Colonial life in New Hampshire

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Cliap.J^STifcopyright No..

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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The Old Man of the Mountain.

COLONIAL LIFE

IN

NEW Hampshire

BY )

JAMES H.'^'fASSETT
'I

BOSTON, U.S.A.
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS

1899

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23470

Copyright, 1899
By JAMES H. FASSETT

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TWO COPIES REC:-«VEO*

iV

PREFACE.

It is the belief of the author that the aim of all teachers
of history should be to cultivate and foster in the minds of
children a fondness for historical reading, rather than the
mere memorizing of historical facts. In order to best
accomplish this purpose, the child's interest should first be
awakened by the historical associations of places with which
he is familiar. He should be told the legends and stories of
the town or city in which he lives, and at the same time
carefully led to see their connection with the broader his-
torical life of the country. Following the stories of local
interest, the early history of the colony, with its accounts of
the struggles and hardships endured by the early settlers,
should be developed. This method will tend not only to
broaden and intensify the child's interest in historical read-
ing, but will give to him some conception of the value of
his birthright as an individual of the state and of the
nation.

In writing the " Colonial Life of New Hampshire," it was
thought best, for many reasons, to treat the subject topically

iv PREFACE.

rather than in the chronological order. In the separate
chapters, however, events have been narrated, so far as
possible, in their natural order.

The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the local
histories of New Hampshire towns ; Belknap's *' History of
New Hampshire"; Chase's "History of Dartmouth Col-
lege"; and Batchellor's editions of New Hampshire State
Papers.

CONTENTS

-•o«-

PAGE

CHAPTER I.
Early Settlements . i

CHAPTER II.
The Indians of New Hampshire 30

CHAPTER III.
Customs of the Settlers 42

CHAPTER IV.
Political History of the Colony 65

CHAPTER V.
Dartmouth College 79

CHAPTER VI.

Trouble between New Hampshire and New York ... 83

CHAPTER VII.
Beginnings of the Revolution 9^

CHAPTER VIII.
General John Stark 96

CHAPTER IX.
General John Sullivan • . .120

Index 141

4*

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

" The Old Man of the Mountain "

Blockhouse .......

Garrison House

Headstone in South Nashua Cemetery

Plan of an Algonquin Village

Maple Sugar Camp

The Sullivan Slave House

A Kitchen Fireplace

The Wentworth Mansion

Fireplace in Wentworth Mansion

Governor John Wentworth .

Dartmouth Hall ....

Eleazer Wheelock ....

The Catamount or Green Mountain Tavern

General John Stark ....

Cannon Captured at Pjennington .

War Relics of Battle of Bennington .

General John Sullivan ....

Portcullis of Fort William and Mary

The Sullivan House

Frontispiece

PAGE

7

lO

17

31

49
60

63

72

74
76

79
81

89

97
114

121

123

134

COLONIAL LIFE

IN

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

The First Settlers. — During the summer of 1603
two small vessels commanded by Captain Martin
Pring sailed into what is now Portsmouth Harbor
and explored Piscataqua River for some distance.
Pring was much pleased with the thickly wooded
hills and the rich lowlands along the river banks,
and, upon returning to England, gave such an
account of the country that many Englishmen of
influence and wealth became interested in this part
of the New World.

Settlement at Pannaway. — In the year 1622 Mr.
David Thompson obtained from the Grand Council of
Plymouth a grant of land consisting of six thousand
acres, the site of which was to be chosen by himself.

2 COLONIAL LIFE

With a company of colonists, he sailed in midwinter
in a ship called the " Jonathan of Plymouth," and
arrived at the Piscataqua in the spring of 1623. He
chose for his place of settlement a location near the
present city of Portsmouth, and soon completed a
stone house large enough for himself and his follow-
ers. Thompson remained at this place, which was
called Pannaway, several years, during which time he
traded with the Indians for furs, and caught and salted
fish which were found in great quantities off the coast.
Shortly after the settlement was established he was
visited by the renowned Miles Standish of the Ply-
mouth Colony. This small settlement remained and
flourished, although its leader in the year 1626 moved
to the colony of Massachusetts.

Settlement at Dover. — About the time of the settle-
ment at Pannaway a small company under the leader-
ship of Mr. Edward Hilton built several log cabins
near the present town of Dover, with the intention of
establishing a trading-post. It was customary for the
Plymouth company to demand that before any grant
was made some settlement should be started to indi-
cate the good faith of the persons who desired the
land. Accordingly, Hilton brought to the notice of
the Plymouth company the improvements which he
had made on the Piscataqua, and in consideration of
these, the company in the spring of 1630 granted him
six thousand acres.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 3

The Company of Laconia. — In 1629 the Grand
Council of Plymouth gave to Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
Captain John Mason, and seven other gentlemen a
tract of territory near Lake Champlain, to which
province they gave the name of Laconia, " on account
of the great lakes therein." These men imagined that
Lake Champlain lay about ninety miles from the
coast, and that the head waters of the Piscataqua were
but a few miles from this region. They therefore
hired the buildings which were erected seven years
before by David Thompson, and made them a basis
of supplies for expeditions to this country which
they supposed was to be so easily reached. After
struggling for two years to find a direct route to
Laconia, all efforts were abandoned.

During this time, the colonists had noticed the
many advantages which the region about the Piscat-
aqua offered for commerce and fishing, and the Com-
pany of Laconia in 1631 obtained a grant to this
section ; but this grant in no way conflicted with the
land previously given to Hilton. For a number of
years the company continued under the leadership of
Captain Walter Neale ; but as nothing was done
toward reclaiming the wilderness, and as their returns
were meagre, the company soon disbanded.

Mason at this time bought the shares of two of
his associates, and shortly before the surrender of
the Grand Patent of the Company of Plymouth,

4 COLONIAL LIFE

procured a new grant of land in this section, which
he called New Hampshire. But the name New
Hampshire was not commonly used until 1679,
when the colony was made a royal province. Mason
persevered in his idea of settling this territory, and
sent over many colonists with farming tools and
cattle. He also set up two sawmills. Mason died
in 1635, and for a time his widow managed the estate
through her agent, Francis Norton. Finding that
the expenses exceeded the returns, she soon severed
all connection with the colony and left the settlers
to shift for themselves as best they could.

Founding of Exeter. — In the year 1638 the Reverend
John Wheelright, a man of remarkable intellect and
of great independence, came from the Massachusetts
Colony with a band of followers and settled at Exeter.
He had been banished from Massachusetts on account
of his belief in the religious teachings of Mrs. Anne
Hutchinson a woman of great power, who profoundly
stirred the theological minds of her time. A year
after the founding of Exeter a code of laws was
agreed upon, which formed the first written consti-
tution of any New Hampshire settlement. The next
year the colonists along the Piscataqua River entered
into a similar constitution in order to protect them-
selves against " sundry mischiefes and inconven-
iences." Thus the little settlements acknowledged
their mutual dependence for law and order upon a

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 5

written ao^reement which was more or less bindinor
for all their people.

Grants by Massachusetts. — The early towns along
the Merrimac River for a long time were supposed to
be under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and grants
were made under the authority of that colony. Of
these towns, Dunstable was the earliest to be settled,
but many others soon obtained charters from Massa-
chusetts. This land was practically given to the
settlers, but a nominal fee known as " quitt rents "
was reserved by the authorities. In some instances
the payment consisted of one ear of Indian corn for a
rental of ten years. Usually a number of settlers
combined and asked for the charter of a township,
which was afterwards surveyed and divided among
them, generally by lot.

Massachusetts finally had so many petitions pre-
sented for lands that she granted not only townships,
but lines of towns, which were so situated as to
effectually protect the frontier settlements. In the
southern part of the state four lines were granted in
the form of a quadrilateral extending west from Dun-
stable to Northfield, Massachusetts ; from that place
north along the east side of the Connecticut ; thence
east to Penacook (Concord), and from Penacook
south to Dunstable. Only two of these sides were
really settled under this arrangement, — the north
side, where they were numbered from one to nine,

6 COLONIAL LIFE

and the west side, where they were numbered from
one to four : it was from this fact that Charlestown
was originally known as Number Four.

Conflicts with the Indians. — During the early years
of the colony the settlers found the Indians well dis-
posed, and these friendly relations were maintained
for a long time. They traded with each other to
mutual advantage. The Indians furnished many
things to the whites, who in turn gave the Indians
many articles which they were unable to make.

Gradually, however, misunderstandings began to
arise. As the settlements spread, the Indians found
themselves pushed farther and farther back toward
the west, where they were checked by the powerful
Iroquois. They could not understand the white men's
ideas of the ownership of land, nor could they compre-
hend the strict laws of the settlers or the crimes for
which they were sometimes punished. They saw their
hunting grounds and garden spots turned into farms
and villages, and, becoming desperate, resolved to
regain their lands from the settlers. In consequence,
many expeditions were made against the exposed settle-
ments. In these attacks the Indians were aided by
gifts of arms and ammunition from the French in
Canada, and therefore our forefathers were scarcely
less bitter toward the French than toward the savages
themselves.

The Indians practiced the same cruelties upon the

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

whites that they were accustomed to Inflict when fight-
ing with each other. Always after a successful attack
the captives who were not capable of traveling were
put to death, and the others were taken to Canada,
where they were either held for ransom or sold as
slaves. It is estimated that during one year ten per
cent of the men in New Hampshire were killed by
Indian raiders. Men carried their flintlock oruns
with them everywhere, — into the fields on week-
days and into the meeting-houses on Sundays. To
protect their log cabins, they built around them high
fences of upright logs,
which were sharpened
and driven close to-
gether into the earth.
In order to attack
people within, the Indi-
ans had to expose them-
selves in climbins: over
these palisades. In ad-
dition, every community
had at least one block-
house, which was a sort
of fort built large
enough to hold several
families. The first story was constructed like a log
cabin, but the second was so built that it projected
out beyond the first. By this means the attacking

Blockhouse.

8 COLONIAL LIFE

party could be fired on from above and driven from
the walls, which would otherwise protect the Indians
without as much as they did the settlers within.

Death of Major Waldron (1689). — During these
troublesome times in New Hampshire the exposed
settlements in Massachusetts were attacked by Indians
under the command of a powerful chief named Philip,
but after several massacres the savages were over-
come and their leader was killed. A large num-
ber of Philip's people came to the tribes in the south-
ern part of New Hampshire, where they attempted to
stir up a warlike spirit. This reached the ears of the
authorities in Boston, and a company of soldiers was
sent to stop the threatened uprising. Upon reaching
Dover they found two or three hundred Indians enter-
tained by Major Waldron whom the savages consid-
ered their fast friend. Among this number there
were several of King Philip's Indians whom the
soldiers wished to take prisoners at once, but Waldron
advised them to wait until the next day, when he
would arrange a sham fight, and the Indians, being
unarmed, could be taken without resistance. This
was done, and, not suspecting any surprise, they
were easily captured. All, however, were released,
with the exception of King Philip's old soldiers, who
were brought captive to Boston. Eight of them were
afterwards convicted of murder and hanged, while
the rest were sold as slaves.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 9

The Indians never forgave Major Waldron his
treachery, and while still pretending friendship were
quietly laying plans for revenge. On the evening
of June 27, 1689, two squaws applied at each of
the garrison houses in Dover for permission to sleep.
A chief named Mesandowit was also entertained at
Major Waldron's. While they were at supper the
Indian quietly asked Waldron, " What would you do
if the strange Indians come ? " Waldron, with con-
fidence in the strength of his defense, replied, " I can
assemble a hundred and fifty men by lifting my
finger."

During the night the squaws unbarred the doors
of the blockhouses, and, at a signal, the Indians who
were waitino^ outside rushed in and bes^an their ter-
rible work. Major Waldron, although eighty years
old, grasped his sword and for a time beat them
back, but finally was knocked down by a blow from
behind. The savages lashed him to his armchair,
placed it on a table, and told him to judge Indians
now as he had done before. A number of them owed
him money for goods, and each of these drew his
knife across the old man's breast, crying, " Thus I
cross out my account! " while others taunted him with
his treachery. At last, fainting from the loss of blood,
he fell to the floor and the house was set on fire.

Attacks upon the Settlement at Oyster River. — Two
months later in the same year a large body of Indians

lO

COLONIAL LIFE

came down the Oyster River, with the intention of
attacking the garrisons at that place. They first
killed a party of eighteen persons belonging to
Huckins' garrison, as they were going to their morn-
ing devotions, and then attacked the house, in which
were only women and children. For some time the
savages were heroically beaten off by the efforts of

two young boys, who

poured a continuous
fire upon them and
wounded several.
At length they set
fire to the house,
but even then the
boys would not sur-
render until the
Indians had prom-
ised to spare the
lives of all the in-
mates. They broke
their word, however, and all the younger children
were killed, while the rest were carried away as
captives.

During the summer of 1694, under the leadership
of Sieur de Villieu, a company of two hundred fifty
Indians made a general attack upon the fourteen
garrison houses at this settlement on Oyster River.
In the encounter which followed, five of the block-

Garrison House.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. II

houses fell into the hands of the enemy, and their
inmates were either horribly murdered or sold into
slavery in Canada. The others successfully resisted
the attacks, and several of the Indians were killed.

A brave man named Bickford, being forewarned
of the advance, sent his wife and children down the
river in a boat, and determined to defend his home
single-handed. The Indians endeavored to persuade
Bickford to surrender, but he refused with scorn all
their offers. In order to deceive them and make
them think that they were opposed by a strong
force, he changed his coat and his hat many times
and fired from different loopholes about the for-
tress. He also gave stirring commands to an
imaginary band of defenders. The Indians were
completely deceived by his stratagem, and after a
short time the entire force withdrew and left the
solitary man in possession of the home he had so
nobly defended.

Bravery Shown by Women. — The attitude which
the women assumed during these trying times is one
of which New Hampshire may be justly proud.
Strong of body and keen of intellect, they were ever
ready to help their husbands in the protection of their
families. When it was necessary for the men to be
absent they did the work in the fields and cared for
the live stock. When fighting was to be done they
could always be relied upon to handle the flintlock

12 COLONIAL LIFE

as ably as the men in defense of their homes. Too
much honor, indeed, cannot be paid to the wives of
our forefathers.

Among the captives taken at the attack upon
Dover was Sarah Gerrish, a little seven-year-old girl,
granddaughter of Major Waldron. At the end of a
most fatiguing journey she arrived with her captors
in Canada. After some time she was purchased by
a wealthy French lady and placed in a nunnery ; but
later she was ransomed and returned to her parents,
who had given up all hope of seeing her again.

On the 22d of March, 1690, the village of Salmon
Falls was attacked by a band of Indians and utterly
destroyed. Thirty of the people were killed and as
many more taken to Canada as captives. One of
these, Robin Rodgers, was burned at the stake as
punishment for attempting to escape during the
journey. Mehitable Goodwin, another of the captives,
had a most terrible experience. The savage into
whose charge she had been given, annoyed by the
crying of her child, which was so small that she
carried it in her arms, snatched it away and killed
it before her eyes. Upon arriving in Canada she was
sold as a slave and kept five years, at the end of which
time she was enabled to return to her friends, who
had mourned for her as dead.

During the spring of 1706 the Indians attacked a
cabin near Oyster River and killed all of its inmates.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 13

They then made an attack upon a blockhouse near
by. As it happened, there was not a man in the fort
at the time. The women, however, not at all daunted,
loaded their guns and prepared for a stubborn fight.
That the Indians might think they were men, they
undid their hair and allowed it to hang loosely over
their shoulders. They also shot from different loop-
holes, in order that the savages might be deceived as
to their numbers. The fire which they poured upon
the attacking force was so sharp and so accurate that
after a short time the Indians withdrew, havinor lost
many of their best warriors.

Colonel Winthrop Hilton. — During the year 17 10 the
settlements of New Hampshire lost one of their
bravest defenders in Colonel Hilton. While busily at
work peeling bark from mast trees, he and his work-
men were ambushed by a party of Indians ; at the first
fire Hilton and two of his men were killed, but the
remainder of the party were able to make their escape.

Many stories are told of the prowess of Hilton.
The following account, although related many years
afterwards, is doubtless true.

Previous to the trouble with the Indians Colonel
Hilton had always been very friendly with them. On
many occasions he had been of assistance to the
savages by furnishing them food and shelter and by
protecting them from being cheated in trade with
unscrupulous whites.

14 COLONIAL LIFE

After the outbreak of the wars, however, the Indians
found that they were constantly being thwarted in
their plans by Hilton's wisdom and cunning. Finally,
one of the chiefs, who had formerly been his particular
friend, decided that Hilton must die, and for this
purpose ten of his best warriors were picked out and
instructed by the old chief not to return without
him, alive or dead. They came upon him as he was
weedins: corn not far from the blockhouse, with his
rifle resting against a stump at some little distance.
Quietly the Indians took advantage of the situation,
and, having crept between Hilton and his gun,
demanded that he accompany them.

Hilton immediately saw that he was securely caught,
and, putting a pleasant face on the matter, treated the
whole proceeding as a good joke of his old friend the
chief. He chatted with his captors in the most uncon-
cerned manner, asking about their families and their
success in trapping. In this way they tramped several
miles, until they reached a deserted log house which
the Indians appropriated. As they were so strong in
number they took no special precaution against their
captive. They securely barred the only door, and,
after setting their guns together in a corner, each one
proceeded to roast his meat before the open fire.

Meantime Hilton was constantly talking with them,
and finally asked permission to examine their guns.
This being granted, he took up the guns one by one,

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

15

and as he did so commented on the good points of
their " kill-deers." The Indians did not notice, how-
ever, that as he set them back each one was cocked
and ready for firing.

A most singular contest now took place. One man
matched himself against ten; with the utmost coolness
and quick as lightning, one Indian after another fell
under his accurate aim. The Indians rushed upon
him, but were driven back by tremendous blows from
the stock of his gun, and as they reeled back more
guns were fired and each time an Indian was killed.

Thus the struggle continued until but one red man
was left alive. He succeeded in unbarrino^ the door
and in making his escape. Hilton, with the ten guns
upon his shoulders, marched in triumph toward his
home, and on the way was met by a company of
settlers who had started out for his rescue.

The Dunstable Massacre. — An Indian raid which
turned out most unfortunately for the settlers at
Dunstable, New Hampshire, occurred in September,
1724. One morning Nathan Cross and Thomas
Blanchard, citizens of the town, crossed the Nashua
River and began their usual work of making turpentine
fromi the pine trees which abounded in this region.
The day being rainy, they placed their luncheon and
their guns in the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. While
busy at work and wholly unsuspicious of an attack,
they were surrounded by a large body of Indians and

l6 COLONIAL LIFE

forced to surrender. The savages then cut the hoops
of the barrels of turpentine, and, having done as much
mischief as possible, took the two men with them as
captives up the west bank of the Merrimac.

The neighbors, becoming frightened at their long
absence, crossed the river in search of them. They
easily found from the signs that Blanchard and Cross
had been captured, and one of the brightest of the
party judged, as the turpentine from the barrels had
not yet ceased flowing, that it had not been long
since the capture was effected.

This man, Farwell by name, counselled the others
to take a circuitous route and by marching rapidly,
to get ahead of the Indians and thus surprise them.
Their leader, however, thinking Farwell's advice arose
from cowardice, urged them to follow directly on the
path of the Indians, and started off, saying, " I shall
take the direct path. If any one of you is not afraid,
let him follow me."

They had journeyed hardly three miles when the
Indians, expecting this pursuit, fell upon them from
an ambuscade and killed them all, with the exception
of Farwell, who had cautiously kept in the rear, and
thus was able to escape after a hot pursuit. He made
his way back to the settlement and reported the result
of the struggle. This was an exceedingly hard blow
to the little town of Dunstable, w^hich could ill afford
at this time to lose eight of its most valued protectors.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

17

On the next day a strong party went to the scene of
conflict, and the bodies of the slain were brouo-ht
home. They were all interred in one grave, and an
old headstone in the cemetery back of the school-
house at South Nashua may now be seen marking the
spot of their burial. The two captives were taken
to Canada and were finally ransomed. After many
years, when these men re-
turned to their homes,
they found the remains of
two guns still lying in the
hollow tree where they
had been placed so long
before. The settlers be-
came furious at these re-
peated attacks and made
many expeditions against
the savages, but, as the
latter were far more fa-
miliar with the ways and
paths of the forest, very few of these were suc-
cessful.

Loveweirs Fight (1725). — John Lovewell of Dun-
stable, was a man particularly well fitted for waging
Indian warfare. His sagacity and knowledge of
woodcraft made him a formidable opponent to the
cunning of the savages. Two successful expeditions
were made under his charge. On the first, the scout-

Headstone in South Nashua Cemetery.

l8 COLONIAL LIFE

ing party killed one Indian and captured a boy, and
on the second, they surprised and killed a body of
eight Indians, who, armed with new guns and plenty
of anrniunition, were evidently on their way to attack
and to plunder the settlements. i

Encouraged by this success, Lovewell was enabled
to raise a body of men for the purpose of attacking
a village of Pequakets under the noted chief Paugus.
When about thirty miles distant from this village the
company halted a few days, in order to make a rude
fort to which they might retire in case of defeat. One
morning after the completion of the fort, as they were
marching: in Indian file alono^ the shore of a small
lake, an Indian was seen a little way in front. Sus-
pecting that he was placed there for the purpose of
leading them into an ambush, they quietly put off
their packs and cautiously advanced. When within
range, the Indian was fired upon and killed, but not
until he had seriously wounded Captain Lovewell.

Meantime, a large body of Indians under Paugus,
who had been following them for two days waiting a
favorable opportunity to attack, had seized the packs
and by counting them, learned that the white men
were fewer in number than they had supposed. They
quietly concealed themselves and waited for the return
of the settlers. As Lovewell's men came forward the
Indians fired, and then followed for more than eight
hours a severe battle. From behind trees and rocks

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 19

both Indians and whites watched keenly for one who
should expose any part of his body.

After several hours of this kind of fiQ^htino: the rifles
of Chamberlain, one of the white men, and of Paueus,
the Indian chief, became fouled. They both, as it
happened, crept to the pond to wash their guns at the
same time. Then came a trial to see which could eet
his gun cleaned and loaded first. Both worked with
equal rapidity, and their guns were loaded at the same
time. But in those days guns had to be primed, that
is, a little powder was poured into a small pan, which
caught the fire from sparks struck by the fiint. Fortu-
nately, Chamberlain's gun had so large an opening
leading from this pan to the barrel of his gun that by
striking the stock a sharp blow^ the pan would fill
itself with powder, while Paugus had to pour some
into his from his powder horn. This gave Chamber-
lain an advantage. Aiming his gun at Paugus, he
fired and killed him, but he had indeed very little time
to spare, for the bullet from Paugus' gun cut a hole in
his cap.

At dusk the Indians withdrew. Then it was found
that there were only nine men out of the thirty-four
who were uninjured. The Indians, with twice as many
at the beginning of the fight, had less than twenty
unharmed. This fight, although not a decisive vic-
tory, was very disheartening to the savages.

It is impossible to describe the terrible sufferings

20 COLONIAL LIFE

of the wounded while endeavoring to return to the
settlements. One man, who owing to his wounds was
unable to walk and had to be left, asked them to load
his gun and place it by his side in order that he might
shoot one more Indian before being scalped.

Expedition to Louisburg (1745). — As a key to their
possessions in Canada, the French, at an enormous
expense, had built and fortified Louisburg. The walls
of the fortress were constructed of solid masonry forty
feet thick at the base, twenty-five feet high, and sur-
rounded by a deep moat.

There were three things which led the colonists to
make an expedition against this fortress. In the first
place, it was understood that there was much dissension
among the soldiers at the fort, leading almost to
mutiny. Second, for a long time their commerce had
suffered because French vessels had used the harbor
at Louisburg as a perfectly safe place from which to
make their sallies and to which they could retreat in
case of attack. And, finally, they were led by popular
indignation, which had been aroused through the
harsh treatment of English prisoners who had been
kept at Louisburg. So strong was the feeling con-
cerning this expedition that men of all trades and
professions, even clergymen, volunteered. Colonel
William Pepperell of Kittery was put in command.

Louisburg was considered impregnable by the
French. They had one hundred sixty-one cannon,

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 21

seventy-six swivels, and sixteen hundred men. They
thought that two hundred men could defend it against
a force of five thousand; yet it proved that sixteen
hundred men were not able to hold it ao^ainst four
thousand Yankees with only eighteen guns and three
mortars.

The French were, indeed, astonished to see a New
England army approaching, because, besides the mas-
sive walls, there were deep marshes to be crossed, over
which it seemed impossible to transport artillery. A
New Hampshire colonel, however, solved the problem.
He built sledges of wood, on which the guns were
placed, and the men, often knee-deep in mud, drew
them through the marshes by means of straps over
their shoulders.

One of the most conspicuous officers of this campaign
was Colonel William Vaughn of Portsmouth. He
conducted the first column through the woods and
when within sight of the city saluted it with three
cheers. Later, with a detachment of but thirteen men,
he captured and held a battery of thirty guns, although
it was attacked by a force of French, outnumbering
his own little company ten to one.

These successes, together with the capture of the
French ship ''Vigilant," which was laden with military
stores for the relief of the garrison, led the French
commander on June 15, 1745, to surrender Louisburg,
which was probably the strongest fortress in the world.

22 COLONIAL LIFE

When news of the victory was received the people
went fairly wild with rejoicing and offered to invade
Canada ; but England was afraid to encourage a
knowledge of war in her colonists, fearing lest they
would realize their own strength and rebel against the
home government. This victory, however, showed
the Americans what a band of resolute men could do
against a powerful enemy.

When the treaty was made between France and
England, Louisburg was given back to France, much
to America's disgust ; but it was not to remain long
in her possession.

French and Indian Attack upon Charlestown. — In the
spring of 1747 Captain Phineas Stevens, with a party
of thirty men, occupied a deserted fort, then called
Number Four, but now known as Charlestow^n, New
Hampshire.

He had hardly time to put the fort in repair before
it was attacked by a large party of Indians, under the
leadership of Monsieur Debeline. The dogs at the
fort fortunately warned the garrison of the Indians'
approach, so that the defenders were able to take every
precaution. The attack was carried on sharply, and
many men were lost on both sides. The Indians tried
by every means in their power to burn the fort. They
set the adjoining buildings on fire and shot flaming
arrows upon the roof of the garrison house, but through
the watchfulness and daring of the inmates their efforts
were not successful.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 23

For two days the attack continued, when the French
officer asked for a parley, at which he ordered Stevens
to surrender the fort, stating that if this were done he
would consider the Americans prisoners of war, but if
his demands were refused all should be killed. To this
calm proposal Stevens replied that, until compelled, he
would not surrender the fort which had been intrusted
to him. The French officer returned, " Go and see if
your men dare fight any longer, and give me a quick
answer." Stevens then told the Frenchman that his
men were fully as anxious to fight as he was himself,
and that they would continue to hold the fort.
Angered at this reply, coming as it did from so small
a body of men, the Indians, led by their French com-
mander, made a furious charge, attacking three sides
of the fort at the same time. The brave garrison,
realizing that to be captured meant death by torture,
fought desperately. After a sharp hand-to-hand en-
counter the Indians were driven back, but not until
they had suffered the loss of many warriors.

The next day, after asking for another parley, two
Indians came forward to say that if Stevens would sell
them some corn they would retire. Stevens replied
that he could not sell them provisions, but that he
would give them five bushels of corn for every English
captive for whom they should leave a hostage until
the captives could be brought from Canada. At this
reply a few shots were fired at the fort and the attack-

24 COLONIAL LIFE

ino- forces withdrew. The news of this successful
resistance was received with great rejoicing at Boston,
and Stevens obtained merited praise for his stubborn
defense. Sir Charles Knowlton, who was in Boston
at the time, presented Stevens with a costly sword,
and it was from this same Sir Charles that Number
Four was afterward called Charlestown.

Kilburn's Defense. — During the spring of 1755 an
Indian named Philip called at the cabin of John
Kilburn, who, with several others, had settled near
the present town of Walpole. Philip, who could
speak a few words of English, came into the cabin,
and, after lighting his pipe with a coal from the fire-
place, asked Kilburn's wife to give him a piece of flint
for his gun ; upon receiving this he disappeared. It
happened that Kilburn had reason to visit the settle-
ments lower down on the river, and he learned
that the Indian had also called there and had asked
for flints. This fact aroused suspicion that the
Indian was acting as a spy and caused the settlers
to be doubly cautious in all their movements. To
add to this alarm, news was brought by a friendly
Indian, sent from Governor Shirley of Albany, New
York, that four or five hundred Indians were about to
start from Canada for the purpose of destroying all
the settlements along the Connecticut. The settlers
took every precaution in their power to meet this
expected attack. Doors and windows were strongly

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 25

barred, and the houses were fortified as thoroughly as
possible.

The first attack fell upon Kilburn. As he and a
man named Peak were returning from their morn-
ing's work with their two sons, they discovered the
legs of several Indians through the underbrush which
skirted the meadow. Without waitino; to investieate
further, they ran for the cabin and securely fastened
the door. The Indians, seeing that their intended
ambuscade was discovered, did not attack them at
once, but crossed the mouth of Cold River, where
they placed themselves in ambush to surprise Colonel
Bellows (for whom Bellows Falls, Vermont, was named),
who was working with his men a short distance east
of this place. In this they were disappointed, for the
dogs belonging to Bellows' men gave them warning,
so that after a sharp encounter they were able to elude
the Indians.

The savages, balked in this attempt, returned to
Kilburn's cabin. Philip, the treacherous spy, approach-
ing the house, cried out :

" Old John, young John, I know you. Come out
here ; we give good quarter."

" Quarter ! " shouted Kilburn, " quarter ! you black
rascals ; begone, or we '11 quarter you ! "

At this reply a general volley was fired at the cabin
which riddled the roof, but the thick logs which
formed the sides offered an effectual resistance. Our

26 COLONIAL LIFE

small band of defenders prepared for a stubborn fight.
Powder was poured into hats that it might be gotten
at more readily. In addition to the four already
named, Kilburn's wife and his daughter Hattie aided
much in the defense.

During the first part of the engagement the women
were kept busy reloading the extra guns which by
good fortune they possessed. Very unfortunately,
during the fight their store of bullets ran out. The
pewter dishes and spoons, however, were quickly
melted and run into bullet moulds, and when these
were exhausted the cjuick-witted women thought of a
method of obtaining lead from the enemy. While
there was a lull in the firing they hung heavy blankets
from the ridgepole. The bullets, retarded by passing
through the roof, were stopped by the blankets and
fell harmlessly to the floor. These they quickly
gathered up and melted over again.

Several times the Indians tried to force open the
door by means of a battering ram. Ten or a dozen of
the bravest would lift a huge log upon their shoulders
and rush with it against the door of the cabin.
Nothing but the stoutest oak could withstand these
tremendous blows. This method of attack, however,
exposed the Indians to a heavy fire from the cabin,
and, after a few trials, they were forced to give up the
idea of breaking in the door. The fight continued
unceasingly until sundown, when, baffled by the

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 2/

stubborn resistance which they had so unexpectedly
encountered, they withdrew, but not until many
Indians had been killed.

Destruction of the Indian Village of St. Francis. — The
best known and most cordially hated of all Canadian
governors was Count Frontenac, who came to this
country first in 1672. Ten years later he was with-
drawn from his governorship, but when war was
declared against Great Britain in 1689 he was again
given command.

Count Frontenac instigated many Indian raids
aofainst the Eno^lish settlements, and furnished the
Indians with guns and ammunition. He even went
so far as to collect a number of Indian tribes in
a villao-e called St. Francis, in order that he might
have them constantly at hand as a menace to the
En owlish colonists.

In September, 1759, nearly a hundred years after
St. Francis was founded. Sir Jeffrey Amherst deter-
mined to teach these Indians a lesson, and for the
purpose gave Major Rogers command of a company
of two hundred men, with orders to lead them against
this village.

Starting from Crown Point, Rogers, with his
troops, passed down Lake Champlain in boats. On
the fifth day after leaving Crown Point a keg of
powder accidentally exploded, killing a number of men
and seriously w^ounding several others, who had to be

28 COLONIAL LIFE

conducted by a guard back to the fort. This unfortu-
nate affair reduced the force from two hundred to one
hundred forty-two men. Arriving at Missiscoe Bay,
Rogers concealed his boats in the bushes, together
with sufficient provisions for the return journey. On
the second day of their march he was overtaken by
the two men who had been left on guard at the lake.
They had traveled in great haste to inform him that
a party of four hundred French and Indians had
discovered the boats and started in pursuit. The fate
of the expedition looked dubious ; either he must give
up the attack, or outmarch his pursuers. He deter-
mined on the latter course, and his little band pushed
on rapidly. On the 4th of October, at eight o'clock
in the evening, they came in sight of the town of St.
Francis, where the Indians, entirely unsuspecting, were
having a grand dance. During the night, Rogers
placed his men around the village, and at break of day
they began the attack. The Indians were completely
surprised and made little resistance. The white men,
having found poles, scattered through the village, to
which had been fastened many scalps of English
women and children, were beside themselves with
anger. Between two and three hundred Indians
were killed. The whole village had become en-
riched by the sale of English scalps to the French
government and from the plunder which had been
captured on their many raids. Over a thousand dol-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 29

lars in money was found, a silver image weighing
ten pounds, and large quantities of wampum and
supplies. The entire place was burned, and at eight
o'clock on the morning of the assault Rogers was in
retreat. During the march he was attacked from the
rear by a small band of Indians, who shot several
of his men. Favored by dusk, he formed an am-
buscade on his own track, and fell upon and killed
the Indians who followed him.

For about ten days the detachment kept together,
and then it was thought best to divide into small
parties which could march more rapidly toward some
of the English settlements. Through lack of provi-
sions, the men suffered extremely, but Rogers, with a
majority of his force, finally reached Number Four.
This expedition made a deep impression on the sav-
ages and caused a feeling of insecurity which they
never before had experienced.

Capture of Canada. — The next year, 1 760, Sir Jeffrey
Amherst appeared before Montreal, and its comman-
dant surrendered the city, together with the whole of
Canada. The Peace of Paris was brought about in
1763, by which all the French and Indian wars were
made a thing of the past. Hereafter the settlers
were allowed to possess their homes and pursue their
trades in peace.

30 COLONIAL LIFE

CHAPTER II.

THE INDIANS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

New Hampshire, abounding as it does in moun-
tains, rivers, and beautiful lakes, seemed an ideal spot
for the Indians. The woods were full of game and
the rivers of fish. It is no wonder that the Indian
was loath to give up his right to this place which
nature had made so beautiful and which was particu-
larly well fitted for his savage mode of life.

The Algonquin Race. — Throughout the state were
many small tribes or families, each of which was
composed of kinsmen. In times of great danger,
however, these small families united and chose a
leader, who was usually the chief of the most power-
ful tribe. Passaconaway of the Penicooks, who lived
near the present city of Concord, was such a leader
among the New Hampshire tribes.

All the Indians along the Atlantic seaboard belonged
to the great family known as the Algonquin. They
were a brave, fearless, and dominant race who were
greatly attached to their land, as, indeed, were all Indi-
ans. Directly west of New Hampshire, and closely
bordering upon it, was the home of another great
family called the Iroquois. They were even more

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

31

enlightened than the Algonquin family. Their homes
were larger, and they were bound together more closely
as a nation.

Family Life. — All Indians were remarkable for their
hospitality. No visitor was allowed to go away with-
out partaking of

their food. In
fact an Indian
would rather
have gone with-
out, himself, than
to have had a
guest neglected.
Hospitality was
to them an un-
written law that
must be obeyed,
and had become
a part of the In-
dian nature.

The villages,
or small tribes,
practically held
everything in
common like a
large family, and
what affected one affected all. The houses of the
Indians when the first settlers came, contrary to the

[i:3 lIIlB

Plan of an Algonquin Village.

(From an old print.)

32 COLONIAL LIFE

usual belief, were sometimes sixty or eighty feet long
with a round roof, which was generally covered with
movable matting, and in each house lived from three
to twenty families.

Position of the Indian Women. — While, in a general
sense, the warrior was the head of the household, yet
within the home the mother was supreme, and the
mother-right, as it was called, was very carefully
guarded. The warrior, when he married, always
joined the tribe to which his wife belonged. The
wife, if the husband did not provide for the household
properly, had the power to drive him away. The
husband was looked upon as a hero, the defender of
the family, the hunter, and the provider of meat. It
is natural that, looking upon the man in this way,
the woman believed it her duty to relieve him of all
drudgery at home. For this reason we find the squaw
doing all the work, planting and hoeing the garden,
bringing the water and wood, not because she was
driven to it, as many have supposed, but because she
was willing to do the menial labor so long as the hus-
band maintained his dignity as a warrior ; but should
he prove lacking in courage, no squaw would work
for him.

In looking upon the man as a defender and a pro-
tector, the trust of the woman was seldom misplaced.
It is said that an Indian once walked forty miles in
order to obtain a few cranberries for his sick wife.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 33

Another father cheerfully surrendered himself to be
tortured, in place of his young son, who had been
captured by an unfriendly band of Indians. This
substitution was accepted and the boy was allowed to
go free, while the father was burned at the stake.

Indian Hunters. - — As hunters, the Indians were
unsurpassed. Their only weapons were the bow and
arrow, spear, club, and tomahawk, with which they
killed the bear, deer, moose, beaver, wild pigeon,
and other game. The secrets of the forest were
an open book to them. They could track their
game for miles through dense woods and over
rocky ledges, where to the unpracticed eye there was
no sign that any animal had passed. They were
trained to be so watchful and observant, that a broken
twig or a bent blade of grass told them not only that
game had been by, but even what kind it was.
When hunting, they often ran for hours without
food or water with the most marvelous powers of
endurance.

Indian Children. — Until a child was two years old,
it was kept in a bag made of soft padded leather and
usually slung over its mother's back, but afterwards it
was allowed to run about and play with the other
children. The boys were early taught to run, jump,
swim, and wrestle, and the skill of even the small
boys with the bow and arrow was very great. The
older men took the keenest delight in teaching

34 COLOxNIAL LIFE

sports and games to the little ones, and they watched
their improvement closely from day to day. Before
the boy could become a warrior he had to pass through
many trials of fasting. When fifteen years old, a fast
of five days was imposed as a final test. While the
boys were taught the arts of warfare, the girls were
given lessons in hard work. They brought wood
for the fire, and water for cooking, and were prepared
thoroughly for their share of responsibility.

Boys were never whipped by their parents, who
believed this punishment to be degrading, and acts
of disobedience or insubordination were allowed to
pass without the " thrashing " which our forefathers
thought so necessary.

Many things were taught the Indian youths and
instilled into their natures which would form an
excellent foundation for manhood and womanhood in
any people. Among them were hospitality, respect
for the aged, truthfulness, honesty, independence, and
courtesy. With these attributes, however, were taught
the most remorseless desire for revenge and relentless
cruelty toward enemies.

The boys and young men were very fond of games
and were always good-natured, no matter who was
victorious. They played shinney, football, tag, hide-
and-seek, and a game which formed the beginning of
our national baseball. The girls enjoyed their dolls
and mud pies when not helping their mothers.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 35

How the Indians Farmed. — All alonsf the banks of
the Merrimac and Connecticut rivers, in the rich,
alluvial soil, the Indians had their small patches of
cultivated land, in which the squaws planted corn,
pumpkins, squashes, melons, and beans. In the spring,
when the ale wives came up the rivers from the sea,
they were caught in great numbers and used to fer-
tilize the hills of corn ; for digging up the weeds
they had a primitive kind of hoe formed from a
piece of slate to which was fastened a handle made
of strong withes bound with rawhide. In this crude
way they tilled the soil.

Food of the Indians. — When the corn was laro^e
enough, it was cut green from the cob and boiled,
and was known to the Indians as samp. When corn
and beans were cooked together, the dish was called
succotash. Hominy was made by pounding dry corn
in a mortar with a stone pestle until it w^as made into
coarse meal, which was then boiled. Baked beans,
the dish w^iich is typical of New England, came
originally from the Indians. They made corn cake,
baking it on flat rocks before the fire, and also gave
to our boys and girls popcorn, which they called " the
corn that flowers." It is said that the Indians were
the first to make use of gruel for the sick room.

In the summer the women and children picked
wild raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and black-
berries ; in the autumn they went nutting for chest-

36 COLONIAL LIFE

nuts, hickory nuts, and beech nuts, which they, like
the squirrels, stored up for winter use.

The food was boiled in an earthen pot, which was
made by lining a wicker basket with clay and sand.
This was put upon the fire, and when the basket was
burned away, a serviceable pot was left. Pieces of
the pottery are found even now with the print of the
basket work on them. Their spoons and ladles were
made from seashells and their knives from flint.

Mechanical Skill of the Indians. — The Indians w^ere
by no means an unskilled race of savages. They
had many mechanical contrivances of a high order,
and their skill in handling rude tools was very
remarkable. Their bows and arrows, usually made
from the tough and springy hickory wood, were
beautifully formed and exceedingly accurate. They
also had spears for fishing which were like their
arrows, only larger and longer, with a triangular piece
of flint for the head. The war club was cut from
a stout oaken stick with a heavy knob on one end,
in which they often fastened jagged pieces of flint.
Stone hatchets, or axes, were made in an interesting
way. The head was carefully formed with a groove
around it, and was inserted in a small, growing sap-
ling which had been split for the purpose. It was
allowed to remain in this position until the young
tree had grown around the stone so as to hold it very
securely, when it was cut off above and below, leav-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 37

ing a sufficient handle. Thus a very strong and
durable weapon was made.

The squaws were skillful in tanning skins so that
the leather was soft and pliable. From the tanned
hides of the moose, deer, beaver, and other animals
they made their moccasins and the clothing which
they used in winter. For sewing, they used an awl-
like needle made either from the bone of a fish or
from a small bone taken from the leg of a heron.

In moving from place to place, the Indians often
followed the rivers, and used the birch-bark canoe,
or dugout, for this purpose. During the winter,
when deep snows covered the ground, they bound
snowshoes to their moccasins, and could travel as
easily as in summer. The snowshoes were made
of a light framework of ash, which was filled with
meshes of rawhide, thus presenting a broad surface
to the light snow. Besides spearing fish, they caught
them with fishhooks made of bone and also with
nets woven from the fibrous bark of the elm tree.
They were skillful in constructing baskets, and some-
times made fish traps of basket work, very similar
to the lobster pots common at the seashore. The
fish could swim into this trap, but found difficulty in
getting out.

Method of Making Fire. — The Indians produced fire
in the following manner ; — they first took a dry stick
about a foot long and an inch in diameter, and

38 COLONIAL LIFE

after flattening both sides, so that it was about a
fourth of an inch thick, they carefully made a small
depression on one of the flat sides, a quarter of an
inch from the edge. Opposite this hole a nick was
cut in the edge, and was connected with the depres-
sion by a small groove. When these preparations
were completed, the stick was placed on the ground
and firmly held by the knees. Then a slender stick
of soft wood, about the thickness of a pencil and from
twelve to fourteen inches long, was rapidly twirled back
and forth between the open palms in the small depres-
sion. In a short time a fine dust was formed at the
junction of the two sticks and, passing through the
groove, fell in a little heap within the nick mentioned
above. Soon the heat caused by the friction set fire
to the dust, which was carefully yet quickly transmitted
to such inflammable substances as mio^ht be near at
hand. By this method they were able to produce fire
in from one to three minutes.

After the coming of the white men, the Indian
became very improvident. The labor-saving devices
which the English brought over, and which the
Indians easily bought for skins, removed the necessity
of working hard with flint tools in order to make the
bow and arrow, the stone hatchet, and the kettle of
clay.

Indian Cunning. — An incident whicli occurred at
Plymouth, New Hampshire, shows the cunning and

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 39

forethought of the Indian. Captain Baker, with a
small band of men from Northampton, Massachu-
setts, had attacked and destroyed an Indian village at
Plymouth. The Indians, however, were very numer-
ous, and Baker retreated down the Connecticut as
rapidly as possible, thinking that he would surely be
followed and attacked. At the first halting place,
where they prepared their supper, a friendly Indian,
who was with the party, suggested to Baker that each
man should build many fires and cut many sharpened
sticks upon which to broil their meat. By this means
the Indians, seeing a great many fires and sticks, would
be deceived as to their numbers and would, perhaps,
stop their pursuit. This idea was acted upon, and the
pursuing Indians, coming upon so many camp fires,
believed the whites too strong to be attacked and
turned back, leaving Baker and his men to go to
their homes unmolested.

The different tribes often fought with each other,
and in these quarrels they used the same stealthy
methods of attack which they were accustomed to
employ in hunting wild animals. They have some-
times been called cow^ardly on account of their manner
of fighting, when they were merely following their
custom of being as economical of their lives as possi-
ble. If they were beaten they never asked for
quarter, and if they were captured they expected to be
tortured by their enemies, and gloried in being able

40 COLONIAL LIFE

to bear the most cruel suffering without complaint.
While they were being slowly killed, they often
taunted their captors with a lack of skill in torturing
them.

The Indian's Idea of Land. — The Indian could form
no idea of the individual ownership of land. He
believed that, like the sea and air, it had been given
for the use of all men, and he could not see how a
man was able to really own any of the earth. To be
sure, they had their tribal limits beyond which they
could not hunt or fish, but the right to hunt belonged
to the tribe as a whole and not to any individual.
For this reason, they parted readily with their land to
the white settlers for a small sum, but they did not
think that by so doing they were actually selling the
soil. This misunderstanding was the cause of trouble
and bloodshed. If the whites had taken more pains to
learn the habits of the Indians, much of the suffer-
ing from the Indian wars mio;ht have been avoided.
Among the few men who made a careful study of the
Indian character was Eleazer Wheelock, the founder
of Moor's Indian School, which later became Dart-
mouth College. His efforts to Christianize and to help
the Indian, and his marked success, afford a shining
example of what might have been accomplished with
the New Hampshire Indians.

Little remains of the Red Men at the present
time except a few flint arrowheads, fragments of their

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 41

pottery, the Indian names of rivers, mountains, and
towns, and here and there an old headstone in the
corner of some forgotten cemetery, on which is in-
scribed, " Killed by the Indians."

42 COLONIAL LIFE

CHAPTER III.

CUSTOMS OF THE SETTLERS.

Log Houses. — The houses of the early settlers, with
their rough log walls and huge open fireplaces, make
an interesting picture around which to group the
more detailed life of this time. These log cabins
were rectangular structures with openings cut through
for window^s and doors. The well-trodden earth
served as a floor, and the roof was of saplings covered
with birch-bark. The chinks between the logs were
packed with moss and clay, so that not even the
coldest wind could beat through them. Above the
main room was a garret made by laying a floor of
poles on a level with the eaves. Here was the
children's bedroom, and often on a winter's night the
snow sifted through the cracks of the roof and covered
them as they slept.

A most important part of each cabin was its huge
chimney, made of rough stones laid in clay. It is
said that in those days the lightest part of the house
was near the fireplace, for the chimney made such a
large opening to the sky. Often the sides, projecting
into the house, were made so roughly that they were

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, 43

used by the children as a staircase on which to clamber
up into the loft.

The Open Fire. — The enormous fireplace consumed
great quantities of wood, and it was no small matter
to keep it supplied. To attend to the " working up "
and bringing in of the day's wood was the business
of the boys. Sometimes, when they had an unusually
large " back log," they would fasten themselves to it
by means of a harness, and, with a shout, all hands
hauling together, the log, often six feet long, went
bounding across the yard, through the door, and up
to the fireplace, where it was rolled to the back,
against the stones. Upon it was placed a smaller
back stick, and in front rested the fore stick. When
these were in position, the smaller wood was heaped
upon the andirons before them.

In starting the fire, a piece of steel was struck
sharply against a bit of flint, and the sparks which
were given off were caught upon tinder, — a piece of
charred cloth. The spark was then carefully nursed
into a flame by gently blowing upon it. In later
years small sticks with both ends dipped in sulphur
were used to assist in making a fire. When once
lighted, it was supposed never to go out. During the
night the father tried to " keep fire " by burying a
hard wood brand in the ashes. If for any reason no
live coals could be found in the morning, the boys
were sent to the nearest neighbor to "borrow fire."

44 COLONIAL LIFE

In case there were no neighbors, the laborious process
with the flint and steel had to be repeated. When
it was fully started, a glorious blaze was the result.
In the evening each crack and corner of the cabin
was well lighted, and no more cheerful scene can be
imagined than the family circle gathered about the
fireplace, the grandfather seated in the high-backed
settle, and the children in the chimney corner.

Over the coals the women of the family did
their cooking. The pots and kettles were suspended
by a chain and hook, which hung from a wooden
bar, placed across the chimney and high enough to
be free from the danger of burning. Later, an iron
crane was fastened on hinges at the side of the fire-
place, by which the goodwife could more easily swing
her pots and kettles on and off the blaze.

Methods of Cooking. — The Dutch oven was the
earliest form of a baking utensil. It was a shallow
iron pan with a tightly fitting cover. When the
bread had been placed within, it was put in the hot
ashes and covered with Howino: coals. The more
common method of baking was by means of stone
ovens, made in the chimney at the side of the fire-
place. On baking day, which was generally once
a week, the oven was filled with hot coals, and
after the sides had become thoroughly heated, they
were raked out and the brown bread, beans, pies, and
puddings were placed within. A door, usually of

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 45

wood, was then set at the mouth of the oven and kept
there until the food was cooked.

The meats were always roasted before the open
fire, either upon a spit, a long iron rod with a crank at
one end, which rested on hooks placed in the and-
irons, or by means of a hook and line. With the
latter the meat was suspended before the fire, and by
turning the piece round and round, the string was
tightly twisted, and when left alone would slowly
unwind, thus exposing every side of the meat to
the heat. To see that this winding process continued,
a small boy was chosen and was armed with a long
stick to keep up the motion. Besides roast venison,
bear meat, turkey, and other game, our forefathers'
food consisted of beans, peas, squashes, pumpkins, and
turnips. The cooking was of the simplest character,
but their out-of-door life gave them excellent appe-
tites, and an abundance was always provided. They
were very hospitable people, and the stranger, as well
as the neighbor, was always made welcome to a share
in the dinner or supper, as the case might be.

Coarsely ground Indian meal served as a basis
for many dishes, and hominy formed a staple arti-
cle for the evening meal. The early settlers were very
fond of the dish called bean porridge. It was made
by boiling beans with the liquor in which corned
beef had been cooked. They believed that the longer
the bean porridge was kept, the better it became.

46 COLONIAL LIFE

Oftentimes the goodman of the household, when com-
pelled to make a journey in the winter, would be
provided with a frozen cake of porridge, and from
this, as hunger overtook him, he would break off and
thaw out pieces for his luncheon.

The method of cooking pumpkins was peculiar.
Having selected one which was thoroughly ripe, a
small hole was cut in the top and the seeds were
removed ; after it had been well baked in the oven,
the soft pulp on the inside was eaten with milk
and considered a great delicacy. The outside shell,
hardened by baking, was often used by the grand-
mother for a workbasket.

Bread was made of rye and Indian meal mixed,
and resembled the brown bread of to-day. Our wheat
bread was then unknown.

Cooking Utensils. — The women took especial pride
in keeping all of the copper and pewter cooking
utensils scoured to a most remarkable brilliancy,
especially the plates, platters, and porringers, which
they kept for show on a set of shelves called a
dresser. The everyday plates, made of wood, were
usually square in shape, but it was no uncommon
thing for the family to dispense with plates entirely,
and to gather around and eat from the same kettle.
Forks were unknown, and next to spoons, fingers
were most often used. Spoons, like plates and ladles,
were made from pewter, which is so soft that they

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 47

had to be very thick and clumsy and were even then
easily broken.

Traveling Workmen. — Men used to travel from house
to house with ladle and spoon moulds. They would
melt up the broken and worn-out spoons and run
them into moulds. When cool, the articles were as
good as new. The shoemaker, in like manner, trav-
eled from one family to another. With his hammer
and waxed ends he made the outfit of boots for the
entire household, the leather being provided by the
father from the tanned skins of his own cattle. For
the purpose of making leather, many tanneries were
scattered about on the banks of the small streams.

All clothing at this time was homespun, and it
devolved upon the women of the household to card
and spin the wool, which was then woven into cloth.
In families where there were many children, the
mother was often unable to provide more than one
set of clothes apiece, and, as a result, when these
needed washing, the children had to go to bed
while it was done. The story is told of one eco-
nomical goodwife that she made her boys wear
their shirts part of the time with the back toward
the front, so that there might be an equal wear on
both sides.

The knee breeches of the men were sometimes
made from the dressed skins of the deer or sheep
and were exceedingly durable, but were apt in wet

48 COLONIAL LIFE

weather to stretch, and impede the progress of the
person wearing them.

As may be judged, the women of these early days
were compelled to be industrious. For a person to buy
clothing was considered the height of extravagance.
In every homestead were cards and a great wheel
for spinning the woolen thread, also the little wheel
with its reel and its swifts for the linen, while in every
kitchen was placed the dye tub, in which the linen
and the woolen cloth were colored.

Process of Making Linen Cloth. — The Scotch-Irish
were particularly skillful in raising flax and in weaving
linen. Before they came to America, the linen cloth
made in the colonies had been very coarse and
rough, but they produced such fine goods that the
linen of New Hampshire was famous throughout
New England.

It is interesting to note the methods used by our
ancestors in the manufacture of linen. After the
flax was pulled and the seeds threshed out, it was
placed out of doors and exposed to the weather, in
order that the woody part of the flax might become
tender enough to separate easily from the fibres.
In the month of March, after the snow had left,
the flax was gathered into barns, and the softened
woody part was removed by a process which was
called breakino;. Afterwards, the flax was "swino^led."
This was done by pounding it with a heavy wooden

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

49

knife which served to separate the fine fibres from
the coarser tow. It was then combed, that is, it
was drawn over a rough, iron-toothed comb again
and again, which drew out all the imperfect fibres
from the flax, when it was ready for the distaff and
the spinning wheel.

Maple Sugar Making. — In the early spring, before
the snow had gone, and just as the buds were begin-

I

Maple Sugar Camp.

(From an old print.)

ning to swell on the maples, the men and boys would
journey to the mountain sides, where rock maple trees
were plentiful, and there make a sugar camp. They

\

50 COLONIAL LIFE

first went about from tree to tree, and, while one with a
sharp axe cut through the bark, in which he put a chip
for the sap to run out on, the other placed the wooden
troughs beneath, in which the "sweet water" slowly
accumulated. After it was gathered, the sap was placed
in a huge kettle and suspended over the fire in such
a way that it could be easily swung off the blaze when
required. Made thus in the open air, the cinders and
sparks fell into the syrup and rendered it rather dark
colored, but, nevertheless, to the children maple sugar
meant all that was good and sweet.

When almost boiled down to sugar, a little of the
hot, thick syrup was taken from the kettle and spread
on pans of snow ; the "maple wax" thus formed made
most delicious candy not only for the children, but
for the older people as well. The Indians taught
the settlers the uses of maple sugar, and it makes
one other Q-ood thino^ which we have received from
them.

Hunting and Trapping. — During the winter, when
there was little work about the house, the older boys
generally spent their time in hunting and trapping.
The woods and streams abounded in fur-bearing ani-
mals, and their skins, being highly prized by ladies
in England, were easily exchanged for powder, lead,
tea, and other things which the settler could not pro-
duce. Steel traps were unknown, and they used the
Indian device called figure four traps. The black

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 51

bears, which were very troublesome through their
fondness for corn, were caught in what were known
as " dead falls." The trapper first felled a good-sized
tree along the base of which a semicircle of stout
stakes was driven into the ground. The butt of the
tree was then raised and a figure four trap was put in
the semicircle of stakes, baited with a piece of fresh
meat. When the bear went in to eat the bait, the
tree trunk fell, breaking his back.

Means of Exchange. — Money was very scarce, and
men had to barter or exchange things of which they
had an abundance for those which they needed. The
Indians, with their flint tools, laboriously cut out from
the curly part of shells, or from the dark spots in
clam shells, beads an eighth of an inch through and
a cjuarter of an inch long, which they called wampum.
To the Indians they represented a great deal of pains-
taking work and were highly valued. There were
two kinds, the white and the black, and one black bead
was worth two white ones. The beads were strung
on threads of buckskin, and the Indians adorned
themselves with belts made from several of these
strino^s bound toQ;ether. The Dutch in New Amster-
dam first thought of using wampum for money, and
the idea spread until it was used all over New
England.

Founding a Home. — It was often difficult for a
young man with very little money to purchase land in

52 COLONIAL LIFE

the older settlements and to make a home for himself,
so it became necessary for him to start out into the
wilderness, where the land was unclaimed. Usually
three or four men banded together, and with their
axes, guns, and a little corn meal went into the
pathless forest, "blazing" the trees along their way.
When they came to a piece of land which they thought
suitable for making a home, a rough cabin was built
for a temporary shelter, and then each cleared the
land set apart for himself. They were all skillful axe-
men, these young settlers, for, in those days, all the
firewood of the house was " got up " and split by the
boys ; the constant practice made their arms strong
and their eyes true, so that, in what would seem a
very short time, they could clear off the trees from
enough ground for the support of their families.

In clearing the forest they did not, as one might
suppose, chop every tree entirely off, but, having found
a number of trees in a line, they partly chopped each
one, and then felled a large tree on the end of the
line and let it fall against the second to knock it
down. The second brought down the third, the third
the next one, and so on, until, with a noise and crack-
ing like thunder, the entire line came crashing to the
earth.

As there were no good roads to the harbor, the
trees were worth nothing for lumber, so that every
effort was made to get rid of them as fast as possible.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 53

This was done by burning. The young men, after
clearing sufficient land, would return to their homes
and wait patiently until the hot summer sun should
dry the sap in the felled trees, so that they could have
a burn, as it was called. When the wind and the
weather were favorable, they set fire to the fallen
trees, and with a tremendous whirlinor and rush-
ing sound the giants of the forest passed off in fire
and smoke, leaving only their ashes behind. These
ashes were of importance to the settlers, as they were
exceedingly valuable for enriching the soil. Great
crops of pumpkins and of corn could be raised from
the little patches among the half-burned stumps
and logs.

When the land was cleared, each of the young men
made a cabin on his own share and then went
back to the settlement and brought his wife to live
with him in his new home. Often there was no road
to their farms, and they had simply blazed trees to
follow. The corn had to be carried to mill many
miles over such rough paths, either on a man's back
or on a horse.

Mills for Grinding Corn. — One of the first things
that the settlers did was to construct grist mills for
grinding corn and grain. They built the mill beside
a swiftly running brook, for the falling water furnished
the power to turn the wheel. The dam was built as
it would be now, only more simply. Under the dam.

54 COLONIAL LIFE

where the water falls over, a huge wheel was placed
with buckets on its rim. As the buckets filled at the
top, the weight of the water carried the wheel around,
which was made to turn two large flat stones, one
upon the other. The corn, or grain, sifted down
between these stones and was ground into meal. It
took longer to grind the grain than it does now, and
the meal was much coarser. The miller was paid for
his labor by receiving a certain portion of the corn,
or, perhaps, by the skins of the beaver or the otter
which the settler had trapped during the winter.

Trials of Strength and Skill. — It was customary at
the raising and moving of buildings, at town meet-
ings, and at other Qratherins^s where lars^e bodies of
men met together, to have trials of strength and skill.
Lifting heavy weights, pitching quoits, throwing iron
bars, pulling sticks, and wrestling were taken part in
and enjoyed by every one. Wrestling, which might
be termed the typical sport of our forefathers, was
always sharply contested by the men and boys.
Usually the boys started the contest, and each defeated
party brought in his champion to meet the victor.
Thus the match went on, until the boys' places were
gradually taken by men. The one who threw his
man in the last encounter was said to have " carried
the rinor." All men distiuQ-uished in wrestlinor were

O <J C5

known not only by their own townspeople, but often
their reputation spread through the neighboring vil-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 5 5

lages. It was customary for these champions to travel
many miles for a trial of skill.

The following anecdote from the " History of Man-
chester " is characteristic of the times. A person
called at the house of John McNeil of Londonderry,
having heard of his strength and skill as a wrestler.
McNeil, however, was away from home. The stranger
informed Mrs. McNeil that he regretted this exceed-
ingly, as he had traveled a long distance for no other
purpose than to " throw him."

"An' troth, mon," said Mrs. McNeil, "Johnnie is
gone, but I 'm not the woman to see you disappointed.
An' I think if ye '11 try, mon, I '11 throw ye meself."

The stranger, not liking to be made fun of by a
woman, accepted the challenge, but no sooner had
they taken hold when, by a deft " trip and twitch," the
man's heels flew up, and his back was laid squarely
on the ground. Upon arising, he decided not to
wait for Johnnie, and, in fact, did not even leave

his name.

Shipbuilding and Commerce. — One of the important
resources which helped in developing our state was the
great quantity of codfish off the coast. The colonists
soon built boats from their lumber, and spent much
time in fishing. The fish was dried, salted, and
shipped to foreign countries, where it was in constant
demand. Thus a profitable commerce grew very
rapidly.

56 COLONIAL LIFE

Shipbuilders soon came from England who taught
the settlers how to build boats. They were usu-
ally two-masted vessels, called " ketches," and very
few of them were over a hundred tons burden.
Loaded with staves for making wine barrels, and
with salt fish, they were sent to Barbadoes, in
the West Indies, where the cargo was exchanged
for cotton cloth, sugar, molasses, rum, indigo, salt»
and sometimes negro slaves ; often they went to
Italy, Spain, or Portugal and brought back oil and
wine.

Little coasting vessels, manned only by a " captain "
and an apprentice boy, traded between Piscataqua
(Portsmouth), Boston, Plymouth, and other New Eng-
land towns, and even sailed as far as New Am-
sterdam and Virginia for tobacco. Each sailor on
these trips usually owned a small portion of freight,
the profit from which " venture " belonged to him, after
he had paid a certain sum for the transportation ;
this practice helped to interest the men in the
success of the voyage. Gradually the vessels were
increased in size and number. At one time Ports-
mouth had over two hundred boats of two or three
hundred tons burden.

While the colonists were paying so much attention
to ocean traffic, they did not neglect their inland trade,
but built roads between, the settlements, bridged the
streams, and established taverns at convenient dis-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 57

tances. Travel along these roads was almost entirely
on horseback.

Early Schools. — The New Hampshire people have
always taken great pride in education. One of the
first buildings put up in a town, after the meeting-
house was completed, was a log schoolhouse. In
1647 a law was passed requiring that a school should
be kept in every town of fifty householders. The
teacher, usually a man, was given about fifty dollars
a year for his services.

Alono- three sides of these first schoolrooms were
placed slabs upon which the older pupils wrote and
worked their sums. The slabs were fastened by one
edo-e to the walls of the building, the other edge being
supported by legs driven securely into auger holes m
the floor. For seats, hewn planks were used into
which stakes were driven. Inside of this outer circle
were seats for the younger children. This arrange-
ment made it necessary for the pupils to sit facing
the walls with their backs toward the teacher. In
the center of the room was placed the master's
desk, and from his throne he watched with eagle
eye the work of the youths under his charge. One
may easily appreciate the feelings of the mischievous
boys, who, with their backs toward the teacher, were
never certain when he was not looking at them.
This feeling of insecurity must have been heightened
by the knowledge that there lay on the desk a hickory

58 COLONIAL LIFE

switch long enough to reach every boy in the room,
and that, too, without the master leaving his chair.

On the third side of the schoolroom was the huge
fireplace with large, flat stones for andirons. Inas-
much as the chimney was never very high, and as
green w^ood was burned, oftentimes the first part of the
morninof exercises was conducted in a cloud of smoke.
The building of the fire was allotted to the older boys,
who took turns in attending to this duty, as well as to
the splitting of the wood. The older girls kept the
room swept and cleaned. The windows were placed
high, so that the attention of the children should not
be distracted by outside affairs.

To schools of this description our ancestors trudged.
Fortunate were those who lived near. Many, however,
were compelled to walk several miles after having
helped their fathers with the chores, or their mothers
with the household duties.

The Meeting-House and Pound. — Near the meeting-
house was stationed the pound, a stone enclosure
where stray cattle were kept and from which they
could not be claimed until a small fine was paid
by the owner. Often the sexton of the church was
appointed pound-keeper in order that the fees of the
one might supplement the pay of the other. The
meeting-houses were usually large, barn-like struc-
tures and without the steeple so characteristic at the
present time. The pews were high, square boxes,

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 59

with cushionless seats, on which the small boys sat
and squirmed during sermons seldom less than two
hours long.

Directly in front of the high pulpit with its over-
hanging sounding-board was a broad bench known as
the deacons' seat. The aged deacons were accus-
tomed to protect their heads from drafts by wearing
bright colored flannel caps ; and sitting in full gaze
of the congregation, they presented a most imposing
and venerable appearance. It was their duty to " line
the hymn " which they did by reading tw^o lines of a
stanza, after which the congregation joined them in
singing the same. Then two more lines were read
and sung in like manner, and this was continued to
the end of the hymn.

Stoves were unknown in these old meeting-houses,
and even in midwinter the congregation sat and
shivered through the long sermons and prayers.
However, an exception was made of the older women
who brought small foot-stoves of perforated sheet-
iron in which were placed pans of glowing coals.
Often when they lived at a distance, they filled their
pans at some of the neighboring houses.

Duties of the Tithing-Man. — An official whose duties
would be considered strange at the present day was
the tithing-man. It was his place to see that the
Sabbath was respected by all people; that on that day
there should be no work, travel or amusements of any

6o

COLONIAL LIFE

kind, no loafing around the tavern or other unseemly
conduct. On Sunday, while service was being held,
he was provided with a "black staff ten feet in length,
tipped at one end with brass or with pewter" and

armed with this im-
plement, he quietly
touched a slumber-
ing elder or punched
a mischievous boy.

Everybody was
supposed to attend
meeting. The good-
man and goodwife
usually rode on
horseback, the wife
seated behind her
husband on a " pil-
lion," while the chil-
dren trudged " across

lots " on foot. An
example of thrift
may be learned from
the fact that the boys and girls, during the summer
months, always walked to church, barefooted, with
their shoes and stockings under their arms. These
were put on before entering the building, and were
always carefully removed after the services were
ended.

The Sullivan Slave House.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 6l

The Keeping of Slaves. — Several of the old New
Hampshire families kept African or Indian slaves
and many vessels were engaged in the slave trade.
A cargo of rum and of iron bars was often shipped to
Africa and exchanged for negroes, who were taken
to Barbadoes and sold. The vessel returned laden
with molasses to be made into rum with which to
purchase more slaves. Some of the negroes were
brought home and sold in the market like cattle ; how-
ever, slaves were not kept to any great extent in New
Hampshire.

Serving an Apprenticeship. — The tradesmen were
organized into guilds, or unions, and had very strict
rules about admitting a new member. If a boy
wanted to learn the trade of a carpenter, blacksmith,
ship-builder, or sailor, he had to be bound out as an
apprentice to a master mechanic, sometimes for seven
years. During this time he was virtually owned by
his master and had to work hard in return for his
teaching and for his board and clothes.

The King's Trees. — The white pine trees growing
in New England were very valuable as masts for the
navy, and it was largely on this account that Britain
became so great a naval power. Every large pine
tree was marked with the king's arrow to be used for
masts in the royal fleet and a tree thirty-five inches
throuo^h was worth five hundred dollars.

These mast trees were often over a hundred feet

62 COLONIAL LIFE

high, and it was difficult to fell them without breaking
or cracking. Smaller trees were cut and laid in the
path which the large one was to take when it went
over, in order to break the force of the blow. Then
the branches were lopped off and about two hundred
oxen were used to draw or " twitch " it to the river
bank. It was very hard to get so many animals
started together, and when the log finally began to
move they were not allowed to stop ; if an ox fell, he
was cut loose and another was put in his place with-
out stopping the team.

Piscataqua (Portsmouth) was the headquarters for
this trade until 1727. In 1665 as many as seven or
eight ships at a time were loading masts in the
harbor, and when the trade was at its height, Piscata-
qua owned two hundred mast ships. They went so
often and so regularly that the mail was sent by them.

The pine and fir trees also supplied material from
which the colonists made the best of tar, pitch, tur-
pentine and resin.

Improved Methods of Building. — All this trading
made the colonists richer, and the enterprising men
were able to build more comfortable houses than here-
tofore. They were built of bricks laid in clay, and
with a coat of smoothed clay plastered on the inside
of the walls. The outside was then covered with
narrow boards called " clayboards," which word was
afterwards changed to "clapboards." Later, a frame

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

^Z

was made of heavy timbers covered on the outside
with clapboards and plastered on the inside, much as
houses are built now. The lime for the plastering
was made by burning sea shells. The colonists were
also able to have glass in their windows, as they

A Kitchen Fireplace.

could import it in exchange for their goods, or obtain
it from Massachusetts, where there was a glass fac-
tory. The first glass was diamond shaped and each
pane was very small and was set in lead, just as those
of our stained glass windows are at the present time.
The first floor of the better class of houses had a
large " keeping-room " or parlor, which was used only

64 COLONIAL LIFE

on great occasions. Then there was a kitchen, often
twenty feet square, a bedroom, a cheese room and a
butter room. A large brick chimney went up through
the middle of the house with a great open fireplace
in each of the main rooms and with closets in the
space on either side. " The kitchens of the period
were the true home centers and the best of New
England life gathered around the chimney and the
hearthstone."

As night drew on, and, from the crest
Of wooded knolls that ridged the west,
The sun, a snow-blown traveller, sank
From sight beneath the smothering bank,
We piled with care our nightly stack
Of wood against the chimney-back, —
The oaken log, green, huge and thick.
And on its top the stout backstick ;
The knotty forestick laid apart.
And filled between with curious art
The ragged brush ; then, hovering near,
We watched the first red blaze appear.
Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam
On whitewashed wall and sagging beam,
Until the old, rude-furnished room
Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom :
While radiant with a mimic flame
Outside the sparkling drift became,
And through the bare-boughed lilac-tree
Our own warm hearth seemed blazinir free.
The crane and pendent trammels showed.
The Turk's heads on the andirons glowed.

John G. Whittier, " Snow-Bound."

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 65

CHAPTER IV.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COLONY.

It is probable that the first settlements near the
present sites of Portsmouth and Dover had a certain
form of government as early as 1633, but the first
written constitutions were adopted by the infant
settlement in 1638 and 1639.

The officers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were
anxious to extend their possessions and inasmuch as
their charter gave them the right to the land three
miles north of the Merrimac River, they, with great
ingenuity, sought to construe this clause as meaning
three miles north of the source of the Merrimac, which
would give them a goodly territory overlapping New
Hampshire settlements and a part of Maine. With
the end in view of supporting this claim, in 1631,
Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts sent Cap-
tain Thomas Wiggin to exercise control over the
settlements on the Piscataqua. A collision naturally
occurred between Captain Walter Neale, who repre-
sented the Piscataqua settlements, and Captain Wig-
gin. Neale dared Wiggin to step foot on a certain
point of land half way between Dover and Exeter;
while Wiggin proposed to defend his right by the
sword. The quarrel terminated, however, without

66 COLONIAL LIFE

bloodshed, but in lieu of what might have been, this
place was always known as Bloody Point and is called
so to this day.

Despairing of obtaining a foothold by force, Wig-
gin, the next year, purchased the entire Hilton grant
for about ten thousand dollars. As soon as he entered
into possession of the Hilton patent, Wiggin endeav-
ored to place it under the control of Massachusetts,
but he was decidedly opposed in this endeavor by
the original settlers, since they feared for the titles to
their lands under Massachusetts jurisdiction. In 1640,
when the settlers began to feel the need of the pro-
tection of a stronger state, and as Massachusetts
promised them all the liberties which they had pre-
viously enjoyed, the opposition was overcome, and in
1 64 1 the entire Piscataqua region passed into the
control of Massachusetts.

It cannot be said that this union was perfectly satis-
factory to the settlers of New Hampshire, and there
was constant strife between the " Churchmen " of the
settlements along the Piscataqua and the Puritans
of Massachusetts Bay. Soon after the annexation, a
number of the Puritans came to this section and by
the aid of Massachusetts of^licials seized all the places
of power and secured for themselves most of the
unoccupied lands, causing the original planters to
become more and more angry at their intrusion. As
a result, two open rebellions occurred in attempting to

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 6/

withdraw from the union with Massachusetts, one in
1 65 1, the other in 1664, but neither of them met with
success. The union continued until 1679, when
Massachusetts' control over Piscataqua was ended by
the making of New Hampshire into a royal province.

New Hampshire a Royal Province. — The king ap-
pointed John Cutt president of the colony and insti-
tuted a council composed of prominent settlers of
New Hampshire. Before this time Robert Mason
had made such vigorous efforts to place before James
n the Masonian claim to this territory that the king
now appointed him to a seat in the New Hampshire
Assembly. Shortly after, Mason, armed with a war-
rant and the king's favor, came to New Hampshire
and tried to compel the settlers to purchase of him a
lease for their lands.

In this, however, he was opposed by the president
and the assembly. Finding his efforts unavailing with
the present form of government, he returned to Eng-
land, and, by promises, obtained the appointment of
Edward Cranfield as commander-in-chief of New
Hampshire. Cranfield was induced to take this office
only upon Mason's guarantee that his salary should

be paid.

Cranfield as Governor (1682). —Cranfield came from
England with full power, and in a short time all
officers of the state who were opposed to Mason were
removed and others appointed in their stead. This,

68 COLONIAL LIFE

however, worked very little to either Mason's or Cran-
field's advantage, for while they tried and condemned
the settlers who would not take out leases of them, yet
the force of public opinion was against them to such
an extent, that they found it impossible to enforce the
decrees of the court. The settlers continued to live
on their lands, in spite of the officers and without
takino[ leases from Mason.

Cranfield resorted to every expedient to raise money
but was met with the most stubborn resistance by the
colonists. Finally the people became so angry at his
tyranny that they sent complaints to England which
resulted in Cranfield's withdrawal in 1685. This left
his lieutenant-governor, Barefoot, in control.

Barefoot' s Trouble with Citizens. — Barefoot was not
an improvement over his predecessor and used every
means in his power to annoy the colonists. During
his short stay an incident occurred which shows the
contempt with which the government was held by the
settlers. Thomas Wiggin and Anthony Nutter, who
had formerly been members of the assembly, called
one day at the house of Barefoot to remonstrate with
him concerning the injustice of his proceedings.
Mason, who was his guest at the time, was also pres-
ent. During the discussion, the visitors told Mason
very plainly and forcibly that his claim to the land
amounted to nothing. This so enraged him that he
took hold of Wiggin to force him from the house.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 69

Wio'o'in, who was a powerful man, seized Mason by
the collar and threw him with great violence across
the room and into the fireplace, where his clothing
and legs were severely burned. Barefoot upon com-
ine to his assistance was treated even more severely.
Several of his teeth were knocked out and two of his
ribs were broken. Mason meantime called loudly
upon his servants to bring his sword, but upon its
being brought, Nutter quickly took it from him, and
mocked the discomfiture of the highest officer of the
state. Barefoot was followed by President Joseph
Dudley, who in a few months was relieved of his
command.

New Hampshire tinder Andros. — In 1686, the gov-
ernment of all New England was given to Andros,
who won the reputation of being its greatest tyrant.
All the power which he possessed was used to obtain
money from the settlers. Upon the overthrow of King
James of England, Andros was captured and sent to
England as a prisoner of state.

New Hampshire without a Government. — For eleven
months after the removal of Andros the colony
remained without a government, when the settlers,
realizing the need of a united force in meeting the
attacks of the French and Indians, sent delegates
from Dover, Exeter, Hampton and Portsmouth to
draw up a constitution; but the 'town of Hampton
refused to comply with its provisions and, as a result,

70 COLONIAL LIFE

it was without effect. Thereupon, the party which had
always desired to be reannexed to Massachusetts, sent
a petition to that colony asking for its aid and protec-
tion. The petition was granted and New Hampshire
was restored to its former relations with Massachusetts.

Governor Allen. — This union remained until Samuel
Allen, who had purchased Mason's claim, obtained
from the king a commission as governor of New
Hampshire in August, 1692. John Usher was ap-
pointed lieutenant-governor to look after Allen's
interests during his absence.

The people distrusted Usher exceedingly, not only
because he represented Allen's title, but because he
had been a follower of the tyrant Andros. Usher
was a merchant of Boston, a man of little education,
but with a firm idea of his own importance. During
his governorship there was a great deal of trouble
with the Indians and he seems to have done every-
thing in his power to help the settlers. They re-
spected him for this and felt kindly toward him, but
steadily resisted all his attempts to have them take
out leases of their lands.

William Partridge, a well-known shipbuilder of
Portsmouth, went to England and succeeded in being
appointed lieutenant-governor in place of Usher.
Partridge was particularly friendly toward the settlers,
and during his short stay in the governor's chair the
affairs of the colony were orderly and quiet.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 71

Earl of Belmont — Joseph Dudley — Elseus Burgess —
Samuel Shute — William Burnet. — The Earl of Bel-
mont was next in charge of the state, and of the
other British colonies. He was well received by
the people and formed an excellent impression of the
New Hampshire colony. Upon the Earl's death,
Queen Anne appointed Joseph Dudley governor of
both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Elseus
Burgess was appointed governor by George I, but
did not come in person to administer the affairs of
the colony during the year in which he held the
office. He was followed by Samuel Shute, an able
official, who was well assisted by his lieutenant, John
Wentworth. The latter acted as governor during
Shute's absence, and, through his diligence and
thoughtfulness for the people's welfare, he became
much respected. William Burnet acted as governor
for one year, his administration terminating with his
death in 1729.

Jonathan Belcher, Conflict with Massachusetts over
Boundary. — Jonathan Belcher, who was the next
governor, was a merchant of great wealth and of
sterling character. During Belcher's administration,
there was a long controversy between New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts in regard to the boundary
line. While it was in dispute, a meeting was held
between the legislatures of the two governments at
Hampton Falls, with the hope that some agreement

72

COLONIAL LIFE

might be settled upon, but as is usual in such cases
the parties were further apart at the close of the
discussion than they were at the beginning. The
question was finally decided in favor of New Hamp-
shire, and several towns settled by Massachusetts
people became a part of this state.

Benning Wentworth. — Benning Wentworth, son of
John Wentworth, succeeded Belcher. He was well

?-Taa-sigrTr7T7-'-asBTasga»?^%g«gJsi^ai^^

The Wentworth Mansion.

received, and voted a regular salary, and he obtained,
by purchase, the office and title of Surveyor of the
King's Woods. During the French and Indian War
he took excellent care of his soldiers and received
their hearty support.

Wentworth was very much of an aristocrat, and
was fond of doing things in a royal manner. He

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 73

boasted of the finest wine cellar in the colonies, had
a bodyguard, and always traveled in state. After the
death of his first wife, he desired to marry a young
lady of Portsmouth, but much to his surprise and
chagrin, she refused to become Lady Wentworth,
preferring to marry a younger man. Wentworth, out
of revenge for this slight, had her bridegroom seized
by a pressgang and carried off to sea just before the
time appointed for the marriage.

Afterwards the governor married a young girl
beneath him in station. The way in which the
wedding was brought about shows clearly his irascible
temper. It occurred during a state dinner at the
Wentworth mansion, at which many noted men were
present, and among them a clergyman. When the
guests were seated at the table, the governor intro-
duced the future Lady Wentworth, and requested
the clergyman to marry them. Upon his hesitating,
Wentworth was much enraged and ordered him to
perform the ceremony instantly. The frightened
minister could only comply and he stammered out
the marriao-e service. The misalliance was a great
blow, not only to Wentworth's family, but also to
the exclusive people of the colony.

Longfellow has made this incident of New Hamp-
shire history the subject of one of his most graceful
poems, — "Lady Wentworth."

74

COLONIAL LIFE

He gave a splendid banquet, served on plate,
Such as became the Governor of the State,
Who represented England and the King,
And was magnificent in everything.

Fireplace in Wentworth Mansion.

He had invited all his friends and peers, —
The Pepperels, the Langdons, and the Lears,
The Sparhawks, the Penhallows, and the rest ;
For why repeat the name of every guest .'*

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 75

But I must mention one in bands and gown,
The rector there, the Reverend Arthur Brown
Of the Established Church ; with smiUng face
He sat beside the Governor and said grace.

• •••••••a.

When they had drunk the King, with many a cheer.
The Governor whispered in a servant's ear,
Who disappeared, and presently there stood
Within the room, in perfect womanhood,
A maiden, modest and yet self-possessed.
Youthful and beautiful, and simply dressed.
Can this be Martha Hilton }

• ••«•••••«

Yet scarce a guest perceived that she was there.
Until the Governor, rising from his chair.
Played slightly with his ruffles, then looked down,
And said unto the Reverend Arthur Brown :
" This is my birthday : it shall likewise be
My wedding-day ; and you shall marry me ! "

The listening guests were greatly mystified.

None more so than the rector, who replied :

" Marry you ? Yes, that were a pleasant task.

Your Excellency ; but to whom ? I ask."

The Governor answered, " To this lady here ; "

And beckoned Martha Hilton to draw near.

She came and stood, all blushes, at his side.

The rector paused. The impatient Governor cried :

" This is the lady ; do you hesitate ?

Then I command you as Chief Magistrate."

The rector read the service loud and clear :

'' Dearly beloved, we are gathered here,"

7^

COLONIAL LIFE

And so on to the end. At his command

On the fourth finger of her fair left hand

The Governor placed the ring ; and that was all :

Martha was Lady Wentworth of the Hall !

The governor's hasty temper and haughty ways of
deahng with the people made him so unpopular that
he was finally compelled to resign in favor of John
Wentworth, his nephew.

Able Administration of John Wentworth (1767).—
John Wentworth II, the last, as well as the most

respected of New Hamp-
shire's colonial governors,
began in the best way pos-
sible to obtain the good-
will of his people. He
took a strong interest in
all the common affairs of
the province, was active in
agriculture, surveyed the
forests, laid out new roads,
and stimulated activity
and thrift among the peo-
ple. He was a patron of
the arts, and also of edu-
cation. It was due to his
efforts that Dartmouth College was begun with such
favorable conditions, and under his jurisdiction the
state was divided into counties, which was a great

Governor John Wentworth.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. JJ

convenience for those persons living in the western
and northern parts of the state, since the county
courts were able to settle disputes which formerly
could be decided only by those at Portsmouth. The
abolition of paper money was also a distinguishing
mark of John Wentworth's administration. Silver
and gold were gradually introduced and paper money
was called in through the taxes, which placed the
currency upon a solid basis, and obviated difficulties
of trade.

Even after the battles of Lexington and Concord,
Governor Wentworth seemed to believe that there
was still hope of peace. At the general meeting of
the council at Exeter, three members, favorable to
England, were expelled from that body. One of them
expressing himself too freely was assaulted by the
enraged people, and he finally took refuge in the Went-
worth mansion at Portsmouth. The people, aroused
by the action, brought up a cannon and placed it in
front of the house, at which they threatened to fire
unless the man was surrendered to them. The gov-
ernor, frightened at this demonstration, gave up the
offender, who was taken to Exeter. As the king's
representative, Wentworth felt so insulted by this
action that he withdrew from the house and moved to
the fort in the harbor. From here he went to Boston,
to return but once again to New Hampshire, and then
only for a day.

yS COLONIAL LIFE

Forming of the Provincial Congress. — During the
last part of Wentworth's administration, the assem-
bhes, which were made up of delegates chosen by the
people, had gradually withdrawn their support from
the King. Their discontent reached its height in
July, 1774, when there assembled in Exeter the first
provincial congress. From this time to December,
1775, the people elected five congresses, and the
fifth congress adopted a form of government which
lasted throughout the war. In June, 1784, a new
constitution was made which has remained practically
unchanged to the present time.

During this formative period the name and influ-
ence of Meshech Weare of Hampton Falls was most
prominent. He was a delegate to the five provincial
congresses and for many years was president of the
council and chairman of the committee of safety,
which had charge of the affairs of the state when
the council was not in session. Upon the adoption
of the constitution he was unanimously elected the
first governor of New Hampshire and held this office
until his death in 1786. Meshech Weare was a man
of sterling honesty and one who left his impress upon
the form and character of the government.

X

3
O

s

U

a
Q

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 79

CHAPTER V.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE.

Dartmouth College had its beginning as a school
for Indian youths, which was founded in 1755 at
Lebanon, Connecticut, and was called " Moor's Indian
Charity School" after its earliest patron, Colonel
Joshua Moor, a wealthy farmer of Mansfield, Connec-
ticut. For a time, only Indians were admitted as
students, but later, English boys were taught with
the understanding that upon graduation they were
to become missionaries to the various Indian tribes.
They met with such marked success that the numbers
at the school steadily increased, so that in 1770 there
were enrolled sixteen English boys and only three
Indians.

Dr. Eleazer Wheelock was the founder of the
Indian school, and it was due entirely to him that the
institution enlarged its field and became Dartmouth
College. In 1765 Dr. Wheelock sent to England
one of his graduates named Occum, who was a
full-blooded Indian, in order to show what might be
accomplished in the education of the " Red Men."
Cecum's visit proved a remarkable success. He was
received among the nobility and he created quite an

8o COLONIAL LIFE

excitement at London. He preached to immense
congregations in England, Scotland and Ireland, and
succeeded in raising funds to the amount of eleven
thousand pounds for Wheelock's school in America,
even King George giving two hundred pounds.

In 1770 Governor Wentworth, who for many years
had been interested in the education of the Indians,
voluntarily offered to Dr. Wheelock a large tract of
land on the Connecticut River for the purpose of
founding a college, and promised a most liberal
charter for the institution. Wheelock accepted the
proposition and went in person, in August of the
same year, to superintend the work of preparing the
buildings. The place selected for the college was a
hundred feet above the level of the river and covered
with an immense growth of pine trees, one of which,
measured by Dr. McClure, w^as said to be two hundred
seventy feet from base to top; in fact after the first
six acres had been cleared, the surrounding forest was
so high that the sun's rays did not strike into the
clearing until late in the forenoon.

The workmen first built a temporary log cabin in
which to live while the dormitory and the president's
house were in process of construction. Before they
were completed, the president's family with about
thirty students arrived, having traveled over almost
impassable roads and endured many hardships. What
followed upon their arrival had best be told in Presi-

Eleazer Wheelock.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 8l

dent Wheelock's own words : " The message I sent
to my family proved not seasonable to prevent their
setting out, and they arrived with nearly thirty stu-
dents. I housed my stuff with my wife and the
females of my family in my hut. My sons and stu-
dents made booths and beds of hemlock boughs, and
in this situation we continued for about a month till
the twenty-ninth day of October, when I removed with
my family into my house, and though the season had
been cold with storms of rain and snow, two sawmills
failed on which I had chief dependence for boards,
etc., and by series of other trying disappointments, yet
by the pure mercy of God the same changed for the
better in every respect, the weather continued favora-
ble, new resources for the supply of boards were found
till my house was made warm and comfortable, a
schoolhouse built, and so many rooms in the college
made quite comfortable as were sufficient for the
students that were with me in which they find the
pleasure of such solitude. And since the settlement
of the affair, all, without exception, are sufficiently
engaged in their studies."

Work upon the present Dartmouth Hall was begun
in the summer of 1774, but it was not ready for use
until 1 79 1, as many difficulties in raising sufficient
funds were encountered.

The first commencement was held August 28,
1 77 1. Besides the trustees of the college. Governor

82 COLONIAL LIFE

Wentworth and a number of gentlemen from Ports-
mouth were present. In order that the journey might
be made in a manner suitable to the dignity of a royal
governor, Wentworth caused a road to be made from
Portsmouth to Hanover, a distance of over one hun-
dred miles, extending for the most part through the
unbroken wilderness.

The graduating class consisted of four students,
and it is said that the exercises passed off in a very
creditable manner.

From such small beginnings has the present Dart-
mouth College sprung. It ranks among the oldest
of the American colleges, and it has established for
itself a reputation of which every New Hampshire
citizen may be justly proud.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 83

CHAPTER VI.

TROUBLE BETWEEN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND

NEW YORK.

The controversy between New Hampshire and
New York over the lands of the present state of
Vermont, then called " New Hampshire Grants,"
was long and bitter. The sovereigns of England, by
whom large grants were made, had little or no con-
ception of the vast extent of this country. The
charters of the colonies of Massachusetts and Connec-
ticut gave their possessions as extending westward to
the Pacific Ocean, although at that time the Dutch
had settled along the Hudson River; however, there
was this condition : — " Provided that these lands
have not already been settled by some other Chris-
tian power."

After the conquest of the Dutch possessions by
the English, they were given by Charles II to his
brother, the Duke of York, who was granted, accord-
ing to the charter, " All lands extending from the
west side of the Connecticut, to the east side of
Delaware Bay," which overlapped the lands of Con-
necticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The
boundary between New York and Connecticut, and
between New York and Massachusetts, was placed

84 COLONIAL LIFE

many miles west of the Connecticut River, because
this territory had ah*eady been settled under grants
from Connecticut and Massachusetts. The governor
of New Hampshire took prompt measures to have his
line extended in the same manner, but the governor
of New York refused to acknowledge that any land
west of the Connecticut belonged to New Hampshire ;
however. New Hampshire's governor still continued
to make grants of land in the disputed territory, and
the settlers bought and paid for them. It is said that
he became enormously wealthy from fees obtained by
these sales.

To stop the granting of land by Wentworth, the
lieutenant-governor of New York sent forth a procla-
mation stating that New Hampshire had no power to
make grants, and he printed the charter given to the
Duke of York to justify his statements. Finally the
controversy was brought to the notice of the king
by representatives sent from New York. They pre-
sented to King George a forged petition purporting
to be from the people who had settled in the disputed
territory, declaring that they preferred to be under
the authority of New York rather than that of New
Hampshire. Acting upon this petition, the king
placed the boundary between New York and New
Hampshire at the Connecticut River. With great
injustice the men in authority in New York claimed
that this annulled any action taken before by New

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 85

Hampshire in regard to these lands, and that the
settlers who had bought them from the crown under
the authority of New Hampshire, would have to pur-
chase them again under the authority of New York,
although the king in 1767 declared that no grants
whatsoever should be made by New York in the
disputed territory.

Meeting for Organization. — Since the New York
officers refused to recognize the titles held under
grants from New Hampshire, the people determined
to protect themselves, and for this purpose held a
meeting at Bennington, Vermont, in order to devise
means for the best way of resisting the efforts of those
who would deprive them of their homesteads and
lands. At this meeting they thoroughly organized
a system of spying upon the New York deputies; no
surveyor from that state could run his line, and no
sheriff was able, however secret his approach, to make
an arrest without resistance. Whenever a New York
official became too zealous in performing his duty,
the people had a playful method of capturing him and
imprinting on his back with rods what they were
accustomed to call "the beech seal."

Difficulties Encountered by New York Officers. — The
New York sheriffs labored under a great disadvan-
tage, in that the common people of their state sympa-
thized more with the settlers of New Hampshire
Grants than they did with their own authorities.

S6 COLONIAL LIFE

Sheriff Ten Eyck, being required to serve a writ
upon a resident of Bennington and suspecting strong
resistance, called out the militia to the number of
seven hundred fifty to assist him in making the arrest.
The settlers, hearing of this, assembled three hundred
men to oppose him. About twenty of them posted
themselves in the house of the offender, while the
remainder divided themselves into two parties and
took their station on either side of the road, behind
ridges which happened to skirt the highway at this
point.

The sheriff with his men marched unsuspectingly
into the ambuscade and ordered the people of the
house to surrender, threatening to break down the
door unless his order was complied with instantly.
" Attempt it and you are a dead man," came the
reply. At this moment the ambuscading forces
made themselves known, and displaying hats on the
muzzles of their guns made a showing of twice their
actual number. The rank and file of the " Yorkers "
having no real relish for the business, and seeing the
trap into which they had so nicely fallen, concluded
that their presence was no longer needed, and with-
out a shot being fired on either side, quietly withdrew,
followed by the crestfallen leader.

The Green Mountain Boys. — Shortly after a mili-
tary force was organized for the purpose of more
effectually opposing the New York authorities, and

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Sy

the renowned Ethan Allen was chosen as leader.
They took it upon themselves not only to discourage
further activity on the part of the New York officials,
but to rectify the mistakes which they had made in
the past.

The proprietor of a sawmill at Otter Creek had
been deprived of his property by a force of New
Yorkers under Colonel Reid, who claimed that the
New Hampshire title, purchased in 1761, was of no
value, and placed in charge of the property a tenant
of his own. Ethan Allen, hearing of this injustice,
with a company of Green Mountain Boys turned out
the New York people and reinstated the original
proprietor. This action greatly incensed Governor
Tryon of New York and Colonel Reid. The latter,
with a company of his Scotchmen (the colonel had
formerly been in command of the Forty-Second, or
Royal Highland Regiment) marched to Otter Creek,
and after forcibly ejecting the proprietor, left in his
stead a rugged Scotchman with orders to hold pos-
session at any cost.

The Green Mountain Boys being informed of this
last move on the part of the Yorkers, mustered a
force and in no gentle manner ejected the Scotch-
man with his goods. He, although forced to yield by
superior numbers, still insisted in broad Scotch that
" w^ie twonty guid broad-swoards I would hae defended
my mill tho' ye had a hundred mon." The Green

88 COLONIAL LIFE

Mountain Boys so admired his pluck that they offered
him a large tract of land if he would join them, an
offer, however, which he scornfully rejected.

Committees of Safety. — New York, finding that
force did not serve her purpose, attempted to make
friends with some of the prominent citizens by appoint-
ing them to ofHce. To oppose this policy, committees
of safety were assembled, who voted that no per-
son was to be allowed to take any grant of land from
New York, and that no one could hold office under
her authority. For the violation of these enactments,
the penalty was to rest with the decision of the court.
The more common form of punishment was banish-
ment from the colony, or the application of the re-
nowned " beech seal," already alluded to.

Sometimes the punishment was more grotesque
than harsh. In one instance, Dr. Adams of Arling-
ton, who had openly sympathized with and aided
the New York authorities, fell into the hands of the
Green Mountain Boys. When brought before the
court, he was sentenced to be hung for two hours in
an armchair, beneath the sign of the famous Green
Mountain Tavern, a hostelry noted as the starting
place of many raids against the hated " Yorkers."

The towns along the Connecticut slope being more
peacefully inclined had acquiesced to the rule of New
York and had taken out new grants under its author-
ity. They were subject, however, to so many indig-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

89

nities at the hands of the New York officials that the
people in this section became thoroughly aroused.
The trouble reached a climax when New York
refused to adopt the Articles of the Association of
the American Colonies. In the neiQchborino: com-
monwealth where the articles had been accepted, no
royal courts were permitted to hold session. The

^.~^.,-r^^ -^

X^/^,tlr.,jUXZ.

The Catamount or Green Mountain Tavern.

people being heartily in sympathy with this move-
ment, demanded that no courts should be held there,
although they were nominally under the jurisdiction
of the magistrates of New York.

The Westminster Massacre (1775). — Upon learning
that the authorities had determined to hold court at
Westminster and had assembled a body of militia to

90 COLOxNIAL LIFE

enforce their action, a party of about one hundred
settlers, in order to forestall them, seized the court-
house the night before and determined not to leave
until their claims had been heard. While here, they
were fired upon by the militia under order from the
sheriff. Two of the inmates were killed and several
others severely wounded. The entire countryside
was aroused by this action, and before the following
morning more than four hundred men were on the
spot ready to avenge the death of their neighbors.
The sheriff and ringleaders were quickly seized and
conducted to jail at Northampton, Massachusetts.
The result of their trial was lost in the stirrinor times
of the Revolution, but the outcome of the massacre
was of great importance in preparing the way for the
long struggle of independence that was to follow.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 91

CHAPTER VII.

BEGINNINGS OF THE REVOLUTION.

The colonies were very heavily faxed to pay the
expenses of the long French and Indian War. Taxes
were imposed by the Parliament of England, and as
the colonies had no voice in its decisions, they
complained that taxation without representation was
unjust. The English replied that many of their own
cities had no representation in Parliament, yet they
had to pay taxes ; that the wars had been carried on
for the benefit of the colonies, and that they ought
to pay their share of the expenses. To this the colo-
nists said that they were willing to pay their share,
but the fact that certain Englishmen were not repre-
sented in Parliament did not affect the rights of the
case.

In order to make the colonists buy sugar and
molasses from her planters in the West Indies, Eng-
land had passed, in 1733, what was called the Sugar
Act, which placed such a heavy duty on sugar and
molasses raised in countries not under her control,
that none could be imported from them except
secretly.

In 1750 Parliament passed laws forbidding the
colonists to make iron bars. This act put a stop to

92 COLONIAL LIFE

the iron industry and closed snops in New Hampshire
that had been rolling iron bars since 1747. They
were called slitted iron and from them the black-
smiths and mechanics cut out bolts and nails.

Besides these unjust laws, Great Britain claimed
the right to press New England sailors into ser-
vice in her navy, whenever she had need of men.
One captain was taken from his ship just as he was
leaving the harbor of Portsmouth.

Pine Tree Law. — In 17 10 all pine trees twelve
inches or more in diameter had been marked with the
" King's Arrow," which indicated that they were to
be saved for use in the royal navy, and in 1722 the
general court of New Hampshire had made it a
criminal offense to cut down any of them. This
law, as may be imagined, was very unpopular with the
settlers, since they needed the lumber as much for
building their houses as did the king for his navy.
Governor Wentworth was appointed " Surveyor of the
King's Woods," and had under his authority several
deputies whose duty it was to see that the Pine Tree
Law was properly enforced. To add insult to injury,
if any man wished to clear his land, he must pay one
of the deputies to come and mark the king's trees.

The Rioters at Weare (1772). — It happened at
Weare, that a man named Mudgett fell under sus-
picion of cutting down the king's trees, and Governor
Wentworth sent one of his deputies, named Whiting,

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 93

to arrest him. The sheriff did not arrive at Weare
until late in the afternoon, when he found Mudgett
with several companions at a neighboring tavern.
The prisoner protested against being taken away that
evening, and finally prevailed upon the sheriff to
remain at the tavern overnight, assuring him that his
friends would be able to provide bail in the morning.

The townspeople, aroused and indignant at the
arrest of their neighbor, assembled durinor the nieht
and determined to show the authorities the contempt
in which they held the " Pine Tree Law." A com-
pany of stalwart men was chosen, and at about four
o'clock in the morning they rapped on the door of
the sheriff's room and told him that the bailers of the
prisoner stood ready outside. Whiting, grumbling at
being aroused thus early, opened the door. He was
then quickly seized, stretched over the bed and given
his bail with good hickory switches which had been
brought for the occasion. When sufficient bail had
been administered, the much abused sheriff was taken
down stairs, placed upon his horse, and amid the jeers
of the people was led through the principal streets of
the town.

These " rioters at Weare " were afterwards arraigned
and each fined twenty shillings, which small fine leads
us to think that the judge sympathized as much with
the rioters as he did with the authorities. Of all the
oppressive measures which the mother country im-

94 COLOxNIAL LIFE

posed upon the colonies, none was so odious to the
people of New Hampshire as the Pine Tree Law.
It did more to unify our forefathers in active resistance
against Great Britain than any other one thing.

Acts of Unjust Taxation. — The Navigation Acts,
passed from 1650 onward, forbade the colonists to
trade in any but English ships. These measures
became so odious that it was impossible to enforce
them, and smuggling was extensively carried on. In
1760, Parliament determined to put a stop to it and
to enforce the laws. The sheriffs received orders to
aid the collectors, and were given power to search
houses and vessels for goods that had been illegally
imported. So strong was public opinion against this
measure that the king's officers did not dare even to
remain in the colony.

Nothing of English manufacture could be sold,
and the colonists made every endeavor to supply
necessary articles by home manufacture. This served
as a stimulus to New Hampshire industries. A great
impetus was given to the weaving of cloth in the
homes, and one family, it is said, produced seven
hundred yards in a year.

In February, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed,
which enacted that legal papers and even newspapers
must have a government stamp. They were sold by
public officers, and the money was supposed to go for
the protection and defense of the colonists.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

95

When the ships bearing the stamps arrived at Ports-
mouth the bells tolled and the people assembled as for
a funeral procession. A coffin with the word "LIB-
ERTY " in capital letters engraved upon it, was borne
to the cemetery on the shoulders of eight men, while
the minute gun was fired. When they arrived at the
burying ground, a funeral oration was pronounced
and the coffin was lowered into the open grave. Then
it was raised again with the inscription changed
to " LIBERTY REVIVED," and with cheering and
shouting the procession returned to the town.

In the English Parliament, Chatham and Burke
upheld the conduct of the colonists, but Parliament
would not recede from its position, and these oppres-
sive measures continued to widen the breach between
England and her colonies until war was finally declared..

96 COLONIAL LIFE

CHAPTER VIIL

GENERAL JOHN STARK.

Early Life. — John Stark was born in Nutfield, now
known as Londonderry, on the 28th of August, 1728.
His father, a graduate of the University at Glasgow,
emigrated to this country with several other Scotch
Irish settlers from Londonderry, Ireland, in the early
part of the eighteenth century. When John was but
eight years old, the family moved to Derryfield, now
Manchester.

In our backw^oods settlements there was little or
no opportunity to gain an education, and Stark's
early life was spent in working hard upon the farm
during the spring, summer and autumn, and in hunt-
ing and trapping during the winter.

He lived with his father until he was twenty-four
years old, when, with his older brother and two com-
panions he went on a hunting trip to Baker's River
in the northwestern part of the state, beyond the
farthest English settlements. While there. Stark
having w^andered some distance from the others, was
seized by a party of ten Indians who demanded that
he should lead them toward his camp. The young
man had no idea of doing this, however, and con-

General John Stark.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 97

ducted them in the opposite direction. But his com-
panions, becoming alarmed at his long absence, fired
guns and thus disclosed the true position of their
camp. The Indians immediately turned about and
made a stealthy advance upon them. As soon as
they came within hailing distance. Stark, unmind-
ful of the consequences to himself, shouted to his
friends to make their escape. This his brother
William was able to do, but of the two remaining,
one was killed and the other captured.

The latter, with Stark, was taken to the Indian
village of St. Francis where they were compelled to
" run the gantlet," that is, they were forced to run
between two long rows of Indians, each of whom,
armed with a switch or club, beat the captives as they
passed. Stark, much to their confusion, and to the
amusement of the old men, seized the club of the first
Indian, and used it with such effect that he escaped
unharmed.

At another time young Stark was made to hoe corn
with the squaws, but knowing that the Indians con-
sidered squaw's work degrading to a warrior, he care-
fully hoed up all the corn and left the weeds, to show
them how icrnorant he was of such labor. When
reproved for this conduct, he threw the hoe far away
from him and said, " It is the business, not of warriors,
but of squaws, to hoe corn." The Indians were much
pleased at his spirit, and adopted him into the tribe.

98 COLONIAL LIFE

giving him the name of " Young Chief." Although
closely watched to prevent his escape, he had great
liberty, and used all his opportunities for studying
the character and habits of the Red Man.

Ransom of Stark. — When he had been with the
Indians for some time, Captain Stevens of Number
Four and Mr. Wheelwright of Boston went to St.
Francis to ransom two citizens of Massachusetts
whom they expected to find there. It had become
the custom of Massachusetts to pay a ransom for her
citizens who had been made captive by the Indians.
Mr. Wheelwright advanced the ransom money, one
hundred three dollars to Stark, and sixty dollars to
his companion, when the two men returned to Derry-
field after an absence of four months. Stark always
remembered with pleasure this stay among the natives,
and often said that he never saw any prisoner of war
more kindly treated than he had been by them. New
Hampshire refused to refund to Massachusetts the
money for his ransom, and Stark went on another
hunting trip the next winter in order that he might
pay the debt himself.

Stark Made Lieutenant of New Hampshire Rangers. —
The first Congress of the colonies, which assembled
at Albany, New York, in 1754, planned several cam-
paigns against the Indians, one of which, composed
mostly of New England men, was to attack Crown
Point on Lake Champlain. Robert Rogers enlisted

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

99

a corps of rangers in New Hampshire to aid in this
expedition, and Stark was made a second Heutenant
in the regiment of Colonel Blanchard.

The army accomplished but little. They repulsed
the French and Indians under Baron Dieskau, but
did not follow up their advantage by attacking Crown
Point. The rangers did such good work that Aber-
crombie, who had succeeded Governor Shirley, en-
larged their numbers and Stark was advanced to
the grade of first lieutenant.

Attack upon the French. — In the month of January,
1757, Rogers was ordered to take a part of his men
on an exploring expedition from Fort William Henry.
They started down Lake George on snowshoes, but
some of the men became so lame that they were
obliged to turn back. The remainder proceeded to
Lake Champlain, where they captured a number of
sleds loaded with provisions, which were on their way
from Ticonderoga to Crown Point. From one of
the prisoners they learned that there was a much
larger force at Ticonderoga than they had supposed.
Knowing that those who had escaped would inform
the garrison of their presence, they began a retreat
toward their camp of the previous night.

Advancing in Indian file, Major Rogers in the lead
and Lieutenant Stark in the rear, they suddenly came
on a force of two hundred fifty of the enemy, who
immediately opened fire. Captain Spikeman was

lOO COLONIAL LIFE

killed and several were wounded, but Stark and his
men kept up such a steady fire that the rangers were
enabled to form a line of battle on a hilltop, sheltered
by trees. The enemy made an assault and the battle
beean in earnest. The contest lasted from two o'clock
in the afternoon until dark. Rogers was wounded in
the wrist, and one of his comrades cut off the Major's
queue to stanch the wound.

Then the command devolved on Lieutenant Stark.
When there was talk of falling back, he cried that he
would shoot any man who retreated. In spite of the
intense cold, the men having to stand in four or five
feet of snow, the fight continued. A bullet broke the
lock of Stark's gun. He promptly seized one from a
fallen Frenchman. The enemy offered them every
inducement to surrender, but they refused, and to
such good purpose that nearly half the French force
was mortally wounded. At dusk, the enemy stopped
firing, and the rangers, knowing that they were very
near a large garrison, resolved to retreat toward Fort
William Henry. Assisting the wounded as best they
could, they dragged themselves to Lake George, which
was reached in the morning.

Although still forty miles from Fort W^illiam Henry,
Stark with two other men volunteered to go there for
a sled on which the wounded could be carried. Pass-
ing over the lake on snowshoes, they reached the fort
about dark. Immediately they started on the return

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. lOI

trip, and by traveling all night succeeded in bringing
back the wounded at the close of the next day. It is
said that Stark himself helped to drag the sled back
to the fort, thus having labored for three days and
two nights without stopping. In appreciation of his
gallant conduct, he was advanced to the grade of
captain in the place of Spikeman, who had been
killed.

Stark Repulses an Attack upon Fort William Henry. —
On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Captain Stark over-
heard some of the soldiers at Fort William Henry
talking of the way in which they were going to cele-
brate, and in order that his own men at least might
be sober, he gave strict orders to the sutler not to
furnish any liquor to the rangers except on an order
signed by himself. When the men asked for orders.
Stark complained that his wrist was lame and there-
fore he could not write. The French knowing that
many of the garrison would be likely to drink hard
on St. Patrick's Day, made an attack that night. As
Stark expected, the regulars were unfit for service,
and the fort would certainly have been taken had it
not been for the New Hampshire rangers.

The 'Attack upon Fort Ticonderoga. — Both England
and her colonies were determined to conquer Canada,
and for this purpose large forces were raised in New
England. New Hampshire furnished three thousand
soldiers for the campaign of 1758. Loudoun was

I02 COLONIAL LIFE

recalled and Abercromble was put in command of
the troops, which consisted of fifty thousand men, the
largest army that had ever been seen in America.
In July they marched against Ticonderoga. Stark,
with his rangers, was ordered to go before and clear
the woods of scouts and skirmishers.

Abercrombie delayed his advance so long that,
when he finally made an attack, the French had re-
ceived reinforcements and had entrenched themselves
behind trees that were felled with their boughs and
branches all pointing outward, making it almost im-
possible for an attacking party to charge through
them. The English forces were repulsed with great
loss, and although they still had twice as many men
as the French, yet Abercrombie ordered a retreat.
It now became the duty of the rangers to protect
the rear as they had before protected the advance.
No more work was done by the regular army that
summer, but the rangers were employed in reconnoi-
tering and in waylaying the baggage trains of the
enemy. Stark, who was not needed, obtained a fur-
lough, and returned to his home, where he married
Elizabeth Page of Dunbarton.

After the capture of Louisburg, Sir Jeffrey Amherst
was given command of all the Canadian forces. Stark,
becoming tired of the slow way in which the cam-
paign was conducted, soon resigned his commission
and devoted himself to the care of his farm.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 103

The Commencement of the Revolutionary War. — In

1774 Stark was a member of the committee of safety
of his town, and he did all in his power to encourage
his friends to stand firm for their rights and to resist
oppression, even if it became necessary to rebel against
the mother country. To this end, he greatly helped
the militia in its organization and drill.

When the news came of the Battle of Lexington,
the messenger, who was sent to ask Stark to take
command of the New Hampshire forces, found him at
work in his sawmill. He immediately stopped the
mill, hurried to his house, took down his rifle, and
started on horseback to Massachusetts, forgetting in
his haste even to put on his coat. As he passed
through the towns, he was joined by many other New
Hampshire men eager to resist the British. Soon the
New Hampshire troops were organized, and formed
into three regiments commanded by Colonels Stark,
Reed and Poor, with headquarters at Medford. Stark's
regiment was probably the largest in the army as it
consisted of thirteen companies.

Stark at Bunker Hill. — The night before the Battle
of Bunker Hill, a party under Colonel Prescott was
sent across Charlestown Neck to make a fortification.
Two hundred of Stark's men were detailed to help in
this work. The rampart which they raised was so
unskillfully made that it was impossible for the defend-
ers to fire, as the enemy advanced up the hill, without

I04 COLONIAL LIFE

exposing themselves. Stark in derision called it a
pound. Early in the morning, he sent two hundred
men under Wyman, his lieutenant-colonel, to aid in
the defense, and he, with Major McClary, went forward
to view the situation.

It is said that General Gage, when he was reconnoi-
tering the redoubt from Boston, was asked if the
Americans would stand before the advance of the
British regiments, and that he replied : " They will
if one John Stark is among them, for he is a brave
fellow and served under me at Lake George."

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Stark's whole
regiment was ordered to the front and he hastened
back to lead their advance. Each of his men was
given a gill of powder, fifteen bullets and one flint ;
but their guns were of different sizes, and many of
the men had to pound the bullets into the right shape
for their barrels. They marched across Charlestown
Neck, where they were exposed to a heavy fire from
the British ships. Captain Dearborn, afterwards
major-general, who was near Stark, suggested that
they move faster.

" Dearborn," Stark replied, " one fresh man in
action is worth ten fatigued," and he continued to
advance in the same cool way. Stark was joined
soon after by the two hundred men who, the night
before, had helped raise the fortification. The men
under Wyman were by themselves on the right wing

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 105

commanded by General Putnam. Stark took his
position on the left, between the fortification and
the Mystic River.

The British forces, commanded by General Howe
and General Piggott, landed under the protection of a
tremendous fire from the British ships and from the
artillery on Copp's Hill. Stark, seeing the engage-
ment to be imminent, made a short speech to his men
and ordered them to march quickly to a rail fence
extending to the Mystic. There they gathered up
the grass that had recently been mowed and raked
into windrows, and placed it behind the fence. This,
while no protection from the bullets of the enemy,
served to deceive them.

Stark coolly advanced about thirty paces in front of
his line, and carefully drove a stake into the ground.
He then said, " If any man dares fire before the red-
coats reach this stake, I will knock him down." The
terrible work accomplished by the men behind the
rail fence is well known. Twice the British forces
retreated under the tremendous fire of the back-
woodsmen, and it required all of Stark's authority
to keep his men from following.

During the battle, word was brought to Stark that
his oldest son, a lad of sixteen years, had been killed.
The brave colonel replied : " This is not a moment
to talk of private affairs when the enemy is in front,"
and he ordered the messenger back to his station.

I06 COLONIAL LIFE

Fortunately, it was a false report, for the lad was
not killed, but lived to serve throughout the war.

Shortly afterward the fortification having fallen into
the hands of the British, Stark ordered a retreat.
All ammunition was gone and the Americans would
have been at the mercy of the enemy, had not a
supply of powder arrived from New Hampshire just
in time to prevent a rout. It was the powder that
had been captured at Fort William and Mary and
stored at Durham. It had been brought over the
hills to Charlestown by old John Demeritt, in his
ox-cart, from the little New Hampshire town sixty
miles away. With this ammunition, Colonel Stark
was enabled to cover the retreat of the flying troops
who had occupied the redoubt, and the entire force
passed over Charlestown Neck in safety.

Expedition against Canada. — A portion of Stark's
men, under the command of Captain Dearborn, joined
the expedition which Arnold led up the Kennebec
against Canada, but Stark himself remained at Winter
Hill until the evacuation of Boston, March, 1776,
when, under orders from General Washington, he
went to New York, where his troops were engaged
in strengthening the defenses of that city.

In May Stark was ordered to proceed to Canada
by way of Albany and to join the American army.
This he succeeded in doing, but the Canadian expedi-
tion was a failure, and the Americans retreated to

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. lO/

Chimney Point, on Lake Champlain. Here Stark
thought that it was best for the army to make a
stand in defense of the neighboring settlers, but
General Schuyler ordered a retreat to Ticonderoga.
The day after they reached the fort, word was
received of the signing of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, which caused great rejoicing among the
men.

Stark's Advice to Washington. — After the disaster
at New York, General Gates was ordered to send
reinforcements to General Washington, and Stark's
regiment was included in the detachment sent for
that purpose. Stark became impatient at the lack
of active fisfhtino: and said to Washinsfton : " Your
men have too long been accustomed to place their
dependence for safety upon spades and pickaxes ; if
you expect to establish the independence of these
States, you must teach them to place dependence
upon their firearms and their courage." Washing-
ton replied : " This is what we have agreed upon.
We are to march to-morrow upon Trenton ; you are
here to command the right wing of the advance
guard and General Green the left." Stark replied
that the position exactly suited him. The attack
was a great success, for several cannon and a large
number of small arms were captured, and nearly a
thousand men were taken prisoners, while the Ameri-
can loss was about ten men.

I08 COLONIAL LIFE

Just before the battle of Princeton, the term expired
for which his men had enlisted, but Colonel Stark,
seeing that important work was soon to be done, suc-
ceeded in persuading them to reenlist for a period of
six weeks. Such was their faith in their colonel that
not one of them failed to respond, which is the more
remarkable as the hopes of the American army were
then at the lowest ebb, and men were constantly
deserting.

Stark Returns to New Hampshire. — As this new
enlistment was only for a short time, it became neces-
sary for Stark to return to New Hampshire to recruit
men for the campaign of 1777. By March, his regi-
ment was full, and having reported that fact to the
council of New Hampshire and to General Wash-
ington, he went to Exeter to await further orders.

While at home, Stark learned that a new list of
promotions had been made out, and that his name
had been omitted, while inferior officers had been set
above him. He immediately notified the council and
Generals Sullivan and Poor that he considered his
treatment so unjust that he must surrender his com-
mission. They tried to dissuade him but he replied :
" An officer who will not stand for his own rights
ought not to be trusted to stand for the rights of his
country."

Although Stark considered that his dignity required
his resignation from the army, he still took great

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 109

interest in the cause and warned Sullivan and Poor
of the defenseless condition of Fort Ticonderosra and
of the northwestern frontier. At the same time he
declared his willingness to return to the army when
his country should need him. The council and
house of delegates gave him a vote of thanks for his
attachment to the cause of liberty. On his return
home, he enlisted in the Continental army all the
members of his family who were old enough to serve.

Burgoyne's Invasion. — In 1777 Burgoyne with a
large number of American Tories, Indians, Canadians
and Germans, started from Canada to join Howe at
New York, and thus cut the Continental forces into
two parts. The Americans had been easily driven
out of Fort Ticonderoga, Washington had met with
many and severe reverses, and the whole country w^as
in a state of gloom and despondency. The Committee
of Safety of the New Hampshire Grants applied to
the legislature of New Hampshire for aid, but as the
treasury was empty no assistance could be given. In
this extremity, John Langdon, a Portsmouth mer-
chant, and speaker of the assembly, thus addressed
that body :

"I have three thousand dollars in hard money; I
will pledge my plate for three thousand more ; I have
hogsheads of Tobago rum which shall be sold for the
most it will bring. These are at the service of the
state. If we succeed in defending our firesides and

no COLOxNIAL LIFE

homes, I shall be remunerated ; if we do not, the prop-
erty will be of no value to me. Our old friend Stark,
who so nobly maintained our honor at Bunker Hill,
may be safely trusted with the conduct of the enter-
prise, and we will check the progress of Burgoyne."

Stark is Given Independent Command. — Langdon's
generosity enabled the state to raise a force of men
which Stark was asked to lead, but he refused to
serve under any officers whom he had formerly com-
manded; and finally, rather than lose his services,
the leo^islature Qrave him command of all the forces
of New Hampshire, and agreed that he should be
entirely independent of the national officers.

When Stark arrived at Manchester, Vermont, the
advantage of this power was shown, for there he was
met by General Lincoln, who ordered him to march
to the west side of the Hudson. Much incensed.
Stark asked : " By whose authority do you give this
command ? " Lincoln replied, " By the order of Gen-
eral Schuyler."

Stark thereupon asked Lincoln to tell General
Schuyler that he (Stark) was able to command his
own forces, and also gave to him copies of his inde-
pendent commission and orders from New^ Hampshire.
Schuyler brought this to the notice of Congress,
which passed a resolution of censure upon the state
of New Hampshire for giving authority without its
permission.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Ill

Stark's purpose was to protect the New Hampshire
Grants, and the only way of accomplishing his object
was to remain on the east side of the Hudson and
attempt to cut off Burgoyne's supplies from Canada,
which plan afterward met with the hearty approval of
Washington.

Battle of Bennington. — Burgoyne, believing that
there were many Tories in the New Hampshire
Grants, sent out a large detachment of Hessians,
Tories and Indians under Colonel Baum to obtain
provisions and possibly recruits. On the 14th of
August, Stark received information that this force
had arrived at Cambridge, about ten miles north-
west of Bennington, and that they were intending to
capture a large quantity of flour, stored at a mill near
the town. He immediately marched his forces in
that direction, and at nightfall met the enemy.

As the eround was unsuitable for an immediate
attack. Stark withdrew his army about a mile and
prepared for battle on the following day. The next
morning he moved to attack the British, but it began
to rain so heavily that he was forced to return to his
camp. This delay unfortunately gave Baum time to
throw up entrenchments in a strong position and
to send to Burgoyne for aid.

On the morning of the i6th, the Americans were
reinforced by the Berkshire militia, those from Pitts-
field being led by their pastor, the Reverend Thomas

112 COLONIAL LIFE

Allen. This gentleman advanced to the log cabin
where Stark had his headquarters and addressed the
General as follows: — "We, the people of Berkshire,
have been frequently called upon to fight, but we
have never been led against the enemy. We have
now resolved, if you will not let us fight, never to
turn out again."

General Stark asked, " Do you wish to march now,
while it is dark and rainy ? "

" No," was the answer.

" Then," continued Stark, " if the Lord should once
more give us sunshine, and I do not give you fighting
enough, I will never ask you to come again."

Shortly after the arrival of the Berkshire militia.
Stark sent Nichols and Herrick with a detachment
of five hundred men to form at the rear of Baum's
entrenchment, and also sent to the right a flanking
party of two hundred men.

The stolid German commander was entirely unsus-
picious of these movements. He took no notice
whatever of the little squads of farmers who passed
by his camp dressed in their rough homespun, for, to
his mind, no man could be a soldier unless clothed
in uniform. He was destined later to change his
opinion. The Indians, however, were not at all
deceived, and held an entirely different view of the
matter. They quietly deserted the British camp,
complaining that the woods were full of Yankees.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1 13

The weather cleared up In the course of the day,
and Stark advanced toward the fortification. Havine
placed his troops in position, about three o'clock in
the afternoon he ordered an attack. Advancins^ in
front of his troops and pointing to the enemy, he
exclaimed, " See, men ! There are the redcoats !
We shall beat them to-day, or ' Molly ' Stark will be
a widow ! "

For more than two hours the fight raged, as Stark
afterwards said, "hotter than he had ever experi-
enced." The New Hampshire troops advanced re-
peatedly within gunshot of the intrenchments and
with accurate aim picked off the Hessian gunners.

At last Stark rallied all his forces and led a final
charge upon the works of the enemy. Then followed
a hand to hand encounter, in which both sides fought
stubbornly and well. Stark's men were greatly handi-
capped by lack of bayonets, but in spite of it they,
with their clubbed muskets, repeatedly drove back the
charges of the British. Finally Baum fell mortally
wounded, and shortly after his forces surrendered.
The Hessian prisoners were treated civilly, but the
Tories were fastened to a long rope two by two, the
end of which was hitched to the tail of an old horse,
and in disgrace they were marched through the town
of Bennino^ton.

While the Americans were still engaged in plunder-
ing the Hessian camp, at about six o'clock in the

114

COLONIAL LIFE

afternoon, a large force of the enemy, under Colonel
Brayman, came suddenly upon them. They had
been sent by Burgoyne as a reinforcement for Baum.
Although his men were tired out by the former battle,
Stark rallied his troops and again ordered an attack.
After a short but very severe engagement, during
which he was reinforced by a company of Green
Mountain Boys under Warner, the enemy were com-
pelled to retreat, leaving behind all their artillery.

Cannon Captured at Bennington.

Here we have a case in which a man fought two
battles in one day. In the first, he captured the
entire army opposing; and in the second, put the
enemy to rout. The following is an extract of Stark's
account of the battle, forwarded by a messenger to
the legislature of New Hampshire :

" Our people behaved with the greatest spirit and
bravery imaginable. Had they been Alexanders or
Charles of Sweden, they could not have behaved

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

115

better. The action lasted two hours, at the expira-
tion of which time we forced their breastworks at the
muzzles of their guns, took two pieces of brass
cannon, with a number of prisoners ; but before I
could get them into proper form again, I received
intelligence that there was a large reinforcement
within two miles of us on their march, which occa-

War Relics of Battle of Bennington.

sioned us to renew our attack. But lucky for us,
Colonel Warner's regiment came up, which put a
stop to their career.

" Soon we rallied, and, in a few minutes, the action
began very warm and desperate, which lasted until
night. We used their own cannon against them,
which proved of great service to us. At sunset we
obliged them to retreat a second time. We pursued
them until dark, when I was obliged to halt for fear
of killing my own men in the darkness. With one

Il6 COLONIAL LIFE

more hour of daylight, we would have captured the
whole body. We recovered two pieces more of their
cannon, together with all their baggage, a number of
horses, carriages, etc., and killed upwards of two hun-
dred of the enemy in the field of battle. The number
of wounded is not yet known, as they are scattered
about in many places. I have one lieutenant-colonel,
since dead, one major, seven captains, fourteen lieu-
tenants, four ensigns, two cornets, one judge-advo-
cate, one baron, two Canadian ofiBcers, six sergeants,
one aid-de-camp, one Hessian chaplain, three Hessian
servants and seven hundred prisoners.

Signed, John Stark,

Briga dier- Gen eral.''''

The effect of this victory was electrical. It was
the first link of a chain of victories which led to the
overthrow of the British. After the reverses of our
army in Pennsylvania, it aroused the entire country
to new hope. Recruits came pouring in.

When news of the battle was brous^ht to Washing^-
ton, he exclaimed, " One more such stroke, and we
shall have no great cause for anxiety as to the future
designs of Britain." Congress, when the news came,
was about to " read New Hampshire out of the
Union," but, instead, this resolution was passed : —

" Resolved, that the thanks of Congress be pre-
sented to General Stark of the New Hampshire
militia, and the officers and troops under his com-

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Ii/

mand, for their brave and successful attack upon, and
their signal victory over the enemy in their lines at
Bennington ; and that Brigadier Stark be appointed
brigadier-general in the army of the United States."
Years afterwards, President Jefferson wrote General
Stark a letter in which he stated that the battle of
Bennington was the culminating point in the fortunes
of the colonists.

Burgoyne, having advanced beyond Ticonderoga,
had placed his reliance upon foraging parties like
Baum's to bring in provisions. The battle of Ben-
nington proved that this was impossible, and his
forces were thus cut off from all supplies.

Stark remained a month at Bennington and then
rejoined General Gates at Bemis Heights, but the
enlistment of his men having expired he returned
with them to New Hampshire. In a short time he
was eiven a laro^er command, and he now carried out
his former policy of harassing Burgoyne's rear and of
preventing any supplies reaching him from Canada.
By this means he became an important factor in the
final surrender of Burgoyne.

Stark Given Command of the Northern Department.
— In the campaign of 1778, Stark was given the
command of the northern department with head-
quarters at Albany. It was a difficult position, for
while there was not much hard fighting, the country
was full of Tories, who needed constant watching.

Il8 COLONIAL LIFE

Later, he was ordered to join General Gates in Rhode
Island, where he was engaged in reconnoitering the
coast. When Gates went to New Jersey to reinforce
Washington, Stark accompanied him, but the army
soon went into winter quarters, and Stark returned
home to raise recruits and supplies for the spring
campaign.

It was with great difficulty that the New Hampshire
legislature could be prevailed upon to provide suffi-
cient clothino: for their soldiers. One of the members
of this body, named Ephraim Adams, an old cam-
paigner in the French and Indian War, repeatedly
called the attention of the legislature to their negli-
gence in this direction, but his words produced little
or no effect. Finally, on a bitterly cold winter's day,
the old man arose, and in a most impressive manner
thus addressed the legislature: — "Gentlemen, our
soldiers are in the field fighting for the protection of
our homes and families, and I would move, Mr. Presi-
dent, that they be allowed the privilege of growing
wool upon their backs to protect them from the bitter
cold." It is said that from this time on the New
Hampshire soldiers were the best clothed regiments
in the army.

In May Stark returned to New Jersey, and was
present at the battle of Springfield, but he soon went
back to New Hampshire for more recruits. He had
such success that he was able in a short time to take

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. I 19

reinforcements to West Point, where he left them,
while he joined the army at Morristown. After
Arnold's treachery. Stark was ordered to relieve Gen-
eral St. Clair at West Point, and to serve on the
court-martial of Major Andre.

In 1 78 1 Stark was again given the command of
the northern department and stationed at Saratoga,
where he was occupied principally with police duties,
as the country was overrun with spies and traitors, and
as robberies were of frequent occurrence. After the
surrender of Cornwallis Stark dismissed the militia,
and thanked them for their bravery and loyalty. He
then returned to New England by way of Albany,
and spent the winter in raising troops for the cam-
paign of 1782. His long years of exposure had
brought on a severe attack of rheumatism, and he
was no longer able to take the field himself, but he
did all in his power to aid the cause of liberty.

In appearance Stark was a man of medium size, well
proportioned, and of great strength and endurance.
It is remarkable that in all his years of hard service
and in his many severe battles, he had never received
a wound. In character he was kind, honest, frank and
hospitable. He died at the advanced age of ninety-
four, and was buried at Manchester, New Hampshire.
After his death, there was left but one general who
had taken part in the Revolutionary War.

I20 COLONIAL LIFE

CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN.

Sullivan's Boyhood. — General Sullivan's father came
from the province of Munster, Ireland, and settled in
New England. Being well educated, he became a
schoolmaster and taught the schools of Berwick,
Maine, and of Somersworth, New Hampshire, until
he was ninety years of age.

Sullivan's mother was also an emigrant from Ire-
land. When on the voyage, a passenger in a joking
way asked her, " What do you expect to do in Amer-
ica ? " " Do ? " was the reply, " why, raise governors
for them, sure." One of her sons was afterwards
governor of Massachusetts, a grandson was governor
of Maine, another a senator from New Hampshire,
and yet another was lieutenant-governor of Illinois.

John was born at Somersworth, February 17, 1740.
He received from his father what was then considered
a very good education. When only a lad, he went
on a voyage to the West Indies. On his return, he
applied to Judge Livermore of Portsmouth for work,
who, seeing before him a plain country boy clad in
rough homespun, asked, " What can you do if I take
you?" "Oh, I can split the wood, take care of the
horse, attend to the gardening, and, perhaps, find

General John Sullivan.

I

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 121

some spare time to read a little, if you can give me
that privilege," replied the boy. The judge was so
pleased with his manner that he gave him a trial.

Mr. Livermore had an excellent library, and John
improved every opportunity for study. One day,
while the judge was away and Sullivan was reading
in the library, a young man entered who had been
accused of assault, and who wished to engage Judge
Livermore to defend him. On learning that the
judge was absent, he asked young John if he would
not take the case. This he consented to do, and
followed his client into court, which was then in ses-
sion. In the meantime the judge came home, and,
hearing that John had gone to the trial, followed to
the court-room and slipped in silently to hear his
manner of conducting the case. The prosecution
showed the black and blue marks and enlisted the
sympathies of all present. The case seemed against
the boy, but he was able to prove that his client had
received sufficient provocation, and the man was
acquitted. The judge, greatly pleased, left as secretly
as he had come. The next morning he sent for the
lad and said, " John, the kitchen is no place for you,
continue in your studies, give them your undivided
attention, and you shall have what assistance you need
from me until you are in a condition to repay it."

Experience as a Lawyer. — At the age of twenty,
John Sullivan was married, and opened a law office

122 COLONIAL LIFE

in Durham. At this time there were but two lawyers
in the entire province of New Hampshire. The pro-
fession was not considered very highly, and as a result
the citizens resented young Sullivan's attempt to
settle among them. They even gathered one bright
evenino- about his house and threatened to tear it
down unless he promised to leave. Sullivan addressed
the angry people from an upper window and proposed
to test the question by " single combat." It was
decided, however, that he was so strong that no
fitting opponent could be found, when James Sulli-
van, afterwards governor of Massachusetts, volun-
teered in his brother's place. In the battle which
followed, James was victor, and John lived to bring
honor and glory to the town of Durham.

During the exciting times just before the revolu-
tion, Sullivan took an active part, and in the spring of
1774 represented New Hampshire in Congress.

John Adams, in his diary, wrote as follows regard-
ing the action taken by this Congress : — " The com-
mittee of violations of rights reported a set of articles
which were drawn by Mr. John Sullivan of New
Hampshire, and these two declarations . . . were two
years afterwards recapitulated in the Declaration of
Independence on the Fourth of July, 1776." Thus
Sullivan played an important part in framing the
Declaration which gave to America her indepen-
dence.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

123

Capture of Fort William and Mary. — On December
13 Paul Revere, the famous patriot of Boston, who
afterwards brought news to Lexington, came to Sulli-
van with the announcement that the king had pro-
hibited the importation of arms or military stores into
the colonies, and that two regiments were about to
march fro m
Boston to oc-
cupy the fort "
near Ports-
mouth Harbor.
To Sullivan's
mind, the time
had come for
action. He
quickly assem-
bled a company
of men, and on
the following
night, which
happened to be
clear and cold, they sailed down the river to Ports-
mouth, where half a dozen patriots were taken on
board, among whom was Captain John Langdon,
afterwards the first president of the United States
Senate and governor of New Hampshire.

From Portsmouth they proceeded directly to the
fort. The water was so shallow where they attempted

Portcullis of Fort William and Mary.

124 COLONIAL LIFE

to land, that they were forced to wade to the shore.
Although bitterly cold, the men removed their shoes
in order to make no noise while climbinor the ram-
parts. The garrison, however, was alarmed, and made
a sharp but unsuccessful resistance.^

The captain of the fort, together with his men,
was seized and bound. They found here nearly two
hundred kegs of powder, which they loaded on board
their vessel and then proceeded back to Durham,
where the powder was buried under the pulpit of the
old meeting-house, as a means of security, for in those
days no form of heating was used in church.

At the battle of Bunker Hill, the American troops
were very short of powder. A modern writer has
described their condition in the following manner:

" As the British were forming for a final charge on
the earthworks, Prescott discovered that his men had
hardly one round of ammunition. Dismayed at this,
he gave the order to retreat. Undoubtedly both his
forces and Stark's would have been captured except
for the tremendous fire which Stark, from behind
the rail fence, stuck with hay, was able to pour upon
the Welsh fusileers who were marching to cut off the

1 There is another account of the capture of Fort William and
Mary, which gives the credit of its seizure to a band of Portsmouth
citizens. They were said to have made an attack in broad daylight, and
to have seized the fort without resistance on the part of its inmates.

The account as given in the text seems, however, to have the better
historical support.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 125

retreat. This Stark was able to do by a store of
powder which came at a most opportune moment.
It had been brought over the hills from New Hamp-
shire, sixty miles away, by Captain John Demerritt in
an ox-cart, and was a portion of the British powder
captured at Portsmouth on the memorable 14th of
December."

The news of Sullivan's assault upon the king's
fortress was received with the greatest excitement in
England. Parliament practically adopted a declara-
tion of war, which was presented on February 9, 1775.
The king promised " to uphold its wishes and that his
language should open the eyes of the deluded Ameri-
cans." Orders were immediately sent from London
to seize all arms and ammunition to be found in the
colonies, and Pitcairn's march to Lexington was the
result. Dr. Quint of Dover, speaking of this attack,
writes as follows : " The daring character of this as-
sault cannot be overestimated. It was an organized
investment of a royal fortress where the king's flag
was flying, and the king's garrison met them with
muskets and artillery. It was four months before
Lexington, and Lexington was resistance to attack,
while this was deliberate assault."

Alexander Scammel was in the expedition against
Fort William and Mary, and it was he who hauled
down the British flag. Scammel was one of Washing-
ton's closest friends, and later became adjutant-general

126 COLONIAL LIFE

of the entire army of the Revolution. He was killed
during the siege of Yorktown, just before the sur-
render of Cornwallis; thus having taken part in the
first and last struggle for independence. It is im-
portant for New Hampshire people to remember that
this attack upon Fort William and Mary was the first
armed resistance in the War of Independence, and that
it took place four months before the battle of Lexington.

Governor Wentworth immediately issued a procla-
mation declaring all who had taken part in this attack
guilty of treason, and offered a reward for their cap-
ture. Major Sullivan and other citizens of Durham
who held commissions, either civil or military, from
the king, marched boldly in a procession to the com-
mon, and there publicly burned their commissions,
uniform, and everything that bound them to the
king's service.

In order to defend his action in attacking the fort,
Sullivan published an address, which was spread
throughout the country, and from which this extract
is taken : " I am far from wishing hostilities to com-
mence on the part of America; but still hope that no
person will, at this important crisis, be unprepared
to act in his own defense, should he, by necessity, be
driven thereto. And I must beg leave to recommend
to the consideration of the people on this continent,
w^hether, w^ien we are by an arbitrary decree prohib-
ited the having arms and ammunition by importation,

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 12/

we have not, by the law of self-preservation, a right to
seize upon those within our power, in order to defend
the liberties which God and nature have Qriven us ;
especially at this time, when several of the colonies
are involved in a dangerous war with the Indians,
and must, if this inhuman order have the desired
effect, fall a prey to those savages and barbarians,
who have so often deluged this land with blood."

Sullivan Made Brigadier-General. — When the news
of the battles of Lexington and Concord was received,
Sullivan marched with his company to Massachusetts ;
but in May he resumed his seat in Congress and was
appointed chairman of the w^ar committee. At the
time Washington was made commander-in-chief, eight
brigadier-generals were appointed, and Sullivan was
one of those to receive a commission. He went with
his commander to Cambridge, and w^as stationed at
Winter Hill during the siege of Boston.

After the victory, March 1 7, 1 776, Sullivan was given
command of the army in Canada. Upon arriving at
his post, he found the army hungry and disheartened.
Five thousand of the men were sick, and only about
two thousand fit for duty. The enemy's forces were
much stronger and in better condition. Under such
circumstances there was nothing to do but to retreat.
This retreat was conducted wath such skill, prudence,
and enero^v that the Americans w^ere able to bring off
all their sick, together with their guns and ammuni-

128 COLONIAL LIFE

tion, the men dragging the cannon by hand through
the wilderness.

Capture of Sullivan. — In August, Sulhvan was
made a major-general, and ordered to join Washing-
ton at New York. During the battle of Brooklyn,
he was stationed at Brooklyn Heights, where with
four thousand men he successfully opposed a much
laro^er force of Hessians. He was able to hold his
ground from nine o'clock until noon, when, being
attacked upon the rear by forces outnumbering his
own six to one, he was overpowered and captured
while bravely leading a charge.

Sullivan was taken on board Lord Howe's flagship,
the " Eagle," where he was kindly treated. During
his captivity he was released on parole by Howe in
order to take a message to Philadelphia, asking Con-
gress to appoint a committee who should confer with
him concerning terms of peace. This idea was carried
out and the conference was held, but the committee
came to no agreement, as they were not satisfied with
Lord Howe's terms. General Sullivan was afterwards
exchanged for General Prescott.

Sullivan at Trenton. — On regaining his liberty Sul-
livan joined the army under General Lee at North
Castle, New York. Lee had been ordered to hasten
to the relief of Washington, but he delayed and was
captured by the enemy. Sullivan succeeded to the
command, and lost no time in joining his forces

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1 29

with those of Washington beyond the Delaware. He
arrived in time to take charge of the right wing in
the battle of Trenton, and Colonel Stark was oriven
command of the advance guard, which division con-
ducted itself with such honor that Washington asked,
" WHiat troops are those ? " General Sullivan replied,
" Full-blooded Yankees, sir, from New Hampshire."
It is said that Stockman Sweat, one of the " full-
blooded Yankees " in Stark's regiment, distinguished
himself by bringing in, unaided, five Hessian prisoners
in a body. His explanation of the capture was that
he did it by " surrounding them."

The time for which Sullivan's men had enlisted
expired on the first of January, and as the enemy was
approaching with a large force it was important to
keep all the army together in order to prevent their
advancing on Philadelphia ; accordingly, he prevailed
on his troops to reenlist for six weeks, thus making
possible the victory of Princeton.

On the 13th of February, 1777, he wrote to
Meshech Weare, president of the assembly of New
Hampshire : —

'' You may want to know how your men fight. I
tell you, exceedingly well when they have the proper
officers. I have been much pleased to see a day
approaching to try the difference between Yankee
cowardice and southern valor. The day, or rather
the days, have arrived. . . . General Washington

I30 COLONIAL LIFE

made no scruple to say, publicly, that the remnant of
the eastern regiments was the strength of his army,
though their numbers, comparatively speaking, were
small. He calls them in front when the enemy are
there ; he sends them to the rear when the enemy
threatens that way. All the general ofHcers allow
them to be the best of the troops. The southern
officers and soldiers allow it in time of danger, but
not at all at other times. Believe me, sir, the Yankees
took Trenton before the other troops knew anything
of the matter. More than that, there was an engage-
ment; and, what will surprise you still more, the line
that attacked the town consisted of but eight hundred
Yankees, and there were sixteen hundred Hessians to
oppose them. At Princeton, when the Seventeenth
Regiment had thrown thirty-five hundred southern
militia into confusion, a regiment of Yankees restored
the day."

Battle of Brandywine. — Sullivan was given com-
mand of the right wing in the battle of Brandywine.
The day on which the battle occurred was so foggy
that the Americans had not been able to perceive the
enemy's movements clearly, but it was reported that
two brigades had crossed the Brandywine and were
marching down the left bank. Washington ordered
Sullivan to join the divisions of Stirling and Stephen
in opposing the advance of the British. Upon his
arrival, he found that instead of two brio-ades, the

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 131

whole force of General Howe's army had crossed the
river under cover of the fog.

The enemy began their attack before the Ameri-
cans had time to form in line of battle, thus throwing
many of them into confusion. The artillery, however,
promptly took possession of a hill, and by their rapid
firing kept the attention of the enemy until the broken
troops could be rallied. General Sullivan behaved
most courageously, at one time rallying the fright-
ened soldiers, again directing the artillery on the hill,
and exposing himself to every danger. His horse was
shot under him during the engagement. Finally, by
force of numbers, he was compelled to retreat, leaving
the ground covered with the bodies of the enemy.
Thus did three or four thousand American soldiers
keep twelve thousand British at bay for nearly two
hours, and then retreated in such good order that
the enemy did not attempt to follow them.

In spite of the defeat at Brandywine, Washing-
ton resolved to again give battle to the British, but
a violent storm destroyed his ammunition, and he
was obliged to let Lord Howe enter Philadelphia un-
molested. Howe quartered most of his soldiers at
Germantown, eight miles north of Philadelphia.
The Americans made a spirited attack upon this
town, but on account of a dense fog which prevented
their distinguishing friend from foe, they were forced
to retreat.

132 COLONIAL LIFE

Sullivan at Rhode Island. — General Sullivan spent
the winter among the privations of Valley Forge.
In April, 1778, he was given command of the army
in Rhode Island. Upon arriving at Providence, he
found his command reduced to only five hundred
men ; but, fortunately, the English, who were stationed
at Newport under General Piggott, had no idea that
they were opposed by so small a force.

Sullivan made every endeavor to increase the size
of his army, which finally, after he was joined by
the forces of Lafayette, numbered about ten thou-
sand men. He was also aided by the French fleet
under Count D'Estaing, but soon the French forces
were withdrawn, which so disheartened the American
troops that many deserted. Sullivan, being thus re-
duced in numbers, retreated at night to Butt's Hill,
where he was attacked by the British. The battle
lasted the entire day, and resulted in a complete vic-
tory for the Americans. Lafayette is reported to
have said that Butt's Hill was the best fought battle
of the war. The Americans lost but one hundred
men, while the British lost over a thousand. Soon
after, the British were heavily reinforced, and Sulli-
van was compelled to retreat. The legislatures of
both New Hampshire and Rhode Island compli-
mented General Sullivan upon his management of
this campaign.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1 33

Expedition against the Iroquois. — The Iroquois
Indians, who occupied the central part of New York
State, were alhes of the British, and had given much
trouble to the Americans, so much so that Washing-
ton determined to teach them a lesson, and selected
General Sullivan as a proper officer to inspire in them
a respect for the American arms. Accordingly, in
July, 1779, a small and poorly equipped army started
up the Susquehanna River through the trackless
wilderness to subdue a force of over a thousand
Indians, together with seven or eight hundred British
regulars.

At one time, when on the march, Sullivan's devo-
tion to duty was clearly shown by his giving up his
favorite charger as a pack horse, in order that neces-
sary supplies should not be left behind.

On the 29th of August, scouting parties reported
to Sullivan that a large force of Indians, Tories, and
British soldiers under the command of the Indian,
Joseph Brant, and of Colonel Butler, had entrenched
themselves in a very strong position, and were await-
ino^ the American advance.

It was a critical period, as the defense represented
the entire fighting force of the Iroquois. Sullivan
immediately formed his plan of attack; the artillery,
well supported by infantry, were placed along the cen-
ter, while the New Hampshire brigade, under Colonel
Poor, crossed the swamp and fought their way stub-

134

COLONIAL LIFE

bornly up the hill, which stood on the enemy's left, in
order to flank their position. In spite of all opposi-
tion, the flank movement was successful, and the enemy
being unable to withstand the combined attacks of the

The Sullivan House.

artillery in front and of the infantry on their left, broke
and fled.

The Indians were so impressed with the power of
the Continental troops that they dared not risk another
encounter, and the whole country was deserted. Sul-
livan, to make his conquest more complete, burned
everything which could possibly be of use to the
Indians.

On the 1 6th day of September the army arrived
at Geneseo, the largest town of the Iroquois, which

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 135

Sullivan describes as consisting of one hundred
twenty-eight large, elegant dwellings, with orchards
of fine fruit trees, some of which were very old ; also
with large fields of corn and vegetables.

When he had completed the destruction of every
village and cornfield belonging to the Five Nations,
Sullivan began his return journey. The army arrived
in Boston on the 15th of October, after a march of
nearly seven hundred miles through the wilderness.

In recognition of the success of this expedition,
Washington ofiicially " congratulated the army on the
complete and full success of Major-General Sullivan
and of the troops under his command against the
Senecas and other tribes of the Five Nations, as a
just and necessary punishment for their wanton depre-
dations, their unparalleled and innumerable cruelties,
and their deafness to all entreaties." Congress also
accorded a vote of thanks to Washington and Sullivan
for the plan and successful issue of this expedition.

Sullivan Fills Many Important Positions. — Sullivan's
health became so broken from his five years of hard
service, that he was compelled to resign his commis-
sion. Congress accepted his resignation and expressed
its gratitude for his valuable services. He reached
Durham in February, 1780, anxious to resume his
interrupted law practice and to quietly enter into
private life. The people, however, had such trust
in his integrity that they insisted on sending him as

136 COLONIAL LIFE

a delegate to Congress to present their New Hampshire
side in the dispute over what is now Vermont, but which
was then known as the " New Hampshire Grants."
This controversy was not finally settled until 1791,
when Congress decided to make the land into a sep-
arate state. Sullivan was also elected to hold the
position of attorney-general for New Hampshire, which
office was afterwards held by both his son and grandson.

Upon the retirement of Meshech Weare, General
Sullivan was elected to the office of president of the
state. When in the president's chair, Sullivan was
very active in the support of the state military organ-
izations, and formed twenty thousand militia into
regiments of infantry, cavalry and artillery.

The Exeter Riot. — After the close of the war, the
country was in a very demoralized condition. The
people had expected that when they obtained their
liberty, prosperity would come of its own accord.
Many of them, therefore, as they still experienced
the hard times, became clamorous for state aid. The
trouble finally culminated at Exeter, where several
hundred armed men assembled in open rebellion and
demanded of the legislature that it should pass such
laws as they wished. Among others, the following
demands w^re most prominent ; that there should
be a large issue of paper money, that property should
be equally distributed among all people, and, finally,
that all debts should be abolished.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 137

The mob assembled before the doors of the state
house and threatened to use force unless the
legislature granted their requests. Sullivan, who
was president of the senate as well as of the
state, stepped to the doors and addressed the rioters.
He explained to them carefully wherein their claims
were unjust, and told them that even if they were
just, the legislature would not take any action
while its members w^re threatened by an armed
force.

The mob then left the building, but placed sentries
at the door to prevent the senators from going home.
Meantime, the senate proceeded with their customary
business and adjourned at the usual hour. As Sulli-
van attempted to leave the chamber, the mob which
had assembled barred his passage, and the cry arose
from among them to fire upon him. Sullivan told
them that he had already smelt too much powder to
be afraid of theirs. At this moment a drum was
heard in the distance, and the mob, thinking the
artillery was coming, hastily withdrew. The next
morning several companies of militia, including a
squadron of cavalry, were drawn up in the town ready
for action. At first the insurgents were disposed to
resist, but being charged upon by the cavalry, they
scattered in all directions. Several of the ringleaders
were afterwards arrested, but, through the leniency of
Sullivan, were discharged.

i

138 COLONIAL LIFE

Final Adoption of the Constitution. — Sullivan played
a very important part in the final adoption of the
Constitution of the United States. It was necessary
to have nine states agree to the Constitution before
it could go into effect. Eight states had already
voted in its favor, and it was of the greatest impor-
tance that New Hampshire should also give its sanc-
tion in order to have it adopted. Sullivan exerted all
his influence in its favor, and on the 21st of June,
1788, New Hampshire adopted the Constitution by a
vote of fifty-seven to forty-six. This date is impor-
tant as it represents the adoption of the Constitution
of the United States.

Washington, in 1789, appointed Sullivan United
States Judge of New Hampshire, which ofiice he held
for many years.

During the latter part of his life, Sullivan suffered
much. from a spinal trouble brought on by an injury
received in the Iroquois campaign. This caused his
death on the 23d of January, 1795. He was buried
in the little family cemetery near his home at Durham.

Upon the adoption of the Constitution the history of
New Hampshire as a separate colony became merged
into that of the United States, and consequently the
sphere of this work has reached its limit.

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1 39

During the years that have elapsed since the form-
ing of the Union, New Hampshire has clone her part
toward moulding the destinies of the Republic. The
names of Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce, Salmon
P. Chase, Horace Greeley, Henry Wilson, William
Pitt Fessenden, Benjamin ¥. Butler, John P. Hale,
Lewis Cass, John A. Dix, and Charles A. Dana recall
the fact that a state small in area and in population
may be great in the character of her men.

At one time, when Webster was asked to account
for the " Great Stone Face " at Franconia, he made
the following reply: "You merchants of the city dis-
play signs outside your doors to indicate what goods
you make there ; the Almighty has placed his sign on
that cliff to indicate that he makes men here."

INDEX.

-•o*-

Abercrombie, General, 99, 102.
Adams, Dr., trial at Bennington, 88.
Adams, Ephraim, 1 18.
Adams, John, 122.
Albany, New York, 117.
Algonquin race. The, 30.
Allen, Ethan, 87.
Allen, Rev. Thomas, 112.
Allen, Samuel, 70.
Amherst, Sir Jeffrey, 27, 102.
Andre, Major, Trial of, 119.
Andros, Governor, 69.
Apprenticeship of boys, 61.
Arnold, General, 106.
Articles of the Association of Amer-
ican Colonies, 89.

Backlog, The, 43.
Baker, Captain, 39.
Baker's River, 96.
Barbadoes, 56.
Barefoot, 68.
Baum, Colonel, iii, 113.
Belcher, Jonathan, 71.
Bellows, Colonel, 25.
Belmont, Earl of, 71.
Bennington, 85, 86.
Battle of. III.
Berkshire militia, The, in.
Bickford, 11.

Blanchard, Colonel, 99.
Blanchard, Thomas, 15.
Blockhouse, The, 7.
Bloody Point, 66.
Boston, 8, 56.

Boundary dispute between Massachu-
setts and New Hampshire, 71.
Brandywine, Battle of, 130.
Brant, Joseph, 133.
Brayman, Colonel, 114.
Building, Methods of, 62.
Bunker Hill, Powder at, 124.
Burgess, Elseus, 71.
Burgoyne's invasion, 109.
Burnet, William, 71.
Butler, Colonel, 133.
Butt's Hill, Battle of, 132.

Cambridge, Vermont, iii.
Canada, 12.

Capture of, 29.

Expedition against, 106.
Catamount Tavern, 88.
Chamberlain, 19.
Charles H, 83.
Charlestown, 6.

Attack upon, 22.
Charlestown Neck, 104.
Chimney Point, 107.
Clothing of early settlers, 47.

141

142

INDEX.

Cold River, 25.
Commerce, 55.
Committee of Safety, 88.
Concord, 5, 30.
Congress, no.

Action of, 116.

Provincial, of New Hampshire,
78.
Connecticut, 83.

River, 5, 80.
Constitution, Final adoption of, 137.

of New Hampshire, 78.
Cooking, Methods of, 44.

utensils, 46.
Copp's Hill, 105.
Corn, Indian, 5.
Counties, Division into, 76.
Cranfield, Edward, 67.
Cross, Nathan, 15.
Crown Point, 98, 99.
Cutt, John, 67.

Dartmouth College, 40, 76, 79.
Dead falls, how constructed, 51.
Dearborn, Captain, 104, 106.
Debeline's attack upon Number

Four, 22.
Declaration of Independence, 107, 1 22.
Demeritt, Captain John, 106, 125.
Derryfield, 96.
D'Estaing, Count, 132.
Dieskau, Baron, 99.
Dover, 2, 8, 12, 65, 69.
Dudley, Joseph, 69, 71.
Duke of York, 83.
Dunbarton, 102.
Dunstable, 5.

Massacre at, 15.
Durham, 106.

Exchange, Means of, 51.
Exeter, 4, 65, 69, ']'], 78.
riot, 135.

Farwell, Lieutenant, 16.
Fireplace, how constructed, 43.
Five Nations, 134.

Fort Ticonderoga, Attack upon, loi.
Fort William Henry, 99, 100.

Attack upon, loi.
Fort William and Mary, 106.

Capture of, 123.
French in Canada, 6.
Frontenac, Count, Governor of Can-
ada, 27.

Gage, General, 104.

Gates, General, 117.

Geneseo, Iroquois village of, 133.

George I, 71.

Gerrish, Sarah, 12.

Glasgow, University of, 96.

Goodwin, Mehitable, 12.

Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 3.

Grants, New Hampshire, 'i^^.

Green, General, 107.

Green Mountain Boys, 86, 87, 114.

Green Mountain Tavern, 88.

Hampton, 69.

Falls, 71, 78.
Herrick, Captain, 112.
Hilton, Colonel Winthrop, 13.

Edward, 2.

Patent, 66.
Home, Founding of a, 51.
Howe, General, 105, 109.
Huckins' Garrison, 10.
Hunting, 50.
Flutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 4.

INDEX.

143

Indian children, 33.

cunning, 38.

farming, 35.

fire making, yj.

food, 35.

hunters, 33.

skill, 36.

village, 31.

women, 32.
Indians, Conflicts with the, 6.

Customs of, 30.

their idea of land, 40.
Iroquois, The, 30.

Expedition against the, 132.

James TI, 67.

Jonathan of Plymouth, 2.

Kennebec River, 106.
Kilburn's defense, 24.
King's Arrow, 92.

trees, 61.
King George, 80, 84.
Knowlton, Sir Charles, 24.

Laconia, Company of, 3.

Lady Wentworth, poem, 74.

Lafayette, General, 132.

Lake Champlain, 3, 99.

Lake George, 99.

Langdon, John, 109, 123.

Lebanon, Connecticut, 79.

Lexington, 77, 103.

Lincoln, General, no.

Linen cloth, 48.

Livermore, Judge, of Portsmouth,

120.
Log houses, 42.
Londonderry, 55.

Loudoun, loi.

Louisburg, Expedition to, 20.

The surrender of, 21.
Love well, John, 17.

Manchester, History of, 65.
Mansfield, Connecticut, 79.
Maple sugar, Making of, 49.
Mason, Captain John, 3, 4.

Robert, 67.
Mason's Claim, 68-70.
Massachusetts, 5, 70, 83.
Bay Colony, 2, 4, 65.
Grants by, 5.
Jurisdiction of, 66.
Mast trees, 61.
McClary, Major, 104.
McClure, Dr., 80.
McNeil, John, 55.
Medford, 103.
Meeting-house, 58.
Merrimac, 5.

River, 65.
Mesandowit, 9.
Mills for grinding corn, 53.
Missiscoe Bay, 28.
Moor, Colonel Joshua, 79.
Moor's Indian school, 40, 79.
Mudgett, Capture of, 92.
Mystic River, 105.

Nashua, South, 17.
Navigation Acts, 94.
Neale, Captain Walter, 3, 65.
New Hampshire Grants, 83.

Meeting for organization in, 85.

Settlement of dispute over, 135.
New York, 83.

Officials of, 85.

144

INDEX.

Nichols, Captain, 112.
Northampton, Massachusetts, 39, 90.
Northfield, Massachusetts, 5.
Norton, Francis, 4.
Number Four, 6, 22, 29.
Nutfield, 96.
Nutter, Anthony, 68.

Occum, 79.
Otter Creek, 87.
Oyster River, 9, 12.

Page, Elizabeth, 102.
Palisades, 7.
Pannaway, i.
Parliament, Action of, 125.

Leaders in, 95.
Partridge, William, 70.
Passaconaway, 30.
Paugus, 18.
Peak, 25.
Penacook, 5, 30.
Pepperell, Colonel William, 20.
Pequakets, 18.

Philadelphia, Advance on, 129.
Philip, a spy, 24.
Philip, King, 8.
Pine Tree Law, 92.
Piscataqua, i, 3, 4, 56.
Plymouth, New Hampshire, 38.

Council of, I, 3.
Poor, Colonel, 103.
Portsmouth, 36, 62, 65, 69.
Pound, The, 58.
Prescott, Colonel, 103.
Princeton, Battle of, 108.
Putnam, General, 105.

Queen Anne, 71.

Quint, Dr., 125.
Quitt rents, 5.

Rangers, New Hampshire, 98.

Reed, Colonel, 103.

Reid, Colonel, 87.

Representation in Parliament, 91.

Revere, Paul, 123.

Revolutionary War, Commencement

of, 103.
Rodgers, Robin, 12.
Rogers, Major, 27.
Robert, 98, 99.
Royal Province of New Hampshire,

67.

Salmon Falls, 12.
Scammel, Alexander, 125.
Schools, 57.
Schuyler, General, no.
Settlers, Early customs of, 42.

First, I.
Sexton, The, 58.
Shipbuilding, 55.

Shirley, Governor of New York, 24.
Shute, Samuel, 71.
Skill, Trials of, 54.
Slavery in Canada, 12.
Slaves, Keeping of, 61.
" Snowbound," Selection from, 64.
Spikeman, Captain, 99.
Stamp Act, 94.
Standish, Miles, 2.
Stark among the Indians, 97.

at Bunker Hill, 103.

Command of Northern Depart-
ment, 1 19.

Death of, 119.

Early life of, 96.

INDEX.

145

Stark given independent command,
no.
Headquarters of, 117.
Lieutenant, 98.
Ransom of, 98.

Report of the Battle of Benning-
ton, 1 14.
resigns, 108.
Wife of, 113.
Stevens, Captain Phineas, 22, 98.
St. Francis, Indian village of, 27, 97.
Strength, Trials of, 54.
Sugar Act, 91.
Sullivan, James, 122.
John, 120, 108.

as a lawyer, 121.

at Rhode Island, 131.

at Trenton, 128.

Capture of, 127.

his boyhood, 120.

his father, 120.

his mother, 120.

in command of the army in

Canada, 127.
resigns, 135.
U. S. Judge, 137.
Sweat, Stockman, 129.

Taxation, Unjust, 94.
Ten Eyck, New York Sheriff, 86.
Thompson, David, i, 3.
Ticonderoga, 99.

Tithing-man, 59.
Trapping, 50.
Trenton, Battle of, 107.

Usher, John, 70.

Vaughn, Colonel William, 2r.
"Vigilant," The French Ship, 21.
Villieu, Sieur de, 10.
Virginia, 56.

Waldron, Major, 8, 12.

Walpole, 24.

Wampum, 51.

War, French and Indian, 72, 91.

Warner, Colonel, 114.

Washington, General, 106, 107, 116,

134.

Weare, Meshech, 78, 129, 135.
Weare, Rioters at, 92.
Wentworth, Benning, 72, 92.

John, 71.

John II, 76, 80, 82.
Westminster Massacre, 89.
Wheelock, P^leazer, 40, 79.
Wheelwright, 98.
Whiting, 92.
Wiggin, Thomas, 65, 68.
Winthrop, Governor John, 65.
Women, Bravery of, 11.
Workmen, Traveling, 47.
Wrestling, 54.
Wyman, 104.

ADVERTISEMENTS

THE BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY

By D. H. MONTGOMERY,

Author of the ^^ Leading Facts of History Series."

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•^

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