USA > Vermont > Addison County > Salisbury > History of Salisbury, Vermont > Part 8
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5
Peter W. Baird,
5 Henry Dewey,
6
Henry W. Walker,
5
Harvey Savery,
5
Wm. Severance,
4
Seymour Waterhouse,
5
Jacob Chase,
5
Keros Howard,
5
Almon Briggs,
5
Wm. Chase,
5
Charles Miriam,
5
Wm. Deming,
5
Jefferson Thomas,
4 Charles Filley, 5
Moses Deming, 5
Marshall Cloyes,
5
Kendal Savery,
5
Caleb Paige,
3
Alvah Moosman,
2
Horace Sessions,
1
Uriel E. Beach,
5
Wm. K. Savery,
1
Alfred Pierce,
2
Royal Graves,
1
Peter M. T. Powell,
DIST.
Many of these mechanics have manifested great skill in their art, as may be seen in the complete workmanship and finish of the various articles which have come from their hands.
141
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER XIII.
SCENERY. - LAKE DUNMORE. - CURIOSITIES. - INDIAN TRACES.
THE face of the country in Salisbury, like that of most New England towns, is of a very diversified character.
Few towns have so great and interesting a variety of scenery as Salisbury. Its waters assume the varied forms of falls, cascades and meandering streams, or seek repose in the bosom of its beautiful lake. Its mountains, which rise in pride in the east, overlook its gradual and broken descent to the west. Its hills, crowned with trees, or bright with the husbandman's ripening grain-its valleys, bespotted with flocks and herds-all combine to form the most beautiful land- scapes.
But that spot most sought by those who "hold communion with nature's visible forms," is Lake Dunmore and its vicinity.
This lake lies in the south-east part of the town, and covers, as is estimated, about fourteen hundred acres, and extends some distance into Leicester. Its . 12
142
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
level is three hundred and fifty-eight feet above that of the sea, its extreme length about five miles, and its greatest width a little more than one mile. Its shores are very irregular, and are strikingly marked by long curving bays and sudden indents, and by rocky prominent points and gentle slopes.
It has but one main inlet, which is Lana river, (in fact, its waters are mostly from the springs of the adjacent mountains), and has but one outlet, which forms the stream which flows through Salisbury vil- lage.
Its average depth is about sixty feet, though sound- ings of more than a hundred feet have been made.
Joel W. Andrews, of Albany, New York, recently visited this lake, and made the following observa- tions :
The temperature of the air being 73°, At the surface of the water the temperature was 69º,
At depth of fifty-three feet 45°,
seventy-five feet 41°.
The temperature of the water at the greatest depth has not yet been tried, but these observations show that, at the depth of seventy-five feet, the temperature is only nine degrees above freezing point.
The lake is surrounded by mountains and high- lands, the loftiest of which, called Moosalamoo, has an altitude of 1959 feet, and the southerly peak, com-
143
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
monly known as Rattlesnake point, by barometric measurement, is 1319 feet above the level of the lake .*
The beauty of this lake and of the scenery which surrounds it cannot be surpassed in this state.
It has for many years been the favorite resort of the lovers of the picturesque and beautiful, but has been more especially brought into notice within the last few years by the efforts of the present owners of what is known as the Lake Dunmore property, and by their more liberal improvement of the hotel and its accompaniments, and by their more generous en- tertainment of friends.
To the east rises Moosalamoo, and yet nearer the lake, the Gnomon (Rattlesnake Point), which seems to lift the clouds to protect the crystal plain below.
On the western slope of Moosalamoo, and about fifty rods from the shore of the lake, is Warner's Cave, so noted a spot in the history of the Green Mountain Boys.
A little to the south of the Gnomon rises a con- tinuous forest-covered hill, to the natural solitude and romance of which is added the associations of some
* These facts relating to Lake Dunmore and its surround- ings have been kindly furnished by Mr. E. Jones, one of the present owners of the old glass factory property.
144
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
of the most thrilling incidents of the pioneers of this country ; and still further to the south the eye follows the range of mountains and its adjacent hills, until all are lost in the distance.
Near the centre of the lake is an island, known as Pleasure Island, containing about one third of an acre of land.
On the north rises the lofty summit of Mount Bry- ant, and on the west stands Sunset Hill. The height of the former, above the level of the lake, is five hun- dred and fifty-three feet, and that of the latter, three hundred and seventy-five feet. The ascent of these two summits is easy, and on the top of the former stands a high rock, which, from the magnificent views it commands, is called Prospect Rock.
On the western shore, east of Sunset Hill, is the hotel and the hamlet. Here are to be found the va- rious means of entertainment and diversion, suited to the wants of the epicure, the lover of nature, the artist or the sportsman.
The scenery about Lake Dunmore is of that char- acter which is rarely found. It combines sublimity with beauty. On the one hand are immense masses of rocks and earth which nothing can move, and on the other the fugitive beauty of changing light and shade. The majesty of the cloud-capped mountain is here associated with the undulating curve, and the
--- 3
145
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
awe of the precipice relieved by the laughing of the waters.
From the mountains on the east may be seen some of the most beautiful and extensive landscapes. Here, at a single sight is presented a territory extending west, far beyond Lake Champlain, to the Adirondac Mountains, in New York, and to the north and to the south, as far as the eye can reach. Here, on a clear day, is afforded a view which, in its variety and unity, is seldom equaled. Embracing as it does so many thousands of acres, variegated by the alternate works of God and man, its hills and vales, its forests and cultivated fields, its streams and lakes, its church spires and villages, it presents a landscape which the imagination could hardly excel.
From these mountains one of the most remarkable instances of mirage was once observed. "Lake Cham- plain was seen to rise and widen out, so that the in- tervening hills appeared like islands, and finally all these hills disappeared by being swallowed up by the mighty flood which seemed rapidly covering up this whole landscape territory, and soon appeared like one vast lake of water from Burlington to Benson. Trees standing on the slope of the mountain waded in the water, while others lower down and nearer its base, were entirely covered and out of sight. Burlington, though never before seen at this place, 12*
.
.
146
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
even with a telescope, now was in perfect view, and all natural points, as well as artificial monuments, forts and other buildings on Lake Champlain, were most distinctly visible to the naked eye. This at- mospheric refraction took place about the 20th of August, 1833, and was doubtless produced by the rays of the sun passing under a long, narrow, black cloud (as described by one of the witnesses) which hung in the west just before night. The weather was very hot, and the air was remarkably clear."
It is said that one of the men who witnessed this wonderful sight became so terrified at seeing the wa- ter rising to the higher points of the slope of the mountain, that he began to doubt that the "bow in the east " was a "true sign " that the world should not again be inundated in a general flood; and after all was passed, begged his companion not to describe the phenomenon to others lest so strange and mar- velous a story might make them a laughing stock among the people.
These mountains have been so much sought by the pleasure seeker and the hunter that its scenes are re- plete with interesting incidents and adventures.
Many of the older inhabitants have here hunted the bear and chased the deer, and even remember often to have seen the deer, when pursued by dogs, bas- tening from the mountain and seeking temporary
147
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
refuge in the lake (its own instinct seeming to point out this way as the easiest to thwart the scent of the dogs), and then escaping from some extreme point to the swamps or mountains, unless perchance captured by the hunters in boats .*
The natural curiosities of Salisbury, purely as such, are not many.
"Warner's Cave," before referred to, is an object of no little interest, not only on account of its own pe- culiar make and appearance, but for the associations given it by the vivid though somewhat extravagant imagination of the author of the "Green Mountain
* It should have been remarked, when speaking of the waters of Lake Dunmore, that it is a notorious fact that, notwith- standing the great numbers of visitors who have sought this lake for the past seventy years, for hunting, or fishing, or sailing or other purposes, but two or three persons have been drowned in it, and these had laid in the water a great length of time before they could be rescued.
Resuscitation depends very much upon the pureness of the water in which strangulation takes place. The water of Otter creek appears to have a poisonous effect, and produces in the drowning person sudden mental derangement.
Attempts at resuscitation of persons who have laid in this water but for a few minutes are, in most cases, unavailing, while many have been brought to life who had laid for a long time insensible in the water of Lake Dunmore, and of the streams which flow into and out of it.
148
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Boys." "It is a large rock lying isolated on a small level space on the side of the mountain, with an en- trance in the side into a room in which a person can stand erect, and which is large enough to contain a company of fifteen or twenty persons."
How this rock came here, or how its cavity was made, is a matter of conjecture; though the more common opinion is, that it was hollowed out by the Indians, as a place of temporary security.
Near this cave are two small ovens, which perhaps are objects of more interest than the cave.
These ovens are about the size of a small brick oven, such as is used for baking bread. They appear to be made with great skill, from the solid rock, though no mark of a chisel or other instrument is found upon them.
One of them is a detached stone, the base of which being of the same width with the oven itself, has a square pedestal about two and a half feet high.
Neither of them appear to have been heated, and, in fact, are of a kind of stone which will not bear great heat without breaking.
It cannot be doubted that Indians, at no very re- mote period, lived in this town, for some slight re- mains of their settlements are to be found in many localities.
The Indian names of some of the streams and bod-
149
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
ies of water are yet retained by the descendants of these Indian tribes. For instance, Lake Dunmore was called Mo-sa-la-moo (Lake of the Silver Trout), and Otter creek Woon-e-gee-ka-took, sometimes pro- nounced Wun-eg-e-que-tuck.
It has been said by some of the early inhabitants, that at an early day remnants of an Indian dwelling were found attached to " Warner's Cave." It is not unlikely that the Indians used this cave for a store- house, or for some similar purpose, but there is no evi- dence that it was of any further use, unless it might be to serve as a retreat for a few individuals, in case of the approach of an enemy.
Indian arrows are occasionally found on all the ridge-lands, and on the intervals of Otter creek. Here many crude earthen vessels, apparently once used in cooking, have been plowed up. So, also, on the high interval lands near Middlebury river, many articles of Indian manufacture have been discovered -for instance, an earthen kettle, found just below the surface of the ground, of sufficient size to hold three or four pails of water. This kettle was entire, until unfortunately broken by running the plow into it when it was discovered. It was made of brick, or of earthen material, and of far superior quality to any of the earthen ware made in this county at the present time.
.
150
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
A hammer, also, made of stone, showing great skill in its manufacture, has been picked up, and many other utensils used for domestic purposes.
At the Indian Garden before mentioned, a little east of Salisbury village, many articles of Indian pro- duction have been picked up, among which we might mention arrows, pestles, and dishes for various pur- poses, though mostly in a broken state.
It is supposed that Wolf Hill was once the favorite resort and dwelling place of the Indians .*
This locality appears to have been remarkably con- genial to the tastes and habits of these people, sur- rounded as it was, by swamps, and covered, on all its sides, with dense forests. There being no living water on this hill, the spring of triangular form, before men- tioned (which is in this vicinity), was undoubtedly their watering place.
* This hill stands on the farm of Mark Ranney, east of his house, and was called by the early surveyors, "Stony Hill;" but its name was soon changed to that of "Wolf Hill," from the fact that so many wolves were taken here. This capture of wolves was made by forming lines of men about the hill, at a considerable distance from its base, and then marching to the top, driving the wolves before them. As this line of men neared the top of the hill, of course the circumference of the ring they formed, and the distances between the men became less, until the wolves were so completely and securely encom- passed that they were easily killed.
151
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
There are two places in town where the fire-places of the Indians have not been disturbed. Both are near the stream which flows through the village-the one is near the outlet of Lake Dunmore, and the other some distance below the village.
The only certain evidence that the Indians once had their residence in these places, consists in the peculiar manner in which the stones are laid. But as frost soon disturbs these fixtures, hundreds of them might be passed over, unrecognized.
,
152
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER XIV.
STATISTICS OF TAXATION .- MILITARY ENLISTMENT .- DIS- EASES .- DEATHS .- PROFESSIONAL MEN .- HOTEL KEEP- ERS .- MERCHANTS .- CRIME .- DIVORCES.
Ir not having been the custom of the town clerk to record the yearly expenses of supporting the poor, or of building and sustaining bridges, it is impossible to give a statistical account of these expenses.
A few reports of the selectmen, picked up among loose papers, show the expense of supporting the poor to have been, in
1821,
$127 57
1850,
$262 76
1824,
174 27
1855,
176 59
1831,
180 52
1856, ·
230 42
1845,
243 89
1857,
236 11
1847,
217 86
1858,
193 02
1848,
285 15
During the building of the railroad, in 1848 and 1849, 1849, the expenses of the town were somewhat increased by railroad paupers. Expenses of making roads and building bridges, in the early settlement of the town, were principally defrayed by taxes on the land,
153
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
through special legislation, and no tax was made on the grand list to exceed eight mills on the dollar, until 1806.
On examining the town records, the following facts are found :
In March, 1802, voted to raise a tax of eight mills on a dollar.
1803,
66 66 five
1804, no action on the subject,
66 1805, voted to raise a tax of three mills on a dollar.
66 1806,
.. ten
1807,
66 two
66 1808, no action on the subject.
1809,
66
66 1810, voted to raise a tax of ten mills on a dollar.
Since the year 1810, the expenses of the town have increased about in proportion to the increase of popu- lation, and within that time the grand list has under- gone so many legal changes in matters of taxation, that to follow them through and here give a detailed account of them, would be both uninteresting and useless.
The following is a list of the soldiers from Salisbury, who enlisted and went into the war of 1812, known as the Madison war.
Lieut. Walter Shelden, son of Moses Shelden, returned. John Morton, jr., Dea. John Morton, returned. John Brown, M. D. John Brown, jr., son of John Brown, M, D. 13
-
154
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Chester Loveland. Weeks Copeland,
son of Wiliam Copeland, returned.
Eliakim Sprague,
Benj. Sprague,
Isaac Wells,
John Wells,
returned.
Daniel Bemis,
66 Abel Bemis,
returned.
Joshua Graves,
Chancey Graves,
returned. returned. returned.
George Ray,
Jacob Chase,
son of Daniel Chase,
Stephen Gilbert,
Milton Race,
son of John Race, returned.
The above list of names includes those only who enlisted into the regular service. Many others volun- teered when the country was invaded, and aided the American army in the defeat of the British at Plattsburg in 1814, and also turned out on other oc- casions.
To defray the expenses of the war, a direct tax was levied and collected in 1814, 1815 and 1816.
The records show the following facts : "Paid George Cleaveland, collector for the fourth collection district of Vermont,
In 1814, ,
- $426 92
In 1815,
694 82
In 1816,
415 22
Amount,
$1,536 96"
Beside this tax, ammunition and other supplies were furnished the militia, at the expense of the town.
155
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Once or twice the whole company were called out on extra service, which must have made some addi- tional expense, but there is no record which tells the amount.
A post office was established in Salisbury, January 31st, 1801, and was located at the village. The fol- lowing is a list of its post masters, with the time of the appointment of each.
Patrick Johnson, January 31, 1801 to October 10, 1809.
Jacob Linsly, October 10, 1809 to February 20, 1815.
Austin Johnson, February 20, 1815 to December 29, 1817. December 29, 1817 to December 28, 1824.
John M. Weeks,
December 28, 1824 to August 19, 1847.
Harvey Deming, John Prout, August 19, 1847 to September 27, 1847. Abram B. Huntly, September 27, 1847 to September 24, 1851. Sumner Briggs, September 24, 1851 to October 1852.
William Rustin, October 1852 to December 29, 1854. Keros K. Howard, December 29, 1854.
Mr. Howard has held the office up to the present time.
Another post-office was established in the west part of the town, under the name of West Salisbury, July 19th, 1850. J. S. Messer was appointed the first post- master, and was succeeded by Royal D. Hedden, who holds the office at the present time.
Of diseases and deaths, it is to be regretted but few records have been made until very recently. What-
156
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
ever is written of these must be gathered mostly from memory, and from the testimony of old inhabitants.
The first diseases were, fever and ague, canker- rash, dysentery, and fever of the milder forms. These diseases seldom proved fatal, until about the com- mencement of the present century. About this time many children died with dysentery. With the change of climate which occurred about this period, came other diseases, prominent among which was consump- tion. This insidious disease, in its various forms, has taken its great share from among the inhabitants of the town, and seems to have been constantly increas- ing, from the time of its first appearance.
Fever and ague began to disappear, about the year 1800; and as it gradually went away, other fevers seemed to take a better hold. About this time, it is said, a few cases of spotted fever occurred.
Lung fever made its first appearance in 1812, and became a very general epidemic.
Previous to this, the coldest season of the year was considered the most healthful; but in the winter of 1812 and 1813, at every colder change in the weather, as the season advanced, new cases of this almost fatal epidemic were known. It took from us many of our most valuable citizens, not only from this, but from adjacent towns.
So malignant and mortal was this disease, and so
157
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
quick in its work, that the usual inquiry for the con- dition of the sick person was not, as formerly, "How is he ?" but, "Is he living ?"
It did its most disastrous work among those of the most robust constitution. Indeed, very few persons of this character survived its attacks.
In the following winter a few instances of a similar disease occurred; but either because it appeared in a milder form, or because it was more successfully man- aged by the physicians, it did not cause many deaths.
It was supposed by the early settlers, that fever and ague was produced by the miasmatic influences of the numerous swamps in town; but, while all the swamps remain as formerly, fever and ague have entirely dis- appeared.
It may be that acclimation has had the effect to banish this disease; but it is believed that it had its origin, in the early days, more from the decaying roots, stumps and timber, which followed the clearing of the land, than from the swamps.
It is undoubtedly true, that these swamp lands are not prolific of disease of any character. This fact was very well proved during the building of the rail- road through the Otter creek swamps; for several hundred hands were here employed, both summer and winter, for nearly two years, and no one of these men, and none of their numerous families, were 13*
158
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
known to be made sick, while here employed, in consequence of their locality.
A few cases of ship fever occurred among them, which had been contracted previous to their arrival here.
One or two deaths have occurred from delirium tre- mens, or from diseases akin to it. This disease made its appearance with the age of adulterated liquors ; it was unknown before the year 1800 .*
Salisbury has always been a very healthy town, and
* The first distilled liquors which excited suspicions of adul- teration, in Salisbury, was a barrel of rum which the building committee obtained at Troy, New York, to be used in the framing and raising of the meeting-house.
This was in 1804, since which time a great change has taken place in public opinion in matters of temperance. This liquor had a taste similar to that of tar, and was accordingly named tar water.
Doctor Benj. Rush, of Philadelphia, distinguished at once, as a chemist, physician and statesman, was among the first to discover the adulteration of liquors in this country, and the consequent danger of their use as a medicine.
He used every means in his power. during the latter part of his valuable life, to prevent the use of ardent spirits among the people of the United States, as a beverage, and probably did more than any other person in laying the foundation of the temperance reform, which has spread throughout the country. He died at Philadelphia in the year 1813.
159
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
a large number of its early inhabitants lived far be- yond the common age of man.
The First Registration Report of births, marriages and deaths in Vermont, places Salisbury among the first towns in Addison county, in point of health.
This report, being the first one of the kind in this state, is necessarily inaccurate, but at the same time enables us to form a comparatively accurate judg- ment of the healthiness of the different parts of the state.
Rev. Mr. Pumeroy, during his ministry here, kept a record of the deaths among us, which numbered sev- enty-six. This embraces a period of four years, com- mencing in 1812.
Of these seventy-six deaths,
35 occurred in persons between 0 and 10 years of age.
4
66
10
20
66
.
6
66
20
30
66
4
30
40
4
40
50
66
6
50
60
66
10
60
70
3
70
66
80
66
2
66
80
90
2
90
" 100
The diseases of which these persons died, and the number of deaths by each disease, were as follows :
160
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Consumption,
7
Scalded,
1
Typhus fever,
4
Still-born,
1
Dropsy,
4
Old age,
4
Influenza, .
1
Fits,
7
Epidemic lung fever,
22
Wound in the joint,
1
Dysentery,
4
Laudanum,
1
Spotted fever,
2
Whooping cough,
1
Canker rash,
1
Unknown,
14
Gravel, 1
From the account kept by Rev. Mr. Barrows, du- ring the four years next preceding January 1st, 1851, it appears that the number of deaths in town was fifty-one.
8 between the ages of
0 and 10 years.
6
10 “
20
66
13
66
66
66
30
40 66
4
66
66
40
50
66
60
3
66
66
70
4
66
66
66
66
70
80
4
66
66
80
66
90
2
90
100
Deaths by Consumption, 11
" Dropsy,
4
" Cancer, 1
" Brain fever, 2
" Lung fever, 2
" Fits, 1
" Unknown, 3
Deaths by Typhus fever, 8
" Canker-rash, 4
" Throat disease, 3
" Spinal disease, 1
" Dropsy on brain, 2
" Liver complaint, 1
" Old age, 8
66
66
66
20. “
30
5
50
2
66
66
.
60
161
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
The number of deaths during the four years of Mr. Pumeroy's ministry, appears to be one-third greater than that during the same term of time of more recent date, as shown by the records of Mr. Barrows.
This difference arises from the greater number of deaths from the epidemic lung fever of 1812 .*
It is believed that Mr. Barrows' record is a fair representative of the average number of deaths, du- ring every period of corresponding length, since the year 1800, allowance being made for increase of in- habitants, and for the ravages of the epidemic before mentioned.
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