USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Warren > The history of Warren; a mountain hamlet, located among the White hills of New Hampshire > Part 26
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Oh! how brave and valorous they all were! Captain Clement was lord of all he surveyed. The mighty rulers of the town, the selectmen, in their official capacity, had nothing to do with this training. Even Simeon Smith, the great constable from Red Oak hill could not interfere, and Judge Joshua Copp was a sergeant in the ranks. The men from Trecothick and the neighboring regions of Romney, Wentworth, and " Pearmount," said to be present as visitors, had nothing to do about it. Only the great Committee of Safety, and Col. Israel Morey, the superior officer, could command our brave and valiant captain in any manner whatever.
And now it was high noon and very warm; and the company
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A VALOROUS FEAT OF ARMS.
being tired, they were dismissed for dinner. This consisted of corn-cakes, boiled moose meat, nut-cakes and such other fixings in great store, which wives, sisters, and sweethearts, had brought. The huge repast finished with a relish, and washed down with a " little good west endea," they sat down to rest and became spec- tators themselves. The women gathered in knots and groups under the trees, chatted and gossipped as only women can, and the boys and girls, enjoying themselves, played " goal " and " tag," and " pizen," and " hide and seek," and " blind man's buff," and "'igh spy," and " wolf," and shouted, and yelled till the woods rang with echoes.
The music struck up again, the drum-call was beat, and each man sprang to arms. Once more all the evolutions were gone through with, and then they thought they would see how they liked the smell of powder. The guns were loaded, the command was heard, " Make ready, aim, fire !" and bang went the whole of them. Again they loaded, and again they fired, greatly to the joy of themselves and all the rest of the people assembled.
Captain Clement would tell the pleasant story how young Moses True, a new comer, and some relation to Ensign Ephraim, who lived " over the river," inspired by extra potations of good grog, was filled with exceeding valor and wanted to show what he . could do. So the company halted and he loaded up his great mus- ket with a mighty blank cartridge. Turning away his head, he fired most intrepidly into the air; but the blundering weapon recoiled and gave the valiant Moses an ignominious kick which laid him prostrate with uplifted heels on the lap of mother earth. The company seeing that he was not much hurt, applauded him with the most uproarious laughter, much to his great delight, [of course. But the discharge made an immense noise; great echoes came back from all the wooded hills around, and even the green heads of Moosehillock and Mount Carr, and the other neighboring mountains, looked in with wonderment on the scene.
When the shadows were lengthening, and the old trees on the edge of the clearing began to seem distant, withered, and dark, with not a leaf to shake in the breeze, Captain C. halted his com- pany again, and in a short speech invited them up to his house for refreshments. They accepted his invitation with a loud cheer, and
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
" single file, forward, march," was a pleasing command. Cap- tain Clement with drawn sword takes the lead; the music fol- lows; the fifer first, the tenor drummer second, and the bass drum- mer next, all playing as loud as they can. Then Ensign Ephraim True marches by the colors, a red silk bandana handkerchief upon a pole improvised for the occasion, near the centre, while fat Lieut. William Butler brings up the rear; the children running before shouting as usual; the women and visitors following behind. Up the bridle path by Joshua Copp's, across Ore-hill brook, and up Black brook, in half an hour they are at Warren's little hotel, Captain C.'s inn.
The Captain's entertainment was plenty of pudding, pork and beans, with an abundance of the good creature to wash them down. Pails of toddy were passed about. Old and young men and the middle aged all drank that day, for it was the fashion, and even some of the boys tugging at the slops got fuddled and tight.
As they went in, their spirits got elevated, and they made bar- room speeches and sang patriotic songs, which were greeted with shouts of applause. Then their courage increased and their strength came and they "pitched quoits " and tossed great logs, and lifted at " stiff heels." Lieut. Butler was the strongest man, and he picked up every person who would lay down. A ring was formed and they wrestled "to backs," at " side holts," and at " arms length." Joseph Patch, our first settler, was the spryest, smartest man. They could not kick his shins nor tread on his toes, and he succeeded in laying every one who dared step into the ring squarely on his back; making both shoulders touch the ground at the same time. He was great at " the cross buttock play" as it was called.
When they had ate all they possibly could, and drank all the punch they could carry, Captain Clement formed them in line again, thanked them for their excellent behavior as soldiers, and then they broke ranks in the common form, which is well under- stood by military men.
At home safe, they were all much pleased, with their captain especially, also with the other officers, said they had had an excel- lent time, and wished " little training day " might come every month in the year.
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A DOUBTFUL COMPLIMENT.
So much were they rejoiced that at the very next town meet- ing, held July 10, 1780, they determined to put a merited compli- ment on record, which stands even to the present time, and is as follows :-
" Voted, That when the officers of the mility belonging to the town are called up on that thay bee paid equill from the town. In thare rank as soldiers highered by the town for that year."*
An excellent vote, exceedingly grammatical and well spelled.
* Town Clerk's Records, Vol. i. 7.
CHAPTER V.
THANKSGIVING DAY; OR HOW THERE WAS FEASTING, DANCING AND MERRYMAKING IN OUR HAMLET AMONG THE HILLS.
AND now the war is over, and the piping times of peace have come .* How glad all the people are! From the poorest man that trapped in the woods and fished in the streams, farmers, me- chanics, merchants, ministers, doctors, lawyers, Committee of Safety, and even President Meshech Weare himself, all rejoiced exceedingly. Such an occasion must not be passed by without appropriate celebration, and President Weare appointed a thanks- giving day to be observed in all the little democracies of the State.
The proclamationt went forth; copies were sent to every town and the one that came to Warren was posted in Obadiah Clement's little bar-room, so that all could read it. Thanksgiving days had come before; but the occasion had never been so great as now, even since the first one, which took place June 13, 1632, and the good people of our mountain hamlet, like all the rest of the coun- try, resolved to celebrate it with the utmost eclat. The Warren folks did not nor never have kept Christmas or Good Friday or Easter, and they had no "goodings nor candles, clog, carol, box or hobby horse," neither did they ornament their places of worship,
* The final definitive treaty of peace between the mother country and colonies was signed Sept. 3, 1783, at Paris.
t Thanksgiving day was on the 2d Thursday of December, 1783 .- See Proc. in Sec. of State's office.
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THANKSGIVING DAY IN YE OLDEN TIME.
for they thought all such things to be "Heathenrie, Devilrie, Dronkensie and Pride." Yet they must have some sort of festival, when they could celebrate in the most festive manner; they must pay some fealty to the universal gala sentiment. .
The morn of that day was waited with expectation, and the greatest eagerness. What mirth and hilarity should prevail ! Col. Clement sent a rude ox team clear down country for supplies, and a stock of the good creature for the occasion. Capt. William Butler was determined to have a grand turkey shoot and a raffle, and the young men and maidens of the hamlet planned to have something else that should please them as well.
Every thing was just so through all the towns in the State and even the clerk of the weather, as the old tale runs, grew amiable and determined to introduce a novelty for the occasion; accord- ingly long before the dawn of the happy day, he marshaled the snow makers who live, it is said, somewhere in the neighborhood of Greenland, and set them about their business. From midnight till morning they were actively engaged in sifting a delicious whiteness upon the gray autumnal bosom of our mother earth. They whitened the trees and the fields; they covered the long shingled roofs ; they sprinkled it like feathers upon the log walls of the cabins and against the four-by-six panes of glass, introduced just about this time into the settlement. In fact they worked like heroes all night to make everything look bright and beautiful as possible for the morning. Everybody felt when they woke up in happy surprise that,
" The fairies all bright Came out that night, As of a season long ago : And their feet on the ground, Had a tinkling sound, As they scattered the milk-white snow."
The little boys and girls clapped their hands with delight, and marshaled out on the hill-side for a grand snow-ball and coasting frolic. In the woods the tracks of the wild game were beautifully distinct and the delighted sportsman hurried away in the early morning to get his share of the partridges, joyfully listening to the " deep-mouthed blood hounds' heavy bay, resounding " in the distance, and the echoes of the fowling pieces as they brought. down the birds on the wing, to make partridge pies for dinner.
T
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
About nine o'clock in the forenoon, all the men and boys were hurrying away to William Butler's turkey shoot. It was out in the little field that John Mills and son cleared, by the bubbling sand-rimmed springs northeast from his house. The captain had a fine lot of turkeys reared with great care, to keep them from the foxes, and he set them up twenty-five rods away for shot guns, and forty rods for rifles. The hunters of that time were better marks- men than those of the present day. A sixpence a shot, payable in silver or its equivalent - a high price - was what each had to pay. If he had not asked it he would not have made much, for Chase Whitcher, Joseph Patch, and Obadiah Clement were there, and they seldom fired without bringing down a bird. They did not have to lie down and sight slowly over a rest, but brought their guns rapidly up to their eyes and fired.
Simeon Smith was there also, making dry remarks, and Reu- ben Clement, the weird man, now rather taciturn, was seated on the top of a great stump watching the scene. Before him was the crowd, a jargon of voices, and an occasional shout. There was the report of rifles, the running to and fro of men and boys, dis- putes about shots, wrangling and wrestling, the smell of gun- powder, and the blue smoke curling away among the trees. He saw the brooks which rippled and murmured as they ran from the springs through their white and shining snow-covered banks, and the river that tossed and heaved as it hurried on among its snow- capped boulders and sent a dull sullen roar to the neighboring hills. On his right, blue forest-covered Mount Carr shone white and glistening under the morning sun as a frosted cake, while in the north, above the huge trees of the almost interminable forest, old Moosehillock in snow rears his rugged forehead. Every one before him seemed to feel well, and many a man who could not shoot a turkey, carried one away which he had won at the raffle.
At home the wives and comely buxom daughters were making mighty preparations for the feast. The door-yards had been picked up and set in order, the house had been cleaned, the floors scrubbed white, the beautifully ceiled walls were of spotless purity, and the newly scoured pewter on the open dresser gleamed and flashed in the bright light of the great kitchen fire-place.
The turkeys and other barn-yard fowls were killed and pulled
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THANKSGIVING COOKERY.
yesterday ; the partridges brought in this morning are made ready. And then, what a mixing of puddings of the richest composition ; what pies are made; pumpkin, custard, apple, and mince, minus the raisins, but plenty of sweetening, for they made maple sugar then as now in great abundance; the chicken and partridge pies, the best of all. What cakes of transcendent brilliance, and bread of the most exquisite fineness, from flour ground at William But- ler's mill. The oven door opens and shuts, well stuffed turkeys, and pies, and cakes, and bread, go in, and odors most delicious and mouth-melting, inexpressible, fill the house. What glowing looks were there. What speculations, contrivances, and anticipa- tions in those milk-and-honey flowing kitchens. They have found the richest cheese in the whole cheese-room by tasting, and the purest and sweetest butter is moulded in small cakes, and im- printed with patterns of the most elegant figure. In fine, what efforts are made that all should. experience the wonders and delights of this our delicious little mountain Canaan.
It is told how on that day there was visiting and merry-making, that Joseph Patch went home to his father-in-law's, Mr. Stevens Merrill's and that Joshua Copp and Joshua Merrill, also went down there to eat thanksgiving supper. Then all the Clements assembled at Col. Obadiah's, all the Whitchers at John's on Pine hill; Simeon Smith and his friends were social on Red Oak hill, and the Clarks and the Lunds had a merry-making over at Charles- ton,* and down by Eastman ponds.
The good man and his wife went to these hilarious meetings of families, parents and children, grand-parents and grand-children, uncles and cousins, riding double on the good old horse that had done them so much service in the woods; often carrying the youngest children in their arms, while the elder children trudged along the rough bridle-paths on foot. What a welcome they got; what lively salutations. The horse went to the barn,-" Come in !" -off came hats, caps, bonnets, shawls, and great-coats,-" Sit
* Charleston .- Mr. Nathaniel Libbey, on reading the advance sheets of this work, said he knew why Charleston was so called, that it was named after Charles Bowles, who once lived in that delectable region. Bowles only stopped there a short time, and said he was frightened away by the immense bull-frogs which inhabited Tarleton lake; that every night he could hear them singing out, " Charles Bowles ! Charles Bowles ! We are a coming, we are a coming! Don't run, don't run !"- and that he would not stay there for the whole district. His friends laughed at him and called the place Charles' town-Charleston.
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
down !" - chatting and talking and asking after the health of this one and that one all the time.
The men go out for an hour while the table is being set; they go about the little clearings-the arable land, the mowing and pasture are shown, and the questions, how much they can raise; how many trees they shall fall next year; how the young apple and plum trees flourish; and whether or not the climate is too cold for them ; what huntings they would have this winter; what fine steel traps and guns and smart powder they had got, and a host of others were all freely discussed.
In the house the hostess shows the women folks round-to the cheese and butter room; to the weave room where such nice cloth is made, and then they talk about fattening calves and rear- ing poultry ; the growing of vegetables, of fruit, and flowers, and of the nice things they would get from down country, when their husbands went down to Portsmouth and Newburyport with the ox teams, carrying the butter, cheese, and wheat, the sheep's pelts, moose and deer skins, and all the rich peltries, the product of their husbands' hunting in the woods.
In an hour the settlers, (joking that they are afraid of their wives' tongues if they did not come back in season; that they did not want any dinner, not a bit; they were only afraid of getting a scolding,) make their appearance.
And now all are seated around the table. What a dinner! The great mealy potatoes are smoking hot, the fat turkey carved in the most admirable manner, the rich gravy steaming beside it, and the venison on Stevens Merrill's board, furnished by Joseph Patch, a most tempting dish. How excellent is the stuffing, what cool crystalline water to drink, and what good " old west endea," out of the stone bottles furnished by Col. Clement, so exhilerating to set them all aglow.
How much they eat; how fast the bounteous store disappears ! . One would think no respect could be paid to the chicken and par- tridge pie, the plum pluddings, sweet cakes, pies of all kinds, most delicious sauces, maple honey, butter and cheese, the nicest and richest. But he would be greatly mistaken. They share the same fate as the first course, disappearing amid the most hearty laugh- ter, sharp jokes, and " mother wit of the keenest kind."
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EVENING RECREATIONS.
Supper over, the hours fly swift, passed with pleasantries and glowing conversation. By sunset they are all safe at home again. Every body in the township has enjoyed this thanksgiving; all have feasted to their heart's content; there is not a poverty stricken cabin in the hamlet.
In the evening the young boys and girls of neighboring fam- ilies get together and pass a pleasant hour, playing " blind man's buff," "run round the chimney," and " button, button, who has got the button?"
But the older youths and blushing maidens, and the young men and their wives, as we said before, had determined to spend the evening in another way. It was dark when they began to assemble in Obadiah Clement's great kitchen and little bar-room, the only inn in the hamlet. The windows were all bright-lighted, as they came out of the woods in the little clearing. Entering they found a great fire burning in the cavernous fire-place. A huge green back-log, five feet long, a great forestick of half the size, and a " high cob-work of refuse and knotty wood," blazed and roared, and crackled, sending up a bright and golden flame,- the black smoke hurrying away out doors all the time through the great flue of the immense stone chimney. They sit down to warm themselves. The wood sings, the sap drops on the hot stones hissing and crackling and great red coals roll out on the hearth, glimmering, sparkling, glistening.
Moses Copp and his handsome sister, Sarah, with several other brothers and sisters, came first; and Joseph Merrill and some of his sisters, Captain Butler and wife, and pretty Anna Mills who lived with them, Joseph Patch and wife, two sons of Simeon Smith, and others from that neighborhood; some of Ephraim True's grown up children, who used to be as wild as partridges, Chase Whitcher and his wife, from the Summit, and numerous others came, for unity and harmony once more pre- vailed now the war was over.
Reuben Clement, who could not keep away from the turkey shoot, must also attend the ball; but all the evening stubbornly refused to dance, for he was an odd genius, as we have gently intimated before.
The hall was the long unfinished kitchen, having its naked
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
timbers overhead ornamented with boughs of spruce and hemlock and festoons and wreaths of evergreen. Tallow candles in wooden blocks were placed in the distant corners, that every part might be well illuminated.
How pretty they were all dressed! What a variety there was too. There were styles that had come into being in the backwoods, and old styles, and new styles, and no styles at all. There were flashy prints, bought down country, good blue woolen dresses, and tow and linen skirts of beautiful colors, and striped and checked linen waists. All had necklaces of gold, glass, or waxen beads. Their head-dresses were simple and plain, oftenest their hair neatly arranged without ornament. Their shoes were of the best pattern, sometimes striped with a white welt.
The belles of the evening were Anna Mills and Sarah Copp. The latter wore a bright blue woolen dress, a little short with a red border at the bottom, a white linen apron, with flowers elaborately wrought with her own needle on the lower corners, pure white woolen stockings, a pair of neatly fitting moccasins, tight laced about the small, well turned, delicate ankles; her plump arms bare, a golden clasped bracelet on one of them; on her neck, a string of gold beads; her dark and shining hair close braided and only ornamented with a sprig of evergreen twined in one of the heavy plaits. Her complexion was clear, bright blue eyes that sparkled, white regular teeth, lips of cherry red, and plump rosy cheeks. Anna Mills was also plainly but neatly dressed. She was light and agile in form, as the wild doe; had flashing black eyes, and a wealth of raven tresses. Both were much sought after, and they never lacked a partner for the dance.
The young gentlemen of the settlement were also dressed in the most remarkable manner for a ball. Moses Copp had on a portion of his old Continental uniform. Col. Clement, mine host, wore his military coat, and Jonathan Clement kept on his hat, an immense one, through the whole occasion .* Then the short frocks
* Wearing a Hat .- Jonathan Clement almost literally always wore his hat. He kept it on at meal times, at town meetings, in religious meetings, and in presence of every one he met, high or low. It was the first article of clothing he put on in the morning, and the last he took off at night. N. Libbey went to Mr. C.'s tavern at midnight for a pint of rum, rapped at the door, and when said landlord came, the only article of dress he had put on was his hat. But the sheriff knocked it off for him in high Court one day, to his infinite disgust, and Mr. C. had a fearful hatred of courts ever after .- Nathaniel Libbey's statement.
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THE OLD FASHIONED BALL.
were present, tucked out of the way inside of the moosehide and buckskin breeches. There were long stockings and many a pair of silver shoe and knee buckles, and the tough moosehide moccasins were the easiest things in the world to dance in. Their hair was not powdered, they had no wigs; our settlers did not take to such things ; but Col. Clement, as did some other elderly men at the time, wore a queue, handsomely tied with an eel skin.
But they were a happy company if they were rather oddly dressed. There were smiles and jokes, and bright sayings, and when Moses True, the youth who made such a heroic noise on " little training day," took his seat upon a high bench in the back entry-way, at the farther end of the kitchen, violin in hand, the whole party leaped up at the wagging of his fiddle-stick, and took their places on the floor. Then soft music arose in Obadiah Clem- ent's old kitchen, and happy hearts and nimble feet kept time to the merry strain.
By-and-by they had a slight refreshment, and the " milk toddy " and " egg-nog," mild drinks, were passed round and disappeared in vast quantities. On this their spirits rose. The young men shuffled and kicked most vigorously, and now and then gave a hearty smack, in all honesty of soul, to their buxom partners. Then they used the step called " shuffle and turn " and " double trouble," and cut many a lively fantasy as the short hours wore rapidly away.
Late in the night some of the dancers got tired and two young gentlemen, Jonathan Harbord and Nicholas Whiteman, who had recently come to town, laid down by the bar-room fire to rest themselves. Reuben Clement, who had watched them all the evening, said in a quiet way that he " knew they must be fatigued, exceedingly weary, they could not be tight, nothing of the kind, for they had not drank more than a quart of good rum, each."
The cock crowed in the barn; the shrill cry was answered from the nearest farm-yard, down at Jonathan Clement's, and then the dancing ceased, for Moses True, the good fiddler, was more tired than all the rest.
Some who resided farthest away, resolved to stay all night and go home by daylight. But those who lived down the valley towards Red Oak hill, were off in the shortest time possible.
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
Some rode on horseback, but the most walked; and Joseph Mer- rill waited upon Sarah. Copp, and Moses Copp went home with Anna Mills. Now and then they were startled by the cries of the wild denizens of this new country. An owl hooted from a great hemlock by the path, there was a wild-cat crying over by Black brook, the Mikaseota, and a wolf howled in Beech hill woods. Yet it was only Nature's music to the settlers. They did not fear; they loved the beautiful night, for the crescent moon was not yet set behind Sentinel mountain in the west; the dark vault above them was powdered with stars, and they saw Aldebaran, Lyra, Orion, and the Pleiades, holding their silent course through the heavens.
There was not much labor performed in the settlement next day, for nobody got up very early that morning. Yet every one was content, and always maintained that this was the happiest Thanksgiving ever known in Warren.
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