USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Incidents in White mountain history, fourth > Part 14
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The Indians had the start of them more than twelve hours ; how they had employed these hours may be learned from Segar's Narrative.
By the aid of Sabatis, who could track them where the whites could see no traces whate ur, the party followed the Indians, till, coming to a rocky b 11, even old Sabatis was at fault. "Me find um quick," s ! the Indian, and struck
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round the hill. Here they met Clark, whom the Indians had permitted to return, on condition that he should stop any party of whites who might pursue them, by representing the determination of the Indians to kill the prisoners as soon as they should find any party in pursuit.
But the men would not be persuaded ; their blood was up, and, though Clark told them they could not reach the In- dians till every prisoner was slain, they would not yield.
The party, old Sabatis having found the track, pushed on. They soon found the piece of spruce bark pegged on to a hemlock tree, to which Segar has thus referred :
" Here an Indian pulled off some spruce bark, untied my hands, and told me to write that, if ever we were overtaken by Americans, they, the Indians, would kill the prisoners. This bark he stuck on a tree, and then bound my hands again."
Still, Captain Farrington was for passing on, but at length yielded to the unanimous voice of the men, who voted to return. " We came back," says one of the company, " bur- ied poor Pettingill, staid over night at Bethel, and the next day returned to Fryburg."
What a truly heroic expedition, when we consider the cir- cumstances ! A little settlement, less than twenty years of age, fifty miles in the forest, that had already spared the flower of its strength for the army, gathers, in less than half a day's notice, a corps of thirty men. This little band plunges into the woods at nightfall, and, after a hard night's march, follows the trail of a wily, savage foe, that has marked his track with devastation and blood, and are per- suaded to give up the pursuit only when convinced that it will be an injury rather than a benefit to those whom they would succor.
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" In November, 1791, a grammar-school was established in Fryburg, which, in February, 1792, was incorporated with academic privileges, and endowed by the legislature of the commonwealth of Massachusetts with twelve thousand acres of land. By the vigilance and instrumentality of the trustees, these lands have become productive, and the funds thus arising secured, in most instances, according to human calculation, beyond a possibility of failure, including the tuition of the students, give an annual interest of nine hundred dollars."
The first building was but little larger, or of much higher finish, than the ordinary school-houses of the times. After that, a more costly, spacious, and fitting structure was reared. This stood quite a long season, but at length, some ten years ago, was burnt down. Near the spot where this stood there is now a building, reared at great expense, not inferior in any respect to its predecessor, perhaps superior on the whole, which we hope will remain for a long time to come the light and ornament of the place where it stands.
The first preceptor of Fryburg Academy was Paul Lang- don, son of Doctor Samuel Langdon, once president of Harvard University. He was a good scholar, and graduated with the highest honors of that ancient and learned institu- tion. Few ever left it leaving behind them a higher reputation for intellect and mental acquirements. He bid fair to mark a brilliant course in life. But things that promise most in the outset do not always succeed best in the end. The destroyer often lingers around the fairest flower in our gardens. It was so in his case. The habit of drink- ing freely intoxicating drinks, formed in early life, darkened his worldly prospects, and checked his opening career of greatness. This was his easily-besetting sin, beguiling him
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in his professional course, and one but for which he might have filled as splendid a page in history as any other man.
Soon after leaving college he was induced to go and take charge of Fryburg Academy, his friends hoping, by remov- ing him from the temptations of Portsmouth to such a quiet retreat as Fryburg, to break up this habit. But he disap- pointed them. He found rum in Fryburg, as he had in Portsmouth and Cambridge, and drank it. This rendered him unfit, at times especially, for the proper management of his school. The trustees of the Academy for a long time bore with him, and sought to save him by counsel and admo- nition ; but all to no purpose. At length, after many trials, when forbearance ceased to be a virtue, they discharged him. After this he occasionally taught public town-schools in the vicinity of Fryburg. He was employed on condition that he should drink only a certain quantity of spirits per day. This was dealt out to him by his employers, and he assented to it all cheerfully. He was willing to be in the hands of others, knowing that he was not capable of governing him- self. It was in one of these schools that I first became acquainted with him, and acquired all the knowledge of him, by personal intercourse, I ever had. I never saw him after that school closed; but, during that school, I acquired impressions of him, as a teacher and a man, such as time never can efface. These were all of the happiest character. Even his occasionally leaning to folly cannot essentially darken them, more especially because he never justified him- self in any errings from this source, but always lamented them. His manner and spirit as an instructor were such as to make almost every one admire him. Many times, as he has stood over me while reciting some lessons, have I felt the magic of his tone and action. His deep, earnest breathing I can
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now seem almost to hear. His long fore-finger, he used to say, humorously, had a good deal of Latin and Greek in it ; and the manner he used it certainly gave force to the remark. It did seem to me that the presence of that fore-finger aided me in my recitations.
Mr. Langdon, through most of his life, with a large fam- ily on his hands, struggled hard with poverty. At length his sons grew up, and, going into successful business, fur- nished him with a plentiful home in the state of New York. Thither he removed from Fryburg, near the close of his life, reforming entirely his habit of drinking; and, professing religion, he died, after a few years, under. its inspiring con- solations.
Daniel Webster succeeded him in the Academy, though not immediately, where he taught nine months. Of him we need say but little here, as the world is full of his fame. That little shall be that, comparatively, his success as a teacher was much inferior to that in the law and in the forum. He was eminent in the latter sphere, but just re- spectable in the former. If he had pursued the business of instructing, and made it the main occupation of his life, we should probably never have heard of him much beyond the precincts of the school-room.
Amos J. Cook was his successor. He continued in the place of preceptor for years. Under his care the Academy grew in reputation and numbers; it drew in scholars from a wide circle of towns. When we first entered it, fifty years ago, there were scholars in it from all the larger towns on the nearest seaboard.
Mr. Cook was a good man. Some prize smart men very much ; they think it a great thing to say of a man, he is shrewd in his movements. And, indeed, these are not unim-
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portant qualities in a person. But, if we must make distinc- tions in the traits of a man's character, or give prominence to any of them, let it be one of a moral, solid nature. If the question be, Shall we look mercly for smartness or good- ness in a man ? we say, give us goodness. Now, Mr. Cook was not at all deficient in proper smartness or intellect; he had enough of these to make him a good teacher. The dis- tinguishing thing about him, however, was goodness ; we do not say perfection of character, - one entirely free from moral infirmity or weakness, - but prevailing conformance to the rules of moral rectitude in conduct and feeling. He always carried about with him an apparent deep regard for what was due to God and his fellows. We never saw him . but when reverence to the one and kindness to the others were clearly marked on his face; and we never heard any- thing of him but what indicated a deeply kind and forgiving disposition of soul.
In October, 1774, the Rev. William Fessenden was invited to settle in the town; the invitation was accepted, and, in October, 1775, he was ordained to the work of the ministry. This good man, says a correspondent, continued for many years in a happy union with his people. When he became the minister of Fryburg the town was new, with but few inhabitants, and the most of these in indigent circumstances. The sum agreed upon as a compensation for his services was small - less, I think, than two hundred dollars per annum ; and this pittance, in consequence of the poverty incident to the people of a new settlement, was never promptly or fully paid. With a young and increasing family depending upon him for food and raiment, the first years of his ministry were years of severe toil, hardship, and privation. He cleared and cultivated a little farm, and studied his sermons, as best
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he could, while his hands were employed in procuring means of subsistence for his household, and in hours which should have been given to sleep. His library at this time was small indeed, consisting of the Bible, and perhaps a volume or two of theology and history. I think it might all have been carried in a common-sized satchel.
. The book of Inspiration he daily and carefully studied, and from it learned his theology, and drew most of the argu- ments and illustrations which he used to establish and elu- cidate the truths which he inculcated in his public discourses, As a speaker, his manner was dignified and graceful, his voice clear, commanding, and musical.
He was courageous, energetic, and persevering. I think the most prominent traits of his character were benevolence, integrity, and frankness. He was generous almost to a fault. He ever kept open doors, and always bade a hearty welcome to all the hospitalities he was able to furnish ; not merely to acquaintances and friends, but to the stranger and passing traveller, and all who sought a temporary asylum under his roof.
"The long-remembered beggar was his guest, Whose beard, descending, swept his aged breast ; The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, Sat by his fire and talked the night away."
Our Sunday school libraries contain the life of a little girl, daughter of the present minister of Fryburg, and a native of this town. Marion Lyle Hurd is the most won- derful instance of precocious development on record. Though but four years and twenty-one days old when she died, her conversation and deportment were more like that of one four- teen, than one so young. The books of her library were the following, as given by her father, near the commencement of
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her fourth year. "They were a Bible and Testament, Child's Book on Repentance, Life of Moses, Family Hymns, Union Hymns, Daily Food, Lessons for Sabbath Schools, Henry Milner, Watts' Divine Songs, Nathan W. Dicker- man, Todd's Lectures to Children, and Pilgrim's Progress." These, with her various other books, were kept during the day in one part of the room in which she slept, and in the midst of them she passed hours daily ; and at night she would carefully gather them up in her boxes, and place them beside her bed.
She began to compare ideas in her mind obtained from her reading; to exercise the reasoning faculties, and to make inferences ; and often did her countenance indicate a reflect- ing and thoughtful state of mind. Sometimes it was said to her, "Tell me of what you are thinking." Once, observing her in this state of mind, the question was put, " Marion, what are you thinking about ? "
"I am thinking," she said, "whether the angels have wings ! "
" Well, what do you think of it ?"
"I think they have; for Apollyon, who fought with Christian, had wings; and, if wicked angels have wings to do hurt with, good ones must have, to do good with."
Passages innumerable might be quoted, showing her re- markable maturity ; but one more must suffice.
Her reading and love of poetry, probably, led Marion to attempt clothing her own thoughts in a kind of poetic dress. This she began to do. Sometimes, at the table, she would utter one or two lines, and then, covering her face, would say,
" John is laughing at me."
This she could not endure. Very frequently the other children would say to us
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"Hark ! hark ! hear Marion's rhymes."
Some of these are still remembered; and, to show the operations of her mind, and the mental efforts she was putting forth during the last month of her life, we give you an ex- ample or two.
Marion, at times, anticipated the return of summer, when she could go out and gather flowers, and wished that the winter was over, asking how long before the spring and the birds would come. On one of these occasions she said :
" By and by the spring will come, And flowers again will bloom ; To the woods and fields I'll run, And gather flowers till noon."
The following was addressed to her doll :
" My darling little miss, How good you 've been to-day ; I'll give you a sweet good kiss, And lay you snug away."
Reference has been made to the strong attachment Marion felt toward those little girls who were her companions at school; and to be separated so much from their society, as she necessarily was in winter, was a painful sacrifice to her feelings. Often, the last winter, would she amuse herself by weaving their names into rhyme ; and, in her way, sing- ing them over, as she was engaged among her books and playthings. The following are productions of this kind :
" Anna, Sarah, Abby, And dear Louisa too ; Who have been in to-day, To ask me how I do ;
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I send my love to you, This cold and wintry day ; 'Tis faithful love and true, 'T will never die away.
For you I make this song ; With me to school you went ; And fast we ran along, - On learning we were bent.
I've pretty things to see, And many things to say ; So come and visit me When mothers come to pray !"
CHAPTER XV.
LOVEWELL'S FIGHT.
VIEW FROM PEQUAWKET MOUNTAIN. - LOVEWELL'S POND. - SUFFERINGS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS IN DUNSTABLE. - EXPEDITION TO WINNIPIS- EOGEE LAKE. - EXPEDITION OF LOVEWELL TO PEQUAWKET. - HIS COM- PANY. - ENCAMPMENT ON THE SHORE OF THE POND. - SITUATION OF THE INDIAN VILLAGE. - " CARRYING-PLACE." - DISCOVERY OF THE FIRST INDIAN. - KILL THE INDIAN. - THE BATTLE. - RETREAT OF LOVEWELL'S MEN. - CHAMBERLAIN AND PAUGUS. - COUNCIL AT NIGHT. - RETREAT. - ENSIGN WYMAN AND COMPANIONS. - MR. FRYE. - JONES. - FARWELL AND . DAVIS. - TRACES OF THE BATTLE. - THE OLD BALLAD.
" Nor, Lovewell, was thy memory forgot, Who through the trackless wild thy heroes led,
Death and the dreadful torture heeding not, Mightst thou thy heart-blood for thy country shed, And serve her living, honor her when dead.
O, Lovewell ! Lovewell ! nature's self shall die, And o'er her ashes be her requiem said, Before New Hampshire pass thy story by, Without a note of praise, without a pitying eye."
STANDING upon the summit of Pequawket Mountain, one beholds in the south-east, and apparently but a short distance from the base of the mountain, the beautiful village of Fry- burg, encircled by the circuitous windings of the Saco. Directly beyond, and in the immediate neighborhood of the
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village, lies Lovewell's Pond, the scene of one of the bloodiest combats in the Indian history of New England.
It is a small pond, embosomed amid slightly elevated hills, and with thickly wooded shores. It contains two or three islands, and the quiet stillness of its waters but little reminds you of the terrible encounter which once took place upon its borders.
Throughout the year 1724 the Indians had been more than commonly bold and savage. The more exposed settle- ments were in constant alarm and excitement, from their almost daily depredations and barbarous massacres. The Massachusetts General Court, startled by the sad reports which were continually being brought to them, had passed a bill, offering a bounty of £100 for every Indian's scalp.
Dunstable, one of the border towns of Massachusetts, was much exposed, and had suffered greatly from the attacks of the Indians. In September of this year, the Indians had carried away two men, and killed nine of the ten men who had gone out in search of the missing ones. Farwell, who afterward accompanied Lovewell on his expedition to Fry- burg, was the only one of his company of ten who escaped with his life. Among the numerous expeditions from this town, those commanded by one Captain John Lovewell seem to be the most successful.
" In December," succeeding the September above, "he made an expedition, with a few followers, to the north-east of Winnipiseogee Lake, in which he killed one, and took another prisoner. For these he received the bounty offered by govern- inent." But the most important excursion that Lovewell made, previous to the one to Fryburg, in which he was killed, was that to the head of Salmon Falls river, now Wakefield, in New Hampshire, in February, 1725. Of
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this, Drake says : "With forty men, he came upon a small company of ten Indians, who were asleep by their fires, and, by stationing his men advantageously, he killed all of them. This bloody deed was performed near the shore of a pond, which has ever since borne the name of Lovewell's Pond. After taking off their scalps, these forty warriors marched to Boston in great triumph, with the ten scalps extended upon hoops displayed in the Indian manner, for which they re- ceived £1000. . This exploit was the more lauded, as it was supposed that these ten Indians were upon an expedition against the English upon the frontiers; having new guns, much ammunition, and spare blankets and moccasons, to ac- commodate captives. This, however, was mere conjecture ; and whether they had killed friends or enemies was not quite so certain as that they had killed Indians."
The last and most memorable expedition, commanded by Captain Lovewell, left Dunstable on Friday, April 16th, 1725, to attack the Pequawket tribe at their home on the Saco. He had in his command forty-six men, volunteered from the adjoining towns. It was an arduous and perilous undertaking ; and it has been truly remarked by an old writer, that " to attempt a march of more than one hundred miles into the wilderness, where not a friendly hut or civil- ized inhabitant were to be met with - where savages and wolves were 'lords of the soil' - where 'dangers prest on every side,' was a desperate adventure, reserved for the daring spirit of an intrepid Lovewell. Though he fell in the contest, he opened a road into a wide-extended country, rich in soil, healthy in climate; and pointed the way to the settlement and civilization of this pleasant and populous country."
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They proceeded up the Merrimack toward Winnipiseogee, the direction Lovewell had taken the preceding winter. They were but a short distance from Dunstable when Toby was suddenly taken sick. He was a valuable member, and could hardly be spared. To return, however, and wait his recovery, or for him to go on, were equally impossible. He was accordingly dismissed, and with great reluctance returned. At the mouth of the Contoocook river, near Duston's Island, Mr. William Cummins and a relative of his were dismissed and returned. Mr. Cummins had been wounded some time previous by the Indians, and the long and wearisome march had so inflamed the wound as to make it impossible for him to proceed. From the grounds of the powerful Pennacook, their route lay to the north-east, and the next we learn of them is on the shores of Ossipee Pond. Here Mr. Benjamin Kidder, of Nutfield, was taken sick, and they halted while they could construct a shelter for him till their return. They built a small fort for "a retreat in case of emergency, and to serve as a deposit of part of their provisions, of which they disencumbered themselves before leaving it." Here they left the doctor, a sergeant, and seven other men, to take care of Kidder. Their company was now reduced to thirty-four ; all brave men, except one, who, in the language of the Rev. Mr. Symmes, "ran from them at the beginning of the en- gagement, and sneaked back to the fort, and whose name is unworthy of being transmitted to posterity." These are the names of those brave fellows, who boldly and successfully contended with more than twice their number, viz. : -
Captain John Lovewell, Lieutenant Josiah Farwell, Lieu- tenant Jonathan Robbins, Ensign John Harwood, Sergeant Noah Johnson, Robert Usher, Samuel Whiting, all of Dun- stable. Ensign Seth Wyman, Corporal Thomas Richardson,
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Timothy Richardson, Ichabod Johnson, Josiah Johnson, all of Woburn. Eleazer Davis, Josiah Davis, Josiah Jones, David Melvin, Eleazer Melvin, Jacob Farrah, Joseph Farrah, all of Concord. Chaplain Jonathan Frye, of Andover. Sergeant Jacob Fulham, of Weston. Corporal Edward Ling- field, of Nutfield. Jonathan Kittridge, Solomon Kies, of Billerica. John Jefts, Daniel Woods, Thomas Woods, John Chamberlain, Elias Barron, Isaac Lakin, Joseph Gilson, all of Groton. Ebenezer Ayer, Abiel Aston, of Haverhill.
They were still some forty miles from the Pequawket en- campment, all the distance through an unbroken wilderness ; but, rested by their halt at Ossipee, and nerved on by the hope of soon meeting the enemy, they commenced the last stage of their lengthened march, and reached Saco pond on Thursday, May 6th, 1725. They were now in the very heart of the hunting-ground of Paugus. Traces of the powerful foe they had come out to conquer could be seen on every hand. Indeed, so near did they come in their march on Thursday to the settlement of the tribe, that the noise of the unseen village made them apprehensive they were discovered and dogged. They encamped upon the westerly side of the pond, and prepared themselves for an encounter. Thirty- four men, fifty miles from any white settlement, in the depth of an unbroken wilderness, preparing themselves to encounter a warlike enemy of hundreds ! Excited by the near vicin- ity of the Indians, and undecided what course it was best to take in attacking them, they remained at their first stopping- place from Thursday night until Saturday morning. Friday night they were much alarmed by the stealthy marching of large numbers of Indians, as they thought, in their near vicinity ; but it was very dark, and they could see nothing,
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nor make any further discovery than the hushed footsteps of these unseen foes hovering about their camp.
" No clattering hoof falls sudden and strong ; No trumpet is filled, and no bugle is blown ; No banners abroad on the wind are thrown ; No shoutings are heard, and no cheerings are given ; But they speed, like coursers whose hoofs are shod
With a silent shoe, from the loosened sod ; And away they have gone, with a motionless speed, Like demons abroad on some terrible deed. The last one has gone ; they have all disappeared ; Their dull echoed trampings no longer are heard ; For still, though they passed like no steeds of the earth, The fall of their tread gave some hollow sounds birth ; Your heart would lie still till it numbered the last, And your breath would be held till the rear horseman passed ; So swiftly, so mute, so darkly they went, Like spectres of air to the sorcerer sent, That ye felt their approach, and might guess their intent."
Leaving awhile our heroes upon the margin of the pond, it may be necessary here to speak of the tortuous windings and turnings of the Saco river at this point, and its relation to Lovewell's Pond and Fryburg village, the then head- quarters of Paugus. With a bold sweep, the Saco changes its course, near Chatauque, in Conway, New Hampshire, to the north-east, nearly at right angles with its former course. It passes in this direction Weston's Bridge, the rendezvous, as we have said, of the Indians, and, continuing on, traverses a distance of forty miles, within a space of six miles square, now north, now south, now east, now west, till it comes at last to Lovewell's Pond, only one mile and a half from Weston's Bridge. It was the choice hunting-ground, the garden of the Pequawkets. Starting from their very door, they could sweep round on its current the whole length, filling their 18*
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