USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > The history of Concord : from its first grant in 1725, to the organization of the city government in 1853, with a history of the ancient Penacooks ; the whole interspersed with numerous interesting incidents and anecdotes, down to the present period, 1885 > Part 19
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George Abbot.
Stephen Farrington,
David Barker,
, Jeremiah Dresser,
James Farnum,
Sealer of Leather,
Jeremiah Stickney.
Sealer of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot.
Treasurer,
Benjamin Rolfe.
Philip Kimball, William Walker,
Hogreeves,
George Abbot, Abraham Kimball, . Ebenezer Eastman, Jr.,
Philip Kimball, -
Field-drivers, .
William Walker, Daniel Chase.
Benjamin Abbot, William Walker, Jonathan Bradlee, Richard Hazeltine, Nathaniel Rolfe, Jeremiah Dresser, Ebenezer Virgin, Jr.
Survey'rs of Timber, Plank \ Daniel Chase, and Boards, Nathaniel Abbot.
Pound-keeper, .
Surveyor of Hemp and Flax, Nathaniel Abbot. March 20, 1739- 40.
March 2, 1740- 1.
Moderator, Ebenezer Eastman.
. Ebenezer Eastman.
Town Clerk, Benjamin Rolfe. Benjamin Rolfe, . Benjamin Rolfe,
Selectmen, Lt. John Chandler, Ebenezer Eastman.
. Ebenezer Eastman,
.
John Chandler.
Assessors,
Seleetmen.
Selectmen.
Ebenezer Eastman.
Seleetmen.
David Kimball,
Jeremialı Stickney,
Richard Hazeltine,
Fence-viewers,
Samuel Pudney. David Kimball. Edward Abbot. Benjamin Rolfe. . William Walker, Philip Kimball, Benjamin Abbot, Philip Eastman, Joseph Farnum, Jacob Shnte.
Nathaniel Abbot.
Benjamin Rolfe.
Richard Hazeltine.
Edward Abbot.
185
OFFICERS.
Constable, .
Barachias Farnum-[refusing to serve, paid his fine of £5, and Ebenezer Virgin was chosen.]
Joseph Hall.
[ James Abbot,
James Abbot,
Jeremiah Stickney,
Jeremiah Stickney,
David Kimball,
. David Kimball,
Surveyors of Highways,
Barachias Farnum, Joseph Hall,
. Joseph Hall,
David Barker,
Ebenezer Eastman.
[ Ebenezer Eastman.
Tythingmen,
~
Edward Abbot.
James Osgood, George Abbot. Benjamin Abbot, James Farnum,
Fencc-viewers,
Daniel Chase, Abiel Chandler, Isaac Foster,
Abraham Bradley, Lt. Jolın Chandler, Ebenezer Virgin, Eben'r Eastman, Jr.
Sealer of Leather,
David Kimball.
David Kimball.
Sealer of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot.
Edward Abbot.
Treasurer,
Benjamin Rolfe. John March,
William Walker,
William Walker,
Isaac Walker, Jr.,
Hogreeves,
Jacob Shinte,
David Barker,
Lot Colby.
William Walker,
James Farnum,
Field-drivers,
Jndah Trumble. John March, William Walker, Benjamin Abbot, Jeremiah Dresser, Lot Colby, Ebenezer Eastman, Jr. March 31, 1742.
March 31, 1743.
Moderator,
Ebenezer Eastman.
Ebenezer Eastman.
Town Clerk,
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe,
Benjamin Rolfe,
Selectmen,
Ebenezer Eastman, Jeremiah Stickney.
, Jeremiah Stickney.
Assessors,
Selectmen.
Selectmen.
Constable,
. George Abbot.
Daniel Chase.
Treasurer,
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe.
Collector,
George Abbot. .
Daniel Chase.
David Foster,
Abiel Chandler,
Surveyors of Highways,
-
Daniel Chase, Ebenezer Eastman.
Richard Hazeltine,
Tythingmen,
Richard Hazeltine, Isaac Walker, Jr., .
James Abbot.
Samuel Pntnec,
Abraham Colby,
Fence-viewers,
Jonathan Bradley, . Ebenezer Virgin, Abraham Colby. David Kimball.
. Jeremiah Dresser.
Sealer of Leather,
Scaler of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot.
Hogreeves,
William Walker, Nathaniel West, Judah Trumble.
. David Kimball, Edward Abbot, [ Samuel Grey, Abiel Chandler, Abraham Colbee, Judah Trumble.
. Jonathan Bradley,
Eben'r Eastman, Jr.
Ebenezer Eastman,
. Timothy Bradley, Barachias Farnum, Nathaniel Abbot, James Osgood, .
Nathaniel Abbot,
. Barachias Farnum, Philip Eastman, David Kimball.
Samuel Putnee, Joseph Eastman, James Abbot,
. Jonathan Bradley,
Barachias Farnum,
Aaron Stevens. .
Joseph Eastman, Nathaniel Rolfe,
Benjamin Rolfe.
186
RUMFORD AS A DISTRICT.
[ William Walker,
Timothy Walker, jr.,
| Daniel Chase,
. David Chandler,
Field-drivers, .
Joseph Farnum, Edward Abbot, Obadiah Eastman.
. Obadiah Eastman.
[G Nathaniel Abbot and David Kimball were chosen ( Ebenezer Eastman, " to take care that the laws relating to the preservation of " jun., and Sam'l Grey, deer be observed," &e. (do.
March 28, 1744.
March 8, 1745.
Moderator, Ebenezer Eastman.
Capt. Jno. Chandler.
Town Clerk,
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe,
Benjamin Rolfe,
Selectmen,
Barachias Farnum, Capt. John Chandler.
Jeremiah Stickney.
Assessors, .
Nathaniel Rolfe.
Ezra Carter .*
Treasurer, .
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe.
( Barachias Farnum,
Abraham Bradley,
. Edward Abbot,
Jeremiah Bradley, . Jacob Shnte, Stephen Farrington,
Philip Eastman,
Surveyors of Highways, .
James Abbot,
Jeremiah Bradley,
Edward Abbot, Philip Eastman, Ebenezer Virgin. Richard Hazeltine, David Chandler.
Abraham Colbec.
Sealer of Leather,
David Kimball.
Sealer of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot. .
. Edward Abbot.
. Daniel Chase,
Fence-viewers,
Ebenezer Eastman, Jr.,
.
Abiel Chandler,
Abiel Chandler,
Nathaniel Abbot.
Abraham Colbee. Timothy Walker, Jr., James Abbot, Jr.,
. Lot Colbee,
Field-drivers, .
Jonathan Bradley, . Jeremiah Eastman. Jonathan Bradley, Lot Colbee, .
Jeremiah Eastman,
James Abbot, jun.
Samuel Bradley,
Isaac Waldron,
Hogreeves,
Nathaniel Rix,
Sampson Colbee,
Timothy Bradley, Ebenezer Ilall.
. Philip Kimball.
March 31, 1746
March 19, 1747.
Moderator,
Capt. John Chandler.
Ebenezer Eastman.
Town Clerk,
Benjamin Rolfe. .
. Ezra Carter.
Benjamin Rolfe,
John Chandler,
Selectmen, .
Capt. John Chandler, Jeremiah Stickney. Selectmen.
Richard Hazeltine.
Assessors, .
Ezra Carter.
. Ezra Carter.
Constable, .
Benjamin Rolfe.
Benjamin Rolfe.
Edward Abbot,
Ebenezer Virgin.
Surveyors of Highways, .
Ephraim Farnum, Abraham Bradley, . Edward Abbot, Timothy Bradley, Jonathan Eastman, Jacob Shute.
* Voted, That Mr. Samuel Pudney be excused from serving as constable, and that Dr. Ezra Carter be constable.
-
Ens. Nathaniel Abbot, Joseph Hall,
. Ephraim Farnum,
Tythingmen, .
Selectmen.
Constable, .
Capt. John Chandler,
. David Kimball,
Jacob Shute.
. Joseph Eastman,
. Samuel Gray,
Ebenezer Eastman,
Treasurer,
187
OFFICERS.
Tythingmen, . . ¿ Benjamin Abbot, Scaler of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot. .
Fence-viewers,
Joseph Farnum, Philip Eastman, Aaron Stevens, . Daniel Chase.
Dea. George Abbot, Abraham Kimball, . Edward Abbot, Daniel Chase, Lt. Nathaniel Abbot, Philip Eastman, Joseph Hall, Amos Eastman. Timothy Bradley,
Field-drivers,
Nathan Stevens, Abiel Chandler, Timothy Walker, Jr.
John Pudney,
. Eben'r Eastman, jr.
Hogreeves,
Samuel Grey, Sampson Colbec, Judah Trumble. -
March 24, 1748.
Moderator, Town Clerk,
Ebenezer Eastman.
Ezra Carter.
John Chandler, Ezra Carter, John Chandler, Ezra Carter, Lt. Jere. Stickney, Ebenezer Virgin, Henry Lovejoy.
Assessors, .
Seleetmen. Ebenezer Eastman, Jr.,
. Samuel Grey.
Collector,
Ebenezer Eastman, Jr.
James Abbot, | Jeremiah Dresser,
Surveyors of Highways, .
Ebenezer Virgin, Timothy Bradley, Abraham Kimball, . Benjamin Abbot,
Dea. George Abbot,
Aaron Stevens, Jacob Shute, Amos Eastman.
Tythingmen,
Daniel Chase, James Abbot. Joseph Eastman, Ephraim Farnum, Lot Colbee, Amos Eastman. Jeremiah Dresser,
Fence-viewers,
Field-drivers, .
Amos Abbot, Sampson Colbee. Sealer of Weights and Meas. Edward Abbot. Jeremiah Eastman, Hogreeves, William Walker. Ebenezer Hall.
* About this time the rights and privileges guaranteed by the District Act ceased, and Rum- ford, already involved in controversy with the proprietors of Bow, was destitute of govern- ment. There is a chasm in the records till 1765.
Daniel Chase, .
Samnel Grey,
Lot Colbee, Amos Abbot,
Samuel Grey, Ens. Jos. Eastman. March 29, 1749 .*
Selectmen,
Ezra Carter, Capt. John Chandler, Richard Hazeltine. .
-
Constable, .
CHAPTER VI.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, IN WHICH THE INHABITANTS OF RUMFORD TOOK AN ACTIVE PART."
BY what was called the "Treaty of Aix la Chapelle," in 1748, between France and England, there was a suspension of hostil- ities for a few years. The border towns, however, were con- stantly exposed to Indian depredations and massacres. Hence garrisons were kept up, and the people continued to go out, armed, in companies, to their work in the fields. The war, however, between France and England was renewed in 1754, and continued till 1762.
This long, bloody and savage war, which involved England and her colonies on the one side, and France, with her Indian allies on the other, arose out of unsettled boundaries .;
In these wars New-Hampshire bore a conspicuous part, and Rumford contributed her full share of men and means. The New-Hampshire troops were distinguished above most others for bold and daring enterprise, hardihood, expertness in shooting, and especially for their knowledge in all the arts of Indian war- fare. They were, therefore, for the most part employed as
* See Documentary and Statistical Chapter.
¡ " By the construction of charters and grants from the crown of England, her colonies extended indefinitely westward from the Atlantic coast. The French, however, had settle- ments in Canada and Louisiana, and they meditated to join these distant colonies by a chain of forts and posts, from the river St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, and to extend the limits of Canada as far eastward as to command navigation in the winter, when the St. Lawrence is impassable. These claims of territory, extending, on the one part, from east to west, and, on the other, from north to south, necessarily interfered."-Belknap.
189
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
rangers and scouts-to lay in ambush -to make sudden attacks upon the enemy - to clear roads through woods, and, in short, to perform all the most difficult and dangerous services. Many of them were rangers under those fearless leaders, ROBERT ROGERS, JOHN STARK and WILLIAM STARK. Others were in more regular service under the command of Col. Joseph Blan- chard, of Dunstable, and Col. Nathaniel Meserve, of Portsmouth. Soldiers from Rumford were in the first expedition to Crown Point in 1755 ; at Fort Edward, and in the terrible scene at Fort William Henry, in 1757. Some of them were also with General Amherst, under the command of Colonel Zaccheus Lovewell, at the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in 1759, and shared in the glory of the victory at Quebec, when the brave General Wolfe was slain .*
Great pains have been taken to ascertain the names of all the soldiers from Rumford, engaged in the French and Indian wars, from 1754 till the peace in 1762. From the different muster rolls, found in the office of the Secretary of State, and from other sources, we have been able to collect the following.
1754.
In September, 1754, Capt. John Chandler had command of a company of nine men, " in His Majesty's service," for eight days only, viz. : from the 8th to the 17th of September. Probably they were engaged in a scouting service in the neighboring towns. The men were :
John Chandler, Captain, (charge,) .
2 10
Obadiah Maxfield, sentinel,
0
15 8
Phineas Virgin, do., 0 15 8
Moses Eastman, do., . 0 15 S
* In regard to the geographical position of the several places above mentioned, it may be noted, that (1.) Crown Point was at the southern extremity of Lake Champlain ; (2.) Ti- conderoga, near the junction of Lake George with Lake Champlain, and about ten miles south of Crown Point ; (3.) Fort William Henry was at the southern end of Lake George ; (4.) Fort Edward was about fifteen miles southeast of Fort William Henry, near the head waters of the Hudson river. (5.) St. Francis Village, where a terrible fight took place, 1759, between the Rangers, under Rogers, and the Indians, was on the river St. Francis, near the Thousand Isles in the river St. Lawrence, and some thirty or forty miles from the head waters of the Connecticut river.
In 1759, the troops from New-Hampshire cut almost a straight road from Charlestown No. Four to Ticonderoga.
190
HISTORY OF RUMFORD.
Edward Abbot, jun., sentinel, 0
15
S
Jacob Potter, do.,
0
15 8
David Kimball, do., .
0
15 8
John Hoyt, do.,
0
15 8
Jonathan Fifield,
do.,
0 15 S
Thomas Merrill,
do.,
0
15
8
-
8
3
10
" For subsisting the above men, at 1s. 3d. per day, £5 0
0
" For furnishing ammunition,
0 7 6
13 11 4"
Which account was allowed and paid by the General Court of New-Hampshire, February 24, 1756 .*
1755.
In 1755 Capt. Joseph Eastman, third son of Capt. Ebenezer Eastman, had command of a company of sixty-five men in Col. Joseph Blanchard's regiment, which was raised for the expedi- tion against Crown Point .; This company was ordered to pro- ceed to the Coos country, toward the head waters of the Con- necticut, and to build a fort there ; and thence to proceed to Crown Point, supposing that to be the most direct route. They first marched to Baker's Town, (now Franklin,) where they began to build batteaux, with which to navigate the waters, and cross rivers betwixt that place and Crown Point. Thus, much time was consumed and provisions spent to no purpose. They afterward performed a fatiguing march through the wilder- ness, over the height of land, to Number Four, Charlestown, and reached Albany. Gen. Johnson, who had command at Lake George, ordered the New-Hampshire Regiment to Fort Edward, where they remained for some time, but subsequently were em- ployed mostly as rangers.
The men in this company from Concord, were - Joseph East- man, captain ; Nathaniel Abbot, lieutenant ; David Copps, ser- geant ; Moses Eastman, sergeant ; Nath'l Morse, clerk ; David
* Muster roll, found among old papers.
t Muster roll in Secretary's office. See Document No. 1 for Chap. VI., in Documentary and Statistical Chapter.
191
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
Evans, corporal ; Obadiah Maxfield, sentinel ; Nath'l Rix, Jona- than Chase, Ebenezer Copps, Asa Kimball, Ebenezer Virgin, Ebenezer Simonds, James Farnum, Judah Trumble, Isaac Walker," John Webster, Reuben Simonds, (?) Joseph Eastman, sentinels.
The company under Capt. Eastman were mostly in service from April to October. The journal kept by Nath'l Morse, the company's clerk, will be read with interest .;
1756.
In Captain John Goffe's company, of Col. NATHANIEL ME- SERVE'S regiment, raised for the Crown Point expedition, were, from Rumford :
Entered.
Time of service. Mos. Days.
Thomas Merrill, 2d lieutenant,
April 16,
8 8
Joseph Eastman,§ sergeant,
May 12, .
7 10
John Straw, sentinel,
May 1,
6 11
Jonathan Fifield,
May 1,
6 6
James Blanchard,
May 12,
7 10
Paul Fowler,
May 1,
7 22
Isaac Walker, 2d,
May 1, .
7 10
Zebediah Farnum, .
May 1,
7 17
In Capt. John Shepard's company, of Col. Meserve's regi- ment, 1756, Ezekiel Steel is enrolled as of Rumford.
Joshua Abbot, son of Lieut. Nathaniel Abbot, John Shute, Daniel Abbot, Benjamin Hannaford, Amos Eastman, Nathaniel Eastman, Joseph Eastman, Benjamin Bradley, Stephen Hoit, David Evans, Stilson Eastman and Philip Kimball, and no doubt others, for some time, were engaged in the French and Indian wars, either in the regular service or as rangers. But, as Bel- knap truly remarks, " The history of a war on the frontiers can be little else than a recital of the exploits, the sufferings, the escapes and deliverances of individuals, of single families or small parties," - so I shall proceed to give details of individual daring, hardihood and sufferings, which have been gathered from public documents or from family traditions.
* Son of William, a minor. | Doc. No. 1, for Chap. VI. # See muster roll, Secretary's office. § Perhaps of Boscawen.
192
IHISTORY OF RUMFORD.
AMOS EASTMAN.
On the 28th of April, 1752, Amos Eastman,* of Rumford, son of Jonathan Eastman, (whose garrison was on the mill road,) in company with John and William Stark, of Derryfield, (now Man- chester,) and David Stinson, of Londonderry, was on a hunting expedition near Baker's river, in Rumney. The company had been very successful, estimating their furs, &c., at £560 old tenor. Here they fell in with a party of ten Indians, of the St. Francis tribe. It being a time of peace, danger was not at first apprehended. But towards evening the Indians made prisoner of John Stark, who had separated from the rest, to collect the traps. Suspecting mischief, the party was proceeding down the river - William Stark and Stinson in a canoe, and Eastman on the bank - when the Indians came upon them, took Eastman prisoner, shot into the canoe and killed Stinson, who was after- ward stripped and scalped ; William Stark escaped through the intrepidity of John, who struck up the Indians' guns when they were leveled at his brother. Eastman and John Stark were car- ried captives to St. Francis, which they reached on the 9th of June .; Here they were compelled to undergo the ceremony of running the gauntlet. The young Indians of the settlement ranged themselves in to two lines, each armed with a rod, to strike the captives as they passed along. Eastman was severely whip- ed; but Stark snatched a club, and made his way through the lines, knocking the Indians down, right and left, whenever they came within his reach, and escaped with scarcely a blow. East- man was sold to a French master, and was kindly treated : as was also Stark, who became a favorite among the Indians. Both were redeemed, after about six weeks, by a Mr. Wheelwright, from Boston, and Capt. Stevens, from Charlestown, who were sent from Massachusetts for the purpose of obtaining the release of prisoners. Stark paid for his redemption one hundred and three dollars, and Eastman sixty. They returned home by way of Albany .¿
When the news of the capture of Eastman and Stark reached
* Amos Eastman married Mchetoble, daughter of Abraham Bradley, Jan. 9, 1743.
t See Document No. 2, for Chap. VI.
+ See life of Gen. Stark, pp. 172 - 4.
193
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
Rumford, a party was raised,* who proceeded to Baker's river, found and buried the body of Stinson in the woods, and brought home one of the paddles of the canoe, which was pierced with several shot holes. It was preserved a long time by the Virgin family.
BENJAMIN BRADLEY, son of Timothy, son of Abraham Brad- ley, was one of Rogers' rangers. He was with Rogers in the terrible fight at St. Francis, October 3, 1759. The particulars of this bloody scene are substantially these : The Indian village of St. Francis, which lay some thirty miles above the source of the Connecticut, was the head-quarters of the savages who com- mitted the worst depredations on the border towns of New-Eng- land. Upon the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, Major Robert Rogers was despatched from the latter place, by Gen. Amherst, with about two hundred rangers, to destroy the village of St. Francis. After a fatiguing march of twenty-one days, over mountains and through swamps, they reached the place in the evening, and found the Indians engaged "in a wed- ding frolick." Arranging his forces, he waited till near morn- ing, when the Indian revelry had ceased, and all were asleep ; then the fatal attack was made. Some were killed in their houses ; others were shot or tomahawked, as they attempted to flee. In the morning the rangers discovered about six hundred scalps hanging upon poles over the doors of the wigwams, that the Indians had taken, and also found great quantities of plunder from the English settlements. These were taken; about two hundred Indians were killed, and the whole village laid in ashes. Among the articles brought away were two hundred guineas, a silver image, weighing ten pounds, and a large quantity of wam- pum and clothing. The rangers also rescued five English pris- oners, and took twenty Indians captive. In this fight it is related that Lieut. Jacob Farrington, of Andover, Massachusetts, and Benjamin Bradley, of Rumford -two of the stoutest men of their time -headed one of Rogers' parties. Coming to the door of the house, where the dance had taken place, they pushed against it so violently that the hinges broke, and Bradley fell in
* Jacob lloyt, Esq., says that in this party were Phineas Virgin, Joseph Eastman, (called deacon,) and Moses Eastman.
13
194
HISTORY OF RUMFORD.
head-foremost among the sleeping Indians. Before they could make resistance, all the Indians in the room were killed. In returning, wearied, exhausted, cold and almost destitute of pro- visions from this expedition, the rangers struck Connecticut river, in the month of November, at the upper Coos, which they mis- took for the lower Coos. Here they parted. Bradley took a point of compass which, from the lower Coos, would have brought him to the Merrimack ; but at the upper Coos, would bring him out near the White Hills. He remarked on starting that if he was in his full strength, he would be at his father's house in three days. He started, tradition says, with a party of four or five men, but they never reached home. It is supposed they all perished with hunger and cold amid the snows of the wilderness. In the following spring a party of hunters found the bones of a man in Jefferson, near the White Hills. Near by were three half burnt brands piled together, and a quantity of silver broaches and wampum lay scattered about. The hair was long, and tied with a ribbon such as Bradley wore. No arms were with him, nor any signs of his companions .* Bradley was only twenty-one years of age.
Mr. Jacob Hoit relates that his uncle, Stephen Hoit, was with Bradley when they started from upper Coos, and that the follow- ing spring some clothes and other things were found on an island in the Winnepissiogee lake. Among them was a snuff-box, marked Stephen Hoit, found by Capt. Archelaus Miles, of Canterbury.
DAVID EVANS, of Rumford, was one of the rangers who was in the fight at St. Francis. He was a sergeant, and led a party from upper Coos down the Connecticut to Number Four. He stated that the rangers at times suffered every hardship which men could endure ; that one night, while the men of his party were asleep in the camp, his own cravings for food were so in- supportable, that he awoke from a sleep, and seeing a large knapsack belonging to one of his comrades, opened it, in hopes of finding something to satisfy his hunger ; that he found in it three human heads ; that he cut a piece from one of them, broiled and ate it, while the men continued to sleep; but said that he
* See Rem. of French War and Stark's Life, app., p. 160, 161.
195
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
would sooner die of hunger than do the like again. He observed " that when their distresses were greatest, they hardly deserved the name of human beings." *
NATHANIEL EASTMAN, fourth son of Capt. Ebenezer, was in the battle fought at Lake George, in September, 1755, between Gen. Johnson's forces on the one side, and the French Baron Dieskau's troops and Indians on the other. Mr. Eastman was in Col. Williams' regiment of twelve hundred men, who, nearly surrounded by the French, fought with the utmost desperation. Eastman was wounded in the knee. He, however, continued to fire at the enemy, till he was left almost alone by the retreat of the advanced guards. He then limped through the woods, and joined his company. Gen. Dieskau was wounded and taken prisoner. He praised the valor of Johnson's troops, saying, " that in the morning they fought like brave boys ; at noon, like men ; but in the afternoon like devils !" }
STILSON EASTMAN, a grandson of Capt. Ebenezer Eastman, was a ranger under Lieut. John Stark, and was in the bloody fight near Ticonderoga, in January, 1757 : when Major Rogers was twice wounded, and the command devolved on Lieut. Stark. Eastman said that on receiving his second wound, Major Rogers advised a retreat ; but Stark, taking the command, declared he would shoot the first man that fled, and that he would fight the enemy till dark ; and then, if necessary, retreat. While Stark was speaking, a ball broke the lock of his gun ; at the same time, observing a Frenchman fall, he sprang forward, seized his gun, returned to his place, and continued the fight.
At Crown Point Gen. Amherst had command of the army. The General was so fond of milk that he kept a cow in camp, which had liberty to run at large, to find the best feeding ground. It so happened after a while that the cow was missing, and could not be found ; soldiers were sent in various directions, but could not find her. At length Eastman was sent with others, and he found her, to the great joy of the General, who, as a reward, ordered Eastman's canteen to be filled. Eastman at this was as well pleased as the General, for no one loved the good crater
* Rem. of French War and Stark's Life, app., p. 162.
t Reminiscences of French War, app., p. 143.
196
HISTORY OF RUMFORD.
better than he. The cow had strayed away into a piece of meadow, where she found good feed. Well, for the sake of get- ting the good crater, he occasionally drove the cow to the same by-place, where no one could find her but himself, and whenever he brought in the cow he got his pay in the canteen .*
JOHN SHUTE and JOSEPH EASTMAN, both from Rumford, be- longed to Rogers' rangers. They were mess-mates through the French war, equally distinguished for their enterprise, hardihood and trustworthiness. John was the son of Jacob Shute, and Eastman, born May 20, 1720, was probably a nephew of Capt. Ebenczer, and son of Joseph, of Salisbury. In 1760, General Amherst, at Crown Point, wished to send despatches to General Murray, at Quebec - the distance through the wilderness being estimated at five hundred miles. Major Rogers was directed to select men to bear the despatches; and on account of the difficult and dangerous nature of the service, a reward of fifty pounds was offered to any four who would volunteer to perform it. Sergeant Beverly, who had been a prisoner of war, and escaped from Canada the preceding year, with John Shute, Joseph East- man and Luxford Goodwin, volunteered for the hazardous en- terprise.
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