USA > Vermont > Windham County > Rockingham > History of the town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753-1907, with family genealogies > Part 5
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The Indians next appeared on the eminence east of Kilburn's house, and the Indian Philip, a noted chief in command of the band, who had become acquainted with the whites previously, and knew some English, screening him- self behind a tree, called out to the settlers to surrender, promising to give good quarter.
" Quarter ! " shouted back Kilburn, with a voice that rang through every Indian's heart and every hill and valley, "You black rascals, begone, or we'll quarter you !"
After a few minutes' consultation the Indians gave the war-cry and began the attack. Kilburn managed to get in the first shot, before the smoke obstructed his view, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the first Indian fall, whom he supposed to have been Philip. It is claimed that about four hundred bullets lodged in Kilburn's cabin at the first fire. Kilburn and his men kept up an incessant fire, and when the supply of bullets became low the women suspended blankets under the roof of the house to catch the balls of the enemy, which were instantly remoulded into bullets, and returned to
41
Kilburn's Fight
the Indians. The Indians made several attempts to break in the doors, but were repulsed each time with great loss.
The battle lasted until nearly sundown, when the Indians began to retire, and as evening came on the sound of the guns and the cry of the warwhoop died away into silence.
This encounter proved an effectual check to the expedition of the Indians, and in a short time they returned to Canada. During the whole of the Indian and French war, which continued until 1763, the Indians never again made their appearance in any numbers in this locality, and the settlers were left unmolested. A number of arrow heads and other small relics are found on the battlefield nearly every year.
A skeleton was unearthed fifteen or twenty years ago on the upper terrace, southeast of where Kilburn's cabin stood, and the skull had a bullet hole through it. The skull is now in a case in the Bridge Memorial library in Walpole village and is pointed out to the visitor as perhaps that of the chief, Philip.
According to tradition, John Kilburn and his daughter once spent the night on the top of Mount Kilburn, the father keep- ing watch while his daughter slept. An Indian, who discovered their presence, suddenly sprang from the bushes and attacked Kilburn, and in the fight which ensued, the Indian was hurled headlong from the point now known as Table Rock.
Kilburn lived to see this whole vicinity populous and prosperous, and until the fourth generation of his descendants was upon the stage of active life. In later years he lived in Springfield, Vt., where he owned large tracts of land, but died in Walpole. His interment was in the present beautiful cemetery in that town, and the plain headstone bears this inscription :
In memory of JOHN KILBURN who departed this life for a better, April S. 1789. in the $5 year of his age. He was the first who began to settle this town in 1749.
+2
History of Rockingham
Among the earlier settlements of this vicinity, and one with which Rockingham's earliest settlers had much in common, was that at "Number Four," afterwards called Charlestown, the town separated from this only by the Connecticut river. Their township was chartered by the province of Massachusetts under the name, "Number Four," in 1738. The first settlement of Charlestown was made in 1740, twelve years before a settlement in this town, by three brothers named Farnsworth, of Groton, Mass. The fact that there was built at Charlestown in 1743 the second large, and, for those days, strong fort in this valley, made it a most important locality to the settlers in Rockingham, particularly because of the protection it gave them from marauding Indians descending the Connecticut river. All early history teems with facts relating to the intimate connections between the settlers of the two townships. Close relations must naturally exist between the inhabitants of two such isolated settlements located on the extreme borders of civilization, and contiguous to each other. What affected one must necessarily affect the other. Rockingham looked to Charles- town and its fort for assistance and protection in many threatened invasions by the Indians and French.
The fort called "Number Four" was located nearly in the middle of the present main street of Charlestown, south of the library building, the exact spot having been marked by a granite boulder last year. A strong blockhouse, some- times called a second fort, was located southwest of the village on a plateau a little above the lower level of the "Great Meadow" which stretches south of the village, not far from the Sherman Paris farmhouse. The fort was built under the direction of Col. John Stoddard of North- ampton, Mass., who was for many years the principal military engineer of the Connecticut valley frontier, and had twenty years before superintended the building of the block- house at Fort Dummer. It covered, says Rev. Dr. Crosby, in his "Annals of Charlestown," about three-quarters of an acre, which dimension in the absence of any more definite
43
The Fort at Charlestown
measurement, we are under the necessity of receiving. The walls were made of large squared timbers, laid horizontally one above another, and locked together at the angles in the manner of a log cabin. Within the enclosure were buildings called " Province houses." The fort was stockaded at the north side by timbers about a foot in diameter, placed in the ground endwise, about twelve feet high. A letter from Colonel Stoddard in relation to it says, "We intend the fort shall be so built that the soldiers shall be as safe if the enemy were in the parade [that is, in the open space within the enclosure of the wall] as if they were without the fort." The province houses for the use of the garrison were placed directly against the walls of the fort and so prepared on every side that they could be put in an immediate state of defence, should the enemy by any means gain admittance to the enclosure, so they would still have a hard battle to fight before the place could be taken. The whole expense of the erection of this fort was borne by the settlers themselves, the province of Massachusetts Bay having refused to contribute to its erection, although they had paid all the cost of the con- struction of Fort Dummer.
At various times during the French and Indian wars the protection given by this fort and its brave defenders, was without doubt the means of saving the settlers of Rocking- ham, as well as many other towns in the valley, from entire destruction. During the most of the time this fort was gar- risoned, it was under command of Capt. Phineas Stevens. At times the garrison numbered only thirty men. At other times as many as two hundred were included in its defence.
At one time for a period of some months "Number Four" was entirely deserted by the garrison and all settlers of the town because of the aggressiveness of the enemy. This was also the case with nearly all the settlements north of Fort Dummer including that in the town of Rockingham. The whole body of settlers had retreated to the larger towns in Massachusetts.
From this fort, as well as from Fort Dummer at Brattle-
44
History of Rockingham
boro were sent out the parties of " Rangers" to ascertain the locality of the treacherous Indians and French and guard the valley from their depredations. Hardly had the fort been completed and garrisoned when it was attacked by a large party of the French and Indians, under the command of Jean Baptiste Boucher de Neverville, a French officer of the line. The siege continued during three days and in that time thousands of balls were poured upon the fort, yet not one of the garrison was killed and only two were wounded. Monsieur de Neverville, giving up all hopes of carrying the fortification, reluctantly withdrew. His forces, however, continued to hover about the frontiers in small parties, annoy- ing all whom they chanced to fall in with and a portion of them scouted through the territory now known as Rocking- ham. In admiration of the skill displayed by Stevens in this defence, Sir Charles Knowles, who happened at that time to be in Boston, sent him an elegant sword, and "Number Four" when incorporated as a town in 1753, was called in honor of the commodore, "Charlestown." During the remainder of the war, the garrison at "Number Four" was supported at the expense of Massachusetts.
Whenever reports would reach Captain Stevens of a murder or outrage committed upon the settlers he would send out a party of rangers to follow and punish the depredators. History abounds in thrillings incidents, both of his success and defeat. He often made forced marches of a hundred miles or more into the wilds of both New Hampshire and Vermont and the stories of his adventures read much like the Arabian Nights.
An account of one of Captain Stevens' excursions will be sufficient to show the character of all as well as the hardships and difficulties encountered by his parties of rangers. Dur- ing the month of March, 1748, a small party of Indians made their appearance at "Number Four," of whom we have the following account in Doolittle's Narrative :
" The snow being very deep, and our men not fearing a small party of skulking Indians, eight of them went out about sixty rods from " Number
15
Rockingham Defended by " Old No. 4"
Four" to get wood. The enemy, about ten in number, came within thirty rods of the Fort, ran to meet our men, fired upon them, killed Charles Stevens, wounded one Andreas and took Eleazer Priest captive. Our men, not having snow-shoes, could not run out of the path and make their escape, nor had the men in the garrison snow-shoes to pursue them."
Captain Stevens sallied out for the rescue of his men, but could do nothing under the circumstances and he at once despatched an express to Fort Dummer to warn them of the presence of the Indians and of their danger.
The narrative says :
"Great advantage having resulted on former occasions from scout- ing parties and from watching the motions of the enemies, an expedition for this purpose was projected during the spring by some of the ranging officers and was soon after accomplished. A scout of nineteen men under the command of Captain Eleazer Melvin, marched on the 13th day of May from Fort Dummer. Proceeding up the Connecticut River as far as 'Number Four,' they were joined by Captains Stevens and Hobbs, with a force of sixty men and the whole party on Sunday, the 15th, at sunset set out from 'Number Four' on their hazardous enterprise. They followed the 'Indian road' along the banks of Black River, but sometimes would lose it in fording streams and in traversing forests, where the ground was covered by a thick growth of underbush. On reaching the main branch of Otter Creek, Captain Melvin and his men, according to previous agreement, left the party, crossed the stream and set out for Crown Point."
"Captain Stevens' party passed down the Otter Creek a short distance and then struck eastward in the hope of reaching White River. After travelling five days along one stream which they crossed in one day thirty- five times, they reached its mouth, and found it to be the 'Quarterqueechee ' (Ottaquechee). Proceeding down the Connecticut on rafts and in canoes, they reached 'Number Four' after an absence of two weeks."
Captain Stevens remained at "Number Four" two days, which time was occupied in preparing paddles and setting-poles for an excursion down the river. He set out on June 2 with sixty men and six canoes, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, for Fort Dummer and got by the falls at Bellows Falls about sun-down and arrived at Fort Dummer about 2 o'clock the next morning. Here they first heard of the great disaster which had happened to the command of Captain Melvin, from whom they had separated some weeks before on Otter creek. Melvin had met the enemy and lost six of his men. Melvin's command was entirely scattered and they straggled into Fort Dummer one, two, or three at a time for some weeks thereafter.
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History of Rockingham
April 19, 1746, "Number Four" was attacked by the Indians and French who took Capt. John Spafford, Lieut. Isaac Parker and Stephen Farnsworth, prisoners. They also burned the saw and grist mills that Capt. Spafford had erected for the proprietors.
The June following the fort was again attacked, but was defended with the loss of Jedediah Winchell mortally wounded, and three others slightly wounded.
Again April 9, 1747 a large force of French and Indians came down the river and laid siege to the fort but were repulsed, the defence by Capt. Stevens being one of the bravest of the wars of that time.
August 30, 1754 a band of Indians surprised the settlers of "Number Four" and took back to Canada as prisoners the family of James Johnson consisting of himself, his wife, and three children, and a daughter of Lieut. Moses Willard, about fourteen or fifteen years of age. also Ebenezer Farns- worth and Peter Labaree,-eight in all. They were held in Canada some years, finally making their way back to the settlement. One of the small children of Mr. Johnson, Sylvanus, became in later years a resident of this vicinity, living across the Connecticut from Bellows Falls.
The foregoing incidents of Indian warfare and atrocities are but a few selected as examples only of hundreds which occurred during the period of early settlements in this valley. Early historians of nearby towns gathered those of their own town and perpetuated them. Rockingham's incidents have not been collated until many of them have passed into the obscurity of over a century and a half, but on its soil and in the vicinity of the " Great Falls " were atrocities committed of as great importance as any in the Connecticut valley.
The tribe of Indians, representatives of which were most frequently seen in this vicinity during the last Indian wars, and scattered members of which often visited this neighbor- hood in comparatively late years, was the Abenaqui, one of the three most prominent tribes found by the French in the great basin of the St. Lawrence river when they began settle-
47
The Abenaqui Tribe
ments in that region. This name was so frequently heard in early days, and the traditions of its local connections during a period of so much interesting history here was so strong, that it has gradually become a common designation of many social and business enterprises such as "Abenaqui Chapter of Royal Arch Masons," "Abenaqui Hose company," "Abenaqui Machine company," "Abenaqui Paper company" and many others. The Abenaqui was one of the large and powerful tribes of the country, one division of which gave its name to the Penobscot River, and another to the Andros- coggin. It was the Penobscot chief Bashaba of whom Whittier wrote his " Bashaba's Feast." The eastern branches of this tribe sometimes invaded this region, and they gave the name Gonitigow (Long-river) to the Quinnehtuck or Quinetticut of the Pocumtucks-the Connecticut-but they never remained here for any long time.
The excellent history of Vermont written by the late Rowland E. Robinson designated the tribe as "Waubana- kee " and that spelling is used by societies in Burlington and the northern portion of the state, while in the vicinity of Keene it is spelled "Abenaki," but the larger number of authorities use it as spelled here. The tribe in later years was known as the "St. Francis" Indians and were located on the river of that name in the Province of Quebec.
Tradition says that long before the white man came to this vicinity, there was a large Indian village of wigwams extending from the south end of Mount Kilburn, where the Fitchburg station of Cold River now is, nearly a quarter of a mile south, and that it was a sub-tribe of the great Abenaquis or Algonquins.
From time immemorial the "Great Falls" had been the best fishing ground in all New England, and this tribe was here because of the ease with which food of this nature could be procured. Shad and salmon were more plentiful here, at certain seasons of the year, than at any other place known. The salmon went above here each year, but the shad never were able to get over the falls and would accumulate at a
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History of Rockingham
certain season of the year in immense quantities in the " Great Eddy " that was just below the " Great Falls." The blossom- ing of the shad tree was the signal for all the Indians for many miles around to gather about the falls for the purpose of salmon and shad fishing.
The oldest inhabitants of the village at the present time talk of their parents and grandparents telling them that at that season of the year the surface of the water in the eddy would be perfectly alive and black with shad, so much so that it often seemed as if a man might walk across upon the backs of the fish. They could be readily caught and thrown out of the water in large quantities with the hands. This was the case even, within the past one hundred years. It was a very profitable industry for the inhabitants to gather the fish, and ship them down the river by boats to the markets, after the boating was established by regular lines. The salmon were a more gamey fish and were taken by both the Indians and early settlers by means of spears as they passed up the narrow places in the "Great Falls."
The Abenaqui Indians used frequently to return here previous to the last century after they were driven away by the early settlers, and they committed many acts of murderous nature, being a very savage and vicious tribe. In the narrow defile between Mount Kilburn and the river was the Indian path over which they used to travel from Canada to the white settlements below, on their marauding expeditions. An early account of the life of the Indians in this vicinity says.
"Imagination can see them now, perched upon the rocks, spearing the . 20-pound salmon, or scooping with their nets multitudes of shad, or, perhaps, crossing and re-crossing, in their bark canoes, the basin below, while the old squaw was doing the drudgery about the huts, the papoose, half naked, wallowing in the filth, and the dusky maiden loitering about in the shade of the stately elms, stringing her ornaments and wampum. 'Twas here, it may be, they held their orgies and concocted their hellish designs on the white settlers."
During all the first half of the last century small parties of more civilized and peaceable Abenaqui Indians used to visit Bellows Falls nearly every summer, coming from their
49
The Last Abenaqui Chief
homes in Canada and New York state. They came down the Connecticut in their canoes, usually bringing supplies of baskets and other trinkets which they had manufactured dur- ing the previous winters, which they sold to citizens of Bellows Falls and the then large number of summer visitors. They usually encamped on Pine hill, which was then north of the village and extended as far north as the residence of the late F. E. Proctor at the extreme north end of Green street. Sometimes they built their wigwams on the beach south of the falls, at times on the Vermont side, at others on the New Hampshire side. The men spent much time fishing in the river and hunting on the hills on both sides of the river, while the squaws carried on the mercantile branch of their business.
The last remnant of this tribe came to Bellows Falls early in the summer, about 1856, in their birchbark canoes. The party consisted of a chief who was very old and infirm, a young wife and their sons, one about twenty and the other about nine years old, and others. On the occasion of this last visit they made their camp on Levi Chapin's meadow a short distance above the dam and near the mouth of "Governor's brook," where now stands a part of the village of North Wal- pole. They built their wigwams in true Indian fashion, of poles, covering them with bark and the skins of wild animals, and during the whole summer the place was of much interest to all in this vicinity. A number of present residents well remember them and the interest which all took in them.
The older son spoke good English and was a manly appear- ing youth. He was an expert in the use of his rifle and shot gun and collected considerable money from visitors by giving exhibitions of his marksmanship. The little boy was a shy, bare headed, bushy haired little savage. The chief himself was very intelligent and conversed interestingly with. his visit- ors. He had fought with the English in different wars and gave many startling incidents connected with his early life and wild mode of living. He had been to England three times and he wore a large silver medal presented to him by King George III. in acknowledgment of his services. He was very proud of this, 5
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History of Rockingham
and lost no opportunity to exhibit it to his callers. It bore the king's profile in relief and an appropriate inscription.
Levi Chapin at one time asked if he believed that all the races of men sprang from Adam. With great dignity and deliberation, as well as dramatic eloquence, he pointed to Mt. Kilburn, saying, "You see yonder mountain-you find the bear there, you find the wild cat there, you find the deer there, you find the Indian there," indicating in this way his belief that the Great Spirit had created the Indian with the other wild creatures to inhabit the mountains from which the white man had driven them.
Late in the season the weather grew cold and the party prepared to return to Canada before the river was frozen over, but the old chief wished to die beside the "Great Falls," and be buried with his fathers. After long continued dis- cussion his wife left him in his wigwam with his two sons, and went north with others of the party. The wigwam was removed to the higher ground near River street about opposite the present location of Taylor's livery stable.
As the weather grew colder the skins with which the hut was covered gave poor shelter from the late autumn storms. Mr. Chapin and other residents took much interest in the old warrior and carried him food and bedding. Mr. Chapin arranged with the Walpole selectmen and overseer of the poor, George Huntington, to send some lumber with which to construct a suitable shelter. This, however, was never built for the night after the materials were brought the old chief died.
In his last hour he called his elder son to his side and with his finger on his wrist showed how his pulse beat slowly and unsteadily. "I'm going to the Great Spirit," he said, feebly. He gave to his son the medal and the old rifle he had carried in the wars and charged him to wear the one and keep the other as long as he should live. Funeral ser- vices were held at the house of Levi Chapin, Rev. John M. Stow, pastor of the Congregational church at Walpole, offici- ating, and this last local representative of the original tribe of
5I
Sylvanus Johnson's Indian Characteristics
Abenaqui Indians was buried in what was then the Rocking- ham burying-ground, now known as the old Catholic ceme- tery, on the terraces in the west part of the village of Bellows Falls. No stone was erected to mark the spot, and the old representative of the proud tribe of Abenaquis rests in a grave, the location of which cannot be pointed out.
The Indian nature is universally considered as stoical and devoid of the finer instincts, seldom exhibiting feeling, but persons who were present when the young Indian made his arrangements with the Rockingham authorities for permission to bury his father speak of the young man as shedding tears and showing much affection for his deceased parent.
Illustrating the connection between the period of savage occupation and present civilization, and a connecting link between, was the half savage, half civilized character of an early white man residing here. He was Sylvanus Johnson, one of the earliest settlers who owned most of the land now covered by North Walpole village, across the Connecticut opposite the village of Bellows Falls. He was unique and very odd in many ways owing to his life as a captive among the Indians while a small boy.
He purchased his farm now covered by the growing village, December 3, 1789, of Peter Bellows. This farm was the north division of land in North Walpole, next above that owned in later years by the Chapin brothers. His first dwell- ing was a small two-room structure that stood on the east side of Main street north of "Governor's brook," near where the old dwelling owned by A. J. McCarthy on the north side of East street, at the corner of Main, now stands. It was the first house built in North Walpole north of the toll bridge. In later years he erected a two-story dwelling, and at one time the two-room dwelling was used as a school-house, but has since been torn down. The second dwelling is the oldest now standing in the village.
Sylvanus was the eldest child of James Johnson and Susanna Willard of Charlestown. He was born January 25, 1748, and was a boy of six years when the whole family was
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