USA > New Hampshire > The history of New Hampshire, from its discovery, in 1614, to the passage of the Toleration act, in 1819 > Part 10
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1722. June13.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. VII.
June 1. 1723.
The growing unpopularity of Shute admonished him, at this time, to return to England. Although the people of New Hampshire were quiet under his administration, yet there was rising in Massachu- setts a violent and increasing opposition. Having been a soldier in his youth, and accustomed to military command and obedience, he was poorly prepared to brook the crosses and perplexities of political life. He did not possess that evenness of temper and calmness, which are so necessary for the management of difficult affairs. It was in the midst of an Indian war, when difficulties surrounded the government, that he left for England, and Lieutenant Governor Wentworth succeeded to the chair. It was resolved to prosecute the war vigor- ously. Wentworth, in the absence of Shute, took the field as commander-in-chief, and displayed the prudence and energy of an able leader. He was careful to supply the garrisons with stores and to visit them in person, to see that the duties of all were strictly performed.
August 29.
May 24. May 16.
The Indians approached the settlements by way of the Winnipiseogee. Their first appearance was at Dover ; their next at Lamprey River ; and they attacked, in quick succession, the settlements at Oyster River, Kingston and Chester. A company marched to protect Oyster River, under the com- mand of Abraham Benwick. At Dover some families of Quakers, scrupulously opposed to war, could not be persuaded to defend themselves. A party of French and Mohawks marked the family of John Hanson for their prey. They waited in ambush till the eldest daughter had gone and the two oldest sons. They then entered the house,
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killed and scalped two of the small children, and CHAP. took prisoners Mrs. Hanson with her infant. The VII. first person to discover this disaster was the absent daughter ; who, on her return, seeing the two chil- dren dead at the door, gave a shriek of despair, which was heard at the same moment by her mo- ther in the hands of the enemy, and by her brothers in the meadow. The people were quickly alarmed, and went in pursuit ; but the Indians, avoiding all the travelled paths, bore off their captives beyond their reach. After this catastrophe, Mr. Hanson removed to the house of his brother ; who, though 1724. a Quaker, accustomed his family to the use of arms, and defended himself. Thus do scruples of con- science sometimes yield to the supreme necessity of self-preservation.
The captive lady, though tender and delicate, possessed a vigorous mind, and bore the hardships of the march with surprising fortitude. On arriving in Canada, the prisoners were all sold to the French. With ceaseless effort the sad father gathered gold and silver for their ransom; and when a sufficient sum had been accumulated, he traversed the woods to Canada, in search of his lost family. Long and hopelessly he sought for them through all the French settlements, and was about to abandon the search, when, by the benevolence of a French lady, he was directed to the house where they were kept as slaves. Overwhelmed with joy, he paid the ransom, and received his wife, the three younger children, and the nurse. It was impossible to obtain the eldest daughter, though he saw and conversed with her ; and he returned, leaving her in captivity. But he remained not long
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CHAP. at home. The loss of his daughter continued to VII. prey upon his mind, and it was impossible to solace 1727. his grief. In a short time he set out to tread again his lonely path to Canada. But the troubles of his mind and the exposure and fatigues of the first journey, had undermined his health, and be- fore he reached Crown Point his strength failed him. Parental affection urged him on till the last sands of life had run, and seemed to grow stronger as his end drew near, until death extinguished life and love together, and the father was laid in a grave equally distant from his home and his daughter.
1724. The enemy now ranged the whole extent of the Sept. 5. frontiers, plundering and laying waste ; and killing Sept. 7. several at Dunstable and Kingston. One after another, the Indian villages were visited ; but they were found deserted. The fate of Norridgewock was still fresh in their thoughts, and they could not be found in their former abodes. Scouting parties visited their principal villages, generally with little effect. But there was one of these parties, distin- guished at first by success, and afterwards no less distinguished by misfortune. Commanded by Cap- tain John Lovewell, they set out on their first 1725. Feb.20. excursion, north of Lake Winnipiseogee, killed one Indian and brought another home to Boston. This trifling good luck augmented his company to March 9. seventy. Ten Indian scalps were the trophies of the second excursion. Encouraged by repeated suc- cess, Lovewell marched a third time to attack the villages of the once formidable Pequawkets, on the upper branches of the Saco. The company, at this time, numbered forty-six, including a chaplain and
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surgeon. Two of them afterwards returned ; an- CHAP. other fell sick. Partly for the accommodation of VII. the sick man, and partly for a place of retreat in case of disaster, they halted and built a stockade fort on the west side of Great Ossipee pond. Here they left the sick man with the surgeon and eight of the company for a guard. The number was thus reduced to thirty-four. They had not pro- ceeded far northward, when they came to a pond, on the margin of which they encamped for the night. Early the next morning, they heard the report of a gun, and saw a solitary Indian standing, more than a mile distant from them, on the point of a promontory projecting out into the water. Suspecting that he had been placed there to decoy them, and that a body of the enemy was in front, they held a consultation and determined to march forward, encompass the pond, and endeavor to gain the place where the Indian stood. That they might be ready for action, they laid aside their packs, containing all their provisions. It hap- pened that two parties of Indians, commanded by Paugus* and Wahwa, were returning from a scout down the Saco, to the lower village of the Pe- quawkets. Falling on Lovewell's track, they fol- lowed it till they came to the packs. By counting these they discovered at once the weakness of their enemy. The number of men was less than their own. They then placed themselves in ambush near the spot, and quietly waited the return of the men to their packs. The single Indian, who had stood on the point of land projecting into the pond, the party of Lovewell killed and scalped. Seeing
* Charles James Fox's account of Lovewell's fight-MS.
F. Bel- knap.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. no other enemy, they returned towards their packs, VII. and while they were looking about for them, the Indians rose and rushed upon them with a horrid war-whoop. Captain Lovewell and eight men fell dead at the first fire; Lieutenant Farwell and two others were wounded. By this time several of the Indians had fallen ; but being superior in number, they were able to keep up a brisk fire, which was as briskly returned. Perceiving that the Indians were endeavoring to surround them, they retreated a short distance, and chose a more advantageous position.
Here they were partially sheltered by a point of rocks extending out into the pond, and by a few pine trees standing on the sandy beach. Here they made a stand. On their right was the mouth of a stream ; on their left the rocky point ; their front partly covered by a deep bog, partly exposed, and the pond in their rear. Thus they were hemmed in, and the enemy pressing upon them and galling them in front and flank. The fall of their commander and more than one quarter of their number, at the first onset, was disheartening. But they knew that their distance from the frontier cut off all hope of safety by flight. Prudence as well as valor dictated a continuance of the engagement. They were now without a mouthful of sustenance. They had fought till past noonday, and their chap- lain and ensign Robbins were mortally wounded. Under these discouraging circumstances, the In- dians invited them to surrender, but they declined, and under the conduct of Lieut. Wyman, on whom the command had devolved, they kept up their fire. As night approached, the war-whoop
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grew fainter. The number of the Indians was CHAP. greatly diminished ; Paugus was slain ;* and VII. before sunset they retired, carrying with them their dead and wounded. Such was the fortune of this bloody day. The field was left to the col- onists. The enemy, awed by their brave resistance and weakened by their own loss, thought it pru- dent to yield them the honor of the field. The shattered remnants of the brave company now as- sembled together, and found but nine of their number who had received no hurt. Of the wound- ed, eleven were able to march. To dispose of those who were unable to move was now the sad duty of the survivors. To remain with them would be certain destruction to all ; to remove them was impossible ; and yet to leave their dying com- panions behind, to fall into the hands of those who felt not pity, was little less than death to the gen- erous soldier. There seemed, however, to be no alternative, and, after struggling with their feelings, they tore themselves from the spot. Ensign Rob- bins desired them to lay his gun by him loaded, that before his death he might kill one more Indian. By the light of the rising moon they quitted the fatal field and directed their march to the stockade fort, where they had left the sick man with a guard, on their way to Ossipee pond. To their surprise they found it deserted. In the beginning of the action one man had fled from the field, and had gone and told them of the defeat of the company. They now abandoned the fort and set out to return home. On their way, Lieut. Farwell and two others died of their wounds. One by one the sur-
* Charles James Fox's account, in MS.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. vivors reached home, and were received with joy, VII. as men restored from the dead. A company from Dunstable, headed by Col. Tyng, went out to bury the bodies of Capt. Lovewell and his companions. They found twelve of them, and burying them, carved their names on the trees around the battle ground. The village of Fryeburg, in Maine, built in one of the most delightful valleys in America, stands near the sheet of water which has been made to commemorate this battle, by taking the name of Lovewell's Pond. The inhabi- tants are able to point out the spot where he fell. The pond is a beautiful sheet of water, three miles long.
It is thought that the surrounding scenery has been changed but slightly, although more than a century has elapsed since the battle was fought. The inhabitants of the town suppose that they can designate the spot, now called Indian Point, near the mouth of a small stream, where stood "the decoy Indian." The waters are encircled by a wide sandy beach, which rises with a gentle slope, and is bordered with a growth of pines, which sur- round it like a belt. Loon island rises like a green spec, near the centre, and at a little distance from this is Pine island, crowned with trees. The Saco sweeps within twenty rods of the pond, as if com- ing to receive the waters, which flow into it through a narrow channel. The village of Fryeburg stands on a level plain, elevated a few feet above the broad intervals of the Saco. In the midst of this plain rises a single stupendous rock, two hundred feet high ; its top capped with small pines, its sides clad in dark brown moss. When standing under its
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overhanging cliffs, man appears to be an insignifi- CHAP. VII.
cant object. It rises like an observatory in the midst of the unrivalled charms of a landscape, over which the eye ranges for miles. From the south comes the Saco, flowing in graceful meanderings, its banks fringed with the various trees that adorn the meadows, and loses itself at last towards the north, amidst the hills which range themselves on either side. Northward are the Pequawket moun- tains, and westward is Chocorua peak, the monarch of the Sandwich range; altogether, forming a semi- circular group of mountains of surpassing grandeur. Anciently, within this town, scarcely six miles in extent, the winding course of the Saco measured thirty-four miles in length. The frightful freshets of the river often compelled the inhabitants to re- treat, with their flocks and herds, to the highlands. They have now, by a canal running across the nar- rowest neck of land, led the river from its bed and dried it up for a distance of thirty miles. In early times the Pequawket Indians could float with their canoes, by making the circuit of Lovewell's pond near the shores, and passing through its outlet into the Saco, for more than a hundred miles, all with- in the town of Fryeburg. The features of this valley are hardly equalled in New England. From an observatory, raised by the hand of nature in its midst, the eye of the beholder ranges from Love- well's pond on the southeast, eastward over an almost unbroken forest, until the view is bounded by Pleasant mountain. He sees, almost at a glance, the silver thread of the Saco winding in the distance-the bright waters of the pond, and the plains and meadows-the clouds resting on the
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. summits of the mountains, or hanging wreathed VII. around their rugged sides, sometimes illumined by the sun's rays like fluid gold, sometimes kindling with the first fires of morning. Never did nobler mountains fling their broad shadows, at sunset, over more beautiful plains and meadows than those which surround the village of Fryeburg. Nor is it the least interesting of the traveller's reflections, while gazing here, that he treads upon the favorite hunt- ing-grounds of the once formidable Pequawkets.
The battle with Lovewell was the last expiring effort of the Indians in New Hampshire. They never took the field again. They seemed to be aware of their destiny. The prophecy of their great father, Passaconaway, made more than a century before, had been fulfilled .* The pale faces were indeed tenants of all the pleasant places of their fathers. Copying the vices without the virtues of the white man, the Indian gained from civilization no advantages equal to the ills he suf- fered ; and while impelled by instinct to self- defence every effort which he made did but accel- erate his doom.
The battle of Lovewell's pond was the most ob- stinate and destructive encounter in the war. Commissioners were now despatched, on the part of New England, to Vaudruil, governor of Canada, 1725. to complain of the countenance he had given to the Jan.20. Indians. This procured the ransom of some cap- tives, and exerted an influence favorable to peace. After a few months, a treaty was ratified at Fal- mouth.t Never were the people of New Hamp- shire so well trained to war as at this period.
Dec. 15.
* See page -. + Prov. Rec., Jour. House, 1724-1743.
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Ranging parties constantly traversed the woods, CHAP. as far north as the White Mountains. Every man VII. of forty years had seen twenty years of war. They had been taught to handle arms from the cradle, and, by long practice, had become expert marks- men. They were hardy and intrepid, and knew the lurking-places of the foe. Accustomed to fa- tigue and familiar with danger, they bore with com- posure the greatest privations, and surmounted with alacrity the most formidable difficulties.
The Penacooks* had now gone from Concord and from all the valley of the Merrimack. Some of them, more warlike than the others, had gone to the Abenaquis. The residue of them emigrated to the confines of Canada, and mingled with the tribes of the St. Francis. All obstacles being removed, and there being no vicinity of hostile neighbors, the settlement of Concord was commenced in 1727 ;+ the same year that was distinguished by the second great earthquake which had shaken New England .¿ Not long after, scattering settlers plant- ed themselves along the Merrimack, from Dun- stable to Boscawen, and sometime afterwards, at Hollis, Amherst, Winchester, Keene and Swansey. Of the emigrants on the Merrimack and its western tributaries, the greater part were from Massachu- setts. Another class was at the same time added to the population. They came from Connecticut, and planted themselves on the east bank of Con- necticut river. For years these different classes of settlers exhibited characteristics so peculiar as to be distinguished from each other like four na-
* Farmer's note on the Penacook Indians. N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p. 218. + N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 158.
# N. H. Hist. Coll., IV., p. 92.
1727.
Oct. 29.
.
L.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. tions ; and time has not wholly obliterated the pe- VII. culiarities which once so strikingly distinguished from each other the inhabitants of the Pascataqua, Londonderry, Merrimack and Connecticut River settlements.
1726.
Whi- ton, 74. F. Bel- knap, Chap. XV.
While the cloud of war overhung the colonies, the boundary dispute had slept in silence. The return of peace brought with it leisure, and the contest revived afresh. Massachusetts asserted her charter claim to all the lands lying beyond a certain line. This line began at a point three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimack. From thence it ran west and north, at the same distance of three miles from the river to a point in the present town- ship of Sanbornton-three miles beyond the paral- lel of the junction of the Winnipiseogee and the Pemigewasset-thence due west to the Connecti- cut. This claim covered the whole of the county of Cheshire and the greater part of Hillsboro', Merrimack and Sullivan. Aware that their claim to jurisdiction might be overruled by the king, Massachusetts was desirous to acquire in these lands the right of property. To further this object, Massachusetts proposed the appointment of com- missioners to establish the line. The New Hamp- shire assembly refused to concur,* alleging that they had already submitted the case to the king. Both parties waxed warm in the dispute ; a sur- vey was ordered, and each state strove to plant settlements within the confines of this disputed ter- ritory. Every pretence was sought, and every en- couragement given to entitle persons to become
* Prov. Rec., Jour. House, 1724-1743.
Jour. Council and Assembly, 1716-1728.
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grantees of the lands. A claim was soon discover- CHAP. ed, founded in feelings of gratitude to the country's VII. ~ defenders. The descendants of those who had fought in the wars of the preceding century were yet unrewarded. Nine townships were readily granted by Massachusetts to the heirs of these sol- diers. Those nine were called the Canada town- ships, and six of them were within the space claimed by New Hampshire. To the survivors of brave Lovewell's defeat, and to the descendants of those who fell, a select tract was granted at Suncook. New Hampshire, also, granted the townships of Epsom, Chichester, Barnstead, Can- 1727. May 18 -- 20. terbury, Gilmanton and Bow. None of these were within the disputed tract, except Bow ; which in- terfered with grants already made by Massachu- setts in Suncook and Penacook. This brought the parties directly into a contest ; for it was a practical assertion, on the part of New Hampshire, of her claim to the territory in dispute. A litiga- tion arose, which survived through the changes of forty years.
The deserted homes of the peaceful Penacooks now invited the current of emigration to the banks of the Merrimack, and a settlement was commenced in 1727. In 1733 it was called Rumford,* and 1727. did not take the name of Concord till 1765. Al- 1733. lured by the level and pleasant lands on this river, settlers planted themselves along its whole course, and all along its western tributaries. They fol- lowed up the Ashuelot, and planted themselves at Keene, in one of the most beautiful vales in New England. These settlers were from Massachu-
* N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p. 153-Ibid. 218.
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HISTORY OF
CHAP. setts, and were distinctly marked as the third VII. division of the inhabitants of New Hampshire. 1727. They exhibited peculiarities, intellectual, moral, social and political. The Connecticut, Pascata- qua, and Londonderry divisions have all likewise been distinguished by peculiar traits of character ; and long continued to display, in their manners, customs and modes of thinking, the peculiar char- acteristics of former generations. The settlers car- ried with them, into their new abodes, the habits, feelings and principles deeply impressed on their minds, when young, which long continued to dis- play their peculiar influences on their descendants. Thus these settlers continued to exhibit almost the national peculiarities of four distinct nations. During the absorbing excitement of the boundary contest, little progress was made in the improve- ment and settlement of the country. Projects for colonies were continually formed-meetings of proprietors were held, and an avaricious spirit of speculation in landed property prevailed every- where ; but the best lands remained uncultivated and the real wealth of the country was diminished. Its improvement was retarded. But in the midst Nov. 21. of these speculations and schemes of settlement, the death of King George I. dissolved the assem- bly, and writs were issued for the election of a new one, in the name of George the second. This as- sembly had subsisted for five years, which had been deemed a grievance. By so long a con- tinuance in office, the representatives became too independent of the people. Basking so long in the rays of royal favor, they became alienated from their constituents, and corrupted by long inti
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CHAP. VII.
macy with a royal governor and his council, and popular opinion lost its just weight in government. The death of the king furnished a fit occasion, and the democratic principle, which quickens the natural progress of power from the few hands to the many, now manifested itself in a general desire expressed by the people to limit the duration of assemblies. Immediately after the organization of the new assembly, a move was made for a trien- nial act .* The lieutenant governor, Wentworth, favored the proposal, and both houses agreed in framing an act by which the present assembly was limited to three years, unless sooner dissolved by the governor. This act afforded additional se- curity to the rights of the people, and was hailed as a popular triumph. Having taken the first step, the house were disposed to proceed to other alter- ations and reforms. They had already resolved upon remodelling the courts.
But the council resisted. A contest arose be- 1727. tween the two branches, which Wentworth sudden- ly terminated, by dissolving the assembly ;f an act which embittered the people against him and his administration. Most of the old assembly were re-elected, and the same speaker, Nathaniel Weare, 1728. was again chosen. Wentworth, however, nega- tived the choice, thus assuming the power of a royal governor. After several days' suspension of business, the house reluctantly chose another speaker. The public business now proceeded with ill humor. The chair and the house assumed hostile attitudes. Continual reproaches passed
* Prov. Rec., Jour. Council and Assembly, 1716-1728. Jour. House, 1724 -1743. + P. R., J. H. and A. 1717-1728. J. H. 1724-1743.
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CHAP. VII. between them, and the house carried their oppo- sition so far as to resolve upon petitioning the king to annex the province to Massachusetts. But in the midst of this controversy, William Burnet, son of the famous Bishop of Sarum, arrived at Boston, commissioned as governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He was an elegant scholar, and an enemy to ostentation and parade. He had been governor of New York and New Jersey. His fame had reached New England, and the people had formed high anticipations of favor and benefit 1730. from his appointment. Shortly after his arrival at Portsmouth he died of a violent fever, and was succeeded by Jonathan Belcher,* a man of a char- acter widely different from his predecessor. He was a merchant, of an ample fortune, had passed six years in Europe, and had been twice at the Bel- knap, p. 224. court of Hanover, before the Protestant succession in the house of Brunswick. In his person he was graceful; his manners elegant and polite, and of a lofty and aspiring disposition. He was frank and sincere, a generous friend, a vindictive, but not implacable, enemy ; proud of his office, and fond of splendor. When he found the emoluments of his office inadequate to support the luxuries in which he chose to live, he determined to support the dignity of his station at the expense of his private-
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