USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Warren > The history of Warren; a mountain hamlet, located among the White hills of New Hampshire > Part 44
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Woodstock's selectmen, agents, and surveyors who had built the strange camp-fires in the woods, and interested citizens, came over the low pass between Waternomee and Mt. Cushman, to that meeting; and our selectmen, Col. Isaac Merrill, Dr. David C. French, and other citizens, met them at the village hotel. They had a long good natured talk which amounted to nothing only that each party got considerably enlightened about the history of town charters, and all were firmly convinced that they had got to go to court to settle the matter. Then Woodstock's officers, surveyors, and citizens went home by the route they came.
At a town meeting held November 7, the representative of Warren to the Legislature was instructed to procure a copy of the charter of Peeling, now Woodstock, and at the fall term of court at Plymouth, after an extended hearing, a commission con- sisting of David C. Churchill, of Lyme, and Nathaniel S. Berry, of Hebron, the side judges, was appointed to investigate the whole matter .*
The committee came to Warren and looked at the line, exam- ined the charters, looked over the " doings" of the old court's committee, and finally came to the conclusion that as the Legisla- ture in 1784 had established by an act for that purpose the boun- · dary lines of Warren and the towns around it, those boundary lines must stand; and the case was decided in favor of Warren. The court affirmed the report of the commissioners, and Isaac Sawtelle was ordered to re-mark the old line between our two towns, putting on every blazed spot of the trees the cross mark of the court's committee, that the boundary might never more be forgotten. Thus Warren's last boundary question was settled.
Had Woodstock prevailed, all that section of the East-parte regions known as the reservation, together with a part of the last
* Col. Isaac Merrill's statement.
513
A TEMPERANCE MEETING.
farm up the mountain road to Moosehillock, on the west side of the Asquamchumauke, now owned by Nathaniel Merrill, 2d, would have been lost to Warren, and many of the inhabitants compelled to go over the mountain on the surveyors' path to Woodstock to do town business.
When the temperance reform sprang up in the country, of course it came to Warren. It was conducive of great good, and appealed to the understanding and moral nature. They had a great many temperance meetings in town ; but the one best remem- bered was held about the close of Warren's first century, by Al- fred Dustin, painter. William Weeks, shoemaker, presided, and he had a great bulls-eye watch and copper chain attached to time the speaker. James Clement and Francis A. Cushman were dea- cons, and sat by the speaker's stand. Uncle Ebenezer Cushman and Aunt Eben, his wife, were present. Cotton Foot was there also, and he furnished applause with his droll and magical laugh.
Mr. Dustin made a good speech, full of fun, pathos, and elo- quence ; but as there was no short hand reporter present little of it is remembered. He commenced by saying that the terrible effect of drinking intoxicating liquors could be seen in his own case. That he was a living example of the ruin rum could make. Then he showed that in rum-drinking nearly all the vices and crimes of society originated ; that it filled the poor-houses, work-houses, jails, prisons, and furnished victims for the gallows. Dispense with rum- drinking and crime would be banished. Rum-drinking, said Mr. Dustin, is the meanest business on earth; and the man or woman, the boy or girl, who engages in it, might as well be damned,-is damned now and eternally.
Rum-selling, said he, is a hellish, damnable traffic. Law don't stop it. It is a traffic that gets the orphans' and widows' curse, and the deepest execrations of the wife and mother. Devils laugh and gloat over it, and hell yawns for the men who engage in it.
At the conclusion of Mr. Dustin's address, Mr. Weeks, the chairman, said he was fully convinced, and that he should not make a swill-tub of his bowels any longer. Said Mr. Weeks, " God help the poor rum-drinker! The Devil will get the rum- seller, for he commits a dastardly crime with his eyes wide open."
514
HISTORY OF WARREN.
Poor men! They talked well; but like a great many other people they could not practice what they preached.
We remember well how about this time four young men, Benj. K. Little, Amos F. Clough, Joseph Noyes, and another, went over Mount Carr to Glen ponds fishing. On their way they passed through Fox-glove meadow and came to the most northern pond first. Standing on the western shore, it appears almost in the form of the letter Q, very deep in the middle, and grassy on the beaches, with some large stones rising out of the water by the out- let. South, one-fourth of a mile, is pond number two, three times as long as wide, very shoal, and containing about ten acres ; and east of this half a mile is the third pond, almost circular, very deep, and about half as large as the second.
The little party built their camp on the north shore of the middle water where the forest was dark and sombre, standing just as it has stood for centuries. The valley of the ponds is like a great horse-shoe basin; three lofty mountains on the east, north, and west, while to the south an extended vista over the woods is ter- minated by Mt. Stinson. It is four miles from the pond through the woods over the mountain to Warren, and further than that to a farmer's house in the ancient land of Trecothick. From their camp our party saw no clearing, no lumberman's habitation, no sign of civilization, no more than when hundreds of years ago a party of Indians camped on the shore, (Indian arrow heads have been found among the pebbles of the beach) ; or when in the last century John Page and Surveyor Leavitt ran the first lines about the township; or Mr. Carr stood listening to the rain pattering on the water and like a Frenchman dined on frogs; or the party of hunters from Warren crossed the ice and then went after moose in the great yard over and around Black hill. The same great inter- minable wood was seen, and the same sounds were heard that Moses Abbott the fat man and Capt. Marston saw and heard when they stopped here weeks at a time, and lived on the trout they caught from these ponds.
A bright fire was built, then two of the party went on a raft fishing. The other two sat on a log and watched and listened. As the sun went down an osprey was seen flying over the water, and a great hen-hawk sat on a stub by the shore. Then the laughter
515
EXCURSION TO GLEN PONDS.
of kingfishers and red squirrels was heard, and white throated finches, ruby-crowned wrens, golden-crested kinglets and snow birds, sang as the mellow twilight faded away. Suddenly a flock of black ducks whistled through the tree-tops and lighted down in the shoal water where the reeds and lilies were growing. They had come from the little meadows at the head of Moulton brook, where they were hatched, to stop on the pond all night.
The fishermen came back on their raft at dark; more wood was cut, the fire was replenished, and the flames crackled and flashed, and shone through the trees. One of the party went to the grassy shore for a drink of water. He saw something across the pond, and he never forgot the sight -three wild deer were standing on the rocky beach. They had come down to the pond to feed. How still they are-not a motion; and their eyes, how they glisten as they stand there almost spell-bound, gazing through the darkness at the camp-fire of the fishermen.
Another individual used to tell what a grand hand Amos F. Clough was to keep the fire burning all night long, and how B. K. Little nudged somebody and whispered, " Hear them! hear them !" Half a dozen great owls attracted by the blaze had gath- ered in the hemlocks, and were giving the grandest concert ever listened to. " Hark! hear that!" he whispered again. It was the long drawn halloo of an old bear far up the side of Mount Carr. Hear it again and again. It was enough to make one's hair stand on end. But it is soon over and the party go to sleep once more, listening to the frogs singing in the pond, and the splash of the muskrats among the reeds.
Hundreds of men have seen and heard these same sights and sounds ; but never as yet has a white woman stood on the shores of Glen ponds.
The fish bite well in the morning and when the sun goes down. What beauties they are! Some of them will weigh a pound. One of those fat fellows with a piece of pork inside cooked on a forked stick held over the fire, is the daintiest morsel in the world. As the sun gets high, the fish cease to bite, the " traps " are packed up and the party is off over the mountain home, having had a pleasant experience, never to be forgotten.
Thousands of pounds of trout are caught out of these three
516
HISTORY OF WARREN.
dark little tarns every year. It is said that pot fishers sometimes go there and catch bushels of trout with a net; that they snare large but poor fish on the spawning beds, and lime the waters. We hope that all such persons may get choked to death with fish bones.
Glen ponds, it is alleged, are filling up, and that the next cen- tury will see them in the same condition as Foxglove meadow a mile to the north of them. It would be a shame for such a thing to happen. There is no spot on earth where trout grow faster or better. If the fishermen of Warren, Wentworth, Romney, and old Tre- cothick would but club together and build short earth dams at the outlets of each, they could be made six feet deeper, many acres more of now useless land would be flowed, and Glen ponds with all their wildness, solitude, and piscatorial beauties, would last forever.
Warren people, like other highly civilized communities, have always been fond of amusements, more especially of the higher order of the drama. Many of her sons have cultivated the histri- onic art, and arrived at a good degree of perfection. The first exhibition we ever attended was in the old school house at the forks of the turnpike and Beech-hill road. This was followed by. a theatrical entertainment at the old meeting house. A stage was erected about the pulpit, without scenery and without curtains. Mr. James Clement was one of the principal actors, and we recol- lect him in a single act piece, entitled " I think I have been eating sunthin." Jim had padded himself out with pillows till he had a belly larger than Jack Falstaff's and looked comical enough. Col. Thos. J. Whipple had been assigned the post of honor, namely : a seat in the pulpit. As Jim proceeded to tell what he had eat the colonel was convulsed with laughter, and Jim's story and funny look, together with Col. W. behind him stretching his mouth from ear to ear, with his loud haw-haw, made a broad farce, and the whole meeting-house roared. The scene produced made such a strong impression upon the writer's mind, that although very young he never forgot it.
The next exhibition was managed by Col. Isaac Merrill, and Addison W. Eastman was one of the star actors. Miss Tamar J. Clement also took a prominent part. We remember very little
EXHIBITIONS - SPELLING SCHOOLS.
about it, only it was considered a decided success, and was the principal subject of conversation in town for weeks after.
Then there was a grand combination of performers in Warren one winter; A. W. Eastman being the leading star. Forest was outroared and outdone, and Warren shone with brilliancy. All the surrounding regions came to see the plays that season.
Since, there have been school exhibitions, religious exhibitions, and various other kinds, all successful, and more recently a sort of stock company that gave entertainments for a pecuniary consider- ation, in addition to the glory they might achieve; and this collec- tion of stars was perhaps the most successful of all.
In addition to these exhibitions by our home talent, traveling performers have sometimes entertained our citizens. What a wonder was Potter, the juggler and ventriloquist. How he made the eyes of the Warren youth stick out when he fried eggs in a gentleman's hat, and returned the hat uninjured ; when he smashed a beautiful gold watch " all to flinders," and burned a lady's hand- kerchief to ashes, and then restored the same whole and entire; also when he suffered himself to be shot at, and cut a man's head off without hurting him. Old Glynn was nearly as wonderful as Potter; and the above named A. W. Eastman was one of his grandest performers. A people's civilization can be judged by the character of their amusements.
In addition to having good schools, Warren has been cele- brated for her spelling schools. They were held in winter time in all the districts, and there was a great rivalry to see who could spell down the whole town. One in Runaway pond or Weeks dis- trict, that came off about this time, is well remembered. John French was keeping the school, and the little red school-house was packed with youths and maidens. Young Joseph Bixby, a naughty youth, was present, and some wicked person pushed him over the roaring, red hot stove, knocking it down. The school- master, Mr. John French, rushed forward, feeling that his dignity was injured, stamped his foot, and with stentorian lungs shouted, "Cassius! May Brutus and all the other heathen gods preserve and defend us." And then there was a roar of laughter, much to the school-master's delight, the flames belching out and the smoke rolling up. But some resolute boys at once procured two stout
518
HISTORY OF WARREN.
levers, carried the stove out into the snow, cooled it, set it up again, aired the house, and then the spelling-school went on.
Two of the best scholars chose sides, taking care to seat the boys and girls who were fond of each other together, and choos- ing the poorest spellers last, each chooser trying to get the best, that his or her side might miss the least words and thereby win. Then after spelling a while the tally keepers announced the result and they had a recess; such a grand time. When it was over they " chose " again, spelt round a few times and then spelt down. Misses Elsie Ann Bixby and Caroline French could beat the whole town in their day. After the spelling exercises they propounded conundrums, put out hard words, and spoke funny pieces.
Then the school-master made a speech. How well it is re- membered. Some believed it. He began by telling the advanta- ges of the common schools, how they had made New England what she is; how, educated in them, the sons of New Hampshire were the representatives and senators in congress, the judges in the courts, and one of them an honored President. That where the common school system did not exist, there ignorance, supersti- tion and priest-craft prevailed, and the people were the slaves of despots. That there was a class springing up in the country that was opposed to our system ; would have none of it; would break it up. This should not be allowed. The school system should be pre- served. We should stick to it, cling to it. We might as well let our fields and pastures grow up to bushes, burn up our houses and factories, let our ships rot at the wharves, and destroy our railroads, as to give up our school system, and the liberty and the glory it brings with it.
Then some of the citizens in a few words agreed with the speaker, made complimentary remarks, and the exercises closed.
When dismissed, the boys waited upon the girls home, which was the grandest part of the whole performance. No wonder, when the families were large, (what a shame they are not so now,) and district schools were crowded, spelling schools were in high esteem.
The last great occurrence at the close of Warren's first century
About these days the citizens procured a hearse, and the town voted to build a hearse-house near the grave-yard. Mrs. Mercy J. Knapp, wife of Arthur Knapp, headed the subscription list, raised the money and bought the,hearse. Can- not some lady do as much towards building a receiving tomb ?
,
519
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
of white settlers, and with its narration we shall end our enter- taining history, was Warren's Centennial Celebration. At the annual town meeting it was voted to have a celebration on the 14th day of July, 1863, just a hundred years after the day the town was chartered.
ENOCH R. WEEKS
was chosen President.
The following men over seventy years of age, were chosen Vice Presidents, viz. :-
BENJAMIN BIXBY. JOHN CLARK. WILLIAM CLEASBY. JONATHAN CLOUGH. JONATHAN EATON. DR. DAVID C. FRENCH. ASA HEATH. VOWELL LEATHERS.
GEORGE LIBBEY.
SAMUEL MERRILL. NATHANIEL RICHARDSON.
JOSIAH SWAIN. STEPHEN WHITEMAN.
All men over sixty years old were chosen as a committee of arrangements. They were as follows :- JOSEPH BIXBY. SAMUEL BIXBY. BENJAMIN CLEMENT.
JESSE EASTMAN. JOSEPH B. FARNHAM.
SAMUEL GOODWIN. JAMES HARRIMAN. EZRA B. LIBBEY. JOHN LIBBEY.
NATHANIEL LIBBEY.
BENJAMIN LITTLE.
DR. JESSE LITTLE. CALVIN MAY.
SAMUEL L. MERRILL.
ANTONY MCCARTER. NATHAN WILLEY.
520
HISTORY OF WARREN.
The 14th day of July, 1863, was rainy; but the people in goodly numbers assembled in the town house on Warren Common. Charles Leonard, when the hour arrived, rang the bell, and his father, George E. Leonard, acted for the committee of arrange- ments. Enoch R. Weeks, faithful to his duties, presided, and the following was the order of exercises :-
I. Reading the Scriptures, - Isaiah XXXV.
II. Music, - America, by the choir.
III. Prayer, - Rev. Josiah Hooper.
IV. Music, - Auld Lang Syne.
V. Address, - by William Little.
VI. Music, - Old Hundred.
VII. Benediction.
Rev. Josiah Hooper made an excellent prayer. The choir, consisting of Messrs. Amos Clement and Wesley C. Batchelder, Mrs. George E. Leonard, Mrs. Russel Merrill, Mrs. Susan C. Lit- tle, and Misses Sarah J. Leonard, Ellen J. Bixby, Sarah J. Merrill and Amelia S. Clifford, sang in their best style, and the address was afterwards published. 'Any one can express his opinion of that after he has read it. Capt. Daniel Batchelder and others, of Haverhill, were present, and many came from Wentworth and Romney. In the evening they had a ball at the Moosilauke House and the young folks enjoyed themselves. Thus ended Warren's first century. May the next be as prosperous, and have a like happy end.
Eighteen hundred and sixty-three! A hundred years have passed since Warren became a town, and we close our history here. We are happy we have written it, and happy should be the great historian of Warren of the next hundred years, for we believe we have made a good beginning for him. Thrice happy should be our citizens that they have this good history.
We trust all will be pleased, for we have set down naught in malice. Everything has been written in the most perfect good nature, and with the best intentions. We have even taken pains to make some of our friends show off in good style. We have also given every citizen a chance to appear in our book, to immortal- ize himself by enrolling his name in our subscription list. Many
521
CONCLUSION.
have availed themselves of the opportunity, and to such we return our heartiest and most sincere thanks.
If by our efforts we shall cause any of our friends to feel a tithe of the pleasure in reading the preceding pages that we have in writing them, they will be very happy indeed and we shall be amply compensated.
In closing, we sincerely wish that as long as any trout shall swim in the River Baker, otherwise the Asquamchumauke, and all its silvery, musical tributaries, as long as partridges shall drum in the forests on the mountains, as long as any blueberries shall ripen on the crests of Webster slide and Owl's head, as long as the Mi- kaseota shall come down from Wachipauka pond, as long as silver and gold shall be found on Sentinel mountain, as long as the sparkling waterfalls shall gleam on Mount Carr, and as long as the bald head of Moosehillock shall whiten with winter snows, so long may our friends and their children live and enjoy themselves in our town of WARREN.
.
MOOSEHILLOCK FROM WARREN.
APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX.
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
PAGE 57 .- WETAMOO.
The bride of " Montowampate." Her real name was " Wenuchus."-Hist. of Concord, p. 32.
PAGE 134 .- CAPTURE OF THE JOHNSON FAMILY.
The Indians did furnish a horse for Mrs. Johnson to ride. The horse was afterwards killed and eaten to prevent the party from starving. The oldest daugh- ter, who was educated by the French, concluded to return home. Roswell H. Hassam, of Manchester, furnished us an interesting account of the capture of the Johnson family, which we would be glad to see published.
PAGE 152 .- ROBERT POMEROY.
There is a tradition that Chase Whitcher and Joseph Patch both told of find- ing a human skeleton on Moosilauke, and without doubt it was Pomeroy, one of Rogers' rangers.
PAGE 208 .- JAMES DOW.
James Dow, tythingman, contributed most of the descriptions of dress and appearance of the early settlers.
NATURAL HISTORY.
ANIMALS WHICH NOW, OR FORMERLY, LIVED IN WARREN.
MAMMALIA.
ORDER I,-CARNIVORA.
Bat.
Shrew Mole. Star Nose Mole. Say's Least Shrew Mole. Brewer's Shrew Mole.
White Weasel, or Stoat, or Ermine. Little Nimble Weasel. Tawny Weasel. Small Weasel.
Sable, or Pine Marten. Pennant's Marten or Fisher Cat.
Otter.
Mink.
Mountain Brook Mink.
Skunk.
Wolverine.
Cougar, or Panther, or Painter, or Catamount. Canada Lynx, or Loupcervier. Bay Lynx, or Wild Cat.
Wolf.
Red Fox. Black or Silver Gray Fox.
Black Bear.
Raccoon.
ORDER II .- RODENTIA.
Gray Squirrel. Black Squirrel. Chickaree, or Red Squirrel.
Black Rat.
Norway Rat.
Chip, or Chipmonk, or Striped Squir- rel.
Beaver. Musquash.
Flying Squirrel.
Porcupine or Hedgehog.
Wilson's Meadow Mouse.
Woodchuck.
American White Footed Mouse. House Mouse. Leconte's Pine or Field Mouse.
Rabbit, or Northern Hare.
Jumping Mouse.
ORDER III .- RUMINANTIA.
Moose. Common or Fallow Deer.
Caribou, or American Reindeer.
BIRDS. [c means common; r, rare; m, spring and fall migrants.] ORDER I .- RAPTORES-ROBBERS.
.
Bald Eagle, r.
Golden Eagle, r.
Broad winged Hawk, c.
Marsh Hawk, c.
.
527
APPENDIX.
Black Hawk, r. Fish (or Osprey) Hawk, c. Goshawk, r. Pigeon Hawk, c. Red tailed, or Hen Hawk, c. Sharp shinned Hawk. c. Sparrow Hawk, c. Cooper's Hawk, c.
Great horned Owl, c. Long eared Owl, r. Short eared Owl, r. Screech Owl, c. Snowy Owl, m. Acadian Owl, m. Barred Owl, m. Hawk Owl, m.
ORDER II .- SCANSORES-CLIMBERS.
Black billed Cuckoo, c. Yellow billed Cuckoo, c.
Downy Woodpecker, c. Three toed Banded Woodpecker, r. Golden winged Woodpecker, c.
Black backed 3 toed Woodpecker, r. Hairy Woodpecker, c. Pileated Woodpecker, r. Red headed Woodpecker, r'. Yellow bellied Woodpecker, r.
ORDER III .- INSESSORES-PERCHERS.
Ruby throated Humming Bird, c.
Chimney Swallow, c. Whip-poor-will, r. Night-Hawk, c. Belted Kingfisher, c.
Kingbird, c. Pewee, or Phebe Bird, c. Olive-sided Fly-catcher, c. Wood Pewee, c. Chebec, c.
Wood Thrush, c. ' Olive backed Thrush, c. Hermit Thrush, c. Wilson's Thrush, c. Robin, c. Brown Thrasher, I'. Cat-bird, c.
Bluebird, c.
Ruby crowned Wren, c. Golden crested Wren, c. Chickadee or Black cap Tit- mouse, c. White bellied Nuthatchi, c. Red bellied Nuthatch, c. American Creeper, c. Honse Wren, c. Winter Wren, c.
Black and White Creeper, c. Blue, Yellow backed warbler, r'. Maryland Yellow throat warbler, c. Golden winged warbler, c. Nashville warbler, r. Oven-bird warbler, c. Water Thrush warbler, c. Black throated Green warbler, c. Black throated Blne warbler, Il. Yellow rumped warbler, c. Blackburnian warbler, m. Pine-creeping warbler, c. Chestnut-sided warbler, c. Black Poll warbler, r. Yellow warbler, c. Black and Yellow warbler, c. Yellow Red-poll warbler, c.
Canada Flycatcher warbler, m. Red Start, c. . Scarlet Tanager, c.
Barn Swallow, c. Eave Swallow, c. White bellied Swallow, c. Bank Swallow, c. Purple Martin, c.
Cedar, or Cherry Bird, c. Bohemian Chatterer, m. Shrike, or Butcher Bird, m. Yellow throated Vireo, r'. Solitary Vireo, r. Red-eyed Vireo, c.
Pine Grosbeak, m. Purple Finch, c. Goldfinch or Yellow Bird, c. Pinefinch, m.
Red Crossbill, m. White winged Crossbill, m. Mealy Red poll, m. Lesser Red poll, m.
Snow Bunting, m. Lapland Longspur, rand m.
Savannah Sparrow,;r. Grassfinch or Bay winged Bunting, c. White crowned Sparrow, m. White throated Sparrow, c.
Snowbird, c. Tree Sparrow, m. Field Sparrow, c. Chipping Sparrow, c. Song Sparrow, or Ground Bird, c. Swamp Sparrow, r. Fox colored Sparrow, m. Rose breasted Grosbeak, r. Indigo Bird, c. Ground Robin,-Chewink, r.
Bobolink, c. Cow Blackbird, c. Red winged Blackbird, c. Meadow Lark, r. Baltimore Oriole, c. Rusty Blackbird, I. Crow Blackbird, or Purple Grakle, r.
Crow, c. Blue Jay, c. Canada Jay, c.
528
HISTORY OF WARREN.
ORDER IV .- RASORES-SCRATCHERS.
Wild Pigeon, c. Carolina Dove, l'.
Canada Grouse, c . Ruffed Grouse, c.
ORDER V .- GRALLATORES-WADERS.
Great Blue Heron, or Crane, c.
Bittern, or Stake Driver, c. Green Heron, r. Night Heron, r.
Solitary Sandpiper, c. Spotted Sandpiper, c.
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