on the Sabbath.
From the earliest time of its settlement it has enjoyed more or less steadily the preaching of the gospel. Before any Christian church was planted in it, it had a succession of missionaries, sent from different sources, who were instru- mental of great religious benefit to the people. Among these were the Rev. Jotham Sewall, or, as he is often called, "Father Sewall," and the Rev. Samuel Hidden, of Tam- worth.
In 1818, a Congregational church was formed, consisting of Melvin Farwell and wife, Abraham Burbank and wife, Widow Susannah Burbank, Betsey Philbrook, John Mason, jr., H. Ingalls, Rhoda Styles, Mary Peabody, and Ephraim and Seth Wight. This church, sometimes through its own efforts, and sometimes in connection with Shelburne, has had preaching most of the time since its formation. Its regularly settled pastors have been Rev. Henry White, and Rev. Henry Richardson. Besides those, Rev. Daniel Goodhue and others have been supplies for different portions of time. There is a Methodist church, also, which has been instru- mental of great religious and moral benefit to the place.
During the terrible storm of 1826, when my brother's family was destroyed at the Notch, slides also took place on many of the mountains around this town. From Picked Hill came rushing down thousands of tons of earth, and rocks, and trees, and water, destroying all that lay in their path. No lives were lost, but the consternation of the inhabitants was great. The darkness was so intense as almost to be felt. The vivid lightnings and long streams of
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fire, covering the sides of the mountains, caused by the con- cussion of the rocks, only served to make the darkness more visible. Amid the deluge of rain, the terrific crashings of the thunder, and, over all, the deafening roar of the descend- ing slides, it was impossible to make one's self heard. The valley rocked as though an earthquake was shaking the earth. The frightful scene did not last long; but, during its continuance, more terror was crowded into it than during an ordinary lifetime. The inhabitants under these moun- tains alone can appreciate the awful scene through which my brother and his family passed on that terrible night.
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